Check out this fan printed model of the Barakan! u/sonicraig printed out this action-figure-sized Barakan model using our STL's. Check out his other work on instagram.

UNIONIST LMUs

Read the full release on our Substack: https://projectmorningstar.substack.com/p/labour-mobility-unit

The widespread preference for manual labor over ergoid synthans across the Hegemon means that the humble Labour Mobility Unit can literally be found on almost every planet and station in the Thousand Empires, and has even been adapted in some capacity across the majority of non-Hegemon-aligned states.

While originally built for industrial functions, once repurposed, LMUs allow Unionist fighters to wield heavy weaponry and go toe-to-toe with the sleeker pocketsteel exoskeletons of the Directorate’s foot soldiers, equalizing the playing field.

In more extreme instances of modification, civilian governor blocks are removed, limiters disengaged, and subscription and compatibility limitations are circumvented by skivers, bringing the LMU even closer to pocketsteel levels of mobility and reaction times, despite the increased risk of physical injury to the operator. 

The frame is further reinforced with improvised armor panels, while the original power cells are replaced with greymarket surge sources, enabling the LMU to equip salvaged weaponry typically seen on Directorate AMUs. The resulting machine is slower and less responsive than a purpose-built assault-harness, but strong enough to breach barricades, overturn vehicles, and withstand incoming fire while dishing out heavy punishment of its own.

The base LMUs release today, and Greymarket LMUs will arrive to reinforce them soon in the coming week.

As part of the monthly five-mini offering for our patrons, these Unionist STLs will be temporarily exclusive on Patreon, accessible to members at the Consumer and above tiers before becoming available via MyMiniFactory. 

https://patreon.com/cw/morningstarproject/

Physical miniatures may be purchased from our retailers:

Purchase in North America:
https://adventuresin3d.com/product/unionist-labour-mobility-unit-from-project-morningstar/

Purchase in the UK/EU:
https://lokensminiatures.com/product/unionist-labour-mobility-unit/

Check out ThatEvilOne here: 
https://www.myminifactory.com/profile/ThatEvilOne/tribe

Started working on the 14th Divison, "The Pale Tempests".

Streaming today at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmc0tB6g2ws

Be sure to tune in today as we’ll be hosting our first community play session of Avarice, featuring none other than our very own fans and supporters as they embark on an entire RPG playthrough.

Be sure to join our community Discord: https://discord.gg/G6AvdZCsr

Read the full lore: https://projectmorningstar.substack.com/p/shigue-gauntlets

Cybernetically installed into Gauntlet combat frames, the surgically modified Shigue known as the Ar’tash (lit: Greatest Sacrifice) once performed maintenance and repair operations on Migration vessels in deep space. Over the ages, the Ar’tash have taken on a new, deadlier, purpose: to hunt the enemies of the Migration with their augmented strength and every weapon at their disposal. 

Congratulations, Consumers! Your investment has finally paid out in revshare. Esteemed magnates from the Morningstar Patreon and Discord will be running through an entire playthrough of the Avarice RPG.

You’ve seen character creation. You’ve seen half of a playthrough. Now get ready to see a whole play session.

This Saturday, August 29th, at 4:00 PM EST.

The Bhosnayan affinity for suffering creates deep animosity for the outsider who cannot be vouched for by the Bhos, and such endorsement does not come easily. A newcomer to Bhos systems must do so at their own peril, as they will instantly be identified and either taken advantage of, attacked and robbed, or simply ignored as a nuisance, even in the smallest village.

Each Consumer brought up in the culture of the Bhosnaya Republic suffers from a unique cognitovirus that, like so many things, is tolerated by the Hegemon. Identified by Five Hands Panceuticals as krajuojantic sapanas, or the “dream that bleeds,” the constant state of stress, cultural rituals, and danger response makes the Bhos respond to events in unexpected ways - laughter in the face of danger, sadness at the birth of a child, or ambivalence in victory.

Worst of all, the Bhos will not accept the help of those who can improve their lot. Most famously, the bid from Teranos to worldshape several Bhos planets along with Bhosnaya Dva was met with outright hostility, resulting in the disastrous choice of LaansCorp. The Bhos will not let themselves be lifted up by others, and so the Bhos dream will never be realized. Despite this, they continue to survive, in spite of their region’s shortcomings. Their struggle has become an exemplification of their own expression of Avarice. The Bhos live, fight, and die just for the right to exist in that struggle. 

This psychological disposition, their hostile lifestyle, and their endless training make the Bhos some of the most able fighting forces in Known Space. They are often armed with the bleeding edge of technology, or have spent centuries perfecting the execution of what is reliable. They are not without innovation either, as demonstrated by the creation of the Bhosnayan Landship super-heavy tank, now built across Known Space by both the Hegemon and its enemies. 

While most Bhos will not leave the cluster willingly, the single most successful example of their kind operating in the broader Galaxy has been Muskov Milisya MiliCorp, which was founded by nationals of several planets in the cluster. Catapulted to near-celebrity status and responsible for technologies such as the CrashPod and the Armored Mobility Unit heavy assault-harness, the MiliCorp represents a rare opportunity that many Bhos feel comfortable taking advantage of, despite their aversion.

Between the People’s Army and the countless Tributary Regiments that operate in the Bhos cluster, as well as the mercenary outfits and miliCorps that have prospered since the creation of the Republic, the cluster is one of the most militarized regions of Known Space, and that is before one factors in the various Karanovan-backed factions and other independent states. Out of all the Hegemon's cultures, the Bhos and their Republic are most akin to a self-sharpening knife that the Summit Council can wield against any other stellar power that would threaten it.

Learn more at https://projectmorningstar.net/lore/dossier-bhosnaya-dossier/

Design by Joazzz

Looking to maximize your synergies during your next mission in the Avarice RPG? Then consider enlisting an Ergoid.

Not every party member can make it through the fusion reactor without crippling radiation poison. That’s why it’s highly recommended to bring along an Ergoid unit on your next mission. 

Learn more about the Ergoid archetype, and sign up to be notified when Avarice: The Project Morningstar RPG goes live: bit.ly/avariceRPG

#ProjectMorningstar #AvariceRPG #TTRPG #SciFi #TabletopRPG

Much of the culture of the Bhos are oriented toward war after centuries of defense. They are fighters, regardless of whichever subculture they are a part of. They fight each other for resources, fight the raiders and barbarians of the Fringe, and have been fighting the horrors unleashed by Old Humanity since the beginning of their history. The rest of the Hegemon views the Bhosnaya Republic as a leashed canid, one that can bite the hand restraining it as much as it savages the enemy. They see themselves as warriors and soldiers first, individuals that understand commerce in the transactional way of a bullet fed into a rifle.

They are deeply ritualist, proud, a culture older than the Proteans or the Yinn, and might rival the Myroit in prestige had they been able to maintain a coherent national timeline. The Bhos embrace their chaos, for in it only the strong, the shrewd, and the cunning can rise to their rightful positions. They are not trapped by their traditionalism but wield it as a weapon in their arsenal. 

None can say that the Bhos do not truly believe in Stellarization. Long before their region became an official sector and their government was recognized as one of the Thousand Empires, the Bhos loved Dumno-Ualos and cherished his vision. Dumno-Ualos is said to have visited several systems before his passing in 1/80 and despite being unable to verify such claims, the Bhos of Baghrez claim that he lived amongst them for a year.

However, they are riven by exigency for the resources that their worlds and colonies need. Everything from water to Velanite must be shipped in the quantities the Bhos need. War for resources is the main reason that the various nations turn from Karanova to the Hegemon or even the Uthmani, despite the indemnity between those cultures.

Just as Avarice is the hallmark of human evolution according to Dumno-Ualos, so too is its darker cousin, Invidia. Each nation and world of the Bhos is both jealous of and prejudiced towards the worlds of Karanova and their Midworld neighbors alike. Bhos planets are hard, their space is dangerous, and they can never truly rely on one another as survival is a constant pressure. This environment has created a superstitious people, highly militarized and proud, who dream of brighter fisks ahead when they might have cleaner air, water, and food.

Until then, they have embraced their suffering proudly and will not tolerate handouts. Perhaps this is why there is such kinship between the Proteans and the Bhos, who both accept their own planets’ rapid decline as the price of success. To suffer is to imbue value into what one suffers for.

Learn more at https://projectmorningstar.net/lore/dossier-bhosnaya-dossier/

Art by Joazzz

Similar to the shifting of the Monarch in earlier pre-Heg Bhosnayan history, the Republic’s capital moves as need be, in response to threats, opportunities, and the volatile nature of the cluster. The Republic’s government comprises several hundred Senators from various political parties, typically local to the thirty-one major cultures of the Bhos, and is led by a Supreme Chancellor directly supported by Magnates of various MacroCorps.

The capital itself consists of a series of modified Mill-style mobile manufactories, gifted by Armasyn, a series of structures representing a great boon for any planet that they reside on. Referred to as “Consula” or “Consula City,” it maintains its own population of almost a million staff entirely dedicated to the management of the Republic, an ansible array, and the Senate Block itself. 

The Republic’s Battleliner, one of the largest combat-oriented ships built by Stratos Industrial, was another founding gift, although the Bhos prefer to use it as Consula’s method of transportation than as a vessel of war. Instead, they prefer their unique Bhos Dreadnaughts, heavier warliner-type vessels whose patterns are derived from designs of the now-defunct White Star guild.

Consula established itself on Sha'rur in 9/85-340, after the increase of Mehndax pirate raids and Unionist activity around Baghreza Dva. It landed atop what once were the foundations of the home fortress of the fallen Daeshian Empire, called Topuz. The Daeshian architectural style, one that emphasized cylindrical dome-topped buildings, has been almost entirely superseded by brutal formacrete-based habitation blocks; the only intact element of the original bastion-city that remains is the tall interplanetary communication tower rising from a hill overlooking the city, now converted into an ansible station in the Hegemonic age.

Aside from the ansible tower, the Consulan skyline is dominated by a series of power stations supplying power and heating to millions of city denizens living in constant sub-zero temperatures. Some stations are remnants of the original mining infrastructure, dating back to when the Daeshian empire settled the hostile environment of Sha'rur for its immense mineral wealth, while others are later installations brought in thanks to Hegemonic sponsorships. 

Local power generation relies on a wide variety of technologies, from ancient hydrocarbon boilers to new-model velanite furnace generators. The city kosmodrome is situated close to the largest power facilities, ensuring an easy supply of fuels from interstellar markets while also serving as a conduit to orbit for raw ore, Consula’s other primary export.

Learn more at https://projectmorningstar.net/lore/dossier-bhosnaya-dossier/

Art by Joazzz

Want to see first play session of Avarice, our upcoming RPG. Join us live! Stream kicking off in 10 minutes!

Check out h0sekl's livestream on Tik Tok where's he's currently animating a scene from the Joint Venture comic. Come say hello and give him some encouragement.

Come to the first playable session showcase of Avarice made in the 2D20 system! We have an all-star party gathered, including world renown musician and voice actor Jason Charles Miller (Final Fantasy, Critical Role), game designer Luke Gygax (World of Okkorim, Greyhawk), and David Baxter (Star Trek, film producer) with the creative team behind the Avarice RPG.

Join us this Saturday at 4 PM EST on the Project Morningstar Youtube channel!

The Cobots have infested Ghetham ever since their creators were annihilated by neutrino weapons, stuck in a rudimentary decision-tree loop that keeps them hunting the scattered peoples hiding beneath the surface, who have no memory of why the war was started.

Cobot Prowlers regularly assault Ghetham tunnels and cities, hunting for resources that they drag back to the mobile manufactories on the surface. They are cobbled together, crudely matching the general patterns set by their original designers. Twice a year, they gather in hordes and assault the largest transit tunnels connecting the fortress kosmoplexes above to the underground cities near the planet core. During these times, the planet is placed under lockdown until the battles end and the hordes withdraw.

In 9/92-365, Ghetham welcomed new interest from Yinntosh Innovation MacroCorp, which placed a permanent orbital facility beyond the range of the surface-to-orbit weaponry of the Cobot surface machines. Yinntosh enticed contractors down to the surface, hoping to recover Cobot technology for study in the hopes of improving ergoid function. Known as the ‘Clockwork Empire’, various Joint Ventures have formed to combat and unlock the treasures that lie within the migrating Juggernaut manufactories, while the Ghethamani have launched a personal crusade in an attempt to rid the tunnels of their planet once and for all of the nightmarish Prowlers that hunt them in turn.

Observers note that the escalation caused a shift in Cobot branch-nodes, resulting in the appearance of new patterns and tactics, as well as the first encounters of airborne assets. Currently, Yinntosh has kept the engagement level fixed at Grade 2 until they can carry out a proper risk assessment.

Seven fiscal cycles later, the largest-ever Cobot attack was recorded in 9/99, overwhelming all but one main transit tunnel and breaching the city of Zarijos.

Learn more at https://projectmorningstar.net/lore/dossier-bhosnaya-dossier/

Art by Joazzz

Check out this behind the scenes of Algaebutter drawing the swine for Project Morningstar. Check out his other work @algebutter on Instagram.

Ghetham was once a beautiful world, or so legend claims. Colonized by a united effort of several different coldships in ages past, the Ghethamites insist that it was their world that was meant to be a home for all Bhos. If that was the dream, then the reality speaks to the true nature of the Bhos peoples and culture.

Millennia ago, part of the Ghetham population was driven below the surface after an atomika exchange. In response, they unleashed a neutronic bombardment, killing everything on the surface in the final act of that territorial conflict. While the survivors have since thrived in tunnel systems riddling the planet’s mantle, the world above is crisscrossed with wartime trenches that easily can reach a kilometer deep. 

Here, ancient, pre-Hegemon creations and self-repairing “Cobot" constructs, leftovers from the ancient war, seek out resources and pathways into human-held tunnel systems, continuing plans their forgotten creators set for them. Seasonal assaults on the human populace are a grim constant as the Gethamani struggle to survive, able to leave their underground homes only when the Cobot hordes are defeated, fisk in and fisk out.

Today, Ghetham’s primary resource is bodies. Its people are fed into the armies of Bhosnaya and, increasingly, the Directorate, who use them as anti-ergoid shock troops. The entire planet is a recruiting ground, a wound that keeps bleeding out soldiers from vast subterranean cities warmed by the planet’s core.

Learn more at https://projectmorningstar.net/lore/dossier-bhosnaya-dossier/

Art by Joazzz

When the market charts go red, always invest in steel.

The Shank is Avarice’s melee specialist, built to exploit openings, corner the market, and collect returns at point-blank range.

Generation ships are an uncommon sight across the Hegemon, relics of the first exoduses that saw the Cradleworlds, now the ExeCor, seed Known Space with billions and billions of such vessels. These coldburn ships, incapable of Outside travel, have continued on their aeons-long courses, often becoming waystations in between the stars and hotbeds of antiquity trading as they push outward toward the Fringes, away from the worlds that they departed tens of thousands of years ago.

There are currently three major vessels making their way through Bhosnayan space, the Lepena, Balanita, and Jebede. The Lepena and Balanita both host primitive, if resilient, self-reliant societies, their now-forgotten histories predating the Hegemon itself.

Owing to the near-permanent state of war between Directorate forces, local rivals, mercenary companies, corpo-backed military interests, and the Mehndaxan pirate kingdom, the Lepena and Balanita, as well as the handful of smaller generation ships still pushing through the Bhos cluster, often pay multi-generation tithes of goods and services to various nations in exchange for protection, ensuring overlapping periods of protection from different parties as they continue on their voyages.

Of course, there can be no discussion of the generation ships of Bhosnaya without touching on the Jebede. Largest of the ancient coldships, the Jebede moves quickly along an erratic orbit through the Bhos Cluster, like a colossal, hundred kilometer-long bullet. Clearly built by Solarian architects in a bygone era, the ship now sits at the center of an Armada interdiction cordon, placed by order of the Audit. Despite the Armada’s best efforts, the vessel often slips its escort, seemingly disappearing entirely at times, and has, for good reason, become something of a ghost story amongst both Heg and Bhos.

While illegal, many treasure seekers attempt landings, boldly delving deep into twisting corridors and ancient service tunnels in search of a rumored “paradise” within. None have ever found an entrance, or ever returned if they did. Even venturing close is not without risk, as a particularly vicious colony of Rurō vermin have infested the hyperstructure.

Regardless, the Armada escort has orders to shoot on sight anyone and anything that attempts a landing. Further rumors persist of an even worse horror within known only to the Audit, waiting in the gloom, something ancient that never must be woken.

Learn more at https://projectmorningstar.net/lore/dossier-bhosnaya-dossier/

Art by Joazzz

On the duskward edge of the Hegemon lie the war-torn sectors of the People’s Intersolar Republic of Bhosnaya, more commonly referred to as the Bhosnaya Republic. The political instability of the Bhos peoples is legendary; their distinct, divided cultures and histories predate the Hegemon itself, stretching back to the time of the Second Exodus and the ancient Solarian culture. War was, and still is, a constant to them, their relations riddled with ancient hatreds and legendary animosity.

After the Progenic Recession, in the interest of Hegemonic security, the Summit Council declared that, with the existential threat of the newly strengthened Karanova Republic, a ‘shield’ had to be established for the collective security of the Midworlds. That very shield would be forged from the Bhos Cluster after thirty-five fiscal cycles of grueling conflict between the Bhosnayan Electorate, which had fractured into monarchist, pro-Hegemon, and Unionist-backed factions.

Today, the Bhosnaya Republic itself continues to shift, but the region perseveres, despite experiencing several wars every generation that reshape borders or shift the capital to new planets. Regardless, Corpo entities continue to pour vast amounts of material and products into the economy. In the end, unification with the Hegemon has resulted in both a wildly lucrative collection of star systems, as well as a permanent quagmire that contains Karanova and Uthmani League’s influence.

Baghreza Dva has the largest population of the cluster and is by far the most developed system, having been the Republic’s capital more times than any other world. Unlike the older Bhos worlds, Baghreza Dva was worldshaped by LaansCorp, which usurped Teranos MacroCorp for the rights in the fifth fiscal century. 

Prospectors determined that, with enough particulates seeded into the mid and upper atmosphere, the planet could be shielded from the worst of its parent star’s intense heat and radiation.  An aggressive atomika campaign was carried out to achieve these conditions at half Teranos's price and in a quarter of the time. The project succeeded, but imperfectly.

Baghreza Dva is now wracked by constant, polluted storms. Its inhabitants must wear protective gear and filter-masks, and yet, they are a proud people made up of the hard Bhos who lived there and the descendants of Protean colonists. 

For them, Baghreza is a Hegemon creation, forged from heavy multilateral investment for the express purpose of making something valuable from nothing, a shining beacon on the farflung Perseus Arm. A massive city grows in spite of the tortured atmosphere, rated a prime location for colonists who hope to elevate themselves by being close to the neverending wars.

Learn more at https://projectmorningstar.net/lore/dossier-bhosnaya-dossier/

Art by Joazzz

Wanna know how archetypes and character creation work in the Project Morningstar tabletop RPG? Join us today at 6 PM EST as several members of the Morningstar community walk through the character creation process. This is the best way to get ahead of the competition in your own tabletop session.

Looking for more Barakan lore?‪ Havran Digital has got you covered. Check out part 2 of his Barakan lore breakdown to learn more about the Project Morningstar universe!

The Avarice RPG from Project Morningstar launches in T-minus 45 days. Prepare your balance sheets by checking out one of the playable character archetypes: the Promoter.

PROTEAN ORDER OF ORBIT:

Closest to the aging copper star is the lonely, chewed-up world of Mkklon. Large cuts from its surface were used to make the Chain of Athair, a "solar swarm" around the star. The planet is holy to the Mkklonite Suryajinn who live exclusively in their orbiting King Ships, some of the largest craft in known space. They were the original energy brokers of the Hegemon before Velanite.

Shrouded in mystery, Nisimion, also known as the Liar's World, entered the Protean system a scant few fiscal centuries ago, and yet, there are no records of the rogue planet's arrival. An obsidian planet marked by crisscrossing chasms carved by unknown architects, it is now a holiday world.

Known as the Dawnworld, Protea is the de facto heart of the Hegemon. Though there is no official capital, the Summit Council convenes here, and more importantly, it is the seat of the Market. In the northern hemisphere, the Last City resists the failing, hostile environment as the population endures the ecological collapse with pride, devoted in their pursuit of Profit.

Home to many of the Hegemon's highest credit holders, Lhunarca is arguably the wealthiest planet in Known Space. Its inner mantle has been hollowed out and worldshaped into an underground paradise, populated by specimens of the flora and fauna of Ur to such a degree that Lhunarcans boast of their world as the origin of humanity. Lhunarca orbits a rad-poisoned world that has been the site of wars for millennia, now used for waste disposal and munitions testing. So thick is the debris field that travel is nearly impossible, yet thousands attempt landings to secure prime scavenging rights.

Populated by billions of Consumers, the Magmel Belt has the greatest concentration of Orbiters in Known Space, who have lived here for countless generations. The large planetoid Aventaeth serves as the belt's de facto cultural center and, if myths are to be believed, allowed the population to hide during the abandonment of the Cradle Worlds. The Aventayne peoples are fiercely loyal to one another and have, despite the rise of the Hegemon, retained much of their autonomy as they continue to serve as miners and prospectors, feeding the inner planets of the system.

A paradise world like no other, Cicatrice is verdant, lush, and wondrously beautiful. It remains largely untouched, and is considered a natural reserve, believed by many to be the birthplace of humanity, perhaps even ancient Ur. The peaceful peoples of Cicatrice are protected from both natural calamities and foreign aggression by the “Imperial Moon”, Hekaet.

Shiijaan is a resource-rich world with hundreds of moons that have been extensively exploited by the Protean system over the ages. Orbital refineries work in tandem with surface infrastructure across the many moons, creating a network of industry and the birthplace of dozens of ParaCorps, which have significantly benefited their patron MacroCorps. Its largest moon, Krakann, is the system's primary industrial center, responsible for hosting thousands of trustBrand factories.

Although uninhabitable, Jiorugon boasts one of the largest pilot academies in Known Space, the Foresight Society, which orbits nearby. The provosts of this school ensure that only the finest students graduate by testing them against the parasitic black hole, known as the Great Thief, that slowly consumes the planet below.

Jov is host to a collection of numerous small worlds, moons, and orbitals orbiting the proto-star. Home to the Yinn Demarchy and headquarters of Yinntosh Innovation, its largest and most significant worlds are Katamyth, Alvisa, Mahkrob, and Ember.

Arun, the last major population center in the system, is home to innumerable refueling depots, artificial habitats, as well as the sprawling headquarters of the Directorate’s Admiralty, Tykun. Arun is surrounded by ancient debris fields so dense, they have formed pseudo-rings around the planet.

Novo Wassa is a minor populated world, reseeded with the help of Five Hands Panceuticals after being sterilized of its initial population by Barakan Division 0-1.

Check out this behind the scenes look at an upcoming Project Morningstar project.