Battlelords of the Twenty-Third Century is a paper and pencil science fiction role-playing game designed by Lawrence R. Sims and first published in 1990. The game's newest tagline is Roleplaying in a Galaxy at War. The Battlelords of the Twenty-Third Century license was later sold by Optimus Design Systems (ODS) to SSDC, Inc. in September 1999. In 2017, SSDC granted exclusive rights to produce games set in the Battlelords Universe to 23rd Century Productions, LLC. Subsequently, 23rd Century Productions, LLC. launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the Kickstarter Edition, also known as the Revised Edition, of Battlelords of the 23rd Century.
Setting Battlelords of the Twenty-Third Century is set in the year 2279. The territory of the Galactic Alliance, spanning several galaxies, is the primary setting for the game. The Galactic Alliance is made up of twelve races (including Humans), and is run behind the scenes by huge mega-corporations seeking to exploit the farthest reaches of space.
Player characters usually assume the role of Battlelords, mercenaries employed by the corporations to further their business by any means, legal or otherwise. They face various challenges, including rival mercenaries, Rebels, hostile alien lifeforms on unexplored worlds, and the alien race known as the Arachnids.
Races
There are many alien races in the Battlelords universe, but twelve are presented in the basic rulebook and form the basis for the Galactic Alliance.
Alliance Races Chatilian: Psychic green-skinned humanoids with lumpy projections on their skulls. The projections can generate and store psychic energy that can be channeled and directed by the use of special attuned crystals carried or worn by the user. (Empath): Emotion-reading psychics. Cizerack: Territorial matriarchal quadrupedal Felinoid warriors. Females control all aspects of their society and males are used for breeding purposes. They make excellent scouts and spies. Eridani: Philosophical methane-breathing humanoids from a rigid caste-bound militocratic society. They follow Kaush-mukal ("Study of the Inner Self"), a philosophy that states that the individual can find enlightenment through performing their function correctly within their cultural niche. The Vax ("warriors") are the upper class; they run the military and control the government. The Tolude ("gentry") are the lesser families of the Vax and form the middle class. They serve as non-commissioned officers and soldiers, technicians and artisans, doctors and nurses, bureaucrats and civil servants, industrialists, bankers, and merchants. The Mudig ("unclean") are the lower-class, who perform the manual trades. They serve as laborers and servants but also provide technical and support services to the military as mechanics, cooks, surgeons and medical orderlies, combat engineers, and other manual tasks. The Tolude are the most common Eridani to meet offworld as their function often requires it. Vax only leave their world to go on campaign with the military, work as a mercenary, or perform a warrior pilgrimage. Mudig cannot leave their homeworld unless they are on campaign with the military; those who show great bravery and self-sacrifice are adopted by a childless Tolude family or allowed to marry into the Tolude caste. ("Swordsaint"): Elite ascetic warrior-adepts (Mokaba Datu; "Wisdom Warriors") who train in the use of sacred bladed weapons and firearms in order to achieve enlightenment through Goyoo Mabiki ("Silent Peace"; meditation). (Buddon Priest): Retired warriors who, after finding Rota Mabiki ("Supreme Peace"; enlightenment), have ascended to becoming teachers and philosophers. Senior priests serve as religious commissars, staff officers, and generals in the Eridani armed forces. Gen-Human: Genetically modified cloned Humans. After the Second Holocaust, the Human race had a low birth rate. Genetic research was used to ensure fertilization and edit out non-beneficial traits like mutations, diseases, and disorders in-vitro. This led to the ability to pre-select which positive traits a child would inherit (or insert new traits). Then biomedical corporations began breeding vat-grown genetically enhanced human clones to serve as loyal bodyguards, servants, and playthings for wealthy Humans. This was later expanded to supply semi-skilled or skilled workers for corporations and soldiers for the military, which began preferring them to Humans. Human frustration and fear gave way to bigotry. This led to the Gen Wars in 2075 AD, in which Human Supremacy groups and angry or panicked mobs attacked and killed real or suspected Gen-Humans. The Gen-Humans and their supporters fought back and a bloody stalemate occurred. This lasted until 2083 AD, when the United Earth government created the Genetics Laws. It set the Gen-Human population at no more than 15% of the total Human population and created Human quotas and Gen-Human limits for all jobs and professions. It also forced Gen-Humans to be registered; the manufacturer's symbol, model name and serial number barcode is imprinted on their body and encoded in their DNA "junk genes" to aid in identification. In return, Gen-Humans were considered a sentient race rather than property and they were extended similar rights to other sapient beings. Although superior to baseline humans, Gen-Humans are treated as second-class citizens by Humans, who view them as unsettling "things" rather than real "people". However, their superior abilities mean that they often hold high offices in the Alliance or major corporations. Because all Gen-Humans of the same model are identical, they tend to develop identity problems. To combat this, they develop quirks or unique identifiers to separate themselves from the others. Gen-Humans of the same model have difficulty forming large social groups because of this. Gen-Humans tend to breed true. If two Gen-Humans breed, their offspring will be one parent's genotype. Even if they marry Humans, their offspring will be the same model as themselves. This lack of genetic diversity is seen as an evolutionary weakness. Human: Baseline Humans. A worldwide nuclear war at the dawn of Earth's 21st Century (dubbed the "Second Holocaust") killed 3 billion Humans worldwide and damaged Earth's climate with a "nuclear winter". A Mutzachan scout ship drawn to the high radiation readings made first contact with some survivors. A rescue mission used high technology to stabilize the environment in exchange for the rights to extract the radioactive waste left behind at the impact craters. Eventually terraforming technology restored the planet, but most Humans who were able to had already left for the stars. Humans, like most emigre communities, feel a nostalgic connection for the place they are from, but few actually want to go back. Pacifism is a popular and widespread belief-system due to the Second Holocaust; however, few Humans are total pacifists and most see it as a philosophy rather than a way of life. They also have a sort of "Manifest Destiny" belief that they are destined to control the Alliance someday because of their unique qualities; the other Alliance races think this belief is adorable. I-Bot (Intelligent Robot): Artificially intelligent Androids that can be made to mimic any known lifeform. Although fears of "rogue" I-Bots are common fodder for tri-v dramas, they are programmed to be loyal to the corporation that owns them and to the Alliance. (The former loyalty disturbingly outranks that of the latter). I-Bots have poor intuition, relying on rigid pre-programmed tactics or protocols to deal with problems. Unforeseen problems or multiple potential actions force the I-Bot to pause to analyze the situation and decide on the best option. I-Bots who are damaged have to be repaired and cannot heal on their own. Artificial intelligences are not considered true lifeforms by the Alliance and are therefore considered the property of the corporation or organization that purchased them. They usually perform jobs that are too hazardous or dangerous for sentient beings and require specialized knowledge or training, super-strength, and precise reflexes (like starcraft crew, powerplant maintenance, scientific research, star-mapping and planetary exploration, etc.). On the other hand, some hazardous tasks like war and colonization are best done using cheap fleshy beings rather than expensive machines. Mazian: Amorphous shape-shifter. Mutzachan: Small inquisitive frail psychic energy-wielding super-geniuses who tend to become addicted to the energy they manipulate. They would be labeled as megalomaniacs if they weren't actually as powerful as they say they are. They are from the planet Trishmag of the 61 Cygni A star system in the Cygnus constellation of the Milky Way galaxy. (Energy Controllers): The Energy Controllers have the innate ability to manipulate energy forms and can use these forms to generate tremendous amounts of power. They love energy in its raw, uncorrupted form and view the storage of energy as useless. Orion: Humanoids that have pointed ears and seven fingers on each hand. They are thrill-seeking hedonists with very flexible moral and social codes. (Rogue) Scheming and cunning tricksters and petty criminals who belong to decentralized nomadic clans. Most Orions encountered off-world will be Rogues. Phentari: Haughty and treacherous methane-breathing four-armed Cephalapoid warriors. Their brains are controlled by different lobes, each with its own personality, abilities and interpretation of reality. One main lobe will control the brain for regular day-to-day activities while other more specialized lobes will take over for tasks like combat and self-defense, learning and training, reasoning and problem solving, etc. They are carnivores that prefer to eat sentient animals and sapient beings; Humans are considered a delicacy. Phentari are indigenous to the arctic methane planet Phena in the Tau Ceti star system. Python Lizard: Large, strong, and agile Amphibian warriors. Rather clueless. They are indigenous to the planets Pythos and Ashira of the Floridian star system. Ram Python: Huge, brutishly strong Reptilian shock-troopers. Extremely dumb. Zen Rigeln: Beloved pacifistic biokinetic healers who belong to an extremely traditional and ritualistic society.
Additional Player Races
Hostile The following races are hostile to the Alliance. Aeodronian: Cunning bipedal Urodelate amphibians. They can regenerate lost digits and limbs. They prefer damp or humid environments, as dry environments causes their skin to become flaky and cracked. Their original homeworld suffered a catastrophe that made it unable to support life, so they colonized new planets. They are fanatically environmentalist, so they trade or raid for all the resources they need. They are rather hypocritical, as they despise other races for abusing their own planets, yet see nothing wrong with polluting, exploiting, or damaging the ecosystems of alien-controlled worlds. The planet is ruled by a militocracy made up of 26 Clans. Each Clan is ruled by a leader selected from the premier raiders, warlords, and merchants of each Clan. Over them is an annually elected ruler (Athyan, or "All-lord") assisted by a council of advisers (Inbaltho, or "Many Eyes") made up of former rulers. Each Clan has its own military and they compete to see which Clan will bring home the most plunder.