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The DataBase >>Home >>Heavy Gear Online Gaming Magazine The World of Heavy Gear >>The Game >>The Interstellar Web >>The Essential Duelist >>Terranovan Archaeology >>Terranovan History/Timeline The World of Terra Nova >>Terra Nova >>The North >>The South >>The Badlands The City-States of Terra Nova >>Valeria-Port Aurora >>Port Oasis >>Peace River >>Khayr ad-Din >>Port Arthur The Technology >>Gear Stats >>Aircraft >>Field Craft >>Landships >>Spacecraft >>Weapons >>Equipment Planets of the Web >>Caprice >>Earth General Info >>Products for Heavy Gear >>Downloads >>Links >>Disclaimer Fan Section >>Hermes 72 Forum >>Fan Fiction >>Campaigning in Heavy Gear |
 What is Dream Pod 9? Dream Pod 9, the creator of the Heavy Gear universe, is a design house and publisher of quality games and wargames. The DP9 design studio and publishing house was established in 1994. Though they pay their day-to-day bills by publishing games based on their creation, they also work on special projects from time to time, creating worlds and backgrounds to order for a large variety of clients. With a well-rounded team of writers, artists, graphic designers and modelers, they can tackle any kind of projects, from creating the background of a new computer game from scratch to establishing the looks of the technology in a new science-fiction movie. In between projects, though, they spend most of their time crafting game books and support items, adding to the extensive backgrounds they've created for their three main product lines: Heavy Gear, Jovian Chronicles and Tribe 8. What is Heavy Gear? You saw the ads, or you heard about it on the Internet. But what is Heavy Gear? It's an incredibly detailed mechanized gaming universe, the backdrop of a great science fiction saga. Heavy Gear also has the distinction of being the first entirely home-designed game by Dream Pod 9, the very same team that brought you the Jovian Chronicles and the late Mecha Press magazine. Heavy Gear is the culmination of nearly a year and a half of collective design effort, and has been going strong since 1994. The Story 
The story of Heavy Gear begins on Terra Nova, a far away planet settled by humanity in
the 52nd century. More than three hundred years ago, a political crisis on Earth
precipitated the collapse of the Human Concordat, the organization which had governed
humanity since 4503. The colonists were suddenly left to fend for themselves, and had
little choice but to adapt to the characteristics of their new home planet. Life on Terra Nova soon centered around the city-states, immense fortified cities that extend their power over the surrounding countryside. Most of these city-states banded together to form the leagues that came to dominate Terra Nova's political scene. In turn, these leagues have allied (not always willingly) to form two super-alliances, called confederations, each one dominating one hemisphere of planet. Only the gigantic equatorial desert known as the Badlands escapes their influence. Terra Nova has had little contact with its sister colonies or with Earth. Interstellar travel is possible using the few aging Gateships left in orbit around Terra Nova, but neither confederation can justify the enormous expense of maintaining the ancient vessels. It is therefore a lack of interest and finances, and not technology, that isolates Terra Nova. 
As our story opens, the year is 6132 (TN 1933 in the local calendar). Terra Nova is
still recovering from the War of the Alliance, wherein they repelled a surprise invasion
attempt by a newly unified and highly imperialist Earth. Sixteen years ago, a New Earth
Commonwealth fleet entered the Terranovan orbit in an attempt to reclaim their old colony.
At the time, Terra Nova's two confederations were on the brink of a world war. When faced
with a common adversary, they allied to fight off their old colonial masters. After three
and a half years of bitter conflict, the Earth invasion force, short on supplies and
personnel, conceded defeat and left the system. Victory was short-lived, however. Now, after a decade of detente following the war, the power brokers of Terra Nova are restless once again. The ever-present border wars between the two superpowers are escalating at an alarming rate. Politicians and generals are feeding the public inflammatory rhetoric. Rumors of hidden nuclear arsenals being mobilized spread like wildfire. The inhabitants of the planet hold their breaths as the two political juggernauts lock horns with each other once again. No one seems to know or care what is happening to the rest of the human worlds -- an oversight that will have devastating consequences in the future... Back to Top The World 
The planet is roughly divided into three large areas, the Northern hemisphere, Southern
hemisphere, and the wide equatorial desert band known only as the Badlands. The North The Confederated Northern City-States is an association of the three leagues located in Terra Nova's northern hemisphere. The member-leagues cooperate on many levels, including trade, defense, and technological development. Unlike the nations of the southern hemisphere, the leagues of the North are natural allies. They are linked by common geography, religion, and values. The Northern Lights Confederacy is the oldest and largest of the three leagues that form the CNCS. Norlight diplomats were the first to propose the CNCS as a deterrent against possible aggressions by the newly formed Allied Southern Territories. The NLC is the stronghold of the Revisionist Church. Revisionism is the state religion and r evisionist morality has shaped the Confederacy's laws. The United Mercantile Federation is the second most powerful member-league of the CNCS. It is a highly industrialized league, whose factories produce nearly half of the manufactured goods sold in the northern hemisphere. All Mercantilists are expected to work hard and earn their way. Even the right to vote must be purchased. This ideology also applies to the Federation government. The UMF cannot legally tax its citizens, and must earn all of its revenues by other means. The last member-league of the CNCS is the Western Frontier Protectorate, which controls the Great Western Plain. Westerners are strong traditionalists and are notoriously stubborn. Their society revolves around two key groups, the military and the clan. Only individuals who have served in the military may claim WFP citizenship. Westerners live in extended family, or clan, and always identify themselves first by clan name and then by given name. Back to Top The South The Allied Southern Territories is officially a confederation of the four southern leagues of Terra Nova. In reality, it is merely a puppet government whose leaders are appointed by the leaders of the Southern Republic. The AST was formed after the Republic overran its neighbors over a century and half ago. The real southern superpower is the Republic. The Southern Republic is, in general terms, the most powerful league on Terra Nova. Its military controls almost the entire southern hemisphere of the planet. All this power has fueled the Republican national ego and it has grown to immense proportions. Most view their league as the ideal Terranovan society. The average Republican views Northern life as suffocating and repressed. Most Northerners denounce Republicans as decadent imperialists. 
The Humanist Alliance is the result of an attempt to create a utopian state.
The population is divided into three castes. Preceptors are the society's leaders
and scholars. Protectors are the military and police forces of the Alliance. Commoners
are the laborers, businessmen, and craftsmen of their society. Citizens of the Humanist
alliance as the most conservative people in the AST. Although few activities are
prohibited, their society encourages modesty and moderation. The Mekong Dominion is an economic powerhouse which has managed to profit from i ts forced membership in the AST. The corporate leaders of the Dominion are masters i n the art of backroom politics, and have used this ability to acquire greater politi cal freedom. The Mekong people are exceptionally pragmatic. They expect that, in the long run, the Dominion will simply use its economic power to expel the Republican occupation forces. The Eastern Suns Emirates is the backwater of the AST. Its economy is heavily dependent upon basic industries like mining and metallurgy. Almost everything i s the property of the league's aristocracy, who are infamous for their lavish dis plays of wealth. The large majority of the population are lower class industrial serfs. Every once in a while, a strong leader comes forth from the proletariat and starts a local rebellion. Back to Top The Badlands The Badlands are both a geographical and a political region. Technically, they are the nigh-infernal desert regions that ring Terra Nova. More generally, they are the political space between the two polar confederations. Four major mountain ranges and thousands of square kilometers of savanna are included in this political buffer zone. The water-rich McAllen cave network is buried under hundreds of meters of rock and sand, accessible only through occasional natural fissures which spawn precious oases. The Badlands are home to mining communities, frontier towns, outposts, and many independent city-states. They are also filled with debris from the failed Earth invasion of the past decade. Not a nice place to live, but so ripe in opportunities... 
The most influential and powerful faction in the Badlands is undoubtedly Paxton Arms,
the largest weapons manufacturer on Terra Nova. The massive factories of the Peace River
city-state pump out millions of arms and vehicles, ranging from simple hunting rifles to
the cutting-edge Warrior Elite Heavy Gear. The conglomerate is increasingly trapped by its
traditional positions as supplier for polar wars and defender of Badlands security. Only 15 cycles ago, Port Arthur was a huge refugee camp centered around the crippled supply center for the defeated Earth invasion forces. Today, it has become the largest independent city-state of the Badlands and is actively challenging Peace River for the title of political center. In 1919 TN, a Jan-class GREL named Soldier Mayen rejected his military past and called for GRELs and humans to live equally in their new home. In 1924 TN, Mayen and 10,000 followers left Port Arthur and made their way to the Eastern Desert, where Mayen had found acceptance among Terranovan refugees. The city-state they founded took on the name of their leader. Despite the increasing pressure from the poles to align, most Badlands communities wish to retain their independence. The small communities of the Westridge Range -- an important rail axis -- have banded together with the power of Port Arthur to maintain their neutrality in the coming conflict. This New Coalition (also known as NuCoal) has been only partially successful, and only time will tell whether it will survive. The last important Badlands player is Khayr ad-Din, a community of scavenger bands centered around a valuable resource: the Khayr ad-Din Waste Disposal Site. This giant junkyard covers nearly 26 square kilometers, built-up by over three centuries of waste dumped by cities along the Gamma maglev line. Although many minor Gear duels are arranged across the Badlands, the heart of gladiatorial dueling lies in Khayr ad-Din. Back to Top Technology Over the past four thousand years, technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. However, unpleasant historical circumstances, including an Ice Age on Earth and centuries of religious strife, have limited the rate at which humanity's tools evolved. In addition, centuries of slow paced interstellar colonization have shown people that complex hi-tech equipment tends to break down over time. Thus, Terranovans prefer simple devices, resorting to high technology only when it is considerably more advantageous. The first interplanetary colonists were faced with a difficult problem. Their new home planet was similar to Earth, yet was also very different. For one thing, it was more rugged and mountainous and featured uncertain conditions. The best solution was to use the walker type vehicle which was commonly used in construction and other specialized tasks. 
Because the colonial corporations were unwilling to spend large sums of money to
transport important quantities of cargo over to Terra Nova, the mission specialists
had to turn toward modular and highly adaptable components. The first of this new line
of equipment was the Hardhat, a rugged cockpit/main body system to which a variety of
tool limbs could be attached. It was self-contained and carried its own walk-control
computer and sensor attachment. By 5800, walkers were used extensively on Terra Nova.
When the colonial corporations were forced to retire because of the economic crisis on
Earth, many settlers armed their machines in the hope of breaking through the spaceports'
defensive lines. As the years passed and the city-states were founded one by one, new armies arose to protect them. These armies included walker vehicles in various roles, including infantry support, but they were still essentially modified civilian equipment. In 5948, the United Mercantile Federation's engineers started work on a true military walking infantry vehicle, or BOT (Bipedal One-man Tank). The result of this program was the Hunter, a rugged, boxy machine that could be easily produced and fielded. Thousands of Hunters left the assembly line in the next fifty years, many of them sold to the UMF's allies or captured by its neighbors. It was not before 5951 that Republican commandos were able to steal one Hunter from an advanced Protectorate force in the Badlands. A mere six months later, the Republic was using its own version of the Hunter (named Jager) to force its neighboring Southern states into a coalition led by the Republic. Ever since then, combat walkers have been part of all the Terranovan armies. Back to Top |
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