From the introduction: The Blood Empire has fallen! After two-thousand years of expanding boarders and imposing Pax Sanguinis amongst the stars, internal corruption has finally rotted the core, causing over-extended borders to fall. Now the barbarians from beyond the frontiers and the criminals within seize the imperial worlds, transforming civilized planets into freeholds of crime and villainy. The end of the Empire has not spawned a new wave of heroes. Rather Pirates, bounty-hunters, warlords, thieves, and all other breeds of outlaw, scum and villain sit at the forefront of adventure in the crumbling remains of the Blood Empire. This is their time, their age. The Beginners Edition features a complete, ready-to-run roleplay experience complete with rules, pre-made characters and an introductory adventure.