Lore Breakdown

[Scar Glamour]

Could someone do a write-up of the background lore without spoilers, if it isn't too much to ask?

I don't want to read the show synopsis, since I am planning to watch it eventually. But the game doen't really do a good job of explaining the basics. You know, the small things like who are cylons, what's the deal with nuclear disarmament, where the colonies come from in the first place (and why they appear clustered around four stars), how the gouvernment and the fleet function and who's in charge of what, who are the plot characters etc, etc...

[Supreme Doge]

Originally posted by Heresiarch:

Cpuld someone do a write-up of the background lore without spoilers, if it isn't too much to ask?

I don't want to read the show synopsis, since I am planning to watch it eventually. But the game doen't really do a good job of explaining the basics. You know, the small things like who are cyclons, what's the deal with nuclear disarmament, where the colonies come from in the first place (and why they appear clustered around four stars), how the gouvernment and the fleet function and who's in charge of what, who are the plot characters etc, etc...

Okay, I'll try.

Thousands of years ago, mankind arrived on 12 colonies from a distant planet named Kobol. On the 12 colonies, they got pretty far in terms of technical advancements, including robotics. Cylons were invented by them, originally with purpose of fighting wars as well as serving the needs of humans. But, over time, Cylons developed consciousness (or something) and rebelled against us. So, they are basically just robots who really don't like humans. There are some underlying motivations and some things attached to this, but I don't want to spoil the show.

As far as nuclear disarmament goes, it was conceived after the wars waged between colonies as the warring factions found them too dangerous, so they went the non-proliferation route.

Regarding how government works, it boils down to a president as the head of the 12 colonies, along with a cabinet of ministers at his/her disposal. This is accompanied by a Quorum of Twelve - 12 representatives, one for each planet.

The colonial fleet isn't really explored in-depth and is often left ambiguous, but it is known that during Deadlock, the fleet is commanded by an Admiral, who goes missing with Galactica. The command is then taken over by Cain, who enjoys shouting at you over comms in-game.


It is important to mention that the 2004 BSG TV show is set decades after the first Cylon war, and doesn't really depend on Deadlock's lore (that being said, there are some nods here and there). The show fleshes out everything you'd want to know in the mini-series and over the course of 4 seasons.

[Scar Glamour]

Much obliged!
It is a rather facinating universe.

Originally I thought that the colonial fleet belonged to (or at least was paid for by) Earth or some other third party. So, it didn't make sense to me why the fleet would rely on the colonies for resources and manpower when they have soke other sponsor and can jump their shipyard around.

As for cylons I got an impression that they aren't machines, but artificial humans like the Bladerunner replicants. Although I am not sure why the attack by rebel battle droids was considered surprising...

[wendigo211]

The events of the game probably follow more from Caprica than BSG, which goes into more detail on the creation of the Cylons. I don't know if the SDU in the game is related to the Tauron rebellion or the STO from the series. But the series explains how the Cylons were created and how they became religious.

I don't know if you want to watch Caprica, it wasn't very good. Even BSG goes downhill after the first 2 seasons.

[Machine Spirit]

If you have access to the shows I would recommend watching (in order):

Caprica - how the cylons came to be in the 12 colonies, only lasted 1 season though but has a decent ending, no cliff hangers

Blood and Chrome - set during the first cylon war and follows the young William Adama on a secret mission into cyclon space

The remake series, including the tv movie Razor about half way through, but I am guessing you have already watched these

[phily]

Believe it or not, there isn't that much in the way of explanation in the show either. You get the gist in the intro of the show, man creates cylons, cylons rebel and this leads to the war with the Cylons, we never really saw anything in the show about the first war, so Deadlock explores the origins of it. The nuclear program and the politics of the colonies, including stuff mentioned like Imperial Wars, a lot of the ships are all new things added to the lore.

Can't really say anything about the colonies and the four stars without spoiling much, but it isn't really explained in the show either. The galaxy is a barren and harsh place with very little life in BSG, or at least the colonial technology isn't Star Trek-esque where they can scan a sector for planets and their compositions etc.

[Sabaithal]

Btw earth is out there, somewhere. Nobody in the twelve colonies knows, for all they know earth is just a myth.