The Periphery (sourcebook)

This article is about the sourcebook. For other uses, see The Periphery.

The Periphery

Product information
Type	Sourcebook
Development	L. Ross Babcock III
Primary writing	Rick David Stuart
Pages	160
Cover Artwork	Jeff Laubenstein
Illustrations	Tim Bradstreet Sonya Brochta Tim Coman Bryan Gibson Rick Harris Jeff Laubenstein Todd Marsh Jim Nelson John Robinson David Zenz
Publication information
Publisher	FASA
Product code	1629
First published	1988
ISBN-10	1555600670
Content
Agency	ComStar
Universe Date	3025
Timeline	2011–3025
Preceded by	House Davion (The Federated Suns)
Followed by	The Star League

Description[edit]

The Periphery recounts the expansion of humanity across the galaxy through the lens of independents and non-conformists—rebels, pirates, and those excommunicated due to various wars and conflicts. Over time, these people ultimately settled in what is now known as the Periphery, or the area outside of the Inner Sphere bordering the Great Houses. The sourcebook examines an array of cultures and social systems spanning hundreds of light years apart, showing both positive and negative growth among nations of all sizes. From single-planet pirate havens to multi-system bandit kingdoms and empires stretching hundreds of worlds, the history of the Periphery is inexorably linked to the history of civilization as a whole, and as such is deserving of its own volume, told in greater detail than previously provided.

The in-universe period for the report appears to be set around the year 3025–3028, based on the statement by Precentor Alisha Nevine, the Periphery Project Editor for the ComStar Archives and apparent compiler of the report, that it was the "Sixth in the series of ComStar sourcebooks dealing with the cultures of the Human Sphere..." The assumption is that this series refers to the five Housebooks, with the fifth released being House Davion (The Federated Suns). However, the information within (maps, deployment tables, advertisements, etc.) is stated many times to be current as of 3025.

Also referred to as Guide to the Periphery, it was updated in The Periphery, 2nd Edition, published in 1996.

From the back cover[edit]

“

For centuries, the powers of the Inner Sphere have looked down on their brethren in the Periphery with thinly-veiled disgust. To the "civilized" worlds of humanity, the Periphery is a backwater, not a place where any respectable person would want to live. And many still remember that the nations of the Periphery fought tooth-and-nail against the Star League's attempt to unite all of humanity in a new golden age. Full of hardship, immorality, lawlessness and danger, it is a vast and little-understood region of space.

But that's not the whole story. The Periphery is all of the things that people say about it, but it is also much more. The Taurian Concordat has a better educational system than most Successor States. The citizens of the Magistracy of Canopus enjoy more freedoms than their counterparts in the Inner Sphere. Even the bandit kingdoms are getting into the act, with realms such as the Circinus Federation and the Marian Hegemony making moves towards legitimacy.

ComStar continues its series of sourcebooks detailing human space with a look at the Periphery in all its facets, good and ill. Learn the history of the various nations beyond the Inner Sphere, including the Rim Worlds Republic, home to the treacherous Amaris clan. See how life differs out in the wilds, where every danger is balanced by the freedom to live unfettered by the petty oppressions of the Successor States.

”

Canonicity[edit]

This sourcebook is known for containing a handful of prominent factual errors. Line Developer Herbert A. Beas II once made a statement to the effect that certain products including this one are considered "secondary sources" by the writing staff, but this should not be construed to mean they are not canonical. It is standard procedure in cases of conflicting information to treat later publications as accurate over earlier publications.

“	And, if Sarna used the Luthien scenario pack as a resource there, the fact is, that book proved to be so riddled with errors, it--like First Edition Periphery and Objective Raids--is now seen by our staff as a "secondary source": Canon only in areas where it does not clash with other canon.	”
	— Herbert A. Beas, BattleTech Line Developer, 08 Jul 2012