New Folsom
Prison World of the Koprulu Sector
New Folsom was a deadly, geologically rich planet whose Confederate mine became New Folsom Prison, a high-security penitentiary that held members of the Sons of Korhal and, in one campaign branch, was broken open by Raynor's Raiders.
New Folsom was a geologically abundant but deadly planet in the Koprulu sector, home to New Folsom Prison, a high-security penitentiary. Built first as a Terran Confederacy mine and later turned into a prison, the world held members of the Sons of Korhal during their rebellion and, in one branch of the Wings of Liberty campaign, was broken open by Raynor's Raiders. (Koprulu Sector Systems: New Folsom; StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty)
A deadly world#
New Folsom was geologically abundant but deadly, unstable, and saddled with an erratic orbit that passed through two major asteroid fields, making it inaccessible to all but the most heavily armored military starships. Its surface was dominated by volatile volcanic crust and lava lakes, and on it stood the structure that gave it its lasting significance: New Folsom Prison. (Koprulu Sector Systems: New Folsom)
The Confederate mine#
The first three attempts to establish a mining colony on New Folsom met with disaster. The Terran Confederacy nonetheless persisted, because the planet was the richest source within Confederate territory of the catalytic elements required to forge neosteel. The Confederacy conscripted a team of experts, materials specialists and terraforming engineers, who spent long months designing a platform system that would flex and shift with the planet's volatile crust while providing a habitat that was "minimally survivable" for a terran workforce. At no small cost in credits and lives, the New Folsom Confederate Mine was constructed on one of the stabler lava lakes, and it soon produced the materials the Confederacy needed to begin building a new fleet of battlecruisers. (Koprulu Sector Systems: New Folsom)
Not long after, the same catalytic elements were discovered in the Sara system. The mine was suddenly seen as a colossal waste of government funds, and Confederate financial analysts, unwilling to let so expensive an investment sit idle, transformed it into New Folsom Prison. The prisoners were put to work running the mine's machinery, which required only a minimal guard staff and robotic sentries. (Koprulu Sector Systems: New Folsom)
The prison#
Many members of the Sons of Korhal spent hard time in New Folsom Prison during their rebellion against the Confederacy, and the Terran Dominion continued to use it afterward. In spite of its tight security, a culture of anti-Arcturus Mengsk art and music developed inside the walls; those who produced such work were known as "insiders," and occasionally managed to smuggle compositions out to the public. (Koprulu Sector Systems: New Folsom; StarCraft II: Revolution Overdrive)
In the Wings of Liberty campaign branch where Raynor sides with Tosh, the prison became the target of Gabriel Tosh and Raynor's Raiders, who sought to free the political dissidents and spectres held there. Security was warned in advance by the ghost agent Nova Terra, but Raynor's forces assaulted the prison while Tosh covertly took out its defenses, freeing prisoners as they advanced. The Raiders were eventually successful in breaking the prison open, freeing all those held inside. (StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty)
Frequently asked questions
- What is New Folsom in StarCraft?
- New Folsom was a geologically abundant but deadly and unstable planet in the Koprulu sector. Its surface was dominated by volatile volcanic crust and lava lakes, and it was home to New Folsom Prison.
- Why did the Confederacy build a mine on New Folsom?
- The first three attempts to establish a mining colony on New Folsom ended in disaster, but the Terran Confederacy persisted because the planet was the richest source within Confederate territory of the catalytic elements required to forge neosteel. The New Folsom Confederate Mine was built on one of the stabler lava lakes and soon produced materials for a new fleet of battlecruisers.
- Why was the New Folsom mine turned into a prison?
- After the same catalytic elements were discovered in the Sara system, the mine was seen as a colossal waste of government funds. Confederate financial analysts transformed it into New Folsom Prison, putting prisoners to work running the mine's machinery with only a minimal guard staff and robotic sentries.
- Who was held in New Folsom Prison?
- Many members of the Sons of Korhal spent hard time in New Folsom Prison during their rebellion against the Confederacy, and the Terran Dominion continued to use it afterward to hold political dissidents and spectres. Despite its tight security, a culture of anti-Arcturus Mengsk art and music developed inside the walls.
- How was New Folsom Prison broken open?
- In the Wings of Liberty branch where Raynor sides with Tosh, Gabriel Tosh and Raynor's Raiders targeted the prison to free the political dissidents and spectres held there. Although security was warned in advance by the ghost agent Nova Terra, Raynor's forces assaulted the prison while Tosh covertly took out its defenses, and the Raiders eventually broke it open and freed all those inside.
Sources
- GameStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Blizzard Entertainment, 2010
- WebKoprulu Sector Systems: New Folsom, Blizzard Entertainment, StarCraft II website, 2010
- WebStarCraft II: Revolution Overdrive, Blizzard Entertainment, album page, 2010
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry

Sara system
The Sara system was a star system in the Koprulu sector, unusual for holding two habitable planets, Mar Sara and Chau Sara. It was a Confederate frontier holding whose worlds became the first targets of the protoss purification that opened the Great War.

Arcturus Mengsk
Arcturus Mengsk led the Sons of Korhal to bring down the Terran Confederacy and crowned himself Emperor of the Terran Dominion, ruling through cunning, propaganda, and brute force until his death during the Second Great War.

Gabriel Tosh: the ghost terrazine remade
A loyal Dominion ghost until a psychic catastrophe and terrazine broke him. Tosh led Project Shadowblade against Mengsk, and his fate turns on a choice in Wings of Liberty.

Koprulu Sector: where three races met
A fringe region sixty thousand light years from Earth, settled by exiled humans. The Great War and the Brood War were both fought across its worlds.

Nova Terra: Dominion ghost, Agent X41822N
Nova Terra was born to one of the Confederacy's Old Families. Rebels murdered them, her telepathy erupted, and the Ghost Program made her Agent X41822N.

Raynor's Raiders: the rebel band of Jim Raynor
Raynor's Raiders were the terran rebel formation led by Jim Raynor, born from Raynor's Rangers after Arcturus Mengsk abandoned Sarah Kerrigan at New Gettysburg, waging a long insurgency against the Dominion from the battlecruiser Hyperion.
Mentioned in18 entries
Ariel Hanson
Ariel Hanson was a selfless bio-engineer from the colony of Agria who joined Raynor's Raiders after they evacuated her people from the zerg. She worked to cure a zerg infestation among the colonists, and her fate at Haven depended on the choice Jim Raynor made there.
Cole Hickson
Cole Hickson was a terran outlaw and soldier scarred on the left side of his face, a sniper and frequent leader of the War Pigs. He once saved Jim Raynor's sanity in a Kel-Morian prison camp, then years later was resocialized by Tamsen Cauley into an unwitting assassin sent against Raynor.
Diamondback
The diamondback was a fast terran hover armored fighting vehicle able to fire on the move. First prototyped by the Confederacy, it was revived by Raynor's Raiders, who used its speed to hunt Dominion trains on Tarsonis.
Egon Stetmann
Egon Stetmann was the chief science advisor of Raynor's Raiders, a brilliant and eccentric young scientist who fled the Terran Dominion after sabotaging a cyborg program. Years stranded on Bel'Shir under terrazine exposure unhinged his mind and led him to build the Mecha Swarm.
Gabriel Tosh: the ghost terrazine remade
A loyal Dominion ghost until a psychic catastrophe and terrazine broke him. Tosh led Project Shadowblade against Mengsk, and his fate turns on a choice in Wings of Liberty.
Kate Lockwell
Kate Lockwell was a reporter and later chief anchor for the Universal News Network. Long a loyal supporter of the Terran Dominion, she gradually confronted its propaganda, publicly challenging Arcturus Mengsk and covering the Koprulu Sector through decades of war.
Neosteel
Neosteel was an exceptionally durable material used by the terrans for everything from battlecruiser hulls and CMC armor to bunkers and personal weapons. Its manufacture required catalytic elements, and to be "like neosteel" was a terran idiom for great strength of will.
Nova Terra: Dominion ghost, Agent X41822N
Nova Terra was born to one of the Confederacy's Old Families. Rebels murdered them, her telepathy erupted, and the Ghost Program made her Agent X41822N.
Project Shadowblade
Project Shadowblade was a classified Terran Dominion research program that used the psionic reagent terrazine to forge spectres, the volatile super-soldiers meant to surpass the ghost. Born under Arcturus Mengsk, it spawned a rebellion and outlived its creator.
Raynor's Raiders: the rebel band of Jim Raynor
Raynor's Raiders were the terran rebel formation led by Jim Raynor, born from Raynor's Rangers after Arcturus Mengsk abandoned Sarah Kerrigan at New Gettysburg, waging a long insurgency against the Dominion from the battlecruiser Hyperion.
Sara system
The Sara system was a star system in the Koprulu sector, unusual for holding two habitable planets, Mar Sara and Chau Sara. It was a Confederate frontier holding whose worlds became the first targets of the protoss purification that opened the Great War.
Spectre
Spectres were terran special forces operatives whose psionic powers were enhanced by the reagent terrazine. Created in secret under Project Shadowblade, many were former ghosts pushed toward protoss levels of psionics, at the cost of addiction and unpredictable side effects.
+ 6 more
Get new articles in your inbox
No spam. New lore drops, canon conflicts, and deep dives only when they’re worth reading.
Some links on Lore Fortress are affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.