Compendium Straitium

[Darkmatter]

Please don't reply to this. It's a reference thread.

COMPENDIUM STRAITIUM

Table Of Contents:

1.CIVILIZATIONS
-1.1 Alpha Arm
-1.2 Prime Arm

2. TECHNOLOGY
-2.1 Starship Technology
-2.2 Weapons
-2.3 Communications
-2.4 Domestic Tech
-2.5 Resources

3. ORGANISATIONS
-3.1 Alliances
-3.2 Economic Pacts
-3.3 War Agreements
-3.4 Mercenary Outfits
-3.5 Corporations

[Darkmatter]

1.CIVILIZATIONS

1.1 Alpha Arm

Nation Name: Unity of Deyrok (Deyrok is the home planet's name)
Species Names: Nilinth and Uben
Species Descriptions: The Nilinth evolved to climb trees and pluck fruit and prey from the tall branches. They are 10-12 feet tall and have a leathery green hide. Their head is a slightly elongated oval with a mouth at the top and a single eye front and center. Their torso is small, but their legs and arm are very long and thin. Both their feet and hand consist of four fingers arranged in a square pattern with webbed skin between them which they can close like a net. They have a surprising dexterity with all three of these limbs. Their single arm extends out of the middle of their back, and at the sides of their torso they have two wing-like membrane flaps that they use to smell and hear. When off their home planet, most Nilinth wear a device that covers their mouth that filters air.

The Ubens are an aquatic species, evolved to hunt and kill on the ocean floor. The Ubens are humanoid at first: blue, scaly, around five feet tall with two-digit claws for their hands and feet, black-and-white vision, and gills at the side of their head. however, they're capable of stealing the body parts of other species and incorporating them into their own body. Normally they'd only be capable of sticking the limbs and parts of animals on their home planets onto their exteriors. However, with greater access to genetic treatments and surgery, they have been able to incorporate internal and external organs of many species across the stars into their own biology near seamlessly. They normally do not speak and do not have names, but to fit better in interstellar society many of them have taken up names and stolen vocal chords. Unless they've gotten some lungs, Ubens have to wear a simple helmet of liquid connected to a regulating deviced placed somewhere else on their bodies. Other popular body parts include different hands and feet, color vision, increased height or muscle mass, ears that function out of water, increased quantity of arms, and stomachs able to digest alien food. Occasionally an Uben's instinct to augment their bodies goes too far, and it's not uncommon to see Ubens that have modified their bodies beyond usefulness. Brain modifications have been attempted, but none have been successful.

Species Mentality: Nilinth are a friendly and nonviolent species, their one arm necessitating working with others to use most technology. To them, war is a tragedy and is only acceptable as an absolute last resort. Most of the Nilinth are even uneasy with their planet keeping such a large military, a common belief being that simply keeping a large military might provoke war, or make the Council more likely to declare it. They communicate through a language that sounds like chirps and clicks, but are completely capable of speaking in more typical languages. Most delight in learning other languages, same as they delight in learning new art and technology. They see science and progress more as an exploration than an invention, same as a human might see exploring a new continent or taking apart a computer and seeing its insides.

They are essentially incapable of creativity in most of the ways we think of it. They do not produce art nor can they preform their own research or invent their own technology. All of their technology and art are taken from other species. However, they are masters at understanding and replicating the technology they discover. They are hermaphroditic, but very private about it. They do not like reproducing outside their own home planet or one of their colonies, so they often dislike long space voyages. Nilinth living outside their nation's sphere of influence happens, but is not common. In general, they are industrious, curious and socially adept, but are kind of dull and simple-minded.

The Ubens are asocial by nature and reproduce asexually, and will regard members of their own species with intense loathing. They dislike other intelligent races as well, but not nearly as much and they can still overcome their instincts and play the society game. While the vast majority have become thieves, mercenaries, or feral at worst and soldiers at best, a few have made fairly successful businessmen and commanders. Still, finding an Uben willing to work with another of their own species is nearly impossible, and Ubens typically kill other Ubens on sight. As such they tend to spread out more, living in other nations and planets to get as far away from each other as physically possible. Ubens are generally tough, mean, and clever, and as such make up the bulk of commanding officers in the Deyrok military.

The closest things Ubens have to social constructs are their habits of attaching otherwise useless parts from significant opponents onto their person to intimidate others and their habit of giving birth in the fresh kill of other Ubens when they aren't looking as a drastic insult.

Civilization's History: The planet of Deyrok had a dominant sapient species long before the Nilinth, a humanoid species often referred to as the Precursors. This species built a large and successful society, advanced to just over human-level technology. However, they started trespassing too far into the oceans, and angered a force deep within. The Precursors had been fishing, polluting, and developing in the oceans, destroying the Ubens habitat and the habitat of the animals they hunted. For the first and only time in history, the Ubens worked together and rose up in unity against this common threat, beginning the Precursor Extinction. This was millennia ago.

Eventually a species rose up to utilize the technology the Precursors left behind. The Nilinth began inhabiting former Precursor cities and towns, and began exploring their technology, using it in simple ways at first. What they learned, they shared with everyone else. They're ability to take apart the technology, learn what it does, and reproduce it grew and grew quickly. However, they never learned how to apply what they learned to invent something new. After all, why make a spear from flint and tanned hide when the tanks lying around were equipped with rail guns? Why start an industrial revolution when fully automated factories were ready to go at the push of a button? All the Nilinth learned was to make friends and fix machines. They formed a large and powerful society extremely easily, quickly spreading across the planet. Tribes never fought, they joined their forces every time. Separate countries never existed, wars were never fought. With most of the technology responsible for the Precursor's extinction destroyed, the Nilinth never had any problems with their aquatic brothers. When they discovered their species was sapient, the Nilinth invited one of the slightly more cooperative Uben to a government position to satisfy their species' needs, of which there was only one: Don't fuck with us. The Nilinth species quickly reached their pinnacle, and then stagnated peacefully.

Then, one day, a spaceship crashed into their planet. The pilot was dead, but the ship was in good enough ship that the Nilinth could quickly fix it up and discover the Graviton Drive within. The Nilinth were beginning voyages into space within the decade, and were an interstellar force within the century. The Uben member of the council extended the option to travel to space and related technological advancements to the other members of his species, and the Ubens eventually started becoming military officers for the chance to get off Deyrok. Many others stowed away on military or trade ships in order to reach the stars.

Planetary Information: Deyrok is about 50% ocean and 50% land, with many rivers but few major lakes. A very large amount of land is a partially-developed lush forest, with exceptions being the arctic poles, the tops of mountains and a few deserts and grasslands between the forest and arctic. While the land has very few predators, the Nilinth being one of the major ones, the ocean is full of treacherous monsters. The Ubens are just one of many predatory players in a very complicated aquatic food web. The ocean across Deyrok is relatively shallow compared to Earth, with very few crushing depths or deep trenches. Most of the ocean floor is covered with plant life, short grasses near the shores and tall kelp-like trees out in the open ocean. The planet as a whole is very productive and diverse in terms of wildlife.

Military Information: Deyrok keeps a standard military around to defend their system. Some of their older ships look a lot like Ubens; patchworks of alien technology. Their newer ones are more standardized, the result of just buying ship designs and reproducing them. Their ships are painted green and blue, mostly to avoid confusing them with ships from other nations that have the same model. Increasing the size of their military unless faced with some kind of threat or expansion project would be an unpopular move politically, but they do still replace lost ships. Because most of their ship and fleet commanders are Ubens, they have had a recent problem with rogue ships. Deyrok is mostly concerned with the rogue ships negatively impacting their reputation, their other main diplomatic problem being accusations of stealing technology.

The single Uben on the Council of Deyrok has the most direct influence on the military, but ze can't declare war without the consent of the other council members.

Government Information: The Council of Deyrok is a group of five individuals, one Uben and four Nilinth. Their base of operations is on Deyrok's small moon, in a moon base that was already there for some reason.

The Nilinth are elected officials, usually promoted from other positions of power. They have to be re-elected every so often, but can serve unlimited terms. The Uben is picked by the Nilinth from whatever small selection of Uben volunteer, until ze eventually gets fed up with the job and kills everyone and/or retires. Aside from the council, their government is run by a large, complex bureaucracy that they don't like to talk about.

The Council of Deyrok
Darrok

Spoiler

Race: Nilinth
Appearance: Average size, wears a white robe with red diamonds going down the front.
Bio: Darrok is a devout member of the "Ancient Angels" religious sect, believing that the race that built all of their initial technology was some kind of deity. Ze was a very well-known priest before being elected to the council.

Darrok considers "technological exploration" Deyrok's primary goal.

Falrok

Spoiler

Race: Nilinth
Appearance: Slightly shorter than Dar, and looks like ze's seen better days. Zir mouth and eye are covered by machines, with the mouthpiece possessing three slits for breathing and a small hole for inserting feeding and drinking tubes. Zir arm has been cut short and replaced with a small mechanical claw. Zir face is withered, and ze wears a large black robe with white shoulders.
Bio: Falrok used to be an offworld diplomat until ze was attacked by an Uben. The Uben removed zir lungs, eye, most of zir arm and ran off. As an offworld diplomat on ze had access to technology that saved zir life. After a few more years of successful negotiating, ze ran for council and was elected successfully. The "Seadevils" religious sect wants to make zir a poster boy for their anti-Uben agenda, but Fal has consistently denied any involvement or shared views with the group.

Fal is fond of driving a hard bargain, and will negotiate aggressively with others. Ze also enjoys space travel more than most Nilinth, and will sometimes act as a representative of the whole council along with Nilrok for offworld negotiations.

Nilrok

Spoiler

Race: Uben
Appearance: Shorter by far than the other members by virtue of being an Uben. Wears black armor with gray plastic-esque pads, which has a device with a glow blue circle button on the chest. Strapped to zir waist is some kind of gun. There is a metal device covering zir mouth with three slits in it. This device translates for zem and helps zem breath. Nilrok does not wear a helmet.

Nil has fish-like eyes, hands and feet that are three-digit, hard-shelled, dull red and hairy, and a large tooth extending from the right side of zir head. This tooth was from a very large, hard-to-kill aquatic monster on Deyrok, and having one is typically a sign of skill among Ubens.
Bio: Uben was a great warrior and shrewd fighter on Deyrok until ze became a military officer in the Deyrok army for zir great skill to work with others (ie ze didn't kill them very often). Ze was later appointed as the Uben Councilor. Though like most Uben Councilors before zir ze draws scorn and condescension from many of the others for zir conflicting viewpoints and questionable tactics, ze is dedicated to the planet's safety and well-being.

As the single Uben on the council, Nilrok is used to zir opinions being in the minority. Ze is the only councilor that is willing to use warfare as an option, but has learned not to overly suggest it from years of being shot down. While ruder and more disrespectful than the other councilors, Nilrok is nothing if not pragmatic.

In addition to being a councilor, Nilrok is commander of Deyrok's armed forces. Other Ubens are not advised to be around Nilrok, as ze will kill them on sight.

Telrok

Spoiler

Race: Nilinth
Appearance: Slightly taller than Drarok, with a bit wider face. Ze wears a scarf, dark green shirt and dark blue pants, and most of zir arm is covered in a sleeve. A few nondescript badges are adorned on zir shirt.
Bio: Telrok is a war veteran, and used to be a high-ranking officer before being elected to the council. Ze has many scars, which ze keeps covered up, as they are considered unseemly and rude to show.

Having seen the destruction of war firsthand, Telrok is the most reluctant to suggest direct combat as a tactic. Though this makes zir well-liked by the Nilinth population, it often makes zir a bit of a pushover in negotiations.

Mulrok

Spoiler

Race: Nilinth
Appearance: The tallest of the councilors, Mulrok has a long and thin body, as if stretched out. Ze has a small mouth and beady eye. Ze wears a robe similar to Drarok, but with one red diamond instead of many, and a three-pointed red star at the neck.
Bio: Mulrok was an offworld diplomat before running for council chair. Ze is probably the most even-mannered of the councilors, fair and balanced in zir decisions. In addition, Mulrok tends to be involved in most of the economic decisions for the planet.

The -rok prefix indicates a member or former member of the Council of Deyrok. It is neither rude nor uncommon to refer to a Councilor or other officer by a title they once held in the past, like Priest Darrok or Comander Nilrok. Nilrok's name is translated, literally meaning "no name". Uben councilors are required to have three-letter names like the Nilinth, and they always name themselves "nothing". Not that it's tradition, they just all think they're being really clever and most Ubens don't pay a lot of attention to politics.

Economic Information: Although companies are considered to a certain extent separate entities from the government, the Council of Deyrok still directs the economy in a general sense. Businesses operate only with their permission and with heavy regulations, though often with monopolies. Their currency is completely digital, because that's how the Precursors did it. Most of their largest businesses involve manufacturing products designed by and sold to other nations, from starships to food processors, and companies that restore buildings or provide fast food.

Uben-ruled businesses often break away from Government control, operating illegally and usually in the colonies. The Deyrok colonies have a large and healthy black market, and many Uben companies spread beyond the Deyrok sphere of influence, black market or otherwise.

Science&Culture Information: Technological blueprints are Nilinth's viral videos, and any technology ever bought or stolen by a Nilinth will quickly find its way into the basements of any Nilinth that can afford the parts. They have a decent appreciation for the arts of other species, some individuals more than others, but obviously they don't produce any of their own. However, the Precursors left a fair amount of art behind along with their technology. They had a long history of art and culture, the two most prominent art styles being "accurate depictions of reality with something weird in them" or "deeply symbolic abstract nonsense". Most of their recent music consisted of recordings spliced together into some quasi-melody. A lot of their earlier music also delighted in incoherence and buried meanings, though less chaotically.

Ubens had simple weapons, tools and instruments before setting off for space, and played music on the bones of their prey to calm their nerves. However, they don't have anything resembling a culture, or a style or genre that could be recognizable across the species. They don't listen to a lot of music from other species. They played music to calm themselves, kill time or announce their presence in a cocky fashion, they didn't have much interest in listening to it.

A lot of the older buildings on their planet are just restored Precursor buildings, with newer buildings having designs obviously taken from other planets. The Nilinth typically do not replace buildings, just restoring and repairing them infinitely. There are many religions on Nilinth, and it's probably the most major way in which members of the species disagree with each other, though the vast majority aren't really dicks about it. The most popular religion is the one whose name roughly translates to Ancient Angels, who believe that the Precursors were deities in some sense, deserving of worship. The radical extension of this belief is that the Ubens who slaughtered them were monsters, believers of this being known as the "Seadevils" sect, and has resulted in a minor amount of animosity from Nilinth towards Ubens. However, most followers are of the belief that being exterminated by an army of Sea-Frankensteins is somehow part of their ineffable plan, and that they were intentionally passing down their gifts to the Nilinth, like Prometheus giving fire to Man before being tortured forever. Most religions have names that kinda sound like college football teams.

Traits: Colonial - Large centers of mining, manufacturing and business.
Pacifism - All six members of the council have to agree to declare war, which will not happen unless they're attacked first.
Information Trader - The ulterior motive behind most Deyrok treaties and trades

Pictures:
Nilinth

Spoiler

Ubens

Spoiler

~As Played By Xartarin

Species Name: The Sithill

Species Description: The Sithill are a race of cyborgs, beings who have long ago crossed the fine line from organic into synthetic. Encased within an octopus-like suit is a rather large brain, a relic of older times, and the only organ they deemed important enough to retain. Everything else is handled by their life support suit, which has eight "tentacles" which can push, pull and manipulate the surroundings. Operating on solar power, these suits are incredibly strong, as well as resilient.

Species History: The Sithill were always curious and inquisitive beings, and they always strived to discover everything about the world around them. It did not take long for them to leave the pre-industrial morass, after which their homeworld was divided into a patchwork of city-states. How they appeared during this period is neither known nor important, as they eventually began replacing their organic bodies with metal suits, granting them theoretical immortality. This had the side-effect, however, of preventing reproduction, a problem which Sithill scientists never managed to resolve, as life stubbornly refused to be created. This seemed unimportant at the time, due to overpopulation and their long-levity, yet when an asteroid was spotted on a collision course with their homeworld, it became critical. Working in a frenzy, five massive ships were sent out into space, a flotilla carrying as many Sithill as possible.

With their planet destroyed, these vessels were forced to roam, harvesting resources as they went to repair themselves and looking for a new home. Incapable of finding a satisfying planet, the Sithill instead constructed a vast space station, Lumos Prime, which they have since used as a baes from which to operate.

Species Mentality: The Sithill are marked with a desire to learn and to discover things. This has made them excellent explorers and scientists. Due to their dependance on solar energy to survive, they are also unnerved by darkness.

~As Played By Vahir

Species Name: Avaloos (Denom. Avaloosi)

Species Description:
Humanoid
Average Adult Male Height: 7'2"
Average Adult Female Height : 6'6"
Smooth Skin, with fluffy hair/feathers on head, trimmed short for men and grown out for women
Bepedal, with two arms
Hands have three fingers and an aposable thumb
Feet have three small toes and a larger toe/talon trimmed short
Age of Maturity/Adulthood
Three Main Races:
Blues (Most Predominant):
Blue-Green Skin
Males have Blue Feathers (typical) or Black Feathers
Females have Black Feathers (typical) or Green-Blue feathers or White Feathers (Rare)

Whites (Mostly Enslaved):
Greyish-White Skin
White to Black coloured feathers

Reds (Genetically Modified):
A small sub-species within the Avaloos
Result of Genetic experiments (since cancelled) to create better soldiers
Generally Two inches taller than their Blue and White Peers
Generally Stronger
Generally Better at Problem Solving
On equal ground with Blues, though still treated with prejudice, they mostly only date/marry other Reds
Dark Maroon Skin
White to Black coloured feathers

Homeworld Description:
Valoria, to the Avaloosi, was a planet with 76% water on its surface. Its highest mountains are twice the height of the Himilayas. It has vast rainforests coving almost half of the land, and it has vast amounts of grasslands with very little desert areas. Valoria has about 90% of Earth's mass and gravity, with two moons, one about a fifth of Valoria's size having an eight gravity and orbiting just slightly closer than the moon to Earth, the other, an asteroid about 28 km wide, orbiting about halfway between the planet and its larger moon. The capital, Valoria City is a bustling city built into a mountain, with rainforest right outside of it and a large river a few km away. While their are other large cities, none rival Valoria City. And most cities are built vertically, allowing nature on Valoria to maintain a large presence. Valoria has Two major continents, and one smaller one. Population of Valoria is about 2 billion people
The larger moon, Skarana, has a relatively large colony of about 1 million people, mostly involved in mining. Skarana is much like the Earth's moon, only smaller. It was here that a lot of the important technology for space was developed, including artifically gravity plating.
Glority, the asteroid moon, has no large colony, though one is in the makings. It only has about 200 people living here.
There is also a, slightly colder, planet in the system, Horexia, that has an ongoing colonization effort and currently has about 200,000 people on it. Horexia is alos in the process of being terraformed, so as to fully support Valorian life.
There is also another target for colonization, that has yet to be explored in the system...

Species History:
Descended from flying creatures that lived in the mountains, the Avaloosi have since lost their ability to fly. When they were in small families of six or so people of a related species (after they had lost flight) they began making tools to hunt, replacing the advantages flying brought. It was in this setting fire was discovered. Eventually, these people evolved, differentiating between the older Whites that stayed in the mountains, while those that ventured into the rainforests and grasslands became the Blues. The Blues went to settle the entire continent they first developed on, eventually discovering agriculture. With that, cities began to form. Mostly along rivers, this spurred the development of boats. At this same time, the Whites continued to hunt and gather for their existence in the mountains of this continent, creating elaborate tunnel systems within the mountains to store extra resources.
With the development of better and better boats, the Blues eventually found the smaller continent of the planet and several islands that all were settled. However, these settlements between the two continents and on them, were not actually united except by trade. This trading led to arguments between cities. These arguments escalated until the Blues had invented a whole new kind of social action: War.
With war, the island settlements became strong naval civilizations, while the cities on the continents destroyed themselves with constand warring that led to the development of several empires each about the size of New York state. These empires that were nearer the mountains found out that if they forced the Whites in the mountains to work for them, then they could become stronger, and thus slavary was invented.
As they thought, these empires did get stronger, and were able to, as technology bettered, conquer the non-slave using nations on that continent. The island civilizations, fearing their future, sent out vast fleets of ships to find a haven for them, however, slavary had already permeated into this society. These expeditions, with their slaves, found the other major continent of the planet and settled it. However, since they decided to live in harmony with nature, their technology level stayed at about that of ancient Greece.
A few hundred years later, The empires of the first main continent, making cease fires with each other, found out about the vast riches of the smaller continent they knew about. Thus, military expeditons were sent out. These empires had also independently discovered gun powder, and kept the secret to that continent and to themselves. With this, they were able to easily overpower the people of the smaller continent, forcing them into hiding and forcing them to unite in the mountains at the center of that conflict.
With that, an era of strong confidence emerged. Thus, these strong empires went to war with each other. It was very much a world war (think World War with 1600s tech) that decimated those two continents. They plunged into a Dark Age for 150 years, not aided by a disease that swept through the main continent. So these major empires shrunk, but tried to stay in existence, so they became City-States. These city states decided it would be best to trade with other cities and not make war with them, so slave trade ended up becoming a booming business.
With these city-states, a shrinking number of people came into power, and so a tranistion from Military Stratocrocies (Roman Empire-like Government) to Monarchies with a royal family over the course of this 150 year period.
Meanwhile, on the smaller continent where the people had been forced into the mountains, they find venture out and find military encampments with slavary. They invade these military encampments taking every weapon they can and all of the slaves before venturing back to their home bases in the mountains. This forces the military encampments to break up into wandering bands under rule of a warlord, thus inventing warlordism. The people in the mountains, form a strong city where they experiment in limited democracy. There is a Executive Council of 13 people, unelected and getting their power from their status (wealth, etc), but a legislative body was made that consisted of 50 elected representatives.
After the 150 year long Dark Age, the Monarchies began expanding again, and the Warlords of the small continent went out and became warlods of the sea (Piratism invented), and the government of the smaller continent expanded over the entire continent.
One of the Monarchies grabbed a hold of the only trade alliance with the Republic of the smaller continent, and so the other Monarchies sent out expeditions to look for other lands with those same precious resources. Hearing of this, the Republic declared war on those Monarchies, but the Monarchies had superior military might and crushed the Republic, dividing up the land between the Monarchies, except for the one that had had a trade alliance with the Republic. With this, an era of Mercantilism rushed through the Monarchies, except the one excluded from the division of land on the smaller continent. For them, capitalism was invented. And with that, a Constitutional Monarchy was formed instead of an Absolute Monarchy like the others. The citizens of this Monarchy became much happier, but they still wanted the resources they once had, and so private expeditions were sent to search for new land. They found the Island Civilizations that had long since dissappeared, but figured out the clues to where they had gone, and followed them to the second major continent of the planet. There, multiple colonies of this Monarchy were formed, giving it acces to a vast wealth it had never known.
The other monarchies heard of this and went to set up colonies themselves. And with this, good relations formed with the Constitutional Monarchy, so they wouldn't get mad for the other Monarchies coming to take land, but bad relationships formed between the Absolute Monarchies, thus cuasing an unstable environment economically over the course of 200 years. In that 200 year period, this unstable environment forced the Constitutional Monarchy to switch to Mercantilism like the other Monarchies and it also became an Absolute Dictatorship with heavy fasicm principles. While the people in the main section of the now Dictatorship, the colonies didn't like this. They united the colonies, including some of the Absolute Monarchies, under a Republic that used capitalism. This Republic was at the time only made of a legislature consisting of 60 people. However, that legislature was able to raise a defensive militia, declare Independence and win. With that, a group was sent away to draft a constitution for the the new Republic. They came back a few months later with one that passed unanimously with the Legislature.
All throughout this, the descendents of the Island Civilizations were warring with the colonies of some of the Absolute Monarchies. When the Republic was formed, it allied with the descendents to help defeat the colonies of the Monarchies, only to annex them into their own population and claim dominion over the whole continent.
From here, they launched a Crusade to conquer the entire world to bring all Blues (the "superior race" as it was felt) of the world under the freedom of the Republic that had been created. Over the next 100 years, they conquered all of the other nations except for one, creating advanced technology that would later allow them to go into space, including the first airplanes. So they opened up diplomatic channels to unite the two nations. During these negotiations, the Republic sent a military force to conquer the capital, and it was successful. With that, they strongarmed the diplomats at the negotiations to create a government favourable to the Republic.
Thus, the Republic of Valoria was created.
That was 100 years ago.

Species Mentality:Expanisive, Advancive

Civilization Description: Federal Constitutional Republic, like America, except the Federal Govenment is more restricted and the State Government has more power. Capitalist System of Government, with Economic Democracy.

~As Played By Arxia

1.2 Prime Arm

]

Specie's Name: Hamacian

Specie's Description:

Without getting into details regarding the anthromorphic qualities of the Hamacian race, a simple description will suffice. There are four extremeties which encompass two arms for handling tools and two legs for transportation. There are three different body types; ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph. Their skin color can range from pale white to a charcoal black, and can be tanned in any effect. Males are more than often more hirsute than females, and are also usually bulkier.

Specie's History:

The history of the Hamacian people are far too variagated to simply profess. However, it could be easily said that they stemmed from a single planet, and after much struggle through political fracas finally the systems of government spread over the surrounding planets. Wars between factions ensued and no matter how successfully they annihilated the worlds they inhabited, they never seemed to entirely self-destruct. Through the tatters of society, groups seamed together in a patchwork of motley political dogma. For the longest time the Hamacians rebuilt themselves from the scraps of highly sophisticated technological advancements initially designed to propagate and destroy eachother.

Specie's Mentality:

Much can be said about the Hamacian's usual thought process. They’re prone to cyclical lifestyles and fetishing over material objects. As to give merit to cyclical lifestyles, they often attain this from the structures of agriculture: life through the death of the self. Fetishing over material objects is an unfortunate side effect of ownership which entirely hindered the society from seriously progressing towards it’s goals. This allows a self-created nature for power, whether in the form of attention or control; and only through revolutionary struggles did the Hamacians destroy caste systems and hard capitalism. However, with recent events, the trend towards materialism seems more attractive and social scientists as well as great thinkers alike are having a hard time understanding the quandary. This is a current socio-cultural problem.

---

Civilization’s Name: Hamacian Collective Organization

Civilization's History:

Ever since what was known as the “The Great Isolation”, which was an alienation from all other hamacian societies political forces in a simultaneous moment, the HCO was procured as a supplement to the lack of political force. While other nations simply carried on as normal and hoped that the ultimate government might send supplies and hope, the HCO refused to submit to these mythics.

Through a Socratic Seminar-esque based governmental system, questions became more important than answers. Possibilities opened and experimentation was able to take place without sacrificing the information that their ancestors slaved through to discover. It wasn’t long until the scavenger based society developed a deep connection with the dilapidated remains of the world they inhabited and began exploring beyond their earthen roots.

Due to the expansive nature of the HCO’s policies, the absorption and acceptance of ideas is paramount to the conquering of others. Planets that were desperate for supplies were quickly supplemented, they targeted planets that other civilizations often avoided, ones only populated by nomad populations and filled with dangerous conditions. The idea was to find a challenge; it was easy to inhabit a ocean world with favorable amounts of land, why not explore the untapped resources of the barren wastes?

However, the intuition of the HCO was equalized by it’s approach towards having a propensity towards challenge. In no way did they exceed their neighboring empires, but it was mostly due to the fact that their chosen destinations were much more difficult to cultivate and envelope. This highly experimental style of expansionism yielded obvious disadvantages but suprisingly fruitful experience for the organization as a whole.

The nature of the HCO’s economic stance was radically different from many others. The word for currency is archiac, and it’s relevance now that it had come in contact with other civilizations has met jagged edges. The HCO’s individuals were used to simply giving away services and goods as a matter of expression rather than a commodity. This was balanced by a naturally courteous understanding of needs and wants. People explore their profession because they have a passion for their work, and they want to share that sentiment with all around them.

It is only currently that the HCO is experiencing oddities in it’s structure, with the re-introduction of capitalistic ideas. It is a unique problem that many of the thinkers of the organization are struggling with.

Civilization's Description:

The HCO has no leader or major political affiliates. It also has no written rules that it’s citizens must adhere to. Political ideas are discussed and explored to the extreme, however they are not exerted into practice over those unwilling to experiment. Ideas and patterns of thoughts are radically endeavored, whether they’re purely scientific, religious or otherwise; the frame of thought is composed of what actually works rather than what is stapled down by a certain dogma.

Military Information:

The lack of authoritianship is no indication of a lack of power. The individual’s potency for power is phenomenal, but it is sacrificed either by uncertainty or temporary instability. It is either this, or better yet, the HCO does not contain the ability to force its energy in a specific direction. However, this isn’t entirely true for certain situations, for example, war.

The HCO’s military is a combination of rag-tag fighters, which specialize in urban undercover and close quarters operations, fierce jungle warriors who literally inhabit the natural world and act as a white blood cell to their oppressors, experimental bio-weaponry teams, hackers and social conspirators who literally plant the seeds of viral sabotage and engineers who are constantly attempting to upgrade and improve on existing technology. Their weak point is, as of now, the use of space ships for combat exercises; with what few ships they own it is far more popular to explore non-space arial combat for reasons of either safety and resource management.

The use of team work as well as individual work is extremely important, and to say ‘a variety of styles’ of warfare are practiced is to say that there are a few different stars in the galaxy. To simplify this array of militarism, we can break down roles in military society:

Spoiler

Physical:

- Rag-Tag; these are the groups or individuals who work on a minimalist perspective. They let man be placed into a foreign background and they’re forced to either subsist with their bodies ability to fight, scavenge weaponry or tools of destruction and ultimately destroy or weaken the enemy.

- Formalized; these are groups or individuals who work on a maximalist perspective. They arm themselves to the teeth, with the most up-to-date equiptment. Their training is primarily with using this equiptment to destroy or weaken the enemy, as opposed to doing so without it.

Both these ideas can be easily transmitted to both land, air, sea and space tactics. It is well known and crucial that teamwork between groups and individuals is paramount to victory; no competetion is present in the sutures of their spear.

Mental:

A unique feature of the HCO’s military is a mostly Savant based group of agents informally named “Brain Blenders” who possess the ability to kill a man by transmitting an oral message. This, however, can’t entirely be used on a whole population; a connection between the agent and his victim must be established. Furthermore, language barriers grant immunity in any case. The art of their ability lies in exploring the futility of life, exploiting emotions of hopelessness and, on a crude level, convincing their victims to commit suicide.

Social:

The HCO possess a large amount of ‘revolutionaries’ who, now seeing their purpose no longer needed in society, seek to aid their people. The social conspirators are men and women who integrate into a targetted society, either become victimized or praised, and then spread literature, posters and propaganda to destabalize a civilizations cultural values and governmental goals. While these ‘revolutions’ are quite easy to extinguish, their ability to hide from governmental figures, loyalists and so on is remarkable, and so is the rate in which these ‘revolutions’ spread. The goal of these men and women are to destabalize the home front of the enemy, to sabotoge the social views of the people in question.

Technological:

Hackers are vital to the HCO. Essentially computer programmers with a scandalous name, hackers held the key to unlocking the rich wealth of knowledge and power that their ancestors left behind. It was through overriding passwords and restrictions that control over the scattered remains of their homeworld was granted to them. Now that most programs are rewired, a field of cyber-warfare has opened up for business with many hungry hackers looking to explore and exploit.

Economic Information:

Every transaction from a citizen is technically a transaction from the government and the individual, because the citizen is both the embodiment of the government as well as the absence of government. The economic system of the HCO is unique in that currency is non-existant; nothing is sold nor bought, but more or less earned through existance. This has been sufficient until their recent endeavors with other societies.

As for production, those who wish to extract minerals from their planets do so vigorously. It is simply a passion that is understood to be essential to the progression of society. Most if not all labor work is done by robots, however, the need for engineers has never been greater. In terms of non-mining operations in the civilian world that require physical labor, they’re either artistic (e.g. landscaping) or menial (e.g. moving furniture).

Scientific and Cultural Information:

The people in the HCO do what they want. Fortunately, what they want to do is learn and explore. Questions are the literal driving point of their society, and as a result they find science and culture as paramount to their civilization. Science is the tools which they obtain to get results; results are the production possibilities and both the side effects and examination of the results, well, result in culture. It’s all quite a simple, natural flow of understanding.

~As Played By Marrone

Species Name: 'Sputtlefish', a portmanteau of 'space' and 'cuttlefish'. Sepia aedificator

Species Description: The Sputtlefish are a race of aquatic cephalopods about nine feet in length, three feet in width, roughly oval-shaped with four legs in a reptilian gait that end in sharp points, and two arms extending out like those of a crab.. Covered in a translucent gel secreted from pores on the skin, when hit the gel hardens to form a shell, while the skin underneath changes color to communicate, when avoiding the normal blue-grey tone. Two long antennae extend out from behind the eyes, used to vibrate and thereby sense the world, while rudimentary eyes can barely distinguish between light and dark. Most communication occurs either by vibration over short distances, or over long distances by electrical impulses which are fed into a computer, transmitted and received much like a telephone call. A maw of large tentacles around a beak marks the underside of their heads. Instead of a traditional cardiac system, water is cycled through the system through ingestion through the beak and egested through the anus, and along a series of internal canals specialized cells capture water, which crosses by osmosis into every other cell, inside which specialized organelles expend energy to 'crack' the molecules into hydrogen sulphate (better known as H2SO4, sulfuric acid), expelled through the skin, which eventually diffuses out through the gel on the outside of the organism. Since the 'sputtlefish' lack a distinct language, they communicate with other races through mathematics and by transmitting electrical impulses to those who are trained to understand them.

Species History: The sputtlefish homeworld (referred to as '0') is mostly aquatic with only a few islands - most of the planet's resources are hidden beneath the waves, and the sputtlefish themselves evolved from scavenging herd animals some 3 million years ago, to whom they owe their carnivorous appetite and their bizzarre social structure; even among '0' animals, sputtlefish are almost unique, and their finest biologists suggest that this may have been a consequence of developing a communication mechanism undetectable by the larger animals they followed in the sea. As one of the larger creatures on the planet, sputtlefish actually have relatively little natural weaponry, and very few even now are brave enough to venture into the open seas, where the far larger, more dangerous creatures still roam free - only in their caverns do the sputtlefish rule their world. Outside of them, the waves belong to the 'Rippers' and the 'Brain-worms' - and every once in a while, a young sputtlefish or a veteran hardshell will claim to see the feared Landbeast!


Species Mentality:

Civilization's History: Having evolved on a mostly aquatic planet, the sputtlefish were one of the larger species on the planet, and the only one to develop sentience. Prior to civilization, they existed by floating in packs of three or four behind the predatory beasts, feeding on the detritus they left behind. Eventually, they began settling in caves and used their acidic qualities to carve out larger carverns, where they herded large, docile, whale-like animals or grew zooplankton, which allowed them to settle down, building huge cities in the seabed, stretching down kilometers, connected in great pathways within the earth, heated by the core of the planet. Approximately 15,000 years from the present, the first of these large cavern systems appeared, and the first recognizable city-states formed, around precious thermal vents or large mineral deposits. There is no clear record of wars being fought until about 10,000 BPD, where states began fighting over the most densely-populated regions of continents, primarily after ferrous resources, since states which could forge metal tools had a huge advantage over those who only had access to basalt or plant materials. This period of war was actually very short-lived, and vanished after around 2,000 years upon the advent of the industrial age on their homeworld.

There was actually a large stagnation during this time; while the vast resources of the planet and the end of war brought a long period of happiness and demographic expansion, there was little interest in astroscience, and until about 2,200 BPD there is no evidence of any concerted effort to explore the other two worlds in the '0' system. At 2,000 BPD, the first successful satellite was sent up, transmitting basic data back down to '0' from the satellite, which is still in orbit around '0', considered a near-holy relic by the vast majority of sputtlefish. In 1902 BPD, a velvet revolution flew across the species, which lead to the decline of the one-world government, replaced by a form of anarcho-capitalism. To this day, small towns and cities conduct business with each other, conduct policy and organised themselves without a single central government; the only government agency which remained was the organisation that roughly translates as 'Space Corps', to which every settlement donates a voluntary amount to further exploration and security within space. The first noteworthy construction in space was the 'Angel Array', a series of orbital stations equipped with lasers to help guide meteors down into areas of ocean away from population centers where they could be used without causing damage, a concept which still survives in updated technologies today.

The first landings on another planet took place in 1753 BPD, on the second planet from the sun in the '0' system, which has far smaller oceans, much more closely resembling a typical terrestrial planet, and the third planet, last in the '0' system, while far smaller than '0', was ideal for settlement, and by 1300 BPD all three planets were home to billions of Sputtlefish, and a thriving in-system trade in moving edible species from one planet to another as commerce developed. This status of security was disturbed in 231 BPD when the first coherent alien transmission was received by a communications satellite - 3.141592920. A decade was spent translating the message into a form that the Sputtlefish could actually understand, and it was discovered to be the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the perimeter of a square - Pi. In 201 BPD, the next ten figures were beamed back out into space, where it went unnoticed until very recently, in 18 BPD, wherein one of the relay-using races recognized the numbers as part of the sequence and jumped for their source.

The sharing of the graviton drive technology occurred after a shaky start where the automated Angel5 cannons targeted the vessel, the Sputtlefish were made aware of the vast majority of life out in the Alpha arm around them, and in 4 BDP, began construction of the 'New Model Space Corps' - a military force to protect and serve the Sputtlefish, both as they look for new worlds to settle, and as they look to assist their allies in the future - but war is a forgotten art among their people, and it re-learning those lessons might be essential to their survival - but is survival worth it, if it turns back the clock thousands of years?

Firstly, don't even think of traveling to the Sputtlefish system unless you can breathe underwater - your oxygen will not last long enough to see all the sights, so either develop gills, get a permanent mechanical re-breather, or forget it. Secreted in the galactic south-west quarter of the Arm, the system and worlds have many names, and since language lacks the terms to describe the humming vibrations of the natives, so the worlds are referred to as '2' '1' and '0'. While 2 and 1 are mostly massive farms or mines, 0 is a capital of party and exotic cuisine - the Sputtlefish don't get in the way, and if you've got an interpreter or that handy speech-vibration transmitter, you're sorted. If you're after a safe holiday, 0 is just right for you - the inhabitants haven't fought a war in living memory, and their history is oddly uplifting and reassuring. Of course, if you want a wilder trip, you could hire one of the submersibles and go out watching the wildlife on the planet - the first time I saw a swarm of Rippers attacking a Sighbeast, my heart was in my mouth - not for the faint of heart or stomach, but certainly worth going. One final recommendation - at Settlement O-2231, there is a choir of Sputtlefish who sing through vibrating their tentacles, and it really is hauntingly beautiful - if you ever see any performance of music, go and see that. You won't regret it.'

~As Played By Generaldisaster

Nation Name: The Imperial Systems Commonwealth
Species Name: Multiple (Ruling class composed of the Vit’azny)

Appearance:

There are a number of Vit'azny sub-species with different coloration and coat patterns. The average Vit'azny male is about 200cm tall, while the female average is about 180cm. They are strong and athletic in general, and are formidable opponents in physical combat. The Vit'azny lifespan is an average of about 200 years.
(They're space-lions/cats. It's not that important)

Racial History: As the name implies, the ISC is a large aggregation of “independent” nations united under a single “democratic” government in a “free” and “egalitarian” society. While the name may imply such grandeur, the reality of the ISC is a far cry from independent, democratic, or free. In truth, the ISC is a vast monarchical imperium, dominated by a species of long lived feline humanoids called the Vit’azny, and ruled absolutely by Catherine, the Imperial Queen.

The Commonwealth is a younger nation, at least compared to some of the antiquated species clinging to the scraps of their former glory around the galaxy. The Vit’azny are also a young species full of pride and ambition. Other members of the Commonwealth vary in age; some species were pre-FTL when they joined, others were the remnants of once great empires. Regardless of age or stature, they now bend knee to Her Imperial Majesty, Catherine.

The Vit’azny have been a spacefaring civilization for a little less than 600 years. They set out from their homeworld of Praetoria and began rapidly expanding to accommodate their swelling population. Historically, they have never shied away from warfare, though they are pragmatic above all else and understand the usefulness of diplomacy. First contact with another alien race, the snake-like Yanissans, quickly devolved into war. The Vit’azny eventually prevailed, and the Yanissans were annexed as subjects.This happened again with another race, the brutish Szitzu. Neither species were happy as subjects, and rebellions rapidly become a problem for the Vit’azny overlords. 499 years ago, they developed a solution: the Imperial Systems Commonwealth. The governments of the Szitzu and Yanissans were restored, and they agreed to the formation of the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich and the other institutions of the Commonwealth. The ISC has been rapidly expanding ever since.

Racial Culture:

Society

Oddly enough, the Commonwealth is perhaps the most racially diverse government in the known worlds, with citizens from over 40 different species, many not even member species, composing almost half the Commonwealth’s population. Sadly, most of them are treated as second class citizens by the dominant Vit’azny, who form a very distinct upper class within the Commonwealth. Almost all high level positions in government, military, or the corporate sector are held by Vit’azny.

Vit’azny culture is strongly embedded with honour and military tradition. While not precisely a militaristic people, the Vit’azny don’t have any particular qualms about getting involved in conflicts, when it is necessary. War, of course, brings honour and glory to those with enough guts to seize them. Anything other than steadfast and heartfelt support of the military during wartime is considered borderline sedition. The culture of the Commonwealth in a larger sense is fairly difficult to pin down. Each member species brings elements of their own culture with them, so where a given species if more concentrated, their culture is more prevalent. There are also huge numbers of individuals from non-member species present on many Commonwealth worlds, drawn in by a thriving economy, carefully manufactured rumours, and lax immigration policies. It is difficult to actually guess at the population of the Commonwealth, since the Imperial Directorate's census only accounts for individuals with citizenship, while the number of non-citizens is generally a vague estimate.


Life in the Commonwealth is actually quite pleasant for Vit’azny and other species alike. The Imperial Government maintains a large number of social programs to foster growth and development. Citizens of member species enjoy access to free universal healthcare, free secondary education, heavily subsidized post-secondary education, a decent amount of personal rights and freedoms, unemployment insurance, fair taxation, a fair minimum wage, democratic representation in government, a degree of self governance and independence, and imperial funding for a number of industries. These benefits are something of a trap; they encourage many species to join the Commonwealth, not realizing they will be neither full members nor citizens immediately upon joining. In war, the ISC maintains a policy of always offering membership to their enemies. Many species over the years have decided to join rather than be exterminated. Even some species who could have won the conflict sought a quicker diplomatic end to war and accepted the offer, a decision most have come to regret.

Citizenship is a very important part of Commonwealth society. Being a citizen grants an individual access to all the Commonwealth’s benefits, as well as all its rights and freedoms. Citizens can also move freely from world to world, vote in elections, and apply to present a petition in the Royal Court. Non-citizens have none of these privileges; for them, life can be very hard. There are two ways to gain citizenship: money, or service. An applicant for citizenship must take three different tests: a generalized aptitude test, a specialized IQ test, and finally a citizenship test. While citizenship itself is free and the tests are not particularly difficult, the fees for taking each of the three tests are enormous. This means only wealthy non-citizens can take this route. Children of citizens gain access to citizen privileges via their parents until the reach the age of majority for their species, at which point they must obtain citizenship for themselves. It is common for parents to pay the fees for their children; many banks in the Commonwealth offer services to help citizens with children save up for the admission process, much like a college fund.

The other way to gain citizenship is through service; either to the Royal Armed Forces of the Commonwealth, or to the Imperial Directorate. Both routes skip the usual testing procedures entirely; simply serve for the allotted time, and be granted citizenship. The RAFC will take almost anyone, but is notoriously willing to throw away the lives of non-commissioned soldiers, so the challenge there is living long enough to gain citizenship or get promoted. The Imperial Directorate, in its never-ending quest to find intelligent individuals to help run the Commonwealth, has its own application process, which involves difficult aptitude tests and a number of exams and interviews. However, the Imperial Directorate is not just a quick way to gain citizenship, but also an extremely prestigious career that an individual could happily remain in for life. A third option is sometimes available; the Commonwealth sometimes has colonization drives to settle new colonies or Verge worlds, and offer citizenship to anyone who volunteers after they have lived on the target planet for a set number of years.

The Commonwealth does have a state religion, which the Vit’azny are quite fervent about. The enthusiasm of the rest of the Commonwealth varies widely. Their faith revolves around a pantheon of 7 gods: chief among them is Llyena, Goddess of Victory and Justice, from whom the Imperial Queen takes her authority. The others are Ichael, God of Life and Death; Arctus, God of Chaos and Destruction; Nezia, Goddess of Thought and Reason; Lexus, God of Order and Industry; Cyris, Goddess of Sight and Time; and Shakras the Lost, God of Secrets, the Unknown, and the Void. While Llyena is chief among the deities, different species in the Commonwealth honour others above her. The sly, snakelike Yanissans, for example, tend to favor Shakras the Lost, while the brutish Szitzu favor Arctus. Different planets, or even individuals of specific occupations will favor some gods over others; doctors might prey for Ichael’s left hand to guide them; the mandates of the Imperial Directorate are stamped with Lexus’s seal; some soldiers might pray to Llyena for victory, while others might pray to Arctus to grant them his battle fury. It is a faith as diverse as the Commonwealth itself.

The governmental apparatus of the Commonwealth is an intricate one. Though an Empire in practice, the Commonwealth pretends to be something else entirely.

There are three main bodies to the Commonwealth’s government: The Parliament of the Sovereign Reich, the Imperial Directorate of the Commonwealth, and Her Majesty’s Imperial Court. The Parliament of the Sovereign Reich is the official government of the Commonwealth. It is composed of 1021 elected representatives who are affiliated with assorted political parties. The party with the most seats after an election composes Her Imperial Majesty’s Government, and the leader of that party becomes Lord Chancellor. He in turn appoints assorted ministers to compose the cabinet. The parliament functions as most parliaments do: bills are presented, voted on, debated, voted on again, and so forth. The Parliament of the Sovereign Reich is responsible for issues affecting the whole of the Commonwealth, with regional authority being granted to smaller legislative assemblies, or the existing governments of member species. The authority of parliament is absolute, and the Imperial Queen is not directly involved in its functioning, though she may appoint heads of committees and task forces. There is an exception, however: Royal Mandates. The Imperial Queen may issue a Royal Mandate at any time, on any subject she deems suitable. A Royal Mandate skips all the debate and voting; in this, the Imperial Queen’s word is law. However, Royal Mandates are a touchy subject: a ruler that uses them too freely to abuse their authority over parliament often finds that their Mandates take a very long time to be implemented, often poorly. On the flipside, Prime Ministers who steadfastly refuse to bow to the ruler’s authority often find themselves in front of parliamentary committees on charges of Contempt of Parliament.

The Imperial Directorate of the Commonwealth is the vast bureaucracy that keeps the trains running on time. From the wealthiest Core world to the most desolate colony, the Imperial Directorate’s deft touch can be seen at work. It consists of a large number of ministries, departments, bureau’s, agencies and crown corporations, all arranged into a maze of regulations and red tape. The most important entities of the Directorate are the cabinet ministries, which are the ministries where the politician in charge is a member of cabinet. There are 12 cabinet ministries, and they cover the most important issues of the Commonwealth, such as defence, finance, and colonial affairs.. A large number of lesser ministries exist, covering more specific areas. Some ministries only operate in certain areas of the Commonwealth; the Ministry of Environment, for example, has absolutely no use in the colonies, but is enormously important in the Core worlds. Similarly, the Ministry of Civil Order is unnecessary in the Core, but plays an important role in oppressing the rebellious colonies. There are also a vast number of agencies that do everything from maintain hyperspace beacons to collect taxes. The Directorate can also be used as something of a political scapegoat if necessary. Ministers, the Lord Chancellor, even the Imperial Queen have been known to redirect blame into the faceless mass of the Directorate on occasion.

This brings us to the final entity of the Commonwealth’s government: the Royal Court. The Commonwealth retains a system of landed nobility, which inevitably leads to endless powerplay games in court as nobles vie with eachother for the Imperial Queen’s favour, which brings with it more titles, powerful appointments in the government, or postings as governor of particularly wealthy colonial territories. But, what the Imperial Queen gives, she can take, so avoiding her displeasure is equally important. As a result, court is awash with intrigue, plots, and scandal.

There are many worlds in the Commonwealth, but not all are equal. Some are outrageously wealthy, some are desperately poor; different species dominate different worlds; some praise the Imperial Queen with every breath, some curse her name in the streets. The disparity is astonishing. The worlds of the Commonwealth are classified into one of four categories: Core worlds, Constituent worlds, Colonial worlds, and Verge worlds.

The Core worlds are the original Vit’azny colonies and a small number of worlds of some of the ISC’s oldest “members”. The vast majority of the Commonwealth’s wealth is concentrated on these worlds. In fact, money is the only real industry of the Core worlds. Almost all food and manufactured goods are imported from the Constituents and the Colonies, with the exception of some ultra-high end luxury goods. Any respectable company maintains its corporate headquarters on one the Core worlds, with some exceptions. Money is the biggest industry of the Core worlds, with countless financial service providers and stock exchanges dominating the economy. Core worlds tend to be heavily populated; on average, about 70% of a Core world’s landmass is covered by gleaming cities. The majority of the population is inevitably Vit’azny, and poverty is virtually nonexistent on these worlds. While one would expect a society as lopsided as the Commonwealth’s would pass of the burden of taxation to its helpless colonies and let the Core Worlds amass their fortunes, this is not the case.The Commonwealth in fact maintains a sophisticated taxation system with multiple income brackets where the highest bracket pays the most taxes. Through this system, the Core worlds actually provide the majority of the Commonwealth’s tax income. Aspects of the Commonwealth such as the taxation system and the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich have convinced many species to join the Commonwealth over the years. By the time they discover some of the ‘conditions’ attached to membership, it is too late.

The Constituent worlds are the backbone of the Commonwealth. They include newer Vit’azny colonies, a large number of Commonwealth colonies, and the worlds of moderately respected member nations. The Constituent worlds are much less homogeneous than the Core worlds: some are richer, some less so, and even on a given planet there is a wide margin between the wealthy and the poor. A given planet, or even a given city on that planet, will have affluent communities and slums alike. Like the Commonwealth as a whole, the Vit’azny and a number of the older member species form the elite, with a healthy spattering of individuals from all kinds of species who happened to do very well for themselves. Constituent worlds are ruled by either Imperial Legislatures of the Commonwealth (in the case of colonies founded by the Commonwealth as a whole) or by existing governments (in the case of colonies established by individual members). Constituent worlds have full member status in the Commonwealth; citizens may vote in imperial and regional elections; while the world itself has high degree of self governance, can apply for subsidies from the Imperial Treasury, and has a number of other advantages. Constituent status is essentially citizenship for a planet, though individuals on the planet still have to adhere to normal citizenship procedures. The Constituent worlds are the primary manufacturing and processing centres of the Commonwealth. While the Core worlds’ only industry is money and the Colonies tend to only provide raw materials and cheap labour, Constituent industry does a bit of everything; large scale mining, agriculture, the production of consumer goods, starship construction, and all the financial and legal services that such industries need. It is all jumbled together in a free market economy that powers the massive industrial capabilities of the Commonwealth.

Colonial worlds are tragic monuments to the lies, oppression, and broken promises of the Commonwealth. They are the worlds of new or reluctant member species, and by the strictures of the Colonization act, these worlds are not technically members of the Commonwealth, but are instead subjects. Most Colonial worlds are desperately poor and underdeveloped, even if they were originally quite advanced. Many species join the Commonwealth with the understanding that they will enjoy all its benefits; citizenship, representation in Parliament, a degree of self-government, fair taxation, security, universal healthcare, subsidization, free education etc. Unfortunately, the Colonization act decrees that all newly added worlds are considered colonial holdings, and are under the direct authority of her Imperial Majesty, not the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich. This means they are not eligible for any of the Commonwealth’s social programs, nor do they have any representation in Parliament. They are not ruled by legislative assemblies, but instead by Colonial Governors, who are appointed by the Imperial Queen at the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. Few people are citizens on Colonial Worlds; only the Vit’azn dominated elite, who take ownership of any industry or natural resources on the planet and employ the locals as ultra-cheap labour. Slavery is illegal throughout the Commonwealth, but with no minimum wage or labour rights for non-citizens, colonial labourers can be paid almost nothing. Some landowners elect to provide food, clothing, and shelter for their employees and then pay them nothing at all, reasoning that room and board are taken from their pay, and the rest goes to taxes. Colonial Worlds are subject to the same fair taxation system as the rest of the Commonwealth, but it is not taxes that leave them in poverty. A clause of the Colonization act permits the Commonwealth to seize any assets it deems necessary from Colonial worlds and their inhabitants. Money, goods, resources, land, businesses, even people; all can be seized and repossessed by the crown, or given to a favored citizen. The exploitation and lack of support causes technological regression on many worlds; it is not uncommon to see vehicles with internal combustion engines on Colonial worlds, and even horses in extreme cases. Colonial worlds are often quite rebellious during the early years of their integration, but the Commonwealth is always quick to brutally repress such uprisings. The brutality they employ deters further uprisings, but it is the hope of citizenship, or even becoming a Constituent world, that ultimately keeps the colonies in line. Unlike citizenship, there is no specific criteria for a Colonial world to gain Constituent status and full membership; it is simply granted at the discretion of the governor and the Imperial Queen, again with the advice of the Lord Chancellor. This means a world might easily wait 15 years or 50, or even 500. The Imperial Queen usually tries to grant Constituent status to at least one colony per decade, in order to keep other colonies hopeful and obedient. This process is always accompanied by a grand ceremony where the Imperial Queen herself visits the new Constituent world, relieves the planetary governor, and validates its new government, while the Commonwealth holds a colonization drive to boost the world’s population and showers it with money and resources. A three-day festival is held to celebrate the change in status, and the day of the ceremony becomes a statutory holiday for that world. Some Colonial worlds, however, are so remote, poor, or useless that they will likely never be granted Constituent status. A few of the extreme cases have even been largely forgotten by the Commonwealth and the crown, and the inhabitants have in turn forgotten the Commonwealth.

Verge worlds are planets on the very edge of Commonwealth space. Their categorization has more to do with their location than their membership status. They are not grossly exploited like colonial worlds, nor are they pampered like Core worlds. They are ruled by military governors, and all have a heavy military presence due to their location on the borders of Commonwealth space. Some few are actually quite wealthy and heavily populated, almost as much as a core world. Most others are significantly less so. They’re populated by a wide array of people: military personnel, hopeless colonials seeking citizenship, prospectors seeking riches, wealthy citizens with a taste for adventure, convicts in forced relocation programs, and so on. Their purpose is to guard the borders of the commonwealth, anything else is secondary. Verge worlds usually have extremely diverse populations and much more relaxed culture, and social status is not considered as important. The military often provides some of the benefits that the imperial government would elsewhere, so the populace is not as desperate for citizenship as on other worlds. This much freer society makes them places of opportunity. Historically, some of the Commonwealth’s most successful corporations were started on Verge worlds, though some say that’s only propaganda. Regardless, Verge worlds are better places to live than many Colonial worlds, and even the slums on poorer Constituent worlds.

Szitzu: A race of massive, brutish, bear-like creatures, the Szitzu are incredibly strong and resilient, but prohibitively aggressive. Their culture is absolutely saturated with the idea of survival of the fittest. They value strength and aggression over caution and intelligence. Their history has been marred with countless bloody wars, mostly with themselves. This obviously inhibited technological development, permitting the Vit'azny to conquer them. The Szitzu form the bulk of the Commonwealth's ground forces, and are perfectly suited to the task. However, they rarely rise to leadership positions.

Yanissans: A race of snakelike reptilian humanoids with latent telepathic abilities. The Yannissans are extremely cunning, subtle, and very clever. Their government is a set of quasi-independant principalities, ruled by Lord-Captain-Commanders who are all accountable to Eternal Salmissra, as well as the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich and the Imperial Queen. A small percentage of Yanissans have telepathic abilities. They are perfectly suited for intelligence operations, and dominate the Commonwealth's intelligence agencies. They also serve as elite infantry in the RAFC, and have a moderate presence in the RCN.

As the founding members of the Commonwealth, the Vit'azny, the Yanissans, and the Szitzu are considered "the big 3" member species, though the Vit'azny reign supreme among them.

Rodesians: The Rodesians are a species of small, weaselish creatures with comparatively short lifespans. They are quick moving, quick thinking, and obsessed with efficiency. As such, they make excellent bureaucrats and scientists. They were one of the first species to be "encourage to join" (conquered) by the newly formed Commonwealth almost 500 years ago, and have been fully integrated since then.

Valerians: An avian species from a hot desert world, they were coerced into membership relatively recently. However, they have risen quite high in the Commonwealth's internal hierarchy, mainly due to their high percentage of telepathic individuals. Being the only race in the Commonwealth with a useful number of telepaths, the vast majority of Imperial Psintegrae are Valerian. Valerians have a distinctly flock-based mentality, and this has let them integrate into the Commonwealth very well, and become one of the few species whose individuals rise to command positions in the RCN. These factors mean they are highly valued by the Commonwealth, something which has made many Valerians insufferably arrogant around everyone but the big 3, who simply view them as good servants.


These four species and the Vit'azny compose about 70% of the Commonwealth's citizens. However, census data is only collected from citizens, so these five races constitute an estimated 30-40% of the Commonwealth's actual population.

Royal Armed Forces of the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth’s military, especially the navy, is very highly regarded amongst the populace. This pride, a healthy amount of pressganging, and the promise of citizenship results in a higher than average service rate. Military service is considered to be very honourable and prestigious; even the wealthiest of the nobility serve at some point in their lives, indeed some of them attained their lofty positions through that service. The RAFC prides itself on being a meritocracy where skill is what matters, not species or social status. This is mostly true, though some individual Vit’azny officers act otherwise. For the most part, however, the RAFC can bring one great fame and fortune; both the army and navy offer prize money for captured enemy equipment, as well as generous pensions for officers. The RAFC highly values even the most junior of its officers, including warrant officers. The enlisted men, however, may as well be cannon fodder, though this sentiment is not obvious. The official explanation for the high death rates among enlisted men is that they are over-eager to prove themselves, and so take unnecessary risks.

The Royal Commonwealth Navy

The RCN is an old institute that dates back to when ships sailed the seas instead of the stars. The Vit’azny saw no need to create a separate organization when space flight began, and the RCN simply assumed responsibility of military endeavours in space. The RCN remains convinced that the good old fashioned broadside is the best way to win any fight, though the range of these broadsides has increased significantly since the marine days of the RCN.
As a result, Commonwealth ships tend to be tall and thin, with heavy positron beam turrets on their dorsal and ventral surfaces. The sides of the ships carry the majority of the broadside armament, which consists of multiple missile tubes and medium-calibre railgun batteries. Flak systems and point defence lasers are scattered across the ship. Additionally, most Commonwealth ships are equipped with axial mounted weapons: older ships use supersized MAC guns, while many newer designs use massive superlasers. This configuration reflects the RCN’s current tactical doctrine. A given RCN ship is designed to be able to approach an enemy ship, firing with their positron turrets, axial weapons, and missile batteries at a target in front of them. Once the opening salvo has been fired, the ship turns to present its broadside, allowing all its positron turrets and broadside weapons to open fire. The relentless pounding of barrages of railgun rounds is meant to pummel away shields, while the positron cannons are meant to sear through armor. Missiles can be equipped with a variety of warheads, making them suitable for either purpose. For fleet engagements, the RCN’s most common tactic is to have ships form into a wall formation, each ship presenting their broadside to the enemy for devastating effect. Since space is a 3-dimensional place, the wall formation often ends up being adjusted to a sort of semi-spherical formation, which ships altering their broadside angles slightly to fire on targets approaching from any vector. This formation is often deployed to form a defensive screen for Commonwealth Star Carriers as they unleash their hordes of strike craft from the safety of the centre of the formation. Commonwealth ships also make extensive use of short range FTL jumps to reposition themselves into favorable firing positions.

Weapon Systems
Positron Cannons: The primary heavy weapon of RCN ships, positron cannons have only recently replaced gravity-driven mass accelerators. Advances in particle physics have permitted Commonwealth engineers to confine a stream of energized positrons into a beam and fire that beam at a target. On impact, the positrons make contact with electrons in the target, and annihilation occurs, dealing massive damage. Positron cannons are massively effective against armour, but significantly less so against shields.

Railguns: An extremely simple concept, Commonwealth railguns simply accelerate a metal slug between two magnetic rails. Commonwealth railguns are a little more complex in that they use artificial gravity fields to accelerate the ammo rather than magnetism. The weapon is simple, fast, and cheap, but a single railgun doesn't do very much damage. However, when fired en masse from the broadside of a Commonwealth ship, they become significantly more threatening. There are three primary munition types: armour piercing, scatter, and solid slugs. The relentless pounding of a broadside full of these weapons is devastating to shields, but modern armour is quite effective at deflecting such weapons. Almost all Commonwealth ships have facilities to manufacture additional ammunition.

Missiles: By far the most useful and versatile weapons the Commonwealth possesses, missiles can be used against a huge variety of targets. Since missiles can obviously move independently, any ship can use all of its missiles to fire on a target at any time, regardless of the ships orientation. Commonwealth missiles have three components: warhead, fuselage, and thruster. There are multiple versions of these components; ion anti-shield warheads, high-speed short range thrusters, even a fuselage system with a micro-jump drive, permitting the missile to perform a single short range jump, evading point defence and possibly even shields. If there is something that needs to be shot down, there is a missile configuration to do it. Defensively, missiles can be equipped with fragmentation warheads, or equipped with high speed thrusters and kinetic kill warheads to shoot down incoming projectiles. A recent innovation is the anti-beam depth charge: a sophisticated warhead that detonates at a preset distance in a low-energy large-radius EM blast, reducing the damage potential of many types of energy weapons. Most commonwealth ships are capable of manufacturing all but the most complex of missile components.

Propulsion, Shields, and FTL Systems
The Commonwealth has a high degree of mastery over the forces of gravity, as reflected in their propulsion and power generation systems. Commonwealth ships have huge engines to accommodate these sophisticated systems. Power is generated by the interaction of gravitons and anti-gravitons in an artificial singularity core, the primary generator on Commonwealth ships. As the two particles are generated by the artificial singularity, they split apart, generating ample energy for use throughout the ship. The two particles are then siphoned off: anti-gravitons are sent through the massive drive chain out the rear of the ship, generating a highly focused anti-graviton field behind the ship, which pushes the ship forward. Simultaneously, gravitons are dispersed from the front and sides of the ship, to generate gravity fields which pull the ship forwards, or in one direction or another for maneuvering. The flow of particles is reversed when the ship needs to go backwards, though the process of "changing gears" takes some time. In combat, it is faster to turn around with maneuvering thrusters than going into reverse. This gravity drive system has the advantage of being able to bring even large ships to very high speeds and slow them down again, all in a reasonable time. The isolated gravitational field also almost eliminates structural stress on the ship during maneuvers. The entire engine is reffered to as the Graviton Drive Assembly, or GDA. A ship's gravitational field does double duty as its shielding system. Additional generator arrays on the hull are activated in combat to drastically bolster the strength of the gravity fields and deflect incoming weapons fire, be it kinetic or energy based. Like with all shields, deflecting a shot depletes the energy of the field, so sustained weapons fire will degrade the strength of the field until it is no longer effective. Commonwealth ships have few rear-oriented weapons for the simple fact that the gravitational forces generated by the engines directly behind a ship are so intense that no weapon can break through.

For FTL travel, Commonwealth ships use their engines to generate massive gravitational surges,

(Images found on deviantart)

Dreadnought: Praetoria-class Commonwealth Star Carrier

The Praetoria-class Commonwealth Star Carrier is the pinnacle of Commonwealth technology and engineering. Though CSC’s have been in service for a while, they are refitted into dreadnoughts or battleships when a new class of CSC is developped. There are 8 Praetoria-class CSC’s in operation throughout the Commonwealth, with several more under construction. The star carrier assigned to the Australasia expeditions was renamed CSC Australasia, to celebrate the opportunities the new colony represents (it was previously the CSC Bradenburg). Commonwealth Star Carriers serve as flagships and centerpieces to the Commonwealth fleets, and have a number of variations compared to most Commonwealth ships. While the Praetoria class has a massive broadside, countless missiles, and 12 quad-barrelled super-heavy proton turrets, it is not designed to operate independently. CSC’s in general are designed without axial weapons, since they are usually too deeply placed in the fleet to make use of such weapons. Instead of axial weapons, the Praetoria-class has extensive hangar facilities, permitting it to launch a massive number of fighter craft onto the the battlefield. Additionally, this CSC has extensive command and control functionality, and a sophisticated electronic warfare suite. A Commonwealth Star Carrier embodies all the might of the Commonwealth, and the presence of such a vessel can dramatically change the outcome of a battle.

Slow, heavily armored and shielded, and packed to the brim with weapons, the Valiant is a rapidly aging but extremely dependable class of ship. The Valiant is designed in accordance with older RCN doctrine and is equipped with 6 quad-barreled super heavy positron beam turrets. Its age means that it is equipped with a massive axial mounted MAC gun rather than an axial superlaser. Compared to newer designs, the Valiant has fewer broadside railgun batteries and missile racks, but carries a large number of fighter craft into battle and possesses extensive command and control facilities. Combined with their extreme survivability, the Valiant is often the command ship of choice in a fleet.

The Vigilance-class is the workhorse of the Commonwealth fleets. In any given situation, a Vigilance class cruiser will likely be the first ship on the scene. It is heavily armed, well defended, and fast enough to be useful for long range scouting, dangerous patrols, escort duty, and exploration, all while being able to take its place in the line (technically a semisphere) of battle. The Vigilance carries 3 quad-barreled medium positron turrets and an axial superlaser, though its broadside is less formidable than that of the Resolute. The Vigilance is also the smallest Commonwealth vessel to carry a fighter craft, and only supports a few of them.

The Imperial class is another new innovation from the RCN. While the role of the Destroyer has always been to bring heavy firepower to bear on a small frame, the Imperial takes this philosophy to the extreme, doing away with fighter craft entirely and maintaining only the minimum hangar facilities necessary for personnel transfer and cargo loading. The Imperial brings 3 triple-barreled heavy positron turrets and a formidable broadside to battle, and can easily dispatch of cruisers on its own or group with other destroyers to attack larger targets.

The Warrior class is a little more versatile than the larger Endeavour class, and sees heavy use all across the Commonwealth, performing surveys, patrolling shipping lanes, chasing down pirates and escorting low-importance targets. The Warrior carries 3 quad-barreled light positron turrets, a small axial MAC gun, and a light broadside loadout, and is used all across the Known Worlds for a variety of purposes. In battle, it joins the Endeavour in supporting larger ships.

Corvettes are a newer concept for the RCN, and the Striker class is only the second vessel to be designed and implemented in that role. The Striker is a brand new design, only just fully integrated into the RCN. The only Commonwealth ship designed to have its firepower aligned towards the bow, the Striker is meant to race around the battlefield wreaking havoc with its 3 double-barreled ultra-light positron cannons, light missile tubes, and axial mounted medium positron cannon. It has no broadside railguns to speak of, and can reach astonishingly high speeds. Strikers operate well in groups, and underestimating these small ships would be a foolish mistake.

~As Played By Ozerath

[Darkmatter]

2.TECHNOLOGY

2.1 Starship Technology

The Graviton Drive is one of few practical methods of interstellar travel at a reasonable rate. The Graviton Drive is powered by the fifth gauge boson, the Graviton; the others being photons, gluons, and W and Z bosons. These gauge bosons mediate the four fundamental forces of the universe, electromagnetism, the strong force, the weak force and gravity. Gravitons, as their name suggest, mediate the force of gravity. They are the last to be discovered by sentient life as they are 'massless' and almost undetectable. Indeed, many sapient life forms obliterate themselves through use of the strong nuclear force before ever discover the true mediator, the gluon and thus never discover the graviton.

Upon its discover a sapient race acts with a universal progression of thought. At first they will try to either propel a craft by 'expelling' Gravitons from the rear of the craft or to the front, creating a deep gravity well 'dragging' the card forward. Whilst effective, it requires a huge amount of energy to constantly produce the Gravitons and can have disastrous side, effects, leaving gravity trails behind which can pull planets out of orbit.*

After often catastrophic initial testing, as it there is some grand order to the universe, a sapient species will reach the conclusion that a graviton field is the answer. Here Gravitons are produced at the beginning of a journey and continuously circulated around the craft. This creates a dense pocket of gravity which warps space around the craft, effectively 'moving' space while craft remains stationary. In combination with conventional propulsion of the craft itself within the pocket, this allows near instantaneous travel of any distance.


As the pocket whips space past it affects the space. The most abundant of the bosons, photons are the main victim of the graviton drive. During transit the pocket of gravity will warp space around it but also attract matter from outside the immediate area of space being warped. Because their paths attempt to avoid any larger objects by thousands of miles, it is mostly the light emmited from the celestial objects which is drawn in. The result is a helix shaped cylindrical trail led 'behind' the craft, often surrounded by a larger fractal pattern of light. Although it dissipates quickly, this trail bears a resemblance to the the rifling barrels of many early chemical propulsion weapons common to all civilisations and thus has earned transit by Graviton Driver the name 'SpaceShot'


Due to need to avoid celestial objects, paths must be plotted carefull before hand and can take at best minutes and at worst hours. All craft wishing to do so must have an on board supercomputer to achieve said calculation speed. The density of the Staite's 'bar' centre prevents the use of a Graviton Drive.
The other major shortcoming of the drive is its inability to cross 'dark space'; the space between galaxies and their arms. The reason for this is Space shots are calculated using celestial luminosity and thus positioning. This is done by creating smaller pockets to allow sensory photons to travel 'faster than light' to give momentsry feedback. To go from one galaxy to another would require light detection technology with an accuracy of unfathomable extents; one billionth of a decimal place would put a craft over a trillion kilometres off course.

The Advanced Insulating and Radiation Retention System or 'AIRS' as it known to the common crewman aboard war vessels, is one of the only practical cloaking methods for larger ships. Although there are variations in methods, the system always requires a large amount of space aboard the craft. This excludes corvettes and fast-attack craft/fighters from implementing the AIRS.

One method involves lacing the entire inner hull with nano-insulators which have massive capacity. Another, cruder, method is using large open space in the craft and using the air and ships structure as insulators, a much more dangerous method also.
The system aims to divert the heat generated by vital systems and retain it within the craft itself for a period of time so that it is essentially visible on any heat-sensor. The systems has many limitations; it cannot be used in open combat, the heat generated from firing weapons is far too much, nor can it be used when traveling very fast as most conventional subliminal engines generate vast amounts of heat. Even within these operational constraints, the system cannot run for more than a few minutes at a time without risk of cooking the crew or damaging the ship. Despite all this, the system remains a widely used one in one shape of form across the Straite. This is most likely because, no matter how small, the tactical advantage the element of surprise affords can change the outcome of a battle.

The technology is only usable by Frigates, Destroyers and some Cruisers. Battleships and Dreadnoughts are so large, that the quantities of heat they produce outweigh the effectiveness of the system.

2.2 Weapons

Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation or 'Laser' weapons are common throughout the Straite - fusion-based power generation systems provide the energy to focus a beam of light at a specific wavelength, transmitting energy towards a single target, and based on intensity the weapon could blind someone looking out of a porthole, overheat the engine of an escaping vessel, or cut a beam straight across it, destroying the ship. Due to the large size of the emission system, very few civilizations have developed lasers to fit aboard corvette-class vessels, and due to the lag time between firing a target beam and firing the main attack laser, they are largely impractical for engaging fast-moving targets. Most laser cannons fire a small, thin beam first as a target marker, to confirm that the beam will hit the target, and to act as a 'warning shot' when trying to avoid casualties. The main beam will then be activated, and the beam will increase in size and power in order to release maximal damage onto the target.

There are two main methods of attack with laser weapons; the first is the directed attack, in which a large target is positively identified, and a target laser is fired. Some captains may prefer to target specific sections such as engines or weapon ports, while others may simply wish to cut and do as much damage as possible. Once the target is confirmed, the laser will be powered up, and the beam will begin inflicting damage. Depending on how long the beam stays in one place or how quickly it moves, this attack has been known to cut ships in half, or fire holes straight through bulkheads and depressurize entire craft. The second method is colloquially known as the 'Flyswatter' - by targeting a dense group of small vessels, without a single specific target, the captain may attempt to catch small craft in the beam and destroy them en masse, splitting them up into smaller groups which are easier for accompanying vessels or alternative weapon systems to engage

~Contributed by Generaldisaster

Although tested in early space-faring days by most races, the Railgun remains a mainstay of space warfare. This is mostly due to the exponential increase in capability as better electrical systems are utilized. The Railgun operates off of a principle very basic to most sentient life.

Two or more conductive rails are held firmly in place and connected to a power supply. When a projectile, also conductive in nature. When the power supply is pulsed, the current runs thought the negative rail, the projectile and then the positive rail, back to the supply. This directed current creates a powerful electromagnetic field between the rails.

As any physicist will know, this net force will act at right angles to a main axis of the rails and along with the current from the supply will create a Lorentz force which accelerates the projectile away from the power source at monumental speeds.

This same force, will also try and push the rails apart, meaning they must be made of and mounted with nothing other than the finest materials a nation can produce. Some of the more advanced species have developed ways to fire non-conductive projectiles, which have much more mass. This is done be 'mounting' the projectile on a ionized stream of plasma which completes the circuit and accelerates with the projectile.

Upon impact, a projectile can cause vastly more damage than most nuclear weapons. There are multiple reasons for this, the most important being that the unfathomable velocities generated produce kinetic energy which is greater than the total energy output of most fusion bombs. Many battery operators have been know to shout 'v-squared bitches!' after a direct hit. If fired in an atmosphere the projectile's friction force may ignite the gases surrounding it leaving a blazing stream of plasma in its wake.

Due to the billions of joules need to power larger sets of rails, the cost, size and most importantly the potential damage output, Railguns are almost exclusively found as the main battery in Cruisers, Battleships and Dreadnoughts or as planetary defences.

[Darkmatter]

3.ORGANIZATIONS

3.1 Alliances

3.2 Economic Pacts

3.3 War Agreements

3.4 Mercenary Outfits

Nilinth of the planet Deyrok generally make lousy commanders in combat situations. They don't handle violence and stress well, and they lack the capacity to develop combat strategies and think under pressure. This has led to a disproportionate number of ship captains and fleet commanders being Ubens, the Nilinth's sister species. Unfortunately, they make lousy commanders for other reasons. Ubens don't like taking orders.

Whether it be for the frustration of dealing with superiors, a lack of action or an insufficient paycheck, Uben commanders have been known to take their ship and any other ships under their command and go AWOL. Their crews are usually Nilinth that defected with the captains or recently recruited replacements, with few other Ubens. Most attacing rogues are looking to score some new ships, pillage supplies or transporting goods, or might be looking for some kind of body part the captain wants to assimilate. Uben captains usually regard their crews as expendable resources and are fond of drastic strategies, but not always. Uben captains have been known to board ships and even attempt to fight enemy captains themselves.

So far only a couple of Cruisers have gone rogue, with most of the others being Destroyers or smaller. However, they're perfectly capable of buying more ships, even from Deyrok colonies. A lot of their ships are still painted in Deyrok colors, green and blue. Because these rogue ships are a threat to their reputation and their allies, the Deyrok has posted a bounty for each rogue ship recorded destroyed: 20% of the ship's cost, plus another 20% if the crew are captured alive and delivered to Deyrok for incarceration.

~Contributed by Xartarin

The Alliance (Hamacian Non-Affiliates)

The Alliance was a political body that originated out of the Hamacian’s home planet; now it refers to the colonies that weren’t usurped by the HCO and hadn’t expired due to starvation, suffocation or general warfare. Having to bear on the solitude of The Great Isolation, many of the colonies established were flimsy military outposts meant to ward off political opposition and many were ensured to be dependant on a central government to survive.

Those that were able to sustain themselves usually kept in the name of The Alliance. The association between planetary bodies is minimized by their political incompetence. This could be countered by their amazing ability to repair and build ships from ancestral technology. While most of their craft is jerry-rigged, their impressive junk-welding skills allow them to set up bars and outposts in space.

Many of the people in this group are rugged individuals who focus on material gain. Frequently they’re recruited as mercenaries, and their society has been known for their drug dealers, pirates, pilots, smugglers and black marketers. They’re additionally popular mechanics for spacecraft and other vehicles. They lack any serious fleet, however there are many vessels with competent fighting capabilities that might prove a challenge to a force of enemy destroyers and cruisers. On land, they are known for their climatic adaptability and survivability, however they’re mostly fodder in any commanders eyes.

~Contributed by Marrone

3.5 Corporations

The Relay Armed Service Provider, or RASP, is a subsidiary of ÆGIR, one of the largest corporations in the galaxy. The company took the contract offered by the main players in the galactic stage in the early days after the discovery of the relays. Realistically, RASP is just a private security aspect of the larger ÆGIR company.

Tasked with overseeing traffic thought the Relay, RASP carries some heavy responsibilities. Minor issues such as smuggling, illegal migration and tariff evasion are everyday occurrences. The real issue is the event of war. In such a scenario, RASP must be an island of neutrality. The Relays are a demilitarised zone and and aggression to or around them is regarded as the highest violation of galactic rights. Thus, despite protests from certain galactic pacifists, RASP's fleet is as large and powerful as that of any singular nation. It's ships are in-house designs that borrow from all the nations.

To keep tensions low, RASP has servicemen from all of the key nations and they are all represented as equally as possible in upper management.

[Darkmatter]

Dynamic Information Centre

Imperial Systems Commonwealth
Cs : 950
Ppoints: 3
Dreadnoughts: 1
Battleships: 6
Crusiers: 12
Destroyers: 25
Frigates: 45
Corvette Units: 41
Fighters/Fast Attack Craft Units: 200
War Agreements: NONE
Economic Pacts: NONE
Alliances: NONE
Great Advancements: NONE
Cultural Idols: NONE
War Heroes: NONE
Status: 10
Informatin: NONE
Colonies: 1{Colonial+20}
Open Trade Routes:NONE
Private Trade Routes: NONE
Current Fixed Income: 20C's Colony;


Traits:
Colonial
Disciplined
Industrious

Avaloos
Cs : 29,000
Ppoints: 3
Dreadnoughts:
Battleships: 1
Crusiers: 6
Destroyers: 10
Frigates: 25
Corvette Units: 50
Fighters/Fast Attack Craft Units: 200
War Agreements: NONE
Economic Pacts: NONE
Alliances: NONE
Great Advancements: NONE
Cultural Idols: NONE
War Heroes: NONE
Status: 50
Information: NONE
Colonies: NONE
Open Trade Routes:NONE
Private Trade Routes: NONE
Current Fixed Income:

Traits:
Industrious
Information Trader
Advanced Research



Sputtlefish
Cs : 2305
Ppoints: 3
Dreadnoughts: 1
Battleships: 6
Crusiers: 12
Destroyers: 25
Frigates: 45
Corvette Units: 49
Fighters/Fast Attack Craft Units: 200
War Agreements: NONE
Economic Pacts: NONE
Alliances: NONE
Great Advancements: NONE
Cultural Idols: NONE
War Heroes: NONE
Status: 0
Information:NONE
Colonies:NONE
Open Trade Routes:NONE
Private Trade Routes: NONE
Current Fixed Income:


Traits:
Entertainment Capital
Industrious
Laissez Faire


Hamacian Collective Organization
Cs : 300
Ppoints: 3
Dreadnoughts: 1
Battleships: 6
Crusiers: 12
Destroyers: 25
Frigates: 40
Corvette Units: 45
Fighters/Fast Attack Craft Units: 200
War Agreements: NONE
Economic Pacts: NONE
Alliances: NONE
Great Advancements: NONE
Cultural Idols: NONE
War Heroes: NONE
Status: 20
Information: NONE
Colonies: 2
Open Trade Routes: 1
Private Trade Routes: None
Current fixed income: 40Cs OTR; 20Cs Colonies;

Traits:
Guerillas
Information Traders
Advanced Research

Sithill
Cs : 400
Ppoints: 3
Dreadnoughts: 1
Battleships: 6
Crusiers: 12
Destroyers: 25
Frigates: 45
Corvette Units: 50
Fighters/Fast Attack Craft Units: 200
War Agreements: NONE
Economic Pacts: NONE
Alliances: NONE
Great Advancements: NONE
Cultural Idols: NONE
War Heroes: NONE
Status: 30
Information: NONE
Colonies:NONE
Open Trade Routes:NONE
Private Trade Routes: NONE
Current Fixed Income:


Traits:
Advanced Research
Trans-Organics
Eureka!

Unity Of Deyrok
Cs : 1370
Ppoints: 3
Dreadnoughts: 1
Battleships: 6
Crusiers: 12
Destroyers: 25
Frigates: 45
Corvette Units: 47
Fighters/Fast Attack Craft: 10,000
War Agreements: NONE
Economic Pacts: NONE
Alliances: NONE
Great Advancements: NONE
Cultural Idols: NONE
War Heroes: NONE
Status: 0
Informatin: NONE
Colonies: 1{Colonial+20}
Open Trade Routes: 1
Private Trade Routes: NONE
Current Fixed Income: 20Cs Colony; 40Cs OTR

Traits:
Colonial
Pacifist
Information

Military And Fleet Actions:

Produce Fleet: See Fleet list for info

Deploy Fleet: See fleet list

Send Expeditionary Force: Corvette Deployment Time along with 100 Cs cost. Sending a force has a 33% chance of finding rare mineral resources resulting in a random Cs reward. A 33% percent chance of finding a new world to colonize which awards 10C a turn and adds to influence and a 33% chance of encountering a hostile force e.g. pirates. Uses 5 Corvettes. Lose one to extract minerals. Lose two to found new colony and lose all five to combat.

Send Diplomatic Misson: Required by both sides to negotiate any form of allegiance of alliance. Costs 150 Cs each and only lasts for 2 posts for each side. If no agreement is reached after 2 posts from each the talks either break down or a further 100Cs must be invested each time talks are renewed. For the sake of realism try not to decide these negotiations in private of beforehand. Removes a Frigate from the Fleet and deems it an Emissary craft. Will not return to war service after.

Declare War: Necessary by one side if combat between players is desired. Costs 1 Ppoint at the beginning and 100 Cs for every page of posts that the war goes on for. Reduces Status by 50. Can cause loss of any number of ships

Economy Actions:

Open Trade Route: This declares you wish to open a trade route of mutual benefit. If only one other player chooses this on a given turn, unless at war with each other or if the either player has negative status, then a route will automatically be opened between these two. If multiple instances occure players may choose who to open a route with. If nobody else chooses this option on a turn, then you will be 'pending' and the route will be pushed to the 2nd subsequent turn. Costs 1Ppoint and either 1 Frigate or 10 Corvettes and rewards a base of 40Cs every turn to both players. Limited to 1 per pair. I.e. you can only have one route open with each other civ. If there are 6 other players you can have a max of 6 open routes.

Private Trade Route: Can only be opened by players in 'economic pacts' or full alliances. Offers 80Cs every turn but with an intial cost of 1Ppoint, 2 Frigates and 600Cs. Limited to four per player regardless of number of players in the Economic Pact.

Capitilist Venture: Costs 1Ppoint and any sum the player wishes. 50% chance of earning a multiple between 1-3 times the amount invested and 50% chance of loosing half the investment.

Centralisation: Costs 1Ppoint and reduces Status by 10 but rewards 120 Cs.

Form 'Economic Pact': Initialized by 2 players but more may request to join. Allows private trade routes but requires all members to assist any other member who goes bankrupt. Costs 1Ppoint each and 250 Cs to be divided however participants see fit.

Science&Culture Actions:

Scientific Advancement: Discovering a new wonder is a great way to raise status, but is costly; 1 Ppoint and 200 Cs rewards +10 Status.

Recyling: Waste not want not. Especially when you're wasting a million ton starship. Destroy any ship in your fleet and receive 70% of its production cost in Cs

Cultural Idol: The Hollywood factor. Having a galaxy-wide name in your civilization boosts your status but these people are high maintenance; 1 Ppoint initial cost and 250 cs every turn per Idol. Each Idol rewards 1 Status per turn. Limited to 4.

Mass Media Hype: Careful use and deployment of advertising and marketing can dramatically increase awareness of a product, and its seller. Increases status by 2 at a cost of 100 Cs or 1Ppoint

Alliance: Can only be formed by players with Status +/- 25 of each other. Costs both 1Ppoint and 200 Cs. Only forged during a Diplomatic mission. Both playes Status are added together, halved and then a one tenth of that result is added to each players Status. Automatically activates, Economic Pact and War Agreement as outlined above.

Investing in science will often have unforeseen benefits, again more on that later.

[Darkmatter]

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