40k/Dune/Star Wars, mind. That leaves room for light space magic/pyskers, as well as for proper artificial planetoid-scale megaprojects, although those'd be either yet to have been made or been put out of commission. I would not put it past War of the Worlds Martians to try and replace the planet's dead, mined-out core and make some kind of crudely unsubtle fusion reactor, a contained artificial star, to power an entire mechanized undercontinent beneath the planet's crust. Like a tiny Dyson sphere. I would also not put it past them to fuck it up and, instead of producing a stable fusion reaction they could harvest more energy from than they needed to spend to contain it, cause the entire planet to go up like Alderaan by making a pure fusion weapon the size of a tiny moon, causing immense damage to Earth. That'd leave the Martians with only any exterior population to work with on the other dead rocks and the asteroid belt, though, so one would have to work out how they'd have garnered enough numbers after waking up or while still in-transit stasis to pose a credible threat. Automated cloning, maybe, tubescum kids that never knew home. What do you think, Willy? Any of this spitballing sound like it's on the mark?

I think we should better sculpt out relations between factions

40k/Dune/Star Wars, mind. That leaves room for light space magic/pyskers, as well as for proper artificial planetoid-scale megaprojects, although those'd be either yet to have been made or been put out of commission. I would not put it past War of the Worlds Martians to try and replace the planet's dead, mined-out core and make some kind of crudely unsubtle fusion reactor, a contained artificial star, to power an entire mechanized undercontinent beneath the planet's crust. Like a tiny Dyson sphere. I would also not put it past them to fuck it up and, instead of producing a stable fusion reaction they could harvest more energy from than they needed to spend to contain it, cause the entire planet to go up like Alderaan by making a pure fusion weapon the size of a tiny moon, causing immense damage to Earth. That'd leave the Martians with only any exterior population to work with on the other dead rocks and the asteroid belt, though, so one would have to work out how they'd have garnered enough numbers after waking up or while still in-transit stasis to pose a credible threat. Automated cloning, maybe, tubescum kids that never knew home. What do you think, Willy? Any of this spitballing sound like it's on the mark?

Time.
Martians traveled thousands of years and reached a yet uncharted territory. They began rebuilding their civilization and even expanding it further than they ever could. Then they eventually spotted the Empire and how grand it had become in comparison which gave the leader of the time a good dose of sodium. So they watched and spread their net to know more about their fattened up enemy. And then they noticed the collapse and knew it was time to strike.
Martians don't have the numbers to overwhelm the entire Empire but they plan to abuse its divided state and gradually take control of them. Through the course of the RP they'll create entire puppet governments with them secretly in control.

EDIT: As for mechanism, they rather went for the fission and via a controlled chain reaction they made an improvised molten salt reactor out of the core. Thing is that while the reaction was under control the stabilit of the core itself was not. This eventually led to a growing margin of error, destabilization of the planet and then runaway chain reaction converting the rest of the core into nuclear fuel which would reach critical levels within a month. The Martians fled and left behind an accidental nuclar bomb with the size of a moon which detonated soon. The Martians thought this would also destroy human civilizations but they warded off most of the danger by an experimental shield they were working on for a while.
That's my idea.

Okay maybe the martians aren't a good idea. They sound really cartoony which is totally out of place in a RP where everything's supposed to more 40K or Dune in terms of style. That other space RP where I had a species of telekinetic balls would've been more fitting for them if it wasn't for Aaron being all philosophical.

Yeah, as if 40k is in any way a serious or grounded setting. Not to mention what I said about Martians turning the planet's core into a reactor is far less BS than many of the technologies pesent in 40k.
Yeah, I'd fit in just fine.

40K perhaps is not really close to what this setting is like judging by applications. This RP from what I understood was more like a secular, factional low fantasy star wars with Warhammer 40K cultural influences in some areas, especially in psionics but not nearly to the insanity of 40K psionics. (This is true even if there's someone here who has some features quite similar to a certain xeno from 40K).

Your martians seem like something from Star Control 2 or Loony Tunes from a stylistic standpoint given what I know of them.

Maybe i'm wrong, but I'll have to see these martians in action to be proven other wise.

While I initially expressed interest, this seems to have lost focus, and with nine people having written CS's already, I'm sorry to say I feel like this will crumble under its own weight before it gets going. I've seen it enough times to know.

I of course wish ye the best of luck, but I shall not, as initially said, be taking part.

Personally, I just want to get this started in the IC so we can get it running. Hopefully then we can iron out any messy details.

@Willy Vereb, I wasn't too sure about them at first, but I suppose the Martians could work. If you end up writing a NS for them I'll take a look at it.

Okay maybe the martians aren't a good idea. They sound really cartoony which is totally out of place in a RP where everything's supposed to more 40K or Dune in terms of style. That other space RP where I had a species of telekinetic balls would've been more fitting for them if it wasn't for Aaron being all philosophical.

This. I'm not one to tell others how to do their thing, but it doesn't seem to fit with everything else going on.

Anyways, I think that's the whole Martian debate is best left to the approval process (I personally don't care for it, but it's not really my place to say. I think we need some forward mobility. Either establish a functional timeline based on the accepted factions so far, as so many have asked for, or begin posting in character to get the ball rolling. I'd do an IC post myself, but i'm still somewhat new to this and would like to see someone else do it first so I don't violate any etiquette unintentionally. I still might, if I get an itch to do it, but it's nice to have a model.

I think we should better sculpt out relations between factions

One way of doing that could be setting these factions as they reach or pull out from Almata of they have stakes in it. It gives the idea that people are trying to escape the carnage or try and take the spoils of war for themselves to take the empire.

One way of doing that could be setting these factions as they reach or pull out from Almata of they have stakes in it. It gives the idea that people are trying to escape the carnage or try and take the spoils of war for themselves to take the empire.

So, similar to how Germany was carved up at the end of WW2? Forming spheres of influence on the remains of the imperial territories? In that case i'd say a map would be pretty handy to have, even if just a rough approximation.

<Snipped quote by TehAlphaGamer>

So, similar to how Germany was carved up at the end of WW2? Forming spheres of influence on the remains of the imperial territories? In that case i'd say a map would be pretty handy to have, even if just a rough approximation.

I think he was referring more to Almata itself, having factions pull out, stay, or come in as their agendas demand and having the response to the sacking set up the relations more solidly.

I think he was referring more to Almata itself, having factions pull out, stay, or come in as their agendas demand and having the response to the sacking set up the relations more solidly.

Okay, so just setting up Almata as contested territory. I can work with that if need be. May be a tad awkward for factions who have no real designs on Almata though (Invaders, those wishing to set up independent states, etc.)

<Snipped quote by Durandal>

Okay, so just setting up Almata as contested territory. I can work with that if need be. May be a tad awkward for factions who have no real designs on Almata though (Invaders, those wishing to set up independent states, etc.)

Either way works, really, perhaps both. Whatever is best for everyone.

@ZadubadabuI posted my NS but it's seriously WIP for now.
I'll be editing it soon and making it shine.
Until then enjoy my description on the not-Martians.

@Willy Vereblooks alright so far. Depending on how you play it out they could be an interesting addition. I'll wait for it to be more complete before deciding anything of course.

@ZadubadabuMade another batch of edits. Would you really mind my idea with the Precursors?
At worst this could be a myth or that they are truly exterminated without barely a trace. I don't mind that.
Or have Precursor artifacts and such for occasional plot devices or a loot which many factions would wish to get.
Also just because they are the Precursors by Martian lore it doesn't mean we can't have other ancient races, neither it makes them the mightiest.
So hopefully there's nothing bad with them while potentially I give people another plot element to use.

@Willy VerebI don't see much problem with it. It's been a while, it's fair to say that human records of them, if they even had any, were lost over time. Or the damage to Mars caused a great loss of most traces of them. It's easy to explain why information is lacking, and even your NS says the non-Martians don't even have much left from them despite being directly descended from them. If someone wants to use it then it's fine, but if not then they're easily forgotten.

@Willy VerebI don't see much problem with it. It's been a while, it's fair to say that human records of them, if they even had any, were lost over time. Or the damage to Mars caused a great loss of most traces of them. It's easy to explain why information is lacking, and even your NS says the non-Martians don't even have much left from them despite being directly descended from them. If someone wants to use it then it's fine, but if not then they're easily forgotten.

Thank you!
The Precursor Legend is kind of the equivalent of religion for the Sarmakth. They have some findings and old obscure recordings made shortly after the great war which devastated Mars but there's no hard proof on anything. The idea their forced evolution is to adapt to their environment could be also a sham (who the hell thinks floating brains are the most survivable?) or perhaps the Sarmakth are wrong and they are just yet another creations of the Precursors. Anything is possible. For the record most of their propaganda and feeling of superiority uses the basis that they are the direct evolution of Precursors and all life belongs to them by proxy. If this theory is invalidated that could make quite a schizm between the Sarmakth.

So yeah, I see lot of fun potential in it.

It's funny you should mention long-lost precursors, actually. One of the four systems controlled by the saurian client state was going to have significant though mostly technologically devoid archaeological findings in the same style as older findings on the capital death world, raising forced evolution theories and all. Sort of hard to get natural radioactive heavy worlders otherwise. Might it be the very same ones between the Sarmakth and the Claw, maybe? Considering their completely inverted views on humanity- the Sarmakth despise them, while the Claw are fascinated by their peculiar hidden vitality, have copied the Arcturan court model and melded human ideas of valor through service above the call of duty and their own martial ideas to create a cult of suicidal heroism- it'd make for an interesting foundation for confrontation and dialogue. Further, as one of the Captain's brainchildren, the Claw have a two man vertically-stretched disc or spinning top type hexapod walker as a trench cleaning vehicle, which they might have themselves made as a rationalized derivation of the Precursor tripod in the same fashion as the Martian reproduction.

It's funny you should mention long-lost precursors, actually. One of the four systems controlled by the saurian client state was going to have significant though mostly technologically devoid archaeological findings in the same style as older findings on the capital death world, raising forced evolution theories and all. Sort of hard to get natural radioactive heavy worlders otherwise. Might it be the very same ones between the Sarmakth and the Claw, maybe? Considering their completely inverted views on humanity- the Sarmakth despise them, while the Claw are fascinated by their peculiar hidden vitality, have copied the Arcturan court model and melded human ideas of valor through service above the call of duty and their own martial ideas to create a cult of suicidal heroism- it'd make for an interesting foundation for confrontation and dialogue. Further, as one of the Captain's brainchildren, the Claw have a two man vertically-stretched disc or spinning top type hexapod walker as a trench cleaning vehicle, which they might have themselves made as a rationalized derivation of the Precursor tripod in the same fashion as the Martian reproduction.

Martian Tripods are made out of both ideological and practical reasons. The basic idea is to have a giant version of their "god" or at least their legendary precursors while the tripod-like movement was also simpler to accomplish than the way the Sarmaktsh travel while it's still familiar enough for the pilots to control well. It goes without saying that the Sarmakth never invented wheel and they refuse use such thing for propulsion or even as mechanical aid (ie: cogwheels).

And yeah, a potential clash between the two could be fun.