That was my guess anyway, in which some houses were sworn to the Bureaucracy or the IA. I just had the interesting idea that there might be noble houses/governers one might need to win to their side assuming an imperial family member or another power wanted to gain the imperial throne. I imagine the more archaic feudal system might have been born from the fact the first colonies were established before proper FTL travel through hyperlanes, thus these colonies might have regressed a little technology wise.
By the time the void was found and began to be utilized these human worlds later discovered retained little of their old technology. They had devolved into feudal states ruled by aristocratic nobles. Perhaps still retaining some more advanced technology in the form of mech/warframes used to fend off hostile xenos. That's the plan for my systems, anyway, something other people might adopt if they want to help flesh out these first colony worlds.
I imagine these feudal worlds are more on the fringe of the empire while the core worlds are more modern in terms of government.
The idea of knights trading in their plate and horse for walking war engines is tantalizing to me.
Now another topic I want to go into later is how the church is structured, and how ingrained is said church into the empire? Is their an oligarchy council? A head of the religion like a pope?
Just trying to get back to everyone...work out a NS and a post. Bare with me, I can't log on everyday.
@IsotopeI'll add the FTL fluff asap. Thanks so much!
Yeah, a map would be good. Does anyone have a good base from which we could start working on?
As for the nobility, I figured it would be a mixed situation. With certain sectors under direct Imperial/Bureaucratic control, some others are in the hands of the Imperial Authority and others (like Virezhir) having this neo-feudal arrangement you're talking about.
This exactly. We can figure out the details as we go.
As for cartography, I propose we use @gorgenmasts idea about tracts of Imperial territory. With the center being the core worlds of the Empire (1st tract, orbit, ring w/e) etc.
I think people are confusing The Church of Ankh-Sah with the Followers of the Void, I interpreted them as two different factions. Not sure the followers of the void are in fact so much religious as they are simply experts on the void, closer to scientist really. I could be wrong of course.
Also if anyone looks into the void section it does state some of the powers Vacare have though not in much detail.
I've left both of these factions intentionally vague.
The vacare are jedi without any of the trappings of light/dark. They are simply powerful.
@Polybius Damn! I can't resist! Consider me interested. Would it be possible for me to play as one of mentioned alien hordes?
I think we should focus on the internal conflict of the factions and forces within the empire. It's less Warhammer 40k and more Romance of the 3 Kingdoms.
So I was thinking about Concordat ships and their brains, and I thought it might be really cool to have a sort of Flying Dutchman type thing going on. An old Concordat battleship operated by an insane Vacare brain, running around randomly slaughtering undefended civilians before disappearing into the Void?
Not sure who would control it (GM maybe?) but it could be a fun sort of Random Event for different factions to deal with.
@PolybiusAre you going to kick off the IC btw? Maybe a post detailing the coup/massacre by the Junta on the capital and the royal survivors fleeing to all ends and declaring themselves emperor or empress? That is if we're still going for that idea.
Right to the CS section. My disdain for nationsheets may not be well known. I prefer to focus on writing to be honest.
So I was thinking about Concordat ships and their brains, and I thought it might be really cool to have a sort of Flying Dutchman type thing going on. An old Concordat battleship operated by an insane Vacare brain, running around randomly slaughtering undefended civilians before disappearing into the Void?
Not sure who would control it (GM maybe?) but it could be a fun sort of Random Event for different factions to deal with.
That would make a really cool mega dungeon in a traditional tabletop game!
@PolybiusAre you going to kick off the IC btw? Maybe a post detailing the coup/massacre by the Junta on the capital and the royal survivors fleeing to all ends and declaring themselves emperor or empress? That is if we're still going for that idea.
That's exactly what I'm working on. I don't mind if people post an IC if they are feeling froggy.
Just trying to get back to everyone...work out a NS and a post. Bare with me, I can't log on everyday.
@IsotopeI'll add the FTL fluff asap. Thanks so much!
<Snipped quote by Drunken Conquistador>
This exactly. We can figure out the details as we go.
As for cartography, I propose we use @gorgenmasts idea about tracts of Imperial territory. With the center being the core worlds of the Empire (1st tract, orbit, ring w/e) etc.
<Snipped quote by GreivousKhan>
I've left both of these factions intentionally vague.
The vacare are jedi without any of the trappings of light/dark. They are simply powerful.
<Snipped quote by Sigma>
I think we should focus on the internal conflict of the factions and forces within the empire. It's less Warhammer 40k and more Romance of the 3 Kingdoms.
I thought of it along the lines of CK2 in space. Also, since you left the church vague, and no one else has placed much interest in them. Would I be free to throw out some details/fluff for said church?
I'm assuming it has power at least somewhat reminiscent of the Catholic church though that might depend on how ingrained it is within the high officials or nobles of the empire.
@Polybius Damn! I can't resist! Consider me interested. Would it be possible for me to play as one of mentioned alien hordes?
Woot, always nice to see Sig around ^.^
Join the church, we have fresh cookies and brunt heretics!
Name: House Teklis Ruling body System-Lord Kest Teklis Commander of ISO Illistra Hazen Grand-Master Allegan Teklis Lead Scientist of AIVIRA Ysabel Imken Home System: Aurax System Aurax I – Aurax I is far too close to the Aurax sun to support any kind of life. With acid rains, dense atmosphere and toxic gasses everywhere. Aurax I is generally used as a dumping ground for unusable material. Aurax II – The Goldilocks area, Aurax II is a vibrant green world. It is a sustainable farm world capable of feeding Aurax and it’s neighboring system. This is intentional. Aurax III – The only world that is substantially colonized. With a population of 20 billion people, Aurax III is far from a metropolitan world. However, it is large enough to have a substantial industry. Through imperial decree, Aurax III’s industry remains largely balanced. However, it is clear that the local military-industrial establishments are slightly larger than the average companies. Aurax IIIa – in part the reason why the Aurax system is of such importance. Aurax IIIa was originally an observation moon. After the discovery of the Void and the rise of the Vacare, Aurax IIIa became home to AIVIRA. An institute that was approaching the Vacare and their sorceries. Vacare raised here were soon picked up by the Imperial Authority. Which began to develop its presence on the planet and turned it into a fortress moon. Paragon Station – A military fortress station meant for zero-G combat training. Paragon station has grown substantially over the last few centuries, becoming the home of the ISO fleet as well as that of the ISO Grand Admiral. Gibraltar Ring – An asteroid ring rich in minerals and metals. Several mining stations are hollowing out the asteroids and transport the ore to the orbital factories of Aurax III. Primary Resource: Vacare Armed Forces: While Vacare make up the heart of House Teklis and the ISO-branch, they are still a somewhat rare sight at Aurax. Instead of only counting on the Vacare, ISO also employs a variety of special response forces. Each Order has a unique skill. The Order of Serenity, for example, is specialized in riot control and returning order and peace to an otherwise rebellious system. The Order of Fate, in turn, is specialized in covert operations and mostly stealth operations. This specialization makes sure that House Teklis and ISO was able to respond the second the Emperor told them to. Except for conventional warfare. As Aurax does lack the manpower to fight an all-out war unsupported.
These orders each have a handful of ships suited for their needs. For example, the Order of Fate has several corvettes and destroyers equipped with stealth drives (not invisibility) and the Order of Serenity hold a handful of cruisers. However, due to Imperial Decree, Aurax is prohibited from owning any battleships.
Imperial Assessment Your Imperial Majesty
No doubt you know the heavily militarized system of Aurax very well. However, if you would indulge me I would like to go over the history of this system. So you can understand it’s current situation all the better.
The start of Aurax lays with Aurax IIIa. A uniquely qualified moon for Void research. It’s close proximity to an anomaly made the creation of an observatory necessary. Furthermore, Aurax IIIa has a very thin and uniquely composed atmosphere. It’s thin enough so it doesn’t block radiation all that much. However, more solid states of matter do get burned upon entry. Even though the object will often still reach the surface, it’s danger will be significantly reduced.
When the void showed humanity’s potentially in the form of the Vacare, the people of the observation post did not shy away from these new capabilities. Quite the opposite, with their scientific knowledge they researched they new found abilities. This created the Academy for Vacare Research. Which eventually became AIVIRA.
This did not go unnoticed. The military branch, the Imperial Authority, soon began to offer great incentives to the Vacare of Aurax IIIa. As soldiers, the Vacare were a new resource to be understood and deployed. Through the specialization of AIVIRA, many of the combat deployed Vacare from Aurax showed great promise. Following the military and the Vacare researchers, many colonists settled the green planets of Aurax to supply the moon and the vast, orbital military constructions.
One of your forbearers found the gravitation of power towards Aurax troubling. He took personal control over the system. It would be part of the Imperial Authority only in name. While he himself would command the generals. The Emperor created the ISO-branch of the Imperial Authority. Since that forefather, several more Emperors came went. Each using ISO more or less. Though the ISO-branch continued to grow, with at its heart AIVIRA.
So I'm not going to lie, I kinda rushed the sheet and I'll be amending a lot of things and add some formatting. So allow me to just throw a blurb of information here to give everyone a more cohesive idea of what I want to make:
Due to several events, Aurax became a heart of Vacare research. This has created a 'feedback' loop of Vacare. The Vacare of Aurax learned how to control their powers better, so other Vacare came in to learn. With more and more Vacare coming in, they could discover more. Soon enough the Imperial Authority found all those Vacare really interesting and began to fortify the system and get the Vacare into the military. So the local research institute (AIVIRA, Auraxian Imperial Vacare Institute for Research and Application) teamed up with the military, got a boat load of funds and just rolled with it. Soon enough the Emperor (not the one that just died) found his own military getting so chubby with the Vacare rather dangerous. So he put Aurax under ISO (Interplanetary Special Operations) control, which he himself in turn controlled. Aurax was no longer part of the Imperial Authority (though the ties remained) and it became a staging place for the many Orders the emperor would employ should a planet, system, person or group became unruly and issues that couldn't be solved by simply sending the Imperial Authority's fleet somewhere. These days AIVIRA and ISO are still fiercly loyal to the Emperor, who gave them lots of goodies and toys to play with but also kept them on a very short leash (obviously).
Now he's dead and the galaxy is in turmoil. They are a small faction but hellbent on one thing: finding the Emperor's children. Or their corpses, so the next in line can be crowned. As you might have guessed, they aren't fond of usurpors.
@GreivousKhan Sorry man, we'll have to be on opposite sides(I think?) :P
Plan B for my faction Idea(Sort of last minute I admit) will be an Imperial House/Duchy/etc that specialize to an extent in cybernetics, but their true mastery is in robotics, the House Head possessing his own private army of machines. If that seems good with the GM.
@GreivousKhan Sorry man, we'll have to be on opposite sides(I think?) :P
Plan B for my faction Idea(Sort of last minute I admit) will be an Imperial House/Duchy/etc that specialize to an extent in cybernetics, but their true mastery is in robotics, the House Head possessing his own private army of machines. If that seems good with the GM.
You always oppose me. :P
I should think about how the church feels about transhumanism like improvements through cybernetics or the prevalence of the Vacare.
@Legion02 Now you just need a code and give'em swords and you have jedi-- without the pacificism.
@GreivousKhan Sorry man, we'll have to be on opposite sides(I think?) :P
Plan B for my faction Idea(Sort of last minute I admit) will be an Imperial House/Duchy/etc that specialize to an extent in cybernetics, but their true mastery is in robotics, the House Head possessing his own private army of machines. If that seems good with the GM.
Could explain how this smaller and weaker(That's one detail I forgot to mention) House has managed to get the upper hand tech-wise over other more powerful houses.
Now you just need a code and give'em swords and you have jedi-- without the pacificism.
I mean, I never specified what the Vacare forces of Aurax use... So maybe, juuuuust maybe they have swords and other melee weapons. As for code, they do have one. The code is: Aurax is coming for the Children of the Emperor! IE Whoever is keeping the Imperial heir (like the oldest son of the late Emperor, I presume) hostage is gonna get a visit. That being said, Aurax was kept on a very short leash by the emperor. Now with no Emperor, Aurax doesn't really know what to do (beyond finding the next emperor) and have 0 desire to put someone of their own on the Throne. So they are a very valuable potential ally.
If I get time today I'll see what I can do about a map if everyone is OK with that. I'll edit it to your needs.
The question is whether to make it like this:
But a tad bigger, limiting the available systems to a relatively small number. In this scenario only a select set of systems are connected by stable starlanes and we can count them.
Or this:
Where the scale is huge, but the map is vague and far less useful for strategy. Only the largest starlanes would be on the map and massive areas of space with thousands or millions of systems would just be glossed over.
I'm partial to the first method, but it's up to you all. Of course, that's only if you even want a map.
@Isotope I like the first option as well, it also still makes sense given even a massive solar empire would likely still gloss over countless systems for one reason or another. Now add the fact we are bound for the most part by stable star lanes and even established sci settings like masse effect only have like 20% of the galaxy mapped out if I recall right.
