[OOC] Per Aspera Ad Astra - Sci-Fi Fantasy NRP

[EveryMemeAKing]

Does this RP take place in some actual galaxy or is it in some made up part of space?
Either way I have ideas.
I assume you've all read Dune.

[EveryMemeAKing]

WIP

Decrosian Imperius

Name of nation:
Decrosian Imperius
Species:
The Decrosian Imperius has many species in its Empire, but the two major ones are the Decrosian Majorians and the Decrosian Minorians (Typically called Majorians and Minorians by the outside nations). The Decrosians where once a united species, but over the course of two million years the species split off with the Majorians being the higher class citizens and the Minorians being the lower class ones. Ironically, Minorians are what make up the majority of the Empire. Minorians are typically used as infantry and death fodder in the military while Majorians are almost always higher ranking in the military. Majorians and Minorians can interbreed but it is very frowned upon by the culture of the Decrosian people. Even with this, a Decrosian Halfbreed as it is known is typically stronger than both the Minorians and Majorians.

Decrosian Majorians

Majorians typically stand at a large 2.5 meters in height and weigh around 150 kilograms, though some of the larger ones have been seen to reach around 3 meters in height and weigh around 200 kilograms. An untrained Majorian can lift around 200 kilograms, while one who graduated basic training can lift a total of 300 kilograms. Those who survive Advanced training can typically lift around 500 kilograms. The typical Majorian can run at a total of 60 Kilometers in an hour while the more fit ones can run at an average speed of 80 kilometers an hour. A major weakness of a Majorian is the fact that its midsection is always left open for an attack from the back or the front as long as it isn't wearing armor. The skin of a Majorian on every body part other than its head is weak enough for a minor knife to go straight through it with ease, making it essential for Majorian to wear an armor piece during combat with another species that is armed. Majorians have large claws on their hands that are able to slice off a limb of another Majorian if they are able to put enough force behind their swing.

Decrosian Minorians

Description of government:

Description of military:

Technological Overview:

Cultural Overview:

History:

Other:

[Ozerath]

Looking for a little input to decide between factions, help a chap out?

The Ashtar are pretty much psychic (aka magic) space elves. Dogmatic, keen on prophecy, destiny, gods, and higher purposes. They're good at answering questions, but not so great at asking them. Fond of sleek organic shapes, beam weaponry, and shiny spaceships. Some of you may recognize them.

The Imperial Systems Commonwealth is...let's call it a monarcho-parliamentary imperium. They enjoy oppressing new member species, annexing their neighbors, and colonizing every scrap of real estate they can lay their hands on. Pragmatic above all else, they believe in higher purposes when it suits them. They prefer more utilitarian designs, massive broadsides, and elaborate fleet tactics.

Any preferences?

[RomanAria]

@Ozerath Oooh both concepts are cool. If you feel you can handle it, you could play both. @Darkwolf687 is playing two factions as well.

[null123]

Looking for a little input to decide between factions, help a chap out?

The Ashtar are pretty much psychic (aka magic) space elves. Dogmatic, keen on prophecy, destiny, gods, and higher purposes. They're good at answering questions, but not so great at asking them. Fond of sleek organic shapes, beam weaponry, and shiny spaceships. Some of you may recognize them.

The Imperial Systems Commonwealth is...let's call it a monarcho-parliamentary imperium. They enjoy oppressing new member species, annexing their neighbors, and colonizing every scrap of real estate they can lay their hands on. Pragmatic above all else, they believe in higher purposes when it suits them. They prefer more utilitarian designs, massive broadsides, and elaborate fleet tactics.

Any preferences?

@Ozerath

Not going to say you can not do the Ashtar, but the dogmatic and higher purpose parts already fit the Iscandarians well, and their magical space elves to.

[Ozerath]

Yeah Duck looking through the CS's so far there's a good number of dogmatic aliens, I think the pragmatic expansionists might fit better.

[Ozerath]

Didn't take too long to modify my basic NS for the Commonwealth to fit this setting.

And don't worry their tactical FTL jumps will be subject to the 10 minute cooldown.

@duck55223

The Commonwealth

The Imperial Systems Commonwealth

A political amalgamation with grand pretenses of freedom and democracy, the Commonwealth is in truth a sprawling monarchical imperium dominated by a species of feline humanoids called the Vit'azny. The Commonwealth owes its existence to the fact that 500 years ago the then Vit'azny Empire realized assimilation was vastly easier than maintaining overlordship over their rebellious subjects. The resulting organization has since exploded into a major galactic power and an economic powerhouse.

Major Species

Vit'azny: The reigning elite of the Commonwealth and one of its founding members. The Vit'azny are long lived feline humanoids, with a number of subspecies. Males tend to be larger than females, and the average lifespan can reach up to 300 years. The Vit’azny dominate the upper echelons of the Commonwealth’s government, military, and corporations. Indeed, their monarch is the Commonwealth’s head of state: a figurehead on paper, but something quite different in practice. As a whole, the Vit’azny are a proud people, but are pragmatic more than anything.

Szitzu: A race of large, sentient bearlike creatures that form the backbone of the Commonwealth’s military might. As a whole, Szitzu society is heavily patriarchal and heavily based on tradition and an intricate clan system. While this society has produced excellent warriors for generations, it has a tendency to relegate thinkers to the sidelines. The Szitzu were originally conquered by the Vit’azny empire almost a 700 years ago, after a long and bloody conflict which only ended when Vit’azny technology overcame Szitzu ferocity. Under the Empire, the Szitzu were rebellious and problematic, but as one of the original founding members of the Commonwealth, they have become it’s most loyal supporters.

Yanissans: Originally a small star nation of 3 systems, the snakelike humanoids known as the Yanissans were quick to surrender when the Vit’azny war machine came knocking. However, they proved to be more dangerous as subjects than they did as enemies. While Szitzu resentment against the old empire usually took the shape of riots and bar fights, a plot by Yanissan rebels managed to kill the entire Vit’azny Royal Advisory Council. The King was spared only by coincidence; his personal limousine suffered a breakdown on the way to the meeting. Yanissan society is dominated by plots, intrigue, secrets, and rampant hedonism. They are the third and final founding species of the Commonwealth, which from their point of view, keeps them a healthy distance from any fighting. Of the founding members, only the Yanissans have anything resembling a useful amount of psintegrae, most of which are swept up by Toolbox and trained to use their telepathic and telekinetic abilities to lethal effect.

Rhodesians: The dimunitive weasely Rhodesians were one of the first species conquered by the old Vit’azny Empire. Quick thinking, short lived, numerous, and obsessed with efficiency, they are the ones who attend to the business of actually getting things done. They are technically subjects of the Commonwealth, not full members, but this is more of an oversight than an act of malice. Long before the Commonwealth was ever founded, the Rhodesians thoroughly integrated themselves into Vit’azny society, eventually making themselves indispensable. This trend has carried on with the Commonwealth as a whole, to the point where the Commonwealth’s official capital is actually their homeworld, Corinthene, though all the real power is concentrated on Praetoria, the Vit’azny homeworld. The vast majority of bureaucrats are Rhodesians; most military staffers are Rhodesians; personal aides, diplomatic attaches, economic analysts, technicians, administrators: they are the people who keep the Commonwealth running. The general sentiment towards them is one of distant gratitude: they are underlings, but well appreciated underlings.

Valerians: The Valerian Republic is the newest member of the Commonwealth, and the conditions for their joining were highly unusual. Unlike most new members, the Valerian worlds were fully integrated as constituents of the Commonwealth, not colonial holdings. There are a number of factors that prompted this decision - notably the abundance of Valerian psintegrae - but it has caused a great deal of tension across older Commonwealth worlds that are still waiting to be granted constituency. It remains to be seen if the advantages the Valerians bring with them will offset the social unrest their integration has caused.

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 700 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. Seeing how one sided the conflict would be the Yanissans promptly surrendered 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.

Culture & Society

Oddly enough, the Commonwealth is perhaps the most racially diverse government in the known worlds, with citizens from over a hundred different 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.

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.

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.

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.

Government

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 The Imperial Crown. 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. Cabinet ministries are the largest entities of the Directorate, and cover a variety of areas, everything from defense and procurement to citizen health and wellbeing. 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 Imperial Crown. The exact limits of the Crown’s authority are vaguely defined and poorly understood. The Crown is an old, old institution, dating back thousands of years to one of Praetoria’s great empires, long before the Vit’azny began venturing into space. The Imperial Crown began with the establishment of the Breshelin Empire, under Catherines distant ancestor, Petyr Dragunov. Originally, the King’s power was absolute, but this power was limited by the first constitution of the Breshelin Empire, which came about after the Wurtenstein Uprising when the first ever parliament was established. Some 900 odd years ago, the Breshelin Empire managed to unite the entire planet of Praetoria under a single government after evidence of intelligent alien life was discovered, and a new parliamentary system was formed and a new constitution was written. The Imperial Crown continued on, but it’s powers were defined under the new constitution as being “similar in nature and spirit to those established under the Wurtenstein Constitution” (due to the Vit’azny legal system being largely based on historical precedent rather than written law). 499 years ago, when the Commonwealth was formed, much of the Crown’s power was again defined as “similar in nature and spirit to those establised under the Planetary Constitution.” Considering all this, the problem becomes apparent: the exact limits of the Crowns’ power are based on a poorly written 2000 year old document. The accepted conventions are as follows: the Crown will ask the majority leader of Parliament to form the official government, and will agree to dissolve parliament and open elections at the request of the majority leader. The Crown is entitled to appoint appropriate individuals to chair parliamentary committees, in consultation with the Lord Chancellor. The Crown is entitled to use Royal Mandates to address matters of urgency for the benefit of the Commonwealth. As of the Colonization Act of 22 AU, the Crown has jurisdiction over Colonial Territories, while the State Ministry is responsible for their administration and answers to the Crown in this regard. Even these conventions are not ironclad, though ignoring them risks a Constitutional Crisis. For the Commonwealth to run smoothly, it is essential for the Crown and the Lord Chancellor to have a good working relationship. If they do, they can combine their efforts to make good use of both of their respective authorities.

Economy

The Commonwealth is an industrial juggernaut, with massive production capabilities. This industry is driven by an extensive trade network and a skilled workforce, but the real power of the Commonwealth comes from an immensely wealthy tax base and an abundance of cheap manual labour and raw materials. The disparity between the wealthy and the poor is truly astonishing, and a direct result of how the Commonwealth is organized. The worlds of the Commonwealth are classified into one of four categories: Core worlds, Constituent worlds, Colonial worlds, and Verge worlds.

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 of 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 off 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.

Military

Technological Overview:

The Commonwealth’s general tech level is comparable to that of other major galactic powers. The multi-national nature of the Commonwealth has brought together a myriad of technologies and ideas and combined them in innovative new ways. For example, the primitive brute force firepower of Szitzu mass drivers was combined with Vit’azny expertise in gravity control to develop a much more deadly weapon, while Yanissan missile systems and Rhodesian miniaturization have given the Commonwealth incredible versatility in their long range firepower. Each species brings something to the table. Yanissan expertise in biotechnology is unmatched, while the Vit’azny are experts in graviton physics. One of the main reasons for inviting the Valerian Republic to join the Commonwealth was the expertise in nanotechnology and information systems, though this technology has yet to reach widespread distribution in the Commonwealth

Military Technologies:

GDC: The most remarkable Commonwealth technology is without a doubt their engine systems. The Graviton Drive Chain is a massive engine system that takes up a good portion of a ship’s mass. In the main reactor core, a self perpetuating Wronski-Birks reaction creates huge amounts of energy, gravitons, and anti-gravitons. The particles are directed around the ship to form a gravitational envelope around the ship, which simultaneously pulls the ship from the front and pushes at the rear. When reinforced by generators along the surface of the ship, this envelope doubles as a very effective shielding system. Having the ship enclosed in its own gravitational field grants a number advantages, most notably extremely good acceleration and maneuverability. The GDC also serves as a ship’s FTL engine. Emitting intense bursts of gravity allows the ship to slip into subspace to rapidly move from one point to another, a process referred to as surging. Surging is affected by other gravitational forces, making it more difficult to surge near planets or stars, or even other ships using GDC technology. A coordinated surge by a Commonwealth fleet is an extremely complex maneuver, requiring extensive calculations to avoid disaster. The range of an individual surge is fairly limited, so long range travel is done by a chain of shorter surges. In battle, surges are extremely useful, allowing Commonwealth ships to periodically relocate themselves into more favorable firing positions. The main limitations on combat surges are the processing power required to perform surge calculations, the time it takes the GDC to cooldown for another surge, and the fact that a surge severely depletes the strength of a ship’s gravitational envelope and thus its shields. A poorly executed combat surge will usually end in disaster, but a successful one can cause a decisive victory.

MCM: Multiple Configuration Missiles are another mainstay of Commonwealth military power. Commonwealth missiles are highly modulated, with a number of interchangeable components that allows ships to rapidly assemble whatever type of munition is needed. Warhead features range from standoff range ion beams to direct contact anti armor plasma charges. Fuselage features include additional drive sections for high speed missiles, extra fuel for extreme range engagements, and extra EW capability, among others. The drive section can be configured for long range bombardment or high speed evasive maneuvers. A kinetic warhead, enhanced targeting fuselage, and short range high speed drive combined make an excellent defensive missile, while an ion warhead with a stealth fuselage and long range drive can make a nasty surprise for enemy shields.

Axial Weapons: Though Commonwealth ships are designed to engage with broadsides, their long narrow profiles presented an opportunity that was too good to pass on. As a result, all Commonwealth ships mount high calibre axial weapons that fire from the bow. In older vessels, these weapons take the form of large graviton railguns, while newer vessels tend to have high intensity superlasers. Battleships and Dreadnoughts mount two axial weapons, while smaller ships mount only one. Powerful as they may be, these weapons are not the ship’s primary armament, so they are not as effective or mass intensive as a full sized spinal weapon would be.

Graviton railguns: The primary weapon of the RCN. The principle of magnetic rails accelerating a metallic slug is an old and quite simple one. The only modification the RCN has made is that, instead of magnetism, their railguns use artificial gravity systems to massively increase the size and speed of projectiles, and have multiple munitions types to accommodate different situations, such as armor piercing rounds, shield-breaker rounds, and flak rounds. Graviton railguns are configured in huge numbers of double mounts on the broadsides of Commonwealth ships.

Positron Beam Cannons: The pinnacle of Commonwealth energy weapons tech, positron cannons are devastatingly effective. They are mounted in massive turrets on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of Commonwealth ships and configured to deliver optimum firepower both forwards and to either side.

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 super-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.

Fleet

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. 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.

Valiant-class Battleship

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.

Magnificent-class Heavy Battlecruiser

The Magnificent is part of a new line of warships being introduced into the RCN fleets, and its design is reflective of that. While smaller and faster than the Valiant class, it is not as well defended. The Magnificent mounts an axial superlaser, and 5 triple barreled-heavy positron beam turrets. It has a denser array of broadside weaponry, including a higher than average number of heavy missile tubes, at the expense of reduced hangar space. The Magnificent is something of a miniature Victory-class dreadnought: all firepower, with only a token force of interceptors for its own protection. In battle, the Magnificent relies on its superior speed to avoid the firepower of larger ships.

Reliant-Class Battlecruiser

Truly a jack of all trades, the Reliant forms the backbone of RCN operations. The smaller sister-ship to the Valiant class, the Reliant packs 4 quad-barreled heavy positron beam turrets, a respectable broadside, sizeable hangars, and as of its most recent retrofit, an axial superlaser. The Reliant also has excellent C&C capabilities, sophisticated scientific labs, spacious quarters for diplomats and foreign dignitaries, and advanced sensor arrays. Basically, the Reliant is the Commonwealth’s go-to multi-role ship, and is well suited to a wide array of missions as well as being formidable in combat. It’s extensive use and versatility have made it an icon of Commonwealth naval power.

Imperial-class Destroyer

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.

Resolute-class Heavy Cruiser

The oldest class of ship currently in service, the Resolute class is pretty standard as Commonwealth ships go. Essentially a larger, better defended and older Vigilance-class, the Resolute posesses greater broadside firepower and larger hangars. It is equipped with 3 quad-barreled medium positron turrets and an axial MAC gun.

Vigilance-class Cruiser

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.

Endeavour-class Assault Frigate

A fairly typical class of ship, the Endeavour wields 2 tripe-barreled medium positron turrets and the smallest axial superlaser in the Commonwealth, with a fairly typical broadside. In the line of battle, the Endeavour generally serves as an escort for larger vessels.

Warrior-class Frigate

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.

Striker-class Corvette

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.

[null123]

@Ozerath

My only real concern is the Positron Cannons, although that's minor. I just want to say that they should not be weapons you can spam, they should be limited in the sense that there is only a certain amount per a ship.

And would it be safe to assume since you have positron cannons you have some form of antimatter explosive?

[Ozerath]

@Ozerath

My only real concern is the Positron Cannons, although that's minor. I just want to say that they should not be weapons you can spam, they should be limited in the sense that there is only a certain amount per a ship.

And would it be safe to assume since you have positron cannons you have some form of antimatter explosive?

@duck55223

I'm thinking the main turrets would only fire about once a minute if that's reasonable.

Also yes antimatter warheads are a heavy anti-capital ordnance for their multi configuration missile systems.

[Monkeypants]

Alright wrong end, you got my interest. Once I post my ns and hopefully get accepted... You're getting a visit!

[Willy Vereb]

Alright, I am almost finished with my app.

Star Federation of Mankind

Star Federation of Mankind

---

Civilization Overview

Star Federation of Mankind (usually shortened to Federation or SF) is a supernational government of all humans. It forms a polito-economical union with the numerous governments in the Solar System and its neighbors. The Federation's origins date back to about 300 years following the end of the Last Great War, the most destructive event of their history. Weary of war and to prevent this from ever happening the committee decided on strengthening international communications, integrating economic systems while synchronizing politics to better reconcile with each other. They planned it step by step with the eventual goal being complete unification within a hundred years, a dream which never happened. From the outside the Federation may seem like a single body but in reality they are anything but that. There are countless nations and political parties each pushing their own agenda. Humanity may have avoided major wars for centuries now but their political forums are very much like warzones themselves. Similarly what once was a benign movement for peace and the good of Mankind turned into the plaything of economic powers. Money is the king within the Federation and as long as they can get away with it the political powers engage in various unethical deeds for profit. The Federation is a highly advanced civilization with many achievements, but this also made them overly confident in their technology. Also ironically enough until just a few years they had difficulties to develop decently fast FTL drives, thus remaining largely isolated from the galactic community. They observed near-certain signs of distant alien civilizations and even sent out probes but the Federation has yet to make contact with any sentient lifeform other than themselves.

Species Overview

As its name suggests the Federation was formed between humans. Yet the definition of "human" changed considerably. Mankind is scientifically referred as Homo Sapiens Caelis, the new humans adopted for the space age. There are many minor differences like adaptation to varying gravity, improved intelligence and reflexes, extended longevity and resistance to most known diseases but overall humanity remained the same. The most striking differences happen after the birth. Technological advances in cybernetics and cosmetic surgery meant so long you had the money you could go completely wild. Humans have yet to meet any aliens but name a popular sci-fi species and the Federation likely has a fan sporting their looks. Cybernetic enhancements are also rather common, especially computer-assisted brain functions typically referred as "Cogs". Each government has different regulations on what kind of alterations a citizen can do and in certain regions this could go to the extreme. Another major advancement was the technology to transfer consciousness. As such it's possible to transfer one's mind to a different organism or even an entirely mechanical body. Due to complicated mechanics backing up or copying consciousness is difficult and also banned in the Federation. Similarly while it's possible to transfer consciousness to military hardware memories of the Last Great War (especially the terror once delivered by Ego the Living Battlestation) makes such actions widely opposed by the public.

Technological Overview

The Star Federation may have not met aliens but had plenty of time and will to develop on their own. They made massive advancements in science and could be perhaps considered pioneers in many technologies. Manipulation of matter and fields can allow them feats which others may consider magical. Their impulse drives are reactionless engines that along with mass lightening fields can allow great speeds and at compact size. Q-Fabs revolutionized industry as versatile manufacturer devices that can assemble objects quickly and down to the last particle from already available materials. Their conversion reactors can extract nuclear energy from any common material and safe enough to power clocks and cell phones. To a common citizen of the Federation it may even see there's nothing that technology cannot accomplish. That being said Federation has complex laws on the use of technology not to mention the extensive ways companies try to protect their copyright. The latter has the unintended side effect of making outsiders even more difficult to reverse engineer human technology.

Major Federation Technologies

- Quantum Fabricators: Commonly abbreviated as Q-Fabs they are sophisticated devices which can alter and convert matter and energy to rapidly assemble objects. Q-Fabs are versatile and it can create anything it was programmed to. There are also Q-Meds, medical Q-Fabs used for healing and building biological matter. Knowing the right people and having loads of money can ensure that the wealthiest people can live theoretically forever. Q-Fabs can technically use raw energy to create matter but this is only utilized at sufficiently small scale. Spaceships generally have sufficiently abundant energy to use that alone for air and food replicators.

- Metastable Matter: A development which made Q-Fab technology far more accessible. It's an unique state of matter which is relatively stable and dense with easily accessible energy. Can be useful for batteries (though even more efficient methods exist) but first of all it's used as an intermediary matter for Q-Fabs.

- Fold Drive: Standard and reliable FTL method which manipulates spacetime to raise the apparent velocity of the vehicle beyond the speed of light. It has relatively low power consumption but comparatively slow speed and other inherent issues. Still, it's relatively cheap and has many alternative applications. Fold Accelerators for example can accelerate projectiles and vehicles at faster-than-light apparent velocities even if, without "fold sustainers", they revert to sublight speed after reaching a certain distance.

- Farcaster: The new long range interstellar travel method developed within the Federation. In basic terms it works similar to your standard Hyperdrive as it punches a hole in reality to the higher mathematical dimension of the hyperspace to allow faster-than-light travel. It consumes great amounts of energy thus the ships have special capacitors for this role. On the other hand the same method can be modified to transport smaller objects and Farcasters can have a limited application as teleporters. The only downside is that Farcasters are rather difficult to scale down thus unless there's a similar device around the teleportation is usually limited to one way trips. The speed of Farcasters is dependent on the power relative to the mass it carries. Thus systems like "Hypercarriers" (huge transports allowing many ships to dock) and "Hypergates" (large almost stationary structures which also use quantum linking to enhance the speed even further) exist.

- Impulse Engine: Standard sublight engines used by Federation spaceships. They expel mass particles at near the speed of light generated from pure energy which means they can have yet unheard level of specific impulse and henceforth their common name. Without the right conditions mass particles rapidly decay into relatively harmless photons thus also making this design the safest engine known within the Federation.

- Gravitics: Electromagnetics within the Federation were long replaced by gravitics, devices that move objects around with the force of gravity. While inherently gravity is a weak force SF scientific developents made countless mechanisms known to amplify them. Gravitic actuators, accelerators, propulsions are all commonly used within the Federation. This combined with the Higgs technology and mass lightening methods resulted in a massive boon for starship propulsion and the rennewed dominance of projectile weapons.

- Hypercomms, Hypersensors: A family of devices that use known FTL methods to gather or transmit information rapidly over long distances. Their mechanism can differ by type with each having its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Hypercameras and Hypertelescopes for example gather the tachyonic shadow of electromagnetic waves to allow up to a certain distance to see events in real time regardless of light-lag. Another common hypersensor is the Foldwave Radar which is rather self-explanatory.

- Quantum Link: One of the oldest forms of FTL communication it uses quantum entanglement to instantly transmit information to the linked device. It used to be expensive and not very reliable the technology reached maturity once other FTL mechanisms were understood. Abreviated as Q-Link this method offers lagless communication free of the typical interference. The only downside that you require to use more standard measures first to establish the link thus it generally only works between two familiar recipients. q-Link can be also used for power transmission but this method accelerates the degradation of the link thus usually not advised. While free of normal interference there are "Q-Jammer" devices that are designed specifically to scramble quantum comms.

- Conversion Reactors: The most common method of power generation. They can be practically found everywhere, be it in factories, cars or even cell phones. Conversion reactors are the ultimate result of nuclear research and could be said to be the distant relatives of fission and fusion energy. Thanks to their degree of sophistication the conversion reactors are actually fairly safe and incredibly easy to use.

- Zero-Point Energy Extractor (ZPEE): The ramscoop of space-time, this complex device allows harnessing vacuum energy which makes it ideal for starships and other power-hungry machines. The device requires lot of power to run and difficult to scale down, thus they won't replace conversion reactors anytime soon.

- Vacuum Compression Capacitors: Just as space itself can be used to harness energy it also turns out to be the best method to store power. Vacuum Compression Capacitors and ZPEEs are virtually the same technology used for different purposes. In effect vacuum capacitors are zero-point energy extractors that are deliberately inefficient. For this reason they can be made more compact and many hi-energy equipment is relying on these. Actually, many companies within the Federation are working on the means to make vacuum capacitors even more popular and replace other alternate batteries. Its advantages over the other means are weight savings, far higher capacity and even safety. When destroyed the spatial compression within the cell ceases and space expands around the unit. Anything caught within its area of effect simply ceases to exist. Yet space holds massive energy densities thus the failure of a vacuum cell only results in minuscule expansion. Even for the most massive starship batteries it fails to erase the entire vacuum cell. Thus ironically vacuum cell technology is both the safest and most destructive power storage mechanism known by the Federation.

Military Technologies

Defense Technologies

- Durachrome: The most common military grade armors are chiefly made of durachrome. It's a hard, superdensely packed material family with its variants used both for ground troops and starships. Due to its weight anything made from it usually requires mass lightening to compensate.

- Structural Integrity Fields: Special complex field which reinforces the bind of atoms and generates bubbles of fake mass to further enhance the toughness of material.

- Higgs Shield: An extension of structural integrity fields this kind of protection forms layers of fake mass generated by the field emitters which can act like a regenerative extra layer of armor.

- Lightwave Barrier: A rather peculiar type shield which contrary to its name actually traps tachyons in a limited boundary around the vessel. It deflects massless and low-mass particles like light and radiation the best while practically useless against heavier projectiles. Starship-based lightwave barriers also have some other properties to compensate for spatial effects.

- Gravity Deflector: The various gravitic devices can also produce a shield of gravity around the ship. These tend to extend pretty far, up to even hundreds of kilometers and activated only during combat. The gravity shield's main purpose is to intercept, disrupt and disperse incoming attacks instead of directly stopping them. The weakened attacks would be then handled by the rest of the defense systems.

Weapons

- PASER: Projectile Acceleration Sustained by Effector Rails. It's a gravomagnetic mass accelerator and the basis of most weapon systems within the Federation. In spite of that the term PASER is most commonly used for handheld weapons since the term "gun" earned much notoriety during the Last Great War. For other weapons and devices using the same mechanism they merely use the term Gravomagnetic Accelerator or Grav for short.

- IGP: Intelligent Gravomagnetic Projectile. Common name for the projectiles launched from Gravomagnetic Accelerators. There are countless different kinds of IGP, some of them are entirely solid projectiles while others have sensors, AI, warhead, propulsion and at times even other features. The options are nearly limitless. IGPs are effectively the combination of physical projectiles and missiles.

- PPA: Pressed Particle Arms. Special use of gravoagnetic accelerators when unstable particles of incredible density are created on site and unleashed at velocities very close to the speed of light. The stream of particles are extremely thin, a nanometer or even less. Thanks to their density and concentrated nature the stream is extremely efficient at penetrating defenses after which the particles slow down and violently explode within. While shot from gravometric accelerators this kind of application requires special modifications not availible for all PASERS or Q-Boxes. Due to the instability of the metaparticle mix PPA are relatively short ranged and the effectiveness of the stream weakens with distance.

- SAS: Spatio Accelerator System. Also called Fold Accelerators these weapons use Fold Drive derived mechanisms to accelerate projectiles faster than the speed of light. While this obviously increases their effective range compared to Gravomagnetic means the projectile is limited to a relatively narrow "fold channel" which prevents nearly any kind of maneuvering. Certain large ISFPs are also equipped with micro fold drives to mitigate this issue but at the expense of payload and other functions.

- ISFP: Intelligent Space-Fold Projectiles. The Spatio Accelerator variant of IGPs. Unless they are equipped with Fold Drives on their own they are known to have limited mobility compared to IGPs.

IGP/ISFP Types --- WIP

TBA

Military Overview

The main military force of humanity is the Federation Starfleet. They are a multi-national force recruited from the military of other nations. Starfleet has strict selection process and only allows the best. While combat skill is important they put even more focus to human relations and handling stressful situations. They are hardly the only military, though. Each national government maintains their own military and police forces as well as security forces employed in private sectors. Still, when it comes to military power Starfleet is the largest factor, especially in terms of space force. Due to the memory of the Last Great War the term warship and associated aesthetics garnered a huge negative opinion. To avoid being labeled as proponents of war Starfleet eschewed dedicated weapons on their starships altogether. Instead of cannons, guns and missile bays the Federation uses modified Q-Fabs to create projectiles and launch them at various exits. Following that these projectiles are assisted and directed by altering the function of the shields. The end result is the Q-Box, a versatile weapon system which may be less powerful and much less efficient but with centuries of relative peace they never needed more. On the ground the Federation relies on drones and robots considerably though because of the terrors during the Last Great War they are always accompanied with a human operator supervising them. Anything done by these machines is the responsibility of the operator. Overall the size of the Federation military is small and their equivalent is almost more focused on PR than actual military needs. That being said their highly advanced technology allows them to get away with this surprisingly well.

Starfleet Personnel

The best of the best, the so-called "elite" of the Federation. Starfleet personnel are thoroughly selected and then pass a difficult training to become part of the main peacekeeping body of the Federation. In the age of drones and robots these people risk their lives for the sake of Mankind. Well, that's how it was supposed to be. In effect Starfleet is an old organization which grown increasingly clique-like. Starfleet indeed has a rigorous selection process, one so insane almost no person can pass. Yet many thousands of people are admitted to Starfleet each year. How? By the mere fact the system is full of faults and corrupt officials. Being admitted into Starfleet is no longer the matter of skills but connections. As such it comes as no surprise that the once highly competent Starfleet is much less than what it's supposed to be. Granted, Starfleet is still the greatest collection of the Federation's scientific and technological prowess but when it comes to combat ability their performance is...erratic to say at least. Starfleet combatants once used their skills combined with technology to be a superior force. Nowadays they use technology to supplement their skills and their inexperience at war makes them commit ridiculous mistakes on occasion. Exceptions still exist but your average Starfleet personnel knows little more about battle than how to pull the trigger. They can disassemble their PASERs or fix a phase modulator even in their sleep but many Starfleet members can't even throw a decent punch.

Starfleet Uniform

Specially made outfit which doubles as their protective suit. It's woven of durachrome-enhanced metamaterials and because of that the suit actually weighs over 10kg when not worn. The suit is durable enough to withstand certain small arms but that's only one of its function. The uniform is filled with various sensors both to check the surroundings and to monitor the status of the wearer. It's also equipped with an artificial gravity generator which doubles as an inertial compensator. The suit's wearer is cushioned from force and can walk in various gravities. Lastly the suit has an environmental shield to protect against hazardous environment and provide life support even in space.

ARS Suit

Augmented Reaction Systems Suit is a special equipment worn in the rare high-intensity conflicts. Only those who pass Class III Weapons Test can be allowed to wear ARS Suits and only when receiving the permission of the Captain or higher authority. Unofficially called the "Battlesuit" this compact armored suit is enhanced by inertial fields and gravitic acutators, giving the user massive strength and mobility on par with a land vehicle. For further boost it uses micro impulse engines that can both increase speed and allow the capability of flight. In terms of protection the inner suit is made of nanomesh muscle fibers sufficient against light anti-personnal weapons while the key areas are reinforced by durachrome composite plates. For this reason and other concerns the suit weighs around half a ton without the mass lighteners kicking in. Aside from armor it also sports complex shield system using Higgs shields, Lightwave Barriers and Gravity Deflector technology. It also has active protection systems and limited countermeasures. The suit has a micro Q-Fab/Q-Med for providing ammo, food and life support as well as do emergency operations on the field. The suit has a virtually enhanced interface along with various sensors and computer assistance. ARS Suits turn the otherwise frail Starfleet security personnel into a fighting machine fitting both the role of SWAT and vehicular assault. Starfleet has next to no combat vehicles and instead they rely on their ARS Suits to fill that out.

F.R.I.E.N.D.

Federation Robotic Intelligence Enabled Normal Drone (FRIEND) is an AI-equipped humanoid machine made to replace human infantry. They are based after the robotic armies from the Last Great War but with at least one major difference, they are bound to the orders of their designated (human) operator. FRIENDs have a rather sophisticated AI to rapidly adapt to various combat and non-combat situations but they are fitted with several restrictions for safety. The presence of human operator is only required for one thing: accountability. Anything the robots do are the responsibility of the operator. Technical specifications wise FRIENDs are built of light composites with only minimal use of Durachrome or similar superheavy materials in order to make them more economical. As a consequence FRIENDs are relatively unprotected albeit being machines they can sustain considerable damage before losing capacity for combat. Physically a FRIEND is stronger and faster than regular humans though nowhere close to the capabilities of the ARS Suits. They have sophisticated sensors and targeting system which can make them dangerously good shots.

[RomanAria]

I just would like to ask a simple question of the general populace. I would also appreciate if no one would be too hasty in considering this an accusation, a naming of names or pointing of fingers.

Since when should it be allowed that magic and highly advanced society be used as a handwave for the violation of basic economic principles and general common sense?

Thank you for your time.

[Willy Vereb]

@duck55223@RomanAriaSince whatever happened to the chat so it got wiped I ask it here. Any opinions on my NS?

[Ozerath]

Posted a sort of intro to the Commonwealth.

Now I need to develop some interaction with folks.

[WilsonTurner]

@Willy Vereb
We weren't talking about your NS, so you didn't miss anything directly relevant to you.

@Ozerath
In my mind, the Commonwealth = Psuedo-Covenant.

[darkwolf687]

@WilsonTurner what did the species that got eradicated look like? Doing post writing stuff lol

[Willy Vereb]

@WilsonTurnerI see. I would still love to hear any of the GMs' opinion on my NS.
I already know what I am going to post in the IC.
Are you still eager to make first contact with my civ?

[darkwolf687]

@Willy Vereb Personally I think its fine so far all things considered, so long as the others do not have any objections?

[Ozerath]

@WilsonTurner

Wat? They're not nearly religiously crazy enough!

[Durandal]

@Ozerath
That's why it's Pseudo-Covenant

Also, here's my WIP

Rothrm Primacy

Species:
The Rothrm are serpentine creatures between four and thirteen meters in length, distinguished by the shape of their head, number of tails, and type of spike/spine on the body. The most common race, known in their own language as Roth, approximate two-thirds to four-fifths of any given populations composition, with their larger cousins named Wyrms. Genetically compatible with each other races, spawn of a Wyrms and a Roth will, in almost all cases, result in a youngling of the Roth type as it is a more dominant gene. Roth can be immediately distinguished from similarly sized Wyrms by the lack of webbed membranes along the body. Instead, varying numbers of spikes adorn their backs and heads. Larger and fewer spikes are indicative of those who have resided within regions of higher gravity, while those of low-gravity origins exhibit a proliferous number of spikes along their back of a generally smaller height and length. Forming in double or single rows, they are utilized in courtship as a secondary function, but primary purpose is an extension of sensory perception that allows the Roth to detect minute changes in sound, pressure, and movement, a vestige of their days as apex predators on their home planet. Wyrms, meanwhile, replace the spikes with webbed spines. More acute by almost an order of magnitude over the spikes of a Roth, the spines otherwise serve the same functions.
Roth and Wyrm physiology resembles that of many other serpentine creatures, with lengthy skeletal structures and highly developed abdominal musculature. Arrayed in a lateral triplex pattern on each side of the body, the divided arrangement of the muscles allow for greater control over muscle usage, improving their natural ability to turn, climb, and accelerate. Bones feature high-densities of calcium and carbon-structures for greatly increased durability and stress support, as much a product of evolution as of the Primacy's evolving technology. Possessed of four lungs, the endurance of Rothan are not as high as would be possible as a portion of the space in each lung is reserved as a buoyancy sac to allow them the ability to remain afloat in water if needed, with those descended of aquatic strains having noticeably larger lungs and buoyancy sacs.
The heads of Roth and Wyrms are pyramidal in shape, with those of Wyrms much broader and shorter than those of Roth, another distinguishing feature between the two races.Teeth in Wyrms tend to be larger than those of Roth as the teeth were better suited for the hunting of large prey which Wyrms conducted in ages past than the needle-like teeth of their brethren. Both races, however, feature glands of acid which can be spat or injected through a special set of fangs set within the mouth, although the abilities are mutually exclusive. In the former case, the two components of the chemicals are stored within bone-like structures of intenesely inert compounds on either side of the mouth, reacting in the air when spat. In the latter, the chemicals are stored separately and react only at the tip of the fang as the injection occurs. Although the exact strength of the acid varies, its strength is several orders of magnitude higher than that of pure sulfuric acid, although not nearly as volatile as some synthesized super acids. An additional, yet now almost inert, tool of the Roth and Wyrms is a telekinetic ability, the reason why the species was able to begin creating technology, although technology itself has come to replace the scant ability. Telekinesis was used in conjunction with specialized, high frequency muscles located in the head and sides of the Rothan to burrow through dirt. Normally lived several decades, a violent predisposition guarantees a shortened lifespan for all but the most wary of specimens, offset somewhat by the quick time to maturity of a Rothrm, nearly self-sufficient from birth and reaching full adult status within two years.

Juvenile Roth

Adult Wyrm

Description of government:
The Rothrm Primacy maintains no formal unified government, each individual colony affiliated with others through familial, economic, or military ties. As such, the Primacy is a massive network of dozens to hundreds - depending on how one counts - of colonies spread across multitudinous star systems, operating independently of one another. Healthy competition occurs frequently between the colonies, with the members of one bearing almost unfaltering loyalty towards their place of birth lest that colony falls to another, in which case those conquered will happily subsume into that which is "better." Within a colony, leadership positions are determined by an individual's skills and abilities, whether they be physical or mental, with certain sub-races or colonies favoring certain attributes as a product of their environment. Checks and balances are naturally determined by certain groups or individuals opposing each other; if such a system fails, the colony either rallies behind their new tyrant or cooperatively works to overthrow him or her. Although such a system would be exploitable when applied to many other races, the nature of the Rothrm inhibits those workings. When a colony is threatened by an outside force, other nearby colonies will mobilize to assist which in turns spreads the news of assemblage. Sorrows to those who persevere in their conquest as the countless numbers of the Primacy descend upon the aggressor from all directions with a wrath that leaves naught but bones and ash, ruins and dust.

Description of military:
Each colony hosts its own military force, although such affairs are temporary organizations raised when needed, with normal defense relegated to those who care to maintain it and the tendency for Rothrm to act aggressively towards those not of their species. Unit sizes, disposition, organization, armament, tactics, training, discipline, etc. vary by leader and distribution of population, ensuring that no one encounter will proceed in the same manner. Some standards do exist across the breadth of the Primacy.

Ground Forces: Due to their size, Rothrm build vehicles long and low to the ground, with few rising very tall, unwittingly improving their own warfare capabilities. Yet it is also their size that precludes the use of vehicles in a common fashion by the Rothrm themselves. Most military forces are infantry heavy, vehicles utilized on a commander-by-commander and situational basis. The infantry units can be divided into certain categories. First are the light and heavy infantry divisions: the former eschew much armor, favoring instead mobility and confusion as an operative manner, while the latter fight directly, armored to take heavy fire. Disregarding their already impressive physiology which makes them more resistant to the infantry weapons of other species, larger size affording better protection to important bodily features, Rothrm armor makes use of advanced composite materials formed of ceramics and metal for heavy-style units. Armor normally takes the form of large modular plates attached to powered frames and composed of dense metals such as depleted uranium and elastic elements for hypervelocity impacts, ceramics for increased thickness and energy dispersion, and carbon structures for general support and weight decrease. This makes the followers of heavy infantry doctrines as armored, to varying degrees, as vehicles of other species. Those of light infantry doctrines normally use semi-powered frames or none at all, utilizing fiber mesh armors with solid inserts to protect themselves. Both, however, equip telekine dome generators, protective shields that function off of the power of a kinergy vortex normally attached to the suit frame and able to sustain a fair amount of damage before failing, although transferred momentum can become a problem against larger weapons, with an inertial equalizing system created to counteract this effect. Ballistic and energy weapon usage depends on the individual and unit, but ballistics are most used as they are deemed more efficient, operated by means of artificial telekinesis and ram acceleration. Naturally, the standard weapons of the Rothrm could be considered as light autocannons by other nations since they are scaled to size.
Vehicles usually take the role of automated units, operated by AI or an individual linked remotely by a mind-impulse unit and created for specialized purposes. Ground-based transports are almost non-existent, but tanks, self-propelled artillery, reconnaissance, and anti-air vehicles are somewhat common, especially the second and fourth.

Space-bound Forces: The Primacy has no official Navy or anything approaching such, even within the individual conclaves. Rather, most individuals posses their own space-faring vessels which are increasingly modified as time passes, such that no one vessel is similar to another. Even the creation process differs as many elect to create their ship instead of coercing another to do it for them. One of the few standards within the space vessels of the Rothrm is that no ship measures very large, with most examples ranging between 500 and 750 meters in length, although Rothrm ships tend to be broad and tall to accommodate their physique.

Technological Overview:
The capabilities available to the Primacy are diverse, products of untold millenia of research and advances, fits and spurts of great achievement followed by lulls where technology remains stagnant, even regresses. Simple first appearances would point towards their being an underdeveloped state, utilizing, at least visibly, technology that might fit to a species still bound to its solar system. Yet the depth of their equipment extends greatly, magic to those more primitive and wonders to many who travel the galaxy. A plaything have the Rothrm made of the universe, manipulating all of its variables in order to produce results pleasing to themselves through the workings of their minds, having long mastered the use of telekinesis, both artificial and natural, to bend reality.

Common Technologies

- Kinergy Vortex: Electricity and its secrets have been known to the Rothrm for centuries, an amusement with which some tinkered. However, there was no need for implementation of such power, for the Rothrm had found one more attuned to their innate telekinetic abilities, and one much more useful for their purposes. At first utilized by those who had developed the earliest of telekinetic enhancers, it was discovered that manipulation of the velocity of particles and the subsequently stripping its kinetic energy with traps could power objects which other civilizations would normally operate with electricity. Much has science advanced, for now these once incredible machines proliferate within the Primacy, known colloquially as kinergy vortexes. Artificial field generators manipulate and accelerate atomic particles to near-light speed velocities many billions of times per second, before subsequently stripping the total kinetic energy of particle groups as they hit the velocity limit of the accompanying field generator, directly transferring this energy into powering robotics, ships, weapons, and any other number of devices which might be required for use by the Rothrm.

- Void Sails: Void sails are the most common form of FTL transportation utilized within the Primacy at the time, interest in the locomotive variant have outstripped that of all other available drives and engines. The sails themselves occupy a significant area outside of the ship, whose primary purpose is to tap into the substrata of the universe, utilizing the natural faster-than-light acceleration of space to achieve extreme speeds in small periods of time and to manipulate their ship into an FTL state, becoming out of phase with the universe while doing so, unable to send or receive information during transit, leaving them both blind and invisible. As means of STL propulsion, the Rothrm primarily use kinetic drives, driving their vessels forward by means of telekinesis.

- Stellar Manipulation: Although unable to affect the course and nature of celestial bodies as massive as planets in any timely manner, the Rothrm have developed various methods by which smaller objects, e.g. planetoids, asteroids, comets, may be quickly manipulated into different velocities and states. Two primary approaches exist within the field, with contenders on both side trumpeting the efficacy of their style. Slightly less utilized is the attachment of void sails to the bodies, turning them into massive ships of rock, ice, and other various elements. The size of the void sails and engines, however, limit the usage as some would consider it to be too time consuming. More common is the transit of mass via telekinetic fields. Thevril, large structures built for the purpose of stellar manipulation, act as both a relay and source for artificial telekinetic fields, projecting their power across hundreds of thousands of kilometers in smaller stations to many millions in developed super-stations. Due to their size and energy requirements, Thevril are unable to be moved outside of the system in which they reside without great effort, as the FTL transit destabilizes the unique conduits of the station.

- Kinematic Logic Engine: Having never developed electricity in any meaningful manner, computers did not develop in a manner similar to that of other species. Instead of currents activating chips, logic engines utilize the same principles as the kinergy vortex to operate, the spin and kinetic energy of atoms. Particles are kept in motion, utilizing their velocities to store information and compute various operations. Due to their nature of utilizing atomic spin, logic engines very much resemble quantum computers, giving the Rothrm similar capabilities in most cases to more conventional computers. Additionally, as they are kinetic in nature, communication with normal computers is near impossible without significant and time-consuming translations.

Cultural Overview:
The culture of the Primacy is one of its few binding aspects, maintaining the cohesion between the conclaves and lone wanderers of the species. Rothrm in their dawn were hunters, and are still, and much of their civilization has evolved around the art of conflict, although its manifestation and interpretation has changed with the ages. Few if any Rothrm pass their lives unscathed, either a sign of great prestige or great cowardice dependent on how such a situation came to pass. Warring, raiding, and fights to the death were at first the preferred methods of conflict when culture manifested within the species as it was most similar to what was practice among the Rothrm, a legacy of hunting and killing, competing with others of their species to maintain dominance over a tract of land. The first proto-conclaves would form around those strongest and most agile physically for they represented the best hunter, the most fit warrior. Duels for dominance would often render one of the combatants slain as a foe left alive would sometimes seek revenge. Vel Hamroth, the Day of Judgement, changed their tenets.

Following the event, conflict became much more formalized, although no less proliferous and violent. Rules would develop and then fail in the proto-conclaves before an unprecedented consensus was reached among the Rothrm, establishing guidelines, known as Majakal, which stand to this day. Enforced by the species as a whole, Majakal establish most requirements and facets of formalized conflict between individuals and groups in a simple manner. The specifics of the rule vary between each conclave, but the main decrees are followed unilaterally:
1. Death shall be avoided unless both parties have agreed to the ruling.
2. Damage and harm to those not part of the conflict shall not be tolerated, and neither is the interference of those outside allowed within the boundaries of the conflict.
3. Those not of the Rothrm are not subject to any ruling and are subject to the will of the Primacy.
Keepers of Sanctity arbitrate larger conflicts involving more than a dozen individuals to ensure that the blood rage which so often infuses the Rothrm does not spill over to harm the Conclave. Keepers are neither appointed nor elected, and none know why some are chosen, but if a Rothrm declares to be one, they are immediately so. Only those bearing the brand of the Keepers are left alive when the announcement is made, for those who masquerade as keepers have oftentimes in the distant past led to great atrocities. Smaller brawls, however, are generally not subject to many Majakal, leading to fights emerging in random locations without disruption of the surrounding area as such events have always been expected, even made spectacles of if the matter is of great import.

History:
The annals of the Rothrm are filled with blood, expansion, contraction, and discovery. Only a scant four hundred years past were the first void sails created, the first efficient faster-than-light system to be created by the Primacy, allowing them to reach stars which would previously have taken years of unending travel. Rapacious and ignorant, the Rothrm spread across nearby stars as a horde, proliferating among their now boundless habitat for expansion. A century of colonization, development, and internal conflict would shift suddenly with the first discovery of other life among the stars, intelligent life. No records of the name exist within the Primacy, no vestige of their culture allowed to survive after the war which ensued. It was the Rothrm's first taste of interspecies war, and it tasted wonderful. Initially beaten back, colonies seized and converted by their opponent, the largest gathering of Rothrm in history, then and since, emerged from their planets and reaved a path of bloody slaughter across the stars of their foe. Worlds burned or shattered and trillions of sentient being were reduced to ashes and particles, none spared the wrath of this first war.

Since those three centuries, dozens of worlds and countless cultures, for how can one count that which no longer exists, have fallen to the thirst of the Rothrm, external conflict maintaining an internal peace. A wave of ennui struck eventually, however, for war had ceased to become pleasing as they opposition had become little to no problem among the species encountered, worlds sometimes falling within weeks of first contact. Withdrawing into their former colonies or scattering to isolated solar systems, the Rothrm have remained pacifistic for the last decades, tempering their blood lust with explorations into the sciences and the stars, attempting for even greater change.