Drunken Conquistador

These Dark Stars - IC is open -

Maybe both? Vacare messages ser expensive/hard to transmit. Plus they're under Imperial control

These Dark Stars - IC is open -

The blind chick was Visas Marr

And that's all contribution I can give for now since my Laptop does yesterday :p

These Dark Stars - IC is open -

@GreivousKhan the Idea sounds fone to me

@Sigma wouldn't that be against the AI ban or skirt close to it? Or are you using the brain in jars thing to bypass that?

These Dark Stars - IC is open -

Alright, some in-universe fluff talk is in order! :P

Any of you got ideas on military styles and themes? Mine of course, while a work in progress, is blue, blue and more blue :P Plus Robots, Cyborgs, and elite-ish(mediocre for some) old guard type units.

@Sigma

Well, this is what I had thought so far for the Rankovs/Virezhir

My Hider

The Virezhir military is composed of the Exarchate forces (a mix of Imperial Authority Tagmas and hosts raised and paid for by the Exarchate's government) and the noble levies (any house controlling at least a system has the right to maintain "auxiliary forces", which is essentially an excuse for them to maintain private armies, and fleets depending on how wealthy they are).

The Rankovs control a few of the older and more powerful ships through the Exarchate Fleet, but not that many and certainly not as part of their own private forces. Furthermore, in their drive to make themselves less dependent on outside support, they've endeavored to develop a native military industrial complex. And while they're still dependent on outside suppliers for some of the more high end materials and industry, they can field a fleet with a reliable core of flexible ships.

On the ground, both the official army and the Imperial Tagmas rely on a combined arms approach. Mechanized infantry cooperating with armor, artillery and air support. Boring, I know :p, but the reasoning it's that this kind of boring works well in most cases. There's a cadre of special forces and specialized divisions for things like desert or jungle warfare. Noble militias are also used in these cases, as many of them like to field elite specialized regiments for prestige reasons.

The militias themselves vary in organization and quality. Depending entirely on the resources available to the house that raised and maintains them. I'm taking inspiration in the Imperial Guard from 40k for this, with specialized regiments dependent entirely on the means of the planet that raised them.

Also, genetic engineering is big in Virezhir. In both civilian and military spheres. For the troops, this means that most noble houses are able to pay for at least some minor treatments for their retainers. Slightly stronger soldier, slightly faster reaction time, that kind of thing. The rich ones can field greatly enhanced troops and genetically modified combat beasts. The Exarchate Army fields the best of them as their elite of the elite. Used sparingly and carefully because though very effective, they're also very expensive. The combat beasts, however, are relatively easy and cheap to produce, making their use more wide spread.

These Dark Stars - IC is open -

I don't have access to my computer at the moment. Could someone please add Virezhir to the upper right hand corner of the map?

Also, all this talk about gene-locking made me wonder if it can be bypassed/breached. Could be a major project undertaken by the Virezhir gene-guilds. Specially now that there's no Emperor to stop them from trying that. Or a host of other tabboo experiments

These Dark Stars - IC is open -

Random thought: Wouldn't it make sense for the Vacare to have been kept on a very tight leash by the Empire? Kind of how like in The Witcher (odd example, but still) the mages of Nilfgaard were considered valuable but very disposal assets. I was hoping Vacare would be less prevalent, but that's just me personally. It just kind of makes sense to me that the Empire would consider these super-human people to be a potential threat, and actively suppress them. Using their potential, but never allowing it to grow out of their control. Now that the Emperor is dead, many Vacare could be using the opportunity to break away or push reform. Some of the loyalist, obedient Vacare would try to preserve the status quo to keep their cushy positions in the court.

@Pepperm1nts

That's a fair point actually.

I could even make one of the Rankov's goals getting access to enough Vacare to see how their talents could be enhanced by genetic engineering. Instead of a separate cabal, the Vacares in Virezhir would be attached to the Imperial forces deployed in the sector

These Dark Stars - IC is open -

The Exarchate of Virezhir:

The Exarch and His Most Loyal Retainers:

Quiriv Rankov, Exarch of Virezhir, Lord Marshal of the Zelevian Reaches, Dux of Rankovzhna. Head of the Grand House of Rankov.
Zoe Rankov, Grand Princess of Virezhir, Koubikoularia of the Grand House of Rankov. Daughter of the Esteemed House of Lebarik
Susrakh Rankov, Prince of the Grand House of Rankov, Commander of the Black Rock, Lord Admiral of the Virezhir fleet.
Iren Rankov, Prince of the Grand House of Rankov, Protomagistros and Protasecretis of Virezhir, Dux of Yerefemia.
Ismenir Korimoi, Head of the Esteemed House of Korimoi, Strategissa and Protonotaria of the Virezhir army.
Madromer of Solomachia, Hetaeriarch of the White Company (Vacare Cabal)

The many and esteemed members of the Exarch's Household and Exarchate's bodies of administration

On the planets and celestial bodies of the Rankovzhna System:

Rankov's Tomb: Capital and beating heart of the Exarchate, a world covered in industries and the grandiose of the administrators. Faceless masses toil in the lower levels while the nobility lives in palatial estates located on the top levels or the luxurious moon of Jashia. While sizable shipyards fill the planet's orbit.

The Black Rock: A large asteroid turned military installation. It orbits the the Tomb as if a second moon, serving as a formidable last line of defense against space borne enemies and a major linchpin of support for the Exarchate's fleet.

Larael's Landing: Terraformed into being one of the breadbaskets of the Exarchate, Larael's Landing is entirely devoted to the task of feeding its neighbors. Numberless serfs and repurposed servitors toiling away in the large agricultural estates that cover the landmasses of the planet.

It's two moons have been terraformed and turned into vacation resorts for the nobility of the Exarchate, one of them is a tropical paradise filled with resorts and the other is filled with genetically modified fauna and flora, for those who prefer hunting to sandy beaches.

Zenomarchia: An arid but mineral rich world, Zenomarchia is a penal colony administered by the Exarchate Navy. It's large penal population is far beyond the planet's capacity to feed, and as such it depends on imports and the recycling of the dead.

The planet's sole moon houses extensive facilities where convicts are used as guinea pigs for varied experiments in genetic engineering.

Eldrichi and Udomar: Two gas giants, notable only for the extensive atmospheric mining operations they house.

Besides these major planets and celestial objects, the system

Primary Resource: Advanced genetic engineering technology.

Armed Forces
(Leave this blank until the main IC thread is up with details about the technology available k thx.)

Imperial Assessment

Ever since they were awarded control over the Exarchate for their support of Emperor Murov during the Black Masquerade, the scions of Rankov have proved to be loyal, if not entirely obedient, servants of the Emperor. Their distance from the capital and general freedom of action that Exarchs receive to better pursue their tasks, have made the Rankovs and the many families and groups beholden to them in vassalage, a prickly, self aggrandizing and willful bunch.

Though never taking direct action against a reigning Emperor, the Grand House is known to value its autonomy and for their opposition of centralization policies undertaken by the capital. And though they never took up arms against a reigning Emperor, the Exarchs of Virezhir have an history of obstructing and interfering with what they deem "unlawful infringements upon their unalienable rights". The Exarchs were also signatories of several petitions and appeals against assembled by noble councils and groups over history.

It's status as an Exarchate allows Virezhir a greater deal of freedom in most matters, including military. As of now, the forces raised by the Exarch and his vassals greatly outnumber those of the Imperial Authority deployed to Virezhir. To support this large regional host, Virezhir developed a native military industrial complex, which has seen substantial deviations from the Imperial norm over the years. Including their overuse of genetically modified shock troops.

Genetic engineering is also more wide spread than the norm inside the Exarchate. Nobles pride themselves on spending fortunes employing pet geneweavers while Geneticist Guilds hold considerable political and economical influence within the confines of Virezhir.

For all their efforts to loosen the hold of the capital over them, the Exarchs are also forced to deal with unruly vassals. The way in which the great Emperor Zelevas organized his conquests means that the Rankovs are but one of the many noble houses inside Virezhir. And though seemingly the single most powerful of these families, the Rankovs and their many vassals are keenly aware that their legitimacy as Exarchs derives from the authority of the Emperor. Any overt action against out Most August Empire will have to be heavily weighed against this fact. Likewise, should an Imperial Authority task force manages to inflict enough defeats upon the Rankovs, it's almost certain that their vassals will soon start to desert rather than to share what seems like a doomed fate.

Finally, as an Exarchate, Virezhir has to deal with the ever constant threats that exist beyond the safety and prosperity of the Empire. In the past millennia, legions of Xenos broke upon Virezhir, several even overran the Exarchate, forcing the Imperial Authority to deploy in force to revert the situation. And though the last great invasion was over four centuries ago, any major redeployment of troops outside the borders of the Exarchate would be strongly opposed by many actors within Virezhir itself.

Besides, we've all read the worrying reports about Xenos movement beyond the Zelevian Reaches. Should their estimations prove true, the Grand House will have more than enough on their plate to even dream of further subversion of rightful Imperial authority.

These Dark Stars - IC is open -

<Snipped quote by Flagg>

Not sure if that's the best example considering 'UNLIMITED POWER' is one of the most iconic movie quotes of that era.

I'd like if we got a rough map of some kind before we worry too much about the space magic.

On another note, I imagined the noble houses of the empire run on some level like a high tech feudal socity. In which we have vessels like barons, dukes, counts and direct knights who swear fealty to an archduke/high king and the kings, in turn, swear fealty to the Emperor? Would certainly make the politics quite interesting and unique.

@GreivousKhan

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.

These Dark Stars - IC is open -

Besides helping space travel, what exactly other powers to the Vacare have? I mean, are they going around shooting fireballs and stuff? Ranting about prophecies and Star Gods?

These Dark Stars

<Snipped quote by Drunken Conquistador>

Awesome. By convo do you mean discord?

@Flagg

Either that or PM. Whatever you prefer