High Orbit Around Roflax, Asna System, Humankind Empire of Astrana
“Intensify forward firepower.”
“Incoming fire!”
“You’ve got one on your tail!”
“Boarding parties deployed.”
“We need reinforcemeeeeents!”
A history professor once told Octavia: Violence is what people do when they run out of good ideas. Its attractive because it's simple, it's direct, it's almost always available as an option. When you can’t think of a good rebuttal for your opponent's argument, you can always punch them in the face. Octavia was inclined to agree in most situations. But there would always be those situations where diplomacy was no longer an affordable luxury. When stating one’s opinion resulted in one’s murder, such as Humanity United was prone to doing to its opponents, it was time for violence. When one’s neighbor took a flamethrower and began to burn down your house, such as their Daisan were doing to the Federation, their reasoning behind doing so suddenly became much less important than simply forcing them to stop.
“Lady Admiral” Octavia’s squire said, “a formation of government ships is moving towards sector blue-3-bravo.” The battleship that was part of the hostile formation would be a nuisance if allowed to get behind Octavia’s ships.
“Imperil, Herald, Valiant” Octavia listed off the three closest battlecruiser to the hostile battleship “destroy that ship.” She didn’t need to specify which ship she meant, her squire had already done that for her.
“Understood my lady.”
“Yes Lady Admiral.”
“Barrage away.” Particle beams were already reaching out towards the battleship in a concentrated barrage from the three battlecruisers by the time their captains had confirmed the order.
Two fighters raced Octavia’s field of vision. The next instant the lead had disappeared into a cloud of flames and debris. Octavia, despite herself, couldn’t help but flinch away at how close they fighters had come. The battle had been a harsh one, still was, but it was coming to a close. Octavia’s fleet had come charging into the system in such a way that the system’s defenders were left scattered. Over half of their capital ships had already been destroyed and those left were either in full retreat or fully engaged in a losing battle. That left the series of stations serving as minor shipyards relatively undefended.
“Lord Major Rosson” Octavia said, knowing her Squire had already connected her to the marine officer. “What is your status?”
“We are in the cleanup stage of the operation, my lady.” The marine responded. Octavia could hear the tell-tail crack of small arms firing in the background. “The two heavy cruisers are, as we expected, almost fully operational. They’d have been firing at us along with the defenders if we’d waited a few more weeks.”
“And the light cruisers?”
“Non Operational.” She could hear the frustration in Rosson’s voice. Destroying government ships was good and all, but stealing them was worth three times as much. “They don’t even have functional maneuvering thrusters yet. Shall we set demolitions charges? We have enough to destroy the light cruisers and the shipyards.”
It took Octavia only a moment to contemplate her options. “Leave them, both light cruisers and the shipyards intact. Let’s not wreck industrial facilities that we’ll be wanting for the fight against the Daisan.”
“Understood Lady Admiral. We’ll be ready to depart in fifteen minutes.”
All had gone according to plan. This time. The Coalition for Imperial Constitutionalism wouldn’t hold the system for long, but it had never intended to. Instead of trying to take the system’s planet by force, wrecking the planet’s infrastructure and industrial capacity while draining the rebel’s resources, they would instead take what they wanted and then make a dashing escape before government forces loyal to Humanity United reinforced the defenders. For once all had gone according to plan.
Arkford, Blit Star System, Humankind Empire of Astrana
You are to kill every single person found out on the streets captain.” The black shirt said. “This farce has gone on for long enough.”
“I must of misheard you” Lord Captain Noel Dupuy said. “For a moment I thought that you gave me the unconstitutional order to kill on sight any citizen in this city.”
“These citizens are rioting.” The black shirt said, a raised eyebrow belying his indignation at having to explain himself.
“They are protesting peacefully” Captain Dupuy countered. He gestured towards the crowd of humans standing before the two men. The crowd held signs plastered with anti-Humanity United slogans as they chanted their demands for the party to step down from its position of power.
“We do not distinguish between rioters and protesters.
“Perhaps you don’t, but I do.” Captain Dupuy said. “As do my men. And even if we didn’t we still wouldn’t shoot them. We do not shoot unarmed civilians.” The argument had drawn the attention of a few nearby soldiers, who were even now beginning to crowd around so they could listen in.
“Very well” The black shirt let out a long sigh, “if you will not listen to reason than I will have no choice but to charge you with dereliction of duty. Sergeant” He turned to a nearby soldier, “Please arrest Lord Captain Dupuy and notify his XO that he is now in command.” When the sergeant stood unmoving the black shirt said “Sergeant? You have your orders.”
“No one here will listen to your orders.” Captain Dupuy stated. “You are hereby under arrest for breaching article seven, clause two of the IGF code of conduct. Sergeant, remove this piece of trash from my sight.”
“What you can’t-” The black shirt began.
“Yes my lord!” The sergeant gave a smart salute before manhandling the black shirt away.
“And now we wait to see what the fleet does…” The captain muttered to himself.
ISF Undoubting, Low Orbit around Arkford, Blit Star System, Humankind Empire of Astrana
“So in short,” Lord Admiral Lolande summarized, “the IGF on Arkford are refusing our orders and placed all the black shirts under arrest while allowing the riots to continue.”
“That is correct sir.” The captain of the battleship Undoubting said. “Its nothing to be overly concerned over. There are only a few battalions planetside anyways. Just give the order and we’ll send the marines in to reestablish control over the planet.”
“I have another idea.” The admiral said. “Captain prepare for planetary bombardment. Target the planet’s capital city. I want nothing left of that city.”
“Uh… You want to bombard the whole city? Shall I issue an evacuation order?”
“Heavens no. We want to kill them all, don’t we?”
“...Them?” The captain asked with a deep frown.
“Why the rebels of course. And not just the soldiers. Those so called ‘citizens’ down there are also guilty of treason. Now prepare the bombardment.”
“I… Yes my lord.” The captain turned away from the admiral. “Prepare for orbital bombardment! Target Arkford’s capital city.”
“Ye- yes my lord! Preparing orbital bombardment. Target: Arkford’s capital city.”
Pleased with himself, Admiral Lolande tuned out the going’s on of the bridge for a few moments until something said by an officer caught his attention.
“Sir! The destroyer Argent has moved into our line of fire. Its captain is requesting that we hold off on our bombardment.”
Lolande yet out a long sigh before saying “Just destroy the Argent if it insists on rebelling as well.”
“I,” The captain began only to rethink whatever it was he was about to say. “Aye sir. Gunnery. Target the ISF Argent. Now fire.”
“ISF Argent has gone silent.” An officer reported. “Its breaking up. No escape pods launched. All hands lost.”
“Excellent.” Admiral Lolande said. “Now captain, continue with the bombardme-”
“Sir!” Another officer shouted. “The battleship Warspite is broadcasting to the entire fleet.”
“Let’s hear it” the Captain said.
A moment later the voice of Warspite’s captain could be heard throughout the bridge. “Warspite will not follow the orders of a fleet admiral who is willing to fire upon his own fleet. This action, along with the intent to destroy a city of the Empire, is an act of treason. This ship will now act to purge the Empire of this filth. All loyal subjects of the Empire to arms!”
Admiral Lolande let out another sigh. “Captain destroy the Warspite, then commence the bombardment.”
“The battleships [i]Warspite, Repulse, Indomitable, as well as several battlecruisers, heavy cruisers and numerous screens have just formed their own command net!” An officer reported a moment before the Undoubting began to shake. “They have us outnumbered three to one!”
“Oh shit.” The captain muttered. It was those words, more than anything else, that caused the blood to drain from Admiral Lolande’s face.
“Captain!” Lolande shouted. “Hail the rest of the fleet. Tactical retreat. We’ll return with more forces later!”
Still very much a work in progress, but here's what I've been working on.
Humankind Empire of Astrana
General Information
Overview
The Humankind Empire of Astrana is a human-centric country that, while legally ruled by an emperor, is controlled by a fascist political party called Humanity United. This led to the outbreak of a civil war between the fascists and a coalition of constitutionalists, democrats, and alien nationalists.
Official Name: Humankind Empire of Astrana Common Names: Astrana, the Empire, the Astrana Empire De Jure Government: Constitutional Monarchy De Facto Government: Fascist Dictatorship Dominant Species: Humans Capital: Truica, Floyn Thal System Controlled Systems: 317 Total Population: 5.4 Trillion
Humanity United: Humanity United is a fascist pro-human supremacy group that currently controls the Imperial parliament. Their power is greatest in the Empire’s core systems and northern territories with the southern territories having widely resisted its attempts to exert control to this point.
The Coalition for Imperial Constitutionalism: Commonly shortened to the Constitutionalists, this group was the first of the rebellious groups to rise up and is also the strongest. The Constitutionalists are made up of planetary governments, viceroyalties, and military officers who wish to have the monarch’s power brought back and the Constitutional rights of the citizenry upheld by the rightful and legal government.
The Alliance for Liberty: Made up of the remnants of the Liberty Party, the political party in power before Humanity United, the Alliance for Liberty is now considered a fringe group in the Coalition for Imperial Constitutionalism. The Alliance for Liberty is significant in that it wishes to not only defeat the Fascists, but also replace the monarchy with a fully democratic power, or at the very least see the parliament empowered after Humanity United is defeated.
The Nerkin Nationalist Front: While fighting alongside the Constitutionalists, the Nerkin Nationalist Front has the end goal of either achieving independence or at the very least being recognized as a semi-autonomous state within the Empire. While comparably weak now, and operating with little to no supplies, the Nerkin Nationalist Front has the potential to become fairly powerful should they receive supplies and training.
The Viceroyalty of Cormyral: A powerful viceroyalty and home to the Nalloth species, the Viceroyalty of Cormyral has thus far remained officially neutral in the conflict while providing material, logistical, and intelligence support to the Coalition for Imperial Constitutionalism. Home to a large industrial base, not to mention one of the largest shipyards in the Empire, the Viceroyalty of Cormyral has the potential to tip the balance of power in the Constitutionalists’ favor given enough time and should it enter the conflict in full. Unfortunately the native Nalloth species fears the Nerkin Nationalist Front enough that, should they grow in power, the viceroyalty may withdraw its support for the Constitutionalists and attempt to achieve independence for itself.
The Imperial Guard: Another faction that could make a difference in the outcome of the conflict is the Imperial Guard. While comparably small in size, the Imperial Guard is well trained and equipped, even possessing a small fleet of its own that contains a few battleships. The Imperial Guards answer only to the Imperial family, thus are not required to aid Humanity United. Only time will tell if the Imperial Guard will cave in to pressure from Humanity United, aid the Constitutionalists, or continue to watch from the sidelines.
Order of the Magi: Once under the control of the Emperor, this military order of psionic warriors have become a semi-autonomous group of human supremacists. While generally supportive of Humanity United, the Order of the Magi have somewhat distanced themselves from the political party after a large number of human protesters were gunned down. Currently the Order of the Magi focus the bulk of their energy in the north fighting against the Daisan.
The Paladins of the Holy River: A religious military order, the Paladins of the Holy River view it as their duty to spread life to new worlds and to defend “living worlds”. While some of their activities involve terraforming barren worlds, for the most part the paladins have been concentrating on aiding the Federation in their fight against the Daisan.
History
(Imma do this later cause I'm a lazy fuck)
Starmap Information
Major Holdings
Truica, Floyn Thal System: The heart and sole of the Empire, Truica serves as the Imperial capital. It is host to a number of important institutions include the Imperial Palace, the Imperial Navy Academy, Imperial Intelligence, and the Imperial Center for Scientific Pursuit. On top of all this Truica’s planetary ring station hosts the third largest shipyard in the Empire and the system itself is the center of all trade in the Empire. Within the Empire, it can be said that all roads lead to Truica.
Atrar, Cormyral System: Homeworld of the Nalloth species, Atrar is a major industrial center in the Empire and home to its second largest shipyard. Atrar has long been considered as a lynchpin in the Empire’s defensive position towards the Federation and thus serves as an important logistical point for military operations in the region.
Odrela, Voflain System: Home to the Empire’s third largest shipyard, Odrela is considered to be, in many ways, the Imperial capital in the south. It is an economic and logistical hub in the region and has long served as a major naval base. Odrela itself is home to the Imperial family’s vacation palace, which has historically served as a place to host members of the Imperial family during times of crisis to ensure the continuation of the bloodline. It currently serves as the de facto capital of the rebellion.
Social Information
Demographics
Nalloth: The nalloth are the natural inhabitants of the Cormyral System. They have six legs, each of end in what can serve equally as both foot and hand. They exhibit characteristics of both mammals and reptiles: they have scaly skin that they regularly shed, but are warmblooded and give live birth. They have four small eyes and a mouth that is literally filled with razor sharp teeth.
Nalloth commonly partake in various drugs for both recreational and ritualistic purposes. Their language consists of a series of shrill whistles, whines, and grunts with small differences in pitch and tone having a small effect on the meaning of a 'word'. While a human is capable of understanding a majority of the native Nalloth language they cannot hope to speak it and Nalloth can, at best, imitate some of the same words as humans use. Commonly nalloth make use of a form of sign language to communicate with those who can't speak their language.
Nerkin: An insect-like race, nerkins are carnivores with a voracious appetite. They have six limbs, four of which are traditionally used as arms, although they can run on all six with incredible ease and speed. Surprisingly they are natural linguists, able to speak and comprehend most languages very easily, although their mandibles make a very distinct clicking noise whenever they speak. Nerkin are known for their somewhat violent tendencies, which are caused by their stronger fight-or-flight instincts; nerkin rarely attack creatures the same size as them unless threatened, although it is very easy to make them feel threatened.
Nerkin are commonly viewed as being dull and slow, although this isn’t entirely fair, the sentiment is not without merit. They struggle with rapid change and are slow to make decisions. Despite this they are remarkable craftsmen, able to finish just about any large construction project far quicker than most other sentients.
Society
There are three generally accepted classes in Astranan society: the royal family, the nobility, and the commoners. As the name indicates, the royal family is the ruling class in the empire. The nobility is made up of viceroys, military officers, and those given a permanent title by the monarch. While technically anyone can become a noble, more often than not positions held by the nobility remain in nobility. The commoners are a bit different from the other classes as they are easily subdivided into other classes that include indentured servants, business entrepreneurs, and high level politicians.
Constitutionally xenos are to be treated the same as humans, and in most places in the empire this is true. However with the rise of Humanity United prejudices against xenos has risen in the imperial capital and northern territories.
Government
The government is ruled by the reigning monarch, whose powers are limited by a constitution. A parliamentary body, elected by individual planetary populations, helps with the administration of the government while ensuring that the needs of the citizens are met without infringing upon their constitutional rights. The reigning monarch assigns viceroys to govern over star systems and individual planets; these viceroys in turn have a counterpart parliamentary body that deals with the system or planet’s laws and taxation. These viceroy assignments are held until the viceroy either dies, retires, or is recalled by the monarch.
That is, of course, according to the constitution. In reality a fascist pro-humanity political party known as Humanity United has control over the Imperial parliament and has used its immense influence to essential usurp power from the Emperor, while keeping him on the throne as a figurehead. Parliamentary elections at every level has been suspended until the “xeno menace” has been handled, leading to a civil war.
Technological Information
Technology Overview
The technology of the Empire is much what one would expect from a major power in the region. They possess fairly advanced energy weapon in the form of particle beams which can even be used in strike craft and armored vehicles. Shielding for spacecraft is commonplace and even some infantry possess personal shields.
Major Techs
Cyberware: A broad term, cyberware refers to essentially any machine or hardware that is implanted into an animal. Cyberware can be divided into two categories: interfaces and prosthetics. Interfaces are implants that are used to interact with other machines, usually wirelessly, or store information. Specialized interfaces are used by the military to allow soldiers to link with their hardware to achieve better control or gather more information quicker. Interfaces are also used to accelerate the learning process. Prosthetics are hardware used to replace limbs or re-enable their use should they or the nervous system be damaged. A darker side to this technology involves replacing limbs with prosthetics to increase a soldier’s physical capabilities or use interfaces as a means of surveillance and control.
Defensive Smoke: By placing a charge on the particles created by a zero point generator and then dispersing those particles in an area a magnetic field can be generated. These particles essentially form a “cloud” of plasma that can vaporize projectiles and cause intense diffusion and blooming in energy weapons that go through it. It is important to note, however, that defensive smoke isn’t as effective of a defense as shields generally are and that multiple attacks will cause it to disperse. It is also important to note that a sufficiently powerful attack can punch through defensive smoke, although it will lose some of its strength in doing so. A ship technically has an unlimited amount of defensive smoke to employ, however using defensive smoke means there are less particles available for other applications such as propulsion or weapons. There have been instances of defensive smoke being used offensively as well in a sort of “shotgun” attack against strike craft or larger ships that got too close, although this is comparable rare.
FTL Catapult: Essentially the way a FTL catapult works is that it “hurls” a smaller craft into hyperspace. The craft requires only the most basic of functions, as all it has to do is “drop” out of hyperspace at the correct time to reach its destination. FTL catapults are typically viewed as highly efficient systems, as the craft expends none of its own energy to enter hyperspace and very little to exit. Most commonly FTL catapults take the form of massive space stations that are used to launch civilian and even military craft into hyperspace; however, carriers and even smaller specialized ships are equipped with FTL catapults and can launch smaller craft than themselves. Fighters are commonly deployed by FTL catapults and research has even allowed specialized “FTL torpedoes” to be developed.
Imperial Swords: Soldiers in the Imperial military have access to a variety of melee weapons called swords. While named after an archaic weapon, these swords have been updated for use in the modern battlefield and range from having plasma based blades to monomolecular blades.
Particle Beam Weaponry: These weapons function by taking the particles produced by a zero point generator, giving it a charge, and then accelerating these particles with a circular accelerator to produce a beam. These weapons are useful as they have more impact damage than lasers and possess greater penetration. On the flip side they have far less range, about one light second for the largest and most advanced models. Advancements in the miniaturization of the circular accelerator have resulted in even fighter craft being equipped with these weapons, although they are much weaker and have far less range than the models found on larger ships. Particle beam weaponry effectively have unlimited ammunition due to how the zero point generator functions, but this means that there are fewer particles available for other applications. Continual use can also overheat the weapon, decreasing its effectiveness.
Personal Energy Shield: Some of the more expensive suits of infantry armor used by the Empire, usually those used by elite forces, are equipped with energy shields capable of protecting the user from a variety of attacks. While effectively useless against large calibre/power attacks, these do provide some additional protection from small arms fire and shrapnel.
Q-thruster: Short for quantum vacuum plasma thruster, Q-thrusters are a type of drive used to propel almost all of the ships used by the Empire. Q-thrusters make use of the virtual particles produced by a zero point generator by charging the particles, effectively turning the particles into plasma. The particles are then exposed to a crossed electric and magnetic field which induces a force on the particles. As the particles are expelled in one direction an equal force is applied on the rest of the ship, thus propelling it in the opposite direction. Because of the way they function Q-thrusters do not require fuel, thus saving space in the ship and eliminating the risks inherent with many conventional fuels.
Squire AI: Squire AI are specialized AI designed to push human capabilities beyond their natural limit. Usually these AI are integrated into a piece of equipment such as a strike craft, warship, or armor and interact with its user via their implant. Squire’s are set up in a way that they are intended to make it as if the equipment they are installed in is a part of the user’s body; but it does more than that. The AI helps process large amounts of data for its user and supplements its user in a way that greatly increases their decision making abilities and reflexes. Some high ranking officials even have these AI permanently installed in their cyberware, although this is somewhat rare. Commonly Squire AI are simply referred to as ‘Squire’, however some users decide to give them a real name.The use of limited purview and sophisticated moral and reinforcement coding ensures that Squires do not become a threat to those who made and use them.
Zero Point Generator: Using the dynamic Casimir effect, two reflective flat plates are placed a few nanometers apart. These plates are then manipulated in such a way that they osculate, producing particles and energy in the process. The zero point generator first saw use in space craft, which they were used to power and propel without fuel. Later developments allowed for the construction of massive zero point power plants that provide power for entire cities. While the virtual particles produced by a zero point generator are inherently useless, due to ceasing to exist after a short amount of time, by charging these particles they can be made usable for a wide variety of applications. It wouldn't be an understatement to declare the zero point generator as the foundation of modern Imperial technology.
Industry
Fueled by an unimaginably large stockpile of resources locked in asteroids and a truly massive workforce, the Empire is an industrial machine always churning out massive amounts of goods. Ship building is a particular emphasis of Imperial industrial might, with the output of entire planets dedicated to the construction of ships, both civilian and military. While, by Imperial decree, all inhabited planets are required to be able to produce their own basic necessities, massive shipments of raw resources and finished products are still continually moved from planet to planet to ensure the production of less basic goods can be produced efficiently.
Military Information
Military Overview
The Imperial military is a well trained and equipped force that prefers firepower and mobility over defense. As a rule of thumb both the ground forces and navy prefer close-in engagements.
Space Forces
Command of the Stars Doctrine: The Imperial navy’s doctrine revolves around maintaining complete dominance wherever it operates. This is achieved by either finding and crushing hostile forces in traditional battle or attacking and destroying their logistical base. Towards these ends Imperial ships are made to be both fast and powerful.
Tribal-class Corvette Length: 159 meters Role: Planetary patrol craft, Ground support craft Description: The Tribal-class corvette is a low endurance ship designed primarily to patrol the area around inhabited worlds and star bases. Although small and comparable weak, the Tribal-class’s primary armaments are very accurate. Mix this with the craft’s ability to enter a planetary atmosphere and the Tribal-class is more than capable of supporting troops on the ground. Later modifications allowed the Tribal-class to be refueled and armed by larger ships, allowing it to operate as part of battlegroups and to partake in planetary invasions. Although small in size, the Tribal-class has been used as a troop transport and can ferry supplies to ground forces. Tribal-class corvettes are also designed to carry a single fighter craft, on the outside of its hull, to aid it in its duties, although the corvette lacks the ability to rearm and properly service these fighters.
Leopard-class Frigate Length: 213 meters Role: Anti-fighter/torpedo screen, Scout ship Description: Originally designed to replace the Tribal-class as a patrol ship, the Leopard-class frigate’s design was quickly altered after the outbreak of conflict with the mysterious Daisan Order. It possesses far greater endurance than the Tribal-class, allowing it to easily support battlegroups. Oversized engines makes it one of the fastest combat ships around, although this has resulted in them being fairly exposed and prone to damage. Despite this potential weakness, Leopard-class frigates have shown themselves to be excellent scout craft. While generally lacking in offensive weaponry, its surplus of close-in-weapons systems allows it to fairly easily swat fighters and torpedoes out of the sky. Like the Tribal-class, Leopard-class frigates are designed to carry two fighters on the outside of its hull, although like the Tribal-class it is unable to rearm its fighters.
Huntress-class Destroyer Length: 248 meters Role: Torpedo ship, convoy raider, capital ship hunter Description: The Huntress-class destroyer was designed to be a true ship killer. It packs heavier weaponry and greater mobility than ships of similar size, although its defenses are generally weaker, especially its armor. This ship is not to be underestimated; although its torpedoes can, and often are, destroyed before reaching their target, they have been known to instantly destroy battlecruisers. Some of the more recent variations of the Huntress-class also come with FTL catapults for launching their torpedoes into FTL. Besides their torpedoes, Huntress-class destroyers have four particle beam cannons that can be used to great effect against frigates, cruisers, and even capital ships. Unfortunately these ships are comparably fragile, with few point defenses and comparably weak armor, although their shields are fairly decent. Like Leopard-class frigates, the Huntress-class is designed to carry two fighters on the outside of its hull, although like the Leopard-class it is unable to rearm its fighters.
Tiger-class Light Cruiser Length: 312 meters Role: Gunboat, Flotilla flagship Description: Tiger-class light cruisers are designed to destroy any frigates or destroyers that come too close to the fleet. These warships are armed with an array of particle beam cannons that can seriously damage smaller ships in a single volley. As for most Imperial ships, the Tiger-class is quite fast for its size and can keep up with the Huntress-class destroyer fairly well, resulting in it commonly being the flagship for destroyer flotillas. These ships carry a complement of four fighters and, unlike smaller ships, can rearm their missiles, although their hangers have room for only a single fighter at a time. Unfortunately the Tiger-class is quite a fragile ship. Its point defense are lackluster at best and it's armor is no thicker than that of the Huntress-class.
Warden-class Shielded Cruiser Length: 320 meters Role: Capital ship escort, Anti-fighter/torpedo Description: Rushed into service after the outbreak of hostilities with the mysterious Daisan, the Warden-class shielded cruiser was designed to fix some of the shortcomings of the Empire’s capitals: namely their comparably weak defenses and inability to handle swarms of Daisan fighters. These cruisers are bristling with close in weapons systems and point defenses and have proven themselves even better at swatting fighters and torpedoes out of the sky than the Leopard-class frigate. On top of this the Warden-class possesses capital ship class shield generators which can over an area roughly three times its size around it. These ships are intended to act as physical shields for the fleet’s capital ships and they are well suited for this task. Despite these strengths, the Warden-class has been criticized for its lack of large calibre armaments, fighter carrying capability, and general difficulty to produce. On top of this the only shipyards that produce these cruisers are those of the Cormyrean Viceroyalty.
Hawkins-class Heavy Cruiser Length: 380 meters Description: The Hawkins-class was designed to fit the roles of convoy protection and ground forces fire support, all while still retaining the ability to act as a capital ship in combat; this all required a solid combination of good cruising range and speed as well as independent fighting capabilities.The Hawkins-class is notable for being a generally well rounded ship and a go to for just about any task. Eight torpedo launchers, mixed with its variety of railguns and particle beam cannons ensured that the Hawkins-class was a threat to any ship it came across. It was also designed with two small hangar bays with a combined capacity of eight fighter craft. Unfortunately the Hawkins-class did have its fair share of issues. The largest issue of which was its needless complicated particle beam turrets which were originally designed with the requirement to be able to provide anti-aircraft/torpedo fire, despite the end result having the inability to train and elevate quickly enough to track such targets. However this does not mean the the Hawkins-class is unable to engage torpedoes and fighters: it has a fairly sizeable battery of point defenses at its disposal. The Hawkins-class has proven especially valuable in battle against the Daisan, as it has proven to be just small enough to slip through their shield systems while possessing enough firepower to cause serious damage once inside.
Revenge-class Assault Cruiser Length: 400 meters Role: Heavy gunship, boarding ship Description: Originally a modified class of civilian ships used by the rebellion, the Revenge-class assault cruiser was so successful during the civil war that the Imperial rebels defined the design and tasked the majority of their shipbuilding capabilities to producing them. Heavily armed and armored, these ships were intended to get close to enemy ships and either blast them into oblivion with their particle beam cannons or conduct a boarding action in order to capture the enemy ship. These ships could carry up to a battalion of soldiers, as well as possessed hanger capacity for several transports, and two fighter squadrons.
Illustrious-class Escort Carrier Length: 452 meters Role: Carrier Description: A comparatively small class of carrier, Illustrious-class escort carriers were initially intended to escort convoys or act as the flagships of patrol squadrons. This all changed when the Daisan appeared. Suddenly there was a massive demand by battle groups for these carriers and the fighters they came with. The Illustrious-class was up armed to deal with the Daisan threat, sporting six torpedo launchers and an absolutely obscene amount of point defenses. While it is able to launch its fighters conventionally, it also has a single FTL catapult for deploying its fighters further out for scouting purposes. Due to its cheap cost and ease to produce, Illustrious-class escort carriers have been built in massive numbers to help combat the Daisan threat and later fight in the Imperial civil war. It has a total carrying capacity of 112 fighters. It can also act as a sort of assault carrier, aiding in the transportation and deployment of ground forces for planetary invasions, in which case it would only carry half or even a quarter of its capacity in fighters.
Courageous-class Battlecruiser Length: 468 meters Description: Designed to serve as “enhanced” heavy cruisers, the Courageous-class battlecruiser was originally outfitted with comparably weak armaments for a ship of its size. After the outbreak of hostilities with the Daisan it was refitted with some of the largest armaments ever used by the Imperial navy excluding spinal mounted weapons. More recent retrofits further enhanced the Courageous-class’s power source. These ships were fast, even for a battlecruiser, but possessed only a few heavy armaments in the form of particle beam cannons. A small hangar allows the Courageous-class to carry and service four fighters.
Invincible-class Battleship Length: 602 meters Description: The Invincible-class battleship is something of an oddity in the Imperial navy as it tries to more evenly balance speed, armaments, and armor, even putting a slight emphasis on defensive capabilities. The Invincible-class’s spinal particle beam cannon has become somewhat iconic of its class and has proven to be invaluable in the few naval engagements that these battleships have participated in. Numerous other particle beam cannons and close-in-weapons systems makes this a very powerful warship. It was once said that the Invincible-class was the “most successful class of capital ship ever designed.” At first glance this may seem to be an accurate statement as no Invincible-class has been destroyed in battle; however all ships of this class that has participated in battle have been significantly damaged, especially in battles against the Daisan. There has also been complaints about the Invincible-class’s slow speed, in comparison to other Imperial warships, as well as its complete lack of fighter carrying capacity.
Audacious-class Carrier Length: 732 meters Role: Fleet Carrier Description: In what some may say was a sign of desperation and others a stroke of genius, Imperial rebels repurposed several large cargo ships into fleet carriers. These ships are fragile, relying almost exclusively on shields and point defenses for protection, but carry an astounding amount of fighters. These ships can carry up to 300 fighters, although they can struggle to launch all of them quickly, and possess all the facilities needed to maintain those fighters.
Albion-class Interdictor Length: 800 meters Role: Mobile FTL Inhibitor Description: A wise Imperial Admiral once asked the questions “What will stop my opponent from simply flying past me and once I’ve caught him, how do I prevent him from scurrying away into Hyperspace?” The Albion-class was the Empire’s answers to those questions. The Albion-class is a large ship, but while sporting fairly substantial armor, lacks in offensive armaments. All of its power capabilities expended giving it a large field through which it can detect and identify ships in FTL and deploy an FTL inhib field. The inhib field itself is not intended to pull ships out of FTL, although if an Albion-class is positioned correctly it can do that. Instead the field is intended to prevent enemies from fleeing and protect the fleet from incoming FTL weapons. Instead the Albion-class is equipped with specialized missiles that, upon explosion, release a very brief FTL inhib field that will pull any ship in either Hyperspace or slipspace back into plain space. The Albion-class is equipped with a specialized missile launch tube for launching these missiles as well as six torpedo launch tubes all of which are equipped with an FTL catapult.
Ground Forces
Manuever-Firepower Doctrine: The combat doctrine of the Imperial ground forces revolves around incapacitating the enemy’s decision making ability through shock and disruption. This doctrine revolves around punching through enemy lines, or outmaneuvering the enemy, in order to strike their command structures and logistical bases.
Black Shirts Originally a paramilitary group, the black shirts aided Humanity United in its rise to power and is loyal only to the party. The black shirts are comparatively poorly trained and equipped, but make for it in having high morale. They are usually employed only in cities and act as police, military police, and, at times, basic infantry.
Imperial Infantry The bread and butter of the IGF, Imperial infantry are well trained and decently well equipped soldiers. They are notable for being great marksmen. These soldiers are equipped with railguns, usually a semi-auto variant, and a monomolecular blade. Imperial Infantry are organized into sections of eight soldiers, which can be further divided into fire teams of four. Each fire team has one soldier equipped with a heavy weapon that can be anything from an LMG to an anti-armor rocket launcher.
Imperial Knights These heavily armored soldiers serve as elite shock troops, focusing on breaking through enemy lines and destroying vital targets. Imperial knights are equipped with powered armor that are further enhanced by a personal energy shield and squire AI. These soldiers are stereotyped as using beam swords, but also make use of grenades, rockets, high rate of fire railguns, and just about anything else that will help them complete their missions.
Praetorian Guard: Originally established as an organization tasked with protecting the Imperial parliament, the Praetorian guard’s role has expanded to protecting all high level government officials and the Imperial capital of Truica. They excel on the defense, but aren’t equipped or trained for offensive operations. While it is common for them to work alongside the Imperial Guard, the Praetorian Guard are neither part of the Imperial Guard nor required to follow the Imperial Guard’s orders.
Order of the Seraphim Knights Known commonly as seraphim knights or simply the seraphim, the Knights of the Seraphim Order are effectively a special forces unit made iconic by their armor capable of sustained independent flight. They are trained to operate in any environment, be that in atmosphere or the void of space, but excel in supporting ground forces. They are commonly equipped with a plasma sword, long range railgun rifle, and array of support equipment depending on what their mission is.
Order of the Magi The Order of the Magi was initially formed by the Emperor to serve as a proof of concept unit for the creation of psionic capable troops and to develop tactics to employ these troops. One hundred years later, after Humanity United seized power, the Order of Magi broke ties with the Imperial throne and declared itself a semi-autonomous order. The order now pursues a generally nationalistic, pro-humanity agenda.
Paladins of the Holy River The Paladins of the Holy River are a religious military order dedicated to the spreading of life and the protection of living worlds. These soldiers are well equipped and trained, and considered some of the most experienced Imperial soldiers at combating the Daisan. Paladins are outfitted with powered armor equipped with a personal shield generator for defense. While armaments change between individual knights, each paladin can be expected to carry some kind of melee weapon, a sidearm, and a railgun into battle.
Imperial Guard Tasked with protecting the Imperial family and Imperial Capital, Imperial guards are well trained and equipped, but typically serve a ceremonial role more than anything. They take orders from the Imperial family alone and are not technically even part of the IGF. Imperial guards are equipped with the highest quality infantry armor outside of powered armor, and even have personal shield generators. They possess large shields capable of emitting a directional shield as well for added protection.
Heavy Knight Standing at four meters tall, Heavy knights act as both infantry and armor. Their heavy armor, equipped with shield generators, grants them the durability of conventional armor, while allowing them to retain much of the flexibility of conventional infantry. Most of the time heavy knights will be equipped with a particle beam cannon, although heavy anti-armor railguns are also common.
Heavy Imperial Guard Imperial Guards outfitted with mechanized armor that stand at six meters tall, Heavy Imperial Guards are a more combat oriented version of the Imperial Guards. Like their infantry comrades, Heavy Imperial Guards are tasked with the protection of the Imperial family and Imperial capital world. Historically they have been tasked by the Emperor to oversee battles and act as elite soldiers on the battlefield, although this has fallen out of practice recently. The mechanized armor of Heavy Imperial Guards are equipped with a shield general, is capable of prolonged independent flight, and there are even some variants made specifically for use in the void of space. Like their lesser armored brothers, the shields these soldiers carry are capable of producing a direction shield for added protection. These soldiers are commonly equipped with a plasma sword and heavy particle beam rifle.
Tetrarch Tankette The Tetrarch tankette is a tiny tank with a single person crew. Strictly speaking it is a tank-walker hybrid vehicle, capable of switching between the two modes during battle. It was designed to support infantry in combat and serve as a reconnaissance vehicle. Towards this end the Tetrarch tankette has good top speeds, acceleration, and agility. Its main cannon is capable of loading a variety of different types of rounds ranging from high explosive and armor piercing to shrapnel and EMP; it is important to note that even with armor piercing rounds the Tetrarch tankette struggles to pierce the armor of any vehicle larger than a light tank. On top of this the Tetrarch tankette’s armor is very thin, so much so that some of the larger infantry based rifles can pierce it given the right circumstances. The Tetrarch tankette is capable of being dropped into combat both from the air and orbit. Because of its drawbacks the Tetrarch tankette sees a lot of use in an auxiliary and logistics capacity instead of actual combat. Even so these vehicles excel in rough terrain and urban environments and should not be underestimated as they are a potent tool when used correctly.
Scorpion Light Hover Tank The Scorpion light hover tank is small sized, thinly armored hover tank intended to serve as an armored reconnaissance vehicle, artillery observer, and skirmisher. Its main cannon is almost identical to the Tetrarch tankette’s and is capable of loading a variety of different types of rounds ranging from high explosive and armor piercing to shrapnel and EMP. Although the Scorpion possess superior armor to the Tetrarch, the Scorpion is also a much larger target. In addition to its main cannon the Scorpion has one anti-air missile and two anti-armor missiles.
Striker Anti-Air Artillery The Striker is an old, almost ancient design, even so it has more than proven to be a highly reliable piece of equipment. Originally outfitted with ballistic flak guns, most modern Strikers have either railguns or particle beam cannons. The Striker excels at destroy hostile aircraft. More importantly some of the particle beam variants, when equipped to an outside power source and extra cooling systems, have been able to hit objects in low orbit, including both satellites and starships. In addition to destroying aircraft, the Striker is quite good at engaging infantry and can even fight head to head with light armor.
Chariot APC The Chariot APC is a hover transport designed to carry two full squads into combat. These combat transports possess decent armor and speed. Their only armament is a heavy machine gun, meaning they can not engage other armor. Chariots also serve as logistics vehicles, carrying ammo or serving as a combat medical vehicle.
Crusader IFV The Crusader IFV was designed to replace the Chariot as the Empire’s primary ground combat transport. While this certainly hasn’t occurred, due to a variety of issues, the Crusader is still a widely used vehicle in the army. The Crusader has two different variants: the Crusader IFV and the Crusader Tank Destroyer (picture above). The IFV variant is equipped with a railgun and can carry a squad of soldiers into combat. The tank destroyer variant sacrifices its ability to carry troops in exchange for a heavy particle beam cannon capable of destroying even the most heavily of armored vehicles. While reliable, the Crusader doesn’t handle rough terrain as well as the Chariot and, due to having wheels, is prone to be knocked out when moving out rough terrain.
Warrior Hover Tank The Warrior tank serves as the Empire’s main battle tank. It is noted as possessing phenomenal mobility and firepower, but at the cost of armor. Typically, the Warrior is outfitted with a railgun for its main armament, however particle beam cannons are not uncommon. Because of its comparably light armor, the Warrior suffers in engagements where it is close to its foes. There have been known instances of light tanks or IFVs disabling or destroying a Warrior at close range. Despite this the Warrior excels at long range battles, where its superior cannon often times outranges those of contemporary main battle tanks and its comparably superior mobility allows it to better dodge incoming fire. Even with these comparative advantages the Warrior struggles against contemporary main battle tanks, especially in defensive engagements.
Conqueror Heavy Tank The Conqueror is an old but reliable tank. The use of treads allows the Conqueror to keep a low profile, especially for a vehicle of its class, increasing survivability. These tanks possess one of the largest particle beam cannons in use by a ground vehicle and are more than capable of fighting one on one with any other tank currently in use; in fact battlefield experience has shown that in many situations fighting the Conqueror head on is suicide. Despite these strengths, or perhaps because of them, the Conqueror is extremely slow and vulnerable in the rear, making it easy for lighter tanks to swarm it. A high cost to produce also ensures that Conquerer numbers will also remain low.
Titan-class Planetary Assault Ship The Titan-class planetary assault ship is a specialized warship designed to operate in any environment. Titan-class ships are roughly the size of the average corvette and can operate in space; however, they are designed primarily to function within a planet’s atmosphere. Their primary purpose is to transport troops and equipment to planetary battlegrounds and support those troops in battle. Titan-class ships possess a single heavy particle beam cannon, missile launchers, railguns, and a variety of point defense systems. In many ways Titans act simply as a premade bases or airfields, however they can also serve as a large scale transport or supply depot.
Aerospace Forces
There is no official aerospace branch of the Imperial military, instead the strike craft that would make up such a branch operate under the control of the Imperial Navy and Imperial Ground Forces.
TSF-6 Tempest Role: Aerospace Interceptor Description: Originally designed to counter the Federation’s Phoenix fighter, the TSF-6 Tempest is a small fighter notable for its high agility and ability to perform well in both atmosphere and void. While decent in a dogfight, the Tempest distinctly lacked durability and firepower, thus wasn’t useful against full ships or even larger strike craft. Its original design called for it to help screen the fleet or ground forces from strike craft assault, which it did a decent job at. It possessed a single anti-fighter particle beam cannon and a single hardpoint that could be used to store either fuel or an anti-fighter missile. After the arrival of the Daisan it was quickly replaced and regulated to a role as an interceptor.
TSF-7 Hurricane Role: Navy Multirole Fighter Description: Designed to replace the Tempest, the Hurricane is more durable and possesses more firepower while retaining much of the Tempest’s agility. It is outfitted with two anti-fighter particle beam cannons and three hardpoints. Two of the hardpoints can carry anti-fighter missiles or small bombs, while the center one is designed to carry an anti-ship torpedo or bomb.The Hurricane is capable of entering and exiting a planet’s atmosphere and providing close air support to troops on the ground.
TSF-8 Sabre Role: Aerospace Multirole Fighter Description: Designed alongside the TSF-7 Hurricane, the Sabre was designed to ensure that the Empire maintained air and space supremacy around a planet. Its agility, speed, and reliability have made it a mainstay of the IGF and widely sought after by the Imperial planetary defense forces that have to deal with the threat of the Daisan. While intended primarily to operate within a planet’s atmosphere, the Sabre does have the capability to exit the atmosphere and operate in the void of space, although it lacks the endurance to go very far. Its armaments include two railguns and six missile hardpoints.
TSF-9 Swordbreaker Role: Aerospace supremacy fighter Description: Designed from the ground up to utilize Squire AIs to their fullest extent, the TSF-9 Swordbreaker is considered a far superior fighter to the Hurricane and Sabre. First and foremost the Swordbreaker has far superior processing power than the Hurricane or Sabre, allowing for a much more powerful Squire. This greatly enhanced Squire grants its pilot even greater reflexes and battlespace awareness. The Swordbreaker also comes with modular internal bays that allow for easy upgrading and the installation of processing and Ewar modules to name a few. While not a durable fighter, it does come with a fairly weak shield generator. However it relies on its phenomenal agility which is so great that a limiter had to be placed on it so the fighter didn’t snap itself in half while operating in an atmosphere. The Swordbreaker has two forward facing particle beam cannons and two weaker rear facing particle beam cannons, all of which are gimbaled. It also has an interior bay that can hold four missiles. Each wing has two hardpoints that can carry a number of objects including anti-air missiles, bombs, fuel tanks, and particle beam cannons, and even extra zero point generators. A single reinforced hardpoint on the underside of the fuselage can carry a torpedo, heavy anti-ship particle beam cannon or two missiles. All of this comes at an incredibly high price, making the Swordbreaker a fighter reserved for the most elite of pilots. Interestingly the vast majority of those produced find themselves in the hands of Imperial rebels.
TRF-2A/V Stiletto Role: Reconnaissance Fighter Description: The Stiletto is a specialized reconnaissance craft is packed with sophisticated sensors and can carry specialized reconnaissance missiles and sensor suites on its hardpoints. Not intended to partake in actual combat, it is lightly armed and armored. It has two variants: one of use in the void of space and one for planetary environments. The void variant is noted for being very fast, whereas the planetary variant is highly agile, but comparatively slow. Both variants have four hardpoints that are intended for recon missiles, but can be loaded with anti-fighter missiles or even unguided bombs if necessary. The void variant possesses a single anti-fighter particle beam cannon while the planetary variant has two anti-fighter railgun cannons.
TSA-3 Strike Sabre Role: Close air support, Forward air controller, Bomber Description: Designed exclusively for use within an atmosphere, the Strike Sabre fighter is a close air support craft capable of attacking armored vehicles and tanks, and providing quick-action support against enemy ground forces. It can also direct other aircraft to provide air support to ground forces with a degree of accuracy they would be incapable of achieving on their own. The strike sabre is a very durable aircraft, capable of shrugging off blows that would down most other fighters. Its equipped with two railgun cannons and eight missile hardpoints.
TSA-4 Tornado Role: Torpedo bomber, Strike Fighter, Close air support Description: The naval cousin of the Strike Sabre, the TSA-4 Tornado was designed first and foremost as a torpedo bomber. Its primary purpose is to close with the enemy fleet, launch its torpedoes, and then return to the fleet. Towards this end the Tornado was made with speed, above all else, in mind. Its four large engines ensures that it's one of the fastest craft in a fight. The Tornado is also capable of entering and exiting a planet’s atmosphere and, it's been noted to the surprise of many, its agility in an atmosphere approaches that of a dedicated fighter when it's hardpoints are empty. This has resulted in the Tornado being used in CAS missions when Strike Sabres are unavailable. The Tornado also has some ability to act as a fighter, although this is mostly in atmosphere and more of an act of last resort than anything else. The Tornado is armed with two particle beam cannons and four hardpoints, each capable of holding either a torpedo or two missiles/bombs.
TST-3 Kukri Role: Gunship/Transport Description: The TST-3 Kukri is the workhorse of the Imperial military. It's the Empire’s main gunship and transport for all environments.There are two main variants of the Kurki, the gunship and transport. Both variants quite durable, although the gunship variant is certainly more so. The transport variant can carry up to three squads of soldiers into battle.
The Humankind Empire of Astrana is a human-centric country that, while legally ruled by an emperor, is controlled by a fascist political party called Humanity United. This led to the outbreak of a civil war between the fascists and a coalition of constitutionalists, democrats, and alien nationalists.
Official Name: Humankind Empire of Astrana Common Names: Astrana, the Empire, the Astranan Empire De Jure Government: Constitutional Monarchy De Facto Government: Fascist Dictatorship Dominant Species: Humans Capital: Truica, Floyn Thal System Controlled Systems: 317 Total Population: 5.4 Trillion
Humanity United: Humanity United is a fascist pro-human supremacy group that currently controls the Imperial parliament. Their power is greatest in the Empire’s core systems and northern territories with the southern territories having widely resisted its attempts to exert control to this point.
The Coalition for Imperial Constitutionalism: Commonly shortened to the Constitutionalists, this group was the first of the rebellious groups to rise up and is also the strongest. The Constitutionalists are made up of planetary governments, viceroyalties, and military officers who wish to have the monarch’s power brought back and the Constitutional rights of the citizenry upheld by the rightful and legal government.
The Alliance for Liberty: Made up of the remnants of the Liberty Party, the political party in power before Humanity United, the Alliance for Liberty is now considered a fringe group in the Coalition for Imperial Constitutionalism. The Alliance for Liberty is significant in that it wishes to not only defeat the Fascists, but also replace the monarchy with a fully democratic power, or at the very least see the parliament empowered after Humanity United is defeated.
The Nerkin Nationalist Front: While fighting alongside the Constitutionalists, the Nerkin Nationalist Front has the end goal of either achieving independence or at the very least being recognized as a semi-autonomous state within the Empire. While comparably weak now, and operating with little to no supplies, the Nerkin Nationalist Front has the potential to become fairly powerful should they receive supplies and training.
The Viceroyalty of Cormyral: A powerful viceroyalty and home to the Nalloth species, the Viceroyalty of Cormyral has thus far remained officially neutral in the conflict while providing material, logistical, and intelligence support to the Coalition for Imperial Constitutionalism. Home to a large industrial base, not to mention one of the largest shipyards in the Empire, the Viceroyalty of Cormyral has the potential to tip the balance of power in the Constitutionalists’ favor given enough time and should it enter the conflict in full. Unfortunately the native Nalloth species fears the Nerkin Nationalist Front enough that, should they grow in power, the viceroyalty may withdraw its support for the Constitutionalists and attempt to achieve independence for itself.
The Imperial Guard: Another faction that could make a difference in the outcome of the conflict is the Imperial Guard. While comparably small in size, the Imperial Guard is well trained and equipped, even possessing a small fleet of its own that contains a few battleships. The Imperial Guards answer only to the Imperial family, thus are not required to aid Humanity United. Only time will tell if the Imperial Guard will cave in to pressure from Humanity United, aid the Constitutionalists, or continue to watch from the sidelines.
Order of the Magi: Once under the control of the Emperor, this military order of psionic warriors have become a semi-autonomous group of human supremacists. While generally supportive of Humanity United, the Order of the Magi have somewhat distanced themselves from the political party after a large number of human protesters were gunned down. Currently the Order of the Magi focus the bulk of their energy in the north fighting against the Daisan.
The Paladins of the Holy River: A religious military order, the Paladins of the Holy River view it as their duty to spread life to new worlds and to defend “living worlds”. While some of their activities involve terraforming barren worlds, for the most part the paladins have been concentrating on aiding the Federation in their fight against the Daisan.
History
(Imma do this later cause I'm a lazy fuck)
Starmap Information
Major Holdings
Truica, Floyn Thal System: The heart and sole of the Empire, Truica serves as the Imperial capital. It is host to a number of important institutions include the Imperial Palace, the Imperial Navy Academy, Imperial Intelligence, and the Imperial Center for Scientific Pursuit. On top of all this Truica’s planetary ring station hosts the third largest shipyard in the Empire and the system itself is the center of all trade in the Empire. Within the Empire, it can be said that all roads lead to Truica.
Atrar, Cormyral System: Homeworld of the Nalloth species, Atrar is a major industrial center in the Empire and home to its second largest shipyard. Atrar has long been considered as a lynchpin in the Empire’s defensive position towards the Federation and thus serves as an important logistical point for military operations in the region.
Odrela, Voflain System: Home to the Empire’s third largest shipyard, Odrela is considered to be, in many ways, the Imperial capital in the south. It is an economic and logistical hub in the region and has long served as a major naval base. Odrela itself is home to the Imperial family’s vacation palace, which has historically served as a place to host members of the Imperial family during times of crisis to ensure the continuation of the bloodline. It currently serves as the de facto capital of the rebellion.
Social Information
Demographics
Nalloth: The nalloth are the natural inhabitants of the Cormyral System. They have six legs, each of end in what can serve equally as both foot and hand. They exhibit characteristics of both mammals and reptiles: they have scaly skin that they regularly shed, but are warmblooded and give live birth. They have four small eyes and a mouth that is literally filled with razor sharp teeth.
Nalloth commonly partake in various drugs for both recreational and ritualistic purposes. Their language consists of a series of shrill whistles, whines, and grunts with small differences in pitch and tone having a small effect on the meaning of a 'word'. While a human is capable of understanding a majority of the native Nalloth language they cannot hope to speak it and Nalloth can, at best, imitate some of the same words as humans use. Commonly nalloth make use of a form of sign language to communicate with those who can't speak their language.
Nerkin: An insect-like race, nerkins are carnivores with a voracious appetite. They have six limbs, four of which are traditionally used as arms, although they can run on all six with incredible ease and speed. Surprisingly they are natural linguists, able to speak and comprehend most languages very easily, although their mandibles make a very distinct clicking noise whenever they speak. Nerkin are known for their somewhat violent tendencies, which are caused by their stronger fight-or-flight instincts; nerkin rarely attack creatures the same size as them unless threatened, although it is very easy to make them feel threatened.
Nerkin are commonly viewed as being dull and slow, although this isn’t entirely fair, the sentiment is not without merit. They struggle with rapid change and are slow to make decisions. Despite this they are remarkable craftsmen, able to finish just about any large construction project far quicker than most other sentients.
Society
There are three generally accepted classes in Astranan society: the royal family, the nobility, and the commoners. As the name indicates, the royal family is the ruling class in the empire. The nobility is made up of viceroys, military officers, and those given a permanent title by the monarch. While technically anyone can become a noble, more often than not positions held by the nobility remain in nobility. The commoners are a bit different from the other classes as they are easily subdivided into other classes that include indentured servants, business entrepreneurs, and high level politicians.
Constitutionally xenos are to be treated the same as humans, and in most places in the empire this is true. However with the rise of Humanity United prejudices against xenos has risen in the imperial capital and northern territories.
Government
The government is ruled by the reigning monarch, whose powers are limited by a constitution. A parliamentary body, elected by individual planetary populations, helps with the administration of the government while ensuring that the needs of the citizens are met without infringing upon their constitutional rights. The reigning monarch assigns viceroys to govern over star systems and individual planets; these viceroys in turn have a counterpart parliamentary body that deals with the system or planet’s laws and taxation. These viceroy assignments are held until the viceroy either dies, retires, or is recalled by the monarch.
That is, of course, according to the constitution. In reality a fascist pro-humanity political party known as Humanity United has control over the Imperial parliament and has used its immense influence to essential usurp power from the Emperor, while keeping him on the throne as a figurehead. Parliamentary elections at every level has been suspended until the “xeno menace” has been handled, leading to a civil war.
Technological Information
Technology Overview
The technology of the Empire is much what one would expect from a major power in the region. They possess fairly advanced energy weapon in the form of particle beams which can even be used in strike craft and armored vehicles. Shielding for spacecraft is commonplace and even some infantry possess personal shields.
Major Techs
Cyberware: A broad term, cyberware refers to essentially any machine or hardware that is implanted into an animal. Cyberware can be divided into two categories: interfaces and prosthetics. Interfaces are implants that are used to interact with other machines, usually wirelessly, or store information. Specialized interfaces are used by the military to allow soldiers to link with their hardware to achieve better control or gather more information quicker. Interfaces are also used to accelerate the learning process. Prosthetics are hardware used to replace limbs or re-enable their use should they or the nervous system be damaged. A darker side to this technology involves replacing limbs with prosthetics to increase a soldier’s physical capabilities or use interfaces as a means of surveillance and control.
Defensive Smoke: By placing a charge on the particles created by a zero point generator and then dispersing those particles in an area a magnetic field can be generated. These particles essentially form a “cloud” of plasma that can vaporize projectiles and cause intense diffusion and blooming in energy weapons that go through it. It is important to note, however, that defensive smoke isn’t as effective of a defense as shields generally are and that multiple attacks will cause it to disperse. It is also important to note that a sufficiently powerful attack can punch through defensive smoke, although it will lose some of its strength in doing so. A ship technically has an unlimited amount of defensive smoke to employ, however using defensive smoke means there are less particles available for other applications such as propulsion or weapons. There have been instances of defensive smoke being used offensively as well in a sort of “shotgun” attack against strike craft or larger ships that got too close, although this is comparable rare.
FTL Catapult: Essentially the way a FTL catapult works is that it “hurls” a smaller craft into hyperspace. The craft requires only the most basic of functions, as all it has to do is “drop” out of hyperspace at the correct time to reach its destination. FTL catapults are typically viewed as highly efficient systems, as the craft expends none of its own energy to enter hyperspace and very little to exit. Most commonly FTL catapults take the form of massive space stations that are used to launch civilian and even military craft into hyperspace; however, carriers and even smaller specialized ships are equipped with FTL catapults and can launch smaller craft than themselves. Fighters are commonly deployed by FTL catapults and research has even allowed specialized “FTL torpedoes” to be developed.
Imperial Swords: Soldiers in the Imperial military have access to a variety of melee weapons called swords. While named after an archaic weapon, these swords have been updated for use in the modern battlefield and range from having plasma based blades to monomolecular blades.
Particle Beam Weaponry: These weapons function by taking the particles produced by a zero point generator, giving it a charge, and then accelerating these particles with a circular accelerator to produce a beam. These weapons are useful as they have more impact damage than lasers and possess greater penetration. On the flip side they have far less range, about one light second for the largest and most advanced models. Advancements in the miniaturization of the circular accelerator have resulted in even fighter craft being equipped with these weapons, although they are much weaker and have far less range than the models found on larger ships. Particle beam weaponry effectively have unlimited ammunition due to how the zero point generator functions, but this means that there are fewer particles available for other applications. Continual use can also overheat the weapon, decreasing its effectiveness.
Personal Energy Shield: Some of the more expensive suits of infantry armor used by the Empire, usually those used by elite forces, are equipped with energy shields capable of protecting the user from a variety of attacks. While effectively useless against large calibre/power attacks, these do provide some additional protection from small arms fire and shrapnel.
Q-thruster: Short for quantum vacuum plasma thruster, Q-thrusters are a type of drive used to propel almost all of the ships used by the Empire. Q-thrusters make use of the virtual particles produced by a zero point generator by charging the particles, effectively turning the particles into plasma. The particles are then exposed to a crossed electric and magnetic field which induces a force on the particles. As the particles are expelled in one direction an equal force is applied on the rest of the ship, thus propelling it in the opposite direction. Because of the way they function Q-thrusters do not require fuel, thus saving space in the ship and eliminating the risks inherent with many conventional fuels.
Squire AI: Squire AI are specialized AI designed to push human capabilities beyond their natural limit. Usually these AI are integrated into a piece of equipment such as a strike craft, warship, or armor and interact with its user via their implant. Squire’s are set up in a way that they are intended to make it as if the equipment they are installed in is a part of the user’s body; but it does more than that. The AI helps process large amounts of data for its user and supplements its user in a way that greatly increases their decision making abilities and reflexes. Some high ranking officials even have these AI permanently installed in their cyberware, although this is somewhat rare. Commonly Squire AI are simply referred to as ‘Squire’, however some users decide to give them a real name.The use of limited purview and sophisticated moral and reinforcement coding ensures that Squires do not become a threat to those who made and use them.
Zero Point Generator: Using the dynamic Casimir effect, two reflective flat plates are placed a few nanometers apart. These plates are then manipulated in such a way that they osculate, producing particles and energy in the process. The zero point generator first saw use in space craft, which they were used to power and propel without fuel. Later developments allowed for the construction of massive zero point power plants that provide power for entire cities. While the virtual particles produced by a zero point generator are inherently useless, due to ceasing to exist after a short amount of time, by charging these particles they can be made usable for a wide variety of applications. It wouldn't be an understatement to declare the zero point generator as the foundation of modern Imperial technology.
Industry
Fueled by an unimaginably large stockpile of resources locked in asteroids and a truly massive workforce, the Empire is an industrial machine always churning out massive amounts of goods. Ship building is a particular emphasis of Imperial industrial might, with the output of entire planets dedicated to the construction of ships, both civilian and military. While, by Imperial decree, all inhabited planets are required to be able to produce their own basic necessities, massive shipments of raw resources and finished products are still continually moved from planet to planet to ensure the production of less basic goods can be produced efficiently.
Military Information
Military Overview
The Imperial military is a well trained and equipped force that prefers firepower and mobility over defense. As a rule of thumb both the ground forces and navy prefer close-in engagements.
Space Forces
Command of the Stars Doctrine: The Imperial navy’s doctrine revolves around maintaining complete dominance wherever it operates. This is achieved by either finding and crushing hostile forces in traditional battle or attacking and destroying their logistical base. Towards these ends Imperial ships are made to be both fast and powerful.
Tribal-class Corvette Length: 159 meters Role: Planetary patrol craft, Ground support craft Description: The Tribal-class corvette is a low endurance ship designed primarily to patrol the area around inhabited worlds and star bases. Although small and comparable weak, the Tribal-class’s primary armaments are very accurate. Mix this with the craft’s ability to enter a planetary atmosphere and the Tribal-class is more than capable of supporting troops on the ground. Later modifications allowed the Tribal-class to be refueled and armed by larger ships, allowing it to operate as part of battlegroups and to partake in planetary invasions. Although small in size, the Tribal-class has been used as a troop transport and can ferry supplies to ground forces. Tribal-class corvettes are also designed to carry a single fighter craft, on the outside of its hull, to aid it in its duties, although the corvette lacks the ability to rearm and properly service these fighters.
Leopard-class Frigate Length: 213 meters Role: Anti-fighter/torpedo screen, Scout ship Description: Originally designed to replace the Tribal-class as a patrol ship, the Leopard-class frigate’s design was quickly altered after the outbreak of conflict with the mysterious Daisan Order. It possesses far greater endurance than the Tribal-class, allowing it to easily support battlegroups. Oversized engines makes it one of the fastest combat ships around, although this has resulted in them being fairly exposed and prone to damage. Despite this potential weakness, Leopard-class frigates have shown themselves to be excellent scout craft. While generally lacking in offensive weaponry, its surplus of close-in-weapons systems allows it to fairly easily swat fighters and torpedoes out of the sky. Like the Tribal-class, Leopard-class frigates are designed to carry two fighters on the outside of its hull, although like the Tribal-class it is unable to rearm its fighters.
Huntress-class Destroyer Length: 248 meters Role: Torpedo ship, convoy raider, capital ship hunter Description: The Huntress-class destroyer was designed to be a true ship killer. It packs heavier weaponry and greater mobility than ships of similar size, although its defenses are generally weaker, especially its armor. This ship is not to be underestimated; although its torpedoes can, and often are, destroyed before reaching their target, they have been known to instantly destroy battlecruisers. Some of the more recent variations of the Huntress-class also come with FTL catapults for launching their torpedoes into FTL. Besides their torpedoes, Huntress-class destroyers have four particle beam cannons that can be used to great effect against frigates, cruisers, and even capital ships. Unfortunately these ships are comparably fragile, with few point defenses and comparably weak armor, although their shields are fairly decent. Like Leopard-class frigates, the Huntress-class is designed to carry two fighters on the outside of its hull, although like the Leopard-class it is unable to rearm its fighters.
Tiger-class Light Cruiser Length: 312 meters Role: Gunboat, Flotilla flagship Description: Tiger-class light cruisers are designed to destroy any frigates or destroyers that come too close to the fleet. These warships are armed with an array of particle beam cannons that can seriously damage smaller ships in a single volley. As for most Imperial ships, the Tiger-class is quite fast for its size and can keep up with the Huntress-class destroyer fairly well, resulting in it commonly being the flagship for destroyer flotillas. These ships carry a complement of four fighters and, unlike smaller ships, can rearm their missiles, although their hangers have room for only a single fighter at a time. Unfortunately the Tiger-class is quite a fragile ship. Its point defense are lackluster at best and it's armor is no thicker than that of the Huntress-class.
Warden-class Shielded Cruiser Length: 320 meters Role: Capital ship escort, Anti-fighter/torpedo Description: Rushed into service after the outbreak of hostilities with the mysterious Daisan, the Warden-class shielded cruiser was designed to fix some of the shortcomings of the Empire’s capitals: namely their comparably weak defenses and inability to handle swarms of Daisan fighters. These cruisers are bristling with close in weapons systems and point defenses and have proven themselves even better at swatting fighters and torpedoes out of the sky than the Leopard-class frigate. On top of this the Warden-class possesses capital ship class shield generators which can over an area roughly three times its size around it. These ships are intended to act as physical shields for the fleet’s capital ships and they are well suited for this task. Despite these strengths, the Warden-class has been criticized for its lack of large calibre armaments, fighter carrying capability, and general difficulty to produce. On top of this the only shipyards that produce these cruisers are those of the Cormyrean Viceroyalty.
Hawkins-class Heavy Cruiser Length: 380 meters Description: The Hawkins-class was designed to fit the roles of convoy protection and ground forces fire support, all while still retaining the ability to act as a capital ship in combat; this all required a solid combination of good cruising range and speed as well as independent fighting capabilities.The Hawkins-class is notable for being a generally well rounded ship and a go to for just about any task. Eight torpedo launchers, mixed with its variety of railguns and particle beam cannons ensured that the Hawkins-class was a threat to any ship it came across. It was also designed with two small hangar bays with a combined capacity of eight fighter craft. Unfortunately the Hawkins-class did have its fair share of issues. The largest issue of which was its needless complicated particle beam turrets which were originally designed with the requirement to be able to provide anti-aircraft/torpedo fire, despite the end result having the inability to train and elevate quickly enough to track such targets. However this does not mean the the Hawkins-class is unable to engage torpedoes and fighters: it has a fairly sizeable battery of point defenses at its disposal. The Hawkins-class has proven especially valuable in battle against the Daisan, as it has proven to be just small enough to slip through their shield systems while possessing enough firepower to cause serious damage once inside.
Revenge-class Assault Cruiser Length: 400 meters Role: Heavy gunship, boarding ship Description: Originally a modified class of civilian ships used by the rebellion, the Revenge-class assault cruiser was so successful during the civil war that the Imperial rebels defined the design and tasked the majority of their shipbuilding capabilities to producing them. Heavily armed and armored, these ships were intended to get close to enemy ships and either blast them into oblivion with their particle beam cannons or conduct a boarding action in order to capture the enemy ship. These ships could carry up to a battalion of soldiers, as well as possessed hanger capacity for several transports, and two fighter squadrons.
Illustrious-class Escort Carrier Length: 452 meters Role: Carrier Description: A comparatively small class of carrier, Illustrious-class escort carriers were initially intended to escort convoys or act as the flagships of patrol squadrons. This all changed when the Daisan appeared. Suddenly there was a massive demand by battle groups for these carriers and the fighters they came with. The Illustrious-class was up armed to deal with the Daisan threat, sporting six torpedo launchers and an absolutely obscene amount of point defenses. While it is able to launch its fighters conventionally, it also has a single FTL catapult for deploying its fighters further out for scouting purposes. Due to its cheap cost and ease to produce, Illustrious-class escort carriers have been built in massive numbers to help combat the Daisan threat and later fight in the Imperial civil war. It has a total carrying capacity of 112 fighters. It can also act as a sort of assault carrier, aiding in the transportation and deployment of ground forces for planetary invasions, in which case it would only carry half or even a quarter of its capacity in fighters.
Courageous-class Battlecruiser Length: 468 meters Description: Designed to serve as “enhanced” heavy cruisers, the Courageous-class battlecruiser was originally outfitted with comparably weak armaments for a ship of its size. After the outbreak of hostilities with the Daisan it was refitted with some of the largest armaments ever used by the Imperial navy excluding spinal mounted weapons. More recent retrofits further enhanced the Courageous-class’s power source. These ships were fast, even for a battlecruiser, but possessed only a few heavy armaments in the form of particle beam cannons. A small hangar allows the Courageous-class to carry and service four fighters.
Invincible-class Battleship Length: 602 meters Description: The Invincible-class battleship is something of an oddity in the Imperial navy as it tries to more evenly balance speed, armaments, and armor, even putting a slight emphasis on defensive capabilities. The Invincible-class’s spinal particle beam cannon has become somewhat iconic of its class and has proven to be invaluable in the few naval engagements that these battleships have participated in. Numerous other particle beam cannons and close-in-weapons systems makes this a very powerful warship. It was once said that the Invincible-class was the “most successful class of capital ship ever designed.” At first glance this may seem to be an accurate statement as no Invincible-class has been destroyed in battle; however all ships of this class that has participated in battle have been significantly damaged, especially in battles against the Daisan. There has also been complaints about the Invincible-class’s slow speed, in comparison to other Imperial warships, as well as its complete lack of fighter carrying capacity.
Audacious-class Carrier Length: 732 meters Role: Fleet Carrier Description: In what some may say was a sign of desperation and others a stroke of genius, Imperial rebels repurposed several large cargo ships into fleet carriers. These ships are fragile, relying almost exclusively on shields and point defenses for protection, but carry an astounding amount of fighters. These ships can carry up to 300 fighters, although they can struggle to launch all of them quickly, and possess all the facilities needed to maintain those fighters.
Albion-class Interdictor Length: 800 meters Role: Mobile FTL Inhibitor Description: A wise Imperial Admiral once asked the questions “What will stop my opponent from simply flying past me and once I’ve caught him, how do I prevent him from scurrying away into Hyperspace?” The Albion-class was the Empire’s answers to those questions. The Albion-class is a large ship, but while sporting fairly substantial armor, lacks in offensive armaments. All of its power capabilities expended giving it a large field through which it can detect and identify ships in FTL and deploy an FTL inhib field. The inhib field itself is not intended to pull ships out of FTL, although if an Albion-class is positioned correctly it can do that. Instead the field is intended to prevent enemies from fleeing and protect the fleet from incoming FTL weapons. Instead the Albion-class is equipped with specialized missiles that, upon explosion, release a very brief FTL inhib field that will pull any ship in either Hyperspace or slipspace back into plain space. The Albion-class is equipped with a specialized missile launch tube for launching these missiles as well as six torpedo launch tubes all of which are equipped with an FTL catapult.
Ground Forces
Manuever-Firepower Doctrine: The combat doctrine of the Imperial ground forces revolves around incapacitating the enemy’s decision making ability through shock and disruption. This doctrine revolves around punching through enemy lines, or outmaneuvering the enemy, in order to strike their command structures and logistical bases.
Black Shirts Originally a paramilitary group, the black shirts aided Humanity United in its rise to power and is loyal only to the party. The black shirts are comparatively poorly trained and equipped, but make for it in having high morale. They are usually employed only in cities and act as police, military police, and, at times, basic infantry.
Imperial Infantry The bread and butter of the IGF, Imperial infantry are well trained and decently well equipped soldiers. They are notable for being great marksmen. These soldiers are equipped with railguns, usually a semi-auto variant, and a monomolecular blade. Imperial Infantry are organized into sections of eight soldiers, which can be further divided into fire teams of four. Each fire team has one soldier equipped with a heavy weapon that can be anything from an LMG to an anti-armor rocket launcher.
Imperial Knights These heavily armored soldiers serve as elite shock troops, focusing on breaking through enemy lines and destroying vital targets. Imperial knights are equipped with powered armor that are further enhanced by a personal energy shield and squire AI. These soldiers are stereotyped as using beam swords, but also make use of grenades, rockets, high rate of fire railguns, and just about anything else that will help them complete their missions.
Praetorian Guard: Originally established as an organization tasked with protecting the Imperial parliament, the Praetorian guard’s role has expanded to protecting all high level government officials and the Imperial capital of Truica. They excel on the defense, but aren’t equipped or trained for offensive operations. While it is common for them to work alongside the Imperial Guard, the Praetorian Guard are neither part of the Imperial Guard nor required to follow the Imperial Guard’s orders.
Order of the Seraphim Knights Known commonly as seraphim knights or simply the seraphim, the Knights of the Seraphim Order are effectively a special forces unit made iconic by their armor capable of sustained independent flight. They are trained to operate in any environment, be that in atmosphere or the void of space, but excel in supporting ground forces. They are commonly equipped with a plasma sword, long range railgun rifle, and array of support equipment depending on what their mission is.
Order of the Magi The Order of the Magi was initially formed by the Emperor to serve as a proof of concept unit for the creation of psionic capable troops and to develop tactics to employ these troops. One hundred years later, after Humanity United seized power, the Order of Magi broke ties with the Imperial throne and declared itself a semi-autonomous order. The order now pursues a generally nationalistic, pro-humanity agenda.
Paladins of the Holy River The Paladins of the Holy River are a religious military order dedicated to the spreading of life and the protection of living worlds. These soldiers are well equipped and trained, and considered some of the most experienced Imperial soldiers at combating the Daisan. Paladins are outfitted with powered armor equipped with a personal shield generator for defense. While armaments change between individual knights, each paladin can be expected to carry some kind of melee weapon, a sidearm, and a railgun into battle.
Imperial Guard Tasked with protecting the Imperial family and Imperial Capital, Imperial guards are well trained and equipped, but typically serve a ceremonial role more than anything. They take orders from the Imperial family alone and are not technically even part of the IGF. Imperial guards are equipped with the highest quality infantry armor outside of powered armor, and even have personal shield generators. They possess large shields capable of emitting a directional shield as well for added protection.
Heavy Knight Standing at four meters tall, Heavy knights act as both infantry and armor. Their heavy armor, equipped with shield generators, grants them the durability of conventional armor, while allowing them to retain much of the flexibility of conventional infantry. Most of the time heavy knights will be equipped with a particle beam cannon, although heavy anti-armor railguns are also common.
Heavy Imperial Guard Imperial Guards outfitted with mechanized armor that stand at six meters tall, Heavy Imperial Guards are a more combat oriented version of the Imperial Guards. Like their infantry comrades, Heavy Imperial Guards are tasked with the protection of the Imperial family and Imperial capital world. Historically they have been tasked by the Emperor to oversee battles and act as elite soldiers on the battlefield, although this has fallen out of practice recently. The mechanized armor of Heavy Imperial Guards are equipped with a shield general, is capable of prolonged independent flight, and there are even some variants made specifically for use in the void of space. Like their lesser armored brothers, the shields these soldiers carry are capable of producing a direction shield for added protection. These soldiers are commonly equipped with a plasma sword and heavy particle beam rifle.
Tetrarch Tankette The Tetrarch tankette is a tiny tank with a single person crew. Strictly speaking it is a tank-walker hybrid vehicle, capable of switching between the two modes during battle. It was designed to support infantry in combat and serve as a reconnaissance vehicle. Towards this end the Tetrarch tankette has good top speeds, acceleration, and agility. Its main cannon is capable of loading a variety of different types of rounds ranging from high explosive and armor piercing to shrapnel and EMP; it is important to note that even with armor piercing rounds the Tetrarch tankette struggles to pierce the armor of any vehicle larger than a light tank. On top of this the Tetrarch tankette’s armor is very thin, so much so that some of the larger infantry based rifles can pierce it given the right circumstances. The Tetrarch tankette is capable of being dropped into combat both from the air and orbit. Because of its drawbacks the Tetrarch tankette sees a lot of use in an auxiliary and logistics capacity instead of actual combat. Even so these vehicles excel in rough terrain and urban environments and should not be underestimated as they are a potent tool when used correctly.
Scorpion Light Hover Tank The Scorpion light hover tank is small sized, thinly armored hover tank intended to serve as an armored reconnaissance vehicle, artillery observer, and skirmisher. Its main cannon is almost identical to the Tetrarch tankette’s and is capable of loading a variety of different types of rounds ranging from high explosive and armor piercing to shrapnel and EMP. Although the Scorpion possess superior armor to the Tetrarch, the Scorpion is also a much larger target. In addition to its main cannon the Scorpion has one anti-air missile and two anti-armor missiles.
Striker Anti-Air Artillery The Striker is an old, almost ancient design, even so it has more than proven to be a highly reliable piece of equipment. Originally outfitted with ballistic flak guns, most modern Strikers have either railguns or particle beam cannons. The Striker excels at destroy hostile aircraft. More importantly some of the particle beam variants, when equipped to an outside power source and extra cooling systems, have been able to hit objects in low orbit, including both satellites and starships. In addition to destroying aircraft, the Striker is quite good at engaging infantry and can even fight head to head with light armor.
Chariot APC The Chariot APC is a hover transport designed to carry two full squads into combat. These combat transports possess decent armor and speed. Their only armament is a heavy machine gun, meaning they can not engage other armor. Chariots also serve as logistics vehicles, carrying ammo or serving as a combat medical vehicle.
Crusader IFV The Crusader IFV was designed to replace the Chariot as the Empire’s primary ground combat transport. While this certainly hasn’t occurred, due to a variety of issues, the Crusader is still a widely used vehicle in the army. The Crusader has two different variants: the Crusader IFV and the Crusader Tank Destroyer (picture above). The IFV variant is equipped with a railgun and can carry a squad of soldiers into combat. The tank destroyer variant sacrifices its ability to carry troops in exchange for a heavy particle beam cannon capable of destroying even the most heavily of armored vehicles. While reliable, the Crusader doesn’t handle rough terrain as well as the Chariot and, due to having wheels, is prone to be knocked out when moving out rough terrain.
Warrior Hover Tank The Warrior tank serves as the Empire’s main battle tank. It is noted as possessing phenomenal mobility and firepower, but at the cost of armor. Typically, the Warrior is outfitted with a railgun for its main armament, however particle beam cannons are not uncommon. Because of its comparably light armor, the Warrior suffers in engagements where it is close to its foes. There have been known instances of light tanks or IFVs disabling or destroying a Warrior at close range. Despite this the Warrior excels at long range battles, where its superior cannon often times outranges those of contemporary main battle tanks and its comparably superior mobility allows it to better dodge incoming fire. Even with these comparative advantages the Warrior struggles against contemporary main battle tanks, especially in defensive engagements.
Conqueror Heavy Tank The Conqueror is an old but reliable tank. The use of treads allows the Conqueror to keep a low profile, especially for a vehicle of its class, increasing survivability. These tanks possess one of the largest particle beam cannons in use by a ground vehicle and are more than capable of fighting one on one with any other tank currently in use; in fact battlefield experience has shown that in many situations fighting the Conqueror head on is suicide. Despite these strengths, or perhaps because of them, the Conqueror is extremely slow and vulnerable in the rear, making it easy for lighter tanks to swarm it. A high cost to produce also ensures that Conquerer numbers will also remain low.
Titan-class Planetary Assault Ship The Titan-class planetary assault ship is a specialized warship designed to operate in any environment. Titan-class ships are roughly the size of the average corvette and can operate in space; however, they are designed primarily to function within a planet’s atmosphere. Their primary purpose is to transport troops and equipment to planetary battlegrounds and support those troops in battle. Titan-class ships possess a single heavy particle beam cannon, missile launchers, railguns, and a variety of point defense systems. In many ways Titans act simply as a premade bases or airfields, however they can also serve as a large scale transport or supply depot.
Aerospace Forces
There is no official aerospace branch of the Imperial military, instead the strike craft that would make up such a branch operate under the control of the Imperial Navy and Imperial Ground Forces.
TSF-6 Tempest Role: Aerospace Interceptor Description: Originally designed to counter the Federation’s Phoenix fighter, the TSF-6 Tempest is a small fighter notable for its high agility and ability to perform well in both atmosphere and void. While decent in a dogfight, the Tempest distinctly lacked durability and firepower, thus wasn’t useful against full ships or even larger strike craft. Its original design called for it to help screen the fleet or ground forces from strike craft assault, which it did a decent job at. It possessed a single anti-fighter particle beam cannon and a single hardpoint that could be used to store either fuel or an anti-fighter missile. After the arrival of the Daisan it was quickly replaced and regulated to a role as an interceptor.
TSF-7 Hurricane Role: Navy Multirole Fighter Description: Designed to replace the Tempest, the Hurricane is more durable and possesses more firepower while retaining much of the Tempest’s agility. It is outfitted with two anti-fighter particle beam cannons and three hardpoints. Two of the hardpoints can carry anti-fighter missiles or small bombs, while the center one is designed to carry an anti-ship torpedo or bomb.The Hurricane is capable of entering and exiting a planet’s atmosphere and providing close air support to troops on the ground.
TSF-8 Sabre Role: Aerospace Multirole Fighter Description: Designed alongside the TSF-7 Hurricane, the Sabre was designed to ensure that the Empire maintained air and space supremacy around a planet. Its agility, speed, and reliability have made it a mainstay of the IGF and widely sought after by the Imperial planetary defense forces that have to deal with the threat of the Daisan. While intended primarily to operate within a planet’s atmosphere, the Sabre does have the capability to exit the atmosphere and operate in the void of space, although it lacks the endurance to go very far. Its armaments include two railguns and six missile hardpoints.
TSF-9 Swordbreaker Role: Aerospace supremacy fighter Description: Designed from the ground up to utilize Squire AIs to their fullest extent, the TSF-9 Swordbreaker is considered a far superior fighter to the Hurricane and Sabre. First and foremost the Swordbreaker has far superior processing power than the Hurricane or Sabre, allowing for a much more powerful Squire. This greatly enhanced Squire grants its pilot even greater reflexes and battlespace awareness. The Swordbreaker also comes with modular internal bays that allow for easy upgrading and the installation of processing and Ewar modules to name a few. While not a durable fighter, it does come with a fairly weak shield generator. However it relies on its phenomenal agility which is so great that a limiter had to be placed on it so the fighter didn’t snap itself in half while operating in an atmosphere. The Swordbreaker has two forward facing particle beam cannons and two weaker rear facing particle beam cannons, all of which are gimbaled. It also has an interior bay that can hold four missiles. Each wing has two hardpoints that can carry a number of objects including anti-air missiles, bombs, fuel tanks, and particle beam cannons, and even extra zero point generators. A single reinforced hardpoint on the underside of the fuselage can carry a torpedo, heavy anti-ship particle beam cannon or two missiles. All of this comes at an incredibly high price, making the Swordbreaker a fighter reserved for the most elite of pilots. Interestingly the vast majority of those produced find themselves in the hands of Imperial rebels.
TRF-2A/V Stiletto Role: Reconnaissance Fighter Description: The Stiletto is a specialized reconnaissance craft is packed with sophisticated sensors and can carry specialized reconnaissance missiles and sensor suites on its hardpoints. Not intended to partake in actual combat, it is lightly armed and armored. It has two variants: one of use in the void of space and one for planetary environments. The void variant is noted for being very fast, whereas the planetary variant is highly agile, but comparatively slow. Both variants have four hardpoints that are intended for recon missiles, but can be loaded with anti-fighter missiles or even unguided bombs if necessary. The void variant possesses a single anti-fighter particle beam cannon while the planetary variant has two anti-fighter railgun cannons.
TSA-3 Strike Sabre Role: Close air support, Forward air controller, Bomber Description: Designed exclusively for use within an atmosphere, the Strike Sabre fighter is a close air support craft capable of attacking armored vehicles and tanks, and providing quick-action support against enemy ground forces. It can also direct other aircraft to provide air support to ground forces with a degree of accuracy they would be incapable of achieving on their own. The strike sabre is a very durable aircraft, capable of shrugging off blows that would down most other fighters. Its equipped with two railgun cannons and eight missile hardpoints.
TSA-4 Tornado Role: Torpedo bomber, Strike Fighter, Close air support Description: The naval cousin of the Strike Sabre, the TSA-4 Tornado was designed first and foremost as a torpedo bomber. Its primary purpose is to close with the enemy fleet, launch its torpedoes, and then return to the fleet. Towards this end the Tornado was made with speed, above all else, in mind. Its four large engines ensures that it's one of the fastest craft in a fight. The Tornado is also capable of entering and exiting a planet’s atmosphere and, it's been noted to the surprise of many, its agility in an atmosphere approaches that of a dedicated fighter when it's hardpoints are empty. This has resulted in the Tornado being used in CAS missions when Strike Sabres are unavailable. The Tornado also has some ability to act as a fighter, although this is mostly in atmosphere and more of an act of last resort than anything else. The Tornado is armed with two particle beam cannons and four hardpoints, each capable of holding either a torpedo or two missiles/bombs.
TST-3 Kukri Role: Gunship/Transport Description: The TST-3 Kukri is the workhorse of the Imperial military. It's the Empire’s main gunship and transport for all environments.There are two main variants of the Kurki, the gunship and transport. Both variants quite durable, although the gunship variant is certainly more so. The transport variant can carry up to three squads of soldiers into battle.
Nation sheets go here. Please acquire approval from a a GM before posting here.
(Civilization/Faction name goes here!)
General Information
Overview
(Introduce your civilization here in brief, preferably one or a few paragraphs. You can also have an info sheet here about your basic stats like population, government type and so on.)
You don't outright require to make these but they are fun so here's a good example.
Official Name: (The full and official name of your civilization) Common Name: (How should we generally call your civ?) Government: (Categorize the type of your government, Empire, Constitutional Monarchy, Parliamentary Democracy, etc) Dominant Species: (What is your majority or at least ruling species in your civ?) Capital: (Your homeworld or place of your ruling government, say: Earth, Solar System) Systems Owned: (Optional, mostly there for smaller multi-stellar civs to give us an impression of their size) Planets Owned: (Optional, has a similar role as the one above. Again, meaningless after a certain size.) Population: (Kinda optional if you don't wish to think on big numbers, otherwise go ahead!)
History
(This is where you can tell us the tale of your glorious empire! History sections are neat to offer plot bunnies for other players to incorporate about your civ. On the other hand we aren't forcing anyone to make this extra detailed. Just write down what you find necessary here. Oh, and if you happen to write mini novels please put it inside hider tags to not bloat up the entire page. Thank you!)
Starmap Information
Galactic Location
(This is for the galaxy map with your location highlighted somehow. The galaxy is gigantic so even a small dot can mean a lot. Don't be discouraged by your size!)
Major Holdings
(This is kind of optional, you are given a chance to describe various places of interest. This can be a planet, star system or even entire star sector. Or even something else. Feel free to list them!)
Social Information
Demographics
(This is where you can describe the one or myriad of races inhabiting your glorious civilization. With multiple races you can also talk about demographics for real. What are your major races? Where do they live? And so on.)
Society
(Your unique civilization has unique society. What are the lives of your people be like? How are they thinking? Are there any social classes? Etc.)
Government
(Describe your government here in detail. If you use something generic or just feel like there isn't enough to say you can merge this with the Society section under "Government/Society" and describe both here.)
Technological Information
Technology Overview
(Describe your civilization's technology in general)
Major Techs
(Kinda optional section to describe your most important pieces of technology. If you think a simple overview above is enough, skip this.)
Industry
(Again, kinda optional. Do you wish to share with us how amazing your industry can be? This is the section for it! Major industrial methods, complexes and such can be also mentioned here.)
Military Information
Military Overview
(Describe your military in general. For a select few types of civs this might be alone enough.)
Space Forces
(Describe your space fleets in more detail. You can also list your important ship and other unit types but nobody is forcing you. But keep in mind, no Death Stars!) Navy Doctrine: How does your navy operate in a general sense? What are the strategies and tactics commonly employed? What design philosophies are used and how are the affected by your country’s strategies. In short: what can we expect to see from your country’s navy? Bonus points if you give your doctrine a real name such as fleet-in-being.
Ground Forces
(Describe your ground forces, too. This is especially important in this RP since ground/planetary combat will enjoy a spotlight. So we do suggest you to take extra attention to this section.)
Ground Doctrine: How do your ground forces operate in a general sense? What are the strategies and tactics commonly employed? What design philosophies are used and how are the affected by your country’s strategies. In short: what can we expect to see from your country’s ground forces? Bonus points if you give your doctrine a real name such as human wave.
Credit goes to Willy for actually making the sheet outline for us, and for those of you who don't know, click raw and copy paste the bbcode into docs and type it in that way so it's already formatted when you post it in guild! Thank you.
History has a sickening way of repeating itself. So many species survived the threat of annihilating themselves via nuclear war on their homeworlds, only to point those same weapons at their neighbors the moment they colonized space. Quaint ideas such as fascism and monarchism reappeared. War, it seems, is inevitable regardless of the era.
Welcome to Galaxy Aflame! Here we have a prety large and spacious galaxy full of story and adventure, but let's get to the specifics. There are currently three known civilizations (since you guys have yet to make any [not your fault, there are no sheets :O].) One civilization that I will call the Feds (Sigma), one I will call the Empire (Spoon) and one I will call the Daisan Order, or Order (Gold).
So for many generations there had been rumors of entire civilizations disappearing in the outer rim of the galaxy, the causes were attributed to legends of internal strife, civil wars, and classic hubris... but what we of the shallow space didn't know was that none of that was true. Many years ago a species set off to protect their own chance of survival and turned on their political allies and friends, their war machines revved and factories were erected. Soon a massive droid army took over all neighboring systems, with each planet being cored to build even more war machines or colonized through intense terraforming, indigenous species were annihilated. Entire systems and civilizations have been stripped and cored, or blasted to such a degree they are unrecognizable. Dead planets began popping up, and crazy contraptions began to spread from the rim... and we had no idea.. until five years ago.
On an Urban planet owned by the feds, a quiet summer morning heralded a event that would shake the galaxy. As people commuted to work, hollered out their goods, and talked with their friends and family, the Deep space menace came without warning. A massive metallic spike ripped through the atmosphere, scarring the plumb morning sky with streaks of fire. As it crashed into the urban center a massive explosion erupted and soon more spikes plummeted from space, pounding the planet. Those that survived the impacts soon realized that these spikes were factories, and they had already begun pumping out terrifying droids of horror and battle, the planet was quickly conquered. Only after the fall of a few more planets in a similar fashion did the Feds get a name for their antagonist: The Daisan Order... the label clearly printed on the breastplate of a destroyed battle droid.
Quickly the Empire sprung into action, with it's impressive armada and massive military backing the feds the two managed to hold off the massive droid hordes. For five years the two civilizations slowed the process of the Order, but now civil war has broken out in the Empire: will this be the final push the Daisan order needed to secure it's place in Total Domination, or will other civilizations rise to meet the challenge of a foe so dangerous and so mysterious, we don't even know what they look like? And what of elsewhere in the galaxy? Is the Order alone in its homicidal tendencies or are their others that share its aspirations of galactic dominance?
Rules 1) Don’t be a child. Seriously, if you can’t act like a reasonable human being then this simply isn’t the RP for. 2) You are expected to post 1-2 times every 7 days (Collabs count, just make sure all involved are given credit in the post somehow). If you do not make a post within 14 days with no prior warning you will be dropped from the RP. 3) This is an advanced RP. I expect you have to correct grammar and spelling in your posts, at the very least. One or two mistakes per post is fine, and expected, but if I see ten “teh”s in your post we will have a problem. 4) Please don’t join if you are going to disappear after one or two posts. You know who you are.
@DarkspleenOf course I am interested to join to a space NRP. Any plotbunnies or setting outlines we should know? Discord channel to discuss? I have several faction ideas at hand which I can switch on demand. The intro seems to imply a sorts of "first contact" type of affair.
We'll be setting up a discord later today (unfortunately a number of plans have been made on my behalf for the day so I suddenly am lacking on free time). The short version is we don't have any huge plots outlined beyond what Guld posted. If you aren't interested in joining that mess you are free to place yourself elsewhere in the galaxy. Sigma, Guld, and I will be located in the galactic north for your reference.
Many of the various species and countries have been aware of each other for quite a while. For instance both the Ithican Empire (me) and Aurolian Federation (Sigma) has large human populations and share some alien populations. Of course if you wish to play in a first contact setting I would recommend playing as on the outer rim.
A word on tech. I'm not going to limit what players can have unless it seems way unbalanced (so feel free to have psi-ops, mechs, etc, etc). The exception to this is I won't be allowing WMDs that can destroy planets or make them uninhabitable. We want epic ground battles to go along with our space battles.
Lord Zee
