To all others who are not part of the Empire, or who otherwise are interested in history. Due to the nature of the Empire's methods of keeping the Reclicican threat in check there were few hordes that went towards the Empire during its height but the hordes would have still raided and assaulted others. I'm open to working on past history for that if anyone else would like to?
Also I welcome ideas and collaboration with the people who are parts of the imperial military since I will be working on detailing the Culling Forces(Which need a real name) and it might be fitting to have things being somewhat consistent.
@Arawak Also question, how are the Reclicica an example of Nepotism? Everyone in the society has earned their position often through bloodshed and battle, there are no hereditary ranks, and traditional 'friendships' don't really exist.
The Supreme Hordelord Ikt'Clir'Rikt: The current Supreme Hordelord of the Reclicica and the third to have reached prominence since the Imperial Culls began 2,978 years ago. It is debatable whether he is truly a competent leader or has merely been incredibly lucky, something that is often wondered about the Reclicica Hordelords and others of power in their strange and savage civilization.
Great Frist Ris'Nir'Rikt: Self proclaimed Great Frist Ris'Nir'Rikt is currently the second most influential and powerful being in the horde.
System(s)/Territory: The Great Horde does not technically control any territory aside from the worlds where it is currently residing, and those worlds are typically abandoned shortly after conquest as the horde moves on towards its next target. The Reclicica dwell and breed in their masses upon an unknown number of worlds beyond the empire's frontier in a savage region of space that was never conquered, mostly because the empire didn't want to deal with the headache.
Planet(s)/Holdings: N/A
Faction/Government Desc:
The Great Horde is a vast and mobile horde of the Reclicica which has following the rise of the Supreme Hordelord and its creation launched a great invasion of the Empire. It has only a vague government and is comprised of a shifting mass in which leaders are constantly changing and where one never knows what the future holds. It is seemingly aimlessly roaming through the outer worlds of the Empire sacking worlds and looting them, leaving death and destruction in its wake along with massively reduced populations as the Reclicica consume many inhabitants of the sacked worlds. The Great Horde functions as an amalgamation of a full 10 Reclicican hordes, the largest number to have been unified under one Supreme Hordelord according to the Empire's records. Still in many respects it functions similarly to a standard Reclicican horde writ very large.
Reclicican Hordes are the fundamental unit of Reclicican society. Almost all space faring Reclicica are associated in one way or another with one of the hordes. Each Horde is essentially the cult of personality that surrounds its Hordelord, a warrior and soldier of great renown who has slaughtered his way to his position at the top and so earned the loyalty of his followers. Should a Hordelord die one of several things will happen; the horde will splinter into many pieces as the Warlords beneath the Hordelord attempt to start hordes of their own, the horde will be dominated by the next most powerful individual if there is a clear successor with the power and prestige to command the horde, the horde will consume itself in infighting and be destroyed by another horde or outside intervention. In the age of the culls the Empire's forces would often launch surgical strikes against Hordelords with the aim of breaking apart the hordes that followed them should they become a threat.
Reclicican hordes do not normally control territory on actual planets for prolonged periods of time. The Reclicican worlds where the creatures breed in mass are in essence massive recruiting stations that the hordes will periodically visit to replenish their stocks of soldiers and supplies when necessary. As a result it is very hard to force a horde to fight on the defensive as there few targets that can be attacked that will draw a horde to defend them.
The Supreme Hordelord: The office of Supreme Hordelord is not one that is often established and it specifically denotes a situation where a single Hordelord has successfully managed to subjugate other Hordelords and managed to maintain that position. A Supreme Hordelord is so rare that it is difficult to describe what traits a typical one has but most have been either extremely cunning or 'supernaturally' lucky depending on who is asked, and all are great warriors who have proven themselves over the course of their rise.
Hordelord: Hordelords are in most cases the highest ranking of the Reclicica and typically head the closest things to states that the Reclicica have. A Horde is formed when a single Warlord manages to subjugate other Warlords and prove his dominance over them. Hordelords are powerful beings who typically command undying loyalty from their followers, at least so long as their actions lead to feasting, plunder, and battle, should a Hordelord fail to maintain at least some of these things he is likely to be challenged by members of his horde for dominance. Hordelords are known to have notably longer lifespans than the typical Reclicica, the reason for this is unknown but they also appear to grow stronger and larger over time and while it is not proven it is possible that they can only die in battle, though given the life of a member of a horde it is rare for death to come any other way.
Warlords: Warlords are still powerful members of a horde who occupy the ranks beneath a Hordelord in the horde. Beneath the Warlord is the Packlord who rules over only groups of individuals.
Reclicican technology is far from impressive to even the more primitive species in the galaxy. In fact it is poor enough that they would almost always be considered a joke were it not for the sheer numbers that they possess and the fact that for all its crudeness their technology does work, even if it is often questionable how and why. The Reclicica have never managed to master weapons beyond kinetic ones and other relatively simplistic weapons. Their ships tend to be poorly armored and poorly armed by the standard of almost any other faction in the galaxy, with the notable exception of the Hordelords' personal ships which tend to have been looted and converted by the Reclicica and so can possess truly bizarre arrays of weaponry and defense systems. It is notable that the longer a horde exists the more ships start to be the captured and converted works and the less laughable their fleets become.
Physical Appearance To gain a rough picture one of the Reclicica one could start with an image of the velociraptors from the Jurassic Park movies, give it a more upright gait, hands that are more capable of proper grasping and a slightly more humanoid head. The Reclicica are scaled and warm blooded reptilian beings who have an odd resemblance to several species of ancient life forms from earth records. Their scales are typically found in shades of brown or green with mottled patterns being particularly common however there are cases of strange coloration. The current Supreme Hordelorde's scales for instance are a bleached white. Reclicica do not wear much in the way of clothing in most situations, however they do possess environmental suits, as well as armor that is often donned before a fight.
Special Abilities: The Reclicica to a small degree manipulate the universe around them through their beliefs and actions. The most obvious example of this effect can be found in the Hordelords and the rare Supreme Hordelords. Hordelords have been documented to survive nearly unbelievable punishment, in one notable example even surviving the vacuum of space without an environmental suit for an extended period of time. Further they have consistently exhibited bizarre bursts of 'genius' and expert tactics which is frequently believed by other races to be luck. In truth it is the impact of the beliefs of their followers. For example the common belief by lesser members of hordes that the Hordelords are nearly impossible to kill makes them harder to kill. This in no way makes the Hordelords or even a Supreme Hordelord unstoppable, but it is worth noting.
The only Reclicica that are aware of these abilities are the Frists, a rarely appearing version of the Reclicica who possess the power to actively shape reality to more obvious degrees. The Frists are most often used to will the initial union between Reclicican technology and the technology of other species, but they can also be used as crude casters who can seemingly conjure the elements.
History: The Reclicica do not keep much in the way of records themselves outside of the old tales of the great accomplishments of past hordelords and the bare minimum of knowledge required to both create their own rather crude technology and to interface their technology with others. Their history is rather patchy and it is in the records of the empire that a somewhat legible history can emerge.
The Reclicica were encountered far before the Empire was known by its current name. They were a scourge that occasionally showed up in their hordes of vessels, descending upon unprepared worlds and wreaking vast amounts of death and destruction. There were many hordes that failed, that shattered as they attacked more powerful targets than themselves or that were hunted down by vengeful factions, but they were always a nuisance and sometimes far more than a nuisance. There are no reports of encounters with Supreme Hordelords in those days and it is unknown if that means that the Supreme Hordelords are a new phenomenon or if there were simply none encountered in those days when humanity and the Empire had not yet achieved their dominance.
Following the rise of the first Emperor the first records of encounters with a Supreme Hordelord are found. Records state that during the early years of the Emperor's reign a horde beyond any that had been seen before boiled over into imperial space and that in the initial chaos of the incursion it did a great deal of damage. Ultimately the Supreme Hordelord's invasion of the Empire would fail miserably as the Empire united against the attack and the superior technology as well as numbers on the galactic scale, though almost never on a local scale, carried the day. In those days the Empire did not yet know where the Reclicican worlds were, and an expedition was launched into the outer reaches of the galaxy to search for them.
The expedition was successful but what it found was disheartening. There were many worlds where the creatures swarmed in their billions and subjugating such worlds would be incredibly difficult and bloody if it even could be done. However the Emperor was determined to conquer the filthy Xenos who had inflicted such an affront with an invasion of the empire. As a result the Empire launched an invasion of its own against one of the Reclicican worlds. The world was eventually conquered the local Hordes destroyed, and the Reclicica upon the world slain. But it was a vicious campaign of grueling attrition and massive loss of life, and notably one in which the other Reclicican worlds were aside from a few initial encounters with Horde Fleets likely coming to the world to recruit replacements not involved with the conflict.
The Emperor seeing this instead ordered that the Reclicica be culled and set up forces(Name Incoming) that would over the course of thousands of years work to destroy any Reclicican horde that seemed to be gaining sufficient power to mount unite others or to launch an invasion of the Empire. These forces would fail in their duty only twice before now when previously unknown hordes appeared from unknown worlds and quickly accumulated the power for the Hordelord who ruled them to name himself a Supreme Hordelord.
In the wake of the internal strife that has swept the Empire the forces that had so vigilantly watched the Reclicican frontier and launched their culls were depleted and in time a new Supreme Hordelord rose. And his first action as Supreme Hordelord was to set all of his forces against the world from which the culls were launched, the very world that had once been ripped from his people thousands of years ago. The remnants of the old culling forces staged a fighting defense of the world that had long been their base of operations but ultimately it was overrun providing the Great Horde with the remnants of an Imperial fortress world and all the resources that entailed.
Relations with the Empire and Other Factions:
The Great Horde is inimically hostile towards the Empire. Thousands of years of culls have served to create an extreme hatred and malice from even a species as used to violence and as forgetful as the Reclicica. As soon as the Supreme Hordelord had asserted his dominance over the other Hordelords he had called for a Great Hunt against the Empire, something that at least temporarily has won him the undying loyalty of his followers (at least until something happens to change that) which should give perspective into just how much ill will the constant Imperial interventions into Reclicican affairs have generated over time.
Please post ideas or get in touch with me if you have some thoughts for relations. I've lots of willingness to work with people here.
The Supreme Hordelord Ikt'Clir'Rikt: The current Supreme Hordelord of the Reclicica and the third to have reached prominence since the Imperial Culls began 13,000 years ago. It is debatable whether he is truly a competent leader or has merely been incredibly lucky, something that is often wondered about the Reclicica Hordelords and others of power in their strange and savage civilization.
Great Frist Ris'Nir'Rikt: Self proclaimed Great Frist Ris'Nir'Rikt is currently the second most influential and powerful being in the horde.
System(s)/Territory: The Great Horde does not technically control any territory aside from the worlds where it is currently residing, and those worlds are typically abandoned shortly after conquest as the horde moves on towards its next target. The Reclicica dwell and breed in their masses upon an unknown number of worlds beyond the empire's frontier in a savage region of space that was never conquered, mostly because the empire didn't want to deal with the headache.
Planet(s)/Holdings: N/A
Faction/Government Desc:
The Great Horde is a vast and mobile horde of the Reclicica which has following the rise of the Supreme Hordelord and its creation launched a great invasion of the Empire. It has only a vague government and is comprised of a shifting mass in which leaders are constantly changing and where one never knows what the future holds. It is seemingly aimlessly roaming through the outer worlds of the Empire sacking worlds and looting them, leaving death and destruction in its wake along with massively reduced populations as the Reclicica consume many inhabitants of the sacked worlds.
The Supreme Hordelord: The office of Supreme Hordelord is not one that is often established and it specifically denotes a situation where a single Hordelord has successfully managed to subjugate other Hordelords and managed to maintain that position. A Supreme Hordelord is so rare that it is difficult to describe what traits a typical one has but most have been either extremely cunning or 'supernaturally' lucky depending on who is asked, and all are great warriors who have proven themselves over the course of their rise.
Hordelord: Hordelords are in most cases the highest ranking of the Reclicica and typically head the closest things to states that the Reclicica have. A Horde is formed when a single Warlord manages to subjugate other Warlords and prove his dominance over them. Hordelords are powerful beings who typically command undying loyalty from their followers, at least so long as their actions lead to feasting, plunder, and battle, should a Hordelord fail to maintain at least some of these things he is likely to be challenged by members of his horde for dominance. Hordelords are known to have notably longer lifespans than the typical Reclicica, the reason for this is unknown but they also appear to grow stronger and larger over time and while it is not proven it is possible that they can only die in battle, though given the life of a member of a horde it is rare for death to come any other way.
Warlords: Warlords are still powerful members of a horde who occupy the ranks beneath a Hordelord in the horde. Beneath the Warlord is the Packlord who rules over only groups of individuals.
Reclicican technology is far from impressive to even the more primitive species in the galaxy. In fact it is poor enough that they would almost always be considered a joke were it not for the sheer numbers that they possess and the fact that for all its crudeness their technology does work, even if it is often questionable how and why. The Reclicica have never managed to master weapons beyond kinetic ones and other relatively simplistic weapons. Their ships tend to be poorly armored and poorly armed by the standard of almost any other faction in the galaxy, with the notable exception of the Hordelords' personal ships which tend to have been looted and converted by the Reclicica and so can possess truly bizarre arrays of weaponry and defense systems. It is notable that the longer a horde exists the more ships start to be the captured and converted works and the less laughable their fleets become.
Physical Appearance To gain a rough picture one of the Reclicica one could start with an image of the velociraptors from the Jurassic Park movies, give it a more upright gait, hands that are more capable of proper grasping and a slightly more humanoid head. The Reclicica are scaled and warm blooded reptilian beings who have an odd resemblance to several species of ancient life forms from earth records. Their scales are typically found in shades of brown or green with mottled patterns being particularly common however there are cases of strange coloration. The current Supreme Hordelorde's scales for instance are a bleached white. Reclicica do not wear much in the way of clothing in most situations, however they do possess environmental suits, as well as armor that is often donned before a fight.
Special Abilities: The Reclicica to a small degree manipulate the universe around them through their beliefs and actions. The most obvious example of this effect can be found in the Hordelords and the rare Supreme Hordelords. Hordelords have been documented to survive nearly unbelievable punishment, in one notable example even surviving the vacuum of space without an environmental suit for an extended period of time. Further they have consistently exhibited bizarre bursts of 'genius' and expert tactics which is frequently believed by other races to be luck. In truth it is the impact of the beliefs of their followers. For example the common belief by lesser members of hordes that the Hordelords are nearly impossible to kill makes them harder to kill. This in no way makes the Hordelords or even a Supreme Hordelord unstoppable, but it is worth noting.
The only Reclicica that are aware of these abilities are the Frists, a rarely appearing version of the Reclicica who possess the power to actively shape reality to more obvious degrees. The Frists are most often used to will the initial union between Reclicican technology and the technology of other species, but they can also be used as crude casters who can seemingly conjure the elements.
History: The Reclicica do not keep much in the way of records themselves outside of the old tales of the great accomplishments of past hordelords and the bare minimum of knowledge required to both create their own rather crude technology and to interface their technology with others. Their history is rather patchy and it is in the records of the empire that a somewhat legible history can emerge.
The Reclicica were encountered far before the Empire was known by its current name. They were a scourge that occasionally showed up in their hordes of vessels, descending upon unprepared worlds and wreaking vast amounts of death and destruction. There were many hordes that failed, that shattered as they attacked more powerful targets than themselves or that were hunted down by vengeful factions, but they were always a nuisance and sometimes far more than a nuisance. There are no reports of encounters with Supreme Hordelords in those days and it is unknown if that means that the Supreme Hordelords are a new phenomenon or if there were simply none encountered in those days when humanity and the Empire had not yet achieved their dominance.
Following the rise of the first Emperor the first records of encounters with a Supreme Hordelord are found. Records state that during the early years of the Emperor's reign a horde beyond any that had been seen before boiled over into imperial space and that in the initial chaos of the incursion it did a great deal of damage. Ultimately the Supreme Hordelord's invasion of the Empire would fail miserably as the Empire united against the attack and the superior technology as well as numbers on the galactic scale, though almost never on a local scale, carried the day. In those days the Empire did not yet know where the Reclicica worlds were, and an expedition was launched into the outer reaches of the galaxy to search for them.
The expedition was successful but what it found was disheartening. There were many worlds where the creatures swarmed in their billions and subjugating such worlds would be incredibly difficult and bloody if it even could be done. However the Emperor was determined to conquer the filthy Xenos who had inflicted such an affront with an invasion of the empire. As a result the Empire launched an invasion of its own against one of the Reclicican worlds. The world was eventually conquered the local Hordes destroyed, and the Reclicica upon the world slain. But it was a vicious campaign of grueling attrition and massive loss of life, and notably one in which the other Reclicican worlds were aside from a few initial encounters with Horde Fleets likely coming to the world to recruit replacements not involved with the conflict.
The Emperor seeing this instead ordered that the Reclicica be culled and set up forces that would over the course of thousands of years work to destroy any Reclicican horde that seemed to be gaining sufficient power to mount unite others or to launch an invasion of the Empire. These forces would fail in their duty only twice before now when previously unknown hordes appeared from unknown worlds and quickly accumulated the power for the Hordelord who ruled them to name himself a Supreme Hordelord.
In the wake of the internal strife that has swept the Empire the forces that had so vigilantly watched the Reclicican frontier and launched their culls were depleted and in time a new Supreme Hordelord rose. And his first action as Supreme Hordelord was to set all of his forces against the world from which the culls were launched, the very world that had once been ripped from his people thousands of years ago.
Relations with the Empire and Other Factions: Please post ideas or get in touch with me if you have some thoughts for relations. I've lots of willingness to work with people here.
Well since his sheet died with the old guild I have to be remaking it which will probably take some time but I look forward to rejoining you all with Listhen and Co. once more. They were such fun the first time around and cut short by the sad death of the old forum.
Well thank you for the welcomes back, and I suppose technically it is an old character and his associated characters who is coming back. Just from the beginning of CAH from the last iteration of RPGuild. I'm not sure if anyone other than hound and NMS would remember him. Listhen ringing any bells?
