Talis — Roleplayer Guild

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magna arbor est Directorum (Arborean Directorate)

Demographics:
Servant Distribution:
Human: 15%
Razikil:  15%
Famulus: 55%
Other: 15%

Arborean (Arborius Dominarius Sapiens)

Arboreans are a sapient species of rhizomatic plants. Each Arborean has a central “node” from which extend a large mass of vines and roots, often reaching hundreds of feet in length. Like most plants they are photosynthetic. They can reproduce either asexually through self-cloning, or sexually through the exchange of pollen. Like most plant species, Arboreans are very long lived, with the oldest specimens reaching 4 centuries.

Arboreans are sessile and inert. Rather than interact with the world directly, they instead release spores which will grow on certain sapient species, eventually melding the individual’s consciousness into the Arborean’s. These “servants” then act as the Arborean’s hands, eyes and ears to the world around them. The exact method of the Arborean’s connection with their servants is poorly understood, but seems to be a form of limited psionic attachment between the greater arborean plant and their spore growths. The bond has a natural range of roughly 300 miles, although technology does exist that can extend that range by an order of magnitude. Most Arboreans can handle roughly 50 servants without strain. Having too many servants, or a servant traveling too far from their master plant, can result in a host of negative effects for both servant and master.

Spore integration is an invasive process, even in naturally inclined species. Once it has taken hold, the spores will grow into the host’s skin and release toxins that shut down parts of the host’s immune and endocrine systems. The spore then takes over many of the endocrine functions and grows into the host’s brain and spinal column, taking over motor control and greatly influencing cognition. In its final stages, the spores break the surface of the skin around the entry point and flower. Integrated servants are still self aware and able to act on their own, but experience significantly expanded consciousness. Their minds and emotions are fully synchronized with their master Arborean such that they actions and desires are reflective of its actions and desires. There is, at this stage, effectively no distinction between the servant and master. The former is a self-aware extension of the latter. Most servants describe the initial integration as euphoric and their status as incredibly transcendent and intimate. Of course, since they are essentially the same person as their master at this point, the sincerity of their testimony is usually considered suspect.

Human (Homo Sapiens Sapiens)

Like most alien species, human genetic and biochemical differences make natural spore integration impossible between an Arborean and a human. But, with genetic and cybernetic modifications it is possible to acquire human servants. Humans form a growing segment of the servant population despite the usual cultural revulsion of human societies, thanks to the rise of various transcendent movements and cultural fringe elements.

Razikil (Pecus Devoratem)


A species of extremely powerful alien beasts. Razil have thick carapaces, powerful jaws and vicious apex predator instincts. It was not unknown for even unmodified specimens to charge through a hail of gunfire to rip a hapless explorer to shreds. Redundant body systems and a powerful anaerobic system mean that the species can move and act long after they are “killed,” often taking more than an hour before they finally drop dead. After their original stone-age civilization was discovered on the sparse and rocky world of Viride Rex, they were quickly adopted as a servant species with the appropriate modifications. They often serve as guards or shock troops for their Arborean masters.


The Arborean Directorate is a centralized stratocracy based on caste. The Directorate's bureaucracy and army are closely intertwined, both being staffed almost entirely by the Milites caste. At the top of this hierarchy rests the Director, chief executive of the Directorate and head of the military. He is advised by the General Council, and assisted in administration by a vast bureaucracy of administrators and regional governors.

While the Director is of the Milites, the General Council is dominated by the Sanctus caste. The Council is responsible for advising the Director on state decisions, but also for interpreting the will of the spirits and maintaining the good fortune and blessing of the Directorate. The Council has the exclusive right to choose a Director or even unseat a ruling one. This is a prerogative rarely used, but one that does hold historical precedent, especially in times of extreme strife when it can be convincingly argued that the current Director has lost the support of the spirits.

Under the Director serve the various regional Governors, responsible for maintaining order and enforcing the law within their appointed area. Military and civil bureaucracy are closely intertwined, and governors act not just as administrators but also as commanders of local armed forces.


History:
Spend at least 4 paragraphs telling us the general history of your nation. Important wars, how it came to be what it is today, and so on. 

Caste
Arborean society follows a caste system, with caste determined by the individual Arborean’s parentage and assigned at birth. Caste defines where one is likely to be planted, what skills and education are received, the individual's eventual career and with whom it is acceptable to associate and reproduce with. 
Changing between castes is rare but possible. Caste members who are able to get a sponsor from their “new” caste may undergo a legal “Tabula Rasa” or “clean slate” and study to be admitted into their new role. Such transitions often have trouble being socially accepted, and it is not possible to be adopted into the elite Sanctus caste.

Sanctus (Priestly Caste) - The Sanctus are the cast of nobility, priests and philosophers. Most Sanctus come from mythologically-associated “divine” lineages. They are responsible for maintaining the favor of the spirits towards the Directorate through the constant observance of various rites and prayers.

Militum (Warrior Caste) - Militum is the caste of soldier nobility. They make up the vast majority of the kingdom’s armed forces and administration. While the Sanctus provide divine legitimacy and advise the Director, it is the Militum who ensure that the essential tasks of enforcing order and managing the state bureaucracy are taken care of. 

Scholares (Scholar Caste) - Scholares are the scientists, scholars, and artisans of the empire. They serve as professors, teachers, artists and craftsmen. Their duty is to ensure the growth and vitality of society and the spread of learning.

Operarius (Laborer Caste) - The Operarius are the laborer caste. In the past they worked as farmers, merchants, and laborers, but in modern industrial society they often manage factories, run businesses and maintain infrastructure. Along with Scholares, Operarius make up the majority of the population.

Religion
The Dominion’s official religion is a form of polytheistic animism, with a host of minor and major deities. These spirits cover all aspects of daily life. Tokens and rituals are used on both a personal and state level to invoke the favor and assistance of these spirits. It is believed that failure to appease the spirits can often bring bad luck or misfortune upon the offender. Religion then is less a matter of achieving spiritual fulfillment, and more a matter of cultivating a relationship with spiritual entities.

Of course, the actual level of piety in the population varies wildly. While many Arboreans do believe in the spirits and practice piously, others disdain the spirits as a primitive holdover of a religion from earlier ages - a viewpoint that has become more common after contact with the Federation of Sol and its history. For most citizens, the rituals that they partake in are often an ingrained part of daily ritual, done without serious thought or consideration.

The Directorate does allow for freedom of religion within reason. Participation in various ceremonies is compulsory, but the penalty for refusal is usually a simple fine. As long as one acknowledges the state religion and participates in ceremonies, the state does not press further.

Species Relations
The Directorate's culture towards other sapient species is rather muddled, as one might expect given the circumstances. Other species are usually viewed as “strays” just waiting to be integrated, often seen more as a good or resource than people. Thus, the Dominion does legalize the slave trade, although more as a means to an end than as an institution in itself. The Dominion also draws a distinction between generic slaves or “strays,” and official citizens. Most foreign citizens, and those lucky enough to somehow earn Dominion citizenship, are strictly off limits to integration and have rights and protections not afforded to most.


Ika (Homeworld) - Homeworld of the Arboean and the Famulus. Ika is a verdant, low-gravity world of towering flora, rolling mountain ranges and deep ocean valleys. The planet is almost entirely tropical, with only the poles being naturally barren desert.

Sterilis Venator Orbis (Colony) - Homeworld of the Razikil. Sterilis Venator is a harsh and barren tundra world with little vegetation. Lichen and sparse plant life support largely nomadic animal life that competes fiercely for any scraps. Arboreans cannot live on Sterilis Venator without artificial sunlight and fertilized soil.


Military Technology
Dominion forces prefer the use of directed-energy weapons for their easy logistics and accuracy. Most warships carry a battery of pulse lasers as their primary armament, augmented by deployable drone swarms, ECM measures and the occasional missile battery. Combat drones play a major role in both air and ground combat, often acting as support for ground units and warships. 

Phaedra Infantry Support Drone
The Phaedra is an infantry-support drone meant to fill the role of armored cars and light support vehicles while being mobile enough to support infantry in any terrain. Its pulse-laser minigun is powerful enough to slice through infantry armor with ease and can threaten lightly armored vehicles. It is usually used as a suppression-fire platform in support of mobile infantry squads.

Custodes Personnel Support Drone

This small drone serves as a general-purpose personnel support drone in combat. Barely 2’ in diameter, the drone has enough power to operate for several hours in combat conditions and can recharge autonomously by connecting with support vehicles or manually by replacing its power-pack. The drone is optimized for support and carries a standard infantry pulse-laser, a directional shield projector, a powerful communications suite and surveillance and detection systems. They are assigned to individual soldiers in heavy combat situations to provide intelligence, fire support and improved defensive power.

Mortem Hunter-Killer Drone

The Mortem is a short-range anti-personnel drone packed with a plasma, a limited power supply and an autonomous AI. Once released, the Mortem will seek out hostile targets and rush toward them, trying to get as close as possible before self-destructing with a powerful explosion. They are often carried by soldiers and used to “flush out” tight spaces or distract enemy positions, but have also been deployed in large quantities from “carries” as terror weapons.

Amicus Laser Pistol
 (Military Issue)
 (Civilian/Recreational Issue)
The Amicus is the standard-issue combat pistol of the Dominion. It fires semi-automatic pulsed laser beams with enough wattage to punch through light armor.

Gladius Laser Carbine

Standard-issue firearm for the Dominion army, the Gladius uses energized power cells to deliver the necessary firepower for a full anti-personnel infantry weapon. The carbine is purely semi-automatic, with each shot packing enough power to sear through infantry shielding, powered armor and flesh, often with explosive results.


General Technology:
Really go nuts! For at least 3 paragraphs!

Economy:
Are your people poor and starving? Rich and fat? Are you economically powerful enough to control other nations through wealth? Can you be controlled through wealth?

Dominion ships are peculiarly designed around the use of combat drones and pulsed-laser weapon batteries. Drones often serve as point defense and strike craft, defending their host vessel and attacking exposed points while their mother-craft rip away at the enemy with their heavy cannons. Dominion ships do not use “shields” but have incredibly advanced armor systems capable of reacting to attacks, healing damage and ablating enemy strikes. Their systems are also heavily built for redundancy and automated, making even a wounded warship a dangerous foe.

Common Armaments
Pulse-Laser Cannons - These powerful cannons fire short, concentrated pulses of laser energy, causing flash-heating and explosive vaporization at the impact point. Their discharge mechanism requires a notable pause after every shot as the turret’s local mechanism recharges, making pulse lasers unsuited for point-defense. They are primarily used as anti-ship armaments.
Scutarii Point Defense Turret - A simple but effective point-defense turret. Each Scutarii mounts a continuous projection laser on a 360 degree turret. While the beam’s power is quite low, continuous fire allows it to sweep or dwell on incoming munitions and fightings.
Ignis Missile - The Ignis missile uses a fusion-powered plasma warhead and is specifically designed as a ship-killer. These large missiles have exceptionally long range and are armored against point defense, although not as maneuverable as their short-range cousins.

Clypeus-Class Corvette

Length: 300 meters
Crew: 50 Servants / 1 Arborean
Armament:
--2x Pulse Cannons
--18x Scutarii Turrets
--4x Missile Bays
A relatively new addition to the Dominion fleet, the Clypeus is a fast-moving picket ship and scout. It is lightly armed with only a single dual-cannon turret, but has oversized missile bays and an abnormally large amount of point defense. While their armor is not up to par with dedicated battleships it serves quite well against fighters and other light ships.

Hasta-Class Cruiser

Length: 1300 meters
Crew: 600 Servants / 12 Arboreans
Complement: 
--1 Shuttle 
--18x Drones.
Armament:
--12x Pulse cannons
--4x Missile bays
--18x Point-defense laser turrets
Armed and armored well enough to go toe-to-toe with enemy warships, fast enough to maneuver on the battlefield and flexible enough to be deployed in almost any scenario, the Hasta-Class Cruiser is the essential warship of the Dominion fleet. 

Custodes-Class Battleship

Length: 1,500 meters
Crew: 700 Servants / 10 Arboreans
Complement: 
--2x Shuttles. 
--1 Gunship. 
--30x Drones.
Armament:
--26x Pulse Cannons
--8x Missile bays
--26x Scutarii Point-Defense
The Custodes is the ultimate “Ship of the Line,” built to act as an escort and protector for the vulnerable Imperator-Class Carriers. It carries incredibly heavy armor and multiple redundant systems designed to take incredible punishment, and its battery of pulse cannons makes engaging it a dangerous proposition.

Imperator-Class Carrier

Length: 2,000 meters
Crew: 850 Servants / 15 Arboreans
Complement: 2000+ Drones
Armament:
--2x Missile Bays
--64x Scutarii Point-Defense
The enormous Imperator-Class carrier is the primary flagship and support vessel of the Dominion navy. Slow and heavily armored but lacking in offensive weaponry, the Imperator relies heavily on support ships to protect it. Its role in battle is to act as an offensive carrier, deploying thousands of combat drones to overwhelm enemy fighters and swarm enemy warships. The Imperator also boasts a specialized EW center and oversized reactor, allowing it to dominate electronic warfare.

Servator MKI & II Interceptor Drone

The Dominion’s answer to enemy fighters and strike craft. The Servator is a semi-autonomous combat drone designed for interception and space combat. While it lacks the heavy ordinance necessary to threaten warships, its small target and maneuverability make it an excellent interceptor. The MKI drone has been in service for fifty years. The new MKII drone has recently been introduced and carries bigger guns and a more efficient thruster system. Both models are armed with rapid-fire gatling pulse-lasers designed for taking down fighters and missiles.

Ictus Class Bomber Drone

A purpose-designed bomber drone meant to destroy ships significantly larger than itself. The Ictus comes purposefully armed with up to 7 Ignis-model microfusion missiles and a single front-mounted Pulse Cannon. They fast and agile strike craft, armored only on the front to defend against enemy point-defense during their attack runs. Deployed in swarms, they can quickly overwhelm even the largest enemy warships.

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