NationStates Jolt Archive

There are quite a few FT players these days. Not as many as there used to be - it seems almost as if we're back in the early times of '04, when newcomers were more abundant than old players, the few active larger nations had far more power than they really should've wielded, and when the alliance system held very little power.

After all, in those days, the major arbiters of FT power today didn't exist. And while most of us were piss-poor writers at the time (if we were around), it was an important learning experience. We grew up, so to speak, on our own. Every nation had its own politics regarding others, and while the accusations of 'godmodding!' and 'omg wanker!' rang out far more often than today, this was because the power disparities that exist now didn't really exist then. The biggest nations were one billion, and even though they held massive power over the five million tiddlers, it wasn't going to be that long before the five millions were going to be numerous enough in order overwhelm the larger powers en masse.

In short, things were fairly good. The writing was worse, the threads were more hectic, but it was fun.

When I look back on the years, there's really only been two things that've changed.

First, the writing has drastically improved, which has set the bar a lot higher for the new guys. (I'm not suggesting we all drop full stops, so don't get your panties in a knot). Secondly, what we consider 'power' has been consolidated so drastically into a few alliances that the old type of war - where treaties were actually signed and people occasionally made up instead of glassing every single world their opponent owned (inevitably ending in ignores all round) - is virtually nonexistent. I mean, let's look at the situation here. We have the ESUS, which rules the roost by default.

We have the GE, which can curbstomp most comers. Even the vibrant, healthy alliance system - in which we had six or seven alliances running at once, the GFFA, GE, ESUS, Republic, and quite a few minor players - is gone.

When you look around, FT suffers for it. There's nothing to get players going again. A few years back, the ESUS planned a major offensive in order to spark RP. While this was inevitably successful on one hand, the ultimate effect was to destroy the opposing alliance through destroying its activity.

Thus was born the present situation.

And there's something interesting I noted awhile ago. There's a few RPers who've advanced tremendously from the inception of their nations, and who probably have more detailed backstory than damn near anyone here. And they're only '07 RPers, to boot. I'm talking about Xiscapia and Alversia. While they don't churn out the exceptional posts of a Klonor or a Solar Communes, they do a lot of RP. They enjoy it.

Yet, they manage huge amounts of RP without the traditional destroyers of a FT RP - either a closed RP that dies from lack of participation, or an open RP that dies because everyone brings ten thousand ships and decides it'd be really neat to show off their new guns.

So I looked at this, and thought to myself "What have those guys got that we don't?"

After discounting good looks, I figured there was only really one explanation. They're exclusive. When they RP, they generally RP with each other. They've got a set universe, and try to avoid massive, random universe-killing events. Sure, they write them in themselves, but by general consent. Now, I have no idea whether this was the setup from Day 1, or whether they just meshed that way, but it's a really good idea.

Now, coming to the end of that ridiculously long, rambling monologue, that's what this is all about. A semi-exclusive RP setting. Exclusive offsite ones have been tried. They're fun, but they fail. Massively open RP dies because the story gets thrown about by player on player more often than a hooker who's fallen into the gorilla section at the zoo.

It's really quite simple. An RP community, connected with the outside (FT) world, but all major events taking place inside it. That is to say, the outside world exists in theory; nations would probably have diplomatic ties and minor trade links with this "outside world".

There are, of course, a few ground rules before you even consider joining.

1) There's going to be a map of the region. Starwise. It might just be in paint, I might bust open my version of AstroSynthesis and make something pretty. Nevertheless, distance is going to matter.

2) In the vein above, FTL is going to be unified. You can call it what you like, it can flash whatever pretty colour you want, but everyone's going to be limited by 'jump routes'. Or 'system nodes'. Or some other wanky name that means you can only jump from systems with lines between them on this map-to-be.

3) This is all designed to make geopolitics (fine, astropolitics. Fuck off.) more viable. In a system where anyone can go anywhere, anyone can ally to anyone, and they do. Nobody has any idea what's happening, so eventually, the strongest few congregate and rule.

4) Your nation has to be realistic and interesting. That is to say, it can't be all "HAIL LAIRD OCH WEE LADDIE OF DOOM! FORWARD THE TURBAN-KILT ZOMBIE REGIMENTS, FOR THEY HAVE INSULTED OUR KINGDOM'S REPUBLICAN TENDENCIES!". Nor can it be "FOR THE OVERMIND! ZERG RUSH! FOR KOREA!". While those sorts of things can be introduced as one-time region-unifying events by player consent, they're not going to be a permanent fixture. You can be whatever race you like, so long as it's detailed, interesting, and has politics. Perfect unity is bullshit, and I'll call it wherever I see it.

5) Arbiters will exist. If a conflict of interest arises between two players, and they can't settle it themselves, they'll be asked to select an arbiter. Ultimately, disputes between players that can't be agreed upon in any way will be settled by jackassery. The player who's being the biggest jackass suffers the most.

6) To enter, one needs to post a description of their nation, political system, the sort of ships you use, a few links to former RP (or a piece of original RP if you don't have anything in the past you're proud of), and the reason you want to join.

7) The Dreary Universe version of your nation is your nation. If you join, you may have to edit your backstory a little in order to make it fit in the region properly. That's just a sacrifice you'll have to make.

8) RP isn't limited, provided you follow the distance fucking matters rule. Whether you use magic, psionics, regular ol' realistic technology, it's fine, provided you do it well, and think about the realistic consequences.

9) Entries to the Dreary Universe are ultimately moderated by the community. No votes are required for entry, just a lack of complaints. If anyone has a complaint about your nation, it has to be resolved before you're allowed in. Earlier players with established Dreary Universe RP come first.

10) A Dreary Universe is a closed house. You can go out and RP wherever you want. But if you want to bring someone in, even temporarily, the rest of the Dreary players who'll be involved need to agree.

10.a) Character RP within the Dreary Universe nations is an exception. If other players want to bring characters or nonconsequential ships into the Dreary Universe, that's fine, provided the thread starter agrees. But anything major needs to be verified with every other Dreary player involved.

11) Dreary limits will be decided upon beforehand by interested players. That is to say, are we going to stop at fusion power, or at singularity mines? A general agreement on tech beforehand will make this incredibly workable.

12) Other than this, it's as normal NS RP. Population = power. If anyone has an equally simple dynamic that establishes power without argument, tell me. I'm willing to listen.

- - - - - -

Now, half the reason I wrote so much is to make sure I have people with a long attention span interested. If you are, just post here. I want to gather a coterie of interested players before drawing up a map or starting the RP.

Interested players who post a description of a realistic, political nation with snippets of writing will have their opinions considered about fifty million times as much as people who post a line to say they're interested.

- - - - - -

Interested Players:
Hyperspatial Travel
Kewen
Skaugra
Kelnoriem
DaWoad
Anagonia
Balrogga (Hiveminded nation, not really suitable for the Dreary Universe's politicially-orientated play. Interested as coming in as a later plot device)
Kostemetsia
Telros
Zanoduse
Void Templar
ISam

A quick note. I'm not looking for a super-large group, thus all the restrictions. No, we're going all out to get dedicated players who want realistic political dialogue and power plays. Even four or five would work perfectly.

So... kinda like a text-based EVE online sorta thing going on here? Would that be a fair (or even semi-fair) way of looking at this?

HT, you already know my interest, and this will give me an excuse to crack kewen out of inactivity and lameness.. maybe give it a chance to shine. for once

Before I go all out on the application, I have a question, normally I wouldn't ask, but with all the regulations, I feel the need to. So, would it be acceptable, for me to be in this, while also RP in MT, separately?

@Beatus: yes, it is acceptable so long as you aren't taking your MT nation and double-teching it.

Anywho, HT, you know my stance on this.

So, here is my application for this. I cover three main parts, our homeworld, Kelnoros, our race, the Kelnoriemi, and our nation, Kelnoriem.


Kelnoros

Solar System:

The planet Kelnoros is in a Binary system, one with two stars. It is the 3rd/4th planet, out of 5/6 (depending on whether you classify Kasterborus as a plant or an asteroid), from the binary stars, and has one moon, Pazithi Kelnoros. The planets in order from closest to the binary stars, to farthest are Karn, Kasterborus (actually an asteroid), Demos, Kelnoros, Polarfrey (a frozen gas giant), and Telos. The binary stars, make the nights on the planets very short, which is believed to be partially an environmental factor in the development of the shorter sleep cycles of the Kelnoriemi, (See Nervous System, in the Kelnoriemi section below).

Atmosphere:

The Atmosphere of Kelnoros is very similar to Earths. However, it is completely devoid of argon, chlorine (elementary or in compounds), fluorine (in compounds).

Geography:

The plant has large oceans around it's polar icecaps, though there are very few waterways which cross the equatorial line, due to the large lava lakes, and rivers that occupy the region. In the north, there are large, snow covered mountains that ring the norther polar ocean. They generally taper off into rolling green hills, and plains, before reaching the near toxic lava fields near the equator, where large amounts of sulfur can cause health issues for those with prolonged exposure to unfiltered air in that region. South of the lava fields, are dense jungles, that taper of into forests, and then tundra as it nears the southern polar ocean. There are many clearings, and small grasslands in the southern forests, and jungles, as there are scattered thickets, and groves of trees, in the northern plains and hills. Generally animals do not cross the lava fields, resulting in vastly different species in the north and south.

Climate:

The large lava lakes and rivers near the equator cause higher temperature along the equator, even during ice ages. The heat is increased more, when both suns are in the sky. Air flows from the north, to the lava fields, bringing with it water from the northern polar ocean, providing rain, and sometimes snow to the plains and hills north of the lava field, the same being true in the south.

The Kelnoriemi

Kobot anatomy:

Kelnoriemi anatomy similar to Human anatomy, though deviates in a few key places, which are discussed below. There is also some deviation, in reproduction, however, that shall be discussed later, in the Kelnoriemi Reproduction section. They are similar in general hight, weight, and shape, though, their thorax and cranium are larger to accommodate the organs within. They also require a large caloric intake, than humans, to maintain bodily process, though have a greater efficiency in the processing, and longterm storage of calories, as compared to humans. Also, blueish gray birthmarks are common for Kobot people, the reason for such things is unknown.

Cardiovascular System:

The Kelnoriemi cardiovascular system is defined by its binary cardiovascular system. In a normal human, there is one heart, located between the lungs, with four ventricles, pumping blood from the lungs, to the body, and then pumping the same blood back from the body, to the lungs. However, the Kelnoriemi's unique binary system, has two hearts. Both hearts are the same as human hearts, with a right heart, and a left heart, each comprised of a ventricular and an atrium. In one heart, for the purposes of this publication, let us call it Heart A, the left heart pumps oxygenated blood from the lungs, while the right heart pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs. The other heart, which we shall refer to heart B, is the opposite, with the right heart pumping oxygenated blood from the lungs, and the left heart pumping deoxygenated blood to the lungs. Heart A, which is located on the left, is slightly larger than heart B, and pumps blood to and from the body, and major organs, except, the brain. Heart B, located on the right side of the body, pumps blood exclusively to the brain, ensuring a steady supply of blood, independent of the demand for blood of the rest of the body. This greatly affects brain processes (See Nervous System below), and muscle developement, and energy (See Muscular System below). Both hearts are located between the lungs, and are protected in the front by breastbone.

Muscular System:

The Kelnoriemi muscular system, has the capability, to be far superior to that of the human muscular system, as the binary vascular system, provides more blood to the muscles, providing more oxygen, and energy, thus allowing the muscles greater performance, and energy. Though, in recent times, many Kelnoriemi have abandoned pursing greater strength, devoting their time instead to intellectual developement and aspirations. This trade of is unavoidable, because maintaining muscle mass, requires constant attention, and exercise, which tends to conflict with intellectual pursuits. Those that do focus on muscular development, however, have exhibited strength 15-16% greater than the most fit humans, and even the average Kelnoriemi, is generally 1-2% stronger than the average human.

Nervous System:

The Kelnoriemi nervous system, is similar to that of a humans, however, their brains are somewhat different. They are similar in general structure, however, they operate far more efficiently than human brains, 20-30% more efficiently, and have an extra lobe near the base of their brains, that enhances though, abstraction, and reasoning processes. A Kelnoriemi has reflexes 10 times that of humans, due to their brain's abilities to faster process information, and then determine how to act on it. Their brain's are highly resistant to interrogation methods, and telepathy, and with proper training, can enhance that natural protection, to forcefully block out even the best telepath, even if only for a short time, and with a great drain on their physical stamina. They quite easily learn new languages, after mire minutes being able to convey simple massages, and after listening to the language more, learning the finer points. They can become fluent in new languages in as quickly as a day, though some more complex ones take longer. There are a few languages that they have found they are unable to comprehend. Such languages they find to be quite interesting, and some have spend their entire lives attempting to figure them out, only to be completely wrong about every word. They also have the ability partially control their autonomic nervous system, though this ability, is limited to self-inducing a deep trance in which breathing, heart beat, and brain activity are all reduced to an absolute minimum. While in this trance a Kelnoriemi can ponder complex ideas without any outside distractions. Twenty minutes in this state is the equivalent of eight hours of sleep for a human. Though sleep patterns vary greatly, the average, is 20 minutes in their deep trance state, to refresh them for a twenty four hour period. It also varies the amount of time Kelnoriemi can remain awake, though generally it is for a 7 day period, after which they require a prolonged time in thier deep trance state. depending on their normal sleep patterns. Based on the aforementioned average of 20 minutes per 24 hour period, to remain a week, would require entering the deep trance state, for an average of 240 minutes, as it becomes exponentially draining on them, the longer they are awake. In some rare cases, Kelnoriemi who initially had a better than normal endurance for going without sleep, have been able to train themselves to go years without sleep. Though this practice is frowned upon, as it is very difficult, and puts a great drain on the Kelnoriemi's internal systems, at the very least, dramatically cutting their lifespan (see lifespan below), and at worst, causing them to simply drop dead one day from the stress on their body. To the other extreme, there are those, who require far more sleep than normal, some up to 8 hours of sleep per 24 hour period.

Respiratory System:

The Kelnoriemi respiratory system, is also similar to that of a human, except that the airways, and lungs are larger, and accommodate a greater capacity for air, and that there are more capillaries, as they need to feed two hearts, as apposed to one.

Kelnoriemi Reproduction:

Kelnoriemi reproduction is exactly the same as human, however, there is a short window during which Kelnoriemi are able to reproduce, between the time that their reproductive organs develop (approximately age 14 for males, and age 16 for females), and the time at which the organs become unable to function (approximately age 28 for males, and age 24 for females). Such time is considered crucial in Kelnoriemi development, and Kelnoriemi in that age group are encourage to take a mate, and have at least two children, to further the race as a whole.

Lifespan:

Kelnoriemi natural lifespans, are longer than those of regular humans, generally 100-120 years old, while few, can attain 180-190 years old, however, these are generally those with sleep patterns requiring 8-10 hours in their deep trance, where as those who go with out sleep for extended periods of time, such as months, or years, can dramatically cut their lifespan, depending on the length, some have died naturally as young as 40 or 50 years old. This is not to be confused with those who die while they are going without sleep, as that is not considered a natural death.

Evolution:

It is speculated, that Kelnoriemi, may have evolved from humans, or something similar to them, over many millennia. Though others speculate that such talk is just wishful thinking of those who wish to relate more with humans, and believe that they evolved from native Kelnorosian animals, that there is actual evidence of having existed, or that still exist today. Neither theory has yet been proven, and many others exist, such that the race was started by Kelnoriemi who traveled from the future, and became stuck in the past, or that they were created by some master alien race. Though neither of those theories are widely recognized, due to fundamental conceptual flaws, such where the Kelnoriemi from the future came from, if they created the race, as it becomes a paradox, which die hard believers, say proves that it must be true.

Language:

The Kelnoriemi language is quite complex. The same sounds can mean completely different things, depending on slight differences in tone, and stress. This makes the language quite difficult, and nearly impossible for others to learn or comprehend. It also causes mechanical, and computerized translators to mistranslate the language into incomprehensible gibberish.

Kelnoriem

Government:

Kelnoriem, is a confederacy of planets. It's home planet, as stated above Kelnoros. Each of the planets has an elected governor who rules the planet, and appoints members to a legislative body, known as the Council of Elders. The requirements for being appointed to the council are, that you be male, and that you are over the age of 55. The number of Councilors, that is what members of the Council of Elders are called, each planet is allowed, is based both upon the population, and economic output of the planet. Planet governors, have been known to due such things as ban contraceptives, and artificially increase percieved economic output, to increase their power, through the number of Councilors they can appoint. Some groups have attempted to outlaw such practices, but the planatery governors would have none of it, and pressured their Councilors to quash the issue. The Council of Elders votes on the Supream Couniclor, who rules over the internal affairs of Keloriem. Preimer, is elected by the people of every planet, and rules over the external affairs, such foreign affairs, and the military. Quite often, the Supream Councilor's, and the Primeir's views differ greatly on how things should be done, and try to affect the others discions. An example, would be, when the Primeir, wishes to go to war, and the Supream Councilor, does not, the Supream Councilor, would take actions, that would lead to an overall downturn in the confederacy's economy, thus meaning that there isn't enough money for the war, and the soldiers that would have gone, will be needed at home, to support their families. On the other hand, when the Supream Councilor, attempts to undertake a project, which the Primier thinks is foolhearted, the Premier would call up as many reserve forces as he could for training, thus depleating the work force for the supream councilors projects. This in fighting usually means that neither will get his own way, and generally the Council of Elders intervines, and works out a compromise.

(FYI, this is just a brief outline, as I work more out, things may change, or be removed, etc.)

*snip*
I'm interest- right. . . no one liners. Well the short of it is I'd be interested but am a relatively inexperienced FT rp'er (and by relatively inexperienced I mean I created my ft factbook all of a week ago and am currently in my first FT rp). Most of the Rp stuff I've done has been MT or PMT but from what you were talking about it seems like the situations are nearly Identical. Either you get a one on one closed RP that, while fun, tends to be slightly boring, or you end up with a massive kill fest which usually ends by ignore or by dog-pile.

As to my nation I've essentially stolen concepts (ship and tech-wise) From David Weber's Honor Verse including FTL travel that is not instantaneous and various limitations involving Faster than light, near light speed and Sub-light travel and warfare.

For examples of my Rp'ing . . .I'd probably say almost everything I write is equally bad (good) and while I don't claim to be a great RP'er I, and others involved, seem to usually have a pretty good time. For more info on my nation, check out my FT factbook (I'm not just double teching my MT nation I promise!) though it is still a work in progress.

I believe I'd be interested. I don't have much time these days to contribute much to any tech range, thus my desire to RP with all the new guy's instead of us old bag's of bones. But, hell, since it's early in the morning I'll link you to all relevant information. Please note that all information has been compiled since 2003.

-Basic Military Overview (http://hawk.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=gfmc)
-Basic Species Overview (Under Construction still) (http://hawk.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=gi&action=display&thread=17)

....and that's about it until I can finally get around to concentrating more on updating the FT aspect instead of concentrating so much on the MT aspect. Anywho, I'm around. It's a Galactic Federation comprised of eighty-eight worlds. Some, on the Frontier, are farming and mining worlds. Closer in you get more population density and what-have-you. In the center, Novar, the Capital Planet of the Galactic Federation. Two Orders, Jedi and Sith, no wars and whatnot. All internal strife is resolved through a Galactic Senate to prevent civil wars, but they do happen due to differences in governing opinion. Seven districts make up the Galactic Federation, but much like MT only Three are officially recognized. Annnnnd....yea. You decide whether I should participate or not.

EDIT

You may or may not remember me back in the GE days. Hell, I do. It was way more fun back then. Back when everyone was learning and having an awesome time. Now, well...people grow up I suppose. Loose touch. I think this would be a great opportunity to get back in gear with a lot of folks that I knew back then. It would be nice to once again contribute like I did before.

Yea, but, like I mentioned earlier, it's up to you after all. No pressure from me. :D

HT, you know my nation as well as my RP skills. Please contact me to see what can be done.

Kelnoriem, I'd like to see some RP. What's there is good.

Balrogga, I don't think Kythons are workable here, but I'm otherwise interested. We're rarely on together, so it might be better to shoot me a TG.

Anagonia, I know you, you're good.

DaWoad, same as Kelnoriem. I'd like to see some RP.

The Beatus, I'm interested to see what you've got in the way of FT RP likewise.

Balrogga, I don't think Kythons are workable here, but I'm otherwise interested. We're rarely on together, so it might be better to shoot me a TG.



Then I will have to pass for without Kythons, I do not have ships.

I am not able to get a working factsheet up yet, *is at school at the moment* but I am interested and will be doing something with my main nation or something entirely different. I am unsure at this time.

/Well here goes nothing./

Planet Zanoduse

The planet of Zanoduse is the last planet in a four planet solar system. Also being the smallest of which it revolves around a white dwarf who has seen better days. Zanoduse has four distinct regions the Seac which contains most of the planets fresh water. The Rase is a giant mountain range that stands thousands of kilometers high. The Zind is the wasteland of deserts and lowlands. Finally the Norm is the epicenter of Zanodusion life, being the only region with abundent plant life.

Zanodusion politics

Zanodusion politics revolve around a federation of the four different regions. Every eight years the four regions hold an election campaign for the presidency of the federation. Except no one region may rule more then two times in a row. And the President may choose which of the four palaces he wants to life in. The president is the cheif lawmaker in the federation but his laws still have to be approved by the council which consists of twenty five members from each region.
The military is controlled solely by the residing president but conformation orders must come from the Council before any action is taken.

People of Zanoduse

The people of Zanoduse are a species of reptillian humanoids. They all have a long snout and two independent eyes. Each one stands about 8 meters tall. Colors vary on each Zanodusion but each region seems to have an effect on it's inhabitants. Such as The Seac people are usually green or blue. The Zind are red or black. The Rase grey or brown. An the Norm are green and brown.

RP snippet

Exalted President Gregory Zind paces around his lavish palace in a nervous panic. Shaking his head he thinks of the many problems and accidents that could've gone wrong... Stopping in his tracks one eye trains on the video phone the other on his door. Seemingly staring down both sources hoping for some news. After all this is the Federations greatest hour! Our first starship and its lost!

Like a gunshot the video phone activates with a low hiss and the likeness of Star General Isac Norm appears cheery as ever.

"Sir Star General Norm reporting as ordered."

"You are late General but i'll let it pass this time." Unable to control his excitement any longer the president asks
"So where are you? Did it work? What now?"

"Sir all is well we are now ten light years from home. It did work though this is only a test run. And now sir its your decision."

Nodding slightly raising a claw to scratch under his left eye he says
"All right come home we must build a fleet and see what awaits the Federation."

I was thinking on starting a FTL-less, Hard Sci-fi universe when I started in FT.

I gave up because I only know three others who may have interest and they also started as MT... not interested in this though because this would wreck with much of the base concept of Solar Communes.

I'm touched HT :p

I might be interested in joining this. I'll have a definite answer by tomorrow

Sounds good, I'd be interested. I'll edit in some facts/examples now, just getting the links.
Factbook: (Link also in sig, but here for lazy reference) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=14259114) *work in progress still*
Examples: Character RP'ing, backstory (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14215265&postcount=4)
Random FT example (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=566508)

10.a) Character RP within the Dreary Universe nations is an exception. If other players want to bring characters or nonconsequential ships into the Dreary Universe, that's fine, provided the thread starter agrees. But anything major needs to be verified with every other Dreary player involved.

I'm not sure if I understand what you mean here. Will the default way of playing be "ok, so I send this many of that type of ships, and fire such-and-such weapon" instead of stories with at least a little depth on the psychology side?

12) Other than this, it's as normal NS RP. Population = power. If anyone has an equally simple dynamic that establishes power without argument, tell me. I'm willing to listen.

I've never liked the population = power idea. I have my reasons to keep my RP population millions times smaller than my NS population.

Also, in a FT universe power is more a matter of advancement of technology than of population growth. I think it makes more sense to start with tech with some random and very inconvenient limitations, and gradually develop better technology, completely ignoring population. But then again that's what I'm doing, and what's right for me might not be right for others.

I like what you're trying to do, but I'm not sure if it fits my style.

Very interested, and a good way to bring Isam back into the rather more interesting world of FT.

Structure of Society

Isam is an FT nation that is essentially controlled by a church that decides the norms of society, its laws and governance et al. It is unusual amongst (NS) theocracies in that it does not militarily force its religion upon others however as its public administration and public services are controlled and run by the religious community it is inevitable that the Church is omnipresent and there is a lot of social pressure to be part of the Congregation.

Local governance centres on the local religious structure (the local church) which is built to function as an administrative as well as religious centre. Local churches are part of ecclesiastical districts and owe allegiance either to the governing bishopric or monastery. Each archbishopric and religious order send their representatives to the Synod of the Ecclesiastical Congregation, as the military (ecclesiastical, secular or militant order) send theirs to the Synod of the Militant Congregation, and the Councils of Landholders to the Synod of the Secular Congregation. The Synods in their turn advise the Hierarchy of Isam upon governance and legislation.

Needless to say, there is a great of regional politics revolving over who has power in any one area (landholder, bishopric, monastery) and a fair bit of unrest from other religious/areligious groups unhappy with the Church controlling the Hierarchy. There is also a fair bit of tension between the different military organisations with the Imperial Faith Union, with the IFU’s own centrally governed military, the forces of the militant orders and the Landholders’ retinues.


Geographical Area

Haven’t really decided yet. It will be over a reasonable number of systems incorporating a couple of different races.
The more peculiar thing will be small monasteries dotted all over the place (random asteroids, moons etc.) where people are willing to let them land to get away from society and withdraw from the world (think ninth century west-European minsters) to better fulfil their spiritual duty.


Foreign Policy

Generally benign. The military orders exist primarily to protect the civilian population when they’re wandering around and to safeguard the pilgrim roads inside and outside the Hierarchy’s sphere of influence. They’re not likely to running around screaming “crusade” because the Hierarchy takes a fairly dim view of fanatics declaring war without letting them know, so would be quite likely to let them run off and get themselves killed. The Super Christian Nazi Brigade (as someone once so eloquently described Isam’s militant orders) are only likely to be let off their (very short) leash if general unpleasantness occurs, or in small doses (“Knight-Grand-Cross such-and-such, there’s a big scary-looking ruin of a ship. Go and have a look would you, since you’re so keen to get to Heaven?”).




I still need to tinker a bit with new-Isam, but will probably be some religion vaguely based on central-late medieval Christianity adapted for purpose. Isamites themselves will be some form of alien. I might go nuts and make them gas-dwellers, just to make regional politics interesting.

Very open at the moment to what I can do with them, will adapt to fit the Dreary as necessary.

HT, check your TGs for RP.

Well, after talking with HT over MSN, (Bastard went to bed before adding me to the interested list! I'm going to get you, HT! And your little counting sheep, too!) I've gone from "Eh, Sorta Want" to a somewhat strong "WANT"

Still not a "WANT" but... "DO NOT WANT" has mostly been voted down. ^_^



Name: The Galactic Hegemony of Neo-Mekanta, AKA "The Hegemony"
Name Background: A sick joke based on the fact that, while a Hegemony is formed by cultural merits rather than violent coercion as an empire is, the Mekantan culture IS violence and coercion.

System of Government: Clusterfuck.
REAL System of Government: Seriously. While the Hegemony's government, the Ihkasutare Regime, is a strong, stable government headed by the Goddess All-Consuming and an alliance of most powerful Warlords directly under her, the rest of the Hegemony's holdings are a chaotic mess. The Hegemony keeps things relatively sane through force, but the Hegemony's holdings are in constant turmoil and conflict. At any given time, there is at least one internal war being planned or waged, and raids by rivals or the ever-present Zircon Swarms are a constant threat for those living under Hegemony rule. However, it's theorized by sociologists in the Hegemony's slave nations that if Hegemony space were to ever stabilize, Mekantan control over the region would crumble and the Hegemony's economy would crash. Fortunately for the Mekantans, the region is just as likely of spontaneously transmuting into a collection of several lightyear wide marshmallow peeps as it is of ever calming down.

Internal Interaction: See above. Clusterfuck. To support itself, the Hegemony and its perpetually feuding Mekantan Warlords maintain livestock. The Hegemony holds entire civilizations of "lesser" races, outnumbering the billions Mekantans of the Galactic Hegemony by an obscene degree. These slave nations, widely diverse and kept perpetually off-balance by constant struggle with other slave nations over the resources the Hegemony allows them, are watched over closely by the Warlords, who are eager to crush any resistance to Mekantan rule the slave nations present. Those rebellions that grow out of control, too determined and powerful for the Warlords to crush easily, are put down by the Hegemony's military. The Warlords themselves are not immune to Hegemony intervention, as battles between the Warlords that get out of hand are often broken up by the appearance of a Darkship, the universally understood symbol of the Hegemony's absolute authority within its space. That which the Ihkasutare Regime decides is below its interest, such as piracy in the slave nations, is allowed to run unchecked until handled by a Warlord or a slave nation's own military or militia. While less of a political element, the activities of the Zircon are also of concern for those living under Hegemony rule. While the Zircon Hivemasters, the individual masters of the hive-minded Zircon Swarms, are unquestionably loyal to the Hegemony out of religious fervor for the Goddess All-Consuming, the Zircon tend to run rampant, lashing out at both Warlord and slave nation alike. While Zircon raids accomplish the kind of absolute destruction the concerted wrath a Zircon Hivemaster can bring down, the Zircon are viewed in the Hegemony as a natural disaster the Hegemony does nothing about out of malice. That analysis is rather correct. The Hegemony, and the Mekantan race as a whole, is an unspeakable evil when viewed from a Terran moral standpoint.

Ships: Ships in the Hegemony fall under one of several catagories. Slave nation civilian ships are almost beyond notice, and even with heavier armaments and formed into militias, are laughably weak. Slave nation military vessels are usually nothing too impressive, and though some may have solid designs and technology, forming any large, stable navy is difficult for any group that isn't employed by a Warlord as an attack dog to sic on other slave nations or rival Warlords. The ships of the Zircon, made of the same rock-like flesh of the Zircon themselves, are below average in ranged combat, but tend to fight in swarms and are deadly if they make contact with an enemy ship's hull, as the Zircon flesh will begin to attempt to eat the enemy ship, and Zircon will quickly start to claw at the hull to make an entrance. As long as a Zircon ship does not land Zircon on a planet or make contact, it's a very small threat. The Warlords and Mekantans as a whole are in possession of a frightening amount of firepower. Most Mekantan ships, both warships and transports, tend to at least a kilometer long. Very rarely does a vessel drop below this idea, with the smallest known vessel being what is dubbed a Mekantan "fighter" - a two hundred and fifty meter strike craft. As one would expect given their size, Mekantan ships are heavily armored, armed to the teeth, rather slow, and extremely expensive. Given the importance of war to the Mekantan culture, however, a Mekantan from a powerful clan is expected to own at least one warship, and some powerful Warlords have entire fleets. No Warlord dares stand against the Hegemony, however. While the Hegemony uses some of the same vessels as the Warlords, their unique ships are classes above that which they allow the Warlords to possess. While the largest vessels the Hegemony possesses are the three Coreships from which the Overlords of the Hegemony command the three great armadas, as previously stated the Darkship stands as the ultimate symbol of the Hegemony's power and authority. Monstrously expensive and hellish to engineer and build, Darkships serve as the backbone of the Hegemony navy, and the Hegemony itself. The loss of a Darkship is considered a crippling blow to the Hegemony.


Holdings: The Hegemony is centered on the Citadel Star System and the Throneworld of Ihkasutare, but holds many star systems to contain the massive population of and supply its collection of slave nations.


The RP sample is taken from an incomplete short story posted on the ESUS boards that would have depicted the fall of one of the Hegemony's slave nations that would rise again as a major enforcer for the Hegemony.
RP Sample

-Axis 1729 Space, The Mekantan Abyss
--Observation Deck of the Tsthathi destroyer Roawe 788

Peret Eralii sighed as he watched green and crimson lights play across the starboard nacelles. For the first time in years, he saw the dancing lights of the Abyss as more than the ephemeral bars of an ever-changing prison. They were more than sources of energy the station clusters, and threats ships had to contend with. They were... beautiful.

He ran a hand through his messy blonde hair, allowing himself a smile. They belonged to the Tsthathi people of Axis 1729 now, not the Mekantans.

"Yoya, Peret! They're replaying the Declaration again, manno!" A voice called from below the observation deck, a fellow crewmate Peret never could remember the name of. "I be turning it up for you, manno!"

"Thanks, friend!" Peret called down, sighing contentedly. He could barely believe it. The Elders finally found the gonads to declare independance from the Mekantans.

"Men and women of Axis 1729..."

"Long have we lived here among the plasma storms, the asteroids, the nebula and dust. Here, in this inhospitable land, we have carved out a place for ourselves, our children, and thier children. In a place where survival has been an uphill battle, we have thrived, and grown."

"By your hard work and perseverence, Axis 1729 counts itself among the most powerful clusters in the Abyss. Five hundred stations. Two hundred million men, women, and children. My friends, we have toiled long, hard, and without rest to build this life. How many friends, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers have died to make our cluster what it is?"

"Why then are the fruits of our labor harvested not by we who worked, suffered, and died to plant the seeds of prosperity? Who lives in luxury off of our toil while we struggle to live? Who preys upon our people without care or justice? Who?"

"The Mekantans!"

The record was eclipsed by the shout that came from the rest of the ship, a hundred voices raised in unison.

"Well I say no more! From this day forth, let the work of our people benefit our people! Let us harvest the fruits of our labor without Mekantan interference! Let us take hold of the reins of our destiny! No more slavery to Mekantan dogs! No more bowing to false Goddesses! From now on, Axis 1729 salutes no empire, no oppressive race of tyrants! We are free!"

The cheer that followed was almost painful in its volume, but Peret couln't help but get caught up in it.

He wasn't a member of Neo-Mekanta's herds. He wasn't some resource for the Mekantan Warlords to fight over. He was a proud Tsthathi man!

And he would fight to the death to stay that way...



-Darkship Aryak'ze Kyruran, High Orbit over the Hiveworld Ghyagis
--Primary Commons Chamber

"- slavery to Mekantan dogs! No more bowing to false Goddesses! From now on, Axis 1729 salutes no empire, no oppresive race of tyrants. We are free!"

Thunderous laughter followed the end of the recording, joined by screams of pain from Tsthathi and Feran slaves who found thier limbs broken or severed by celebrating Mekantans.

"Doe'Tstha'zekeh'za khii'gah'nlya'za!"

"Khii'tza'to! Shaa'keh'za nlya'kya Mekanta'ze'keh."

"Ryah'kya'tih!!" A voice boomed, silencing all but the whimpering and sobs of the slaves. Four broad figures in power armor strode into the room, flanking a reletively small-framed Mekantan female with a regal air about her. Her crimson hair was neatly tied back, bobbing with each step, as her golden eyes darted around the chamber. The golden bands on her cheeks glowed slightly as she scanned those around her with her psychic senses. Several officers of both genders smirked, lustfully looking her over. Others bowed respectfully, knowing anyone Overlord Kaenin placed in charge of a Darkship was a force to be reckoned with. "Jahso'reh Iyasha'ta ryah'tih'tza!"

The crew of the terrifying warship made some distance between themselves and their commander, sensing what was to come. "Tstha'ta'keh'se'myeh Axis 1729 'ta thash'tih'za. Jeh'ze'koza'ta thassa'tih. Tyh'se'ta ott'hosh'za'tih." She said simply, nodding. With that simple order, Iashya math Kannsa, Ship Commander of the Stone's Blood, turned on her heel and strode out of the commons chamber as a roar rose among her subordinates. She, unlike many of her comrades, felt no need to join in the violent celebrations common among her people. Not when there was tactical planning that needed to be done.

Her orders from Overlord Kaenin were clear: Eradicate the resistance armada and retake the rebel colony cluster at all costs. It was a mission she intended to carry out with her signature precision.

She did not celebrate the promise of combat, only victory.


... Yes, the Mekantan language is functional.

If i'm welcome i'd be interested in this, although I wil get down to writing a summary of my "nation" later tonight.

Overall I feel this is a good idea if i've understood it correctedly, I also understand what you meant about Xiscapia and Alversia for I had noticed a similar trend across the board. People tend to congregrate to those who play in similar styles, or stick with those whom they recognise. Why this is I cannot say, my first RP on here involved Greywatch and Angenteria and in most of the RP's i've been in they have been in them to. Maybe when newbs such as myself start out a particular style is impressed upon them by those who are already established here? Just a guess but oh well. On the other hand I didn't fully understand what I assumed were the aliances you spoke of although I got the principle, I stuck to FT and haven't really delved into politics untill literally a week or so ago when I finsihsed thinking about my Magnus Opus of my race as it were.

On another note, if you want help with a map I offer a helping hand. I did something similar on here a while ago but let it sink into the depths; also I RP'd on a forum where I was the Minister Of Entertainment which let me tinker with various graphical aids. Just to see if you're interested.

Kelnoriem, I'd like to see some RP. What's there is good.

Balrogga, I don't think Kythons are workable here, but I'm otherwise interested. We're rarely on together, so it might be better to shoot me a TG.

Anagonia, I know you, you're good.

DaWoad, same as Kelnoriem. I'd like to see some RP.

The Beatus, I'm interested to see what you've got in the way of FT RP likewise.

Sounds good :)
FT:http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14465117&postcount=55
MT:http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=580826 or http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14463977&postcount=8
(recent stuff)
PMT:http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13568226&postcount=59
(older stuff)

Anagonia, I know you, you're good.

Why thank you. I know you too. You're good too. Now, if I can only get around to spamming you over MSN more....

Kelnoriem, I'd like to see some RP. What's there is good.

Balrogga, I don't think Kythons are workable here, but I'm otherwise interested. We're rarely on together, so it might be better to shoot me a TG.

Anagonia, I know you, you're good.

DaWoad, same as Kelnoriem. I'd like to see some RP.

The Beatus, I'm interested to see what you've got in the way of FT RP likewise.

I meant to mention this in my last post, but, the Beatus, is also me, I changed accounts, I figure doing this with separate accounts, will be less confusing for me. Now, I don't really have any solid FT RPs I could give you, I did some stuff once on a off-site RP, but that's basically it. The best I can do, is to give you an original sample, just a brief bit about a meeting of the Council of Elders.

Pyramid of Kelnoros, Council of Elders' Main Chamber

All was silent across the large stone room. Eighty-four seats were arranged in a U shape, around a main podium. Each and every seat was filled, by men wearing long flowing white hooded robes. Seconds later, the lights in the room dimmed, and a spotlight trained on two large wooden double doors behind the main podium. Every man in the room rose, as Supreme Councilor Lorne Lightnight, dressed in his finest black robes, entered, and approached the podium. He removed his hood from over his head, and as he did, so did every other person in the room, before sitting. Lorne activated the voice amplification system, that would project even his quietest whisper across the room, said, "So begins the 843rd meeting of the Elder Council. The first order of business, is a vote the allocation of funding for Proposition 456R-842EC, Programs for the Benefit of Persons who are Suffering from Sleep Deprivation Syndrome. I know none of you will disagree with me, when I say, that we have clearly debated this issue, to the fullest, and it is, in fact time for a vote on this matter."
Before Lorne could continue, however, one of the Councilors, Herman Darkshadow, one of the representatives of Telos, rose and stated, "I move to extend the debate on this matter, as I believe that further discussion on this issue, is needed."
Lorne was quite surprised, and internally cursed himself, for poor wording, which left an opening, for the opposition, to call for further debate, which, if they could hold onto the floor long enough for, would effectively kill the proposal. Before he could say anything, one of the other Councilors, stated, "I second Councilor Darkshadow's motion." The only hope now, Lorne knew, would be for the vote to extend the debate, which would now be called for, would be defeated.
Just on schedule, one of his friends, and supporters, Councilor Andrei Blueshade, one of the representatives of Kelnoros, stood and said, "I move for a vote on whether to extend the debate."
The motion was quickly seconded, and without waiting any longer, Lorne said, "As per procedure, we will now have a vote, upon whether to extend the debate on Proposition 456R-842EC. The vote shall be a vocal vote, needing a simple majority. As is my prerogative, I motion that we have a short recess, to prepare for the vote." Lorne's motion was quickly seconded, by one of his supporters, at which point, he stated, "I now declare the Council of Elders recessed for three hours." Lorne went over the numbers in his head, he counted 32 Councilors who he could depend on to vote against the motion, and figured at least 28, who would definitely vote to extend the debate. The rest, he was unsure of. He knew he didn't have a majority, and therefore, had to call for a recess, to garner support, even if it gave the opposition the same opportunity. He pulled a bottle out of his pocket, and swallowed a pill from within, hoping to ease his impending headache. "Such is Kelnoriemi politics," he told himself.

I'm not sure if I understand what you mean here. Will the default way of playing be "ok, so I send this many of that type of ships, and fire such-and-such weapon" instead of stories with at least a little depth on the psychology side?

No. In fact, that's the precise opposite of what that rule intends. Rather, it means that non-Dreary players can't bring in fleets or armies without the express permission of every Dreary player who could be involved with that fleet or army.

Characters from other players, however, can be allowed in with thread starter permission.

I've never liked the population = power idea. I have my reasons to keep my RP population millions times smaller than my NS population.

That is to say that power is a function of NS population. You can keep your RP population at whatever level you like.

Also, in a FT universe power is more a matter of advancement of technology than of population growth. I think it makes more sense to start with tech with some random and very inconvenient limitations, and gradually develop better technology, completely ignoring population. But then again that's what I'm doing, and what's right for me might not be right for others.

That one's been tried in years past. It ends up in eternal dick-waving.

Okay. Here's my initial plan. I'm going to select a few players - not at random, rather, people I know - and try and get this thing going slowly at first. I'm going to get Kostemetsia, Mekanta, Skaugra, Kewen, and possibly Anagonia in this initial map. The reasoning for this is simple - I have their MSN addresses, we talk a lot, and we're often on at the same time. While this may seem unfair to the rest of you (and it probably is), this will reduce discussion time drastically, and will probably get the whole thing running (with you included) faster.

I suspect that trying to build this too fast will result in more arguments and complications than allowing it to take shape over time. This isn't to say anyone else is denied entry.

Rather, once a coherent political order emerges (which really shouldn't take more than a week or two), we'll slowly add new players. This'll have a dual effect: firstly, no catastrophic change with lots of new nations means that the RP shouldn't collapse for the same reason that most open RPs collapse.

Second, as horrible as this sounds, it keeps the Dreary Universe exclusive. By placing a time limit on new players, anyone who joins has already put their time on the line before they get in. It's an added incentive to make sure new players stay in as active players.

After speaking with HT over MSN, he feels the political climate would not do for a hivemind society like my nation has. I have volunteered my nation as a plot device to HT so while I cannot be part of the geopolitical aspect of this, I will still participate in "other ways".

I will let your imagination figure out what that means.

Okay. Here's my initial plan. I'm going to select a few players - not at random, rather, people I know - and try and get this thing going slowly at first. I'm going to get Kostemetsia, Mekanta, Skaugra, Kewen, and possibly Anagonia in this initial map. The reasoning for this is simple - I have their MSN addresses, we talk a lot, and we're often on at the same time. While this may seem unfair to the rest of you (and it probably is), this will reduce discussion time drastically, and will probably get the whole thing running (with you included) faster.

I suspect that trying to build this too fast will result in more arguments and complications than allowing it to take shape over time. This isn't to say anyone else is denied entry.

Rather, once a coherent political order emerges (which really shouldn't take more than a week or two), we'll slowly add new players. This'll have a dual effect: firstly, no catastrophic change with lots of new nations means that the RP shouldn't collapse for the same reason that most open RPs collapse.

Second, as horrible as this sounds, it keeps the Dreary Universe exclusive. By placing a time limit on new players, anyone who joins has already put their time on the line before they get in. It's an added incentive to make sure new players stay in as active players.
Sounds aight to me. TG me once it kicks off

I'd be interested in this. For a brief rundown.....

Vojvodina-Nihon: Government and Society. Ok, so originally V-N I created as a "joke" nation, intending to play seriously only with other nations.... but it rapidly became my primary, so here I am now. I started a NSWiki page (http://www.nswiki.net/index.php?title=Vojvodina-Nihon) a while back but never finished it, but that gives some ideas of what V-N is like as a nation.

The full name is the Holy Jingoistic Federation of Un-Aligned Nations of Vojvodina-Nihon. This is a reference, first, to the High King's official status as Pope of the Vojvodina-Nihonian Church ("Holy"); second, a somewhat wry look at the patriotic sentiments often expressed in official literature ("Jingoistic"); third, the actual form of government ("Federation"); fourth, regarding the occasional animosity or diplomatic coldness between the states ("Un-Aligned Nations"). The Federation consists of twenty-seven states and an independent megacity, including six offworld colonies and several unaffiliated orbital space stations. In practice it is a parliamentary oligarchy; while theoretical democracy exists at the state level, the citizens have no say in the federal government, which is made up of officials chosen by state councils or handpicked by the High King in one of his few actual duties.

Society is evenly split between religious and nonreligious, generally fairly conservative, and very noisy. Any two given states disagree violently on most or all of the issues, and it is mostly mutual antagonism towards the other nation-state residing upon Earth (I'll call it Medeveria, which is a puppet of mine) and economic dependence on one another that keeps them together. In fact, the states were all independent nations before uniting into a single Federation a few hundred years ago. Apart from humans and a single elf, the only other sentient race residing in Vojvodina-Nihon is the Caelipiscians -- five-eyed, three-legged, four-armed bird-thingies about eleven feet tall -- occupying one of the colony worlds. They number only about nine million in total, and are not technically citizens of Vojvodina-Nihon, although some (an estimated four thousand) have successfully been naturalized since first contact some thirty years ago.

Vojvodina-Nihonian Starships and Faster-Than-Light Travel: An estimated three hundred starfaring vessels of clipper length or greater have been chartered by the Vojvodina-Nihonian Government. Of these, one hundred and ninety-two are operated by the Royal Vojvodina-Nihonian Star Navy, of which eighty-seven are classified as capital ships. Designs are generally streamlined to allow starships to land at docking facilities on the offworld colonies, without easily breakable parts; ships tend to resemble scaled-up fighters or shuttles, occasionally with more stylized designs appealing to a seemingly universal sense that shiny is better.

We use a form of FTL operating by opening wormholes at natural "jump points"; these are generally located at certain points along the spacetime curvature caused by gravity acting upon the mass of a stellar object, and allow a wormhole to be opened to bridge the gap between that jump point and another jump point in another star system. (It is also possible to energize the "rubber sheet" enough that wormholes can be created outside of jump points, but this requires enough energy to be completely unfeasible except for small objects such as the wormhole arrays used for FTLDAR.)

I am willing to switch to whatever system the majority of participants decide is more useful.

More Information: Let me know and I'll provide it to the best of my knowledge.

Prior RP samples: Not all that many, unfortunately. Most of my RPs were either non-serious, died out after a few posts, or were non-serious and died out after a few posts. For some examples:
Because we can [Military, FT] (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=581589) (in progress)
We Are Become Death [Character-Driven, FT] (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=567912) (died out)
The Invasion of Croatia [Military, MT] (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=539923) (non-serious, and also sort of died out. it was my fault.)
Or I could write something else now (or at least tomorrow sometime when I have more time).

Reason for joining: Haven't done much serious RP. Looking to get into the game. No attraction to all of those out there whose sole desire is to one-up the next guy and whose idea of quality roleplay is "I fire 100000 missiles at your ship, post losses plz."

Name: The United Nations of Telros

System of Government: Democracy....sorta. They have a Congress and such, but the President has been granted large powers and the people do not really care all too much.

Society: Telrosian society was formed on a bad principle and this has tainted the good intentions the United Nations have. The United Nations was formed as a response to the discovery of alien life and how powerful they were. Afraid that they could be wiped out at any time, they all banded together, and worked like rabbits hump to get their technology advanced, fleet built up, military strengthened, etc, to a point where they could resist incursions and expand in peace...relatively. Unfortunately, this has made them very inhospitable to strangers and those they don't know, and allies are hard to form but are well trusted once they have reached it. In war, they are brutal and take no quarter unless surrender is offered. Anything goes, up to a point. Genocide and such is taboo to them, but if bombing a city into ruins is what it takes to win a campaign, so be it.

Ships: The United Nations Navy is small but powerful, averaging around four hundred and fifty ships total. Their technology has made them quite powerful but they are still not at the level where they could take on great powers like the Mekantans alone. They have eight classes of ships, the rare yet dominating Dreadnought, the flagship class Battleship, the fighter-spamming carrier, the solid Cruiser, the firepower heavy at cost of fighters Destroyer, the normal Frigate, the Hunter Frigate, and the Artillery Cruiser. The Navy is designed around the ideal of quality is what matters, and each ship should be able to travel in metaphorical seas of blood by itself. The Telrosians could have had many more ships but have cut down due to costs, logistics and this preference for consolidated power.


Holdings: They currently hold eighty systems, which are well-fortified as colonization is slow and systems are not considered fully developed until their industry is up to snuff, large, booming colonies are flourishing and defenses networks in combination with full fleet patrol coverage is achievable.


RP Sample:

Too long to show, so link:

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14470812&postcount=227

Again too long, but one of my best pieces, albeit under a diffetent account.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13710808&postcount=1



Reason for Joining: HT is a friend of mine,the one who got me into FT rp for real, and any of his projects are bound to be fun. I also like this idea and want to rp in it. And besides, I'd like to watch and see how the Mekantans interact in here. =P

Hmm, let's see how this works in practice before I consider joining.

Putting something together for those already in. It'd be awesome if everyone who's in could help out. A lot of it is what's already necessary, but other stuff is just for the sake of, well...


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/MachinaKyrios/DUHegemonySpacecopy-2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/MachinaKyrios/DURealmSpacecopy.jpg

This. ^_^


Kostemetsia, Kewen, and Anagonia, I'll need star system names, what system connects to what, the general purpose of the system (Capital System, General Colony, Resource System), and the spectral classes of the stars (as well as the spectral classses of any companions, too)

HT, I need your system purposes again. I forgot to record them from the group chat.

Skaugra, I need system purposes (even if it's just "colony" and "capital of x clan) and spectral classes.

I'll also need what you want to be called on the map, like how Neo-Mekanta is simply "the Hegemony" and HT is "the Realm", and what color you want representing you. Red (Hegemony) and gray (Realm) are already taken. ^_^

Im very interested. HT, Telros all the rest of you from UII you knew me as Tarsonis....I'lll try to get a fact book of my stuff up, because...well you'll see.

Acceptable if I make my own?
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z107/Kain1235/TemplarianSpace.jpg
Edit: It seems to have uploaded strangely... If anyone has problems reading the names, let me know.

I'm sticking to people confirmed by HT for now. ^_^


Oh yeah, and one more thing: Stellar masses for the system primaries and their companions would be super, and help a lot, but it's not 100% necessary. It'll just give me an idea of how massive the star is. ^_^

The Federated Realms Under the Genetic Purification Initiative (The GPI for short)

Governmental Structure

A loose federation of noble houses united by the spiritual and military authority of ‘mother’ or to be more precise the Vi’al clan would be the best way to describe the governmental structure of the initiative. The head of the Vi’al clan, Claudia Lian Vi’al, has supreme authority over everything in the initiative though over the centuries she has allowed her many children and grand children decide matters and simply enjoys her place as the ‘living’ goddess of her people. Therefore the many noble houses are treated as the sole authority when governing their various estates, plantations and colonies under the protection of the initiative. Though the Vi’al clan makes sure it retains the greatest share of military power through litigation, spiritual influence, bribery, intimidation and sometimes outright war. Plus it maintains the right to override the local authorities at any time to do whatever the initiative needs though this move more often than not serves the Vi’al clan’s interests rather than the whole.

Genetics

The Genetic purification initiative has been organized for just that the idea genetic assessment and purification. Though this is not done from some arbitrary feature like ear length, or skull size but through a collection of blood, hormonal, pheromone, hair, tear and sometimes even urine tests. These tests determine one’s place in a rigid caste system that only a certain few species are allowed to circumvent each generation. This discrimination doesn’t apply to any other areas of the initiative however and are even outlawed.

Caste System

This system ranges from black to white with black being the lowest walk of life in the system.

The black class is denied everything, the right to education, to property, even individual property rights are non existent, the best one can hope for in this class is to be owned by a noble or someone well off at least or to join the military to gain some small fame and prestige from being part of a successful operation.

The pink class is granted the right to education from infancy to the beginning adolescence. From there they are deemed fit to work entering and processing data in the ever data hungry initiative. The ‘elite’ of this class often work in the extremely few and limited corporate enterprises in the initiative, the highest one can hope for as a pink is to supervise a small section of a data entry firm or become the head of a library.

The red class are the couriers and working muscle of the nation, also granted education from infancy to early adolescence. They are the physical part of ‘data entry’ where they move supplies, products, furnishings, medical equipment, or even military supplies from place to place. This is the only class to this point who are granted the right to retirement. Normally after a certain time the state starts assessing one’s ability to keep one’s position and assigns a new one if the subject is deemed unfit for their current one. With retirement the retiree’s noble family or the family that owns the establishment they retired from is forced to pay for their needs until death.

The orange class are the managers and the land owners of the initiative, and are permitted to attend the initiative version of ‘high school’ but are afforded no higher education. They do however have the right to own land and profit from the ownership of that land in the form of sales, workers sales, state funding ect. Militarily they are usually the commanders in the field genetically altered for maximum clarity under pressure. They are the only class to this point that can officially marry and be treated as part of a family rather than a contested half of an estate or some other form of property.

The blue class is the cultural and religious heart and soul of the initiative, usually going on to be artists, dancers, masons and so on though most of the initiative’s doctors are part of this class as they are allowed to achieve a higher education but while they are allowed to attend they generally lack the funds and the political clout to enter most initiative universities so they wind up joining various guilds to hone their crafts.

The green class are the initiative’s financiers, usually trained from birth to be masters of logistics and mathematics. With these skills most become bankers, keeping the various loans of the initiative in check though some become researchers in various fields. Mostly working for the state however since private research for an individual houses is mostly an uphill battle between what the head of the house wishes to hear and what the results truly say. On a side note this class has a strange resistance to most poisons and other infections.

The white class is the pride of the initiative, the heads of noble houses deciding the fate of entire star systems. They are virtually above the law, as crimes perpetrated against lower classes are ignored by the state; however crimes against other whites are not only avenged by the state but the victim’s house as well. This has generally lead to white classes leaving each other be, operating through proxies that have no such restrictions. They are immune to most known diseases, poisons, or toxic environment and are generally stronger, and faster than all the other classes. They’re even safe from most small arms fire, though this has no effect on burning, acidic, or high velocity projectiles.

Biology

The GPI is a broad collection of ‘anthropomorphic’ races so many that it would be hard to list in this simple report. The initiative itself states that there were many more races under it’s protection but they have now disappeared the working theory is that in the beginning many races were already a part of the GPI due to natural evolution on their home planet but these evolutions were later deemed genetically unfit or rebelled against mother’s teachings and were destroyed as a result.

Diplomacy

That seems to depend on the willingness of the receiving party to be scanned and deemed worthy of conventional diplomacy. In the past if the receiving party refused that was grounds for open warfare though in recent years that doctrine has changed to technological worthiness. Meaning that the technology rather than the people are scanned in the event of a refusal and diplomacy would begin on that sour note.

Races that employ droids or machines as laborers or in any other function en masse have a much different doctrine associated with them. The initiative see’s living machines of any type as ‘walking blasphemy’ believing in the natural power of the living body rather than the cold servos of dead labor. Therefore an extermination crusade is called whenever these races are encountered every fleet, of every star system, of every house that is able are called to annihilate the infidel, destroy his vessels, purify his worlds, if nessicary purify his allies, enforce and maintain mother’s teachings and restore life from the machine.

Corporate nations are treated much in the same manner as massive corporate enterprise is also open blasphemy favoring the greed of the individual rather than the common goal of purity. The difference with this crusade is the people are not exterminated or enslaved but brought to temples, where they are assessed and ‘restored’ although traditionally that has been a euphemism for ‘brainwashed’. A government ‘using’ corporations is tolerated though collaboration with corporate enterprise is refused outright, even down to the purchase of ‘branded’ products.

And I think I've officially bored you enough so here's links to RP samples.

Link: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=14334714&posted=1#post14334714

I would probably join if not for the mandatory standardized FTL... and I doubt you would agree with Solar Communes residing in a galaxy which has only one "jump point" or whatever and which relies entirely on STL travel for the rest.

Alrighty. The first thread, kicking off the Realm-Hegemony War is off, and if anyone else is interested in joining the political landscape, that'd be fine. Kostemetsia had other things to do, and I'm unsure about Kewen and Anagonia's present status.

Vojvodina-Nihon, if you could draw up a vague-ish map of your territory (even a paint map with stars and names of stars on it would be fine), with no more than 20 stars, I'll integrate that into the main map asap. By that, of course, I mean whine to Mekanta.

It looks interesting, however the idea I have for the Sertian Empire wouldn't fit into well, and I quite like the idea. However, I have been toying with the idea to kick off a technowizardry nation that might be interesting to put in this, assuming you are still accepting applicants and wouldn't mind a (I'm not sure the term you use for side nations/alt nations, so just insert it here), into the fray?

Name: Soul Drinkers Space Marine Chapter, Soul Drinkers

Background: A splinter group of the once proud Space Marine Legion, the Imperial Fists, the Soul Drinkers have existed for well over ten thousand years, fighting for the Imperium on behalf of the God-Emperor of Mankind and their Primarch, Rogal Dorn, from whom they claim descent by the blood that runs through their veins and their gene seeds. When the Imperial Fists Legion was split apart, the Soul Drinkers were formed from the Assault units of that Legion, giving the Soul Drinkers a higher proportion of soldiers that specialize in close combat and ship-to-ship boarding actions.

However regal and majestic the history of the chapter is however, its future is dark and unknown. Due to misfortunes, caused by the machinations of Chaos deities that followed the Changer of Ways, the Soul Drinkers were declared Excommunicate Traitoris by the authorities of the Imperium, causing them to become outcasts. After shedding both the hypocritical yoke of the Imperium and the slave chains of Chaos, the Soul Drinkers have become a renegade Space Marine Chapter set on the ultimate goal of destroying Chaos and defending Mankind from all its enemies, regardless of whether they be from within or without.

System of Government: The Codex states that a Space Marine Chapter should be split into 10 companies of 100 Marines each, plus a Space Marine Captain, Apothecary, Company Standard [Bearer] and Chaplain for each company.

Existing outside the Company level organization, each chapter has an Armoury consisting of the chapter's Techmarines and tanks, a Librarium consisting of the Chapter's Librarians, a Chapter Fleet and the Chapter Master, plus various headquarters staff and the Chapter's Servitors and human serfs.


Internal Interaction: The Soul Drinkers is a chapter that has torn itself apart on two separate occasions, each time rising from the ashes to become stronger. Sarpedon, former Librarian and now Chapter Master, has served as the leader of the nascent chapter for over thirty odd years, through the overthrow of Chapter Master Gorgoleon; the rise of Eumenes; and other crises that have threatened the existence of the chapter. However in the ten years since the Second Chapter War the Soul Drinkers have recovered their strength, the Great Harvest taking place, allowing for more recruits that are not touched by the mutations that Lord Sarpedon suffered from the Changer of Ways. Though Sarpedon had always led the Soul Drinkers, Chaplain Iktinos, one of the last and eldest of the chapter’s Chaplains, has an unknown agenda for the chapter.

Ships: The main ship used by the chapter is the space hulk the “Brokenback”. A Space Hulk is a massive conglomeration of lost ships and wrecks fused together. They drift in and out of the warp through space and during the millennia the lost ships join together into one enormous body. Many times they are so huge that they have their own atmosphere and gravity. The Brokenback is no exception, being one of the largest in recorded eras.

Holdings: None.

RP Sample:

From the sky fell rain. A rain that was not normal or innate to Duomon. Ignorant men heralded it as the coming of a new age. Others, the Chaos occupiers, knew otherwise. It was the rain of hundreds of armored drop pods falling to the ground beneath them from space.

The craft shook like nothing else as Brother-Captain Septrana slapped a clip of ammunition into his bolter. He sat strapped into his safety harness against the wall of the ship. Around him sat fellow brother Marines, each making their own pre-drop preparations. There were thirty inside the drop pod, all waiting with anxious feelings and desire to get to the ground and fight. Septrana commanded 200 Marines of the Xth Company. Septrana went over his battle plan in his head for what must have been the hundredth time. He looked down at his chronometer and then activated his helmet’s vox system.

“Landing will take place in eight minutes! Prepare for combat!” The space marines around Septrana cheered and raised their fists in the air, purple and silver armour gleaming even in the muted light of the drop pod.

Like a speeding comet the drop pod smashed into the earth and slid upon the ground for a short distance before coming to a violent stop. With a blast of depressurized air the side hatch of the pod exploded open and Marines funneled out in choreographed haste. Bolter rifles scanned the terrain and looked for enemy targets.

Septrana looked around himself as he stepped out of the pod. Hundreds of identical pods were falling around him, marines spilling out of them. He turned to the north and saw a great shining city before him, hidden from the sky by a great over arching plinth of mountainous rock. That was his objective. “All squads head for the city! For the Emperor! For Dorn!”

The call was taken up by those nearby and it spread as a ripple through water. Supporting Guard troops began appearing on the flanks of Xth Company, their own objectives being advanced upon. Marine Scouts lunged ahead of both groups, searching to make contact with the enemy. Septrana had his men form up into squads, Guard forces taking up the rear and flanks. The column advanced like a whirlwind waiting to be unleashed.


The heretic occupiers of Duomon were tall, taller than the Guardsmen but shorter than the Space Marines, and fierce fighters. They were armed with old fashioned las locks or captured Guard-pattern las rifles. They were resplendent in long red leather uniforms with golden helmets, silver embossed goggles and masks covering their faces. Sickly sigils of Chaos covered their clothing. More than a few bore trophies of past battles, severed heads with their scalps tied together. They yelled in their ear numbing Warp spawned language as the Soul Drinker marines reached the outskirts of the town. A large building, obviously once a hotel, dominated the main road approach. A large cannon, a captured and desecrated Basilisk, stuck its death brining barrel-eye outwards from the empty shell of the building. With a raucous boom, a shell was launched forward and it tore through a land speeder, its marine occupants turned to molten dead in seconds.


A barrage of Whirlwind missiles roared overhead as the armour support of the X Company screamed towards the heart of the Duomon force. The Chaos soldiers stood atop a perimeter wall of some grey stone and brandished their weapons, firing at useless long range. The missiles screamed in from the distance and a series of explosions lit up the horizon. Satisfied that the Chaos artillery had been disposed of, Septrana ordered his first three squads to advance.

Brother Sergeant Karl Vorman, Xth Company standard of the Soul Drinkers grasped in one hand and bolt pistol in the other, led the first squad of the company into the Chaos lines. Possessed of daemonic rage, the Chaos soldiers and heretics hurled themselves bodily at the Blood Drinker marines. Their attacks were in vain as purple-armored fists crushed skulls, bolter shells tore muscle and sinew apart, flamers and melta-guns incinerated skin and bone. Very soon, the first few squads struggled to make headway, their progress impeded by the waves of Chaos dead at their feet.

Septrana tore his chainsword free from a dead Chaos heretic and in one smooth movement turned and hammered the pommel into the face of his heretical compatriot. The blow shattered the man’s forehead with an audible crack, killing him before his limp body began its fall to the ground. Kicking the corpse to one side, Septrana followed the men of the third and fourth squads towards the breeched walls of Duomon’s capital.

Suddenly the head Librarian Galmark appeared in front of Septrana. He held his hand out and shouted, his focused mental energies on the ground beneath a group of Chaos soldiers who were struggling to bring a heavy las cannon to bear against any who might enter the largest breach in the outer wall of the city. With no further warning a white hot ball of flame erupted upwards from the ground, exploding outwards, engulfing the weapon gunner and dozens of men around him.

Their moral broken at the sight of their comrades being turned to charred ash the rest of the Chaos line fell back in retreat. Bolter rounds took many in the back, their chests exploding outwards in a gory shower of blood and entrails. Assault Marines powered up their jet packs and fell atop the enemy, cutting them down as they ran like so many vermin.

Sergeant Karl Vorman stepped to the top of a rubble pile and raised the battle standard of the Xth Company. “Into the city! Victory is ours! For the Emperor! For Dorn!”

“For the Emperor! For Dorn!” came the brutal war cry from the throats of hundreds of Soul Drinker Marines, swarming around the standard bearer and through the breach in the walls. Septrana stepped past the sergeant and clapped his hand on the marine’s shoulder.

“Good work brother-sergeant.”

“The Emperor wills it,” responded Brother-Sergeant Karl Vorman piously.

He winked at Septrana and leapt down the pile of rubble and into the streets beyond the walls. There the waves of Space Marines and more numerous Guardsmen swarmed, all heading to the large ziggurat at the center of the city.

Nation - Veneficus Regnum


Solar System

Star: Called Phoebus, the Veneficus star is a small, yellow dwarf much like Sol, composed of just .85 solar masses. It has few abnormalities of note but, for the past few hundred years has undergone an increased period of coronal mass ejections, specifically along the plane that the Veneficus’ planet orbits. These ejections, and the havoc they wreck on electrical circuitry, is one of the reasons that the Pulsatus have not developed advanced technologically in the recent age (any experiment to try and create a computer ends with it getting fried when the next CME hits).

Planets and Other Stellar Bodies

Phoebus 1 orbits .5 AU away from Phoebus, it is a rocky planet that is volcanically and tectonically unstable, possessing an atmosphere composed mostly of carbon dioxide, sulfur, and other volcanic substances. It’s soil is made up of the same substances mixed with grounded igneous rock and is on average three meters thick before hitting solid rock. It possesses no oceans of note.

Phoebus 2 is the planet that the Pulsatus live on, orbiting on average .91 AUs away from the sun, an axis of rotation of 4.5 degrees, and a day of 21 hours. It is a humid world, roughly half land and half water with the land separated into three continents. Due to it’s small tilt it has little in what’s called seasons, with the global climate summed up to being in a permanent tropical summer (although it blends into a pleasant temperate summer near the poles). Because of the climate most of the planet is covered in forests or jungles, followed by plains and valleys. However, the most striking feature of the planet is seen on the night side, where the powerful ley lines can be clearly seen as light blue lines criss-crossing over the globe (the lines are present during the day too, but are hard to see in the reflected light on the day side. Phoebus 2 also lacks any moons to speak of.

Phoebus 3 is the last planet in the system, and is your typical gas giant around three-forth the size of Jupiter. It is a fairly unremarkable planet, having only a few thin rings around it that were probably formed when moons collided with one another. Phoebus 3 has only five moons left in it’s orbit, ranging from large captured asteroids to one moon that is half the size of Phoebus 2.

Outside Phoebus 3 is an asteroid belt, slightly thicker than the Sol version but not typical scifi you can’t spit through it dense. Beyond this is a cloud of comets, asteroids, and small planetoids similar to the Kuiper belt.


Nearby Star Systems

The Phoebus star system has the potential to jump to six different star systems, as seen in this star map of their local space (http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c98/kentrien/PhoebusStarMap_edited-1.jpg?t=1236383283). Primoris, the closest world, is a white dwarf surrounded by a small planetary nova three AUs wide. Illumino (interestingly translated as 'That, He ate THAT') is a blue giant/orange dwarf binary system with a few scattered worlds existing in places where the gravitational tides haven't torn them apart. Geonovas is a star that is undergoing the process of turning into a red giant, and any habitable worlds are now being cooked alive. Neferon is a brown dwarf, to cold to support life. Solarus is a yellow dwarf star, much like Phoebus, and has two worlds that could possibly support life. Finally, Auruma is an orange dwarf that seems to glitter like gold in the Phoebus night sky, but otherwise is unremarkable.

Note though, that while the Regnum may claim these star systems as their own, and occasionally their ships may travel from system to system, they do not have any possessions on these worlds, yet.


Species in Veneficus

While the Pulsatus are the most common sentient species (and the only ones natural to the planet), they are not the only species. Because of the high amount of ambient Potential on the planet, it is a frequent visitor to species of magic (or some dimensional beings that just know magic), however such willing visits are rare. More commonly, visitors to Veneficus get dumped there in some random Rift that opens on a Ley Line Nexus or, rarer, a Ley Line storm. However, these aliens only comprise 1% of the planet’s sentient population, and vary way to much to be talked about in detail. Note, however, that beings that resemble dragons (or at least large, reptilian beasts that speak, sometimes breathe fire, and posses great magical capabilities) sometimes appear as well.

Pulsatus

Appearance: Pulsatus look roughly akin to humans, standing just under five feet tall for both sexes, with their frame appearing lankier than most humans. The most striking difference between Pulsatus and humans is their facial features - Pulsatus have a smaller, flatter nose and a slight glow in their irises for those that have trained in the magical arts. Their ears are also pointed, but not in the elf like way, it could be described as having the ear lobes stretched out into a point and pulled away from the face (the pointed ear lobe being just about an inch long). The thing that catches most humans off guard when looking at these though, is that both men and women have facial hair, although the men grow it faster than the fairer sex.

Other Info: Although the Pulsatus appear almost exactly like humans except for a few details, they differ in their capabilities, although resemble them in their wide range of emotions and other such personality traits that can be summed up to ‘human’. Physically a Pulsatus’ frame is built weaker than a human’s, and thus they possess weaker strength and stamina, however they have roughly the same dexterity or speed. They have an edge over humans though in the area of mental and magical strength, their average I.Q. being 110-125 of the old Earth, 21st century measurement. Of course, the one area that Pulsatus’ really shine over humans is their capability for magic, the degree for which ranges from those with no proficiency for it, to the average citizen with a basic grasp of the lower level spells, up to the legendary magicians that can (almost) seem to bend reality to their will.


Government

The Veneficus Regnum could be described as a confederacy, with most of the power belonging to the constituent regions under the banner of the Regnum. The Regnum itself has very little power, given the authority to manage disputes between Protectorates, can have a small, permanent army under it’s command as well as being able to marshal the collected forces of the Protectorates in times of war or crisis, and (recently) given the power to negotiate treaties or alliances with powers outside of Phoebus (although the representatives of the Protectorates must vote in favor of it with a 3/4ths majority).

The actual power thus belongs to the Protectorate Council. Each Protectorate is allowed to govern it’s territory as it wishes, so long as it does not violate a few, key principles (no permanent or generational enslavement or servitude, citizen’s get a say in how their government runs, and the governments can’t infringe on a citizen’s liberties and privacy, as noted in the Regnum Doctrine). The actual council that they appoint to ‘control/oversee’ the Regnum - called the Regnum Concilium - is composed of one representative from each of the five Protectorates, as well as two representatives that speak on the half of the Regnum, for a total of seven representatives.


Subcultures

Apart of the Veneficus Regnum are groups of people that defy the norm (those that exist with magic and technology coupled together), although there are potentially hundreds of exceptions. The two major ‘subcultures’ are known as the Shamanists, and the Technojockies.

Shamanists are those who have sworn off technology, and thus rely exclusively on their magical capability. They don’t shun civilization though, and while most live in the country side or near unpopulated jungles, some live in the cities - believing that so long as they don’t use the ‘dirty’ technology themselves their Potential Spirit will remain clean.

Technojockies are virtually the opposite, mostly composed of people that don’t have the skill or capability for magic. Instead they swear by technology, studying science and mathematics. Interesting though, they have played an important part in the evolution of the Veneficus civilization, being responsible for most of the pure technological advances (as well as the occasional vacuum tube computer that fries out every few months).


Technology/Ships

Magic: Unlike most nations, the Veneficus Regnus is not technologically advanced, stuck at an age that’s roughly equivalent to 1960s Earth, in part to the Coronal Mass Ejections from their sun as well as the fact that they developed magically, more than technologically. Magic, however, is not a power that lets them throw away reality at will, in fact it has a science of it’s own. Their magic can be summed up as this: People with the capability to use magic, or devices embedded with the capability to use it by technomages, pull upon an arcane energy to cause something that shouldn’t happen, to happen. What this energy is goes by many names in Veneficus, up to and including; Mana, Life Force, Arcana, and just energy. However, the common name for this is called Potential, for it is believed that the force that powers magic stems from the potential energy life forms have to change and grow (strangely enough, this has lead them to believe that their actual world is alive, because it has it’s own collective Potential Energy pool, thus implying it can grow and change as much as any human could).

This is also what divides living practitioners of magic from techno wizard devices however. Living mages can hold a ‘pool’ of this potential energy burrowed or siphoned from other life or from the planet, and can thus use it at will. However devices have Potential Batteries built into them, and when the battery is depleted, any magical properties it imparted stop working, and will remain inactive until either a) the device is taken to a high concentration of Potential to naturally recharge (as it’s designed to do), or b) be recharged by a mage who imparts some of his own stored Potential into the battery.

FTL: The Veneficus Regnus has two FTL drives at it’s disposal, the more useful, interstellar FTL device known as a Leyline Transport Drive, and the less useful, more dangerous and random Rift Drive that allows them to make small jumps around their own star system. The Leyline Transport Drive turns the vessel it’s attached to into magical energy, and then transmits it through naturally occurring space ley lines that cross through space and (theoretically) time. In a strange quirk of coincidence (or perhaps not?) these ley lines correspond to the jump routes in use by the other powers in local space. A small problem though, is that travel along space ley lines is faster the more powerful that space ley line is. Virtual translation - the farther away a ship is moving from Phoebus, or any other star system strong in magic, the SLOWER it goes.

The Rift Drive though, is something else. While the Leyline Transport Drive (for simplicity, now called the Line Transport Drive) turns the ship into magical energy and transmit it very much like a message (then recomposed at the designated port), the Rift Drive uses vast amounts of Potential to rip a tear in space and time in two places, thus allowing (usually) instant travel between the two points. The problem with this device is that it requires a high amount of power, most Rift Drives only have a battery large enough to power two jumps (one to go somewhere, one to come back), however, the drive can be recharged by an exceptionally powerful magus onboard the vessel, or by orbiting Phoebus II or the star (both have high enough Potential in their orbits). The other problem, is that beyond a couple million miles the chance of something going wrong increases exponentially. This ranges from having the travel taking time (anywhere from a few minutes, to a few hours, to days, to years, to millennia, etc.), not ending up at other point at all and just coming back into existence at the start point some time later, or worst of all, being sent to some other dimension or time with no hope to return! (Better hope you get the universe of gratuitous sex and pleasure.)

Ships: The majority of Veneficus’ ships are nothing more than chemical rockets with a Rift Drive slapped onto it (thus bringing the picture of a 1960s era rocket with a spider-like device wrapping it’s six ‘legs’ around the forward-center of the rocket). These comprise most of what they call their ‘space fleet’, armed with only a few protective magical endowments and, at most, a lightning gun on it’s nose in case of emergencies. These ships are not capable of (safe) interstellar travel, and thus are usually reserved to exploring their own solar system.

Beyond these ships are newer vessels that can actually be described as space vessels. Picture something akin to a Firefly ship (from, guess, the Firefly T.V. series) with two, large, chemical rockets strapped to it’s sides and you’ve got a general idea of what you’re dealing with. These vessels are equipped with a Rift Drive for travel within their own solar system, as well as a Leyline Phase Drive for interstellar travel. Unlike it’s weaker companion, it is better defended (capable of projecting a magical barrier around it akin to a force field, as well as magical endowments that lessen the damage of energy weapons or other stellar phenomena against it’s hull), as well as armed with two, heavier lightning guns for self defense.

Note that, besides these ships, there are designs in the works for a dedicated war ship to defend Regnum space, however all designs center around it being built away from the planet in zero gravity. Theories about building a dock around the planet, or constructing it out of the center of an asteroid are being proposed, but so far are unfeasible by themselves.


(Short) History

Magic, or rather the Science of Potential, was nothing new to the Pulsatus, an art that predated what is usually referred to as technology and continued to evolve with it. However, just as humans got arrogant with their technology, so did with the Pulsatus. Magic was thought to be so controlled, so understood, that it was everywhere in their civilization, they couldn’t function without it. The televisions, the radios, boats, planes, street cleaners, phones, everything had some connection to Magic, even if it didn’t need to be. Thus the disaster when suddenly, the planet’s supply of Potential started to run dry. Without Potential for technomages to pull off of to charge their devices, their society started to fall apart at the seams. The desperation was so great that the strongest government in power at the time resolved to do whatever it takes to save their way of life.

They did this by performing a massive ritual in the center of their capital city and, at the climax of the ritual, detonated the first nuclear weapon. In the blink of a second millions died, their collective Potential energy from the innocent citizens, as well as the mages that had gathered willingly, was used in the ritual. Unfortunately the ritual did what it was supposed to do to well. At that instant space and time at the capital city was punctured, torn asunder, and a new, greater source of Potential energy flowed into the world. Theoretically it was what the mages wanted, they refreshed, nay, empowered with the world with more Potential than had ever been recorded! Practically they failed, for this new influx of energy overloaded the world’s Ley Lines, natural disasters thus spun off from various nexuses causing thousands to die. Those thousands then imparted their Potential energy to the ley lines, causing a cycle of devastation that destroyed almost all of their civilization.

Fifteen years later, when the planet finally settled down again, a new government formed out of the wreckage. Numbering at just over a few million people, they divided the world into five zones called Protectorates, and from there rebuilt their civilization. Remarkably, most of their former knowledge was preserved, and in the coming hundred years they managed to push out into space and develop means of travel with other races they had encountered.


RP Sample

Avitus Agrippa, servant hand to Vitus Marcus, stood before the window of his master’s office. His young, inquisitive eyes looking out amongst the capital city of the Veneficus Regnum, those blue irises trying to peer far out into the distance. At a first glance the blue sky over the rebuilt skyscrapers looked normal, the only blemish being what might have been a mirage far off into the distance. But the young servant knew better, he knew that what might have been a heat mirage rising far into the distance was the remnants of the greatest rift his planet had ever seen, a rift that had almost destroyed their civilization.

It amazed him every time he looked at it. Some say the reaction was common upon those that looked into the eyes of their god, and yet maybe that’s what he had been doing. That rift, the creation of deaths of millions and the efforts of hundreds of mages, did almost destroy them. Yet, in the end it was what saved their way of life, the Potential that flowed forth still fueled their planet, which in turn fueled the mages and the devices that relied on Potential to function. It was through that Rift that they gathered the power to finally start pushing out into the stars. To Avitus, it was both a mighty force of destruction, and yet a source of hope and life, a paradox that utterly baffled and captivated the young mage in training.

“Avitus, it’s time for us to go. The Ortus Astrum is waiting to ferry us into orbit to greet our friends,” his Master’s voice called him away from his silent vigile.

The young student turned to look at his Master, beaming him a cheery, youthful smile, “Of course Master, I’m ready to-.” He never did quite finish that sentence, as before he finished it his Master had casted the teleportation spell. In what felt like an instant he suddenly had the queasy sensation that his body was being turned inside out, then bounced hard against the floor as they ‘landed’ onboard the aft deck of the ship. If it wasn’t for the fact that he had experienced the sensation before, the young wizard would have probably required a cleaning spell.

Still, he didn’t have much time to recover as his Master guided him to a seat, reminding him to buckle in. A good thing too, for but a moment later (or what he thought was a moment later, his concept of time was somewhat confused due to the recent teleportation) he felt the powerful chemical engines on either side start up. The forward movement pushing him back against the seat, and in that instant he thanked the Great Rift for the spell that prevented him from really being pushed against that chair with the full force those engines had at their disposal.

That left his mind to wonder about what strange aliens they were about to meet, he had never of course met the outsiders, only heard of them through his Master.


Reason I Want to join: It’s an interesting idea, but more than this I think it’ll give me a chance to RP with those that are better than me, which I hope will increase my own RPing ability by interacting with them. Also, I needed an excuse to create this nation. =D

Hmm.

It would require significant changes to my national lore, but I may be interested.

Expect more...

Vojvodina-Nihon, if you could draw up a vague-ish map of your territory (even a paint map with stars and names of stars on it would be fine), with no more than 20 stars, I'll integrate that into the main map asap. By that, of course, I mean whine to Mekanta.

Every time I adjust the map, I contemplate discretely adding another star system to Hegemony space to offset overcrowding among the Hegemony's cattle...

Be nice! *smacks hand*

Vojvodina-Nihon, if you could draw up a vague-ish map of your territory (even a paint map with stars and names of stars on it would be fine), with no more than 20 stars, I'll integrate that into the main map asap. By that, of course, I mean whine to Mekanta.

Following Mek's format:
http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/3893/57846935.gif

If you need any more information, drop me a line via TG, IRC, MSN, or XQZJ.

Ehh.
Just noticed this thread.
I'm a generally new FT RPer, and was wondering if it was too late to hop in.
I'll be getting everything up for the application soon enough.