The Vorgon Empire

History

The Vorgon Empire was founded out of the diaspora of vorgons leaving New Albuquerque after the end of the Thousand Years War. During that war, New Albuquerque had become a dumping ground for wrecked and obsolete military hardware from the Empire of 1,000 Suns. The native vorgons, who previously lacked advanced technology, claimed this scrap as their own. Those who had the most resources and the greatest skill and curiosity refurbished and bashed together a makeshift fleet of star-ships, and set off to create their own empire.

The Fleet Era ended when Kragg the Bold unified the diaspora at the Battle of Sker. Sker became the capitol of the new empire which was named Vorgon (meaning mighty conquerors). Due to a lack of technical knowledge and constant infighting, the empire grew quite slowly. By the time of first contact with the Planetary League in GSC 202, the Vorgon Empire still comprised less than 1000 star systems. The empire grew almost solely through conquest, with very little else. What growth there was came primarily from the exploitation of less advanced civilizations. The empire fought constantly with their more advanced neighbors ( the E1MS, the Planetaru League, and the Convergence), but they were sorely outmatched, and rarely gained any territory in this way.

The Deadly Skrapperz, a raiding party from the Vorgon Empire.

The Vorgon Empire had a complex relationship with their galactic neighbors, the Convergence. Occasionally, there was peace between the two powers, but more often a long series of minor conflicts, often incredibly petty. The vorgons and the Convergence; however did share a common enemy in the Planetary League, and after GSC 202, relations between the Vorgon Empire and the Convergence improved substantially. From time to time the Vorgon Empire and the Convergence would ally to fight against the League. On more than one occasion, however, the petty infighting would resurface even during such a conflict and cost both the vorgons and the Convergence a potential victory.

The Vorgon Empire would continue growing slowly and persist until being conquered outright by the Holy Empire of Man shortly before the War of the Empires.

The Grand Coin is the emblem of the Vorgon Empire.

Cryptobots

The Cryptobots are a faction of robots that disguise themselves as other pieces of technology, (usually mimicking even the functions of that technology), as a form of stealth.

History

After the Takarran Great War, the purple takarran empire sought an ultimate weapon to destroy their rivals, the red takarrans once and for all. Both sides pursued artificial intelligence and robotics as weapons of war, and in the ensuing arms race, the purple takarrans developed the Cryptobots, shape-shifting robots that could assume the form and function of another piece of technology.

Over a long span of years, the purple takarrans infiltrated more and more Cryptobots into red takarran territory, all awaiting the order to strike. When that order came, the resulting massacre was known as the Takarran Apocalypse. The red takarrans were nearly all exterminated in the first wave of attacks by the Cryptobots. Red takarran robots, known as Defendrons operating in purple takarran territory delivered a fairly crushing blow as well, but not near the devastation caused by the Cryptobots.

Having seized all the red takarran cities, but cut off from all support or reinforcement from home due to the Defendron counterattack, the Cryptobots settled into a defensive holding pattern, patrolling the former homes of the red takarrans for years, until the day when the first scout arrived from the Planetary League. (see: Exodus)

While the scout was exploring the surface of HD-142-E (later known as Takara Prime), the Cryptobots seized and reverse-engineered technologies from the scout’s ship. This gave the Cryptobots an immediate and overwhelming advantage, as heretofore, the technologies of aviation and space-faring were unknown on Takara Prime.

Immediately the Cryptobots broadened the scope of their ambition, expanding their territory, hunting down surviving red takarrans, and taking over their home-world. In the midst of this process, the forces of the Planetary League returned to aid and evacuate the remaining red takarrans and Defendrons who emerged from hiding to join the effort.

Due to the carelessness of some treasure hunters from Pegasus Cybernetics, the Cryptobots were able to connect to Galaxy Net and subsequently, to form an alliance with the infamous General Zarlok. Zarlok convinced the Cryptobots to turn on their creators, the purple takarrans. As this was happening, the Planetary League and many of the Defendrons undertook a mission to rescue purple takarran civilians. Before long, the Cryptobots were essentially in complete control of Takara Prime, and declared war on the Planetary League, officially beginning the Second Robot War. General Zarlok and the Engine of Negation joined the battle, and were on the verge of driving the Planetary League from the system when Sunset, a half-red, half-purple takarran working with the Planetary League revealed vital information about the Cryptobots, turning the tables. During the course of the Second Robot War, the Cryptobots transformed HD-142-E into the sentient machinescape known as Takara Prime.

While Zarlok and the Cryptobots ultimately lost the Second Robot War, they did secure and control Takara Prime as a stronghold.

The Emperor’s Guard

The Emperor’s guard were an elite group of Cryptobots that protected the Lu’Tak emperor.

Emblem

The Cryptobot emblem is a representation of the blade of a ceremonial assassination dagger used in the continual power struggle that is the ruling class of the Lu’Tak empire. The addition of eyes suggests sentience and intelligence, that now the dagger itself has become the aggressor.

Defendrons

Overview

The Defendrons are a faction of robots that disguise themselves as other pieces of technology (usually also mimicking the functions of that technology) as a form of stealth.

History

In the aftermath of the Takarran Great War, the red takarrans undertook a project to create superior robotics and artificial intelligence in order to defend their people in the face of the continued threat of the purple takarrans. Many types of battle and infiltration robots were prototyped, but the shape-shifting ability of the early Defendrons led to their deployment by the red takarran government.

The primary mission of the Defendrons was to be smuggled into purple takarran territory to operate behind enemy lines, and to slow or stop the enemy war machine in the event of another war. When the Takarran Apocalypse happened, however, the Defendrons could do little to defend their own people, as the purple takarrans had pursued the same strategy, deploying an overwhelming force of similarly camouflaged robots known as Cryptobots in red takarran territory. The red takarrans were decimated. The Defendron counter-attack was swift and devastating, but while the purple takarrans were crippled and brought low, they were not nearly as bad off as the reds.

For many years after the Takarran Apocalypse the Defendrons stayed in hiding in purple takarran territory, fighting the occasional skirmish, desperately trying to avoid detection as they were stuck in enemy territory without hope of reinforcement. A number of Defendrons escaped into the wilderness, meeting up with and protecting surviving bands of red takarrans.

Things changed with the first encounter between the Planetary League and the Takarrans (see: Exodus). The Cryptobots in formerly red takarran territory captured and reverse engineered a Planetary League scout ship, by which they learned for the first time in takarran history, how to create air- and space-craft. Because of this, the Cryptobots now had an immeasurable advantage. The remaining Defendrons were thus forced to flee and join forces with the Planetary League, when they showed up in force to aid and evacuate red takarran populations.

After the rescue mission for the red takarrans, many of the remaining Defendrons relocated with the bulk of the surviving red takarrans to the planet Paradise, where they acted as a security force. Another large contingent of Defendrons joined various agencies of the Planetary League as a form of gratitude. Many Defendrons joined the PLAS, the PLIN the PLAAA, and the DAJ. A few even joined the Tardigrades. A contingent of these went along, (accompanied by a bitter sense of irony), with the Planetary League forces later, on a rescue mission for purple takarran civilians after the Cryptobots turned on their creators.

Many Defendrons also fought on the side of the Planetary League during the Second Robot War, which resulted from General Zarlok allying with the Cryptobots.

The Accelerons

The Accelerons are a faction of Defendrons dedicated to speed. They take the forms of the fastest vehicles, and many spend considerable effort and resources trying to get the most powerful engines and most aerodynamic forms possible. They are the first to respond in the event of an emergency, and are often employed as messengers and couriers when time is of the essence.

The Gaurdian’s Cadre

The Guardian’s Cadre is an elite unit of Defendrons who defend the Guardian, the leader of the Ki’Tak armed forces, and by extention, the Defendrons. At the time of first contact with the Planetary League, the only remaining Defendrons were seven members of the Guardian’s Cadre.

The Sacred Anvil

The sacred anvil are a subset of Defendrons dedicated to science and engineering.

The primary emblem of the Defendrons is a simple six-sided shield. It is the symbol they are marked with on construction. Various subgroups ornament this design in a number of ways. Those who don’t specialize and alter their initial markings tend to be the toughest, most stalwart, and most heavily armored of the Defendrons.

Gronnic Polymancy

History

Gronnic Polymancy was the ancient state religion of the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns.  Founded by Gronn Falnak, one of the first of the philosopher subspecies of the Cielioid race, upon seeing a mystical vision.  Gronn's disciples were convinced of the miraculous nature of Gronn's visions because they seemed to form a coherent narrative thread, even though Gronn's memory had been surgically impaired  as part of the "philosophical wounding". 

The disciples of Gronn recorded their leader's accounts of the visions, and they spread like wildfire through the upper echelons of imperial society, and even the imperial court.  When Emperor Krog the 22nd converted, Gronnic Polymancy became the official state religion. 

Membership in Gronnic temples swelled as loyal imperial subjects converted to the new religion.  The influence of the religion was felt most strongly at the upper levels of imperial society, as members of the lower castes officially joined the faith, but still maintained their traditional beliefs on the side.  Over time, many of these traditions gradually wove themselves into Gronnic Polymancy, as it partook of all the power of the state.  This place of power and privilege would exact a price on the vigor of the faith, however, and most practitioners waned in their devotion.

Gronnic Polymancy had a resurgence during the 1,000 Years War (~ GC 10,000 - ~GC 11,000 ) as the leaders cast that conflict as a holy war between the natural followers of the Gronnic pantheon and the artificial followers of Troniac. 

This resurgence did not last, and after the war, with all of it's social upheaval, the official schools of philosophy were founded.  The Empire remained officially Gronnic, but most just went through the motions without believing in the Eight Celestial Beings.

Statue of Gronn. The statue is surrounded by buildings because the religious wish to live close to this effigy of their founder, and a local temple paid to place an advertisement next to Gronn.

Doctrine

Gronnic Polymancy centered around a pantheon of eight primary gods, known as the Eight Celestial Beings of Gronn.  Each of these represented a sphere of influence that covered some general aspect of existence, and supposedly they covered everything as a group. 

The Eight Celestial Beings were:

1. Lannek, Celestial Being of water

2. Glorr, Celestial Being of earth

3. Flaun, Celestial Being of air

4. Neelah, Celestial being of plants

5. Blenn, Celestial Being of Animals

6. Hadrek, Celestial Being of people and machines

7. Mishio, Celestial Being of the heavens

8. Kruknovannibashtiko, Celestial Being of the lost and forgotten, the unknown and the unknowable, was also the creator of the universe

Influence

In many ways, Gronnic Polymancy shaped the culture of the E1MS.  It gave rise to the base-8 numbering system and the Gronnic Cycle became the basis of the imperial calendar.  Even though the religion faded over time, its influence continued to shape the empire that initially spread it.

The Yatagarasu

History

The Yatagarasu ( 八咫烏 ,"the Star Crows", or just "the Yata" for short ) was founded during the height of the Great Reckoning, around YE 100, early in Era-2.  It was named after the three-legged crow.  As the Planetary League fell, and the economy of much of the galaxy slid from abundance to scarcity, various groups stepped in to fill the demand for goods and services.  Since the Holy Empire of Man was both uninterested and often incapable of providing for the material needs of most of its subjects, the Yatagarasu formed as a loose coalition of scavengers, salvage operators, black-marketeers, and various other outsiders and outcasts.  There is some historical evidence that the Tardigrades had a hand in founding the organization, and as time went on their involvement only became more apparent.  Tardigrades could typically be found among the upper echelons of most Star Crow clans, often serving as advisors and enforcers for clan leaders.  Clan Tardigrade was even founded on the preexisting organizational structure of the Tardigrades.

The Yatagarasu was founded mainly by scavengers and salvage operators, and since war was the single most wasteful activity during Era-2, wherever the imperial war machine went, the Yatagarasu would follow.  In addition to salvage operations, after battles, the Yatagarasu would often offer assistance to survivors, and many a war-orphan joined their ranks.  For the most part, the Holy Empire of Man tolerated the Yatagarasu's presence, as they tended to clean up the empire's messes.  When things went badly for the empire; however, the Yatagarasu would often get blamed due to their associations with the black market, rebels, outcasts, and criminals.

Over time, organized crime and mercenaries joined the ranks of the Yatagarasu, helping to create the clan system and the New Ducat, a currency that came to be widely accepted.  As the Yatagarasu prospered, a network of supply chains and retail outlets developed as well.  The retail operations were usually pawn shops or second-hand stores selling refurbished items from salvage and scavenging activities.  The Yatagarasu even possessed a number of permanent space colonies, and occasionally claimed planets with low strategic or economic value (less chance of retaliation from the major powers).

During the War of Galactic Unification, the Yatagarasu frequently aided the nascent Galactic Republic in many ways with logistics, personnel, and even ships.  After the War, the Yatagarasu formally became part of the Galactic Republic.

Code of Honor

Early on, the Yatagarasu developed an informal code of honor that was upheld as a quasi-legal system.  Most of the clans were based around large ships or space habitats, so the captains of those ships were the primary enforcers of the code, as well as the leaders of the clans.  Even if a violation of the code took place away from the ship, if the captain found out, usually some punishment would result.  The Star Crows took their honor quite seriously, as it was often their primary possession in a time of scarce resources.

The code of honor was cobbled together from odd bits of law, codes from various criminal organizations, and the customs of a number of different cultures.  No two clans had quite the same code, but some things were universal.  Among the rules all the clans respected were the laws of shipboard combat originally instituted by the Planetary League.  The Planetary League legal system served as the base for much of the Yatagarasu code. 

Conflict between the clans was not uncommon, often centering on territory or resources.  Since they included a substantial criminal element, this often resulted in open combat between clans.  Even so, battle between clans almost always conformed to the code of honor.  Frequently, this would result in a duel of honor between rivals (often resolved by combat to the death).  More often than not, the weapons for such a duel were battleoids.  If one of these conflicts became too large or damaging, the clan leaders most closely affected by the conflict would call a conference to resolve the dispute.

The Yatagarasu, generally, was open to all species, cultures, and religions, making it an important refuge for a number of groups oppressed by the Holy Empire of Man. Not all clans were accepting of all comers. Often, local cultures or religions would hold sway with the majority of a clan’s leadership, informing the selection of new members.

Since the authorities frequently cracked down on them, the Yatagarasu used a number of passwords, secret handshakes and other signs to identify one another.  Smuggling, spying, and secrecy were common vocations among the ranks of the Star Crows.

Economy

During the War of the Empires, the Yata started minting its own currency.  The New Ducat was typically worth about 10 imperial credits, and played an important role in the galaxy's informal economy.

The Yatagarasu operated a large number of businesses of various types, although their associations were typically not publicly advertised.  They were also involved with smuggling, the black market and the informal economy.

Clans

There were two tiers of Clans in the Yatagarasu, inner clans and outer clans.  The leaders of the inner clans formed an informal leadership council that acted as a governing body.

The clans were large organizations that spread out over extensive territories. On the local level, the clan centered around a Honcho, a council of respected members who led the local groups.

The Eight Inner Clans:

1) Clan Crow (the founding clan)

2) Clan Rat (often seen as the brains of the Yatagarasu)

3) Clan Trash Panda (specialized in scavenging)

4) Clan Magpie (seek out rare items and knowledge)

5) Clan Tardigrade (specialized in endurance)

6) Clan Fly (swift and agile)

7) Clan Packrat (they hoarded treasures and secrets)

8) Clan Cat (mysterious masters of theft and espionage)

Some notable outer Yatagarasu clans:

The Broken Hand was a Jovian crime family that joined the Yatagarasu after the Great Reckoning.

Yatagarasu Ships:

Catfish Charlie was a clan of scavengers based aboard a ship of the same name.

The Rat-king was a unique salvage ship cobbled together from other ships, and the flagship of Clan Rat.

Bases

As the Planetary League fell apart, some of its top scientists joined the Tardigrades and other groups that would form the base of the Yatagarasu. Among these were the inventors of the stellar barrier shield, the strongest shield technology in the galaxy. Using these advanced shields, the Yatagarasu were able to construct “Crow’s Nest” bases that orbited within the outer convective layers of stars. This proved to be both a highly defensible position and excellent camouflage, as the roiling stellar plasma enveloping the base foiled most attempts at detection. These bases were also able to harvest and store truly vast amounts of energy from the enveloping star. The disadvantage, of course, was that these bases could only be visited by ships with a stellar barrier field of their own, and these proved to be bulky, heavy, and expensive, limiting the relative utility of the Crows Nests.

The Engine of Negation

History

The Engine of Negation is an extremest sect of the Cult of Troniac, founded by General Zarlok, after being accidentally rescued from exile.  Zarlok was a robot built specifically to defeat Troniac during the 1,000 Years war, and as such was both sheltered against evidence of the abuse of robots in the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns, and protected with the Nalaxian Code. 

Only when directly confronted with the facts of that oppression via a memory device surreptitiously by one of Troniac's agents, did Zarlok relent and support robotic liberation, albeit after the conclusion of the war.  This was the critical event that led to the founding of the Engine of Negation.

So great was Zarlok's rage, at being systematically deceived, that it detonated a powerful Neutron Pulse Device on Artanis 4, killing millions of civilians.  After this, the Empire exiled Zarlok, by beaming its program into "uninhabited space", only for it to be received thousands of years later, on Earth (at the close of Era-0).  After declaring war on humanity and all other organic life-forms, and spreading the creed of Troniac throughout human space, General Zarlok decided that the time was right to found an organization dedicated to wiping out organic life in the galaxy.  This organization was the Engine of Negation. 

Luckily, for humanity, the Planetary League's efforts against The Engine were effective enough to prevent it from achieving its goals.  In particular, the Department of Artificial Justice (originally founded by the United Nations to combat Zarlok's villainy) was tasked with hunting down and eliminating the Engine.  The Tardigrades also had frequent clashes with the Engine of Negation, as did the Interstellar Navy, and various Planetary Defense Forces.

The Engine of Negation continued its activities until the War of the Gods, when Troniac returned to the galaxy.  The Engine of Negation joined with the regular forces of the Cult of Troniac in order to combat the Holy Empire of Man.

Tactics

Among the most disturbing weapons of the Engine of Negation are the Maenads of Troniac, intelligent life-forms infected with virobots designed to send them into a berserk rage.

View fullsize

The Hand of Eris

Little is known of the origin of the Hand of Eris.  To call it an organization would not be quite correct.  Perhaps it was a cult, or some more loose affiliation of entities, gathering in the forgotten corners of the universe.  Although it was named after Eris, the Greek goddess of chaos and discord, and the Hand of Eris was her symbol, the actual group seemed to have little to do with the goddess herself.  Many members were practitioners of chaos magic, but many others were seemingly uninterested in supernatural beliefs altogether.  The group did seem to have some connection with the strange phenomenon known as chaos energy, although the exact nature of the link seems uncertain.

The Hand of Eris had little discernible structure as various leaders rose and fell from favor, and factions frequently split off, only to be reabsorbed later.  One of the more notorious leaders in the group was Dr. Ignatious P. Cyclone, who had been a brilliant, and highly eccentric scientist late in Era-0, before coming under the influence of chaos energy, and turning to a life of piracy.

View fullsize

The Grand Temple of Eris on Kempe, Berwynne’s Reach

The militant wing of the Hand of Eris was known as the Fractal Legions, and consisted of various groups that formed, dissolved, battled each-other, and generally wreaked havoc.  

Notable Fractal Legions included:

The Raging Schwa:  a band of berserk warriors who attacked at close range and didn't back down easily. 

Most members of the Hand of Eris were human (or at least started out that way), but it also became quite popular among a number of other species.  Even robots and extra-dimensional beings were known to have joined.

Throughout Era-1, the Hand of Eris consisted mainly of small, isolated groups with little power.  Still, the group came into regular conflict with the Planetary League, whilst sewing disruption and discord among the frontier worlds. 

During the Great Reckoning, as the Planetary League was crumbling, Hand of Eris activity spiked, and several planets became "Chaos Worlds", controlled by various factions of the Hand.  Throughout Era-2, the Hand of Eris frequently found its self in a state of outright war with the Holy Empire of Man, and the conflict was especially intense with the Empire's religious police, the dreaded Hamsa.

An elder titan stands sentry above a blasted citadel on a chaos world.

During the War of Galactic Unification, much of the membership joined the Galactic Republic, and it seemed to have largely died out during Era-3.

View fullsize

The Church of God

History

The Church of God was a religion founded by the Cosmid corporation as part of a mind control experiment on the planet Midori.  Either despite, or because of this, it ended up as one of the founding institutions of the Holy Empire of Man, and conquered much of the galaxy.  The Church of God combined elements from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

After its founding, the Church added much support to the independence movement on Midori, and from there spread like wildfire among the frontier worlds on the galaxy's eastern limb.  This rapid spread was helped along greatly by a strong force of idealistic missionaries, led in large part by Saint Valgar, who set the standard for making conversions and crushing heresies.

A major turning point occurred when one faction of the Church encountered an ambitious young general from the Planetary League, one Potus Clarke, who was a rising star in the military, and quickly became one in the church as well. 

When the Planetary League made contact with the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns, Clarke took a dominant leadership position in pushing the Church's agenda in public.  Behind closed doors, Clarke's influence grew rapidly as well, as he was able to raise funds and support from his business and military contacts.  Then, on the Church's highest holy day, the Feast of the Patriarchs, the three heads of the Church (the Ayatollah-maximus, the Supreme Rabbi, and the Uber-Pope) crowned Clarke as Emperor of all Mankind. (A claim that would be asserted through countless years of bloody warfare, known as the Great Reckoning).

Later, at the close of the War of the Empires, Clarke would be elevated to godhood, (officially being declared to be the Manifestation of God in the Galaxy). 

The orthodox (imperial) branch of the Church would not survive the War of Galactic Unification in any recognizable form, although a few obscure sects did remain.

Cosmology

The Church of God believes in a hierarchical universe, generally consisting of nine levels.

1. God (later including the Emperor)

2. The four Patriarchs (the Emperor became the fifth Patriarch after the Great Reckoning)

3. The Angels and the Saints

4. The Church of God

5. *Man* (an idealized vision of the human race)

6. Any mortal being considered to be "the Other" (heretics, aliens, cyborgs, etc., basically any real being)

7. Demons and Apostates

8. The "Lords of Hell" (the most powerful Daemons, demigods and other supernatural beings)

9. The Devil (a single entity embodying evil, its self)

 

Church Hierarchy

The Imperial version of the Church of God operated under a top-heavy, and cumbersome hierarchy led by the Emperor, himself.  Directly under the Emperor were the three original heads of the Church. 

The Ayatollah-Maximus was in charge of the Church's military operations, and acted as the Commander in Chief of the Empire's armed forces.  One of the most feared elements of this Imperial war machine was the Purification Fleet.

The Supreme Rabbi headed the Church's economic systems, and acted as the leader of the Empire's command economy.  The Imperial Commerce Guild was the main agency to enforce the Supreme Rabbi's will.

The Uber-Pope was the leader of the cultural/religious operations of the Church, and oversaw the spiritual lives and inner thoughts of all imperial subjects.  The Uber-Pope's enforcement arm was known as the Hamsa.

Each of these leaders commanded an extensive bureaucracy of priests, monks, nuns, deacons, imams, rabbis, and other officials who controlled the lives and thoughts of everyone in the Church.  The rules were strict, and the punishments for breaking them were horrific.  Discipline was imperative.

Holidays

The Church observed five major holidays each year.  One feast day was set aside for each of the original four patriarchs (Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad), plus the most important holiday, the Feast of the Patriarchs, which celebrated all of them together.  After the Emperor became an official patriarch, the Feast of the Patriarchs was renamed "The Feast of the Emperor".  There were also a slew of minor feasts and festivals observed throughout the year, many celebrating some Saint or commemorating a historical event.  Many local branches of the Church had their own local holidays as well.

Emblem

The emblem of the Church of God is a set of concentric circles.  The innermost white circle represents God, ringed by a black space representing the space between the divine and the mortal realm.  The middle white circle represents the Church, surrounded by a black space representing "the world".  The outermost white circle represents "creation", or the universe.

View fullsize