Humans, often referred to by other species as Terrids (and many other names), have long since lost their home world of Earth and taken to the stars. Many alien species are amazed at how the humans divide themselves and constantly war with each other, instead of their conflicts focusing on other broader groupings. While in the past humans identified themselves by the genetic features that tied them together, they now most strongly identified with which political-demographic they identify with (or were born into).
Playable Factions
| Lunars People of Luna have been living under the occupation of the Terran Arms since the tribes initially split. They are known for innovations in technology and the preservation of human history. |
| Martians People of Mars are use to grueling work and living deep underground. They have always maintained independence from the Terran Arms and have challenged them, more then once, militarily. |
| Space Traders The wandering majority. They’ve mixed the cultures of Earth with the aliens they have befriended to create a new faction that does not mourn the death of it’s mother world. Also called Spacers, they identify themselves as belonging to no nation. |
Non-Playable Factions
| Terran Arms Once the unified army of Earth, now the guardians of a dead world. The Terrans use the orbit of Earth as their harbor, from which they reach out and try to control the other factions of man. Fearing the loss of humanity to alien influence, they see their actions as justified for the greater good. |
| Halflings While not a political faction, this term is used to refer to the few and exceptionally rare Human / Fay hybrids that wander space. How they differ from either parent is unique in each individual’s case, but they all face a similar challenge in needing to decide for themselves where they fit in best. |
| Cyborgs Not only composed of humans, but most tend to be from a faction of humanity. These are the fallen in war, the victims of accidents and those who run from mortality. They have more in common with each other then with those from where they came from. Typically they represent both the most independently-minded and the ones with great administrative power; often trusted to run the internal networks of stations and to uphold the galaxy-wide-web. |
| Pretenders Acitox and Que are both Alien Species with the ability to shapeshift. Although their mimicry is not flawless, there is a portion of both alien groups that have chosen to live as, or otherwise replace, humans. They go to great lengths to conceal their true selves and have fabricated evidence to support their claims. Many participate in data collection and identity theft as part of an endless cycle to shed their old persona for a new one and to help others start “pretending”. |
Factions FAQ
Q: Are the Terran Arms an Evil Empire?
A: They’re on the edge of becoming an evil empire. The Terran Arms (or TA for short) are currently a political bully, which often turns into a military bully when they want to muscle in and take resources for themselves. The greatest power they hold over all other aliens and factions is they are the most well-armed, organized group in space which can then take actions as a solid united front. Technically other factions, alien or human, can challenge them at times but it is difficult for any particular alliance of forces to push them off for good. The reason why they are not an evil empire yet mostly has to do with their enshrinement of Earth; instead of wanting to reach out and control everything, they have very particular parameters and long as they get their way, when they force an issue, they then tend to leave everyone else alone. However, any day now something could change and they could decide to alter their mission statement.
Q: Will Cyborgs become playable?
A: Honestly, the reason why cyborgs are currently unplayable is that implementing the concept within the game hasn’t been figured out yet. We’ve talked about it extensively and our only conclusion to the issue so far is that it will be a very complicated undertaking. For that reason, we’re currently trying to focus on other aspects of game design and leaving the Cyborg option to be addressed at a later date when there aren’t as many basic aspects to the game that need to be worked out.
If you would really like to create a Cyborg character purely for role play purposes, and don’t care about game stats, then at this stage of play testing and development you can just say a character is a cyborg. However, this creative choice cannot then be used as an argument or justification for altering your character’s stats outside of the normal parameters of their faction or species.
Q: Will Halflings become playable?
A: Again, this is similar to the Cyborg issue. However, just like the Cyborg, we would say you can play as a Halfling in the following way; Go ahead and create either a human Space Trader or a Fay player character and then say that they are a Halfling. This is obviously a very janky solution, but the truth is this might end up being the default method to making Halfling characters for quite while.
Q: What do humans from these factions physically look like?
A: In this future setting, humanity has completely scrambled together; which is part of the reason humans divide themselves into these factions instead of by other more simplistic differences. When making your character, imagine a person that could have any combination of facial features and pigment combinations. Not enough time has passed for completely new mutations (such as purple hair) to show up, but it’s now considered to be unusual to visibly represent any particular regional group once found on Earth.
Q: Is there anyway for my human character to have inhuman coloration?
A: As stated above, there’s no way a full human could have naturally yellow eyes or green hair. However, aesthetic modifications that currently exist now (hair dyes, contact lenses) exist in the future as well as more expensive permanent modifications done through surgery. If you want a more in-universe tie in to your characters unusual appearance, consider choosing colors found in Fay and then simply say they had an alien relative somewhere far back. (Lore Note: Halflings are most often sterile, so it is considered very rare to have one as a genetic relative)
