Immaculate NES II: Emperor of the Fading Heavens (pre-NES thread)

[Immaculate]

I've had a look at what you wrote in the PM orange and it looks great. Thomas- you can go into a BIT more detail.

Also, if you want, it might be worth discussing how the house makes a living (usually the vast majority of its serfs are substinence farmers but do you have some mines? textiles? fisheries?)

Also- there are six planets avaiable to choose from (see next post)

 

[Immaculate]

Think about your homeworld (you can be spread over more then one world if you want).

there will be:

archipelago world -rocky and cold but fairly habitable with good fisheries and mining resources, good oil wealth in the sea

desert world- fairly warm, very windy, infrequent fertile valleys- actually produces significant food in these valleys and flood plains, again, good oil wealth

jungle world- lots of plants, very warm, savage wildlife, exotic farming methods required makes farming difficult in the short term but potentially lucrative in the long term- lots of lakes

a dry mountainous world with slightly above average gravity- good resources- most recent planet to be reclaimed from the symbiots- lots of mineral wealth, little food, gate to stigmata makes a new symbiot invasion a possibility

icey world full of coniffers and wildlife- like northern canada or something- equater is great for food. lots of hunting and fishing. mineral resourcses are above average-especially at the poles.


also-i need names for these planets- preferably something that is a nod to a science fiction writer or something. so one might be called Asimov or something like that.


you can't live on stigmata (too many symbiots) leagueheim (unless you are a guild house) or errovus (thats for the church)

 

[orangelex44]

So how many planets total? Nine, with four of them being Stigmata, Leagueheim, Errovus, and Errovus Secondus?

You mention six planets, but only give five biomes. Is there overlap?

As for names, if you want sci-fi... Asimov, Hubbard, Turtledove (not exactly SF, or at least, not solely), Ringo, Weber, Heinlein, Herbert, Niven, Clarke (can't believe I almost forgot Clarke...), Scott Card. I've read them all.

 

[Diamondeye]

My suggestion for names would be that the Archipelago World is called Lower Veekravd as a not to the creator of a universe that inspired many city names and religious aspects of the original Lanun. The desert world could be Far Cerrhbad, nod to the creator of "Dune". The others, I have no deal knowledge, so I'm going to throw out some random shots.
Jungle: Scahumit, Mountains: Alkhaz, Ice: Incillia (the 'c' pronounced 'k').

I'll try to push out some ideas about a Sheaim descendant small house on the mountaineous planet, I think.

 

[Immaculate]

Clarification:
you have access to six planets:
the five i mentioned that remain to be named.
In addition there is Errovus secondus which is a central planet that you will all have some influence on serfs on (think of it like today's UN HQ)

Also there is leigeheim, stigmata and errovus.

 

[Immaculate]

Sceptres:

There are 47 sceptres in total.
25 are owned by the reamining great noble houses (5 to each of 5 houses)
12 are owned by 12 of the minor noble houses (1 to each of 12 houses)
5 are owned by the Universal Church (and awared by its patriarch according to his whims)
5 are owned by the League of Guilds (and usually awarded to its most prosperous or influential guilds).

What are the sceptres?

The sceptres each represent a single vote for imperial regent. They are also each entrusted to a specific individual (characters within your house or one of the NPC factions). Every twenty years (4 turns; each turn is 5 Erebus years) a new regent will be voted into power. The candidates are free to campaign however they like but must be a sceptre holder. Voting is performed through the sceptres themselves and the vote represents the opinion of the sceptre-holder (and may or may not represent the opinion of the player controlling that noble house depending on character loyalty).

The imperial regent is heir to the throne of the assassinated emperor and of the imperial fleets, armies and espionage bureaus. The imperial regent must appoint a sceptre holder to each of these appointment: ‘Imperial Fleet Admiral’, ‘Imperial Guards Captain’, and ‘Keeper of the Imperial Eye’. The sceptre holder may assign his own house to any single one (and no more then one) of these appointments if they so wish (but will then have 2 of its characters involved in politics and less available for their own use (which could be good or bad). No single house can hold more then one of these appointments at any one time. Failure to vacate the seat after the election will result in prompt and rapid response by the other noble houses and by the church as well as the sceptres themselves which guard against this sort of behaviour.

The sceptres are either magical or of extremely high technology that they might as well be magical. The bearer of the sceptre is bonded to it (a process that takes 20 years) and gains immunity to age and resistance to poisons and disease (though some of the poisons and diseases designed in the last century are so lethal that the sceptre will provide no protection whatsoever).

Additionally the sceptres allow instantaneous communication over any distance (voice only) which should greatly assist with diplomacy and explaining how messages are getting around so quickly.

I made a mistake.
I meant that the noble houses have 3 sceptres each, not five. forgive my mess. You get THREE sceptres as a major noble house, 1 as a minor noble house. there are 37 total sceptres.

 

[Immaculate]

In regards to 'research facilities'

note that not all research is heretical. the church doesn't care if you learn about material sciences (new building materials) or petroleum industry (new fuel technology) and if you have good relations they aren't going to draw too much attention to your electronics industry or computers... its things like cybernetics and genetic engineering and stem cell research that gets their panties in a knot. oh and symbiot physiology... obviously magic too.

 

[Immaculate]

Another thing you'll need to do:
provide some info about 4 or more members of your major noble house and list which 3 have sceptres and why the others are important to your operations. if you have a minor noble house, then list 3 or more of your members and who has the sceptre. If you are playing a guild or church sect then please describe 2 or more of your members (one of which can be an immortal- for wahtever reason- strong theurgy rituals or powerful technology)

 

[orangelex44]

House Query


Summary

Spoiler :

House Query’s leadership has long been under the control of the family Quer. Such is the official line, and indeed the house’s crown lies there. However, everyone understands the truth, and the truth is that the crown is there because the real rulers want it that way. Every Crownbearer – for there have been no kings of Quer - has been surrounded by his Trusted Council, the members of which are ‘delegated’ virtually all powers of rule. Membership to the Council is fluid, and given to any who make a claim and survive long enough to actually take a seat in the Council Chamber. Because of this, the number of Councilmen varies; historically, there have been as many as forty or as few as one. There are currently eleven (sitting) members, a number that includes all the Sceptreholders within Query. There are also two other members, but one might not be technically alive and the other hasn’t been seen for a hundred years.

This scheme of rule has led to a few unexpected twists. Several times in the past, totally unrelated families have announced themselves as members of the Trusted Council, and a handful actually managed the task and suddenly become rulers. In theory, this is actually still possible; however, the Chamber is now located in a ferrocrete bunker half a mile underneath the ground, and without proper authorization the only means to access it requires its total destruction. Those past few “made families” that did accomplish the coup, though, give the House some more… unique… talents, associates, and beliefs.

Even though the Crownbearer is little more than a figurehead, without even a Sceptre, his/her presence still demands a strong loyalty from the peasantry of the House. The nobles are another story, but for the most part the most powerful end up on the Trusted Council anyway. The nobles also know that refusing Council orders would mean they’d never get a chance to be on it, so their scheming is generally channeled against each other in order to gain recognition. The eclectic nature of the newer families is also both a boon and bane; a boon, because the House tends to have friends in unexpected places, but a bane since those friends can often be on a less-than-cordial relationship with the Church. There has never been *proof* of heresy within Query itself, but many clergy like to end that statement with “yet”.

Summary Pt. 2

Spoiler :

Projected Strengths:
- rather more loyal/popular than average, especially among the people
- have some knowledge of forbidden tech and magic
- has contact with the grey market, including elves (see families)
- if necessary, can grant foreigners membership to the Council

Projected Weaknesses:
- Crownbearer, even as a figurehead, is vulnerable and Bad Things would happen if he died
- nobles tend to squabble a bit; not to damage the House, but not necessarily helping it either
- questioned by the Church

As for military/economic balance, Query isn’t really known for either. It’s a major House, so it’s not *bad* at either, but they don’t focus on one or the other to any huge extent.

Historically, the Trusted Council has actually been pretty trustworthy. They keep a healthy paranoia, but they don’t go out of their way to betray anyone. Within the House that isn’t as true, and backdoor deals are, well, backdoor deals, but assuming that signed agreements announced by the Crownbearer will be kept is fine.

Families: (a * indicates Councilman, a # indicates a Sceptre/Councilman)

Spoiler :

Quer – traditional bearers of the Crown, but in reality, kept powerless

Sterling *# – one of the oldest, but generally liberal, families, usually has at least one member on the Council

Creyban * – much like Sterling; the two have been allied for a long time

Moran-Buxby *** - again, old, but much more conservative than, and a traditional rival of, the above two

Fye # - warrior family, with the Sceptre given to the House Guard general

Newbhr * - “made family” known mostly for their corruption and decadence lifestyles; conservative

Black * - another “made family”; the name is probably made-up, since they are rumored to be part elvish

Berkely * - warriors, mostly friendly rivals of Fye, but are more open to semi-legal means than the other group

Alstan-Quer # - actually a branch of Quer, however, you can’t hold a Sceptre with the crown…

Reynseirholfer* - conceited; they forced their only Councilman into deep freeze, so they’d always have a seat

Smith* – “made family”, August Smith is/was a thief, and stole a Councilship before disappearing

Alstan – another old family, which married into Quer, has been on the Council in the past

Vyryr – “made family”, renowned for scholarship

Nerre – parties with the Newbhr, if anything more corrupt

Aistebon – “made family”, openly criminal when they joined, and probably worse now

Winston – fabulously rich, fabulously conservative, and absolutely detest politics

Timothy – best known for never managing to either rise or fall from mediocrity

Grey – the first “made family”, descendents of an extremely lucky janitor

People: (first three are Sceptreholders)

Spoiler :

Ichabod Sterling - quite young in appearence (he was twelve when the bonding process began), but not particularly good-looking. Dispite his looks, he's quite intelligent and responsible. Liberal, by nobility standards, and while he's no heretic technology doesn't bother him much. Optimist, pretty friendly, and rather the pacifist.

Gustavus ('Guy') Fye - taciturn and scarred, Guy still manages to be a successful womanizer. He also drinks pretty heavily at times, and associates a little too much with the Newbhr. However, he tries to only indulge his vices when not on duty, and as a combat commander is about as good as you can hope for. He may not be a natural genious at war, but he has many years of experience and good training to make up for it.

Nytalia Alstan-Quer - originally next in line for the crown, Nytalia proved herself too effective to be sidelined. When the Trusted Council maneuvered to keep Sceptres within the Chamber, she countered by renouncing her greater lineage and took her husband's name. A devious intellect with adequate, if not first-rate, looks, it is not possible to underestimate her ambition.

Carson Moran-Buxby - staunch conservative, loyal to a fault for House and family. Has two kids with him on the Council, and is well-known for nepotism. Not the most competent person in the world, but he at least knows when and how to get out of the way for others to do the job right.

Alex Black - the Blacks were originally a mercenary 'family', more likely a squad, that took their first Council seat by force. The proven brilliance of that first Black, and the inexplicable competence of the group's descendants, has since made the Blacks a constant presence in the Chamber. Rumor says at least one of those first mercenaries was part, or even full, elf; the current Blacks are certainly not saying anything, but their lifespans have always been suspicously long, and Alex, at least, has an astounding beauty.

Nikolai Newbhr - scion of a family with more than a touch of insanity, Nikolai proudly follows in the grand footsteps of his ancestors: women, wine, the occasional hallucinagen, and the endless determination to die of pleasure. Fools might stop there, but carrying on the patented Newbhr lifestyle requires a large income. Whether the family has good underlings or a secret talent for economics is moot; the Newbhrs are equally as good at gaining as they are at spending.

EDIT: oh, and I forgot Assets:

Spoiler :

Military Units:
House Guard - equipped with some rather neat, but completely legal, technology.
Expedition Force - rumored second battalion of high technology, but nothing proven

Economic:
[insert name] Spaceport - because you need to park your yacht somewhere!

 

[Diamondeye]

I'll post a brief information about my minor faction since Immaculate has accepted it...

The Bossheaim are not well-favoured by the church. Those who did not know about their almost pedantic heresy would be able to tell this alone from the lands they control; a small fief on a mountaineous planet, close to the Symbiot gate and with little fertile soil. This has hardened the Bossheaim as well as their serfs, and the rocky terrain of their lands provide them with abundant industrial prospects. Many deem them a favourable trading partner, although few recognize them publically as that could invoke the wrath of the church.

The frontfigures of the Bossheaim are strong and autonymeous personalities; some theorize that their sole sceptreholder, Tebryn Arbandi XII, only keeps his interests in politics alive by scaring the saintly and reserved politicians with his blatant and often blasphemeous comments, but those who are able to see past this surface will notice a shrewd negotiator who knows where the line goes and who never crosses it even if he is sometimes close.

Another figure of importance is Alexis Gabella, the perhaps most intelligent Bossheaim alive and a good guess at who will be inheriting Tebryn's sceptre should he die. Alexis has a mind that is as quick to see through political maneuvors(sp?) as it is brilliant when it comes to logical and scientific questions.

But the Bossheaim also sport less ideal figures. The blasphemic Agari family has a major influence on the Bossheaim military, and on the field of battle their soldiers are renowned for their almost undying discipline; few who have ever realized why their elite guards are called the 'Pyre Zombies' have lived to tell the tale.

 

[thomas.berubeg]

Immaculate, I was planning on more detail, once the basics were approved.
I take it they are?

 

[Vertinari118]

The Order of St. Coeus



History

The Order of St. Coeus was devastated during the second Symbiot invasion. The constant front-line fighting killed dozens of the greatest mages left to the Empire and left a gaping hole in the heart of the Eskatonic Orders. The handful of the remaining mystics and magicians regrouped on Hell, the mountainous wartorn world that was once the great gateway of the Grand Republic and its strongest bastion. Over time others returned to the world and it was christened Hubbard and the mystic Eskantonic Orders were by and large forgotten about. There were other sects and remnants on several worlds and many still held some of the old magic but the Order of St. Coeus were the real successors. They still wielded true magical power They arrived dramatically back on the Imperial stage shortly before the coronation of Emperor Vladimir when seven mystics, all ancient and extremely powerful compared to every other magic user at the time, tore apart the holy defences of the Royal Palace and stepped out of thin air before the leaders of the Great Houses, Patriarch Barbatos and the Emperor himself. Before anyone could react they delivered a rather grim set of prophetic visions to everyone in the room along with a chanted prophecy (while write down later when I have time). They foretold the assassination of the Emperor, indeed the Emperor's vision was slightly different to the others for St. Coeus personally warned the Emperor not to don the crown. They foretold two further Symbiot invasions with the last having dire consequences that would change humanity forever. Following that they foretold the death of Barbatos and the downfall of the Church and finally a small enclave of the Empire surrounded by the dead stars and planets of the Empire all around. Then they disappeared.


Organisation

The mystics have no real religious doctrine to preach and no real organisation either. In fact they view themselves as philosophers, bards, historians and the keepers of magic rather than preachers. They use their powers to help the serfs out, ensuring the marginal harvests are always as large as possible, healing the sick if they can and generally making a war-torn hell hole just about inhabitable. Many villages and towns are happy to allow the mystics to test and train any children of magical ability because of this and because of the prestige a magical bloodline brings on Hubbard. That said many, many more do not for fear of a Holy Inquisition. The nominal leaders of the Order are the Seven Ancients, each one an extremely powerful and old magician. Six are however mortal and eventually die, they are always replaced by the very strongest magicians. The seventh is known as St. Coeus and he has lived from before the Soul Wars.

Assets

Magical Assets (instead of military

The Order of Severn as described above.

The Guardians: elite battle-mages and magicians who have devoted their whole lives to the study of the most powerful offensive and defensive magics.

Non-magical/building assets

Loyal serfs: thousands of serfs on Hubbard are under the indirect rule of the Order in return for the assistance they provide. About a tenth of the planet would rise up under the banner of Coeus if they were ever asked to.

Mana sources: the Order have found and claimed buried stores of magical power which they call Cyrstalli Arte or Crystals of the Art. These significantly boast the magical power of the Order.

Characters

The Severn

St. Coeus

St. Coeus is magic incarnate, or at least that's how most uneducated or foolish people think of him. In reality he is on par with an archmage from the ancient times (in FfH terms he is about the strength of Kylorin or one of his students). This means he has very definite limits and the rest of the Seven act as a counter-balance so if St. Coeus goes too far or not far enough they can coerce him into stopping or carry on further. He looks like an old, well weathered traveller with a simple stave in his hand and a wide-brimmed hat on his head. He has long, white hair but no beard. His eyes betray his magical powers though for they shift though all the colours of the rainbow under normal circumstances, settling on one colour if he forces them to or if he becomes particularly moved by one emotion. He knows the basics of all known forms of magic and a few ones known only to himself and a handful of others, due to his independent research but these new magical fields are young and not very useful at the moment. He has mastered a number of these areas but nowhere near all of them.

PATRIARCH of the Order.

OOC: I am happy for other players to start up rival mystic sects and/or to borrow any part of this for their own purposes. Is this alright Immac? Characters will be along in a little bit.

 

[merciary]

House Hyppean

Being proud descendants of the ancient Hippus tribes the Hyppean house has always been considered an oddity amongst the noble houses.

One of the most curious of there oddities is the wide difference between their international/interplanetary government and their domestic government. From the outside the Erona family is the true power of the House, the head of the House is from their family, they handle all dealings with other Houses and the Church, the capital city is under their jurisdiction, and the favorite family of the House when it comes to the Church. Yet to those inside the House know that the Erona's have no more power than any other family. It seems that the fear of giving up autonomy that gripped their ancestors was hereditary. Each family is given full control over the lands in their possession as long as it does not break any Council edicts. The Council is another concept that has survived the ages though it has gone through some changes. The heads of the family is no longer the ones present on the Council, in it's current incarnation one Council member is chosen from each of the major families by said family. The Council can only deal with matters that effect the whole of the House and most of the time the Council is ineffective as most members believe their view is the correct view and rarely change their opinions, allowing the Erona family to control international affairs. Continuing their paranoia of the one man having complete say each family has three potential positions of power, though most have only two, these positions are Family head, self-explanatory makes major decisions that involve the family, Council member, sits on the Council makes decisions that effect the whole House, and the Scepters holders and no single man can hold any more than one of these positions.

Another oddity to the Hyppeans is the Gnolls. The Hyppean House has the highest concentration of Gnolls out of any of the Houses even one of the major families in entirely Gnoll. The average Gnoll lives better than the average human in Hyppean lands as their primary occupation is either as a guard or in the army due to their fierce loyalty to those in power and their martial skill.

The House primarily came to power as on of the most fierce military forces in know space. After several establishing themselves and settling on (desert planet) they became less aggressive, though still rather militant, but became more focus on art and their culture. An combination of these two fascinations combined into on of the main tools of the House, sports. While sports are played across known space no where else does it hold such a fascination nor are as violent, many of these sports appear to be mock battles. These sports have become one of the most important ways to maintain compliance among the common people.

Outside of the Erona family religion is not an important part of most of the nobles lives, and this trickles down to the commoners as well. While Orthodox is the main sect in Hyppean lands they are not as orthodox as the Church would like and are often open to new ideas and schools of thought. This nature has allowed the Hyppean House to acquire good relations with the League which has allowed for some lucrative trade deals.

Families

Erona: runs international affairs, rather orthodox, self-inflated
Arenoth: controls most of the oil in Hyppean lands, rather politically savoy
Fentas: Controls large portions of the desert rather anarchical even for the Hyppeans, odd rumors about what they do in the desert
Herinus: least violent of the families, artistic, rather eccentric
KeeKoy: controls most of the intelligence gathering in the House, rumors of criminal activity
Warnit: large industrialist, little concern for the means as long as the ends can be justified
Cantiac: controls the most fertile lands, more down to earth
Yeomei: ruthless, must of the family has at some point been in the army and usually has done rather well
Syanta: Merchants, greedy, good relations with the League
Harnoth: composed entirely of Gnolls, incredibly vicious, very tactical, they and the Yeomei dominate the upper ranks of the military

People:

Tenith Erona: Head of the Erona family, internationally recognized as the head of the House. He is a very religious man , which has earned him the distrust of some of the other nobles. He dislikes Council, believes his family should run the entire House.

Garik Harnoth: (Gnoll) One of the most powerful men in the Hyppean military. He is a brilliant tactician and completely ruthless. Has no concern public view and has no political talent. Fiercely loyal to his soldiers. Holds a Sceptre

Hennios Warnit: An brilliant man who is a tad out of touch with reality. He is a bit of a tinker, has invented many things that defy belief but are also quite useless. If he can focus he can accomplish nearly anything. Holds a Sceptre

Yannis Arenoth: not a particularly bright man, but seems to have a natural talent for getting others to do what he wants. He often spends his money on frivolous things to impress others and lives a rather materialistic life. Holds a Sceptre

Assests:

Floating Blades: a squadron of heavily armed attack Helicopters from a previous age
Steel fangs: An elite commando units made entirely out of Gnolls who wear a unique body armor that is flexible and strong.(made of non-Newtonian fluids, though they don't know it)

Grand Sports Arenas: A system of large arenas where the Hyppeans play their often bloody sports
Massive star port: Having friends in the League has payed off by becoming one of their major trade hubs providing them with a nice source of income


That should be it, tell me if I need to change anything.

 

[thomas.berubeg]

House Klorin


Origins:
The Origins of House Muritian have faded into History, some claiming that archeological evidence dates it to the end of the Last Ice Age, Long before the Soul Wars. What is known, However, is that the house is the only one with Orcish Families among it's great Families.

More to come

Traditions:
While the first born of the families are traditionally groomed to be rulers, either in Imperial terms or more locally, Second and Third Borns usually enter, either the military or the Church, Usually in the Eskatonic Order (order of St. Oghma), though the house has High Ranking officials in many of the other sects, and are usually able to bring some of the power of the church to bear in thier favor. (Immy, is this acceptable?)

While, naturally, there are Rivalries within the house, and assassinations and coups exist, there are exceptionally rare, for some reason.

Major Families
Kawalen: The Current Patriarch of the House is a Kawalen

Ember: Orcish Family, second most powerful

Gohan: Orcish family, reputed to head the Klorin Intelligence network

Jabile: Smallest of the Families, but one of the loudest and most rebellious

Vecedees: Most members in the Eskatonic order, nearly anything the House asks of the Order goes through this family

Nimir: Militant Family

Cricket: Quite rebellious family, in any discussion, most likely to go against the concensus.

Assets:
Military:
The Klorin Shield: Guard unit of the house Klorin, Equipped with ancient, powerful tech (Rumored to be reverse engineered from Symbiot Tech)
The Eye: Intelligence Network. Not much is known, aside for it's existence

Economic:
The Bazzar of St. Mam. If it exists in the Empire, it can be bought here.
The Library of Amure: The oldest Libraries known to the empire is in the center of the Muritian Palace. within it are relics of the past ages, technological, knowledge, and perhaps even magical.


Sceptre Holders:

Dain Kawalen: Ancient Patriarch of the house Klorin. Has outlived his generation, and that of his children, and looks to be still as sharp as the day he received the Sceptre.

Ember: Orc matriarch of the Ember Family, she has also lived beyond the memory of all still alive, though she looks younger than Dain does. (though, of course, age is not necessarily experience)*

Brother Cabil: Member of the Eskatonic order, he renounced any position of power within the order when elected by his family to hold the sceptre. However, he still has many connections within the order itself. (it is rumored that, though he was held in HIGH respect before being elected, some say that his influence was the clincher)




*Immy, is having her still around acceptable?

 

[Seon]

House Koriate (based on kuriotates)

Origins: Origins of the House had faded away into history. Perhaps the story of it is hidden away in the deepest library of the Holy Church, but as far as anyone can tell,they had been a noble house forever.

The House grooms their families to become great orators and studiors. They are mostly pious and send their sons and daughters to the Church. They, however, send their daughters and sons to either blossoms of Mercy or Ekstatonic Order.

The internal structure of the house is rather strange as the Head family, the Akatas, while holding only one of the sceptres, hold the most power of the area. They command utmost respect from the populace, and even many of the noble families put aside their differences when near them. The Akatas do, however, try many things to please the nobles and the freemen under his rule and generally keep them under power. Many subterfuge by the Akatas family is rumored to exist, and it is unknown whether the nobles are bound to Akatas by fear, or by respect. Probably both.

Relation with the Church: Although most members of teh family are faithful, they aren't loyal to the Orthodoxy. Although they believe in the same god, they believe that gods should not interfere too much with the progress of humankind (or mortalkind, depending on the species). As such, they are always on negative terms with the church. (except for Ekastatonic order and the blossoms of mercy who generally does not really care about the progress of humankinnd or are infavor of it).

Families:

Akatas: The Head family of the Noble House. They hold one of the sceptres. They are known to be rather unpopular with the Orthodoxy. They are, however, quite liberal when it comes to governing their subjects. They are also one of the more fierce advocates for knowledge. They hold the most power of the nobles of Akatas, and are generally held in utmost respect of the people.
Jomon: Not much is known about them. They are, however, very feared by other nobles for their spies. The House family is also fiercely loyal to Akatas.
Laminas: The family most unpopular with the common people. Reason being that their lower body is completely covered in scales and they don't have legs ie: snake tails. (Lamias)

They are known for their magical spells (and minor members of the family are indeed accused and convicted of witch craft) and scholarship. This also makes them on an edge with the Church.

They are, however, loyal to Akatas Family as they allowed them to rise to power. Although Akatas family didn't give them a scepter though. They also have a matriarch instead of a patriarch.

Mercator: The family with most amount of connections to the League. They possess a scepter and their house is located in the middle of the city next to the Space dock. They are quite friendly with the league and all deals between the House and the League goes through this family. They are known for hosting carnivals in the city and are quite popular.

They are not known for doing anything particulary heretical and are the more accepted Sceptre holder than the Akatas to the Church.

Labis (pronounced La-Bis): A scepter bearing warrior family. This family has guarded the major cities of the House for centuries. Rumored to be descendants of a guard captain that saved an Akatas long ago.

Arcanis: A wizard family that sends most number of their young to the Ekstatonic order. They are generally on good terms with the Order because of this.

Ashford: Researcher family. A "pet" family of the Akatas.

Burnside: An family rumored to be a descendants of some kind of entertainer who, with beckoning of the Mercator family, was made a noble by drunken patriarch of the Akatas. A "pet" family for the Mercator.

Palizia: A noble family that maintains order within the city.Generally given less potent weapons than the Labis and they solve problems too small to concern the Labis. Generally considered to be a "pet" family for the Labis.

Flamos: The noble family that patrols the outlands of the House territory. They are known to accept Orc recruits in their army. They generally support Akatas. They are interesting as they are actually two houses in one, ie: two patriarchs. Rumored to be because they are descendants of two guards who, when, ordered to construct their own gallows and hang themselves for misbehaving in the court, one shouted out to the other "HURRY UP! LORD AKATAS WILL NOT BE PLEASED IF WE DON'T HURRY."

When the Akatas Patriarch heard this, he laughed and made them both a noble. Seconds before they actually hung themselves.

Nautas: Sailor family. Good at sailing

Dekas: A family recently given authorization to govern Arrakis fiefdom on Akatas family's stead. Most presume that they were sent to check on Ashford's power.

Triton: A family loyal to Akatas. Their loyalty was paid off when they received a right to govern a fiefdom on the jungle planet on Akatas's stead.




Military Assets: Ghost Platoon: Special forces with highly advanced armor that allows themselves to cloak. Rumored to be a mix of symbiote technology and Republic technology, not that anybody knows much about them. They are co-owned by the Jomon Family who supplies them with intelligence and Akatas family who gives them equipment (and most of manpower).

Angels of Death: Heavily armed helicopters with propellers reknowned to be silent. Once you hear them, chances are, their weapons are already locked into you. They are comprised exclusively of man loyal to Akatas Family

Economic Asset: Space Dock: And the city around it. The city is a major trading outposts due to the presence of Mercator Family.

Research Facility. Generally speaking, what happens inside the facility, remains in the facility. Mostly in inanimate forms

 

[Immaculate]

Immaculate, I was planning on more detail, once the basics were approved.
I take it they are?

yup
10 characters

 

[Seon]

Five.

 

[Immaculate]

I got an interesting questions i will try to reply to:

You might have addressed this, actually, but I missed it, if you did. How do people get from one planet to another, now? and, if they don't, what's REALLY keeping the empire together?

The imperial throne keeps the empire together. Errovus secondus will have diplomatic missions from each of your nations (mostly to ensure that they pay their imperial taxes) (it might be worth making one of your named characters a resident of this planet- you all have enclaves here- to act as senators and politicians etc).

The imperium maintains, in addition to a giant beaurcracy, a military larger then any other in the known worlds called 'the garrison', a space fleet (callled the imperial fleet) and a giant espionage and intelligence agency (called the imperial eye).

Each of these organizations has as its goals
a) survivial of known space in the face of symbiot invasions
b) maintenance of the power of (in order of priority) the nobles, the church, and the league
c) the centralization of power and decision making

to this end a reagent is elected (with each sceptre-bonded individual providing a vote instantaneously and without corruption) every 20 years.
That reagent can then assign a commander of the garrison, a commander of the imperial fleet and a commander to the imperial eye (they can assign a member of their own house to a maximum of one of these positions and no more then one member from any house/sect/guild to these positions)
the imperial garrison is mostly currently found on Stigmata where it fights a defensive battle around the jumpgate (which was brought out of orbit in a earth-shattering assault and no lies in a dust-covered crater on the planet's surface- i'll get to that later).
The imperial fleet is also found at Stigmata (though is found in orbit around the planet) whree it fights the Symbiot space creatures.
The imperial eye is mostly invovled in mataining the stability and loyalty of noble houses, etc.

In addition, the imperium provides a jump-engine equiped 'lander' spaceship to each noble house so that it can access the various planets and move between them. These are not bulk haulers like those of the guilds nor are they archangel cruisers or Seraphi fighter-equiped carriers like those of the church.

Also, the sceptres allows instaneous communication with all other sceptre holders.

Thats whats keeping the imperium solvent.

 

[Immaculate]

I think thats five major houses with the following players: Ekolite, Orangelex44, Merciary, Thomas Berubeg, Seon.

Any further noble house applications will be minor houses and can expect less relative power.
diamondeye has asked to play (and has been accepted to play) a minor noble house. i will accept up to 11 more such houses.

I have one religious sect submited (though i am not sure exactly what your history is- we'll talk about this over the holidays hopefully and when we start this will be cleared up for me)

I'd like to see 1 or 2 gulids set up too. Miners guild anyone? Shipwrights' guild?

If i forgot anyone, please say something.

 

[TheWesley]

Giving up on this for lack of time.