NOVEL NEXT Special The Factions
The Solean Intergalactic Empire (Solean Empire):
Faction Type: Precursor Empire
Governmental structure: Dual Branched Oligarchy
Government Branch A: Elder Council
Government Branch B: The Protectorate
Culture Type: Semi-Nomadic Authoritarians
Specialties: Areas the Soleans Excel in as follows.
Specialty One: Starship Engineering
Specialty Two: Plasma Technologies
Specialty Three: Hyperspatial Technologies
Specialty Four: Biotechnology
Specialty Five: Powered Armor Design
Specialty Six: AI, and Drone Development
Specialty Seven: Stealth and Sensor technologies
Specialty Eight: Transcendent Psionics
Unique Technologies: Omega Energy, Transcendent Psionic AI, Solean Energy Conversion and absorption Techniques.
Notes: The Solean people are old, with at least several million years of development. Their Empire at its height controlled over two thousand galaxies. They ruled over countless worlds from their mighty cityships and built the vast stargate network enabling unparalleled interstellar and intergalactic trade. The Empire also possessed unparalleled military might and technological supremacy making it the most powerful of the precursor races.
Neku Interstellar Imperium:
Faction Type: Subverted Young Empire
Original Governmental Structure: Imperial
Subverted Governmental Structure: Shadow Council
Culture Type: Pacifistic Authoritarians
Subverted Culture type: Militarist Expansionists
FTL Type: Hyperdrive
Specialties: Areas of Excellence as follows
Specialty One: Plasma Weaponry
Specialty Two: Hyperspace Shielding
Specialty Three: Planetary Engineering
Specialty Four: Hyperspace Tracking
Unique Technologies: Unknown
Note: The Neku people were a peaceful if young culture until recently. Gifted with advanced weaponry and shields, they have suddenly begun a series of military campaigns against their neighbors. Little is known about what prompted this shift in stance.
Erali Confederated Systems:
Faction Type: Young Federation
Governmental Structure: Federated Oligarchy
Government note: Each planet is its own country, with its own rulers. Joined together in a loose alliance that answers to the greater governmental body on the homeworld. Each colony is entitled to one representative on the homeworld.
Culture Type: Passionate Explorers, Matriarchal.
FTL Type: Jump Drive
Specialties: Areas of excellence as follows
Specialty One: Particle Weaponry
Specialty Two: Graviton Technologies
Specialty Three: Sublight Propulsion Design
Specialty Four: Biomedicine
Specialty Five: Subspace Communications
Unique Technologies: Jump Gates
Notes: The Erali are a relatively young civilization ruled over by a grand republic. Highly matriarchal, the majority of their leaders are female. Erali females tend to wear less the higher their rank in society. In recent years the matriarchy has loosened its grip and allowed each world to become its own country.
Altean Directorate:
Faction Type: Precursor Science Directorate
Governmental Structure: Science Council
Culture Type: Passionate Researchers
FTL Type: Hyperdrive (Hyperflux Drive)
Specialties: Areas of Excellence as Follows
Specialty one: Shields
Specialty Two: Drones
Specialty three: Hyperstatial Engine design
Specialty four: Crystal based computing
Specialty five: Zero Point Energy
Specialty Six: Psionic Ascendence
Specialty Seven: Planetary Engineering
Unique Technologies: Zero Point Weaponry
Notes: An ancient people with no known homeworld, that excel in the sciences. They constantly seek to expand their knowledge of the universe and understand its fundamental principles.
Ludole Confederacy:
Faction Type: Elder Confederacy
Governmental Structure: Federated Republic
Culture Type: Benevolent Defenders
FTL Type: Warp Drive
Specialties:
Specialty One: Antimatter Weaponry
Specialty Two: Graviton Shields
Specialty Three: Hypercomputing
Specialty Four: Plantentary Engineering
Specialty Five: Advanced Cruiser design
Specialty six: Phased Flux Fields
Unique Technologies: Unknown
Notes: The Ludole is one of the older races in the galaxies, and see themselves as the defenders of the younger races. They often also fancy themselves as dragon hunters, and their cruisers have often been seen engaged with Dragons. Results of these dragon hunts are often mixed. In recent years their activities have mostly been constrained by their war with the Vorinae.
Vorinae Interstellar Realm:
Faction Type: Elder Empire
Governmental Structure: Imperial
Culture Type: Secretive and Militaristic
FTL Type: Warp Drive
Specialities:
Specialty One: Plasma Weaponry
Specialty Two: Antimatter weaponry
Specialty Three: Armor and Hull integrity
Specialty Four: Cloaking
Specialty Five: Starship Engineering
Specialty Six: Hyperspatial Power Systems
Unique Technologies: Unknown
Notes: The Vorinae are not well known, as few have survived an encounter with them. Their ships are powerful and can strike unseen. In recent years they have been fighting a war with the Ludole. It is widely believed that they guard a vault filled with precursor technology that guides their development, but these rumors were never confirmed.
Nekari Star Clans:
Faction Type: Elder Matriarchy
Governmental Structure: Matriarchal Monarchy
Culture Type: Militaristic, devoted, Party lovers
FTL Type: Stardrives
Specialties:
Specialty One: Subspace Technologies
Specialty Two: Hyperspatial Weaponry
Specialty Three: Bioscience
Specialty Four: Psionics
Specialty Five: Bioship Engineering
Specialty Six: Draconic Culture Studies
Unique Technolgy: Dragonproof Cloaking Devices
Notes: The Nekari are a Matriarchal race that developed in close proximity to several ancient dragon nests. As such it is perhaps not unusual that they once worshiped the star dragons. Today their culture contains remnants of such dragon worship and reverence. They have also developed unique cloaking devices that allow them to avoid detection from the psychic scans of dragons. A device they use both for defense, and to study dragons. At least so long as they don’t give the dragons a reason to look for them. Of the younger and elder races, they are the foremost experts on dragons. Nekari vessels and technology is highly organic in nature. Unfortunately, their race is most well known for their mistake of cracking open a Solean Shield World.
Erisay Directive:
Faction Type: Elder Research Directive
Governmental Structure: Cybernetic Collective
Culture Type: Isolationist Researchers
FTL Type: Inversion Drive
Specialties:
Specialty One: Bioscience
Specialty Two: Starship Engineering
Specialty Three: Subspace Fields
Specialty Four: Mind Manipulation Techniques
Specialty Five: AI and Drone Development
Specialty Six: Drone Weaponry
Unique Technologies: Mimetic Cloning
Notes: The Erisay is a cybernetic collective born from a research AI created by the Erisay people centuries ago. Its creators were wiped out by a devastating plague, one that originated from a nearby Shield World. One whose shield failed after the orbiting star went supernova. The shield, unfortunately, preserved the planet allowing the sentient plague it kept contained to spread. The plague was ultimately contained and destroyed but not before the Erisay people were rendered extinct. In the centuries that followed the ancient AI has dutifully maintained their empire. Often to the exclusion of all else, as its chief focus since has been to recreate its creators. One item of particular note is that the Erisay in their prime discovered an ancient cache of precursor drone weapons. A cache the Erisay Directive inherited and utilized in its own research of drone weaponry.
Iridex Collective:
Faction Type: Precursor Machine Intelligence
Governmental Structure: Cybernetic Collective
Culture Type: Militaristic Assimilators
FTL Type: Hyperwarp
Specialties:
Specialty One: Phased Energy Weapons
Specialty Two: Cybernetics
Specialty Three: Micro Computing
Specialty Four: Bioengineering
Specialty Five: Bioscience
Specialty Six: Biodrone Replication
Unique Technologies: Adaptive Cloning
Notes: The Iridex are an unusual cybernetic collective. They are most famed for their use of biologicals as drones, but what is less well known is the process by which they achieve this. Captured biologicals are taken to specialized chambers where the brain is completely removed and then replaced with a computer. Special devices are used to keep the subject calm during this process. The newly minted drone is then augmented and put to work. The collective also artificially produces new drones, who have their brains removed and replaced soon after emerging from their growth pods. Because of their rather creepy use of biologicals, it is perhaps not surprising that the Collective is constantly at war. Most races don’t like seeing their loved ones used as puppets. The brain removal process however prevents subjects from being restored. However, the Solean Empire has successfully reversed the process. It is important to note that the restored individuals have no memory of who they were. Well, not a complete one. The Soleans have a complicated process that has succeeded in partially restoring this. The particulars of this process however are a secret known only to them.
The ??? Subverters:
Faction Type: Young Escaped Sentient Bioweapon
Governmental Structure: Shadow Council
Culture Type: Mind Controlling Puppeteers
FTL Type: ???
Specialties:
Specialty One: Mass Mind Manipulation Techniques
Specialty Two: Bioscience
Unique Technologies: Unknown
Notes: Very little is known about the Subverters. Only that they exist. Nothing else is truly known about them, not even a name.