Proposed STGOD Setting.

[Hawkwings]

where are these point values for writing OOBs found?

where are the rules for OOBs, for that matter?

[Lancer]

15x "Erebus" Class Light Air Cruiser [15] [+2 F][+3 W]
The Erebus represents the first approach to a "superiority" ship, but the concept did proof to be lacking, so this school of thought never advanced beyond this class. Still, it is a formidable light ship. The Mount Salara class was developed at the same time.

3x "Mount Salara" Class Space Airship [70][+30 W][+5 F]
SOL-sized superiority ship, formidable, yet a design that will currently not be followed up.

Nitpick: These two ships have illegal specializations. Anything with a specialty against warships can't specialize against fighters.

[Lancer]

where are these point values for writing OOBs found?

where are the rules for OOBs, for that matter?

Grand power: 8,000 points
Major power: 6,000 points
Regional power: 4,000 points
Minor power: 2,000 points.

Rules for OOB are here

as for who is what, Spyder already posted that:

The following players will be Great Powers--
Pablo Sanchez
Spyder
Thirdfain

If you think it unfair that Spyder and I got to be Great Powers, there were some criteria used to pick them. First, none of these nations has a particularly compatible ideology, so no two great powers will be natural allies this time. Second, we have confidence in the ability of all three players to play well at the GP level (i.e., behaving as a leader-nation, playing actively and independently, a just plain writing well).

The following players are major powers--
Phongn
Dahak
consequences
MRDOD
Beowulf

If you don't appear on either list, then you have the opportunity to choose between being a minor power and a regional power, as you desire.

[Dahak]

15x "Erebus" Class Light Air Cruiser [15] [+2 F][+3 W]
The Erebus represents the first approach to a "superiority" ship, but the concept did proof to be lacking, so this school of thought never advanced beyond this class. Still, it is a formidable light ship. The Mount Salara class was developed at the same time.

3x "Mount Salara" Class Space Airship [70][+30 W][+5 F]
SOL-sized superiority ship, formidable, yet a design that will currently not be followed up.

Nitpick: These two ships have illegal specializations. Anything with a specialty against warships can't specialize against fighters.

Ah, my bad... I had to work while writing it up, so errors may have occured

[Dahak]

BTW, what are we talking about in case of average Empire size? 10, 50, 100 systems? So I get my defense allocation right...

[Lancer]

Just trying to be helpful. A [+2 F][+3 W] adds up to be an overall [+1 W] with a 2-point penalty vs Defense.

[Thirdfain]

I'm erring on the side of "medium," simply for ease of use. I'm going to be fielding around 50ish major inhabited systems, with a further 200 or so small colonies.

[Duckie]

Khar Imperium should, by my estimates, have 45 Major Worlds, probably and probably about twice that number of colonies. However, only the Seven Clanworlds and Monau-Ra actually have orbital defenses and fleets stationed- Clanfleets will usually split up their fleets for smaller elements to watch over their dependancies. Imperial Dependancies usually get included into a Clanfleet's responsibility by Imperial Fiat.

[The word we're looking for here is "Dangerously Overstretched"]

[Glimmervoid]

For me it’s 2 major worlds, some Asteroid Hives and 5 settlements and that’s for a minor power. That is 7 settled systems in total. I am not sure how many systems The Silver Flame claims sovereignty over in total though.

[Lancer]

The Avalonian League has a significant presence in 4 systems, most of which have highly-developed worlds with massive defenses. The Navy performs patrols throughout Avalonian space to watch over small settlements that are not yet large enough to sustain permanent defensive garrisons and to repel any intrusions on Avalonian territory.

Avalonian League Intro:

The Avalonian League

Very little is known about the history of the Ancestors before they came to us. Their hailed from a place called Altera, though it is not on any of the maps they left to us. To our world, Avalon, they came, creating a vast civilization that stretched across countless planets, linked by a network of portals that spanned the stars. They prospered, having mastered feats of science yet to be duplicated to this day. The knowledge they possessed was unsurpassed, their technology unrivaled by the crude devices of this age.

Then they were struck by a great plague, and with it came the decline of their civilization. For the first time in the long memory of the Ancestors, their great sciences failed them. As their numbers dwindeled, they searched frantically for a cure. Only at last did they discover that the plague was a weapon, crafted by their enemies of old from Altera. As their race breathed its last, they found a glimmer hope on their now-vacant capital of Avalon. Though their kind was doomed, the young people of that world, considered to be the second comming of their race, were more resilient. Before the Ancestors disappeared completely, they bequeathed two great gifts to the people of Avalon, the seeds of knowledge and the ability to use their technology.

In time, we, the people of Avalon, rebuilt the civilization of the Ancestors using the technology left to us. Colonies of old once again bloomed with life, and the gateways between stars shimmered with light. Through our explorations, we reclaimed a hundred worlds out of the countless thousands that the Ancestors had touched.

In time, we encountered many infant civilizations, just discovering the sciences that governed the universe. We watched as they grew into great nations and empires. Inevitably, they came into conflict, and the stars burned. Some, driven by the desparation of war, found us and tried by force to take our worlds, only to find themselves stopped by impenetrable shields. From inside the sanctuaries of our worlds, we watched with contempt as the rest of the galaxy collapsed.

Eventually though, our defenses crumbled under the swirling chaos outside our realms. The great shields that protected our colonies were the first to fail, their power finally fading after centuries of bombardment. When they gave, we retreated through the gateways of the Ancestors, but in time their power ebbed as well. Before our peoples could be stranded on worlds under siege, we retreated to Avalon, our sanctuary and stronghold. We took all our technology with us, leaving the elegant spires of our great cities to crumble into dust.

As the flames that had consumed the galaxy burned out into embers, a great fleet of ships that sought to rebuild the fallen empire of their race stumbled upon us. To their dismay, they found the world from which they intended to launch a new wave of conquest was already ours. By might they tried to sieze our world, throwing the entirety of their hopes and dreams against ours. In the space above Avalon, a great battle for the survival of two races was fought. Using the defenses left to us by the Ancestors, we annihilated the aggressors, but at a great price. The last of our power had been expended, one of the gifts of the Ancestors had been lost to us forever.

Since that time, we have rebuilt our civilization. We have crafted technology of our own from the gifts of knowledge left to us by the Ancestors. Once more, we set out into the stars, to reclaim worlds and rebuild the legacy of the Ancestors.

Government:
The Avalonian League follows the federal model of government; individual member worlds have a local government that oversees the needs of the population, while a central government body is charged with the defense and expansion of the League.

The capital of the League is Avalon. The League government follows a representative democratic model, with delegations from member worlds forming a Senate, lead by two publicly elected officials who hold executive power. The Senate is broken down into several councils which govern various aspects of the League. The most notable councils are the Justice Council, the Defense Council, and the Commerce Council, all of which oversee major branches of the Avalonian League government.

Individual member worlds all follow a variation of the democratic model. The size of each world’s senatorial delegation is determined by population and strategic importance, though every world is granted a minimum of two senators.

Economy:
Government-regulated free-market. Industry is highly automated and energy is plentiful, allowing the government to easily provide basic needs to all Avalonians. Consumer goods and luxury items tend to follow the free-market model, but certain industries, such as defense, are operated entirely by the government.

Technology:
Reactionless STL drive technology, hyperdrive, direct mass-to-energy conversion (power generation), energy shielding, zero-point modules (high-density capacitor), time dialation / stasis technology (effects limited to enclosed volumes), touch-telepathic control interfaces. Many forms of Avalonian technology are solid-state devices, making reverse-engineering extremely difficult at best.

Ideology:
Nationalist. The Avalonian League is strongly focused on their common heritage, and reclaiming their lost colonies. Though not xenophobic, they are a highly insular society and view other nations with contempt, zealously guarding their knowledge and technology. For that reason, Avalonians will dismiss the possibility of trade or long-term alliances with other powers.

Military:
The central government oversees the Avalonian Star Navy and Avalonian Guard, but member worlds possess a localized professional militia that serves as a planetary defense force. Avalonian weapons follow one of two forms, finesse or force. Energy-weapons are typically representative of the “finesse” approach, and come from infantry small-arms to super-capital vessel batteries.

Self-guided high-velocity missiles are typical of the “force” approach. They are equipped with powerful forcefield-reinforced chassis, propelled by an internal reactionless drive, and can tunneling through solid armor before detonating their mass-conversion warheads. Warships will typically carry extensive stores of these missiles (the warheads are inert until the mass-conversion mechanism is activated) as well as automated factories which replenish depleted stockpiles from local materials.

Shields are the primary defense mechanism used by Avalonians, extending to even basic infantry. Forcefield-reinforced armor is used as a second layer of defense, are considered a separate layer from the hull.

Vehicles, like most forms of Avalonian technology, are operated via telepathic interface which simplifies operations greatly. If necessary, even the largest of warships can be operated by a single individual (although at significantly reduced effectiveness), but are most effective with teams of crewmembers overseeing and maintaining the function of various systems.

Infantry consists of troops armed with high-endurance energy weapons, protected by light but incredibly resilient forcefield-reinforced full-body armor and personal shields. They are supported by integrated armor and troop transports.

Physiology:
Advanced Human.

Avalonians all appear as physically fit humans. A series of unique marker genes, telekinesis, and touch-telepathy are common to all Avalonians, and are requirements for use of Avalonian (and Ancestor) technology. Rare instances of ranged telepathy and other anomalous abilities have been documented, but are by no means common. Avalonians have much greater regenerative capabilities than standard humans, and are thus much harder to disable. Life-spans are abnormally long at several centuries, during most of which the Avalonian is physiologically identical to a 20-40 year old human in exceptional physical condition.

Avalonian League OOB:

Avalonian League OOB:

Avalonian Star Navy: 1800 pts
Corvette [1][N/A][Fighter]
Small ships armed with energy cannons and small missiles. Their stealth capabilities make them invaluable for both scouting ahead of fleet groups and patrolling existing territories. While not true strike craft, corvettes perform favorably with fighter groups of equivalent material cost. They are typically operated by a crew of 2, although life support can sustain up to ten additional passengers without significantly shortening operating range.
600x (allocated to ships as listed below)

Destroyer [10][N/A][Cruiser] (Accompanied by 5 Corvettes)
Destroyers and their variants are considered to be the backbone of the Avalonian Navy. These multi-purpose craft are armed with a balanced loadout of energy cannons and missile banks which allow them to operate effectively against any target. Though not quite as maneuverable as frigates, Destroyers can still match much smaller vessels in sheer speed. The minimum effective crew compliment is 100.
20x

Heavy Destroyer [20][+10 vs Warships][Cruiser] (Accompanied by 10 Corvettes)
Heavy Destroyers are a Destroyer variant optimized for combat against warships, to the detriment of combat capability against small strike craft and planetary defense installations. They are specially equipped with an abundance of heavy energy cannons better suited to penetrating the shields and armor of warships. The minimum effective crew compliment is 200.
4x

Cruiser [20][+10 vs Strike Craft][Cruiser] (Accompanied by 10 Corvettes)
Cruisers are also a Destroyer variant, but play on their ability to effectively target, track, and rapidly neutralize large numbers of small targets. Their primary energy cannons are specially configured for expanding bursts which neutralize large groups of strike craft at long range, but also possess overlapping fields of point-defense batteries which can pick apart swarms of strike craft at close range. The minimum effective crew compliment is 200.
6x

Heavy Cruiser [40][+20 vs Warships][Capital] (Accompanied by 20 Corvettes)
Avalonians consider Heavy Cruisers to be the smallest proper capital ship class. They have moderate speed and maneuverability, but are protected by powerful defensive shields and extensive forcefield-reinforced armor plating. They carry a heavy armament of energy cannon batteries, but are known more for their near-inexhaustible missile banks, capable of ripping through most other warships with ease. The minimum effective crew compliment is 250.
5x

Battleship [100][+50 vs Warships][Capital] (Accompanied by 50 Corvettes)
If Destroyers are the backbone of the Avalonian Navy, Battleships are its heart. These massive warships were forged exclusively for war, protected by multiple layers of shields and dozens of meters of forcefield-reinforced armor. Their primary batteries blast craters visible from space deep into planetary surfaces, while their missile banks unleash an unceasing torrent of death thick enough to blot out the light from a sun. In a macabre declaration of their singular purpose, the hulls of these warships are colored exclusively in patterns of black and bone. The minimum effective crew compliment is 1,000.
3x

Dreadnought [150][+75 vs Warships][Capital] (Accompanied by 75 Corvettes)
In the Avalonian League’s civilian population, rumors tell of vessels even more powerful than the Battleships of the Navy. Supposedly hailing from the world of Altera, it is said that these vessels are imbued with the essence of death, that no living thing can walk their decks, and that entire worlds have perished from just the sight of such a ship. In reality, the Dreadnought is simply a larger and more heavily armed version of a Battleship, with proportionately more firepower, shields, and armor. Like Battleships, the hull of a Dreadnought is colored only in patterns of black and bone. The minimum effective crew compliment is 1,500.
2x

Avalonian Defense Corps: 1700 pts
Settlement [5][Defense]
Small settlements set up for any number of purposes.
2x (Aurora)
1x (Chaya)
1x (Dagan)
1x (Dosi)

Outpost-type Defense Grid [50][Defense]
A localized network of bunkers equipped with self-guided high-velocity missiles and protected by shields designed to repel minor intrusions over the local region. Typically found on newly established colonies.
1x (Taonas)

Compound-type Defense Grid [100][Defense]
A network of shielded defense stations equipped with self-guided high-velocity missiles and energy cannon emplacements which provide protection to a significant portion of a planet. Typically found on developing colonies.

Station-type Defense Grid [200][Defense]
A large network of shields and planetary defense emplacements around population centers and shielded defense stations which span most of a planets surface. Typically found on developed worlds.
1x (Lantia)
1x (Clarush)

Citadel-type Defense Grid [500][Defense]
A powerful planetary-shield grid that operates in conjunction to a planet-spanning network of weapons emplacements housed in bunkers and stations. These protect the major worlds of the Avalonian League.
1x (Avalon)

Planetary Defense Corps Division [25][Defense]
A self-contained element of the local Planetary Defense Corps, complete with integrated armor support and local transport capability. As their name implies, they are wholly devoted to the defense of the worlds they are garrisoned on.
15x (Avalon)
6x (Lantia)
6x (Clarush)
2x (Taonas)

Avalonian Guard: 500 pts
Guard Division [25]
A self-contained element of the Avalonian Guard, complete with integrated armor support and transport capability on both the planetary and interstellar level.
10x

Strike Cruiser [25][+10 vs Defense][Assault / Troop Transport]
Strike Cruisers are warships optimized for assaults on defensive emplacements. They carry an arsenal of energy-cannons specifically tailored to defeat static defenses and provide orbital support. They are used almost exclusively by the Avalonian Guard. Strike Cruisers have a minimum effective crew compliment of 250.
10x

Misc
Monitoring Satellite [0]
Placed in remote areas of Avalonian space or around prospective colony worlds, these satellites continuously monitor the region for unwanted intrusions. (No offensive / defensive capability, negligible production / maintenance costs)

[consequences]

Mine's going to have more systems, but apart from maybe 10-12 of them, they are going to be third world shitholes compared to a rationally constructed nations main holdings. Figure somewhere around seventy supposedly major systems, which most powers would classify as works in progress. Colonies will be around 220, but will include a number of low techers that are being dragged kicking and screaming out of the Century of the Fruitbat.

Just to complicate things, my power is divided up into a number of loose factions/clans/guys who just like to hang out together.

For a start to the OoB:

The Ascendant:850 points

The closest thing to a coordinating body that the Raveners have, The Ascendant go out of their way to remain at least on speaking terms with all other factions, which has at least kept them from making any mortal enemies(that they are aware of). Generally they try to act as a moderating force on the more extreme viewpoints, as well as keeping the forces they control available as a strategic reserve.

3x Ravener class Battleship[25] The workhorse of the Ascendant Wall of Battle. Generally deployed with two fighter wings attached.

3xParagon class Battleship[25][+10W] Ye old fleet superiority capital ship. Carries two fighter wings unless they've all been killed already.

2x Trebuchet class seige Platform[25][+10S] Generally only sent out when it is known that fixed defenses are going to be encountered. A departure from normal Ravener design, as their armament includes a large number of railgun/missile arrays, whose lack of manuevering ability severely limits their utility against mobile targets. On the rare occasions that they are sent on offensive missions, will carry two fighter wings.

8x Barbarian class heavy cruisers[12] For patrols and show the flag missions, as well as spot of raiding when appropriate. One fighter wing normally embarked, as they are just useful to have around.

8x Horde class Superiority cruisers[12][+6W] For kicking the shit out of the enemy. Always has a fighter wing embarked, as otherwise they are meat to smaller attritional attackers.

24 Stinger class destroyers[4] Because a fleet's not complete without something that can wander into the way of a capital broadside to save the flagship.

12 Denial class escorts[4][+2F]For when the fleet commander's really worried about some lucky bastard who thinks he's got a three movie deal.

24 Watchman class frigates[2]Because a fleet's not complete without an expendable platform that can give warning just before its shredded over a strategically placed colony either.

48 Swarm class fighter wings[4]. A hodge-podge, a mish-mash, a dog's breakfast, or any number of other exciting terms describes these arrays of fighters scrounged from whoever's making them nearby. Part of the reason that Ascendant ships fly with only 2/3ds of their theoretical fighter complement is because of the bewildering array of different requirements that the various embarked craft need in order to function. This generally means that even at 67% of nominal max, they are right at the edge of their actual capability.

Ozymandius[64][Defense][Location: Miranda] The origins of this relic are long-lost, but it is a commonly held belief that this was the vessel that carried the First Ravener to the world known now as Miranda from the fires of the Last Cataclysm. It is known that it suffered horrific damage, which has been repaired as best as possible with the lower tech substitutes available, but all efforts to restore any functionality to the engines have proven completely futile, as have efforts to remove them for replacement, or simply move the ship by outside force. Bizarrely, the ship seems locked in its place in orbit over the central world of the Raveners.

The Ascendant Army[50]

Bastion:410 points

Where a large number of the defensively minded Raveners and a disproportionate percentage of their quality ship builders gravitate. On good terms with other factions, except for Fafnir, who they detest openly.

6xGuardian Defense platforms[50][Defense][locations tbd]

10xPhalanx class defense boats[5][+1W]

10xMilitia class Patrol craft[5]

Bastion Ground Defence Command[10]

The Celts: 2 points

A bunch of certifiable loonies.

The Celtic Horde[2] A bunch of yahoos who can think of nothing better to do with their lives than paint themselves blue and charge, often naked, at the enemy. Well-represented among the unreformed Barbarian Horde portion of recent low-tech acquisitions, although there are a distressing number of recruits from the supposedly more sane segments of society. Occasionally achieve victory against squeamish opponents because the idea of killing millions of near-helpless mental cases makes them physically ill.

The Delnatha: 500 Points

While there are a number of alien races that have been subsumed into the predominantly human ranks of the Raveners, the Delnathans are the only ones to maintain themselves as a homogenous, mostly separate cultural unit. This is in part because of the environmental requirements for Delnathan habitation, which are universally unsurvivable by unprotected humans. Every Ravener system with a Venusian environment of hellish heat and toxic gas concentrations has a Delnathan colony or outpost on them.

Delanathan biology:

Universally cold-blooded, as their natural environment easily allows for their survival. A hexapedal race, with the oddity that either the front or back pair of legs alternates as tool-using or locomotive limbs, swiveling on the knee joints to properly support movement in the current direction of travel. Vision tends toward the higher end of the human visual spectrum and above,as heat based vision would be worthless, and atmospheric clutter makes normal vision of less utility evolutionarily speaking. In addition, they tend to rely more on changes in air pressure and sound to perceive their surroundings, although they possess no natural active sonar or equivalent.

King Trachnor Class

Fafnir 650 points

Uncompromisingly about smashing the enemy into the dust. Not nearly as interested in petty details like holding ground, or administrating their conquests. Don't like Bastion, but see no recourse but to deal with them. Secretly loathe The Ascendant.

Surtur [50][+15W] Uncompromisingly the largest mobile ship in the Ravener OoB, it is also the one that spends the most time down for maintenance and repair. Something like 40% of the time, it will be in yard hands after the latest mishap, or working up nearby in the hopes that the yard has finally fixed the latest problem for good. Popular theory among other factions has it that Bastion, which has the only yard capable of fully servicing the monster, is deliberately seeing how long they can keep stringing the over-aggressive yahoos along. Popular theory is in this case 100% correct, as the engineering team has had a comprehensive plan to fix all faults with the ship on file for the last eight months, and are running a pool on how long it will take the ship's masters to beg for them to fix everything instead of dealing with problems as they come up.

5x Mauler class Battleship[30][+10W]

6x Marauder class Pocket Battleship[25][+8W]

4 x Flyswatter class Escort Battleship[25][+5F]built after the last debacle saw a fighter based power cripple half of Fafnir's Wall of Battle, requiring the Ascendant to bail them out. Despised as not being worthy of a true Ravener in the faction's opinion.

5x Brigand class Battlecruiser[22][+4W]

2x Highwayman class Command Cruiser[20] Too small, and entirely too well balanced for the sensibilities of its owners. Still, their coordination abilities and the relatively level heads of the twoships' commanders have proved invaluable to the Fafnir war machine(not that they'll ever admit it).

25x Expendable class escorts[2][+1F] Used to weed out people that the
Powers that Be have taken a disliking too. Has the highest turnover of any class in the Ravener fleets, both because of combat losses, and defections to rival factions.

More to come...

[Adrian Laguna]

Update history:
-January 2
Spelling corrections, minor clarifications. Added a paragraph about duels in the Criminal Justice section.
-January 25
Added more info on the synthetic bodies. New minority species to accompany the humans, Shindrashekhar. Added picture in the Physiology section. Still no religion, but the short version is: Similar to the Hindu religion, minus most of the gods and the caste system.
-April 16
I hope nobody minds, and this will be the last update. I have wanted to do this since fucking February, but somehow it always slipped my mind. The change is rather slight, no longer does every single adult Mekidar have a synthetic body, just the great majority.


The Mekidar Republic

The Mekidar are an ancient civilization, back during the Silver Age and the massive wars that marked the Steel Age, they were a comparatively minor power. Through fortune and some shrewd diplomacy the nearby powers were completely committed against each other, and the few forces anyone could spare to send against the Mekidar were not enough to stand-up against their fleets. So, the Mekidar were safe, for a while.

The chaos of war eventually did reach them, as it reached everyone. The mighty Mekidar fleets were blasted through, and their worlds bombarded and invaded by their enemies. Yet they survived, they survived as empires much greater and powerful than they fell into dust and ruin. The Mekidar survived the horrible cataclysm that had engulfed and destroyed so many others.

Physiology
At first glance, a Mekidar can be quite intimidating. The thick rippled muscles, sharp claws, serrated teeth, and narrow focused eyes, are all the marks of a dangerous predator. The fact that the body of this predator is made of advanced and durable materials and that the claws and muscles behind them are designed to be strong enough to tear through these materials easily should be even more intimidating. The only truly organic parts of most Mekidar are the central nervous system and reproductive organs. Everything else is made of synthetic materials.

A Mekidar kind of looks like a humanoid in a sort of half crouch, it "stands" at 1.5 meters. However, when its legs become outstretched, like after leaping off the ground, the body measures some 1.75m in length. Arms are proportionally slightly longer than a human's, and end in clawed 6-fingered hands. The head resembles, for lack of a better analogy, Eva 01's head without the useless things sticking out of the chin and forehead. Synthetic muscle tissue bulges beneath the artificial skin, the color of which ranges from dull yellowish brown to rich golden brown. The overall impression is one of a being capable of great strength, speed, and agility.

A picture is worth a thousand words. So, keeping in mind the above description, a Mekidar would look like this.

Evolutionary History
The Mekidar homeworld, called Meklon, is the second planet from their sun. The thick upper cloud layer reflects most of the incoming sunlight away and prevents the life below from being cooked-off, while a powerful magnetic field protects the atmosphere from being blown away by the solar wind. In Human terms, the surface of the planet is hot, with an unbreathable atmosphere, uncomfortable pressure, and ~2g of gravity.

The best Earth analogues for the Mekidar are the felines from ancient Earth, particularly lions, since they hunt in groups. However, their diets are more like that of bear (if bears hunted deer twice as big as they are). In the ancient days of pre-sentience, a Mekidar ancestor would approach as stealthily as possible upon its prey. Then, in a flurry of motion, it sprints towards the animal and jumps upon it, claws and teeth grabbing hold of the animal's flesh. A claw cuts through an important blood vessel and the predator jumps-off and waits for the beast to fall. Group coordination became very important for herding wounded prey, and to attack again if necessary. Natural selection favored smarter proto-Mekidar, who were able to better calculate ballistic trajectories as well as predict the behavior of the spooked prey, the better to jump-up on them in a manner that would fell them quickly. Advanced hunting tactics and defending territory from rival predators both of the same and different species further fostered the evolution of intelligence. Eventually the Mekidar ancestors figured out how to use tools, and natural selection favored those who were better equipped to make and use them. So, the modern Mekidar have more dexterous fingers, smaller claws, and considerably bigger brains than their ancestors.

Stone Age to Steel Age
The history of the Mekidar during this time period resembles that of many others. They spread across their solar system and colonized the various planetary bodies in it. Then they sent sleeper ships to nearby systems. Primitive FTL drives were available when the recently formed Mekidar Republic made first contact with alien species. By the end of the Silver Age, the Mekidar were a minor power in the grand scheme of things.

As the Steel Age dawned and warfare tore the Galaxy asunder, they managed to survive against the great juggernauts of the time. The mighty powers waging interstellar war could barely spare any resources to try to take their worlds, so the Armed Forces of the Mekidar Republic were able to repulse the enemies who sought to invade them.

Eventually, as the frontlines and theaters shifted, their worlds became strategically important. So it was that the Mekidar saw heavy fighting across their space, and many of their worlds were ravaged by war. Shrewd diplomacy saved them from a return to the Stone Age. They had picked sides as soon as the war drifted their way, and eventually they cashed in their chips. The Mekidar leaked important information about their "allies" to the powers that were in the best position to use it, then they began to leak misinformation and declared neutrality. The theaters of operations shifted, and the giants withdrew their fleets to different places that were now more important.

While there was no such thing as a "peaceful area" during the latter parts of the Steel Age, Mekidar space saw comparatively little shooting. So, their Republic received many refugees, in particular a lot of Humans, most from a nearby Star Nation that had been broken by war. Since the end of the Steel Age until now, the Mekidar and those they have adopted have been hard at work rebuilding the destroyed worlds of the Republic.

Mekidar Reproduction
The Mekidar have no gender differentiation, any two adult Mekidar can mate and produce offspring. When two organic Mekidar engage in sexual intercourse, their sex organs emerge from their bodies and begin to merge. Once an external sack of tissue has been created, the organs inject various egg cells from both parents, which then combine into zygotes. Generally between half and a full dozen zygotes are created. The sack of tissue then detaches itself from the parents and the external tissue hardens. This process lasts several hours and is very draining on the parents as they each loose about half a kilogram of mass. The egg sack must be cared for and nourished by the parents for about a year and then one or two (rarely three) infants emerge from the sack. It takes about a year and a half before a Mekidar can reproduce again.

Nowadays with their synthetic bodies, Mekidar reproduction is somewhat different. Egg cells are extracted from the parents and allowed to fuse in a petri dish. The best candidates are chosen and genetic tweaking may done at this stage. Then the zygotes are placed in an artificial egg sack. Periodically the fetuses are checked and some of the least promising ones may be removed. Generally, one child is given to the parents in the end, unless they request more.

Like in humans, Mekidar feel pleasure during sexual intercourse, unlike humans it is more an emotional thing than a physical one. For them, the differences between "sex" and "cuddling" are that after sex they are very drained and have an egg sack to take care of. This deep emotional bond, and pleasure, that Mekidar can feel just from lying together in each other’s arms without any actual sexual intercourse is probably an evolutionary response to the need for the Mekidar to have a very close relationship as they care for and nourish the egg sack and, later, child(ren).

Synthetic Bodies
The Mekidar synthetic bodies can be very easily mistaken for organic bodies at first glance, as mentioned before, they are very similar to the real deal. Though there can be no mistake, even at first glance, as to which is which if an organic and synthetic Mekidar were to be put side by side. Most adult Mekidar have synthetic bodies, generally switching some time after reaching adulthood. While deaths do occur during the transfer procedure, their number pales in comparison to the number of young Mekidar that have died from things that would have been non-fatal to a Mekidar in a synthetic body.

Mekidar often decorate their bodies in many ways. Most leave the basic features intact, and add some minor modifications to personalize it. Some will change the entire color, carve intricate designs in the artificial skin, and generally use their bodies as a medium of self-expression. Since they wear no clothes, military personnel have name, rank, and various insignia carved or pinned directly unto their skin.

The synthetic bodies made by the Mekidar are truly an impressive technological achievement. They are a triumph of intelligent design over the randomness of natural selection. Compared to the organic bodies the synthetic ones are more durable, have longer lasting power systems, stronger muscles, and much sharper claws that as a bonus are retractable. They can give vacuum the finger, and laugh-off extreme temperatures and pressures. The fact that a civilian Mekidar can tear through a modern car as if it were made of wet cardboard, with hir bare hands, means that assaulting Mekidar cities can really be a bitch.

The Mekidar are long lived thanks to their synthetic bodies. Death generally occurs when brain tissue degenerates into uselessness. Advanced medical technology, and the fact that there are no other vital organs that can be failing or getting diseases, brain failure can take some 250 years.

Homo Mekidaris
The great majority of the refugees that arrived in Mekidar space upon the close of the Steel Age were Humans, who arrived in great numbers. The Mekidar took them in with minor reluctance. A ~1g moon revolving around a gas giant very close to the home Mekidar star-system was selected as a new homeworld for these refugees. The terraformed world nowadays looks a lot like a heavily industrialized Earth that has fairly large protected natural areas. The greatest concentration of humans is on the moons of, and in platforms inside, the gas giant. The Humans permeate every level of Mekidar society, having become fully integrated into it, and very few Mekidar spend so much as a day without seeing one. Almost all Humans have basic cybernetic implants (kind of like what Togusa and most average folk have in GitS). Also very common are artificial limbs, enhanced eyesight, and enhancements that make Human bodies more durable and resistant to damage. Full cyborgs like the Mekidar are not very common, and Humans without any cybernetic implants are rare.

Many generations of living in the Republic, a complete integration into Mekidar society, a Mekidar-guided genetic tweaking and cyberization program, constant sweat and blood poured into rebuilding and defending the Republic's worlds across many star systems… When one considers all of this it unsurprising that the Humans in the Republic consider themselves as much a part of it as the Mekidar themselves. To express their distinction and separation from any Human nations they have renamed their species Homo Mekidaris (note that the name Homo Sapiens Mekidaris is probably better, though it remains to be seen whether they are still capable of producing fertile offspring with standard Homo Sapiens). Trying to play these Humans against the Mekidar is akin to trying to play the liver against the heart.

Partial cyberization, the easy availability of advanced medical technology, genetic tweaking, and the fact that they can get a full synthetic bodies if they can afford it, means that a human can live ~180 years.

Shindrashekhar
An insectoid species that arrived at the cluster from somewhere else in the galaxy. More or less around the time the Age of Silver was transitioning into the Age of Steel. They initially hired themselves out as a mercenary force. They fought in various wars, more than once changing sides as contracts ran out and their former enemies out-bid anyone else. Eventually they were hired by the Mekidar. Years passed and the Mekidar hired them again and again, the two species became endeared to each other. Eventually, the Shindrashekhar came to the Republic with a surprising and audacious proposal. The Shindra would cease all mercenary activities, and focus all of their military on defending only the Republic. In return, they only wanted one thing, a home. The Republic came back with a counter-offer that surprised the Shindra, they offered to give the entire Shindra population full citizenship into the Republic, with all the rights and obligations that it entailed. The Shindrashekhar accepted, and they were granted a homeworld close to the center of the Republic.

The Shindra physiology is, in basic terms, a rip-off of the Freespace Shivans. The main differene is that the Shindra are smaller. It seems that they have been genetically engineered, either by themselves or by someone else, to be crews on space ships. Their physiology is built towards operating in 0g environments, but are capable of withstanding many Gs of acceleration. The design is so good that the Mekidar military actually adopted a synthetic body based on it as standard maintenance and damage control equipment. The bodies are part cybernetics and part organic. Unlike the Mekidar, they cannot survive without the cybernetics, which are integral to their lives from cradle to grave.

Shindra are primarily female, the role that males play in their society will remain a mystery due to creative bankruptcy on my part.

Government
Mekidar Republic's government is divided into three branches, Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary.

-The Executive branch is headed by the Princeps, who is elected by popular vote and serves a term of ~12 (Earth) years. The same person can be elected Princeps for an unlimited number of non-consecutive terms. The Princeps's role is to lead the nation, shaping domestic and foreign policy, as well as take care of the day to day running of the country. To do all this more effectively, zie can appoint people to various Ministries and other positions. These people must be approved by the General Assembly and be uncontested by the High Court of the Republic. The Princeps is also Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Zie is expected to set general strategies and goals and leave everything else to the various subsidiary Commanders, however as SCOTAF the Princeps can do as much micromanaging as zie pleases. The Legislative branch can limit the level of micro-managing the Princeps does if the military brass can convince the Assembly that it is hurting the war effort.

-The Legislative branch is embodied by the General Assembly. Each Assemblyman serves a term that is equal to 3/2 the length of the President's term. They are elected from districts that are carefully delineated taking many variables into account, among the most important being population. On average each Assemblyman represents more or less the same number or people. The General Assembly is considered to be the voice of the people in the government. Passing and revising laws, approving budgets, declarations of war, approval of treaties, setting of tax rates, approving Ministers and Judges, as well as various other things are all the responsibility of the Legislative branch. The Assembly, due to its sheer size, is heavily dependent on Comities. The Assembly may give, through majority vote, a Committee the power to investigate, deliberate, and decide on an issue. After doing so, they present their findings and decision(s) before the General Assembly and if no strong objections arise then the Committee’s recommendation is upheld as if the Assembly had voted in favor. The General Assembly is also responsible for the trying of prominent public officials, namely Princeps, High Court Judges, and Assemblymen.

-The Judiciary branch is in charge of the criminal justice system and serves as a check on the other two branches. The 21 Honored Members of the High Court of the Republic are responsible for telling the other branches when they have overstepped the bounds set by the Constitutionary Document for the Governing of the Republic (aka The Constitution). They are also the heads of the criminal justice system, and the Judiciary branch handles law enforcement as well as the Judging and sentencing of criminal offenses. When positions are opened in the High Court, the Princeps can nominate candidates, which must then be approved by the General Assembly. The term of a Judge is until retirement, unless sacked by the Legislative branch, which can tell the Court when it is overstepping its bounds.

Everyone of voting age can have hir say in the government. They elect everything from local level officials to the members of the General Assembly and the Princeps. Government guarantees base medical benefits for all citizens, more advanced stuff requires the citizen to provide their own money. Most people have faith and trust in the governmental system, particularly in their ability to make their opinions known through the ballot box and the ability to recall politicians through votes of no confidence. A sufficient number of signatures collected will force a recall vote at any level of government. A Princeps cannot be recalled without approval of their Assembly. However, Assemblymen have been booted out of office for not listening to the people and their ginourmous number of signatures.

Economy
Free market capitalism, with restraints on very large corporations and laws against monopolies and such. For the most part the government favors small businesses over corporations except when it hurts the economy to do so. Government for the most part tries to avoid interfering in the economy. Of course, opinions widely differ on when exactly the government should and shouldn't interfere. Major fuck-ups are very rare and not that damaging, so the right answer does, apparently, consistently emerge out of all that bickering.

Criminal Justice System
Crimes are punished in two ways, administering of unpleasant sensations (i.e. pain). and the denial of sleep and any sort of sensory input for a pre-determined amount of time. Small crimes are usually dealt with quickly; you take your "100 lashes" and are then paroled. The pain sensation is done by stimulating the brain directly, and the system is tweaked for each individual so that everyone, regardless of pain tolerance, feels equally unpleasant for the same crimes. Crimes that are more serious involve a few days of sleep and sensory-input denial. It’s kind of like jail, but worse, hence the considerably shorter time people are put in it. Those deemed incorrigible (i.e. serial killers) are given a more extreme variation of this, basically it lasts several weeks and the criminal's first sensory input after that time is calculated to curve violent and anti-social tendencies. In basic terms, it is brainwashing, which has been deemed superior and more civilized than the death penalty or operating on the brain to make personality changes. The Justice System reserves the right to use the death penalty if deemed necessary, it very rarely is.
Another aspect of the justice system is a sort of cultural quirk, and is pretty much the only use a Mekidar’s claws can expect to have over hir lifetime. Essentially, anyone that has a grievance with a person can legally engage in a duel. These duels require the approval of a judge, and that both parties agree to it. Getting judge approval can be tricky, as they tend to insist on negotiation, and when that fails, insist on some more negotiation. If a duel does get off the ground, it is a no holds barred fight until someone either gives-up or is unable to continue fighting. The fighting is done using claws, and a neutral referee ensures that both synthetic bodies brought into the fight are equal in terms of performance. Damaging the opponent’s central nervous system is illegal, and killing an opponent is more illegal. The sentences are lighter than if the same had happened outside a duel. Unlike the old Confederate States of America, Mekidar society has little hang-ups with a code of honor. A Mekidar can be ridiculed for proposing a duel and praised for declining one, depending on the circumstances.

[Lancer]

Adrian, you might also want to mark out where your faction is:

[Raxmei]

Current draft

Ships
Fighters:
Gunstar fighter-bomber
A general-purpose attack craft. The Gunstar mounts powerful and accurate blasters as well as racks of antifighter missiles. The Gunstar seats two, a pilot and a gunner.
300 points worth ride on escort carriers
450 on Battlestars
240 on DeathStars
180 in reserves


Sunbeam tactical bomber
The Sunbeam mounts as its main armament a spar torpedo, a one-shot heavy blaster capable of damaging large ships. Bombers aren't used in the fleet as heavily as Gunstars because they are a liability in a fighter battle. They are usually only brought out when air superiority is already assured.
none on escort carriers
150 points on battlestars
80 on Death Stars


Escorts

Table class Escort Carrier [3] +1 vs fighters (usual air group 6pt fighter, no bomber) Not really a Carrier in the rules sense
Aside from the obvious role of escorting merchantmen, escort carriers are often used as scouts. The tracking systems that they have to have to do their job properly synergize well with point-defense, explaining the anti-fighter specialization.
Fully loaded the carrier costs 9 points. x50 = 450


Mace class Assault Frigate [4] +2 versus warships
The counterpoint of escort carriers, assault frigates are meant to beat up on picket ships.
x50 = 200

Goldenrod class Corvette [2]
A normal general-purpose picket. While the Nova class is good at beating up on pickets, it just can't fill the role of one.
x150 = 300


300 ships, 950 points

Cruisers

Battlestar class fast carrier [6] [carrier]
The Battlestar class of carrier has capacity for hundreds of fighters, but normally travels at a fraction of that for safety reasons. Usual complement 30pts fighters 10 pts bombers
x15 = 690

Star Blade class battlecruiser [10] +5 vs warships
The Star Blade is mean little anti-ship scrapper. Alone or in small groups it can shred most other cruisers and easily evade capital ships. Fighters are a bit of a problem, but that's what carriers are for.
x30 = 300

45 ships, 990 points

Capital ships


Star Destroyer class Battleship [50] +25w
x10 = 500 pts
The line of battle is only brought out to fight against opposing lines of battle. As a result it is heavily specialised for that role.
Star Destroyer is really a number of slightly different classes with the same name and basic design. The latest generation is the Star Destroyer model 9. Ships from the previous few implementations of the design are kept in the fleet and modernised until they worn out or destroyed.

Older model Star Destroyer [40] +10w
Less advanced and less specialised to the wall of battle than the modern refined Star Destroyer class.
x10=40 pts

20 ships, 900 points


Fixed Defenses:
Death Star battle station [Defense] 80pts (160 points counting fighters)
Large fighter bases in planetary orbit. There was originally only one such station in orbit around Eden Tower. One more was later added in the opposite side of its orbit. The same arrangement is in place at Arms Tower, for a total of four stations. In addition to hosting large fighter groups, each Death Star is a fully armed and operational battle station. They are dotted with numerous laser batteries and huge antiship weapons called superlasers.
x4 = 640 points
Death Star fighter group consists of 60 points fighters, 20 points bombers

Eden Tower Planetary Defenses [Defense][20]
The planetary shielding and batteries based on Eden Tower itself.

Arms Tower defenses [Defense] [20]
Same, except at Arms Tower.
(those names refer to two different major worlds)

200 pts
The Army

180 points
Fighter Reserve. These fighters are based at random points around the country. They mostly provide security around minor colonies.
Entirely Gunstars

Fixed defenses, secondary world, [5]
x20 = 100

[Adrian Laguna]

Some comments and questions:
[Not that annyone is liable to care or notice, but I have exised a paragraph of what I decided to be bullshit after looking at Beowulf's OOB]

Can I get a bonus to my armies whenever they are fighting on Mekidar populated planets? I would be willing to invest some points into this if I get a nice return on my investment. But obviously it would require moderator approval. [This idea has been scrapped]

The following players will be Great Powers--
Pablo Sanchez
Spyder
Thirdfain

The following players are major powers--
Phongn
Dahak
consequences
MRDOD
Beowulf

If you don't appear on either list, then you have the opportunity to choose between being a minor power and a regional power, as you desire.

Damn, I was hoping I could get Major. Oh well, I did arrive late so it should be unsurprising that this happened. Yes, I know that my description says I was a Minor Power during the Silver Age and Steel Age. However, during that time I doubt any of today's Grands would make Regional. Guess the Mekidar got hammered harder than I thought.
I'm still hoping a miracle happens and I get Major. And while I'm making wishes, I hope some random rich guy dies and it is found that I am his sole heir.

I was wondering, why are some of the moderators playing in the game, isn't that a conflict of interest?

[Pablo Sanchez]

Damn, I was hoping I could get Major. Oh well, I did arrive late so it should be unsurprising that this happened. Yes, I know that my description says I was a Minor Power during the Silver Age and Steel Age. However, during that time I doubt any of today's Grands would make Regional. Guess the Mekidar got hammered harder than I thought.

You had somewhat more than a week during which you could have posted your national description, so I haven't much sympathy for you.

I was wondering, why are some of the moderators playing in the game, isn't that a conflict of interest?

No, that is how it has always been done and it has only been a problem once, in which case it was rapidly rectified. You can't expect anybody to maintain a serious interest in moderating this kind of RP game if they aren't allowed to participate.

[Adrian Laguna]

You had somewhat more than a week during which you could have posted your national description, so I haven't much sympathy for you.

I wasn't expecting any "I did arrive late so it should be unsurprising that this happened." During the Age of Steel the Mekidar got hammered harder than I originally thought, end of story.

No, that is how it has always been done and it has only been a problem once, in which case it was rapidly rectified. You can't expect anybody to maintain a serious interest in moderating this kind of RP game if they aren't allowed to participate.

Okay then, I'm glad to know that it won't be a problem.



EDIT - I knew there were more questions I wanted to ask.

What does STGOD mean anyway?

Is there some place that explains the rules? I'm going to give the previous STGOD threads a look so I can get a better grasp for how things work. However, if there are any subtle things in the rules I'm very likely to miss them unless they are spelled-out the way they would be in a rule-set.

[Spyder]

There's three mods the chances of having an issue with all of us at once are fairly slim so you shouldn't have any problems getting a decision from a neutral party. Also, we can't function very well as mods if we manage to piss off all the players so as you can imagine any mod that loses the respect of the players doesn't remain a mod for very long.

[Lancer]

Is there some place that explains the rules? I'm going to give the previous STGOD threads a look so I can get a better grasp for how things work. However, if there are any subtle things in the rules I'm very likely to miss them unless they are spelled-out the way they would be in a rule-set.

Grand power: 8,000 points
Major power: 6,000 points
Regional power: 4,000 points
Minor power: 2,000 points.

Rules for OOB are here

[Spyder]

Ok everybody, for those of you that managed to successfully add yourselves to the map, well done and good on ya! You all clearly rock at the internet. Anyway, for those of you with posted pre-oobs that are not on there yet, don't panic there's still time to get your empire on the map.

Incase you missed the post explaining how the mapping works, I'll repost the process. Just follow the instructions and nobody gets hurt.

Step # 1, arrange for some form of image hosting if you don't have any already. Image Shack Will work fine for what we need.

#2: Download the map that was last posted to this thread (I'm about to post the latest one)

#3: Open it up in MSPaint, or whatever, and slap your name and your empire on it somewhere, save it,

#4: Post it here using image shack or whatever for the next person to grab and do the same.

Here's the even more awesome latest map! If in doubt, do what the last guy did.



Go go go!

[Glimmervoid]

Are we setting this in the Milky Way or some other galaxy that happens to have humans (like Star Wars)? Or do we not know/decide by what people do in game?

Also any idea of galaxy size if it is not the Milky Way, it could be important for working out travel times for ambassadors in posts and the like.

[Dahak]

Are we setting this in the Milky Way or some other galaxy that happens to have humans (like Star Wars)? Or do we not know/decide by what people do in game?

Also any idea of galaxy size if it is not the Milky Way, it could be important for working out travel times for ambassadors in posts and the like.

I daresay Milky Way size?
As for ambassadors, didn't we go with the gate approach to do without this utter useless ambassador-in-ship postings...?

[Lancer]

Are we setting this in the Milky Way or some other galaxy that happens to have humans (like Star Wars)? Or do we not know/decide by what people do in game?

Also any idea of galaxy size if it is not the Milky Way, it could be important for working out travel times for ambassadors in posts and the like.

I daresay Milky Way size?
As for ambassadors, didn't we go with the gate approach to do without this utter useless ambassador-in-ship postings...?

I dunno about the other empires, but if the Avalonian League discovered a brand new object of obvious alien origin sitting around on one of their planets, they're very likely to pick that object up and throw it the hell out of Avalonian Space, or at the very least move it out into a quarantine facility inside an asteroid floating in deep space.

[Glimmervoid]

Are we setting this in the Milky Way or some other galaxy that happens to have humans (like Star Wars)? Or do we not know/decide by what people do in game?

Also any idea of galaxy size if it is not the Milky Way, it could be important for working out travel times for ambassadors in posts and the like.

I daresay Milky Way size?
As for ambassadors, didn't we go with the gate approach to do without this utter useless ambassador-in-ship postings...?

Well my people settled a new world at the start of the Age of Steel so they would have no Stargate, I would have to try to get one if most other users start using them.

[Spyder]

The funny thing is that when distance is increase people will generally assume faster FTL, travel times often remain constant. Ultimately area size only effects how people might describe their empires while ingame. This isn't something I personally see as a problem, we want to see players interacting globally rather then just with their immediate neighbors.