The Sol Empire - Faction Compedium

Power Armor concept by Joazzz1

Here is a breakdown of this fantasy human faction, if it would manage to break away from Super Earth and create its own world in a distant Solar System or Galaxy.

Faction culture and symbols

This faction does not embrace the idea of equality and freedom like Super Earth and Libertas Veil do, but the residents of its worlds are classified as subjects to the Emperor.

Superiority ideals and powerful male phenotypes are glorified. Elitism at its highest form prevails, and good genetics are sought after as eugenics are being practiced across the Empire.

Women are viewed as wombs that give birth on a constant loop for future generations of warriors, nobles and scholars. Although some of them do serve in the army’s auxiliary forces.

The Emperor is worshipped as a divine symbol and viewed as a Father figure

Aliens are viewed as impurities and no form of cooperation or farming is practiced with them.

However not all aliens. When it is beneficial for the Emperor, diplomacy is initiated and neutrality can be achieved. If the alien race is practicing the same form of governing, ie Monarchy or Imperium then diplomacy and even a limited alliance can be established.

Co-existence with aliens in close proximity is not tolerated or practiced, only in forsaken borderland worlds, whose residents are deemed as inferior mongrels, and thus left to their fate to live in slums and wastelands.

Although purism is prevalent, gene editing happens in experiments and in the army, in order to create super soldiers, who can master ultra heavy suits and weapons, as well as exceptionally high cognition.

Genes of exceptional soldiers are stored in backups and if possible the soldier is brought back to life in a replicated past version of themselves.

This is the only case that cloning/human 3D printing is allowed, massive clone armies are not employed by this faction.

Cybernetic augmentations and enhancements are seen as impurities, only prosthetics in the scenario of amputations are allowed, however limb 3D printing from a bio-lab is preferred.

Political system and Hierarchy

As mentioned before this faction is highly martial, xenophobic, purist, elitist, classist, messianic and follows a type of a caste system.

Constitutionally they self identify as managed monarchy, a legacy from their precursor system which was called managed democracy. Unlike managed democracy the change of power does not happen via a citizen questionnaire, but a senate manages the Throne during power changes while it also takes care of state and policy matters acting as clerks advisors to the Emperor. The Emperor delegates administrative tasks to them, but there are also cases when the need arises where they voice the needs of the empire and make requests to the Emperor.

The societal structure is inspired by Plato’s state and the political system has Roman references and influences.

All in all there are three classes of people in this society:

The subjects, the equivalent of a citizen. Without voting rights or much significance in politics. However they can rise to nobility if proven worthy and pure enough, or the warrior class if proven strong and enforcers to the emperor’s will.

The warrior class, is only focused on guarding the empire from outer threats but also from threats from within. Some warrior sub-classes like the Thronarchs have direct impact to governance and make sure the system works and no corruption or conspiracy occurs.

The noble class, this is a class that produces Emperors and Senators. The senate decides who the next Emperor will be, and unlike ancient Rome, for most of the time it obeys the Emperor and executes his will. In the unlikely scenario of the Emperor becoming unfit to rule, going rogue, corrupted by alien crafts or incapacitated in any form, then the Senate asks the Thronarchs to intervene.

The Thronarchs usually keep an eye on the Senate and the Nobles to not go over themselves in terms of power and interference, as well as not to manipulate the succession procedure or lower the lifespan of the current ruler.

Power is not transferred via succession but via once in a lifetime election. The rest of the time the Nobles are to follow the Emperor’s will and the Thronarchs make sure they do not conspire against the Emperor or the Senate.

The female companion of the Emperor is also a noble, and she is known as a Conscortium Eternal. She is not governing in any capacity or form, as the ideal female phenotype in the Empire is the mother figure and nurturer. She takes care of representation of the Royal Family in the Empire and also looks after for the people.

Military

The military is consisted of Auxiliaries, Legionnaires and the Imperial Guard. The latter are the Thronarchs and the Paladins.

The Imperial Guard 

The Imperial Guard are males who can only be chosen from the Ascended caste. The Ascended are men and women of higher statures, elevated IQs, thick bone structures, high muscle mass and great immune systems. They are a product of eugenics and gene editing. 

The Imperial Guard is devised into Paladins and Thronarchs.

Thronarchs, are something like the Praetorian Guard in Ancient Rome, they are elite soldiers wearing power armors and wielding heavy polearms which double down as plasma ranged weapons. As described before they also have a political responsibility too; to monitor affairs around the throne and oversee the most important process of the Empire, Throne transfer from one Emperor to the next one.

Paladins are Imperial Guards, who are the elite shock troops of the emperor and are sent to expeditions only when the Legions and Auxiliaries are on their back foot. After years of service in this cohort if they have what it takes and pass the ideological test of the Emperor they get promoted to Thronarchs.

Both cohorts wear ultra heavy power armors and are finite in numbers, since power armor technology uses parts from exotic materials that are extremely rare in the universe.

The Legions

The legionnaires are the main battle force, the backbone of the Empire. They are consisted of men who keep the heavy armor tradition of the Imperial Forces but not always. They have various regiments of different specializations and guard the corners of the Empire or embark assault campaigns if the Empire calls for expansion.

The Auxiliaries

Those are lighter troops, consisted of men and women, who undertake support combat operations for the legions, in areas like reconnaissance, logistics and other support roles. Their role is crucial for any mission and without them the legions are disadvantaged.

Society

As mentioned before this society follows a caste system. Members of different groups have predetermined paths.

The Noble caste aka noble class, are acting as Imperial candidates at throne transfer times. Otherwise they serve the army as warriors and commanders or are advancing eugenics and collaborating with the Ascended caste on how to upgrade humanity’s gene pool.

The Ascended caste is the idealistic phenotype group of people who produces elite soldiers such as the Paladins and Thronarchs.

The Enlightened caste are people of exceptional intellectual ability, morality and high cognition and they are either clerks, scholars, or ascend to the Senate and act for the Emperor.

The subject caste or peasant class, are the normal residents of the Empire who go about their lives in peace and live under the Emperor’s protection.

The servant caste, these lower class subjects due to socio-economic factors do not own any property and are inherently poor and servitude is passed on to their descendants. They are not slaves per se but they’re close.

The undesirables caste, are subjects to purge or strategically placed in contested corners of the Empire to be used as cannon fodder. These can be criminals, dissidents, foreigners or nomadic people whose lifestyles do not fit the Imperium’s principles.

Sometimes an individual’s caste is decided at birth or during their early years if they display desirable characteristics from a higher caste.

The Empire does not employ slaves, not out of empathy but due to the fact that in the span of generations individuals become naturalised and it could threaten purity and societal cohesion. Moreover, just like in the case of Super Earth with the bugs and the bots, the chains are bound to be broken and a circle of violence is always inevitable.

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