Make It Your Own – Part One

In the setting of Outward Realms, the galaxy is vast and while there are powerhouses vying for supremacy, there are many more which exist and are forging their own paths. A big part of making an army of models feel like its yours is deciding their origin. We provide some choices for every faction, but what if you want to make your own? Here are some examples you can take and run with to tell your tale.

Realm

Charterless Houses

The Realm is full of small states which were not given charters during the Unification War. Whether too small to subsume or not worth the effort to dedicate Proto forces to, for whatever reason they retained a high degree of independence. They do not hold political power within the Realm, but often this means that they are not held to Realm decree or regular visitation by the Beggars. While this can leave them more vulnerable to outside forces, the amount of freedom they have would be considered worth it by the people who live there.

These Houses can be as small as a single world, all the way to claiming many star systems, though they may not have access to a single Golden World. These are the powers which have been leading the push for conventional terraforming and some have managed to turn borderline habitable worlds, into functioning colonies which thrive in spite of the difficult conditions. Even more so than the crews of the seedships, they posses a true frontier spirit and many would be right at home with the same people who bravely ventured out into the void during the Golden Rush.

Church of the Braid

The Church is small in size but big in influence. As the people who decide who is eligible to be Sovereign, they retain a huge amount of political power and influence. They are also required to help protect the Braided and so their church fortresses can be found all throughout the galaxy. They have their own military doctrine and augment forces which they use to carry out their directives and mandates, independent of any oversight from the Realm as a whole.

While Houses and the Realm itself can find themselves at odds with this organization, no House would risk censure by engaging in full scale war with them. The Church does find itself engaged in conflict while protecting its assets from threats, as well as during their investigations. They often will need to verify the histories of the Braided as well as confirm the outcome of the decisions made by these nobles firsthand. When those investigations could threaten the status of a Braided, a House might choose to make sure those investigators never manage to report back what they have found, rather then lose a valuable asset such as a Braided noble.

Corporations

There are countless corporations within the Realm. While every Realm citizen knows of OmniSol, there are countless others which ply their trade across the stars. As independent powers, they are capable of establishing their own outposts and stations in any space they can establish a charter. To obtain soldiers, they recruit experienced augments to create their security forces and even purchase decommissioned military hardware. This allows them to build up a fighting force capable of defending their corporate assets and protect their employees. Any rumors of intra-corporate warfare with augment forces is entirely speculative and has never been confirmed by any outside party.

Guilds

The largest of the guilds are the Messengers Guild and the Trade Guild. Both have military forces to protect their interests and to act as initial responders while they wait for Realm or House forces to intercede on their behalf. Aside from the largest, there are many other guilds within the Realm which have their own mandate and desires which can bring them in conflict with other powers and even within themselves.

Miners Union

The largest industrial concern within the galaxy is the Miners Union. Operating on countless worlds, their crews and machines feed the vast need for raw materials to the entire Realm. Given that they often find themselves working in obscure or remote places, the need for protection is evident. The Miners Union has what would be considered full scale armies, capable to defending and even taking desirable territory as needed. They are reluctant to ask for any outside assistance, and so rely heavily on their own forces to take care of their needs in war.

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