Faction Introductions
1. New Earth Protocol
Introduction; one of the research facilities constructed by the US federal government during the Cataclysm, sequestered deep within the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the Tamarisk Research Facility has evolved to become the epicenter of technological and scientific progress in the known world, governed by their hierarchy of scientists and engineers, it has developed culture rejecting spiritual meta-narratives, emphasizing logical thought to the detriment of religious dogma, they provide technology only to those they see as responsible
2. The Directive (or White Mountain)
Introduction; the largest subterranean emergency shelter constructed in the western states of the USA during the Cataclysm, the White Mountain Emergency Subterranean Facility (ESF) held sixty five thousand inhabitants originally, after one hundred plus years it's administrative government began the long process of resettling the surface world, the Directive is a meritocratic republic governing nine federal zones in the wasteland, White Mountain is considered the example of high civilization, populated by over one hundred thousand people alone, culturally White Mountain has restored post-industrial grade society including mass media, consumerism, and what would have been called first world living, imagine White Mountain as a cyberpunk metropolis
3. An'galan Empire
Introduction; the aftermath of the Cataclysm left whoever remaining on the surface to their own devices, while most people descended into the abyss of cannibalism and savagery, the people inhabiting the vast ruin of Los Angeles managed to develop high grade tribal societies underneath the concrete and scrap metal shelters that protected them from the debris storms and sub-zero temperatures, hydroponic agriculture utilizing scavenged ultraviolet lighting, water, and seeds allowed for several quasi civilized townships to survive and grow into powerful city-states, gradually Los Angeles became known as An'gala and the descendants of these people of the ruins came together either through conquest or diplomacy to form the current empire, An'gala is ruled by the King-Supreme through hereditary succession of the Hernan-Tate Dynasty and is an absolute monarchy, their society is agrarian-militaristic but they do not cannibalize people (hooray)
4. Fielding Republic
Introduction; named after Bryce Fielding who managed the first wave of resettlement out of White Mountain and descended from those people, the Fielding Republic was established because of disagreement with the totalitarian system that prevailed in White Mountain during the Social War, they seek to restore liberal democracy based on the old American constitution, they are rather libertarian and it's population is heavily armed, they have managed to have stable elections for generations and control the route connecting the southern and eastern wasteland to the north allowing control over travel and commerce
5. Mirages Tower
Introduction; the Cataclysm disrupted and in some regions completely destabilized the laws of nature once considered unbreakable, out of the ruins of Las Vegas emerged one of the magic wielding groups that established nations in the wasteland, naming themselves after the gigantic guild house, the Mirages Tower, this faction is dedicated to "void magic" and maintains seclusion from the world, its elders provide leadership over the hierarchy there
6. Nevada Technocratic Administration
Introduction; what had been known as Area 51, about which there was much speculation on activity and purpose, became one of the command hubs of the US federal government's resettlement project, concerned with understanding and protecting humankind from the arrival of the Antarian threat, it continues this mission while supporting the reestablishment of human civilization on the surface, it is governed by it's technocratic administrative council resembling the hierarchy of scientists and engineers of Tamarisk (New Earth Protocol), though the NTA affirms the usefulness of spiritual meta-narratives for unifying humanity, toward this purpose it has constructed the super-AI, Metasoft-Alpha and installed carefully designed programming so that it can serve as the new God for humankind
7. Visalian Republic
Introduction; one of the valley republics built around trade and guilds, it's Mayor is elected by the guilds for ten year terms, it has become the leader in luxury good production and banking, the Visalian banks are more powerful than many nation-states and has lent money to many polities in the known world, despite their limited size they project their power through financial leverage and having their advisers support emerging states, their population is highly education and Visalia is currently the center of the art world
8. Kingdom Of Tulars
Introduction; ruled by the Nash Dynasty, the kingdom is another prosperous commercial state of the Salinas Valley, they are however one of the weakest states in that region, noteworthy only for their blood connection with the imperial family that rules the An'galan Empire, they are essentially An'gala's puppet ally in the valley
9. Gripp Free-State
Introduction; this state was once a minor commercial state before mercenaries under the leadership of Commander Toto Gripp overthrew the government and renamed the city, it has become a free-state where mercenaries, criminals, and the black market thrive and find refuge, it maintains neutrality in all conflicts and has survived by providing mercenaries, illegal narcotics, and weapons to the other nations of the wasteland
10. Republic of the Valley
Introduction; unlike the other city-states of the Salinas Valley, Valley City controlled more fertile land and therefore became centralized around big agriculture, indeed it is considered the bread-basket of the northern wasteland, landed aristocracy rose to power and fought one another for generations until after a particularly nasty conflict they formed the Republic of the Valley which only those of noble blood can hold office, most of their people live as serfs possessing limited rights, their cities are populated by free people who are mostly of foreign origin and provide the commercial and industrial backbone of the nation
11. Church of the Cataclysm
Introduction; during the lowest point of the Cataclysm there of course emerged new religious movements, the Church of the Revelation was established by the followers of Saint Fallon who received visions from God which he recorded into the Book of Cataclysm commanding him to restore Christian civilization in the wasteland, the church built monasteries for refuge and extinguished blasphemous literature and media from the world, they formed militant knighthoods to wage war against the heathens of the world, they push on with their divine mission and aggressively seek converts through the known world
12. The Hub
Introduction; established from the ashes of San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and the Bay Area by super-corporations of the late post industrial age before the Cataclysm, the Hub is ruled by the corporate oligarchy with their own zones of control like fiefdoms passed down from generation to generation, these corporations constructed subterranean facilities of their own though much smaller than White Mountain, they were populated by carefully selected members of society, scientists, engineers, intellectuals, artists, and so on, gradually the corporate oligarchy has built their own unique civilization that rivals White Mountain in infrastructure and technological prowess, imagine another cyberpunk type metropolis
13. Krass Supremacy
Introduction; while the Directive control's the western portion of Route 66, the Krass Supremacy control's the central portion, eastward into the desolation far from the densely populated regions closer to the coast there exist quasi-civilized states ruled by despotism which have survived and prospered through cruelty and strength of arms, while cannibalism has mostly been extinguished from these places, the nomadic, territorial nomad culture of their ancestors retains some importance and influence, the Krass Supremacy is one such country ruled by warrior-chiefs elected by tribal elders to compete in mortal combat with other candidates, the Krassians are fierce warriors that worship the gods of the desolation and make blood sacrifices periodically
14. Humboldt Dominion
Introduction; the only truly civilized nation of the desolation, originating from the city-state of Humboldt, their people were able to survive after discovering an unused subterranean facility equipped with fission reactors and hydroponic complexes, talented members of their society learned how to maintain the power generators and utilize the complexes for generations, the Dominion is divided into a caste system based on skill, there are the common laborers, the technician caste, the merchants, the ruling aristocracy, and warriors, in fact the legendary "road warriors" come from this nation and have protected Route 66 from savagery and enemies of the Dominion for generations
15. The Citadel
Introduction; whispers speak of cannibalism and bloody white linen, ruled by the Autarch and the priesthood, the Citadel is the greatest of the old necropolises that came to worship the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Heylel (or Lucifer), and the pantheon of demons in service to Lucifer, their society consists of three classes, the priesthood, the acolytes, and the slaves (who are harvested for food or sacrificed outright to appease Heylel and other demons), the acolytes are free people who have been baptized in the blood of sacrifices and aspire to the priesthood, they often fight in the armies of the Citadel, the Citadel is the capital of what is known as the Covenant of the Black Dawn, in their meta-narrative they are the descendants of the forsaken whose only hope of avoiding hell is to serve Lucifer in his war against God
16. Nachetka Warren
Introduction; the disintegration of space/time during the Cataclysm opened up portals with strange, mysterious dimensions, one of which spewed forth the goblin race, Nachetka is one of the major goblin warrens ruled by their despotic king as are all other goblin warrens, rulers among goblins are determined by combat to the death, Nachetka has plagued Route 66 for generations though they have no aspiration to greater power, they have content with raiding, killing, and stealing for it's own sake
17. Church of Jeremiah
Introduction; an offshoot of the Black Dawn covenant, the Prophet Jeremiah received visions to abandon cannibalism and with his followers went forth eastward and established Hermitage so that the new priesthood could reflect and reconnect with God, before abandoning the Citadel Jeremiah and his followers stole an advanced war machine known which is an Apache helicopter well maintained and equipped, they also raise all their people as warrior-priests, they are all priests and do not keep slaves or permit non-believers to join their communities
18. Nemesion Cartel
Introduction; from the depths of desolation there is the Nemesions, who have produced many kinds of narcotics and sold them to the wasteland peoples for generations, they have agents throughout the wasteland and are politically governed by a council of bosses, they have maintained control over much of the narcotics markets though their influence is waning as civilization spreads across the known world, their people are raised from birth to be elite warriors and they are heavily represented amongst mercenary companies
19. Imperium of Nilesh
Introduction; the strongest goblin culture in the known world, ruled by Emperor Nilesh the Tenth from Nileshkosh, the Imperium holds hundreds of thousands of goblins and have converted the ruins of Denver into a vast metropolis, here goblin civilization is at its height, goblin oral storytelling, singing, and music from Nileshkosh is revered by other goblin warrens, there are social institutions and high grade organization based around the imperial throne, the Nileshian armies can number in the tens of thousands and have defeated civilized human forces before
20. Hancock City-State
Introduction; an isolated city-state who have fought against the enemies of humanity for centuries, they are wholly made up of warriors and have multiple military orders waging war against Antarians, the undead, supernatural and goblin forces in the post Cataclysm world, they have integrated "materialist magic" into their arsenal
21. Ka'bet Emergency Command
Introduction; after the nuclear explosions in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the Antarians, an advanced alien species who were known as "grays" (though this is simply their scientist class) began observation of humankind on Earth, when the Cataclysm occurred their contingent orbiting Earth were caught up in the rift in time/space, forcing them to establish settlements in the wasteland, they have mostly kept to themselves and are unknown to most factions except the magic wielders and Hancock City-State, and Nevada Technocratic Administration, their caste system is organized around an aristocratic leadership class, scientists class, and a warrior-priest class, they cannot survive in the hydrogen/oxygen environment of Earth and require special suits when outside of their refuges
22. Gagolash Warren
Introduction; another goblin warren ruled according by the traditional blood combat method of choosing kings, Gagolash is another warren that harass commerce along Route 66, they are allied with the Nilesh Imperium and seek to merge their brood with them
23. Cascadian Democracy
Introduction; formed by city-states near the coast of what used to be Oregon, the Cascadians are descended from shelter people and were blessed with consistent sunlight decades before those to the south, they have avoided the incessant warfare that has plagued the south and their neighbors in the Emerald City, they are governed by a general assembly of citizens who may participate in policy discussion and implementation simply by showing up and showing the appropriate paperwork confirming citizenship, this has led fairly decentralized governance with the city-states possessing a great deal of autonomy over their own affairs
24. Emerald Socialist Union
Introduction; out of the ruins of Seattle emerged the Communes in which resources and responsibilities were shared equally (at least in theory) among the population, originally made up of slave/master nomadic tribes, the Bonfire Revolution overthrew the slaver states and instituted the communal based society of the Union, the Emerald City's development has stagnated compared to that of the southern civilized powers with progress made only when strong leaders force through long term programs by use of violence, bartering and scavenging reigns supreme here
