The Elevated Council of Rinsing (Factbook, FT)

[Rinsing]

Contents
Overview
Technology

Overview

The Elevated Council of Rinsing is a rather loose coalition of ten nations, which originated on the world of Osatar. The member-nations of the Elevated Council have certain rules for their interactions with each other, such as weapons and tactics that are banned in internal warfare. They send representatives to frequent meetings to discuss matters of common interest, and would probably work together against an outside group that was waging open warfare against a member of the Council - almost certainly, if the defender was actually in danger of total destruction. Aside from this, they have few connections, and their cultures and political structures are very diverse.

Population (OOC)

The population of the Elevated Council as a whole is based upon the Rinsing account. I decided to create the others because one nation cannot properly represent the politics of all of the Ten Nations together, and I wanted to see how each of them would work out on NS. For now, I am considering Rinsing's NS population to represent the portion of the population that has ready access to advanced technology and is able to provide support for the activities of the Ten Nations, because a gradual technological and industrial revolution seems more reasonable than having sudden population growth begin only after thousands of years of civilized history on the planet. When the NS population reaches about four billion, I will consider further increases to be population growth caused by the colonization of other worlds.

Members

The Snarling Plague is the largest member of the Elevated Council of Rinsing, with about 17% of the total population. Originally founded by goblins, it is incredibly diverse; practically any sort of intelligent being present on Osatar can be found within the Snarling Plague. It is a decidedly lawless and disorderly society, where the strong, the clever, and the persuasive rule, and the weak obey... although powerful individuals are sometimes reminded that numbers are also a form of strength. The undisputed master of the Snarling Plague is Ronux Sparkruthless the Branded Phantom, a powerful Ember Demon who has ruled and guided it since before the invention of gunpowder. Ronux and his fiendish lieutenants are revered as deities by most citizens of the Plague, and draw considerable power from this worship.

The second largest member, and almost certainly the oldest, is the Methodical Bulwark of Gravel. Domain of the mysterious Zalsar, it includes roughly 14% of Rinsing's population. Little is known about the political structure of the Methodical Bulwark, save that the citizens are obedient to the commands of Hive Queens that rule each settlement, and that these individuals answer to some secretive central authority. The Bulwark of Gravel is noted for the skill of its architects and builders, who have been assembling enormous stone towers along rivers and coastlines through all of recorded history.

Third largest is the Ivy of Celebration, which counts some 13% of the Elevated Council's population among its citizens. Most of these are elves, descended from its founders, but it also has notable minorities of rastavs and varthun, and a scattering of other species. Most decisions are made through elections or by elected representatives, but official leadership of the Ivy of Celebration rests in the hands of the Druids, who are chosen from among those most respected for their wisdom. The Ivy of Celebration is famed throughout Rinsing for the skill of its botanists and ecologists, and infamous for its environmental extremism.

The fourth largest among the members of the Elevated Council is The Emerald Helms, with about 12% of Rinsing's population. Few but the dwarves feel comfortable in the deep underground fortresses and sprawling tunnels that make up its settlements. It is a constitutional monarchy, with the bulk of the national power resting in the hands of the King or Queen, but with the nobility overshadowed by elected representatives at the local level. The craftspeople of the Emerald Helms are by far the greatest metalworkers in the Elevated Council of Rinsing, and this civilization's lore masters closely guard the secrets of runes that can be used to magically enhance their equipment.

The League of Tangling is the fifth largest, including around 9% of the total population. It is quite diverse, with the founding ylth holding a slim majority. The political structure of the League is extremely informal and fairly democratic, though it is rare for non-ylth to reach major positions of power. More than anything else, the League is known for its studies of genetic engineering; many of the domesticated creatures common on Osatar are its work.

The Intricate Silken Realm is one of several rivals for the position of sixth largest member of the Elevated Council, all including roughly 8% of the total population. It was founded with the assistance of the League of Tangling, by a population of 'hurans' genetically modified from human ancestors by the League, and ties between these two nations have usually been close. Its government, drawing inspiration from several of the nations that eventually formed the Elevated Council, is an informal and highly democratic constitutional monarchy. Its population is quite diverse, somewhat more so even than that of the League. The Intricate Silken Realm is the most technologically advanced of the Ten Nations, and has consistently lead the field in research of physics and computing. Many innovative technologies now used throughout Rinsing were first developed in the Silken Realm.

The Empire of Droplets is often the most industrially powerful of the Ten Nations, despite its relatively small size. Founded by humans, it also allows citizenship to dwarves, elves, and a few select hybrids. The Empire holds open elections, but ballots are sold at a price that few of the poor can afford, while the wealthy are permitted to purchase as many as they wish, so power is effectively limited to those who have the money to buy a lot of votes. Judges, who interpret and apply the Empire's laws, also hold quite a bit of power.

The Splash of Spikes is a complex coalition of various rastav tribes, clans, companies, and other such groups. Most of these groups are nomadic, travelling across Osatar to trade, hunt, collect rare plants, and frequently, to seek work as mercenaries. They periodically visit various Splash strongholds to meet with other Spikes, trade, and discuss matters of interest to the Splash as a whole. They are noted explorers and voyagers, and are at the forefront of exploration into space now that FTL travel and communication are available.

The last of these moderately small nations is Shrakagleelgus, populated by kobolds. These strange beings either cannot or will not speak any language but their own, which is exceedingly difficult for outsiders to learn and goes through near-constant changes, so little is known about their political structure. They seem to have little organization beyond small tribes, but they do select a representative to attend meetings of the Elevated Council. Although they have technology comparable to that used by most of the Ten Nations, Shrakagleelgus has never been known to build artificial structures, dwelling instead within portions of the vast caverns that can be found throughout Osatar. They are expert scavengers, however, and have been observed constructing spacecrafts of their own.

By far the smallest member of the Elevated Council, the Flaming Talon of Flights includes only 3% of Rinsing's population. A fairly permissive and democratic theocracy, it is populated primarily by varthun and requires most would-be citizens to pass a test of fire. Despite its tiny population, the Talon is regarded as a formidable military power among the Ten Nations, and its cliff-side settlements are heavily fortified.

Factions

The Ten Nations of the Elevated Council of Rinsing can be divided into three rough factions. Although there have often been conflicts (and even wars) between members of a faction, and temporary alliances between members of other factions, relations have usually been better within each faction than between them. The League of Tangling and the Snarling Plague have generally gotten along well,and the Intricate Silken Realm's friendly relations with both formed a powerful trio. The Emerald Helms, the Ivy of Celebration, the Empire of Droplets, and the Flaming Talon of Flights have an uneasy, frequently combative coalition, united primarily by their opposition to 'the Dark Triad'. The remaining three have rarely shown active cooperation with each other, but have been in conflict less often and less intensively than they have with the other civilizations of Osatar.

To Be Added:

-Unusual Creatures of Osatar
-Geography and Resources
-History
-More detailed sections on each of the Ten Nations, including military information.
-Anything else that seems fitting.

Notes

If this seems like a fantasy setting in space... well, that's pretty much what it is. If said fantasy setting seems to be heavily inspired by Dwarf Fortress, that's true too.

I'll be gradually putting in things from the To Be Added section, but in the mean time, I'm happy to respond to questions and comments.

[Rinsing]

Technology

Most of the technology used by Rinsing requires little explanation. Lasers and artificial gravity and the like are much like those used anywhere else. Some of the more unusual equipment, however, merits description.


The Sastomon Drive
First developed by the Intricate Silken Realm, the Sastomon Drive allows a vessel to enter and travel through a layer of reality parallel to normal space, designated Sastomon by the researchers who discovered it. Ships can travel very quickly through Sastomon, travelling the equivalent of light years per minute in normal space. Everything in normal space creates an echo, or reflection, within Sastomon, making it relatively simple to navigate there. However, no means of detecting vessels in Sastomon from normal space has been discovered.

Tolonomon Scanners and Transmitters
To the extent that the concept of direction applies, Tolonomon lies on the other side of normal space from Sastomon. It also has different properties; with the proper equipment, researchers found, it is possible to sense portions of Tolonomon from normal space. The Snarling Plague developed the first reliable Tolonomon scanners, but it was Silken Realm researchers that found the trick to transmitting information through it. This allows near-instantaneous communication at great distances, though the transmissions can be detected by anyone with the proper sensors.

It is possible for vessels to enter Tolonomon and survive within it, and travel there is orders of magnitude faster than in Sastomon. However, motion in this layer of reality is poorly understood by Rinsing's scientists, and seems to be very difficult to control or predict. A ship entering Tolonomon could emerge anywhere within the distance it might travel there. Additionally, detecting normal space from Tolonomon seems to be impossible, and even the transmissions made into it fail to provide a reliable measure of location or direction. At this time, there is no way to navigate or determine one's location in normal space, or even detect possible hazards, like stars. This being the case, a Tolonomon drive is not considered practical for transportation. However, research on the properties of Tolonomon continues, and some ships carry a Tolonomon drive as an emergency escape measure.

Kinetic Manipulators
Even the Silken Realm researchers who developed them could never fully explain how these strange devices function, and many scientists have concluded that they operate at least partially through magic. Regardless, kinetic manipulators can be used to move nearby objects without direct physical contact. They can launch jarring bolts of pure kinetic energy, and even serve as rockets, with casual disregard for conservation of momentum. Many of the most common weapons used in Rinsing rely on them, either to accelerate solid projectiles or to fire kinetic pulses directly, and they are the primary sublight engine used by most of Rinsing's spacecrafts.

The Smelter Beam
Developed by the Emerald Helms for use in mining and processing ore, smelter beams can quickly and cleanly rip most any material into its component atoms. The most sophisticated versions of this equipment can sort the components and form ingots of pure metals or alloys. Weaponized models have greater range, and generally just leave a cloud of dust.

Mam Xâgu Scanners
The primary means of mid-range observation used by the Ten Nations, these devices can be focused on any point within 5.13 light minutes of the scanner, and will provide an instantaneous, real-time representation of any energy present at that location. Larger devices can monitor a larger volume of space and produce a more precise image of it, but the maximum range is independents of size, and has improved only slightly since the development of this technology. Large warships and scouts will typically have arrays of scanners, allowing them to view multiple locations simultaneously. Mam xâgu observation can be detected by several varieties of sensor, including other xâgu scanners, but not tracked back to the ship watching that location.

The Jasro Shield
Jasro projectors produce a perfectly spherical barrier of energy, with size and strength determined by the power put into the shield as it is generated. The barrier's effect depends on both direction and energy distance. Anything reaching the shield from within will pass through unimpeded, as will anything with an energy density below a minimum threshold determined by the size of the shield. Should enough energy strike a portion of the shield from outside at a given time, however, that section of the barrier will harden, deflecting anything that strikes it and absorbing a portion of the incoming energy. A projectile moving fast enough to penetrate a Jasro shield will be slowed somewhat as it passes through the barrier, but not otherwise affected. Other attacks will also lose energy.

Multiple projectors can be used to establish a single shield, as long as they are all within it and none are blocked by another Jasro barrier. Establishing a shield takes far more power than maintaining it, so warships usually keep their shields activated whenever possible. However, any matter present within the barrier when it is established will stick at that location, making it harder to move the projector. For this reason, Jasro shields are difficult to use for mobile land forces.

The Luthi Shield
Luthi shields require the support of a solid surface, but they are far more versatile in shape than Jasro shields. A Luthi generator requires precise computer control, but it can easily match the movements of a running soldier, vary the thickness of the shield to allow easy movement and vision, and briefly open weapon ports. Luthi shields can block any weapon known to the Elevated Council of Rinsing, but each blow thins the shield, which requires time and energy to replenish. They are the primary defense for most heavy land forces, and the second line of defense after the Jasro shield for most warships.


I'll add anything else I decide needs to be described, and answer any reasonable questions.