Intergalactic is going to be the first game I make that actually has a canonical map.
Not that this is the whole galaxy, of course, but it’s a start.
There are concrete places and people who live there too. Of course we need factions, right?
I know I don’t want factions to be brushes that I use to paint chunks of the map, like “this swathe of blue space belongs to the Suchandsuch Empire, and this pink blob is the Confederacy of Thoseguys”. I’ve always found that sort of map lures you into the borderlands, exploring the worlds that exist between two factions, but what if everywhere was like that?
Instead of borders butting up against each other I want the colours to mix into each other, creating patches of interesting blends from their primary hues.
More Pollock than Mondrian.
Remember, we’re talking about factions here, not states. Powerful institutions can mingle within the same physical space without borders, each claiming a functional domain rather than a geographical one. Of course each planet will feel the influence of some factions more than others, but I like the idea that you could see their fingerprints on just about any world.
Let’s look at the six factions in the game right now and the area in which they have an effective monopoly.
Free Exchange Trust (FXT) - Monopolised Trade Most worlds can meet their own essential demands, so interplanetary trade focuses on the exporter’s unique, specialist, or curious variations. The FXT enables both the logistic and financial halves of this, not to mention the flow of information.
Sovereign - Monopolised Governance Most worlds govern themselves, without concern for what happens out in space, and the Sovereign assembly works to keep other factions out, gaining their own seats of influence in return.
New Compliance Authority (NCA) - Monopolised Law A unified legal code has never been fully accepted across space. The closest thing is the NCA, born out of legitimised pirates, now a sprawling enforcer of laws nobody remembers agreeing to.
Konkord Group - Monopolised War Most conflicts are limited to a single world, with interplanetary war requiring more resources than a government can bear to waste. Private militaries swept in to fill this void, Konkord having more success than most, eventually buying out their rivals and enemies alike.
Justice Union - Monopolised Justice With factions spreading the galaxy, the individual can feel powerless. This has sparked a thirst for collective justice. This union of unions rarely agrees on anything beyond the need for reprisal.
Starpath - Monopolised Faith People have always looked to the stars for answers, their power to bend reality beyond any reasonable question. With no boundaries between science and mysticism, it’s only natural that an amalgam of science, academia, and religion would act as a unified faith.
What’s the Point? The important thing, of course, is that they each rule over a domain that the players are likely to get involved with, and each table may find them as allies or antagonists depending on their approach.
Elsewhere
Behind the Helmshares 60 guns for Into the Odd that would also sit nicely in Electric Bastionland
I’m reminded of Stars Without Numbers factions here. Each have a Base of Influence, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be involved in other systems and meddle with other factions. Loving this so far!
Very cool philosophy on factions!
Reminds me of the social theory about power being distributed across 4 distinct networks: Ideological, Economic, Military, and Political.
(The academic who developed this framework is named Michael Mann, for reference)
I’m reminded of Stars Without Numbers factions here. Each have a Base of Influence, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be involved in other systems and meddle with other factions. Loving this so far!