Essence of Glory Faction Concept : Imperial Core

Welcome to our first faction feature for the "Essence of Glory Universe." In these articles we will introduce or update the various nations and armed forces that players will interact with in the game. We encourage discussion, comments, and critique. Maybe you even have an interesting and different angle of where to take the art!

The Empire as it is known today slowly and seamlessly gained power from Patria through practical means. The Imperial Government is centered on one royal family, a central broker for the noble families that represent the power in the empire. The decentralized nature of the empire is what allows for potent and distinct political groups, such as the Patria and the border holdings of the Imperial Vanguard families to co-exist under one reign. Politics are always uneasy, but rarely result in full blown internal conflicts. Noble heirs are not required to serve in the military, thus the poorer petty nobles are more likely to serve as the empire's officers and it can sometimes be seen as a sign of lesser rank in society. In particular, poor noble families with only daughters would be seen as desperate for allowing daughter(s) to serve as a source of income for the family. In contrast, the imperial family itself is expected to command the military so the inner family’s heirs are high ranking COs of varying quality, given that they are there because of their imperial lineage as opposed to merit.

The soldiery that makes up the imperial army proper tend to be made up of a stable class of petty nobles as officers and career soldiers serving in the ranks. These soldiers form a stable, though inflexible force that is the core of the imperial force during conflict. The empire’s inability to rapidly expand the soldiery for major conflicts tends to result on reliance on military might from less integrated vassals and allies, especially where there is concern over attrition.

In the game, imperial forces tend to be reliable and have very robust equipment, but are less maneuverable which leads to some predictability. This is not necessarily a disadvantage however, and victory will come from a subtlety and foresight that supports the conservative nature of imperial forces. Opponents who attempt to take on imperial units who are properly prepared such that they are able to bring their full might to bear stand little chance of winning.

Fluff Exerpt:

The Battle of Nishitomo is now seen as the beginning of the end for Patria’s monopoly on galactic power. This was the first offensive launched by the Empire. Since the Tulsca incident the fighting had been quite disorganized: Patria nobles would lead their ships in to empire controlled sectors with results varying from total destruction of empire holdings to the deaths of nobles and their massive capital ships. At this point the conflicted had hardly developed in scale, and it wasn't coordinated from either side. The empire would station defenses and a noble from patria would usually get quite angry that one of his mines had been seized and they would attempt to crush the rebels.

The conflict truly became a war when Admiral Gerald Von Ripten gathered his forces, and some from neighboring systems, and struck not an economic target which a high lord of Patria would never defend himself (thus leaving them ripe for the early empire’s navy) but Von Ripten instead struck the home system of the High Lord Nishitomo (which he had named after himself).

Von Ripten knowing the extent of the lord’s pride, lay a trap, he sent 2 ships forward, launching long range missiles at the planet. The missiles did little but Nishitomo would not allow this insult to go unanswered, he immediately launched his flagship (also named Nishitomo) along with all the support ships he had available. As the fleet of 11 ships left the atmosphere the destroyers who fire that first volley withdrew. Nishitomo gave chase exactly according to Von Ripten’s plan. Once Nishitomos fleet had gone quite far from the planet Von Ripten revealed his other 21 ships, they came around from the closest moon of the planet Nishitomo, (again named Nishitomo). Ripten’s fleet cut the Nishitomo fleet off from their planet and lay in to their rear with long range rail guns. Nishimoto's rage grew even more fierce, he ordered the fleet to immediately turn and face Von Ripten.

As the fleet turned their broadside, Von Ripten’s railguns cut down the support ships. Von Ripten stopped his guns long enough to give Nishitomo the opportunity to surrender, knowing the answer before the message was sent. Von Ripten spread out his ships leaving a gap in the center while Nishitomo gave his final impassioned speech about how this upstart peasant deserves nothing but the contempt of respectable people such as himself. At the end of the speech Ripten’s ships opened fire once again as the Nishitomo charged forth firing all of its weapons wildly at the out of range imperial fleet. In minutes the Nishitomo's flaming hulk was speeding through the gap, engines, weapons, most everything was disabled. As the myth goes, Nishitomo played a dirge to himself (titled Nishitomo) on his violin as the flaming hulk crashed in to his own planet. In fact Nishitomo was likely dead long before getting near to the Imperial fleet.

 

The blow Von Ripten delivered was slight in terms of strategic or economic value but it

sent a message to Patria that the empire was a force to be reckoned with. To the empire this signaled the beginning of thinking of themselves as the premier force in the galaxy.

   

 The bickering nobility could never summon forces any larger than one fleet, or coordinate any kind of strategy; no noble wanted to fight for the liberation of another noble’s resources. The war continued in this fashion, and eventually concluded in the subjugation of Patria as a vassal to the empire.