Factions

As one of the heirs to the shattered Star Union, you emerge from a cosmic Dark Age to craft a new future for your people. You travel to one of the many lost worlds of the old empire, where you will find marvels among the remnants of this once great civilization. You will need to develop and rediscover technologies and social doctrines for your colonists to thrive on these hostile worlds, for you are not alone here. Other houses compete with yours to rebuild the Star Union, and you will need both a carefully crafted arsenal, and a firm grip on diplomacy if you are to have a chance at victory.

Factions come in two types: Primary Combatant Factions and Non-Primary Combatant (NPC) Factions. At the start of a game each commander has access to only one Faction but via diplomacy or conquest one can get access to potentially all Factions.

Primary combatant factions

There are 8 primary combatant factions available. Each primary combatant faction has access to the following:

• 9 unique units
• 2 unique ships (except for Syndicate & Shakarn, who have 1 unique ship each)
• 1 unique colonizer
• unique unit mods, operations, buildings and society doctrines

Faction	Weapon Groups	Bonuses	Racial Abilities
Amazon	Bio Laser	Command genetically engineered beasts Terraform forests and manipulate wildlife Increased economy and combat capability in forests	Forest Affinity
Assembly	Arc Firearms	Reassemble fallen units, bringing them back to life Gather extra resources from battlefield victories Excellent research capabilites	Natural resistance to Arc Damage
Dvar	Explosive Firearms	Powerful area of effect and medium range attacks Strong focus on production Terraforming options to destroy and create mountains	Ignore happiness penalties from Volcanic
Kir'Ko	Bio Psionic	Rapid population growth and large armies Swarm Shields protect units in combat Biological units with good melee capability	Swarm Shields Faster Regeneration
Syndicate	Arc Psionic	Indentured slave units ignore morale penalties Excellent stealth capabilities and covert operations	None
Vanguard	Laser Firearms	Deploy combat drones and turrets Use of propaganda and military force Powerful ranged units, weak melee capability	None
Shakarn	Sound Laser	Use Holograms to infiltrate, confuse and mirror your enemies. Use of broadcasts and propaganda. Omni weapons Combine Sound and Laser Technology.	None
Oathbound	Arc 24px Entropy	Battlesuits use Arc-based melee attacks. Seers manipulate probablity to control the battlefield.

Amazons

Main article: Amazon

The Amazons originate from the Terratech BioTech & Terraforming Company that prepared newly conquered planets for habitation by the star union. After the fall of the Unions, a Terratech expedition was trapped an a remote World.

What befell the men of the expedition is a tightly kept secret, but the Amazon now rely on biotechnological methods to procreate. This ability to manipulate life extends trough all aspects of Amazon culture, they see each world as a canvas, ready to be painted into a paradise.

Assembly

Main article: Assembly

During the Collapse a colony of test subjects rebelled against their scientist masters, leaving their world devastated and the people sick and infertile. From the wastelands, a hybrid race emerged patched together using cloning, prosthetics and scrap metal.

The Assembly thrive on conflict, with frequent civil wars leading to widespread destruction. The assembly see this as a good thing though, the victors prove their superiority and rebuild their defeated foes in their own image.

Dvar

Main article: Dvar

The Dvar originate from the mining consortiums sent out to strip worlds of their natural resources. Dvar pride themselves as being the hardiest of survivors, after the collapse the Dvar' were marooned on a barely habitable planet with an elliptical orbit, causing it to be scorched during short blazing summers and then frozen by eternal winters. To make matters worse, their world passes trough an asteroid belt, causing a yearly bombardment of giant rocks. This environment has caused the Dvars to evolve into a bunker dwelling species who see nature as something that needs to be distrusted and looted as soon as a window of opportunity arises.

Kir’Ko

Main article: Kir'Ko

The Kir'Ko were the only reported sentient xeno lifeform discovered by the Star Union. The psionic abilities of this insectoid species were seen as a threat, which lead the Kir'Ko hive queens being lobotomized and their race enslaved. Broken free from their shackles, the Kir'Ko are ready to shape their own destiny.

Syndicate

Main article: Syndicate

The Syndicate is a reformation of the trading enterprises that spearheaded the discovery and exploitation of the universe in the early days of the Star Union. The Houses controlled entire star clusters, commanded private armies, and monopolized trade of exotic resources, including Kir'Ko slaves. The Houses developed their own feudal societies and waged bloody wars among themselves.

After power became consolidated in the era of the Imperial Star Union, Territories held by the Houses had to submit the Union control, of face annihilation. Some submitted and were rewarded with hereditary positions, while others didn't and fled to the Outworlds. The Houses continued to practice their business in secret, until the Fall of Star Union created a new opportunity for the survivors. They formed a new collective, called the Syndicate ensuring they would never again lose their freedom to do business their way.

Vanguard

Main article: Vanguard

The Vanguard Expeditionary Forces were sent out to claim new worlds beyond the Frontier of the Star Union and its Nexus hyperspace network. When one such expedition arrived at their destination and built the Nexus Portal, they discovered a galactic cataclysm had taken place during their long journey in cryosleep. Now the Vanguard need all their combat and survival skills to prepare for the showdown with the forces that brought down the Union.

Shakarn

Main article: Shakarn

Not much is known about the Shakarn, although their agents seem to have been among us for longer than we realized. This reptilian race originates from an oceanic homeworld covered in atolls and archipelagos. Having conquered the sea, they took to the skies to further expand their empire, but when they first encountered the size and power of the Star Union, any invasion plans they had were postponed.
While the majority of the Shakarn forces bided their time on the edges of the known universe, their agents infiltrated key locations by mimicking the appearance of its inhabitants through advanced holo-tech, stealing any knowledge and technology they considered interesting. After the Cataclysm left the Star Union in ruins and chaos, the Shakarn have seized the opportunity to conquer the remnants of the human empire.

Oathbound

Main article: Oathbound

Oatbound