Ooc. ....yeah, since no one even bothered to even react in some manner to me asking if we can finally start something(hell, two of those times both of you just went dark for like 10 mins when asked...), im just gonna go to sleep now... Tell arken to check if his inbox is full. Maybe thats why hes having "glitches" with seeing messages
1) Okay....after a lot of hard work, running things by Gorath, tweaking, and painstaking steps taken to ensure balance....I have finished the "first edition" of the lore for my custom faction, the Protectorate.
2) Please note that despite some similarities to the Roman Republic these guys are not a definitive "good" faction. They raise good points and do some good things but they will also commit some pretty evil acts in the process or they believe in things that are wrong/not entirely true/etc (and you'll notice those things when you see them) so they're more a "neutral" faction in terms of alignment.
3) I am ALWAYS open to feedback especially if it helps with balance! I do not want a repeat of the Consortium. I have run this stuff by Gorath numerous times to help ensure that there is no OP/lore-breaking/Mary-Sue-ish material but any feedback you guys may have greatly appreciated!!
4) In regards to the "Unsubstantiated Rumors" section I'll leave up to you guys to guess which of those rumors, if any, have even a modicum of truth in them (for now anyway).
5) Have some "theme music" to go with this lore (note, it truly starts at about 0:50 to 1:00...also note how it starts to get "hopeful" at about 3:00):
6) And now comes the lore itself. Please brace yourselves for a massive wall of text and please hold your judgement until you have read through all of it. Gorath believes I have done a significant amount of balancing but this is still only on paper. It's time to actually test them in this RP. Anyway...without further ado, I give you all....THE PROTECTORATE!!!
Faction Name: The Protectorate
Motto (when translated from its Latin roots): “Bow not to the whims of tyrants.”
Background: The Protectorate is a Human star nation that is independent of the Systems Alliance. Their territory allows them to remain self-sufficient with a relatively prosperous and steadily growing economy. The Protectorate is somewhat lacking in external trade ability as they refuse to trade with any Citadel race. Even Human merchants and corporations have to acquire special licenses to be able to enter and trade within Protectorate territory. Their government consists of a senate in which each Senator is chosen based upon the number of electoral votes they receive in a given election (which is held every three years barring the death of a Senator), but the heads of state are three “Praetors” who have the power to veto one another’s decisions. There are three Praetors to prevent a deadlock from occurring on pressing or otherwise highly important issues.
Symbol: Double-headed Eagle with a German Cross like symbol on its chest. In the left talon it is gripping a rifle of unknown make and in the right talon it is gripping what appears to be a ruined Citadel.
Diplomatic ability: Lacking, unless they have something the other side desperately wants/needs or they can somehow impress the group with which they are negotiating.
Policy: Heavy militarization with a focus on heavy armors and well trained troops, currently trying to create improved weapons as they are desperate for any edge in the galactic war they are convinced is just around the corner.
Stance towards the Citadel and its associate races: Distrust at best, Xenophobia at worst. The Protectorate believes it is only a matter of time before the Citadel tries to use force to bring all of Humanity under its control. As such they do not abide by Citadel law and have not signed any Citadel treaties.
Stance towards non-Citadel races, specifically Krogans and Quarians: The Protector respects the Krogans as soldiers and respects the Quarians as master technicians. Further, they believe that these two groups have suffered the most out of any of the galaxy’s races because of the Citadel and they are actively trying to attain alliances with both groups, assuming they can find a powerful and influential leader amongst the Krogan and assuming they can locate the Migrant Fleet as it is has never passed near their territory.
Stance towards the Systems Alliance: The Protectorate views the Systems Alliance as a fascistic dictatorship for “cuddling up with” the Citadel which they believe will rob the largest Human faction of its sovereignty and its citizens of their rights (what little rights the Protectorate considers System Alliance citizens to have under their current “rulers”) and because of the Alliance’s attempts to gain both a Spectre and a seat on the Council. They actively have plans for marching on Earth and annexing the Systems Alliance before focusing on the Citadel.
Stance towards biotics: The Protectorate is not biased against biotics and instead sees them as valuable assets for the ability to bend the Laws of Physics to their will thanks to the Element Zero nodes in their bodies. As such, Protectorate biotics can be found anywhere so long as they have the implants needed to control their abilities. As Protectorate biotics are not highly constrained like their Alliance counterparts (the Protectorate is quick to point out how poorly treated biotics are in Alliance space, especially since many biotics are forced into military service), it is not uncommon to find biotic individuals in many high ranking positions in business/industry, government, and the military. Biotic individuals are often well paid for their talents, especially amongst military and technician groups where a biotic’s ability to freeze a hostile or cool down an overloading reactor can mean the difference between life and death for those around them.
Stance on genetically modifying their soldiers and the use of dangerous medical agents and cybernetics: The Protectorate does not make use of genemods like the Alliance or other groups, preferring that their soldiers actually work to attain and maintain their physical condition. This has lead to the mentality that soldiers who actually work to keep themselves fit are superior to soldiers who “cheat” by using genemods. That being said, they do issue their troops a sort of “berserker” tonic, colloquially called “blood-rage-in-a-can” by Protectorate troops. This tonic is considered a last resort item and is to only be used when critical injury has been sustained and the chances of receiving medical attention (and thus, the chances of survival) are slim to none. When the tonic is applied, the soldier is numbed to pain and further injury and receives a massive boost to aggression and strength as adrenalin floods their system. The result is a highly-durable, crazed combatant that will shrug off anything that isn’t an immediately fatal wound. Soldiers who have taken this tonic are unlikely to survive as even if their squad comes out of a fight victorious (thus allowing them to treat their wounded) as the sheer amount of adrenalin and other compounds coursing through a soldier’s veins will cause cardiac arrest and heart failure once the tonic’s effect wears off. Despite the Protectorate’s stance on genemods, they consider cybernetic augmentation (both willing and that which is required due to injury) as an acceptable means for soldiers to enhance their capabilities, provided it is not to extreme. This means it is not uncommon to find Protectorate veterans and Special Forces with more cybernetic augmentations than the forces of most other groups. Many veterans have cybernetic eyes, arms, etc and the Protectorate seems to show little sign of discouraging these more experienced soldiers from augmenting themselves, possibly as a way of making up for the increased difficulty in maintaining their physical fitness as they age or otherwise suffer trauma (although there do seem to be “unofficial” limits in regards to willing augmentation, and augmentations received due to injury seem to be under less strict “guidelines”).
“Unusual” naval tactics: Unlike the navies of the other galactic powers, Protectorate ships do not retreat when the strength of their kinetic barriers reach critical levels. Rather, they will continue to fight until the ship itself has sustained heavy damage, at which point the vessel will try to retreat. If retreat is not possible then Protectorate ship crews are to ram hostile vessels at full speed and activate their ship’s self-destruct mechanism for maximum damage. Needless to say, such tactics have the benefit of ensuring that Protectorate ships remain in battle longer, granting them a possible numerical advantage while also presenting the unique issue of a potentially higher loss of ships than other factions.
Answer to N7s and other such groups: The Shadow Cloaks are the Protectorate’s answer to the Special Forces of other factions. Shadow Cloaks are heavily augmented soldiers who willingly undergo highly invasive and dangerous medical procedures in exchange for increased combat performance. Even when wearing standard Protectorate armors, Shadow Cloaks are never to be underestimated.
Use of the Neo-Legionaries: The Neo-Legionaries are a mercenary company based on the border between Alliance, Citadel, and Protectorate space. They are known to take contracts from any and all groups and factions but few know that their true loyalty lies with the Protectorate. Their symbol is a tower shield with two rifles overlaid on the shield itself. They predominantly use Manticore SMGs and carbine versions of the Patriot assault rifle. They often have retractable bayonets added to their weapons. The Neo-Legionaries are often used as a means of infiltration as mercenaries are not an uncommon sight in the galaxy at large. Thus, the Legionaries have a potentially greater freedom of movement than even Protectorate Shadow Cloaks. To overcome the fact that their armor is lighter, and thus not as protective as mainline Protectorate armors, the Legionaries are trained in highly disciplined units that form shield walls to better protect against enemy fire. However, a smart commander could use the rigidness of Legionary formations to their advantage.
Weapons:
Standard (meaning not really different from other ME weapons, they’re just not made by external suppliers):
Patriot Assault Rifle – This is the standard workhorse of Protectorate grunts. It’s a fine balance of accuracy, rate of fire, and stopping power.
Liberator Shotgun – The standard issue Protectorate shotgun is powerful but its range is severely limited when compared to some other shotguns. Protectorate soldiers are advised to get as close as possible to their target before opening fire with this weapon as even at medium range the shot may become to spread out to be effective.
Partisan Sniper Rifle – The Partisan is a reliable anti-material and long-range support weapon but its low rate of fire is a heavy drawback, forcing the user to make each shot count.
Minuteman Pistol – As far as a standard issue sidearm goes, the Minuteman is a reliable sufficiently powerful weapon to have on your hip when all other options have been exhausted.
Manticore SMG – The Manticore is a compact weapon that is at its best in close quarters. It is easily cancelable, making it a good match for the Minuteman where infiltration and stealth are concerned. However, like many SMGs its main advantage is its spacious clip size and rate of fire. The low damage per shot and poor accuracy at long range are the primary drawbacks of this weapon.
Maelstrom Vulcan Gun – The Maelstrom is a devastating heavy weapon, provided the user can keep it on target. It uses larger than normal thermal clips to compensate for the increased heat buildup, but once the weapon runs dry reloading can take longer than most weapons that rely on thermal clips.
Artemis Grenade Launcher – The Artemis is a powerful, accurate, but slow firing weapon. Further, it suffers from a small clip size. Despite this, the Artemis is a force to be reckoned with, especially when opposing fire teams suddenly find themselves short of cover.
Hades Hydrogen Flamethrower – The Hades is a nasty weapon that is almost certainly illegal under Citadel and Alliance law. Thankfully, the Protectorate does not abide by foreign laws, allowing their soldiers to wield a fiery advantage on the battlefield as hardsuits and kinetic barriers are not much use against a flame with a heat of 5000 degrees Celsius. However, the Hades is a short range weapon so care must be taken by the operator to ensure they can get close enough to their target for the weapon to be effective.
Experimental Weapons (Meaning weapons that were never actually in ME, but could have existed if one side had actually bothered to try and develop something based off of existing technology, note that based on Nazamroth’s research ME weapons COULD fire fletchettes which are more deadly than pellets, also as these weapons are considered experimental that means they’re not widely deployed so you don’t have to worry about every veteran having one, one or two may have them here and there but largely veterans would just have modified versions of standard Protectorate weapons):
Impaler Battle Rifle – The Impaler is an experimental battle rifle designed to fire fletchettes at Mach 6.5 (as compared to other weapons that fire pellets at Mach 5). During testing and life fire exercises it has shown itself to be a superior weapon but its cost compared to “traditional” weapons makes widely deploying it a bit prohibitive and there are still some “kinks” that have yet to be worked out (such as thermal clips fusing to the weapon).
Standard Armors (Meaning, not really all that different from vanilla ME hardsuits, these guys just wear really heavy armor, also all Protectorate armors contain voice scramblers and Protectorate soldiers often use them, either to further conceal their identity or to help intimidate less experienced opponents):
Golem hardsuit – The Golem is the standard issue hardsuit for Protectorate mainliners. It’s far heavier than most other armors but the weight is made up for thanks to its higher level of protection. It has a flexible under mesh armor (think the Terminus armor or the N7 Destroyer armor, they’re mostly heavy plate but they have some sort of flexible mesh armor beneath, possibly so the armor doesn’t interfere with movement to much) so that the plates do not restrict the wearer’s movement to greatly, allowing Protectorate soldiers to remain mobile, if not as mobile as say, Turians in their hardsuits.
Titan hardsuit – Titan suits are a common sight amongst Protectorate veteran units. It is heavier than even the Golem but it borrows from the N7 Destroyer armor as it uses Element Zero powered actuators to assist in movement, if it weren’t for these actuators then Titan users would tire out quickly regardless of how fit they are as only Krogan could use this armor without the actuators. If the actuators are damaged then the user is left at a serious disadvantage. The protection afforded by this armor is virtually unrivaled with only Krogan armors or the armors of heavier Geth platforms being able to rival the strength and resilience of this hulking suit of ceramic plate.
Neo-Legionary armor: The armor of the Neo-Legionaries is the sole armor in Protectorate armories that could be considered a “medium” hardsuit by Protectorate standards. The suit also includes a shield made from the same materials as the armor itself and it is often affixed to the forearm so that Legionaries do not suffer to great an accuracy penalty when using the shield. However, the Legionaries despise fighting opponents in light armors as Neo-Legionary armor is still heavy enough to allow light infantry to dance proverbial rings around them; this is especially true of Asari and Salarians. Further, as the Legionaries are trained to use their shields as mobile cover, denying them or circumventing such an advantage is sure to put them on the defensive.
Experimental Armors (Again, meaning possible in ME but never actually touched on for different reasons):
Jackal Cybernetic Enhancement hardsuit – The Jackal is armor designed purely for the Shadow Cloaks (as they are heavily augmented). The armor is designed to interface with the user’s augmentations (not unlike how Quarian environmental suits interface Quarian augmentations). Once interfaced, a user becomes a literal black spirit that cuts through foes with ease. The armor greatly enhances a user’s strength, endurance, and agility. However, this is not without a cost. Prolonged interfacing with the suit quickly drains the body of calories and energy, requiring Shadow Cloaks to eat several times their own weight in food daily so that they can use these suits without putting themselves in the danger of literally being starved to death by their own armor. As such, when off duty Shadow Cloaks wear Golem or Titan armor and when undercover they usually wear local hardsuits unless they can reliably hide their own armors.
Unsubstantiated Rumors:
1) As members of the Citadel races have little reason to travel to Protectorate space any and all rumors regarding the Protectorate using captured members of the Citadel races as live target practice have gone largely unconfirmed. However, rumors of Batarian raiders suffering horrible fates at the hands of Protectorate troops have been confirmed on several occasions. 2) It is rumored that Protectorate basic training has a 10% fatality rate, which would be appalling to most military commanders. It is further rumored that advanced training has a 21% fatality rate and that training for the Shadow Cloaks has a 35% fatality rate. 3) There are many rumors on the Extranet that the Protectorate is developing a genophage version designed to affect Salarians as a means of winning over the Krogan. There has been no evidence to support these rumors and the STG believes it to be part of an on-going Protectorate propaganda campaign. 4) The Protectorate is supposedly developing a virus that will render the Geth completely under the control of the Quarians. Whether this is true or not is impossible to say but many in the Alliance and Citadel intelligence communities believe it to be the wishful thinking of Quarians on their pilgrimage and Quarians forced into exile that have spread these rumors as assaulting the Geth collective in digital space would be a nigh-insurmountable task. 5) The Protectorate is rumored to be willing to wipe out the Citadel races to preserve their sovereignty. As genocide is no small matter, it has been called into the question if the Protectorate would be capable of performing such a feat even if they won a war against the major galactic powers. Further, it has been questioned if the Protectorate would be capable of accepting the consequences of wiping out entire races.
OOC: And because of that Hyperion this idea of mine is Dead On Arrival. I'll ask Nazamroth to delete the post so we can all get on with our lives. Apparently, no matter what I do I will be the "Consortium-guy" and any custom group I think up will be the "X Consortium". Thanks a lot.
OOC:......I....I'm going. Bye. I may be back later. I'm not sure. You just showed me that ALMOST A WEEK'S WORTH OF WORK AND TOIL was a waste!!!!!! I stayed up late last night doing final tweaks and balances to this "first edition" but apparently it was all pointless!! I'm forever marred!!! God. Damn. It!!! I'll...I may see you all later. I'm not sure.
OOC: most likely. And arken, if you are reading this, I am sorry for...insulting your creativeness? offending you? Im not even sure at this point but just take the appologies over a joke
OOC: Alright...I'm back...and....Hyperion, I accept your apology. You didn't insult my creativeness or offend me, btw. I.....just wasn't ready for that type of comparison especially since I went out of my way to prevent such a comparison from being made. Still, I accept your apology. To all who read this, the Protectorate is not a dead idea. They will be used in this RP and I assure you I WILL keep them balanced. You need not fear the idea of grunts with plasma guns or anything like that. That is all.
Last edited by Chapter Master Arken on 2014-04-30, 23:04; edited 1 time in total
Subject: Re: Expanded Beginnings 
2014-04-30, 18:45
