Captain Ash
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With the dissolution of the Outer Planet's Alliance, the Outer Rim and the galactic frontier find themselves once again in their natural state, preferred by many who would take advantage of the people and resources who call these frontiers their home. Recognizing their vulnerability as disparate, isolated worlds, a band of determined, persuasive individuals have decided to take the fate of their worlds and the fate of the frontier into their own hands. Planetary government leaders and frontier companies have banded together to form a trade league to look out for each other and improve life all across the Outer Rim. Starting with a movement on Susefvi and spreading to the nearest worlds, the governments have met and created a charter for the Rimward Trade League, establishing a cooperative league of planets working together to foster economic growth, collaborative projects, and mutual protection against foreign intrusion.
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So, what exactly is the point of this faction and its goals? The general idea has been simmering for a while now, but with the dissolution of OPA as it goes minor, it seemed like the best opportunity to try and make those ideas come to fruition. There are three main goals of the Rimward Trade League:
1. Developing the 'spacer' community on Chaos by providing an external framework and social/factional structure that encourages, supports, and furthers the possibilities of space-based stories.
2. Respecting and recognizing the development of the OPA/ORC, and its predecessor factions of The Kathol Outback and the first Underground while advancing a long-term gradual narrative arc of the Outer Rim developing and, essentially, 'taming the last frontier' of these worlds who aren't rich, aren't all highly developed, and were originally formed to be exploited by the richer worlds, finding a balance between the idea of the communities gathering together to make their worlds better and more stable and the idea that these are highly individualist worlds and societies that are stubborn in their resistance to being controlled by outsiders and their desire for self-determination.
3. Offer an alternative to the most common types of factions (Imperial/ pseudo-Republic, Mandalorian, and other canon/legends based) by creating, collaboratively, unique writing cultures and environments with their own form of stories and flavors.
Interested in these goals? Have questions but don't want to read the rest of this?
Faction Page
Discord
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Want more detail? Here you go! Read onwards!
What structures exist already? How about Force users? What's that stance? Here they all are!
1. Jedi Pilgrims, Jensaarai, Circle of the Light Hand, and Wardens of the Sky, oh my!
The edges of the galaxy are wild, dangerous, mysterious, often mystical, places. As a result, it has led to a multitude of various Force sects developing. This leans into that with a focus on four main starting groups of Force-users- two from legends and two Chaos-only ones. Jedi Pilgrims focus on the knight-errant type of Jedi stories, with the League-worlds recognizing Jedi as champions of justice, freedom, fighting oppression, and embodying hope for a better future. The Jensaarai is their shadow, Light-aligned, but pragmatic and operating in secret, protecting from the shadows, acting invisibly, and disappearing again. Wardens of the Sky are Force-sensitive spacers who protect the space lanes, often with little to no formal Force training who usually eschew all weapons in favor of unarmed fighting to avoid damaging their ships. The Circle of the Light Hand are monastic, itinerant Jedi who don't use lightsabers, but a style of martial arts, only when necessary. Sort of Shaolin Jedi.
2. The Rimward Merchant Marine
3. The Rimward Rescue Service
The second of the three government agencies established and supported by the League, the Rescue Service is the only standing armed force maintained by the Trade League. As in the name, their primary role is search and rescue as well as maintaining safe space lanes. Much like the Coast Guard, they are not a Navy. Their role is broader and more primarily focused on building things up and helping people in need. However, given the dangerous frontier of the Outer Rim and the galaxy's edge, they are armed and capable of performing small-scale armed engagements. They maintain strategically placed rescue stations, navigation buoys, hyperlane stabilizers, and ensure that safety regulations are followed. This is the perfect place for people who want a sort of Star Trek vibe, or the formally ranked organization that explores the final frontier, rescues ships in distress, and goes after pirate armadas because they have to, even if they aren't really equipped to be a military fleet.
4. The Outer Rim Development Corps
Some people prefer to have their feet on solid ground, which is a very sane and reasonable idea. Especially appropriate for the edges of the galaxy where so many planets are sparsely populated, if at all, and all worlds are still rich with possibilities and surprises waiting to occur. Explore new worlds and the wonders they contain. Build up and worldbuild with IC development projects and enhancing survivability. This is for the worldbuilding writers and characters who want to see what's over the next horizon, who want to build safe and stable societies on all these frontier worlds so that everyone can have a better life. After all, not everyone wants those developments to take place. Some prefer these worlds to be isolated, disorganized, and barely survivable, and they will undoubtedly attempt to intervene and prevent this, so expect plenty of opposition and adventures.
5. What's next? Let's see what happens!
These are just the initial groups and organizations I've put together to help further the main goals of the League and establish a place where those aims can be achieved. As the community grows, I expect others will have more ideas to be added and integrated into the League, and that's great! It's a goal for it to be very community-driven and shaped.
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So, are you going major?
Maybe? Not anytime soon though. I'd want there to be a very well established and active community that drives its own stories before considering that possibility.
What are your next plans?
The first focus will be on building up the spacer community and establishing a wide-ranging network of active characters telling different kinds of stories. To start, the idea will be working out the gritty details of interstellar trading and economies. Start small scale and build up from there. Focus on individual characters and their ships as they start accumulating wealth and influence in the spacer community, growing attached to ships. One idea is that of the Imynusoph Run, a sort of mercantile trading race from Imyusoph to Morellia and back with limited external funding, so it's up the character's wits, luck, and daring to pay their way across the galaxy in a race against the rest. Been toying with some ideas for space travel mechanics to add the luck of the dice to help shape stories, and possibly integrate those across a character's arc to simulate the chaotic, erratic, dangerous nature of space travel.
So there you have it! The Rimward Trade League! Aiming to be the bold new choice for discerning writers. Not just any choice, it's the spacer's choice! I'd love to have you join me and get involved with this new storytelling endeavor and shape it yourself as well. Come by to the Discord or the faction page and say hello, ask questions!
