Difference between revisions of "Faction Guide"

Revision as of 01:44, 8 November 2011

Nearly 40% of all Fen are independent, either as neutral as humanly possible when it comes to politics^[1], or generally liking many different groups but not enough to join any of them. (These Fen are often called "Neutrals" and "Generalists", respectively.) The rest belong to one or more factions - something of a cross between a nation-state, a political party, a business, a social club, and a mutual-aid society, but not quite like any of those types of groups.

Confusing? A bit, but think how much worse it is to the people who live there.

Major Factions

These six groups, listed by size, are the largest factions in Fenspace:

United Federation of Planets

Also called Trekkies, Trekkers, or FedFen, the UFP is the single largest faction in Fenspace. Based around Mars, they have a reputation for staying on their ships and exploring far afield.

Galactic Republic

The Warsies have colonized the Saturn subsystem, but maintain a presence throughout the rest of Fenspace, working with Great Justice to defend the Solar System. The Trekkie/Warsie feud is greatly exaggerated for the tourists.

The Wizarding World

Scattered throughout the Main Belt and elsewhere, the Wizards (or Potterites) are fans of all sorts of modern-magic stories, not just the recent blockbusters. They have a bad habit of debating and dithering rather than acting, which lead to them taking heavy losses during the Boskone War.

Interstellar Alliance

The Fivers (or Rangers, if you prefer) can be found throughout Fenspace, acting as diplomats between other factions. They're believed to be based out of Earth orbit.

Independent Faction

Call them Browncoats, Whedonites, or Jossies, the members of the Independent Faction are the major colonists of the Jupiter subsystem. They've turned Ganymede into the breadbasket of the Solar System.

Crystal Millennium

Some are called Senshi, others are called Action Girls, but they're all busy terraforming Venus and coming to the aid of distressed travelers.

Cultures and Subcultures

Often called Minor Factions by many Fen, including themselves, these groups are easily identifiable as separate cultures in Fenspace.

This is not an exhaustive list of minor factions - if there's a noticeable fan base for a work of fiction or a fantastic concept, then there's likely a minor faction for it somewhere in Fenspace.

Non-Governmental Organizations

Some things need to be done, or should be done, but cannot effectively be done by a company or a government. These groups are the ones who do these things.

Pseudo-Factions

Dorsai

Nicknamed "Convention Security," the Dorsai are the oldest (but no longer the most powerful) mercenary organization in Fenspace.

Humourists

Some people can't take anything seriously – in Fenspace, these people are called Humorists. Or Humourists. (Some will insist you spelled the group's name incorrectly, no matter which spelling you used.)

Military fen

If someone in Fenspace needs to understand something of a military nature, and they don't have access to the Dorsai or the Roughriders, they consult their local Military Fen.

Again, this is not an exhaustive list.

Earthbound Factions

Some fen groups do not actually go into space, for reasons of ideology, source material or personal preference. Instead, they exist -- mostly hidden -- in the 'Danelaw. These groups may or may not be signatories to the Fenspace Convention, depending on how paranoid or focused they are.

Once again, not an exhaustive list.

Enemy Factions

Boskonians

a.k.a. Black Hats, the Dark Kingdom, Death Eaters, Pirates, Reavers, Shadows, Sith, or less-flattering things we can't list in a family publication. Whatever name one gives them, the Boskonians are Fenspace's organized-crime element. The Fenspace Convention considers them to be outlaws and terrorists; the whole point of the Space Patrol and Great Justice is to arrest or subdue (respectively) Boskonians whenever and wherever they arise.

Turnerites

a.k.a. Skinheads, Space Nazis, Church of White Jebus, etc. The Turnerites held onto their racist and sexist beliefs when they moved into space. They are considered an "enemy" culture by many Fen but not by the Fenspace Convention as a whole, who offer them as a group the rights and protection that they deny to some of their own members.

Related Pages

Fen Corporations

The mercantile, high-finance, and other corporate groups in Fenspace.

Notes

1. ↑ Which means not at all neutral, of course.
2. ↑ Most Blue Blazers would say they technically count as a subset of the Pulpers, but the sheer size and scope of Dr. Banzai's operation leads this Troper Editor to separate them into their own faction.