What Is A Faction

"By a faction, I understand a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community."

-- James Madison

What Is A Faction?

A faction, put simply, is an IC organization or institution that:

• wields power,
• affects the world, and
• has a specific goal,
  • that is not the same as another faction's specific goal,
  • that is not compatible with the goals of at least some other factions.

While factions are not the only arbiter of a character's RP, they should play a fairly significant role in how a character engages the world, and they should have a good reason for being there. (Sometimes the 'good reason' is some type of IC pressure, rather than enthusiastic agreement with the faction's geopolitical goals; the mecha genre is full of stories where someone is swept up into a situation by happenstance rather than ideology.)

The Life Cycle of Factions

Factions are not generally intended to last forever on SRTMOO. A story about the changing geopolitical era -- and eventually about humanity's journey into the stars -- isn't going to be especially interesting if the geopolitical era isn't... actively changing. Even factions that seem like they might be more durable to this type of change are likely to join hands with others of like mind, gaining new names and new nuances. (For instance, the national bloc militaries that exist at the start of the game are very likely to undergo substantial change, or even cease to exist.)

We consider this a good thing! Having to figure out a new path through the world as it changes keeps players -- and characters -- engaged. It can be challenging, though, to find a new angle when a faction is dissolving.

We will provide ample warning to players when a major factional shakeup is about to happen; we will also help those players find new homes for their characters that fit their tone, if a shift prices them out of their current faction's trajectory.

Leaving Factions

Leaving factions, from an OOC perspective, is -- for the most part -- intended to be simple and straightforward. Sometimes, a faction just isn't a good fit for a character's story anymore (or may never have been). Our policy is fairly simple:

If it sucks -- hit da bricks!! (iou: actual 'if it sucks, hit da bricks' graphic)

The calculus does change somewhat here for FCs in particular. FCs often were designed with their factions (or a reasonably close facsimile thereof) in mind, so if the change is something that might lead a casual observer to confusion, we'd at least like to hear about what you have in mind before green-lighting it.

If you know your current faction isn't working out but are unsure what would work out, please contact staff! We might have some advice on where to go next.