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Formerly known as Xenoastrologism, The Family are a group of people for whom the exploration of space has not diminished its mysticism. Led by the enigmatic elf Father Sul Neamhni, who claims that the stars wink at him, The Family believe that there is intelligent life elsewhere in the galaxy, and that whatever shape it may take, it is waiting for the right people to make contact with. They believe that their destiny is inscribed for them among the patterns of stars.
The Family arose out of a collective of people interested in mysticism and spiritually, particularly the philosophical and metaphysical questions surrounding the cosmos and our place in it. While they were initially dismissed as a cult, their rapid growth and expanding charter has made them one of the most powerful and influential exodian institutions.
Since their founding, The Family has quickly spread and developed systems throughout The Home sector, and has proven their worth in the quality and aesthetic of their spacecraft, the bountiful agricultural exports, and their altruistic hospital fleets that offer both medical services and protection for suffering communities.
However, some of The Family's practices and beliefs garnered suspicion and ridicule among exodians at large.
First, their practice of leading meditation voyages while suspended in Zipp Space is hazardous to other craft attempting to navigate the dangerous dimension. In addition, prolonged exposure to Zipp Space has proven deleterious effects on people's mental and physical health.
A second concern is with The Family's recruitment practices. While many new members of The Family are born within its borders, their educational system restricts access to the exodianet and prevents exposure of its citizens to content that do not mesh with The Family's ideals. Outside the borders, The Family is known to target disenfranchised and vulnerable communities with strong propaganda and non-scientific claims about the cosmos. People who have accepted the services of a hospital fleet are frequently pressured to join The Family. Claims of kidnapping children and subjecting them to brain-washing are unsubstantiated, however the feudal political system of The Family does mean that rights and laws may vary greatly from one affiliated system to another.
Finally, the most controversial belief held by members of The Family is that through sufficient spiritual enlightenment, people's bodies can evolve into beings of pure energy that can traverse through space without the use of spacecraft. There have been a number of high-profile cases of individuals throwing themselves out of airlocks under the delusion that they would burst into light and fly have forced representatives of The Family to publicly disavow this belief. Internally, they have assured their community-members that while it is true, it can only be achieved through official methods and lifelong dedication.
Regardless of the controversy, exodians are certainly fascinated with this religion and its anachronistic views, filling a societal desire for mystery, wonder, and belief.
Core Values
Core Values
Harmony
Harmony
The universe was here long before us, and we must preserve its natural order to live with its blessing.
Faith
Faith
We believe in the beautiful, intangible, and glorious. Only in the trust of something greater can we find a higher purpose.
Purity
Purity
We guard against the corruptions of selfishness, malice, or ignorance, we are the best we can possibly be.
Political Structure
Political Structure
The Family follows a selective monarchy. The ruling monarch, called The Father, or The Mother, or else The Parent, is chosen by the previous monarch. If the heir is not chosen by the ruling monarch, then the 14 System Lords vote on a new monarch.
The 14 systems in The Home Sector are each ruled by a System Lord, each swears fealty to The Father and pays tribute to The Family from the resources of their system. System Lords may inherit their system from their parents, appointed by The Father, or take power of their own volition.
Within the society, certain classes of citizens have more specific responsibilities and status.
Gazers are special citizens responsible for the interpretation of celestial events and their significance.
Starswords are special citizens that serve as the warriors, guards, and generals of The Family.
Spinners are special citizens permitted to build, maintain, and develop technology and structures.
Friends are special citizens whose job is to maintain religious purity among the citizens, and spread the word of The Family, of those outside its influence.
System Lords
Lord Gamgesh of Akair, an orc, Master of Swords
Lady Niodreth of Abrei, an elf, Friendly Neighbor
Lord Gumtoe of Ewol, a halfling, Green of Thumb
Lady Gintrax of Dao, a gnome, Charter of Stars
Lord Verthal of Jeivleb, an elf, Treeweaver
Lady Gurferdson of Liev, a dwarf, Feet of Stone
Lord Vinobelly of Niusdot, a halfling, The Jolly
Lady Ziadsnick of Oclec, a gnome, Farmer of Air
Lord Gurferdson of Slues, a dwarf, Strong of Back
Lady Galasol of Selumine, an elf, The Amorous
Lady Gintrax of Wozlued, a gnome, Pure of Mind
Lord Chukkameg of Sroalsent, an orc, Shipspinner
Lady Dodderfoot of Aecr, a halfling, Seeder of Miracles
There is no standing navy for The Family, as any warships carry only the banner of their system lord. However, during a time of war, The Father may demand that system lords contribute their forces. This new fleet carries the designation FLN, or Family's Levied Navy.
Family's Levied Navy
Family's Levied Navy
Family's Levied Men at Arms
Family's Levied Men at Arms
Men-at-Arms serve two roles. First, they are a System Lord's armed forces, deployed in intra-Family conflicts. Second, they may be levied by the Father, where they can find themselves fighting alongside soldiers who may be their sworn enemy. To maintain the peace and civility, Men-at-Arms are trained to uphold the values of their System Lord and Family by Starswords, and during battle follow the orders of their Starsword with an unquestionable fervor that makes them far more dangerous than their limited experience would suggest. While Men-at-Arms are not particularly well-paid, there is always the prospect of being chosen from among your comrades to join the Starswords themselves and be trained in their mysterious and valorous ways.
Specializations
Specializations
Men-at-Arms serve as grunt infantry and wear the TechSallet, and depending the wealth of their System Lord, light or medium armor. They can be armed with plasma rifles, beam rifles, and a melee weapon.
Rangers serve as reconnaissance units, wearing the TechSallet, light armor, and equipped with a coilgun, flipknife, and a PXE-Bow and Smart Chakram, as well as a variety of survival equipment.
Grenadiers specialize in destruction of vehicles and buildings and wear the TechSallet and medium armor and are equipped with missile launchers, grenades, and a sidearm, as well as plasma cutters or breach cutters.
Neighbors are deployed as medics, spiritual guides, and social workers. Rarely equipped with anything more than their clothes, rations, and medical kits, they sometimes borrow light armor, stun guns, or other equipment from their comrades. The neighbors' willingness to risk their own lives to preserve others has earned them a reputation, and are rarely fired upon.
Starsword Order
Starsword Order
Starswords are elite soldiers, spies, and generals selected from the most promising candidates of the Family. While they often serve a System Lord under a Year-of-Service contract, training Men-at-Arms and leading them in battle, there is an implicit higher loyalty to the Starsword Order and beyond that, the interests of the Father. Starswords receive their training at a mountain fortress on the planet Polotune where they learn tactics, combat, and a strict code of conduct that governs their behavior. One of the most striking characteristic of Starswords is their preference for melee weaponry above firearms and explosives . This includes flipknives, powerhammers, vorpal blades, and even plasma cutters. Their reliance on collapsible KITE shields allows Starswords to close the distance to rifle infantry and engage in close-quarters combat where they possess a far greater advantage. This antiquated form of combat is further accented by their insistence on offering ritual words of kindness to their fallen enemies. Starswords are also given special privileges, wealth, and status among a System Lord's administration, and often become candidates to inherit the title of System Lord.
Demographics
Demographics
The Family is eager to remind its members and foreigners alike that it is the most racially diverse exodian government. Unlike the Schematic for Global Order, its leadership is equally diverse among the System Lords, and that its subjects rarely form racial cliques, instead convinced that they are indeed all siblings in one galactic family.
This utopian vision, it seems, has proven so popular, that regular missions are made by luxury cruisers that spread the message of The Family into non-member systems. These missions are decried by Gor Adukk Ma and Schematic for Global Order as potential acts of war and religious aggression, and gnomes who join The Family, have their diplomas revoked.
The Family consists of:
The Exodian zodiac, often called the "exodiac", is an ancient belief system introduced by elven mystics that describes events and a person’s fate based on the presence of visible constellations of distant stars.
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