Pellucidar Profile

*I own nothing, the Pellucidar series was originally written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and is now in the public domain. Yeah, yeah, I know, the Burroughs Estate owns it and whatnot, but all the novels are in public domain, so shut up.
**And for those few who care, I'm basing this profile roughly around the events of Tanar of Pellucidar.

Name: Pellucidar
Status: Savage, Coming out of the Stone Age, Struggling to become unified

The source

===Geography/Description===

So, what is Pellucidar? Well, I could try and explain it, but I doubt my words could truly convey it: so let me have the authors own words explain it, with this excerpt from Tarzan at the Earth's Core.

Pellucidar, as every schoolboy knows, is a world within a world, lying, as it does, upon the inner surface of the hollow sphere which is the Earth.
It was discovered by David Innes and Abner Perry upon the occasion when they made the trial trip upon the mechanical prospector invented by Perry, wherewith they hoped to locate new beds of anthracite coal. Owing, however, to their inability to deflect the nose of the prospector, after it had started downward into the Earth's crust, they bored through for five hundred miles, and upon the third day [...] the nose of the prospector broke through the crust of the inner world.
In the years that have intervened, weird adventures have befallen these two explorers. Perry has never returned to the outer crust, and Innes but once-upon that occasion when he made the difficult and dangerous return trip in the prospector for the purpose of bringing back to the empire he had founded in the inner world the means to bestow upon his primitive people of the stone age the civilization of the twentieth century.
But what with battles with primitive men and still more primitive beasts and reptiles, the advance of the empire [...] had been small.
[...]
... within Pellucidar three-quarters of the surface is land, so that jungle, mountain, forest and plain stretch interminably over 124,100,000 square miles: nor are the oceans with their area of 41,370,000 square miles of any mean or niggardly extent.
[...]
In the exact center of the earth hangs Pellucidar's sun, a tiny orb compared with ours, but sufficient to illuminate Pellucidar and flood her teeming jungles with warmth and life-giving rays. Her sun hanging thus perpetually at zenith, there is no night upon Pellucidar, but always an endless eternity of noon.
There being no stars and no apparent movement of the sun, Pellucidar has no points of compass; nor has she any horizon since her surface curves always upwards in all directions from the observer, so that far above one's line of vision plain or sea or distant mountain rage go onward and upward until lost in the haze of the distance. And again, in a world where there is no sun, no stars and no moon,

If I might interrupt, there is a moon, thus the Land of Always Shadow (which is inhabited by a race of warrior people that are now members of the Empire of Pellucidar)- dammit Burroughs, keep your story straight- you made this setting, don't forget prominent details of it!

such as we know, there can be no such thing as time, as we know it.
[...]
We know that Perry's first great gift of civilization to the stone age was gunpowder. We know that he followed this with repeating rifles, small ships of war upon which were mounted guns of no great caliber, and finally we know he perfected a radio.

And there you have it- Pellucidar is a world within our world, dominated by dinosaurs, ice age mega fauna, cavemen, pirates, and a thousand oddities throughout. A world only possible through pulp fiction novelettes.

A perfect setting for Kingdom Conquest- doesn't even need to be whisked away with a portal, as it's so remote that no one can ever reach it. Yay, laziness!

===Third-Party Factions===

The Empire of The Korsar

To quote the good people of r/civbattleroyale when the topic of the Pirates is ever brought up,
arrrrgh lmao

The Korsars (a bastardization of the word 'Corsair') are without a doubt the most significant threat to the people of Pellucidar. Descendants of Moorish pirates that (somehow) made it into the hollow earth, the Korsars are a brutal and dangerous people. To them, their culture is one thing and one thing only: Pillaging.

They are especially good at this, having conquered many a civilization in the center world, blindsiding all of them through superior technology (muskets and Napoleonic ships>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>spears and canoes) and a sheer level of brutality unmatched by any other notable race in Pellucidar.

At current, they are more-less at war with the Empire of Pellucidar, although it's hardly a true war and more of the varying pirate fleets of their empire just butting heads with these new people while also competing with other pirate fleets. The Korsar are almost like the Greeks in a sense, in that they have no true centralized government, just a series of cities and fleets that more-less get along with each other.

When they're not slaughtering and torturing each other, that is.

Mahar Remnants

Would you believe me if I said the Mahar and the Sagoths were the inspiration for H.P Lovecraft's Elder Ones and Shoggoths? Because apparently they were.

The Mahar. A race of highly evolved Rhampsorynchus, these flying reptiles are leagues ahead of their Jurassic ancestors, having evolved to 7-feet tall sapient reptiles that, until very recently, controlled a good deal of known Pellucidar. Living in grand cities crafted by slave races and having considerable "fourth-dimensional" psychic powers, they ruled with an iron... uh, wing?

Using the ape-like Sagoths as their personal servants (which they commanded through sign-language), the Mahar used humans as simultaneous labor-force and a food source. Due to the insidious nature of the Sagoths, the Mahar were never aware that humans were sapient, instead assuming them to be dumb animals like Sheep- had they known humans were sapient, they would have been appalled and subsequently kill the shit out of their lying right-hand men.

So come the rebellion that lead to the Empire of Pellucidar, and the Mahar were horribly caught off-guard, their empire devastated and nearly destroyed, especially when the Sagoth turn-coated on their former masters and helped the Empire of Pellucidar bring upon their downfall.

The Mahar are now a weakened race, hiding out in a handful of cities across the continent, being hopelessly confused and practically throwing themselves at their knees to apologize to the new empire and have them not kill them. So far, the Empire is in an uneasy peace with the Mahar, while aforementioned reptiles idly wonder how Sagoth will taste like.

Empire of Pellucidar

You see that ship in the background?
There's.

The newest and most significant power in Pellucidar, the titual Empire is a group of varying tribes and peoples across the world of Pellucidar lead by the Emperor David Innes (a man so generic that I cannot bring myself to make an Important Individuals list for this profile, as it would just be him). They are a strange people, bouncing between civilization and brutality- they have a government that's (more-less) similar to that of Britains', medicinal knowledge, ships not too dissimilar to those of the Napoleonic era (albeit not that impressive in construction nor armament), and juggle between using rifles or spears in combat.

To give a mental picture of the Empire of Pellucidar, imagine Cavemen in crude outfits resembling a british redcoat, holding a rifle and riding on either a Wooly Mammoth, a Troodon, or a Smilodon, and fighting with tactics that wouldn't be too dissimilar out of Rome. Couple them with the allied Kingdoms (miscellaneous groups that ave little to no backgrounds, so use your imagination even more wider to imagine them) battling around cities that look like they came from Mesoamerica.

That is the Empire of Pellucidar, the central power of this titular world.

I cannot describe much more, because, I'll be honest here, the Pellucidar books don't care enough to describe these people besides cavemen except not cavemen.

So I apologize for this sounding vague, bring up your issues with the Burroughs estate.

Anyways, for an invading army, they will be the only faction you can reasonably expect to negotiate with- although crude and primitive, the higher-ups of the Empire desperately wish for advancement, and any invading faction (that isn't wanting to be obviously evil) will bring something of worth to these people.

Miscellaneous

This happened.
It was amazing.

So, aside from the obvious inclusion of dinosaurs (one of which, the Dryodor/Stegasaurus, is carnivorous and flies with the plates on it's back), a few other civilizations do exist in Pellucidar, but I failed to mention them proper due to a lack of notable information or proof of them being a true threat. These miscellaneous groups are

• Ape-Men: Tribes of pseudo-humans that live in dense forest. They're black in color (as in Black), with pronounced canines, a rather primitive language and are essentially just rather large monkeys. They more-less serve the Mahar, and are a rather weak race all together.
• Ant-People: A race of near-sapient ant people, they have stone age technology, covered in dark carapace and have prominent fangs. They're not a smart people, and are very weak in physical terms.
• Azarians: A race of pseudo-humans that stand over 7 feet tall, with ugly features and pronounced tusks. They prefer to live in caves, and usually predate humans.
• Beast Men: Yeah, yeah, I know, Warhammer Fantasy and all that. But no, Beast Men are essentially sapient gorillas with sheep-like faces, and a generally peaceful race of farmers.
• Coripies: A race of humans that live underground in an expansive cave network. They've been underground for so long that they no longer even have eyes, and are opportunistic scavengers. They'll burrow up to the surface after an especially brutal battle or kill and scurry away with whatever wounded or dead they can grab.
• Ganaks: Horned, carnivorous bison people that live in the mountains and have a very Aztec-styled culture. So yeah, here are your Warhammer Fantasy Beastmen.
• Gorbuses: Yet another race of people that live underground, they are a race of albino and are, in a strange removal from logic, the reincarnations of prolific murders or sadistic soldiers from the surface world. So yeah, Pellucidar (or parts of it) are apparently Hell?
• Horibs: A race of literally heartless reptile-men that ride triceratops' into battle and like to eat human flesh.
• Sabre-tooth Men: Supposedly an offshoot of the Ape-Men, Sabre-tooth Men are much larger (6 feet at least), are cannibalistic and generally brutal, and are disturbingly good at leaping through the dense jungle.

So yeah, Pellucidar sucks no matter where ya go.

Danger Rating: 3/5: Pellucidar is a bit interesting to determine in terms of how threatening they are. The varying factions of Pellucidar, in a one-on-one fight with any of the factions in our tournament, would lose very quickly in any major battle, averting plot contrived bullshit. The biggest problem however is it's sheer scope- this is a dense jungle covered "country" that's 124,100,000 square miles in size. For comparison, Russia is 6,592,735 square miles.

Pellucidar is a jungle that is the size of nearly 19 Russia's- and that's not even mentioning the fucking massive ocean that nearly reaches the scope of the Pacific. Whomever conquers will from than on win just through sheer number of collected infantry from this land.

HAVE FUN!

Solane Dyson Sphere: Planetary Profile

*I own nothing, Cryptic Studios owns Star Trek Online

Name: Solanae Dyson Sphere

Status: Contested, Wartorn, FUCKING MASSIVE!

You see one Dyson Sphere, you've seem 'em all.

Okay, that might be a lie.

A Dyson Sphere is an interesting thing. Giant metal spheres with the artificial surface of a world on the inside of them, they are a common creation in science fiction that commonly run into the same problems- if you have this kind of technology to trap suns to make worlds, why in the FUCK are you not just making a straight up new planet, or something more productive like a fleet? Well, for most species, that would be a fairly logical question and a good point.

To the Iconian-

Wrong ones

There we go.

Anyways, to the Iconians, the alien raced that made this sphere (well, technically it was their scientist-slave race known as the Solanae that made this sphere, but that's besides the point), such a question is rejected with the fact that right now a fleet is a terrible idea as everybody is hunting down your ass and bombarding the shit out of you- also, where else would we keep this fleet, in a solar system without any protection?

So, 200'000 years ago, the Dyson Sphere was created. Fueled by Omega Particles, the most unstable but powerful substance in the known universe, the Dyson Sphere was a masterpiece of engineering by most species and just 'okay' to the Iconians. A full AU in diameter (approximately 93 million miles in every direction, and just as a scale of how fucking huge that is, our own Sun in this dainty little solar system of ours is only 864,938 miles in diameter- and Earth meanwhile is only 24'902 miles) and vast enough to contain fleets enough to blot out stars, it was also capable of moving through subspace, a dimension underneath our own and could move through it effortlessly. This machine could go anywhere, survive anything and have enough ships to destroy anything.

So if that's the case, why are we not the slaves of the Iconians right now? Well, quite simple- going through subspace is terrible for the sun inside the planet, which when the sphere first went through subspace morphed abruptly from a (something, I presume a Neuron star because why not?) into a Brown Dwarf, horribly fucking up the molecular structure of the Solanae in such a way they could only exist in special corners of Subspace. The Iconians, annoyed at that waste of time, threw up their arms in defeat and left this galaxy entirely, going to the Andromeda Galaxy which I can only presume from the way Q speaks of things outside the galaxy, is really fucking horrible.

And so, for thousands of years, the sphere sat there unattended and empty, it's plains, mountains and oceans simply doing natural stuff while the Omega Particles slowly leaked out and it teleported across the galaxy every now and than, unreachable to the greatest of foes.

Skip ahead to 2409 and suddenly it appears an odd 30'000 light years thataway from Earth and everyone from the Beta and Delta Quadrant is rushing at the newest, shiniest toy on the block. And whereas before the world was inaccessible, something funny had changed- that something funny being the multi-million year old civilization of the Voth.

Roar

An 'alien' civilization of dinosaurs descended from the Hadrosaurs, the Voth are an incredibly honor bound and- hold on, I should hold this stuff for the faction details. Well, erm, anyways, the Voth are literal dinosaur people and discovered the planet first and, using ludicrously powerful teleportation technology, simply teleported a fleet in there to exploit the raw number and power of Omega Particles/Molecules within it, and battled another race of assholes known as the Undine who, coming outside conventional reality, simply glided in and set up shop for... reasons.

And since everybody in Alpha/Beta Quadrant HATES the Undine, the Federation, Romulan Republic and Klingon Empire quickly descended upon the world as well through the main door, forming the Dyson Joint Command to put a semblance of order in there.

And now the Portal Master has arrived, vaguely annoyed. One one hand, due to the bullshit levels of technology and power the Iconians, Voth and Undine have control over the sphere, he's unable to yoink it out of reality. Not without it hurting. So instead, he's made a slight tweak to the entrances to the Sphere. Portals that are one way, in a sense. People go in, they don't get out until he says so. The emergency bunker for the Iconians has now became a Tomb for all that enter, and more are always comin' in (although never in such numbers to defeat the other factions of the PC, of course).

Yes, this planet will have interstellar reinforcements here.

That'll prove fun for the votes, huh? That and the fact we're in a place the size of a Solar System (the Tyranids and any other resource munchers will lovehate this place).

So, there we have it- the biggest planet this tournament will ever see, where it's so huge that we could see essentially a Space Battle play out and have massive space fleets battling each other per Star Trek (or maybe Star Wars... would be fun to see Sith or Old Republic soldiers fighting here)- but since it's all in atmosphere, it technically counts.

DON'T YOU LOVE LOOPHOLES?

Portal Master/Me right now.

===Geography===

The planet is very similar to Earth in terms of terrain and atmosphere, but incredibly more vast. For an entire Solar System there is nothing but mountains, plains, oceans and jungles- very little of the planet was originally made to be desolate, the areas that are like that are due to either extensive resource mining (when the paydirt is actually an incredibly durable metal or a series of powerful energy conduits, you bet your ass they'll be digging), or due to terraforming, like the Undine battlezone, under a heavy 'quarantine' of sorts by a small subfaction of Dyson Joint Command known as the 8472 Counter-Command, similar to the Dyson Joint Command but with a more biotechnological aesthetic.

Heh, irony.

There is also a great deal of 'empty' space near the Dyson Spheres sun, where it becomes more like the void of space, with varying Iconian/Solanae satellites and machines (more-less dormant) orbiting and keeping the sun in check- it's also where the Dyson Joint Command leadership is in three different ships orbiting the sun- U.S.S Dyson (Federation/Starfleet), I.K.S Dyson (Klingon Empire) and R.R.W Dyson (Romulan Republic), all of which are somewhat weary of the other (although they routinely switch around members of the crew like engineering in signs of good faith and totally not to spy on each other, no definitely not) and perfectly adapted to be not even a mile away from the surface of the Brown Dwarf star (which really seems more like our own Star).

Are we supposed to be this close?

Yup.

... Anyone else nervous?

Yup.

Okay, just checking.

There's also practically hundreds of varying installations across the planet, ranging from empty weapons/vehicle lockers to archives to just plain ol' buildings (some floating), one of which the Dyson Joint Command has acquired to act as a Home Base kind of and keep in touch with the outside universe and make sure the operatives on this planet don't go completely stir-crazy (bars, theaters, the works).

All in all, not bad.

Unless it's Undine territory,

Please ignore the floating Andorian, that is totally normal. Yup, totally not the game glitching...

Toxic air, the atmosphere is all kinds of dense almost liquid fuckery and just generally not a safe place for those existing in normal reality. Should make a few Chaos Daemons feel nostalgic for the oceanic currents of the Warp though.

===Third Party Factions===

Dyson Joint Command

All named characters, only one of them actually has a known personality. Annoying for me, delightful for anyone who wants to write them!

The Dyson Joint Command is a complicated thing, created from the forces of three factions on rather uncertain but friendly(?) grounds at the moment. All hailing from the Alpha Quadrant of the known galaxy, they are comprised of the larger factions of the Federation of United Planets, The Klingon Empire and the Romulan Republic. Fearing the safety of the Alpha Quadrant and tempted by the sheer technological advantages one could gain from this world, they created the Dyson Joint Command to deal with apprehending these inverted worlds.

This will eventually mean bad things, but that's neither here nor there.

Of all the factions here they have the greatest numbers and most skilled captains, used to fighting on either the battlefield (although ground warfare is still something they're trying to get around) or through diplomacy. They're comprised of varying races from the Star Trek universe and currently hold their base of operations more-less on one of the many spires of this world, dully named 'Fleet Spire', always patrolled by a large fleet of the varying starships of the factions, coming and going to and from the battlefield, whether to resupply on equipment, destroy an Undine base of just stroll along the recreational parts of the spire and maybe adopt a tamed Dankanasaur.

All your needs and more at the General Store Fleet Spire!

Their ground forces can be best described as essentially reskinned Mass Effect soldiers, but with energy shields and energy weapons and less giant tanks- unless they looted it from the Voth, like they already have with a small deal of the Voth fleet due to either successful operations or Voth generals turncoating.

The Voth

♫ HOLY FUCKING SHIT, IT'S A DINOSAUR! JESUS CHRIST, WHAT THE FUCK!? ♫

Alright, time to re-discuss the Voth. The Voth are a race of 'aliens' in the same way the Silurians are aliens because neither race currently inhabits the Earth. The Voth are an alien race descended from the most obviously intelligent dinosaur on Earth, the Hadrosaur.

Such a majestic animal.
"A-HONK!"

 Having been a technological superpower during this period of time, the Voth eventually abandoned the Earth when they noticed a fuck-off huge asteroid was coming straight for them. Cataloging their entire species along with some wildlife, they entered their ships and flew away, ending up in the Delta Quadrant well before any other kind of noticeable faction could exist. And in the millions of years they were flying around, they evolved- maybe not much in a biological sense, but certainly in a mechanical and social form (although I imagine that the fact that Voth can shoot poisonous spines from their forearms was some kind of evolutionary quirk).

The Voth society is ruled by a governing Council (which is currently leading this invasion) known as the Ministry of Elders, and the entire race is more-less indoctrinated into a pseudo-religious belief known as the Doctrine (which of course is enforced by Inquisitors), claiming the Voth are the first race to ever exist and originated from the Delta Quadrant, among other "WE ARE THE BEST!" beliefs. Questioning of these beliefs have harsh terms, ranging from public executions to life imprisonment (the most lenient form they can offer), although the scientific community is now seriously starting to question that and the Ministry of Elders doesn't see it as enough of a concern to deal with yet.

They're ships are among the most powerful and advanced in the known galaxy (they're teleporters can casually grab Federation starships and put them into the hangars and the crew won't know the wiser until they actually look outside- they won't see or feel any change) and the biggest, with some of their ships carrying entire civilizations on them. The largest Voth ship available in the Dyson Sphere is the Voth Fortress Ship, coming in at a staggering 134 kilometers long- thankfully, it's only weapons are varying turrets and is slow as all fucking shit, and the hull is breachable if one has enough explosive power (a MAC Gun or 8 could probably punch through it, in all honesty).

The Borg don't bother the Voth that much.

So, what else do these guys have besides the biggest fucking ship in science fiction? Well, erm, want to know what they're basic infantry is, besides Voth in power armor with energy shields and disruptor weapons (or energy blades, like a Sangehili)?

You sure you want to know?

Because there's no going back from this.

Alright, I warned you.

That is the basic infantry. A mecha-armored, augmented two meter tall raptor named the Dankanasaur with energy sheilds, and a MOTHER FUCKING POWER ARMORED PLASMA SHOOTING TYRANNOSAURUS REX (Well to be fair, it's actually a fictional dinosaur named the Furiadon- but it's essentially an AUGMENTED Tyrannosaurs Rex in all but name, and an actual T-Rex (but superior in every way) variant does exist, known as the Viriosaurus Rex). And if they aren't enough (but again, these things are fielded on a level similar to experienced infantry), than the Voth pull out their mecha suits, which more often than not act as a supporting role to the Voth military.

Meanwhile on Harvest, the Tau felt a sudden urge to switch planets and go elsewhere.

Are you starting to see why the Borg stay the fuck away from these guys? On the bright side however, due to the presence of those 'wretched mammals' from Alpha/Beta Quadrant, more and more individuals are starting to question the Doctrine and turn against their former comrades, helping the Joint Dyson Command.

The Undine

Oh God, they're hideous! ULGH!

The Undine (otherwise known as Species 8472 to the Borg, who tried and ultimately failed to assimilate them) are an alien race hailing from the alternate... something (dimension, universe, reality?) known as Fluidic Space. Utterly abhorred by essentially every race in the galaxy, the Undine are a highly xenophobic, aggressive alien race and are a very 'unique' race, utilizing bio-technology comprised of the exact same kind of material they themselves are comrpised off, with all the genetic goodies that implies.

For those unaware, the Undine have a triple helix DNA, making each cell contain more genetic information than you'll find in the entire human body. This makes them ludicrously immune to biological weaponry (so the Flood and Zerg will NOT be able to infect them), and are essentially 'bathed' in varying chemicals and pathogens that are extremely deadly to anything not from Fluidic Space. The most terrifying advantage the Undine have is the ability to casually rewrite parts of their DNA, allowing them to hold an incredible myriad of forms to change into at will, down to the cellular level of neurons firing in a persons brain (in other words, when they shapeshift into you, they BECOME you). Due to this, and their antiproton weaponry which laughs at essentially everything, and the reason of why the Undine were able to push back a Voth army when it tried to enter their territory is pretty simple to understand. The Undine are the most dangerous force currently residing on the planet, but they seem so far alright with staying in their little corner.

For now.

===Important Individuals=== 

Admiral Tuvok

We often fear what we do not understand. Our best defense, is knowledge.

Formerly the head Tactical Officer of the U.S.S Voyager during it's troubles in the Delta Quadrant, Tuvok is currently situated one of the varying satellites around Solane Dyson Sphere's central star, studying how it powers the mammoth world and the ramifications that would have on the galaxy. A skilled tactician, Tuvok is a prime example of Vulcan logic- well, almost, as he only recently became finely attuned into the mindset when he was dumped harshly during his teen years. Learning to subdue and survive in the deepest deserts of the Vulcan desert shortly thereafter with only a blade, Tuvok became a pragmatic individual, rarely showing any emotion, becoming tightly rounded up and as a result has had more than a few unpleasant memories related to this.

Repressed memories of his.

Coincidentally, these are all clips from Event Horizon.

Make of that what you will.

Although he has a rather on-off  relationship with Starfleet (he left in 2296 and returned in 2349, and is now in the year 2409 technically retired), he became infamous during his years on the U.S.S Voyager, acting as the caution and logic to Captain Janewya, who at times could be... um...

I think the word I'm looking for is 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Also, that's the literal embodiment of fear she is talking to. She could scare Fear itself.

His list of exploits are too large for me to recur accurately here, so I'll just give a link to his wiki page here.

Just be aware that this man is currently the leading force of the Dyson Joint Command, and is using all of that experience and intelligence of his to more-less help fight back the Undine and Voth.

Eric Cooper

Behold, the leader of the Undine threat. No, really- although he may look and act like a socially awkward but brilliant scientist, Eric hides a very dark secret. The real Eric Cooper (presumably) died on Omicron Kappa II during an Undine attack, replaced by a high-ranking Undine infiltrator, name unknown. Little is known of the actual life of this individual, but what is known is that 'Eric' not only leads the Undine armies on this Dyson sphere, he's also right now assigned to the U.S.S Dyson and has served on the other Dyson's as well as a Science Officer. Oh, also, he's telepathic and since Undine shapeshifting is fucking hax has all the knowledge and skills of Eric Cooper, a prolific scientist of the Federation.

Fun.

Danger Status: 5/5: Not only is this THE biggest planet currently in the Planetary Conquest tournament and all that implies, it all has on it a good host of incredibly dangerous forces. The low-tier forces like the UNSC or Arachnids wouldn't be able to survive here, the Covenant and Citadel Alliance would bleed a great deal and the Reaper/Eldar would be a bit unsettled at how many big guns are out there. This is not a place for the weak-hearted, or weak in general.

Earth (Defiance) Planetary Profile

*I own nothing. SyFy and Trion Worlds Entertainment owns Defiance.

Name: Earth
Status: Irradiated, Broken, Horribly Terraformed (Forests are Deserts or Barren Wastelands, The Sahara Desert is now a Tundra and we now have volcanic swamps- this planet is fucked up beyond recognition, really)

These are strange times indeed.

How would the people of Earth react to the knowledge of alien life? Would we open them with open arms, or mistrust? War, Negotiation, cooperation or destruction? This isn't exactly a new question, and has been answered in the past-

To mixed results

But this scenario is unique- the aliens are not invaders, but refugees (see above picture to see how we'll react) from a dead solar system, having arrived to this world expecting to make a new home with their terraforming technology, presuming it to have no sapient life on it. These alien races are collectively known as the Votan Collective, and during the opening stages of the 20th century were in an awkward scenario with humanity when they awoke from a 5000 year stasis and saw intelligent life staring back at them in confusion and fear.

Now, on the bright side, things started out pretty good- the Votans were able to gain a seat on the United Nations sometime in 2014, only a year after their surprise visit in the stasis/terraformers known as Arks.

We come in peace!
...
Why the fuck are you all panicking!? We said we come in Peace, you banggo's!

And the Votan were even given a corner of the jungles of Brazil for terraforming purposes- but still millions slumbered in stasis, and humanity was reluctant to offer reprieve for the races, creating tension and riots across the planet before more land was offered to the Votans. This cycle continued for a good deal of time until 2022, when humanity was convinced that they and the Votans could work out a deal. Everything seemed good, aside from the occasional radical thinker cursing out the government- on both sides, of course.

This hopeful future was destroyed however on March 18, 2023, when a "humanity first" advocate and mentally disturbed engineer by the name of John Paul Bullock gunned down the Votan diplomat, a Castithan by the name of Onulu Toruku, to the U.N on live television.

He dead

By April of that year, negotiations are gone entirely and war has erupted. Thus began what would be called a few short years later as the Pale Wars and would doom this planet. Humans and Votans fought one another, with the few refuges of peace like Yosemite ( a city that had existed around the time of the Votan Collective arrived that allowed both human and votan to live with each other comfortably) were burnt and bombed to the ground. Order and peace wqs gone, and everything continued to go to shit as the UN unveiled a race of genetically engineered super-soldiers they'd had hidden exactly for this since they first heard of the incoming fleet, while the Votans used superior technology (weapons and chemical) to force a terrifying slippery stalemate.

The worst happened on January 5, 2030, when the fleet of Arks in orbit around Earth exploded without warning (the causes are still debated fiercely to this day). Remnants of the ships smashed across the planet, reshaping the surface- the Himalayas were destroyed, France, Switzerland and Germany were struck with thousands, if not millions, of tons of cryogenic materials and Germany became a Catachan-esque hellhole of a jungle (with some ice on the utter edges) and, I shit thee not, Antarctica is a Tropical paradise chain of islands.

Jon, your thoughts on this?
ECH
Thank you Jon.

But those are aesthetic changes, all things considered compared to the fact of Earth now having a new atmosphere- yes, the devastation was so intense it added something new to our planets chemistry, and a particularly nasty effect at that. You see, the upper atmosphere got pretty fucked up with that amount of destruction, warping it. Now, airplanes are a thing of the past, due to the vicious levels of radiation and pure waves of weird energy that are up there, which also makes global communication via satellites impossible- now humanity uses radio towers as a kind of telegraph system to communicate with each other, and certainly not on a global level.

Now it is the year 2047 and the Pale Wars are over, and so is civilization as both factions, human and alien, once knew it as. Raiders and rouge soldiers roam the outskirts of the world while new governments and factions try to rise amongst the chaos and make a new utopia.

And gain the utopia of the small independent city of Defiance, while ignoring the horrors far, far away from the Americas.

Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to a planet that is not like the one we once knew.

The State of Countries, Cities and The World in General (Geography)

See here for the map of the continental United States- also, as a note, never, EVER go to Florida. That's where all the shit went down during the Pale Wars and is essentially as radioactive as Chernobyl with a good side of fucked up mutations everywhere- radiation and terraformed induced.

Canada

Oh, Canada...

In the wake of Arkfall, travel across North America was severely hampered by the chaotic micro-climates that engulfed the middle of the continent. Rather than attempt to cross the deadly Storm Divide, some people opted to go north, hoping that travel across the once picturesque Canadian landscape would prove more pleasant. What they found there was even worse. An improbable alliance of former Biomen and Gulanee soldiers have overrun the city of Vancouver and declared British Columbia to be their own personal empire.

Brute Muscle made in a jar and Energy beings in robot suits.

WHAT AN OBVIOUS ALLIANCE!

The ravaged provinces of Ontario and Quebec are a lawless frontier where raiders and highwaymen prowl the broken roads between fortress towns too proud to bend the knee to the Earth Republic and explorers quickly learned to avoid the Northwest Territories, where giant mutated beasts stalk the terraformed landscape. On a happier note, Central Canada is also home to one of the most pristine recreations of a Votan ecosystem, outside of the Sulos colony- although the natives aren't exactly friendly.

A region of Indogene crystal-rock formations stretches from Alberta to Saskatchewan – dubbed the Canadian Desert. No animal can survive in this brittle and desolate region, save for a few dangerous species of alien creatures indigenous to the planet Daribo in the Votanis System, one of the nastier worlds from the old system.  Upon hearing about these wonders, Indogene scientists made a pilgrimage to see it for themselves. They discovered a crashed Ark near the ruins of Edmonton, and went in to explore.

 No one knows what they found inside that ship, but the Indogenes immediately erected a barrier around it, threatening to kill anyone who came within miles of their find. These rogue Indogenes have been working around the clock on the ship ever since. For what purpose, no one knows.

The Bay Area 

In recent years, the Bay Area has become a hotbed of violent activity. Arkfalls are so frequent that an entire outlaw industry has cropped up around them – Ark Hunting. Every mercenary worth their salt has come to San Francisco willing to risk everything for that one big payday. Mayor Ara Shondu struggles to keep the peace, while criminals such as Varus Soleptor and weapons manufacturers like Karl Von Bach seek to reap the windfall. And Nim Shondu, Ara's brother, works in secret to advance his own shadowy goals. Once the crown jewel of Northern California, Marin County has now become a dangerous and chaotic new world. A few old world monuments such as Coit Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge remain standing. Also still intact is the Palace of Fine Arts, now known as Fort Defiance – site of the famous battle that spawned the Defiance movement. This movement offers hope for the future – hope that humans and Votans may one day be able to work together.

The Storm Divide

The Storm Divide is a broad term for the huge swath of land between the Rockies and the Mississippi River – the center of what was once the United States of America that terraforming has altered beyond all recognition. These changes have resulted in perpetually nasty weather patterns – everything from freak storms and blizzards to earthquakes and razor rain (shards of metal/crystal that rip through anything but the hardier of materials in their path, and are a somewhat common global weather phenomena). Pockets of civilization still exist, but the harsh conditions forced most sane people to flee, leaving a sparse collection of criminals and hermits. Bizarre and horrific creatures stalk the land. Many areas remain unexplored. Those brave enough to venture here (or who are forced to by circumstance) will find ghost towns populated by the strange and often deadly byproducts of Arkfall. It’s a warning to the survivors of the Pale Wars of what their hubris actually cost.

Key Diego

Key Diego is the name of an archipelago which is all that remains of Southern California. It extends from the Los Angeles Islands in the west to Yuma in the east. When terraforming ripped away a large portion of California and Arizona, most sane people fled for good. In the years that followed, a less savory brand of resident moved in – the businessman. Los Angeles and Yuma are sister cities and have a symbiotic relationship. Los Angeles is a free port and trade hub, run by the nine Great Trading Houses. Some are legitimate, some nothing more than criminal cartels. Business reigns supreme, and humans and Votans alike are welcome.

Yuma is the gateway to the east, situated on the Colorado River delta – a point of origin for many land and river based trade routes through North America. From here, passage can be booked east by land coach across the Storm Divide, or north by river to Vegas Prison. Yuma is a natural endpoint for the Earth Republic's proposed maglev line (continental bullet-train line), giving it incredible strategic value. Because of this, many Votanis Collective and Earth Republic spies are working here in secret, trying to curry favor with the Greater Houses. Of course, the Houses care little for their politics... all they care about is the color of your scrip (money).

Sulos (South America)

Sulos was the original patch of land granted to the Votans several years after their arrival.

This was their promised land – the first true plot of soil that they could call their own. It was hard going at first, as the new immigrants frequently clashed with the indigenous people. Cultural misunderstandings between humans and aliens made peaceful assimilation difficult. The Votans used their terraforming technology to convert the region into a near-perfect replica of their homeworlds. They invited the local humans to come and see this wonder, and many of those lucky enough to be invited came away with a better understanding of their neighbors. 

Sulos was the first true example of what could happen when humans and Votans made a real effort to understand one another. That is, until the Pale Wars broke out, and the Sulos Colony – afraid that humans would destroy everything they’d built – closed their borders to all but their most trusted human allies. Named for one of the twin stars of the Votanis system, Sulos is a Votan paradise – an example of terraforming gone right on a planet gone terribly wrong. There are immaculate recreations of Irathient savanna's, Sensoth forests, and Indogene crystal caverns.

Sadly no humans can ever see them.

Little is known about the current state of the Sulos colony since they closed their borders, which is just how the Votanis Collective likes it. They consider themselves the last bastion of pure Votan culture on Earth. Still, it's possible that one day the rest of the world might see this beauty for itself. It's rumored that the Votanis Collective has plans for massive expansion. Every year, their borders push further and further north, suggesting some truth to the rumors...

Germany

Krieg und Tod Ewiger

When the Pale Wars broke out in Europe, many hoped that humans would put aside their differences and band together for a common cause. But as history has taught us, this is not often the case. The countries of the European Union fractured, creating a multitude of factions, each with their own agenda. When terraforming swept through the continent, Germany saw some of the most radical changes. The Arks that crashed here carried samples of some of the most bizarre and rare Votan plant life, transforming Germany into an alien rain forest, improbably dotted with castles as well as modern skyscrapers. 

Pretty, minus the plants that will devour you alive!

Worse, some of the plants are predatory, and stalk those who wander into their home. Despite these Lovecraftian horrors, the old factions remain. Human warlords continue to fight for their causes – some good, some bad, some long forgotten. Travelers are advised to avoid the country entirely. Here, it’s as if the Pale Wars never ended.

United Kingdom

May the sun never set on Great Britain and her children.

The Pale Wars took a terrible toll on Europe, ravaging the mainland and introducing a host of horrors. But even after years of fighting and the sweeping changes brought on by terraforming, the UK remained largely unscathed. However, all communications were severed – phone lines, internet, even radio- blocked by radiation in the atmosphere. Some saw this as a blessing.

 Being a series of islands, these countries were easier to defend from outside threats. Walls, guard towers, and automated artillery were installed all along the borders of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The United Kingdom is relatively safe from the outside world. Of course, they’re also cut off from friends and loved ones.

Some citizens believe ignorance is bliss, and are content to live under martial law, carrying out their lives much as their parents did during the Second World War- minus the threats of bombing or anything that really justified martial law in Britain during their parents life. Of course, not everyone (read- anyone with half a brain... which is sadly little, due to the government) is happy with this isolationist stance. There are those within the UK who want to launch an attack to take back Europe. But the war to sway the ruling party is a cold one. The ruling party will not tolerate dissent, and quells these dissidents with an iron fist.

Hmm, that sounds familiar...

And so the rebels work in secret – launching raids to the mainland, smuggling supplies, and currying favor in the halls of power, greasing the wheels of the political machine in hopes that one day it will be forced to take a stand, and helping this one very strange anomaly that makes residents of the U.K. quite wary and curious about the outside world. In 2035, a giant energy bubble appeared in Scotland overnight, covering a sixteen mile radius centered over Stirling Castle. No one knows who created this barrier or why, but that isn't the question that keeps everyone up at night. Oh no, there's plenty of theories or answer to that, but not t the real question is one nobody has a conclusive answer to – was the barrier erected to keep them out, or to keep something else in?

France and surrounding countries

When Arkfall ended the Pale Wars, thousands of ships in orbit crashed to the surface, transforming the planet forever. One of the largest crashed in the Rhone valley, unleashing its cryogenic energy across France and portions of Italy and Switzerland. In mere days, most of the countries were transformed into a frozen tundra, but it was far from a wasteland – many of the country's greatest landmarks remain, perfectly preserved in crystalline ice- Notre Dame cathedral, Mont Saint-Michel, countless vineyards and villages, all now encased in ice. The survivors faced a bleak and difficult struggle, but it was nothing compared to the danger that emerged from that downed Ark.

An army of Scrappers rose up: intelligent robots cobbled together from the remnants of the crashed ship, who built hordes of allies from the bits of technology they found buried in the ice. They are controlled by the AI from the fallen Ark, a malevolent force whose programming has gone badly awry.

There are no strings on me.

Oh Hi, Doggie

Pragmatic to a fault, the Scrappers have kept the civilian population alive – to work as slaves, carrying out the ark-brain’s wishes. In recent years, a resistance has formed – brave men and women intent on driving out these aggressors and returning their country to its former beauty.

History has a funny tendency to repeat itself, doesn't it?

The rest of the world, like Asia, are in unknown condition- although due to the fact the explosions of the Arks were first reported in Asian countries, I imagine its safe to say it has been terraformed to insane and improbable degrees, with a lot of alien technology and awakened Votan survivors trying to figure out what the FUCK just happened. 

And Australia is still Australia- but now with Platypus-Koala Bears and Crocodile Sharks. No biggie.


So yeah, kind of a shitty planet- let's see who's on it, shall we?

===THIRD PARTY FACTIONS===

Earth Republic

Terra operi

The Earth Republic (more commonly known as E-Rep) is the last bastion of human government on the planet- excluding the UK, but they're more isolated than North Korea (which may or may not even still exist), so they don't count.

The Earth Republic is made from the fragments of the former Earth Military Coalition, formed shortly into the year 2030 and, to be honest, is a pretty damn nice government and hold a very frim grip on a nice deal of North America.

Although British Columbia is still a bitch and a half, as is the Storm Divide which they only loosely hold control over.

They are an arrogant lot however, seeing as the entire planet under their jurisdiction and although they welcome both human and Votan into their society, Votans are more than a bit uncomfortable around these people. The government is very reminiscent of the American constitution and all that entails, and is based primarily in Columbia.

Also, they're one of the few remaining forces on the planet with a proper airforce, utilizing military helicopters and, more impressively, Stratocarriers- essentially a Hellicarrier from Marvel, it uses anti-gravity technology to float above the Earth (but not into the upper atmosphere- that shit be scary). It also comes with built-in drop pods. These impressive ships however are currently in very low numbers, with only three currently known to be actually built/in-action.

Looks cool tho.

They're on an armistice with the Votanis Collective, and the relationship between the two isn't too dissimilar to Russia and the United States during the Cold War- polite, but wondering how they can fuck the other one over somehow.

Votanis Collective

When Heaven falls to Earth, peace shall reign.

The other major political power on the block, the Votanis Collective is the remnants of known society from the Votan system. Based in Sulos, South America, the Votanis Collective is comprised of the following races-

• Castithan- An alien race with a very elaborate caste system, they resemble on the outside a human but exceptionally paler and have a greater sense of smell than humans- also, they can interbreed with humans. They are a Male-dominated society, use sex freely and see bathing as a very public family thing, and are confused on why humans find that weird.
• Irathient- The most common alien on Earth, they are a highly athletic and competitive species resembling humans but with flat nasal bridges and a more red-based color scheme. They can interbreed with humans- with some medical assistance. They are very well attuned to nature and have a tribal life style.
• Indogene- human looking, naturally bald with white (like snow) skin with hexagonal patterns across their body and have countless technological implants hidden throughout their body depending on their role in society. They treat science to the point of obsession (if you don't believe in science, you're an atheist to them) and see themselves as the superior race- they also feel awkward around humans.
• Liberata- A stout species that breathes nitrogen and can be poisoned by oxygen, they're a slave servant caste to the Castithans and Indogenes. They're surprisingly okay with this, seeing it as the proper punishment for their ancestors crimes.
• Sensoth- Large, very long living Sloth-like creatures, they are a very simple people and think/plan in the very long terms. They, like the Liberata, are a servant caste, typically of the Castithan as slaves for a variety of reasons.
• Gulanee- a race of energy beings, they cannot exist in any atmosphere outside their homeworlds and as a result walk everywhere in large robotic suits. They helped provide a lot of resources and scientific knowledge for the Votan and now just kind of do... whatever.

They are comprised of millions of Votans with a rather significant army, and are ruled by a Parliament comprised of Castithan, Indogene and Irathient senators, and (maybe) some of the other species. They're currently expanding throughout South and Central America and are eyeing the Northern part of the continent rather greedily. Right now they're in an armistice with the E-Rep, but it's a very fragile one.

Shkathe'Nado (Dark Matter)

Umya ksa Myunda, Usha ksa Myunda!
(Not Now, Not Ever!)

Dark Matter was, until quite recently, an elite division of the Ekaru Kome- the Votan equivalent to Spetsnaz and the most deadly soldiers the Collective had to offer. In the year 2030, that faction dissolved after the Battle of Defiance (the new Yosemite, in a way- but more tense), with a majority throwing aside their weapons to live comfortable lives while the VotCol and E-Rep entered a tense state of peace.

Some soldiers however did not care for such things as peace, seeing themselves as the greatest pinnacles of life there was. They cut off all ties to the Votan Collective and became the infamous terrorist group of Shkathe'Nado- Dark Matter.

All of their members come outfitted with an EGO (Environmental Guardian Online) implant to keep track of their movements and protect them all forms of danger, ranging from radiation to poison and allow them to interface with any kind of technology (like A.I's), and typically have cloaking devices to attack and disappear. Couple that with the hoards of high end Votan weaponry and vehicles

The last one is a Monolith- an alien robot that can triple as a mining machine, a heavy tank or a gunship.

and a Teleportation network at their disposal, and they're one of the most dangerous factions on the planet, with high agents in the Votan Collective- including one of the premier councilman of the Votan Parliament, Starrein.

A Dark Matter soldier coming from a Transport Beacon.

They see no problem with allying with detestable groups to see their goals through (they aligned themselves with Raiders in the past) or taking ballsy moves (attacking a Scrapper 'hive' directly to access' it's core), and they will do anything to achieve victory or spread chaos.

Ignore them at your own caution.

Von Bach Industries

Hey look, the motto is already there! How convenient!

Von Bach Industries- the most prestigious and influential organization on the planet, they have a rather shady history. Created sometime in 2000, the VBI initially had a few satellites (very advanced ones however) in orbit and made very nice, if somewhat mundane, technology. That changed when these satellites picked up the Votan fleet incoming to Earth, where they alerted the world governments (in secret, of course) of the incoming fleet. While the governments of the world panicked and made secret alliances and militaries, VBI discretely made sure to be a company that would allow all workers to join them- regardless of species. Utilizing and reverse-engineering technology, they helped supply to the human factions during the Pale Wars- again, secretly.

With the end of the world, the company has never seen better times, exploiting every single last piece of the world they can find, ranging from the effects of new minerals in drugs or weaponry to seeing if skitterling fluids could make for new sports drinks (not true maybe but you get the idea), and they are currently headed by the influential CEO Karl Von Bach, who is currently in an expedition to the Bay Area to exploit new Arkfalls. The company is based in the slowly rebuilding New York City, and they are a very shifty bunch.

Raiders

Malicious, Belligerent, and Cannibalistic

Raiders are exactly what you think they are. The insane remnants of society, these are people who have resorted to brute force and destruction to get what- human or votan. Most raider parties are comprised of a grand menagerie of species (the largest Raider group that almost every raider you'll every raider you'll ever meet in North America belongs to, based in San Franciso and the Storm Divided and expanding to the western seaboard, is lead by a Gulanee named Dy'Dekuso), with the most common being Humans, Biomen, Sensoth and Liberata being the most common of members. Some 'raiders' however, for one reason or another, are much more unique in their groupings and members, like the 99ers, miners with incredibly extensive cybernetic implants and care only for mining- whether that be the excess of rare and valuable minerals or the body parts of their foes.

An entire society of Greed incarnate, that doesn't sleep, eat or care for anything besides harvesting materials.
Ignore them and they'll ignore you. Walk into their mines, and you'll have a drill in your face and soon enough enough implants in you that you'll be going with them.
Lovely people.

The Raiders are the largest faction on the planet, as almost everywhere on the planet has a group like them. They'll be the most annoying of all the foes here, if not dangerous... Well, actually, that's not true...

Hellbugs

Their capacity for adaptation is astounding.

The Hellbugs, scientifically named Scylla Formidica, are a sign of how absolutely FUCKED UP Votan Terraforming technology can be. Want to know what Hellbugs are? A pest like creature that evolved insanely on the Votan world and super-evolved into Tyranids lite? Nope. An ancient species on our own planet brought back by "SCIENCE!!!1"? Nope.

It's a mix between a butterfly and an alien beetle brought on by terraforming technology.

Borne into existence 5 months after the cataclysmic terraforming Arkfall, they were first seen as a terrifying threat by the people of the planet with some organizations, like the EMC (Earth Military Coalition) trying to mind-control the species as a perfect group of soldiers.

This failed spectacularly.

And now the foul species is crossed across the entire planet, living in essentially every biome imaginable. The creatures are like cockroaches in many ways in that they are almost impossible to deal with, and these creatures are on a sliding scale of lethality. In the more civilized parts of the world, the creatures barely have time to set up a hive and are pests (pests the size of dogs, hopefully), and the small amount of hives that do exist are hilariously small, with the Matron and her drones unable to leave and out on the farther edges of the domains of the cities. In the more untamed parts of the world however, where a hive is set up and set up well...

FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK!

The Hellbug Hives are ruled by a Matron, the central ruler of a Hive- kill her and the swarm becomes docile (eventually), and these creatures have a very simplistic lifecycle- Hellbugs are lain as eggs by the Matron and hatch as Skitterlings. When they consume enough Gulanite they form a cocoon and emerge as either a Warrior, Archer or Monarch. Hellbugs have an annual mating season known as "Svushinnira", or "the rain of pollution.". During this time they are more numerous and much more aggressive and behave more erratically. 

The Queen

Her Guards

Her Soldiers

Her Children

Her Scouts and Archers.

Also, elemental variants of the creatures exist depending on where they live, ranging from individual Hellbugs to entire Hives. The known elemnets they can take after are Acidic, Fire, Electricity and Radioactive. Also, killing a fully set-up hive is harder than it sounds- the creatures are not only incredibly adaptable and able to make new colonies very quickly (2 weeks minimum) but also difficult to dispel, with hives set up near Arkfall wreckage being the most dangerous due to the mobile factory creatures under their possession known as 'Hellions'.

Well, nothing to do here. Bye everyone!

So yeah- these fuckers would eat the Arachnids for breakfast.

===IMPORTANT INDIVIDUALS===

(Lazy? Maybe- but there's no other way I can release this profile- the wiki states everything you could need. I'm sorry!)

Danger Status: 4/5: An upper atmosphere composed of radiation and exotic particles, where mega-corporations exist and rule the wasteland that's always getting worse or torn apart by storms of razor sharp materials, with ineffective governments trying to take control of the ruined remnants of the world and kill each other over falling remnants of alien technology- and that's just the United States! Just stay away from this world if you have the chanc-

Oh wait, you don't have a choice in the matter anyways.

HA!

Actually, no, I think I know a better song for this.

There we go.