Mech-Corp
A culture shapes its engineers, and its engineers shape its future. The hive colony was no different, its systems and machines were maintained and built by a dedicated mechanics Corporation, whose sole purpose was the continued operation of the hives own nervous system. A mixture of engineers of all types they maintained a dedicated area within the colony for industrial R&D as well as a main area for maintenance of all the main machines utilised within the hive, having access to their own fabrication foundries and recycling plants. All of these put together with the engineers formed the beating heart of the technology centre that kept the hive colony going. This all changed when the fall hit and the resulting mutant wars, as the mutants spilled out from the mines they rampaged through the surrounding industrial areas and security check points, spreading throughout the hive at a lighting pace, the Hive-sec troopers and private security militias finding themselves soon over run as they waves of mutation soon began to reach the outskirts of the Mechanic corporation construction fields and domes, driving the panicking populace before them like lambs to the slaughter. Many of the engineers had family living outside the construction domes and in a wave of anger strapped themselves into whatever mechs they had available, grabbing everything from power grinders to sledgehammers, and headed out to face the wave of mutants, buying their families time to escape inside with their own blood. The domes themselves had been built to withstand construction accidents, as well as catastrophic failures in the likes of generators without causing a threat to the rest of the colony and its resident populace. Accordingly as the engineers engaged in hand to hand combat with the mutants with the few surviving Hive-Sec troopers, their families fled behind the metres thick titanium blast doors to safety, in the aid of awaiting a rescue that would never come. As the Blast doors sealed the atmospheric readers built into control rooms read the de-pressurisation of the outside of the domes, leaving the people inside sealed into their domes with only the fabrication foundries and recycling plants for company. Now sealed in with limited food supplies, the surviving engineers, the families and the other civilians began to decide how best to resolve their situation, turning what they could into housing and altering existing recycling plants for some form of food production without the access to agri-domes. Once this had been done the jobs of maintaining power and everything else crucial to the dome were split between the surviving specialist engineers and the technicians that had made it to safety with their families. The technicians had to pull additional staff from the families, anyone who could weld a plate, or swing a hammer, whilst the specialists took time to train a few up to their level to pass on the technical knowledge required to run the systems in the dome.
This split between the technically able people would begin the divide that would personify the people they would become, the lead specialists and leaders from the technicians and families forming a parliament to lead the people and lay down the laws they would need to survive. This split of power between the people would lead them down the same but opposite sided paths, the specialists gaining more and more power through aloof means, whilst the technicians would become the prominent people, never as well educated or fed as the specialists but always bigger in number and drive. Today this split has grown further and further to the two classes of people in the domes, the wealthy Aristocratic Specialists with their lofty mansions and boundless piles of resources, and the lowly technicians, the life and blood of the Mech corp, running the markets and patching the dome whilst the specialists waste their time on projects of whimsy, as all upper class do. For all their differences one needs the other, the specialists know how to operate and repair the crucial systems, inventing new equipment to replace the old as it wears out, whilst the technicians now how to fabricate the components and resource the materials needed to even continue the running of the fabricators. Both need the other to ensure their survival and the survival of their people, though for how much longer….
The Parliament[]
The central governing body of the Mech Corp, with the prominent specialists forming the inner body of the government in the key positions, whilst the technician houses ordinary form the rest of the secondary tier government officials. Roughly speaking the parliament is split down into 5 key positions, consisting of the ministerial roles within the parliament itself. These roles are that of The Prime, The Minister of the Yard, Minister of Scrap, Chaplain of the Techno-Scribes, and the Minister of the Internal. The first of these serves as the head of the parliament, being the elected head of the Mech corp and its government, in reality the Prime is often the most popular specialist with the biggest wallet. The Minister of the yard serves as the parliament representative to the various armed Houses that serve as the Military forces of the Mech-corp, in reality being a combination of quartermaster general and a Politician, this is one of the few primary parliament roles that technicians have some hope of gaining and holding on to. The minister of scrap serves the parliament as a representative to the industries within the dome, accounting for economics and resources the Mech Corp and its people have access to. The Chaplain of the Techno-scribes serves as the Techno orders representative to the parliament, offering advice and overview to any discoveries or technotheological issues the parliament may encounter. The final member of the primary government is the minister of the Internal, serving as the representative for the Dome populace they act as the main body via which issues are brought to the Parliament, often these ‘issues’ are the whinging of the Specialist families rather than actual issues of the people.
Mech-Corp Relations[]
Predominantly based in the eastern ruins, The Mech-Corp have regular contact with the other factions that have settled in the area. Accordingly they reguarly trade and negotiation with these factions from thier position in their home lands, however these interactions don't always end well, and they have repeatidly been a war in the course of their history, the consequences of these wars and the lasting relations with other nearby factions have been listed on the link below.
Mech-Corp Elections[]
As with so much in the Mech-Corp when it comes to elections of positions of prominence the split between the specialists and the technicians once more is brought to the fore. Across the culture positions of authority and power are tightly controlled by the parliament and their specialist majority to the point that those with real power are forever in the realm of the specialists, be it parliament, economy or military. When ever a new army is raised from amongst the regiments of militia, it is a specialist chosen from amongst the aristocratic officer cadre to provide the general to command the companies of men and women. The only place that technicians with dreams of high status stand a chance is with the issue of logisitcs and the hard graft it entails. Seen as below a specialist, technicians have almost free reign when it comes to the election of an armies wagon master, the individual responsible for the armies supplies and processions of box carrying carts following behind.
General - Elected once a year, chosen from amongst all Specialists and those technicians with 'WARLEADER'. Has field command of the 1st Mech-Corp army (All subsequent armies raised will require another 'General' to be elected)
Wagon master - Elected once a year, chosen from amongst all Technicians (Specialist are EXCLUDED). Has field command over all army supplies and territory supply lines.
Mech-Corp Army[]
Formed from several regiments of technician militia augmented by specialist advisors and household troops, the old guard serves as the main division of the Mech-Corp military arm, its troops outfitted by the armament workshops and barns of the home territories, whilst its men are trained and schooled by the parliament in the Mech-Corp style of warfare. Steeped in the regimented style of specialist dominated officer class driven by political and social advance through exploits, the old guard marches forth in times of war as a great host of great coat swathed technician soldiers and NCO’s, led by brilliantly uniformed specialist senior officers astride mechanical mounts. This disciplined orchestrated focus lends the division its reputation for stubbornness in the face of their enemy, fighting on despite great loss to hold back the tide of attacks whether on the perimeter or from ambushes when on external patrols.
Subclasses: Specialists & Technicians[]
Faction Bonus: Bonus to starting equipment (+2 crude recipe items (1 cyber/1 arms))
Specialists:
Forming the top of the pile that is Mech Corp society, Specialists have been brought up from birth to believe in their intellectual superiority over others of their own kind, and over those they see below them. Growing up around a near endless pile of resources, specialists spend their entire lives working on pet projects to prove their superior intelligence to those around them, utilising whatever means they have to carry out their plans. Their natural affinity for utilising technology to their own means exhibits itself in their wanton display of cybernetic tricks when entertaining guests, or when leading expeditions to satisfy their own curiosity.
Technicians:
Forming the rest of Mech Corp society, technicians by and large represent the majority of Mech Corp culture, working away their lives in the foundries and recycling plants to ensure their continued production, whilst others operate as work teams, utilising heavy rigs as an everyday as the specialists do their network adaptors, ensuring the integrity of the dome’s perimeter seals. Their constant toil has left them with a natural affinity for identifying when something is wrong with their machinery or when something doesn’t belong, logging it down for analysis and fixing later.
Faction special Rule
A warband lead by a Specialist may include Technicians, however a warband led by a Technician may not include a specialist, unless that specialist is a "Demoted". A unit of 3 - 6 Technicians may have ONE Demoted, a unit of 7 - 10 may have TWO demoted
Demoted are members of the specialist caste who for various reasons have been dropped from their position of status amongst their fellow specialists for a specific reason, e.g. Breaking a law, Promoting Liberal ideas such as equal rights for technicians, or out of control science experiments. They have all the same advantages as specialists in terms of advantages and disadvantages but they are a part of the technician caste in that they are no longer welcome in the specialist’s ranks. This may change should the ‘Demoted’ re-earn their status.
Sub class Advantages: "Specialists" First point in cyber tech is doubled, and have increased chance to recover components from failed crafts & "Technicians" Gain a bonus to identifying recipe components regardless of Tech, and Can utilise Heavy rigs one point above their level (Does not count for level zero)
Sub class Disadvantages: "Specialists" cannot use Heavy rigs or Two handed melee beyond Worn, or two handed ranged beyond standard issue & "Technicians" cannot take cyber tech and suffer a penalty to advancing in biotech skills e.g. each level up requires an additional xp point
Cultural Inspiration:
Specialists – Steampunk, Technicians – Dieselpunk, Regency Class divide, Victoriana styled, Renaissance era mental approach to technology, Technological drive
What the faction is not:
Victorians, Inherently classist/racist, Supremacists