A Rimworld quest things get interesting and no one will force us to adhere to the geneva conventions no one but the snotty glitterworlders used them in millenias anyway
Link: https://fiction.live/stories/Rimworld-Hostile-Faction-Quest/2JbxSGeXiEEA57W4z/home
( Be the member of a major hostile faction on a Rimworld. Kill, steal, and commit war crimes. Get away with them)
Synopsis
A quest inspired by Rimworld, as well as my desire to [Redacted due to legal counsel]. Essentially, be horrible, do crimes* in a sandbox. *Is it still a crime if your government permits it?
What a lot of Sci-Fi writers forget is that galaxies are massive. Not that one can fault the planet-bound, as the sheer scales involved make things impossible to put things into perspective - but we're not planet-bound anymore, are we? Humanity took to the stars, expanding across the Milky Way with agonizing slowness, in part due to the sheer scale involved, but mostly due to never discovering a way to travel faster than Light, colonists and exiles traveling on long-haul cryoships only to arrive at their destination thousands of years later at best - if they end up at the correct destination at all.
But all of this is immaterial, since you probably won't be traveling from your sole system, centered on…
Class-G stars are fairly common, all told - and it's no surprise that you're not the first civilization on the planet, nor are you alone. But first, how densely was the planet inhabited before Humanity started spreading?
Of course, the precursor ruins are not always the only source of advanced technology - be it a recent crash yet to regress technologically, or possibly an organized incursion.
Has a Refugee Empire entered the system? Incapable of FTL travel and fleeing from a foe lagging decades behind them, they make use of advanced technology and have a society focusing on honor, fealty, and an aristocratic upper crust.
Entirely unrelated to the Refugee Empire, are there any non-human species present on the planet, aside from the Revia? For reference on who the Revia are, see the Faction Preview thread next to Chat.
Excellent. Now, the planet itself is already decided on to be fairly Earth-like, otherwise most of the population would have died from exposure, wildlife, or other nonsense long ago, so the time has come to decide which group you will be the member of. You have three options:
Revian Cults: A conglomerate of various smaller cults, sects, churches, and denominations, all united in two aspects: one, they worship Skarne, who they consider the god of blood, war, violence, and death. Two, they do so rather enthusiastically. Revians themselves are a near-human species with fox-like features, primarily ears, tails, fangs and claws. While they draw some ridicule from the ignorant for their fanatical beliefs, they're something of a scientific mystery, because there's no good explanation for becoming bulletproof from ritualistic sacrifices. (Alignment: Chaotic Evil to Neutral Evil.)
-Trait: Blood for the Blood God - Ritualistic sacrifices increase the number of tails a Revia has, up to a maximum of nine, with incremental but exponentially larger increases in combat ability. Great feats in battle can substitute for sacrifices. (Sacrifice fresh corpses slain in battle or live POWs for Bloodstones. Offer Bloodstones to Skarne for permanent buffs. Sufficient performance can bypass the need for sacrifices.)
-Trait: Made for War - Revia carry many changes to their physiology that appear to have been made through genetic editing, albeit the efforts to reverse-engineer said genes always meet with failure. While they are far too small and there are far too many of them to list, they culminate in them being extremely difficult to put down with any measure of permanence. (All wound penalties reduced by two degrees. Revia are downed at 3 Lethal Wounds and die at 5 Lethal wounds. For reference, Humans are downed at a single Lethal Wound and die with the second.)
-Trait: From Whence the Blood Flows - Culturally speaking, Revia do not retreat from any engagement, as Skarne cares very little for who dies in a battle, as long as someone does. (Can not retreat from a battle, even if it is clearly being lost.)
-Overarching Goal: Kill EVERYONE.
-Playstyle: BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD, SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE
-Tech Level: More schizo than people's opinions on the Internet
The Pale Guard: A relatively small group of people, making use of a significantly larger number of combat and worker droids, alongside Androids. Technologically at parity with the Remnant Empire, albeit focused towards robotics rather than psychic ability. While they are generally hostile to most, they do not immediately jump to violence and tend to stick to being immensely arrogant and proud. That said, they do at times trade with independent settlements, primarily purchasing raw materials and selling munitions and medical equipment, their technologically advanced armaments and powered armor jealously guarded. (Alignment: Lawful Evil)
-Trait: Behind a Skin of Steel: The Pale Guard are known as that because of their characteristic white powered armors, which they employ whenever they bother to show up in person, rather than operate a remote platform or deploy a strike force of advanced combat drones capable of depopulating entire settlements on their own. (Most human Characters start with Excellent-Quality Pale Guard Armor.)
-Trait: Technological Superiority: The Pale Guard are one of two factions that can manufacture energy weapons, powered armor and SSTO Craft, and the only one capable of manufacturing prosthetics that achieve near-parity with archotech, Persona-level AI, mass-produced worker drones and large-scale energy shields of sufficient strength to deter artillery indeterminately. (Greatly expanded options in equipment, forces, transportation and many other related fields.)
-Trait: Aloof and Arrogant: The Pale Guard are aware of how far they are ahead of the competition, and are not willing to share that advantage - they don't recruit, keep the best they make to themselves, and are generally difficult to be around. (Malus to Diplomacy with organized factions.)
-Overarching Goal: Eliminate all organized resistance to your governance on the planet.
-Playstyle: Obama's Top 10 Drone Strikes
-Tech Level: Fairly high and not just sophisticated but refined for practicality
The Cartel: A divergent evolution of humans, caused by rampant genetic modification and being forcibly relocated to habitats on the bottom of the planet's oceans and forced to live there for over two thousand years. The legitimate government is isolationist and would very much prefer to be left alone, but you're not a member of the legitimate government - you're the member of a cartel who don't exactly have a blank check to cause trouble on the surface, but a lot of blind eyes are turned for activities aimed at them.
-Trait: Beneath the Waves: Crushing pressure, strong currents, low visibility, impaired mobility, and a host of other issues will have to be suffered through attacks on your infrastructure and homes, while providing an avenue of escape from terrestrial battles by simply heading underwater.
-Trait: Deathworld Tactics: Your biology, training and equipment are all built for use under several thousand PSI of pressure, granting you immense speed, strength and perception on the surface - coincidentally, if your pressure suit ever gets breached you will turn have only seconds to seal it back up or the sudden shift in external pressure will kill you instantly. Easier said than done, but by no means impossible.
-Trait: Lines in the Sand: You have a government you don't necessarily answer to, but drawing too much attention from either the police or the surface will result in a lot of unwanted difficulties.
-Playstyle: Steal loot, kidnap people, and generally be the bandit problem you want to see in the world.
-Tech Level: Advanced cybernetics, powered armor, medicine, railguns and isolated habitation. Lags behind somewhat in other fields.
Finally, one more vote before we start getting out of the setup stage. The scale of the quest itself:
Do you wish for it to focus on a single main character with relatively little authority in the grand scheme of things - such as a commando or squad leader, or perhaps someone with a middling level of command such as the commander of an outpost or remote military facility?