Battleborn Faction/Role/Species Page Previews

Section 1: Age and Faction
Roll 3d8+10 to determine your age, or pay 50 CP to choose your age from those rollable as well as your gender.

Choose a Faction below to belong to – incidentally, this will also determine your starting location.

Drop-In [Free] – Well, that's odd. Nobody here seems to know where you're from. You just sort of appeared in orbit around Solus, asleep or in stasis inside a truly ancient-looking ship. Ignoring the now nigh-unreadable logo on the side of the vessel, which you could swear belongs to a weapons corporation long since defunct, you awaken to the unmistakable feeling of this derelict being towed to one of the five locations below (roll 1d5).

Jennerit Rebels [Free] – Like many among the Jennerit, you were outraged by the coup d'etat led by Lothar Rendain, and your loyalty to Empress Lenore led you to turn against the traitor in hopes of preventing the fall of Solus. You start on the tidally-locked planet of Tempest, awaiting a rescue from one of the floating cities as you fight off swarms of Thrall and malfunctioning Minion Robotics drones.

Eldrid [Free] – You oppose the Varelsi in the name of the natural order, as your faction always has. Of course, masters of biology who grow their equipment rather than building it would be very interested in protecting the last shining star indeed. You find yourself fending off a wave of Thrall soldiers on a forested chunk of the shattered planet Ekkunar, preventing their entry into an ancient Aztanti ruin. Soon enough, a small ship will be arriving to recruit you for the battle against the Varelsi.

Last Light Consortium [Free] – Profit, that's the name of the game. The remains of the universe's great corporations form the Last Light Consortium (LLC for short), and the leading company among them is Minion Robotics – the greatest remaining producer of war machines. Drones? Starships? Weapons? They manufacture it all. You find yourself behind the relative safety of the Arcfleet – a floating, planet-sized space station consisting of multiple modules and surrounded by vast shields. Keep in mind, this is relative safety. Luckily for you, a small ship will most likely be visiting soon to pick you up.

United Peacekeeping Republics [Free] – Someone has to stop the Varelsi. Someone has to preserve democracy. Someone has to overcome the forces of destruction and chaos! Among the factions of Solus, the motivations of your government are perhaps the most purely anti-Varelsi in nature. You awaken on the frozen world of Bliss, within a heated settlement – one of the few not yet overrun by Thrall, malfunctioning Minion-bots, or Varelsi. Needless to say, the Battleborn will be arriving soon to put the place in order, and you'll likely find yourself joining them – unless you had something else in mind?

The Rogues [Free] – Even at the end of days (literally!), there are always the downtrodden, the criminal, and the mad. Concentrated in the Detritus Rings at the outer edge of the Solus system, these rogues and scavengers inhabit small asteroids and old shipwrecks alike, living on the edge of death. You awaken within a particularly large chunk of outdated warship, floating around the ring. A certain ship is going to dock here soon, looking to have you aboard.


Section 2: Role
Everyone has a role to play on the battlefield – but which is yours?

Attacker [Free] – You're meant to push against objectives, cut through waves of enemies to reach critical locations, and take the fight right to the Varelsi's faces. Your skillset is mostly focused around dealing heavy damage and moving quickly.

Defender [Free] – Your role is to hold the line. Dealing damage is one thing, but your skillset focuses more on withstanding it. Let them try to bring you down – you've got all day.

Supporter [Free] – Every war needs utilities – medics, tacticians, and those who otherwise act as force multipliers. Your allies will need you in the coming battle – will you stand behind them, or leave them to their fates?

Section 3: Species
Many species inhabit the Solus system – but some are more common within certain factions than within others. Your choice of species is free, but you can only pick one. Drop-Ins can pick any of these, but will always have an off “tell.” As for why that is, well...

Shared
Human [LLC, UPR, Rogues] – You should probably know what these are already.

Aviant [Rogues, UPR] – Birdlike humanoids which come in flighted or flightless varieties, and often resemble specific species of birds. You can choose from either type.

Clone Soldier [UPR, Rogues] – Whether from a successful or a failed batch, you number among what were once thousands of clones, produced for a long-forgotten war.

Eldrid
Aelfrin – A people resembling what the Humans of ancient days would call “wood elves,” the core race of the Eldrid can live for thousands of years before age takes them. Unfortunately, there aren't very many left at all – and should you walk among them, you will be one of only two confirmed Aelfrin in the system.

Ekkuni Dwarf – A short, stocky, and hardy people native to Ekkunar's caverns, these beings are capable of living for centuries and surviving briefly in vacuum – this is often assumed to be due to their sheer stubbornness.

A. Mikollopria – There aren't many of these, either. Once there was a whole planet-sized fungal cluster of these creatures, but only a few human-sized clusters escaped – and only one made it to Solus. Or, well, perhaps two. Comes with a tendency to refer to oneself in the plural.

Ice Golem – Well, not quite. While they may certainly look the part, formations such as these are actually the result of macroscopic extremophile bacterial colonies forming into ice-covered bodies. Comes with a slight tendency to consume everything in sight for

Jennerit Rebels
Jennerit – Tall and lean, with pointed ears and sharp features, the Jennerit are an ancient and proud people. It is unknown whether Jennerit can truly die from old age, and some have lived for thousands of years.

Thrall – Tall, muscular, durable, horned, the underclass of the Jennerit Imperium are intimidating, useful in all forms of manual labor, and above all, stupid. Unfortunately for Rendain, that last one doesn't exactly describe you. What can we say? Giving a creature gifted in every way but intelligence implants that might risk giving it that intelligence is not what one might call a Good Idea if you wish to continue controlling said creature.

Last Light Consortium
Robot – Some are made as butlers. Others, as durable war machines to be piloted by recently-debugged AI's. Whatever the case, you are unlike other life. Your “soul” is data, and your “flesh” is a futuristic alloy you probably wouldn't be able to pronounce if you were human.

Rogues
Varimorph – A species from the Etram system, capable of adapting to situations by slowly altering their own genetic code to prepare themselves better for alternate environments. In their normal state, however, they resemble small humanoids with alternating light and dark patches of skin and wiry hair. This ability to self-modify even allows them to mimic technology to some extent – though they cannot mimic anything their bodies cannot provide room or energy for.

United Peacekeeping Republics
Oddly enough, this democratic faction isn't home to any unique species.