Factions¶
Four powers meet over Nandana — and three of them are the same family. See The Seeding & the Lineage.
| Faction | What they are | Role in play | Aesthetic |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Colony | Humanity, off the Odyssey | The player | Near-future, jury-rigged |
| The Custodians | The Progenitors' guardian machines | Act 1 enemy → potential ally | Sleek Progenitor tech |
| The Mara | The makers' rebel firstborn | Act 2–3 enemy | Ornate, zealous, exotic |
| The Progenitors | The absent makers | Off-screen presence; the mystery | Ancient, unknowable |
The aesthetic split¶
The look of the game maps onto the factions — and onto the salvage progression:
- Humanity starts grounded — kinetic weapons, scrap-built walkers, jumpjets, welded turrets, amphibious landers.
- Progenitor tech is the futuristic layer — energy and elemental weapons, blades of light, teleport, active camo. The Colony earns it by salvaging the Custodians across the campaign.
- The Mara wield their own corrupted inheritance of maker-tech — a distinct third silhouette.
One rule keeps it coherent
Nothing exotic is human-made. Every blaster, cloak field, and teleport beacon in the Colony's arsenal is recovered Progenitor technology. That single rule lets a near-future refugee army and a light-blade future share one game.