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[Tenacity]

"In the beginning, it was just a single ship, an explorer crewed by Zoners that stumbled upon one of the oldest and most remarkable structures in sirius. Those few Zoners would eventually come to call themselves The Oracles, a religious cult devoted to worshipping the benevolent guardians of Sirius left behind by the Daam K'vosh. Their lessons to humanity, and those few they sought out to join the cause, were ultimately of peace... but time and again lead to violent incidents with the various organizations around Sirius."

Faction Name - The Oracles
Faction Tag - Oracle|Firstname
Affiliation - No Tag (Nomad Tag for admin-approved members)
Faction ID - Pirate ID

Faction Bases - The Shrine, Unknown

Allowed Ships - Fighters / Bombers Only
-Civilian Line Craft (Starflier, Startracker, Starblazer, Hawk, Griffin, Falcon, Eagle, Roc, etc.)
-Borderworlds Craft (Dagger, Scimitar, Stilletto, Sabre, etc.)
-Nomad Morph (Only With Approval)

Allowed Weapons - Civilian Weapons Only
-Nomad Cannons/Blasters used only once the rank of prophet or ascended is reached, and with admin permission

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The Oracles are a religious cult devoted to both worshipping, and spreading the influence, of their Nomad masters. Throughout mankind's history, it has been a violent race, always stealing from and murdering it's own members for the prosperity of a few powermongering individuals. Greed and Aggression is the trademark of humans, while the Nomads - a race entirely connected through one telepathic bond - all work together, for the benefit of the species as a whole, never acting in aggression towards it's own members. The Oracles have learned this, through the living machine known as The Shrine, and through their connection with the Nomads themselves.

After discovering the shrine, and being given a small, insignificant glimpse at it's purpose and the truth of the universe, The Oracles swore to do everything within their power to both assist the nomads, as well as to bring the rest of the human race to a similar level of peace and prosperity by convincing the inhabitants of Sirius that their wars and greed are nothing more than a cancer upon themselves.

Ultimately, the long term goal of every Oracle is to become one with his or her Nomad masters through one of two means; either bonding directly with a Nomad (//i.e. "infestation), or through truly becoming a nomad themselves (//i.e. "hybridization"). Due to the danger of the transformation process, few Oracles take the latter route, most preferring to share their body with a Nomad in exchange for the resulting connection to the Mindshare. Short term goals of the cult include converting as many Sirius citizens as possible into followers, as well as obtaining the needed commodities, equipment, and ships to further their cult.

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//Now the OOC//

Faction Behavior

The Oracles are split into three distinct groups...

1. The Humans ("Followers"):
Followers are those Oracles who are entirely human, and have willingly opened themselves to the teachings of the cult. They serve the nomads without question, but are not connected to the Mindshare and are, in general, less capable than Hosts or Hybrids.
However, Followers do have distinct advantages over the other two groups within the organization - firstly, they are able to 'mingle' with humans around Sirius without being detected as an enemy. Lawful organizations, and even many criminal groups, will still attempt to silence the preaching of followers in less public areas, however.

Ships Allowed: Human Ships only, civilian and borderworld line craft listed above.
Can land on: The Shrine, Junker Bases, Zoner Bases, Freelancer Bases
Weapons: Civilian Weapons Only

2. The Infected ("Prophets"):
Prophets are those oracles who have physically joined with a Nomad organism, or as most simply described they are "infected". While they gain the advantage of being connected with the Mindshare and being more closely linked to true Nomads, Prophets are also have a harder time blending in with society. They are still able to maintain a fairly inconspicuous appearance due to looking completely human, but lawful military and police, as well as some unlawful organizations, are able to detect the presence of the nomad symbiote. As such, it is much more rare for Prophets to land in populated areas.
Prophets may still only pilot human craft, due to the limitations of their own bodies, but may be granted the insight to construct Nomad-Powered weaponry for use on their ships.

Ships Allowed: Human ships only, civilian and borderworld line craft listed above.
Can land on: The Shrine, Junker Bases (limited), Freelancer Bases (limited)
Weapons: Civilian weapons and Nomad Cannons/Blasters (with approval)

3. The Hybrids ("Ascended"):
The Ascended are those Oracles who have undergone the transformation process and become Hybrids - they sacrafice their human bodies to transform themselves into almost complete Nomads, establishing a full connection with the Mindshare and gaining the ability to enter space in the form of a Nomad Morph. The Ascended are considered the most accomplished and most powerful Oracles in existence, but they are an extremely rare sight, as the long and dangerous ritual of Ascension often kills those who attempt it.
Due to their Nature, being more Nomad than Human, the Ascended have the most disadvantages when considering their ability to interact with other humans. Ascended Oracles can only seperate from their Nomad Morph shells for short periods of time, as their bodies become incapable of surviving in an oxygen environment for extended durations. They are also generally capable of being identified as aliens visually, without the use of scanners or invasive probing procedures.
In exchange for their human forms, however, the Ascended become one with the stars, able to glide through space alongside the very nomads they worship. In some rare cases, the central organsims within the Mindshare - Known as the "Keepers" - will select those Oracles who have Ascended to become even more powerful, transforming their Nomad Morph bodies into more powerful Nomad forms.

Ships Allowed: Nomad Morph Only
Can land on: The Shrine, Nomad Bases (limited, admin approval), Wild Bases (limited, admin approval)
Weapons: New nomad morphs are generally too weak to fire the bursts of energy seen by most nomad organisms, but after a time they may develop this strength (may not use any weapons as default, may use nomad/keeper weapons with admin/keeper approval)

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Diplomacy

Allies
The Keepers
Das Wilde
Nomads

Nuetral
Junkers (only for Followers and Prophets)
Zoners (only for followers)

Hostile
The Order

Unfriendly
Everyone Else

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Joining

Due to the need to keep themselves hidden from potential enemies, The Oracles are extremely secretive and will only provide riddles or slight hints at potential followers. Those who wish to join the ranks of The Oracles must prove themselves worthy by finding their way to The Shrine and learning it's lessons.

Example Riddle given by an Oracle to a prospective applicant:
"Past the Barrier, in space unseen, past the shades of blue and green, find the clouds which hide the light, trust not your sensors, only your sight"

As discussed above, The Oracles are a gateway group through which players may be selected by the Keepers. In essence, keeper trials can be done through RP with this faction and the keepers - at their discretion - may find players within The Oracles who they feel are good candidates to join. The same goes for the wild to a lesser extent.

Any members wishing to join The Oracles not only need to find their way to the shrine by themselves (cheating is only going to lessen the experience, trust me), but they also need to provide an RP background on their character that must be approved before donning the Oracle| tag.

All members who are approved to join will start at 'follower' rank - you are given only the most basic supplies and are expected to go out into sirius of your own volition to preach The Shrine's teachings to the rest of humanity. Members are not to attack -anyone- unless in self defense.

Promotions to the rank of Prophet and Ascended will be approved on a case by case basis with no specific guidelines to the promotion process. Becoming an Ascended Oracle does require several items being acquired by the player which are needed to perform the ritual/hybridization process, however.

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NOTE:

This is only a preliminary faction proposal, which has been written after speaking with some members of the Keepers, primarily Treewyrm, over the past several days. There will most likely be changes made, and I want opinions on what people think needs to be done with this - especially from keeper/wild players.

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[deaxy]

I like the idea, about the peace and all.
But who is going to protect them, if they only will fly the bombers and fighters?
Is there going to be headquarters ship or smth? like even the keepers have one, even if they are so great...

[Fletcher]

//I'm sure the Order would have a go at these guys through the Zoners 'influence'. I am also perplexed as to why a Nomad would willingly share a body with a human when they are trying to expunge them from Sirius. I thought they saw us as the 'lesser' or 'corrupted' species. Bonding with them or letting humans get a glimpse of the mind share is a very extreme way of taking things.

//I can't put my stamp of approval on this. (If I had one). But it is a new and admittedly interesting way of doing things.

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"Oh chuffing blimey, another day, another person being whiney!"
Fletcher's Feedback and Stories Thread

[Wolfs Ghost]

//I'm sure the Order would have a go at these guys through the Zoners 'influence'. I am also perplexed as to why a Nomad would willingly share a body with a human when they are trying to expunge them from Sirius. I thought they saw us as the 'lesser' or 'corrupted' species. Bonding with them or letting humans get a glimpse of the mind share is a very extreme way of taking things.

//I can't put my stamp of approval on this. (If I had one). But it is a new and admittedly interesting way of doing things.

//Nomads sharing a body with Humans are pretty much like the Wilde. More they infect, the more chances they have of a second/third nomad war and it may/may not succeed.

//I actually like the Idea, it works well with one of my characters.

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[Treewyrm]

//I'm sure the Order would have a go at these guys through the Zoners 'influence'.

But they'll have to figure out who is who actually, not like things will be clear to the eye. Besides Zoners are different to each other, not like it's a unified government, but rather settlements around with autonomous policies and other things. I am not sure if Order will be able to convincing them all, especially if presented with blind accusations. After all who is going to lend them the facts and evidence? Nomads? Let alone don't overestimate influences around, they're not free passes for sure, not free cards to be serviced at every mall down the road. Times change, and with them the old bonds may become rusty and shatter. Some wounds, of the personal matters especially, they open up all too easy. To every there are dirty little secrets, pain and suffering, things of a past but still living on. If pushed right...

I am also perplexed as to why a Nomad would willingly share a body with a human when they are trying to expunge them from Sirius. I thought they saw us as the 'lesser' or 'corrupted' species. Bonding with them or letting humans get a glimpse of the mind share is a very extreme way of taking things.

But once everything changed - the mind changes too, although on the surface things may look calm as ever, you wouldn't even notice. May be even your superior in a navy faction is already in league with them. Or the colleague you once knew... Nobody would tell you of course. To say a human would remain human inside at own thoughts... who knows what goes there now.

[Exile]

OOC :

Right, well, first off all, this is the first time I heard anything about it. Which is confusing to say the least!:laugh:

I like the general concept. Have done for quite some time. But what I'm wondering is, is the faction going to be like the Keepers in a way that the higher ranked players get repped by admins and what not? Primarily because of the 'landing on Nomad bases and being one with a Nomad'.

On the subject of 'being one with a Nomad', maybe the Keepers and the Oracles could do some form of roleplay on this, should the concept be accepted? As in, we have a Keeper in need of the host. You have a willing vic-volunteer. We do some form of roleplay, create a Keeper character that flies as that infectee or hybrid, and the origional owner of the characters makes another 'semi-human' version of that infectee or hybrid. Unless ofcourse, the higher ranked member wants to apply to be a full Keeper. Then we should/could possibly work something out that way. Keeping one character which will be the Nomad version, or the Human one untill we think that person is ready.

Thirdly, will you claim the shrine as 'yours'? As in, no one but the oracles can enter? Just a question realy, because that's what half of the factions do to bases.

All in all, I like it. Add me to Skype when you can. Contact : majordutchy.

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[Boss]

/*
I actually quite like the idea. It doesn't appear to go contrary to existing RP. At the very least, it'd give 'Lu something to do up there.

Exile-Mike's idea does sound cool. (Especially since I have not had THE foggiest idea how to go about it >.>)
*/

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Just go play the game and have fun dammit.

all in all the conclusion is that disco doesn't need antagonist factions, it doesn't need phantoms, it doesn't need nomads, it doesn't need coalition and it doesn't need many other things, no AIs, the game is hijacked by morons to confuse the game with their dickwaving generic competition games mixed up with troll-of-the-day.

[Vape]

an interesting Idea tenacity

EDIT: a note on Exile's comment, would you restrict access to the Shrine?

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[Tenacity]

I like the idea, about the peace and all.
But who is going to protect them, if they only will fly the bombers and fighters?
Is there going to be headquarters ship or smth? like even the keepers have one, even if they are so great...

Due to the nature of the station we base our selves out of, no ships larger than a fighter or bomber can be used. If we really get into trouble and need some big guns, there's always the wild and keepers to call on, but that shouldnt be required often - being in smaller ships, it's easy to run away when the odds are against us.

//I'm sure the Order would have a go at these guys through the Zoners 'influence'. I am also perplexed as to why a Nomad would willingly share a body with a human when they are trying to expunge them from Sirius. I thought they saw us as the 'lesser' or 'corrupted' species. Bonding with them or letting humans get a glimpse of the mind share is a very extreme way of taking things.

//I can't put my stamp of approval on this. (If I had one). But it is a new and admittedly interesting way of doing things.

Nomads dont really "hate" humans, they're just trying to perform their instinctive duty of protecting k'vosh space, and right now humans are intruders. I would not put it past the nomads to understand or recogize the usefulness of being able to infiltrate human society, especially in a 'willing' host - afterall, that was their original plan in taking back sirius, by controlling key government figures.

Also, for the order 'having a go at them through zoner influence' - the only oracles allowed to land on zoner bases are those who are not infected by nomads and have not become hybrids - to the order, or anyone else, they look perfectly human and there's no way to identify them as nomad aligned. The most they could be written off as is crazy nomad worshippers.

I like the general concept. Have done for quite some time. But what I'm wondering is, is the faction going to be like the Keepers in a way that the higher ranked players get repped by admins and what not? Primarily because of the 'landing on Nomad bases and being one with a Nomad'.

That was the idea. For the most part none of the players in this faction would be given nomad rep, and those who are selected by the keepers to join up would switch over to a keeper tag and be repped by admins after being accepted.

Some members of the group, through special RP requests, could possibly be given nomad rep, that's completely up to the keepers and admins though.

Thirdly, will you claim the shrine as 'yours'? As in, no one but the oracles can enter? Just a question realy, because that's what half of the factions do to bases.

I would consider the oracles as the primary occupants of the shrine, but they would only keep out people who oppose their ideals. Anyone willing to learn the shrine's secrets would be allowed to land of course - it's a neutral base, we cant "own" it.

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[Treewyrm]

Anyway, just like I told Tenacity in PMs we were exchanging - I'm all for it.

The base obviously cannot be restricted to Oracles only, the system itself is not a guard system and the base is identified as neutral. I made it so that it wouldn't require any specific faction alignment and technically be free for anyone to land, be that nomad or a human. And like I said to Tenacity, when I started making the system I wanted there to be a smooth path for nomad roleplay without any quirks such as zoner affiliated ape planets selling the ships or anything of that nonsense.

Generally it will be considered that the Oracles inhabit the Shrine and the station itself cannot be claimed in-RP, captured or assumed taken control by any other party.

Although I am very limited by the free time I have I'll try to help and provide material for this little project. I think it has a great potential ahead.