AAR Prep- Faction Selection

[Sigma]

Hi all,

I've spend the past month or so rigorously testing my custom faction pack, and I want to extend my next test to the public! To that end, I want to leave the faction I choose to a public vote.

The map is as follows:

Average Planet Size
Average Rainfall
Average Erosion
Average Native Lifeforms
50-70% Oceans
Thinker Difficulty

And the rules are as attached:

[Sigma]

The Pilgrims

We found a new world under new stars, and we brought our demons with us. Yet this world
and its enigmas extends a hope to us: that we may be made over on this alien soil and
freed from the chains of suffering that bind us to the darkness we escaped.

 -- Brother Joaquin Al'Kadiz,
"Collected Sermons"

An aggressive religious faction with a ecological bent. Heavily inspired by the Fremen of Dune, with their leader being sort of a take on Liet-Kynes. In my playtests they hit hard and don't have their tech stunted, so they remain competitive from the start of the game to the end.

[Sigma]

The Apollonians

We were born into a world where those with the ability
to create were hamstrung by the narrow visions of those
who could not, and where the worker was denied his dues by the
social parasites who profited from his toil. But we have been
given a chance to forge a new society free of such inequities,
where the laborer who sweats under this foreign sun will
receive in full the fruits of his activity.

-- Architect Henry Roark,
"The Builder's Burden"

One part Andrew Ryan, one part John Galt, stir and pour onto an alien planet. The AI doesn't seem to handle the Apollonians very well, but they absolutely have the stuff for a player to be intensely competitive. At higher difficulties, however, their drone problems can be almost crippling, which adds a bit of challenge.

[Sigma]

The Authority

If we are to survive on this world, then it will
be as one nation with a singularity of purpose. The
Many fall, the One survives. The Many flee, the One
stands strong. The Many struggle, the One perseveres.

-- Marshall Valentin Basque,
"The Colonial Creed"

Miriam with a different ideology and a defensive bent. The Authority can roll out huge armies, but it's hard work to keep them up to date, and they face production issues. What they don't face is Drone problems. With Police State on their side AND free Non-Lethal Methods they can keep their population under control with minimal social works, giving them more time to build more free troops. Basque may be the big villain of the game, or the only true hero.

[Sigma]

The Satori

One would be led to believe that life on another world requires
new rules be written for every aspect of human endeavor, and in
most areas they would be correct. Most areas, save for commerce.
It is in that this area alone that Planet's fungal ravines are
no different from the streets of Tokyo or Berlin.

--Guildmaster Atsumi Satori,
"The Colonist's Economic Primer"

These guys live or die on their diplomacy. Depending on the alliances they build they can be either incredibly powerful or pitifully weak. The espionage game can be very fun, however, and with their cheap probe actions and deep wallets they can infiltrate just about anyone that doesn't snag the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm. The AI seems to be aware of this, and in half the games I've played where I don't have a clear tech advantage, Atsumi steals the HSA for herself, just to make sure nobody else can have it.

EDIT: Oh and their datalinks are wrong below. Their actual aversion is to Planned economics.

[Sigma]

The Leviathan

The proctor is neither a leader nor a commander. He is a speaker for
the teeming masses whose voice boils within their hardened prison,
whose jailors once called themselves their representatives. He does not
speak of his own originality, but so that through him what was
silenced may be heard and never again quieted.

-- Proctor Omar van Blum,
"Can You Hear the People Sing?"

The Leviathan Body is incredibly fun to play as. Their growth rate and hab complex bonus make sure that they have immense populations, and their penalty to Free Market economics isn't really a penalty at all. Their police penalty can be trouble at higher difficulty, but nothing a few facilities can't fix. And with their +15% offensive combat bonus they are good on the offensive as well. Not to mention their ideology is great to roleplay as.

[Sigma]

The Genarchs

Every human being spends thirty minutes as a single celled organism,
scarcely different from the first paramecia that fought tooth and nail against
nature's cruelty for every evolutionary edge they could find. It is amazing to
think how far we have come since then, and humbling to think how far we have yet
to go.

-- Director Jaqueline Navarro,
"The Terminal Cure"

They may not look like it, but the Genarchs are by far the most powerful faction in this set. I haven't played a single game yet where they haven't thrived, and even after I beat them early game they come roaring back. It turns out that this specific combination of bonuses makes them good at everything. In the first game of theirs that I tested, I landed next to the Monsoon Jungle and had the game beat in 30 turns.

[Sigma]

The Technocrats

The common work of all science is bringing under order the blind
violence and injustice of the universe. In this way we will one
day break free from the limitations of death and dischord, the way
that by rockets we escaped Earth's gravity.

-- Founder Josef Federov,
"Address to the Republic Academy of Science"

My favorite faction of the bunch. They face a lot of problems in the early game due to their weak morale and base size limits, but if they survive past that period then they are a force to be reckoned with. Their largest advantage may be their Robust Efficiency, which lets them run either Police State or Planned with net 0 Efficiency, or both without totally paralyzing the economy. Once they unlock Knowledge, however, watch yourself, because they will take off completely.

Anyway, those are the choices. Which faction do you all want to see as the stars of this AAR?

[JarlWolf]

I am actually tempted to say all of them: they all seem really interesting and a really rich story can come out of them.

[Sigma]

I'm glad you think so, but the AAR would flow better if we just choose 1.

[Geo]

I propose using the Genarchs.

[JarlWolf]

What sort of AAR style do you intend?

[Sigma]

Closer to how Green1 does it, but mixed in with ete's style from his shipwrecked Powergaming AAR. Mostly out of character tactical breakdown mixed with in world narration and explanation.

[JarlWolf]

I'd go with either The Technocrats or House Satori.

[ete]

I'd suggest going for a well connected by land map, I'm happy to build you a map based off a random one with good connections and some other fun bits (nothing unnatural, just a tweaked random map). You'll still get to explore as if it was normal, but avoid being stranded on an island.

And.. for faction I'm tempted to say go with the Technos, but perhaps he Pilgrims or Authority would be more interesting, especially earlier on. Satori could be fun, but maybe too peaceful for a good AAR.