Riden's Providence

(rye-din, not ridden)

Riden's Providence is a cult-like, militaristic empire that follows the insane teachings of Markos van Riden, a former human scientist who contrancted severe mercury poisoning and became delusional. The fervorous military branch of this faction can be likened to Adolf Hitler's Third Reich or the Imperium of Man's Space Marines.

Sporekast: http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=ssc-500767385797

Homeworld
Very little is known about Lord Riden's planet of birth other than it is called Umlaut, and that no one aside from a blessed few priests and psykers have actually seen it. Almost all of Riden's followers are in fact human, and the few, dearly rare exceptions that are alien species are either spies or hold strong political power in their native race.

Philosophy
The followers of this cult believe that Lord Riden is an infallable, perfect, almost godlike being who deserves utmost reverence and respect. Indeed, Lord Riden has performed so many genetic and technological experiments on himself that not only does he appear godlike, he also posesses an incredible power that is unmatched by virtually any physical being in the galaxy. Lord Riden teaches that the only way to create a perfect galaxy is to either subjugate or destroy the species inferior to his own breed of homo novus, which are genetically augmented super-humans. These ideals are known as the "Crusades of Providence", from which the faction's namesake is derived.

Epic War Involvement
The assault on an IAE fringe colony by Clubs Brigade brought the Providence into the war. Clubs Brigade had also engaged the Gronian Imperium on the fungal world of Droak and later scorched the entire planet free of life. Further conflicts may follow as Lord Riden and his followers delve deeper into unexplored parts of the galaxy.

Providence-Controlled/Occupied Worlds

 * Umlaut - Homeworld; terran, temperate climate with much wildlife and flora. Formerly Ephalie.


 * Knoll's Vigil - Mining colony; terran, spring-like climate. Resource rich.


 * Farcast - Tundra-like (partially frozen); simple colony, provides soldiers for Riden's armies.


 * Memnedes - Arid world; resource rich, provides much of the materials to make war machines.


 * More, too lazy

Military
Providence military is divided into four branches, each named after suits of cards: Hearts, Clubs, Spades, and Spears (diamonds). Each branch has a speciality in their combat techniques and technology:
 * Hearts Brigade, led by Warking Thulk, focuses on creating light, efficient yet powerful weaponry and genetic engineering and alteration;
 * Clubs Brigade, led by General Pariah, focuses on brutal and effective combat and creating large, extremely powerful war machines;
 * Spades Brigade, led by Warking Asmodenes, focuses on strategy and precise, efficient military maneuveres, and are notorious for their use of blades in combat;
 * Spears Brigade, led by Baron Hemrauch, in perhaps the most sinister branch: they focus on unethical biological and psychic experimentation, and has been known to produce nightmarish beasts of warriors with superior psychic abilities. This branch is feared even by the other brigades.

The Providence's soldiers are more or less human, though some are unrecognizable as any sentient species, especially the things that come out of Spears Brigade's laboratories. The most common stragety employed by Lord Riden is to send an entire Brigade against an enemy, so that if technological and intellectual superiority fail, the enemy will be overrun in a storm of metal and Lance fire, because Brigades can consist of millions of troops and tens of thousands of war machines.

Hearts Brigade
Hearts is comprised of the original students of Lord Riden, and are also his first experiments. They are fascinated by the workings of nature, more specifically how they can harness her with a metal bridle and force her to their will. Their philosophy is that war is won by superior technology and superior soldiers, and they are the most adept at manipulating DNA to create powerful soldiers. They also excell at creating the greatest weapons in the military, weapons which are used by every other Brigade (wich the rare exception of Clubs).

Clubs Brigade
The most militaristic of the Brigades, Clubs is responsible for most of the destruction that results from conquering a planet. They focus on manufacturing and improving any mechanical device that is designed to propagate death. Clubs Brigade is also most often sent to attack an enemy because of their ravenous, destructive nature. The leader of Clubs, General Pariah, is a strong-minded strategist and fierce negotiator.

WIP

Infantry
Knights - Perhaps the most recognizable and stalwart of all the troops is the Providence Knight, named after the piece on a chessboard. The Knight wears a mechanized suit of armor made of Quartite, a very strong metal that can withstand repeated weapon fire, whether ballistic or energy, and is near-impervious to any kind of blade, due to the molecular arrangement of the Quartite. Knights often wield, for ranged weaponry, either a Lance Blaster or Assault Rifle, preferring to use only one-handed weapons in order to free their other hand to use a sword, their trademark weapon. Knights are often found at the forefront of battles in order to provide a strong "edge" to the fighting "sword" and also to inspire the other troops with their bravery.

Marksmen - The more stock-standard troops in Riden's military, Marksmen stand in as long-range infantry, as well as filling other roles, since most of the other soldiers have such a strong affinity with close-range weapons. Marksmen are clad in the same Quartite armor knights wear, although it is not entirely mechanized so as to allow for the human-based precision control that is required in firing long weapons. Such weapons are usually Assault Rifles or Lance Rifles, as well as Splintershot Rifles when fighting is closer.

Bishops - Also named after the piece on a chessboard, Bishops are an extremely invaluble asset to any Providence force. While they lack specialized weapons save a bladed staff, they posess powerful psychic abilities which they use to both defend themselves and wreak havoc on the enemy.

Rooks - Some of the largest of Riden's troops, the Rooks are enormous beasts that can stand over 10 feet tall. They are the product of more extreme experimentation, and they posess massively increased muscle mass, albeit at the loss of their intelligence. Despite what many other empires may think, all of Riden's soldiers, experiments or not, are human, though the resemblance is sometimes lost completely, as is the case with Rooks. Suited up in all of their armor and neural interface control gear, they resemble fairytale giants fresh out of Dr. Frankenstein's lab, and behave in much the same way. They can wreak destruction with an arm-mounted assault cannon, or they can be outfitted with a variety of shoulder-mounted weapons to cause even further mayhem.

Ground
T-18 LAMAT - The Type-18 Light Armored Main Attack Tank (LAMAT) is a small, 2-to-3-passenger main battle tank that is most commonly deployed into combat zones due to its versatility and effective firepower. Its armament is usually a vehicle-grade Lance Cannon and a heavy machine gun for smaller threats such as infantry and small children. Its lack of armor makes allows it to travel up to 110 MPH on unobstructed terrain; however, the trade-off it that the tank cannot sustain too much damage before structural integrity begins to fail.

T-4 HAAT-61 - The Type-4 Heavy Armored Assault Transport is a very large tank which is capable of carrying up to 8 regular-sized passengers, not including operators and gunners. It is incredibly sturdy, covered with a foot-thick shell of Tyridium armor, and quite fast for its size and weight. Armed with a vehicle-grade AutoCannon and a rotating Lance Turret, it is also dangerous to both enemy infantry and armor.

T-26 HAPAV - Nicknamed "Gableshankers" because the first test pilot to drive one got his head cleaved off by faulty machinery, the Type-26 Heavy Armored Primary Assault Vehicle is a very powerful tank, much more dangerous to the enemy than to inexperienced test pilots. It is rarely deployed on short notice due to its ungainly size and weight, but it makes up for it with sheer sturdiness and firepower. It is, in fact, an upgraded variant of the LAMAT, designed to compensate for what the smaller tank lacks in standing strength. Like the HAAT, the HAPAV is armed with a 60mm AutoCannon and clad in Tyridium and Quartite armor which can be a half-meter thick in some places. This tank, however, is not well suited to fight infantry and it better at eliminating enemy armor and buildings.

LRA-15 Furies - As its name suggests, the Long Range Artillery is designed to attack the enemy from the furthest distance possible. Its massive plasma cannon fires shells at high velocity causing incredible destruction in impact, and can fire from up to 8 kilometers away in favorable conditions. It has little other function other than to be a mobile fire-launcher, and as such is lightly armored.

T-84/M Trebuchet - Although the need of mechs has waned over the years, the Trebuchet was one model that was too valuble to put aside. It was originally designed to be a light scout mech, sacrificing firepower and armor for speed, but the necessity of war has caused it to be upgraded with stronger armor and better weaponry.

Technology
Lance Weaponry - Lance weapons, or Lancers, are found in every arm of Riden's military. The physics behind it are quite simple, so it is easy to add to vehicles or place in a gun. Basically, a Lance weapon fires a metal shot coated with a special material that vaporizes at high speeds. Within the barrel of Lance weapons are superconductive magnets that charge the shot with electromagnetic energy. A pulse from a smaller magnet fires the charged shot at amazingly high speed, and the coating vaporizes. This all happens in a matter of nanoseconds. The vapor becomes plasma-like, generating immense magnetic fields and propelling the superheated bullet faster and faster; the longer the shot flies, the faster it goes. Lance weapons are very useful against armor, since the bullets have great incendiary properties and they are travelling so fast. Ship-mounted Lance cannons, if fired at a planet's surface, can have the destructive effects of a small atomic bomb.

FTL Travel -

Trivia

 * The HAAT-61 was modeled after the Italian Fiat M13/40 tank used during WWII.


 * To be edited later.