Two millennia ago, humanity was forced into underground bunkers or "vaults" to survive a campaign of extermination known as the Great Reset. Evidence shows that various xeno species humanity has encountered have experienced similar events within a decade of humanity's near extermination. The oral history speaks of a pattern of events leading up to the Great Reset, which started 78 years ago and continues to hold to this day. Mysterious biological ships are seen in wormhole space, leaving a single witness to act as their harbinger.
The year is 2258 AR, thousands of years after the Great Reset by an unknown force, and mankind has rebuilt. Once more, swarms of AI serves mankind as its agents, servants, and workforce augmentation. However, the vaults meant to preserve mankind's history were lost. Vault doors torn from hinges and a slaughter of all within, human and computer alike.
Who would destroy humanity's history? Why would they do it? Will the Reset happen again? Can it be stopped?
As the Governor of one of humanity's first interstellar colonies in wormhole space, these questions plagued your mind. We knew whatever it was was still out there from what little survived as an oral history of the first Reset. However, oral histories were notoriously unreliable on the actual timeline and details of the events. We just knew it was out there somewhere and it had come for humanity once before.
Exploration. Expansion. Exploitation. Extermination of threats.
That was the mantra beaten into the Imperium of Man's navy and every member of its government. It was the singular purpose that united humanity: to survive the next Great Reset when it came for them. And if the oral history was to be believed, humanity only had a dozen decades left—perhaps less.
Why did the resurgent humanity colonize this system?
[ ][Colonization] Trade Mecca
You are at the center of a vast web of stable wormholes—a rarity in the Immaterium of wormhole space. This has allowed you to dominate trade with the frontier in a way most colonial governors envy, but it also means you've lost count of the threats that have access to the heart of your operation. Orbital fortresses dot the skies as much of your vast income is directed towards espionage, magical, and naval defenses in preparation for the next pirate or xeno raid.
+ Triple economic growth as long as trade flows freely through the sector.
+ 1 Naval or Fortification Action (You can choose either each turn. Fortification involves developing counterintelligence assets, magical defenses, or fortifications against a naval blockade/assault. Naval is simply deploying your fleet to do something, such as stop piracy or eliminate a pirate base.)
+/- Fast travel to anywhere you'd want to be. But people can also reach out and touch you easily.
[ ][Colonization] Vast, untapped resources of value to the Empire.
You are an economic powerhouse that stands out among the Empire's recent round of expansion. The possibility of developing an autarky-oriented colony world that could supply itself is unparalleled. It is a perfect spot to ride out the next Great Reset and hopefully go unnoticed.
+2 Export of raw materials (This is how you pay your debts), +1 Export of refined materials (This may be used to fuel an industry instead)
+1 Colony Action (Civilian activities and military/industrial complex research as well as infrastructure)
+ Reduced visibility to threats in wormhole space, reduced trade options.
[ ][Colonization] Precursor Ruins
The habitat world at the heart of your new colony contains a vast precursor mega-city known as "Megacity One," the first of its kind. It spans an entire continent the size of the mythical Australia if such a place existed. The research possibilities are vast to catch up with the other races that likely kept some of their vaults intact through the Great Reset and beyond.
+1 Research Action (Significant as you normally only get 1 Research action total and cannot buy more)
+1 Precursor androids and salvaged stockpiles (+2 Colony actions for the first 5 turns before their manpower is depleted)
+ Evidence of the Great Reset. You are one of the few who might learn something about it before it is upon you. Whether you share or keep it to yourself or use your knowledge to take control of the Empire's policy is really up to you.
- Evidence of the Great Reset is present here. You are definitely in the line of fire, if only you knew more about how soon that would be. (Accelerates Great Reset timeline, but by how much? No one knows.)
What is your political faction?
[ ][Faction] The Imperial Cult
You are aligned with the God Emperor of Mankind, who sits upon a golden throne and serves at his pleasure. You assume the other factions are allowed to exist because the Emperor is merciful and does not snuff out dissent, unaware of the undercurrents within the Empire that make confrontation and removal impossible. The Cult is too severely outnumbered to confront them.
+ The Throne. Not to be underestimated, the Imperial Cult is still the strongest faction in the Empire, which is why it still holds the throne.
+ Personal power. Give your protagonist +1 upgrade per game year. You will be a monster of magic, espionage, or economic prowess.
- Cult propaganda is taken for reality.
- Cult is outnumbered by its enemies and holds on by the fingernails.
[ ][Faction] The Historians
Historians focus on the past, and this political faction is no different. It has a singular goal: to understand the Great Reset and prevent it from coming again. The oral histories say you have 122 years. Maybe that is true. But if it is not, humanity must be ready for its vaults to survive this time around at a minimum. At maximum, humanity passes beyond the Reset intact.
+ Highest knowledge of the Reset. Spoilers but also valuable data.
+ Control of the Vault Archives, where the oral history of the Reset is stored. This gives your views on the Reset weight in a way no other faction has.
- The past is not the future, and their obsession with it may leave you unprepared for the present threats the Empire faces while you try to leap to dealing with the Reset. There are many hostile Xenos in wormhole space to deal with first.
[ ][Faction] The Rebellion
The one faction everyone fears and no one speaks of among polite company. Officially, they are all dead. The Imperial Cult is unofficially engaged in a war of assassins with them and is slowly losing. The rebels are too well-supplied and equipped, and until their suppliers are found, the Emperor is destined to fail. The question is, who supplies them with magitech and sorcery so far beyond human knowledge?
++ Magical power of the highest levels humanity has reached
-- Beholden to a Supplier. Power has a price; it always does. The question is, what does the Supplier want? Who are they? Even the Rebellion lacks the answer.
Who is your Protagonist? Who are you?
[ ][Governor] Adam Smith: The father of modern economics
++ Economic growth (passive background growth)
+ Economic growth (active intervention)
- A professor-level knowledge of finance and economics costs makes you reliant on a spymaster, an admiral, and a sorcerer to handle your day-to-day conflicts, let alone the major ones.
[ ][Governor] Kemmler: If you stare too long into the abyss, it stares back.
++ Magical power (Active use, ability to win any conflict if you want to pay the cost in blood and silver)
+ Magical knowledge (passive gains)
- He has stared into the abyss of the Great Reset and the knowledge lost to mankind. Some of it should have stayed lost, and his sanity was already questionable.
[ ][Governor] Adrian Blackthorn: A product of the Imperial Naval Academy.
+ Skilled Admiral: You are good at managing a modern navy.
+ Skilled Spymaster: You are good at managing Naval Intelligence to get the job done when faced with the Xeno or the Rebellion.
+ Military Industrial Complex: You have strong ties to the defense industry you can exploit to get access to the latest hardware at a reasonable cost.
- A Military Man: Your lack of knowledge regarding politics and policy is a concern. You will be at a disadvantage when it comes to Colony Actions or even passive growth activity. But you can always conquer more habitable systems, right?
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Pick one from each category, and please vote by plan due to potential synergy.
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It should be noted that portions of this quest will be edited, written, and/or conceived through the use of LLMs/"AI" as it's meant to be a mix of world-building for a grand strategy game and testing the use of LLMs to perform creative writing.
This post wasn't, but future posts will be at least partially done using AI.
