Awakened

... for lack of a better title...

Think Exalted meets Gundam: Large-scale, decadent, galactic federations; mystically empowered heroes; unknowable alien enemies; exotic planetary locales; monolithic capital ships; streaking fighters and jinking mecha launching clouds of swarming missiles at each other, locked in deadly combat. This is the galaxy of Awakened. The following is a rough outline of the setting that will be refined as I go along, while taking suggestions from any who are interested.

Key Setting Elements

The Galactic Federation

A long-standing union of self-governing galactic regions; fracturing under weight of the bloated and corrupt central goverment, compounded with the struggle for soverignty of it's member systems.

The Imperium of Man

A young upstart empire forming relatively overnight and rapidly conquering it's surrounding planetary systems, with unforseen military superiority. Utilizing militaristic and authoritarian tactics, the Imperium seeks to unite mankind under one firm and stable rule that will, according to it's adherents, place it on the path toward achiving it's true potential. There are rumors that entities within the Federation are lending support the Imperium to see the collapse of the Federation once and for all.

The Pariah

The looming, and unseen, threat of a age old and utterly alien enemy, formerly belived to be defeated, once again seeking to eradicate mankind.

The Awakened;

Individuals who's eyes have been opened to the true workings of reality through a piercing moment of enlightenment. Usually emerging during a period of extreme stress or danger, this newfound awareness gain grants acess to uncanny and often nigh-mystical abilities beyond that of ordinary men. Hailing from various galactic regions, many Awakened slip through the cracks of society and become outcastes and exiles. Others however, utiize their newfound power as petty warlords or pirates/privaters, securing small fleets and territory in the desputed regions on the edges of the Federation. Others still are contracted by the corporations or conscripted into the Federal military where they are prized as valuable assests, umatched officers and living tools of war.

Source Material

These are some other souces of inspiration I'm drawing from:

Exalted: heir powers and capabilities are the inspiration for the Awakend. They are pretty much a mashup of elements from all the main splats.

Gundam:
- Political climate is very much an inspiration sensibilities of the Universal Century timeline with the awesome power of the Gundam Wing and SEED supermecha interspersed here and there (eg. the Awakened in their war forms.). Yep, 60ft anthropomorphic war machines are a must. ;)
Star Wars: The sheer age of the galaxy, as in the number of civilizations that have risen, peaked and fallen into the obscurity of history; leaving behind the remains of their wonderous cultures and the arcane works of their hands.
Xenogears: If you've played this gem of a console rpg, you'd immediately understand why I picked it for it's superb blend of scientific, philosophical, and religious themes, which I hope to emulate in this setting. Plus it's got mystical kung-fu and mecha. ;)
The Dune series: Honestly, I actually haven't read any of the books. :eek: However, my roomate has and from what he's described I'm really digging the religious and philosophical themes. The “Conditioned” (see-below) are basically Mentat with their serial numbers filed off.

Other Ideas

I'm also thinking of painting a strong religious entity in this setting probably reminicent of Exalted's Immaculate Order, though I haven't decided what their relationship to the Awakendd would be. Though most most likely it would be something akin to awe and reverance. They would be composed of Conditioned warrior monks.
For the Pariah, I'm drawing on a very wide base: Exalted's Fair Folk, Nobilis' Excrusians, Tribe 8′s Z'bri, and the Yuuzhan Vong from Star Wars's Extended Universe. I'm not sure at this point what elements of each of these entities that they will feature, but what I am sure of is: They are everything we are not, and are so opposed to our very existance that they are willing to exterminate us whole scale. Even so, I'm still at a loss as to their motives are for doing so.