The Gorlex Marauders: "A polite galaxy is an armed galaxy."

[dessysalta]

Lore Impact (Small/Medium/Large): Medium

Species: Unathi (with some light general themes)

Short Description: So, I noticed the crimson voidsuits/hardsuits you can find or buy with traitor gear have the "Gorlex Marauders" tag still on them when you examine them. There's no wiki entry, so why not? Here's a traitor corporation pirate faction in case you want to make traitors that get laid (/j), it focuses on illegal armor and weapons manufacturing.

How will this be reflected on-station?: More pirate/illegal arms factions are always good. Opens up the path for more traitor gimmicks, mercenary or raider visits, or word-through-the-grapevine chats and conversations about their existence and what they could do next. Maybe even off-ship roles or ruins, like a weapon development site nestled in an asteroid or on the run from Rangers and other spacefaring authority, or arcs and canon events down the line.

Does this addition do anything not achieved by what already exists?: There's plenty of other pirate factions, I'll be real with you, but although there's other groups people can pick from this adds some extra depth to a design of armor that previously had no entry or reference on the wiki. Plus, I dunno what criminal/black market arms manufacturers there are, if any.

Do you understand that the project may change over time in ways you may not foresee once it is handed over to the Lore Team? 
Yup! As with my last app, I completely understand anything I write here could be fully implemented, not at all, heavily modified or only slightly. Aurora's cool, I know the lore team will make it work.

Long Description: So, before I begin, let's go over some broad strokes:

Spoiler

I think pirate/criminal factions should be more than just "let's raid these guys because we have guns and want what they have" generally speaking. To my knowledge there's no "hardcore" illegal or outlawed arms manufacturers, none that immediately come to mind anyhow. There's some cults or bad eggs that loosely align themselves with other factions or races (like Adhomian religions and those faithful to it, or Orion Express being shitheads time and time again, or even NanoTrasen making weapons for some reason if you wanted to make that stretch) but none that stand on their own.

What this canonization seeks to accomplish is:

• Breathe new life into a diverse sub-corporation of outlaws or mercenaries that have fled the greater spur/their home/some subsidiary or corporation that would be useful to a band of black market merchants and salesmen or engineers
• Add to a list of existing factions that could either be seen as good or bad and exist in-game currently (such as the Tarwa Conglomerate or Tajaran Smugglers)
• Potentially introduce off-ship bad guys down the line, with an emphasis on roleplay and narrative first and combat second.

What this canonization does not seek to accomplish is:

• Add a bland, loose regimen of nonsense scientists and machinists who have no reason to do what they are doing with presented alternatives
• Bloat the existing types of pirates or off-ship roles with a slow-moving, uncoordinated, or irrelevant addition
• Be used as a license to do w/e the fuck an off-ship role wants just because they're part of this, if this ends up being added as a ghost role.

Pirates and convicts are cool, everyone can agree with that--but piracy just for the sake of piracy or breaking the law for no greater purpose or motive is asinine and short-sighted. I don't like dealing with one extremist group after another in-game or outside of it, so these black market chads do not aim to be a replacement or fill-in for some group of murder-hobos, like the Front, Exclusionist Sect of the Trinary, or the Lii'dra. I want to make a faction of well-meant, if a bit cocky or arrogant runaways or freedom fighters that aim to use their knowledge completely and absolutely, with the belief that a polite society is an armed society.

Without further ado, here's the pitch. This is the pirate faction variant, designed to be put onto the Unathi Piracy wiki after some discussion with Villa and word from Triogenix. This said, I'll leave the document below in case the lore team reconsiders.

Spoiler

The Gorlex Marauders
"Piracy" is a word that is not the most apt way to describe the Marauders, owed to their high emphasis on moral compasses and anti-fascist hierarchies. United under the Fang Captain Zha'han'zha Gorlex and her two assistants, Kcazski Gorlex and Jorge Gonzales, the many freedom fighters within the Marauders place an emphasis on weapon and armor development technology, not unlike Kazu's Techraiders--though they aren't above simple piracy when the times are tough and desperate. Among other things, the Marauders are known for the creation of the crimson hardsuit and crimson voidsuit, highly advanced variants of their normal counterparts that make use of localized shielding and modular design, alongside prototypes that haven't quite seen the light of day, such as the double-bladed energy sword or a million and more laser rifles that can cut a victim's blood oxygenation in half with two shots.

Most ships of Gorlex operate within Badlands space, particularly near the planet of Greima and its asteroid belt, often using the materials they can dredge up in order to design new armament or reinforce old designs, and of course ensure their ships remain in tip-top shape along the way. Unusually, the Marauders are one of the only fleets to have a dedicated "home base" set, a small-scale station best described as "three Sinta in a shed" upon Greima's 9124th asteroid, known as Site 90-12. Here is where most of their creations are manufactured, from armor plating en masse to the many deadly concept designs that are sold to the highest bidder within the Spur. The ships within the few Gorlex fleets are often covered head to toe in armor plating, with sluggish movement but high firepower to make up for it. Many ships act as mobile research stations, less designed for combat and more for progress or salesmanship, scouting in some cases.

Among the Marauders you can find practically any race for any reason of their own. A token few Skrellian members who work against the perceived morals of the Nralakk Federation, humans, especially of Dominian heritage that have either been exiled or believe in certain radical faiths, Tajara that felt too wronged by the recent conflicts around and within Adhomai, or Vaurca and Dionae that simply need something to do and people to do it with. Even synthetics, free or otherwise, that have been promised individuality in exchange for their help and subservience. Whatever their reasoning, humble or otherwise, they all believe in the same thing: "A polite galaxy is an armed galaxy," and every member that isn't Sinta is accommodated as best as possible. No group has power over the other (although Sinta will always have a majority over the many minorities), and there are very few who make enemies with each other within Gorlex such that they cannot work together.

As far as culture goes, the most outstanding thing is their unorthodox ranking system. For instance, Fang Captain is often substituted with Captain or Overlord, Head of Security often with Chief Commander, Scientist with Armsman, etc. generally using military terms and abbreviations to further play into their level of sophistication and outright hawkish stance and way of life. Epithets are often utilized in place of names or nicknames and are derived from whatever action that warranted them, such as a phoron fire earning one the epithet "Firestarter" or Kcazski's overbearing presence earning him "Devil," from the phrase, "speak of the devil and he shall appear." Many other traits within Gorlex are shared with other spacefaring cultures, such as the Scarab's methods of wasteless living and total efficiency.

So far, their physical influence has been restricted to the neighboring areas within the Badlands and the few ships that pass within it, or a handful of mercenary groups that specially order supplies. Those who purchase or invest in the Marauders' equipment report either complete satisfaction, or genuine horror at the potential of "war crime guns." This said, many convicts or other outlawed fleets, such as the Techraiders, have entered an uneasy alliance with them in order to further their agendas--Gorlex or not. On a corporate level, Zavodskoi and Hephaestus completely condemn the Marauders, citing them as thieves that plagiarized their technology in order to kickstart their own, with the Hegemony not far behind them following constant harassment. Even still, the Marauders are the number one group within the Spur to go to if you need an untraceable, powerful weapon or space suit, as long as you've got the cash.

Due to a mixture of religious and political views, and morally-grey in-between areas as a result of weapon usage outside standard measure, most interstellar powers and the SCC consider the Marauders to be a terrorist organization, and those who hail from it are either arrested or hired under strict NDAs and put on official watch. Ex-Gorlex Unathi are heavily incentivized to change their surname prior to work if they wish not to be questioned or indicted.

Gorlex Honorifics, ideas for the names of titles, etc. 
Edit: If the lore team wants to further include the part of their culture that deals with nicknames and job titles, you can copy-paste most of below and preface it with "Further examples of nicknames and epithets can be found here:" and create a drop-down box.

Spoiler

Titles, Epithets, and Assignments
A unique workforce community inspires unique workforce names, titles of jobs and roles, or nicknames assigned to employees based on their cunning, ability or inability, endearingly or offensively. The most common titles can be found below, alongside examples of epithets or nicknames.

Job Titles/Abbreviations
Marauder/Mdr. - A term to describe anyone who works within the Gorlex Marauders. When used in its full capacity, Gorlex Marauder, denotes respect. 

Armsman/Man-At-Arms/Amn. - Weapons Specialist/Small Arms Repairman/Scientist/similar. The broad role that describes and holds those who make weapons, armor, or ammunition in a general capacity. 

Roboticist/Rbc. - Used in lieu of/alongside Machinist.

Machination - An IPC built to work within the Marauders, or one that has been contracted as such. Formatting is typically "[Type]-Machination" where type is the traditional organic title, such as Armsman. Does not utilize an abbreviation, considered redundant.

Arms Officer/Off. - Oversees weaponry and armor production; an in-between role for what is commonly considered a Scientist or Research Director.

Armsmaster/Mas. - The "Research Director" role. Has a complete understanding of logistics within the Marauders and directs crew as needed.

Medical Officer/Dr. - Self-explanatory. Also includes pharmacists, physicians, etc.

Medical Specialist/Spc. - Chief Medical Officer. Self-explanatory.

Hellion/Hn. - Security officer. Also responsible for field-testing weaponry and maintaining employee loyalty.

Commander/Cdr. - Oversees delegation of hellions; same in ranking to a Head of Security or Warden (as seen fit).

Lord Commander/Lcr. - Chief Security Officer. Delegates Commanders and is involved with delicate security situations.

Overlord/Od. - Reserved for the current CEO of the Gorlex Marauders.

On IDs, the abbreviation immediately after the title is "GMS", similar to their weapon and armor designations. An example of this would be a man named Off. Lorenzo Smith, with the title of Arms Officer (GMS) on his ID.

On Epithets
Most epithets or nicknames are utilized the same way as callsigns, like a military might, and are almost exclusively formed through positive or negative experiences, actions, the like. They are never without meaning or chosen by a single person; it's a group effort. Epithets are utilized to denote extreme respect or disrespect, whereas simple nicknames can be formed by anyone within the Marauders for any reason. Some examples of how epithets come to fruition, and the effect it has on those who have them, are below.

Scenario #1: Hn. Vaylid Hunteir suspects a Greimorian attack will occur soon, as there is scheduled maintenance on the turrets outside. When he warns his Commander, she disregards his statement and tells him not to worry. However, he prepares regardless, and when Greimorians breach the exterior, he kills most of them and ensures there are minimal casualties. For this, the Commander apologizes profusely, and grants him the epithet, "prophetical," which in turn grants him the nickname "Prophet," and leads to many other Hellions consulting him on authority and security advice.

Scenario #2: Rbc. Jonathan Solrise figures mixing phoron and oxygen in the same room is fine, and decides to light a cigarette. However, he comes to find out that the valve attached to the cannister storing the mixture is faulty, and lights the room ablaze. Escaping by the skin of his teeth, he earns the epithet "firestarter," which causes his superior, Off. Clon Panz, to force him into teaching the other machinists workplace safety. He is regarded as a burden and unreliable roboticist until months or years later, when he is no longer referred to as firestarter and has earned back his reputation as a competent roboticist.

Scenario #3: Lcr. Kcazki Gorlex eats someone's lunch, which causes them to throw a fit over communications. Enough outrage earns Kcazki the epithet "leviathan," which encourages him to discipline anyone and everyone who calls him by such, resulting in an entirely new epithet of "devil," after the phrase, "speak of the devil, and he shall appear."

Below is a document for the previous version of the Marauders, intended to be used as a full antagonist faction rather than just a pirate one. This is outdated, but can be used in the future if the lore team reconsiders.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/184r1YLUJipTCINXsqkG348Ct4_ZA0uSrn2dnisay3Fg/edit?usp=sharing

And finally, logos! In case you didn't see them in my comment below, here's a spoiler with them inside:

Spoiler

 

Edited October 3, 2023 by dessysalta
pirate faction pitch instead

[dessysalta]

I also think it's plausible that the Marauders could be turned into a simple non-SCC faction outlawed simply because they're not SCC (LMAO) or not outlawed in the first place, and just frowned upon. If this doesn't see inclusion as an antagonist corporation, it could be neat to see as a non-SCC one.

Edit: Oh! It'd also be a nice thing to rely on in lieu of Einstein Engines.

Edited August 29, 2023 by dessysalta
AND einstein engines. the fuckers

[Agatasa]

Pretty sure Gorlex Marauders is TGStation Syndicate lore, actually.

[dessysalta]

1 minute ago, Agatasa said:

Pretty sure Gorlex Marauders is TGStation Syndicate lore, actually.

Yeah, but Moghes/Unathi and I'm 90% sure skrell and IPCs are baystation lore despite being so heavily modified in aurora that they're not the same thing. This gives a face to a name, and I prefer the "improve, don't remove" way of doing things. 

Plus, the Gorlex Marauders are just a bloodthirsty militia in TG lore with no actual standing aside from "we kill things and make money". They're as average as pirate/terrorist factions get, and I feel like what I'm proposing is its own thing (though that's not really a high bar given how little TG has written about lore).

[GeneralCamo]

Worst case we can use this lore with a new name. We -do- actually have the /tg/ syndicate symbol in the game for the antagonist UI, so I doubt that alone would mean this would be rejected. Though personally I'd prefer a custom icon for that.

[Agatasa]

21 minutes ago, GeneralCamo said:

Though personally I'd prefer a custom icon for that.

If you have any ideas for that, send them to me here or on discord, I can make a replacement SVG for it.

[Sparky_hotdog]

In addition to generally supporting adding another opposing corp, this could allow us to rename the current syndicate items (sydie satchel, etc) to Gorlex instead, finally wiping clear the organisation that hasn't been canon in years.

[dessysalta]

Added a "job titles and honorifics" section for funsies. I think it makes sense they'd be that pretentious, and it adds more to the culture of living on a population: 500 rock of death.

[Lent23]

There are no real drawbacks to this. It gives the spur a bit more context and nuance. It makes sense that other companies exist - a lot of the equipment that we see is, of course, produced by the megacorporations of the chainlink - we work on the Horizon. I love the idea of the items like the blood-red armor having an actual designation rather than just being vague "blood-red hardsuit." Lore has simply evolved to the point where we don't have to vaguely reference the Syndicate. +100 I am a huge fan of relevant lore additions.

[dessysalta]

Think I might do a revamp based off what I have currently. It's a good start, but it's missing things like more details about Greima (which still needs it's own lore app or written entry on the wiki) and some more cultural differences. Maybe even make it a two-parter, with different boxes or lines of text with different colors to indicate changes or details that are either beneficial (if the corp is selected just to be a loose congregation of freedom fighters) or negative (if the corp remains antagonistic).

I like all of what I've made so far, but it feels like a somewhat loose addition on some fronts. It could do with expansions on things like general population and racial makeup, some core beliefs, maybe even throw in a uniform here and there. My partner agreed to draw a flag for Gorlex, so stay tuned for that.

For the lore team: This application is acceptable on its own, and I'll keep what I have currently as it's own thing (and just make a gdoc for the expanded version) but look forward to another edit tonight, within the next few days at the latest. Sorry to keep changing it, its a little difficult to settle on any one idea and near impossible for me not to dream up different ideas after the fact lmao.

[dessysalta]

HOKAY THE DOC'S DONE!! It's not the greatest thing in the world, but there's some changes on it. I'll document all I can remember changing or adding.

Read here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/184r1YLUJipTCINXsqkG348Ct4_ZA0uSrn2dnisay3Fg/edit?usp=sharing (or click the doc in the main post).

Notable changes (the ones I can remember at least):
- I added an extended disclaimer at the start.
- Fudged some numbers in the history section a little bit arbitrarily. Felt like starting earlier and finishing construction earlier makes sense.
- Rewrote the Overview section to be a little more broad while also remaining concise.
- Added some more in the Life On The Arthropod's Asteroid section, such as a general population count, ethnic make up, some intro notes on epithets, etc.
- Rewrote part of the main Epithets section, added some bits and bobs.
- Added a concept list at the bottom alongside my own thoughts for what could be done instead if this is chosen as a simple third-party faction rather than an outright antagonistic one.

Now I can finally rest, Jesus. If any of you have thoughts or critiques to mention here (lore dep or otherwise), go ahead and reply below and I'll do my best to get back to you.

Edited September 5, 2023 by dessysalta
minor addition

[Gem]

i'm interested in this, bonus points that it would kill off the generic ss13 syndicate lore and give an actual lore faction to motivate general antaggery.

[dessysalta]

Behold, logos!

Art done by my lovely, sketchalicious :]

Edited September 15, 2023 by dessysalta
quick edit

[La Villa Strangiato]

This has been looked over and will be talked about in-depth soon:tm:.

[MattAtlas]

I think the only thing I dislike is the name being a direct import from TG lore (Gorlex has been in game for ages, IIRC they were named on a few of the mechs way back). It should be unique to us.

[GeneralCamo]

@dessysalta I would appreciate an SVG/Vector variant of that logo. Grayscale if you can. If this lore app is accepted, we can replace the /tg/ syndicate logo currently used in the antagonist uplink with that.

32 minutes ago, MattAtlas said:

I think the only thing I dislike is the name being a direct import from TG lore (Gorlex has been in game for ages, IIRC they were named on a few of the mechs way back). It should be unique to us.

I recommend proposing an alternative name for this @dessy. This way we can go with that if needed. 

[dessysalta]

1 hour ago, GeneralCamo said:

I would appreciate an SVG/Vector variant of that logo. Grayscale if you can.

I'll try to get this, but no promises.

1 hour ago, MattAtlas said:

I think the only thing I dislike is the name being a direct import from TG lore (Gorlex has been in game for ages, IIRC they were named on a few of the mechs way back). It should be unique to us.

1 hour ago, GeneralCamo said:

I recommend proposing an alternative name for this @dessy. This way we can go with that if needed.

I'll see what I can do. If/when this undergoes a name change, I want to keep the general usage of "marauder" to refer to someone in it because that's badass. I'm open to suggestions on this front.

Some initial ideas:
Fenrir's Angels
Hunter's Cradle

Frankly it's pretty difficult to come up with something that doesn't use "marauders" because using it sort of defeats the point of changing the name at all. Whoever came up with "Gorlex Marauders" hit every mark you need in a cool name. I'll be phoning some friends.

Edited September 15, 2023 by dessysalta
name ideas

[Sparky_hotdog]

While I agree that Marauders is a cool name (And I wonder if it would be acceptable were the "Glorex" part dropped), I personally think Fenrir's Angels is also a rad name (Bonus points if the name is rooted in a doggo owned by the founders, but that's w/e). Though Fenrir is one of my all time favourite myths, so I am biased.

[DeadLantern]

Not sure why an Unathi dominated organization would be talking about Fenrir or Angels. 

[dessysalta]

Naming is hard. Gorlex hit every nail, I honestly didn't go into this thinking I'd have to rename it.

[dessysalta]

Tentative new name from a friend (hi Lent): The Razortail Marauders (or some other name involving Razortail, i.e. Razortail Congregate, Razortail Hellion, etc.)

And from a different friend, if we doubled down on Gorlex, we could give them extra depth by first being named "The Unbound Minds of Gorlex" and then swapping over to the Marauders once they were referred to as such by a news outlet.

Thoughts?

[La Villa Strangiato]

I, personally, am fond of Razortail Marauders.

[Lent23]

Now, I may be biased, but I'm a big fan of Razortail (Marauders) 😉

[RustingWithYou]

Razortail is a good name but it's uh

already an Unathi faction sadly 💀

[dessysalta]

49 minutes ago, RustingWithYou said:

Razortail is a good name but it's uh

already an Unathi faction sadly 💀

FUCK