THE FACTIONS OF
MECHWARRIOR ONLINE
HOUSE KURITA
Draconis
Combine
Coordinator
Takashi Kurita
Autocracy
Imperial City, Luthien
Japanese,
Arabic, English
2319
The first full-scale interstellar military operation was launched in 2303, and it eventually led to the formation of the Draconis Combine in 2319. Unlike other Inner Sphere nations, which were formed through the union of already-established alliances of planets, the Draconis Combine owed its birth to one world and the indomitable will of one man: Shiro Kurita. Though Shiro used political wrangling when it suited him, he constructed the Combine mainly by the sword. Raised in strict adherence to the ancient Japanese code of bushido (the way of the warrior), Shiro spread this philosophy as he expanded his empire. Today, seven centuries after its foundation, the Draconis Combine bears a striking resemblance to Japan of the shogun era, where daimyos—lords—rule their worlds and military districts while their samurai—mostly MechWarriors—enforce their word as law. From highest to lowest, all act for the greater glory of the Draconis Combine and its ruling House Kurita.
HOUSE LIAO
Capellan
Confederation
Chancellor
Romano Liao
Dictatorship
Zi-jin Cheng,
Sian
Chinese, Russian, English, Hindi
2366
The Capellan Confederation is a survivor, thanks to its greatest asset—its people. A Capellan citizen sees it as his or her duty to serve the nation first and himself second; individual rights are therefore subordinate to the needs of the state. Regarded as repressive by most other Successor States and smaller political entities, this simple trait has allowed the Capellan nation to survive and prosper even after the Federated Commonwealth broke its back in the Fourth Succession War. As always, adversity merely strengthens the Capellan Confederation. Despite what some realms regard as "repressive," individuals are encouraged to better themselves and may marry into a higher caste or qualify for one on their own merits. The only real bias in the Confederation is a favorable disposition toward those citizens who embrace their nation's rich cultural heritage. The Capellan legacy extends back centuries further than that of other Great Houses, having its roots in the ancient heritage of the Han (Chinese) people of Terra.
HOUSE MARIK
Free Worlds
League
Captain-General
Thomas Marik
Parliamentary Confederacy
Atreus City,
Atreus
English, Spanish, Greek, Romanian, Urdu
2271
Technically a federation rather than a true nation, the Free Worlds League has been plagued by divisive conflicts throughout its history. Until recently, this balkanization greatly limited the League's impact on external events. The current Captain-General, Thomas Marik, a war leader with dictatorial powers appointed "for the duration of the crisis," has done much to centralize power and bring out the nation's true strength. Citizens of the League value their right to express themselves freely—more so than almost any other realm—leading to a broad acceptance of differing cultures and values along with an appreciation for the arts and education. Business and the pursuit of material gain, including the recovery of technology, are central to League life. Ironically, though the League pioneered much of the medical technology used during the Star League era, social pressures have since led many to scorn bionics and other replacement technologies, particularly among the lower classes.
HOUSE STEINER
Lyran
Commonwealth
Archon Melissa
Steiner Davion
Constitutional Monarchy
Tharkad City,
Tharkad
English, German, Scottish Gaelic, Italian, French
2341
The Lyran Commonwealth has never been regarded as a military power, but it remains a political and economic force to be reckoned with. Though governed by a feudal system like most of the other Successor States, the Commonwealth maintains loose control over member worlds and business interests while actively encouraging a thriving capitalist economy. This, along with the fact that its territory includes some of the Inner Sphere's richest and most heavily industrialized worlds, made the Lyran realm an economic superpower almost since its inception. Work, trade and profit are the central concerns of most Lyrans, who have grown accustomed to high standards of living. The life of luxury even extends to the Lyran military, where power, privilege and prestige are derived from rank—earned as often as not by whom one knows, rather than what one knows or has done.
FREE RASALHAGUE REPUBLIC
Free Rasalhague
Republic
Elected
Prince Haakon
Magnusson
Representative Parliament
Reyljavik,
Rasalhague
Swedish, English,
Japanese, German, Swedenese
3034
In the mid-twenty-third century, citizens of the Federal Republics of Norway, Sweden and Finland emigrated to Rasalhague. Though conquered by the expanding Draconis Combine and ruled by that realm for centuries, the fiercely independent Rasalhagians rebelled at every opportunity. In 3034, Haakon Magnusson declared the formation of the Free Rasalhague Republic. The Lyran Commonwealth and Draconis Combine acknowledged the Republic and gave up control of ancestral Rasalhague worlds within their own borders. Some Combine soldiers opposed their leaders' actions and attacked the newborn Republic in what became known as the Ronin Wars; the Combine declared them traitors and helped the small Republic army defend its nation. Several mercenary units hired during this period took advantage of poorly written contracts or stopped fighting because of them, which fueled strong anti-mercenary sentiment that persists to this day.
HOUSE DAVION
Federated Suns
First Prince
Hanse Davion
Constitutional
Aristocracy
New Avalon City,
New Avalon
English, French, German
2317
Formed with the signing of the Crucis Pact in 2317, the Federated Suns was intended to stand against the Terran Hegemony's unabashed expansion. However, the Federated Suns faced its first major challenges from the Capellan Confederation. Continued Capellan aggression, including interference in the Suns' disastrous twenty-sixth-century civil war, cemented a deep hatred that has burned between the two nations for centuries. Many Federated Suns citizens harbor similar animosity toward their other neighbor, the Draconis Combine, though this enmity stems from the more recent Kentares Massacre. The Federated Suns has been especially prominent in the thirty-first century. The political and economic marriage of the Suns to the economically powerful Lyran Commonwealth, which together formed the Federated Commonwealth, struck fear in the hearts of many—especially given Prince Hanse Davion's impressive territorial gains during the Fourth Succession War, which coincided with the Federated Commonwealth's inception.
