Notable Unaffiliated Factions

1. Ziemia
2. Collapse
3. Nomad City
4. Stygium
   • Stygium Arts
   • Evoker
   • Metastatic Stygium Conversion Syndrome
5. Technology
   • Transportation
     • Landships
   • Telecommunications
   • Weapons
     • Warfare
   • Robotics
6. Ziemians
   • Ziemian Phenotypes
7. Eurasia
   • Ancient History
     • Still City
     • Eurasian Union
   • Nations
     • Bretonian Palatinate
     • Rheinland Federation
     • Eridu Republic
     • Kingdom of Vérone
     • Náströnd Dominion
     • Omphalos Theocracy
     • Kitezh Union
   • Notable Unaffiliated Factions
   • Flora and Fauna

The chaotic and unpredictable environment of Ziemia has given rise to a multitude of independent factions, each occupying a unique space within the fragmented world. Fueled by motivations that extend beyond national allegiances, these groups range from small, adaptable bands of survivors to well-structured and influential organizations pursuing their own distinct goals. While some of these key players are detailed here, the landscape of Ziemia is far more complex, with numerous other factions shaping its destiny.

Resilience International

Mission Statement

FOR ALL HUMANKIND

To provide impartial medical aid, research, and education to all inhabitants of Ziemia, regardless of nationality, social standing, or phenotype, with a particular focus on the health challenges arising from Collapses and Metastatic Stygium Conversion Syndrome.

Goals

The primary focus of Resilience International is the treatment and research of Metastatic Stygium Conversion Syndrome, driven by a desire to understand the illness better and ultimately find effective treatments or preventative measures, often sharing their findings openly despite the potential for nationalistic hoarding of such knowledge. They also provide general medical care, trauma surgery for those injured by raiders or environmental hazards, and public health initiatives aimed at preventing the spread of disease in the often-difficult living conditions within Nomad Cities and smaller settlements. The Resilience, RI's mobile base of operations, is a beacon of hope in a dangerous world, its presence a testament to the enduring capacity for compassion and the unwavering dedication of those who choose to stand against the tide of suffering.

Base of Operations

The Resilience serves as the organization's mobile base of operations—a heavily modified and exceptionally well-equipped Landship, one of the largest of its kind traversing Ziemia. This colossal vehicle is a truly self-contained hub, capable of sustaining hundreds of personnel and patients for extended periods. Beyond its extensive and comfortable living quarters, The Resilience boasts comprehensive, state-of-the-art medical and research facilities, dedicated manufacturing workshops capable of producing essential medical supplies and equipment, and advanced internal recycling systems designed to maximize resource efficiency in the often-scarce environment. To ensure rapid response and access to even the most remote and hazardous locations, the Landship features integrated docking bays for two deployable rotorcraft, allowing for swift aerial transport, and ample internal space to house and deploy multiple rugged wheeled vehicles for ground missions. This formidable mobile infrastructure enables Resilience International to effectively reach isolated settlements, provide immediate aid to communities displaced by the devastating Collapses, and offer critical medical treatment and conduct vital research in regions where national healthcare systems are either non-existent or stretched beyond their breaking point.

Personnel

Resilience International’s personnel constitute a diverse body of medical professionals, researchers, and essential support staff drawn from across the nations of Ziemia. Unified by the organization’s commitment to humanitarian neutrality, they operate under conditions defined by extreme environmental hazards, resource scarcity, and persistent political instability.

To ensure the protection and continuity of its operations, Resilience International maintains a specialized corps of trained security and recovery personnel known as Operators. Officially designated as field security and extraction units, Operators perform a broad range of functions including convoy defense, civilian evacuation, asset recovery, and Collapse-zone response. Recruitment draws from former military personnel, experienced scavengers, and civilians who complete the organization’s internal training programs. Their operational doctrine emphasizes restraint, adaptability, and the preservation of life as a primary objective.

A notable proportion of Resilience International’s members live with varying stages of Metastatic Stygium Conversion Syndrome, a reflection of the organization’s inclusive policies and focus on direct engagement with affected populations. The organization’s strict allocation of resources prioritizes human personnel and medical infrastructure; as a result, the deployment of Dolls within Resilience International remains uncommon due to their maintenance and logistical demands.

Resilience International operates under the leadership of an individual known solely by the title Director, a designation that serves as both position and identity. Few outside the organization’s central administration have met the Director in person. Reports from those who have describe a reserved and methodical individual, characterized by precision, discipline, and a distinct absence of personal affectation.

The Director’s communications are concise and procedural in nature, prioritizing survival metrics, containment efficiency, and logistical oversight. Their approach to leadership emphasizes structural integrity and operational accountability over personal influence or ideology. Speculation regarding the Director’s origins is common, with unverified accounts suggesting prior affiliation with either the Eridu Republic or the Kitezh Union; such claims remain neither confirmed nor denied by the organization.

Aegis Security Group

Mission Statement

AURUM TENNO LUPES

Aegis Security Group (ASG) is a premier private military corporation dedicated to providing comprehensive security solutions, risk management, and specialized combat services to sovereign nations, corporations, and private entities across the fractured landscape of Ziemia, ensuring the protection of assets, personnel, and interests in a volatile and unpredictable world. Their motto, “Aurum Tenno Lupes” means “I Hold the Wolf by the Ears” in an ancient, half-forgotten language.

Goals

The primary goals of Aegis Security Group revolve around establishing and maintaining its reputation as the most reliable and effective security provider on Ziemia. This involves securing lucrative contracts for the protection of Nomad Cities, Landships, resource convoys, and vital infrastructure against threats such as raiders, hostile nations, and dangerous wildlife. A significant objective is the acquisition and maintenance of cutting-edge weaponry and Technology, including rare Stygium firearms and advanced combat Dolls, to ensure a tactical advantage in any engagement. Aegis also aims to expand its operational reach and influence by establishing a network of strategically located forward operating bases and cultivating strong relationships with key political and economic players across the various nations. Furthermore, a core goal is the continuous training and development of its personnel to meet the diverse and challenging security demands of Ziemia, fostering a culture of professionalism, discipline, and adaptability.

Base of Operations

Aegis Security Group's primary operational hub is the Bastion, a heavily armored Landship. The Bastion serves as the central command, training facility, and logistical depot for the organization. It boasts extensive armories stocked with a wide array of melee weapons, crossbows, Stygium firearms, and explosives, as well as dedicated maintenance workshops for vehicles and equipment, including a contingent of combat-ready Dolls. The Landship also houses advanced communication systems for coordinating operations across vast distances and secure detention facilities for captured threats. In addition to the Bastion, Aegis maintains several smaller, strategically positioned Landships and fortified outposts across Ziemia, allowing for rapid deployment and sustained operations in key regions. These secondary bases often specialize in specific types of security services, such as convoy escort or perimeter defense for mining operations.

Personnel

The personnel of Aegis Security Group comprise a disciplined and extensively trained force drawn from a wide range of professional backgrounds, including veterans of national militaries, private security specialists, and independent mercenaries. The organization operates under a strict hierarchical structure that emphasizes efficiency, coordination, and adherence to operational protocol. Training and evaluation standards are uniformly rigorous, reflecting the corporation’s prioritization of reliability and tactical precision over individual distinction.

Personnel are equipped with advanced protective systems and modular weaponry suited to a variety of operational environments. Specialized detachments are maintained for close-quarters engagement, long-range reconnaissance, and armored vehicle operations. Aegis Security Group integrates a significant number of combat Dolls into its forces, often modified for task-specific roles. These synthetic units function as integral components of field deployments, serving as logistical and tactical multipliers while reducing human exposure to high-risk operations. The organization’s reliance on a combination of organic and synthetic assets ensures a consistently high level of mission capability and resilience under adverse conditions.

Command authority within Aegis Security Group resides with a cadre of senior strategists and logistics specialists possessing extensive experience in multi-theater operations. The current commander, Gertrude Cronenberg, is a veteran of the Rheinland Federation’s mechanized infantry forces. Her background in armored warfare, resource coordination, and Landship deployment has directly informed Aegis Security Group’s operational doctrine. Cronenberg’s leadership is characterized by systematic planning, precise execution, and uncompromising discipline, traits that have established the corporation’s reputation as one of the most reliable and methodically organized private military entities on Ziemia.

Raiders

Mission Statement

It's important to note that "Raiders" are not a unified faction with a central leadership or shared ideology. Instead, this term broadly describes various independent groups, ranging in size from small bands of desperate individuals to more organized and heavily armed gangs. Their common characteristic is the behavior of raiding supply convoys, resource outposts, and sometimes even the outskirts of Nomad Cities for essential resources, technology, or anything of value in the harsh world of Ziemia. Their motivations can vary from simple survival to more complex goals like establishing dominance in a particular territory.

Goals

The fundamental goal of all Raider groups is survival. They achieve this by targeting resource-rich convoys and exposed outposts, prioritizing the acquisition of essential supplies, technology, and anything that can ensure their continued existence in the face of Collapses and the scarcity of Ziemia.

Base of Operations

Raiders typically operate in mobile groups, often utilizing convoys of smaller, rugged vehicles adapted for speed and carrying capacity. While rare, some larger or more established Raider gangs might possess a Landship as a mobile base, but most rely on temporary camps and their vehicles for shelter and operations.

Personnel

The composition of Raider groups across the desolate landscape of Ziemia is remarkably varied, reflecting the fractured and desperate nature of the world outside the relative safety of the Nomad Cities. Often, these bands are made up of individuals ostracized from city-states for various transgressions, including those suffering from the early stages of Stygiosis or those deemed undesirable by the rigid social structures within. They also frequently include desperate survivors from smaller settlements that have succumbed to a Collapse or other dangers, clinging to existence through scavenging and opportunistic attacks. Hardened criminals, exiled from their cities or simply preferring a life outside the law, form another significant element, bringing with them experience in violence and resource acquisition through force. Beyond these common threads, Raider groups can exhibit a wide spectrum of social dynamics. Some coalesce around charismatic leaders, adopting cult-like structures with rigid hierarchies and unique ideologies, while others function more like traditional criminal gangs, motivated primarily by personal gain and territorial control. Still others, driven by a sense of shared hardship and a rejection of the established order, may form more egalitarian, even socialist-leaning communes, attempting to create a different way of life on the fringes. This diversity in origin, motivation, and organization makes Raider groups a constant and unpredictable element of the world.