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[Blue_Bear]

Prefaced with - This discusses some aspects of the story, spoilers ahead!

I've always had a soft spot for the Persian League. They reminded me of the Delian league, which is awesome, even if their support of the sector's most problematic power, the Diktat, for "down with the Heggies" reasons was always a little concerning.

However the story-line reveals that the League is just as broken as the Hegemony, without the nominal commitment to democracy. Particularly your interaction with a specific archon, and what happens afterwards (spoilers follow).

The story-line reveals a couple key things about the League that I at least was unaware of.

1) There is guaranteed freedom of movement between member planets, guaranteed by the League charter (good!) however I don't see how this can be even vaguely viable when you have outright dictatorships operating within the League who wouldn't be happy with their people up and leaving.

2) There is significant tension between Kazeron and the other planets, and the League security forces seem free to act with a large amount of discretion, even if it impacts member planets domestically (a breach of the Leagues charter of non-intervention). This kind of tension happens (nothing is perfect) but then you find out that

Spoiler

the "troublesome" Archon is replaced with a member of an aristocratic family, presumably from Kazeron! Literally interfering with domestic politics of another polity for the personal gain of the ruling class of another polity, the new leader openly admits it!

[close]

For me this means that Hegemony description of the League as "an archipelago of petty dictatorships against coordinated mass action of the free peoples of the Sector!” is not that far off the mark. A point bolstered by their support of a literal military dictatorship.

In short, my perception is that supporting the League risks dooming the sector to an era of oligarchic rule and bush-fire wars between "independent" planets that are only such in name, so we're back at the Heggies being the least-worst faction in the sector, which is depressing because that's a very low bar.

[SCC]

It's been known League isn't all sunshine and roses for a long time. Laicaille is Kazeron's *** in all but the name.
Have you ever read Coral Nebula's main menu mission description? That's how they deal with regime changes.

[Scorpixel]

That's not exactly fresh news anyways, the League was always described as such as far as it's relation tab.
As discussed in a previous thread, the League exist because the Hegemony does, otherwise they'd be at each other throats due to being largely comprised of authoritarian powers that want to keep it.

As for the low bar, post-post-apocalypse doesn't really allow for a "100% good guys" team, which would hurt both worldbuilding and story.

[Histidine]

Woah. I hadn't returned to Laicaille after the incident (and wouldn't have checked the comm board if I did), so I didn't know that happened. It's bad!

so we're back at the Heggies being the least-worst faction in the sector, which is depressing because that's a very low bar.

Yeah, feel the same way. I don't expect any state (fictional or otherwise) to be perfect or even particularly good, but having a halfway decent society to support sure would be nice.

Now I kinda want a quest involving undermining the Kazeron oligarchs. Maybe involving Cavin & friends back on Fikenhild.

[Megas]

The League have been crooks ever since they sent gigantic warfleets to burn your colonies to the ground with expedition spam, along with Diktat and Tri-Tachyon.

When all five major factions start spamming expeditions for turning on Free Port, while ignoring the rest (even pirates) in the core worlds, you know it is time to wipe out the core worlds to make them stop once and for all.

[Embolism]

Laicaille isn't really a good example of a League world because it owes its existence to Kazeron and its economy is completely dependent on Kazeron. It's more like a colony than an independent state.

But reading between the lines, Kazeron dominates League politics and for good reason - it's the most populous League world (other than backwards and Luddic Mazalot) and is their primary industrial and shipbuilding centre. The only comparable league polities are Fikenhild and maybe Madeira, all other planets are very minor.

I wouldn't be surprised if the main reason the Diktat hasn't joined the League, other than Andrada's pride, is because of Kazeronian objections. They definitely won't want their place in the League threatened by Sindria.

[Ad Astra]

You are looking at it wrong, such a flawed union of world only happened because the Hegemony established itself as the biggest terror in the entire Persean Sector after clear support to the luddic genocide of Mairaath. The Hegemony will without a shrivel of doubt destroy any and all opposition to its self proclaimed authority, and as it was said during the storyline Hegemony expects "inconditional surrender" from the rest of the worlds in the sector, specially from the league worlds, since they have industrial might comparable to their own. To add to that, the fact that someone like Andrada got to that position in the Hegemony when having such megalomanous and dangerous tendencies only helps to cement the philosophy of tyrannical rule the orange boys have. Even Tri-Tachyon didn't cause the quarreling worlds to unite among each other to face the greater evil, Hegemony is the single most dangerous and authoritarian/destructive faction in the sector (including pathers) and its simple act of acting like the owners of status quo and peace is what makes people believe that they actually are.
Ask the Mayasurans if they recieved peace when the soldier boys came, they had it before, they lost peace, prosperity, and freedom the moment the Hegemony could finally strike them down because of their intolerable independence.

You have to admit this writing is top-notch when it manages to demonstrate people's love for authoritarian tendencies even after showing the full extent of the monster's bite. The most shining beacon of hope for the sector snuffed forever for refusing to comply, and an entire system in the hands of a messiah-complexed lunatic placed in a position of extreme power by Hegemony hands seems to be a non factor to those who love father state to dictate their lives. If with the hatred league worlds have for Kazeron, they still prefer to stay with them, you can easily imagine what they feel towards the Hegemony. The Hegemony was once the force of order that brought back peace in a chaotic early post-collapse sector, since then it only kept degrading into a monster that only knows how to opress any attempt at self determination, and let's not even get started about the military's superiority complex and Luddic sympathies that lie rampant within.

[SCC]

It's also worth mentioning that Persean League would rather have TT's recreational McMurderBots with iCores running around possibly taking the sector over, rather than let Hegemony have its way.

[Drone_Fragger]

I always read the league as “AnCap space libertarians in the space NAP to stop hegemony aggression!!” So I was entirely surprised they’re all buttheads. Salamanca as a planet literally says it’s run by a criminal cartel, for Ludds sake.

[Ad Astra]

It's also worth mentioning that Persean League would rather have TT's recreational McMurderBots with iCores running around possibly taking the sector over, rather than let Hegemony have its way.

This has always surprised me, I mean, if even outright Technosatan Tri-Tachyon makes people in the sector feel less threatened, go figure what the Hegemony is actually like to worlds that don't bend the knee.
After all, not every League world is led by power-hungry aristocrats. I wouldn't trust Kazeron to have any noble intent, but others just don't want to end under the boot (Lacaille habitat people for one seem to hate Kazeronian rule's guts).
I imagine being a civilian in Hegemony worlds is to live under constant military abuse, they even treat you like *** and you are kind of a dangerous space warrior, imagine being a powerless shmuck.

[Megas]

The moment I got my first expedition from the League for building a tech mine (when they produced commodities), I considered them forevermore as petty thugs or evil empire types just as tyrannical as the Diktat.  They are effectively (a more aggressive) Hegemony #2 that would gladly replace the Hegemony if the latter fell.

As least Hegemony leaves the player alone until he uses Free Port or cores, then they (and the Church) are as oppressive as every other major faction.

[Igncom1]

Yeah what are peoples opinions on the Luddic Church? (Assuming they don't get them confused with the Luddic path anyway.)

They seem extremely chill to me.

[SCC]

Church is pretty funny. Lorewise, they are pretty decent. Downsides are anti-tech ideology, path support and their seemingly shady subfaction of suspect canonicity. The upsides is not trying to kill everyone, not trying to conquer everyone, looking after their own people and sick furniture.
Gameplaywise, they are the worst faction in the game. Everything they do, Hegemony does better, and they do other things (like midline), too.
They are inverse TT in a way. Lore, cosmic asshats. Gameplay, look at all these shiny ships no one else has!

[Megas]

Yeah what are peoples opinions on the Luddic Church? (Assuming they don't get them confused with the Luddic path anyway.)

A cult who believe in corrupted scripture or dogma.  In game, the church is okay until player uses Free Port, then they become evil empire tyrants that need to be sat bombed off the map.

If anything, the Pathers are more benign than anyone else as long as player does not use too many items or alpha admins, then they become zombie pirates that can never die.

[AcaMetis]

Yeah what are peoples opinions on the Luddic Church? (Assuming they don't get them confused with the Luddic path anyway.)

They seem extremely chill to me.

Cavemen that are no less manipulative than the Tri-Techs or willing to solve problems through blunt force than the Hedgies, insofar that their (relatively) more limited supplies allows for such tactics. As for the Path, I don't see a distinction between dark greens and light greens. I recall one instance where a Pather in Eos Exodus demanded tends of thousands in tribute, and me responding with pulse lasers dinged me reputation with the church itself. They're allies, as far as I'm concerned a dark green is just someone not suicidal enough to wear the colors of the church's true design, so they passively support the cause in dark green garbs instead.