Interstellar Nations (Patreon)

There are a variety of interstellar powers outside of the Empire, and although none can rival it, several are impressive and powerful in their own rights. This is a non exhaustive list of those nations.

The Lierian Khanate :

Born out of the Lieria system, where the Empire's first explorers were surprised to stumble upon a star system whose elves had not only survived, but thrived in a purely space based society without a habitable planet. Using a variety of solar orbiters and arcane rockets, they had managed to rebuild their civilization one step at a time, even manufacturing new habitats and ships. They then entered into enthusiastic trade with the Empire, and have since become a small rival power. The Khanate is a highly expansionist semi-nomadic culture, relying on roving fleets of ships and clusters of space stations for most of its economic output, and only taking tributes from worlds. They are, however, limited by the number of vessels they can build and their elven population, which makes up the mainstay of their military and nomadic demographic. In terms of government, the Khanate is a strict matriarchy, divided into a large array of clans that are effectively nations in their own rights, all owing alliegance to the Khan, who traditionally heads the most powerful clan, clan Kivar.

The Khanate in and of itself does not wish for war with the Empire, but several clans have been known to harass Imperial client states and there have been serious incidents, that appear to be escalating. The Khan is attempting to rein her increasingly unruly clans in, as the Khanate as a whole could not hope to win a war against the Empire, which seems to be what the clans instigating the troubles are hoping for, either the fall of the Kivar clan to replace it, or possibly the destruction of the Khanate altogether to become independent.

Thanks to its space based culture and high levels of trade with the Empire, the Lierian Khanate is the closest to a peer to the Imperial Navy in terms of the capabilities of individual vessels, though this can vary greatly from clan to clan.

The Ilkyan Lordships :

Created from the unification of the Ilkys cluster, the Lordships are an odd nation. Mostly dwarven and deeply isolationist, they refuse expansion and have in fact been exporting their adventuring types as mercenaries for the sake of internal stability. The Empire was able to extract early on several trade concession, including the designation of several border systems as 'trade worlds' where foreign ships could come to do commerce, though those 'trade worlds' are usually litle more than battlestations with some cargo handling, with the notable exception of Valrow, the only true, inhabited world of the collection.

Their exporting of mercenaries has gradually turned into a tradition, and their swords for hire have acquired a tough as nail reputation throughout explored space.

It should be noted that while their territorial extent is limited, they have a high population density and individual system development, on part with the Imperial Core Worlds in some cases. This small cluster is then surrounded by several layers of fortifications, either directly or through vassal states, similar to Imperial client worlds.

The Coalition :

Technically called the Starborn Coalition of Free Worlds, but always shortened to simply the Coalition. It is a gaggle of independent worlds that have banded together in the face of aggressive imperial expansion. Originally a loose defensive alliance, it has gotten into an ever spiraling cold war with the Empire and has gradually staggered into a full blown dictatorship, falling into the same pitfalls as the Federation, with a security apparatus growing out of control for fear of a perceived external threat, and then expanding further to crush internal dissent from the overspending. Then, once the checks and balances were removed, corruption, repression...You name it. Ironically, the only thing keeping the Coalition together now is the Empire, as the threat of an Imperial incursion, or worlds breaking away is the only thing forcing the Coalition's junta to keep their military at least somewhat competent and not completely rotten from the inside out by graft and nepotism and be a glorified thug force meant to keep civilians and member worlds in line.

The Coalition has had several minor conflicts with the Empire throughout its history, though they were carefully kept at a low level proxy altercation and not allowed to escalate into a full scale war. Still, they have been the most regular opponent of the Imperial Navy, and while the Coalition's military is corrupt and increasingly falling victim to political interference, its shipyards still manage to crank out surprising amounts of warships, many of which find themselves into the hands of pirates and wannabe warlords, though whether deliberately or as a consequence of the Coalition's corruption is becoming increasingly difficult to tell.

The Krystal Confederation

Born out of an unusually tight cluster of systems (to the point that arguments are made that it should be considered a trinary star system), only spaced by a dozen light days, it is the only nation to have re-established interstellar travel without the use of the stardrive, instead having used sublight propulsion to make the journey. At first only a few ships were sent this way, but with the discovery of the momentum drive thriving trade blossomed between the systems, as a class one drive could cross the distance in a little under four months.

Thanks to this trade, the Confederation was able to develop an advanced and robust industrial base, which exploded outwards after the gift of the Stardrive from the Empire, only compounded by the fact that all three systems were linked to others via the leylines, enabling an interstellar hub of seldom seen proportions. It was thought for a time that the Confederation would be able to challenge the Empire. And they tried. Their ships even reached what, at the time, was the Imperial periphery a century ago.

The burned out husks that lie between both powers now are a testament to the madness of the attempt. The Confederation mistook the Empire's peacefulness for pacifism, and fifteen Confederation core worlds paid the ultimate price when their navy escalated to saturation planetary bombardment on Imperial rimworlds, in a desperate bid to slow the advancing Imperial Navy down.

Nowadays the Confederation is a broken power, most of its old systems having joined the Empire, whether fully or as Client States, almost encircling what remains of their former overlord. It still paces the stars and maintains trade links and relations with neutral worlds, but its navy and people have lost the will for war as well as expansion, and instead try to keep their old glories alive just one more day, because all can see the inevitable end coming.