The six devotion factions represent the core philosophies and cosmic forces battling for dominance, influence, and survival in the Starfall Galaxy. Tens of thousands of years have passed since these cabals have operated openly. While they are bitter rivals, they dare not engage in open, direct conflict. The last time the factions openly warred, the galaxy was nearly destroyed, entities almost extinguished, and the progenitors were scoured from existence. The core devotions now foster proxies and maintain buffers between their siblings. Their preference is not to be exposed on a galactic scale; instead, they spin webs of loyalty, alliances, and obligations to achieve their objectives. From devoted Heart systems in real space and semidivine rift realms, the significant events of the Starfall have been touched in some way by these powerful collectives.
Celestial Accord Faction
The Celestial Accord is the galaxy’s iron fist—a vast, militarized bureaucracy driven by the Devotion of Order (White). They stand as the self-appointed custodians of the all-important Rift-Gate Network and champion the suppression of chaotic forces like the Rift-Taint through unwavering, often extreme, measures. Their civilization is a shining, stratified fortress, reflecting a belief that collective security demands the complete sacrifice of individual freedom. High Legate Cassius Veran leads this faction, emphasizing security through strict adherence to the Galactic Mandate.
Goals and Motivations
The Celestial Accord is motivated by a vision of absolute stability, which they call the Galactic Mandate.
Total Control of the Inner Sphere: To maintain complete dominance over all regulated trade and travel routes within the galactic core, ensuring the consistent function of the massive economy.
Eradication of Chaos: To systematically eradicate Riftsworn cults and seal all unstable planar breaches, removing any elements that introduce unpredictable temporal or cosmic instability.
Imposition of the Galactic Mandate: To forcibly impose their law and stability upon the rebellious Outer Sphere and the volatile Frontier, bringing all inhabited space under the umbrella of their unyielding order.
Accord Favor
Minor Favors
Report petty crime, unauthorized Rift-gate use, or suspected cult paraphernalia to Accord authorities.
Deliver essential supplies (e.g., spare parts, food, medicine) to a lightly-defended Accord outpost or administrative enclave.
Aid Accord peacekeepers in crowd control, crisis response, or minor diplomatic missions within Accord territory.
File accurate, timely bureaucratic paperwork, or act as an informant on minor smuggling or the black market.
Moderate Favors
Escort or safeguard a valuable Accord official, cargo, or Rift-gate technician through a hazardous area.
Detect, disrupt, or expose a covert operation run by a known or suspected chaos cult or syndicate cell.
Repair, defend, or bring vital resources to a damaged Accord installation (e.g., Rift-gate, communications tower, border security checkpoint).
Resolve a dispute between local populations and Accord bureaucrats without violence, upholding the Mandate’s authority.
Major Favors
Lead the repulsion of a violent assault on an Accord installation, such as a Rift-gate, headquarters, or critical logistic node.
Uncover, infiltrate, and bring down an entrenched Rift-tainted cult, corrupt governor, or crime syndicate threatening Accord supremacy in a region.
Broker peace or enforce a major Accord directive in a rebellious sector, winning local compliance (by diplomacy or force) in defiance of chaos or subversion.
Successfully deliver a critical, time-sensitive Accord message, technology, or VIP through Rift-space amidst galactic crisis, ensuring the mission’s completion where failure would risk major instability.
Accord Disservices
Minor Disservices
Fail to report or deliberately conceal petty crime, cult activity, or Rift anomalies from Accord authorities.
Ignore Accord bureaucracy, e.g., by bypassing minor travel or trade regulations, submitting fraudulent paperwork, or attempting bribery in administrative matters.
Cause public disorder, disrupt Accord officials in the line of duty, or refuse routine security checks within Accord-governed space.
Express public criticism that undermines the Accord authority or order in a minor, but visible, way.
Moderate Disservices
Aid or shelter individuals wanted for crimes against the Accord, including smugglers, minor chaos cultists, or agitators.
Tamper with, bypass, or sabotage Accord-controlled Rift-Gate functions, checkpoints, or communications—even if not catastrophic.
Interfere with ongoing Accord peacekeeping, anti-cult, or anti-smuggling operations, or spread disorder within core Accord territories.
Falsify primary documents, logistics manifests, or secure Accord credentials to evade regulation or benefit from restricted resources.
Major Disservices
Directly attack or destroy Accord enforcement assets: Rift-gate control facilities, security patrols, or government installations.
Expose, aid, or lead powerful chaos cults, traitorous conspiracies, or major subversive networks hidden within Accord space.
Lead or incite large-scale rebellion, sabotage, or mass disorder, undermining Accord rule and threatening galactic stability.
Leak or weaponize highly sensitive Accord intelligence, military plans, or Rift-Gate network secrets to enemies or the public.
The Duality of Order: Virtue and Vice
The Accord's core value of Order is a double-edged sword, manifesting as a profound virtue that protects the galaxy while simultaneously expressing a chilling vice that stifles sentient life.
The Virtues of Order: A Friendly Perspective (The Sanctuary of Civilization)
From the perspective of a grateful citizen, the Celestial Accord is the galaxy's ultimate shield. Their devotion to absolute law and preservation ensures that life continues where others would perish.
The Promise of Security: The Accord stands against the terrifying chaos of the Riftstorm Cataclysm and the anarchic destruction of entities like the Riftsworn. Their iron-fisted structure is the only thing preventing entire systems from collapsing into disorder.
Collective Prosperity: The core tenet of their Order is the sanctity of life and the belief that "no one need suffer" when all work for the common good. Their centralized authority and meticulously controlled systems eliminate scarcity, allowing society to prosper in a shining utopia where selflessness and discipline replace selfish ambitions.
The Architects of Peace: They are idealists with a perfect vision of a world where war is a memory and tranquil peace has replaced unneeded suffering. The uniformity they enforce is simply the most efficient method of achieving this grand, lasting peace. For the collective, the Accord is salvation.
Warning: The Vices of the Accord (The Iron Fist of Conformity)
For those who value self-expression and freedom, the Accord's virtue curdles into its most dangerous vice: unchecked authoritarianism.
Suppression of Self: The Accord's militarized bureaucracy views individual desire and emotion as the greatest flaw in the cosmic algorithm. Their pursuit of "geometric perfection" requires the suppression of individual will, treating citizens not as people, but as cogs in a perfectly regulated machine.
Rigid, Cruel Enforcement: The Accord is a rigid, unyielding entity that struggles to tolerate any deviation or dissent. Their "extreme, often cruel, measures" to enforce the Galactic Mandate and suppress Rift-Taint mean that innocent freedoms are crushed under the weight of rigid authoritarianism. The smallest sign of chaos or individual passion can result in immediate, unflinching punishment in the name of the greater good.
Perfection Through Dehumanization: Their pursuit of absolute predictability is a rejection of the natural complexity and volatility of sentience. They seek to turn the living universe into a cold, flawless structure, transforming vibrant cultures into a system of ciphers where logical outcomes always triumph over humanity.
Accord Divisions
Several powerful divisions and ideological “factions within the faction” exist in the Celestial Accord, each shaping how the Accord governs and how its iron grip is maintained. While High Legate Veran claims absolute unity, the reality is that these distinct sections—in both philosophy and specialization—are essential for managing an entity of such gargantuan size and ambition. Their rivalries, dogmas, and rival schools of thought produce both hidden conflict and extraordinary efficiency within the Accord’s hierarchy.
Each division is both an administrative structure and a school of thought, providing levers for intrigue, internal drama, and roleplaying hooks. Accord campaigns can explore secret alliances, power struggles, philosophical feuds, or the peril posed by “deviationists” within this supposedly unbreakable machine.
The Prefecture of Law
Guardians of the legal code and galactic edicts. Purists believe in absolute, literal enforcement of order, sometimes at the cost of empathy or flexibility. They see themselves as the Accord’s conscience—the unyielding interpreters of the Mandate.
The Custodians
Steered by Praetor Ansel Corven, This division controls and maintains the Rift-Gate Network. Custodians are highly technocratic, focused on logistical perfection, and often obsessed with preventing even the slightest Rift instability. They quietly vie with the Chronologist factions for operational priority and are suspicious of non-Accord travel.
The Harmonium
Tasked with the psychic, moral, and ideological “health” of the Accord’s citizenry. Harmonium officers run re-education, propaganda, and mass morale campaigns. They often take the broadest view of Order, believing that loyalty is best secured through prosperity and controlled contentment, not just fear.
The Vigilant Order
This is the Accord’s external operations and intelligence arm. Exigents are proactive: rooting out chaos, sabotage, and dissent before it rises to crisis. Their doctrine emphasizes preemption, and they often clash with Internal Harmonium “soft power” proponents.
The Tribunal of Rectitude
The Tribunal handles internal discipline, rooting out corruption, heresy, or deviation among Accord ranks. Fiercely dogmatic, Inquisitors are feared for their uncompromising investigations, and are sometimes used as tools in Accord power struggles.
The Ministry of Prosperity
Managers of the Accord’s planned economy, food, and survival resource distribution. This ministry governed by Praetor Ardi Remial believe Order is expressed through abundance, and that economic chaos is the root of all rebellion. They have a pragmatic, almost Utilitarian streak, sometimes lobbying for reforms and adaptive policies that irk the Prefecture’s purists.
The Order of the Geometric Path
A mystical sub-cult dedicated to the mathematical, almost religious pursuit of cosmic harmony and perfect efficiency. They advise on Accord’s most ambitious projects—citadel domains, timekeeping, and the geometric alignment of major installations.
The Prefect
The Accord draws its ideological foundation from The Prefect, a colossal, crystalline construct of pure temporal and spatial logic. Existing within the Rift as a perfectly sequenced loop of energy, The Prefect embodies The Architect of the Immutable Law—an entity that views all emotion and deviation as a flaw in the cosmic algorithm.
Outer Plane of the Celestial Accord (Devotion of Order): The Celestial Citadel
The Celestial Citadel is not a planet or a conventional station, but a vast, self-contained domain located deep within the churning, non-linear chaos of the Rift. It is the heart of the Devotion of Order (White)—a hidden, habitable realm shielded from the galaxy by a perfectly calculated temporal and spatial distortion field. This formidable distortion field, governed by the immutable logic of The Prefect, makes the Citadel virtually un-findable save for the Accord’s sanctioned, sequenced Rift-Gates. The Citadel is the physical manifestation of absolute, geometric law. It is a vast, perfectly symmetrical fortress of crystalline logic, endlessly constructing and deconstructing itself in a silent dance of pure mathematics. The Citadel is a realm of absolute binary existence, offering the ultimate reward to the devout and the most chilling punishment to those in anathema to Order.
Logos: The White Heart of the Inner Sphere
Logos is the Heart World of the Celestial Accord—a monumental testament to the absolute power and flawless design of the Devotion of Order (White). It is a gleaming, orbital ring-city that completely encircles a barren, resource-rich planet. Logos functions as the central administrative, industrial, and strategic capital for the entire Celestial Accord, the logistical nexus from which the Galactic Mandate is enforced across the galaxy.
Accord Boons
Liked
Liked, individuals have fostered friendly relations with the Celestial Accord. These boons are available to individuals with a Liked reputation or higher, provided you spend favor to acquire them.
Accord Recognition (5 Favor): You become a privileged member of the Celestial Accord. Spending Favor does not cause your standing with the Celestial Accord to drop below Liked.
Celestial Rament(4 Favor): You can purchase Uncommon Celestial Accord Equipment from Accord vendors.
Celestial Training (10 Favor): The Accord sees potential in you and train you in their dedications.
Hired Help (6 Favor): You can hire an Initiate (CR-1 to CR3) Accord Member to join you for a mission.
Minor Celestial Blessing (2 Favor): A granted instance of Sanctioned Celestial Blessing. This authorizes a Petitioner to request the casting of a spell of up to 2nd level from an Accord Spellcaster. This boon is a logistical service, representing the Accord's controlled application of rift science and the fundamental belief that all forces, even magic, must be subjected to the Immutable Law of the Galactic Mandate
Modest Celestial Blessing (4 Favor): A granted instance of Sanctioned Celestial Blessing. This authorizes a Petitioner to request the casting of a spell of up to 4th level from an Accord Spellcaster.
Admired
Admired individuals are warmly welcomed by Warrented members of the Celestial Accord; these boons are available to individuals of Admired reputation or stronger, provided you spend the favor to acquire them.
Accord Promotion (20 Favor): You are promoted to Warranted Officer. Spending Favor does not cause your standing with the Celestial Accord to drop below Admired.
Advanced Celestial Blessing (12 Favor): A granted instance of Sanctioned Celestial Blessing. This authorizes a Petitioner to request the casting of a spell of up to 6th level from an Accord Spellcaster.
Binder of Words (10 Favor): You are granted clearance to tamper with Mana; this manifests as your ability to learn Uncommon spells of the Celestial Accord.
Celestial Artifice (4 Favor): You can purchase Rare Celestial Accord Equipment from Accord Provisioners.
Celestial Craft (4 Favor): You can learn to Craft Uncommon Celestial Accord Equipment.
Expert Assistance (5 Favor): You can hire an Expert (CR5 to CR8) Chronologist to join you for a mission.
Fostered Functionary (18 Favor): You are granted an Accord Initiate (CR-1 to CR4) to Apprentice.
Revered
These boons are available to individuals of Revered reputation, provided you spend the favor to acquire them.
Celestial Accession (32 Favor): You are promoted to the title of Lawbearer. Spending Favor does not cause your standing with the Celestial Accord to drop below Revered.
Accord Artifacer (xx Favor): You can learn to Craft Rare Celestial Accord Equipment.
Commissioning Authority (26 Favor): You are permitted to grant a Warrant of Promotion (CR5 to CR8) to an Apprentice.
Masterful Retainer (32 Favor): You can hire a Master (CR9 to CR15) Accord Member to join you for a mission.
Severe Celestial Blessing (36 Favor): A granted instance of Sanctioned Celestial Blessing. This authorizes a Petitioner to request the casting of a spell of up to 8th level from an Accord Spellcaster.
Celestial Enemity
Disliked
Disliked individuals will be barred from Accord Facilities. The Accord does not treat with disliked individuals; They tend to treat disliked entities with malignant neglect. Systems governed by disliked organizations are politically isolated by Accord subsidiaries.
Hated
The Celestial Accord take active measures to eliminate Hated individuals. This is ranges from political maneuvering to military aggression.
Hunted
The Accord commissions bounty hunters and mercenaries to kill or capture Hunted individuals; These encounters can range from Trivial to Extreme Threats.
Adventure Hooks
PCs escort a critical Convoy through Rift-space, only to discover sabotage from within.
PCs must negotiate Accord support during a Rift anomaly humanitarian crisis—will they bow to Accord “order,” or subvert its control?
A high-level Accord defector offers secrets in exchange for extraction, forcing the party to choose between justice and personal gain.
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