Periphery Factions[ | ]
The Periphery refers to the region of space surrounding the Inner Sphere. The border between "the Periphery" and the "Inner Sphere" is generally 450 - 550 light years away from Terra. The Periphery is surrounded by the Deep Periphery, though the borders for this region of space are more nebulous. The Periphery is littered with small colonies and a handful of interstellar nations, legitimate or not.
Although some Periphery colonies pre-date the Star League, this region of space remains sparsely populated and fiercely independent. Worlds within the Periphery tend to lack amenities available within the Inner Sphere, including faster-than-light communication. However, the Periphery is not devoid of civilization and culture. Interstellar trade is common, and a handful of strong Periphery realms have emerged over the centuries. Always restless and rebellious, the largest Periphery states were subjugated by the SLDF in the Reunification War. Further, the Amaris Civil War resulted in the destruction of the largest Periphery realm, the Rim Worlds Republic, and a lasting vilification of the Periphery in general. Though largely spared the horrors of the Succession Wars, Lostech development within the Periphery has been relatively stagnant
Arano Restoration[ | ]
The Arano Restoration was a faction of the Aurigan Coalition led by Kamea Arano after an assassination attempt on her life. The Restoration's goal was to free planets under the brutal control of the Aurigan Directorate. With the help of mercenary forces and liberated House units of the Aurigan Coalition, their influence would spread throughout the reach. The Restoration emerged victorious after their final battle on Coromodir, ending with the defeat of the Aurigan Directorate and Kamea taking her rightful place on the throne.
Aurigan Directorate[ | ]
The Aurigan Directorate replaced the Aurigan Coalition when Santiago Espinosa, adviser to the High Lady Kamea Arano, betrayed her and led a coup against her government. In the years since that coup, Director Espinosa has solidified his hold on the systems of the Directorate, binding the Founding Families to his cause with a mixture of promises and threats. His rule is oppressive and militaristic, with individual liberties sacrificed to the cause of security and stability.
Aurigan Pirates[ | ]
The unsettled and abandoned systems of the Rimward Frontier are a haven for pirates both in-system predators and renegade JumpShip captains who transport pirate DropShips from one system to another, taking a cut of any illicit profits.
Aurigan Mercenaries[ | ]
The Rimward Frontier is a hotbed of simmering hostilities, piracy, and low-intensity skirmishes. In this environment, MechWarriors with more guts than sense can carve out a living for themselves as independent mercenaries. The pay is good, but the survival rate is very, very low.
Axumite Providence[ | ]
The Axumite Providence is a primitive state in the Deep Periphery. The nearest system is located 1,000 light years anti-spinward of Terra, located at the trailing edge of Orion's Bow. Their closest 'neighbors' are the Union of Samoyedic Colonies and the Hanseatic League, although the Axumite Providence is remote from both and has no contact with other civilizations.
Chainelane Isles[ | ]
The Chainelane Isles is a region in the deep periphery spanning some 100 lightyears and situated 100 lightyears coreward of the Greater Valkyrate. Described as a "miniature Inner Sphere", the Isles are not a unified realm but instead are home to numerous small duchies or principalities. Like the successor states of the Inner Sphere, these neighboring principalities constantly vie for supremacy and have been fighting Succession War-style combat for a long time.
Though BattleMech technology is present within the Isles, none of the Chainelane Isle states are able to manufacture their own BattleMech forces. 'Mechs are rare and prized assets much like in the lostech-ridden Succession Wars era of the Inner Sphere. Each nation within the Isles also deals with traders upon chance encounters, and attempts to acquire modern technology. Because the states of the Chainelane Isles rarely acquire the technology required to significantly turn the tide of war, wars within the Isles are fought almost exclusively by infantry and conventional armor. Though warfare within the Isles may be grinding upon the combatant armies, the collateral damage caused by this warfare is minimal at most, and few borders change within the Isles.
During the Clan Invasion of the Inner Sphere, the Chainelain Isles stood in the path of the Clan juggernaut. However, only the Duchy of Vendôme's military effectively disappeared "overnight" within the Isles. This led to speculations by ComStar that the Clans may have tested their mettle on an "Inner Sphere" opponent before reaching the Inner Sphere's periphery border.
In 3055, conflicting mercantile interests between Clan Diamond Shark and the Hanseatic League resulted in skirmishes near Chainelane space. Though the Diamond Sharks defeated the Hanseatic CPF, trade has not diminished between the Hansa and the Isles
Circinus Federation[ | ]
The Circinus Federation is a minor Periphery power located anti-spinward of the Lyran Commonwealth/Free Worlds League border, ~450 light years anti-spinward of Terra, in a region of space known as "The March Worlds"
Elysian Fields[ | ]
An oddity even among the strange worlds of the Periphery, Elysian Fields was a private hold of the Inheritor philosophic movement. De facto a protectorate of the Oberon Confederation, it was later overun by the Clans.
Free Rasalhague Republic[ | ]
The Free Rasalhague Republic was a nation born in the wake of the Fourth Succession War, which enjoyed less than two decades of independence before being almost totally overrun by the invasion of the Clans.
Greater Valkyrate[ | ]
The union of two breakaway factions from the Oberon Confederation, namely Butte Hold and Morgraine's Valkyrate in 3028 created the Greater Valkyrate, a Pirate Kingdom that kept the Oberon Confederation in check as their strong antagonist. It was notable for emphasizing the dominance of women over men.
The Greater Valkyrate, Oberon Confederation and others were summarily overrun and vanquished during the Clan Invasion in 3049
Hanseatic League[ | ]
The Hanseatic League is a mercantile nation located in the Deep Periphery, abutting the anti-spinward edge of the Coreward Sector, as defined by Comstar'sExplorer Corps. "League territory" extends approximately 300 light years in diameter. With the exception of the Clans, the League is the preeminent commercial and military power within the deep periphery.
Illyrian Palatinate[ | ]
The Illyrian Palatinate was a minor Periphery power, located near the Circinus Federation and the late Lothian League. A collection of four worlds it was later, like the Lothian League, annexed by the expanding Marian Hegemony which managed to occupy its capital world, Illyria.
JàrnFòlk[ | ]
The JàrnFòlk (literally 'Iron People') are a society of deep Periphery denizens residing approximately 250 light years spinward of Columbus. The JàrnFòlk inhabit four worlds—Hamar, Trondheim (distinct from Trondheim located within the Inner Sphere), Ålborg and Hofn. The JàrnFòlk left the Inner Sphere as refugees and arrived in the Deep Periphery as a result of the Draconis Combine's harsh treatment of Rasalhagian worlds during the 2500s.
Lothian League[ | ]
The Lothian League was a small Periphery realm composed by six ice-and-snow planets located beyond the outer reaches of the Free Worlds League near the Marian Hegemony
Magistracy of Canopus[ | ]
The Magistracy of Canopus is a large Periphery state, located rimward and anti-spinward of Terra, just beyond the Free Worlds League. Founded explicitly as a matriarchy, the Magistracy is ruled by a Magestrix, a position open only to women, and usually held by a member of the founding Centrella family. Independent since the fall of the Star League, the Magistracy has remained mostly untouched by the Succession Wars, except by the overall collapse of trade and travel. The Magistracy is famed for its social and cultural freedom, with no consensual behavior forbidden by law or custom. The current ruler of the Magistracy is the Magestrix Kyalla Centrella, who harbors a deep grudge against the Inner Sphere, and the Free Worlds League in particular.
Marian Hegemony[ | ]
New Delphi Compact[ | ]
Nueva Castile[ | ]
Nueva Castile is a small proto-state residing within the Deep Periphery. Though its territory has fluctuated over time, Castile possesses a region of space roughly seventy-five light years in diameter, situated 150 light years coreward from the Hanseatic League and 200 light years anti-spinward from the Clan Jade Falcon colony St. Jean. More than 200 years of continuous warfare and shared history has inextricably bound them to the Umayyad Caliphate, even resulting in the intermingling of some bloodlines. Though Castilian and Umayyad society has evolved together, there are still many differences.
Oberon Confederation[ | ]
The Oberon Confederation is a Periphery nation, located on the coreward rim of the Lyran Commonwealth near the Draconis Combine and later Free Rasalhague Republic border and thus squarely in the invasion corridor of the initial Clan Invasion. As a periphery realm, it sits on the very fringe of the Inner Sphere's Hyperpulse Generator network. The only known Confederation world to feature a functional HPG was the fairly well industrialized capital world of Oberon VI, which held a class B ComStar station at least until 3045.
Alternating between obscure periphery ministate and outright pirate kingdom at various points in time, the Oberon Confederation never technically ceased to exist as a political entity, except arguably when it was under Clan occupation for a period of thirty-seven years only to reform immediately after the Clans abandoned the area again.
Outworlds Alliance[ | ]
The Outworlds Alliance is a major Periphery power located spinward of Terra and the Inner Sphere, bordering both the Draconis Combine and the Federated Suns. This region of space has also been called the "Outer Sphere".
At some point around 3025, the crest of the Outworlds Alliance apparently changed. The 1987 boardgame The Succession Wars, set in alternatively a 2786 or a 3025 timeframe, was the first BattleTech-themed product to present a crest for the Outworlds Alliance but this was apparently overlooked, and in any case replaced with the starburst crest, for subsequent publications.
St. Ives Compact[ | ]
The St. Ives Compact was a minor Inner Sphere nation that existed from 3029 to 3063.
Taurian Concordat[ | ]
The Taurian Concordat is one of the largest Periphery states, located rimward of Terra, beyond the Federated Suns. Founded and ruled by House Calderon, the Concordat prides itself on its independence, freedom, and stability. The Concordat is wealthy, well educated, and well armed for a Periphery state. The Taurians defend their independence fiercely against Inner Sphere aggression, particularly by the Federated Suns; they perceive House Davion's reputation as a protector of liberties as unwarranted and even hypocritical, and they have a long history of conflict with the much larger Successor State. The current ruler of the Concordat is Protector Thomas Calderon.
Tortuga Dominions[ | ]
The Tortuga Dominions is a Bandit Kingdom in the Periphery from which occasional raids are launched against the Federated Suns and the Taurian Concordat in search of plunder.