HOME | DD

RvBOMally — Starcraft Paradox [OLD]

Published: 2015-03-25 17:37:59 +0000 UTC; Views: 6877; Favourites: 66; Downloads: 130
Redirect to original
Description Here's my take on an expanded StarCraft universe. Things go a little bit differently here: the Terran Confederacy manages to survive the first game in the form of various resistance movements, Kerrigan's victory over the forces aligned against her is less complete, and the UED manages to secure a good chunk of the Koprulu Sector. I don't have a lot of time these days, so the description will be fairly bare bones. If you have any questions/suggestions, post them and I'll address them. Here's a rundown of the factions:

Terran Dominion: The dominant power in the Koprulu Sector. Although badly battered during the Brood War, the retreat of Kerrigan and the UED has allowed the Dominion to capture a good portion of Terran space and rebuild. The most recent event in Dominion history is the assassination of Emperor Arcturus Mengsk by Raynor's Raiders, and his replacement with his son, Valerian. Unbeknownst to just about everybody, Valerian has cooperated with Raynor in an attempt to de-infest the Queen of Blades, and while Valerian is "hunting down" the Raiders, the two are still working together. Valerian has made the crimes of his father known to the Dominion, and promises to rule as a fair and just leader. The Kel-Morian Combine and the Umojan Protectorate are their puppets. Gameplay-wise, essentially the same as the Terrans in Starcraft II. 

Confederate Resistance Forces: Led by Samir Duran, who is secretly a Xel'naga agent trying to break apart the Terrans' capacity to resist the coming Xel'naga invasion. Worked with the UED during the Brood War, but stabbed them in the back shortly afterward. Conceptually similar to the Confederates in RA3 Paradox, the Confederates are a legacy faction: a lot of old units from the original Starcraft, and quite a few cancelled ones from SC2's development, are found in their arsenal. Aging Vultures, Wraiths, Goliaths, Arclite Siege Tanks are found in their arsenal. But they don't play like the old Starcraft Terrans or the current Terrans. They're a guerrilla faction, their infantry weak and cheap but are very fast. They have a lot of stealthy tricks, too, such as minefields and other booby traps. Ironically enough, they're similar to the former Sons of Korhal: a faction relying on terror attacks, encouraging uprisings and with the aid of Duran actually having some success in manipulating all of the players. 

United Earth Directorate: What remains of the UED Expeditionary Force. A military dictatorship under Admiral DuGalle, who survived the Brood War. They are currently waiting on reinforcements from Earth, which could easily overwhelm the sector and could be the salvation of the sector from the Xel'Naga. Gameplay wise, an entirely different faction than the Koprulu Sector terrans. Elite infantry backed up by hard-hitting armor and aircraft. UED tech is more advanced than that of the Terrans, and tech like plasma cannons and energy shields are widespread in their army. This makes them somewhat like the Protoss, but unlike the Protoss the UED excel in ranged warfare. The UED's basic infantry has more firepower and range than its counterparts, but if those zerglings or zealots get in up close, it's game over. They're a bit like Terran Ghosts, only they don't have anything by way of special abilities, can take more hits, and are cheaper. But the fact remains that you'll always be outnumbered. Armor and aircraft are what the UED really excel in. Unlike the siege tank, the UED's main battle tank is actually something you can drive into combat and soak up enemy fire. Their aircraft are also good, and I see them having something akin to SC2's Banshees or the A10 Warthog as their main flyer. As for the energy shields, they're more limited in use than those of the Protoss, being present on only the heavy units and main structures and are weaker than their Protoss counterparts. 

Kerrigan's Zerg: The Queen of Blades has retreated from most of the Koprulu Sector to muck around with Zerg evolution. She's engaged in a war with a third Overmind, which is another puppet of Amon, and Terran forces trying to find a way to deinfest her with a Xel'naga artifact. She doesn't have a lot of systems under her control, but she has the largest single army in the entire sector. Essentially identical to Starcraft II Zerg. 

Overmind's Zerg: What was once the UED Slave Broods, these Zerg are not under the control of Kerrigan or her cerebrates. The third Overmind was created by Amon, and is part of his master plan to destroy any rival Zerg broods with no survivors. To this end, the Overmind is biologically and psionically hardwired to obey Amon's directives, and these broods will serve as the main body of Amon's army. Gameplay-wise, they're a legacy faction for Starcraft I Zerg, and are more of a horde faction than a rushing faction. They also have a lot of different caster units based on the defiler. 

Protoss Protectorate: The largest Protoss faction, a fusion of the High Templar and Dark Templar. Currently ruled by Artanis, and focused on destroying the Zerg under the Overmind. Secretly, they are aware of Amon's plot to take over the sector, and their agents are cooperating with various forces around the sector to stop him. Essentially identical to Starcraft II Protoss. 

Protoss Empire: High Templar religious fanatics that do not want to associate themselves with the Dark Templar. Basically a High Templar theocracy, in constant conflict with other Protoss factions. A very traditionalist faction, they are naturally the legacy faction for Starcraft I's Protoss. They are slow heavy hitters, exemplified by units such as the dragoon or the reaver.  

Tal'darim: Basically Protoss stoner cultists that are under Amon's sway, they will be used by Amon for his war and are also used as a stock for Protoss DNA when breeding hybrids. Hostile to just about everybody, but particularly the Terran Dominion, which is trying to secure terrazine for its Spectre program. Gameplay-wise, focus on spellcasting units and powerful infantry enhanced by terrazine gas. 

Nerazim: Dark Templar who do not want to "submit" to the Khalai, they oppose the other Protoss factions. Probably the most guerrilla faction, focusing on stealth infantry and dirty tricks. 

Xel'Naga: Oh yes, the "fourth faction." Basically Amon's (one of the last Xel'naga) personal army, composed of various Protoss/Zerg hybrids and Xel'Naga automatons. Amon plans on turning the sector (and, eventually, the entire universe) into his own personal empire. They're a turtle faction: slow to get going, but once they do, watch out. Their first units are weak, slow scouts, but once they get to higher tech tiers, tremendously powerful units come out. Their units are slow, so good micro would defeat them. 

Greenskins: Natives of the planet Draenor, a world from beyond the Void that has been transported to the Koprulu sector by using Void technology to throw their entire planet into this dimension. Referred to as "greenskins" because of their green skin, they aren't humanoid at all, looking more like lizards crossed with centipedes. Apart from Void tech, they're on the low-tech side, with rusty, ramshackle weapons that wouldn't look out of place in a post-Soviet boneyard. They're proud and noble warriors, but they are getting into fights with all of the other Koprulu sector factions because of misunderstandings. They're also running away from some scary Void entities, shit that would make Amon run the other way. Gameplay-wise, these greenskins are on the choppy end of the shooty-choppy dichotomy. They're middle of the road with regard to numbers and base stats: they shouldn't be able to field the same masses of bodies as the Zerg, and they should lose one-to-one with the Protoss. In a way, they're a bit like the Terrans, but they're on the other end of choppy vs. shooty. While the Terrans have one melee unit (the firebat), all of the orc's infantry are melee save for one. To facilitate this, the orcs are pretty sturdy. Their units generally take a lot of damage before going down, but they can't actually hurt you until they're in melee range. 
Related content
Comments: 17

AtrociousGuy [2022-11-04 13:32:09 +0000 UTC]

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

ScarletMarine [2018-03-09 11:45:23 +0000 UTC]

I liked the United Earth Directorate and the Terran Confederacy only because of, respectively, Admiral Gerard DuGalle and the Old Families, particularly Antonia Tygore.

Say, is the Old Family heirs - Morgan Calabas, Bess and Rockham Kusinis, and Antonia Tygore - still alive?

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Wisky-08 [2015-03-26 20:14:21 +0000 UTC]

Bravo

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Jeckl [2015-03-25 22:55:06 +0000 UTC]

Who are the other 2 Terran forces?

The Combine and Protectorate 

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RvBOMally In reply to Jeckl [2015-03-26 03:10:01 +0000 UTC]

They're canon Terran civilizations, which here are allies of the Dominion. 

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Warpath20 [2015-03-25 22:29:31 +0000 UTC]

@#4. Now I'm picturing this tiny banter in their respective accents... 

I have to ask though, what are the standards of living in the Terran polities? Also, could the UED's main military forces (not the expeditionary force in Koprulu) stop Amon's Hybrid army, or would that take every single power in the known Galaxy (by which I mean the main UED included)?  

Also, there are two number 2's.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RvBOMally In reply to Warpath20 [2015-03-26 03:10:53 +0000 UTC]

The UED reinforcements should be able to defeat Amon, if they work with local forces. My idea is that Amon thinks he's hot shit, but the Xel'naga's golden age is far behind them and they are not as powerful as they think. 

I am aware of the number two issue. 

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Warpath20 In reply to RvBOMally [2015-03-27 04:39:50 +0000 UTC]

Cool. I've always thought that the UED, though fascist bastards, would end up being a long-term benefit for Koprulu, seeing as they have the firepower to push out the Protoss and Zerg and introduce a lasting peace over the Sector.  

So, guessing from the current state of the Sector, I think you're timeline diverged from OTL during the Brood Wars, with DuGalle trusted Alexei more than Duran/Narud. The rest of the Brood War went on as in OTL, except Alexei's continued survival (DuGalle never had him killed) allowed the UED expedition forces to survive and the Overlord regrew in Aiur.

Also, how is Valerian handling the Dominion? If he's the same person we saw in StarCraft II, he's far more benevolent than his father. And for that matter, what happened to Raynor? 

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RvBOMally In reply to Warpath20 [2015-03-27 04:53:57 +0000 UTC]

This universe was never the same as canon Starcraft, but you're generally correct about the progress of the Brood War.

Valerian is pretty much the same as he is in canon, as is Raynor. In this timeline, Raynor killed Mengsk. 

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Slaytaninc [2015-03-25 19:35:58 +0000 UTC]

I like the UED...

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RvBOMally In reply to Slaytaninc [2015-03-25 20:40:10 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, they're my favorite faction in StarCraft. 

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

PersephoneEosopoulou In reply to RvBOMally [2015-03-26 02:11:50 +0000 UTC]

I remember in Brood War the UED had a very Starship Troopers vibe going on, especially in the ending cutscene for their campaign

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RvBOMally In reply to PersephoneEosopoulou [2015-03-27 03:17:26 +0000 UTC]

Yep. www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHsP-B…

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

meloa789 [2015-03-25 19:07:05 +0000 UTC]

Sweet.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RvBOMally In reply to meloa789 [2015-03-26 03:11:23 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Twiggierjet [2015-03-25 18:11:03 +0000 UTC]

Heh, the points of interest #7 and onward had me laughing.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RvBOMally In reply to Twiggierjet [2015-03-25 20:40:22 +0000 UTC]

I got a little snarky. Well, very snarky.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0