The Artarian Remnant
The Artarian Republic was once a shining jewel, a vibrant cluster at the edge of the Capital Worlds, strung out like pearls along the most well-connected filaments of the cybel network. When the Maelstrom erupted, its epicenter only a few hundred light years away, the Great Houses pooled their wealth to build fleets of evacuation ships the size of entire states. Through an admirable, unstinting, republic-wide effort, they built space-worthy arcologies and habitats, moving their entire society into space and away from the Maelstrom. Those aboard these vessels began calling themselves the Artarian Remnant, in memorial to their lost home.
Artarian society is very class based, ruled over by a select group of rich and noble families. The limited population of the Remnant Fleets and the unwillingness of the noble families to risk their own lives mean that they prefer to wage war on a smaller scale. As such, in place of a military, the Remnant relies on small teams of elite Champions, clad in technologically advanced Lorican Combat Suits.
A Lorican Combat Suit grants a House Champion the fighting prowess of many soldiers. Armored with plating adapted from the materials used on Remnant ship hulls, these suits are void capable and waterproof, and can be fitted with a wide range of customized gear to suit the Champion’s needs. Trackers, protective field generators, boostpacks and other, more specialized tools enhance the Champion's already impressive fighting prowess to make each battlesuit the equivalent of an entire squad of regular soldiers.
On the table, Remnant Fire Teams are small - usually only around half a dozen models - but they pack a massive punch. Their high FOR means they can soak up a lot of damage, while laying waste to the enemy units around them with their devastating weapons systems. Due to their low model count, however, Fire Teams can struggle with objective based missions, and a wise commander is wary of spreading his forces too thin. An isolated Champion, even in the heaviest suits, can be brought down by concentrated enemy firepower.
The biggest advantage that Remnant battlesuits have over other troops is their Overcharge ability. Champions have the option to boost selectively boost their power feeds, increasing the strength of their weapons or defensive abilities, or increasing their movement. This comes at the expense of heat dispersal - too much heat build up interferes with critical systems and causes malfunctions, represented on the table through additional suppression. To stop the heat build up from getting too catastrophic, a Champion can instead forgo shooting for a turn in order to vent their excess heat. This drops their suppression by two levels, enough to get a critical suit back into the battle.
Find out more about the Artarian Remnant in the Maelstrom's Edge V2 Rulebook, available in hardcover from the webstore here, or as a free PDF in the downloads section here.
