With all the attention Hessians enjoy lately, I would like to take the opportunity and fill in the blanks in common lore and additionally providing some tips for indies and/or non official player groups who want some of the experience for themselves - or failing that, at least for my personal knowledge as I am in the process of writing up a Red Hessian character, but don't want to commit to an official faction.
The Red Hessians are a large revolutionary group in Rheinland who consider the Rheinland government corrupt and in need of overthrowing. They often commit acts of piracy and attacks on Kruger and Daumann. They are also enemies of the Corsairs and are allied with the Bundschuh.
Pilot carrying this unlawful ID is a member of the Red Hessians, who:
- Can attack any ships within their Zone of Influence, except transports.
- Can demand cargo and credits from any ship within their Zone of Influence, and attack them if they do not comply.
- Can treat ships carrying Artifacts as combat targets.
- Cannot ally with any lawfuls except with Interspace, or Rheinland lawfuls against Liberty lawfuls.
- Cannot use any transports with more than 4,300 cargo.
Zone of Influence: Rheinland, Omegas, Omicron Theta, Omicron Gamma, Zurich
Bottom line, your average Hessian Johan is but a pirate with a fancy excuese for his doing. Fair enough, I've been down that road and it gets old after a day. Plus, Rheinland is currently in a political crisis in which I can't figure out how to align Red Hessian politics - are they against the Imperial order? It would make sense they be. But what about the Rheinland Feds? Logic dictates they are just as bad, since the only true government in the mind of a radical left revolutionist ought to be a socialist one (I guess sort of mirroring the German Democratic Republic 1949 to 1990). So, how does one go about figuring out who's on who's side when actually encountering them in space?
I went to the [RHA] faction information for guidance, yet it seems not to be up to date. The Wiki ain't much help either, though I believe theDoctrine of the Volksrevolution is somewhat an Indie guide in a nut shell, although an incomplete one certainly.
Maybe there is a hint in some other ID descriptions? - I thought, so I went over some:
ALG - no mention, but can ally with Red Hessians so they are probably not on the "crash with prejudice" list. However, they do have some dealings with Kruger who are the boogeyman to our front, so... What's the stance really? Do we extort them or ignore them, or support them maybe? IMG and Interspace Commerce - there seem to be some trade agreement, fair enough. However how would you as Hessian Johan go about them when encountering on a pirate cruise?
I won't ask about the obvious ones, since... well, yeah captain obvious. But are there other dealings with other factions that are actually there but somehow not part of the lore yet, but might cause embarrassment to someone who takes his RP seriously, yet blunders out of lack of certain knowledge?
Let's draw a behavioral gradinet for the die hard Indie Hessian. Since I only rejoined disco recently, I'm still doing the catching up part. Plus, other players wo are looking to get into the Hessian experience but aren't sure they're doing it right may benefit from the wisdom of the community as well.
So... I will greatly appreciate your input on the above, as well as any advice you can give on the matter, either from own RP experience or knowledge of the lore per se.
The best way to play a hessian, is to play a pirate with cool toys. With the Hessian's lore they accept pretty much everyone so their elitists from the initial cause have become a dying breed as they slowly forget their ways and become nothing more than mere pirates with chad heritage.
Just don't over-complicate it and you'll have fun, granted Rheinland is alive when you try to do it that is.
Also really super chad mega galaxy brain hessians fly molly/rogue ships.
(07-02-2020, 08:33 PM)Hemlocke Wrote: The best way to play a hessian, is to play a pirate with cool toys. With the Hessian's lore they accept pretty much everyone so their elitists from the initial cause have become a dying breed as they slowly forget their ways and become nothing more than mere pirates with chad heritage.
Just don't over-complicate it and you'll have fun, granted Rheinland is alive when you try to do it that is.
Also really super chad mega galaxy brain hessians fly molly/rogue ships.
Thanks Hemlocke.
What about the Hessian attitude towards Imperialists and Federalists? I get the idea of avoiding skirmishes, but the what is the attitude in light of the ongoing constitutional crisis?
I'm not really a Hessian expert, but I can clear up the ALG part at least: ALG is traditionally (going back to vanilla lore) the "good guy" Rheinland corporation that the criminal factions, especially Bundschuh, don't hate as much as Republican Shipping, Kruger, and Daumann. Building upon that, ALG and Bundschuh have over the years become closer and closer, while the company has simultaneously drifted further away from its parent house.
The former ties to Kruger are long gone, that's a relic from a past age in vanilla and early discovery, when ALG-Kruger were partnering explicitly to counter Daumann's dominant position in Rheinland industry. Since the player Kruger and Daumann factions have completely abandoned their historic rivalry, the ALG-Kruger partnership also ceased to exist.
While ALG and Hessians had an unfriendly relationship before, this changed substantially during the Aland crisis or "Omega war", when they found themselves fighting the Kingdom of Bretonia together. Negotiations were held between Hessians, Bundschuh and ALG, but no lasting agreement was formed before the Imperial coup.
In the context of civil war-era Rheinland, ALG and Bundschuh form the more progressive or radical wing of the unfortunately-named "Federalists", while the BDM and democratic-favoring elements of the Military form the more mainstream part.
The "Federalists", misleading name aside, do not seek reinstatement of the old Federal Republic government, but have formed a counter-state more in line with the progressive elements of Rheinland society - or are attempting to, anyway. ALG sought to have the Hessians fully legitimized by the newly-formed Rheinland United Republic, but all that came out so far was an indefinite ceasefire between the Republican forces and the Hessians. So, there's no great love between the RUR and the Hessians, but they are definitely not enemies the way Hessians and Imperials are - after all, the main corporate backers of the Imperial coup, Daumann and Kruger, are also the Hessians' arch-enemies.
Now, how this all translates into an individual Hessian's actions is up to the player, and especially if they're playing a low-ideology character that's mostly interested in piracy, they will have a lot of leeway. But if you want to know more about the Rheinland situation, poke me on discord.