Foundation for the Enigmatic

**Dev. Status** | Conceptual

The Foundation for the Custody, Defence, and Study of the Enigmatic and Normalcy, generally abbreviated to the CDS Foundation or the Foundation for the Enigmatic and Normalcy (FEN) or just the Foundation, is a largely apolitical organisation native to the Spartakus timeline branches that arose from the ashes of the fall of the Order of the Talon, or Order of the Hawk if you want to be technical, and the concerns of a group of time travellers known as the "Iterators" who founded the organisation in Constantinople. Their concerns were that as the world was mostly subsumed into major power blocs, the efforts to keep tabs on the unusual would be divided between differing power interests that would worry more about the possibility of empowering rivals than allowing information's spread.

The growing Communist bloc that had spread from Germany across much of the western world, was under sanction by the Russian led Holy League and the British led Democratic Sphere; both of whom were opposed to each other, and with the Order of the Talon eliminated, one of the major means of regulating the enigmatic had been wiped out. But the Foundation, with its time travel augmented technnological base and agents could strike the balance, and ensure that humanity would be guaranteed to continue in some form. Especially as their explorations of differing branch timelines convinced them that there were a lot of ways for the human species to die out or to become something monstrous to the point where extinction would be a mercy.

The iterators have been through so many iterations of time and history that they no longer are certain of their original timelines, and they don't really care to maintain a "coherent" history, and in fact oppose some organisations that consider themselves regulators of the timeline out of a belief that this nearly always causes more harm than good. Rather, they are concerned that humanity survives, and that it maintains its soul, seeking to avert dark outcomes where possible. It is for this that they oppose the Dominus Dei, whom they consider to be survival at far too high a price, as fervently as they see to oppose more conventionally genocidal threats.

However, they also are not interested in genocide themselves, and rather fervently hope for some form of regulated coexistence between humanity and the enigmatic, even if they are quite insistent on this awareness happening on largely their terms. Making use of technology iterated from continual efforts to escape from one doom or the other, thaumaturgical practices, psionics, and anomalies that they have found to be controllable, their Rapid Strike Forces (RSFs) are highly capable at special forces operations and have a rather surprising amount of firepower for a secret organisation.

Unlike the Talon, they do try to keep governments in the loop to some degree, finding it more convenient to operate when they aren't assumed hostile by the states they hope to operate in. They don't share all their secrets as a matter of course however, being very much convinced that they are the only people who are fully able to deal with the situations they do. This has resulted in strained relations with the refounded Order of the Talon inserted from the "Anterior Iteration timelines" they designate as "Red, Blue, and Purple" as the two routinely keep secrets from each other and have often unpleasant disagreements about the degree to which they should interfere in more standard politics.

The Foundation, unlike the Order, is of the opinion that unless the human species as a whole is threatened with either extinction or becoming something so terrible its extinction would be a net benefit, that standard politics are not their business. Though they do make exceptions when politics starts to interfere with their work. The Order by contrast, is convinced that there is no such thing as a truly apolitical organisation and that the problems of the odd are downriver from the problems of the mundane, and that to not exercise the power to push things in the right direction is immoral. Both however, agree that the Black Hand and the Brotherhood behind it are immensely dangerous.

## Gameplay

### Build Mechanic

The Foundation Deployment Zone is the only structure, outside of their superweapons, the Foundation has. From the Deployment Zone every unit, except their commandoes and epic, is produced, consisting of light infantry, heavy infantry, amphibious vehicles/navy, and aircraft. And the four tabs for the barracks, factory, airfield, and naval yard instead contain upgrades for their units and defences. Their Superweapons, and whatt little other structures they have, are built via protocol.

### Ability

All Foundation units have no secondary, instead using the slot to switch between three other loadouts that let them handle most types of units, essentially having four units built into one. But the switch between modes takes time, during which they're extremely vulnerable to getting killed, though the time it takes to switch is shortened as they rank up meaning that their infantry are less vulnerable when switching (the same can't be said for their vehicle/aircraft).

### Veterency

In comparison to other forces, all of the Foundation vehicles and aircraft consist of robots. While this makes their vehicle and aircraft cheaper it also means that they can't gain veterency. To compensate their infantry has double the rankings compared to normal infantry and, like the Talons, gains an upgrade for each rank. And any kills a vehicle/aircraft made will transfer a quarter of that units experience to all Foundation infantry.

### Defences

Instead of planting down turrets and automated defences the Foundation instead calls down "D(isposable)-Class" personnel, containing a mix of death row inmates, or people unsavoury enough that they would be executed otherwise, and manipulated soldiers who act as a screening force, cannon fodder, and a coverup for their covert operations. These D-Classes act like normal units until their secondary is activated where they'll deploy into a defense structure, gaining the appropriate armouring, and possible a secondary effect, and if needed can pack up and move forward.

### Dogs Of War

Another unique force the Foundation has are the “Cids”, the various anomalies and creatures the Foundation has captured over the years, which they can send out to cause chaos in the enemy lines once the Cryptid Vault is built.

Once the Cryptid Vault is built the commander can call down these Cids anywhere on the map, which are brought in by various means (teleport, drop pod, etc). Note that all Cids have a time limit that will have them terminated or sent back when expired, and some Cids are completely uncontrollable.

## Units & Buildings

### D-Class

Generally, D-Class units are rubbish units/defenses but they are extremely cheap (roughly costing the same as the Protectorate), quick to train, distracting, and can deploy into serviceable defenses.