Sons of Hephaestus

Local Hero

Plucking Flowers

The **Sons of Hephaestus** are one of the factions available to choose in TerraGenesis.

*Not everyone believes that we have the right to transform entire planets to suit our needs. Chief among the leaders of the conservation movement are the Sons of Hephaestus, a Planetary Purity splinter group dedicated to colonization methods that do not "contaminate" the host planet. Pioneers in advanced habitations, the Sons have members in nearly every known off-world colony.*

**VERY IMPORTANT:** This faction does **not** believe in terraforming. They instead choose to preserve a planet's natural starting conditions, rather than to achieve habitability.

The Sons of Hephaestus are fundamentally and diametrically opposed to the Daughters of Gaia on the issue of whether planetary environments should be altered. The Gaians have tried to terraform three planets (Mercury, Mars, and Europa), and the Hephaestus launched missions (Damage Control, A Home of Our Own, and In Like a Lion) to undo their terraforming on those worlds.

When the suffocating clouds that had defined Venus for eons first began to drain from its surface, it was as if a cry went out across the solar system. On Earth, in response to the boom of the terraforming industry and the Gaian religious fervor surrounding it, a counter-movement began to form. Soon after, encrypted broadcasts began emanating from mining colonies across the system, calling to all spacefaring patriots whose way of life was being threatened by the irresponsible transformation of worlds they'd begun to call home.

⁣⁣This anti-terraforming crusade was founded by Te Hau Arataki, a seasoned explorer and philosopher whose writings argued that each planet and moon had a unique character that was inalienable and precious, and that humanity had no right to transform a world to suit their own needs. But what Te Hau viewed as a moral framework, her followers have taken as a call to arms. As thousands of homesteaders and workers coalesced into a ragtag alliance, the Planetary Purity movement moved from debate into action. If Te Hau was the mind and heart, Rex Jansson has become the clenched fist of their movement, leading attacks on terraforming facilities (and Gaian settlements) throughout the solar system. While Rex's daughter Pim battles alongside her father, his son Neil seeks a subtler path to victory, one that might avoid plunging the entire solar system into war.

⁣⁣The news eventually dubbed this movement the Sons of Hephaestus, in mocking opposition to their main rivals, and as a pejorative reference to their macho, working class reputation. At first shunning the labels of others, the Hephaestians have begun to embrace the moniker, as a testament to the "brotherhood" of survivalists, craftsmen, warriors and philosophers their movement has brought together. While they remain divided on the use of extreme measures, all members view themselves as crusaders in an underdog struggle, and know that they must act quickly. For to concede ground to the terraformers would be to see that ground tarnished, transformed, and ultimately destroyed. As guardians of the stars, the Sons of Hephaestus vow to preserve every planet's independence, no matter the cost.

## Faction Mechanics

**Goal:** Achieve independence, and retain starting habitability (keep all stats within 5% (4% in version 6.35) of their starting positions; if the stats change a lot, there is no 'game over', you can just change them back and it's fine).

**Eco-Policy:** Conservation: +30% habitations, -30% biomass growth.

**Economy:** Industrial: +15% construction speed, -15% biomass growth.

**Satellite:** Reduced cost for Sky Farm.

**Culture** **Limit:** Cannot choose Transformation Eco-Policy.

## Faction Events

Itty Bitty Living Space

Local Hero

Plucking Flowers

Eco-Terrorist

## Gameplay

Playing the Sons of Hephaestus is especially difficult for worlds like Venus, Damu and Ragnarok (which keeps crushing structures in random events, because can't get rid of the atmosphere) or for oceanic worlds like Pontus (because of the limited building space, which can’t be expanded because one can't get rid of the water).