The Gatekeeper Imperium

The Gatekeeper Imperium is the oldest known nation in the Sanctinus Galaxy. It is also the most technologically advanced nation in the galaxy, leading to widespread skepticism and paranoia about the empire and its motives. The capital world is Portcullis Prime. It is a very tightly controlled nation to a point of tyranny. Just as well, it is the most religiously fanatic of the nations of the galaxy. While Triune and Abadar are the publicly practiced faiths, the upper class has been known to revere and worship Asmodeus since the coup that led to the formation of the Fairfax Kingdom.

## History

The Gatekeeper Imperium is said to have been alive for at least 10,000 years. The earliest possible records suggest the empire had succeeded in dominating the entire planet of Portcullis Prime. There is little to no evidence of any other cultures before this point in history across the galaxy.

After this world domination had been accomplished, all efforts had been shifted to developing interstellar travel. The earliest methods were known to be called Janus Gates. Powerful spellcasters the age had cast spells to travel to other nearby planets and began construction of the Janus Gates. After nearly a century of exploring and building, the Janus Gates had an established network across the Janus System, for which the gates had been named after. In celebration, the first son born after their construction was named Janus Geletrax of the Geletrax Dysnasty. To keep the lower classes from gaining easy access and causing trouble for the kingdom, the empire took the name “The Gatekeeper Imperium” for they believed only the chosen of the divine were given any right to use them to prevent chaos from destroying the great empire.

The latest turning point of any note in the empire’s history begins roughly 5,000 years ago when a rebel group from the city of Fairfax on Portcullis Prime rose to power in response to unbearable tyranny and began a revolutionary war starting with a coup. The coup succeeded and after roughly a decade of bloody war, the rebels managed to steal one of the three Keeper Fleets and fled to the unexplored end of the galaxy.

The Gatekeeper Imperium believed the rebels dead until about a century later when their first exploration fleet stumbled upon the Fairfax Kingdom colony world of Milestone and were met with hostility from the liberated people. When refusing to turn back and attemptig to destroy the colony world, the Fairfax Royal Navy jumped into the system and all but obliterated the Imperium Exploration Fleet.

A war immediately broke out between the two great nations with the Fairfax Kingdom showing a vastly stronger military force than the Gatekeeper Imperium had been prepared for. Eventually the Returning War came to a stalemate when both kingdoms were unable to outmatch each other and a reluctant treaty was put in place before too many lives were lost.

After another millennia, the Imperium experienced a cultural shift. Many slave races of the Imperium grew restless and defiant as a result of Fairfax Kingdom propaganda sneaking into the empire via spies and defectors. While the slave races, including kasatha, lashunta and ysoki, began to revolt, the Imperium noted some sects of the Fairfax Kingdom were growing tired of policies in the Fairfax Kingdom and were also splitting. In attempting to befriend these groups (who later became the Tunguska Conglomerate) the Imperium only created a divide between the groups and the two great nations. After failing to make friends, the revolting people managed a mass exodus and liberated a part of the galaxy from the Imperium and became the Blue Nova Republic, named after a blue dwarf that went supernova in recent history that the people established their homeworld near.

The Imperium reeled from these losses but managed a hold on a small portion of their slave population. A campaign soon after began to capture people from across the galaxy to reestablish the slave population across their sector.

Today, the Gatekeeper Imperium remains the most technologically advanced nation due to their long existence and their use of slave labor and highly refined education of which only the ruling class could afford. They remain at odds with the Fairfax Kingdom and continue to hunt down people of the Blue Nova Republic. Though they have had trouble monitoring the rather obscure Tunguska Conglomerate. Whispers among other nations are abound about the Imperium possibly taking action against the Conglomerate in the hopes of discovering the technology they use to remain hidden and obscure or perhaps just eliminating the isolationist nation entirely.

## Religion & Society

The religious faiths of the Gatekeeper Imperium are a little odd but do reflect the social divides of the upper classes. The dominant religion is of Asmodeus in keeping with the tyrannical nature of the empire. All people from the emperor himself to the lowest slave are to respect Asmodeus. Speaking in defiance typically results in immediate execution if caught. But worship of the Infernal Prince is not so much required as expected.

### **The Imperial Family & The Dukes**

The ruling class, usually referred to as the Dukes, and the Imperial Family are a mostly Asmodeus-worshipping population of several million Across the Longinus Sector.

### **The Barons**

The class just below are the Barons, the more practical side of the Gatekeeper Imperium and tend to be the facade of the empire. It is because of the Barons, whos population almost entirely worships Triune and Abadar, that the Gatekeeper Imperium is the leader in technological development in the Sanctinus Galaxy. They are also the bulk of the economic strength of the Gatekeeper Imperium.

### **The Blades**

Below the Barons are the Blades, the bulk of the military might of the Gatekeeper Imperium. Also a predominantly Asmodean class, they are known to be very strong and vicious in battle, often taking no prisoners unless given direct order from superiors. While a very small minority have been caught worshipping the Devourer to some extent, any talk or hint of the Devourer is considered treason and penalized by death.

### **The Nobles**

If anything could amount to a "lower class" in the Gatekeeper Imperium, it would be the nobles, the only class of people just above the slaves and beneath everyone else. They make up the majority of the ruling population but live more like peasants. However, even these peasants live comfortably in the near-utopian soceity of the Gatekeeper Imperium, often running shops, restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and more. Some even deal in slave trading. The slave markets are the most often (almost exclusive, even) means of Nobles interacting with any of the upper classes. Such times are just about the only chances one has of potentially becoming an upper class outside of joining the Blades, even though many Nobles join the Blades anyway, becoming dual-class citizens and getting the benefits of both if they can keep up with the military life.

### **The Slaves**

The lowest class are the slaves, whose population almost matches the rest of the Gatekeeper Imperium, but are considered property rather than citizens. Almost all of the labor in the Imperium is placed upon the slave population who show their respect and gratitude to Asmodeus but have been known to look to good-aligned deities for salvation. Such slaves are often captured and tortured into forsaking such faiths before being executed. Others simply disappear overnight never to be heard from again. There is no specific religion that the majority of slaves practice, however.

## Military

The military of the Gatekeeper Imperium is mostly comprised of the Blades cast, with other higher class individuals in higher ranks among the formal military. They often carry themselves with incredible formality and speak without the use of compound words or phrases. This means that most often, you'd hear a soldier saying "You are to be apprehended for questioning by the Commanding Officer" rather than "You're wanted by the CO for questioning" as is typical of other formal militaries.

### **Imperium Tamen Coercitor - The Imperial Enforcers**

While other nations might have their special forces or black ops teams shrouded in some secrecy, the only secrecy surrounding the *Imperium Tamen Coercitor* - The formal name for the Imperial Enforcers - is around the equipment they use. Their power armor is forged from only the most battle-hardened pieces of metal and other materials to make a very strong and very reliable (and intimidating) power armor.

In the Gatekeeper Imperium, the Imperium Tamen Coercitors - often just called "His Enforcers" by the rest of the formal military of the Imperium - is a league of elite, hand-picked warriors. The leaders are personally chosen and appointed by the Emperor himself because of the bravery, loyalty, and valor these individuals have shown on the battlefields and long service history of their military careers. Each of these leaders, in turn, hand selects the warriors to fight with them. To be chosen by these leaders is considered one of the highest honors for warriors in the Imperium.

Each soldier is granted their own personal suit of power armor. But only after a decade of service to the Enforcers. Each new recruit, however, is put through extensive genetic modification to become stronger, tougher and more agile. Thus, the Enforcers are known to be a deadly force individually. Given that each is immortal, it is said that the only way they die is in self-sacrifice in the direst of moments. And such a moment would be the pinnacle of honor and dedication to the Imperium.

#### *Ranks*

**Enforcer Marines** are the most common tank in the branch

**Enforcer Terminatus** are the next ranks up with deadlier weapons and convictions.

**Enforcer Iudex/Iudeces** are the second highest rank and the second deadliest.

**Enforcer Praeceptorium** are the Emperor's hand-picked leaders, each leading their own branch known as Chapters. They are second only to the High General of the Imperium and each embodies a specific aspect of the Emperor himself (DC 30 Culture check to learn of any commander and their aspect)

## Race Populations

The population of the ruling classes is almost exclusively human, though some examples of half-bloods becoming respected members of the ruling classes are known to exist and have existed before. Thus, half-orcs, half elves, tieflings and even aasimars (only one Noble family is known to be aasimar and generally accepted since they worship Asmodeus) can be seen in the ruling classes, though even they often meet discrimination in the human-centric society.

The slave population, however, is far more diverse. Nearly every walking race with hands or prehensile appendages have been made to serve, toil and suffer for the Gatekeeper Imperium. Most often seen are elves, orcs, dwarves, kasatha, shirren, lashunta, kish, gnomes, halflings, maraquoi, tieflings and aasimars. Even a fair number of humans are part of the slave population, most often being Nobles who've been punished for treason or breaking some other law. Virtually all humanoids have been seen serving the Imperium before and still do today, though the slave population continues to attempt revolts and fighting for freedom simply to meet their ends at the blades of the Blades (pardon the pun).

## Languages

These are the languages most often spoken in the Gatekeeper Imperium

* Common
* Infernal
* Aklo
* Multiple racial languages of non-human slave races (typically kasatha, lashunta and ysoki)