The Fourth Faction: The Great Rhuds

The Fourth Faction: The Great Rhuds

The fourth Faction by order, although the second to be designed, The Great Rhuds are so-called for their often use of this descriptive adjective in nearly every circumstance. And they are in fact, in some ways the central focus upon which the plot base of Chaos Stone is centred around, given that they are the true inhabitants of the moon, Lunar Stone, that is being fought over, residing in their place of darkness below the moon's surface, a place of eternal night they call The Underempire. In fact, so integrally bound are the Rhuds to the Chaos Stones that are found in great abundance within the moon's surface, that they were in fact, by providence of their highly mutational influence, the sole cause of the incidence and occurrence of sentience among this species of rodent-like creatures, with them attaining a bipedal humanoid form, at the end of this forced evolution by the effects of the radioactive emission from the Chaos Stones. Still, they are basic creatures that do not have the intelligence to match the technology of The Civilisation of Humanity, if not for their great affinity with these Chaos Stones that they have realised the full potential in the efficient use of their incalculable power, and for which they tap and access this potent source of energy more directly and raw than the other Factions, to a greater and no less immense effect.

It is for this reason that I rank them the fourth Faction in order. For the irony of having the position of last, given the Faction's unique relevance to the story. No other Faction has such a close-relationship, almost to a point of symbiosis, with this resource, although they are all essentially fighting over them. And it is this one reliance that allows the Rhuds, with their otherwise rather primitive technological state, to stand up to the forces of the other Factions and meet them on an equal footing, with the raw power represented by the Chaos Stones in its own a means of technology, almost a crux on which the backward society of the Rhuds depends on and is built around, a contrast to the intelligence and sophistication of design, of say the Humans' technological researches. And for which this volatile source of power, with its risks afforded, gains its potency for the very reason of its chaotic and unstable nature. In this way, the Chaos Stone Tech that constitutes the basics of how Rhud Technology functions and is based on, serves the means and supplements the advanced weaponry and warfare where the race is lacking, with the inherent risks from the use of this volatile substance something that only this race can safely afford to some degree, given they treat the lives of their lessers as expendable, a direct result of the rate at which the Rhuds can reproduce their numbers in compensation. As such the potential for such loss in the utility of this dangerous resource as and through their weapons, is tolerable and afforded by them, as they present a threat without distinction to both user and target, trading the exchange of risks that comes with their destructive power, just as it consumes the lives of those who use it.

A trend of significance for this race is their low-average attacking strength. There is a reason for this, for the main themes of this Faction is as follows: Speed, Numbers, Cheap, High-Dependency on Chaos Stones used as Technology, Potency Increased in Exchange for the High-Risk Usage of Inherently Dangerous Chaos Stone Weapons. Their units are arguably the cheapest in the game, and they even have a Tech that allows destroyed Rhud units to have a chance to reappear on the table, and carry on the fight for infestation. Just like a race that depends on cheap numbers, with poor fighting strength, they utilise sneaky tactics such as the mobility of a whole network of cleverly dug tunnels to outmanoeuvre the opposing army's positions, undermining their defensive line by appearing behind them. And as with the theme of Speed, they have many means of generating many attacks at once, making up for the lack of attacking strength by sheer volume. Their expendability is thematic as well as functional, as given how cheap their fighting units are, the risky use of Chaos Stone Tech with their chance for backfiring is somewhat mitigated in cost-effectiveness.

The mini-game within the structural mechanics of how The Civilisation of Humanity is played, is in the accomplishment of Special Operations Mission Cards, of their stated objectives in such cards drawn, which advances the potency of your standing forces by allowing their promotion to elite levels, with the results of them gaining even more powerful skills, although there is no statistical increase, which means some level of skill in tactical application is required in utilising your elite troops optimally, without any unnecessary sacrifices that can be avoided by careful strategic planning. For The Great Rhuds, it will probably be about the creation of Burrows and Tunnels around the board, allowing for the swift movement of Rhud troops around, basically severing and crippling all logistical advantage the enemy forces may enjoy, by virtue of being able to appear anywhere that is not an enemy's base, with proper and correct use.

A lot of the Chaos Stone Tech Research for the Rhuds are focussed around generating more attacks for even a single Rhud unit. Some of these units even come with abilities that promote this same trend of generating so many attacks, the opposition is simply overwhelmed by the quantity, of which supports the theme that the feel of this race tends towards, that of quantity over quality. This is even underscored with how the quality in firepower of the Chaos Stone Tech Weapons, is interchanged by the potential for the high loss of Rhud lives just from their usage of these temperamental weapons, with the sheer numbers of Rhuds that can be mustered by their rate of production and naturally cheap costs, in itself enforcing the playstyle of the Rhuds' as swarming with overwhelming numbers of low-grade attacks. It is through such regulations that the Faction of The Great Rhuds present a significant threat, with the theme of a heavy emphasis of the usage of Chaos Stones in weapons that go beyond the designs and capacities of other Factions, utilising them in addition as fuel for further, more powerful effects, with such power offset by the potential risk of the loss of lives in using the technology in the first place, a crude and yet no less potent dynamic.

There is just one determinating characteristic left, to speak of Chaos Tech Weapons, in how they have a mutagenic influence on the statistics of those units attacked by them. That is another thematic reason for their potency, as with the progress of the battle, even those enemy units that survive against these weapons are slowly weakened and lose their combat-efficiency, which once again synergises with the battle philosophy of the cheap but numerous Rhuds, having their great number of attacks enhanced in strength against an enfeebled foe.