Name: Phoenix, avian humanoids whose plumage is usually of a dark crimson hue

Victory type: Diplomatic/Wonder

Gameplay:

• Can establish special missions, an orbital construction, in systems belonging to other major factions, assuming they have been given the access to.
• These missions will spread the teachings of Sol, giving the system it is located in bonus happiness during peace time but a penalty to happiness should the two factions be at war. Once the mission is constructed, it can only be removed should the Phoenix choose to destroy it to save upkeep costs.
• For each active mission within friendly empires' systems the Phoenix enjoy increased productivity and happiness, likewise they enjoy increased military capacities for missions within enemy empires' system.
• 'Obsessed with perfection'-trait, which makes it harder for them to reproduce, increases cost for buildings and ships, yet see better heroes.
• Population bonus: +X Industry

Lore:
The Phoenix had long toiled with the other species on their planet before they eventually were able to purify their sacred home from all lesser races. After the cleansing several decades went by, as the Phoenix - ever slow at reproducing - worked on re-populating their home.

Leadership:

• The Phoenix are ruled by an Empress, who is the consort of Sol, who holds de-jure absolute power, but is regulated by two other factions. The current Empress is Josephine XXI.
• The College, a council of highly respected members of the clergy, is represented by the Lector, whose task it is to tend to all things theological. The current Lector is Lector XXXIV.
• The imperial Inquisition, a military organization, dominates day-to-day life for the average Phoenix. Established at the birth of the Empire, they are currently tasked with protecting what the Phoenix hold dearest: their lives. Due to their fame within Phoenix society they have become the de-facto interpreters of religious laws, and pursue a much more aggressive view than the College. The current High Inquisitor is Berinla III.

END OF SUBMISSION

Frogsquadron wrote:

Anything that isn't clearly gameplay is counted as lore, hence why you're smashing the word count. :)

So any extra banter or filler I wrote should be placed in a separate reply, like this one, rather than in the main post? Sorry for being so square. ^.^'

Frogsquadron wrote:

I realize the advice bit we put in suggesting to model a description from the wiki could be misleading: what we want from the non-gameplay bit is to be an elevator pitch, a short-and-sweet peek into what you believe your faction should be like. The total wordcount involved for it is 200 words, and that's a hard limit (because anything more than that and people will stop reading, and we want everyone to look at as many submissions as they can).

Everything extraneous is going off limits. Either you win on your elevator pitch description and its merits, or you don't. Adding an annex or an addenda like this is being unfair to other contestants, so please remove the "original post" extra bit. 

Sorry for being a stickler to the rules, but somebody's gotta play bad cop, and in here that's always gotta be me.

No, no of course -- rules are rules, and are to be heeded. The extra bit has been removed, but  the original submission-post is now agreeable?