Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread

[Murica]

Do Loroli have any equivalent to special forces, or commando units, and what missions would they specialize in?

Already mentioned teidar if I remember correctly

Fireblade is one of them and from what we have seen of her they specialize in frowning

[GeoModder]

How would the Loroi react to an assassination?

I would assume by dying.

Couldn't have come up with a better one.

[Arioch]

Do Loroli have any equivalent to special forces, or commando units, and what missions would they specialize in?

The Teidar and Mizol are the "special forces" for the Loroi, but they tend to be dispersed throughout regular units rather than forming separate units. There are a few special-purpose units that are mostly Teidar or Mizol (like the Emperor's bodyguard, for one), but there aren't a lot of uses for ultra-elite infantry units in what is primarily a fleet combat war. Commando operations are usually not possible when you don't have access to enemy territory.

[fredgiblet]

That brings up a question for me, is there much small-unit action on moon bases or asteroid bases or anything like that during an offensive? Or are such places usually met with a torpedo?

[Arioch]

That brings up a question for me, is there much small-unit action on moon bases or asteroid bases or anything like that during an offensive? Or are such places usually met with a torpedo?

It depends on the context of the action: if it's just a raid, such installations would probably be razed. If the attacking side plans to try to hold the system, then they would probably attempt to capture such bases. Most small-unit action at this stage of the war would be at such bases or other orbital facilities.

[fredgiblet]

I imagine those actions would be ridiculously dangerous since there's always a chance the opposition just blows the whole thing.

[Arioch]

I imagine those actions would be ridiculously dangerous since there's always a chance the opposition just blows the whole thing.

That's always a possibility, and the risk must be weighed against the potential reward. But if there's a chance of catching a target that's not prepared to blow itself up (or not willing to blow itself up), a base of some kind with some civilians in it is probably your best bet.

[Jakelope13]

In the massive fleet-on-fleet engagements, like during the Battle of the Tasinei Ways, would the Loroi engage in ramming enemy vessels if their ship were disarmed, going to explode, lost FTL drives, or were otherwise going to die/be captured anyways?

Have the Loroi ever managed to capture a Umiak warship more-or-less intact? Or has every ship they fought against either successfully jump out of the system, or self-destructed before capture? I mean, with how long the war has lasted, surely at least one example of working Umiak tech has fallen into Loroi hands?

[Arioch]

In the massive fleet-on-fleet engagements, like during the Battle of the Tasinei Ways, would the Loroi engage in ramming enemy vessels if their ship were disarmed, going to explode, lost FTL drives, or were otherwise going to die/be captured anyways?

It's very difficult to ram another ship that is actively trying to avoid you. Space is big, and ships are small. Even very close range between ships is still tens of thousands of kilometers apart.

Have the Loroi ever managed to capture a Umiak warship more-or-less intact?

Yes.

[cacambo43]

Have the Loroi thought about what will happen when (if) the war ends in their favor? They've basically had a generations long war, gearing their entire economy and society toward that endeavor. Then what?

Somewhat relatedly, are we going to see any evidence of contemporary Loroi (or other races) art or culture, beyond battles and interrogation, in the main story? Or how about friendships between crew members?

CJSF

[Arioch]

Have the Loroi thought about what will happen when (if) the war ends in their favor? They've basically had a generations long war, gearing their entire economy and society toward that endeavor. Then what?

"Then what?" depends on under what conditions the war ends. I'm sure the Loroi have thought about it and made contingency plans, but there are lots of possible permutations of how the war could end. I think most elder Loroi assume that things will go back to the way they were before the war (with the Loroi running everything). Those Loroi born since the start of the war have never known a time of peace, and so probably won't know what to expect. Peace is a fairy tale as far as they're concerned.

Somewhat relatedly, are we going to see any evidence of contemporary Loroi (or other races) art or culture, beyond battles and interrogation, in the main story? Or how about friendships between crew members?

Some.

[fredgiblet]

"Then what?" depends on under what conditions the war ends. I'm sure the Loroi have thought about it and made contingency plans, but there are lots of possible permutations of how the war could end. I think most elder Loroi assume that things will go back to the way they were before the war (with the Loroi running everything). Those Loroi born since the start of the war have never known a time of peace, and so probably won't know what to expect. Peace is a fairy tale as far as they're concerned.

Also there's almost certain to be a long winding down period where the war is WON, but not yet OVER, so it's likely that most of the planning for post-war will take place during that period.

[Murica]

What is the percentage of loroi born during the war vs the loroi born before the war?

[GeoModder]

In addition, were the procreation restrictions lifted for both the warrior and civilian castes, or only the warrior castes?

[Karst45]

In the massive fleet-on-fleet engagements, like during the Battle of the Tasinei Ways, would the Loroi engage in ramming enemy vessels if their ship were disarmed, going to explode, lost FTL drives, or were otherwise going to die/be captured anyways?

Kerbal wise; Just trying to dock to an non evasive space station is kind of hard, add speed, evasive maneuver, Point defense fire and you get close to how hard it is in Outsider-verse.


But if you manage to do that with badly damaged ship, am sure song would be sing (sansaied?) about you thought all empire.

[Arioch]

Messing around with Kerbal (or any realistic space simulation) really does give a good feel for just how big the scales are in interactions between spacecraft, even in the relatively confined space around low orbit.

I initially intended to be more realistic in depicting the distances between craft in the comic (essentially never having two ships in the same panel), but in practice I found that to be more trouble than it was worth. It doesn't feel more realistic; it just feels like I'm too lazy to draw more ships.

What is the percentage of loroi born during the war vs the loroi born before the war?

As a rough estimate, 75% of the civilian population was born pre-war, but 75% of the warrior population was born post-war. Partially due to losses, and partially due to relative population increase.

In addition, were the procreation restrictions lifted for both the warrior and civilian castes, or only the warrior castes?

I'd say that in most places they were lifted for the warrior class, and eased for the civilian class.

[junk]

Since you mention a very grim division between their warrior and civilian population, can we expect the loroi high command to actually be making plans on avoiding the massive issues which might arise from this in the long run?

aka we have a lot of young hotheads who have been fighting for the civilians which are all ancient and the civilians might start to get uppity sooner or later.

[Arioch]

Since you mention a very grim division between their warrior and civilian population, can we expect the loroi high command to actually be making plans on avoiding the massive issues which might arise from this in the long run?

aka we have a lot of young hotheads who have been fighting for the civilians which are all ancient and the civilians might start to get uppity sooner or later.

I'm not sure that an age disparity between civilians and warriors would necessarily lead to problems. Most of the warrior leadership were born pre-war, and the rank-and-file warriors who are younger probably don't interact with civilians extensively. As for elder civilians getting uppity: Greywind just recently instituted martial law and demonstrated what happens when civilians forget their place (they find themselves suddenly dead).

[Absalom]

Since you mention a very grim division between their warrior and civilian population, can we expect the loroi high command to actually be making plans on avoiding the massive issues which might arise from this in the long run?

aka we have a lot of young hotheads who have been fighting for the civilians which are all ancient and the civilians might start to get uppity sooner or later.

Loroi civilians at least are the underclass, so with the possible exception of individuals, no one's been fighting for them. Non-Loroi civilians are a possibly different matter, but they will also be perceived slightly differently.

As for "massive issues", mostly it would be in terms of "where do we put this massive population?", which I expect will be answered with a mixture of patience (after all, people die over time) and assigning them to reclaim deserted and devastated (but still reclaimable: you won't bother with irradiated hell-holes in most cases) planets. Keep them tasked on that for a while and you'll both change what they're used to, and slowly build up your own carrying capacity so that you can get back to your previous population densities.


Arioch, a question in the Umiak thread got me to wondering: how large of a region do the archeological studies that the Loroi, Nissek, Historians, and Umiak know of cover? Is it just their zones of influence + a small border (or large border, in areas where they're in contact with another race that will allow them passage)?

[Arioch]

Arioch, a question in the Umiak thread got me to wondering: how large of a region do the archeological studies that the Loroi, Nissek, Historians, and Umiak know of cover? Is it just their zones of influence + a small border (or large border, in areas where they're in contact with another race that will allow them passage)?

Each side has information about their own territory, plus any territory they have been allowed to enter (or someone they had contact with was allowed to enter). The Umiak know a lot more about Loroi territory than vice versa; although Umiak traders were never allowed into the interior Loroi territory, the Loroi didn't restrict their own peoples' internal movement the way the Umiak did. For example, a Barsam trader at Ukko could tell the Umiak a great deal about the internal layout of the Union, but a Tenuki trader at the same port didn't know much about Umiak territory beyond the Tenuki's own borders. The Loroi don't know much about the region of The Periphery (where the Orgus came from), other than that it exists.

The Historians have been exploring the local bubble for a long time, presumably long before the other races were in a position to restrict them, and so presumably know a great deal more about the region (and the adjoining regions) than any other single group does.