Romulan Star Empire (SFC)
The Romulan Star Empire was the most aggressive of the known empires. Their territory included even fewer inhabitable planets than the Gorn, and no other sentient species. The Romulans seemed to honestly believe that they were destined to rule the galaxy and were constantly working towards this end.
The Romulan government included the Emperor, the Praetor, the Senate, the Military Command (which includes the various fleets, training command, base commands and military production), and the Civil Administration (planetary governors, etc.)
The Emperor was a hereditary monarch, although the lines of succession were not always clear. Theoretically a new emperor was selected by the members of the ruling House, but if they could not agree (or if another House claimed to be the rightful ruling House), the Senate made the final decision.
The Praetor was a prime minister who was selected by the Senate. The Emperor could indicate his preference in the selection, and depending on the relative political power of the Senate and Throne, the Emperor could succeed in blocking the selection of an enemy or forcing the appointment of a friend. The Praetor could be a bureaucrat who served as Chief of Staff to an active emperor, or could be the actual power.
The Senate consisted of the ranking member of the various Houses; a "House" was an extended family of Romulan nobles. Various family members served in positions within the Military Command and Civil Administration. A House would attempt to maneuver its members into positions that enhanced the power, prestige and wealth of that House. By procedures that seemed more Machiavellian than parliamentary, Houses could be divided or merged. New Houses could be declared and existing Houses could be declared terminated.
Romulans were a clever, cunning and aggressive race, and their ships were made in the same manner. Their cloaking device allowed them to get close to other ships with little fear of being fired upon. This technique allowed them to use their very powerful plasma torpedoes to maximum effect. Romulan captains had to exercise caution, however, because these large torpedo weapons took a lot of time and energy to charge up. Their optimal battle technique was to begin cloaked, and to close with the enemy, then decloak and do as much damage as possible in the initial attack, then duck away from the return fire. This hit and run technique allowed the best use of the ship's available energy. The amount of energy required to cloak was generally high enough that it slows the cloaked ship to a crawl or slows the recharging of weaponry.[1]
Notes and References
- ↑ Bethke, Erik (Producer). Starfleet Command. Lead Designer: Erik Bethke. Senior Designer: Chris Taylor. Mission Scripting by Lance Watanabe. Campaign Mission Design by Scott Bennie. Game Design by Marc Hertogh and Tom Hughes. SFB Consultant: Tom Hughes. Interplay Inc.. 15 September 1999.
