How does Empire fit into Rimworld lore?

[eugeneb]

Hello, I didn't get a chance to play yet so maybe it's explained in the game but how does Empire fit into RW lore? I thought since humanity never invented FTL, everyone was disconnected and spread all over the Universe. I can't find the source right now, but originally it was in a google doc somewhere, meant for people waking up from cryptosleep. I am a huge fan of RW and RW lore and I am worried how a big organized structure like "Empire" fits in here? Or I am just imagining too much and it's not WH 40k kind of Empire but more like US Federal Government in its earliest days of existence? So organized enough to pose a threat but not organized enough to be big enough threat to actually take control of the RW?

[Goldenpotatoes]

In game faction deacription says they're the remains of once a larger empire that was more or less destroyed by war. Despite that, they were an ultra tech society with a monarchy/feudalism set up, meaning they upheld a title system despite having glitterworld-era tech. The stellararch title implies they reigned over at least an entire star system originally, which is still reasonable in the lore primer.

Effectively they're a bunch of refugee nobles and their peasants clinging onto the last glimmers of their once system-wide empire solely due to the fact their technology outclasses pretty much everyone on the rim.

[eugeneb]

Ah I see, so they are essentially an "Empire" in the name only? Basically a variety of spacers stuck here but they happened to have higher tech (and higher ego)?

[Ser Kitteh]

Tynan says on Reddit you can only meet the Stellarch. The Emperor doesn't appear in-game.

[Hase13]

(Sorry for the ramble, this whole expansion and it's effect on lore is just the bees knees. I get kinda excited. )

A single system isn't much of an empire, even with slowboating. I'd say at least control of the systems around their capitol province for the Empire as of game start, along with trying to reclaim lost territory under Emperors like IRL Justinian. (A perfect excuse for playing Imperial colonies.)

Haven't been able to get the expansion yet, but looking at the names for the Stellarch and his Guards (Latin and Greek), the Emperor's cataphracts, and the Empires grasp on tech even after its losses, I'm getting Eastern Roman vibes, and they lasted a thousand years past the fall of what laymans consider their empire.

Heck, feudalism even makes sense for a far flung space empire which lacks faster than light travel, it allows Imperial control to be maintained even with the years long travel times and such. The local duke or count speaks not with their own voice, but the voice of the Emperor/Empress.

[Darmok]

Even without ftl, people still have the cryptosleep caskets to travel long distances. In the in-game description of the stellarch title, it mentions how due to the vast distances between the star systems, they may only interact with the emperor a handful of times over the course of their lives. Thus, they're given much freedom in how they run their systems. So, yeah, they seem to be (or rather were) an empire of loosely connected star systems that all owed their allegiance to one person, the emperor.

[Hase13]

One can only hope that the Stellarchs of the systems still under Imperial colors, and those under them, prove able administrators until this crisis has run its course and the Imperial Throne can once again bring any rebel provinces to heel.

[Tynan]

I'm getting Eastern Roman vibes

Look at how the Imperial characters are named