Faction Armour: Some Design Notes (short story)

Faction Armour: Some Design Notes was a Faction Paradox short story released exclusively on the Faction Paradox website under the banner of The Spiral Politic Database on 14 September 2002. It was written by Lawrence Miles and provided a very brief discussion of the ceremonial armour worn by Faction Paradox members.

Publisher's summary
Though the armour of Faction Paradox is variable in form - inevitable, given that it can't exactly be mass-produced - all the suits have key features in common, with significant variations being found between cliques (or cabals) rather than between individuals: most personal customisations of the armour are purely aesthetic. The suit seen here may not exactly be "average", but it contains most of the usual fixtures.

Note also that different models of armour are worn under different conditions. For diplomatic (and purely ritual) occasions Faction agents wear no real armour apart from their ceremonial headpieces, while in open warfare they tend to favour lighter, more flexible, less elaborate protection. The suit seen here might be described as the armour of "standard bearers", worn on the battlefield - if the War can be said to have any real battlefields - but designed to make a specific impression. Typically the Cousin-protégés would wear this model of armour, allowing them to act as go-betweens for the Mothers and Fathers while under fire.

As a result, this suit can best be described as part armour and part carnival construction, and its heavy use of skull-and-spines imagery may be more than a little tongue-in-cheek.

Plot

 * 1) Headpiece
 * 2) Faceplate
 * 3) Handling Gloves
 * 4) Ribcage
 * 5) Enhancements
 * 6) Quills
 * 7) Armpieces
 * 8) Spurs

Continuity
to be added