Overview

The Burgunn Empire is probably the largest and most established empire in the entire galaxy. The Burgunn hold almost half of the “civilized” planets, although they fall far short of being the highest population percentage. On natively Burgunn worlds, the number of Burgunn is almost 90% but on “subjugated” worlds the number is more like 5%. Even on predominately alien worlds Burgunn almost always are the ones who run the planet, although most of the minor functionaries, governors and other administrative personnel are non-Burgunn. Out of the entire Empire, less than 1% of the ruling elite is not of Burgunn descent, although on individual planets this sometimes differs, particularly small planets and those on the fringes.

Probably the main reason that Burgunn manage to hold so much area in space is because they’re extremely warlike and technically gifted. Unlike Orks, who have an overly simplistic view and only respect physical strength, Burgunn more highly value honor and tenacity in warfare. Burgunn engineers are common, and most of them focus on ways to make bigger, better, stronger, and more powerful weapons. Burgunn warriors and soldiers are found at the forefront of every major skirmish in the empire, and while mystics and engineers of other species are generally less prone to engage in combat, Burgunn engineers take as much pride in warfare as their more combat capable brethren, making up for their (slightly) inferior combat skills with better technology. Burgunn mystics generally use powers that either enhance their abilities (like ego boost) or powers that do direct damages to opponents.

Burgunn belong to houses, each of which can trace their bloodlines back to Durgan, the first Emperor of the Burgunn race. This trace is somewhat confusing for many people, since Durgan is also what the Burgunn renamed their homeworld to; the original name has long since been lost.

Each Burgunn house vies for power and authority with the other houses, which puts most Burgunn in direct competition with each other. This doesn’t lead many of them to directly fight unless other circumstances are involved, but few Burgunn will let another have the honor of kills and will make every effort to finish off more opponents than the people they travel with. It is very common for Burgunn to keep a kill count, which varies from Burgunn to Burgunn. Some take body parts from fallen foes, such as teeth, fingers or ears, some etch their weapons after a kill, and some adorn themselves with some form of marker such as beads. More emphasis is placed on kills which had a great deal of difficulty, so an Ork Warlord would gather it’s killer much more respect than a rabid wolf or some other similar creature. For this reason, houses seldom intermarry, although it does sometimes happen. If the head of a burgunn household marries into a significantly larger house, it is not uncommon for their house to be incorporated into their spouses’ house to form an even larger house.

While the Burgunn are considered a civilized race and they are significantly better educated than other species, many disputes are still settled using a trial by combat method in civil trials or where honor is involved, although criminal trials are settled by conventional methods such as evidence and “proper” trial procedures. Duels are extremely common between Burgunn, who take matters of honor very seriously. Many people have put themselves on the outs with Burgunn warriors by insulting their honor or their combat prowess.

Burgunn are considered adults after they have contributed to the family’s honor in some way. This is generally by combat, although an engineer who creates a new weapon, a healer who saves the life of a higher member of a greater House, or other similar tasks also can make the other Burgunn consider them an “adult”. Burgunn take pride in the number of battle scars they have accumulated, and asking a Burgunn about his scars will usually result in hearing an epic tale about how the scar was earned. No Burgunn would refuse the opportunity to talk about his scars, and they would be appalled at the concept of shortening the tale. A particularly scarred individual can talk for days about how his scars were earned, and certain heroic epics have been known to span the course of weeks.

In addition to telling stories about their numerous scars, Burgunn also tell epic stories of their ancestors or other members of their House. In some situations they’ll also tell epics about members of other houses, although this is generally uncommon unless the two houses are allies.

History

The Burgunn were initially a peaceful people. They grew rapidly around their world, developing over a thousand states. Each of these areas had their own government and culture, and most were reasonably self-sufficient. Because of this, travel was uncommon between states, so each of them became used to operating independently of each other.

The closest thing to a central government was known as the Durgan the Builder, who was something between a king and chief engineer. He invented a great machine that increased the longevity of the Burgunn people by regulating the environment of their home world and monitoring factors such as pollution and air quality. The Builder helped direct the Burgunn states, and led them well for over five hundred years.

The first contact with the Wanderers was devastating to the Burgunn. When the first Pathway opened up on the world, named Durgan now after the Builder himself, the magical energy somehow interfered with the delicate mechanical balance of the machine. The resulting reaction disrupted the entire world, plunging it from paradise to hostile world literally overnight. Some of the Rinn Gatekeepers that came through the Pathway shortly after the Wanderers built it tried to help the Burgunn, but it was no use. With their world turned into a chaotic wasteland, the Burgunn lashed out. The few Rinn on the planet were swiftly killed, and the rest of the planet plunged into anarchy.

Without leadership, the Burgunn quickly engaged in a civil war to decide the fate of the planet, with each of the states attempting to wrest control of the government. Millions of Burgunn were killed in a matter of months, succumbing both to the warfare and the planet’s massive upheavals. Most of the states were reduced from a few thousand inhabitants to a few hundred, forcing them to trade for resources they couldn’t produce themselves for their lack of manpower. The states all fought in the name of their leaders’ families, but none came out with a clear lead. In the end, it came down to geography. During the civil wars, some of the Burgunn realized the value of the Pathway for trade and warfare. This was now seated in the territory of Rintil, run by House Gurdin. Gurdin became the de-facto leader of the Burgunn people due to his proximity to the Pathway, although this was to be short-lived. Gurdin was a poor leader, and while he had a large following, most of the other houses swore to remove him from office. They left the planet through the Pathway in Rintil and the ones that later sprung up on the planet, and scattered across hundreds of other worlds. From there they solidified their holdings and began their fight to retake Durgan. Gurdin’s house continued to hold off the besiegers for seven hundred years, but in the process the Burgunn had learned the arts of war. Gurdin’s descendants were quickly scattered, and the other houses finally consumed the house within a few decades. By the end, the Burgunn Empire held over a thousand developed worlds, several hundred rapidly developing worlds, and numerous outposts and colonies. They also had developed vast technological resources, most of these in weapons and transportation methods.

The planet Durgan itself as the capitol became owned by the Empire itself in the wake of the civil war, and now is the centerpiece of the entire Empire. Every year the higher houses send their best scientists, engineers and warriors to Durgan to learn advanced techniques or to be recognized for their accomplishments. The most honorable and skilled of the Burgunn are asked to serve on the Imperial Council, which advises the Emperor on all aspects of the Empire’s management. The Emperor is chosen by the Council from amongst its members, although no one is quite certain of exactly how the choosing takes place. Only the Council members are ever told of this process, but rumors lead to it being a barbaric war ritual. What is known is that after an Emperor is chosen, not all of the Council members are still alive afterwards.

The Rinn, initially assaulted by the Burgunn for their unintentional attack on them, so they refused to teach the Burgunn what they knew of the mystic arts. This caused the Burgunn to dislike the Rinn, and a rivalry has existed ever since. Many Burgunn engineers have tried to develop better technologies for interplanetary travel, but so far even the best prospects haven’t been able to transport things over any real amount of distance.

Currently the Burgunn maintain a vast Empire, with several thousand worlds, and continue to aggressively expand. Most Burgunn see expansion as a way to gain honor for their House, so conquering new worlds is a priority for smaller houses. Older and larger houses tend not to pursue it as much, although they still take over the occasional planet to maintain their elite status. The Rinn and Burgunn are still at odds, although there is no open conflict between the two people.

Society And Culture:

The most important factor to a Burgunn is his personal honor. By bringing more honor to themselves, they also bring more honor to their House.

Very seldom will a Burgunn run from a fight, and almost never will a Burgunn warrior flee from combat. This is not to say that a Burgunn will foolishly endanger themselves or hold impossible ground, as most Burgunn warriors fight with guns rather than hand weapons. Burgunn tactics usually revolve around tactical fighting with terrain, so it is common for a Burgunn unit to fall back in combat in order to gain a tactical advantage in the terrain. They consider surprise assaults, ambushes and assassination to be worth less honor than “true” combat between two aware combatants, although unconventional and unique tactics are considered to be crowning achievements to a Burgunn warrior.

Burgunn life away from the battlefield is done in the same vein as their battlefield roles, with different houses vying for power against each other. Older Burgunn who are too old for battle tend to be diplomats, scheming and plotting against their counterparts in the other houses.

Almost all Burgunn are well educated, and it is uncommon to find Burgunn of any social class who don’t have at least some technical skill. Weapon designers are common; as most Burgunn prefer to fight with weapons they have crafted themselves. While not common, Burgunn mystics are far from unheard of; most of them are fascinated with melding mystic energy and technology. In this aspect, many of them work with the more mystically gifted Rinn, although they try to avoid giving the Rinn any of their own secrets. There are few Burgunn spies, since it is usually not seen as a good way to gain honor, but the rare spy is usually of exceptional talent and versatile both on and off the field of battle.

Burgunn Houses tend not to fluctuate in membership, although it is somewhat common for a House to engulf a smaller House. Otherwise, members are only adopted into a House by marriage or some valorous act such as saving a high member’s life.

Physiology:

Durgan has a slightly higher gravity than normal, so Burgunn have a tendency to be slightly shorter and stockier than other species. This is usually measured in inches rather than feet; generally anthropologists are the only ones who ever notice the difference.

Burgunn also tend to be more muscled than other species, but this is due more to the fact that they work out more than other species than any genetic factors. Contact and growth on other planets is causing the Burgunn genetic structure to “even out”, so over the last several generations Burgunn have gradually been getting taller and proportioned more normally.

Burgunn have grey skin, this varies from a very pale grey to a very dark grey depending on genetic lines. Usually members of the same House will have similarly colored skin.

Government

Burgunn government is essentially a monarchy, although in reality the Council manages most of the day-to-day affairs of the Empire. On the planetary level, government is largely decided by the individual House responsible for the planet, so it varies from one in which the people have considerable freedoms to one in which the people are little better off than slaves.

A Consulate, usually a high seat of a large house on larger worlds, rules each planet. On smaller worlds, it is either a high seat of a smaller house or a minor member of one of the larger houses. Each world also sends three members to the Burgunn Imperial Congress, which makes recommendations to the Council. The Council then passes those recommendations on to the Emperor himself. Although there are some non-Burgunn in the Congress, it is very uncommon, and no alien has ever held a seat on the Council. In rare cases, particularly trials involving members of prominent Houses, the Congress will oversee criminal or civil trials.

Burgunn generally respect both authority and the greater good of the Empire over personal freedoms. Most Burgunn will place their life in danger to protect someone of more importance than themselves, particularly members of the Imperial Congress, the Council, or important members of their House.

Crime fighting is a high priority to the Burgunn, so there is minimal crime even in the most heavily populated urban areas. Burgunn trials are often quick and the punishments brutal (death is a common punishment for serious crimes), although inaccurate convictions are rare. Burgunn see no honor in punishing those who didn’t deserve it, so by the time a trial comes around the prosecutors are very sure that the defendant is guilty of the charged crimes.

After the crime has been prosecuted, however, the Burgunn become a little more barbaric. The convicted are routinely subjected to an interrogation utilizing whatever methods the local constable deems necessary. This is done to extract the names and crimes of anyone else the convicted knows rather than for a punishment.

The Burgunn Empire is largely capitalist, with individuals buying and selling a relatively healthy economy. Taxes are paid to fund programs such as the police and fire departments, military, education and other community benefit programs. As a currency, the Burgunn issue Imperial Credits, which are small plastic squares that can be used to pay for any goods and services inside the empire. Values of the different credits are printed on them, along with each being color coded for ease of identification.

Roleplaying, Costuming and Makeup

When roleplaying a Burgunn, the most important factor to consider is how your actions will bring honor to yourself and your house. Tactical retreat is considered acceptable, but rarely will a Burgunn refuse a good challenge or run in fear. Burgunn will also show considerable respect to those of a higher station than themselves, and the High Seats of their House are almost on par with the Emperor himself.

Burgunn tend to dress in functional clothing, particularly those which are suitable for combat situations. Engineers tend more towards coveralls with several pockets, allowing them easier access to their tools.

Most Burgunn tend towards darker colored hair, although hair dye is not necessary to play one. Grey makeup should cover any visible body parts, different types and consistencies work better for different people. The most commonly used is cake makeup, which is fairly resilient for outdoor use, although consulting with people at costuming stores or other LARPers will help you find the best makeup for your needs. Because the makeup requirements are much more intensive than almost any other race, fewer people play Burgunn than many other races so finding a good reference is difficult. Many people who play Furries utilize full body makeup so they’re also good references. Orks are the other full body paint race, so many of them would have ideas as well.