History of the Imperium Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hacan, Jol-Nar, Letnev, N'orr, Sol, and Xxcha

These were the first six playable factions in "Twilight Impeirum" (first edition) in 1997. They were soon followed by many expansions that had new races.

When creating the fourth edition, Fantasy Flight Games briefly considered starting with only the original six factions, each with unique ship sculpts, and then introducing the other races as expansions. However, they suspected many players would be upset that their favourite factions from previous editions were not represented, so instead they had identical sculpts for all six player colours, and included seventeen playable factions - every one that had been printed for a previous edition or expansion (with the exception of the Lazax from the "Shards of the Throne" expansion for the third edition).

Source: opening of the "Learn to Play" booklet.

Answer: The Mahact Kings

The Mahact were malevolent, terrifying rulers of the galaxy, so when the Lazax emerged as the victors in a rebellion, they were greeted with open arms. Comparatively, the Lazax ruled with a light touch and fostered peace and trade. Their empire lasted 3000 years, falling not to corruption or malice, but complacency.

The Mahact Gene-Sorcerers would return as a playable faction in "The Prophecy of Kings" expansion for "Twilight Imperium."

Source: "The Rise of Legend" in the Lore Compendium.

Answer: The Barony of Letnev

The Barony of Letnev was the most aggressive of the six great races, but they hailed from a resource-poor world, Arc Prime. The Lazax heavily regulated the trade to the Barony to make sure they could not grow powerful enough to threaten another faction, which led to resentment. Eventually the Barony blockaded the Quann wormhole to gain leverage with the Lazax and the galactic council, leading to a crisis.

Source: "The Sun Sets on an Empire" in the Lore Compendium.

Answer: The Federation of Sol

The Barony of Letnev had blockaded the Quann wormhole for eight months, with the galactic council unable to find a solution. The Federation of Sol needed the Quann wormhole open to get food and medical supplies to their colonies, and they ran out of patience; they attacked the Barony blockade without an Imperial mandate. The Lazax emperor tried to take control of the warships by issuing the Maandu Edict, but it was ignored, and the Federation of Sol, Barony of Letnev, and Universities of Jol-Nar all left the galactic council. The crisis became a war.

Source: "The Sun Sets on an Empire" in the Lore Compendium.

Answer: The Federation of Sol

The Xxcha were a peaceful species with no weapons, so when the Barony of Letnev showed up in the Twilight Wars, they had no choice but to acquiesce to their demands. However, with their excellent diplomatic skills, they ceded only one of their two habitable planets: Archon Tau. The Xxcha knew the Barony would come for their other planet, Archon Ren, once they were no longer distracted by the Twilight Wars, so the Xxcha secretly began to arm and train. The Federation of Sol arrived in the system to attack the Barony and had no concerns for the beauty or ecology of Archon Tau; they bombarded and fought on the planet's surface for two years, turning it into a wasteland. Since the Twilight Wars, the Xxcha have been rehabilitating their destroyed world and building the most impressive defensive structures in the galaxy to make sure the catastrophe is never repeated.

Source: The Xxcha faction sheet.

Answer: Ibna Vel Syd

Ibna Vel Syd knew the Lazax Empire was doomed when the Emperor refused to take seriously the threat of the Twilight Wars, which had raged for 73 years. Vel Syd and his followers (and some Hylar technicians) fled the Empire just before the bombardment of Mecatol Rex, destroying the Hall of Cartography on their way out to cover their tracks. The hall was still burning when the final bombardment of Mecatol Rex commenced.

Hidden away from the rest of the galaxy, they landed on a resource rich but hostile world where they used body modifications to survive, becoming the L1Z1X over the next 3000 years.

Source: "The Sun Sets on an Empire" in the Lore Compendium, and the L1Z1X faction sheet.

Answer: The Federation of Sol

The Emirates of Hacan and the Universities of Jol-Nar were complicit in the betrayal and destruction of the Lazax, but it was the Federation of Sol's fleet that blasted Mecatol Rex into ruins from orbit. Sol was responsible for both the start of the Twilight Wars, and its end.

There was another board game by Fantasy Flight Games, "Rex: Final Days of an Empire" (2012), that depicted these events. It had a plastic Sol fleet miniature that moved around the board, sowing destruction. The game was a re-theme of the 1979 "Dune" board game by Avalon Hill.

Source: "The Sun Sets on an Empire" in the Lore Compendium.

Answer: The Universities of Jol-Nar

The Jol-Nar valued Muaat for its resources and the native Gashlai as a slave-labour force. During the Twilight Wars, Jol-Nar forced the Gashlai to build the most powerful weapon ever: the War Sun. But the Jol-Nar were hit by the Doolak plague which, along with the war, weakened them enough that the Gashlai were able to rebel against their masters and keep the new weapon for themselves.

Source: "An Age of Unrest" on the Lore Compendium, and the Embers of Muaat faction sheet.

Answer: Salai Sai Corlan

According to the short story found in the "Shattered Empire" expansion for "Twilight Imperium: Third Edition," Salai met with Feramon Azh from Muaat immediately before the destruction of Mecatol Rex began. Azh wanted the Lazax to help free the Gashlai from enslavement to the Jol-Nar, and offered the War Sun technology as a bargaining chip. Unfortunately, it was too late for the Lazax; the Federation of Sol began their bombardment during the meeting, during which Salai perished.

The Embers of Muaat made their first appearance in the "Shattered Empire" expansion, along with the Winnu.

Source: "The Sun Sets on an Empire" in the Lore Compendium.

Answer: The Dark Years

Over 3000 years, the Lazax Empire had become complacent, but it had been a force for peace and trade. When the great races became greedy during the Age of Dusk, destroyed the empire during the Twilight Wars, and then eradicated the Lazax during the Great Scourge, instead of becoming new rulers of the galaxy, a new galactic dark age came about. The great powers had spent their resources, lost control of their colonies, had planets ecologically destroyed, and suffered plagues. For the 3000 years of the Dark Years, the factions retreated and rebuilt. Only at the beginning of "Twilight Imperium" are they strong enough to once again spread their influence across the galaxy.

Source: opening of the "Learn to Play" booklet, and many faction sheets.