A player's Clan is a collection of Tribes. A new player begins the game with a single Tribe. Each Tribe may split off various types of units, most of which require that Tribe to possess certain skills.
Clan: The entirety of the player's position and all units.
Tribe: A major grouping of population within the Clan.
Element: A smaller unit, often specialized, attached to a Tribe.
- Tribe: The basic grouping of population in the game. Tribes can spawn Elements and Fleets (as well as Couriers and Garrisons). A Clan may have multiple Tribes based on the Clan's Diplomacy skill.
- Element: Elements are the main sub-unit within a Tribe. These normally require Administration skill, except that new players can have ONE bonus element for their Clan (NOT one per Tribe) and all players can have a Trade Element (again, one per Clan).
- Fleet: A water-based Element for a Tribe. Must include ships. These also require Administration skill.
- Trade Element: A special type of Element. Each Clan is allowed one Trade Element and can request this from the GM at no skill cost.
- Garrison: An immobile (once in place) unit. These require Garrison skill.
- Courier: Designed for players who want to trade with NPCs. These require Courier skill and only one Tribe in each Clan may have this skill.
- Archaeology Element: A special type of unit used for Archaeology. These require Archaeology skill and the Clan may have only one such element (plus an Archaeology Garrison).