Red Skull Republic

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Red Skull Republic
Government Type	Traditional Hierarchy / Autocratic Republic
Total Population	~77
Date Formed	2009
Date Ended	2016
Members
Leader(s)	Hitman__101, HomocidalChicken
Co-Leader(s)	SolidSnake1641, Byiro, Runing_man69

The Red Skull Republic was a notable LittleBigPlanet Clan. It is best known for its creative elitism and prowess, large population, longevity, and undefeated record.

History

First Generation

The first generation of the Red Skull Republic operated during the Kardían Era. This period defined the RSR's reputation as a major power among common clans at the time through its conflicts, style, and influence.

Conflict with Skullforce

Shortly after being founded by Hitman__101 in 2008, the Red Skull Republic set its sights on toppling the then popular clan, Skullforce. To do so, Hitman and his comrades developed RSR's theme and style as a "mirror" to Skullforce. This resulted in very similar iconography between the two clans but with a different color scheme. Where Skullforce used green, RSR used red instead.

RSR flag during 2010

Beyond this thematic strategy, RSR second in command Runing_man69 developed a campaign, referred to as the Skullforce Initiative, to destroy Skullforce. After observing supposed instability in Skullforce's internal structure, Runing_man69 proposed that RSR position itself as close as possible to Skullforce in order to increase their influence over the rival clan. By warming up to Skullforce, RSR was able to gain important information that would be useful for advancing their campaign.

The Ghosthound-Skullforce War

Around this point in late 2008 or early 2009^{[citation needed]}, Skullforce and popular clan Ghosthound had been in conflict for several months. Observing that Skullforce was tired of the standoff, RSR took initiative and stepped up to oppose Ghosthound. Once Ghosthound was held off, Skullforce considered the Red Skull Republic to be important allies.

However, despite the fact that RSR and SF's relationship was warmer than ever before, Skullforce was suspicious of the Red Skull Republic's intentions.

Hitman__101's appearance in 2009

RSR-Akatsuki War

To further warm up to Skullforce, RSR set its sights on defeating SF's longtime rival Akatsuki. RSR's victory over Akatsuki strengthened RSR's ties with Skullforce and increased RSR's confidence and reputation as a powerhouse in the community.

End of Skullforce

Red Skull Republic throughout these two conflicts had been identifying and picking up members from Skullforce who found RSR a more attractive option. One of their plans to destabilize Skullforce were to send RSR agents to join Skullforce, only to send instructions for them to leave the clan later. This made it appear as if Skullforce was drastically losing popularity and sowed doubt within their leadership.

Another critical blow to Skullforce was the revelation that Joekills13, SF's second in command, had been stealing creations from another SF member, HomocidalChicken. This was done to supposedly gain favor with Skullforce's leader. RSR leaked this information, resulting in Joekills13's expulsion from SF.

Without Joekills13, the Skullforce government continued to collapse into a schism that resulted in the clan disbanding. Many of its remaining members joined RSR. The final moves against Skullforce were referred to internally by RSR as Operation Shattered Skull. 

Second Generation

Taking place not long after the clan's origin and conflict with Skullforce, the Red Skull Republic continued to grow in influence and membership throughout 2010 and 2011.

The Elimination Campaign

Running_Man69's appearance in 2011

The Red Skull Republic did not openly take responsibility for the fall of Skullforce at the time. However, the fall of SF supposedly led to an increase in RSR's popularity. With such a similar style to SF, RSR could be considered at the time to be SF's spiritual successor.

To solidify its position amongst its contemporaries, RSR sought to destroy other smaller clans. After supposedly defeating ten different clans, RSR perceived itself as being safeguarded from challenge.

RSR at this point also attempted to increase its influence through moral justification for its campaigns. Since the predominate ideology at the time was anti-H4H, RSR targeted Heart for Heart groups and adopted strict anti-H4H policies internally.

After its large number of victories, RSR's aggressive expansion began to simmer down. Although not unanimously supported, RSR began to adopt a more peaceful approach to maintaining its position in the community.

Instead of targeting clans directly, RSR changed tactics with a project called Shadow Op 45-A, a propaganda campaign which broadcasted an image of RSR's strength. This consisted of fabricated documents composed of dubious operation numbers and plans. Without clear details on these operations or their quantity, the goal was to confuse rival clans and dissuade them from challenging RSR. Shadow Op 45-A was only deployed briefly and was regarded by the RSR administration as being more of a joke.

Red Skull Republic - LBP Union War

Sometime in 2009, a small clan called Elite Force declared war on the Red Skull Republic. This attack was supposedly led by Elite Force member Castleraider5 without the authority of the EF's leader. At the time, Agents leader m88youngling who was conducting espionage against the RSR at the time gained contact with Castleraider5. Castle falsely claimed that the RSR attacked the Elite Force first. This led the newly founded and relatively isolated LittleBigPlanet Union to view the RSR as a rising threat in the community.

Union Anti-RSR Propaganda from the war.

Despite RSR's attempts to portray themselves as more peaceful than they had been in previous days, their reputation of victory in warfare led the Union to further distrust them. Tensions only grew once the RSR discovered espionage from the Agents. Although RSR did not immediately act to remove the spy, m88youngling, they were aware that the LBP Union was sponsoring the operation.

Eventually, RSR posted several pro-RSR photos on a level affiliated with a Union member state, the Cheating Resistance Organization. This was interpreted by the Union to be an attack, sparking outcry from Union president Godman2k7.

The incident led President Godman2k7 to agree to declare war on the Red Skull Republic on behalf of the LBPU. This sparked the Red Skull Republic / LBP Union War. A day before the declaration, Godman2k7 published the LBP Union headquarters, a large level that he hoped not only would bring more members to the Union but also intimidate RSR in the conflict.

The building tensions and the Union's declaration of war culminated into the Battle of Twisted Forest, supposedly the first official clan Online Create Battle. Without many rules, the outcome was disputed, however it was generally agreed that the Red Skull Republic was victorious thanks to its more advanced technology. The Union Task Force struggled to mount an offensive due to not having many premade vehicles for combat.

Red Skull Republic and Vector Troop attack an Agents sticker giveaway level with anti-Agents propaganda.

After the battle, tensions remained high. RSR also conducted photo spam attacks against an Agents sticker giveaway level alongside Vector Troop leader Mercuy77.

End of the RSR/LBPU War

As the conflict drove on, the Union administration began to observe that the RSR was experiencing some unrest amongst its members, however it is not clear how they came to this conclusion. This led to speculation that the RSR was uncertain about continuing a war with an organization that shared similar goals.

Eventually, Union officials became aware that Castleraider5 had lied. The Agents believed that Castle was the leader of Elite Force, but he in fact had attacked the RSR without the authority of the EF leader. Once this was revealed, the leader of Elite Force immediately kicked Castleraider5 out of the clan.

Both sides eventually agreed to make peace, however both sides claimed victory. The Red Skull Republic claimed victory for the Battle of Twisted Forest, while the Union claimed victory for supposedly causing a more peaceful shift in foreign policy in RSR. The two groups became much friendlier to one another in the aftermath, even going as far as to share technology.

Rising Influence

As time went on, the difference in creative skill between new recruits and RSR veterans became wider. RSR chose to deal with this issue by developing strategies of appealing to more skilled members in the community while excluding less skilled players. This was done through projects such as the development of squads. This delegated certain powers to squad leaders who could then choose their own projects for squad members within RSR.

Aside from this strategy, RSR began a new initiative called the Nodus Project. This established a number of satellite clans called 'nodes' that were operated in secret by RSR agents using alternative PSN accounts. Closely related to RSR's espionage program, RSR nodes would be staging areas for information collection from other clans. Nodes also were useful in learning how to identify potential spies, as nodes would occasionally have organic recruits from the community. Nodes also helped direct potentially useful members to RSR.

The project eventually was abandoned after LittleBigPlanet 2 was released, resulting in membership growth.

Third Generation

The third generation of the Red Skull Republic during the Shadow Epoch saw a great deal of growth after the release of LittleBigPlanet 2. It saw a refresh of its creative style and a great deal of change in the clan's internal structure in response to its growth.

The RSR-Akatsuki War

The RSR-Akatsuki War was one of the most influential conflicts in the Red Skull Republic's history. At this point in time, Fallen Republic had greatly risen in influence, replacing Red Eagle Army after the AREA conflict. RSR saw the new 'top three' as RSR, Akatsuki, and Fallen Republic who each had motives to eliminate the others.

One of the most important factors which played into the dominance of these three groups was the experience of their leadership. The leaders of all three groups had been playing LBP for a long time and had a very advanced creative skillset. This narrow gap further fueled their rivalry.

Akatsuki made the first move against Red Skull Republic sometime in 2012 with a war video. Akatsuki challenged Red Skull Republic to respond with a better video which is alleged to be one of the first major examples of a formal create war. Because of the novelty of create war, there was some debate as to the rules of the conflict.

As RSR evaluated the situation, they conjectured that Akatsuki probably was not motivated by RSR's past aggressive actions which had occurred a relatively long time ago. Instead, the RSR administration concluded that Akatsuki may have been externally influenced into declaring war. The most likely suspect for this kind of manipulation was Fallen Republic who stood to benefit the most from the ensuing conflict.

Furthermore, Red Skull Republic allegedly discovered a Fallen Republic spy, known as 'Jaruto', within the Akatsuki leadership. This supported their theory of external manipulation. RSR was further convinced of this due to a declaration of war upon RSR from Khorne Empire, who RSR believed had close ties with Fallen Republic. However, Polarlab claimed in his autobiography that Birdman-Jay-, a Fallen Republic leader, resented Polar due to the AREA conflict and was actively pitting clans against KE. (Polarlab 16) This leaves KE's relationship with FR uncertain.

With a war on two fronts, RSR's resources were stretched thin. RSR carefully planned a response to deal with the two threats which began with an operation to gain control of Akatsuki. RSR perceived Akatsuki as being relatively unstable and a softer target than Khorne Empire. However, Fallen Republic propaganda had already been very successful in causing Akatsuki leaders to despise RSR.

It was clear that the main obstacle in RSR's path to turn the tide against Akatsuki was in fact RSR's own leader, Hitman__101. The brunt of most of the propaganda against RSR had been focused on Hitman. Hitman agreed to temporarily step down to make way for HomocidalChicken to take the reigns. With Hitman out of the picture, Akatsuki's ire against RSR diminished. To the public, Hitman made it appear as if he had left PlayStation Network. [polar 16]

HomocidalChicken began to engage in diplomatic talks with Akatsuki which cooled down the conflict. Quickly, the talks began to convert a majority of Akatsuki leaders to RSR's side, ending the conflict. This bought RSR time and resources to deal with the threat of Khorne Empire and Fallen Republic.

The RSR-Khorne War

Although Khorne Empire had generally been looked down upon by RSR and supposedly other clans during this time, their relationship with Fallen Republic gave them new credibility. FR's assistance made Khorne Empire a legitimate threat, especially when RSR was faced with multiple opponents during this time.

Following Akatsuki's defeat, RSR focused its efforts on defeating KE. Khorne Empire was supposedly being supplied with RSR items by ex-RSR general Mat_thekid. These items were then given away in a KE anti-RSR level. KE then supposedly convinced all of RSR's generals to leave LBP, but this is unsupported. (Polarlab 16)

The conflict was initially plagued by difficult negotiations attempting to establish terms of war. HomocidalChicken, accompanied by Endlessrage1 and FinleyHatfield (Polarlab 16) attempted to offer a peaceful armistice, but this was rejected by Polarlab, issuing in a new wave of KE's aggression against RSR. Polarlab insisted that RSR were in fact the ones to have declared war on them. (Polarlab 16)

Understanding that Fallen Republic was a more significant threat, RSR attempted to minimize the conflict with KE by depicting the issue as being between a notable RSR third-in-command, Solidsnake-1641, and KE leader Polarlab. The two were expected to fight, excluding RSR from the mix entirely. However, Polarlab perceived the situation as Solidsnake1641 representing the whole of RSR. Defeating him would, in his eyes, be equivalent to defeating RSR.

In the end, Solidsnake-1641 refused to fight Polarlab, referring to him as a "joke". Solidsnake-1641 was then kicked out of RSR officially, although he was still supposedly a part of the organization. This was to build an appropriate alibi for his later espionage against Fallen Republic. Polarlab interpreted Solidsnake's refusal to fight as forfeiture and consequently claimed that Khorne Empire had defeated RSR. However, in his autobiography, Polar claimed that it was in fact HomocidalChicken who had surrendered. The Red Skull Republic considered the ordeal to be a tie.

The RSR-Fallen Republic War

With Polarlab turning his focus elsewhere, RSR was now prepared to deal with Fallen Republic. Understanding that Fallen Republic was a far more difficult opponent, RSR took some time to strengthen its relationships with allies. RSR felt that it was entirely possible that FR could be attempting to manipulate RSR's allies in the same way that they had influenced Akatsuki. RSR therefore monitored its allies closely.

To accomplish this, RSR established an 'information network' of spies between allies they trusted and utilized this as a way of determining whether they had been approached by Fallen Republic agents. This strategy was sustained until 2014.

RSR also conducted espionage against Fallen Republic. One of the most important spies, Solidsnake-1641, managed to infiltrate the clan and quickly ascended through FR's ranks. This was mainly due to information about RSR that Solidsnake was able to give FR. However, FR was suspicious of Solidsnake's presence.

Snake was able to depict RSR as being a significant threat with a great deal of strength and control. War levels against FR were secretly being developed before any kind of formal declaration. Although FR was aware of this growing threat, the war remained cold.

Eventually FR became aware of Solidsnake's status as a spy. However, FR's fondness of him led to the conclusion of the conflict. Solidsnake allowed for both sides to communicate and see that they were much more in common than they had previously imagined. Both sides agreed to make peace and work together, sharing creative techniques and designs.

As a result, a satirical movie was released, depicting of RSR and FR leaders drinking tea.

CoRE Union and the Axis

At this time, it was perceived that clans were in decline in the LBP community. In an attempt to preserve the community, the Red Skull Republic joined with Vector Troop, Black Skull Empire, and Socialist Soviet Republic to create CoRE Union, a powerful alliance of clans. (Polarlab 21)

In response Polarlab formed a new Axis Alliance of Powers with various different organizations such as Polar's own reformed MediaWiki:Badtitletext. (Polarlab 21)

In response to the Axis's growing strength and aggression toward other clans, CoRE Union, and consequently RSR, declared war on the Axis, beginning what Polar considered to be another LBP world war. The Axis claimed victory over CoRE Union by unknown means. (Polarlab 22) The Red Skull Republic's involvement in the CoRE-Axis conflict is unknown.

Coup Against Hitman__101

Once Fallen Republic and RSR had made peace, Solidsnake-1641 returned as third-in-command of the clan. This led to an internal dispute between him and HomocidalChicken. Solidsnake opposed Chicken's more diplomatic approaches and encouraged a more aggressive and militaristic strategy for foreign affairs.

However, although he had previously publicly stepped down to turn the tide in the war with Akatsuki, Hitman__101 was still the recognized leader of RSR. He did not favor either side of the dispute, staying out of their feud.

In response, attempting to gain a leg up on HomocidalChicken, Solidsnake-1641 suggested that the infrequency of levels published by Chicken was due to Chicken's lesser ability. The two engaged in a creative competition, aiming to produce the best level in a certain period of time. HomocidalChicken was victorious, while Solidsnake was unable to complete the task in time.

Bitter over the defeat, Solidsnake recognized that most of RSR respected HomocidalChicken's leadership over Hitman's. This was especially due to Hitman's inactivity and the public story that Hitman had resigned. Solidsnake chose to undermine Chicken's position. However, to conceal his plans, he warmed up to Chicken to regain his trust.

Solidsnake proceeded by gradually suggesting to HomocidalChicken that they could overthrow Hitman, leaving HomocidalChicken the true leader of RSR. Chicken agreed, unaware of Solidsnake's ulterior motive despite their previous disagreements over policy.

Following their rivalry, HomocidalChicken was grateful that he and Solidsnake could cooperate. However, he found the suggestion of a coup against Hitman to be uncharacteristic of Solidsnake due to his previous idolization of Hitman.

Soon thereafter, HomocidalChicken announced that he was acting to claim leadership over the Red Skull Republic. This was followed by mass messages to members and propaganda. Levels were updated to reflect that HomocidalChicken had claimed full leadership. He also informed Hitman that he was being removed from the clan.

Hitman was furious, and his supporters responded to condemn the coup. RSR was divided between the two sides, but the clan soon respected HomocidalChicken's newfound leadership. When news of the coup reached other clans, they quickly voiced their support for a particular side of the dispute.

A day after these events, Hitman returned to question the ones who had defied him. HomocidalChicken was absent, leaving only Solidsnake-1641 to answer for the incident. Solidsnake blamed the coup on HomocidalChicken chiefly, failing to mention his own involvement. He advocated for Chicken's removal, which would leave Solidsnake as the second-in-command of the clan.

However, Hitman refused to go through with the suggestion until Chicken was present for questioning. While he waited for Chicken's return, Hitman released the X-Series of films which detailed the events of the coup.

One week later, HomocidalChicken returned and an RSR executive meeting was held to determine a course of action. Solidsnake backtracked, changing his suggested punishment from outright removal to simply demoting HomocidalChicken to third-in-command so that Solidsnake could take second-in-command.

Once HomocidalChicken was able to testify to Hitman, Solidsnake's role in the coup and subsequently his lies to Hitman were revealed. Unsure of who to trust, Hitman commanded the two conspirators to create speeches that would be distributed to 31 judges that would be voted upon. The victor of this vote would be the second-in-command of RSR. These judges were composed of a variety of clan leaders. Solidsnake used his testimony to allege HomocidalChicken's inadequate leadership and advocated for new polices to strengthen RSR's position in the community. Chicken alleged that the entire ordeal was to engage activity in RSR and that it was not for his own personal gain.

HomocidalChicken was determined to be the victor with 18 votes, while Solidsnake had 13 votes. Thus, Chicken retained his position, and Hitman remained in power as leader of RSR. However, his rank would soon increase to equal that of Hitman as the clan sought reform to repair the damage that the coup had inflicted on RSR's stability.

Fourth Generation

The fourth generation of RSR existed through 2013 during the latter days of the Shadow Epoch. This era was marked by the demise of Akatsuki and several important internal RSR projects like RSR World, a refresh of the clan's ranking system, and RSR factions.

Decline of Akatsuki

After the RSR and Fallen Republic made peace, anti-Akatsuki sentiment began to grow. With certain current and former Akatsuki members also sharing concern and dissatisfaction with the group, a mutual agreement was made that Akatsuki's existence needed to come to an end.

RSR, Fallen Republic, and several other clans viewed Akatsuki as being bloated, having too many members that did not contribute to the group or that did not contribute any kind of quality content. There was also significant concern over Chriswolf119's behavior and treatment of certain members, such as alleged sexual harassment.^{[citation needed]}

By unknown means, RSR, FR, and other groups supposedly caused Akatsuki to lose members. Chriswolf119 eventually lost leadership of the clan for unknown reasons, leaving Ice4Life14, Fireblitz95, and Stripersonline to gain control of the clan. Their leadership had closer relations with Red Skull Republic. Akatsuki remained after the event, but at a far weaker position than before.

Leadership Contest

Following the coup, the first step of RSR's reformation was a leadership contest. Any member of the clan could create a submission to the contest, and they would be ranked based on their entries. The best entries earned members leadership positions in the clan.

The contest interested both RSR members and those outside of the group. New members quickly joined to take advantage of the contest to rank as high as they could. The event caused a significant increase in activity and morale.

RSR World Project

To encourage activity and encourage members to increase their creative skills, the RSR World Project was introduced. The goal of the project was to create thirty cities and a new system that established how they would be controlled and how they would interact with one another. By creating city levels, a larger, continuous world could be established. The project resulted in a great deal of new levels and became one of RSR's most successful projects.

One of the main benefits of the project was that RSR creators were given more control over construction. Although working within certain thematic elements, creators were given the freedom to use their own style of design.

The RSR Blitz

With accusations of inactivity due to RSR's focus on internal projects, the vulnerability of RSR was of concern. With Hitman's inactivity, HomocidalChicken stepped in to take the reigns. In response to the inactivity accusations, Chicken began the RSR Blitz, a mass publishing of ten levels within a month. These were developed and submitted for approval by RSR members. This was done in conjunction with the RSR World Project.

The Nodus Project 2.0

Rather than train spies like the original Nodus Project, the second iteration focused on recruitment and general training of new members. The increasing gap in creative skill between veteran clan members and new recruits resulted in a membership deficit. In order to grow in population, clans would need to reduce their standards of recruitment. This would result in a greater number of inexperienced and less skilled members. This solution was strongly opposed by some clans, including RSR.

However, RSR came to the conclusion that only allowing in skilled creators was an even more unsustainable solution. A series of node clans was created to train players before they could become full members of RSR. Once the node had met a certain quota, it would be disbanded and its members absorbed into RSR.

One of the major benefits of this project was that if training was not successful, there was no need to remove the members from RSR or even associate them with the group.

Although the focus of the nodes were primarily training and recruitment, some nodes were used for espionage against certain alliances, although the scope of this espionage is unknown.

This project was later retired in favor of a formal RSR education program.

Executive Democratic Entity for Neutrality (EDEN)

The Executive Democratic Entity for Neutrality, or EDEN, was established in an attempt to keep peace between several major clans. RSR was one of its member states. EDEN's committee of leaders attempted to prevent conflicts from breaking out, but its inability to enforce EDEN's policies led to the organization's collapse.

EDEN appears to have been some form of project between the following clans,

• Red Skull Republic - Led by Hitman__101 and HomocidalChicken
• Fallen Republic - Led by Jukewannabe
• Akatsuki - Led by Chriswolf119* (*listed as "various leaders.")
• Elite Ninja Squad - Led by Ninjamcgee and Seeisme1
• Pure Energy - Led by Cjmad13
• NSC - Led by Legomarster
• ESA - Led by Skat3r_Boy-21623
• Advanced Cyber Unit - Led by Byiro, might have been a subordinate clan of RSR

EDEN is known to have held several meetings. The only known meeting is the second meeting, which HomocidalChicken provided a vague recap on the RSR forum. The following is the post by HomocidalChicken:

The post reveals that EDEN was not originally using the RSR forum to communicate, which means that EDEN must have been founded sometime before the post date of March 9th, 2012. EDEN was advertised mainly by word of mouth. The post also reveals that there was a short conflict between the leaders of Pure Energy and SolidSnake-1641. It is also revealed that there was discussion for establishing a council and assembly similar to the United Nations. However, the wording suggests there being an actual United Nations. There is no current knowledge of a United Nations organization being present during this time. This may simply be a mistake made by HomocidalChicken, however a United Nations existing at the time is not out of the realm of possibility.

Although EDEN was formally unsuccessful, it demonstrated that clans at the time were more connected in dialogue and collaboration.

RSR Imperialist Initiative

Although the Nodus Project 2.0 was successful in gaining new members for RSR, there was still a significant deficit in recruitment. RSR set its sights on picking up members of inactive clans instead as they collapsed.

To resolve the issue, RSR strengthened the ties it had with clans that were declining in activity. Leaders of these groups were given offers for RSR to maintain control of their organization while they were away, reducing the burden of leadership. This strategy proved successful with clans such as Chaos Clan and Elite Ninja Squad.

Members of other collapsed clans were contacted and encouraged to join RSR as well. As Akatsuki continued to decline, several of its members were also incorporated into RSR.

Imperial Vanguard

In a brief resurgence in activity from Hitman__101, the Imperial Vanguard was established as a separate entity which would be composed of both Red Skull Republic and Fallen Republic as member states. It was announced alongside a purge of RSR all RSR members who Hitman did not consider to be up to his standards of skill.

The announcement was met with a great deal of dissent from RSR members and the public alike. Some of the resistance to the change was due to the disregard to HomocidalChicken's accomplishments in areas such as RSR Worlds, a ranking overhaul, the RSR Blitz, and the second Nodus Project. Other opposition was in regards to the purge, which not only eliminated low ranking members, but many high-ranking members as well. This was the main difference between Hitman's purge and other RSR purges in the past.

In the fallout of the negative response to the project, Hitman quietly abandoned Imperial Vanguard, leaving Red Skull Republic as an independent clan.

Fifth Generation

From 2014 to 2016 during the Restoration Era, the Red Skull Republic's influence in the community decreased, but it engaged in a number of notable events such as the LBP Union-Axis conflict and internal projects such as the RSR Academy Project.

RSR Academy Project

At some point between 2014 and 2016, the Red Skull Republic attempted to pioneer a successor to the Nodus Project 2.0. This involved a formal education program within the clan called the RSR Academy Project.

RSR entered into partnerships with several unknown clans in an attempt to improve their skill levels. This later took the form of a mentorship program for members and leaders. However, the time and effort that this required was too demanding for RSR to maintain, resulting in the focus of membership being only on clan leaders instead of by general inquiry. However, this was also abandoned.

Role in the LBP Union-Axis Conflict

By the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014, the Red Skull Republic observed that the Axis Alliance under Polarlab's (now known as PolarisPhaedra) leadership was growing in strength. Disappointed that the Axis had gained power during this time, a plan was made to undermine the Axis. However, this plan was not taken seriously and was treated humorously.

HomocidalChicken observed that the Axis and the LBP Union were naturally positioned for a war with one another. On one side there was a dark, elitist, fascist dictatorship, and on the other there was a bright, democratic, tolerant alliance. Noting this incompatibility, HomocidalChicken attempted to cause the two to fight which could result in an Axis defeat.

To do this, HomocidalChicken crafted the Skull Plan, an infochip box containing information about a conspiracy to collaborate with the LBP Union to bring about the destruction of the Axis and pave way for a communist takeover of LittleBigPlanet.

The chip was successful in frightening Polarlab, causing him to lash out against the LBP Union. Supposedly there was a second chip that was sent to Polar, but it is unknown if this was the 'Skull Plan' or if the Skull Plan was the original box.

The Axis, after declaring war on the LBP Union, was crippled once PolarisPhaedra resigned from his position.^{[citation needed]}

RSR Lore Series 5.0

The final level series created by the Red Skull Republic was the RSR Lore Series 5.0. After LBP 3's release, decided to adjust its theme and also its underlying lore. The project resulted in the creation of five lore books that described a fictional history and background for RSR. These books were intended to be spread across five levels published by HomocidalChicken.

However, progress stopped at the fourth level in the series, and RSR's activity fell to a critical low. This was already devastating to RSR due to the lack of active recognition that it received from other clans such as the LittleBigPlanet Union. ^{[citation needed]}

Demographics

Population

The Red Skull Republic had members from around the world, including North America, the United Kingdom, and South America. Its population fluctuated throughout its existence because of frequent purges conducted by the RSR administration. These purges would remove many members from the group for various purposes, mostly to eliminate inactive members. Removed members were required to undergo a reevaluation if they chose to return to the clan.

HomocidalChicken claims that the Red Skull Republic's maximum population reached to about 500 members, with only a portion of these members being active. Following the first purges in the group, RSR supposedly maintained over 100 members on average. Polarlab's Clan Census accounts for 77 members of the Red Skull Republic, but some of these are side accounts.

There was an expectation upon members to contribute to the group such as creating levels or other content in order to maintain their membership status.

Language

The majority of the Red Skull Republic spoke English, however several unknown leaders were supposedly bilingual. This allowed for translation where necessary and expanded the RSR's recruitment pool.

Government

HomocidalChicken describes the Red Skull Republic as being a traditional hierarchy or republic. Throughout its history, membership is a privilege given based on creative skill. Chicken has also described the clan as being an autocratic republic.

Administration

The Red Skull Republic was chiefly administrated by a single leader supported by other leaders. At one point in time when Hitman__101 was in power, this position was referred to as Dark Overlord Invictus, but this position has also been simply referred to as Dark Overlord. All RSR leaders, including co-leaders, have traditionally been referred to as overlords. Overlords beneath the main leader would help manage and delegate different areas of RSR. On certain issues, RSR's overlords would vote, but the primary leader would have the final say.

Once HomocidalChicken achieved an equal status with Hitman__101's leadership, there were two Dark Overlords in charge of the Red Skull Republic, both with absolute power over the clan.

Rules

According to an info-chip about RSR's rules and ranks, the following were some basic rules of the clan which are presumed to have persisted throughout its existence:

• No disrespecting leaders
• No Heart for Heart
• Respect members and allies
• No copying or stealing
• Being a member of multiple clans at once was prohibited. (Double-clanning)
• Activity should be public.
• Members cannot accept new members into RSR without Overlord status.
• Spying on other clans without authorization was prohibited.

Ranks

The titles of the Red Skull Republic have undergone various changes over the years. However, its core leaders are usually referred to as overlords.

Members with higher rank had greater prestige and authority over those below them. Upon achieving certain ranks, members were awarded with certain powers, privileges and security keycard stickers. Each rank had a certain number of levels that would need to be achieved before moving onto the next rank.

According to HomocidalChicken in his RSR Wiki Post on a now defunct clan wiki, the following hierarchy of ranks was utilized in RSR.

Rank	Number of Levels
Dark Overlord	1-2
Overlord	1-10
Underlord	1-10
Arc Reaper	1-10
Reaper	1
Centurion	1
Exedin	1
Executioner	1-10
Paladin	1-10
Phalanx	1-20

However, according to the RSR Rank Chip which originates from an unknown date, the following ranking hierarchy was used. It is presumed to be a precursor to the above rank hiearchy.

Rank	Notes
Dark Overlord Invictus	HiTmAN__101
Divine Overlord	Divine Overlord of the Dark (HomocidalChicken) Malevolent Overlord of the Dark (HiTmAN__101)
Overlord
Dark Lord	Rank order: Lord, Dark Lord, Dark Arc Lord
Necro Shade	Rank order: Dark Shade, Necro Shade, Dark Necro Shade
Reaper	Rank order: Under Reaper, Reaper, Arc Reaper
Guardian	Rank order: Guardian Luientant[sic], Guardian Luientant[sic] Commander, Reaper Guardian
Executioner	Rank order: Sub Executioner, Executioner
General	Two ranks
Corpral[sic]	Three ranks
Recruit	27 maximum members.

There were also other ranks not included in these lists. For example, Paladin was a rank with nine levels between Executioner and Crimson Executioner. Crimson Executioner was a level between Paladin and Grand Paladin. Grand Paladin was a level that sat just below Exedin. Scarlet Centurion was an upper-class rank above all but Overlords.

Sub-Divisions

At an unknown point in time, there were a number of subdivisions of RSR with unknown purposes:

Name	Member Count
Red Skull Society (RSS)	11
RSR Sabetours[sic]/Spies	4
RSR -Leaders-	9
RSA Elites	4
New Recruits/Misc/Members	16
Mech Team	1

Points-Based Promotion System

At one point during RSR's existence, a points-based system was introduced to facilitate rank promotions. This was a way of rewarding members for producing content for the clan. Different kinds of content were awarded with different amounts of experience points. This system also incorporated diminishing returns to encourage members to diversify their content-creation. Members could get multipliers for beginning training lessons, completing competitions, or through other means. The higher quality of the creation produced, the more points the member would attain.

Each creation submission was assigned a pass/fail mark as quality control. If the submission failed, it would not be approved to represent RSR as a published work. These creations were to be submitted directly to an Overlord for judgement and categorization.

The following is a summary of the various categories and their point rewards. Decrement represents diminishing returns, decreasing the base value every repeated instance of that category of creation is submitted.

Category	Base Value	Decrement
Wall panels	+1000	-200
Miscellaneous Scenery	+500	-100
Natural Scenery	+500	-100
Paintings, propaganda, art, etc	+325	-75
Music	+3000	-1000 (-500 if series)
Film	+3000	-1000 (-500 if series)
Full size RSR level	+3000	-1000 (none if city level)
Small/Medium RSR Level	+3000	-1000
Logic	+100	-20
Land Vehicles	+400	-100
Mechs	+600	-150
Aircraft & Spacecraft	+550	-110
Naval Vehicles	+400	-100

This demonstrates the kinds of content that the Red Skull Republic administration valued the most. For example, music, film, and full-size levels are given higher base values than any other creation category.

Delegation of Powers

For ranks under Overlords, power was distributed to better manage the clan and incentivize members to ascend in rank. Base recruits were given the freedom to choose which city they would like to reside in. Phalanx members were given access to advanced lessons in the RSR Grand Library that recruits were not able to access, as well as city mansions.

Exedins were a notable rank because of their ability to govern cities. However, to do this, they would have to claim an uncontrolled city or challenge a city's current Exedin. Another rank that has gone unaccounted for in the previous ranking lists in this article, Vanguards, are able to be invited to important Overlord meetings.

Factions

At one point in time, the RSR introduced the idea of a faction-based structure. This would enable each overlord of RSR to voluntarily found their own internal RSR faction, closely tied to the RSR World Project. Members of RSR would choose which faction to join, enabling them to take on different missions and quest lines. Factions were given the authority to close off exclusive parts of buildings, incentivizing members to join a faction to gain access to these locations.

Overlords were charged with deciding the faction's name, management, and theme. However, each overlord had to prove their leadership capabilities in order to maintain control of their faction. There was also a trial-run period where an overlord would manage four recruits within a faction in order to test their skills before allowing them to open up the faction to more members.

It is unknown if the RSR factions concept ever was formally introduced to the clan. It's likely that it was replaced by the RSR cities project instead.

Foreign Relations and Military

Throughout its history, the Red Skull Republic was highly supportive of its allies. Its foreign policy shifted greatly depending on the most active leader at the time. Hitman__101's initial tactics when RSR was founded were highly aggressive and sought to intimidate enemies into submission. However, as conflict began to wear down the RSR, foreign policy shifted to favor a more diplomatic approach. This typically was promoted by Overlord HomocidalChicken, who was in charge of foreign affairs for the clan most of the time.

RSR dealt with opponents through negotiation when possible, and often coordinated with allies to deter enemies from following through with aggressions. RSR usually utilized indirect methods of dealing with threats such as espionage.

The Nodus Projects, especially the first iteration, were beneficial ways for the RSR to spread its influence and build information networks that would allow them to ascertain threats and potential opportunities.

RSR claimed to have never suffered a defeat during its existence, however others have claimed victory over the clan. RSR's preferred method of combat was create war. However, RSR did engage in online create battle during the Kardían Era, claiming a victory against the Union Task Force during the RSR-LBP Union War.

Culture and Style

The Red Skull Republic has a greatly diverse number of creative styles and themes. Its signature black and red-striped color scheme was originally intended to mirror the green and black aesthetic of Skullforce. However, the clan developed a much richer set of themes and styles over the years.

Militaristic

In the early years of RSR, the clan mainly relied on a militaristic style with bases and soldiers, echoing the strategy of Skullforce. This theme would persist throughout RSR's existence as one of the clan's core components.

Post-Apocalyptic

As time went on, RSR's leaders desired to gain distance from the clan's original style. Environmental themes depicted desolate, barren wastelands with an emphasis on realism and grittiness. Uniforms incorporated gas masks and more metallic parts. In general, there was a focus on shading and low-light conditions. Technology was also at the forefront of RSR's levels with advanced weapons and machines.

Cyberpunk

Farther into the Shadow Epoch, the Red Skull Republic felt that its previous styles were overused. They opted for strong cyberpunk themes, making levels gritty and technologically advanced. Sticker texturing began being used more often for this theme as well.

Surreal

To further develop RSR's appearance, more otherworldly appearances were incorporated into the clan's landscapes. This was later explained to be due to RSR occupying its own planet or universe.

Gothic Bourgeois

In the latter days, HomocidalChicken incorporated a far more architectural style into the RSR's style. With roots in gothic and renaissance styles, structures were designed to depict an upper class aesthetic, leaving behind the modernist and futuristic of RSR's cyberpunk aesthetic. More natural elements were also used to depict more of RSR's world.

One of the benefits of this style for RSR was that Gothic Bourgeois was exceedingly difficult to accomplish, safeguarding RSR's style from imitation.

Infrastructure

The Red Skull Republic implemented various methods of organizing itself throughout the years. Since the group had a large number of members for many years, separation between its administration and ordinary members was essential for policy-making and foreign affairs. Many of the programs and infrastructure put in place in the Red Skull Republic were designed to increase activity, membership, and engagement within the clan.

Communication

For most of its lifetime, the RSR heavily utilized PlayStation Network's messaging and chat features. Meetings were critical to the group's administration. These were often held in-game at RSR executive locations such as Runing_man69's RSR War Room and HomocidalChicken's RSR Overlord War Room levels. Other executive levels existed as well. These kinds of meetings often resulted in important policy decisions.

Once decisions were made, information could be delegated down the ranking hierarchy to RSR leadership positions through PSN chat features. However, due to RSR's large population, some members would be left out of message chains. This was due to the limitation of how many people could be on one's friends list on a PlayStation 3 console. Only 100 friends can be displayed on a PS3 at a time.

RSR meetings typically were handled with a mix of professionalism and tomfoolery. Although meetings were organized by a topical agenda, they generally resulted in lighthearted discussion and humor. This set a satirical tone to RSR's systems, as well as competition between members. However, Hitman__101 and HomocidalChicken kept members in check before internal conflicts could escalate too far.

RSR meeting rooms were generally designed with booby traps. Traditionally, members about to be promoted to leadership positions would be dropped into an electrified pit below a meeting room in Runing_man69's RSR War Room, as well as other traps in other levels.

Occasionally, larger PSN text chats were created with more members of RSR to discuss policy and events. These would also be used to organize creative projects.

Nodus Projects

RSR had two notable Nodus Projects. The first in 2010 established a number of satellite clans called nodes that would feed members into RSR after being given proper training. After this was completed, the node would be disbanded. These nodes were greatly utilized for espionage against other clans. The benefit of this project was that if members were not considered worthy of joining RSR or if espionage was discovered by another clan, it was unlikely that RSR would be held responsible since the node was not officially affiliated with RSR.

The second iteration of the Nodus Project was more focused on creative education.

RSR Academy Project

In an attempt to build on the second Nodus Project's goal of improving the skills of RSR members, the RSR Academy Project sought to fully incorporate creative education into RSR. Efforts were also made to help train other clans as well. However, the project was very time consuming and difficult to maintain, leading to its retirement.

RSR World Project and Cities

In 2013, the Red Skull Republic introduced the RSR World Project to expand the clan's lore, activity, and content presence. With this came RSR cities, which added to the organizational structure of the clan. The project aimed to found up to 20 cities governed by Exedins that members could join. A certain degree of independence would be granted to these cities in terms of their theme and style.

Exedins could challenge other governing Exedins for control over a city. This was to be done through create war, or an election could be held by the citizens involved. There was a limit to only one challenge or election per city per month. Uniquely, cities could also challenge one another to sanctioned civil wars conducted through create war. The winner would be allowed to control the citizens and the current Exedin of that city could be removed. If they remained, the winning city's government could delegate orders to the governing Exedin. Civil wars were limited to one per city per two weeks. If an Exedin is removed from power, they cannot be challenged again until they've gained leadership of any other city through regular means.

Through these means, Exedins could control any number of cities and delegate the task of running those cities however they pleased. However, the only city they could not delegate control over was their own primary city.

Civil wars could not be conducted through comment wars or flaming. Organized reporting and hacking were also prohibited. This was done to discourage foul play between members, as RSR sought to maintain this system as a form of friendly competition between members. Challenges to a civil war could not be ignored. Although create war was the standard of combat for civil wars, other challenges were acceptable if approved by an overlord.

No known civil wars are known to have occurred between RSR cities.

City Structure

RSR cities were to be lead by Exedins, but they could also appoint co-leaders to help them make decisions and to take over for them in their absence. Elite Guard were also an open position for Exedins to appoint members to maintain military needs for each city. However, cities were restricted to a maximum of four elite guard members. Elite Guard were permitted to take on challenges to the city while an Exedin was away.

No examples of Elite Guard are known.

Honored Citizen

Honored citizens were members of a city who an Exedin deemed worthy of recognition. They were awarded with a special keycard.

Council

At the discretion of an Exedin, a council could be formed to help make decisions on policy. Councils were limited to a maxmum of five members of any rank. Council-members could be citizens of other cities. Exedins had the ability to choose how much power council members had. However, it was required that at least one overlord be informed about major decisions.

There are no known examples of city council members.

Citizen

Members of RSR could choose what city they want to live in. Citizens were able to transfer to other cities by notifying the Exedins of both cities. Exedins were able to deny transfers.

List of RSR Cities

Name	Notes
Hithron	Capital
Manic	Where RSR was founded
#101	Mining
Homalin	Luxury
Ocin	Logging and hunting
Dalbandin	Bloodsport
Chimera	Energy & tourism
Ckent	Military & art
Runia Imperri	Ruins
Ingaelic	Tourism, farming, bloodsport
Mantra	Hunting
Polk	Farming, fishing
Arfonce	Mining, production, technology
Ailings	Liquor, bars, tourism
Byiton	Major power source
Ro	Alternative lifestyle, mining
Cerberus	Armaments
Beryl	Mining, residential
Yne	Pronounced 'ine'

Inactive/Defunct Cities

The following are described as inactive or defunct cities according to an info-chip about RSR cities.

Name	Notes
Cosmat	Tourism, gambling
Lacedaemon	Military, armaments
Shadow Invictus	Sactuary, fortress, wealth.

Planet Strax

Another element of the RSR World project related to RSR cities was Planet Strax. This 'planet' was described as being composed of arid deserts and rocky outcrops, with a dry but breathable atmosphere. It was led by Exedin HOW_FAST. The following are Strax cities.

Name	Exedin	Co-Leader	Notes
Hyferria	HOW_FAST		Salvage, on neighboring planet. For lore missions.
Owfera	HOW_FAST	Ninjamcgee	Manufacturing.
Fawden	HOW_FAST		Science, research, utopic.
Strax City	HOW_FAST		Upper class