So, what's your infodump of choice? I'd love to hear about it.
well, i've already info dumped battletech today... buuutt i could go into detail on the factions!
so the inner sphere (the area of space around earth that the majority of humanity resides in) has a looot of little factions, but only a six big ones, at least at the start of the stories. (note:when i say "the start" i typically mean the year 3015, which is around when the original books come in, and when the earliest versions of the tabletop are set) we have the five successor states, each led by one of the five great houses, and then a techno-religious organization. the five successor states and their houses are, in no particular order:
The Free Worlds League, led by House Marik
The Lyran Commonwealth, led by House Steiner
The Draconis Combine, led by House Kurita
The Cappelsn Confederation, led by House Liao
and The Federated Suns, led by House Davion
each one of these states ultimately wants to rule the entirety of humanity, and have waged war for 300 years to try and destroy those that stand against them. each one also has a distinct culture and way of life, though it can vary planet to planet how exactly that culture plays out. for example, the Draconis Combine are essentially just feudalistic space japan, while the Lyran Commonwealth is a massive military-industrial complex masquerading as a country.
Now for the techno-religious organization known as Comstar. they also want to control people, but they're a little more sneaky about it. they control the Hyper Pulse Generators, the intersystem communications network. therefore, they control information and frequently use it to undermine anything they think is too dangerous.