Imperium Offtopicum VI has moved. Link to the New Thread.
Imperium Offtopicum (IOT) is a role-playing game spun out of the Altered Maps thread in Off-Topic, hence the name. Players assume the role of leader of a nation of their own creation, and interact with each other on such issues as law, economy, science and technology, humanitarianism, and national defence. This particular version is a "simple" IOT, a "back to basics" of sorts. The rules here are simpler than many of the recent IOT derivatives, but are similar to IOTs 1-4.
The Rules
Note: all rules are subject to change, so please keep an eye out for them. Thanks.
House Rules
1. Do not flame, troll, or personally insult any other player OOC or IC. At all. You may comment on certain things negatively, but don't take it further than that.
2. Stay on topic. Make sure all comments are relevant to the fictional world of the current IOT and have nothing to do with your personal religious/political beliefs.
3. Your posts should actually consist of something relevant to your nation and not just one-liner comments. Do not spam.
4. Long diplomatic discussions belong to the realms of Social Groups or visitor and private messaging, not the Game Thread.
5. No powergaming. By definition, powergaming is making your country surpass every other country by all terms including armed forces, technology, etc.
6. The GM is supreme. He reserves the right to change game rules, ignore or modify orders, impose restrictions on players, disband player nations, and so on.
7. Above all else, RESPECT THY FELLOW FORUMERS.
I'll usually warn players first if they break the rules. If they break the rules repeatedly, then I'll apply this:
1st Strike: Player is suspended from the game for one turn.
2nd Strike: Player is suspended from the game for three turns.
3rd Strike: Player nation dissolved, and the player banned from ever rejoining.
I reserve the right to ignore this policy for players who really piss me off, and kick them out of the game instantly.
Inactive players (AWOL for more than 3 turns) risk facing the Wrath of the GM (WoG) ie having their nation disbanded. These players can rejoin the game, but their old territories won't be restored to them; they'll start off with 10 claims like every new player.
Joining the Game
To join the game, first choose a nation name and colour to represent your realms. Perhaps tell us a bit about your nation; your government, policies, history, and so on. Claim any ten provinces on the map, with the condition that they either have to be contiguous or on the coast.
Updates
IOT6 is a turn-based game. Each turn ends and a new turn begins with an Update. Updates will be rather irregular, but I will never update within 48 hours of a previous update. So, it is best to get your claims and orders in the first 48 hours of the turn.
I will make another thread, a Claims thread, for claims and any orders and important announcements you want to post publicly. If there's anything really important you don't want me to miss come update time, post it in that thread. There is a zero tolerance policy on any diplomacy or OT talk in the Claims thread.
Roleplaying
Roleplaying is the essence of IOT. It’s how your nation develops. It’s how alliances are formed and broken. Roleplaying is very encouraged. Feel free to inhabit your nation with whoever or whatever you want, provided it fits with the setting and the etiquette listed above.
Note: In the years after the Cataclysm, humanity has recovered the technological level of the first decades of the 21st century. The IUN International Space Agency had managed a landing on Mars in 2084, but the adventure was criticized as overly expensive and risky and man has not returned to Mars since. In 2101, none of the IUN successor states had the resources to pursue a space program of their own.
The IUN
The Integrated United Nations still exists. Today, it is less of a world government and more an intergovernmental organization. The IUN is a forum for international discussion and mediates in settling international conflicts.
Each turn, countries may be called to vote on an issue brought up to the IUN. It may be a territorial dispute, or a resolution or international agreement proposed by a member-state.
Expansion
If you are not at war, you can peacefully claim FIVE provinces each turn. If no other nation claims the same territory, they will be annexed to your empire on update. They must be next to your own territories or on the coast. Note you cannot expand in this manner in wartime.
If there are competing claims, you can either discuss it amongs yourselves, or take it to the IUN. I will call a vote of all the nations, and I will award the territory to the nation which receives the highest number of votes.
Note: all one-province islands except Greenland and all one pixel provinces costs 1/2 XP instead of one.
War
Combat is resolved by a Random Number Generator, or RNG, which will generate a number from 1 to 100. The side, that ends up with the highest number, wins.
Leadership Points
Leadership Points, or LPs, is this game's "currency". Each nation will have FIVE LPs in peacetime and TEN LPs in wartime each turn. This cannot be banked.
Attacking
As in expanding, you can only attack a province adjacent to yours, or a coastal province. Attacking an enemy province costs a minimum of one LP, so you can only attack a maximum of 10 provinces per turn.
You can use multiple LPs to attack a single province. This will give you extra RNG rolls for your attack, and I will use the highest of the rolls to determine the battle result. You can also launch a joint-assault on a particular province with your allies (tell me who the province is going to, or I’ll give it to the country which gets the highest roll).
You can also perform "blitz" attacks where you attempt to seize an enemy province and then use it to attack the next province in. Of course, things would not always go according to plan, and I'll adjust your attack plans accordingly.
Defending
Any LP not used in attacking gives you extra RNG rolls when you’re defending. So, if you have 2 unused LP, I generate three numbers instead of the usual one, and the highest roll will be used to calculate the battle result.
Note: as of Update 7 (I think), all attacking move or defending action are limited to five RNG rolls.
Military Aid
Any nation can donate their LP to another nation, in wartime or peacetime, in secret or in public. Either way I have to know about it. It will automatically go to defence unless the recipients specify they want to do with it. Gifted LPs must either be in used the turn it is gifted or in the turn immediately after. If the former, both the amount and the donor can be kept secret, but if the latter, I will post the amount (but not the donor) publicly in the update.
Espionage
LPs can also be used in spy missions, both in peacetime and wartime. Here's how it works. Here's a list of all the spy missions you can take against your rivals, in peacetime and wartime (you can suggest more if you want). Send me a PM of what you want to do, and you'll know if it succeed or fail at update time.
There are certain risks, of course. You may fail, or worse, you may be discovered, at which point your vile acts will be known to all the world. Also, they are rather pricey. The price listed here is the minimum price of a spy action. Paying double the minimum price will increase the chance of success by 10% and decrease the chance of discovery by 10%. Pay three times the normal cost and the chance of success is increased by 20% and of discovery is decreased by the same percentage. And so on. This caps at 90% success rate and 10% discovery rate.
Nuclear Weapons
No nation can develop nuclear weapons from the word go. All of the world's nuclear arsenal has been abolished with the exception of a small emergency nuclear arsenal controlled by the IUN under lock and key in an undisclosed location. The knowledge is still there, however; you still need training and infrastructure.
Unlike everything else in this game, any investment in nuclear programs or weapons are cumulative ie it carries over from turn to turn.
To develop a nuclear program capable of producing weapons and the delivery systems you need to invest Leadership Points in it. First, you need 10 LPs to establish a nuclear program. Then you put in the investment. Every additional LP (after the first 10) invested into the program = +1% chance that the program will be finished and ready to produce nuclear weapons next turn.
Once that is finished, you can then produce nuclear weapons. One nuclear missile costs 5 LP to build, and it can strike anywhere on the map. If detonated, it will turn the targeted province to "neutral" territory. However, there is a 20% chance it will turn it into a "wasteland" instead - an impassable, unclaimable province.
There are other consequences of using a nuclear weapon. You may be penalized by an embargo or a strike in your country (symbolized by inability to either claim or use your LPs for one turn).
A Doomsday Counter counts the number of nuclear weapons used by all countries in the world. Every time it gets to a multiple of ten, horrible things will happen. You have been warned.
Use of Straits
Players controllingthe following provinces can block other players from accessing the respective straits: Gibraltar or N. Morocco (Strait of Gibraltar), Suez or Sinai (Suez Canal), Istanbul (Bosporus), Copenhagen or Malmo (Kattegat), Sinai (Tiran), Djibouti or Aden (Bab-el-Mandeb), Bandar-Abbas or Dubai (Hormuz).
Control of these straits can potentially close off the following seas: the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Aqaba. It can be very useful to block players to stop them claiming or attacking certain regions. A player blocked in the Mediterranean cannot sail out, for instance, and can't claim or attack territories outside of the Med that is not adjacent to their own territories.
IMPORTANT - Rule Changes (29/12/2010)
1. Sabotage spy mission - now causes the victim to lose 5 of their LP for one turn.
2. Trading XPs - is now possible. So you can now trade XPs for LPs and vice versa. But you can not convert one to the other (and giving XPs to countries at war will NOT allow them to expand!)
3. Trading XPs and LPs - from now on, any traded XPs or LPs will be available for use the turn after the trade is made, for one turn only. So if you give a player some this turn, he can only use it next turn. For clarity I will post the exact number of XPs and LPs available to each player at the start of each turn, that will include both the points you get normally plus the points you get from trade or aid.
Imperium Offtopicum VI
Rise of the Lost
Old Capitol War Memorial, Washington DC
Theme Music
Link to the Claims Thread
Link to IOTVI Discussion Group
More links under "Game Information" below
Earth, AD2101. The unprecedented, and exceptionally brutal, political, economic and environmental upheaval of the first half of the 21st century had forever shattered the old world order, destroyed the world’s economy, caused widespread environmental degradation, and left hundreds of millions dead. The wars only came to an end with the outbreak of a mysterious Plague, which so devastated the remaining combatants that it forces them to the negotiating table. At one time, it seemed the human race was on the verge of extinction.
But peace arrived, and the Plague was contained. Collectively recoiling from the horrors of The Cataclysm, the countries of the world agreed to the formation of a global government, the Integrated United Nations, or IUN, in 2045. The IUN oversaw the reconstruction of the shattered world for four decades. However, by the late 2080s, the IUN was beginning to fall apart. New leaders and new states rose to fill in the power vacuum. Some brought a new vision for the world, while others yearn for a return to past glories.
The sun rises over a new world, and humanity faces an uncertain future. Are you prepared, to grasp the reins of power, to create the future?
Rise of the Lost
Old Capitol War Memorial, Washington DC
Theme Music
Link to the Claims Thread
Link to IOTVI Discussion Group
More links under "Game Information" below
Earth, AD2101. The unprecedented, and exceptionally brutal, political, economic and environmental upheaval of the first half of the 21st century had forever shattered the old world order, destroyed the world’s economy, caused widespread environmental degradation, and left hundreds of millions dead. The wars only came to an end with the outbreak of a mysterious Plague, which so devastated the remaining combatants that it forces them to the negotiating table. At one time, it seemed the human race was on the verge of extinction.
But peace arrived, and the Plague was contained. Collectively recoiling from the horrors of The Cataclysm, the countries of the world agreed to the formation of a global government, the Integrated United Nations, or IUN, in 2045. The IUN oversaw the reconstruction of the shattered world for four decades. However, by the late 2080s, the IUN was beginning to fall apart. New leaders and new states rose to fill in the power vacuum. Some brought a new vision for the world, while others yearn for a return to past glories.
The sun rises over a new world, and humanity faces an uncertain future. Are you prepared, to grasp the reins of power, to create the future?
Imperium Offtopicum (IOT) is a role-playing game spun out of the Altered Maps thread in Off-Topic, hence the name. Players assume the role of leader of a nation of their own creation, and interact with each other on such issues as law, economy, science and technology, humanitarianism, and national defence. This particular version is a "simple" IOT, a "back to basics" of sorts. The rules here are simpler than many of the recent IOT derivatives, but are similar to IOTs 1-4.
The Rules
Note: all rules are subject to change, so please keep an eye out for them. Thanks.
House Rules
1. Do not flame, troll, or personally insult any other player OOC or IC. At all. You may comment on certain things negatively, but don't take it further than that.
2. Stay on topic. Make sure all comments are relevant to the fictional world of the current IOT and have nothing to do with your personal religious/political beliefs.
3. Your posts should actually consist of something relevant to your nation and not just one-liner comments. Do not spam.
4. Long diplomatic discussions belong to the realms of Social Groups or visitor and private messaging, not the Game Thread.
5. No powergaming. By definition, powergaming is making your country surpass every other country by all terms including armed forces, technology, etc.
6. The GM is supreme. He reserves the right to change game rules, ignore or modify orders, impose restrictions on players, disband player nations, and so on.
7. Above all else, RESPECT THY FELLOW FORUMERS.
I'll usually warn players first if they break the rules. If they break the rules repeatedly, then I'll apply this:
1st Strike: Player is suspended from the game for one turn.
2nd Strike: Player is suspended from the game for three turns.
3rd Strike: Player nation dissolved, and the player banned from ever rejoining.
I reserve the right to ignore this policy for players who really piss me off, and kick them out of the game instantly.
Inactive players (AWOL for more than 3 turns) risk facing the Wrath of the GM (WoG) ie having their nation disbanded. These players can rejoin the game, but their old territories won't be restored to them; they'll start off with 10 claims like every new player.
Joining the Game
To join the game, first choose a nation name and colour to represent your realms. Perhaps tell us a bit about your nation; your government, policies, history, and so on. Claim any ten provinces on the map, with the condition that they either have to be contiguous or on the coast.
Updates
IOT6 is a turn-based game. Each turn ends and a new turn begins with an Update. Updates will be rather irregular, but I will never update within 48 hours of a previous update. So, it is best to get your claims and orders in the first 48 hours of the turn.
I will make another thread, a Claims thread, for claims and any orders and important announcements you want to post publicly. If there's anything really important you don't want me to miss come update time, post it in that thread. There is a zero tolerance policy on any diplomacy or OT talk in the Claims thread.
Roleplaying
Roleplaying is the essence of IOT. It’s how your nation develops. It’s how alliances are formed and broken. Roleplaying is very encouraged. Feel free to inhabit your nation with whoever or whatever you want, provided it fits with the setting and the etiquette listed above.
Note: In the years after the Cataclysm, humanity has recovered the technological level of the first decades of the 21st century. The IUN International Space Agency had managed a landing on Mars in 2084, but the adventure was criticized as overly expensive and risky and man has not returned to Mars since. In 2101, none of the IUN successor states had the resources to pursue a space program of their own.
The IUN
The Integrated United Nations still exists. Today, it is less of a world government and more an intergovernmental organization. The IUN is a forum for international discussion and mediates in settling international conflicts.
Each turn, countries may be called to vote on an issue brought up to the IUN. It may be a territorial dispute, or a resolution or international agreement proposed by a member-state.
Expansion
If you are not at war, you can peacefully claim FIVE provinces each turn. If no other nation claims the same territory, they will be annexed to your empire on update. They must be next to your own territories or on the coast. Note you cannot expand in this manner in wartime.
If there are competing claims, you can either discuss it amongs yourselves, or take it to the IUN. I will call a vote of all the nations, and I will award the territory to the nation which receives the highest number of votes.
Note: all one-province islands except Greenland and all one pixel provinces costs 1/2 XP instead of one.
War
Combat is resolved by a Random Number Generator, or RNG, which will generate a number from 1 to 100. The side, that ends up with the highest number, wins.
Leadership Points
Leadership Points, or LPs, is this game's "currency". Each nation will have FIVE LPs in peacetime and TEN LPs in wartime each turn. This cannot be banked.
Attacking
As in expanding, you can only attack a province adjacent to yours, or a coastal province. Attacking an enemy province costs a minimum of one LP, so you can only attack a maximum of 10 provinces per turn.
You can use multiple LPs to attack a single province. This will give you extra RNG rolls for your attack, and I will use the highest of the rolls to determine the battle result. You can also launch a joint-assault on a particular province with your allies (tell me who the province is going to, or I’ll give it to the country which gets the highest roll).
You can also perform "blitz" attacks where you attempt to seize an enemy province and then use it to attack the next province in. Of course, things would not always go according to plan, and I'll adjust your attack plans accordingly.
Defending
Any LP not used in attacking gives you extra RNG rolls when you’re defending. So, if you have 2 unused LP, I generate three numbers instead of the usual one, and the highest roll will be used to calculate the battle result.
Note: as of Update 7 (I think), all attacking move or defending action are limited to five RNG rolls.
Military Aid
Any nation can donate their LP to another nation, in wartime or peacetime, in secret or in public. Either way I have to know about it. It will automatically go to defence unless the recipients specify they want to do with it. Gifted LPs must either be in used the turn it is gifted or in the turn immediately after. If the former, both the amount and the donor can be kept secret, but if the latter, I will post the amount (but not the donor) publicly in the update.
Espionage
LPs can also be used in spy missions, both in peacetime and wartime. Here's how it works. Here's a list of all the spy missions you can take against your rivals, in peacetime and wartime (you can suggest more if you want). Send me a PM of what you want to do, and you'll know if it succeed or fail at update time.
There are certain risks, of course. You may fail, or worse, you may be discovered, at which point your vile acts will be known to all the world. Also, they are rather pricey. The price listed here is the minimum price of a spy action. Paying double the minimum price will increase the chance of success by 10% and decrease the chance of discovery by 10%. Pay three times the normal cost and the chance of success is increased by 20% and of discovery is decreased by the same percentage. And so on. This caps at 90% success rate and 10% discovery rate.
Spoiler List of possible missions :
Nuclear Weapons
No nation can develop nuclear weapons from the word go. All of the world's nuclear arsenal has been abolished with the exception of a small emergency nuclear arsenal controlled by the IUN under lock and key in an undisclosed location. The knowledge is still there, however; you still need training and infrastructure.
Unlike everything else in this game, any investment in nuclear programs or weapons are cumulative ie it carries over from turn to turn.
To develop a nuclear program capable of producing weapons and the delivery systems you need to invest Leadership Points in it. First, you need 10 LPs to establish a nuclear program. Then you put in the investment. Every additional LP (after the first 10) invested into the program = +1% chance that the program will be finished and ready to produce nuclear weapons next turn.
Once that is finished, you can then produce nuclear weapons. One nuclear missile costs 5 LP to build, and it can strike anywhere on the map. If detonated, it will turn the targeted province to "neutral" territory. However, there is a 20% chance it will turn it into a "wasteland" instead - an impassable, unclaimable province.
There are other consequences of using a nuclear weapon. You may be penalized by an embargo or a strike in your country (symbolized by inability to either claim or use your LPs for one turn).
A Doomsday Counter counts the number of nuclear weapons used by all countries in the world. Every time it gets to a multiple of ten, horrible things will happen. You have been warned.
Use of Straits
Players controllingthe following provinces can block other players from accessing the respective straits: Gibraltar or N. Morocco (Strait of Gibraltar), Suez or Sinai (Suez Canal), Istanbul (Bosporus), Copenhagen or Malmo (Kattegat), Sinai (Tiran), Djibouti or Aden (Bab-el-Mandeb), Bandar-Abbas or Dubai (Hormuz).
Control of these straits can potentially close off the following seas: the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Aqaba. It can be very useful to block players to stop them claiming or attacking certain regions. A player blocked in the Mediterranean cannot sail out, for instance, and can't claim or attack territories outside of the Med that is not adjacent to their own territories.
IMPORTANT - Rule Changes (29/12/2010)
1. Sabotage spy mission - now causes the victim to lose 5 of their LP for one turn.
2. Trading XPs - is now possible. So you can now trade XPs for LPs and vice versa. But you can not convert one to the other (and giving XPs to countries at war will NOT allow them to expand!)
3. Trading XPs and LPs - from now on, any traded XPs or LPs will be available for use the turn after the trade is made, for one turn only. So if you give a player some this turn, he can only use it next turn. For clarity I will post the exact number of XPs and LPs available to each player at the start of each turn, that will include both the points you get normally plus the points you get from trade or aid.
