Silver Steak
The Ghost of SS
Introduction
In a forgotten Time, when the Ancients ruled the world... Those who would play out the Great Game of war and survival were gathered. The scene, a foreign Earth, all of it a stage and all of them mere victims of Change. Change that would cast down their oppressors, and make them masters of their own Destiny...
Magnamund is a sundered world. It was once the paradise of the Ancients, a long gone species of great psychic powers. They were, in their time, the supreme rulers of their world, able to warp the reality around them according to their wishes with their minds alone. They developed this ability above all, ultimately extending their domain from their immediate surroundings to far off worlds - to other sentient species. They sought out sparks of intelligence in the vast universe, and targeted their powers onto large congregations of minds in order to open their greatest discovery: a Gateway.
It was no great surprise when the first of these portals were opened, the Ancients observed the inhabitants of the new world - and found them complately lacking in psychic mastery. This led them to brutally enslave the natives, work them until they had stripped the world of resources, then take the prime of the slaves with them to Magnamund before closing the portal, leaving billions to desperate warfare, starvation and inevitable doom. They worked themselves from world to world, becoming far greater then the bounds of their realm would ever have allowed them.
At the same time, many slave species were imported - some thrived, others survived. The rest adapted or perished. The Ancients were uncaring of how they fared, since they knew they needed but open another portal to gain billions of new "intelligent" servants. They were particularily fond of the Humans, a species which seemed already familiar with internal strife, slavery and both menial and mental tasks. They were the last species to be enslaved by the Ancients, and thrived surprisingly well on the planet. They quickly multiplied, allowing the Ancients to halt their century of warfare and domination to focus more on different aspects of their Power.
It was then that the wheels of Destiny creaked, moved - and began to turn. One of the Ancients - long forgotten except for his discovery - succeeded in linking his mental focus with others of his kind. It allowed the Ancients to magnify their psychic energies, a technique that theoretically could amplify their power to infinity. There was only one catch: one of the linked had to assume control. This discovery was so sensational and potent that it could make them the supreme rulers of the universe. Alas, the discovery was at the same time equally dangerous, for it gave the Ancients reason to practice slavery not only on other species, but on eachother as well.
The war and chaos that ensued consumed their civilization, leading the enslaved to rise up against their masters. When the Ancients had successfully ceased their reckless acts of violence and made peace, they were no longer in command over the billions of displaced souls who thirsted for revenge against an age of terror and oppression. It was the last time the Ancients opened a Gateway on Magnamund. This time, they did not return with more victims of their merciless rule. They did not return at all.
After the Ancients deserted their homeworld, the engineering they had placed on the planets geology, climate and even the course of its moon were reversed, leading to all manners of catastrophies from massive volcanoes to groundsplitting earthquakes followed by devastating tsunamis. Conditions worsened, reaching a climax as the very surface of the planet itself threatened to tear open. This did not occur, however, and the former slaves were spared to face the countless challenges ahead of them: heat, cold, darkness, famine, epidemies previously held in check by the Ancients - and war. Dozens of the slave species went extinct in the first decade. Half of them due to the indiscriminate killings in the fight for survival, and more often by their own kind then not.
Now, Magnamund has finally calmed some of her rage to allow her new inhabitants a time of peace and rebuilding. However, the world is now a contested one. There are no supreme species to claim the entire world for themselves. This new age will bring new oppertunities; Friendship, Peace and Prosperity. However, old giants still sharpen their axes; War, Misfortune, Destruction. Only one thing is certain: both sides will play their parts, and the resulting struggle will produce one victor - the new supreme civilization of the World of Magnamund.
Rules:
Economy
Your economy will be represented by the total production of your nations combined resources. They will appear as (Rural/Urban/Trade) +(Centers and Bonuses)
Rural - This stat will be representative of your nation’s production in areas such as farming, mining, fishing, etc... Basically your total production of goods outside the city. Most of your nation’s production will come from rural areas as that is where a majority of your population lays thus the majority of your production. You can increase this stat through investment (2 EP as before) of economy and through stories or creative orders.
Urban - This stat can also be increased through projects or stories. Since urban economy should never really increase that of the rural economy this stat cannot become larger then that of the rural economy. Urban can never be larger then rural + trade.
Trade - This stat will be the total amount of the trade centers one has. However you may get bonus trade points from trading with several people but these can be lost and gained very easily depending on piracy, wars and barbarian raids. Some countries may be trading with the same amount of people as another but they are in a superior position. For example an island nation in the center of a great bay will have a lot more trade bonuses then a nation in the middle of land unless in center of a major trade route. To lose a trade economy can have profound impacts on your nation and all other economic areas. For example if a major port (Economic Center) for your nation is destroyed it may be the port that imports raw materials that feed a trade or the opposite a trade no longer is able to export its products causing a drop in production.
Lets say a nation has /2 (1 EC) as its trade. That means it has two trade total one from an economy center and one from a bonus trade point.
Military
This stat is represented by infantry, cavalry and ships. For each economy point you can buy a 1000 infantry or 300 cavalry. One economy point may also buy 5 ships.
Everyone may have one UU. Tell me what it is and what is special about it and I will put it on the front page.
Education
This is, obviously, how educated your folks are. It will likely be useless for the most of you, although it will give you bonuses to nearly everything at higher levels through greater expertise and pooled knowledge (such as libraries) Also, investing in education will often be required for technological advancement and discoveries. Education requires an upkeep cost at higher levels, shown in the parenthesis behind the word level below.
Levels:
None, Pathetic (0), Poor (0), Decent (1), Good (2), Excellent (3), Brilliant (5)
Infrastructure
The quality of your nation’s roads, farms, and stuff like that. Logistics. Will decrease if you have a heavy increase in usage (like many new traders, or Manpower increase), or if it is destroyed, either by you for some masochistic reason or due to an invasion. As always, better infrastructure allows quicker deployment of troops, paired with the risk of your enemy exploiting it for their invasion. Also, high standards require constant maintenance, and as such require upkeep. At higher levels, every turn you neglect this, your infrastructure drops by one level.
Levels:
None, Pathetic (0), Poor (0), Decent (1), Good (1), Excellent (2), Brilliant (3)
Confidence
This is how much them folks like your rule. Pretty self explanatory: if they like what you’re doing, it will be good, if not, then bad. However, you cannot increase this via Income points. Stories can help.
Levels:
None, Lynching, Untrusting, Tolerating, Respecting, Admiring, Loving
Projects
The main things you’ll want to do with these is increase Culture, Confidence, or just plain build something. They won’t have some magical spawning generator that gets you dozens more men, or something like that. They won’t have a tangible effect, but will instead display your culture and thus make it seem more impressive, or make people more faithful to you.
Or this could be used as a long term project to improve your nation’s standard of living, or a new, deadly military technology (generally only in the late game).
Projects will cost a fixed number of economy points decided by me. If your project is an outstanding monunment it may become a world wonder which will bring you many benefits.
Population
Is a word-based stat. Here are the levels.
Tiny - <50 000
Small- 50 000-250 000
Medium- 250 000-1 500 000
Large- 1 500 000-10 000 000
Huge- 10 000 000-100 000 000
Massive- 100 000 000-1 500 000 000
Colossal- >1 500 000 000
Ages
Note that there will not be any bronze age as seen in OTL, since there are no sufficient quantities of tin on Magnamund to support a large scale production of bronze. Also, ages will not be a primary indicator of technological advancement, but of what metal is the most common in use by the nation. There will be more "ages" available as your nations develop and history is written.
City Bonuses
Economic centers- Cities surrounded by red, these provide you with one economy point per turn.
Ancients centers- Cities surrounded by blue, these provide you with fortifications and random events. These cities are founded near ruins of the Ancients, providing ample building materials, buried secrets of great fortune and/or peril, and just might contain some forgotten lore about the Ancients and their advanced civilization. Founding cities on these sites will be free of cost, as opposed to the normal 1 EP.
Nation Template:
Nation: [Full Nation Name]
Ruler/Player: [Ruler/Username]
Major Cities:
Population: To be determined by me
Government:
Economy: Pick either 1/1/0 or 2/0/0
Army: (Spend 4 eco on either infantry, cavalry or ships)
Navy:
Age: Copper Age
Education: None
Infrastructure: None
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects/Wonders:
Description:
Important Notes
I would like to thank TheFarow and Lord_Iggy for using ideas and rules from their NESes. Although I pretty much copied/pasted his rules, I feel this credit is quite misguiding since most of the rules for NESing can be credited to the entire community as a whole. Still, I offer him an apology for not even asking, and remind him that mimicry is the greatest for of praise.
Also, the map is a ripoff of the Realm of Magnamund of the Lone Wolf series. I just took the map and redrew it, with a few minor changes. If I ever sense someone exploiting this "knowledge" IC, I will slap them down so horribly that they will not dare to play in my NES ever again.
Orders
Orders Must be PMed. Please start them with a copy of your stats, and a list of spendings. Then you can write the rest in detail. This will allow me to update faster, and any errors can easily be confirmed by me through your pre-update stats.
---------------------------
Please comment on the rules, and start writing descriptions for future nations. I've already gotten many location requests on the poll thread, but they will not be valid unless you write a description. This is essential for me to judge where you start, so please write a detailed description - especially if you plan to play an "alien" nation. Otherwise, feel free to praise/rant/slaughter as you like.
NOTE: When you fill out the nation template, I would very much like you to write a story about how your nation formed. Also, if you make an "alien" species, write a description about their physique, social structure and the like. This will make it far easier for me to MOD, and for the other players to get a feel of your nation. Thanks!
Here are the cradles once again, for those of you who did not see them in the poll thread:
In a forgotten Time, when the Ancients ruled the world... Those who would play out the Great Game of war and survival were gathered. The scene, a foreign Earth, all of it a stage and all of them mere victims of Change. Change that would cast down their oppressors, and make them masters of their own Destiny...
Magnamund is a sundered world. It was once the paradise of the Ancients, a long gone species of great psychic powers. They were, in their time, the supreme rulers of their world, able to warp the reality around them according to their wishes with their minds alone. They developed this ability above all, ultimately extending their domain from their immediate surroundings to far off worlds - to other sentient species. They sought out sparks of intelligence in the vast universe, and targeted their powers onto large congregations of minds in order to open their greatest discovery: a Gateway.
It was no great surprise when the first of these portals were opened, the Ancients observed the inhabitants of the new world - and found them complately lacking in psychic mastery. This led them to brutally enslave the natives, work them until they had stripped the world of resources, then take the prime of the slaves with them to Magnamund before closing the portal, leaving billions to desperate warfare, starvation and inevitable doom. They worked themselves from world to world, becoming far greater then the bounds of their realm would ever have allowed them.
At the same time, many slave species were imported - some thrived, others survived. The rest adapted or perished. The Ancients were uncaring of how they fared, since they knew they needed but open another portal to gain billions of new "intelligent" servants. They were particularily fond of the Humans, a species which seemed already familiar with internal strife, slavery and both menial and mental tasks. They were the last species to be enslaved by the Ancients, and thrived surprisingly well on the planet. They quickly multiplied, allowing the Ancients to halt their century of warfare and domination to focus more on different aspects of their Power.
It was then that the wheels of Destiny creaked, moved - and began to turn. One of the Ancients - long forgotten except for his discovery - succeeded in linking his mental focus with others of his kind. It allowed the Ancients to magnify their psychic energies, a technique that theoretically could amplify their power to infinity. There was only one catch: one of the linked had to assume control. This discovery was so sensational and potent that it could make them the supreme rulers of the universe. Alas, the discovery was at the same time equally dangerous, for it gave the Ancients reason to practice slavery not only on other species, but on eachother as well.
The war and chaos that ensued consumed their civilization, leading the enslaved to rise up against their masters. When the Ancients had successfully ceased their reckless acts of violence and made peace, they were no longer in command over the billions of displaced souls who thirsted for revenge against an age of terror and oppression. It was the last time the Ancients opened a Gateway on Magnamund. This time, they did not return with more victims of their merciless rule. They did not return at all.
After the Ancients deserted their homeworld, the engineering they had placed on the planets geology, climate and even the course of its moon were reversed, leading to all manners of catastrophies from massive volcanoes to groundsplitting earthquakes followed by devastating tsunamis. Conditions worsened, reaching a climax as the very surface of the planet itself threatened to tear open. This did not occur, however, and the former slaves were spared to face the countless challenges ahead of them: heat, cold, darkness, famine, epidemies previously held in check by the Ancients - and war. Dozens of the slave species went extinct in the first decade. Half of them due to the indiscriminate killings in the fight for survival, and more often by their own kind then not.
Now, Magnamund has finally calmed some of her rage to allow her new inhabitants a time of peace and rebuilding. However, the world is now a contested one. There are no supreme species to claim the entire world for themselves. This new age will bring new oppertunities; Friendship, Peace and Prosperity. However, old giants still sharpen their axes; War, Misfortune, Destruction. Only one thing is certain: both sides will play their parts, and the resulting struggle will produce one victor - the new supreme civilization of the World of Magnamund.
Rules:
Economy
Your economy will be represented by the total production of your nations combined resources. They will appear as (Rural/Urban/Trade) +(Centers and Bonuses)
Rural - This stat will be representative of your nation’s production in areas such as farming, mining, fishing, etc... Basically your total production of goods outside the city. Most of your nation’s production will come from rural areas as that is where a majority of your population lays thus the majority of your production. You can increase this stat through investment (2 EP as before) of economy and through stories or creative orders.
Urban - This stat can also be increased through projects or stories. Since urban economy should never really increase that of the rural economy this stat cannot become larger then that of the rural economy. Urban can never be larger then rural + trade.
Trade - This stat will be the total amount of the trade centers one has. However you may get bonus trade points from trading with several people but these can be lost and gained very easily depending on piracy, wars and barbarian raids. Some countries may be trading with the same amount of people as another but they are in a superior position. For example an island nation in the center of a great bay will have a lot more trade bonuses then a nation in the middle of land unless in center of a major trade route. To lose a trade economy can have profound impacts on your nation and all other economic areas. For example if a major port (Economic Center) for your nation is destroyed it may be the port that imports raw materials that feed a trade or the opposite a trade no longer is able to export its products causing a drop in production.
Lets say a nation has /2 (1 EC) as its trade. That means it has two trade total one from an economy center and one from a bonus trade point.
Military
This stat is represented by infantry, cavalry and ships. For each economy point you can buy a 1000 infantry or 300 cavalry. One economy point may also buy 5 ships.
Everyone may have one UU. Tell me what it is and what is special about it and I will put it on the front page.
Education
This is, obviously, how educated your folks are. It will likely be useless for the most of you, although it will give you bonuses to nearly everything at higher levels through greater expertise and pooled knowledge (such as libraries) Also, investing in education will often be required for technological advancement and discoveries. Education requires an upkeep cost at higher levels, shown in the parenthesis behind the word level below.
Levels:
None, Pathetic (0), Poor (0), Decent (1), Good (2), Excellent (3), Brilliant (5)
Infrastructure
The quality of your nation’s roads, farms, and stuff like that. Logistics. Will decrease if you have a heavy increase in usage (like many new traders, or Manpower increase), or if it is destroyed, either by you for some masochistic reason or due to an invasion. As always, better infrastructure allows quicker deployment of troops, paired with the risk of your enemy exploiting it for their invasion. Also, high standards require constant maintenance, and as such require upkeep. At higher levels, every turn you neglect this, your infrastructure drops by one level.
Levels:
None, Pathetic (0), Poor (0), Decent (1), Good (1), Excellent (2), Brilliant (3)
Confidence
This is how much them folks like your rule. Pretty self explanatory: if they like what you’re doing, it will be good, if not, then bad. However, you cannot increase this via Income points. Stories can help.
Levels:
None, Lynching, Untrusting, Tolerating, Respecting, Admiring, Loving
Projects
The main things you’ll want to do with these is increase Culture, Confidence, or just plain build something. They won’t have some magical spawning generator that gets you dozens more men, or something like that. They won’t have a tangible effect, but will instead display your culture and thus make it seem more impressive, or make people more faithful to you.
Or this could be used as a long term project to improve your nation’s standard of living, or a new, deadly military technology (generally only in the late game).
Projects will cost a fixed number of economy points decided by me. If your project is an outstanding monunment it may become a world wonder which will bring you many benefits.
Population
Is a word-based stat. Here are the levels.
Tiny - <50 000
Small- 50 000-250 000
Medium- 250 000-1 500 000
Large- 1 500 000-10 000 000
Huge- 10 000 000-100 000 000
Massive- 100 000 000-1 500 000 000
Colossal- >1 500 000 000
Ages
Note that there will not be any bronze age as seen in OTL, since there are no sufficient quantities of tin on Magnamund to support a large scale production of bronze. Also, ages will not be a primary indicator of technological advancement, but of what metal is the most common in use by the nation. There will be more "ages" available as your nations develop and history is written.
City Bonuses
Economic centers- Cities surrounded by red, these provide you with one economy point per turn.
Ancients centers- Cities surrounded by blue, these provide you with fortifications and random events. These cities are founded near ruins of the Ancients, providing ample building materials, buried secrets of great fortune and/or peril, and just might contain some forgotten lore about the Ancients and their advanced civilization. Founding cities on these sites will be free of cost, as opposed to the normal 1 EP.
Nation Template:
Nation: [Full Nation Name]
Ruler/Player: [Ruler/Username]
Major Cities:
Population: To be determined by me
Government:
Economy: Pick either 1/1/0 or 2/0/0
Army: (Spend 4 eco on either infantry, cavalry or ships)
Navy:
Age: Copper Age
Education: None
Infrastructure: None
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects/Wonders:
Description:
Important Notes
I would like to thank TheFarow and Lord_Iggy for using ideas and rules from their NESes. Although I pretty much copied/pasted his rules, I feel this credit is quite misguiding since most of the rules for NESing can be credited to the entire community as a whole. Still, I offer him an apology for not even asking, and remind him that mimicry is the greatest for of praise.
Also, the map is a ripoff of the Realm of Magnamund of the Lone Wolf series. I just took the map and redrew it, with a few minor changes. If I ever sense someone exploiting this "knowledge" IC, I will slap them down so horribly that they will not dare to play in my NES ever again.
Orders
Orders Must be PMed. Please start them with a copy of your stats, and a list of spendings. Then you can write the rest in detail. This will allow me to update faster, and any errors can easily be confirmed by me through your pre-update stats.
---------------------------
Please comment on the rules, and start writing descriptions for future nations. I've already gotten many location requests on the poll thread, but they will not be valid unless you write a description. This is essential for me to judge where you start, so please write a detailed description - especially if you plan to play an "alien" nation. Otherwise, feel free to praise/rant/slaughter as you like.
NOTE: When you fill out the nation template, I would very much like you to write a story about how your nation formed. Also, if you make an "alien" species, write a description about their physique, social structure and the like. This will make it far easier for me to MOD, and for the other players to get a feel of your nation. Thanks!
Here are the cradles once again, for those of you who did not see them in the poll thread:
And I had the quote in the back of my mind since your first NES. Only I dind't remember it was from your first NES. 
, and we all know we need some of that in this NES. 
