Jason The King
Deity
ORDERS DUE MONDAY, JAN. 3 7:00 PM PST
Introduction:
As I continue to work on the Age of Exploration re-launch (slated for Spring/Summer 2011), Ive decided to start up a fresh start NES. I do this for three reasons: 1. By far I enjoy modding fresh starts on world maps the most, 2. Theyre easy to MOD, and 3. There seems to be a lack of fresh starts lately (though correct me if Im wrong).
The rules that follow are simple and in no way unique to this NES, but also should only act as a guidepost when writing orders. JNES fresh starts are open-ended, if you can think of something to do that isnt addressed in the rules, try it.
I also want to make clear that I will try my best to be realistic, though I will not hear arguments as to how I am not accomplishing that goal.
Stories are encouraged. They give character to otherwise mundane nations, give me less work to do in order to create storylines, and will most likely see their nations influence and popularity in updates increased.
There will be a few BTs of sorts. I will mention more about this later when it becomes pertinent.
And with that short introduction, I give you the rules. Please be aware that they are subject to change as time goes on. To create a nation, just fill out the template and indicate where you would like to start.
Nation Name
Government Type: Ruler/Ruling Party
Capital:
Economy:
Revenue: + (Tax Rate)
Stability:
Nobility: Strength/Loyalty
Peasantry: Strength/Loyalty
Legacy:
Army:
Quality:
Navy:
Quality:
Starting Location:
You have four cradles from which to choose. Each cradle will most likely develop differently, but all start out equal in terms of technology and development. It will always help to start where there are more people the more players, the more interaction, the more fun you will have, and the less work I will have. It will also help a nation to have trade partners where ideas and goods can be exchanged. If there is a cradle that is left with less than 3 players, it will be dropped and I will ask those three players to choose a different starting location.
The four cradles are: Mesoamerica, Fertile Crescent, the Indus River, and the Yellow River Basin.
EDIT: While starting in a cradle can't hurt, the point of the cradles was to centralize starting locations to minimize the need for NPCs. However, if you start somewhere that also has a lot of other players (2+), that should be fine too.
Economy:
There are two stats for the economy. The first is a descriptive stat for the economy, and is based on a ten point scale. The higher the number, the larger the economy is relative to known civilizations. For example, everyone will start out with a 5, since each nation is neither richer nor poorer than any other in the very beginning. This stat is out of the direct control of the player, though policies and projects can have subtle (or extreme) effects on this stat.
The second stat is revenue. This is all the credits you have to spend any given turn. It reflects the tax revenue your government is currently earning, minus any expenses. The expenses are not shown, and are really just an overall sum of what it costs to maintain your current status (infrastructure, military upkeep, etc). In the beginning of this game, this amounts to mostly pittance, and really should not be a cause for concern. You can at any time ask me for more details by PM or AIM.
You can raise your tax rate up and down, but there is no real way of knowing what exactly will be the effect on your revenue, since higher taxes could stifle economic growth and cancel out any expected revenue gains, while lowering taxes could do the opposite.
Your tax rate can sit at one of five levels. You can change it to whatever level at any point, though moving it three or four levels at one time can have drastic consequences on your economy.
The levels: Very Low, Low, Medium, High, Very High.
Stability:
The various major factions within your nations will be reflected in your stats, and all will have their own views towards how the country should be run. Some are large factions, others are small, and all have different strength in influence. Most of them disagree with each other, and it will be a lucky ruler who can keep them all happy, all the time.
All factions have two key parts: Strength and Loyalty. The Strength of the faction suggests the power of the group and the ability of the faction to enact change and policy. Strength can be affected by the wealth of the faction, the size of the faction, access to weapons, and other factors to be determined. The loyalty of the faction is the rating of how likely they are to turn against you and attempt to overthrow the standing regime. Loyalty changes based on how you act in regards to what the factions hold dear. In your stats they are arranged as so: Strength/Loyalty. Below are the levels of each factor that you should take into account, with a numerical rating. The numbers are used by me to use to determine the various events which take place in regards to your stability.
Strength: None-Weak-Medium-Strong-Powerful
Loyalty: Rebellion (0)-Mutinous (1)-Riotous (2)-Faltering (3)-Wary (4)-Loyal (5)
Legacy:
No nation or empire lasts forever. Except, of course, in the stories and histories of other people. The Legacy stat is perhaps the most important statistic in this rule set. The Legacy refers to the overall influence in a numerical form that your nation has had on the world as a whole. This is to help distinguish the glorious empires from the barbaric regions of the world. The Legacy stat represents both the international prestige of a nation as well as nationalism relating to it. The higher your legacy, you will receive bonuses to the fighting ability of your soldiers, the amount of population you receive from immigration from other countries, the loyalty of your subjects, and an increase to the likelihood of technological advancement or other one-time bonuses.
If your nation is destroyed or overrun (something which ALL of you should expect at one point or another) fear not! Your Legacy will remain, though it will proceed to dwindle with time. The more wonders you built during your reign as a nation, the longer your Legacy will take to wear down. If your wonders are destroyed by your opponents, then your Legacy will drain faster. While your country may fall, your heritage as a people will not, and even if your people should fade away, a truly high Legacy may carry its echoes even into planets beyond this one. Fear not if your nation falls, if you built it well, it's story will live on for millennia.
Legacy reflects the culture of your civilization, and can be increased through a large variety of actions. Some examples: large monuments that will stand the test of time, proliferation of language, religion, etc, large empires under your command, central trade hub, etc.
Military
This is a standard stat. To buy units to add to your army, simply spend revenue credits on them. The cost of units are based on what quality the military has. Each price shown below is based on a military with a quality of 1. For each successive quality level, add 1c to the cost of each unit.
Army:
Infantry Regiment 1c
Chariot Regiment - 2c
Mounted Regiment 4c
Navy:
War Galley 1c
The quality of each branch of the military is also shown. This is out of the direct control of the player, except that it can be voluntarily decreased if you decide youd prefer a cheaper, lousier force. For the most part, the quality reflects policy and history. Please see below for a description of each quality type so far:
1: Soldiers are basically peasants that you have called up in time of need. There is no real standing army. Peasants fight mostly with weapons they brandish themselves. Boats are civilian boats commandeered for a specific operation.
2: Soldiers are still peasants and there is still no real standing army, but they are better equipped and the populace is generally better trained and lead by a few professionals. Boats are mostly civilian still, though there may be a few lead ships that are owned by the government.
3: About half your soldiers are part of a standing army, but the rest come from the stock of peasants. Boats are mostly owned and maintained by you, and your sailors are professional seamen.
4: Most of your soldiers are part of a professional standing army and are led by competent and experienced tacticians. The boats are of great quality and meticulously maintained, and the seamen are of the highest caliber.
Introduction:
As I continue to work on the Age of Exploration re-launch (slated for Spring/Summer 2011), Ive decided to start up a fresh start NES. I do this for three reasons: 1. By far I enjoy modding fresh starts on world maps the most, 2. Theyre easy to MOD, and 3. There seems to be a lack of fresh starts lately (though correct me if Im wrong).
The rules that follow are simple and in no way unique to this NES, but also should only act as a guidepost when writing orders. JNES fresh starts are open-ended, if you can think of something to do that isnt addressed in the rules, try it.
I also want to make clear that I will try my best to be realistic, though I will not hear arguments as to how I am not accomplishing that goal.
Stories are encouraged. They give character to otherwise mundane nations, give me less work to do in order to create storylines, and will most likely see their nations influence and popularity in updates increased.
There will be a few BTs of sorts. I will mention more about this later when it becomes pertinent.
And with that short introduction, I give you the rules. Please be aware that they are subject to change as time goes on. To create a nation, just fill out the template and indicate where you would like to start.
Nation Name
Government Type: Ruler/Ruling Party
Capital:
Economy:
Revenue: + (Tax Rate)
Stability:
Nobility: Strength/Loyalty
Peasantry: Strength/Loyalty
Legacy:
Army:
Quality:
Navy:
Quality:
Starting Location:
You have four cradles from which to choose. Each cradle will most likely develop differently, but all start out equal in terms of technology and development. It will always help to start where there are more people the more players, the more interaction, the more fun you will have, and the less work I will have. It will also help a nation to have trade partners where ideas and goods can be exchanged. If there is a cradle that is left with less than 3 players, it will be dropped and I will ask those three players to choose a different starting location.
The four cradles are: Mesoamerica, Fertile Crescent, the Indus River, and the Yellow River Basin.
EDIT: While starting in a cradle can't hurt, the point of the cradles was to centralize starting locations to minimize the need for NPCs. However, if you start somewhere that also has a lot of other players (2+), that should be fine too.
Economy:
There are two stats for the economy. The first is a descriptive stat for the economy, and is based on a ten point scale. The higher the number, the larger the economy is relative to known civilizations. For example, everyone will start out with a 5, since each nation is neither richer nor poorer than any other in the very beginning. This stat is out of the direct control of the player, though policies and projects can have subtle (or extreme) effects on this stat.
The second stat is revenue. This is all the credits you have to spend any given turn. It reflects the tax revenue your government is currently earning, minus any expenses. The expenses are not shown, and are really just an overall sum of what it costs to maintain your current status (infrastructure, military upkeep, etc). In the beginning of this game, this amounts to mostly pittance, and really should not be a cause for concern. You can at any time ask me for more details by PM or AIM.
You can raise your tax rate up and down, but there is no real way of knowing what exactly will be the effect on your revenue, since higher taxes could stifle economic growth and cancel out any expected revenue gains, while lowering taxes could do the opposite.
Your tax rate can sit at one of five levels. You can change it to whatever level at any point, though moving it three or four levels at one time can have drastic consequences on your economy.
The levels: Very Low, Low, Medium, High, Very High.
Stability:
The various major factions within your nations will be reflected in your stats, and all will have their own views towards how the country should be run. Some are large factions, others are small, and all have different strength in influence. Most of them disagree with each other, and it will be a lucky ruler who can keep them all happy, all the time.
All factions have two key parts: Strength and Loyalty. The Strength of the faction suggests the power of the group and the ability of the faction to enact change and policy. Strength can be affected by the wealth of the faction, the size of the faction, access to weapons, and other factors to be determined. The loyalty of the faction is the rating of how likely they are to turn against you and attempt to overthrow the standing regime. Loyalty changes based on how you act in regards to what the factions hold dear. In your stats they are arranged as so: Strength/Loyalty. Below are the levels of each factor that you should take into account, with a numerical rating. The numbers are used by me to use to determine the various events which take place in regards to your stability.
Strength: None-Weak-Medium-Strong-Powerful
Loyalty: Rebellion (0)-Mutinous (1)-Riotous (2)-Faltering (3)-Wary (4)-Loyal (5)
Legacy:
No nation or empire lasts forever. Except, of course, in the stories and histories of other people. The Legacy stat is perhaps the most important statistic in this rule set. The Legacy refers to the overall influence in a numerical form that your nation has had on the world as a whole. This is to help distinguish the glorious empires from the barbaric regions of the world. The Legacy stat represents both the international prestige of a nation as well as nationalism relating to it. The higher your legacy, you will receive bonuses to the fighting ability of your soldiers, the amount of population you receive from immigration from other countries, the loyalty of your subjects, and an increase to the likelihood of technological advancement or other one-time bonuses.
If your nation is destroyed or overrun (something which ALL of you should expect at one point or another) fear not! Your Legacy will remain, though it will proceed to dwindle with time. The more wonders you built during your reign as a nation, the longer your Legacy will take to wear down. If your wonders are destroyed by your opponents, then your Legacy will drain faster. While your country may fall, your heritage as a people will not, and even if your people should fade away, a truly high Legacy may carry its echoes even into planets beyond this one. Fear not if your nation falls, if you built it well, it's story will live on for millennia.
Legacy reflects the culture of your civilization, and can be increased through a large variety of actions. Some examples: large monuments that will stand the test of time, proliferation of language, religion, etc, large empires under your command, central trade hub, etc.
Military
This is a standard stat. To buy units to add to your army, simply spend revenue credits on them. The cost of units are based on what quality the military has. Each price shown below is based on a military with a quality of 1. For each successive quality level, add 1c to the cost of each unit.
Army:
Infantry Regiment 1c
Chariot Regiment - 2c
Mounted Regiment 4c
Navy:
War Galley 1c
The quality of each branch of the military is also shown. This is out of the direct control of the player, except that it can be voluntarily decreased if you decide youd prefer a cheaper, lousier force. For the most part, the quality reflects policy and history. Please see below for a description of each quality type so far:
1: Soldiers are basically peasants that you have called up in time of need. There is no real standing army. Peasants fight mostly with weapons they brandish themselves. Boats are civilian boats commandeered for a specific operation.
2: Soldiers are still peasants and there is still no real standing army, but they are better equipped and the populace is generally better trained and lead by a few professionals. Boats are mostly civilian still, though there may be a few lead ships that are owned by the government.
3: About half your soldiers are part of a standing army, but the rest come from the stock of peasants. Boats are mostly owned and maintained by you, and your sailors are professional seamen.
4: Most of your soldiers are part of a professional standing army and are led by competent and experienced tacticians. The boats are of great quality and meticulously maintained, and the seamen are of the highest caliber.
