Shadowbound
Incorrugible
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That map is so old it doesn't have South Sudan.
IOT Developmental Thread
- Thread starter Joecoolyo
- Start date
Tani Coyote
Son of Huehuecoyotl
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I'm assuming Poland is the result of a diplomatic faux pas where the EU referred to it as part of Eastern Europe.
Lord of Elves
Suede-Denim Secret Police
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It's the map from Superpowers.
Lord of Elves
Suede-Denim Secret Police
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Bet you feel silly now. Bet you feel like a silly billy. Bet you feel quite perturbed you didn't guess it. Bet you're questioning your memory. Well guess what? You're old and you've got memory problems.
I may be getting old, but I do remember the plan to poison the Nile with Sarin.
Lord of Elves
Suede-Denim Secret Police
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Yeah I really would not let that go. That was a terrible idea.
Please do not try this in Ériu!
I'm trying to have only a few kinda subtle alterations in order to keep the thing as grounded in some sense of the current real-life political situation, which is interesting enough. That having been said, Poland is going to have a special relationship with Europe owing to the fact the Germans and French revolted against the draft and Europe has become reliant on Polish manpower to handle the Balkan Wars.
It's obviously not a situation that can last long, and it's a little bathorsehocky, but then that's kind of the theme of the game.
Terran Empress
Hornet
Well this looks very cool, and fun count me interested
Terrible maybe, but it would have made a point.
It's about sending a message.
Lord of Elves
Suede-Denim Secret Police
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It would have been the most absurd war crime ever committed and killed probably millions of people and destroyed one of the most important ecosystems on the planet. Honestly an insane thing to even imagine doing.
Tani Coyote
Son of Huehuecoyotl
- Joined
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- Messages
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Just quietly remembering how almost every game I've ran, at least one player would ask if I had a democide mechanic and I'd be "OHHHH BOY."
Lord of Elves
Suede-Denim Secret Police
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I'm not trying to cancel you.Current WIP of rules for new Superpowers, tell me everything you think about them.
HOW TO PLAY:
Players play as governments of nations, called states. You will be using the tools of statehood to control your nation, develop your capabilities, sabotage your rivals, and destroy your enemies. Some states are much more powerful than others, but this is a time of change. Be enterprising.
STATS.
Your government’s capabilities are represented in a stat block. This is a record of your progress in the game and can be seen by all players.* Stats are updated each game turn, which take place over the course of one in-game season (with Turn 1 to begin with 2030 Winter).
*Your active nuclear warhead count is a secret that only you know.
Sample Stats:
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics / Symphony D.
Situation: Morbid
Rank: Powerful
Contradiction: 55%
Economy: +5c (+30c Cities – 22c Upkeep – 3c Interest) (Debt: 22c)
Base Cost: 10c
Unit Cost: 5c
Land Forces:
1.) 1st “Manchurians” Red Guards Army: 11 Mechs, 6 Armors, 4 Batteries, 5 Gunships – Veterans (Upkeep: 4)
2.) 2nd “Kazakhs” Red Guards Army: 2 Mechs, 2 Armors, 1 Battery, 1 Gunships – Regulars (Upkeep: 1)
3.) 1st European Reserve: 2 Mechs, 1 Armor, 1 Battery, 1 Gunships – Regulars (Upkeep: 1)
4.) 2nd European Reserve: 2 Rifles, 2 Gunships – Elite, Aerial Assault (Upkeep: 3)
Naval Forces:
1.) Northern Fleet: 2 Carriers, 9 Cruisers, 5 Destroyers, 22 Submarines - Veterans (Upkeep: 4)
2.) Pacific Fleet: 2 Carriers, 7 Cruisers, 3 Destroyers, 15 Submarines - Veterans (Upkeep: 3)
3.) Black Sea Fleet: 5 Cruisers, 6 Destroyers, 8 Submarines - Regulars (Upkeep: 2)
Aerospace Forces:
A.) Central Asian Air Army: 6 Aerosuperiority Squadrons, 3 Strike-Fighter Squadrons, 14 Bomber Squadrons – Veterans (Upkeep: 3)
B.) European Air Army: 4 Aerosuperiority Squadrons, 2 Strike-Fighter Squadrons, 2 Bomber Squadrons – Regulars (Upkeep: 1)
Strategic: 5 nuclear strikes per turn.
Delivery Methods: ICBM (2), Missile (5), Submarine (45), Bomber (14)
Treaties:
SALT II (US) – We can have no more than 2 ICBMs, 5 missiles, and 60 of other delivery methods.
Issues:
Credit Squeeze – We are running out of options for extending our credit.
Afghan War – Our war in Afghanistan is unpopular and failing.
ECONOMY.
You can spend money each turn, denoted c. The amount of c you generate each turn is shown. How that c is generated and what deductions are made is shown in parentheses. You pay upkeep for military units.
You can spend money you don’t have, which incurs debt. You can take out as much debt as you want, but you must pay the interest.
You can give c freely to other states, except you cannot give more c than you generate in a single turn from cities. That is, by spending into debt, you cannot generate more external liquidity than you produce ordinarily. However, states with Rank: Imperial are exempt from this particular rule, and may loan indefinite amounts. They still must pay interest however.
UPKEEP.
You pay 1c upkeep for 10 units in an Army and every 10 units in a Navy or Wing. Certain group attributes will increase upkeep, for example, if that group is being maintained as Veteran or Elite. You also pay 1c upkeep for each ICBM, Missile, and Cyberwar Machine you maintain.
INTEREST.
You pay 10% of your debt in interest every season. Interest is automatically deducted from your accounts. If you can’t make your interest payments, for whatever reason, your government will default. Defaulting will rapidly raise the Contradiction in your nation. If your rank is Imperial and you Default, your Contradiction will immediately go to 100%.
ACTIONS.
Build a City. 2x Base Cost. You will add a city to the map and increase your economy. You may only build one (1) city per turn.
Build an Army, Navy, or Wing. Base Cost. You will add a new military corps to your order of battle and place it on the map. If it is a land or aerospace force, it must be placed next to one of your cities. If it is a naval force, it can be placed anywhere along your coastlines. A freshly-built military corps may not move or run missions on the turn they are placed on the map, but they may still defend the city in which they are stood up.
Add a Unit. Unit Cost. You will add a unit (either a Land Division, Warship, or Combat Squadron) to one of your military corps of a corresponding type (Land, Sea, Air). Any new units are not considered “arrived” and active until the beginning of your next turn.
Build a Strategic Weapon. Various Costs. You will build a strategic weapon or delivery system and add it to your inventory. The cost is fixed no matter your rank:
ICBM: 10c
Missile: 5c
Cyberwar Machine: 5c
Build a Warhead. 5c. Top Secret. Build a nuclear warhead and add it to your stockpile. You will need to use these to arm your strategic weapons.
Build a Biological/Chemical Weapon. 10c. Top Secret. Build a biological or chemical weapon and add it to your stockpile. You can specify what kind of weapon you’d like it to be to whatever level of precision you prefer – your scientists’ll do their best.
Run Mission. 1c. You may order any army group, navy group, or aerospace command to run a mission. Missions are enormously variable, so you will characterize what you want the mission to accomplish when issuing orders. Your lieutenants can take care of details. While two or more groups/commands may collaborate on a single mission, you must pay the run mission cost for each of them.
Launch Strategic Attack. 1c. (Non-Cyber) Launch a warhead using one of your strategic weapon delivery systems. You may specify certain attributes of the attack, i.e. where you would prefer the airburst to be centered, or which targets in general you consider high priority. A warhead attacking a city is very likely to destroy it. You may commence a maximum number of strategic attacks per turn corresponding to your rank: Imperial, 10; Powerful, 5; Independent, 2; Third-World, 1.
Launch Cyber Attack. 1c. Use a Cyberwar Machine to launch a cyber attack. This is NOT a propaganda attack: the purpose of a cyber attack is to cause direct damage to a target’s infrastructure or other digital or cyberwarfare capabilities. You may be vague when issuing an attack of this kind if you’re not sure what kind of infrastructure would be most valuable to target, your lieutenants will figure it out. Cyber attacks count towards your strategic attack limit.
Issue Propaganda. Unit Cost. Commence a single propaganda operation. This will have variable effects depending on how you characterize this operation. Common options for this sort of thing are convincing your population that an enemy state is evil, or convincing an enemy state’s population that their own state is evil. You may choose to assign a Cyberwar Machine to a propaganda operation, in which case add a cost of 1c to the propaganda operation. Propaganda operations do not count towards your maximum strategic attacks per turn. Propaganda is the only way to lower your contradiction.
Issue Dole. Base Cost. You will issue a one-time benefit payment to the most dispossessed members of your citizenry. This is to prevent them from running out of living necessities and becoming desperate. Desperate people can do anything. Issuing a dole is very effective at neutralizing dissent, but it will raise your contradiction.
MILITARY.
(Land) Army Corps. Your land corps are responsible for projecting your force across the land, and generally speaking are the bread and butter of any successful military force.
(Sea) Naval Groups. Naval groups control the distribution of vast materiel across the oceans. When you need to move an army somewhere distant, with heavy firepower to back it up, you need the navy. With a big enough navy, you can make anyone do what you want them to do under this exact principle.
Any Naval Group with a Carrier can hold 10 air squadrons per carrier.
(Air/Space) Wing Commands. The most sophisticated weaponry is that which flies very fast. Aerospace forces can deliver precise, lethal damage at great ranges, and then rebase in safety, allowing projection of force anywhere your aerospace machines can reach.
STRATEGIC (AND NUCLEAR) WEAPONS.
Strategic weapons mainly concern those capable of mass destruction. Each can be used once per turn, and are not consumed when they are. They may still be destroyed due to other events or circumstances.
ICBMs can deliver a nuclear warhead anywhere on the planet.
Missiles can deliver a nuclear warhead from any city to anywhere within Medium aircraft range.
Cyberwar Machines may attempt to deliver a nuclear payload anywhere on the planet, but success is a coin flip opportunity which increases linearly with the target’s contradiction (99% being a 99% likelihood of success). A failure will not automatically implicate the attacker. Each Machine may do this once per turn.
Cyberwar Machines may instead conduct an Information Attack on any target. An Information Attack has some chance of inflaming unfavorable issues for your target, or debilitating other elements of the target’s cyberinfrastructure. Information Attacks cannot be reliably backtraced, although other game events may still reveal your agency in them. Each Machine may make one such attack per turn, and not on any turn it also delivers a nuclear payload.
Information Attacks are considered to include both Cyber Attacks and Issue Propaganda operations.
Cyberwar Machines that aren’t used for any offensive activities will automatically attempt to Defend against hostile Cyberwar Machine-based activities. They will reduce the success likelihood of those activities.
Submarines and Bombers also can serve as strategic weapons. Bombers can deliver nuclear weapons within Long range of their station, and Submarines can deliver nuclear weapons within Medium range of their location.
All delivery methods that apply to nuclear warheads also apply to biological/chemical weapons. However, no matter what, there is always a risk of failure or unforeseen outcomes when using these kinds of weapons.
HOW TO PLAY:
Players play as governments of nations, called states. You will be using the tools of statehood to control your nation, develop your capabilities, sabotage your rivals, and destroy your enemies. Some states are much more powerful than others, but this is a time of change. Be enterprising.
STATS.
Your government’s capabilities are represented in a stat block. This is a record of your progress in the game and can be seen by all players.* Stats are updated each game turn, which take place over the course of one in-game season (with Turn 1 to begin with 2030 Winter).
*Your active nuclear warhead count is a secret that only you know.
Sample Stats:
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics / Symphony D.
Situation: Morbid
Rank: Powerful
Contradiction: 55%
Economy: +5c (+30c Cities – 22c Upkeep – 3c Interest) (Debt: 22c)
Base Cost: 10c
Unit Cost: 5c
Land Forces:
1.) 1st “Manchurians” Red Guards Army: 11 Mechs, 6 Armors, 4 Batteries, 5 Gunships – Veterans (Upkeep: 4)
2.) 2nd “Kazakhs” Red Guards Army: 2 Mechs, 2 Armors, 1 Battery, 1 Gunships – Regulars (Upkeep: 1)
3.) 1st European Reserve: 2 Mechs, 1 Armor, 1 Battery, 1 Gunships – Regulars (Upkeep: 1)
4.) 2nd European Reserve: 2 Rifles, 2 Gunships – Elite, Aerial Assault (Upkeep: 3)
Naval Forces:
1.) Northern Fleet: 2 Carriers, 9 Cruisers, 5 Destroyers, 22 Submarines - Veterans (Upkeep: 4)
2.) Pacific Fleet: 2 Carriers, 7 Cruisers, 3 Destroyers, 15 Submarines - Veterans (Upkeep: 3)
3.) Black Sea Fleet: 5 Cruisers, 6 Destroyers, 8 Submarines - Regulars (Upkeep: 2)
Aerospace Forces:
A.) Central Asian Air Army: 6 Aerosuperiority Squadrons, 3 Strike-Fighter Squadrons, 14 Bomber Squadrons – Veterans (Upkeep: 3)
B.) European Air Army: 4 Aerosuperiority Squadrons, 2 Strike-Fighter Squadrons, 2 Bomber Squadrons – Regulars (Upkeep: 1)
Strategic: 5 nuclear strikes per turn.
Delivery Methods: ICBM (2), Missile (5), Submarine (45), Bomber (14)
Treaties:
SALT II (US) – We can have no more than 2 ICBMs, 5 missiles, and 60 of other delivery methods.
Issues:
Credit Squeeze – We are running out of options for extending our credit.
Afghan War – Our war in Afghanistan is unpopular and failing.
ECONOMY.
You can spend money each turn, denoted c. The amount of c you generate each turn is shown. How that c is generated and what deductions are made is shown in parentheses. You pay upkeep for military units.
You can spend money you don’t have, which incurs debt. You can take out as much debt as you want, but you must pay the interest.
You can give c freely to other states, except you cannot give more c than you generate in a single turn from cities. That is, by spending into debt, you cannot generate more external liquidity than you produce ordinarily. However, states with Rank: Imperial are exempt from this particular rule, and may loan indefinite amounts. They still must pay interest however.
UPKEEP.
You pay 1c upkeep for 10 units in an Army and every 10 units in a Navy or Wing. Certain group attributes will increase upkeep, for example, if that group is being maintained as Veteran or Elite. You also pay 1c upkeep for each ICBM, Missile, and Cyberwar Machine you maintain.
INTEREST.
You pay 10% of your debt in interest every season. Interest is automatically deducted from your accounts. If you can’t make your interest payments, for whatever reason, your government will default. Defaulting will rapidly raise the Contradiction in your nation. If your rank is Imperial and you Default, your Contradiction will immediately go to 100%.
ACTIONS.
Build a City. 2x Base Cost. You will add a city to the map and increase your economy. You may only build one (1) city per turn.
Build an Army, Navy, or Wing. Base Cost. You will add a new military corps to your order of battle and place it on the map. If it is a land or aerospace force, it must be placed next to one of your cities. If it is a naval force, it can be placed anywhere along your coastlines. A freshly-built military corps may not move or run missions on the turn they are placed on the map, but they may still defend the city in which they are stood up.
Add a Unit. Unit Cost. You will add a unit (either a Land Division, Warship, or Combat Squadron) to one of your military corps of a corresponding type (Land, Sea, Air). Any new units are not considered “arrived” and active until the beginning of your next turn.
Build a Strategic Weapon. Various Costs. You will build a strategic weapon or delivery system and add it to your inventory. The cost is fixed no matter your rank:
ICBM: 10c
Missile: 5c
Cyberwar Machine: 5c
Build a Warhead. 5c. Top Secret. Build a nuclear warhead and add it to your stockpile. You will need to use these to arm your strategic weapons.
Build a Biological/Chemical Weapon. 10c. Top Secret. Build a biological or chemical weapon and add it to your stockpile. You can specify what kind of weapon you’d like it to be to whatever level of precision you prefer – your scientists’ll do their best.
Run Mission. 1c. You may order any army group, navy group, or aerospace command to run a mission. Missions are enormously variable, so you will characterize what you want the mission to accomplish when issuing orders. Your lieutenants can take care of details. While two or more groups/commands may collaborate on a single mission, you must pay the run mission cost for each of them.
Launch Strategic Attack. 1c. (Non-Cyber) Launch a warhead using one of your strategic weapon delivery systems. You may specify certain attributes of the attack, i.e. where you would prefer the airburst to be centered, or which targets in general you consider high priority. A warhead attacking a city is very likely to destroy it. You may commence a maximum number of strategic attacks per turn corresponding to your rank: Imperial, 10; Powerful, 5; Independent, 2; Third-World, 1.
Launch Cyber Attack. 1c. Use a Cyberwar Machine to launch a cyber attack. This is NOT a propaganda attack: the purpose of a cyber attack is to cause direct damage to a target’s infrastructure or other digital or cyberwarfare capabilities. You may be vague when issuing an attack of this kind if you’re not sure what kind of infrastructure would be most valuable to target, your lieutenants will figure it out. Cyber attacks count towards your strategic attack limit.
Issue Propaganda. Unit Cost. Commence a single propaganda operation. This will have variable effects depending on how you characterize this operation. Common options for this sort of thing are convincing your population that an enemy state is evil, or convincing an enemy state’s population that their own state is evil. You may choose to assign a Cyberwar Machine to a propaganda operation, in which case add a cost of 1c to the propaganda operation. Propaganda operations do not count towards your maximum strategic attacks per turn. Propaganda is the only way to lower your contradiction.
Issue Dole. Base Cost. You will issue a one-time benefit payment to the most dispossessed members of your citizenry. This is to prevent them from running out of living necessities and becoming desperate. Desperate people can do anything. Issuing a dole is very effective at neutralizing dissent, but it will raise your contradiction.
MILITARY.
(Land) Army Corps. Your land corps are responsible for projecting your force across the land, and generally speaking are the bread and butter of any successful military force.
(Sea) Naval Groups. Naval groups control the distribution of vast materiel across the oceans. When you need to move an army somewhere distant, with heavy firepower to back it up, you need the navy. With a big enough navy, you can make anyone do what you want them to do under this exact principle.
Any Naval Group with a Carrier can hold 10 air squadrons per carrier.
(Air/Space) Wing Commands. The most sophisticated weaponry is that which flies very fast. Aerospace forces can deliver precise, lethal damage at great ranges, and then rebase in safety, allowing projection of force anywhere your aerospace machines can reach.
STRATEGIC (AND NUCLEAR) WEAPONS.
Strategic weapons mainly concern those capable of mass destruction. Each can be used once per turn, and are not consumed when they are. They may still be destroyed due to other events or circumstances.
ICBMs can deliver a nuclear warhead anywhere on the planet.
Missiles can deliver a nuclear warhead from any city to anywhere within Medium aircraft range.
Cyberwar Machines may attempt to deliver a nuclear payload anywhere on the planet, but success is a coin flip opportunity which increases linearly with the target’s contradiction (99% being a 99% likelihood of success). A failure will not automatically implicate the attacker. Each Machine may do this once per turn.
Cyberwar Machines may instead conduct an Information Attack on any target. An Information Attack has some chance of inflaming unfavorable issues for your target, or debilitating other elements of the target’s cyberinfrastructure. Information Attacks cannot be reliably backtraced, although other game events may still reveal your agency in them. Each Machine may make one such attack per turn, and not on any turn it also delivers a nuclear payload.
Information Attacks are considered to include both Cyber Attacks and Issue Propaganda operations.
Cyberwar Machines that aren’t used for any offensive activities will automatically attempt to Defend against hostile Cyberwar Machine-based activities. They will reduce the success likelihood of those activities.
Submarines and Bombers also can serve as strategic weapons. Bombers can deliver nuclear weapons within Long range of their station, and Submarines can deliver nuclear weapons within Medium range of their location.
All delivery methods that apply to nuclear warheads also apply to biological/chemical weapons. However, no matter what, there is always a risk of failure or unforeseen outcomes when using these kinds of weapons.
Last edited:
I miss Symphony D.
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2010
- Messages
- 8,851
Crezth, your ruleset seems solid and I am very excited to play in your game!
