Tani Coyote
Son of Huehuecoyotl
- Joined
- May 28, 2007
- Messages
- 15,191
The year is… whatever. It doesn’t really matter.
Alien Space Bats, teenage time travelers, psychotic cultists, a zombie apocalypse, or whatever else, the world as we know it is gone. As is most of its logic.
The only thing real anymore is power. Limitless power. And there’s no better way to model that than a war economy so omnipresent it makes Metal Gear Solid blush.
Welcome to All Out War, a RISK-inspired game that has you balance militarism and intelligence gathering on your way to become supreme overlord of this dirtball we call a planet.
Starting Out
Blank Map
Region Map (different regions have the same color for convenience)
Pick a name, color and 10 provinces; mark one as your capital and will be symbolized on the map. You will be given 10 units. Be as realistic as you want or as zany as you want. The Neo-Byzantine Emperor's 501st Legion is just as competent as the Awesome Face Brigade of Spamingrad in battle.
In the event you are destroyed, you are welcome to return as a new state two turns later (that is, you must skip the turn after your initial start was destroyed). This is for the benefit of those players who are likely to be eliminated in the early game as a result of bad fortune.
Capitals may be moved once per turn at no penalty; the move only comes into effect after all wars have been processed (even if you have advance warning of enemy plans).
Economics
No tall empires here. Income is derived entirely from land. Every province generates 1 EP.
EP can be banked, but banked EP is stolen if your capital falls.
If you control an entire region (demarcated by a thicker border; islands that are part of a region are joined by a thick line), you receive a bonus of +0.5 EP per province in that region for as long as you control it. Some island provinces do not belong to a region.
If you control an entire continent, you receive 0.5 EP for every province in that continent. Essentially, controlling a continent doubles the EP it provides (after factoring in the cumulative region bonus).
Military and War
Keeping it simple. Every unit is all inclusive and includes support forces. Every unit costs 3 EP and can be used the turn it is built.
When two units engage, an RNG roll of 1-6 is used. Ties are resolved in favor of the defender, except in the case of neutral provinces, where the attacker wins. When a unit loses, it is destroyed. After all units are destroyed, a province is taken. Neutral provinces are always defended by only 1 unit.
Units can freely land on any coastal province, provided you are not landlocked. There is no penalty for amphibious attacks, surprise attacks, etc. You leave your flank unguarded at your own risk.
Captured capitals grant an EP bonus (spendable next turn) equivalent to one-fourth (rounded up) of what the capital’s empire generated the turn it was taken.
For simplicity, units have global reach and are put back in a global pool each turn (unless units get isolated somewhere), in which case they will be marked with a number. When attacking, specify how many units are attacking how many provinces and where, and when defending, specify the same. To maximize defensive ability or expansion, you can leave rear/interior provinces unguarded (so as to pool your units at the front lines or pool them for an offensive).
Unguarded territory falls without a battle, but you can only capture 1 province per 1 unit.
Intrigue
Making this more than a game of RISK is another factor: the intrigue game. You can invest EP in another country, representing intelligence forces. If you have intelligence forces in another country, you have a chance of receiving all their moves for their turn, and can adjust your orders post-lock to reflect this. If you fight the country whose plans you have acquired, you will gain +1 on all your rolls.
An especially devious move is that you can transfer the leaked information to another power if it would be useful to them. You do NOT order agents to carry out any missions; they do it automatically for you each turn.
Every country starts with 5 EP invested in itself to guard against leaks. You can invest EP to bolster your defenses (e.g. spend 1 EP to raise it to 6 EP), or invest in counterintelligence to eliminate enemy investment. However, counterintelligence is less efficient per dollar than intelligence (1 EP of counterintelligence eliminates 0.5 of enemy intelligence, rounded up, so it takes 1 EP to eliminate 1 EP, 3 EP to eliminate 2 EP, and so on), and so unless you have more EP than whoever is spying on you, you should always be on your guard.
Barring being destroyed by counterintel, your investment stays constant in each country. Espionage investments can be relocated to other countries as needed, however.
In addition, if you have access to another country’s plans, you receive any plans their intelligence forces have received; it is possible to be omniscient if you have agents in all the right places.
The odds of a leaked plan are your EP investment/(your EP investment + their EP investment). Agents from different countries unwittingly cooperate to create intelligence leaks (e.g. if you have 5 for defense and they each have 1, the odds of a leak are 2/7 instead of 1/6); in other words, try not to become everyone's preferred target, or you'll never be safe from leaks.
Making all this paranoia worse, there are no rules against lying about intelligence operations, leaks, etc. Like a game of Diplomacy or RISK, you always take a chance when trusting other players. After all, in a dog eat dog type of game like this, there can be only one supreme ruler of the world.
Missions
Every player will receive missions that can be pursued to gain an edge. These should not be confused as espionage-related. You can have several missions at any given time, and they do not expire; however, you cannot have two of the same type of mission at a given time.
Capital missions are self-explanatory; you need to take the capital of another power. If you succeed in doing so, you will be given an amount of EP equal to what their empire generated at the start of the turn you took their capital, to be spent the next turn. With risk comes reward; a larger empire might be harder to fight, but their capital will be more rewarding. Your capital mission bonus is not made public, so players will not know you are a threat until the next turn comes, when you will have a noticeable increase in EP.
Players can have the same target capital. When a capital is seized, it is relocated and the conquering player receives a new target.
Assassination missions are likewise self-explanatory. You need to eliminate another power outright. You can either start a war with the intent to eliminate them, or simply snipe their last province. A successful assassination grants you an amount of EP equivalent to twice of what their empire was making at its height. The savvy conqueror will prevent assassins from winning by making sure the last province of a target is not coastal. A savvy assassin will pose as an ally of their target (perhaps being so kind as to leak plans of a surprise attack against them), protecting them from being destroyed just to collect their prize at the right moment. Just like with capital missions, nobody will know you receive a bonus until the following turn.
There are several smaller missions. They include taking a particular province, seizing a particular region, evicting a power from a region, etc. More difficult, risky missions carry greater rewards.
Update Schedule
Due to the simpler structure, locks are fairly strict. Nations without orders will be automated for that turn, staying the course set by their player. The target time period is for a lock 5 days after the update.
Players who submit provisional orders (they can be revised prior to the lock) within 60 hours after the update receive an extra 5 EP per turn. This allows the lock to proceed without delay.
Closing Notes and Strategies From the Guy Who Knows the Rules Best
Diplomacy and roleplay aren’t really fruitful here, as the primary point of the game is conquest. You will, however, most certainly want to make deals public and private to obscure your real agenda and secure possible allies. But as always, remember all allies aren’t to be fully trusted… there can only be one final victor (a winner will be declared the moment one power has 2/3 of the forces and 50%+1 of the global EP).
Unless you have a mission, opportunity to take a capital, or a chance at taking a region that makes it worthwhile, it is best to avoid attacking other players at first, as you have an advantage against neutral territories.
A core strategy in this game is region denial; you want to prevent a player from having all the provinces of a region. Many regions are designed to be just out of reach for total control after so many turns.
Spare EP should be planted as espionage on a rival to grant you a chance of acquiring their intelligence the next turn, which can be used to crush them in an invasion or otherwise persuade other players to attack them.
The easiest region to take is Turkestan, having only 16 provinces; however, its ease of capture and central location means it will be prime land for invasion and competition. Several other small regions bear similar risks and rewards.
The easiest continent to take is South America. It is an obvious target.
Not all regions are equal. Not all starting locations are equal. Much of your initial survival will hinge on good luck and not angering the wrong states.
With that, you may post your signups!
Alien Space Bats, teenage time travelers, psychotic cultists, a zombie apocalypse, or whatever else, the world as we know it is gone. As is most of its logic.
The only thing real anymore is power. Limitless power. And there’s no better way to model that than a war economy so omnipresent it makes Metal Gear Solid blush.
Welcome to All Out War, a RISK-inspired game that has you balance militarism and intelligence gathering on your way to become supreme overlord of this dirtball we call a planet.
Starting Out
Blank Map
Region Map (different regions have the same color for convenience)
Pick a name, color and 10 provinces; mark one as your capital and will be symbolized on the map. You will be given 10 units. Be as realistic as you want or as zany as you want. The Neo-Byzantine Emperor's 501st Legion is just as competent as the Awesome Face Brigade of Spamingrad in battle.
In the event you are destroyed, you are welcome to return as a new state two turns later (that is, you must skip the turn after your initial start was destroyed). This is for the benefit of those players who are likely to be eliminated in the early game as a result of bad fortune.
Capitals may be moved once per turn at no penalty; the move only comes into effect after all wars have been processed (even if you have advance warning of enemy plans).
Economics
No tall empires here. Income is derived entirely from land. Every province generates 1 EP.
EP can be banked, but banked EP is stolen if your capital falls.
If you control an entire region (demarcated by a thicker border; islands that are part of a region are joined by a thick line), you receive a bonus of +0.5 EP per province in that region for as long as you control it. Some island provinces do not belong to a region.
If you control an entire continent, you receive 0.5 EP for every province in that continent. Essentially, controlling a continent doubles the EP it provides (after factoring in the cumulative region bonus).
Military and War
Keeping it simple. Every unit is all inclusive and includes support forces. Every unit costs 3 EP and can be used the turn it is built.
When two units engage, an RNG roll of 1-6 is used. Ties are resolved in favor of the defender, except in the case of neutral provinces, where the attacker wins. When a unit loses, it is destroyed. After all units are destroyed, a province is taken. Neutral provinces are always defended by only 1 unit.
Units can freely land on any coastal province, provided you are not landlocked. There is no penalty for amphibious attacks, surprise attacks, etc. You leave your flank unguarded at your own risk.
Captured capitals grant an EP bonus (spendable next turn) equivalent to one-fourth (rounded up) of what the capital’s empire generated the turn it was taken.
For simplicity, units have global reach and are put back in a global pool each turn (unless units get isolated somewhere), in which case they will be marked with a number. When attacking, specify how many units are attacking how many provinces and where, and when defending, specify the same. To maximize defensive ability or expansion, you can leave rear/interior provinces unguarded (so as to pool your units at the front lines or pool them for an offensive).
Unguarded territory falls without a battle, but you can only capture 1 province per 1 unit.
Intrigue
Making this more than a game of RISK is another factor: the intrigue game. You can invest EP in another country, representing intelligence forces. If you have intelligence forces in another country, you have a chance of receiving all their moves for their turn, and can adjust your orders post-lock to reflect this. If you fight the country whose plans you have acquired, you will gain +1 on all your rolls.
An especially devious move is that you can transfer the leaked information to another power if it would be useful to them. You do NOT order agents to carry out any missions; they do it automatically for you each turn.
Every country starts with 5 EP invested in itself to guard against leaks. You can invest EP to bolster your defenses (e.g. spend 1 EP to raise it to 6 EP), or invest in counterintelligence to eliminate enemy investment. However, counterintelligence is less efficient per dollar than intelligence (1 EP of counterintelligence eliminates 0.5 of enemy intelligence, rounded up, so it takes 1 EP to eliminate 1 EP, 3 EP to eliminate 2 EP, and so on), and so unless you have more EP than whoever is spying on you, you should always be on your guard.
Barring being destroyed by counterintel, your investment stays constant in each country. Espionage investments can be relocated to other countries as needed, however.
In addition, if you have access to another country’s plans, you receive any plans their intelligence forces have received; it is possible to be omniscient if you have agents in all the right places.
The odds of a leaked plan are your EP investment/(your EP investment + their EP investment). Agents from different countries unwittingly cooperate to create intelligence leaks (e.g. if you have 5 for defense and they each have 1, the odds of a leak are 2/7 instead of 1/6); in other words, try not to become everyone's preferred target, or you'll never be safe from leaks.
Making all this paranoia worse, there are no rules against lying about intelligence operations, leaks, etc. Like a game of Diplomacy or RISK, you always take a chance when trusting other players. After all, in a dog eat dog type of game like this, there can be only one supreme ruler of the world.
Missions
Every player will receive missions that can be pursued to gain an edge. These should not be confused as espionage-related. You can have several missions at any given time, and they do not expire; however, you cannot have two of the same type of mission at a given time.
Capital missions are self-explanatory; you need to take the capital of another power. If you succeed in doing so, you will be given an amount of EP equal to what their empire generated at the start of the turn you took their capital, to be spent the next turn. With risk comes reward; a larger empire might be harder to fight, but their capital will be more rewarding. Your capital mission bonus is not made public, so players will not know you are a threat until the next turn comes, when you will have a noticeable increase in EP.
Players can have the same target capital. When a capital is seized, it is relocated and the conquering player receives a new target.
Assassination missions are likewise self-explanatory. You need to eliminate another power outright. You can either start a war with the intent to eliminate them, or simply snipe their last province. A successful assassination grants you an amount of EP equivalent to twice of what their empire was making at its height. The savvy conqueror will prevent assassins from winning by making sure the last province of a target is not coastal. A savvy assassin will pose as an ally of their target (perhaps being so kind as to leak plans of a surprise attack against them), protecting them from being destroyed just to collect their prize at the right moment. Just like with capital missions, nobody will know you receive a bonus until the following turn.
There are several smaller missions. They include taking a particular province, seizing a particular region, evicting a power from a region, etc. More difficult, risky missions carry greater rewards.
Update Schedule
Due to the simpler structure, locks are fairly strict. Nations without orders will be automated for that turn, staying the course set by their player. The target time period is for a lock 5 days after the update.
Players who submit provisional orders (they can be revised prior to the lock) within 60 hours after the update receive an extra 5 EP per turn. This allows the lock to proceed without delay.
Closing Notes and Strategies From the Guy Who Knows the Rules Best
Diplomacy and roleplay aren’t really fruitful here, as the primary point of the game is conquest. You will, however, most certainly want to make deals public and private to obscure your real agenda and secure possible allies. But as always, remember all allies aren’t to be fully trusted… there can only be one final victor (a winner will be declared the moment one power has 2/3 of the forces and 50%+1 of the global EP).
Unless you have a mission, opportunity to take a capital, or a chance at taking a region that makes it worthwhile, it is best to avoid attacking other players at first, as you have an advantage against neutral territories.
A core strategy in this game is region denial; you want to prevent a player from having all the provinces of a region. Many regions are designed to be just out of reach for total control after so many turns.
Spare EP should be planted as espionage on a rival to grant you a chance of acquiring their intelligence the next turn, which can be used to crush them in an invasion or otherwise persuade other players to attack them.
The easiest region to take is Turkestan, having only 16 provinces; however, its ease of capture and central location means it will be prime land for invasion and competition. Several other small regions bear similar risks and rewards.
The easiest continent to take is South America. It is an obvious target.
Not all regions are equal. Not all starting locations are equal. Much of your initial survival will hinge on good luck and not angering the wrong states.
With that, you may post your signups!
Last edited:
