Power Play

[Decamper]

​

Earth is dead. Thanks to corruption, greed, and ignorance, the home of mankind had wasted away by the end of the 21st century. Through extreme luck and herculean effort, the human race was able to save itself, fleeing the solar system and establishing itself on a new world, Hemera. There, mankind has rebuilt itself, at first banding together to tame their brave new world, but now they once again eye each other over lines drawn in the sand.

The year is 2174, and once again the game begins.

***​

Power Play is a simple game, with a single resource, and a single goal. Power.

The World
Hemera was almost a perfect fit for humanity. The air was breathable, the soil arable, and water drinkable, and the flora and fauna edible. She wasn’t exactly like the old world though. Slightly smaller, meaning the horizon is just a bit too close, and the gravity just a bit too light. The flora and fauna likewise are similar to earth, but are just a bit bigger, and still undeniably alien. Over the past eight decades humanity spread across the entirety of Hemera thanks to its advanced technology, but the planet is still much less developed and populated than earth had been at the turn of the 20th century.

Rules
The only ‘stat’ states use is Power. A state’s total Power (henceforth, State Power or SP) is determined by the total of the controlled provinces’ Power (henceforth, Province Power or PP). In addition, major (mostly player) states can control half of each controlled minor states’ SP. SP cannot be banked.

Controlling minor states requires Influence. Having Influence equal to or greater than a minor state’s SP, as well as greater than the Influence of any other major state is required to maintain control.

Power Uses

Spoiler :

Increase Province Power: PP can be raised by 1 once a turn by paying 4x the PP at the start of the turn. Ex. Increasing 1 to 2 requires 4SP, 2 to 3 requires 8SP, 3 to 4 requires 12, etc.

Invasion: A provinces defense is PP*20. You can use as many SP to attack a province as you desire, with 1 SP = 1d20. A successfully invaded province’s PP is reduced to 1. Invasions can only be done against neighbouring provinces, or across a single ocean territory. Invading across oceans gives the defender +1d20.

Influence: Use 1 SP to raise your influence in an NPC by 1.

Coup: Roll a d20 to change the influence of the controlling state in a minor. The defense against a coup is equal to double the SP of the minor. You can dedicate as much SP as desired in a coup, with the effectiveness of a coup being a d20+SP+1 per controlled neighbouring minor (or your own state). The resulting value is subtracted from the controlling state’s influence, with any negative value being added to your own influence in the minor. If you are the controller, or their is no controller, a coup is not possible.

Purge: Purging is similiar to a coup, but is used by the controlling state to remove the influence of other states in a minor. The defense against a purge is equal to double the SP of the minor. You can dedicate as much SP as desired in a purge, with the effectiveness of a coup being a d20+SP. The resulting value is subtracted from the targeted state's influence. If you are not the controller, a purge is not possible.

Sabotage: The equation is the same as an invasion, with a successful sabotage reducing PP to 1 and the saboteur remaining unknown. A failed sabotage will reveal the saboteur if lost by more than 10. Unlike an Invasion, any province may be sabotaged, regardless of distance. Every neighbouring controlled minor (or your own state) adds +1 to the roll.

Defense: You can devote SP to defend against Invasions or Sabotage in a specific province. Each SP is equal to 1d20 of defense.

Power may also be used cooperatively. For example, player A may increase the PP of player B. During Invasions or Sabotage, the cooperating players’ SP is added together. Coups cannot be done cooperatively, but multiple coups may be launched against a single target.

The map is divided into six Regions. States in different regions have different bonuses and penalties against each other. Raising Influence in a different region requires double the SP. Defenders against Coups in different regions have double the defense. Defenders of Invasions and Sabotage from different regions have an extra d20 of defense.

Event Cards
At the start of the game each major state (mostly players) will be given 3 event cards, of which one must be played each turn. Once a player's hand is empty, they will be dealt 3 more cards. Event cards can be played 2 ways: Playing the event text, or using by the card's SP value. If you use the SP value, the event text is not acted on, and you may use the SP however you need for that turn. There are 2 copies of each 4 and 6 SP card, and 1 of each 8 and 10 SP card. Once all have been dealt, the discards will be reshuffled into the draw pile. Event cards are hidden, and updates will not reveal who played which event (though some will be fairly obvious).

The effects of a card action take place after all regular actions.

Event Card List

Spoiler :

4SP Mutual Prosperity - +1PP in your least developed province and +1PP in another neighbouring state's least developed province.

4SP International Trickle Down - All of your controlled minors gain 1PP in their capitals.

4SP Benevolent Overlord - +1 influence in all minors you control.

4SP Promised Land - take 1PP from 1 controlled minor, add 1PP to your least developed province.

4SP Border Incident - cause a state (major or minor) to invade a neighboring province (major or minor) with a strength of 4SP.

4SP False Flag - Cause a failed sabotage in any province, blaming any state.

4SP Changing Attitudes - switch influence levels with one state in a minor

4SP Nationalist Movement - remove all influence of all states from a minor.

4SP Coms Failure - the targeted state's played event card is disabled (if not played as SP)

4SP Defector - take a random event card from a player, if they have any in their hand.

4SP Peace Protests - All invasions cause -1 influence in all minors for the invading state.

4SP Intelligence Service - reveal all players' event cards

4SP Drain the Swamp - replace any unwanted event cards.

4SP Local Guides - actions outside of your home region have no penalties for 1 round.

4SP International Investments - gain +2SP for every controlled minor this turn.

4SP Together We Stand - cooperative invasions/sabotage/defense gain +1SP this turn.

6SP Diplomatic Blunder - one state loses all influence in 1 minor.

6SP Continental Paradise - Take 1PP from all controlled minors in the region, add them to your least developed provinces one at a time.

6SP Chaffing Under the Empire - remove 6 influence from minors the targeted state controllers (no more than 3 per minor).

6SP Regional Revolts - remove 2 influence of 1 state in all minors in 1 region.

6SP Regional Coms Failure - all played event cards in one region are disabled (if not played as SP)

6SP Brain Drain - Remove 1PP from another state's capital and add 1PP to your capital

6SP Independence Movement - The least developed province of a state secedes and forms own minor.

6SP Regional Peace Protests - All invasions cause -1 influence in all minors for the invading state. This applies to all states in 1 region.

6SP Union Referendum - 3PP worth of provinces of a neighboring and controlled minor joins your state.

6SP For the Motherland - all provinces receive +2PP worth of defense this round.

6SP For the Fatherland - all invasions receive +2SP worth of attack this round.

6SP Super Spies - All sabotage attacks receive +2SP worth of attack this round.

8SP Urban Relocation - you may relocate 3PP to your capital from other provinces.

8SP Global Revolts - remove 2 influence of the targeted state in all minors.

8SP Regional Popularity - improve your influence by 1 in all minors in 1 region

8SP Terror Attacks - halve PP in one province.

8SP Industrial Revolution - +1PP in your 3 least developed provinces

8SP Special Envoy - Gain enough influence in the targeted minor to gain control.

10SP Global Popularity - improve your influence by 1 in all minors.

10P Epidemic - Remove 2PP in a province, and remove 1PP in all neighboring provinces.

10SP Global Coms Failure - all played events this turn are disabled (if not played as SP).

10SP Global Peace Protests - All invasions cause -1 influence in all minors for the invading state. This applies to ALL states.

10SP Center of the World - Take 1PP from all controlled minors, add them to your least developed provinces.

 

[Decamper]

Signup
State Name
Flag: Required, or I’ll give you randomly generated garbage.
Colour
Capital Province (name): Your capital province begins with 3PP, and will determine your home region.
3 Core Provinces (names): Core regions begin with 2PP.
3 Reach Provinces (names): Reach Provinces begin with 1PP.
All claimed provinces must be either connected by a land border or 1 sea province.
Background: As much or as little as you want.

Maps

Spoiler :

 

[Decamper]

Reserved

 

[Decamper]

You may post. Signups close on January 3rd. All empty provinces will be filled with NPCs.

 

[inthesomeday]

The Starbucks Corporation
Flag: Starbucks logo
Color: Dark green

Capital
156 - Cafe

Reach
157 - Cinman
158 - Nutmeg
155 - Coknot

Far Reach
154 - Crem
160 - Qgar
161 - Coko

Background
The Starbucks Corporation first ventured into the aerospace industry with outlets in airports, and after a bombing at a Californian airport in 2056 that damaged Starbucks holdings, the company began to handle security in airports around the globe. By 2100, the SC's stakes in space exploration had allowed it to begin eyeing exoplanets as possible sources for resources.

 

[Ailedhoo]

Corporate Collective Conclave

Alternative Names: CCC, Corporate Collective, Corporate Conclave, Collective Conclave, Collective Corporation, the Conclave, the Free Conclave, 3C
Colour: a shade of darkish green
Capital Province (name): 67 (the Conclave)
3 Core Provinces (names): 62 Betas, 64 (Alphan), 66 (Gammar)
3 Reach Provinces (names): 61 (Deltos), 68 (Espiltos), 75 (Zetan)
Governing Oligarchic Entity: the Conclave Council
Background: will add later

 

[Terran Empress]

The People’s United Socialist Republican Front

​

Short Form: The People's Socialist Front or The Socialist Republic

Color: Socialist Red

Capital Province:

• 136 - Solidarity

Core Provinces:

• 137 - Wobbly
• 135 - New Marx
• 138 - Spartacus

Reach Provinces:

• 131 - Philip Snowden City
• 140 - Debstown
• 144 - New Leningrad

Government: Federal Semi-Presidential Democratic Socialist Republic

Background: Working on it

 

[Decamper]

Current claims map.

Spoiler :

New tab for teeny tiny labels

 

[christos200]

Empire of New Rome

​

Colour: Red
Capital Province (name): New Rome (2)
3 Core Provinces (names): Justinianopolis (1), New Ravenna (3), Nicaea (4)
3 Reach Provinces (names): New Constantinople (5), New Paris (6), New Athens (7)
Background: Luthor Corporation expanded into space with the goal of securing new resources in order and gain an edge over its competitors. The corporation established colonies in the world of Hemera and began exploiting its resources. Lex Luthor, Director of the Company, assumed personal control of those regions and his grand ambitions and megalomania led him to rename those areas as 'Empire of New Rome' and crown himself Emperor. Thus the Empire of New Rome was founded, not by Romans but by the Luthor Corporation. Now, the descendants of Lex Luthor rule this Empire with an iron fist. The Pope of New Rome is the spiritual leader of the Empire and safeguards Roman Catholic traditions. The other 'Popes' have been excommunicated as heretics. The Pope is the one who crowns the Emperor, who is considered to be God's Regent on Hemera.

 

[Seon]

The Vatican

Flag:

Capital Province: Nuovo Roma (19)
Core Provinces: Toscana Renata (17), Hemera-Venezia (18), Terra di Sicillia (20)
Reach: Terra di Draghi (16), New Munich (28), Nuovo Campania (29)

Government: Theocracy probably

 

[Decamper]

Away from my pc until Tuesday, so can't update the claims map. @Seon your claims overlap with christos (4,6,7)

 

[Seon]

oh wait I assumed that the red in the claims map was Christos. I see it was terran.

Reshuffling claims

 

[Double A]

Antipapacy

Colour Maroon
Capital Province (name): Nouveau Avignon (208)
3 Core Provinces (names): Rio da Fé (207) Wiara (210) Gleam (215)
3 Reach Provinces (names): Glim (216) Paniniwala (217) Mount Sinai (209)
Background: People of different nations came together in space because they were gay for Jesus. Then they made a robot and put a pointy hat on it.

 

[Sonereal]

Soulmind​

Color: Deep Purple.
Capital Province (name): Thule (88)
3 Core Provinces (names): Agartha [87], Hel [86], Elysium [95]
3 Reach Provinces (names): Jotunheim [94], Kvenland [89], Nibiru [90]
Background: As the twenty-first century came to a close, and man began his long voyage to Hemera, a cabal of wealthy industrialists from across the world banded together to form Soulmind, an occultist group with the goal of fusing together all peoples ideologically and religiously.

 

[inthesomeday]

Starbucks: to Hemera

As early as 2035, there had been extreme elements in the executive committees of the SC calling for exoplanetary exploration in order to discover new flavors, new resources, and new methods to expand the repertoire of the company's menu. However, beyond rudimentary plans, this model never saw fruition until far in the future.

By 2050, the year when the GDP of the United States fell to third place officially, the Starbucks Corporation had become a near economic superpower; as the globe heated, the tropical region where coffee could be cultivated reliably had grown on both sides of its borders by nearly 60%, and efforts by the US government in the 2040s to stimulate major industries gave the Starbucks Corporation capital enough to directly take control of much of the new coffee plantations.

However, Starbucks was not yet the political powerhouse it would become by the end of the century until 2056. LAX, a major air hub in the California Republic's fastest growing city, was subject to a terrorist bombing by a white supremacist group based in the US. The explosion destroyed the Starbucks location in the airport, where an important executive was negotiating a deal with the Indonesian government.

The resulting justice committee was composed of mostly Californian and American intelligence agents; however, three Starbucks security executives attended, and a sizable security force was redeployed from Tropic regions to the joint campaign to put down the terrorist cell in Los Angeles. This marked a shift for Starbucks, and by 2065, three thousand Starbucks "cafe mercenaries" had been leased to the governments of California and the US.

By the 2080s and the start of the Colony Movement, Starbucks was one of the first corporations to invest in interstellar research. SpaceX was acquired through hostile seizure of assets by the Starbucks Corporation in 2082, and the headquarters of the deposed National Aeronautics and Space Association were raided by a Starbucks task force in May of 2083.

An analysis of Hemera was discovered and the Starbucks executives-- by then known as Starbuck Praetors and with significant weight in most Anglophone North American governments-- took great interest in the planet. At the turn of the century, with the shorelines rapidly receding and many remaining governments and conglomerates already turning their eyes towards space, the Starbucks Corporation was one of the leading powers to investigate Hemera.

The first Starbucks Corporation flagship finally exited Hyperspace in 2103 and unpacked on an isthmus connecting two relevant seas and two lucrative bodies of land. Cultivation experts quickly discovered the plants closest to earth coffee, which Starbucks scientists had correctly theorized would be heavily concentrated in the region of the continent (branded Drake by a board of EU scientists examining satellite imaging of the planet prior to colonization).

The first city, established on the canal dug between the two oceans on either side of the isthmus, was named Café City. It would serve as the corporation's headquarters for the following decades of land cultivation. A total of six Starships were embarked by the Corporation, beating an original population of one million people: 2,000 Starbucks executive employees and their families (10,000 total), 30,000 management employees and their families (90,000 total), and 900,000 miscellaneous population, ranging from security enforcers to low level employees to farmers.

By 2110 all one million civilians had populated, and by 2125, the current Starbucks borders were established, with a population of 10 million. A significant plague in 2131-2133 damaged the Starbucks population and stratified the population, creating a nearly feudal social system. In the decade following the plague, the population once again began to skyrocket, and new agricultural advents coupled with a change in architecture contributed to the nearly 80% urbanization.

Today, the Starbucks population speaks a combination of Lower American English and Spanglish, though the upper classes also speak French, Japanese, and Mandarin. Wealthier populations consume a mostly liquid diet, consisting of Hemeran coffee and tea (genetically "purified" local plants) while the urban poor and agrarian purebred as well as clone workforces eat some solid food, such as native staple grains, as well as ritual consumption of Hemeran coffee.

The Christian fanatic revival that spread throughout much of the world with the apocalyptic conditions of the latter half of the 21st century affected the North American countries just as much or, in the case of the New Confederacy, more than even in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Latin world. Most of the lower classes attend Pentecostal or Catholic worship, while the upper class is mostly Atheist or New Buddhist.

The current Keyo Praetor of Starbucks is Klein Ngo. The general federal government is organized along hereditary inheritance of corporate positions. The Keyo Praetor is the executive head of state, dealing with foreign nations and policy, with the Koo Praetor in charge of domestic affairs, the K'fo Praetor the economic sector, the K'so Praetor the military, and the Kayo Praetor in charge of intelligence and registration.

 

[jackelgull]

Name: The Republic of New Haven
Color: Cobalt blue
Flag: See below
Capital province: 20
Cores provinces: 18,19, 16
Reach provinces: 17, 28, 29
Back ground: Unlike other colonies on the planet of Hemera founded as corporate or theocratic outposts, New Haven was fundamentally a colony of lower class immigrants looking for a better life and freedom from corporate stranglehold on power that characterized the earth they came from. While many of them come from the former French and Spanish colonies in North Africa, there's a sizable chunk from the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia. Over the course of generations, families moved out from the original location of the colony and New Haven gained control of Outheremos bay. New immigrants nowadays find themselves attracted to the cities, while most of the colonists who came in the first and second waves have farms in the countryside, creating a kind of gentrification of the landholding class that the original settlers wanted to avoid. Still, landholdings are fairly small, and there is still relatively equality between all parts of society. And as much unites the Republic as divides it - the city councils and rural governments give local people a say in their local affairs while a strong government represents interests from both locations in the decision making. The people are proud of their history and constitution and industry and trade is booming within the Republic's borders.

 

[JamesCaesar]

Kaaronian Industries
Delivering Nothing But The Industries' Best!

Color: Sky Blue
Capital: Kaarnarnt (184)
Core: Aesilon (185), Tiboca (186), Niekaarn (116)
Reach: Aarnat (187), Karsut (127), Daavit (113)​

 

[Decamper]

I'm going to be away from my pc until Monday or Tuesday, so unfortunately can't update the claims map.

If someone did a quick paint job for me, you'll be a cool dude.

EDIT: the unlabeled province to the right of 209 will be 220. Wups.

 

[Gurra09]

Commonwealth
Russian: Содружество (Sodruzhestvo)
Ukrainian: Співдружність (Spivdruzhnistʹ)
Belarusian: Садружнасць (Sadružnasć)

Color: Brown
Capital Province: Stolitsa (79)
Core Provinces: Jan Sierada City (37), Vorotnavostok (80), Novoukraina (81)
Reach Provinces: New West Belarus (36), Commonwealth Peninsula (78), New Chornobyl (82)

Spoiler - Province names in the Commonwealth languages :

79 - Stolitsa
Russian: Столица (Stolitsa)
Ukrainian: Столиця (Stolytsya)
Belarusian: Сталіца (Stalica)

37 - Jan Sierada City
Russian/Ukrainian: Янсереда (Yansereda)
Belarusian: Янсерада (Jansierada)
Polish*: Jan Sierada

80 - Vorotnavostok
Russian: Воротнавосток (Vorotnavostok)
Ukrainian: Варотнавосток (Varotnavostok)
Belarusian: Варотнавасток (Varotnavastok)

81 - Novoukraina
Russian: Новоукраина (Novoukraina)
Ukrainian: Новоукраїна (Novoukrayina)
Belarusian: Наваукраіна (Navaukraina)

36 - New West Belarus
Russian: Новая Западная Беларусь (Novaya Zapadnaya Belarus')
Ukrainian: Нова Західна Білорусь (Nova Zakhidna Bilorusʹ)
Belarusian: Новая Заходняя Беларусь (Novaja Zachodniaja Bielaruś)
Polish*: Nowy Zachodnia Białoruś

78 - Commonwealth Peninsula
Russian: Полуостров Содружестве (Poluostrov Sodruzhestve)
Ukrainian: Півострів Співдружності (Pivostriv Spivdruzhnosti)
Belarusian: Паўвостраў Садружнасці (Paŭvostraŭ Sadružnasci)

82 - New Chornobyl
Russian: Новый Чернобыль (Novyy Chernobyl')
Ukrainian: Новий Чорнобиль (Novyy Chornobylʹ)
Belarusian: Новы Чарнобыль (Novy Čarnobyĺ)

*Polish is not an official language in the Commonwealth, but has the status of protected minority language in the Belarusian Nation.

Background: The Commonwealth is a successor to the old politico-economic union known as the Union State, formed by Russia and Belarus in the late 1990s and later including Ukraine, which through the tremendous resources invested by its members in a joint space agency became one of the first states to establish a presence on Hemera. Not much is known about the Commonwealth's early history however as most records of it have been classified under the pretext of national security, and the state works thoroughly to keep up a shroud of mystery regarding the inner workings of its central government. But while it is unclear who the ruling oligarchs in Stolitsa are or what exactly it is they are doing, the Commonwealth lands outside the capital are governed in a more decentralized and democratic fashion within three ethnic subdivisions: the Russian Nation, the Ukrainian Nation and the Belarusian Nation. Each nation has a national parliament elected by Commonwealth citizens who are residents of that nation, and a President appointed by the national parliament. Due to the secrecy of the central government in Stolitsa, the Presidents of the three nations usually appear as co-heads of state in a representative capacity.

The Russian Nation (Русская Нация, Russkaya Natsiya) covers the northeastern portion of the Commonwealth and centers around the city of Vorotnavostok, the second busiest Commonwealth port after Stolitsa and the Commonwealth's third most populous city. Its name is a contraction of Vorota na vostok, the Gate to the East, as most goods that is shipped eastward go through here. The Commonwealth Peninsula, overlooking the Stolitsa Bay, is also administered as part of the Russian Nation but is home to sizeable Ukrainian and Belarusian minorities due to its vicinity to the capital. In later years, the peninsula is said to have become very popular with members of the Stolitsa elite who are looking to get away from the big city but this can neither be confirmed nor denied.

The Ukrainian Nation (Українська Нація, Ukrayinsʹka Natsiya) is situated in the southern Commonwealth lands and is commonly referred to as Novoukraina, New Ukraine, which is also the name used for the administrative unit that makes up a majority of the nation's territory. The inland region is the centre of Novoukraina with many significant cities such as Novoukrainka, the capital of the Ukrainian Nation. The southeastern coast on the other hand is less densely populated than the northeastern coast of the Russian Nation, but one city here stands out from the rest; the small but fast growing city of New Chornobyl which is not only named after the overgrown ghost city in old Ukraine but also inspired by it in an effort to create a location where nature can meet urban development. Dotted with parks and wildlife reserves for native Hemeran flora and fauna everywhere, New Chornobyl is a fascinating place to visit as it is nothing like the more explicitly man-made cityscapes of Stolitsa, Jan Sierada or Varotnavostok.

To the west of Stolitsa lies the Belarusian Nation (Беларуская Нацыя, Bielaruskaja Nacyja) which is administered from Jan Sierada City, the second most populous city in the Commonwealth. Located by the Stolitsa Bay, it is considered by some as more of a western suburb to Stolitsa but its sizeable population and the fact that it isn't part of the Stolitsa capital region has made sure to put it on the map. It is named after one of the first leaders of an independent Belarus, Jan Sierada, who has become something of a national hero after the diminuishing popularity of political figures from Soviet and post-Soviet times. The population of Jan Sierada City is, much like Stolitsa, quite evenly divided between the three major ethnic groups but Belarusians are the largest group. There is also a prominent Polish community which is highly concentrated to the city since very few Poles live in other parts of the Commonwealth. If you travel northwest from Jan Sierada you reach the border region of New West Belarus which is one of the Commonwealth's most rural regions and also one of the most ethnically homogeneous areas in the Commonwealth as more than 95% of the population are Belarusians.

Three languages enjoy official status throughout the Commonwealth and are referred to as the Commonwealth languages: Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian. Government agencies in Stolitsa aswell as in the three nations are required to provide services in all three. However, most Commonwealth citizens of Ukrainian or Belarusian nationality also speak Russian in addition to Ukrainian or Belarusian which makes the Russian language a lingua franca, especially in ethnically heterogeneous urban areas like Stolitsa or Jan Sierada City. In addition to the three Commonwealth languages, Polish has the status of being a protected minority language in the Belarusian Nation. Among other things, this means that the Polish community in Jan Sierada have the right to send their children to Polish language schools and receive some government services in their native language.

The Commonwealth is a secular state and religion plays a minor role in society as a majority of citizens (~60%) aren't religious according to the latest census. Among those who are religious most are Eastern Orthodox Christians, but there are Catholic and other religious minorities. Commonwealth Catholics generally recognise the Vatican Pope as head of the church, and are most prevalent in the Belarusian Nation where they make up around 8% of the population.

 

[Decamper]

Decided to rip off Twilight Struggle and have event cards, rather than do random events. Check the second post for list for a rough and still very unbalanced list.