StarNES: Updates Without Number (Epoch I)

You wont hear me complain when that happens. But you have to agree, there is some fun in destroying things :p
 
Does it show? :p

I hate the RNG that gave me four uninhabitle planets. I would have settled for 1 and I even have rolled with it if there were both hot and cold planets... but four hot planets just doesn't work.
Besides, I haven't seen a completely destroyed system yet, we sure need one :p

Wha'd'ya think Romeo and Juliet are for? :p
 
A lovestory?
 

Like the other design docs that I have written up, this one is funded by Procrastination™;
Procrastination™, Keeping Students From Doing Their Work Since the Dawn of Time.
Also brought to you by Adderall™;
Adderall™, God, Why Can't I Sleep?

Epoch IV Design Doc

Now it is a bit difficult to exactly say what the setting for Epoch IV will be, as it is highly dependent on the results of each of the three preceding epochs; however, I can be certain of a few things. Epoch IV will be the NES proper in that it will have stats and demand similar amounts of commitment as southernking's SKNES: Architecture of Aggression. I am pointedly using SKNES as a model because of its simplicity in rules combined with enough depth to allow for interesting scenarios, no dull moments, and general fun. Like SKNES, Epoch IV will employ relatively simple stats—gone are the mechanics of my other NES' such as IV.5 or IV.6. Over the five updates I have written for StarNES (a record for me not at all marred by StarNES' status as a NES-lite) I have realized that it is way easier for me to consistently produce updates and maintain interest when I keep things simple. I have no idea why it took me this long to learn this.

Epoch IV actually will be split into multiple 'Ages,' should I decide to create a 'series' out of the galaxy we are building. At the end of Epoch III I will grab my metaphorical shovel in order to fill in the various plot-holes, and once this is done I will split the galaxy up into various 'scenarios' that the players can choose to set the first series of Epoch IV in. Developing scenarios limits the scale of what I have to tackle considerably and makes the NES more digestible for both you players and me.

Who Are We Playing?
Whatever you want. No. Really. Players will be afforded near-limitless freedom to create whatever they want to play. This ranges from taking control of system-spanning, faceless corporations to a grim and grizzled mercenary outfit to a planetary governor brokering deals to secure the presidency to lone heroes coasting from planet to planet in search of adventure. The universe is the limit; the last time I checked it had no end.

Factions
Even if a player is taking control of a single person they will still be called a 'faction'. No matter what the scale factions will all be modeled similarly, the major difference being what actions players can realistically take. Though the stats for a band of smugglers and a plucky fighter-pilot are the same, how they operate in any given scenario will be incredibly different. I encourage players to design whatever they would like, and players occasionally will take on multiple roles as their initial creations adapt to the ever-changing galaxy.

Factions have a single set of basic stats and a more in-depth set of assets and goals. Basic Stats include:

Influence: This doubles as 'Hit Points' and 'Prestige', which are two tied very closely for a reason. For all kinds of factions there are multiple ways to 'die', be it losing control of your company during a merger or having your intrepid hero take one too many blaster-bolts to the face. A prominent politician may very well 'die' due to slanderous campaigns to ruin his image! 'Influence' recovers over time to simulate things such as a mercenary company replenishing its numbers or a planetary government's damage control efforts after a destabilizing civil war. Base 'Influence' is determined by the other basic stats (Militancy, Cunning, & Affluence), each basic stat contributing a certain number of its rating depending on the nature of the faction.

Militancy: This can be seen as your 'Attack Score' or physical stats such as 'Strength' and 'Dexterity', though I implore players not to abandon the nuances of 'Militancy' for such a cursory interpretation. 'Militancy' is used in pretty much all actions that require/result in physical violence, be it the skilled strike of an elite psionic monk or the extensive campaign for a fleet of starships. 'Militancy' does not equate to standing/tangible physical power, but the potential for it—a key difference! Factions that tend to favor 'Militancy' are those factions whose primary goals require physical coercion, such as a planetary government or a brutish thug.

Cunning: This can be seen as your 'Charisma', 'Intelligence', and 'Wisdom', though not at all, actually. 'Cunning' deals with those actions that take a certain finesse, such as a super-spy sneaking her way past a security system or a fanatical religious cult successfully converting a planet's population. 'Cunning' encompasses a wide spectrum of actions, ranging from covert operations to schmoozing politicians. Factions that tend to favor 'Cunning' are those factions whose primary goals require more abstract means to accomplish, such as a galaxy-wide Illuminati or a terrorist cell.

Affluence: This also encompasses 'Charisma', 'Intelligence', and 'Wisdom', though in a more tangible way. 'Affluence' allows factions to invest and manufacture goods as they see fit; it also is tied to the ownership of various facilities and civilian support personnel such as lawyers and bribed politicians.

Homeworld: This is the place where a faction is based out of and doubles as the one place a player can always perform actions. Not all factions have homeworlds, although this is fairly rare.

More complex stats augment/are augmented by the basic stats. Most assets can only be bought after certain levels of Militancy/Cunning/Affluence are reached. Goals are the benchmarks players set for themselves in order to earn 'EXP', which is necessary to further increasing your Militancy/Cunning/Affluence scores. It is kind of RPG-like, but onto descriptions:

Assets: 'Assets' are the bread and butter of this NES. In of themselves 'Assets' have four basic stats: 'HP', 'Attack', 'Cost', and 'Type'. 'HP' is the amount of 'Hits' the 'Asset' can take before it is destroyed. 'Attack' is the amount of 'Hits' it can dish out and is accompanied by (Attack Type) and (Counter-Attack), if applicable. (Attack Type) plays out various situations, for instance if a player sends a 'Hitman' to attack another player a 'Force vs Cunning' roll is done, which sees 1d10 rolled and the 'Force' of the attacking player is added to their result, and 'Cunning' is added to the defender's result (ex: a player seeking to kill another player's 'Prominent Politician' Asset, so he uses his 'Hitman' asset. The attacking player has a Mil. of 2 and the defending player has a Cun. of 3; the attacking player rolls a 2, adding 2, which results in 4, and the defending player rolls a 4, adding 3, which results in a 7. The Hitman's attempt to kill the prominent position utterly fails! Perhaps next time.) (Counter-Attack) is similar to (Attack Type) in that it lets players know if their 'Asset' can respond should it be attacked and how it can respond (ex: the same Hitman-Prominent Politician scenario would see the Prominent Politician unable to Counter-Attack, as it has no Counter-Attack!).

'Cost' is the amount of GC¤ required to purchase the specific 'Asset'. 'Type' is a brief descriptor revealing what the nature of the 'Asset' is, i.e. 'Hitmen' fall under the 'Special Forces' category, while 'Prominent Politicians' fall under 'Political' category.

One special 'Asset', and perhaps the most important 'Asset' in the game, is the 'Base of Influence' (BoI), an 'Asset' available to all levels of Militancy/Cunning/Affluence. 'BoI' represent your factions presence on various worlds, and 'BoI' is required to be present at a location to own other 'Assets'/carry out 'Actions' at that specific place. 'BoI' is gained through the 'Expand Influence' action; 'BoI' does not count towards your 'Asset' limit and costs the same amount of GC¤ as its 'HP' (which is determined by the purchasing player and cannot exceed the Faction's maximum 'Influence').

Many 'Assets' (most, actually) are stationary and pre-built at their locations, and the players vie for control over the 'Assets' via the employment of other mobile 'Assets' such as units or special actions. An example of this would be a 'Large Consumer Base' Asset, which is present on developed worlds just itching for various goods. Ownership of this 'Asset' nets players GC¤/turn, and it can be flipped via various abstract 'Assets' such as 'Market Departments' (Affluence vs Affluence Attack), 'Slanderous Publications' (Cunning vs Affluence Attack), and other such 'Assets'. Stationary 'Assets' are created and destroyed as the world takes shape due to player actions, for instance the 'Large Consumer Base' Asset might be destroyed by a war carried out by two other players on the planet, or may transform into a 'Massive Consumer Base' Asset if peace at the location is enjoyed for a long stretch of time.

How do 'lesser' factions play into the use of Assets? Well, 'Assets' double as 'Skills' for Hero-characters, so a super-spy might have a 'Stealth+ Training' Asset (Cunning vs Cunning Attack) to slip past guards or 'Well-Placed Shot' Asset (Cunning vs Militancy) should he need to kill someone.



Do note that this is all very much WIP, and therefore this is entirely subject to change.

Your feedback is appreciated! A lot of the rules for Epoch I have been altered/created by its players, and the sooner I can hash out something for Epoch IV the sooner we all can know what the galaxy is building up to.
 
Bank 87GC¤.

You know what would be interesting? A transport hub in a really dangerous place.
 
Plus a few extra. Communication-disrupting nebula, rogue planets, asteroids out of nowhere. People would avoid the place if it weren't so useful or neccessary.
 
Plus a few extra. Communication-disrupting nebula, rogue planets, asteroids out of nowhere. People would avoid the place if it weren't so useful or neccessary.

And, obviously, at some point it will be infested with space pirates.
 
Naturally. And space monsters. With rumours that one pirate has figured how to control the space monsters.
 
ah yes, and let us not forget the wars between factions who wish to take full control of the hub.
 
Eh, I'm sure we'll leave enough upgrades laying around for Samus to take care of em.
 
Does this mean when you return to NESIV.5 you ate going to overhaul the stats? Probably have more questions for the ruleset later, but how are you going to handle ties between different assets during asset actions?
 
Does this mean when you return to NESIV.5 you ate going to overhaul the stats? Probably have more questions for the ruleset later, but how are you going to handle ties between different assets during asset actions?

When I return to NESIV.5 I may or may not change the stats, yeah. And in the event of a tie between assets during actions there is a 50/50 chance for a minor success/minor failure.
 
To all - Want to age a star? Want to fling comets at a starsystem? Why not use Creatorus (Starsystem 1989) as a target? Everything needs to go! It is free and it is fun! Destroy a Starsystem!

:mischief:
 
Spending 50GC¤
40GC¤ Nebulae in 1706, 1806, 1906, 2006
10GC¤ Medium Terrestrial in Eno (1107)
 
Actually:

Age Creatorus (1819) 10GC¤
Wormhole 2109 to 1312, connecting the two largest clusters. 30GC¤

40GC¤
 
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