This sort of game benefits from a large playerbase, so signups are always welcome.As per my MO, here's a new political roleplaying game. This is based directly off
Galactic Emperor: Succession, by Skotos Games, which ran somewhere around ten years ago and has a special place in my heart. Players take on the role of Archons, overlords in the Galactic Imperium and members of the Imperial Council by virtue of rank and power.
It is the year 1000 I.R. (Imperial Reckoning), millenial anniversary of the founding of the Empire, and the Galactic Emperor was recently assassinated by unknown forces. At the same time, dozens of warships attributed to a mysterious new faction known as the Conclave emerged from hidden bases across the galaxy and seized a number of Imperial worlds. Without a clear leader to direct the war, the Imperial Council must now vote not only on the election of a new Emperor but also upon how to conduct the war with the new enemy that outclasses them so severely.
The Empire claims the full two billion suns of the Galaxy, though its practical extent is but a tiny fraction - some ten thousand systems. As such a great deal of the Galaxy remains 'dark', unsettled, unmonitored or simply undiscovered. That the Conclave were able to build an invasion fleet to surpass that of the Imperium speaks to just how much of the Galaxy is concealed from the Empire's eyes. Technology has semi-stagnated, partly due to shifts in cultural opinions on research, partly due to imperial mandate and partly because the low-hanging fruit of science have all been gathered. No scientific revolutions have happened in centuries if not millenia, and most development simply refines existing technology.
The Galaxy is divided into four sectors; the Core, the Cluster, the Reach and the Rift. Archons have demesnes specific to one sector, and when that sector is attacked it is they who will suffer. When assigning armies, ships, intelligence or morale the Imperial Council must pick a specific sector to assign them to.
Note that the Conclave's main colonies are concealed in anonymous worlds throughout the Galaxy, not just the ones they have overtly conquered. To fully exterminate the Conclave menace Reconnaissance (an Intelligence function) must be performed to root out each hidden world for assault or bombardment.
Play takes place over Quarters, a fourth of a turn of the galactic year. Each Quarter is divided into an Early and Late phase. In the Early phase intelligence and morale are assigned by Archons and the Imperial Council, specialists are produced and colonies may be developed/regeneralised/settled. In the Late phase intelligence reports are received, armies and ships are assigned to sectors and colony sabotage, revolts or defections happen. Existing revolts and sabotage from previous Quarters are also potentially resolved at the start of the Late phase.
Actions that require vote are resolved at the end of each phase, whilst direct/mandated actions are resolved immediately.
At the end of the Quarter, naval and ground combat happens and any occupation or bombardment is resolved.
New Archons start with 5 General Worlds, habitable, terraformed or domed planets not particularly devoted to any speciality but simply places for people to work, play and live. General worlds produce 1 Army, 1 Supply, 1 Intelligence, 1 Morale and one random specialist at the start of each Early phase (except the first). Through the use of Specialists, Archons may convert General worlds into specialist worlds.
Garrisons take 5 Military and 5 Labour specialists to develop. They produce 3 Armies each quarter and also provide 1 new Military specialist to the owning Archon at the start of each Early Phase.
Forgeworlds take 5 Labour and 5 Engineering specialists to develop. They produce 3 Supply each quarter and 1 Labour specialist at the start of the Early Phase.
Shipyards take 5 Psionic and 5 Engineering specialists to develop. They produce 3 Ships each quarter and 1 Engineering speciailst at the start of the Early Phase. At the start of the game, only the Imperial Demesne has shipyards due to the late Emperor's preference to keep a solid grip over this base of power. Legislation also enforces this ruling and must be overturned by the Imperial Council if shipyards are to be produced by players.
Outposts take 5 Military and 5 Engineering specialists to develop. They produce no resources but instead contribute an effective +3 ships to defense of the sector they are built in by providing logistical support, resupply and long range scanning. This bonus only applies while there are still physical ships assigned to the sector. They produce 1 Military specialist at the start of the Early Phase.
Intelligence Hubs take 5 Psionic and 5 military specialists to develop. They produce 3 Intelligence and 1 Psionics specialist at the start of the Early Phase.
Propaganda Centres take 5 Psionic and 5 Labour specialists to develop. They produce 3 Morale and 1 Psionics specialist at the start of the Early Phase.
Specialist worlds may be re-generalised, returning 3 of that world's particular specialist type.
General worlds may also be converted into Academies at a cost of 5 of each specialist type. Academies produce no resources but generate 2 specialists per quarter of the owning Archon's choice. Re-generalised academies return 1 of each specialist type.
Finally, Archons who have not yet reached their demesne limit may sponsor Colony Ships at a cost of 3 of each specialist type. These intrepid pioneers venture out into the great unknown of the galaxy and settle a new General world in that sector, which is added to the Archon's demesne. This new world is considered Hidden until it is revealed to the Empire or discovered through Reconnaissance, meaning that it cannot be bombarded or invaded. Many Emperors do not like hidden worlds and may insist that their locations be revealed by the owning Archon on pain of sanction.
Archons can gain new worlds through imperial grant (via the Emperor or Imperial Council), conquest or exploration. An Archon's personal demesne is limited to worlds within his home sector; to change sector he must relinquish all of his worlds and be given a world in a new sector instead. No Archon's personal demesne (including that of the Emperor) may exceed that of twice the demesne of the fourth most powerful Archon (by land) due to administrative difficulties. If they want to improve their lot further, they had best aid their fellow Archons and the Imperium as a whole.
The imperial demesne is an exception to this rule and is passed on from Emperor to Emperor. Between Emperors it is under the control of the Imperial Council. The imperial demesne consists of 5 worlds, 1 in each sector and the Capital world (in the Core sector). At the start of play, all 5 worlds are Shipyard worlds. Worlds may be taken from or added to the imperial demesne by the Emperor or Council mandate, but the total can never exceed one per sector, plus the capital. The capital may be changed, re-generalised and re-specialised, but there must always be a capital world.
If the capital world is ever seized by force or bombarded from orbit, the reigning Emperor is killed and a new one must be elected. A new capital is then chosen from among the surviving worlds in the imperial demesne. Emperors may move the capital to another world in their personal demesne if they surrender the former capital to another Archon. This may potentially move the capital to another sector, away from the Core.
If all worlds in the imperial demesne are lost, the Empire dissolves and the Archons are no longer bound by the mandate of the Imperial Council. To form a new empire a coalition of Archons (or even one powerful Archon) must surrender five worlds, at least one in each sector, to a new imperial demesne. They may then choose a new capital, and the most Prestigious becomes the new Emperor. Revolting or seceding archons may form usurper empires the same way.
Archons who lose all their worlds are out of the game. Their only option in this situation is to beg the Emperor to grant them a world from the imperial demesne. If the Emperor refuses, their dynasty is at an end.
The five resources of the game are Armies, Supply, Ships, Intelligence and Morale, and how they are allocated is essential to the survival of the Empire. Resources may be either kept by Archons (whereupon they will be applied in defence of that Archon's sector or that Archon's own expeditions) or submitted to the Imperium to be used at the Emperor/Imperial Council's discretion.
Ships deal with naval combat in the sector. Ships may be assigned to attack enemy colonies or defend friendly colonies. Attacking fleets engage defending fleets on the opposite side, duking it out until one side has ships left or both sides are neutralised. It is entirely possible for both attacking fleets to score a victory even though their defensive forces failed, resulting in both a potential gain and loss of worlds.
Outpost Worlds improve the effective defensive fleet strength in their sector by 3 for each world, but only while there are surviving defending ships. Even though a single ship with four supporting outposts fights as well as thirteen ships, if that ship is lost then the outposts do nothing.
Once attacking fleets have cleared all the defending ships from a sector and provided there is at least one attacking ship left intact, ground invasions may begin. If ground invasions are not possible or desired, ships assigned to attack may optionally engage in orbital bombardment; each surviving ship may bombard one enemy world, destroying the colony entirely. Because of the ammunition and energy expenditure required in slagging a whole planet, only one planet per ship may be bombarded before the end of the quarter. The decision on what planets (if any) to bombard must be made before the attack fleet is launched, although the orders may be conditions (for instance on ground combat failing).
Armies deal with ground combat in the sector. Armies may be assigned to attack enemy colonies or defend friendly colonies. After defensive naval manoeuvres have failed in a sector, all offensive armies on the attacking side are pitted against all defensive armies on the defending side (even ones nominally on other worlds within the same sector, unless their Archons specifically forbid them from joining in) and duke it out until one side has armies left or both are mutually annihilated. Outposts have no effect on ground combat.
If the attackers are successful in eliminating all ground forces in a sector, each surviving attacking Army is sufficient to capture and garrison one enemy world. In the case of Imperial captures, the world is added to the imperial demesne to be redistributed by the Emperor or Council. In the case of captures made by Archons acting on their own, worlds are added to their personal demesne.
Because of the highly random nature of both naval and terrestrial combat, to be absolutely sure of victory one should outnumber the enemy at least three to one.
Supply is needed to support both Armies and Ships, at a rate of 1 Supply to each Army or Ship. If the rate of supply falls below the available numbers of armies or fleets, the army/fleet owners (nominally the Emperor/Council) must decide what armies or fleets they will not supply. Such units may not be assigned to sectors either offensively or defensively until the supply problem is resolved.
Intelligence is a versatile resource with five uses.
Intelligence points assigned to Reconnaissance in a quarter attempt to discover hidden planets; or determine secret orders or intended fleet attack plans. Reconnaissance is opposed by Counterespionage.
Counterespionage opposes Reconnaissance, Sabotage and Assassination attempts, and in the case of Reconnaissance either causes them to fail outright or gives deliberate misinformation.
Sabotage attempts to attack specialised worlds of a specific type or even a specific world within a sector. Separate Intelligence points must be assigned for each sabotage attempt (i.e. per world). On a success, the infrastructure of the world is destroyed and it reverts to a General World, losing all its special production. Sabotage is opposed by Counterespionage.
Sow Dissent reduces the Total Morale in a sector, improving the chance of colonies revolting or defecting. It is opposed by assigning Morale to quadrants.
Intelligence can also be assigned to Assassinate the Emperor, whether it be the true Emperor or a usurper. On a success the Emperor dies and the succession process begins. On a failure the identity of the assassin is revealed. Assassination is opposed by Counterespionage with a heavy bonus to the defender.
Note that there is no mechanic for assassinating fellow Archons; it has no effect, as another dynasty member simply stands up to take their place. Roleplayed assassinations, duels and such may be carried out under whatever rules are deemed fit for the sake of story, but it has no mechanical effect within the game.
Morale keeps the population in line. Each sector has a secret Base Morale based on the number of worlds in that sector. Naval or military victories and defeats; and successful or failed sabotage attempts; all provide positive or negative modifiers to the Total Morale in a sector. The Sow Dissent intelligence action lowers Total Morale, while assigning Morale to a sector improves it.
Ground battles are closer to home than fleet battles and have a bigger and more lasting effect on Morale. Sabotage is very painful when it happens, but tends to be forgotten quickly. Prevented sabotage attempts only provide a small bonus to Morale as the work is largely behind the scenes.
When Total Morale drops below a certain threshold due to events or specifically sown dissent, colonies start revolting at random. Revolting colonies produce no specialists or resources for one full quarter. If the Total Morale of a different faction in the same quadrant is high enough, colonies that would revolt will instead defect entirely to that faction.
Finally, publicly revealing a Hidden world (by choice rather than discovery) is extremely popular with colonists and traders, who flock to the new colony. This improves Morale significantly in the sector for a full galactic year.
Votes within the Imperial Council are weighted by Prestige, with one vote per point of prestige. Each General World contributes 1 Prestige to an Archon. Each specialist world contributes 2-5 Prestige; precisely how much varies depending on how important those worlds have been to galactic events. The Imperial Council can also vote to increase or decrease the Prestige value of a specific world type.
Most resolutions within the Imperial Council require a 51% vote to pass, ignoring abstaining parties. Resolutions to elect a new Emperor or change the Galactic Constitution require a 67% vote to pass and abstaining parties count against that limit (so if more than a third fail to vote the resolution cannot pass). If several resolutions need to be made at once (except constitutional reforms), they may be proposed together as a single bill to be voted on rather than each resolution independently.
The Galactic Constitution at start of play is as follows:
+ The Emperor is the sole source of authority in the Galaxy and may direct Imperial resources as he wishes without Council approval.
+ When no Emperor is on the throne, the Imperial Council must vote as a whole on how to direct Imperial resources.
+ When there is no Emperor on the throne, the Imperial Council must meet once per quarter to choose a new Emperor. This voting can take place at any time within the quarter, as soon as the resolution is proposed and seconded.
+ Resolutions within the Imperial Council must be proposed and seconded by another Archon to be eligible for vote.
+ Shipyards can only be produced within the imperial demesne or the Emperor's private demesne and not by any private Archon. Upon the election of a new Emperor of a different dynasty, the old Imperial dynasty must dismantle all of their shipyards or surrender them (if in the right sector) to the new Emperor.
+ Voting on Imperial Council resolutions is by Prestige-weighted vote. All Archons are eligible to vote.
+ Archons are expected but not legally required to contribute some or all of their resources to the Imperium.
+ Research into temporal manipulation, artificial intelligence, full-scale genetic manipulation and doom worlds are prohibited by Imperial law under penalty of exile and elimination.
+ Research not mandated explicitly by the Emperor into military or industrial technologies carries a penalty of five specialists or one world and must be curtailed immediately.
If the Empire is ever dissolved and reformed, the conditions of the new Galactic Constitution are entirely at the behest of the new Emperor.
While an Emperor is on the throne,
and only while an Emperor is on the throne, Archons acquire score equal to their Prestige at the end of each quarter. This represents the glory and history of their illustrious dynasty. The Emperor gains +1 score for each planet in the imperial demesne at the end of the quarter, regardless of its specialisation. Usurper Emperors gain this score bonus as well, and their subject Archons still accrue score even if the 'true' Emperor is not on the throne. In the event republics are formed, 'First Consuls' or 'Speakers' count as emperors for this purpose.
You play an Archon, head of a dynasty controlling 5 General Worlds. You can develop these worlds by spending Specialists that are produced each turn by those worlds. You start with 8 Specialists based on your Racial Specialisation and can trade for more with other players. Your Prestige, which affects your votes in the Imperial Council and your Score, is based on the number and type of worlds you control. Each world generates Resources which must be assigned in order to successfully defend the galaxy. The Imperial Council or Emperor expects you to donate Resources to the Imperium for the collective good of the galaxy, but it is not at game start a legal requirement.
New players should fill out the template below to sign up and post it in the sign-up thread. For consistency reasons I insist on there only being four major races, one for each Specialist type, and players tending towards those races. The specifics of those races can be determined on a first come, first written basis. There is no limit on minor races, who are usually petty client species in thrall to one of the major races (for now), but if you want a quick start just copy the descriptions for a major race and play them instead.
Dynasty Name:
Dynastic History:
Quadrant: Core / Cluster / Reach / Rift
Named Worlds: If any.
Race (Major/Minor):
Race Physical Description:
Racial Society:
Brief Racial History:
Racial Specialisation: Psionics / Engineering / Labour / Military
You start with 8 specialists of the type your race favours.
Dynasty Name: House Kekeke
Dynastic History: House Kekeke is the dominant House of the political elite caste of the Ketteraks. They have survived in this position through utter subservience to their Thule masters and brutal oppression of their subjects, to the point where they are now trusted enough to be effectively autonomous. The recent crisis has spurred them to the forefront of the galactic stage in the hopes of advancement beyond their one system and the chance of real political power.
Quadrant: Rift
Named Worlds: Ktiklikak
Race (Minor): Ketteraks
Race Physical Description: 4 foot insectoids with four grasping limbs and eight legs. Ketteraks are blind but have acutely developed senses of sound and smell, and their few ships tend to use carefully designed echolocation to operate in space, or simply hired pilots of other races.
Racial Society: Ketterak society is caste-based, with different sections of society born into a specific caste where they will live, work, breed and die without ever rising or falling except within the distinctions of that caste. The resulting society is productive if not particularly happy, with luxuries mostly going to the intellectual elite caste.
Brief Racial History: The Ketteraks evolved on their homeworld of Ktiklikak and began to develop civilisations based around hive-like city-states around six thousand years ago. A Thule warship stumbled upon the planet as the Ketteraks were advancing through a particularly wartorn medieval period and the Thule pilots were so impressed by the industry of the Ketteraks that they invaded and brutally subjugated the species. The Ketteraks have lived as a client race to the Thule ever since, even to the founding of the Imperium a thousand years hence. It is only under the relative legal freedom of Imperial rule that they have advanced enough as a race in their own right to colonise and develop the other worlds in their system.
Racial Specialisation: Labour
And when playing, remember: Losing is Fun!
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Topic: Galactic Emperor - Signup and OOC Thread (Read 13040 times)