Helghan. An unforgiving place. The Sandstorms of Winter are as much a hazard as the Carnivorous Flora of the Kaznan Jungles or the wild Petrusite Spiders roaming abandoned Mine Shafts. Yet here we are banished from Vekta by the ISA. Helghan should have been our Prison, our Penalty and our Graveyard. We have made it our Home. Taking our Independence, Taking our Wealth, Taking our Home and even taking the air we need to breathe was not enough for them. Our people are starving. Millions are wasting away in sickbeds. Meanwhile their demands for tax have increased, their trade restrictions have become harsher and the right to import medicine has been curtailed. Yet we perservere and we will continue to do so even if it's just to spite them...It is the year 2340, 120 years after the Helghast were exiled to Helghan and 7 years before Scolar Visaris becomes a figure of Political Importance. You the players take the positions of important persons on the Political Stage of Helghan, vying for the power over the Senate, fighting to finally heave Helghan out of it's misery and maybe to retake what is rightfully yours. Alpha Centauri.
To achieve this you have to use your three rescources: Clout, Wealth and Influence. If you get the feeling you know those rules from somewhere, then you are right. I have taken the liberty to use the Ruleset from Clout for this game. Anyway to the Rules:
INFRASTRUCTURE & RESOURCES
There are three types of Infrastructure that produce three types of Resources.
Economic Infrastructure produces 2 Wealth per turn.
Military Infrastructure allows for 1 Might to be build per turn, per unit.
Social Infrastructure generates 1 Influence to be allocated per turn.
Wealth can be stored, and is spent on construction or upkeep for Might and Social Infrastructure. It costs 6 Wealth to build any type of Infrastructure. Captured or built infrastructure is not functional until the following turn (so built Economic Infrastructure will not produce Wealth until the next turn, captured Social Inf will not provide more Influence to assign that turn).
Might represents military assets. It can be recruited by spending Wealth on a 1-to-1 ratio and appears instantly, but a faction can only produce a maximum amount of Might per turn equal to its total Military Infrastructure. Might costs 1 Wealth per turn in upkeep to sustain (and can be disbanded before upkeep is paid to avoid costs).
Might can be used in conflicts and to capture or raze infrastructure. Armed conflicts are simple affairs; every Might deployed in the battle will neutralise one opposing unit of Might and be neutralised itself in the process. The victor is whomever still has Might left at the end of the fight.
It costs 1 Might to capture or raze 1 unit of enemy Infrastructure. Captured infrastructure is added to faction infrastructure and becomes operational the following turn. Razed infrastructure is destroyed and 3 Wealth added to the treasury of the victor. It costs nothing to raze one's own infrastructure, but it can only be accomplished before an invasion attempt (during an invasion, the infrastructure is considered occupied territory).
Might can finally be used to suppress Unrest on a 1-to-1 ratio. This is a passive use of Might and does not expend it (but Might used this way cannot be used to resolve conflicts). Upkeep must still be paid as normal for this Might.
e.g. Stahl Industries has 3 Military Infrastructure. It spends 3 Wealth to hire 3 Might. The next turn it pays another 2 Wealth to hire 2 more Might. It takes its 5 Might and uses it to take over the Visaris Corporation. VC has an army of 4 Might, so Stahl loses 4 Might in the attempt and then spends its remaining Might to capture one of VC's Economic Infrastructure units.
General Orlock then attempts to take over Stahl with 5 Might. Stahl Industries tries to recruit more Might, but can only produce 1 more Might that turn because of its limited Military Infrastructure, even though it can afford more. It does so and is crushed by the invading force, but the sacrifice does mean that Orlock then only captures 4 units of Infrastructure from Albion instead of 5.
Influence is transient and is generated like power each turn by Social Infrastructure. It does not carry through from turn to turn and excess is wasted. Influence is assigned each turn to different uses; unless the allocation is changed, the budget is assumed to the the same as the previous turn's.
It costs 1 Wealth per turn to maintain each unit of Social Infrastructure, which generates an equal amount of Influence.
The primary use of Influence is to foment and suppress Unrest. Each point of Influence generates or suppresses one point of Unrest in a target faction (one's own or another's).
Influence can also be used to trigger social change. Every 4 points of Influence aimed at causing social reform in a target faction increases the Clout of a power base by 1 point per turn. An equal amount of Influence (in blocks of 4 points) may be used to oppose such reforms. With time and investment this can be enough to change the primary power base of a faction.
Finally, Influence can be used to directly adjust the attitudes of power bases in factions toward targets (including the influences). It costs a total of invested Influence equal to the total Clout of a power base to improve or damage their attitude toward a target by one step. Attitude toward the leader of a faction affects how much Political Capital (PC) a power base grants him per turn. Attitude toward foreign powers affects the willingness of a primary power group to accept alliances and unions. Influence can be used to negate these effects on a 1-to-1 basis as well.
Players and NPC factions may freely trade Resources (except Influence) and Infrastructure between themselves at whatever rates of exchange they deem fair. Fractional Resources (e.g. 0.5 Wealth, 0.2 Influence) cannot be used except where special discounts apply.
ALLIANCES & UNIONS
NPC (and to a lesser extent player) factions may become involved in alliances with other factions. Allied Factions are expected to provide military or economic support in the event of a member of the alliance being attacked, which makes them very useful for defence. NPC Factions whose attitudes toward the alliance member requesting help are generally positive will almost always lend help. Players may choose to not provide assistance at the cost of breaking the alliance and souring relations with the NPC Faction.
Establishing an alliance between players is as simple as an agreement between them. Establishing an alliance with NPC factions is more difficult. In order to get the NPC faction to accept the alliance offer, their primary power base must be at least 'Friendly' with the player faction.
Unionisation incorporates one faction into another. The leading partner in the Union effectively gains all of the lesser partner's infrastructure and resources. To get an NPC faction to accept union as a lesser partner, their primary power base must be 'Fanatic' toward the player faction. Players who willingly accept union as a lesser partner effectively concede defeat for that round and cease playing. In return, if the leader of the new union wins the current round they will start out in a better position than other players on the round following.
It is possible to absorb part or all of a player faction in union against their will. By bringing relations with the primary power base in the faction to 'Fanatic', one may try and force them to coup the player, triggering a revolution. Once the revolution is resolved, however much of the faction ended up in the allied power base's hands joins the player faction in union. Since revolutions are not all-or-nothing, the unfortunate player who was just couped may still have a faction to rule over afterward.
Diplomacy of this sort requires no Political Capital, though engineering the conditions to allow it does.
CLOUT, Political Capital & POWER BASES
Unless your leadership is Popular Leader, you need political capital to take actions. It costs 1 Political Capital (PC) to spend a unit of Wealth, recruit or deploy a unit of Might or reassign a unit of Influence (exception: assigning unbudgeted Influence costs nothing).
In an Popular Party there are no power bases beyond the direct servants of the Popular Leader. THey need no approval to act as they wish and gain none of the benefits of further Specialisation.
All other Factions must deal with internal politics of some sort. Depending on the type of Faction, a leader has between 20-60% of the Clout in a faction and thus generates between 20-60% of the faction's total political capital per turn. PC stacks and may be hoarded, so rulers may accrue PC for multiple turns before spending it all in a massive frenzy of action (such as a war).
Clout is representative of internal political influence. The total Clout of a faction is equal to the sum of all its Infrastructure (of all three types). Each point of Clout generates 1 PC per turn. As mentioned above, the leader has a certain amount of Clout automatically. The rest is divided up amongst one or more power bases.
Power Bases contribute a fraction of their total Clout in PC each turn to the leader, based on how friendly their relations with the leader are. Only Fanatic power bases contribute 100% of their Clout per turn. Very unhappy power bases might not provide any PC at all.
When one power base in a faction has a clear plurality of Clout (compared to other power bases), it provides special benefits to the faction and nominally controls the faction as well.
UNREST & REVOLUTION
Large factions and unpopular leaders generate unrest. Each point of Infrastructure in a faction creates 0.2 Unrest (only whole figures count toward the effects of unrest, so having 4 Infrastructure means no Unrest penalties).
Every point of Unrest reduces the leader's generated Political Capital that turn by 1, so even if one cannot produce enough Unrest to force a revolution it can still hamper an opponent. Unrest still negates PC even if it does not exceed Stability.
When Unrest exceeds the Stability rating of the faction (based on leadership type), a Revolution will occur. This functions as a coup, in that the faction is split into loyalists and rebels and the leader must resolve the conflict for the faction to re-unite. Unlike a deliberately triggered coup, the faction will typically split along the lines of the Clout possessed by different power groups within it. If the revolution succeeds, players retain control of their faction but see it drastically changed as if they had lost a coup.
DIPLOMATIC TIPS
It costs political capital (unless you're an Popular Leader) and resources to take actions. It costs nothing to make threats. Before you launch all of your Might in a surprise invasion, see if you can blackmail the target nation into concessions with the threat. If it works, you still have all of your Might to use on another invasion and don't leave yourself open to counter attacks by opportunists.
CRISES AND OPPORTUNITIES
As a general rule there will be at least one special crisis or opportunity that arises each turn affecting a faction in the game. Players can take advantage of these for special rewards or because of exposed weaknesses.
Leadership consists of two parts: The Faction and the Specialization. Exception is the Popular Leader who has no Specialization.
Faction->
MILITARY
6 Stability
-0.1 Unrest/Inf
Leader gets 40% of Clout.
30% Discount on Might Recruitment
20% Decreased Upkeep on Might
30% Increased Upkeep on Social Infrastructure
1/3 Increased Cost to build Social & Economic Infrastructure
CORPORATION
4 Stability
-0.1 Unrest/Inf
Leader gets 20% of Clout.
10% Bonus to Influence Generation
20% Bonus to Wealth Generation
25% Increased Upkeep on Might
POPULAR LEADER
0 Stability
Actions are free
No Power Bases
Specialization->
FOR MILITARY ONLY:
POLICE FORCE
+2 Stability
-0.1 Unrest/Inf
10% Bonus to Influence Generation
20% Increased Upkeep on Might
MILITIA
20% Discount on Might Recruitment
10% Decreased Upkeep on Might
20% Decreased Wealth Generation
NAVY
30% Bonus to Wealth Generation
1/3 Decreased Cost to build Economic Infrastructure
1/3 Increased Cost to build Might Infrastructure
20% Increased Upkeep on Might
REGULAR
1/3 Decreased Cost to build Social & Economic Infrastructure
SPECIAL FORCES
+20% of Clout
20% Increased Upkeep on Might
FOR CORPORATE ONLY:
WEAPONS PRODUCER
25% Decreased Upkeep on Might
1/3 Decreased Cost to build Might Infrastructure
SPACE ENGINEERING
1/3 Decreased Cost to build Economic & Social Infrastructure
25% Increased Upkeep on Social Infrastructure
AGRICULTURE
20% Decreased Upkeep on Social Infrastructure
1/3 Decreased Cost to build Social & Economic Infrastructure
30% Decreased Wealth Generation
PHARMACEUTICALS
20% Bonus to Influence Generation
20% Decreased Upkeep on Social Infrastructure
10% Bonus to Wealth Generation
1/3 Increased Cost to build Might Infrastructure
MINING
1/3 Decreased Cost to build Economic Infrastructure
30% Increased Wealth Generation
30% Increased Upkeep on Social Infrastructure
20% Decreased Influence Generation
While you have made it up pretty far in the Helghan Society already you are still under scrutiny of the Helghan People.
Every Faction no Matter whether they are Military,Corporate or Persons of Interest are expected to support the Helghan Cause:
Casting off the Shackles of the ISA, Retaking Vekta and establish Independence from Earth.
Supporting the Helghan Cause is of course only the End Goal of All Players. However you all want to be the Autarch when that happens. After all what is the Victory of the Helghan People if you are just footnote in the Annals of History?
To become Autarch one has to get the majority of Vote in the Senate. The Helghan Senate has 16 Seats filled with all the important persons of Helghan: Military, Corporate and Popular Persons with incredible influence. During each Stage of the Fight for Independence an Autarch has to be elected.
Whoever was in a Alliance with the Autarch of the previous stage will get significant bonuses in the next one.. After all the Autarch decides who gets all the juicy Government Contracts and which Military Division gets funding.
But you don't need necessarily all 16 senators there for a vote. If you kill off A Senator or a Faction he is gone for good and with him his vote. In the Next Stage new Persons will enter the Political Cabinet of Helghan to replace them but until then the number of necessary Senators can be as few as 3 (yourself included).
But maybe you are not one for the Political Backstabbery in the Senate nor a Military Mastermind to subjugate your foes. Maybe you are a man of the people. And if Helghan has one Rescource which is more crucial than any other it's her people. The Public will watch your Actions with close Interest: Are you truly supporting the Helghan Cause? Are you making life better for the people? Or are you a ruthless powermonger making things worse and worse?
The Public Support of all Player Factions starts at 0% and may go further up or down depending on how well the Person is percieved by the Public. But like anybody else the Public is gullible and easy to manipulate. Hwoever once you have more than 80% of the Public behind you, you may force the Senate to accept you as new Autarch regardless of their preferences.
But once you are Autarch the game is not won! You may sit the Throne but there is still the Helghan cause to be fulfilled. And the gods know what might happen to you till then...
A SAMPLE STARTING FACTION
Stahl Arms
An Old Family Corporation owned by Jorhan Stahl.
Leadership: Corporation
Specialization: Weapons Manufacturer
4 Economic Infrastructure
4 Military Infrastructure
2 Social Infrastructure
12 Wealth, 4 Might
Projected Income: +3.6
Economy: +9,6 [+8 @ 120%]
Might: -4 [-4 @ 100%]
Social: -2 [-2 @ 100%]
Influence Budget: 2.2 [2 @ 110%]
Suppress Unrest: 1
Unassigned: 1
Social Order
Stability: 4
Unrest: 0 (-4)
+1 from 10 Inf (+0.1/Inf after perks)
-1 from Influence
(-4 while Might used for peacekeeping)
Perks
-0.1 Unrest/Inf
Leader gets 20% of Clout.
10% Bonus to Influence Generation
20% Bonus to Wealth Generation
1/3 Decreased Cost to build Might Infrastructure
25% Reduced Upkeep for Might
25% Increased Upkeep for Might
Power Bases
Ruler: 2 Clout (+2 PC/turn)
Family: 8 Clout. Neutral to Ruler [25% PC]. (+2 PC/turn)
Unrest Penalty to PC: None
Current Political Capital: 4 PC
Allied Factions: Visari Corporation, Helghan Steel
Each Player Starts with 10 Infrastructure(which she/he can assign as he/she pleases), 12 Wealth and 4 Might.
6 Players will be accepted at the beginning.
Generally the System is NOT first come first served.
EDIT: Warning, i wasn't able to playtest the different specializations and factions enough, so if you notice any imbalances feel free to tell me so.
EDITEDIT: Since it seems confusing to some people:
Name of Faction:
Name of Leader:
Type of Faction:
Specialization:
Backstory:
Infrastructure:
Might Infrastructure:
Social Infrastructure:
Economic Infrastructure:
Author
Topic: Helghan: From the Ashes (Read 2416 times)