You are a steampunk demon pactmaster! Welcome to the world of Matera, on the mining outpost of Aston, a small colonial mining town in the desert. The main exports are coal and tin, and the population reaches around a thousand or so. Your nameless cult reside in an abandoned mine-shaft and perform their sacrilegious activities there, but they assume normal identities when they return to Aston. Your true name is an unpronounceable secret, but your followers know you as Zurqueos, the Mighty, the night lord of Aston.
Your cult consists of 15 men and women of different ages and backgrounds. Chief among them is the cult leader Zachary Reed, an influential young noble with an affinity for the occult and strange. His second-in-command is Ahmed Abdul, a native of the desert. He was once a witch-doctor of his tribe but was banished for consorting with evil spirits. He is the only one in your cult who can actually hear you and see you.
Your cult was recently established a month ago when you surfaced to the world and met Ahmed, who corrupted the promising Zachary Reed and his flock of friends. They have been idle all this time, but now you strike at the world and make the heavens tremble.
As I've said before this was inspired by Evil Overlord, so most of the gameplay mechanics is based on that.
There are three types of Quest: Domination. Devastation. Mixed.
Domination quests convert a person, group or area to your will, making it effectively yours. These quests range from possession, raiding, and stealing.
Devastation quests annihilate a target, building, or area. These range from burning down buildings, assassination, and rioting.
Mixed quests are whatever doesn't really fit between the above two and have many sub-types.
Ahmed communes with you in the altar in the center of the conclave. "Master, I bring you requests from your humble servants. It will further our goals," he says in his raspy, old voice. He bows and opens up a scroll with the three choices he has given you.
Quest I: We need more money. Rob a mine. Devastation.
Quest II: We need more souls. Kidnap a human. Mixed.
Quest III: We need more followers. Corrupt more people in the streets. Dominion.
There are different degrees of minions you may have.
Creatures are inherently stupid minions. They can be used to defend your lair, or defend key locations, but are generally usable only on Devastation quests otherwise. Examples include dire wolves, giant scorpions and red demons.
Cultists are the 'grunts'. They can do groundwork, both for Devastation and for Dominion Quests. Examples include human cultists and imps.
Dark Minions on the other hand are intelligent creatures, which can be used for Dominion Mission. These include succubi and black demons.
(Using a D12 table)
1) Horrible thigns happens to your minions. (Utter failure+Heavy backslash)
2) Bad, utterly bad fortune comes to you. (Utter failure)
3) You fail, badly. (Bad failure)
4-5) You fail, go home. (Normal failure)
6-7-8) You succeed, but nothing special happens. (What it says on the tin)
9-10) You succeed, and you earn a bonus of sorts. (Extra stuff, extra minions, etc.)
11) You succeed tremendously! (Like before, but your bonuses have bonuses)
12) You're on a roll, baby! (A twelve is the automatic win. You cannot lose this mission.)
Your minions you have with you:Creatures:
Giant Cave Scorpion It resides in the abandoned mine-shaft (it's the reason it was abandoned) and scares off any curious enough to enter. It looks pretty cool too.
Cultists:
Human A pretty average minion who can do a variety of tasks.
Dark Minions: None for now. They can be summoned with souls.
Commanders grant bonuses/penalties depending on what/who they are. More than one commander might be unproductive, because they will fight one another for 'supremacy' and to establish a chain of command.
You have two for the time being, Ahmed and Zachary. Ahmed specializes in Devastation while Zachary is more Domination minded.
1) Upkeep. Generally, this is the roleplay and fluff part. Talk with your minions and plot nefariously. You can a la Evil Overlord become a character in the game if you want.
2) Choose a quest/Upgrade your conclave. You can't do both in the same turn. Upgrades are generally left in your 'imaginative' head. Think something, I give you requisites. "Disguise the base" would be relatively simple compared to say, "build a summoning circle of demons and evil souls."
3) Assign People/Minions/Things to your quest. A maximum of TEN people can be assigned, of which there MUST be One Dark Minion/Commander/Yourself at the very least. Dark Minion (Unless they have a specific bonus to it) Give +0 to success of mission. Dark Advisor gives +1, you give +2.
4) Enjoy the resulting carnage.
5) Weather the Storm. Aka: The Hunters' turn! Every action has a consequence, and the holy warriors of light and holiness will stop at nothing to foul your evil ploys.
6) Downkeep. More fluff.
7) Turn Results. Afterwards, we begin again with the upkeep and the new day.
Resources in your Dominion:1 Giant Cave Scorpion (GCS)
13 Humans
2 Commanders (Ahmed and Zachary)
You (incorporeal)
Pick a quest and rule the world!