In the year 366, it was decided that an expedition would be launched to another star system. Many kerbals signed up for the chance to join this long trip. With the focus of most of kerbalkind, the largest ship ever built was constructed.
It crashed, of course, but most of the crew and passengers survived.
The third try was with a more modular design, connected in orbit. It succeeded, and, after a few months of refueling and supply missions, finally left for a distant world. It would be dozens of years of deep hibernation in cramped quarters before they finally arrived.
This will be a hybrid sort of game. There are six players (Referred to as PCs), each playing a single kerbalnaut/engineer/scientist. There will also be a commander, ruled by standard suggestion game format by everyone who posts (Both PCs and .. I'll call the rest of you NPCs, I think). NPCs are assumed to be a random kerbal crewman, but don't get actions of their own, to save on my sanity. Feel free to RP.
Once every other turn, the commander may issue or extend a mandate. The mandate may be pretty much anything (Anyone available should get an iron mining operation started / Joe should go collect surface samples from the star), and will last for five turns. If failed, whoever I deem most responsible will be up for vote to be replaced by an NPC (I'll probably overlook discreet acts of sabotage, so long as collateral damage remains low and only negligible witnesses see it). The NPC will have fewer traits, and so will lower the expeditions overall effectiveness. The ex-NPC will take the ex-PC's remaining extra lives. Permanently killed PCs will NOT be up for replacement.
Mandates do have a positive side, from the PCs' point of view: they will receive a bonus to rolls while actively pursing the mandate. The bonus will be small, but will remain until the mandate is completed or expired.
PCs have three 'lives' at game start. That is, fate will conspire to keep you alive twice, unless you do something horribly wrong, like
trying to fly into a star. Each 'death' will degrade traits.
PC sign-ups are first-come, first-served.
Name:
Primary Class: (Kerbalnaut, engineer, or scientist. You'll receive a small bonus to related roles, but everyone will be capable of filling any role. Both scientists and engineers are equally skilled at using known concepts to design or alter components. Engineers are better at building and repairing them, while scientists are better at improving their underlying science. Kerbalnauts are far superior at maneuvering without comms, especially when time is short.)
Courage: (1-5) (More courageous kerbals tend to be better at dangerous maneuvers (and may seek them out), and will trend towards building fewer fail-safes and back-ups into things. This may be good or bad, as the results will be lighter and easier to build.)
Stupidity: (1-5) (An important stat. Stupid pilots will have an easier time acting in threatening situations. In R&D, they will have an easier time developing new ideas and parts if they're less burdened by thoughts of whether or not something is a good idea, or even possible according to standard theories. Those with lower stupidity will be slightly better at improving existing parts.)
Traits: (One major and one minor, OR three minor.)
A trait is generally an innate skill or talent that your character possesses. Major traits give a bigger bonus than minor traits, and I'll be more open to allowing major traits to be used to boost borderline actions.
Make them up. Be fairly specific (No "Explosions." Try "Explosive weapon systems" or "Explosive hand weapons"). Feel free to ask if you're unsure whether or not a trait is acceptable. You may easily take traits that work across multiple classes ("ship-to-ship kinetic weapons systems" instead of "personal kinetic weapon accuracy"). Your overall tech level is remarkably low, with the best being early Cold-War space program era space tech. You may still take a trait for something more futuristic, but don't expect it to come into play until later. If nobody takes weapon traits, you'll pretty much be limited to melee strikes and basic rockets.
Gaining new traits or upgrading old ones would take exceptional rolls, events, and/or effort. Don't expect any.
Traits heavily affect your initial vessel and cargo. If you're all heavily weapon oriented, expect lots of guns, weak armor, and plenty of ammo storage. If half the team has fighter pilot training, you'll have plenty of hangar space and strike craft, even with a non-carrier vessel. If nobody takes weapons systems, but half the team takes fighters, don't expect a high survival rate.
Examples of traits: Strike-craft laser weapons systems, atmospheric aerial stealth systems, heavy craft armor, an extra life, mining bases, and leadership.
Leadership is useful. You'll get extra crew for the mission, and have your own team that shares your primary class. You'll run into manpower shortages if nobody takes leadership.
Feel free to fill out a sheet for the commander whether or not you have your own character. The commander's class must be some variant of 'commander.' The commander will have leadership as a primary trait, and has a single selectable minor trait (which might also be leadership. The commander gets more initial manpower for leadership).
Finally, please vote on a vessel:
A) Colonization Freighter - This vessel is packed with supplies. By default, it has a few shuttles to ferry goods between orbit and a planetary surface.
B) Carrier - This vessel is designed around carrying, maintaining, and re-building small craft. This should allow it to quickly explore a system. By default, it carries the smallest colonization package, but may easily build more space-capable craft by slowly mining asteroids.
C) Task Force - This vessel is designed to split into a few ships on arrival, each capable of acting independently. By default, carries no shuttle-sized craft, but has a purpose-built colonization module.
D) Outpost Vessel [Hard mode] - The smallest of the options. This craft is designed to crash-land and immediately begin constructing a base. A space-program will need to be re-built before extra-planetary operations may begin.
Misc Info:
Each region (or planetoid) will have 2-3 mineral layers (surface, underground, deep), depending on size. At game start, you have no way to prospect or mine deep layers. Each layer will have its own minerals, ignoring what is above it.
Mineral veins are rated by type, amount, and quality. Rather than tracking how much steel you have, I'll be tracking general availability of common metals. You'll be unable to stockpile anything, but may be able to, say, build a warehouse to keep a few turns' worth of supplies in case the supply line gets disrupted. You may also be able to increase the amount or quality with buildings.
Amounts range from tiny, small, moderate, abundant, to overflowing. It takes 3 sources of one level to reach the next. If you have a moderate-sized stockpile, several people may work on moderate-requiring projects at the same time, but there may be minor problems if absolutely everyone is trying to do so.
Expect a fighter-sized vessel or component to require a tiny amount, a mid-sized ship to take a moderate amount, and a dreadnaught an overflowing amount.
Quality usually ranges from 1-5. Some parts may require a specific quality, but it usually just improves construction outcomes.
Planned types are:
Common metals (ex. steel), useful for structural components.
Rare metals (ex. copper), useful for electronic or special components.
Fuel (ex. oil), useful for explosions.
Radioactive materials, useful for glowly ornamentation.
Crystals, useful for lasers.
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Topic: Kerbal Colonization Program (Read 6902 times)