Welcome to Emperor of the Fading Suns!
Explanation:
EotFS is a 4x space game. Something of a cult classic among the small community that knows of it, and what may be one of the most compelling combinations of gameplay and setting in a 4x game to date. In EotFS you will take control of one of the five Great Houses of the Pheonix Empire, the largest human nations in existence. You will via with the other Great Houses for control of worlds and the wealth that they bring, battle with millions of soldiers at your command, and wheel and deal for enough political favor to be named Regent (and maybe even Emperor).
The game is pbem, and as such is something of a "slow burn" in terms of length with each Great House taking a turn, before passing the save on to the next House. My goal is to utilize the game as a framework for political roleplay here, with a House of High Lords allowing players to vote on laws, sanctions, and discuss the events of the game from an in-character perspective.
The Settings:
The game will be run with EotFS 1.4, and the Reality Mod. This leaves the game very close to vanilla but adds many bug fixes and combat rebalancing.
Universal Warehouse will be off.
Plague will be on.
Rebellion will be on.
Most OOC will be handled on Discord, and I'll be able to help you walk through installing the game there as well.
https://discord.gg/Wbsq6aThe Factions:
Instead of a single player per House, which would limit us to 5 people, instead, each House will be controlled by teams. This will allow expanded roleplay opportunities, and allow us to keep the game moving forward should someone not be able to complete a turn.
House Li Halan
The pious and disciplined family was once the worst-behaved of all houses. Their immoral exploits are legendary, as is the tale of their overnight conversion to the Church. House Li Halan now upholds rigid codes of etiquette, tradition, and honor. They now pursue the scriptures as fanatically as they once chased pleasure. Now a deeply pious house, they have a close connection to the Orthodoxy. This sense of traditionalism and orthodoxy may seem stringent to some of its more rebellious members but House Li Halan feels it has a lot to make up for.
House Hawkwood
House Hawkwood prides itself on its pedigree and its commitment to noblesse oblige. They are indoctrinated with protecting their serfs and have many difficult expectations to live up to. More than any other House, House Hawkwood dedicates itself to the care of its serfs and the preservation of their lands. From the moment they are born Hawkwoods are taught of their destiny to lead. They never learn to doubt their abilities or their right to rule, those who don't weren't really Hawkwoods anyway.
House al-Malik
The exotic and inscrutable al-Malik are often accused of being mere merchants, for their ties to the League are well known. With close ties to the Merchant League and a deviate love of technology, House al-Malik is certainly the wealthiest of all the noble houses. Although they carry an egalitarian attitude towards their serfs, they are often far removed from the troubles of them. Surrounding themselves with the opulence of wealth and technology.
House Decados
House Decados is a Machiavellian and devious noble house, and that's exactly the way they like it. Although no-one would ever trust a Decados, none can deny their value. Slimy, cunning and extremely successful, the Decados have risen to power through treachery and an uncanny understanding of their rivals - helped in no small part, no doubt, by their vast, invisible intelligence network.
House Hazat
The Hazat are deeply passionate and compelled. They pursue dangerous sports and seek testing duels. Hot-blooded and intense, the martial Hazat know how to field an army but are also no strangers to intrigue. When they can calm the vicious infighting from family to family, they can present a formidable front against rivals from other houses. The Hazat lead the finest militias of the known universe. Trained from the age of five to hold a sword and lead an army. An army that grows excessive their conquests. Originally the Hazat were the military of House Chauki whom they overthrew in a military coup proclaiming their House's hidden noble heritage. Hazat vassals are loyal, for they know that sacrifices for their lords are often rewarded.
The House of High Lords:
The main roleplay aspect of this game (beyond the natural deals and backstabbing between houses) is the House of High Lords. A parliament of sorts that establishes and votes on the laws of the realm.
I have a framework written up for an initial set of Imperial Laws, and should this gather any interest, players will be able to decide what laws are in effect at game start and propose their own laws the year before an election.
House Rules
These rules are intended as fixes for several exploits/bugs that exist within the game. As such they are "hard" rules, and should not be broken by players, unlike the Laws that exist within the framework of the House of High Lord.
No chain-jumping, transferring troops or resources from one transport to another in a second system that you have pre-staged, and so on. This exploit allows a player to move troops or goods across the entire galaxy within a single turn.
Always unload your transport starships when they end their movement on a planet's surface. This exploit/bug makes it impossible to attack or capture a hex with a loaded transport starship in it.
Don't use bombardment against an unspotted hex. This exploit allows a player to see hidden units. Bombardment of unknown estates is allowed.
Don't attempt to land a starship and then cancel the action. This exploit allows a player to see hidden units.
Don't attack empty orbital squares. This exploit allows a player to see hidden units.
The Regent may not crown himself Emperor on an election year. This bug allows a player to skip the 10 turn delay and instantly win the game.
Do not use the diplomacy screen to promise Minister positions or votes. There is a bug where all promises are considered valid. With votes, it means that you can hand out 5 to all four other players. With Ministers, it'll crash the game as it tries to give two players control.
On Byzantium II all nobles must either stay in the player's fortress or on a ship in orbit. No constant picking up or dropping off in random locations. This exploit makes it impossible for nobles to be targeted for assassination.
Lab estates must never be surrounded by units or other estates. Nor can they be built on a single hex island. This exploit makes it impossible for the Church to inspect Labs.
No Lab estates may be built on Earth. This bug makes it impossible for the Church to inspect Labs.
You must wait for six turns before offering a peace treaty to either the Church or the League if you are the aggressor. Three turns if they are the aggressor. This bug makes it so either NPCs will always accept peace offers.
Do not increase troop pay pass the starting rate. You may lower it, and bring it back up, but never past where it starts. This exploit makes it trivial to get 100% loyalty.
Do not replay your turn for better results. This exploit is self-explanatory.
Do not offer or accept more money than you have available. This bug creates money from nowhere.
Do not change Church sects. It breaks the loyalty system.
You may not disband Scepters or Relics. This exploit destroys these units permanently.
You may not deliberately starve your own estates in order to spread the plague. This exploit devalues the plague bomb unit.
You may not start building a unit, and then cancel the build in order to transfer resources. This exploit allows a player to ignore logistics and blockades.
Author
Topic: PBEM Emperor of the Fading Suns Recruitment (Read 2901 times)