Venturecracy: Rule the PolisBy the authority of Zeus, the wisdom of Athena, and the might of Heracles, the glorious Polis has grown from humble beginnings into a thriving city- it's no Sparta, Thebes, or Athens, but it is a regional power in our little corner of Greece. Our fields are bountiful, our nets full. Our traders roam the seas, for our craftwork is envied. Our hoplites present an impenetrable wall of bronze to any foe. Our philosophers are incomprehensible, which is probably a virtue in their profession. Our temples are glorious and the omens are good. Everything's coming up Polis.
Except for one tiny inconsequential detail.
Namely the government is corrupt, inept, and unpopular.
The Great Families have ruled the Polis since time immemorial. The Oligarchic Council, consisting of the most respected members of the Great Families, has sufficed for most of our history. Unfortunately, in recent years it has become apparent that some members of the council have been abusing their position to enrich themselves and their family- I know, I was surprised too. Gridlock has become increasingly common, as any member of the council can veto a decision for any reason- achieving unanimous support is ever harder as the Polis grows. The bureaucracy is overworked- the fact that only members of the Great Families can become government clerks has led to a serious shortage, to the point where even just collecting taxes is a struggle. As a result of these failings, everyone- from the lowliest slave to the highest-without-being-Great noble- is increasingly frustrated, their needs and wants unmet, their complaints unheard.
Something has to change. Maybe we need a Tyrant who can exert his will without question? Perhaps a Noble Republic would let the lesser nobility take up the slack of governing? Or if we wanted to get really crazy, we could adopt Democracy and let the common people decide what to do! Ahaha! But seriously, that's how bad things are- there are actually people suggesting Democracy.
YOU are a powerful noble of the Polis. You can tell which way the wind is blowing. You have enough wealth and clout to actually make a difference. And you know that if you play your cards right, all this political upheaval can work to your benefit- after all, even in the worst case scenario, a Democracy needs someone to, ah, 'be the voice of the people'.
HERE'S THE DEALAnyone can join the game at any time- no matter how many folks have already joined, or how many turns have passed. You will start with 3000 Drachmae, and [Turn Number] Popularity divided as you choose amongst the five Classes.
At the start of the game, you probably want to get a seat on the Oligarchic Council. No problem. Pay 2000 Drachmae, and you're in. However, the Oligarchy
will collapse, a Revolution
will occur, and the new government will likely have more stringent requirements.
Your goal is to score 100 Points. You score Points by being in a position of power in any
non-Oligarchic government. That is to say,
nobody scores Points until the first Revolution happens.
Each turn, you:
-Gain 1 Popularity with a Class of your choice. (You should announce which Class you're picking)
-May pay Drachmae to influence the Mood/Power of Classes.
-Perform actions enabled by your governmental position, if any (in the case of Oligarchic Councillors, this means proposing, supporting, or vetoing Proposals).
-Earn your governmental salary, if applicable (Oligarchic Councillors earn 500 Drachmae per turn).
-Negotiate with other players, as desired. Note that you cannot trade Popularity.
A key mechanic of the game is Revolutions. These can happen when a Class's Mood is lower than its Power- the bigger the difference, the higher the chance. When a Revolution happens, the players who are most Popular with the Class leading the Revolution will be given the chance to shape the coming government, and be granted positions in it. The Mood of all classes will be reset, and their Power reduced (usually), but players' Popularity remains unchanged.
An important note: this game is
Lazy Fair, which means I as the GM endeavour to do as little work as possible (cos these kinds of games can get out of hand). You will be responsible for keeping track of your own status (and doing so honestly). You don't need my permission to make a deal with another player (though if you want a contract to be GM-enforced, sign it in the thread). For any actions you take that I do need to know about (specified below), tag them with them
ACTACTACT (you only need one per post)- when updating, I will search for that exact phrase and ignore everything else.
If you want to discuss this game, get feedback quicker, or discuss games like it, you can join the
Risky Ventures Discord.
Them's the basics. Below are some more in-depth rules.
THE CLASSESThere are five Classes in the Polis. They are the Nobility, Priesthood, Soldiers, Merchants, and Commoners.
At the start of the game, each Class has 2 Power and 7 Mood.
A Class's
Power may be increased or decreased by 1 by paying 1000 Drachmae multiplied by its current Power. Decreasing a Class's Power will also decrease your Popularity with that class by 1. Multiple players may pay to increase/decrease a Class's Power in the same turn (or the same player can pay multiple times), but it will only shift by a maximum of 1 total by this method (it can shift in other ways as well). You can't reduce a Class's Power below 1.
I DO need to know about this, so tag it with ACTACTACT.A Class's
Mood may be decreased by 1 by paying 500 Drachmae multiplied by its current Power. It may be increased by 1 by paying 500 Drachmae multiplied by its current Mood. A Class's Mood can only shift by a total of 2 per turn by this method.
I DO need to know about this, so tag it with ACTACTACT.You can exchange Popularity with a Class for Drachmae- though not vice-versa. That is, you can’t buy Popularity. For every 1 Popularity you sacrifice, you earn 250 Drachmae. You can’t do this if you have less than 1 Popularity.
I don’t need to know about this.Each player is responsible for tracking their Popularity with each Class themselves in their status.
VOTING, PROPOSALS, POLIS ACTIONSEach turn, the government will vote on what Laws to enact, how to respond to Events, and what Actions the Polis should undertake. In the Oligarchy, it only takes one vote in Support for a Proposal to pass, but also only takes a single Veto for a Proposal to fail (no matter how many votes there are in favour). This is terrible. I will be impressed if you manage to get anything meaningful done at all.
I only need to know about this if you are the first person to Support a Proposal, or the first person to Veto it.The five Classes will often have opinions on Proposals; Love or Hate.
Anyone who Supports a Proposal a Class Loves or Vetoes a Proposal a Class Hates gains 1 Popularity with that Class. Conversely, Supporting a Proposal a Class Hates or Vetoing one a class Loves will lose 1 Popularity.
When a Proposal passes, Classes who Love it gain 1 Mood, Classes who Hate it lose 1 Mood. When a Proposal with at least one Support fails, Classes who Love it lose 1 Mood, and Classes who Hate it gain 1 Mood.
At the start of the game, the Oligarchy has access to five possible
Actions (aka the Basic Campaigns). Actions take effect the turn after they are voted for.
-
Agricultural Expansion: Add 1000 Drachmae to the Polis Treasury. Increases the Power of the Commoners Class by 1.
-
Encourage Commerce: Every player receives 250 Drachmae. Increases the Power of the Merchant Class by 1.
-
Military Campaign: Roll d6. For a result of: 1,2=Remove 1000d from Treasury. 3,4=No effect. 5,6=Add 3000d to Treasury. Increases the Power of the Soldiers Class by 1.
-
Temple Renovations: Increases the Mood of a random Class by 2. Increases the Power of the Priest Class by 1.
-
Sponsor Art, Philosophy, & Science: Increases the Prestige of the Polis by 0.1. Notably, does not increase the Power of any Class.
Every turn, a Class will pick one Basic Campaign it Loves and one it Hates at random (if those are the same, it cancels out). A Class is more likely to Love their corresponding Campaign (2/6 rather than 1/6), and will never Hate their corresponding Campaign. (The Nobility correspond to Sponsor Art, Philosophy, & Science)
Any Councillor may propose performing an Action, putting it up for vote (this counts as them Supporting it; no further Support is
required for it to pass).
In principle, the Polis can perform any number of Actions on the same turn. In
practice, the Oligarchy only has the Bureaucracy needed to perform one, and performing more will have Bad Consequences.
Laws and Events can do all sorts of stuff, which will be covered case-by-case as they come up.
REVOLUTIONEvery turn, any Class whose Mood is lower than its Power may launch a Revolution (if two classes launch a Revolution simultaneously, the more Powerful Class takes priority- if that is also tied, they work together somehow).
When a Revolution occurs, normal gameplay is paused temporarily until a new government is established. In this period, anyone who has positive Popularity with the Revolutionary Class can submit (in thread or by PM) suggestions on what the new government should look like. IMPORTANT: Mention how much Popularity you have when doing so, since more Popular players' suggestions will be given more weight.
Your suggestions can be in whatever form you want, although try to keep them short. The spoiler below contains some example governments, to give a basic idea of what sort of things you could ask for.
CREATED BY: Nobility
DESCRIPTION: A Monarchy has a single ruler, whose title is inherited within their family. Ministers have less power than in an Oligarchy; the Monarch has more.
OFFICES: Monarch: Initially granted to the player with the greatest Popularity amongst the Nobility. Every five turns, the Monarch dies, reducing every class's Mood by 2. If there is not immediately a Revolution, the crown is inherited by their chosen heir (another player), or their child (the same player), and all classes regain 1 Mood.
Minister: Initially granted to all players with more than 2 Popularity amongst the Nobility (except the Monarch). The Monarch may appoint or fire Ministers.
OFFICE ACTIONS: The Monarch can: Enact Proposal, Reject Proposal, Appoint Minister, Fire Minister, Nominate Heir. They earn 1500 Drachmae and 4 Points per turn.
Ministers can: Make Proposals, Advise Against, Advise In Favour, and Support Heir. They earn 500 Drachmae and 1 Point per turn.
Outsiders can: Slander Rivals, Denounce Monarchy.
POLIS ACTIONS: The Monarchy has 2 Bureaucratic Capacity. It can enact Basic Campaigns, Execute Traitors, and Celebrate Monarchy. It runs a deficit of 1000d per turn.
CLASS MODIFIERS: The Nobility gains 1 Power and 1 Mood each turn. Merchants & Commoners lose 1 Mood each turn.
SPECIAL RULES: Any Class with which the Monarch has negative Popularity loses 1 Mood each turn. The Monarch loses 1 Popularity with a random Class each turn, and does not gain Popularity passively.
CREATED BY: Soldiers
DESCRIPTION: The Military Republic elects two Generals to serve for two terms, who have control of both the government and the military. War and conquest are of very high priority.
OFFICES: General: Initially granted to the two players with the greatest Popularity amongst the Soldiers. After two turns, the Generals are elected again, picking the two candidates with the highest Soldiers Popularity. A player cannot be a General twice in a row (but they can be re-elected after a break).
Senator: Initially granted to all players with more than 2 Popularity amongst the Soldiers (except the Generals). If a Senator drops below 1 Popularity with the Soldiers, they lose the office. If a player rises to above 2 Popularity with the Soldiers, they become a Senator.
OFFICE ACTIONS: Generals can: Vote Yes, Vote No, Lead Army. They earn 1000 Drachmae and 3 Points per turn.
Senators can: Advise Against, Advise In Favour. They earn 500 Drachmae and 1 Point per turn.
Outsiders can: Slander Rivals, Advocate Peace.
POLIS ACTIONS: The Military Republic has 3 Bureaucratic Capacity. It can enact Basic Campaigns, Advanced Military Campaign, Martial Law, Conscription. It must enact at least one Basic or Advanced Military Campaign each turn. It runs a deficit of 500d per turn.
CLASS MODIFIERS: The Soldiers gain 1 Power and 1 Mood each turn. Merchants & Priests lose 1 Mood each turn.
SPECIAL RULES: The Military Republic tracks War Weariness, which increases by one with every military defeat/draw and use of Martial Law or Conscription. Once it exceeds 8, all non-Soldier classes lose 1 Mood each turn.
CREATED BY: Commoners
DESCRIPTION: In a Democracy, everyone has a vote. Except for slaves, criminals, women, foreigners, and other insignificant groups. A President is elected as head of state, but even they must bow to the will of the masses.
OFFICES: President: Initially granted to the player with the greatest Popularity amongst the Commoners. Every turn, the player with the greatest Popularity amongst Commoners becomes the President.
Representative: Initially granted to all players with more than 2 Popularity amongst the Commoners (except the President). If a Representative drops below 1 Popularity with the Commoners, they lose the office. If a player rises to above 2 Popularity with the Commoners, they become a Representative.
OFFICE ACTIONS: The President can: Sway Public, Denounce Representative, Acknowledge the Will of the People. They earn 2 Points per turn.
Representatives can: Sway Public, Denounce Representative/President. They earn 500 Drachmae and 1 Point per turn.
Outsiders can: Sway Public, Denounce Representative/President.
POLIS ACTIONS: The Democracy has 2 Bureaucratic Capacity. It can enact Basic Campaigns, Tax Cuts. It technically does not run a deficit.
CLASS MODIFIERS: The Commoners gain 1 Power and 2 Mood each turn. The Nobility lose 1 Mood each turn.
SPECIAL RULES: The Democracy MUST enact all Laws and Actions the Commoners Love. It CANNOT enact Laws or Actions the Commoners Hate.
Not all governments are created equal- that is to say, one might be objectively superior to another.
Almost all governments will give Outsiders the ability to undermine the government somehow. No government is stable enough to last forever.
The Class that created a government can still launch a Revolution against it. People are fickle.
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Topic: Venturecracy: Rule the Polis | Turn Eight (new players still welcome) (Read 5346 times)