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[Vanigo]

I've been kicking this around in my head, and I want to get a bit of feedback before I go nuts with it: Would anyone be interested in a Civilization-ish forum game? I'm thinking about something much less abstract than Rise of Civilizations - map, cities, military units - fairly structured, although I'd probably tweak rules on the fly.

The basic rules are here and here.

Game thread is here.

[Pandarsenic]

Yes. Especially if it was a version of Evolution or Evolution Light that wouldn't die out.

[Archangel]

Yeah, I don't know if I'd join it but I'll definitely watch.

[Strife26]

If I could use the zefies, I'd be in.

[mainiac]

I kinda want to hear more about this idea.

[RPB]

Well, I am intrigued.

[Masami Phonix]

I am also intrigued

[Little]

I'd join.

[Vanigo]

Well, here's what I'm thinking:

You start with a small city of 10,000 people, who produce 10 labor points. Labor can go to working the surrounding terrain, which produces resources (food, wood, stone, etc.), or can be used in the city to spend resources to make goods and buildings. Terrain improvements are also built this way. Rare resources can be discovered and exploited for extra bonuses.
An important mechanic is Leaders. You start with a few leaders, and get more over time. Leaders come in different types, like generals, sages, and architects. You can assign them to certain buildings to improve their function, and some buildings can only be built and/or operated if you have an appropriate leader. A sage leader might increase the efficiency of your hall of learning, or he might build and operate a university.
Chance will come into play in combat, research, and random events. I might allow some luck bonuses, but it'll mainly be affected by having well-thought out plans. Fortune favors the prepared - literally.
In the interests of not driving me completely insane, building new cities will be limited. I'm thinking you'll have to research improved government to get any, and the further you go the more you can get. Smaller outposts to collect resources for main cities might be allowed too, depending on your government.
I'm going to sketch out a basic research tree and city upgrade tree, but if you want something different, go ahead and ask. Unlike a computer, I can make shit up on the fly.

As for setting, I'm thinking post-cataclysmic rebuilding in a fantasy world, although I'm open to debate.

[Nirur Torir]

Sounds fun, I'm interested in playing.

[RPB]

As for setting, I'm thinking post-cataclysmic rebuilding in a fantasy world, although I'm open to debate.

Will there be guns? Please tell me there will be guns.

I'm interested in either case, but, y'know. Guns.

[mainiac]

If you want to limit the number of cities built, you could model new cities on the colonies of the classic greek city states.  These colonies would be friendly to the mother city but would still have an independent government.  Even during the Athenian empire, the imperial city-state exerted little direct control over the client cities.  Colonies would be useful trading partners that allow you to grow a bigger city and even lend a few troops during war, but contribute less to your power then increasing the size of the mother city and they would not be micromanaged but would grow automatically, making things easier on the host.  And new or defeated players could take control of a large enough player, giving the game room to grow.

[Vanigo]

Hmm, yeah, then I could heavily abstract the client cities. I do want a few extra real cities to be an option, though. Well, no reason I can't do both.

Okay, there seems to be plenty of interest here. Signups are starting.
World history is as follows:

The Age of Glory was marked by the rise of the Old Empires. They expanded across the world, uniting societies and races (in harmony or otherwise), and producing thriving and affluent societies. Great wonders were built in these times, and magic and technology advanced by leaps and bounds. It was, however, not to last. By the year 871 of the Age of Glory, each empire was rotted by its own brand of social decay. Modern scholars debate the causes, but the end result seemed inevitable - social unrest, starvation, and ultimately collapse. Then something worse happened. No one knows why, but the world was wracked by natural and unnatural disasters in unheard-of numbers. Already-decayed cities were shattered by fires, floods, earthquakes, and the odd invasion by unknown horrors. Governments collapsed almost instantly as the populace fled and millennial prophets sprouted on every corner. Within a decade, little remained of the Old Empires but ruins and legends. The Age of Ashes had begun.
The Age of Ashes was a harsh time, with simple survival a daily struggle. The world continued to experience periodic disasters, preventing the reemergence of civilization and warping the land almost beyond recognition. Society devolved to tribal levels, and almost all the knowledge of the Old Empires was lost. Still, it was a wise man who first said that all things pass with time. By the second century of the Age of Ash, the cataclysms had ended and a few small city-states had begun to emerge. This was the beginning of the Age of Restoration.

Here's what I want from each player:
A civilization and city name
A race. Humans, elves, dwarves, and other archetypal fantasy races are allowed, but they've probably been changed at least a bit by the cataclysms. I want a description of your society, too. Want a civilization of semi-nomadic halflings in tune with the land who tame and breed strange beasts for labor and war? Tell me about it here.
A theme. Basically a condensed version of the above, this will define your racial strengths and weaknesses. I want something abstract, and ideally no more than four or five words. Something like "Rationalist wizards" or "Feudal rune-crafting animists" works fine.
A brief history of your city, and its surrounding environment. How did your people cope with the Age of Ash? Who founded your city, where and why, and how has it developed since then? Are you on the banks of a sacred lake that you believe houses a water goddess who protects you? Do you live in the hills, herding animals and hiding in the caves? Tell me about it.

I'm going to limit it to six players to start, and the first people to get a good profile up get the slots. More will probably open up later.

(Oh, and RPB? I don't think guns will be generally available, but some races might get them, depending on theme.)

[TheNewerMartianEmperor]

Reserved!

Lamrinkus

Their city is named Kubrinka

The race is named the  Zarathustrans. They are a race divided in 3. There are those who wear clothes bearing the colors of the light., and those who wear dark-hued garb and then there are those who wear a blue whose tone is between the two.

The ones who wear the light are believers in a society of order, of restrictions and solid foundations. A society of absolute law, as it were. The dark-clothed ones favor a society of freedom, a world without boundaries and restrictions. There is more, but those are the important points.

They hate each other with a passion that must be seen to be believed. That's where the blue ones come in. Rarer then the other two, they serve as a balancing force, trying to keep things working. Most of the time, that isn't enough which is why each of the dark garbed ones is bonded to another who wears the light. Weather or not one is a light garbed or black garbed one is not a philosophical choice. The two are entirely separate species.

They all wear clothes that cover their entire bodies, people who've been dealing with them for years don't know what they look like underneath. The white-wearing ones are of a form which is horrific and alien, but incredibly strong, while the dark ones resemble the most harmless thing you can think of, but don't underestimate them, as they have great knowledge of the mystical arts.

It wasn't always this way. During the age of ashes, when they still resembled each other in form, if not in spirit; they desired not only the destruction of their opposite, but also their humiliation. This resulted in them being twisted into their current forms by each other.

The blue ones come from either of the races, and rule over them. The government is that most rarest of things: a philosophical meritocracy. Those who are at the top are the ones who have been able to resolve disputes peacefully and make decisions that benefit the whole. The current ruler is aided by a council comprised of those who have shown themselves to be the greatest in their field.

The cities of them are protected by swamps and forests that twist their way out of the land and attract creatures of their element. These creatures will protect the Zarathustrans and their lands from unwary intruders. The cities themselves are great hollow mounds with numerous towers jutting out of the top. The Light ones prefer to live beneath the ground, inside the mound where there is a tiered floor that lowers as one goes towards the middle, and everything is brightly lit by the glowplants that are cultivated in truly massive amounts. The dark ones live in the towers of the mound, where the inside is illuminated only by candlelight.

The age of ash resulted in these peoples great civilization crashing down, with a small amount managing to flee into a series of river valleys. The fighting amongst them almost caused their ending, until one saw what must be done, and put on a blue cloak. He managed to convince more to help him, and they worked to stop the fighting. his name is long forgotten, but his legacy lives on in the city that is the last bastion of these people. The rest of the many horrors of that age passed them by, thankfully.

The city is a huge mound on a man-made mesa in the middle of a great, dark forest. the mesa is inside a massive clearing, and is actually a light and pleasant place. Most of the farms for this settlement are inside, although there are a few surface farms. The beasts of the dark forest are under the control of the dark ones, but they will attack anything that isn't a Zarathustran. After the city's foundation by that nameless hero it grew to a massive size, the re is a network of tunnels housing the light ones, with a gigantic network of towers jutting out the top.

The them is basically Dualism. there are two sides to my people, and a small third to balance.

[Vanigo]

Here's a sample civilization:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The Orkren
Rakorra

The Orkren are a shamanistic breed of orc, as hardy as their ancestors but less rough-featured. They hail from the steppes, riding horses (and the occasional horse-like monstrosity), herding animals, and engaging in small-scale farming. Their magic and religion are deeply intertwined, revolving around the spirits of the world. They excel at taming and breeding animals, and can manipulate plants fairly well, but have little aptitude for more direct magics.
Theme: Druidic orcish nomads
The forefathers of the Orkren lived deep in the mountains until the earthquakes and avalanches of the Cataclysms forced them down into the steppes. There they learned to attune themselves to the world, and thereby predict the worst disasters, fleeing to safer grounds. Tribes would meet by riversides to trade when it was safe, and as disasters grew less and less frequent, these trading posts grew less and less temporary, eventually leading to the permanent city of Rakorra. Today, Rakorra sits by the headwaters of the river Klemm in the hills of Anaduk, with the mountains rising to the west. It's a thriving trading town, but with little native industry.