A group of dark figures stand in a dark hall. Nobody talks, and why would they? They all know why they came here. Best to get it done with as soon as possible.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, a huge door at the end of the room opens, spilling light. The group silently moves inside, stopping in front of a desk behind which an old man sits.
"Greetings, my students", the old man exclaims.
Silence.
"No need to be so gruff toward your old master. As you all know, today is the final day of your mastermind training."
Silence met his words, but a few men split grins or rubbed their hands.
"After you exit this room, you'll be entrusted with ten thousand money units and access to Megamind Corporation's assets. Using only those two things, you'll be expected to do your best to take over this world. You are free to choose your own path - backstab, murder, assassinate, bribe, charm, entice. The only rule: no fighting in the Megamind territory. Am I understood?"
Several nods and grunts of assent were the answer.
"Perfect. Now, off you go."
Roll to be a Mastermind
You are one of the mastermind who just finished the training in the Megamind Corporation - highly secret organisation that has been trying to take over the world for the last century. The last one standing will get everything - unless he'll prove to be too weak to handle the responsibility.
Name: Duh.
Bio: A short description of how you came to be here.
Perk: You can choose one of the following examples or create your own (you should specify the name and optionally a short description and effects, but if I don't like them, I'll make the effects myself):
Magnificent bastard: your notoriety drops slower, but may rise much higher before countries attack you;
Political background: you can convince the population of conquered country to respond better to you;
Master roboticist: robotic minions are cheaper and more effective;
Insomniac: you can do another action yourself per turn;
Base: You should choose:
- The type of type of your base (island, volcano, mountain, underwater, etc.);- It's location ('somewhere in Himalayas' or 'on a random Indonesian volcano' works), which will influence which countries you'll be able to access;
- It's Tier between 1 and 3 (1 is the lowest). It'll cost you (2000*Tier), and give you (Tier) base-dependent perks.
Starting minions: See below for the costs, and make sure not to spend all the money.
Stats: Distribute 20 points among the following (note that the minimum is 0):
- Strategy (influences the efficiency of armies you lead);
- Martial skill (influences your personal fighting skills);
- Charisma (determines your relations with the conquered countries);
- Infiltration (influences your infiltrating actions and how much information nation gains after being attacked);
- Leadership (influences the efficiency of your minions in general);
USACMC (United States of America, Canada, Mexico and Caribbean);
- Satisfaction with the current government: 90%;
- Population: 0.5 bln;
- Development: 10;
- Military: 8;
EU;
- Satisfaction with the current government: 95%;
- Population: 0.9 bln;
- Development: 9;
- Military: 6;
Russia (also includes Asian part of ex-Soviet Union);
- Satisfaction with the current government: 60%;
- Population: 0.7 bln;
- Development: 7;
- Military: 8;
Chinese Empire (China + SE Asia + India + Korea);
- Satisfaction with the current government: 55%;
- Population: 3.0 bln;
- Development: 8;
- Military: 9;
Japan (also includes small Pacific islands);
- Satisfaction with the current government: 95%;
- Population: 0.2 bln;
- Development: 10;
- Military: 4;
UKANZ (United Kingdom of Australia and New Zealand);
- Satisfaction with the current government: 80%;
- Population: 0.1 bln;
- Development: 8;
- Military: 3;
OH (Ottoman Heritage, roughly follows the outlines of Ottoman Empire minus European parts and plus Iran);
- Satisfaction with the current government: 55%;
- Population: 0.4 bln;
- Development: 6;
- Military: 6;
AU (African Union, Africa minus northern countries which go to OH);
- Satisfaction with the current government: 35%;
- Population: 1.3 bln;
- Development: 5;
- Military: 8;
SAL (South American League)
- Satisfaction with the current government: 65%;
- Population: 0.8 bln;
- Development: 7;
- Military: 5;
- Satisfaction with the current government (SWCG): displays how much the population likes it's current government;
- Satisfaction with your rule (SWYR): if this parameter ever rises above the previous one, the nation rebels and automatically comes into your rule;
- Population: only influences special events;
- Development: determines the level of technological and economical advancement of the nation. Every (development) turns it raises by one (though it can also be influenced by special events);
- Military: determines the nation's military might;
- Relations with other countries: outlined below;
- Notoriety: is individual for every player. Drops by 1 every turn; SWYR drops every turn by the value of notoriety; if it's above 10, then every turn there's a 1 in (50-notoriety) chance of the nation attacking you;
- DEFCON: the nation's awareness of danger in general. Drops by 1 every turn; influences the nation's defence and the likelihood of retribution chance;
- Diplomatic relations: modifies Notoriety change and is in turn influenced by it;
Every turn (except the first) a random event happens to a random nation; The possible events are:
1-2: Military rises/drops by 1;
3-4: Development rises/drops by 1;
5-6: DEFCON rises/drops by 5;
7-8: SWCG rises/drops by 10%;
9-10: Relations with a random nation rise/drop by 10%;
11-12: Notoriety toward a random player rises/drops by 5;
13-14: Diplomatic relations with a random player rise/drop by 10;
15-16: Notoriety toward all players rises by 10/drops to 0;
17: All embassies in this nation are destroyed;
18-19: Development rises by 2 and military drops by 2/vice versa;
Every unit has an Attack rating that is expressed as XdY, plus bonuses, and Health. When attacking countries the defending side gets two values depending on the country - Strength and Defence. Strength is expressed as a flat value from which the attacks are substracted (like health). Defence is expressed as XdY (plus bonuses) and is dealt against the attacking unit. If a player leads the attack, he can choose the order in which the troops attack, otherwise it's random. When attacking other player's bases, both Strength and Defence get bonuses depending on the troops in the garrison.
You may join the attack either as a soldier (your health and attack are based on your martial skill) or as a general (you act as a support unit and thus can only be incapacitated if the whole attack fails).
If you attack the nation's capital and the population's satisfaction is lower than (50%+your_charisma*2), the nation's relation with you will rise by 1d(your_charisma)%.
If you attack a nation and lead the attack, there is 1 in (your_infiltration) chance that you will be recognized and your notoriety will rise by the amount of units; if you don't lead the attack, it's 2 in (your_infiltration) chance.
After any attack the nation's DEFCON rises by the amount of units that were sent to attack.
Note: all items in this list count as a single minion unless specified otherwise.
Soldiers:
Human squad: 250
- Stats: Health - 30; Attack - 2d6;
Camouflaged robotic squad: 300
- Stats: Health - 40; Attack - 2d8;
- Special: Is robotic (e.g. takes more damage from EMP);
Non-camouflaged robotic squad: 200
- Stats: Health - 40; Attack - 2d8;
- Special: Is robotic (e.g. takes more damage from EMP); Lowers the population's loyalty;
Elite: 400
- Stats: Health - 100; Attack - 3d10;
- Special: Can't be used to attack cities;
Sabotage squad: 300
- Stats: Health - 0; Attack - 3d8;
- Special: Can only be used to attack cities; Doesn't take damage from city defence;
Walker: 1000
- Stats: Health - 250; Attack - 5d10;
- Special: Is robotic (e.g. takes more damage from EMP); Lowers target's defence while attacking; Can only attack cities; Counts as two minions when estimating the size;
Militia: 150
- Stats: Health - 20; Attack - 2d4;
- Special: Can't attack (only defend);
Mercenary squad: 100
- Stats: Health - 30; Attack - 2d8;
- Special: Autodisbands after one turn;
Support: (note that the units are still destroyed if the whole attacking force is destroyed)
General: 500
- Stats: Health - 0; Attack - 0;
- Special: Increases the attack of attached minions (for example, 2d8 becomes 2d9); The effect is capped by 2 from 2 generals;
Technician: 300
- Stats: Health - 0; Attack - 0;
- Special: Decreases the damage to robotic minions by d6;
Doctor: 300
- Stats: Health - 0; Attack - 0;
- Special: Decreases the damage to non-robotic minions by d4;
Special:
Spy: 300 (used for infiltrating actions);
Building team: 250 (used for construction)
Diplomat: 350 (used for negotiations)
Also you may try to order a unit of your own design and custom specials.
| USACMC | EU | Russia | CE | Japan | UKANZ | OH | AU | SAL |
USACMC | * | 70% | 60% | 40% | 70% | 70% | 40% | 55% | 70% |
EU | 70% | * | 65% | 50% | 70% | 60% | 50% | 55% | 50% |
Russia | 60% | 65% | * | 75% | 50% | 50% | 60% | 65% | 60% |
CE | 40% | 50% | 75% | * | 40% | 50% | 40% | 55% | 50% |
Japan | 70% | 70% | 50% | 40% | * | 45% | 55% | 65% | 45% |
UKANZ | 70% | 60% | 50% | 50% | 45% | * | 60% | 70% | 60% |
OH | 40% | 50% | 60% | 40% | 55% | 60% | * | 40% | 60% |
AU | 55% | 55% | 65% | 55% | 65% | 70% | 40% | * | 55% |
SAL | 70% | 50% | 60% | 50% | 45% | 60% | 60% | 55% | * |
Relations below 20% = war; relations above 80% = alliance (if you attack one nation, the other will join)
This system is much more lenient and free-styling than the others. At any moment (preferably on the previous turn) you give me an outline of what you want to build. This includes name, description, intended function, optionally the expected manpower and money costs. I'll present you with what I can do with that, and the process repeats until we come to a consensus. Note that you may hide your base upgrade action from other players (by sending it to me via PM). The other players will know that you are building something, but won't know what exactly. (obviously, they'll still know which upgrades you constructed before hiding)
First note - you may fund the operation with as much money as you want. For this paragraph, X is defined as 2*sqrt((number_of_spies_sent)*(infiltration)+(amount_spent)/100) if you are not on the mission and 2*sqrt((number_of_spies_sent)*((infiltration)+(leadership)/2)+(amount_spent)/100) if you are on the mission;
You may dispatch any number of spies (yourself included) for one of the following missions:
Against nations:
- Sabotage the nation: SWCG drops by 1dX;
- Spread the word about your glorious rule: SWYR rises by 1dX/2;
- Incite desertion: Defence drops by 1dX;
- Assassinate the leader: only possible if DEFCON is below 10; with a chance of 1 in (25-X) the leadership immediatly transfers to you and SWYR drops by 20%, otherwise the mission is failed;
- Calm the population: DEFCON drops by 1dX;
- Incite hatred: relations with the target nation drop by 1dX;
- Slip in incriminating evidence: Notoriety of a target player rises by 1dX/2;
- Arson an embassy: Diplomatic relations with a target player drop by 1dX;
Against players:
- Plant a bomb: a random base upgrade is destroyed; chance of failure is multiplied by (12-X);
- Attack the boss: the owner of the base is incapacitated; chance of failure is multiplied by (16-X);
- Sabotage the barracks: a random minion is killed; chance of failure is multiplied by (10-X);
For any action, there is (number_of_spies_sent) in X chance if you aren't on the mission, or (number_of_spies_sent) in X+(leadership)/2 otherwise chance to fail, get discovered and get increased notoriety. In this case you'll lose between 1 and half the spies you sent for the mission, and have a 3 in (infiltration) chance to get discovered and incapacitated.
Note: numbers are subject to change.
If your notoriety is below 15, you may send a mission to a nation. It may consist of any number of diplomats and optionally yourself. Every mission sent increases the Diplomatic relations with that nation by (number_of_diplomats_sent)*(charisma)+(leadership)*2 if you are present and (number_of_diplomats_sent)*(charisma) otherwise. After sending a mission, diplomats don't return, but instead every turn you gain (number_of_diplomats_present)*(charisma)/4 Relations with that nation. If your Notoriety ever rises above 25, the embassy is immediatly destroyed and you lose your diplomats. At any moment you may negotiate with the nation in the following ways (examples, you may choose your own demands):
- Relations above 20: Give a hate speech: SWCG drops by 1d((charisma)+(Relations)/10); Relations drop by 20; Notoriety rises by 5;
- Relations above 25: Give a rousing speech: SWYR rises by 1d((charisma)+(Relations)/10); Relations drop by 20;
- Relations above 30: Pacify: Notoriety drops by 1d((charisma)+(Relations)/10); Relations drop by 25;
- Relations above 45: Ask for help: you gain several minions based on the nation's Military; Relations drop by 40;
- Relations above 50: Describe crimes: the nation gets 1d((charisma)+(Relations)/10 Notoriety against the target player); Relations drop by 40;
- Relations above 60: Give a pacifism speech: Nation loses 1 Military level; Relations drop by 55;
As usual, balance offers are gladly considered.
Every day you may accomplish three personal actions (plus perks). You can only make one base upgrade per turn, the other actions are unrestricted. If you are incapacitated, you may spend one full turn to heal, otherwise the amount of availible actions gets halved (rounded up). List of actions:
- Offensive:
- Attack the capital (make progress toward conquering the nation);
- Gather resources (money, hostages, etc. - you may specify which);
- Upgrade the base;
- Negotiate with a nation;
- Infiltrate a nation or another player's base;
- Initiate a program in a conquered nation;
- Rest: resting takes full turn; next turn you get (daily actions-1) additional actions;
After conquering a nation, the DEFCON and Notoriety toward you of all other nations raises by 10, you'll get a boost to income depending on the nation's development and gain access to nations that it borders (if you aren't bordering them already). You may dispatch minions to guard (separately) the capital and the countryside (so other players can't steal resources). When you conquer a nation, it's SWCG gets replaced with SWYR. Every turn, SWCG is lowered by (10-(charisma)) (yes, that may mean an increase). Depending on SWCG, the nation may rebel and attack it's capital in attempt to bring you down. In addition, you may enact one of the following example programs: (or make one up yourself)
- Bread and circuses (spend money, get SWCG);
- Mindwash (get notoriety in other nations, get SWCG);
- Loot and pillage (lose SWCG, get money);
- Scorched earth (lose SWCG, development and military, gain money and upgrades for your base);
Wow, I still haven't run out of space in my first post. Also, remember that this is my first RtD ever, and of an untested concept to boot; point me to any apparent imbalances and I'll do my best to fix them.
List of players:
- Tiruin;
- 10ebbor10;
- Toaster;
- Noodlerex;
- antlion12;
- cerapa;
- Baradine;
- Superior_Tomato;