STGOD, Frigid's Revenge!

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:33 am

Alright, one last STGOD. Here's the deal, I will be mod. I will not play a nation. I will set up the rules, we will not have pages of debate. The rules will be down and dirty, I don't care what kind screw you have on your battleship okay? When there is a disagreement during the game, I will hear both sides, you talk to me not the other player. My ruling is final and my mod hammer is painful. Glad we got that out of the way.

A couple general rules before I really get into it.

There will be tiered pt system.
You may not play an isolationist power for I am a bloodthirsty mod and demand wars and rumors war. If you stay at home and play cards you get to experience the bad parts of Exodus.

No nukes, the gods of the world hate nuclear weapons and those who attempt to weaponize nukes have a bad case of exploding heads.

Same for biological and chemical warfare, what can I say you live in a strange universe with irrational angry gods.

However I will allow you guys to pick the setting and tech level. So here we go, your choices from least exciting to most.

None Magic, pre-gunpowder Earth or some other map.

Low Magic, pre-gunpowder Earth or some other map.

Fantasy earth map or other.

1800s tech level earth or other map.

WWI tech with earth or another map.

WWII tech with (oh you got it by now!)

Sci-fi in the solar system or with FTL.

I also offer this setting for your consideration as well.

The year is 1920, about 50 years ago a British (we can change this) airship was blown into the upper atmosphere and discovered that properly set up airship could get into space. In 1885 a British airship landed on the moon, a waterless, grey desert. The Ether Race was on.

Beyond a planet's atmosphere, between worlds, there is an luminous ether. It is cold and thin but breathable. Men now ply space with airships. There are colonies on Venus, a wet, swampy jungle world, reptilian sapients have been encountered (you can't play them) as well has cavemen. Mars is a dry desert world with civilizations that were old when men on earth discovered fire.

Expeditions beyond Mars have disappeared without any traces. You play an Earth Power striving to become the hegemon of the inner solar system.

I'll come with something cool for the other settings later.

Charon · Post by **Charon** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 9:37 am

Iroquois Space Vikings? That's just too awesome.

What sort of tiers are we talking about. Honestly I rather liked not having tiers. Slightly less realistic, but 70% of players want to play the largest tier anyway.

While I can agree that isolationists in games should be put up against the wall and shot, not all conflicts need be war. Economics can be a powerful tool if used correctly and rules should emulate this somehow.

I can totally agree with no biological or nuclear weapons. Things just get ugly and quickly turn into stalemates when that happens. Chemical I'm open for it existing, but frowned upon heavily.

As my opening statement made clear, steampunk has caught my interest. Open to most others except high magic levels and FTL drives.

Norseman · Post by **Norseman** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:18 pm

I would personally like a steampunk setting on an Earthish planet, something where we won't be too bound by history and real world technical details, but where a bit of knowledge of Victorian science will take you a long way. Just personally that is.

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:18 pm

Honestly can't figure out if I'd prefer an 1880, 1900, or 1935-40 setting game. Though, honestly, not a fan of the steampunk or Space: 1899 concepts.

Derek Thunder · Post by **Derek Thunder** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:35 pm

I think I'd like to see the Ether idea with a tech level somewhere around WW1 but with some allowances for more fantastical devices.

As for magic... eh, I could live without it.

One thing I would like my civilization to have is a unique flavor - internal politics not immediately related to foreign affairs, culture, maybe even sports... would there be an opportunity for this?

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 6:23 pm

I would gladly join up with the following:

None Magic, pre-gunpowder Earth or some other map.

Low Magic, pre-gunpowder Earth or some other map.

Fantasy earth map or other.

Barring that, my reaction is a large Meh. I would like swords, pikes, longbows and fixed fortifications with moats. The condition of magic for me, while nice to have because I am a consummate mage whore, is not a deal breaker

Post by **Dark Silver** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:18 pm

I'm good with pre-gunpowder non-low magic, fantasy STGOD, or steampunk (Acadians...IN SPPPAAAACCCEEEEEEE)

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:22 pm

Can I get some votes folks? Just list your top preferred setting. Or throw up a map and setting description(map should be politically blank).

Charon · Post by **Charon** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:28 pm

Top to bottom:

1. Steampunk, Earth
2. 1910, Earth
3. 1800's, Earth
4. No magic, pre-gunpowder, map unimportant
5. 1940, Earth
6. Low magic, pre-gunpowder, map unimportant
7. Sci-fi in solar system, Earth.
8. FTL.
9. Fantasy.
10. A combination of any of the above to please everybody.

Derek Thunder · Post by **Derek Thunder** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:58 pm

1. 1910s, Earth + Aether
2. 1930s, Earth
3. Low magic, Cold War (circa 1958)
4. Fantasy Earth, Victorian Steampunk
5. Low magic, pre-gunpowder, map unimportant.

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:59 pm

I'm going to propose that, regardless of steampunk or magic or not, a way to have a setting where conflict happens but you can have measured amounts of it that don't immediately lead to total war scenarios would be to implement a colonial race. Whether it's Mars and Venus in an aether solar system or continents on a "make your own map" Earth planet, make purpose-built "colonial reaches" where there are no organized nation-states, simply small city-states, statelets, despotates, etc., fairly behind the players technologically, and encourage players to take over pieces of the map. Have a system where every quarter those colonial areas being explored or claims have a chance to yield a finding, whether it be a precious resource of some sort or perhaps fertile land that can sustain your colonies locally, and other mechanisms that encourage colonization.

Norseman · Post by **Norseman** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 8:29 pm

In order my preferences are:

1. Steampunk, Earth
2. Low magic, pre-gunpowder, non earth map
3. WWI or WWII with non earth map

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:08 pm

Mid magic to low.

Setting: Steampunk is good. Very good.

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:36 pm

I'm proposing my own Mars setup to Frig, and now to everyone, if that's the route people go.

The idea is that Martians are essentially Human, up to and including similar enough genomes to permit cross-breeding with Earth-born Humans. They developed civilization first, and aetherflight; Martian observers were landing on Luna and even the remote parts of Earth when the Pharoahs were a new institution in Egypt. Humans were sometimes taken by great aetherships, brought back to Mars as curiosities and eventually prized slaves (Especially to be used as slave-soldiers in conflicts).

But starting around the time of 500 B.C., Mars began to experience a climate change. The Martian environment had been more robust than our's, but at the same time it made it harder for Martian scientists to realize what was happening until it was too late to do more than encourage amelioration efforts. Climate changes on Mars shifted the pattern of rains and the distribution of arable land. The kingdoms and despotates and oligarchies of Mars started to war on one another, increasing the demand for war materials and for Human Janissaries. The Human population, meanwhile, having been slowly swelling for almost 1500 years by this point, becomes restive as they are being called upon to fight battles for Martian overlords who, even in the case of emancipated Humans, treat them horribly. The result is a rebellion, rippling across Mars, that further escalates the cycle of conflict and which results in the near-extirpation of the Human population on the planet (though not of the Human genetic material), with survivors ending up part of more remote Martian nations in which they intermarried.

Ultimately, Martian civilization survives, but it has not yet recovered from the Dark Times. The great Aetherships are gone; only small vessels remain, as museum pieces for the great princes and emperors and god-kings of Mars to amuse themselves and guests with; even airships are more limited now due to a lack of resources for them. Blades are again viable tools of warfare on Mars with firearms used only by the most elite or as self-defense by the wealthy. An innate Martian tendency toward conservatism has asserted itself strongly and Martians continue to look inward, eking out their living from a planet that has become harsher in the past two and a half millennia.

And then the Humans of Earth came....

Anyway, that's my basic idea. Frig was thinking more of a classic Barsoom setup, stuff like subspecies and even arguably entirely different species making up the castes of Martian society.

That said, I see some potential in a pre-gunpowder world too....

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 12:17 pm

Eh, I'm sorry, but after sleeping on it and thinking of things, I don't think I'll be able to participate. I'll keep an eye on the thread in case my situation changes.

General Havoc · Post by **General Havoc** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 12:27 pm

Settingwise, I can be prevailed upon to accept almost anything, but my personal preference is for a recognizeable map of Earth, in that it permits me to adapt real geography and fake-real history to the nation I select, be the setting fantastical or otherwise.

General Havoc · Post by **General Havoc** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 12:30 pm

In terms of what settings I'd actually like to try, in order, my top choices are, in order:

Sci Fi, Solar System, Earth Setting
Fantasy or Low Magic setting, Earth Map
Sci Fi, FTL
1800s Tech, Earth Map

Much as I appreciate the weirdness of a steampunk cross with Ray Bradbury, I just can't quite feel it.

Derek Thunder · Post by **Derek Thunder** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 7:11 pm

I would like to know if an exception can be made vis-a-vis chemical weapons if they're specifically non-lethal?

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:35 pm

General Havoc wrote:Settingwise, I can be prevailed upon to accept almost anything, but my personal preference is for a recognizeable map of Earth, in that it permits me to adapt real geography and fake-real history to the nation I select, be the setting fantastical or otherwise.

You know, I can actually design a map with geography pretty easily. Scrawl put some tectonic plates, put mountain ranges and climatic zones where appropriate, large rivers etc.

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:44 pm

What part of no chemical weapons did you not get?

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:05 pm

Fantasy/Steampunk Setting

Earth, 1300 CE

Basic Concept: A world where not only did rome fall much later in history and conquer most of the actual world before it did, but various magical traditions actually work.

The year is 1300 AD, eight hundred and twenty years after the western roman empire crushed the Visigoths, and the Emperor Romulus Augustus revitalized the ailing roman empire. Several centuries of conquest later, and Rome was only beaten back in the year 1096, after having reconquered the Gauls, Germania, and much of Britannia. What the romans did bring to every nation they touched, and which was subsequently spread to even the new world (which was discovered in the 10th century by Lief Ericson and actually reached the Romans, who set about conquering that too--the strain of holding an overseas empire being what allowed insurgency to bring about the final end of the roman empire) was the power of steam, and other technological innovations.

Some of the newly formed nations elected to abandon their old traditions in favor of this--which allows anyone to produce effects equivalent to magic--and these nations have thrived. Others have sought so strike a balance between magic and technology. Others still have rejected many of the advancements brought by the romans, either our of spite for their former rulers, for the sake of respecting their own cultures, or for the raw creative power that magic can bring.

Code: Select all

Balance suggestions:

Magic travel to the extent it exists ought be limited by the number of people it can transport at a time.  Allowing it to move troops at approximately the same rate as rail, though in a more patchy temporal distribution.

Force is Force, Matter is Matter, Energy is Energy.  For example, magical effects follow the same rules that non magical effects produce once generated.  Maintaining a fire effect for example requires oxygen, and some sort of fuel source to maintain without the caster putting energy in.  It can also be put out with water or smothering.

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only moved or transformed.  Spell effects not based on spirit bargaining (and even those, if they produce a physical effect) must be powered in some way.  Either heat has to be drawn from the environment, the caster has to use his own metabolic output etc.

Some magical effects can be used on anyone: Magic circles can be used to hedge out spirits and demons--as well as certain hostile magics.  Ritual magic is also available to anyone

Not Everyone Can Be a Mage: Because magic is so flexible, magical talent should be relatively rare, and training a mage should take a while.  On the other hand, training someone to use technology should take much less time, and the talent pool is less restricted.

You cannot have your cake and eat it: Your technological investment is inversely proportionate to magical investment.  This could, for example be represented on a 1-3 scale of which your max is 4.   So an investment of 1 magic/3 in tech would be the basic universally available circle and ritual magic, and Victorian Steampunk technology.  A 2 in both would be something like 1640s tech, and the ability to perform non-flashy non-ritual spell effects and a few non AOE attacks spells. 1 in tech, 3 in magic would be Dresden Files sort of magic and technology on par with the year 1300

Charon · Post by **Charon** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:07 pm

Comrade Tortoise wrote:
General Havoc wrote:Settingwise, I can be prevailed upon to accept almost anything, but my personal preference is for a recognizeable map of Earth, in that it permits me to adapt real geography and fake-real history to the nation I select, be the setting fantastical or otherwise.
You know, I can actually design a map with geography pretty easily. Scrawl put some tectonic plates, put mountain ranges and climatic zones where appropriate, large rivers etc.

I think you missed at what Havoc was getting at. Anybody can draw a map, but those places aren't going to have the same level of history, the same kind of soul unless you put Tolkien-like work into it.

Derek Thunder · Post by **Derek Thunder** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 12:27 am

frigidmagi wrote:What part of no chemical weapons did you not get?

I know, I know, but if we indeed play an 'earth' map and I get a shot at the civilization I want I will need to ensure... as many live prisoners as I can get (for various and sundry purposes). Oh well, perhaps I'll just have to be more creative.

Also, I think I can take a hack at good geography for a map *blows smoke off jewel-encrusted gold rock hammer*

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 1:48 am

Do I need to put up a poll?

Charon · Post by **Charon** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:22 am

I'd say first try to limit it to 5 or 6 different settings. We've got a good 10 or so up right now.

Steampunk and low-magic and fantasy pre-gunpowder seem to have the most interest at the moment. I am against the mixing of the two genres however. That always feels clunky, awkward, and rarely works out well.

LibriumArcana.Games

STGOD, Frigid's Revenge!

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