So its been awhile since my last post, I've had a move and an additional job so life is busy. We had our first game and characters have been generated. The map is created and the ETC has its own base. Soon I'll be putting together the paperwork needed to keep it all in order. The map has been seeded with ruins and soon mineral deposits as well. The rule book has been coming together nicely, and is up to 7000+ words.
The survey rules have been pounded out since they demand the most attention right now as players have started surveying nearby hexes for ruins, minerals and other exploitable to start their companies.
My next goal is to work on recovering older work on the rules and finish production values (As in what it requires to build it) for buildings and material goods.
There is a story to AP, and here is the first little tid bit the players get at the beginning of the game:
"The 6 months of darkness start the day you arrive at AP, off the ship the ETC transported you on from the narrow river flowing in towards the paradise within a frozen wasteland. It is dark as you scan the very modest beginnings of a trade port to a world not yet exploited by man.
You leave the ship via a dock freshly built and find the nearest place to rest while you and your compatriots figure out the plan to strike it rich in this world yet unknown.
As you walk down the main thoroughfare you are blinded by a light coming from the south. It is followed by three things: first a bright blue beam of light extending from the horizon to the very end of the sky, second a vibration that seems to come from everywhere and is intense like the close firing of cannons, and a sense of deja vu that seems to stretch not from any one particular point in your life, but the whole of your life experience--it fades as quickly as it came.
No other explanation greets you as to what it was, or why it happened."
I think a little mystery is a great way to start off a game!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Technologies, Fantastic and Mysterious in Nature
I felt that the current tech tree was looking slim and very bland, so I'm adding some devices; some very typically steampunk, others more general science fiction.
Resonance device: Used during a sabotage attempt instead of dynamite which will work on any size building. Can fully collapse a building without looking like it was malicious.
(Tesla)
Televiewer: You may reserve one order to be made after viewing the results of all orders in a particular hex, effectively seeing into the future. I might have this be more orders than just one, but I didn't want a whole lot of companies producing this type of device and then having basically days to resolve all the orders. The viewing/resolution of the orders for multiple televiewers will be first in last out.
(Phillip K Dick)
Neutralization Gas: X% of personnel on a hex cannot be used in a field battle (effectively dazed or pacified).
Telepathic Projector: A player may attempt to order personnel on a hex they are on despite those personnel hold no loyalty to them. X% chance of success.
Telepathic Inhibitor: Orders made with a telepathic projector have a reduced % chance of success.
Tesla Cannon: Used before battles to slay combat personnel, especially during boarding actions. This will have to be tweaked a lot.
Automatons: this shouldn't need an explination
Zombies: but not the type that infect
Ætherships: vessels that sail on the Æther.
Plasma Cannons: Projects plasma projectiles into enemies
Replicators: a la Star Trek, this is a very powerful technology and would pretty much destroy an economy, unless copyright laws are amazingly enforced.
Teleporters: a la everywhere
There are a ton more of weird science-y stuff we'll be playing with in the game, but this is just a taste. The rule book will fully disclose the whole tech tree for super planers.
Resonance device: Used during a sabotage attempt instead of dynamite which will work on any size building. Can fully collapse a building without looking like it was malicious.
(Tesla)
Televiewer: You may reserve one order to be made after viewing the results of all orders in a particular hex, effectively seeing into the future. I might have this be more orders than just one, but I didn't want a whole lot of companies producing this type of device and then having basically days to resolve all the orders. The viewing/resolution of the orders for multiple televiewers will be first in last out.
(Phillip K Dick)
Neutralization Gas: X% of personnel on a hex cannot be used in a field battle (effectively dazed or pacified).
Telepathic Projector: A player may attempt to order personnel on a hex they are on despite those personnel hold no loyalty to them. X% chance of success.
Telepathic Inhibitor: Orders made with a telepathic projector have a reduced % chance of success.
Tesla Cannon: Used before battles to slay combat personnel, especially during boarding actions. This will have to be tweaked a lot.
Automatons: this shouldn't need an explination
Zombies: but not the type that infect
Ætherships: vessels that sail on the Æther.
Plasma Cannons: Projects plasma projectiles into enemies
Replicators: a la Star Trek, this is a very powerful technology and would pretty much destroy an economy, unless copyright laws are amazingly enforced.
Teleporters: a la everywhere
There are a ton more of weird science-y stuff we'll be playing with in the game, but this is just a taste. The rule book will fully disclose the whole tech tree for super planers.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
1st Progress Update
So I have been working mostly diligently on the rules and I am excusing my lack of posts due to this mostly diligent work. The work comes in outline form so I can bounce from topic to topic as they come to mind.
The brunt of today's work lies in mostly the nitty gritty of the institution: the company. I've been developing types of reports, orders, and officers. I'm also deep into creating how the production of material goods, research projects, and the construction of structures is to work. For material good production, you'll need personnel/prospectors, building materials, tools, and facilities to produce the good. This could be from the production of knives to the grandiose Ætherships.
If this sounds overwhelming for a game where we shoot bb guns at each other, its for the people who have megalomania on the mind. I want to embrace all levels of organization, from "wolf packs" of players to massive conglomerates of companies raging war on each other. It will really serve as a good way to get a sense of scale and enormity to the game when it gets rolling months into it.
And it seems because of these rules I'm working on, most of the rule book will not need to be read by most players since they won't be running massive companies--they'll be a part of one.
But these complicated rules are for something, when there is a diverse and extensive economic model; then the chance for exploitation is great. Who needs to destroy a marching army, when you went behind them and slaughtered the personnel who were transporting their food and ammunition? Why research and develop technology when you can steal the blueprints from the laboratory that produced them? The more complicated it gets (without getting boring, no one will need to produce shoes, axle grease, etc), the more niches players and their companies can fill.
Further, with such an economic model, war becomes much more interesting and really ominous. When you have no needs, there is no reason to kill the guy over the next hill to steal the bread from his mouth. But when you chance starvation, the rock looks ever more interesting to use as a weapon to bash your neighbor's head in. I wanted to play a real in-depth war game, and I intend to deliver.
The brunt of today's work lies in mostly the nitty gritty of the institution: the company. I've been developing types of reports, orders, and officers. I'm also deep into creating how the production of material goods, research projects, and the construction of structures is to work. For material good production, you'll need personnel/prospectors, building materials, tools, and facilities to produce the good. This could be from the production of knives to the grandiose Ætherships.
If this sounds overwhelming for a game where we shoot bb guns at each other, its for the people who have megalomania on the mind. I want to embrace all levels of organization, from "wolf packs" of players to massive conglomerates of companies raging war on each other. It will really serve as a good way to get a sense of scale and enormity to the game when it gets rolling months into it.
And it seems because of these rules I'm working on, most of the rule book will not need to be read by most players since they won't be running massive companies--they'll be a part of one.
But these complicated rules are for something, when there is a diverse and extensive economic model; then the chance for exploitation is great. Who needs to destroy a marching army, when you went behind them and slaughtered the personnel who were transporting their food and ammunition? Why research and develop technology when you can steal the blueprints from the laboratory that produced them? The more complicated it gets (without getting boring, no one will need to produce shoes, axle grease, etc), the more niches players and their companies can fill.
Further, with such an economic model, war becomes much more interesting and really ominous. When you have no needs, there is no reason to kill the guy over the next hill to steal the bread from his mouth. But when you chance starvation, the rock looks ever more interesting to use as a weapon to bash your neighbor's head in. I wanted to play a real in-depth war game, and I intend to deliver.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Avast!
So now its been months since your first expedition into AP and you've either found nothing, or bandits. But over these few months you've been able to sell and fight your way to a small stash of bank notes you are reserving until you have enough to start an outpost, and a source of income like a mineral vein or industry niche to fill, like research.
You've recruited a few more players, either new or disenfranchised from other companies, and now stand at about 15 members. Its a sizable expedition, with so many player characters marching through the heart of AP. You've stuck to one of the larger islands you think has the least amount of player characters on it. Its mostly mountainous and hilly towards the interior and proves slow to scout. But even if you don't find any ruins you are sure you'll find some mineral veins eventually.
Since player characters don't have any morale requirements, the group is fairly unhindered by supply needs, with the exception of MMT's and ammunition. It can be risky without a entourage of mercenaries to accompany you in the case you find other aggressive player company groups, or a massive bandit camp; but without the supplies or funding, traveling light is your only option.
The rough terrain takes you months to traverse, but the use of horses helps. Now 8 months in since you started your company and you've chanced upon ruins! This story battle day will prove interesting. And its time for the Tinkerer in you to shine, since the mission type requires a modestly ranked Tinkerer to accomplish it.
The mission is to defeat any ancient defenses left in the ruins and activate the package, which will be a briefcase sized object with a dozen or so switches, valves, toggles, gauges, and other things in the box that will need to be switched from off to on (red to green) before the timer that starts when you open the box ends.
You have seen a few of these missions before and have even played a part in the defenses. Usually it will be a combination of automated turrets, automatons, and other mechanizations designed by the OG's. They are harder the more advanced the technology to be discovered is. But even when you have the technology, you may not have enough of the lexicon to translate the blue prints given. You've purchased from the ETC, who purchased it from a player company, two parts of the lexicon. You're not sure how many parts there are to the lexicon, but you assume many.
Luckily, the technology will never be one already discovered by other players; so you know when you find one, it will be valuable. However, just because you found a ruin, doesn't mean that the ruin hasn't yet already been looted. But the amount of exploitation into the ruins is dependent on the ability of the surveyor of the hex, and you have a decent mid-level agent with perks in scouting and feel confident that even if the ruins were previously explored, you may still find more loot. So a ruin contains two things you will find valuable: technology and loot.
You are first on the list this time, and players line up to play. The OG pulls a group of players away, but you know that the number actually going out into the field isn't how many players leave with the OG since it will be secret until the horn blares. The OG will explain what the players will be and you'll be able to identify what they are by the color of the armband they wear is.
Some temporary wall segments have been set up on the top of a hill. They are made of 2x4 frames and canvas stappled to them with large bolts holding 8'X8' segments together. You set up your group at the spawn zone the OG leads your group to and wait, your plan already made.
The air horn blares and your forward group charges for the closest cover to the entrance to the ruins. They tote two shield generators with them as they quickly march down the field. As they do, you hear and see streams of bbs being fired in their direction, you assume automated turrets, but it could be plasma rifle equipped automatons--you hope not since they'll make mince meat out of you.
You take cover 20 yards behind and to the right of your forward group. 3 Agents are part of your support group and while still out by 70 yards, they start taking shots at the windows of the ruins. You can't tell where the players are hiding since its dark inside the temp structure, but a lucky shot can take out an automaton. Still not sure what is in the building, you and your forward group close the distance to 50 yards as they hit closer cover.
Little cover is close to the structure as you climb the hill; the shield generators covering the forward group is the only cover they have for the last 30 yards. Your support group now crouches 50 yards away. The incoming fire from the turrets took out your field surgeon on your last dash for cover and seriously jeopardizes the operation. But the forward group is loaded with disruption grenades and should prove dangerous when they enter melee range.
Since the quarters will be tight in the temp building acting as ruins, all players will have to switch to melee weapons. And since the disruption grenades aren't airsoft, they're just thrown and affect on touch, you feel confident that if there aren't too many automatons in the ruins they should fair well.
The forward group closes the gap to one side of the building and about 10 yards from the entrance. They hug the wall as they chuck two airsoft grenades into the ruin. They go off, but without a clear view you don't know how many players were knocked out. The last member of the forward team primes and chucks a smoke grenade into the entrance and soon afterwards the team files quickly one by one into the building. As soon as the airsoft grenades went off though, your group was already at a full sprint towards the opposite side of the entrance.
Smoke bellows out of the temp building and you here shouts out of it as melee ensues. You barge into the building, throwing disruption grenades at anyone not wearing one of your company's arm bands. With knives and sabers at the ready, you chop down the stunned automatons. You've lost half of the forward group and your field surgeon, but still win the ruins!
Now the second part of the mission, activating the package. An OG steps into the ruin after the smoke clears and asks to see the Passport of a character who will attempt to activate the package. You hand him yours and she nods; body language that states your character is of high enough rank to attempt the activation. You kneel at the case, its covered in copper piping, gears, metal plates and other hardware typical of Steampunk.
You take a breath as you twist the knobs keeping the case shut. As soon as you open it fully you can see a digital timer counting down from 58 seconds, it started as soon as you started opening the case. Your eyes dart around the case, and you spot at least 8 valves with red paint on them. You hesitate as you take it all in and start switching all of the valves from red to green. It doesn't take long and you still have 30 seconds on the clock as you look at the OG who is looking over your shoulder; she doesn't give you a nod which means some of the switches are hidden--go figure. You scramble around the case with your hands and eyes for a hidden switch or toggle. Copper tubing crisscrosses the case and your hands navigate each tube on the bottom side for the hidden switch. The clock dwindles down to 10 seconds and counting and you get desperate; you didn't lose 4 player characters and all this time to fail here. With just 3 seconds to spare you find the last switch and the clock stops. You don't know if it was the heat of the day, the action of the battle, or the desperation you had staring at the copper tubes in the case but a bead of sweat drips off your chin into the case. Congratulations! You have successfully obtained a previously undiscovered technology!
Looking at the OG with anticipation she hands you a blue print document and on its title line it says: Phantasmagoric Gas. From the rule book you have scoured this means you have access to a purple colored gas grenade that whomever the gas touches becomes delirious and suffers the effects of mortal wounds, further any player characters touched by it cannot respawn for the rest of the battle (The effects of the Phantasmagoric grenade are still up for debate).
You also recover 3 dozen units of the mysterious element native only to AP, valuable as an asset or building material as well as 2 Phantasmagoric Grenades' operator licenses. You still have to supply the physical object, but you have the license to use it in a story battle.
With the technology and materials in tow, you intend to make a bee line for the nearest ETC outpost to make a trade and start the beginnings of a company outpost for yourself. You have found your major break!
---
Player companies will need to pay for the salaries of personnel and the supplies to keep them content and the building materials to construct the structures that make up an outpost. A player company can either save up enough bank notes to start their own base, sell newly discovered technologies to player companies or the ETC, or secure a loan from the ETC to start an outpost by showing a viable business plan. The first two can take quite a bit of time, but if a player company chances upon a large vein of the mysterious element they may find the ETC very interested in supplying a loan to them.
Although a business plan does not always have to include a mine of the mysterious element; other plans could include the supply of arms or other supplies to the ETC or other buyers.
But make sure to pay off the loan in time, or the ETC will bring in their para-military forces to claim what they believe is the value of the unpaid loan in your outpost materials. And should those prove insufficient, they might jail your character for a few months; keeping him or her from performing any monthly actions, giving orders, or taking part in battles.
But with the ETC loan, player companies can start up bases a lot faster than they would without them; the ETC wants you to do well as it does well for them!
You've recruited a few more players, either new or disenfranchised from other companies, and now stand at about 15 members. Its a sizable expedition, with so many player characters marching through the heart of AP. You've stuck to one of the larger islands you think has the least amount of player characters on it. Its mostly mountainous and hilly towards the interior and proves slow to scout. But even if you don't find any ruins you are sure you'll find some mineral veins eventually.
Since player characters don't have any morale requirements, the group is fairly unhindered by supply needs, with the exception of MMT's and ammunition. It can be risky without a entourage of mercenaries to accompany you in the case you find other aggressive player company groups, or a massive bandit camp; but without the supplies or funding, traveling light is your only option.
The rough terrain takes you months to traverse, but the use of horses helps. Now 8 months in since you started your company and you've chanced upon ruins! This story battle day will prove interesting. And its time for the Tinkerer in you to shine, since the mission type requires a modestly ranked Tinkerer to accomplish it.
The mission is to defeat any ancient defenses left in the ruins and activate the package, which will be a briefcase sized object with a dozen or so switches, valves, toggles, gauges, and other things in the box that will need to be switched from off to on (red to green) before the timer that starts when you open the box ends.
You have seen a few of these missions before and have even played a part in the defenses. Usually it will be a combination of automated turrets, automatons, and other mechanizations designed by the OG's. They are harder the more advanced the technology to be discovered is. But even when you have the technology, you may not have enough of the lexicon to translate the blue prints given. You've purchased from the ETC, who purchased it from a player company, two parts of the lexicon. You're not sure how many parts there are to the lexicon, but you assume many.
Luckily, the technology will never be one already discovered by other players; so you know when you find one, it will be valuable. However, just because you found a ruin, doesn't mean that the ruin hasn't yet already been looted. But the amount of exploitation into the ruins is dependent on the ability of the surveyor of the hex, and you have a decent mid-level agent with perks in scouting and feel confident that even if the ruins were previously explored, you may still find more loot. So a ruin contains two things you will find valuable: technology and loot.
You are first on the list this time, and players line up to play. The OG pulls a group of players away, but you know that the number actually going out into the field isn't how many players leave with the OG since it will be secret until the horn blares. The OG will explain what the players will be and you'll be able to identify what they are by the color of the armband they wear is.
Some temporary wall segments have been set up on the top of a hill. They are made of 2x4 frames and canvas stappled to them with large bolts holding 8'X8' segments together. You set up your group at the spawn zone the OG leads your group to and wait, your plan already made.
The air horn blares and your forward group charges for the closest cover to the entrance to the ruins. They tote two shield generators with them as they quickly march down the field. As they do, you hear and see streams of bbs being fired in their direction, you assume automated turrets, but it could be plasma rifle equipped automatons--you hope not since they'll make mince meat out of you.
You take cover 20 yards behind and to the right of your forward group. 3 Agents are part of your support group and while still out by 70 yards, they start taking shots at the windows of the ruins. You can't tell where the players are hiding since its dark inside the temp structure, but a lucky shot can take out an automaton. Still not sure what is in the building, you and your forward group close the distance to 50 yards as they hit closer cover.
Little cover is close to the structure as you climb the hill; the shield generators covering the forward group is the only cover they have for the last 30 yards. Your support group now crouches 50 yards away. The incoming fire from the turrets took out your field surgeon on your last dash for cover and seriously jeopardizes the operation. But the forward group is loaded with disruption grenades and should prove dangerous when they enter melee range.
Since the quarters will be tight in the temp building acting as ruins, all players will have to switch to melee weapons. And since the disruption grenades aren't airsoft, they're just thrown and affect on touch, you feel confident that if there aren't too many automatons in the ruins they should fair well.
The forward group closes the gap to one side of the building and about 10 yards from the entrance. They hug the wall as they chuck two airsoft grenades into the ruin. They go off, but without a clear view you don't know how many players were knocked out. The last member of the forward team primes and chucks a smoke grenade into the entrance and soon afterwards the team files quickly one by one into the building. As soon as the airsoft grenades went off though, your group was already at a full sprint towards the opposite side of the entrance.
Smoke bellows out of the temp building and you here shouts out of it as melee ensues. You barge into the building, throwing disruption grenades at anyone not wearing one of your company's arm bands. With knives and sabers at the ready, you chop down the stunned automatons. You've lost half of the forward group and your field surgeon, but still win the ruins!
Now the second part of the mission, activating the package. An OG steps into the ruin after the smoke clears and asks to see the Passport of a character who will attempt to activate the package. You hand him yours and she nods; body language that states your character is of high enough rank to attempt the activation. You kneel at the case, its covered in copper piping, gears, metal plates and other hardware typical of Steampunk.
You take a breath as you twist the knobs keeping the case shut. As soon as you open it fully you can see a digital timer counting down from 58 seconds, it started as soon as you started opening the case. Your eyes dart around the case, and you spot at least 8 valves with red paint on them. You hesitate as you take it all in and start switching all of the valves from red to green. It doesn't take long and you still have 30 seconds on the clock as you look at the OG who is looking over your shoulder; she doesn't give you a nod which means some of the switches are hidden--go figure. You scramble around the case with your hands and eyes for a hidden switch or toggle. Copper tubing crisscrosses the case and your hands navigate each tube on the bottom side for the hidden switch. The clock dwindles down to 10 seconds and counting and you get desperate; you didn't lose 4 player characters and all this time to fail here. With just 3 seconds to spare you find the last switch and the clock stops. You don't know if it was the heat of the day, the action of the battle, or the desperation you had staring at the copper tubes in the case but a bead of sweat drips off your chin into the case. Congratulations! You have successfully obtained a previously undiscovered technology!
Looking at the OG with anticipation she hands you a blue print document and on its title line it says: Phantasmagoric Gas. From the rule book you have scoured this means you have access to a purple colored gas grenade that whomever the gas touches becomes delirious and suffers the effects of mortal wounds, further any player characters touched by it cannot respawn for the rest of the battle (The effects of the Phantasmagoric grenade are still up for debate).
You also recover 3 dozen units of the mysterious element native only to AP, valuable as an asset or building material as well as 2 Phantasmagoric Grenades' operator licenses. You still have to supply the physical object, but you have the license to use it in a story battle.
With the technology and materials in tow, you intend to make a bee line for the nearest ETC outpost to make a trade and start the beginnings of a company outpost for yourself. You have found your major break!
---
Player companies will need to pay for the salaries of personnel and the supplies to keep them content and the building materials to construct the structures that make up an outpost. A player company can either save up enough bank notes to start their own base, sell newly discovered technologies to player companies or the ETC, or secure a loan from the ETC to start an outpost by showing a viable business plan. The first two can take quite a bit of time, but if a player company chances upon a large vein of the mysterious element they may find the ETC very interested in supplying a loan to them.
Although a business plan does not always have to include a mine of the mysterious element; other plans could include the supply of arms or other supplies to the ETC or other buyers.
But make sure to pay off the loan in time, or the ETC will bring in their para-military forces to claim what they believe is the value of the unpaid loan in your outpost materials. And should those prove insufficient, they might jail your character for a few months; keeping him or her from performing any monthly actions, giving orders, or taking part in battles.
But with the ETC loan, player companies can start up bases a lot faster than they would without them; the ETC wants you to do well as it does well for them!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Second Story Battle Day
Today, you find out the results of your survey and it fills you with excitement. You speed through check in and find that while you did not discover any ruins, a small group of bandits have taken residence in the hex. Your company's name is on the board as the fourth event down. One of the agents in your company who surveyed the hex discovers that the bandit camp is more numerous than your group, but are poorly equipped in comparison. While that still makes the encounter dangerous, you have the upper hand with the technology purchases you made. Your company is small and you have not hired any mercenaries, so its just you against whomever shows up.
You fight in one of the earlier battles of the day, but you and your company opt out to make plans on how to attack the bandits the two games before yours. You've got some grenades and you figure if you can close the distance with some cover fire from your agents, you should be able to knock out a lot of bandits at once. A few of your fellows are Man-at-arms and are carrying repeater rifles and low tech body armor--something to keep you all in the game. And with a field surgeon, you should fair well against a larger but poorly armed group of bandits.
The battle before yours ends bloody but quickly, and now comes the time to resolve your battle. You line up and bid nothing since no mercenaries exist for others to play, and about 15 other players line up, not in opposition, but in the neutral line which means they aren't against you, they just want to play. With no bids by the bandits, you have the added advantage of having something to really lose, while the players acting as bandits have nothing to lose.
You divide your group into two: one for support, and the other to soak up fire and push ahead. You have to defend yourself against 10 bandits. The field is open with a hill in the middle, and you set up opposite of the bandits you hope to defeat.
The OG signals the begining of the battle and your first group goes first followed by the second. You rush for the hill and spot the group of bandits spreading out amongst the brush facing the hill. You spot that half of them are carrying pistols and revolvers and the other single action rifles. This combination of weapons signals to you that they'll be easier to engage in long range combat rather than charging in and throwing grenades out. You line up on the ridge of the hill and start focusing on the group with the highest concentration of rifles.
The bandits have little in the way of plans or strategy and they remain stationary taking shots at your group in the hopes they knock a player out or two. A few players are hit, but with some quick reactions from the field surgeon, who keeps out of the thick of it, you keep everyone in the game while you whittle away the bandit group. In this moment you decide not to take any chances and charge the group; your patience pays off and only a few armed with pistols and revolvers remain.
Your CQB squad charges down the hill towards a clump of cover that is more than 30 yards away from the last group of bandits. You wait for them to get in their position and after giving a hand signal, lay down suppressive fire while they move to within effective shotgun range. The disorganized bandits can't handle two fronts and fold quickly to flanking fire. The air horn blares and you have officially won your first battle as a company!
The OG shows you the list of loot on the bodies and you take everything of value. The Field Surgeon ran through a lot of Medical Material Tokens (MMT's from here on out) healing your group, but the bandits' cache of ammunition means you can continue your expedition without going back for supplies. A great victory indeed!
You continue playing in other story battles gathering more bank notes for your company to fuel endeavors in the future as well as purchasing perks for your character. The day was quite productive for your company.
---
When a player character dies in a story battle, that character will have to "respawn" at an ETC outpost nearest to the site of death, or wherever that character calls home, like a company owned barracks or house on the hex map. This penalizes characters on the field that die but has no permanent effects, so a player who makes a mistake doesn't loose their character because of it.
Every rank, a character can take a perk; to make money valuable to players beyond just the purchase of war materials these perks will have to be purchased to unlock them. These perks will vary from battlefield perks that gives a player character extra respawns on the field, to perks that increase the efficiency of personnel on a hex they are on.
Characters can have a perk for every rank they have up to 20, after that a character may exchange a perk every level past that. I'm thinking that a player can have more than one character active, as a reward for ranking a character past 20. (So your first character ranks to 21, you can have an additional character active, if that character ranks to 21 as well, you can have a third additional character active). This would work as an incentive to rank up characters, but if the game doesn't have an end then it would be possible that a player could have dozens of active characters and it would be a huge advantage over other players.
This brings me to another point that may be unique for a LARP: you can win the game. Since the ETC is supposed to be very powerful and acts as the buffer between the world and AP, if a player company could destroy the ETC, or be responsible for its loss on its monopoly on trade in and out of AP; then they could be considered the winners of AP. And in addition to this there could be a "final technology" that when researched and put to use causes a victory to the company who achieves it.
This is problematic because players can get really vested in their characters and companies, and if the game has an end, then it may lose that feeling of investment that is important to the game. Further, I think there should be rewards to those who win the game and what should those be is another issue. And if a group of players gets in on the game late it may discourage them from really getting into the game until it resets. In defense of my end game finale, the tech tree becomes a moot point when all technologies have been researched, and there will be a lot of less useful tinkerers and scientist personnel. I think when the time comes, it should be debated.
Now you got something to read! I would love to hear any ideas you all have concerning the end game issue, as it may prove controversial within the community we develop in this LARP.
You fight in one of the earlier battles of the day, but you and your company opt out to make plans on how to attack the bandits the two games before yours. You've got some grenades and you figure if you can close the distance with some cover fire from your agents, you should be able to knock out a lot of bandits at once. A few of your fellows are Man-at-arms and are carrying repeater rifles and low tech body armor--something to keep you all in the game. And with a field surgeon, you should fair well against a larger but poorly armed group of bandits.
The battle before yours ends bloody but quickly, and now comes the time to resolve your battle. You line up and bid nothing since no mercenaries exist for others to play, and about 15 other players line up, not in opposition, but in the neutral line which means they aren't against you, they just want to play. With no bids by the bandits, you have the added advantage of having something to really lose, while the players acting as bandits have nothing to lose.
You divide your group into two: one for support, and the other to soak up fire and push ahead. You have to defend yourself against 10 bandits. The field is open with a hill in the middle, and you set up opposite of the bandits you hope to defeat.
The OG signals the begining of the battle and your first group goes first followed by the second. You rush for the hill and spot the group of bandits spreading out amongst the brush facing the hill. You spot that half of them are carrying pistols and revolvers and the other single action rifles. This combination of weapons signals to you that they'll be easier to engage in long range combat rather than charging in and throwing grenades out. You line up on the ridge of the hill and start focusing on the group with the highest concentration of rifles.
The bandits have little in the way of plans or strategy and they remain stationary taking shots at your group in the hopes they knock a player out or two. A few players are hit, but with some quick reactions from the field surgeon, who keeps out of the thick of it, you keep everyone in the game while you whittle away the bandit group. In this moment you decide not to take any chances and charge the group; your patience pays off and only a few armed with pistols and revolvers remain.
Your CQB squad charges down the hill towards a clump of cover that is more than 30 yards away from the last group of bandits. You wait for them to get in their position and after giving a hand signal, lay down suppressive fire while they move to within effective shotgun range. The disorganized bandits can't handle two fronts and fold quickly to flanking fire. The air horn blares and you have officially won your first battle as a company!
The OG shows you the list of loot on the bodies and you take everything of value. The Field Surgeon ran through a lot of Medical Material Tokens (MMT's from here on out) healing your group, but the bandits' cache of ammunition means you can continue your expedition without going back for supplies. A great victory indeed!
You continue playing in other story battles gathering more bank notes for your company to fuel endeavors in the future as well as purchasing perks for your character. The day was quite productive for your company.
---
When a player character dies in a story battle, that character will have to "respawn" at an ETC outpost nearest to the site of death, or wherever that character calls home, like a company owned barracks or house on the hex map. This penalizes characters on the field that die but has no permanent effects, so a player who makes a mistake doesn't loose their character because of it.
Every rank, a character can take a perk; to make money valuable to players beyond just the purchase of war materials these perks will have to be purchased to unlock them. These perks will vary from battlefield perks that gives a player character extra respawns on the field, to perks that increase the efficiency of personnel on a hex they are on.
Characters can have a perk for every rank they have up to 20, after that a character may exchange a perk every level past that. I'm thinking that a player can have more than one character active, as a reward for ranking a character past 20. (So your first character ranks to 21, you can have an additional character active, if that character ranks to 21 as well, you can have a third additional character active). This would work as an incentive to rank up characters, but if the game doesn't have an end then it would be possible that a player could have dozens of active characters and it would be a huge advantage over other players.
This brings me to another point that may be unique for a LARP: you can win the game. Since the ETC is supposed to be very powerful and acts as the buffer between the world and AP, if a player company could destroy the ETC, or be responsible for its loss on its monopoly on trade in and out of AP; then they could be considered the winners of AP. And in addition to this there could be a "final technology" that when researched and put to use causes a victory to the company who achieves it.
This is problematic because players can get really vested in their characters and companies, and if the game has an end, then it may lose that feeling of investment that is important to the game. Further, I think there should be rewards to those who win the game and what should those be is another issue. And if a group of players gets in on the game late it may discourage them from really getting into the game until it resets. In defense of my end game finale, the tech tree becomes a moot point when all technologies have been researched, and there will be a lot of less useful tinkerers and scientist personnel. I think when the time comes, it should be debated.
Now you got something to read! I would love to hear any ideas you all have concerning the end game issue, as it may prove controversial within the community we develop in this LARP.
Monday, April 16, 2012
First Official Game Day
The tentative start date of the official game will be May 12th 2012, or at least that Sunday. I will have a working rule book by this date; hold me to it!
Also, anyone who helped play test the game will receive their first rank-up as a reward for supporting the game, we've learned a lot from the trials and I thank-you for the support guys!
Also, anyone who helped play test the game will receive their first rank-up as a reward for supporting the game, we've learned a lot from the trials and I thank-you for the support guys!
John Chapman created this video for the game, check it out its great!
You're extra excited today as you drive up to the event parking-- its your fifth event! Now all those bank notes you've been stock piling over the last four events are about to be used to a good purpose. Counting the fifty bank notes your first character starts with in AP, you have 90 bank notes. The experience you have collected including today will rank up your new character. After watching what the roles do on the field and off; the Man-at-arms, Agent, Tinkerer, and Field Surgeon, you think that the Tinkerer is the best suited for you.
The game has a tech tree with levels 0 to 4, and the highest level tech you've seen on the field is 2, which means there is still plenty more to understand about the technologies left by the ancient race responsible for the ruins strewn about the archipelago. Although the role would still be useful in the final stages of technology since their also responsible for the engineering of AP.
You figure that while a lot of the land has been taken up by the companies before you, you can still make it big by exploring the ruins still untapped with powerful technologies. The ETC is known for trading large amounts of bank notes for fresh technologies to eager explorers of AP.
In this ilk, you have convinced a few of your friends to join the game and a few other players you have networked with to help you in your venture: discovering and selling of new technology.
You walk up to the check-in and the OG asks which role will you adopt for your first character, you state confidently your choice and explain your monthly action, in conjunction with your fellows you set off into the heart of the least explored parts of the archipelago. The equipment you buy includes a horse to each prospector to get them further faster and a lot of ammunition and other weapons up to date with the tech level to battle whatever bandit groups you might encounter.
The Free Battle Day is going by quickly, as you're excited by what you might find by your survey action reaching into the heart of AP (and with the aid of a half dozen players, some of them agents you're sure you'll find anything that there is to find on the hex you selected to survey). You hope to find ruins, but minerals or loaded bandits wouldn't hurt either.
Now that you have a vested interest in the outcome of the monthly actions, you find yourself anxious for the next event to come by. You wonder if others have already exploited what was to be had on the hex. You wonder if others would steal what you earned from your exploration. You are glad that unless players have an ear to the group and keep tabs on you, you can go right under their radar and do what you please. As a small and newly formed company without assets, you are certain the larger and more powerful companies will leave you be while they plan and plot against each other.
The event is useful for the organization of your company on the field. You have a small group, but with training they can play off of each others strengths. With a well rounded group of player characters you can take on larger groups and still come out the victor. But still you hope that on the hex you find some abandoned ruins and not a bandit camp of overwhelming proportions, for while death is not a threat to your character, restarting at an ETC outpost and away from your group would hinder the progress you make in a world filled with stiff competition from other player companies.
Your mind is filled with excitement about your new company the whole day and battle after battle, you can't be pulled from the subject in your mind. The sun sets and you can't wait to see what the results are of your survey in the next Story Battle Day.
You're extra excited today as you drive up to the event parking-- its your fifth event! Now all those bank notes you've been stock piling over the last four events are about to be used to a good purpose. Counting the fifty bank notes your first character starts with in AP, you have 90 bank notes. The experience you have collected including today will rank up your new character. After watching what the roles do on the field and off; the Man-at-arms, Agent, Tinkerer, and Field Surgeon, you think that the Tinkerer is the best suited for you.
The game has a tech tree with levels 0 to 4, and the highest level tech you've seen on the field is 2, which means there is still plenty more to understand about the technologies left by the ancient race responsible for the ruins strewn about the archipelago. Although the role would still be useful in the final stages of technology since their also responsible for the engineering of AP.
You figure that while a lot of the land has been taken up by the companies before you, you can still make it big by exploring the ruins still untapped with powerful technologies. The ETC is known for trading large amounts of bank notes for fresh technologies to eager explorers of AP.
In this ilk, you have convinced a few of your friends to join the game and a few other players you have networked with to help you in your venture: discovering and selling of new technology.
You walk up to the check-in and the OG asks which role will you adopt for your first character, you state confidently your choice and explain your monthly action, in conjunction with your fellows you set off into the heart of the least explored parts of the archipelago. The equipment you buy includes a horse to each prospector to get them further faster and a lot of ammunition and other weapons up to date with the tech level to battle whatever bandit groups you might encounter.
The Free Battle Day is going by quickly, as you're excited by what you might find by your survey action reaching into the heart of AP (and with the aid of a half dozen players, some of them agents you're sure you'll find anything that there is to find on the hex you selected to survey). You hope to find ruins, but minerals or loaded bandits wouldn't hurt either.
Now that you have a vested interest in the outcome of the monthly actions, you find yourself anxious for the next event to come by. You wonder if others have already exploited what was to be had on the hex. You wonder if others would steal what you earned from your exploration. You are glad that unless players have an ear to the group and keep tabs on you, you can go right under their radar and do what you please. As a small and newly formed company without assets, you are certain the larger and more powerful companies will leave you be while they plan and plot against each other.
The event is useful for the organization of your company on the field. You have a small group, but with training they can play off of each others strengths. With a well rounded group of player characters you can take on larger groups and still come out the victor. But still you hope that on the hex you find some abandoned ruins and not a bandit camp of overwhelming proportions, for while death is not a threat to your character, restarting at an ETC outpost and away from your group would hinder the progress you make in a world filled with stiff competition from other player companies.
Your mind is filled with excitement about your new company the whole day and battle after battle, you can't be pulled from the subject in your mind. The sun sets and you can't wait to see what the results are of your survey in the next Story Battle Day.
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