The Rules Thread (MU)

**Honors Bastion** · April 24, 2014, 04:34 PM

Map and Region Information

System Information List

This list is organised like so: Terra/100/L/L/Consumer Goods meaning the Terra System has an income of 100,000 Crowns, a Large Naval Levy, Large Land Levy and produces Consumer Goods.

Systems (71 inhabited, 2 lost):

Throne Worlds (1):

Terra/100/L/L/Consumer Goods

Old Lords (10):

Terra Nova/90/VL/VL/Consumer Goods
Sirius/70/L/L/Small Arms
Procyon/70/L/L/Small Arms
Kepler/70/M/M/Small Arms
Mira/70/M/M/Foodstuffs
Mizar/70/L/L/Consumer Goods
Castor/80/L/L/Electronics
Orion/70/L/L/Heavy Arms
Capella/80/L/L/Foodstuffs
Nu Scorpii/90/L/L/Heavy Arms

Merchant Lords (20):

- Southern Merchant Lords (8)
Spica/60/M/M/Targeting Sensors
Algol/60/M/M/Consumer Goods
Izar/60/M/M/Super Heavy Machinery
Gumpalt/50/S/S/Foodstuffs
Solaris/50/S/S/Electronics
Durdane/70/L/L/Heavy Arms
Corelia/50/S/S/Foodstuffs
Kalgash/50/S/S/Precious Metals

- Northern Merchant Lords (12)
Regulus/70/L/L/Super Heavy Machinery
Thuban/60/M/M/Precious Metals
Kruger/60/M/M/Targeting Sensors
Eridani/50/S/S/Small Arms
Sabria/50/S/S/Foodstuffs
Lagash/50/S/S/Heavy Arms
Trey/50/S/S/Targeting Sensors
Patru/50/VS/VS/Heavy Arms
Tano/50/VS/VS/Electronics
Sitha/50/S/S/Small Arms
Marcarb/50/S/S/Heavy Arms
Villa/50/S/S/Consumer Goods

Slave Lords (20):

Dorsum/90/M/M/Precious Metals
Delpha/90/M/M/Slaves
Dabot/90/M/M/Electronics
Vici/90/M/M/Slaves
Altam/90/M/M/Super Heavy Engineering
Meta/90/M/M/Small Arms
Acamar/90/M/M/Slaves
Cyngi/90/M/M/Heavy Arms
Zerman/80/S/S/Super Heavy Machinery
Yensu/80/S/S/Consumer Goods
Lylat/80/S/S/Electronics
Colic/80/S/S/Foodstuffs
Ailoth/70/VS/VS/Targeting Sensors
Crim/70/VS/VS/Super Heavy Machinery
Jalta/70/VS/VS/Foodstuffs
Gertha/70/VS/VS/Slaves
Melfynch/70/VS/VS/Small Arms
Luyten/70/VS/VS/Precious Metals
Descent/70/VS/VS/Slave
Kappa/70/VS/VS/Foodstuffs

Zealot Lords (8):

Porteno/50/VL/VL/Electronics
Thrax/50/VL/VL/Heavy Arms
Gelfing/50/VL/VL/Super Heavy Machinery
Eta/40/VL/VL/Consumer Goods
Eden/40/VL/VL/Small Arms
Batalix/30/L/L/Precious Metals
Tiamat/30/L/L/Targeting Sensors
Helliconia/30/L/L/Foodstuffs

Technocrat Lords (7):

Gateway/90/VS/VS/Heavy Arms
Manticore/80/VS/VS/Super Heavy Machinery
Marune/70/VS/VS/Precious Metals
Metropolis/90/VS/VS/Consumer Goods
Osmo/90/VS/VS/Targeting Sensors
Maddar/70/VS/VS/Heavy Arms
Helix/80/VS/VS/Electronics

Marcher Lords (10):

Kzin/70/VL/VL/Consumer Goods
Goliath/50/VL/VL/Small Arms
Pell/50/VL/VL/Small Arms
Aquilae/70/VL/VL/Heavy Arms
Varth/60/VL/VL/Electronics
Nusku/60/VL/VL/Super Heavy Machinery
Majoris/60/VL/VL/Foodstuffs
Bastion/50/VL/VL/Targeting Sensors
Hurken/50/VL/VL/Heavy Arms
Krak/70/VL/VL/Heavy Arms

Map and Backstory to it

http://i.imgur.com/TgFtfQr.jpg --> See this link for a better map (It's too big too load on TWC)

Humanity took to the stars countless centuries ago, settling Terra Nova as the first System outside Terra itself. The relative proximity of nearby habitable systems allowed Humanity to quickly expand into a dozen systems, many of these rising to become the realms of the Old Lords. Outposts in the furthest southern reaches saw the birth of the Merchant Lords, whose capital investment soon spurred expansion northwards, colonising the Calmar Loop after its discovery by an adventurer by the name of Calmar.

The Human Empire stayed this way for millennia, occasional civil wars and secessionist movements amongst the colonies seeing the rise and fall of various independent states, all of which were eventually returned to Terra’s grasp.

The discovery of the Reptile Empire changed everything for humanity, with a war being sparked between the two Empires. Eventual conquest of the Reptiles saw Humanity annex a vast, if sparsely populated, region of space that the Reptiles once ruled, bordered to the north by a vast, starless expanse.

The Hook was the next to be discovered, long known to the Reptiles but regarded as too poor to be worth establishing a major presence in, this area was gradually colonised by various human groups fleeing the Empire’s more controlled systems due to beliefs, crimes or wanting a new start. The Zealot Lords arose here, the plethora of religions brought to the region by various outcasts eventually melding into a single creed.

A chance discovery by a sensor sweep in the southernmost Slave System of Lylat uncovered a new star cluster, the first of which was dubbed ‘Gateway’ as humanity arrived to explore it. The area was opened up to colonisation and industrialisation for the Empire, hoping to create a new workshop for the Empire to relieve the Old Worlds and allow the sitting Emperor to pursue his pet project of making the Old Worlds into vast garden cities.

The discovery of Gateway and its adjacent stars lead very quickly to a link with the Hook being created, as ships in both Helliconia and Marune were able to coordinate from each side and establish safe calculations for jumps. The region that would become home to the Marcher Lords is the newest to be colonised by humanity, as adventurers delved deeper and deeper into unknown space hunting for trace signals that many thought to be from intelligent life somewhere beyond known space.

They were, unfortunately, right. The Human race first encountered the Insects in the Goliath system, with fragmented reports talking of spacefaring monsters. The Empire was eventually compelled to send a Fleet to investigate, resulting in the Battle of Bastion, where the first major Swarm was encountered and only narrowly defeated. All attempts to negotiate with the Insects failed, with many unsure if they were even a sentient species. Eventually the Empire rose many prominent Admirals and Generals to Lords and granted them fiefs along the Insect Marches, resolved that the ‘heartlands’ of Humanity must be protected by establishing a highly militarised forward presence in these contested systems. After centuries of occasional conflict with emerging Swarms, the Marches are a developed, if still highly militarised and officially still called ‘contested territory’.

Trade flows took off along two primary routes: the 'Southern Passage' saw flows of technology and goods to and from the Technocrat Systems and Marcher Systems towards the Merchant and Old Lord Systems, while a Northern Passage saw trade from the Slave Lords and Northern Merchant Lords move down into the Zealot Systems and Marcher Systems.

Character Rules

The Emperor and Noble Houses

The Emperor

The Empire is controlled by an Emperor, whose powers include calling up armies, setting taxes, and passing any laws he sees fit. The 'check and balance' is the Imperial Council, a court of representatives of the Great Houses of the Empire. The Council decides its own membership (adding or removing Houses as they please) and can depose the Emperor if they vote for it, but may not legally summon armies, set taxes or pass laws.

Noble Houses

The Empire's nobility is divided into many loose 'factions', with Lords belonging to a faction primarily through their political, social and religious circumstances.

The Old Lords are the 'Old Money' of the Empire, their Houses being the oldest of the noble houses and their solar systems being the most populous in the Empire's centre. They, at game start, have a majority in the Imperial Council and the Emperor is from Old Lord stock. Their worlds are wealthy and have large populations, giving them high income and high levies, but very few Systems are governed by Old Lords. This faction of Lords is a loose one, with each Old Lord always out for their own House first and the 'Old Lord' faction second.

The Merchant Lords are the 'New Money' of the Empire, being traders and capitalists by nature. They gain extra trade lanes, and have medium incomes and medium levies. They share second place in the Imperial Council with the Slave Lords. Merchant Lords are a somewhat loose faction, seeing each other as competition, but still cooperating to force their mercentile beliefs and laws onto the rest of the Empire.

The Slave Lords are the Lords of conquered Reptile Systems. When Humanity took to the stars they fought a war against a Reptilian species and conquered their own fledgling empire, killing approximately 80-90% of the species and reducing the rest to total slavery. Their lands are productive and labour costs low, but a small class of Humans preside over a large slave class, giving these Lords high income and medium levies. Conscript slaves can also be used but are very poor quality soldiers. They share second place in the Imperial Council with the Merchant Lords. They are a more close-knit faction, seeing each other as fellow Slavers and feeling persecuted by other Noble Houses.

The Marcher Lords are those whose Systems border the Insectoid Empire. Not of truly noble blood, these Houses were raised from successful Generals, Admirals and other military men of the Empire centuries ago. They are totally unrepresented in the Imperial Council but, at game start, do not pay taxes. They tend to associate among themselves and tend to see Imperial politics as petty at best and decadent at worst. Their unique position and culture gives them discounts on creating and maintaining military power, and their worlds are medium income, high levy worlds. A major drawback for these Lords is the ever present danger of the Insectoids who, though never engaging in a massed invasion, conduct semi-regular Swarms into Human space in an effort to devour any resources, from asteroids to ships, that they can find. The closest-knit faction by military necessity: they must cooperate to fight the Swarms and share a general outlook on the rest of the Empire, most of which looks down upon Marchers.

The Technocrat Lords are similar to the Merchant Lords, but their interest lies in industry and technological development rather than commerce and capitalism. Their worlds are advanced, but their populations are usually somewhat low and largely involved in professional-level work like research and engineering rather than low-skilled labour. Their income is high and their levies low, but their forces are far better equipped than those of other Systems.

The Zealot Lords inhabit a small sector of the Empire, a grouping of fanatically religious worlds that follow a religion separate from the State Religion, bringing them into conflict with the religious conformists of the Empire. These Systems are densely populated, as they are a pilgrimage point for all those in the Empire who convert to the new religion, an increasing trend as priests, missionaries and pilgrims travel to and from every corner of the Empire in search of new believers. With low income but very high, if often ill-equipped, levies, the Zealot Lords are able to field enough troops to overwhelm smaller numbers of better equipped troops.

Lords Relations

By lore, the following opinions are generally held (and would be held by AI Lords and thus would influence their decisions to support or oppose things):

Old Lords think:
-- Marcher Lords are jumped up commoners.
-- Slave Lords are quaint country folk whose antics and culture are privately made fun of.
-- Merchant Lords are upstarts, newcomers, and greedy by nature.
-- Technocrat Lords are necessary to the Empire, but are bookish folk with very dry, overly technical personalities.
-- Zealot Lords are dangerous firebrands who ought to be brought to heel.

Merchant Lords think:
-- Marcher Lords are brutish military men who would be more interested in testing their guns on an asteroid rather than establishing a mining colony on it.
-- Slave Lords are inhumane for keeping slaves. This is mainly a dress-up, with Merchant Lords really being upset about the rock-bottom labour source Slaves provide the Slave Lords, whereas they need to employ humans.
-- Old Lords are relics of an old time and have no real place in the 'modern' Empire.
-- Technocrat Lords are nothing more than bad businessmen who better belong working for the Merchant Lords rather than being Lords in their own right.
-- Zealot Lords are too concerned with the spiritual rather than the physical, touchable, and acquirable.

Slave Lords think:
-- Marcher Lords are brutish military men who don't matter in politics and shouldn't be allowed to encroach on the fancier and more refined cultures in the Inner Empire.
-- Old Lords are the height of class, culture and refinement, but are also arrogant by nature. This stems, though the Slave Lords don't start knowing this, from the Slave Lords being a source of ridicule for the Old Lords.
-- Merchant Lords are greedy, jealous of the Slave Lords, and their anti-slavery agitation is a threat to humanity as the Reptiles will 'surely' seek revenge if given any measure of freedom.
-- Technocrat Lords are boring bookworms who are best left to tinker with their toys in peace.
-- Zealot Lords are the greatest threat to the 'natural order' of things for humanity. A Slave Lord's dislike for Merchant Lords is surpassed only by their rabid fear and opposition to the Zealot Lords and their followers.

Marcher Lords think:
-- Old Lords are arrogant and pompous.
-- Merchant Lords are greedy and would happily sell you a broken warship to make a quick buck.
-- Slave Lords are a tad oppressive to the Reptiles, but Marchers generally agree that the Reptiles must be kept down and that a harsh system does it well: an image persists of Slave Lords being somewhat sadist in their treatment of Reptiles, which Marchers view as a waste of good resources.
-- Technocrat Lords are vitally important, churning out new military technologies and advancing the Empire's capabilities.
-- Zealot Lords are wild people but, if they can be made allies of, would make for an excellent source of fanatically motivated recruits.

Technocrat Lords think:
-- Old Lords are more concerned with looking fancy and acting the part than they are with advancing the Empire's interests.
-- Merchant Lords are out to steal the advances created by the Technocrats purely to increase their own wealth.
-- Slave Lords are so far removed from the technological world that Technocrats live in that they're best just ignored.
-- Marcher Lords are practical, reasonable people who tend to be grateful for advances the Technocrats provide, but they're fairly thick-skulled and are best treated more like children than adults.
-- Zealot Lords are a simple people, happy with what there is but, perplexingly, not motivated to reach new heights in technology.

Zealot Lords think:
-- Old Lords represent the 'old order' and must be swept aside.
-- Merchant Lords are greedy profiteers but their money would be most useful.
-- Slave Lords are an over-reacting conservative faction who are very dangerous to the new religion.
-- Marcher Lords are an appealing military force and a potential source of converts oweing to their bad relationship with the Old Lords.
-- Technocrat Lords are far too concerned with the corporeal than the spiritual and that their learning and advances must be strictly controlled by religious oversight.

Council Appointments

Ministerial Positions

These are voided at each Imperial Election, leaving the new Emperor to appoint a Government of his choice.

- Emperor. The Emperor is elected by the Grand Assembly by majority vote and has, in theory, unlimited authority. He alone appoints and dismisses Ministers, though traditionally the First Minister is selected from candidates suggested by the Grand Assembly. He may dismiss and appoint any on the Council of Ministers and Grand Assembly, though rarely does as this may anger the Assembly and imperil his rule. He may summon armies and fleets to do his bidding. He is the sole figure that can make something law, though he may be presented with proposals for laws by the Grand Assembly. He may exercise any power that his Ministers have without their consultation, as by Constitution their powers are granted by him to exercise in his name.

- First Minister. The Head of Government and responsible for daily administration of the Empire. Sits as the Chairman of the Grand Assembly and may summon or dismiss it to discuss any issue he deems fit, but cannot himself alter the composition of it. May suspend, for a period of up to 2 years, any Minister or member of the Grand Assembly, for any reason. After the two years, the suspension must be lifted or the Emperor or Grand Assembly must agree to a removal.

- Lord Treasurer. Head of the Treasury, he may raise or abolish taxes as needed for the Empire, and may be as selective as he pleases in applying the tax (eg taxing only certain Systems or people), he may make available funds from the Imperial Treasury for anything he deems fit and controls access to and editing of the State’s financial records, and thus may control what the Emperor sees. (Powers: May use tax money to fund other Ministerial posts, or to fund whatever else he wishes)

- Warden of the Marches. The most senior military figure in the Marches, the holder of this position automatically assumes overall command of any Marcher forces mobilised to engage Insect or other hostile forces marauding the Marches. In theory a Warden title can be made for any region of the Empire, though only the Marches has a permanent Warden post.

- Lord Admiral of the Empire. The holder of this position is in overall command of any Imperial forces about the Emperor’s business. In times of general war or insurrection, all Wardens, and thus all local forces, are subordinated to him in an act known as the War Provision. The last time this happened was during the Reptile War, with an attempt to activate the War Provision during the Great Slave Revolt being vehemently opposed by the Slave Lords, who did not want to be seen as needing outside help to rule their own slaves, and thus it was never activated. (Powers: Ship/Troop hire cost -25%, Imperial Ship/Troop upkeep costs -25% [Both do not apply to personal ships/troops owned by his House, only ships/troops in service to the Emperor])

- Lord Master of the Apparatus. The ‘Apparatus’ is the Empire’s term for the secret service and information gathering services of the Government. The holder of this position controls the Empire’s Spy network and may summon anyone in the Empire for an ‘undocumented discussion’ about any issue he deems appropriate. He may also detain said individuals for up to 2 years without stating a cause, requiring the agreement of the Lord Justicar for longer periods. (Powers: +5 max Spies. Spy hire cost -50%)

- Lord Justicar. Head of the Empire’s judicial system, the holder of this title may issue arrest warrants and may summon any Lord to answer to accusations of treason or wronging another Lord. He may issue any punishment he deems appropriate if the offending Lord is found guilty. By tradition, a Lord convicted of Treason is, at best, sentenced to death and at worst, his entire House is stripped of their status and their lands granted to another House. For wronging another Lord, compensation of some form is usually mandated.

Non-Ministerial Positions

In addition to the above Ministerial posts, other posts exist and may be activated or deactivated as the relevant Minister desires.

- Warden of the Palace. The Head of the Palace Legion, a hand-picked 50,000 strong Legion of soldiers whose sole duty is the security and defence of the sprawling Imperial Palace Complex on Terra. These troops have 20 Attack/Defence stats and never leave Terra. The Imperial Palace Complex is heavily fortified with +4 to defence rolls, and may serve as a fall-back point for defeated defenders if Terra falls, enabling the Palace to continue resistance even if the planet itself is occupied.

- The Emperor may appoint anyone he pleases to any position, real or imagined, that he pleases..

- The Lord Admiral of the Empire is responsible for defences of the Terra System. The Terra Garrison, a force of 6 Infantry Legions, exists on the planet itself while the Terran Fleet, a force of 3 Battleships, 5 Heavy Cruisers, 4 Light Cruiser Squadrons, 4 Destroyer Squadrons and a Transport Squadron exists in orbit, with a Captain-General sometimes appointed to run it, though many Lord Admirals have commanded it directly as their own Flag Squadron. The Captain-General position was last activated during the Reptile War, as the Lord Admiral was needed to command the entire Empire’s forces.

- The Lords Treasurer, Justicar, Master of the Apparatus and Admiral of the Empire may appoint deputies with whatever powers and remit they deem appropriate.

Composition of the Grand Assembly

Grand Assembly Powers

Characters

Traits

Traits are not gained by ageing as we have seen in other RPs. Traits are gained by deeds.

New characters may start with 2 points for every decade they have lived, and may not start with more than +4 in any trait regardless of age. You may start with any traits that you wish at the start but will not gain anymore once the RP has begun unless you earn them.

List of traits:

Admiral, +1 to Naval Battles. Trait awarded for winning a battle where you do not outnumber the enemy by more than 1.1 to 1.

General, +1 to Land Battles. Trait awarded for winning a battle where you do not outnumber the enemy by more than 1.1 to 1.

Mercenary Contractor, -2.5% to Mercenary hire costs. Trait awarded for every 500,000 Crowns spent hiring Standing or Mercenary forces.

Veteran Jump Navigator, -1 to detection rolls for entering a System. Trait awarded for every successful ambush on an enemy fleet or planet.

Guerilla Warfare Expert, -1 to SOS roll (eg makes it less likely for enemy ships to intervene), +2% to loot gain. Trait awarded for each raid that gains more than 30,000 Crowns in loot.

Administrator, +2.5% to System income. Trait awarded for appointment as Lord Treasurer, or if economic power is wielded for significant political result (as decided by the Moderators).

Spymaster, +1 to Spy rolls conducted for this character. Trait awarded if information gained from a Spy roll results in someone else being arrested, suspended from an Imperial Appointment or the Imperial Council, expelled from an Imperial Appointment or the Imperial Council, or executed.

Counterspy, -1 to Spy rolls against that character. Trait awarded if a spy is captured trying to make a roll on you.

Charisma, +1 to rolls when attempting to convince AI characters of something. Trait awarded if an AI character is successfully convinced to vote for your position in the Imperial Council, and for every 3 AI Lords convinced to take your side militarily or politically.

Duellist, +1 to Duel rolls. Trait awarded for every 2 serious duels won or for foiling an assassination attempt. Sparring, showing off or otherwise jovial duels do not count. Moderator discretion.

Assassin, +1 to Assassinton rolls (applies only if the character is doing the deed himself). Trait awarded for every successful kill.

Freeman Pofessions

A Freeman of the Empire is typically regarded to be of a higher social class than many other humans: free from feudal obligation to one of the aristocracy, they are the masters of their own destiny. Freemen make up the overwhelming bulk of small business owners, professionals, independent traders and producers of creative arts.

Players are able to play as a Freeman in one of a few professions.

Piracy

A ‘pirate’ is defined in Imperial Law as ‘any person being in illegal ownership of a spacecraft, or any person using a legally owned spacecraft for illegal endeavour, or any person employed on a spacecraft engaged in illegal endeavour.’

This covers everything from smuggling to highway robbery in a single blanket definition that expedites the judicial system’s decisions: piracy carries the death penalty.

A pirate player will start off in either a Corsair or a Smuggling Ship and have a starting wealth of 10,000 Crowns.

Pirate Ships

Career Paths

Raider Clan

The traditional and most well-known avenue for a pirate to pursue: get a ship with guns, find a ship with less guns and something valuable in it, go take what you think should belong to you.

A pirate can conduct raids on Systems much like legitimate vessels can, and as a Pirate gains a -4 on SOS calls (eg less likely the System’s defenders can intervene). As with real raiding, any loot the pirate takes comes off of the System owner’s yearly BASE income.

If a Pirate is engaged by local system defenders (eg the SOS roll summons ships either before or after the raid), the local Lord may appeal to the Lord Justicar for legal intervention. The Lord Justicar may then elect to declare the pirate as Wanted or not, and set a bounty, which both he and any other character is free to add to, providing they have the money. If a Bounty is set, the Imperial Spacelane Authority will broadcast the pirate’s location every time he is detected entering a System. Anyone, even other Pirates, are then free to attempt to hunt the pirate down and the bounty will be claimable when he is handed to the Lord Justicar. The Pirate is regarded as captured if he loses a space battle.

Only the Lord Justicar may abolish the bounty, and he may decide the pirate’s fate. The proscribed punishment is death, and the Lord Justicar may face questions if he elects to let a known pirate walk away with his head.

Pirate Base

Smuggler

A smuggler is a man who can move illegal goods back and forth on his Smuggler ship, which includes people. As such, wanted persons (such as pirates) might do well to contract a smuggler if they need to reach someone who can pull a few strings if they end up being hunted. Additionally, Smugglers are adept at moving people off of planets who might find the space around that planet suddenly occupied by hostile ships.
If a Smuggler is moving illegal cargo or illegal persons, he must do an intervention roll when he moves it, which is dependent on the distance moved.

Police Intervention Roll: Base chance 5/20, +1 for every System the illegal cargo will be moved through. If the Smuggler is caught he is taken before the Courts, and is usually allowed to walk free if he confesses his employer’s identity.

There are multiple illegal substances a Smuggler can trade, with conditions:

1. The smuggler must have a trade partner, which can include a Pirate Clan or a Lord.

2. The smuggler may only move one illegal good per Smuggler ship.

The goods are:

- Drugs
-- Produced in moveable quantities in Tiamat. In demand in the Core Worlds.
-- Per each successful delivery, the Smuggler gains 10,000 Crowns and the recipient 5,000 Crowns.

- Illegally Mined Metals
-- Rogue companies that mine asteroids in secret to avoid paying tax. Produce in moveable quantities in Patru. In demand in the Technocrat Systems.
-- Per each successful delivery, the Smuggler gains 10,000 Crowns and the recipient gets 5,000 Crowns.

- Counterfeit Electronics
-- Illegal copies of many consumer gadgets created in the Empire. Produced in moveable quantities in Helix. In demand in the Northern Merchant Systems.
-- Per each successful delivery, the Smuggler gains 10,000 Crowns and the recipient gains 5,000 Crowns.

- Untaxed goods
-- Goods for which no legal tax has been paid. Produced in moveable quantities in the Core Worlds. In demand in the Slave Systems.
-- Per each successful delivery, the Smuggler gains 10,000 Crowns and the recipient gets 5,000 Crowns.

- Reptilians
-- Illegal outside the Slave Systems, some people still want small quantities of Reptiles for all manner of things, from unsanctioned medical research to blood sport. Produced in acquirable quantities in Delpha. In demand in the Marcher Systems.
-- Per each successful delivery, the Smuggler gains 10,000 Crowns and the recipient gets 5,000 Crowns.

- Firearms
-- Un-licenced firearms have a variety of uses in organised crime. Produced in moveable quantities in Krak. In demand in the Southern Merchant Systems.
-- Per each successful delivery, the Smuggler gains 10,000 Crowns and the recipient gets 5,000 Crowns.

- Banned texts
-- Texts that have been banned by the Empire for whatever reason. To the Zealots, that means ‘suppressed by the Old Lords’. Produced in Gumpalt. In demand in the Zealot Systems.

Mercenary

A man in charge of a private army, he pays no upkeep for Standing Forces and -50% hire costs. He starts off with a Small Company and works up from that. He starts his career with 30,000 Crowns. The usual limits of 20% Battleships and 50% Capital Ships by points apply.

A Mercenary who wishes to legally operate Battleships must gain permission of the Imperial Council for each Battleship he intends to commission. The Imperial Council is normally against this act, with no existing Free Company permitted to operate such ships, out of fear that large Free Companies that are legally allowed to amass Battleships could challenge the Aristocracy: Battleships are the preserve of the Gentry.

Like all Free Companies, the player can be employed for five years before requiring a one-year stand down. Moderators are encouraged to act against a Mercenary player becoming the exclusive client of a single Lord player: these are professional business contracts, not personal loyalty-driven relationships.

Small Company: Max 500 points total, land and space.
Medium Company: Max 1,000 points total, land and space. Costs 20,000 Crowns.
Large Company: Max 1,500 points total, land and space. Costs 40,000 Crowns.
Huge Company: Max 2,000 points total, land and space. Costs 80,000 Crowns.
Captain-General of the Empire: Max 3,000 points total, land and space. Requires promotion by the Emperor after recommendation by the Imperial Council. Must have a Huge Company before being eligible.

The rank of Captain-General of the Empire was created during the Reptile War in order to encourage the creation of private armies, removing part of the burden of the war effort from the Government and passing it to the private sector. The rank comes with privileges: the holder is regarded as being minor Aristocracy (though without land and much lower in rank than the Landed Houses) and thus able to acquire Battleships as he pleases; in the event of the War Provision being activated, is guaranteed employment by the Lord Admiral of the Empire, though the level of pay demanded is subject to the Imperial Council’s approval and alteration, which the Captain-General may refuse and thus refuse the offered employment; and the rank carries great prestige and honour, as it is one personally conveyed by the Emperor and thus puts the holder in a league above normal mercenaries, potentially securing him fame and leverage in gaining employment.

A Mercenary who turns pirate will do a 50%+d50 for desertion, spread out across all ship types evenly. He will take whatever money and ships he has left and convert to the Pirate Clan career path. His Company will be seized and shut down. If he is over his points limit on ships he may keep the ships he has, but cannot hire new ships until he has points available to do so.

Condotierri

Military Rules

Units

- Attack/Defence are used for battle rolls.
- Speed is the ship's movement in Systems per day (24 hours)
- Capacity is how many Land Units can be carried.
- Transport Size is how much Capacity a Land Unit takes up. For example 1 Transport Squadron with 200 Capacity can carry 4 Infantry Legions of 50 Transport Size.

Land Forces

Land forces are comprised of 'Legions' of 50,000 men for levying purposes. They can be broken down into smaller components if necessary.

- Infantry Legion
-- Forms the backbone of Imperial Forces. 50,000 soldiers equipped with land transport and light weaponry. Easily moved in bulk throughout the Empire, easily trained and easily equipped.
-- Attack: 50 // Defence: 50 // Size: 50,000 men // Transport Size: 50

- Armoured Legion
-- Better trained, better equipped, more dangerous, but comes with a much larger compliment of machinery requiring more money and more transport space. Many of the Empire's best soldies are found in the Armoured Legions.
-- Attack: 75 // Defence: 75 // Size: 50,000 men // Trasnsport Size: 75

- Shock Legion
-- The highly advanced forces of the Technocrat Lords, Shock Legions come equipped with superior equipment at the cost of higher upkeep and taking up more room on transports. Man for man, however, Shock Legions are the most feared in the Empire. (Available only to Technocrats)
-- Attack: 100 // Defence: 100 // Size: 50,000 men //Transport Size: 100

- Slave Legion
-- Available only in Slave Systems, these are Reptilian Slaves pressed into service by force or a promise of better conditions for their families. Poorly equipped but dirt cheap, expendable and easily raised. Lack of care for their morale and wellbeing also makes cramming transports full of them a less space-consuming task.
-- Attack: 20 // Defence: 20 // Size: 50,000 slaves // Transport Size: 20

- Zealot Legion
-- Available only in Zealot Systems, these are fanatical converts who will give their lives for the cause. Much cheaper in upkeep than regular Infantry Legions, as they are willing to accept less pay and poorer conditions 'for the cause'.
-- Attack: 40 // Defence: 40 // Size: 50,000 men // Transport Size: 40

Space Forces

Movement and warfare in space are conducted with space-faring versions of the sailing ships of old. Divided into a number of classes, these vessels each fulfill a differing role in naval warfare.

- Battleship
-- Behemoths of the space lanes, massive ships with heavy armour and huge cannons. The backbone of any serious battle fleet. Capital Ship.
-- Cannot hit targets smaller than a Heavy Cruiser.
-- Attack: 100 // Defence: 100 // Speed: 3

- Battlecruiser
-- A variant of the Heavy Cruiser with less armour but higher attack, built for speed and firepower at the expense of being able to slug it out in a pitched battle. Ideal for beefing up patrols, raiding or fast response. Capital Ship.
-- Attack: 70 // Defence: 30 // Speed: 6

-- Advanced Cruiser
-- The Technocrat take on a traditional Heavy Cruiser, this ship is equipped with superior sensor technology and innovative electronic countermeasure technology, enabling it to engage in battle both offensively and defensively with both physical force and cyber warfare. The result is a ship that is more accurate and harder to gain a target lock on. Capital Ship. (Available only to Technocrats)
-- Attack: 70 // Defence: 70 // Speed: 5

- Heavy Cruiser
-- The 'poor man's battleship', Heavy Cruisers are a downsized Battleship, with thick armour and large guns, designed to absorb any punishment given while dealing out plenty itself. Capital Ship.
-- Attack: 50 // Defence: 50 // Speed: 5

- Light Cruiser Squadron
-- One of two available screens for fleets, the Light Cruiser is a smaller version of a Heavy Cruiser and is equipped with an array of smaller guns to fight other small vessels as well as torpedo tubes to attack larger ships.
-- Attack: 15 // Defence: 25 // Speed: 7

- Destroyer Squadron
-- The Destroyer is the smallest, most lightly armoured ship available to the military, sacrificing armour for extra space to fit larger torpedo tubes. These ships are very dangerous to poorly protected Capital Ships though are equally at risk against other predatory Destroyer or Light Cruiser Squadrons.
-- Attack: 25 // Defence: 15 // Speed: 8

- Transport Squadron
-- Unarmed, large and slow, these ships can move goods or troops in bulk throughout space.
-- Capacity: 200 // Attack: 5 // Defence: 15 // Speed: 5

Levies

AI Levies

Mercenaries and Standing Forces

Standing Forces

Standing Forces are capped at 2,000 points of Warships and 2,000 points of Ground Forces. The same Fleet limitations apply: maximum 20% Battleships by points, maximum 50% Capital Ships by points. Standing forces contribute the same points values as their levied equivalents unless stated otherwise.

Warships

- Battleship. Costing 100,000 Crowns with an upkeep of 20,000 Crowns.
- Battlecruiser. Costing 70,000 Crowns with an upkeep of 14,000 Crowns.
- Advanced Cruiser. Costing 50,000 Crowns with an upkeep of 10,000 Crowns.
- Heavy Cruiser. Costing 50,000 Crowns with an upkeep of 10,000 Crowns.
- Light Cruiser Squadron. Costing 15,000 Crowns with an upkeep of 3,000 Crowns.
- Destroyer Squadron. Costing 10,000 Crowns with an upkeep of 2,000 Crowns.
- Transport Squadron. Costing 10,000 Crowns with an upkeep of 2,000 Crowns.

- Minelayer Squadron
-- Attack: 5 // Defence: 10 // Speed: 5
-- Minelayers are Transport Ships converted to set up and control a Minefield. Are able to lay and maintain one Minefield at a time, which effects an entire system for as long as the Minelayers remain in it. Ships who elect to attempt to cross the Minefield will do a d20*1% for ships destroyed, friend or foe, spread evenly across all ship types (rounding up). Should they decide not to run the field, they may remain in the System but cannot engage any targets and can only jump back to the system they came from.
-- Costing 30,000 Crowns with an upkeep of 6,000 Crowns.

- Minesweeper Squadron
-- Attack: 5 // Defence: 10 // Speed: 8
-- Destroyers converted for anti-mine warfare. Armed with drone bays, very small cannons and sensors designed to detect small objects these vessels are able to position themselves inside minefields and methodically clear paths for their parent fleet to pass through. A Fleet with a Minesweeper Squadron is exempt from Minefield rolls.
-- Cost 15,000 Crowns with an upkeep of 3,000 Crowns.

- Monitors.
-- Attack: 90 // Defence: 30 // Speed: 0
-- Heavy Cruisers whose guns have been stripped of their weapons and had Battleship-size weapons put in their place. To make room and power available some of their armour has been stripped and their jump drives removed, trapping them in the system they have been built in. A formidable, if immobile, defence. Capital Ship.
-- Cost 50,000 Crowns and with an upkeep of 10,000 Crowns.

Ground Forces

Free Companies

The Free Companies exist in Merchant Lord Space and form the easiest and cheapest way for the Merchant Lords to wage war. Ready-packaged taskforces of varying sizes and abilities, they are a product of the unrestricted capitalist culture that exists in those regions of space: someone might want to buy an army, so Free Companies sell them. These Free Companies exist on the open market as providers of security at all levels: from the bored-looking security guard in the shopping centres to the battle-ready soldiers streaming out of transport ships making landfall on hostile planets. Massive corporations with a monopoly on the security market from the bottom up.
Free Companies will contract themselves to an owner for up to five years, at which point they enter a one year stand down where the soldiers (that survived the contract) enjoy their bounty before re-applying to the Company for the next five-year contract.

A Free Company will muster in your home system 3 days after the contract is signed if you are a Merchant Lord. They will muster in 7 days if you are not, and prices are 10% higher.

List of Companies

Titans

A Titan is a massive warship that is meant to serve as the culmination of human ingenuity and technological prowess. Originally designed and produced by House La Nausca approximately 2,000 years ago, Titans were introduced into the world to destroy capital ships. These massive warships are equipped with the most powerful guns ever known to humanity giving them immense killing power. However, the Titans do have a weakness, screen vessels. Though their weapons are powerful, it is very difficult for them to target the smaller silhouette of a screen ship and as a result, Titans are vulnerable to them. After a series of long and bloody wars, Titans were banned by the Imperial Council and can now only be constructed with the permission of the Emperor himself.
- Cannot hit targets smaller than a Heavy Cruiser.
- To compensate for their costs, Titans will only take up half of their attack value in points
- Attack: 500 // Defence: 500 // Speed: 2

In order to construct a Titan, the following requirements must be met.

Construct a Titan Shipyard
- These massive warships are so large that they cannot be built within the confines of the standard shipyard. In order to build one of these behemoths, a specially designed shipyard must be constructed for it.
- The shipyard will cost 150,000 Crowns to build with a build time of two years. Also, the Titan Shipyard will take up 2 of your military building slots.
- For the Old Lords, the shipyard cannot be counted as your one free building at the start

Acquire Permission from the Emperor for the ship to be built
- Construction without his consent can be considered as an act of treason
- Getting the Emperor’s approval may require a coup to overthrow the Emperor and replace him with a more supportive one
- Members of the Imperial Council have the right to demand that construction be halted and can force a council vote to demand the Titan’s destruction and construction be stopped. Refusal to do so will be considered as an act of treason
- It may be necessary to bribe a member or several members of the Imperial Council to garner their support.

Amass the necessary resources to produce the Titan.
- A Titan requires a massive amount of resources to be used in its construction. These resources must be acquired from other players (no NPCs) either through trade agreements or direct purchases.
- The number of resources acquired through trade agreements is limited to how many trade routes that you have.
- Direct purchase of a resource will require a payment of 25,000 per resource.
- If your trade partners discover that you are using their resource to construct a Titan, they have a right to either terminate their trade with you or require you to pay the same 25,000 fee to keep trading for their resource.
- Players must acquire Heavy Arms
- Players must acquire Super Heavy Machinery
- Players must acquire Small Arms
- Players must acquire Slaves
- Players must acquire Precious Metals
- Players must acquire Electronics
- Players must acquire Targetting Sensors

Constructing the Titan
- The actual cost of the Titan is an additional 350,000 crowns on top of whatever else has been spent on acquiring the necessary materials and building the shipyard.
- Construction time will require a minimum of two weeks and it is subject to other RP modifiers (If the Empire is at war and a full mobilization is order, construction will slow due to workers being sent off to fight)
- During the construction period, the Titan and its shipyard will be vulnerable to attack by pirates and raiders as well as the fleets of other lords.
- If the Titan is damaged in a raid, then its construction will be delayed by a week to represent repairs being made
- The Titan Shipyard and the Titan that is currently being built can be destroyed in an attack. The destruction of either will force the player to restart the entire process.
- To prevent its destruction, players must protect the Titan Shipyard with their military forces and if necessary, obtain allies via RP to help with the protection.

Notes:
- All funds for the Titan must come from one player and one player only. The only exception to this is if the player manages to Rp with the Emperor/Imperial Council to obtain additional funding.
- This will be the only source of outside support.
- Creating a Titan will not be an easy process and players who wish to attempt to create one must accept that they are making a long term commitment to something that may take two or three months in real life if not more to come to fruition. If you cannot put in the required devotion for this project.
- This entire process was designed specifically as a challenging RP path that could spark other RP in this game.
- The minimum cost of the weapon is 575,000 crowns but this is assuming that you have one of the trade resources as your own and four trade lanes. Having only two trade lanes and not having your own resource being one of the six will increase the minimum cost to 650,000. Remember, this price does not include money needed for bribes or protection.

Battles

Land

In order to conduct an assault battle players must post the following information: Total troops attacking (in real numbers, for example if 10 Armoured Legions are landing, state 500,000 Armoured Troops), and total Attack/Defence values. The defender must post the same for defending troops.

Attack/Defence values must apply to the numbers you provide: if half a Legion is landing, post half of the full Legion Attack/Defence score. It is not the job of the Moderators to work out fractions.

When attacking forces land on a planet, they attempt to seize important military and civil administration centres to take control of planetary functions. When battle commences, do the following rolls:

[Side 1 Attack]*d20
[Side 1 Defence]*d20
[Side 2 Attack]*d20
[Side 2 Defence]*d20

If the attacker's warships are engaging in planetary bombardment, a +1 to the Attacker roll is granted for every Battleship in orbit up to a maximum of +5, and any Battleships that engage in bombardment are locked in the planet's orbit for the duration of the battle.

[Side 1 Attack Score]/[Side 2 Defence Score] = Side 2 losses in %.
[Side 2 Attack Score]/[Side 1 Defence Score] = Side 1 losses in %.

The side with greater losses is the loser. If the planet's defenders win, the attacking forces retreat to their transport ships and return to orbit. If the attacking side wins, the defending forces are dismantled and sent away as POWs, their equipment used for the attacker's benefit or destroyed.

A planetary battle rages for 3 RL days from the time the troops are ordered into the assault. If reinforcements arrive during this time, the battle will be re-rolled with these new troops and a further 3 days' battle will rage. This encourages attackers to secure dominance of space and keep their fleets to control the system during the planetary assault.

Space

In order to conduct a space battle players must post the following information: Total ships in the fleet, total Capital Ship attack/defence, total Screen attack/defence.

When two fleets engage each other, they split into Left, Centre and Right Squadrons and engage their opposite foe (eg Side A's Left fights Side B's Right) . For each section, do the following rolls:

[Side 1 Attack]*d10 (d ten)
[Side 1 Defence]*d20 (d twenty)
[Side 2 Attack]*d10 (d ten)
[Side 2 Defence]*d20 (d twenty)

If a fleet does not have at least 1 Screen per Capital Ship, subtract 20% off their defence score as their own Screens cannot adequately protect all their Capital Ships.

[Side 1 Attack Score]/[Side 2 Defence Score] = Side 2 losses in %.
[Side 2 Attack Score]/[Side 1 Defence Score] = Side 1 losses in %.

Losses are capped at 50% lost. The side that has lost less (in Capital Ship % terms) is the victor, and the losing fleet will attempt to withdraw. The victor undertakes a capture roll:

d[Number of Loser Ships Lost]*0.25 (eg, if the losing side lost 100 ships, roll d100*0.25)

This enables up to 25% of the enemy ships 'killed' to be captured. Split up up evenly among types (eg if the enemy fleet had 100 ships, 10 Battleships, 30 Heavy Cruisers and 60 Destroyer Squadrons and 10 enemy ships were captured, it would be 1 Battleship, 3 Heavy Cruisers and 6 Destroyer Squadrons).

In addition, every enemy character undertakes a capture roll, 5/20 chance of being taken prisoner.

Raiding

Occupied Territory

Spying

Capturing Characters

Assassinations

An assassination is rolled for when one character makes an attempt on another character’s life. For all assassinations, a justified, in-game motive must be provided. Attacking with a gun or knife requires no prior preparation, attacking with poison requires that it be purchased on the black market, and sending a hired assassin requires that one be contracted from the black market.

The base chance depends on the circumstances:

- In the Assassin’s home, or an area so controlled by the attacking party that they can be regarded as the owners, the base chance is 16/20.

- In a secluded area that is not regarded as the above, it is 12/20.

- In an uncontrolled public space with onlookers, it is 8/20.

- In a controlled public space (regarded as somewhere that would feasibly have guards that could intervene, like the Imperial Council chambers, on a Warship, in an agreed meeting place where both parties have entourages, etc as per Moderator discretion), it is 6/20.

- In the would-be victim’s home, or a place so controlled by them that it can be regarded as being owned by them, it is 4/20.

The chance may be increased via purchases made for the benefit of the Assassin, or by the presence of conspirators (+1 per conspirator)

The chance may be decreased via purchases made for the benefit of the would-be victim, or by the presence of allies who would reasonably intervene (-1 per ally). If the victim or ally has a Duel skill, half that skill (rounding DOWN) will be applied as a negative modifier to the Assassination success chance. This illustrates the increased difficulty of killing a man who is experienced in defending himself, or who is with friends who are experienced in defending themselves.

The chance may be further modified at Moderation’s discretion.

If the Assassin fails, 10/20 chance of capture, modified by any modifiers present above. If Captured he may be interrogated, with the Counterspy trait of the interrogating character providing a +modifier. 5/20 chance he reveals the House he was hired by (Assassins always know, they have their contacts...), 5/20 he reveals only the faction (eg, ‘It was some Slaver! That’s all I know!”), 5/20 he reveals nothing, 5/20 he dies under interrogation.

Scouting/Detection Rolls

Duels

Trade and Economy

Buildings

Planets will have 10 slots in which they can construct buildings. These are divided 50/50 into Civil and Military slots. A building may be built no more than twice unless otherwise stated.
Though called ‘buildings’, these slots represent a mix of infrastructure and legal policy in the System. Buildings take 4 days to build and take effect on the first new year that arrives after their construction finishes (eg, anything built friday-sunday will be ready for the next friday)

Military

Expanded Levy Requirements - +250 Land Levy Points. 30,000 Crowns.

Dedicated Military Shipyards - +250 Fleet Levy Points. 30,000 Crowns.

Mercenary Legislation. -10% Standing and Mercenary hire cost. -5% upkeep cost. 40,000 Crowns.

Orbital Defence Platforms - +2 to space battle rolls in this system. 15,000 Crowns.

Planetary Defence Infrastructure - +2 to land battle rolls in this system. 15,000 Crowns.

Military Sensor Array - Allows for detection rolls that are made when a fleet enters your own system to also be made in neighbouring systems. 30,000 Crowns.

Civil Defence Force - Fund a local territorial defence corps, which will produce 1 Heavy Cruiser and 3 Destroyer Squadrons for battle if this system is invaded or raided, and muster 2 Infantry Legions if the planet is assaulted. These forces will stand down when there are no enemies in the System. 15,000 Crowns.

Civil

Trade Hub. Enables Trade Lanes. Both parties involved in the Trade must have this. 30,000 Crowns.

Industrial and Business Zones. +20,000 Crowns/year. 40,000 Crowns.

Expanded Freeman Caste. -250 Land Levy Points, +30,000 Crowns/year. Resricted by your available Land Levy: you may not go into negative points. 40,000 Crowns.

Established Supreme Court. +5 to persuasion rolls for AI of your own faction. Only one Supreme Court may exist per faction. 40,000 Crowns.

Undermined Judicial Independence. Enables the System owner to prevent the Imperial Spacelane Auhthority from broadcasting about pirates within his System, though the System owner still learns about them if they're detected. 15,000 Crowns.

Surveillance State. -3 to Spy Rolls conducted in this System by anyone except owners. 10/20 chance that any information a spy gains in this System also being gained by System owner. 15,000 Crowns.

Items

Trade Goods

Trade Income

Regional Bonuses

‘The Marches’ – Marcher Lord territory is under a constant state of military administration and readiness, with fleets and armies always on increased readiness when compared to other, safer systems. Marcher Lords are able to mobilise their forces in 6 hours rather than 12.

‘Core Worlds’ – Old Lord Systems are all densely populated, with mature economies and well-developed infrastructure. Old Lords may elect to have one free building in their System from the start.

‘The Hook’ – The Systems of the Hook (Helliconia, Tiamat, Batalix, Eden, Eta) are situated within a stellar cloud that greatly distorts sensor technology. The natives have reached an understanding of it. +2 to attack rolls for fleets in this System friendly to the System owners. +6 Zealot Legions for the System owners.

‘The Pilgrimage’ – The orignal Zealot Systems (Porteno, Thrax, Gelfing) are the most densely populated in the region. +10 Zealot Legions for the System owners.

‘The Southern Passage’ – The southern Merchant Lords and the Technocrat Lords sit directly along the most active trade lane in the Empire, providing them with +1 Trade Lanes.

‘The Calmar Loop’ – An economically vital part of the Empire, exporting both to the Core Worlds and Slave Systems, the Northern Merchant Lords have a wealthy, export-based industrial economy. +40,000 starting Crowns to characters from Northern Merchant Lord Houses.

‘Homeworlds’ – The old heart of the Reptile Empire, dubbed the ‘homeworlds’ by that species, were the first to fall and also the most populous, which today translates into larger slave populations. The Systems are Dorsum, Delpha, Dabot, Vici, Altam, Meta, Acamar and Cyngi. +10 Slave Legions for the System owners.

‘Farworlds’ – The outer reaches of the old Reptile Empire, dubbed the ‘farworlds’ by that species, rise in a slope above the galactic plane away from the homeworlds in a sparsely populated section of the galaxy. As a result of the openness, ships entering the system struggle to do so without being easily spotted. The Systems are Zerman, Yensu, Lylat, Colic, Ailoth, Crim, Melfych, Kappa, Descent, Luyten, Gertha and Jalta. +4 to detection rolls for the System owners. +6 Slave Legions for the System owners.

‘Roofworlds’ – The three systems furthest above the galactic plane in the Empire (Luyten, Gertha and Jalta) are very cold, but still inhabitable, systems. The majority of the populace live below ground in cities and communes below the vast ice sheets, making the planet surface especially inhospitable for unwelcome guests. +3 to defence rolls for the planet defenders. +3 Slave Legions for the System owners.

‘Infested’ – Any ships entering Elvan will be attacked by Insects. Any ships entering Marten have a 5/20 chance of being attacked by Insects.

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