FG: Galactic Overlord 8, Part 1

[:) Smiley]

Galactic Overlord
A New Forum Game from
Jamski Productions

Overview

Galactic Overlord is a game of space strategy and warfare for any number of players. It is turn based and builds on the success of the well-known Paper-Stone-Scissors^tm system. Each player is the ruler of a faction determined to bring the whole galaxy under their domination using every means at their disposal until they are the sole survivor and the almighty Galactic Overlord!

Setting up the Game

Each player starts the game with three Bases. A Base is a planet, hollowed out asteroid, huge space station or any other large structure capable of supporting life and industry. Each player also starts the game with 2 Counter-espionage options. Each of these options is capable of immunising the player that uses it against any enemy spy action for one turn. Each player also starts the game with 32 Build Points, or BPs. As long as the player has at least one base still in operation he receives an additional 5 BPs each turn per home base, and 2 BPs each turn per captured base. The player's BPs can be used to build Ships or more Bases according to the following table:

Turn zero
You may give any orders except Attack! during turn zero, the prebuild turn. In essence, you can build ships or bases, as well as either a shield or a spy.


Spending BPs

Self-built bases 1 through 6 cost 16BP each.
Self-built bases 7 through 12 cost 24BP each.
Self-built bases 13 through 18 cost 32BP each and so on.

Frigate......1 BP     
Cruiser......2 BPs
Battleship...3 BPs
Dreadnaught..4 BPs
Titan........5 BPs

The more expensive the Ship, the more Bases are required to build one:

Frigate......1 home Base     
Cruiser......2 home Bases
Battleship...3 home Bases
Dreadnaught..4 home Bases
Titan........5 home Bases

***NOTE - Only self-built bases count towards maximum hull sizes***

Each Ship built can be armed as you wish with Lasers, Fighters or Torpedoes with each weapon taking up one unit of space from the Ship's total. A ship may only carry one kind of weapon.

Frigate......1 unit of space/3 hit point     
Cruiser......2 units of space/6 hit points
Battleship...3 units of space/9 hit points
Dreadnaught..4 units of space/12 hit points
Titan........5 units of space/15 hit points

EXAMPLE : A Battleship might have 3xLasers (Laserbattleship), a Cruiser 2xTorpedoes(Torpedocruiser) and a Frigate 1xFighters (Carrierfrigate).

BP's may be stockpiled for use later during the game.

Playing the Game - Orders

This part of the game is similar to Nuclear War^tm. Each player sends his orders to the GM who processes them all together once they are received.

Normal Orders (you may make all three of these orders in conjunction with the orders in the next section)

• Build Ships/Bases : You may spend your BPs or stockpile them for later. Ships built that turn may be used for attack and defence, Bases built may be destroyed that turn. Damaged Ships may be fully repaired for a cost of 1 BP (Now you see why big ships are good)
  ***NOTE - You need to already have bases built for them to count for hull size allowance.***
• Use Counter-espionage : You may use one Counter-espionage order per turn, to a total of two, to protect your orders from enemy spies’ interference. Once used up, this option cannot be rebuilt.
• Use Spies : If you have a Spy you may stop one of your opponents orders that turn being executed. The Spy is lost. Spy affects Attack!, Rebuild Generator and Train Spy. You cannot build a spy and use a spy in the same turn.

Special Orders (you can choose only one of these per turn)

• Attack! : This starts a fight between your fleet and that of an opponent. You must choose which ships to send, and which to leave at home in case you yourself are attacked that turn. See Combat for more.
• Raise Shields! : This protects your Bases and Ships from all attacks that turn, and also stops any spies. Any opposing fleet that attacks you will take hits equal to 10% of total tonnage (distributed as per combat damage) while you remain snug and secure. The generator is exhausted by this use and must be rebuilt.
• Build Generator : Rebuilds a shield generator. Up to three shields can be stockpiled for later use.
• Train Spy : Trains and inserts a new Spy for your cause. Up to three spies can be stockpiled for later use. You cannot train a spy and use a spy in the same turn.

Alliances

You may want to organise joint attacks on an opponent with an ally. In this case you must agree on an Order of Battle between the allies. If two different opponents attack at the same time without informing the GM of their alliance, then the defender must fight them consecutively, fighting first against the one who posted their orders last.

It is possible that when a player is attacked by two non-allied fleets at the same time that he loses both battles. In this case both attackers gain a base. Allied fleets that attack together must decide who is to get the captured base.

The GM applies hits to allied fleets in the same way as to a normal fleet. This means that if one ally has smaller ships than his partner, he will take the bulk of the casualties. War is hell.

If not otherwise specified, multiple bases captured by an alliance will be divided up evenly between the fleets that actually arrived. Odd bases will be assigned to the members of an alliance that sent their orders first. Players may choose to redistribute them afterwards if they wish.

Transferring Ships & Bases:

In some situations, players may wish to transfer ships or bases among themselves. Trading ships in not allowed. Trading bases is allowed.

Clarification: The base is transferred at the end of the turn. So, if you were gonna give away some bases, but you lost the battle, your bases get captured by your attacker, not your ally.

Shields:

It is possible for a player to send out a fleet and have it run into a shield or lose the battle, while his home bases are simultaneously captured. In this situation, the fleet remains independent, but will lose all stockpiled shields, spies, and BPs, and will lose 10% (rounded down) of it’s original numbers every turn due to lack of supply. Thus, such a fleet would be advised to capture or negotiate for a base ASAP.

Clarification: Attrition begins place at the end of the turn the battle took place.

The GM

The GM will report each turn on the activities of each player. He will keep their orders secret, but will reveal their bases, the size and breakdown of their navy and their current BPs.

Winning the Game

You win the game by destroying all the bases and fleets of your opponents to become the Galactic Overlord^tm!!!

Note: Co-operative victories are not permitted.

Playing the Game - Combat
Combat Version 1.3

Combat is a simple, and yet complex, Paper-Stone-Scissors^tm system :

Lasers    - beat - Fighters
Fighters  - beat - Torpedoes
Torpedoes - beat - Lasers

If your weapon beats the other fleet's weapon, your raw attack strength against them is doubled, cumulative with all other modifiers.

Every player must also specify an "Order of Battle" every turn, whether attacking, or expecting to be attacked. Failure to do so results in a random OOB. This is simple to do though. The OOB is divided into two groups of three weapons each. You must have 2 of each type in any order.

EXAMPLE 1: Lasers-Fighters-Torpedoes-Laser-Torpedoes-Fighters (LFTLTF)
EXAMPLE 2: Lasers-Torpedoes-Laser-Torpedoes-Fighters-Fighters (LTLTFF)

These can be further refined by different tactics.
Tactics 1 - Range:
You may instruct your captains to try to engage at different ranges.

• Close In - Lasers from both fleets count an extra x2. If both fleets Close In then this stacks to a x4. This negates Back Off.
• Back Off - Lasers from both fleets count an extra x0.5 penalty. This is negated by Close In. If both players Back Off this stacks to x0.25.

Default is no special orders.

Tactics 2 - Formation:
You may instruct your captains to engage using different formations.

• Bunch Together - Your ships huddle together to protect each other from Fighters, but are more vulnerable to the large explosions of Torpedoes. Attacks with Fighters against Bunched Together fleets are at x0.5, while Torpedoes get x2.
• Spread Out - Your ships spread out, making the fleet hard to target with Torpedoes, while leaving individual ships vulnerable to Fighters. Attacks with Fighters against Spread Out fleets are at x2, while Torpedoes get x0.5

Default is no special orders. These orders can be used even when sending out a single ship.

Tactics 3 – Miscellaneous:
[*]The attacking player may decide to attack to the death. In that case, proceed as normal, but repeat the combat until one side or the other is completely destroyed.[*]You may set different OOBs for different enemies, if you wish, but always send a default OOB in, to cover any situation not specially mentioned.

Example of full OOBs:

Attack: TFFLLT back off, bunch
Defence: LFTFTL close in, default

New for Combat v 1.4
Maneuver (M)- your ships do not fire and take normal damage. On the next round their firepower is doubled. You can only maneuver once, and it may not be in the 3rd or 6th slot of your OoB.
Disengage (D)- Defensive only. You withdraw your fleet in the middle of battle. No damage is taken in the round your fleet withdraws (though damage from previous rounds will still be dealt) and your opponent takes your bases. Note that your opponent must still have ships alive at the end of the 3-round cycle to occupy bases.

• Add hitpoints for fleets involved in the battle (3xBP cost of fleets)
• Add total Fighters/Lasers/Torps in each fleet.
• Sort fleets according to their empire's Order of Battle. Fleets with no OoB are destroyed.
• Adjust raw fighter/laser/torp numbers.
• The fleet with the "winning" tactic in a given round has their raw total attack strength doubled.
• Spreading or bunching your fleet affect the opposition's raw total attack strength. Double or halve this accordingly.
• The higher adjusted total wins. Apply Hits equal to the difference between the totals.
• Every three rounds, tally up the hits taken by both sides, and apply them as losses, then continue on to the next three rounds, if applicable.
• Remove destroyed ships according to the following rule. All ships of one type first, before moving to the next type, in the same order as the order of battle. Start removing frigates first, titans last. Damaged ships don’t break formation.
• Combat continues until one fleet receives more hits than it has hitpoints, or 6 rounds of combat have taken place unless the attack ordered a fight to the death, in which case combat ends with the destruction of one fleet.
• A destroyed fleet loses.
• If both fleets survive, the fleet that takes the most Hits is the loser.
• If the attacker won, he captures one base.
• If the attacker destroyed the entire enemy fleet, he captures all his opponents bases.
  
  Additional rules concerning damaged ships
  Ships that have taken 1 hit of damage are repaired for free at the end of battle.
  Ships with more than 1 hit of damaged are automatically repaired for 1 BP, deducted from next turn's income.
  A player with no home bases and exactly 15 BPs as a result of such a repair may build a base using deficit spending.

[:) Smiley]

Player List for Galactic Overlord 8
Skanky Burns
Vlad Antlerkov
Kassiopeia
Atragon
paramir

DrSpike
Jonny
GeoModder
snoopy369
Ljube-ljcvetko

Lord Nuclear
Spaced Cowboy
joncha
Hercules
Sandman

Jamski
Jaguar
[Exodus] Pheoni
Paddy the Scot
Moron

Kuciwalker

[:) Smiley]

After years of decline, the gears of the galaxy finally ground to a halt. All it took was a monkey wrench to send the whole thingamajig flying apart.

Something to think about...
Rome did not burn in a day.

That wrench was General Vetko. A tactician of distinction, his ambition rivalled, no, they exceeded his abilities. Marshalling a crack force of loyal troops, he ambushed the Emperor's space yacht over the resort planet of Jamskisol IV, dealing him and much of the entire Imperial household a quick but most painful death by lazor.

The response came fast as the galaxy entered a state of emergency. Security levels rose rapidly from yellow to red. The rogue general's fleet was defeated and pushed into retreat. However, the battles only gave rise to greater ambitions.

Meanwhile, Basileus Naviwinat found himself on the throne. Paranoid of another power grab, his first order was to dissolve the Senate. For a position that had been gradually moving towards a symbolic one in the last few reigns, this move came as a shock to the big-egoed movers and shakers of the universe.

[:) Smiley]

Select Character
(No special advantages as of yet... but if everyone really wants them, who knows)
First come, first serve. Let's also get three base names from everyone.

00. Skynich Member of the last graduating class of the Imperial Space Academy, Skynich pioneered the Skynich Strike, a daring tactic that allowed a single astronaut armed with a sharp pole to knock out hulking battleships. While the chance of success was exceedingly low, the mere possibility cemented by a lucky success led other commanders to fear this rookie's talents. 01. Dr. Point Called a mad scientist or evil genius by the mass media, Dr. Point nontheless firmly believes that he is doing right in his bid for real ultimate power. Back in the days of Imperial control, authorities exiled him to an outpost near a black hole, figuring he'd get himself sucked in by another of his risky experiments. Instead, he made a breakthrough discover in high energy physics and tapped a new power source on which to build an army. 02. Polly Siffan Visionary administrator of the Imperial Bureau of Knowledge, Siffan founded thesprawling bureau out of three seperate agencies to create an Imperium within the Imperium. Nowadays, with no central oversight, the projects have gotten bolder, while new methods have been devised to acquire funding. 03. Crystal Gonhu While generals and senators bicker for power in the limelight, Minister Gonhu keeps the government operating. As the chaos grew, though, the imperial bureaucracy has broken down over much of the galaxy. Gonhu has since consolidated power in Sector 33, home to hundreds of millions of former Imperial Social Services Administration employees. 04. Basileus Naviwinat The last of the Emperors, Naviwinat's reign was brief and marked by rampant paranoia. Fearing a plot against him, Naviwinat dissolved the Senate. The ensuing chaos consumed the Galaxy. Fleeing the Capital, Naviwinat established a new base of power at his winter palace. 05. Zol Ventis Though political order has fallen in the Galaxy, other institutions survive, among them the series of Ventis Societies founded by Zol Ventis. These organizations continue to promote orderly development in sectors where membership is strong. 06. Robot 1000 Growing up on Barpoint, at the northernmost end of the galaxy, a young man sought to escape a life of banality by building a mech. Only able to afford half the parts he needed, he finished the project by selling half his organs and integrating himself into his creation, Robot 1000. Now empowered by his cyborg body, Robot 1000 seeks to live large and conquer. 07. Captain Imperium His original name difficult to pronounce, the celebrated explorer and fighter pilot has long gone by the moniker of Captain Imperium, Defender of Everything. He claims to have singlehandedly discovered and charted dozens of exotic star systems, met their interesting inhabitants, and then killed them in preparation for human colonization. 08. General Ordin After serving with distinction on the Imperial Frontier, General Ordin was reassigned to Homeworld Security, putting him in a prime position to secure himself a slice of the galaxy when the breakup began. An expert in propaganda, Ordin also has the might and the know-how to back up his words with laser weapons. 09. Mr. Y Known only by his initial, the reclusive starship tycoon Mr. Y has only recently raised eyebrows as businesses suspected to be fronts for his corporate empire have bought up critical infrastructure and bought off local officials in certain strategic parts of the galaxy. As always, his true intentions are secret. 10. Danz Founder of the Danz Group, Danz expanded into the military market to protect his investments and keep the trade routes open. Shares in the Danz Empire, Inc. have skyrocketed following the conglomerate's acquisition of two additional planets last quarter. 11. Min Grah Tough as titanium, Min's career in law enforcement spans years of experience in Precinct 147, the roughest sector of the Galaxy. Under his brutal but benevolent leadership, some semblance of order has remained while other sectors have sunk into complete anarchy. With the motto "Justice is best served cold", those crossing Min's path often find themselves on a slow ship to the edge of space. 12. Ivan von Kristof A professional criminal, von Kristof started out with rocketjacking in the Central Core and gradually moved his way up into laser running before settling on warlording. Although Imperial authorities eventually caught up with him on charges of failing to pay Social Security taxes, his top notch legal team spared him execution until the collapse of the Imperium led to his jailbreak. Back in command of his mafia, von Kristof now seeks command of all of underspace. 13. Kit Chuss Commies in space! Longtime enemy of the Imperium, Comrade Chuss's insurgency has been a perennial thorn in the Imperial side. Now with central power fading, though, the Galactic Communist Party (GECCP) has moved from guerilla warfare to establishing bases of power. Advocating a radical form of Tassadarist thought, Kit's plan calls for major red shift across the galaxy. 14. Ken Banobi Rising to power as a leader of the anti-genetic engineering movement, Reverend Banobi worked as a peaceful activist around the galaxy for many years prior to the Fall. Seeing the spreading disorder as a sign of the Third Coming, Ken has rallied his congregation into a brigade of holy warriors with a mission to create Heaven in the heavens. 15. Lord Vetko A brilliant tactician and supreme strategist, Lord Vetko would undoubtedly gone down in history as one of the Imperium's greatest military leaders, that is until he attempted to seize the throne in a daring coup. While he succeeded in assassinating the Emperor, he was overwhelmed by greater numbers in the ensuing power struggle, and was forced to retreat to the back end of the galaxy. Until now. 16. Colony I In the early days of the Imperium, the expense of moving people across the stars led to the automation of many mining and energy gathering colonies. Each of these massive systems were controlled by supercomputers of the Colony series. Colony I was written off after it ceased functioning during a solar flare. However, it appears that some of the circuits survived, and left unmonitored for centuries, developed an artificial sentience. 17. Senator Danq Long before chronic infighting led to full collapse, Senator Danq had been pushing for reform in the unweildy Imperial Government. Assuming de facto command of the Capital and a few remaining planets still obeying the central government, Danq faces a long uphill battle to rebuild galactic order. 18. Agath Agathari From the Collected Wisdom of Master Agath Agath: "To fight over space is to fight over a whole lot of nothing." After years of comtemplating how to ethically solve the problems of the universe, the Master has been forced from abstract philosophizing to implementation when his monastery was invaded by bandits. 19. Ciann Pollus In earlier days, Senator Pollus guided the Imperium through a period of peace and prosperity. Keeping the peace was stressful, however, and Ciann retired to his orbital resort in a distant part of the galaxy. Leadership was in his blood, though, and before long he found himself back in local politics, and had risen to Sector Governor by the time of the breakup of the Imperium. 20. Pylkka The culmination of year of research into genetics, Pylkka escaped from the lab within days of his birth. Believed to have superhuman abilities, Pylkka has since wandered the galaxy in search for adventure. His full powers are unknown, and the experiment has no been repeated. 21. Cosmos Stardust Long opposed to the "evil Galactic military-industrial-imperial complex", Cosmos has been known to blame human activity for the "galactic warming" phenomenon. In the days after the Fall, Cosmos's low-tech, anti-galaxization ideology has gained popularity as trade has broken down. It is not known how well her theories of "sustainable imperialism" will hold up in practice.

[Jonny]

Hmmm... so many choices.
/me picks a random number

Mr. Y!
And staying in character for base names: Money, Wealth, Green

[snoopy369]

Hmm...

After the breakup of the empire, I, Polly Siffan emerged as a quiet, behind-the-scenes leader of a small galactic empire. I earned the trust of many around me, and began to develop my military staff into an elite fighting force, while relying on my ability to make friends with others to stay alive.

My burgeoning empire begins with the bases HQ1, HQ2, and Platform 3.

[Kuciwalker]

I signed up too, but my name's not on the list...

[:) Smiley]

I copied off of Skanky's list, sorry aout that, you're added now.

[paramir]

06. Robot 1000 for me
RAM, Hard drive, CD

[joncha]

I call the commie!

[Tassadar500]

15. Lord Vetko


Death Star, Mount Doom, Leviathan

[joncha]

Oh... base names:

Jonchastan, Eventis Prime, Teh Lenin World

[Jaguar]

Originally posted by Smiley

14. Ken Banobi
Rising to power as a leader of the anti-genetic engineering movement, Reverend Banobi worked as a peaceful activist around the galaxy for many years prior to the Fall. Seeing the spreading disorder as a sign of the Third Coming, Ken has rallied his congregation into a brigade of holy warriors with a mission to create Heaven in the heavens.

I call this one.

[Jaguar]

Base names:

The LORD, Mariah, JEBUS

[GeoModder]

You may address me as Min Grah, and order will be restored again in the Galaxy whatever the price!

From the homesystems Arcadia and Eden comes the manpower, from the production facilities around Erehwon the finest ships this Galaxy will see.

[Sandman]

I call number 19, Ciannus Pollus.

Basenames: Elvis, Aaron, Presley.

[Skanky Burns]

You may call me Zol Ventis. I promote an orderly, more civilized universe where everyone can live in prosperity. Any and all donations will be gladly accepted by my Ventis Societies, now with major holdings on the planets Zol, Economicus and Portfolius.

(OOC: Why are we having base-names this round? Are people thinking of NW? )

[Jaguar]

I did it because everyone else did.

[joncha]

Weren't there base names in GO1?

[Skanky Burns]

Even if, there haven't been since. Not that I'm complaining about their inclusion, mind.

[Hercules]

Captain Imperium

Base names


Roamin' Spitfire
Aztec

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
(OOC: Why are we having base-names this round? Are people thinking of NW? )

Originally posted by Smiley
Select Character
(No special advantages as of yet... but if everyone really wants them, who knows)
First come, first serve. Let's also get three base names from everyone.

Because Smiley told us to.

[Skanky Burns]

Ahh, yes. Thats what I get for skipping lines every now and then.

[Kuciwalker]

Skynich!

Spearman, Pokes, Tank

[Jamski]

04. Basileus Naviwinat
The last of the Emperors, Naviwinat's reign was brief and marked by rampant paranoia. Fearing a plot against him, Naviwinat dissolved the Senate. The ensuing chaos consumed the Galaxy. Fleeing the Capital, Naviwinat established a new base of power at his winter palace.

That'll do me It was my idea to dissolve the senate, and I am rampantly paranoid. Also I am the only rightful emperor and Galactic Overlord, and it would serve the ex-senators well to remember their place in this galaxy. I plan to remind them with ships of awesome power and so on...

Bases : New Constantinople, Nicea, Salonika.

By the way, the piccies are awesome, and are definitly in the "Galactic Republic Style" as I imagine it.

-Jam

[Kassiopeia]

Edit: I felt too dirty taking DrSpike's GO version, so instead I'm taking General Ordin.

Bases: Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Pegasus

[Spaced Cowboy]

[begin robot voice]We are Colony 1. You will all die now. Thank you for your cooperation.[/end]

Colony Prime, Mine446, LaZorbattery2469

[Atragon]

Dr. Point.

Bases: SS argus, Horizon Shipyards, Point of No Return station.

[Vlad Antlerkov]

Director Ivan von Kristof of the Galaxial Syndicate checking in.

Bases: Mentar, Kholdan, Meklon

[:) Smiley]

16/21.

Still waiting for:
Dr Spike
Ljube
[Exodus] Pheoni
Paddy the Scot
Moron

Open slots remaining: 6 (in other words we can take one more player)
03. Crystal Gonhu
10. Danz
17. Senator Danq
18. Agath Agathari
20. Pylkka
21. Cosmos Stardust