Picking Sides - Please pick a Colony and stick to that side for the rest of the game. Battle reports and design/revision results are posted to their respective threads. Please do not spy on the others' threads; just look at and post to the OOC and your Colony's thread.
Designs & Revisions - The first two phases are the Design and Revision phases, where each Colony introduces one new design and revision respectively. A Design typically introduces new weapons, armor, vehicles, technology. Designs are the number one source of innovation and new technologies. Revisions are improvements to existing designs, and typically address one aspect (such as reliability, range, ammunition, etc.) of that existing design, but can address more at a higher risk. Dice (d6) are rolled once a design is decided on, and modifiers are decided upon for the rolls based on problems or benefits related to the design process that may be experienced due to prior knowledge and similar topics.
Designs get 3 dice rolled: Effectiveness, Expense (a D5 by default), and Bugs. Revisions just get one d6.
Units - Whereas most Arms Race games abstract the actual strategy portions a fair amount, Interplanetary Arms Race introduces Units. Units are an abstracted number of troops and the accompanying support and logistics. For general estimates, a Unit can be around ~1,000 combatants total, but the amount varies a lot and again, is very abstracted. Units are sent by the players to different planets and can be lost, but regenerate at a rate of 1 per turn. Each Colony starts with a max of 5 Units. Units can either be stationed at planets for general defense, or can attack another planet.
Units must be equipped with Designs by the players of a Colony in order to make use of that design.
Non-transport spaceships are treated as units, but are independent.
Expenses - Expenses are again, different from other Arms Race games. A design's expense dictates how common that Design is in the field and generally how easy it is to produce and supply. A design's expense is represented in a number, with a higher number being better. That number represents the amount of Units that be equipped with the design. A Design with an expense of "3x" means only 3 units can equip it and only 3 "units" of that design can be active in the field.
How often a design is used by an equipping unit is determined by GM fiat. Tanks equipped doesn't mean every troop is in a tank, but rather that they have a regular-sized attachment of tanks in that Unit.
Cargo & Logistics & Resources - Interplanetary travel isn't easy. Transport methods must be utilized to transport Units, resources, and designs. The weight and cargo space something taken is represented by their CU level. Every design has a CU level. A Unit has a CU level of 2, and 1 Resource has a CU level of 3.
Resources are present on the planets, and when that planet is under full control, a transport craft can be assigned to ferry that resource. But the effectiveness depends on the CU of that craft - for example, 2 resources on a planet require 6 CU total in order to gain control of those resources. Transport craft assigned to resources are considered a part of their expense limit.
Units and Designs must be brought to planets by transports. Transports are not equipped to a unit, but are rather assigned to bring some quantity of things (such as 1 Unit and 1 Design) to a new planet. You may have that new 1x Death Ray, but if it weighs 6 CU, that means you need a 6 CU transport ferry it to a planet for it to be useful.
Transport orders take place before the combat phase. If you order 2 Units transported to Planet B, the units will be there to fight in the combat phase following the Strategy phase where the units were ordered.
Transporting
When a transport moves a unit, the unit's equipment is considered cargo as well. If a unit carries 3 CU worth of equipment, a transport carrying that unit must also be able to carry the extra 3 CU or leave some equipment behind.
Whenever a new revision to an existing design is made, the new revision has to be delivered to troops. Their outdated equipment is still just as effective as it should be and still counts against the expense level, but won't get the benefits of the revision until a transport carrying the revised item brings it to that Unit.
Resources - Resources may be allocated to a Design to increase the Expense level of that design by 1. Designs will only accept certain resources, and a resource unit can only be allocated to one side at a time. If you have 2x Metal, then you can only assign it to two metal-using designs. The bonus will only last as long as the allocation. A design can't have more than one of the same type allocated at the same time.
Metals represents varieties of metals and is useful for general large structures as well as most of the more ordinary designs. Exotics is used for things like for thrust, power generation, and other more, well, exotic procedures.
Production Lines - The limited infrastructure of the colonies means they can't just produce every single design ever conceived. Both Colonies have 8 Production Lines that must be assigned to Designs in order to field that design on the field. Production lines are assigned in the Strategy phase and their effects are immediate. In order to use Death Rays made last design phase, the design must first be given a production line, but if they're assigned a production line, they can also be sent out to the field that same strategy phase. A design can only have one production line assigned.
Combat - First, Combat is divided into Planetary and Orbital combat.
Orbital combat is not a factor in the beginning of the game, as neither sides have developed weapons to use in orbit. A planet's orbit can be Contested, or Controlled by one side.
Planetary combat is divided into 4 ordered stages, and the victor gains a zone. To capture a planet, the orbit must be controlled and all 3 ground zones have to be secured, then one turn has to be waited.
1. Insertion: Whenever a new unit is introduced to the planet, they must go through this stage where their transports must avoid any enemy orbital and ground defenses to land the troops.
2. Operations: Small units engage in small skirmishes across the combat area and perform operations both outside, behind, and in enemy lines. Mobility, stealth, skill, and similar factors play a role here.
3. Bombardment: Long-range weapons on the ground shell opposing troops, and if one side controls the Orbit and has capable spaceships in orbit, they can bombard the enemy with devastating effect.
4. Clash: The bulk of the forces on the planet will then engage head-on.
Remember that planets do not have any garrisons; a planet without any Units stationed can be easily captured if the other Colony attacks it. However, marginal resistance does mean that they still only gain one zone at a time.
Map - The map is divided into three "lanes" for balance-related reasons. In order to get to a planet, the planets in the same lane between that planet and your Colony must either be Unclaimed or be completely captured. If the Moerth captures C3, then Amaok must capture C3 before moving onto C2 or C1. Unclaimed planets can be skipped, so if A3 and A2 are unclaimed, Amaok can send Units to A1. In order to send Units to the opposing Colony, all planets in one of the lanes must be captured.
Phases - There are four phases: Design, Revision, Strategy, and Combat.
The Design phase is where new designs are created, and the Revision phases is where revisions are made.
Strategy is where transports are assigned, Units are sent places, and designs are distributed + transported.
Combat is where the combat occurs. There is no additional player interaction here.
Background Knowledge
The Colonies are still relatively new. They have limited infrastructure and while they have quite a bit of information and data roughly resembling today's Earth, capitalizing on that will require innovation to adapt the designs and work with the limited infrastructure. Please ask before actions are done if you have any questions pertaining to the setting.
Interplanetary Transport Craft: A primitive “shuttle” capable of carrying a unit and basic equipment to another planet. It’s quite large, and built completely in space. Docked to it are SSTO rocket shuttles designed with just enough fuel to carry things to/from planetside and return. However, the lack of large empty spaces in the shuttle and craft as well as limited fuel in the rocket shuttles means it can’t carry “heavy” things. The ITC relies on efficient chemical engines for thrust and powers essential systems via solar panels. While it can still carry units, the ITC cannot carry any item with a minimum weight above 1 CU.
Cargo: 4 CU
Expense: 3x
Resources: Metal, Exotics
Printed Pistol: A basic pistol that’s created via advanced 3d-printing techniques, making it very cheap. Unfortunately, its benefits stop there. It’s uncomfortable to use, inaccurate, works at short ranges, and fires very weak rounds. Fortunately, these rounds are still enough to puncture the basic suits and unarmored clothing used by soldiers on the field. Very light. Unreliable.
Weight: 1 CU = 10x
Expense: Unlimited
X112 Space Suit - A bulky space suit originally designed for the vacuum of space. It’s relatively flexible compared to spacesuits used by earlier space agencies such as NASA, but greatly restricts agility. Its complete lack of armor doesn’t help either. Luckily it’s cheap to produce.
Weight: 1 CU = 3x
Expense: Unlimited
Kevlar Armor & Uniform: Very basic thin-layered and light-weight partial Kevlar armor. Not even a helmet is included. This armor was originally used for security personnel sent with the colonies. It cannot be used in conjunction with regular armor. The facilities for producing Kevlar are still very limited in the colonies, making this armor a luxury.
Weight: 1 CU = 5x
Expense: 1x
Resources: Metal
Radio: Communications are done via basic radio systems. However, the size required means units would have to lug expensive radio systems to planets with them in order to communicate with Central Command back at their homeworld.
Weight: 2 CU = 1x
Expense: 2x
Resources: Metal