Page: A Superhero Arms Race-esque game
Hero Thread:
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=169911.0Villain Thread:
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=169910.0In this game you will help control one of two opposing factions, either the League of Heroes, or the Council of Villains. (Renamable if you so wish) You will recruit other super powered individuals to your faction, research fancy new gadgets and gizmos, and build massive secret (or not so secret) projects to accomplish your goal.
The game will deviate significantly from the original arms race formula, so much so that I hesitate to even call it an Arms race. Instead of two constant fronts there will be four areas that are always open to both sides. It will be up to you to choose who to deploy to which area, and the team you choose will help determine weather you keep the city safe or rob it blind. Succeeding in an area will provide a onetime boost in reputation and money. You will need to succeed again next year for another round of resources. The resource system will be expanded upon later in the thread.
The other major deviation is the characters themselves. Instead of a large (and largely nameless) army, you will have a much small group of persistent characters. Each character will have several stats, and sometimes a power set. Stats can naturally change as the hero gains experience, but this process can be forced with the right tech or enough money. The different types of stats are as followed.
Lv 0: This person has no idea how to fight. Expect wind milling, hair pulling, and autistic screeching. T
Lv 1: This person has a basic idea of combat. They can throw and take a punch and use things like pocket sand and sneak attacks to gain an upper hand.
Lv 2: This person has familiarized themselves with basic martial arts and weapon use. They know how to handle themselves in a fight.
Lv 3: This person has mastered several martial styles. They are fast, precise, and deadly. They move with a natural grace on the battlefield.
Lv 4: This person has gone beyond mastery, they hold an unparalleled skill and at least a few secret techniques. If they are trained to use other weapons, they integrate them seamlessly with their martial style. They do not miss a strike unless they intend to.
Lv 5: This is perfection of martial style. They play a perfect game every time, perceiving and reacting optimally at every moment. This level can usually only be obtained by some sort of power and makes an individual extremely dangerous. They will destroy you if you face them.
Lv 0: This person is just as likely to hurt themselves with a gun as an enemy.
Lv 1: This person understands the concepts of ranged combat. They can fire a gun or throw a knife, but don’t expect them to hit anything.
Lv 2: This individual knows how to fight at a range. They can use suppressive fire as a tool, and reliably hit shots.
Lv 3: This person is a crack shot. They can peg a moving target at range and use their weapons to support other assets on the ground. They are accurate, reliable, and expedient.
Lv 4: This person can end a fight before it begins. They know exactly how to engage a target at range and keep them there. They have an excellent sense of positioning of themselves and their allies and will use their skills to control the flow of battle as well as eliminate targets.
Lv 5: Usually some freakish supernatural perception, this person never misses a shot. They control a battlefield without being in it, will exploit any opportunity presented to them. Keep your head down, and pray for support.
Lv 0: This person is a bit challenged. They will likely need guidance on the battle field to be effective and should not be left alone with small objects.
Lv 1: These meat heads prefer a direct approach. They understand the flow of battle and positioning of forces but will be slow to detect a greater scheme. They prefer to leave the heavy thinking to the tech guys.
Lv 2: These guys have reached a Socratic level of knowledge, in that they are aware of the many things they do not know. Given time they can puzzle out a problem, and they may sense a trap before having walked into it.
Lv 3: These individuals make an effort to know things. They analyze a situation beforehand, and to some degree during as well. They have a working knowledge of many things, and usually a specialization or two as well. They are beginning to understand a greater game.
Lv 4: The chess master, the savant. This person has a razor-sharp mind. They can outplay you on the battlefield, and if left alone for too long will develop game changing technology. They are always positioning for the next engagement, always thinking three steps ahead. Beware.
Lv 5: A perfect, seamless mind. They remember everything they experience, and a few things they don’t. They read people like books and bend the natural world to their will. This level of intellect is not usually obtainable, granted by special powers or strange technology. Left alone, this individual would change the course of the world to suit their needs.
Hit points is how tough a character is. At half hit points, a unit is injured, and will need to spend time to recover. At ¼, they are gravely wounded, and will require additional time to recover. If they get below 10 and survive, they will likely be forever disfigured in some way, and may gain a trait alongside it.
Hit points will range anywhere from 100 to 1000
The amount of damage done to a character is determined by weapon/power strength. The combat stats work as modifiers on the chance to hit.
Recourses:Money: Used to fund/modify projects and research. Money is gained when successfully defending a city (or robbing it) and can be gained in a variety of other ways as well. Money can be converted to influence at a slight loss if necessary.
Influence: Used to fund/modify projects and research. Influence is gained when successfully defending a city (or terrorizing it) and can be gained in a variety of other ways as well. Influence may also be needed to gain access to other things. Influence can be converted to reputation at a slight loss if necessary.
Reputation: Reputation is unique to each unit. Reputation will modify recruitment results and may allow a character access to various other things as well. Recruitment is the only action for which the modifier will be constant. 100 reputation will give a modifier of (1.0) to the roll. You can spend as much or as little reputation on a recruitment roll as you like. A number modified outside of the 1-6 range will default to the closest number.
Projects/Research will have a baseline Money and Influence cost. This is the actual cost of procuring materials and paying for labor. Influence is for either getting the research/project approved, or keeping it a secret, depending on the nature of it. Additional money/influence beyond the baseline will provide modifiers to the roll. Paying the full cost of the project/research again will give a +1 modifier. Each additional +1 will require you to double all currently invested funds/influence. Rolls can not be modified outside of the 1-6 range.
Charecters:Each character will have a character sheet that lists their stats. An example is provided below.
Name: John Doe
Gender: Male
Appearance: This character dresses in a white spandex suit, with a gold dot in the middle. His skin is not visible under his uniform. He is of average height.
HP: 250/250
Powers:
Flight
Laser vision
Stats:
Combat, Melee: Lv 3
Combat Ranged: Lv 2
Intellect: Lv 3
Traits:
Punisher: He may lose initiative in a round in order to make a pun.
Milk toast: This hero gains reputation slower than his counterparts due to a lack of memorable personality.
Relationships:
Curiosity: Jane Doe – He has fought this character before and is now curious about them.
Specializations:
Aerial combat – This character gets a bonus when fighting in the air.
Equipment:
Heat resistant suit – This suit reduces damage from heat.
Laser goggles – These goggles focus this character’s laser vision, increasing chance to hit and damage dealt by a small amount.
Each character can perform one action per turn. This can be one of the aforementioned Project/Research/Recruitment actions, or it could be attacking or defending a city. The intellect trait will modify research and project actions. Large projects may require more than one turn of attention from a character. They can be pulled off of the project/research at any time, but another character attempting to take over the project will have extra difficulties for the first turn they work on it. Barring special events, you will only have one character per project/research. No doubling up.
Projects:The project and research phase will take place before the standard deployment phase. You can start 1 project or research per turn, with no maximum to the number you can have active at once. Whatever you choose as your project or research during said phase will have a money, influence, and time given for it, and will become open for assignment. A character can be assigned to work the project/research during the deployment phase. Once a project has been worked on for an appropriate amount of time, it will receive a roll with appropriate modifiers
from the character that performed the last research action to determine the result.
Map and areas:The beautiful map was made by me. A display of my MS paint skills. The city names were pulled from a generator and suggested by the blokes in the Spires race discord.
Dagos – A cold port city. The northerly location makes it gives it freezing weather year-round, and a seemingly constant murky darkness. Because of the cold, it has a relatively low homeless population, but organized crime of the more mundane variety is common. The city sees a good deal of trade. This City is currently under control of the Blue government.
Water City – Named by the late Johiah Parmala, Water City is the only landlocked city in the game. It has an arid climate, and a massive unemployment problem. It produces many natural resources and is a prime location for a number of businesses. It is under the control of the blue government.
Alfredonia – An epicenter of culture, Alfredonia is situated in a comfortable temperate region with between two mountain ranges. It is a prime tourist destination with delicious food and prevalent music. The eastern side holds the seedier, less developed parts of society, poverty is apparent. It is under the control of the red government.
Chaamirie - A massive source of trade and industry, you can find anything you are looking for in the city of Chaamirie. The city experiences an arid dry season and a wet season of warm rains. The population is massive and ranges from high class elites in glass towers to shantytowns and group shelters in abandoned warehouses. It’s easy to contact black market dealers in the less reputable parts of town, and crime is frequent and violent. It is under control of the red government.
Starting Choices
The League of HeroesA coalition of Heroes striving to preserve good and order in the world.
Starting Hero Choice:
Name: John Maxwell, AKA The Shadow
Gender: Male
Appearance: The shadow wears a form fitting black suit made of ballistic mesh. He has the symbol of a dark cloud over his suit.
HP: 200/200
Powers:
No notable super powers
Stats:
Combat, Melee: Lv 3
Combat Ranged: Lv 3
Intellect: Lv 4
Traits:
Alter ego - This person leads a second life as a prominent business man, and passively provides a steady stream of money and influence.
Remarkably Agile - This character is just plain slippery. Even skilled enemies will have a hard time landing a hit.
Relationships:
No current relationships
Specializations:
Entrapment - This character is at his best when on the offensive. If he has time to prepare, he can account for just about anything.
Equipment:Ballistic mesh suit - Reduces damage from all ranged attacks by a lot. Reduced damage from melee attacks by a little
Name: P-Man! AKA, Protector Man!
Gender: Male
Appearance: P-man dons the colors of his home nation with pride! He embodies the ideals of the Red Nation! He wears a cape and a body suit with a large "P" emblemized on it.
HP: 650/650
Powers:
Flight
Super strength
Eagle eyes
Steel skin (Greatly reduced damage taken)
Stats:
Combat, Melee: Lv 2
Combat Ranged: Lv 1
Intellect: Lv 2
Traits:
Iconic - This hero gains additional reputation on success
Magnetic Personality - People Like P-Man. He will get better recruits when using the recruitment action.
Relationships:
No current relationships
Specializations:
Equipment:
A group of Villains, intent on using thier powers for personal gain.
Starting Villain choice:
Name: Charon
Gender: Female
Appearance: Charon dresses in flame resistant black robes that leaves his face in constant shadow. His eyes are visibly glowing underneath the hood.
HP: 650/650
Powers:
Flight
Hot hands (Shoot fire!)
Vanish (Disappear in smoke or shadows, and reappear a shot distance away)
Phase (Become incorporeal for a moment when attacked)
Stats:
Combat, Melee: Lv 1
Combat Ranged: Lv 3
Intellect: Lv 3
Traits:
Master - There is a danger to disobedience. Other units recruited by Charon will have a higher loyalty, and will lose loyalty slower.
Harsh - Charon will almost always kill enemy heroes if given the chance
Relationships:
No current relationships
Specializations:
Equipment:
Name: Brian Matter
Gender: Male
Appearance: Brian does not entertain the fanciful notion of costumes. He wears a business suit, or his personal armored mech suite when in combat.
HP: 150/150
Powers:
No notable powers at this time
Stats:
Combat, Melee: Lv 2
Combat Ranged: Lv 2
Intellect: Lv 4
Traits:
Entrepreneur - His business ventures provide a steady stream of Money and influence. It also makes it easier to acquire particular materials.
Public Figure - Brian is well known and liked by the public. He always covers his tracks, and killing or gravely wounding him will have serious repercussions for the enemy hero.
Relationships:
No current relationships
Specializations:
Practical research - Brian gets a bonus to research actions intended to produce specific equipment or items.
Equipment:
Mech suite - (When equiped) +200 hp, reduced ranged and melee damage, increases damage done. Breaks after 200 damage, and must be re-purchased.
Your starting choices are going to be noticeably better than your immediate recruits. This is ok. All characters will get better as they gain experience, and you will have opportunities and your own research to improve them.
That's it for the rules (For now at least!) Jump in the threads and have fun! Updates Tomorrow afternoon.
