In the mid-90's, a pharmaceutical corporation with some near-occult interests opened Pandora's Box and changed the world. A lab accident led to a severe mysterious outbreak in a nearby city that turned the infected into flesh-hungry undead. This pathogen rooted itself so deeply that nuclear weapons were unable to completely scourge the infected, and BioOrganic Weapons were unleashed upon the world. BOWs were defined as creatures created via mutation through pathogens or abominations created in a lab and meant to be deployed in a combat or terroristic capacity. The corporation tried to defend their actions by citing their research and advancement into highly advanced medical formulae. The pharmaceutical corporation dissolved under scrutiny after evidence showed work into, say, the cure for the common cold, took a backseat to work on BOWs, and their research was secured and locked away.
Unfortunately for the world, one man with too much access and debt, and ties to the pharmaceutical underworld, stole the documents he could and headed off to the black market. One company in particular,
LifeChem, managed to outbid all others, but internal disagreements soon led to a schism that divided them.
LifeChem and it's new sister company,
Medtronic, maintained their positive public images by offering aid to countries affected by BOWs through funding and medical equipment. Funding just so happened to include security forces meant to protect corporate interests, and very quickly evolved into combat units trained specifically to combat BOWs. This brought a
lot of good publicity to their respective companies.
Now, as both companies take their first steps into creation of their own BOWs, their relationship takes another turn. One
LifeChem chairman killed two of
Medtronic's, and since the chairfolk of these corps all came from the same four families, this added a Blood Feud to the already tense atmosphere. They were going to hit one another where it hurt most - the pockets. While deploying and engaging one's own BOWs would build public support and boost stock price,
LifeChem and
Medtronic prioritized the elimination of the rival's experiments. Orders were also given to their private security forces to engage the other company's and preventing them from boosting their own public appeal. Outright conflict in public was to be avoided of course, but people tended to avoid asking questions about the dead in a Biohazard zone.
The world is in need of your help. Because of you. Time to take out the competition and monopolize global BOW deployment and containment. For money, and revenge.
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Hello, players. You're going to be taking the side of
LifeChem or
Medtronic in an Arms Race-style game with rules detailed below. Eventually. Before the game proper there will be two "turns" in this thread to define and tailor the teams before anyone locks themselves into one side, with one pregame turn once the teams are divided with special rules to ensure a sufficient start. The plan is to move through the opening decisions quickly, so make sure your voice is heard! Once we move into the game itself we will begin utilizing the ruleset below.
These questions will be asked one at a time, but they're both covered here and now for you to think about.
LifeChem got it's hands on two classes of pathogens, but they were split between LifeChem and Medtronic. Which two were they?
A - Bacterial: Targets of bacterial BOW pathogens have symptoms similar to standard flu-like illnesses, letting infection disguise itself for a time. In combination with a high rate of division, this can cause pathogen spread to outpace the spread of other pathogens, but it is more difficult to have the bacteria transfer as many potential effects to the infected. As a result, Bacterial BOWs tend to share most of the physical characteristics of their natural counterpart. [Examples of Bacterial BOWs would be similar to your standard zombie human and the special infected in The Zombie Hunters]
B - Viral: Viral BOW pathogens spread most readily across species in comparison to it's counterparts, but do not spread as fast overall. A viral pathogen can be very difficult to purge, although there is a risk of eventual vaccination development. Viruses can transfer their mutations more effectively than Bacteria, but are still largely restricted by the host's physical form. [Examples of Viral BOWs include some of the more exotic fare, such as Lickers from RE and Tanks from L4D, while also including your normal lesser type of zombies]
C - Fungal: A fungal BOW pathogen is a lifeform of it's own that utilizes hosts for sustenance. Fungal BOW pathogens spread slowly, as the fungus needs to take root in the body, but can readily spread across multiple species. Fungal BOWs are less restricted by their host's form than Bacteria or Virii, but fungal pathogens make themselves more obvious than the rest of the pathogens across all stages of infection, making them somewhat easier to combat though difficult to root out entirely. Fungal BOWs generally appear like their hosts, but fungal growths and fugus-related mutations can heavily augment the host's appearance. [Examples of Fungal BOWs include things like The Last of Us' cast of infected and The Flood from Halo]
D - Parasitic: Parasitic BOW pathogens are lifeforms of their own not unlike Fungal BOW pathogens. Parasites have the lowest overall endurance and slowest potential spread out of the various pathogens if environmental factors are ignored thanks to their relative large sizes and slow reproductive cycles. They can lay dormant in a host for a period of time without showing symptoms, allowing them to spread further than fungal pathogens before any alarm is raised, but may have more difficulty surviving outside a host than their Fungal counterpart. They are also wholly unrestricted by the host's physiology, often with a passing resemblance at most to the host in the parasite's final form. [Examples of Parasitic BOWs include Las Plagas from RE4, Xenomorphs from Alien, and Venom's Symbiote in Spider-Man]
E - Eldritch: A whisper in the wind. Shadows that flee from your sight. Many of life's strange mysteries can, it seems, be attributed to a plane of reality beyond our own. Eldritch BOWs are each unique, pulled through the thin veil between the mortal world and madness thanks to judicious use of fringe science. Once unleashed, Eldritch horrors are difficult if not outright impossible to guide or control. Unlike the other pathogens, Eldritch BOWs spread through the mind, not the body. They can be difficult to discover, as there is really only one single target to root out, even if their influence is readily apparent. They are also the hardest BOWs to kill on an individual basis. Non-boss BOWs can be created through eldritch pathogens, but are almost always linked to a Boss (outlined below) and will become neutralized upon the Boss' defeat. [Examples of Eldritch BOWs include Lovecraftian cosmic entities, 40K's Tyranids, and a variety of SCP creatures.]
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LifeChem and Medtronic are funding their own private security forces and are preparing to engage in a shadow war. Their first set of equipment comes from stockpiles created when both companies were united and is now divided between the two. What piece of equipment is still developed in-house for use across both company's forces? This design will be treated with a barrage of bonuses thanks to its development with an abundance of resources and manpower prior to the schism, so think carefully about what you want to make.
Each turn takes place over the course of an in-game month and is divided into five separate phases as defined below:
Bio Phase: Each team has 2 actions that can be used to create or modify a new BOW during this phase. Actions can be used to Create or Modify BOWs. Both actions can also be used as a Boss Action. Boss Actions reroll the lowest die and can have much greater reach than a standard action without an equivalent difficulty bump. Bosses, even failed ones, are much stronger than standard BOWs when compared one-to-one. Some examples of Bosses are Nemesis, the Big Tiddy Goth Mommy all the kids are talking about, and the other Resident Evil bosses (weird!), a Hive Tyrant, the Queen Xenomorph, and It. Designs will be discussed further in the appropriate spoiler below.
Infection Phase: During the Infection Phase each team can choose to deploy one of each stockpiled BOW pathogen to the continents of their choosing. At the conclusion of the turn both sides will get small blurbs about where their rivals were screwing around, with information dependent on the speed of transmission as well as the visibility of symptoms and effects. Note that an Infection may not get noticed immediately depending on the natural and created traits of the pathogen. When deploying a pathogen you can use a real world map to get as specific as you want in regard to deployment zone with the minimum requirement being the continent, but general deployments might not see pathogens deployed to their fullest capability. It's less a nerf, and more a buff for coming up with more detailed plans of action.
Merc Phase: The Merc Phase includes 2 actions that can be used to either Create equipment or Modify units and equipment. Both actions can also be used as a Hero Action. Hero Actions reroll the lowest die and allow the creation of a Hero Character and their related unit. Low results on Hero Actions may significantly impact the unit or the Hero, but they will still be viable enough to deploy in some manner. Some examples of Heroes and Units are Chris, Jill, Leon, and HUNK from Resident Evil alongside STARS, Umbrella Security Service and the BSAA. Examples outside Resident Evil include Ethan Hunt with the Impossible Mission Force in Mission: Impossible and Fallout 4's Protagonist with the Minutemen (if you play the game the right way). Unit size can vary wildly and will impact efficacy with various sorts of operations. Further information on Designs will be discussed below.
Deployment Phase: In the Deployment Phase, both sides deploy their militarized units to Biohazard sites with BOW activity. Any number of units can be deployed to any number of continents, so long as there are units are available. Units can be Deployed against a team's own BOWs - you're not creating demand for aid for someone else to profit off of, after all. Units can also be deployed to investigate on continents without a reported issue or active Biohazard outbreak.
Report Phase: The Report Phase is the GM-written game update that occurs across all three threads (Core, both teams). Most of the after action report will be posted in the Core Thread, but more sensitive information will be posted in the appropriate team thread. Don't worry about this phase, it's only my lone interpretation of everything both sides work on coming together, and in no way will the results ever upset anyone.
Each turn has two phases dedicated to development of various necessities for the progression of your company. Both the Bio and Merc Phases follow the same general ruleset below:
Proposing: All design actions require the name of the proposal and a description detailing what it is and what it's meant to do. Each proposal must be properly labeled as a Creation or Modification, and if they are Boss or Hero actions they must also be labeled as such. While results can and will vary and may result in more or less than what you propose, do not assume I will know what you intend to have the action do unless you state it in the proposal.
Rolling and Difficulty: Each proposal is assigned a difficulty level prior to rolling based off of inherent complexity of the task and any related experience the team has through previous actions. Boss and Hero actions are graded on a more forgiving scale than their standard action counterparts. The difficulty scale is as follows, with the numbers in parentheses reflecting the modifier the difficulty bestows:
Unobtainable (-x): An Unobtainable proposal is impossible at the level of experience and tech you currently have available. This does not mean you gain zero experience in the field, but Unobtainable proposals will never produce something usable on their own.
Theoretical (-3): You're no strangers to the Theoretical, but working on the bleeding edge of a fringe science can prove to be quite difficult. Theoretical proposals may represent a massive step forward (or backward), and will be difficult, but not impossible, to accomplish.
Very Hard (-2): Proposals that end up as Very Hard tend to be victims of overreach or ambition, but not to the degree of Theoretical or Unobtainable proposals. These actions have a moderate chance of some level of success, at least.
Hard (-1): Hard proposals tend to represent pushing lightly against the unknown or attempting an advanced, but simple, accomplishment. A Hard action is likely to succeed in some form, but are not excluded from the occasional unexpected failure.
Normal (0): Normal proposals represent your typical step forward or a reasonable adjustment to what is available at the time. While Normal proposals are very unlikely to outright fail, fate could still see them perform less than desirably.
Easy (+1): An Easy proposal is likely a minor advancement or adjustment in fields you have familiarity with. Easy proposals never outright fail to produce results, but that doesn't mean they'll always be good.
Very Easy (+2): Very Easy proposals represent work in fields or with equipment that you have a high level of familiarity with and likely don't have a bunch of bells and whistles attached. You're very likely to at least get something "acceptable" out of a Very Easy proposal, even if it likely won't cause a dramatic paradigm shift.
Simple (+3): A Simple proposal is well within the bounds of familiarity and, well, simplicity. Simple proposals are likely the result of prolonged periods of work on a particular field or object, so even though they'll likely be fairly successful, they shouldn't be expected to blow anyone's mind.
Trivial (+4): Trivial proposals fall strictly within the confines of previous work experience and likely at best offer lateral "advancement" or a very small augmentation to an existing project. They are, at least, almost guaranteed to provide something useful or (mildly) beneficial.
Once difficulty is determined, the roll to decide the proposal's fate will be made. All rolls are done with 2d6, and results are outlined below. Note that difficulty modifiers will adjust the final roll accordingly, so, for example, a Very Hard roll of 11 will result in a 9.
Utter Failure (2): It is likely nothing tangible is gained from an Utter Failure, but they can provide experience in the field(s) worked on in the proposal.
Buggy Mess (3): The proposal "functions", just not as intended, and with a bevy of issues.
Poor (4): The proposal is workable, but there is a lot of room for improvement.
Below Average (5): The proposal is missing a few intended features, or has a hiccup or two regarding usage, but is reliable enough.
Average (6,7,8): The proposal generally functions as intended.
Above Average (9): The proposal works, and something about it functions better than expected.
Superior (10): The proposal works much better than intended, and a lot is learned in related fields of research.
Masterwork (11): Perfection. Masterworks go above and beyond what development intended.
Unexpected Boon (12): Development of this proposal goes so well that some sort of extra benefit is provided to the side building it.
Developing BOWs is a complex but worthwhile endeavor, and proposals for a new BOW will require a few key pieces of information. While the following isn't necessarily a template, it can be interpreted as such. Just make sure proposals for new BOWs all include the following:
The BOW's name, the creature the pathogen is designed to infect, the appearance of fully infected creatures (the range of freedom here and the impact this has on difficulty will depend on the team's pathogen type), and any defining traits the infected receive. Pathogens capable of cross-species transmission will transfer whatever traits the newly infected species are compatible with and you will not need to outline every potential variant.
Boss BOWs use both Bio Actions to create and require a slightly different proposal as they are fully lab-created before being released, so instead of specifying what species the pathogen infects, you'll be stating what creature the BOW was created from. Essentially the same sort of format, except it underlines the intransmissability of Boss pathogens.
Once a BOW is created and rolled for you will receive a summary of the final product based on the proposal and final result of the dice roll and difficulty modifier. Results will also include the Pathogen Stockpile. This represents how many instances of the specific pathogen that can be deployed at any one time during the Infection Phase. For example, a Pathogen with a stockpile number of 3 can be deployed up to 3 times in the world at any given moment. Just remember that each pathogen can only be deployed once per turn, regardless of stockpile available. Once a pathogen is isolated and eliminated from an area it will return to the stockpile. Note that the same pathogen can be deployed to the same continent or location multiple times, so the 3 Stockpile example above can potentially be deployed three times to the same location over the course of three turns.
Boss BOWs are wholly unique and therefore only one Boss of any given type can be deployed at a time. Once a Boss BOW is eliminated, the R&D teams will immediately begin to produce another to be deployed once more. Note that, depending on the complexity of the BOW they may take multiple turns to recreate. This will be represented by Development Time, which replaces Stockpile. The first Boss BOW of a given proposal is produced immediately.
To reiterate, only one BOW of any given type can be deployed per turn. This means that if you have eight different pathogens you can deploy all eight at once so long as the have available stockpiles, but not eight of the same pathogen.
Deploying pathogens requires at minimum the name of the Continent it will be deployed on. If no other specifics are given, I'll toss the pathogen in a location on the continent that'll work perfectly averagely for it, but more specific locations (Country, Province/State, City, etc.) may be beneficial to consider when taking the pathogen's traits into account.
Developing Mercenaries and their equipment is important to maintain a positive public image and beat the piss out of your rival's forces and creations. Creating Heroes and their related units follows a similar template to the development of BOWs and Bosses, with some significant differences. Proposals for Heroes should contain the following information:
The name of the Hero, a general description, and any traits, skillsets, or training that could prove useful in the field. You will also need to include information about their unit, which will greatly effect their functionality on the field. The Unit will also need a name, details about training and preferred tactics, and most importantly, Unit Size. Unit Size goes from Solo, where the Hero operates alone (Think Leon in RE4), Squad, Platoon, and Company. The larger the Unit, the more effective they can be at restricting the spread of and combatting pathogens on a wider scale, but the smaller Units will often prove more effective at specific types of tasks thanks to specialist training (investigating and tracing pathogens or hunting down a Boss, to provide some examples). Once developed and deployed, Heroes cannot be killed (yay plot armor) and their Units will not be erased, but that does not mean they're immune to failing spectacularly.
Multiple Units can be deployed to the same location to provide mutual aid.
Single Merc Actions can be used to Modify units with new training or doctrines, but are also important for developing the equipment that gets used in-field. Proposals for equipment simply require a name and description of what it is and how it's meant to operate. Once difficulty is determined and the dice are cast, a result is written up that include a basic summary of what was actually produced. Included in this summary is, much like the Standard BOWs, a Stockpile Number. This stockpile number determines how many units may use any given piece of equipment at once. Alongside the Stockpile Number will be a Deployment Limit. The Deployment Limit will use the Solo<->Company Scale of Units, and reflects the maximum amount of people in a given unit that will be able to utilize said equipment. For example, an item with a Stockpile of 3 and a Deployment Limit of Platoon can fully equip up to 3 Units of Platoon size or smaller. Equipment can be given to Units larger than their Deployment Limit, but obviously the entire Unit will not be able to use it. Equipment CAN NOT be deployed to the same Unit multiple times to equip everyone.
Note that you may specify the Deployment Limit of equipment in proposals to ensure you get the preferred size. Keep in mind too that proposals will have their Difficulty affected by a specified Deployment Limit in relation to complexity (so, say, a highly advanced prototype weapon specified to be made as a Solo Item will be a lot easier to produce than the same weapon at the Company level).
Units are always deployed alongside their Hero, and therefore can only be deployed on one Continent at a time. Units can be deployed on any Continent regardless of Infection status, as some infections may take some time to rear their heads. This represents investigative efforts into potential outbreaks in the region, chasing down rumors and the like before a larger, more dangerous outbreak occurs.
While in the Deployment Phase you will be responsible for assigning equipment to your units and then assigning your units to a location. Note that your Units are more reactionary by nature than the BOWs, so specifying the Continent only will suffice. If a continent winds up with multiple locations undergoing outbreaks they will automatically deal with the most apparent threat, but you may specify otherwise.
The world of Biocorp Conflict is divided into seven Continents. Each continent has two stats that you will need to keep in mind:
Outbreak Status: Outbreak status goes from None to Fine, Caution, Danger, then finally Overrun. As Outbreak Status rises, pathogens will likely take more time and resources to root out. If a Continent remains at Overrun for too long it's status will change to COLLAPSED and will not be available for the rest of the game for deployments or benefits.
Relationship: Relationships between your company and each continent will start at 0 but will rise or fall depending on actions you take in the game. Ignoring outbreaks for too long, even if the other team is keeping it in control, will see your relationship drop with that continent. Deploying Mercs to combat BOWs will increase relations. As relationships grow in either direction your team will gain benefits that last as long as the relationship is maintained at at least that level (so going lower than -25 Relations will see you maintain that bonus, but if you slip back to 0 you lose it). Note that COLLAPSED Continents cannot provide any of their bonuses.
The world believes the methods to produce BOWs have been sold to terrorists on the Black Market, so unless you do something painfully obvious and ill-advised you do not need to worry about your hand in pathogen development being discovered.
The map consists of our real world, and as such I will not be posting an actual map.
Bonuses provided by Continents will be kept hidden until discovered to prevent minmaxing from Turn 1, you degenerates.
I've written this across three or four days, so I may have missed or overlooked something, and I definitely know I repeated some information, but that' probably can't hurt you. If you have any questions or concerns, just ask. I promise I might not make fun of you for it. I'll look over this a few more times in the coming hours and let youse know if there's an update to the rules.
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It's time to finally decide what kind of Pathogens each side will have.
LifeChem got it's hands on two classes of pathogens, but they were split between
LifeChem and
Medtronic. Which two were they?
A - Bacterial: Targets of bacterial BOW pathogens have symptoms similar to standard flu-like illnesses, letting infection disguise itself for a time. In combination with a high rate of division, this can cause pathogen spread to outpace the spread of other pathogens, but it is more difficult to have the bacteria transfer as many potential effects to the infected. As a result, Bacterial BOWs tend to share most of the physical characteristics of their natural counterpart. [Examples of Bacterial BOWs would be similar to your standard zombie human and the special infected in The Zombie Hunters]
B - Viral: Viral BOW pathogens spread most readily across species in comparison to it's counterparts, but do not spread as fast overall. A viral pathogen can be very difficult to purge, although there is a risk of eventual vaccination development. Viruses can transfer their mutations more effectively than Bacteria, but are still largely restricted by the host's physical form. [Examples of Viral BOWs include some of the more exotic fare, such as Lickers from RE and Tanks from L4D, while also including your normal lesser type of zombies]
C - Fungal: A fungal BOW pathogen is a lifeform of it's own that utilizes hosts for sustenance. Fungal BOW pathogens spread slowly, as the fungus needs to take root in the body, but can readily spread across multiple species. Fungal BOWs are less restricted by their host's form than Bacteria or Virii, but fungal pathogens make themselves more obvious than the rest of the pathogens across all stages of infection, making them somewhat easier to combat though difficult to root out entirely. Fungal BOWs generally appear like their hosts, but fungal growths and fugus-related mutations can heavily augment the host's appearance. [Examples of Fungal BOWs include things like The Last of Us' cast of infected and The Flood from Halo]
D - Parasitic: Parasitic BOW pathogens are lifeforms of their own not unlike Fungal BOW pathogens. Parasites have the lowest overall endurance and slowest potential spread out of the various pathogens if environmental factors are ignored thanks to their relative large sizes and slow reproductive cycles. They can lay dormant in a host for a period of time without showing symptoms, allowing them to spread further than fungal pathogens before any alarm is raised, but may have more difficulty surviving outside a host than their Fungal counterpart. They are also wholly unrestricted by the host's physiology, often with a passing resemblance at most to the host in the parasite's final form. [Examples of Parasitic BOWs include Las Plagas from RE4, Xenomorphs from Alien, and Venom's Symbiote in Spider-Man]
E - Eldritch: A whisper in the wind. Shadows that flee from your sight. Many of life's strange mysteries can, it seems, be attributed to a plane of reality beyond our own. Eldritch BOWs are each unique, pulled through the thin veil between the mortal world and madness thanks to judicious use of fringe science. Once unleashed, Eldritch horrors are difficult if not outright impossible to guide or control. Unlike the other pathogens, Eldritch BOWs tend to spread through the mind, not the body, but they are more than capable of ravaging a physical form all the same. They can be difficult to discover, as there is usually only a single powerful target to root out, even if their influence is readily apparent. They are also the hardest BOWs to kill on an individual basis. Non-boss BOWs can be created through eldritch pathogens, but are almost always linked to a Boss (outlined below) and will become neutralized upon the Boss' defeat. [Examples of Eldritch BOWs include Lovecraftian cosmic entities, 40K's Tyranids, and a variety of SCP creatures.]
Note that both sides
cannot be assigned the same pathogen type.
