Here is the intro to a set of rules I just completed. Eventually I will need playtesters and such. But I don't know if it would classify as a 'rpg' per say. Although in the rules the players are encouraged to write about the things that happened to them and their power.
Beyond the Stars!The Leader and his advisors stared intently at the stranger who had just arrived on their world bringing tales of wars in the heavens between those who would enslave mankind and those who would help men in their struggles to be free. None of the counselors present believed the fairy tales of old, for that is all the old man brought with him, tales of the Old Ones and their fight with the Ones from Beyond, rubbish was all they had told their leader. Yet something in the tales stirred a memory, unbidden and ephemeral, that stirred something in their leader's soul. "Tell me once again, old man, why we should listen to your ravings?"
"Good Sir, I am but a messenger who brings tidings of great danger for all men, here on your world and all the worlds of men." This last piece of information brought a gasp of horror from the advisors, for all knew this was the ONLY planet of mankind left after the War of the Gods had destroyed the rest.
"You speak lies!" The minister of Astronomy shouted out. "All know that we are the last. Only we survived the War of the Gods!"
"My good sir," the stranger said softly, "You are not the only world of men left. For they sparkle as brightly as diamonds on a necklace. Many are the worlds of men and if they do not unite, all of you will be consumed in the coming storm."
The leader sat up straighter, finally the old man had said something that had sparked his interest. "Tell me of these other worlds of men and how they came to be." He said with a glint in his eye.
The stranger sighed and began, "Many millenia ago mankind had spread from their homeworld and had established homes on many worlds in distant star systems. They were numerous and some say beyond count. But humanity, being humanity, explored further and further from their home and stumbled upon something they would one day regret finding with all their being, an outpost of the Ones from Beyond.
The Ones from Beyond were a race of Hive-Mind lizardmen with wings. You portray them as demons, the servants of your evil one. They fell upon mankind with a relish for slaughter that made most go mad with terror. For the Ones from Beyond not only slaughtered men by the billions but also consumed the flesh of all men who were unfortunate enough to fall into their hands.
Nothing men did made any difference, world after world fell into their ravenous maws. No weapon and no tactic would stop them, some victories slowed them at times, but never for very long and their advance would begin anew. After three millenia the Ones from Beyond arrived in the sector of Mankind's birthworld. The decision to send out colony ships, that did not use the Gateways, in a desperate bid to escape the demons was made. Sleeper ships were dispatched off the known Gateways since it was felt that if the homeworld did not know of their existence, the demons would not either. The thousands of ships were launched, many knowing that the chances of ever coming across a world they could colonise was slim at best. Yet not one volunteer changed their minds, for they knew they were probably mankinds last best hope for survival.
Centuries more passed and the demons inched ever closer to Terra. No man or woman ever let despair overcome them. They knew for every year that they held off the demons gave the sleepers one more year to either find a world or one more to advance humanity's knowledge, hoping against hope that they would find a way to finally defeat the demons.
One day a stranger appeared on Terra and offered a solution to the problem of the demons. He told the Human leaders he had a bio-toxin that would slay every living sentient thing, including the demons, that was currently hooked into the Gateway system. The only problem was that it would kill all of humanity in the process. He left the decision in the hands of Humanity's leaders and said he would be back in three days for the answer. For three days the messages flew through the VLCA network. When the third day arrived every human world that was still unoccupied by the demons had agreed. Stop the demons now, at any cost and trust to the Creator to look after the sleeper ships as humanity's last best hope for survival.
On the third day the stranger reappeared and politely asked if they had made a decision. He was informed that all human worlds left had agreed, what ever the cost the demons had to be stopped. As he pulled out a flask and before he uncorked it he was asked one question, "Why, why are you helping us?"
"Because I could not allow my children to be wiped from the stars, and as a father I had to act to help some of them survive." Tears welled in his eyes as he continued, "I am sorry, but given the speed in which they overcame you this was the only solution we could come up with." The gasps from the onlookers told the stranger they were shocked to see their 'creator' before them. He answered one more question, "What is your name?"
"He smiled a sad smile and said, "Enki, time to sleep my children." And pulled the stopper on the flask. When all in the room closed their eyes for the last time he whispered, "We will see each other again," and disappeared.
The virus leapt from world to world with the speed of thought. As a last desperate measure the demons destroyed world after world, and finally made a decision to close the gateways from their space into human space. They chose to lose the trillions of their species caught in human space rather than die as a species. Thus humanity was closed off from the rest of the universe.
When the stranger finished his tale a slow, sad smile spread across his face as he looked out at the faces of his audience. They knew, by the looks on their faces, they knew what he spoke was the truth.
Finally the leader spoke, "You tell that tale as if you were a witness. Were you?"
"Remember my warning, time is short for you and your species, you must unite and find your homeworld. Only there will you find a way to stop the demons. I must go now, they are searching for me and so I must go."
He turned his back to go and the leader called out to him, "at least tell me your name!"
The stranger turned back around with that same sad smile on his face, call me Enki my son, and vanished.
Introduction
As a Nation in Beyond the Stars! you are in charge of an entire state, including its economy, industry, military, politics, even down to its individual citizens. These states may be anything from a single city in a small corner of one planet, to a vast Nation sprawling over an entire world, and the space beyond. They can be sole masters of their domain, or they can share it with rival nations or allied countries.
Nations are the standard a player can start with in Beyond the Stars!, but commensurate with that power they require a great deal of work to run properly. It can be quite challenging to manage a nation state and players who take a Nation should be prepared to make a significant investment in running their Power. The upside is that a Nation gives you the ability to be a real mover and shaker in galactic affairs, and Nations form the core around which most of the events in the game occur.
Nations and Defeat
Beyond the Stars! galaxy is not a friendly place, and while Nations are the prime movers and shakers, your Nation could well end up being the one getting shaken, rather than the one doing the shaking. The potential for defeat and reversal exists, and sometimes you will have to accept very bad things happening to your Nation if a risky gamble fails, or a particularly nasty event happens to you.
In these dark times it helps to remember that no matter how bad things are, simply giving up is not going to make things better. Throwing up your hands in frustration and turning turtle is an excellent way to ensure the worst possible outcome. Rolling with the punches and coming out swinging is often the best way out, for things are sometimes not as dark as they seem and for those who fight on help can often come from unexpected quarters. Even if the situation is so dire that no attack, no matter how good can save your Nation, an epic, well written and played Goetterdammerueng will let you go out in style, and give you a very favorable consideration for bonus points towards a new replacement Nation.
Nations and Their Player Characters
Nations are large, impersonal things. Throughout the course of the game you may feel compelled to personalize your nation by creating named characters and units through whose eyes you can show the events your Power is involved in. This makes for a more interesting story, and gives other players a better feel for your Power. These named characters can be politicians, local citizens, or military soldiers or officers. Of course any named soldiers have to be with units that you actually possess; you can't use an ace fighter pilot as a named character unless you have an actual Fighter squadron from which this character could come.
You can create as many named characters as you like, however while they may often be the heroes of the stories you tell about your Nation, they will not actually be Heroes in the actual play of Beyond the Stars!.
Still, while they do not possess abilities as such, it can be annoying and unnecessary to write up new named characters every time a battle goes badly, so you can choose to have key characters suffer the effects of casualties last. For example, if a squadron of fighters with your named character are blown out of the stars with only one survivor, you can choose to have the named character be in the single plane that escaped, or if all were shot down, he might have successfully bailed out. Alternately, since stories are usually written after combat results are determined, you can simply choose not to have your named character have been part of a battle that turned into a massacre, if it would have been logical for him not to take part, and only have him present in battles that were glorious victories!
The lives of named characters are not always guaranteed, and sometimes due to overwhelming defeat, or perhaps a dramatic story (such as a climactic duel between rival aces), they may still be killed. This can be particularly the case for high profile named characters who are also unique units, like the admiral and crew of a powerful Super-Battleship, or the Mad Scientist of a prominent University, but even a named character who is just a private in an army of millions can sometimes have his number come up. The above rule exists only to prevent gratuitous assassination of a Power's named characters.
National Character
Your Nation is entirely what you make it. Beyond the Stars! does not assign any intrinsic benefits to tyrannical governments over liberal democracies, or to centrally planned economies over free markets. Any such distinctions are made in your description of your Nation, and how you practically play it.
Thus, if you wish a police state, you should start with in a large number of Secret Police and Informers, or if you want a free trade economy, you should let others invest in your nation, have a large merchant fleet and make plenty of Trade Goods. There are some Advantages and Disadvantages that can be used to further define a Nation, but the specific angle those take is still up to you. For example a Fanatical Population could be the result of a bunch of indoctrinated, ignorant peasants ordered to die for the Fatherland, but it could also be the result of a free society who see themselves as the greatest civilization in the galaxy and will defend their freedom to the death.
In the end, it's all up to you, and how you physically construct your Nation.
Mega-Corps Introduction
As a Mega-Corps you are in charge of a powerful non-governmental organization, be it a vast corporation, a seedy criminal syndicate, a wandering mercenary army, or a secretive society, or one of a score of other potential options
At the start of the game, a Mega-Corps has less absolute power than a Nation, having to pay more for Infrastructure and other startup costs, but a Mega-Corps' big advantage is that it can spread across multiple worlds, and from that diverse base can build and expand much faster. While most Nations will be able to destroy a Mega-Corps' holdings in their particular bailiwick if they so choose, the depth of resources held by these groups could make such a move incredibly unwise in the long term.
Additionally, the benefits of national co-operation with a Mega-Corps are not to be discarded lightly. While they may lack the all-purpose power of a Nation, Mega-Corps have unique abilities Nations do not, often specializing in a particular area where they can achieve far greater skill than any Nation. In fact, Nations will often try to gain an alliance with a Mega-Corps, offering them safe havens in return for exclusive services. While valuable, this does come with a downside, as a Mega-Corps that becomes too friendly with one Nation may end up antagonizing that Nation's enemies.
All this means is that a Mega-Corps also requires perhaps the most work to run properly. Rather than being concerned about the affairs of one world, or a localized area of the galaxy, a far-flung Mega-Corps can often find themselves embroiled in multiple separate events, and caught up in complex inter-planetary intrigues and conflicts. This can mean great opportunity to keep yourself involved with the major game events, no matter where they may be occurring, but it also requires greater effort to fully exploit. While Mega-Corps do not usually try to be the focus of the story, they are often the shadowy presence in the background, observing, manipulating, and profiting from the game of Nations.
Mega-Corps and Defeat
As has been mentioned, the Beyond the Stars! galaxy is not an especially friendly place, and while Mega-Corps often strive for neutrality, there will often come a time when conflict is unavoidable. As with Nations, the potential for defeat and reversal exists, and sometimes you will have to accept very bad things happening to your Mega-Corps should one of your schemes fail, or even if events completely out of your control draw you into a war.
Unlike a Nation, a Mega-Corps is rarely threatened in its entirety, and even when the Mega-Corps itself is the direct target of aggression (rather than one of its bases being caught up by unhappy proximity), few enemies have the reach to strike all a Mega-Corps' holdings.
Thus Mega-Corps can often disengage from local setbacks and recoup their losses with their phenomenal expansion rates elsewhere. As a Mega-Corps you should accept the fact that some of your bases may well become casualties, or may have to be abandoned when prudence wins out over pride, but keep in mind that there is always tomorrow and few defeats are lasting for a truly determined Mega-Corps.
Mega-Corps and Their Player Characters
Mega-Corps often have their fingers in many pies, and can benefit from showing their perspective in local affairs first hand. Throughout the course of the game you may feel compelled to personalize stories by creating named characters through whose eyes you can show the events your Power is involved in. This makes for more interesting stories, and gives other players a better feel for your Power. These named characters can be CEOs, local employees, field agents, security personnel, or any other person who might exist in the ranks of your organization. Of course any named soldiers must have units that you actually possess; you can't use an ace test pilot as a named character unless you have an actual Air unit from which this character could come.
You can create as many named characters as you like, however while they may often be the heroes of the stories you tell about your Mega-Corps, they will not actually be heroes in the Stars Beckon! sense of the term. While in the stories they may be depicted as better than the average soldier, their abilities do not actually exceed those of any other unit with the same stats, and naming a character proffers no physical benefits.
Still, while they do not possess abilities as such, it can be annoying and unnecessary to write up new named characters every time a battle goes badly, so you can choose to have key characters suffer the effects of casualties last. For example, if a squadron of pilots testing a prototype fighter with your named character are shot down with only one survivor, you can choose to have the named character be in the single plane that escaped, or if all were shot down, he might have successfully bailed out. Alternately, since stories are usually written after combat results are determined, you can simply choose not to have your named character have been part of a battle that turned into a massacre, if it would have been logical for him not to take part, and only have him present in battles that were glorious victories!
The lives of named characters are not always guaranteed, and sometimes due to overwhelming defeat, or perhaps a dramatic story (such as a climactic duel between rival aces), they may still be killed. This can be particularly the case for high profile named characters who are also unique units, like the admiral and crew of a powerful Super-Battleship, or the Oracle of a prominent temple, but even a named character who is just a private in an army of millions can sometimes have his number come up. The above rule exists only to prevent gratuitous assassination of a Power's named characters.
