Its mentioned somewhere in the first post that anything that affects a heroes energy only has half the effect :)
Also, if feedback were to be nerfed, it'd be nerfed vs heroes only, not in overall. Feedback should and will always have the same effect as usual against units like ghosts and high templar.
Well, according to what you wrote below, he never really was part of the Pirates (At least not the major faction, led by Doom Bonecrusher. He's no idiot and would make sure any talented person would be put to good use :p Ofc, it could also be that your character joined the Outsiders before Doom came to power. But nevermind, this is sort of irrelevant :p I just expected that "formerly pirates" meant he actually was part of them, and not just his family or whatever :p
Shredder grenade
Energy: 50
Deals 25 damage with 2 radius and removes all armor for affected units for 10 seconds.
Sorry, just couldn't suppress the grammar nazi inside me.
Concussive shell
Energy: 100
Stuns all units for 4 seconds in a 2 radius deals 50 damage.
Seeing as Zanryu is getting a weaker variation of this spell for lower energy cost, I'm willing to let this pass. If any of the other GMs is against this, tell me
Ok... I highly advise against going for 1 speed. Speed affects how many posts your character spends travelling from system A to system B, and 1 speed really isn't a great idea. In addition to that, it also means you won't be able to outrun *any* ship that might be following you, and your low maneuverability means you can't hide from anything either.
Ultimately, it's all up to you, but seeing as the Outsiders are a relatively weak faction with pretty powerful enemies, it'd be a lot smarter to have a flagship capable of going undetected and/or outrunning other flagships. Either that or you should have something capable of holding out in a flagship v flagship battle. I highly suggest cutting that cargo stat (as it isn't used) and putting the points into speed and maneuverability. And yea, high cargo would sort of be the roleplaying thing to go for, but being able to hold 700 marines is quite a lot, even for role playing a cargo ship. Yea, this is supposed to be about role playing, but it's also supposed to be a game, and you wouldn't shoot yourself in the leg just to be able to act the role of Dr. House in a play either. A cargo stat of 2-3 would be more than enough to represent a cargo vessel, and generally any cargo vessel trying to get through the Locker would have a better speed and maneuv stat simply so that it wouldn't be a sitting duck in case of a pirate attack :p Ok, I should stop rambling. To summarise: Strongly suggest modification of flagship stats, but it's your decision.
Wherever applicable, sc2 stats are used. That means firebats and medics cost 2 supply each (they were present in the campaign), so you'd need to pay twice as much for the amount of medics and firebats you currently want to buy.
Fix what's mentioned, and everything should be approved :)
Note to self*: Color tags break if they span over multiple paragraphs.
*"Self" being anyone who will ever consider using color tags on this forum
As Orloth said, flagships are most of the time custom built. It doesn't have to be a carrier or mothership, and it also can't really be used as a proper unit so it wouldn't be able to actually fill the purpose of a warp prism. Feel free to think up something yourself. Seeing as you've got a good weapons score, maybe you should focus your design to reflect that?
And another thing, talked to Vjetar/Wind but its 2 AM for us so he left and I said I'd post on his behalf: The ability changes he proposed were the entire abilities. Instead of adding a debuff that is consumed, Mind Implosion should instantly deal damage, and Mental chain should act as a chain lightning, instantly hitting all three units (He didn't mention units having to die, so I'm assuming it'll jump even if the unit lives).
Oh, and I see you have 2 cargo, but only 50 supply of units. You could just lower the cargo to 1 and buy 30 extra supply with the extra points you get from that - you can upgrade your flagship once you have the money to do so, so the lowered cargo isn't permanent.
Uh... You do know that those 300 points have to be divided onto characters, flagship and army tech (i.e. "permission" to use units and upgrades)?
Divided equally, that puts 100 points into the flagship, which would mean that it would have roughly 4 in all stats if divided equally again, a 100 point hero is fairly good but some people would like to make multiple seperate heroes, and even then most of my GM heroes cost roughly 200 points each and those are good, but not extremely good.
Marines, marauder and medivac tech + lvl 1 weapons and armor + stimpack and concussive shields cost 79 points, add 20 points needed to buy 200 supply of units to that and you're at 99 points in your army.
To answer your question, any surplus points are kept. Also, if you still find 300 points to be too much, remember that colonizing a planet costs 100 points so you might as well try that :p
EDIT: The Flying Drunkman, the flagship owned by the leader of the pirate faction, Cap'n Doom Bonecrusher, and it's army cost 815 points altogether, and that doesn't even have maxed upgrades and doesn't include the 2 hero characters on board. The second and third ship in his fleet cost 432 points each. The average NPC fleet costs 230ish points, without hero characters. Just to put things in perspective a bit.
In order to stop the Zerg, the Terrans have formed a Coalition, led by the Quantum Legion, owner of the Worldship Arken, armed with a Graviton Cannon, a weapon powerful enough to blast a hole into a planet.
But not all colonies have joined the Coalition, and now call themselves the Outsiders after having been united by Ray Kane, a man with a personal score to settle with the Coalition for abandoning his homeworld to the zerg. In addition to that, now that the zerg seemingly have stopped their advance into the sector, some people feel like the Quantum Legion isn’t supposed to be in charge any longer.
Dr. Neal Smith is in charge, but stays in his lab on the Arken mostly. the stunning Keeva Lane usually communicates on his behalf. As a powerful Ghost/Spectre combination, the high ranked people fear her. The fact the she knows Darth Waiter well doesn’t help make people feel more secure in their own heads when she is around. The fear is pretty irrational though, as she is a rather kind and reasonable person (especially for an ex-assasin). The Quantum Legion is in charge of the Coalition for multiple reasons, including that they would win any democratic vote due to focusing more on helping the people than military power, and because they would win a leader-only vote because they are the only faction everyone believes isn’t selfish, and last but not least because they own the Arken.
Lead by Lord Domovoi Aranov, this faction protects most planets of the Terran Coalition and serves as one of the two main military factions. It is in good standing with all the other factions.
Aranov doesn’t like the military passivity of the Quantum Legion. The Technocracy shares Aranov’s views, they’d rather have him in charge than the Legion. But Aranov would never harm the Legion or Coalition - He has sworn to himself to be a better ruler than his father and cares deeply for not only his people, but all terrans, with the exception of Doom Bonecrusher and anyone who tries to kill him.
He also really dislikes the Pirates. Partially because they are pirates, and partially because they rival him as a military faction. The fact that insulting them doesn’t seem to have any effect doesn’t make him any happier. Tech Sold:
Marine
Marauder
Viking
Siege Tank
Thor
Medic
Battlecruiser
They mostly just focus on building machines and supplying the Coalition with gear. They don’t care much for diplomacy, but they dislike the Technocracy because it thinks it’s superior to them, and they like the QL because they are superior to the Republic, but don’t act that way, and also develop new technology and share it. They get along very well with the Magratheans. While they don’t really like the pirates, they are good for business, so they get along.
Tech sold:
Goliath
Hellion
Siege Tank
Thor
Vulture
Viking
Dropship
Wraith
Air and Mech non-caster upgrades (up to level 2)
Generally nice people, mostly civilians, they rely heavily on the military support of the pirates and Aranov. They like the QL as they really aren’t fans of wars and other things that would happen under the rule of Aranov, which is also the reason they prefer the Pirates over him. The little military they have consists mostly of infantry.
The Magratheans weren’t too affected by the zerg attacks as they live in systems rather far away from where the battles happened. They also don’t mind the protoss, and treat them with the same friendliness they get from them.
They think rather highly of themselves. Their leader has a good relationship with Aranov since he shows them the respect they think they deserve, which is why they support Aranov over the Quantum Legion. They also see the Legion as a rival as they are the only ones producing and designing more advanced tech than them.
They really dislike the pirates, and will oftentimes reject the help of pirates unless really needed.
Tech Sold:
Science Vessel
Ghost
Spectre
Medic
Medivac
Banshee
Nuclear Missiles (equivalent of 5 supply each) All upgrades (Except for Raven and Battlecruiser upgrades)
The Pirate Empire fell apart with the death of Adm’rl Damn Bonecrusher, some time before the zerg attacks. His son, Cap’n Doom Bonecrusher, rebuilt the empire again though, and built up a good relationship with the Quantum Legion, good enough to have the pirates officially included in the Coalition and are actually a major part of their military. While the pirates prefer being freelance and don’t like the fact that five of the biggest factions are now off-limits for raiding, they do like the paychecks they are getting.
Of course, not all pirates are loyal to Doom Bonecrusher. He only controls about two thirds of the pirates of Eurim, the rest are still freelance, or work for the Outsiders.
Tech Sold
None.
Other things sold:
Their loyalty
Surplus relatives
The Outsiders, a faction created and led by Ray Kane, are a large group of fringe worlds that united knowing that the Coalition wouldn’t be able to defend such weak and far away planets. Most of them now wish the undoing of the Coalition, and Ray Kane is organising attacks on their planets. The Pirates and Aranov are proving quite a challenge to him though.
Tech Sold
Everything available in BW (That also means sc2 upgrades like Combat Shields aren't available)
Only the Auruleans, Outsiders and Quantum Legion sell level 3 upgrades and caster upgrades, other factions will only sell up to level 2 of the specified upgrades and upgrades for non-caster units they sell. (Combat Shields, Stim, Wraith Cloak, Concussive Shells, Siege mode, etc.) Buying caster and higher level upgrades will require you to be at a good standing with the selling faction.
Also, I did not forget to leave out sold upgrades for the Aranov Consectorate - They simply don't sell any.
All units available in WoL (Including the campaign) and in BW are available here, but apart from your starting tech, you have to purchase the tech from from specific factions. (which means that you must also be on speaking terms with the faction you wish to buy from)
HotS and custom units are not available from the start - But you can go and ask one of the factions and help in their development.
Protoss
From the moment they arrived in Eurim, the protoss have been a divided people. Instead of uniting them, the wish to rebuild their once great civilization resulted in a conflict of ideologies and interests. Following a short civil war, the Ancestral Imperium of Protoss established itself as the dominant protoss faction, with the Nerazim Tama Tribe and the Wandering Tribes as its only opposition.
However, a series of insurgent attacks by unsatisfied protoss parties prompted the Imperium to impose harsh measures against its own populace in an effort to neutralize the threat. This proved to be a fatal mistake: many of the subjugated protoss saw this as a threat to their own freedom and openly rebelled, giving the Imperium no other choice but to drive them out, leading to the formation of the Exiled Tribes which are, to this day, the second most powerful protoss faction.
Prior to the zerg invasion, the protoss enjoyed a relatively peaceful period during which conflicts with themselves and the terrans were constant but small-scale. However, the arrival of the zerg threw the race into chaos as each faction fought against the invaders separately. It took the efforts of one praetor Erana to strike an alliance between all factions and cooperate with the Terrans to end the threat. This culminated in the Battle of the Arken, a decisive victory against the zerg.
However, following the victory over the zerg, the Ancestral Imperium had praetor Erana arrested for cooperation with enemy factions and the terrans. The protoss-terran alliance fell apart as quickly as it was formed and the Imperium’s populace was driven apart by the formation of Erana’s Order, a renegade group of protoss sworn to end the rule of the Imperium.
Since then, tensions between the protoss factions have been higher than ever. The Imperium is still powerful but paralyzed by its own people’s views and is finding it more and more difficult to fight its growing opposition. Contact with the other two races has been almost non existent for the past two years marking a period of relative isolation in recent protoss history.
Lore:
Led by the Ruling Council, Ancestral Imperium is a conservative, aristocratic and xenophobic oligarchy based heavily on the beliefs of the first Protoss Empire. It is easily the largest protoss faction and Its beliefs, laws and government are stem from the race’s roots (hence the adjective Ancestral). Its government believes that the first Protoss Empire marked the Golden Age of protoss and is working towards restoring such an ideal state.
Due to the protection offered by its military power, most protoss are part of the Imperium and, in light of the recent Zerg invasion and growing Terran power, share its views. This includes racial segregation and hostility towards Nerazim (whom the government tolerates only because of their abilities on the battlefield).
The Ancestral Imperium has enough power to take over the other protoss factions, given ideal circumstances. However, the recent imprisonment of Erana following her close cooperation with terrans to repulse the zerg threat has divided the Imperium. Many supporters of Erana have left the Imperium and formed their own faction. Those who stayed no longer fully support the Imperium and this has contributed to growing internal tensions. This, and the possibility that the smaller protoss factions will unite if the Imperium proves to be hostile, has kept the Empire paralyzed.
Tech: Zealots, Dragoons, High Templar, Dark Templar, Archons, Scouts, Phoenixes, Carriers, Mothership, Arbiters, Colossi, Immortals, Observers, Warp Prisms, Tempests.
Lore:
Composed of the Areos, Vat’ra and Undri Tribes, the Exiled Tribes are the second largest and second most powerful protoss faction. Much like the Imperium, they are ruled over by a central Council composed of representatives from each Tribe.
As their name suggests, these tribes were “exiled” (hunted and driven out) in the early days of the Ancestral Imperium due to conflicting views and a large Nerazim population. Ever since then, the Exiled Tribes have remained opposed to the Imperium, at first hiding and fleeing from its forces and then engaging in open conflict once the Imperium’s might began to sway and the Tribes’ own was established. While they are opposed to the Imperium, the Exiled Tribes are not necessarily friendly towards terrans. In fact, their initially precarious economic situation forced them to raid terran settlements and this in turn established hostilities between the two sides. One defining characteristic of the Exiled Tribes is the equality of Khalai and Nerazim in society and the way they coexist.
Tech: Zealots, Stalkers, Sentries, High Templar, Dark Templar, Archons, Corsairs, Scouts, Void Rays, Carriers, Immortals, Observers, Warp Prisms, Colossi
Lore:
A purely Nerazim tribe, the Tama Tribe adheres to the traditional methods of Nerazim rule. There exists a single ruler who ensures that the different parts of the tribe work together in times of crisis. Generally peaceful, the Tama avoid conflict and are on good terms with the Exiled Tribes while passively opposing the Imperium. They have been known to cooperate with terrans and were the first protoss faction to join them in the war against the zerg.
Lore:
The Wandering tribes are a small collection of protoss tribes that care little for territory and power and spend their time wandering and exploring the stars. Peaceful but capable of military action, they are not deemed a threat by the Imperium or Exiled Tribes and are therefore left alone and isolated. They are the only protoss who did not participate in the war against the zerg and rarely if ever come into contact with terrans (and protoss, for that matter).
Composed of the Xa’en, Dragul, Synir and Eruen tribes, the Wanderers have no hierarchy or central ruler and rarely organize themselves. They are masterful explorers and the only known protoss faction that tolerates the creation of Dark Archons.
Tech: Zealots, Stalkers, High Templar, Dark Templar, Archons, Dark Archons, Reavers, Void Rays, Scouts, Corsairs, Observers, Shuttles, Arbiters.
Lore:
By far the youngest protoss faction, Erana’s Order is made up of those supporters of praetor Erana who left the Imperium following her imprisonment. It is a small faction and owns only a very small amount of territory but it is by far the most united, organized and experienced protoss faction around. It has close ties to the Terran Coalition and is on friendly terms with both the Exiled Tribes and the Tama Tribe.
It openly defies the Imperium and actively fights its forces, engaging in sabotage and raiding. However, despite its advantages, Erana’s Order is beginning to become plagued by low morale and crippled by dwindling numbers.
Tech: Zealots, Dragoons, Stalkers, Sentries, High Templar, Dark Templars, Immortals, Colossi, Scouts, Phoenixes, Corsairs, Observers, Warp Prisms.
Effect: Removes all of target's energy and deals damage equal to energy removed.
Targets: Ground and air, single.
Range: 10
Maelstorm (100 energy):
Effect: Stuns all organic units in AoE for a short duration.
Targets: Ground and Air
Radius: 1.5
Duration: 5
Range: 10
Mind Control (150 energy):
Effect: Permanently takes controls of target non-heroic unit. Drains caster's shields. If a transport is targetted, all non-heroic units inside it will be mind controlled. DOES NOT MAKE TECH AVAILABLE FOR PLAYER!
Targets: Ground and Air. Single.
Duration: Permanent.
Shields Lost: All.
Range: 9
In the Battle of the Arken, much of the Swarm was destroyed, and many of it’s dominate cerebrates were slain, to be replaced by Infested Terrans of Incredible Psychic Power, and Feral Beasts bred from the turmoils of the lengthy campaign. While the remaining Cerebrates are increasingly anxious about this power shift within the swarm, the Overmind allows the usurpers the free reign to show their worth. Little do the inhabitants of this sector know, that the Overmind already accomplished all his goals well before he was stopped from conquering the sector, and now readies the swarm for the events that are to come.
The swarm is not one unified force, but many Broods, all competing for evolutionary superiority. The most recent campaign showed many weaknesses to the Brood’s evolution, in addition to providing a vast array of new genetic material to work with. In the calm since the war ended, new breeds have been made, as the Broods war against each other to display their superiority. It is a constant battle for not just physical strength, but also strategic knowledge, and often, guile and treachery. The law of the jungle reigns supreme as the Overmind watches, oddly quiet, as if waiting for something. That unifying order of the Overmind’s voice has not been heard for some time now, only his ever watching eye. What the ageless creature is waiting for, has yet to be made clear.
The Cerebrate Draal is perhaps the oldest of the Cerebrates, second only to his counterpart within the Nirogg Brood. As such, he possesses a careful patience and tactical understanding, along with an insurmountable will to succeed. His brood reflects this, by being bred to be the best in lengthy conflicts. The Gracken Brood represents the unstoppable force that is the swarm. Among Draal’s most prized breeds is the mighty Ultralisk, a unstoppable beast who can single handedly break a terran seige, and when bred in mass spells the end to any ground army.
Zemreh has always been a bit flighty and erratic, prefering to create chaos rather then go for the straightforward kill. This has often put him at odds with his counterpart within the Gracken Brood, but recent events have forced the two Elder Cerebrates into a close alliance within the Swarm. Still, their many disagreements could end the alliance quite suddenly and without warning... The Nirogg Brood wields the Devourer to become unquestioning masters of the stars and sky, and the Brood Lord to take full advantage of this air dominance.
The Brood Mother Shaharaz is considered to be an unpredictable beast by her peers, but underneath her savagery rests on a wild cunning and a savage intellect. Shaharaz brought the Fenrir Brood back together after the death of the Cerebrate Lokin, and leads the hounds of war with ruthless efficiency. Fenrir focuses on being everywhere at once, like a wolf pack cutting off retreat and then overwhelming their opponent. As such they favor many cheap and disposable units. The Swarm Host, a recent mutation of the Infestor, fits with this design perfectly, while the Defiler keeps combat within close quarters, where the Hounds of War work best.
The Cerebrate Baal was a devious creature, and had a strange tendancy to Infest terrans and turn them loose as his ‘Prophets’. However, when Baal met his end at Dras Lana, one of the Prophets took power. This Infested Terran, calling herself Lilith after the ancient Temptress of Legend and claiming the title of Nightmare Queen, now commands the Themos Brood. She is known for turning allies against each other, and completely circumventing a well planned defense. She makes use of the Lurker and the Nydus Worm, as well as many other burrowing evolutions, to turn the very earth against her opponents.
As another Prophet of the Cerebrate Baal, Orloth, the self titled Lord of Shadows, was Lilith’s main contender for dominion over the Themos Brood. After his defeat, he fled to the outskirts of Terran space to rebuild his power base. He lives now by the simple fact that none of the other broods can spare the forces to squish him without risking a counterattack from a rival Brood, and the Terrans haven’t yet figured out that he is occupying one of their abandoned mining outposts. Orloth’s new Fenguar Brood utilizes the Viper to help manipulate the battlefield, leveling the odds for this fledgling Brood.
Cost: 150 minerals (plus drone)
Requires: Spawning Pool
Modifiers: Armored, Biological, Ground, Structure
Health: 300
Armor: 1
Energy: 25/200
Abilities:
~ Fervor (25 energy): Grants 50% haste to units in a 2 radius of targeted location for 10 seconds. Includes movement, attack speed and mining speed.
~ Spawn Creep Tumor (25 energy): As Queen. In addition, the Cerebrate generates creep out to radius 8.
~ Mental Link (75 energy per second): The Cerebrate transfers energy to target zerg energy using unit.
Viper (HotS ~ Lair level Battle Control Specialist)
Cost: 100 minerals / 200 gas / 3 control
Requires: Lair
Modifiers: Biological, Ground, Light, Psychic
Health: 120
Armor: 0 (+1 per FC)
Energy: 50/200
Mov. Speed: 3.75
Abilities:
~ Ocular Parasite (50 energy): The viper grants detection to an allied non-massive unit. The viper can target other vipers or itself with this ability. It can only be used once.
~ Abduct (100 energy): The viper targets a unit and pulls that unit to the viper's location. This allows it to pull allies to safety, or pull enemy units out of position. The ability can pull units up and down cliffs.
~ Blinding Cloud (75 energy): The viper spits a green cloud lasting 15 seconds. Ranged units in the cloud have their ranged reduced to one. Units can move out of the cloud to fire normally.
Cost: 50 minerals / 100 gas / 3 control
Evolves from: Hydralisk
Requires: Lurker Den (Morphs from Hydralisk Den)
Modifiers: Armored, Biological, Ground
Health: 200
Armor: 1 (+1 per GC)
Mov. Speed: 3.375
Armament: Subterranean Spines (must be burrowed)
~ Damage: 15 + 15 vs armored (+2/2 per RA)
~ Targets: Ground (Linear splash to max range)
~ Range 6 (9 with Seismic Spines)
~ Cooldown: 3
Abilities:
~ Burrow: As all zerg. Does not require research.
Cost: 100 minerals / 100 gas / 2 control
Requires: Infestation Pit
Modifiers: Biological, Flying, Light, Psychic
Health: 120
Armor: 0 (+1 per FC)
Energy: 50/200 (75/200 with Gamete Meiosis)
Mov. Speed: 3
Abilities:
~ Parasite (75 energy): Attaches a parasite to target unit or critter. Infecting player sees everything the infected unit sees. Infected detectors reveal cloaked and burrowed units. Infected cloaked or burrowed units are always visible to the infecting player.
~ Ensnare (75 energy): All units within radius 2 of the targeted area will have their movement and attack speed reduced by half for 15 seconds. Cloaked units caught in the area will also be revealed for the spell's duration.
~ Spawn Broodling (requires upgrade) (150 energy): Instantly destroyes target ground unit, creating two broodlings. Archons, Dark Archons and Robotic units such as Probes, Reaves and Collosi and units with the Heroic modifier may not be targeted. Broodlings last a maximum of 180 seconds.
~ Infest Command Center: Converts a badly damaged terran command center into an infested command center. A queen moves over a flying or grounded building and disappears for a short time. Control of the building only changes when the infesting queen reappears. The now-infested command center is restored to full health.
Cost: 150 minerals / 50 gas / 4 control
Evolves from: Mutalisk
Requires: Greater Spire
Modifiers: Armored, Biological, Flying
Health: 250
Armor: 2 (+1 per FC)
Mov. Speed: 3
Armament: Corrosive Acid
~ Damage: 15 +10 vs armored (+1/1 per FA)
~ Target: Air
~ Range: 6
~ Cooldown: 3
~ Special: Acid Spores: The Devourers attack applies Acid Spores to all units within radius 1 of the Devourer's target. A unit affected by spores will be revealed (if cloaked), have its attack cooldown increased by 1/8 per spore, and take 1 point of additional damage from every attack for every spore attached. A maximum of 9 spores may affect a target at any one time. Acid Spores lasts 10 seconds.
Cost: 50 minerals / 150 gas / 2 control
Requires: Defiler Mound
Modifiers: Biological, Flying, Light, Psychic
Health: 80
Armor: 1 (+1 per GC)
Energy: 50/200 (75/200 with Metasynaptic Node)
Mov. Speed: 2
Abilities:
~ Consume: Consumes a friendly Zerg unit, taking its life and giving the Defiler 50 more energy.
~ Dark Swarm (100 energy): Shields units within radius 3 of target area from ranged attacks. Ranged attacks with splash damage only deal minimal splash damage. Firebat and lurker attacks, and damage from cast abilities, are totally unaffected.
~ Plague(requires upgrade) (150 energy): Sprays all units and buildings within radius 2 of target area with spores that inflicts 25 damage per second for a maximum of 295 damage. 'Plague' will not kill or destroy affected units and buildings leaving at least 1 hit point. Plague does not drain shields but will affect the hit points underneath regardless of shield strength. Affected cloaked units will be revealed.
~ Burrow: As all zerg ground.
Telling stories is fun, but what is even better is when we can get together as a group and combine our storytelling prowess to tell a more epic, funny, villainousness, heroic, tragic, dramatic, etc. story. Even better, even the writers never know where it is going to go because someone else might have a completely other idea. This is what a forum RPG is.
Omens of Doom, the previous RPG, was first and foremost an experimental RPG with the aim of identifying what works and does not work. Embers of Peace aims to improve upon its predecessor and offer a more creative experience without straying too far from the original design.
Therefore, this time around, the RPG will be set in a non-canon sector called Eurim, centuries after the WoL storyline. While it will be a game, it would be primarily story/lore driven. A player would create a character(s) and initial force using the point system provided and would then start playing. Participants would post their actions in the form of narrative (creative writing) and would thus interact with the NPC factions and other players.
Like in the previous RPG, players will have command over one flagship (a really big something, think Hyperion, Super Carrier, Zerg Behemoth or Leviathan, the Purifier, something of that caliber) as well as an army and heroes of their own design(within lore restrictions please). In the style of the Wings of Liberty campaign, players will need to buy or procure all of their tech and will be able to customize even the standard units to fit their play style.
This is the Game Master account shared by the two GWs and the GM:
The Almaity who is in charge of all things Terran (except the education system, he’s given up hope there)
Wind who is in charge of all things Protoss (Except the few protoss that are part of Doom Bonecrusher’s crew)
Orloth who is in charge of all things Zerg (Except for... Uh... Actually, no exceptions here.)
Rule Number 1: This is a game. Play it to have fun, or don't play at all. Have respect for your fellow players and those Game Mastering.
Rule Number 2: The GM (Game Master) is the final arbiter on all rules and systems. He creates and interprets the rules of play and settles disputes. In order for him to be effective, his word must be final. He may also assign deputy GMs or Game Wardens to assist him in this process.
The current Game Wardens are Wind, who is in charge of the Protoss NPC Factions, and TheDoctor, who is in charge of the Terran NPC Factions
Rule Number 3: As this game is set in a Starcraft-related Universe, please stick to the lore of the 'verse. As I have not read all of the novels, I lean heavily on The Starcraft Wiki site, and am therefore open to lore debates. However, once decided upon, such a point must remain consistent.
The possibilities are endless, and characters are not restricted to playing good guys. In fact, villainy is encouraged as long as the rules of the game and your fellow players are respected. Here are a few considerations for making your character:
Terran characters have it easy, as the myriad factions and political tensions allow characters with various background to be invented: You could be an Aranov Consectorate commander, a high ranked officer of the Quantum Legion, one of Doom Bonecrusher’s Pirates, an Outsider Rebel, a freelance mercenary, an Aurulean acquisition-and-retrieval fleet, or one of the few Tirion or Magrathean fleet commanders.
The high tension and hostility between the different protoss factions allows protoss players to take one of multiple sides, including their own. They can serve under the mighty Ancestral Imperium, the small but determined Order of Erana or be independent of other protoss. No matter what choice is made, the politically fragile situation is bound to drag both the player and the other factions into a conflict that may very well mark the beginning of a second Aeon of Strife.
As a member of the zerg swarm, a player is but one of many broods, each striving to be the best in the eyes of the almighty Overmind. Since the Swarm’s defeat at the hands of the Coalition’s Arken, the Overmind has been mysteriously quiet, leaving the various Cerebrates, Brood Mothers and Infested Prophets to squabble amongst themselves for territory or choice breeds. Even more, the swarm’s recent defeat caused many broods to be left leaderless and feral, and new minds might arise to rule them.
A character's (or characters' if you want multiple) starting stats are derived using these charts.
DPS is equal to damage divided by attack speed. As there are advantages and disadvantages to both a fast and slow attack speed, this may be decided by the player as long as it is stated when the character is presented. In addition, one may buy situational attack damage (+ vs a unit type, a stronger attack while in melee, or an attack that effects only one plane) for half price.
Abilities function as a miscellaneous column, and include all normal abilities, as well as things such as flight and detection. Abilities will be balanced on a case by case basis by the GM. However, a few guidelines to follow: 1)If it is already present in the game, it will likely be approved. 2)Simpler is better.
Lastly, a character's modifiers (armored, light, biological, mechanical, etc.) should be defined. In addition to the standard Modifiers, all hero characters should have the 'Heroic' Modifier, which grants a 50% reduced duration on crowd control abilities used against your hero, and a 50% reduction to any ability or effect that negatively effects your hero’s energy. The heroic modifier also gives you the option, at your own discretion and subject to GM or GW approval, to have your character not die when reduced to 0 hit points. This plot armor extends only so far as it can reasonably be explained.
For instance, most protoss combat suits are equipped with a teleporter that activates when the wearer is critically injured. So a Protoss Infantry hero could have been teleported to safety at the last possibly second, and then after some R&R be ready to rejoin the fray. Other examples might include Escape Pods for piloted vehicles, Emergency Life Support Systems, Escape Tunnels or a zerg's ability to revive dead organisms.
However, this second life comes at a price. Every time it is used you must either spend 10% of your character's point total (the points spent on that character) or reduce your character's point total by that amount.
Flagships are humongous and mighty and displaying them using usual game stats may be a tad tricky. Beside that, many of them are big enough to be the site of a ground fight, rather then just be another unit on the field. However, this also makes them vulnerable targets in any large scale battle causing them to exist on the fringes of combat, acting as centers for command and control. As such, the flagship's stats are simply a number between 0 and 10 with 0 being nonexistent and 10 being the best of the best. This is relative to all other flagships. A higher number simply means that the ship is better equipped in that category.
The six stats are defined as follows:
Weapons: Is how well armed your ship is, and includes everything used to do damage to your enemy, even the Yamato Cannon, and a Carrier's Interceptors.
Armor: Is how tough your ship is. A higher armor means that your ship can take a beating. Be it through an impressive shield array, an impenetrable carapace, or a heavily reinforced hull, or a combanation of the three this stat represents how much of a beating your flagship can take before core systems fail.
Manueverability: represents how nimble you are in a fight, and also to a lesser extent, how good you are at hiding (as much as a mothership can hide). This stat allows your ship to get traverse within a system and always be where it is needed.
Security: Is how well off your ship is in terms of detection, both internal and external. Many flagships have advanced sensors for sniffing out distant or cloaked units and internal turret emplacements to ward off intruders. A high Security allows you to see your enemy coming, and protects your people from espionage, or waking up with a knife in the back.
Speed: represents how much faster then light your ship can travel, an important consideration for any traveler of the void between the stars. Though there are many ways in which faster then light travel is achieved, they are all expressed with this one stat.
Cargo: reflects how much your ship can carry in terms of equipment, supplies and manpower. For every point in Cargo, you have 100 supply worth of trained and ready-for-action forces ready to be deployed at the Barracks/Gateway/Hatchery or 100 points worth of raw materials to use in trading with other characters or factions. Once lost, those forces will need to be replaced at a friendly port for the cost of points. However, no matter how large a Cargo stat your flagship has, you will only be able to field 200 supplies worth of forces at any given time.
However, as powerful as your flagship is, it is expensive to maintain. Just ordinary maintenance can sap your force of funds very quickly, but combat damage can be especially expensive to repair. If a Flagship is used in combat too much without proper downtime and maintenance, the GM or GWs may subtract points from your flagship's score to reflect damage and neglect. These scores can only be recovered through buying them with Points.
Armies are the backbone of the Starcraft Universe. Without an army to command, it just wouldn't be Starcraft.
The point costs of tech can be found here or calculated using the Army Calculator. The price to buy the ability to create a unit is M/25 + V/12.5 + S where M is Mineral cost, V is the gas cost and S is supply. Upgrades cost the same amount and are permanent. Points spent in units unlock the ability for you to use those units in battle. Points spent on upgrades permanently research that upgrade.
Once you have the ability to build that unit, you still need to build it, and hire a guy to pilot it. Building, Hiring, Training, etc. costs 1 point for every 10 supply of units to a maximum total number based on your flagship’s Cargo score (see the flagship stats above). Worker units do not need to be purchased, and do not count against a flagship’s maximum supply, however any fight assumes equal macro and micro capabilities between players.
Which units and upgrades are available depends on which NPC faction you are trading with. Information on each faction can be found below.
All units, upgrades, tech and hero stats are bought with an arbitrary currency of points. These points may represent virtually anything in game, be it the honor and respect of your fellow protoss brethren, the DNA of your fallen enemies, or cold hard cash; and are the basis by which everything gets balanced.
A starting character may start with 300 points to spend among the three catagories: heroes, flagship, and army. It is highly suggested that you spend about 100 points in each category to start with, but by no means required. The cost of everything is here, and may yet be subject to even more balancing as time goes on and problems are revealed.
The points act as a way to balance starting characters and as a means for progressing and building your characters as you venture forth. Points are generated from mining or controlling a planet, and can be traded around freely. Points are spent in the same manner, by explaining your expenditure in your story and then bugging the GM or GW to edit your character appropriately.
Most points will be generated by Major Factions, as they are the ones that control the most planets, and will be offered to players in exchange for jobs, or as rewards for good service. However, it is also possible for a player army to mine a planet, generating one point per in character post made in the thread; or to start a colony for 100 points, also generating one point per post but allowing the player’s army to leave the site.
While the main goal here is to tell a story, combat is an important part of the 'verse. Therefor, rules of engagement need to be in place.
Every flagship (barring hard times) has the ability to deploy a ground base which then uses the basic resources to deploy combat units from the flagship which are then used to defeat the enemy or complete the objectives up to a maximum supply cap of 200. This number is a representation of the equipment you can keep fueled at one time, or the psionic control you may wield over your minions, or any other lore explanation for the in-game cap of 200 supply.
In a flagship to flagship fight, the need for resources is removed and both sides may choose an army of up to 200 supply to have active, representing fighters, boarding parties, defensive troops, etc. Additional troops may be redeployed based on what is available in the ship’s cargo, but only 200 supply of units may be active at one time. If a ground operation is currently in effect, that may cut into the supply available at the flagship.
In addition, a flagship’s scores may reflect on how the battle proceeds. As a general rule of thumb, a flagship’s weapons score reflects how much damage the flagship can dish out, and armor reflects how much damage a ship can mitigate, absorb or nullify. Therefore, comparing your weapons score to your opponents Armor score, and visa versa can be used to determine how much of an arms advantage exists in the fight. Maneuverability and Security share a similar relationship. Maneuverability may provide a positional or stealth advantage while Security negates it by seeing it coming.
In any combat scenario, the entire situation should be mutually agreed upon by all participants before any in-character posts are made. This is to prevent the In-character thread being cluttered by strategic discussion. Once the course of the fight is decided upon, it is then posted by one player. In some cases, this process may be repeated as necessary. As always, the GM or anyone assigned Wardenship by the GM has final say over the outcome of the fight.
The forces of the Terran Coalition, a loose band of Terran colonies in the Eurim Sector and the Ancestral Empire of the Protoss held an uneasy truce for many years, each prefering to simply ignore the other, rather then force a confrontation. In this manner, both races enjoyed prosperity, far removed from the events of the far away Koprulu sector.
But the zerg had not forgotten them. Without warning, the swarm appeared in Eurim and started laying waste to the sector. Led by the Overmind, seemingly resurrected by some unknown means, and fueled by some mysterious power, the zerg swarm seemed unstoppable.
It took the combined efforts of Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Prof. Prof. (Etc.) Neal Smith of the Quantum Legion and Praeter Erana, then of the Protoss Imperium, to build the Arken, a weapon powerful enough to break the Overmind’s advance. Since then the Sector has stabilized into a relative calm. While the forces of the Overmind have not made any overt advances into new territory, they have not given up any systems they conquered when they first appeared, instead appearing to battle amongst themselves for supremacy.
Meanwhile, both the Terrans and the Protoss are plagued with new problems. The zerg threat had caused the terran colonies to band together far more then they had previously, but now that the threat seems to have been paused many are wondering whether the Absent Minded Dr. Smith and his Quantum Legion should really be left in charge, but do they dare challenge him when he has the keys to the Sectors most powerful super weapon?
The Ancestral Empire of Protoss did not look kindly on the actions of Praeter Erana. She handed the Terrans deadly technology in helping them build the Arken. For her crimes against the Imperium she was sentenced to death, but following the sharp reaction of the Imperium’s citizens, her execution has been stayed indefinitely. In the meantime the Imperium has been fractured and weakened. Many protoss have broken off from the Imperium and formed their own faction, increasing the size and strength of its opposition.
Addendum:
This is the Chargen. This Thread is used for Character Creation, discussing plots and settling disputes. GLHFGG.
Planets are labelled in this format:
Planet Name - Owning Faction - Planet Level
Planet Levels:
M: Metropolis. Houses up to 5 armies and is very well defended. Very high population.
I: Industrial/Infested. Houses up to 3 armies and is relatively well defended. High population.
C: Colony. Houses only 1 army, not that well defended. low-medium populations.
"Housing up to X armies" Doesn't mean that more armies can't be present - If you attack a colony, expect nearby fleets to help defend it. Factions
Faction names have been colored, and yes, some factions have the same color, but they are from different races, and no, races are not mentioned on the map. Colors can be considered the regular team color of that faction (Exception being the pirates, they are black, but that wouldn't have been readable)
Terrans
Ara - Aranov Consectorate Arr! - Pirates Mag - Magrathean Empire Out - The Outsiders QL - Quantum Legion Tec - Aurulean Technocracy Tir - Tirion Republic MTC - Magrathean-Tirion Collective (Played by Mozared2)
Protoss
Anc - Ancestral Imperium Era - Erana's Order Exi - Exiled Tribes Tam - Tama Tribe Wan - Wandering Tribes
Zerg
Fen - Fenrir Brood Fen - Fenguar Brood Grack - Gracken Brood Nir - Nirogg Brood Them - Themos Brood The Overmind - Rather obvious
A massive interstellar lightning storm. Anything that can conduct electricity trying to pass through there wouldn't survive. Scientists might be able to find a way to travel through it safely
A very unique (And tbh, probably impossible. Very impossible.) system, and a rather beautiful sight. Caelorum I and Caelorum II are two rather strange stars that are constantly devouring each other. About every 250 years, they will have succesfully swapped out their entire mass and will consist of a single color. Most of the time one has a purple shell and blue core, and vice versa for the second star. Unfortunately, this creates a rather irregular and insane gravity well, and radiation can also be found in heaps. The radiation interferes with all signals, so it's impossible to find the center of the system - any calculation made would have a possible deviation of thousands of kilometers due to the irregularity of the systems radiation and gravitation.
The gravitation itself can also mess up your day - Let's say you actually manage to pinpoint the system and exit warpspace right on the edge of it, there's a good chance you'll find yourself trapped in a sort of tentacle of gravity and hurtle towards the star at a speed that you should hope no cops see you travelling at.
A green nebula, looks attractive from the outside. Looks attractive from the inside as well, providing your face hasn't been torn of by the Zerg inhabiting it.
A rather dark and intriguing nebula, and very unexplored. It interferes with communications a lot, so very little ships have travelled far into, and most haven't come back. Some think there are dark things hiding inside it destroying the ships, while others blame the missing ships on the Pirates of Karibia that inhabit a system somewhere in there.
An asteroid field that spans a rather large area. A lot of the asteroid are just asteroids, but it's also partially a ship graveyard. No one is entirely sure where most of the ships are from. Not much exploration has been done in the empty space of the Locker, not because of some irrational fear of monsters, unless you call the Bonecrusher Pirates monsters, which is entirely acceptable. It is said that they have their base of operations somewhere in there, but no one is stupid enough to go looking for them. (No, I'm not underestimating human stupidity here.)
A supernova remnant located between the Ilyr, Sindiris and Hades systems. The shockwave is still travelling at a speed high enough to crush a spaceship passing through it as if it were a cardboard coffee cup a kilometer deep in an ocean. Warp-travelling through it only makes the death of the crew quicker, if such a thing is possible.
Scientists theorize though that with the right armor and technology and a well calculated route of short jumps, it should be able to breach the shockwave and reach the system it originated from.
@yukaboy: Go
Its mentioned somewhere in the first post that anything that affects a heroes energy only has half the effect :)
Also, if feedback were to be nerfed, it'd be nerfed vs heroes only, not in overall. Feedback should and will always have the same effect as usual against units like ghosts and high templar.
Rory Lockhart, Terran engineer
Affliction: The Outsiders, formerly The Pirates
Well, according to what you wrote below, he never really was part of the Pirates (At least not the major faction, led by Doom Bonecrusher. He's no idiot and would make sure any talented person would be put to good use :p Ofc, it could also be that your character joined the Outsiders before Doom came to power. But nevermind, this is sort of irrelevant :p I just expected that "formerly pirates" meant he actually was part of them, and not just his family or whatever :p
Shredder grenade
Energy: 50
Deals 25 damage with 2 radius and removes all armor for affected units for 10 seconds.
Sorry, just couldn't suppress the grammar nazi inside me.
Concussive shell
Energy: 100
Stuns all units for 4 seconds in a 2 radius deals 50 damage.
Seeing as Zanryu is getting a weaker variation of this spell for lower energy cost, I'm willing to let this pass. If any of the other GMs is against this, tell me
Ok... I highly advise against going for 1 speed. Speed affects how many posts your character spends travelling from system A to system B, and 1 speed really isn't a great idea. In addition to that, it also means you won't be able to outrun *any* ship that might be following you, and your low maneuverability means you can't hide from anything either.
Ultimately, it's all up to you, but seeing as the Outsiders are a relatively weak faction with pretty powerful enemies, it'd be a lot smarter to have a flagship capable of going undetected and/or outrunning other flagships. Either that or you should have something capable of holding out in a flagship v flagship battle. I highly suggest cutting that cargo stat (as it isn't used) and putting the points into speed and maneuverability. And yea, high cargo would sort of be the roleplaying thing to go for, but being able to hold 700 marines is quite a lot, even for role playing a cargo ship. Yea, this is supposed to be about role playing, but it's also supposed to be a game, and you wouldn't shoot yourself in the leg just to be able to act the role of Dr. House in a play either. A cargo stat of 2-3 would be more than enough to represent a cargo vessel, and generally any cargo vessel trying to get through the Locker would have a better speed and maneuv stat simply so that it wouldn't be a sitting duck in case of a pirate attack :p Ok, I should stop rambling. To summarise: Strongly suggest modification of flagship stats, but it's your decision.
Wherever applicable, sc2 stats are used. That means firebats and medics cost 2 supply each (they were present in the campaign), so you'd need to pay twice as much for the amount of medics and firebats you currently want to buy.
Fix what's mentioned, and everything should be approved :)
Note to self*: Color tags break if they span over multiple paragraphs.
*"Self" being anyone who will ever consider using color tags on this forum
@Zanryu1337: Go
As Orloth said, flagships are most of the time custom built. It doesn't have to be a carrier or mothership, and it also can't really be used as a proper unit so it wouldn't be able to actually fill the purpose of a warp prism. Feel free to think up something yourself. Seeing as you've got a good weapons score, maybe you should focus your design to reflect that?
And another thing, talked to Vjetar/Wind but its 2 AM for us so he left and I said I'd post on his behalf: The ability changes he proposed were the entire abilities. Instead of adding a debuff that is consumed, Mind Implosion should instantly deal damage, and Mental chain should act as a chain lightning, instantly hitting all three units (He didn't mention units having to die, so I'm assuming it'll jump even if the unit lives).
Oh, and I see you have 2 cargo, but only 50 supply of units. You could just lower the cargo to 1 and buy 30 extra supply with the extra points you get from that - you can upgrade your flagship once you have the money to do so, so the lowered cargo isn't permanent.
@Markllousk: Go
Uh... You do know that those 300 points have to be divided onto characters, flagship and army tech (i.e. "permission" to use units and upgrades)?
Divided equally, that puts 100 points into the flagship, which would mean that it would have roughly 4 in all stats if divided equally again, a 100 point hero is fairly good but some people would like to make multiple seperate heroes, and even then most of my GM heroes cost roughly 200 points each and those are good, but not extremely good.
Marines, marauder and medivac tech + lvl 1 weapons and armor + stimpack and concussive shields cost 79 points, add 20 points needed to buy 200 supply of units to that and you're at 99 points in your army.
To answer your question, any surplus points are kept. Also, if you still find 300 points to be too much, remember that colonizing a planet costs 100 points so you might as well try that :p
EDIT: The Flying Drunkman, the flagship owned by the leader of the pirate faction, Cap'n Doom Bonecrusher, and it's army cost 815 points altogether, and that doesn't even have maxed upgrades and doesn't include the 2 hero characters on board. The second and third ship in his fleet cost 432 points each. The average NPC fleet costs 230ish points, without hero characters. Just to put things in perspective a bit.
The Terrans
In order to stop the Zerg, the Terrans have formed a Coalition, led by the Quantum Legion, owner of the Worldship Arken, armed with a Graviton Cannon, a weapon powerful enough to blast a hole into a planet.
But not all colonies have joined the Coalition, and now call themselves the Outsiders after having been united by Ray Kane, a man with a personal score to settle with the Coalition for abandoning his homeworld to the zerg. In addition to that, now that the zerg seemingly have stopped their advance into the sector, some people feel like the Quantum Legion isn’t supposed to be in charge any longer.
Quantum Legion
Aranov Consectorate
Tirion Republic
Magrathean Empire
The Aurulean Technocracy
The Pirates
The Outsiders
Special note on upgrades sold:
Special/Custom Units:
Protoss
From the moment they arrived in Eurim, the protoss have been a divided people. Instead of uniting them, the wish to rebuild their once great civilization resulted in a conflict of ideologies and interests. Following a short civil war, the Ancestral Imperium of Protoss established itself as the dominant protoss faction, with the Nerazim Tama Tribe and the Wandering Tribes as its only opposition.
However, a series of insurgent attacks by unsatisfied protoss parties prompted the Imperium to impose harsh measures against its own populace in an effort to neutralize the threat. This proved to be a fatal mistake: many of the subjugated protoss saw this as a threat to their own freedom and openly rebelled, giving the Imperium no other choice but to drive them out, leading to the formation of the Exiled Tribes which are, to this day, the second most powerful protoss faction.
Prior to the zerg invasion, the protoss enjoyed a relatively peaceful period during which conflicts with themselves and the terrans were constant but small-scale. However, the arrival of the zerg threw the race into chaos as each faction fought against the invaders separately. It took the efforts of one praetor Erana to strike an alliance between all factions and cooperate with the Terrans to end the threat. This culminated in the Battle of the Arken, a decisive victory against the zerg.
However, following the victory over the zerg, the Ancestral Imperium had praetor Erana arrested for cooperation with enemy factions and the terrans. The protoss-terran alliance fell apart as quickly as it was formed and the Imperium’s populace was driven apart by the formation of Erana’s Order, a renegade group of protoss sworn to end the rule of the Imperium.
Since then, tensions between the protoss factions have been higher than ever. The Imperium is still powerful but paralyzed by its own people’s views and is finding it more and more difficult to fight its growing opposition. Contact with the other two races has been almost non existent for the past two years marking a period of relative isolation in recent protoss history.
The Ancestral Imperium of Protoss
The Exiled Tribes
The Tama Tribe
The Wandering Tribes
Erana’s Order
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Zerg
In the Battle of the Arken, much of the Swarm was destroyed, and many of it’s dominate cerebrates were slain, to be replaced by Infested Terrans of Incredible Psychic Power, and Feral Beasts bred from the turmoils of the lengthy campaign. While the remaining Cerebrates are increasingly anxious about this power shift within the swarm, the Overmind allows the usurpers the free reign to show their worth. Little do the inhabitants of this sector know, that the Overmind already accomplished all his goals well before he was stopped from conquering the sector, and now readies the swarm for the events that are to come.
The swarm is not one unified force, but many Broods, all competing for evolutionary superiority. The most recent campaign showed many weaknesses to the Brood’s evolution, in addition to providing a vast array of new genetic material to work with. In the calm since the war ended, new breeds have been made, as the Broods war against each other to display their superiority. It is a constant battle for not just physical strength, but also strategic knowledge, and often, guile and treachery. The law of the jungle reigns supreme as the Overmind watches, oddly quiet, as if waiting for something. That unifying order of the Overmind’s voice has not been heard for some time now, only his ever watching eye. What the ageless creature is waiting for, has yet to be made clear.
The Gracken Brood ~ Assault and Siege Specialists
The Nirogg Brood ~ Rulers of the Sky
The Fenrir Brood ~ Overwhelming Numbers
The Themos Brood ~ Masters of Deceit and Treachery
The Fenguar Brood ~ Manipulating the Battlefield
Orloth, Vjetar and The Almaity present the Starcraft Forum RPG: Embers of Peace
Character creation is currently: Open
Addendum:
This is the Chargen. This Thread is used for Character Creation, discussing plots and settling disputes. GLHFGG.
Tools:
Character and Flagship Calc Spreadhseet
Wind’s Tech Calculator (requires JRE)
Starmap