Outcast Quest [Updated 10/10/18 - Turn 14]

[Siber]

Then set up a two way video com and speak to her through that. Preferably with a few miles of distance between the two of you. Seems a basic preventive measure towards memetic manipulation. ... Am I making no sense here? This is becoming surreal to me for some reason, I don't know why.

Frankly, I think you assume that 'memetic' threats are of much greater danger than most people do. That the Loroi mentally communicate doesn't inherently imply that they can mind control people into doing their bidding, and assuming they can doesn't seem any more reasonable than assuming that every single alien species we meet has that ability and is concealing it. The measures you describe are, even if accepted as needed, a luxury the characters in the game do not have. If the Loroi were really that dangerous, they would have taken over everything by now and the only way to stop them would have been to leave them to their deaths when we found them.

[Grayhome]

I apologies if my tone seemed disrespectful, that was not my intent

Enjoy the rest of your RP.

[joestej]

I apologies if my tone seemed disrespectful, that was not my intent

Enjoy the rest of your RP.

I have no issue with you or anyone else reading along with the RP or providing comments/criticism on what happens. But considering the effort Razor has obviously gone through for this, and the generally above-average quality of the writing thus far, it would be nice if such statements were constructive rather than destructive.

Comments like-

Could we at least pretend these humans have functioning survival instincts please.

-offer nothing useful. They merely serve to belittle Razor and everyone else playing.

A more contructive critique might read like this:

Interesting, though I'm not sure I agree with how that whole 'Meeting with Spear' thing played out.

It seems pretty dangerous to put your leader in a room with somone you know is a telepath, and that shock should have triggered some alarm bells. Still, I guess that's what happens when you roll a 1!

Looking forward to more!

Saying you disagree with how the scene played out is one thing. Claiming that no sane person would ever do what those characters did is something entirely different. Still, I've been known to be a bit snippy myself, so I do apologize if I've offended anyone. Constructive critique is a bit of a pet peeve of mine.

Anyway, that's enough of that! Let's get this RP back on track!

[Absalom]

EDIT: Question can we use both stewardship actions to expand a single building?

Not until I can figure out how to get that to easily show up on a survey. I'll research it, though it may not be applicable for all things.

I am considering giving you a double down option, basically a mechanic where you can pay double for a thing to get an increased chance of success (+10 or 20% or so) if you feel that you cannot afford to leave things to chance, though that'd be more of a factor later rather than now. A differing mechanic would be a "Double Time" option, where you can halve the time it takes to build things for half the success rate, though that's problematic for other reasons.

Not gonna give that to you right this second though since its early days yet and you're still in crisis mode.

I think both could make sense, though again, I'd suggest 3 turns turning into 2 turns for "Double Time" (twice the personnel doesn't reliably translate into half the time... though in some cases it can translate to even better than half the time, maybe set percentages and roll for that?). "Double Down" seems reasonable, and might be wanted soon, given the 50% on Stabilization.

And for certain extremely large-scale things (e.g. turret rings large enough to mount armored domes that can hide the L'Amour), specialty Mega-scale Machine Shops would be needed, right?

Incidentally, for later stage things (e.g. missiles), there will be both the option of producing them in a machine shop, and the option of using a machine shop to produce a faster and more efficient but also expensive Dedicated Factory, right? Cheap missiles & rockets are nice, but keeping the ability to produce low-count specialty items is also nice.

You'll probably have a dedicated factory rather than a limited production run deal at the machine shop. You generally want to keep your explosives away from other vital structures in addition to having good standardisation and testing for what you do produce, since if every handful of missiles is ace custom then it introduces too much variability into things where variability is not wanted.

I was thinking more in the realm of "special weapons", the sort of thing that might become available in reaction to some specific storyline, stuff that gets built in ones or twos, not in tens and twenties. Or, for that matter, super-expensive torpedoes that can take out a fleet, but cost as much as a corvette.

Let's just say that I got a little bit annoyed that you guys could get away with building a hospital on an asteroid you weren't even living on.

To be honest, I just assumed a dedicated habitat hull was part of the cost.

The Large Habitation is for future proofing, taking into account the possibility of other humans joining us later while our stewardship actions are devoted to building other stuff.

I would suggest a separate Habitat before a new one. It's about the same cost, but can presumably be moved to a different location...

and if one blows up, the other stays usable.

Incidentally, the jumpdrive does this rarely enough that Humanity uses it somewhat often, thus the colony won't be getting more human population except via birth. Any recruited population will be aliens (Urkuk might make for great Minions if captured as pups).

Hmm...

For once everything went better than expected

I don't like the irregular shapes and sounds at all and being a paranoid asshole I say that we should be prepared for anything...

So I will suggest this for our next stewardship turn:

Code: Select all

Turn 3: Mine + Altitude Thrusters = 7750 - (1250 + 500) = 6000 RUs

Having the first tier thrusters as early as possible sounds as the most prudent course of action.

That's probably the best bet, yes. For turn 4, I would suggest Stabilization Thrusters and something else RU-related.

[] Mine + Altitude Thrusters

Caution dictates this.

I am going to suggest:

[X] Not At All: Let's see who these 'enemies' are and 'the evidence' before we decide how to solve this 'problem'. Besides, it sounds like we will gain some capable fans if we do this right.

If not that, then Petard for the sake of stacking the deck against a recurrence, but that requires trusting the Rose. Assessing Rose's perspective may prove important for as long as Rose hasn't been identified.

[dragoongfa]

There have been more than a handful misjumps in the past as mentioned early in the RP. There could be more than a few human ships with the lizard flottilas that are flying around.

The problem with the Stabilization thrusters is the 50% chance. I would prefer to have the most critical infrastructure done before tackling the possibility of one or several turns of delays. The altitude thrusters preclude a catastrophe already. I will do the math tomorrow and see if we can get replace something earlier without crippling our RU.

[Razor One]

Wait so unless I missed something, the highest ranking human on the planet was not only in a room with a strange alien telepath (i.e. professional mind rapist), he... physically touched one? Aren't these Loroi desperate, frightened, isolated child soldiers here?

... and then he felt a tickle in his brain.

Has he reported himself for a full medical evaluation? Has he even told anyone of this? Did I miss something important?

No one is voicing a complaint about this? The civilians and military personal are... totally fine with their leader interacting with a strange alien telepath in this manner? I would think that there would be a full team of medical and technical experts standing by in the next room monitoring the vitals signs of all parties involved. For the purpose of using this opportunity to gather as much data about the Loroi as possible, if nothing else.

Could we at least pretend these humans have functioning survival instincts please.

You've missed a few important details.

These Loroi were desperate and frightened months ago. They've since spent about two or three months in your care at least. Ensign Izumi left her quarantine with absolutely no discernible medical consequences whatsoever, physical or psychological beyond what being locked up in quarantine does.

In-character, you still don't know a whole lot about them. You know that they're telepaths, and you know that their Jedi Mind Tricks don't seem to work on you. You also know that they owe you a lot, they seem to be friendly with your communications officer. You've also been working 18 - 20 hour days and sleeping between work shifts, much like almost anyone else on board.

The best assignments your crew has is guard duty and interaction with the Loroi, since this clears them from work details. The marines are incredibly competitive when it comes to getting picked for guard duty, since it's just standing around and watching a locked door with highly cooperative 'prisoners', which is boring but restful.

There are options to learn more about the Loroi in general in the Diplomacy subsection. Astute readers will note that the chance for the Loroi interaction went up after the meeting with Spear. Right now the humans are more focused on not starving to death and building a home for the handful of pregnant women. The Loroi children are potentially dangerous, a small unarmed number of them did defeat a larger armed force of Urkuk after all, but against 117 Marines and hundreds more colonists? Yeah, the Loroi aren't stupid. They know they are reliant on your goodwill and from what they learned of you from Ensign Izumi they probably think you're good, if strange, people.

Basically, if they were going to try something, anything, they'd have done it to Ensign Izumi while she was in quarantine with them. You'll note that Spear was incredibly hesitant to even take your hand, and only did so on both your and Izumi's prompting. Your medical experts have worn gloves during their examinations (they are professional about these things) and so this would be the first point of physical contact between your two species.

The most your character felt was a tingle that she dismissed as a result of being overworked, underfed and overtired. Rolling better on intrigue would have made you question just what that was and would have extended the story slightly. Speaking outside of character knowledge, this does not compare with Alex's psionic waterboarding in the slightest. That required three Teidar attempting to brute force their way into his mind. Spear is just a regular telepath, and her touch with you was more automatic and gentle. She couldn't probe you and wasn't forcing the issue. If she had, the tingling would have intensified slightly. Her reaction was because she expected to feel something and instead got nothing. She doesn't know what to think of that.

All said, right now you're their greatest hope of getting home anytime soon. They're not willing to jeopardise that, and their strongest fighters died fighting the Urkuk. They have no Teidar, no Mizol, no Farseers, none of them are telekinetic, and they've been cooperative throughout their time with you.

Though, by all rights the roll for intrigue should have been negative due to stats and not a natural 1. I could just as easily have left the tingling sensation out and have your character not even notice that at all.

As for misjumps, you'll be able to work something with that on a personal action, once you're out of crisis mode.

[dragoongfa]

I would like to point out that Arioch has made it clear that what Alex went through in the comic was telekinetic waterboarding. Probably because they thought that the self preservation instinct will bring the Lotai down, or something.

[Razor One]

Survey Is Now Up. Please Vote Here.

I've excluded all the options that have prerequisites, but if I've left something out or included something I shouldn't have, let me know and I'll redo things.

[dragoongfa]

Voted:

[X] Friend or Foe
[X] Mining Op Expansion
[X] Altitude thrusters
[X] Not at all
[X] Wind Current Analysis

I chose altitude thrusters because of safety concerns, the choice will cost us a net 625 RU (no 500 income at turn 5 and 125 RU upkeep) but we get safety from catastrophic damages very early.

@ Razor One

Two questions in regards to upkeep and income.

When is the upkeep counted for the first time? During the first month of operations or during the second? Upkeep of course doesn't count when the building is under construction but you said that the first month is upkeep free so I am confused about what you meant.

When can the month's income be used for the first time? At the first turn of operations (I.E. as the R.U. comes out of production) or during the next turn (after the month's production has been fully processed and accounted for?).

EDIT: From a realism perspective both should be after a month's of operation. The upkeep to highlight the consumables used during the previous month and the income to highlight the whole production process that brings forth the RU: i.e. mining, the selection of the different metals, refining them and accounting them into the storage where they will be ready to be shipped off where they will be needed.

It doesn't end well when people start using stuff that have just come out of production without them passing through the proper channels (misplacement of materials, lack of Quality Testing that short of thing, inefficiency if I am to put it in one word).

[Razor One]

Upkeep applies the turn after it's been freshly built. I've corrected the earlier error and put in a reminder for myself on when to apply it in the google excel sheet. I've also added a list of built structures, their upkeep, and when their upkeep applies on a second sheet as a further reminder.

For mining, I apply the RU immediately after it's been built. This to me feels about right, since the material you're digging out over the course of a month in order to build or expand the mine is itself mineral rich and it's a bit pointless to just waste it.

For production structures (Light Ore etc.), production applies the turn after to reflect the full month of production.

[dragoongfa]

Hmm...

Makes sense, I will update the proposed build plan to take this into account.

EDIT:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

This approach does enhance our RU income somewhat. Even with my proposed change of plans we are better off than before and we can either afford a bio lab alone at turn 14 or focus on RU + something else for a turn before doing Bio + Something cheap at turn 15. All of this provided that our build rolls are favorable.

EDIT2: Redid the numbers again because of a misunderstanding. We will be making a killing regardless of what we build this turn.

[Razor One]

Survey Is Now Up. Please Vote Here.

I've excluded all the options that have prerequisites, but if I've left something out or included something I shouldn't have, let me know and I'll redo things.

Quoting myself from the last page in case anyone misses it on the bottom there.

Been doing more combat simulations and testing the combat system. Notes in the spoiler.

SpoilerShow

Attack - Long Range [Mid Range] (Short Range)
Defense
Armour
Agility
Movement
ECM

Attack - Pew Pew Pew. Determines Damage.

Lasers

PDL = 2d6
Medium = 2d6*2
Heavy = 1d6*4
Plasma Focus = 6d6*12
Wave Loom = 12d6*30

Accuracy = 100%

Missiles

Roll 1d6 per missile fired.

1-2 = Intercepted (if possible), otherwise, Seek
3-4 = Seek
5-6 = Hit

If Hit, Damage = 3d6
If Antimatter, Damage = 3d6 * 4

Mass Drivers

Roll 1d24 per Mass Driver fired.

If 19 or lower, miss.
If 20 or higher, hit.

If hit, Damage:

Medium = 10d6 * 10
Heavy = 20d6 * 30

Defense - Active Defense, PDL's, Anti-Missiles, CIWS Flak Screens

PDL = 1d6.
If 1 - 3, fail to intercept missile.
If 4 - 6, intercept missile.

Anti-Missile = 1d6
If 1 - 4, fail to intercept missile.
If 5 - 6, intercept missile.
Roll every turn to intercept missiles for every turn until intercept.

CIWS Flak Screen = 3d12
On First Die:
If 1 - 9, Fail to intercept.
If 10 - 12, intercept.
On Second Die:
If 1 - 6, Fail to intercept.
If 7 - 9, intercept.
If 10 - 12, Fail to intercept.
On Third Die:
If 1 - 3, intercept.
If 4 - 12, Fail to intercept.

Armour - Passive Defense, Reduces Damage, Gives HP

Every point of Armour grants 100 HP.

For every point of armour vs every point of damage on hit, reduce damage by half if:

Laser, Missile, Mass Driver, Plasma Focus, Wave Loom

Else: Reduce by a quarter if:

Particle Beam

Agility - Determines who attacks first in a turn

Roll 1d6 for each combatant's agility per turn.
Whoever wins gets the first shot.

Movement - Determines Actions Per Turn

Your movement / Their Movement = Your Actions

IE:

Movement 6 vs. Movement 2, 6/2 = 3 Actions for you per turn, 1 action for them.

EWarfare

Must have EWarfare of 2 or greater to use, otherwise defensive only.

Hacking

Each point gives 50 ECM.
Each action taken for EWarfare Roll 1d6.
Enemy rolls 1d6 for defense.
If you outroll them,
Apply to ECM.
When enemy ECM = 0, you win.
If not, you fail hacking attempt.

Target Disruption

Each point gives 10 Targeting.
Each action taken for EWarfare, roll 1d12.
Enemy rolls 1d12 for defense.
If you outroll them,
Apply to Targeting.
When enemy Targeting = 0, must reacquire, enemy forfeits action.
If not, you fail Target Disruption.

Test Case.

L'Amour vs. Urkuk Wanderer

Atk: 2[0](0)
Def: 2
Arm: 1
Agi: 3
Mov: 5
EW: 1

vs

Atk: 1[0](1)
Def: 1
Arm: 1
Agi: 3
Mov: 1
EW: 1

Apply Tech Level

Atk: 200[0](0)
Def: 200
Arm: 100
Agi: 300
Mov: 5
EW: 100

HP = 100 * 100 = 10000

vs

Atk: 1[0](1)
Def: 1
Arm: 1
Agi: 3
Mov: 1
ECM: 1

HP = 100

Movement = 5 / 1. L'Amour gains 5 actions per turn, Urkuk gets one.
Agi = 300 vs 3. L'Amour defacto gains first strike every turn.
ECM = Too low to engage in.

Turn 1:

L'Amour Attacks with 2 PDL's.

Attack = 200 * 2d6 = (3, 5)*2 = 1600

And the Urkuk all die.

L'Amour (A) vs. L'Amour (B)

Atk: 2[0](0)
Def: 2
Arm: 1
Agi: 3
Mov: 5
EW: 1

All stats, technology, being equal 1d2.

Turn 1

A: Rolled 2
B: Rolled 1

A gets initiative for Turn 1.

A attacks with 2 PDL's. 2 * 2d6 * 2 = (6+2) * 2 = 16
1 Armour = 1 point reduced to 0.5.
B takes 15.5 Damage.
B Has 84.5 HP Remaining.

B attacks A with 2 PDL's. 2 * 2d6 * 2 = (5+5) * 2 = 20
1 Armour = 1 point reduced to 0.5.
A takes 19.5 Damage.
A Has 80.5 HP Remaining.

Turn 2

A: Rolled 1
B: Rolled 2

B gets initiative for Turn 2.

B attacks A with 2 PDL's. 2 * 2d6 * 2 = (1+4) * 2 = 10
A takes 9.5 Damage.
A Has 71 HP remaining.

A attacks with 2 PDL's. 2 * 2d6 * 2 = (6+1) * 2 = 14
B takes 13.5 Damage.
B Has 67 HP remaining.

Turn 3

A: Rolled 2
B: Rolled 1

A attacks with 2 PDL's. 2 * 2d6 * 2 = 2 * (6+6) = 24
B takes 23.5 Damage.
B Has 43.5 HP remaining.

B attacks with 2 PDL's. 2 * 2d6 * 2 = 2 * (3+4) = 14
A takes 13.5 Damage.
A Has 57.5 HP remaining.

Turn 4

A: Rolled 2
B: Rolled 1

A attacks with 2 PDL's. 2 * 2d6 * 2 = 2 * (6+5) = 22
B takes 21.5 Damage.
B Has 22 HP remaining.

B attacks with 2 PDL's. 2 * 2d6 * 2 = 2 * (3+2) = 10
A takes 9.5 Damage.
A Has 48 HP remaining.

Turn 5

A: Rolled 2
B: Rolled 1

A attacks with 2 PDL's. 2 * 2d6 * 2 = 2 * (3+1) = 8
B takes 7.5 Damage.
B Has 14.5 HP remaining.

B attacks with 2 PDL's. 2 * 2d6 * 2 = 2 * (2+2) = 8
A takes 7.5 Damage.
A Has 40.5 HP remaining.

Turn 6

A: Rolled 1
B: Rolled 2

B attacks with 2 PDL's. 2 * 2d6 * 2 = 2 * (5+3) = 16
A takes 15.5 Damage.
A Has 20.5 HP remaining.

A attacks with 2 PDL's. 2 * 2d6 * 2 = 2 * (4+1) = 10
B takes 9.5 Damage.
B Has 5 HP remaining.

Turn 7

A: Rolled 2
B: Rolled 1

A attacks with 2 PDL's. 2 * 2d6 * 2 = 2 * (1+6) = 14
B takes 13.5 Damage.
B Has -8.5 HP remaining.

L'Amour B Explodes!
L'Amour A Wins!
Death to the clones!

[Absalom]

Been doing more combat simulations and testing the combat system. Notes in the spoiler.

So combat will be turn based? Ignore my previous advice on it then, my system is aimed at resolving battles fairly quickly without actual turns, so not comparable. Were you going to execute the combat turns, or will that require forum votes for each turn? If the later, I can see some combats getting unwieldy quickly, I'd suggest you executing turns + "strategic orders" (e.g. alpha-strike when L'Amour hp == X) instead.


Edited in:

The problem with the Stabilization thrusters is the 50% chance. I would prefer to have the most critical infrastructure done before tackling the possibility of one or several turns of delays. The altitude thrusters preclude a catastrophe already. I will do the math tomorrow and see if we can get replace something earlier without crippling our RU.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

This approach does enhance our RU income somewhat. Even with my proposed change of plans we are better off than before and we can either afford a bio lab alone at turn 14 or focus on RU + something else for a turn before doing Bio + Something cheap at turn 15. All of this provided that our build rolls are favorable.

I suggested Stabilization Thrusters in case of Bad Things Making Noises. Regardless, if something is to be replaced for them, Yeast is the obvious candidate: it's not ideal, but if relocation is needed, then Thrusters will be higher priority than Yeast. The 50% is a concern though, yes.

[dragoongfa]

We can afford delaying the Yeast from an RU perceptive if we use those turns to build the stabilization thruster. The problem is food diversity and the fact that it will take some more time to get the food situation stabilized.

My thinking about the food was to slowly creep in other crops and the bees after the first and second harvests, something like accepting a harvest of 400 for a few turns in order to plant plots of slower growing crops and the needed bees. After a few harvests the crops in our agri center should be diverse enough for us to survive a failed crop from a single plant. The problem will be if Razor will accept such a plan.

As a counter balance he could have us having limited crops for the first few harvests of our next 'diversified' agri expansions.

[alpha]

Incidentally, the jumpdrive does this rarely enough that Humanity uses it somewhat often, thus the colony won't be getting more human population except via birth. Any recruited population will be aliens (Urkuk might make for great Minions if captured as pups).

Thanks for making me picture this.



Voted:

Diplomacy:
[X] Friend or Foe

Stewardship:
[X] Mining Ops Expansion
[X] Light Ore Refinery

Intrigue:
[X] Not at all

Learning:
[X] Wind Current Analysis

Question:

Will the asteroids get depleted eventually?

[Razor One]

Been doing more combat simulations and testing the combat system. Notes in the spoiler.

So combat will be turn based? Ignore my previous advice on it then, my system is aimed at resolving battles fairly quickly without actual turns, so not comparable. Were you going to execute the combat turns, or will that require forum votes for each turn? If the later, I can see some combats getting unwieldy quickly, I'd suggest you executing turns + "strategic orders" (e.g. alpha-strike when L'Amour hp == X) instead.

Turns would be an "Automatic" thing, rather than consulting the forum on each turn of combat as yes, it would get incredibly unwieldy incredibly fast.

If you are going into combat, I'll consult the forum on how you want to approach things. The approaches would be:

Shoot to Kill - Kill it as fast as possible
Defensive Stance - Prioritise Defense over Offense where possible
Disabling Shots - Attempt to disable enemy vessel (20% HP = Disabled), lowered accuracy and damage after 50%, increased chance of prisoners and loot
Evasive - Bravely Run Away
None of the Above - Write in option, subject to the mercies of the GM on whether it will work or not

As I understand it, dueling rolls over a series of turns reduces the randomness of the die. You can stack the deck in your favour by upgrading the L'Amour's weapons and armour. I do recall reading that even civilian freighters just need some weapons and armour slapped onto them to be considered pocket cruisers, so it is a definite thing you can do, and it allows you access to a potentially powerful combat vessel that you won't be able to access the equivalent of until the mid-late game. You'll need the drydock at least in order to begin such upgrades though, and they'd likely count as a military action.

Will the asteroids get depleted eventually?

No. Not unless you develop a population of billions overnight and all the resource demands that go with them. For just a few hundred people, the number of resources locked up in just your home is utterly stupendous.

For the Briar Patch as a whole? The entire thing weighs in at somewhere between 20 - 100 Jupiter masses spread out over a large area. Most of that is gas, but there's more than a few dense asteroid fields like yours strewn about it. There's not a chance in hell of you running out of resources anytime soon. Maybe a couple of hundred generations down the line and beyond the scope of this quest.

[Absalom]

I do recall reading that even civilian freighters just need some weapons and armour slapped onto them to be considered pocket cruisers, so it is a definite thing you can do, and it allows you access to a potentially powerful combat vessel that you won't be able to access the equivalent of until the mid-late game.

I believe that a Q-ship is usually distinguished from a pocket cruiser, (probably on the basis of things like frame strength, hull design, internal bulkheads, engine strength/ship weight ratio, etc.), though the L'Amour being a military transport probably puts it at least half-way closer to an equivalently sized combat vessel.

[dragoongfa]

I do recall reading that even civilian freighters just need some weapons and armour slapped onto them to be considered pocket cruisers, so it is a definite thing you can do, and it allows you access to a potentially powerful combat vessel that you won't be able to access the equivalent of until the mid-late game.

I believe that a Q-ship is usually distinguished from a pocket cruiser, (probably on the basis of things like frame strength, hull design, internal bulkheads, engine strength/ship weight ratio, etc.), though the L'Amour being a military transport probably puts it at least half-way closer to an equivalently sized combat vessel.

There should be more ways to strengthen and refit certain aspects of a space ship, more than an ordinary sea faring ship or airplane which suffer a lot from the natural elements. The closest equivalent would be to upgrade an car or a truck. If L'amour is built like a tough military grade truck then it has more potential for upgrades than an ordinary pickup truck that can be turned into a technical.

It won't turn into a tank but it will certainly be a tough nut to crack for someone who brings muskets in a modern battlefield.

Some upgrades to swat away a small Urkuk flotilla with ease are in order, after that we will have to build dedicated warships.

[Razor One]

Survey is closed. Have your results

Turn 3 Results

Diplomacy:

[X] Friend or Foe?: Jonathan Spencer is the leader of the people who oppose Vannessa and Richard Hughes leadership. The rival political group is still in its foundational stage and is trying to find its feet. Getting to know what their intentions are could be vitally important. Critically, they don't seem to have made up their minds regarding you, yet.

Cost: 0 Time: 1 Month, Chance of Success: ???, Reward: Meeting with Jonathan Spencer, Knowledge of Rival political group

Rolled: 96 + 14 = 110, Success

-You've met with Jonathan Spencer. He practically shook your hand clean off, the man is completely ecstatic with your decisions so far. First contact with an alien species, first hand experience with a strange new universe, the man is a dedicated scientist through and through. His only points of criticism were that he felt that not enough was being done to truly investigate your new realm and that you hadn't posted the elections earlier.

As it stands, the two political parties have now found their feet. Jonathan leads what is called the Frontier Party. Their goals are to investigate this new area of space as thoroughly as possible, find a way home, and discover all that can be discovered about aliens. They are, in essence, a party of knowledge and discovery.

Vanessa, and only Vanessa you note, is the leader of the Homesteading party. Their goals are to tame this region of space and turn it into a true home for humans. They support any actions that assure the prosperity and security of what is certain to be an infant nation within this starless void. They are, in essence, a party of strength and security.

Frontier Party
+10 To learning
+10 To external diplomacy
+10 To knowledge derived stewardship actions (Biolab, Physics Lab, etc.)
+10 To military and intrigue actions that increase knowledge of the region

Homesteading Party
+10 To Stewardship Actions
+10 To Military Actions
+10 To internal diplomacy
+10 To Learning actions that either secure your location or make the region more livable

Stewardship:

[X] Mining Operations Expansion: Expand your existing mine on Niflheim for more glorious ore.

Cost: +250 Per Expansion (250) Time: 1 Month, Chance of Success: 100%, Reward: +500 RU per turn

-Expanding your current mining operations is as simple as deepening the hole in the ground you've already dug. Who knew?

[X] Light Ore Refinery (Requires Mine): “Light Ore” is the spacer term for anything that is easily processed into useful materials. Cheap but infinitely useful.

Cost: 1000 RU, Time: 1 Month, Chance of Success: 100%, Reward: +50% Base Income from Mining

-While a lot of what you're mining is in fact pure metal, the Light Ore Refinery melts away the impurities in the rest of the material you're digging up and gives you pure, usable, wonderful metals to work with. Considering the ratio of pure metals to the amount of impure ore, that turns out to be a very significant chunk.

Intrigue:

[X] Not At All: "You make us sad, but perhaps this can be amusing too? Sometimes we do get too immersed in the Great Game. Do you believe that you can do better? We would like to see you try! It would be most impressive! Success or failure matters not, simply playing the game! Just open this attachment to get all the details you need. Don't worry about viruses, Captain, we already have all the backdoors in your system we'll ever need! How else are you getting these messages? Hmm?"

Cost: ???, Time: ???, Chance of Success: ???, Reward: ???

-You open the attachment and are treated to a very disturbing laugh track. Honestly, who does that? But, true to their word, the laughter stops and is replaced by a fairly detailed file on your 'enemy'.

It's a reporter. Oh joy. His name is Sam Whittaker Apparently he'd been heading to Esperenza to cover something or other, you really can't recall now, and he'd hitched a ride on your transport. Now he wants to interview you in a live broadcast to everyone in your colony.

The Blue Rose considers him a threat to you for two reasons. The first is that he's a tabloid journalist with a history of scathing smear articles and a knack for making innocuous statements sound positively vile.

The other reason is that apparently you'd crossed swords with him once before. Back when you were Admiral Taylor's aide, you'd taken a press conference on her behalf because of a delayed shuttle. The subject had been about the TCA's Mjolnir cannon project, and would have rapidly turned into a blood frenzy of scathing questions about military expenditures if not for your silver tongue saving the day.

You don't quite recall his face but re-watching a recording of that old press conference, it's fairly clear that he was pursuing an agenda and that you were shutting him down while positively dancing circles about him.

The Blue Rose then paints a rather bleak picture. Mr. Whittaker had apparently promised his editor a very particular set of results that weren't delivered on thanks to you. He'd lost his job, and wound up becoming the tabloid journalist he is today.

And now he's trapped in another universe with you and wants revenge or something.

Wonderful.

Even without an interview he can still smear you. Left to his own devices he can make life very difficult for you. You can't really arrest him without being a tyrant, and as much as you might dislike the man for holding a ridiculous grudge, you don't have it in you to have the man killed.

You can blow him off for now, but sooner or later, you're going to have to discredit him.

New Intrigue Options Unlocked.

Learning:

[X] Wind Current Analysis: A few civilians want to analyse the wind currents around your home. They feel it could have important implications in determining nearby satellite movements, whatever those strange noises are rumbling off in the distance, and possible defensive applications.

Cost: 0, Value Needed: 0 / 200, Reward: Knowledge of wind currents. Bonus to defensive actions around your home. ???

Rolled: 74 + 15 = 89 / 200

-The civilian science team has been given leave from work shifts to record and analyse the wind currents. Without gravity or planetary rotation as factors though, they've had to somewhat rewrite the book on meteorology, but they expect to have results to present to you fairly soon.

<< Turn 3 || Turn 4 >>

[dragoongfa]

Looks like people went for the RU route, can't really blame them.

Updated Build Plan: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

Provided we get favorable rolls we will be done with essential infrastructure (homes+food+medical+thrusters) by turn 8, after that it's all down to what people want to focus onto.

EDIT: @ Razor

Have you given any thought to my proposal about crop diversification?

I.E. Limiting the subsequent harvests by 100 for several turns in order to diversify the planted corps?