Stargate

The Map: http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w304/shad4c/StargateMap.jpg

Background

Ra, Supreme System Lord and founder the Goa'uld Empire's golden age, has been slain – killed as his mothership exploded around him. His death has thrown the whole of the empire into turmoil as the rest of the system lords vie for a slice of Ra's considerable former holdings. A clever few even realise the importance in the unprecedented overthrow of the most powerful of the Goa'uld. Millennia of stasis has come to a crashing end as long term experiments and machinations are pushed ahead of schedule centuries or more. Hidden beneath them, emerging human civilisations and lesser Goa'uld lords redouble their efforts to expand their realms during the confusion. In the places beyond the galactic disk, darker powers prowl and look on hungrily.

Power Creation

Civilisation Class

Civilisation Class is a simplistic description of what a starfaring polity can do, ranging from the technologically and industrially humble newcomers just starting their forays into the stargate networks to the vast feudal dominions commanded by the system lords. Rather than having a different amount of production, higher level powers get most of their physical assets for free however. Each class also gets a package of traits – generally favoring the smaller powers.

Stargate Dependent

A Stargate Dependent civilisation has recently come upon stargate technology and relies on them for any interaction beyond their homeworld. They are seriously disadvantaged in terms of technology and resources but are the most dynamic factions and have more or less total strategic surprise on their side. This sort of folk usually keep their stargates secret from the general populace and hidden underground in a bunker somewhere but can potentially "come out of cloak" at will if they decide they want to get really serious.

Stargate Dependent civilisations start with Hidden, Iris, and Lucky. Lacking space experience they can't take traits like Heavy Construction, Nebula Charts or Enhanced Vessels of any variation. Their default technology level is 10 and nothing is free for them.

Early Starfaring

Early Starfaring nations can reach space and may have access to crude indigenous or reengineered hyperdrives though they are by no means obligated to even use them – travel between even relatively nearby stars still takes months or years, recalling the age of exploration on Earth. Hence, stargates are still vital to superluminal contact and over time, the idea of abandoning absolute security in favor of increasing its throughput will become more and more attractive.

Early Starfaring civilisations start with Hidden as well as Iris, thanks to the still-recognized need to defend against hostile attacks, but they are more easily compromised from the outside as gate travel has become fairly normalised. They cannot take Superheavy Construction. Technology is level 20 by default. Early starfaring nations are considered to having standing Starfighter and Light Ship forces for free.

Established Starfaring

Established Starfaring powers are able to project power into regional space via hyperdrive that can project to the local area fairly quickly and can fend off localised Goa'uld threat. Established starfarers still require stargates to really reach out, travelling in seconds distances that would still be very slow on a ship.

These powers cannot have an Iris without serious repercussions but may still buy Hidden as a trait. They have a default technology rating of 30. At this point, the civilisation has a small standing fleet of Cruisers.

Minor Goa'uld

Minor Goa'uld domains are roughly equivalent to a Established Starfaring civilisation in capability – they are more reliant on stargates and have the usual Goa'uld disadvantages in effectiveness and dysfunction but usually have greater numbers. Minor Goa'uld lords form the middle rung of the empire's feudal web and have allies and enemies above and below them in the pecking order.

Minor Goa'uld holds cannot have an Iris without serious repercussion and are never Hidden either. They have a default technology rating of 30 and have fairly large amounts of most things besides Capital Ships. They start with Heavy Construction.

System Lord

System Lords are a relatively small number of powerful Goa'uld rulers at the top of the feudal pyramid, having amassed the most worlds, military forces, wealth, and power. Together, they form the High Council of the System Lords which proclaims what law exist in the empire, including the acceptance and expulsion of council members.

As the leaders of the Goa'uld Empire, system lords tend to have the best technology – they have a base default technology rating of 30 to which they add 10 from Superior Tech (as well as the inability to take it again) and Superheavy Construction. They start with multiple Key Locations – 2-4 is a good guideline. System Lords have a standing fleet of Ha'taks and vast reserves of other military forces for free.

Big Bad

Big Bads are a limited access power category of galactic superpowers – the current Goa'uld frontrunner Cybele, and Silence Vampire Aliens. As cental antagonists, Big Bads are built to drive the story forward and have capabilities dictated as such.

In the absence of further information, Cybele is assumed to have System Lord technology and traits but with a heavy material superiority, while Silence Vampire Aliens have less numbers and a tech rating of around 50.

Races

Humans

Humans are physically inferior to Jaffa and tend to be on the receiving end of the stick, as they are not rulers of vast interstellar empires. Their main advantage is that they are not dysfunctional and that they are already by far the most numerous sentient race in the galaxy. The expansion of the Goa'uld Empire has spread humanity over thousands of habitable stars and can be found populating the other end of the vast majority of nodes in the Stargate network.

Goa'uld

Goa'uld are the dominant race in the Milky Way and lead empires consisting of a Goa'uld upper class with a rank and file of humans and Jaffa. They come across as evil to most other civilisations and are constantly at each other's throats both politically and militarily – were it not for the feudal nature of their society and the megalomaniacal pride of their leaders, they would easily be the sole galactic power. They are able to infiltrate or extract information using symbiotes under the right circumstances and come out on top in terms of both numbers and personal power. Due to the emphasis on divine appearances rather than effectiveness, Goa'uld starships behave as if 5 levels lower until galactic events force them to adapt or fall. Their common ground forces start off notably inferior and the vast majority of their slaves live in squalor well beneath that of even the humblest stargate-bound civilisation.

Jaffa

Free Jaffa enclaves are rare but do exist – generally in secret. Jaffa can infiltrate the ranks of Goa'uld and form populations of physically powerful people with a strong warrior tradition. As an artificial culture with limited sources of technology however, they start off with the all Goa'uld disadvantages in this regard, though they overcome it more quickly than Goa'uld themselves. They are dependent on a source of symbiotes, necessitating raids, smuggling, or some other trickery. Jaffa use the Goa'uld unit options.

Technology

Some rough technological guides. High technology has very different effects depending on situation – it dominates space combat and is the obvious limiter to doing fancypants things with reality, but has less relevance in ground combat and stargate use (obviously).

Tech 0-9 – Snakehead snackie. Lacking in key things like nuclear power, supercomputers, quantum mechanics, and spaceflight; or firearms and scientific method at the low end. Utterly unable to compete.

Tech 10-19 – Modern Earth and the near future. Practical and deadly in some applications but extremely limited in theory. Even Goa'uld technology remains a jumble of technobabble.

Tech 20-29 – Enlightened Science. Able to at least prod the deeper mysteries of the universe, though still using gear that operates on reasonably understandable principles.

Tech 30-39 – Conventional Goa'uld. Technology still has a few logistical limitations but is starting to be able to muddle through 'most any ordinary problem, including the generating truly phenomenal amounts of energy using naquadah.

Tech 40-49 – New Goa'uld technology and experimentation. The beginnings of stargate-independent power projection to the regional level on starship drives that travel tens of thousands times the speed of light.

Tech 50-59 – Tollan hypertech. Planetary destruction, perpetual motion, and other gross violations of the ordinary rules of the physical universe.

Tech 60-69 – A flicker of enlightenment. Asgard interventions in the Milky Way tend to be around this level. Violations of physics, space-time, reality, and all that, and more mundane effects on a large scale.

Traits

Everyone starts with three traits. The ones that a given race or empire type comes with are not counted against this. Additional traits can be bought by taking negative traits. They cannot be stacked unless otherwise noted. Feel free to try taking custom traits but they must be balanced, fairly narrow in scope, and clearly defined or it will likely be rejected.

The Good

Battle Hardened – You troops are just that good. Bonus to badass rating.

Elite Training – You have some of the best ground troops going. Gain access to Elite Guard and Spec Forces.

Tough/Fast/Over gunned Vessels – You ships are simply tougher/faster or mount more firepower then the norm.

Exceptional Ruler – Your ruler is a very powerful figure and can be played as such.

Hidden – Your stargate address is unknown, as is the location of your homeworld. Of course, being below the Goa'uld radar is probably how your civilisation achieved its present advancement in the first place. Inevitably, as you cast your dice on the galactic stage, you will lose this trait and existential threat will become and remain a fact of life.

Iris – This includes an actual Iris in the SGC model as well as any other measure you can imagine that provides an absolute defense for your stargate, making your world invulnerable unless a fleet of warships can be projected into your system. Historically, the simplest expedient for successful slave rebellions has been to bury it -

Lucky – It's almost as if you were the protagonists of a TV series. Bonuses to survival, artifact strikes, daring operations, and rolling a natural twenties on the precipice of doom. Fate is fickle however, and there are degrees of survival to which a civilisation can fall.

Protected – Your civilisation is listed under the Protected Planets Treaty, which is enforced both by the Asgard and (more spottily) by Goa'uld System Lords who generally have no interest in risking wider entanglement. Any planet with Hidden may swap it for Protected. The treaty only applies so long as the planet's civilisation does not develop so far as to become a threat to the Goa'uld. The odds of direct Asgard intervention is based on a d20 rolloff added to the civilisation's technology level and compared to the attacking Goa'uld's tech level. Of course, some other kind of intervention may still occur.

Stargate Assault – Superior technique when assaulting stargates. Grants access to Stargate Assault Troops.

Superheavy Construction – You have a free flagship and the ability to replace it if you happen to lose it, which may well happen if you're a System Lord or a Big Bad.

Heavy Defence: Your Fixed Defences are more powerful then the norm across the Galaxy Unit for Unit.

Efficient Industry – Add 20 IP to your monthly produced IP.
Supported: You are provided support by a powerful patron of some kind, and can expect additional help if times get tough.
Asgard Protected Planets Treaty (Non-Goa'uld)– Gain Limited Asgard protection from Goa’uld up to tech lev 30.
Ancient Ruins/Goa’uld Ruins – Chance of finding abandoned vessels/vehicles
Determined (Non-Goa’uld only) – Your people are courageous in the face of adversity and will not panic in the face of danger, ever.
Ashraks (Goa’uld) – You have a number of these expert assassins at your command. May Assassinate NPC leaders without any problem however may only be used 2 times a year
Ancient/Asgard Defences (Non-Goa’uld)- Your planet has an Ancient defence mechanism that can be used once to repel an attack destroying the attacking fleet.
Fanatic Population (Goa’uld: Requires United As One) – If your homeworld is invaded temporarily double your Infantry numbers as the populous rises up to protect their God.
Nebula chart – A nearby Nebula has been charted by you and provides an excellent hiding and ambush location. Your ships may lose any enemy pursuit/hide successfully within your space. Or Anywhere.
United as One – Your people are behind you and little will shake their faith.

The Bad

Light Defence: Your Fixed Defences are less powerful then the norm across the Galaxy Unit for Unit.
No Heavy Construction (-2TP): You can’t build Motherships or Heavy Motherships.
Disfavoured(Non-Goa’uld only) : Ancient beings, Asgard and the like tend to dislike you and won't back you or pull you out of trouble.
Stargate Assault Morons: You are horrible at attacking Stargates and have no equipment to back you up. Lose access to Stargate Assault Vehicle(Ground)
Responsible: You are responsible to someone else rather than being independent, and if you fail to much there will be penalties.
Poor Training : You have some of the worst ground troops going. Lose access to Stargate Assault Troops.
Poor Tech Labs – Advancement to new tech plateau’s is harder.
Goa’uld Playground(Non-Goa'uld)– Become a regular target of Goa’uld raids, you can’t establish trade routes.
No Ruins – Chance of finding abandoned vessels/vehicles on your planet is zero.
Terrible Ruler – Your ruler is a very ineffectual figure and can be played as such, minus to Mod rulings if your leader wants to do something special
UnLucky – Your just plain unlucky. Minus to chances of finding valuable things on planets/escaping captures.
Cowardly (Non-Goa’uld) – Your people are simply cowards that cringe in the face of adversity and will panic in the face of danger.
Paper Pushers– You troops are just that bad. Minus to badass rating.
Backstabber (Goa'uld)- You have a particularly smart and dangerous underling that wants your throne and knows how to get it.
Weak/Slow/Under gunned Vessels – You ships are simply weaker/slower or mount less firepower then the norm.
Tok’ra (Goa’uld) – You have a number of these expert infiltrators hiding in your realm. They may disrupt your plans at the worst moments and steal your ships.
Dangerous Experiment (Non-Goa’uld)- Your planet has the results of an old Goa’uld Genetic experiment roaming around. They will attack your people occasionally and can not be destroyed.
Heretic Population (Goa’uld) – If your homeworld is invaded temporarily double you enemies Infantry numbers as the populous rises up to throw down their God.
Bad Navigator –Nearby Space has always baffled your people and provides an excellent example of what not to do in a starship when trying to get around. Your ships find it hard to lose any enemy pursuit/hide successfully within your space. Or anywhere.
Factitious – Your people are ready to crucify you for the slightest mistake. Step lightly.

Resources

Every power has 100 Resources to spend every quarter. This isn't actually industrial production but rather the full national effort that can be mustered for military actions, research and building new and cool things. The only way this presently decreases is overzealous protection of a stargate by powers that really need to keep it open to function – Early Starfaring powers start feeling it as they develop and will find keeping it open advantageous; any higher rung power will reduce their own Resources by keeping their stargates too tightly bound. Of course, sealing off a gate and accepting the difficulties may well be preferable if defeat is inevitable if it is kept open. On the other hand, openness, relationships with other civilisations, and the increased initiative free stargate travel allows can eventually result in Resource increase on a quarterly basis.

If left unspent, up to 20% of the default Resources can be banked. If the budget of a given quarter exceeds 100, then the value is 20 plus any and all of the amount over 100.

Military

Every civilisation class gets some military assets at the start for free in the form of standing forces. They cannot be increased simply by pouring resources into it, but nor can they actually run out. A Goa'uld raid might deplete a colony planet's defending ground forces but they will regenerate over time at no cost as more soldiers are mustered from the homeland. A System Lord might suffer a defeat in space and lose a Ha'tak or two, but his shipyards will be constructing more and his fleet has enough strategic depth to sustain a few losses.

See the next section for the units themselves.

Stargate Dependent – Heavy homeworld defences composed of all four basic ground units. One unit of Human Ground Forces at every key location. One unit of Starfighters when they become available.

Early Starfaring – Heavy homeworld defences composed of all four basic ground units.

Established Starfaring – Heavy homeworld defences composed of all four basic ground units.

Minor Goa'uld – Heavy homeworld defences composed of Jaffa Warriors, Deathgliders, and Light Ships.

System Lord –

Big Bad – Fairly arbitrary.

cruiser, capital ship, flagship light ship, deathglider, starfighter

Construction

Units

Some units are not available to Goa'uld at the start (or vice versa). Constructing a new brand of units or performing upgrades requires a special project.

Ships

Cruiser (Humans only) – A ship in the low-mid hundreds of meters long capable of fully independent interstellar action and exploration. Well suited to powers with limited means that have no immediate desire to get all that big. Generally these ships have both powerful main weapons as well as the ability to launch smaller craft or ground teams (both of which it comes with pre-packaged) when more precision is required. The Tau'ri 304 class is a good example.

Capital Ship – These ships range in length (or diameter) from the mid hundreds of meters up to the edge of four figures. They are complete all-around warships (or migration ships as the case may be), and platforms of interplanetary conquest. A Goa'uld Ha'tak for example, can carry an enormous slave army. They starship of choice for great spacefaring powers that command the technology and resources necessary to build more than a couple good ones.

Flagship – The ship of choice for people with something to prove. Flagships are always a one-off – no one may have more than one at a time until the distinction between them and capital ships starts blurring at around Asgard tech level. In addition to all the sheer bang of a capital ship writ large, flagships are inherently lucky and it takes stern and special stuff to make a System Lord and his flagship blow up.

Light Craft

Light Ship – General purpose craft that are fitted as small transports, shuttles and attack bombers. As attack ships, they pack enough punch to damage larger vessels provided there is no technological disparity. Either way, they are equipped with hyperdrives.

Deathglider (Goa'uld only) – Deathgliders are sublight combat craft lacking a hyperdrive and equipped with simple weapons. They are maneuverable and mobile – able to fly in space or atmosphere, and even moving somewhat underwater, though they aren't designed for this. They are capable of hovering and loitering, meaning the Goa'uld can use them very much like subsonic attack planes. They lack the ability to meaningfully damage large ships and are quite vulnerable to decent anti-aircraft weapons.

Starfighter (Humans only) – Starfighters are able to fly through air and space. They tend to be less maneuverable than Deathgliders but all else being equal, will simply overpower them. Starfighters are equipped with a hyperdrive but can't operate for more than a day or so and have limited ammunition/energy, so they still require carriers no matter how fast their hyperdrive gets.

Ground

Human Ground Forces (Humans only) – Human ground combat units are generally less numerous, more flexible, and have superior doctrine to Jaffa forces. Although interstellar warfare is limited either way by what can be transported through a stargate, human ground forces usually have an edge over Jaffa counterparts in terms of organisation, specialised tactical equipment, and support.

Human Special Forces (Humans only) – Free human states often utilise special forces which are quite distinct from Jaffa elite guards. Every bit as motivated and trained, special forces are generally less numerous but much more flexible in operation and tactically superior – an edge in creativity and elegance few Goa'uld lords saw need in their Jaffa until now. Benefit greatly from the Elite Military trait.

Human Armour (Human only) – Non-unified or recently unified human worlds have ample reason to design machines for war, which serve a role that Goa'uld and Jaffa would find irrelevant. Tanks and all manners infantry vehicles can fit through a stargate and might be deployed meaningfully once they're smuggled across in (rather incredibly vulnerable) single file. They might, on a darker note, see more action fighting an invasion if they can avoid being obliterated from orbit. Requires serious defensive compromise to deploy.

Human Air Support (Human only) – Goa'uld generally are served decently (and more than sufficiently) by Deathgliders but free human enclaves have specialised aerial equipment like helicopter gunships. They take considerable effort to deploy through a stargate and are vulnerable to gliders, but are something that Jaffa warriors would be hard pressed to answer if brought to bear. Requires serious defensive compromise to deploy.

Stargate Assault Force – Assuming burial or an Iris don't render it irrelevant, both sides can develop specialised ways of increasing the chance of success when storming across a stargate by force. Only a single stargate assault force can be deployed at a time, utilising qualitative superiority, specialised equipment or vehicles, guts, and anything else you might care to describe. Needle threaders fall into this category on the Goa'uld side whereas humans might use powered armour or small mecha or something. Facing an actively defended gate, an attacking force would be well advised to prepare several waves of attackers and/or open the festivities with a large bomb.

Jaffa Warriors (Goa'uld only) – The Jaffa form the military arm of the Goa'uld empire. Although saddled by poor doctrine, stagnation, and unrealistic expectations, Jaffa are brave, zealous and vast in number. So long as their faith remains steadfast, Jaffa are superbly disciplined and trained and their physiques are peak human. Those who variously discount Jaffa as tactically, materially, or even technologically backwards discount their ferocity at their own risk. Jaffa warriors fight at lower ranges than most competent opponents and often suffer a dirth of specialised supporting equipment. They do however, excel at shorter ranges, have powerful weapons, and wear quite effective armour.

Elite Guards (Goa'uld only) – Many Goa'uld, especially System Lords, maintain a standing force of personal guards with distinctive looking gear. Although they are often just for show, selected for appearance, stature, and imposing visage, real elite guards are a terror to face in combat. They have many resemblences to special forces, though they tend to discard sneaking and subtlety for pure combat prowess. Any Goa'uld may build them but they benefit greatly from the Elite Military trait.

Sites and Structures

Constructing any "building" as far as the game is concerned,

Ships require a Shipyard to construct them.
Ground-based Yards takes 6 game months to build and costs 20 IP. These Yards don’t require anything extra but can only build Light ships and Escorts.

Orbital Yards take 8 game months to build and cost 40 IP. These Yards require the player to have 2 Ground-based yards per Orbital Yard but can build ships of any size.

Fighters and Bombers along with Ground units don’t require a specialised building to create.

Defenses

Planetary Superweapon
Although generally much more effective when found rather than built, you can build one of these if you like. This category includes things like grand cannons or shields – it should be carefully noted to the GM what it consists of. Can be hidden or cheapened to cover only a single cone of approach, in which case it will be ineffective in stopping a landing. As they pertain to destroying targets in space, having a high technology level is important to make it relevant.

Planetary Defense Network
A network of satellites and/or surface weapons pointed spacewards that can be expected to deter casual raids and at least hold up a moderately determined attack. Can be successively stacked with somewhat diminishing returns for heavier and more credible defenses. After the second layer or so, some significant battlestations can be expected to be in orbit. Having a decently high technology level really helps.

Detection
A tripwire system to inform you of things dropping into orbit over your Goa'uld's favourite harem world or whatever. Can be successively stacked with diminishing returns.

Stargate Defences
Only buildable for stargates that are not already protected by an Iris. These are specialised defensive emplacements and arrangements that guard a stargate. Can be successively stacked with quickly diminishing returns. Effectiveness is heavily modified if you expect to deploy heavier forces through the stargate – many civilisations never do.

Structure

Constructing any "building" as far as the game is concerned,

Ships require a Shipyard to construct them.
Ground-based Yards takes 6 game months to build and costs 20 IP. These Yards don’t require anything extra but can only build Light ships and Escorts.

Orbital Yards take 8 game months to build and cost 40 IP. These Yards require the player to have 2 Ground-based yards per Orbital Yard but can build ships of any size.

Fighters and Bombers along with Ground units don’t require a specialised building to create.

Research facility (Cost 25, no tech minimum)
Off World Base (Cost 20, no tech minimum)
Off World Backup Site (alpha/beta site) (Cost 40, no tech minimum)
Off world Listening Post (cost 10, no tech minimum)
Shipyard (cost 25, minimum tech 20 or outside assistance)
Ground Vehicle Factory (cost 25, no tech minimum)
Religious Structure (cost 10, no tech minimum)
Fortress (cost 40, no tech minimum)
Training facility (cost 20, no tech minimum)
Special Training facility (for training false flag operatives or for special operations) (cost 40, no tech minimum)
Off World Colony (cost 30, no tech minimum)
Mining operation (cost 20, no tech minimum)
Palace (Cost 40, no tech minimum)
Bomb Shelter (cost 20, no tech minimum)

Special Projects

Explore Strange New World (Cost 10, no tech minimum)
Explore Alien Ruin (Cost 20, no tech minimum)
Major Infiltrate Enemy Base (Cost 20, no tech minimum)
Minor Infiltration of Enemy base (Cost 5, no tech minimum)
Wage Major Campaign (Cost 50, no tech minimum)
Raid (Cost 0, no tech minimum)
Armour Raid (like a raid but with tanks) (cost 20, no tech minimum: requires tanks)
Send expedition to previously explored world (cost 0, no tech minimum)
Build New off World Base (cost 20, no tech minimum)
Raise allied Auxiliaries (Cost 30, no tech minimum: requires contact with allied group)
Engage in diplomacy (Cost 0, no tech minimum)
Engage in major and complex diplomacy (brokering peace, forming a Jaffa/Tokra alliance) (Cost 30, no tech minimum)
Build Prototype Flagship (Cost 30, tech minimum 40 or outside assistance)
Build Prototype Capital ship (Cost 20, tech minimum 30 or outside assistance)
Build Prototype Cruiser (Cost 20, tech minimum 20 or outside assistance)
Build Prototype Tactical space craft (cost 20, tech minimum 20 our outside assistance)
Develop exotic WMD (Cost 40, Tech minimum 10, requires naqueta source)
Sign Trade Agreement (cost 5, no tech minimum, requires someone to trade with)
Adaptation to Outrageous Tauri Bullshit (Gou'ald only, requires you to have fought a human power, and a research facility cost 40, no tech minimum)