Lords of Ether (20th Anniversary Edition) Nations

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1. Creating a Nation
2. Creating a Transtellar
3. Creating a Hero
4. Advancement
5. Armies
6. Air Forces
7. Navies
8. Agents
9. Weapons of Mass Destruction
10. Fortifications
11. Mages
12. Types of Magic
13. Production
14. Trade
15. Operations & Logistics
16. Reference Tables

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Introduction

As a Nation you are in charge of an entire state, including its economy, industry, military, politics, even down to its individual citizens. These states may be anything from a single city in a small corner of one planet, to a vast Nation sprawling over an entire world, and the space beyond. They can be sole masters of their domain, or they can share it with rival nations or allied countries, or even Heroic temples or Transtellar guilds.

Nations are the most powerful Power a player can start with in Lords of Ether, but commensurate with that power they require a great deal of work to run properly. It can be quite challenging to manage a nation state and players who take a Nation should be prepared to make a significant investment in running their Power. The upside is that a Nation gives you the ability to be a real mover and shaker in galactic affairs, and Nations form the core around which most of the events in the game occur.

Defeat

The Lords of Ether galaxy is not an especially friendly place, and while Nations are the prime movers and shakers, your Nation could well end up being the one getting shaken, rather than the one doing the shaking. The potential for defeat and reversal exists, and sometimes you will have to accept very bad things happening to your Nation if a risky gamble fails, or a particularly nasty event swings your way.

In these dark times it helps to remember that no matter how bad things are, simply giving up is not going to make things better. Throwing up your hands in frustration and writing nothing is an excellent way to ensure the worst possible outcome. Rolling with the punches and writing a fantastic story about them is often the best way out, for things are sometimes not as dark as they seem and for those who fight on, help can often come from unexpected quarters. Even if the situation is so dire that no story no matter how good can save your Nation, an epic, well written Gottdamerung will let you go out in style, and give you very favourable consideration for bonus points towards a new replacement Nation.

Nations and Named Characters

Nations are large, impersonal things. Throughout the course of the game you may feel compelled to personalize stories by creating named characters through whose eyes you can show the events your Power is involved in. This makes for more interesting stories, and gives other players a better feel for your Power. These named characters can be politicians, local citizens, or military soldiers or officers. Of course any named soldiers have to be units that you actually possess – you can’t use an ace fighter pilot as a named character unless you have an actual Fighter military unit from which this character could come.

You can create as many named characters as you like, however while they may often be the heroes of the stories you tell about your Nation, they will not actually be Heroes in the Lords of Ether sense of the term. While in the stories they may be depicted as better than the average soldier, their abilities do not actually exceed those of any other unit with the same stats, and naming a character proffers no physical benefits.

Still, while they do not possess Character Shields as such, it can be annoying and unnecessary to write up new named characters every time a battle goes badly, so you can choose to have key characters suffer the effects of casualties last. For example, if a squadron of fighters with your named character are shot down with only one survivor, you can choose to have the named character be in the single plane that escaped, or if all were shot down, he might have successfully bailed out. Alternately, since stories are usually written after combat results are determined, you can simply choose not to have your named character have been part of a battle that turned into a massacre, if it would have been logical for him not to take part, and only have him present in battles that were glorious victories!

The lives of named characters are not always guaranteed, and sometimes due to overwhelming defeat, or perhaps a dramatic story (such as a climactic duel between rival aces), they may still be killed. This can be particularly the case for high profile named characters who are also unique units, like the admiral and crew of a powerful Super-Battleship, or the Oracle of a prominent temple, but even a named character who is just a private in an army of millions can sometimes have his number come up. The above rule exists only to prevent gratuitous assassination of a Power’s named characters.

National Character

Your Nation is entirely what you make it. Lords of Ether does not assign any intrinsic benefits to tyrannical governments over liberal democracies, or to centrally planned economies over free markets. Any such distinctions are made in your description of your Nation, and how you practically play it.

Thus, if you wish for a police state, you should start with a large number of Secret Police and Informers, or if you want a free trade economy, you should let others invest in your nation, have a large merchant fleet and make plenty of Trade Goods. There are some Advantages and Disadvantages that can be used to further define a Nation, but the specific angle those take is still up to you. For example a Fanatical Population could be the result of a bunch of indoctrinated, ignorant peasants ordered to die for the Motherland, but it could also be the result of a free society who see themselves as the greatest civilization in the galaxy and will defend their freedom to the death.

In the end, it’s all up to you, and how you physically construct your Nation. Now, on to the construction. . .

1. Creating a Nation

A Nation begins with 550 Starting Points (SP) to spend during Power creation. Disadvantages may raise this total as high as a player wishes, though taking too many disadvantages can turn a new Nation into an instant disaster.

New nations get a bonus 25 SP for every year after the start of the game. Thus if the game began in 1000NE, a Nation starting in 1003NE would get a bonus 75 SP, for a total of 625 SP.​

Advancement of Nations

You now need to decide what level of magic or technology your Nation has. Advancement is a major part of what defines a Nation, so think carefully what kind of Nation you want before choosing your Advancement levels. Quite apart from the SP cost, maxing out every tech level may not best realize your concept. It also isn’t necessarily a winning option; ultra-high Advancement is certainly very capable, but its increased cost doesn’t always give it superiority over the larger numbers less Advanced Powers can sometimes fling at it.

Advancement is broken down into ten Advancement Categories; five Technological and five Magical. These Categories each go from 0 to 599 Advancement Points. For faster reference Advancement Point numbers are often abbreviated as levels, such as Level 0, or Level 5.99. The decimals can be important as there are sub-divisions of advancement and capability within most levels, however they are not always used – if this is the case the rules will note that the fractions or decimals should be dropped either before or after a calculation.

People often talk about the overall technological or magical advancement of a Power in terms of its mean Advancement Level, describing a nation that has most of its Technological Advancement categories in the 300’s as “Tech Level 3”, or a nation that has a number of Magic Categories at 500 as “Magic Level 5”.

A Magical and a Technological Advancement Category can also be “fused” with each other to create Technomagic. To determine the cost of a fusion, take the Advancement Points in the two Categories to be fused (rounding each down to the closest hundred) and add them together. This is the price in Advancement Points that must be paid to create the desired Technomagical fusion. Technomagic is always described in Levels, which are the sum of the two fused Categories (In this case decimals are never used).

Categories that are more than a Level apart may not be fused, however a nation does not have to use its full Advancement Level of a Category when creating a fusion. Thus a Nation with Level 5 in Physics/Mathematics and Level 3 in Destruction could still fuse the two together at Level 4 Physics/Mathematics and Level 3 Destruction, to create a Level 7 Technomagical fusion for 700 Advancement Points. Powers may possess multiple technomagical fusions, particularly at low levels. The SP cost of a second fusion is half of the default cost, assuming that it is of equal or lesser level than the first.

The Advancement Categories are:

Technological	Magical
Biology	Creation
Chemistry	Destruction
Engineering	Transmorgification
Physics/Mathematics	Mental
Psychology	Movement

Nations pay 1 SP for every 10 Advancement Points they purchase (fractions are allowed).

All advancement categories, both technological and magical, for all nations default to level 100 and are increased from there. Certain Disadvantages can reduce this value. Advancement Categories and the process of creating Technomagic are described in greater detail in Section 2.a. Advancement, and Section 2.b. Research.

Population

The Population of your Nation are those who reside within its boundaries; citizens, serfs, even slaves, if that’s your penchant. Large and small Populations each have their own advantages and disadvantages. A large Population provides a large draft pool for military recruits, produces more resources, can better absorb the strain of industrial mobilization, and makes a nation more resilient to invasion by being more difficult to conquer and subdue (so long as the people remain loyal!). On the downside large Populations can often require large amounts of upkeep in the form of yearly Civil Order payments, and can be difficult to fully secure or completely monitor. Small populations take less SP to buy, are easier to upkeep and manage, and can be protected more easily (it is possible to turn a small city state into a nigh impregnable fortress) but they are also less able to sustain the pressures of war and mobilization.

Most Nations use Population Units of 1 million, though in some special cases this may be smaller. Regardless of size, a Population Unit costs 1 SP to buy, and is automatically considered “Housed.”

Housing is the infrastructure for your Population, which allows them to live and work and produce revenues and other goodies for your government. Some Nations (primarily those with the Large/Larger/Huge Population Advantage) do not have sufficient Housing for all their Population. If you have some un-Housed Population it doesn’t necessarily mean your people are living on the streets in cardboard boxes, but it does mean that you lack the means to make them fully productive members of society. Nations with large segments of their Population without Housing have vast impoverished urban slums, or far-flung under-developed rural communities, or however else you can find a way to describe the plight of the unemployed or unproductive.

For every two Housed Population Units a Nation has, they gain an Industry Production Bonus of 1 Production Point per month. Whether they have Housing or not, Nations with fewer than five Technology Levels total or more than two Technology Categories at 0, do not receive this bonus as the Population is limited to primitive subsistence practices and produces no excess production for the Nation to use.

Population Growth

Population, unlike the Production Categories, can grow naturally, though only for Nations. Growth is based on the Nation's level of industry. If Industry Production is 1/2 or lower than the Population Production Bonus, then the Nation is largely rural and its population grows at 3% a year. If Industry is equal or less than the Bonus then the Nation is industrialized and the population grows at 2% a year. If industry is greater than the bonus then the Nation is heavily industrialized and grows at 1% a year.

Actually this growth is automatic whether the Nation wants it or not. Why might you not want it? Well, because a growing population requires a continual expansion of housing and infrastructure that ultimately can be rather expensive. If the Nation doesn't pay for these things for the growing population eventually becomes a slum and poverty problem. States can live with this indefinitely if they choose, but the new Population also doesn't generate any additional Production Bonus until the required infrastructure is built.

A Nation can also artificially increase its population with increased Immigration (must be done in game) or by advanced/enforced fertility methods. Usually done with Biology (though occasionally Psychology) this costs more at the higher levels but is also more effective. Giving out fertility drugs or using psychological indoctrination can effectively increase the Population for determining all facets of growth percentages by the amount of Wealth spent. This amount can be no greater than the total actual Population (so a Nation with 20 million people could spend no more than 20 Wealth on this method). Test-tube babies are available at Biology 4, which can increase the Population for a cost of 25 Wealth per 1 million, irregardless of current Population size. Note that this cost does not include building the infrastructure for these test-tube babies once they've been gestated

Civil Order

It is often necessary to keep the People in line. The best way is to bribe them and pre-emptively prevent disturbances. This is done with either Industry (building various community facilities) or Wealth (bonuses, tax relief, etc). Usually it's 1 Point (Wealth or Industry) per population, per year. This is enough to keep most people fairly content. You don't have to pay this, but it can raise rumblings of discontent in hard times, such as distant unpopular wars or hostile takeover bids. You can increase this, pouring more into the populace, or even select areas of the populace if you are concerned about the loyalty of certain areas. There is no cap on this, but it is subject to the laws of diminishing returns.

There are also some times when the people just hate you and will not be placated, no matter how many baubles you throw their way. That's when you keep the proles in line by declaring martial law and putting troops on the streets. 10,000 men keep one unit of population in line. Security forces do it better, being twice as effective at minimum, three times as effective with propaganda. They can also be deployed without having to declare martial law.

National Draft Pool

Your Nation has a Draft Pool, equal to 10% of its Population. Unless they’re entirely automated, all military units require some Population to crew or form them. Infantry Types reduce the Draft Pool by their listed size; a unit of Unskilled Infantry would reduce it by 100,000, while a unit of Elite Infantry by 1,000. Special Forces are the exception, and reduce the Draft Pool by 1,000 for each Batch (this is because such special soldiers are very rare). All other units reduce the Draft Pool by their Base Batch Cost in thousands, so a unit of 25 fighters would take 1,000 from the Draft Pool (there may only be 25 pilots, but there are also many ground crew and support personnel) while a Super Battleship would reduce it by 5,000. Unless you have a very low Population, it is difficult to reduce your Draft Pool to zero at the start of the game but it can be done, so keep track of the numbers. Once you exhaust your Draft Pool you’ll either have to build robots or other self-aware devices, recruit mercenaries, or disband existing units.

Starting at Psychology 4 and Biology 4 a Power can conduct full human flash cloning. This option is open not just to Nations, but to Trans-stellars and even Heroes, in need of a massive influx of new bodies. Clones are added to a military, security, or agent unit as a capability that removes its Draft requirement. However, at TL4 Biology, these clones are problematic and negatively impact unit performance. Only at TL5 Biology will these Clones function 'normally' as a slotless Extra Capability.

Slave/Subject Populations

Some nations can start off with Populations under their control that are not loyal, and serve only under duress. These can be slaves, or newly conquered subjects, or perhaps a long persecuted underclass. These subjects can still be made to work, and work hard, while paid nothing or a pittance, but they pose a security risk the rest of your loyal citizens do not.

Slave/Subject Population numbers are recorded separately from your “main” population. They may be few in number, or may vastly outnumber your citizens if you so choose. If you have a Large Population Advantage, the multiple must be applied to both citizens and slaves. Thus a Nation with 5 Population Units, and 2 Subject/Slave Population Units that took Huge Population would have 50 Population Units and 20 Subject/Slave Population Units.

Slave/Subject Population Units come in sizes of one million, and every 2 Housed Slave/Subject Population Units generate 1 Production Point a month, just like normal Population. However, they cost only .5 SP per Unit, and require no Civil Order Upkeep. Housing is also cheaper to build for them, costing half as much. On the downside they must be kept in line with added security or military forces, are more likely to rise and rebel under Unrest Disadvantages, and do not add to your draft pool.

National Infrastructure

Infrastructure is an area that will likely eat up a great deal of your remaining Points. It includes the categories your Nation will use to produce things; Industry, Wealth, Research and Ether. Population Housing also falls under Infrastructure, though that has already been discussed. Industry describes the raw productive power of your Nation, and can be thought of as the sum of your mines, mills, factories, workshops and plants. Wealth is less tangible and describes your economy. Your Nation actually is assumed to produce more Wealth than this, but this value describes what you as the government can actually use. Research describes the power of your schools, universities, laboratories and institutes and is your ability to develop new technologies, or if you are magical, to train new mages as well. Ether is your ability to gain that most critical resource of all from the world around you and can be described by anything from vast fields of pumps and refineries drawing subterranean gasses to the surface, to huge magical vortexes that draw the power out of the spirit realms. Infrastructure is discussed in greater depth in section 6. Infrastructure, but a quick summary of the categories is presented below.

Industry

Industry is most critical for technological Nations as a large value allows a high production of items from war machines to munitions supplies to trade goods. Magical Nations have other means of creating what they need, but also cannot afford to totally neglect Industry as many of their magics require industrial supplies, and mages alone can’t always do everything. Industry is notable in that it cannot be “saved”. If Industrial Production is not used to produce something and instead sits idle, that potential production is simply lost. In contrast, Wealth, Ether and Research can be stockpiled if not used. Each SP you spend in this Category gives you one point of Industrial Production per Month. This is measured in Production Points or PP.

Wealth

Wealth is used to increase and maintain all the other Categories, and to pay the wages of your employees from the lowliest infanteer to the highest archmage. Each SP you spend in this Category gives you one point of Wealth Production per Month. This is measured in Wealth Units or WU. Unlike PP produced by Industry, WU can be stored and stockpiled for later use, and even traded to other Powers. A Nation starts the game with five times their Wealth Production in WU stored in the Treasury.

Research

Research allows you to increase your Advancement Categories, create new technologies and new devices, and even train more mages. In fact Magic Users are unique in that they require Research rather than Industry to produce. As a result a magical Nation should pay more attention to this Infrastructure Category. Research is also unique in that rather than producing monthly it produces yearly. Each SP you spend in this Category gives you one point of Research Production per Year. This is measured in Research Points or RP. RP can be stockpiled like WU, though it cannot be traded and can be used only by the Nation that produced it. Research used directly to increase an Advancement Category does so at a cost of 1 research per 2 points increase in that category.

Ether

Ether is the fuel for pretty much everything in the game, and this rating describes how much of it you can refine and produce. All Nations require Ether, though due to the immense power requirements of magic, magical nations can go through their stocks much faster. Of note, out of every 100 points of Ether your Nation generates, one will be found in Geode form. Geodes are extremely valuable, and are used in the most powerful weapons and magics. Ether is also notable in that it cannot be increased normally in the same manner as all the other Categories. To build more Ether refineries you must first find (or conquer!) more sources of Ether. Unless the Untapped Ether advantage is taken, it is assumed that your nation has already fully exploited all its existing Ether Resources. This means you must be sure to take adequate supplies of Ether at the start of the game as it may be difficult to secure more. Each SP you spend in this Category gives you one point of Ether Production per Month. This is measured in Ether Units, or EU. EU can also be stored and transferred to other Powers, like WU. A Nation starts the game with two times their Ether Production in EU stored in the Strategic Reserve.

Initial Production

As a final note, it is assumed that your Nation did not simply spring into existence the day you created its OOB, and that its factories were quite busy prior to its entry into the game. Thus you start the game with a number of items already in initial production and 50% complete. This number is rated in Production Points (which are used to buy military units) and is equal to the total of all your Infrastructure Categories; Industry, Wealth, Research, Ether and the Production Bonus given by your Housed Population Units. If you have any of Magical Wildlife, Mystic Haven or Terra Incognita Magicka, you may also include one month's worth of units from those traits.

Military Units

Of course every Nation needs a military. All the Population, Technology and Infrastructure in the world is pointless if you have no way to defend it, and the universe of Lords of Ether is not so altruistic as to make legal documents and strong language sufficient defense. Military Units are bought with Production Points, or PP. 1 SP buys 10 PP.

The rules for designing and maintaining your armed forces are detailed at length in Sections 5 - 9, and rules for mages have their own Section 11. Mages. While mages are technically purchased with Research Points or RP, for the purposes of game start, mages can also be purchased with PP (so buy what you need, because they’ll be MUCH more expensive later).

There is an additional rule to keep in mind for your starting military. You are limited in the number of so-called “super weapons” you can start with. Each Nation may only have one super weapon (of any type – not one of each type!) either in service, or in initial production. Mega Capital Ships, Planetoids, Grand Cannons, Crust Busters, Hemisphere Shields, and Oracles are all considered super weapons.

National Advantages and Disadvantages

Nations can take Advantages and Disadvantages to give themselves special capabilities, reinforce a distinct characteristic, or just to burn or scrounge a few extra points. Advantages cost you points, while Disadvantages give you more points to spend. The Advantages and Disadvantages listed below are just examples. Players can take these, or think up their own, based on the costs of existing Advantages and Disadvantages. However, if you want a new or modified Advantage or Disadvantage it must be cleared with the GM first.

Advantages

Ancient Relics (10 SP): There was an older civilization on your world before you. Long before you. Now long gone, in scattered and isolated places some of their relics remain. Most of the artefacts found are merely of curiosity value, but who knows, there may be a few big finds left. To make full use of the Advantage it is recommended a Power use Archaeologists to scour the relics.

Ancient World (25 SP): There was once a vast and advanced civilization on your world that is now long gone, but the relics of its civilization are everywhere. New cities built on the ruins of the old, strange monuments in isolated locations, and weird and often unknowable items sometimes found in the strangest places. As with Ancient Relics, Archaeologists are a good idea to get full benefit from this Advantage

Elite Security Network (25 SP): An Nation with Elite Security Network places greater emphasis on security and spies. Informers, Spy Agents, and Secret Police are all more effective, both at defending your own security and secrets, and at undermining and stealing everyone else’s. All your Security Forces start with Elite and you can choose to produce 10 new Batches of Elite security units each year.

Elite Armed Forces (75 SP): Your armed forces are the crème de la crème, the biggest badasses in your region of the galaxy. Morale is high, professionalism the rule, and leadership excellent if not inspired. All your Armed Forces (not including mages, security forces and WMD) start with Elite, and you can choose to produce or refit 20 Batches of new Elite units each year.

Space Cadets (5 SP): Your Nation has a foothold in space, with permanent bases, residences and a level of industry. This advantage can make the travel and exploitation of space easier for a Nation.

Space Dwellers (10 SP): Your civilization is not bound by the confines of a planet. You have no need to deal with pesky gravity wells or upsetting natural climates. The space of the Deep Sky is your natural habitat and favourite element.

Large Population (5 SP): A Nation may have a larger population than normal. With this Advantage the Population of your Nation is multiplied by 2. This does not change the number of Houses you have, and so has no effect on the production bonus, though it does affect the draft pool, and population upkeep. This advantage tends to create a Nation with a strong divide between the haves and the have-nots.

Larger Population (10 SP): A Nation may have a larger population than normal. With this Advantage the Population of your Nation is multiplied by 5. This does not change the number of Houses you have, and so has no effect on the production bonus, though it does affect the draft pool, and population upkeep. This advantage tends to create a somewhat squalid Nation with vast slums, but with a lot of draftable bodies, and the potential for expansion.

Huge Population (20 SP): This works much like the previous two, except the Population of your Nation is multiplied by 10. This does not change the number of Houses you have, and so has no effect on the production bonus, though it does affect the draft pool, and population upkeep. This advantage creates a nation with a small cabal of wealthy (often VERY wealthy) elites and a massive underclass of disenfranchised and dispirited common citizens.

To the Stars! (10 SP): Nations with this Advantage feel the need to get out and spread empire across the galaxy, focussing more effort and energy into developing bases and colonies outsystem. Such Nations can use their Base Infrastructure Construction Rate twice rather than just once.

Weak Neighbours (25 SP): As a Nation you are not alone on your world, but you might as well be. The other local powers are not a patch upon your nation and provide a ripe arena for home-grown conquest. The other nations start with 250 Starting Points between them (before Disadvantages). While you can create the other nations yourself, they will be edited if they are a bit too easy of a conquest – thus this advantage can end up being a mixed blessing and should be taken with great consideration.

Mystical Society (10 SP): Your population bonus produces Etheric energy rather than Industry. This change is 1 for 1 and is permanent and total – you cannot switch between Ether and Industry, or have part of the Population produce Ether and part Industry. If taken by a Magical Nation that would otherwise not receive a Population Production Bonus, this Advantage will still allow the nation to collect the Population Bonus in Ether.

Martial Society (30 SP): Your Power has an old and strong military tradition. Much of the populace is trained in the ways of war, weapons are plentiful and stored in local armouries and great armies can be quickly mobilized in times of trouble. In practice this allows a Power to form Infantry at a much-increased rate, halving your normal build-time (to a minimum of half a unit’s PP cost in months).

Fanatical Population (25 SP / 50 SP): Your People are incredibly devoted and can be urged on to great lengths for the state. Civil Order payments are twice as effective, the people will resist occupation harder and longer, and the Population Bonus also can be mobilized like Industrial Production in times of crisis. This Advantage costs 25 SP for most Nations, but 50 SP for a Nation with any of the Large or Huge Population Advantages, as Fanatical Population can make nations with large population bases very difficult to invade and conquer.

Green Fields (10 SP / 15 SP): Your Nation is unusually fertile, with a near continual baby boom. As a result, Population growth is doubled. This advantage costs a little extra for Nations with Large to Huge Populations, though runaway growth can be a bit of a mixed blessing for such nations.

Ether Rich (25 SP): Your Nation is unusually rich in Etheric energy and you can expand your Ether production.. Additionally, 1 out of every 20 rather than 1 out of every 100 Ether mined will be in Geode form.

Magical Wildlife (25 SP): Your Nation resides in a world where magical creatures still roam. Humans are still dominant, but in the isolated regions of the world, groups, even small civilizations of magical beings thrive. Your territory gains a defensive advantage, whether in the form of allied mystical primitives or dangerous magical wildlife you are better accommodated to than an invader would be. Up to 15 PP of creatures enter your service every month. You can add your own Added Capabilities to them using your Advancement Levels, in which case the creatures are treated as uncapped ‘base’ units (with a cost of Base Batch Cost x Advancement Level) that are already built, reducing build times. Otherwise, you can treat them as ML3 units designed using the Artificing rules and they enter service immediately. Note that this is limited to units that have a Base Batch size of 1:5 or smaller.

Mystic Haven (50 SP): Your world is rife with magical wildlife. Dragons are rare sights, but not unheard of, Giants stride the far mountains and strange creatures swim beneath the waves. Your world is dangerous and its perils are familiar to you. Invaders and other hostile powers will have to suffer in this hostile environment, or resist the wrath of what societies may call the wilds of your world home. Your territory gains a notable defensive advantage, whether in the form of small allied mystical populations or dangerous magical wildlife you are better accommodated to than an invader would be. Up to 25 PP of creatures will enter your service every month. You can add your own Added Capabilities to them using your Advancement Levels, in which case the creatures are treated as uncapped ‘base’ units (with a cost of Base Batch Cost x Advancement Level) that are already built, reducing build times. Otherwise, you can treat them as ML3 or ML4 units designed using the Artificing rules and they enter service immediately. Note that this is limited to units that have a Base Batch size of 1:1 or smaller.

Terra Incognita Magicka (100 SP): Your Nation is but a small enclave of humanity on a world otherwise dominated by the Mystical and Magical. You are not alone on your world and will find its denizens friendly or at least aloof and indifferent to your activities, while hostile to any interlopers. Your territory gains a major defensive advantage, whether in the form of allied mystical nations or incredibly dangerous magical wildlife you are better accommodated to than an invader would be. If taken in conjunction with “Hostile World” these Magical forces may indeed form entire civilizations greater than your own. In such a case the point value of the Hostile World disadvantage is (+50 SP), not (+25 SP). Up to 50 PP of creatures will enter your service every month. You can add your own Added Capabilities to them using your Advancement Levels, in which case the creatures are treated as uncapped ‘base’ units (with a cost of Base Batch Cost x Advancement Level) that are already built, reducing build times. Otherwise, you can treat them as ML3, ML4 or ML5 units designed using the Artificing rules and they enter service immediately.

Special Population (10 SP): Your population is different from the norm in a distinct way, though one that only makes a minor difference in a world of magic and advanced machinery. Your entire population receives a passive advantage to one category. This is not a free Added Capability. Some examples: Orcs which have a +1 to their melee stat. Psychic fields that provide a +1 to protection. Kobolds that take up less CP as infantry. Bling that provides a bonus to diplomatic engagements.

Enhanced Population (40 SP): Your population is strongly divergent from the norm, possessing some inherent capability that others can only match with the products of science or magic. Your Infantry type units receive one free +1 Added Capability that is slot-free and build-free. If it is in Weapons or other offensive capacity, it can only refer to Melee/Close Combat.

Poppy Fields (15 SP): Your Nation produces certain goods that are both highly attractive to foreign peoples, as well as highly illegal in the eyes of their governments. Most commonly this takes the form of drugs or other illicit substances, but it can be anything else that would logically be an illegal product. This Advantage grants a +1 Return on black market goods

Bat Phone (50 SP): Your Nation has a patron hero only a phone call away! Once a year, you may summon a Hero to your aid. This Hero will aid you in a specific task or mission for around a month or so, before reverting to his secret identity, returning to his pocket dimension, or turning back into a statue, or whatever else he does when not acting as your saviour. To generate this Hero, take the 50 SP spent here, and head over to the Hero section and make up a Hero from scratch, including traits, companions, advantages and disadvantages – the works. This Hero can have the same Advancement levels and thematic style as your Nation, but he or she can also be totally different. Just remember that unlike a normal Hero, this Hero is not on call 24/7. You get to use him for one major task a year, and that for only a month. So use your Bat-minutes wisely.

Special Relationship (10 SP): Your nation (or population) has a particularly tight connection to a certain ethnic group, concept or ideology. This helps smooth over many rough edges in mutual relationships, and consequently when interacting with the chosen group your diplomacy is less hampered by national flaws. However, this does tend to create a strong degree of ingroupism/outgroupism. You must select one minority group (eg fellow communists, dwarves, spacers, the Gaelic diaspora, etc) and when interacting with them you may ignore one degree of undiplomatic - if neither of you is undiplomatic, you may ignore one degree of pariah. Extremely broad groups (eg humans, mage-using states, people that live on planets, etc) may not be chosen.

Magical Gunsmiths (10 SP): While higher grades of technology notoriously play very poorly with magic (and vice-versa), for quite literally thousands of years it is common for the smallfolk to use muskets, iron and the like in both their daily lives and at war. This trait is only open to nations or trans-stellars that have at least 1500 aggregate points of magic in at least 3 fields; it sets their tech levels to a uniform 200 each (TL2). If an org wishes to raise these at creation (e.g. to buy up tech in order to purchase a fusion field) they must start from 100 - there is no free lunch. In-game this restriction is no longer in force; the 200 in each field is 200 in each field.

Durable Enchanters (25 SP): The humble enchantment has been a tool of the magic for millennia and over the years various groups have cultivated exceptional skill at it. Durable Enchanters automatically extend the duration of enchantments to a full year from one month and also helps stretch enchantments across multiple battles. Finally, any unit built by Durable Enchanters may take the first level of casting chamber as a slot-free upgrade.

Machine Civilization (50 SP): It is possible to take a Power that is run entirely by machines, either technological robots or magical golems. It requires Engineering, Physics/Mathematics and Psychology of at least Level 4, or Material and Mental of at least Level 4. It cannot be combined with Population Enhancements. Machine Civilizations do not need any Population and any Population they take contributes Wealth instead of industry. They do not have a Draft Pool. Machine Civilizations never pay for Civil Order, and do not have to take it into account when conducting wars. Machine Civilizations may not Mobilize. All factories are assumed to be running at maximum efficiency, and there is no way to extort greater efforts out of them. Machine Civilizations do not need to take Biology or Creation (unless they take a token Population) as all their Units are mechanical. Every Military Unit built by a Machine Civilization must contain a +2 AI. This Added Capability is Build Free and Slot Free (but not cost free). A Unit without this Added Capability will not function, as the Power has no people (or no trained people) with which to drive or pilot it. This does not prevent the Machine Civilization from building non-AI units for use by other Powers. WMD are exempt from this rule. Due to continual system monitoring, and entirely mechanical and often alien architecture, a Machine Civilization counts as being 100% composed of informers. Additionally, Powers without the ability to create or program their own Artificial Intelligences, either Magical or Technological, suffer a penalty to spy on Machine Civilizations.

Biotech Civilization (50 SP): Some civilizations forgo the use of machines, instead replacing their use with biotech constructs. This can only be achieved at the highest levels of biological knowledge, and comes with its own unique abilities. Biotech Civilization costs 50 SP and requires at least Biology Level 5 and Psychology Level 4 (or their magical equivalents). Biotech Civilizations do not need to take Engineering, as all their structures are grown, or forged from organic matter. If they do not take Engineering they cannot build non-Biotech devices, though they may still purchase and use them. If a Biotech Civilization takes the Special Population advantage, it may take one more passive advantage than normal. This extra advantage is free, and does not add to the SP Cost, or count against the normal limit. All Biotech Units gain a Cost Free, Slot Free, and Build Free +1 Automation, to represent the natural intelligence and functions of biological creatures, whether they are used as vehicles or personal equipment. Biotech is not quite as resistant to damage as the most advanced mechanical devices, and suffers a penalty to durability, being roughly as tough as normal Tech Level 4 equipment. However Biotech also has superior self-repair, and if the Self-Sustaining Added Capability is taken it is Slot Free. Biotech does not grow as fast as machines can be constructed, and Biotech Civilizations have a x1.5 Build Speed for all normal Military Units.

Disadvantages List

Factious World (+5 Starting Points): As a Nation, while you are the greatest power on your world you are not the only one. Other nations exist which have no loyalty to you. They do not pose an immediate threat, but you cannot easily conquer or control them. The other nations start with 500 Starting Points between them (before Disadvantages and the 25 SP adjustment per starting year).

Hostile World (+25/50 Starting Points): As a Nation, your world is not your own. There are other powers on it, and some are greater than you are, and less than friendly. Forget conquering your neighbors; just think about surviving them. You are surrounded by nations with a combined point value of at least 1,000 SP, and possibly higher. You may choose to make these hostile nations into magical creature civilizations, doubling the disad’s value to +50 SP with a commensurate worsening of the danger it represents (meat’s back on the menu boys).

Weak Government (+25 Starting Points): Your government is not fully in control of your nation. Making decisions is difficult and carrying them out more so. While this doesn’t affect day-to-day life as the routine bureaucracy ticks along nicely, it does affect the ability of your nation to respond to emergencies; in particular, mobilize the nation out of its daily grind and to wage war. Any Civil Order penalties incurred by war are doubled, and Industry cannot be mobilized save in times of grave crisis, and then is twice as damaging to population morale.

Dissatisfied Population (+10 Starting Points): While your society does function, there are rumblings of discontent at certain levels. The production bonus from the Population is halved, and the people while not openly disloyal, are willing to lend an ear to foreign voices.

Angry Population (+25 Starting Points): In addition to automatically gaining the effects of this disadvantage upon conquering unwilling people, a player can take this disadvantage at the start, beginning with a less than rosy reputation in the eyes of his people. The population produces no bonus, and the people are receptive to foreign influence.

Rebellious Population (+50 Starting Points): The people aren’t just dissatisfied; they’re on the verge of open revolt. A newly conquered nation will usually have this disadvantage for some time before settling down into mere dissatisfaction. As well as no bonus, production in all categories is only 50% and the people will jump at the chance to ally with foreign powers against you. This lasts until this disadvantage is negated, by one means or another (not an easy task but possible with draconian measures).

Pariah (+10 Starting points): You did something somewhat repugnant in the past, or are associated with the more unsavoury side of life, and now are a bit of a loner in the community. Others will only deal with you under the table, and always with guarded looks and an eye for suspected betrayals. In practice this means a minus to diplomatic reaction rolls.

Magical or Technological Ineptitude (+10 Starting Points): One Category simply defies the abilities of your Nation or Trans-Stellar's people to master, reducing your starting advancement in that category to 0 and costing twice as much to research as normal. This can be bought for multiple categories, except for Heroes who can only take it once. Be aware that this ineptitude also makes it difficult to deal with magic or technology using the selected Category and can create weaknesses, for even if a Power has no plans to use a Category, it is often necessary to defend against it.

Magical Prohibition (Variable) While most wizards are trained in a wide variety of magical disciplines and the various academies and tutorages prepare them for almost any situation they may be called upon for, some states or groups have gaps in their magical practices. The reasons for this are varied; it could be an ancient geas forbidden the use of magic on living things, a cultural prohibition against summoning the Things Beyond, industrialized charm-crafting in factories as opposed to by hand or simply a hereditary inability to throw fireballs. You may take some or all of the following with a value equal to:

Summoning: 10% of SP cost of advancement points spent on Movement and Mental.

Spellcasting: 20% of SP cost of all advancement points spent on magic. Since Summoning is a type of spell, you cannot take both.

Enchanting: 10% of SP cost of all advancement points spent on magic. You cannot take this if you have 3 or more non-fused Technology categories above 350.

Artificing: 10% of SP cost of advancement points spent on Transmogrification or Creation (but not both) for every Magic advancement category 200 or higher. You must have at least 300 points in Transmogrification or Creation to take this.

Note that you cannot take a prohibition for something your power already cannot do because of other disadvantages. If a power has restrictions in spellcasting and enchanting or has a restriction on all disciplines it can do with its magical field(s), it is considered Magic Numb and may no longer train or use wizards at all, though it is free to fuse tech and magic, construct artificed units (assuming it is not restricted) and even use active technomagic effects, again within the boundaries of its magical restrictions.

True Blood (+10 SP): Your Nation frowns on modifying the god-given forms of life. They will treat any Biotech Civilisation as a Pariah and suffer morale problems against biotech or Creation artificed units (including undead).

Fourth Law (+10 SP): Your Nation fears the rise of intelligent machines. This includes both the intelligent computers produced by Technological Powers and the self-aware golems produced by Magical Powers. Your Nation may never use automation, or full AI, and will treat any Robot Civilisations as Pariah. This disadvantage does not prevent a Biotech Power from building intelligent biotech creations or using sentient creatures as their vehicles.

Nuke Free Zone (+30 SP): Your Nation will not countenance the usage of Weapons of Mass Destruction, or Doomsday Magic. They will not research or possess them, and while they understand that other nations do not share their ideals, they will react strongly to nations that go beyond possession and begin using such terrible weapons. If a nation makes routine use of WMD or Doomsday Magic, particularly on planets, and especially if they kill a large number of civilians with them, your Nation may end up treating them as Undiplomatic. In such a case you may also use the presence of WMD or Doomsday magic as cassus belli, allowing you to start a war without any Civil Order penalties.

Magical Intolerance (+40 SP): Your Nation has a blanket prejudice against Magic. They will not use any levels of Magic, nor can they fuse Magic and Technology. They will also react poorly to any Power that uses Mages and will treat such a Power as if they are Undiplomatic. Powers affected by this will tend to react negatively to your actions.

Technological Intolerance (+50 SP): Your Nation has a blanket prejudice against Technology. They may have no Technological Advancement Levels higher than Level 2.5and cannot fuse Magic and Technology. They will also react poorly to any Power that uses Advanced Tech, and will treat such a Power as if they are Undiplomatic. Powers that are affected by this will tend to react negatively to your actions.

Disaster Zone (+10 Starting Points): Your Nation is subject to natural disasters, which occur regularly and can inflict considerable damage. The nature of these natural disasters should be specified, such as earthquakes or typhoons, or more esoteric disasters like plasma storms or outbreaks of mass insanity.

Barren World (+20 Starting Points): Building more Population Housing costs twice as much, and Civil Order Upkeep costs are doubled (this can start to add up). A Nation with this Disadvantage may not start with more than 50 Population Units, though they may go above this as the game progresses. Barren World is Nation and planet specific, and does not affect land you acquire on other worlds, or other Nations that may share your world but do not have this disadvantage.

Resource Poor World (+20 Starting Points): A Nation with this Disadvantage may not start with more than 50 Industry Production. As the game progresses they can build more, however increasing Production costs twice as much. Resource Poor World is Nation and planet specific, and does not affect land you acquire on other worlds, or other Nations that may share your world but do not have this disadvantage. Note that if you have more Research than Industry, a 50PP/month limit will also apply to the maximum amount that can be produced via Artificing.

Poor Finances (+25 Starting Points): Perhaps your currency suffers from runaway inflation, you are in the midst of a great depression, or El Presidente uses the treasury as his personal piggy bank. Whatever the case, your Nation has a poor financial record. Wealth production costs twice as much to build (on your world or any other), you receive a –1 return on all Trade Goods. A Nation with this Disadvantage may not start with more than 50 Wealth Production, though they may go above this as the game progresses. Basically, your people just stink at managing money.

Incompetent Security Network (+30 Starting Points): Your Nation just doesn’t seem much need to protect its secrets, or maybe they just hire Orcs as security guards. All your security forces start with Incompetent, and any new units produced are also Incompetent.

Incompetent Armed Forces (+50 Starting Points): Your armed forces just don’t have their shit together. They’re poorly trained, poorly motivated and poorly led. All military units start with Incompetent, and all new units produced are Incompetent. This is a very difficult disadvantage to remove as incompetence is institutionalized at all levels, but getting your military hardened in battle (if it survives long enough!) is an effective, if risky, solution.

Cult of Victory (+20 Starting Points): Your Nation does not like losing. Unless quickly followed by a victory, the effects on the Population’s morale from defeat in battle are magnified, and losing a war almost invariably leads to a revolution or rebellion.

Fear and Loathing in Lords of Ether (+25 Starting Points): You are despised. Other Powers will attack your ships and emissaries on sight and whole Nations will ally against you at the earliest practical opportunity. Your leadership tops the most wanted lists on most every civilized world, and mothers frighten their children with their names. Fear and Loathing supersedes Pariah. This is a suicidal disadvantage for a Nation or Transtellar; it’s intended for rogue super-villains. But if you’re taking this Disadvantage you might as well also take. . .

Undiplomatic (+40 Starting Points): Your Nation lacks diplomatic graces and has a great deal of trouble closing deals with other states. In practice, all wealth transactions with other powers are twice the normal cost (so buying that battleship from the Formor Staryards will cost you 20 Wealth rather than 10). The final amount of Wealth (after factoring in the trade Return value) generated by any non-Black Market trade you send or receive is halved. The same goes for others trying to deal with you - they must pay twice the normal cost for wealth transactions and the final amount of Wealth generated by non-Black Market trade with you is halved. the extra money simply absorbed by a difficult, combative or otherwise restrictive diplomatic bureaucracy.

Slow Population Growth (+5 Starting Points): The Population of your Nation grows half as fast as normal. In addition to this the pressures of an aging populace mean that it costs twice as much to build up Housing infrastructure for what little new population you do gain.

No Population Growth (+10 Starting Points): Your Nation has stagnant Population growth. The only way to increase it is by immigration or costly artificial means. Again, the pressures of an ageing populace mean that integrating these newcomers into the Housing infrastructure is twice as expensive. Additionally, if immigrants arrive in large numbers social tension can arise and cause unrest.

Negative Population Growth (+25 Starting Points): The population of your Nation is in a slow but seemingly irrevocable decline. Every year it decreases by 3%. This can be staved of by immigration or costly artificial means, but the pressures of an aging populace mean that integrating these newcomers into the Housing infrastructure is twice as expensive, and Civil Order Upkeep is twice as expensive (this is cumulative). Additionally, if immigrants arrive in large numbers social tension can arise and cause unrest.

Patent Office (+5 Starting Points): Your Nation jealously guards what’s theirs, treating their accumulated knowledge as their own private trove. They will not give others Research Treaties (though they will still accept them), nor will they trade any of their technological or magical designs or units to another Power. Ever. If a Power is caught conducting Espionage against your Nation, you will treat them as if you were Undiplomatic from then on.

Not Invented Here (+25 Starting Points): Your Nation is not receptive to external ideas. They cannot receive Research Treaties (though they can still give them), and they cannot receive any units or parts of units from another Power. Additionally, spies on Espionage missions are half as effective. Note: Artifact finds are exempt from this rule, as any useful devices recovered can be assumed to come from the Nation’s past, and even those with a serious NIH complex can see the value of these awesome Gods War machines.

Lord of All (+5 Starting Points): There is one person who rules your Nation; one man or woman who is ultimately in charge like a tyrant of old. This person should be designated as a specific individual, and represented by a single (killable!) unit. This unit can be anything, from a simple infantryman to a Land Dreadnought, to an Oracle. Whoever they are, if they should fall your Nation will lose direction and gain the Weak Government disadvantage. If you already have Weak Government, your Nation goes right into Rebellion.

Home is Where the Heart is (+25 Starting Points): Your nation eschews colonialism and foreign holdings, preferring to remain in their home system. The Base Infrastructure Construction Rate may not be used in another system, and all Infrastructure of any kind built in another system costs twice as much.

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