Lords of Ether (20th Anniversary Edition) Transtellars
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- Creating a Nation
- Creating a Transtellar
- Creating a Hero
- Advancement
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- Weapons of Mass Destruction
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- Mages
- Types of Magic
- Production
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- Operations & Logistics
- Reference Tables
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Introduction
As a Transtellar you are in charge of a powerful non-governmental organization, be it a vast corporation, a seedy criminal syndicate, a wandering mercenary army, or a secretive magical society, or one of a score of other potential options At the start of the game, a Transtellar has less absolute power than a Nation, having to pay more for Infrastructure and other startup costs, but a Transtellar’s big advantage is that it starts spread across multiple worlds, and from that diverse base can build and expand much faster. While most Nations will be able to destroy a Transtellar’s holdings in their particular bailiwick if they choose, the depth of resources held by these groups could make such a move incredibly unwise in the long term. Additionally, the benefits of national co-operation with a Transtellar are not to be discarded lightly. While they may lack the all-purpose power of a Nation, Transtellars have unique abilities Nations do not, often specializing in a particular area where they can achieve far greater skill than any Nation. In fact, Nations will often try to gain an alliance with Transtellars, offering them safe havens in return for exclusive services. While valuable, this does come with a downside, as a Transtellar that becomes too friendly with one Nation may end up antagonizing that Nation’s enemies. All this means that Transtellars also require perhaps the most work to run properly. Rather than being concerned about the affairs of one world, or a localized area of the galaxy, a far-flung Transtellar can often find themselves embroiled in multiple separate events, and caught up in complex inter-planetary intrigues and conflicts. This can mean a great opportunity to keep yourself involved with the major game events, no matter where they may be occurring, but it also requires greater effort to fully exploit. While Transtellars do not usually try to be the focus of the story, they are often the shadowy presence in the background, observing, manipulating, and profiting from the game of Nations.
Transtellars and Defeat
As has been mentioned, the Lords of Ether galaxy is not an especially friendly place, and while Transtellars often strive for neutrality, there will often come a time when conflict is unavoidable. As with Nations, the potential for defeat and reversal exists, and sometimes you will have to accept very bad things happening to your Transtellar if one of your schemes fails, or even if events completely out of your control draw you into a war. Unlike a Nation, a Transtellar is rarely threatened in its entirety, and even when the Transtellar itself is the direct target of aggression (rather than one of its bases being caught up by unhappy proximity), few enemies have the reach to strike all a Transtellar’s holdings. Thus Transtellars can often disengage from local setbacks and recoup their losses with their phenomenal expansion rates elsewhere. As a Transtellar you should accept the fact that some of your bases may well become casualties, or may have to be abandoned when prudence wins out over pride, but keep in mind that there is always tomorrow and few defeats are lasting for a truly determined Transtellar.
Transtellars and Named Characters
Transtellars often have their fingers in many pies, and can benefit from showing their perspective in local affairs first hand. Throughout the course of the game you may feel compelled to personalize stories by creating named characters through whose eyes you can show the events your Power is involved in. This makes for more interesting stories, and gives other players a better feel for your Power. These named characters can be CEOs, local employees, field agents, military personnel, or any other person who might exist in the ranks of your organization. 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 Transtellar, 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.
Creating a Transtellar
A Transtellar 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 Transtellars 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.
Transtellar Traits
The first step is to decide exactly what kind of Power your Transtellar will be. Will it be a religion? A hidden society pursuing secret goals? Or perhaps a vast criminal organization preying upon others? Transtellar Traits describe the basic form of your Transtellar, and subsequently influence the kind of Advantages you can take.
A Transtellar starts with three Traits. You do not have to use them all, but there is no reason not to as they do not cost SP, nor do you gain SP by not using them. Transtellars have no way to gain additional Traits, nor can they take Negative Traits like Heroes – 3 is all you get. The combinations you choose define the basics of your Transtellar.
No matter how many Traits you take, consider them carefully as they will define the basics of your Transtellar. Below are some examples, though this list is not exhaustive and players should feel free to suggest their own Traits, though these must be OK’d by the GM.
Traits List
Hypertech: Your Transtellar has a particular focus on the cutting edge. Transtellars with this Trait gain 250 advancement points to towards a technomagical or magitech fusion. This Trait has no effect on in-game Research.
Guiding Hand: Your Transtellar is built around one single central figure, who directs and leads and occasionally comes out of his office to kick some ass. Transtellars with this Trait can be led by a powerful Heroic character (though this still has to be purchased as an Advantage).
Low Profile: Transtellars with this advantage can build Shadow Infrastructure on the territory of another Nation or even Transtellar. Shadow Infrastructure remains hidden and unnoticed, so long as each Infrastructure category (Members, Industry, Wealth, Ether, and Research) is no more than a quarter that of the Region’s owner. The level to which it is hidden is also related to how safe the region is in which it is located.
Networked: Transtellars with this trait have a network of followers that goes far beyond their core membership. These can be the worshippers of a religion, or the supporters of charity organizations, or the street dealers and hustlers and slumlords of a criminal family. Transtellars with this trait can purchase Associate Members.
Nomads: This Trait is used by Transtellars with no fixed abode or base. Wherever the people wander to, they take their resources with them. You may relocate your branches at the start of each year and by the beginning of the following year they will be in a new location. Nomadic entities move because they have to, either by overstaying their welcome or by using up whatever resources they ventured to gather. So not only can your branches move, they must move. They cannot remain on any one planet for more than 1 year and they cannot move to a planet where another branch presently is.
Small Nation: Transtellars with this Trait are more properly small, often dispersed, nation groups or ethnicities, as opposed to corporations or companies. Their core Member Units are 100,000 rather than 10,000, and rather than hiring new Members, they grow naturally like Nation Population. Small Nation Members are a tightly knit group with common bonds of race, history and often hardship. They are thus more loyal and dependable than even normal Transtellar Members.
Treasure Hunters: Transtellars with this Trait love to go out and look for things, and often make something of a career out of going to distant wilderness worlds, or ancient temples or shrines, and rooting around until they uncover something of value. They gain a bonus to Prospecting, can own their own lucrative archaeological sites and dig for Artifacts in Nations that have Ancient Relics or Ancient World, and gain additional benefits from Hunting Expeditions. They may also substitute Prospector or Archaeologist Agent abilities for Special Forces Infantry’s normal Spy abilities.
Warlords: This Trait allows your Transtellar to field a much more robust military, and is common for mercenary armies and security corporations. It allows you to use 100% of your Membership as a draft pool.
Advancement of Transtellars
You now need to decide what level of magic or technology your Transtellar has. Transtellars have opportunities to gain more advancement than comparable nations, though some Transtellars may not require a great deal, such as Diplomatic Transtellars that make their money off trade and deals. Whatever you choose, it’s a good idea to take Categories and levels that complement the Traits you’ve already chosen.
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 subdivisions 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 generally 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.
The Advancement Categories are:
| Technological | Magical |
|---|---|
| Biology | Creation |
| Chemistry | Destruction |
| Engineering | Transmorgification |
| Physics/Mathematics | Mental |
| Psychology | Movement |
Transtellars pay 1 SP for every 10 Advancement Points they purchase (fractions are allowed). All advancement categories, both technological and magical, for all TS default to level 100 and are increased from there. Certain Disadvantages can reduce this value.
There are a couple of special rules for Transtellars with specific Traits. Transtellars with the Hypertech Trait gain free Advancement Points to go towards a technomagic/magitech fusion.
Advancement Categories and the process of creating Technomagic are described in greater detail in Section 4. Advancement.
Areas of Influence
Areas of Influence allows a Transtellar to have bases, branches or groups of followers on more worlds than one. This is one of a Transtellar’s biggest advantages, and is what gives them their name. You can choose to play an organization limited to a single world, but while that will give your organization greater focus it will also sacrifice many of the advantages of rapid expansion and widespread contacts.
For every world after the first you wish to start with an Area of Influence be it a base, branch office, or cult costs 1 SP each up to a maximum of five worlds or systems. One of these should be designated as your Headquarters and unless you specify otherwise, it is here that all your Production will be shipped and turned into actual products.
All of your Infrastructure, including your Members, is evenly divided among places where you hold Influence. This means that if you have four bases, 25% of the total combination of your Member Units, Industry Production, Wealth Production, Research Production and/or Ether Production must be located at each one. How much of each is up to you to decide, but you must have at least one unit of Members at any given location.
You must also decide how secure each one of your areas of influence is because, unlike nations, Transstellars choose where they operate. This does not affect how much they cost, or the costs of anything in them. It does, however, determine how they are able to expand and sometimes where they are. Growth is tied to the risk tolerance of your organization. Playing it safe will grant you reliable but mediocre gains, while the path to rapid growth only lies with those who accept that there is no reward without risk.
Safe:
Boring and predictable. Generally, Safe areas present no obvious direct risk to your organization, though that does not imply anyone is protecting it for you. Playing it safe is not a guarantee of safety, after all. It's either a stable, busy place with competition for things your organization provides and also things they need, or a backwater, offering some safety in solitude but low growth. You may freely place Safe areas in any location in systems of your choice. To some extent this is also a reflection of the cost of freedom of choice. Any location controlled by another player power is considered Safe for these purposes, regardless of whatever intent they may have in the future, or whether your own intentions are benevolent or not.
Calculated Risk:
There are some great growth opportunities here and there is a reason there are not many capitalizing on them. There is a clear external threat to your facilities or people and you are vulnerable to it, be it in the form of the possibility of war or the envious eyes of an opportunistic local power should your defenses be too weak. This is roughly analogous to a Factious World, however the nature of any possible danger on any given world will depend on what is already there and as such is not as well bounded or quantified. You may choose what star system a Calculated Risk area is in, however its exact location will be determined by a GM. It will always be in an area where a third party cannot directly shelter it. The amount of starting local infrastructure contained in a zone of Calculated Risk can be 50% higher than a Safe zone.
Danger Zone:
They said you were crazy to come here, but there's something that's worth dying for. This is not a potential threat that may or may not be realized, there is an active danger to any of your facilities or people in this area. There is an active shooting war, openly hostile local power or esoteric danger. You will defend these assets or lose them. This is roughly analogous to a Hostile World, however this specifically refers to the danger to you and not necessarily any other powers there. Similar to a zone of Calculated Risk, the actual nature of the threat will depend on what is on a given world already and it could equally be having the focused attention of a local minor power, being a secondary concern for a larger one, or some combination thereof. Locations that are in a Danger Zone will be placed by GMs. The amount of starting local infrastructure contained in a Danger Zone can be 50% higher than a Safe zone.
For details concerning expanding Infrastructure, see 14. Production.
Members
The people who make up your Transtellar are called its Members. They can be company employees, citizens of a wandering alien race, secret society inductees, or whatever else fits your Traits. Transtellar Members tend to be a small select group, and so are both more productive and more loyal than a similar sized cross-section of National Population.
One unit of Members costs 1 SP.
Unlike Nations, Transtellar Members do not grow naturally over time, and all new Members must be recruited and trained, which can be a very costly process (the exception being those with the Small Nation Trait).
Most Transtellars use Member Units of 10,000, however Transtellars with the “Small Nation” Trait use Member Units of 100,000. All Transtellar Members function as Informers, and save for exceptional circumstances do not require Civil Order Upkeep.
Unlike Nations, Transtellars do not have the option to start with unhoused Members (though if they are dispossessed of a base or three they may end up with some). For every two Housed Member Units a Transtellar has, they gain a Member Production Bonus of 1 Wealth Unit per month. All Transtellars will generate this bonus no matter what their Advancement Levels or modify it with a subsequent Advantage.
Indentured Members
Transtellars can choose to start with a membership not entirely willing to serve the organization. These can be indentured servants, slaves, child labour, exploited locals, or however else you can describe an underclass pain minimal wages and prevented from freely leaving. These Indentured Members function just like Slave or Subject Populations, with a few small modifications.
Indentured Members are recorded separately from your “main” population. They may be few in number, or may vastly outnumber your citizens if you so choose. Indentured Member Units come in sizes of 10,000 (or 100,000 for Small Nations), and every 2 Housed Indentured Member Units generate 1 Wealth a month, just like normal Members.
One unit of Indentured Members costs 0.5 SP.
Civil order payments are required for them on account of the expensive repression required to keep them in line. They must also be actively kept from escaping with security or military forces, do not add to your draft pool, and do not function as Informers.
Associate Members
Associate Members are those loosely affiliated with your Transtellar. These are only available to Networked Transtellars. Associate Members are not directly part of your Transtellar’s organization, but are rather the Populations of other Nations who provide donations, well wishes, prayers, or other forms of support to your Transtellar. In times of great need, they may also provide other services, such as convincing a Nation to come to your aid, or volunteering to fight for you.
One unit of Associate Members costs 1 SP per 1 million (since they're a Nation's population units).
You cannot start with more Associate Member Units than you have core Member Units, and you can start with no more than a quarter of any one Nation’s Population as Associate Members. Every 2 Associate Member Units generate 1 Wealth a month. They do not count as Informers, do not add to your draft pool, and require no Civil Order Upkeep.
Associate Members are bought similarly to Core Members, however their limits on growth are doubled and they use your level of Psychology or Mental magic for the purposes of Base Construction Rate, since you are attempting to win hearts and minds as opposed to building new additions to your mage cabal's dormitory or expanding your despairingly bland cubicle farm.
It should be stated which Nation each Associate Member Unit comes from. While it is often a good idea to clear this with the Nations you choose to provide your Associate Members (else you may soon find yourself facing state persecution as the Nation attempts to fully regain the loyalty of its citizens) it is not required. Associate Membership can be increased faster than any other kind, so often its quite possible for your Associates to prosper even under relentless persecution.
It should also be made clear why these Associates are aligned with your Transtellar, whether they be followers of the religious faith your organization preaches, or people who pay monthly “protection” fees. This doesn’t directly affect the game, but it does provide a context for others (particularly the Nation whose Population they are) to interact with your Associates.
Transtellar Draft Pool
Your Transtellar has a Draft Pool, equal to 25% of its Members (which as mentioned above does not include Indentured or Associate Members), unless you take the Warlords Trait, in which case it’s equal to 100% of the Members. Unless they’re entirely automated, all military units require some Members to crew or form them. Infantry Batches reduce the Draft Pool by their listed size; a Batch of Unskilled Infantry would reduce it by 100,000, while a Batch 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.
It is VERY easy for a non-Soldier Transtellar to exhaust their Draft Pool, so pay very close attention to this when purchasing military units. Once you drain your Draft Pool, you’ll have to either look to units that require no Draft Pool like robots, or recruit more Member Units to increase its size.
Transtellar Infrastructure
Infrastructure is an area that will likely eat up a great deal of your remaining Points. It includes the categories your Transtellar will use to produce things; Industry, Wealth, Research and Ether. Members also falls under Infrastructure, though they have already been discussed. Industry describes the raw productive power of your Transtellar, 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 Transtellar is actually assumed to produce more Wealth than this, but this value describes what your Transtellar has available “in the black” after all other routine fees and outlays are paid. Research describes the power of your laboratories and private schools and such, 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 13. Production, but a quick summary of the categories is presented below.
Industry
Industry is important for technological Transtellars, and particularly so for those who wish to produce and sell products to other Powers. Magical Transtellars 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.
One point of Industry Production costs 1.5 SP, unless modified by a Specialization. This provides one Production Point (PP) per Month.
Wealth
Wealth is probably the most important Infrastructure Category for most Transtellars, as it is what fuels their growth, and allows them to purchase things from other Powers as they require. 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 Transtellar starts the game with 5 times their Wealth Production in WU stored in the Treasury.
One point of Wealth Production costs 1.5 SP, unless modified by a Specialization. This produces one Wealth Unit (WU) per Month.
Research
Research allows you to develop and 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 mages or units through Artificing. As a result a magical Transtellar should pay more attention to this Infrastructure Category. Research is also unique in that rather than producing monthly it produces yearly. 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 Transtellar that produced it.
One point of Research Production costs 1.5 SP, unless modified by a Specialization. This produces one Research Point (RP) per Year.
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 Transtellars 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 Transtellar 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. It is assumed that your Transtellar 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, though it is possible to make deals with host Nations to acquire some of their surplus. This is measured in Ether Units, or EU. EU can also be stored and transferred to other Powers, like WU. A Transtellar starts the game with two times their Ether Production in EU stored in the Strategic Reserve.
One point of Ether Production costs 1 SP. This produces one Ether Unit (EU) per Month.
Specializations
Transtellars are large organizations, but they didn't arise in circumstances where their needs were equally balanced or prioritized, nor do they necessarily benefit from the bounty of raw materials, resources or scale afforded by the holdings of Nations. Your Trans-Stellar can specialize in one of the categories below that lower the initial cost of specific Infrastructure. The cost of building new infrastructure is unaffected.
Transtellars are large organizations, but they didn't arise in circumstances where their needs were equally balanced or prioritized, nor do they necessarily benefit from the bounty of raw materials, resources or scale afforded by the holdings of Nations. Your Trans-Stellar can specialize in one of the categories below that lower the initial cost of specific Infrastructure. The cost of building new infrastructure is unaffected.
Assembly Line: Your Transtellar focuses on processes that maximize industrial productivity, masters of logistics and efficiency above others. The cost of starting Industry Production is reduced to 1 SP per point.
Financiers: Your Transtellar focuses on business and economics and fights it's wars in the boardroom rather than on the battlefield. The cost of starting Wealth Production is reduced to 1 SP per point.
Ivory Tower: Your Transtellar focuses more on academic arts than on getting its hands dirty, content in the knowledge that brute force can always be outwitted by superior brain power. The cost of starting Research Production is reduced to 1 SP per point.
Initial Production
It is assumed that your Transtellar 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 all your Member Units.
Military Units
Most Transtellars will need some form of security force, though many won’t go so far as to build a massive, full fledged military. Still, even if you do plan to rely on deals or agreements to defend your Transtellar itself, it helps to have units you can call on in an emergency, or send out on special quests or missions. 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 Section 5-10, 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 Transtellar 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.
Transtellar Advantages and Disadvantages
Transtellars can take Advantages and Disadvantages to give themselves special capabilities, reinforce a distinct characteristic, or just to burn or scrounge a few extra points. Many Transtellar Advantages are more powerful than those offered to Nations, however these Advantages can only be taken by a Transtellar with the proper prerequisite Traits. On the other hand, a number of Advantages offered to Nations cannot be taken by Transtellars, or cost significantly more.
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 must be cleared with the GM first.
Advantages List
The Boss (30 SP): An individual of extraordinary ability runs your Transtellar. To generate this visionary leader, take 50 SP, 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 Transtellar, but he or she can also be totally different. Unlike a normal Hero, The Boss has to spend a great deal of time managing the Transtellar, and so can only take leave of his or her work for about a month of every year, to perform some major adventurous task or other. However your Hero’s Companions (if they have any) are available for delegated tasks the year round. Also if your Transtellar’s Headquarters comes under attack at any time it can be assumed your Boss will not sit idly by doing paperwork but will lend a hand in the defence. Prerequisite: Guiding Hand
Scroungers (10 SP): Nomad Transtellars with this Advantage are highly skilled at finding just what they need, whatever it might be, wherever they may have to. . . acquire. . . it from. Scroungers allows the Transtellar to choose what to produce with its core Member Production Bonus each month, choosing Wealth Units, Ether Units, or Industrial Upkeep Units, or any combination of the three. Any Industrial Production can only be used to produce Industrial Upkeep Units, and cannot be used to build actual military units. Prerequisite: Nomads
Swarm of Locusts (10 SP): A Transtellar with this Advantage is skilled and quickly mining the resources of an area, though in doing so they are unable to sustain lengthy operations which makes this unattractive for organizations with a longer view of things. In the space of a month, a Transtellar can “pillage” one point of Industry or Ether Production they control, for ten points of Wealth Units, Ether Units or IUU. Doing so destroys the Infrastructure Point. A Transtellar can only pillage as many Infrastructure points per month as it has Member Units in the area to control the hastened pace of operations. Prerequisite: Nomads
Tomb of the Ancients (25 SP): Your Transtellar has discovered an archaeological site of legendary proportions. One Region your Transtellar owns is a source of vast historical riches, even more lucrative than Ancient Relics, or Ancient World. This area must be specifically designated, and it is possible for other Powers to try to “claim jump” you, so be prepared to defend your trove. Prerequisites: Treasure Hunters
Elite Security Network (25 SP): A Transstellar 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. Prerequisite: Low Profile
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. Prerequisite: Warlords
Craftsman (50 SP): Your Transtellar makes goods of superior craft, increasing the demand for them, and making buyers willing to pay higher prices for such quality. This Advantage allows for a group of units (Infantry, Vehicles, Aircraft or Naval Units) built by the Transtellar to be given one extra Cost Free, Slot Free Added Capability.
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.
Teflon Dons (20 SP): Your Transtellar always seems to come out of anything they do smelling like roses. Maybe it’s a fantastic public relations department, an ability to shift the blame onto convenient scapegoats, or just rampant bribery of all concerned. Whatever the case, the diplomatic penalties for doing “bad” things are significantly reduced. This has less direct game effect on PC Powers whose players can still choose to react to your Transtellar however they wish, though it will affect their decisions to go to war, as their people will still become restless if they think they have been led into war without a decent casus belli.
Space Dwellers (10 SP): Your Transtellar 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.
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.
Mystical Members (10 SP): One part of your Membership produces Etheric energy rather than Wealth. This change is 1 for 1 and is permanent, and affects the entire Member category. Thus, for example, it is possible for a Transtellar with Associate Members to have this Advantage only apply to the Associate Members, while the core Members continue to produce Wealth, or vice versa.
Industrious Members (10 SP): One part of your Membership is made up of hard workers, who slave tirelessly to make the goods you require, and produce Industry rather than Wealth. This change is 1 for 1 and is permanent, and affects the entire Member category. Thus, for example, it is possible for a Transtellar with Indentured Members to have this Advantage only apply to the Indentured Members, while the core Members continue to produce Wealth, or vice versa. This Advantage may not be taken by Financier or Ivory Tower Transtellars.
Special Population (10SP): 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.
Mercenaries (25 SP): Your Transtellar commonly hires Mercenaries to look to its own defence. At the start of each year you gain a random amount of PP to be spent at any time on military units of your choosing. These units will arrive within a month of being purchased, and are subsequently treated just as normal military units. They do not subtract from your Draft Pool. These forces can be any Tech or Magic level, though they can never be mages or technomagic/magitech. If you have one of the Magical Allies Advantages below, it can be combined with this Advantage, allowing you to gain additional Creatures, or fully equipped monster mercenaries.
Weak Magical Allies (25 SP): Your Transtellar associates with a number of weaker magical beings and creatures. These creatures may be your friends, or may just owe you favours. In any event, they occasionally stop by to provide aid and assistance. Rather than coming from any set nation that borders your bases (as with many of the National Creature Advantages), these allies are assumed to just show up on your doorstep at regular intervals. You are free to rationalize where they came from yourself. 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 this is limited to units with a base batch size of 1:5 or smaller.
Powerful Magical Allies (50 SP): Your Transtellar associates with a number of powerful magical beings and creatures. These creatures may be your friends, or may just owe you favours. In any event, they occasionally stop by to provide aid and assistance. Rather than coming from any set nation that borders your bases (as with many of the National Creature Advantages), these allies are assumed to just show up on your doorstep at regular intervals. You are free to rationalize where they came from yourself. Up to 40 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 or ML4 units designed using the Artificing rules and they enter service immediately. Note this is limited to units with a base batch size of 1:1 or smaller.
Very Powerful Magical Allies (75 SP): Your Transtellar is owed favours by a number of immensely powerful magical beings and creatures, or even entire magical nations. As with the other Transtellar Creature advantages, these allies are assumed to just show up on your doorstep at regular intervals. You are free to rationalize where they came from yourself. Up to 60 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, ML4 or ML5 units designed using the Artificing rules and they enter service immediately.
Diplomatic (25 SP): Transtellars often have to deal with very difficult customers, and over time many of them perfect the art of careful dealings with the Nations around them. This Advantage allows a Transtellar to ignore the effects of the Undiplomatic Disadvantage. The Transtellar must have a base on the same world or system as the Undiplomatic Power (though not necessarily within that Power’s borders). If a Power has multiple Disadvantages which create cumulative Undiplomatic effects, this Advantage only cancels one of them.
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.
Oriental Express (30 SP): Your Transtellar is a highly accomplished trading organization, and ships valuable Trade Goods around the galaxy, finding the best dealers and the most lucrative deals. A Transtellar with this Advantage gains a +1 Return on all Trade Good shipments its vessels carry (this applies whether the Trade Goods belong to the Transtellar or are being transported for a second party).
Poppy Fields (15 SP): Your Transtellar 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
Ether Rich (25 SP): Your Transtellar 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.
Disadvantages List
Pariah (+10 Starting points): You did something somewhat repugnant in the past, or are associated with the more unsavory 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 Transstellar'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.
True Blood (+10 SP): Your Transtellar 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 Transtellar 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 Transtellar 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 Transtellar 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 Power makes routine use of WMD or Doomsday Magic, particularly on planets, and especially if they kill a large number of civilians with them, your Transtellar 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 Transtellar 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 Transtellar 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 affected by this will tend to react negatively to your actions.
Poor Finances (+25 Starting Points): Perhaps your credit rating is poor, your organization is on the brink of bankruptcy, or your accountants routinely cook the books. Whatever the case, your Transtellar 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. Basically, your people just stink at managing money.
Incompetent Security Network (+30 Starting Points): Your Transtellar 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 lead. 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.
Fear and Loathing in Lords of Ether (+25 Starting Points): You are despised. Others will attack you on sight and whole nations will ally against you at the earliest opportunity. You top the most wanted lists on most every world, and mothers frighten their children with your name. (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 Transtellar lacks diplomatic graces. You have a great deal of trouble closing deals with other states. In practice, all diplomatic actions are twice the normal cost (so buying that battleship from the Formor Staryards will cost you 20 Wealth rather than 10). The same goes for others trying to deal with you. The extra money is simply absorbed by a difficult, combative or restrictive diplomatic bureaucracy.
Restrictive Hiring Practices (+10 Starting Points): Your Transtellar is very careful about who they hire, and costs to purchase new Members are doubled. Small Nation Transtellars may not take this Disadvantage.
Patent Office (+5 Starting Points): Your Transtellar 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 or trade any of their technological or magical units to another Power. Ever. If a Power is caught conducting Espionage against your Transtellar, you will treat them as if you were Undiplomatic from then on.
Not Invented Here (+25 Starting Points): Your Transtellar is not receptive to external ideas. They cannot receive Research Treaties (though they can still give them), and they cannot receive any units or designs from another Power. Additionally, spies on Espionage missions are half as effective.
Unistellar (+25 Starting Points): Your Transtellar does not pursue a program of expansion and has no offworld holdings, preferring to remain on a single world. You may not start with any Influence, your Base Infrastructure Construction Rate may not be used outside your home system, and all Infrastructure of any kind built on another world costs twice as much (after any other increased costs). If you are a Nomad this affects all infrastructure, as you don't [i]have[/i] a home world.