Nexus

Introduction

Nexus

It has been theorized for a long time been theorized that many worlds exist. Worlds that might be separated by as much as different physical laws, or as little as a few different electrons. People spoke of different, alternate histories. No one has ever been able to prove it however... until now.

Marking time between different universes is impossible. All that is known is that at one instant there was an event. It is unclear whether areas of space were moved, or simply copied, but now they are here, in a new universe foreign to all of them. A nexus of realities.

Some are shocked by the transition, others saved from terrible fates, but the question is now, can they survive one another?

Making Nexus nation

Simplicity itself. Simply assign your points to each of the categories until you run out. That'll give you the basis around which to write up the details of your nation.

Modifiers listed apply bonus points towards a particular rank, rather than directly modifying the Rank itself. For example, (Infrastructure +3) means that three bonus points are automatically added to the Infrastructure category, and (Growth -2) means that two points are subtracted from Growth. The player must make up the remainder to gain a new rank, if only part of the point cost is fulfilled; excess points are wasted.

Negative modifiers do not need to be bought up to zero, though values below 0 can be assumed to be particularly exaggerated.

You have 35 points to build your nation

Population

Rank 0 (0 points): A backwater nowhere solar system, the Nexus equivalent of a city-state.

Rank 1 (2 points): A small alliance of habitats, a single minor star cluster. Adds +1 Growth Potential.

Rank 2 (3 points): A lesser state, though one that cannot be ignored. An exceptionally populous minor cluster or else one of several nations on a major cluster. Adds +1 to Infrastructure.

Rank 3 (5 points): A fairly typical midsized nation, the typical owners of a major star cluster or multiple smaller ones. Adds +1 to Infrastructure and Space Fleet.

Rank 4 (6 points): A large nation with a substantial, diverse population spread across many solar systems. Adds +2 to Space Fleet and Infrastructure but suffers -1 to Growth Potential and Transhumanism.

Rank 5 (7 points): A top-tier state with a massive population. Space-China. Adds +3 to Infrastructure, +2 to Space Fleet, but suffers -1 to Transhumanism and -2 to Growth Potential.

Transhumanism
While this assumes human or human-equivalent populations, it can also be used to model alien races as well. For races with innate psychic abilities, see Magic below.

Rank 0 (0 points): None at all! Your people are the same old Homo Sapiens Sapiens from the 20th century. Badass normal powers combine!

Rank 1 (1 point): Basic gene-screening has weeded out various ailments and weaknesses, though nobody is fundamentally different.

Rank 2 (2 points): Minor genetic engineering has spliced in desirable traits from exceptional humans, but except for a few outliers, everyone remains functionally ‘natural’ if generally healthier, fitter and perhaps smarter than 20th century humans.

Rank 3 (4 points): Significant genetic engineering allows for the implementation of more radical changes through transgenic techniques. Truly superior specimens are becoming the norm. Reproductive speciation is a possible side-effect, though uncommon and can be mediated.

Rank 4 (6 points): ‘Strong’ transhumanism starts to skirt the edge of what’s no longer truly ‘human’, at least in the eyes of some. Reproductive speciation is inevitable and discrimination from baselines is not uncommon. Add +1 Growth Potential but suffer -1 Diplomacy when dealing with any power with Transhumanism ranked at 2 or less.

Infrastructure

Rank 0 (0 points): Well, you could probably rearm a warship . . . Construction Rating 20, max size 4

Rank 1 (1 point): Construction Rating 30, max size 6

Rank 2 (2 points): Construction Rating 40, max size 10

Rank 3 (3 points): Construction Rating 50, max size 15

Rank 4 (4 points): Construction Rating 60, max size 40

Rank 5 (5 points): Massive, well developed planetary and spaceborn industry. Construction Rating 70, max size 100

Every additional Rank of Infrastructure adds 5 to the Construction Rating

Growth Potential

Rank 0 (0 points): Overcrowding and resource shortages are chronic; you need relief and now!

Rank 1 (1 point): Either planning or natural growth has put you at a comfortable maximum, but you have nowhere to grow.

Rank 2 (2 points):

Rank 3 (3 points):

Rank 4 (4 points):

Rank 5 (5 points): The Frontier. Resources are plentiful, with plenty you probably haven’t even begun to tap yet.

Military Support

Rank 0 (0 points): Your nation simply sees little need for a large military; 6x Infrastructure in support

Rank 1 (1 point): 8x Infrastructure in support

Rank 2 (2 points): 10x Infrastructure in support

Rank 3 (3 points): 12x Infrastructure in support

Rank 4 (4 points): 14x Infrastructure in support

Rank 5 (5 points): 16x Infrastructure in support

Every Rank past 5 adds 1x to the multiplier (17x, 18x, etc)

Space Fleet

Rank 0 (0 points): No deep space fleet whatsoever, just a handful of short-range corvettes. 50 fleet points

Rank 1 (1 point): 200 fleet points

Rank 2 (2 points): 350 fleet points

Rank 3 (3 points): 490 fleet points

Rank 4 (4 points): 620 fleet points

Rank 5 (5 points): 740 fleet points

Every Rank past 5 adds +100 fleet points

Diplomacy
As the Nexus is a meeting point for all manner of different polities and ideologies, the arts of diplomacy are all the more important. While this attribute primarily affects NPCs, states with 0 diplomacy going and making alliances with everyone neighboring PC can expect to get modhammered.

Rank 0 (0 points): Space North Korea or similarly unpleasant and insular regimes.

Rank 1 (1 point): Diplomatic blunders or simple lack of care is common. You're not quite playing on Diety, but the popular press is rarely favorable to you.

Rank 2 (2 points): You are just another body in the Hyper Galactic Space UN.

Rank 3 (4 points): Your diplomats are tireless and your nation often displays local leadership, with the occasional flashes of greatness.

Rank 4 (6 points): Your leaders routinely expect to get Nobel Peace Prizes every year they're in power.

Espionage

Rank 0 (0 points): Sensitive information regularly gets lost on laptops.

Rank 1 (1 point): Typical hypercorp security measures.

Rank 2 (2 points): Run of the mill intelligence apparatus.

Rank 3 (4 points): Many Bothans died to bring us this information.

Rank 4 (6 points): Sure, I can get the information you want chummer. Got the nuyen?

General Advancement

Rank 0 (0 points): Your nation’s overall advancement level in fundamental fields such as energy generation, metallurgy, etc is below the Nexus norm. Major powers that have low technology like this almost certainly compensate with an assload of industry.

Rank 1 (4 points): Average advancement, no glaring weaknesses or strong points.

Rank 2 (8 points): An impressive display of technological aptitude that puts you above most of your peers. Basically, you’re The Star Kingdom of Manticore.

Unique Technology
It has become recognized that technology across the multiverse tends to solve similar issues in similar ways. The Nexus has proven to be an excellent example, as a strong majority of the connected universes show technology that is similar and sometimes downright indistinguishable from that of the Nexus polities.

Rank 0 (0 points): You lack some critical technologies, most commonly shielding andor energy weapons. Early Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica and Halo humans are popular examples of this. Plucky baseline powers go!

Rank 1 (2 points): Your technology is pretty much universally understood if perhaps not used; generic ray guns, generic railguns, generic shields, generic gravity plating, genetic glowing sublight rockets. Get the picture? Later-era Babylon 5, Star Wars without the wacky superweapons, Freespace, Wing Commander . . .

Rank 2 (3 points): You’ve got one or two ‘secret weapons’ that can be expected to work in your favor; N-Jammers, transporters, inertialess drives, etc. Mass Effect or Andromeda might sit here, thanks to their excellent gravity technology and zoomy ships.

Rank 3 (5 points): Your technology base is strongly divergent from the norm, with many of the technologies your nation possesses being fairly unique and providing at least a short-term strong advantage against an unprepared opponent. Star Trek would float around here.

Rank 4 (8 points): Your technology base is fundamentally different from the norm and has some aspects that would be entire incompatible with the ‘great baseline’; guns that teleport explosives right through shields, propulsion systems that allow for instantaneous teleportation and other sorts of wanky superscience. The Culture’s general concepts (given that it’s also obscenely powerful and way outside of game scope) would be on this level.

Emergent Technologies
The so-called Emergent Technologies are ones that promise to radically reshape the human condition. Not terribly popular in the Nexus, they are irregularly scattered throughout the known multiverse with no real correlation to overall technology level.

Rank 0 (0 points): Safetech only; while the overall advancement level might be high, there is no access (probably deliberately) to nanotechnology, advanced AIs and the like. The reimagined Battlestar Galactica is the archetype here

Rank 1 (1 point): You have a few examples of emergent technologies, though they are almost certainly kept under (very) tight control and may not even be publically acknowledged. An example of this level is Halo, which has a smattering of AIs and cybernetics of generally primitive (if effective) design.

Rank 2 (3 points): Cornucopias and similar devices have begun to radically reshape your economy. Industry is faster and more flexible than ever before. Star Trek is firmly at this level, though in a much more ‘floppytech’ paradigm.

Rank 3 (6 points): You’ve passed into the New Economy, though the dreams of post-scarcity and TA-style instant construction haven’t materialized. Adds +1 bonus points to Unique Technology. Eclipse Phase and similar settings would be at this level, as would Supreme Commander (conceptually though not with the ridiculous build speeds)

Magic
Stuff that doesn’t just push the notoriously lax laws of scifi science, but subverts them entirely. Magic mostly operates on the more ‘personal’ level, since there isn’t a terribly big difference between a mile-long space battleship armed with plasma cannons or with magic firebolts.

Rank 0 (0 points): You scrupulously obey the laws of physics.

Rank 1 (1 point): This is fairly small-time stuff like Jedi Mind tricks and similar cantrips, or the presence of just a (literal) handful of more talented individuals. Some of it may even be ‘scientific’; cyberpunk mind-reading, Cylon resurrection at a distance, Envoy training, etc.

Rank 2 (2 points): More powerful and more systemic paranormal powers are present in your nation. Your typical Psy-Cops would be at this level. Mass Effect human biotics (fairly rare and relatively weak) would be at this level, as would the presence of Gundam Newtypes in any number.

Rank 3 (4 points): The presence of powerful organizations such as the Jedi Order in its prime would sit here, as well as Asari and Krogan biotics (common and fairly powerful).

Rank 4 (6 points): The people of your nation have evolved or somehow manifest nearly ubiquitous ‘magic’, like the Protoss or Eldar. Outlier individuals can, with proper dramatic timing, unleash massive events like Palpatine’s force storms in the Dark Empire comic series, or any example of the 40k Emperor.

Examples

The Generic States of SpaceAmerica

The following is a stereotypical baseline power out of typical Western pop-scifi. A mashup of Star Wars, Babylon 5, Halo and Battlestar Galactica.

Population: Rank 3 (5; +1 infrastructure, +1 space fleet)
Transhumanism: Rank 0 (0)
Infrastructure: Rank 5 (4 + 1)
Growth Potential: Rank 3 (3)
Military Support: Rank 5 (5)
Space Fleet: Rank 6 (5 + 1)
Diplomacy: Rank 3 (3)
Espionage: Rank 2 (2)
General Advancement: Rank 1 (4)
Unique Technologies: Rank 1 (2)
Emergent Technologies: Rank 0 (0)
Magic: Rank 1 (1)

The Republic of Transhumania

The 'new wave' of transhumanist science fiction.

Population: Rank 2 (3; +1 infrastructure)
Transhumanism: Rank 3 (4)
Infrastructure: Rank 3 (2 + 1)
Growth Potential: Rank 3 (3)
Military Support: Rank 3 (3)
Space Fleet: Rank 2 (2)
Diplomacy: Rank 2 (2)
Espionage: Rank 4 (6)
General Advancement: Rank 0 (0)
Unique Technologies: Rank 3 (4 + 1)
Emergent Technologies: Rank 3 (6; +1 unique tech)
Magic: Rank 0

People's Socialist States of Techwankia

A thought experiment in maxing out technology.

Population: Rank 1 (2; +1 growth potential)
Transhumanism: Rank 4 (6)
Infrastructure: Rank 2 (2)
Growth Potential: Rank 1 (0 + 1)
Military Support: Rank 2 (2)
Space Fleet: Rank 2 (2)
Diplomacy: Rank 0
Espionage: Rank 0
General Advancement: Rank 2 (8)
Unique Technologies: Rank 4 (7 + 1)
Emergent Technologies: Rank 3 (6; +1 unique tech)
Magic: Rank 0 (0)

Known Powers

Powers in the Nexus