METROWAR OFFICIAL RULES DISCUSSION THREAD This is the last official thread required for Metrowar. All RP threads will be optional and will end up in the Last Light section. This topic will be for recording the rules in a post-by-post format and having questions/discussions regarding them at the end. - INDEX - Joining the Game 1) Reading the Map 2) Choosing a faction 3) Choosing a starting position 4) Posting in-game Station Management 1) Map indicators 2) Population and Production 3) Overpopulation, Migration and Colonization 4) Surface Stations Resources and Production 1) Resource Types 2) Creating Units 3) Scavenging and Trading Military Units, Movement and Command 1) Combat System 2) Map Movement 3) Unit Types 4) Stalkers 5) Special Weapons 6) Exploration Hazards 1) Radiation 2) Plague 3) Mutants 4) Paranormal 5) Collapsed Tunnels and Stations NPC Stations and Units 1) Neutral Stations 2) Mutant Infestation 3) Bandits Diplomacy and Player Interaction 1) Faction Diplomacy 2) Trading, Alliances and Other Agreements 3) Turn Post Formatting Final Comments 1) Winning the Game 2) Restarting/Future Players
Joining the Game READING THE MAP METROWAR takes place in post-apocalyptic Moscow, specifically its metro system. The game map is a simplified rail line diagram which is not adjusted for actual scale/distance/shape, but accurately reflects the modern Moscow Metro. For the purposes of gameplay, the map has two key parts: Stations and Lines. All stations and lines are assumed to be the same size and length. Players can control, garrison and manage Stations, while Lines are for transportation between them. Owning two stations will mark the line between them as owned, but military units are not allowed to stay in them. There are two versions of the map: Labeled and In-Game. The Labeled Map shows you all metro stations with their names, while the In-Game map removes the names (for clutter) but shows you ownership, population, resources, military units and hazards. Most of the game will involve reading this map. Both the Labeled and In-Game maps will be available in the first post in the Game Thread. Except for player diplomacy and current resources, the map will show you almost everything else about the current game. When in doubt, refer to the latest updated map to see how things are going. While there is a Map Key available in the bottom left corner, here are some things worth noting: Known/Unknown/Unavailable - Determined by colors. A white station/line is considered Known and has been revealed by a nearby military unit. A light gray station or line is Unknown, and can be revealed. A dark gray station or line is considered Unavailable. Currently this is to limit the size of the map until the game progresses. Since all resources and hazards are generated randomly, nobody will know what the map looks like until it has been explored by the players themselves. Transfer Stations - Some larger hubs have multiple metro stations clustered together, and moving between them is very easy. Since each station is treated individually, Transfer Hubs are usually rich in resources and are certainly worth owning. However, any station within the hub is considered in contact with the others, meaning you may have enemies on two sides instead of just down a single metro line. Hubs will remain white/known until owned completely by one faction. Station Names - Since long Russian names can be unwieldy, players have the right to change their names after owning them and reaching a population of 10. Also, some stations have identical names: If this is because they are all part of the same hub, they will end with letter suffixes (-A, -B, etc.) while two stations set apart will end with numbers (-1, -2, etc.) Faction Capital - The center station of a faction's domain, indicated by a small red star on top. This will affect two key things: Trade (which must have a clear metro route to and from this capital to the capital of another faction) and Stalkers (more on that later). The station you start with will be considered your capital. You can only change it to a station with equal or greater population, or if it is taken by an enemy (Abusing this by rapidly changing capitals all the time is against the rules). Above-Ground - Going above ground is extremely dangerous, but it can be done. There are two types of areas: directly above existing stations and lines (invisible) and those displayed on the map. Those on the map are 'unavoidable' because the tracks and stations are exposed (more on the effects of this later). Hazards - If it's hostile, you kill it. Hazards can appear in both Stations and Lines. Some can be removed, others are permanent. Some allow transit at a price, while others prevent it until removed (more on these later). CHOOSING A FACTION This game is meant to be a springboard for future RP stories, both for faction diplomacy and for characters within this new Metro canon. Because of that, you have two options: You can pick a faction from the canon or make your own from scratch. We will be starting in the year 2023, so prior to all of the events of the games and books. The Player Signup Thread is where you make your faction entry. The first post has a list of pre-made factions, including canon and some original ones. Follow the same format of those listings when adding your own, or simply state that you'll take one from the list. Players will own literally everything with their faction: All characters, diplomats, soldiers, etc. are up to the player. So if they engage in RP threads outside, the entire faction is like their character, though they will likely have many characters under that umbrella. CHOOSING A STARTING POSITION There are two ways to pick a starting location. Both will affect the resources you begin with, so choose wisely: Fresh Start - You pick an Unknown station and make it your capital. You will be given a starting population of 10, x1 Regular and x1 Stalker units, along with x4 Food and x1 MGR resources (see the Resources section for details). All nearby stations and lines will be revealed. All players joining the game when it starts must choose this way. Jump-In - You pick a known Neutral station and claim it for your faction. You inherit whatever population and military units it has, and will be given x1 of every resource. It is likely that everything nearby will already be revealed, so this can be good or bad depending on circumstances. This can only be done if you join in after the game starts or if you quit/lose your faction and want to start again, assuming there are Neutrals to pick from. POSTING IN-GAME Except for RP threads (which will be in the Last Light section of this forum) all game posts will be made in the Game Thread. All posts here will follow a common format which is simply a run-down of your stations and units, giving orders for the current turn. The format of this post will be available in the game thread; when in doubt, look at what previous players have posted. Of special note is that Diplomacy, when done as roleplay, will only show the effects in the game thread. Players are not to post stories or chat here. Once all players have posted for a turn, or if the turn expires, an End-Turn post will show the effects. The map in the first post will be updated, special events such as new hazards and battle outcomes will be provided, and all posts after that break will take place in the next turn.
Station Management MAP INDICATORS Once you know what the map indications mean, playing the game will be a breeze. Refer to this picture for easy reference: POPULATION AND PRODUCTION In the end, people are the most important resource you can have. METROWAR represents this in the form of Population, each point of which is roughly 100 people. Stations must have a Population of at least 1 to be owned, and can have a maximum of 20. Military units cost 1 Population to make, drawn from whatever station they are trained at, and so are included in your Total Population count. People need to eat to survive, and so Food will be a constant requirement. Every 5 Population in a station requires 1 Food to stay alive; If they don't get it, they starve to death. Likewise, if they have a surplus of food then they will feel confident about having children, and immigrants and drifters will be encouraged to stay. Providing a station +1 extra Food for a turn will increase the population by 1 for the next turn. You can only grow by +1 per turn, however, so be careful with your timing. Each station is dealt with individually, so two stations with a population of 5, or 1, will both require 1 Food per turn. All military units are grouped into a "station," and so your first 5 units require 1 Food for upkeep and so on. This forces you to pay upkeep for them without interfering with stations themselves. When making your turn posts, you will be keeping track of this. The fate of humanity aside, the main reason you want to grow your population is because they can make things for you. Each Population point in a station generates 1 Production per turn for that specific station. Production can be used to generate all resources and military units in the game. Think of it as "effort." It takes a lot less effort to grow some mushrooms for Food than it does scrounging for scrap metal and saltpeter to make Guns and other resources. Likewise, even after you gather all the equipment you need, you will still need to train men before they can be an effective fighting force, meaning units require a certain amount of resources and Production to be made. Sometimes stations will have a Bonus Resource. While any station can produce anything (at a price), the Bonus Resource has its Production costs halved. Thus, if Food costs 2 Production to make, a station with Food as its Bonus Resource can make it for 1 Production. This can double the actual output, allowing even small stations to play a part. Since Resources are shared across an entire faction, such stations can serve as the main producer of that resource while the rest focus on other things. As mentioned, Production is station-specific and is recycled for each turn. You cannot save Production for future turns: You use it now or lose it. Some things will therefore require big populations with plenty of extra manpower and time to go around. The larger your Population is, the more powerful your faction and the more options you will have. OVERPOPULATION, MIGRATION AND COLONIZATION Things in the Metro aren't always very safe, however, and having large populations can be a detriment. In addition to the added cost in food, large populations will incur other penalties: The risk of Plague increases as more people are cramped into the same place, and the loud human activity will attract Mutants with greater frequency. While large Populations are certainly good, be prepared for these costs, and don't expand too quickly! Aside from preventing growth by restricting food, you can manage Population by Migrating people. This can be from one station to another within your own borders, or to vacant stations in the form of Colonization. To move Population, they simply follow a cleared route that is either owned or garrisoned by troops. To occupy a new station, it must be vacant, free of hazards and garrisoned. Population can Migrate across surface areas, but will suffer 25% losses on the way there due to all of the hazards of the surface. They will also require Filters (more on Unit Movement later). Some hazards will prevent Population from moving across them through metro tunnels, forcing them to the surface. If this happens they will suffer 25% attrition for every jump between stations. Moving over the surface 4 times will simply exterminate all of your colonists, so be careful! Slow and deliberate growth in safe areas is always preferable to these daring trips. It should be noted that moving populations incurs a Migration Penalty: All moving populations (to other stations, owned or empty as colonists, or as part of a trade between players) will prevent their production from being effective during the turn of that move. The donor station will not be able to use their production points for the duration of that turn. Be Warned: Population can Die. Whether from Plague or warfare, Population can be removed from the map completely. Since military units come from Population points, it is also possible to fight your faction into extinction. Think VERY carefully before placing your people at risk; it is far easier to lose them than to get them back. This game is as much about survival as it is warring between each other, and it should come as no surprise that you can literally Destroy Humanity through your actions! SURFACE STATIONS While the perils of surface travel will be covered in detail later, it is important to note that there are metro stations located on the surface. These areas are incredibly difficult to maintain, requiring constant air filtration, sealed against the environment, and adequately protected from mutants. In this game, such stations can only have a Population of 1. Owning a station this way will allow military units to garrison in it without worrying about Filters or mutant attacks, but such places will likely not produce anything of merit and will be a drain on food, making them more like "outposts" than "towns" or "cities."
Resources and Production RESOURCE TYPES All Resources generated by your stations or through trade with other factions goes into a faction pool. All stations can then draw from it. This allows you to make "specialty" stations that perform specific tasks, since they will not be forced to sustain themselves alone. A list of resources (not counting Population) along with their Production costs and uses follows: Food (2 Production) - People can't live without it. The easiest Resource to make but the most often used, both Population and military units require Food to remain in the game. The rule is x1 Food per x5 Population. Each station is considered individually, and all military units are considered a "station," so a station with a Population of 4 requires x1 Food, a Population of 6 requires x2 Food, and 2 military units require another x1 Food. If enough Food is not available, Population will drop by 1 every turn, and the weakest military units will be randomly disbanded. To grow a population you must give 1 extra Food to a station, resulting in 1 additional Population per turn. Naturally, once you reach the next 5-mark you must keep paying that 1 for upkeep. Fuel (6 Production) - Whether it's gasoline retrieved from the surface, viable wood for stoves or some mushroom alcohol mixture, Fuel is a byword for all means of energy production. While people can live without motors, computers and even electric lights, having the power for them never hurt anybody. Fuel can be used in two ways: First, to double the Production of a station (requires 1 Fuel per 5 Pop, like Food) and Second, to power Armored Cars and Armored Trains, the two motorized and most powerful units in the game. Fuel can be burned very quickly, and it is impossible to produce Fuel and use its benefits at the same time, so expect to stockpile it for "bursts" during emergencies. MGR (6 Production) - "Military Grade Rounds," such as Armor Piercing Incendiary ammunition, or any other pre-war, high quality explosive or projectile. Giving a unit enough MGR to equal its Strength will double it for a battle, giving even smaller armies a decisive advantage against any opponent. Because of this, it is considered the foundation of wealth in the Metro. Neutral station NPCs will only give resources in exchange for MGR, and it is likely that other players will use it as a currency as well. While rather expensive to produce, MGR serves as a very potent reserve in case of emergencies, and wars may be decided by who has enough bullets. Guns (4 Production) - Jury-rigged, scrap-built firearms. Whether revolvers or duplets, these low-grade weapons are used to equip Militia and Stalkers for battle. They are relatively easy to make, but are worthless without the bodies to use them. In fact, the people are worth more than the Guns themselves, so beware of throwing your entire population away in the ranks of the Militia. Weapons (8 Production) - High-quality weapons, usually salvaged from pre-war tech with as many optics, attachments and "toys" possible. Weapons are required for well-trained Regulars, and stand-in for cannons and other heavy weapons equipping Armored Cars and Trains. Naturally they are much harder to come by than Guns, but they will give fewer men greater firepower, sparing your faction's manpower. Filters (8 Production) - The post-war surface is inhospitable to human life, right down to the air. A putrid mixture of toxins, gasses and sometimes lingering fallout makes it impossible to survive without the aid of a respirator, and respirators are worthless without a supply of fresh (or at least refurbished) Filters. Any unit traveling over the surface (including Migrating Populations) requires at least one Filter per turn. Since these enable the use of specialized Stalker units and allow you to bypass hazards and caved-in tunnels, Filters make for an expensive, but sometimes critical card up your sleeve. Research (10 Production) - Most Metro dwellers are too busy surviving to do much thinking, but sometimes high-level learning persists. Research is used to create the most powerful units in the game and clear out Plague hazards. It is also the most expensive Resource in the game, and will be guarded jealously. CREATING UNITS Creating anything is as simple as pointing to the station you want to work at and declaring your intent to make something. All Resources cost Production to make, while all military units cost 1 Population and some Production in addition to other resources. Check the section on Military Units to see their build costs. Note that units built at a station will draw from that station's population and are immobile until the next turn. Beware of mobilizing an entire station: You may end up choking off its Production capacity and causing significant damage to your economy! SCAVENGING AND TRADING In addition to making Resources via "effort," you can also scavenge for them on the surface using Stalkers. If you return a Stalker unit back to your faction capital, you can send it off-map to scavenge for supplies every turn. It will randomly generate 1 of a Resource to be added to your Resource pool. This can come in handy when you desperately need certain resources, which is especially helpful when you lack the Population needed to produce it. However, scavenging on the surface is very dangerous, and while Stalkers are self-sufficient with Filters in this mode, they will randomly be attacked and killed by the perils of Post-Apocalyptic Moscow. While it is always tempting to send Stalkers topside for free resources, keep in mind that Stalkers draw from your Population, and you can actually kill yourself off by doing so! On the other hand, a much safer option is to simply trade for what you don't have. NPCs aside (which will be covered in later sections), you are free to trade Resources, Population, Stations and even military units with other factions. The one requirement is that you have an unobstructed metro tunnel between your two capital stations. Trade requires direct connections, so a player wedged between you and your partner will have to allow trade convoys to pass; they can choose to cut you off at will. All trade is unilateral and has a one-turn delay: Players indicate what they will send and the effects come into play for the next turn. If your trading partner fails to send you anything in return, that's your fault for dealing with them! Since Bonus Resources (and hazards, and wars, etc.) are not evenly distributed, it may be in players' interests to trade their surplus supplies for needed goods. It's also possible for two tightly-aligned factions to actually cease producing certain things altogether, receiving it in bulk from their partner. All of this requires open routes for trade, however: Sometimes it is simply too dangerous for civilian caravans to transport so many goods over such distances, and certainly not over the surface.
Military Units, Movement and Command COMBAT SYSTEM Combat in METROWAR is deceptively simple: All units have a Strength (STR) value. Two opposing sides tally up their total Strength which are turned into a ratio. This ratio is then used by a random number generator (RNG) to determine who wins. From there, more RNG calculations are done to determine the extent of victory and the casualties that result. As a rule of thumb, more Strength is better. The greater your advantage in Strength, the more likely you will have a victory, and the more likely you will cause severe casualties to the enemy. While it is always possible for grossly outnumbered units to win a startling victory, it is very unlikely that they will cause much damage in the process. Since different unit types have different Strength values, armies cannot be easily divided when calculating casualties. So, all units will be dealt with individually and will have a percent chance of being eliminated, depending on the kind of victory/defeat. This means that you may win a crushing victory but lose some of your best units in the process. All war is chaos, and it is a gamble no matter how many men you throw into battle. One way of slanting the odds to your favor, however, is the use of MGR. If you spend enough MGR equal to a unit's Strength, it will double that Strength for the turn. For example: A Militia unit with 1 STR, given 1 MGR, will have 2 STR for a battle. MGR is only expended when a unit has to do battle: when it is attacked or is attacking. The same rules apply to Fuel which must be used for motorized units: Fuel is only burnt when units move, attack or are attacked. Battles may inflict huge casualties or be inconclusive, but things change once the garrison of a station is completely eliminated: Any attacking forces move in and occupy it. In doing so, this will affect any civilian Population that may be present. When a station with a resident Population is conquered, 50% of them will be killed in the crossfire. The remainder will flee to the nearest station owned by that faction (assuming there is a free route of escape and that there is room to house them, otherwise they all die). In the event a player faction is the conqueror, the remaining 50% will be split in half, with the (larger) half fleeing to friendly territory while the remainder join the attacking player's faction. As you can see, war is not clean or pretty: High casualties will result no matter what, and you may very well destroy that which you hope to obtain. MAP MOVEMENT All units in METROWAR stay in stations but move via metro tunnels and overland passes. Most units will only move one "jump" between one station and the next per turn, meaning it will take time to redeploy units from one front to another. Motorized units, namely Armored Cars and Trains, can make two "jumps" per turn, and Trains can actually carry foot soldiers with them. Of course those units require rails to move along, and so they cannot go to the surface if necessary. Technically there are two layers to the map: In the metro and above it. Except for places indicated in the map key, units can choose to walk over tunnels to get to their destination if need be. Doing so will result in their being attacked by Mutants based on the size of their group, and requires one Filter per unit for the turn. Those areas which are above ground and are unavoidable are treated the same way, although they have rails for motorized units. Owned stations will remove the need for Filters for the garrison. Of particular interest are Transfer Stations, where multiple lines intersect. While each station is treated individually, it is assumed that units can easily walk from one to the other once inside the hub. Thus, there is a front line when attacking along a metro tunnel, but once the connected station is taken, the remaining ones can be attacked. This is not the case for overland travel: Units can simply walk over a station and attack another part of the transfer hub. When moving through friendly territory, units beginning in a transfer station may move to any of the connected ports before making their actual "jump," allowing them to switch lines and move at the same time. This is not the case with arrivals: Units will stop in the port belonging to their line. Certain hazards will prevent travel through tunnels and stations, but it is always possible to bypass them over the surface. In the event a single station is blocked and cannot be entered, it will be impossible for units to make 2 "jumps" to the next one over due to the sheer distance involved and the exposure to the surface. Thus this is an effective barricade, at the price of having a habitable station. UNIT TYPES All possible military units that appear on the map are listed below. While they all feed into the STR count used to calculate battles, their costs end up making them specialized for different tasks. All military units (except special weapons) cost 1 Pop to make, and draw it from the station they are created at. Militia (1 STR / Cost: 1 Gun, 1 Production) - Poorly equipped, poorly trained and poorly motivated, these are usually press-ganged men and women sent to fend off the terrors of this new world with little better than a bastard gun and a flashlight. Militia are cheap and easy to produce, and in numbers with MGR can still pack quite a punch, but they will also be the fastest waste of precious manpower. They are ideal for factions that are desperate or have plenty of people to spare. Regulars (3 STR / Cost: 1 Weapon, 3 Production) - These are well trained and equipped men, experienced in metro fighting and able to hold their own against man and beast alike. Most of their cost comes from getting the best weapons for them, but once in place they are much more efficient than Militia. It is likely that they will be the backbone of your armies, especially because they can still march over the surface. Stalkers (1 STR / Cost: 1 Gun, 1 Filter, 2 Production) - Specialized soldiers who perform multiple tasks, they can double as infantry but do not excel at it. More details on Stalkers will be available in the next section. Armored Cars (6 STR / Cost: 2 Weapons, 1 Fuel, 1 Filter, 1 Research, 6 Production) - A cut above handcarts, these are buggies equipped with motors and all manner of weapons, including explosives. Mainly used for shock value and speed, they can make 2 jumps per turn and bring significant power to bear on the enemy. They are limited to rails, however, and cannot bypass hazardous stations. Uses 1 Fuel per turn when active. Armored Trains (18 STR / Cost: 4 Weapons, 2 Fuel, 2 Filters, 4 Research, 12 Production) - The most powerful unit in the game, these are heavily modified subway trains equipped with everything from battering rams to autocannons brought down from the surface. Though hideously expensive to build and operate, they are the most efficient unit in terms of manpower vs. damage output. They are also capable of carrying 1 infantry unit with them as they make 2 jumps per turn. Like Armored Cars, they are limited to rails and can be hemmed in. Uses 2 Fuel per turn when active. Mutants (2 STR / Mutants only) - Nosalises, Watchmen, Lurkers, Demons... The new world has all sorts of nasty fauna, and you get to fight it or die trying. Mutants are relatively weak, not outclassing Regulars and up one for one, but tend to attack in considerable numbers and will be a constant threat when moving over the surface. More details on how Mutants work will be covered in a later chapter. Demolition Bombs (Special / Cost: 6 Weapons, 4 Fuel, 6 Research, 10 Production) - When all else fails, cave it in. Useful for cutting off motorized armies or simply denying the spoils to your enemies, these bombs can be used to deliberately break up the map. The damage can be fixed, but at high cost. Virus Bombs (Special / Cost: 2 Weapons, 30 Research, 20 Production) - The last word in Metro WMDs, this weapon allows you to win the war "without spilling a drop of blood," so long as it's not yours anyway. If successfully deployed, they will kill anything that cannot escape in time and leave the station under Plague conditions. More details to follow. STALKERS Stalkers are unique in that they do multiple jobs. As mentioned earlier, they can be recalled to the capital and sent off-map to scavenge for supplies. In doing so they will face a 10% chance per turn of being caught by various dangers and killed. But they can also serve three more roles: Scouts, Infiltrators and foot soldiers. Like hero characters or protagonists, Stalkers can move without engaging large forces of the enemy, completely bypassing enemies and mutants alike. This renders hazards and other barriers useless, since they treat the surface the same way they'd treat underground. This comes at a cost: When outside of friendly and safe territory (hazards, enemy units, etc.) Stalkers always consume 1 Filter per turn. Still, this ability makes them excellent scouts for exploring the metro, even across "dead zones" where other units can never move. It also allows them to move behind enemy lines where they can perform their next task as Infiltrators: Stalkers can be treated as regular military units, although with only 1 STR. Their strength is in stealth, not stand-up battle, and so they must be used carefully. Only other Stalkers can intercept and bring enemy Stalkers to battle: Counter-infiltrators are just as important. But where they really shine is with Special Weapons, bombs which are carried to their destination by a unit and detonated with tremendous effect. If the carrier meets resistance, they must win the battle in order to deploy the weapon. Stalkers without opposition can deploy the weapon immediately, bringing the full force to bear. More details on these will be seen below. SPECIAL WEAPONS Sometimes a scorched earth policy is a better alternative to extermination. But scorch too much earth and you'll simply exterminate yourself anyway, as evidenced by the surface world. Special weapons include two classes of bombs which can be carried into battle by a military unit and deployed after winning a battle. Losing a battle with the bombs on board will automatically destroy the bomb, so be careful! Demolition Bombs - Cave in stations and tunnels. Most effective when used against single stations, since this prevents units from being able to skip over them on the surface. Other stations in a hub can still be accessed, though the rail line will be blocked, and cutting rail lines themselves still leaves it possible for units to march over the surface to attack. It is possible to create a "no man's land" of destroyed tunnels and stations between yourself and an implacable foe. Collapsed areas can be reclaimed but at a high price in Production from nearby stations. More details on this will be available in the Hazards chapter. Virus Bombs - The "win the game free" card, these will instantly eliminate all military units that aren't motorized and don't have an escape route. All civilians in a targeted station are purged; none will be left alive to retreat or be conquered. The remaining station will remain in a Plague state (see Hazards) until treated. Due to the immense cost in manpower, these bombs are incredibly dangerous and will likely put other players on edge simply by owning them. Of course they are also extremely expensive, and can be difficult to deploy, but a well placed virus bomb could end a war overnight. EXPLORATION As was seen, Stalkers are the ideal unit for exploration because it is assumed that, with Filters, they are untouchable and can walk over any obstacle. Other units are not so lucky. While you can explore "in force" with military units, keep in mind that they are neither as stealthy nor as prepared as Stalkers are for such environments: They can be killed quite easily by mistake. If you move normal units into unknown stations and meet resistance, the following will occur: Moving into a Hostile Zone (Mutants) - Your units will automatically get into a fight. From then on it follows regular battle rules, so you may or may not lose your men. If you do not win, but are not eliminated, your units will stay in their starting position. Moving into a Neutral Zone (Neutrals) - Your units will not automatically attack unless you specify ATTACK rather than MOVE in your orders. Your units will stay in their starting position, having revealed the Neutral station. Moving into an Impassable Hazard (Collapsed, Radiation) - Your units will be unable to progress and turn back. Since such places cannot be explored, connected stations/lines will not be revealed by non-Stalkers. Moving into a Passable Hazard (Paranormal, Plague) - Your units will be exposed to the dangers of that area during the next turn. Plague will kill your units if they were not equipped with Filters going in. Paranormal effects will be calculated the next turn, giving you a 50/50 chance to retreat your units without harm.
Hazards RADIATION Radiation is the one hazard that humans have no clever defense for. Exposure at the levels still remaining after World War III remains fatal, if not for individual explorers then certainly for large, slow-moving groups like the ones controlled in METROWAR. Any station or line that has heavy concentrations of radioactive material is considered impassable territory: The best you can do is move to the surface and walk around the hot spots. These areas cannot be reclaimed and are severe barriers to movement. If an isolated station is affected, then it will be impossible to travel across that area of the map with most military units for the duration of the game. PLAGUE Plague is man's most faithful enemy; even now at the end of the world, diseases and viruses of all kinds persist. In METROWAR, Plague is fatal for civilian Populations: civilians will be unable to travel through such areas safely. Furthermore, Plague can hit stations randomly: Larger populations in cramped conditions increase the chances of a Plague outbreak. Once started, Plague will kill 25% of a station's Population per turn until they are completely wiped out. Migrating Population away will not help: It will spread the Plague wherever you send them. The only way to handle Plague, then, is through careful study and protective measures: A one-time cost of 10 Research (with an owned, adjacent station) will clear an area of Plague. Naturally those factions which do not maintain regular Research will be unable to max out their station populations due to the rapid growth of Plagues. Troops equipped with gas masks and advancing cautiously (using Filters) will not be affected, but if exposed to Plague they will die. This may result from a lack of Filters having held the position for some time, or from exploring unknown territory with military units which are not provided Filters as a precaution. As mentioned in the last chapter, Virus Bombs will leave a station with Plague in its wake, requiring a cleanup crew (of 10 Research points) before people can occupy it again. Of special note is that an inhabited station suffering a Plague will increase the chance of neighboring occupied stations of catching it by 10%, regardless of which faction they belong to. This means it may be in your best interest to share Research points with neighbors to contain Plague outbreaks before they jump your border and ravage your people. Yes, this can be a game about cooperation, too! MUTANTS Mutants come in many shapes and sizes, but by the end of the day, if it's hostile, you kill it. Likely your most common foe even before other humans, Mutants appear in two forms: On the map as visible and mobile units, and invisibly while traveling across the surface or through infested areas. When crossing the surface, your armies will automatically be attacked by Mutant units equaling half the number of units you send as a group (one unit will still attract 1 Mutant unit, so there are no free rides except for Stalkers). These units are not kept track of: Winning the battle will allow you to continue moving, while losing will force your units to stay put, possibly suffering casualties for nothing. These Mutant attacks are always in effect on the surface and cannot be avoided. If crossing the surface to attack an enemy station, you must first fend off the resulting Mutant attack to continue the assault. A similar attack occurs when traveling down metro lines that are infested with Mutants. In this case the attack will always be made by 1 Mutant unit, making it easier to overpower them with large groups. This will still prevent civilians from Migrating, however. These line infestations can be cleared by both owning and garrisoning the two ends of the affected line. Regular patrols between the stations will seal up any leaks and clear the infestation permanently. The last way Mutants can appear is through a station infestation. The station will be considered "owned" by mutants and will periodically spawn units on the map which are then able to attack poorly defended player stations. Clearing these out is as simple as conquering the station and killing the Mutant units outright. However, ALL player-owned stations are liable to be randomly attacked by mutants, with a frequency and in numbers related to the station's Population. More human activity attracts more predators. If soldiers are not present to defend, or are beaten, the Mutants will overrun the station and begin spreading. After conquering a station, they will gain 1 unit, and when moving to the next target 1 unit will spawn behind them to garrison previously conquered stations. Linked Mutant stations will automatically create infested tunnels between them. If left unchecked, they can overrun entire factions, so beware of feeling complacent! Remember that humanity can be exterminated in this game! PARANORMAL If disease, radiation and monsters weren't enough, there are also areas of Paranormal Activity. A random collection of ghosts, demons or what have you, these are randomly generated "hot spots" of activity that can have severe consequences. Areas with Paranormal hazards will have a 50% chance each turn of butchering any military unit garrisoned within or moving across. There are no defenses against these terrors of the metro, and so travel is at your own risk. Civilian Migration and habitation is treated likewise in an unnerving coin toss. An inhabited station afflicted with this activity will be treated as if it was conquered by an enemy, resulting in the deaths of half the Population and causing the rest to flee. Since the 50% chance is always in effect, you may have a turn or two to migrate the Population out of the station before it is too late, but it is a significant risk. Paranormal areas are generated at the game's start and are persistent. However, they can lapse into dormancy: There is a 5% chance every turn that the activity will cease or restart. Such areas will have markers indicating that such activity can occur in the future. You may be able to play the whole game without ever losing a single man to these ghosts... or you may lose everything. Be careful. COLLAPSED TUNNELS AND STATIONS Whether the result of the bombs, the erosion or the schemes of mice and men, parts of the metro can Collapse and cut off travel. These destroyed areas cannot be garrisoned or inhabited, nor may units pass through them. With stations, this cuts off lines from their neighbors and denies resources and living room to enemies. With lines, this forces enemies to travel on the surface to continue an attack, halting motorized units in the process. For areas on the surface by default, "collapsed" implies broken, meaning cut metro lines and the like. Such areas can be reclaimed, but require an immense amount of work: Lines require 20 Production during a turn, coming from either (or any) station connected to it, while repairing stations requires 40. These high numbers demand that you have densely populated stations nearby. You can cooperate with other players to dig out from both ends, or you can try to do it alone by powering your stations with Fuel. Either way, it is a costly business but necessary to recover lost parts of the metro. Of special note are Surface Stations: Since these can only be occupied by 1 Population, it will be impossible to fix some surface areas once destroyed because the nearest connecting stations are also on the surface. Imagine building new rails in the middle of a toxic environment filled with mutants: It isn't going to happen, and you're lucky enough to provide shelter up there in the first place. As mentioned earlier, either the starting map or a succession of Demolition Bombs can create a No Man's Land of collapsed areas, preventing travel for everything and everyone except Stalkers. Two warring factions will likely be unable to rapidly fix these areas after demolishing them out of panic, so be careful with this policy.
NPC Stations and Units NEUTRAL STATIONS Sometimes people just want to be left alone. Neutral stations are unowned locations which have their own population and armed forces. They will be randomly generated as the map is explored, or will appear after a player decides to quit and all of their holdings break free. Neutrals are static and never act aggressively. Left to their own devices they will live and let live. They will defend themselves by force, however. Neutrals will permit trade and migration through their borders, but never military access (see section on Diplomacy). There are two things you can do with Neutrals: Annex them or trade with them. Annexation can be accomplished by either conquering them outright (resulting in losses to military units and Population) or by convincing them to join your cause. Neutrals can be peacefully annexed by owning a station next to them (with a clear line of travel) and having double the Population and military Strength (excluding STR from Stalkers) there than the Neutral itself. Once these criteria are met the Neutral will automatically join the player's faction, shifting the burden of its upkeep to the new owner. Note that this will only occur if there are no other adjacent players: If a Neutral is bordered by two or more player factions, it will stay neutral unless a roleplay agreement is struck between the players involved; the agreement is then sent to the game admin for review. Otherwise, the station will fight for its independence. Think of it as a primitive AI trying to play you off against each other. Trade is straightforward: If a Neutral station has a Bonus Resource, that resource can be purchased once per turn, per player, in a cost in MGR equal to half its normal Production cost. Thus the resources break down as follows: Food - x1 MGR Fuel - x3 MGR Guns - x2 MGR Weapons - x4 MGR Filters - x4 MGR Research - x5 MGR You can also sell a Neutral station one resource per turn that is not their Bonus Resource in exchange for MGR. However, the exchange rate is always 1:1, a net loss on your part. This is the kind of trade you might perform in desperation, clearing out stockpiles of useless resources to afford something else, or supply armies in battle. Neutrals without Bonus Resources will always be able to buy anything, but have nothing to sell. Like all trade, it must take place over a clear line of travel to and from your faction capital, and will only come into effect as of the next turn. MUTANT INFESTATION As covered in the earlier section on Hazards, Mutants can appear on the map as units. The number of Mutants appearing at game start is random, while those appearing at a station under attack is proportional to the station's population. In both cases, they will automatically move to attack any adjacent station owned by a Neutral, Bandit or Player faction that has a garrison with less total strength than the Mutants have. The Mutants will attack repeatedly, likely suffering losses, until they are victorious. They will gain 1 unit and move to their destination, and another unit will spawn behind them as a garrison force. Connected Mutant stations will generate an infestation in the connecting tunnel. A string of major victories may cause a runaway Mutant invasion, so be careful of weakening nearby stations or leaving Mutants to their own devices. BANDITS If Neutrals are passive, Bandits are active. These are mid to late-game NPCs that will arise if Neutral or owned stations are left ungarrisoned. After appearing they will automatically "conquer" the station in question (killing Population and causing it to flee) and start with 2 Regular units. From that point on they act much like Mutants, gaining two units every time they successfully move on to a new destination and effectively carving out a small empire. Like Mutants, Bandits can become a serious problem if left alone, especially since Regulars have 3 STR as opposed to Mutants' 2 STR. Don't even consider negotiating: They are hostile until eliminated. Make sure you at least have a token force of Militia policing your stations, otherwise your domain will turn lawless and Bandits will gain a foothold.
Diplomacy and Player Interaction FACTION DIPLOMACY Diplomacy is the act of war by other means. Players are free to draft, agree to, and betray any treaties between each other as they please. For the most part there are no rules regarding these treaties: The only binding ones in terms of the game involve open borders (for trade, units, migration, etc.) trade (one-way handing over of resources, stations, etc.) and conditions of war and peace. Otherwise, everything is fair game, but it is expected that you make notes about these agreements at the beginning of your turn posts: Secret agreements are valid, but not if they go against game mechanics. All Diplomacy can be conducted privately or publicly, which is to say over PM/IM or over RP threads. However, the two kinds of agreements mentioned above must be in writing within turn posts to be considered valid. Examples of agreements and their in-game effects will follow below. TRADING, ALLIANCES AND OTHER AGREEMENTS Trade - The most common agreement, this is a one-way transfer of any resource, station, population or military unit to another player. For trade to occur, you must have an uninterrupted connection between your faction capital and the capital of your partner. Such a connection must be below-ground and avoid impassible hazards (Paranormal affects will only inhibit trade while active). All trades are confirmed as of the next turn, so you cannot use received supplies at once, and likewise all trade is one-way, meaning you cannot speak for the other player's half of the deal. Resources move from pool to pool, Population is sent directly to the stations specified in the deal, and military units stay where they when they are traded. As mentioned in the previous section, trade with Neutral stations can be accomplished following similar rules, using MGR as a medium. Open Borders Access - Divided into Military, Trade and Civilian (colonists), these agreements determine whether or not you can treat other players' territory as your own when it comes to moving people and supplies through them. It assumed that if you are trading with them directly that you have at least that much access, but everything else is conditional. You may be in between two players and choose to prevent them from trading with each other. Or you may be allied with a player, but fearful of their intentions and refuse to grant them military access. Without access, trade cannot be accomplished, Population cannot migrate through to other stations, and military units will fight on contact. This makes it possible to back-stab a player by moving forces into their territory under access and then revoking the access, causing all forces to fight on contact. Either player can unilaterally cancel access, but both must state that it exists for it to be valid. Neutral NPC stations will always allow open borders other than military, meaning you can trade with a player faction on the other side of a Neutral. War/Peace - A formal declaration of war, or a single declaration of peace, will shift all diplomacy to reflect it. Ergo, while at war, all trade is embargoed, enemy Stalkers will be intercepted and players will be more aware of what's going on. It is possible to skirmish without a declaration of war, so it is assumed that anyone you are not designated "At Peace" with will be in a cold war and intercept your units in the field. Intercept Stalkers - Unless specified (or at war) Stalkers will walk past each other with a friendly wave. If you wish to deliberately intercept other stalkers while at peace, you must specify that you are doing so in order for combat to begin. When at war, they will always engage. Alliance - These are formal (but non-binding in-game) agreements that outline the conditions under which you will help other players. These can be defensive or offensive in nature, and secret or public. Public alliances are more straightforward and leave no room for doubt: Trust between players, both individually and as a group, is what is at stake here. Independence Guarantee - A formal (non-binding) declaration that you will go to war in defense of your protectorate. This protectorate can be a Neutral station or even other players, with or without their consent. This is an effective way of containing a hostile faction without getting into more binding agreements of cooperation with others: You will fight for the common good, but you are not friends. TURN POST FORMATTING Now that most of the game's mechanics have been covered, it's finally time to demonstrate how it's played via the Turn Post. Each player needs to make such a post once per turn to make their decisions known. Without such a post, everything will remain inactive. Food considerations will still be calculated (all Production will be shifted towards it, without using fuel) and hazards may still strike. Players will have a 3 turn grace period of no activity, after which they will be booted from the game and their stations converted into Neutrals. The following is a template for these posts. Information that MUST be included will appear in white. Optional info will be in yellow, while stacked options will be in orange and red respectively. Once you know how the game works, these should make perfect sense to you. Spoiler FACTION: (Your Faction Name Here) DIPLOMACY/OTHER: - (Things Here) This section is where you specify in-game diplomatic decisions. No private correspondence or RP topic will have valid and binding effects until the results appear here. Diplomatic decisions are effective as of the 'next' turn: Trading resources, for example, is not complete until the next turn. This prevents possible confusion/abuse by using resources someone may or may not give you by the next turn cycle. Similarly, ALL nations are assumed to be in a "cold war" with each other until otherwise specified here: units coming into contact will automatically do battle, and trade/colonists will not take place across borders freely. Players must make such agreements absolutely clear, and will only be effective next turn. Stalkers are an exception since they are liable to criss-cross during exploration: In this case a specific statement of "intercept hostile stalkers" must be placed here to cause combat to occur.) Examples of diplomatic actions include (without any hard and fast format): - TRADE 4 Fuel to Player 2 (Trade is one-way; you cannot say "received goods" here) - DECLARE WAR on Player 2 (Makes war a clear thing, no ambiguity) - AT WAR WITH.. (notification for subsequent turns) - ALLIED WITH.. (same premise) - ALLOW TRADE/COLONIST/MILITARY ACCESS to Player 2 (you can discriminate which kinds of "open borders" are permitted) - TRADE Station/Unit at Location to Player 2 (This will of course result in loss of said population and units, so if you wished to, say, transfer the station but not the people you can migrate the population somewhere else and vacate it. The station will still stay yours for this turn's production, so if you grow the Pop then specify here something like "All pops migrate to..." etc.) - This section will also cover any additional tasks such as spending Research on Plagued areas, or anything else I've forgotten. START RESOURCES: Food - # Fuel - # MGR - # Guns - # Weapons - # Filters - # Research - # Total Population - # (For player reference) STATION MANAGEMENT: Station Name (Bonus resource here) - (Current Population here) Food Applied: # (Required food, or less, and #+1 if intend to grow population size) Production: XYZ (+/- resources and units, specific for this location, will be effective next turn; units cannot be moved but will be present for an attack on this station; includes digging out collapsed areas) Migration: Number > Location (only if connected to friendly station) ... Total Resource Consumption/Production: Name +/-# STALKERS: Team #1, 2, 3... (arbitrary, just lets you keep track) Location - Station/Surface (so there's no confusion between the map and your actions) Task - Explore/Scavenge (moving on the map vs. off-map looking for resources; can be sent to scavenge at any time but if recalled will appear at capital/home/first station) Move - A > B -1 Filter (if needed) ... Stalker Resource Consumption: Filters -# ARMY MANAGEMENT: Unit Type x# A >Move/Attack/Overland >B (-# Filter? -# MGR?) (Note: See "cold war" rule above, you can specify "attack" but it's assumed that you will be attacking anything you are not friends with, including neutrals) ... Total Units: x## Army Resource Consumption: Filters -# Fuel -# MGR -# Food -# (Unless specified, you 'must' spend food on military units at the same rate of 1 for every 5. If you can't, simply write DISBAND under the units you wish to remove, otherwise I'll just randomly pick something close to your capital and ditch it) ENDING RESOURCES (You just take the starting resources, add or subtract the subtotals in the above sections, and here you go, ready for the next turn. If you give away pop/stations or receive resources, you'll have to edit it here in parentheses to denote that it 'actually' occurred as of the next turn) Food - # Fuel - # MGR - # Guns - # Weapons - # Filters - # Research - # <<< END OF POST >>> (The post ends here. Results will be calculated and provided when the turn is considered over. You will then make any changes to your starting Resources (due to received trade, Population growth, etc.) for the next post.
Final Comments WINNING THE GAME For all intents and purposes METROWAR could go on forever. It entirely depends on how long players survive and are willing to play. In the event a single player dominates the entire map it could be considered a victory, but the chances of this happening are awfully small. Artificial victory conditions would likely fall under such things as "number of stations held" or "resources banked" as per 4x games, but these are mostly unnecessary. Players can join and quit at any time, so they are free to play towards whatever ends they wish. If I were to set such conditions, however, I would say that there are three possible victories: Domination - Own 2/3rds of all habitable stations on the map (would change if the map is opened up) Economic - Bank 400 MGR Scientific - Bank 200 Research In all likelihood, the game will actually continue until everybody decides to quit. RESTARTING/FUTURE PLAYERS Since METROWAR has tremendous room for expansion, players are free to join, and quit, at virtually any time. Those players who join will eventually have access to the whole map, with over 150 stations. Those who quit will have theirs converted into Neutrals, with all of the resulting affects on remaining players. Where this counts is when players lose: While it is possible to exterminate your faction (fairly easily, I might add), there will always be room to restore it, or begin again with a new faction. Players who tire of whatever conditions or roleplays they have set up can start with a clean slate somewhere else. Of course the time investment lost in doing so may be extreme, so choose wisely. In the end, this game could last for months or years, generating its own storyline, its own canon, its own history. Future updates or changes to the game may be made on the advice of players, but hopefully they will not derail the world that has been created in the meantime.
