From Myth-Wiki

These rules are obsolete. Please see the latest rules here: FactionRPG

FactionRPG is a political game in which each player takes on the role of a powerful faction in its entirety. Factions must collaborate with and scheme against each other in order to accomplish their own agendas.

Contents 1 Assets 1.1 (In)Visibility 1.2 Profiles 1.3 Actions 1.3.1 Attack 1.3.1.1 Damage 1.3.1.2 Infiltrate 1.3.1.2.1 Seizing Control 1.3.2 Defend 1.3.2.1 Shroud 1.3.2.2 Enhance 1.4 Space 2 Game Play 2.1 Negotiation Phase 2.1.1 Sharing Profiles 2.1.2 Collaboration 2.2 Orders Phase 2.2.1 Narration 2.2.2 Transferring Assets 2.2.3 Results 2.3 Consequences Phase 2.3.1 Narration 2.3.2 Failed Hidden Infiltrate Attacks 2.3.3 Exceptionally Successful Damage Attacks 2.3.4 Results 3 Specializations 4 Starting Resources 5 Leaving the Game

Assets

The resources at the disposal of each faction are represented as a collection of assets. Assets are used to either help or hinder other assets, and it is in this way factions exert their influence on each other.

Any source of power wielded by a faction is represented as an asset, be it political, financial, technological, martial, or otherwise.

• Each asset has a numerical rating of value which describes how powerful the asset is relative to other assets.
• Assets can be public or hidden.

(In)Visibility

Public assets	Hidden assets
are visible (every faction knows their value, owner, status, etc.)	are invisible (no one knows their value, owner, status, etc.)
can be targeted by any action	cannot be targeted by any action
perform their actions overtly (every faction knows about the attempt)	perform their actions covertly (there is no way to prove who made the attempt)
contribute their full value to any actions they attempt	contribute one less than their value to any actions they attempt

Profiles

Factions can gain profiles on hidden assets. Factions always have profiles on their own hidden assets.

Having a profile on a hidden asset allows you to:

• see the asset (it is considered visible to you)
• target the asset with any action
• know what actions are attempted by the asset (its actions are considered public to you)

Actions

Each asset can be assigned one action each turn.

The strength of an action is the sum of the value of every asset collaborating on the action.

An undefended asset's defense is its value. The defense of an asset can be raised with defensive actions.

The possible actions are:

• Attack(Damage) - thwart attempts to defend the target and reduce the value of the target at the risk of reducing the value of your assets
• Attack(Infiltrate) - gain profiles on hidden assets or seize control of the target at the risk of unknowingly compromising your assets
  • you may target a faction as a whole instead of a specific asset, in which case the faction's highest value hidden asset is targeted
• Defend(Shroud) - increase the target's defense and render it hidden
• Defend(Enhance) - increase the target's defense and increase its value
  • you may target a new 0-value asset, in which case a new asset is created if there is sufficient space

Attack

The margin of success of an attack is the difference between the action's strength and the target's defense.

• If the margin of success is zero or less, the action is a failure.
• If the margin of success is one or more, the action is a success.
• If the margin of success equals or exceeds the value of the target, the action is considered an exceptional success.

Damage

(In)Visibility of Attackers	Failure	Success	Exceptional Success
Public	attacking assets lose value equal to the margin of failure at the end of the turn	target loses value equal to the margin of success at the end of the turn all defensive actions on the target fail this turn	also, attacking assets increase in total value by the target's value minus one at the end of the turn divided among the attacking factions proportionate to strength contributed
Hidden	attacking assets lose value equal to the margin of failure at the end of the turn the defender knows that an attack failed and which asset was targeted, but not which assets or factions attempted the attack	target loses value equal to the margin of success at the end of the turn all defensive actions on the target fail this turn the defender does not know which assets or factions made the attack	also, attacking assets increase in total value by the target's value minus one at the end of the turn divided among the attacking factions proportionate to strength contributed

Infiltrate

(In)Visibility of Attackers	Target (asset or faction)	Failure	Success	Exceptional Success
Public	specific asset	attacking assets lose value equal to the margin of failure at the end of the turn	attackers gain a random profile on a hidden asset belonging to the owner of the target at the end of the turn	also, the faction that contributed the most strength decides which faction seizes control of the asset at the end of the turn
Public	entire faction	attacking assets lose value equal to the margin of failure at the end of the turn	attackers gain a profile on the faction's highest value hidden asset at the end of the turn	(no additional effect)
Hidden	specific asset	the attack appears successful attacking assets are compromised	attackers gain a random profile on a hidden asset belonging to the owner of the target at the end of the turn owner of the targeted asset does not know that the attack occurred	also, the faction that contributed the most strength decides which faction seizes control of the asset at the end of the turn
Hidden	entire faction	the attack appears successful attacking assets are compromised	attackers gain a profile on the faction's highest value hidden asset at the end of the turn the targeted faction does not know that the attack occurred	(no additional effect)

Seizing Control

• The former owner of a seized hidden asset keeps a profile on it, which will allow them to know who the new owner is.
• If an asset is rendered hidden on the same turn it is seized, the former owner will lose their profile on their asset and not know immediately who the new owner is.

Defend

Defensive actions:

• always add their strength to the defense of the target
• if the strength of the action exceeds the value of the target, the action is an success

Shroud

Automatic	Success
target's defense is raised by the action's strength	also, the target becomes hidden at the end of the turn and any existing profiles on the asset are lost

Enhance

Automatic	Success
target's defense is raised by the action's strength	also, the target's value increases by one at the end of the turn

Space

The game has a number which represents the amount of space for the total value of all assets. This number is always public knowledge.

Actions that increase the value of any asset can only use remaining space. If no space remains, successful actions are still successful, however the full increase in asset value does not occur.

With regards only to using space, actions with the highest strength occur first.

Game Play

Every turn of play has three phases:

• Negotiation: in which players attempt to strike deals with and mislead each other
• Orders: in which each player secretly assigns orders to their assets
• Consequences: in which the results of the actions for the turn are determined and published

Negotiation Phase

The Negotiation Phase is the bread and butter of the game.

Each faction has a Contact Point which serves to set the scene for in-game discussions. Each turn, any faction may send a representative to any Contact Point and begin a scene which may include, but is not limited to: making threats, asking for help, sharing information, spreading rumours, etc.

Nothing said during the Negotiation Phase is binding. Players are free to order their assets any way they please, regardless of promises made.

Sharing Profiles

If you have a profile on a hidden asset, you may share it with any faction during the Negotiation Phase. You may also share profiles on your hidden assets.

Collaboration

If any assets attempting the same action on the same target collaborate with each other, they contribute their value to the strength of the same action instead of each attempting the action independently on the target.

Further, the specializations of all collaborating factions apply to the action.

Assets that belong to the same faction are always considered to be collaborating with each other.

Orders Phase

Eventually each faction is required to commit their resources to a particular set of actions. Orders are submitted secretly to the GM.

Narration

• narrations for public assets can be shared if they all perform the same action on the same target
• narrations for hidden assets should be divided into what will be seen by those that have a profile on the asset and what will be seen by the target if they do not have a profile on the asset
• narrations must be submitted in the following format (copy & paste for each asset):

[fieldset=X-Asset ACTION Y-Target (WITH Factions) (TRANSFER TO Faction)]
Narration of this asset's actions.
***
Narration for those who can see the target but can't see the asset taking the action.
[spoiler=Result]The GM will put the result of the action here.[/spoiler][/fieldset]

• It is assumed that hidden assets perform hidden actions unless otherwise specified.
• WITH: specify which factions you are collaborating with. This information will only be visible by those who can see the assets that collaborated on the action.
• TRANSFER TO: See Transferring Assets.

Transferring Assets

You may transfer ownership of an asset to another faction Append "TRANSFER TO (faction)" to the narration for the asset. The transfer will occur at the end of the Consequences Phase, after the asset has attempted whatever orders you have assigned it this turn. The asset still belongs to you for the purposes of resolving the results of actions this turn.

Results

At the end of the Orders Phase, the GM performs the following in this order:

• Calculate the defense of every asset.
• Determine the effect of damage attacks and infiltrate attacks. This includes assigning exceptionally successful Damage attacks their share of any available space.
• Determine the effect of each defensive action taking into account the results of this turn's damage attacks.
• Apply the effects of defensive actions and value reduction from damage to each asset simultaneously.
• Publish the results of the turn thus far.

Consequences Phase

An additional phase is required in order for players to narrate thwarting the actions of the other players and to make decisions regarding the results of actions taken this turn.

Narration

Each player provides "increase narrations" for assets of theirs that increase in value from exceptionally successful damage attacks and "failure narrations" for any actions that they caused to fail.

Failed Hidden Infiltrate Attacks

When a hidden infiltrate attack fails the attackers think the attack was successful, however the attacking assets may become compromised.

The player who owns the asset targeted by a failed infiltrate attack chooses one of these results for the attack:

• The attacker knows the attack was a failure and the attacking assets lose value equal to the margin of failure at the end of the turn.
• The attacker thinks the attack was successful and thinks that the defender has no (other) hidden assets. The defender randomly gains a number of profiles on the attacking assets equal to the attack's margin of success.
• The attacker thinks the attack was successful and the defender chooses which (additional) profile(s) are gained. The defender randomly gains a number of profiles on the attacking assets equal to the attack's margin of success.

Exceptionally Successful Damage Attacks

Each player decides how to assign increase in value from exceptionally successful damage attacks.

Results

At the end of the Consequences Phase, the GM performs the following in this order:

• Determine which assets gain value from exceptionally successful damage attacks.
• Apply the above and infiltrate attacks to each asset simultaneously.
• Transfer assets.
• Publish the results of the turn.

Specializations

Each faction has a specialization that allows it to achieve spectacular results or avoid catastrophic failure with a particular kind of action. Specialization is chosen before the game begins and is public knowledge.

Every asset collaborating on an action contributes its faction's specialization to that action. In this way, more than one specialization can apply to the same action, and factions can bargain for the use of the specializations of the other factions.

Specialization	Action	Replacement Effect
Tactics	Damage	Failure: attacking assets do not lose value the defender does not know that a hidden attack occurred
Cannibalize	Damage	Exceptional Success: increase in value can be applied to any asset
Planning	Infiltrate	Failure: attacking assets do not lose value attacking assets are not compromised the defender does not know that a hidden attack occurred
Interrogation	Infiltrate	Success: an additional random profile is gained
Ambush	Shroud	Automatic: the target's defense is increased by twice the action's strength
Hide in Plain Sight	Shroud	Special: hidden assets contribute their full value to the strength of any action they attempt
Upgrade	Enhance	Exceptional Success: if the excess strength of the action is sufficient to increase the asset's value again at its new value, it continues to do so until there is not enough strength left
Infusion	Enhance	Exceptional Success: also, choose any specialization, and the action the target attempts next turn has the chosen specialization

Starting Resources

• see Creating a Faction in FactionRPG

Leaving the Game

FactionRPG games suffer more than a typical PbP game when a player drops the game due to the complex relationships that develop between the factions. Furthermore, as it is a PvP game, player factions cannot be fairly controlled by the GMs, as they know the entire game state. Out of respect for the other players in the game it is important to inform the GMs when you are unable to continue playing for whatever reason.

... I cannot imagine that [your life] was so incredibly difficult that you couldn't have left a two sentence message about what was up... I'm fine with people taking breaks, but I have to know what's up first.

- Ruben