Allies on the Road to War

[Niarra]

Allies on the Road to War – a Series of RP Events

The Republic and the Sith Empire are poised for war yet again, waiting only for the slightest nudge, restrained primarily by concerns about resources. All across a galaxy already ravaged by decades of conflict, the great powers are struggling; the greater the power, the greater the need. New sources for basic trade goods are as valuable as sources of military materiel, and in this clime many systems and independent powers are finding themselves suddenly possessed of a great deal more influence because they are potentially valuable trading partners now able to play on a bigger stage.

One such power is the CONSORTIUM OF EHVAAL. The Consortium was not just previously irrelevant to the Republic and the Empire, but actually unknown. Located in an innocuous corner of space in the Rimward Galactic South of the Unknown Regions, to the Republic and the Empire it might as well be in Wild Space; there are rumors that the Consortium’s location only came to their attention because it was leaked from either Zakuulan or Chiss sources, both of which are more likely to have secretly charted these expanses closer to their neighborhoods.

Regardless of how the information leaked, the Consortium’s two dozen planetary systems have now come to the galaxy’s attention. To any of the great powers, two dozen systems is a laughably small showing, but they happen to be two dozen systems replete with resource-rich planets and no established galactic trading partners. With war between the superpowers on the horizon again, no one wants to stretch military assets in attempting a conquest of the Consortium, so everyone – even the Empire – has decided the best approach is to win the Consortium over by good will.

And the Consortium of Ehvaal, ruled by the ROYAL FAMILY OF VAAL-FERR, is only too happy to entertain interested suitors.

To make courting their favor simpler, and to make sure they profit by it as much as possible, the Consortium of Ehvaal has set up the HONOR RACE – a means by which interested trading partners can compete for their good will and alliance. Whoever wins the Honor Race has much better chances of securing exclusive trading rights with the Consortium.

How the Honor Race works (ICly): Anyone is welcome to compete in the Honor Race, independent figures and governments both. All participants must sign up for the race as individuals, but they have the option to declare that the prestige they win should go toward a faction of their choosing. The Republic and Empire are guaranteed to have representatives participating, but there’s always the possibility that the Hutts may choose to compete as well. There are even rumors that organizations like Czerka or the Exchange are contemplating organizing competing teams; the Honor Race marks a rare case where syndicates might secure the sorts of rights and access normally only reserved for governments.

Individuals participating in the Honor Race will receive personal reward based on the quality of the prize they deliver, and are not required to hand over their reward to the faction they represent. Those who wish to participate without aligning themselves to a faction get to keep all their reward and all their glory but aren’t eligible to negotiate for Consortium trading rights after the Race is concluded, and will just be depriving the factions of a slice of the available prestige.

The Consortium is entertaining all sorts of offerings: the capture and delivery of bountied persons of interest, the destruction or arrest of hyperlane pirates, the successful scouting of new hyperlanes (exclusivity rights guaranteed to the Consortium), the successful salvage of identified locations of interest, or even the delivery of specifically requested exotic novelties from the rest of the galaxy so long as they can meet the (low) price points and quantities that the Consortium is demanding. There are plenty of ways to win the Consortium’s favor, and they’re counting on participants getting creative.

How the Honor Race works (OOCly): The race will take place in four stages. At each stage, players who have characters signing up for the Race will all have the same amount of points to spend on choosing the prizes they want to pursue and deliver to the Consortium. This prize-buy mechanic will take place via the forums prior to the Prestige Ceremony for each stage; each Prestige Ceremony will be an in-game RP event where contestants from all factions gather together in truce to receive their rewards and, if they so choose, earn extra prestige for their faction by presenting their prizes to the Royal Family in such a way as to curry extra favor. Further details of how this system will work OOCly will be forthcoming as the Honor Race RP events get closer.
 


All Events in Allies on the Road to War

The Allies on the Road to War series of events will be comprised of six hosted and GMed evenings of RP shenanigans. These are as follows:

Port of Call IV: This is the next in a series of Port of Call events, and anyone who’s attended any of the previous Port of Call nights has a good idea of what to expect. This event plants the first seeds for the Honor Race, as a rumor has been going around that the famous (sometimes infamous) auction scene on Phalanx Station is about to put up for auction smuggled star charts of Consortium space, which could provide an invaluable boost to anyone intending to compete in the Honor Race.
•   Who can attend: ICly, any character of any stripe can attend, although it’s known that Phalanx Station is not friendly to people who openly fly the Imperial flag (Imperials still do business here but they do so covertly, time for Imps and Sith to put on some everyman disguises). OOCly, in-game avatars will need to be Republic faction because the event is hosted at a Republic-side guild stronghold.
•   When: Sometime in May. Exact date TBD.
•   Additional info: More info will be forthcoming when the official Port of Call IV event post goes up.

A Subtle Summit: The Chiss Ascendancy has been aligned with the Sith Empire for decades now, but the autonomy they’ve maintained for themselves means that what happens in Ascendancy space is still a mystery to most of the galaxy, even sometimes to the Empire. In some Ascendancy spheres and among some of the Houses of this era, there’s been quiet talk about what the resource crisis and the impending renewal of war means for the Ascendancy, and whether or not a change of course is warranted. One of the Houses, House Esar, is hosting a political summit in Ascendancy space – Chiss only please-and-thank-you, and no outsiders, not even Imperials, should even know it’s happening (the Chiss know how to keep their secrets). Chiss with official positions in the Empire will certainly get invitations and their experiences in the Empire will provide valuable intelligence for the debate, but should word of the summit slip to their Imperial cohorts then the Ascendancy will know exactly who spilled it and will not be happy. Will the Chiss participate in the Consortium’s Honor Race? Will they do so representing the Empire, or the Ascendancy? If they break from the Empire in this, what will that mean? It’s time for Chiss to talk to Chiss, and figure these things out.
•   Who can attend: ICly, any Chiss characters are welcome, though if your Chiss character wouldn’t otherwise have reasons to be playing at politics or war then they might have some explaining to do about why they’re there and what they have to offer to the conversation; all Chiss viewpoints are welcome, but they should be relevant to the important debate at hand. OOCly, in-game avatars (Chiss!) can be either Republic or Imperial, and you don't have to have your character speechify; plenty of Chiss will be attending just to listen and gather info and consider what others have to say.
•   When: Sometime in May or June. Exact date TBD.
•   Additional info: More info will be forthcoming when an event post goes up for The Subtle Summit. 

The Honor Race, Prestige Ceremonies: There will be three in-game events where contestants in the Honor Race receive their rewards for each stage of the Race, and have the opportunity to present their triumphs before the Royal Family of Vaal-Ferr and an audience of their competitors. Will you declare allegiance, or compete for your own glory? If you're representing a faction will you do so in secret (known only to the Consortium), or will you do so on the public stage?
•   Who can attend: ICly, any character from any faction. You can be a participant in the Race or just an observer to events, faction-aligned or otherwise. OOCly, in-game avatars from both factions can attend as the events will be held in a personal stronghold.   
•   When: Sometime in June and July. Exact dates TBD.
•   Additional info: More info will be forthcoming as additional details on the Honor Race get posted.   

The Honor Race, Final Ceremony: This event will cap off the Honor Race, and at it the Royal Family of Vaal-Ferr, rulers of the Consortium of Ehvaal, will declare victors in the Honor Race and formalize trade negotiations with whatever faction has curried the most favor. What will be the long-term consequences? What rivalries may have developed between contestants over the course of the Race? What sabotages might the losers be planning in retaliation for the future?
•   Who can attend: ICly, any character from any faction. You can be a participant in the Race or just an observer to events, faction-aligned or otherwise. OOCly, in-game avatars from both factions can attend as the event will be held in a personal stronghold.   
•   When: Sometime in July. Exact date TBD.
•   Additional info: More info will be forthcoming as additional details on the Honor Race get posted. 


Any questions? Lay 'em on me in this thread. I'm posting this tease far in advance so everyone knows it's coming. Bring your RP friends from other guilds or servers who might not usually frequent the forums. 

[recoveringgeek]

Just a short reply to express interest, and also to thank @Niarra for putting in the effort and giving me a reason to think about SWTOR again.

[Dassalya]

I'd like to second @recoveringgeek! Time for me to go try and figure out if Vedriat will declare for the Hegemony or the Empire...

[LVT]

Huh, chiss stuff. That's neat!

[Elaeis]

Count me in. 

[Niarra]

Port of Call IV: This is the next in a series of Port of Call events, and anyone who’s attended any of the previous Port of Call nights has a good idea of what to expect. This event plants the first seeds for the Honor Race, as a rumor has been going around that the famous (sometimes infamous) auction scene on Phalanx Station is about to put up for auction smuggled star charts of Consortium space, which could provide an invaluable boost to anyone intending to compete in the Honor Race.
•   Who can attend: ICly, any character of any stripe can attend, although it’s known that Phalanx Station is not friendly to people who openly fly the Imperial flag (Imperials still do business here but they do so covertly, time for Imps and Sith to put on some everyman disguises). OOCly, in-game avatars will need to be Republic faction because the event is hosted at a Republic-side guild stronghold.
•   When: Sometime in May. Exact date TBD.
•   Additional info: More info will be forthcoming when the official Port of Call IV event post goes up.

It's time for me to schedule the above-quoted Port of Call event to kick this party off! For the other events I am not going to poll for good dates, because there are just too many moving pieces for this; for most of them I'll be setting a date that works for me and people who can make it, can. But for Port of Call, which is the least interconnected to the overall series, and which will, like its Port of Call predecessors, have a more loose theme, I thought I'd check to see if our interested folks are OK with the dates I'm considering.

I'm considering Saturday, May 25th. This works for me because it's a holiday weekend, but because it's a holiday weekend it may not work for others. Thoughts?

Also, those who've attended previous Port of Call events know that the night is sometimes segmented into various areas/occasions - the auction, the arena, the visit of Huttball stars, etc. For certain this evening will include the usual auction, but another element could be added if people have a specific request. If folks would like the opportunity to auction items of their own again, that's easily done. Or perhaps folks have an old rival they'd like to bring to the arena to duel in a method of their choosing?

[recoveringgeek]

I'm considering Saturday, May 25th. This works for me because it's a holiday weekend, but because it's a holiday weekend it may not work for others. Thoughts?

I've tentatively booked off my afternoon/evening of the 25th @Niarra, thank you for firming up your date.

If folks would like the opportunity to auction items of their own again, that's easily done. Or perhaps folks have an old rival they'd like to bring to the arena to duel in a method of their choosing?

What's the good word @blingdenston? Betting? Brawling? Bachelor's Night Out?

Makes me wonder who else might slip onto Phalanx Station incognito? Jedi? Royalty? Red-skinned bastards? Blue-skinned enigmas?

@Orell
@Iaera
@Cordae
@Esk
@Lolermelon
@livia
@Aylaa

[Seraphie]

I am very behind in the current SWTOR story, and haven't found the motivation to play it yet, to be honest, but I've attended previous Port of Call events and I will try to make this one. Saturdays generally work well for me at the moment, though there are exceptions. Not sure who I'll bring, but I'll try to be there!

[Orell]

Gah! Could've sword I'd said that I'm interested in this fun!

And the 25th is fine by me, Quar will be in attendance :D.

[Niarra]

I've posted an event thread for the Port of Call kick off event for this series.

Although the other events aren't scheduled yet, I wanted to provide a bit more info on how the Honor Race points system will work. For now this is just an overview, and when the post for the Prestige Ceremonies events goes up the full detail will be included in that post (including any corrections or refinements I make between now and then), but I thought it might help folks to plan and plot in advance if they have a vague idea of how things will work. So, in overview:

  Every player can say they have up to two (2) characters participating in the Race. You will be able to contribute points to your faction for both characters, and don't have to RP both characters at the actual events - although you can RP them both if you wish to!

  The Race happens in four (4) rounds of point buy to earn prestige. Every character gets 10 points per round to spend. Players report how they are spending their points either publicly in the forum, or in private in PM directly to me (the GM).

  When spending a character's 10 points, you can spend them to acquire any number of targets of Low, Mid, or High value. These represent the concept of each target's "worth" and reward you with Prestige.

  "Targets" represent whatever you want them to represent. For bounty hunter characters, they might be actual bounty targets. For scavengers, they may be salvage. For entrepeneurs, they may be shipments of in-demand goods. For hyperlane scouts, they may be the lanes you chart. For law and order types, they may be pirates apprehended or disputes settled. The Consortium's list of wants is huge, and there are many paths to gaining their favor.

  For every target you "buy" with your points, there's a corresponding resource cost. Resources are abstracted as well. It's up to you whether you color them as wear-and-tear to your gear, fuel expended, credits spent in bribes, straight up time invested, or hits to your reputation for collateral damage. Lower value targets have less of a resource penalty, but higher value targets net you more reward.

  Resource penalties and extra reward roll over into your next round. What this means is that someone who consistently delivers only low value targets might, when all the roll-over is calculated, end up with more points than someone who only delivered risky high value targets, because they ended up expending fewer resources in their endeavours. On the other hand, someone routinely delivering only high value targets might accumulate enough bonus prestige round to round to carry the day. This system means that someone who looks like they're losing in the first round of the Race might end up pulling ahead in later rounds; it all depends on the tack your opponents are taking, and how well your contributions might or might not balance with your allies'.

  At the Prestige Ceremonies, every character has the option of presenting their prizes to the representative of the Royal Family in RP, telling the story of how they acquired it, or using the opportunity to make a pitch for their faction. Characters who choose to do this earn some extra prestige points for their faction.

  There is also an option for people to spend some of their 10 points on sabotaging other factions rather than earning points for their own. Points spent can be used to mix and match prizes and sabotage if so desired.

  In each round, the character(s) who had the highest prestige value win an extra 2 points (a Trophy Bonus) for their faction, and the character(s) who had the lowest resource penalty win an extra 4 points (a Smarts Bonus) for their faction.

Here's a look at the point buy tables, and some examples of first round buys.

Those who wish to crunch the numbers, can. Those who don't want to be fussed can just say "screw it, I spend my points willy-nilly, just give me all the juicy high numbers, I just want to get to the RPs." No one needs to stress themselves out crunching numbers or putting excessive thought into it if they don't want to; the point buy system helps color the ultimate results of the race, but it defines your RP only as much as you want it to. And remember, you can attend the events without participating in the Race, but since all it costs you is a couple minutes to throw out some numbers you might as well leave your mark on the story results of the series.