My Space Fleet is Invincible! — Let's Play Twilight Imperium Third Edition

Sarcasmorator · #1 04-26-2011, 02:07 PM

Welcome to the Let's Play for Twilight Imperium Third Edition!

The game will start late next week, and between now and then I'll be putting up introductory posts to explain key aspects of the game. So what's Twilight Imperium all about, then?

THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO ...

The great races of the Galactic Council revolted and went to war against the Lazax emperor, which had the consequences of wiping out all semblance of a galactic government, exterminating the emperor's race and plunging everyone else into a technological and economic dark age. Since that time the great races have rebuilt themselves, new powers have entered the galactic stage, and all are vying to become overlords of a new empire, sending representatives to a reconvened Galactic Council on the bombed-out throne world of Mecatol Rex.

The goal of each player is to amass Victory Points, at which time their race forms a new dynasty to rule over all. Victory Points are earned in various ways, each listed on a series of Public Objectives that, with the variant we're using, will all be visible from the start of the game, though not all available to claim immediately.

Fulfilling objectives may require military action; expenditure of Resources and Influence, the game's two chief currencies; or various other actions. Players also have Secret Objectives known only to them, which tend to require the domination of key features of the game board or particularly vicious military goals to be completed. This is not "Risk" — vast fleets and legions of ground troops may serve as a deterrent, but unless used wisely they won't earn any Victory Points, and it's VP that are the key to victory.

There's no game without players, and we've got eight! Here's a look at who's playing as whom, and what they can do (I'll explain game concepts referenced below, such as Command Counters and Strategy Allocation, in a future post):

The Mentak Coalition (Lucas) — These guys are space pirates, pure and simple. They're numerous, so they start out with a larger fleet cap than normal. They're thieves, so they can steal trade goods from other players at the start of each round. And they're sneaky jerks, so up to two of their Cruisers and/or Destroyers can take pot shots at an enemy fleet before a battle starts, with no retaliation allowed. Lovely. Next up:

The Barony of Letnev (`Hrist) — The Letnev guys are pale and aristocratic and live underground, and look a bit like Bill Nighy in the "Underworld" movies. They're space vampires, sorta! They can always have one more ship in a fleet than their supply allows, and they can burn Trade Goods to given their ships and ground troops a combat bonus. Quite unlike:

The Federation of Sol (Sarcasmorator) — The humans! Homo sapiens sapiens is geared toward flexibility and holding on to captured worlds — they receive an extra Command Counter for their Command Pool each round, and can spend a CC from Strategy Allocation as an action to generate two Ground Forces on any planet they control, no Space Dock required. Which brings us to:

The Universities of Jol-Nar (Googleshng) — The giant brains of the galaxy, they excel at researching new technologies and can re-roll blown die results at the cost of a Command Counter, but their large starting fleet is hampered by the -1 penalty to all combat rolls thanks to their soft, fleshy bodies. Slightly tougher is:

The Brotherhood of Yin (severian) — A race of clones afflicted with a gross genetic disease, these dudes are so fanatical that they ram into enemy ships during space battles and have a chance to convince defending Ground Force units to join their side whenever they invade a planet. And they can swap one planet's Resource and Influence values each round. That's a smokin' ability, but not as hot as:

The Embers of Muaat (Egarwaen) — Who are literally made of fire. Former slaves to the Universities of Jol-Nar, they held onto the big brains' plans for the ultimate weapon, the Death Star War Sun, after overthrowing their oppressors at the end of the ancient Twilight Wars. They start with a War Sun, which would be bad enough if their War Suns couldn't churn out Fighters and Destroyers. But they can. Good thing they move slower than usual. Until they have the right technology, that is! The Embers can also move through Supernova tiles. Unlike:

The L1Z1X Mindnet (Stiv [retired], Sarcasmorator ["AI" mode, retired], SilentSnake) — This is what happens when you try to exterminate an entire race: Some of them manage to make it to a cold and distant planet, graft cybernetic implants onto themselves to survive, and come back millennia later to consume the less Borgified races of the galaxy. Their Dreadnoughts are cheaper and hit harder than those of other races, their Ground Forces gain a +1 bonus when attacking, and they get an extra CC in their Strategy Allocation at the start of the game. Finally, we have:

The Sardakk N'orr (shivam [retired], Epithet) — A race of space bugs! They're not the misunderstood kind like in "Ender's Game"; they're the horrible kind like in "Starship Troopers." They have but one racial ability: a +1 bonus to all attack rolls, all the time. Simple but potent!

Here's every player's starting stats for easy reference:

Code:

FEDERATION OF SOL — Sarcasmorator

SPECIAL ABILITIES
>As an Action, spend a Command Counter from Strategy Allocation to place 2 free Ground Forces on a planet you control.
>Receive 1 extra Command Counter during the Status Phase.

CONSUMABLES
Action Cards: 0
Political Cards: 2
Trade Goods: 0

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 3
Strategy Allocation: 2
Fleet Supply: 3
Activations: 0
Total in play: 8/16 

PLANETS (Resources/Influence)
Jord – 4/2

TECHNOLOGIES OWNED
Antimass Deflectors
Cybernetics

UNITS (Deployed/Total)
Space Docks: 1/3
Ground Forces: 5 
Shock Troops: 0
PDS: 0/6
Fighters: 0
Carriers: 2/4
Destroyers: 1/8
Cruisers: 0/8
Dreadnoughts: 0/5
War Suns: 0/2

TRADE CONTRACTS
Sol 2
Sol 2

VICTORY POINTS: 0

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE UNIVERSITIES OF JOL-NAR — Googleshng

SPECIAL ABILITIES
>You receive -1 to all combat rolls during Space Battles and Invasion Combat
>When executing the secondary ability of the Technology Strategy Card, you may execute its primary ability as well
>You may spend a Command Counter from Strategy Allocation to immediately reroll one of your die rolls

CONSUMABLES
Action Cards: 0
Political Cards: 2
Trade Goods: 0

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 3
Strategy Allocation: 2
Fleet Supply: 3
Activations: 0
Total in play: 8/16 

PLANETS (Resources/Influence)
Jol – 1/2
Nar – 2/3

TECHNOLOGIES OWNED
Hylar V Assault Laser
Antimass Deflectors
Enviro Compensator
Sarween Tools

UNITS (Deployed/Total)
Space Docks: 1/3
Ground Forces: 2 
Shock Troops: 0
PDS: 2/6
Fighters: 1
Carriers: 2/4
Destroyers: 1/8
Cruisers: 0/8
Dreadnoughts: 1/5
War Suns: 0/2

TRADE CONTRACTS
Jol-Nar 1
Jol-Nar 3

VICTORY POINTS: 0

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE BROTHERHOOD OF YIN — severian

SPECIAL ABILITIES
>Before an Invasion Combat in which you are the attacker begins, you may roll 1 die. On a 5+ your opponent loses one Ground Force and you gain 1 Ground Force
>Immediately before the second round of a Space Battle, you may discard one of your participating Destroyers or Cruisers to inflict 1 hit on an enemy ship of your choice
>Once per round, as an Action, you may swap the Resource and Influence values of a planet you control until the end of the round.

CONSUMABLES
Action Cards: 0
Political Cards: 2
Trade Goods: 0

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 3
Strategy Allocation: 2
Fleet Supply: 3
Activations: 0
Total in play: 8/16 

PLANETS (Resources/Influence)
Darren – 2/4

TECHNOLOGIES OWNED
Hylar V Assault Laser
Automated Defense Turrets

UNITS (Deployed/Total)
Space Docks: 1/3
Ground Forces: 4
Shock Troops: 0
PDS: 0/6
Fighters: 4
Carriers: 2/4
Destroyers: 1/8
Cruisers: 0/8
Dreadnoughts: 0/5
War Suns: 0/2

TRADE CONTRACTS
Yin 1
Yin 1

VICTORY POINTS: 0

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE EMBERS OF MUAAT — Egarwaen

SPECIAL ABILITIES
>Your War Suns have a base movement of 1 until you acquire Sarween Tools and Deep Space Cannon; once acquired, base movement is 2
>As an Action, spend one Command Counter from Strategy Allocation to place 2 free Fighters or 1 free Destroyer in any one system containing one of your War Suns
>You may move through, but not stop in, Supernova systems

CONSUMABLES
Action Cards: 0
Political Cards: 2
Trade Goods: 0

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 3
Strategy Allocation: 2
Fleet Supply: 3
Activations: 0
Total in play: 8/16 

PLANETS (Resources/Influence)
Muaat – 4/1

TECHNOLOGIES OWNED
Enviro Compensator
War Sun

UNITS (Deployed/Total)
Space Docks: 1/3
Ground Forces: 4
Shock Troops: 0
PDS: 0/6
Fighters: 2
Carriers: 0/4
Destroyers: 0/8
Cruisers: 0/8
Dreadnoughts: 0/5
War Suns: 1/2

TRADE CONTRACTS
Muaat 2
Muaat 2

VICTORY POINTS: 0

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE L1Z1X MINDNET — Stiv

SPECIAL ABILITIES
>The base cost of your Dreadnoughts is 4
>Your Dreadnoughts receive +1 during Space Battles, and your Ground Forces receive +1 when attacking during Invasion Combat
>You start with an extra Command Counter in Strategy Allocation

CONSUMABLES
Action Cards: 0
Political Cards: 2
Trade Goods: 0

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 3
Strategy Allocation: 3
Fleet Supply: 3
Activations: 0
Total in play: 9/16 

PLANETS (Resources/Influence)
[0.0.0.] – 5/0

TECHNOLOGIES OWNED
Enviro Compensator
Stasis Capsules
Cybernetics
Hylar V Assault Laser

UNITS (Deployed/Total)
Space Docks: 1/3
Ground Forces: 5
Shock Troops: 0
PDS: 1/6
Fighters: 3
Carriers: 1/4
Destroyers: 0/8
Cruisers: 0/8
Dreadnoughts: 1/5
War Suns: 0/2

TRADE CONTRACTS
L1Z1X 1
L1Z1X 1

VICTORY POINTS: 0

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE SARDAKK N’ORR — Epithet

SPECIAL ABILITIES
>You receive +1 to all combat rolls

CONSUMABLES
Action Cards: 0
Political Cards: 2
Trade Goods: 0

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 3
Strategy Allocation: 2
Fleet Supply: 3
Activations: 0
Total in play: 8/16 

PLANETS (Resources/Influence)
Quinarra – 3/1
Tren’lak – 1/0

TECHNOLOGIES OWNED
Hylar V Assault Laser
Deep Space Cannon

UNITS (Deployed/Total)
Space Docks: 1/3
Ground Forces: 5
Shock Troops: 0
PDS: 1/6
Fighters: 0
Carriers: 1/4
Destroyers: 0/8
Cruisers: 1/8
Dreadnoughts: 0/5
War Suns: 0/2

TRADE CONTRACTS
Sardakk 1
Sardakk 2

VICTORY POINTS: 0

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE MENTAK COALITION — Lucas

SPECIAL ABILITIES
>Before a Space Battle begins in which you are participating, you may fire with up to two Cruisers and/or Destroyers. Enemy casualties are taken immediately with no return fire
>During the Strategy Phase, you may take 1 Trade Good from up to 2 different players with at least 3 Trade Goods each
>You start the game with 1 additional Command Counter in Fleet Supply

CONSUMABLES
Action Cards: 0
Political Cards: 2
Trade Goods: 0

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 3
Strategy Allocation: 2
Fleet Supply: 4
Activations: 0
Total in play: 9/16 

PLANETS (Resources/Influence)
Moll Primus – 4/1

TECHNOLOGIES OWNED
Hylar V Assault Laser
Enviro Compensator

UNITS (Deployed/Total)
Space Docks: 1/3
Ground Forces: 4
Shock Troops: 0
PDS: 1/6
Fighters: 0
Carriers: 1/4
Destroyers: 0/8
Cruisers: 3/8
Dreadnoughts: 0/5
War Suns: 0/2

TRADE CONTRACTS
Mentak 1
Mentak 1

VICTORY POINTS: 0

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE BARONY OF LETNEV — `Hrist

SPECIAL ABILITIES
>Before any Space Battle or Invasion Combat round, you may spend 2 Trade Goods to give all your ships +1 or all your Ground Forces +2 on their combat rolls for that round
>Your fleets may always contain 1 more ship than the number of Command Counters in your Fleet Supply

CONSUMABLES
Action Cards: 0
Political Cards: 2
Trade Goods: 0

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 3
Strategy Allocation: 2
Fleet Supply: 3 (+1)
Activations: 0
Total in play: 8/16 

PLANETS (Resources/Influence)
Arc Prime – 4/0
Wren Terra – 2/1

TECHNOLOGIES OWNED
Hylar V Assault Laser
Antimass Deflectors

UNITS (Deployed/Total)
Space Docks: 1/3
Ground Forces: 3
Shock Troops: 0
PDS: 0/6
Fighters: 0
Carriers: 1/4
Destroyers: 1/8
Cruisers: 0/8
Dreadnoughts: 1/5
War Suns: 0/2

TRADE CONTRACTS
Letnev 1
Letnev 1

VICTORY POINTS: 0

Egarwaen · #2 04-26-2011, 02:17 PM

I have only one thing to say:

"Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station!"

Sarcasmorator · #3 04-26-2011, 02:29 PM

There's no board game without a board, and this game's board is made up of a bunch of hexagonal tiles representing areas of space players can move to, conquer and fight over. There are a few kinds of system tiles in Twilight Imperium. First up are empty systems:

There's nothing in these! Kinda boring, really, except for the ones that have wormholes (wormhole tiles are considered adjacent to other tiles with the same wormhole letter). The second are planetary systems:

These have between one and three planets, each of which must be taken over individually. Some of these have wormholes, too. A player controls a system if he or she controls all the planets there AND has at least one non-Fighter ship stationed there. Players must control all the planets in their yellow-bordered Home systems to qualify for Public Objectives.

Each planet has two key attributes: Resource Value and Influence value. Players may exhaust a planet to spend either of these values, but not both. Some planets also feature a technology specialty, which gives a discount when paying for technology advances of the same color. These do stack, so controlling three planets with green tech specialties like the one on Lodor there reduces the resource cost of a green tech by three. Finally, a few planets have special abilities they can be exhausted to activate in lieu of their Resource or Influence values — Hope's End, for example, can be exhausted to immediately produce two Shock Troop units.

Finally, there are special systems (red borders) in several flavors:

Asteroid Fields can't be activated, and can't even be moved through until a player has a certain tech advance. Nebulas grant +1 to defending fleets, but ships can't move through them and always are reduced to 1 movement when leaving, regardless of tech and other modifers. Ion Storms can be moved into but not through without a tech upgrade, Fighters can be taken as casualties but cannot fire within one, and PDS cannons can't fire into them. Last, Supernovas are just plain impassable (except to the Embers of Muaat).

Sarcasmorator · #4 04-26-2011, 02:32 PM

Of course, you can't conquer space if you have nothing to conquer it with! To that end there is a wide range of units available to each player, some of which have special abilities unique to certain races, and all of which can benefit from various technology upgrades.

Space Dock (3 for each player)
Cost: 4 resources
Movement: N/A
Production Capacity: Occupied planet's resource value plus 2
Fighter Capacity: 3
Tech benefits: Sarween Tools (1 free resource when building); Enviro Compensator (+1 production capacity); Integrated Economy (When building, place units in any friendly or empty system adjacent to the Space Dock. PDS and GF can be placed on any friendly planet within range.)
Notes: Space Docks are normally the only way to build new units (except Space Docks themselves, which merely require an empty planet under your control). They can be blockaded by enemy ships in their system, and are destroyed if the planet they're on is successfully invaded. If at any time you control no units and no planets, you're eliminated from the game, so these must be protected.

Ground Forces (up to 12 armies for each player)
Cost: 2 for 1 resource
Hits on: 8+
Tech benefits: Gen Synthesis (+1 to attack rolls; when a GF dies, roll a die, on a 5+, place a GF on a planet in your home system); Dacxive Animators (If you win an invasion combat, roll a die for every GF killed, yours and opponent's. On 6+, place a new GF unit on the conquered planet); Transit Diodes (as an Action, spend a Command Counter from Strategy Allocation to move up to 4 GF from one planet you control to another); Magen Defense Grid (Receive +1 to combat rolls if defending a planet with a PDS)
Notes: These guys are used to invade and conquer planets, and can either be left to garrison a world you control or used to take over new territory. They can't move on their own, but can be transported by Carriers and War Suns, and with the right tech upgrades, Cruisers and Dreadnoughts. Each player is limited to 12 Ground Force armies, but there's no limit on how many units can be in each army.

Shock Troops (12 for all players)
Hits on: 5+
Tech benefits: Same as Ground Forces.
Notes: Shock Troops are a special kind of Ground Force unit that are created whenever a player rolls a natural 10, with the Ground Force replaced at the end of the combat round after casualties are resolved. They can also be generated by exhausting the planet Hope's End or occasional other means. In addition to their extra power, they can capture enemy PDS and Space Docks, replacing them with the attacker's color if such units are available, rather than destroying them as typical Ground Forces do. The downside is that Shock Troops are killed first in battle, and they must be accompanied by standard Ground Forces at all times.

Planetary Defense System (PDS) (6 for each player)
Cost: 2 resources
Hits on: 6+
Special: Prevents Dreadnought bombardment; fires at enemy ships during Activation phase and at invading Ground Forces in Invasion Combat phase.
Tech benefits: Deep Space Cannon (+1 firing range); Magen Defense Grid (+1 to combat rolls); Graviton Laser System (re-roll missed shots one time)
Notes: These are basically what the Rebels had on Hoth in "The Empire Strikes Back": a powerful planetary shield combined with potent offensive weaponry that can fire at invading ships and troops and even take potshots at enemy ships in neighboring systems with a key tech upgrade. A player may have up to two on the same planet.

Fighters (10 groups for each player)
Cost: 2 for 1 resource
Movement: N/A (must move with Carriers)
Hits on: 9+
Tech benefits: Cybernetics (+1 on all combat rolls); Advanced Fighters (+1 to all attack rolls, 2 movement, and Fighters can now move independently of fleets, following rules of fleet supply for Fighters in excess of a system's Fighter capacity); Graviton Negator (Fighters may participate in invasion combat, but can't control a planet on their own); Antimass Deflectors (can move through asteroid fields); Light/Wave Deflector (Can move through enemy ships on way to a system); Maneuvering Jets (-1 to enemy PDS attack rolls, -2 if PDS is in adjacent system; ships do not need to stop when entering an Ion Storm)
Notes: Cheap and expendable, Fighters come two to a pack, and with their 20 percent hit change are best used to absorb hits in the first couple rounds of space combat and maybe get off a lucky shot or two against an enemy fleet. Like Ground Forces, Fighters have to move with a Carrier, War Sun or other unit with capacity, and are limited to 10 groups. The Advanced Fighters and Graviton Negator technologies boost their usefulness immensely.

Carrier (4 for each player)
Cost: 3 resources
Movement: 1
Hits on: 9+
Fighter/Ground Force/PDS capacity: 6
Tech benefits: XRD Transporters (+1 movement); Antimass Deflectors (can move through asteroid fields); Light/Wave Deflector (Can move through enemy ships on way to a system); Maneuvering Jets (-1 to enemy PDS attack rolls, -2 if PDS is in adjacent system; ships do not need to stop when entering an Ion Storm)
Notes: Carriers are the backbone of any expansion effort, carrying up to six Fighters, Ground Forces and/or PDS units in any combination. If a Carrier is destroyed, any Ground Forces or PDS units it held go with it, and any Fighters left unsupported by its loss are destroyed as well, so protect them!

Destroyer (8 for each player)
Cost: 1 resource
Movement: 2
Hits on: 9+
Special: Anti-Fighter Barrage (Before battle, each Destroyer rolls two dice. For each hit (normally 9+) one opposing Fighter is removed)
Tech benefits: Automated Defense Turrets (+2 and one additional die for Anti-Fighter Barrage); Hylar V Assault Laser (+1 to combat rolls); Antimass Deflectors (can move through asteroid fields); Light/Wave Deflector (Can move through enemy ships on way to a system); Maneuvering Jets (-1 to enemy PDS attack rolls, -2 if attacking PDS is in an adjacent system; ships do not need to stop when entering an Ion Storm)
Notes: Weak in a stand-up fight, the Destroyer is cheap, fast and can thin out the Fighter screen of an enemy fleet before a battle begins.

Cruiser (8 for each player)
Cost: 2 resources
Movement: 2
Hits on: 7+
Tech benefits: Hylar V Assault Laser (+1 to combat rolls); Stasis Capsules (Can carry 1 Ground Force); Type IV Drive (+1 movement); Antimass Deflectors (Can move through asteroid fields); Light/Wave Deflector (Can move through enemy ships on way to a system); Maneuvering Jets (-1 to enemy PDS attack rolls, -2 if PDS is in adjacent system; ships do not need to stop when entering an Ion Storm)
Notes: Nothing special here, just a plentiful, fast, reasonably priced ship with a decent chance to hit.

Dreadnought (5 for each player)
Cost: 5 resources
Movement: 1
Hits on: 5+
Special: Sustain Damage (Can take 1 hit without being destroyed), Planetary Bombardment (Blocked by PDS, must invade to bombard)
Tech benefits: Assault Cannon (Dreadnoughts may fire one shot each before a space battle begins); X-89 Bacterial Weapon (before bombarding, discard all Action Cards in your hand to destroy all Ground Forces on a planet being invaded); Graviton Negator (bombard through PDS); Hylar V Assault Laser (+1 to combat rolls); Stasis Capsules (Can carry 1 Ground Force); Type IV Drive (+1 movement); Antimass Deflectors (can move through asteroid fields); Light/Wave Deflector (Can move through enemy ships on way to a system); Maneuvering Jets (-1 to enemy PDS attack rolls, -2 if PDS is in adjacent system; ships do not need to stop when entering an Ion Storm)
Notes: This is basically a Star Destroyer: big, tough and with a 60 percent chance to hit. If it's present in a system when its owner is invading a planet, it can soften up defending troops before ground combat begins.

War Sun (2 for each player)
Cost: 12 resources
Movement: 2
Hits on: 3+ (rolls 3 dice)
Fighter/Ground Force/PDS capacity: 6
Special: Sustain Damage (can take 1 hit without being destroyed, Planetary Bombardment (fires through PDS, no invasion needed)
Tech benefits: War Sun (required to build); X-89 Bacterial Weapon (before bombarding, discard all Action Cards in your hand to destroy all Ground Forces on a planet being invaded); Antimass Deflectors (can move through asteroid fields); Light/Wave Deflector (Can move through enemy ships on way to a system); Maneuvering Jets (-1 to enemy PDS attack rolls, -2 if PDS is in adjacent system; ships do not need to stop when entering an Ion Storm)
Notes: This behemoth has an 80 percent chance to hit, fires three times per combat round, acts as a carrier and can bombard Ground Forces right through a PDS shield. Its power is rivaled only by its cost — not just for the unit itself, but for the technology advances that must be researched before it can be constructed.

Note: All dice rolls based on D10.

Sarcasmorator · #5 04-26-2011, 02:40 PM

Twilight Imperium has lots of technologies for players to research (how that's done is coming up later). They're arranged in less of a tech tree than a tech labyrinth, as this player's guide shows.

But break the technologies out into groups and a few distinct tracks emerge — some offer shortcuts to certain technologies, and some techs require progress in two tracks to become available. Every race starts with at least two technologies.

TECH TRACKS

HYLAR V ASSAULT LASER TRACK
1. Hylar V Assault Laser
---2. Auto Defense Turrets (req. Hylar V)
---2. Deep Space Cannon (req. Hylar V)
------3. Graviton Laser System (req. Deep Space Cannon)
------3. Magen Defense Grid (req. Deep Space Cannon)

ANTIMASS DEFLECTORS TRACK
1. Antimass Deflectors
---2. Cybernetics (req. Antimass Deflectors OR Stasis Capsules)
------3. Gen Synthesis (req. Cybernetics)
---------4. Hyper Metabolism (req. Gen Synthesis)
---2. XRD Transporters (req. Antimass Deflectors)
------3. Maneuvering Jets (req. XRD Transporters)

ENVIRO COMPENSATOR TRACK A
1. Enviro Compensator
---2. Stasis Capsules (req. Enviro Compensator)
------3. Micro Technology (req. Stasis Capsules OR Sarween Tools)
------3. Cybernetics (req. Antimass Deflectors OR Stasis Capsules)
---------4. Gen Synthesis (req. Cybernetics)
------------5. Hyper Metabolism (req. Gen Synthesis)
------3. Neural Motivator (req. Stasis Capsules OR Micro Technology)
---------4. Dacxive Animators (req. Neural Motivator)
------------5. Graviton Negator (Assault Cannon OR Dacxive Animators)
---------------6. Fleet Logistics (req. Graviton Negator)
---------4. Integrated Economy (req. Cybernetics AND Micro Technology)

ENVIRO COMPENSATOR TRACK B
1. Enviro Compensator
---2. Sarween Tools (req. Enviro Compensator)
------3. Micro Technology (req. Stasis Capsules OR Sarween Tools)
---------4. Nano Technology (req. Micro Technology)
---------4. Neural Motivator (req. Stasis Capsules OR Micro Technology)
------------5. Dacxive Animators (req. Neural Motivator)
---------------6. Graviton Negator (Assault Cannon OR Dacxive Animators)
------------------7. Fleet Logistics (req. Graviton Negator)
---------------6. Transit Diodes (req. Light/Wave Deflector OR Dacxive Animators)
------------------7. X-89 Bacterial Weapon (Assault Cannon OR Transit Diodes)

MULTI-TRACK TECHS

HYLAR AND ENVIRO
War Sun (req. Deep Space Cannon AND Sarween Tools)

HYLAR AND ANTIMASS
Light/Wave Deflector (req. XRD Transporters AND Magen Defense Grid)
---Transit Diodes (req. Light/Wave Deflector OR Dacxive Animators)
------X-89 Bacterial Weapon (Assault Cannon OR Transit Diodes)

HYLAR AND ANTIMASS OR HYLAR AND ENVIRO
Assault Cannon (req. Auto Defense Turrets AND Cybernetics)
---Graviton Negator (Assault Cannon OR Dacxive Animators)
------Fleet Logistics (req. Graviton Negator)
---X-89 Bacterial Weapon (Assault Cannon OR Transit Diodes)

ANTIMASS AND ENVIRO
Integrated Economy (req. Cybernetics AND Micro Technology)
Type IV Drive (req. XRD Transporters AND Neural Motivator)
---Advanced Fighters (req. Type IV Drive)

RACE-SPECIFIC TECHS

These work a bit differently than normal tech. First, they can only be researched by their own race. Second, they require no prerequisites. And third, they have a resource cost (in parentheses) to purchase them beyond any other cost a player may have to pay for a technology.

The Mentak Coalition
Salvage Operations (4): Gain 2 Trade Goods at the end of each Space Battle in which you participate. If you won the battle, you may build one ship in the system of a unit type that you destroyed during combat. You must pay the ship’s resource cost.

The Barony of Letnev
L4 Disruptors (6): You may use your race’s special ability during Invasion Combat without paying any Trade Goods.

Federation of Sol
Mark II Advanced Carriers (4): Your Carriers now have a capacity of 8 and gain the Sustain Damage ability.

Universities of Jol Nar
Spatial Conduit Network (6): Once per round when moving, you may move ships from one system you control to any other system you control as if the systems were adjacent. Your ships using this movement must end their movement in a system you control.

The Yin Brotherhood
Fanaticism (4): You may use your race’s special ability twice at the start of each invasion combat.

The Embers of Muaat
Magmus Reactor (5): Your War Suns now have +1 movement and a base cost of 10 resources.

The L1Z1X Mindnet
Dreadnought Invasion Pod (2): Your Dreadnoughts may now carry one additional Ground Force unit.

Sardak N'orr
Berserker Genome (5): At the end of the first round of Space Battle or Invasion Combat, roll one die for each casualty you take. If you roll at least one 10, your opponent must immediately take 2 additional casualties.

Here's a full list of the technologies and what they do:

Code:

Red
Hylar V Assault Laser: Cruisers and Destroyers gain +1 on combat rolls
Deep Space Cannon: PDS can fire at adjacent systems
Automated Defense Turrets: Destroyer Anti-Fighter Barrage gains 1 extra die and +2 to hit
Magen Defense Grid: PDS gain +1 to combat rolls; defending GF accompanied by PDS get +1 on combat rolls.
Assault Cannon: Dreadnoughts in a space battle fire 1 shot before battle begins
Graviton Negator: Dreadnoughts may bombard through PDS shields; Fighters may participate in invasion combat
War Sun: Can now build War Suns

Blue
Antimass Deflectors: Move through Asteroid Fields
XRD Transporters: Carriers gain +1 movement
Maneuvering Jets: Opponents take -1 penalty to PDS fire at your ships, -2 if PDS is in a different system; ships don't have to stop in Ion Storm
Light/Wave Deflector: Ships may move through systems containing enemy ships
Fleet Logistics: Can take two tactical actions on the same turn
Type IV Drive: Cruisers and Dreadnoughts gain +1 movement
Advanced Fighters: Fighters gain +1 movement and +1 to combat rolls, and can move independently and block enemy ship movement as larger ships do. Fighters exceeding a system's fighter capacity count toward fleet supply limit, and they cannot establish control over a system on their own

Green
Cybernetics: Fighters gain +1 to attack rolls
Stasis Capsules: Cruisers and Dreadnoughts may carry 1 Ground Force unit
Gen Synthesis: Ground Forces gain +1 to combat rolls; when a GF is destroyed, roll a die — on a 5+, a GF is placed on a planet in your home system
Neural Motivator: Draw an extra Action Card during Status Phase
Dacxive Animators: If you win an Invasion Combat, roll once for every Ground Force killed on both sides. On a 6+, place a Ground Force on the conquered planet.
Hyper Metabolism: During Status Phase, gain 1 extra Command Counter, and before drawing Action Cards, optionally discard one Action Card from hand to draw an additional card
X-89 Bacterial Weapon: Before bombarding with a Dreadnought or War Sun, destroy all Ground Forces on a planet, then discard your hand of Action Cards.

Yellow
Graviton Laser System: Re-roll once for every PDS shot missed.
Enviro Compensator: Space Docks gain +1 to production capacity
Sarween Tools: When building with a Space Dock, you gain 1 additional resource
Micro Technology: When receiving trade goods from your trade agreements, receive 1 extra trade good for each active trade agreement.
Nano Technology: Dreadnoughts and War Suns may not be targeted by enemy action cards; when you claim a planet it is refreshed, not exhausted
Integrated Economy: When producing units, they may be placed in any activated, adjacent system that is empty or controlled. PDS and GF may be placed on any controlled planet within range.
Transit Diodes: As an action, spend a Command Counter from Strategy Allocation to move up to four Ground Forces from one planet you control to another you control

Sarcasmorator · #6 04-26-2011, 02:45 PM

So now that we've seen the chief components of the board, how is Twilight Imperium actually played? The game progresses over several rounds, ending immediately when one player reaches 10 Victory Points or the Imperium Rex objective card is reached. Each round has three phases:

1. Strategy Phase
2. Action Phase
3. Status Phase

In the Strategy Phase, each player selects a Strategy Card, moving clockwise from the Speaker of the council (the Speaker title is randomly assigned at the start of the game, and passed around as an effect of one of the Strategy Cards). Each Strategy Card has a primary ability and a secondary ability. The holder of the card executes the primary ability during the Action Phase — in fact, it is the only action a player MUST take during the Action Phase. The other players can then choose to execute the secondary ability.

A typical game uses eight Strategy Cards, but because an 8-player game ensures all the cards will be chosen each turn, and that would conflict with certain rules and card effects in this game, we'll be playing with nine (images have been moved down below).

Each card has a number. The Speaker title grants its holder first choice of Strategy Card and certain political functions, but general play order during the Action Phase is determined by the number on a player's Strategy Card, with lower numbers going first (because there are two No. 6 Warfare cards in play this game and it's probably both will be chosen on some turns, whoever picks theirs first will go first). This same order is used when resolving Action Card effects, so it's rather important. Any card not chosen during the Strategy Phase receives a bonus counter worth 1 Trade Good (which can be spent as resources), which is taken by the next player to choose that card.

The Action Phase is where the meat of the game lies. There are a few possible actions to take during this phase. You may perform any one of these actions on each of your turns:

1. Strategic Action (must be taken)
2. Tactical Action
3. Transfer Action
4. Play an Action Card that states it is played "as an Action"
5. Pass

We've already covered the first one — the Strategic Action refers to executing the Strategy Card's primary ability as written on the card (followed by the other players executing the secondary ability in clockwise order, if they so choose). And again, it's the only action a player MUST take during the Action Phase.

The Tactical Action is the option with the most variables and complexity. But basically it boils down to putting a Command Counter from your Command Pool on a system to activate it, then moving ships to it, fighting battles, building units if you have a Space Dock there, etc. Command Counters are little triangles with a race's icon on them. Mine look like this:

If a player has one of these on a system already, then he or she can't put another one there for the remainder of the round, and can't move ships into or out of that space, so it's important to think carefully about what you want to do first, and where. If the first thing you do in the game is activate your Home system to build more units, ALL your ships will be stranded there until the next round. Not so good.

Here's a step-by-step breakdown of the Tactical Action:

1. Activate a system with a Command Counter
2. Move ships in range of the system into it, if desired
3. Resolve PDS fire (any PDS in firing range of the activated system may fire at the active player's fleet, if its controller desires to do so)
4. Resolve a space battle if there are enemy ships present (we'll take a closer look at space battles and invasion combat later on)
5. Conduct planetary landings by moving Ground Forces from their Carrier to any number of planets in the system, if desired
6. Resolve invasion combat if defenders are present
7. Produce units if you have a Space Dock in the system

The Transfer Action allows a player to activate two adjacent systems containing at least one of their units and no enemy units of any kind; this action uses one CC from the Command Pool and one from reinforcements. The player can then move units between the two systems following normal movement rules, then proceed to PDS fire, planetary landings and production as per a normal Tactical Action.

Playing an Action Card simply requires that a player announce he or she is going to do so. Other players may then announce they are playing Action Cards, if any can be legally played, and all Action Cards are then revealed and resolved in player order. If an Action Card is targeted by a Sabotage AC, the targeted player DOES NOT lose their turn or the card. The effect is simply prevented.

Finally, once you've taken your Strategy Action and have no more moves you want to make, you can Pass, taking no more actions for the rest of the Action Phase. The phase ends once everyone has passed, and the game moves on to the Status Phase.

The Status Phase is where the game is won and where housekeeping is done. It's broken up into steps:

1. In play order, players may claim ONE Public Objective they qualify for, as well as their Secret Objective, if they qualify for it; if any player reaches 10 points during this step, he or she wins immediately
2. Damaged ships are repaired
3. Command Counters on the board are removed to each player's reinforcements
4. Planets are refreshed
5. Each player receives 1 Action Card and 2 Command Counters
6. Command Counters may be redistributed between the Command Pool, Strategy Allocation and Fleet Supply
7. Strategy Cards are returned, and the game proceeds to a new Strategy Phase

Next time: More on Action Cards and Political Cards and Command Counters!

Nucular · #7 04-26-2011, 08:33 PM

This looks promising! Although I hope you'll explain the rules more once you get going.

Also is every non-human race a bunch of jerks?

eternaljwh · #8 04-26-2011, 09:01 PM

Quote:

PDS PDS PDS PDS

I'm guessing this stands for Planetary Defense Shield/System.
What's special about Nanotech, Auto Defense Turrets, Hyper Metabolism, and Maneuvering Jets? They all have some symbol on them.

Sarcasmorator · #9 04-26-2011, 09:16 PM

Nucular: I'll be adding some more rules posts, but they take a while to write up. Most of what I posted today I'd done in advance. The manuals are freely available online, however. Oh, and everyone's jerks. The humans fired the first shots and sparked the big galactic war all those thousands of years ago.

eternaljwh: Yeah, Planetary Defense System. The symbol indicates they're from the Shattered Empire expansion, which is required for an 8-player game.

Joshua · #10 04-26-2011, 10:38 PM

I love this baroque monstrosity. Sadly, getting a group together to play for an entire afternoon is nearly impossible; I look forward very much to all the inevitable backstabbing and plotting

Sarcasmorator · #11 04-26-2011, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joshua

getting a group together to play for an entire afternoon is nearly impossible.

Why do you think I went to all this trouble?

Sarcasmorator · #12 04-27-2011, 01:06 PM

NEW DEVELOPMENT: MrBlarney is unable to participate. Is anyone interested in stepping in to play the Brotherhood? Position filled!

Torzelbaum · #13 04-27-2011, 08:26 PM

So, about the first sentence of the thread title - for some reason I keep hearing it sung to the tune of Robert Palmer's "Simply Irresistible".

Sarcasmorator · #14 04-28-2011, 10:34 AM

Great. Now so do I!

OK, guys, I'm out of town till Monday. More posts next week, and then game start!

Lucas · #15 04-28-2011, 11:01 AM

I read it as "My Space Fleet is Invincible! My style is impetuous!"

Of course, there's a good chance that this game will be too much and I'll end up groveling at its feet. And you'll all know when it happens because I'll beg for mercy when I feel the heat.

Have I just made a personal commitment to make as many references to the God Hand ending song as possible? Maybe!

Sarcasmorator · #16 05-04-2011, 05:34 PM

Hey all, I just realized I was wrong about something above: In the Status Phase, you can claim one Public Objective and/or your Secret Objective, not one or the other — that's pretty important!. I've made the change to the post.

Moving on!

COMMAND COUNTERS

So you've heard me blabber on a lot above about Command Counters, and spending them, and placing them. What are they?

In short, they represent actions you can take and your fleet capacity for each system. Each race has three areas they can allocate Command Counters to: Command Pool, Strategy Allocation and Fleet Supply. Most races start out like this:

Command Pool: 3
Strategy Allocation: 2
Fleet Supply: 3

Which means they can activate up to three systems in the first round using their CCs from the Command Pool, spend up to two CCs on secondary abilities of action cards and racial special abilities that require them from Strategy Allocation, and have a maximum of three non-Fighter ships in a system at once. Some abilities and cards bring CCs into play directly from a player's reinforcements.

You can have a maximum of 16 CCs in those three areas and/or on the board, but they trickle in slowly enough that it's not too likely anyone will ever run out of their reserve. Oh, and during the Status Phase players can redistribute their CCs among the three fields as they choose.

So, CCs are both scarce and versatile, and with our game's particular setup a player may gain Command Counters in two ways: using either ability of the Leadership Strategy Card, or by taking the allotted two CCs during the Status Phase. there are also some Action Cards that grant a player more CCs when used. Which, by the way, brings us to ...

ACTION CARDS
These are powerful one-shot abilities that are used in a variety of ways. They all state clearly when they can be played, but broadly there are a few types such as cards that can be played during the Strategy Phase, as an Action in lieu of a Tactical or other normal action, before a Space Battle or Invasion Combat, and so on. Their effects vary dramatically and can range from killing enemy ships in battle to destroying a Space Dock to providing extra CCs or Trade Goods, and more.

Action Cards are typically played as follows: Someone announces they wish to play an Action Card. Then other players may also announce they wish to play an Action Card (typically this will be a player involved in a battle with the first player). Finally, all Action Cards are revealed and resolved in play order (or clockwise from Speaker during Strategy Phase). EDIT: I don't think it'll really be necessary to enforce this often outside of combat — most cards don't really seem able to affect each other, or matter much in order of resolution. If you're playing a card as an Action or during the Strategy or Status phases, just do so and we can iron out any conflicts later.

A note on Sabotage cards: They can be played at any time (no declaration needed) to cancel the effect of an Action Card, but they do not cancel a player's action — they are free to take a different action after being sabotaged.

Players don't start out with any Action Cards, but each player draws one during the Status Phase and they can also be gained with the Assembly and Bureaucracy Strategy Cards. A player's hand of Action Cards is limited to 7. Finally, we have ...

POLITICAL CARDS
In this game's particular setup, players begin the game with two Political Cards that can be played using the Assembly Strategy Card, and drawn using same. They come in a few flavors, some with an instant effect, others (Laws) with a lasting presence, but all are voted on by players. Each player has a number of votes equal to the combined Influence total of their unexhausted planets — a player who spends too many resources before Assembly is played risks having little say in an agenda being voted on, though players always have at least 1 vote.

Political Cards may be discarded from a player's hand at any time as Trade Goods, so even seemingly worthless PCs can serve a useful purpose. A player's hand of Political Cards is limited to 5.

Sarcasmorator · #17 05-05-2011, 12:18 AM

And now, the map:

(A larger version is here.)

(And an updated version is here.)

There are a few features of note. First, each player's name is accompanied by their Command Counter and control marker images, for easy reference. Also, as you can see, I've named empty systems after some random memes I picked up on the Internet somewhere so they're easier to refer to than as "empty system NW of whatever" or some such.

Second, those two weird-looking things in the systems southwest and southeast of Mecatol Rex (the big planet at the center) are Trade Stations (Tsion and Sumerian). These are like planets, and count as them for game effects, but they don't have to be invaded to be taken over; in fact, they can't be. Instead, control of a Trade Station immediately passes to any player who is the only one with ships in the system, regardless of who controls the other planet. No units can be garrisoned on them. and capturing them does not break Trade Agreements as do normal conquests.

Also, like Hope's End and other planets with Refresh Abilities, Trade Stations may be exhausted during the Status Phase, after all planets have been refreshed, to gain their benefit (2 Trade Goods, in this case). That leaves them unusable for the next round, of course, but sometimes 2 Trade Goods in the hand is better than 2 Resources or 2 Influence in the bush.

Also notice the two tokens on Mecatol Rex. These are the Custodians, a neutral force of 3 Fighters and 2 Ground Forces that protect the throne world from those who would take it by force. The threat they represent isn't huge, but they must be defeated before anyone can swoop in to control Mecatol Rex.

COMBAT

Derp, silly me, I haven't covered how combat is actually carried out! Well, as in many board games, it's a pretty dicey proposition.

Because you use dice! Get it? Dicey! Hah! Erm.

Anyway, yeah. Dice. Ten-sided dice, to be exact, and as discussed above, you need to roll a ship's combat rating or higher to score a hit with it. Once both sides in a battle have tallied up their total hits, each side assign's the other's successful hits to their own ships. There are four steps to a Space Battle combat round:

1. Attacker may announce a withdrawal and/or defender may announce a retreat
2. Roll combat dice
3. Remove casualties
4. Execute withdrawals/retreats to an adjacent system the fleeing player has already activated

Repeat until one side is out of ships or bravely runs away. As you can see, Space Battles have at least 1 round of combat, since you can't bug out until after the first round's hits have been taken. There are also abilities that are resolved before any of these steps happen, referred to as before combat.

Here's how a sample battle might go:

Player A moves a Cruiser, a Carrier and 3 Fighters into a system controlled by Player B, who has a Dreadnought and a Destroyer there.

Before the battle starts, Player B's Destroyer uses its anti-Fighter Barrage, rolling two dice for a 3 and a 9. The 3 is a miss, but the 9 hits, so one of Player A's Fighters is destroyed. Neither player wants to escape, so combat dice are rolled:

Player A
Cruiser: 8 (hit)
Carrier: 2 (miss)
2 Fighters: 5 (miss) 10 (hit)
2 hits total against B

Player B
Dreadnought: 6 (hit)
Destroyer: 4 (miss)
1 hit total against A

Players then resolve the hits. Player A chooses to destroy one of his Fighters, and Player B takes a hit to her Dreadnought (Dreadnoughts have the Sustain Damage ability and can take a hit without dying) and destroys her Destroyer. There were no withdrawals or retreats, so the sequence starts over again with an opportunity for either side to announce one, then continues on to dice and casualties again, etc.

Invasion Combat is a lot simpler. There are just two steps:
1. Roll combat dice
2. Remove casualties

Repeat until one side is out of Ground Forces and Shock Troops. Shock Troops are always taken as casualties first.

Sarcasmorator · #18 05-05-2011, 05:08 PM

OK, aside from a few behind-the-scenes things, I think we're ready to begin! Let's start by choosing a Speaker for the first round of Strategy Card selection. For the purposes of random number selection let's call Lucas No. 1, moving clockwise from him to shivam at No. 8, and draw a number from random.org ...

And we have 7! That makes Stiv our first speaker, so he gets first choice of Strategy Card. Stiv is traveling, so the Speaker role passes to shivam for the first round. The new order will be:

1. shivam (SPEAKER) — Warfare
2. Lucas — Technology II
3. `Hrist — Trade II
4. Sarc — Diplomacy II
5. Googleshng — Leadership
6. severian — Assembly
7. Egarwaen — Production
8. Stiv — Warfare II

Have at, guys:

Let's try to have all choices made by, oh, 8 p.m. PST tomorrow. Once all Strategy Cards have been spoken for, I'll post the Action Phase turn order, and we'll be off!

shivam · #19 05-05-2011, 06:34 PM

we have to wait for stiv to pick, right? or do we PM you picks?

Sarcasmorator · #20 05-05-2011, 06:44 PM

Wait for Stiv to pick, then you pick, etc. All public info, and it has to be done in order.

Lucas · #21 05-05-2011, 07:02 PM

I think I'm missing something. With no initiative Strategy Card, is Stiv just going to be the first player every round?

Edit: Speaking of missing something, I can't find the rulebook I downloaded....

Egarwaen · #22 05-05-2011, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucas

I think I'm missing something. With no initiative Strategy Card, is Stiv just going to be the first player every round?

Look at the Assembly card; it has the same effect.

Lucas · #23 05-05-2011, 07:10 PM

Oh, there it is. I swear I read through the cards at least twice, don't know how I missed that =/

Sarcasmorator · #24 05-05-2011, 10:46 PM

For reference purposes, I've added all players' initial stats to the first post in a code box, and a similar code box describing all technologies' effects to this post.

Also, so everyone knows, my plan in regard to map updates is to post localized images of player moves once every day or two, and put up an updated large map every Status Phase, maybe more often if the situation warrants.

Sarcasmorator · #25 05-06-2011, 01:05 PM

Stiv is traveling for work and won't be able to play till Sunday, so looks like we're stalled a bit. Sorry, folks!

Stiv has agreed to pass on the Speaker token, so I'm just going to move it to the next player in line: shivam.

So you're up, shivam!

shivam · #26 05-06-2011, 01:43 PM

taking warfare.

Sarcasmorator · #27 05-06-2011, 01:47 PM

All right, then.

As a matter of course, when you're done with a turn, state who's up next in bold so it stands out, like so:

Lucas is up.

shivam · #28 05-06-2011, 02:23 PM

gotcha =)

Lucas · #29 05-06-2011, 03:20 PM

I'll take Technology II.

`hrist is up.

`Hrist · #30 05-07-2011, 12:54 AM

The Barony selects Trade II.

Sarc is up