STGOD 4 OOC Thread

[Alyrium Denryle]

good luck getting throught the prismatic hull plating

Good luck having those silly fireballs getting through my neutronium-reinforced Symantech Corporation Business class armor plate.

Nono... Meteor swarm and fireball are for soft targets and infantry. We have much more powerful stuff for ship to ship combat.

[Captain tycho]

Like what? 'Power Word: Death Star?' .

[Alyrium Denryle]

No.. more like Narsis's' rend metal(A gravitational effect) and a Noanars Light Cannon(you can guess what this is)

[Alyrium Denryle]

though, because we dont use tech, we reserve exclusive magic-rights.

How about no? Maybe if when we have more then about five players people want to agree to that then fine, but no one should be claming anything exclusively at this stage. Thats the kind of shit which kills a game before it has a chance.

You dont take jokes well do you? Jesus, if another person wants to play a mage-race that is fine by me... But at this rate, unless Nitram joins it wont happen.

[Sea Skimmer]

You dont take jokes well do you? Jesus, if another person wants to play a mage-race that is fine by me... But at this rate, unless Nitram joins it wont happen.

What the fuck is in it to suggest its a joke? Coming from you its exactly the sort of thing I'd expect to be serious.

[Thirdfain]

I'd be back, as a Steampunk extrauniversal nation called the Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon (adapted from China Mieville's excellent book, Perdido Street Station). Late 21st century techbase made viable in an interstellar civilization through Weird Science and Thaumaturgy. Weapons such as Might Missiles (Might as in "maybe"), Sun Lances, and starfaring golem fighters, combined with an 18th century British-style Empire, expansionistic and arrogant as all hell.

Floaters would be mostly gone or simply small bands of roving pirates, nomads, and squatters, with the only organized Floater civilization existing out on the Galactic rim.

[Marcao]

I would be back playing an off shoot of my current setup.

[Dahak]

I like the nation of my STGOD2 very much, so I'd like to have them in some way or another.
If it's not possible, I just go with a "normal" Edenist/Adamist culture mix...

[Crayz9000]

Why do we keep trying to restart STGOD here? On ASVS, it was never really "restarted" up until recently. Old STGOD periods died out, usually for two or three months, and then everybody picked up where the old one left off.

I suggest we jsut continue the "STGOD2" when enough of us have time to continue it.

[Sea Skimmer]

Why do we keep trying to restart STGOD here? On ASVS, it was never really "restarted" up until recently.

I think that is because the ASVS's STGOD evolved over months and years, while all the STGOD's here have been sprung for nothing in a week or so, leaving many people dissatisfied with the nation they created in that week and the universe it needs to fit in. They also have been lacking in the epic feel that of ASVS had, which isn't surprising since all the ones that have started have been intentionally limited to a comparatively small scale in terms of nation size.

For example, while it wasn't why I went inactive (damn school) in the most recent STGOD I found HAB to be an unsuitable choice, since the hardcore HAB I love is really best suited to a massive sprawling empire whose real enemies are long burned to ashes and ground to dust, and whose existing ones are inflated and are countered with absurd applications of technology, resources and radioactive firepower.

But whatever, I'd be game for an infusion of player hours back into the current STGOD2. I can always have The Great Leader find a way back to the HAB main line and create somthing else from the ashes.

[Thirdfain]

I have quite enjoyed STGOD2- Epic is all well and good, but the gritty, backstabbing, piratical double-dealing and political hoohah was something I found quite lovable.

If at all possible, I would like to continue the STGOD2.

[SirNitram]

*Applies defibulators to the STGOD*

[Straha]

Right, let's start posting nation information here, or into a new thread (some kind mod want to help me out here?)

Size of nations should be limited to 8 developed worlds, plus at most 5 developing worlds/colonies. Tech level is DS9 era star-trek/Honor Harrington level ships. And maximum fleet sizes will come later, though if you know beyond an inkling of a doubt that your navy would fit requirements you could post it...

[Sea Skimmer]

Right, let's start posting nation information here, or into a new thread (some kind mod want to help me out here?)

Size of nations should be limited to 8 developed worlds, plus at most 5 developing worlds/colonies. Tech level is DS9 era star-trek/Honor Harrington level ships. And maximum fleet sizes will come later, though if you know beyond an inkling of a doubt that your navy would fit requirements you could post it...

I have little interest in such a tiny scale game, because the inevitable result is that someone will get to bombard someone else's world from orbit, and they will have no means of stopping it since there are not even plantary shields available . Then we get twenty pages of bitching because that player just lost a crippling level of resources in a single battle. Things need to be bigger, just with the premise being a minimal of 100 years later, and with many empires merged it's a necessity for story purposes. Everyone was also already fielding tech well in advance of DS9 anyway.

I think we should be looking at least double the planets and a step up in technology to reflect the reality of the game.

[SirNitram]

Uh, Skimmer? If you're talking about STGOD2 here, planetary shielding and GE-level tech(Though far smaller resource bases) were the norm.

[Sea Skimmer]

Uh, Skimmer? If you're talking about STGOD2 here, planetary shielding and GE-level tech(Though far smaller resource bases) were the norm.

This is all in referance to the first SD.net STGOD unless Straha is very confused. The STGOD2 had and has a far better resource and technology balance.

[SirNitram]

Uh, Skimmer? If you're talking about STGOD2 here, planetary shielding and GE-level tech(Though far smaller resource bases) were the norm.

This is all in referance to the first SD.net STGOD unless Straha is very confused.

Ah, alright. Nevermind me then.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Nation info is being written up now

[Straha]

Right, let's start posting nation information here, or into a new thread (some kind mod want to help me out here?)

Size of nations should be limited to 8 developed worlds, plus at most 5 developing worlds/colonies. Tech level is DS9 era star-trek/Honor Harrington level ships. And maximum fleet sizes will come later, though if you know beyond an inkling of a doubt that your navy would fit requirements you could post it...

I have little interest in such a tiny scale game, because the inevitable result is that someone will get to bombard someone else's world from orbit, and they will have no means of stopping it since there are not even plantary shields available . Then we get twenty pages of bitching because that player just lost a crippling level of resources in a single battle. Things need to be bigger, just with the premise being a minimal of 100 years later, and with many empires merged it's a necessity for story purposes. Everyone was also already fielding tech well in advance of DS9 anyway.

I think we should be looking at least double the planets and a step up in technology to reflect the reality of the game.

True, how about 12 planets that are fully outfitted (lack of words here) plus 8-10 colonies, with DS9 standard as the tech, but with planetary shields able to withstand most serious bombardments as available for most planets?

[Alyrium Denryle]

that would work about right.

Though, Think it would be ok if I had a smaller planetary base(I am going for 6) but have planar resources that must be accessed by portals on my planets if you are a non-spellcaster(Balances out the smaller numver of systems by being able to gather... stuff and hide in the planes, and forces enemys to capture at least one planet for the use of portals. While still not allowing me to be invincible)

Otherwise I have to restructure my government and history.

[Thirdfain]

Sounds good to me.

[Jaded Masses]

I would be interested in this. As for who I am, I'll just cut and paste the psilons from MoO2 to save time, because I fully expect the fun to come from playing them, not creating them. For abilities I presume I can't destroy planets, and my speed will be up to par with everyone else. If y'all don't remember/know MoO2 I post a listing of their complete abilities (in the form of technology). Obviously I will change some things so it makes sense.

[Darksider]

I'll be playing the Krytos again (I'm too lazy to come up with a new empire).

I'll add nation info sometime this weekend.

[Alyrium Denryle]

History

The Arcane Empire essentially picks up where Karsus left off.. only.. he had never cast Avatar and had found an alternate way to kill the Phaerrim(sp). He took the Empire back to greatness and rebuilt the spelljamming fleet at Yeomans loft. With this he went to conquer the other magically capable crystal spheres near by. After the ensuing wars, this government has remained stable for thousands of years, and any racial tension has disappeared. As far as the people are concerned, life is better now under The Empire than it was under their kings and monarchs thousands of years ago.

Races

Humans
Elves
Gnomes
Drow
Dwarves
Halflings
Draconians
Half elves

Holdings
The Arcane Empire has possession of six main Crystal spheres(Systems) The worlds of Aber-Toril, Oerth, Ravenloft, Krynn, Union(The Capitol Planet) Al-Quadim, However, they have 6 other major bases in the Astral and shadow planes. They also have 10 less developed colony spheres that they use for gathering resources, and to use as a buffer against invasion.


Aber-Toril- Forgotten Realms…
High Magic,
produces the majority of the spelljammer fleets

Oerth-Greyhawk
High Magic
The main center for Thaumaturgical R&D.

Ravenloft
Low magic
Main center for the creation of undead

Krynn
Low magic
The infantry is acquired here

Union
High magic
Mages are trained here

Al-Quadim
No magic
Psionics however is their focus.

Politics and Government

The Arcane Empire is a libertarian Magocratic republic. Regulations on personal freedoms are almost non-existant, and the economy is Hands off. Each crystal sphere (or Planar Outpost) has a senate comprised of arcane spellcasters and psionicists. They preside over issues for that planet. They in turn, elect representatives to go to Union, the capital sphere and join the Imperial Senate. They elect a council of 7 members(6 secret, the other overt) to act as the executive council. The overt member acts as the voice of the government and the figure head.

The court system is similar in function to the US court systems.

Being capable of spells or psionics in the slightest capacity is a requirement for voting rights.

Army

The army is comprised of highly trained mage-blades arcane archers and summoned creatures(demons celestials and elementals.

Mage-Blades wear no armor, but are capable of casting spells that deflect most infantry arms fire away from themselves. They are also able to hurl bolts of magical energy and exploding balls of fire and other energy types into enemy ranks and armor. Most combat however is done at melee range with highly enchanted blades that can cut through power armor and channel spells in the blade. Normally Draconians from Krynn make up this attack force and as such are capable of flight.

Arcane Archers are a combination of mage and archer. They are capable of firing arrows very very quickly, and these arrows are enchanted to be able to bypass armor, as well as explode with a spell like Fireball when they hit. Arrows can also be enchanted to seek out their targets

In addition to these standard ground forces, on important missions mages from the senate or at least their apprentices will be present.

Armor and the air force consist of Dragons who are magically enhanced for air speed. And Heavy heavy scales.

Expect to see any spell in melee from the Sorcerer/Wizard spell list in 3.5 edition D&D as well as most psionic powers. A few epic level spells will also be thrown in for good measure. The effectd are the same, but not the damage, that is upped to reflect the increase in “Tech” level. So a fireball is more like a missile than a few sticks of TNT and meteor swarm is just that, a swarm of meteors. Expect to see death spells like Wail of a Banshee and Taolodins Killing Wind. And these are the “lower:” level mages.

Navy

The navy consists of ships that resemble and act like Earth Submarines. However the function very differently. They are spelljamming ships. They use a spelljaming helm to use magical energy to power and move the ship and its component parts. A Mythallar is used to power spells and magical items on the ship.

Gragone Class Fighter(GCF)
5 meters
2 non-chained disintegrate wands

Belath Class Strike Ship(BCS)
30 meters
4 Staff Guns(2 fore 2 aft)
8 energy staffs
10 chain disintegrate wands

Noanar Class Destroyer*(NCD)
90 meters
16 Staff Guns(4 fore 2 aft 4 on each broadside)
32
64 chain disintegrate wands

Mistelar Class Frigate(MCF)
210 Meters
1 turreted Disintegration rod(double ‘barreled’)
44 Staff Guns (8 fore 4 aft 16 per broadside)
88 Energy Staffs
176 Chain Disintegrate wands

Wyvern Class Cruiser(WCC)
360 meters
2 turreted Disintegration Rods(1 dorsal 1 ventral)
82 Staff Guns(12 fore 6 aft 32 double banked per broadside)
164 Energy staffs
200 chain disintegrate wands

Dragon Class Battlecruiser(DCB)
500 meters
4 Turreted Disintegration Rods(2 dorsal 1 ventral)
112 Staff Guns(16 fore 8 aft 44 double banked per broadside)
224 Energy Staffs
300 Chain disintegrate wands

Tarrasque Class Dreadnought(TCD)
700 meter
6 turreted Disintegration Rods(3 dorsal 3 ventral
158 Staff guns
300 Energy Staffs
500 chain disintegrate wands

Weapons list

Turreted Rod of Disintegration: When Either of the two massive rods on the turret are activated by the mage inside, a beam of magical energy lances forth and whatever it strikes is disintegrated(smaller ships) or in the case of larger vessels, put out of commission. Does not work against shielded targets.

Staff Guns: These use staffs of chain-lightning to energize electromagnets and propel a projectile at fractional c speeds(A magically powered Railgun) The most powerful of which are mounted in the same positions as torpedo tubes(for and aft, and on larger ships, in broadside position) They tend to be the most powerful weapons on a ship(unless that ship has a Turreted Rod of Disintegration)

Turreted Energy Staff: This turret mounted staff fires a beam of pure energy at the target. These are medium weapons.

Chain Disintegrate Wands: Unlike rods and staffs, wands need to be periodically replaced. However the fire much faster and these weapons are used against fighters and fighter formations because when they strike they will arc to hit nearby enemies. They will damage shields and de-atomize sections of hull.

Mages casting Noanar’s rend metal: This gravitic effect places extreme stress on the hulls of smaller vesels causing their hulls to depressurize.

In boarding actions, expect mages to be able to survive in vacuum and cast up through epic level spells(again, tweaked to go along with the “tech” level)

Defenses(From most outward in)

Psionic Counter Measure The equivalent of a jamming field is around the ship that makes the targeting sensors of enemy ships unreliable.

Telekinesis: Psions on board will attempt to knock missiles and projectiles and plasma weapons off course or destroy them(works like point defense weapons)

Eldrich Walls: Function like shields

Enchanted Hull plating: The thick hulls are enchanted with magic that allows them to absorb and retransmit heat and kinetic energy more efficiently than other metals

Prismatic Sphere: In the event of an emergency, a mage on board can cast Prismatic sphere on the ship, enveloping it in an impenetrable field of magic. However, it is also impossible to shoot out of, taking the ship out of combat.

FTL

Within their own territory FTL is instantanous for mages and they can prety much go where they want. Ships on the other hand must use portals to get from system to system. That or have the mages on board ritual cast a teleportation spell. And that takes time...

[Thirdfain]

Hokay, the Parliament Empire requires some explaining- They follow different branches of science than those followed by mainstream society, using what many would describe as "Weird Science." The fields of Crisis Physics, Thaumaturgy, Chirurgury, and of course, the fearsome realm of The Torque.

Formal Name: Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon
Popular Name: Crobuzon Empire, New Crobuzon
Short Form: PEC
Power Classification: Major Regional Power

Government/Politics
Government Type: The Crobuzon Empire is nominally a representative democracy, consisting of dozens of distinct species. In reality, it is an oligarchy. Many nonhuman species are not counted as citizens and have no votes, and the populace only has it’s choice of wealthy politicians with similar political agendas. A hefty poll tax keeps the poor from voting. The current ruling party is the Broad Horizons, which controls many votes in the Parliament and the office of the Prime Minister. A hereditary Mayor of the capital city of New Crobuzon fills the niche the Queen fills in England today, but has no real power.
Capital:City of New Crobuzon, Bas-Lag
Head of State: Prime Minister Mortus Der Kilontostein
Legislative: High Parliament
Highest Court: High Parliament, though few cases ever leave the jurisdiction of the Militia’s Ombudsmen.
Official Language: Ragamoll
Secondary Languages: Salt (Spacer’s Tongue), numerous regional and species tongues.
Suffrage: Humans, Vodyanoi, Cactacae, Khepri, and Scabmettlers over 25 capable of paying the Poll Tax,
Major Political Parties: Fat Sun, Iron Horse, Man Ascendant, Green Mother.
Minor Political Parties: Thousand Hands (universal suffrage agitators) only notable minor party, though hundreds of minor parties exists

Economy
Currency: Crobuzon Shekels
Central Bank: Marcus & Grimnebulin
Major Stock Markets: Mauve Street Financial Exchange

GDP: 3.4 quadrillion Shekels (equiv. to 6 quadrillion U.S dollars)

Population: 120 billion Humans, 40 billion Scabmettlers, 10 billion Cactacae, 10 billion Vodyanoi, 5 billion Khepri, 250 million Crays, 50 million Garuda, 8 million assorted exotics.

System: New Crobuzon’s economic system is controlled largely by the government, not due to any parts of the constitution, but due to the fact that the wealthy are the only ones able to gain office. Rampant capitalism and mercantilism go hand-in-hand, as the assorted corporations of the Empire compete to pull as much money as possible from the Empire’s colonies and annexed territories.

Colonies: The Crobuzon is an expansionistic mercantilist power, with a firm belief in manifest destiny. The Empire controls 15 colonies and annexed systems and 12 industrialised, developed worlds.
Industry: Massive. The vast underclass of the Crobuzon Empire gives it a workforce from which a huge amount of labor can be extracted. Most colony worlds are lightly industrialized, however, acting to supply resources to the construction yards and refineries of the major inner systems.

Society and Culture

Species: Bas-Lag was inhabited by dozens of sentient species, and many of them survived the rise of man on their world. Some are long gone- the Grindylow were wiped out centuries ago, for instance. Those that survive do so as partners or parasites on the humans of Bas-Lag.
Scabmettlers are a human subspecies, notable only for their deep, ruddy skin color and the highly coagulative properties of their blood. Their blood clots almost instantly, making them quite hard to kill. Scabmettlers are equal to humans in the eye of Crobuzon law, and are usually socially indistinguishable.
Cactacae are a strange amalgamation of man and plant. Their outer flesh is like the surface of a desert plant, tough and incapable of feeling pain, covered in small spikes. Cactacae are equal to humans in the eyes of the law, and participate as fully as humans do.
Vodyanoi are an amphibian species. They have the supernatural ability to mold water with their hands. They are equal to humans in the eye of the law, though they are largely lower class.
Khepri consist of a human body with a head shaped like a scarab. All sentient Khepri are female- the males of their race are simply massive, scuttling scarabs. Khepri are mute and must communicate by sign language or translating devices. They occupy many major upper-class positions in the Empire.
The winged Garuda bird-people and the shelled, aquatic Cray are examples of Xenian species without sufferage under Imperial law. Dozens of other nonhuman species live in the empire, but invariably only in small numbers on disparate colonies.
Imperial society is heavily stratified. There is little upwards mobility, but the frighteningly effective Militia along with interspecies prejudice keeps rebellion at a minimum.

Technology:

The Crobuzon Empire, in terms of actual understanding of science (called Natural Philosophy in the Empire), is only at around the level or early 21st century Earth. They have, however, made tremendous advances in the fields of Thaumaturgy and what they refer to as “Unnatural Philosophy,” what some would call “weird science.”

Mundane Technology: Nuclear reactors, radar, excellent chymical explosives, computers (called difference engines), TV, radio- all the things America could do in the 2000’s, the Crobuzon Empire can do. Only by combining this knowledge with Unnatural Philosophy and Thaumaturgy can the Crobuzon Empire travel the stars.

Crisis Energy: Crisis energy is harnessed by the “distress” a complex, orderly object is placed in when faced with imminent collapse into chaos. Crisis reactors are common on Imperial military vessels; they consist of a complex meta-clockwork device (usually a mechanical clock or difference engine) placed in a machine which is poised, at all times, to destroy the said device. Crisis energy is released, and must be harvested by a thaumaturgical engine to generate electricity. Crisis Energy is efficient and very clean.

Thaumaturgy: Thaumaturgy is very common throughout the Empire; most people know a few minor hexes to dry their laundry out faster or decrease the chance of a favorite object breaking. Thaums, the measure of Thaumaturgical energy, can come from a huge variety of sources- Electricity can be converted into Thaums, living beings give off a flash of Thaums when they die, and planets accumulate Thaums from their tectonic movement, which can be extracted and distilled into a chymical called “Rockmilk.”
Thaumaturgy is as common in the Empire as circuit boards are today. It is nothing special to a Crobuzoner. Imperial Navy warships use Elyctric-Thaumaturgic Dynamos to turn electricity into Thaums. They also carry supplies of Rockmilk.

Kinetothaumaturgic Engines: The basis for much Crobuzoner technology, a Kinetothaumaturgic Engine uses raw thaums to play with kinetic energy on a grand scale. Kinetothaumaturgic Engines have a massive variety of uses. They project shields in the defense of Crobuzon vessels, turn simple chemical rifles and cannon into near lightspeed, low recoil tools of modern destruction. They even act to provide artificial gravity and acceleration compensation to Crobuzoner warships.

Probability Mining: A hundred thousand years before humans walked on Bas-Lag, an ancient transdimensional empire called the Ghosthead ruled primordial Bas-Lag. They knew how to reach across the dimensions, manipulating probability to suit their needs. Through searching Ghosthead ruins on Bas-Lag and throughout the galaxy, New Crobuzon has gained a small understanding of “mining” probability on a very small scale. Examples are swords which strike a hundred times for each blow and missiles which separate into a hundred probability-ghosts when faced by enemy point defense fire. This is the current limit of Probability Mining technology, and more advancement is unlikely.

Chirurgery: The practice of using Thaumaturgy in medicine. Allows cyborgs, called “Remade” to be formed. Quite advanced, and allows huge lifespans to those with the money to afford treatment.

The Torque: Terrifyingly potent, The Torque is not the friendly force of physics any high school student is familiar with. The Torque (note the capital T) is best described as the exertion of force at a right angle to the fabric of reality, causing a small region of space to become slightly “out of tune” with the rest of existence. The effect, when uncontrolled, is horrific to say the least. There are ruined cities on Bas-Lag from the last few great wars which are surrounded by barbed wire, force-fields, and armed guards. The things crawling in the ruins are horrific and unreal- combinations of man, machine, and nightmare, products of the reality-twisting effects of primitive Torque-bombs. The effects of the Torque can be controlled, via potent hexes cast to contain the reality distortion. Torque Reactors are present on all larger Imperial military vessels. They are usually kept deactivated, used only during combat when extra power is necessary. Should the hexes be breached while the reactor is active, the vessel and it’s crew might survive, but they would be far from human. Controlled Torque reactions can be used to create raw energy blasts- these devices, called Colourbombs, are the primary ship-killer warheads of the Imperial Navy. They generate very minimal reality distortion on impact, doing damage via a high-energy blast. “Dirty” Torque-bombs are of limited use against shielded targets, but can render an unshielded city completely inimical to human life.

Engines: Crobuzon ships use simple chemical reaction engines. These devices are supplemented by thaumaturgical engines which cause vast increases in efficiency to the fuel. Depending on how many Thaums are allocated to the engines, they can burn little better than 20th century rockets, or as effectively as any modern starship in the galaxy. Maneuvering is provided by a starship's Secondaries, Kinetothaumaturgic Engines which are devoted to changing the angle at which the vessel's torchdrive exerts force. Secondaries can be shifted to defensive duty, giving the Crobuzon vessel double-thick defenses, at the expense of all but the most limited chemical thruster maneuverability.

Weapons: The primary weapon of Crobuzon warships is the cannon. Firing from an enchanted ceramic barrel, solid shells are propelled by a comination of efficiency-hexed chymical explosive and a small K-T engine. . The projectiles reach barely sublight speed. The recoil of the shot is redireted by the K-T engine, causing it to push in the same direction at the initial shot, doubling the force of the blast.
Missiles use Probability Mining devices to avoid enemy point defense. The effect is far from perfect, as many missiles will still be shot down, but it gives them the punch needed to stand up to the point defenses of modern ships. Propulsion is via chymical-thaumaturgical rockets, with an onboard rockmilk fuel supply running the magical seeker devices and the missile’s difference engine.
Finally, Sun Lances are a common secondary weapon on Crobuzon warships. Sun Lances are purely thaumaturgical weapons. Their generators have been hexed to operate with the essence of sunlight- heat and light and radiation. Sun Lances fire FTL "carrier" beams, along which a pulse of intense heat and radiation is projected. Lighter sun lances are very capable of tracking and destroying even fighters.

Defenses: ECM on Crobuzon warships is supplied by specially trained Thaumaturges called “Obfuscators.” They hex small decoy drones to make them appear as the warship itself on enemy sensors. They reach out with their minds, foiling enemy targeting sensors and confusing missile guidance systems. They are far from infallible. Point Defense is handled by golem/difference engine-run PD guns and small missiles, which are instructed by Obfuscators. Armor is steel and ceramic and iridium, enchanted for reliability and durability. Never the less, Crobuzon hulls are noticeably weaker than modern vessels.

Primaries, Secondaries, and Tertiaries: Every Crobuzon warship has three large, multipurpose Kinetothaumaturgic (K-T) Engines.
Primaries are tasked with defense. Kinetic projectiles stop dead relative to the vessel upon impact with the shield. Plumes of light, radiation, and heat bounce back into space, their fury redirected by the Primaries. Primaries lose power as they operate, and can be expected to last as long as average shielding on vessels of comparative size.
Secondaries provide combat maneuvering. Even the largest Crobuzon warship maneuvers freely and rapidly, outturning any comparable enemy craft. Warships can switch Secondaries to defensive duty, increasing by 50-70% their defensive capabilities, at the expense of all but the smallest maneuvering.
Tertiaries provide acceleration compensation and artificial gravity. In an emergency, they can be put on defensive duty, adding 20-30% to the strengtrh of the vessel's shielding at the expense of being limited to accelerations of 1g or less.
The largest Crobuzon warships will have dual primaries, rendering them very hard to destroy. A large part of Crobuzoner tactics revolve around using Primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries to their greatest effects. A Crobuzoner vessel can be ridiculously maneuverable at the expense of defenses, or become a heavily shielded, non-maneuverable relativistic projectile, raining death on the enemy before blasting out of range.

Long-Range Travel: Using principles derived from Torque experimentation, Crobuzon warships are able to leap through “Holes in Reality.” The fastest vessels can travel at around 50 ly/hr, with most large warships pulling closer to 35-40 ly/hr. The Spindrive allows inter-universal travel, but the effect is hardly simple to achieve- a vessel must charge its drive for days- One for large warships, up to three for smaller craft- and then must carefully “spin down” their Spindrive upon arrival in the target universe. This takes as long as ten hours for larger craft, and during this time, the vessel is quite vulnerable to attack, as any interruption could cause a runaway Torque explosion.

At the start of the game, powers will have little or no understanding of the working or capabilities of Crobuzon vessels or technology- the PEC is new on the scene, the vanguard of it's navies just arriving in Known Space.

Military Services:
Militia: In a tradition dating back to the early days of the Empire, when it was only a single city-state on Bas-Lag, the Empire’s army and police forces (one and the same) are called The Militia, despite them being anything but. The Militia runs planetary defenses, acts as police, provides Ombudsmen to handle the courts, and provides the Crobuzon Empire with ground troops. The Militia is divided into four groups- Imperial Sentinels, who run planetary defenses, Watchmen, who are police and internal security types, General Infantry, who are trained for mass combat and invasions, and the Ombudsmen, who are non-combat personnel devoted to running the courts. The combat forces of the Militia contain only humans, cactacae, and Scabmettlers. Any race can join the Ombuds.

Navy: The New Crobuzon Imperial Navy (NCIN) is the long arm of the Parliament. It is the premier force, the pride and joy of every Crobuzoner. The Navy operates 12 ships of the line, around 40 cruisers, and over 300 escorts. The NCIN incorporates the New Crobuzon Imperial Marine Corps, a force much larger than the equivalent corps in other powers as the Line Marines are largely responsible for ground combat during the early stages of a Crobuzon invasion. It isn’t until later in a conflict that Militia General Infantry would be deployed. The Line Marines contain members of the Scabmettler and Cactacae subspecies in addition to humans, while the Navy contains members of all Xenian species.

-note- Combat Thaumaturges are very common. They generally work in groups of 3-5, and carry supplies of Rockmilk to provide a source of thaums for their hexes, though they are equipped to siphon Thaums from dying soldiers should the need arise. Abilities are generally physical and notable- Thaum-blasts capable of penetrating tank armor at shorter range, defensive hexes which increase soldier’s luck and decrease the chances of jamming in weapons, and small force-fields capable of protecting a bunker or a few dozen men from artillery or enemy fire for a couple of seconds. Obfuscators trained for ground combat can bedevil enemy sensors and conjure up clever illusions- make it appear that more fire is incoming than really is, or even evoke the image of Crobuzon warships in the skies overhead. These abilities require a great deal of Thaumaturgical energy, and Rockmilk supplies or vehicle-mounted generators must be used to allow them to create and maintain such illusions.[/b][/i][/u]