Feathersnow
 Islands in Luna's Grave: A Community World Building Game   
 Spoiler:  original recruitment 

 Introduction 
 Four hundred years ago, The Monster Niburu slew the Earth Mother and scattered Her body beyond the wind and sky. To save Her siblings, Luna, eldest daughter of Earth, gave her life that the scattered body of The Mother would live on as islands in a ring of air.... 

The World you know is a ring shaped sea of approximately 200 floating islands, each with a unique biome and history, they move relatively to each other, in orbits that are somewhat predictable. You start as a state controlling one of these islands, seeking to expand, either through Diplomacy, force of arms, the power of money, in the marketplace of ideas, or by pure Arcane might. All these are tools in your toolbox as you tell your story!
 Islands and Space 
 Islands 
There are over 160 Islands. Each has many things in common. The most notable is a potential to produce resources. Each island can produce 5 units of resource, spread out in any combination of three kinds, a common resource, of which there are 4, an uncommon resource of which there are 22, and a unique resource found only there. Each island is also marked by three ritual sites where raw magic seeps into the world. These were where the soul of Luna bound reality to save much of the life of Mother Terra. They can be safely tapped in moderation to fuel magics.
  Distance 
 
 Spoiler: DISTANCE RULES 

By default, you suffer a penalty equal to the number of empty hexes between an island you occupy and another island you wish to target with a small action. A claim or Embassy will allow you to increase your reach by counting friendly PCs (PCs that share an embassy and consent) or claimed NPCs as owned territory fir thus purpose. Distance penalties are lessened for the attack action, applying only to 1/3 of empty hexes traversed, rounded naturally. This roll is applied to the manuever roll, but not the battle roll. Distance penalties do not apply to naval battles, nor to 3rd party auxiliaries defending an army unit from a naval assault by another player.
 

 Basic concepts 
The most basic concept is that your potential is represented numerically by 5 scores, each between 3 and 20. A high score makes it more likely to succeed at simple tasks, while voluntarily burning a score down may let you spend effort on greater undertakings or spit in the face of fate. Each roll, you seek to roll equal or under your score on 3d6. Succeeding by 8 or more or rolling a 3 is a critical success. If you fail on a minor action, you may spit in fate by reducing your score permanently based on your roll, winning the roll at terrible cost! You may not force a critical in this manner. Every Turn, your scores grow based on your GDP. In this way, you improve your chances of succeeding on rolls, and can fuel major actions. Each of the following headings list simple or "minor" actions that require no permanent outlay of forces, but only a roll to succeed, and "major" actions, which require the permanent investing of points at a rate too fast to be repeated commonly. You may perform up to eight minor actions, or possibly more, each round, but only two major actions. That being said, you will deplete yourself if you use every available major action.
 Here are the five scores:

 
 Spoiler:  actions and scores 

 DIPLOMACY 
 Have to be a friend to make a friend 
This score lets you explore, make treaties, annex territories peacefully, and grow organically. Diplomacy minor actions:
  Grow your population.  You start with a population of three. To grow this, you must succeed a Diplomacy roll and spend a minor action. On a critical success, the population raises by two. Note- population requires food or there will be trouble! New players have a two round grace period to find food for their people. Each unit of food feeds 3 population.
 Claim an island  If an island is not claimed, or is claimed by a player with insufficient food to support it (and it does not produce food), you may establish a claim! Your GDP increases by one for each island you claim but no player owns. Having a claim allows you to Annex the island and also allows you to establish the nature of the unique resource if it has not been set yet.
  Trade  Almost anything that can be physically transported and some ideas can be traded! This is a Diplomacy action. On a critical success, your minor action to perform this is refunded.
 settle  Not all islands have a native population. You may attempt to colonize islands that do not, without a claim. If one or more players attempt to settle an island, the one with the best result moves a population to that island and it is theirs! On a critical success, a new population unit is generated.
  Major actions 
 -5 Annex Island.  g Gain control of an island you have claimed. You gain their population, 1 marine unit, and any resources held by them.
  -5 Establish an Embassy  With an embassy, you may trade as a non-action with another player. Additionally, players with embassies may share specializations at the holder's discretion.
 -10 Develop specialization  To develop a specialization, pick a specific type of roll. If you did not yet specialize in that roll, roll 2d6+1d4 instead of 3d6 when you make such a roll. You may specialize in each type of roll twice. This reduces the roll to 2d4+1d6 specializations from embassies stack with your own. In this way, it is possible to improve a roll roll to 3d4, but not lower.
 Military 
 Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, the competent tried it earlier  -Attributed to Larry Niven
This score allows you to seize things from NPCs and other players by main force.
  Attack  the easiest way to gain territory that someone already has! To use this action, you will need a naval unit. You may also want marines and monster units to increase your odds.
  Commission Warship  This action allows you to commission a warship. You may own warships equal to one more than the number of territories you control. On a critical success, recruit a marine unit as well.
  Recruit Marines  This action allows you to recruit a marine unit. On a critical success, recruit a second marine unit.
  Active Defense  When one of your territories is attacked, Army units equal to to 1/4 your military score (rounded down) will muster automatically to defend. However, to help your odds, you may commit monsters, ships and Marines to help! This action also allows you to Intercept a naval assault.
 [B]Major actions[/b
]  -5 Recruit Officer  An officer greatly helps your chances in a fight. They also are a character, and can be used for Intrigue Actions.
  -5 Blitz  if you succeed on an attack, you may follow through with a Blitz. This counts as an attack, calculated to start from the location of the previous attack, using only the survivors as resources.
  -10 Develop Military Technology  These technologies specifically benefit military rolls. A baseline is that they should have a numeric effect equal to the number of resources and prerequisite technologies needed to use them. Almost all technologies involving ships require some combination of the common resources fuel, cloth, or wood.
  Economy 
 Them as has, gets 
 -Traditional American aphorism This score helps you gain wealth and grow faster.
 Secure a trade post  This action is used to gain control of an owned trade post (TP) or to turn an open trade post into a trade post of your choice from the three resources produced in that island.
  Convert a trade post  If you own a trade post and there are no open trade post slots on that Island, you may change the resource it produces to another of the three options available.
  Taxes  Choose an action to be performed on a subsequent round. The next time after this round you perform that action, if it is a minor action, treat your score as one higher for the purposes of that roll. If it is a major action, reduce the cost by one. On a critical success, this effect is doubled.
 Major Actions 
  -5 Train an expert  Create a character. This character may perform an Economy action at a skill level of 8 once a round. They may instead perform an Intrigue Action.
  -5 Commission a Cargo Ship  Once per round, you may ignore distance penalties for one action. This may be used for the attack action.
  -10 create a civilian technology  This technology has a baseline of power equal to the number of prerequisites, and may require non-food resources or other technology
 Arcane 
 I have the power! 
 This score represents your mastery of raw magic. The more you invest in it, the stronger its potential grows. It is especially potent in conjuction with military or economic power.
 [I]Align a ritual site[i] This action grows your magical potential. There are three ritual sites on each island, and new potential is unlocked at each number in the Fibonacci sequence (1,2,3,5,8,13, 21...)
  Augury  Provide a bonus equal to the Fi value of your held ritual sites to a manuever roll made this turn.
 Create a Monster  Create a monstrous unit for battle. These units provide a powerful bonus to your battle roll, but do not count as units for outnumbering bonuses and are easier to lose. You may have monsters equal to the Fi value of your held ritual sites.
  Major action 
 -5 Enchantment  Change the rules in some way for yourself. These effects typically are powerful, but have a built-in downside. The amount of Enchantments you can be under is based on your held ritual sites, as shown in the table.
  -5 Artifact  Create an item that provides a bonus once a round to a specific non-combat roll. This bonus scales on the Fi value of the held ritual sites of its creator
 -10 Wish  do a powerful, one-off action. This can be anything, but its power should be roughly scalar to previous wishes based on the relative number of ritual sites held by each caster.
  Faith 
 Can you hear the people sing? 
 This score regards the growth and progress of social movements.
  Align to a Religion  Choose an existing religion. Move your relationship to it one step on the hostile/neutral/follower axis. This must be justified in character.
 Do Cult to a Religion  Increase the power of each movement associated with a religion.
  Spread a Movement.  spread a specific religious movement into an island with a population of at least 1. The movement increases by that island's population.

 Major Actions 
 -5 Train a Cleric  A Cleric is a character that can perform one Diplomacy, Religion, or Arcane action once per turn. They may also perform Intrigue Actions.
  -5 Crusade  If you are a follower of a religion, recruit one Naval unit and Marines equal to whatever is lower of your filling your unit cap, the number of Marines deployable on a naval vessel (base 6), and the number of territories where movements part of that religion are dominant.

  -10 Found a Movement  Create a religious movement. Choose which religion it is a part of. Then establish its passive, mid-level, and grand effect. The passive effect should have two modes, a negative if the owner of the territory is hostile to the religion and a positive if they are not. The mid-level effect should be equivalent to a -5 action for each player aligned to the religion. The Grand effect should be equivalent to each player aligned to the religion performing a -10 action. These effects have a minimum effect of 2 actions per occurrence.

  Intrigue actions!  Characters can perform Intrigue Actions. They may do one on any turn they are not doing something else. On a roll of 15 on an Intrigue Action, the action fails and the character is captured. On any higher roll, they are killed. Intrigue Actions are secret unless the player performing them chooses to divulge them. Any action other than an attack can be made an Intrigue Action, in which case, any number of players are told about it only after it happens. There are also the following actions, which can only be performed as Intrigue actions-

  Steal!  This is an opposed roll of whatever score is associated with the character you sent versus whatever score was used to create the item being stolen. Distance penalties apply. If the opposed roll is successful, add the degree of success to 8 and roll against that number. If you roll it or under, the item is stolen successfully. If you fail the first roll, you are stopped before you can make the attempt. Loss or capture applies to a roll of 15 or higher on either roll.

  Desecrate  Attempt to decrease the power of a religion you are not a follower of. Roll Faith. If successful, the power of each movement associated with the Religion is decreased down to the total number of population of regions where they are prevalent or 1d4, whichever is worse for the movement. Then roll versus an 8. If you fail, your crime is exposed and you become hostile to that religion!
 

 
 Spoiler: Upkeep 
 You may have, at the end of any turn- Marines equal to your total population Monsters equal to the Fi value of your ritual sites held Naval vessels equal to one more than the territories you hold Clerics equal to one more than the number of movements active among religions you are aligned to. Experts equal to the number of unique resources you hold Any number of Officers and Cargo Vessels If a movement has a power divisible by, its effects go off!
 

 
 Spoiler:  Player State Creation 

 After the Death of Earth, some societies held together, while others formed from the survivors 
 Your Capitol 
 Each player chooses a set of coordinates on the map an a vector that will not collide with another island on the next turn. It also must be at least hex from any existing island. Vectors should be left-to-right, up or down and have a speed of 1 or 2. An island is created at these coordinates. It has a population of 3, one ritual site owned by the player, and three TPs one each of a common, uncommon, and unique resource. The common resources are cloth, lumber, fuel, and food. A list of the 23 uncommon resources can be found appended to this document. A unique resource is anything not on either list. Some are already discovered. A player may not discover a second node of a unique resource without GM permission in play, but they may choose a unique resource currently discovered at character creation if they do not wish to discover one of their own invention.
  Your Society 
Choose a name for your society and write a description of it. Then choose a three letter abbreviation for the table. You start with a technology, it may use up to two of the resources you produce at your capitol. This may be a military or civilian technology. Note- civilian and military technologies may use the other for prerequisites. Each Player then chooses two boons from the following list: Start with a religious movement in your capitol. Work with the GM for the rules for this. Start with a cargo ship Start with a cleric Start with a officer Start with an expert Start with an enchantment. This is subject to GM approval.
  Your Government 
Finally, and most importantly, the player chooses their starting scores. They get 50 points to distribute as they choose among the 5 scores, with a minimum of 3 and and a maximum of 20.
 

 
 Spoiler:  Non-Player Characters in Luna's Grave 

 There are three large factions of NPCs in this game: The River People and The Star Children.
  The River People 
These are the purebred dragons that survived the death of the world. They have a loose arrangement of warbands and attack settlements in raids, causing destruction. They are known to eat people and destroy things with no clear objective. It is said they can be hired or bribed.
  The Star Children 
People of unknown origin, these Creatures resemble legless, squid-faced humanoids with prosthetic legs and an impressive technology. They live in a great city and are constantly seeking wealth. They are eager to trade.
 

 
 Spoiler:  Combat 

 There are two types of combat- naval and assault.
 Naval Interception 

A naval combat requires an active action, and only occurs between two players, or between a player and an organization or NPC that has actions, such as The River People. In this scenario, after the first player announces an intent to assault, a second player may attempt to Intercept. Then a naval battle ensues. Neither side is considered defending, and this battle does not necessarily prevent the follow-up assault, however the possibility for losses on both sides are doubled. Note army units can  Never  be involved in naval battles.
  Assaults 
In an assault, a naval vessel, typically carrying up to six marine and/or monster units, attacks an island. The island is always defended by army units. Each army detachment is equal to 1/4 ,the military score of the owner. (NPCs typically have three army units, as they are considered to have all scores at 12)
  Combat resolution. 
Each officer rolls versus their score (typically 8) and, if they succeed, their doctrine is in effect. Additionally, if only one side has an officer, or if one officer rolls better than the other, the superior side gets a 1d4 bonus modifier to combat. . They roll (typically) 3d6 and subtract it from their military score. Then doctrines and special rules may modify this roll. After all modifiers not relating to unit loss are applied, the army with the better number wins. Subtract the high number from the low number. This difference is the base loss modifier.
  Unit Loss 
The losing side Subtracts the base loss modifier from their military score and the rolls against it to determine losses. The Winning side adds it. Losses are calculated as (X/3)+1 rounded naturally. So a roll of 1 is a loss of 1, 2 is a loss of 2, 5 is a loss of 3, and so on. Marine units are lost before army units, which are lost before naval units. Note Army units are automatically replenished, so they are the least painful to lose, but the Marines are the front line, and cannot be deployed without a high chance of loss Monster loss is calculated by a roll. A one on a roll of a d10 causes a loss, each monster is tracked seperately.
 

 
 Spoiler:  technology 

As the game progresses, various technologies will be developed. You may deploy one Technology from each of the following categories in a military action, but civilian technologies can be combined freely:
Hand weapons (usable by any battle with Marines or Army)
 Bombs (Navy vs. Army)
 Artillery (Army or Navy vs. Navy)
 Logistics (effect distance penalties)
 Armor (effects own losses)
 Atrocity (effect enemy lossses)
 Specialist (miscellaneous action)

  
 Spoiler:  Officer Generation 


Each officer may buy one or more special attributes from the following list. They have 4 build points (BP) Note the scale for stacking attributes is loosely based on the Fibonacci sequence. +1 bonuses only cost 1 BP and +2 bonuses only cost 2 BP, but a +3 bonus costs the entire balance of the build at 4 Build points, and a +4 bonus requires a trade-off somewhere else for a whopping 7 BP!
 The following advantages and disadvantages may be used. Additional ones may be used at GM discretion.
 Note Additional powers are more likely to be approved than additional drawbacks.
 Note also some advantages are the exact opposite of certain disadvantages. You may not have them. (Slayer and bloodless or medic and fanatic) a bloodless fanatic who ignores their own life and killing their opponents to some secondary goal, for example, is totally acceptable, however.
 Compentency- +1 to battle (+Fi)
 Medic +2 to resist losses (+fi)
 Slayer +2 to inflict loses (+fi)
 Fanatic-2 to own losses (-fi)
 Bloodless -2 to inflict losses (-fi)
 Beast tamer- monster's loss roll
 is 1d20 (+1) Rangers- Your unit is considered larger for the purposes of outnumbering bonus (+fi)
Battlemage- secure a ritual site during a land battle (+2)
Raider- steal a TP during a land battle if succeeding on opposed mil vs economy (+1)
 Propagandist- advance a faith +1, unpredictable effects when fighting co-religionists (+fi)
 Devil. Advance enemy faith +1 -1 to battle per rank when fighting co-religionists (-fi)
 

 
 Spoiler:  Additional combat modifiers 
 The following modifiers apply to battles:
 defender +1
outnumbers +1
 outnumbers by multiple +X
 is of a hostile faith +1
 Monster deployed- +2 per monster.
 

 
 Spoiler: The Arcane pool 
 Various benefits will accrue as you increase the size of your arcane pool. Note each island has three ritual sites and you may only secure a ritual site on an island with an population of at least 1. All bonuses are cumulative. Ritual site number-&gt; bonus
 1 -&gt; ignore distance penalties between held territories(you start here)
2-&gt; ignore 1 point of distance penalty per round
 3-&gt; gain a +1 to your first roll each round. Gain a second enchantment slot.
 5-&gt; gain a ninth minor action
8-&gt; gain the use of a cargo ship or monster 1/round. Choose each round.
13-&gt; gain a +3 bonus to a specific roll chosen as you reach this threshold, third enchantment slot
21- fourth enchantment slot, you get a free enchantment. This may be replaced as normal.
34- a tenth minor action, gain 2 additional skill points each round
55- you hold a full ten percent of the arcane potential of the world entire... you may make wishes as a minor action once a round.
 

 
 Spoiler:  Gross Domestic Product 
 The speed of your growth is based on your economic base. The following things contribute to your GDP: Each claimed island and Embassy equals 1 GDP. (Note it is hypothetically possible to lower your GDP by annexing a low population island with few or no TPs) Each point of population equals .25 GDP Each TP you hold is equal to .5 GDP Each uncommon resource you hold at least one TP of is worth 1 GDP Each TP you hold of a unique resource is worth an additional, cumulative 1 GDP Thus, each player starts with a GDP of 3.25
 At the following thresholds- your score growth increases
 5 -&gt; 6 growth a turn
10 -&gt; 7 growth a turn
20-&gt; 8 growth a turn
35-&gt; 9 growth a turn
55-&gt; 10 growth a turn
 80-&gt; 11 Growth a turn
 

 
 Spoiler:  set resources 

Common resources:
Food
Fuel
Cloth
Lumber

Uncommon resources:
Draft animals
 Gems
 Spices
 Acid
 Stone
Iron
Copper
 Glowing crystals
 Tar
Dye
 Lead
 Glass
 Dogs
Booze
 Coffee
Bees
Medicine
 Pigeons
 Paper
Trained labor
Unskilled labor
 Imps
 

 

 



Intro-  By the Old Calendar, the Priests of Dead Luna tell us it has been 400 years since the shattering of the Earth.  Life goes on, but, in the past few years, something has changed. Star Child Technology, Nesrithi husbandry, and a few other nation's parallel advances have led to a new connectedness between islands long thought impossible...

In other news, the River People seem quiet, too quiet.

Star Child Emissaries have petioned the Star Queen for samples of Voidstar, starting with a low-ball offer of food....

Star Child Emissaries also approach the Seers of Azara, seeking to cement bonds with a budding mercantile power.  They offer their signature tech: Punkwork (replace any requirement for a tech with two units of trained labor) in exchange for the right to build secure a TP of Magical Herbs.

Nesrithi and Varackan sages both report strange omens seen out of the corners of mirrors....


This round Chronicles the year 400 AE.  It represents a final grace period for all prospective players to submit and finalize applications and all those on the Discord to make any final alterations.  The deadline for offensive actions against other Players is September 25.  The Deadline for all other actions is October 1.
Epinephrine_Syn
     Adora, Star Queen      
  Bearer of the Cosmic Mantle, Wielder of the   Voidstar   Sword      Royal Champion Of The Obsidian Fellowship   
 Stat Block 
  Dip: 3 
 Eco: 4 
 Fai: 3 
 Arc: 20 
 Mil: 20 
 
  Projected Action Forecast  Starting Location: 82.7, trajectory Slow, Down-Right

Minor Actions
  Construct Warship GSuc
Craft Monster GSuc
Craft Monster Gsuc
Craft Monster Gsuc
Align Rituals (Capital) Gsuc
Align Rituals (Capital) Suc
Align Rituals (137-3) Gsuc
Align Rituals (137-2) Gsuc (after factoring in the +2 tech I forgot to factor into the rolls)
  

Mystical Fervor Conversions
135 (5)
136 (4)
137 (4)
141 (4)
142 (4)
146 (3)

Church Of Hallowed Flames: 0 &gt; 24
3 Medium Procs, 1 Capstone Proc

Recruitment: 1 Warship, 1 Soldier, 3 Monsters

Major Actions
 Dependent on Minor Actions 

Stat Allocation
+5 Eco


Asset List
 
 Spoiler: Asset List 

 Soldiers 0&gt;1
Warships 0&gt;1
Monsters 0&gt;3
GDP: 4.25

Islands
166 [Capital]


Technologies
Guardian Angels

Religious Affiliations
Church of the Hallowed Flames

Enchantments
 Mystical Fervor 


Characters

Cargo Ships

 
 

  
Fluff Segments  
 Star Children  The Obsidian Fellowship will allow emissaries to come visit and survey the sacred Voidstar stores within the depths of the island. However, as for  taking any , it will require a better offer than a paltry amount of food. Even if they didn't value their special resource intensely, the Fellowship handles their food issues quite sufficiently. It would take a higher offer for them to purchase some.
 
 Spreading The Good Word  Adora is willing and perhaps even eager to give more and more places the bounty of her prowess, to let them feed on her (and to feed on them in turn). Her arcane might spreads her faith far and wide, allowing her to do great and spectacular things. Already she's managing quite a lot, and the beginnings of the artifices circle the town. Her people rejoice as well, as their homes start to glow and radiate with magic. It feels good, though there may be side effects.  Positive  side effects, of course. 
 Monsters  The warships and preparation of the knighthood isn't enough, there is something extra being developed. That extra is... out of this world. Perhaps literally. It's kept in secret for now, but Adora hopes to showcase just what these new creations of hers can do. Very, very soon. 
Volthawk
    Varack   
  Round 1  
 Dip  20  Mil  18  Eco  6  Arc  3  Fai  3
 Owned Islands:  163
 Unowned Claims:  None 
  Minor Actions  
 
 Settle 144 (-5 distance penalty):  11, Success  
 Settle 148 (-1 distance penalty):  5, Great Success  
 Settle 161 (-4 distance penalty):  13, Success  
 Grow Population in 163:  7, Great Success 
 With the military still needing time to prepare for attacks on other islands, the Varack Expeditionary Force takes the initiative to expand the territory held by Varack. After scouts report a large number of apparently empty islands nearby, the VEF sets about making a large-scale colonisation program happen - large amounts of advertising the opportunities present to the people of Varack, politicking within the government to ensure large-scale transport of people and supplies can happen, coordination with the first pioneers to ensure that the right people head to the right islands, and even some cooperation with the military to ensure that some reluctant individuals are encouraged to act in the way the organisation wants. The scale and audacity of their plan, along with the forceful wills within the VEF seen to be spearheading it, ends up making it more appealing to the population of Varack and it's not long before large numbers start moving off their home island and out into the skies. Meanwhile, the rest of the Varackan government works hard to endure the loss of so many of their people, ensuring that those that remain can handle the needs of the capital island's society and that the population can recover.  
 Claim 146 (-8 distance penalty):  6, Success  
 Claim 162 (-6 distance penalty):  14, Success 
 Naturally, not all of the islands that the VEF scouts came across were unoccupied. After reading reports on the already-settled islands in the vicinity, VEF officials discuss possible candiates for their next plan, narrowing it down to those with the greatest wealth, including already-developed resource extraction industries. If this was an operation led by the military, it'd be a matter of invasion, overcoming the local defenders and likely smashing everything in the process, so the VEF seek another path. One where the military is still useful, as a potential stick to the VEF's carrot, but one where the focus is on convincing the governments of those islands that alliance with the rapidly-expanding Varack state is in their best interests. For now, it would allow VEF agents to have a foothold further out from home, but in the future...the VEF have plans there.  
 Comission Warship:  15, Success  
 Raise Marines:  8, Great Success 
 While the Hashadan would like to set out into the skies and bring new territories into the domain of Varack sooner rather than later, it's clear to those leading the military that they still need time to prepare. Few of the doctrines favoured by Varack's ground troops translate well to the needs of an airborne invasion force, creating a need for specially-trained and equipped soldiers with the right flexibility and thinking to handle the varied situations and problems a marine may come across, and there's also the simple matter that they don't yet have dedicated vessels for their operations (the lighter crafts used by the general population and the VEF seem rather too vulnerable to attack by the Hashadan's reckoning). With all that in mind, for now they stay in Varack and prepare, recruiting suitable soldiers from the general military and overseeing the construction of their first warship. The levels of recruitment end up being less than the Hashadan leadership would like, due to the VEF's colonisation program also taking many soldiers off Varack to protect the new settlements, but it was still an army of their own that could fight wherever they wished.  
 
  Character Actions  
 
 Expert: Secure Trade Post in 152 (Food; -1 distance penalty):  12, Failure 
 Krenshar takes an interest in one of the nearby unoccupied islands that the VEF hasn't yet sent settlers to, an island with what appears to be abundant food. Setting up a harvesting operation might be a little tricky at this point, with so much of the VEF's efforts focused elsewhere, but he has enough personal clout and influence to give it a good try.  
 Cleric: Align Ritual Site in 163: 8, Success 
 Alneck concerns himself little with the activity on the surface and the shallow undercities of Varack, seeing the politics of it all as being rather outside his area of expertise. Instead he spends his time in the depths of Varack, attended to by the staff given to him by the Varack government, working to unlock the rest of the Earth Mother's power on the island. His recent successes with one such site of power had earned him the attention of the government, and now he sought to finish the job and unleash all of Varack's latent power. For now, it was just a matter of taking one step at a time...  
 
  Major Actions  
None

  Nonactions  
None yet

  News and Rumours  
 
 There are two major groups in the Varackan government concerned with operations in the wider world and the business of acquiring more territory. One of those is the arm of Varack's military charged with handling operations on foreign islands (as opposed to the parts of the military focused on defending Varack and its new colonies), which has become known as the Hashadan. That was the name of the original faction that united the island and led to the current Varack state, and while the name has fallen out of favour with the general population (the government preferring to foster a new island-wide identity rather than keeping the old factions relevant) the military's marine forces have adopted it as theirs, in respect for the hard fighting that the original Hashadan soldiers went through to make their will felt across the entire island. 
 The other group, meanwhile, is the Varack Expeditionary Force (VEF for short). A much more modern creation, this organisation's focus is more diplomatic and economic than the military's focus on pure conquest, primarily focused on the matter of acquiring more resources and wealth for those who lead it. 
 The reports of odd omens appearing in mirrors are noted but broadly ignored by the government. Some think it's all nonsense, others respect the reports but don't see what they're supposed to do about it, and overall nothing much happens. 
 
 
 Spoiler: Original fluff 

Note: I won't post this in future rounds, but I figure this stuff needs to be written down somewhere that isn't in recruitment and my first post sounds good to me.
  Society  
 
 Spoiler 

A major aspect of the way the people of Varack view the world is that we are alone in the world, in a spiritual sense. Not in the sense of there being no higher powers, of course - knowing anything about this history of the old and new worlds quickly puts any notions like that to rest - but in the sense of them truly caring about us or being a force we can rely on. After all, the Varackians argue, if a god did create us, why would they deny us the strength they gave the River People or the understanding of technology the Star Childern possess? Surely then, our creator either willfully denied us those gifts in a desire to see us struggle, didn't care enough about us to give us that kind of help, or is incapable of such great feats. And what of the end of the last world and the birth of this one - why did nobody intervene to protect the Earth Mother from Nibiru, or provided a solution other than Luna's sacrifice, the loss of the only two benovelent powers in this story? Putting all this together, only two explanations make sense to the people of Varack - either our creators deliberately indended for us to know our place and our limitations, or are weak and incapable of helping. The Varackian ideology puts themselves in opposition to the gods in either case - if they are weak, then they are to be left behind in the march towards our future, and if they intended us to be weak...then the continued existence of the Varack people, our growth and expansion, will be an open act of defiance, an imposition of our wills onto the natural order in order to make the world ours.

That's how the Varack put it, anyway, and that core idea has had various implications towards their wider society, leading to one focused around constant growth and expansion, a general indifference to the divine (most don't bother with outright hostility towards the ferverently religious, mind you, but it is seen as a sign of bad decision-making), and a focus on force of will and personality. The latter guides the way governments and heirarchies are aligned - cooperation, society and innovation are the means by which they thrive, after all, and such endeavours do need a leader, and if that's the case why shouldn't the ones with the strongest wills and talents be in charge, if they can prove their strength and worth? It's led to a society that works well enough in the good times, or when there is a sufficiently talented, powerful or charismatic leadership on top, but which is always at risk of fracturing and infighting if the current holders of power should show signs of being unworthy. This back and forth has shaped the history of Varack, power blocs rising and falling among skirmishes and wars, military and otherwise, until modern times. One faction, the Hashadan, has finally united the island under their authority, and it seems to be holding well enough for the new country to set its sights beyond Varack itself and onto the wider world, towards other islands an dreams of expansion.

On a tangential note, the arcane is fair game as far as Varackan values go. Harnessing the remnants of the Earth Mother's power for your own ends fits handily into how they see the world, particularly given that the Earth Mother and Luna aren't that badly thought of by the Varack people. It having a minor impact on their society beyond the use of purification crystals is just a matter of it not something they're quite as adept with compared to more mundane efforts.
 

  Starting Resources  
 
 Spoiler 

 Fuel (Common):  Much of what comes out of the mines of Varack is burnable fuel, used on the island for light and heating.
 Iron (Uncommon):  The rest of the mines' production is iron mining and smelting, producing a steady supply of metal for Varackian construction and tools.
 Purifying Crystals (Unique):  Sometimes, miners hit a gas pocket that's quite different from the usual stale air, noxious fumes or flammable gases - sometimes they hit fresh air, cool and crisp, flowing out of the pocket into the mining tunnels. Further exploration of these small caves soon reveals the source - arcane crystals (nicknamed Luna's Breath by the miners and belived to be crystalised remnants of her desire to ensure that live would endure wherever it ended up) which alternate between pulling in air and pushing out purified air, leading the pattern of airflow which give them their nickname. They are gathered and used throughout the mines to keep them survivable (particularly given the amount of smoke and fumes produced by their coal-burning and mining processes and whatnot).
 

  Starting Technology  
 
 Spoiler 

 Lakkan Mining Suits (Military Tech - Armour) 
 Resources Required:  Iron, Purifying Crystals
 Effect:  +2 to resist losses
Varack mining suits, called Lakkan by the miners, are bulky things, built without much concern for aesthetics or finesse, favouring raw, crude sturdiness and protection. Built from iron, with perhaps less padding than most miners would like, it does the job of protctig miners physically from any hazards they may come across in the mines (whether environmental hazards or one of the creatures dwelling in the depths of the island breaching the tunnels), and the housing and piping in place to allow purifying crystals to provide both fresh air for the miner to breathe and to circulate cool air around the body in an attempt to cool them down a little (wearing all that metal and working builds up a sweat, after all).

With the Varackian military considering new wars beyond Varack itself, they have reexamined the potential of the Lakkan suit as military equipment - an idea that isn't new to the Varack, as skirmishes between miners from opposing factions have never been uncommon in the island's history - and have found it...not ideal, but suitable. Thus far, attempts to remake the design to better suit warfare have had little success - many of those designs omitted the purification apparatus, cutting out a lot of the bulk, but found that the wider design was built around that kind of ease of breathing and cooling being available, leading the military to currently go ahead with plans to use more or less standard Lakkan suits while their designers continue to work on the problem.
 

  Boons  
 
 Spoiler 

 Cleric - Alneck Haddin 
For a people that are dismissive of matters of faith and rather unskilled at manipulating the arcane, Alneck is rather unique, taking an interest in both matters. He's hardly a master magician, more an amateur with some amount of talent, but it's still enough to have gotten the interest of the new Varack government, giving him a comfortable position in exchange for helping to cover the weaknesses of the state as a whole. It's an arrangement he's rather happy with.

 Expert - Krenshar Oolan 
While the military of the newly united Varack government dream of conquest and expansion, other parts of the government have something more practical and financial in mind - the wealth those islands hold. Krenshar is one of the most notable of these people, the driving force behind the formation of the organisation created to carry out those endeavours, known as the Varack Expeditionary Force.
 

 

  Statistics  
 
 Spoiler 

 GDP:  4.25
 Population:  3
 Food Production:  0

  Diplomacy  
 Claims:  163

 Embassies: 
  Military  
 Marines:  0/3
 Warships:  0/2

 Officers: 
 Military Technologies: 
Lakkan Mining Suits (Armour)

  Economy  
 Experts:  1/1
 Cargo Ships:  0

 TPs Owned: 
 Common Resources Owned:  Fuel
 Uncommon Resources Owned: 
 Unique Resources Owned: 
 Civilian Technologies: 
  Arcane  
 Arcane Sites:  1
 Monsters:  0/1

 Enchantments: 
 Artefacts 
 Miracles: 
  Faith  
 Clerics:  1/1

 Religious Alignment: 
&lt;Relm faith&gt;: Unaligned
The Way of the Flow: Unaligned
 
MaltholLoth
  Rauhaamaa  
Starting location: 67.5 (107)
 
 Spoiler: Government 
diplomacy 15, military 3, economy 15, arcane 8, faith 9.
 

 
 Spoiler: Resources 
Lumber, medicine, higher education
 

 
 Spoiler: Society 
Peaceful trade will be it's main way of life. The breaking of the world was a blow to many companies and citizens. Yet seeing it as a new chance, they decided the new home would be best with mutual trust, and cooperation, but most of all, in peace. This island is pacifist. No military power at all (yes this will be 3 still to represent police etc) but as such would rely on allies or such should is borders be threatened. Which is where other players would come in.

The people are a mixed race, having come together through mutual belief in the ideal. They accept there are those who will never be peaceful but extend the same talk and peace to all. In the time since world split, a belief has arisen amongst them, Rauhaido, a belief that has rooted itself into every way of life for them.
 


Minors:
Dip Grow 107 - 11 Success
Dip Settle 110 - 9 Success
Dip Settle 104 - 9 Success
Dip Settle 109 - 9 Success
Dip Settle 103 - 13 Success
Dip Settle 106 - 9 Success
Eco TP 110? - 12 Success
Eco TP 109? - 17 Fail
Xetheral
 Seers of Azara  (Island #164)
Current Location: 21.5
Current Vector: SW, 1 hex per round
Current Stats: Diplomacy 3; Military 16; Economy 12; Arcane 16; Faith 3

 Communications: 
 The Seers of Azara greet the Star Child Emissaries with great formality. After the rituals of welcoming (and the rituals of introduction, and the rituals of hospitality, and the rituals of negotiation) are completed, the Seers express enthusiasm for the Star Child proposal, and happily accept. 
 Minor Actions: 
Align Ritual Site (#164); TN: 16; Roll: 12; Result: Success
Align Ritual Site (#164); TN: 16; Roll: 9; Result: Success
Secure Trade Post (#164); TN: 12; Roll: 18; Result: Failure
Create a Monster; TN: 16; Roll: 7; Result: Critical Success
Create a Monster; TN: 16; Roll: 13; Result: Success
Create a Monster; TN: 16; Roll: 10; Result: Success
Commission Warship; TN: 16; Roll: 10; Result: Success
Recruit Marine; TN: 16; Roll: 13; Result: Success

 Major Actions:  Commission Cargo Ship [ECO]
Feathersnow
  News!  


The Obsidian Fellowship spreads their faith through works, rallying many heroes and countless devotees!


Varack settles many islands and convinces the natives of two more to open their ports to the Expeditionary forces!

Rauhaamaa settles nearby islands and allies to others!

The Azaran Seers summon angelic beings to augment their military and channel the magics latent in their capitol to sustain them!  They also enter into an Accord with the Star Children, being given the output of one of their arcologies in exchange for Star Child gardeners getting a supply of magically enhanced herbs!

The Star Children suspect the Fellowship is holding out for a better offer and continues negotiations for Voidstone!

Portents in mirrors become more common and ominous!

Reports of dragon activity circulate from distant travellers...
Xetheral
 Seers of Azara  (Island #164)
Current Location: 22.6
Current Vector: SW, 1 hex per round
Current Stats: Diplomacy 3; Military 16; Economy 12 - 5 (Cargo Ship) + 5 (Growth) = 12; Arcane 16; Faith 3
Arcane Pool: 3 [Fi 3]

 Activities: 
 The Seers of Azara celebrate their concord with the Star Child Emissaries with lavish festivals. Afterwards, while the workers devoted to building their great cargo ship return to their usual jobs, the eldest mystics gather for a Great Ritual of Seeing. After ingestion of many specially prepared herbs, the Seers part the veil of time and gleam wisdom from the glimpses of the future they are afforded. This knowledge is conveyed to the First Warrior of Azara, the Seer's greatest Battlemage, who carefully plans a daring attack to conquer an unsuspecting island. At last the planning is complete, and with (yet another) great ceremony the marines and their angelic support board the warship and its accompanying cargo ship for their destination: Island #126, with food and trained workers in abundance.

After the military expedition has departed, the Seers turn their attention to more local matters. Work crews reassess from their previous failure and try once again to construct a trade post on the home island. Meanwhile, lesser mystics are dispatched to the nearby uninhabited islands #35 and #40 to attempt to align their latent mystic energies with the Seers' power. 
 Minor Actions: 
Augury; TN: 16 + 1 (arcane pool bonus) = 17; Roll: 10; Result: Success
Attack #126
 Attacking Force: 1x Officer (+2, Battlemage), 1x Marine, 3x Monsters, 1x Warship, 1x Cargo Ship
Officer Score: 8 + 4 (Augury: 3 Fi + 1 tech) = 12
Military Score: 16 + 6 (monsters) + 1d4 (sole officer) + 0 or 2 (competence) = 22+1d4 or 24+1d4 Secure Trade Post (#164); TN: 12; Roll: 14; Result: Failure
Align Ritual Site (#35); TN: 16 - 2 (distance) = 14; Roll: 14; Result: Success
Align Ritual Site (#35); TN: 16 - 2 (distance) = 14; Roll: 6; Result: Critical Success
Align Ritual Site (#35); TN: 16 - 2 (distance) = 14; Roll: 7; Result: Success
Align Ritual Site (#40); TN: 16 - 2 (distance with arcane pool bonus) = 14; Roll: 10; Result: Success
Align Ritual Site (#40); TN: 16 - 3 (distance) = 13; Roll: 9; Result: Success
Epinephrine_Syn
     Adora, Star Queen      
  Bearer of the Cosmic Mantle, Wielder of the   Voidstar   Sword      Royal Champion Of The Obsidian Fellowship   
  Turn 2
National FI Value: 4  
 Stat Block 
  Dip: 3 
 Eco: 9 
 Fai: 3 
 Arc:  20  
 Mil:  20  
 
  Projected Action Forecast  Capital Location: 82.8, trajectory Slow, Down-Right


Minor Actions
 
 Invade 135  (+2 to all military rolls from the area's religion) (-1 Distance Penalty to Tac Doc)
1 Soldier, 1 Warship (2 units), 3 Monsters (+6 To-Battle)
[Rolls to be done by GM]
  Augury  Battle 135 Success
 Create Monster  Success
 Construct Warship  Success
 Rally Troops  Crit Success
 Align Ritual Site  132-3 Crit Success
 Align Ritual Site  132-2 Crit Success
 Align Ritual Site  137-3 Crit Success
9RS:  Create Monster  Success
Cleric:  Align Ritual Site  132-1 Success
Expert:  Buyout  TP 4 for Food in Capital Success 
 

Major Actions:
Commission Cargo Ship:
Second Arcane Enchantment:

Mystical Fervor Conversions
124 [4]
121 [3]
132 [3]

Church Of Hallowed Flames: 27 &gt; 37
(Perhaps plus more from Tac Doc from the Avatar Of Order?)
30&gt; Free Specialization
35&gt; Free Expert, Officer, or Artifact (cannot be Cleric, already at Cleric cap)



Recruitment:

Stat Allocation
+5 Arcane


Asset List
 
 Spoiler: Asset List 

 Soldiers 1+2
Warships 1+1
Monsters 3+2
GDP: 4.25
(before casualties)

Islands
165 [Capital]


Technologies
Guardian Angels

Religious Affiliations
Church of the Hallowed Flames

Enchantments
 Mystical Fervor 

Specializations
Align Ritual Site x1

Characters
Cleric: 1/1
Expert: 1/2
Officer: 1/XX

Cargo Ships

Artifact Vault
The Bottle of Unshattering: Grow population.

Specialization:  Align ritual site

 
 

  
Fluff Segments  
 Star Children  (maybe the ic thread will happen this turn?)
 
 Spreading The Good Word  Religion Stuff 
 Monsters  Unveil Monsters 
Volthawk
    Varack   
  Round 2  
 Dip  20  Mil  16  Eco  12  Arc  3  Fai  3
 Stat Changes from Last Round:  +6 Eco (Growth)
 Owned Islands:  163 (Cap), 144, 148, 161
 Unowned Claims:  146, 162 
  Minor Actions  
 
 Claim 2 (-5 distance penalty, reduced to -4 by arcane site bonus) -  7, Great Success  
 Claim 141 (-4 distance penalty) -  11, Success 
 While most of the VEF focuses on internal matters during these years, some remain assigned to expanding the influence of the organisation (and thus Varack as a whole), setting out to secure alliances and open ports to expand the influence of Varack in both directions.  
 Settle 152 (-1 distance penalty) -  5, Great Success  
 Secure TP1 in 152 (Food, -1 distance penalty) -  10, Success  
 Secure TP2 in 152 (Food, -1 distance penalty) -  10, Success  
 Secure TP3 in 152 (Food, -1 distance penalty) -  7, Success  
 Secure TP4 in 152 (Food, -1 distance penalty) -  10, Success 
 While Krenshar may not have had much success in his early endeavours to secure a food supply for Varack, his plan had real merit. Now that the settlement plan was well underway, the VEF is able to put most of its resources into taming Krenshar's island, sending out citizens to settle it and the equipment and people needed to set up large-scale farming operations there.  
 Secure TP2 of 161 (Food, -1 distance penalty) -  13, Failure 
 Some VEF assets are redirected to support Krenshar in his latest endeavour. They see a similar lack of success, though.  
 
  Character Actions  
 
 Expert: Secure TP1 in 161 (Food, 0 distance penalty) -  15, Failure 
 With the VEF proper taking over his first project, Krenshar moves on to find another suitable island - the growing Varack population will always need more food, after all. This time, he chooses one of the newly-established colonies but soon finds that the life here, while abundant, is rather resistant to cultivation.  
 Cleric: Align Ritual Site 3 in 163 (0 distance penalty) -  8, Success 
 Still secluding himself from the wider world, Alneck continues his work in the depths of Varack. He had been surprised by how successful his efforts had already been - he was confident in his skills, of course, but even then it was going very well. Bouyed by those successes, he gets back to work in finishing the job and delving further into the depths of Varack, and soon finds that his lucky streak isn't ending yet.  
 
  Major Actions  
 
 Annex 146
 While examining the assets held by the first vassals of Varack (even if the islands themselves likely didn't think of it that way), some VEF agents find something quite special. The tesseracts produced by one of the islands had several intriguing potential applications - the military in particular express a large amount of interest in acquiring a supply of the things, making the island a priority target for further expansion. Some in the VEF suggest just establishing businesses on the island to import tesseracts from, but after some government officials make their opinions known the plan ends up being rather more drastic - full annexation and incorporation into the growing Varack...perhaps 'empire' was the right word for it after all.  
 Recruit Officer
 
 Spoiler: Kalad Akkan 

 Officer - Kalad Akkan 
 Build:  Competency 2 BP, Slayer 2 TP, Raider 1 BP, Battlemage 2 BP, Devil -2 BP, Fanatic -1 BP
 Effects:  +2 battles, +4 to inflict enemy losses, -2 resist own losses, can attempt to steal a TP, can attempt to align a ritual site,  -2 to battles against own faith, advance enemy faith +2
Varack has had no shortage of internal conflict over the decades and centuries, and these formed Kalad's military eduction. After taking the long view of Varack's history, seeing how long grinding conflicts have played out again and again, he has developed a doctrine that is far more aggressive than the usual Varackian style, leveraging their armoured suits as a tool that allows them to carry out risky, brutal attacks more reliably. His strategies also largely focus on resource denial - primarily material, involving a lot of raiding and seizing key elements of the enemy's economy, but one that in recent years has taken on an arcane bent too, after learning the relevant techniques from Alneck Haddin.

He also takes the general oppositional attitude most Varackians have towards the gods to an extreme level, something some in the Varack military have expressed concerns of as they think about the task of conquering those unlike themselves and the issues Kalad's attitudes might cause there.
 

 While the VEF continues to sway Varack's government in the direction of diplomatic coercion and keeping the military as an implied hammer rather than something to be used immediately, the military busies itself with organisation and planning to make sure that it is ready to go as soon as the opportunity presents itself. This includes appointing a commander to lead the new Hashadan unit, and while several officers in the general army put themselves forward as candidates, the best option comes from an unexpected source - underground. In the wars that led to the original Hashadan faction taking control of Varack, Kalad Akkan was an officer whose warriors had spearheaded several key battles, but the man had been missing since the formation of the unified Varack government.

Now, it was clear what he'd been doing in those years, living among the miners - spending some time with Alneck Haddin, learning his secrets, and more time using the peace down there to refine his strategies to work better with naval invasions (evidently, the man wasn't as missing as the government and military thought - besides Alneck, someone must have been meeting him to pass on ship designs and the news of the new naval unit's formation), allowing him to present a strong case for becoming leader of the Hashadan unit. The marines themselves welcomed him eagerly, the man being a war hero in their eyes, and in the end the generals of the Varack military see little choice but to accept him as field commander.  
 
  Nonactions  
None yet

  News and Rumours  
 
 The growing portents are becoming harder and harder for the government of Varack to ignore, but that just means they increasingly find themselves saying that there's little they can actually  do  about it. Despite the majority of the government settling for just focusing on their business and waiting to see what happens, Kalad Akkan (the new commander of Varack's navy) puts out the word that he has an interest in finding out the answer to this situation and, if someone was to find the cause of it all, he would be willing to attempt to crush the problem at the root. 
 
  Statistics  
 
 Spoiler 

 GDP:  7
 Population:  6
 Food Production:  0

  Diplomacy  
 Claims:  146, 162, 163

 Embassies: 
  Military  
 Marines:  2/6
 Warships:  1/2

 Officers: 
 Military Technologies: 
Lakkan Mining Suits (Armour)

  Economy  
 Experts:  1/1
 Cargo Ships:  0

 TPs Owned: 
 Common Resources Owned:  Fuel
 Uncommon Resources Owned: 
 Unique Resources Owned: 
 Civilian Technologies: 
  Arcane  
 Arcane Sites:  2
 Fi value:  2
 Benefits: Ignore distance penalties between owned islands, ignore 1 point of distance penalty per round
 Monsters:  0/2

 Enchantments: 
 Artefacts 
 Miracles: 
  Faith  
 Clerics:  1/1

 Religious Alignment: 
Church of Hallowed Flames: Unaligned
 
MaltholLoth
   Rauhaamaa   
Current location: 69.6 (107) moving NE
 
 Spoiler: Government stats 
diplomacy 15, military 3, economy 15, arcane 8, faith 9.
GDP 10
Food stock 0
 

 
 Spoiler: Assets 

107 (Capital) Lumber, medicine, higher education
103 claim
104 claim
106 Owned
109 claim
110 claim

Expert Diplomat (+3 diplomacy rolls)
 

 Minor actions: 
1 Ecomony - Create Trade post on 107 (Food) - 8 success
2 Ecomony - Create Trade post on 106 (Food) - 13 success
3 Diplomacy - Settle on 105 (from 107) - 6 CRIT success, extra pop unit generated.
4 Diplomacy - Settle on 111 (from 107) - 10 success
5 Diplomacy - Talk claim to own (110) - 12 success
6 Ecomony - Create Trade post on 106 (Food) - 11 success
7 Diplomacy - Talk claim to own (103) - 11 success
8 Diplomacy - Claim (116) - 14 success
Diplomat - Diplomacy - Claim (108) - 13 fail :(

As in rolls... I think these were right so will edit if not.