Overview
Introduction
Welcome to the Play By Email RPG, Operation Stardust. This RPG is dedicated to the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam, and all the related side-stories it has spawned over the last 30 years. I am your webmaster, Ketara. If you're new here, you may want a bit of an explanation as to what a PBEM game is. If you aren't new, you can probably skip to the meat of the rules page.
A Play By Email RPG is a text based roleplaying game designed to allow character freedom and RPing via message boards, while creating a strategic environment with rules and statistics on the website. Each update characters send actions via email, and everyone's actions are updated that night on the website by myself.
While actions are maintained on the website, players are free to roleplay and interact with each other on the forum. However, combat between characters is handled via battle writing on the website itself.
Because of the strategy game element, you are not required to roleplay to play the game. However, this is not encouraged, and players that make an attempt to RP will see their characters getting various game upgrades much quicker than players that do not RP.
Battles are handled by the games staff. Each day battles in the game are given to writers, who portray the PC characters on both side's to the best of their ability. After battles characters are injured, gain experience and abilities, and the game moves on.
Below are the rules for the game part of the RPG. If you are having any trouble understanding them, please contact me via chatroom, the email oywrpg4@gmail.com or via forum PM, and I will be more than happy to help you through the workings of the game.
General Rules
Proper Decorum
Generally I never have problems with members breaking rules. But just in case, here are a few common sense rules of the game.
Game Rules: Don't metagame. Metagaming is the act of intentionally making your character do something that character would not do to satisfy out of character interests. No joining the RPG as more than one character.
Forum Rules: Don't powergame. Powergaming is the act of controlling another character/NPCs in your RP posts without their permission. Don't make OOC posts on the RP sections. Anything goes in the Open Discussion forum really, but if you're going to post anything obscene please tag it NSFW. (Not Safe For Work)
Chat room Rules: Don't be an asshole. Don't take things people say in the chat too seriously or personally. We (especially myself) like to unwind in the chat so if people are acting like drunken sailors in it, don't mind them. I do not have any moderating power in the chatroom so if there is a chatroom dispute, contact the chat staff to try to get it resolved.
Update Schedule
The RPG updates Monday to Friday, the weekend saved for processing joining forms, site maintenance, writing special events and having a life.
While the writers and I do try to get everything done on time, sometimes we have to miss an update, and sometimes updates are finished late at night. In the event that we miss an update, an additional action update will be held on Saturday to make up for this.
For in-game continuity purposes, each weekday update represents a single day in the Gundam world. Weekend updates are skipped over, although this does not prevent RPing during the weekend.
E-mails
The action email deadline is 5:30 PM Pacific Standard Time. You may send an email after the deadline, but I may discount any late actions. I can't include a character in a battle that is already being written.
Please make your email title as detailed as possible, because it makes updating much quicker and easier. Some examples include "Sabine Rocos, Defecting" or "Fria Engel, Colony Drop". I will accept other titles, but may discount an email titled "lol wtf" or something similar.
Please try to make the content of your email understandable. If your email is confusing I may read it wrong and you may end up doing the wrong thing. I will talk to you about this if I have consistent problems understanding your emails.
Joining emails can be sent any time, and should be titled "Joining". However, new characters will not be added until the weekend. Other emails, things discussing plans or asking questions, are accepted at any time.
The email address for all RPG related emails, actions or otherwise, is oywrpg4@gmail.com.
Your character
In the 0083 RPG, you control a character in either the Earth Federation military or in the terrorist organization known as the Delaz Fleet, or a Rogue agent who is employed or interacts with these two warring powers. Most characters are mobile suit pilots, although it is possible to be a ship commander, aircraft/tank pilot, or infantry personnel. The game environment is one of the military, but you do not have to follow orders of higher ranked characters, and within this environment may with few exceptions portray your character how you see fit.
For people who are used to my One Year War series of games, the rules for this 0083 game will be very similar. However, the 0083 scenario is a bit more structured, so players will have slightly less freedom to change the momentum of the game. While in OYW I basically laid all the options out and let both sides do what they wanted, in this game there will be specific objectives each side has to accomplish in a limited timeframe.
Statistics
Your character is represented in the game by the following eight statistics.
VP
VP or "Veterancy Points" shows piloting ability. Fighting somebody with a lower VP score doesn't ensure your victory, but the higher your VP is, the better a pilot you are. VP is raised through combat using VP.
CP
CP or "Combat Points" show skill in infantry combat. While the OYW is a war of mobile suits, espionage, covert operations and infantry skirmishes still occur. CP is raised through combat using CP.
NT
NT stands for Newtype Rating. Newtypes in Gundam represent the next step of human evolution, people with a sixth sense and minor telepathical abilities. Your character is given an NT score at joining, and as long as this score is at least a 1, it can be improved through good RPing and special events. Newtype Rating is scaled from 0 to 12. A more in-depth explanation of NT Rating is found in the game Tutorials.
Rank
Each non Rogue character has a division and a rank. Your rank determines your salary in SP, and high ranks give access to special events and officer message boards. While there is no rule against disobeying an officer in the RPG, groups with the best teamwork have the most success in winning the war. Promotions can be given for good RPing, or when winning large events. The different divisions and ranking systems are found on the message board.
SP
SP or "Supply Points" are used to purchase ships, supporting mobile weapons and other things out of the shops. SP does not signify money, rather political influence within the military. You will receive an SP salary based on rank every weekend update.
Specializations
Specializations note a skill at fighting a certain type of battle or in a certain environment. Some classes start the game with one, and they can also be gained from good RPing or special events. For example, Cherish Woods has the Ace specialization, which gives her a temporary +10VP when fighting enemy ships.
Classes
If you join Zeon or Federation you choose one of three classes, or one of five for Rogues. Your class dictates your starting stats, as well as available units, divisions and starting positions. For now don't worry about classes. Once you've finished with the rules, they are explained in full on the Joining page.
Your Unit
Your character will be given a single unit that he uses personally in combat. It may be a fighter jet or a tank, or a giant mobile suit, or even a platoon of infantry or a warship. Your roster page will detail all the strengths and weaknesses of your personal unit, its armaments, optional equipment, systems and design features, etc.
Some factors of your unit, such as special unit designations like Stealth class or Artillery class, are explained on the Advanced Rules page.
Using an Old Character
If you played in OYW5 and had a character at the end of the RPG, you may play your old character in this game, or a new character with the stats of an old or dead character. Please contact me individually so we can work something out.
Bases and Ships
Through shop purchases, special events, or theft, it is possible to obtain ships, fleets, bases and squads, and each have their own rules.
Squads
Soldiers rarely fight alone. You are allowed to purchase a squad of units to fight alongside you from the shop. The squad acts as an extension of your character. It contains your unit, plus either 1 MA slot or 3 MS slots. If your unit is a Vehicle or Infantry, the squad may be your unit plus 5 Vehicle slots. The shop pages explain how hangar slots work for squads and ships.
In order to maintain an MS team in space, a Transport is required. Transports are explained in the Special Unit Designations section of the Advanced Rules page.
Ships
Ships are important even in the age of mobile suit combat. A ship can provide supporting firepower, carry mobile suits into combat, and provide refueling and re-armament in the field. Player owned ships operate like players themselves, controlled by the PC owner. Each ship can make one major action per day just like a PC. Some ship choices in the shop are purchased as a trio of small supporting craft, such as Publics or Jiccos. These behave in the same way as 1 Ship of the normal variety.
Ships are divided into classes. The class refers to what terrain it operates in: Space, Land, Naval, Submarine, Hovercraft, or Airborne.
Fleets
Multiple ships can be formed into a fleet. With a fleet, instead of singling out and targeting one ship, an enemy must attack the entire fleet. Fleets can make some actions that ships cannot make. However, the entire fleet is only allowed a single major action per update.
A fleet must consist of 3 or more ships at the same position, and one player must be designated the Owner.
Ship and Fleet Support
Player squads can join and tag along with ships and fleets without counting towards their hangar capacity, moving alongside the ship rather than inside it. However, they must be inside the ship in order to benefit from certain special ship abilities, such as Orbital Drops or Hiding. Up to 1 Squad may support each ship.
Bases
Some sectors on the map will have bases controlled by one power or another. These can assist friendly players and attack enemies, but are always NPC owned and controlled.
NPC Unit Levels
NPC units have VP and CP like players. Each NPCs VP/CP is listed as a pilot level from 1 to 5, for example an lvl2 GM. The shop pages list the VP and CP scores of each pilot level. Anything without a listed level is lvl1.
Some NPCs are also Newtypes, Pirates or SS officers, noted with an N, P or I after their level respectively, such as "lvl3N". These give special bonuses explained in the Shops.
Death and Dying
Unfortunately sometimes a character will be killed. The following are rules for death, injuries, repairs and all the ramifications thereof.
PC/NPC Unit Damage
PC Damage
Your roster entry has a status section, noting whether or not you are ready for battle, as either OK or damaged a number of points. Each update a player’s damage of each type is reduced one point. For example, on Monday Berrik Radhok is ambushed and becomes "Repairing 3, Injured 2". This becomes "Repairing 2, Injured 1" on Tuesday, "Repairing 1" on Wednesday, and "OK" on Thursday.
Note that unlike normal PBEM games, Damaged players in 0083 can attack others, and be attacked, albeit at a reduced VP & CP score. Specifics on this are found in the Advanced Rules page. In these circumstances, the character will only gain 1/2 the normal VP/CP, rounded down.
There are slight differences in the different damage types, which are explained in full on the Advanced Rules page. The word "damaged" is used in the rules to refer to all seven types.
PC Death
Players who die are removed from the game permanently. You lose all experience tied to the character, and may make one final action transferring SP and Ships you control to other players. You may then rejoin with a brand new character.
NPC Units
NPC Units do not take damage; they are either OK or destroyed. They can be Fatigued if on a Fatigued ship or in the squad of a Fatigued PC. Fatigue is explained in the Advanced Rules page.
Capture
Characters can be captured by enemy forces, held in a bases cellblock or ships brig. Specifics on capture rules are found on the Appendix pages.
Captured PCs may move ships and fleets they control, and transfer SP like a normal character.
Ship/Base Damage & Destruction
Ship Repairs
Ships are damaged in a different way. They can be OK, Damaged 1 - 5, or Disabled. Ships can make any actions with any status but Disabled, but operate at lower effectiveness accordingly. Disabled ships may only make an Emergency Repair action, meaning they cannot move or attack. They may still be attacked.
Ships repair automatically when on bases. Ships on bases are repaired 1 point per update, +1 if the base has a repair bay. For example, Rey Tatsuma's Salamis spends Tuesday without action at Luna II, and goes from Damaged 3 to Damaged 1. Ships may not be repaired more than two points per update, and forfeit repairs if they make an action that update.
Ships that are destroyed are removed from the game.
Base Repairs
Bases have a number of add-ons, supplementary structures that are essential for running the base. During an assault these structures may become damaged, and must be repaired. While its infrastructure is damaged, the base will operate at reduced effectiveness.
Each update, a base can choose to repair 1 add-on. These repairs cannot be done if the base is under siege or attacked that day.
Lists of a bases integral and purchasable add-ons are found on the Shop pages.
When a Base is destroyed it is removed from the map.
Actions
Now that you know about your character, their abilities and how they become damaged, you need to learn about making actions. There are two general types of actions, Minor Actions and Major Actions. Your character and each ship/fleet you control can only make 1 Major Action per day (with one exception below), but you can make as many Minor Actions as you want.
Minor Actions
Unless stated otherwise, these always happen before your listed Major Action for the day. For example, if Emil Myberg purchases 3 tanks for his squad and also ambushes Marc Simmons, the 3 tanks will be present in the battle.
Purchases
Purchasing from the player shops is not an action, with two exceptions. The shop pages specify what you can purchase and where. Purchasing is an action when Building or Refitting a unit, which is covered in the Special Actions section of the Advanced Rules page.
Repairs
Repairs never count as an action, although you cannot make a Battle action while repairing.
SP/Ship Ownership Transfers
Transferring SP and ship ownership from one character to another never counts as an action, although SP cannot be used until the update after it is transferred. Players may not transfer ownership of bases, or of units or ships won as contest prizes unless the original owner dies.
Boarding/Disembarking
Boarding/disembarking a ship, moving units between Squads/Ships in the same position, and forming/disbanding a fleet do not count as actions. However, if the units in question are attacked that day, whether the battle takes place before or after the re-organization is up to webmaster discretion, to prevent possible shenanigans.
Major Actions
Move
The game board is divided into multiple seperete maps. Each map consists of a number of Sectors, and traveling from one Sector to an adjacent Sector requires a Movement action. You can send an action to move somewhere far away, and I will plot a reasonable course for you, or you can specify your own course.
When making a long travel route, a players current action will read for example "traveling to Bay of Bengal, 2 days." This is done as a helpful reminder to the updater, but you may always change course mid trip. Such course changes can be used to fake out opponents.
Sectors containing Bases are considered to be the both the base itself and the outlying area for movement purposes. For example, Kimberlite is a base in Equatorial Africa. A Zeon PC can move from Congo straight to Kimberlite in one action. EF PCs can still move to Equatorial Africa without moving onto the base. However, they may be attacked by the bases patrols when doing so.
Battle
All battles are actions. You may only attack an enemy at your position. Attacking does not interfere with the victim’s action for the day, with a few exceptions. There are 3 different types of battle.
All battles are usually worth 6-8 VP/CP, with the winners getting more than the losers. These gains can increase or decrease based on the difficulty of the battle, and people with higher VP/CP scores will gain less from each battle.
• Ambush
Ambushes are self explanatory. Only the attacker needs to make a Battle action.
• Spar
A spar is a friendly, low-damage match between members of the same side, using low power beam settings and paintball rounds. Both parties must send Battle actions. Ships may not Spar. Once a character spars they receive a "Recently Sparred" marker, which halves their VP gains in all spars. Any non-spar type of battle removes this marker.
• Assault
Assaults are any attack on an enemy Base. The attackers do not have to be on the Bases position in order to attack it, assaulting from any sector adjacent to the base. For example, EF Forces in Congo do not have to move to Equatorial Africa to attack Kimberlite, they may Assault Kimberlite from Congo. If the Assault is victorious the attackers are placed on the Bases position, if it is not then they are placed in the outlying area within the bases sector.
Other types of battle supersede Assaults in all scenarios, unless it is a battle resulting from a Paradrop action. This is the only case of one battle canceling another.
Plans and Organization
It is encouraged to send attack plans along with a battle action, although we may ignore plans that are impossible or out of character. Where multiple players are attacking one target, only one needs to send a battle strategy. For example, five players led by Altecha Chan attack the Cima fleet. Chan sends in a battle strategy, the other four writing "I am following Chan's plan" or "I am not following Chan's plan and am doing this instead." Optional armament load outs are the exception, and must be stated by the player themselves.
Optional Armaments
Mobile weapons have listed optional armaments and optional features. In a battle email, you should list a weapons load out. If nothing is listed the writer will make the decision for you. Carrying everything you can is not always the best idea, as it slows down your mobile suit. Individual armaments that hamper speed and maneuverability are listed on a units profile or shop entry.
Other
Politics and Territory
Unlike a more traditional Gundam PBEM RPG, OYW takes place in the midst of a massive war between two governments, in which your character plays only a small part of a massive military machine. Different areas in the game may be controlled by one side or the other, and moving into enemy territory can result in your character being attacked by NPC forces.
These rules in detail are found in the Advanced Rules page.
Contests
We try to have contests on holidays or weeks in which the RPG is paused, such as Free For All or FFA events, roleplaying contests, trivias, etc. These can award in-game VP, SP and prizes, but other than this contests happen outside of the continuity of the RPG. When a contest is held members must generally email saying they wish to participate, but their position and status in the game itself will not change.
Other Rules
The RPG has been designed so that people wanting a simpler game can get everything they need from these rules, while people who want a more strategic experience can have that as well.
The Advanced Rules page covers a lot of additional rules, designed to add depth and complexity to an otherwise simple system. If that page is too complicated for you, don't worry, the game has been designed so that you can join after reading this page, and figure out the more complex parts as you go.
In addition, some rules on shop purchases are found on the Shop page, and some special rules in regards to movement are found on the Map page. Finally, the Appendix Pages detail more thoroughly some things that were covered quickly here, as well as list things like specific modifiers for patrols and so on.
~
|
