New Class Idea: Consul

[HateSolstice]

It could easily add a whole new dimension to the game. Able to help sway politics in the quadrant, earning amnesty or diplomatic immunity, pushing start or stop wars....the ideas are plentiful.

Clearly reputation would be more important to this class than any other, as the Consul would have the most to lose.

So, perhaps gaining double the rep gain from selling records, and performing escort or new ambassador contracts. But, performing and rep loss actions would be twice as dangerous. Also, after acquiring a certain level of rep/influence, the Consul can begin attempting to sway political standings,
maybe even gaining unique bonuses
based on what is happening in the quadrant. But, to keep things interesting, only one event can be influenced at a time, with a faction the Consul is in good standing with, and must wait for that conflict to end before attempting another.

Anyway, just an idea that popped in my head. I doubt the game engine could even do this, but maybe some of the ideas could work? What do you guys think?

[Cory Trese]

Definitely the most interesting concept for a new character type I have heard.

I was steering more towards some additional mission types and a character (Courier?) that would be optimized for them.

This is a great alternative. Can't wait to see the discussion it spawns.

[boeu]

Lol 'courier' takes me back into the mojave wasteland

[abysmal]

Watch out for the cazadors!! Seriously, I hate them more than aliens on insane.

Sent from my MB855 using proboards

[boeu]

Nah I hate the alpha deathclaw more unless I've got my anti-material gun with explosive rounds lol

[beuns]

The Consul is a great idea ! I've always played ST as a pirate without mercy or allies (except my house and own faction) ans my rep has always sucks since day one or almost. I would really love to play a Consul that has to pick his enemies carefully.
Really hope Cory and fallen would take it into the game !

[mikelrysk]

+1

[fallen]

Awesome idea!

[Jamozk Ekhiss]

Yeah - we always hear about the cut-throat political battles going on in the quadrant, it'd be pretty cool to get involved with them.

[John Robinson]

HateSolstice Very Interesting . While reading I thought about the role of representatives in foreign embassies.
Often assumed to be spies with diplomatic immunity. Also used to pass on verbal overtures to a country that would otherwise remain hostile.
They could  generate records by subverting locals in sensative researh. Failure means recall, in some governments death.
Getting caught with fingers in the cookie jar could make them wanted criminals in houses with alliance.
Double rep for success, could also trigger war for failure to have the rep to pursuade a foreign power.

Is this something that is on the right wave length with with your ideas?

[HateSolstice]

I believe so. It would have to have repercussions in order to give the class a style of it's own. I mean, while you can certainly play any class however you wish, it's obviously most beneficial to play to their strengths. The Consul would certaintly at least one hand in the cookie jar, and part of the thrill and danger would be getting caught.

Balance would clearly be a major concern here. After all, how do you allow players the chance to stir the pot from behind the scenes without the chance to really mess up?

I got the idea for this class, believe it or not, when talking to a friend about the Star Wars films. The "prequels" were definitely more politically themed, especially with how much time was spent on Coruscant in the senate hall. Then there is the Song of Ice and Fire books, as well as The Wheel of Time. I've heard Dune is pretty heavy into that intrigue as well, but I've never actually read it. It's on my to-do list, I swear!

I wiuld mention Star Trek, as it deserves it by all rights, but the franchise isn't as heavily themed around political warfare. At least, not in the sense I am meaning. I feel cutthroat is more apt for this game.

So, with all that said, how would you guys see this working?

1). The Consul can sway and influence politics in the quadrant. I think Tactics and Negotiation would be his/her most vital skills. Maybe Stealth, but that seems like a stretch to me, at least as far as affecting the class's ability goes.

2). Records should definitely be a support item. I personally think maybe 50-100% increase in rep gain when sold, with an equivalent rep loss towards Spy/Solar War counterparts. I say Solar Wars as well because politics should be more dangerous of a game, with important rammifications. You may have been a great ally to De Valtos in the name of Rychart, but they aren't too fond of House Thulun. Now that you two are starting to rub elbows, De Valtos wants none of that, perhaps even
to the point of ending alliancws and peace talks in favor of torps up your exhaust ports.

3). I mentioned limiting just how much/often the Consul should be allowed to persuade events to unfold. Limiting it too much would just make it feel pointless, and not enough would just get dull. Not to mention the methods of how to get involved. Perhaps new features at the Palace? Even then, should the limit strictly be Conflicts, or should new rumors be included as well? There is already the assassination attempts against the princes, so maybe that's something that can be utilized for political gain?

4). So rep gain/loss, Conflict influence...What more? I know most classws don't even get that much in the way of special abilities. Oh, how about military rank also affecting how much influence you can have? Higher rank means more trust, and more trust...you get the idea.

5). What about pardons? Will/Should politicians be forced to pay the same as other captains? Or will your home goverment pay the dues? And should the Consul be allowed access to starports and such even with criminal status? Perhaps only limited?

That's all I've got for now, but I think it's more than enough to start discussing and mulling over. Your initial responses have excited me more than I thought they would, and I am pleased you guys find it interesting. I really feel something like this is perfect for the game, letting you get involved with the other side for a change.

Of course, Cory and Fallen, you know my next wish: PLANETARY CONQUEST! WHOOO!

[Deleted]

Just to add fuel on the fire- The US State Department and governments of several nations use high speed corporate jets like the C-21 Learjet and couriers who wear briefcases handcuffed to their wrists for eyes only documents to and from consulates. Definitely in the world of tradecraft.

[HateSolstice]

Now we need warp engines and wormhole generators. Cory, you heard the man! Chop-chop!

[Jamozk Ekhiss]

Firstly - Dune is most certainly relevant here, the political aspects of the storyline are brilliant.
Secondly - definitely have Records involved, and Negotiate is undoubtedly the primary skill. As for their diplomatic privelages and powers in the quadrant, how about being able to escalate minor conflicts into larger ones, say a small Trade War becoming a full Embargo, or a Duel of Assassins turning into a full-scale Solar War? On that subject, they should probably be a bigger target for enemy Bounty Hunters when conflicts are going on, and some more ideas that flew through my head that will probably come back to me at some point...
EDIT: Another thing - if somewhere on a planet is closed, how about getting limited diplomatic access (e.g. a Star Dock is closed, so you can access the regular dock but not the military base)?

[HateSolstice]

I certainly didn't want to sound like I was discrediting Dune. I have a friend at work that has read most of the books, so he's given me a little insight into the stories. Oh, and though I remember seeing it on Sci-Fi many years ago(I think it's been nearly 15 years now, give or take), but I did see the miniseries of Dune. It was pretty cool, but I can't remember a thing about the story, other than Spice is like crack cocaine, some kid is almost killed like a bajillion times because [Insert Plot Point Here], and something about intergalactic Indians or something.

Or I'm completely off my rocker and made all that up.

I do like the idea of altering existing conflicts. I believe that, just like all the other skills and abilities, there should be a chance of failure. I also think that, in order to keep this character a little more provocative and intriguing, failures should actually have the opposite effect of the chosen action. Trying to form an alliance? Oops, negotiations went way off kilter and now we're nuking each other into oblivion. Want to help keep the merchants safe? Well, how about placing a bounty on their heads and cargo holds instead?

I personally also think that there should never been a nearly 100% success chance. Politics should be far more fickle and brittle than the other ability types. Yes, the higher the skill + Political officer bonus(which makes sense to me) + records bonus should definitely make you one smooth-talking diplomat, the other's involved are still going to be at least a little unpredictable.

Also, before I forget to mention it - though I am pretty sure you guys would have thought of it anyway - these political shenanigans should only be available at faction palaces, and can only affect the politics of the player's faction and the faction with whom they are visiting. This way, it's even a bit more selective of how the system plays out, and gives faction bonuses a little more thought than with most of the other captain types. I also feel this plays very well into the political intrigue aspect. Perhaps successes should increase both faction rep points, and vice versa for failures? I mean, if I sent Mr. Smith off to sign a peace treaty with Mrs. Smith, and he comes back with a war declared instead, I'd be pretty pissed. This, then, leads me into this second half of this idea.....

....Special political contracts to help persuade the player in which direction to go with which factions. Cory, you already mentioned that you were thinking up some new contract types, and I think this fits perfectly with the whole theme of the class.

Now, for my concern. Do we want to give complete control of political moves to the player, limit them only to the contracts they possess, or a mix of the two? Clearly a mixture of the two would likely be the optimal solution, but then we come back to the point of failures and successes. Obviously, failing at a contract would have it's repercussions. But what about times when the player doesn't have a contract to perform whatever political play they are intending to do? For example, Cadar and Steel Song are in the midst a Solar War(I know, shocking), but Mr. Smith the Cadar Consul, wants to end the war. If he succeeds, fantastic, positive rep gain for both and either the war stops or changes to an alliance. But if he fails, what happens to the war? Yes, he'll lose rep with both factions, but that Solar War can't escalate any further. So what do we do about that? I suppose failures could have triple the rep loss(since the class, if accepted the way suggested, already gets double the rep of other classes), but that hardly seems adequate enough for failure to stop everyone from slitting each other's throats.

One final point, though it still follows the theme of this post, is that maybe whatever current conflict is occurring between both factions should have a % chance to descend into the next step, should the player fail. In other words, if Mr. Smith of Cadar fails to end the embargo with Thulun, then a check should be made to see if it turns into a trade war. I don't think going directly into a trade war every single time would make sense. Maybe after enough failures occur with the same faction, that chance should increase? If so, would all this affect only "free will" choices the player makes, or contractual obligations as well?

Actually, thinking on that, maybe contractual failures should be worse than player-made decisions. I know I'd be pissed if I offered a contract to Mr. Smith to go form an alliance with De Valtos, only to find out that they are now setting bounty hunters loose on all our ships. But if the same thing happened, and I wasn't involved or aware, should I be more or less pissed? Less so because he took initiative and at least tried, or more so because now I have a major mess on my hands and wasn't prepared?

Just more food for thought. I apologize for all the questions and theoreticals, I just have an overtly busy mind at times. Now you guys see why I have such bad insomnia. Stuff like this goes on 24/7 upstairs...