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[EotS] Enemy of the State - Israel 1950

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ThunderHawk3

ThunderHawk3

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Hi! Welcome (or welcome back) to Enemy of the State. Enemy of the State is a innovative mixture of suspicion/psychological games like Secret Hitler and nation games, like I've frequently run in the past. This game we'll be playing as the newborn State of Israel, beginning in 1950 - immediately after Israel's independence was achieved.

The way the game runs is simple: you're all playing as prominent politicians or other influential citizens of Israel in the year 1950. You will elect a Prime Minister by ballot. He appoints ministers. He and his ministers will submit orders. You will either vote to accept or reject his orders. Then the cycle repeats itself.

However, there are traitors in your midst. One of you is the evil Nemesis, who wants nothing better than to destroy Israel. The Nemesis can submit orders of his own - orders that will work against Israel's interests! He is joined by conspirators (or is he?) - who will join him in his nefarious business. Israel will also have powerful factions around the edges, but they're on your side... probably...

The Government

The government can submit any orders it likes! Prime Minister appoints ministers who propose orders, which you (the players) either vote to accept or reject. If the Prime Minister's orders are accepted, they come into effect. Some factions have veto power. The government is limited to a certain number of orders. Also, the government can only have a limited number of policies in effect at any particular time - only policies effect the stats turn after turn.

This game is fairly stat-driven, but please don't send me orders like, "increase state power" or "decrease crime." Orders should be actionable.

The Stats

Stats in EotS aren't just for show. If certain critical stats reach 0 you lose, and non-critical stats have a lot of effects on the Nemesis' play. Non-critical stats have static modifiers that affect the other stats. However, the stats aren't the be-all, end-all, I will change them if circumstances warrant. Your orders will have logical effects.

The Powerful Faction:

Israel has powerful factions. Some players may sign up for these factions. They can each submit one order a turn, which are not subject to a vote. They also wield veto power in certain areas. Each powerful faction has a leader, and can issue official endorsements, which cost clout but give extra votes in the election.

Player Roster:

BlackCrown (B)
chopak (B)
Terraferma (L - leader)
DragonOfAtlantis (M)
Brettles (L)
aussieboy (M)
Clophiroth (L)
Cleeque (L)
Dexander (B)
RomanRepublik (M - leader)
Michi2 (B - leader)
barkardes (M)
Kho (L)
Andre Massena (B)
Caspoi (M)
QingChina31 (M)
adriankowaty (L)
Adamgerd (M)
Southernpride (L)
Janha (M)

Our IRC channel is #EotS_Main on Coldfront.

To sign up, just let me know that you're in and if you want to join a faction (and if so, which one?). Possible factions are: the Military, the Rabbinate, Labor, and Business. Everyone will ultimately be placed in a faction, and possibly even more than one.

IE:

In! I'd like to join the military faction. (remember the possible factions are the Military, the Rabbinate, Labor, and Business)
 
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Basic Rules/How the Game Works

Special addendum: If the Nemesis drops, or if I accidentally let his name slip, a new Nemesis will be chosen immediately. It can theoretically be the same person twice in a row or anyone else.

All players will elect leaders to lead the government. The elected leader will remain in power for a number of turns (years) for his term of office. Every turn, he will get to submit one order himself, and appoint ministers to submit the rest of the government's orders (one order each). Orders can be anything the minister or PM wishes, though some may be subject to veto by the powerful faction, or by the Nemesis. After the government issues his orders. They are voted on by the players. Then, the Nemesis will then issue his evil orders. The government can choose to keep the contents of their orders public or private.

I will then evaluate all orders and the next turn will begin.

One turn is one year for RP purposes.

To begin with, the government can issue 3 orders/turn and has 4 policy slots. This is not very many, as will become apparent later. It can issue orders to expand the bureaucracy to increase either or both numbers if State Power (an important stat) is high enough.

Government orders that have recurring effect are called "policies" in EotS-speak. The government can only have a certain number of policies in play at once. Scrapping or modifying a policy requires an order. I will fix the effect of a policy when it comes into play. (IE: Suppose a government decides to institute an income tax. I may decide this has the effect of decreasing debt by State Power/10 every turn. I will say this explicitly, and the Income Tax policy will have this effect every turn until modified or scrapped.) I may alter effects if circumstances warrant.

Anything that the government wants to have a recurring effect is a policy. Otherwise, it will only have an up-front effect. Once the government is out of policy slots, you can't play more until you scrap a policy to free a policy slot.

If State Power is equal to or greater than 10 times the current number of policy slots+1, the government can order the number permanently increased. This will also increase debt. If State Power is equal to or greater than 15 times the current number of orders+1, the government can do the same.

(This means the max number of policy slots is 10 and the max number of orders/turn is 6.)

Beware, the Nemesis can occupy policy slots with useless policies that are hard to remove, or even permanently decrease the number of policy slots or orders the government has! However, the government will always have at least one order and one policy slot.

Finances and stat changes are generally simple in EotS. Only orders, policies (or in the Nemesis' case, disasters), change stats. I will occasionally throw out an event. Nothing else changes stats. There is, for example, no automatic debt service.

If I say a policy costs X, that policy will increase debt by X/national wealth, then rounded up. IE: If you have a policy of cost 100, and national wealth is 21, that policy will increase debt by 5. Costs can go well over 100. I will usually warn the government if an order would bankrupt the nation.

Orders will be classified (by the GM, after they are sent) into five categories: Political, Social, Economic, Military, and Diplomatic. The government isn't restricted in any way as to which categories of orders it's allowed to issue in the beginning. However, the Nemesis may block or prevent the government from playing orders in certain categories, at least temporarily, as time goes on. Heavy-handed government policies, like authoritarian government, may also block the Nemesis from playing cards and disasters in certain categories.

Orders can belong to more than one category. From the government's perspective, classification or orders into categories is usually purely bureaucratic and doesn't matter much. It matters more to the Nemesis.

Players who are purged or assassinated cannot run for leader at the next election, and their vote only counts for half at the same.

Stats

Stats are divided into the five categories: Political, Social, Economic, Military, and Diplomatic. There are three or four stats in each. Some are good (ie: high is good), some are bad, and some can be good or bad. They're all ranked 0-100 on arbitrary scales.

Five stats, one from each category, will cause the government to lose the game if they reach 0 or 100. These are the "critical" stats. The rest are "secondary." They're all important.

Political

-Approval (government loses if 0)
-Corruption
-State Power

Social

-Health
-Education
-Inequality
-Crime (government loses if 100)

Economic

-National Wealth
-Debt (government loses if 100)
-Unemployment
-Inflation

Military

-Quality
-Quantity
-Military Loyalty (government loses if 0)

Diplomatic

-International Hostility (may keep track of separate West/Comintern hostility)
-Trade Relations
-Foreign Influence (government loses if 100)

As of Game 3 (Israel 1950), the secondary stats have static modifiers. They are (subject to change):

-Corruption reduces State Power and National Wealth by 3% of Corruption, rounded up, every turn. It also has a chance, equal to corruption, of increasing Debt or Approval by 5% of Corruption every turn.

-Health has a chance of causing a pandemic each turn equal to (100-Health)/5%. Pandemics have various effects. They're never good.

-Education reduces Unemployment and increases National Wealth by 3% of Education every turn. Education also has a chance, equal to Education/5 as a %, of creating a technological breakthrough every turn. Breakthroughs have positive effects.

-Inequality reduces Approval by 3% of Inequality every turn. Inequality has a chance equal to Inequality/5 as a % to cause riots each turn. These increase crime and have other negative effects.

-Unemployment and Inflation both erode Approval by 3% every turn, and may trigger a Winter of Discontent, which will erode social stats.

-If Inflation reaches 100, it triggers the hyperinflation static modifier.

-International Hostility may trigger economic sanctions, which erode Trade Relations.

-Trade Relations reduce Inflation and raises Unemployment and National Wealth by 3% of Trade Relations every turn.

-Static modifier "National Optimism" will raise Approval by about 3 every turn to partially offset negative Approval modifiers.

The Nemesis and The Conspiracy

The Nemesis will be randomly chosen from among all players, and he may also have several accomplices chosen by the same method. His sole task is to try to make the government lose. His identity is secret. The Nemesis knows the identity of his accomplices, but they don't know his identity, or each other's identities. It's probably a good move for the Nemesis to introduce himself to his accomplices.

Like the government's leader, the Nemesis submits orders every turn (after the government). The Nemesis will devise an identity for himself and his conspirators. The government may not necessarily be told what the did. I will conference with the Nemesis before the game regarding the administration of his conspiracy and his identity.

The Nemesis gets a certain number of orders and disasters. Orders are how many orders he can issue. Disasters are evil policies - cards that have recurring negative effects for the government. Typically, the government will have to meet certain requirements or take other logical action to remove them from play. The Nemesis may also scrap them to make way for other disasters.

If the Nemesis is purged, assassinated, etc., random orders will be submitted for him for one turn.

The Nemesis wins the game if he becomes Dictator-for-Life by any means or causes the government to lose.

The Powerful Faction

Optionally, there may be a powerful faction, whose members are unchanging and chosen at the start of the game. The powerful faction represents a group with undue influence over the government. Each has veto power over one area of policy. The leader of the powerful faction can issue one order a turn.

It can be one and only one of the following:

The Dynasty:
A particular family or dynasty has a prominent place in politics.

Leader knows all political orders/policies played by the government and can veto Political orders/policies (except assassinations or purges, but including constitutional changes). Random line of succession to the leadership fixed at the beginning of the game. Leaders are the heads of the dynasty and can only be removed by either retirement or death/purge.

Leader can purge other members of the Family by order, one per order (disqualifying them from the line of succession until his death), but cannot otherwise change the line of succession. They can be rehabilitated, one per order, at a later time.

The Church: (The Rabbinate for Israel)
The Holy Mother Church holds tremendous sway over the people.

Leader knows all social orders played by the government and can veto social orders. Leader chosen by Synod (vote of the powerful faction's members), but can only be removed by either retirement or purge/death.

The Business:
Corporations and businessmen have managed to wrangle vast power in our society.

Leader knows all economic orders/policies played by the government and can veto the same. Leader chosen by vote for a term fixed by the faction and can be sacked by no confidence vote of the faction at any time.

Labor:

Labor Unions. Leader is chosen by internal rules.

The Military:
The army has a tremendous historical role in our politics.

Leader knows all military orders/policies played by the government and can veto the same (except his own sacking) as the RP head of the nation's armed forces. If he dies or resigns, the government may choose his successor by order. He can also be sacked by order of the government. If he is sacked, the faction members will vote to either support or oppose his sacking. Military loyalty will be decreased in proportion to the number of military faction members who voted to oppose the sacking.

If the government does not choose a military leader whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, a random faction member will automatically be chosen at end of turn.

The Foreigners:
Due to geopolitics, a particular foreign power - probably a superpower - has gained immense sway over our diplomatic policy. Why, we're practically a satellite state over here!

Leader knows all diplomatic orders played by the government and can veto the same. Is a foreign ambassador or consul for RP purposes. Can be sacked by vote of the faction at any time.

The government may choose to expel the Leader, forcing the faction to pick a new one, or expel the embassy entirely, negating the faction's abilities. Both actions will raise Foreign Hostility and may have other effects.

Constitutional Issues

Okay, so here's the deal. I've had enough of Constitutional conventions for one lifetime (EoE, PttP, etc...), so here's how we're treating the Constitution. You can change the constitution when the government attempts to do so. It proposes an amendment/a new constitution, which all at the same time changes one or more of these issues:

Title of Leader: (President/Prime Minister/Grand Czar/whatever)
Name of Nation: (Republic/State/Kingdom/Anarchy/whatever)

Election Process: (First Past the Post/Top 2 runoff/ranked choice/instant runoff/whatever/none)
Ballots: (secret/public)

Leader Term: (any # of years up to 10/for life)
Term Limit: (any # of terms or years/no limit)
Removal Process Mid-Term: (specify necessary majority/none)
If Leader Dies/Is Removed: (Vice-Leader accedes/special election is held)
Vice-Leader Is Chosen By: (No Vice-Leader/Appointed by Leader/Elected/other)

Necessary Majority to Amend Constitution: (specify majority/impossible)

Opposition Parties Allowed: (yes/no) - if no, the President can disqualify opposition candidates, one player per order
Can Purge/Kill Players: (yes/no) - if yes, the government can purge one player per order
Government Must Reveal Orders: (yes/no)


The players vote on the government's proposed amendment. If they attain the necessary majority of ayes over nays (modified by assassinations and purges), the constitution is so amended.

The government can only call one such vote per turn, but can propose an amendment that changes several of these at once.

Win/Lose Conditions

If 30 turns pass without the government losing, they win. (Reduced to 30 as of Israel 1950)

The powerful faction will have its own specific win condition. It usually requires 50 turns to pass without the government losing as well.

The Nemesis and his accomplices' goal is to cause the government to lose the game.

If Approval reaches 0, there is a revolution. The government loses.

If Crime reaches 100, society descends into lawless anarchy. The government loses.

If Debt reaches 100, the nation goes bankrupt. The government loses.

If Military Loyalty reaches 0, there is a military coup. The government loses.

If Foreign Influence reaches 100, foreign powers take over your country. The government loses.

If the Nemesis becomes dictator-for-life, he wins and the government loses.

Bonus: TH3's Dubious Guide to RPing About Stats

Here are RP meanings of stats for use in in-character discussions.

Political

-Approval = % Approval rating
-Corruption = % of people who have had to pay a bribe in the past year
-State Power -> No RP analogy, just the general size of the government, maybe % of people who meaningfully interact with the government every day.

Social

-Health -> Life Expectancy = Health score * .5 + 30, give or take about 5 years.
-Education -> # of average years of education = Education score/5
-Inequality = GINI coefficient*100
-Crime -> % of people who are victims of serious crimes each year, let's say, though this is insanely high by any standard

Economic

-National Wealth -> GDP/capita = $250*wealth score in 2016 dollars, or thereabouts
-Debt = % of GDP debt
-Unemployment = % of workforce unemployed+underemployed
-Inflation= % inflation, I guess... (will produce insanely high inflations)

Military

-Quality -> No analogy. How good they are.
-Quantity = % of total available manpower for military service currently under arms. (.1-.2% of population per quantity score, probably)
-Military Loyalty -> % of soldiers who approve of the government

Diplomatic

-International Hostility -> no analogy
-Trade Relations = % of GDP that is trade, maybe
-Foreign Influence -> no analogy

Our IRC channel on Coldfront is #EoTS_Main.
 
(Reserved for Table of Contents)
 
And as a reminder, sign-ups are now open. I'll keep them open for 7 days, then choose a Nemesis, his conspirators, and other roles.

If you want in, tell me "In" and which factions you want to be in. We've got the Rabbinate, the Military, Labor, and Business as factions. If someone realllly wants to play as the American embassy, I'll entertain a request to play as the US ambassador, representing "the Foreigners" faction.

Ex:

In! I'd like to be in the military faction.
 
IN. Labor or Business is fine.
 
In - no preference
 
In, wherever you'd like me.
 
Andre Massena said:
In, I'd prefer Business.

How about adding a Foreigners faction representing the US?
Click to expand...

I said I'd consider it, but I realized the problem is that the Nemesis, if he happened to be named to this faction or named faction leader, would be able to do immense damage to the country, and there isn't much the country could do about it.

EDIT: I'll still entertain requests for people to play as the American ambassador, but I'll need to resolve the above problem. Also, I'm not sure what multiple people in the faction would do.
 
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