Plus Ultra, a Mass Effect/XCOM Quest

[phoenixfryre]

Following the second alien war, Earth had continued down the path of ruination, devastating damage to the infrastructure of the world combined with the neglect and destruction forced upon nature due to the strenuous war had marked the years after the war as harsh and unforgiving.

And conditions only continued to worsen as conflicts and tensions between the nation-states of the world peaked with the assassination of President James Scott Cameron and was followed by an unforgiving era of strife until the late 2070s as the first colonies finally paid dividends and Earth was slowly brought back into shape after years of forced neglect.

It was up to you, President Rebecca Campos, to see the nation through its toughest times and rebuild Humanity from the husk it had become, or would you take up the mantle of one of the many alien species and lead them to success?


[] Faction: The United Earth Federation


Description: After decades of knowing Humanity was just a small fish in a very large pond the governments of Earth had finally decided XCOM was not enough and with the proclamation of unity at the one hundred and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Second Great War and the last major conflict between Human nations, the governments of Earth had united under one banner with it's colonies.

For now, true representation is with only those of Earth and though it remains a non-issue with the small populations of the colonies, it promises to be a far bigger issue as time marches on.

Government: Presidential Executive, Senatorial Legislature, Independent Judiciary.

[+20 Legitimacy, -5 Unrest, +10 to research rolls]

Ideology:

Cautious Xenophilia - Humanity has been scarred by two alien wars and a decade of downtrodden life has made much of it a hardened people but as fortune turns with discovery of new sources of Elerium-115 and more space for the population to expand into other than the overpopulated planet a feeling of excitement about exploration has taken hold over the people, a sense of wonder that was thought lost, though it is tempered by the scars of the past.

[Mature FCP, Increased cultural tolerance and +10 opinion with foreign species]

Extreme Individualism: The various freedoms offered to the people of Earth have been slowly but surely ingrained in the culture and traditions of Humanity, the rights of the individual dominate the people and any actions to curb those rights would surely meet vicious resistance.

[-20 Unrest if rights are maintained, +10 Factionalism]

Arbhors Slavery: Slavery has been outlawed for centuries and a cultural taboo for decades but it experienced a resurgence due to the economic crisis. And rampant slavery was quickly and harshly eradicated by a greater charter of rights and military operations initiated under the presidentship of President Cameron.

[-500 Opinion of slaving cultures]

Starting Issues: Rampant Corporate rights continue to exist and corruption is extremely high, though the federation aims to be utopian its new existence means it hardly resembles the strong ideals of freedom, liberty, and fraternity it wishes to embody for Humanity and her future friends.


[] Faction: The Ethereal Collective


Description: The Ethereal Collective has taken grievous losses in the first alien war, already a depleted species their numbers have only shrunk further with the various enslaved species being the sole reason the Collective continues to function, and the already heavy losses are only further emphasized by the total failure of Project Avatar.

Government: Technical Hivemind.

[-100 to Unrest, +50 to communication rolls, -50 opinion with Council Species, -400 opinion with Humanity]

Ideology:

Psionics: The Ethereals are, without doubt, the most psionically advanced species in the galaxy. Unless the giant snakes are counted.

[+25 to Psionic rolls]

The Burden of Knowledge: The Ethereals are not from this cycle, for that matter they know about the Reapers and have long accepted the responsibility of facing the omnicidal machines, and in the process lost much if not all of their morality.

[Foreknowledge of the Reapers and means to prevent mind control]

Amoral Scholars: The Ethereals, at least what remains of them, are some of the greatest learners and students the galaxy shall ever know, possessing technology beyond even the most advanced "cycle" species, though in their pursuit they long abandoned any morals they once possessed.

[+25 to research, +10 to research on alternative means]

Starting Issues: The Ethereals may know the Reapers are coming but they are already a known factor by the Reapers due to their first time in the cycle. Another negative lies in their meagre population and heavy reliance upon their slave races.


[] Faction: The Turian Hierarchy:


Description: The Turian Hierarchy was one of the species found unsuitable by the Ethereal collective and by the time they sought to integrate them as slaves the formation of a Citadel Council repelled them due to their constant fear of the Reapers and their intervention. The hierarchy itself has grown into one of the strongest nations in the galaxy and was only further supported by its Citadel allies.

Government: Hierarchical Meritocracy.

[+15 to leader attribute rolls, -5 Unrest]

Ideology:

Martial Culture: The Turians are, without doubt, a heavily martial people and this discipline is instilled in their very culture with each Turian having basic military training and most if not all important posts being held by ex-military or serving officials.

[-10 Unrest, +25% Recruitable Population]

Ascendant Arrogance: The Turians have been the 'top dog' of the galaxy for millennia and this has swollen their pride greatly creating a level of arrogance for their laws and traditions, to the extent that they would enforce punishments on those who did not even know they existed.

[-10 to Doctrinal rolls, +15 Discipline]

Meritocratic Dominance: The Turian species has, as a whole, managed to avoid the trappings of nepotism and maintained a highly meritocratic system which has given them an excellent pool of generals and bureaucrats.

[+5 to leader attribute rolls]

Starting Issues: The Turians may reign supreme at the moment but millennia of reigning at the top has stunted doctrinal growth and made them complacent, change would be hard to push through and the Damocles sword of the Reapers still hangs above the Turian Hierarchy.


[] Faction: The Asari Republics:


Description: The Asari Republics form the backbone of the Citadel Council and are till date the main diplomatic arm of the Council. They have used their long lifespans and the hidden Prothean cache on Thessia as tools to retain dominance throughout the galaxy.

Government: Electronic Republic.

[-50 Unrest, -25 to new doctrine rolls]

Ideology:

Biotics: The Asari are the most predominant biotics in the galaxy and though they do not possess the sheer prowess possessed by the Ethereals or Humans they more than makeup for it through sheer numbers. In ancient times the Ethreals fought a brief war with the Protheans over the Asari which eventually resulted in a loss.

[+10 to Biotic rolls]

Immortal Eye: The Asari live long lives compared to other species in the galaxy and it gives them a unique perspective on the problems they face. [+20 to attribute rolls, -20 to research attribute rolls]

Conflict Aversion: The Asari have developed as a species that attempts to avoid conflicts and favours diplomacy over any sort of conflict to such a large extent that the Asari have become majority pacifistic in modern times.

[Increased unrest in prolonged warfare]

Starting Issues: The Asari face a different problem compared to their compatriots, they have lost the will to truly invent and research due to being absolutely dependent on the Prothean beacon and their pacifism has left them exposed in a dangerous galaxy.

[-90 to independent research rolls, +60 to Prothean Beacon research]


[] Faction: The Salarian Union:


Description: The Salarian Union is the species closest to Humanity, appearances aside, they have the same drive to invent, reach new heights and place importance on espionage. Their technological advances are unrivalled by other races and their only limit is a lack of funding and a small economy.

Government: Meritocratic Aristocratic Oligarchy. [-5 Unrest, -5 Legitimacy]

Ideology:

Scholastic Drive: The Salarians are a scholastically able species, despite their small lifespans the number of inventions they make and operate is unrivalled.

[Characters gain +25 to research rolls, +15 to research attribute determination rolls, +15 to alternative research]

Espionage Focus: The Salarians have cutting edge stealth technology that would allow them to go toe to toe and possibly even win in a shadow war with their predecessors the Protheans.

[+30 to stealth research rolls]

Increased Competition: The Salarians live short lives and have a large population of qualified people that continuously jockey for various leadership and research slots, this has allowed them to maintain one of the best research cores in the galaxy.

[+20 to research attribute rolls]

Starting Issues: The biggest issue for the Salarians remains their lacklustre production facilities and the lack of drive to expand to attain greater facilities despite having a mature economy capable of so.


[] Faction: The Prothean Remnants:


Description: The Prothean remnants are the last of the previous cycle's dominant species, numbering at just a hundred thousand the Protheans are once again facing possible extinction, near the end of the three century long Reaper War the Protheans established multiple stasis sanctuaries and hid a great amount of works on planets like Illos. Unfortunately the stasis malfunctioned and a mere hundred thousand continue living instead of the millions that went to sleep, in this new world devoid of their empire it is up to this last remnants of a galactic empire to once more spread its wings and perhaps do what their progenitors could not - win the next Reaper War.

Government: Prothean Republic. [-5 Unrest, +5 Legitimacy]

Ideology:

Master of all Trades: The Protheans have an unrivalled mastery of the sciences that makes the Salarians look childish in comparison, they have made a species biotic and gave sapience to the Hanar, nothing is truly impossible and due to touch-based memory sharing, it is nigh impossible to find a Prothean leader that is inept

[Characters gain +30 to attribute rolls]

Grand Engineering: The Protheans have built many megastructures covering the length and breadth of entire planets, their streamlined building process has allowed them to succeed in making wonders that the other species have failed to achieve.

[-25% to build time for infrastructure, -25% to build costs for infrastructure]

The Wise Elders: The Protheans carry a deep hatred against the Reapers for their genocide against their species but at the same time the fate of their species gave to them a perspective they had previously lacked towards others.

[+20 to first contact rolls, +20 to trade deal rolls, +20 to opinion with other species, -5000 to opinion towards the reapers]

Prothean Legacy: The other species all look at the Protheans as the pinnacle of civilization, perhaps not truly understanding the horrific atrocities the empire committed but it can still be utilized in an effort to better relations.

[+15 all Council species opinion towards the Protheans]

Starting Issues: The Prothean Empire is utterly destroyed, some facilities have survived on Illos but at large the massive infrastructure that supported a three-century-long war with the Reapers is gone, combined with the heavily reduced population and lack of client states the Protheans lack the tools to properly utilize the knowledge they have.

[+15 to Robotic Research rolls]

~O~​

No matter which faction you choose the others will exist as they do here but the Prothean faction is dependent on player choice. Even if you take one of the canon factions (i.e the citadel species) the Humans and the Ethreals remain there and the Humans will be different from their normal Mass Effect counterparts.

Fleet Sizes: Warning heavy spoilers. If you have some doubts for numbers feel free to ask a question.

Spoiler: fleet sizes

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_FK3w8F4eATqai3Oot4S2KAKQ5ukl0NG0LIKAP3pq18/edit?usp=sharing

 

[phoenixfryre]

It's been a hectic few weeks, joining college, having sand thrown into my eyes on my farewell. Oh well, we're back with the Quest!


The population of Earth eclipsed seven billion in two thousand and eleven, a decade later it numbered just above two billion, most of whom were children or the infirm.

Five billion lives lost to horrors that most humans couldn't have even imagined in their worst nightmares, the world was littered with the debris of a war that had left four in every five children orphaned. The environment, effectively destroyed.

Earth was in ruins, cities that had once housed millions were now mere monuments to an age long passed. An age when humanity did not know what was waiting for them out there beyond the stars.

Yet still, the world fought back, the people of this new world rebuilding with new inventions and good fortune paving the way for humanity the most famous of these being,


[] Terraforming, the ability to change the very environment of planets was a key invention that allowed Earth to return to normalcy and supported its vast population despite a lack of natural ability to support the billions on Earth after the war. [Gain the ability to terraform planets to Garden Worlds in 5 turns, idyllic for human life. Cost 20,000 multiplied by size tier.]

[] Nanofab Buildings, a prodigious inventor built housing that has been a monumental aid in rebuilding the broken infrastructure of Humanity. Unfortunately, he died soon after his invention's debut due to the post-war insurgency by the leftover Advent forces on Earth thankfully it's mass-producible if all but impossible to alter due to its incredible complexity. But perhaps one day, with an adequate understanding of the technology humanity could adapt this invention for use elsewhere. [Cost of Colonisation reduced by 25%. Colonies grow 100% quicker till they reach 50 Million population. Infrastructure repair is 50% cheaper.]

[] Mutation, perhaps it was an attempt to kill humanity, or maybe it worked as intended we may never know why it happened but it remains a fact that right after the war humans became… better. They could run for hours unto end, lift great weights by themselves, their reflexes were far better than before, psionics were far more common and every human could even regenerate limbs, given a few years. The leaders of humanity have attempted to find out just why these changes occurred but so far it seems out of their ability to do so. Maybe one day when humanity's knowledge of genetics has sufficiently advanced they'll know the reason behind this sudden awakening but for now its secrets still puzzle humanity's greatest minds . [Humans are far above what they were for their baseline, basic ground units are far stronger. Get +20 to Military Assault rolls. +25 to Disease resistance/ biological warfare defence rolls. +35 to biological warfare recovery rolls]


This was, however, just the beginning of the United Earth Federation, waves of colonial expansion through the vast emptiness of space followed alongside further advancements in technology, for the first time in generations humanity was not rebuilding a future stolen from them but building a new one and this marked the beginning of Project Phoenix.

Driven by the genocide committed against humanity the Federation dedicated vast resources to the first wave of colonization colonists taking to the stars numbering in the millions, the Federation was devoted to the cause of expanding the settled areas of humanity to as many planets as feasible, to make sure that even in the worst of times mankind remained alive and thrived amongst the stars.

And it was during these early years of growth and expansion that the Federation first stumbled upon the gateways present in systems with conspicuously placed garden worlds that were perfectly suited for humanity, but the saying once bitten twice shy rang true as the Federation exercised great caution in their operation of these devices.

Preparing meticulously every time a gateway was opened in most cases even refusing to rely solely on its technology to supply key colony worlds like Shanxi and it was due to this abundance of caution that even a decade after Shanxi's colonization that only now was a scientific expedition being prepared to open up the Shanxi relay to finally complete the Federation's knowledge of the alien system.

Leaving the physics-defying relays behind the Federation itself had a massive research and development complex on the planets of Earth and Ursa, both functioning as hubs of expanding knowledge and building upon the inventions of the past to pave the path for the Federation's future.

Spoiler: tech level

Tech's been divided into three basic divisions plus certain specializations can be taken to branch out into specific stuff like A.I and nanobots. Each turn you can try to further your understanding of 2 tech groups and 2 specialisations. For which you'll roll 1d100 with a DC of 50 for 1-7, 60 for 7-14, 70 for 14-20, same for the specialisations.


Human Tech Base

Phy - 5

Bio - 5

Chem - 5

Specializations can be chosen at tech 10, 14, and 20 each totalling up to 6 when all are unlocked. (plus one bonus if you take one here).

To level the playing field with the Ethereals, who themselves had clearly displayed far superior technology than the young humans, the leadership of the Federation decided to specifically focus on a certain field, allowing humanity to break through the skies in their chosen field and use their mastery of it to compensate for humanity being the youngest civilization on the block.


[] Nanobots, though they've always been a fascination for human minds in fiction now the Federation has them in the palm of their hand. Following the invasion, the development of nanobots started as a means to rebuild quickly in order to defend the planet should the Ethereals come again, they didn't come back. However, the use of nanobots has evolved to a greater stage, modern human ships are now equipped with self-repairing nanobots, rendering them effectively immortal with its the staggering speed of repair so long as the necessary materials are on hand, this invention has also greatly contributed to the shipbuilding industry allowing new ships to be built at lightning speed and making maintaining them far easier. [Gain Specialisation Nanotechnology - Lv 1] [Ships get +15 to defensive rolls] [Ships get to roll for escape twice after defeat] [All ships are produced in one turn] [-25% to naval maintenance][-50% to build cost at level four]


[] Genetic Modification, to modify the body of a human has long been a trope in movies, the most famous being Frankenstein's monster but now it's a reality! Through excellent rearing by the government, this branch of biology has shot forth with new discoveries coming in each day. [Gain Specialisation Genetic Engineering - Lv 4] [Enhanced Infantry Available] [+40 to cure research rolls] [ Auto Pass for Agricultural Plant Research Rolls] [+35 to disease resistance rolls] [Proto Medigel]


[] Antimatter, Humanity was so heavily outgunned in the last war that it was a thought deeply embedded into the minds of the species, and humanity's leaders who swore one thing upon their lives, never again. Never again, would they be outgunned and forced to fight a losing battle on their homeworld, no one would ever come close to wiping out humanity. Ever again. Thus the doctrine of Superior Firepower was taken out of cold storage and the deadliest substance possible was weaponized with the most care the young Federation could, the result was Antimatter warheads. [Gain specialisation Antimatter Application - Lv 1] [+20 against mutiny rolls] [+25 against sabotage rolls] [+100% ship maintenance] [All ships are armed with enough munitions to destroy a planet, but all such actions require approval from the Board of Admiralty or the President of the Federation] [+20 to Offensive Space Battle Rolls]


[] On the other hand, the idea of being a jack of all trades also appealed to the Federation, and since then they have strived to achieve balanced progress in all sciences. [+1 to all tech groups.] [Get a big extra reward for reaching tech level 7]


But the greatest human effort in the post-war era has been its rapid colonisation of the star clusters surrounding Earth, with the cracking of Ethereal drive technology by Federation scientists faster than light travel had become a reality, and with that, the much-needed resources to rebuild Earth were obtained from far away systems.

Of course, not all colonies were established for resources, colonies like Shanxi, Transoxiana and Indica were all agricultural worlds entirely dedicated to making food for more commercial worlds, but the worlds of Earth and Ursa were the true powerhouses of the Federation processing and exporting the manufactured goods that supported the other planets of the Federation in addition to being the primary fleet yards for Federation navy.

Then there were the aforementioned mineral worlds like Olympos and Lazarus, they were the lifeblood of the Federation industrial complex, supplying its factories and shipyards with the raw materials required to create new ships, maintain old ones and produce the goods needed to keep the economy functioning.

For the time being the Federation continues to search for new worlds that could be colonized and brought into the fold across its sector of the galaxy, all whilst remaining vigilant for the inevitable return of the Ethereals,


[Explanation for finding planets, roll 1d100. 50-60 = One Planet, 60-70 = Two Planets, 70-85 = Three Planets, 85-95 = Five Planets, 95-100 = Seven Planets.]

[] Continue with the current focus of searching for worlds suited to host the vast industries of mankind.

[] Shift focus to find new agricultural worlds that can continue to act as both as homes for millions and food for billions more.

[] Shift focus to find new mineral worlds, to further fuel the industry back home!



Federation's Economy:

Spoiler: detailed sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JiIg5R1AKfU6sQbFi6YIcELyw40HG5wgPcLRTxXjc/edit?usp=sharing

Treasury: 100,000


Net Revenue: +91,750


Gross Revenue: +550,000


Naval Upkeep: -238,350


Army Upkeep: -20,250


Governance Upkeep: -200,000


Tasks that can be done:


Build Ships: Humanity has yet to achieve its maximum fleet capacity when the ideal of a human Fleet was envisaged in the minds of the founding fathers they envisioned a mighty armada that would forever secure our future so that never again would Humanity would be condemned to die a dog's death!


Fleet Template Composition: Fleet Templates

Fleet Positions: Federation Naval Command

-[] Patrol Fleet (Cost 6,300; Upkeep 3.150)

-[] Garrison Fleet (Cost 12,000; Upkeep 6,000)

-[] Wolfpack (Cost 15,000; Upkeep 7,500)

-[] Carrier Assault Group (Cost 45,004; Upkeep 22,502)

-[] Carrier Fleet (Cost 73,000; Upkeep 36,500)

-[] Battlefleet (Cost 238,000; Upkeep 119,000)

-[] Armada (Cost 637,500; Upkeep 318,750)

Colonisation - Not available until new planets are found.


(Cost 20,000) Relay Exploration - The Relays have yet to lead us into a system that has not been useful, perhaps we can organise an expedition and use it to expand at a breakneck pace?

-[] Exodus Cluster Relay - The Relay is placed near the Sol Secunda system, home to 600 million Humans, the third largest colony of the Federation.

-[] Charon Relay - The Relay that is closest to Earth, in fact in the same system as Earth. The closeness makes is a scary proposition but also a necessary one. Could the Federation leave the other side unsecured and hope for the best?


Technological Focus: [2 Normal Slots and 2 Specialisation Slots, cannot be repeated]


Normal Slots:

-[] Phy

-[] Bio

-[] Chem


Specialisation Slot:

-[] (Depends on the choice taken in the chapter)


(Cost 50,000. Takes 1 Turn.) (Repeatable, cost increased by 50% each time) Expand Arcturus Station: The Arcturus Station is the heart of the Federation's naval arm and it's special forces, as such it remains the most fortified Federation facility anywhere in the galaxy since were it to fall it would be a ghastly hit to the coordination and morale of the Federation. [Increases the size of Arcturus by 2.5 Kilometres, increases it's bonuses to the system and the Federation Navy]


(Cost 75,000. Takes 1 Turns.) Rumblings in Constantia: Deep scans on Constantia have revealed a large cache of alien technology buried deep within the planet, the technology seems inert and in fact, it seems to be mostly destroyed due to a bombardment a long time ago. This leaves a lot of questions in the minds of the Federation leaders, who lived here? Who killed them? Is there any connection with these aliens and the ones who left the cache on Mars? Regardless, the problem will have to be assessed with suitable force and resources needing to be devoted to solving the problem of alien origin.


(Cost 50,000. Takes 4 turns) Mars Cache: When Humanity reached Mars and began its colonisation the only alien presence they expected to find were possible remnants of the Ethereals that might have been left behind.


But as things often are, what they found was an alien archive of a make completely different than the Ethereals, fear of a trap has kept it isolated other than some studies that led to the further lockdown of the site on the revelation of element zero.

An element that allowed you to conveniently use the Charon Relay and deposited you in ideal systems for space exploration. Suspicious, so suspicious the Federation put its entire research team through a thorough X-Com led psionic check to ensure none were compromised. Abandon their flexibility for mere convenience? What a joke!

But still, perhaps the cache contains something of use? It's not like the Federation would actually abandon its long-distance drives for the drivel that couldn't even support her larger ships but eezo could still be useful for civilian purposes, surely?

(Cost 250,000, takes 10 turns) The Relay Project: The Relays are a trap, of this there is no doubt to the leadership of humanity, but it is undoubtedly a great means to get around. Perhaps it should be studied and used to create the Federation's own relay network. Something that would cause most Federation problems with supply lines to be solved in a snap.

(Cost 100,000, takes 4 turns) Project Theodosius: Named after the Theodosian Walls this project aims to make a psionic wall! Aiming ambitiously to create a complete psionic protector the project aims to protect and keep periodic checks on a human's mind to protect them from any undue psionic influence. The Ethereals created the Advent, that cost Humanity more than half of our people, never again!

(Cost 25,000 for 5 Turns) Economic Incentivisation: The finances of the Federation are booming with more and more new industries being set up across Federation space, but perhaps we can do some little extra to grow our booming economy further?


There's a two-hour moratorium for voting, go ahead and discuss stuff and feel free to ask me anything! All suggestions are welcome and you can me at discord for the quest at https://discord.gg/Az5emYj


And please, plan votes only, otherwise...shudders. I really don't wanna do that.

 

[phoenixfryre]

https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/plus-ultra-a-mass-effect-xcom-quest.748873/page-4

This is being cross posted on SB as well, and votes will be added together.