Part One: Introduction to Feudal Space

[Dave Johnson]

What is Feudal Space?

Feudal Space is a grand strategy game in a science-fiction setting not unlike Frank Herbet's Dune or the Fading Suns universe by Holistic Design, but was also strongly influenced by the real-life Holy Roman Empire during the Early Middle Ages.

In Feudal Space players will each run a faction, which represents a composite sketch of the mercantile, religious, aristocratic traits of the player's group. Such a position, controlled by a player, is called a player-controlled faction (PCF).

There will also be factions that are not controlled by any player, which are referred to as a non-player faction (or NPF's). Generally, there will be a PCF to NPF ration of 1:2, so as to provide a plethora of possible interactions and opportunities for the players.

Finally, in addition to PCF's and NPF's, the game will also include a game master, or GM. The GM is a neutral party responsible for accepting and implementing the player turn results, refereeing rules disputes and determining the outcome for the turn for all the factions in play. The GM will also control the NPF's and make decisions for them – however the GM should be unbiased and neutral.

The GM is also the one responsible for making sure everyone understands the rules and keeping the out-of-character (OOC) issues, if any, civil and under control. Lastly, the GM will, once he has processed all the turn results for the players, post the outcomes publicly so the players can see the story of their factions unfold (for weal or woe).

All the factions, regardless of if they are a “Church Sect”, “Noble House”, “Merchant Guild”, or “Republic”, or what have you, will belong to a much larger organization, the Sacrum Stellae Imperium, which is controlled by a semi-elected ruler, the Primus Imperator.

Intertwining all the small planetary states together within theSacrum Stellae Imperium is the three sub-organizations of extensive influence; the Ecclesia Universalis, the overwhelmingly dominant religion of the times; the Collegium, which monopolizes the primitive commercial system of the Sacrum Stellae Imperium, and the Principate, the council of the planetary nobility that elect saints, create and enforce the Regia Rex (laws) of the Sacrum Stellae Imperium.

Unlike a more straight-forward wargame, Feudal Space tries to also represent the social, cultural, religious, commercial, and ideological issues of running a space-based empire  under a decrepit governmental system which, due to the very nature of the machinery, makes change very difficult – even when faced with absolute dissolution. The triumvirate of the Ecclesia Universalis, the Collegium, the Principate, and the high office of the Primus Imperator help to maintain this masquerade and atmosphere.

Most, if not all, players will begin with influence in one, if not all three, of these organizations. In order to further their goals the players will need to become familiar with the mechanics by which these organizations function, and will find that by increasing their influence within an organization the way will be made easier for them to succeed at even the most ambitious of goals.

Lesser organizations, whatever their ideology and goals, also exist in plethora, though none exist as yet that can compete with the ones listed above that collectively form the governmental machinery of the Sacrum Stellae Imperium and are, for the most part, individually unknown beyond the boundaries of a single world.

The player's faction is given a great deal of leeway in their design and management; democracies and theocracies will exist alongside monarchies, despots, and socialist states within the Principate. The player's cultural and social tastes are each to their own, and rarely is outside interference openly permitted within a PCF or NPF demesne.

Once off-world, however, the Regia Rex, or imperial law, becomes the new rule. Would-Be Conquerors, aggressive merchants, and overly zealous religious factions must tread carefully or else they may provoke the triumvirate of governing bodies, or even the Primus himself as powerful foes.

External threats, in the form of unabsorbed “barbarian” planetary states, strange and terrible spacial anomalies, hideous exotic diseases, and the very vast emptiness of space itself all conspire to constrain and afflict the player's faction, and the Sacrum Stellae Imperium as a whole; but also form the basis for new opportunities to grow and change.

Eventually, should a player's faction wish to risk it, independence from the archaic and inefficient Sacrum Stellae Imperium is possible; yet so to is the possibility of eventually growing to dominate it from within.

Winning the Game

The absolute goal of the game is to have fun. It is possible for players to accumulate vast wealth, power, and influence; and it is theoretically viable for a player to completely upend the entire order of things, bringing the Sacrum Stellae Imperium into a new age of enlightenment (and possible dismemberment), or seizing absolute domination for themselves.

As an open-ended “sandbox” game, the goals of the player's are their own to choose, and the satisfaction of achieving those goals is a reward unto itself. As with anything, the more you put into the game, the more you will get out of it.

Therefore, “winning” is determined completely by the individual. Indeed, it will be the struggle to achieve the player's goals that is often the most rewarding.

All that aside, there is one medium by which a player can judge his overall success vis-à-vis his fellow; prestige. Prestige it the measure by which a player's total power, wealth, assets, and success is measured. A faction with a lot of prestige either has a great deal of assets, or else have been extremely successful with how they used the assets they possess.

What you need to play

A computer with internet access, a email account of some kind, and as much imagination and creativity as you can manage.