Babylon 4: Resource Trading
This game includes a resource trading minigame. It mainly focuses on the Ambassadors, although they could delegate it to their Attaché. Other players are less likely to come into possession of these resources unless they take the Trade Goods or Income Merits.
Resource Cards
Some players will start each session with resource cards, representing the resources that their faction has available to trade. Each card represents a huge quantity of resources, for example enough food to feed dozens of people, materials to build a factory, or weapons to equip a spacecraft.
The actual resources are possessed by their faction, they are in warehouses and on cargo ships that are likely to be lightyears away from Babylon 4 and the cards represent the authority to trade them. This means that the PCs cannot personally dip into the resources during a session.
When PCs trade resource cards, this becomes an agreement by their two factions to exchange the resources they represent. The hand over of the actual physical resources occurs in the following downtime.
After each session, each faction will gain bonuses based on the types of resource cards they have. These are based on certain combinations so PCs are encouraged to trade resources to make sets.
Territory and Resources
Resource cards are generated by the farms, mines, and factories on the planets controlled by each faction.
If a faction gains additional planets, the number of Resource cards they start with may increase. On the other hand if they lose territory then they may have fewer Resource cards.
Resource Sets
Most resource cards belong to a set: Civic, Industrial, or Ship, and each of these sets has 3 different types of resources. There are also several special resources that are treated differently.
Civic: Food, Medical Supplies, Luxury Goods
Industrial: Materials, Polymers, Silicates
Ship: Weapons, Hull Plating, Fuel
Special: Credits, Quantium 40
Collecting Sets
During each session, players should seek to trade their resource cards with other players in order to collect a complete set. A set is three different resources from the same category. During downtime, their resource cards will be examined and for each set they have collected, their faction may improve.
- Collecting complete sets of Civic resources (1 Food, 1 Medical Supplies, and 1 Luxury Goods) may increase the faction's Prosperity stat.
- Collecting complete sets of Industrial resources (1 Materials, 1 Polymers, and 1 Silicates) may increase the faction's Infrastructure stat.
- Collecting complete sets of Ship resources (1 Weapons, 1 Hull Plating, 1 Fuel) may increase the faction's Military stat.
The number of sets needed to increase a stat depends on it's current level:
- Stats below 15 cost 1 set to increase.
- Once a stat reaches 15 or higher, it costs 2 sets to increase.
- If a stat reaches 20 or higher it instead costs 3 sets to increase.
Any unused resource cards will carry over to the next session.
Special Resources
Some resources are part of the Special category, these resources behave a bit differently:
Credits: Credits cards represent smaller amounts of personal currency carried by a character, and players can spend these during a session or downtime to buy things. The cards are available with different values to save on having to carry a lot of cards (e.g carrying one “Credits x3” instead of carrying three “Credits x1” cards).
A high value card can be exchanged for equivalent low value cards or vice versa at any time with the GMs
Quantium 40: This extremely rare resource is used to build jump gates. It is part of its own set and a faction can spend 3 of these cards to add a jumpgate at a strategically suitable location or to expand their territory.
Faction Stats
Each faction has stats to measure their Prosperity, Infrastructure, and Military. These stats are increased by providing the faction with completed sets of Resource cards, or by narrative events. They can also decrease due to narrative events or getting attacked.
Upkeep
Each faction has an upkeep cost to maintain their current lifestyle.
At the start of each session a random stat will be chosen for upkeep. The faction will be notified that they need to acquire resources from the matching set by the end of the session. If they haven't done so then the stat will decrease by 1 as systems fall apart if not maintained.
The number of resources needed depends on the stats current level:
- Stats below 15 need one resource to upkeep.
- Once a stat is 15 or higher, it takes two resources to upkeep.
- If a stat is at 20 or higher, it requires three resources to upkeep.
For example if the Prosperity is the stat chosen for upkeep and the faction has a Prosperity of 12, then the faction needs to provide either 1 Food, 1 Medical Supplies, or 1 Luxury Goods by the end of the session or their Prosperity will decrease by 1.
Stats
Prosperity: Indicates the overall health and happiness of the faction’s population. A high prosperity represents a happier workforce and makes them less likely to riot or have civil war. Prosperity also determines how wealthy a society is and the amount of credits a character from that faction earns each session.
| Rating | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | Anarchy | At the start of each downtime there’s a 50% chance that the faction's Infrastructure level drops by 5 due to chaos and war. |
| 5-9 | Poverty | At the start of each downtime there’s a 20% chance that the faction's Infrastructure level drops by 2 due to neglect. All characters belonging to this faction have a 50% chance to earn 1 credit per session. |
| 10-14 | Stable | All characters belonging to this faction earn 1 credit per session. |
| 15-19 | Luxury | All characters belonging to this faction earn 2 credits per session. |
| 20-25 | Utopia | All characters belonging to this faction earn 3 credits per session. |
Infrastructure: The Infrastructure stat indicates whether the faction's factories, transportation systems, and supply chains are efficient and well kept. A high rating indicates well kept and efficient systems, while a low one could indicate destruction of factories, or just neglect, poor maintenance, or too much bureaucracy.
Infrastructure determines how often the faction builds new outposts, new ships, and repairs damaged ships. The exact rates are hidden.
| Rating | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | Minimal | New outposts and ships are built very slowly. Damaged ships are rarely repaired. One random Large or Medium Ship loses 5 Hull due to neglect. The faction cannot build Large ships, Jumpgates, or jump capable ships. |
| 5-9 | Limited | New outposts and ships are built occasionally. Damaged ships are repaired slowly. The faction cannot build Jumpgates or jump capable ships. |
| 10-14 | Functional | New outposts and ships are built at an average speed. Damaged ships are repaired moderately quickly. |
| 15-19 | Efficient | New outposts and ships are built more quickly. Damaged ships are repaired very quickly. |
| 20-25 | Optimal | New outposts and ships are built very often. Damaged ships are repaired almost immediately. The faction can convert resources: 1 Materials + 1 Polymer = 1 Weapons. 1 Materials + 1 Silicates = 1 Hull Plating. 1 Polymers + 1 Silicates = 1 Fuel. |
Military: A faction's Military stat determines their overall fleet strength. The higher it is, the more ships they have and the more powerful those ships are.
The exact numbers are deliberately hidden, espionage is needed to uncover another faction’s real military strength.
| Rating | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | Tiny | A tiny fleet that struggles to even protect its people from pirates. |
| 5-9 | Small | A weaker fleet that will need to choose its battles carefully. |
| 10-14 | Moderate | A moderately powerful military containing a mix of different ship types, usually able to hold its own in battle. |
| 15-19 | Large | A powerful fleet with many large ships. |
| 20-25 | Overwhelming | A huge and almost unbeatable fleet if gathered all in one place. |
Faction Downtime Actions
Each downtime, the factions will attempt to take actions to build new outposts, increase their fleet strength, and expand their territory. These actions are determined by the GMs based on each factions personality. Ambassador characters can make recommendations to their government about the best course of action, but the government may or may not listen.
Building Ships
Factions will build new ships at a rate determined by their Infrastructure stat, the higher it is, the faster they will build them. The Military stat sets an upper cap on the amount of ships that the faction can support, the higher it is, the more ships they can have.
Building Outposts
Factions will also try to build new outposts, these could be on planets and moons, or stations orbiting in a system. Different types of outpost create different effects, and multiple can be built in one system.
From a distance, all outposts look pretty similar so other factions won’t necessarily know what kind of outpost it is unless they use espionage to find out.
Types of Outpost:
- Production Outpost: Collects resources in the system. Only effective if there is an untapped source of resources available.
- Shipyards: Constructs and repairs ships.
- Listening Post: Spies on other nearby factions. Will reveal details about all systems within 2 spaces on the map.
Building Jumpgates
A faction can build a Jumpgate if it has a set of three Quantium 40 cards. Building a jumpgate in an unclaimed region will also claim that region and expand the faction’s territory.
Repairing Ships
During each downtime, a faction will attempt to repair any damaged ships. Its Infrastructure stat determines how quickly this occurs. In times of emergency, a faction can repair a fleet more quickly at the cost of reduced construction of new ships and outposts.
Action Order
During each downtime, the resource system will be resolved following these steps:
- The resource cards from all players will be gathered and added to the stockpile for each faction. Credit cards remain in the possession of PCs and are never spent by governments.
- Checks are made to see if Infrastructure is lost due to low Prosperity.
- The faction pays its Upkeep costs.
- For each completed set a faction has in its stockpile, the relevant stat will be increased by 1 and those cards discarded.
- Factions with Efficient Infrastructure will convert resources to try and complete additional sets.
- The faction will attempt to repair ships and build ships, outposts, and jumpgates.
- Ships will move. Those that have been repaired or just constructed wont move this downtime.
- Any ships engaged in hostilities will attack.
General
Minigames