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1868: The Gilded Age Playtest


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PMAN Red:

Executive: Carroll Page

Legislative:Binger Binger Hermann

Mil Track: Edward Scofield

Admin Track:Arthur C Mellette

Private Track:Charles Memorial Hamilton

Backroom: Chester Darrall


Pman Blue:

Legislative: Harrison Riddleberger

Executive: John Sparks

Mil: George M Bache Jr

Private:John W Causey

Backroom:James W Covert

 

 

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Private Sector: Nathan Goff Jr 

Military Sector: Samuel B M Young

Judicial Track: Joseph McKenna

Governing Track: Joseph Quarles

Legislative Track:  John Coit Spooner

Administrative Track: William Walter Phelps 

Backroom Politics Track: Stephen B Elkins
I guess remove the 20 years?

Edited by Blockmon
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1 hour ago, Umbrella said:

From @Ich_bin_TylerWhat we did was 1/0 in the trait so a 1 is a loyalist and 0 seceded. That leave blanks which are non-Southern politicians.

This would be quite an undertaking, but if you want, I can attempt it.

I'm almost done.  @pman and @Blockmon are working on their sheets, so I'll wait until they are done to finish theirs.  But I wanted to explain my reasoning.  Anyone who served in the confederate army, or served as a confederate politician were labelled as secessionist.  Also, there were a couple of cases where if someone was a leading advocate for secession, they were also labelled.  There were a couple of cases that were gray areas, so I tried to use my best judgement.

I also didn't go through every single politician.  I only looked at ones from confederate and border states and territories.  So if there was a northern secessionist, I didn't get them.  Feel free to complain about any of the ones you disagree with.  

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@Blockmon: Henry Baldwin Harrison has +3 Admin, civil rights, experience in foreign affairs and energy, has bookkeeper. 

Ebon F. Stone has +3 Gov, interest in economics, has expansionist, trait of charisma

William H. Hunt has +5 Admin, experience in healthcare, has expansionist (cause why not!) but only trait was egghead which he already had. 

 

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5 minutes ago, Bushwa777 said:

@Blockmon: Henry Baldwin Harrison has +3 Admin, civil rights, experience in foreign affairs and energy, has bookkeeper. 

Ebon F. Stone has +3 Gov, interest in economics, has expansionist, trait of charisma

William H. Hunt has +5 Admin, experience in healthcare, has expansionist (cause why not!) but only trait was egghead which he already had. 

 

How would I search up what each of the traits do? like what kind of effects they could do.

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1 minute ago, Blockmon said:

How would I search up what each of the traits do? like what kind of effects they could do.

Rule 3.0.19 gives an overall description of the traits.  As for how they affect the game, that is tougher to answer.  My advice would be to learn through trial and error.  I've made a ton of mistakes in my first playthrough, and am using that knowledge to hopefully do a little better this time.  

What you could also do is go through each of the rule pages and search for the trait in question.  That's a bit tedious though.

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@Willthescout7

Kellian Whaley: +4 Military, has trait of military leader, has leadership, is a nationalist

Williard P. Hall: +3 Gov, has charisma, is an expansionist, has experience in trade, is a debater

Alvin Hawkins: +3 Admin, +2 Gov, has experience in environment and navy, is an egghead, is an expansionist, 

That is all the GOP.  I will finish the Dems after supper 

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10 hours ago, Bushwa777 said:

@Bloot911, @Blockmon, @dkh64, @DJBillyShakes, @EYates, @Imperator Taco Cat, @pman, @Umbrella and @Willthescout7

 

2.1.2 Career Track 

*Done once every four years

All players may enter freshly-drafted rookies into a career track with some exceptions. Rookie politicians of a minority group that have not yet earned the right to vote cannot be placed on the career track.  Each rookie can only be placed on one career track, and each faction can only place one rookie on each career track.  There will usually be more rookies than available career track slots, so this decision requires strategic planning.

The career tracks offer a variety of paths to empower you to develop your rookie politicians, helping them gain skills, experience, and traits for future leadership roles.  However, while they are committing themselves to advancing in their career track, they will be unavailable to run in elections or be appointed to office.  This is a moderate risk, high reward opportunity for your politicians to fully develop into their long term potential.

In addition to placing one rookie in each career track, players will also choose whether to remove any of their politicians previously placed on the career track.  Removed politicians will earn a variety of new skills, traits, and experiences – but the longer a politician remains on the career track, the larger the boost they will receive when they finally leave.  All politicians will be automatically removed from the career track after 20 years (for maximum benefit), unless the player removes them earlier.  

All politicians on career tracks have a 10% chance of gaining a special interest based on their personal ideology whenever they leave the track. If an ideology allows for more than one interest, then roll 10% for each. Here are the allowable interests:

  • RW Pop - Nationalist, Reformist, RW Activist, Pacifist

  • Trad - RW Activist, Theocrat, Nationalist

  • Cons - Expansionist, Nationalist

  • Mod - Expansionist

  • Lib - Civil Rights

  • Prog - Civil Right, LW Activist, Reformist, Pacifist

  • LW Pop - LW Activist, Reformist, Pacifist

Any politician with “Overeager” has a 25% chance of being pulled from the Career Track, even if the player wants them to stay with an extra 5% chance of gaining traits/abilities if they are pulled off in this manner. Any politician with “Late Bloomer” has a 25% chance of refusing to leave the career track, locking them in for the entire length of the career track timeline.. Additionally, “Late Bloomers” get an extra 5% chance of gaining all traits/abilities if they make it to the last stage of their career track.

These are the seven career tracks:

  • Private Sector: A general catch-all career track, offering a wide variety of skill and experience gains. 

  • Military Sector: Representing someone rising through the ranks of the US military -- likely on their way to become a general, admiral, or in an administrative military role in a presidential administration.

  • Judicial Track: Someone serving as a local, state, or lower federal-level judge on their way to becoming a short-list candidate for the US Supreme Court.

  • Governing Track: Someone working closely with a state governor, serving as a lieutenant governor, or as a mayor with their eyes set on the governorship.

  • Legislative Track: A local or state legislator hoping to become a US Senator or US Rep.

  • Administrative Track: A local or state policy-wonk, likely serving as a state cabinet member and hoping to become part of a US Presidential cabinet. 

  • Backroom Politics Track: Someone compulsive and adept at the strategy of elections who wishes to serve as a kind of monarch in the “smoke-filled rooms” where real politics is conducted. These politicians generally see themselves as unelectable, so they attempt to find some sort of pawn to run for them.

Name them in the forum below and I will put them on the table myself. 

For those who have reached 20 years this afternoon I will remove them and give the traits and so on they earned. 

This is due 5PM CST Tuesday

 

Private: Robert Todd Lincoln

Military: Alfred Thayer Mahan

Judicial: Samuel W. Pennypacker

Governing: Pierre C. Landry

Legislative: Robert B. Elliott

Administrative: Blanche Bruce

Backroom: Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

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46 minutes ago, pman said:

PMAN Red:

Executive: Carroll Page

Legislative:Binger Binger Hermann

Mil Track: Edward Scofield

Admin Track:Arthur C Mellette

Private Track:Charles Memorial Hamilton

Backroom: Chester Darrall


Pman Blue:

Legislative: Harrison Riddleberger

Executive: John Sparks

Mil: George M Bache Jr

Private:John W Causey

Backroom:James W Covert

 

 

Got it please update your career column 

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45 minutes ago, Blockmon said:

Private Sector: Nathan Goff Jr 

Military Sector: Samuel B M Young

Judicial Track: Joseph McKenna

Governing Track: Joseph Quarles

Legislative Track:  John Coit Spooner

Administrative Track: William Walter Phelps 

Backroom Politics Track: Stephen B Elkins
I guess remove the 20 years?

Got it please update your career column 

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7 minutes ago, DJBillyShakes said:

Private: Robert Todd Lincoln

Military: Alfred Thayer Mahan

Judicial: Samuel W. Pennypacker

Governing: Pierre C. Landry

Legislative: Robert B. Elliott

Administrative: Blanche Bruce

Backroom: Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Got it please update your career column 

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6 minutes ago, Willthescout7 said:

Career Track additions: 

Exec: Job Adams Cooper

Backroom: William McKinley

Judicial: George Symes

Legislative: Knute Nelson

Admin: William P Dillingham

Private: Charles H Sawyer

Military: Thomas B Catron

Got it please update your career column 

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@Imperator Taco Cat, @dkh64, @Bloot911, @EYates, @pman, @Umbrella, @DJBillyShakes, @Blockmon, @Willthescout7

While waiting for Bloot we can move on.  

2.1.4 Relocate Politicians

Note: A politician who is eligible for relocation may only relocate once every half-term. If the attempt to relocate fails, they’ll have to wait until next half-term to try again, for instance. 

If a politician is marked for having an Alternate State available, the player can move them to that state at this time.  Politicians can also move to a territory if that future state is listed as an alternate state, but they cannot move to their alternate state if it isn’t even a territory yet. In the event that no one can move, this phase is skipped.  Attempts to move to a politician’s alternate state are automatically successful.

A politician cannot move back to their initial state once moved unless it is also listed as an alternate state. 

You can also try to move from big state to small states.  Current big states are NY, PA, OH, MA, IL, MO.  

Politicians who are currently serving as Representative, Senator, CC delegate, or Governor cannot move as they are occupying a state-level office.

A politician marked “Provincial’ will not move, except for any alternate state that is listed.

Any politician that moves to a new region has a 25% chance of gaining a “carpetbagger” penalty, which gives a -1 in all elections, excluding the presidential election, for a period of 10 years, for most politicians. 

2.1.5 Ideology Shifts

*Done every half-term.

Note: The game has two Ideological Systems: Faction Ideology and a politician’s Personal Ideology. Generally, you’ll want the two to be aligned, but there may be instances in which you want some deviations as some ideologies do better in different state elections and such. Some game settings make this phase important in helping determine what Ideology Card(s) a faction will get. This phase is slightly less important if you are playing with more historical faction rules, but it is still helpful overall. 

All politicians have a starting ideology.  From “left” to “right” (on the US political axis), these are Left-wing Populist, Progressive, Liberal, Moderate, Conservative, Traditionalist, Right-wing Populist.  A player may move a politician’s ideology one step to the left, or one step to the right. 

Each faction can shift the ideology of up to three politicians

Attempting to change ideologies has a 50% chance of success .  75% if they are switching to their faction leader's ideology (unless they have “Puritan” or “Integrity”.  Drops to 10% for politicians with integrity and 0% for puritan.

Attempting to change your ideology in this manner (regardless of whether it succeeds) carries a 50% chance of gaining a temporary “flip flopper” trait, which gives a -1 in primaries and general elections, and a 5% chance of gaining the permanent “Two-Faced” trait. If they already have the “flop flopper” trait, they have a 50% chance of gaining the permanent “Two-Faced” trait.   It also carries a 40% chance of gaining the permanent “pliable” trait. Note that it is possible to have a permanent “Two-Faced” penalty for excessive flip-flopping, which cannot be removed. A politician with “Magician” has a 75% chance of avoiding any of these penalties. A politician with “Teflon” has a 25% chance of avoiding these penalties. 

A politician cannot move from Left Populist to Right Populist or vice versa. 


2.1.6 Politician Conversions 

We ignore this for now as we do not have faction leaders yet. 

2.1.7 Kingmakers & Proteges

*Done every half-term

This phase highlights the backdoor politics and allows often unelectable politicians (kingmakers) to wield some influence in politics by using electable politicians (proteges) as pawns. 

To activate a kingmaker (a politician with the trait “Kingmaker”), the activating faction must identify a valid protégé to pair them with.  Each faction may only activate one kingmaker per two-year phase, up to a maximum of five active kingmakers within a faction at any given time. An active kingmaker can only be deactivated to make room for a new kingmaker if the active kingmaker does not have an active protege. 

A faction may not have more than one active kingmaker from the same state.  An active Kingmaker must be at least 35 years old and not on a career track.  There are no age limitations for protege. However, the following offices cannot be made into a protege (although they can be a protege before attaining these offices): president, VP, Speaker, House Min Ldr,  Sen Maj Ldr, Sen Min Ldr, anyone with a military office, anyone on the US Supreme Court.

An active Kingmaker gets one protégé from their own faction who must also be from their own state and own personal ideology. Some Kingmakers may have multiple proteges, but they cannot pick up more than one protege per half-term. Here are some special rules regarding kingmakers:

  • A basic kingmaker gets 1 protege from their own state. 

  • A kingmaker possessing “master kingmaker” can have one protege from another state.

  • A kingmaker with “leadership” gets 2 extra proteges, while a “master kingmaker” with leadership gets 4 extra proteges.

  • A kingmaker with “manipulative” can protege politicians of another same-party faction, so long as the politician has the same personal ideology as the kingmaker. A kingmaker with “master kingmaker” and manipulative can protege any same party politician of another faction. 

  • When the Kingmaker-protege chain is first formed, a protege gains 1 random expertise, 1 random interest, 1 random trait, and +1 in a random ability that the kingmaker possesses.  The ability must be in an area where the kingmaker has a higher skill level than the protege.  The same goes for a “master kingmaker” except these are doubled. The protege automatically gains +1 command with a 20% +2 command if the kingmaker is a Master Kingmaker. 

    • Naturally, someone with LW Activist cannot gain RW Activist (or vice-versa), someone with Expansionist cannot gain Pacifist (and vice-versa), someone with Civil Rights cannot gain RW Activist (or vice-versa). 

    • Additionally, only some traits can be transferred from kingmaker to protege. These traits are:  Debater (if they don’t have incoherent), Efficient (if they don’t have Easily Overwhelmed), Egghead (if they don’t have low brow), Manipulative (if they don’t have predictable), Orator (if they don’t have incoherent), Pliable (if they don’t have puritan), Propagandist, Puritan (if they don’t have pliable), Cosmopolitan (if they don’t have provincial), Provincial (if they don’t have Cosmopolitan), Lackey (if they don’t have Leadership), Predictable (if they don’t have Manipulative), Controversial (if they don’t have integrity), and Southern Unionist (if they are from the Upper South, Deep South or Southwest). 

  • The Kingmaker provides a permanent +1 bonus to their protégé in all future elections in their state. A “master kingmaker” provides this same +1 bonus nationally. This bonus exists only as the protege bond is active. 

A protege with a kingmaker earns double points for his or her faction when awarded points for gaining office. If a kingmaker’s protege becomes president, then that kingmaker gets his faction a bonus of 1000 pts.

In most cases, the Kingmaker-Protégé relationship is permanent until either one dies, one retires, one switches parties or factions, or the protégé becomes President, Vice President, Chief Justice, Speaker, or Senate Majority Leader as these officeholders cannot have a kingmaker while they hold these offices. However, if either member is “disharmonious” then there is a 10% chance of the relationship fizzling out at this stage.. If an active Kingmaker loses their final protégé, their active kingmaker status is deactivated until they are paired with a new protégé and activated once again.

Due Tuesday at 5PM CST

Note: Wednesday will be taken up on me doing the faction personalities so after Tuesday we will be not making moves until Thursday most likely but watch this space 

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2 minutes ago, Bushwa777 said:

@Imperator Taco Cat, @dkh64, @Bloot911, @EYates, @pman, @Umbrella, @DJBillyShakes, @Blockmon, @Willthescout7

While waiting for Bloot we can move on.  

2.1.4 Relocate Politicians

Note: A politician who is eligible for relocation may only relocate once every half-term. If the attempt to relocate fails, they’ll have to wait until next half-term to try again, for instance. 

If a politician is marked for having an Alternate State available, the player can move them to that state at this time.  Politicians can also move to a territory if that future state is listed as an alternate state, but they cannot move to their alternate state if it isn’t even a territory yet. In the event that no one can move, this phase is skipped.  Attempts to move to a politician’s alternate state are automatically successful.

A politician cannot move back to their initial state once moved unless it is also listed as an alternate state. 

You can also try to move from big state to small states.  Current big states are NY, PA, OH, MA, IL, MO.  

Politicians who are currently serving as Representative, Senator, CC delegate, or Governor cannot move as they are occupying a state-level office.

A politician marked “Provincial’ will not move, except for any alternate state that is listed.

Any politician that moves to a new region has a 25% chance of gaining a “carpetbagger” penalty, which gives a -1 in all elections, excluding the presidential election, for a period of 10 years, for most politicians. 

2.1.5 Ideology Shifts

*Done every half-term.

Note: The game has two Ideological Systems: Faction Ideology and a politician’s Personal Ideology. Generally, you’ll want the two to be aligned, but there may be instances in which you want some deviations as some ideologies do better in different state elections and such. Some game settings make this phase important in helping determine what Ideology Card(s) a faction will get. This phase is slightly less important if you are playing with more historical faction rules, but it is still helpful overall. 

All politicians have a starting ideology.  From “left” to “right” (on the US political axis), these are Left-wing Populist, Progressive, Liberal, Moderate, Conservative, Traditionalist, Right-wing Populist.  A player may move a politician’s ideology one step to the left, or one step to the right. 

Each faction can shift the ideology of up to three politicians

Attempting to change ideologies has a 50% chance of success .  75% if they are switching to their faction leader's ideology (unless they have “Puritan” or “Integrity”.  Drops to 10% for politicians with integrity and 0% for puritan.

Attempting to change your ideology in this manner (regardless of whether it succeeds) carries a 50% chance of gaining a temporary “flip flopper” trait, which gives a -1 in primaries and general elections, and a 5% chance of gaining the permanent “Two-Faced” trait. If they already have the “flop flopper” trait, they have a 50% chance of gaining the permanent “Two-Faced” trait.   It also carries a 40% chance of gaining the permanent “pliable” trait. Note that it is possible to have a permanent “Two-Faced” penalty for excessive flip-flopping, which cannot be removed. A politician with “Magician” has a 75% chance of avoiding any of these penalties. A politician with “Teflon” has a 25% chance of avoiding these penalties. 

A politician cannot move from Left Populist to Right Populist or vice versa. 


2.1.6 Politician Conversions 

We ignore this for now as we do not have faction leaders yet. 

2.1.7 Kingmakers & Proteges

*Done every half-term

This phase highlights the backdoor politics and allows often unelectable politicians (kingmakers) to wield some influence in politics by using electable politicians (proteges) as pawns. 

To activate a kingmaker (a politician with the trait “Kingmaker”), the activating faction must identify a valid protégé to pair them with.  Each faction may only activate one kingmaker per two-year phase, up to a maximum of five active kingmakers within a faction at any given time. An active kingmaker can only be deactivated to make room for a new kingmaker if the active kingmaker does not have an active protege. 

A faction may not have more than one active kingmaker from the same state.  An active Kingmaker must be at least 35 years old and not on a career track.  There are no age limitations for protege. However, the following offices cannot be made into a protege (although they can be a protege before attaining these offices): president, VP, Speaker, House Min Ldr,  Sen Maj Ldr, Sen Min Ldr, anyone with a military office, anyone on the US Supreme Court.

An active Kingmaker gets one protégé from their own faction who must also be from their own state and own personal ideology. Some Kingmakers may have multiple proteges, but they cannot pick up more than one protege per half-term. Here are some special rules regarding kingmakers:

  • A basic kingmaker gets 1 protege from their own state. 

  • A kingmaker possessing “master kingmaker” can have one protege from another state.

  • A kingmaker with “leadership” gets 2 extra proteges, while a “master kingmaker” with leadership gets 4 extra proteges.

  • A kingmaker with “manipulative” can protege politicians of another same-party faction, so long as the politician has the same personal ideology as the kingmaker. A kingmaker with “master kingmaker” and manipulative can protege any same party politician of another faction. 

  • When the Kingmaker-protege chain is first formed, a protege gains 1 random expertise, 1 random interest, 1 random trait, and +1 in a random ability that the kingmaker possesses.  The ability must be in an area where the kingmaker has a higher skill level than the protege.  The same goes for a “master kingmaker” except these are doubled. The protege automatically gains +1 command with a 20% +2 command if the kingmaker is a Master Kingmaker. 

    • Naturally, someone with LW Activist cannot gain RW Activist (or vice-versa), someone with Expansionist cannot gain Pacifist (and vice-versa), someone with Civil Rights cannot gain RW Activist (or vice-versa). 

    • Additionally, only some traits can be transferred from kingmaker to protege. These traits are:  Debater (if they don’t have incoherent), Efficient (if they don’t have Easily Overwhelmed), Egghead (if they don’t have low brow), Manipulative (if they don’t have predictable), Orator (if they don’t have incoherent), Pliable (if they don’t have puritan), Propagandist, Puritan (if they don’t have pliable), Cosmopolitan (if they don’t have provincial), Provincial (if they don’t have Cosmopolitan), Lackey (if they don’t have Leadership), Predictable (if they don’t have Manipulative), Controversial (if they don’t have integrity), and Southern Unionist (if they are from the Upper South, Deep South or Southwest). 

  • The Kingmaker provides a permanent +1 bonus to their protégé in all future elections in their state. A “master kingmaker” provides this same +1 bonus nationally. This bonus exists only as the protege bond is active. 

A protege with a kingmaker earns double points for his or her faction when awarded points for gaining office. If a kingmaker’s protege becomes president, then that kingmaker gets his faction a bonus of 1000 pts.

In most cases, the Kingmaker-Protégé relationship is permanent until either one dies, one retires, one switches parties or factions, or the protégé becomes President, Vice President, Chief Justice, Speaker, or Senate Majority Leader as these officeholders cannot have a kingmaker while they hold these offices. However, if either member is “disharmonious” then there is a 10% chance of the relationship fizzling out at this stage.. If an active Kingmaker loses their final protégé, their active kingmaker status is deactivated until they are paired with a new protégé and activated once again.

Due Tuesday at 5PM CST

Note: Wednesday will be taken up on me doing the faction personalities so after Tuesday we will be not making moves until Thursday most likely but watch this space 

Slight point of order:

Pols in overpopulated states can move to underpopulated states. That's what he means by big states to small states.

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Mod->lib

Eugene Cox

Alpheus S Williams

Nathaniel Eldridge

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Salmon P Chase will take on Samuel Fenton Cary as a protege

Boss Tweed will take on Henry W Slocum as a protege 

James Nesmith will take on Sylvester Pennoyer as a protege

John Kelly will take on John Adams Dix as a protege

Carter Harrison Sr will take on Samuel S Marshall as a protege

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5 minutes ago, Imperator Taco Cat said:

Mod->lib

Eugene Cox

Alpheus S Williams

Nathaniel Eldridge

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Salmon P Chase will take on Samuel Fenton Cary as a protege

Boss Tweed will take on Henry W Slocum as a protege 

James Nesmith will take on Sylvester Pennoyer as a protege

John Kelly will take on John Adams Dix as a protege

Carter Harrison Sr will take on Samuel S Marshall as a protege

You can only activate one kingmaker-protege chain a turn. 

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7 minutes ago, Imperator Taco Cat said:

Mod->lib

Eugene Cox

Alpheus S Williams

Nathaniel Eldridge

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Salmon P Chase will take on Samuel Fenton Cary as a protege

Boss Tweed will take on Henry W Slocum as a protege 

James Nesmith will take on Sylvester Pennoyer as a protege

John Kelly will take on John Adams Dix as a protege

Carter Harrison Sr will take on Samuel S Marshall as a protege

Which kingmaker proteges you want 

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42 minutes ago, Bushwa777 said:

@Imperator Taco Cat, @dkh64, @Bloot911, @EYates, @pman, @Umbrella, @DJBillyShakes, @Blockmon, @Willthescout7

While waiting for Bloot we can move on.  

2.1.4 Relocate Politicians

Note: A politician who is eligible for relocation may only relocate once every half-term. If the attempt to relocate fails, they’ll have to wait until next half-term to try again, for instance. 

If a politician is marked for having an Alternate State available, the player can move them to that state at this time.  Politicians can also move to a territory if that future state is listed as an alternate state, but they cannot move to their alternate state if it isn’t even a territory yet. In the event that no one can move, this phase is skipped.  Attempts to move to a politician’s alternate state are automatically successful.

A politician cannot move back to their initial state once moved unless it is also listed as an alternate state. 

You can also try to move from big state to small states.  Current big states are NY, PA, OH, MA, IL, MO.  

Politicians who are currently serving as Representative, Senator, CC delegate, or Governor cannot move as they are occupying a state-level office.

A politician marked “Provincial’ will not move, except for any alternate state that is listed.

Any politician that moves to a new region has a 25% chance of gaining a “carpetbagger” penalty, which gives a -1 in all elections, excluding the presidential election, for a period of 10 years, for most politicians. 

2.1.5 Ideology Shifts

*Done every half-term.

Note: The game has two Ideological Systems: Faction Ideology and a politician’s Personal Ideology. Generally, you’ll want the two to be aligned, but there may be instances in which you want some deviations as some ideologies do better in different state elections and such. Some game settings make this phase important in helping determine what Ideology Card(s) a faction will get. This phase is slightly less important if you are playing with more historical faction rules, but it is still helpful overall. 

All politicians have a starting ideology.  From “left” to “right” (on the US political axis), these are Left-wing Populist, Progressive, Liberal, Moderate, Conservative, Traditionalist, Right-wing Populist.  A player may move a politician’s ideology one step to the left, or one step to the right. 

Each faction can shift the ideology of up to three politicians

Attempting to change ideologies has a 50% chance of success .  75% if they are switching to their faction leader's ideology (unless they have “Puritan” or “Integrity”.  Drops to 10% for politicians with integrity and 0% for puritan.

Attempting to change your ideology in this manner (regardless of whether it succeeds) carries a 50% chance of gaining a temporary “flip flopper” trait, which gives a -1 in primaries and general elections, and a 5% chance of gaining the permanent “Two-Faced” trait. If they already have the “flop flopper” trait, they have a 50% chance of gaining the permanent “Two-Faced” trait.   It also carries a 40% chance of gaining the permanent “pliable” trait. Note that it is possible to have a permanent “Two-Faced” penalty for excessive flip-flopping, which cannot be removed. A politician with “Magician” has a 75% chance of avoiding any of these penalties. A politician with “Teflon” has a 25% chance of avoiding these penalties. 

A politician cannot move from Left Populist to Right Populist or vice versa. 


2.1.6 Politician Conversions 

We ignore this for now as we do not have faction leaders yet. 

2.1.7 Kingmakers & Proteges

*Done every half-term

This phase highlights the backdoor politics and allows often unelectable politicians (kingmakers) to wield some influence in politics by using electable politicians (proteges) as pawns. 

To activate a kingmaker (a politician with the trait “Kingmaker”), the activating faction must identify a valid protégé to pair them with.  Each faction may only activate one kingmaker per two-year phase, up to a maximum of five active kingmakers within a faction at any given time. An active kingmaker can only be deactivated to make room for a new kingmaker if the active kingmaker does not have an active protege. 

A faction may not have more than one active kingmaker from the same state.  An active Kingmaker must be at least 35 years old and not on a career track.  There are no age limitations for protege. However, the following offices cannot be made into a protege (although they can be a protege before attaining these offices): president, VP, Speaker, House Min Ldr,  Sen Maj Ldr, Sen Min Ldr, anyone with a military office, anyone on the US Supreme Court.

An active Kingmaker gets one protégé from their own faction who must also be from their own state and own personal ideology. Some Kingmakers may have multiple proteges, but they cannot pick up more than one protege per half-term. Here are some special rules regarding kingmakers:

  • A basic kingmaker gets 1 protege from their own state. 

  • A kingmaker possessing “master kingmaker” can have one protege from another state.

  • A kingmaker with “leadership” gets 2 extra proteges, while a “master kingmaker” with leadership gets 4 extra proteges.

  • A kingmaker with “manipulative” can protege politicians of another same-party faction, so long as the politician has the same personal ideology as the kingmaker. A kingmaker with “master kingmaker” and manipulative can protege any same party politician of another faction. 

  • When the Kingmaker-protege chain is first formed, a protege gains 1 random expertise, 1 random interest, 1 random trait, and +1 in a random ability that the kingmaker possesses.  The ability must be in an area where the kingmaker has a higher skill level than the protege.  The same goes for a “master kingmaker” except these are doubled. The protege automatically gains +1 command with a 20% +2 command if the kingmaker is a Master Kingmaker. 

    • Naturally, someone with LW Activist cannot gain RW Activist (or vice-versa), someone with Expansionist cannot gain Pacifist (and vice-versa), someone with Civil Rights cannot gain RW Activist (or vice-versa). 

    • Additionally, only some traits can be transferred from kingmaker to protege. These traits are:  Debater (if they don’t have incoherent), Efficient (if they don’t have Easily Overwhelmed), Egghead (if they don’t have low brow), Manipulative (if they don’t have predictable), Orator (if they don’t have incoherent), Pliable (if they don’t have puritan), Propagandist, Puritan (if they don’t have pliable), Cosmopolitan (if they don’t have provincial), Provincial (if they don’t have Cosmopolitan), Lackey (if they don’t have Leadership), Predictable (if they don’t have Manipulative), Controversial (if they don’t have integrity), and Southern Unionist (if they are from the Upper South, Deep South or Southwest). 

  • The Kingmaker provides a permanent +1 bonus to their protégé in all future elections in their state. A “master kingmaker” provides this same +1 bonus nationally. This bonus exists only as the protege bond is active. 

A protege with a kingmaker earns double points for his or her faction when awarded points for gaining office. If a kingmaker’s protege becomes president, then that kingmaker gets his faction a bonus of 1000 pts.

In most cases, the Kingmaker-Protégé relationship is permanent until either one dies, one retires, one switches parties or factions, or the protégé becomes President, Vice President, Chief Justice, Speaker, or Senate Majority Leader as these officeholders cannot have a kingmaker while they hold these offices. However, if either member is “disharmonious” then there is a 10% chance of the relationship fizzling out at this stage.. If an active Kingmaker loses their final protégé, their active kingmaker status is deactivated until they are paired with a new protégé and activated once again.

Due Tuesday at 5PM CST

Note: Wednesday will be taken up on me doing the faction personalities so after Tuesday we will be not making moves until Thursday most likely but watch this space 

Robert B. Van Valkenburgh relocates to FL (alternate state).

No political conversions.

Edwin D. Morgan takes Chester A. Arthur as a protege.

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