Star Fleet Warlord Rules (Updated) - Play By E-Mail

ather exaggerated view of the secret intelligence services of the Federation and other races), she took considerable
liberties with reality, creating fictional events, people, and technology. (For example, the entire concept of Warp Gates
existed only in her mini- series, not in the "real" universe.) She also played rather fast and loose with political history,
postulating squadrons of renegade Andromedan and LDR ships that never existed, and turning the computer-simulated
Frax ships into real, computer-manned warships. Olivette assumed that the Corporations would exploit the peaceful and
otherwise happy inhabitants of the various planets in the GMC, most of which looked remarkably alike, even when from
radically different planets. This was apparently intended to make the point that regardless of their actual appearance, they
were alike in being exploited.
It is on this mini-series that STAR FLEET WARLORD is based. In effect, STAR FLEET WARLORD is based on
the Star Fleet Universe background, but is not a part of its "true history." Most of the Star Fleet Universe appears in STAR
FLEET WARLORD, but some elements of SFW are not duplicated in Star Fleet Battles or the other games, and some
parts of the universe do not behave consistently within SFW. Nothing in STAR FLEET WARLORD can be used to explain
or support arguments regarding how similar things operate within other games.
Put another way, the Star Fleet Universe is based on a TV show seen within the real universe. You are sitting in
your armchair in the real universe watching the TV show, and you observe that the people on screen were themselves
watching a fictional television show. The characters on the show you are watching might suddenly exclaim "That's
rubbish! There is no such thing as a Warp Gate!"
If the Star Fleet Universe could be defined as real, STAR FLEET WARLORD would still be fiction.
A final clarification (perhaps getting closer to the point than anything above). If you only play STAR FLEET
WARLORD, you will never notice that things here don't exactly match similar things in Star Fleet Battles. If you play
several of the games of the Star Fleet Universe, don't try to interpret an SFB or F&E rule based on what the unit does in
SFW (or vice versa).
1.3 More On the Game
STAR FLEET WARLORD is a play-by-email science fiction game. If you've never played a game by email before,
you may be wondering just how it works, so here's a quick description.
Basically, you send us via email an "orders sheet" on which you tell us what you want to do. We then process this
on our computer and generate a "results sheet," which tells you what happened as a result of your orders. Finally, this is
then emailed back to you to begin the process anew. This completes one turn of the game. A typical game lasts from 20
to 30 turns, although this can vary. Additional details about this process will be explained later on in these rules.
This game uses the ships and races of the popular board game, Star Fleet Battles (SFB). However, much effort
has been made to organize the game in such a way that you do not need to own or play SFB to play STAR FLEET
WARLORD. For those of you with no SFB experience, a reference glossary is included.
This rulebook is rather large and may look intimidating at first, but keep in mind that you don't have to understand
everything you see right away. Read through the rules once and then refer back to it as you play. Hints and tips to help
you understand various concepts are presented throughout the rulebook in boxes such as this one.
1.4 Duties of a Warlord
You are the Warlord of a huge intergalactic mega-Corporation, or Corp for short. As Warlord, it is up to you to
lead your Corp's attempt to dominate the Greater Magellanic Cloud, using military attacks, diplomacy, trading, and any
other means necessary. Your Corp has given you total authority over this effort. You won't be alone-there are up to 49
other players out there trying to do the same thing you are!
The Galactic Council has helped you out by establishing a base for you in a sector of the GMC, from which you
will direct your Corporation's actions. This base is known as your Home Office (often abbreviated HO) and is your most
important asset. The planet your Home Office orbits will produce 100 economic points per turn, and has 300 points in its
treasury at the start of play. You have also been given a Warp Gate, a special starship which will be fully described in
Chapter Four.
A Corporation's Warlord can choose any name for his Corp at the start of the game. This name can be up to 20
characters in length, and should not begin with the word "the." You can select any name you like, but in addition to this,
the computer will assign you a Corp Number with which it can always be identified. Although your Corp's name can
change, its Corp# will almost always remain constant. No two Corporations will ever have the same identification number.
You will also be given an account number (acct#) by which control of your Corp is regulated. The acct# is
intended to prevent interstellar fraud-you must write it on your orders sheet each turn, or it will be mailed back to you
unprocessed! You must also give us your acct# whenever you call us with a question about your Corp. This ensures that
you are who you say you are, and not another player attempting to get information on your account or Corporation.
Each Corporation also has a stock value which will fluctuate, usually upwards, with your successes and failures.
This value begins anywhere from 31 to 35 points per share. Think of stock as a measure of how well you are doing in
comparison to the other Corps in the game. Stock changes are described in greater detail in Chapter Nine.
Revised 30 June 2010 Page 4