This is an idea that I've had for a while, but never really put much thought into it until now. It's a roleplaying game about steam locomotives, railroad station towns, production chains, the tycoons behind it all, and more.
Summary: It takes place in a fictional location in the 19th Century American Midwest, where steamboats and locomotives have revolutionized the transport of people and goods. A burgeoning riverside City has been connected to a Town via railroad, and items are shipped back and forth. The players will own a business that produces a specific good to be sold abroad - whether to NPCs (me, playing the settlements) or to each other. These businesses can grow and evolve; production chains may form - and are encouraged. Additionally, new Towns may appear, while existing ones will become Cities and those may become Metropolises - all depending on how well the players manage the production and transport of their goods.
Turn-Based: Except on special occasions, my posts will count as a single turn. A turn is '1DT', which stands for 1 Days Travel. The City and Town are 1DT apart, so if the train is in the City then the next time I post it will arrive in the Town.
About Your Business: You will own some kind of business - whether it's a log-cutting business, mining industry, a farm, mail service, fishery, slaughterhouse, paper mill, plantation - honestly whatever you want. These businesses are based near or within the City or Town. Every turn you will produce 1 tonne of a resource. Maybe you produce 1 tonne of lumber, or 1 ton of cotton, or 1 tonne of corn - that's your discretion. I will update your 'inventories' whenever I advance a turn so you can keep track of what you have produced.
What do I do on my turn?: Let's pretend you own a cotton plantation. When I post you will see that you have produced 1 tonne of cotton. You may now post and decide you want to load this 1 tonne of cotton onto the train to sell in the City. The next time I post the train will have arrived in the City and your 1 tonne of cotton will have been sold, increasing your Cash. That's the basics.
Supply, Demand, and Upgrades: So your business produces 1 tonne of a good per turn. You can use Cash to upgrade your business and start producing 2 tonnes per turn, 3 tonnes per turn, etc. But each location only demands a specific amount of goods - representing demand. Metropolises will demand more than a City, and a City will demand more than a Town. Note that a location will never have a demand for a good that is being produced there. When enough businesses exist within a town it will become a city, and cities become metropolises in the the same fashion.
New Towns: The players may pool their money together to invest in the construction of a new railroad linking the existing Town or City to a new town. This town will now start accepting the goods you produce, and will also become a new location for you to found new businesses!
New Businesses: Aside from upgrading your business, or expanding your existing business to a new location, you can open up an entirely new one! So you might own a Cotton Plantation in the Town, and a Steel Furnace in the City! Ship cotton to the City, then ship steel to the Town!
Competition?: So a location will always buy your goods at a fixed rate. But what happens when two players produce the same good? That fixed rate ceases to exist and now the price is determined by the players. I don't know how I want to do this yet, however, and it's something I am still working on.
Another form of competition would be founding businesses in locations where that business doesn't exist yet. If Player One owns a steel furnace in the City and he is selling his goods in the Town, you can found a steel furnace in the Town which means they no longer demand Steel - you have stripped Player One of customers!
Production Chains: A production chain would be where one player produces a good, ships it to another player, who then turns that good into their own type. So an Iron Ore Mining Company in the Town might ship iron ore to a Steel Furnace in the City, which then produces steel to be sold in the Town. Production chains are up to the players' discretion and I want to encourage this somehow or another. They can be as complex as the players start to make them!
Conclusion: I work a full-time job and have morning classes - so I am quite busy! But I wanted to pass this idea on to see what people though about it, answer some questions, and hear some suggestions!
Summary: It takes place in a fictional location in the 19th Century American Midwest, where steamboats and locomotives have revolutionized the transport of people and goods. A burgeoning riverside City has been connected to a Town via railroad, and items are shipped back and forth. The players will own a business that produces a specific good to be sold abroad - whether to NPCs (me, playing the settlements) or to each other. These businesses can grow and evolve; production chains may form - and are encouraged. Additionally, new Towns may appear, while existing ones will become Cities and those may become Metropolises - all depending on how well the players manage the production and transport of their goods.
Turn-Based: Except on special occasions, my posts will count as a single turn. A turn is '1DT', which stands for 1 Days Travel. The City and Town are 1DT apart, so if the train is in the City then the next time I post it will arrive in the Town.
About Your Business: You will own some kind of business - whether it's a log-cutting business, mining industry, a farm, mail service, fishery, slaughterhouse, paper mill, plantation - honestly whatever you want. These businesses are based near or within the City or Town. Every turn you will produce 1 tonne of a resource. Maybe you produce 1 tonne of lumber, or 1 ton of cotton, or 1 tonne of corn - that's your discretion. I will update your 'inventories' whenever I advance a turn so you can keep track of what you have produced.
What do I do on my turn?: Let's pretend you own a cotton plantation. When I post you will see that you have produced 1 tonne of cotton. You may now post and decide you want to load this 1 tonne of cotton onto the train to sell in the City. The next time I post the train will have arrived in the City and your 1 tonne of cotton will have been sold, increasing your Cash. That's the basics.
Supply, Demand, and Upgrades: So your business produces 1 tonne of a good per turn. You can use Cash to upgrade your business and start producing 2 tonnes per turn, 3 tonnes per turn, etc. But each location only demands a specific amount of goods - representing demand. Metropolises will demand more than a City, and a City will demand more than a Town. Note that a location will never have a demand for a good that is being produced there. When enough businesses exist within a town it will become a city, and cities become metropolises in the the same fashion.
New Towns: The players may pool their money together to invest in the construction of a new railroad linking the existing Town or City to a new town. This town will now start accepting the goods you produce, and will also become a new location for you to found new businesses!
New Businesses: Aside from upgrading your business, or expanding your existing business to a new location, you can open up an entirely new one! So you might own a Cotton Plantation in the Town, and a Steel Furnace in the City! Ship cotton to the City, then ship steel to the Town!
Competition?: So a location will always buy your goods at a fixed rate. But what happens when two players produce the same good? That fixed rate ceases to exist and now the price is determined by the players. I don't know how I want to do this yet, however, and it's something I am still working on.
Another form of competition would be founding businesses in locations where that business doesn't exist yet. If Player One owns a steel furnace in the City and he is selling his goods in the Town, you can found a steel furnace in the Town which means they no longer demand Steel - you have stripped Player One of customers!
Production Chains: A production chain would be where one player produces a good, ships it to another player, who then turns that good into their own type. So an Iron Ore Mining Company in the Town might ship iron ore to a Steel Furnace in the City, which then produces steel to be sold in the Town. Production chains are up to the players' discretion and I want to encourage this somehow or another. They can be as complex as the players start to make them!
Conclusion: I work a full-time job and have morning classes - so I am quite busy! But I wanted to pass this idea on to see what people though about it, answer some questions, and hear some suggestions!
