Earth-Based, Politics Oriented Campaign?

Playtesting & Rules Development
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logan400k
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Post by logan400k »

awesome, awesome! I think we all know how crazy life can get.

Sean
Its 2300hrs, do you know where your Supercarrier is?
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MarkG88
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Post by MarkG88 »

Sorry to hear you were ailing (lot of that going around my part of country too, had cold/flu for about a week myself recently). I am excited about this campaign though hehe.

-Mark
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Tyrel Lohr
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Post by Tyrel Lohr »

A month later, and I am finally getting things put together! I have to sit down and finish up force lists and a few other rules, but I am fairly confident we will be ready to start by next weekend (barring any unforeseen disasters).

After some thought, I did end up changing a few of the rules to better reflect this setting (more about that later). I will probably also end up scaling the Earth down a bit, but with an eye to maintaining game balance.

For your perusal and criticism, however, is the current build of the United Nations rules. A lot of the text is ripped from Wikipedia, but you should be able to sort out the game-specific elements. Sorry for the raw text dump; I will have it prettied-up for the PDF rules version when the campaign starts.


UN General Assembly

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA / GA) is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation. Its powers are to oversee the budget of the United Nations, receive reports from other parts of the United Nations and make recommendations in the form of General Assembly Resolutions.

The General Assembly meets under its president or secretary general in regular yearly sessions which last from September to December, although it can reconvene for special and emergency special sessions.
Voting in the General Assembly on important questions – recommendations on peace and security; election of members to organs; admission, suspension, and expulsion of members; budgetary matters – is by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. Other questions are decided by majority vote. Each member country has one vote per Census.

Apart from approval of budgetary matters, including adoption of a scale of assessment, Assembly resolutions are not binding on the members. The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace and security under Security Council consideration.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY POWERS

Budget: The General Assembly decides how much money should be collected from its members (in the form of an assessment, as a percentage of the United Nations budget), and how that money should be spent.

Prior to the first turn of a new campaign year, the General Assembly must stipulate the size of its operating budget for the next year and how much each member state will be responsible for paying to cover that budget. Assessment ceilings and floors can be applied to ensure that all states provide their fair share of resources to the budget.
Budgetary votes require a two-thirds majority to pass.

UN Membership: The General Assembly votes to admit, suspend or expulse United Nation members. All votes must pass by a two-thirds majority vote.

Security Council Membership: At the beginning of each General Assembly session, members vote to replace one of two non-permanent Security Council members. A two-thirds majority is required to elect a nation to fill one of these vacant seats.

The UN member that holds the vacating seat on the Security Council is not eligible for re-election to the Security Council for at least one year. Additionally, nations that hold a permanent seat on the Security Council cannot receive a second seat via General Assembly vote.
General Assembly Presidency: On the ninth turn of each campaign year (September), at the beginning of a new session of the United Nations General Assembly, members vote to elect a new President. This president oversees the administration of that year’s session and coordinates its activities.

When a vote for President of the United Nations General Assembly is held, nations nominate one or more candidates for the position, and then a vote is held. A simple majority of votes (>50%) is required to elect an individual to the post of President.

The member state that holds the Presidency receives one extra vote in all General Assembly votes.


UN Security Council

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is the organ of the United Nations charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions regimes, and the authorization for military action. Its powers are exercised through United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

There are six seats on the UNSC. Four powers have permanent seats on the Security Council:

• People’s Republic of China
• European Union
• Confederacy of Independent States
• North American Union

The remaining two seats are filled on a rotating basis by the General Assembly, with the senior non-permanent UNSC member being replaced each year. This means that non-permanent members will hold a seat for two years at a time.

Security Council members no longer hold the veto power. This power was removed over fifty years ago due to its negative impact on the decision-making process; it led to far too many impasses, some of which nearly led to an escalation in hostilities.

The Security Council "may investigate any dispute, or any situation which might lead to international friction or give rise to a dispute". The Council may "recommend appropriate procedures or methods of adjustment" if it determines that the situation might endanger international peace and security. These recommendations are not binding on UN members.
Under Chapter Seven, the Council has the broader power to decide what measures are to be taken in situations involving "threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, or acts of aggression". In such situations, the Council is not limited to recommendations but may take action, including the use of armed force "to maintain or restore international peace and security". This was the basis for UN armed action in Korea in 1950 during the Korean War and the use of coalition forces in Iraq and Kuwait in 1991. Decisions taken under Chapter Seven, such as economic sanctions, are binding on UN members.

The UN's role in international collective security is defined by the UN Charter, which gives the Security Council the power to:

• Investigate any situation threatening international peace;
• Recommend procedures for peaceful resolution of a dispute;
• Call upon other member nations to completely or partially interrupt economic relations as well as sea, air, postal, and radio communications, or to sever diplomatic relations; and
• Enforce its decisions militarily, or by any means necessary.

The United Nations has helped prevent many outbreaks of international violence from growing into wider conflicts. It has opened the way to negotiated settlements through its service as a centre of debate and negotiation, as well as through UN-sponsored fact-finding missions, mediators, and truce observers. UN Peacekeeping forces, comprised of troops and equipment supplied by member nations, have usually been able to limit or prevent conflict, although sometimes not. Some conflicts, however, have proven to be beyond the capacity of the UN to influence. Key to the success of UN peacekeeping efforts is the willingness of the parties to a conflict to come to terms peacefully through a viable political process.

Each Security Council member receives one vote, and the state holding the Security Council Presidency receives a second vote.

SECURITY COUNCIL POWERS

Security Council Resolutions: The UNSC’s primary tool is the Security Council Resolution. These resolutions are legally binding, and members are expected to abide by them.

The UNSC has the authority to direct the General Assembly to meet in a special session to address matters relating to its Security Resolutions, such as to provide funding for peacekeeping operations.

Security Council Resolutions are passed on a two-thirds majority of those present.

Security Council Presidency: The President of the UN Security Council is appointed on a rotating basis. Each month, a different Security Council member state will hold the office. During this time, that member will receive an extra vote during any Security Council votes.

Confirm Secretary-General: The President of the UN Security Council is appointed on a rotating basis. Each month, a different Security Council member state will hold the office. During this time, that member will receive an extra vote during any Security Council votes.


UN Economic and Social Council

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development.

ECOSOC’s functions include information gathering, advising member nations, and making recommendations. In addition, ECOSOC is well positioned to provide policy coherence and coordinate the overlapping functions of the UN’s subsidiary bodies and it is in these roles that it is most active.
One UN member state (representing the sitting President of ECOSOC) is selected by a General Assembly vote at the end of each campaign year (December). A simple majority is required to receive this appointment. The country elected to serve in this capacity will serve a one-year term and oversee this organ’s operation.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL POWERS

Economic Investment: The cost of Productivity Increases in the President’s nation is reduced by 25% (round costs down).
UN Secretariat

The United Nations Secretariat is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and it is headed by the United Nations Secretary-General, assisted by a staff of international civil servants worldwide. It provides studies, information, and facilities needed by United Nations bodies for their meetings. It also carries out tasks as directed by the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, the UN Economic and Social Council, and other U.N. bodies. The United Nations Charter provides that the staff be chosen by application of the "highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity," with due regard for the importance of recruiting on a wide geographical basis.

The Charter provides that the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any authority other than the UN. Each UN member country is enjoined to respect the international character of the Secretariat and not seek to influence its staff. The Secretary-General alone is responsible for staff selection.

The Secretary-General's duties include helping resolve international disputes, administering peacekeeping operations, organizing international conferences, gathering information on the implementation of Security Council decisions, and consulting with member governments regarding various initiatives. Key Secretariat offices in this area include the Office of the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter that, in his or her opinion, may threaten international peace and security.

Secretary-Generals serve for renewable two-year terms. A Secretary-General must be confirmed by a two-thirds vote by the members of the Security Council in order to receive appointment to the position.

UN SECRETARIAT POWERS

United Nations Leadership: In the event that a General Assembly or Security Council vote results in a tie, the Secretary-General can cast a tie-breaking vote to remove the deadlock. The Secretary-General is not required to cast such a vote, however.

Administrative Infrastructure: The Secretary-General’s member state receives +1d6 Administrative and Political XP for each full year that it controls the Sectretariat.


International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; French: Cour internationale de Justice) is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, sharing the building with the Hague Academy of International Law, a private centre for the study of international law. Several of the Court's current judges are either alumni or former faculty members of the Academy. English and French are its two official languages.

The Court's workload is characterized by a wide range of judicial activity. Its main functions are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by member states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international organs, agencies and the UN General Assembly. The ICJ has dealt with relatively few cases in its history, but there has clearly been an increased willingness to use the Court since the 1980s, especially among developing countries.

Chapter XIV of the United Nations Charter authorizes the UN Security Council to enforce World Court rulings.

At the end of each campaign year, the General Assembly will appoint three members to represent the International Court of Justice. The three members that receive the most votes will receive this appointment.

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE POWERS

Binding Rulings: The International Court of Justice can settle disputes between UN member states. The rulings of the IJC are binding. A two-thirds majority vote is required before the court can issue its ruling.
Advisory Opinion: These opinions provide non-binding counsel to the UN’s other commissions and organs in issues concerning international law. These opinions help to provide guidelines for what the IJC considers a legal course of action.

As with binding resolutions, the IJC can only issue an advisory opinion following a successful two-thirds majority vote.


UN Trusteeship Council

The United Nations Trusteeship Council, one of the principal organs of the United Nations, was established to help ensure that non-self-governing territories were administered in the best interests of the inhabitants and of international peace and security.

One UN member state (representing the sitting President of the UN Trusteeship Council) is selected by a General Assembly vote at the end of each campaign year (December). A simple majority is required to receive this appointment. The country elected to serve in this capacity will serve a one-year term and oversee this organ’s operation.

UN TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL POWERS

Colonial Authority: Any colonies that go into a state of unrest or rebellion are placed under the provisional control of the Trusteeship Council, to be administered by the President of the Trusteeship Council.

Colonization Management: The cost of Colony Fleets in the President’s nation is reduced by 33% (round costs down).
Leo_Vs_Aidan
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Post by Leo_Vs_Aidan »

Tyrel Lohr wrote:UN Security Council

There are six seats on the UNSC. Four powers have permanent seats on the Security Council:

• People’s Republic of China
• European Union
• Confederacy of Independent States
• North American Union
I have been evicted :shock:

Other than that I think the rules look good. :)
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Post by ronin »

Leo_Vs_Aidan wrote:
Tyrel Lohr wrote:UN Security Council

There are six seats on the UNSC. Four powers have permanent seats on the Security Council:

• People’s Republic of China
• European Union
• Confederacy of Independent States
• North American Union
I have been evicted :shock:

Other than that I think the rule look good. :)
well the rule's do look good. but i think the commonweath should be one of the permanent seat as it is one of the founding members, just saying maybe have 5 permanent seats and one rotating seat
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Tyrel Lohr
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Post by Tyrel Lohr »

Sorry for keeping everyone hanging. As has become apparent, I won't actually have time to start this game until after Star Charts gets done (writing and playtesting is eating up about 1-2 hours a day each week, which is basically all of my gaming time).

So for now I am going to have to just let this game lapse into official hiatus. Once I have Star Charts done I will put the finishing touches on the scenario and contact everyone again to see who is still around.

Does anyone have any free time they can loan me? Anyone? I would trade you some stress and expletives for free time! :)

-Tyrel
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Post by Bandit »

Tyrel Lohr wrote:Does anyone have any free time they can loan me? Anyone? I would trade you some stress and expletives for free time! :)
That sounds like a fair trade :)
-Sean Martinez

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Emiricol
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Post by Emiricol »

Thread necro ;) Did this game ever get to begin, or did 2E eat up that time and energy? I'm guessing the latter!
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