Nation States

I've returned to playing a game called Nation States. It is sort of a government simulation with thousands of players involved. I tried it out once years ago but eventually lost interest. It looks like a number of improvements have been made the last five years and I think I'll have a much longer attention span for it this time.

I no longer had the log-in for my old nation, New Newtopia. Didn't matter because I have now created Free- -Land. I'm starting off pretty good: Excellent Civil Rights, a Thriving Economy, and Superb Political Freedoms.

"The Free Land of Free- -Land is a fledgling, socially progressive nation, renowned for its absence of drug laws. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, intelligent population of 5 million live in a state of perpetual fear, as a complete breakdown of social order has led to the rise of order through biker gangs.

The tiny, corrupt, pro-business government juggles the competing demands of Religion & Spirituality, Law & Order, and Commerce. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 10%. A robust private sector is led by the Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, and Pizza Delivery industries.

Crime is a major problem, and the police force struggles against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Free- -Land's national animal is the Porcupine, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the Quatloos."

As of yet I haven't joined the World Assembly; the UN of Nation States. While on one hand it would be great to get endorsements and vote on resolutions, the problem is that any resolution that passes becomes law for all members of the W.A. I'm not sure I want to have my people be at the mercy of others like that at this point.

My first national issue involved a proposal to make voting in elections mandatory. I didn't want to infringe on my citizens' right not to vote so needless to say that proposal failed.

I'll post some semi-regular updates to tell of my experiences with the game. It should be fun. Now I should start work on designing a new flag (right now I'm using the flag of Sealand).

If you happen to be on Nation States be sure to look my nation up.

Mutant Arena – Boimp v. Wegg

Now begins the Mutant Arena where I test the various mutants I've created over the last eight weeks. These mutants were all created using D&D Gamma World, a game by Wizards of the Coast.

In the ruins of Rah-Chez-Tur a pair of mutants meet to fight. Stalking each other through the rubble strewn streets of the ancient city each looks for an advantage. Of course the translucent Boimp has this advantage with natural camouflage and gets the drop on its opponent. An attack of paralytic goo inflicts 11 points of damage on Wegg and reveals the bouncing mass of gelatin. However the goo has slowed Wegg’s reflexes a bit.

Wegg activates his Lodestone Lure in an attempt to keep Wegg from escaping, but his magnetic waves miss their intended target. Shortly afterwards the mild paralysis Wegg was suffering fades.

Since the goo worked so well the first time Boimp attempts to use it again, however he misses his target. Now fully mobile and at full speed Wegg is a much more difficult target. Wegg pulls away, getting some distance from his enemy. His hyper-balance is of great aid to outrunning the bouncing ball of death.

Boimp throws his dream grenade at Wegg and knocks the mutant unconscious. As it moves in to make the kill Wegg’s artificial blood helps him regain consciousness. He then quickly charges Boimp using an axe and his maximum overdrive mutant power. His axe glances off Boimp inflicting 7 damage and disorienting his foe.

Due to his disorientation Boimp misses Wegg with its own attack. Wegg continues to swing his axe, hitting a second time and inflicting 9 damage.

Boimp’s unluck continues as he bounces off a partially collapsed wall and tries to goo Wegg. Wegg easily rolls out of the way and swings again, hitting with his trusty axe a third time. The 13 damage inflicted is enough to slice through a nerve cluster in Boimp and drops the mutant.

Wegg wins!

His reward is not only survival, but advancing in level!

So which two of the remaining six should do battle next week?

Mutant of the Week - Barnabas

This weeks mutant is all gold…. Well form Legion of Gold anyway; presenting a Photonic-Saurian!

STR: 16 (+3)
DEX: 6 (-2)
CON: 12 (+1)
INT: 18 (+4)
WIS: 14 (+2)
CHA: 15 (+2)

+2 Dark overcharge

Fortitude Defense: 16
Reflex Defense: 16
Will Defense: 13
Armor Class: 16
Hit Points: 24

SKILLS
Science +8, Nature +4

MUTANT POWERS
Laser Resistance
Glowing Blades
Sonic Resistance
Tyrannosaur Charge

BACKGROUND
Holy cats a giant purple glowing dinosaur! Barnabas appears as an overweight humanoid-T-Rex with small antennas. He can create glowing blades of purple energy to combat his foes.

Barnabas is gullible, enthusiastic, and dutiful. He is also willing to do anything to help a friend or anyone else in need. Unfortunately he makes friends too easily and can be taken advantage of.

COMING NEXT WEEK!
Well that makes eight mutants of the week. Now comes the time when we start to pair them off, put them in a box, then shake it to make them fight.

#1 Pementa: A mutant chili pepper
#2 Wegg: A human mutant fused with a shopping cart!
#3 Zzzzzzzzzzzzz: A Nightmare-Entropic creature from another universe
#4 Fredbert: A Mind Coercer-Cryokinetic
#5 Boimp: A giant gelatinous ball!
#6 Xera: A shapechanging psychic
#7 Kitty: A mutant cat
#8 Our super dee-duper pal Barnabas

Leave a comment and let me know what match-ups you’d like to see first as next week brings the Mutant Arena!

Start of the 2011 Roc City Roller Derby season

The new Roc City Roller Derby season started this last Saturday at the Dome Arena. The place was packed, but not quite a sell-out. I’ve heard of the terrible attendance figures for the Amerks over the last year or so, averaging 2,800 (which from what I’ve heard on local sports shows is an inflated number). It’s a shame that the Roller Derby doesn’t get the coverage that other local sports do.

Looking over at the Democrat & Chronicle website there is no real coverage of the sport, only a brief mention of the season starting.

Anyway, on to the main event. The three home teams battled each other in a round-robin bout.

Part One:
Midtown Maulers v. 5-H8-5s 83 to 55.
There were a lot of penalties during this bout, most of them earned by the 5-H8-5s.

Part Two:
Rotten Chesters v. 5-H8-5s 61 to 20
With two bouts over the 5-H8-5s had a total of only 75 points, not enough to overtake the Maulers.

Part Three:
Rotten Chesters v. Midtown Maulers 59 to 35
I was expecting the Maulers to win this one but that was not to be. Not only did they lose this bout but in terms of overall score the Rottenchesters beat them out for the night by two points.

So the final score was:
Rotten Chesters 120
Midtown Maulers 118
5-H8-5s 75

I'll try to take better notes next time. This weekend I was very sleep deprived.

Mutant of the Week - Kitty

This weeks mutant is a Felinoid-Mind Coercer

STR: 10 (0)
DEX: 18 (+4)
CON: 15 (+2)
INT: 11 (0)
WIS: 13 (+1)
CHA: 16 (+3)

+2 Bio overcharge

Fortitude Save: 13
Reflex Save: 15
Will Save: 16
Armor Class: 15
+1 to Speed

Skills
Interaction +4, Stealth +4, Mechanics +4

Mutant Powers
Catfall
Slasher’s Claws
Group Telepathy
Mental Push

Background
Kitty is cute and loveable. She is basically a cat or rather large size who is very fluffy and cute. Her mental powers make her all the more irresistible. She uses this cuteness to get in close to her opponents and deals with them using her nasty claws.

Her claws are very dexterous and she has taken up a hobby of tinkering with junk and salvage. She usually keeps her mechanical skills a secret so that she can utilize them when others are not expecting it.

Her goals include safety and comfort. Of course given the nature of a post-apocalyptic world most of the survivors are looking for the same thing.