An admin controlled game of good old M2TW (Stainless Steel Late Era) with a twist:
There is now technology in the game. There are four main branches of technology:
Military
Espionage
Trade
Religion
You get technology points from buildings (per turn) as well as from specific actions.
Military:
Each tier of unit producing buildings (Barracks, Archery Ranges, Stables and Siege Workshops) regardless of it being city or castle flavour, gives military tech points. Tier 1 gives +1, and each tier above it gets the sum of the previous tiers + the number of tiers added as levels.
tier 1 rax gives 1 point
tier 2 = 3
tier 3 = 6
tier 4 = 13
tier 5 = 27
Each time you declare war you get a +10, each time you sign peace you lose 10. It is possible to declare war on 10 factions at once to get 100 instantly for example. This bonus works once for war declared on an AI faction but is unlimited vs. human players. War declarations must happen in-game as well, for this to take effect.
Each time you take a settlement, you get +20. Bonus is halved vs the AI.
Espionage:
Each level of Town Hall and Inn gives bonuses as outlined above.
Each spy, assassin and diplomat in your service generates + 1 x his stars per turn. So a 5 star spy would generate 5 espionage per turn. Each successful agent action gives +1 if above 50% chance to succeed and +3 if below 50%. If it's below 10% the bonus goes up to 8 points. The admin performs all your agent actions for you.
Trade:
Each level of Marketplace, Ports, Merchant's Wharfs give the bonuses above. If your faction possesses other buildings which provide trade, they count towards the points given (carvansaray, banks and so on)
The gold per turn earned by your merchants divided by 50 is added as merchant points.
Each trade agreement gives you 6 points per turn. This bonus is halved for trade with AI factions.
Religion:
Each level of Church buildings gives the above mentioned bonuses with the following changes:
tier 3 = 6 + 5
tier 4 = 13 + 10
tier 5 = 27 + 15
If your faction owns a unique church building (St. Mark's Basillica, Mosque of Cordoba etc.) it gives a flat +10
Each priest you have gives his piety levels x 2. So a 5 piety priest would generate 10 per turn.
Each Heretic you denounce successfully grants his piety levels x 3. A Prophet level Heretic instead grants a permanent 8 points per turn. The Admin does your denouncing for you. (If you generate more heretics you have to live with it, so be careful).
Each city you own increases tech cost by 50%, so getting bloated on low tier cities with poor upgrade levels might actually harm you. This is also to give small but well developed factions a chance.
Technologies you can purchase:
Military:
War tax - Cost 75 points - get 100 x number of active military units as gold. Ability can be used upon declaring war, but no sooner than once every 5 turns. Bonus is halved for declaring on AI factions. This can be taken multiple times but the tech cost must be paid each time.
Valour - cost 90 points - each chevron upgrade on a family member general's bodyguard unit generates 1 point of military tech.
Advanced siege assault tactics - cost 120 points - catapults may open stone walls.
Dreadlord: - cost 120 points - Faction leader must have at least 3 dread. Every time you exterminate a city, you gain bonus gold for the number of slain citizens (screenshot required)
Chivalry - cost 200 points - Faction leader must have 3 chivalry. From now on, you must announce 3 turns prior to attacking that you will be declaring war to a human player. Get 8 of the best cavalry and 12 of the best infantry you can currently recruit as a free stack near your capital immediately upon acquiring tech. Tech can be taken only once. All war declarations must follow this rule.
Centralized Power: - cost 200 points - War tax now provides 120 x number of active military units and may be used once every 3 turns. Valour provides 3 points per chevron.
Professional Army: - cost 200 points - get 1/3 of the number of settlements you own (rounded down) of units of your choice near your capital. Amount can't be lower than 5 units. This tech can be taken multiple times.
Tactical Genius: Cost 350 points - you may lead battles yourself (everyone without this tech must autoresolve vs human players). Your faction leader always has Night Fighter.
Espionage:
Network of spies - Cost 45 points - each spy successfully infiltrating an enemy city generates double tech. Infiltration is done by the Admin.
Assassin's guild - cost 90 points - Each successful assassination of an enemy agent grants 5 tech. 8 tech is granted for generals and 15 for family members. The enemy faction leader grants a flat income of 10 per turn but the bonus is activated only if the current faction leader has been in charge for at least 3 turns.
Sabotage - cost 120 points - spies may open gates
Bounty hunters: - cost 120 points - each assassination grants you 150 x the target's stars as gold. In the case of generals you take whichever stat is the highest.
Legendary Spy - cost 200 points - you receive a 10 star spy in a place of your choosing.
Master Assassin: - cost 200 points - you receive a 10 star assassin in a place of your choosing.
Advanced espionage - cost 200 points - You may target a human faction. You gain knowledge of their current technology point levels and all previously used technologies. Their faction leader's location is revealed to you permanently.
Mastery: Cost 350 points - you may reload spy and assassin actions and admin supervision is no longer required for those actions. (note: it's still required for merchants and denouncing heretics).
Trade:
Trade Routes - Cost 50 points - choose two cities (you must own at least one of them). Each resource traded between them gives you 1 trade per turn.
[B]Cashing in[B] - cost 90 points - sacrifice a merchant. Gain 1000 x his stars as gold instantly.
Monopoly - cost 120 points - If you own all the resources in a province, you get 1000 gold x the number of resources there or 5000 gold, whichever is higher. Awarded once per province. You may take it multiple times for different provinces.
Unscrupulous: - cost 120 points - every time you successfully acquire an enemy merchant's assets, gain 10 merchant points and 1000 gold per enemy merchant skill. Bonus h
Calling in favors - cost 200 points - You expend as many merchants as you wish to. Their skill levels are added together. With that point pool you may either get 1000 x point in gold, OR spend 5 points per a unit of the best archers you can field, 8 points for a unit of the best infantry you can field and 12 points for the best cavalry you can field. The units appear immediately near your capital.
Merchant marine: - cost 200 points - Gain ship's upkeep as gold every turn (effectively getting you a free fleet).
Merchant Republic: - cost 200 points - You can always hire the mercenaries from your capital's region OR a single other region of your choosing instead. If the pools have not refreshed those will be added by the admin via console. You still must pay for the recruitment cost. Changing merc regions can be done once every 5 turns at a cost of 50 mercantile tech.
Headquarters: Cost 350 points - you may use merchant forts. You gain two 10 star merchants at a point of your choosing.
Religion:
Priest-King: - cost 20 points - your faction leader gains 1 piety.
Asceticism - Cost 25 points - You may destroy your own trade buildings. Upon selection, all trade buildings in a city are removed (destroyed and the gold from doing it is removed from your treasury). Religious tech rewards:
Level 1 buidling: 4 religious tech per turn.
Lvel 2: 10 instant religious tech + 4 per turn.
Level 3: 20 instant religious tech + 6 per turn
Level 4: 25 instant religious tech + 10 per turn
Level 5: 35 instant religious tech + 15 per turn
[B]Spreading the faith[B] - cost 60 points - Each city you own which you convert above 50% to your religion grants you +8 religious tech per turn. It must have been conquered when below 50% of your faith. If it reaches 100% of your faith you gain a flat 25 religious tech.
Mandate of Heaven - cost 80 points - each point of piety for your faction ruler gets you 3 religious tech per turn.
Inquisition - cost 200 points - You must have at least a tier 3 church. Allows you to remove 20 x your faction leader's piety from an enemy faction as tech points of a kind of your choosing. They may go into negative points if this occurs. You may distribute point deduction as you see fit between tech trees.
Holy Order: - Cost 200 - You may use religious tech points for military tech at a rate of 2 to 1. Designate one non-militia unit type as a holy order in your faction. Those units generate 1 religious and 1 military tech for each chevron upgrade they have. Unit must require at least a tier 3 building to produce to be eligible for nomination.
Reformation: - cost 200 points - Combine the total levels of your priests and churches. Gain 100 gold and 2 tech of a type of your choosing x that number. If you have already taken Holy Order choosing military tech grants an extra 50% points.
Holy War: Cost 350 points - you may now freely call and join crusades and jihads OR make your faction immune to them if you are pagan or orthodox. Immunity means human players can't join one versus you. Each city you take which has below 50% of a your faith grants 4 x the amount of tech and piety points (for conquest and conversion). Catholics and Muslims can't take immunity.
Otherwise all standard rules apply. We AR vs humans, spies can't open anything and we need trebs for stone walls. Since the admin is doing all the assassinating we are allowed to target anyone.
