Bane Star is a science fiction megagame inspired by the Wars of the Roses. The megagame will take place on Saturday 9 November 2024, at the Khandallah Scout Hall, 11A Station Road, Khandallah, Wellington 6035, from 10am to 5pm.

Buying Tickets

You can buy tickets from Humanitix. Casting for roles will be done the weekend prior to the game.

Background

Ancient History

The Commonwealth is an interstellar state founded by pirates and refugees following the fall of the Cosmocracy. During the establishment of the Commonwealth, the first Protector and their allies managed to defeat an evil super weapon of the Old Cosmocracy, a Bane Star. The wreck of the Bane Star has sat in the middle of the Commonwealth ever since, guarded by wardens who ensure no one ever tries reactivating it.

Recent History

The Commonwealth has lost the Century War against the Republic of Occitan. This has left the government discredited, and deeply in debt. Three branches of the Draca families claim descent from the first Protector and a hereditary right to hold the office of Protector of the Commonwealth. The struggle for this office will trigger a civil war.

Factions

There are two types of factions – Quadrant Alliances and branches of the Draca family. Quadrant alliances are four player teams. The Draca families have up to four player teams, but can also be represented in the game as non-player characters with a loyalty mechanic to determine who is control of them. An example biography/power card for three of the Draca leaders is below.

Player Roles

The core of the game requires at least 20 players to be assigned to the Quadrant Alliances. These factions have one of each of the four roles:

• Union: a representative of one of the quadrant work collectives of the Commonwealth, standing up for the rights of the ordinary people. Unions control the trade of raw materials and play a role in smuggling for goods not produced in the Commonwealth.
• Guild: a representative of the technocratic corporations that control industrial production. The guilds are good at science projects and unlocking faction upgrades.
• Privateer: a specialist in intrigue, espionage, and surprise attacks. Privateers are the warfare experts of their factions.
• Magna: one of the great captains of the Commonwealth, the faction leader, and political representative in the Grand Parley. This role involves public speaking.

If there are more than 20 players in the game, then the following roles become available:

• Ambassador: a representative of one of the powers bordering the Commonwealth. An ambassador is a diplomat trying to make advantageous deals for the nation, exploiting the chaos in the Commonwealth. This is the easiest role to play, but the ambassadors are not at the center of the action.
• Draca: each branch of the Draca family controls multiple worlds, and a significant military force. This is one of the harder roles in the game, as you will be in the middle of the action. There are four branches of the Draca family, with up to three players in each.
• Starlord: a powerful independent captain that controls several star systems and a fleet of ships.
• Holonet Herald: a media representative that tracks the honourable and dishonourable actions of the powerful rulers of the Commonwealth. This role involves public speaking.

Characters by default have a 50/50 gender split, but its easy enough to change the character art if you let me know before the final printing is done a few days before the game.

Costume

Costume is optional. Anything that looks blue collar worker/space pirate or that it might fit in a Cowboy Bebop episode should be good. If you bring fake weapons, they should be obviously fake.

Comfortable footwear and clothing with pockets is recommended. You will be on your feet and moving around a lot during the day, and pockets are useful for for stashing game tokens and cards.

Core Gameplay

A summary of the core elements of game play can be found in this PDF.

Trade

For this run of Bane Star, we have adapted the trading mechanic from the old Avalon Hill Civilization board game, and added a few twists. The key point is that as you get more cards in a set, they get more valuable. In the example below, a set of three cards is worth $9, but a set of six cards is worth $36. You need to be careful when trading, as some cards are events, that trigger on the last player holding them when trade stops.

Trade cards get exchanged for credits, and we will be using some nice metal coins during the game.

Special Actions

A key aspect of megagames is that while it does use some board game mechanics, the rules are open to player suggestions for “skulduggery actions”. Want to try sabotaging a ship? Kidnap a noble? Research a terrible secret? You can try just about anything, and the Control team will adjudicate your chance of success and what the costs and rewards might be – just like a GM in a tabletop roleplaying game.

Draft Map

One map of the entire Commonwealth is printed out on A0, and used to track economic Influence. Four smaller Quadrant maps will be printed for the military operations.

STL Miniatures

We are going to use some 3D printed miniatures as part of the player tokens in Bane Star. Each will player will have one combat unit for use in the military part of the game. Each major faction will have their own ship type for ease of recognition. Below are some “jump rings” that will be used to mark the locations of stargates.

More information to Come

This page will be updated with final versions of game rules a week before the game is run.