Crisis In Elysium

We return to Mars!!! By overwhelming popular demand we are running Crisis in Elysium again!

-> Vi spelar på svenska (och engelska för den som behöver) - spelets regler är på engelska.

-> We play the game in Swedish (and in English for those who don't speak Swedish) - the game rules are in English.

-> We are committed to a safe and welcoming megagame community for all our games. You need to agree to our code of conduct in order to play.

Game Description

It is the early 22nd Century; Mars has been colonised for over fifty years and is now home to nearly two million people. The first attempts at terraforming the planet are underway, yet the world stands on the brink of civil war and all that has been achieved could soon be lost.

After years of growing resentment and violence, groups of radicals and revolutionaries are gathering in the planet's capital city, Elysium. Each group is pushing their own vision for the future of Mars. These range from a pristine independent Mars free from terraforming, to an anarcho-communist paradise. Each group is vying to win over the population and silence their rivals with political rhetoric and, if necessary, violence.

Meanwhile the most powerful Governments on Earth wish to retain their control over the colony and have deployed military forces to the city to ensure that in the chaos none of their influence is lost, either to the radicals or to other governments. For the moment, these forces are constrained by their rules of engagement and tightly defined objectives yet, as the violence increases, their home governments are likely to allow them greater and greater latitude to act.

In the midst of all this chaos, the Martian Colonial Authority (the MCA) tries to maintain peace and find some kind of long-term settlement. They are hampered by an increasingly corrupt and brutal police force, a lack of real authority and the malign influence of so-called "loyalist" radical groups.

Tension has been increasing for months, and just days ago there was a huge bombing at the Elysium Spaceport. Hundreds of MCA and Earth Government employees were killed, and dozens of ships were destroyed. No one knows who was responsible and none of the major groups have claimed responsibility. The Governments blame them all equally and radical groups are more than ready to take advantage of the current instability. Elysium, and the whole of Mars, is now just one step away from civil war.

About Crisis in Elysium

Crisis in Elysium is a megagame designed by Alex Beck. Players take on the roles of political leaders, diplomats, military commanders and more, representing the factions on all sides of the conflict - including the forces of powerful Earth governments, multiple radical groups, local Martian authorities, and also some other actors with a stake in the future of the city. Influence and control, as well as sudden strikes, raids and combat will be happening across three maps representing Elysium's three main domes - whilst the Council of Mars meets to discuss and enact solutions. And, as ever, yet more diplomacy and discussion is being had in back rooms and dark streets across Elysium, outside of official government channels.

Roles

All of the teams (other than Control and Martian Daily News) are made up of four kinds of roles.

For multiple reasons, the number and proportions of these roles vary from team to team. The breakdown of how many of each role are in each team is available at the end of this Roles Guide. If you are reserving as a team, it would be useful to indicate which players have a preference for each of the available roles.

The four roles are:

Team Leader - this player leads the faction and coordinates the team, with an eye to the faction's position in the bigger picture. In the four Gov factions and the MCA, this player is also responsible for attending the Martian Council - the official government of Mars.

Map Player - These players attend one of the three maps that represent the city of Elysium's three giant domes. They have direct control over the team's military units and make the moment-to-moment decisions about where their political influence and military units are played. They are also responsible for keeping their teams updated on the current situation on the ground in their dome.

Military Command - These represent the upper echelons of the faction's martian military leadership, giving direct instruction to their team's Map Players and keeping track of the overall military situation in Elysium. Military Command players may also cover a certain amount of "internal security" as well as keeping track of more covert operations.

Political - These roles are primarily about talking to other teams, giving each faction more ability to learn of events, negotiate and threaten directly by engaging in conversations with another team's players. Each Radical faction has one "Independent Politician" as one of the Political players their team - this is a local politician on the Martian Council who is very sympathetic to that particular faction's goals. The MCA team has two Political players who are on the Martian Council (in addition to the Team Leader).

Factions

Of the many factions involved in the conflict, most can be sorted into two groups - Earth Governments (Govs) and Radicals (Rads):​

Govs

United States of Northern America (USNA)

A rich and democratic nation which covers much of North America and parts of the Caribbean. Publically committed to peace and prosperity for all, though privately often more interested in creating new markets on Mars and securing interplanetary trade routes.

European Union (EU)

A united European nation that stretches from the Atlantic to beyond the Caucuses. Whilst democratic they have a reputation for covertly meddling in the affairs of other states in an attempt to create other nations in their image.

Greater Chinese Republic (GCR)​

A nation that remains publicly committed to an out-dated communism, whilst also embracing capitalism with a fervour that embarrasses older converts. Such political philosophy is in practice irrelevant to the key goal of using economic and military pressure to extend the control and power of the nation's ruling class.

Federated States of India (FSI)

A nation defined and dominated by commerce - every action whether political, diplomatic or military is designed to further FSI commercial interests. Any deal or agreement is acceptable as long as in brings in profit.

Rads

Red Mars​

A radical group dedicated to the protection of the Martian ecosystem, stopping all terraforming and ensuring it remains in a "pristine" state. They think human impact on Mars should be minimal and that humanity should adapt to the planet, the small numbers living there changing to fit Mars, not the other way around. Considered by many to be violent extremists they nonetheless have the support of many first generation colonists.

Green Mars

Green Mars are the most mainstream of all the radical groups with the aim to create a fair, democratic, capitalist and terraformed Mars. This would create few issues for many Earth governments if it were for not for the wish that such a society should be on an independent planet, free of control from Earth.

Utopians

A varied group of political visionaries, anarchists and violent extremists who see the new world of Mars as the place to begin a new era for Humanity. Their exact methods and vision for this utopia differ quite widely within the group, meaning they are often poorly coordinated, but for the moment they happily work together to complete the immediate goal of breaking free of Earth.

One Humanity

This radical group are unusual in that they are fighting for Mars to remain on its current course. They are loyal to the MCA and wish to retain close links to Earth, currently fighting to stop an independent Mars and end all of the ideologies the other radicals are pushing. They are predominantly supported by those with most to lose from a change in way Mars is ruled.

Church Of The True Martians

The Church began as a rather odd cult on Earth shortly after the first colonists arrived on Mars. They claimed those settlers had found proof of an ancient Martian race who even now, waited, slumbering, beneath the surface of the planet. All that was needed the cult said were believers to travel to Mars. They have done that in their thousands, converting many others on Mars too. Now they are a rich and powerful group who see the crisis as a chance to finally free the True Martians – if only they can be found.

Other Factions

The Martian Colonial Authority (MCA)

Originally created to manage the first multinational colonisation efforts of Mars, the MCA has subsequently become the main governmental body for the planet. It controls and manages key infrastructure facilities in Elysium and across Mars. They are also responsible for providing local security and policing on the planet with the Elysium City Police Department (ECPD) being the largest armed group on Mars. However the MCA and ECPD are riven by factionalism, corruption and split loyalties.

Ares Security

The largest mercenary company on Mars is Ares Security, able to deliver a huge range of military and security services to clients. As the crisis unfolds they are beginning to work with a number of groups - radicals, Earth governments and MCA alike. As long as the client has money they are willing to fight in their name, openly or secretly, just so long as they get paid.

Martian Daily News​

The premier news provider on Mars. The organisation runs dozens of news sites and feeds, and also hosts a number of VR and AR shows, all designed to get the people of Mars the news they want. The organisation has a reputation for impartiality and reports on the corruption of the MCA as much as the brutality of the radicals. As the crisis unfolds, many see the Martian Daily News as the only reliable source of truth.

Control
​
Around 8 Players will be helping to run the game and manage certain parts of the experience. The Control Team are effectively a team of GMs ensuring that the rules are applied properly, and allowing players to interact with parts of the game that aren't established by existing mechanics. This role is best suited to people who have attended a megagame before or who are familiar with this sort of responsibility.

Team Make-Ups

Here are the role breakdowns for each faction. A few factions, such as the GCR, have roles that share the duties of two types. What roles are in play depend on the player count. ​

​USNA (7 players) - 1 x Team Leader, 2 x Military Command, 3 x Map Player, 1 x Political Role

​EU (7 players) - 1 x Team Leader, 2 x Military Command, 3 x Map Player, 1 x Political Role

​GCR (6 players) - 1 x Team Leader, 1 x Political Role/Military Command, 1 x Military Command/Map Player, 2 x Map Player, 1 x Political Role

​FSI (6 players) - 1 x Team Leader, 1 x Military Command, 1 x Military Command/Map Player, 2 x Map Player, 1 x Political Role

​Red Mars (7 players) - 1 x Team Leader, 2 x Military Command, 3 x Map Player, 1 x Political Role

​Green Mars (7 players) - 1 x Team Leader, 1 x Military Command, 3 x Map Player, 2 x Political Role

​Utopians (8 players) - 1 x Team Leader, 1 x Military Command, 4 x Map Player, 2 x Political Role

​One Humanity (7 players) - 1 x Team Leader, 2 x Military Command, 3 x Map Player, 1 x Political Role

​The Church of The True Martians (6 players) - 1 x Team Leader, 1 x Military Command, 3 x Map Player, 1 x Political Role

MCA (7 players) - 1 x Team Leader, 1 x Military Command, 3 x Map Player, 2 x Political Role

Ares Security (4 players) - 1 x Team Leader/Military Command, 3 x Map Player

Martian Daily News (3 players) - Editor, Political Correspondent and Security Correspondent

How do I play?

You don't need any previous megagame experience to play this game. There are umpires called Control who will help you on the day so you can focus on having fun with the other players.