Economy
RPs are received monthly.
Planet Resources
Resource Points (RP) are accumulated through the capabilities of the member worlds of a nation. Each inhabited world is described as one of the following: Nation Capitol, Sector Capitol, Major Industrial World, Minor Industrial World, Colony (independent), Colony (dependent), Other and Non-Resource. RPs are received monthly. They are described as follows:
Nation Capitol: This is the capitol planet of the nation. Assuming it is of least Sector Capitol definition, it receives the capabilities, resources and talents of all its member worlds through indirect flow towards the political center of the nation. The most RP revenue its status will ever generate is 600, but it can be lower, based upon the number of inhabited worlds within the nation. It is generally referred to as a Nation Capitol (planet category). (ex: Nation Capitol (Minor Industrial)) Where a Nation Capitol also serves as a Sector Capitol, the Sector status is disregarded, in favor of the National.
Sector Capitol: Within a (general) twenty lightyear-cubed sector, there is generally one world which represents all the others within that sector and benefits from the inflow of resources. As long as there are two inhabited worlds within a sector, one is generally established as the sector capitol (though referred to as a "sector center" in less-populated sectors). It generates either 250 or 500 RPs, dependent upon the size of the capital world. It is generally referred to as a Sector Capitol (planet category). (ex: Sector Capitol (Minor Industrial))
Major Industrial Worlds: There is usually more than one important world within any given sector of note, but only one has the title of sector capitol. The other major worlds, usually racial homeworlds, provide 400 RPs to the national economy, based on the attributes associated with that world.
Minor Industrial Worlds: Planets that are member worlds but are not known for their large vibrant population still bring value—and RPs—to the national economy. These worlds may be racial homeworlds of no great stature or they may be former colonies that have reached their own. In any case, they generate 200 RPs. In-character, they will not generally achieve Major Industrial status within any time span concerned, as their 'natural' evolution does not lead them to that level of expansion. However, authorities may decide the planet would better serve as a more important location if it were a Major Industrial planet. In that case, a committed focus to developing the world must be made and over a 1d10 +10 year period, 2,000 RPs must be spent to improve the infrastructure necessary to make the world more capable. See Purchase Options for more details.
Colony (Independent): At some point, colonies become self-sufficient and start providing payback for the support provided by the nation. They generally provide only a minimum amount of RPs, and that is determined both by time and success of the colony. The table below (Productivity of Planets) indicates how many RPs any given colony (by time period) provides, with the annual chance per year that the colony will enter the next stage. A Colony at Stage 9 has a 20% chance of achieving a promotion to an Industrial stage world. When it does achieve that level, there is a 10% chance it will become a Major (vice a Minor) Industrial world. If a Stage 9 colony has three (or more) categories of Abundant Resources (see the Colony (Dependent) entry below), the chance that it will be come a Major Industrial World jumps from 10% to 30%.
Colony (Dependent): A new colony requires the support of the nation in order to get going, and such all – if any – resources it provides will be overshadowed by the cost of support. For at least the first 10 years, a colony will actually require 30 RPs to be dedicated from the national budget. After that point, there is a 10 percent chance annually that it will enter Stage 2 (self-support). There is an opportunity for the rare colony to become profitable much earlier than usual: if the colony is established on a planet with at least the minimum mining opportunity for one of the resource types below, then there is a 10% chance of reaching Stage 2 as early as after two years (no additional chance for multiple resource types):
| Category | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Base Metals | Tier 1 |
| Commons | Tier 1 |
| Corrosives | Tier 2 or more |
| Exotics | Tier 4 or more |
| Noble Gases | Tier 2 or more |
| Precious | Tier 3 or more |
| Radioactives | Tier 2 or more |
| Rare Earths | Tier 3 or more |
(To see more information about surveys and resources, see Surveys and Star Fleet Surveys.)
Others: A number of worlds are neither colonies nor industrial worlds, but planets that for some reason or another don’t provide a great deal to the economy. It may be a Jovian world that has hydrogen miners or deuterium processors overhead or an inhabitable rock ball with a secret dilithium mine. In any case, until further developed through colonization (i.e., full Stage 1 colonization efforts and funding), these worlds will never offer more than 30 RP monthly (roll 1d30; may be changed if site further developed, but totaling no more than 30).
Non-Resource: A world described as a Non-resource simply indicates that it is only claimed by the nation, but has no industrial capacity nor a resource-spending colony upon it. It may be a lonely super-giant orbiting around a single star, a large unexplored moon or an as-yet unsettled Class M planet. It may also serve as a non-revenue generating facility, such as an arsenal, conference center or library.
Pre-warp: A world that has not yet achieved warp technology will not be able to produce the equivalent RPs of a society that has. Instead, determine the otherwise appropriate level for the world (usually no higher than Minor Industrial) and modify its revenue to be 75% of the RP for that level. (For example, Earth would be a Minor Industrial World when pre-warp and would accumulate only 150 RP.)
The following table indicates the numbers of RPs a particular planet can pull in (or draw out).
| Types | RPs |
|---|---|
| Nation Capital (Major Industrial World) | 400 |
| Nation Capital (Minor Industrial World) | 200 |
| 100+ member worlds | +600 (max) |
| 90+ member worlds | 500 |
| 80+ member worlds | 400 |
| 70+ member worlds | 300 |
| 60+ member worlds | 200 |
| 60 or less member worlds | 100 |
| Sector Capital (Major Industrial World) | 500 |
| Sector Capital (Minor Industrial World) | 250 |
| Major Industrial World | 400 |
| Minor Industrial World | 200 |
| Colony (Independent) | |
| Stage 9 (20%) | 180 |
| Stage 8 (20%) | 150 |
| Stage 7 (15%) | 130 |
| Stage 6 (15%) | 100 |
| Stage 5 (10%) | 80 |
| Stage 4 (10%) | 50 |
| Stage 3 (5%) | 30 |
| Stage 2 (5%) | 0 |
| Colony (Dependent) Stage 1 (10%) | -30 (for 10 years min)* |
| Other | 1d10x10 (fixed amount) |
| Non-Resource | 0 |
| Pre-Warp | <75% of type |
Economy Type
For the large majority of game turns, the nation/state will probably not be in a state of war. While the Initial Nation Revenue (INR) (the sum of all planets' Productivity) represents a 30% tax of all commercial productivity (which is not computed or recorded) within the state, only a fifth (20%) goes towards the defense authority (i.e., Star Fleet), and 80% to the management of the Federation as a whole. However, for periods other than peace, the nation's machinations to prepare or respond to a crisis has a direct impact on the amount of tax credits available and, therefore, the INR.
The 400 RP 'received' from a typical Major Industrial Planet represents the absolute maximum capability of the nation's commercial and industrial capacity when taxed at 30%, which is only achieved when the Economy Type is established to be in 'Wartime'. When the Economy Type is determined to be other than wartime, then the full capability is not realized. In 'Peacetime', that 400 RP from a Major Industrial Planet will only amount to 200 RP (50%) received by the Sector (as Initial Sector Revenue, or ISR). When the economy is 'Gearing Up' the national revenue is only 75% of a 'Wartime' period. And upon the first six months following the cessation of war or hostilities (or from gearing up in the absence of war/hostilities), the economy falls into 'Recession' and the revenue dips to only 25% of that maximum capacity.
Keep in mind, too, the entire collected national revenue is not provided to the military. Once the nation's Total Tax Revenue (TTR) is determined, the defense authority will never get more than 20% of it. If more is needed just to meet defense obligations, the tax rates of the member planets will have to be raised (with all of the attendant complications), in order to increase the overall INR. So, for example, if the tax rate is raised from 30% to 32%, then the revenue from a Major Industrial Planet will increase from 400 RP to 408.
Note: this perspective may change if the purse strings are too tight to be reasonable. In that case, the defense budget can be increased from the current 20% to as much as 33%. This also allows for some in-game manipulation of available funds to Starfleet.
Economy Fluctuations
The revenue of RPs from within a sector can be averaged out over a year to represent the fluctuation within that sector’s economy. The economy is represented as a percentage of its capability (as represented above) and is modified annually. The modified amount is what is actually attributed to the sector economy. The one exception is for the Nation Capital, as its economy is represented as an average of all the nation’s sectors’ economies, as in the average of each sector's fluctuation is the fluctuation for the Nation Capital.
Note: once Sector 001-defined as (solely) the Sol system-is established and given its own tab on the Sector Income Report spreadsheet, the fluctuation for that (entire) sector will be an average of all the other sectors. Until then, Earth (nor the Sol system) will not get the average fluctuations, but be included in with the other systems of its present sector.
Note: while the game exists only on Earth, the planet will have a global flux amount (applied to each state), representing the world economy. Once other planets enter the game, they will be tracked independently (by state), until the UFP is formed.
| Roll 1d10: | Flux Amount |
| 1 | Current value – 3d6% |
| 2 | Current value – 2d6% |
| 3 | Current value – 1d6% |
| 4 | Current value – 1d6/2% |
| 5 | No change |
| 6 | No change |
| 7 | Current value + 1d6/2% |
| 8 | Current value + 1d6% |
| 9 | Current value + 2d6% |
| 10 | Current value + 3d6% |
| Modifiers | never above 10 or below 1 |
|---|---|
| -2 | Major military actions or minor military actions (5+ worlds) within sector |
| -1 | Minor military actions within sector (1-4 worlds) |
| -1 | Occupation-style empire (Klingon, Cardassian) |
| -1 | last year’s change was down 15% or more |
| 0 | Corporate-style empire (Romulan) |
| +1 | UFP or similar confederation |
| +1 | last year’s change was up 15% or more |
| +1 | sector colony achieves Stage 2 (independent) status |
| +1 | cessation of all minor military actions (from previous year) |
| +2 | cessation of all major military actions (from previous year) |
These RPs represent only the resource capability that is provided for government use (usually military). RPs accumulated here don’t represent the industrial capacity used to develop commercial capability. The RPs can be increased (or lowered), too, though doing so will affect morale, as it is essentially a tax on the capabilities of the source. The starting ‘tax’ is 30%, which provides the above-listed RPs, per planet type. Therefore, a planet with a 30% tax rate and an RP base of 200 (Minor Industrial world) would see its tax rate change to 34%, if the RP amount were increased to 225 (30 x 225 / 200 = 33.75, rounded up to 34).
Interest Rate
A state can run a deficit or a surplus on funds. In fact, the SFC game starts with the assumption each of the initial six states enjoy a surplus. At the end of the year, an interest rate is applied to that deficit (or surplus), in the amount of 2.5%. This presumes the debt (or loan) is held by others, whether they be individuals, corporations or foreign companies (usually through investors).
Taxes and Unrest
If more RPs are needed, the tax rate is increased accordingly. For each tax increase above 30%, there is an increase in the Unrest Rate by the tax rate, minus 1d20%, for each affected world. (Under 30% taxation rate, there is generally no Unrest, unless it is a remainder of the previously high Tax Rate.) Each month, any planet with a recorded Unrest Rate rolls against that rate. Failure means no change, while success means a revolt is occurring and the present planetary ruling body is in danger of being overthrown. If the unrest level gets to 80% (or higher) before the revolt occurs, when it does, the coup is quick and over within the month. In this case, the ruling party is overthrown and a new government is installed. The Unrest Rate immediately drops to 20%. What this means to Federation membership (or other types of political relationships) is determined independently of these Economy rules [for now].
If a revolt occurs while the Unrest Rate remains below 80%, then a civil war (not a coup) has begun. Every month there is a 50% chance the Unrest Rate will increase by 1d6 points; the other 50% indicates the Unrest Rate drops by 1d6 points. If the Unrest Rate ever reaches 80%, the opposition wins the civil war, the ruling party is overthrown and a new government is installed. The Unrest Rate immediately drops to 20%. If, during the civil war, the Unrest Rate drops to 20%, the ruling party maintains its status and the revolt is over. The chance for re-ignition is still very probable, however.
The are three ways for the Unrest Rate to decrease: military presence, diplomacy or tax cuts.
The Unrest Rate can be lowered by an increase in military presence. For each 1,000 Marine Points (that is the equivalent of 1,000 Starfleet Marines) present on the planet, the Unrest Rate is depressed by 1 point for the length they remain present. However, to keep a contingent on a planet for greater than three months requires that a camp be built. A starship can decrease an Unrest Rate further, according to the following chart. The reduction of the Unrest Rate remains when the starship departs, unless the Unrest Rate increases again due to other reasons. Follow-on visits by the same or other starships will not reduce it further, for at least another year. If a more ‘influential’ starship arrives during the same period of Unrest Influence (one year), it only reduces it by the amount of influence it has greater than the previous starship.
| Starship Classification | Decrease |
|---|---|
| Battleship | -25 |
| Warship | -20 |
| Cruiser | -15 |
| Destroyer | -10 |
| Frigate | -5 |
| Escort | -1 |
- Note: Warship (for Starfleet) is defined as one of the more militarized variants of the cruiser, destroyer and frigate types. For example, the Chandley class strike frigate or the S'harien class strike cruiser.
- Ex: The planet Rasimus has been taxed at the default amount of 30%. In April 2254, the tax rate increased to 35%. The Unrest Rate will increase from 0% to the result of 30 minus 1d20. The result is 2, for a total of 28%. At the end of April 2254, 1d100 is rolled with a result of 97, which mean no change occurred. However, a destroyer was dispatched to the planet and arrives in May, reducing the end-of-month Unrest Rate to 18% (28 – 10 = 18). Following the ship's departure, the Unrest Rate will remain at 18% (and can be reduced further with another visit after a year). If, within the year, a cruiser visits, the Unrest Rate would drop another 5 points (because the cruiser has 5 more points of influence than the destroyer). The government may also choose to send a marine force to help quell unrest, but at 18%, that would mean 18,000 troops would have to be deployed, and the rate would only be artificially decreased, as it would rise again if the numbers of marines were reduced.
The Unrest Rate can also be lowered by involvement of the UFP's diplomatic corps. The ambassador sent to negotiate between the government and the aggrieved parties may be brought to the planet by a starship, which will bring an immediate Unrest Rate drop (as indicated above), but to keep it going down requires in-depth negotiations, from which agreements and compromises will be ironed out. The conference will either succeed or fail. Success will result in an immediate drop of the Unrest Rate by 25 points (same as with a visit by a battleship), but will also allow for a monthly decrease of 3 points, as long as tensions are not affected by increased taxes (post-conference) or open Revolt (if rolled). The ambassador does not need to remain present on the planet in order for a monthly reduction to occur. If diplomacy fails, the Unrest Rate will immediate jump by 10 points and another negotiation conference will not agreed upon by both parties for at least 1d6+2 months.
Success is determined by a roll against the Negotiation skill of the ambassador. To determine the skill level, use the Command Skill Generation table for the appropriate era, under the CAPT column. (Ambassadors are generally not tracked within the game, as individuals, following their 'creation'. Each new negotiation, in effect, 'creates' a new ambassador, though in-game, they are accomplished negotiators at the time of their assignment.)
If the tax rate decreases, the new Unrest rate is equal to the new tax rate minus 1d20 (no lower than zero). It is very likely that, even with a tax rate of 30% re-set, there remains an Unrest Rate greater than 0%. That tax rate can be lowered again once every month to get the Unrest Rate to 0%, but the Rate will decrease by 1% point every month the tax rate is 30% or lower, if no other action is taken.
- Ex. Rasimus is able to avoid a revolt through sheer luck, but chooses to reduce the tax rate some. The first month it lowers it by 1 point, to 34%. The Unrest Reduction roll of 1d20 results in a reduction of 13% points from the Unrest Rate, to 23%. As Rasimus is generally a peaceful world, this is still troubling, so the rate is again dropped the next month by two tax points, to 32%. This Unrest Reduction roll of 1d20 results in 18, for a total of new Unrest rate of 5% [23 - 18 = 5]. This suits the Rasimus government as acceptable for now, as in five months, the Unrest will have dropped to 0.
Unrest, Civil War and Federation Involvement
Once civil war erupts, Federation involvement has different reactions to the world in question than it would have before the conflict started. A lowering of taxes will not affect the Unrest Rate; in fact, the actual revenue of the planet is immediately quartered (25%) from its normal, peaceful amount. Once the Unrest Rate (during civil war) reaches 50%, all revenue off-planet ceases, until the war concludes.
Starships
A starship visit during a conflict can have very unintended consequences. A failure of the captain's Command Skill roll will result in an Unrest Rate jumping by the relevant number of points, instead of decreasing it. Therefore, a starship simply showing up may provide the opposition the fuel it needs to defeat the ruling government.
Ground Forces
The arrival of Marines (or other overt ground forces) will definitely be disruptive. If the forces are there to provide for the immediate security of the ruling government, then a minimum of 10,000 Marine Points (MP) will need to be deployed within the capital city and to other critical infrastructure sites. Upon their arrival, the Unrest Rate will immediately jump 1 point for each 1,000 MP (though never to exceed 79% in reaction). Their presence, in those numbers, prevent the Unrest Rate from rising past 79%. Because the Unrest Rate doesn't reach 80%, the ruling government retains power despite the ongoing conflict. However, the Marines' presence opens them to attack. Following the first month of their arrival, there is a 15% chance every month the ground forces will be attacked. If the roll is a success, then the MPs are reduced by 1d300 that month. If the MPs ever equal less than 10,000, the Unrest Rate may then increase above 79%, per the +/- 1d6 point monthly change. Once the MP is back to 10,000 or higher (via reinforcements), the 79% cap (if not yet higher) is back in force. If the Unrest Rate did rise to 80% or higher while the ground forces were under-strength, the ruling government collapses and there is a chance the forces will need to be emergency evacuated or face direct hostilities. If evacuation cannot begin within the same or immediate following turn, a successful roll of 60 or less (on 1d100) means elements of the forces have been attacked. (See Ground Forces and Ground Combat for relevant rules.)
Mediation
Mediation is always a preferred course. This is approached differently than with the Command Skill from a visiting starship. In this case, an ambassador will be dispatched (via an announced starship). Upon his arrival at the planet he will offer his services in mediation. As this will be seen as coming at a time of advantage for one of the two sides, the difficulty in getting both sides to agree will be difficult; the Ambassador's skill (determined by the Command Skill Generation table for the appropriate era, under the CAPT column) will be reduced by 50%. A success means both parties agree to meet; a failure requires another 1d6 months before another attempt can be offered. If both parties agree, the first action the ambassador will attempt is to get the sides to agree to a cease fire during the negotiations. This skill will be Routine (i.e., no penalty). Success means the conflict is suspended and there is no change in the Unrest Rate for that month.
Negotiations can be complicated: each week, the ambassador must roll for a Challenging skill (i.e., reduced by 25%). If he succeeds, the negotiations are successful and the Unrest Rate is reduced by 1d6 points. If he fails, he must roll for a Difficult skill (i.e., reduced by 50%) to keep them at the table, with no change in the Unrest Rate. If that roll fails, the negotiations fall apart and another attempt may not be made for another 1d6 months.
The same ambassador is not automatically required at any additional attempts to mediate.
If negotiations are productive, or at least allowed to continue, they will continue until the Unrest Rate drops to 20% or lower. At that time, a truce is agreed upon. The ambassador can attempt a roll for a Challenging skill to request to stay at the table until the Unrest Rate reaches 0 (and a permanent peace), but each weekly roll then risks a failure (per the previous paragraph) that means the negotiations are formally over. Future negotiations will then be done per the pre-conflict rules.