Manual:Game Mechanics/Black Market

Black Market Developments
Allows your race to participate in the black market, can offer slight increase to infrastructure) Points in black market make buying and learning the tech you buy from others easier, as well as increasing your infrastructure much in the way logistics does.

NOTE: Black market only really begins to shine once your race has made contact with other races that are a part of the black market. This drawback is overshadowed by the fact that through this aspect you can purchase alien tech, artifacts, ships, etc without being forced to explore dangerous worldss or develop the technology yourself.

Each time you gain a level in Black Market Development, you can choose one Black Market Service at the same or lower level.

Level 1 Black Market

 * 1 Rank: You may engage in the Black Market, maximum bid of 2 resource.
 * 2 Ranks: When receiving technology from the black market, the time it takes to reverse engineer the technology is reduced by 1 turn (minimum 1), maximum bid of 4 resources.
 * 3 Ranks: Your maximum bid is increased to 6 resources.
 * 4 Ranks: The infrastructure cap of your worlds is increased by 1, maximum bid of 8 resources.

Level 2 Black Market

 * 1 Rank: Your maximum bid is increased to 10 resources.
 * 2 Ranks: When receiving technology from the black market, the time it takes to reverse engineer the technology is reduced by 1 turn (minimum 1), maximum bid of 12 resources.
 * 3 Ranks: Your maximum bid is increased to 14 resources.
 * 4 Ranks: The infrastructure cap of your worlds is increased by 1, maximum bid of 16 resources.

Level 3 Black Market

 * 1 Rank: Your maximum bid is increased to 18 resources.
 * 2 Ranks: When receiving technology from the black market, the time it takes to reverse engineer the technology is reduced by 1 turn (minimum 0, possibly allowing instantaneous reverse engineering), maximum bid of 20 resources.
 * 3 Ranks: Your maximum bid is increased to 22 resources.
 * 4 Ranks: The infrastructure cap of your worlds is increased by 1, maximum bid of 24 resources.

Avid Field Testers
Reduces time required to reverse engineer tech gained through black market by 1 turn. In addition, if you gain any spaceship or defense tech with a cost, the first time it is applied, it is free. At level 3 Black Market, you have a 25% chance to identify and isolate fail-safe devices or similar effects hidden within tech you acquire from the Black Market (though this roll is made in secret by the GM).

Cost: None

High Rollers
Increase your maximum bid amount per turn by 4, and increase your resource storage cap on all worlds and stations by 1. Requirement: Economics 2

Cost: None

Illegal Local Trading
Illegal goods are worth more, and your people know it. At the start of your turn, you may convert 4 maximum bid into any combination of 2 ore or 2 gas you may use on any of your worlds or stations, but only once per turn per level of Black Market you possess. Each time you use this, there is a 10% chance of a major 'incident' occurring on one of your worlds or stations (such as a street war between two rival gangs, or the robbery of a major financial agency, etc), which could cause a multitude of problems.

Cost: None

Shady Employers
Local dealers can round people up for just about any job... though they won't do it for free. Once per turn, you may convert 4 of your maximum bid into 1 infrastructure you can add to any of your worlds or stations. Though, at the start of each turn on a world or station you add this infrastructure to, there is a 5% chance the unscrupulous nature of these individuals shows itself. This causes the world or station to lose 2 infrastructure immediately (though the world or station doesn't need to roll for this tech anymore until more is infrastructure added by this tech).

Gun Runners
Your people make use of the value of their weapons. You may sell weapons on the Black Market, though you never know whose hands they may end up in. This increases your planetary defense strength and the boarding strength of your stations by 1 (as more of the populace are now carrying military weaponry). At the start of each turn you may opt to sell weapons through local dealers, doing so requires 10 of your maximum bid, but adds any combination of 6 ore or gas. Doing this exposes the market to your weapon tech however, and there is a chance every time this is done that your weapon tech may end up on the Black Market.

Requirement: Combat Weapons 2

Cost: None

Inside Connections
Your Black Market activities span across the galaxy, giving you footholds in alien societies. You receive a +2 bonus to your Subterfuge value when using Subterfuge abilities against races with ranks in Black Market.

Requirement: Subterfuge 4

Cost: None

Privateers
Your shady dealings have created a rather unscrupulous few amongst your population that are willing to do anything for money, but of course they have their uses. At the start of your turn, you may choose to reduce your maximum Black Market bid by 4 to add +1 to your planetary defense strength on one of your worlds or a +1 bonus to boarding strength on one of your stations (this may be done any number of times per turn, but only once per world or station). When you construct or refit a spaceship on a world or station you control while this in effect, you may choose to spend one infrastructure to increase the spaceship's boarding strength by 1. This may only be done once per spaceship, this additional boarding strength isn't simply a bonus, and actually adds to the base boarding strength of the spaceship.

Suppliers
You may sell tech directly on the Black Market. If the bid is successful, you receive 2/3 of the bid (the rest kept by those working the market as a fee) to distribute amongst your worlds and stations the following turn. This comes with its own drawback of selling tech that may end up being used against you.

Cost: None

Crime Lords
There are many amongst the elite in your society that have gotten there by stepping on the backs of others and exploiting the system. On each of your worlds and stations that reach at least 8 infrastructure, a syndicate is formed. When this happens on a world, the world gains a +2 bonus to its planetary defense strength, a station gains a +2 bonus to boarding strength. In addition, you may trade 4 maximum bid on that world or station at the start of a turn to add 1 infrastructure (but only once per turn in this way). When other races attempt to use Subterfuge abilities against such a world or station, they reduce any bonuses gained against you through Black Market-related effects each by 1. However, unrest often surrounds these establishments. Every turn there is a 10% chance that a war erupts on the world or station, such occurrences can be a major determent to the locals, and the syndicate itself may be destroyed utterly in the process (though be assured that there will be more to take their place). Examples of the effects of such a war range from the world losing 2 infrastructure, to the world being unable to gain any new infrastructure for a turn (including any that would be added from outside sources) to possibly even a strength 3 bombardment hit (structures selected at random).

Requirement: Illegal Local Trading and/or Gun Runners

Cost: None

Good for the Money
You have quite a reputation for being a good customer. As such, you can choose to pay resources the turn following a successful bid instead of the turn the bid is made. In addition, your maximum bid increases by 4.

Requirement: High Rollers

Cost: None

"Insurance"
When you sell spaceship or defense tech technology on the Black Market, you may opt to apply a fail safe device hidden amongst the design (or some form of non-obvious exploitable weakness). When your race encounters spaceships, defenses or security personnel equipped with the tech, you may immediately disable its benefits. This occurrence may or may not be obvious to others once exposed depending on the nature of the fail safe or weakness. The disable only affects spaceship/defenses/security you encounter directly, and lasts until the tech's cost is repaid. After a tech has been disabled and the victim(s) return to a friendly world or station, they may try to isolate the fail-safe. Doing so takes 2 full turns and has a 40% chance of success, if this fails, they cannot remove the fail-safe from the technology without developing it again themselves.

Requirement: Suppliers

Cost: None

Inventory Tracking
When you purchase a Black Market item, you may spend any combination of resources totaling 4 (from amongst any of your worlds or stations) to attempt to trace the origin of the item. The following turn, there is a 35% chance the origin is traced. This can only be done once per item and only on the turn in which your bid is successful.

Cost: None