WELCOME TO
YOU WERE BORN IN THE DARK
YOU WILL DIE IN THE DARK
SO YOUR CHILDREN MAY ONE DAY SEE THE LIGHT
Spoiler for Lore:
You live in the year N+183, where N is the year in which your ancestors first made their home in the Pipeworks. Although a little documentation has been kept, this date has long since been forgotten.
A great war, details unknown, drew your ancestors - and many others - underground. They found the Pipeworks, a vast sprawling structure of pipes and rooms, rife with its own dangers but completely safe from the hell from whence they came. Nobody knows what these pipes were built for, or by whom - but one thing is certain: they're your home, and the only world you know. And they're home to about three thousand others, too.
Tales of the surface world have been passed down but all those who have seen it are dead. Many believe it does not exist. Maybe they're right. Who knows? You never will, surely. But the silence all around you is reassuring - the structure of these pipes, the sheer solidness of the concrete that’s protected you your whole life - without a doubt, you feel safe here. Why would you leave?
The Pipeworks is a busy environment, and there's no room for slackers here. Everyone has a job in some faction - everyone does their bit to keep the Pipeworks running flawlessly. Lords organise the community and make insightful decisions diplomatically. Scientists provide new research for energy, food and quality of life enhancements. Medics keep everyone healthy and minimise disease. Brewers make sure no one goes thirsty and that a party is always ready for those who need to blow off steam. Cultists keep alive the hope of a better world.
Without the Sun, energy production will always be a challenge. Your ancestors failed to bring uranium into the underground tunnels, and the mines ran out quickly - for as long as anyone alive can remember, these Pipeworks have been running on oil.
Oil takes a long time to replenish - millions of years in fact, and 183 years is nowhere near close enough. One day the oil drills stop. A few days later, so do the lights and the heating and the ventilation and the food production and everything else.
For a while, the thriving community sticks together and does everything it can to survive. But as supplies begin to run low, the weakest individuals start to become desperate and tensions begin to rise. The peace cannot last forever.
Despite the trend of diplomacy and friendship, factions have already begun embedding their own people into other factions. Trust, no matter how strong it may be, always finds a way to quietly slip into the darkness.
The Pipeworks II is a multiplayer forum game in which players assume the role of a member of one of five factions.
The Pipeworks is a thriving community of hardworking people. However, their oil-powered infrastructure has run out of oil. The denizens must create unity in order to solve the energy crisis, but whether this is achieved through cooperation or through domination is anyone's guess.
The
Lords wanted to ensure politics ran smoothly.
The
Scientists wanted to make a better life for everyone.
The
Medics wanted healthy children and strong workers.
The
Brewers wanted everyone to have a good time and forget about their problems.
And the
Cultists wanted to embrace the hope of a better life on the Surface.
Now, all the factions just want to survive.
In order to win, either your faction must be the last one remaining, or all factions must cooperate together to solve the energy crisis. But what are the chances of that happening, really?
Pipeworks II is a prequel to
the first Pipeworks game, taking place 127 years beforehand (albeit in a different underground pipe network). The community here is thriving and is much more harmonious than in the first game, however, there's no telling what's going on outside.
Be aware that although most rules are the same, along with general gameplay, many rules have changed slightly and some more have been added!
Unlike many other forum games, you don't play individually - rather, you are part of a team and must make decisions together. You don't get to pick who you play with or what faction you're in (because you're born into it, silly). Communication will be restricted to factional discussion boards on a private forum hosted by the host. If you wish to communicate with another faction, it has to be publicly, in this thread.
You are not obligated to reveal your identity to your faction buddies, however it may prove useful in getting them to trust you.
Spoiler for Actions:
Each faction gets 6 actions per phase. They are submitted by writing them down in your faction board.
"Group Actions" are special - in order to be successful, every member of the faction must PM the host to say that they approve the usage of the Group Action.
If all players approve, the action will be successful.
If at least one member does not PM the host, the action will be unsuccessful and those users will be named and shamed in the private board.
If at least one member PMs the host to explicitly say that they disapprove, the action will be unsuccessful, but they won't be named.
Here are some basic actions - the rest can be found in the
full rules document.
| Expand | Pick a tile in your territory and a direction, and expand your territory into that tile. |
| Illuminate | Pick a tile in your territory. All tiles within a radius of 3 (follows paths, does not bypass walls) are publicly revealed. |
| Item | Use an item. |
Evict
[GROUP ACTION] | Boot the target player from your faction.
Note: This group action does not require the target to PM the host. |
Each faction also has its own unique Group Action. You should check out the
document!
Spoiler for Items:
| Mortar Hammer | Up to 2 uses
Knock down a thin wall (a wall between two rooms) |
| Battering Ram | Up to 2 uses
Knock down a medium wall (a wall between a room and a corridor) or a thin wall. |
| Explosive Bomb | - Convert the current tile into a room
- Create a hole in all 4 walls of this room
- Eradicate any nearby territory |
| Duct Tape | Pick one, two or three items you own and attempt to craft them together. |
As always, check out the rest of the items in the
full rules document!
Note that all factions start with some items - you can see the totals on the spreadsheet!
Oh and by the way before you sign up - some players will be Spies, embedded in enemy factions and reporting back to their actual factions and will have access to both faction boards. So have fun with that.
Disclaimers: The map is premade and does not change during gameplay except as a direct result of player actions. All Spies are premeditated - the factions they belong to and who they'll be spying on (though obviously not their identities).
Sign up below by posting the following agreement, along with the piece of information mentioned in the
rules document to prove that you have read the rules. It's on the first page. I want to know that you've at least clicked into the document, if not read it.
"I would like to play The Pipeworks.
I agree that this thread and the provided private boards are the only method of communication available for Pipeworks discussion between players.
I agree to never share my account to pipeworks.boards.net no matter the circumstances."Please don't hesitate to post any suggestions, queries or qualms. Your comments will be taken into account and the best improvements may be added to the game - even if they change something fundamental.
Registration ends / round 1 begins: Sign-ups have ended.Round 1 ends: Sign-ups have ended.The ideal number of players is 13. More or less is fine. 10 is the minimum.
Please do let me know about suggestions for addition/changes you have - the earlier the better!
