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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Joshua Randall" data-source="post: 393375" data-attributes="member: 7737">Cf. "Master of Orion II".Has anyone else played the computer game "Master of Orion II"? It's a sci-fi game, not fantasy, but hear me out.One of the later technologies you develop is the Stargate, which allows nearly instantaneous travel for your starships (one turn, the smallest unit of time in the game). Once your network of Stargates is up and running, the game gets... weird.You can pop into an enemy system with scout ships, plunk down an outpost/Stargate (think of this as casting the Teleport Circle), then on the next turn drive in your massive fleet of star destroyers. However, at the same time, your enemy could be flying his ships through your outpost into your systems.In order to avoid devastating sneak attacks, everyone starts building up massive, massive fleets and stationing them everywhere. A kind of detente can develop in which no one wants to make the first move, because if you lose... your enemy pours back through the Stargates and crushes your now defenseless systems.Eventually, someone gains the upper hand in superior technology or sheer numbers. He then launches a galaxy-wide attack against essentially all enemy systems at once... and when the dust clears, only one side is left standing.So this is how I imagine a world full of Teleport Circles. Everyone is armed to the teeth with magic. Minor raids through a Circle might happen, but full-on invasions would be extremely rare because of the risk of catastrophe if the invasion bogs down. Only a simultaneous attack through multiple Circles at once would have a chance to work (and by work I mean achieve a long-term conquest).</blockquote>

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