Bay 12 Games Forum

The player with the highest Market Share by the end of the game, wins.  Market Share is the amount of money a player has made, total, from Weapon Contracts. 

Alternatively, a player with greater than 50% market share (i.e. more than all other players combined) at any point after Turn 10 (Spring, 1928) wins by Mercy Rule.

NOTE: This Market Share total is separate from your current cash amount.  Market Share cannot be transferred between players, nor can players split Market Share gained from contracts.

A player loses immediately when their current cash amount would go negative, or if they’ve somehow lost their Occassio Company Charter.

To make a company, simply post the following:

Company Name: [your company’s name]
Market Share: $0
Cash: $150
Weapon Designs: None

Production Line #1: None
Ammo Press #1: None

Warehouse: 1 Occassio Company Charter – [your company name].

Each player starts with $150 cash and an Occassio Company Charter (OCC).  An OCC allows you to manufacture and sell weapons and ammo in Occassio.  Do not lose your OCC.  OCC’s may be revoked at GM discretion, or forfeited in the event of violating a player-to-player contract.

The game starts in Winter 1918. 
The game ends around the end of WWII.
This is between 25-30 turns.

Turns are divided into the Design phase and the Contract phase.

The Design Phase (Winter):

• Previous Contract winners are announced.
• New Contracts are posted. 
• Players may purchase new Weapon Designs and Revisions.

The Contract Phase (Spring):

• Weapon Design and Revisions results are posted.
• Players may bid on contracts.

Players may do any of the following actions at any time:

• Produce one (1) Weapon/Ammo Shipment from the respective Line/Press per-phase.
• Submit any amount of Weapon/Ammo Shipments to fulfill an accepted contract.
• Construct a new Weapon Production Line or Ammo Press.
• Sell any stockpiled ammo or weapons to the Civilian Market.
• Negotiate and form contracts with one another.
• Transfer assets between one another.

Note that Weapons and Ammo are produced at the end of a phase, just prior to the start of the next phase.  A player may immediately submit Weapons/Ammo Shipments to their contract or to the civilian market as soon as they are produced.

Designing a new weapon costs $100. 
Revising an existing weapon design costs $15.

In order to design a new weapon, you will need to declare “ACTACTACT” at the top of your post and write up a Weapon Design.  A Weapon Design should feature the name of your company, the name of your weapon, the type of weapon it is, the ammunition it uses, and a brief description about the sort of characteristics you’d like it to have.  By default, weapon designs will have a large number of defects that require revisions to fix.  The later the game progresses, the fewer defects new designs will have as your company grows more skilled.  Designs will not have dice rolls associated with them and be subject to GM fiat.  Note that this game is a work of fiction, in a fictional universe, with fictional guns – sure, you could design a re-skinned M1 Garand or your own FG 42, but you will not be punished for trying something new or quirky.

ACTACTACT

Happy Crab Gun Production LLC
Rifle Design:  Twin Cyclone TC1
.60 caliber x150g ammunition
The Twin Cyclone TC1 is cylinder-fed, twin-barrel, pump-action rifle for infantry use.  The TC1 has two side-by-side stainless-steel barrels, each fed by an independent six-round cylinder for a total capacity of twelve rounds.  The weapon fires alternating barrels, and each round is primed by the pump-action slide grip underneath.  The pump-action primes both hammers at once, allowing the user to pump once every two rounds.  The trigger should need to be fully reset before being squeezed in order to fire the second barrel.  The cylinders should be able to swing out on a crane to be hot-swapped with fresh cylinders in order to reload.

The TC1 uses the same .60x150g ammo as our Horse-Killer line of weapons.

The result may be something like the following:

Happy Crab Gun Production LLC
Twin Cyclone TC1
Cost: $21 per Shipment
The TC1 is an impressive display of raw firepower and unmitigated enthusiasm for weapons chambered in the gigantic .60x150g caliber range.  The gun is quite heavy due to the two-barrel design, as well as the two massive cylinders required to house twelve .60 rounds and the accompanying powder loads.

A number of issues plague the TC1.  The powder flash between the barrel and cylinder is quite large, resulting in a drop in power for the round as well as threatening to burn the users forearm.  The pump-action can be quite stiff as it needs to rotate two cylinders at once and cock their respective hammers.  Furthermore, there’s no safeguard, as the cylinder is already rotated and waiting under a cocked hammer.  It is possible to pump multiple times and rotate the cylinders out of order, leaving live rounds housed in the cylinders – necessitating five more pumps to get it into proper alignment.  Due to the size and weight, adding a swing-out crane for the cylinders was impossible at this time.  Spent brass must be manually ejected one at a time with an ejector rod.  Additionally, the trigger depression is frequently faulty and firing both barrels at once is a common occurrence – though thankfully, none have exploded during testing.

Testers report that the TC1 is “exciting” and “frightening” to use.

Revisions may build off of existing designs and generally address one issue at a time.  A player may perform any number of revisions at once; however, this will create a distinct variant for each revision.  Another revision would be required to unify those variants together.  Much like designs, dice rolls will not be used and the player is required to declare “ACTACTACT” at the top of their post.

Revisions may change aspects or resolve defects for existing weapons.  For example, resolving mis-fires, increasing magazine load, adding a scope variant, or decreasing weight.  Players must explain how the revision resolves the issue.  Sufficiently complex revisions may not fully resolve an issue, or be beyond the scope of what’s capable – such as chambering a weapon for a larger round, converting it to fully automatic fire, adding a quick-swap barrel, etc.

ACTACTACT

Happy Crab Gun Production LLC
Revision:  Twin Cyclone TC1 A1
Rifle: Twin Cyclone TC1

In order to resolve both barrels firing at once, a second trigger is added behind the first one.  These triggers operate each barrel independently.

The result may be something like the following:

Happy Crab Gun Production LLC
Twin Cyclone TC1 A1
The addition of a second trigger requires moving some internal mechanisms around to make room for another trigger spring, but the wide nature of the Twin Cyclone allows for plenty of real estate.  The second trigger is added – though it is still possible for a careless user to pull both triggers at once.

Weapon shipments are created at a Weapon Production Line.  The cost to produce a shipment depends on the weapon being produced.  A standard rifle could cost somewhere from $15-20, for example.

In order to produce a weapons shipment, you must have a right to produce the weapon in question.  This can be done through player agreements, or if you own the weapon design itself.  Simply declare the weapon you’re producing, which production line is producing it, and it will appear at the end of the turn. 

You may also convert existing weapon shipments to their variants by paying the difference in cost between the two models, if you so choose.  If the new variant is cheaper or cost the same, then the cost of the conversion is $0.

Ammo shipments are created at an Ammo Press.  Each shipment costs $3 to produce.

Unlike weapons, ammo is simple and does not require a dedicated design.  The only requirement is an existing weapon which uses that ammo type.  Simply declare the name and type of ammo you’re producing, which ammo press is producing it, and it will appear at the end of the turn.  Different weapons may use the same ammo, even between companies.

Weapon Contracts are the main influx of cash and Market Share into the game.  They are submitted during the Design Phase (Winter) each turn, and have a set pay-out and requirements.  Players may submit a gun design to a contract.  The contract holder will then choose which gun design it prefers, and accept one players offer. 

Players Market Share increases only once the contract is closed.

The contract pays out immediately upon acceptance.  The player will then have until the end of the date listed on the contract to submit the corresponding amount of Weapon and Ammo Shipments to the contract holder.  Once the Shipments have been sent, the contract is considered closed.

If a player fails to meet the deadline, they have defaulted.  The money paid is withdrawn from the players bank account immediately.  Any Shipments sent are considered lost, and the contract will be re-posted next turn. 

The player who defaulted on the previous contract may not bid on the new contract.

There are three types of weapons at the start:  rifles, pistols, and heavy machineguns. Additional weapon types may or may not appear later in the game.

Contract: Parvus Armory
Seeking: 10 Rifle, 10 Matching Ammo Shipments
Due: Winter 1920 (4 phases)

Parvus is one of the new countries to spring out of the Great War Peace Treaty.  Without much in the way of weapons (and even less in the way of money), they are seeking a cheap rifle with which to arm their militia.  The rifle does not need to be accurate, but it must be reliable, easy to clean, and simple to repair.  As most of their militia is unskilled, ease-of-use is a key factor.  However, the most important feature is a weapon which they can keep functional for years on end…at least until their economy can get its feet under it.

Pay: $275

NOTE:  The vast majority of contracts will require more weapons and ammo than a single player is capable of producing themselves in the time allotted.  It will be required for players to sub-contract weapon production for one another in order to meet quotas.  However, only the player who accepted the contract may get the Market Share.


Contracts between players are binding.  In the event of a player violating a player-to-player contract, their OCC is forfeited. 

Additionally, repeatedly defaulting on Weapon Contracts will begin to incur additional fees.  Continued defaults may result in a players OCC being revoked entirely, though this is dependent on how much additional work the player in question has cost the GM.

The real meat of the money is in Military contracts, but there is a significant amount of money to be had through small-scale sales.  Weapons and ammunition Shipments can be sold to the market at a flat return rate of $10 and $3 above the production cost, respectively.  It’s not as profitable as being a sub-contractor, but it’s a way to make ends meet.

Note that Civilian Market sales DO NOT CONTRIBUTE TO MARKET SHARE.  The only way to increase your Market Share is to nab those sweet, sweet Weapon Contracts.

FAQ: Why is it set up this way?  Well, a fluctuating market requires GM oversight, and if it contributed to your Market Share then it would become a viable way of winning the game – a player could make the cheapest gun possible, then snowball production lines until they won.  I think we can all agree this is an extremely boring playstyle, so it remains as a non-competitive way to dispose of old guns and ammo.

The Zeroth Age, in which the game is created. 

The first three players sign up and a waiting list is compiled for people who will join later.

Actions in this Age might include:
Signing up.
Giving your God a name.

The First Age, in which more Gods are created and the cosmos are formed.

Here players may go about having awesome God Sex^TM and creating more Gods (there aren't enough Gods, after all), as well as creating all the stuff that will fill up the universe.

Actions this Age might include:
Making new Gods (either by yourself, or with another player - this action may be done both here and every following Age).
Create different planes of existence (if you do this, please make your plane interesting!)
Creating the Stars.
Creating the Sun.
Make Seasons (doesn't even have to be the traditional four seasons).
Creating planets (no life yet, sadly)
Olympus, Seats of Power, and other places for the Gods to live (just because you create a house for all the other players to live doesn't mean they'll stay there)
Cosmic-sized creations, constellations, other Big Things.
Creating servants - Angels, Guardians, things like that.
Making Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, the Soul-Volcano, or anywhere else you might wanna stash a mortal's soul after they die.

Hard actions might include:
Modifying an existing Fundamental Law.
Laying the ground-work for the underlying forces behind....say, Magic or Souls.
Cosmic-sized life (the turtle upon which the world lives, giving life to and animating constellations, etc).
Imposing limits on what others might do (all planets must be flat, all planes exist bordering one another, etc)

The Second Age, in which the universe is made ready for intelligent life.

It's here we start getting into the exciting stuff - making the universe ready for mortals to inhabit.  After all, without worship, what's the point of being a God?

Actions this Age might include:
Giving yourself Form - if you do not do this during this Age, you will be Formless for the rest of the game and weaker than the other Gods.
Putting atmospheres on planets.
Making general flora and fauna to inhabit worlds and planes.
Making and shaping oceans, mountains, and other planet-sized terrains.
Burying dinosaur bones to fool the mortals later.
Other minor tweaks to make realms more inhabitable for mortals.
Fight! You cannot kill each other, but your physical forms can tear mountains asunder, your spells can boil oceans, and you can wound other Gods and make them lose turns (Usually between 1 and 3).

Hard actions might include:
Affecting cosmic bodies, like in the previous Age.
Creating specific species of plants and animals.
Creating primordial intelligent life early - the first fumbling, crude worshipers to inhabit all of reality.
Define how a specific strain Magic works based on what was defined in the First Age (there can be competing strains of magic).
Megalithic, powerful structures (city-sized temples, a space elevator, etc)
Stealing Dominions from another God (this Age and all following Ages).

The Third Age, in which Mortals walk the Earth.

Time to create the meatbags! Intelligent life may now be created, as well as the supernatural.

Actions this Age might include:
Creating the first sustainable mortals (Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Smurfs, etc).
Forming these mortals into worshipers.
Smiting these mortals for worshiping someone else.
Bang these mortals to create Demi-Gods (i.e. bring new players into the game).
Give Fire to the Mortals (or teach them something like sailing, magic, forging, etc).
Create Magical Beasts (uncommon species of powerful creatures).
Create Legendary Creatures (singular, more powerful creatures).
Create specific species of plants and animals.

Hard actions might include:
Large, regional effects like in the Age of Earth, including creating or changing entire regions.
Create multiple mythical beasts at once, EG dragons of several colors.
Issuing Commandments (they're young and don't really understand things well yet).
Exterminating a race of Mortals (they're resilient, but it can be done).
Creating Legendary Artifacts (things on a small scale are still hard to do without over-blowing it, but it's possible now).
Permanently Killing Another God.

The Fourth Age, in which the Gods begin to fade.

Your powers grow weaker and weaker, and now they are but a glimmer of what they once were.  This is your last chance before you fade into memory altogether.

Actions this Age might include:
Issue religious Commandments to a mortal race,
Command your followers to go war with heathens or followers of other Gods
Command your followers to create temples, roads, ships, or other great works of architecture
Create a magical artifact, like Excalibur or the Hand of Vecna.
Create a Hero: A half-god, half-mortal NPC. They might materialize into existence from your own mind, or be born the, erm, normal way. Either, way they can change the world by slaying mythical beasts and doing great deeds, but they might not obey you.
Bless or curse mortals.
Cause natural disasters, cosmic events like eclipses, or other miracles, which affect a specific city or region.
Fight and kill one another, and possibly even consume the essence of your brothers and sisters to last another turn or two.

Hard actions might include:
Actions from the Age of Myth.
Creating a Demi-God through hot God-on-Mortal loving.
Creating or spreading religions to multiple parts of the world at once.
Bless or curse entire regions.
Cause natural disasters or other miracles which affect the entire world.
Modify intelligent races.

The Fifth Age, in which the world continues to turn, even without the Gods above.

The Gods are now but a superstition, but they had many lasting effects.  This Age is an epilogue of what happens afterwards and how the world turns out once you're no longer there to guide it.

Actions this Age might include:
Cheering on a mortal or faction as they go on about their business.
Booing as another species of mortals pogroms the race you created.

Hard actions include:
Inducing schizophrenia in a mortal to make them believe they are the next Messiah.
Appearing as burnt toast or as a water stain.

Be original!
There's nothing wrong with being inspired by other myths and legends, or even other games.  That being said, do not copy-paste your God or action from another source.  At the very least, give your own spin on the subject.

Salt.
Please keep the salt to manageable levels.  Games like this can be quite draining to run, and constantly fighting with the players is a sure-fire way to kill any enthusiasm to write.  My goal is to keep things going smoothly; if you object to a ruling, you may politely submit one - and ONLY one - appeal to have the decision overturned.  I will consider the appeal fully, but typically these appeals will be rejected unless I made some sort of game-breaking mistake.

Player Interaction
Be polite to one another.  If you have a disagreement with another player you can't solve in two or three replies, please take it to PM's.

Why did you stop updating this game?
I either got bored or salt levels got too high.  It's a lot of writing, man.

I noticed a large portion of this was copy-pasted from Sensei's game.
Lol yeah.

I have a question not answered by the Master Post, and I read it like, three times.
In that case, post your question in the thread and I'll answer it eventually if someone else doesn't answer it before me.

Numbers:
1 - the number 1! Your soldiers like them because they are pointy and easy to count. CHEAP.

that's it you need to design other stuff

Full-sized map here!

CAPITOL CITIES are the centralized areas of power.  Taking a capitol city will require a monumental degree of effort, close coordination between all branches of the military, and superior military power. 
MAJOR CITIES are areas with high population densities, critical supply centers, or are of crucial strategic importance. 
MINOR CITIES are areas with important supply centers, or are of strategic importance.
TOWNS are small areas where further assaults can be staged, and are more important as stepping stones than anything else.

• You WIN by capturing enough cities.
• You get 5 DICE per turn. 
• 3 DICE will make a DESIGN (a "new thing").  New designs will take a few turns to be built before they can be used.
• 1 DIE will make a REVISION (changing something you already have).
• You make LOADOUTS (a list of equipment) and assign them to UNITS (the troops on the ground).
• The STRATEGY PHASE lets you choose where to send your troops to attack stuff.
• MAGIC lets you bend the laws of nature.  The more you bend them, the more MANA (ability to do magic) required.

If you have any questions, ask!

 There are three ways to win.
1)   Capture the enemy Capitol – Unlikely, but possible!  Push into the enemy Capitol and hold it for a turn to win.
2)   Capture 3 Major and 3 Minor Cities – Hold a total of 9 Major Cities and 12 Minor Cities for a turn.
3)   Capture 8 Minor Cities – Hold a total of 17 Minor Cities for a turn.

Each turn lasts 2 months in-game.
 
Design: 
Here you will draft proposals for new spells and magical equipment to outfit your Mages with.  It is a good idea to have a general understanding of how magic works before making a proposal (see “Magic” below). 

A good design says:
-The name of the design
-What it does
-How it does it
-Details regarding specifications
-A bit of flavor text.

Generally, designs will become easier as your team gains experience designing and has access to larger fields of magic.
 
It is during this phase you may also freely requisition equipment from other divisions of the Army and Navy (or even the civilian sector) to supplement your equipment.  How successful you are depends on your relationship with the other branches and inter-military politicking, as well as the available technology.  You may requisition an unlimited amount of equipment per turn, but requisitions may damage inter-branch relationships.

While it is acceptable to create non-magical equipment, your team consists of Magical Researchers, not Expert Engineers.  Designing mundane equipment beyond the current time period will be extremely difficult – you can totally design period-appropriate equipment by calling in some professionals to help, but it’s questionable why you would bother when you have access to literal magic.  Similarly, equipment you design will not be available for mass distribution to your factions entire army; your new fully automatic assault rifle will not be given to every Army infantryman no matter how great it may be (presumably, it is too expensive to replace every rifle with it).  Additionally, designs that target your infrastructure or general “Quality” improvements are outside the scope of this game and are not acceptable design choices (e.g. “Mage Schools”, budget Fund-Raising, weapon factories, etc).
 
 
Each turn you will be given five (5) dice.  You may bank up to five dice for a maximum of ten (10) dice available.   Each design costs three dice to start, though only a single dice will be rolled (see “Dice Rolls”, below) to determine the designs effectiveness based on the difficulty of the design (see “Design Difficulty” below).  Once a design has been rolled, it will begin a Project.
 
A Project Consists Of:
Time – How long a project will take to complete.  Depending on the complexity of the project, it can be anywhere from 1 to 35.
Progress – How much progress occurs naturally per turn.  This number can be anywhere from 1 to 6.
Cost – How much it will cost to add this to a Load Out.
Spell Difficulty - (Optional) How difficult it is to cast this spell, and the rank a Mage would need to be to cast it.
 
During the Design Phase, a team may Accelerate progress on an existing design by spending one or more die.  A 1d6 roll will be added to the project.  For each paid die, a team may also Rush a project and gain a free die roll to add to the progress.  An additional 1d6 will be added to the progress; however, rolling a 5 or 6 will add a Major bug to the project, and a 4 will add a Minor bug.
 
When a design reaches 50% completion, you may produce a prototype of the spell or equipment for 150% of the cost and/or +1 difficulty to spell casting.  Once the design has reached 50% completion, you have gained the design knowledge from the project and may benefit from its advancements in other projects.
 
A project can be canceled at the end of any phase.  Cancelling a project will return a random number of dice spent on it (minimum of 1).
 
 
Revision:
Revisions are pretty much the same as with every other Arms Race.  Each revision costs 1 die to perform.  Returns are limited compared to what can be done in a Design but are useful for hammering out bugs, modify effects, or fixing expense costs.  A revision addresses existing spells and equipment; however, sufficiently minor spells or equipment may be done through revision, within reason.  Revisions to unfinished projects will usually be more effective than revisions made once that project is completed.

Revisions to equipment that do not fundamentally change the nature, cost, or experience requirement of the equipment/spell will be freely applied to existing Load Outs (see “Load Outs”, immediately below). 

Revisions can only upgrade a piece of equipment so far.  Generally, a new Design will be better than an older Design with multiple revisions.
 
Strategy:
You will start with three Mage Units at the start, each of which roughly equal a platoon (~24 men) in size (see "Units and Aces" below).  During Strategy Phase, you can create Load Outs, equip your units with them, and choose where to deploy them.
 
Load Outs:
During Strategy Phase, you can spend 1 die to create a Load Out (this die is not rolled, but simply consumed).  A Load Out is a set of various pieces of equipment, either mundane or magical, the total cost of which is below your current Budget.  Your Budget is the limit to how much can be fit into a single Load Out, and is not actually spent or decremented.  Once a Load Out is created, it can be applied to any Mage Unit.  This will be their equipment for the coming turn.  There is no cost or penalty to swapping Load Outs each turn; however, any equipment that has a Spell Difficulty above the Unit's Experience Level (see "Units and Aces" below) will not be used by that unit.  In this way it is possible to equip every squad with your new super expensive weapon, but doing so may deny them other less-expensive pieces of equipment.  Evocations (see "Magic" below) do not have a specific cost and can be used by any Unit with the Experience to cast them without adding them to a Load Out.  Revising equipment will usually not require a new Load Out to be made if the experience requirement, nature, and expense of the equipment is not changed – fixing a bug in your new weapon will not require you to make a new Load Out for it. 
 
Deployments:
Deployments and operations may be proposed for each element of your available forces. 

Generally, this will be a list of your current Units, each Unit's Load Out, where they are being deployed, and their goal for that area (optional).  As you gain more Units, these may be organized under Task Forces to simplify Deployments; essentially a group of Units with a common goal.  Commanders will do their best to perform assignments given to them, but in the event an assignment is impossible the Unit will fall back to defensive operations in that area.  Without a goal, a Unit will follow orders from allied commanders in the field.  Deployments do not need to be complex - you will not be punished for writing "Mage Group 1 | Load Out 1 | City ABC | Capture city"
 
Until your company gains more prestige and autonomy, it is advisable to follow along with the strategy of your Army superiors.  It is suggested that you support the proposed operation for that turn or risk ruining relations and/or failing objectives.

Each “die” is a (1d4+1d3)-1, producing a bell-curve roll result.  Bell-curved dice are rolled for Designs and Revisions; all other dice will be a standard 1d6.  Difficulty (see “Design Difficulty” below) moderates how closely result will match the design, not the design’s failure chance, but may have some effect on the resulting bugs regardless.  The following are examples of what to expect from dice results.
 
Result 1: [8%  Chance] Result works sub-optimally; may be Mana-draining, suffer from severe bugs, or inordinately expensive.
Result 2: [17% Chance] Result is below expected parameters due to Mana-inefficiency and at least one big bug, or multiple smaller ones.  Expensive.
Result 3: [25% Chance] Result is as expected but could use improvement.  A couple minor bugs, or one moderate one. Cost is within expected parameters.
Result 4: [25% Chance] Results work well! A minor bug or two.  Costs are acceptable.
Result 5: [17% Chance] Results exceed expectations. Might have a single small bug, or be surprisingly efficient.  Costs are surprisingly low.
Result 6: [8%  Chance] Outstanding results! Works better than expected. No bugs to speak of, and Mana costs are less than expected.  Costs are trivial.

The difficulty of a spell or piece of equipment correlates to how far you’re bending the laws of nature, your experience with the field you’re manipulating, and how complex it is.  Design Difficulty does not so much affect whether or not the design is a success, but rather how closely the effect follows what was intended.  Exceedingly difficult designs will have a spell with a much smaller effect than intended or have it altered in some way.  Meta-wise, this is “balance” to prevent one side from making a “kill everyone” spell and automatically winning the game.
 
Trivial:
Designs of this caliber can expect the result to pretty much match exactly what was proposed.  Additionally, poor effectiveness rolls will probably be made less buggy or expensive.
-A Trivial Design uses magic you already fully understand and applies it in a way you would have no trouble doing so.  A Trivial Design is one you would not conceivably fail.
 
Easy:
Normal designs will follow the design proposal as stated, though bugs may alter the effect to a minor degree on bad rolls. Poor rolls will be eased slightly.
-An Easy Design uses magic you already fully understand and applies it in a new (but non-complex) manner.
 
Normal:
Results will behave mostly as expected, but below-average rolls might result in bugs that alter the effect to be less than desired.
-A Normal Design might explore a new field in a basic way, or use magic you fully understand in a rather complicated way.
 
Hard:
Hard designs will generally perform results as expected on above-average rolls, but the effect may be nerfed to some minor degree.
-A Hard Design explores a new field and attempts to do something tricky with it, or it may be merging two different schools of magic together in a way you haven't attempted before.
 
Very Hard:
The effects of Very Hard designs will probably be less than expected without a very good roll.  Even then, expect it to be nerfed in some way.
-A V Hard Design attempts to do a lot with something you've never tried before.  You may also be trying to quickly advance your understanding of a field you've played with before.
 
Extremely Hard:
Your design is pushing the limits of what you can do with your current research background and skill.  The effects will likely not be as desired without dedicated research into this field.
-An E Hard Design attempts to do something very complex with something you've never tried before.  Generally, this will involve few or none of the schools of magic you've used before.
 
Impossible:
If your design is Impossible, you’ve made a mistake somewhere.  I’ll probably let you know before designs are locked that your design is too hard to realistically accomplish.
-An Impossible Design is a player trying to break the game.  Stop that.
 
 
Note:
These are rough guide-lines.  Magic is tricky business from a meta-standpoint, and if a design is difficult it’s because I’m trying to keep the game balanced.  This doesn’t mean I’m punishing your side, or I’m discouraging you from trying something, but rather I am trying to apply rules and balance to literal make-believe without even historical precedence to go off of.  Cut me a break, dude. Damn.

The phenomenon known as “Magic” is poorly understood and subject to very little study.  The practice of “Wizarding” is seen as archaic – compared to the raw might of science, the need for fireballs and enchanted swords has diminished greatly since the early middle ages.  Most magical institutions are maintained out of posterity, and most magical advancements have been lost to the endless march of time.  What spell a Mage can cast generally depends on his skill and experience, as well as his Mana reserves.   Magic is typically seen as a source of energy, which can bend the rules of nature to some degree.  The more you bend the rules, the more Mana required.  The better you understand what you’re doing, the less Mana required.
 
Casting magic requires four components:
Innate talent: Some people can use magic, and others can’t.  The degree of magical acuity varies from person to person, but the vast majority of people are without the Gift.  The amount a Mage can cast is directly tied to their “Mana Pool” – a well of magical energy that all Mages pull from that enables the casting of magical spells.  The size of an individual’s pool and the rate at which it refills varies from person to person.
 
Understanding: The trickiest part of casting.  The caster must understand how the spell works, the intended effect, and the laws of nature governing what they’re affecting.  Magic does not “break” the laws of nature, but instead “bends” them.  A simple flame spell, for example, must draw heat and a spark from somewhere, and have something to burn.  The most common source for these things is the caster’s Mana Pool, although a more skilled caster can use the heat from the surrounding air and a static spark for ignition.  The more intimate the casters understanding is of what he’s manipulating and the mechanism through which the spell is accomplished, the more efficient, powerful, and complex his spells can become.  To this end, magical equipment becomes very helpful.  For example, an empty lighter can help ground a Mage’s understanding of a flame spell, while at the same time providing the spark for the spell itself.  It is common to draw upon a Mage's surroundings for spell-casting, but not strictly required.  Increased Mana consumption can supplement flawed or lacking understanding to a degree, but it’s an inefficient and amateurish method of spell-casting.  Because of the integral nature of Understanding in spell-casting, certain aspects of nature can not be directly ensorcelled as they can not be properly Known; the Soul, the Mind, and Magic itself, to be name a few.
 
Direction: Unleashing the spell in a controlled manner; magic must be directed with a target in mind in order to be effective.  Most novice casters fail here and lend to the stereotype of chaotic and unpredictable Mages.  Engraved staves, wands, and inscribed circles are popular for directing more complex magic, but a simple hand gesture – or even a word, for simpler spells – can provide the appropriate avenue for magical release.  In older times it was believed that wands made of rare and precious materials provided a greater boost to magical output, but this has been widely discredited in more modern magical communities.  While the type of material can have some effect, it is instead the proportions, complexity, symmetry, and geometric precision which tend to matter more.  Properly constructed material components can be quite intricate and complex, but would allow an efficient flow of Mana from the user into the target.  The difficulty of casting a spell over a distance increases the further a Mage extends the spell and the more precise the direction or target – proper magical equipment can make this task a bit easier, however.
 
Will: A magic user must drive the spell with the force of their own Will.  A magic user’s Will is the only manner in which magic can be used.  A prepared spell cannot be activated by a non-Mage or any mechanical means; there are several work-arounds using Enchantments, but in order for a spell to be performed it must be done by a Mage with the Will to do so.  In a direct contest of spells between two Mages, the stronger-willed Mage will generally have the edge.
 

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Magic is generally classified into three categories:
Sorceries: The most frequently used type of magic, and is defined by the use of material components and equipment and their powerful yet Mana-efficient effects.  Tend to be a bit easier to design and cast than Evocations.  A Sorcery starts with a Mage drawing upon their Mana Pool.  It then requires an understanding of the spell, the target, and how the world behaves and interacts with the subject of their focus.  The Sorcery is then directed – either with a wand, staff, rifle, engraved circle, etc – and driven with the Mage’s force of Will.  This is the most versatile form of magic, with the speed of casting tied to both the complexity of the spell and the Mage’s skill (anywhere from a second to a minute).  Might involve multiple casters.  Higher difficulty spells of this nature typically grow both more destructive and complex.
 
Evocations: Also known as “Flash Magic”, Evocations are spells that can be performed at the speed of thought with no material component and without requiring a large degree of understanding.  This type of magic is quick and dirty, and used in the instant it is needed - essentially, the "bayonet" of spells.  The complexity of the spell is generally low, but raw output can be high and can be useful for getting out of a tight spot.  It is generally an inefficient use of a Mage’s magical abilities, as large amounts of Mana are used to make up for not having a more complex understanding or precise direction.  This spell is equivalent to casting a burst of lightning or flame from the palm of a hand or with a spoken word.  It is usually the first type of spell a Mage will ever cast, usually by accident and before they’re aware of their magical abilities.  Due to the dangerous nature of these types of castings, learning spell-users are generally taught Evocations last – and with a large focus on control and discipline.  Evocations do not have a Cost attached to them and can be cast by any Mage with the requisite experience regardless of Load Out.  Higher difficulty spells of this nature typically grow more destructive rather than more complex.  Because they do not have a cost, it is assumed all Mages have access to all available Evocations without explicitly having them on a Load Out (provided they meet the experience requirements to perform said spell, of course).
 
Enchantments: A highly complex and exhausting form of magic, and one of the most useful.  An Enchantment relies heavily on a Mages understanding of the spell and the materials it is being cast on.  A spell must be woven carefully and delicately emplaced upon the item being enchanted.  An Enchantment is a type of “on-going” spell, which uses Mana to keep running.  In particular, an Enchantment doesn’t require a Mage’s constant focus to continue the effect.  When connected to a Mage, the spell will run until the Mage’s Mana reserves runs dry or until the spell is broken.  When operating independently, an Enchantment will power itself directly off the Mana used in the spell imbued into it – eventually burning through the woven spell and shutting down automatically.  Despite these draw-backs, an Enchantment can be incredibly useful.  An Enchantment can “store” a spell, awaiting a Mage’s force of Will to activate itself, thus allowing a more time-consuming spell to be cast nearly instantly.  An Enchantment can act as a conduit for a Mage’s magical ability, allowing them to utilize and apply their Mana more efficiently; for example, a wand, circle, or staff is technically briefly Enchanted when used for spell casting.  An Enchantment can also perform a low-power effect for a long period of time without a Mage’s direct intervention, like a wrist-watch or a flashlight.  Depending on how well an Enchantment is crafted and the nature of the effect, a Mage could keep it running indefinitely…assuming the mana draw is lower than the rate at which their pool refills. Higher difficulty spells of this nature typically grow more complex rather than more destructive.
 

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Lastly, each spell has a Difficulty attached, limiting who can cast it.  More experienced Mages can cast more difficult spells.  Adequate equipment and better-refined spells can lower the Difficulty level of a spell, and an Ace attached to a Mage platoon can artificially increase their Experience by one level.
Difficulties are as follow:
Rookie: Basic spells, generally with simple effects.  Beginner-level magic.  Spells of this level anyone can cast, either with common wands or by Evocation.  Spells of this level require a basic understanding of magic to cast.
Competent: More complex spells, with varying or conditional effects.  Will likely require specialized equipment.  Spells of this level require experience to cast.
Experienced: Spells of this level tend to have very complex effects and deal with large amounts of Mana.  This will most likely require specialized equipment, or have outputs beyond what average Mages are capable of.
Veteran:  Spells of this nature have the potential to alter the course of a battle by themselves.  Spells of this level will surpass what can be done by conventional means.
Elite:  Spells of this level are a hammer with which to strike the terrain and reshape it to your will.  Unlikely to be cast by a single mage, and certainly not more than once.
Legendary:  Literally, "The Stuff of Legends".

An individual being born with magical talent is rare.
 
An individual being born with enough magical talent to become a Combat Mage is even rarer.  Your department engages in an on-going search for emerging talent among the population; when found, these individuals are conscripted and trained at the Academy.  Once training has been completed, they will be sent to the frontlines.  A new Unit of Mages will be provided every couple turns to increase the number of Units your team has available for deployment.  It is assumed that Mages KIA will be automatically replaced without affecting the rate at which new units of Mages appear.
 
As your Units engage in battle, they will increase and decrease in experience level.  This experience level is what allows your Mages to cast more difficult spells – successful combat trials will increase a Units experience, while defeats will decrease experience.  As mentioned in “Magic” (see above), there are six ranks of experience:
Rookie: New to combat.  Armed with basic spells, and prone to getting themselves killed.
Competent: Experienced with combat.  Familiar with the battlefield and can be expected to operate without major fuckups.
Experienced: Well experienced with battle.  Have engaged multiple combats and lived, often with success.
Veteran: Practiced, powerful Mages.  Frequently engaged in combat, and experienced enough to spearhead important operations.
Elite: The best of the best, and unfamiliar with defeat.  These Units can accomplish most any task given to them.
Legendary: Literally, “Stuff of Legends”.
 
From time to time, an Ace will appear.  An Ace is a Mage who has gained five confirmed kills, gaining a nickname and notoriety.  They are generally individuals with a greater amount of magical talent, skill, or just plain ol’ luck.  An Ace will artificially increase the experience level of a unit by +1.
 
An “Ace of Aces” is a Mage who’s gained fifty confirmed kills.  They will be granted an additional honorific title, and can artificially increase the experience level of a unit by +2.  Very rare.
 
Aces are, sadly, mortal.  They are not easy to kill, but it’s possible for an Ace to meet a bad run of luck or to get caught out by superior forces.  An Ace may be KIA or WIA; in the event of Wounded In Action, they may return to the battlefield after a period of time to resume combat operations.  Be careful with your Aces – they can be powerful tools, but don’t throw them away!

1) I am well aware of the salt this game can generate.  We are all adults, playing make-believe magic on a niche forum about dwarves in fortresses.  I understand that it can be fun to be salty, but please keep it to a minimum.  If you find yourself upset with the game or another player, take a break.  Walk away and go do something else.  This is not worth getting upset over.
 
2) I am not perfect.  I may get details wrong.  I may forget things, or I might make a bad call.  I'm sorry.  The game is fantasy in an alternate WWI era; some liberties have been taken for the stake of the narrative or for balance.  A piece of equipment may not work as intended, or the effect may not be as pronounced as you'd hoped.  I am desperately trying to keep this balanced and fun for everyone - although ideally these issues won't pop up, I will likely make a mistake at some point.  If you have an issue with how the game is run or how a battle played out, you may bring the issue up once, and only once, and I promise I will seriously consider it.  I will generally err on the side of consistency, as sometimes it's more important to just keep the game running.
 
3) Do not accuse me of bias.  It's not funny as a joke, and it's even more annoying when it's serious.  I put a lot of effort into making things fair, and - like it or not - one side will lose eventually.  If I were biased, then the factions would be named "Forenia" and "Cannala," not "Abbraccio" and "Kolubaria."  Accusations of bias and the temper tantrums that come with them can derail a game.  Do not accuse me of bias.
 
4) Do not spy on the other team.  If you lack the self-control to keep yourself from peeking, then please, for the love of God, keep it to yourself.  Don't use it to metagame or (as mind-boggling as it sounds, it's happened before) announce it to the thread.  It's incredibly obvious when you're trying to casually play off your miraculous flash of insight.  Trust me, it's more fun to play normally.

King Maiorico Gioffre II - King of Abbraccio.
General Vittorio Feo - Commander of Abbraccio ground forces.
Admiral Arminio Cesena - Commander of Abbracio naval forces.
Captain Elio Campoli - Commander of Abbraccio Mage Support Alpha Company.  Recently promoted and given command due to his natural magical talent.

Army: Poor.  "These wizards are taking the guns out of the hands of honest-to-God riflemen.  How can we justify funding card tricks in the middle of a war?" -General Feo

Navy: Poor. "I suppose we could put them to work mining coal or manufacturing artillery shells.  Anything else is a waste of time." -Admiral Cesena

Political: Uncertain. "Oh?  Yes, we gave them an unused conference room in the military HQ.  That should shut up the lobbyists, at least for a little while." -King Gioffre

Public: Ambivalent. "Oh yeah! Yeah, my papa is magic.  He can pull a lira from behind my ear, it's really neat!" -Random Citizen

Sorceries
Soaring Memory of Crystal Mind, Version 3: Created by one of the junior members of SPELLS in an attempt to modify his memory and perform better in school.   Does not actually affect the human mind, but instead allows the user to “photograph” what he’s looking at and store the image on his eyeball.  Obscures vision and tends to include eyelashes and noses in the picture.  Eyeball photo is visible to other people, but in reverse.  Requires a monocle to cast, and operates by re-arranging the pigments of the pupil.  Requires a second casting to clear. [Rookie] [1]

Evocations
Snap-Lighter: A brief conjure of flame, for lighting pipes and cigarettes.  Mana is channeled by snapping one’s fingers while casting, causing a match-sided blue flame to appear on the users thumb.  Runs entirely off Mana, though the spell is intended to only last a short period of time.  Caster is advised to wet their thumb before casting in order to prolong the time the flame can appear before burning the thumb. [Rookie]

Enchantments
Lucky Rabbits Foot: A preserved rabbits foot, using a rather convoluted weave of magic.  Effects seem dubious, but through rigorous testing it is revealed to subtly move the wearers foot just enough to avoid stumbling over unseen rocks or stubbing toes on furniture.  Further testing reveals it performs an on-going analysis of the users gait and compares the projected footfall with the terrain immediately ahead.  Replenishes naturally while in close proximity to a mage, but will otherwise run dry within an hour.  [Rookie] [4]

Misc Magical Equipment
Focus Talisman, Version “Bear”: A modern Mage’s talisman, used to help direct a Mage’s magic into Sorceries.  The contraption is a little bit bigger than an open hand and features intricate inner workings that blend the magical and mechanical.  Physical appearance represents a bird cage, with the bars joining together in a central point.  The device allows a Mage to focus her Mana through a well-understood means and redirect it into a secondary means of spell direction, such as a wand or circle.  The device is a bit like an intricate net, helping capture unfocused magical energy from a Mage.  This reduces the amount of Mana needed to perform a given spell and helps a Mage split their focus between two spells, but each Focus Talisman must be hand-crafted by skilled non-combat Mages, making it quite expensive.  Enchantments must be maintained daily.  Delicate and prone to breaking.  [10]

Wooden Wand: Carved from broom handles, fence posts, and any other scrap of wood that can be found.  Used to assist in Direction during spell-casting, allowing the user to more efficiently spend their Mana and apply their Will.  Generally engraved with lines and symbols by the user.  Used for casting low-level Sorceries, with a penalty to effectiveness.  Generally, a wand should be specialized to whatever spell is being cast, but this works in a pinch. [0]




Mundane Weapons
Sava ’00:  Bolt-action rifle, firing 0.333 caliber rounds out of a 5-round internal box.  Named after the King’s father, may God rest his soul.  Manufactured in the homeland, and a shining example of our people’s technical skill.  The Sava ’00 is standard-issue to all infantrymen, and a single round will kill just as well as a lightning zap (as magic detractors will quickly point out).  The wooden body cradles a rifled barrel fitted with lugs for bayonets.  It’s light and wieldable, but cycling the bolt causes loss of sight picture.  Prone to jamming as the bolt wears out.  [5]

Pavle Sidearm: Standard-issue sidearm, 0.35 caliber.  Remarkably cheap and easy to use, but unreliable.  The slide is prone to jamming in place, and the sights are more of a suggestion than anything used for accurate fire.  Comes with an eight round magazine.  [1]



Misc
Mage Uniform ’14: Standard mass-produced infantry uniform, adapted for mages.  Warm and sturdy, and made mostly out of scratchy wool.  Brown trousers and overcoat with a drab green undershirt.  Boots are oiled leather and come up to the ankle, with cloth wraps that go up past the calf.  A belt around the waist holds ammo and supplies, although there’s not a lot of room.  A fashionable cloth cap keeps the head warm.  A set of fancy, billowing robes that go over top marks the wearer as a Mage, though the hem drags in the mud and the sleeves snag on everything.  Does not protect against bullets or shrapnel. [0]

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Budget: 20

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Twelve years ago, the world was plunged into the most violent, bloody war known to man; a war that superseded the bloodshed of what was once called The Great War, The War of the Nations, and The War to End All Wars.

Six years ago, that war ended with the loss of more than 60 million people; more than twice the death of the previous war that had so recently ravaged the world.  Two months later the United Nations was chartered to help ensure such a war will not once again be seen by the likes of men.

Two years ago, the nations of the world convened in Geneva, Switzerland for the adoption of additional articles to the Geneva Conventions. 

Initially conceived as addendums to the existing articles covering the treatment of the wounded and prisoners during conflicts, the attending nations soon found themselves fleshing out more restrictions to warfare than they’d originally intended.  The horrors of war still fresh in their minds, these articles went on to ban some of the most significant advancements in warfare developed in the past several decades.  Furthermore, the conventions went on to include the pledges of the worlds existing super powers to support and empower the United Nations to enforce these articles.

Chief among the conventions is the banning of treaded or wheeled vehicles for the transportation of military equipment and personnel, the banning of fixed-wing aircraft, and the banning of automatic weaponry.  Civilians around the world celebrated what was branded as the End to All War – after all, what military was willing to return to the brutal, stagnant trench warfare of the first World War?

The two small nations of Nogrania and Toskesh from the island-continent of Serouda are among those who’ve signed.  Situated on a large island off the eastern coast of Japan, the two have fought on and off for centuries.  For as long as anyone can remember, the two nations have fought one another with varying levels of intensity that ultimately failed to produce a victor.  Though technically participants in the second World War, no one can quite agree which sides they fought for or when they joined, as the entirety of the fighting between the two never spilled past the borders of their island.  Despite this ambiguity, they were ultimately declared participants of the Second World War, and with a great deal of heavy coercion from the United States, Britain, and Russia, both were coaxed into signing the new Geneva Conventions.

For a time, the conventions worked.  With compliance enforced by the newly-empowered United Nations, both Nogrania and Toskesh were forced to abandon their tanks, their machine guns, and aircraft in favor of artillery, bolt-action rifles, and static trench warfare.  With technology forcibly set back two decades, neither side was willing to press the conflict and an armistice held the peace.  The world started to rebuild and nations started to heal.

Today, that has all changed.

Shaky black-and-white footage has been released of a heavily modified Soviet T-34.  The tank, true to the Geneva Conventions, has forgone its treads in favor of something truly outlandish.  Four thick mechanical legs sprout from the sides of the tank, moving one-by-one and propelling the vehicle forward.

The USSR has denied the authenticity of the footage and claimed it to be a hoax, but the world is abuzz with rumors of other such developments.  Speculations of M4 Sherman tanks propped up on two legs walking about like men have capture the imagination of every American child.  British pub-goers swear to their mothers about how they’d seen a Churchill Mk VII crawl through their village on six legs like a giant ant.  Rumors across the Pacific tell of giant Japanese suits of mechanical armor, each carrying an entire aircraft engine on the back to power the limbs.  Politicians decry the lunacy of such impractical designs yet accuse rival nations of attempting to circumvent the Geneva Conventions, all in the same breath.

The End to All Wars suddenly didn’t look so certain.

With the possibility of war on the horizon once again, the nations of Nogrania and Toskesh have quickly re-intensified their military spending. 

Most pieces of equipment have a resource cost, expressed in Ore and Oil. For examples, see starting equipment, below. Ore represents the total amount of physical effort and mineral resources which an item costs, and oil represents its use of chemicals and energy. If something is big, requires a lot of labor, or difficult to build, it will have a high ore cost. If something uses lots of energy, uses very high-grade fuel, or uses exotic chemicals, then it will have a high oil cost. Costs represent what is needed to supply a company's worth of men, or about 100 men. This means that prices given might be for 100 rifles, 50 motorcycles with sidecars, or 5-10 tanks or planes, or even a single ship.

Your nation is relatively impoverished and has limited resources.  Your capitol is industrialized and able to provide 2 Ore and 1 Oil.  As repayment from your part in WWII (despite not knowing exactly which side you were fighting on) the U.N. provides you with an additional 1 Ore and 1 Oil per year.  These two resources - as well as any other resources you might gain - require a Transport Capacity to utilize. This is also listed in your Equipment section in each battle report. You can gain resources by taking certain sections of the map and holding them for one turn without losing ground. The map section, below, describes the resources available. If a design costs resources which you don't have, it increases in expense and can't be issued to everybody. The total amount of resources a design costs more than what you have is called the Resource Deficit.

Cheap: A design with no resource deficit is Cheap, this means it can be issued to every soldier, or as often as your generals decide is tactically sensible.

Expense: A resource deficit of up to 2 makes a design Expensive, meaning it can only be issued to officers, or 1 in 10 men.

Very Expensive:  A resource deficit of 3-5 makes a design Very Expensive, available to only about 1 in 100 men or just a few per theatre, depending on the nature of the design.

National Effort:  A resource deficit of 6-9 makes a design a National Effort, you can only field one at a time - so this is only worthwhile if it's something big that can provide a big bonus to the fight.

Theoretical:  A resource deficit of 10 or more is Theoretical, and cannot actually be built.  If you made a design that is Theoretical then your side is sitting on a blueprint for something you can’t actually afford to deploy.

Complex:  In addition to the price of a design, some technologies can also be Complex or Very Complex, being new and difficult to manufacture.  Designs featuring them become one or two levels more expensive, respectively.

Consider expenses when planning your designs!  If you lose access to resources, any designs which become more expensive will immediately see the effects - equipment which doesn't have enough fuel and spare parts will need to be decommissioned.  That Expensive gun you were using?  It’s now Very Expensive and you can only afford to give it to 1 in every 100 men, rather than 1 in 10.

There are also exists Unique Resources.  These are minerals such as Titanium or Manganese, which can be used in designs to grant it additional bonuses – such as easing production, or providing additional armor.  As time goes on these resources may be discovered in areas on the map, or your side may find an exporter that they can purchase from.  These resources do not directly decrease the cost of a design; for example, let’s assume your team has a ship that uses 6 ore and 3 oil.  Revising the ship to use your teams Titanium resource to replace the steel in the hull will cause the ship to cost 6 ore, 3 oil, and 1 titanium.  Remember - ore does not only count for the amount of resources used, but the amount of physical labor and production that went into it!  A design that requires a resource you do not hold will instead count as a -1 resource deficit; for example, if your side has 3 Ore and a design that costs 2 Ore and 1 Aluminum, that design will be Expensive.  If your side has 3 Ore and a design costs 4 Ore and 1 Aluminum, it will still be Expensive.

The last thing about resources to remember is that you have a limited Transport Capacity (see Starting Equipment, below) which determines how many resources you are capable of claiming from territories you control. Your TC is given from the single vehicle which gives the highest TC in each mode of transportation (land, sea and air). Your homeland's resources do not consume transport capacity.

The map is divided up into regions, which are further divided up into sections.

These regions are:
Jungle:  Nogrania's capitol is located here.  Dense vegetation and many streams and rivers blanket this hot, humid region.
Frozen Swamps:  Toskesh's capitol is located here.  Wet, soft ground and bodies of standing water periodically freeze solid in this cold, swampy region.
Mountains:  A mountain range protects the western side of the island from the worst of the storms.  Roads and paths are cut into this rocky area and form natural choke-points with lots of cover.
Badlands:  Not quite a desert, this dry, rocky area is relatively flat with shallow hills, little water, and extreme temperatures going from hot to cold as the seasons change.
Fjords: The eastern side of the island is broken into ragged fingers of land.  Most farming and settlement happens here, with plenty of ports and landing zones along the coasts.  Relatively dry ground, but navigation is difficult.
Eastern Seas: The only side of the island where the waters are calm enough for ship travel.  Relatively shallow, and can get choppy as the seasons change.

Your control of a region will be written as a fraction.  For example: [Badlands: Nogrania  2/3, Toskesh 1/3] shows that Nogrania has majority control of the Badlands region. Your army may only advance along the lines shown between regions on the map. During the battle phase, you will attempt to advance in up to two of the territories available to you.  If your army wins in a region, you will gain a section in that region. Holding a region will give your side a point to their Economic Development Track (see below) or may provide other bonuses. When either side reaches the enemy's home region, they will fight through an entire region (3 sections) before reaching the capitol. A single victory at the capitol will end the game.  It is also possible to attempt to land directly in the enemies capitol from the sea once all five sections are under your control; your advance will have a landing penalty, and if you win then you probably could have marched in on foot anyways.

Combat is generally abstracted into "+1's" from the GM's perspective.  Depending on how fancy your piece of equipment is, it could provide a larger or smaller bonus, or receive penalties if the enemy develops a counter.  On occasion, both sides could be so evenly matched in a theatre that neither side has a clear advantage.  In this event, I will flip a coin and the winning side gains a "War Hero" - a single man or woman whose brave actions on the battlefield tipped the scales just enough for that side to win.  A War Hero can be thought of as a National Effort design that has a humble "+1" effect to whichever theatre they're in.  In the event you lose ground in a theatre they are employed, the War Hero will go either MIA or KIA.

Your nation is rapidly moving into the future, in no small part due to the growing influence of the outside world.  New factories spring up like giant pop-up books, and trade deals shine like gems in day-to-day business.  This development is reflected by the Economic Development Track. 

Initially this track starts out with 0 of 3 points completed - as the game progresses, your nation may be presented with the chance to gain additional points to fill out the track, either through events or by holding an entire Theatre (other than your home territory) on the map for a single turn.  When the track is completed your nation will gain an additional Ore, Oil, or Unique Resource.  Your nation will need to have the Transport Capacity to utilize this new resource.  Once completed, the track will reset with a higher point goal.  The first reward will be an Ore resource.

Your capitol is on top of a Unique Resource which is plentiful enough to be widely used in your weapons and technology.  You must vote and pick which resource your nation is exploiting; additional unique resources may become available on the map or through trading, but this specific unique resource will not be lost until your capitol falls.

The following are available:
Cobalt: Able to be mixed into superalloys, there has been some talk about the use of cobalt in the development of cutting-edge jet engines.  It’s useful for high-temperature components and is highly resistant to wear and corrosion.
Titanium: Highly resistant to corrosion and with a fantastic weight-to-strength ratio, this difficult-to-work metal is highly useful for a wide range of weapon applications.  It’s hard to get large amounts of it, though, so we won’t be able to make an entire tank out of it – even if tanks were still legal.
Manganese:  Much like cobalt, manganese is most useful when mixed into superalloys.  Mangalloy (commonly referred to as “unworkable” due to how hard it is) is useful for armor reinforcement.  Components made with mangalloy are quite hard to destroy.
Aluminum:  Most of our planes from the previous war use this metal to cut weight, despite not being particularly hardy.  Even with fixed-wing fighters and bombers being illegal, we might still find some use for this metal in designs that need to be light and quick.  This resource is particularly plentiful, and picking it will give our side 2 Aluminum resources.
Tungsten:  This metal can be mixed with steel to form High Speed Steel, which finds its use in drills, blades, and saws that can cut through high-carbon steel quite quickly.  It can also be used to form high-density alloys which may find use as kinetic energy penetrators.
Gold:  Though it finds some use as electrical components, gold doesn’t have particularly many uses in weapons.  It can be used to decorate your weapons, though, and make them look impressive and Baroque.

Additionally, your team will need to pick a color to represent their faction on the map, and eventually design a flag to represent them in the U.N. Council.

The following rules apply to armored land vehicles, with thickness for reference being Rolled homogeneous Armor, steel armor standard throughout WWII.
Weapons capable of penetrating armor have "Armor Penetration" values, which are hidden. A round striking armor has a penetration value at medium range, with a +1 bonus for close range and a -1 penalty for long range. Armor values are as follows:
1) Thin, <10 mm (all measures approximate and used for historical reference)
2) Light, 10-24 mm
3) Medium, 25-50 mm
4) Heavy, 51-100 mm
5) Extra Heavy, 101-150 mm
6) Super Heavy, 150-200 mm. Only historical example I can find is the Maus tank and ironclad ships.
7) Extreme, 200+ mm, or composite equivalent.
8 ) Composite only, we might never get this high in this game.

Materials give a bonus to that value. Cheap, mild steel is -1, RHA is 0. Aluminum is -1 but lighter, Titanium is lighter with no such penalty, and alloys like manganese steel, composites or more exotic armors may be +1 or higher with various effects on the weight and cost. Good spacing and angling can give a further bonus (which might be wholly or partially negated by APBC rounds or an opponent's good marksmanship).

When building armor, you can specify the thickness and material of the armor in different areas, as well as attempt to research new materials and techniques. Thicker armor also presents an engineering challenge in general; making thick armor is a technology on its own.

Keep in mind that level 0 armor is still armor and can stop stuff like 9mm pistol rounds or small shell fragments, but won't stop rifle rounds or a particularly determined soldier with a can opener.

Naval combat will take place on the eastern side of the island, as the weather on the west side is so bad that none but the largest of ships can avoid being capsized.  The Ocean region is five territories long; one that encompasses the Jungle, one that covers the Frozen Swamps, and three along the Fjords.  Having control over a section of sea that is adjacent to a section of land controlled by the enemy will grant your side a bonus to the combat there that turn, both through off-shore bombardment and landings (if applicable - if you don’t have landers or ships with big guns, your naval bonus will be limited).  You do not need to control all the Ocean territories to gain this advantage; you just need to be advanced further than the battle on the ground.

If your nation controls all five sections, you can attempt to land directly in the enemy's capitol.  Unless you have an overwhelming bonus or some crazy tech that gives you enough of an edge, this landing will be extremely difficult.  Additionally, controlling all five sections will allow you to apply your naval bonus to the enemy’s home territories, if the front line is advanced that far on the ground.

The following difficulties apply to both Designs and Revisions, (henceforth just "Designs" for brevity) but revisions will usually be about one step more difficult than designs in addition to being limited in scope. For example, making a whole new design for a simple rifle in a new caliber would probably be Easy, but Normal as a revision. Simple revisions are still perfectly capable of being Easy. Difficulty is mainly judged by three factors: What the best similar example of a technology you have built is, how long ago you built it, and what progress the outside world has made in that area. It's usually easy to make incrementally better designs, and the longer your factories build something the better your engineering bureau grows to understand it. Real world countries serve as a frame of reference for what is cutting edge technology; it is very hard to get ahead from them, but it is also assumed your engineers might be able to spend some of their time learning from books, academic papers, photos, films and lectures available to the general public…although their reading comprehension is not to be relied on. Lastly, it is important to make a distinction from advances in engineering and advances in military doctrine: For example, assault rifles depend on using smaller caliber bullets than normal rifles so they can be controlled under automatic fire, and it took real life countries a long time to realize this.

In addition to having "bugs" as a result of a poor die roll, some designs will simply have inherent drawbacks. For example, if you build a blimp, it will always be vulnerable to attack no matter how many guns you strap to it.  If you specify a walker design with lots of armor, a big gun, and a small engine, no die result is going to cause it to go fast. The consequence of bugs also depends on the nature of the design; a radio with severe bugs might just stop working and be hard to fix, but a flamethrower with severe bugs will probably result in dead users. If a design makes simple advances in multiple areas, a poor result might only advance in some of those areas, where other areas suffer bugs or do not advance.

Keep in mind that, as with all things in this game, design results are subject to a lot of, well, subjectivity. These are merely guidelines which I follow.

Easy:
An easy-difficulty design would be one that pushes either no new ground in terms of technology or engineering, or makes an elementary advancement. If something is likely to be easy, it should be done during a revision so as not to use up a design phase. An example might be adding an existing cannon design to an existing ship design which previously used a different kind of cannon. While revisions involving new technology are harder than designs involving new technology, revisions involving combining existing technology are often easy.
1: On a roll of 1, there might or might not be a minor bug, depending on whether I can think of a bug that makes sense. If I can't think of a good one, the design succeeds as planned.
2-6: The design succeeds as planned.

Normal:
A normal design advances your technology one "step" in a certain area, making it noticeably better. For example, you might build a cannon which fires shells about 50% larger than your existing ones, a radio which uses a new more effective encryption, a new type of engine for vehicles, and so on. This is often the difficulty of a revision to remove a bug in an existing design.
1: The design suffers a pretty big bug, but the main advancement in technology may be accomplished to a limited degree.
2: The design suffers a bug but the advancement in technology might be effective, or it works without any notable problems except that it isn't remarkably effective.
3: The design succeeds. It might suffer a minor bug, but it won't be crippling and probably won't affect future uses of the new technology.
4-5: The design succeeds.
6: The design might accomplish something better than planned. As with bugs, this depends on whether I can think of a way this makes sense.

Hard:
A hard design advances your technology by a couple "steps", such as building a new cannon more than twice as large as your previous largest one, or advances technology in multiple areas, such as building a tank with a new type of armor and new cannon and better engine than your previous one.  It may also be your first foray into a new field of technology but one which you would reasonably have access to, like your very first shaped charge explosive or radio system. A hard design might also be a design which was deemed Very hard or Impossible and failed before, but your team learned from the experience. Getting a technology advancement in a revision is usually Hard or worse.
1: The design suffers multiple serious bugs or a bug which is difficult to fix, and the design is not very useful until these are corrected. It might not advance the technology as planned.
2: The design suffers a severe bug or multiple less serious ones. It might not advance the technology as planned, but a second attempt will probably cement your understanding.
3: The design suffers a noticeable bug, which future designs using this technology might have to deal with, or works in principle but isn't very effective.
4: The design succeeds. If it's a new type of technology altogether, it might suffer a minor bug.
5-6: On a roll of 5, or 6, the design succeeds.

Very Hard:
A very hard design is something which world powers struggled with for years to get right, like radar or jet engines. It represents the very cutting edge of technology. You should expect to fail the first time you attempt something like this, but it can be worthwhile nonetheless. A revision which attempts to make a leap forward in technology might be Very Hard.
1: The design fails to yield a usable example. Your designers simply couldn't get anything produced in time, and your progress this year is wasted.
2: The design suffers a serious bug or bugs which make it nearly useless. For example, a rocket explodes on the launch pad. At this level of success or higher, attempting another similar design might be Hard rather than Very Hard.
3: The design suffers severe bugs which might prevent it from being very useful, but a working example is produced.
4: The design suffers moderate to severe bugs.
5: The design succeeds, maybe with a minor to moderate bug.
6: The design succeeds.

Extremely Hard:
An extremely hard design represents the upper edge of what you’re able to accomplish in a turn, and even then things may not go right.  This would be a technology you have no experience with that has no real-life equivalent, or perhaps something that’s just so complex in nature your engineers will need to sit down and puzzle it out for a while.  This would be designing a method to enrich uranium, or designing a nuclear reactor.  It could be developing Kevlar before its discovery in real life, or attempting to build an intercontinental missile without any rocketry technology under your belt.  A good rule of thumb is that if you need to wait about a decade or more for it to be discovered, it will likely be Extremely Hard.
1: Your engineers are still discussing theory and trying to do as much research on the technology as they can.  No actual work has been done.  Many are sure it’s not even possible, but if you keep paying them they’ll keep trying.
2:  Your engineers have a few tentative designs drawn up, most of which possess some flaw or gap in our knowledge.  On the bright side, they’ve at least made some progress, as tenuous as it may be. Depending on the technology, another attempt might be Very Hard rather than Extremely Hard, but not likely.
3:  We have a reasonably decent understanding of the principles underlying the technology, and we are poised to begin actual development. At this level of success or higher, attempting another similar design would be Very Hard rather than Extremely Hard.
4:  The design has produced a very buggy prototype that can work as a proof-of-concept.  It is by no means ready for military production, but we’ve proven that it can be done.
5:  We managed to get a design out we can use, but it suffers a number of severe bugs and will cause headache for whoever is unfortunate enough to be using it.
6: The design has succeeded, but suffers a moderate bug that will need to be addressed before it can reach its full potential.

Impossible:
A design with the "impossible" difficulty stretches credulity, or is out of your depth. If any real life countries attempted your design, they didn't succeed until decades (plural) later, if at all, and the engineering complexity involved is staggering. Alternatively, your design takes a flexible view towards the laws of physics. If you attempt an Impossible design, you risk wasting your turn. Examples might include an artillery piece that fires living soldiers behind enemy lines. Other examples would include being the first country to put a satellite into orbit well ahead of Sputnik, creating a working powered exoskeleton, or building effective laser weapons.
1-4: The design fails, probably with nothing to show for it. You might gain some small understanding of the technology with which you were attempting to pervert nature or flaunt physics, but even that is not guaranteed.
5: You don't build a working example of your design, but your understanding in this field grows like succeeding on a normal design.  It is suggested that what you want to do is possible, to some degree.  Depending on the nature of the design, you might be able to try it again at Extremely Hard difficulty next year.
6: Depending on just out-there your design is, you make a significant breakthrough which will later allow you to attempt it again at Extremely Hard or even Very Hard difficulty, or get a severely buggy working example. Depending on how badly you ignored the laws of physics, your working example might or not look like what you actually intended: For example, you might make a laser rifle powerful enough to use as a weapon, but it requires a power source the size of a semi-truck trailer.

Keep it at a reasonable length, please.  A good design says what the name is, what advancement it’s trying to accomplish, key bits of detail like caliber and engine size, and a small – small – bit of flavor text.  I don’t need to hear about how amazing it is, and how it will revolutionize the war, and how much better it is over the last iteration of the design, or the backstory that went into designing it.  If you want to advertise your design to other players, please keep that sort of text separate so I can easily figure out what I’m rolling for.  Conditional statements are tentatively allowed, within reason.  Saying “we try to give the design Super Heavy armor all the way around, but the target goal is to keep it below 6 ore” is pushing it, but I will likely ignore anything more complicated than that or anything that is conditional on difficulty. 

Below is an example of a good design:

MBT-50 “Heartbreaker”
The Main Battle Tank 1950 “Heartbreaker” is our next generation tank.  It features a 100 mm barrel, a sliding block breech, and torsion-bar suspension.  The frontal armor is Heavy, with Medium on the sides and Heavy on the turret.  Ammo is stored in racks in the back of the turret with flooded ammo storage.  The crew size is 4; a driver, loader, gunner, and commander.  The engine is the same 9-cylinder radial “SuperBully 9000” diesel engine we used in our last tank, but with a better cooling system.  The periscope has an integrated 8x scope that uses our new laser range-finder.  The rear compartment features a mini-bar fully stocked with Scotch.

Below is an example of a bad design:

MBT-50 “Heartbreaker”
The Heartbreaker is the best tank available in the world, even surpassing the tanks available to any of the existing Super Powers.  It is designed to be faster, stronger, and more lethal than anything that’s come before it.  The design was named after the lead engineer’s husband was killed by an enemy tank; this tank will be painted jet black and seek to avenge her shattered heart.  This black color should make the tank extra-effective at night and give us a bonus advantage to night combat.

Going off the principles of tank design found in the Soviets T-34’s during WW2, the Heartbreaker likewise makes intelligent use of armor design.  Slanted armor is angled to the extreme so that all shots will glance off it.  The intended cost is 3 ore, 2 oil, and will feature Extreme armor on every conceivable surface and reach speeds of 45 mph.  This is so that our tank can outflank and shoot enemy tanks from the rear, where their armor is much weaker.  As a matter of fact, this is now the doctrine for our tank commanders who will use our new Heartbreaker; outflank and shoot enemy tanks from behind.  Using this INCREDIBLY SIMPLE combat tactic, there is no way the Heartbreaker can fail to win in literally every theatre – and I do mean EVERY theatre.  Our Ship commanders are ordered to have at least one Heartbreaker on board to shoot at enemy ships and act as hardened turrets.  The most interesting thing about the Heartbreaker is that (word limit reached, continued in next post)

This is a bad design.  Do not write your designs this way.  Do not write your designs this way.  If you do write designs like this, I will not apologize if the result doesn’t adhere to every one of your details no matter how well you roll.

Additionally, designs that target your infrastructure or general “Quality” improvements are outside the scope of this game and are not acceptable design choices.  An example of this might be an “Officer Training School” design in order to ‘have better officers than the enemy’, or a “Ore Refinement Factory” to try and make all your designs cheaper or gain an exotic material type, or any “Seal Team Six” type design to develop spec-op troops.  The logistics of your production, training, and elite troop creation is handled by the generals, and they are already performing that job adequately.  Your team is the Design Team.  A better choice that fulfills the goals of the above designs might be “Officer-to-Squad Radios”, or a new type of tank that uses ceramic armor to lighten the ore cost, or “Plastic Explosives” for your infiltration teams to use.

In past Arms Races, there is the inevitable point where someone goes through the designs and revisions, tabulates all the rolls for both sides, and gets outraged when they discover that the winning side has rolls that are an average of 0.2034 higher than their own. 

This is why Iron Behemoths will feature a card-based roll system.  Both sides have two decks, one for each their designs and revisions respectively; when a roll is needed, a card will be pulled at random from their respective deck.  The result will be 1-6, same as a die roll, and be discarded after drawing.  Ultimately, both sides will average the same results as the game goes on; one side may start out a bit stronger, but things will even out as time goes on.  The amount of cards in each decks is secret, but I assure you if the game goes on long enough both sides will average the same rolls.  Decks will be reshuffled once emptied.