Since the dawn of man The Old World has been engulfed in conflict. Large nations, and even whole empires, have formed throughout history, but the nature of humanity and their deep-seated desire for conflict always prevailed. As a result The Old World is populated by dozens of nations-states in constant flux. You come from one of these nations.
Ships full of personnel and supplies left your nation not to find peaceful pastures like those who left before, but to investigate rumors of world-changing technologies and resources - things that could tip the scales of conflict in your nation's favor. These rumors all lead to a specific location in The New World, known by researchers only as Harren Island. Ignoring safer shores on all sides, your people opted to land on one of the shores of said island. This place is an anomaly one thousand times over - nothing, not even the weather, acts as one would expect.
Those folk traveling from the
nation of Embral landed on the southern section of Harren Island, an area which remains uncomfortably warm all year long and is easily identified by streams of molten materials and the massive ever-burning ruins of it's old inhabitants. Embral occupies the southern landmass of Harren, which will be more thoroughly identified in their thread. The Embralish faced harsh winds and strong currents to land on what was once apparently the shores of a grand trade city now reduced to a permanently smouldering corpse. Their primary headquarters is in The Rupture.
The
nation of Inithar approached Harren from the north, combating devastating hail storms and threatening icebergs in order to reach it. Ice covers the location of an old outpost-turned-city throughout the year, and the frost covering the surface must be carefully navigated lest one succumbs to the permanent chill. The Initharites occupy the northern landmass, with specifics laid out in-thread. The Rimefields are where they've set themselves up.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your opinion) for the new arrivals, Harren is still occupied to a degree by it's old inhabitants. Facilities dedicated to the development, production, extraction, and distribution of near-magical resources rumored to exist on Harren are still manned and
heavily defended by
"The Pact". Approaching a location under Pact control is a death sentence, as their near-mastery of the unique materials across Harren gives them an unprecedented, immeasurable advantage over any comers. Luckily for everyone the world over, The Pact are heavily Isolationist and will rarely move against another entity unprovoked. The Pact are based out of a Fortress-City positioned in the center of the strait separating northern and southern Harren, and while this obstacle can be bypassed, prying it from them would provide immeasurable benefits for the new controller.
That said, it
is your job to discover, recover, and utilize these resources while denying the same chances to any other Old World opportunists that show up (which is to say the other team). You know of only two resources native to Harren Island that can be utilized in any meaningful amount: Gavrillium and Caelium. While you are unable to create facilities for gathering and utilizing the materials on your own, The Pact can be forced from their holdings in order to pry the resource from them. Otherwise, you're going to be utilizing
Ore,
Oil, and
Wood for primary resources, as well as the unique resource your nation has utilized throughout their past.
With the surface of Harren in a constant state of turmoil, control of "Great War" Facilities has become vital. Fortresses, tunnels, and trenchworks join Pact-held locations as primary objectives during your nation's expansion across the island. Combat on the open surface still happens, but the frozen grasp of the north and the withering gaze of the south make such engagements very undesirable even if they're necessary.
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Before we go any further, both nations are currently poorly defined. This is because the opening five turns will be
very different from standard turns. Your design phases will pose a situation that requires the design to answer, and as the turns progress these decisions will shape your nation as well as augment the pool of equipment you may choose to start with. Each opening turn will represent a technological Age for your people, and Revisions will be capable of "modernizing" equipment to bring an old piece of your kit into the current era, whichever that may be at the time. By the end of the Prelim turns your designs will be in or around the level of our Interwar technologies.
If you were involved in IWAR, do note that resource and entrenchment distribution is balanced for both sides so that, for example, should both nations take all the Caelium mines in their land they will have an equal amount of the stuff. Anyways, more in-depth information will be contained in spoilers.
MWAR takes place in an alternate universe on a planet of humans around the equivalent era of our Second World War. The AR is contained in a Science Fiction setting: as long as you can give a reason why something should work (more than "because it can") then it should be possible. If you're not sure about the viability of a proposal, you can always ask and I'll let you know if it's at least within the scope of the game, with a little more advice at the start. For reference if you've not peeked at IWAR, it went far enough sci-fi that there was an interdimensional invasion. Your nations only know there was a massive cataclysmic conflict, and since there's no evidence of god-like beings being the perpetrators of conflict twenty years ago (indeed, most damage was done by the previous nations of Harren even after the Invasion), most Old Worlders consider New Worlders superstitious and soft. This opinion is already cemented in the minds of the constantly warring Old World nations, but recent interaction with New Worlders only reinforced the idea that nearly 2000 years of separation did something to these people's brains.
The first five turns of the game will play more like a prologue to the story of your nation. Five scenarios that defined your nation as it rose from the muck will be posed, and a design will be submitted for each. To give away the first scenario, since I used it as an example in Discord discussion already, your people will be described in their early hunter-gatherer existence and you will be tasked with designing the most prominent tool used by hunters. The type of hunting implement will influence your people's nature as well as act as a guide for the selection of equipment you get to choose from later on in conjunction with the rest of your decisions.
Revisions can be used to either improve a current design or "modernize" an old one, bringing it up to whatever era you're currently in. Rules for Revisions here are vastly different than normal - for example if you're entering the Gunpowder Era you'll be able to revise your nation's primary fighting weapon into a firearm, with difficulty only decided by the complexity of the firearm itself.
After the fifth turn's Revisions both team will be given kits that are roughly on par with one another, though specific equipment will be different based on quality of items (that is, rolls) and the equipment proposed as solutions. Most types of equipment will have multiple options to choose from, with each option utilizing the same base roll modified by the item's complexity. For a simple example, you may get the option to choose between a highly reliable old-school bolt action primary weapon or a semi-automatic rifle with a couple issues.
The first five turns will also provide any rolls of 2 (Utter Failures in a 2d6 system) with a free reroll. Note that if you somehow roll a 2 again then that's what you get.
Most easily defined as gravity and energy manipulating materials respectively, Caelium and Gavrillium are otherwise completely unknown to your people and will require experimentation in order to figure out how they work. By proposing different interaction alongside desired results you can define how to use these special resources. Note that on low rolls your interaction will not go as expected, and depending on how low the roll is, the interaction could be wholly unexpected. New interactions can be paired with designs and will have negligible impact on difficulty. Unless the effect is drastic, chances are that including a new material reaction with a design will only tip difficulty higher if it's already on the fence.
Both player nations will also be responsible for coming up with a new Unique Resource by the end of the preliminary turns, though the sooner you create it the sooner experimentation and integration can begin. Your resource will be loosely defined much like Gavrillium and Caelium, and can take influence from resources that were introduced in IWAR. The resource will be able to affect a "sphere" much like Gavrillium is Power and Caelium is Gravity, and you will be given a single interaction upon creation of the resource. The only rule is that it not affect the same spheres as Gavrillium and Caelium.
Due to interdimensional nonsense (also known as the GM making shit up for the game universe to match and balance rules) any reactions you may have discovered with Caelium and Gavrillium in IWAR are invalid. Something something interdimensional explosion caused interference or whatever.
Empty nodes as well as resources controlled by The Pact will be detailed in your team's Territories spoiler.
The first phase of every turn is the "Design" phase. This is where you introduce new ideas and creations. Results of a design are based off of 2d6, with rolls of 6, 7, and 8 being equivalent. Design results are also modified by difficulty. Generally the results of a Normal Design scale as below:
Utter Failure (2): Nothing is gained but the knowledge of how not to do it next time.
Buggy Mess (3): The design functions, just not too well at all. At least some experience is gained.
Poor (4): The design can be used without being a threat to anyone handling it. Still, it is far from reliable.
Below Average (5): It works, but there is clear room for improvement.
Average (6,7,8): The design generally functions as intended.
Above Average (9): The design works, and something about it works out better than expected.
Superior (10): It works much better than intended, and a lot is learned in related fields of research.
Masterwork (11): This is the perfect design.
Unexpected Boon (12): Development of this design goes so well that some sort of extra benefit is provided to the side building it.
The difficulty of the design modifies the roll for +4 (Simple), +3 (Trivial), +2 (Very Easy), +1 (Easy), 0 (Normal), -1 (Hard), -2 (Very Hard), -3 (Theoretical), -4 (Ludicrous), or -x (Impossible). Difficulty is based off of the ambition of the design as well as how experienced you are with similar concepts. Impossible designs will always fail, but they may still result in some sort of progress on a higher roll.
Each player is allowed to vote for up to two proposed designs per phase, with the design with the largest number of votes being rolled for. On account of an unbreakable deadlock a coin will be flipped or proper-sided die rolled depending on the number of ties in order to randomly select an option. This will only happen as a last resort, and it is preferred that players attempt to persuade one another instead.
The second phase is the "Revision" phase. Revisions use the same 2d6 and rules as designs, but are restricted to altering preexisting designs. Results on either end of the spectrum of rolls are also generally less extreme. As with Designs, each player is allotted up to two votes for favored Revisions, with the most popular Revision being rolled for. The same rule for ties also applies.
The Strategy Phase comes after the Design and Revision Phases. In this phase each player can vote for two "lanes" to advance along (Left, Center, and Right). The lane (or lanes, if it's decided to attack one lane) not attacked on gains a small bonus to it's ability to defend. The Strategy Phase will also be when any other miscellaneous votes are finalized such as Resource Allocation (detailed in "Resources and Requirements" below) or special events. An offensive action may also be used to take a facility from The Pact and add the resource it produces to your own stockpiles.
Each sector on the map has up to three resource "nodes" that can be developed. Once during each Strategy phase a team may choose to fill a resource node in territory they control with a resource of their selection. This can be done until all nodes in occupied territory are in use. Individual nodes cannot grant more than one of the assigned resource, but multiple nodes can be assigned the same resource in a sector. The capital of each nation is a special case, as they start with two of each primary resource and two of a specialty resource. A number of Resource Nodes will be labeled as Pact Resources in order to represent their control of facilities and the surrounding area, but you may attempt to claim them as mentioned above through using one of your offensive actions.
There are three Primary Resources:
Ore represents the cost of an item in metals and other basic resources extracted from the earth.
Wood represents the cost of an item in lumber.
Oil represents the chemical fuel and lubricant required to run vehicles and machinery.
Each side is capable of "designing" new Unique Resources based on the expected needs of some of their more ground-breaking work, of which they will need to vote on one for themselves by the start of the war. You will be capable of designing one of your own separately from the actions given to you during the pre-war turns so long as a decision is made by Turn 1. If you have a question about the benefits of a specific resource idea, don't be afraid to ask about it.
Any design requiring a Unique Resource that is not available will become [Complex] or [Very Complex] if already complex. Each level of complexity increases the Expense Level of the design by one, which is as follows:
Cheap: All Resource needs are met, and the design can be used wherever desired.
Expensive: If a design lacks 2-3 Resources then it is considered Expensive and will not be fielded in large numbers.
Very Expensive: A Very Expensive design is missing 4-5 Resources, and is rarely seen in use.
National Effort: A 6-9 Resource deficit is a National Effort, allowing only one to be fielded at a time.
Theoretical: Any Resource deficit 10+ is considered theoretical and will not be built until that changes.
Note: There is no Transport Capacity to worry about. If you control it you can use it.
Each sector consists of three sections to be fought over, representing the three Resource Nodes and their related facilities. Each node will be assigned to a specific sector in order for you, the players, to know what you may expect from an upcoming fight as well as prepare for what may or may not be lost. Attackers do not immediately gain control of resources, and must control the whole sector before being able to utilize it's resources. An empty node will result in surface fighting, where your armies will need to combat one another as well as the hostile environment, which depending on the season (Hot or Cold) could range from Moderately Unbearable to Absolutely Unfit For Life. Nations will have a base advantage when fighting on their half of the island in the extremes of their environments, which means leaving a node empty is a strategically viable option for defense.
Unlike IWAR the teams will be able to utilize and contest the seas. There are three Sea Sectors - The Boiling Seas, The Maelstrom, and The Frozen Ocean. Each has it's own hazards that must be overcome in order for a navy to act effectively. The Boiling Seas are rough and choppy, and more often than not layered in a thick soupy fog. The Frozen Ocean is calm, but intensely frigid riddled with large chunks of ice. The Maelstrom is consistently stormy, with skies permanently darkened by storm clouds lit up by frequent lighting. Control of the sea sectors will be more akin to Air Combat, in the sense that you fight for dominance in a sector, and your success there dictates the amount of support you can provide for ground forces. The Center Lane is unaffected by control of the Seas. Also of note, and I will bold this because it's very important, Air Power is Unavailable in Land and Sea Sectors located within The Maelstrom. This include the Center Lane and Fort Harren. The skies are simply too dangerous, and visibility too low, to risk man and material.
Control of both the Air and Sea will be presented as various levels of Advantage/Disadvantage, while Land Control will be represented by a solid number.
The Combat Phase is where the magic happens! All you need to do is wait to see how things turn out. Note that each side will be receiving reports in their respective threads - this thread's purpose is for information, event submissions, and trash talking between the teams.
Credits are awarded upon completion of certain events. You will be told when a Credit is available for taking. Credits include, but are not limited to:
Expense Credit: Can be used to reduce a design's cost by one level for a single turn.
Espionage Credit: Allows a number of things such as theft or sabotage of a design or various other acts of subterfuge.
Research Credit: Allows an extra 2d6 roll on a design or revision, with the highest one used for the result.
Design/Revision Credit: Grants an extra Design/Revision.
Resource Credit: Grants an extra Resource point without taking up a sector node.
Finally, remember that this is an internet game on an internet forum run by a "human". Errors can happen, emotions can occur, just keep it under control. We're all here for fun, trash talk, and maybe a few war crimes. If you notice anything missing or have questions, feel free to say something. I've been working on this post across three days, so I may have thought I included information and actually didn't.
You do not need to have played IWAR in order to join this game. IWAR simply set the stage for MWAR. If you're new to the IWAR universe don't be intimidated. It may seem like a lot of information, but I will gladly help guide youse, and I'm sure some experienced teammates will as well.
So that's it! Pick a side and get to it!
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Topic: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread (Read 2844 times)