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 Inspired by Grey Hunters wondrous wargaming threads, as well the "War in the Pacific" and "Rule the Waves" threads by various authors, I want to begin my very own sea adventure. This will be played by one team of players against the spectator thread. If enough people for two teams show up, opposing teams are preferable. Each player takes command of at least a single ship to several squadrons. The time period starts from the pre-dreadnought era 1890s to the 1940s in a slightly different universe to ours. If you're interested to participate either as reader or player, let me take you with me to this magical world of diplomacy, planning, and taking away the toys of others. What type of game is this? This game is a strategic naval miniature war game in screenshot format. It is based on a mixture of rules from various existing naval war games - Naval War, Victory at Sea and Axis&Allies: War at Sea. Two sides manage the navy side of their country and try to establish themselves as the major dominating power on the board. Each side gets to choose from a hand of missions each phase, which may or may not bring them in direct confrontation with the other team. How many of these missions they accept or how they divide their existing fleet is the key in this campaign. At first we start off small and increase the complexity as the campaign progresses. The game consists of two distinct parts: the 'consensus decision-making' part and the 'send your ships to battle' part. In the first part, the group decides on the missions, the research category, using the 'construction point' currency to hire more research teams, build more ships or build up the dockyards. Once we're in the actual mission zone we switch to direct control of the fleet, this is the second part of this game. Battles right now are on 60x60 hex maps, with gunnery ranges in the single digits at first and increasing steadily as the campaign progresses.  More or less what a battle will look like. Two squadrons engaging the enemy defense of the coastal city. The gunboat (red) tries to distract the attackers until the merchant ship(pink) can escape. Turns are simultaneous and based on action priority. There is a limited amount of active actions possible each turn, which take priority over passive actions. Moving can be either active or passive, while the active form allows turning and more control of where to go, the passive one is automatic and costs no active action. Gunnery can be active when acquiring new targets or passive when the target has been hit before. Actively moving comes before a passive shooting from an opponent and maybe moves you out of harms way. What are the rules based on?  The rules are based on "Naval War", a free naval miniatures war game made by H.J. Seijmonsbergen. I've adapted the rules crudely to a hex based system, to make it easier for players and me to organize everything. Further inspiration came from "Axis & Allies: War at Sea" (2007-2011), an arcadey war game, made by Avalon Hills/Wizards of the Coast and set in WW2, focused on destroying enemy ships and capturing victory points. Its selling point was to combine relatively simple rules with actual pre-painted miniature figures to start playing quickly in a set as starter and booster packs with a set amount of random miniatures to get you to spend more money to eventually get that precious nazi battleship. There is no real need to know any of the rules as I'll try to keep the relevant parts and mechanics simple and understandable, and don't want you to feel the need to read every last bit. Naval War rules from official site, further documents requires registering A&A: WaS Rules (.zip from official site) What rules did you change? What did you add? What does this do? I want to have all answers, find the best combinations and then calculate probabilities with my TI 84 plus! I changed the play field to hexes, included the necessity for spotting/finding enemy ships (fog of war) and changed damage tables. I'll explain mechanical details when we get to them but my goal is to keep the complexity for the players simple. Right now I don't feel it's helpful to explain everything to a technical detail (i.e. rolled die results), but rather want it to be told like a story. What does this technology do and what is the best to choose next, what is a 4 on the critical chit damage table? Sometimes you just don't know. I want to participate, what will I be doing? What is the goal of this game? You can either stay here in this thread and influence the governments/board and comment along or you can choose a side and then transfer over to the appropriate thread. As a member of the "Naval Council" of the country you will take on management roles and decide on what kind of ships to build, that includes the supposed role, the armament and protective measures and systems, and where to set the focus on the research and understanding of new technologies. In battles you will command your ship/s and lead them to the bottom of the sea, also you will stare at a hex map for a while. Give orders where to move, scout out the enemy, move up the rest of the fleet, select the best target, coordinate with your team mates, bring damaged ships out of danger and back to a safe port. How involved you want to be in this process is up to you - not everyone has the time to show up regularly and that is fine. Draw orders on the map for every turn, record voice orders or give me some concepts to work with and check back once in a while to adjust them, for example "ship 1 aggressive and target battleships with torpedos, ship 2 wait cautiously as screen in battle line and target small advancing ships". A regular participation, while not an absolute must, helps to keep this kind of game going - if you only want to vote, design ships or draw pretty pictures, that's fine too! Decisions and planning will be made in the thread. Battle orders, maneuvers and communication with team mates will be submitted via email to me, this is subject to change as the game progresses. This is a huge point and I want it to reflect the limitations and confusing situations of naval warfare. I don't care what kind of email service you use, as long as you can read replies and write back to me. There will be no player to player emails or PMs requirement belonging to this game and apart from mine, no email addresses will be made available to other players, as I'll act as a sort of mail box and distribution service. Some interesting messages may pop back up here in this thread. The goal is to bring your nation to victory - paint the map to your colour, sink the most ships, have the mightiest fleet and humiliate the enemy team. What you certainly should not try is to bring the attention of the world to your nation. Pre-existing flavour To bring in some pre existing flavour to this world, these great powers already have names, flags and a certain "personality". They are found on the map on the sides and are thus understood to be a great distance away. A passage to and from these nations is to take several months.  The nation of Free Haven is a wealthy republic of freethinkers and traders. They regard free trade and flow of information as the highest good. With relative security from other nations, due to being surrounded by oceans and weaker nations, they act mostly in defense. Yet trade is seen as a vital part of this nation which needs to be defended. War disrupts trade and less trade is no option.  The nation of Kaiserlande is a confederation of regions governed by a strict autocratic figurehead. Once the hotbed of conflicts in the world, this now pacified nation still values military tradition, although deformed in a ritualistic fashion. They want to be the shining beacon of glory, beauty and honour among all nations. Prestige is the most important value, efficiency not so much. Their goal is to keep everything as is, if needed forcibly. While their armies and ships usually are existent in large numbers and well equipped with newest technology, squabbles amongst the advisers are frequent and in turn forces are seldom dispatched in adequate numbers. Of pride and prejudice.  The High Imperium of Shindu is a monarchic nation of spiritualists and opportunists, of workers and the poor. Most inventions and discoveries are made here and sold to the rest of the globe. While this civilization is rapidly advancing its knowledge, the lower classes often don't benefit from these advances at all, which leads to an increasing split in society. This internal conflict is dealt with by diverting the focus to external threats and combating these with a sheer endless supply of cheap troops. Never just a friend, always an opportunity.  The Tsardom of Vodstkojek is a proud and old nation lead by the benevolent Tsar. The Tsar is the embodiment of a heavenly chosen ruler for the people to bring peace and prosperity to the world. Though far from prosperous, this nations people are bound together by more than just a common ruler. The social structure is one of solidarity and cohesion and once crossed, treated unfairly or disrespected, the people will hold a common grudge and rally for a strong reaction, even influencing other nations to their cause against a common problem. Strong, assertive, indivisible. Now what? When do we start?  Before we start I need you to vote for a country (either green, blue, red, yellow) on the map, with the two most voted for, being used. The unpicked ones play a limited role. All possible countries start with the same starting conditions, meaning none is worse off than any other. The black area on the other hand represents the established colonial realms, manifested interests and claimed lands of great powers. These powerful nations see you as inferior nations, mere specks of land in an unimportant area of the globe, not yet claimed but certainly not forgotten. These nations not only act as conquerors and bringers of destruction but also as important partners in trade and commerce. You rely on their cooperation and your nations financial balance is dependent on the ability to freely conduct trade with these powers. Game starting date is the 01. April 1903. Toss in some ideas for the nations identity, a flag, and some concepts to rally other people behind you while you're at it! Vote for a country! Create identities for your nation! Draw crude flags! Voting ends on Wednesday Katznmaus fucked around with this message at 08:22 on Jan 20, 2017 |
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Jan 14, 2017 02:32
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 04:57 |
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The thread for the "Pirate Council of Tortuga" can be found here.
Katznmaus fucked around with this message at 01:53 on Jan 18, 2017 |
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Jan 14, 2017 02:33
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 Tortuga In treacherous seas of this world, there be three things sailors fear. Typhoons, tsunamis, and the Black Flag of Tortuga. We be descended from pirates exiled from the Old World. We Tortugans live by the same pirate creed our forefathers did: if it isn’t nailed down, steal it! Now, we Tortugans ain’t a “nation,” really. We be more of a…partnership. There be a half-dozen pirate clans, each sittin’ on the Pirate Council. They vote on fightin’ wars and makin’ deals and such. If ye joins the Tortugans, and yer cunnin’ and ruthless enough, I reckon you could lead one of these here pirate clans. See, we don’t really have a “navy.” If we be fightin’ a war, we hire privateers and such. And each pirate clan got their own fleet o’ ships. We likes fast ships ye can pack to the gills with cutlass-wielding buccaneers. All the better for snatching up fat merchant men, eh? We’ve got a standin’ offer to every nation out there. Ye can pay us money to protect yer shippin’. It’d be a shame if somethin’ happened to yer ships… Or yer gonna have to face the Black Fleets. And ye wouldn’t be wantin’ that now, would ye? e: we be in the YELLER lands. Bacarruda fucked around with this message at 15:32 on Jan 14, 2017 |
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Jan 14, 2017 04:27
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You start with sailing ships so this actually works really well. I.'ll have a look about other piratey stuff we can incorporate as well.
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Jan 14, 2017 10:42
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Katznmaus posted:
That sounds like a challenge.  The Peoples Commune of Ayonn  Five years ago the island of Ayonn was the crown jewel of the Tsardom of Vodstkojek's modest colonial empire. Five years ago our sons and daughters slaved in the fields and factories of our overlords. Our blood and sweet spilled to fill the pockets of greedy land owners and corrupt capitalists. All the while the distant Tsar taxed what meager income we could manage. The working class starved, while the Bourgeoisie grew fat off our labors. Now on the fifth anniversary of our revolution our nation stands as a shining beacon of hope to the oppressed masses of the world. Where once distant monarchs ruled, now the Revolutionary council of the People guides us. A body made up not of pompous nobles and greedy capitalists, but of the people themselves. A body where every man and woman has a voice! No longer must we defend ourselves with the tools of our labors and arms of our oppressors. The factories and navel yards that once produced the wepons that kept us in bondage, now work to produce the tools to break those very chains. So now the people's militia stands ready to bring liberation to oppressed workers of the world and at its head sails the People's navy. And though she may not posses the shear numbers or firepower of her aggressors, with the knowledge that our cause is righteous she stands ready to challenge any who seek to exploit the working class no matter what flag they sail under! Our goal is quite simple, we seek to disrupt and oppose any and all attempts to exploit the people of this region by the foreign imperialists. And we will do so by any means necessary. Long Live The Revolution! We are Red of course. Sorry if this came off as rambley. its late for me. Ikasuhito fucked around with this message at 03:34 on Jan 15, 2017 |
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Jan 14, 2017 15:28
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Ikasuhito posted:That sounds like a challenge. The pirates seem to have found their best approach.
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Jan 14, 2017 18:22
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In the fashion of "Rule the Waves" you will be able to design ships, research better technology to upgrade systems and try to build the best fleet. Is quality always preferable to quantity? A lost good ship hurts your finances and your fleet composition more, but a horde of outdated ships might not have the range or power to have a go against better enemies. The teams will start with an assortment of outdated ships in the beginning. Someone with interest in drawing ships either via "Rule the Waves" or via paint (as I do now) would be a great boon as well. Customize those to your liking.   There is the choice to buy up ships sold for scrap or lease an outright "new ship". Those choices help your researchers to reverse engineer for more insight in some fields for rapid improvements. I really like the ideas for the nations so far, and they will make it onto the map in one way or the other, either as the main foe you guys go against or as your starting nation/conglomerate. Katznmaus fucked around with this message at 08:20 on Jan 20, 2017 |
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Jan 16, 2017 02:36
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I'm down with either pirates or communists, but I'll be throwing my tricorn in with Tortuga. Yarr.
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Jan 16, 2017 05:45
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I am for the Commune.
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Jan 16, 2017 15:00
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Tortuga.
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Jan 16, 2017 17:47
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Will all ships purchased from major powers be second hand or foreign designed or can we show up at their yards with a stack of blueprints and a suitably large container of dosh?
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Jan 16, 2017 19:11
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Asehujiko posted:Will all ships purchased from major powers be second hand or foreign designed or can we show up at their yards with a stack of blueprints and a suitably large container of dosh?
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Jan 16, 2017 20:06
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Yellow/Tortuga won the vote! The thread for the "Pirate Council of Tortuga" can be found here. If you want to have influence on the future of all pirate affairs, please join me there. For behind the scenes or a look at the opposing side - controlled by me and influenced by you, stay here. If you have any questions or ideas, please don't hesitate to share.
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Jan 18, 2017 23:16
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Next turn of events for the "Peoples Commune of Ayonn" The brave people of Ayonn captured two Ironclad warships during the conflicts with the Tsardom. They have 2000 CP left and increase the size of a small dockyard to medium. For research they specialize on gunnery improvements. This will probably be finished by the end of the year if not sooner. New guns will allow you to build large: 8", 10", 12" and 12" in double configuration. The theoretical range will be 5 hexes at best but without adequate range-finding this will not help much. medium: 5" and 6" small: 2" and 3" Mission:  Contacts in the city of Malmonne tell of a plan to overthrow the local governor and ask you for assistance. A plan to free the city is quickly concocted.  1. squadron is to sail to the city directly while 2. squadron shields the northern passageway.  The flagship of 2. sq spots a contact in the harbor of the city and close in further. The ship responds and heads in their general direction. The gunboat has 1 active token for commands (1 from being the flag ship), 1.sq has 3 active tokens, 2.sq has 2 active tokens (1 for fleet flag ship, 1 for squadron flag ship, 1 for two medium size ships per squadron). The enemy gunboat wins the initiative for this round. 1.sq uses two tokens to move each ship forwards, the third token is used for active gunnery on the ironclad, but no eligible target is possible before or after movement. 2.sq uses both tokens for active movements forwards. The gunboat uses the activation token for active gunnery and uses an compulsory movement giving it rndup(movement/2) without allowed turns. Attack: rndup(1 RoF/2) for the gunship against the ironclad. It needs to roll a 5+ to hit. It rolls a 6 and the ironclad needs to roll for defense (d6+4=8) which is equal to the 8 AP of the gun. The projectile bounces off the armor without doing any damage but the target is successfully ranged, which means future attacks against this target can be made at the full RoF.  The enemy wins the initiative for this round again. 1.sq uses two tokens to move each ship forwards, the third token is used for active gunnery on the ironclad. 2.sq uses both tokens for active movements forwards. The gunboat uses the sole active token for movement but can use the repeat fire action. Attack: the gunboat shoots with the stern guns at the ironclad. The projectile hits but bounces off the armor without any harm. Attack: the ironclad tries to hit the gunboat (5+ due to small range) and five projectiles hit. Only one projectile penetrates the armor (d6+3=4) which is more than the armor value of 3. One damage and damage to the small gun on the stern is caused.  A merchant ship appears and tries to flee northwards! The Commune of Ayonn wins the initiative for this round. 1.sq uses two tokens to move each ship forwards, the third token is used for active gunnery on the fregatte. 2.sq uses both tokens for active movements forwards. The gunboat uses the sole active token for movement. Attack: the fregatte tries to hit the gunboat and four projectiles hit yet none penetrate the armor. The enemy wins the initiative for this round. 1.sq uses two tokens to move each ship forwards, the third token is used for active gunnery on the ironclad, the fregatte uses repeat attack. 2.sq uses both tokens for active movements forwards. The gunboat uses the sole active token for movement. Attack: the fregatte shoots a full broadside at the gunboat and six projectiles hit! Only one projectile penetrates the armor, causing one damage, a fire and the death of two crewmen. A command check is required! 2d6 = 9, for a required 8 makes this a success, this ship suffers no negative effects.  The Commune of Ayonn wins the initiative for this round. 1.sq uses two tokens to move both ships and one token for the ironclad for active gunnery. The fregatte uses repeat attack if possible. 2.sq uses a token for active movement for the fregatte and one for active gunnery for the flagship. The gunboat uses the sole active token for damage control. Damage control: the fire is put out(4+, rolled a 4) and the turret is repaired again(4+, rolled a 6). Attack: the ironclad shoots before it even takes the move. 5 projectiles of the 18 hit the target, one doing one damage and killing one of the crew. The crew is down to three men. Attack: the ironclad (2.sq) tries to range in on the fleeing merchant vessel. Of the 9 projectiles 3 strike their target and all three penetrating the armor. Two start a fire, killing 4 crewmen, one strikes the steam turbines killing the engineer and damaging the engine. The ship is dead in the water, without crew and burning.  The enemy gunboat decides to strike its colours. The burning ship starts sinking. 1.sq loses one active token for the loss of squad cohesion, each ship now has one active token. The enemy wins the initiative for this round. It has no ships. 1.sq boards the enemy gunboat and appropriate the ship for further uses in the commune. The liberators are greeted with joy as they enter the city of Malmonne. After a three day long standoff in the governors mansion, the governor is taken with his staff into captivity. With this swift strike the oppressed people of this island are once again free from the great powers. You install someone friendly to your cause and the island joins your commune. The gunboat is brought back to the drydocks for repairs. Political consequences:  The Tsardom of Vodstkojek is enraged by this obvious provocation, they suffer a loss of prestige. The High Imperium of Shindu is delighted by these events. How should the commune proceed? This vital strike has weakened the position of the Tsardom and their wrath is almost certain at this point. They have lost quite some prestige due to this blunder, maybe the commune can use this for some leverage. Katznmaus fucked around with this message at 10:10 on Jan 24, 2017 |
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Jan 22, 2017 21:43
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I'm a little lost. Which nation are you playing for? Where on the map did this combat take place?
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Jan 22, 2017 21:59
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I'm currently playing for the red nation "Peoples Commune of Ayonn" which has lost in the vote. This is roughly what happens during the time the pirates make their own move. The battle happens on the southeastern part of the map and land gain has been coloured in. I'll try to include a overview where stuff happens. This update is mainly to show how battles go down and maybe get more people interested.
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Jan 22, 2017 22:41
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Looks interesting... Only Axis and Allies game I've ever played was Invasion of Normandy board game though, and I'd never even heard of the other two... how noob friendly are they?
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Feb 1, 2017 02:20
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The A&A War at Sea is pretty good but certainly lacks in details. It is like an arcade shooter, quick, fun and flashy. The rules are relatively light and quickly understood. You can start playing in a few minutes and everything you see on the unit cards is standardized, so once you know one you know them all. It has a pretty hefty list of special abilities, differentiating and putting nuances on some entities - this can take some time to get to know. The bad part is, it is no longer being produced and the actual miniatures are getting pricier, and some parts are abstracted heavily out of necessity - you immediately know where your enemy is, your airplanes have immediate travel to the enemy, the maps are quite small and so on - less planning and more fighting. The focus is definitely on making things go boom. Naval War is a bit more complicated but shares some of the philosophies of A&A WaS. The unit cards are standardized, some things are again abstracted. The focus in this game is to manage your limited resources of command points and using those to get your fleet into position. There is a second layer of manipulating your foes' orders which can then fail or have the opposite effect. The good thing is, that unlike other systems Naval War and A&A WaS are free, at least their rules. There are even fan sites of all the cards, so you don't need those. I'd say all in all A&A WaS is probably more enjoyable for starters as you don't have to invest too much time for the rules and once you feel it gets boring, you can switch to a more complicated system of which there are quite a few around (grognards love their boats).
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Feb 1, 2017 08:14
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