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Democracy of Arsenals: A CYOA/ATG Hybrid Hello, and welcome to Democracy of Arsenals! Are you a fan of complex wargames that pit you against interesting, if not always fair scenarios, and let you share responsibility for your decisions with other goons? Or perhaps you do not care much for those things, but like politicking, arguing, and all-around Crete LP shenanigans? Or maybe you like to feel like you have an impact on the fate of a story we all create together? If yes, then this LP was made with folks like you in mind. If no, stick around - maybe you'll like it!   Advanced Tactics Gold (ATG) is a grog wargame designed by VR Designs and distributed by Matrix Games. At a glance, it looks just like any other hex and counter game in the genre - but looks can be deceiving. You see, while ATG illustrates a conflict in a period roughly analogous to World War II (1930s-1940s), and it indeed has a number of both official and fan-made scenarios about that conflict, they are emphatically not the main selling point of the game. No, the reason people pick ATG over later games that refine and perfect its engine (such as the magnificent Decisive Campaigns series, which served as a major inspiration for this LP) is that it is not a WWII game. The default mode of play is on a randomly generated map, with a quasi-World War II conflict taking place between fictitious states on a fictional landmass. To serve that end, the game comes with a fairly rudimentary economy system. Cities build troops, mines provide a steady stream of raw materials that get converted into tanks or artillery or planes in factories, oil fields generate fuel that you need to move your vehicles around. It lacks depth, but works surprisingly well for the kind of game ATG is, as it forces you to make strategic considerations a real commander would: do I have enough oil to operate a larger air force? Should I switch one of the limited number of production lines in my factories into heavy tanks, or build more of the cheaper assault guns?  ATG comes both in "layman" and "real NATO grog" flavours (If you want to see ATG in action, check out multiplayer LPs - unfortunately unfinished, but still extremely entertaining - by Nenonen, Grey Hunter, or Generation Internet vs Saros, or Saros vs the world.) We will not be using any of those systems. Because in this LP I want to take you for a story of a country in a period of international crisis, with war always looming on the horizon, that starts with an army in dire need of reform - letting you decide on its doctrine, its equipment, its logistics and structure, before you lead that army into the fray. And for that plain ATG is just insufficient. A feature I will use, however, is the TOE designer. The counters you push around in ATG are, in their essence, just containers for actual units. The TOE designer is wondrous in that it allows you to decide what exactly those counters represent. Are they brigades? Divisions? Corps? Are your infantry brigades heavily infused with machine guns and light artillery? Do you operate specialist mountain forces? Is your armour organized alongside infantry companies, or do you pool it in huge tank corps? Do you try to win wars through strategic bombing? What is your naval doctrine? These are all questions I seek to answer alongside you. Thus, the CYOA part of the bundle.  By introducing this element, I am free to try and simulate political pressures that anyone in charge of a real military would have to deal with. Budgetary constraints, the fact that you don't control foreign policy, pressure of public opinion - you will have to take all those factors, and more, into account. (This is heavily inspired by Rule the Waves and the fun facts from the military history thread.) Moreover, this lets me create a real region for you to play politics in. Disclosure: I tried to do this by editing an ATG map, and while I did make it quite far into the process, if you want to establish proper scale for this kind of thing, you need a number of factions that makes that processor-heavy game slow down to a crawl - and the players won't see much of that content anyway. This go-around, I made the sane decision of making the "overworld" entirely a metagame layer - the game only really comes into play once a war begins. In the CYOA portion, you play the part of army generals in the country we will create in a moment. You will vote on issues that come up, on decisions that need to happen, and on how to react to events that transpire. This will be essentially 100% fed by me. Sometimes, you will get to make the call on a matter entirely by yourselves - for example when dealing with army organisation or procurement. Other times, your vote will be mostly advisory - for example when the civilian government asks for input on foreign policy. Other times still you will only be given a chance to express your attitude towards something - like a scandal in government. Any kind of things can and will happen. This is the main method of preparing the country for war. Inevitably, we will end up in a war with another power. You will then get to vote on war plans and operations (these will still be somewhat abstracted, but you can expect notable units or generals to persist from scenario to scenario). Once you make that call, volunteer goons will take command of forces you have armed, trained, organised, and now deployed to war, and I will play out the commands they give in ATG. (If we have enough goons willing to commit to this, I may set up a second thread for "opposing forces.") So, what do we do now? The part below the line is left for historical purposes. We are now playing as the Unified People's Republic of Almain! If you wish to submit location names for use in the game, click here To see the current vote, click here  _____________________________________________________________ To start a war from scratch, you must first create the universe. We play in a world similar to our own, but far from identical. While the final shape of landmasses will be decided once we have some nations to populate them with, you should expect continents, islands, seas, mountain ranges, the whole works. What is also known is that this world has gone through a number of devastating wars (or maybe one huge war?) in quite recent past, and is now preparing for more to come. We need a good idea for a country that we may lead to greatness! Present your own idea, or throw your support behind someone else's (or both)! If you want to come up with something of your own, start by answering the questions below. Anything you add beyond that is just gravy. Once we have a winner, we'll add a few more worldbuilding questions, and see where we go from there. Any proposal that loses the vote may appear as one of our neighbours. Questions 1. Name - what is the name of our glorious land? 2. Geography - anything from a simple description to a map. Feel free to throw in some unique features, but don't go overboard with the details - leave your country room to develop! 3. Political regime:
4. National advantages - this is what our country has an advantage in at the start. These will help us get an edge - but any devious game master will tell you they're also targets. Pick two.
5. National weakness - pick one. This is a major problem we have to work around.
6. Open suggestions - if there's anything else you wish to say, put it here! Once we have the answers to these, we will do another round to explore the answers - be sure to stay tuned! Also, we have a channel on Saros's Discord server - feel free to go there to hang out with the rest of us. Tevery Best fucked around with this message at 19:08 on Sep 5, 2018 |
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Sep 1, 2018 22:13
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I am bad and have no imagination Tropican Free State Until very recently the most backwards and autocratic nation in the world with a literacy rate of only 12.5%, the hereditary aristocracy's insistence on participating in the world war to demonstrate their national prestige backfired horribly as their traditional "allies" (exploiters) could no longer prop them up, distracted as they were. The last nation in the world to maintain institutional slavery the "viceroy" to an empire that had been dead for 50 years and abolished slavery in its other territories over 100 years ago choose to die on the hill of insisting "it is out god given duty to manage the lives of those less able than ourselves" rather than make any kind of concessions. The resultant attempt at a democracy has a whole lot of passion behind it but faces many rocky years ahead, with almost no educated populace (the literacy rate has in fact gone down as a result of a lot of those who could read being killed or fleeing), little national infrastructure or industry and an unfriendly world, who whilst certainly not in favour of slavery aren't in favour of the poor getting above themselves either. On the other hand the very backwards ness of the last century means almost all her natural resources are still ready and waiting to be exploited and the people are nothing if not willing to work hard together to a better future. Geographically Tropico is very large, and still covered by nearly 40% of virgin tropical climax forest. Underneath this is a wealth of mineral resources waiting to be discovered, and also provides the country with a significant natural defence as most of the settlement is along the major river (so kind of like Guyana 100ish years ago). I might draw a map at some point or anyone else feel free to. Transitional Democracy The lack of literacy means a truly representational democracy is just impossible, so there is a political elite of those slaves previously in educated or semi educated positions. Despite being a "political elite" they hold the trust of their people in a way the term doesn't normally imply as until recently they were all still slaves subject to the whims of their masters and the better treatment they received amounted to little other than being beaten for transgressions rather than beaten to death as less valuable property would be. Advantages: Natural resources Large populace Due to the countries almost total lack of automation or mechanisation outside of the capital everything was done by hand, and this meant a lot of hands. Disadvantages Illiterate populace/alienated technicians One of the first resolutions passed by the council forbade anyone who previously owned a slave before from owning any property now. Whilst understandably an extremely popular law it has meant that almost all people with technical knowledge have been stripped of their property and positions, and are incapable of providing their expertise to production even if they wanted to. All management of businesses and industry must now come from the handful of slaves in previously trusted positions of lower management, and whilst many were very skilled at their jobs none are really prepared for upper management. This is supplemented by an even smaller cadre of international volunteers drawn to the ideals of the revolution and by a starting trickle of foreign investment in the untapped wealth of the land, both come with their own pitfalls however.
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Sep 1, 2018 23:10
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The Unified People's Republics of Almain Forged in blood and fire as the old order fell to the radical Materialist ideology in the wake of the last Great War, the UPRA stands alone at the heart of a hostile continent. Although devastated by war, the rich resources and world-class industry that sustained the old Alemani Empire could once again lead the world.... if the UPRA can survive long enough to bring them to bear, that is. Geography: The UPRA is a nation of contrasts, bounded to the north by immense mountains festooned with dark rainforests, and to the south by the harsh, cold tides of the Selatani Sea. The central plains, however, spill out across the densely populated and highly productive heartland of the middle latitudes, shot through with rivers and the occasional rolling hills. Downright idyllic, if not for the scars they still bear from untold previous wars in which they were bitterly contested. Throughout history, always they have always been the first target of invading armies and the last place the local ruler can afford to lose. Political regime: Republican Congress - a nominally democratic system based off Materialist ideals wherein local Republican industrial syndicates, agricultural cooperatives, and administrative divisions send representatives to a ruling unicameral body tasked with both legislation and economic planning. However, the turbulence of the revolution necessitated the installation of a "temporarily" empowered executive in the office of First Consul. While no doubt necessary at the time, over a decade later the office continues to exist and consolidate its power, prompting growing concerns that the First Consul may be attempting to fully seize control and institute an autocracy. National advantages: A- Industry*, E- Natural Resources National weakness: A- Diplomatic bind. The surrounding imperial powers of the Old World are rather obviously hostile to the Materialist state that has suddenly appeared in their midst, and gleefully pounce on any opportunity to exacerbate internal divisions within the UPRA, while meticulously planning for the day that the current cold war inevitably escalates to open conflict. Extra suggestions/comments: The UPRA has the potential to be a world-beating superpower, but is riven with internal dissent and bled hard by the losses the Old Empire took in their disastrous final wars and the ensuing bloody revolution. Their national advantage of industry is not currently up to par, it will take serious investment to heal the scars and reignite the fires of industry that once powered the strongest economy on the planet. To say nothing of uniting the bickering factions of the Congress and the weary populace before the looming threat of another civil war becomes more than just threat. Crazycryodude fucked around with this message at 23:55 on Sep 1, 2018 |
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Sep 1, 2018 23:37
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1. Name - The Dominion of Vakan 2. Geography: The Dominion of Vakan is the core of a once larger Empire, situated on a peninsula, the coastline is densely populated with fertile farmland. The interior of the country is mountainous and difficult to traverse, with only a few small cities and widely regarded as conservative and backwards compared to the fairly cosmopolitan coasts. The Capital of Idaspar is one of the largest cities in the world and a major trading hub, although it is heavily aged and is by no means a modern city, with the skyline dominated by ancient churches and palaces of the now fallen nobility.  Edit: Ossavakan is a Kingdom ruled by a cadet branch of the old Sachin Dynasty, Komar was a mostly autonomous province ruled by another Sachin Dynasty member, the Federation of Ternas is a Federation of several former provinces granted independence Post-Great War 3. Political regime Military Junta: During the last great war the Empire of Vakan entered to the surprise of many. Despite the massive size of the army it was ultimately a paper tiger suffering a series of major defeats. The ultimate humiliation came following the Siege of Diacora, where one of the largest cities in the Empire was captured and sacked by foreign invaders. The aftermath of such a stunning defeat saw the armies morale collapse, and anger and resentment by the working classes of Vakan's cities turn inward on a decadent royal court of the Sachin Dynasty. This prompted mass protests in the cities and the attempted suppression by Royal authorities boiled over. Numerous leading officers in the army defected to these protestors turned revolutionaries. Newly minted revolutionary forces drove the Royal Family from the capital of Idaspar, into the mountains. However the new civilian government was left on shaky foundations trying to establish a new Republican government during a civil war and a broader global conflict. Contested elections generated a fractious governing coalition one that was hamstrung into signing an unpopular peace treaty. Stripping away many outlying territories to guarantee the sanctity of the still mostly unoccupied Vakaner core. This agreement freed up soldiers to face the Royalists, and within a few months the majority of Vakan had been brought into line. However the ongoing insurrection of royalists in the Vakaner interior ultimately lead to a cabal of military officers establishing control over the country for the "Duration of the Crisis". It has been a decade since that declaration, and the military Junta has significantly strengthened its hold over Vakaner politics, although outside of the army their reputation is at best mixed. 4. Advantages Experienced Soldiery: The Armies of Vakan have been significantly reformed since the disasters of the Great War, while the military is much smaller than it was Pre-War the new force is a leaner and more focused fighting machine. While other militaries have remained idle since the war, the soldiers of Vakan have fought through a brutal civil war and an ongoing insurrection, and as a result have much practical experience on how war is actually waged. Especially in regards to small unit combined arms tactics. Bureau of Design: Comparatively Vakan has a smaller industrial base than many, and with the loss of their outlying territories have been stripped of their once large manpower pool. As a result the Junta has reformed the nations War Ministry into a highly effective and streamlined Bureau to develop effective military equipment for use by the armies of the Dominion. 5. National weakness Internal Revolts/Unrest: Loyalists to House Sachin have a firm following in the internal mountains of Vakan. These rebels to the Dominion effectively control broad swathes of the countries interior, and have severely hampered the Dominions ability to govern the interior, and exploit the large array of natural resources in the mountains. However these rebels provide the cause for the Junta to remain in place, and thus serve a convenient scapegoat politically. While the Dominion has firm control over the coastal cities, they are not terribly popular. Many of the citizens of the cities saw their usurpation of power a betrayal of the revolution. 6. Open suggestions - The Empire of Vakan collapsed and fallen on hard times, surrounding the Empire are a handful of smaller breakaway states of ethnic minorities of the old Empire which the Junta would like to reabsorb. Essentially this faction is supposed to be something broadly similar to Italy or Turkey Post WWI. Jack2142 fucked around with this message at 04:48 on Sep 4, 2018 |
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Sep 2, 2018 00:28
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I am also bad and have no imagination. 1. Republic of Sarent (officially "Sarentian Confederation", but nobody uses that in real life!) Once upon a time, according to legend, you couldn't go ten kilometers before running into a flying beast--a wyvern, a fenghuang, a pegasus--nestling itself onto some rocky peak. Humans wishing to be seen as courageous and awesome would climb up sheer cliffsides and brave bitter cold and exposure to bring home their scales and feathers. Some of them were considered the de-facto guardian beasts for the human cantons that sprung up around their hunting grounds, and their image is so burnt into Sarenti national consciousness that their iconography continues to see regular use in everything from the national coat of arms to the branding of clocks. Once upon a time, according to history, a disgruntled band of farm workers, deciding that literally anything was better than more backbreaking harvest labor, grabbed their scythes and stole the doors off their barns and silos to convert to shields, and marched off to the sounds of war. They turned out to be so good at it that the army they found paid them a massive retainer just to have the first pick of their unit when war returned. This was the start of the Sarenti mercenary tradition, and the idea was rapidly taken up and professionalized by canton governments looking for additional prestige and an outlet for troublemaking sorts. Soon enough the money being brought in from soldierly contracts outpaced that of any other individual export, and then all of them combined. Once upon a time, thirty years ago, the world went to war, and Sarent went with it, despite the Confederation proper being a non-party to the war. What was supposed to be a quick, six week conflict, like all the conflicts before it, instead dragged out into a six year hell on earth. And while Sarent was officially neutral (and eventually the armistice was negotiated in its capital city, Nohr Bela), it still watched in horror as its children were decimated across the world. Soon after the conflict was over, the Sarenti government officially ordered a full reversal of its mercenary policy, recalling and demobilizing all Sarenti citizens serving on foreign soil, costs be damned. 2. Geography. Sarent is landlocked and rugged, with river valleys cutting their way jaggedly across mountain ranges and rolling hills. There is a road network, but it's considered much less extensive than that of other countries--most intra-country travel is done by water. About 95% of the rivers and freshwater lakes in Sarent have as their sole source or major tributary a large, central mountain lake. This so called "Mother Lake" is considered of national significance both aesthetically (in some religions it is considered God's "thumbprint" left during the formation of the earth, or where God rose to heaven and brought fresh water with Her out of barren rocks during Her vigorous ascent) and strategically (the mountainous region forms an obvious "national redoubt" for government functions, and of course it supplies vast amounts of fresh water to Sarent itself). It borders a large number of other countries, and does regular and extensive trade with them all. 3. Political regime. De jure limited representative democracy, de facto full representative democracy. When the cantons were first being formed into a Confederation, the method of selecting representatives was simple--one per canton, selected among those of noble birth. Eventually, however, returning and retired mercenaries became so popular--and threats of coups and assassination against canton heads quietly uttered--that the pool of nobles was expanded to include returning veterans to cover their own puffy-clothed rears. At several times in history, different groups of people--landless men (from mercenary work), women (from taking over estates and trades left at home while men were playing soldier), minorities from other countries (ditto)--gained money, power, influence, and general threat against canton heads, and the cantons placated them by expanding the pool of "nobles" to include them. Thus, officially, the voting pool for Sarenti federal government is restricted to the nobility. It's just that "nobility" has effectively come to mean "any Sarenti citizen". 4. National advantages. Military Tradition. Although largely demobilized, many citizens of Sarent have seen military service as part of their mercenary work, and it would take only a little bit of work to reactivate that institutional memory. Other--Air Power. With a country as rugged as Sarent with a mythological tradition of flying beasts alighting from peak to peak, it's small wonder that the country took to the possibility of aeroplanes like a bird to the skies. Whether this means pre-existing air squadrons or already-completed research on different airplane types I leave to Tevery Best. 5. National weakness. Isolationist Populace. Perhaps not so much "isolationist" as "pacifist", the scars of the Last War still run deep through many families. It will take a lot of convincing to show them that war is once again necessary. 6. Open Suggestions. Flavor wise, lean into the "flying beasts" thing where-ever possible--think Fire Emblem, World War 2 edition. Army wise, the army should start out small--at an extreme (and leaning into the Air Power advantage) you can have it be nearly non-existent, and force Sarent to rely on harsh terrain and air strikes to survive until additional units can be activated and sent forwards. Protecting the Mother Lake region vs. protecting the more livable lowlands vs defending the border passes should make up a fair bit of strategic consideration. Others TBD. Davin Valkri fucked around with this message at 18:05 on Sep 2, 2018 |
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Sep 2, 2018 01:27
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1. Name: Goondlana 2. Geography: Mountains on one border, flat fertile peninsula otherwise 3. Political Regime: One-party Democracy:- Think Japan. Still a democracy with voting, etc, but a bit more stable policy wise than a full Western-style democracy because one party has a long-term lock on power. So the politicians have bit more clout than your average elected official and so need to be catered to, but are less likely to do a full-blown sea-change policy-wise 4. Navy & Research- We're goons. We like boats, we all know this. We also like computers and books and nerdy stuff. So we are good at building a navy and researching things. 5. Diplomatic problems- The world is jealous of our gaming rigs and body-pillows. They are always trying to get back us for having the best stuff.
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Sep 2, 2018 01:56
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My heart is with the people of the UPRA and I support them in their struggle to overcome present difficulties and reestablish the land of Almain!
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Sep 2, 2018 04:59
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Nice, I like the responses so far. Keep them coming, friends! Also, to clarify: when outlining our National Advantages, you can pick "something else" twice.
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Sep 2, 2018 09:25
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OK, let's try this: Name: Federal Republic of Trantor Geography: Trantor is huge, but mostly mountains, or inhospitable desert. Only on the western coast there are some fertile hills where most of the population centers are. On the eastern side a great river reaches from the coast to an exceptionally huge mountain range, with a huge lake taking up one of the larger valleys, just on the other side of the mountain which is the source for the great river. The lake, while really beautiful, is ecologically dead. Over time, too many salts have been washed out of the surrounding mountains to turn the water into brine. The lake is known under the name Grave of the Armies, as during the middle ages, many invading hosts trying to cross the mountains were attracted by what looked like a huge water reservoir, only to be forced to retreat or perish when they discovered what the lake really was. Political regime: Democracy! The FRT is a federation of nominally independent states. Once there was an astonishing amount of political diversity among them, ranging from direct democracies over monarchies to dictatorships, but after several centuries of having to defend against invaders from all sides, growing unity among the population lead to a great revolution destroying and replacing most of those outliers with democratic governments. This transformed what was just a complex network of defensive pacts into a full, slightly chaotic nation. With the exception of a single surviving constitutional monarchy in one of the desert provinces, the entire Republic of today is a decentralized democracy. National advantages: Natural resources: While the FRT can barely grow enough food to feed itself, all those mountains and deserts are full of useful minerals and oil. The FRT is currently trying to build more infrastructure to properly exploit its resources, but it's slow going, thanks to the terrain fighting back every step of the way. Military traditions: Due to being surrounded by hostile states, the FRT has a long and tragic history of armed conflicts. National weakness: Diplomatic bind: Due to geography and history, the FRT is basically surrounded by enemies. Open suggestions: The FRT has a strong navy, but it‘s a mess, since it is by tradition still divided into different member state fleets. There are a lot of ships, but most of them are small and coordination of larger fleet maneuvers always turns into a farce. Traditionally, the navy only exists to protect the vulnerable coastal cities and that‘s it. So while it is numerically strong enough to be an advantage, it‘s also completely dysfunctional and was built on isolationist traditions, which makes it an absolute pain in the rear end to use in an offensive war. Many of the more spirited arguments in the FRT‘s military either revolve around reforming or reducing the navy, as it currently eats a lot of resources without being of much use. Libluini fucked around with this message at 11:56 on Sep 2, 2018 |
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Sep 2, 2018 11:54
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Ohhh, going to have jump in on this. Oh and I blame EU4 for some of this idea. Name: The Kingdom of Perezvin Formerly known as 'The Grand Duchy of Perezvin', but this name would now be counted as very insulting to the average citizen. The jagged Karkai mountains that delineate the Perezvin's northern borders had seen many rulers before the Perezvin; indeed, until very recently, the Perezvin themselves were not free, chained to the failing wreck of the Memeli Empire. That empire, however, has joined the graveyard of nations that awaits those that over-exploit their citizens, and the Perezvin will never deny their hand in toppling them. Having broken free of their oppressors a few years before the collapse, the Perezvin have begun to look out from behind their bunkers again, and realise the world is advancing around them again. The mountains they now freely own again are rich in ores, and with borders now no longer policed and enforced by outlanders, the Perezvin might yet grow to a size only dreamed of; large enough where none would oppress them again. Geography: Perezvin is a hard land, carved out of the old grand wood-covered Lovat plains, around the base of the Karkai mountains, rolling down to the narrow shore of cold waters of their home, the one port of note being Wallech. The woods have been allowed to regrow in the north to provide resources (and perhaps step away in the people's minds from the ravaging days of the Memeli), and will be a source of lumber in future, but the centre and south of their home is now more comparable to flatlands. Obviously some of this must be considered future arable, but with the growth of Perezvin's own mining and manufacturing industries, there is room for urban and industrial growth to complement the farmlands... if handled correctly. Political Regime: Constitutional Monarchy Some traditions die harder than others. The old Grand Duke might have been a Memeli puppet, but his daughter - the current Queen, Alexandra I Perzova - is forward-thinking and managed to weld old aristocratic supporters in the army together with the rising public consciousness to save MOST of the old institutions, while ensuring the people had enough say to avoid, as she said in her inauguration, "more abusive excesses like the Memeli of old." The constitution makes it clear the Queen is still Head of State, and supreme matters of state rest with Her and Her alone, but the Government - though young - is a Parliamentary democracy, currently led by the Golzevs (comparable to the Conservatives of the UK, and keen to support the Queen) with a notable coalition of the Polik and Reztov parties (comparable to the German SDP and UK Liberal Democrats) serving as their Opposition. The problem being, of course, is that this new, untested manner of governance is still riding on the high of independence, and not yet been truly tested... National Advantages: Industry and Natural Resources The Karkai mountains are rich and bounteous, and now the Memeli have been thrown out, the Perezvin have taken over the abandoned factories and plants their oppressors left behind. Their army is ... not necessarily the most professional or well equipped currently, but with time, the investment material is certainly available. National Weakness: Diplomatic Bind - 'Fractured Region' The Perezvin are the largest and most successful of the survivor states who broke free from the Memeli Empire, but they're far from the only one. Minor principalities, free cities, and ridiculous republics are a patchwork covering the old lands of the Memeli, and while the Perezvin have the initial advantage, any of the others could grow up to threaten them one day ... much less provide other powers afar with nearby puppets nearby to run interference. Suggestions: While the current state of affairs is stable enough in Perezvin, the scattering of other minor states around could cease being irritations and start being major threats quickly if the Perezvin don't move to secure their borders. This solution could be diplomatic rather than military of course, but the Queen herself is rather skeptical of that possibility. Not to mention, any major powers nearby could easily turn or suborn other minor states nearby and start using them as bases to attack the Perezvin. Also, while the fledgling Parliament is for now properly behind the Queen and has the public's 'respect', it is very young. Major ructions at home could cause difficulties. Also, while the Reztov could at least see themselves working WITH the Queen, unproven rumors indicate the Polik party has already become a haven for those who felt the revolution to topple the Memeli didn't go far enough... Serpentis fucked around with this message at 18:34 on Sep 2, 2018 |
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Sep 2, 2018 12:56
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I'll give this a go, be gentle. Name: The Wiabu Shogunate The Shogunate is a bizarre oddity that formed just under eighty years ago when a cadre of colonial officers returned from the Far East to the city now known as Junzo, then the capital of a senescent absolute monarchy. Whilst posted overseas these officers "went native" and began to view the culture of their homeland as decadent, dishonourable and barbaric. Upon returning, this group of a few hundred soldiers organised a coup against the sitting monarch, overthrew him, and through a series of exceptionally unlikely and fortunate occurrences, gained the broader support of the military, brought the surrounding area under the Junta's control, and embarked on a project of complete and total cultural annihilation, replacing it with a passable facsimile of the eastern cultures so fetishised by the Shogunate's founders. Geography: Sub/Tropical, best Described as "Difficult". From the eastern coast inland is a hundred miles of malarial swampland, extending the entire length of its coastline. A major river delta enters the ocean at the country's south-eastern border. There are some poorly developed links to the coast, but by and large, disease and difficult terrain have made the coastal regions exceptionally difficult to tame and settle. Inland from the marshes, a densely populated cleared fertile plain of approximately 50 miles width and 700 miles in length houses 85% of the Shogunate's population and accounts for 95% of its industrial output. Three major urban areas dominate this plain - the capital, Junzo, at its northern edge, with the manufacturing centre of Gura and the riverine port city of Ikita further southward, all linked by extensive modern road and rail networks. Westward of this plain, thick cloud forests dominate the flanks of mountains reaching almost 4000m in height, with few passes available for the movement of commerce, let alone heavy arms. The upshot of all of this is that invasion and conquest of Wiabu is significantly more likely on a north-south axis than an east-west one. Political Regime: Hybrid Military-Industrial Directorate. Power in the Shogunate predominantly lies with the Second Directory, a group of fifteen individuals made up of the eight highest-ranking generals and the chairmen of the seven largest manufacturing concerns in the country. The result is a well-honed machine for the production of consumer goods and war-making materiel. A fairly reactionary state in many respects, Wiabu has no free press, no Women's suffrage, and has a human rights record that would cause deep and long-lasting shame in a more introspective society. Political prisoners are numerous, and their treatment is dire. One bright spark is universal access to free education, although that is predominantly geared towards promoting social cohesion and the development of factory labourers, military scientists, soldiers and officers. National Advantages: Advanced Air Technology and Military Tradition - Given its particular geographic challenges, it seems unsurprising that Wiabu has invested significant technology in ensuring access to the world at large. Wiabun aircraft, and their engines in particular, are regarded as among the most advanced in production. Additionally, its prep schools and universities have churned out a population that knows how to fight and the prestige and social mobility afforded through military service means that Wiabu has one of the highest military reservist to civilian ratios in the world. National Disadvantages: Endemic Corruption - While centralising the economy and bringing corporate interests under the umbrella of the military has been a rapid modernising influence, over the past ten years it has also led to significant pocket-lining by members of the directorate. Most indicative of the damage this does to the country can be seen in the recent attempts to build a modern blue-water navy that have cost the Wiabun people billions of dollars with only a handful of ships to show for it, while Generals and captains of Industry live in palatial estates in echoes of the feudal system that their predecessors cut down just decades ago.
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Sep 2, 2018 14:22
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As I just had another idea for a fantasy nation, I had to immediately rush here to share it: Name: Republic of Viri Geography: Viri is a huge island in the south polar region. With the exception of its coasts and some isolated highlands deep inside its mountain regions, it is deeply inhospitable. Political regime: Military Junta: Viri was founded by a council of admirals taking over a bunch of outposts of other nations, after earlier wars left their tiny populations stranded and in danger of starvation. Later Viri had to defend itself against many of the same nations trying to take their outposts back. (Not all, as some didn‘t care.) The Republic of Viri only started appearing on the world‘s public eye when streams of refugees were taken in after the end of the defense wars. Nowadays its population is high enough to keep the country going, and just last year the country celebrated its first century of freedom. In Viri, admirals (or less commonly, generals) can be voted into the Council of 13, the ruling body of the republic. The Council of 13 then elects an Archon as its executive. There‘s also a national parliament called the Eistag, but it‘s mostly busy with proposing and writing new laws. The Eistag allows civilians to stand for office, but it‘s traditionally discouraged. The current Eistag has 120 military officers and only about 15 civilians among its 135 members. National advantages: National unity: Viri doesn‘t have the population to properly exploit its vast resources, but at least what people it has are fanatically loyal to the state. The betrayal of the old founding outposts and the reclaimation wars left deep wounds, and the people hate everything foreign with a disturbing intensity. Navy: While the land forces of Viri are well trained and equipped, they are also positively tiny, as Viri simply can not sustain any kind of large forces. Attacking and invading Viri itself is still madness, as the antarctic climate on the island is deadly to everyone not accustomed to it, but experience has taught the Republic to stop invasions at their source: The Republican Navy of Viri (RNV) is of an insane size for an island nation with a low population as Viri has. It is well trained, and nearly 20% of the islands heavy industry are working day and night just to keep it running. Viri uses nearly 25% of its GDP to support their armed forces and about 80% of this is earmarked for the navy. In fact, the Virian Navy has become the one thing every foreigner knows about this remote island nation. It is often said that Viri is not a nation with a navy, but a navy with a nation. The Republic of Viri has recently started building warships for other nations, since its shipyards have become quite famous for their quality and speed. The resulting surge of wealth has lead to both a slight decline in xenophobia and a slight upward tick of general living conditions. Viri was neutral in the last war, but made a fortune building ships for several nations participating in it. National weakness: Isolationist populace: The people of Viri prefer to be left alone. As long as Viri itself isn‘t threatened, nothing will convince the typical woman on the street that joining a huge foreign war is a good idea. Until someone directly attacks the island or threatens the growing commercial overseas trade, convincing the populace to join the fighting will be an uphill battle. Archons have fallen over this issue already. Open suggestions: Viri is like if Greenland, Iceland and some crazies living at the coast of Antarctica decided to found a nation. And if there actually was an island of the right size and terrain down there, instead of just a single giant continent. They came incredibly far in their short history, but they are still very vulnerable to a blockade. If they join the war, they would probably prefer to ally themselves to another nation with a strong navy. Nutrition in Viri is heavily based on seafood, but the Republic still has to import nearly 30% of its food and while resources are plentiful, the sparse population is stretched pretty drat thin to keep everything running. Conscription is an impossibility, as the nation already runs a military far too large for its size. If it weren‘t for the xenophobic fanaticism of its people, the Republic would probably collapse under the strain of any war. If the war isn‘t defensive, it may still happen. You could take this part as 1-2 more disadvantages I couldn't take as we are only supposed to take one. 
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Sep 2, 2018 14:37
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Let's go hard mode: Name: Separatists of Aw-Fulia Geography: Mostly desert, with some more greenish areas to the north. Political regime: Military Junta - consisting of us - goons, acting as advisors to the main Sheik, known as Al-D - a retired wrestler, who lately escaped from political prison of our northern neighbour, and started the uprising. However, while he is the hero who will leads us to victory, the mess and decentralization in the governing structures basically mean we are a junta governed by local warlords. National advantages: National unity - Did I mention the uprising? Oh yes, it just started. We are illegitimate state at this moment, fighting for our freedom from the northern neighbouring country. Our population is supporting us or faces gunbarrels Former battleground - Our beautiful country has been a battleground for many years, in wars fought by many countries. That leaves us with loads of left behind equipment and vehicles. Of course those are crappy outdated guns and tanks from the 50s, but we have lots of them! National weakness: Illegitimate State - Noone really recognizes us yet. Some countries may be less hostile toward us, especially if they are in conflict with the northern state, but unofficially only. Former battleground 2 - Out beautiful country has been a battleground for many years, in wars fought by many countries. That leaves us with industry and infrastructure in shambles. We have to rebuild, and preferably take the neighbouring lands! Basically lets start with much of low-level tanks and arms, and lets try to carve something out for ourselves. Also lets start with war against northern country. EDIT: also hell yeah, TB is back in LPs EDIT2: in the event of my idea not getting support I am voting for Wiabu Shogunate Hipster Rooster fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Sep 2, 2018 |
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Sep 2, 2018 16:11
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Hipster Rooster posted:EDIT2: in the event of my idea not getting support gently caress that noise, this is clearly the greatest nation. Inshallah.
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Sep 2, 2018 16:22
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Did someone say self-punishment?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5B6dytjdMU Makhnovschina Free Territories  (yes, our country flag does say "Death to Opressors of Workers", what of it?) Geography Oh man, the Makhnovite lands have it all, wartorn slettes and.. well, a city here and a mountain there. We'll fix it eventually! Political regime: The Free Territory is a stateless and egalitarian society. Workers and peasants are organised into anarchist communities governed via a process of participatory democracy and are linked via an anarchist federation. When the Insurrectionary Army liberates a town from state control, it posts a notice clarifying they will not impose any authority on the town: "Workers, your city is for the present occupied by the Revolutionary Insurrectionary (Makhnovist) Army. This army does not serve any political party, any power, any dictatorship. On the contrary, it seeks to free the region of all political power, of all dictatorship. It strives to protect the freedom of action, the free life of the workers, against all exploitation and domination. The Makhnovist Army does not therefore represent any authority. It will not subject anyone to any obligation whatsoever. Its role is confined to defending the freedom of the workers. The freedom of the peasants and the workers belongs to themselves, and should not suffer any restriction." National advantages National unity - Most citizens are ardent libertarian communists, or at least see the necessity of working hard to provide for the war industries. Whether high on Kropotkin or just balls-out desperate, they fight to the last man and woman. Military Innovation - The Makhnovschina historically invented the Tachanka, or machine-gun cart. A loving horse machine gun tank, people. Whatever the case, a resurgent Free Territory can be expected to McGyver up the sickest weapons west of the Urals! National weakness Diplomatic bind - For whatever reason, our communist neighbours think we sort of should either become good statist bolsheviks or die in droves, and the right wingers kind of don't like us on principle. When the war comes, we won't have many - if any - friends. Horse-tank pirate anarchism in one country, let's do this goons   
Tias fucked around with this message at 18:48 on Sep 2, 2018 |
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Sep 2, 2018 17:57
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I’m on a phone on vacation so no way I’m even trying to type up an idea, but I am definitely throwing a vote in for Pegasus Switzerland up there. That sounds super cool but also like it’s got a good foundation for the rest of the game. (Did someone rip off 7th Sea 2nd Edition with that whole “only nobles can vote but everyone’s a noble now” thing? I see what you did there and I like it a lot.)
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Sep 2, 2018 18:00
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This sounds cool!Hipster Rooster posted:Name: Also I support this - for the revolution!
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Sep 2, 2018 18:25
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So we have effectively Not: Slave Revolt Brazil, Socialist Weimar Germany, Revanchist Turkitaly, Weaboo Japan, New California Republic, Pegasus Switzerland, Constitutional Monarchy Russia, Vietnam Shogunate, Naval Power Iceland, Goon Isis and an Anarchist Commune that is Ukraine?( I thought we weren't doing real countries)
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Sep 2, 2018 18:39
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Ach, I didn't realize we couldn't do actual WW2 entities. Oh well, a Makhnovite terrorcracy can function well anywhere, it doesn't have to be Ukraine.
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Sep 2, 2018 18:47
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Name: Lowtaxia Geography: Lowtaxia is a large archipelago in the world's solitary ocean. The island chain roughly forms a sideways loop with the bottom end pointing towards the world's eastern regions; the largest island, near the tip contains both the capital city and most of the population. The outlying islands are focused on industry and have most of our oil, coal and metal deposits. Political regime: A corporate oligarchy. While the rest of the world fights each other for living space and resources, the islands have become the world's first and largest tax haven (hence the name). The government has massive cash resources and its policies are geared towards keeping the status quo exactly where it is. National advantages As the sole large island chain and only corporate superpower, we naturally have the world's largest navy and our industry is, of course, unparalleled. National weakness Although Lowtaxia is nominally a democracy, it is corrupt and virtually nothing gets done without the approval of at least one of the several major corporate overlords. The corporations are represented by individual goons who have different victory conditions revolving around becoming the world's leading conglomerate and should feel free to backstab the war effort if it increases profits at any time. All other goons represent the well meaning but initially nearly powerless Prime Minister, whose win condition is to purge all of the traitors and win the war for the Motherland. In addition, the geographic layout ensures that even the small islands at the end of nowhere are strategically important..and may belong to corporate factions directly opposed to each other.
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Sep 2, 2018 19:09
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My OPFORggestion 1. Name: Holy Empire of Teutonia 2. Geography: Vast sweeping plains interspersed with mountain ranges. 3. Political Regime: Autocracy - Teutonia is ruled by a hereditary line of Emperors, popularly considered to be incarnations of the mythical semi-divine founder of the realm. The nobility, both individually and in Assembly, plays an advisory role, with no ability to check any royal decree directly. Despite this, enough of a civil state has formed to ameliorate the failures of poor Emperors, and magnify the will of competent ones. 4. Advantage: 1.Military Tradition Teutonia was not always a sprawling empire, but was forged through blood and iron. Centuries of expansionist wars have forged a military machine with few equals, numerous, well trained, and modern. The military is a prestigous role - nobility expected to send their first born to the Officer Corps, and the proletariat masses finding opportunity for advancement in the ranks. 2. National Unity The populace of Teutonia believes firmly in the divinity of their Emperor, and are willing to give their all to achieve his will. This belief is not quite so prevalent among the conquered populaces, but the missionaries of the Church ingrain the beliefs a little more every day, to the point where the earliest conquests are just as fervent believers as the native Teutonians. 5. Disadvantage: Diplomatic Bind While Teutonia has not undergone any wars of expansion recently, memories run deeply. The neighbors of Teutonia nervously plan for a day when the eye of the God Emperor turn towards them, and many have established informal defense agreements in preparation of such a day. Teutonia will be hard pressed to reach any agreements of their own outside their borders. sniper4625 fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Sep 3, 2018 |
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Sep 2, 2018 19:10
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Okay, let me take a whack at this. Revolutionary Republic of Solaris Geography: Very mountainous, with most urban and agricultural settlements located in drainage basins. The north is dominated by lush forests and rivers, while the south shares a border with the Sea of Sorrows, although access from the interior is difficult due to the Maroset mountain range. The only real flatland is in the east, colloquially named the Green Sea. Political regime: Military junta -- the country recently went through a long and bloody civil war, with a group of generals and admirals overthrowing the regime of President Marcus Simms. Under his rule, corruption was rife, the average citizen drowned in poverty while all the wealth was concentrated in the hands of Simms and his friends. Death squads were common. Eventually, the people revolted, which meant reprisals. After the Sunday Massacre, some in the military took a hard stance against Simms, and the result was a full blown war. Simms and his loyalists fled the country when the losses mounted, and the regime collapsed completely. Now, the junta has the mandate of transitioning to at least a nominal democracy while rooting out loyalist rebels, rebuilding the country, and defending itself from stronger nations. National advantages: Natural resources -- Solaris is flush with resources, which is what allowed Simms to enrich himself. It's also made Solaris a target from others lacking such natural wealth. Military traditions -- Ironically, the president's insistence on having "the best military in the region" played a large part in his downfall. National weakness: Internal unrest -- The biggest problem are the remnants of loyalist forces, bunkered somewhere in the vast mountains. Attacks on civilians and the military are common. The war almost totally destroyed vital infrastructure: water, electricity, and food shortages are a way of life now, and the people are restless. Another popular uprising could be around the corner if things don't change. Extra suggestions: It should be emphasized the nation is vulnerable -- while the military is a beloved institution, it was weakened greatly from the civil war and is in desperate need of rebuilding. Besides the loyalist rebels there are other militant factions from both sides of the political spectrum vying for supremacy, and they could sway the public into an anti-government fury if the wrong steps are taken. What can I say, I like a challenge. rudecyrus fucked around with this message at 22:08 on Sep 2, 2018 |
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Sep 2, 2018 19:35
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At the request of people for an OPFOR state so the war doesn't end up being about different strains of socialism, I'm making this one. Please do not actually vote for us to play it, or I will be sad  Kingdom of Belnuxia 2. Geography. Belnuxia proper is a flat and coastal region, with many areas lying well below sea level and flood controlled by dikes. The wetlands naturally divide the territory into regions with their own not-100%-mutually-intelligible cultures and languages. Natural bays and inland harbors make the place a natural hub of oceanic trade. However, much of Belnuxia's wealth lies in its extensive overseas colonies, from the mines of Zadizere to the rubber plantations of Malacchia, among many, many others, and its subjugated population outnumbers its "nominal" population by at least four to one. 3. Political Regime. Constitutional monarchy with limited democracy. If you are a registered Belnuxian citizen, regardless of your language or wealth you have a right to vote for representatives and laws, as well as certain guaranteed rights such as education and even a limited monetary stipend. If you are a colonial person, you are a second class citizen at best, and cannot vote. External pressure has seen occasional attempts to make colonial persons full citizens of Belnuxia, but these are always stopped by those Belnuxians who already have sufferage. The Belnuxian empire is seen by its ruler, King Leo de Vaffel, as a vast world-improvement program, and refuses to countenance any sort of critique against it. 4. National Advantages Colonies. As mentioned, offshore wealth and population significantly outnumbers that in the Belnuxian homeland. Other: Colonial Manpower. Despite being second class citizens at best in all other ways, Belnuxia "graciously" allows subjugated peoples to serve in its military, under native Belnuxian officers. As such its available army is much larger than that that could be mustered in the Belnuxian homeland alone. 5. National Weakness Diplomatic Bind. Probably self-explanatory... 6. Open suggestions. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES MAKE THIS NATION PLAYER CONTROLLED. IT IS AN OPFOR INTENDED TO BE BEATEN DOWN.
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Sep 2, 2018 21:07
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Very nice! We have quite a lineup of potential candidates already. Let's give it 24 more hours for people who want to come up with something, then we'll hold a vote for the final pick unless a clear leader emerges in that time. Keep posting, friendos!!!
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Sep 2, 2018 21:11
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This is a really interesting idea, Tevery Best! Looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Voting for Republic of Sarent / Pegasus Switzerland as the protagonist nation because the "Isolated Populace/Pacifist" weakness seems like it will play well into the CYOA elements, and when else are you going to be able to see a Switzerland equivalent go to war? Of course, you can't have a war with just one side. Tevery said that some of the other nations might end up being opposing forces in the setting, and I'm noticing a distinct lack of colonial powers in the options so far. Therefore inspired by a recent Paradox LP which had a Polynesian colonial nation, may I present for the approval of my fellow goons a Reverse Bristish Empire: 1. Name: The Oceania Empire Many years ago our forefathers saw the population of our great civilization becoming too large for the many island chains where it began. Therefore they set out to find new lands for future generations to prosper. And lo, what awaited them was a plethora of nature's bounty, with islands so large a new word was invented for them: "continents." These lands were rich in resources like metal, coal, wood and exotic plants and animals, along with many friendly natives who helpfully volunteered to harvest these resources in exchange for being taught our more advanced ways (and if anyone tells you differently don't believe their lies!). Now our trans-oceanic empire that the moon never sets on is the largest in the world and surely will only grow to be ever-greater in the future! 2. Geography - Central larger islands like New Zealand (British Isles equivalent), surrounded by smaller island chains, with colonial territories of a nearby continent (Australia / closer America) and off-map colonies further out (whatever the equivalent of the British Raj and other colonial ventures of this world would be) 3. Political Regime - A democracy where all citizens can vote. What? No of course colonial subjects don't count as citizens. How absurd! 4. National advantages Natural resources - A poem by Oceania citizen Bilaire Helloc on the empire's natural resources compared to other nations: Whatever happens, we have got All we want, and they have not When we hear of other nations having shortages in essential resources, like tea, we laugh and then drink twice as much tea! Colonies - Oceania controls most of the world, with territories stretching from ocean to glittering ocean. Why, we've got such a vast colonial empire the colonial subjects outnumber citizens at least five to one! Um, just don't tell them that. 5. National weakness Something else... - Colonial Strife. If it wasn't obvious from the description Oceania and her colonies do not always get along. Just because the equivalent of the American War of Independence hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it can't happen now. There seem to be an awful lot of rabblerousers muttering things about how an island can't rule a continent behind our backs... 6. Open suggestions Just as a general suggestion, in these kind of LPs it's always neat to see the occasional "State of the World" update that shows off how the world is going even outside of the protagonist nation. Also, because people have posted some neat ideas, if you do use other goon-nations as opposing powers it might be neat to see the occasional update from their perspective as well. edit: f,b: Davin Valkri posted his second nation while I was typing this, before that it didn't look like there were any major colonial bpowers. CatsPajamas fucked around with this message at 23:49 on Sep 2, 2018 |
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Sep 2, 2018 21:40
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Probably fits better as The Rebirth League In the late stages of the previous war, the conquest of a once-shining but long-decaying empire seemed inevitable. In what became known as Black September, the capital cities of the nearly-victorious coalition were blanketed in mustard gas, causing massive loss of civilian life and breaking the back of their offensives. Several provinces of the empire denounced the throne for carrying out this atrocity, and broke free as the Rebirth League - swearing to bring back the former glories of the empire and once again become a beacon for humanity. This preceded the final collapse of the empire into warring fragments, and ended the war. In reality, the leaders of the Rebirth League had been gaining power for well over a century, were largely responsible for the decayed state of the empire, and it was commandos from the League that carried out the Black September attacks in the first place. Geography: A mountanous region ringed in steppes. Political regime: Genocracy -- While still covert, the leaders of the League engaged in a secret selective breeding program to bring about the "next stage" of humanity. At all times, the person that comes closest to this ideal is supreme ruler. Publically, the League is ruled by an oligarchy that regularly rotates the head position. National advantages: Unconventional Technology -- The covert nature of the nation's genesis resulted in them being unable to invest heavily in conventional weapons of war. Because of this, they focused on theoretical R&D instead, and went fairly far on paths other nations have yet to tread. Now that they have become an open nation-state, they have the nucleus of a military far different from what an ordinary nation would have. Covert Action -- Prior to coming into the open, the League relied on subterfuge, assassination, and terrorism to acheive their objectives. This has resulted in them having excellent special forces and spies National weaknesses: Undeveloped military -- While their radical approach to the military is a potential advantage, the key word is "potential". At present, they have nothing more than a handful of prototypes, while the rest of their (very small) military consists of leftover junk from the last war. Anathema -- While the League's involvement with Black September is currently unknown, the other nations of the world have not forgotten it. If this becomes public, most nations will break off their quarrels to seek revenge.
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Sep 2, 2018 21:56
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CatsPajamas posted:This is a really interesting idea, Tevery Best! Looking forward to seeing how it turns out. I just want to point out that I'm pretty sure not-Switzerland doesn't have literal dragons/wyverns/whatever, they're just very prominent in the mythology and culture. Their real mechanical advantage is a societal fascination with flight giving them a good airforce. Crazycryodude fucked around with this message at 23:46 on Sep 2, 2018 |
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Sep 2, 2018 23:37
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Crazycryodude posted:I just want to point out that I'm pretty sure not-Switzerland doesn't have literal dragons/wyverns/whatever, they're just very prominent in the mythology and culture. Their real mechanical advantage is a societal fascination with flight giving them a good airforce. Welp, that was embarrassing! Voting the same regardless. Guess I've been reading too many CK2 LPs with Immortal Popes and devil children and was too interesting to seeing that kind of thing taken to a more modern setting.
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Sep 2, 2018 23:51
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Preface I was halfway through my post when I took a break and really got into the details of some of the earlier posts that revealed I'm not the only one who thought of a Switzerland analogue. I don't know if they'd work side by side, because who needs two switzerlands - and the other one has a way better backstory. My switzerland though I wanted to be a combination of a couple of things - I didn't want a straight merchant state Switzerland I also wanted some Finland Winter War, Petsamo Region stuff to be possible with the inclusion. So, instead of just being mainly bankers I wanted to make my analogue a target for any neighbor salivating over some very abstract natural resources that fuel modern militaries. I felt the politics of trying to avoid becoming swallowed by the struggle as the world both burns around you and looks out of the corner of their eyes at your land to be compelling. Also, I have zero imagination when it comes to names so, yeah, it's bad. I recognize this, but do not apologize. But would not be against substituting a not awful one in its place. 1. Name: Awfulitzerland The previous three decades have been kind to the proud citizens of Awfulitzerland. Safe behind their mountain ranges, they have watched with no small amount of trepidation as their neighbors have slaughtered each other in war. Steadfastly neutral, and extremely proud of that fact, they have remained a quiet recluse of a nation, content to sit idly by looking towards inwards pursuits while the rest of the world determines its own pecking order. And with the birth of a solid democracy backed by a strong sense of community and cooperation, and sitting on top a dense amount of rare natural resources, the awfulanders and have gotten quite wealthy in the process trading to whoever pays the right price. Not wanting to risk their own success the people remain determined to stay out of the goings on of those around them even as war looms on the horizon. This time though, there are new weapons, and new technologies being deployed. And the strategic resources they sell equally are now a target. As society has progressed those natural resources have found new uses and increased in value and a neighboring country looking to build up its strength may just want control of those resources themselves. Only time will tell if Awfulitzerland will be able to remain neutral, if they will be able to defend their land from those who seek to take what isn't theirs. Their army, while small thanks to the overall landmass and the geographic defenses, has historically been considered and able one. But the march of technology may very well leave them at a significant disadvantage if they are not careful to at least keep some sort of pace. 2. Geography: A small landlocked country surrounded on most sides by mountains and on the other side of those mountains are nation-states that have repeatedly felt the need to blow each other up. Although dwarfed by its neighbors the mountainous terrain is a defenders dream with only a handful of passes allowing full access to the interior of the country. Even then, the terrain is hilly and heavily wooded. While there are no major bodies of water, the runoff from the mountains create numerous minor rivers, creeks, and streams. While not impassible any army would think twice about attacking through the many bottlenecks, and the uncountable ambush points. Any invasion, even if successful would be totally Pyrrhic if the defenders are well led and even modestly equipped. 3. Political Regime: Democracy. And quite a stable one thanks to, well, the high living standard and outsized per capita GDP, nobody really feels the need to change what's going on. Everyone is getting rich and living well, what's to complain about? Political feuds usually center over the trivial and are typically easily resolved. 4. National advantages - National Unity - This nation displays an almost unparalleled national unity. As has been said - everyone is getting rich and nobody wants to rock this boat. It's a little boring actually if you're looking for some kind of drama. Everyone just wants to keep a good thing going and don't feel any need at all to get involved in any kind of outside conflict. Resources - Every nation is somewhat jealous of Awfulitzerland. For such a small country that have a proportionally large amount of natural resources that everyone needs to feed their new technological marvels. Selling these resources has made the nation incredibly wealthy, but any nation aspiring to conquest will view these as a target, possibly worthy of a full invasion. 5. National weakness Isolationist - While their continent has been busy burning itself to the ground Awfulitzerland has looked on in abject horror, not seeing any point in getting involved in the senseless waste of lives (and money). This may prove to be the anchor that gets them annexed as who needs to keep and up to date army when you've got all these mountains and everyone is afraid you'll cut them off the resource train. So yeah, this was about 20 minutes of effort, take it or leave it. This will be fun regardless.
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Sep 3, 2018 01:20
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Let's play as the council of goku.
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Sep 3, 2018 02:51
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My heart beats (and my troops bleed) for UPRA
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Sep 3, 2018 13:03
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Separatists of Aw-Fulia Goon ISIS sounds like a fun hard mode
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Sep 3, 2018 13:19
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(Primarily intended to be an OPFOR.) The United Confederation of Samarak Geography: A mostly forested region, with a single large river bisecting the country. Political Regime: Autocracy - The national mythos of the UCS says that it is ruled by the "Spirit of Samarak", a representation of the collective will of the Samarki people as invested/manifested in the best and brightest among them, the fire of knowledge which the people strive to bring to earth with the first and foremost among these individuals being selected as leader of the nation. The Voice of the People has, however, always been closer to what we would consider to be a traditional dictator - a scientist/artist/whatever that receives a government grant to work on their big important project, who in case of war or some other crisis steps up to lead, and then goes back to whatever they were doing. Conventional governance being the responsibility of Presidents who are elected by their Tribe (of which there are nine, each analogous to a US state) via representative democracy or a Council where the various Presidents can work out their differences. But following the UCS' loss in one of the recent wars, the country's economy crashed and the failure of the Council of Presidents to come to a decisive conclusion on how to resolve the issue lead for increasing calls for strong leadership from the general populace. One of the ways that the Council of Presidents tried to resolve this was by letting the nominal head of the government, the Voice of the People, take a more active role in government (for instance this is the origin of a government sponsored radio show also called "The Voice of the People" which is now broadcast into every Samarki home on a daily basis). Unfortunately what they didn't expect is that the Voice was not content to be a figurehead and took the opportunity to transition the role to one of nearly absolute authority on the federal level - complete with investing power in structures outside of the historical norm (this is where the Military Department comes into play). For the first time, complete control of the UCS is being exercised over the entirety of the nation by a single individual and his direct appointees... so long as the Voice manages to keep the people satisfied. Perhaps a bit of jingoism might help with that, to make up for the last war? National advantages: National unity - the populace is united behind its government, whether because they share their ideals or because they fear retribution. Military Traditions - The motto of the UCS Military is "Fight Smarter" - They never bring the most people to a fight, or the even the highest quality in gear, but their commanders are all trained to think creatively, and get the most out of whatever they manage to scrounge up for the field. (In practice this means you should expect to see them bring a lot of combined arms to the table, and the need is greater for clever tactical thinking - whether as used by us or as an OPFOR.) National Weakness: Pervasive corruption - The reason why the current Voice of the People has received a much greater degree of support from the populace is the general perception that the Council of Presidents has grown institutionally weak and no longer seeks the best interests of the nation. Actually trying to start a revolt against the Voice is a bad idea given public opinion is on his side, instead the Presidents are using soft power to protest the system. This leads to a lot of "accidents" as resources that could have been transferred to the military budget may occasionally be sent off for agricultural support. Jossar fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Sep 3, 2018 |
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Sep 3, 2018 19:11
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1.Name- Free City of Nox 2. Geography- Nox holds a unique position on a narrow isthmus between two major continents to the Northeast and South. This relative geographic chokepoint has allowed it to historically leverage its position to maintain independence from larger neighbors. The ithmus' mountainous nature has kept large and easy transport difficult to larger groups. However Nox holds a particularly special position being situated where the isthmus is no more than 30km wide has managed to maintain a waterway between the oceans on either side of the Isthmus. It maintains this single passage between Oceans with great jealousy both as its access generates great revenues from fees and allows it to project its modest naval capabilities to either side of the Isthmus. The isthmus itself is heavily forested, the region is further separated by innumerable rivulets and small streams that trickle down from the modest mountain peaks in the Isthmus' center, apart from the modest clearing around Nox for housing and some minor food cultivation and mass water storage, much of the land is relatively untamed barring the occasional dirt road or footpath. The Grand Canal, which is the great centerpoint of Nox runs through what had been the narrowest point of the isthmus. This great waterway allows for even the largest of transport vessels to cross safely from one ocean to the next, saving days of a journey. Originally Nox existed solely on the North side of the Grand Canal, however Nox's sprawl did eventually creep onto the South shore, which while equally as wild past the bounds of the city, is much more modern in style and layout. While plans are in the works for a bridge to span the Grand Canal, at present the only link between the North and South sides of Nox are the dozens of ferries that make the crossing every day. 3. Political Regime: Democracy- The Government of Nox is separated into two sections, the Parliament, which constists of representatives elected from Nox's various districts, this house of 71 members (70 members and 1 speaker) hold 2 year terms, and have powers of recall for the Executive Council and can propose and vote on legislation to be signed by the Executive Council. The second part of Nox's government is the Executive Council, consits of 11 members. The Executive Council is formed by the party or coalition with the majority in Parliament, a member of Parliament from the majority is selected as the Supreme Chairman and they then create their roster of 10 other Councilors, which will then be allowed to form a government on the approval of Parliament. Any members of Parliament who have their seats vacated for this role will have subsequent elections to fill vacant seats. The Executive Council performs a grand majority of the day-to-day running and governance of Nox with the various Secretaries answerable to the Chairman an to summons by Parliament. Many activities of government can be done by executive order which would be drafted by the various Secretaries (Defense, Treasury, Human Resources, Transportation, etc.) and signed by the Supreme Chairman. The Supreme Chairman also signs into law legislation passed by Parliament, or can chose to veto, which can be overridden with a 2/3rds majority vote in Parliament. 4. National advantages - Navy - Nox's position on a narrow strip of land has always made its navy the key to survival, having invested heavily into being at the front of any advances in naval tech have meant that even with the wilderness of Nox's jungles to the North and South, Nox's Navy has the uncanny ability to just reach right out and touch someone across most of the isthmus. The presence of the Grand Canal only increases this capability as the Navy can quickly be on whichever side of whichever part of the isthmus is needed to deliver far larger fire support than could ever be wheeled through the jungle. Natural resources - despite huge swathes of wilderness being between Nox and anything else called civilization, this is not to say that Nox has not delved into its depths, the mountains around Nox hold great varieties of industrial and precious metals while the land above, where flat enough is remarkably fertile and manages to almost entirely sustain Nox without need for imports, with only some minor effort self sustainability could be achieved. And this is to say nothing of the bounty that awaits Nox in the seas. Both in terms of the vast quanities of fish that can be and are procured daily both for local consumption and export, but even more precious, on the north side of the Grand Canal, and part of the reason for its increasingly heavy defenses, was the discovery of oil in the shallow waters offshore of Nox's territory. With this available, even with most still untapped and unutilized, Nox has moved far closer to both Autarchy and far greater prosperity. All this is reflected likewise in Nox's impressively sized fishing and merchant fleet which sails under Nox's flag in both local waters and around the world. 5. National weakness - pick one. This is a major problem we have to work around. Diplomatic bind - Unfortunately, all this good fortune is not looked upon fondly by Nox's neighbors of which it has few friends. Having recently defended its territories from encroachment to the North and having routine border skirmishes along the jungles to the south with various groups of poachers, surprisingly well armed 'settlers' and other non-Noxian people who look to the people of Nox's fortunes with greedy eyes and ill inent. Nox holds somewhat better relations with their further afield neighbors who greatly benefit from the trade opportunities of the Grand Canal, although their friendship is easily bought by a hefty discount on transit fees through the Canal. 6. Open suggestions - if not selected, I still think this could be a really fun Opfor country as itd be a tough nut to crack but probably a fun one to go afield from.
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Sep 3, 2018 19:25
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All right. Nation submissions are officially closed.  We must now pick the one (un)lucky country that the goon community will lead into a new age. We will use a method called instant runoff voting. Each and every one of you may list any number of countries submitted so far. They must be listed in order of preference, where 1 is the country you want to play the most, and the highest number you assign is the one you want to play the least. You may not assign the same preference value to more than one country. If you do so, your vote is invalid. You may, however, choose not to place any specific country on your list. In that case, your vote will never be counted for that country. Once voting is over, I will check to see if any single proposal has an absolute majority (50%+1) of first-preference votes. If so, that proposal wins immediately. If not, the proposal with the least amount of first-preference votes is eliminated. All first-preference votes it received will be reassigned to whoever a given voter listed as their second preference, then votes will be counted again. If any proposal reaches absolute majority at this stage, it wins immediately. If not, the process is repeated until we have absolute majority. I hope this is clear. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Voting is open for the next 36 hours. Tevery Best fucked around with this message at 23:23 on Sep 3, 2018 |
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Sep 3, 2018 21:40
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1: Unified People's Republics of Almain 2: Republic of Sarent 3: Dominion of Vakan 4: Kingdom of Perezvin 5: Federal Republic of Trantor 6: Oceania Empire 7: Revolutionary Republic of Solaris 8: Free City of Nox 9: Republic of Viri 10: Awfulitzerland 11: Tropican Free State
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Sep 3, 2018 21:50
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1.Free City of Nox 2.Makhnovschina Free Territories 3. Republic of Sarent / Pegasus Switzerland 4.The Unified People's Republics of Almain 5.Lowtaxia 6.The Oceania Empire 7: Revolutionary Republic of Solaris All others unlisted/preferred as Opfor.
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Sep 3, 2018 21:55
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1. Teutonia 2. UPRA 3. Sarent 4. Wiabu 5. Awfulia
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Sep 3, 2018 21:59
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I love that my lovely joke about Pegasus Switzerland is sticking. That’s my first choice, obviously ; I’ll post a whole ranked list when I get back to a real keyboard tonight.
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Sep 3, 2018 22:00
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 12:22 |
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Tevery Best posted:We will use a method called instant runoff voting. scavy131 posted:All others unlisted/preferred as Opfor. Question: Any particular method for choosing opposing forces other than the protagonist nation? Is it going to be something based on the votes like the the runner-ups, or specific selecting an interesting variety?
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Sep 3, 2018 22:04
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