General Rules for All Players
Victory
Victory is achieved in this NES-game differently for both factions. The following are how each side can defeat the other:
1. Dissent Victory: If dissent for either side reaches over 75%, that side’s people force the government to peace at any cost. Dissent rises more quickly for the Union than the Confederacy, for the people of the South view the war as a struggle for survival. A nation’s dissent stat changes with the outcomes of battles and the capture of major cities.
2. Total Victory (Union only): If the Union completely occupies the south or captures all of the South’s major cities, they win automatically as the South loses capacity to fight a war.
3. Electoral Victory (Confederacy only): If by November 1864, at least 7 Southern cities are not captured by the Union, it is assumed McClellan wins on a peace ticket. Therefore, the North will only have until inauguration day in March 1865 to achieve a total victory.
4. Concession: At any time if they view the situation as hopeless, the head commander can concede victory. That’s rather straightforward I think.
Brigades
Brigades are the basic unit of an army. Without brigades you have no soldiers. Each individual brigade is historically named and in their proper locations with the start of this NES.
Sample Brigade Stats:
Cleburne’s Brigade: 100%
-Infantry
Attachment: Artillery
Experience: 0
Weapons: 2
Brigade Strength
The percentage next to the name of the brigade represents the total strength of the brigade. At 100%, the brigade is full strength and so on. In this time frame brigades were formed, but usually not reinforced directly. Therefore, all loses for a brigade are permanent, meaning that over time, they become weaker in relation to newer brigades.
Brigade Types
There are three types of brigades; Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery. Each serve different historical purposes, which I will briefly detail for those who need more knowledge on the Civil War military aspect.
Infantry: Infantry brigades are the backbone of an army. During the Civil War, they acted as front line assault forces and provided the vast majority of the manpower available to the commanders of both sides. These soldiers are always on foot, require the least amount of funds and training, and will likely be the mainstay of your armies.
Cavalry: Cavalry acted as screening and scouting forces during the war. They also acted as raiding forces, and Confederate cavalry occasionally struck as far north as New England. Though expensive, cavalry can severely damage the enemy’s ability to fight a war, or provide vital on-the-spot information to a commander on the battlefield.
Artillery: Artillery brigade is an incorrect term. For the purposes of this NES, an artillery brigade is a massed group of cannon for siege and strategic purposes. An Artillery brigade is vital for besieging an enemy city or for a massed bombardment on the front. However, the high cost of artillery makes production en masse prohibitive, meaning that only the largest armies can afford to deploy these massed groups.
Attachment Types
The three brigades listed above qualify as only a small portion of the types of regiments and units available to commanders during the civil war. Attachments represent regiments of one type attached to brigades of another. Essentially, they act as support or protection for a brigade. A brigade can have as many attachments as the supreme commander is willing to pay for (as long as they are different types), but remember, if you lose the brigade, you lose the attachments, which could make a “super-brigade” a very expensive mistake. Here are the types of Attachments and a brief description of each.
Infantry (Artillery only): This represents an infantry regiment assigned to protect an artillery battalion.
Cavalry (Infantry only): This represents a cavalry regiment attached to infantry in order to provide intelligence and scouting.
Artillery (Infantry or Cavalry only): This represents a smaller group of artillery which provides localized light artillery support for infantry or cavalry brigades.
Engineers (Infantry or Artillery only): Engineers during the Civil War constructed bridges, fortifications, military railroads, and other vital works for the military apparatus. If you want to cross a river without a bridge or establish defensive works, engineers are a must.
Sharpshooters: Sharpshooters are specialists with long-range rifles who focus on killing the enemy’s commanding officers. Feared and hated by the infantry, Sharpshooters can single-handedly break a brigade’s will to fight.
Balloons: These expensive objects provide first-rate intelligence and information on the battlefield. Also, nothing is more intimidating then looking up and realizing the enemy can see everything you’re doing.
It should be noted that there are other types of brigades which will be revealed as the NES progresses. These brigades will not be able to be constructed, but will be provided as part of special circumstances. Finally, for costs, see the General-in-Chief section below.
Experience
Experience shows the bonus granted by continued exposure to combat by a particular brigade. The more the brigade fighters, the higher this rises. This is to offset losses in strength. The more the brigade fights, the better the soldiers get at staying alive. There is no upper limit to experience.
Weapons
This stat represents the quality of the weapons wielded by different brigades. These can be upgraded by the General-in-Chief who is in charge of each nation’s spending. The better the weapons, the better the brigade is at killing. However, a brigade’s weapons quality cannot reach over 5.
Ships
Sample Ship Stats
USS Jamestown
-Ship of the Line
Experience: 0
Ship Stats
You may notice that ships lack some of land forces’ stats, including strength. If a ship is damaged, it is briefly removed from stats untilled repaired. Experience works similarly for ships as for brigades, so see above for information on that. See the following section for different types of ships.
Ship Types
Each ship type serves a different purpose and role in the Civil War era navy. Constructing and Maintaining a fleet was an expensive task in this era, though this time saw the rise of the new force at sea, the ironclad. With each ship type, I have provided once more a brief description.
Ship of the Line: These are the strongest and largest pre-ironclad naval vessels. No other type of sailing ship can stand up to these and they are resilient to the last.
Frigate: Frigates are another class of sailing ship, much smaller and lighter than the Ship of the Line. They still outmatch all other sailing ships besides the Ship of the Line.
Gunboat: Gunboats are wooden, steampowered craft which patrol the rivers and coasts of the CSA and USA. These ships are moderately well armed and were frequently used for support during the Mississippi campaigns.
Blockade Ship (Union only): These ships were constructed for converted for military purposes to act as a light ship to intercept and destroy blockade runners. They stand little chance against larger, military built ships and are only good for holding blockade positions against civilian vessels.
Raider (Confederates only): These ships were usually built in the United Kingdom for the Confederacy to strike at the North’s overseas shipping. Pirates in all but name, these strike fast and hard using a mixture of sail and steam power.
Ironclad: These ships were usually constructed from the hulls of other vessels. Essentially hulls outfitted with iron armor and steam engines, these are barely oceangoing vessels which can devastate most sailing ships.
Monitor (Union only): The Monitor was the first ship in history to have a rotating turret. However, they are very unseaworthy and can only operate on rivers or in shallow water.
Updates and Orders
Updates will be done in a much different fashion than regular NESes. Each “turn” will be a month, and that month will have spending orders from the General-in-Chiefs and generalized orders for subordinate commanders. What I expect from monthly orders will be detailed below separately. Each monthly update will include basic descriptions at what occurred throughout the month, both within the war itself and information internationally which relates to the war. Brief descriptions of military movements and battles will also be included.
The unique part about this NES is that the monthly main NESes will vary in their frequency of updating. At times within a month, armies will occasionally meet in battle, sometimes more than once. When this occurs, I will post stating that two armies have met in battle on a certain day at a specific place. As detailed below, the subordinate commanders involved in the battle will have a chance to send orders tactically relating to the battle. Fighting will continue until an obvious victor has emerged. Only when all battles are completed will the monthly update be posted.
Rules for Subordinate Commanders
Armies
A Subordinate commander can be granted any position or positions the General-in-Chief believes them capable of handling. This means that a subordinate commander is allowed to command more than one army at a time, if the General-in-Chief is willing to allow it.
Within an army, the commanding general has full ability to carry out any policies relating to the army. I’d recommend looking into this, and trying to carry out historical regards. Armies don’t merely fight battles, and problems can tear at an army from within. Importantly, choices by commanders relating to their armies can result in benefits or failures to the national cause as a whole. This policies also relate to treatment of occupied territories and individuals within your area of control.
Brigades
As a subordinate commander, you have complete control over the brigades in your command. You are free to merge under-strength brigades and to command them specifically in battle. Battle orders will be discussed later. As for merging brigades an example would be that if you put a brigade with 43% strength with one at 51% strength, you will get a single 94% strength brigade. All attachments with the two original brigades will be combined with the new one.
Attrition
Under the army stats you may notice the attrition statistic. This represents out of combat losses that your army is currently suffering. Attrition will always be with you, representing desertions, disease, and accidents. This percentage can rise depending on if you lose a battle, campaign in winter, are viewed as inept by your soldiers, and on your national dissent rating.
Dismissal
The General-in-Chief can remove you from the NES at any moment he desires. I will back up all dismissals based on incompetence or even just disagreements IC. If you feel that the dismissal was unjust, you can appeal to me, though I will hear both sides of the story before confirming or denying your request. If one commander dismisses you however, it is ok for the other side to hire you as a new general.
Orders and Monthly Updates
For each monthly update, I’ll expect general orders and movements from each commander. If you don’t want to move your army, then I need to know that too. This is when you’ll merge and reorganize the forces under your control.
As a tip, please keep in mind what month it is and the resulting weather. Soldiers don’t like fighting under almost all circumstances, but fighting in the winter can have a bad effect upon your attrition rate. Also, some rivers freeze over in the winter, so naval support will be impossible to maintain.
Battles
Battles will be the most excitement you’ll receive in this NES. When two armies meet in battle, I will post on the thread describing the events leading up to the fight. Maps will be sent via Private Message to both commanders showing the battlefield and the location of their armies. Based on these maps, the commanders will send orders for the battle. Depending on the orders, battles can last for several days and without AIM, several RL weeks can occur between monthly updates. “Mini-updates” will be given on the course of the battle and at points commanders can be given opportunities to make new tactical decisions.
Rules for General-in-Chiefs
Industrial Capacity
As in my other NESes, IC is the base spending unit for each nation. Everything that can be built has an IC cost. Industrial Capacity represents the amount of production that your nation can muster in the ways of weaponry, uniforms, and military constructions. Industrial Capacity will change throughout the NES based on the fall of industrial centers, cavalry raids, and devastation of regions. It can also grow based on mobilization and preparation for the effort required for a total war. Your domestic policies as General-in-Chief can occasionally affect this statistic as well.
Manpower
There is no such thing as “a bottomless well of manpower.” While the North had extensively more available men of soldiering age and status than the South, they did not have an infinite basis of support. The manpower at the start of the NES is pretty much all available for the duration. This statistic will only increase slightly each year and can also be altered through domestic or foreign policies. Every type of brigade or vessel requires some cost in manpower.
Spending List
A basic part of being General-in-Chief is ordering the recruitment and construction of new brigades and ships. Every monthly orders must have spending information on the recruitment of new units. Therefore the following list provides the costs for each type of available unit. For descriptions of the units, please see the top section of the rules.
Brigades
Infantry Brigade: 1 IC and 10 manpower
Cavalry Brigade: 2 IC and 10 manpower
Artillery Brigade: 3 IC and 10 manpower
Attachments
Infantry Regiment: 1 IC and 3 manpower
Cavalry Regiment: 1 IC and 3 manpower
Artillery battalion: 1 IC and 2 manpower
Engineer Regiment: 2 IC and 4 manpower
Sharpshooter Regiment: 2 IC and 1 manpower
Balloons: 5 IC and 2 manpower
Ships
Blockade Ship (Union only): 2 IC and 1 manpower
Raider (Confederacy only): 2 IC and 2 manpower
Gunboat: 2 IC and 2 manpower
Frigate: 3 IC and 2 manpower
Ship of the Line: 4 IC and 2 manpower
Ironclad: 5 IC and 1 manpower
Monitor (Union only): 4 IC and 1 manpower
Other Purchases
Fort: 6 IC and 10 manpower. Place forts by selecting their locations on the map or specifying what area or city they are supposed to defend. Forts automatically are all assumed to have garrisons with artillery support within. They can seal chokepoints or provide extra protection to a vital harbor.
Upgrades
Upgrades are expensive but worth it frequently. When first created, a brigade is assumed to have only the most basic of weaponry, sometimes even just brought from home. To upgrade a brigade's weapons rating, it costs the following:
1 to 2: 2 IC
2 to 3: 3 IC
3 to 4: 4 IC
4 to 5: 5 IC
To make it more simple, to upgrade a brigade's weapons quality from 1 to 5, it would cost 14 IC. Not all of your units need to be the best, 3 brigades of level 3 weapons quality can be better in some circumstances than 1 brigade with level 5 quality.
Foreign and Domestic Policies
As in other NESes, you will command the nation’s internal and external policies. For the greatest detail in this, please consult me, and I will happily answer through Private Messages or AIM discussion. Remember, keep in mind the situation of the war and the mindset of the people at the time. What may seem like a fair and rational decision in our modern society could be a fatal mistake in the Civil War era.
Orders and Updates
Every monthly update will require your orders. You do not need to react to battle updates unless the situation is immediately dire and requires replacement of the general in the theater. Your orders should be focused entirely on national issues and production. Specific orders for armies should only be needed if you have felt it nessecary to take on a command for yourself, which you are allowed to do.
Nation Stats
United States of America
Capital: Washington D.C.
Dissent: 10%
IC per month: 79
Manpower: 8330
General-In-Chief: warman17
Subordinate Commanders: Lightfang, Thelastjacobite, Charles Li, human-slaughter, The Loser, dldnjstjr, Wubba360, a_propagandist
Confederate States of America
Capital: Richmond
Dissent; 0%
IC per month: 59
Manpower: 3550
General-In-Chief: Crezth
Subordinate Commanders: luckymoose, sp1023, bestshot9, tuxedoham, Azale, germanicus16, neverwonagame3
