Art of the Possible

Introduction​

In 1812, Napoleon’s army marched into Russia, confident of victory against this dogged foe. Their confidence was rewarded after major French victories at the battles of Smolensk, Polotsk, and Borodino. These incredible and decisive French victories led to the capture of both Moscow and St. Petersburg, and Tsar Alexander was forced to sue for peace after he was captured by advancing French armies. Russia was forced to make severe concessions to France, including the resurrection of Poland, and the loss of Polish territories to the Duchy of Warsaw, in addition to the creation of several smaller French client states in the western Russian Empire. The decimation of Russia’s army establish the French forces as more powerful than ever, and the rest of Europe was forced to accept Napoleon’s hegemony, except for Britain. Despite other offensives and attempts to bring down Napoleon’s Europe, the Treaty of Paris in 1814 meant the end of open conflict and British withdrawal from the Continent.

The Treaty of Paris was meant to create a lasting peace in Europe, with French dominance over the continent, while the British went on to build the greatest global empire the world has ever seen. Napoleon’s death in 1822 led to a bitter power struggle and France lost much of the control it had over much of Central and Eastern Europe. Britain was never defeated and throughout the 19th century the United Kingdom and France were involved in a protracted conflict, which many referred to as the “Great Game” as they competed for land and influence across the world. In 1900, the British and French remain at each other’s throats, as a naval arms race has begun as newer and better ships are constructed by both sides. As these two powers compete, new ones rise to try to find their place in the sun. With the dawn of the 20th Century, a bitter and vicious conflict unrivaled since the days of Napoleon I may bathe the fields of Europe in blood.


Yes, it’s that time again. Time for a world-spanning 20th Century game by EQandCivfanatic. The last one of these was the highly popular and lengthy Capto Iugulum and I am hoping this one will rival its spiritual’s predecessor’s success. The goal is the same as always: to allow players to lead nations through the tumultuous times of an alternate 1900 to beyond. You will find that the world here is dominated by two massive superpowers, but the course is not always set out directly for a global war. It is written that politics is like chess, and chess is a game with fewer moves the better you are at it. Open warfare is but one tool in the arsenal you have in this game, and most of you will not be the powerhouses. You must take on your rivals and opponents with craft and skill, and not always on the field of battle. As is standard in my games, the ruleset you see below will not be the final ruleset for the entire game. Times change, and the rules must change with them as needed. New players are always welcome and I am more than happy to field any questions you may have about the game, how it works, and I will offer advice as requested, when I can without violating the inherent confidentiality of the mod/player Private Message relationship. I hope you all enjoy the game we have ahead of us!

Game Related Links
Background Thread
Treaty Social Group

List of Updates

The Rules of the Great Game​

The Stats

The Format


Example


Governing Your Nation

There are two key elements of ruling your nation in this game. First, your type of government and regime change. All governments have a ruler or leader who commands the respect and authority of his nation. In some nations this is an elected official, in other it is passed down without the consent of the public. You do not have control over when a ruler dies in the case of the latter. Reforming your government is entirely up to you, but be aware that there are almost always forces in place that will contest your efforts. Political reform must be done delicately, or you will risk revolt, coup, or civil war. Now on the positive side, you do not lose your nation if your government in ousted, but the instability is rarely good for the economy and military.

In democracies, you can have both an elected ruler and a legislative body that can conflict or support that elected leader. Sometimes that leader is elected directly by the public, and sometimes they are selected by the legislative body. Election times are typically mandated by a nation’s constitution, but some nations can call snap elections should the situation be dire. You do not have control over the results of elections, but do know that acting out of character for your government’s ruling party/ideology will likely result in a backlash from the public. If people do not believe they can trust their elected officials to perform the jobs they were elected to do, radicalization of the public is almost a definite scenario.

The second key domestic section of stats for your nation are your Domestic Issues. These are not always crises, but are topics of heavy discussion and debate among your population. You will always have at least one domestic issue on your plate, but usually more. Domestic Issues can and will eventually turn into crises and problems which you will have to control. You can also take a proactive approach and confront these Issues head-on but beware, you risk turning the Issue into an active crisis if you confront the situation poorly. Obviously issues will change and disappear over the years as they become more or less relevant to your people.

Economic Points and Industrial Capacity

Economic Points represent the overall size of your economy more than anything. They are used for most of the spending you will be doing as a national ruler. Economic Points are used to develop projects, build units, and create military doctrines. All nations have some level of Economic Points and will never have zero, unless fighting a war in exile. Economic Points can be banked over the years and stored up for larger purchases, if that is what you choose to do.

Industrial Capacity is a completely different beast than Economic Points. This represents a higher level of industrial sophistication and production. IC cannot be banked, and must be used in an update or it is lost. Essentially this acts as “super-EP” producing more than regular EP can. 1 IC is equal to 3 EP when it comes to most production purposes. IC can replace EP in the production of units, and is in fact required for the creation of some units based on doctrine. IC cannot be used to accelerate projects, unless specifically stated dependent upon the project. IC cannot be traded between nations.

Resources: Manpower, Supplies, and Fuel

There are three cornerstone resources that will dictate your abilities to wage war and act as a major economic competitor. These are Manpower, Supplies, and Fuel. All three of these are vital strategic assets and tools for winning friends and influencing enemies. As the game progresses, more resources may emerge as they become relevant, but that is something that is still in the air at the time of this writing. The emergence of new resources will be dependent upon my timing and availability.

Manpower is not a standard finite resource. Instead, it functions as a cap for your nation, representing the amount of people in use for military purposes. Manpower is always double of what your army cap is, representing those who remain out of work while the army wages war. You will always have 1 Manpower per Division in use, even in peacetime. During periods of military mobilization you will be able to use manpower to recover lost Army Strength dependent upon your army size. The manpower will be used up until your cap is reached, and will not return to lower levels unless you are in a peacetime mobilization status. Be careful, when you are out of manpower you are dangerously close to losing a war of attrition. Manpower will be recalculated every 10 years for each nation. Manpower cannot be traded between nations.

Supplies, unlikely manpower and fuel, are not an inherent part of generation. You must use EP or IC to produce new supplies when needed. Supplies are essential for the constant maintenance of your military, and without them you will face serious problems. If you are unable to cover your supply costs, you will face serious consequences, including attrition of Army Strength, unrest, and significantly reduced combat ability of your armed forces. To that end, supplies are almost always destroyed when strategic warfare is conducted, as they are the most common resource and most likely to be targeted by enemy forces. Supplies can also be captured by or traded between other nations.
Supply Costs
1 EP = 5 Supplies
1 IC = 15 Supplies

Fuel, while fairly unimportant to everyone besides naval powers in 1900, is likely to become an increasingly powerful resource as the game progresses. I acknowledge that historically oil did not come into widespread use in the military until well after 1900, we’re breaking from history for the purpose of the mechanics. Fuel is consumed by vehicles of any shape and size and there is only a limited amount to go around in the world. More will likely be discovered over the years, and having a source of fuel will be vital for any nation seeking to maintain a strong and modern military. Fuel can be stockpiled and traded between countries. You also always have the option to burn your stockpiles to prevent capture if a war is going poorly. Running short of fuel in a modern war will usually bring any units that rely upon it to a screeching halt, to dire consequences on the field of battle.

Alert and Mobilization

All nations are always at one of three different stages of Alert as listed in their stats: Peacetime, Partial Mobilization, and Mobilization. Peacetime is the default stage for any nation at war, and is the best for your stability and economic development. Partial mobilization would be best for arming your nations after a period of recovery, getting ready for the next war. Full Mobilization is best used when in a desperate need to throw everything you can against a similarly prepared enemy. You do not have to go to Partial Mobilization between Peacetime and Full Mobilization nor vice versa. The effects of each stage of Alert are listed below:

IMPORTANT NOTE: You must publically declare on the thread at least 48-hours before the update order deadline listed on the front page if you are going to Full Mobilization. If you do not declare the mobilization on the thread, it will not be accepted and you will only go to Partial Mobilization.

Peacetime: Army Strength replenishes by 5% each turn automatically. All units are full cost as listed in Doctrines. Armies cannot be reinforced through sacrifice of EP or IC. Domestic Issues are somewhat less likely to turn into crises.

Partial Mobilization: All units, excepting Naval Units, are 50% off their total cost, rounded down. You can reinforce Army Strength through use of EP or IC, for costs as mentioned below. EP and IC will now produce double the amount of Supplies they would in Peacetime. While you will not be penalized for having Partial Mobilization while not being at war, you may find Domestic Issues are slightly more volatile.

Full Mobilization:All units, excepting Naval Units, are 75% off their total cost, rounded down. All IC requirements for all units, excepting Naval Units, are waived and no longer apply. You can reinforce Army Strength through use of EP or IC, for costs as mentioned below. EP and IC will now produce triple the amount of Supplies they would in Peacetime. Fuel production will be increased by 50%, representing a cessation of civilian traffic and beginning of rationing. Being Fully Mobilized and not at war will have devastating effects on your national stability and economy.

If you choose not to do the math on how much you would need to reinforce your armies, you can ask me and I will provide you with the exact amount required. Obviously, the larger the army, the higher the cost of reinforcement. Costs will be taken out of your IC and EP per turn. You can always specify the amount of IC and EP you are willing to lose in the turn to reinforce your losses, and just let me do the math when it comes time to update. That is likely the easiest way to go. Of course I love you long time if you figure it out yourself.

Militaries and Warfare

The two most important factors in warfare in this game are doctrines and your planning. Doctrines are discussed in detail in the relevant posts below, and I will refrain from rehashing them here. They affect how your forces behave in the battles that make up the campaigns you will fight, and of course the more that you tailor them to fit your circumstances, the better they will perform in the heat of combat. When creating or adopting a doctrine, you should be clear on exactly what that doctrine means for the circumstances you plan on fighting in. After you are familiar with what your forces you can do, you can more effectively plan the wars you want to fight. Know the terrain you are fighting in, and you have taken one more step towards victory. As for orders, you are free to be as detailed or as vague as you would like. HINT: I like maps with arrows on them when practical.

Colonial Empires

A few lucky nations control considerable possessions overseas from their homeland. These holdings are listed somewhat uniquely in your stats and provide a certain amount of profit and/or resources to your empire. The local stats and garrisons are included in the upper stats. Do be aware that an update takes a year’s worth of time, and it is entirely possible that attacked forces can be reinforced if you have only a small garrison or no permanent garrison in a region. Colonial regions only have a single Dominant Issue, which are usually not included in the main Issues listed at the top of your nation’s stats. All of the same advice and factors that apply to national issues, apply to Colonial ones too.

Projects and Research

So you’ve done a bunch of army related stuff and you still have a bunch of EP and IC remaining. What do you do with this? Well, first of all you can invest these economic stats into projects to help develop your nation. These mostly include government-sponsored public works or military related endeavors. Really, if you have an idea for developing your nation, let me know and I will happily go over the estimated costs for your endeavor. Examples of projects that would qualify here would be hydroelectric dams, largescale permanent border fortifications, or infrastructure development. The purpose of these projects can be myriad, including aiding the development of the economy, protecting the nation from invasion, or providing aid to the people in your country that need it most.

Research in this game is not done by a tech tree like in The World Turned Upside Down or by unit designs as in Capto Iugulum. Instead, most research and technological development will be outside the hands of players, and done by private entities and individuals throughout the world. On occasion, the thoughts of these brilliant minds will turn from peaceful projects to warfare. Under particular circumstances and with the private development of new technologies, you will receive Private Messages from myself after an update. In the private message a scientist will detail the idea for a new invention and request a certain amount of EP each year until research is complete. These projects can be a number of things, and may vary in effects and scope. As a word of warning, when one person completes a scientific research project two things can happen. If it’s a hard to control technology, the entire world will also be able to get the benefits of it after a certain amount of time (never more than five years) has passed. If it’s a very specialized technology or idea with a low profile, other nations will still have to do the long process of research before they can have the benefits.

Diplomacy and Player Interaction

For those new to my games, I do expect a few things out of players when interacting on the thread both in character and out of character. Here’s the ground rules:

1. All treaties between nations, if they are meant to be public to the people of your nation, need to be proposed and signed in thread by all signatories to the treaty. I am currently planning to create a social group to post signed treaties in, for easy reference and addition of signatures if applicable. Unlike Capto Iugulum, I’m actually planning on tracking all of the treaties signed in the thread to make sure I can reference them when needed.

2. For clarity’s sake, make sure that it’s clear who you are addressing in diplomatic comments in the thread. It is assumed that any diplomacy made in the thread is public and known to all other nations.

3. If other threads and/or social groups are created for the purpose of the game, assume that anything said/done in those threads or social groups are not public to anyone who isn’t a member, unless stated otherwise.

4. Don’t be an ass.

Updates, Orders, and Contact Information

At the time of writing I am unsure on how long updates will take for this game. I estimate at least two days per update. Unlike the past two games I’ve done, the order deadline is a hard deadline, not a soft one. Orders sent after the deadline date will not be accepted. Warnings will be posted in the thread for all of you to see. This is because of the mobilization rules, which require players to give at least 48 hours warning before the order deadline when they are going to Full Mobilization. As for orders, my recommendation is to send them by Private Message. Thanks to my Retired Moderator status, I will also be retaining all orders for five turns before deletion.

Speaking of Private Messages, if you have questions that is a surefire way to reach me, and I will always respond to them, if not always immediately. I will however, try to have responses within 24 hours of receiving the message on weekdays. Alternatively, I will be available on IOTchat usually between 6-8 PM Eastern Standard Time. I am always on Steam too, and my screenname there is surprise: EQandCivfanatic. If I am in a game, I may not respond immediately, but I will most of the time, just be aware that I may not receive the messages sent over that depending on the time of day or night, and that you have a better chance of response if sent by Private Message instead. My exception to this rule is Fallout 4. If you message me while playing Fallout 4, I swear I will bring unholy wrath down upon your nation. Any other game is fine though.

Starting World Map: 1900

Army Doctrines​

All army doctrine stats are measured on a scale of 0 to 5. Each type of stat has an effect relevant to your forces and how they perform and maintain in combat. All stats are completely unlocked an open from Update 0, and you can select them at any level when creating a new doctrine. There is no limit or restriction on the amount of points you place into each stat, beyond what it will cost to maintain and build your units. The cost for creating a new doctrine is 50 EP + 1 EP per every division you have. IC cannot be used to create a new doctrine. On the other side of that, adopting a new doctrine from one created by another nation costs 2 EP per every division, assuming you have the original nation’s permission to adopt their doctrine. Costs for divisions, both in purchasing and supply are affected by the doctrine you possess. Divisions can be produced by one nation and traded to another, representing arms training and support, assuming that both nations share the same Doctrine. Lastly, as the game progresses, some types of divisions can only be purchased if you have a doctrine which has a certain level of stats.

Mobilization
Peacetime: All units are full cost, Army Strength automatically replenishes
Partial Mobilization: All units are 50% discounted in purchase costs. (Rounded Down)
Full Mobilization: All units are 75% discounted in purchase costs and all usual IC requirements for Infantry are eliminated. (Rounded Down)

Doctrine Stats
Fire Support: The emphasis your doctrine places upon the use of artillery and the amount of artillery in your unit. It provides additional firepower to your unit allowing them to attack harder targets with more success. Each point of Fire Support causes your units to cost an additional 1 EP to build. NOTE: having 0 in Fire Support does not mean that you have no artillery, just that you have very little and ineffective artillery.

Logistical Support: The emphasis your doctrine places upon logistical/hospital management and support for your units. This stat affects how well you are able to maintain longer and longer supply lines. Each point of Logistical Support will cause your units to consume an additional 1 supply each turn.

Specialization: This emphasizes the amount of specialized units and equipment that each of your divisions possesses. These include things like engineering brigades and other items and units that assist in specific scenarios. Each point of Specialization will increase the supply and fuel costs of your units by 1 each per turn.

Motorization: The amount of trucks and other vehicles used to move your divisions across the map. Each point of motorization causes your units to consume 1 extra unit of fuel each turn and an additional 1 EP to build.

Training: The training stat affects how much training your new divisions receive before they are considered to be combat ready. The higher your training stat the better your forces will perform in battle. Each point of Training will increase the cost of creating new divisions by 1 EP.

Extreme Weather Support: This stat affects how well your forces perform in extreme cold or hot climates, and they will fight better in more hostile environments. Each point of Extreme Weather Support causes your units to consume an additional 1 supply each turn.

Technology: This stat affects how integrated modern technologies and relevant training are into your units. This can mean all sorts of things from year to year, but staying on top of the latest innovations is a very expensive and difficult task. Your technology stat alone is not decisive and mostly just covers “support” technologies for units, such as small arms or medicine. Each point in Technology adds 1 IC to the cost of your units, and all units consume and additional 1 Supply each turn.

Centralization: This stat affects how much direct control and loyalty your central government has over the army. The lower your centralization, the more loyalty your soldiers have to their leaders than to the nation, but the more likely they are to take effective independent action if cut off. The higher your centralization, the more loyalty your government commands, but they also will be less effective when cut off from central command.
NOTE: Your officer corps will be very upset if you attempt to reform from a lower centralization level to a higher one. In unstable areas or if you do a massive change all at once, you could face a revolt in the military, which may lead to regime change or civil war.

Policing: This stat is a sliding scale between highly effective occupation tactics (5) and brutal repression of the occupied territories (0). A higher policing rating reflects a occupation designed to win hearts and minds, while a lower one involves shooting partisans and cracking down on the slightest dissent. Both ends of the spectrum have their own benefits and detractions, related to the region or area you are invading or occupying.

Available Doctrines​

Navy Units and Doctrines​

Navy doctrines are significantly less sophisticated than those of the armies, in terms of game mechanics. They do not affect price or supply costs of your units, but rather reflect the sorts of operations they could be the most effective at. All doctrines operate on a sliding scale of 0 to 5, with 0 being the “left” end of the scale and 5 being the “right” end of the scale. Your doctrine should be tailored towards the areas or types of operations that you would like your naval officers to be best trained for, and will affect their performance. As an example, you would not want to send a coast guard emphasized fleet out to wage war on the open ocean, as they would be at their least effective status in such a scenario. To develop a new doctrine it will cost 50 EP + 1 EP for every naval unit your fleet possesses. You may adopt another nation’s naval doctrine (or one of the generic doctrines) for 2 EP for every unit, assuming you have the relevant nation’s permission. As unit costs are not dependent upon doctrine, you can see the prices for all naval units below. Ships can be traded between any nation, regardless of existing doctrine.

Naval Unit Costs

Over time, naval vessels will have to be upgraded. Every ten years, a new generation of warships will emerge, regularly and on schedule. You will be allowed to upgrade old craft or simply build new ones to supplement the old. The way upgrading works is that ships can be scrapped for 50% of the cost used to build them, and then the returned IC can be used to immediately build new vessels.

Destroyer Squadron: A task force of smaller light warships typically best at escort and coastal patrol operations. Costs 2 IC to build. Requires 3 Supplies and 1 Fuel per turn to maintain

Cruiser Squadron: A task force of cruisers that act as a balance between capital ships for combat and destroyers for escorts. Costs 4 IC to build. Requires 6 Supplies and 2 Fuel per turn to maintain

Capital Ship: A dreadnought, battleship or whatever you would like to call them. These kings of the sea are the most effective at ship to ship combat and are the pride of the navies of 1900. Expensive to build and operate, they are still the most effective weapons for fighting on the high seas. Costs 8 IC to build. Requires 10 Supplies and 3 Fuel per turn to maintain.

Doctrine Stats

Interdiction/Escort: A low rating in this field indicates emphasis on intercepting merchant shipping and commerce, while a high rating in this field indicates emphasis on protecting merchant shipping.

Coastal Defense/High Seas Operation: A low rating in this field indicates emphasis on protection of coastlines, while a high rating in this field indicates emphasis on operating in open oceans.

Independent Command/Centralized Command: A low rating in this field indicates that each vessel’s captain is an independent operator, capable of making strategic decisions. A high rating in this field indicates that any action by a naval vessel must be approved of by high command.

Army Support/Independent Branch of Service: A low rating in this field indicates that the navy exists solely to support the army. A high rating in this field indicates that the navy is ferociously independent of any other branch of service.

High Rate of Fire/Highly Accurate Fire: A low rating in this field means that the fleet emphasizes putting a lot of lead in the air. A high rating in this field means that the fleet emphasizes accurate and well-aimed shots as opposed to a large number of shots.

Available Doctrines​

I'm going to try to actually keep this thread relevant over time, so hurrah for holding posts.

All work and no play makes EQ a dull boy.

Going to need one more.

As of after this post, you may now post. Just be aware that some of the proposed rules, maps, and stats have changed since the background thread discussion, because of said discussion. Shall we get this party started?

República Mexicana reporting in.

Almost forgot to mention, if anyone would like to contest any of the stats as they currently exist, the time to do it is before the first update. I will be far more open to stat changes in the next six days than I will be afterward. Make sure you can justify the changes you want made.

National Facts:
The College of Kings (1900)

Nitpick: The entire Qajar dynasty never used the title "sultan." Shah is the correct title

edit: Also it might just be me but Persia and Ottomans' colours are rather difficult to tell apart on the map.

The USA is present.

From Philip Andrews, US Ambassador to the CSA,
To the administration of President Benjamin Tillman of the CSA (@Thomas.Berubeg)

We need to talk. (OOC: skype later?)

Poland objects heavily to its mighty Navy being classified as a "Coastal Defense Fleet" and demands this be rectified post-haste!

@JK: Yes you are still Confederation of the Rhine.

@TheLastJacobite: Nyet.

EQandcivfanatic said:

@TheLastJacobite: Nyet.

Click to expand...

OOC: But that would mean that Prussia and myself would be the only European nations with colonies overseas and no High Seas Doctrine. This would be in spite of smaller nations (in terms of size, EP and/or IC)- namely Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Westphalia, the CSA ((which has no colonies)) and Japan- all possessing a high seas naval doctrine. It hardly seems fitting. Granted, the Polish and Prussian colonies are smaller and newer than most, but I can't imagine either nation would develop a navy that is unable to either defend or even reach their colonies

The navies of both Prussia and Poland are as you say new to the colonial empire bit, and their navies have always been oriented towards coastal defense. Due to the small size of the navies and colonies in question, both Prussia and Poland have had to acknowledge the fact that they can't really contest at sea either of the major powers should they decide to take the colonies over. Therefore, Coastal Defense is more suited of a doctrine in the waters of the Baltic, where naval conflict is far more likely to take place. of course if you disagree, feel free to adopt a relevant new doctrine.