Botwawki 2.6

Yeah, definitely pretty cool to read through though like SouthernKing, it's not really stuff I'm familiar with.
 
So, using this codex as a template, I can create codices for your factions as well relatively faster. If you'd like to have your nation codified (which eventually may let us play some wargaming campaigns in the world of Botwawki 2.6), I need the following stuff from you:

1. Brief history of your nation based on the events of the game, plus any other lore you'd like to include;
2. General concepts you'd like your codex to reflect. The Special Rules section of my codex gives you a general idea of what it means: tribal/pioneer, melee-oriented, lightly armored, offensive army. I'll interpret your description in terms of game mechanics later;
3. List of units you'd like the codex to feature + whatever lore that you can provide for them. I'll take care of stats, points, and stuff like that. Please fill out each of these unit types:
- HQ - various leaders of your army;
- Special Characters - personalized, unique leaders with interesting lore. Where possible, use the characters from the game, but you're not limited to them;
- Elite - best fighters your army can feature, usually close-quarter-oriented as they're most likely to serve as shock troops and leaders' retinues;
- Troops - the meat of your army, basic units that will be doing most of the ground work;
- Fast Attack - most mobile units your army can offer, plus various flankers, cavalry, light flyers, light ground vehicles, etc.
- Heavy Support - big guns and heavy armor: artillery, heavy-weapon squads, armored vehicles if you have them, etc.

If you have a particularly clear vision of what you want, feel free to just write lore/description for all special abilities and units you'd like to see, and I'll convert it into the language of numbers and rules.

Now, I can change and shuffle stuff around, but I'll stick to your vision. The more info you provide, the better, because otherwise I'd have to do more work, and my bandwidth is limited.

Once we have a few codices, we may try to play a campaign using them. As usual, knowledge of game mechanics is not necessary for that.
 
The Roots of the Sunshine kingdom, despite it’s important presence in Alabama, are in the wastes that bare their name. Originating amongst the descendants of the US space agency, they created one of the earliest, and most powerful states in florida. Uniting a coalition of independent city-states under the Parliamentary monarchy of the Bede dynasty, The Sunshine Kingdom first repelled the Minorne, creating a last great alliance and leading them to battle against the inhuman hordes. It was at the walls of Nasacity, their capital, that this great evil was finally undone. In the years following, The Kingdom grew and prospered, even recovering and activating a GECK, building a working rail line, and furthering Scientific advances both through the development of numerous important technologies, but also the creation of the Royal Smithsonian archaeological society. Throughout all of this, the Kingdom fought tooth and nail against the spreading blight of slavery. It was this fight that eventually brought them down, as they were betrayed. Jacksonia, jealous of the Kingdom’s might and power, turned on them, destroying what had been florida’s last great civilizing light. The Kingdom took what they could, and escaped, fleeing north. To their dismay, they found that slavery was prominent even in those much less civilized lands. With the help of the railroad, an anti-slavery organization, the Sunshine Kingdom helped a rising amongst the slaves of Fort Rome, and assumed control of that barbaric factions resource. From their New Bunker of the Queen’s Citadel, power armored patrols crippled much of the slave trade in the south.
2. Semi-Feudal. Scarred, violently anti-slavery. Good is not nice.
3. Units:
- HQ - various leaders of your army;
- Queen Laura Bede the Breaker of Chains, Protector of the Sun, and Liberator of Rome, Walker of the Stars, and Queen of the M. Younger daughter of the first Queen, Jayne Bede, she was the darling child of the Kingdom, precocious, adorable, and loving. It was rumored that she even adventured the wastes, fighting along side a vault dweller, and, with him, came across ancient secrets which she now uses to make life better for her people.
Sam Bede Once married to Tiffany Jackson, on the fateful night that Jacksonia launched it’s invasion, he was set upon by the Jacksonian Secret Police. Imprisoned, he bided his time until it he was able to escape, before overpowering his captors and carving a path of destruction northwards as he joined up with his sister.
Harding Once a slave of Fort Rome, he lead the revolution in the catacombs of the bunker, personally slaying the overseer of the slave barracks and inciting his compatriots to rise. He is now a general of the army and a significant voice in the congress, advocating against slavery everywhere.
Jayne Bede Former queen, stepped down in the wake of a disastrous expedition she ordered. After her tenure as queen, she dedicated herself to the Royal Archaeological society, which she championed. Personally leading countless expeditions into the ruins of the old world, she was instrumental in planning the escape route the Kingdom took northwards.
Marjorie Morrow: Diplomat, currently working with the Transmissippian confederation to build ties and help destroy slavery.
Titus Nasus: Former Fort Rome Politician, saw the way the wind was blowing during the revolution. Helped keep a large number of slaves safe from his compatriots, and was rewarded with leverage in the new regime. A leader in the Congress.
- Elite - Power Armored, equipped with plasma weapons and heavy weapons.
- Troops - Chain-mailed soldiers, usually equipped with laser weaponry and a sword strapped to their hip.
- Fast Attack - See above, but mounted on motorcycles. Maybe snipers.
- Heavy Support - Truck mounted Howitzers.
 
The Roots of the Sunshine kingdom, despite it’s important presence in Alabama, are in the wastes that bare their name. Originating amongst the descendants of the US space agency, they created one of the earliest, and most powerful states in florida. Uniting a coalition of independent city-states under the Parliamentary monarchy of the Bede dynasty, The Sunshine Kingdom first repelled the Minorne, creating a last great alliance and leading them to battle against the inhuman hordes. It was at the walls of Nasacity, their capital, that this great evil was finally undone. In the years following, The Kingdom grew and prospered, even recovering and activating a GECK, building a working rail line, and furthering Scientific advances both through the development of numerous important technologies, but also the creation of the Royal Smithsonian archaeological society. Throughout all of this, the Kingdom fought tooth and nail against the spreading blight of slavery. It was this fight that eventually brought them down, as they were betrayed. Jacksonia, jealous of the Kingdom’s might and power, turned on them, destroying what had been florida’s last great civilizing light. The Kingdom took what they could, and escaped, fleeing north. To their dismay, they found that slavery was prominent even in those much less civilized lands. With the help of the railroad, an anti-slavery organization, the Sunshine Kingdom helped a rising amongst the slaves of Fort Rome, and assumed control of that barbaric factions resource. From their New Bunker of the Queen’s Citadel, power armored patrols crippled much of the slave trade in the south.
2. Semi-Feudal. Scarred, violently anti-slavery. Good is not nice.
3. Units:
- HQ - various leaders of your army;
- Queen Laura Bede the Breaker of Chains, Protector of the Sun, and Liberator of Rome, Walker of the Stars, and Queen of the M. Younger daughter of the first Queen, Jayne Bede, she was the darling child of the Kingdom, precocious, adorable, and loving. It was rumored that she even adventured the wastes, fighting along side a vault dweller, and, with him, came across ancient secrets which she now uses to make life better for her people.
Sam Bede Once married to Tiffany Jackson, on the fateful night that Jacksonia launched it’s invasion, he was set upon by the Jacksonian Secret Police. Imprisoned, he bided his time until it he was able to escape, before overpowering his captors and carving a path of destruction northwards as he joined up with his sister.
Harding Once a slave of Fort Rome, he lead the revolution in the catacombs of the bunker, personally slaying the overseer of the slave barracks and inciting his compatriots to rise. He is now a general of the army and a significant voice in the congress, advocating against slavery everywhere.
Jayne Bede Former queen, stepped down in the wake of a disastrous expedition she ordered. After her tenure as queen, she dedicated herself to the Royal Archaeological society, which she championed. Personally leading countless expeditions into the ruins of the old world, she was instrumental in planning the escape route the Kingdom took northwards.
Marjorie Morrow: Diplomat, currently working with the Transmissippian confederation to build ties and help destroy slavery.
Titus Nasus: Former Fort Rome Politician, saw the way the wind was blowing during the revolution. Helped keep a large number of slaves safe from his compatriots, and was rewarded with leverage in the new regime. A leader in the Congress.
- Elite - Power Armored, equipped with plasma weapons and heavy weapons.
- Troops - Chain-mailed soldiers, usually equipped with laser weaponry and a sword strapped to their hip.
- Fast Attack - See above, but mounted on motorcycles. Maybe snipers.
- Heavy Support - Truck mounted Howitzers.
Nice. Thank you.

For the Sunshine Kingdom, I've been toying with the idea of "knightly honor" as an abstract resource that boosts the performance of the whole army when particular feats are performed on the battlefield. For instance, characters winning character challenge (pretty much duels between commanders or officers) gives the player some honor points to spend, while not accepting character challenges is viewed as cowardly behavior and leads to losing honor points. Different units may have various honor rules. It's a hard-to-balance feature, but extremely fun to play with.

Another feature I'm thinking of adding is Noble Houses. Basically, any non-character unit can be marked as belonging to one or another Noble Houses (reflecting the neo-feudal structure of your country), thus giving them some bonuses and maluses on the battlefield. For example, when two Elite units from two competing Noble Houses are located near each other on the battlefield, they may be prone to breaking the discipline and charging the enemy with the goal of proving they're better than the other House's retainers. Such charge may be very powerful, but out of player's control. (That's just an example, there may be more "neo-feudal behaviors.") Do you want to give me ~4 Noble Houses and their lore, so that I could use them for that feature?

I'd also include in your army the Royal Archaeologist that ambushed the Traveler twice in the Adventures Of The Traveler. Can't remember his name, but I'll find it.

Also, I don't remember: what are the types of vehicles your faction ever deployed? Bikes, trucks, artillery trucks, plus regular field artillery? Is that all? Any aviation? Do you want to nickname any of your vehicle models (e.g., "T-34," "Tiger," etc.)?
 
Nice. Thank you.

For the Sunshine Kingdom, I've been toying with the idea of "knightly honor" as an abstract resource that boosts the performance of the whole army when particular feats are performed on the battlefield. For instance, characters winning character challenge (pretty much duels between commanders or officers) gives the player some honor points to spend, while not accepting character challenges is viewed as cowardly behavior and leads to losing honor points. Different units may have various honor rules. It's a hard-to-balance feature, but extremely fun to play with.

Another feature I'm thinking of adding is Noble Houses. Basically, any non-character unit can be marked as belonging to one or another Noble Houses (reflecting the neo-feudal structure of your country), thus giving them some bonuses and maluses on the battlefield. For example, when two Elite units from two competing Noble Houses are located near each other on the battlefield, they may be prone to breaking the discipline and charging the enemy with the goal of proving they're better than the other House's retainers. Such charge may be very powerful, but out of player's control. (That's just an example, there may be more "neo-feudal behaviors.") Do you want to give me ~4 Noble Houses and their lore, so that I could use them for that feature?

I'd also include in your army the Royal Archaeologist that ambushed the Traveler twice in the Adventures Of The Traveler. Can't remember his name, but I'll find it.

Also, I don't remember: what are the types of vehicles your faction ever deployed? Bikes, trucks, artillery trucks, plus regular field artillery? Is that all? Any aviation? Do you want to nickname any of your vehicle models (e.g., "T-34," "Tiger," etc.)?


Ooooh, I like all of that!


For Noble families: See here

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=13210942&postcount=307
 
Some unit ideas I have so far for the Sunshine Kingdom:

Elite:
Spoiler :
Heraldic Retainers: not the most heavily armored troops with heavy pavise shields and various laser assault guns. As suggested by the unit name, they HAVE to be given Noble House heraldry. Their key feature is formation fighting: they may create a defensive "sheltron" or an offensive "manipule." Each of these formations gives them good fighting bonuses, but limits their mobility and forces them to "crowd" very close, making them vulnerable to ordnance weapons (such as artillery). In general, the unit is better suited for protecting objectives rather than charging ahead.

Knights-errant: basically, and assault unit that is going to be super-specialized on using the Honor system I described above. Haven't thought it through much more yet.

"Excalibur" Armored Truck: basically an improvised armored truck with a squad of shotgunners and flamethrowers inside. Is good for tank-shocking enemy troops and then charging them from inside the vehicle "viking-style."

Damned Paladins: elite warrior-monks from the Cult of the Damned. Not as tough or mobile as other elite units, plus not benefiting from the Noble House Heraldry or the Honor rules. However, they cause fear, which helps breaking enemies in close combat.


Troops:
Spoiler :
Men-at-Arms: somewhat better armed basic shooting unit. Good, sturdy, not as costly as the elite stormtroopers, although not anywhere as powerful.

Exodite Levy: very cheap, rag-tag militia unit that compensates with amount of firepower for the lack of shooting skills. Still better than Transmississippian Youngboolds, albeit not as agile.

Chainbreakers: ex-slaves and flagellants. A cheap, large, soft, but nigh-unbreakable offensive unit that can do a lot of damage when/if it reaches the enemy.


Fast Attack:
Spoiler :
Railroad Men: sneaky, flanking unit of heavy gunners from the Railroad organization (an anti-slavery group). I can't resist arming them with railguns, which makes them a good tank-killer force as well.

Broken Lances: motorbike-riding charge "cavalry." For their charge, they use explosive lances similar to the ones featured in "Mad Max: Fury Road," but then just fight regularly. The "broken" part of the unit name is a double reference to the Renaissance Italian heavy cavalry and to the BOTWAWKI lore (they're members of Noble Houses that got wiped out during the Jacksonian Betrayal, so they're a sort of "the last of the Mahicans").

Royal Dragoons: laser shooting "cavalry" on quadracycles, with access to heavier plasma weapons to kill off tanks. Not cheap, but very flexible, as one could imagine. Can't belong to any Noble House, since they're an exclusively royal force. Honor rules may still apply.

Sons of Oscar Strike Squad: very light but equally deadly close combat unit. Pretty much a small group of assassins that can very precisely target enemy units in almost suicide attacks.


Heavy Support:
Spoiler :
Astroknights: power-armored knights with tons of heavy plasma weaponry. The name is a bastardized word "astronauts" who in the old Nasa written tradition were considered to be star-travelling heroes and champions of the ancient, pre-war times. One of the rare units in the army list that can't be given a Noble House heraldry (thus giving it bonuses and maluses as established in the previous post), because Astroknights serve personally to the Queen and to the Crown in general.

Robot Serfs: A group of Mr.Hardy's and Protectrons. Obviously doesn't use any of the Honor or Heraldry systems. Their AI may sometimes malfunction, but otherwise they're pretty sturdy by the Wasteland criteria.

"Camelot" Field Howitzer: a heavy gun that fires ordnance shells across almost the entire battlefield. Obviously vulnerable to rear attacks that can wipe out the crew.

"Avalon" Assault Truck: an improvised "assault gun" made out of a truck, heavy armor screens, and a mortar. Not the best fighting vehicle in the Wasteland, but still better than none.


Also, many units in the list will be able to include up to one Duelist in them (similar to how Transmississippian units may include up to one Medicine-Man usually). Duelists may replace unit leaders in personal challenges against enemy fighters without making the army lose any Honor points. On the other side, they don't gain any Honor points either. Just a socially acceptable (for the Sunshiners) way to not risk getting killed in a duel.

Any comments? Additions? Changes?
 
Some unit ideas I have so far for the Sunshine Kingdom:

Elite:
Spoiler :
Heraldic Retainers: not the most heavily armored troops with heavy pavise shields and various laser assault guns. As suggested by the unit name, they HAVE to be given Noble House heraldry. Their key feature is formation fighting: they may create a defensive "sheltron" or an offensive "manipule." Each of these formations gives them good fighting bonuses, but limits their mobility and forces them to "crowd" very close, making them vulnerable to ordnance weapons (such as artillery). In general, the unit is better suited for protecting objectives rather than charging ahead.

Knights-errant: basically, and assault unit that is going to be super-specialized on using the Honor system I described above. Haven't thought it through much more yet.

"Excalibur" Armored Truck: basically an improvised armored truck with a squad of shotgunners and flamethrowers inside. Is good for tank-shocking enemy troops and then charging them from inside the vehicle "viking-style."

Damned Paladins: elite warrior-monks from the Cult of the Damned. Not as tough or mobile as other elite units, plus not benefiting from the Noble House Heraldry or the Honor rules. However, they cause fear, which helps breaking enemies in close combat.


Troops:
Spoiler :
Men-at-Arms: somewhat better armed basic shooting unit. Good, sturdy, not as costly as the elite stormtroopers, although not anywhere as powerful.

Exodite Levy: very cheap, rag-tag militia unit that compensates with amount of firepower for the lack of shooting skills. Still better than Transmississippian Youngboolds, albeit not as agile.

Chainbreakers: ex-slaves and flagellants. A cheap, large, soft, but nigh-unbreakable offensive unit that can do a lot of damage when/if it reaches the enemy.


Fast Attack:
Spoiler :
Railroad Men: sneaky, flanking unit of heavy gunners from the Railroad organization (an anti-slavery group). I can't resist arming them with railguns, which makes them a good tank-killer force as well.

Broken Lances: motorbike-riding charge "cavalry." For their charge, they use explosive lances similar to the ones featured in "Mad Max: Fury Road," but then just fight regularly. The "broken" part of the unit name is a double reference to the Renaissance Italian heavy cavalry and to the BOTWAWKI lore (they're members of Noble Houses that got wiped out during the Jacksonian Betrayal, so they're a sort of "the last of the Mahicans").

Royal Dragoons: laser shooting "cavalry" on quadracycles, with access to heavier plasma weapons to kill off tanks. Not cheap, but very flexible, as one could imagine. Can't belong to any Noble House, since they're an exclusively royal force. Honor rules may still apply.

Sons of Oscar Strike Squad: very light but equally deadly close combat unit. Pretty much a small group of assassins that can very precisely target enemy units in almost suicide attacks.


Heavy Support:
Spoiler :
Astroknights: power-armored knights with tons of heavy plasma weaponry. The name is a bastardized word "astronauts" who in the old Nasa written tradition were considered to be star-travelling heroes and champions of the ancient, pre-war times. One of the rare units in the army list that can't be given a Noble House heraldry (thus giving it bonuses and maluses as established in the previous post), because Astroknights server personally to the Queen and to the Crown in general.

Robot Serfs: A group of Mr.Hardy's and Protectrons. Obviously doesn't use any of the Honor or Heraldry systems. Their AI may sometimes malfunction, but otherwise they're pretty sturdy by the Wasteland criteria.

"Camelot" Field Howitzer: a heavy gun that fires ordnance shells across almost the entire battlefield. Obviously vulnerable to rear attacks that can wipe out the crew.

"Avalon" Assault Truck: an improvised "assault gun" made out of a truck, heavy armor screens, and a mortar. Not the best fighting vehicle in the Wasteland, but still better than none.


Also, many units in the list will be able to include up to one Duelist in them (similar to how Transmississippian units may include up to one Medicine-Man usually). Duelists may replace unit leaders in personal challenges against enemy fighters without making the army lose any Honor points. On the other side, they don't gain any Honor points either. Just a socially acceptable (for the Sunshiners) way to not risk getting killed in a duel.

Any comments? Additions? Changes?

Looks good: One thing, though... the Heraldic aspect of the SK was originally closely tied to their power armor, and nobles would often customize their suits of armor to represent their heraldry. it might be interesting to incorporate that somehow.

Edit: maybe find a way to distinguish the Astroknights (Very fallout of a name, by the way) from power armored Noble soldiers themselves?
 
Looks good: One thing, though... the Heraldic aspect of the SK was originally closely tied to their power armor, and nobles would often customize their suits of armor to represent their heraldry. it might be interesting to incorporate that somehow.
That aspect is covered in WH40k by conversion of models:
577322_558652414169592_473998343_n.jpg


I'd imagine, different Noble Houses would get different buffs and debuffs, representing customization of power-armor suits.
 
Broken Lances: motorbike-riding charge "cavalry." For their charge, they use explosive lances similar to the ones featured in "Mad Max: Fury Road," but then just fight regularly. The "broken" part of the unit name is a double reference to the Renaissance Italian heavy cavalry and to the BOTWAWKI lore (they're members of Noble Houses that got wiped out during the Jacksonian Betrayal, so they're a sort of "the last of the Mahicans").

is pretty cool.


I'm excited to read what you come up with.
 
I'll write some stuff up, inc. some rule ideas, but its been probably 4 editions between the last time I played warhams and now so i don't know how relevant my ideas are. When you're done with the Sunshine Kingdom and if you want to try another codex I'm happy to help with something for the Raider Federation.

I'm kind of imagining this being the federation at their greatest height, between the conquest of Albany and their destruction. Its brief, but hey, they were pretty meteoric so I like them anyway..

4LSbWXZ.png


The Raider Federation

Raiders, what is best in life? To crush your enemies, to hear the lamentations of their women, to see them driven before you!
-Nishapur first Warlord of the Raider Federation.

Spoiler history. warning: kinda long :

The Raider Federation, for its brief but bright existence, was the scourge of the Georgia Badlands. Singlehandedly, the assemblage of savage tribes and bloodthirsty raiders set back the progress of civilisation in the Wasteland by decades, destroying strong and prosperous communities and spreading chaos and savagery across the Badlands in the name of the destruction of civilisation.

Origins of the Federation
The story of the Raider Federation originates from the city of the Pitt, far to the north. The Pitt was an eternal warzone, where only the strong survived, fighting over the only functioning steelmills in the former Americas. The Pitt bred thousands of strong and savage warriors, who lived for violence and bloodshed, but even this did not save it when the Brotherhood of Steel descended on the pit of violence and carnage that it had become. While the Brotherhood swiftly left after clearing the city, bringing it under the rule of Assur and bringing about a new age in the Pitt, many bands of the Pitt's denizens fled the city seeking an easier place to make their fortune. One such vast band, named themselves the Steelmen, left the city carrying a vast array of weapons and vehicles, seeking a new place to make their home.

Arrival in the Sunshine Wasteland
The Steelmen traveled south, hearing of the burgeoning prosperity of the Sunshine Wastelands and seeing a new opportunity for soft, rich settlers to plunder. The vast horde reached the Georgia Reclamation District in 2259, following their Pittmen cousins in their assault on the GRD. After savagely falling upon the town of Calhoun and killing or enslaving its population, the Steelmen left one woman alive - to tell the Enclave of their power, and to demand tribute.

The GRD initially aquiesced, but they swiftly formulated a plan against the raiders. Leaving the tribute as bait at the town of Woodstock, they shelled the area when the Steelman arrived to collect their tribute, and set their militia to flank and destroy the horde when it came. However, Nishapur had other plans - he had sent his slaves with a token force to seize the food before swinging west and then south. By chance, he avoided the shelling, with the panicking slaves and their handlers recieving the brunt of the shells and the militia's attack. The terrified Steelmen slaves, regressing to almost beastlike tendencies during the battle, fought viciously, packed in by the environment and under attack, detonating their collars to kill even more GRD militiamen, while the Steelmen themselves punched through the flanking forces and escaped. Evacuating from the carnage south, they came across the raiders known as the Quislings, who to the surprise of the Steelmen, willingly offered themselves up as slaves to escape their defeat by settled villagers.

The Battle of Woodstock turned a new branch of thought in Nishapur's cunning mind. He realised that the civilised people were expanding into the Georgia Badlands, a haven for what he felt was a unique and, most importantly, strong culture on the verge of dying out at the hands of the forces of civilisation. Not only was his band driven back by the GRD, other bands of raiders were so readily defeated that they were willing to submit to slavery to escape. Nishapur realised that the only way to defeat these soft, weak villagers, who were nonetheless capable of inflicting great disaster upon the scattered raiders with the brunt of their forces, was to unite the Badlands under the rule of one, strongest tribe, to direct them against the civilised peoples of the Sunshine Wasteland with unity, and to take the settlers and their peasants as slaves. Nishapur vowed that the Steelmen would be that tribe.

Formation
Moving southwards towards the burgeoning Atom Union, Nishapur sent emmisaries to the other raiders of the Badlands, notably the Spartans. Led by King Leonidas, the Spartans were a tribe from the far west, across the Mississipi, remnants of a great slaver empire. Formidable and disciplined, nonetheless the Spartans had been driven back from Dawson by the Atom Union, meeting the Steelmen on thier retreat. The Steelmen offered them vassalage - to join the Steelmen as a subject tribe, perpetually in fief to the Warlord of the new Raider Federation. Alongside the Spartans, the Steelmen fell upon the town of Dawson.

The Steelmen and their new allies attacked the town with Nishapur's characteristic brutal cunning. Its militia was felled by a barrage of artillery fire and heavy weaponry, before the raiders fell upon it. Its population was slaughtered or taken into slavery, while resistance was crushed with overwhelming force.

Allying with another group of raiders, the Westerlings, who had fled the encroach of a powerful force in the far West and found themselves fleeing again from the Maritime Collective, the Steelmen fell upon the rest of the Atom Union. Albany resisted greatly, but even the detonation of its reactor could not halt their conquest. With the fall of the Atom Union, a culture that once was the strongest outpost of civilisation in the Badlands, the Steelmen parcelled out its territories to their new allies. With this, the Steelmen were reformed from rampaging horde to organised raider empire, and the rallying cry of the Raider Federation went forth - join us, and conquer!

The Federation
The Raider Federation was organised as a confederation of tribes, including the Steelmen, the Westerlings, and the Spartans, along with smaller raider bands recruited on the way - Quislings, Kaisers, Halestorms, Deatheaters, Bloodfangs, Beasstmen, Kings of Kaos, and many others. All of these were united under the rule of the Warlord, Nishapur, though they all had their own customs and practices, and their chiefs still ruled. They were all, however, united in their practices of slavery - the backbone of the Raider Federation's economy. Slavery was entirely necessary to the Federation's functioning - few raiders new much except for war, combat, and battle. The day to day production, construction, and food gathering of the Federation was carried out by slaves. The Federation spent most of its existence petrified of a slave uprising, and would be as brutal and savage as it could possibly be to deter it. This was carried out in Nishapur's typical brutally cunning way - when reports were heard that the sons of Oscar had infiltrated the slaves, Nishapur had the 5 most rebellious, as well as the two slaves geographically closest to each of them, publically beaten to death in front of the other slaves as a message - associate with the seditious slaves, and you will become another example to the rest. A week later, the slaves who were most isolated from their peers were taken and executed - Nishapur had the slaves identify their leaders for him.

Also common to all the Raider Federation's component tribes was their excessive cruelty, mostly for sport and to keep the slaves in line. Admittance to the Steelmen and later the Federation on an individual basis was rooted in their ability to beat down a member in a fight - if they failed, or refused to take part, the applicant would be taken as a slave. The Federation treated their slaves as chattel, and anyone not a Raider as a slave in waiting, and were ready and willing to inflict acts of great savagery on them. The construction of a vast Arena in Conquestville was used for public executions and fights to the death, and frequently applicants would find their defeats or victories viewed by hundreds of hooting raiders. The love of strenght was also common to all members of the Federation - several tribes, such as the Halestorms and Kaisers, were recruited after their leaders were defeated in a combat by champion by the Federation emissaries. Leadership of the Steelmen and later the Federation, as well as many of the Raider Federation's vassal tribes, was decided by single combat - Nishapur and Nebuzzar fended off many comers to establish their rulership.

Fall of the Federation
Despite their successes, the glories of the Raider Federation were shortlived. The Raiders were preparing for an attack on Waycross, further plunging the Georgia Badlands into Chaos, when Jacksonian emissaries approached with a proposition. They would destroy the bases of the Enclave to the south in the Florida Reclamation District, allowing the Raider Federation to destroy the Vault dwellers and potentially seize the cloning machine that formed the core of the FRD. Nishapur drew up grand schemes with the device - a horde of clones, able to be created at will, pointed at their enemies in vast rampaging hordes - an end to want. He mobilised the full horde of the Raider Federation, and descended upon the FRD, savaging Nukaloosa and putting it to the sword. However, the Jacksonian attack on the Enclave's base was a disaster, and the Enclave deployed a dozen vertiberds and a hundred mininukes on the horde. The resulting battle was a disaster, and with barely any warriors left and outnumbered by slaves six-to-one, the Federation collapsed. The slaves of Arlington slaughtered the Westerlings, while a similar slave revolt paralysed Conquestville. The Spartans packed up and left. Nishapur died at the Glowing Fields in a nuclear fire, but his mantle was picked up by a remaining warrior, Nebuzzar, who was able to restore order in Conquestville and butchered dozens of slaves themselves.

With the oncoming retaliation by the Enclave immiment, and after slaughtering several ambitious Steelmen who sought leadership for themselves in single combat, Nebuzzar returned the Raider Federation to its original roots. After butchering the slaves remaining for meat, Nebuzzar took his horde east, towards relative safety and abandoning their shortlived empire. There, they raided caravans and continued their savagery, looting and living a similar existence to the other Raider tribes of the area and losing much of their distinctiveness, before Nebuzzar died at the hands of a lucky caravaneer. The remaining Raiders resolved to move north, back to the Pitt, where Ashur was establishing his empire, and had need of strong enforcers. Nishapur's dream of the Raider Federation destroying all of the Sunshine Wasteland had never come to pass, and they faded into the pages of history as many raiders do - but for a brief, bright moment, all would remember how the Raider Federation united the Georgia Badlands into the most powerful force in the Sunshine Wasteland, and how all the Wasteland trembled at their name, and the bloody shadow they cast over a nascent civilization.


2. Basically the Raider Federation are raiders who are attempting to unite in order to destroy civilisation under a particularly charismatic and badass ruler. Their probably fairly melee oriented, but they've got a plentiful supply of (especially) 1-H and 2-H guns so I don't know. They had a handful of power armour suits, so that would probably be limited to the elites and the leaders, but there were a lot of high tech melee weapons. They'd definitely be very offensive. The Federation is also very clearly a federation of raiders. There's a bunch of different tribes, of which a couple are super dominant, so its possible you could a similar thing to the hosts. I dunno, maybe you don't want to repeat that, but they're not exactly homogenous. They also have a ton of slaves and are pretty savage.

3. Units:
- HQ/Special Characters:
--Nishapur: first Warlord of the Federation. I actually envisaged him as wearing spiked power armour and running around with two power fists - like a Chaos Marneus Calgar. Like all the leaders, he'd probably walk around with a couple of Power Armoured Vanguards (which I'll show below). Dude is a savage, brutally cunning one-man killing machine.
--Nebuzzar: second Warlord, dude who led them from the ruins of the Federation. I don't know what he'd be equipped with, but probably power armour. He didn't really have a schtick in the game so I dunno.
--Bashapur: guy from EQ Fallout RPG. Massive, ridiculously strong, ridiculously enduring, and ridiculously stupid. More of a force of nature than a leader. Point him at an enemy and he will savage it, but he's not really command material. Runs around with a massive sledgehammer. Happy to eat people, mostly because he doesn't realise they're people, but if he knew he probably wouldn't care anyway.
--Leonidas, King of the Spartans: was mostly met in Adventures of the Traveller. King of the Spartans, who are generally a bit more organised than the other raiders. Not a terrible guy, as raiders go, and a little more empathetic and not as totally violent as Nishapur. Probably accompanied by Spartans rather than by Vanguards, but i don't know.
--Warboss: generic HQ unit, probably wearing power armour and escourted by power armoured Vanguards. Commanders of Raider Federation armies, and tend to get there by being the hardest dude in the room so also badass fighters.
--I feel like there should be another kind of generic HQ unit but I can't think of one. I dunno, do you have any ideas.
- Elite
--Vanguards: basically, the best, most hardcore, power armoured fighters in the federation. Run around with Power armour and escort leaders as well. Possibly have power fists? I dunno. They're basically the most hardcore dudes in the army and have earned the right to wear power armour and crush people. There shouldn't be many of them though - like maybe limit it to one unit of five max, not counting HQ escorts?
--Spartans: warriors fo the Spartan tribe, who are a little more organised than the Steelmen or the other raiders. Not heavily armoured, but well equipped and brave, as well as willing to hold the line rather than run to and from the enemy like the rest of the Federation.
--Champions: Basically the other hardcore veterans of the Raider Federation who don't get power armour. I dunno, I just felt like there needed to be another elite unit but I wasn't sure what niche it would fill. My vision is that they're the dudes who beat ruin people in duels and challenges and stuff like that to get to the top, but they disdain power armour and just want to get to people to kill them faster. Either a unit or an independent character, I dunno. Maybe have them doped up on chems? Maybe they're the ones who get laser weapons?
- Troops
--Raider Band: backbone of the army, core troops unit. Probably very good at melee (bit like orks - S4 WS4 T4) but not great at shooting. Maybe room for a lot of diversity in the unit - being able to mix up weapons or something, maybe the opportunity to use laser weapons (one or two per unit though, not many).
--Slave Band: imagine a bunch of panicking, desperate civilians who have been herded into a tiny confined space where they have a suspicion that they're going to die and then trying to claw their way out over eachother and everything else. Thats basically how I'm envisaging slave bands. They're also carrying their explosive bomb collars, which I'd imagine can be detonated. Maybe a S3 AP- hit on a single model in the enemy unit if they die in CC, and a similar hit to the closest model in their unit if they die in shooting (I actually really like the possibility of shooting one then watching the entire unit go up in a chain reaction of failing S3 AP- armour saves)? Also, there would probably be a slave master or something, who's a regular Raider but carrying specialised equipment - maybe while he's alive the collars can be detonated at will? I'm kind of envisaging a cheap, awful, but huge tarpit unit that you can throw at their terminators or whatever while your heavy weapons are going to town on their vehicles to slow them down enough.
- Fast Attack
--Outriders: Raiders on motorbikes. Their role is to act as scouts and flankers, and to seed chaos in enemy armies. I'd imagine they'd be melee heavy, but have a weapon that they can use at range. Also, they'd be on motorbikes. Did I mention the motorbikes?
--Emissaries: These are the guys the Federation sends out to recruit other raider bands to the horde. They'd be units of fast, stealthy, infiltration guys (is the Infiltration rule still a thing in WH40k?). A bit like pathfinders in the Tau, but without the vehicles. They'd be infiltrators, because they do duty as scouts and pathfinders, and probably fairly stealthy. Maybe decent at range, so the codex has a decent shooty unit, but they'd have to be very good at close combat as well because they end up duelling other tribal leaders a lot. If that's too OP, maybe split the functions between pathfinders who do the shooting thing and emissaries who do the combat thing, but both infiltrators and good at stealth. I kind of like the idea of these stealthy pathfinders who are amazing at one-on-one combat though, because that really fits in with the lore of what these guys did ingame.
- Heavy Support
--Battletruck: A big, plated truck (probably metal sheeting welded over it) with a big heavy weapon mounted on it. Drives around and haphazardly bombards people with rockets and grenades, etc. Could possibly carry troops, but not an actual transport that can be attached to a unit. Basically, the heavy armour unit. A bit like an Ork Battlewagon in 40k.
--Heavies: a group of raiders carrying heavy weapons. The dedicated anti-armour unit the Raider Federation has. I'm not sure how to envisage them - maybe equipped with grenade/rocket launchers, a weaker version of whats mounted on the Battletruck?
--Howitzer: some raiders and some slaves (maybe?) manning a single howitzer, which does the usual artillery thing (a bit like the Imperial Guard Basilisk in 40k, though probably not as long ranged and an artillery piece rather than a vehicle). I envisage a couple of slaves so its crew isn't tanky and needs to be protected.
--Titan: One massive raider, like Bashapur, bordering on super mutant levels of huge, wielding a super heavy weapon like a sledgehammer or a huge sword or something else that will smash up tanks good. Doped up on enough chems to kill a horse. Big, scary, and tanky - the idea is that it'll survive long enough to get into close combat with a tank and wreck it. I dunno if thats too OP, maybe give it some special rules so its really unpredictable? I'm not too sure about this guy to be honest.

Let me know what you think if and when you get around to it. :)
 
GrandKhan - thanks, this is awesome. I was looking exactly for such format. I may prioritize the Raider Federation over the Sunshine Kingdom now, since you did a good chunk of work for me.

I may add a couple of things that should cover the Steelmen army before the Ravaging of the Atom Union and after the Battle of Waycross (add the Westerlings and their trebuchets, for example). But overall, it's all great stuff.

P.S. Forgot to answer your question about additional "generic" HQ characters. I've had an idea about some cannibal chieftains (with a special character that is a variation of them, being a wicked child leading a cannibal tribe). Plus, I'd like to try to add some "Leader of the Vanquished" - a sort of a collaborator leader who represents a mayor or a village headman pledging allegiance to the Federation in exchange for screening his people from regular rape and raiding (making them a bit more irregular, I guess). Plus, the addition of the Westerlings would add some sort of old-fashioned barbarian leaders and troops. I'm sure I'll come up with something else.
 
Raider Federation stuff COULD somewhat still apply in this case, as New Sparta continues to exist.

On a side note, this is ONLY hypothetically. How many people would be interested in a continuation of this game, but at a very slow pace of updates? At most, maybe an update at month.

EDIT: I'll also point out that the Epilogue is no longer valid thanks to Fallout 4. That goes for what the Brotherhood of Steel claimed what the Enclave was up to as well.
 
I'd be in, of course.
 
:thumbsup:
 
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