Lighthearter
President of the United States
Everyone knew the civil war was coming. When old King Charles took ill on his seventieth birthday, with no son nor daughter nor even a wife, everyone knew what it meant. They were right: upon the King's death, three cousins each claimed the throne, each more distant than the next. Though one did not pursue her claim to the bitter end, already being the ruler of a neighboring land, Adelheid Fitzgreene and Johan von Kenner-Krantuck both declared their right to take lordship of Avalon. Two years of brutal fighting later, the War of the Avalonian Succession hangs on the edge of a knife.
That's where you come in: the Joint Command is a new effort by Fitzgreene's Loyalist forces to break the stalemate on the Eastern Front, by combining the brightest and most promising - or at least, the best-connected - officers in the Loyal Army aboard the dirigible Capricorn, a flying command center from where you will plan the defeat of the Usurper forces. Prepare your battle plans and study the forces and subordinate officers under your command.
War is coming.
***
This AC has been a long time in the making. But I'm very excited to finally try it out!
First things first: You are a Brigadier in the Loyalist Army of Avalon, serving the rightful heir to the throne, whatever the other team says. You've been pulled aboard the Capricorn as part of a new joint command initiative, and you can have whatever opinion of that you like.
This AC will be heavily RP-based. There are almost no hard numbers, and the meat of the game will be spent aboard Capricorn. Most likely, in the exact same room aboard the ship. Your goal is to combine the units and subordinates at your disposal to create battle plans that achieve strategic objectives, and then make on-the-fly changes as the enemy's plans clash with yours. Success will come based on your understanding of military strategy and tactics, not from combining advantages and hard numbers.
What numbers we do have: your character's Traits, your Units and Commanders, and SP.
Your Character:
Repeat after me: there is no character sheet. You should provide your name, description, bio, etc, but format it however you want. Keep secrets, or don't, or whatever.
Here is the only part that requires real calculation: Traits. At the beginning of the game, you have two Traits and one Flaw. You can take a third Trait, but it requires taking a second Flaw to match. You cannot go any higher than that.
Trait and Flaw Lists:
Your Units:
This is where it gets slightly more in-depth. You start in command of two Units, from a list of four types. Any combination is allowed. Each Unit has a Commander, whom you are encouraged to provide description, bio, etc, for in great depth. All Commanders have a high chance of appearing in the RP sequences, and of having semi-subplots of their own.
For starters, here are the four types of units:
Infantry: Your basic soldiers, equipped with muskets and bayonets and hand grenades. In the open, they're dead meat, but they're lethal when entrenched, and the only units capable of occupying heavy cover areas.
Steam Armor: Steam Armor is formed from tracked and crawling vehicles designed to punch through infantry trench lines. Highly mobile and heavily armored and armed, these units are your spearpoint - but they're very vulnerable to Dirigible attacks, and suffer in constricted terrain.
Dirigibles: These are combat fliers and airships loaded with armor-piercing rotary cannons and rocket pods. They fly over most terrain obstructions and make short work of Steam Armor, but are highly vulnerable to Support units' anti-air brigades. They cannot occupy territory, but can carry Support or Infantry at a one-for-one ratio.
Support: Support units are engineers, medics, mechanists, and anti-air batteries that make them a Dirigible's worst nightmare. They can hold their own if well-entrenched, but Steam Armor tears through them, and Infantry can clear them out of fortified positions with ease.
You are encouraged to provide a nickname and designation for each of your units, plus any battle honors and history you'd like. Have fun with it all!
Once you've done that, name the unit's Commander, providing them a rank between Major and Colonel at your discretion. Any other details you want to provide, do it!
SP:
You begin the game with 3 SP. SP are used to level up your Units and Commanders.
Every Unit and Commander will have a unique promotion tree, drawn from a common pool of abilities. Once you list out your Units, I'll provide you their tree, with a complete explanation of all their abilities.
Every unit will have 3 tiers of abilities. Taking two Tier One abilities unlocks Tier Two, and taking two Tier Two abilities unlocks Tier Three. Note that this is an unlock mechanic, not a pyramid setup: once you take those first two T1 abilities, you never need to go back for any others to keep moving. Abilities are split between Unit and Commander abilities, though they exist on the same tree. All abilities cost 1SP to take. It's up to you whether you focus on making one of your units the best it can possibly be, or try to even out your capabilities.
Promotions:
Unless stated otherwise, you earn 1SP for each completed mission, win or lose. Achieving bonus objectives and dramatic successes can earn you more.
The War:
Overall, the war is fought by studying the provided maps and information of the local area, comparing it to the enemy's known goals, and positioning your units accordingly, with fallback plans in mind. Once a battle plan is agreed upon in session, I'll start calculating it while the PCs can RP with each other and NPCs. As the plan progresses, I'll bring up the tactical SNAFUs that inevitably ensue for reactions.
Your units will take losses in action, and you'll have to decide whether to commit the time to reinforcing and resupplying them or throwing them back in without a pause. Remember things like morale and equipment failure are real. Supply will be a serious consideration for extended operation without enough Support units in the immediate vicinity - a Support unit, roughly, can supply itself and two other nearby units, not necessarily from your personal command.
Teamwork will be critical to success, as will thoughtful consideration of the tactical situation. Pay close attention not just to the geography and obvious hooks, but what the enemy's actual goal is - and your own. Don't get caught up fighting street-to-street if all you want is to knock out their refineries on the edge of town. And remember the first rule of military planning: no matter what your objective is, it will be simpler if you have routed the enemy force and face no organized opposition.
I don't know what times work best for whom, but I am tentatively planning on running this AC on Wednesday evenings at 5PM EST. Talk to me if that's an issue: I'm flexible.
Good luck, Commanders.
That's where you come in: the Joint Command is a new effort by Fitzgreene's Loyalist forces to break the stalemate on the Eastern Front, by combining the brightest and most promising - or at least, the best-connected - officers in the Loyal Army aboard the dirigible Capricorn, a flying command center from where you will plan the defeat of the Usurper forces. Prepare your battle plans and study the forces and subordinate officers under your command.
War is coming.
***
This AC has been a long time in the making. But I'm very excited to finally try it out!
First things first: You are a Brigadier in the Loyalist Army of Avalon, serving the rightful heir to the throne, whatever the other team says. You've been pulled aboard the Capricorn as part of a new joint command initiative, and you can have whatever opinion of that you like.
This AC will be heavily RP-based. There are almost no hard numbers, and the meat of the game will be spent aboard Capricorn. Most likely, in the exact same room aboard the ship. Your goal is to combine the units and subordinates at your disposal to create battle plans that achieve strategic objectives, and then make on-the-fly changes as the enemy's plans clash with yours. Success will come based on your understanding of military strategy and tactics, not from combining advantages and hard numbers.
What numbers we do have: your character's Traits, your Units and Commanders, and SP.
Your Character:
Repeat after me: there is no character sheet. You should provide your name, description, bio, etc, but format it however you want. Keep secrets, or don't, or whatever.
Here is the only part that requires real calculation: Traits. At the beginning of the game, you have two Traits and one Flaw. You can take a third Trait, but it requires taking a second Flaw to match. You cannot go any higher than that.
Trait and Flaw Lists:
Spoiler :
Your Units:
This is where it gets slightly more in-depth. You start in command of two Units, from a list of four types. Any combination is allowed. Each Unit has a Commander, whom you are encouraged to provide description, bio, etc, for in great depth. All Commanders have a high chance of appearing in the RP sequences, and of having semi-subplots of their own.
For starters, here are the four types of units:
Infantry: Your basic soldiers, equipped with muskets and bayonets and hand grenades. In the open, they're dead meat, but they're lethal when entrenched, and the only units capable of occupying heavy cover areas.
Steam Armor: Steam Armor is formed from tracked and crawling vehicles designed to punch through infantry trench lines. Highly mobile and heavily armored and armed, these units are your spearpoint - but they're very vulnerable to Dirigible attacks, and suffer in constricted terrain.
Dirigibles: These are combat fliers and airships loaded with armor-piercing rotary cannons and rocket pods. They fly over most terrain obstructions and make short work of Steam Armor, but are highly vulnerable to Support units' anti-air brigades. They cannot occupy territory, but can carry Support or Infantry at a one-for-one ratio.
Support: Support units are engineers, medics, mechanists, and anti-air batteries that make them a Dirigible's worst nightmare. They can hold their own if well-entrenched, but Steam Armor tears through them, and Infantry can clear them out of fortified positions with ease.
You are encouraged to provide a nickname and designation for each of your units, plus any battle honors and history you'd like. Have fun with it all!
Once you've done that, name the unit's Commander, providing them a rank between Major and Colonel at your discretion. Any other details you want to provide, do it!
SP:
You begin the game with 3 SP. SP are used to level up your Units and Commanders.
Every Unit and Commander will have a unique promotion tree, drawn from a common pool of abilities. Once you list out your Units, I'll provide you their tree, with a complete explanation of all their abilities.
Spoiler Sample Promotion Tree :
Every unit will have 3 tiers of abilities. Taking two Tier One abilities unlocks Tier Two, and taking two Tier Two abilities unlocks Tier Three. Note that this is an unlock mechanic, not a pyramid setup: once you take those first two T1 abilities, you never need to go back for any others to keep moving. Abilities are split between Unit and Commander abilities, though they exist on the same tree. All abilities cost 1SP to take. It's up to you whether you focus on making one of your units the best it can possibly be, or try to even out your capabilities.
Promotions:
Spoiler :
Unless stated otherwise, you earn 1SP for each completed mission, win or lose. Achieving bonus objectives and dramatic successes can earn you more.
The War:
Overall, the war is fought by studying the provided maps and information of the local area, comparing it to the enemy's known goals, and positioning your units accordingly, with fallback plans in mind. Once a battle plan is agreed upon in session, I'll start calculating it while the PCs can RP with each other and NPCs. As the plan progresses, I'll bring up the tactical SNAFUs that inevitably ensue for reactions.
Your units will take losses in action, and you'll have to decide whether to commit the time to reinforcing and resupplying them or throwing them back in without a pause. Remember things like morale and equipment failure are real. Supply will be a serious consideration for extended operation without enough Support units in the immediate vicinity - a Support unit, roughly, can supply itself and two other nearby units, not necessarily from your personal command.
Teamwork will be critical to success, as will thoughtful consideration of the tactical situation. Pay close attention not just to the geography and obvious hooks, but what the enemy's actual goal is - and your own. Don't get caught up fighting street-to-street if all you want is to knock out their refineries on the edge of town. And remember the first rule of military planning: no matter what your objective is, it will be simpler if you have routed the enemy force and face no organized opposition.
I don't know what times work best for whom, but I am tentatively planning on running this AC on Wednesday evenings at 5PM EST. Talk to me if that's an issue: I'm flexible.
Good luck, Commanders.
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