Post by Alpharius on Nov 12, 2013 12:08:20 GMT -8
I’m unsure if any of you are familiar with the Deathwatch RolePlaying Game created by Fantasy Flight Games, if you are and have the Jericho Reach supplement, then you know almost exactly what I’m talking about. For those that don’t, let me explain: The turning point system that FFG has created essentially gives a squad of player characters in the Deathwatch RPG a direct hand in the course of a campaign. The way they have worded it, is that based solely upon your characters actions, the fate of entire planet hangs in the balance. In the past, planetary invasions here upon JvS have been lackluster at best. It’s like they lack the motivation as it’s what the space battles back in the day used to be. Throwing numbers into the void and hoping that your ship is the biggest of the bunch. It lacks the substance it could have if the battles were on a much smaller scale and reflected upon the conquest as a whole. For a quick example; The Rebels on Hoth were tasked with fielding the shield generator, erstwhile the Empire was assigned to use their AT-AT’s to breach the Rebel lines and destroy the generator. Simple objectives but entertaining to watch as the events took place. You get to watch the Rebels valiantly defy the Imperial onslaught; we finally get to see the Empire pull out their trump card and have General Veers accomplish his objective with somewhat minimal casualties sustained.
It’s what I’d consider small skirmishes like this, which would determine the fate of the campaign to come. If the Rebels had somehow defeated General Veers, they would be well on their way to victory. Yet we all know how that tragic loss for the Rebellion had played out. This is something I’d like to see happen here upon JvS, though I can understand the unforeseen complexities that this approach upon surface warfare would take. The planning phase would take an astronomical amount of time depending upon those involved, in which our old methods of warfare would have already been completed. In theory this new and radical way of fighting a text based battle would make the combat scenarios more robust and interesting in comparison to our old mathhammer ways. By that I mean quoting numbers upon numbers whilst the five legions of Imperial army regulars faced off against the New Republic infantry. Other than the guttural and boring rates of implied attrition, there wasn’t really much life in the combat aspect of our beloved site. In the years I have been here, the only thing that gave our styles of warfare any point of contention was the epic duels taking place between single and several force sensitive combatants.
As I write characters either bereft of power over the force, or blind to it, I find that I’m left out when it comes to this section of the site. Left to languish with the tried and tedious method of throwing blocks of numbers against blocks of numbers in the hopes of grasping victory, I found this glimmering jewel in the FFG game supplement and thought to incorporate it in the place I spend much of my waking hours reading and following the other writers posting here. I think this would revolutionize how combat is fought here upon JvS and how entertaining this venture would be. Every action your character does holds the fate of the very world in the palm of his or her hands. Would that not change how you felt about fighting against another person’s army, if you had the power to alter the course of the war for better or worse? It would make glorious last stands, even more glorious as the writer would feel that there is the fleeting hope that he and his brave soldiers had the chance to turn the tide in their favour. It would make losing all the more treacherous, directly affecting the actions throughout the entirety of the battle. Where every skirmish counted towards the greater picture of victory and every loss heralded the death knell for the defeated.
What I’m thinking is that the battle would be planned out only through objectives, things the attacking player would need to do to arrest control of a certain point away from the defending player. So if we use a city as an example, the Spaceport(s) would be a primary objective, if not the most important objective out of the ones I shall list later on, as it allows the ability to land troops and mechanized units within the boundaries of the city. That bonus of reinforcements would be taken into account as the battle ensues, obviously recorded somewhere for ease of access and might result in repelling the invaders in the first stage of their invasion, prompting them to either try again or focus upon one of their other objectives. City wide shield generators would be considered another primary objective, as with the shield active it prevents the vessels in orbit from shelling vital military or strategic targets. With it down however, it would provide the invaders with a certain edge of having access to the dreaded orbital strikes. What’s better than having an entrenched line of battle droids reduced to ash by the guns of a Star Destroyer in orbit? Not much I’ll tell you. There are bountiful secondary, tertiary, and perhaps personal objectives that can be added for flavouring… to make this battle differ from one being fought elsewhere either on the planet or in the universe itself.
Now, while I’ve probably gotten carried away with the above rant, I’d like to see if anyone was of the same mind. If there are people out there that would essentially like to try out this brand new method of waging war. If not, then there is no obligation for this to concern you. It would only be enacted if the two opposing sides believed that the smaller engagements directly effecting the battles on a planetary level would work for the writing groups they have with them. This is to no way be enforced upon others as we are a collaborative writing site, but that doesn’t go without saying I’d like to see the change. Call it what you wish, but I think a change is required in how we fight the battles on the surface. We’ve grown so much in the last few years, I think it’s high time that this path followed suite.
Comments, questions, concerns? Leave it below.
It’s what I’d consider small skirmishes like this, which would determine the fate of the campaign to come. If the Rebels had somehow defeated General Veers, they would be well on their way to victory. Yet we all know how that tragic loss for the Rebellion had played out. This is something I’d like to see happen here upon JvS, though I can understand the unforeseen complexities that this approach upon surface warfare would take. The planning phase would take an astronomical amount of time depending upon those involved, in which our old methods of warfare would have already been completed. In theory this new and radical way of fighting a text based battle would make the combat scenarios more robust and interesting in comparison to our old mathhammer ways. By that I mean quoting numbers upon numbers whilst the five legions of Imperial army regulars faced off against the New Republic infantry. Other than the guttural and boring rates of implied attrition, there wasn’t really much life in the combat aspect of our beloved site. In the years I have been here, the only thing that gave our styles of warfare any point of contention was the epic duels taking place between single and several force sensitive combatants.
As I write characters either bereft of power over the force, or blind to it, I find that I’m left out when it comes to this section of the site. Left to languish with the tried and tedious method of throwing blocks of numbers against blocks of numbers in the hopes of grasping victory, I found this glimmering jewel in the FFG game supplement and thought to incorporate it in the place I spend much of my waking hours reading and following the other writers posting here. I think this would revolutionize how combat is fought here upon JvS and how entertaining this venture would be. Every action your character does holds the fate of the very world in the palm of his or her hands. Would that not change how you felt about fighting against another person’s army, if you had the power to alter the course of the war for better or worse? It would make glorious last stands, even more glorious as the writer would feel that there is the fleeting hope that he and his brave soldiers had the chance to turn the tide in their favour. It would make losing all the more treacherous, directly affecting the actions throughout the entirety of the battle. Where every skirmish counted towards the greater picture of victory and every loss heralded the death knell for the defeated.
What I’m thinking is that the battle would be planned out only through objectives, things the attacking player would need to do to arrest control of a certain point away from the defending player. So if we use a city as an example, the Spaceport(s) would be a primary objective, if not the most important objective out of the ones I shall list later on, as it allows the ability to land troops and mechanized units within the boundaries of the city. That bonus of reinforcements would be taken into account as the battle ensues, obviously recorded somewhere for ease of access and might result in repelling the invaders in the first stage of their invasion, prompting them to either try again or focus upon one of their other objectives. City wide shield generators would be considered another primary objective, as with the shield active it prevents the vessels in orbit from shelling vital military or strategic targets. With it down however, it would provide the invaders with a certain edge of having access to the dreaded orbital strikes. What’s better than having an entrenched line of battle droids reduced to ash by the guns of a Star Destroyer in orbit? Not much I’ll tell you. There are bountiful secondary, tertiary, and perhaps personal objectives that can be added for flavouring… to make this battle differ from one being fought elsewhere either on the planet or in the universe itself.
Now, while I’ve probably gotten carried away with the above rant, I’d like to see if anyone was of the same mind. If there are people out there that would essentially like to try out this brand new method of waging war. If not, then there is no obligation for this to concern you. It would only be enacted if the two opposing sides believed that the smaller engagements directly effecting the battles on a planetary level would work for the writing groups they have with them. This is to no way be enforced upon others as we are a collaborative writing site, but that doesn’t go without saying I’d like to see the change. Call it what you wish, but I think a change is required in how we fight the battles on the surface. We’ve grown so much in the last few years, I think it’s high time that this path followed suite.
Comments, questions, concerns? Leave it below.
