Introduction and rules of the AAR
First of all, welcome! This AAR is the third part of my Hohenzollern megacampaign (you can read part 1 here and part 2 here, although they are not required), in which the Hohenzollerns rose from Counts of Nürnberg to become Dukes of Bavaria, took over the Holy Roman Empire, and eventually created the Republic of Germany.
The actual genesis of this AAR, however (including the title) came shortly after I became a Paradox forumite in 2010. I was studying for my oral exams (I finished my PhD in August 2016) and came across the immortal thesis of Hans-Ulrich Wehler, called Sonderweg (Special Path), which argued that the failure of the Frankfurt Parliament in 1848, and the subsequent dominance of the German national conversation by Prussia, essentially paved the way for increasingly authoritarian regimes in Germany. I consider all forms of determinism to be horrible and, at the very least, overly simplified. Thus, I made it my mission to try this out in a Paradox game. So, we get the title – Sonderweg oder Anderweg – “Special Path or another path?” – which also happens to rhyme!
We’ll be playing with the conversion of my EU3 country and HOD 3.03.
It has been something of a tradition in my narrative AARs to let players create characters, which I would then put into the story. I’ve decided, with the approval of Qorten, to make this one entirely interactive instead! (Those players who have living characters may keep them for the initial rounds of this AAR.) This will not be like my other interactive AARs, in that I am doing my very best to make sure that as many people as possible have something interesting to do. This AAR will also be very dynamic, as you’ll see here in a few moments.
Please read the following information carefully before creating a character. If you have any questions, please contact me directly rather than posting in the thread. Thank you very much!
My role
I will play all characters outside of Germany, my limit of two player characters, and in the guise of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the GM.
Characters
All players may have up to two characters in the AAR. One may be a Voting Character (VC); the other may be a non-Voting Character (NVC). Voting Characters include any member of the Assembly or Conclave, which expressly includes the President, even though he or she cannot vote while President. Non-Voting Characters include other positions within Germany that have no express voting privileges: these could include prominent businesspersons, Generals, Admirals, local government, scientists, and other figures of note. All members of the IRL Nazi party are expressly banned. VCs must be a minimum of 30 years of age according to the current rules; there is no age restriction for NVCs (although infants would likely be dull and uninteresting). All members of the Hohenzollern family must be applied for through me, whether VC or NVC.
Exceptions to the two-character limit may be granted on a case-by-case basis, based upon the needs of the AAR and whether I find potential characters interesting.
Parties
The existing party structure from Victoria 2 has effect within the AAR. [Include image here] Parties receiving 20% of the vote in one or both houses are designated as major parties; other parties are designated as fringe parties. The current major parties are the Conservatives, DLP, and DSU. Movement between these categories is fluid, and the only distinction between them is that major parties will regress to 20% of the vote without intervening circumstances; fringe parties have a lower limit of the remaining share of votes divided by the number of fringe parties. As an example, if nothing happened during the AAR, the party roster would look like this: 20% Conservatives, 20% DLP, 20% DSU, 8% KPD, 8% DDA, 8% Bundespartei, 8% Imperialists, 8% Fascists. All else being equal, this is how party representation would drift between elections. Of course, all else will likely not be equal, so this is purely a demonstration.
New parties may be created when four or more VCs (two from each house) set one up. All new parties are automatically fringe parties and will remain so until circumstances make them major parties.
Reichstag
For ease of calculation, the Assembly has 500 members and Conclave has 100. Each VC is presumed to control a bloc of voting seats, determined by this formula:
Assembly -- (500 * X)/Y
Conclave -- (100 * X)/Y
Where X is the percentage of votes received by a given party in the appropriate house and Y is the total number of players of a given party in that house. Thus, if the UAI wins 30% of the vote in the Conclave, and there are 10 Stadtholders in the UAI, each member would receive 3 votes.
The Conclave will now be divided by party instead of just ideology. We will use the 50% division from party to ideology as a starting point, but parties will drift from that position based on in-game events.
Assembly has responsibility for all extra-German affairs; Conclave has responsibility for all intra-German affairs. The budget—and all other legislation that affects both spheres or fundamental changes within the government—will be voted on by both houses. All proposals of fundamental import require a 2/3rds majority of both houses; new ministries require 3/4s of the appropriate house. All other matters, including the budget, will be decided by simple majority (50% of active votes + 1).
Government Positions
Note: It is impossible to consider all potential AAR situations in advance. All questions and rights will be resolved first by future legislation and, if an immediate decision is required, by me as a fallback possibility.
President: Must be 40+ years of age and a member in good standing of the Reichstag. Will not be permitted to vote after the election; these rights are restored if the President is defeated, resigns, or meets the constitutional term limit of eight years. Elected by Electoral College (one VC, one vote).
Powers: Can dissolve the Reichstag and call for new elections (unless elections are already ongoing). Must sign all legislation; any unsigned legislation may be vetoed for up to two years, with the vetoed bill passed with a 2/3rds vote of the house or houses applicable. May also choose to suspend legislation, which will delay signature for up to two years, but at which point the bill will become legal. May veto one single cabinet member except the Chancellor. The President also has the power to declare a State of Emergency for one year, under which they may rule by decree. All such decrees must be countersigned by the Chancellor and the Minister who would be responsible for making any determinations. No changes of any kind to the constitution are permitted during the State of Emergency. The Reichstag may, by majority vote, extend the State of Emergency for one additional year. Appoints the members of the semi-permanent Minorities Commission that advise the Minister of the Interior (see below).
Chancellor: Must be born in the Republic of Germany. Two maximum four-year terms (consecutive or non-consecutive) per VC (although I will intervene if one person seems to be dominating the AAR).
Powers: Forms the cabinet and appoints all other ministers (subject to legal requirements and Presidential approval). Chancellor signs legislation and may veto (but not suspend) legislation, but an override veto automatically constitutes a successful no-confidence vote and the beginning of a general election. May remove any inactive minister. Can also suspend one minister for any reason and fill the office himself or herself, but only for year. President may veto a suspension; otherwise, the house which the position belongs to must pass suspension with a simple majority vote.
Foreign Minister: Responsible to Assembly. No further restrictions.
Powers: Conducts all foreign negotiations (or appoints plenipotentiaries with said powers) and sets basic foreign policy. Sets all war goals for a war and formally must approve of all declarations of war (along with the Chancellor). Submits budget requests. In a crisis, has a mandate to conduct all necessary negotiations (see below).
Minister of War: Responsible to Assembly. No further restrictions.
Powers: Sets all peacetime war policy, including appointment of commanders, building plans for all military facilities, recruitment drives, and army organization. Appoints Chief of the General Staff when appropriate.
Minister of the Interior: Responsible to Conclave. Cannot be from the same party as the Chancellor.
Powers: Acts as Deputy Chancellor in terms of illness or incapacity. Has police powers, including appointment of Commander of the Gendarmerie. Responsible for internal order and stability. May designate up to three regions as National Focuses, which gives them a boost to productivity. Decisions involving those regions will be more likely to have a beneficial outcome. Act as chief point of contact with autonomous regions of the Republic of Germany (e.g. Italy). Listens to and/or implements recommendations of the Minorities Commission who will offer the following policies:
Oppressive: Minorities are irrelevant, even traitorous. Any decisions of minority welfare are automatically decided in favor of ethnic Germans, even if it results in short-term unrest.
Biased: Minorities are subservient to the German people, but not to such a degree that disorder is permissible.
Balanced: Minorities and ethnic Germans are equal in every way; the good of Germany overrules any question of ethnic identity.
Diversity: Minorities deserve special treatment, unless that treatment is detrimental to Germany as a whole.
Positive Discrimination: Minorities are superior to ethnic Germans and anything that promotes the German language or culture is offensive and must be halted. The rights of minorities are more important than order.
The Minorities Commission members serve at the pleasure of the President and may be replaced at any time. The seven-member commission must have at least three non-Germans and members of at least three different parties.
Minister of Finance: Responsible to Conclave. No further restrictions.
Powers: Responsible for putting together the yearly budget for the Reichstag. In addition to various administrative expenses (which are presumed to be fixed), allocates funding between all other Ministries. Can set tax policy and other spending policies to raise net revenue. Under appropriate regimes, sets factory subsidization or upgrade policies. Names President of the State Planning Commission when appropriate.
Minister of Education: Responsible to Conclave. No further restrictions.
Powers: Responsible for investing Education funding into new technologies or programs. Manages education of all people in the Republic of Germany.
President of the State Planning Commission: Responsible to Conclave. State Capitalism or Planned Economy only.
Powers: Decides all factory and resource allocations for government programs.
Chief of the General Staff: Responsible to Assembly. Lifetime appointment.
Powers: Handles all military matters in war-time that do not involve outlay of additional finances. In peacetime, responsible for planning training scenarios and contingency plans, as well as mobilization schedules. Requires majority vote to be appointed or removed in the Assembly with recommendation from Minister of War.
Commander of the Corps of Gendarmerie: Responsible to Conclave. Can be lifetime appointment (see below).
Powers: Carries out investigations and other matters at the behest of the Minister of Interior. Can command military forces in peacetime during a rebellion and cooperates with Minister of War to set garrison policies. Acts as Special Prosecutor for specific parliamentary investigations.
President of Italy: Elected by Italian Assembly. Must be Italian-born.
Powers: Titular head of the autonomous Republic of Italy within the Republic of Germany. Must be consulted on all matters involving Italy. Acts as Chief Executive for purely domestic Italian issues.
No Confidence
At any time, two members of a respective house can declare no-confidence in a sitting Minister, Chancellor, or President. This triggers a vote by the appropriate house or houses. If a Minister is removed, the Chancellor must appoint a new Minister in consultation with the two individuals who declared no confidence. If the Chancellor is dismissed, a General Election is triggered. If the President is dismissed, a Presidential Election is triggered. Dismissing the Chancellor or President requires a 2/3rds vote; Ministers or below require a simple majority.
Normal sequence of events
One turn can last anywhere from one month to a full election cycle depending on events. A turn proceeds as follows:
1. Party leaders submit agendas, in secret, to me. These consist of four party issues: one major (timetable of 5+ years) and three minor (timetable of 1 year or less).
2. Once I confirm that all agendas have been received, proposal stage begins.
3. Proposal stage: Any two members of the Reichstag may sponsor a bill. Budget must be submitted at this time; all other legislation is optional.
4. Discussion stage: Alterations are made until both co-sponsors consider a bill suitable for voting.
5. Voting stage: All legislation is voted upon, offered to the Chancellor and President for further action as appropriate.
6. Ministerial stage: Once the budget is confirmed, ministers submit proposals. Ministerial policy goes into effect within 24 hours of its proposal unless a member of the responsible house calls for a formal vote. Ministers may choose to alter proposals to avoid the formal vote, provided that the objecting party drops his or her objection.
7. Issue stage: All successful issues are revealed and bonuses to party representation are applied. These changes will occur every time regardless of election status.
8. Based on roleplay and randomness, I will present events at this time which must be resolved and discussed in the Reichstag or by appropriate ministers.
9. Events are processed and a period of game time proceeds.
Party shift
In order to make sure that politics continues to be dynamic, parties will gain or lose reputation (that is, seats) based on in-AAR events, really good roleplaying (as judged by me), issue completion, and random events. Completion of a major issue entitles a party to a boost of 10% in either house (party leader choice). Completion of a minor issue entitles a party to a boost of 2% in either house (party leader choice). The President may bestow a 1% bonus to any party once per election cycle (in the guise of awards or decorations conferred upon party leaders). Player actions may also result in party gains or losses. Any vote of no confidence automatically costs the defeated party 2% of the vote in whichever house would damage them more. If this is for a Chancellor, defeated party loses 5%; for a President, all major parties lose 5%.
The budget
Every ministry has a budget, which is agreed upon every year by the Reichstag. Budgets alone do not require a Chancellor or President’s signature. We will use abstract numbers to represent the share of the economy allocated to each department. The major departments are as follows: Foreign Ministry, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of War [administrative expenses, includes construction of forts and shipyards], Army, Navy, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, Social programs, and other departments as necessary. Depending on how much is allocated to a ministry, Ministers/ministry personnel receive bonuses or penalties to die rolls needed for their decisions. Every department receiving 5% of the budget will get a +1 modifier; in other words, if one department got 100% of the budget, it would only fail on a d20 roll of 1. Of course, this would likely never happen. Note that underfunding social programs (less than 25% of the budget) is likely to trigger rebellions, whereas funding it more will help calm down situations.
Player actions
Any action will require a vote (broad policy matters), a die roll (specific events, localized actions), or both (wars, peace, negotiations). In addition to budgetary modifiers, players can receive positives or negatives based on role playing. A really clever solution to a problem will get a bonus; players just saying “I fix the problem” will likely get substantial negatives.
Declaring war
War resolutions, unless Germany is attacked, must be passed by a majority vote from both houses. They include the funding level for the military for either a fixed period or the duration of the conflict. Resolutions may include war goals; if they pass, they are binding on the Foreign Ministry. The Chief of the General Staff may choose to delay any war for expediency regions for up to one year. The Foreign Minister may also delay a war, but his delay may be overridden by a 2/3rds majority vote in both houses. Chancellors and Presidents must sign war legislation as with any other bill.
War goals may be added during wars by the Foreign Minister in consultation with the Chief of the General Staff. However, they necessitate the passing of a new wartime resolution.
Peace
Negotiations are carried out by the Foreign Minister or their designated representative. Failure to achieve war goals which were voted upon will result in instability and possible seat loss for the ruling party. Additional war goals must be confirmed by the Reichstag before they may offered.
Crisis
Crises will occur on a semirandom basis. At a minimum, we will have a crisis every other election cycle. Different events may accelerate crises, and I will occasionally roll to see if they happen sooner. The Foreign Minister guides crisis policy in conjunction with the Minister of War and/or Chief of the General Staff. At any time, the Foreign Minister may be recalled by a majority vote of the Assembly and asked to change policies. This is not a vote of no confidence.
Rebellions
Rebellions are the province of the Minister of the Interior and Commander of the Corps of Gendarmerie. Rebellions may be resolved through negotiations, violence, or a combination of the two.
Crime and Punishment for members of the Reichstag
All members of the Reichstag are considered to have parliamentary immunity and may not be arrested for any non-capital crime. If suspicions arise of a crime, the Corps of Gendarmerie may conduct an investigation but may not arrest a member of the Reichstag. Once they are charged with a crime, they may continue to vote and conduct ordinary business within the Reichstag, but shall be considered house arrest outside the Reichstag and will be supervised by the Sergeant at Arms and/or a detachment of his choosing to and from the Reichstag when a vote is required. Their house may impose a 'gag order', refusing to allow them the right to address the Reichstag apart from voting or communicate with any non-government official with a two-thirds vote of their respective house. All trials will be handled speedily, with the Commander of the Corps of Gendarmerie serving as the prosecutor and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as judge. The defendant may choose to defend himself or select his own representation. The Minister of the Interior may appoint a lawyer if the defendant cannot afford representation. A jury of seven members of the Reichstag will decide guilt or innocence; these members will be randomly chosen, with no more than two members from any one party. The judge decides on the sentence.
Elections
The Reichstag’s composition will change on a yearly basis, when all modifiers are added together. However, a General Election will only occur every four years. That means that Chancellor mandates do not disappear just because their share of votes disappear, although a vote of No Confidence can always undermine his mandate and end it early.
Etiquette
Anything posted in this thread is assumed to be in-character unless you have (()) around it. Be civil to one another and of course follow forum rules. If you find a member to be disruptive, please PM me; do not settle disputes within the AAR itself!
Optional Mechanics
The following mechanics are not part of the normal course of events. As such, they are in spoiler tags. Click on the tags to read more, or feel free to ignore them if they do not apply.
Dueling
1. Each party must choose a second.
2. The one being challenged has choice of weapon.
3. All duels are to first blood (although there is the possibility of accidental death or death as a result of normal wounds).
4. The duelmaster has the right to call off any duel that appears to be leading towards death.
5. If a death occurs, an investigation will be conducted. If the death is ruled accidental, nothing more will be done. If it is ruled intentional, the person will be taken to trial.
6. I roll for a result on the following table (I will come up with rough equivalent for bladed weapons if they are chosen).
Roll Result
1 Critical Miss
2 Weapon jam
3 Flash in the pan
4 Hit a tree 100 feet to the right of the target
5 Hit a rock 75 feet to the left of the target
6 Hit one of the seconds standing too close
7 Hit the duel master in the foot
8 Knocked opponent’s hat off
9 Hit opponent’s pocket watch
10 Glancing blow – no bleeding
11 Glancing blow – no bleeding
12 Glancing blow – no bleeding
13 Hit opponent in the weapon hand – light bleeding
14 Hit opponent in the off hand – light bleeding
15 Hit opponent in the shoulder – medium bleeding
16 Hit opponent in random limb – medium bleeding
17 Hit opponent in stomach – severe bleeding
18 Hit opponent in chest, missing heart – severe bleeding
19 Hit opponent in upper leg – massive bleeding
20 Critical hit – instant death
If bleeding, roll d100. For light bleeding, if 95+ = death. For medium bleeding, if 80+ = death. For severe bleeding, if 65+ = death. For massive bleeding, 50+ = death. For severe/massive bleeding, roll <50 = permanent damage, incapacitation for one year and -10 to total life span. For medium bleeding, roll < 50 = -5 to total life span. For light bleeding, < 95 has no effect (apart from a badass looking scar).
2. The one being challenged has choice of weapon.
3. All duels are to first blood (although there is the possibility of accidental death or death as a result of normal wounds).
4. The duelmaster has the right to call off any duel that appears to be leading towards death.
5. If a death occurs, an investigation will be conducted. If the death is ruled accidental, nothing more will be done. If it is ruled intentional, the person will be taken to trial.
6. I roll for a result on the following table (I will come up with rough equivalent for bladed weapons if they are chosen).
Roll Result
1 Critical Miss
2 Weapon jam
3 Flash in the pan
4 Hit a tree 100 feet to the right of the target
5 Hit a rock 75 feet to the left of the target
6 Hit one of the seconds standing too close
7 Hit the duel master in the foot
8 Knocked opponent’s hat off
9 Hit opponent’s pocket watch
10 Glancing blow – no bleeding
11 Glancing blow – no bleeding
12 Glancing blow – no bleeding
13 Hit opponent in the weapon hand – light bleeding
14 Hit opponent in the off hand – light bleeding
15 Hit opponent in the shoulder – medium bleeding
16 Hit opponent in random limb – medium bleeding
17 Hit opponent in stomach – severe bleeding
18 Hit opponent in chest, missing heart – severe bleeding
19 Hit opponent in upper leg – massive bleeding
20 Critical hit – instant death
If bleeding, roll d100. For light bleeding, if 95+ = death. For medium bleeding, if 80+ = death. For severe bleeding, if 65+ = death. For massive bleeding, 50+ = death. For severe/massive bleeding, roll <50 = permanent damage, incapacitation for one year and -10 to total life span. For medium bleeding, roll < 50 = -5 to total life span. For light bleeding, < 95 has no effect (apart from a badass looking scar).
Coups
Coups shall work in SOA the same way neutrality does in HOI3. The realm would have a default "stability value" of 100. Other modifiers may reduce the stability level; however, nobody is permitted to know the stability value until they have committed to a coup. It will never be over 100. Some possible modifiers include RP instability, high militancy or consciousness in game, rebellions or recent wars, and other modifiers that I deem appropriate.
Every individual in the AAR has a "coup factor" -- if he openly joins a coup in progress, he subtracts said number from the realm's stability value. For a coup to be possible, the stability number must be 50 or less.
Default coup factor is 5; that means it would take 10 random individuals to effect a coup.
-- Party leaders add +5 to coup factor
-- Former officeholders add a flat +3 to coup factor (regardless of number of previous offices), except former Chancellors and Presidents -- former Chancellors and Presidents add +5
-- All current officeholders (except Minister of the Interior, Minister of War, Chief of the General Staff, and Commander of the Gendarmerie) add +5 to coup factor
-- Minister of the Interior - +10
-- Minister of War and Chief of the General Staff - +15
-- Commander of the Gendarmerie - +20
The Commander of the Gendarmerie can investigate a specific individual at any time (d10, 6+ means success) or poke about randomly (d20, 17+ means success) at his discretion or under the orders of the Minister of the Interior. A "1" in either case means that the Commander cannot investigate for a full year. Success either positively IDs an individual as in or out of the coup; if there's random poking, it will only reveal whether or not a coup exists. A perfect 10 results in identifying whether there are other individuals in the target's party who are part of the coup (just whether they exist, not who they are); a perfect 20 not only reveals the presence of the coup, but one member of the coup at random.
The coup itself
At any point if the realm's stability number is under 50 (with the participation of the members of the coup), a coup may be attempted. The coup attempt automatically reveals the existence of a coup, naturally; in that case, players may form a counter-coup group, who would try to raise the stability number back over 50. If a large enough party can form to oppose the coup, the coup and counter coup rolls are done simultaneously; whichever number is higher is considered successful. In the case of a tie, the counter-coup is considered successful.
I must be informed as soon as any coup group has at least two members.
The base roll for a coup is a d20. Automatic "1" is failure, which outs all of the coup members and puts them at the mercy of the government. Automatic "20" is success -- think a Glorious Revolution sort of thing -- and only in this case, a countercoup may not be rolled.
Depending on the coup's goals, a flat modifier will be applied to your die roll, from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of -5. A coup attempted at stability number 50 also has a modifier of -5; for every 10 points below 50, that modifier is reduced by -1 (thus, a coup attempt at stability number of 0 would not have any negative modifier applied.)
Possible coup goals
See a government minister removed from power (except the Chancellor): -1
See the Chancellor removed from power and force early elections: -2
Appoint a new ruling party which does not trigger a government change: -3
Changing to another democratic form of government: -4 (Prussian Constitutionalism; HM's Government)
Changing to an autocratic form of government: -5 (Absolute Monarchy, any form of dictatorship)
Other modifiers:
Active minister except Chancellor, President Minister of the Interior, Minister of War, Commander of the Gendarmerie, or Chief of the General Staff: +1
Minister of War or Chief of the General Staff: +2
Minister of the Interior: +3
Chancellor: +4 (note: Chancellor may not join a coup if it would see him removed from power)
President: +4
Commander of the Gendarmerie: +5
Any member who is part of the ruling party adds a +1 to the die roll, as do former Chancellors (bonuses do stack)
Table of results
1 -- Instant failure; all members of the coup revealed and at the mercy of the government
2 -- Failure; the ringleader and all members of the coup who are part of the government are revealed
3 -- Failure; all members of the coup who are part of the government are revealed (except the ringleader)
4 -- Failure; the ringleader is revealed
5 -- Failure; two non-ringleaders are revealed
6 -- Failure; one non-ringleader is revealed
7-10 -- Failure, but no coup members are revealed [an NPC patsy gets all the blame]
11 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of +5
12 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of +4
13 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of +3
14 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of +2
15 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of +1
16 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of 0
17 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of -1
18 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of -2
19 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of -3
20 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of -4
>20 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of -5
>25 -- Instant success; no counter-coup roll possible
Counter coup rolls
If the coup roll allows for the possibility (see above), the counter coup group also gets a d20 roll. That roll must equal or exceed the roll of the coup group. If the Minister of the Interior opposes the coup, that roll gets a +3; if the Commander of the Gendarmerie does, the roll gets a +5. There is also a flat +1 to the die roll for every two members of the counter-coup.
Penalties for coup failure
Any players revealed as a member of the coup are considered traitors to Germany. If they hold office, they automatically lose their positions; if the Chancellor is part of the coup, early elections begin immediately and the Chancellor may never be considered for the position again. Other penalties may be handed out based on their relative importance to the coup; these could include censure (loss of voting privileges for one election cycle), imprisonment (ineligible to vote or run for office for the entire term of the imprisonment), or even death. The Minister of the Interior (if not a part of the coup) makes sentencing recommendations.
If a counter-coup forms but the coup succeeds anyway, a Revolutionary Tribunal may determine the fate of each character who defies the coup. If a counter-coup forms and is successful, a random coup member is revealed for each point over the original coup roll. If that would be +5 or greater, all coup members are revealed.
Every individual in the AAR has a "coup factor" -- if he openly joins a coup in progress, he subtracts said number from the realm's stability value. For a coup to be possible, the stability number must be 50 or less.
Default coup factor is 5; that means it would take 10 random individuals to effect a coup.
-- Party leaders add +5 to coup factor
-- Former officeholders add a flat +3 to coup factor (regardless of number of previous offices), except former Chancellors and Presidents -- former Chancellors and Presidents add +5
-- All current officeholders (except Minister of the Interior, Minister of War, Chief of the General Staff, and Commander of the Gendarmerie) add +5 to coup factor
-- Minister of the Interior - +10
-- Minister of War and Chief of the General Staff - +15
-- Commander of the Gendarmerie - +20
The Commander of the Gendarmerie can investigate a specific individual at any time (d10, 6+ means success) or poke about randomly (d20, 17+ means success) at his discretion or under the orders of the Minister of the Interior. A "1" in either case means that the Commander cannot investigate for a full year. Success either positively IDs an individual as in or out of the coup; if there's random poking, it will only reveal whether or not a coup exists. A perfect 10 results in identifying whether there are other individuals in the target's party who are part of the coup (just whether they exist, not who they are); a perfect 20 not only reveals the presence of the coup, but one member of the coup at random.
The coup itself
At any point if the realm's stability number is under 50 (with the participation of the members of the coup), a coup may be attempted. The coup attempt automatically reveals the existence of a coup, naturally; in that case, players may form a counter-coup group, who would try to raise the stability number back over 50. If a large enough party can form to oppose the coup, the coup and counter coup rolls are done simultaneously; whichever number is higher is considered successful. In the case of a tie, the counter-coup is considered successful.
I must be informed as soon as any coup group has at least two members.
The base roll for a coup is a d20. Automatic "1" is failure, which outs all of the coup members and puts them at the mercy of the government. Automatic "20" is success -- think a Glorious Revolution sort of thing -- and only in this case, a countercoup may not be rolled.
Depending on the coup's goals, a flat modifier will be applied to your die roll, from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of -5. A coup attempted at stability number 50 also has a modifier of -5; for every 10 points below 50, that modifier is reduced by -1 (thus, a coup attempt at stability number of 0 would not have any negative modifier applied.)
Possible coup goals
See a government minister removed from power (except the Chancellor): -1
See the Chancellor removed from power and force early elections: -2
Appoint a new ruling party which does not trigger a government change: -3
Changing to another democratic form of government: -4 (Prussian Constitutionalism; HM's Government)
Changing to an autocratic form of government: -5 (Absolute Monarchy, any form of dictatorship)
Other modifiers:
Active minister except Chancellor, President Minister of the Interior, Minister of War, Commander of the Gendarmerie, or Chief of the General Staff: +1
Minister of War or Chief of the General Staff: +2
Minister of the Interior: +3
Chancellor: +4 (note: Chancellor may not join a coup if it would see him removed from power)
President: +4
Commander of the Gendarmerie: +5
Any member who is part of the ruling party adds a +1 to the die roll, as do former Chancellors (bonuses do stack)
Table of results
1 -- Instant failure; all members of the coup revealed and at the mercy of the government
2 -- Failure; the ringleader and all members of the coup who are part of the government are revealed
3 -- Failure; all members of the coup who are part of the government are revealed (except the ringleader)
4 -- Failure; the ringleader is revealed
5 -- Failure; two non-ringleaders are revealed
6 -- Failure; one non-ringleader is revealed
7-10 -- Failure, but no coup members are revealed [an NPC patsy gets all the blame]
11 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of +5
12 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of +4
13 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of +3
14 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of +2
15 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of +1
16 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of 0
17 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of -1
18 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of -2
19 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of -3
20 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of -4
>20 -- Success; counter-coup roll possible with a modifier of -5
>25 -- Instant success; no counter-coup roll possible
Counter coup rolls
If the coup roll allows for the possibility (see above), the counter coup group also gets a d20 roll. That roll must equal or exceed the roll of the coup group. If the Minister of the Interior opposes the coup, that roll gets a +3; if the Commander of the Gendarmerie does, the roll gets a +5. There is also a flat +1 to the die roll for every two members of the counter-coup.
Penalties for coup failure
Any players revealed as a member of the coup are considered traitors to Germany. If they hold office, they automatically lose their positions; if the Chancellor is part of the coup, early elections begin immediately and the Chancellor may never be considered for the position again. Other penalties may be handed out based on their relative importance to the coup; these could include censure (loss of voting privileges for one election cycle), imprisonment (ineligible to vote or run for office for the entire term of the imprisonment), or even death. The Minister of the Interior (if not a part of the coup) makes sentencing recommendations.
If a counter-coup forms but the coup succeeds anyway, a Revolutionary Tribunal may determine the fate of each character who defies the coup. If a counter-coup forms and is successful, a random coup member is revealed for each point over the original coup roll. If that would be +5 or greater, all coup members are revealed.
Assassination
There may be a maximum of three assassination attempts per election cycle, first come, first served. The party wishing to assassinate somebody should PM me with the number of assassins they wish to use and the target. More assassins means a higher chance of success, but also of getting caught. I will roll one d20 for each assassin, then check results according to the following table:
Natural 1 (w/o modifiers) -- Critical failure. Flip a coin.
- Heads - The assassin turns on his target, handing full details of the plot to the Gendarmerie. The person who ordered the hit is instantly revealed, and no further dice rolls are made.
- Tails - The assassin turns on his target and kills him. (This may result in both parties dying as a result, as other assassins could find and kill the original target.)
1 (w/modifiers) -- Failure, Assassin captured, sings like a canary. -2 to detection
2 -- Failure, Assassin caught, but resists interrogation. -1 to detection
3-17 -- Failure, but assassins escape.
18 -- Success, but mistaken identity; innocent NPC killed with a passing resemblance to target.
19 -- Target is wounded, incapacitated for one year to recover. If a minister, cannot fulfill their duties; Reichstag members may still vote.
20 (with or without modifiers) -- Target killed.
+1 to success for Commander of Corps of Gendarmerie, Interior Minister, War Minister, or Chief of the General Staff if they are directing the assassins
+5 to success if target is imprisoned
-1 to success if target is a Minister EXCEPT
-2 if target is Commander of Corps of Gendarmerie or Chief of the General Staff
-3 if target is President or Chancellor
A successful assassination will have an impact on realm stability, depending on who is assassinated:
-25 for President/Chancellor
-15 for other government official
-10 for former President/Chancellor
-5 for a party leader
No change for any other member of the Reichstag.
Detection
I will roll a D10. If roll is > number of assassins, the person who ordered the hit is not revealed. If roll = number of assassins, general rumors appear, but they cannot be pinned down to a single person. If roll is < number of assassins, the sponsor is revealed, and it is up to the Minister of the Interior to decide to prosecute.
-1 if sponsor is a government minister EXCEPT
+1 if Minister of the Interior or Commander of the Gendarmerie
Note: If the same person sends assassins against the same target more than once, they will receive a -1 to success and a +1 to detection for each successive attempt. The penalty will be dropped after one full election cycle has passed.
Investigations
1) The only person who may initiate an investigation is the Commander of the Corps of Gendarmerie. The Minister of the Interior may order such an investigation, but the Commander must agree. If the Commander refuses, the Minister may ask for his resignation. If the Commander does not choose to resign, the Minister of the Interior may replace him without a vote; however, the investigation may not begin until the following year. The same is true if the Commander resigns voluntarily.
2) The first phrase of the investigation involves the Commander ordering a local investigation into eight states (in the Victoria 2 sense). If the perpetrator of the assassination is located in one of those states, the investigation continues to phase 2. If not, the Commander may repeat the investigation the following year, with the capability to add an additional state. This will continue for a maximum of five years, with one additional state added to the search area each year. (Obviously, the smart Commander will issue a different list each year.) If after five years, phase 2 has not begun, the perpetrator has gotten away with it and the case goes cold.
The perpetrator of the assassination is assumed to be in the state of his residence unless he PMs me with a new location, which can change once a year. He may not move to a state which was already investigated, both to be sporting and to simulate that the Commander would have people keeping an eye out for him. He may not move if the Commander successfully identifies the correct state. I will not tell the Commander which state is the correct one, only that he has successfully identified the correct state in his investigation. For the purposes of investigations, the assassin may not leave Germany for those five years, but anything belonging to Germany is fair game.
3) In Phase 2, the Commander may choose a specific member of the Reichstag to interrogate who resides in the state. He has the right to ask three questions, but he is not permitted to ask if the individual actually did the crime or not directly; that would qualify as an accusation. I will roll a six-sided die. For 1-2, the person being interrogated must be honest on one of the three questions; for 3-4, he must be honest on two of the questions; for 5-6, he cannot lie at all. Both the prosecutor and the defendant will be informed of the die roll's results. The Commander, at this point, can either accuse the individual of the crime or interrogate somebody else. He has a maximum of two interrogations per year. If he accuses somebody of the crime, we move to a trial. The Commander will be the prosecutor, as currently established. Once a trial begins, there cannot be any more interrogations. The Commander has a maximum of three years to conduct interrogations without a trial, or else the case goes cold.
4) If the defendant is found innocent, whether or not he actually did the crime, that is grounds for dismissing the Commander of the Gendarmerie, again without a vote. If the defendant is found guilty, but did not commit the crime, the perpetrator gets a +1 bonus in all areas where such a bonus is appropriate, including coups and future assassinations. The defendant will still be punished. If the defendant is found guilty and committed the crime, the Commander of the Gendarmerie's appointment becomes permanent, and he is immune from being removed without a vote, even if there is a new Minister of the Interior. He also gains a +1 bonus in all areas where such a bonus is appropriate, including coups and his own assassinations. Further, any Commander who successfully prosecutes more than one assassin has the right to demand a post in the government a single time; it is the Chancellor's job to find him a different post if at all possible. The Chancellor chooses the post; if the Commander refuses the new post, he may not ask again, but he will retain his post as Commander.
5) If at any point the Minister of the Interior suspects that the actual assassin was the Commander of the Gendarmerie, he may insist during phase 1 that the Commander's own state be included in the search, separately, and not deducted from the Commander's choices. In this circumstance only, I will directly confirm the state instead of the more general "one of those states contains the perpetrator."
6) The assassin is free to confess at any time, but if he does so after being interrogated, the Commander receives all the benefits of a successful prosecution. The Commander may not be removed from office if the assassin confesses before the trial. The assassin may not confess during the trial unless he is called as a witness. If he confesses after the trial, even if somebody is found guilty, the assassin will still be punished, although the Commander will also be punished.
List of states is in the spoiler:
Natural 1 (w/o modifiers) -- Critical failure. Flip a coin.
- Heads - The assassin turns on his target, handing full details of the plot to the Gendarmerie. The person who ordered the hit is instantly revealed, and no further dice rolls are made.
- Tails - The assassin turns on his target and kills him. (This may result in both parties dying as a result, as other assassins could find and kill the original target.)
1 (w/modifiers) -- Failure, Assassin captured, sings like a canary. -2 to detection
2 -- Failure, Assassin caught, but resists interrogation. -1 to detection
3-17 -- Failure, but assassins escape.
18 -- Success, but mistaken identity; innocent NPC killed with a passing resemblance to target.
19 -- Target is wounded, incapacitated for one year to recover. If a minister, cannot fulfill their duties; Reichstag members may still vote.
20 (with or without modifiers) -- Target killed.
+1 to success for Commander of Corps of Gendarmerie, Interior Minister, War Minister, or Chief of the General Staff if they are directing the assassins
+5 to success if target is imprisoned
-1 to success if target is a Minister EXCEPT
-2 if target is Commander of Corps of Gendarmerie or Chief of the General Staff
-3 if target is President or Chancellor
A successful assassination will have an impact on realm stability, depending on who is assassinated:
-25 for President/Chancellor
-15 for other government official
-10 for former President/Chancellor
-5 for a party leader
No change for any other member of the Reichstag.
Detection
I will roll a D10. If roll is > number of assassins, the person who ordered the hit is not revealed. If roll = number of assassins, general rumors appear, but they cannot be pinned down to a single person. If roll is < number of assassins, the sponsor is revealed, and it is up to the Minister of the Interior to decide to prosecute.
-1 if sponsor is a government minister EXCEPT
+1 if Minister of the Interior or Commander of the Gendarmerie
Note: If the same person sends assassins against the same target more than once, they will receive a -1 to success and a +1 to detection for each successive attempt. The penalty will be dropped after one full election cycle has passed.
Investigations
1) The only person who may initiate an investigation is the Commander of the Corps of Gendarmerie. The Minister of the Interior may order such an investigation, but the Commander must agree. If the Commander refuses, the Minister may ask for his resignation. If the Commander does not choose to resign, the Minister of the Interior may replace him without a vote; however, the investigation may not begin until the following year. The same is true if the Commander resigns voluntarily.
2) The first phrase of the investigation involves the Commander ordering a local investigation into eight states (in the Victoria 2 sense). If the perpetrator of the assassination is located in one of those states, the investigation continues to phase 2. If not, the Commander may repeat the investigation the following year, with the capability to add an additional state. This will continue for a maximum of five years, with one additional state added to the search area each year. (Obviously, the smart Commander will issue a different list each year.) If after five years, phase 2 has not begun, the perpetrator has gotten away with it and the case goes cold.
The perpetrator of the assassination is assumed to be in the state of his residence unless he PMs me with a new location, which can change once a year. He may not move to a state which was already investigated, both to be sporting and to simulate that the Commander would have people keeping an eye out for him. He may not move if the Commander successfully identifies the correct state. I will not tell the Commander which state is the correct one, only that he has successfully identified the correct state in his investigation. For the purposes of investigations, the assassin may not leave Germany for those five years, but anything belonging to Germany is fair game.
3) In Phase 2, the Commander may choose a specific member of the Reichstag to interrogate who resides in the state. He has the right to ask three questions, but he is not permitted to ask if the individual actually did the crime or not directly; that would qualify as an accusation. I will roll a six-sided die. For 1-2, the person being interrogated must be honest on one of the three questions; for 3-4, he must be honest on two of the questions; for 5-6, he cannot lie at all. Both the prosecutor and the defendant will be informed of the die roll's results. The Commander, at this point, can either accuse the individual of the crime or interrogate somebody else. He has a maximum of two interrogations per year. If he accuses somebody of the crime, we move to a trial. The Commander will be the prosecutor, as currently established. Once a trial begins, there cannot be any more interrogations. The Commander has a maximum of three years to conduct interrogations without a trial, or else the case goes cold.
4) If the defendant is found innocent, whether or not he actually did the crime, that is grounds for dismissing the Commander of the Gendarmerie, again without a vote. If the defendant is found guilty, but did not commit the crime, the perpetrator gets a +1 bonus in all areas where such a bonus is appropriate, including coups and future assassinations. The defendant will still be punished. If the defendant is found guilty and committed the crime, the Commander of the Gendarmerie's appointment becomes permanent, and he is immune from being removed without a vote, even if there is a new Minister of the Interior. He also gains a +1 bonus in all areas where such a bonus is appropriate, including coups and his own assassinations. Further, any Commander who successfully prosecutes more than one assassin has the right to demand a post in the government a single time; it is the Chancellor's job to find him a different post if at all possible. The Chancellor chooses the post; if the Commander refuses the new post, he may not ask again, but he will retain his post as Commander.
5) If at any point the Minister of the Interior suspects that the actual assassin was the Commander of the Gendarmerie, he may insist during phase 1 that the Commander's own state be included in the search, separately, and not deducted from the Commander's choices. In this circumstance only, I will directly confirm the state instead of the more general "one of those states contains the perpetrator."
6) The assassin is free to confess at any time, but if he does so after being interrogated, the Commander receives all the benefits of a successful prosecution. The Commander may not be removed from office if the assassin confesses before the trial. The assassin may not confess during the trial unless he is called as a witness. If he confesses after the trial, even if somebody is found guilty, the assassin will still be punished, although the Commander will also be punished.
List of states is in the spoiler:
Anhalt
Baden
Bohemia
Bourgogne
Brandenburg
Campania
Champagne
East Friesland
East Switzerland
Eastern Rheinland
Elsass-Lothringen
Emilia
Flanders
Franche-Comte
Franconia
Friesland
German Croatia
German Lazio
German Masovia
German Picardie
German Provence
German Rhone
German Slovakia
German South West England
German Transdanubia
German West Galicia
Hanover
Hessen
Holland
Holstein
Istria
Jyland
Karsten-Steiermark
Liberia
Lombardia
Lower Elbe
Lower Silesia
Mecklenburg
Moravia
Palatinate
Piemonte
Pomerania
Puglia
Rheinland
Romagna
Sardinia & Corsica
Savoie
Saxony
Schleswig
Slovenia
South Tirol
Thuringen
Tirol
Toscana
Upper Bavaria
Upper Silesia
Venetia
Wallonia
West Switzerland
Westfalen
Wurttemburg
Zeeland
Osterreich
Baden
Bohemia
Bourgogne
Brandenburg
Campania
Champagne
East Friesland
East Switzerland
Eastern Rheinland
Elsass-Lothringen
Emilia
Flanders
Franche-Comte
Franconia
Friesland
German Croatia
German Lazio
German Masovia
German Picardie
German Provence
German Rhone
German Slovakia
German South West England
German Transdanubia
German West Galicia
Hanover
Hessen
Holland
Holstein
Istria
Jyland
Karsten-Steiermark
Liberia
Lombardia
Lower Elbe
Lower Silesia
Mecklenburg
Moravia
Palatinate
Piemonte
Pomerania
Puglia
Rheinland
Romagna
Sardinia & Corsica
Savoie
Saxony
Schleswig
Slovenia
South Tirol
Thuringen
Tirol
Toscana
Upper Bavaria
Upper Silesia
Venetia
Wallonia
West Switzerland
Westfalen
Wurttemburg
Zeeland
Osterreich
Destabilization events
Three categories: Minor (-5), Major (-10), Catastrophic (-25).
One destabilizing action per calendar year, except catastrophic, which can only be done once per election cycle; modifier lasts for one full election cycle.
One person initiates the event. No modifiers for minor instability; success 6-10. 1 = perpetrator revealed; 10 = additional -5 to stability. Any other failure has no consequences.
Major instability on d20. Gendarmerie, President, Chancellor, Interior get +2; other acting officials get +1, except Foreign Minister, who gets -1. (Intl reputation). Success 16-20. 1 = perpetrator revealed AND loss of position in the government. 20 = additional -10 to stability. A modified roll of 1, 2 or 3 reveals the existence of an attempt, which may or may not be investigated.
Catastrophic instability on d20. Must have a direct, negative effect on the game world! This effect will occur regardless of result. All modifiers doubled, but success only comes on 19 or 20. 1 = perpetrator revealed, loss of position in government, AND end of character’s political career. 20 = complete success, additional -15 to stability. A modified roll of 1 through 5 reveals the existence of an attempt.
Any successful stability reducing action can trigger an investigation, which follows the same rules as an assassination investigation. Uncovering the perpetrator also negates half of the stability loss; successful conviction completely nullifies the stability loss. A false accusation further reduces stability by 5.
One destabilizing action per calendar year, except catastrophic, which can only be done once per election cycle; modifier lasts for one full election cycle.
One person initiates the event. No modifiers for minor instability; success 6-10. 1 = perpetrator revealed; 10 = additional -5 to stability. Any other failure has no consequences.
Major instability on d20. Gendarmerie, President, Chancellor, Interior get +2; other acting officials get +1, except Foreign Minister, who gets -1. (Intl reputation). Success 16-20. 1 = perpetrator revealed AND loss of position in the government. 20 = additional -10 to stability. A modified roll of 1, 2 or 3 reveals the existence of an attempt, which may or may not be investigated.
Catastrophic instability on d20. Must have a direct, negative effect on the game world! This effect will occur regardless of result. All modifiers doubled, but success only comes on 19 or 20. 1 = perpetrator revealed, loss of position in government, AND end of character’s political career. 20 = complete success, additional -15 to stability. A modified roll of 1 through 5 reveals the existence of an attempt.
Any successful stability reducing action can trigger an investigation, which follows the same rules as an assassination investigation. Uncovering the perpetrator also negates half of the stability loss; successful conviction completely nullifies the stability loss. A false accusation further reduces stability by 5.
Wars
A. Set Up
1. Set up Theatres - Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East, North Africa, South Africa, North America, South America, North Asia, South Asia and Australasia. Up to you if you want to add/subtract, and how you define them but generally the combat will occur in the Theatres and it is better to have big Theatres for abstraction rather than get bogged down into too small an area.
2. Armies and Fleets will be allocated to specific Theatre. Armies and Fleets will be allocated points which are used to inflict and suffer losses.
Armies and Fleets can be moved around freely between bases in different Theatres during peace time (ie there is friendly province in that Theatre) (eg moving an Army from Western Europe to the Phillipines in North Asia).
3. Classify the States into Great (the big 8), Major (the next 8) and Minor (the rest) Powers, and into Modern (up to date tech), Antiquated (about 20 year old tech, like the Boxer and pre-Meiji armies) and Native (low tech like the Zulus).
4. If a War is declared, you have to decide if it will be Regional (1 Theatre only) or Global (multiple Theatres) in scope. You can decide this as DM but it may be handy to consider the participants' locations, whether there is more than 1 Great Power involved and whether the War Goals are spread over multiple Theatres.
5. Armies are created by dividing the total brigades in each Theatre by 20, rounding any fractions up, so that an army is about 60,000 men. You will need to keep a paper record of Damage to the Armies over time. Modern Armies are worth 5 points, Antiquated Armies are worth 3 points and Native Armies have 1 point. The points are the value for firing and are also lost when Damage is inflicted. eg. a pristine Modern Army fires at 5 strength and can take 5 hits before it is destroyed.
6. Fleets are created by allocating points to the ships based in each Theatre. You will need to keep a paper record of Damage to individual Ships. Dreadnaughts are worth 6 pts, Battleships are worth 5 points, Cruisers are worth 3 points and Ironclads/Monitors are worth1 point each. All other ships are worth no points. eg. a pristine Dreadnaught fires at 6 strength and can take 6 hits before it is sunk.
7. Only Global Wars allow Mobilisation. It is not automatic. The German Empire government can decide to mobilise, or you as GM can decide if another Great or Major power will mobilise (Minor States don't get the option). Once one State mobilises, everyone mobilises. Mobilisation adds to the number of Armies in each Theatre, with Natives +10%, Antiquated +50% and Modern +100% (rounded up) to reflect the different levels of efficiencies of bureaucracies in organising the raw recruits.
B. Combat
8. Land and Naval Combat involves a Round in each Theatre where the opposing sides have Armies or elect to move a Fleet out to battle. Each Round represents 4 months of game time (so 3 Rounds a year).
B1. Land Combat
9. At the start of the Round, each side allocates the number of Armies in the Front Line and the number in Reserve for each Theatre. Only Front Line Armies will fight and are at risk of being damaged. The Reserves are not at risk in combat.
10. Roll 1 d20 die for each side in the Theatre and modify for the following DRM:
+2 Modern against Natives
+1 Modern against Antiquated or Antiquated against Natives
+1 for each of Gas, Tank and Aircraft tech if the opposing side does not have that tech/units yet
-1 if all of that side's Front Line Armies were forced to retreat last turn (ie reduced to less than 50% strength. This represents the enemy taking the trenches so the Reserves are starting from unprepared positions)
-2 if Amphibious Assault in uncontrolled Theatre (see Naval Control rule below)
11. Great and Major Powers get minimum modified die rolls to reflect their inherent superior officer class and equipment. Great Power minimum is 12 whilst Major minimum is 8. ie. any modified rolls less than these numbers will be increased to the minimums.
12. Total the strength of each sides' Armies in the Theatre (remember to deduct strength points for previous damage) and multiply that Total by the die roll/100 (ie turns the die roll into a percentage) to generate the amount of damage caused to the other side (rounded up).
eg. a total strength of 25 for 5 Modern Armies (about 300,000 men) with modified die roll of 15 produces 4 hits (25 x 15/100 = 3.75)
13. A natural 20 is a Decisive Battle (Crit Hit) which destroys the weakest opposing Front Line Army, triggers a Home Front Crisis, -2 DRM to enemy's Home Front roll and + 2 VP to the inflictor.
14. A natural 1 is a Military Catastrophe (Crit Miss) which causes a -2 DRM to next Round of land combat by that State in all Theatres (to reflect drop in Morale) and -2 VP to the inflictor.
15. The side with the higher damage in the Theatre won the Round and gains 1 VP per Theatre.
16. Damage is spread evenly across the opposing Front Line Armies. If a Damaged Army is Damaged beyond 50% of its starting strength, it must withdraw to the Reserve for the next Round. A Damaged Army recovers one point of strength by spending a Round in the Reserve.
17. If all of the Armies in a Theatre are destroyed, or withdrawn to another Theatre, the winning side takes the Theatre. If it is a Regional War, the War will end. If it is a Global War, there will be VP earnt for war goals, and Home Front DRM.
18. Instead of fighting, an Army can also be moved to an adjacent Theatre in a Round, moving into the Reserve for that Theatre. Movement by land connection is automatic but movement by sea requires the Theatres to both be either Controlled or Contested (see Naval rule below). I will leave it to your common sense whether a particular State would have to use naval movement or could move by land.
B2. Naval Combat
19. Fleets are assigned to Theatres. They establish the degree of control of the sea in that Theatre, which then translates into the ability to move Armies by sea between Theatres. If one side has 2:1 or better points differential in the Theatre, the Theatre is Controlled, if the ratio is 1:2 or worse points differential the Theatre is Uncontrolled, if the ratio is in between the Theatre is Contested.
20. Vessels can be moved between Theatres during War, moving 1 Theatre per Round. Vessels cannot be based in a Theatre where there is no friendly Army.
21. If there are no friendly Armies in a Theatre, a side can carry out an Amphibious Assault by moving in Armies by sea from an adjacent theatre. If the Theatre is Controlled, there is no penalty for the Amphibious Assaault. If the Theatre is Contested, there is a DRM penalty. Amphibious Assault is not possible if the Theatre is Uncontrolled.
22. Naval Combat can occur if both sides elect to "put to sea" in a Theatre in a Round. If one side puts to sea but the other does not, then the side which puts to sea is automatically in Control of that Theatre's sea area.
23. Total the strength of each side's Fleet at sea in the Theatre (remember to deduct strength points for any previous damage) and multiply that Total by a d20 die roll/100 (ie turns the die roll into a percentage) to generate the amount of damage caused to the other side (rounded up). Note that there are no minimum rolls. The DRM's are:
+2 Modern against Natives
+1 Modern against Antiquated or Antiquated against Natives
-1 if more Dreadnaughts/Battleships v Cruisers/Ironclads/Monitors (ie not enough screen ships)
eg. a fleet of 5 Dreadnaughts with die roll of 15 produces 5 hits (30 x 15/100 = 4.5)
24. A natural 20 is a Decisive Battle (Crit Hit) which destroys one Battleship/Dreadnaught if there is none, then 2 lighter ships, randomly selected. The opposing side also has a Home Front Crisis and the inflictor gains 2 VP.
25. A natural 1 is a Naval Catastrophe (Crit Miss) which causes a -2 DRM to next Round of land combat by that State in all Theatres (to reflect drop in Morale) and -2 VP to the inflictor.
B3. Commerce Raiding
26. Cruisers and Ironclads/Monitors can also engage in either raiding opposition sea lanes or escorting convoys. These ships are allocated to a Global Pool of either Raiders or Escorts . Again some common sense will be required for which States will have maritime commerce lanes or not.
27. The DRM for the Commerce Raiding is based on the ratio of Escorts to Raiders:
3:1+ -5 DRM 5:2 -3 DRM 2:1 -2 DRM 3:2 -1 DRM
1:1 +1 DRM 3:3 +2 DRM 1:2+ +4 DRM
This also creates the option to include later modifiers for the introduction of submarines, early sonar and unrestricted/restricted raiding.
28. For each Round, roll a d20 die for each of side's Global Commerce, and add DRM from raiding or escorting, then consult the Commerce Raiding table for results.
19+ -3 Home Front DRM and 20% of Raider's points damage to the Escorts
16-18 -2 Home Front DRM and 10% of Raider's points damage to the Escorts
13-15 -1 Home Front DRM
7-12 Nil effect
5-6 10% of Escort's points damage to the Raiders
3-4 20% of Escort's points damage to the Raiders
1-2 1 Cruiser or 2 Monitors/Ironclads automatically sunk and 20% of Escort's points damage to the Raiders
Crit Hit natural 20 = Home Front Crisis and 1 Escort CA or 2 Escort Monitors/Ironclads automatically sunk
Crit Miss natural 1 = All raiders return to port and no raiding next Round
C. Home Front Morale
29. Finally, Wars can be concluded by one side reaching predetermined VP targets for War Goals you may set, or Home Front revolts (such as the February and November Revolutions or Austro-Hungarian collapse).
30. The Home Front Morale checks are only made if there is Mobilisation. Furthermore, only Great and Major Power check for Home Front Morale.
31. A Home Front Morale check is made after every 3rd Round (ie 1 year), or if a Crisis is triggered by a Critical Hit.
32. A d20 die is rolled and modified for the following DRM:
-1 per Theatre lost by that side since the start of the War
+1 per Theatre won by that side since the start of the War
-1 per Army or Dreadnaught/Battleship lost by that side in the last Round
+1 per enemy Army or Dreadnaught/Battleship destroyed in the last Round
-1 for every 2 Rounds since the War started (cumulative)
-? from Commerce Raiding since the last check
-? from Critical Hits since the last Check
+1 for each Army assigned to Internal Security (so effectively parked in the State, not available for combat)
+2 if won the most Theatre land combats for the Round
Results
10+ No effect
8-9 Public losing faith -1 Home Front DRM for next check
7-8 Food Riots -2 Home Front DRM for next check
4-6 Open Political Agitation Permanent -3 Home Front DRM and Army and Naval -1 Combat DRM (for morale drop)
1-3 Militia form and troops desert Permanent -5 Home Front DRM and Army and Naval -2 Combat DRM
0 or worse Revolution/Civil War, and Surrender
Critical Hit natural 20 - Remove any permanent Home Factor and combat malus, and +2 Home Factor DRM next check
Critical Miss natural 1 - (if not Surrender) Political Crisis, do another check with one off -5 Home Front DRM
D. Victory/Defeat:
33. Surrender - If it is a Regional War, a local State will surrender once it no longer has any Armies in its Home Theatre. If the State is from overseas, they will Surrender (white peace) if they do not have an Army in the Theatre for 1 Round (includes Amph Asst).
For a Global War, a State Surrenders when it no longer has an Army in its Home Theatre regardless of any other Allies in that Theatre (I will rely on your common sense as to the home Theatres of different States, although there may be some States , such as Germany or Poland, who have 2 Home Theatres because they stretch across so much territory.
34. Home Front Revolution - As per Home Front Rules above.
35. VP Negotiated Surrender - VP accumulated per Round. Sum zero exercise between the 2 sides. The side with the positive VP total can roll for negotiated surrender at the end of each Round after the 3rd Round if the total VP is greater than the War Score for the goals sought divided by 10 (eg. if conquest is 85 War score, then it equates to 8.5 VP so start rolling once get to 9 VP). A side may elect to drop some of the War goals to drop the War score so they can start rolling sooner but if the roll is successful, they are restricted to the retained War goals. Status Quo has a value of 2 VP. Great War Capitulation is 6 VP (as it is really just cut down to size which is 5 VP (50 war score/10) but with added emotional flavour).
+1 VP per Theatre Military Victory or Naval Battle Victory
+1 One off for conquering a Theatre (ie no enemy Armies left in Theatre). Only applies if there were enemy Armies there to begin with. Can occur again if the enemy sends Armies back to retake the Theatre but they are defeated a second time.
+/-? VP for Crit hits and misses
36. Once eligible to roll, roll d20 die. Negotiations successful if die roll less than VP total. DRM +1 for each year (3 Rounds) of war to reflect the emotional investment from losses which made it harder to accept defeat.
1. Set up Theatres - Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East, North Africa, South Africa, North America, South America, North Asia, South Asia and Australasia. Up to you if you want to add/subtract, and how you define them but generally the combat will occur in the Theatres and it is better to have big Theatres for abstraction rather than get bogged down into too small an area.
2. Armies and Fleets will be allocated to specific Theatre. Armies and Fleets will be allocated points which are used to inflict and suffer losses.
Armies and Fleets can be moved around freely between bases in different Theatres during peace time (ie there is friendly province in that Theatre) (eg moving an Army from Western Europe to the Phillipines in North Asia).
3. Classify the States into Great (the big 8), Major (the next 8) and Minor (the rest) Powers, and into Modern (up to date tech), Antiquated (about 20 year old tech, like the Boxer and pre-Meiji armies) and Native (low tech like the Zulus).
4. If a War is declared, you have to decide if it will be Regional (1 Theatre only) or Global (multiple Theatres) in scope. You can decide this as DM but it may be handy to consider the participants' locations, whether there is more than 1 Great Power involved and whether the War Goals are spread over multiple Theatres.
5. Armies are created by dividing the total brigades in each Theatre by 20, rounding any fractions up, so that an army is about 60,000 men. You will need to keep a paper record of Damage to the Armies over time. Modern Armies are worth 5 points, Antiquated Armies are worth 3 points and Native Armies have 1 point. The points are the value for firing and are also lost when Damage is inflicted. eg. a pristine Modern Army fires at 5 strength and can take 5 hits before it is destroyed.
6. Fleets are created by allocating points to the ships based in each Theatre. You will need to keep a paper record of Damage to individual Ships. Dreadnaughts are worth 6 pts, Battleships are worth 5 points, Cruisers are worth 3 points and Ironclads/Monitors are worth1 point each. All other ships are worth no points. eg. a pristine Dreadnaught fires at 6 strength and can take 6 hits before it is sunk.
7. Only Global Wars allow Mobilisation. It is not automatic. The German Empire government can decide to mobilise, or you as GM can decide if another Great or Major power will mobilise (Minor States don't get the option). Once one State mobilises, everyone mobilises. Mobilisation adds to the number of Armies in each Theatre, with Natives +10%, Antiquated +50% and Modern +100% (rounded up) to reflect the different levels of efficiencies of bureaucracies in organising the raw recruits.
B. Combat
8. Land and Naval Combat involves a Round in each Theatre where the opposing sides have Armies or elect to move a Fleet out to battle. Each Round represents 4 months of game time (so 3 Rounds a year).
B1. Land Combat
9. At the start of the Round, each side allocates the number of Armies in the Front Line and the number in Reserve for each Theatre. Only Front Line Armies will fight and are at risk of being damaged. The Reserves are not at risk in combat.
10. Roll 1 d20 die for each side in the Theatre and modify for the following DRM:
+2 Modern against Natives
+1 Modern against Antiquated or Antiquated against Natives
+1 for each of Gas, Tank and Aircraft tech if the opposing side does not have that tech/units yet
-1 if all of that side's Front Line Armies were forced to retreat last turn (ie reduced to less than 50% strength. This represents the enemy taking the trenches so the Reserves are starting from unprepared positions)
-2 if Amphibious Assault in uncontrolled Theatre (see Naval Control rule below)
11. Great and Major Powers get minimum modified die rolls to reflect their inherent superior officer class and equipment. Great Power minimum is 12 whilst Major minimum is 8. ie. any modified rolls less than these numbers will be increased to the minimums.
12. Total the strength of each sides' Armies in the Theatre (remember to deduct strength points for previous damage) and multiply that Total by the die roll/100 (ie turns the die roll into a percentage) to generate the amount of damage caused to the other side (rounded up).
eg. a total strength of 25 for 5 Modern Armies (about 300,000 men) with modified die roll of 15 produces 4 hits (25 x 15/100 = 3.75)
13. A natural 20 is a Decisive Battle (Crit Hit) which destroys the weakest opposing Front Line Army, triggers a Home Front Crisis, -2 DRM to enemy's Home Front roll and + 2 VP to the inflictor.
14. A natural 1 is a Military Catastrophe (Crit Miss) which causes a -2 DRM to next Round of land combat by that State in all Theatres (to reflect drop in Morale) and -2 VP to the inflictor.
15. The side with the higher damage in the Theatre won the Round and gains 1 VP per Theatre.
16. Damage is spread evenly across the opposing Front Line Armies. If a Damaged Army is Damaged beyond 50% of its starting strength, it must withdraw to the Reserve for the next Round. A Damaged Army recovers one point of strength by spending a Round in the Reserve.
17. If all of the Armies in a Theatre are destroyed, or withdrawn to another Theatre, the winning side takes the Theatre. If it is a Regional War, the War will end. If it is a Global War, there will be VP earnt for war goals, and Home Front DRM.
18. Instead of fighting, an Army can also be moved to an adjacent Theatre in a Round, moving into the Reserve for that Theatre. Movement by land connection is automatic but movement by sea requires the Theatres to both be either Controlled or Contested (see Naval rule below). I will leave it to your common sense whether a particular State would have to use naval movement or could move by land.
B2. Naval Combat
19. Fleets are assigned to Theatres. They establish the degree of control of the sea in that Theatre, which then translates into the ability to move Armies by sea between Theatres. If one side has 2:1 or better points differential in the Theatre, the Theatre is Controlled, if the ratio is 1:2 or worse points differential the Theatre is Uncontrolled, if the ratio is in between the Theatre is Contested.
20. Vessels can be moved between Theatres during War, moving 1 Theatre per Round. Vessels cannot be based in a Theatre where there is no friendly Army.
21. If there are no friendly Armies in a Theatre, a side can carry out an Amphibious Assault by moving in Armies by sea from an adjacent theatre. If the Theatre is Controlled, there is no penalty for the Amphibious Assaault. If the Theatre is Contested, there is a DRM penalty. Amphibious Assault is not possible if the Theatre is Uncontrolled.
22. Naval Combat can occur if both sides elect to "put to sea" in a Theatre in a Round. If one side puts to sea but the other does not, then the side which puts to sea is automatically in Control of that Theatre's sea area.
23. Total the strength of each side's Fleet at sea in the Theatre (remember to deduct strength points for any previous damage) and multiply that Total by a d20 die roll/100 (ie turns the die roll into a percentage) to generate the amount of damage caused to the other side (rounded up). Note that there are no minimum rolls. The DRM's are:
+2 Modern against Natives
+1 Modern against Antiquated or Antiquated against Natives
-1 if more Dreadnaughts/Battleships v Cruisers/Ironclads/Monitors (ie not enough screen ships)
eg. a fleet of 5 Dreadnaughts with die roll of 15 produces 5 hits (30 x 15/100 = 4.5)
24. A natural 20 is a Decisive Battle (Crit Hit) which destroys one Battleship/Dreadnaught if there is none, then 2 lighter ships, randomly selected. The opposing side also has a Home Front Crisis and the inflictor gains 2 VP.
25. A natural 1 is a Naval Catastrophe (Crit Miss) which causes a -2 DRM to next Round of land combat by that State in all Theatres (to reflect drop in Morale) and -2 VP to the inflictor.
B3. Commerce Raiding
26. Cruisers and Ironclads/Monitors can also engage in either raiding opposition sea lanes or escorting convoys. These ships are allocated to a Global Pool of either Raiders or Escorts . Again some common sense will be required for which States will have maritime commerce lanes or not.
27. The DRM for the Commerce Raiding is based on the ratio of Escorts to Raiders:
3:1+ -5 DRM 5:2 -3 DRM 2:1 -2 DRM 3:2 -1 DRM
1:1 +1 DRM 3:3 +2 DRM 1:2+ +4 DRM
This also creates the option to include later modifiers for the introduction of submarines, early sonar and unrestricted/restricted raiding.
28. For each Round, roll a d20 die for each of side's Global Commerce, and add DRM from raiding or escorting, then consult the Commerce Raiding table for results.
19+ -3 Home Front DRM and 20% of Raider's points damage to the Escorts
16-18 -2 Home Front DRM and 10% of Raider's points damage to the Escorts
13-15 -1 Home Front DRM
7-12 Nil effect
5-6 10% of Escort's points damage to the Raiders
3-4 20% of Escort's points damage to the Raiders
1-2 1 Cruiser or 2 Monitors/Ironclads automatically sunk and 20% of Escort's points damage to the Raiders
Crit Hit natural 20 = Home Front Crisis and 1 Escort CA or 2 Escort Monitors/Ironclads automatically sunk
Crit Miss natural 1 = All raiders return to port and no raiding next Round
C. Home Front Morale
29. Finally, Wars can be concluded by one side reaching predetermined VP targets for War Goals you may set, or Home Front revolts (such as the February and November Revolutions or Austro-Hungarian collapse).
30. The Home Front Morale checks are only made if there is Mobilisation. Furthermore, only Great and Major Power check for Home Front Morale.
31. A Home Front Morale check is made after every 3rd Round (ie 1 year), or if a Crisis is triggered by a Critical Hit.
32. A d20 die is rolled and modified for the following DRM:
-1 per Theatre lost by that side since the start of the War
+1 per Theatre won by that side since the start of the War
-1 per Army or Dreadnaught/Battleship lost by that side in the last Round
+1 per enemy Army or Dreadnaught/Battleship destroyed in the last Round
-1 for every 2 Rounds since the War started (cumulative)
-? from Commerce Raiding since the last check
-? from Critical Hits since the last Check
+1 for each Army assigned to Internal Security (so effectively parked in the State, not available for combat)
+2 if won the most Theatre land combats for the Round
Results
10+ No effect
8-9 Public losing faith -1 Home Front DRM for next check
7-8 Food Riots -2 Home Front DRM for next check
4-6 Open Political Agitation Permanent -3 Home Front DRM and Army and Naval -1 Combat DRM (for morale drop)
1-3 Militia form and troops desert Permanent -5 Home Front DRM and Army and Naval -2 Combat DRM
0 or worse Revolution/Civil War, and Surrender
Critical Hit natural 20 - Remove any permanent Home Factor and combat malus, and +2 Home Factor DRM next check
Critical Miss natural 1 - (if not Surrender) Political Crisis, do another check with one off -5 Home Front DRM
D. Victory/Defeat:
33. Surrender - If it is a Regional War, a local State will surrender once it no longer has any Armies in its Home Theatre. If the State is from overseas, they will Surrender (white peace) if they do not have an Army in the Theatre for 1 Round (includes Amph Asst).
For a Global War, a State Surrenders when it no longer has an Army in its Home Theatre regardless of any other Allies in that Theatre (I will rely on your common sense as to the home Theatres of different States, although there may be some States , such as Germany or Poland, who have 2 Home Theatres because they stretch across so much territory.
34. Home Front Revolution - As per Home Front Rules above.
35. VP Negotiated Surrender - VP accumulated per Round. Sum zero exercise between the 2 sides. The side with the positive VP total can roll for negotiated surrender at the end of each Round after the 3rd Round if the total VP is greater than the War Score for the goals sought divided by 10 (eg. if conquest is 85 War score, then it equates to 8.5 VP so start rolling once get to 9 VP). A side may elect to drop some of the War goals to drop the War score so they can start rolling sooner but if the roll is successful, they are restricted to the retained War goals. Status Quo has a value of 2 VP. Great War Capitulation is 6 VP (as it is really just cut down to size which is 5 VP (50 war score/10) but with added emotional flavour).
+1 VP per Theatre Military Victory or Naval Battle Victory
+1 One off for conquering a Theatre (ie no enemy Armies left in Theatre). Only applies if there were enemy Armies there to begin with. Can occur again if the enemy sends Armies back to retake the Theatre but they are defeated a second time.
+/-? VP for Crit hits and misses
36. Once eligible to roll, roll d20 die. Negotiations successful if die roll less than VP total. DRM +1 for each year (3 Rounds) of war to reflect the emotional investment from losses which made it harder to accept defeat.
Constitutional amendments will be added to the rules as presently written, bolded to ensure legibility.
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-- Assembly/Griefswald
