BALANCE OF POWER: 1884
BoP: 1884 Hosts:
Almalexia
Amontadillo
Arcadius
BoP: 1884 Country List:
1. The British Empire: Pixel
2. The Empire of France (Bonaparte): Ev
3. The Empire of Russia (Romanov): Eternal
4. The Northern German Federation: CapnBen
5. The United States of America: AdmiralThrawn
6. The Ottoman Empire: Draorn
7. The Qing Empire: Moose!
8. The Kingdom of Belgium: Beny
9. The United Kingdom of Sweden-Norway: Grikiard
10. The Kingdom of Denmark: Angelsachsen
11. The Kingdom of Hawaii: Teofish
12. The Confederate States of America: Shatari
13. The Kingdom of Italy: Elara
Almalexia
Amontadillo
Arcadius
BoP: 1884 Country List:
1. The British Empire: Pixel
2. The Empire of France (Bonaparte): Ev
3. The Empire of Russia (Romanov): Eternal
4. The Northern German Federation: CapnBen
5. The United States of America: AdmiralThrawn
6. The Ottoman Empire: Draorn
7. The Qing Empire: Moose!
8. The Kingdom of Belgium: Beny
9. The United Kingdom of Sweden-Norway: Grikiard
10. The Kingdom of Denmark: Angelsachsen
11. The Kingdom of Hawaii: Teofish
12. The Confederate States of America: Shatari
13. The Kingdom of Italy: Elara
MECHANICS
Scores:
Every country begins with three ranked scores charting their relative industrial development, cumulative military power, and reputation and esteem among nations. Prestige is the most nebulous and abstract score, representing many different factors, from diplomatic reputation to cultural flourishing, and can be impacted by many more factors, from military victories or defeats, success or failure in international competitions, gaining the upper hand or conceding in world crises, and more domestic events. These can range from patriotic outbursts to riots, protests, and workers strikes, to the premieres of operas and works of art, and the unveiling of new public monuments. It can also be used in more abstract ways as a means for rewarding players for particularly well-thought out or developed orders. Military is on a more straightforward system: Army units contribute 1 point per brigade/unit, and naval vessels contribute 2 points (with the exception of those with obsolete sailing units). Finally, industrial development is simply the tallied total of all factories, also known as IC points, in your country.
Tl;dr - ranking is by prestige (self-explanatory), Industry (# of factories), and Military (# of units)
Government Type:
Ranging from Absolute and Constitutional Monarchies, to various forms of Dictatorships and Republics, these impact whether you have organized mass political parties, or simply informal factions in the government or court. Both have their own ideological bases and stances, and generally aligning your policies with that of the party/faction in power is beneficial to your stability and government efficiency. These ideological affiliations are general indicators, and more in-depth stances of the relevant parties will be detailed in the pertinent events. Parties in constitutional monarchies or republics, however, tapping into the will of the people, in general will have greater effect on the public stability of the country as it engages the population in the governance of the state, and thus going along with or against the policies of the majority party will each have a more pronounced effect. Changing parties, however, is a more straightforward process by calling elections. Court factions, however, are a slightly more tricky thing to change. Composed of and embedded within the ruling elites and bureaucracy of the government, rooting out a faction in an absolute monarchy or dictatorships requires more indirect, convoluted, or underhanded tactics, but the struggles and plots of court politics has less direct impact on the general populace, with reduced positive or negative results on stability. Going with or against the will of the reigning faction will have more dramatic effects on administrative efficiency. Plan accordingly.
Tl;dr - how your country runs, and who runs it. Don’t make decisions that radically oppose it unless you want trouble.
Suffrage:
Tying into government type, Absolute Monarchies by nature have no suffrage rights. Dictatorships, with single party governments, may have it but they are practically meaningless. Only Constitutional Monarchies and Republics have meaningful suffrage rights. The basis of voting is variable, and most (except Hawaii) currently have some bar on the voting rights of adults based on various factors, from wealth to land ownership to race. Mechanically speaking, the wider your voting suffrage availability, the more drastic the effects of going with or against the will of the dominating party will be. On the other hand, more reduced suffrage will have its own effects on public stability based on suffrage campaigns for various demographics, creating its own issues to combat, while entrenched classes or peoples benefiting from the status quo will push against further expansion.
Tl;dr - who can vote, i.e. who you have to appease to not get riots.
Economic Policy:
Divided between Laissez-Faire, State Capitalism, and Communism. In general these are guidelines for flavor, impacting how you approach the economy, but they do have a mechanical difference. Under Laissez-Faire and State Capitalism, countries will receive an ambient increase in their IC score turn by turn, with Laissez-Faire typically receiving the most per turn, and Communism receiving little to none. All, however, can invest directly into their industries through subsidies: the amount of factories that result vary, however. Typical investment is 1,000 pounds per IC on average, but like ambient increase, results are dependent on economic policy. Thus in general, Communism receives a 1:1 ratio in investment, where every 1,000 spent produces a factory that then produces 1,000 pounds per turn, while State Capitalism forms a middle ground of ambient and state investment, and laissez-faire the least responsive to government investment, but with the greatest ambient increase. There are other ways to increase IC indirectly as well, such as investment in the rail infrastructure, acquiring more colonies, and technological advances. These policies, however, have their own social effects that must be kept in mind, and the economy can be impacted by outside and domestic factors, from worker strikes to blockade, resulting in the closure of factories and the decrease in your IC score.
Tl;dr - how you get money and whether it’s focused on active control or passive growth.
Government:
Stability/Unrest:
Ranked from Stable, Uneasy, Unstable, to In Revolt/Revolution, this factor in your Home and Colonial governments charts the general public order of society. These are impacted by a multitude of factors, from government and policy, to social/cultural renaissance or turmoil, to economic prosperity or scarcity. A Stable society is a happy one, that raises few issues and is willing endure hardships if necessary in turn in times of war or stress. Uneasy societies are those on the brink of true stability or more open unrest, being troubled by oppression, discontent, or other factors, and are more sensitive to events, policies, or disaster. Unstable societies are hotbeds for social movements and rebel organization, and while they may not have risen up en masse against the government, they might operate openly, targeting civic institutions and encouraging social resistance, including riots and strikes. Societies in Revolt or Revolution have risen up in direct challenge against the government, and government functions will have practically shut down, necessitating either deep concessions or heavy military commitment against your own people and subjects.
Tl;dr - Stability. Duh. If you ****ed up, this is where you find out.
War Weariness:
Gauged by percentage, from 0% being effectively none to 100% being an effectively total rejection of continuation of war by civil society. This impacts both your conscript and volunteer bases, with every turn spent with war weariness reduces the body of available recruits by its percentage, after recruitment.
Tl;dr - A measure of how much propaganda you need to create to keep things going.
Social Movements and Rebels:
The various causes that brings people together in opposition to the government. Each are united by various causes, from championing ideological causes from reactionary conservatism to radical leftist communism, religious values, social causes, suffrage movements, class agitation and abolitionism, even Luddites and Temperance Leagues. Social Movements operate generally peacefully, and even though they may spark riots or worker strikes, they mainly seek to implement change through shifting public opinion. Rebels present a more immediate threat, as they organize or carry out open opposition to the government, hoping to create change through violence, by overthrowing or coercing governments and colonial/territorial administrations. Social Movements can change to Rebels, however, if their pleas are ignored for too long or the government acts in direct opposition to their goals, and Rebels can be incited into open revolt for the same reasons.
Tl;dr - this is where you find out how you ****ed up.
Economics:
Army Upkeep:
The cost of maintaining your troops at combat readiness with weapons, supplies, and recruits/reinforcements. Equivalent to half the recruitment cost in pounds.
Naval Upkeep:
The cost of maintaining your ships, from hull and weapons maintenance to repairs and living needs of sailors aboard. Equivalent to half the recruitment cost in pounds.
Welfare Costs:
The cost of your current welfare programs, which you can implement to help boost stability and appease reformist/socialist/moralist movements. The currently legislated programs are listed below.
Endowment for the Arts:
The cost of your financial support to artists, composers, musicians, and other cultural figures in your society. The lifestyle upkeep for the monarch, president, or other executive officials and their palaces and courts, as a reflection of the power of the state, are also reflected here. The percentage proportion of Arts Endowment to the overall annual expenditures of the state will then be applied to your current Prestige score to increase it turn by turn. Thus, if a country spends 250,000 pounds per turn, and spends 20,000 per turn on the Arts, the country’s prestige will increase by 8%.
Tl;dr - spend money, get famous.
Debt:
Reflected as a negative value in your Treasury Reserve, it should be emphasized that debt is not necessarily to be discouraged. Borrowing was a common practice among sovereign states (as it is today), and unless totally mismanaged is not unhealthy for a growing economy and empire. Taking on debt to mobilize is almost always a consequence of a major war. That said, debt accrues a 6% interest annually, and if you exceed twice your Total Annual Income (that is all earnings before expenditures), you will be forced into bankruptcy and a sovereign default, triggering an international crisis in the process.
Diplomacy:
Crises:
These are the hot geopolitical issues confronting two or more, even all, powers in the world at the moment. Whether sprung from events or inter-player rivalries, these raise the political stakes immensely, and signal the last chances for peaceful resolution before war. Event Crises, begun before the game starts or intermittently at our discretion, may have their own threads, calling the nations of the world together to the table to negotiate a settlement on an affair concerning the global balance of power. International Conferences of this sort can also be called by at least two players after conferring with the game hosts, and invite who they wish, to settle major issues as they occur. Another form, also player-initiated, sparks when countries, through events in their Turn orders, are brought into a situation risking open conflict between them, whether it is in competing land grabs for colonies, border disputes, or preparations for war. In the latter case, once orders are closed, players who have mobilized their forces will be announced, and the intended target will be given an interturn, where the aggressor can present an ultimatum if they so wish, and the defender can negotiate and attempt to avert war, if they so wish. They can also chose to mobilize during this interturn, but this will end negotiations, and war will be unavoidable.
Tl;dr - big events between major powers. If a world war starts, one of these will be the reason. Can be made by hosts, but also by 2+ players if they ask the hosts first.
Competitions:
Like Crises, Competitions involve two or more countries in opposition, but this time on the smaller scale with more limited political impact. These typically take the form of expeditions, sent off from the metropole or mother country off to the far corners of the Earth, representing the high adventure of the last great age of exploration and empires. Their goals, and destinations, are quite varied, whether it is for undiscovered archaeological treasures, untapped fortunes in mineral wealth, or scientific treasure troves for geology, zoology, or botany, as well as the pursuit of the last great exploratory discoveries on Earth, from Polar exploration to discovery in the great rainforest basins and remote interiors of far off continents. Competitions can even take the form of competing to become host for international exhibitions or events, such as World Fairs, or a revival of the Olympic Games. Some are purely for the prestige: that your country may be foremost in intrepid spirit and in awards and accolades, while others may have a significant payout in currency, or claim to formerly undiscovered lands. The key in these competitions, however, is in balancing speed, and preparation for travel and the unknown. Speed, so that you may reach the destination before your fellow competitors, and preparation, so that your expedition may survive the journey and whatever perils are thrown against your courageous explorers. In Competitions, you may include as much detail in whatever length you desire in your Turn Order. However, Competitions may incorporate interturns, just like wars and Crises, and as your expedition pushes forward into the unknown thousands of miles away from the headquarters in the metropole, the length and thus specificity of your interturn orders in response to expedition crises and problems will be limited to a specified word count. The end results, and who won the competition, will be announced after interturns are concluded in the Global Turn Report, but some information will be released publicly along the way as news filters back to civilization.
Tl;dr - similar to the above, but of a less apocalyptic nature.
Industry:
In general terms, IC increases revenue, with each increase of 1 IC contributing a base increase of 1,000 Pounds. This can be directly done through government subsidization of certain industries as well as public policy, or otherwise can be left to its own devices to increase ambiently as your market naturally seeks out and develops its best economic opportunities. That said, however, your IC scores from all produced goods will be added up to form your Aggregate Industrial Capacity Score, which will be ranked internationally in competition for the title of “Workshop of the World” (providing a 20% decrease in price for iron and coal for the holder of the title), as well as more crucially determine your production tiers for recruitment and ship building. Production of units and ships is divided into 6 industrial tiers, which represent “soft” caps rather than hard barriers, with the price to produce units above your tier increasing by 50% with each tier above your current position.
Tier 1: 0-50 IC. Can produce irregulars, regulars, and cavalry.
Tier 2: 50-150 IC. Can produce artillery. Can build monitors/gunboats.
Tier 3: 150-500 IC: Can produce machinegun squads. Can produce Early Ironclads and torpedo boats.
Tier 4: 500-1000 IC: Can produce Modern Ironclads.
Tier 5: 1000-1500 IC: Can produce Battleships.
Tier 6: 1500+ IC: Can produce Armored/Protected Cruisers and Destroyers.
On the whole, you should also consider your railroad network when looking at your industrial situation. Railways were absolutely crucial for the development of the industrial economy, and so in a similar way to how administrative efficiency affects your government revenue, so too will the railroad infrastructure development affect your industrial revenue. It will be reflected as a percentage, representing how much money you earn from the grand potential total of your industrial consumer good revenue added together.
Tier 1: 0-50 IC. Can produce irregulars, regulars, and cavalry.
Tier 2: 50-150 IC. Can produce artillery. Can build monitors/gunboats.
Tier 3: 150-500 IC: Can produce machinegun squads. Can produce Early Ironclads and torpedo boats.
Tier 4: 500-1000 IC: Can produce Modern Ironclads.
Tier 5: 1000-1500 IC: Can produce Battleships.
Tier 6: 1500+ IC: Can produce Armored/Protected Cruisers and Destroyers.
On the whole, you should also consider your railroad network when looking at your industrial situation. Railways were absolutely crucial for the development of the industrial economy, and so in a similar way to how administrative efficiency affects your government revenue, so too will the railroad infrastructure development affect your industrial revenue. It will be reflected as a percentage, representing how much money you earn from the grand potential total of your industrial consumer good revenue added together.
Strategic Goods:
In BoP:1884, there are only two strategic goods: iron, and coal. Each are needed in varying amounts to produce units, and are also useful in furthering along civic projects such as railroads by supplying iron and coal from government stockpiles. Similar to the system of BoP: 1600, there is no production quota to be added to or subtracted from per turn: governments simply purchase the amount they need for their purposes from the source or the market, either for the production of troops, ships, or civil projects, or to stockpile in case of projected shortages, such as before an imminent war, when the prices are cheap(er). Price will vary depending on a number of factors, including industrial development, railroad infrastructure, colonial possessions, and fluctuations of price on the market. If locally produced iron and coal is too expensive, however, one can always purchase from other powers, whose prices will be listed annually.
Tl;dr - more IC = more available/affordable units (see tier list, above), more money. Building stuff above your current tier costs 50% extra per tier. No resource system as such, just coal and iron needed to build anything. More railways = higher % of money from IC.
Metropole:
This straightforward category lists the territories of your home country proper, as well as the country’s/empire’s capital, commodities produced locally, and a description of its geography, culture, society, and potentially some issues confronting the home territory specifically. Keep in mind that unless explicitly mentioned, your industrial capacity is centered exclusively in the Metropole region, and if it is invaded or territory is lost, your IC score will suffer accordingly.
Colonies:
A more complex category, this lists the colonial region, its administrative capital or station, the stability/unrest in the colony, as well as its commodities, and the administrative efficiency and infrastructural development. Below these is listed the colony’s net revenue, and a description of the climate, geography, culture, and some history of the land, and the problems confronting its society, administration, or development. The base revenue of a colony is based on its commodities, divided by each commodity, which can then be invested in specifically. Those empires with contiguous territories along their Metropole also receive a yield in taxes as well. Otherwise, like industry, these can be boosted ambiently by specifically developing its colonial administration and its infrastructure, from roads and bridges to ambitious railroad projects.This modifier, like the industrial railroad development modifier, shows how much can efficiently be exploited and exported back to the metropole as a percentage on the total possible yield.
Tl;dr - colony development. Pay attention, manage your ****, get more money from them. Watch for riots.
Precious Metals:
The last resources of note are precious metals: while most countries have switched to paper currency in day-to-day transactions, they all still rely on the backing of precious metals to provide value to their currency. Thus, all gold, silver, or platinum mines provide a straight supply of income into your treasury without percentage modification. This makes them very valuable, appropriate during an era marked by its booming gold and silver rushes from one remote corner of the globe to another.
Tl;dr - #worth. If you can find these, it’ll be worth your while.
Military:
Manpower and Mobilization:
One of the most important considerations in military planning and buildup is the twin issues of manpower, and of mobilization. Manpower in Balance of Power: 1884 is represented by two values: conscripts and volunteers. These both represent the number of potential recruits available in the current “class” or year, accounting for those both aging into military age and those aging out. The distinction between the two is in recruitment: during peacetime, you can only recruit from the pool of volunteers. Conscripts can only be drawn upon for reinforcement or in mobilization, but typically have a much larger and consistent pool of recruits. An important consideration, however, is that these numbers can be significantly variable from turn to turn in response to stimuli, events, and war exhaustion, and should be managed with forethought and care. Mobilization will have an immediate effect of dropping the number available in either pool in the following turn, the war exhaustion will subtract a percentage from it per turn at war, and defeats, social instability, blockade, and devastation will decrease the number of young men available for call-up, reduce the number of potential recruits fit enough for service after starvation and physical exhaustion, and increase the amount of draft-dodgers and dissidents. On the other hand, these can be offset by victories, propaganda campaigns, and keeping the sea-lanes clear or running effective blockade runs, as well as policy and peacetime measures such as increasing length of service or eligible age of service for recruits, and developing the railway infrastructure, which increases the number of potential troops that can be brought at hand for campaign. These factors will also affect the two pools unevenly: the volunteer pool is more flighty and responsive to stimuli.
Mobilization is extremely important in instances of a major war, and is a very powerful tool for boosting your military for battle, but one with potentially significant costs. To begin, it must be noted that there are two forms of mobilization, with significant distinctions: mobilization of volunteers, and of conscripts. Mobilization of volunteers essentially represents an official call for volunteers from the government, forming into both newly raised government brigades and privately raised militia. In Volunteer Mobilization, you get a number of brigades equivalent to the number of recruits in the volunteer pool, with a mix of cavalry, artillery, and a much greater proportion of irregular brigades. The quality of these troops can vary enormously from brigade to brigade, from being on par to cutting edge Guard units to flighty, disorganized rabble with their grandfather’s flintlocks, depending on their patron in the private militia units, and you cannot choose the unit types: what you receive is what you get. For countries without an institutionalized conscription system, particularly among the American powers, this is the primary means of raising the main body of the army. The second form of mobilization is Conscript Mobilization. This requires legislation to open up the conscript pool for those countries who do not already have it implemented, with the associated hit to public unrest. However, this comprises a much larger pool of potential troops, and furthermore, you can choose whatever units you want, essentially opening up the large Conscript pool as an open shop for units. The catch is that you have to pay for the units raised, which if mobilizing the entire conscript pool, can incur significant costs and likely an extremely burdensome debt.
Keep in mind that if you have the legislation, you can implement both forms of mobilization during a war. But on the other hand, you can only call mobilization of either type once during war, and so as the volunteer pool rapidly dries up during wartime without government measures or victories, your ability to create new units after mobilization will be significantly hindered. In addition, not mobilizing the full pool during conscript mobilization in the interest of saving money may cause your army to have a critical disadvantage in numbers on the field.
Mobilization is extremely important in instances of a major war, and is a very powerful tool for boosting your military for battle, but one with potentially significant costs. To begin, it must be noted that there are two forms of mobilization, with significant distinctions: mobilization of volunteers, and of conscripts. Mobilization of volunteers essentially represents an official call for volunteers from the government, forming into both newly raised government brigades and privately raised militia. In Volunteer Mobilization, you get a number of brigades equivalent to the number of recruits in the volunteer pool, with a mix of cavalry, artillery, and a much greater proportion of irregular brigades. The quality of these troops can vary enormously from brigade to brigade, from being on par to cutting edge Guard units to flighty, disorganized rabble with their grandfather’s flintlocks, depending on their patron in the private militia units, and you cannot choose the unit types: what you receive is what you get. For countries without an institutionalized conscription system, particularly among the American powers, this is the primary means of raising the main body of the army. The second form of mobilization is Conscript Mobilization. This requires legislation to open up the conscript pool for those countries who do not already have it implemented, with the associated hit to public unrest. However, this comprises a much larger pool of potential troops, and furthermore, you can choose whatever units you want, essentially opening up the large Conscript pool as an open shop for units. The catch is that you have to pay for the units raised, which if mobilizing the entire conscript pool, can incur significant costs and likely an extremely burdensome debt.
Keep in mind that if you have the legislation, you can implement both forms of mobilization during a war. But on the other hand, you can only call mobilization of either type once during war, and so as the volunteer pool rapidly dries up during wartime without government measures or victories, your ability to create new units after mobilization will be significantly hindered. In addition, not mobilizing the full pool during conscript mobilization in the interest of saving money may cause your army to have a critical disadvantage in numbers on the field.
Tl;dr - how many soldiers you can send to the slaughter. More conscripts available (provided your country has a conscription policy - which you can set up, but which isn’t always liked by the people), less volunteers, during peacetime, only volunteers are recruitable, conscripts can reinforce. Number rises and falls with victory, defeat, unrest, propaganda, etc. You can mobilise volunteers, which is free, but generally has lower quality units, and you can mobilise conscripts, where you can choose what units you get and get more of them, but have to pay for them. You also have to have a conscription policy.
Recruitment:
Army Recruitment:
Army recruitment largely depends on three factors: money, strategic resources, and manpower. Manpower for recruitment, as mentioned before, can only be drawn from the volunteer pool unless during conscript mobilization. The units available for recruitment are shown on your country card, and have three stats: firepower, discipline, and maneuverability. Firepower represents the rate of fire and destructive power of their weapons: a unit armed with lever action rifles, with smokeless powder and metal cartridges, will have a much higher firepower score than a militia armed with old flintlock muzzleloaders. Technology advances are the main way to advance your army’s firepower. Discipline refers both to the unit’s accuracy, honed by training, and their ability to hold under fire and respond to commands. Cultivating discipline during peacetime through Turn orders is a good way to increase your army’s ability to hold and advance under fire during wartime, as is winning battles to produce an experienced force of veterans. Finally, maneuverability refers to their speed on the field, and their ability to keep up during forced marches during strategic advances and retreats. Special light infantry, such as Zouaves and Jaegers, will typically be faster than regulars, and cavalry faster than foot soldiers.
Lastly, if you so wish you can divide current units into smaller organizations for particular missions, such as an expedition into undeveloped and unexplored territory, where the territory cannot support the passage of a full brigade, among other reasons or purposes. For upkeep purposes it will still be regarded as being in its old unit, however, and if destroyed its former unit will draw from the recruit pool to be brought back up to full strength. Reinforcement in general is done automatically, drawing first from the volunteer pool, and then from the conscript pool if exhausted.
The scores available run from 1 to 5, but through improving training through Turn Orders or hiring foreign advisors, improving technology and issuing specific weaponry, and creating specialized new units, players can boost their unit scores to 6 or even 7.
There are six base unit types:
Lastly, if you so wish you can divide current units into smaller organizations for particular missions, such as an expedition into undeveloped and unexplored territory, where the territory cannot support the passage of a full brigade, among other reasons or purposes. For upkeep purposes it will still be regarded as being in its old unit, however, and if destroyed its former unit will draw from the recruit pool to be brought back up to full strength. Reinforcement in general is done automatically, drawing first from the volunteer pool, and then from the conscript pool if exhausted.
The scores available run from 1 to 5, but through improving training through Turn Orders or hiring foreign advisors, improving technology and issuing specific weaponry, and creating specialized new units, players can boost their unit scores to 6 or even 7.
There are six base unit types:
1. Irregulars: These represent anything from partisans and privately or locally raised militia, to paramilitary gendarmes and civic guards. Typically for either filling the ranks and boosting army numbers, or for second-line/rear duties, as well as keeping the peace. Recruited in brigades of 3,000 soldiers.
2. Regulars: The backbone of any professional army. Rifle armed, trained, and drilled troops to form the front line and the core of the army organization. Recruited in brigades of 3,000 soldiers.
3. Guards: The nation’s elite, dedicated to both protecting the life of the country’s civic leadership and to keeping the peace in the capital, they also form crack assault units, being exceptionally well armed and trained, they are more likely to die than break. That said, their skill and discipline makes them too precious to commit except in dire situations or extremely important points in the battle. Recruited in brigades of 3,000 soldiers.
4. Cavalry: The most mobile unit on the battlefield, the cavalry fill a variety of roles on the battlefield, from scouting and flanking light Hussars, to thundering charges of Cuirassiers and Lancers, to highly maneuverable Dragoons, capable of quickly filling any gaps in the line or leapfrogging ahead to seize critical points in the battlefield before the enemy can. Nonetheless, their growing vulnerability in the new world of repeating accurate rifles and explosive shells that is emerging means they require the support of other arms of the military more than ever, and no longer can be counted to carry the battle to victory alone. Recruited in brigades of 3,000 soldiers.
5. Artillery: The king of battle, the advances in artillery technology over the past thirty years has made this the most deadly weapon in a general’s arsenal. Consisting of breech loading cannons, siege guns, mobile horse artillery, and mortars, the artillery branch can now lob explosive shells with more accuracy and more rapidity of fire than ever before, and further development and proliferation of these technologies and weapons will make them ever more effective. Built in batteries of 25 cannons.
6. Experimental Repeater Artillery: The newest weapon in the arsenals of the world’s armies, these highly experimental, prototype weapons condense the firepower of battalions into single guns. These vary enormously in configuration, from organ gun-like Nordenfelt guns, multi-barrel mitrailleuse, rotary Gatling guns, or even the monstrous revolving Hotchkiss cannons typically sported aboard warships. Nonetheless, their propensity to jam, and the general disregard by most countries’ military leadership for their practicality, means they see only limited deployment at the present, are very expensive per weapon fielded, and are typically unwieldy to maneuver due to being mounted on artillery carriages. Deploys with 8 guns.
Tl;dr - Manpower is drawn from volunteers unless you are mobilising. You can split units into smaller “subunits” if needed for certain tasks - this does not change upkeep or overall organisation.
Naval Production:
Naval production depends on money and strategic resources, like army recruitment, but its upper level production is highly dependent on higher levels of Industrial development. Thus while the production tiers are soft caps, the 50% increase in currency cost per tier above your level can become quite restrictive, and it may be more worthwhile to order vessels from more developed nations instead (to be discussed below). Like army unit cards, ship types have their own “Class” cards, with three attributes: armament, armor, and maneuverability. All countries begin with a base deck of “standard” vessel types, with their average stats listed for production. However, players can also at their own will create and design new named classes of ships, from torpedo boats to battleships, whose stats will be determined by the design specifications you submit. The more detailed the specifications, the more likely a more positive and powerful result. Armament, like firepower, refers to the rate of fire and power of the ship’s guns, as well as the number of guns it has on board. Therefore, a ship with only a handful of very large, but slow loading, guns will likely be equivalent in armament to a ship with more smaller and faster firing cannon. Armor refers to the thickness and coverage of a ship’s armor plating: this improves its survivability in battle, but also may conversely affect its maneuverability. Maneuverability in turn equates to the ship’s speed and turn radius, and also takes into account the mechanical reliability of its engines. Like army units, the stats run from a 1 to 5 range, and can be boosted to 6 or 7 by creating new classes of ships yourself.
To streamline the buying and selling of vessels between higher developed and less developed countries, to buy a number of ships of a certain type or class, simply contact the intended producer and secure a contract for the vessel type and number requested. Both players will then put the contract in their order: however, only the buyer has to allocate the necessary money and resources to build it in their order as if producing it domestically, not the seller. Any further exchange of money or resources to be sent to the treasury of the seller will be listed in both orders in their contract. Either can back out at any time, particularly if there is a declaration of war, where both will be given a short message in the interturns to decide whether to carry through with the contract or end it, and on the seller’s part whether to scrap it and thus still get the extra money stipulated in the contract for the purchase (though not the construction price, which will be refunded to the buyer), or to take on the ships themselves to completion, with the purchase price subtracting from the construction costs of the ship, thus getting a new vessel on the cheap. For countries with unique ship classes they wish to advertise for sale, they can post their cards on the public thread to generate interest for contracts.
There are eight base classes of ships:
To streamline the buying and selling of vessels between higher developed and less developed countries, to buy a number of ships of a certain type or class, simply contact the intended producer and secure a contract for the vessel type and number requested. Both players will then put the contract in their order: however, only the buyer has to allocate the necessary money and resources to build it in their order as if producing it domestically, not the seller. Any further exchange of money or resources to be sent to the treasury of the seller will be listed in both orders in their contract. Either can back out at any time, particularly if there is a declaration of war, where both will be given a short message in the interturns to decide whether to carry through with the contract or end it, and on the seller’s part whether to scrap it and thus still get the extra money stipulated in the contract for the purchase (though not the construction price, which will be refunded to the buyer), or to take on the ships themselves to completion, with the purchase price subtracting from the construction costs of the ship, thus getting a new vessel on the cheap. For countries with unique ship classes they wish to advertise for sale, they can post their cards on the public thread to generate interest for contracts.
There are eight base classes of ships:
1. Torpedo Boats: A new, cheap, and frightening concept just emerging from the Jeune Ecole of naval theory, torpedo boats are small and often unarmored vessels, hardly larger than a typical launch, propelled at speed with a steam motor and with a minimal crew. However, bearing either spar torpedoes suspended like a spear upon the prow, or self-propelled torpedoes, swarms of torpedo boats can pose a threat to even the mightiest ships afloat, overwhelming their slow firing if powerful guns to get in close and sink it. The concept, while revolutionary, is still relatively untested, and so it is yet to be seen how the theory performs in battle.
2. Monitors/Gunboats: The first vessels to be armored in iron, these represent armored steamships suitable for coastal or riverine duty, but typically unsuited for cross-oceanic voyages. These can range from relatively well armed and armored coastal defense battleships, to mid-range gunboats, and relatively small monitors. Compact and reasonably well armored, they do well in combating or running shore defenses and defeating unarmored vessels, but they have been superseded in armored combat by the later, larger ocean-going ironclads.
3. Wooden Steamships: Relatively obsolete in this age of iron and steel, wooden steamships still play an important role in the navies of the world, who maintain them for second-line duty and colonial service, typically away from the main line of battle between the iron monsters of ironclads and battleships. While vulnerable to modern explosive shells, they still serve an important role in keeping the sea-lanes secure in patrols, maintaining blockades, running them, conducting commerce raiding on the high seas, and subduing uncivilized nations and tribes through bombardments of gunboat diplomacy.
4. Early Ironclads: The first generation of ocean-going ironclad ships, these consist of anything from old ships of the line uparmored over their wooden superstructure, to purpose built ironclad rams and broadside ironclads. Though capable of ocean voyages, their steam engines are largely auxiliary, and they still rely on the age old mast and sail for traversing the world’s oceans, and their armor and armament are typically thin and weak compared to modern guns, if more numerous in cannon. Nonetheless, though obsolete by modern standards of ironclad battleships, they still can hold their own in the line of battle, and make fine flagships for colonial stations as a way to intimidate local rulers.
5. Modern Ironclads: The second generation of ironclad battleships, these are the transition from the old configuration of broadsides, towards centralized batteries of guns capable of being trained and aimed in archs of fire, while also boasting better armor and larger, more powerful guns. The armament is mounted in either heavily armored citadels in a central battery, or in the first experiments of armored turrets on ocean-going vessels, they are nonetheless constrained in their firing arch by the necessary anachronism of masts, utilizing the sail still in long distance voyages to conserve coal or prevent overloading the engines, thus restricting their firing to broadsides on either starboard or port.
6. Battleships: The third and cutting edge incarnation of the evolution of ironclads, these are the first true Battleships, freed at last from the necessity of masts and sails and capable of travelling long distance under their own power of their engines, they also boast the most powerful guns afloat, mounted in either turrets or barbettes. Heavily armored to boot, these vessels are the most powerful ships in the world, and are rightly feared by anything below their class, but the heavy armor and armament reduces their speed, and the focus on big guns leaves them vulnerable (so goes the theory) to the newly devised torpedo boats. Nonetheless, within the ship type of battleships, being at the cutting edge of rapidly advancing technological development they are liable to becoming outclassed themselves as new developments render them obsolete.
7. Protected/Armored Cruisers: The new, theoretical successor to our long distance unarmored steamship cruisers as well as the fleets of aging ironclads, the new cruisers, between battleships of the line and light destroyers, are the middle ground in speed, armament, and armor. To achieve all three while maintaining its ability to pursue missions across long spans of ocean and sea, however, compromise must be found in armor, with two competing schools of thought. Armored cruisers emphasize a traditional emphasis of the armored belt around the hull and waterline of the vessel. Protected cruisers, however, put the main weight of the armor on the decks of the ship, to defend it in this new world of arcing, explosive shells.
8. Destroyers: The response to the proliferation of the torpedo boat menace, torpedo boat destroyers, or destroyers, are a light and speedy escort and dispatch ship, bristling with an array of quick firing weapons and light cannon to shoot oncoming torpedo boats out of the water before they can hit the prized battleships of the line. Their speed and technological refinement also makes them valuable for naval patrols, and for swift long distance deployments across oceans in convoys.
Tl,dr - Unique ship classes can be created. You can contract out shipbuilding from other countries if they have better tech than you.