this is a terrible idea but here we go
Wands Race 2: The Great War
The date is August 1st, 1914.
More than a thousand years ago, magic was discovered to exist. Despite the fanciful stories of magical miracles from the lost continent of Forenia, the use of magic has waned until the practitioners are little more than party magicians and hedge mages. Science has since taken the forefront of the public’s imagination and dominated the world. A little more than a month ago, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was killed in Sarajevo along with his wife Duchess Sophie by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip. War had broken out shortly after – Serbia and Russia one side, and Austria-Hungary and Germany on the other. As neighboring countries begin to mobilize, both the countries of Abbraccio and Kolubaria sides have grown eager for the chance to take up arms and have themselves prepared for war. After much lobbying and harassment of government officials, your magical institution has succeeded in creating an experimental Mage Support Company of the Army. This means your organization now receives government funding for research and development of magical equipment and spells, as well as any other perks that come with being a part of the armed forces. Work hard, for this is your chance to show the world the might of magic and to alter the course of history! Two tiny nations by the name of Kolubaria and Abbraccio bordering the Adriatic Sea go nearly unnoticed in the firestorm of political declarations of War and Neutrality. The two are relatively new, created in the aftermath of the Franco-Austrian War of 1859. Despite only existing for 55 years, the two have been subject to numerous border disputes and skirmishes. The relationship between them could be described as “uncomfortable” at best, and “openly hostile” at worst.
Kolubaria, with close ties to Austria-Hungary, sits on the mountainous countryside just north of the Istria peninsula and next to Abbraccio. Their capitol of Ljubljana is located in a basin just north of the Dinaric Alps. Allied with Austria-Hungary and maintains cordial relations with them, despite the larger country putting pressure on Kolubaria to assimilate.
Abbraccio, a liberated province of Italy, is wedged in at the end of the Adriatic Sea between Kolubaria and Italy. Their capitol of Venice is located on the coastline, west of the arid plains of Friuli-Venezia Giula. State sovereignty was secured in the Treaty of Villafranca, though the terms included entering into a Military Alliance with France.
It is August of 1914. Artillery dominates battlefields, and trains are the pinnacle of logistics. Radios are heavy and largely immobile, and the practice of aviation is only just taking flight. Stainless steel has only just been invented, though the announcement won’t come for another year. A stage performer in the United States is drawing small crowds by performing incredible escape acts, though it’s dubious whether he’s even using magic at all.
Kolubaria Main Thread
Abbraccio Main Thread
Discord Link 
Full-sized map here!CAPITOL CITIES are the centralized areas of power. Taking a capitol city will require a monumental degree of effort, close coordination between all branches of the military, and superior military power.
MAJOR CITIES are areas with high population densities, critical supply centers, or are of crucial strategic importance.
MINOR CITIES are areas with important supply centers, or are of strategic importance.
TOWNS are small areas where further assaults can be staged, and are more important as stepping stones than anything else.
- You WIN by capturing enough cities.
- You get 5 DICE per turn.
- 3 DICE will make a DESIGN (a "new thing"). New designs will take a few turns to be built before they can be used.
- 1 DIE will make a REVISION (changing something you already have).
- You make LOADOUTS (a list of equipment) and assign them to UNITS (the troops on the ground).
- The STRATEGY PHASE lets you choose where to send your troops to attack stuff.
- MAGIC lets you bend the laws of nature. The more you bend them, the more MANA (ability to do magic) required.
If you have any questions, ask!
There are three ways to win.
1) Capture the enemy Capitol – Unlikely, but possible! Push into the enemy Capitol and hold it for a turn to win.
2) Capture 3 Major and 3 Minor Cities – Hold a total of 9 Major Cities and 12 Minor Cities for a turn.
3) Capture 8 Minor Cities – Hold a total of 17 Minor Cities for a turn.
Each turn lasts 2 months in-game.
Design:
Here you will draft proposals for new spells and magical equipment to outfit your Mages with. It is a good idea to have a general understanding of how magic works before making a proposal (see “Magic” below).
A good design says:
-The name of the design
-What it does
-How it does it
-Details regarding specifications
-A bit of flavor text.
Generally, designs will become easier as your team gains experience designing and has access to larger fields of magic.
It is during this phase you may also freely requisition equipment from other divisions of the Army and Navy (or even the civilian sector) to supplement your equipment. How successful you are depends on your relationship with the other branches and inter-military politicking, as well as the available technology. You may requisition an unlimited amount of equipment per turn, but requisitions may damage inter-branch relationships.
While it is acceptable to create non-magical equipment, your team consists of Magical Researchers, not Expert Engineers. Designing mundane equipment beyond the current time period will be extremely difficult – you can totally design period-appropriate equipment by calling in some professionals to help, but it’s questionable why you would bother when you have access to literal magic. Similarly, equipment you design will not be available for mass distribution to your factions entire army; your new fully automatic assault rifle will not be given to every Army infantryman no matter how great it may be (presumably, it is too expensive to replace every rifle with it). Additionally, designs that target your infrastructure or general “Quality” improvements are outside the scope of this game and are not acceptable design choices (e.g. “Mage Schools”, budget Fund-Raising, weapon factories, etc).
Each turn you will be given five (5) dice. You may bank up to five dice for a maximum of ten (10) dice available. Each design costs three dice to start, though only a single dice will be rolled (see “Dice Rolls”, below) to determine the designs effectiveness based on the difficulty of the design (see “Design Difficulty” below). Once a design has been rolled, it will begin a Project.
A Project Consists Of:
Time – How long a project will take to complete. Depending on the complexity of the project, it can be anywhere from 1 to 35.
Progress – How much progress occurs naturally per turn. This number can be anywhere from 1 to 6.
Cost – How much it will cost to add this to a Load Out.
Spell Difficulty - (Optional) How difficult it is to cast this spell, and the rank a Mage would need to be to cast it.
During the Design Phase, a team may Accelerate progress on an existing design by spending one or more die. A 1d6 roll will be added to the project. For each paid die, a team may also Rush a project and gain a free die roll to add to the progress. An additional 1d6 will be added to the progress; however, rolling a 5 or 6 will add a Major bug to the project, and a 4 will add a Minor bug.
When a design reaches 50% completion, you may produce a prototype of the spell or equipment for 150% of the cost and/or +1 difficulty to spell casting. Once the design has reached 50% completion, you have gained the design knowledge from the project and may benefit from its advancements in other projects.
A project can be canceled at the end of any phase. Cancelling a project will return a random number of dice spent on it (minimum of 1).
Revision:
Revisions are pretty much the same as with every other Arms Race. Each revision costs 1 die to perform. Returns are limited compared to what can be done in a Design but are useful for hammering out bugs, modify effects, or fixing expense costs. A revision addresses existing spells and equipment; however, sufficiently minor spells or equipment may be done through revision, within reason. Revisions to unfinished projects will usually be more effective than revisions made once that project is completed.
Revisions to equipment that do not fundamentally change the nature, cost, or experience requirement of the equipment/spell will be freely applied to existing Load Outs (see “Load Outs”, immediately below).
Revisions can only upgrade a piece of equipment so far. Generally, a new Design will be better than an older Design with multiple revisions.
Strategy:
You will start with three Mage Units at the start, each of which roughly equal a platoon (~24 men) in size (see "Units and Aces" below). During Strategy Phase, you can create Load Outs, equip your units with them, and choose where to deploy them.
Load Outs:
During Strategy Phase, you can spend 1 die to create a Load Out (this die is not rolled, but simply consumed). A Load Out is a set of various pieces of equipment, either mundane or magical, the total cost of which is below your current Budget. Your Budget is the limit to how much can be fit into a single Load Out, and is not actually spent or decremented. Once a Load Out is created, it can be applied to any Mage Unit. This will be their equipment for the coming turn. There is no cost or penalty to swapping Load Outs each turn; however, any equipment that has a Spell Difficulty above the Unit's Experience Level (see "Units and Aces" below) will not be used by that unit. In this way it is possible to equip every squad with your new super expensive weapon, but doing so may deny them other less-expensive pieces of equipment. Evocations (see "Magic" below) do not have a specific cost and can be used by any Unit with the Experience to cast them without adding them to a Load Out. Revising equipment will usually not require a new Load Out to be made if the experience requirement, nature, and expense of the equipment is not changed – fixing a bug in your new weapon will not require you to make a new Load Out for it.
Deployments:
Deployments and operations may be proposed for each element of your available forces.
Generally, this will be a list of your current Units, each Unit's Load Out, where they are being deployed, and their goal for that area (optional). As you gain more Units, these may be organized under Task Forces to simplify Deployments; essentially a group of Units with a common goal. Commanders will do their best to perform assignments given to them, but in the event an assignment is impossible the Unit will fall back to defensive operations in that area. Without a goal, a Unit will follow orders from allied commanders in the field. Deployments do not need to be complex - you will not be punished for writing "Mage Group 1 | Load Out 1 | City ABC | Capture city"
Until your company gains more prestige and autonomy, it is advisable to follow along with the strategy of your Army superiors. It is suggested that you support the proposed operation for that turn or risk ruining relations and/or failing objectives.
Each “die” is a (1d4+1d3)-1, producing a bell-curve roll result. Bell-curved dice are rolled for Designs and Revisions; all other dice will be a standard 1d6. Difficulty (see “Design Difficulty” below) moderates how closely result will match the design, not the design’s failure chance, but may have some effect on the resulting bugs regardless. The following are examples of what to expect from dice results.
Result 1: [8% Chance] Result works sub-optimally; may be Mana-draining, suffer from severe bugs, or inordinately expensive.
Result 2: [17% Chance] Result is below expected parameters due to Mana-inefficiency and at least one big bug, or multiple smaller ones. Expensive.
Result 3: [25% Chance] Result is as expected but could use improvement. A couple minor bugs, or one moderate one. Cost is within expected parameters.
Result 4: [25% Chance] Results work well! A minor bug or two. Costs are acceptable.
Result 5: [17% Chance] Results exceed expectations. Might have a single small bug, or be surprisingly efficient. Costs are surprisingly low.
Result 6: [8% Chance] Outstanding results! Works better than expected. No bugs to speak of, and Mana costs are less than expected. Costs are trivial.
The difficulty of a spell or piece of equipment correlates to how far you’re bending the laws of nature, your experience with the field you’re manipulating, and how complex it is. Design Difficulty does not so much affect whether or not the design is a success, but rather how closely the effect follows what was intended. Exceedingly difficult designs will have a spell with a much smaller effect than intended or have it altered in some way. Meta-wise, this is “balance” to prevent one side from making a “kill everyone” spell and automatically winning the game.
Trivial:
Designs of this caliber can expect the result to pretty much match exactly what was proposed. Additionally, poor effectiveness rolls will probably be made less buggy or expensive.
-A Trivial Design uses magic you already fully understand and applies it in a way you would have no trouble doing so. A Trivial Design is one you would not conceivably fail.
Easy:
Normal designs will follow the design proposal as stated, though bugs may alter the effect to a minor degree on bad rolls. Poor rolls will be eased slightly.
-An Easy Design uses magic you already fully understand and applies it in a new (but non-complex) manner.
Normal:
Results will behave mostly as expected, but below-average rolls might result in bugs that alter the effect to be less than desired.
-A Normal Design might explore a new field in a basic way, or use magic you fully understand in a rather complicated way.
Hard:
Hard designs will generally perform results as expected on above-average rolls, but the effect may be nerfed to some minor degree.
-A Hard Design explores a new field and attempts to do something tricky with it, or it may be merging two different schools of magic together in a way you haven't attempted before.
Very Hard:
The effects of Very Hard designs will probably be less than expected without a very good roll. Even then, expect it to be nerfed in some way.
-A V Hard Design attempts to do a lot with something you've never tried before. You may also be trying to quickly advance your understanding of a field you've played with before.
Extremely Hard:
Your design is pushing the limits of what you can do with your current research background and skill. The effects will likely not be as desired without dedicated research into this field.
-An E Hard Design attempts to do something very complex with something you've never tried before. Generally, this will involve few or none of the schools of magic you've used before.
Impossible:
If your design is Impossible, you’ve made a mistake somewhere. I’ll probably let you know before designs are locked that your design is too hard to realistically accomplish.
-An Impossible Design is a player trying to break the game. Stop that.
Note:
These are rough guide-lines. Magic is tricky business from a meta-standpoint, and if a design is difficult it’s because I’m trying to keep the game balanced. This doesn’t mean I’m punishing your side, or I’m discouraging you from trying something, but rather I am trying to apply rules and balance to literal make-believe without even historical precedence to go off of. Cut me a break, dude. Damn.
The phenomenon known as “Magic” is poorly understood and subject to very little study. The practice of “Wizarding” is seen as archaic – compared to the raw might of science, the need for fireballs and enchanted swords has diminished greatly since the early middle ages. Most magical institutions are maintained out of posterity, and most magical advancements have been lost to the endless march of time. What spell a Mage can cast generally depends on his skill and experience, as well as his Mana reserves. Magic is typically seen as a source of energy, which can bend the rules of nature to some degree. The more you bend the rules, the more Mana required. The better you understand what you’re doing, the less Mana required.
Casting magic requires four components:
Innate talent: Some people can use magic, and others can’t. The degree of magical acuity varies from person to person, but the vast majority of people are without the Gift. The amount a Mage can cast is directly tied to their “Mana Pool” – a well of magical energy that all Mages pull from that enables the casting of magical spells. The size of an individual’s pool and the rate at which it refills varies from person to person.
Understanding: The trickiest part of casting. The caster must understand how the spell works, the intended effect, and the laws of nature governing what they’re affecting. Magic does not “break” the laws of nature, but instead “bends” them. A simple flame spell, for example, must draw heat and a spark from somewhere, and have something to burn. The most common source for these things is the caster’s Mana Pool, although a more skilled caster can use the heat from the surrounding air and a static spark for ignition. The more intimate the casters understanding is of what he’s manipulating and the mechanism through which the spell is accomplished, the more efficient, powerful, and complex his spells can become. To this end, magical equipment becomes very helpful. For example, an empty lighter can help ground a Mage’s understanding of a flame spell, while at the same time providing the spark for the spell itself. It is common to draw upon a Mage's surroundings for spell-casting, but not strictly required. Increased Mana consumption can supplement flawed or lacking understanding to a degree, but it’s an inefficient and amateurish method of spell-casting. Because of the integral nature of Understanding in spell-casting, certain aspects of nature can not be directly ensorcelled as they can not be properly Known; the Soul, the Mind, and Magic itself, to be name a few.
Direction: Unleashing the spell in a controlled manner; magic must be directed with a target in mind in order to be effective. Most novice casters fail here and lend to the stereotype of chaotic and unpredictable Mages. Engraved staves, wands, and inscribed circles are popular for directing more complex magic, but a simple hand gesture – or even a word, for simpler spells – can provide the appropriate avenue for magical release. In older times it was believed that wands made of rare and precious materials provided a greater boost to magical output, but this has been widely discredited in more modern magical communities. While the type of material can have some effect, it is instead the proportions, complexity, symmetry, and geometric precision which tend to matter more. Properly constructed material components can be quite intricate and complex, but would allow an efficient flow of Mana from the user into the target. The difficulty of casting a spell over a distance increases the further a Mage extends the spell and the more precise the direction or target – proper magical equipment can make this task a bit easier, however.
Will: A magic user must drive the spell with the force of their own Will. A magic user’s Will is the only manner in which magic can be used. A prepared spell cannot be activated by a non-Mage or any mechanical means; there are several work-arounds using Enchantments, but in order for a spell to be performed it must be done by a Mage with the Will to do so. In a direct contest of spells between two Mages, the stronger-willed Mage will generally have the edge.
Magic is generally classified into three categories:
Sorceries: The most frequently used type of magic, and is defined by the use of material components and equipment and their powerful yet Mana-efficient effects. Tend to be a bit easier to design and cast than Evocations. A Sorcery starts with a Mage drawing upon their Mana Pool. It then requires an understanding of the spell, the target, and how the world behaves and interacts with the subject of their focus. The Sorcery is then directed – either with a wand, staff, rifle, engraved circle, etc – and driven with the Mage’s force of Will. This is the most versatile form of magic, with the speed of casting tied to both the complexity of the spell and the Mage’s skill (anywhere from a second to a minute). Might involve multiple casters. Higher difficulty spells of this nature typically grow both more destructive and complex.
Evocations: Also known as “Flash Magic”, Evocations are spells that can be performed at the speed of thought with no material component and without requiring a large degree of understanding. This type of magic is quick and dirty, and used in the instant it is needed - essentially, the "bayonet" of spells. The complexity of the spell is generally low, but raw output can be high and can be useful for getting out of a tight spot. It is generally an inefficient use of a Mage’s magical abilities, as large amounts of Mana are used to make up for not having a more complex understanding or precise direction. This spell is equivalent to casting a burst of lightning or flame from the palm of a hand or with a spoken word. It is usually the first type of spell a Mage will ever cast, usually by accident and before they’re aware of their magical abilities. Due to the dangerous nature of these types of castings, learning spell-users are generally taught Evocations last – and with a large focus on control and discipline. Evocations do not have a Cost attached to them and can be cast by any Mage with the requisite experience regardless of Load Out. Higher difficulty spells of this nature typically grow more destructive rather than more complex. Because they do not have a cost, it is assumed all Mages have access to all available Evocations without explicitly having them on a Load Out (provided they meet the experience requirements to perform said spell, of course).
Enchantments: A highly complex and exhausting form of magic, and one of the most useful. An Enchantment relies heavily on a Mages understanding of the spell and the materials it is being cast on. A spell must be woven carefully and delicately emplaced upon the item being enchanted. An Enchantment is a type of “on-going” spell, which uses Mana to keep running. In particular, an Enchantment doesn’t require a Mage’s constant focus to continue the effect. When connected to a Mage, the spell will run until the Mage’s Mana reserves runs dry or until the spell is broken. When operating independently, an Enchantment will power itself directly off the Mana used in the spell imbued into it – eventually burning through the woven spell and shutting down automatically. Despite these draw-backs, an Enchantment can be incredibly useful. An Enchantment can “store” a spell, awaiting a Mage’s force of Will to activate itself, thus allowing a more time-consuming spell to be cast nearly instantly. An Enchantment can act as a conduit for a Mage’s magical ability, allowing them to utilize and apply their Mana more efficiently; for example, a wand, circle, or staff is technically briefly Enchanted when used for spell casting. An Enchantment can also perform a low-power effect for a long period of time without a Mage’s direct intervention, like a wrist-watch or a flashlight. Depending on how well an Enchantment is crafted and the nature of the effect, a Mage could keep it running indefinitely…assuming the mana draw is lower than the rate at which their pool refills. Higher difficulty spells of this nature typically grow more complex rather than more destructive.
Lastly, each spell has a Difficulty attached, limiting who can cast it. More experienced Mages can cast more difficult spells. Adequate equipment and better-refined spells can lower the Difficulty level of a spell, and an Ace attached to a Mage platoon can artificially increase their Experience by one level.
Difficulties are as follow:
Rookie: Basic spells, generally with simple effects. Beginner-level magic. Spells of this level anyone can cast, either with common wands or by Evocation. Spells of this level require a basic understanding of magic to cast.
Competent: More complex spells, with varying or conditional effects. Will likely require specialized equipment. Spells of this level require experience to cast.
Experienced: Spells of this level tend to have very complex effects and deal with large amounts of Mana. This will most likely require specialized equipment, or have outputs beyond what average Mages are capable of.
Veteran: Spells of this nature have the potential to alter the course of a battle by themselves. Spells of this level will surpass what can be done by conventional means.
Elite: Spells of this level are a hammer with which to strike the terrain and reshape it to your will. Unlikely to be cast by a single mage, and certainly not more than once.
Legendary: Literally, "The Stuff of Legends".
An individual being born with magical talent is rare.
An individual being born with enough magical talent to become a Combat Mage is even rarer. Your department engages in an on-going search for emerging talent among the population; when found, these individuals are conscripted and trained at the Academy. Once training has been completed, they will be sent to the frontlines. A new Unit of Mages will be provided every couple turns to increase the number of Units your team has available for deployment. It is assumed that Mages KIA will be automatically replaced without affecting the rate at which new units of Mages appear.
As your Units engage in battle, they will increase and decrease in experience level. This experience level is what allows your Mages to cast more difficult spells – successful combat trials will increase a Units experience, while defeats will decrease experience. As mentioned in “Magic” (see above), there are six ranks of experience:
Rookie: New to combat. Armed with basic spells, and prone to getting themselves killed.
Competent: Experienced with combat. Familiar with the battlefield and can be expected to operate without major fuckups.
Experienced: Well experienced with battle. Have engaged multiple combats and lived, often with success.
Veteran: Practiced, powerful Mages. Frequently engaged in combat, and experienced enough to spearhead important operations.
Elite: The best of the best, and unfamiliar with defeat. These Units can accomplish most any task given to them.
Legendary: Literally, “Stuff of Legends”.
From time to time, an Ace will appear. An Ace is a Mage who has gained five confirmed kills, gaining a nickname and notoriety. They are generally individuals with a greater amount of magical talent, skill, or just plain ol’ luck. An Ace will artificially increase the experience level of a unit by +1.
An “Ace of Aces” is a Mage who’s gained fifty confirmed kills. They will be granted an additional honorific title, and can artificially increase the experience level of a unit by +2. Very rare.
Aces are, sadly, mortal. They are not easy to kill, but it’s possible for an Ace to meet a bad run of luck or to get caught out by superior forces. An Ace may be KIA or WIA; in the event of Wounded In Action, they may return to the battlefield after a period of time to resume combat operations. Be careful with your Aces – they can be powerful tools, but don’t throw them away!
1) I am well aware of the salt this game can generate. We are all adults, playing make-believe magic on a niche forum about dwarves in fortresses. I understand that it can be fun to be salty, but please keep it to a minimum. If you find yourself upset with the game or another player, take a break. Walk away and go do something else. This is not worth getting upset over.
2) I am not perfect. I may get details wrong. I may forget things, or I might make a bad call. I'm sorry. The game is fantasy in an alternate WWI era; some liberties have been taken for the stake of the narrative or for balance. A piece of equipment may not work as intended, or the effect may not be as pronounced as you'd hoped. I am desperately trying to keep this balanced and fun for everyone - although ideally these issues won't pop up, I will likely make a mistake at some point. If you have an issue with how the game is run or how a battle played out, you may bring the issue up once, and only once, and I promise I will seriously consider it. I will generally err on the side of consistency, as sometimes it's more important to just keep the game running.
3) Do not accuse me of bias. It's not funny as a joke, and it's even more annoying when it's serious. I put a lot of effort into making things fair, and - like it or not - one side will lose eventually. If I were biased, then the factions would be named "Forenia" and "Cannala," not "Abbraccio" and "Kolubaria." Accusations of bias and the temper tantrums that come with them can derail a game. Do not accuse me of bias.
4) Do not spy on the other team. If you lack the self-control to keep yourself from peeking, then please, for the love of God, keep it to yourself. Don't use it to metagame or (as mind-boggling as it sounds, it's happened before) announce it to the thread. It's incredibly obvious when you're trying to casually play off your miraculous flash of insight. Trust me, it's more fun to play normally.
Before we start:Please vote on how you'd like the battle reports to be displayed.
1)
Main Thread - Battle reports will be posted in the main thread. Equipment lists and unit dispositions will be displayed for both sides to see, though projects will be hidden until completed. Politics, strategy, and events will be posted in each faction's private thread after the battle.
2)
Partial OpSec (1) - Battle reports will be posted in the main thread. Equipment lists will be displayed for both sides to see, though projects and unit dispositions will be hidden until completed. Politics, strategy, and events will be posted in each factions private thread after the battle.
3)
Partial OpSec (2) - Battle reports will be posted in each factions private thread, along with politics, strategy, and events. Equipment lists and unit dispositions will be hidden from either side, but reports will be otherwise identical.
4)
Complete OpSec - Battle results will be posted in each factions private thread, along with politics, strategy, and events. Equipment lists and unit dispositions will be hidden from either side. Battle reports will not explicitly say what the other side did or deployed that turn, but rather what the effects were (e.g. "Enemy mages utilized a new spell that caused explosions at long range. We're not sure how they're managing to do it, but there's no noise or heat involved in the explosion." etc). This type of report
will slow down the rate at which the game progresses, as it involves a lot of writing.
Both sides will have four free turns to research designs, perform revisions, and create Load Outs before the start of Turn 1 (i.e. Turns -3, -2, -1, and 0; you will have 5 design and revision phases before the first combat).
Poll
Author
Topic: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Core Thread Turn 2 (Read 4317 times)