NationStates Jolt Archive

GENERAL
The Empire consists of the continent of Kregaia and the overseas territories conquered by the Imperium over time. Kregaia is divided into eight dominions, each administrated by the Patriarch of that Domain, with the assistance of numerous councils, advisors, and committees. There is also a ninth quasi-dominion; the personal property of the Sacred Emperor.

Domains, by the way, are large, extremely rich, and influential families who can trace their ancestry back centuries before the Empire, to ancient Rome. However, the land that the Domains administrate is not theirs, it is the state’s. Further, not all of the men supporting the Patriarchs in their role as limited monarchs of a dominion are from that Domain; most are commoners.

Each dominion contains an average of one hundred and two prefectures, administrated by an Imperial Prefect. Within these prefectures are districts, the most local level of government. The people do have some say in the appointment of district and prefecture officials. Many prefectures are owned by clans; clans are basically small Domains, and have sizable land holdings, but none to rival the dominions.

CLIMATE/GEOGRAPHY/DEFENSES
The Empire is large and varied. It stretches from frozen ice plains in the Kun-Dra Dominion to the tropical Jamaane Dominion. In the farthest reaches of the north, there is practically no life; it is similar to Greenland’s wastes. Cities like Batorine have tiny populations compared to those of Mon Serat or Tarsus, as living there is very hard, and the island of Kshar has almost no permanent residents. Deeper inland from the coast, things become a little more livable as the climate begins to resemble Alaska’s or Norway’s; there are many fjords in the Great Spine in this region. This zone covers Batorine. Farther south is a climate like the northern United States, covering Darius, Shield Vale, and Secutor. This finally gives way to a warm, temperate band that stretches from the Devil’s Dance Floor, Mon Serat, and Slivan all the way to Korronis, getting warmer all the way. There are exceptions; the Necrite Peninsula is cold, rocky, and windy, and the Jamaane Dominion has several very large rainforests. The area southwest of the Arcan Bay consist mainly of swamps, before merging back into the warm climates of Mon Serat in the east and the flat fields of the Breadbasket in the south.

An overview of Kregaian geography reveals that the continent is naturally fortified. There are only a few possible invasion paths. The Wall of Kregaia defends the southeast, and is almost uncrossable. The only way to get an army across is to fly them one by one. The south seems more vulnerable, as it is only a short march overland to Korronis from the southern tip of the Palatine Peninsula. There are heavy defenses along the base of the Peninsula for this reason, and there is a massive garrison in Korronis, not to mention the heaviest fortification in the country. The southwest is protected by another strong line of defense, and any invader who passed that would have to deal with the insects, predators, and all-around irritation of the jungles. The Necrite Peninsula does not need much defense; any enemy would have to be an idiot to try to fight up its length. Stronger defenses are located in the north, at its base. Skipping the north for now, we look at the east, from the Wall of Kregaia to Kshar. Military installations guard the land between Slivan and the Wall, and from there north is a toxic wasteland, used in the past to test nuclear weapons, and now a polluted industrial zone. Marching an army through there is doable; it is practically defenseless; but the place is treacherous, and almost no water there is safe to drink, creating the logistical nightmare of transporting huge shipments of water. The Gothic Peninsula is defended by the Northern Legion, an elite among the Legions, hardened by the intense cold.

And finally, the north. The easiest invasion route is an amphibious landing on the far northwest; the area is extremely cold, but ample preparation for it will enable a determined, experienced army to cross. Batorine cannot afford to defend itself properly, and will fall. However, then the invader faces a choice; to succeed in an invasion, one must take the southlands, and there are two routes to take. Luckily for the Imperium, both are unadvisable. One is through Shield Vale, a series of valleys between the Great Spine and the Sanctus Mountains, riddled with minefields and other booby traps, where snipers and Imperial troops can use the land to their advantage, harassing the invaders for its entire length, where they will have to face the Cadian Gate, defended by crack troops and advanced technology. The other way is through the Devil’s Dance Floor, the region between Secutor and Tarsus, bordered by the River Arsakia and the Dispater Mountains. In ancient times, the cities of Tarsus, Secutor, and Rashin would send their armies north annually for three-way slugfests. None of them ever held the area for any length of time. And any invader would face the same problem; it is open, the perfect place for the Imperium to mobilize the massive forces available in the region and confront them. Forces from Tarsus, Rashin, and Malacus could all join together to fight, and the place is, predictably, mined, the biggest series of minefields in the Imperium. There are several major cities, and clan Hul owns a hefty slice of the land there; for these reasons, it is defended by fortresses and defensive batteries as well as mines. Also, the inhabitants are particularly strong and vicious; they are an important source of able and dedicated Legionaries. Any occupying army would face insurgents in possession of high-quality Imperial arms, stored in local caches. However, if an invader held the Devil’s Dance Floor, Rashin would be unlikely to hold out, and then that invader would have a shot at Korronis.

Imperial sea defenses are fairly standardized, and cover most of the Imperial coastline. Sonar buoys are strategically placed in Imperial waters, but are not considered a line of defense. The first layer of defense is mines; small minefields are dotted throughout the seas, beginning 8 miles from shore and extending as far as 40 miles in some areas. The second layer consists of torpedo buoys; remote-controlled structures that simply launch a barrage of torpedoes at enemy contacts. They are controlled from local centers, but the main control centers are located in CHARIOT High Command and the Imperial Palace. This allows the Imperium to prevent an invader from using a captured control center. Safe paths through the torpedo buoy defenses are big enough to accommodate a single oil tanker, but an enemy fleet would take hours to maneuver its ships through, a few at a time. Groups of ships can only avoid this same impediment if the control centers deactivate the torpedo buoys in the area, and as ultimate authority to do this lies in the hands of CHARIOT High Command and the Sacred Emperor, the Imperium thus has absolute control over groups of ships entering the country. Finally, the above assumes that an enemy knew where the safe paths through the buoys were. Due to drift, computers in the control centers are forced to recalculate the positions of the buoys and thus the paths through them hourly, forwarding those safe paths to the dockmasters of the various Imperial ports, or captains of any inbound ships, in the area.

The final step in defense of the coast is land defenses, present only in certain areas. Defenses on land have no more than four tiers; more on this later. The first consists of machine gun nests. The same control centers that oversee the position of mines and torpedo buoys control the automated machine guns that guard the beaches, as well as the other tiers of defense. M134 machine guns (6-barreled, 6,000 rounds per minute) are located above the shore; sometimes on dunes, others in tall grass, or simply at the top of the beach, and are designed to mow down enemy infantry. The second tier consists of permanent artillery, with calibers ranging from 75mm to 188mm, with 88mm flak guns (range: 48,000 feet) among them. These guns are located 3 miles or so inland from the shore. The third tier is missile defense, consisting of platforms that are, once again, controlled by the inland control centers. Each platform holds eight SAMs and eight anti-armor missiles. Finally, the fourth tier. It consists of fortresses that incorporate aspects of all three previous tiers: machine guns, batteries of artillery, and several of the missile platforms that formed the third tier. These forts are manned by three fists (300 men total) each, whether of Immortals or of Legionaries. In this way, a single legion of 120,000 men can guard 400 forts. In general, sea defense is potent and cleverly utilized. Although all is directed from a relative few control stations, with ultimate control available in High Command and the Palace, the landlines connecting the local control centers to the defenses they operate ensure that an enemy cannot jam or intercept the signals. The Imperial sea defense system is a testament to the billions of denarii poured into it and the determination of the Imperium to control its shores. Obviously, however, this system cannot guard the entire coastline. The areas defended by the four tiers of coastal defense are indicated as khaki lines on the map of Kregaia.

SEA
1st Tier:
Mines
Fields of varying size
Begins 8 miles from shore and extends as far as 32 miles more

2nd Tier:
Torpedo Buoys
36 torpedo tubes, each holding 2 torpedoes
Begins 2 miles from shore

LAND
1st Tier:
M134 miniguns (unmanned, fired from control centers)
6 barrels, 6,000 rounds per minute
Set in elevated nests and surrounded by a steel plate designed to deflect grenades and bullets
Located at top of beach

2nd Tier:
Artillery (unmanned, fired from control centers)
Calibers: 75mm, 88mm (anti-aircraft), 105mm, 120mm, 155mm, 188mm, 210mm
Number of guns per battery: 16, 20, 14, 14, 18, 12, 6
Range of AA guns: 40,000 ft

3rd Tier:
Missiles (unmanned, fired from control centers)
8 Sultan SAMs
8 Rapier anti-armor missiles (can be used on tanks, infantry, and ships)

4th Tier:
Fortresses
Walls of concrete reinforced with steel
3 missile platforms (8 Sultans/ 8 Rapiers each)
6 75mm guns, 4 88mm guns, 4 120mm guns, 2 188mm guns, 2 210mm guns
20 machine gun nests (5 on each corner turret; mounted in walls)

ECONOMY
The Imperium has a capitalist laissez-faire type economy, but overseen by the Ministry of Commerce and the Sacred Emperor. Its main exports (in no particular order) are heavy machinery, heavy weaponry, slaves, precious metals, luxury items such as jewelry, lingerie, and fine wine, uranium, oil, timber, iron, and electronics.

CULTURE
Some elementary Imperial psychology for you.

The Imperial religion is violent, and justifies a few things above all: obedience to the Sacred Emperor, a deep racial and religious hatred of other cultures (infidels), a disregard for the individual, and violence in the name of the seven Imperial gods. Religion is one of the pillars of the Imperium, and perhaps the strongest. Although it is a fact that every Sacred Emperor has followed the Imperial religion to some degree or another, an impartial view reveals that the religion justifies the absolute control over all aspects of life concentrated in the single form of the Sacred Emperor. So while practically every Imperial citizen is loyal to the gods, that loyalty is what tells them that the brutal use of power by the Sacred Emperor is justified, and the society relies on that.

Imperial honor is equally violent. There is no better example of this than the recent Czardaian War; Lucifer sacrificed the last democratist officials in a brutal ceremony, and Czardas intervened militarily, sending an air fleet to the Empire. However, enraged by the violation of their sacred homeland, the Legions ended up with the destruction of three cities and hundreds of square miles of forest to their credit, with thousands and thousands of Czardaian citizens dead. This overwhelming response was triggered by the presence of a relative few aircraft. Thus, a small insult rapidly escalates into a fight for survival. This is what will make the Succession Wars especially lethal; this instinct means that each High Lord will take personal offense at setbacks and seek revenge on the one who engineers them, preferably through murder.

In general, the Empire is a violent place. However, this violence cannot be channeled forever, and while the Imperium has incredible potential for apocalyptic destruction, sooner or later it must tear itself apart. The Succession Wars are but a twinge of this trend. And yet, they are unable to kill themselves. As a child might see a toy they want being played with by a rival and then pretend they never wanted it, so do Imperial citizens turn their noses up at suicide, an act they see as the act of a weak infidel seeking escape from life. And so Imperial citizens, to prove their own strength, shovel more misery onto their life, hardening their own souls, eventually producing the cesspit of morality that is the Empire today, a threat to itself and everything around it.

MILITARY STATUS

Note: I have changed the numbers from Volume One to make them more realistic. Armies are now smaller in general. In addition, I have added the strategic air and ground reserves for each High Lord. Finally, I gave the Korronis garrison concrete numbers. Assume each army possesses transport aircraft; not enough to transport the entirety of it at once, though.

Dominions:
Asmodeus: Valgoth
Ishamael: Sadow, Kesh
Avaru: Miradin, Kun-Dra
Jahvan: Aurelius
Rahvin: Halcyon, Jamaane, all government territory


RAHVIN / IMPERIUM
1st Army (Palatine Peninsula)

1,200,000 Legionaries
24,000 Immortals
2,400 War-Priests
300 light guns (105mm)
200 medium guns (155mm)
150 heavy guns (188mm)
150 AA guns (155mm flak)
25 Colossus howitzers (460mm)
400 SAM batteries
1,600 T-120 Ravagers
1,400 M146 Despoilers
2,800 Sidewinder LAVs
15 Hornet Subterranean Tactical weapons
1,800 F/A-104 Balefires
600 A-10 Thunderbolts
540 MiG-45s
160 Behemoth heavy bombers
24 B-6 Paladin stealth bombers
360 MI-24 Hinds
120 AH-166 Twilight gunships
1 THUNK (Terrible Horrible Unstoppable No-good Killer) Experimental Destroyer Engine

2nd Army (north of Rashin)
720,000 Legionaries
8,000 Immortals
1,400 War-Priests
200 light guns
175 medium guns
80 heavy guns
150 AA guns
320 SAM batteries
900 T-120 Ravagers
1,100 M146 Despoilers
1,600 Sidewinder LAVs
1,200 F/A-104 Balefires
400 A-10 Thunderbolts
320 MiG-45s
100 Behemoth heavy bombers
240 AH-166 Twilight gunships

3rd Army (Shield Vale)
600,000 Elite Legionaries
16,000 Immortals
3,600 War-Priests
350 light guns
250 medium guns
175 heavy guns
30 Colossus howitzers
300 AA guns
540 SAM batteries
20 Hornet Subterranean Tactical Weapons
1,400 T-120 Ravagers
1,400 M146 Despoilers
3,200 Sidewinder LAVs
1,800 F/A-104 Balefires
600 A-10 Thunderbolts
600 MiG-45s
120 Behemoth heavy bombers
24 B-6 Paladin stealth bombers
480 MI-24 Hinds
4 THUNK (Terrible Horrible Unstoppable No-good Killer) Experimental Destroyer Engines

4th Army (south of Mon Serat)

1,100,000 Legionaries
8,000 Immortals
1,200 War-Priests
250 light guns
200 medium guns
150 heavy guns
10 Colossus howitzers
200 AA guns
320 SAM batteries
800 T-120 Ravagers
800 M146 Despoilers
2,200 Sidewinder LAVs
1,400 F/A-104 Balefires
800 A-10 Thunderbolts
320 MiG-45s
120 Behemoth heavy bombers
12 B-6 Paladin stealth bombers
240 MI-24 Hinds
240 AH-166 Twilight gunships

5th Army (Korronis garrison)

2,400,000 Legionaries
24,000 Immortals
4,800 War-Priests
700 light guns
500 medium guns
400 heavy guns
50 Colossus howitzers
650 AA guns (not counting city defenses themselves)
600 SAM batteries (not counting city defenses themselves)
3,200 T-120 Ravagers
3,200 M146 Despoilers
7,200 Sidewinder LAVs
4,400 F/A-104 Balefires
1,200 A-10 Thunderbolts
300 Behemoth heavy bombers
12 B-6 Paladin stealth bombers
480 MI-24 Hinds
240 AH-166 Twilight gunships
(This probably seems excessive. I have my reasons though; for one, Korronis is a huge city, and even 2.4 million Legionaries is only a few percent of the civilian population there. Besides, don’t worry that this army will be used against you. They would never weaken the Korronis garrison.)

6th Army (reserves)
840,000 Legionaries
12,000 Immortals
2,400 War-Priests
280 light guns
240 medium guns
220 heavy guns
15 Colossus howitzers
200 AA guns
280 SAM batteries
1,300 T-120 Ravagers
800 M146 Despoilers
1,600 Sidewinder LAVs
1,400 F/A-104 Balefires
540 A-10 Thunderbolts
120 Behemoth heavy bombers
12 B-6 Paladin stealth bombers
480 AH-166 Twilight gunships


1st Fleet (Korronis’s military docks)
6 Vengeance-class Superdreadnaughts
42 Imperator-class battleships
6 supercarriers (245 aircraft total: 180 Balefires, 36 Harriers, 24 attack helicopters, 5 stealth helicopters)
48 Prophet-class aircraft carriers (160 aircraft each: 120 Balefires, 24 Harriers, 16 attack helicopters)
346 Silencer-class missile submarines
357 Stalker-class attack submarines
345 Attila-class cruisers
486 Assassin-class missile cruisers
425 Darius-class destroyers
564 Piranha-class frigates
400 Atlantis-class troop carriers (empty right now)
60 Caduceus-class hospital ships
250 Arsenal-class cargo ships

ASMODEUS(in addition to this: spy and terrorist cells in every major city in the Empire; I just want him to have the potential to blow things up all over the place :) )
1st Army (just south of Darius)

840,000 Legionaries
8,000 Immortals
1,200 War-Priests
275 light guns
250 medium guns
100 heavy guns
175 AA guns
220 SAM batteries
1,200 T-120 Ravagers
800 M146 Despoilers
2,400 Sidewinder LAVs
800 F/A-104 Balefires
500 A-10 Thunderbolts
300 Behemoth heavy bombers
240 MI-24 Hinds
240 AH-166 Twilight gunships

2nd Army (east/west sides of the Gothic Peninsula)

1,000,000 Legionaries
9,000 Immortals
1,200 War-Priests
350 light guns
250 medium guns
150 heavy guns
25 Colossus howitzers
150 AA guns
300 SAM batteries
1,000 T-120 Ravagers
600 M146 Despoilers
2,400 Sidewinder LAVs
1,200 F/A-104 Balefires
600 A-10 Thunderbolts
80 Behemoth heavy bombers
240 MI-24 Hinds

3rd Army (shore of River Arcan)

1,200,000 Legionaries
9,000 Immortals
1,200 War-Priests
350 light guns
250 medium guns
150 heavy guns
25 Colossus howitzers
250 AA guns
300 SAM batteries
1,800 T-120 Ravagers
600 M146 Despoilers
2,400 Sidewinder LAVs
800 F/A-104 Balefires
1,200 A-10 Thunderbolts
540 MiG-45s
120 Behemoth heavy bombers
12 B-6 Paladin stealth bombers

4th Army (reserves)
1,000,000 Legionaries
10,000 Immortals
2,400 War-Priests
250 light guns
200 medium guns
150 heavy guns
15 Colossus howitzers
180 AA guns
240 SAM batteries
1,400 T-120 Ravagers
800 M146 Despoilers
2,400 Sidewinder LAVs
1,200 F/A-104 Balefires
840 A-10 Thunderbolts
360 MiG-45s
180 Behemoth heavy bombers
12 B-6 Paladin stealth bombers

JAHVAN
1st Army (along coastline between Wall of Kregaia and Slivan)

900,000 Legionaries
7,200 Immortals
1,200 War-Priests
320 light guns
240 medium guns
160 heavy guns
12 Colossus howitzers
200 AA guns
280 SAM batteries
1,000 T-120 Ravagers
800 M146 Despoilers
1,600 Sidewinder LAVs
1,400 F/A-104 Balefires
240 A-10 Thunderbolts
480 MiG-45s
180 Behemoth heavy bombers
8 B-6 Paladin stealth bombers

2nd Army (border of Aurelius and Halcyon)

1,000,000 Legionaries
6,000 Immortals
1,200 War-Priests
250 light guns
150 medium guns
100 heavy guns
15 Colossus howitzers
180 AA guns
350 SAM batteries
1,600 T-120 Ravagers
800 M146 Despoilers
2,600 Sidewinder LAVs
1,200 F/A-104 Balefires
800 A-10 Thunderbolts
540 MiG-45s
180 Behemoth heavy bombers
12 B-6 Paladin stealth bombers

3rd Army (just north of Seleucia)

800,000 Legionaries
6,000 Immortals
2,200 War-Priests
300 light guns
250 medium guns
200 heavy guns
20 Colossus howitzers
240 AA guns
360 SAM batteries
1,000 T-120 Ravagers
1,200 M146 Despoilers
2,200 Sidewinder LAVs
800 F/A-104 Balefires
1,200 A-10 Thunderbolts
240 Behemoth heavy bombers

4th Army (reserves)

900,000 Legionaries
8,000 Immortals
3,800 War-Priests
250 light guns
200 medium guns
150 heavy guns
15 Colossus howitzers
200 AA guns
280 SAM batteries
1,100 T-120 Ravagers
1,100 M136 Despoilers
2,400 Sidewinder LAVs
1,200 F/A-104 Balefires
800 A-10 Thunderbolts
160 Behemoth heavy bombers

1st Fleet (Arcan Bay)

4 Vengeance-class Superdreadnaughts
34 Imperator-class battleships
6 supercarriers
36 Prophet-class aircraft carriers
338 Silencer-class missile submarines
382 Stalker-class attack submarines
299 Attila-class cruisers
440 Assassin-class missile cruisers
382 Darius-class destroyers
517 Piranha-class frigates
370 Atlantis-class troop carriers (empty right now)
60 Caduceus-class hospital ships
270 Arsenal-class cargo ships

AVARU
1st Army (east of Malacus, on the west bank of the River Arcan)
1,000,000 Legionaries
9,000 Immortals
2,800 War-Priests
450 light guns
350 medium guns
200 heavy guns
30 Colossus howitzers
350 AA guns
420 SAM batteries
2,400 T-120 Ravagers
2,400 M146 Despoilers
5,200 Sidewinder LAVs
3,600 F/A-104 Balefires
1,200 A-10 Thunderbolts
600 MiG-45s
108 Behemoth heavy bombers
12 B-6 Paladins
480 AH-166 Twilight gunships

2nd Army (west of Malacus, on east bank of River Arsakia)

1,400,000 Legionaries
18,000 Immortals
3,200 War-Priests
350 light guns
300 medium guns
200 heavy guns
15 Colossus howitzers
250 AA guns
250 SAM batteries
1,400 T-120 Ravagers
1,600 M146 Despoilers
2,400 Sidewinder LAVs
2,200 F/A-104 Balefires
540 A-10 Thunderbolts
540 MiG-45s
160 Behemoth heavy bombers
16 B-6 Paladins
480 AH-166 Twilight gunships
120 MI-24 Hinds

3rd Army (south of Batorine; bordering Kesh)

900,000 Legionaries
10,000 Immortals
3,600 War-Priests
300 light guns
200 medium guns
150 heavy guns
10 Colossus guns
170 AA guns
280 SAM batteries
1,200 T-120 Ravagers
1,200 M146 Despoilers
1,600 Sidewinder LAVs
1,400 F/A-104 Balefires
800 A-10 Thunderbolts
160 Behemoth heavy bombers
480 MI-24 Hinds

4th Army (reserves)
1,200,000 Legionaries
12,000 Immortals
3,200 War-Priests
300 light guns
200 medium guns
170 heavy guns
15 Colossus howitzers
240 AA guns
320 SAM batteries
1,200 T-120 Ravagers
1,200 M146 Despoilers
2,200 Sidewinder LAVs
1,400 F/A-104 Balefires
800 A-10 Thunderbolts
240 MiG-45s
120 Behemoth heavy bombers
12 B-6 Paladin stealth bombers

ISHAMAEL
1st Army (north of Secutor)

1,000,000 Legionaries
10,000 Immortals
3,200 War-Priests
350 light guns
250 medium guns
150 heavy guns
12 Colossus howitzers
220 AA guns
300 SAM batteries
1,100 T-120 Ravagers
1,100 M146 Despoilers
1,800 Sidewinder LAVs
1,440 F/A-104 Balefires
640 A-10 Thunderbolts
180 Behemoth heavy bombers
480 MI-24 Hinds

2nd Army (north of Tarsus; near bank of River Arsakia)

1,400,000 Legionaries
18,000 Immortals
5,200 War-Priests
350 light guns
300 medium guns
200 heavy guns
30 Colossus howitzers
250 AA guns
320 SAM batteries
1,400 T-120 Ravagers
1,400 M146 Despoilers
5,400 Sidewinder LAVs
1,600 F/A-104 Balefires
720 A-10 Thunderbolts
600 MiG-45s
240 Behemoth heavy bombers
24 B-6 Paladin stealth bombers
600 AH-166 Twilight gunships
240 MI-24 Hinds

3rd Army (south of Dispater Mountains; bordering Jamaane)

1,000,000 Legionaries
10,000 Immortals
3,200 War-Priests
350 light guns
250 medium guns
150 heavy guns
200 AA guns
250 SAM batteries
1,200 T-120 Ravagers
1,200 M146 Despoilers
2,200 Sidewinder LAVs
1,200 F/A-104 Balefires
840 A-10 Thunderbolts
180 Behemoth heavy bombers
480 MI-24 Hinds

4th Army (reserves)
1,200,000 Legionaries
12,000 Immortals
3,200 War-Priests
300 light guns
200 medium guns
160 heavy guns
15 Colossus howitzers
240 AA guns
320 SAM batteries
1,200 T-120 Ravagers
1,200 M146 Despoilers
2,200 Sidewinder LAVs
1,400 F/A-104 Balefires
800 A-10 Thunderbolts
240 MiG-45s
120 Behemoth heavy bombers
12 B-6 Paladin stealth bombers

Here’s where I’ll explain some of the less normal items on this list.

Hornet Subterranean Tactical Weapons are essentially drills that carry two Hornet 2-Kiloton nuclear warheads. Lower them into the soil and watch as it digs its way towards enemy lines, where they can be detonated by a controller, causing havoc above. They can accomplish the same end with large amounts of high explosives.

THUNKs are massive armored war machines designed to lay waste to an enemy army at minimal loss. They carry racks of missiles, banks of chainguns, and a quartet of 155mm guns; further, it carries a large crew, much of which consists of soldiers that shelter in the machine, manning the numerous machine guns and grenade launchers mounted on its exterior. Short of godrods or nukes, they are practically unstoppable. Their downside is the astronomical cost required to build and support them. There are only five prototypes in existence.

Ok, a pair of questions to start off:

1) What would it take to get the international syndicate to start launching attacks against pretty much all governmental forces around the nation?
2) What control's the nations strategic missile reserves? Individual sites that have the ability to launch after receiving orders, or a number of unmanned sites controlled by a central hub? In either case, what kind of defences are there?

A few questions:
First: I'm assuming Asmodeus is sheltering the Navieran seccesionists as their experience would be useful in their apparent infiltrations and what not, But I want to make sure you don't have any other ideas there.

Second: What exactly makes the Wall of Kregaia and the Necrite peninsula uncrossable?

and finally: Are the Torpedo buoys submerged or ont he surface, if submerged, about how deep?
And do the sea defenses cover coasts near areas like the Wall of Kregaia and the Necrite peninsula?

Mondoth: to your first, yes he is.

Second, the Wall of Kregaia is too high and almost vertical in most places. It would take quite an airlift to move troops over it, and even then it would take days without countless thousands of airplanes. The Necrite Peninsula isn't unassailable, but it's generally accepted that trying to fight up a peninsula is a terrible idea (Gallipoli in WWI), so its defenses are mostly at its base.

Third, they are slightly submerged, but range in depth from one to three fathoms. The Wall of Kregaia is not defended by them, but the Necrite Peninsula is. I've been trying to get the map up, but my computer is being a bitch, and the map shows which areas are covered. Basically, the Necrite Peninsula, all southern coast, the eastern coast, and the central third of the northern coast. There are gaps between defended segments...I really need to get the map up.

Mer des Ennuis:

1. Just in general really piss them off, and convince them that the Imperium was responsible. Sooner or later they'll get mad enough to forget their fear.

2. Missile sites are manned, and guarded by two hundred or more Legionaries. It takes orders from the Sacred Emperor to give the launch command. Usually at least a few armored vehicles. They are closed to the public, and trespassers within the bounds of the sites are to be shot; approachers are to be challenged and turned away if unauthorized to enter. An electric fence with barbed wire encloses the area, and the guards patrol. This is a low-end estimate; more important sites will be more heavily guarded, often with hundreds if not several thousand troops on constant guard. They're pretty serious that nobody take out the nukes.

If you can attach the map to an email, send it to fox_lmdtiz@trashmail.net
and I'll post it.

Allright, i'm not so much thinking about nukes as MIRV type non-nuclear missiles. What kind of comlinks do they have? Can they be launched without the emperor's permission (i.e. in the event the emperor is killed and thus unable to give the code?) I want to take a few non-nuclear ballistic missiles and launch them at various cities of one faction, either by force or by hacking, but i'm guessing the latter is impossible due to a closed network. Or, do you have any road-transportable missiles in existance that would be on the move? possibly open for hijacking?

Last question before I make a post: What kind of vehicles do your police/secret police use? Do they have tracking devices? If several were to be hijacked, what would the timeframe of a response be, as well as how strong would the response be?

Am I correct in thinking that Asmodeus' territory is located roundabouts the north-east?
Also, what sort of terrain is around the Gothic Peninsula?

Arg... bad me... I havn't posted yet!

Mer des Ennuis: If the Sacred Emperor were killed, the Regent would have to go to the Palace and input a code known only to him. He would then receive a backup code for nukes, allowing him to launch them. If, then, he died, one of two vaults in Mon Serat and Korronis would be opened, and within is a code that would allow commanders to launch nukes. (But I don’t think we need to worry about all that right now.)

There are mobile missiles, but if they were moving they would be under escort by armor and a few squads of troops at the least. And if they were not on the road, they would be parked inside a military base. You could break into one of those. Or you could just make an arrangement with the enemies of your target and use some of their missiles. Here’s a chart to use if that’s your plan.

TARGET ENEMY
Ishamael Avaru, Rahvin
Avaru Ishamael, Rahvin
Asmodeus Everyone
Jahvan Rahvin
Rahvin Ishamael, Avaru

And the Inquisition/Intelligence Division/police use cars; the police use cruisers like the US police forces, and the Inquisition and Intelligence Divisions use whatever they want. They all have tracking devices, but if you hijacked them, they wouldn’t take alarm until you left the prescribed patrol route or failed to respond to communication; after all, all they see is a blip on the screen.

Mondoth: Asmodeus’s territory is in the northeast, yes. The Gothic peninsula is an icy wasteland, and rocky, at that. Rolling fields of snow and ice are broken occasionally by cliffs. Not a place to be without winter equipment.

And also, I tried to mail it but it didn't work. Dammit. I'll keep trying...

It was a throw away forwarder and I think I set it up wrong. Try this one instead: fox_xizuul@trashmail.net

I think it's a problem on my end, cause that one didn't work either. God god dammit dammit!

I'll figure it out though. I need to get that map up, and that's just what I'll do.

ok, i'll be hitting a non-nuclear cruise missile storage in a base. Can you send me info on the guard detail for a base, as well as stats on the missiles (i.e. if it is a TELAR, MIRVs, etc.)? If anything in my post pisses you off, let me know and i'll fix it up.

Warmaster, to clarify whether my guys are fascist or not... it depends on how far right you stick the "fascist" marker. They're no Nazi's by a long shot, being what I call a militaristic libertarian buerocracy". The military rules the country which has plenty of fascistic values, but infringement on personal liberty in almost unheard of.

But somehow I get a feeling our nations' moral codes are really going to jar...

Heh...that's fine. It makes it more interesting. Even if you were fascist, I personally don't care, it's just funny because Imperial citizens hate fascists.

OOC: A base devoted strictly to cruise missiles would be guarded by two fists of troops (200 men) and six armored vehicles; two MBTs and four LAVs. I suggest you hit one of those, because a full-scale military installation might have ten thousand troops or so plus air and armor support. Now, a cruise missile facility would consist of electric fencing topped with barbed wire, with guard towers every 50 yards, complete with spotlight. There would be two entrances on opposite walls; both would have a checkpoint, consisting of roadblocks and a hut where several of the guards would check an approaching vehicle. There would likely be one or more armored vehicle near each entrance. Inside the base would be barracks for the men, an armory, officer’s quarters, a medical tent, a helipad, cargo trucks, and other base necessities, along with the actual missile systems and a control center. Missile launch media would vary from truck-launched racks of missiles to advanced missile systems like the Rapier missile to buried and hardened silos for Pandemonium II missiles.

There are small missiles with ranges of around 50 miles or so, mounted on trucks. These are called Stilettos, and have one warhead.

Rapiers are medium-sized missiles with a range many times greater than that of a Stiletto. Rapiers can reach up to 430 miles, and have only one warhead.

Pandemonium IIs are large cruise missiles designed to flatten everything in a ten-yard radius and burn everything within the next thirty. They have three warheads, but the warheads cannot be independently guided.

I don't know what TELAR is, so...I hope this is enough to work with.

I'll join up in 2 weeks, I'm really busy, and it'll take me a while to figure out what I'm going to do. So expect me to show up later.

TELAR is Transporter, Erector, Launcher, And Radar; basically a self-supporting missile launcher. Most early russian missiles (like the s-300) use these. I'll likely do a few simutaneous hits to muck everything up. How easy would it be to escape with missiles? I'm thinking loading them into covered trucks (for the stilettos) and just plane stealing the missiles from the rapier's control trucks (its hard to hide the entire specalized truck). Before I get around to writing out a post, what kind of immideate response could I expect to get?

One last (and stupid) question: i use a random name generator to make most of my RP names. What ethnicity would your military men most likely be?

The response would be medium-sized once they figured out that missiles were gone. All factions would be anxious and angry about it...but with their forces tied up beating the shit out of each other, there's not much they can actually do about it, especially as they still don't know who you guys are. They might get people to look, but it wouldn't be a huge effort. Most likely they'd just warn air defense people in their territory to be alert.

Ethnicity...there's really no modern ethnicity that covers the Kregaians. I suggest you just go with American or Western European, that kind of thing.

Is there a map of Kregaia available? If so, please link.

Just to clarify warmaster, is it an issue if I RP your soldier's response to a massive surprise base attack? I would imagine it would be extremely botched, primarily due to the quick "shock and awe" aspect of having large amounts of 81 mm "smart" mortar bomblets (at a rate of 20 a minute for the first minute before dropping down to a maximum sustained rate of 12 a minute) rain down along with assorted rocket and small arms (i.e. heavy machine gun and sniper) fire. Would your men ever surrender a position amid massive fire of this kind? I'm thinking 250 men total per base (which would outnumber the 200 men you mentioned before).

Thanks in advance.

http://usera.imagecave.com/seuss/FinalWarMap.JPG

Here's the map of Kregaia.

Mer des Ennuis, no, I don't care; it'd take too long to RP back and forth for such a small battle. You'd have to kill them all, though, they wouldn't surrender a target like that. Chances are you'd take them apart, as you'd have a powerful surprise barrage, but if they weren't fatally wounded by that round, they'd start returning fire, and the armored vehicles might pose a threat. I suppose if a bare few (less than ten) were left and were outside the base, they might go on foot to warn a superior officer, but otherwise they'd fight to the death.

Yay A map!
After analysis of the map, I'm thinkin' that the fleet is positioned to invade right at the base of the Great Spine ont he Valgoth side up north.
Any region area specific info would be cool

I've just realized I mixed up Valgoth and Jamaane, so I will have to edit heavily: please check my last two posts for changes.

Also, of no consequince, since Shadow would undoubtadly address Rosenthal as he did and no one takes offence at being called a higher rank than they are, but a Boozian General-Major is equivelant to a Brigadier, due to General-Oberst (Colonel-General) shifting all the ranks below it down by on grade.

OOC: Mondoth, well, there’s not much to say about that area...it’ll be in the foothills of the Great Spine, and while not as cold as, say, Siberia, the climate and terrain is like Alaska. No military installations close by, in fact, the area is very undeveloped, and it’s not far enough into the mountains to be close to the ski-resort towns. A few oil rigs here and there, but all in all a good chink in the armor of the Imperial coastal defences. Word of warning, though: north lies the Gothic Peninsula, which is heavily fortified, with hundreds of thousands of hardy troops there. They’ll move to crush you as soon as they can.

Hey, uh, how many stillettos do I have from the raid? either later tonight or tomorrow i'll do a writeup to Asmodeus, who sounds like he'll need some help.

Aight, I said I would post a picture, and I dont lie!

http://i7.tinypic.com/21czebr.jpg

Ala Dr. Who!

Uhm...let's say eighty Stilettos.

And on behalf of High Lord Asmodeus, I thank you. :)

OOC: Boozia, can you pinpoint more or less where you’ll be landing? And also, Jahvan’s fleet moved out of the Arcan Bay back in Volume One; it’s east and slightly south of Slivan. Finally, just one question: if the recon planes are discovering the location of the defense emplacements, how can the battleships target them until the emplacements have already been found, and once they’re found, couldn’t the AA batteries and fortresses, at least, shoot down the recon planes?

IC response coming up, sorry...I've had a lot of fronts and characters to worry about. And it's my birthday today. Yeah.

Forgive my laziness, but I never bothered to read volume one. My fleet is attacking between the Slivan peninsula and the entrenched army (if it's still there), and the battleships and cruisers only opened up on the spotted fortifications. The line "Inevitably, many would not return, but war was war" was intended to indicate casualties with stating a concrete figure which would almost certainly be wankingly low or insanely vast. The air fleet is perhaps 500 planes all told, with unusually high EW support and is deliberately avoiding a prolonged air-ground battle, merely spotting for the ships. What do you think a reasonable casualty figure would be?

Also, please reply to my Valgoth expedition so I can contact Asmodeus.

Before I can answer casualties, which entrenched army do you mean? There's his reserve force which is up by Slivan, and there's an entrenched force spread out between the end of the Wall of Kregaia and the Slivan Peninsula, and their strengths differ, which would affect casualties...I can tell you, though, each of them have far more than 500 aircraft, so you'd have to be cautious not to provoke a response.

Working on reply to Asmodeus, sorry for the delay.

No problem, i've got enough on my plate now.

Warmaster, hows the whole naval thing going? I don't recall seeing anything more than just the fleets leaving harbor.

And, do you have a plan on destroying the Colossus artillery at Shield Vale or what?

The one on the coast, but I'm being careful to attack north of its position in order to minimize hostile air response.

Boozia: Gotcha.

Jipleastan: Sorry. I'm writing the naval post today, where our fleets should encounter Jahvan's. Boozia may join with us there, I don't know. And they'll probably just bomb the Colossus guns, or drive back the infantry so well that Asmodeus retreats, taking the artillery with him.

Alright

thanks thanks

On the subject of my fleet, should I wait for a response or just send in the marines?

Probably just send them in. Basically Jahvan's going to deploy his troops defensively, and of course, without a fleet with him he's forced to wait on you to attack.

Back, and I require a target.

Target=Asmodeus. Specifically, industry, transportation, that stuff. Things that enable him to make war.

Warmaster, is every side I align myself with going to die?

Hahaha...no. If you're referring to Jipleastan's missile strike...well, Jip, sorry, but I can't let you kill him yet. Asmodeus will be around for a while.

Warmaster, my troops didn't diembark from their transports, and probably won't until they reach the arty emplacements. Due to its comparitively small size and Neo-Blitzkrieg doctorines, I keep my army at 100% automotive capacity.

This is gonna be fun... Arg why me!! Why me!!!

Doom help me!

Asmodeus is going to eat me alive!

Warmaster, my troops didn't diembark from their transports, and probably won't until they reach the arty emplacements. Due to its comparitively small size and Neo-Blitzkrieg doctorines, I keep my army at 100% automotive capacity.

Ahhhhh...whoops. So the infantry are within the amphibious transports...gotcha. Then, while you wouldn't suffer losses from the MG's, the artillery would still fire at you.

Sorry about that.

That and anything with any kind of missile would pwn the transports... that and in modern war, armored spearheads cannot break lines that reform extremly easily.

Warmaster, I seem to recall something about "It will take great skill for him to survive; all five lords need him dead to have a chance of succeeding, but he does have an advantage in the form of the Sacred Emperor’s protection: Lucifer’s wrath will fall on any who removes his son."

So, when is Asmodeus going to bite the big one? And can you have an agent of asmodeus come up with a target? otherwise, its more "bombard the international with ub3r artillery pieces and make it look like the inquisition did it."

Um, I'm not quite following you, Mer. All I said was the comment about an MG mowing down infantry was an inocent mistake, because they're still transport mounted, and will remain so until they need to storm an emplacement of fight on foot, the former likely being the sooner. The vehicles are still vulnerable to arty, missiles, mines, tank traps, and other vehicles, but not MGs.

Also, about armoured spearheads, you can't just sweep away anything as impossible. Its actualy the accepted way to breach lines: we all know where mass infantry assault leads, and I'm too small for any kind of "Somme tactics". Once the tanks and IFVs break the line, they keep right on going: even an enemy line with 100% automotive capacity will have to mount up, and the enemy can plunge in to the rear, smash communications and power grids, severe supply lines, massacre HQs, and all the other things assosciated with classic Blitzkrieg.

And in any case, fixed robotic defences can't reform at all: you blow it up or by-pass it and it can't even re-deploy to chase you.

But enough ado about nothing important: the reason I'm posting is to ask if I can consider my air units re-feuled next post.

OOC: I'll be deploying the first few squads of ODST (squads 1-5 or 40 soldiers) while I try to digest the massive chunk of information that I have to try to comprehend here, while that's a very minimal number, I'll be deploying support for them in mass quantities as soon as I comprehend all this. I'm also too busy to try to RP a massive force, 40 seperate distinct characters and the assorted support characters will be puching it for me as it is, I'm really busy, so this is the best I can do. I'll have a deployment post tommorow, hopefully, I'll just be deploying into the capital then allowing Warmaster to tell me where he wants me.

(as a note, where ever you want them, it has to be reachable by carrier based aircraft, since the lion's share of the ODST's support will be coming from a very large naval task force outside your waters when I deploy them)

As an additional note I'm pulling the ODST out of the other thread while it remains dormant, once its starts up again, we'll assume they've returned and are still annoyed. Just some good policy, explaining how the same ODST can be in multiple threads at once.

Ah, I was just saying that the death of any kind of purely armored spearhead would be the MANPAD ATGM or CAS (or any other kind of mobile anti-tank device).

Cool, Shenyang, good to have you.

So, can I assume my aircraft refueled?

Yeah, they've been there long enough.

OOC: Warmaster, i'm going to be out of town as of tomorrow until tuesday, so I probably won't be able to post more than a short snippit. not sure what you had planned, but can I presume my deathshead (who, if i've managed to keep myself somewhat secret) are only known to exist through kobayashi (a man who would not break, for fear of what my forces would do to him in return). That being said, if kobayashi is killed/imprisoned, i'll make it a point to shell a random city, but i don't think that will be an issue. On the flip side, if Asmodeous is killed, I'll probably have to send kobayashi to who ever does him in.

Well, I'll keep it in mind, Mer...I wasn't planning to try to kill Kobayashi. If it's okay, though, I'd like to RP the arrival of those "popups" for the Deathshead unit in Thule. Just to keep things moving.

No problem at all. They'll be long gone and out of Thuel. Its not that they don't trust Asmodeus, is that they don't think he'll live much longer.

With my guys on the scene they may be right. Just had to add that, anyway, I'll be gone next week wed-sun, but I'll be back after that. Needless to say, I'll be doing a good amount while I'm still here.

OOC: okay, my internet connection works!
just moved to college and have been having trouble with the internet. And now that thats fixed, I'll be gone for the weekend for orientation camp. I will return though!

I'm back, Have you missed me?

Hahaha...you'll never know, now will you.

By the way, I may be getting involved in an external war soon, so here's my plan. Since I couldn't RP both threads in the same series of events, I'm going to continue with this civil war, just want to make that clear, in the same way I always have. I'm just going to RP the OTHER thread as if I'd called a truce in order to fight the foreign heathens:) . So if you see that, don't get confused.

Arg, those foreign heathens.

Your Imagecave account has been disabled and I see no map.

Concur

Heres one I Dled just in case such a thing happened

http://www.geocities.com/jamealbeluvien/FinalWarMap.JPG

Shouldn't go dead

Hmm...I did not know they could get disabled. I should have known better. So thanks a lot, Mondoth, you saved us on that one.

no problem.