Iron Grandeur [Setting]

This is intended as a work place for a potential 19th century setting for military RPG.

I haven't decided on a rule system to base it on but probably Only War due to its greater character building oppertunities than many other military RPGs.

The basic idea is that its a low-fantasy setting, with a spicing of steam- and possibly dieselpunk, that's advanced into the industrial age and so great empires from the Old World are setting out to carve up the world between them, and then finally come together in an apocalyptic clash which will settle who is the final ruler of the world, or make that world come crashing down. I haven't decided yet which part of the 19th century the main setting will focus on but probably between 1870 and 1914 so that bolt action rifles has both rendered the old line tactics of infantry obsolete and allowed for looser formations and thus also let soldiers act more independent in battle.

More will probably come, be changed and re-done before it comes again, but I hope this thread will give me a reason to keep working on it so that it don't end up as just another idea that never came to anything in my head.

Or not, if this goes nowhere I'll just ask the mods to remove the thread but so far I am mildly opptimistic that this will turn out well. For it is something that I've been thinking about for a long time.

Quote :

I haven't decided yet which part of the 19th century the main setting will focus on but probably between 1870 and 1914 so that bolt action rifles has both rendered the old line tactics of infantry obsolete and allowed for looser formations and thus also let soldiers act more independent in battle.

This also has the added benefit of emphasizing the chaos of new tactics being created/tested against new technology. Like the world saw in WWI, rapid industrialization and mechanized killing brought a new level of warfare unexpected and completely devastating at the time.

It would help make this a particularly brutal setting.

This sounds excellent. Only War sounds like an easy system to adapt for a military-campaign setting like this.

Iron and Metal wrote:

Quote :

I haven't decided yet which part of the 19th century the main setting will focus on but probably between 1870 and 1914 so that bolt action rifles has both rendered the old line tactics of infantry obsolete and allowed for looser formations and thus also let soldiers act more independent in battle.

This also has the added benefit of emphasizing the chaos of new tactics being created/tested against new technology. Like the world saw in WWI, rapid industrialization and mechanized killing brought a new level of warfare unexpected and completely devastating at the time.

It would help make this a particularly brutal setting.

This sounds excellent. Only War sounds like an easy system to adapt for a military-campaign setting like this.

Thanks.

A brutal setting is naturally a must for any that uses the Only War rule-set. As is as you have correctly noted the nightmare horrors born from the new military developments in this era combined with a conservative military establishment which can't keep up with the weaponry developments. And even more so when steampunk and diseselpunk elements are brought to the fight, with its natural culmination in the Great War when fully urbanized and industrialized states with large populations and lying close to each other, let loose the dogs of war.

This is giving me some Dystopian War vibes (kind of a semi-defunct miniatures game) that is set in a 1880s steampunk world.

Talking about bolt action rifles don't forget about the lever guns either. They saw some use by the Russians in WW1 and would be a good way to change up how military fighting and technology philosophy differs.

Well, Gurk, if you start developing this further, I will lend a hand whenever I can. It sounds really cool and right up my alley.

Thanks guys, and thanks for the tip and the offer of help. Both are likely to come in handy.

Given that this is the first time I'm trying a project on this scale I am looking on writing down some basic ideas about both the setting's fluff, something about how warfare is conducted with technology and so.

And I should also note that its not my intention to make a copy-paste of the late 19th century. If I wanted to make a historical military RPG then I would have done so from the start, even if there naturally will be parts that are pretty close.

Empires of the Old World (first five of them)

Empire of the Eagles

A massive dynastic construction which spans across the Old World and out into the New World to both west and east. Its a common political construction that brings together over a dozen nationalities under the rule of a single emperor from a single dynasty allied with a single accepted religious belief. Many chafe under its rule and thinks that if they could make their own way, that way would be better.

Main theme: Is the grass greener on the other side?

The Grand Empire

Perhaps the second most developed empire in the entire world with an educated population, a progressive monarchy (as opposed to the reactionary ones in most other places) and a ideological foundation in revolutionary zeal of freedom, brotherhood and equality (which can be interperated in very different ways by different people) and a contender for the best land army in the Old World.

Main theme: How far, also from your ideals, are you ready to go to see those ideals realized?

Steel Empire

A young and vígerous empire rising like a sun in splendour. Its power is growing fast in every way and it seeks to secure its future among the older empires. And without old rivalries and old feuds, many smaller powers looks to it for an alternative to the grasping control that most of the older empires have over the world. But as a young empire its trajectory is not set and it there are many ways it can bend or be bent.

Main theme: What does it mean in duties, responsibilities and rights to wield great power?

Empire of Frost

A zealously puritan empire founded on the three pillars of a controlling state, a controlling bureaucracy and controlled army. Its perhaps the most well organized of all the empires with the greatest grip on the population and also perhaps the weakest of the empires. For it knows that its small population cannot sustain itself in a drawn out conflict and so wait patiently for an oppertunity to strike if necessary and sit like a wild beast that bites anyone that comes to close. Surrounded by greater powers, it would fall quickly if it fell to disunion.

Main theme: How far must the individual bend to society and how far must society bend to the indiviual, so that both can flourish?

Empire of Winter

Situated on the borders of the Old World it's a strange thing, half way here and half way there. No one knows how many people live there but its a diverse lot from both north, west and east. Some call the empire boundless but that's a lie for it has a border beyond the horizon's horizon and its ruler's ambitions stretch as far. Since ancient time the ruler has ruled supreme and since ancient times the empire has primarily been that of the ruler, not any particular nation or tribe within it.

Main theme: What is the empire, that you serve? The government? The institutions? The population? Something else?

EDITED

I'm thinking about rather than going from top down to start with a single war scenario and focus on the two participants in that as a starting point. In this case the war between the Empires of Winter and the Empire of the Mountain, and the war conflict between these two.

EDITED II

And for those who didn't get the hint, yes, its the Russo-Japanese War and the empires inspired by Russia and Japan that will be the first ones out. I've been itching to have a campaign in a conflicted inspired by this war for a long time so its an obvioust first choice for me to try and get into the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KskDykA3wQE&t=338s

Glorious.

Some changes in the concept has been made but this is still alive and I've started making some progress. Stay tuned, but don't hold your breath.

Been working on the setting some more and angling it more towards the 40k and Dune scenarios with sci-fi.

The basic idea for the very archaic ways of society is the idea that a struggle with conscious machines, after the age of space colonization had begin, lead to both destruction, technological regression and also hostility towards technology and the more advanced the technology is, the more hostility. Shamelessly ripping off 40k I have an idea that it will be more akin to sorcery than science. But not a total rip off and so no tech-priests, and that in recent times technology has slowly been advancing again. Hence why we're entered the period of the game.

And also because I imagine that the focus of the game will be on infantry-vs-infantry fighting with very little threat from machines like tanks, walkers and so on. As a cavalry enthusisast cavalry will naturally play a role but the star of the game will be the bloody infantry. Yet at the same time, as I think that I've mentioned, I do want the players to be able to make some decisions on their own and hence the tactics must be more of a skirmish kind than line tactics.

I think as long as it doesn't go too heavy into the sci-fi aspect it still holds a high degree of playability and originality. The biggest appeal for me (as a professor of history and overall nerd in general) was that this was not another grimdark heavy science fiction game. The steampunk/diesel punk aspects in a real world setting - Russo Japanese War-esque backdrop - really appeals to me.

As it currently stands, I don't see how the new changes to the lore have affected the setting. So, that's nice. I suppose all this is to say, I don't think you need to go too crazy into making it like 40k or like Dune. You have something pretty great here already.

It definitely seems like an infantry-vs-infantry heavy type game; however, the beauty of using the Only War system is that if people wanted to run a game that represented a walker crew or a steam tank crew, they could. Honestly, the idea of being behind enemy lines in a steam powered tank trying to get back to friendly lines sounds really awesome.

OK -----

One thing I wanted to address was a faction that lived on the outskirts of Empires. A borderlands group that were essentially nomadic horse people. I mean, what has been the bane of Empires more so in the ancient and medieval worlds than nomadic pastoralists?

- The Xiongnu in ancient China
- The Huns after the fall of Rome
- The Khitan, then the Jurchen, then the Mongols of the Steppe
- The Arabic Caliphate cavalry (nomadic before the Islamic unification)
- The Comanche Empire (perhaps the closest to this game's setting and my personal favorite)

People whose geography gives them a reliance on, and superiority of, mounted creatures have a distinct advantage in mobility, and thus warfare, within and outside of that geography.

Here's what I am thinking:

Empire of Thunder

Not a true empire as much as a confederation of clans and peoples, the Empire of Thunder is found on the borderlands of Empire in both the Old World and New. Originally an Old World creation, the Empire has found its way into the new world as tribes there found appeal in its message of unity. The peoples who find truth in its message are often those at the receiving end of imperial expansion. Driven from their ancestral homelands, forced to abdicate to the strength of the growing Empires of the world, The Empire of Thunder offers an answer. The beating of mounted hoofs, organic or steel, provide the confederation of tribes mobility, speed, a huge range, and enormous attacking power. Their speed of attack and communication resembles lightning, and the sound of their charge, like thunder, leaves fear in the hearts of their enemies.

Main Theme: In the wake of the rapid expansion of human and machine, those left on the fringes have found a common thread of unity... and a common enemy in the powers that seek to dominate them. But will they eventually become the exact thing they so vehemently oppose? Or was the goal always to be a competitor?

Gurkhal wrote:

Been working on the setting some more and angling it more towards the 40k and Dune scenarios with sci-fi.

The basic idea for the very archaic ways of society is the idea that a struggle with conscious machines, after the age of space colonization had begin, lead to both destruction, technological regression and also hostility towards technology and the more advanced the technology is, the more hostility. Shamelessly ripping off 40k I have an idea that it will be more akin to sorcery than science. But not a total rip off and so no tech-priests, and that in recent times technology has slowly been advancing again. Hence why we're entered the period of the game.

Some shades of Mutant Chronicles here. Not ripping on it it's just what it reminds me of (if you've thought of it someone else probably did as well, published it, and made money off of it). MC is super pulpy though (Prussian scouts riding raptors on a terraformed Venus, space Scots with lawnmower like vehicles chewing through hordes of demons, and a super American-capitalist Mars). It's also dieselpunk in aesthetics. Advanced technology is shunned and hated after a bad event but in the current time advanced technology is starting to return.

However, I'm always up for different takes on similar things and with using 40k and Dune as inspiration you're going to run into similarities as lots of people have pulled from those settings.

Thanks guys. Your comments are very much welcome.

Iron and Metal wrote:

I think as long as it doesn't go too heavy into the sci-fi aspect it still holds a high degree of playability and originality. The biggest appeal for me (as a professor of history and overall nerd in general) was that this was not another grimdark heavy science fiction game. The steampunk/diesel punk aspects in a real world setting - Russo Japanese War-esque backdrop - really appeals to me.

Nah, the idea is mostly to explain why I might try to make it so that its just not one world but a stretched across many worlds, may include non-human sentinent races and I am thinking if I should go with a system of many competing empires, ala the scenario in about 1890, or if there should be one massive British Empire style empire that dominates, akin to the scenarios in 40k and Dune.

And naturally if I go with the scenario of many worlds the question is if there should be space ships or just kind of portals that connects the different worlds. I am thinking a bit about portals to avoid space tech. Instead these portals would lie in great bodies of water and so explain why the terrestial navies are so important, which they were much were or at least carried immense prestige during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Iron and Metal wrote:

As it currently stands, I don't see how the new changes to the lore have affected the setting. So, that's nice. I suppose all this is to say, I don't think you need to go too crazy into making it like 40k or like Dune. You have something pretty great here already.

Thanks and I agree in that I don't want it to be a 40k or Dune clone. If I wanted 40k I would play 40k.

Iron and Metal wrote:

It definitely seems like an infantry-vs-infantry heavy type game; however, the beauty of using the Only War system is that if people wanted to run a game that represented a walker crew or a steam tank crew, they could. Honestly, the idea of being behind enemy lines in a steam powered tank trying to get back to friendly lines sounds really awesome.

I agree.

And in my opinion the horror that will come with the Great War of the setting when all sense of military honor and ideals of chivalry are savaged by industrial warfare will, I think, be more impactful to the exposed soldiers of the infantry. Andthat's naturally a big theme when putting it into the time frame for inspiration that includes the Great War.

Iron and Metal wrote:

One thing I wanted to address was a faction that lived on the outskirts of Empires. A borderlands group that were essentially nomadic horse people. I mean, what has been the bane of Empires more so in the ancient and medieval worlds than nomadic pastoralists?

- The Xiongnu in ancient China
- The Huns after the fall of Rome
- The Khitan, then the Jurchen, then the Mongols of the Steppe
- The Arabic Caliphate cavalry (nomadic before the Islamic unification)
- The Comanche Empire (perhaps the closest to this game's setting and my personal favorite)

People whose geography gives them a reliance on, and superiority of, mounted creatures have a distinct advantage in mobility, and thus warfare, within and outside of that geography.

Here's what I am thinking:

Empire of Thunder

Not a true empire as much as a confederation of clans and peoples, the Empire of Thunder is found on the borderlands of Empire in both the Old World and New. Originally an Old World creation, the Empire has found its way into the new world as tribes there found appeal in its message of unity. The peoples who find truth in its message are often those at the receiving end of imperial expansion. Driven from their ancestral homelands, forced to abdicate to the strength of the growing Empires of the world, The Empire of Thunder offers an answer. The beating of mounted hoofs, organic or steel, provide the confederation of tribes mobility, speed, a huge range, and enormous attacking power. Their speed of attack and communication resembles lightning, and the sound of their charge, like thunder, leaves fear in the hearts of their enemies.

Main Theme: In the wake of the rapid expansion of human and machine, those left on the fringes have found a common thread of unity... and a common enemy in the powers that seek to dominate them. But will they eventually become the exact thing they so vehemently oppose? Or was the goal always to be a competitor?

Very interesting concept. I will chew on this and see what comes from it. Thanks!

Solodice wrote:

Gurkhal wrote:

Been working on the setting some more and angling it more towards the 40k and Dune scenarios with sci-fi.

The basic idea for the very archaic ways of society is the idea that a struggle with conscious machines, after the age of space colonization had begin, lead to both destruction, technological regression and also hostility towards technology and the more advanced the technology is, the more hostility. Shamelessly ripping off 40k I have an idea that it will be more akin to sorcery than science. But not a total rip off and so no tech-priests, and that in recent times technology has slowly been advancing again. Hence why we're entered the period of the game.

Some shades of Mutant Chronicles here. Not ripping on it it's just what it reminds me of (if you've thought of it someone else probably did as well, published it, and made money off of it). MC is super pulpy though (Prussian scouts riding raptors on a terraformed Venus, space Scots with lawnmower like vehicles chewing through hordes of demons, and a super American-capitalist Mars). It's also dieselpunk in aesthetics. Advanced technology is shunned and hated after a bad event but in the current time advanced technology is starting to return.

However, I'm always up for different takes on similar things and with using 40k and Dune as inspiration you're going to run into similarities as lots of people have pulled from those settings.

Thanks, I didn't know about Mutant Chronicles to be honest. But I will take a look at that as well, thanks!

And indeed both 40k and Dune have become so phenomena that its hard to write some kind of sci-fi or not-fantasy which isn't influenced by either of them. I do have confidence that my take on these themes will provide an interesting and different experience, so no fear from me against the competition.

In my experience one of the major flaws of many Great War inspired non-historical settings is that they tend to think about it like WW2 or the Vietnam War, but with less fancy tech. Hence all the machinery and stuff to pimp the infantry and cavalry of the conflict. In my opinion those things should be much rarer and part of the "horrors of industrial warfare unleashed" as opposed to new cool gadgets for the players to mow down hordes of foes with, to cheers around the table.

*****

And if we're talking about other settings with dieselpunk, the "1920+" setting and the coming game "Iron Harvest" is naturally something I'm keeping an eye on. Even if it is to heavy on machinery, in this case different kinds of dieselpunk walkers, to fit perfectly with my vision but very much with the criticism I've given above.

Gurkhal wrote:

And if we're talking about other settings with dieselpunk, the "1920+" setting and the coming game "Iron Harvest" is naturally something I'm keeping an eye on. Even if it is to heavy on machinery, in this case different kinds of dieselpunk walkers, to fit perfectly with my vision but very much with the criticism I've given above.

1920+ is a good one for that early war aesthetic and if you want to keep diving further down that hole there's Dust which is alt WW2 dieselpunk. However it seems dieselpunk always focuses on the mechs/vehicles (not a big surprise for table top games as those are centerpiece sellers). I mentioned Dystopian Wars before as well that follows in a similar vain.

I think a more esoteric approach like that of Dune would be more in line of what you want to do. 40k I wouldn't call esoteric... it's just edgy and rough.

I've taken the final step and ordered some books regarding late 19th century tactics and if everything goes well I should have a prototype for ready for play with my group in late spring or so.

Officially, this project is off the planning stage and into the execution stage one.

Been reading, writing, drafting and thinking more on the setting and right now I'm leaning towards having one, or rather two, big empire instead of the late 19th century multitude of empires, similar to the 40k's setting with one massive empire dominating the galaxy rather than a multide of similar sized empires.

If such the plan is to go with a Napoleonic Empire as the core of the game. An monarchy founded on revolutionary ideals but which since has become increasingly conservative, corrupted and rotten, even while there are still streams of those revolutionary ideals shining here and there.

Given its a miliary setting the plan for the armed forces of said empire are; Imperial (Emperor's army), Provincial (local forces similar to 40k's PDF) and "Service for Benefit" (like the Feoderati, Auxiliaires or French Foreign Legion).

I've got an idea for a antagonist empire, so to say, which may be based on the British Empire both for the thematic conflict between Napoleonic France and Great Britain as well as it being, in my experience, a bit of novelty to let the British take on a villain roll. This is of course subject to change.

*****

May also be that I angle the kind of warfare a bit towards early ww2, but without the vehicles, in order to provide for more chances for initiative and low level decision making for the characters and ensure that combat is primarily squad-based and reduce the risk of overwhelming the game with mass combat.

As for looks I'm kind of settling in for a late 19th century look. Not the Napoleonic "Here I am, shoot me!" kind of uniform but not really camouflage-oriented either. To a certain degree owning to that firearms will not be as powerful as they were in real life.

PS: Picture became a bit large but I hope you'll manage.

Got a proto-version for v.1 pretty much finished but didn't end up to my satisfaction so its back to the drawing table to forumulate a v.1.1 version based on the first attempt.

Most importantly I want to make the regiment more of a character with stats and abilities to develop the regiment through experience and also model staff intrigues and commander rivalries and how that affects the fighting men in the trenches.

What I did get together which I find to be a bit inovative were:

Regiment as character

Staff/Regiment Characteristics (Mostly for how the regiment affects the soldiers)

Staff Specialists (kind of like Talents but for the regiment)

Regimental assets (heavy machine guns, extra artillery, specialized supporting units and stuff like that which can aid both characters in missions as well as campaign progression and mass combat scenarios)

Regimental Stats (Mostly for use in mass combat through the rules for Hordes in DW and BC rulesets)

Regimental Developments (Basically how the regiments can be improved through experienced gained from successful missions)

The greater war

A way to see the progress of a campaign the regiment takes part in, as well as getting some guidelines for having mass combat with Horde rules and place the characters in the maelstorm of war.

Proto-version is finished but  there are some issues to iron out. Especially I've been talking a bit with people RL about the how to have shooting weapons poor enough to allow cavalry but good enough to explain why the soldiers fight in squad-based tactics.

I've considered moving either the game's technology back to 1850s-1860s or forward into the 1940s in which case it will definietly go more into a dieselpunk WW2 kind of direction when it comes to gear, tactics and stuff.

My main problem with moving the tech backwards is that then line tactics become the norm and I simply don't think that I have a clue how to make line tactics battles interesting for participant characters or allow them to do things that have a real impact on the battle.

But moving the game into a 1940s diselpunk kind of setting would simply remove the cavalry, and the wide-spread inclusion of cavalry is one of the reasons I want to make a setting of my own. And I am just not terribly interested in tanks, engines and aircraft which means that I don't know if I would remain interested in a 1940s dieselpunk setting.

It remains to see what decision I will make on this matter.

It's also not just weapons on why battles were fought with line tactics. Communication was one as well.

I'd say the radio was just as important as the evolution of weaponry for squad based tactics.

Now cav doesn't need to disappear per se if you go the WW2 disealpunk route. It will just look and operate differently. Doesn't even need to be armored cav. Can have dragoons on off roading motorcycles or heavy armored lancers on mechanical horses that have shaped charges attached to their lances...

Yes, I can probably be done with cavalry in another form.

I did disscuss with someone the hilarious option of "Napoleonic Dieselpunk". Namely Napoleonic era uniforms and WW2 type of equipment. That would be fun but I fear it would become silly after one or two missions.

Right now I'm looking at my options on how to proceed.

Making some progress, although that first draft is getting more distant the more I read about this subject of Victorian and Edwardian militaries.

I finally got something concrete to show. I am kind of tired of fiddling away on something without reaching concrete results, so here are some results..

This is a re-work of the regiment creation and development from the OW system. The idea is that in a brutal setting characters will be played through pretty fast and thus its necessary for some solid ground for the players to relate to, rather than just characters getting horrible killed in rapid succession.

And that fixed ground seems to me to best be the regiment. So I want to upgrade the regiment from essentially a background aspect into more or less a character that can be developed as the campaign progress and also be used in mass combat with the Horde rules from DW and BC. In the the future I may, or may not, tie it to RT's warfare rules as well.

This is lacking in details but still, you know, a basic outline for the system.

Regiments

Creation

Select branch of armed forces.

For example the Great Empire, the default player choice in the same way that the Imperium is the default choice in OW, has the following branches: Imperial Guard, Imperial Army, Imperial Auxiliaries, Imperial Levy.

Not technically a direct part of the Imperial military organization, there are also allied forces from client kingdoms, feoderati and direct mercenaries.

All in the emperor's service.

Characteristics

Roll Characteristics – Base regiment stats. I figure that for a basic regiment of regular we're talking about 2d10+10 to every Characteristics. Every Characteristic Bonus translates into a bonus for the soldiers of the regiment. So that if the regiment has a TB of 3 then every soldiers gets +3 T.

The primary use of these stats are naturally for when a larger group of soldiers from the regiment is deployed and a mass combat ensures.

Magnitude

Roll Magnitude – Base regimental magnitude. A base of 10(x100)d10+5000. So meaning that a new regiment will have a starting strength of 6 000 to 15 000 Magnitude.

Origins

Add effects from Origins to the regiment in the same ways as it adds to individual soldiers in terms of Skills, Talents and so on.

Regiment Type

Every regiment adds to the regiment in the same way that it adds to the individual soldiers.

Aptitudes

Pick 3 primary aptitudes (WS, BS, S, T, Ag, Int, Per, WP, Fel)

Pick 3 secondary aptitudes (Aptitudes not mentioned above)

Starting Training

Starting stuff for the regiment bought with starting XP in terms of increased to Characteristics, Skills and Talents.

Gear variation

Roll for how well equipped the regiment is with regards to the standard gear of the regiment. This can be good and bad and depends on both origin and luck, and opportunity  for some addition to the standard stuff. Additional stuff comes mostly in the form of non-weapon gear of lower technological level. Such as mounts or common war gear but also as low-tech weapons that can reasonably be collected or manufactured in such massive numbers as to make it a standard item for a brand new regiment.

Development

How to develop the regiment after creation with Regimental XP which are gathered by the characters when they complete mission objectives. Which means that the regiment can be made stronger and allow access to new Skills, Talents and equipment that were not accessable at regiment creation.

The parts below have not been defined in details but this is more or less just a overview of where I want to take things.

Terrain – Bonus to move and use the terrain

Tactics – Tactics learnt by the regiment, essentially the same as Training Doctrines

Opponents – Bonus to fight a specific type of opponent

Gear – Bonus to use various parts of the gear better

Equipment – Essentially the same but expanded as Special Equipment Doctrines

Weapon modifications – Add modifications to the regiments gear

Training (Characteristics, Skills and Talents) – Are bought just as for characters and new soldiers starts with it.

Regimental Doctrines (Horde Traits) – Can be bought for increased mass combat performance

Battle honours – Permanent bonuses for impressing deeds done by the regiments and victories won

Nice, familiar system to work with.

Indeed. I've been fiddling with this back and forth for what feels like an eternity. Like creating, throwing away, creating again and so on in various versions that I decided to keep it as reasonably simple as I could. And thus after a period of trial and error, this is my result.

Turned it was more labour intensive than what I first envisioned. Might that I convert ideas back to 40k and the Imperial Guard.

But this is just me thinking loudly so we'll have to see what it comes to.

I think I'll make one major change to what I've written before. The first change is to redirect the "default" faction in the centre of the game away from a Napoleonic pseudo-French Empire to one based, but certainly not a copy-and-paste, on Imperial Russia in the 1890-1917 period.

Reasons for this is that I find much more written in English about Imperial Russia than about Napoleonic France (beyond the warfare of the period) and also that its a change in setting which I think can offer some other interesting scenarios and themes not normally found in games a US or Western Europe focus.

I am not sure if you are familiar with the board game Scythe (or its reportedly solid steam conversion, same name) OR the upcoming RTS game based in its universe, Iron Harvest...but if dieselpunky 1910s russia is what you are going for, then trust me when I say you should check out the art for inspiration at the very least.

Some references:

https://magazine.artstation.com/2016/11/jakub-rozalski-scythe/

bobarctor1977 wrote:

I am not sure if you are familiar with the board game Scythe (or its reportedly solid steam conversion, same name) OR the upcoming RTS game based in its universe, Iron Harvest...but if dieselpunky 1910s russia is what you are going for, then trust me when I say you should check out the art for inspiration at the very least.

Some references:

https://magazine.artstation.com/2016/11/jakub-rozalski-scythe/

Thanks! I already knew about Iron Harevst, but to be honest I didn't know the name of the board game that the setting has.

And today the first, faulty and full of holes, version was sent out for review and feedback.

Its written in a madding combination of English and Swedish so I don't think you guys here could make much of it, but a small milestone has been reached in regards to this nonetheless.

In regards to the armoury of the game I got into a bit of a discussion with someone.

So I am looking at two solutions due to weapons being kind of important in a military RPG. The first one is to have a massive, potentially bloated, armoury with tons of weapons and stuff. The other is to have a more limited number of base weapons but then have various guilds/companies who can produce these weapons with different modifications.

I'll take an example from Only War here in the shape of the trusty M36 Lasgun to illustrate this concept of producers with modifications for the weapons.

In the base armoury you've got M36 Lasgun as its known with basic stats. And then you can either run with the basic weapon or get a model from a producer. In this example we'll use three; Karsh, Montgrey and Valakia.*

Karsh: +3 damage, -10 to clip size, loss of Reliable weapon trait

Montgrey: -1 damage, +5 to clip size, +1 RoF to semi-auto and full-auto fire

Valakia: -20m to range, +2 RoF to semi-auto and full-auto fire

All stats are on the conceptual state at this point.

First version is almost ready to be tested along with a taste of the setting for this project. As Iron Grandeur is designed to allow for crossovers with other settings, fantasy, sci-fi and historical I have a scenario in mind which I personally find both funny, interesting and will allow me to try out some stuff. Its most likely months in the coming, but the direction forward is now set.

Imperial Lancers



vs

Tyranids

Some stones among the gears. I had thought that I would get some aid in testing the base equipment for the game last Friday but things didn't go that direction and so I'll have to wait some more.

Anyway, version 0.1 is getting more ready and thus I am likely to be able to run a test scenario. I will probably save the idea with Tyranids above and instead use human and Greenskin enemies as they require less extra gear to make them fightable. But I might go with the Tyranids as its still a long way to go before everything's ready.

Small update

The initial layout didn't find favor when showing. Essentially I got the feedback that while there were many choices there were limited oppertunities to customize them and ability to customize characters and regiments was desired.

Thus I'm looking to offer fewer basic choices, like 2-3 infantry (line, light and siege) and 2 cavalry (light and heavy) choices for regiments but instead expand the doctrines and equipment with which to customize the regiment being created. Same principle for the character choices.

So right now I'm back down in doing more research of the period 1789-1922 and making notes.

EDITED: Fixed an error.

I've come into some obsticles regarding this and it will remain if I carry on. The alternative is to turn from the 19th century towards an Antiquity-Medieval setting for rpgs using the "Sword Chronicle" system as a basis.

We'll see how this develops.

This has been pretty silent for a long time but I've not abandoned it but I am playing with an idea to make some changes to the concept.

That is to run essentially a Victorian/Gilded Age kind of society but with a ww2 level of military technology and warfare.

Back to the original design of the long 19th century. Being indecisive is a curse.

Anyway, right now I'm thinking of using the regiment (or equivalent) as a steady rock for the game with characters coming and going/dying but the regiment remaining.

Also some thoughts for about four different epochs; traditional, line, skirmish and squad. Each with some different stuff from the others in regards how battle was done during this part of history.

I have no idea if anyone except for me looks at this thread.

But anyway, I think I've found a way to move certain things forward.

That is that the players, instead of playing as rank-and-file soldiers, will play junior field officers which should solve some issues and also allow a wider range of missions, scenarios and other parts for the characters to engage in.

In particular it should, if I'm right, allow for example for a more engaging play in line formation than just march up and follow orders without much personal initiative. Field officers should reasonably be expected to show more initative than the common soldier and also to a larger degree be sent on special missions, aquire specialist training and so on.

While things have moved along somewhat I think I will pull life support from this project and instead focus on other things.

Thank you for your time reading and advicing about this. I've had a pretty good time with it but maybe Only War and Deathwatch to the 40k line of RPGs will work better in the long run?

Only one way to find out.

I've changed my mind again.

Never give up and never surrender!