This is my old campaign from when C# was released, saved here for posterity. I will not be continuing this campaign but it was a blast while it lasted so I wanted to bring it over from the old forum. I have condensed all 14 posts - sadly the old comments are gone.
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While Aurora C# is not out yet, I figured I can start preparing for my upcoming mega-campaign already. So I’ll be posting the background fluff and once Steve puts it out, I can immediately get into writing actual updates.
In 1875, a British inventor named Percival Howell discovered a new material that was far more durable and stronger than even steel. He dubbed the new material Duranium for its durability; and promptly built a massive cannon out of it. While the French and the Germans were suspicious that the cannon might be used to bomb Paris and Berlin from a distance, Howell actually intended to use it to propel a special train-carriage to Mars. In 1880, he had finally secured sufficient funding as well as a handful of volunteers to explore Mars. Howell was certain that man would not be able to breathe freely in outer space and had fully sealed the train-carriage. To allow the explorers to keep breathing, they would operate a fully functioning carbon dioxide scrubber, borrowed from the groundbreaking submersible Ictineo I. The creator of that submersible, Narcis Monturiol, had discovered that forcing air through a container of calcium hydroxide, scrubbed carbon dioxide from air and thus extended the time men could stay in closed environments. Combining conventional explosives with small amounts of a second new material, Sorium, yielded sufficient energy that Howell was certain he could send the train-carriage to Mars. He had recruited Robert Grant, the professor of astronomy at Glasgow University, to calculate orbital trajectories and to aim the cannon.
It was with great fanfare that Howell triggered the explosives set-up with his cannon after speeches that bid the brave volunteers luck with their journey to the Red Planet. What resulted was an unmitigated disaster. The explosion was not properly directed and while the train-carriage vanished to the sky, so did a significant portion of the surrounding countryside as well as most of the audience. More were killed in the ensuing panic as people were trampled underfoot. Howell did not live to see this, as the stand from where he launched the cannon had been completely obliterated. Unknown to the survivors, the volunteers inside the train-carriage did not fare any better. The sudden acceleration had mashed them all to a bloody pulp and turned the train-carriage into a flying coffin. The only one who had done their job properly was Robert Grant, for despite the rudimentary tools to aim the cannon, the train-carriage slash tomb, hit Mars, just narrowly avoiding Phobos on its way down.
But the Red Planet was not as dead and quiet as Earthlings had assumed. Automated defence systems, long dormant, were now activated. The train-carriage, already mostly burned up, was struck by energy beams that pulverised it completely. Tracking stations, antennae red with rust, backtracked the origin of this aggressive attack. Silos covered by tons of dust rumbled open, launching their contents towards the third planet from the Sun. Many failed to open or their contents were content to remain passively inside. Others would malfunction during the voyage, tumbling out of control or self-destructing. Yet others functioned well enough to reach Earth.
Meanwhile, the authorities had been scared by the Howell incident and all countries were planning to pass laws that would make both Duranium and Sorium exclusively government-controlled substances. Parliamentary sessions were cut short as Armageddon arrived. It came in three forms: bombs hitting a location with the power of the Sun, completely destroying it and burning everything in a large distance. Flying machines that used heat beams to strike at anything that moved whether it was a ship or a train. And finally, the most dreadful, large containers that unloaded faceless monsters, armed with weapons straight out of a Jules Verne book, that slew without mercy.
Luckily for humanity, the Martian Automated Defence System had been severely degraded and depleted by the passing centuries, and its AI systems barely functioned. This meant that humans had a fighting chance, and as tenacious as always, they grabbed that chance with both hands and fought back. Despite extensive destruction on a global scale, human willpower triumphed in the end and the Martian invaders were vanquished. Their bombs had destroyed most of China, India and Africa, rendering vast areas uninhabitable for generations to come. Their flying machines had interrupted trade and commerce to an extent that the former colonial powers had had to rely on resources close to home. Their rolling and marching machines had forced all societies to put other grievances to the side and mobilise all aspects of society in order to survive and prevail.
By 1890, all Martian invaders had been destroyed and their technology studied. This led to the confirmation of the Aether, a voluminous material that kept the Universe together, that could be traversed in three dimensions, somewhat like a ship sails or a bird flies. Combined with the discovery of the other 9 exotic materials, a new field of science was discovered and codified as the Trans-Newtonian Theory. Alongside the scientific progress, the surviving prominent powers of Earth had banded together under the Howell Pact, to extract reparations from Mars and to ensure that the Red Planet could never again attack Earth. To this purpose, all powers would do their best to construct Aether ships and transport soldiers and engines of war to Mars, acting together as the Grand Alliance.
How long such an alliance would stay together, remains to be seen.
House Rules
No missiles. All Earth powers start with beam weapons and only battle experience will unlock the paradigm shift.
No fighters. The concept of fighters is too radical at first and requires time to be accepted.
No shields. I’m trying to recreate the slugging matches of WW1 in space, so shields will be an alien invention to be discovered.
Jump Point Theory will not be researched until the Sol system is properly exploited and the nations have sufficient motivation for it. This means that for the first phase of the game, all action will be contained in Sol.
Jump Point Stabilisation technology (former Jump-Gate Construction) will also be secret alien tech, to be discovered later. This is to encourage the use of jump tenders for initial interstellar expansion.
No Mesons. This exotic weapon is forbidden from humans and remains unique for the Swarm. The only exception is if an NPR uses Mesons and a human power captures/salvages them.
Game Rules
Precursors ON, Star Swarm ON, Invaders OFF, Rakshasa ON
Realistic Promotions ON Fleet Training ON Asteroid Movement ON
Maintenance ON Jump Tenders ON
Real Stars ON
Research Speed 50% Terraforming Speed 100% Survey Speed 50%
Aliens will be handled both by me as well as NPR’s, per plot demands. I plan for Earth powers to encounter both conventional and TN aliens.
Starting Facilities
All powers start with the following:
Spaceport
Ground Force Construction Complex (Minor powers have 1, Major and Great powers have 2)
Military Academy (Minor powers have 1, Major and Great powers have 2)
Naval Headquarters
Starting nations will be divided into three categories: Great Powers, Major Powers, and Minor Powers. Note that the preferred beam weapon will depend on what scientists each nation has. If they have scientists with MK and EW specialties, then the nation will research both. If they only have one, they will focus on that one and ignore the other. These are only for the game start, combat experience can and will affect their preferences.
Starting populations have been adjusted to take into consideration new pop demands by facilities.
Great Powers
Germany
The Imperial Germany of 1890 is one of the two Great Powers on Earth. While her colonial Empire was largely lost during the Martian War, the resources and population of central Europe ensured that Germany remained the most powerful country on the continent, if not the planet. Politically, Germany has remained a parliamentary monarchy. The large autonomous powers of the 38 separate German states were successfully curtailed during the Martian War, which significantly strengthened Germany as a whole - no longer would Bavaria have its own War Ministry or Saxony have its own postal service. Germany has the best social programs to ensure good labor conditions and the Deutsches Heer, led by the famous Großer Generalstab, is widely considered the premium military force.
Still, Germany has its issues. The Polish question remains a thorn in her side, and tensions with France are simmering now that the threat of extinction has passed. The German parliament is largely a rubber stamp for the Reichskanzler (Otto von Bismarck) and the Kaiser (Wilhelm II). There has been significant tension between the two men, as well as between the conservative and socialist elements in the Parliament. Many suspects that as soon as the Martian threat has been eradicated, the Kaiser will force chancellor Bismarck to retire. How this will affect Germany in the future, remains to be seen.
Population: 100 million
Industry: 500 conventional
Research: 10 labs
Naval prefix: SMS
Highest naval rank: Grand Admiral
Highest army rank: Field Marshall
Ship priority: Firepower
Beam preference: Laser / Rail
Great Britain
The supreme colonial power, Great Britain, has had her vast holdings dramatically reduced by the Martian War but remains the other Great Power. The near-complete destruction of India and China spelled the end of lucrative colonial trade, and the destruction of much of Africa was almost as severe of a blow. Through great efforts and hardship, Britain managed to keep the Empire going. The Dominions of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa have gained some measure of independence but are still well tethered to London. Britain maintains mandates and protectorates around the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, as well as all three oceans. Despite losses to the Martian Flying Machines, the Royal Navy is still considered the most powerful naval force on the planet.
Yet problems persist. The Irish question remains to be solved, and the two Boer Republics in Africa are a possible threat. There is a clamour for more independence among the White Colonies, and many in the parliament demand for a return to both India and China as soon as possible, while others press for more daring expansion to space. Social unrest, dampened by the war, is likely to make a return once the Martian threat has passed even if the current monarch, Queen Victoria, is beloved. Her Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, not so much.
Population: 100 million
Industry: 500 conventional
Research: 10 labs
Naval Prefix: HMS
Highest naval rank: First Space Lord
Highest army rank: Field Marshall
Ship priority: Firepower
Beam preference: Plasma / Gauss
Major Powers
Austro-Hungary
The twin-kingdoms of Austria and Hungary form the Austro-Hungarian Empire, one of the oldest and most diverse in Europe. Long a rival of Germany, events in the second part of the 19th century convinced Vienna that competing with Germany was a doomed path, and ever since the Austrian chancellors have guided their emperors to maintain friendly relations with Berlin. The Martian War did not change this - armies of both powers worked together to defeat the invaders from the Red Planet. Balkans, long considered the powder keg of Europe, suffered badly during the invasion and it is unlikely that the smaller powers there would pose any threat to Austro-Hungary in the short term.
Austro-Hungarian leadership, in the form of Kaiser Franz Joseph I and the Common Ministers for War (Ferdinand von Bauer) and Foreign Policy (Count Gustav Kálnoky de Köröspatak), is in a difficult crossroads position. The multi-ethnic empire is barely hanging together and it has only been the threat of Martian genocide that has kept nationalist dissidents at bay. The cumbersome dual rule was proven ineffective and inefficient during the Martian War, but real progress has been blocked both by Germans and Magyars for their own reasons. The possibilities of funneling population growth to space while directing wealth back to Earth is seen as a real possibility of maintaining the Empire. The fact that k. u. k. A-H is seen as the junior partner of the Dual Alliance bristles with many in both Vienna and Budapest.
Population: 50 million
Industry: 250 conventional
Research: 8 labs
Naval Prefix: SMS
Highest naval rank: Grand Admiral
Highest army rank: Field Marshall
Ship priority: Firepower
Beam preference: Particle / Rail
France
The French Third Republic weathered the storm of Martian invasion relatively well. Her colonial landings were lost but metropolitan France and its North-African holdings were spared the worst of destruction. French army and navy performed reasonably well against the Martian Death Machinery, doing much to restore the prestige of the Republic after the disastrous war of 1870. François Sadi Carnot, the current President, has worked hard to maintain the Republic against attacks from both the Left and the Right, as well as forming a tentative alliance with Russia in order to contain Germany.
France has pledged support for the Grand Alliance and has lofty plans for its future. While there are tensions with Germany, the domestic situation, for once, is calm. While France cannot directly challenge either Germany or Great-Britain, it is hungrily eyeing the solar system, with space resources as a possible shortcut back to greatness.
Population: 50 million
Industry: 250 conventional
Research: 8 labs
Naval Prefix: none
Highest naval rank: Grand Admiral
Highest army rank: Field Marshall
Ship priority: Armour
Beam preference: Laser / Gauss
Russia
The Empire of Russia, ruled by the Czars under a divine mandate, is the last remaining absolute monarchy in Europe. A staggeringly vast country, it is plagued by backwardness, despite the attempts of multiple rulers to modernize it. The Martian attacks struck Russia hard, laying waste to many areas, though luckily with haphazard targeting. The Russian industry was mostly spared, whereas her agriculture was devastated. Combined with the low technological level of farming, this means that half of the Russian population is directly tied to their farms, considered illiterate serfs, and not available for the government to use in other sectors.
Tsar Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich, a highly conservative man, wants to turn back the clock and the Martian War has been a good excuse for that. The modest liberal reforms of his predecessor have been overturned and Aleksander III has initiated wide-sweeping Russification programs across the empire. The autonomous rights of Finns, Poles, Jews, Germans, and other minorities have been swept away and the Okhrana have been given a free hand in suppressing activists of all kinds, as well as squashing even the idea of land reform. In foreign policy, he has agreed to the alliance with France, in order to contain any future German ambitions. Needless to say, these programs have not gone down well amongst the population. The peasants hate their Imperial “land captains” and the ethnic minorities plan uprisings and revolts.
Population: 60 million (the number of available population)
Industry: 250 conventional
Research: 8 labs
Naval Prefix: none
Highest naval rank: Fleet Admiral
Highest army rank: Field Marshall
Ship priority: Speed
Beam preference: Plasma / Rail
United States
The large Republic of United States of America has vast potential, but several problems as well. The scars of the bloody Civil War had barely begun to heal when the Martian Invasion fused the population together behind the Star-Spangled Banner. American industrial power played an important part in empowering her military to repel Martian invaders, while the European powers were busy elsewhere. This event cracked the traditional isolationism prevalent in US politics, and President Grover Cleveland has leveraged his wartime popularity into having good chances of becoming the first US President to be elected for a third term, as he commands wide support from both parties. It doesn’t hurt that her young wife, Frances Folsom Cleveland, is immensely popular.
The US, perhaps more than any other power, is in a position to shake up the old balance. She has no ancient burdens or ethnic tensions like her European competitors, and there are no conventional threats in North-America that she would need to worry about. While the Great Powers dismiss America as an upstart, the US is adamant about establishing itself as an equal.
Population: 60 million
Industry: 250 conventional
Research: 8 labs
Naval Prefix: USS
Highest naval rank: Fleet Admiral
Highest army rank: General of the Army
Ship priority: Firepower
Beam preference: Particle / Gauss
Minor Powers
Italy
The Kingdom of Italy has barely had time to unify after centuries of war and strife when the Martians landed. Sardinia was completely wiped off the map by a Martian bomb and only glowing rocks remain. The Italian Army and Navy performed abysmally poorly against the Martians and, to the shame of the nation, had to accept help from other powers. However, this had led to a national fever of modernization, that the reigning king, Umberto I, has channeled towards productive measures. The Italians have managed to progress by leaps and bounds, though they still have ways to go.
Italy is keen to advance to the ranks of major players on the world stage and views expansion into space as a safe way to do it, without triggering conflict with her larger neighbors.
Population: 30 million
Industry: 100 conventional
Research: 5 labs
Naval Prefix: none
Highest naval rank: Grand Admiral
Highest army rank: Field Marshall
Ship priority: Speed
Beam preference: Laser / Rail
Japan
The Rising Sun of the East, Empire of Japan, has astounded foreign observers with its rapid transformation from a medieval agrarian society to a modern industrial one. The Martian Invasion bypassed most Japanese islands, which was an important boon to the fledgling industrial sector. Japanese Army acquitted itself well in anti-Martian campaigns in Korea and China. Her colonial ambitions have been curtailed by the Martian War, as not even the most ardent militarists can justify waging war on other human powers while the Martian Killing Machines still pose a threat. However, thanks to the Martian destruction of most of China, Japan has managed to expand to the island of Formosa and to Chinese coastal areas.
Japan is desperate to prove herself to the European powers and views the invasion of Mars as only a first step on this path.
Population: 40 million
Industry: 100 conventional
Research: 5 labs
Naval Prefix: none
Highest naval rank: Marshal-admiral
Highest army rank: Marshal-general
Ship priority: Speed
Beam preference: Plasma / Gauss
Iberian Union
The Martian invasion caused a collapse of the Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal. Out of the ashes rose a new country, the Iberian Union. In reality, it was the re-emergence of an old 16th-century political union. Both countries had been in economic and political trouble before the invasion, as their colonial status had been on the descent for years. Survivors of the initial attack had to face reality and the various areas banded together. Charles I of Portugal, the only surviving immediate member of an Iberian royal family, ascended to the throne of the Union at the age of 21, becoming the youngest ruler in the world.
The Iberian Union is bent on revenge and rebuilding. It has no territorial ambitions on Earth and its main goal is to kill all aliens.
Population: 25 million
Industry: 50 conventional
Research: 5 labs
Naval prefix: none
Highest naval rank: Captain-General
Highest army rank: Captain-General
Ship priority: Armour
Beam preference: Particle / Rail
The Rim Pact
The Rim Pact is another international compromise to emerge from the ashes of the Martian War. It consists of five smaller European Kingdoms that banded together in order to avoid de facto vassalisation by their larger neighbors during the tumultuous events of past years. Despite lacking a common language and being geographically diverse, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden have managed to, at least so far, stick to a common foreign policy and joint military force. While there are minor religious and ethnic issues among them, the practical need to maintain their independence between France, Germany, and Russia has ensured a smooth existence. The five states all maintain full control of their domestic policies and organizations, and there are no attempts to promote one language or culture above the others.
The Rim Pact is fiercely independent and neutral, having no interest in colonialism after their few colonial possessions were destroyed by the Martians, or in adventurous saber-rattling. They are only involved in the invasion of Mars in order to ensure that the other powers take them seriously and respect the independence of its member states after the war.
Population: 20 million
Industry: 50 conventional
Research: 5 labs
Naval prefix: KKS
Highest naval rank: Chief of Navy
Highest army rank: Field Marshall
Ship priority: Speed
Beam preference: Laser / Gauss