The Ultimate Guide To War (OOC)

[Automagfreek]

OOC: This guide was written by me in 2005. Though it is old it still can serve as a good guide to newbies, so I hope it can help the newest generation of RPers as it has helped so many in the past.

The Ultimate Guide to WAR


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Q: Um...where is the 'declare war' button?

A: There isn't. War on NationStates is entirely role play, there is no actual game engine that makes war. What is that you may ask? Make believe story telling, plain and simple. NS war can be fought a few different ways, but the ability to tell a story and apply tactics is absolutely crucial. You also need to be able to rely on stats, though to what degree you choose to apply stats is solely up to you. Not everyone plays on the same level (IE: Modern tech, future tech, fantasy, and so on), so it is important to 'scout out' a potential opponent before fighting them, this way you know what you will be facing.

Q How do I make a military?

A: Simple, but there is no 'create army' button you press, you have to make it all up. While there is no fixed number as to what size your military can be, generally it is an age old rule of thumb that it remain 5% of your population. However you are not obligated to follow this guideline, though most experienced RPers would agree an excessively large military will wreck your economy.

Generally most armies don't have more than a few million men total, including reserves, logistics, medics, ground pounders, etc. This number can depend on how strong your economy is and how big your population is, large nations such as my own have militaries that are larger than the populations of entire nations.

Simply take your population and divide it by the percentage you want. Remember, a military cannot function soley with infantry. You need mechanics, medics, support, officers, etc. Just like in real life (even though NS is NOT real life). Use Wikipedia to get an idea of how to structure your military, I personally used to use the US military's structure as a reference.

Q: Ok, I want to go to war! What do I do?

A: Well, first off you have to get a few things down before you rush off to battle. Some things you should think of before you attack another nation are:

• Why are you attacking that nation/alliance/region? What did they do to warrant a strike by your military?
• Is your military capable of fighting large scale, protracted wars?

Let us examine the first question, why are you attacking?

GOOD REASONS FOR WAR

1. Attack on your nation/territory

Naturally this is grounds for war. If a hostile fleet moves into your waters or if (for example) a missile is launched or bombs are dropped onto your territory, you may want to use diplomatic pressure or some other means first. This will may sway others to your banner if you make an honest effort to avoid war.

However, depending on how you want to play you may handle it differently. Some people would make an effort to avoid a potentially costly and devastating war, others would jump at the first chance to deal a little death. In the end it's all up to how you play.

2. Attack on an ally

This is cause #2 for war. Because of vast friendships on NationStates, war for this reason is very common. As an ally of a nation, you may feel obligated to defend them, and that is understandable. But you do not need to make all of your allies business your business. You have a nation to run as well, you can't alway rush off to protect your 4 dozen friends (or how ever many you have). That's not to say you can't aid your allies by sending weapons, ammo, money, equipment, and that can be just as effective as sending your own soldiers.

Political and moral support can acutally avert an entire war, and I should know because I've done it myself. Experiment and find a style that suits you.


3. Human rights violations

This is International Incident's favorite past time. Mass murder, genocide, enslavement, and other such things all fall under this category. While many nations in I.I love to frequently abuse human rights, there are still a few 'good' nations out there who are willing to risk it all to defend the innocent.

Declaring war for a human rights violation is a delicate thing. Most of the time with enough political pressure and some light to moderate threat of force, you can usually stop human rights violations.

4. WMD possession

This reason is slightly exaggerated. A nation has the right to possess WMD, and use it when neccessary. BUT, if they go around gassing neighbor nations for giggles, then there may be a problem (but again, DIPLOMACY FIRST). Simply possessing, buying, or selling WMD is not sufficiant grounds for war...BUT abuse may be. Each situation is unique.

5. Conquest

Sometimes you just run out of room, or you want to expand your influence or empire abroad, and the need arises to take additional territories. If well RP'd, conquest wars can be quite fun and interesting to read, however if all you post is "LOL I TAEK UR LANDZ!1", people will most likely ignore you.

BAD REASONS FOR WAR

1. His leader insulted mine!

So what? If you rush off to war for this reason, you need to grow a thicker skin. As absurd as it seems, I've seen war erupt for this reason. Insults happen, don't take it personally. Remember "sticks and stones"? Declaring war because challenges are being issued is one thing, but declaring war because his leader called your leader a mean name is another.

2. I want to rule teh world!!!1111Shift+1

For one thing, you can't, there are simply too many nations in the game. Do you think your military, even your ENTIRE population for that matter, can conquer that many people? It's impossible, and will probably end with you being mocked by a hoard of other RPers.

Also, you can't declare war on the NationStates forums, the moderators or the WA*, sorry.

* The WA is a game function, and is NOT an actual organized alliance.

3. He said my mom was fat!

NEVER, EVER DECLARE WAR FOR OOC (Out Of Character) REASONS!!! It doesnt matter if your friend was being a jerk at school, that's not a good reason to declare war, forget about it. If there is absolutely no IC justification for war, most RPers either won't pay attention to it or the thread will devolve into bickering. This is one of the things that kills good war RPs, when Out Of Character and In Character feelings mix together.

If you plan on being taken seriously in NS, DO NOT allow IC and OOC feelings and attitudes to cross. Keep your real world and in game identities as seperate as possible, and understand that how someone behaves ICly does NOT necessarily reflect their real life views.

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Q: Ok, I have a good and valid reason to declare war, what do I do now?

A:: This is where it gets tricky. I will walk through this as best as I can.

• Create a thread stating your case OR moving your troops into position either openly or as covertly as possible. This depends on whether you want your attack to be a 'surprise' or not. Good writing is essential to your cause, not just 'OMFG LOLZ!!11 I declare war on j00!'
• In your thread, describe what you will be using to engage your enemy and where it is going. It is godmodding to have your troops magically appear inside your opponents territory.
• When you actually begin to fight, make sure you take your fair share of losses. Nobody wants to 'lose' to anyone, but if your troops are being pounded by artillery, you're probably going to lose more than 1.
• Tactics are a big help no matter how you choose to roleplay. If your troops are being slaughtered by the enemy, try falling back and pulling up reserves. Although NationStates is NOT real life by any means, real life logic and tactics can help you in a pinch.
• If it looks like you will end up victorious, begin to close out the RP. If your foe wants to surrender, begin to work out the exact terms. If your opponent wants to fight to the death, then continue fighting until nobody is left to stand in your way.
• Once you have won, you may either pull out or occupy your newly conquered territory. Again, some sort of collaboration with the other party helps a lot, because even though there is NO such thing as 'losing' in NationStates, nobody wants to be occupied by a foreign army forever. Or maybe they do, who knows.
• If it looks like you might lose, you need to decide how far you are willing to go before you finally call it a day. Do you want to surrender early and spare extreme damage to your country and economy, or do you want to fight to the death? This, again, is your choice.

Here are some example threads on how to RP a war.

Catharsis
The Tiger and The Eagle
[I will find more good war threads to put in here.]




Q: Thanks, are there any alternatives to war?

A: Of course.

OPTIONS IN PLACE OF WAR

• Diplomacy: The art or practice of conducting international relations, as in negotiating alliances, treaties, and agreements... Tact and skill in dealing with people.
• Compromise: A settlement of differences in which each side makes concessions.
• Sanctions: A coercive measure adopted usually by several nations acting together against a nation violating international law.
• Compliance
• Threat of force
• Sever all ties with the nation

CONSEQUENCES OF WAR

War can have serious consequences, which for the most part are generally ignored on NS. Every time you attack someone, you make yourself more vulnerable to attack yourself. If you fight frequently, your troops are going to get tired and disgruntled. If your economy is bad, it's probably going to get even worse.

Face it, setbacks do happen, and frequent or long wars can be a strain on any nation. I don't care if you're the most powerful one around, if you attack a different nation every single day, your country is going down the gutter.

Warring with certain nations can also have different consequences. Fighting a nation that's larger, better equiped, more experienced, etc, will likely affect your troop's morale. Also, remember that defenders tend to fight harder, for it is their homes they are fighting for. Also, remember that supplies are crucial to your war effort, and this is often overlooked in NS.

You don't honestly think your tanks can drive without gas, do you? Can your troops shoot without ammo? Can your trucks drive with no tires? A LOT of people forget about these things, so you need to rememeber that supplies are critical. If your supply lines are attacked, then your troops will be in trouble. Granted, you don't really have to RP EVERY single supply you send, but every once in awhile casually indicate that more shipments to your bases and or troops are being made. Attacking someone else's supply lines can be to your advantage, as it will prevent your foe from re-arming himself and may delay his advance if RP'd properly.

Also, war can have diplomatic consequences as well. Some nations may frown upon you for frequently choosing the sword over the pen. Expect this to happen if you go off to war too frequently and for the wrong reasons.

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If anyone has anything to add to this thread, feel free. I hope this can become a valuable resource for anyone who wants to get the basics of war down.

Happy hunting,

-AMF-

[N3wgr0unds]

Finally someone made this. It was much needed.

Can you change military to 1% of population please?.

[Amazonian Beasts]

Deserves a sticky. Excellent guide, remember reading it when I came on the boards...

[Maldorians]

Yeah, I remember first reading this... Good job

[Sarzonia]

Good to see this re-posted.

What? My war with Pantera wasn't an example of a good war?

[Automagfreek]

Give me the link.

[Aligeretha]

OOC: Nice guide, right now though I prefer not to get involved in War RP's since I'm not very good with stats and things like that.

[Charzak]

Finally someone made this. It was much needed.

Can you change military to 1% of population please?.

the accepted rule is 5%. a 1% military is too small.

[N3wgr0unds]

Really?

[DaWoad]

yep really

[Lizardiar]

I thought it was 1.5% or 2.5%?

[N3wgr0unds]

I thought it was 1.5% or 2.5%?

me too so now i changed it to 10,500,000. insteade of 2,000,000.

[Salzland]

Finally someone made this. It was much needed.

Can you change military to 1% of population please?.

the accepted rule is 5%. a 1% military is too small.

1% of the population, including reserves, is roughly the same percentage used by the United States and most other Western-style armed forces (to the best of my knowledge, it may be slightly higher or lower). 5% is a North Korea-esque level of mobilization, with the associated economic problems caused by 5% of the entire population (or a much higher percentage of the prime working-age population) removed for active/reserve duty military service.

[Automagfreek]

I thought it was 1.5% or 2.5%?

me too so now i changed it to 10,500,000. insteade of 2,000,000.

Bear in mind this is the size of your entire military, not just your infantry. This includes all of your non-combat personnel, so when it comes to your actual ground pounders the number is way less than 10,500,000

[Valipac]

Finally someone made this. It was much needed.

It has been around since 05 and is linked in the sticky.

the accepted rule is 5%. a 1% military is too small.

The accepted rule is that if you have 5% of your nation in the military, your economy and standard of life will be similar to North Korea. To have a western economy, 1% or less of your nation can be in the military.

[The Warmaster]

Urgh. I've said this a thousand times, it should be self-evident: you can role-play whatever level of military conscription you want. Do 10% if it makes you happy. The only limitation is that you have to fairly RP the consequences. There's no 'rule' about what's acceptable. I'll RP with someone whose military is 10% of their population provided they also RP the massive economic problems this would cause. I suppose any number of players could agree to abide by the 1% rule, or 5% rule, or whatever, if they chose, but I think making any sort of ruling on this is pointless.

EDIT: What I'm getting at is that there's no justification for putting in AMF's post some made-up 'rule' about military size limits. Pointing out the rule-of-thumb, however, which you guys have already stated, is a good idea and will give newbies an idea of the extremes and how to avoid them.

[Valipac]

Urgh. I've said this a thousand times, it should be self-evident: you can role-play whatever level of military conscription you want. Do 10% if it makes you happy. The only limitation is that you have to fairly RP the consequences. There's no 'rule' about what's acceptable. I'll RP with someone whose military is 10% of their population provided they also RP the massive economic problems this would cause. I suppose any number of players could agree to abide by the 1% rule, or 5% rule, or whatever, if they chose, but I think making any sort of ruling on this is pointless.

You said it yourself. If you RP with 10% conscription, that's fine, so long as you RP the massive economic problems it would cause. Thats all anyone is looking for. The problem is those who claim 5-10% or more and don't RP those economic problems.

[The Warmaster]

Yeah, so we're in agreement. I'm just saying that new players should be told a couple things: you can roleplay any size army you want, provided you also have realistic economic consequences, but the generally accepted rule of thumb is that around 1% has a minimal impact on the economy, and 5% will have a major impact.

[Valipac]

Yeah, so we're in agreement. I'm just saying that new players should be told a couple things: you can roleplay any size army you want, provided you also have realistic economic consequences, but the generally accepted rule of thumb is that around 1% has a minimal impact on the economy, and 5% will have a major impact.

Spot on.

[Third Spanish States]

I'd have 25% of the population "deployed" to war, or maybe more depending on the number of people willing to fight for their freedom, should an invasion against the Confederacy home islands happen. Of course, the MilNet would still probably have direct influence over only 2% of the population, and the rest would be spread through local guerrillas and militia organizations, or overall insurgents, with some consulting support from the standing army, of course.

As for invading other locations, I usually consider 2% to be quite at the limits, and something that would only happen in far extreme cases. The MilNet is not a government-controlled army but a private defense organization which sells military technologies and asks for voluntary donations instead of resorting to taxes to fund any war effort they may require. This means they are far more careful, less willing to take major sacrifices and far less willing act as warmongers, also explaining why the Confederacy is so isolationist in comparison to the usual NationStates that RP in II.

And this also means that I'd be lucky to manage having a little more than 0.5% of my NS population deployed for an offensive war.

Of course, another thing people rarely bother with is the matter of reserves.

Is a 200,000 man strong army which can withstand prolonged conflicts better than having it plus the two million strong reservists deployed at once? Strategically, spending all your manpower at once is simply, no offense intended, idiotic.

[Sarzonia]

Give me the link.

Ask and ye shall receive...

[Sarzonia]

Finally someone made this. It was much needed.

Can you change military to 1% of population please?.

the accepted rule is 5%. a 1% military is too small.

That depends on the size of the country. Smaller populations can use larger percentages of their populations to serve as military.

However, once you get to approximately 50 million IRL and roughly 1 billion in NS, those percentages come down. In peacetime, I rarely had more than 1 percent of my country's population in the military before I started RPing with a realistic population of 11.6 million.

Much larger percentages of your population serving in the military in peacetime eventually leads many economies down the drain.

[Merieu]

*stamp of approval*

Yeah, my military structure follows the U.S Army's. With a population of about 30,000,000, they have an army of one mil, a Marine force of a few hundred thousand, and a navy of about one mil, so with my legislature only recently being able to increase it's military spending from it's all time low of 20,000 Marshanite coins, (10,000 USD) I thought about 95,000 members in the army being fair.

Overall, great post. Hopefully more newbies will get to learn from this and not wantonly go off and start a nukefest

[Maniaca]

legendary

[Allied Governments]

If we agree pre-war, could we just remove the whole hassle of describing the number of logistics/support vehicles, the type, the location and movement, etc?

This does not mean, of course, that they do not exist, nor that a massive army can have a tiny supply line, it's just that we remove the hassle of describing them.