BoM in Balder: Operation Ragnarok

[Quebecshire]

OPERATION RAGNAROK EXPOSED
BoM subversion in the sinkers uncovered!

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PART I: BACKGROUND
Let’s start with a little recap.

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Last month, the Pacific, The North Pacific, and the West Pacific joined together to sign a statement of mutual solidarity to oppose any threats to themselves or their allies. This comes after months of antagonism by The Brotherhood of Malice, including their campaign against Stargate and the raid on Venice, the former being a very long-term ally to TNP and the latter being a member of the URA, allied to TWP.

The statement was strong, and it made clear where these regions stood against not only threats to them, but to any of their allies. This was emphasized by the following excerpt,

Effective immediately, we have issued standing orders to our militaries to the following effect: an attack on any of our regions or allies is an attack on all of us, and will be met unhesitatingly with the appropriate military force.

Therefore, an attack on any of the allies of a single signatory constitutes an action worthy of response by this coalition, which has been formalized in a mutual defense treaty which has just completed ratification. This principle of the agreement was quickly noted by figures across gameplay, particularly Reventus Koth, who responded with the following,

As a citizen of the OFO, I am glad to see that any hypothetical attack on our regime will be met with the full might of the Pax Polaris Occidens signatories via our alliance with The West Pacific. Hail!

While this post appears to be an attempt at a “gotcha” attempt of sorts, the train of thought expressed was reaffirmed as accurate by the West Pacific’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dilber. Osiris was an ally to a signatory of the agreement, and therefore qualified under its protective clauses. In fact, the diplomatic networks of the three signatories is so expansive that a staggering number of regions in gameplay qualify for protective status.

But we’re going to be talking about one region in particular today: the Realm of Balder. Pertinently, Balder is allied to all three of the signatories to the Pax Polaris Occidens, which puts it in a strong position of unambiguous protection by all parties - and BoM had, or has, them in their crosshairs.

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PART II: OPERATION RAGNAROK
Nefarious plot, or abandoned pipe-dream?

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Exclusive information has been obtained by myself regarding “Operation Ragnarok”, a plot by BoM with the described purpose of being the “biggest op since OFO” (according to BoM Shadowmaster Raxion), presumably referring to the original takeover of Osiris which established the first iteration of the Osiris Fraternal Order. The target in question was, according to alleged quotes by Raxion, “known for finding spies” and “stingy with handing down power” - has this started sounding familiar with how raider cliques depict the independent-imperialist sphere?

Given the chosen name of the operation as well as the descriptors provided, the obvious target of this scheme is Balder. This was compounded by the source of this leak providing detailed testimony confirming Balder as the target and that at least one BoM operative had placed a clean alt nation in the region.

So, why? A few reasons could be thought up for why BoM might want to attack Balder, including but not limited to their diplomatic tension with Osiris, but also the fact that in recent months alone BoM has already been caught subverting and/or antagonizing two of Balder’s closer allies, The Land of Kings and Emperors (through attempts to bring the region closer to BoM) and Europeia (through endeavors such as Operation Sinking Ship) - the dates depicted in this conversations being roughly one month after all of that broke open in late March.

For an organization that functions with the aggressive tendencies and arrogance of BoM, why wouldn’t Balder be next on the list? Upon further discussion with my source, the redacted individual in the above logs, the following testimony regarding operation details was provided.

• The operation, dubbed “Operation Ragnarok”, was organized when Koth and Raxion created a closed channel including two BoM assassins titled #operation-ragnarok. This channel originally existed in the main BoM server before being relocated to the operations server.
• Venico had access to both iterations of the channel and was knowledgeable regarding the plot. Ever-Wandering Souls may have been aware and able to view the first iteration of the channel in the main BoM server.
• Operation Ragnarok’s objectives would be pursued through a conventional infiltration involving an alternate Discord account and a clean nation. This alternate account would be operated by Scottie.
• The refound and initial insertion of the alt would have likely been on or around 26 April 2022. The specific name of the alt is undisclosed.
• The following attributes and strategies of the alleged alt were provided,
  
  • The alt’s earlier participation in Balder would be as a gameside native.
  • Key interests upon moving to an off-site presence would likely be domestic politics and legislation.
  • WA-locked status would come later in the operation and would not be an immediate requirement (this is consistent with this as Scottie’s current WA nation).

Unfortunately, some information was not cleared for public disclosure due to a desire for anonymity from the source, but what is presented here paints a picture clear as day. Though amusingly, discussion of couping Balder is far from foreign to BoM public chats. While one could likely write this off as tongue-in-cheek, I do find it amusing how BoM’s chosen infiltrator is a regular participant in conversations both before and after the initiation of the plot.

Syl: i forgot about Balder
Syl: but to be entirely fair
Syl: everyone forgets about Balder
Scott Talleyrand: We can Coup balder as a warm up

Scott Talleyrand: Who can I coup?
Beliskarius Cawl: Balder
Beliskarius Cawl: Enjoy
Rose Weisberg-Talleyrand: Euro, Balder, LKE
Shadoke: my heart
Scott Talleyrand: Why are you obsessed with me couping Balder lmao

But I digress, it’s possible that this plan never got off the ground - BoM’s members are not known for extensive and principled commitment, and an attempt on the regime in Balder is one of the most difficult tasks one could undertake. Nevertheless, there is a pattern of behavior and interest from BoM and all of the information provided is consistent and leads one to a clear conclusion. Despite its infeasibility, despite an undetermined level of follow-through, BoM devised and initiated a sponsored plan to take hostile action with the desired outcome of overthrowing the incumbent regime in Balder.

[Nociav]

"bruuuh Balder shoulda signed a treaty, ongg"

[Madjack]

Good work on this.

Has the information acquired been passed onto the relevant authorities in Balder?

[Quebecshire]

Has the information acquired been passed onto the relevant authorities in Balder?

NES was provided a detailed report of everything I was told (and accompanying logs I was given which could not be published publicly for the sake of my source) on June 21st. Thank you for the question!

[Madjack]

Has the information acquired been passed onto the relevant authorities in Balder?

NES was provided a detailed report of everything I was told (and accompanying logs I was given which could not be published publicly for the sake of my source) on June 21st. Thank you for the question!

Glad to see that defender independent co-operation continues

[Ikania]

They could have at least came up with a more creative operational name.

[Syberis]

They could have at least came up with a more creative operational name.

An accurate one, even. Balder has little to do with Ragnarok, being dead at the time and all.

[Yupsie]

Oopsie Whoopsie

[Aenglaland]

They could have at least came up with a more creative operational name.

You're expecting too much.

[Evil Mother]

Oopsie Whoopsie

BoM did a fuckie wuckie

[The Chariot]

They could have at least came up with a more creative operational name.

An accurate one, even. Balder has little to do with Ragnarok, being dead at the time and all.

Eh, Balder's death was the first prelude to Ragnarok and one of the big things with Ragnarok is that Balder gets revived after it. While not exactly inspired, the name is fairly meaningful and relevant.

[Romanov Alaska]

Theres no way that BOM could permanently take over Balder. They would either be thrown out by the other GCR's, or have Osiris taken in response. Heck I'd be impressed if they could even successfully raid it.

[Minskiev]

The Brotherhood of Malice was co-founded by real life friends Ambroscus Koth and Venico the Night Father in September 2012, following a highly publicized and annoying exile from their home region, Asgard.

So Reventus Koth how did revenge go

[Syberis]

An accurate one, even. Balder has little to do with Ragnarok, being dead at the time and all.

Eh, Balder's death was the first prelude to Ragnarok and one of the big things with Ragnarok is that Balder gets revived after it. While not exactly inspired, the name is fairly meaningful and relevant.

Yes but that's like saying I work on the weekends because I left on Friday and came back on Monday.

[Sandaoguo]

Theres no way that BOM could permanently take over Balder. They would either be thrown out by the other GCR's, or have Osiris taken in response. Heck I'd be impressed if they could even successfully raid it.

How would anybody "take back" Osiris? The Brotherhood could take Balder the same way they took Osiris in the first place, through long-term subversion. There was plenty of inter-regional opposition to the OFO, but that didn't do anything. In the long run, the OFO was recognized as the legitimate government. Balder has few true friends -- which I would define as entrenched allies who would voluntarily incur costs in order to defend Balder -- and isn't a mainstay of NSGP either.

If it was taken via subversion, NSGP would need a unified response that includes significant social costs against the Brotherhood. But the only way to remove them once a GCR is taken would be a mass mobilization of updaters and pilers, the likes of which we've never seen. NSGP, even united, probably can't muster the people needed to retake Balder.

Also, the existing social campaign against BoM pretty much shows they don't care that much about the reputation costs being inflicted on them.

There really isn't a way to counteract a very good infiltration. If you don't catch it, then it's kind of game over once the subverters reach the point of no return in popularity/influence. The problem with most attempts at infiltration is that the circle of trust is too big. Where groups like The Empire succeeded, it was because the circle of trust was limited to the closest of friends, not just political allies.

[Reventus Koth]

Howdy fellas, busy day today so I'll try to satisfy everyone quickly.

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PART I: BACKGROUND
Let’s start with a little recap.

---

[...]
But we’re going to be talking about one region in particular today: the Realm of Balder. Pertinently, Balder is allied to all three of the signatories to the Pax Polaris Occidens, which puts it in a strong position of unambiguous protection by all parties - and BoM had, or has, them in their crosshairs.

Had. This all began back in April and abandoned in May, and the PPO didn't come out until recently. We've all seen the pact, we know what would be coming our way if we were to pull something like this these days. Crazy how fast we've been shifting the climate, eh?

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PART II: OPERATION RAGNAROK
Nefarious plot, or abandoned pipe-dream?

---

An initiative to put sleepers in the region and see where it went, with no plan. If you have any logs, you'll know that, and that we warned against the agents getting too big headed and assuming they'll actually get anywhere.

So, why? A few reasons could be thought up for why BoM might want to attack Balder, including but not limited to their diplomatic tension with Osiris, but also the fact that in recent months alone BoM has already been caught subverting and/or antagonizing two of Balder’s closer allies, The Land of Kings and Emperors (through attempts to bring the region closer to BoM) and Europeia (through endeavors such as Operation Sinking Ship) - the dates depicted in this conversations being roughly one month after all of that broke open in late March.

There is not and has never been any proof (because none exists) of your LKE claim, Osiris' business with Balder is not ours, Sinking Ship is irrelevant.

Occam's razor, Queb: Balder is a defender region that would go on to sign a treaty with XKI and has to my knowledge run against every hold we've run since our return. Not rocket science.

Unfortunately, some information was not cleared for public disclosure due to a desire for anonymity from the source

The source is Aav, the other agent involved that was very enthusiastic about the mission. Huge breach in side-switching etiquette, by the way, if I were a defender I'd think twice about what you tell her from now on.

But I digress, it’s possible that this plan never got off the ground

It didn't. It was quickly abandoned after Aav switched sides, both because this thread was always a possibility after that point and because it wasn't really worth continuing anyway, and especially wouldn't be worth it to pursue in a world where the PPO now exists. Mea culpa for assuming long-established Gameplay etiquette would be adhered to, though.

Despite its infeasibility, despite an undetermined level of follow-through, BoM devised and initiated a sponsored plan to take hostile action with the desired outcome of overthrowing the incumbent regime in Balder.

"Raider region discusses putting sleepers in defender regions and doesn't get anywhere" wouldn't make headlines back in the day, but I get we all get bored. Just promise me you didn't spend time on a holiday writing this instead of touching grass.

They could have at least came up with a more creative operational name.

I'll run it by you next time, sorry.

The Brotherhood of Malice was co-founded by real life friends Ambroscus Koth and Venico the Night Father in September 2012, following a highly publicized and annoying exile from their home region, Asgard.

So Reventus Koth how did revenge go

Asgard never had anything to do with Balder, if you're mixing up your NS history. It's a fun origin story for us though, you can ask me about it sometime if you're interested

[Quebecshire]

An initiative to put sleepers in the region and see where it went, with no plan. If you have any logs, you'll know that, and that we warned against the agents getting too big headed and assuming they'll actually get anywhere.

... This isn't the argument you think it is. Thanks for admitting that everything I said is correct, though. You came up with the concept and placed sleeper nations in Baler. I appreciate you helping me on this one.

Occam's razor, Queb: Balder is a defender region that would go on to sign a treaty with XKI and has to my knowledge run against every hold we've run since our return. Not rocket science.

Is The East Pacific a defender region? I wasn't aware signing a treaty with XKI turned one into a defender. Snark aside, this is objectively false. Balder piled on England for the raid, as well. Do you research, my friend!

It didn't. It was quickly abandoned after Aav switched sides, both because this thread was always a possibility after that point and because it wasn't really worth continuing anyway, and especially wouldn't be worth it to pursue in a world where the PPO now exists. Mea culpa for assuming long-established Gameplay etiquette would be adhered to, though.

You are the last person to talk about gameplay etiquette.

"Raider region discusses putting sleepers in defender regions and doesn't get anywhere" wouldn't make headlines back in the day, but I get we all get bored. Just promise me you didn't spend time on a holiday writing this instead of touching grass.

I spent yesterday going to work, for the most part. Your interest in attacking me as a person (insofar as yesterday's status as a holiday I do not really celebrate) is fairly telling. You are being weak and petty by lashing out at my person because you know you've dropped the ball. You did this when you insulted Icarus' intelligence, you've done it to plenty others in the past.

But an important question: So, to be clear, is it your position that Balder is a defender region and therefore it is okay for BoM to take action to subvert it? That's the argument you've been implicitly making so far.

[Jewish Underground State]

As someone who helped defend belgium from Malice I'm glad to see more collations forming to stop them

[Reventus Koth]

... This isn't the argument you think it is. Thanks for admitting that everything I said is correct, though. You came up with the concept and placed sleeper nations in Baler. I appreciate you helping me on this one.

I wasn't arguing with you, I literally just described what happened.

Is The East Pacific a defender region? I wasn't aware signing a treaty with XKI turned one into a defender. Snark aside, this is objectively false. Balder piled on England for the raid, as well. Do you research, my friend!

England was not a BoM op, so this is not a counter-point.

You are the last person to talk about gameplay etiquette.

Pot, meet kettle.

I spent yesterday going to work, for the most part. Your interest in attacking me as a person (insofar as yesterday's status as a holiday I do not really celebrate) is fairly telling. You are a weak and petty gameplayer lashing out at my person because you know you've dropped the ball. You did this when you insulted Icarus' intelligence, you've done it to plenty in the past. Show a little more resolve, Koth.

You literally tell people to touch grass all the time, I was just engaging you on your level. Nobody's taking this bit seriously, right?

But an important question: So, to be clear, is it your position that Balder is a defender region and therefore it is okay for BoM to take action to subvert it? That's the argument you've been implicitly making so far.

If it quacks like a duck, runs against us like a duck, and forges alliances with other ducks, BoM will call it a duck. BoM no longer has any interest in pursuing anything against Balder, sorry for the spoiler alert, but if they didn't want to take my word for it, we are always open to signing non-aggression pacts.

As someone who helped defend belgium from Malice I'm glad to see more collations forming to stop them

My brother outside of Christ, it was a tag.

[Jewish Underground State]

... This isn't the argument you think it is. Thanks for admitting that everything I said is correct, though. You came up with the concept and placed sleeper nations in Baler. I appreciate you helping me on this one.

I wasn't arguing with you, I literally just described what happened.

Is The East Pacific a defender region? I wasn't aware signing a treaty with XKI turned one into a defender. Snark aside, this is objectively false. Balder piled on England for the raid, as well. Do you research, my friend!

England was not a BoM op, so this is not a counter-point.

You are the last person to talk about gameplay etiquette.

Pot, meet kettle.

I spent yesterday going to work, for the most part. Your interest in attacking me as a person (insofar as yesterday's status as a holiday I do not really celebrate) is fairly telling. You are a weak and petty gameplayer lashing out at my person because you know you've dropped the ball. You did this when you insulted Icarus' intelligence, you've done it to plenty in the past. Show a little more resolve, Koth.

You literally tell people to touch grass all the time, I was just engaging you on your level. Nobody's taking this bit seriously, right?

But an important question: So, to be clear, is it your position that Balder is a defender region and therefore it is okay for BoM to take action to subvert it? That's the argument you've been implicitly making so far.

If it quacks like a duck, runs against us like a duck, and forges alliances with other ducks, BoM will call it a duck. BoM no longer has any interest in pursuing anything against Balder, sorry for the spoiler alert, but if they didn't want to take my word for it, we are always open to signing non-aggression pacts.

As someone who helped defend belgium from Malice I'm glad to see more collations forming to stop them

My brother outside of Christ, it was a tag.

No crap. I still had to volunteer to take that region back.

Dude I'm so biased I came from a defender region and still defended regions even when they kicked me out.

Plus a tag raid on a region that size will never work.

[Quebecshire]

England was not a BoM op, so this is not a counter-point.

It was a raid, Koth.

If it quacks like a duck, runs against us like a duck, and forges alliances with other ducks, BoM will call it a duck. BoM no longer has any interest in pursuing anything against Balder, sorry for the spoiler alert, but if they didn't want to take my word for it, we are always open to signing non-aggression pacts.

You've been pretty open about how the plan was abandoned (1) because one of your agents departed your organization and (2) PPO made things inconvenient, and make consequences more likely. No change of heart. No reason to think you wouldn't make a new attempt with new people if you felt (2) was unlikely to be a factor again.

I can't speak for Balder. But your diplomatic strategy of taking a massive swing at someone and then asking them to sign an agreement when it fails has not served you very well thus far. I'm sure they can navigate this.

[Arkadia Universalis]

They could have at least came up with a more creative operational name.

La Resistance.

[Jewish Underground State]

They could have at least came up with a more creative operational name.

La Resistance.

Mind if I steal that idea?

[Syberis]

They could have at least came up with a more creative operational name.

La Resistance.

What is Osiris' response to the actions of their ally?

[Reventus Koth]

England was not a BoM op, so this is not a counter-point.

It was a raid, Koth.

Perhaps there is a communication breakdown here.

Balder [...] has to my knowledge run against every hold we've run since our return. Not rocket science.

That they put a few endos into the England op (which we were not involved in) doesn't change anything about the fact that they've only ever antagonized us.