INTRODUCTION
Can I use nuclear weapons in an RP?
There is no greater evidence for how difficult it is to use nuclear weapons in an RP than the fact of how taboo their use has become. The use of nuclear weapons is often discouraged and when used it can be highly negotiated, and most players avoid them altogether. The truth is, nukes can be RPd in a very fun and productive way. This resource talks about how to do that.
What this resource doesn’t help with: technical information on nuclear weapons and their delivery methods.
Neither am I going to talk about biological or chemical weapons, although the logic I apply here is equally applicable in their use as well.
The fundamental reasons nukes aren’t used as much as they could be on NationStates is because of finality that they’re associated with. In situations where the receiving end of the party believes this outcome to be unfair, the game ends because the RP devolves into an OOC conflict. But nukes have also been used very successfully by RPers for effect, to make the story that much more interesting, and to provide color to the world.
How are these RPers able to use nukes without causing the OOC issues usually associated with them?
It’s worth looking at some examples of the productive use of nukes.
However, before we do that, let's talk about why you'd want to use nukes at all.
WHY GO NUCLEAR IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Credit to Sunset for making me think about this and for his insight.
Nuclear weapons are extremely powerful. In the real world, they have historically been reserved for last-ditch necessities. Used in war only twice, both times against Japan during the Second World War, thereafter the primary purpose of nuclear weapons was to be used as a deterrent and as a form of coercion. Despite their lack of use, there have been plenty of times their use has been threatened or, at least, a possibility. The United States escalated its B-29 deployments to Guam during the Korean War, the Israelis had a secret plan to use nuclear weapons during the Six Day and Yom Kippur Wars, and a NATO-Warsaw Pact war in Europe could have very likely seen the use of tactical nuclear weapons. There were dozens of other near-calls, many based on misinterpreted data and false alarms. Yes, nuclear weapons are dangerous, and there are situations where their use may be warranted.
Determining whether it is warranted for you, or rather your IC nation and characters, to use nuclear weapons deserves serious thought.
First, does it make sense for your nation to have nuclear weapons? This isn't always a straightforward question.
There can be cultural considerations that dissuade a government from building them. Japan, for example, has been staunchly anti-nuclear since it was a target of nuclear attack. Neither has this always been an easy philosophy for Japan, which had leadership — such as Eisaku Satō — that has proposed the production of a nuclear arsenal. However, the Japanese public has always been relatively anti-nuclear and, politically, Japan was pressured by the United States to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. In Spain, public opinion is so anti-nuclear that nuclear technology has disappeared as a civilian energy source, even.
There are technological and economic factors, as well. Can your nation afford a nuclear arsenal? Where can it import the technology from? Does it have access to the necessary raw resources and capital goods? Depending on the type of nation you're playing, it may not make sense to have nuclear weapons at all.
Finally, politics matters too. Is your government stable? If not, would it be wise for that government to create a nuclear arsenal? This is not a simple question, and just because your government is unstable doesn't mean it won't build nuclear warheads. Pakistan is a perfect example of a nuclear country beset by political instability. That being said, consider the amount of international intervention in Pakistan, which is inevitable given that if their nukes fall into the wrong hands it can create a very, very dangerous international incident.
If your country has nuclear weapons, what is its doctrine? How does it plan to use these weapons and under what circumstances? This matters. Nuclear doctrines are rarely ad hoc or "played by ear." For Israel, its "unofficial" nuclear arsenal is used as a deterrent, especially in the case of an invasion that it cannot defeat conventionally. Notice, though, how caveated the doctrine is. In 1973, Israel was caught by surprise and could have been defeated. It waited to see how the conventional war played out, even as dire as the situation was at the start. Conversely, consider the nuclear policies of the Soviet Union and the United States, and the contextual reality of uncertainty. Both countries' nuclear doctrines were very complex and depended on how the scenario played out. For example, one of the United States' doctrines called for advanced warning, after which it would target around 1,000 known or suspected Soviet installations relevant to nuclear delivery. There were also plans to attack top population centers and other targets.
OOCly, I encourage you to think what your country's and society's position on nuclear weapons is, and whether it makes sense to have them. If it does, then what's the doctrine? It's recommended that you have a basic version of this doctrine up somewhere, perhaps as part of your factbook, for the sake of transparency. This will help eliminate any feeling that your use of nuclear weapons is reactionary and out of OOC frustration, or otherwise simply arbitrary.
CASE STUDIES
Second Krasnovan War: Mokastana versus United World Order
In the late spring, Mokastana and Mokan-backed Zvezda launched a surprise attack on Krasnova, the Ordenite vassal and western-half of the former Red Star Union. A coalition quickly formed behind the Mokans, including the Romani-Marshite Union, Morrdh, and Stevid. The Mokan offensive made quick ground, occupying large chunks of southeastern Krasnova before the Ordenites organized a new defensive line by the end of the year. Despite these gains, victory was still all but certain and the Ordenites were more than capable of launching a winter or spring counter-offensive of their own.
Suddenly, the Macabéan naval force stationed at a leased and isolated base just south of Pezlevko mutinied, led by its admiral and the treasonous imperial advisor Mikael Varis. Loyal ground forces secured the base and entered the war on the Mokan side, striking into Krasnovan regulars and Ordenite Waffen-SS held in reserve. Nevertheless, the fleet had long left by then and had rendezvoused with Ordenite naval forces, traveling north behind neutral country to avoid being attacked by enemy air forces. It planned to turn back east to defeat the Stevidian and Morridane navy in the north before a Mokan fleet to the south and east could reinforce them. It was a mission with little chance of success, but combined with an Ordenite ground offensive it was one with the potential to destabilize the gains that had already been made by part of the Mokan coalition. The Zvezdans, the Mokan-backed state to rival Ordenite Krasnova, believed that the fleet intended to pave the way for an amphibious invasion that could open a second front.
Anxious, the Zvezdans fire a nuclear-tipped missile at the combined Ordenite-Mutinous fleet without the approval and awareness of their coalition allies. It struck the combined fleet, exploding above a mutinous Macabéan aircraft carrier and sinking it outright. Tens of thousands of sailors died instantaneously, many ships were sunk outrights, hundreds of others receiving damage — some more, some less. The fleet was stopped in its tracks. Survivors suffer the consequences of radiation.
In retaliation, the Ordenites launched a nuclear-tipped missile of their own at the port city of Stravopol, where the Ordenites understood the Zvezdan and Mokan command and control to be. The attack ruined the city, killing much of their leadership in the process. Krasnovan Datosk was struck next by a Zvezdan missile, the Zvezdans conducting a retaliatory strike on their own. The nuclear war was escalating, and quickly.
The Mokans threaten to abandon the Zvezdans and call for a ceasefire, organizing peace talks to end the war before any more destruction could be wrought. So jarring was the outbreak of nuclear war that the Ordenites agreed to withdraw from the island, the Mokans reciprocating with withdrawals on their own. Much of Krasnova was conserved into an enlarged Zvezdan state, but the use of nuclear weapons had a powerful impact on the immediate post-war landscape.
This series of actions did not cause an OOC argument. There was OOC discussion, but most of it took place prior to the use of nuclear weapons and all of it was productive. There was a purpose behind the use of nukes that went beyond the in-character drive for absolute victory, the sort of absolute that imposes an end-game on one party or the other. Rather, Mokastana was looking to end the war so that he could move on to other IC projects and the scenario was proposed as one that would give the story a proper, interesting ending that could explain the war’s sudden and violent conclusion.
The outcome was a piece of memorable history, canon that will be remembered in Greater Dienstad and by others involved for a very long time. Neither did the use of nukes end anything in an absolute sense. Krasnova is still very active as an RP setting.
War of Golden Succession: The Golden Throne [The Macabees] vs. The Holy Empire [Stevid]
When emperor Jonak I, first of the Second Empire of the Golden Throne died, he left his grandson as the successor instead of his son. The son, Heinrik, quickly fled to Weigar, which had been reunited into the empire for only a couple generations and whose aristocracy was willing to ally in revolt. Parts of the ruling Díenstadi aristocracy revolted, as well, and within weeks the province of Weigar and her armies were at war with the recently coronated emperor, Fedor I. The province of Sarcanza joined the revolt soon after, and to make matters worse for Fedor his southern neighbor of Safehaven soon joined the conflict by launching a full invasion of the province of Ruska and a naval assault on Targul Frumos. Interestingly, Safehaven was prompted into the conflict after Fedor authorised the use of a nuclear bomb to destroy the city of Weigar, capital of its province.
Before the outbreak of war, relations between Stevid and Guffingford were already on a steep decline. They had begun to mobilize against each other. When Guffingford joined the War of Golden Succession as an ally of Fedor’s, it was natural for Stevid to ally with Safehaven. The conflict would go on involve over 17 nations, total. Hundreds of millions died. The Ruskan city of Aurillac was wiped off the map, with the deaths of over 20 million there alone. One of the largest, most balanced naval battles in regional history was fought, along with massive tank battles, and other extraordinary canon that defined a period of regional history.
The war in Ruska began to turn in Fedor’s favor and the focus of the war began to turn to the naval struggle between the Golden Throne and the Holy Empire. The approach to the latter from the north went through the Sea of Otium Aqua and this sea took center stage soon enough. Already the scene of skirmishes and battling between Guffingford and Stevid, in the second year of the war a Macabéan fleet entered the Otium Aqua in an effort to secure it, bottle the enemy fleet in her ports, and impede the Holy Empire and her allies from reinforcing Havenic troops. A two-part engagement was fought, with the Macabéans getting the better of the first one, only to lose the second part to a combined Stevidian-Hitman fleet. The loss at the Battle of the Otium Aqua Sea was a dramatic propaganda coup for the Stevidians, who would continue to tout their naval superiority up to the Great Díenstadi War.
Unable to defeat the Holy Empire at open sea, Fedor ordered the use of a nuclear-tipped torpedoes fired by three UUVs dropped by aircraft well off the coast of Portsmouth, where the Stevidian 5th Fleet was stationed. The attack devastated the Portsmouth harbor and much of the 5th Fleet was put out of action, at least for the duration of the war. An early retaliatory strike, the Hitman success in their operation to sink the Feathermore class Superdreadnought (this was Jolt-era), which had suffered extensive damage during the Battle of Otium Aqua Sea and was heading toward its home port of Macabea, was followed by a Stevidian nuclear attack on the Macabéan fleet in Macabea. Like in Krasnova, a decade later, the limited nuclear exchange compelled the Golden Throne and the Holy Empire to the table.
The nuclear war did not immediately end the conflict. Safehaven, the player, had disappeared and the southern front lost the balance given to it by two competitive RPers writing an open-ended cooperative story. The initiative in Ruska passed to the Golden Throne and, by the final year of the war, the Macabéan Ejermacht had made deep gains into northern Havenic territory. This area was annexed and organized into territories. Guffingford was DOS’d and, ICly, this was interpreted as a collapse in government. The Golden Throne invaded first, fearing that the entire country would fall to Stevid instead. The Holy Empire did launch an invasion of its own, and the country was partitioned.
The nuclear exchange did end much of the active combat between the two empires, however. OOCly, with the shift in RP personnel, the multi-thread RP was losing some of its original focus. It made OOC sense to use the nuclear attacks to end the war and it made little IC sense to escalate the conflict into a full-blown nuclear exchange, given that Fedor sought to quell the ongoing rebellion in Sarcanza and rebuild the now-damaged empire his grandfather had left him. For their part, the Holy Empire had won a name for itself as the foremost naval power and had acquired new territories, a peace now to consolidate the gains made sense for them.
Events described here OOCly took place between 2005 and 2008, so my memory of the OOC conversations on the end of the RP is far, far from perfect. What’s interesting is that the NS Wiki article for the Battle of Otium Aqua Sea mentions the nuclear attack on Portsmouth and the sinking of the Feathermore, but it does not mention the Stevidian retaliation at Macabea. The retaliation was organic, it was an unplanned response to the attack on Portsmouth. That is, the first attack was launched without expectation of the second.
Like the combatants in Krasnova, the active combatants of the War of Golden Succession remained RP partners. I continue to RP with Stevid to this day and now, thanks in large part to changes in regional geopolitics, we are allies. The example goes to show that two competitive RPers can use nuclear weapons in a productive way. How did we do it? When it came time to post, before pressing submit, we asked each other if it was okay — and just by asking we knew that both of our actions were in good faith.
Mordent Conflict (part of the Great Dienstadi War): Imbrinium vs. Morrdh
Originally remaining neutral during the Great Dienstadi War, Morrdh eventually joined on the Stevidian side and launched an offensive to conquer the eastern half of Mordent, an island in the northern central area of the region that had been previously partitioned with Imbrinium. The Great Dienstadi War originally began as a dispute regarding the Stevidian conquest of South Greal and the rapidly growing garrison, itself a product of Lyran imperialism to the north, on the same continent. The war began with a Stevidian attack on Imbrinumian submarines patrolling along the Holy Empire’s coastline, Malgrave joining on Stevid’s side soon after with the intention of liberating Arastonia and eliminating the Imbrinumian garrison there.
Malgrave, curiously, was forced out of the war after an Imbrinumian biological attack. The Imbrinumians used a sample of Varathron Blood Fever, a biological agent already well-known for its outbreak in the Drakonian colony of Disia, to quickly knock them out of the war. Malgrave intensified its own attack on the Imbrinumian garrison in Arastonia, but a second and third wave of biological attacks effectively forced them out of the war.
Elsewhere, the war continued to escalate. Wanderjar invaded South Greal soon after the outbreak of hostilities and Greal mobilized to aid Stevid’s and Malgrave’s operations in Arastonia. This prompted Lyras to join the war by launching a surprise attack on the Stevidian 5th Splinter Fleet, removing it as an effective fighting force, and intimidating Greal into remaining neutral. In orbit, combatant and non-combatant assets alike were destroyed in a kessler spawned by a massed Imbrinumian attack on enemy satellites.
As the war dragged on, the Morridanes finally joined the conflict, favoring the Holy Empire of Stevid. Morrdh launched an invasion of East Mordent and northern Imbrinium, both of which were bogged down into a stalemate. Equally as indecisive was a revolt the Morridanes attempted to instigate in East Mordent. Seeking to deal a decisive blow against Imbrinumian forces in East Mordent, Morrdh subjected Imbrinumian military forces to a kinetic bombardment of ‘god-rods,’ equivalent to a nuclear attack. Unsurprisingly, Imbrinium retaliated by striking the city of Lindun, in West Mordent, with a nuclear-tipped missile.
The nuclear attack did not immediately end the war and, in fact, there was a real threat of continued escalation. Morridane satellites that had performed the kinetic bombardment were targeted by Macabéan aircraft enforcing an informal ban on the use of orbital weapons after the destruction wrought by the kessler and the Imbrinumians prepared for additional attacks to decisively shift the initiative in their favor. It was not until Lyras threatened to intervene in the Mordent Conflict by occupying both combatants militarily that the two sides agreed to a peace that re-established the status quo.
What’s OOCly magnificent about the Mordent Conflict is that the god-rod and subsequent nuclear strikes were entirely organic and impromptu. Both players understood that their actions were in good faith and so they created an explosive story that added a lot of value to a thread where that good faith, creativity, and productivity had already been showcased in the way of the Imbrinumian biological attack on Malgrave. It goes to show that it is possible to have spontaneous biological and nuclear attacks without ruining an RP as long as the players can trust in each other’s commitment to good faith.
LESSONS
All three of the above case studies took place during competitive RPs. Neither side had agreed to win or lose prior to the outbreak of the conflict. In two out of three cases, the use of nuclear weapons was an organic development from events in the RP. Why did these RPs survive the use of nukes while many others do not? How did these RPs avoid a debilitating and unconstructive OOC argument?
There’s a term I’ve mentioned over and over: good faith. There has to be trust between players that the others’ intentions are honest and sincere. Without that trust, without that rapport, the use of nukes is very likely to backfire.
All three examples are from RPs that happened within the Greater Dienstad RP community, which has a long history of cooperative competitive storytelling. There are other similarly cohesive RPing communities out there, the point is that there’s a certain informal understanding, a certain way of doing things, that makes nuclear weapons more likely to be used in a fun and creative way. I call this set of informal rules a constitution and consider this vital for a successfully OPd story because it sets the expectations that all the participants are held to. If there’s faith in the expected behavior of other players, then it’s easier to push the envelope in a way that still jives well with others because you have a much better idea of what the hard boundaries are. If you don’t have faith in a set of informal rules, then the OP should create formal rules and enforce them.
Of course, good faith and trust also have a lot to do with the individuals involved. Players that see a lot of success RPing in unconventional ways tend to share certain characteristics, including showing respect, transparency, flexibility, selflessness, sportsmanship, and humility. Players who are successful also tend to look for solutions rather than harp, and get stuck, on problems. Having a history of this sort of personality helps you build a brand defined by these traits, and such a brand exudes trust. And when you exude trust it’s easier to persuade others of things like the use of nuclear weapons because they know you’re not trying to screw them over.
Finally, in all three of the above situations there was constant and transparent communication between parties. This ties into the overall constitution of the RP and the trust between individuals, and is really a manifestation of a certain approach to RPing. Sometimes this communication starts as an argument but there’s always an impulse to resolve conflict by finding resolutions that all involved parties are okay with. We cannot force unwanted outcomes on people because then those people will not want to RP with us in the future or, otherwise, it may cause the RP to die on the water. It doesn’t matter how “in the right” you think you are, it’s better to retcon a controversial decision that has absolutely no community traction than to let it get in the way of continuing the story.
GUIDELINES FOR USING NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN RPS
I. Best practice is to have strong IC reasons for having and using a nuclear arsenal. Develop a doctrine, even if it's basic, to communicate your nuclear policy to other players. This will help avoid the issues of being arbitrary in your use of nuclear weapons in RPs.
II. It is highly encouraged to only use nuclear weapons when you have an established and friendly OOC relationship with the other players in the thread.
III. It is recommended that you communicate your intention to use nuclear weapons before you do. It’s not as much about asking for permission as it is about showing respect for the other player(s) and asking for their opinion.
IV. Be open to the in-character consequences of using nuclear weapons. Your enemies may want to retaliate and, should you use nuclear weapons, you will have to accept the likelihood of your enemy doing so as well. This is part of good faith and trust in your RP partner(s).
V. If there isn’t enough trust for completely spontaneous use of nuclear weapons, establish ground rules. With clear limits to how nuclear weapons can be used in an RP, you can keep their use to a level that all the involved players are comfortable with.
VI. Never use nuclear weapons out of OOC frustration. Their use should be in good faith and the purpose should always be to have fun.
VII. Using nuclear weapons to end the game for another player is highly discouraged. No one wants to stop suddenly playing the game and we all have ideas of where we want to take our canon, so don’t ruin it for people.
VIII. If you use nuclear weapons and your opponent freaks out, have a discussion about it and see if you can sell your partner(s) on a story trajectory. Lay out your intentions clearly and work with the wants and needs of the other player(s). If the other player(s) absolutely do not want nuclear weapons used in the RP, be the bigger person and retcon. Retcon their use before the argument kills the RP altogether because then it’s no fun for anybody.
If you enjoyed this guide, please check out my other roleplaying and worldbuilding guides and an upvote on the dispatch would be appreciated.
I. Introduction
II. Why Go Nuclear at All
III. Case Studies
IIA. Second Krasnovan War
IIB. War of Golden Succession
IIC. Mordent Conflict
IV. Lessons
V. Guidelines
There is no greater evidence for how difficult it is to use nuclear weapons in an RP than the fact of how taboo their use has become. The use of nuclear weapons is often discouraged and when used it can be highly negotiated, and most players avoid them altogether. The truth is, nukes can be RPd in a very fun and productive way. This resource talks about how to do that.
What this resource doesn’t help with: technical information on nuclear weapons and their delivery methods.
Neither am I going to talk about biological or chemical weapons, although the logic I apply here is equally applicable in their use as well.
The fundamental reasons nukes aren’t used as much as they could be on NationStates is because of finality that they’re associated with. In situations where the receiving end of the party believes this outcome to be unfair, the game ends because the RP devolves into an OOC conflict. But nukes have also been used very successfully by RPers for effect, to make the story that much more interesting, and to provide color to the world.
How are these RPers able to use nukes without causing the OOC issues usually associated with them?
It’s worth looking at some examples of the productive use of nukes.
However, before we do that, let's talk about why you'd want to use nukes at all.
WHY GO NUCLEAR IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Credit to Sunset for making me think about this and for his insight.
Nuclear weapons are extremely powerful. In the real world, they have historically been reserved for last-ditch necessities. Used in war only twice, both times against Japan during the Second World War, thereafter the primary purpose of nuclear weapons was to be used as a deterrent and as a form of coercion. Despite their lack of use, there have been plenty of times their use has been threatened or, at least, a possibility. The United States escalated its B-29 deployments to Guam during the Korean War, the Israelis had a secret plan to use nuclear weapons during the Six Day and Yom Kippur Wars, and a NATO-Warsaw Pact war in Europe could have very likely seen the use of tactical nuclear weapons. There were dozens of other near-calls, many based on misinterpreted data and false alarms. Yes, nuclear weapons are dangerous, and there are situations where their use may be warranted.
Determining whether it is warranted for you, or rather your IC nation and characters, to use nuclear weapons deserves serious thought.
First, does it make sense for your nation to have nuclear weapons? This isn't always a straightforward question.
There can be cultural considerations that dissuade a government from building them. Japan, for example, has been staunchly anti-nuclear since it was a target of nuclear attack. Neither has this always been an easy philosophy for Japan, which had leadership — such as Eisaku Satō — that has proposed the production of a nuclear arsenal. However, the Japanese public has always been relatively anti-nuclear and, politically, Japan was pressured by the United States to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. In Spain, public opinion is so anti-nuclear that nuclear technology has disappeared as a civilian energy source, even.
There are technological and economic factors, as well. Can your nation afford a nuclear arsenal? Where can it import the technology from? Does it have access to the necessary raw resources and capital goods? Depending on the type of nation you're playing, it may not make sense to have nuclear weapons at all.
Finally, politics matters too. Is your government stable? If not, would it be wise for that government to create a nuclear arsenal? This is not a simple question, and just because your government is unstable doesn't mean it won't build nuclear warheads. Pakistan is a perfect example of a nuclear country beset by political instability. That being said, consider the amount of international intervention in Pakistan, which is inevitable given that if their nukes fall into the wrong hands it can create a very, very dangerous international incident.
If your country has nuclear weapons, what is its doctrine? How does it plan to use these weapons and under what circumstances? This matters. Nuclear doctrines are rarely ad hoc or "played by ear." For Israel, its "unofficial" nuclear arsenal is used as a deterrent, especially in the case of an invasion that it cannot defeat conventionally. Notice, though, how caveated the doctrine is. In 1973, Israel was caught by surprise and could have been defeated. It waited to see how the conventional war played out, even as dire as the situation was at the start. Conversely, consider the nuclear policies of the Soviet Union and the United States, and the contextual reality of uncertainty. Both countries' nuclear doctrines were very complex and depended on how the scenario played out. For example, one of the United States' doctrines called for advanced warning, after which it would target around 1,000 known or suspected Soviet installations relevant to nuclear delivery. There were also plans to attack top population centers and other targets.
OOCly, I encourage you to think what your country's and society's position on nuclear weapons is, and whether it makes sense to have them. If it does, then what's the doctrine? It's recommended that you have a basic version of this doctrine up somewhere, perhaps as part of your factbook, for the sake of transparency. This will help eliminate any feeling that your use of nuclear weapons is reactionary and out of OOC frustration, or otherwise simply arbitrary.
CASE STUDIES
Second Krasnovan War: Mokastana versus United World Order
In the late spring, Mokastana and Mokan-backed Zvezda launched a surprise attack on Krasnova, the Ordenite vassal and western-half of the former Red Star Union. A coalition quickly formed behind the Mokans, including the Romani-Marshite Union, Morrdh, and Stevid. The Mokan offensive made quick ground, occupying large chunks of southeastern Krasnova before the Ordenites organized a new defensive line by the end of the year. Despite these gains, victory was still all but certain and the Ordenites were more than capable of launching a winter or spring counter-offensive of their own.
Suddenly, the Macabéan naval force stationed at a leased and isolated base just south of Pezlevko mutinied, led by its admiral and the treasonous imperial advisor Mikael Varis. Loyal ground forces secured the base and entered the war on the Mokan side, striking into Krasnovan regulars and Ordenite Waffen-SS held in reserve. Nevertheless, the fleet had long left by then and had rendezvoused with Ordenite naval forces, traveling north behind neutral country to avoid being attacked by enemy air forces. It planned to turn back east to defeat the Stevidian and Morridane navy in the north before a Mokan fleet to the south and east could reinforce them. It was a mission with little chance of success, but combined with an Ordenite ground offensive it was one with the potential to destabilize the gains that had already been made by part of the Mokan coalition. The Zvezdans, the Mokan-backed state to rival Ordenite Krasnova, believed that the fleet intended to pave the way for an amphibious invasion that could open a second front.
Anxious, the Zvezdans fire a nuclear-tipped missile at the combined Ordenite-Mutinous fleet without the approval and awareness of their coalition allies. It struck the combined fleet, exploding above a mutinous Macabéan aircraft carrier and sinking it outright. Tens of thousands of sailors died instantaneously, many ships were sunk outrights, hundreds of others receiving damage — some more, some less. The fleet was stopped in its tracks. Survivors suffer the consequences of radiation.
In retaliation, the Ordenites launched a nuclear-tipped missile of their own at the port city of Stravopol, where the Ordenites understood the Zvezdan and Mokan command and control to be. The attack ruined the city, killing much of their leadership in the process. Krasnovan Datosk was struck next by a Zvezdan missile, the Zvezdans conducting a retaliatory strike on their own. The nuclear war was escalating, and quickly.
The Mokans threaten to abandon the Zvezdans and call for a ceasefire, organizing peace talks to end the war before any more destruction could be wrought. So jarring was the outbreak of nuclear war that the Ordenites agreed to withdraw from the island, the Mokans reciprocating with withdrawals on their own. Much of Krasnova was conserved into an enlarged Zvezdan state, but the use of nuclear weapons had a powerful impact on the immediate post-war landscape.
This series of actions did not cause an OOC argument. There was OOC discussion, but most of it took place prior to the use of nuclear weapons and all of it was productive. There was a purpose behind the use of nukes that went beyond the in-character drive for absolute victory, the sort of absolute that imposes an end-game on one party or the other. Rather, Mokastana was looking to end the war so that he could move on to other IC projects and the scenario was proposed as one that would give the story a proper, interesting ending that could explain the war’s sudden and violent conclusion.
The outcome was a piece of memorable history, canon that will be remembered in Greater Dienstad and by others involved for a very long time. Neither did the use of nukes end anything in an absolute sense. Krasnova is still very active as an RP setting.
War of Golden Succession: The Golden Throne [The Macabees] vs. The Holy Empire [Stevid]
When emperor Jonak I, first of the Second Empire of the Golden Throne died, he left his grandson as the successor instead of his son. The son, Heinrik, quickly fled to Weigar, which had been reunited into the empire for only a couple generations and whose aristocracy was willing to ally in revolt. Parts of the ruling Díenstadi aristocracy revolted, as well, and within weeks the province of Weigar and her armies were at war with the recently coronated emperor, Fedor I. The province of Sarcanza joined the revolt soon after, and to make matters worse for Fedor his southern neighbor of Safehaven soon joined the conflict by launching a full invasion of the province of Ruska and a naval assault on Targul Frumos. Interestingly, Safehaven was prompted into the conflict after Fedor authorised the use of a nuclear bomb to destroy the city of Weigar, capital of its province.
Before the outbreak of war, relations between Stevid and Guffingford were already on a steep decline. They had begun to mobilize against each other. When Guffingford joined the War of Golden Succession as an ally of Fedor’s, it was natural for Stevid to ally with Safehaven. The conflict would go on involve over 17 nations, total. Hundreds of millions died. The Ruskan city of Aurillac was wiped off the map, with the deaths of over 20 million there alone. One of the largest, most balanced naval battles in regional history was fought, along with massive tank battles, and other extraordinary canon that defined a period of regional history.
The war in Ruska began to turn in Fedor’s favor and the focus of the war began to turn to the naval struggle between the Golden Throne and the Holy Empire. The approach to the latter from the north went through the Sea of Otium Aqua and this sea took center stage soon enough. Already the scene of skirmishes and battling between Guffingford and Stevid, in the second year of the war a Macabéan fleet entered the Otium Aqua in an effort to secure it, bottle the enemy fleet in her ports, and impede the Holy Empire and her allies from reinforcing Havenic troops. A two-part engagement was fought, with the Macabéans getting the better of the first one, only to lose the second part to a combined Stevidian-Hitman fleet. The loss at the Battle of the Otium Aqua Sea was a dramatic propaganda coup for the Stevidians, who would continue to tout their naval superiority up to the Great Díenstadi War.
Unable to defeat the Holy Empire at open sea, Fedor ordered the use of a nuclear-tipped torpedoes fired by three UUVs dropped by aircraft well off the coast of Portsmouth, where the Stevidian 5th Fleet was stationed. The attack devastated the Portsmouth harbor and much of the 5th Fleet was put out of action, at least for the duration of the war. An early retaliatory strike, the Hitman success in their operation to sink the Feathermore class Superdreadnought (this was Jolt-era), which had suffered extensive damage during the Battle of Otium Aqua Sea and was heading toward its home port of Macabea, was followed by a Stevidian nuclear attack on the Macabéan fleet in Macabea. Like in Krasnova, a decade later, the limited nuclear exchange compelled the Golden Throne and the Holy Empire to the table.
The nuclear war did not immediately end the conflict. Safehaven, the player, had disappeared and the southern front lost the balance given to it by two competitive RPers writing an open-ended cooperative story. The initiative in Ruska passed to the Golden Throne and, by the final year of the war, the Macabéan Ejermacht had made deep gains into northern Havenic territory. This area was annexed and organized into territories. Guffingford was DOS’d and, ICly, this was interpreted as a collapse in government. The Golden Throne invaded first, fearing that the entire country would fall to Stevid instead. The Holy Empire did launch an invasion of its own, and the country was partitioned.
The nuclear exchange did end much of the active combat between the two empires, however. OOCly, with the shift in RP personnel, the multi-thread RP was losing some of its original focus. It made OOC sense to use the nuclear attacks to end the war and it made little IC sense to escalate the conflict into a full-blown nuclear exchange, given that Fedor sought to quell the ongoing rebellion in Sarcanza and rebuild the now-damaged empire his grandfather had left him. For their part, the Holy Empire had won a name for itself as the foremost naval power and had acquired new territories, a peace now to consolidate the gains made sense for them.
Events described here OOCly took place between 2005 and 2008, so my memory of the OOC conversations on the end of the RP is far, far from perfect. What’s interesting is that the NS Wiki article for the Battle of Otium Aqua Sea mentions the nuclear attack on Portsmouth and the sinking of the Feathermore, but it does not mention the Stevidian retaliation at Macabea. The retaliation was organic, it was an unplanned response to the attack on Portsmouth. That is, the first attack was launched without expectation of the second.
Like the combatants in Krasnova, the active combatants of the War of Golden Succession remained RP partners. I continue to RP with Stevid to this day and now, thanks in large part to changes in regional geopolitics, we are allies. The example goes to show that two competitive RPers can use nuclear weapons in a productive way. How did we do it? When it came time to post, before pressing submit, we asked each other if it was okay — and just by asking we knew that both of our actions were in good faith.
Mordent Conflict (part of the Great Dienstadi War): Imbrinium vs. Morrdh
Originally remaining neutral during the Great Dienstadi War, Morrdh eventually joined on the Stevidian side and launched an offensive to conquer the eastern half of Mordent, an island in the northern central area of the region that had been previously partitioned with Imbrinium. The Great Dienstadi War originally began as a dispute regarding the Stevidian conquest of South Greal and the rapidly growing garrison, itself a product of Lyran imperialism to the north, on the same continent. The war began with a Stevidian attack on Imbrinumian submarines patrolling along the Holy Empire’s coastline, Malgrave joining on Stevid’s side soon after with the intention of liberating Arastonia and eliminating the Imbrinumian garrison there.
Malgrave, curiously, was forced out of the war after an Imbrinumian biological attack. The Imbrinumians used a sample of Varathron Blood Fever, a biological agent already well-known for its outbreak in the Drakonian colony of Disia, to quickly knock them out of the war. Malgrave intensified its own attack on the Imbrinumian garrison in Arastonia, but a second and third wave of biological attacks effectively forced them out of the war.
Elsewhere, the war continued to escalate. Wanderjar invaded South Greal soon after the outbreak of hostilities and Greal mobilized to aid Stevid’s and Malgrave’s operations in Arastonia. This prompted Lyras to join the war by launching a surprise attack on the Stevidian 5th Splinter Fleet, removing it as an effective fighting force, and intimidating Greal into remaining neutral. In orbit, combatant and non-combatant assets alike were destroyed in a kessler spawned by a massed Imbrinumian attack on enemy satellites.
As the war dragged on, the Morridanes finally joined the conflict, favoring the Holy Empire of Stevid. Morrdh launched an invasion of East Mordent and northern Imbrinium, both of which were bogged down into a stalemate. Equally as indecisive was a revolt the Morridanes attempted to instigate in East Mordent. Seeking to deal a decisive blow against Imbrinumian forces in East Mordent, Morrdh subjected Imbrinumian military forces to a kinetic bombardment of ‘god-rods,’ equivalent to a nuclear attack. Unsurprisingly, Imbrinium retaliated by striking the city of Lindun, in West Mordent, with a nuclear-tipped missile.
The nuclear attack did not immediately end the war and, in fact, there was a real threat of continued escalation. Morridane satellites that had performed the kinetic bombardment were targeted by Macabéan aircraft enforcing an informal ban on the use of orbital weapons after the destruction wrought by the kessler and the Imbrinumians prepared for additional attacks to decisively shift the initiative in their favor. It was not until Lyras threatened to intervene in the Mordent Conflict by occupying both combatants militarily that the two sides agreed to a peace that re-established the status quo.
What’s OOCly magnificent about the Mordent Conflict is that the god-rod and subsequent nuclear strikes were entirely organic and impromptu. Both players understood that their actions were in good faith and so they created an explosive story that added a lot of value to a thread where that good faith, creativity, and productivity had already been showcased in the way of the Imbrinumian biological attack on Malgrave. It goes to show that it is possible to have spontaneous biological and nuclear attacks without ruining an RP as long as the players can trust in each other’s commitment to good faith.
LESSONS
All three of the above case studies took place during competitive RPs. Neither side had agreed to win or lose prior to the outbreak of the conflict. In two out of three cases, the use of nuclear weapons was an organic development from events in the RP. Why did these RPs survive the use of nukes while many others do not? How did these RPs avoid a debilitating and unconstructive OOC argument?
There’s a term I’ve mentioned over and over: good faith. There has to be trust between players that the others’ intentions are honest and sincere. Without that trust, without that rapport, the use of nukes is very likely to backfire.
All three examples are from RPs that happened within the Greater Dienstad RP community, which has a long history of cooperative competitive storytelling. There are other similarly cohesive RPing communities out there, the point is that there’s a certain informal understanding, a certain way of doing things, that makes nuclear weapons more likely to be used in a fun and creative way. I call this set of informal rules a constitution and consider this vital for a successfully OPd story because it sets the expectations that all the participants are held to. If there’s faith in the expected behavior of other players, then it’s easier to push the envelope in a way that still jives well with others because you have a much better idea of what the hard boundaries are. If you don’t have faith in a set of informal rules, then the OP should create formal rules and enforce them.
Of course, good faith and trust also have a lot to do with the individuals involved. Players that see a lot of success RPing in unconventional ways tend to share certain characteristics, including showing respect, transparency, flexibility, selflessness, sportsmanship, and humility. Players who are successful also tend to look for solutions rather than harp, and get stuck, on problems. Having a history of this sort of personality helps you build a brand defined by these traits, and such a brand exudes trust. And when you exude trust it’s easier to persuade others of things like the use of nuclear weapons because they know you’re not trying to screw them over.
Finally, in all three of the above situations there was constant and transparent communication between parties. This ties into the overall constitution of the RP and the trust between individuals, and is really a manifestation of a certain approach to RPing. Sometimes this communication starts as an argument but there’s always an impulse to resolve conflict by finding resolutions that all involved parties are okay with. We cannot force unwanted outcomes on people because then those people will not want to RP with us in the future or, otherwise, it may cause the RP to die on the water. It doesn’t matter how “in the right” you think you are, it’s better to retcon a controversial decision that has absolutely no community traction than to let it get in the way of continuing the story.
GUIDELINES FOR USING NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN RPS
I. Best practice is to have strong IC reasons for having and using a nuclear arsenal. Develop a doctrine, even if it's basic, to communicate your nuclear policy to other players. This will help avoid the issues of being arbitrary in your use of nuclear weapons in RPs.
II. It is highly encouraged to only use nuclear weapons when you have an established and friendly OOC relationship with the other players in the thread.
III. It is recommended that you communicate your intention to use nuclear weapons before you do. It’s not as much about asking for permission as it is about showing respect for the other player(s) and asking for their opinion.
IV. Be open to the in-character consequences of using nuclear weapons. Your enemies may want to retaliate and, should you use nuclear weapons, you will have to accept the likelihood of your enemy doing so as well. This is part of good faith and trust in your RP partner(s).
V. If there isn’t enough trust for completely spontaneous use of nuclear weapons, establish ground rules. With clear limits to how nuclear weapons can be used in an RP, you can keep their use to a level that all the involved players are comfortable with.
VI. Never use nuclear weapons out of OOC frustration. Their use should be in good faith and the purpose should always be to have fun.
VII. Using nuclear weapons to end the game for another player is highly discouraged. No one wants to stop suddenly playing the game and we all have ideas of where we want to take our canon, so don’t ruin it for people.
VIII. If you use nuclear weapons and your opponent freaks out, have a discussion about it and see if you can sell your partner(s) on a story trajectory. Lay out your intentions clearly and work with the wants and needs of the other player(s). If the other player(s) absolutely do not want nuclear weapons used in the RP, be the bigger person and retcon. Retcon their use before the argument kills the RP altogether because then it’s no fun for anybody.
If you enjoyed this guide, please check out my other roleplaying and worldbuilding guides and an upvote on the dispatch would be appreciated.
![[ National Flag ]](https://i.imgur.com/7vADKOP.png){kind=link}