Backstage - OOC Forums
EVE-Online RP Discussion and Resources => EVE OOC Summit => Topic started by: Silas Vitalia on 02 Feb 2013, 16:11
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I had some fun world building with Adrith last year; we had a lot of fun discussion about various baseliner 'troops' working for our respective factions.
Aldrith had done a lot of cool background work regarding his Cadre of Cyberknights and support personnel, and we had some fun stories with him doing a pretty extensive planetside raid and basically "putting to the sword" a whole bunch of Silas' cultists, brothels, and narcotics manufacturing plants.
'Twas good stuff, Amarr Victor and all that :P
Anyway I'd really love to hear about you all and your fightin' baseliners. Some of you that aren't combat oriented might not have too much of that, maybe just a security crew on your ship, but let's hear all about it :) The rest of you that are doing more 'fighting' what are you working with? Do you hire mercs for your dirty work? Do you have a standing corporate 'security force' for defense, etc?
Let's hear it!
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Perhaps fuse the baseliner threads together in a general 'how do you handle your non-Capsuleer personnel' thread?
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That Cyber Knight raid on Silas holdings was quite nice. It was enriching.
On my side I have never really tried to be very accurate on how my character handles baseliner employees. Especially when it comes to the military type. The only clear cut NPC character I got is a discreet Kameira body guard that do not appear or get mentionned very often...
Also, Lyn has no security crew on her ships. Any security crew can be defeated. She doesn't really care. She is immortal. Maybe someday she will get sabotaged, though, who knows, and she might come to change her mind about that. Anyway, good luck for anyone to pass through all the security between the station interior and the ship or her quarters.
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Katla maintains a company of some 200 marines, some of whom are ex-SARO (basically CONCORD marines, for those who don't know), though there are less of those now than there used to be. They are highly specialized in search-and-rescue missions, because their primary function is to extract survivors from outlaw ships and structures which are wrecked during agent missions. They are very selective about who they rescue - children and teenagers, predominantly, who are then funneled through the backdoors of the legal system until they end up as wards of Astropolitan Front, and are enrolled in the crew training program I mentioned in the other thread.
Because of their specialty, the company has been named "The Flower Pickers".
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I haven't really touched this issue yet... but I if were to sit down and think about it for awhile, it's likely that apart from ship crews, my characters would have negligible "troops", so to speak.
After all, they're not conquering territory or storming other ships, and the Nihils (Sak in particular) are likely to try and not make themselves targets rather than having a bodyguard or security detail. I.e., keeping as low a profile as possible, staying away from very crowded places, just basically keeping their guard up and keeping out of bad situations.
Especially since the larger the force is, the more likely that one of them will betray you at a critical moment. The fewer, the better, and all that.
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After being advised to hire one by another Capsuleer (and left for her paranoia to run away with the possible results of not having one for a while), Gwen has started maintaining a small security force of about 30 people at whatever station she's currently staying in. Most are paticularly skilled Ishukone Watch veterans that she picked up through her family contacts in the corporation, though I picture her not being too strict about it. She probably doesn't have them doing anything more then just guard her quarters, or follow her around when she's out and about.
...Like her crew, she probably tries her best to pretend they don't exist, for the same reasons.
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Seph doesn't have regular soldiers of his own. His war is in space and he doesn't board ships, so he needs them not and so he never hired any.
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Veikitamo has a coterie of five Achuran women she hired from an Intelligence unit of the Peace and Order Unit when she transferred to work in a Sukuuvestaa "Mergers & Acquisitions" firm. They conduct close personal protection in addition to assisting in managing her personal networks, information brokering, off-shore financial interests, and conducting the tasks of extortion and blackmail when required.
They were significant in explaining some of Veikitamo's rise to greater positions of authority in her firm in SuVee, especially when the people directly above her seemed to meet with accidents or committed suicide from the stress of their positions, but I haven't really focused much on what her Achuran mavens are doing these days.
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The Mithra family offers security and military services of quite diverse nature. Most of them are involved in the Imperial Navy on behalf of the Sarumite liege lords of the family.
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The armed forces of Kaztropol are diverse, as they are arranged along feudal lines. Each vassal is expected to raise a levy of troops when necessary.
They are generally arranged in a fairly informal manner, although some attempts at standardisation have been made, in a bid to reduce the inevitable squabbling over precedence amongst commanders.
Motorised formations tend to be more standardised, due to the more uniform characteristics of the vehicles.
In general, the organisation is along the lines of:
Up to ~12 in a Squad, commanded by a Sergeant.
A group of up to ~4 Squads form a Platoon, with a Lieutenant.
A group of 2+ Platoons to form a Company, with their Captain.
2+ Companies to form a Battalion, with a Major.
2+ Battalions form a Regiment, with a Colonel.
The Lieutenants and some Captains are usually minor nobles, though there are some commoners who have achieved the rank through righteous service. The higher officers are more important members of the nobility, although there are always arguments over who outranks who. It has been known for a vassal to create formations of minimum size, and appoint themselves a Colonel, despite being in command of fewer troops overall than a Major from a different vassal.
Other ranks within the formations are a matter for the relevant commanders, e.g. a soldier in a squad may be called a Rifleman, a Trooper, a Gunner, or any other title, depending on the whims of their superior.
The Order of the Scarlet Wombat is a knightly order, consisting of some of the most pious and righteous inhabitants, both men and women, who have sworn to uphold standards of Righteous Behaviour in Kaztropol, and to defend the population against interior and exterior threats.
A substantial proportion are currently engaged on the 3rd Kaztropolitan Holy War against the Savage Wombats of the Remote Eastern Wilderness.
The titles of the Order of the Scarlet Wombat are variable, depending on their current duties. There are some permanent titles, there are Masters of the Order, including one Grand Master.
The Masters have specific duties. There is one Master for the North, one for the South, one for the City of Kaztropolis, one for Foreign Expeditions. The Grand Master is chosen from the current Masters, through drawing of straws.
Individual Knights and groups of Knights of the Order are sent on tasks called Errands, Quests, or Crusades, depending on the wishes of the Marshal that dispatched them. This gives them the temporary title of Knight-Errant, Knight-Questor, or Knight-Crusader. The senior in a group may be called Knight-Commander, for the duration of the task.
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On those rare occasions my character needed professional person-violencers, he hired them on the spot.
It rarely turned out well.
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This bump is for Aldrith to share his cyberknights lore :P
Order of the Weeping Sun fo life, yo.
I'm working on a few things also.
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Pieter maintains Marines as part of his ship crews - useful for securing POWs recovered from space and so forth.
In addition he currently has a FleetMarDet and a combat logistics platoon deployed to an undisclosed location.
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There are three basic levels of troops that Katrina makes use of.
Both Ishuk-Raata and RDC maintain their own paramilitary security forces, usually commanded by former Ishukone Watch members and comprised of mercenaries. These troops have more in common with Blackwater USA than any formal military. They tend to be loud, rude, and use force more often than necessary. However they get the job done often enough, even if they cause a mess of collateral damage and lawsuits from Federation civilians. Katrina makes use of them where using her own forces is not desired or needed. There is no current agreed upon visual look for these staff, so depictions may vary from player to player.
She also personally pays her own shipboard marines. Like her crews, these answer only to her, and are typically better trained but less heavily equipped than I-RED or RDC personnel. For these basic marines, they tend to dress in all black SWAT type uniforms. Lightweight, making use of future versions of kevlar and ballistic plastics. They look very much like the Colonial Marines from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica.
They specialize in close quarters fighting (such as within ship corridors or stations). They are ineffective in more open environments where higher caliber weapons and explosives can be employed. They are completely ineffective against the new DUST clone troops. Their armor can slow most small arms weapons to a non-lethal velocity, but a solid hit will still take them down. They are primarily armed with specially made shotguns or projectile rifles, the latter firing 'soft' bullets designed to flatten on impact so as not to penetrate bulkheads. They also do not carry high explosive grenades. Only flash-bang and smoke. All of their equipment is designed for use on ships, where a stray armor piercing bullet or explosion can vent atmosphere into space.
Aside from these two types of troops, Katrina also maintains a personal bodyguard. Each are named and protected with plot-armor, meaning I don't allow other players to kill them. They typically guard Katrina's home estate, and Katrina herself. More info on each is available by viewing my Backstage profile. Click my signature.
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:D Awesome post Silas!
Alright, so, back when I was doing the whole thing with KotMC and my alt's cyber knighthood merging, I worked out a pretty extensive background for Ger'Ante Otheiran's cyber knights called the Order of the Weeping Sun. Never really came out on paper, but this is as good a time as any to write it down.
It's an 250-man strong independent order that can trace its history back to the Udorian Conquests and the first Khanid who joined with the Empire. They have about an equal number of squires (trainees) at any one time who act as support staff. All matters of logistics, supply, weapon manufacturing and maintenence is handled internally, ensuring that they are not tied to any other outside forces that might affect their decision-making or come to harm should the Order come under attack.
Their traditional weapon is an ancient and obscure creation commonly called the Beam Halberd; a heavy laser rifle imbedded into a traditonal Khanid long-shafted polearm. However, for the last 1,500 years the Order has allowed all manner of more modern weapons systems to be used by its members, though many members still train exclusively in the use of the halberds.
Their heraldry consists of a deep red-orange sun-and-teardrop symbol upon a field of black. They commonly wear cream-colored tunics and robes bearing their symbol when not dressed for war. In the field their armor is black with red or red-orange trimmings with some blues and golds also occasionally apprearing in details.
The Weeping Suns are based exclusively on Khitaled IV, though they originated on Athra and have historically travelled throughout the Empire and taken part in many Crusades during their long history. They are know for a harsh, unforgiving demeanor towards both enemies and allies and have exacting demands when it comes to dicipline, honor and conduct in battle. They are both morally irreproachable and absolutely ruthless towards those who do not live up to their standards, even going so far as turning against supposed allies when they do not behave in a way they consider befitting their codes of honor.
More to come later perhaps.
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The transition from a Khanid loyalist organization with 'regularized' space and ground forces into an 'outlaw' criminal / heretical organization meant a nearly a complete 180 in organization, tactics, and make up of baseliner forces.
Whereas previously as a loyalist organization troops could much more freely move about in the Kingdom, congregate, etc (along with cooperation with lawful authorities), the Sabik organization has to rely mostly on maintaining secrecy, avoiding planetside authorities, and to a much greater extent relying on space-based operations. Operations in high sec are ---extremely--- limited. I RP that high sec is super secure and lawful and no shenanigans of a large scale would ever be able to be pulled off.
This 'troops' discussion is separate from general 'criminal' activities. We run drugs, we operate mafia style businesses, cultist centers, etc, all over, but all of these places stand no chance against organized police and authorities. It's 90% about being unseen and in the shadows. Labs get raided, brothels get shut down, cultists are rooted out and purged by religious authorities, etc all the time. (poor guys!)
In lowsec the operations are more brazen, the meager authorities are combated more frequently, officials are more easily bribed and corrupted, etc. It's the difference between trying to operate a terrorist organization on the national mall in d.c. vs the jungles of the Congo.
A good reference in style of fighting and disposition would be more akin towards 40k's 'Dark Eldar.' Pirates and Raiders. Essentially appear out of nowhere, strike quickly, and GTFO before the law shows up. The law will in general always have more people, more assets, and win any extended combat. The longer my people are on scene planetside, the worse it goes for them in general for those reasons.
IE The criminals never hang out, they do their work and get out because they will always be outnumbered.
Space based and ship based are where the cultists really shine. The Blood Raiders are all about incapacitating and then wreaking havoc, I've built up the RP around them to reflect this. Again it's the 'raider' aspect that is the reference here. Lots of disabling targets and then having their way with them as they float helpless. The concept I build this around is fast, mobile, in and out sort of things.
I'm still working on that 'video' which runs through a typical raiding operation.
Boarding parties, basically the mothership (say my Bhaalgorn) blasts a hole in the side of a big ship, lets that whole compartment decompress (and some people get spilled out, naturally), and then zero-g mancannon a bunch of raiders on board into the belly of the ship. Secure the objectives, incapacitate if possible anyone that bears taking for 'ceremonies', shoot anyone giving trouble. I'm working on some artwork for this stuff too (so many things to do ;(
There's a lot of other stuff to deal with personal security, etc but I've got a tight knit group of VIP guards / assassins I'm referring to as the 'Blood Pack' I'm fleshing out right now.
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Wasn't the 'Blood pack' those ridiculous vampire guys especially trained to take down Blade?
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The blood pack (http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_Pack) was a gang on Omega in Mass Effect 2. It was made up of Krogan and Vorcha.
There's also a blood pack banner in ME 3 MP.
(http://images.wikia.com/masseffect/images/8/82/Blood_Pack_Mastery_Monster_Banner.png)
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Aelisha's military forces are, at present, non-existent aside from a few personal security staff, due to her constant use of CONCORD legislation to ensure her station-side housing is in a secure, restricted environment. Previously, and likely in the future, she has sufficient contacts in militia and independent mercenary forces to ensure she can get a preferential contract at short notice, though this does add an element of latency to any request for assistance, meaning that such military endeavors are usually planned beforehand. The advent of immortal mercenaries has made standard forces obsolete for her purposes - the product may be more expensive, but the results may, in the future, bear more fruit.
So long as CONCORD and the four empires continue to tolerate the presence of independent capsuleers, she is unlikely to change her views on 'military as a service' use of armed forces. While her freedoms and wealth are protected by law, there is little need for a personal army. AWEX- is structured as a retail collective, with each 'hub' being considered it's own business, and so the need for a pan-organisation military is further diminished, as local laws apply to the retail centres and local security can be employed and considered under asset costs instead of a dedicated military role.
For example; Lady Reynari's retail outlet and brokerage in Dodixie largely employs a multi-ethnic security force to protect stock houses and provide complimentary escort/protection services to high profile clients, all hired from legal base line PMC's and Security specialists in the station.
Seran, based in the Amarr system in the Emperor Family Academy, uses no such individuals, instead paying a tithe to station authorities to have their security forces maintain safety and allowing delegations of minor nobles to include their own security as an overture to their status and superiority. This assists in negotiations, as the formal recognition of status is more likely to yield a formal acknowledgement of personal wealth, instead of the haggling and tough negotiation that a 'meeting of equals' may have fostered.
Finally, Aelisha, based in Jita 4-4, can call on a highly diverse set of employment prospects, but security is enforced by the Navy through subsidiary companies, due to their ownership of the station. This leads to a blend of ex-Navy and ex-PMC staff ending up in her employ to smooth relations and assure that the correct protocols are followed, leading to a lower reliance on personal security as good communications with station-sec are maintained. Non-military employees are usually immigrants from a variety of backgrounds, hired and let go as items of interest are purchased and sold - one week a renovation job on minmatar nuclear reactors may be required, leading to uptake in citizenship-seeking transients finding employment; the next some early career researchers may be hired for a month to investigate 'Improved methods for Rapid Prototyping with Non-Local (Wormhole) Technologies' to expedite a nullsec T3 hull bulk order.
AWEX- is not big enough to maintain and has too loose a structure to need a formal military, but this is an interesting point of discussion - as to where our authority ends and our interface with local authorities begins. Personally, my mantra is: Capsuleers have a mixed reputation - have a barrier of baseliners to 'humanise' your business if that is an effective component of your marketing strategy.
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Great post Aelisha , well thought out!
And I suppose there are several 'blood packs'. I guess they all die horribly in both that movie and the game so seems appropriate :P
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...ffs, now I'm going to have to finalize and post all the stuff I've got written on Esna's security systems and forces.