Knight Errant’s (relatively) Simple yet Effective Percentage-Based Modern Build-Your-Force Game System


Preamble

One of the biggest drawbacks I have noticed with modern Build-Your-Force games is that of military might, specifically how it is accounted for and wielded. Freeform gaming can often lead to fascinatingly ridiculous battles between improbable forces (e.g 100 Wombosi flying aircraft carriers suddenly materialising to attack Blugravia’s million-tank army), yet a meticulous cost-and-budget system can get bogged down quite quickly and be a nightmare for both the players and the GM to manage. Additionally, the latter may also require some sort of detailed order-of-battle to be arranged, and for militarily oblivious persons such as myself it can be quite a hassle just to think of how and where every little unit fits into the grand scale of thing. Lastly, combat resolution and casualty-taking are two contentious issues, and not always undertaken with a sporting approximation of realism in mind. The following, therefore, is my idea for a simple, comprehensive system which future GMs can use to set up and run a modern Build-Your-Force forum game.


Percentages; or How to Represent Military Forces in an Abstract Manner

The Percentages system of B-Y-F gaming is designed to account for areas of strength and weakness in military deployment, and is also aimed at forcing players to think carefully/realistically about what forces they are willing to commit and sacrifice in various theatres of war. It works out as follows:

-Each nation has four Percentage categories: Army, Navy, Air Force and Supply.

-Each Percentage represents the proportion of the total military resources of that category within a particular nation.

-When a nation enters into armed conflict with another nation, it needs to designate a certain percentage of its forces to the front (e.g Trans-Octavian Front: Army-34%, Navy-40%, Air Force-17%, Supply 35%). This means that players have to think carefully about how deep they want to get in their conflicts e.g: An American superpower could send half of its air force to the Middle East, but then what happens if the Eurasians roll in with a column of bombers and there’s nobody left to stop them?

-Initially, each of these Percentages starts at 80%, with 20% left ‘locked’ to begin with. The reason for this is simple: players must unlock the full potential of their militaries by drawing up certain units in Paint. Each completed sub-category earns +10% for its parent category:
>Army-Infantry
>Army-Armour
>Navy-Warship
>Navy-Aircraft Carrier or Submarine
>Air Force-Fighter
>Air Force-Bomber or Helicopter
>Supply-Truck/Transport
>Supply-Cargo Plane or Cargo Ship
Hopefully this will encourage players to get making stuff for their nations, and also reward those players who are dedicated to creating works for the game. Optionally, imported units from allied nations can also fulfil these categories (so long as they are recoloured to suit your nation).

-Combat (see below) will inevitably inflict casualties amongst the warring armies of the world. Each category takes its own losses (e.g in the battle for Trans-Octavia the Oldustani Army loses 3%, but the Air Force only loses 1%), and these are recorded by the categories as follows:

Oldustan Military Summary

Total Army: 77%, Army Losses: 3%, Locked: 20%

Total Navy: 100%, Navy Losses: 0%

Total Air Force: 89%, Air Force Losses: 1%, Locked: 10%

Total Supply: 80%, Supply Losses: 0%, Locked: 20%

-Sustained losses will force players to distribute their remaining forces to maintain their war plans, and may also compel them to decide whether they can afford to keep fighting and taking casualties in a certain theatre of war.


Industry

-Replacing losses, therefore, is a matter of Industry. Industry is the measure of a nation’s ability to produce new war materiel and keep up with its losses in wartime. Industry is measured through a nation’s Industry slots. Each nation begins with 3 Industry slots, and each slot may host Army, Navy, Air Force or Supply production. A slot can also be used to fabricate a new Industry slot (over a period of 2 turns), up to a maximum of 6 Industry slots (unless a nation has the Powerhouse trait).

-Each Industry slot removes 1% of Losses from the designated category at the end of a turn. It cannot be used to gain Locked points. E.g, following the previous example:

Oldustan Industrial Summary

Slot 1: Army

Slot 2: Army

Slot 3: Air Force

This means that at the end of the turn, if no other losses are incurred, the Oldustani Air Force will return to full (unlocked) strength, and the Army will recoup 2% from its 3% losses, leaving it with only 1% useless.

-It is advisable for players to note their opponent’s industrial capacities and current losses. If a player is fighting wars on multiple fronts, their opponents can work together to each target a specific element of a theatre’s military forces. If successful, the defending player may not be able to adequately recoup all of their losses, and could be forced to either call on allies for aid or abandon the theatre altogether.

-Targeted airstrikes in a nation’s home territory can also knock out Industry slots for up to 3 turns. The results of a successful raid will be determined by the GM rolling a die, where 1-2=1 turn etc.


Combat; or Applied Anger Management Resolution

The game system is turn-based, with each player able to do a certain number of things each turn. In a turn, a player can:

-Create a Theatre Force (military units in a Theatre, comprising of Army, Navy, Air Force and Supply percentages)

-Move a Theatre Force (insta-moves are illegal; players must have declared their intention to move to the GM at least 1 turn earlier before they can move, and can also do so for ‘stealth’ attacks).

-Attack in a Theatre: The attacker would publicly declare their attacks e.g:
  The North American SECME (Strategic Eurasian Command Middle East) has launched an amphibious assault against the Eurasian forces currently fighting the Equatorial League in Iran. Naval warships launched a barrage of medium-range cruise missiles against Eurasian coastal positions, while carrier-borne fighters established a kill-zone in which all airborne and armoured targets were to be engaged and destroyed..
  Following on from this, the attacker would then post their current Theatre Force stats beneath the post, and then send an argument for their success to the GM (or even GMs, depending on how the game is run). This might look like:

North American SECME Forces
Army: 15%
Navy: 22%
Air Force: 11%
Supply: 22%

(PM to GM)
Arguments for SECME success:
-I have the element of surprise
-Eurasian forces are already engaged against the Equatorial League, and will have trouble repositioning to counter my forces
-Navy ships (at full supply) have had a free rein in bombarding Eurasian positions with cruise missiles, and the enemy has no Naval forces of their own with which to counter this
-The Army and Air Force have superiority of supply, enabling them to press home their attacks without needing to worry about conserving ammunition or ordnance
-The Eurasian Air Force in the region has only 9% of its total power compared to my 11%. Therefore, SECME fighters have a marginal air superiority
-The Eurasian Army is undersupplied and therefore does not have the same flexibility to engage my troops

Note that the player, in their RP, stated that their air force was targeting both airborne and armoured targets. This means that Eurasian losses will be less than if, say, all fighters were devoted to just airborne or just armoured targets. Now, for the Eurasian player’s PM:

Eurasian Forces in the Middle East
Army: 25%
Navy: 0%
Air Force: 9%
Supply: 18%

Arguments for Eurasian success:
-Eurasian forces are already established in the region, whereas the Americans are attacking into unfamiliar territory
-Eurasian land forces have a numerical superiority against the Americans
-The Eurasian Air Force is well-supplied, and can focus fully on its opponents whereas the American Air force is dividing its attentions between fighters and armoured targets
-The Americans will have difficulties in bringing troops and supplies ashore without a secure dockyard

As you can see, both players have valid arguments. The problem now is deciding which is the better. There is no definitive right or wrong; the well-supplied American amphibious force is here judged to be able to inflict a minor defeat against the Eurasian army, especially with fighter and missile support, so the Eurasian Army loses 3% from its strength, but the Eurasian player has a valid point about the division of American fighter power, so while the Eurasian Air Force is judged to have taken 2 in losses, the American air force also loses 2. In the case of an equally likely outcome for a sub-argument, a coin is flipped, and die rolls can be used to determine losses in uncertain circumstances (1-2=1% etc.). The GM then posts something like the following:

Following three days of heavy fighting, SECME has managed to wrest control of the Iranian coast from the Eurasian army. Although SECME forces on the ground have emerged relatively unscathed, the Air Force has taken significant losses in its fight against the EAF.

North American SECME Forces
Army: 15%
Navy: 22%
Air Force: 9% (Losses: 2%)
Supply: 22%

Eurasian Forces in the Middle East
Army: 22% (Losses: 3%)
Navy: 0%
Air Force: 7% (Losses: 2%)
Supply: 18%

These losses are then factored into the overall pools, e.g: North America can now only draw upon 98% of its total strength (assuming that it was at 100% before the battle), and these 2% losses can only be recovered for the next turn by prioritising Air Force in 2 Industry slots.

-Counterattack: Because every player can make 1 attack in each theatre of war per turn, the other player could now make an attack of their own, or perhaps elect not to in order to preserve their forces.


Nation Traits

Now, of course not all nations are forged equal. I have drawn up some potential nation traits, of which each nation can select one before the game begins:

-Powerhouse: The nation permanently gains an extra Industry slot

-Patriots: Army forces defending the home territory gain +5% to their number in combat

-Zealots: The GM must ‘play advantage’ when the nation is defending its home territory against intruders/invaders

-Armoured Fury: +5% to Total Army

-Naval Powerhouse: +5% to Total Navy

-Top Gun: +5% to Total Air Force

-Heavy Haulers: +5% to Total Supply

Alternately, traits could be given out as rewards for creation competitions etc.


Recommended Parameters for a Game

The following is just a brief recommendation for dealing with other problematic aspects of a modern B-Y-F game:

-Stalemated arguments: GM flips a coin

-NUKES!!!: If nukes are allowed, I recommend that a specific tier-system be set in place, much like the game DEFCON; there will be a minimum time limit in which no nuclear ordnance of any kind can be used. From there, a gradual sliding-scale creep, with stuff like Atomic Artillery, then fighter-based ‘buckets o’ instant sunshine’, then SLBMs and finally ICBMs being allowed would probably be most appropriate. Maybe also a rule that you have to draw it before you can use it.

-Chivvying Up: After a while, the GM should give a 24-hour notice (or maybe a bit longer) in which all players must have made their moves. At the end of this time period, the turn will roll over and the GM will send out posts to all players updating their percentages according to Losses and Industry.

-Multiple GMs: Perhaps it is also advisable to have more than 1 GM, both in making sure that there is always a second opinion present if a player wishes to vociferously appeal a GM’s decision (this might also curb GM/Player Godmoding), and also perhaps to give each time zone a GM to ensure that the game rolls around smoothly.


There you have it, Percentages v1.1 for the use of any who wish to run a new kind of modern B-Y-F game. If you have any questions/suggestions/concerns, post them up here. If anybody does want to run a game using the Percentages method, feel free to contact me if you would like any advice or help. Mods, if you feel this may be of use to forum-gamers, please sticky it so that any future GMs can see it and potentially be inspired. That’s all for now, thanks for your time if you have read all of the above; I know I probably would have looked at all of this and just thought TL;DR. Such is life.

Knight Errant