It occurred to me that we should calculate net CP bonuses/maluses.
[ ][BOSS] Local Hero: You first came to prominence as a young woman during the neo-Nazi occupation of the northern Midwest. You fought back against them, helped to throw them out, and presided over the slow emptying of Chicago in the aftermath. Since then you've been managing the city and keeping it on life support. You've slowly built things back up and forged a new state around your home. You
will see things fixed once more. You will ensure that your home never again knows the terror of being at a monster's mercy. You will do what is necessary, to the shores of Maine if you must.
- Sara M. Johnson.
- Start with 6 CP.
- If not taken, becomes a member of the legislature.
This is straightforward. +6 starting CP to spend. No mandatory disadvantages, giving us maximum customizability. Fairly strong starting position.
[ ][BOSS] The Old Boss: The Daleys have been big names in Chicago since the '50s. The
1950s. A hundred and twenty years of political prominence will grind itself in. You're no different. Your family managed to hold onto its influence throughout the collapse, and
you were the one to take charge of things afterward, leveraging various friendships you made during the bad years. Chicago's been on the outs too long. The Daleys will be the ones to bring it back.
- Richard D. Daley.
- Starts with Restart the Machine, Domestic Connections, and Import/Export Professionals. 5 CP.
- If not taken, the Daleys lost all power and wealth during the Collapse. You'd have to search to find out if they're still alive.
So, +5 starting CP to spend, and mandatory options that would normally suck badly enough that we'd net another +2 CP just from having to put up with them.
Effectively, then, gives us +3 CP for starting bonuses.
Charmingly
unique to Chicagoland, but kind of a weak start.
@PoptartProdigy , either I've misunderstood the rules, or this choice is kind of, uh... nerfed? That may be intentional on your part, of course, but I wanted to mention it.
[ ][BOSS] Springfield Schemer: Illinois did not fall to the Nazis. The state government pulled through all of the chaos just fine...and when you came to the Governor's office, you made sure to keep an eye on things. When Chicago started pulling itself together, you were far-sighted enough to recognize the opportunity. You left for Chicago and put your political skills to work on trying to build something bigger than your own patch. A fair amount of people have taken your foresight for aggression, though. You will need to keep your eyes about you.
- Audrey F. Jameson.
- Starts with Ear to the Ground, Good Security, Aerial Reconnaissance, Hostile Neighborhood. 4 CP.
- If not taken, swore to the new federal government along with everybody else.
+4 starting CP to spend, and bonuses worth another +4. Only 1 CP worth of maluses, albeit a malus that could have awkward plot consequences. This is a strong starting position, not gonna lie. Lots of bonuses in the 'Intelligence' category; we'll know a lot about what's going on in our surrounding areas, and the fact that we'd have an aerial drone corps gives us the start of an air force, which is nothing to sneeze at in this day and age. The Victorians, by their nature, can't be especially good at air defense.
[ ][BOSS] The Old Guard: You have fought in parts of the world most Americans haven't even
seen. You unit returned home in the wake of the Collapse, and you've been wandering the country ever since. You fought for the New American Confederation, Cascadia, and the Pacific Republic in turn. Your commanding officer died in California, and you took command. Your unit has been fighting the Victorians ever since, striking from the shadows and desperately keeping their weaponry maintained. You were young when your war started...now you're old. So damn old. But the fight's just kicking up. You're not done yet. You cleared the southern tip of the Lake of Victorian eyes. Time to get ready to strike a stronger blow against the bastards.
- Ron C. Burns.
- Starts with Old World Equipment, Old World Soldiers, Professionals Study Logistics, and Victorian Attention. 4 CP.
- If not taken, he and his unit died in the fall of the Pacific Republic, choosing to go out in a blaze of glory.
+4 starting CP to spend, but comes with military options that are worth a combined +5 CP. Having to deal with Victorian attention is a malus that would normally be worth 2 CP, for a net of +7. Strong start.
This is
definitely the place we want to start if we want a military-heavy campaign. It will mean armed clashes with the Victorians early on, but it also gives us the badassery needed to have a reasonable chance of
winning those clashes.
[ ][BOSS] The Last Echo: You were chosen as Secretary of State by a woman who had been Speaker of the House before those before her in the line of succession died in transit to a safe location amid the chaos of the Collapse. You were confirmed by the last Congress of the United States minutes later. You served your President for years before a Russian assassin killed her and most of her cabinet, and you took up her role. By the slimmest of technicalities and a lot of bluffing, you hold a position that grants you precedence in the eyes of many. You convinced Chicago to call the Congress; you presided. It has been years, and you have been hunted for all of them. You have no room left in your heart for nostalgia. This country is a broken thing. No matter how much it must change, you will see it fixed and better than before. And once you serve a country that deserves the pride of the United States, you will
tear Alexander from his throne.
- Tamara C. Marsden.
- Starts with Revivalist Connections, Good Reputation, Independent Merchants, Established, Russian Attention, and +2 Legitimacy. 0 CP.
- If not taken, died years ago at the hands of a Russian assassin.
Zero starting CP, we're effectively locked into our starting stat-line except insofar as we eat more maluses.
Rough start. We get +6 CP worth of starting advantages, mostly political but with a sideline in economic. But Russian Attention is a 3 CP malus; it's probably
survivable but it's not going to be pleasant by any stretch of the imagination.
+2 Legitimacy is a good thing and I get the feeling more Legitimacy is gonna be hard to come by after game start. Not sure how it stacks up against having more or fewer starting CP.
Oh crud, sorry
@Derpmind , didn't see that you'd already done the thing I did.
I'm leaning more towards Sara because I like the idea of Local Woman Piledrives Nazi Into Fencepost being one of our founders.
Me too.
Burns
Brown-Water Navy (-2 CP)
Incompetent Military (2 CP)
Revivalist Connections (-1 CP)
Established (-2 CP)
Good Security (-1 CP)
Independent Merchants (-2 CP)
Rail Companies (-2 CP)
Disunited Currency (3 CP)
Population Boom (2 CP)
Libraries (-2 CP)
Hostile Neighborhood (1 CP)
Tentative trait plan for people to look over. Burns gives Old World Soldiers, Equipment and Logistics while bringing Victorian attention. However, we if we can dominate the rivers with our brown navy we can crush Victorian punitive expeditions via logistics. Plus counter intelligence is really important. Pop Boom can be mitigated by merchants and rail. Hostile Neighbors can be mitigated by not aggressively militarily expanding but diplomatically annexing, helped by Established and Connections.
"Incompetent Military" means that Burns' unit (how large?) is the
only effective combat force we have. I'd much rather sacrifice a few of our bonuses to avoid that malus. Among other things because it leaves us open to the vulnerability the historical Japanese Navy had in World War Two- our entire strategy depends on an elite corps of people who are very hard to replace, and we can't even pull them off the front lines for long enough to let them
train replacements because they're needed at the front. We blow one Tactics check or whatever, and we're screwed in a way that we can't recover from in a timely manner.
We can survive early Victorian Attention, but I dont imagine we can survive early Russian Attention.
I dunno. The Russians are strong, but far away, and have literally the entire world to worry about. Whereas the Victorians are weaker, but closer, and while they have other concerns, they don't have many as pressing as "so yeah, about that state growing in the Midwest."
The Russians are a lot more likely to settle for the equivalent of a drive-by shooting, especially with Czar Alexander IV or whatever already having one foot in the grave. The Victorians, even if we defeat them, are liable to keep coming back.
Also, cold-bloodedly, the Russians might try to act on their attention by, say, assassinating Secretary Johnson,
and succeed, and decide "well, we're done here." That wouldn't be great, but it'd be survivable.
Counter-point: I don't think Poptart would build a trap option in like that. Hopefully. Although it's probably gonna be hardmode.
As others have pointed out, I don't call it a trap option. Poptart has explicitly told us in so many words that the Russians like to take potential American successor states and crush them under its big heavy boot. And indeed, that's the main reason they even still bother to support the Victorians, as a proxy to help them do that.
I'm not saying Poptart wrote that option with the express intent that it would be totally unsurvivable, but it's definitely an existential threat to our state.
