*UPDATED: ArmA 3 Zeus Role Play: Democracy Asunder

[Warfighter]

***UPDATE****
I've decided to put my efforts toward the political themed election struggle going hot in Kavala. Please visit https://arma3-democracy-asunder.obsidianportal.com/ for all game details. I initially started to schedule using a Doodle Poll, but I am going to delete that and utilize the paid scheduling feature on Obsidian Portal.

If you are new to role playing, please take a look at US Marines role playing with civilian contractors dressed up as hadjis during Mojave Viper in 29 Palms California: http://youtu.be/pwoiPCx4h7E

If you are new to Zeus, check out this intro: http://youtu.be/1xbBFC0U3YA

**ORIGIANL MESSAGE**
I am interested in starting a scheduled RPG campaign with Zeus. I would like to create an episodic campaign on Stratis loosely based on either:

1. The film Red Dawn
2. A situation similar to what's going on now in Ukraine/Crimea, going hot

My intention is to have the players role play as guerillas in the Red Dawn situation, or as Nationalists/Islamists/CIA operatives (party choice) in the Civil War situation. Player and enemy resources will be tracked on pen and paper. Players will have to have player sheets just like in any pen and paper RPG that includes skills and abilities for those situations that must be resolved with dice outside of the abilities of the Real Virtuality game engine. An example would be something like influencing a local chief to permit your soldiers to operate in the area, or making a skill check to establish a duplex comms repeater. Players will have to have conversations with the local population, Zeus will role play all NPC roles. Time in between sessions can be role played in a forum (play by post). I would like to use ACRE and any other mods that increase realism. I am open to suggestions from the players on any topic.

Essentially, it will be a d20 Modern RPG campaign, utilizing ArmA3 Zeus as the "whiteboard" for online shared gaming, supplemented with play-by-post elements for further immersion and play opportunities between sessions. If you've ever played a real pen and paper RPG (i.e. Dungeons and Dragons) perhaps you know what I am getting at.

I am a busy guy so please respond by private message if you'd like to get involved and I will clear a weekly slot of my schedule for this dedicated gaming experience.

[Guest ColdNfreeziN =VG=]

Sounds like a cool idea. Basically what you want to do is make a different version of MSO with Zeus included? I think it sounds like a cool idea, but I can see something that would potentially go wrong with it...instead of keeping stats on paper could we not do what we did with the A2 MSO? Where we had the webpage with all our stats?

Anyways if you need help with anything shoot me a PM :)

[Warfighter]

I'm not familiar with MSO

[=VG= Wooz2770]

I think he is trying to do dungeons and dragons with Arma 3, with some events happening ingame and other in text, not really MSO. pretty cool idea :)

[=VG= SavageCDN (Inactive Duty)]

Yes cool idea.. if you like we could open it up to other groups/players as well (ie: LAMBS) I'm sure there would be some interest.

What do you need as far as technical stuff? Some dedicated server time and teamspeak? Zeus template missions (are you OK with setting up a mission yourself in the editor)?

[Warfighter]

I would love to open it up to anyone serious and sober minded. Pass the word.

What I would need... I'm not sure. I've started tinkering around with editor, and have watched the Bohemia live tests of Zeus (several hours) and I have been playing ArmA since OFP. So I believe I could manage the campaign, although a mod would be helpful. I would run it right off my machine but it is a gaming laptop and I would probably be better off hijacking someone's server somewhere. I've never run a server or been admin on a server.

I made a Zeus template in editor but I still have a long way to go to be considered a power user.

I have basic military knowledge as a Marine POG but no combat experience, but I am confident I could simulate a guerrilla style campaign and leave the mission organization up to the players. I do have a lot of political knowledge and intend to focus on that quite a bit. I am a wannabe Tom Clancy. Here is the scenario I have in mind:

2034, Stratis:
The island nation of Stratis has changed drastically over the last 50 years. What was once a typical Western democracy has slowly changed into a virtual Islamic state. Islamic voices have drowned out the public square and daily call for the election of an "extremist" Muslim cleric. The cleric has promised to support and sign several anti-liberty bills and has in his past spoken fondly of the jizya- a Muslim tax on non-believers living within Muslim lands. Although the Muslims proclaim what are viewed as extreme anti-Western policies, their methods have been consistently, purely, peacefully, democratic. After having secured the Congress in elections past, much of the judiciary over a span of 40 years, and occupying the vast majority of public sector employment-- Muslims are in a position to democratically reforge the ancient island nation of Stratis into one more of their liking, and more in line with the Great Persian Superpower: Iran.

On September 4th the nation will head to the polls, and Kavala is expected to easily carry the vote, assuredly installing the "radical" Muslim cleric. No other polling center will be able to stop the Islamic tide that lives and rules from Kavala. Local nationalists have mobilized, and Muslims- although almost entirely non-violent for the past 40 years, are preparing to meet them in the streets to protect the polls. The nationalists consist of a rag tag group of strange bedfellows, including Orthodox Christians, fascists, punk rockers, and even some moderate Muslims who enjoy Western liberty and don't want to see things change. Rumor has it that Western operatives are also working in the area, perhaps for the CIA or SIS.

The Muslim majority is bolstered by the presence of progressive multiculturalists who accuse any resistance to the democratic Islamic agenda as racism. These progressives have maintained control over the media and most major industries on Stratis. However, some of these progressive elites have begun to see the writing on the wall, and are unsure of their international businesses headquartered on Stratis. Some fear their enterprises will eventually be nationalized and are perhaps open to persuasion. Iran, the Persian Superpower, has also promised to observe the elections in Kavala, and it would not be impossible for them to have stationed operatives in Kavala.

Players will have to decide which faction to represent. I am not opposed to playing as Islamic extremists, CIA agents, neo-Nazi nationalists, multiculti progressivists, Christian crusaders, anarcho-syndicalist communists, well-armed libertarians, confused peasants, traitorous double-agents, or whatever you feel like throwing at me. Obviously it helps if the entire party can work and play together in the sessions, but it is not necessary, I guess.

Players will be expected to have at least a half-assed backstory, a list of skills their character can bring to the situation (comms, foreign language, religious studies, warfighting, logistics, pilot, etc.) and players will be expected to sometimes interact "in character" with "NPCs" role-played by Zeus or others. Yes, this is just like Dungeons and Dragons, or improv/theater, renaissance fair, or war re-enactments, if you're into any of those things you know what I am after. (I've played D&D type games.)

[=VG= Wooz2770]

i suggest you put up a list of roles, people will then have to write the stories for their character and the skills they have, if people die, they must choose and write for a new role, this way people aren?t left out of the next game, but dying also means that you have to write a new story, comments?

[=VG= SavageCDN (Inactive Duty)]

Well we can provide a dedicated server, teamspeak and the technical knowledge to setup your mission in the editor with Zeus modules.

[Warfighter]

I've received no messages indicating interest in this campaign. I really wanted to get the immersion and story telling that comes along with dedicated players. Any interest out there? Send me a PM or visit this Doodle Poll to sign up for a time slot.

http://doodle.com/w2g62hcm8zr2zut5

[Warfighter]

Character Teaser:

Haarith Hashmi is a powerful Ulama in Kavala. His writings on Sharia and legal work representing Muslims on Stratis are world renowned. He can often be found at mosque leading worship. For 30 years he has devoted his life to furthering the interest of Muslims on Stratis. He is openly anti-Western, consistently decrying Western culture as demonic, pornographic, drug addicted, disrespectful, feminized, and degenerate. In his most recent address broadcast on Public Television across Stratis he matter-of-factly described the decades long demographic decline of Westerners as God's hand among the unbelievers, bringing them to the brink of extinction and leaving their lands empty for the taking. Much of Stratis has become retirement territory, and the average age of the non-Muslim population is over 50. Non-Muslim Stratiis have hovered under replacement levels of reproductions for decades as Muslim children have come to fill the birthing wards in hospitals across Stratis.
He has close ties with the Persian Superpower, Iran. Iran has become a powerful influence in the Mediterranean. Although Iran has become more moderate with its rise in economic power, they are still predominantly Shia, and still essentially theocratic. This moderate-theocratic-economic arrangement has lent itself well to funding more extremist movements abroad while itself maintaining a moderate profile in the international community. Iran is widely suspected of funding and arming Shia Muslims around the world. Haarith Hashami has close ties to Iranian scholars and businessmen. This relationship has drawn the interest of Western intelligence. Many suspect that if Hashami is elected in September, or even before election day, open violence will break out across Stratis, and a proxy war will begin in the region. The proxy war would most likely involve Iran against the West, including Western allies such as the Greek Junta, the Americans, and the British. Russia is expected to stay entirely neutral.

[=VG= Wooz2770]

Ehm... i thought we were still in the idea stage?? are you even reading these replies?

[Guest ColdNfreeziN =VG=]

I also though we were still in the planning phase... I really think this isnt something that should be rushed. It seems like there is a lot more to this than what I thought. It kind of sounds like Takistan Life RPG, but a little more in depth, and set to a certain scenario?

[=VG= SemlerPDX]

On 4/29/2014 at 1:32 PM, Warfighter said:

I've received no messages indicating interest in this campaign. I really wanted to get the immersion and story telling that comes along with dedicated players. Any interest out there? Send me a PM or visit this Doodle Poll to sign up for a time slot.

http://doodle.com/w2g62hcm8zr2zut5

 

Blood makes the grass grow - shit runs downhill - you can lead a horse to water but can't make him drink - if you can't get enough players with us at VG, don't get your jimmies rustled, it just means that this decent idea needs more promotion. I haven't had a chance to look at the code yet myself, but I'm seriously interested in this thing that seems like a DandD style game. I'll be around - good luck, don't get discouraged by any initial lack of interest or low numbers, DayZ wasn't a hit in a day.
!2cool

 

 

[=VG= Wooz2770]

I think there is interest, but seeing as a lot of people just wanna play and not plan. maybe they?ve been staying out of what they thought were planning talks?

[Warfighter]

I've created a webpage on Obsidian Portal for the game.

https://arma3-democracy-asunder.obsidianportal.com/

This will be the headquarters for the game. I went ahead with the 15 day trial so we can move the Doodle Poll over there onto the "schedule" tab on Obsidian. Also visit the "forum" tab on Obsidian. This will be a better forum to get questions and comments on the game.

I'm sorry if I'm going too fast. Not everyone is familiar with how this works. My bad. Good feedback, troops.

I've decided to go with the political campaign. Bring all discussions over to the Obsidian site on the Forum there, if you please.

There is a lot I will have to do to get ready for the game. I am not going to do too much until I have dedicated players. Otherwise I could be wasting my time. I've already spent a hour or two on what little I've done thus far. I am probably going to need a lot of help crafting the game from those who have experience editing missions. We might need to coordinate mods.

First things first: dedicated players. If you're interested in what I've posted so far, then please go to the OBsidian Portal ArmA3 site and sign up, or at least ask questions so we can get you squared away.