Dawn of the Republic: Border Alliance

[Sin]

I'll say this much for certain, a lot of this is going to have to be roleplayed out. There's a lot in your post that, to have set in concrete at the start, is going to sour a fair few people on both sides.

But my broad strokes idea, at least for now while I work on my second draft is to have the Mandalorians either be reluctant partners ( reluctant because of the whole "outsiders" thing, not "oo rah we iz da bestested ever soldaten in da galaxeh" crap ), and by that I mean full partners in the BA, intergration into their chain of command, etc. Or at least broadly following the established one. The Mandalore, whomever that would be ( and let's face it, a Mandalore is required for any of this to work ), would have to be working closely with the BA equivilent, both IC and OOC, to maintain a balanced approach.

As to regards to loyalty to the BA and it's cause, I'd have to think about it. Right now my energies are going towards establishing a plausible reason as to why the Mandalorians would turn to the Republic and it's Border Alliance. The devil you know is going to be a core aspect of that I think.

No offense, but like I said, factions like the BA depend upon a unified front. Anything else simply won't lend itself very well to the faction. This isn't the Sith where internal conflict is expected. This is a fringe alliance where everyone is a volunteer fighting for something they believe in. If that dynamic isn't there then the Border Alliance has lost before the war even starts both OOCly and ICly. A faction such as this can't deal with anything internal pulling it a part, they're going to have enough going on with the Senate choosing to support or not support them and the Sith trying to run them over.

Like I said, the Mandalorians aren't just going to serve the Border Alliance and that's the only way I'd be willing to entertain them being a part of the BA to be rather frank about it. Giving Mandalore or any Mandalorian an equal say in the BA would be a huge mistake imo. Again, both OOCly and ICly. OOCly because "history", it has a knack for repeating itself...and ICly because any character with half a brain would be reluctant to let Mandalore make any decisions based on the "presumed" history of the Mandalorians in-verse.

If the Mandalorians aren't willing to simply pledge their loyalty to the BA then the staff's original idea wouldn't have worked anyway. Because from what I could tell, they intended for the Mandalorians to just be soldiers/members of the BA, not a part of the leadership. So unless they're just regular old members like the rest of us, I'm personally not interested in getting tangled up in anything else. I don't care about furthering the Mandalorian story and don't want to be sucked into it because I chose to be a part of the BA and they consequently are also a part of the BA.

 

[Loco]

This is a fringe alliance where everyone is a volunteer fighting for something they believe in

Like I said, the Mandalorians aren't just going to serve the Border Alliance and that's the only way I'd be willing to entertain them being a part of the BA to be rather frank about it

And somehow we're the stubborn ones.

 

[Saul]

The Mandalorians in the BA shouldn't permit the Mandalorians be actual decision makers beyond having single representative in the Senate. Just like it shouldn't permit the rank and file of the BA to make decisions. A FL is chosen for the Republic, and a sub-FL for the BA. The sub-FL then must represent fairly all the people within the faction, and not just one group over another. This goes beyond whether or not Mandalorians are a thing. Look at the map; we also have Dathomir - let's say that there are several Dathomir players in the BA. Dathomir gets stormed by the Sith; the BA sub-FL and Republic FL can't cater all the decision making processes to support those characters, but it can't also ignore their desire to retake their homeworld. Now imagine other Republic worlds that are more popular join the BA because the Sith activity is intense; Hapes, Kashyyyk, Mon Calamari, Nal Hutta - they should be no more and no less represented than the rest.

I don't even care if the Mandalorians actually have a Mandalore. They only have 1 Rep in the Senate. Period. The same as every other planet. No sub-FL, no FL, just equal representation IC'ly. Then BA members, Mando and non-Mando alike, are free to do other things. Like steal Jedi darksabers, or smuggle stuff, etc. The problem, as Calixis mentioned earlier, is that military RP is very restrictive on what you can do without orders. Whereas a Jedi can do basically whatever, even cavort with Sith and betray the Order.

 

[Hatebackwards]

I think it would be neat if this played out more like the Clone Wars where the Senator for Mandalore was a pacifist and the Death Watch operated as a terrorist group longing to reclaim their warrior heritage.

 

[TAC]

So. With the new map out - let me know if anyone makes a character from Bandomeer (O-6). My Senator represents the world to the Republic and is ex-military. So if you want to set up some background, as well as some RPs as I foresee him meddling in the area, let me know.

 

[Silverface]

No offense

Some taken, as your entire post can be summed up as "I can't be bothered to roleplay any of this shit out because I'm playing silly buggers about things that may or may not happen based on OOC factors that have since left the site in a puff of indignant and egotistical smoke".

 

[Eccles]

Is there a Border Alliance Skype Chat?

We could discuss forming squads and stuff! :D

 

[Sin]

I'll say this much for certain, a lot of this is going to have to be roleplayed out. There's a lot in your post that, to have set in concrete at the start, is going to sour a fair few people on both sides.

But my broad strokes idea, at least for now while I work on my second draft is to have the Mandalorians either be reluctant partners ( reluctant because of the whole "outsiders" thing, not "oo rah we iz da bestested ever soldaten in da galaxeh" crap ), and by that I mean full partners in the BA, intergration into their chain of command, etc. Or at least broadly following the established one. The Mandalore, whomever that would be ( and let's face it, a Mandalore is required for any of this to work ), would have to be working closely with the BA equivilent, both IC and OOC, to maintain a balanced approach.

As to regards to loyalty to the BA and it's cause, I'd have to think about it. Right now my energies are going towards establishing a plausible reason as to why the Mandalorians would turn to the Republic and it's Border Alliance. The devil you know is going to be a core aspect of that I think.

Some taken, as your entire post can be summed up as "I can't be bothered to roleplay any of this shit out because I'm playing silly buggers about things that may or may not happen based on OOC factors that have since left the site in a puff of indignant and egotistical smoke".

I'm not trying to offend you, but I'll be honest. Your post can be summed up as we're trying to figure out how to make the Mandalorians work with the BA, but not work for the BA. Sounds like typical Mando/Fando egotistical smoke to me. I don't think a Mandalore is required to pull this off, especially in the absence of any solid NuCanon to back up what the hell a Mandalore is. All we know about the Mandalorians is that they had a civil war where pacifist Mandalorians came out on top. Prior to that, all we know is that sometime before the Clone Wars, we don't know how long ago, there was a group of Mandalorian crusaders that wielded swords and were depicted fighting Jedi on a mural beneath the throne room balcony on the outside of the royal palace in the capital city of Sundari on the planet Mandalore. Everything else is just an assumption. Personally, I would drop the whole there needs to be a Mandalore, especially since it tends to be one of the main causes of problems among Fandalorians because Fando group B doesn't like Mandalore A, so they make their on Mandalore B. I don't think there needs to be a Mandalorian leader equivalent to represent the Mandalorians in the BA either. Based on this theory every planet should have their own leader equivalent that makes decisions. That's what the Senate's for. The BA is going to have a chain of command and Mandalorians are going to have to answer to it just like the rest of us.

 

[Loco]

 

[Silverface]

The BA is going to have a chain of command and Mandalorians are going to have to answer to it just like the rest of us.

Then define what the Border Alliance is then, because you're making it sound like the Grand Army of the Republic, not, and to lift from the timeline announcement: The Border Alliance is a loose military alliance of several worlds on the edge of the galaxy, most of whom still bear the scars of previous Sith conflicts.

That doesn't imply a singular force, rather mutual defense pacts and promises, similiar to the nature of the "Great Game" the European powers engaged in during the 1870's to 1914. You scratch my back, I scratch yours, etc. So under that premise, there wouldn't be a chain of command outside of local forces.

So what is it. Grand Army of the Republic, or a border world alliance?

 

[Grim]

I'm not trying to offend you, but I'll be honest. Your post can be summed up as we're trying to figure out how to make the Mandalorians work with the BA, but not work for the BA. Sounds like typical Mando/Fando egotistical smoke to me. I don't think a Mandalore is required to pull this off, especially in the absence of any solid NuCanon to back up what the hell a Mandalore is. All we know about the Mandalorians is that they had a civil war where pacifist Mandalorians came out on top. Prior to that, all we know is that sometime before the Clone Wars, we don't know how long ago, there was a group of Mandalorian crusaders that wielded swords and were depicted fighting Jedi on a mural beneath the throne room balcony on the outside of the royal palace in the capital city of Sundari on the planet Mandalore. Everything else is just an assumption. Personally, I would drop the whole there needs to be a Mandalore, especially since it tends to be one of the main causes of problems among Fandalorians because Fando group B doesn't like Mandalore A, so they make their on Mandalore B. I don't think there needs to be a Mandalorian leader equivalent to represent the Mandalorians in the BA either. Based on this theory every planet should have their own leader equivalent that makes decisions. That's what the Senate's for. The BA is going to have a chain of command and Mandalorians are going to have to answer to it just like the rest of us.

I would like to point out that there would be strife in this group as its a group of independent planets that all have their own forces, doctrines, beefs, likes, etc, etc. They are not one cohesive fighting force, at least in the normal sense, and I can see them like a ghetto Twilight Company. They may have standardized some but there will always be General A from planet B doesn't like General C from Planet X because he said his dog was ugly. If any thing it can help both sides work on forming bonds between them. Many of the Border alliance will probably be conscripts with no real experience who might want to suck up to the Mandos who may have seen more action then some of the Vets. Conversely there might be some Mandos who end up liking some of the ideas of some of the Republic milk drinker and start to advocate them. There is lots of story here that can be fun for all involved.

 

[Silverface]

I would like to point out that there would be strife in this group as its a group of independent planets that all have their own forces, doctrines, beefs, likes, etc, etc. They are not one cohesive fighting force, at least in the normal sense, and I can see them like a ghetto Twilight Company. They may have standardized some but there will always be General A from planet B doesn't like General C from Planet X because he said his dog was ugly. If any thing it can help both sides work on forming bonds between them. Many of the Border alliance will probably be conscripts with no real experience who might want to suck up to the Mandos who may have seen more action then some of the Vets. Conversely there might be some Mandos who end up liking some of the ideas of some of the Republic milk drinker and start to advocate them. There is lots of story here that can be fun for all involved.

@Grim, I've always liked you. I hope you know that.

 

[Sin]

I don't know. I don't see this as the Sector Forces of the Alliance at all, simply because the infrastructure of the Republic is far different from that of a Rebel Alliance. Instead, it seems like it would be more of a Combined Task Force that is working together to defeat a terrorist threat. I imagine the Border Alliance having some military structure and the Command would fall to whoever the FL/AFL decides. As reminded above, it's a military alliance... Not a ragtag rebel alliance... And considering the BA supposedly has some history with the Sith, it makes me think they're going to be even more united.

I can appreciate the idea of roleplaying this stuff out and that would be cool, but we haven't even determined what it would look like if the Mandalorians did join the BA. I'll sum this up one last time, if the Mandalorians join the BA I would hope their interest is more towards the BA and not towards the Mandalorians. Otherwise, I can just see there being problems. Especially since the BA is going to have a hard enough time with the small member base that we already have. Like I said, I'd rather have 5 people hard for the BA and interested in the BA's story than have 20 who are more interested in Mandalore or the Mandalorian's story. Just a personal preference. I'm not gonna be upset or pissed if the Mandalorians end up in the BA. If it happens and I don't think it's something I want to be a part of then I'll just bow out.

 

[Grim]

I don't know. I don't see this as the Sector Forces of the Alliance at all, simply because the infrastructure of the Republic is far different from that of a Rebel Alliance. Instead, it seems like it would be more of a Combined Task Force that is working together to defeat a terrorist threat. I imagine the Border Alliance having some military structure and the Command would fall to whoever the FL/AFL decides. As reminded above, it's a military alliance... Not a ragtag rebel alliance... And considering the BA supposedly has some history with the Sith, it makes me think they're going to be even more united.

The thing is, they are not the Repbulic. they are just the Proxy way to fight the war. So they are very much a rag tag grouping of the independent worlds forces. Since I know you played SWTOR this is just a meta Balmorra. The Republic can't assist in this fight right now. All they can do is throw money at the BA to take the fight to them. There is a good chance there will be ex solider types, but they are not a standing military. They are Sec and Def forces forced to work with one another because Big Daddy Rep can't fight the war due to having just finished fighting one for a very long time and lost much of its territory. Their might be unis or people from worlds where they are more organized but most of the worlds in the BA are little more than backwater truck stops. Many of the forces would likely be ex-mercs, active mercs, or space hicks with guns. In all likeliness it would be a mis mash of all sorts of types banded together to fight a common foe.

Edit: Spelling mostly

 

[Galavant]

I think ragtag is a better approach for them really. Maybe not ragtag in the sense of the Rebellion or the Resistance, and any number of scrappy small bands of fighters. But more like ragtag as in they're exhausted and running low on the best equipment and supplies from years of fighting. They're on the frontlines fighting a forever war with no clear indication that the Republic, or anyone else is going to magically change their minds and start helping. They haven't so far, why would they now? There's probably a greater deal of unity than a bunch of militias from different worlds. Like you say these worlds don't really amount to much on the grand scheme of things. If they weren't working together with a good level of cohesion by this point would've probably been utterly crushed. In the background there might be stuff like "The Velmor Brigade" which is made up primarily of people from that area, but in terms of the RP we'll almost certainly have the focus being on a combined force that can be a maypole for the members to rally around, and not have to worry about units or squads or any of that silly nonsense.

So ragtag to the extent that they're probably starting to get weary, they're running low on all kinds of supplies, and could really use a second wind. But not necessarily disparate forces, they've very much been united by the conflict to this point in a way they weren't before. Form an OOC standpoint I also don't see a lot of different units or militias working without things getting incredibly top heavy, which doesn't sound to me like the best idea when PvP is shifting focus on to PC's only being in the fighting really. Aesthetically I also like ragtag better since it allows for some variety. Sure they're united in general, but maybe not all the way there with a single uniform for everyone, and blah blah blah. Plenty of different flags and colors, plenty of language issues, plenty of guys from Planet such and such who don't see why they should have to take orders from the idiots over on planet so and so, and stuff like that.

 

[Sin]

Yeah. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the think tank comes out with. I guess I can see them more torn, but it makes me wonder how the BA ties into the Republic faction at all. Looking at it from how you described it Grim, it kinda makes me roll my eyes. The BA might as well be an indie faction if you put it that way.

 

[Galavant]

Yeah. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the think tank comes out with. I guess I can see them more torn, but it makes me wonder how the BA ties into the Republic faction at all. Looking at it from how you described it Grim, it kinda makes me roll my eyes. The BA might as well be an indie faction if you put it that way.

My guess is the relationship between the BA and the Republic is intended in some ways to mirror the relationship between the Resistance and the New Republic, but on a bigger scale and with some twists.

 

[Outlander]

I think it just comes down to needing a military force to oppose the Sith equivalent. And since the Rebellion saw more activity than the IAF last timeline, it would make sense to do something similar. It's kind of a rock and a hard place.

 

[Galavant]

I think it just comes down to needing a military force to oppose the Sith equivalent. And since the Rebellion saw more activity than the IAF last timeline, it would make sense to do something similar. It's kind of a rock and a hard place.

Also that. The more formal military stuff is just boring, and doesn't really fit in well with the "non-force using good guy side" since the only other example we really have of them outside the Rebels is the Clone Army which would make for...interesting RP but probably not the type that appeals to a lot of people.

 

[Grim]

Yeah. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the think tank comes out with. I guess I can see them more torn, but it makes me wonder how the BA ties into the Republic faction at all. Looking at it from how you described it Grim, it kinda makes me roll my eyes. The BA might as well be an indie faction if you put it that way.

I might be over exadurating but I think it comes down to the fact that the make up of the BA is more irregular than Regular military types. Due to the make up of various backgrounds that make up the BA. They would be no grand army of the republic, ragged and harried from all the battles and very wary would be more like it. More or less surviving on the scraps that the republic is throwing them.