No Man's Land (WW1 Mech Game)

[LoA]

No Man's Land: A First World War Mecha Game

[box_red=PLEASE READ:]Please discuss in this link. for now. I don't know how many sections there are going to be.[/box_red]

System: Probably re-flavored/readjusted Battletech to make the mechs more clunky and not futuristic. Basically I'm cutting out rocket jumping, and lowering maneuverability in general, but I'm boosting armor and defense stats to make up for it.

Not an RPG: Although I guess you could add RPG elements later since it's Battletech, and that thing is designed to be as modular as Inspector Gadget.

Basic History:

Point of Divergence: 1832 was the year that changed this parallel Earth forever from our own world, although not much in the way of conflict. The basic wars that defined history still happened. The American states still divided and quarreled mercilessly over slavery, and the Franco-Prussian War raged next in the grand fields of Europe.

The primary thing that changed in this realm relative to ours was that in 1833 in England, the first successful mass producible Difference Engine was created. The primary issue with the Difference Engine in our universe was the fact that it relied on extremely intricate gears and mechanical parts that weren't possible to reproduce on a massive scale. In this universe, in the pursuit of this technology to be viable, the discovery of electronics was stumbled on about a hundred years earlier. This lead to some important changes in technological development. A brilliant engineer in Britain also stumbled on early robotics, and more efficient steam powered engines.

This led to the first Warpedals being built in 1846, and they're effectiveness was quickly apparent to military strategists. They were extremely useful in the Empire and it's dense, varied terrain. The British Empire was strengthening, and the rest of Europe didn't like it. Naturally France and other nations began to try to catch up to what the British had accomplished scientifically. It took a while, but the major European powers caught up,

As for the United States, not much changed in the grand scheme of things up until the dawn of the Civil War. Naturally the Union split apart between the North and South, and the two sides fought ferociously. However, in this timeline, the United States of America didn't catch up to Europe technologically, and with the aid of Great Britain, the Confederacy was able to secure it's independence in exchange for a soul-binding relationship with Great Britain.

The Franco-Prussian War ends in much the same way that the war ended in our existence. The German State is still formed, and the contentions that arose from the creation of Germany still occur. The primary difference between this realities First World War, and this one is that America is fighting it's own battle's and won't come to the aid of Europe.

Basic Timeline of World War 1

Pre-war

1864: The Civil War ends with the separation of the original United States union. The Confederacy is formed with the help of Great Britain.

1866: During the Franco-Prussian Wars Otto Von Bismark successfully courts the United States into an alliance that acts as a counterpoint between the major powers. It created a strong alliance between the European Central powers, and the United States of America.

1877: Japan forms a strong alliance between the United States. The Confederacy expands into South America, and Britain forms stronger relationships with it's Asian interests in response to Japanese-American interests.

These primary events are what helped to create the climate that erupted into a full World War.

Current State of Things:

1913: The war starts by a trade dispute between Japan and British-India, sparking conflict between Great Britain and Japan. The world war erupts as Russia attacks Japan  Germany backed the Japanese by attacking Russia, which provoked war with France. The United States went to war with it's confederate neighbors.

1914: Britain sends enough ships over to the Orient to wage a sizable war against Japan. America sends reinforcements into the pacific. The North American front is fought to a stalemate, and victory doesn't look near in sight on either side of the front. Britain, France, Germany, and Russia are caught in a stalemate all their own.

1915: The Game Begins....


Sides of the War:

The Central Powers:



Germany: In the 1870's the Franco-Prussian wars still occurred, but the wars were fought with Mechapeds. Otto Von Bismark still orchestrated the wars to unite the German Principalities, however this time he enlisted the help of United States. Since contentions between the Union and Great Britain were extremely high after the Civil War, The US agreed to an alliance with the Union. Austria-Hungary allied itself with the newly formed Germanic power. The Ottomans this time around where firmly aligned with Germany through various alternate sequences of events. They would also gain an alliance with a budding industrial superpower called Japan. The United States offered it's hand in helping the Japanese industrialize, mainly as a way of securing a firm ally in the British conquered Orient.

United States of America: Suffering a devastating loss to the British and Confederacy after the Civil War, the Union took this loss to heart, and have since then been trying to recapture the Confederacy. Unfortunately, it took a long time for the Union to catch up

The Alliance:



Great Britain: The British had basically conquered the world, and has held on to it through it's technological advancements. It even reclaimed a chunk of America from the United States. This has put the empire firmly in the poor graces of the United States, and the two have been competing with each other for decades. Now the contentions have burst into a full blown World War. France, and Russia are the allies on the European front, and the Chinese have gone to war with Japan on behalf of it's British Interests.

France: Humiliated during

WIP