agogeooc | HRHR: RETREAT.

ACHIEVE THE IMPOSSIBLE;

never tell me the odds

Things don't look good for the soldiers still trapped at Gallipoli.

Stranded with injured men and a poor cache of supplies, they have little chance of surviving the retreat. Still, COST continues in its efforts to keep casualties at a minimum, meaning it's time for another round of High Risk High Reward missions. Participation isn't required, although there is still a signup if you opt out of this part of the plot. If you'd like to skip to that portion of the write-up, please click here!

This is going to be a little different from previous runs: characters will be sorted into groups and you'll choose your characters' activities within that group. Signups close February 6th, 11:59 PM CST; you'll have until February 11th 11:59 PM CST to turn in plans.

You're more than free to put up logs before turning in plans, if you want to hash out ideas ICly, just thread with your group, etc. We're leaving it to you to create your own logs, but we suggest creating a joint log for groups 1 and 2, while 3 has their own log.

Once you turn in your plan, we'll share your chances of success; if you don't like the odds, you may turn in another plan and try again. You can do this as many times as you like until the 12th. Not turning in a plan will automatically result in failure; the characters involved will not be penalized individually, but it will affect the group and COST's effectiveness as a whole.

Since this is a pretty involved HRHR, feel free to ask us any and all questions here and discuss it between yourselves in the comments below!

There is no limit to how many characters can sign up for each group, but we do ask you to choose two options, to help us better distribute numbers. Ideally, we're looking for 5 to 10 people per group, but it'll be fine with more or less. We'll tell you which group your character is in on the 7th, after signups close.

AN OVERVIEW

On January 15, 1916 (February 9th, OOC), COST recruits will receive the order to split into four groups to try to save the men trapped in the trenches. This is convenient because the only senior officer left, Captain Lewis Morangey, has begun to realise no one knows they're left behind, or at least that no one is coming to get them anytime soon. So in the early hours of dawn, he calls the men together and explains a truly desperate situation: they're alone in now-enemy territory, with no one but themselves to rely on. (As it turns out, this is a new way to somehow, actually, make Morangey's mood even worse.) But without senior officials to turn to, he puts it to the men to find a way out without being detected.

Three groups will leave Lone Pine for other parts of the peninsula, to complete various tasks. Characters are advised to exercise a great deal of caution; the terrain makes for rough, slow going, and they'll have to use tediously roundabout routes along the coast, to avoid enemy fire from Turkish and Regency soldiers (yup, they're still there, tailing your asses). The hours they can move are limited as well: it's best to move at night and, if moving during the day, use the interconnecting tunnels to obscure movements. The still-present mist doesn't help, with poor visibility and its power-dampening effects, but leaving the tunnels of Lone Pine does make these effects less dramatic.

You're free to treat these missions as general mingles and only pair up for specific tasks. We recommend no more than three characters attempt a task together, mostly for your own sanity. But if you think you can tackle a bigger thread, you're welcome to it! Multiple characters can work on the same tasks if feasible (e.g., two different pairs of characters can salvage supplies independently from each other, with different results), but please communicate with each other! Your activities affect the whole group.

Also, some characters may realize they dug up items from the underground that can help one group or another in their mission...

click for a closer look!

A JOINT EFFORT

GROUP 1: FIGHTERS & GROUP 2: TECHNICIANS
OBJECTIVE: RETRIEVE SUPPLIES & CONTACT FRENCH SHIPS FOR EVACUATION

Groups 1 and 2 will be working together for the duration of their missions.

Group 1 is combat-focused; their objective is to locate and retrieve any supplies they can find (specifically food, medicine, and ammunition). They're also tasked with supporting Group 2.

Group 2 requires technically minded characters; their objective is to contact nearby French ships who are pulling out of Cape Helles and request their aid in evacuation. They'll need radio parts and knowledge of how to use and repair shortwave radios—or at least easily learn the ropes from anyone savvy.

Both groups are headed for an abandoned command center at the Nek, not far from their current position. However, due to the trench layout and dangerous circumstances, it'll be a tedious journey.

Characters will encounter these obstacles:

Reaching the dugout; the Regency will tail these groups the most conspicuously.
A skirmish upon arrival; it seems someone (hmmm) tipped off Turkish soldiers.
The possibility of being trapped by enemy fire.
Salvaging any supplies, without losing them in the skirmish.
Successfully repairing the damaged radios.
Transporting the radios to a nearby hill and contacting the French.
The enemy will attempt to shell the dugout, if left unattended.
Returning to Lone Pine in one piece.

TRACES OF THE REVOLUTION

The Battle of Nek was fought as part of the Gallipoli campaign in August, 1915. It was a futile bayonet attack by Australian forces on the Ottomans; losses were extremely one-sided and the bodies of many Australians remain where they died, in some places six men high.

The area has a fairly straightforward trench layout, but boasts a higher elevation. The dugout that characters are looking for is a former command center, with supplies and radio equipment abandoned in the retreat. They've survived as well as they can, but need some excavating.

Peculiarly, this area of the trenches isn't entirely Australian; the rotting uniforms, mementos, and other traces of the men who once stood this ground are French. A few letter scraps make mention of a man named Jaques Louis; provided their BCE has a French datapack installed (or they know French already), characters can learn he is captain of a ship called the Marie Antoinette and a well-respected commander in the French military. This dugout's existence is attributed to him.

STUDYING POLITICS

GROUP 3: DIPLOMATS
OBJECTIVE: GAIN AMNESTY FROM THE TURKS

Group 3 is diplomatic, given the objective to seek out a man named Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Characters need to acquire amnesty, so the trapped soldiers can reach the ships without being attacked. This mission is craftier and more stealth-oriented, as COST has a tip that Atatürk is at a Turkish base. They'll need to find a way inside—without being shot on sight.

This base is located at Mal Tepe. Again, the group's movements are limited, as anything too obvious will draw the attention of the Regency and Turks.

Characters will encounter these obstacles:

Locating the base and arriving without interference by the Turks or the Regency.
Getting at least one person past the soldiers and into the base.
Scouting the base and locating Atatürk without causing an incident.
Handling soldiers who might interfere with attempts to reach Atatürk.
Combating any Regency soldiers assigned undercover to the Turkish side.
If anyone is captured by Turkish or Regency soldiers, you'll have to stage a rescue.
Successfully gaining an audience with Atatürk and acquiring amnesty.
Returning to Lone Pine in one piece.

Locating the Base

The base of Mal Tepe is...no different from that of the ANZACs or, indeed, any entrenched position between here and the furthermost tip of the Eastern Front, save for the finer details that distinguish the Turkish army and people. There are twisting tunnels lined with sand bags and emblems of loved ones decorating small monuments. Soldiers and supporting teams flow in and out of it, a moving mass of life and death. Unfortunately, due to the nature of fighting a war on two fronts, both here and in Palestine, there has been a severe supply problem and many men haven't had decent meals except by what their families send them, via the spokesmen who travel from their villages to the front lines.

The one key difference about Mal Tepe, however, is that this is a battery: the key point of the whole defence is one huge, heavy artillery gun, which was used against the once-present British naval ships. Located centrally to the base's defences, it is directed towards the straits that form the mouth of the Black Sea.

The Mehmetçik Soldiers

The average Turkish soldier is a man not just fighting in a global war, but a man fighting for his country in a widespread invasion that means to march on the capital. These men are determined and follow orders without regard for their lives. Despite suffering from food shortages and the horrors of trench warfare, they have repeatedly held their ground and, when needed, taken back what was previously captured. Having been massively underestimated, they have made the enemy pay by not letting them advance further than the coastline in many locations. It has begun to instill a strong sense of pride in them.

The officers and any longer-serving men were trained, not in Turkey or as Turkish soldiers, but as part of the Ottoman Empire. They were sent abroad to learn what are considered modern techniques from the Prussians, as part of their alliance with Austria-Hungary. This led to a very hard, obedient style of military life; one commander told his men, when trying to hold ground, "I do not expect you to fight. I expect you to die."

Harsh as that seems, it is something these men, who have given everything for their homeland, would gladly do and have done repeatedly. That said, similar to their counterparts across the trenches, they aren't miserable and serious all of the time. Especially in the light of their recent victory, a feeling has seized them all: at long last, their homeland is free and, as such, things have gotten a little less...strict.

This spirit is important and something to preserve as much as ANZAC lives, because it will be how one auspicious general founds the modern republic of Turkey.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

The man who will one day lead modern Turkey to become the nation that it is today, by becoming its first president. At present, he is a general securing one of his greatest victories. He originally only commanded one division, but became the front line commander after he successfully predicted an attack and held his position until the Allied forces were forced to retreat. He's seen his fair amount of action and knows how to keep his head through it.

Despite a middle-class family and middle-class upbringing that had little to do with the military, Atatürk enrolled into the Ottoman Military College without telling his family and, as a young man, began his military career. He was deeply nationalistic from a young age and that drives him in the collapse of the the Ottoman Empire in the years to come.

It's noted that, after the war, he speaks kindly of the ANZACs as brave soldiers who did better than anyone expected and goes on to honour their bravery, commemorating where many of them died and giving consolatory speeches not only to speak well of the soldiers, but to comfort the grieving families left behind.

Should characters successfully approach Atatürk, he'll be NPC'd by a mod.

THOSE LEFT BEHIND

GROUP 4: DEFENDERS
OBJECTIVE: DEFEND THE SURVIVING SOLDIERS

For anyone not involved in the HRHR aspect of this mission, sign up here! While this is the default for anyone who doesn't choose a group, we'd like to have an idea of how many of you plan to remain behind (and, also, players opting into a HRHR mission may choose this as a second group). These characters will continue to defend Lone Pine.

As it technically isn't part of the HRHR missions, this group is structured a little differently and won't feature dice rolls; a mod-posted log will go up on February 9th. These recruits will experience shifts in the weather (expect snow) and, eventually, a solicitation of surrender from the Regency. More details will go up with the log.

That said, speaking of the Regency... They have plans for you.

THE REGENCY 101

It's no secret that the Regency has been watching.

They'll finally make a move when characters leave Lone Pine, abducting several individuals they've confirmed as COST operatives. Exact numbers will vary, depending on signups to other groups, but we're looking for 8 characters max for this portion of the plot. Players may sign up for a HRHR mission and kidnappings; these characters will be taken immediately after they contribute to their group's objective. At most, we'll RNG two characters from a given group; otherwise, they'll be taken partway through their trek or from the tunnels.

Selected characters will receive a followup questionnaire (it's relevant, we promise).

Abducted characters will lose touch with the bulk of the game until they escape or are rescued. Their BCEs will still function, but lose network access. Their location and vitals will go dark, regardless of their privacy settings. Attempts to contact them will return the message "THIS USERNAME DOES NOT EXIST."

This is not a HRHR mission, as it has more mod and NPC involvement (think of it as a plot coupon), but it shares a number of similar elements. A log will go up February 12th.

SIGNUP CRITERIA:

IDENTIFIABLE: The character has to somehow stand out as a COST operative. The logic doesn't need to be complicated—it can be as simple as failing to use period-accurate terminology—but the Regency needs to be able to identify them.
EASY MARK: The character needs to be vulnerable in some way. If a character refuses to go anywhere alone or is always hypervigilant, the Regency has less opportunity to nab them. This doesn't rule out competent characters, but they need a crack in their routine.
XP EXCHANGE: A slot costs 5xp. This will be refunded if you don't get the slot!

Also be aware that characters will experience some form of psychological torture, so please don't sign up if you aren't ok with that!

Depending on the number of interested parties, we may RNG a few extra slots to individuals who dodge a kidnapping attempt. If you land this option instead of the abduction itself, you'll be free to decide how your character escaped (e.g., they managed it on their own, someone showed up at an Opportune Moment, sheer dumb luck, whatever you want).

KNOW THINE ENEMY

For those of you who encounter a Regency soldier firsthand, here are a few things to know.

PHYSIQUE: Regency soldiers are strong, fast, durable, and very well trained. Consider a human in peak physical condition—like an Olympic athlete—and multiply that by two. In general, you can assume it'll take at least two average humans (and some luck) to take down one Regency soldier.

WEAPONRY: Each soldier carries one (1) standard issue energy firearm (like blasters from Star Wars), one (1) melee weapon of choice (ranging from blunt weapons to blades), a set of handheld bombs, and three (3) futuristic EMP grenades.

NULLIFIERS: Every Regency soldier has a power nullifer built into the very fabric of their uniform. Power usage within a radius of approximately ten feet will fizzle and die, including projectiles (although this doesn't apply to, say, a non-powered object thrown from a distance using super strength). Cybernetics are also dampened.

The nullifers will not extinguish any powers inherent to a character's survival; e.g., if a character is literally made of magic, the nullifers won't dispel their presence. They will, however, nullify their ability to use that magic. Nullifiers also cannot force characters with transformative powers to return to their default shape, but they will not be able to change into another form until they're out of range.

If your character wants to do more than just fight a Regency soldier (like, say, talk to one to concoct morally dodgy plans), please let us know here!

NAV. NETWORK LOGS OOC MEMES PLURK