The Barrens Campaign

[Kozgugore]

Note: This is a direct copy/pasta from the Defias RP forums, posted by Girloy from The Three Hammers. A bit of a late notice, but unfortunately, I wasn't told any sooner than I am now.

The Barrens Campaign

Greetings everyone!
As promised, here is the general information and rule set for the Barrens Campaign. The following text concerns both parts of the conflict, but it's obviously more centred around the Alliance that I'll be more directly commanding and interacting with.
The Horde of course are free to act as they wish, but nevertheless I'll provide some guidelines for them as well... This is just a sketch of what I had in mind and the all the mentioned guilds have been contacted, but many are waiting for this post in order to confirm their participation!
There will be a public channel for event discussion. This channel will still be open during the campaign. /join BarrensOOC



Like I said, the idea is for this event to have a W2/W3 feeling, that's why I'm keeping just 4 races each side:

-Humans
-Worgen (Gilneans)
-Dwarves
-Gnomes

vs

-Orcs
-Trolls
-Tauren
-Goblins

Basically, the barbaric and tribal Horde against the righteous royal Alliance. Like it should be



Participating Guilds:


Alliance
-The Three Hammers
-The Greymane Resolve
-Kingdom of Stromgarde
-Stormwind Regiment
-Chapter of Holy Anethion
-Possible Gnome Guild
-The Lady Proudmoore (Not partaking in W-PvP)
-The Disciples of Light

Horde
-Darkspear Tribe
-Orcs of the Red Blade
-Rite of the Earth Mother
-Blackpowder Company
-Warsong Blades


Mercenary
-Blades for Hire (Alliance)
-Possible Merc Guild (Horde)


Not-guilded players, or players from other guilds can visit the camps and Roleplay there. Although they won't be able to participate on the World PvP.
People that are not part of this guilds but still want to come and join the RP -need to be aware of this-. In order to not create a greater imbalance we are just keeping the listed guilds on the confront.



In-Character info:


Alliance Goals
-Offer protection to the building settlements like Fort Triumph
-Increase the Alliance pressure on the Horde camps and strongholds
-Lower the ammount of Horde troops on the Barrens
-Reinforce the roads between the Alliance camps and settlements
-Attempt to supply the recently bombarded Bael'Modan with materials and troops, in order to rebuild the city/stronghold
-The ultimate goal would be after the rebuilding of Bael'Modan and Fort Triumph to start launching attacks to upper Barrens in direction to Durotar and maybe Orgrimmar



Horde Goals
-Not allowing the Alliance to act as they plan
-Kill
-Destroy
-Burn



I expect that guilds from both sides start to prepare already ICly for the long journey on the sea and the campaign...


At this moment the Alliance would already be sailing, so the Horde is informed already about 3 large ships sailing towards Barrens:
-The Lady Proudmoore (Ship of Human construct, Will be taking the majority of the Troops)

-4732349-AA  Model C v2.1 (Ship of Gnomish construct where the machinery will be taken, such as Steam Tanks, Gyrochopter, Choppers, communication devices and a team of Tinkers, Engineers and Bombardiers)

-Khaz'Goroth's Holy Anvil (Steam powered dwarven ship where the building material and the builders will be travelling)



The last ship will only be landing after the Alliance has secured Northwatch Hold.


During the campaign there won't be tolerated any kind of robbing allies, violence between allies, rebelion towards a superior, cultism, necromantic acts. Demonology, shadow and fel casting are also out of the picture. (During PvP fights in full PvP gear this can be ignored)
Anyone caught doing any of this will be either arrested or executed, depending on the scale of the crime.

The only religious practices admitted on the Alliance War Camps are:
-Church of Holy Light
-Anethionism
-Mystery of the Makers
-Ancestral Worship

Religious harassment towards another will be punished as well (Chapterians)




Calendar
I plan that at the day 13 all the guilds could meet on Stormwind Harbour and start preparing to sail. The idea is to have a very active harbour with troopers and preachers all over. There could be done some formations and small patrolling exercices around the area.
The following day we would embark and sail to Northwatch Hold. The idea is for people to RP inside the boat while it's (obviously) stationed at Stormwind, and imagine that we are indeed sailing. I advise to only RP inside the boat to not break the immersion.

During the night 14-15, there will pass 3 weeks of IC sailing. So we will arrive at May 15th on the Barrens. For that day we should unload all the cargo and troops. Hang around the Northwatch hold, set up tents and a tower vigil. Send out recognizance teams. Assign roles, patrols etc...
There will be a communication device planted (portable mailbox) at the top of the tower on Northwatch Hold. The IC channel for people to communicate with radio devices will be /BarrensIC. The plan is to have one of this devices planted at the top of each Alliance base on the Barrens.

16th is the planned day for the first encounter. From there on, a battle can occur any day (as long as it obeys the rule set).


The campaign will end the 30th, and the Alliance will sail home on the 31th.





Guild reasons to participate
-The Three Hammers: Help the Barrens War pushing towards Durotar. Re-establish Bael Modan that is a place of great spiritual and military value.
-The Greymane Era: Help their allies, tending Gilnean relations after the demise of the Alliance of Lordaeron and advance towards a more solid place within the Grand Alliance.
-Kingdom of Stromgrade: Supply the Alliance with their warriors helping on the Barrens War Effort.
-Stromwind Infantry: Doing what they are trained for.
-The Disciples of Light: Providing help to the Alliance efforts. Healing the wounded.
-Chapter of Holy Anethion: Generally exorcise the Orcish beast and other herectical creatures of the Horde. Another good chance to prove the might of the Anethionism in combat. Faith shall overcome, etc...
-Possible Gnome Guild: Supply the Alliance with their gadgets helping on the Barrens War Effort. They also benefit if Bael Modan is retaken, as there were many Gnomes living there with the Dwarves.
-The Lady Proudmoore: Operating them boatz.

-Darkspear Tribe: Kill, burn, destroy, eat.
-Orcs of the Red Blade: Kill, burn, destroy, destroy.
-Rite of the Earth Mother: Kill, burn, destroy, tell they are sorry.
-Blackpowder Company: Kill, burn, destroy, profit.
-Warsong Blades: Kill, burn, destroy, destroy, destroy.


-Blades for Hire: Getting paid.
-Horde Mercenaries: Getting paid.






Out of Character info:


The campaign will have two distinct parts: Random War Camp RP moments and W-PvP Confront moments.
From past experiences, I'm keeping this two moments separated and with well defined boundaries. I'll be giving specific guidelines for both of them.





--Random War Camp RP--

During the Random War Camp RP it's expected for everyone to be able to participate, including the Mercenaries. RP gear is to be wear during this moments as surprise attacks will not be part of this campaign.
Any member of any guild that is seen disrupting the Roleplaying of anyone else on the camp, either by meta-gaming, god-emoting or generally Lolling around will be removed from the event if this kind of behaviour pressists.



During this moments, neither Alliance or Horde should attack the enemie without notifying them OOCly. Small skirmishes can be done and arranged by any Officer of GM, as long as both sides agree.


Griefers may (will) appear during this moments, but I hope we are enough players on the area to be able to counter any SoN or Goon attack.
Some of this attacks can be considered random berzerking Horde attacks if everyone agrees.


I expect for the guilds to organize their own events on the Barrens to bring some life to the camps! Usual stuff that guilds used to do on their home lands like praying, trains to keep the troops in shape, rituals, etc...

Here is a small list of things you can do if no events are up and you're bored on the Camp:
-Patrolling the camps
-Patrolling the roads between camps (in case of owning more than one secured camps)
-Moving supplies, troops and mounts/animals from a camp to another
-Using the radio to communicate (/join BarrensIC) (Alliance only)
-Hunting
-Fishing
-Exploring
-Patrolling the skies

Pretty much any player can put any of this up! Just use the channel BarrensOOC and ask if anyone would be up for some random RP!

IMPORTANT:While doing this events -do not- approach the enemy camp. The chances of you coming back alive ICly would be almost null.




If you're an Alliance player, do mind that the Alliance are an organized bunch with strict military organizations. If you move in a group try to go on a formation (a column will do it).






--W PvP Confront--



This are the moments when the massive Alliance vs Horde battles will take place (not referring to the small skirmishes that might be organized by players in small parties)



This PvP confronts will be done in PvP gear. I repeat: Peeveepee gear. I'm choosing it for a simple reason: It's much more easier to balance the fights and a lot of PvP drama can be eliminated.
If you prefer you can use an RP head, cape or weapon to provide more flavour to the gear, but this is just a personal trait and not a rule!

Pick the PvP gear OOCly and just ignore your character look, or make an excuse to wear the over-shiny armor IC. This choice will be up to the player.


No flying mounts are allowed!
And unless we would agree on making a mounted charge, would be better that only the Leaders of the guilds (the GM or the person in charge for it at the moment) could be on a Mount.
That is a small detail that we  can discuss later on though


Combat and non-combat ressing, corpse run -are- allowed! Due to the nature of this confront (lots of players), it's extremely hard to control who is battle ressing so we will pretty much allow everything that Blizzard gives us.
The combat will end when one of the sides is not able to fight back due to having the 2 minute ressing timer.


All the spells are allowed! Including Shadow, Necromancy and other forsaken practices. Some can be considered OOC (like the summoning of ghouls or demons), and some can go "unseen" during the heat of the battle.
I'd ask for people to not be picky on this because some Classes can't PvP properly without certain spells that would obviously raise suspicion around the caster  (if not immediate arrest or execution).
All buffs, flasks and items are allowed (as long as it doesn't implies a bug exploitation of the sorts)

As I said before only the members of the listed guilds will be able to participate on this confronts!



Mercenary Balance:
In an attempt to balance the numbers, the Mercenary Guilds will be providing some men power to the fight. Use them only if there is one side outnumbering the other!
It's not expected for all the mercenaries from both sides to participate on the W PvP, and they should be aware of it.

All Mercenaries should be offered a contract to stay on the camp and help on minor jobs (escorting, patrolling, guarding) during the all campaign. Although, they can be called to take arms and step into the front line.

On a practical example, if the Horde has 28 players and the Alliance 26, we would ask for the Blades for Hire to get us two fighters (that would be ICly paid extra for this services).

In order to keep an uniformity, try to give priority to mercenaries that are part of the 8 races mainly represented on the Campaign.






I usually like to give a RTS feeling to the W PvP events and this won't be an exception.

Here is the Conquering Rule Set for the Barrens Campaign:





There are three different territories that can be conquered. Each territory has 2 Base camps, a Horde one, and an Alliance one.
1 -> Northwatch Hold / Rageroar Camp
2 -> Forward Command / Vendetta Point
3 -> Fort Triumph / Desolation Hold




The territories can have three different states: Horde Controlled, Alliance Controlled and Contested.

Horde Controlled: The Horde has just won a battle on that territory.
Alliance Controlled: The Alliance has just won a battle on that territory.
Contested: The Alliance has arrived with troops to that location but it isn't secured yet. Awaiting battle.


It will be turn based attacks, starting with the Alliance attacking.

When the campaign starts the territories 2 and 3 will be Horde Controlled while the territory 1 will be Contested.





In order to control a place, a faction must win a battle on the site. (Doesn't matter if attacking or defending)

The main Alliance goal is to conquer the three territories, creating a link of safe outposts that will make the supplying of materials, builders and troops to Bael Modan possible.



The most time the Alliance manages to hold the three camps secured, the biggest amount of materials, builders and soldiers can arrive to Bael Modan. (This is just IC though, so we can decide if the Alliance has succeeded as intended, or if the material's deliver was barely possible, or even if they failed terribly and couldn't make the chain of camps secure.

For the Alliance to move troops to the next territory, they first need to secure the camp where they are stationed. For example, if they want to move to Camp Command, they have to make Northwatch Hold as Alliance Controlled.



The territory becomes contested, and it's awaiting a battle:




Only by having Northwatch Hold and Forward Command secured, is that they can move to Fort Triumph and attempt to make the link!
If the link gets broken the Alliance needs attempt an attack to that territory in order to remake the chain.

Important Notes:
-The Horde will always be able to attack any territory they wish! So if the Alliance has Northwatch Hold and Camp Command under their territory and are preparing to attack Fort Triumph (When their turn arrives), the Horde are able to attempt to siege Northwatch Hold!
 By doing that the Alliance is always forced to come back and try to secure that place before they can move on!

-Northwatch Hold can't become Horde Controlled. The IC reason is that there are several boats stationed there with cannons, ready to blow up any Horde force that tries to enter through the narrow passages.
 The OOC reason is that if Northwatch Hold become Horde Controlled the Alliance as no-where to go and the event would pretty much end there.

-The battles will always be done outside the Settlements so the NPCs don't interfere (specially the epic Flight-Masters).




Special Perks

This special powers can be used in order to equilibrate things. If one side is loosing too many times in a row, they become active and the Leaders can use them.


Horde Perks

Wrath of Shrivallah
If the Horde loses 3 battles in a row, they are able to play as attackers during an extra turn.
To unlock this, the Darkspear Trolls must preform a ritual to Shrivallah and He shall grant you the strengh you need to keep on attacking!

Kro'Kon Assault
If the Horde loses 5 times in a row (after using the Wrath of Shrivallah) this power becomes available. The leader can pick his 5 best fighters and attack by surprise (it would be known OOCly) one of the Alliance territories.
As it was a surprise OOCly only 5 random players would be guarding each territory. The others would stay on the camp (resting IC or something) while the 5 random ones fought the Horde's best. If they are succeeded the territory becomes Contested!



Alliance Perks

Wrath of Aggramar
If the Alliance loses 3 battles in a row, they are able to play as attackers during an extra turn.
To unlock this, the Dwarves of Ironforge must pray to the Titan Aggramar. Should they prove faithfull enough a renew strengh will embrace all the soldiers of the Alliance!

SI:7 Assault
If the Alliance loses 5 times in a row (after using the Wrath of Aggramar) this power becomes available. The leader can pick his 5 best fighters and attack by surprise (it would be known OOCly) one of the Hordee territories.
As it was a surprise OOCly only 5 random players would be guarding each territory. The others would stay on the camp (resting IC or something) while the 5 random ones fought the Alliance's best. If they are succeeded the territory becomes Contested!





The plan is to make at least 7 W PvP events in which one or two turns can be made. (Preferably with some pauses between them).


aaaand that's pretty much it!
If you have any doubt regarding the event be sure to post here your question, or contact me in game. If you don't see me online you can ask any other Officer of TTH and they will surely be able to point you towards me!

If you think that 15 days is not enough for all this and all the guilds agree to stay on the Barrens for 3 or 4 days more, I'll be up to extend the Campaign!!
Hope you enjoy it



Girloy / Fugnir