Good rules to consider for Rebellions against Major Powers?

[Fatty]

So this might not be the place to put this, but I figured that there must be some sort of guideline to follow for a smaller power trying to route out a major power. That way we don't get ridiculously equal-powered entities duking it out invasion style when its supposed to be a David vs Goliath.

I'm looking for testers who want to engage in a Rebellion at some point in the future here: http://starwarsrp.net/topic/82847-rebellion-testers/.

As such, I'm wondering what are the biggest things to consider when you're a resistance group against superior enemies. What sort of strategies and tactics would need to be employed in order to make it realistic and fair in a Role playing environment?

 

[sabrina]

To be honest I expect the major power to crush the rebel faction, unless they get help.

 

[Fatty]

[member="sabrina"] That isn't always going to be the case though. Sometimes a region can revolt so much, it becomes too expensive to maintain a military presence there, thereby winning by sheer attrition.

I think it becomes pretty obvious the only really successful rebellions win, because they have outside assistance, whether that be monetary, arms deals, direct support, trade sanctions, or simply training the rebels. Whatever the case may be, outside help can greatly increase the chances of a rebellion's success.

Sometimes however, if a Major Power is unpopular enough in a region, over time a constantly revolting region with either decentralization, or particularly evasive military leaders, can drag out a war long enough that it becomes undesirable for the Major Power to keep sending troops into the region when they could focus their power elsewhere.

 

[ADM. Reshmar]

[member="Fatty"] This would not really work for factions like the OS where they would just throw overwhelming force at the rebellion not caring about the population. Rebelleons will only work against factions who would not glass the world instead of losing it.

Realisticlly A minor faction could maybe chew at a planet or 2 if the major faction just ignored them, but as soon as you try to hit something they want to keep they will swamp you with writers. I mean let's face it, if the minor faction had 8 writers it would be a major. Sure you maybe could muster help but without it a minor faction will be lucky to beat a major faction. It just comes down to number of writers.

I see a problem with a minor faction jumping to major over a rebellion. The minute they do someone invades them and they do not have the writer base to repel it and they lose.

also If I were a major faction defending against a rebellion I would blockade the world flat out from the get go. A minor faction can not take on a major faction in large scale combat. Fleeting would be suicide with one ship 1000 meters per writer and the rest 400 and under. Even at equal meterage you do not take on a Star Destroyer with 4 Frigates. They would fight valiantly but you're looking at a degree of firepower the 4 ships can not muster. On the ground a minor faction has a better chance. but even if you find a way to win on the ground space would be controlled by the major faction

 

[Fatty]

[member="Reshmar"] Particularly on your point of space battles, I wholeheartedly agree, it would be very difficult to contend with a Major Fleet with Minor Faction resources.

However, you under estimate the numbers a Minor Faction can bring. There are factions out there who gather a reasonable following that stay minor as a choice. So it isn't unlikely to see a Rebellion with at most twelve members, in fact I've organized a group with 12 supporters now. The extent of how they help once we start to rebel is another question.

You also have to consider that current in the Rebellion rules, it contests an entire hex, that's a lot of space to cover for a blockade. Would it not be unreasonable to believe that a rebel force with maybe a bit of help could somehow strike against a refueling station along some sort of route that goes through the hex as a means of damaging their blockade? Or other similar strategies? Basically, is space superiority an absolute necessity if you can find ways to totally sabotage them on the ground hypothetically?

 

[ADM. Reshmar]

[member="Fatty"] I was talking about minor factions in general. There are some out there that could do alot more. I could bring in a fleet that would be more than a match for any major faction with the Directorate. There are always exceptions sure. But in general it will be something that just is not possible.

 

[Gir Quee]

I generally agree with Fatty's points. When it comes down to minor faction versus major factions on the ground, I think it boils down to the number and quality of the writers involved as well as their long-term dedication. Some minor factions might be good at these things, but from my experience, I see that last one as being more of a hallmark trademark of a major faction.

You also have to consider that current in the Rebellion rules, it contests an entire hex, that's a lot of space to cover for a blockade. Would it not be unreasonable to believe that a rebel force with maybe a bit of help could somehow strike against a refueling station along some sort of route that goes through the hex as a means of damaging their blockade? Or other similar strategies? Basically, is space superiority an absolute necessity if you can find ways to totally sabotage them on the ground hypothetically?

Without getting too deep into detail, unless one is traveling solely at sublight speeds, movement can still be pretty easily limited by controlling hyperspace routes at their waypoints, at artificial checkpoints with interdictor starships, minefields, or by simply patrolling them.

That being said, I'm not certain that having space superiority is a sure way to ensure ground victory at Chaos (though in real life, I think it would be a deal breaker). Many planets are capable of supplying characters and their populations with the basic necessities to live and fight in a reasonably organized fashion.

So if the invasion or battles are mostly ground or duel-based, I think it's quite likely that a minor faction could stand a reasonable chance against a major faction. If that is the case, it goes back to the group dynamics of the writers involved. I tend to echo [member="Reshmar"]'s thoughts that this will work against some major factions, and not likely well against others (such as the One Sith example).

 

[Cyrus Tregessar]

I don't think it's at all outside the realm of possibility for anyone to have a rebellion, it just depends on how you frame things. Even major factions aren't going to have huge fleets everywhere, so you're perhaps only fighting a strike force at first. Then if you figure that a successful rebellion on the surface is going to quickly target planetary defenses (shields/turbolasers/missiles/etc) those will even the odds quite significantly.

Yeah you're not gonna win a pitched battle, but we don't even do those for invasions most of the time. There's plenty of room especially given how fast and loose Star Wars plays with anything even remotely resembling real warfare for a minor faction to give a major a a bloody nose and size a sector.

The bit about numbers is a good point as well. Remember that a faction staying minor doesn't necessarily mean they don't have vast resources for them, they're just choosing not to play the political game. Hell a Tier V corporation could conceivably contest a planet with a major faction (and have done so). Sure they'd lose a full on war of attrition but that's not what a rebellion is. That would come later, after they're a major faction and are now involved in politics and the taking and holding of land.