The ChargeReal Research team has been in the depths this month on the Zanvult Insurrection. However, as part of their work looking at Mercenaries in the world of the ChargeReal (the full post is available for the ChargeReal Researchers tier) they have managed to uncover some additional information on two of the mercenary groups that exist in the setting. Further details are available in the ChargeReal Research Report: Mercenaries

Task Force Volk, Libertalia

Recruited from former soldiers and SOF operators, Task Force Volk is an example of the mercenary groups that have thrived on Libertalia. Although not directly under the control of an Admiral of Libertalia, it is rumoured that one of the ruling council is a patron of the group, taking a percentage of their earnings in exchange for exempting them from some of the rules that the Libertalians impose on outsiders.

The reason for this is Constance Volk, a former prince of the Tsardom of Dazhbog and now resident of St Josephine, Libertalia. Volk gained a reputation for wild adventuring during his service in the Tsarist Army, rising to command a Spetsnaz detachment that was spotted in Albion during the Civil War. Once the Tsarist involvement in that war was ended, and affected by the events he experienced, Volk moved to Libertalia and started his new life, utilising similarly affected special operations personnel to offer their services to the highest bidder. Their role is not to replace standing armies, but instead to fill in the gap in special operations that smaller nations are not able to develop without great expense. Volk forces are incredibly well paid, attracting only the best of the best, as well as being highly motivated and unusually operating under a strong moral code.

In terms of equipment, Volk outfits his soldiers to be one of the best light infantry forces in the world, specialising in special operations tasks in small numbers but able to be deployed at a larger scale if required. They do however have the same limitation that all light infantry forces do, relying on partner forces for armoured vehicles and fire support.

The Samory, Libertalia

While Volk shows the most experienced and highly trained end of the forces that Liberatalia provides,The Samory is the opposite. Joseph Samory is one of the Captains of Liberatalia that are notorious for forcing captives into serving in his force, a practise long abandoned by most of the other “crews” that populate that island. His forces are responsible for a rash of piracy on the seas between Libertalia and the archipelagos of San Lorma where ships are captured by heavily armed troops in light vessels. The captured ships are ransomed back to the owners, the contents sold off on the black market and the unfortunate sailors are press-ganged into joining the ranks of the Samory. 

Most of the Samory are equipped with little more than a flak vest, an AK pattern rifle and (if they are lucky) a full set of combat-suitable clothing. However, those favoured by the boss (or those who survive more than a single battle) will receive more and more equipment as well as bonuses for confirmed kills, leading to squad leaders carrying the latest in small arms, armour and personal equipment. In fact, the unique combat situations the Samory find themselves in (as well as Joseph’s mercenary attitudes) means that the organisation has on occasion found themselves with prototype equipment. Long before the Kingdom of Alaeze revealed its bipedal automated weapons platforms to the world, arms control NGOs had published low-quality photographs and videos of Samory raids on shipping in the Gulf of Jefferson featuring several of the experimental platforms.

Samory’s pride and joy however is his armoured vehicles. Utilising the Sheridan light tank, the M113 APC and the Pandur wheeled APC, they allow the Samory to move rapidly across rough ground in a protected fashion while also delivering overwhelming firepower when required. Each vehicle is assigned to a specific crew, who upgrade and personalise each one to their specific taste. Footage of them in combat has shown vehicles covered in pin-up artwork, lurid insults and enough additional ammo boxes to endanger the vehicle’s inhabitants if they are hit.

If you enjoyed this post and want more information on The ChargeReal, the alternative setting I’m writing, follow along on the ChargeBlog Patreon. ChargeReal Researchers are getting exclusive first access to new pieces of writing about it and will, once the work on it is completed, receive a series of ChargeReal sourcebooks I’m working on. Researchers will also get to play a part with the world’s evolution, pitching in with possible future elements when invited to.

It’s been a little while since I last posted a proper update about the ChargeReal project on this site – hobby times has been distracted by the arrival of The Old World in my group of Regular Opponents and so evenings spent printing resin and painting green have been replaced with assembling plastic and rebasing modern GW figures into a method that somehow lets them rank up properly.

But that said, my brain is still focusing on building up the ChargeReal and in particular the Republic of Shyluz. Having announced the project earlier this year, I’ve been building up notebooks of concepts and ideas I want to include, pulling from both reality but also theoretical setups and geopolitical narratives that can help setup exciting and challenging situations to wargame through.

More importantly, work on ChargeReal has been continuing on the Patreon. While preparing the first ChargeReal sourcebook, Patrons are getting a first look into everything that will be included, giving a chance to help build something to help detail the world and get people involved. So far on the Patreon, these are the posts I’ve released:

• Plan for the Gaming Element of the Shyluz Sourcebook: As a counterpart to the original release post, this post covers the elements of the book that will focus on gaming, such as the Patrol Generator or the various platoons.
• ChargeReal Platoons: To cover a wide variety of forces, we first must decide how we’re going to detail them. This post details some of those facts.
• Shyluz Platoon Overview: This post covers the basics of the different Shyluz Platoons (Shyluz Airmobile Infantry, Shyluz Scout Cadre, Shyluz Armoured Infantry and Shyluz Militsiya), setting some of their flavour in preparation before they receive greater detail.
• ChargeReal Fiction – Outpost 441: The book is also going to have a set of short stories set in the ChargeReal. This one covers the Shyluz Airmobile Infantry on the southern border, dealing with watching against possible illegal crossing by non-government fighters.
• ChargeReal – Shyluz and Its Neighbours: For some greater detail on the situation of the Republic of Shyluz, this post looks outside of the Shyluz border at the three nations surrounding it – The Tsardom, The Bazi Empire and The Holy State By The Maker As A Promised Land To His Faithful (or Rettung). As well as the current situation, it also suggests how they may appear on your tabletop, be it in opposition or as allies to your Shyluz Forces. (at time of releasing this article, this item is still exclusive to paid Patrons)

As for what is coming up, I’m currently most of the way through writing the first platoon list for the Shyluz Airmobile that should be going up on the Patreon this week. This is going to be a version 1, both because I’m missing artwork but also because I want to have a little discussion with the Researchers. After that, as well as the other platoons, I’ll also be discussing another element – the mercenary forces that populate the world of the ChargeReal and specific groups that will appear in the Shyluz area. This is an element I’m especially excited about, mostly because it allows for some weird and wonderful additions to the factions involved.

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If you’re interested in coming along and getting a first glimpse of everything (as well as being included in the final product) then you can join the Patreon. ChargeReal Researchers will get exclusive looks as well as being involved in the planning stages, while News Fans for the next month or so will have some of the new details shown off to help show what I’ve been up to. However, everything I work on will eventually be available for free patrons to read so even signing up for free will keep you involved.

You might have heard the name Shyluz being thrown around a fair amount on the blog. If you aren’t aware, this is the fictional setting for the first ChargeReal book, a deep dive that will detail its geography, and political intrigue but more importantly how it can be used for wargaming.

However, before we can play in the Republic of Shyluz, Shyluz must first be created. And created from scratch – although Shyluz does share a border with Bazistan, simply dropping the pieces I have for Middle East/North Africa into it wouldn’t really be suitable, especially seeing as I picture Northern Shyluz being closer to a blend of rural Russia and the Caucuses in terms of its visuals and feel. This means I have a lot of work ahead of me.

First up, and most important for a wargamer, is building the actual troops that will be fighting there. I’m still working out the exact details of what a Republic of Shyluz platoon actually looks like (playing the latest ArmA 3 DLC has me thinking about commando mortars), but I have nailed down exactly the look and vibe I want for them. With Shyluz originally a part of the Tsardom to the north but now looking to form its own national character, The book captures Shyluz at a moment where, having won a civil war to separate from its Tsarist masters with the help of its industrial neighbour Rettung, is now transitioning from using older Tsarist weapons and equipment to different generations of the German-inspired equipment – both the battle rifles provided during the civil war and more modern assault rifles.

On the practical side, as I mentioned in the first article I’m building up Shyluz’s infantry around the Combat Octopus Bundesher. These were some of the original figures released by the Combat Octopus Patreon and as such are a little on the smaller side, especially when put next to other manufacturers. I ended up increasing the body, legs and weapon by 105%. However, due to using the heads from the very latest set of releases (the Russians in Chechnya) I left them at their original scale so they would fit. The Russian helmet and watch cap combination help to make them feel different from the original inspiration while also making them look slightly more rugged and old fashioned, perfect for a force still being upgraded to meet the modern day.

Long-time fans of the blog may remember I did some Shyluz figures way back in 2021. They were done purely using the German parts and still live in my display cabinet. They are really the genesis for the new project, with elements I came up with during their construction definitely going to be going into the final book as part of the lore.

One thing that isn’t staying the same though is the paint scheme. Shyluz has changed from a mostly desert country to one with a bit more green in it.

So far I’ve only done a single test model (the rest of the first section are in various shades of green) but this is what I’ve come up with. With a paint list featuring Straken Green, Waagh Flesh and Deathworld Forest, it’s definitely green. Some mostly horizontal streaks of Zandri Dust offset the main colour but it does little to defend against the extra green of the plastic G3 foreend and stock. I’m looking forward to seeing how the full squad looks, but I’m happy with the feel so far.

I’m also already planning a few mods. The releases from CO come with the G3, MG3, G36, MP7, MP5, MG4 and PZF-3 (enjoy that tasty alphabet soup). I’m currently using the G3 and MG3 but it would be good to expand out the options for small arms in the 7.62mm family. A G3 with some kind of optic would fill the gap that an SVD while a sustained fire option that is slightly more man-portable than the 1940s design of the MG3 would be a good variation. These will require a little 3d sculpting work, but would be a good addition to the force, as well as allowing me some more variation when detailing the platoons you’ll play with.

Speaking of platoons, the ChargeReal Researchers over on the Patreon will be getting a post over this long weekend that will give some more details as to the rough organisation. If you want to take a peek, now is a good moment to jump in.

To go with the ground troops, I’ve been experimenting with some vehicles – more specifically helicopters. With Shyluz being a land of mountainous valleys where the road network away from the urban areas varies from dirt track to not at all, helicopters are vital to allow the Shyluz military to respond to rebel groups and cross-border insurrection. Wanting to be able to run the Shyluz infantry as Airmobile troops, I’d ideally have several airframes in 1:50 scale (to match my vehicles) to drop on the board when the troops arrive. Plus, it would look pretty awesome in the battle report.

I have several releases from Bobmack3d that include helicopters, giving me some wonderful MI-24 Hind and MI-8 Hip models. These are designed for printing in resin (along with a pile of AFVs to go with them) but there is one problem. Putting the helicopter and all it’s parts into my slicer and working out the printing time left me with an estimate of 30 hours. That is a very long time to run a resin printer for and frankly, a print that long has far too many chances to screw up thanks to the 101 factors that can affect resin. It also locks out my 3d printer for other things, such as printing troops or terrain.

Well, seeing as my Neptune 4 seems to be working rather well, I decided it was time to do a little experiment. Taking the 28mm model from Bobmack3d, I scale it up to 112% and began investigating how to print it. Using the default supports on the single piece files for the body wasn’t really going to fly (they leave marks on the material that would be plain to see from underneath) so instead I cut the model up into several pieces – vertical cuts behind the engine intakes and at the back of the passenger compartment before a horizontal cut through the cockpit. This meant I’d be able to save as much detail as possible although it added a construction stage at the end that (because I hadn’t included locator lugs) added the possibility of .

I’m not 100% finished on this experiment but so far I think it’s a success. I have attempted to print some of the smaller parts (such as the wings or the turret) on the FDM but frankly due to a mixture of factors they just haven’t worked. I’m currently running an 8-hour print for the wings, armaments and countermeasures so we’ll see how that goes but assuming it works it sets out a possible pattern. It currently stands at 8 hours to FDM print the main hull (11 hours if I put all the files onto a single build plate) while the Resin printer seperately spends 8 hours to prepare the detailed parts. The final thing to do is work out how to do the rotors but that’s a problem for another time.

Then of course we get to look at the other helicopter in the Shyluz arsenal – going to need some troop carriers to lug these platoons around.

Finally, we need to start building the maps to fight through. I’ve already printed and painted up the farmhouse and barn used in the last Shyluz game but two buildings are not enough for a village. I’ve dived back into the Patrick Miniatures Soviet village and pulled out the larger Dacha structures. Although these lack interiors, they should be fit for the purpose of building up the villages of Northern Shyluz. I will however do some tweaks – some will be within the slicer, flipping building parts to tweak some of the designs. After that, I’ll start adding modern elements such as TV dishes or solar panels, as well as some larger tweaks to the actual models.

The next step is to add some of the smaller details to the terrain collection. The first parts will be roads and fences, linear obstacles that will be key to setting up areas to look like more than just a collection of buildings. There will also be some more feature buildings for setting up the towns and villages – I’ve already grabbed a church from the Polish village set, and I’m already eyeing some shops and services that would be useful points of interest.

Overall, I think I’ve made a good start on setting up this brand-new setting. The fact I’ve been able to get some games in already is a good sign, and I’m still excited about the possibilities of building up this terrain and forces. It’s also doing the job I wanted it to – pushing me to learn new skills and try new things which is always a plus.

Stand by for a future update on Shyluz, unless you’re a Patron at the ChargeReal Researchers tier in which case we’ll be taking a look at the platoons in a post coming soon!

In 2021, I started developing a fictional world to set my wargames in. After writing up a starter post, detailing some of the Bazi nations and then actually getting a few games in, I took a little break to work on Gunslinger and its real-world but future setting.

Well, now I’m back, planning to develop my setting further and (more importantly for you, the reader) actually get the information out there. I’ve always been a keen reader of Osprey’s series of books, with copies filling my shelf and PDFs my Google Drive – what could be a better goal for how to get the information about my wargaming setting across?

The question I asked myself was where to begin? I’ve already started talking about Bazistan but that’s a major power, so pulling on that particular thread tugs the whole damn map, requiring reference to other areas of the world that have not yet been explained and a larger amount of maps and other documentation. Ideally, it would be somewhere smaller, still playing a vital part in the world but providing a slightly more gentle introduction to the setting. Perhaps more importantly, it would need to be a nation that I have some rough ideas for figures to use for it. At which point I went all the way back to the very first ChargeReal game I ran…

“It is said in ancient times that the people of Shyluz built fortresses among the mountain tops of their land so that they could challenge both the forces of humankind and those of the Gods. In the present day, after centuries of rule by outside forces to both the north and south, The Republic of Shyluz now finds itself proudly independent, supported by a partner nation Rettung that more than happy to supply it’s neighbour with increasingly modern equipment alongisde other support.

However, the Time of Strife may be over but all is not peaceful for this republic in the mountains. The Great Road of Friendship built by Tsar Nikolev and Emperor Al-Bazi to connect the Imperial Tsarist lands and Bazistani Empire still carves it’s way through Shyluz lands from North to South, providing a key transport route between the two nations that both seek to control. The wild mountainous lands outside of the populated core are still home to various factions that arose during the civil war against the Tsarists, using their remote location to fight against both the Republican government and assist those seeking to strike the empires to the North and South. Finally, the Great Game of spies and mercenary groups continues on, bringing other stranger forces to nations close to the Greater Powers of the world.

It is into this situation that the Republic of Shyluz Armed Forces (RSAF) find itself. Emerging from being an element of the Tsarist forces, they are mid-transition from the old ways to the new doctrine and equipment that Rettung can provide. However, the RSAF finds itself more than willing to protect their country, with Airmobile Infantry and Scout Cadres hard at work among the ancient ruins that pierced the sky.”

As you can see, we’ll be taking a look at the Republic Of Shyluz, a nation freed of its imperial master in the past but now sitting between two great powers that seek to control and influence it. A land of mountains scraping the sky and riches below the surface, while its forests and isolated valleys allow for the existence of forces outside of government control, each with their own agendas and plans.

For players, it can play host to all sorts of missions, from covert encounters between small special forces groups and small-scale counter-insurgency operations to large-scale force-on-force engagement, within a landscape ranging from mountainous valleys and forests to the largely urbanised sections around the capital and major roadways. It’s a great starting point, providing plenty of hooks to begin playing all within a reasonable-sized setting.

The roughly planned project features for this project are:

• Basic information on Shyluz’s history and society
• An overview of Shyluz’s current defence situation and challenges
• Basic Structure of the Republic of Shyluz Armed Forces (RSAF)
• Focus on the platoons of the RSAF Airmobile Infantry, RSAF Scout Cadres, RSAF Mechanised Forces and RSAF Internal Security Forces
• Details of the various Libertalian (we’ll talk about them in the future) and Covert forces involved in Shyluz
• An updated version of the Al-Baawaba Patrol Generator, updated for the Shyluz situation and designed around the type of fighting that is ongoing in the “present day” of the ChargeReal

The end goal of the project will be wrapping it up into a PDF that will be freely downloadable once all elements are completed, with printing options to be investigated depending on demand. However, patrons (especially those at the recently rebranded “ChargeReal Researchers Tier” will receive the first look at all pieces that are going to be produced as well as an element of input into some specific details. Finally, Patrons will also have their names included in the PDF, thanking them for their assistance.

This will not be a quick project, with lots of elements to bring to it before it’s done. I’m already a chunk of the way through the basic planning and sketching out the elements, but I’m excited to get to work on the next stages, especially as it involves assembling some new models and getting some games in. If you’re interested in helping out and seeing development details early, then the ChargeBlog Patreon is going to be the home for all the latest updates as well as an element of discussion. In fact, they have already got some extra details on what gameplay stuff will be included in the book, as well as some additional thoughts.

I’m beginning on my end by preparing the infantry troops, as this is the focus for most of the games I play and will be shared between both the Airmobile Infantry and the Mechanised Infantry formations. These are done by taking the Combat Octopus Bundeswher, using the G3 and MG3 arms and then adding the heads from the Russians in Chechnya kits that came out recently. I’ll do a more detailed post on these guys soon, as well as some painting details. And then I can get onto all the helicopters I’ll be needing…

I’m really excited to get started on the project – the ChargeReal has been living in my brain for far too long, and there are too many exciting opportunities to bring a new slant to Ultramodern gaming. It’s also going to be a good excuse to get more stuff built, painted and played with, as well as give you the reader something exciting to follow along with. It’s going to be a fun adventure!

As I mentioned in my last post about Warcry, many of my regular opponents (specifically the Dastardly and the Corporate) play games with me in situations where something easy to setup and hit the table is handy. Starting late at night or trying to get into a lunch break game during a work day requires a certain speed of play but also an ease in picking forces and running, as well as carefully looking at the mental load of a game – something with too much paperwork or tokens can actually be a little much if you want the drive home or afternoon of work to go well.

There is a wide variety of games for Ultramodern wargames, ranging from the incredibly crunchy and detailed for the simulation fans down to sets designed for competitive head-to-head play, where you use the tools of the Ultramodern genre to utterly defeat your opponent. Which is great! I adore BPRE 28mm and it’s been a fantastic challenge to play, pitting the minds of the Regular Opponents as well as teaching a lot of good habits when it comes to playing. But sometimes you want a game that is less focused on the competitive side and a bit more laid back, a chance for you and your friend to get cool figures on the table, play through what is basically a movie action scene and leave me filled with ideas for the next scenario. I adore the narrative that games can provide, actually above the core fact of who actually won the game.

Enter, What An Operator! John Savage the writer of What a Cowboy ran a rather cool cartel game the system with a few tweaks and I was able to have a little chat about some of them early in the project (unfortunately it was 2021 so I didn’t manage to get figures on the tabletop. I get on well with the Lardy style of rules writing, while What a Tanker and What a Cowboy definitely hits a good balance between rolling dice because it’s fun, while still being something that takes barely any time to get on the table and less time to explain the fundamentals. With a few tweaks to cover automatic weapons from this year’s Lardie Annual (and a few more from myself to account for using teams of trained soldiers rather than mere cowpokes and outlaws), figures hit the board with rapid speed.

I managed to get a test game in with the Corporate Opponent during the week, going from 0 knowledge to a complete game in roughly an hour; a good start, even if we couldn’t take any photos due to playing inside the company office. However, we skipped a few systems that I actually realised are kind of vital so we’ll be doing another game soon. But the things I learnt helped me to set up a game to run during my monthly trip to see the Dastardly Regular Opponent – the perfect setup for a battle report taking place in the ChargeReal.

Operators from the Cyrenician 201st Logical Support Group have been deployed to Shyluz Highlands to locate and secure a missing convoy belonging to a non-government group. Following the tyre tracks of the protected vehicles into dense woodland close to the Bazi border, the team soon find themselves in close proximity to contractors from the Commando Global Solutions PMC who are also in the area investigating the vehicles for the employer. With both teams attempting to secure the objective and prevent the other from reporting back, it would be a bloody contact

To focus on the game, and play something that I’d need to be able to fit on any table we can find in the office, we played a VERY small game, folding down the mat to something tiny. In the middle

I would play the forces of Cyrenice, elite operators operating in a foreign country to secure a national interest, while the Dastardly Regular Oponent took control of the contractors belonging to Commando Global Solutions, a group that has appeared on here in the past (usually getting into trouble).

The two forces were mechanically mirrors of each other – a single Gunslinger-level figure to represent the “hero” of each side and two pairs (one armed with only assault rifles, the other one with a machine gun on one of the operators). These pairs were basically tweaked versions of the Henchmen groups in the core game, reducing the figure count on each base to the more tactical two but adding some more control, over them elevating them from mere background troops to a tactical piece. In regular games, more elite forces will be more of the regular characters, able to act much more on their initiative and take full advantage of their equipment. Assault rifles were set to allow some automatic fire (although not enough to mean troopers would be jamming any time soon) while the LMGs got rules to incentivise finding a firing lane and spending the time to set up and cover it. Although Henchmen can only spend a single dice per character shooting each activation, a single dice for a LMG can still bring the pain if they go fully automatic.

We began in opposite corners, with a convoy of Bushmaster armoured vehicles between us to represent the goal of our investigations. In a bigger game, we’d use these vehicles as task objectives but for this? They were merely chunks of metal to sit between our figures and stop them getting wiped out.

Commando Global Solutions got the first move, advancing their MG team into an area of woodland and setting up, taking cover among the pine needles and watching the gap between the two vehicles.

Rather than setting up my own machine gun to turn the gap in the centre into a two way firing range, I instead set up the Cyrenician operators covering the rear of the second Bushmaster, hoping to prevent any move to outflank me.

As a side note, I’m going to invest in some small mat pieces to make woodland area terrain easier to see without having to have the trees touching each other.

I also advanced my own troops up to the front of the armoured vehicle, aiming to push the flanks and stay away from the large open area, at least for now. However, there was going to be a need to push the enemy and rather than charge a dug-in machine gun, I instead sprinted across the gap.

At which point the Bonanza tokens kicked in, the resource by which characters can pull off moves that change the games usual flow such as interrupts – the machine gun team spotting two operators crossing in their firing line obscured by only light cover, bringing the weapon to bear before hammering away. Luckily my two operators were able to rush to the safety of the vehicle infront, taking only temporary shock which could be cleared later.

However, it was just enough shock to prevent them from using their own Bonanza tokens against the advancing CGS team that lurked behind the vehicle. Bonanza interrupts only lets you use a fraction of your action dice, meaning its quite possible to be left with only a single action dice. I decided to hold my fire and prepare for future engagements.

Which allowed the CGS leader to prepare to do some Holywood Stuff. If you have a wild dice (a six) among your Action Dice that you roll at the start of each turn, you can combine it with other actions to perform the type of heroics you can see on the silver screen. In this case, combining it with a Move dice to allow a Rapid Transition to Dynamic Prone, letting him come around the corner without being engaged.

And this is where playing with a friend who is in this game for the visuals as much as you are really comes into play. For a moment he and I were sat there at the table, trying to work out how this manevoure would look on the silver screen.

It’s just a shame the dice rolls didn’t go quite as well as he hoped. As the leader sailed through the air and landed prone, the shots he hammered at the advancing operators did little more than suppress them. But, suppressing these guys forced them to use a Bonanza token next turn to attempt to return dice to their hand, pinning them in place for now.

It was at this point that we started breaking out the frag grenades to clear the opposition, the battle escalating. Using the dynamite rules, the Cyrenician troops were the first to deploy them, landing one behind the bushmaster. However, the CGS guys were lucky, with only one trooper being removed and the others just dealing with ringing ears and shock.

The Cyrenician MG team however was less lucky, as a scattering grenade thrown by the CGS leader that was intended for the rifle team bounced next to their position and delivered a catastrophic set of three Critical hits. With each critical hit removing two Action dice permanently and each element having only six to begin with, it’s safe these guys got shredded.

With time running out and having lost a portion of his team, the Cyrenician team leader went forward to brawl, pushing forward to close with the opponents, ignoring an attempt to engage him before he could close. Much as with many other TFL games, brawlin is pretty nasty, with the shoot dice being converted to close range attacked that wounded the opponent and forced him back.

However, even with the Cyrenician rifle team moving forward to surround the CGS operators, they were put into an unfortunate situation. The CGS MG team, having bounced forward from it’s key position got an outflank and setup to cover them. At the risk of being overwhelmed, and with the CGS team demanding a surrender, the Cyrenician SF raised their hands and surrendered, not quite willing to risk everything for this particular mission. With two men out of action on each side, this was a bloody encounter that ended due to poor positioning and sheer weight of firepower.

Overall, that was an excellent game for something that was put on the table in 5 minutes, rules explained in another 10 (plus some in-game flicking back and forth to check the specifics) and then a blast was had for the rest of the evening. It felt very much that the rules provided the possibility space for both of us to play in and then stood back for us to choose what made sense tactically and dramatically, only sticking its hand back in where absolutely needed. We’re going to use the events of this game to decide what’s going to happen next – will the Cyrenician attempt a rescue mission or will it be a tense exchange between the interested parties?

The other bonus for us liking this game is that it provides a mechanical core that, with a few tweaks, can easily be played for a whole host of genres while keeping that narrative feel that both myself and opponents enjoy. Knowing a core set of rules means we can actually get to playing the game much faster than jumping between different ways to roll their dice, letting us focus on the worlds of Cowboys, Operators, Commandos or more. Dedicated systems designed from the ground up for a particular era may provide a more “realistic” game, one where each aspect plays into simulating, but having something everyone knows and can get into (along with a smattering of changes to theme it) with easily means we’re going to be playing a lot more games this year. In fact, we’re already planning a campaign using What An Operator for a project that my patrons have been informed about, something that I’ll be detailing more tomorrow.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, my ultramodern warfare projects are set in ChargeReal, an alternative universe set in approximately the modern day but with a few modifications and tweaks to allow the setup of whatever situation or series of events I want to play, without causing any potential problems with players or commentators. Building a whole world up is a monumental task but it is definitely something I’m enjoying.

As I am an incredibly practical/lazy man, my world-building is not particularly visual. I know many people sit down with a piece of paper, draw a map and then start filling it in. In contrast, I start by thinking about which interesting geopolitical situation I want to make, work out what nations it needs to border and then create a spider map to show the connections and work out a rough location. For example, this is what the current region I’m focusing on looks like.

Jeez, you can tell I’m a programmer, can’t you?

To help read it, each of the boxes is a governing entity, a nation controlling its territory. The bi-directional arrows show countries that border each other with accessible transport routes between them, while the solid lines are closed or inaccessible borders (such as mountain ranges, impenetrable desert, undeveloped forests or belts of landmines, unexploded ordnance and manned defences (Editor’s Note: looking at you Tsarist/Albion border).

With that horror out of the way, let’s take a look at the key nations that will appear in my upcoming campaign. Because there is a lot to write, I’m going to start with the nations on the Bazistan continent.

As a side note, the photographs in this article are pulled from Wikimedia Commons. As the ChargeReal is a fictional location and my art budget doesn’t quite stretch… anywhere, I’ve instead broken up my wall of text with some of the inspiration images I’ve gathered for my ideas.

The Empire of Bazistan

Everywhere you go in Bazistan you can feel the history… and probably the buckets of blood that’s stained every inch of that Empire.

Robert “Scout” Kasarda – Arcadian External Security Agency (AESA)

For a name that has survived from its creation in a whole other project, you might be surprised to find that the empire that calls the Bazistan region its home is going to be a pretty major focal point of my games going forward. A lot of the forces I’ve collected have been based around this nation and my terrain collection is much more themed for MENA (Middle East/North African) settings over things like the South Pacific or the winter steppes.

Bazistan is a peninsula on a larger continent. Due to it being a large area, there is a wide mix of climates and biomes, taking inspiration from everywhere from the Mediterranean coast to the Afghanistan/Iran mix of deserts, mountains and plains.

When thinking about Bazistan, it’s very easy for the Hollywood orange sandy filter to drop and bring with it a set of notions about the people living there. However, in the ChargeReal setting, the Bazi Empire is actually one of the longest-running Empire in existence, rivalled only by the Kingdom of Alaeze (Editor’s Note: an advanced African-inspired nation that I’m still working on) for its age. It’s seen every advancement to bring it into modern times, lasting through internal strife and external assault. Throughout its rise and decline, the Bazi Empire has always existed in some form, growing and shrinking as its internal elements rise and fall.

At an Imperial level, we have several organisations that are responsible for the overall state of the Empire. Funded by taxes and tithes to the smaller parts of the Empire, these organisations are responsible for efforts that keep the Empire united and working for the benefit of the Emperor (the ruler of the Kingdom of Bazistan). As well as economic coordination and military cooperation commands, perhaps the most likely members of this we’re about to encounter are members of the Bazistan Intelligence Services, such as the Bazi Counter-Espionage Agency (and the pile of leather jacket/cheap cigarette smoking models I keep assembling).

Rather than leaving the Empire as a single entity, I came up with three major nations with the Empire itself to help increase the variety and potential flashpoints for gaming. These three are the main ones that will be referenced over and over again, and whose actions are the main focus points of the large-scale histories I may write about this setting.

The Kingdom of Bazistan

Ah, the home of the throne. The land of a thousand princes and princesses and 75% of them are lunatics. The current King knows how to keep them on a leash, but it’s going to be a cluster when he passes away.

Bazi City is a shining jewel though – visit when the Princes aren’t squabling and it’s the safest city on the planet.

Robert Kasarda – Arcadian External Security Agency (AESA)

The Kingdom is the heartland of the Bazi Empire. It’s the seat of the ruling family, containing the home of the Bazi Family that brought the Empire together and so is thick with historical sites. It is also the breadbasket of the region, a place where rivers from the northern mountains flow into fertile floodplains and deltas, now being used for energy and agriculture. Relatively sheltered from outside neighbours and with a bounty of resources, The Kingdom has been able to expand and evolve, establishing a reasonably advanced economy and technology base, if held back slightly by its governmental system.

The Kingdom’s government is a semi-Feudal System, with a central king ruling from the capital and gifting provinces to his nobles in exchange for paying tithes to the central Kingdom and the Empire as a whole. Most of the nobles (who also act as advisors to the King) are members of the extended Bazi family, with lineages stretching back to antiquity, often still controlling the same area of land as their ancestors did. There is some form of limited social mobility in the noble class, however, all moves are controlled by the King and his court. The noble class is an everchanging sea of alliances and factions, all hoping to gain more of the King’s attention.

What this means on a day to day is that the Kingdom can feel a little more like a confederation of aligned states rather than a cohesive whole. Different Princes/Princesses provide different levels of support to their citizens, ruling as autocrats with strict controls while others are more liberal in their approaches. The Kingdom has always focused on a basic level of civil rights (free movement internally for example) which does help to get rid of some of the more monstrous nobles from using their population for ill purposes. But, it is only a basic level – as long as loyalty is maintained and the tithes come in, the various princedoms do what they will economically and socially.

Militarily, the Kingdom is a modern player on the main stage. Their troops are well equipped and well-armed as well as being trained in using their equipment. Rather than being a fully professional force, every adult male serves three years of conscript service before being forced into the reserves. As well as Naval, Air and Land branches, the local princes also raise their own paramilitary units. These vary wildly – from hand-picked personal security details to local “protection” units (armed and equipped militias) up to private military contractors that perform tasks inside and outside of the Kingdom (often as a handy earner for their controlling noble). For example, The International Janissaries mentioned in previous battle reports make sense as something that evolved in this arrangement – a Prince’s pet project of a well-trained military force at his beck and call until a fall from grace moved them to now operating out of Alhuryia as a true Private Military Company.

These paramilitary groups, combined with the feudal nature of the Kingdom’s internal structure, are some of the few places that show how the stability of the Kingdom might one day start to fall apart. When two nobles get into a disagreement, tit-for-tat gun battles and raids will begin to occur, leading to the risk of greater escalation until the King intercedes to halt the potential violence. We’re not talking full-scale wars, more like raids between smaller groups in bordering areas or targeted assassinations and destruction. However, in the event of the King’s death, it’s possible that the various princes will escalate their scuffles into something more, made worse by the attachment of Princes to military units.

There are only two parts of the Empire immune to this particular powder keg – The Emirate and Alhuriya.

World Building Note: My idea behind The Kingdom is to assemble a mostly stable nation that might explain why this empire has existed so long. However, bringing in some of the touches from Medieval feudalism allow for some smaller actions between squabbling princes, the kind of missions that would play perfectly in a game like Sangin or Spectre.

The Emirate of Bazistan

Not the friendliest place from someone from a three or four character agency. They have an old castle in Al-Hurish they like to put spies in and let them rot away or drop them in the Western Desert and tell them what direction the closest border is.

That said, hard land breeds a hard people. Just ask the Cyrecian boys still trying to capture the Nadr river basin. Or the Albion boys who tried it before then over the years. Or the Tsarist bodies they keep pulling out of the snow from the bad old days in the mountains on the northern border.

Robert Kasarda – Arcadian External Security Agency (AESA)

If the Kingdom is the dominant nation in the Empire, then the Emirate is very close behind. In my head, the Emirate was formed long ago by a Bazi Emperor splitting the Empire between his sons – To his firstborn, he became the ruler of the Kingdom; the land of the Emirate was instead given to the more serious son, the one that could be trusted to make the tough calls.

The reason for this is that even in ancient times, the Emirate is the shield around the Kingdom. On its Northern and Western borders lay natural defences – towering mountain ranges, wide flowing rivers, thick marshes and harsh deserts. As the lands beyond them were claimed by other Empires (Albion and its successor states to the West, the Tsardom to the North), the Emirate became the borderlands. Regions either side of the border (such as Al-Bawaaba) would be traded back and forth in wars and crusades (each one threatening instability within the Emirate) and this military fighting has extended even into the modern era. In fact, one reason behind the Albion Civil War, a major event in the setting that I’ll cover in the future, comes down to a long, bloody and ultimately unsuccessful war that was attempting to capture land inside the Emirate.

While the Kingdom is a collection of nobles serving the King, the Emir rules as the sole head of the country. Every government establishment is directly linked to serving and protecting him, with oaths of office including promises of fealty with a punishment of death if that promise is broken. This puts a dangerous level of power in the hands of the Emir but is seen as required due to the Emirate’s precarious situation. A shield needs an iron grip on the handle.

This iron grip is not without its weaknesses. Having such a demanding control over the population has led to a general feeling of discontent in the population, especially with the news of the semi-democratic process over in Alhuriya and the modern values of Al-Bawaaba, and there is a wish among part of the population to have greater involvement in their governance. Rebellion and revolts have been common throughout the history of the Emirate, as well as brutal crackdowns to restore the status quo.

In modern times, this is made worse by the fact that the Emirate became INCREDIBLY rich when oil was discovered in the border regions in the early 20th century. Sadly that era has now passed – production is dropping, while exploration has revealed that the rest of the oil resources are much much deeper than the initial finds, requiring greater investment by the state oil company EMIRCO. This is another line item to the list of investments the government needs to pay for, and the Kingdom seems increasingly less interested in subsiding its poorer brother. There is some promise in the discovery of other minerals and mining in the border regions, but more investment is required in them and the Emir is cautious about inviting foreign mining interests to speed up the process.

These economic issues mean that militarily, the Emirate is slightly behind the times compared to the Kingdom. It can’t afford the latest gear, or to keep large numbers of highly trained troops on standby permanently. Instead, it relies on a mass of quick-mobilisation reservists to reinforce a core of highly trained troops and a network of smaller internal security forces that can (in times of war) perform some military actions. A lot of the vehicles are of an older generation compared to the Kingdom’s stockpile but they have been upgraded with new sensors, upgraded weapons and defensive packages developed with Alhuriyan defence companies – the constant skirmishing on the Emirate’s border (as well as the counter-insurgency actions within the country) provide a good testing ground for newly developed components.

One final item to mention is what sits between Al-Bawaaba and the Emirate – the Tribal Region. This area is a mixture of mountain ranges bordered by desert, populated by tribes that move freely across the border. Traditionally, these tribes were loyal to the Emir, their featly sworn in blood after the battles against the ancient empires that became Albion. In fact, this loyalty once saw them being used as the Emir’s bodyguards and internal security, cracking down on rebels and revolutionaries. Slowly however, this has begun to change. With the discovery of rare earth minerals under their hills, as well as cross-border oil deposits in the deep desert, some of the more ambitious members of the tribes have begun to realise how they might be able to dictate their future, rather than bending the knee to the Emir. Al-Bawaaba, already seeking more independence from the Albion Commonwealth, has seen the tribes as a potential way of expanding their resource base. They have started by inviting tribal leaders into a “Council for Cross-Border Affairs” and beginning to offer medical and educational assistance to the remote groups, with the hope of eventually allowing some economic organisations access to the resources of the area. The Emirate hasn’t yet overtly interfered with this process, but several suspicious sabotages and deaths may be linked to the Emir’s internal security forces.

World Building Note: As you can tell, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the Emirate – it draws a lot from the ideas of Bazistan back in its original idea. It’s also being set up as a nation in a precarious position, leading to the possibility of a larger-scale war between it and its neighbours, as well as risks for internal conflict – training up reserves while ruling with an iron grip is not always a good idea.

So, those are the two major nations in the Bazistan region – the Kingdom and the Emirate. However, these aren’t the only locations I’ve come up with that play a major part in the area. Next time I’ll cover the others, as well as providing a few more hints as to what’s going on in the surrounding regions.

I appreciate this isn’t exactly wargaming related, but I’m having a lot of fun setting up the nations for what’s about to happen next. Hopefully you’ll stick around for the next part, as well as further articles covering more of the ChargeReal.