Dudu's Big Thread of Unfinished Lore for Various Narrative Projects

[Dudu Fadende]

Since I'm constantly dicking around making things that don't really fit in anywhere or am always coming up with concepts for stories and settings, I figured I'd just go ahead and make myself a thread where I can put up all this stuff to share with the world. Who knows, maybe some interested soul might want to help out with any of the mountains of projects I start and never finish because my mind works at 1000 mph.
So let's get started then.

• Scenario 1: Fictional Massive Middle Eastern War

Some time in the near future a number of countries including Iraq, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Yemen, Egypt and Libya form an alliance to kick out all foreign invaders and secure sovereignty for the region (though in reality the project is bankrolled by the Iranians primarily so they can take out their long-time rivals the Saudis and control the middle east for themselves). For some time there's rumblings of the Arab countries coming together to form some sort of anti-western coalition but no one takes them seriously until suddenly embassies begin closing around the world and all contact with these countries ceases. A massive mobilization campaign is undertaken as all these countries begin to pool their resources together, though before anything can be done the declaration of the Alliance to Restore Autonomy of the Levant sparks massive anti-foreign riots which cause all but the most important NATO Coalition installations to be evacuated. The Alliance military uses the riots as cover to begin their attack and easily overwhelm most of the bases still left garrisoned. Coalition forces pull back across the borders to their only allies left in the region: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Turkey. Attacks on Russian installations have also provoked retaliation, though they have been operating independently of Coalition forces in Afghanistan and the surrounding nations such as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and are considered a potential rogue element. Coalition forces have managed to maintain control of Afghanistan due to the mountainous terrain of the country making it near-impossible to mount a conventional invasion, which in turn has led to the Alliance bankrolling a number of warlords in the country in order to destabilize Coalition and Russian forces. A number of majority-muslim countries outside of the middle east such have expressed sympathies with the Alliance, though for completely misguided reasons of faith, as the Alliance is a secular organization. Though these countries are sympathetic to their cause, they are not direct participants in the conflict and provide no material or monetary aid to the Alliance. This being said however, radical Islamic attacks have increased exponentially in Central Asia and Africa thanks to money being funneled from Alliance-backed terrorist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan to groups in Asia and Africa. Great care must be taken as to the handling of these nations in the future, as they could easily be swayed into directly contributing to the Alliance war effort. Despite Pakistan being considered a US ally, their allegiance is called into question due to their history of turning a blind eye to many terrorist groups in the past, and many off-the-books black ops have been conducted by Coalition and Russian troops in the country to gather any information as to whether Pakistan is supporting the Alliance.
With the future of the region looking more uncertain than any other time in history, the world watches and waits with bated breath...

• Factions

Made up of locals hailing from the Arab countries of the middle east, the majority of militia fighters are ill-equipped and poorly-trained, though they make up for this with large numbers and an indomitable fighting spirit. Most militia groups have no affiliation with each other and have varying and often contrary aims and goals that range from trying to simply ensure peace and stability in their region to drug smuggling and outright terrorism. Some militia groups have thrown in with outside forces such as the NATO Coalition and Russian Ground Forces deployed in their countries to eliminate seedy rogue elements while others consider all foreign militaries to be invaders whether their goals are altruistic or not. It can be hard to pin where the allegiance of most groups lie, though one thing is for certain; militia presence in the countryside has been growing significantly for some time. Many strategic rural areas have fallen under their control, and some forays into urban areas have been made by various militia cells. They are a wild card that could potentially prove decisive in deciding the fate of the region should they ever develop a greater level of cohesion among cells.

 

[Dudu Fadende]

Drawn from the best of Russia's armed forces, the term spetsnaz encompasses a variety of units in different branches rather than any one particular group of operators. From the lightning-fast urban raids conducted by FSB Alpha Group to the counter-insurgency airborne operations conducted by the 45th Guards Spetsnaz Brigade of the VDV. Spetsnaz troops have been deployed by the Russian government to various areas in the middle east such as Afghanistan and Syria to conduct harassment and sabotage raids on Alliance positions. While the Russian government has not taken an outwardly hostile stance toward Coalition forces, they also have not allied themselves with them, the standing orders for all spetsnaz forces operating in the region being to complete their mission at all costs no matter the opposition or obstacle. For the time being there have been no instances of Coalition troops engaging Russian spetsnaz, but the possibility of an incident is always there. Though their overall goals may be the same as the Coalition's, there's no telling how Moscow may be willing to go about achieving them.

 

[afellguy]

make a server out of this.

big fan of army and war conflicts.
never roleplayed in a similar environment.

i would play it 10/10.

 

[Dudu Fadende]

The land warfare component of the Russian military, the RGF is a well-equipped, highly-modernized and professional fighting force that is capable of undertaking operations in any theater. So far the RGF has not taken part in any direct engagements against Alliance forces, as they have been busy minding the Caucasus and Caspian Sea regions in case any sympathetic states should join the conflict. In addition to minding the fence, the RGF has been undertaking anti-terror operations within their own borders in the provinces of Dagestan and Chechnya to eliminate Alliance-funded Islamic militants. With extremist attacks on the rise in the Caucasus provinces, the RGF has shifted its focus from a combined-arms doctrine like most conventional forces to a counter-insurgency strategy to weed out fighters. As more evidence of third-party bankrolling is uncovered, it is only a matter of time before the RGF is properly committed to the fight against the Alliance.

Consisting of mainly Muslim radicals, Alliance funding has given rise to many religious extremist and separatist cells in the Russian provinces of Dagestan and Chechnya, areas which have historically had tensions with Russia for decades due to their high populations of Sunni Muslims. These resurgent groups are far more well-equipped, trained and coordinated than those of the past, and have proved to be a serious nuisance for the RGF and Spetsnaz. Many members of these groups are veterans that have passed their wisdom and training on to other less-experienced members, and with a variety of contacts in the various black market trades these militants are capable of getting their hands on just about any piece of high-end kit available today. A number of minor offensives against RGF positions in the Caucasus suggest that these militants are in fact capable of going toe to toe with conventional forces on a small scale and are not to be taken lightly as a fighting force. Unconfirmed reports have also been coming back from US troops in Afghanistan that Chechen mercenaries have been sighted among enemy combatants in the Panjshir Mountains, possibly acting as advisors for local militants.

The oldest branch of the United States armed forces, the US Army is responsible for the capture and holding of territory over a prolonged conflict, and the destruction of the enemy in close combat. Focusing primarily on an armor-centric combined arms doctrine, the US Army is capable of going toe-to-toe with any conventional force in the world. With the sudden aggressive seizure of territory by the Alliance, US troops have been forced to pull back into friendly territory to fortify the borders and await reinforcements. Those forces on the ground at the moment are stretched thin across a wide front and under constant attack every day. As they tenaciously hold the line, a NATO task force is being assembled to relieve the besieged soldiers still stuck in the region. With a sizeable armor contingent being supplied by the US, success in any future campaigns will be wholly dependent on whether the forces in-country can maintain a beachhead until the cavalry arrives.

The armed forces of the nation of Israel, consisting of native draftees and volunteers of Hebrew descent from around the world, they are some of the few allies in the region that the Coalition has left. Fighting in the Golan Heights has devolved into WW1 style trench warfare; the narrow passes in the hills restrict armor movement to well-defined killzones, and the terrain makes any infantry pushes slow and arduous with high casualties for the attackers. The Sinai desert to the southwest has turned into a graveyard for Israeli and Egyptian armor, with the wide open environments making any armor that attempts to push across the desert a fat target for Coalition air and guided anti-tank missiles on both sides. In addition to the gridlock on both the north and south fronts, the IDF must also contend with a wave of resurgent Palestinian separatist groups inciting domestic terror attacks. Beset on all sides and besieged from within as well, the brave members of the IDF fight shoulder to shoulder with their US brothers with an unmatched tenacity.

 

[Dudu Fadende]

The Free Arab Army consists of the existing militaries of the Alliance member states. Given that the FAA is a cosmopolitan force, there is no standardization for equipment and weapons between the various army groups, which can make logistics a bit of a nightmare during prolonged offensives. The FAA is divided up into army groups based on what member state they hail from or region they are operating in, for example: Army Group Syria, Army Group Jordan, Army Group Sinai, etc. Despite all falling under the same command umbrella, old rivalries from the pre-Alliance days still rear their heads occasionally, leading to a lapse in coordination between army groups that can be exploited by the enemy. For the most part, the FAA is well-equipped and battle hardened, many troops being veterans of skirmishes with neighbors and dissident cells within their borders. The FAA has adopted a traditional combined arms doctrine that focuses less on small-unit tactics and relies heavily on the mass use of artillery and armor in conjunction during an attack. With their ground forces being built entirely around their armor, all infantry units are either mechanized or motorized in order to keep up with the armored thrusts and exploit breakthroughs. Given the massive numbers advantage that the Alliance has over its enemies in the region, the FAA wins as many battles through weight of numbers as it does through solid tactics. It is capable of going toe-to-toe with Coalition ground forces, though the lack of a comparable air force makes the FAA heavily reliant on its extensive network of SAM positions.

 

[Dudu Fadende]

Consisting of elements of the Royal Army, Marines and Air Force, the British have had an expeditionary force in the region for some time that has been supplementing larger Coalition operations. As the situation stands at the moment, British forces in the middle east are far weaker than those of other Coalition contributions. In-country now are a few battalions of cavalry, infantry and armor in Saudi Arabia, a few RAF units, as well as an airborne brigade operating in Afghanistan. Another expeditionary force is currently being assembled with rumors that there could possibly be an amphibious invasion to take back Kuwait in the near future.

Operating mainly in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the SAS have also taken part in a number of raids behind alliance lines to knock out industrial and military targets. Successful SAS raids have managed to slow the enemy offensive, cutting supply lines and generally making logistics a nightmare. SAS operators are some of the best-trained and equipped soldiers in the world, and teams are capable of being inserted behind enemy lines and operating independently for weeks at a time. Focusing on using the same hit-and-fade and sabotage tactics that the Alliance favors, they have managed to buy the beleaguered Coalition defenders some breathing room for the time being. Some SAS raids have even resulted in small Coalition counter-offensives that have made minor gains along the lines. Rarely seen due to how little time they spend inside the wire, the exploits of the men of the SAS have become legendary among both friend and foe alike.

 

[Dudu Fadende]

Having come to power in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the Soviets in 1989, the Taliban are an extremist Muslim organization that have ties in various black market trades such as drug and arms dealing and human trafficking. Made up of bands of warlords united under a common banner, the Taliban have ruled Afghanistan through fear and acts of terrorism for decades. Despite the fact that the Coalition had pushed the Taliban from major population centers in the years prior to the rise of the Alliance, the provisional government that was put in place is corrupt and inefficient, which means that for all intents and purposes the terrorists still control the country and a decent chunk of Pakistan as well. Despite the fact that most Taliban fighters have never had any formal military training, many of them are battle-hardened from the decades of insurgencies against foreign occupiers. With their knowledge of the countryside, proficiency in unconventional warfare, and the recent influx of funding from Alliance-backed organizations, the Taliban are re-emerging in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a far greater threat than ever before.