Mandalorian Plot Discussion[Major]

[Jenno]

The main objective at the moment for the Mandalorians when it comes to conquest, is the reclaiming of worlds which they believe are there's/those with Mandalorians on there who are currently oppressed by the Republic. Freeing their people is essentially all they're trying to do at the moment. Invading/taking over other planets is a waste of their very limited resources. With the freeing of people, it helps the Mandalorians become a more deadly force.

Once they have reclaimed their people and planets, then they might start thinking about waging a true war against the Republic, striking back at them, if they feel inclined to do as such once they have their freedom back.

[Cirith An'Gol]

I'm liking Darksword's idea...mostly because it incorporates my idea but, also because I think it's really cool.

We'd have an big story arc with an objective, we can have lots of things happen with all the varying characters, it allows some that maybe aren't Mandalorian to be involved (helping with recruiting lists, setting up arena's, maybe even being arena fighters themselves and, we could even have "Bosses" that directly influence some of the things that go on ect.) and that in turn would make smaller missions possible, because undoubtedly there are going to be civilians with problems reaching out to people. Also, using the Great Hunt Competition is one way that Mandalorians would recruit their soldiers.

Maybe this could be a way Mandalore recruits people to travel with his army to reclaim a particularly well defended world?

[Darksword]

Mmm then I revise the planet list to Ordo and Gargon would be likely targets. And out of the two, Gargon is probably the best for now. One of the sole sources of phobium in the galaxy (and while probably not the most important element around, still a bit of trade monopoly there hehe) and it would unite both Mandalore and Concord Dawn/Shogun in a triangle route, thus allowing better travel and reinforcements to get to each other and then possibly move on to capture Ordo as well.

And for the Great Hunt, aye. That would be the purpose behind it.

Maybe invite mercenary bands in small scale skirmishes of valor, arena matches between individuals, many different sorts of competitions involving honor, valor and the most skilled warriors in Mandalorian space (though try to ensure none of the good warriors who are already Mando's not to die needlessly, we need every warrior we can get. XD) and offer up prizes of great honor, maybe armor, and if they accept, initiation into Mando ranks, yadda yadda blah blah, we get the drift. Could be most fun indeed.

[Jace]

Alright now that I've freed up a bit and had some time to think, I've decided where to go next.

Cirith, and Darksword, it isn't that I don't appreciate your ideas but Jenno pretty already stated what the Mandalorian focus is now. Right now its simple economics, we have to utilize the minimal resources we have most efficiently.

Anyways I think the best way to get things on the move is an invasion, to reclaim a former territory. It was a choice between Ordo or Gargon, but I think Ordo is the main choice so as not to leave Mandalore isolated. The little twist we are going to have with this invasion is that it is not going to be successful. The Mandalorians have recently signed a NAP with the Sith Empire, and they will play a part. The essential gist of it is this

The Mandalorians decide to invade Ordo because the Sith Empire promises to provide help by blockading any Republic reinforcements from interrupting the invasion. Unfortunately the Republic gets a hold of this information, and prevents the Sith Empire from providing reinforcements to the Mandalorians, and thus forcing them to retreat.

I know this isn't exactly glorious but the reasoning is simple. The Mandalorians have been quite successful in all their missions/invasions up to this point. We want to stress the fact that they aren't some invincible/unbeatable nation. This way we get intense action and a their first real taste of loss.

Now I want to run the invasion much like we did the last one(for those who remember). Since a majority of our Mandos are in Spec Ops, we have numerous tactical objectives to achieve and therefore help secure the planet. Of course there is also the possibility for those who want it, to fight on the front lines not to mention with the Navy in space battles.

I'll work on the exact details for the missions/take any suggestions on possible targets starting now.

So if you have any suggestions, complaints, questions, or just want to say that you are ready to stick it to the Republic, then say it here/PM me.

[Cirith An'Gol]

We aren't arguing Jace, that's why we incorporated Jenno's plan into our ideas.

No offense but, am I the only one thinking that Jace's idea, although interesting and exciting, isn't the best way to use the Mandalorian's resources? Shouldn't we be getting numbers on our side before fighting an established military? And remember the Sith backstabbed the Mandalorians before, wouldn't they have a backup plan in mind in case the Sith didn't help as they were supposed to?

I'm not meaning to offend anyone btw, these are just some of the questions that I had when I read your response Jace. If I did offend anyone, I'm sorry, that was not my intent.

[Mara]

By reclaiming their planets/freeing their people, the Mandos ARE gaining numbers.



Anyway, going after Ordo sounds good to me. (Esp. since the Gargon thread I had with Sporky sort of died without really getting started).
And a loss sounds good, too (from a plot standpoint, not a Mando standpoint, haha).

I'm not sure I completely remember how we went about Shogun (I assume that's the last mission you meant, since Togoria wasn't really an invasion). Was that the one were they took out communications buildings from the Republic?

[Jace]

Mmmm let clarify then. Ordo and Gargon, and Shogun(which was recently) invaded are all former Mando territories. This means that a large majority of the population on these planets are Mandalorian. The whole idea in attacking these territories and not other Republic planets, is to reclaim both their lands and their people. This is the best way to get numbers on their side. Once the invasion begins, you have the various militia and population joining to help. This is their goal right now, it's not really war with the Republic but rather reclaiming what was once theirs.

Remember to take the current context of the plot into consideration. The Republic and Sith Empire are at war, the Republic doesn't really have the resources to take the Sith and Mandalorians head on. To them, the Mandalorians taking Concord Dawn and Shogun is a sacrifice, but a calculated one. As for the Sith betraying Mandos, that was a long time ago and backstabbing isn't what's happening here. Back up plans don't necessarily ensure victory, and yeah it's a risk, but it's war.


Mara: Yeah it was, when we had two teams that each took on a objective. We could also spread it out, have multiple objectives and so on. I'm open to suggestions.

[Apillis]

Also, what's on that wiki page isn't the full details about the Great Hunt, but it's a bit more involved than what's displayed there. With TOR beta NDA I hesitate to say more of what it entails out of my own paranoia, but it isn't as simplistic as what's shown there. I can say... it involves a lot of chaos and a lot of death, and it isn't simply a "Mando" thing. Every piece of vile scum that seeks to rack up as many bounties as they can wants to get in on the action. It's more of a "Fringe" competition than a Mando one, so if you really want to do something to its effect, I'd suggest taking it to the Fringe plot board. As it stands as far as the Mandos themselves, I'm in lock-step with Jace; and knowing all what the Great Hunt entails, given the Mandos current disposition they have far more important things to devote their resources to than sponsoring something like the Great Hunt. The Hutt cartels can sponsor it this go around with perhaps some Mandos helping out and joining the action, but not the Mandolarian clans as a whole--they have some more organizing and rebuilding to do before that.

[Meira]

I think one way to expand on objectives here, and a way to incorporate the whole thing with plans falling apart would be to have one group of PCs sent to some kind of station or ship or something that is in orbit around Ordo. This station/ship would be, in a way, like the comm station on Shogun. It would be instrumental to shutting down Republic communications during the invasion.

The kicker would be that, as Jace said, the Republic will have heard about what's happening and maybe the station/ship is set as an ambush. That can be where everything starts to go wrong. Just an idea.

[Mara]

Hmm.... yeah, the station could look isolated on the outside, making the Mandos cocky (er, more cocky, haha)... but in fact there are troops hidden away somewhere, ready to spring out. Or something.

[Cirith An'Gol]

I know what Apillis is talking about because my brother beta tested TOR last weekend, so I appreciate you silence on the details of the Great Hunt. All I'll say is that Bioware is doing an awesome job on the game.

Anyway, even though everything's going to go wrong with this invasion, it should still be fun to play through. I still think the Mando's should have a backup plan in place, something to distract the Republic so they can make a "strategic withdrawal". Like maybe having some of the space faring forces try to take over some of the Republic ships so they can fire on other Republic ships and cause some confusion.

Rack up as many enemy kills and gain as much glory as possible right?

[Mara]

So.... are you still waiting for suggestions, Jace, or can we finally get this thing started in the immediate future?

[Mara]

*nudges back into activity, hopefully*



All righties... I was gonna send this out into a PM to one or two people to ask my questions/give my suggestions, but I figured it'd be better to let all the other active Mandos see it, too. (The few of them that there are).


First thing is a bit of a question mixed with a suggestion.

Is there ever going to be a formal announcement (either site-wide or just in a thread on C.D.) about who the new Mandalore is? I mean, there wasn't a specific name given in Jenno's little news article about the change. And quite honestly, I only figured it out because I have a habit of checking through all new threads/posts. Because I think it's something the member base as a whole should be made aware of, yes? (At least, that's how things like this have gone in the past).

So, jumping off of that, I think we need some sort of ceremony thread for the new Mandalore. Where he's introduced to all the Mandos, makes a speech, etc. The same thing that was done for Bane when he was promoted. I mean, ultimately I know it's not my decision, but I think it's something that's needed, in all fairness and respect to the position.



Secondly... this is more like a possible plot-related question.

Something that came to mind after I read that little news bit about the new Mandalore and the disappeared Bane.
Would there ever be an attempted rescue of Bane? Since Mandalorians don't strike me as the type to just lay back and let their Mandalore be captured. (Or maybe there had been one that I wasn't aware of?) Obviously, I know Jace isn't around to play him, but he could maybe be NPC'ed, or even easier, the team perhaps wouldn't be successful. (They would be going after the Republic, after all.) It could just be a few threads for the Mandos on the team to get to know each other and just get to be soldiers, blah, etc. Since there really isn't any big Mando plots going on right now, and hasn't been for quite some time. So it's only an idea for something we can do.



Thirdly....
Will we be continuing on with the conquest of Ordo, as was in the works before Jace left? Or will the Mandos just be resting up, after the Republic gained the upper hand with their capture of Bane?



Fourthly, and perhaps not as important, but still a question...

Who's now in charge of the spec ops? Bane had been, even after promoted to Mandalore, but now that he's gone, I'm just wondering. Will the new Mandalore take over, or will he just appoint someone to be the spec ops CO? (Just something I'd like to know for future RPs with my character).





Basically... I just want to know (if allowed) what's in the works for the various Mando plots. I'd like to get Ambria back in some action, instead of having to come up with other things for her to do in her time or just glossing over random missions that she's been on.

So yeah.

[Apillis]

Given Malak outranks everyone in SpecOps (he's a Major after all), it's pretty safe to assume he'll be in charge of it like Bane was.

Also, thing about SpecOps, is... well... the missions they do aren't always super-duper-earth-shattering that the galaxy feels the effects of. What they're all about is quiet surgical strikes, so then striking a weapons caches, supply warehouses, assassinations, etc etc etc... It doesn't have to be something major, it can be just something with one or two people. Each of which forwards a military's cause, it's not always the super-big-uber-holy-crap-mega stuff that progresses the frontline, but the little things done here and there. Why not do such things with one or two of the other SpecOps members? A commanding officer character does not always need to be present to enact such things. Besides, isn't your character an Lt.? You play a commanding officer within the Mando military, why not use that?

Personally, using Bane's "capture" as the knock the Mandalorians receive for a change to be a bit of a cop out. Because it's not really planning something out with a decent narrative where the Mandalorians as a whole are involved in a larger scale event, like a massive battle and take a hit. Whereas using Bane's "capture" is like, "Welp! We lost our leader which we just replaced! But that takes care of that!", and the walk away from it no harm, no foul. It's not truly felt, because Bane's "capture" is simply utilized to explain a player's leaving, not a larger more meaningful planned out narrative; nor one that the Mandalorians at large can be involved in, especially if it's just a cheap strike-team assault to try to save him and fail to do so in the process.

[Mara]

Yes, but it's hard to command anyone when there's hardly any other active spec. ops characters. (Then, or now, where I count about two besides Ambria. PS: The active military list is WAY out of date).
Or when I have no idea what the overall Mandalorian plot is, what planets are being targeted next and for what reason. I'm not about to screw things up by just randomly putting my character somewhere and attacking a Republic supply depot, or something, without prior approval from someone who actually knows what the plot is.





Anyway, back to CURRENT events...

This is for those who are actually in the know about the Mandalorian plot (a.k.a. staff):

I'm looking for something for Ambria to do, since I'm pretty sure it's too late to get her involved in Ordo at this date.

A while back I had started a thread on Gargon where she was going to help train and prepare an underground Mandalorian movement there. But it died after only a couple posts.
So I suppose that could be an idea again.


I do realize this is a bit hard, since there are so few active Mando spec. ops characters (as I mentioned), and I would rather not RP with myself.
But I really would like to do something with her related to the Mandalorian cause. It doesn't have to be 'earth-shattering' but still important and necessary to the overall movement. And if it could actually use her skills as a sniper (and/or as a medic), all the better. In previous threads her talents have been all but ignored (to say nothing of her herself being all but ignored).


In sum... Ambria is anxious to get back to work. Please find her something to do.
(Or maybe I will be forced to just make something up on my own and hope it doesn't countermand any prior, and secret, decisions).

[Sara]

From what I know, the Battle for Ordo will begin again very soon. A new Spec Ops group will soon be added to the Mandalorian Rosters. For those interested contact me, though I'll let you know I really don't want a crap ton of people signing up for it right off the bat, since it'll be new in universe.

However for those wanting to be, trained in these new tactics and techniques it's an oppurtunity to get to know the new Mandalorian.

As for this new group, they're kind of a step towards bring the Old Ways back. With guts and firepower, and a sprinkling of crazy, like the way Mandalorians used to do things. So...strap your boots on, slap in a fresh mag and prepare for a ride into death's maw...here come the Valkyries.

[Sara]

Well it appears i was lying through my teeth about the soon part. Though it doesn't appear like much of anything has been done in the nearly 2 months i've been, intentionally, away from the site. Don't even know how much is even left for the Mandalorians, or if it is truly worth caring about anymore.

[Dutch]

Well due to Dire Wolf being deployed again there is a bit of a hiatus on the Mandalorians at this time. However I am working with Jenno on getting them going again.

[Sara]

Alright then...mind if you let us in on it? Or at the very least, me? XD

[Dutch]

Not much to share yet really, no worries, once anything important comes up it'll get announced