Atom Age Awakening: A Cold War SD

Start Date: 1950
Earth: Strangereal
Hardness: Cold War Realism, XCOM UFOs and MKULTRA is Real

Overview

The year is 1950 C.E. 5 years since the end of the World War that consumed the globe, shattered the imperial powers that dominated the last two centuries of history and saw the formation of a new rules-based international order in the shape of a new United Nations. 5 years since the deployment of the atomic bomb in the closing years of that war. The unleashing of atomic energy heralded new horizons of scientific exploration, civilian and military enterprise, and the atrocious power to end life as we know it.

Not is all as it seems however. Drawn by our first atomic detonation, the skies now glitter with the passing lights of foo fighters and St Elmo's fire, discoid UFOs and black triangles. Strange energies caused by human and alien artifice, and the realignment of the stars in the coming Age of Aquarius seems to have awakened mental abilities in some select humans.

The World Wars have come and gone, now is the time of the Atom Age Awakening.

Rules

Units List

Legend

• Cost: Cost of unit in Industry Points
• Maintenance: Expenses in Wealth Points to maintain units, proportional to Cost. None = 0%, Low = 10%, Medium = 25% and High = 100%.
• Base Training Time: The time it takes to train all personnel to Green status.
• Special: Additional rules.
• Slots: Room for appropriate Upgrades.

Upgrades

Upgrades are additions to units that increase their base capabilities in various ways. Upgrades have a listed cost (which increases maintenance) and add 1 month to the Base Training Time.

Infantry

Infantry are constructed as squads. Squads that are not destroyed regenerate after 3 months out of combat. Squads of the same base type can be consolidated to make them combat-ready, combining 2 damaged squads into 1 ready one but this cannot be undone afterwards.

Common Infantry Upgrades

Protection

• Assault Armor (XX): Heavy steel plate protecting vitals, often with an asbestos layer for fireproofing. Cumbersome.

Weapons

• Snipers (XX): Modern optics and custom tooling to greatly extend the range of the typical service rifle.
• Heavy Weapons (XX): At least one man-portable LMG and additional anti-armor options.
• Flamethrowers (XX): Useful for clearing bunkers and setting obstructing foliage on fire, less useful when the tank ruptures.

Vehicles

• Horses (XX): Literal horsepower. Reliable in many climates but vulnerable to damage.
• Motorcycles (XX): Falling out of favor with the end of the war, but useful for courier units and internal security forces.
• Recon Truck (XX): The war-time classic. Four-wheel drive, all-terrain, capacity for one driver and four to five passengers plus gear under a tarp canopy.

Utility

• Camouflage (XX): Cutting-edge patterned fabrics, training to use the natural environment and obscure movement.
• Pioneers (XX): Tools to assist in forage, field procurement and the establishment of fortifications and supply lines.
• Winterized (XX): Heavy fur-lined clothing, survival supplies and skis for fighting in arctic climates.

Irregulars

Cost: XX

Maintenance: None

Base Training Time: 1 Month

Special: Irregulars are not directly controlled by the player. Instead, they are built with a specific purview such as Irregulars (Partisans) or Irregulars (Death Squads), and will act in accordance with those orders.

Slots: 1 Any

Conscripts

Brave sons and daughters of the state, performing mandatory service. Poor morale and bad at fighting on foreign soil.

Cost: XX

Maintenance: Low

Base Training Time: 2 Months

Special: Retire after 2 years, experience cannot exceed Veteran.

Slots: 2 Any

Riflemen

Professional soldiers trained with the main weapons of the era, typically semi-automatic rifles and sub-machine guns. Bring their own limited artillery and anti-tank to the field, and can spot for mechanized units.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 3 Months

Maintenance: Med

Slots: 1 Weapon, 1 Any

Marines

Ship-based troops that excel at defence of their embarked vessel and amphibious landings. Similar equipment to Riflemen.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 3 Months

Maintenance: Med/Low while Embarked

Special: Marines can embark on ships regardless of transport capacity, to a limit of 1 Squad per ship Size.

Slots: 1 Weapon, 1 Any

Paratroopers

Crack airborne troops who live up to their namesake as uniquely capable of effective parachute landings into friendly or hostile territory. Similar equipment to Riflemen.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 6 Months

Maintenance: Med

Special: Paratroopers begin at Veteran status. The additional training is baked into their cost.

Slots: 1 Weapon, 1 Utility, 1 Any

Special Forces

The cream of the crop. All-terrain, skilled at infiltration and deep strikes into hostile territory as well as protecting VIPs. While their morale is exceptional, they rarely die standing.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 12 Months

Maintenance: High

Special: Begin at Elite status. Can lead Irregulars at a roughly 1-10 ratio, raising their reliability and effectiveness. Special Forces also decrease the 'resupply' time of looted vehicles to instant, at a 1 squad to 1 unit ratio.

Slots: 1 Utility, 3 Any

Mechanized

Mechanized forces are constructed as single units. Damaged mechanized units repair after every engagement, and destroyed mechanized units have a 25% of being looted by however holds the field at the end of combat. Such looted units require 1 month to train crews and procure supplies for them.

Common Mechanized Upgrades

Protection

• Fireproof (XX): Asbestos lining protects from extreme heat and incendiary attack.
• Protected Magazine (XX): A significant number of deaths in wartime are attributable to fuel and ammunition detonations. Prevent that.
• Superheavy Steel (XX): Extremely thick steel plating, providing exceptional protection but major decreases to all other metrics of performance.

Main Weapon

• Hi-Calibre Barrel (XX): Fires a bigger, deadlier projectile.
• Improved Sighting (XX): Improved range and accuracy.
• Rocket Battery (XX): Typically Katyusha or Calliope-style clusters of rocket tubes, great for saturation fire in a short time.

Coaxial Weapon

• AA Coax (XX): Typically an array of MGs with high-velocity ammo, designed to threaten hostile planes. Also threatening to infantry, but the gunner is exposed.
• Additional MG (XX): A protected MG fitted either as a turret or sponson, for additional anti-infantry function.
• Flamethrower (XX): As with the infantry upgrade, but with bigger fuel tanks.
• Smoke Launchers (XX): Fitted to the hull, fires a spread of canisters which create smoke to facilitate withdrawal.

Mobility

• Wheeled (XX): Designed for fast movement but completely at the mercy of road conditions.
• Airmobile (XX): Can be dropped out of a cargo plane and mostly land the right way.
• Amphibious, Standard (XX): Mostly waterproof and capable of river crossings.
• Amphibious, Sea (XX): Capable of operating in lakes and coastal seas as a boat, with major sacrifices to armor and stability.

Utility

• World War Design (XX): Costs 0 Maintenance but cannot be repaired after 1955.
• Winterized (XX): Equipped with skis or anti-slip tracks and tires, additional insulation to keep all crew and components at optimal performance.

APC (1950)

Wartime weapons became fantastically lethal to infantry, necessitating the creation of wheeled and half-track armored transport vehicles. Common designs in the 1950s have an armored bay door at the back for easy access. Mounts a single LMG for fire support.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 3 Months

Maintenance: Low

Special: An APC can carry 3 Squads by default.

Slots: 1 Any

Medium Tank (1950)

A typical tank designed to be compact, fast but still able to survive a heavy tank's main gun most of the time.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 3 Months

Maintenance: Low

Slots: 2 Any

Heavy Tank (1950)

Kings of the battlefield, but also large, too heavy for most roads and awfully expensive to maintain.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 4 Months

Maintenance: Med

Slots: 3 Any

Self-Propelled Gun (1950)

Improvements to radio, radar and optics are giving rise to a new era of fully-enclosed SPGs with exceptional performance.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 5 Months

Maintenance: Med

Special: SPGs can indirect fire support when given the benefit of a spotter.

Slots: 2 Any

Air-Defense Artillery (1950)

Wartime airpower saw entire cities flattened or burned to the ground. Improved sighting and propellants are closing the gap.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 4 Months

Maintenance: Low

Special: Aerospace units will not enter territory where hostile ADA outnumbers them 10-1.

Slots: 1 Any

Garrison Artillery (1950)

Large stationary field or mountain artillery, falling out of favor with the rise of the SPG.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 3 Months

Maintenance: Med

Special: 1 Main Weapon or Utility

Aerospace

Aerospace forces are built as units, and must be based in either a military airfield, expropriated civilian airport or aircraft carrier. Damaged aerospace is grounded at base for 1 month.

Common Aerospace Upgrades

Protection

• Armored Cockpit: Less likely to lose crew.
• Thermal Chaff: Bonus evasion when night fighting.
• AA Turret: Inflicts minor automatic damage to hostile planes.

Weaponry

• Autocannon: Improved damage to other aerospace units, limited effect against ground units.
• Rocket Battery: Direct-fire rocket tubes for ground strike capability.
• Bomb Racks: Unprotected bombs fixed directly to the wings, more volume than a bomb bay but worsens aerodynamic performance.
• Bomb Bay: High capacity internal storage for bombs, protected by the hull.
• Door Gun: Helicopter and Heavy Plane only. Provides a bonus to fighting infantry.
• Torpedo Rack: Armour-piercing inertia-guided projectiles, for anti-shipping purposes primarily.

Mobility

• Aerodynamic Frame: Improves all performance metrics slightly.
• Redundant Turboprops: 4 (or more!) propellers extend peak performance even after suffering damage. Not available for Helicopters.
• Early Jet Engine: World War-era jet engines with small refinements, capable of extreme subsonic performance. Not available for Helicopters or Airships.
• Increased Fuel Capacity: Longer legs, more endurance in the field.

Utility

• World War Design (XX): Costs 0 Maintenance but cannot be repaired after 1955.
• Recon Avionics (XX): Cutting-edge radar, long-range telescopes and camera equipment for all espionage and reconnaissance-related functions.
• Transport (XX): Carries a number of squads depending on size: 1 for Agile/Fast Planes, 2 for Helicopters, 5 for Heavy Planes and Airships. Helicopters and Heavy Planes can also carry Mechanized units.
• Seaplane (XX): Capable of landing and taking off on water. Treat as a boat for the purposes of Marine embarkation. Not available for Airships.
• Carrier Plane (XX): Compact designs that are easier to maintain. Reduce maintenance factor by 1 (High > Med > Low, min Low) while docked on a naval vessel. Not available for Heavy Planes or Airships.

Agile Plane (1950)

A typical chassis for fighters, ground strike and ship-based aircraft. Short legs, high manoeuvrability.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 6 Months

Maintenance: Med

Slots: 2 Any

Fast Plane (1950)

A typical chassis for bombers, reconnaissance planes and interceptors. Long legs, moderate manoeuvrability.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 8 Months

Maintenance: High

Slots: 3 Any

Heavy Plane (1950)

A typical chassis for heavy bombers and transports. Long legs, poor manoeuvrability.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 8 Months

Maintenance: Med

Slots: 2 Protection, 2 Utility, 2 Any

Helicopter (1950)

Early rotorcraft are capable of functioning in a variety of roles, including ground support, transportation and recon.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 6 Months

Maintenance: Med

Special: Helicopters do not need an airfield to repair and resupply.

Slots: 3 Any

Airship (1950)

Major disasters have crippled soft-hull aviation in the last few decades, but airships occasionally retain a cachet as the province of eccentrics or as reconnaissance vessels.

Cost: XX

Base Training Time: 12 Months

Maintenance: Med

Special: Fill with Helium or Hydrogen. Airships with Hydrogen as a lifting gas can cause catastrophic explosions at the slightest provocation.

Slots: 6 Any

Naval

Naval ships are particularly resilient compared to other military units of the era. Instead of the Intact > Damaged > Destroyed status of other units, naval units have additional tiers of harm rendered as Intact > Lightly Damaged > Damaged > Critical > Hulked > Destroyed. Warships that are not Critically damaged or worse repair themselves after 1 month out of combat, Critically damaged ships must be committed to drydock for 50% yard time. Hulked ships are combat-inoperable and must be towed back to drydock, but can be reclaimed for 75% yard time. Destroyed ships have a 25% chance of being reclaimed as Hulks after dredging, but all crew are assumed lost and the unit's Experience is reset to Green.

Naval ships are designed with special Role upgrades, which define their baseline capabilities. By default all Naval ships have their Maintenance bracket set to None, but every Role increases by one bracket (None > Low > Med > High > High+) to a maximum of High+. Warships with High+ maintenance require 200% of their Industry Points (IP) cost in Wealth Points (WP) to maintain combat readiness.

All naval ships regardless of status must undergo full refit every 5 years of service, which takes the full length of Base Construction Time to complete. As a minor benefit, the crew's experience increases by one level (Green > Regular > Veteran > Elite) every such maintenance cycle.

Naval Roles

• Amphibious Transport: Warships with sturdy, shallow keels and extensive transport capabilities. Never in danger of being grounded when making a coastal landing.
• Auxiliary Repair Dock: Capable of repairing and refitting ships of a smaller grade.
• Battleship: With its heyday passed with the end of the war, the battleship is increasingly seen as a white elephant relegated to coastal defence and artillery support. Every weapon slot is double-mounted and has improved ballistic qualities. Repurchase for triple, again for quad.
• Carrier: Aviation upgrades can be purchased a number of times per hull without expending slots: 1 for Patrol Ship, 3 for Light Ships, 6 for Medium Ships, 12 for Heavy Ships and 36 for Capital Ships.
• Escort: Escorts will protect other ships in the formation, taking hits for them until they suffer the Damaged status.
• Flagship: Provides a C3 bonus to all friendly forces in the same theatre and allows a fleet to maintain morale while far from home.
• Merchant Raider: Looks like a regular freighter to casual inspection, and has decent cargo capacity.
• Minelayer: Capable of setting fields of sea mines to blockade coastal areas or other highly-trafficked regions.
• Picket Ship: Equipped with advanced radar and sonar, improved engines work at the front of the fleet.
• Subhunter: Equipped with sonar, depth charges and improved engines to chase submarines.
• Early Submarine: Fully submersible, runtime limited by air filtration technology.
• Torpedo Boat: Armed with armor-piercing torpedoes, which can bypass armor and inflict the Hulked status on a direct hit. Risky.

Common Naval Upgrades

Protection

• Dazzle Camo (XX): Less useful with the advent of radar, but provides some protection against long-range sighting.
• Damage Control (XX): Improved damage mitigation techniques via firefighting and reinforced bulkheads.
• Protected Magazine (XX): A significant number of deaths in wartime are attributable to fuel and ammunition detonations. Prevent that.
• Superheavy Belting (XX): Rolled steel armor reinforcing the hull.

Main Batteries

• Hi-Calibre (XX): Large-bore guns firing larger and more powerful shells.
• Long-Range Sighting (XX): Improved sighting and target adjustment improves coastal artillery potential.
• Monitor Gun (XX): Somewhat obsolete at present, a single over-calibre artillery piece designed for striking particularly distant targets.
• Extra Main Batteries (XX): +1 Extra Main Battery

Coaxial Batteries

• AA Batteries (XX): Typically an array of MGs with high-velocity ammo, designed to threaten hostile planes.
• Secondaries (XX): Sub-calibre anti-ship weapons, used to fight off smaller ships without committing the main batteries in a heated engagement.
• Extra Coaxial Batteries (XX): +1 Extra Coaxial Battery

Utility

• Icebreaker (XX): Capable of operating in the frigid Arctic seas, even when the thick sea ice prevents the passage of lesser vessels.
• Aviation (XX): Allows the ship to carry one aerospace unit.
• Transport (XX): Allows the ship to carry a number of Infantry squads or Mechanized units. Patrol Ships carry 1 Light Ships can carry 3, Mediums hold 9, Heavy Ships 18 and Capitals can carry 90.