The 173rd in Romania, a 1.0 Timeline Option

[Raellus]

Yep. That was my point. Their deployment was a policy decision of the prewar elected government, not a Milgov order or a Broward administration move (like the divisions that went to Yugoslavia). So they had to make that choice - it's not preordained by the canon OOBs or timeline.

Sorry I missed it. We're on the same page now.

Ah. But if you design it as an espionage/intrigue-heavy setting, then you have the option of writing multiple playable factions that most players will still consider "the good guys." This also opens up the possibility of joint operations and shifting alliances, in which yesterday's friends are tomorrow's objectives. Those betrayals and uncertainties are the heart of espionage fiction because they make for good storytelling and human drama - something that I think is all too easy to lose track of in this game's focus on hardware and tactics.

I hear you, and I don't disagree stridently. But with both factions present in large numbers, then whichever side the PCs pick, there'll be one more major potential adversary to factor in. IMO, there are enough bad guys in the region already. I very much like the idea of small, covert groups representing the "other" faction pursuing opposing agendas in the AO, though.

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[Rainbow Six]

I very much like the idea of small, covert groups representing the "other" faction pursuing opposing agendas in the AO.

I concur. What I had in mind was the 173rd being loyal to Civgov, which fits with what's established in the ref's manual, namely that the Romanian partisan command had declared for Civgov, but that the DIA would have small units operating on the ground covertly.

[Tegyrius]

I hear you, and I don't disagree stridently. But with both factions present in large numbers, then whichever side the PCs pick, there'll be one more major potential adversary to factor in. IMO, there are enough bad guys in the region already. I very much like the idea of small, covert groups representing the "other" faction pursuing opposing agendas in the AO, though. -

I think we're on the same page here too. That's why I'd rather see competition and rivalry than outright warfare between American factions in the region. I'm trying to think of an appropriate espionage frenemy fictional equivalent and coming up blank, but... oh, hell, Locke versus Sabetha in the third Gentleman Bastards novel is the first thing that comes to mind.

(Part of that mix is also the Milgov guys trying to convince the Broward loyalists to abandon their sham of a Constitution-violating government, and vice versa. There's probably a bar in Belgrade or somewhere that's the designated neutral territory for those conversations.)

I concur. What I had in mind was the 173rd being loyal to Civgov, which fits with what's established in the ref's manual, namely that the Romanian partisan command had declared for Civgov, but that the DIA would have small units operating on the ground covertly.

This makes Milgov's recognition of Vlad all the more interesting, because they're propping up a potential rival to the partisans that the Broward administration recognizes.

- C.