Armies: Zombies vs. Aliens vs. Super Heroes

[chronoplasm]

OK, so let's say that there are six different armies fighting against each other.
The battle takes place in a heavily populated urban environment.
Thousands of civilians can get caught in the crossfire in your war against one of the other factions.
What to do?
You could try to avoid harming noncombatants at all costs. However...
The enemies could use the civilians as human shields.
The enemies could hide amongst the civilians.
The enemies could recruit the civilians and turn them against you.

So, lets say that you command a small group of soldiers from one of these six armies...
Super Heroes
Super Villains
Alien Invaders
Zombies
Rebels
Sewer-Mutants

What sort of tactics do you think each of these armies would use? What would be your objectives?
If you played as one of these armies, what do you imagine you would have to do to win the game, and how would you go about doing it?

[Daniele]

Let's see. Our setting is a city, our situation is a war, our elements are six armies and civilians.
I think the Superheroes have the aim to save the civilian. So, they'll fight the factions which can harm them. Their opponents will be Super Villains and the Alien Invaders. Their combat strategy will be defensive: they'll take care of the civilians and fight only when necessary (because it could cause problems in the aid).
The Super Villains are their nemesis. They'll act on the contrary. They'll slay civilian and use them as shields. They'll try to convince civilian to fight with them. They'll stay away from Alien Invaders and they will be on the defensive concerning Zombies.
Alien Invaders will attack Super Heroes and Super Villains as well. They'll ignore Zombies. They could also capture civilians for their studies.
Zombies have no will. They will attack everyone they encounter on their path.

This is the scenery my immagination draws.

[Daniele]

Oh, I forgot two races.
I suppose rebels are human who oppose Alien's attack. They'll fight Aliens and ignore the other factions.
Sewer Mutants will choose a guerrilla warfare. They'll occasionally attack from the sewers, avoiding to be an easy target for the enemies (they will not be a great problem for the other factions, though).

That's all.

[Ken]

I don't typically play strategy mass-combat games, but you've got supers in it (and I love supers), so I take a shot.

Super Heroes- They will fight to protect the status quo: civilians, buildings, cities, the powers that be, etc. They are classically at odds with the Super Villains but will obviously rally to stop the Alien Invaders and the rampaging Zombies. They would most likely ally with the Rebels, and possibly the Sewer-Mutants (unless the SMs are monsters and not sympathetic outcasts). Super Heroes generally inspire the rest of us, and their presence could possibly make civilians harder to dominate by other factions.

Terrain would probably mean little to this faction, considering all the flying, super running, tunneling, swinging and teleporting going on here. They would be prone to working together but act defensively, and harbor mixed opinions on taking life (or unlife) that would make them a less effective offensive force. Also, since there is probably a fair amount of mental and nonlethal abilities in the hero community they would probably have a tough time with zombies.

Super Villains- These guys can be tricky. Traditionally they are the opposite number to the Super Heroes but have been known to temporarily bury the hatchet with their arch enemies when there is a common nemesis (Aliens, Zombies, etc.) Also, they are just as capable of calling a truce with Alien Invaders in exchange for a piece of the pie. They could also side with the Sewer Mutants or hang back and follow the Zombie (and then finish off the winning factions). Villains would probably less married to wholesale destruction, opting for just taking advantage of the chaos to achieve their goals.

Villains would move like heroes and probably be more lethal damage-wise. They are great at planning offensively, but tend to drop their guard which makes for a weak defense. Also, villains don't usually work together very well, and often plot and scheme against their peers, which would be a further impediment to carrying out defensive strategies.

Alien Invaders- Laying waste to everything in site! Either destroying or enslaving the civilian populace while taking on military or other opposing forces head-on. Strategically, they would probably have superior military might but smaller numbers. A planet is a pretty big beach to storm, so it would be reasonable to think that they would land in a central spot (or several locations) and spread out from there. Destroying organized defenses may be a priority here, so cities and military heavy communities would make good targets. Some other considerations here may be whether they need to hold land for bases, food supplies, energy transmitters, landing pad, teleportation fields, etc. I don't know about this, but maybe you do.

Classically, the best advantage that the aliens have is the fact that they were the only ones aware of the invasion. Usually, the element of surprise and advanced technology puts the invadees on the ropes pretty quick. Usually the invaders start to loose ground as their forces thin. Also, once the resisting forces get use to the alien tech and their strategies, more guerilla-style tactics are developed to undermine the invaders' hold.

Zombies- I'm guessing these forces would just wander through the battlefields gravitating towards any signs of life. They would leave the terrain pretty much unhurt but would wipe out anything living while adding to their number. It would be interesting to see zombie heroes, villains, and aliens here.

Zombies seem very reactive and totally offensive. Once there is nothing to chase, I would guess they would stay mostly together but become rather aimless. Guess it depends on your idea of zombies here. They would plan, but they could learn if staking out a stronghold old something like that. In combat they would be all-out, and only stopped by lethal attacks. If they take the field of combat, the fallen would then add to their group (a useful tool).

Rebels- I would suspect that this would be whats left of the military and other authorities, coupled with every able-bodied freedom fighter in the area. I'm envisioning the resistance in Independence Day. They would be very dependent on buildings and existing resources for cover and supplies. Again trying to maintain some type of order under new rules, they would be very protective of civilians to add to their ranks. While they probably wouldn't side with the Aliens or Zombies, I could see some common ground with the heroes, villains, and even sewer mutants in the right circumstances.

They would be very defense-minded, and tend to engage in tactical operations rather than full-out offensives. Their tech would be mostly conventional but also cheifly scavenged. There could also be some alien and super tech in here as well.

Sewer-Mutants- Not exactly sure what you've got here. Is this like the Morlocks in the X-Men or the Morlocks in The Time Machine?

Hopes there is something here you can use. Your idea sounds cool. Looking forward to hearing more. Keep it up.

Ken

[David C]

What sort of tactics do you think each of these armies would use? What would be your objectives?
If you played as one of these armies, what do you imagine you would have to do to win the game, and how would you go about doing it?

Kevin,

I don't want to sound critical, but with this and the other posts you've made, I feel like you're trying to get other people to design your game for you.  I appreciate brainstorming, but you really need to contribute the majority of the work done, and actually write down rules and stats and things related to your game.  Move it in the direction of being playable.  Brainstorm yourself (take a pen, and piece of paper, and pose one of these questions to yourself.  Then, write down every idea or element to the main idea you can come up with.  Do NOT be critical of your ideas, when you use the critical side of your brain, your creative side actually shuts down.) 

Then, when your like, "My game works this way, and I'm stuck on this part" that's when you should be here asking us to brainstorm and help.

Good Luck,
David

[whiteknife]

OK, here's my take on how the factions would work:

Super Heroes- the strongest faction in terms of power by far, but hampered in what they can do by low numbers (not that many supers) and the fact that they have morals to uphold and won't go on the offensive as much.

Super Villains- I can see these guys as being one of the more powerful factions, and they'd probably be trying to take advantage of the chaos to rob stuff, assassinate key people they normally wouldn't be able to reach, and cause mayhem. Their weakness would probably be that they wouldn't work well together at all (being villains with their own agendas)

Alien Invaders- These guys would be a problem, shrinking people and buildings for study, disintegrating stuff, and whatnot. That being said, they might suffer from some sort of war of the worlds thing or come from a planet with a weird atmosphere, restricting them to their ships or in containment units.

Zombies- This faction would be the strongest and weakest at the same time. Absolutely no tactics or direction, but if left unchecked, we're talking huge hordes of turned civilians, not to mention the possibilities of super hero zombies or alien zombies. If the zombies actually had some kind of leaders like secret corporate bioweapon manufacturers or necromancers, then they could be a much greater threat...

Rebels- Rebels don't have much actual power, being "just people". However, I see them as having the most freedom of movement by far. The civilians would help, trust, or even reinforce them, and they have intimate knowledge of everything in the city.

Sewer-Mutants- These guys are the most covert faction. Operating underground, they can get into areas no one would expect them, and be able to use hit and run tactics to good effect. On the downside, they smell and no one likes them, not to mention civilians would probably run in terror from these guys. Still, I can imagine them having all sorts of weird but useful powers, and being already mutated might make them ideal against the aliens or zombies.