Dystopian Wars
Dystopian Wars is a tabletop wargame made by Spartan Games. Set in 1870 with the industrial revolution having happened decades earlier then our own. Their are currently seven core factions available to play with numerous allied nations being released at a later point in time.
Background
Singapore, 1864. The East India Company had become world leaders in trade, and didn't like the Japanese traders coming onto their turf and made their opinions known. The Blazing sun representative ignored everything, was caught with his pants down, and was evicted along with his delegation from Singapore. Suicide shortly followed and his name was stricken from Imperial records.
The mans uncle was a newly appointed commander in the Imperial army, and personally begged Empress Shinzua to allow him to restore his family honor by striking at the East India Company. He was given command of the Third division of the second Imperial army, named Wani, and went straight to Singapore, also casting off his name until family honor was restored. People would remember him as Oni. The city fell in a month, but Oni wasn't satisfied as the East India Company was still active. Empress Shinzua called him back before he could destroy more cities. Two weeks after the fall of Singapore the Britannian 45th Expeditionary Force, led by Lord Duxford, landed in Malaysia demanding reparations. Lead by Oni, Blazing sun forces destroyed the 45th, though Lord Duxford managed to escape.
Britannia declared war on the Blazing sun and sent its full military might into Malaysia. Empress Shinzua sent envoys to the Prussian Emperor Frederick Grunder. One month later the Prussian Empire launched assaults on Britannian colonies and gassed London. While Prussia, Britannia, and the Blazing sun slugged it out, the Russian coalition attacked the Prussian borders, managing to drive far into the Prussian Empire before being stopped. Prussia called on the Republique of France and League of Italian states to attack Britannia and the Russian Coalition respectively while they rebuilt.
At this point, the Federated states of America decided to expand their control of the pacific and sent the fourth federated fleet to invade Japan. The fourth fleet ran into a Russian Coalition fleet intent on the same thing. Both fleets attacked, thinking the other to be part of the Blazing sun. Hours later both sides accused each other of provocation and declared war on each other, forgetting about Japan. The Covenant of Antarctica, outraged that advanced technology that they helped develop was being used for war, promptly declared war on everyone and went on a war footing.
tl;dr: Shit went down in Singapore, everyone declared war on everyone else.
Core Nations
These are the main playable factions at this time.
Covenant of Antarctica
Currently led by Lord Barnabas Draynes Sturgeon, the chap who discovered the incredible element 270 (Sturginium), responsible for the all leaps in technological advancement over the past decades that has seen the rise of gigantic vehicles and weaponry. The Antarcticans have seen the abuse of science in the creation of destructive new weapons by the nations of the world, and plan to employ their own forces to try teach them a lesson and save humanity from itself.
The covenant have limited forces, but compensate by using the most advanced technology in the world. They have a weapon capable of bending time.
Empire of the Blazing sun
Currently ruled by Empress Shinzua.
Blazing Sun ships have a very distinctive aesthetic reminiscent of steam trains. Japanese boats are very maneuverable but suffer from restricted firing arcs on their broadsides, requiring precise positioning. Japs employ a lot of rockets, and have some very nasty aerial units. The faction otherwise has no distinguishing strengths or weaknesses. Also, they have a giant robotic squid.
Federated States of America
Current leader is President Nathaniel Adams.
The second largest nation by territory (the largest being the Russian Coalition), the FSA is the result of the South winning the American Civil War. Slavery had already been abolished by 1825 though, so it was been fought over other issues. The FSA has experienced rapid economic and military development, and now stands to oppose the old Empires of the world in the struggle for supremacy. Adams is particularly determined to make the FSA the most dominant force in the Pacific, regardless of the British, Japanese and Russians attempting the same.
The ships of the FSA are enormous paddle steamers. The FSA probably boasts the most impressive long-range firepower in the game, with mountains of rockets and gunnery. They also have flying robots.
Kingdom of Britannia
Currently ruled by Her Britannic Majesty Queen Victoria of the House of Hanover.
The Kingdom of Britannia commands the greatest maritime empire in the world. Although not as large overall as the FSA or the Russian Coalition – at least not yet, according to the Kingdom’s more belligerent politicians – its holdings are present everywhere apart from Antarctica. The Britannians exert control over the entirety of Canada, India (through their semi-independent vassal organisation, the East India Company), the western and southern portions of Australia, New Zealand, many of the Caribbean island chains, the tip of South America, the Indochinese peninsula, half of the East Indies islands and large tracts of territory along the western and southern coasts of Africa from Morocco to the Cape.
The Brits have very good mid range gunnery (RB 2-3), and excellent torpedoes. Average toughness and speed, but attrition hurts them more than most because it reduces the effectiveness of more of their firepower proportionally.
Prussian Empire
Borders France in the west and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the east, also owning Norway and Sweden. Currently led by His Imperial Majesty Frederick Grunder. The Prussian military consists of a council made of five men. The master of military is Heinrich Grimm, Sire Tannhauser commands the Navy, Sire Sigismund leads the Land ships, Sire Helbrecht commands thev aerial forces, and Sire Jaeger commands all Infantry regiments. Makes extensive use of Tesla weapons.
The Prussians have very fast frigates and are the strongest boarding faction. They need to get in close before taking too much gunnery first. The faction features an enormous Zeppelin that shoots lightning and doubles as an aircraft carrier.
Republique of France
Ruled by elected President Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, stepson to Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte who died circa 1808. France's army was the terror of Europe in days of the Emperor, but after his death a series of disastrous military involvements crippled it and reduced France's Continental territories to somewhat less than it had before the Revolution, and it lost many more colonies besides. The nation has had a revival, and seeks to reclaim its prestige and glory.
The French navy is famous for its flying ships, fitted with anti-grav engines. They have unique heat beam weapons of debatable usefulness as options for larger vessels. The entire fleet features very high Ack-Ack stats, meaning that they are effective at staving off attacks by tiny fighters, rockets and boarding troops.
Russian Coalition
Ruled by Tsar Vladimir I Nikolaievich Rurik-Novy, the Russian Coalition is the largest nation in the world, claiming an entire sixth of the world's land. Its vast holdings girdle half the northern hemisphere, from the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth to the north-eastern tip of Asia; the Coalition even has borders with the FSA and Britannian Canada, as it also claims the great wilderness of Alaska at the north-western edge of the New World. Its northern border brushes the Arctic, while in the south it abuts the wastes of the Gobi Desert, China and the Ottoman Empire. It also features by far the larges population in the world, except perhaps for China.
The Russian Navy features very resilient ships. Most of their fleet has almost no long range gunnery, but devestating firepower at close range. They have very low stats for their Auxiliary weapons, making them vulnerable to aircraft. They have masses of boarding troops, who are poorly trained. The Russian airforce is generally lacklustre compared to other nations. Overall, the russian fleet's resilience and firepower encourage straightforward aggression to overwhelm the enemy.
Allied Nations
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Sandwiched between the Prussian Empire and the Russian Coalition, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth has always stood in a precarious position in the volatile political intrigues and territorial disputes of central and Eastern Europe. The Commonwealth is not inconsiderable in size – its lands stretch from the Baltic to the Black Sea coasts, with Riga its northernmost city and Odessa the southernmost. Formed from a union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Commonwealth has a unique system of governance; the elective monarchy. The ruling King of the Commonwealth is elected by a parliamentary body known as the Sejm, which holds the real political power in the nation – in the past several kings have been dismissed from office by the Sejm which felt that their rule was proceeding counter to the best interests of the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth has limited forces available at this time.
Ottoman Empire
Not yet released.
League of Italian States
Not yet released.
Chinese Federation
Not yet released.
Republic of Egypt
Not yet released.
Socialist Union of South America
Not yet released.