Equinox
Radio Bob Approved
The Rebel's Guide to Launching a Resistance
So you want to fight the power. Stick it to the man. Really burn shit to the ground and give a loud "Fuck You!" to the system. If so you've come to the right thread. There are plenty of ways to go about starting a Resistance, but while there's quite a few right ways to do it, there's a ton of wrong ways to do it. The goal of this guide is to inform you on how to really take on the Combine, without getting absolutely fucked in the process.
Premise
First, we need to establish what you are really going up against compared to you.
You will start out as one person with a group of friends. You are probably pissed off citizens who are tired of all the bullshit- whatever that bullshit may be. You and your friends likely have around a thousand credits to your name, a good stock of food to last you, some bits and pieces of scrap, some small rinky dink apartments, and maybe a long metal pipe owned by one dude in your group. If you fought another group of your size, you may have a fighting chance! Hell, you could be the terror of the alleys, shaking down citizens for their rations. But you aren't interested in taking on those of your own size. You want to take on the Combine.
So let's look at your small group of friends versus the Combine. We'll even just limit it to what's available to your immediate City, just to give you a fighting chance. We've got:
- ~35,000 (IF NOT MORE) Civil Protection Officers in the entire city (including more than just your district). It sounds like a lot, but remember that the Cities are concentrations of the entire Earth's population.
- ~5,000 Civil Protection Officers in your district alone.
- 100 - 500 OTA Units garrisoned in your district's Nexus alone.
- 5,000 - 10,000 OTA Units within the entire city.
- 40,000 - 50,000 OTA Units ready to rapid deploy within the Sector to YOUR city.
- An entire police force, heavily armed and constantly on the lookout for those like YOU. They aren't occupied with some citizen's cat stuck up in a tree. They're specifically there to stomp out shitheads like YOU who think they got something against them.
- A backing special forces arm that is: Physically better than you in all regards, trained to be better than you in combat, supported by an AI for overall strategical superiority, and far better equipped with armor and weaponry that is beyond even pre-war tech.
- 50,000 - 100,000 Combine Supporters who will not hesitate in reporting even the smallest details of your anti-Combine message in order to garner support for themselves.
- Synthetic forces that can level blocks just in case the 10,000 OTA Units wasn't enough.
- A heavily monitored city with camera's on every corner and multiple methods of tracking you.
Welcome to the Dystopian Totalitarian Hell.
But don't worry. Despite all this the Combine can still be beat, but it won't be easy. In fact, it's likely to be incredibly difficult. But it is possible! That's what this guide is for, so let's continue on.
What Not to Do
So, we know what the Combine have. Let's take a quick look at their strengths:
- Superior weapons.
- Tactical superiority against those they outnumber or match in numbers.
- Superior resources.
- Superior tracking tech.
The number one obvious thing you shouldn't do is try to attack the Combine with your piss poor group of friends. It doesn't matter what you have. You and your five friends can have machine guns with salvaged OTA armor and a comm setup to allow for instantaneous and effective communication- and you will still be turned into a red paste on the concrete. The Combine outnumber you. The Combine are better than you. You are utterly fucked by yourselves. Sure, even if you manage to take out one squad of 9-10 OTA, there'll be another squad of OTA right behind them likely with synth forces to boot.
Be honest: Did you really think that you and your little group would start the Uprising? Reality check, it's going to take more than that.
With that in mind, let's take a look at some common practices that failed Resistance groups attempt:
Base Camping
Lots of wannabe rebels think that it's a good idea to find themselves a base in the sewers or some secret little area behind a bookshelf in the apartments. Suddenly they think they are invisible. All these rebels camp up in their own little base because "this is where we belong! We aren't owned by the system anymore! Fuck yeah!"
Imagine their surprise when it ends up their tomb. All it takes is one bad citizen with Combine loyalism in heart to see it. Some are even deceptive, pretending to support a rebel group just so they can be invited to their nice little base. One call later to the Civil Protection, and the system has now found your hideaway.
Why doesn't this work? Because no matter how you try to quantify it, grouping up your manpower into one area leaves your margin for error very large. It takes one mistake, and then ALL of you are caught.
Flashy Guns and Uniforms
Wannabe rebels love to look the part. They walk around in dark alleys and sewers fully clad in kevlar, touting around their favorite little pea shooter. Do not do this. There's no better way to be singled out by both Civil Protection and Loyalist by practically screaming "I AM A REBEL! REPORT ME!" Remember, that once the Combine have your trail, it's going to be difficult to get away from them.
Being a Known Rebel
The idea of being seen on the streets as some epic "legend" of the Resistance is a dream that wannabe rebels have every night. To real rebels? A nightmare. The Combine already have your face and ID in their database. Once they've paired that with rebellious acts and have identified you as a wanted Anti-Citizen, you have lost. It doesn't matter how well you hide, or how quick you can get away- it only takes one mistake at this point to end up dead, or worse. Once wanted by the Combine, you now have to live a life of constant avoidance. You can only retreat to the sewers so many times before you die to some monstrosity down there, or succumb to the Xenian spore. You can only hop so many times between alleys in the slums before loyalists know of your name, either by rumors or by the Combine telling its Citizens to look out for you. Don't get identified. Once you do, your rebel days are done. You'd be better off just leaving the city.
Organizational Structures
What better way to help the Combine identify not only you, but all your friends by making it obvious that your entire group has a ton of helpful little trails between you all! This isn't to say that you can't have a leader and secret signs, but if you have a massive group of rebels, all assigned by rank and codenames, then that's just a larger footprint for the Combine to follow.
Antagonizing Non-Loyalists
You want to be a rebel right? This means you need influence, and nothing will destroy this influence better than attacking Citizens for finding your little base, or extorting non-loyalist businesses for "protection pay". This should be a no brainer, but it happens a lot for some reason. Not only will the Combine have plenty of fuel to use against you by exposing all your criminal acts to the city, but they will also be able to pin complete lies onto you which will likely be believed because of your reputation. Furthermore, when you turn to your "fellow citizens" for aid when the Combine come knocking, they're going to smile and give you the middle finger, if not actively sabotage you to get rid of what they see as a threat. Loyalists are a different case, but we'll touch on that later.
Massive Recruitment
Wannabe rebels think that they themselves need to swell to massive numbers in order to take on the Combine. They start recruiting every citizen they find in the slums bar that simply says "I hate Combine". They start throwing around guns and ammo. They start throwing out little insignia patches. And then the Civil Protection come knocking. Why? Because massive recruitment means you have to tell everyone that you try to recruit that you are a rebel. The threat of loyalists is very real, and it only takes one being asked to turn around and call the Civil Protection. Furthermore, it doesn't even have to be a loyalist. Massive recruitment drives result in more and more availability of info involving your group, and once the Civil Protection pick that up, they just need to start questioning random people. No one is going to risk their life for a rebel group they JUST joined, if they even joined at all.
Do Not Walk with Contraband
Do not walk around with contraband. Ever. Do not carry guns, ammo, radios, or anything that could result in you being detained if found on the streets. The idea is to blend in, and nothing will make you stick out more than a pack full of contraband. The Civil Protection can search anyone at random on the streets. Furthermore, loyalist are always looking for someone carrying contraband to report. Remaining hidden is the goal, and part of that is acting innocent. Place your contraband somewhere safe and hidden. If you absolutely NEED to use it, then use it in secret, in one spot, with haste, and then put it back and continue on.
Direct Conflict
This circles around the very first warning. The best way to destroy your resistance group, is directly fighting the Combine. Whether it be your group mugging Civil Protection units, setting up bombs, ambushing patrols, or assassinating CA members. Unless you are willing to die in the attack, thus leaving no possible questioning trail, you absolutely should not directly engaging the Combine. Why? Because once they see you, they won't forget you, and they won't let up. If the OTA is on to you, just sign your death warrant. You and your group are not large enough to take on the Combine.
Phase 0: How to Start and Operate a Group
Now that we know what NOT to do, let's look into what we SHOULD do, and why. It's time to turn your little group of friends into the masterminds of a city wide rebellion.Remain Sparse
A very big part of remaining effective while not being caught is to remain as loosely connected as possible. You need to recognize your own members, and remain away from them. Why? Because the more you stick together, the easier it is to identify you. This is especially true when it comes to forming any form of base. This doesn't mean that you need to avoid each other as if you all of the plague. In fact, you can converse with each other as normal citizens. But if you are performing any maneuver that even hints towards rebellious acts, you need to be far apart. The idea behind this is damage control. If and when one of you are caught, they can't turn to citizens and ask "Who was he affiliated with?" because not even they will know who your friends were. Meanwhile, if they do the same for rebels who stick together, well it's going to make things a lot worse for you.
Remain apart, establish radio contact if you can (be very careful with this!), and meet up only briefly and in reserved, private, temporary locations. These can be an abandoned apartment, a backroom of a business, or even one of your own apartments. If at any point any of these places are compromised (someone saw you all leaving/entering), then you need to leave quickly and avoid that place for a long time, as this is a mistake on your part.
Form very simple structures of your group.
Do not assign ranks to everyone. Do not form "units" to operate in. This is very important: YOU ARE NOT A MILITARY UNIT. You are a covert rebel group. You don't have the capability to act like a military unit because the Combine will always stomp you out, so why organize yourself like one? The only solid title you should have in your group is a leader, if even that, and nothing more. You don't want to give the Combine a massive network to work with once you are caught, and this is part of that.
Remain Small
Don't worry. You can still launch a resistance and uprising without becoming some massive insurgency. We are talking your group of rebel friends. The idea here is that you are puppet masters. You are a shadowy group that influences via utilizing the desires of citizens to rebel and flourish. You don't need massive numbers within your own group, as this will come naturally through your influence. With a small number of members, around 5 being perfect, you remain hard to find. More members means a larger footprint, and that's not what we want. Remaining Sparse is difficult to do when you have a large amount of members, and a low number means you can maintain cohesiveness while remaining apart because you only have about four other members to connect too.
The actions you take and the goals you seek to accomplish do not require a massive number of people (more than 7) within your inner group.
Form an Icon of Hope
In your early phase, you need to give those that work with you something to believe in. Sure, you can go without a sign, and you should probably do this at any point if you aren't sure that the Citizens you are working with won't be caught or will remain faithful, but eventually you need to start giving an idea for people to rally behind. It can be a motto, a symbol, a mascot, a fabled figure, a made up name, anything. You just need to make sure that you never identify yourselves by the symbol, and never affiliate with the symbol. This symbol is for others, not your own.
Failing to do this isn't a real issue in the earlier times of your group, but it will begin to cause issues later on, especially when trying to grow a large influence in the city. You will find that no one can get behind anything, and there will be no unity in the rage of the people. With an Icon, the people have something to chant for, to riot for, and to die for.
Operate by Proxy
You are not alone, nor doomed to only you and your small group. This is where a small group really shines, and how you will eventually topple the Combine in your city. There are plenty of citizens willing to perform acts of resistance if they believe they will be compensated for it, if they even need compensation in the first place since many citizens would be willing to do so off of personal conviction.
This is where your group comes in. You are the shadow puppetmasters, and the citizens are your puppets. You need to identify members of the population that are unenthused with the Combine, and feed into their hate. You need to test them. Run them through menial errands and more. The idea is that one member of your group can potentially be in contact with 3 or more citizens at a time, trying to influence them. Once you are in firm belief that a citizen is not a loyalist, and won't crumble and turn the moment things go wrong, you can begin offering elevating incentives. It can start with a simple rock through a loyalist establishment's window. A movement of contraband from one area to another. A mugging of a loyalist. An assault. Spreading out contraband to the people. Spraying graffiti. Over time, you elevate as a citizen proves themselves. Make them cause a scene. Give them a gun and tell them to shoot a CP unit. Have them start a riot. Assassinate a CCA member. Bomb an establishment. The moment they are caught? Bail. This leads into our next bit:
Remain Anonymous
This is two fold.
To the Combine, you need to remain anonymous in the sense that you are just another Citizen. One in the crowd. Just another worker, or even a loyalist. You need to convince them that you are not a threat, while at the same time being the number 1 threat. In general, this comes into play when you are out and about. This is where not carrying around contraband and not being obvious is helpful.
To Citizens, you need to remain anonymous in the sense that Citizens do not know who you truly are. When it comes to conversing with them, you operate through letters and packages. Directions to perform tasks followed by instructions to a cache of reward. If you absolutely must converse with citizens as a rebellious figure, you do so with masks in secret places. You a puppet master, and a shadowy one at that. There are plenty of ways to go about this. You can drop a package off to a citizen with Chips attached, which they drop off somewhere else as part of their daily walk, to another citizen who will open the package and receive instructions, or that leads to a smaller package which must be delivered. This fits in with the proxy operations, and can be done as many times as needed. If one citizen is caught, it will be incredibly difficult to trace back to your group.
Acquire Resources
No, NOT for yourselves. As you start, people have no idea what you are, and they aren't that likely to follow you if you have jack shit to give them as you tell them to go break the law. Sure, some may agree to do stuff for the hell of it, but most won't. You need to show that you have resources to give. Incentives to provide.
These can be practically anything. Chips is a big one. Food is another, especially that which is better than rations. Try not to use credits, as this means going through a Combine network, and leaving a footprint. Try to avoid handing out guns or ammo as a reward, because this just inspires others to create scenes outside of your control. Instead, give a gun and ammo followed by a task to complete with it, then offer a large sum of Chips in return should they hand back the gun.
This establishes your group as one that is willing to reward and sacrifice for the people.
Play Dirty
This applies to everything you do. You cannot afford to play nice, because the Combine certainly will not. If one of your contacts is caught, you cannot pursue and rescue them. You can't go around saving Citizens from Combine persecution, at least not via your own group. You need to be willing to sabotage. Frame loyalist for acts they did not commit. Pin complete lies onto administrators. Even lie to citizens if it absolutely comes down to it. Is it morally questionable? Yes, but if you can get away with it, you must carry them out. The ends justify the means here, and so long as the Combine are suffering and your Icon is growing, all is well.
A very big part of remaining effective while not being caught is to remain as loosely connected as possible. You need to recognize your own members, and remain away from them. Why? Because the more you stick together, the easier it is to identify you. This is especially true when it comes to forming any form of base. This doesn't mean that you need to avoid each other as if you all of the plague. In fact, you can converse with each other as normal citizens. But if you are performing any maneuver that even hints towards rebellious acts, you need to be far apart. The idea behind this is damage control. If and when one of you are caught, they can't turn to citizens and ask "Who was he affiliated with?" because not even they will know who your friends were. Meanwhile, if they do the same for rebels who stick together, well it's going to make things a lot worse for you.
Remain apart, establish radio contact if you can (be very careful with this!), and meet up only briefly and in reserved, private, temporary locations. These can be an abandoned apartment, a backroom of a business, or even one of your own apartments. If at any point any of these places are compromised (someone saw you all leaving/entering), then you need to leave quickly and avoid that place for a long time, as this is a mistake on your part.
Form very simple structures of your group.
Do not assign ranks to everyone. Do not form "units" to operate in. This is very important: YOU ARE NOT A MILITARY UNIT. You are a covert rebel group. You don't have the capability to act like a military unit because the Combine will always stomp you out, so why organize yourself like one? The only solid title you should have in your group is a leader, if even that, and nothing more. You don't want to give the Combine a massive network to work with once you are caught, and this is part of that.
Remain Small
Don't worry. You can still launch a resistance and uprising without becoming some massive insurgency. We are talking your group of rebel friends. The idea here is that you are puppet masters. You are a shadowy group that influences via utilizing the desires of citizens to rebel and flourish. You don't need massive numbers within your own group, as this will come naturally through your influence. With a small number of members, around 5 being perfect, you remain hard to find. More members means a larger footprint, and that's not what we want. Remaining Sparse is difficult to do when you have a large amount of members, and a low number means you can maintain cohesiveness while remaining apart because you only have about four other members to connect too.
The actions you take and the goals you seek to accomplish do not require a massive number of people (more than 7) within your inner group.
Form an Icon of Hope
In your early phase, you need to give those that work with you something to believe in. Sure, you can go without a sign, and you should probably do this at any point if you aren't sure that the Citizens you are working with won't be caught or will remain faithful, but eventually you need to start giving an idea for people to rally behind. It can be a motto, a symbol, a mascot, a fabled figure, a made up name, anything. You just need to make sure that you never identify yourselves by the symbol, and never affiliate with the symbol. This symbol is for others, not your own.
Failing to do this isn't a real issue in the earlier times of your group, but it will begin to cause issues later on, especially when trying to grow a large influence in the city. You will find that no one can get behind anything, and there will be no unity in the rage of the people. With an Icon, the people have something to chant for, to riot for, and to die for.
Operate by Proxy
You are not alone, nor doomed to only you and your small group. This is where a small group really shines, and how you will eventually topple the Combine in your city. There are plenty of citizens willing to perform acts of resistance if they believe they will be compensated for it, if they even need compensation in the first place since many citizens would be willing to do so off of personal conviction.
This is where your group comes in. You are the shadow puppetmasters, and the citizens are your puppets. You need to identify members of the population that are unenthused with the Combine, and feed into their hate. You need to test them. Run them through menial errands and more. The idea is that one member of your group can potentially be in contact with 3 or more citizens at a time, trying to influence them. Once you are in firm belief that a citizen is not a loyalist, and won't crumble and turn the moment things go wrong, you can begin offering elevating incentives. It can start with a simple rock through a loyalist establishment's window. A movement of contraband from one area to another. A mugging of a loyalist. An assault. Spreading out contraband to the people. Spraying graffiti. Over time, you elevate as a citizen proves themselves. Make them cause a scene. Give them a gun and tell them to shoot a CP unit. Have them start a riot. Assassinate a CCA member. Bomb an establishment. The moment they are caught? Bail. This leads into our next bit:
Remain Anonymous
This is two fold.
To the Combine, you need to remain anonymous in the sense that you are just another Citizen. One in the crowd. Just another worker, or even a loyalist. You need to convince them that you are not a threat, while at the same time being the number 1 threat. In general, this comes into play when you are out and about. This is where not carrying around contraband and not being obvious is helpful.
To Citizens, you need to remain anonymous in the sense that Citizens do not know who you truly are. When it comes to conversing with them, you operate through letters and packages. Directions to perform tasks followed by instructions to a cache of reward. If you absolutely must converse with citizens as a rebellious figure, you do so with masks in secret places. You a puppet master, and a shadowy one at that. There are plenty of ways to go about this. You can drop a package off to a citizen with Chips attached, which they drop off somewhere else as part of their daily walk, to another citizen who will open the package and receive instructions, or that leads to a smaller package which must be delivered. This fits in with the proxy operations, and can be done as many times as needed. If one citizen is caught, it will be incredibly difficult to trace back to your group.
Acquire Resources
No, NOT for yourselves. As you start, people have no idea what you are, and they aren't that likely to follow you if you have jack shit to give them as you tell them to go break the law. Sure, some may agree to do stuff for the hell of it, but most won't. You need to show that you have resources to give. Incentives to provide.
These can be practically anything. Chips is a big one. Food is another, especially that which is better than rations. Try not to use credits, as this means going through a Combine network, and leaving a footprint. Try to avoid handing out guns or ammo as a reward, because this just inspires others to create scenes outside of your control. Instead, give a gun and ammo followed by a task to complete with it, then offer a large sum of Chips in return should they hand back the gun.
This establishes your group as one that is willing to reward and sacrifice for the people.
Play Dirty
This applies to everything you do. You cannot afford to play nice, because the Combine certainly will not. If one of your contacts is caught, you cannot pursue and rescue them. You can't go around saving Citizens from Combine persecution, at least not via your own group. You need to be willing to sabotage. Frame loyalist for acts they did not commit. Pin complete lies onto administrators. Even lie to citizens if it absolutely comes down to it. Is it morally questionable? Yes, but if you can get away with it, you must carry them out. The ends justify the means here, and so long as the Combine are suffering and your Icon is growing, all is well.
Phase 1: Growing Influence
When you first start out, you are just a rag tag group. No one knows your icon or your goals. The goal here isn't to take on the system yet. Your goal here is to prove yourself as a reliable and effective group. Most of your operations here involve helping citizens.Distribute Contraband and Resources
A quick way to grow in influence is to distribute contraband and resources. Slip a letter into someone's pocket informing them to find a cache, and to hand it out to the people under the grace of your Icon. You may watch from the distance, or ask someone who attended later about it. The idea is that you are gaining influence through sacrificing your own resources.
Display the Icon
Your icon is important, and it must be known. Leave a package with spray paint, a drawn picture of the icon, and some chips with promise of more should the icons be seen. Posters also work if you can find a way to make them. Same with flyers and more. The idea is that you are getting the icon into the heads of others. This likely won't grow influence that fast, but is incredibly easy to do, and is a good starting operation. Minor vandalism also falls under here, involving exposing Combine posters for what they are.
Make and Print a Manifesto
Create a manifesto, and send it out to the people. A newspaper printer is best for this if you can obtain one. This manifesto should include: Why the Combine are bad, why the reader's life is suffering because of the Combine, the failures of the Combine, what can be gained from resisting, how to resist, and your Icon. This gives people more to follow, but should not point towards your group.
Establish Contacts
Start talking to people. Not as a rebel member, but just as another citizen. This is the most dangerous operation of Phase 1 because you have to be directly involved, but is still not that dangerous so long as you are careful. Start with just trying to build rapport with the citizen. Good trust. You need to work out first and foremost that they are not a loyalist. If you fail to do this and continue on, the risk of having the CP called and you being arrested only grows. From there, it's just a matter of pushing little by little until you are 99% certain that they are not only a loyalist, but also don't like the Combine. You can never be 100% certain however, because you never know what they might do to save their own skin if they are caught, and it's also better to be safe than sorry.
Infiltrate the Collaborator's Party
The idea here is that you support one of your citizen contacts to begin worming their way into the Collaborator's Party. Try to get multiple even. You can do this by providng them contraband to support their efforts, having them report Citizens you have sent to do misdeeds ("Hey, go here at this time. There tends to be crime here often."), and more. The idea is that you have someone on the inside who isn't truly a loyalist. The higher they can get, the better. Begin to antagonize those who oppose them, and more. With someone inside the Collaborator's Party, you can see what loyalists are planning, and what figures to look out for. If they can get to the Higher Echelon of the Party, they can even begin to surpress the party by weakening them through their own actions, as well as influencing the Combine to take out loyalists who are truly supportive and rising. This also includes lower Combine government organizations like the CWU and CMU.
Establish Contact with a Supporting Insurgency
Should one exist (admin rebel agent, admin rebel support group), you should establish your own group with that group. Make sure all contact is discreet. This supporting group is especially beneficial for later phases, as they will provide you the resources needed to influence citizens and act by-proxy.
A quick way to grow in influence is to distribute contraband and resources. Slip a letter into someone's pocket informing them to find a cache, and to hand it out to the people under the grace of your Icon. You may watch from the distance, or ask someone who attended later about it. The idea is that you are gaining influence through sacrificing your own resources.
Display the Icon
Your icon is important, and it must be known. Leave a package with spray paint, a drawn picture of the icon, and some chips with promise of more should the icons be seen. Posters also work if you can find a way to make them. Same with flyers and more. The idea is that you are getting the icon into the heads of others. This likely won't grow influence that fast, but is incredibly easy to do, and is a good starting operation. Minor vandalism also falls under here, involving exposing Combine posters for what they are.
Make and Print a Manifesto
Create a manifesto, and send it out to the people. A newspaper printer is best for this if you can obtain one. This manifesto should include: Why the Combine are bad, why the reader's life is suffering because of the Combine, the failures of the Combine, what can be gained from resisting, how to resist, and your Icon. This gives people more to follow, but should not point towards your group.
Establish Contacts
Start talking to people. Not as a rebel member, but just as another citizen. This is the most dangerous operation of Phase 1 because you have to be directly involved, but is still not that dangerous so long as you are careful. Start with just trying to build rapport with the citizen. Good trust. You need to work out first and foremost that they are not a loyalist. If you fail to do this and continue on, the risk of having the CP called and you being arrested only grows. From there, it's just a matter of pushing little by little until you are 99% certain that they are not only a loyalist, but also don't like the Combine. You can never be 100% certain however, because you never know what they might do to save their own skin if they are caught, and it's also better to be safe than sorry.
Infiltrate the Collaborator's Party
The idea here is that you support one of your citizen contacts to begin worming their way into the Collaborator's Party. Try to get multiple even. You can do this by providng them contraband to support their efforts, having them report Citizens you have sent to do misdeeds ("Hey, go here at this time. There tends to be crime here often."), and more. The idea is that you have someone on the inside who isn't truly a loyalist. The higher they can get, the better. Begin to antagonize those who oppose them, and more. With someone inside the Collaborator's Party, you can see what loyalists are planning, and what figures to look out for. If they can get to the Higher Echelon of the Party, they can even begin to surpress the party by weakening them through their own actions, as well as influencing the Combine to take out loyalists who are truly supportive and rising. This also includes lower Combine government organizations like the CWU and CMU.
Establish Contact with a Supporting Insurgency
Should one exist (admin rebel agent, admin rebel support group), you should establish your own group with that group. Make sure all contact is discreet. This supporting group is especially beneficial for later phases, as they will provide you the resources needed to influence citizens and act by-proxy.
Phase 2: Exposing Lies
Phase 2 begins after you have gained a sizeable influence within the city. Specifically, around 10-15 citizens. It is here where you up the ante, and begin to expose the lies of the Combine, and begin to antagonize loyalist. The reason you don't want to do these before Phase 2 is because it is imparative that you have influence. Without influence, people just see this Icon and its followers antagonizing loyalist. Even if they hate loyalists, they'll only see a brutish group. You need at least a small influence in order to have a base that can support your acts and reason them to others. The goal here is to expose lies, cast doubt on the Combine for those who support them, and to interrupt loyalist functions.Interrupting Loyalist Gatherings
The goal behind a loyalist gathering is to share thoughts and ideas, and unify under the Combine. We can't have that happening. Find citizens who will be able to infiltrate, or outright move into a loyalist gathering- and try to interrupt as much as possible. It doesn't need to be violent. Simply talking out of turn, proposing obnoxiously pro-combine ideas that nobody would agree to, interrupting others as they speak, and being a nuisance. Even if the citizen is arrested, they likely won't be punished much, and those of lesser loyalty will associate a gathering with a bad experience.
Antagonize Priority Loyalist
These are loyalist of a higher standing, specifically the highest tier, and the leaders of the Collaborator's Party. It needs to be made clear that they are NOT respected, as that is what the Combine administration is to portray. The message needs to be sent that they are hated and despised. Citizens should be directed to heckle them, and jeer at them in public. The more hate and vitriol, the better, but more aggressive and violent acts should only be supported by your group later on. Better yet, you should expose the corruption that they have carried out to get to their position, especially from disgruntled loyalists who have been stepped on by them. This portrays the leadership as poor, while showing your own Icon to be that which will aid those who have been screwed over by the system they wanted to support.
Disrupt Government Functions
Parades, work shifts, and speeches especially. When these are sabotaged, the people grow weary of the Combine's power. Through random citizens starting random acts of disruption, the Combine can be exposed as a government that can't even control their own functions, let alone the acts of others. Administrative members are heckled and jeered. Work shift equipment is broken or disrupted. Parades are met with thrown tomatoes. All the more to weaken the image the Combine are trying to portray.
Set up, invest in, and support neutral and anti-combine business
Provide the means for Citizens to operate businesses that do not support the Combine. Loyalist should be treated with bad service, if not outright denied service if the business owner is willing to risk personal profit and potential CCA involvement (though they should be compensated and supported during and after these acts so they aren't left to poverty). The idea here is that loyalist feel as though the system is turning on them, and that they can't form businesses, as customers will prefer non-loyalist businesses.
Infiltrate the Civil Protection
With members infiltrating the Collaborator's Party, you want some of them to go on into the Civil Protection. You only need a few, and you want these members to lie very low. The idea is that they can provide info to others about the Civil Protection. What are their plans? Who are they looking out for? This is a very beneficial agent to have, it just usually takes time as they need to not only work up the time to infiltrate, but to also establish themselves to a rank that is considered "safe" before they begin doing anything. If they try anything suspicious at a rank too low (Recruit or around there) they may be outed very quickly. In reality, it won't be until Phase 3 where you can properly use them.
Launch Peaceful Protests
Have citizens start peaceful protests. These protests must strictly be peaceful. "But wait! How is this going to get us anywhere?! The Combine won't care!", and that is the entire point. The idea is that you are going to cause the Civil Protection to react with overwhelming force. It is imparative that the protests never end until they are met with violence. If an administrator comes out, simply begin heckling the administrator. If they actually give what you want, wait a day, before returning with a new protests. Keep doing this until they inevitably snap. The goal here is to expose the Combine for their brutalist ways.
The goal behind a loyalist gathering is to share thoughts and ideas, and unify under the Combine. We can't have that happening. Find citizens who will be able to infiltrate, or outright move into a loyalist gathering- and try to interrupt as much as possible. It doesn't need to be violent. Simply talking out of turn, proposing obnoxiously pro-combine ideas that nobody would agree to, interrupting others as they speak, and being a nuisance. Even if the citizen is arrested, they likely won't be punished much, and those of lesser loyalty will associate a gathering with a bad experience.
Antagonize Priority Loyalist
These are loyalist of a higher standing, specifically the highest tier, and the leaders of the Collaborator's Party. It needs to be made clear that they are NOT respected, as that is what the Combine administration is to portray. The message needs to be sent that they are hated and despised. Citizens should be directed to heckle them, and jeer at them in public. The more hate and vitriol, the better, but more aggressive and violent acts should only be supported by your group later on. Better yet, you should expose the corruption that they have carried out to get to their position, especially from disgruntled loyalists who have been stepped on by them. This portrays the leadership as poor, while showing your own Icon to be that which will aid those who have been screwed over by the system they wanted to support.
Disrupt Government Functions
Parades, work shifts, and speeches especially. When these are sabotaged, the people grow weary of the Combine's power. Through random citizens starting random acts of disruption, the Combine can be exposed as a government that can't even control their own functions, let alone the acts of others. Administrative members are heckled and jeered. Work shift equipment is broken or disrupted. Parades are met with thrown tomatoes. All the more to weaken the image the Combine are trying to portray.
Set up, invest in, and support neutral and anti-combine business
Provide the means for Citizens to operate businesses that do not support the Combine. Loyalist should be treated with bad service, if not outright denied service if the business owner is willing to risk personal profit and potential CCA involvement (though they should be compensated and supported during and after these acts so they aren't left to poverty). The idea here is that loyalist feel as though the system is turning on them, and that they can't form businesses, as customers will prefer non-loyalist businesses.
Infiltrate the Civil Protection
With members infiltrating the Collaborator's Party, you want some of them to go on into the Civil Protection. You only need a few, and you want these members to lie very low. The idea is that they can provide info to others about the Civil Protection. What are their plans? Who are they looking out for? This is a very beneficial agent to have, it just usually takes time as they need to not only work up the time to infiltrate, but to also establish themselves to a rank that is considered "safe" before they begin doing anything. If they try anything suspicious at a rank too low (Recruit or around there) they may be outed very quickly. In reality, it won't be until Phase 3 where you can properly use them.
Launch Peaceful Protests
Have citizens start peaceful protests. These protests must strictly be peaceful. "But wait! How is this going to get us anywhere?! The Combine won't care!", and that is the entire point. The idea is that you are going to cause the Civil Protection to react with overwhelming force. It is imparative that the protests never end until they are met with violence. If an administrator comes out, simply begin heckling the administrator. If they actually give what you want, wait a day, before returning with a new protests. Keep doing this until they inevitably snap. The goal here is to expose the Combine for their brutalist ways.
Phase 3: Turn the Worm
In this phase, you need to have a rather high support for your Icon among about half the populace, and the loyalist party needs to be aware that not only are they not liked, but also disenthused with their own group being in shambles. Your target here is now loyalists and anyone who supports the Combine, as well as parts of the Combine itself. The goal here is to show citizens that the Combine can be fought, and that its supporters should grow wary of the wrath of the citizen populace.Antagonize Combine Supporters
Anyone who genuinely supports the Combine should begin to be antagonized. We're talking jeering, mugging, even assaulting die hard Combine supporters. The level of violence should equal the support, with the most staunch supporters being attacked, if not potentially killed. The idea is to scare lower ranks of loyalist, or those who still considered loyalism, away from the Combine. This shouldn't be done too much, and when done there should be an equal operation to provide support for those who may be only considering the loyalist option, so as to show them that the other side cares for them.
Begin False Flag Operations
Have those who "support the Combine" begin to commit atrocities. Bombing Citizen centers, bombing vortigaunt housing, attacking vortigaunts who are liked by many, and attacking well supported businesses. Make sure the citizen carrying out the act voices staunch support for the Combine. An act of deception, this makes citizens think that those who support the Combine are brutish and unfavorable. Furthermore, you can pin these actions on inner parties within the Collaborator's Party who are more extreme in nature.
Frame Loyalists
Attempt to frame loyalists for misdeeds. The idea here is to not have the loyalist killed, but to have their reputation (and life) ruined. When this is done, they can start to be shown alternatives to follow, such as your group's icon. If contacts have currently infiltrated the loyalist party (specifically higher up), you can have them smear the former-loyalist even further, ensuring that they will never be allowed back in. Thus, the citizen, alienated by one side, will look for support in another.
Antagonize Loyalist Businesses
Begin extortion and vandalism on loyalist business. Have citizens convince others to boycot the business. Have rocks thrown through their windows. Have other loyalist be threatened with violence should they patronize the business. Threaten the owner with further violence against them and their workers. With this, the goal is to run them out, so they may be replaced by an anti-combine, or at least a neutral business that doesn't support loyalists.
Start Terrorizing High Tier Loyalists
It's about this time that the highest tier of loyalist are given a true threat to their life. They should be assassinated gradually, and replaced with your own infiltrated loyalists. Bare in mind this should be done in a way that does NOT implicate your infiltrated loyalist. If they can be reliably pinned as an opponent that wanted the other gone, that can spell bad news for them, as even the implication can harm their reputation. Have citizens take a gun and simply take out the high tier loyalist.
Sabotage Combine Resources
Break the ration terminal. Disable pickup terminals. Have bombs planted in the factory to go off and disable equipment. Citizens should see that the Combine can't provide, which is a major "selling point" for the Combine. If it can be done through expeditions/event servers, have incoming trains and other supplies halted so as to create a shortage of supply. In that absence, have your own group provide under the Icon, so that citizens are further pulled to your side.
Begin Infiltrating the upper CCA
At this point, you may have members within the Collaborator's Party who are within the higher echelon, or members within a lower part of the CCA that are beginning to rise in power. These members, your agents, should try as best they can to make their way into the upper CCA. Once this is done, they need to hold the position for a while and operate normally. Suspicious activity so early as a CCA member will result in a quick removal. They need to "prove their loyalty", and then begin subtly influencing the city.
Anyone who genuinely supports the Combine should begin to be antagonized. We're talking jeering, mugging, even assaulting die hard Combine supporters. The level of violence should equal the support, with the most staunch supporters being attacked, if not potentially killed. The idea is to scare lower ranks of loyalist, or those who still considered loyalism, away from the Combine. This shouldn't be done too much, and when done there should be an equal operation to provide support for those who may be only considering the loyalist option, so as to show them that the other side cares for them.
Begin False Flag Operations
Have those who "support the Combine" begin to commit atrocities. Bombing Citizen centers, bombing vortigaunt housing, attacking vortigaunts who are liked by many, and attacking well supported businesses. Make sure the citizen carrying out the act voices staunch support for the Combine. An act of deception, this makes citizens think that those who support the Combine are brutish and unfavorable. Furthermore, you can pin these actions on inner parties within the Collaborator's Party who are more extreme in nature.
Frame Loyalists
Attempt to frame loyalists for misdeeds. The idea here is to not have the loyalist killed, but to have their reputation (and life) ruined. When this is done, they can start to be shown alternatives to follow, such as your group's icon. If contacts have currently infiltrated the loyalist party (specifically higher up), you can have them smear the former-loyalist even further, ensuring that they will never be allowed back in. Thus, the citizen, alienated by one side, will look for support in another.
Antagonize Loyalist Businesses
Begin extortion and vandalism on loyalist business. Have citizens convince others to boycot the business. Have rocks thrown through their windows. Have other loyalist be threatened with violence should they patronize the business. Threaten the owner with further violence against them and their workers. With this, the goal is to run them out, so they may be replaced by an anti-combine, or at least a neutral business that doesn't support loyalists.
Start Terrorizing High Tier Loyalists
It's about this time that the highest tier of loyalist are given a true threat to their life. They should be assassinated gradually, and replaced with your own infiltrated loyalists. Bare in mind this should be done in a way that does NOT implicate your infiltrated loyalist. If they can be reliably pinned as an opponent that wanted the other gone, that can spell bad news for them, as even the implication can harm their reputation. Have citizens take a gun and simply take out the high tier loyalist.
Sabotage Combine Resources
Break the ration terminal. Disable pickup terminals. Have bombs planted in the factory to go off and disable equipment. Citizens should see that the Combine can't provide, which is a major "selling point" for the Combine. If it can be done through expeditions/event servers, have incoming trains and other supplies halted so as to create a shortage of supply. In that absence, have your own group provide under the Icon, so that citizens are further pulled to your side.
Begin Infiltrating the upper CCA
At this point, you may have members within the Collaborator's Party who are within the higher echelon, or members within a lower part of the CCA that are beginning to rise in power. These members, your agents, should try as best they can to make their way into the upper CCA. Once this is done, they need to hold the position for a while and operate normally. Suspicious activity so early as a CCA member will result in a quick removal. They need to "prove their loyalty", and then begin subtly influencing the city.
Phase 4: Controlled Chaos
The time is nearing that the uprising, the fabled Revolution, shall begin. At this point, you need to have a large amount of the populace on your side, and the loyalist party either completely controlled or completely dissolved. Your Civil Protection agents should be fully trusted and monitoring the inside, and your CCA agent should now be seen as fully in place and trusted. The perception must be given that the Combine are weak in the eyes of the Citizens, while the Combine must think they are strong in their own eyes. The goal in this phase is to begin truly riling up citizens, and getting them very, very angry.Assassinate CCA Leaders
Have citizens begin taking out CCA figures. This can be done through bombings, sudden pulling of weapons, or if the citizens is trained and capable, with a sniper rifle. Have this done during speeches. If they are presenting to a loyalist party, have them be bombed. With CCA figures eliminated, their leadership begins to grow shaky, as their senior members are eliminated.
Begin Eliminating Loyalist Party Members
At this point, most citizens probably despise the loyalist party. Loyalists should know this, and they know what they are doing. With that in mind, citizens should be directed to assault if not kill loyalists if they can. Citizens should realize that becoming a loyalist is a death sentence, while the combine see that there are no Combine supporters left.
Perform Bombings
Performing bombings on low population, Combine secured locations of the city. Whether it be to eliminate a whole squad of Civil Protection, or to cause severe damage to a structure, a bombing gives something for people to rally behind.
Instigate Riots
Have a citizen start a protest that turns into a riot. Make the protest over something of very high concern for Citizens, such as a food shortage, and then start by simply throwing stones or bottles. The idea is to have a massacre take place with minimal loss of life after what was initially very minor affronts such as thrown rocks or trash.
Have citizens begin taking out CCA figures. This can be done through bombings, sudden pulling of weapons, or if the citizens is trained and capable, with a sniper rifle. Have this done during speeches. If they are presenting to a loyalist party, have them be bombed. With CCA figures eliminated, their leadership begins to grow shaky, as their senior members are eliminated.
Begin Eliminating Loyalist Party Members
At this point, most citizens probably despise the loyalist party. Loyalists should know this, and they know what they are doing. With that in mind, citizens should be directed to assault if not kill loyalists if they can. Citizens should realize that becoming a loyalist is a death sentence, while the combine see that there are no Combine supporters left.
Perform Bombings
Performing bombings on low population, Combine secured locations of the city. Whether it be to eliminate a whole squad of Civil Protection, or to cause severe damage to a structure, a bombing gives something for people to rally behind.
Instigate Riots
Have a citizen start a protest that turns into a riot. Make the protest over something of very high concern for Citizens, such as a food shortage, and then start by simply throwing stones or bottles. The idea is to have a massacre take place with minimal loss of life after what was initially very minor affronts such as thrown rocks or trash.
Phase 5: Launching the Uprising
The time has come. When you reach this phase, you should have the majority of the city on your side, rallying around your icon. The Combine know the icon is a threat and the city is in poor socio-economic status, but aside from a few bombings and a riot, they don't suspect what is about to occur. The people are angry. They are ready, and this is what months of preperation have led up to. This can take place any way your group sees fit, but I find the following to possibly work best.These operations should take place IN ORDER:
1. Obtain a massive stock of weapons and ammo.
If you have a supporting rebel insurgency outside the city, they should have already realized that you are ready to perform this. If not, this just needs to take place over time. You need an absolutely massive stock pile of weapons. We're talking enough for every citizen in the apartment. Not just a rinky dink pistol, but an MP7. Armor included.
2. Wait for a curfew to take place.
Everyone needs to be in an enclosed area. Your group needs to be either in this location, or setting up around it.
NOTE, THESE NEXT FEW STEPS MUST TAKE PLACE INCREDIBLY QUICKLY
3. Begin feeding in these crates of armemants as fast as possible into the back areas of the apartment.
Make sure the Civil Protection are either being stalled. Have a citizen even try to fight them if need be.
4. As this is happening, begin passing out weapon, ammo, and armor as quickly as possible.
The goal is to eventually have everyone in the apartments armed up. If the Civil Protection find out during this point, simply take them out and begin arming as fast as possible.
5. Your time has come. Move among the people with the Icon's logo.
You need to assume control of the masses before they simply spill out of the apartments in mass with aimless goals. This is where you assume the control of leader.
6. Direct people to spread into the city as quickly as possible after leaving the apartments.
They need to get everywhere. In the apartments, in the bussinesses, in the back alleys, in the streets, in the plaza- everywhere. The idea is to overwhelm the Combine. Make sure your numbers are highest concentrated where the immediate civil protection threat is.
7. Congrats, you have launched an Uprising
From this point on, I leave it up to your group to control as they need. You've already come so far, so you can probably handle it now. Your months of effort have paid off, and the city should be entering a state of contested control where the OTA are funneling troops in, yet are unable to topple the masses.
1. Obtain a massive stock of weapons and ammo.
If you have a supporting rebel insurgency outside the city, they should have already realized that you are ready to perform this. If not, this just needs to take place over time. You need an absolutely massive stock pile of weapons. We're talking enough for every citizen in the apartment. Not just a rinky dink pistol, but an MP7. Armor included.
2. Wait for a curfew to take place.
Everyone needs to be in an enclosed area. Your group needs to be either in this location, or setting up around it.
NOTE, THESE NEXT FEW STEPS MUST TAKE PLACE INCREDIBLY QUICKLY
3. Begin feeding in these crates of armemants as fast as possible into the back areas of the apartment.
Make sure the Civil Protection are either being stalled. Have a citizen even try to fight them if need be.
4. As this is happening, begin passing out weapon, ammo, and armor as quickly as possible.
The goal is to eventually have everyone in the apartments armed up. If the Civil Protection find out during this point, simply take them out and begin arming as fast as possible.
5. Your time has come. Move among the people with the Icon's logo.
You need to assume control of the masses before they simply spill out of the apartments in mass with aimless goals. This is where you assume the control of leader.
6. Direct people to spread into the city as quickly as possible after leaving the apartments.
They need to get everywhere. In the apartments, in the bussinesses, in the back alleys, in the streets, in the plaza- everywhere. The idea is to overwhelm the Combine. Make sure your numbers are highest concentrated where the immediate civil protection threat is.
7. Congrats, you have launched an Uprising
From this point on, I leave it up to your group to control as they need. You've already come so far, so you can probably handle it now. Your months of effort have paid off, and the city should be entering a state of contested control where the OTA are funneling troops in, yet are unable to topple the masses.
OOC Notes
The Admins need to Accomodate
At first, it's through an external resistance group that supports other rebels, or through a Resistance Agent. If a rebel group reaches Phase 5, the admins should accept the fact that an Uprising is what the server is ready for.
Do not be a victim of Metagame
This is HUGE, the most important OOC note there is here. So many groups decide that they need to go on the forums or Discord and begin advertising their special little group for the world to see. It should be said that you should absolutely not advertise your group and goals. Don't tell people in OOC what you are going to do. You don't have too so why do it? The more you do this, the more someone will metagame, intentionally or unintentionally. Just keep it low, and between those running any external rebel support group and you.
Understand Ratios
This is important at Phase 3, 4, and 5. You are roleplaying as one group in one district which would realistically have tens of thousands of people inside it, in a city that likely has hundreds of thousands if not over a million people in it. The staff should understand this, and it'd be an issue if they don't. If the Uprising is starting, that's it. There is no "wiping out every character in the city" and then saying that the OTA "won the battle". Realistically, they'd be facing thousands upon thousands of angry, armed citizens- if not being reinforced by an insurgency which is moving into the city.
Why all this?
Because while you could technically go about rebelling any which way, this one is the most effective, and the best part? It actually includes Citizens in on it. Your inner group doesn't truly identify themselves until the Uprising has started, because the entire time you were working through Citizens. Every single operation, starting from Phase 1, involves working through Citizens. This provides you and your group with that of the puppet master role, while placing the Resistance Roleplay onto all interested players.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading. If you have any questions, post them below. Go out and raise hell.
Thanks for reading. If you have any questions, post them below. Go out and raise hell.
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