Questions tagged [military]
For questions relating to the structure or relations regarding a fictional military or its parts.
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Nuclear-powered helicopter? [closed]
Have there been any plans to use fissionables as a power source for helicopters in a military role? What would some of the envisioned difficulties and missions of such a vehicle? I imagine long ...
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Technology is Magic: how do I explain the lightning-fast transportation/deployment of conjured troops?
Though it's probably bad for originality to use D&D and Lobotomy Corporation as basis for my world, I doubt there'd be any left of the former by the time I'm done with it.
Things like ...
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Just how big of an advantage would an army with bronze weapons & armor have over another more primitive army armed with stone & bone made weapons?
The reason I'm asking is because I'm building a fantasy world where iron/steel is exceptionally poor and the materials necessary for bronze (copper, tin...etc) are super abundant and readily available ...
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Are there any advantages to bioengineered submarines?
So, Blue Submarine No.6. Other than the nightmare-inducing CGI, it's also notable for being furry/scalie bait, complete with the fish lady, Mutio.
Most of this bait is thanks to Dr.Zorndyke, a ...
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Is it plausible for a tribe to have a standing army?
I'm creating a parallel world inspired by migration period in the dark ages.
I have a tribe that has a something akin to standing army consisting of
infantry
cavalry
rangers
Wealthier clan leaders ...
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What tactics would be employed by armies with different light preferences?
Say we have a men vs. orcs warfare scenario in a world with roughly medieval-type technology. The men can see well in daylight, but almost not at all at night. The orcs can see in the darkness of ...
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Is the concept of a biometric smart gun that will detonate when anyone besides its owner touches the weapon unrealistic?
This is basically an extension of the idea of the smart gun, a gun that will only fire when in the hands of its biometrically linked owner, but two steps up.
The idea is that someone won't dare to ...
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Should my mechs have an artillery gun installed onto their back? [closed]
I’ve decided to add mechs into my world to act as a force multiplication unit as well as an anti-[zombie] horde asset. Yes, I know that mechs are unrealistic and impractical at best but I just want to ...
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A Modern Knight [closed]
I am an eccentric billionaire with a strong preference for all things medieval. However, my company happens to produce state-of-the-art modern military technology. Fascinated by stories portraying ...
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What essential operation had to be run on autopilot in a manned combat powered armour?
In the near future, the military deploys hundred of thousands of combat ready powered armours for peace keeping purpose around the world, they carry heavy weapons and an array of sophisticated sensors ...
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Is it possible to create a polymer-cased telescoped leadless ammunition (PCTLA) and would be cost effective to create them?
I'm currently writing a military science fiction story, and I came across several different types of ammunition: leadless 'green' bullets, polymer-cased ammunition, and polymer-cased telescoped ...
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How Large Can Power Armor Get Before It Becomes a Liability?
Fairly straightforward question. If you can build power armor for the purpose of enabling infantry to carry bigger weapons, heavier loads and thicker armor with more mobility (and for some reason ...
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Does my military make much sense?
For some context, my world takes place in the year 2027, just close to a two decades ever since the Black Flu pandemic ripped across the human race and the zombies initiated the Great Collapse, ...
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How practical would it be to have VTOL aircraft be part of a military in a post-apocalyptic dystopian setting?
For some backstory, in my world, the United States Garrison is the new military of a post-apocalyptic dystopian US where modern civilization and every single country around the world fell due to ...
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How would a race of horizontal lizard men fight, and how would humans fight them?
This question is inspired by the video essay series "Fantasy Re-Armed" by Shadiversity on YouTube, where Shad explores typical fantasy races and what weapons they and their opponents ought ...
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What transfer of goods would require a large military escort these days?
I am trying to write my first story and I'm having trouble imagining goods that would need a military convoy (included private) if they were to be transferred safely on a non-at-war soil. It doesn't ...
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I need a 1980s suit of nuclear-fed heavy power armor
With a miniaturized nuclear reactor on my back, what does my late Cold War suit of CBRN-shielded antiballistic-plated power suit look like? Could it mount vehicle-grade weaponry?
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How would a real life force field work?
Requirements for the force field: It must be resistant to all small arms fire, melee weapons, some explosives, and be able to prevent any damage to the user from these weapons.
It has to use a ...
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What is the best way to defeat a enemy of superior numbers but inferior technology?
Our protagonist civilization is based on a large island in the middle of the pacific(think half the size of Australia), has a population of 100 million, has abundant resources and is totally self-...
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What should my military’s combat-utility uniform be?
For some backstory, the United States Garrison is the new military of a post-apocalyptic US where modern civilization and every single country around the world fell due to zombies and a ravenous virus ...
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In a general sense, would it be better to equip troops with plate carriers, body armor, etc. if they’re fighting against zombies?
In a general sense, would it be better to equip troops with plate carriers, body armor, etc. if they’re fighting against zombies?
Right now, my Troopers (what someone in the US Garrison is called) ...
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How Many Soldiers are Needed to Patrol/Defend a Medieval Wall?
I have a walled city in a medieval RPG setting. It's out in the middle of a desert and has an impossibly efficient means of acquiring water and producing food off of farmland inside the walls (magic ...
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Would shotguns be a practical weapon to arm certain members of an anti-zombie military unit?
Let’s get some backstory first:
So I’ve recently came up with the idea of this combat support anti-zombie unit that’s dedicated towards fighting both human enemies and zombies (but mostly zombies (...
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Aircrafts during Carrington Flare
TLDR: Sun is barraging Earth with frequent but unpredictable EMPs.
I have an event in a story inspired by Carrington event
set in near future, but the event duration already passed several years. ...
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Would this presidential directive be practical to implement?
So I currently have something call the National Defense-Continuity Directive (AKA Directive 0), which is basically a national call to arms.
Directive 0 is only signed off on when there is a truly ...
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Warfare under lasting EMP field [duplicate]
I have world destroyed by a war, but still on certain level of technological advancement. The basic thesis is that due to technological advancement of warring nations the people came up with lasting ...
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Could the President stop an alien President copy from nuking Washington DC?
My world is parallel to ours, except alien doppelgangers have infiltrated human society for generations to hide from their enemies in space. They have positioned themselves to stop their rivals from ...
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Medieval military logistics with cannibalism and anthropophagy
General Urk is commanding an army of orcs in a pseudo-medieval low-magic fantasy world. Orcs are basically like humans in terms of smarts and toughness and equipment, but with one key difference: ...
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What should I consider when making walls or fortifications that can stand against zombies, bandits, and enemy militaries?
So recently I’ve decided to add a wall to Washington, DC and this is where the wall (named Federal Wall) would end up encircling, with the area being within the Wall being known as the Federal Defense ...
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How would the navies of the present hunt down a sea monster with sonar invisibility?
I am assuming that present day navies would hunt a sea monster using techniques similar to ASW (anti-submarine warfare). According to my research most ASW weapons like torpedoes, mines and missiles ...
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Where are documents about all US military bases and their locations kept? [closed]
First of all, I don't know where to post this question, I am asking about the "real" world.
How would someone locate all military bases and facilities in a country, especially the US? For example, ...
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How practical are walls and other tall fixed fortifications when it comes to the defense of a city in a post-apocalyptic setting?
I want to have Washington, DC have a militarized defensive wall (called the Federal Wall) somewhat similar to the Hoover Dam but with artillery, air, and infantry support stationed on its (imagine ...
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How damaging would the loss of hearing, smell and sense of touch be on an open battlefield? [closed]
Only hearing, smell and sense of touch would be affected, visibility/eye-sight would be unchanged. (effects are temporary)
Melee weapons : spears/polearms, swords, something something magic melee ...
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Lightning strikes a medieval army. What happens?
In a battle, a mage uses a spell that summons a bolt of lightning from the heavens to strike whatever the mage desires.
The lightning lands smack dab in the middle of a tightly packed formation of ...
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Justification for placing an army of supersoldiers under the control of an unstable psychic commander? [closed]
Armchair Chem is your cookie-cutter evil corporation in one of my settings. They're primarily focused on military tech and behind the curtains, unethical experiments.
Their latest project was ...
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What organization could take over monster hunting, which was the job of a single organization that's completely gone now?
Now, there are monsters in this world, not exactly the most original though. You have your vampires, werewolves, zombies, wights, etc...
Monsters were always at odds with humanity, especially the ...
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What could be used for orbital bombardment?
In my world Mars is fighting Earth. the problem is what would they (Mars and Earth) use for orbital bombardment. Things to know:
set in the early 2100s
both worlds are inhabited by humans
both have ...
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What societal or economic pressures would cause a martian settlement to fight earth? [closed]
In this world our hero is martian and fighting against earth alongside the rest of mars, its set in the early 2100s but there's one problem. Why would mars want to fight earth? Things to know:
earth ...
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Why would a future military field trench coats?
In many Sci-fi books, films and video games, the baddies need to have something that sets them apart from our strong jawed heroes. Typically in the form of a gas mask and trench coat (especially if ...
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Can a group of sufficiently trained and armed high school seniors form an ad hoc force and defend against a battalion of militiamen? [closed]
Yeah this sounds really crazy but hear me out.
So I’m working out this semi-alternate history and post-apocalyptic story that’s essentially similar to The 100, The Division, The Hunger Games trilogy,...
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How else could you organize a ship's crew? [closed]
What other structures could you use to organize a ship's crew than the standard traditional one of a Captain with officers and a crew?
NASA's approach would sort of work, in which there is a mission ...
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Most realistic reward for Military action [closed]
I am writing a story where a fantasy nation's military feature prominently, but I want the way that this military works to be at least somewhat realistic.
I have a certain battle scenario and I want ...
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If humans had evolved with "natural forcefields", would blunt-trauma weapons replace spears as dominant battlefield weapons? [closed]
EDIT: I now realize that asking for a logical extrapolation from the consequences of auras upon ancient, post-classical, and modern warfare was far too broad considering warfare in these periods ...
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Modern military through a portal logistics
Background: It's 2020 and the US military needs to invade an alien planet for freedom purposes. Unfortunately, the only way to get there is through a Stargate-esqe, non-moveable wormhole located at ...
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How can a mage who can only cast in-situ thermonuclear explosion spell moves up the ranks?
Set in the modern day, many talented citizens especially those who can cast magic spells are encouraged to join the army. A very small group of mages can tap into the nuclear forces at will but they ...
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How to Capture a Castle on a Tidal Island?
In my setting there is a tidal island fortress similar to Mont-Saint-Michel that is the refuge of important nobility and is therefore a target for an invading army. The fortress also has a library ...
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Viability of a Matchlock Rotary Gun?
The first effective rotary gun was the Gatling Gun, invented in 1861 and it was a brutally effective weapon that had the advantage of high quality steel, rifling, and percussion caps. But for most of ...
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Is The Use of Mounted Infantry a Viable Tactic for a Nomadic Empire?
By “Nomadic Empire” I am referring to an expansionist power that resembles the empires created by Eurasian Nomads throughout history ranging from the Scythians, Huns, and of course Mongols. Their ...
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Could an army armed with only spear-like weapons be effective?
The superiority of pole arms and spears in particular has become a pretty common meme across multiple online communities, so that got me thinking; what if you had a fighting force in which the only ...
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How to make powered armor viable as a substitute for guns?
I'm thinking about the idea of powered armor replacing guns. What would allow this to be possible?
The obvious problem is that it is vastly easier to build slightly more powerful weapons than it is ...
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