We look to Earth and see the climate catastrophe unfolding. The droughts and storms, fires and floods that plague that world are the result of one thing and one thing only.
The base human drive to take more than we need.
We could have solved this problem centuries ago, but it was too hard. Too hard not to eat our fill and ask for more. Too hard not to burn oil for easy power. Too hard not to package every single confection in its own brightly colored wrapping paper. Too hard not to be self-indulgent, lazy, and weak.
And now the gaze of avarice turns to Mars. A new world to exploit. A new opportunity for more misery, and suffering. A new world to be consumed.
We must fundamentally change our ways as a species. We can no longer afford to live in an adversarial relationship with the world that gave birth to us. We must find a new balance, an equilibrium where we are part of a planet’s ecosystem, not the ravagers of it.
If we are to reclaim our future as a species, we must adapt to the worlds we live on. Not bend them to our will. They are planets, not products. And we are people, not consumers.
If Mars is to become a new home for humanity, then humanity must adapt to Mars. Or we are doomed as a species to repeat the same mistakes, over and over again, until both worlds finally destroy us.
The Ma’Adim, Reclaimer prophet
Church of the Reclaimer Overview
The Church of the Reclaimer (CR), also called the Cult of the Reclaimer, or simply, The Reclaimers, are a modern faith based on a combination of modern age spiritualism, transhumanism, and extreme environmentalism. To 21st century minds, they seem odd and unusual, but in the 23rd century, this movement, in its more moderate forms, is quite mainstream.
The core belief of the Reclaimers is that humanity has used its divinely offered gifts poorly. It has used the power of creativity and imagination to exploit Earth’s natural resources to the point of environmental collapse. We have pushed thousands of species to extinction and polluted the world, all in the interest of consumption, greed and desire.
The Reclaimers believe that where humanity has consumed, we should replace. Where we have destroyed to make a place more habitable for humanity, instead we should adapt to the local conditions. Where constant economic growth has been the watchword of industry, we should focus on 100% sustainability.
Mars has presented the Reclaimers with both their biggest challenge and great opportunity. Where most people believe we should terraform Mars to become an Earthlike planet. The Reclaimers want to adapt humanity to the conditions of Mars. The idea of terraforming the planet using vast amounts of greenhouse gases is anathema to their core belief of living at one with the land.
Mechanic Focus – Dust Storms and Attrition
During a flashpoint, which happens roughly on 40% of cards, Dust Storms will randomly move around the board. Storms are first marked as approaching storms, which do nothing other than inform you of which spaces will be impacted during the next flashpoint where they flip to become raging storms.
A space that is under a raging storm is isolated from other spaces on the board. It cannot be targeted, entered, or travelled through. Units under a Dust Storm simply have to bunker down and wait until it passes. The exception to this rule are labyrinth spaces, which can be target for actions, but are still isolated from other spaces and areas that support your faction. You can still fight inside during a storm, but you can’t expect reinforcements.
Also, during each flashpoint, all non-reclaimer forces in a desert space without a base must lose one unit. This represents the lack of coherence and casualties caught by long range operations in the desert under storm conditions.
Their path to victory is to create a network of secure bases out in the wilderness, so many that they would be impossible to dislodge.
Mechanic Focus – Reclaimer Cards
In previous COIN games it is normal for a faction to appear on the activation order of every event card. The Reclaimers do not appear on the activation order, nor do they use resources in the conventional sense within the game. The Reclaimers instead use their own card driven system that allows them to interject into the normal pace of play when they want to.
Each Reclaimer card has a value and many have a secondary effect as well. In order to claim a spot in the initiative order, the reclaimer must expend cards. The higher the spot, the stronger the card. Cards are also used in the place of resources to activate spaces or for events.
For example, the Reclaimers can spend cards while eligible to claim the first spot on the order of activation. This bumps the player who thought they would be going first. They choose the Event spot and play an event from their hand. This event card overwrites the event that was showing for the other players.
While this may seem exceptionally powerful, overall the CR activates slightly less often than a normal faction would. But they are capable of bold and dramatic changes in tempo and plans within the game. There are very few ways for the CR to draw cards rapidly, yet they can spend multiple cards quickly.
Their hand of cards is also hidden information, leading to the CR being a wildcard faction that is a lot less predictable than most other factions in the series.
Conflict with Other Factions
The CORP are leading the Terraforming efforts on Mars, and as such are the Reclaimers main focus. As the CORP builds bases in the deserts of Mars, the reclaimers will seek to destroy them or convert them to their own ends.
The Martian Provisional Government are puppets of the Earth based corporations and Earth Government. However, the MG keeps bringing in new people and you want immigration to stop. Convincing people they should return to Earth, by peaceful means or by force is a secondary goal for the Reclaimers.
Red Dust are the lesser of four evils, but their goals are entirely unaligned with those of the Reclaimers. While you can temporarily work together against common threats, both of you will do so knowing that the final direction of a Mars ruled by Martians, will be an ideological conflict between you both.
Factions Operations and Special Activities
Like all COIN games, each faction has a series of Operations and Special Activities.
CR Operations: Rally, Travel, Attack, Preach
CR Special Activities: Purify, Ransack, Ambush
Operations List
Rally allows the CR player to gather new forces, and they can do this in the deserts as well as spaces with bases and population. The CR can also create bases and conversion centers.
Travel allows the CR player to move forces around the board, they can also move to spaces in the vast wilderness of Mars and into areas where storm activity is reported.
Attack allows the CR player to remove opposing forces in combat.
Preach allows the CR player to reduce support and opposition in populated spaces. They can also use it to recruit new members and damage life giving infrastructure.
Special Activities List
Purify allows the CR player to swap opposition pieces for their own. Converting troops into rebels and purifying COIN bases to be used for the CR’s own ends.
Ransack allows the CR player to damage spaces and take valuable resources. This is represented by them claiming more reclaimer cards.
Ambush Allows the CR player to automatically succeed in attacks. Note that even without using this special ability, the CR always counts as conducting an Ambush in the deserts of Mars.
Summary
The CR is a unique faction within the COIN series that breaks many of the conventions established for how a faction should work. They don’t activate normally, they have their own private events, they have hidden information, and they only care about support and control of people because it stops others from winning.
The CR creates fear at the table because of their unpredictability, they add an element of chaos and uncertainty to the COIN series. And while they are arguably the weakest faction in Red Dust Rebellion in terms of actual fighting power, they can hit where they want when they want.
Their meagre resources need to be marshalled well, and their attacks need to be stunning, effective and timed well, or else they can end up stuck out on the desert, not really contributing to the rebellion.
I believe they will present even the most hardened veterans of the COIN franchise with a unique and intriguing play experience.
Previous Articles:
Factions in Red Dust Rebellion: The Red Dust Movement
Factions in Red Dust Rebellion: The Corporations
Factions in Red Dust Rebellion: Martian Provisional Government
Author: J. Carmichael
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