A self-proclaimed suicidal campaign in futility
Title image created by Voigtkampf. Thanks!

As you may have gathered from the title and sub-title, this is a handicap campaign and I expect to die horrifically.

When FotS was first announced my reaction was to mutter something about "Don't like guns and pre-modern stuff. Boring. Would much prefer to have another game with swords and melee." Shortly before FotS was released, I saw a few screenshots with samurai in snazzy black and gold traditional armour fighting some modern infantry. "Ah ha!" thought I. "I wonder if it's possible to refuse modernisation? What if I place my destiny where my crazed mutterings are, and stand against the tide in full King Canute fashion? I'll go down in a hail of bullets, but at least I shall be wearing some seriously nice armour when I do!" Then I realised that "No Gun Shogun" is a catchy title for an AAR, and there we go.

The rules are as follows:
  • Absolutely no fancy modern guns allowed! This means nothing above the muskets units used in the Sengoku campaign. That means levy infantry and matchlock kachi will be my only gun units. No artillery, no line infantry, no snipers - nothing. Not even the Shinsengumi police force!
  • Because FotS campaigns feel very long, I will play on 'Short' campaign mode. I will use hard difficulty for the campaign map, and normal difficulty for battles. Because they are geared towards traditionalism and have cool armour, I will play as the Aizu and support the Shogun because he is the traditional ruler. However, because he has betrayed traditional culture by throwing open the gates to foreigners, it is understood that the Tokugawa will not remain in power for long after my victory. An Aizu Shogunate will rise to replace them, and once again close the borders. Thus, I should attempt to establish a powerful position instead of merely scraping past the line for victory.
  • Whilst my original intention was to avoid anything which stank of modernisation, the gameplay design does not make this possible. I must modernise to a certain degree in order to get an economy. Certain buildings and tech will be off-limits, however.
  • I can research the following military tech: shih, school of shinobi, improved defences, gatling gun towers (purely economic if you don't build the towers), militarised society, and shipyard research. If it's not on that list, it's not allowed.
  • All economic tech is permitted except for: foreign affairs, western agenda.
  • All agents are permitted, except for the foreign veteran.
  • No castle tower upgrades permitted beyond matchlock towers. No castle upgrades permitted beyond citadel. No foreign trade districts or dry docks. I will only build factories if my economy cannot scrape by without them. I will attempt to choose the more traditional upgrades instead of the more modern ones wherever feasible.
  • I will not use railways. Nor will I build them.
  • There are no traditional ships, and sadly the naval aspect of the game is impossible to ignore. Thus, I can use any of the ships which do not require fancy ports to recruit. No ironclads, torpedo boats, or anything else overly modern.
  • Traditional units have two limitations placed on them by the game: they are very expensive, and they are slow to recruit. Because of this I am permitted to build the first level of the modern military buildings in my recruitment provinces - each building provides one extra recruitment slot. Without them, I'll never be able to field an army large enough to survive past the opening.


That's the premise. I'll set the scene and report the starting position in another post later today.