Vanhoover Commune

Vanhoover Commune
Ideology	Equestrian Socialism
Leader	Dust Hoover
Ruling party	Vanhoover Socialist Party (71%)
Population	1,483,409
Ponypower	11,881
Race	Pony
Stability	35%
War support	52%
Factories	6
Capital	Vanhoover
Continent	Southern Equus
Demonym	Vanhooverian
Tag	VAN
Color	#ED033E

A secessionist state that appears during the Lunar civil war, the communists of Vanhoover have rallied under Admiral Dust Hoover, breaking away from  Equestria to proclaim their own commune. Held together by the sailors of Equestria, it has a strong navy for its size from defections. However, how long this dream of the Vanhoover workers lasts, remains to be seen.

Lore

While  Stalliongrad was the first socialist state to break away from  Equestria, it was certainly not the only place with communist support. When Caramel Marks' new radical ideology spread throughout Equestria, it found a lot of supporters within the poorly treated workers of Vanhoover. While many had sympathized with the communists of  Stalliongrad and their ideas, most were content, enjoying the eternal peace of Equestria, and their status as an important harbor and a center of trade with the deer of  Olenia, also being in close proximity to the  Changeling Lands.

But now, with the sudden appearance of Nightmare Moon and the spark of the civil war, Equestrian troops have left for the front, and disgruntled citizens are left behind supporting a war they did not want. Admiral Hoover and his supporters saw this as an excellent opportunity to take over the region seizing power by force and proclaiming the Vanhoover Commune. Now starts the march to the Mayor's office in Vanhoover, to deal with the last of the loyalist forces within the commune.

Surrounded with enemies on all sides, small and weak, Vanhoover stands alone. And they will either bring forth their very own paradise of the workers, or perish.

Gameplay and Strategy

Starting Situation

Vanhoover starts in a weak position. They have no possible paths for expansion at the start, and only start with a small army of 5 fully equipped divisions of three 10 width militia, two 12 width pegasi militia and 1 armored division. However, you also have decisions to spawn two more 6 width divisions from every state you control, including ones you can gain later. Their armed forces uses a total of 41K ponypower, with a reserve ponypower of 19.61K. Vanhoover only has a small stockpile of 20 convoys at the start.

Threats and Opportunities

 Equestria - Your former overlord, Equestria, is more powerful than you in every way. Fortunately Vanhoover can expand via border wars, which are much more winnable. AI Equestria will always offer puppeting instead of annexation, so that overwhelming Equestrian force does not need to be the end.

 Lunar Empire - If the Lunar Empire wins, it will always attempt to annex you after it deals with its internal issues. An Equestrian victory is preferable.

 Changeling Lands - An inevitable threat, who will declare upon you alongside Equestria when the war comes. You will need a strong defense to hold them back, even with Equestria or the Lunar Empire's indirect aid.

 Kingdom of Olenia - While they do not pose any direct threat to you, they can still be invaded for more land should you wish. Usually, attacking Olenia same time as the  Changelings might allow you to grab some of the eastern land from Olenia, provided you have sufficient war score.

Fortress Vanhoover

Vanhoover is a fortification oriented nation, needing to hold against both the Changelings and Equestria. To this end it has decisions for fort construction. At the end of the chain both Vanhoover's states will have level 2 forts and the two cities will have level 6 forts.

Forts, in conjunction with the development focuses on the industrial tree, will also allow decisions to construct off map factories - 2 military factories in Vanhoover, 1 military and 2 civil in Arcadia.

Expansion

Vanhoover after successfully completing all it's border wars.

Vanhoover receives mechanics to allow it to expand. Unfortunately, there is little industry available for the taking, however the most important regions are.

• Tall Tale - 1 military factory, 2 civilian
• Upper Unicorn Range - 18 steel
• Unicorn Range - 12 steel, 6 chromium

Expansion proceeds via border wars after a political focus tree is completed, and will immediately give claims on all possible territory. If you win the border wars for them, they turn into cores.

National Focus

As the Commune raises it's head, the workers must decide upon the future of this newly formed nation.

Vanhoover Focus Tree

Starting Focuses

The first focus will grant Vanhoover a core on the state of Vanhoover, steal part of the fleet of both Equestria and the Lunar Empire, spawn your divisions and create your generals. Fate of the Mayor will deal with the former Mayor, offering mercy for stability, or a harsher punishment for political power. Capture the Countryside will core your remaining starting territory, and Ban Non-Socialist Parties gives some political power.

This leads to the Vanhoover elections and the three possible candidates: Dust Hoover, Strawberry Snowflake and Winter Turnip. The elections will matter based on the choices in events and the decisions taken in the menu, with certain options increasing the influence of different factions. Once the 35 day limit is up, you will be able to elect whoever has the most influence of the groups.

Warning: Electing Winter Turnip will result in you becoming a puppet of Stalliongrad and has no content politics-wise in the focus tree.

Empower The Communes

The first candidate is Strawberry, who desires a peaceful Vanhoover, preferring a step towards a more democratic institution than before, where the workers will be able to decide upon the matters of the commune themselves.

Her policies involves such things as: inviting the trade unions into the government, guaranteeing the worker's rights, and giving them better living standards than before. This will guarantee the loyalty of the workers, the backbone of the commune. These policies will lead the commune into a more peaceful and neutral nation, where every worker, with enough hard work, will be able to succeed. It will also force you onto the Free Trade law.

The last focus allows you to start border wars for the surrounding territory you gain claims on.

All Power To The Admiral

The second candidate is the current leader of the revolution, Admiral Dust Hoover. As a former leader of the navy, he believes that the commune is threatened by all sides, and that only a firm hoof and a strong will guarantee it's safety and continued existence. As such, he will gather more power unto himself, eventually becoming a dictator with undisputed power in the commune.

To ensure the safety of the commune, he will create various state-driven organizations, such as the National Communist Platform and promote various admirals to better organize and control the different branches of the military effectively. He will also proceed to form a well-regulated militia loyal only to the state, with high amounts of conscription.

Through extensive use of propaganda, he will eventually manage to convince the populace the commune has rightful territory beyond its current borders, giving Vanhoover claims to all its neighboring Equestrian states and unlocking the border wars.

A special decision unlocked upon his election is Operation Vacation Spot. It will allow you to seize control of and core the Spa Islands, as long as Equestria does not have a division stationed there. However, the Dragon Isles may be able to take them first, robbing you of your opportunity.

Industrial Path

After any leader for Vanhoover is elected, including Winter Turnip, the economic tree will unlock. The first step is to begin collectivization, which will temporary increase your economy at the cost of some recruitable population and stability. Once that focus is finished, you will have three options: Internal Security, which will increase all aspects of your industry, Technocratic Development, which in particular will give you an extra research slot, and Military Buildup which will focus almost entirely on military factories. While the right path may give more factories in total, the left has more positive permanent effects, so choose wisely based on how you want to play.

Army Path

The army tree will at first give a free increase to your conscription and economy law, as well as unlocking the Fortress Vanhoover decisions that will build forts all around your starting territory. Afterwards, you will be able to choose between a defensive Grand Battleplan or an offensive Mobile Warfare doctrine path. Both have a few shared focuses, such as Partisan Tactics which will increase your defense on core territory but decrease your attack on it as well.

Navy Path

This tree is fairly small, giving some naval dockyards and one-off research bonuses to most ship types as well as the Fleet in Being doctrine.

Air Force Path

The air force tree is also fairly small, with a few research bonuses for planes and some free fighters and bombers.

Technology

The technologies available at the beginning of the civil war are the same as Equestria. See Equestria#Technology

Politics

National Spirits

Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt

• Weekly Stability: -0.20%
• Division Recovery Rate: -10.0%
• Division Attack: -15.00%
• Division Defense: -15.00%
• Construction Speed: -10.00%
• Daily Political Power Gain: -0.25
• Recruitable Population -1.00%

The Vanhoover Commune seems like a pipe dream to everyone involved, no one knows how long it will last.

Slumlike Living Conditions

• Daily Political Power Gain: -0.20
• Monthly Population: -5.0%
• Stability: -20.0%
• Production Efficiency Cap: -10.0%

Leaders

Starting leaders
Leader	Leader		Ideology and party		Traits	Description	Comes to power by
Dust Hoover		Equestrian Socialism Communism VSPVanhoover Socialist Party	Grand Admiral Naval Experience Gain: +0.12 Naval base construction speed: +9% Dockyard construction speed: +6%	None
Sunset Punch		Alicorn Rule Harmony Celestial Loyalists	None	None
Amity Blossom		Fascism Supremacy Lunar Loyalists	None	None
Spoiled Mane		Despotism Non-Aligned Mayor's Supporters	None	None
Alternate Leaders [may contain spoilers]
Leader	Leader		Ideology and party		Traits	Description	Comes to power by
Strawberry Snowflake		Equestrian Socialism Communism VSPVanhoover Socialist Party		None
Winter Turnip		Equestrian Socialism Communism VSPVanhoover Socialist Party	Veteran Communist Factory Output: +5% Stability: +5%	None

Parties

Political parties
Name	Ideology			Leader	Popularity
VSP Vanhoover Socialist Party			Equestrian Socialism Communism	Dust Hoover	71%
Celestial Loyalists			Alicorn Rule Harmony	Sunset Punch	28%
Lunar Loyalists			Fascism Supremacy	Amity Blossom	1%
Mayor's Supporters			Despotism Non-Aligned	Spoiled Mane	0%

Staff and Designers

Political Advisors
Name	Trait	Requirement	Effect	Cost
Turbine Whirl	Military Pioneer	Has completed national focus “Promote Captain Turbine Whirl”	Daily Political Power Gain: −0.15 Division Recovery Rate: +5% Stability: +5%	150
Gleb	Marine General	Has completed national focus “Promote Captain Gleb”	Special Forces Division training time: −10% Special forces Attack: +10% Special forces Defense: +10% Special Forces Capacity Multiplier: +15%	150
Generic Advisor	Ambitious Union Boss	Has completed national focus “Meet With the Unions”	Daily Political Power Gain: +0.05 Factory Output: +8%	150
Generic Advisor	Prince of Terror	Has completed national focus “Meet With the Unions”	Non-Core Ponypower: +2% Foreign subversive activities efficiency: −30% Damage to Garrisons: −25%	150
Generic Advisor	Administrative Genius	Has completed national focus “Innovative Bureaucrats”	Construction Speed: +5% Research Speed: +5% Factory Output: +5%	150
Generic Advisor	Captain of Industry	None	Civilian Factory construction speed: +10% Infrastructure construction speed: +10% Railway construction speed: +10% Refinery construction speed: +10%	150
Generic Advisor	Fortification Engineer	None	Land Fort construction speed: +20% Coastal Fort construction speed: +20% Anti Air construction speed: +20%	150
Generic Advisor	War Industrialist	None	Military Factory construction speed: +10% Dockyard construction speed: +10% Fuel Silo construction speed: +10%	150
Generic Advisor	Illusive Gentlebeing	DLC  La Résistance is enabled Has created an Intelligence Agency	Operative slots: +1 Agency upgrade time: −15%	150

Tank Designers
Name	Trait	Requirement	Effect	Cost
Armor Company	Tank Designer	None	Armor Research Speed: +15% Armor technology: Reliability: +5% Armored Car: Reliability: +5%	150

Ship Designers
Name	Trait	Requirement	Effect	Cost
Baltimare Designs	Celestial Sea Fleet Designer	Owns state Baltimare (13)	Naval Research Speed: +15% Carrier: HP: +10% Armor: +50% Capital Ships: Armor: +10% Heavy Attack: +10%	150
Seaward Shoals Dockyard	Lunar Ocean Fleet Designer	Owns state Tall Tale (59)	Naval Research Speed: +15% Carrier: Max Range: +25% Armor: −15% Deck size: +100% Capital Ships: Max Range: +25% Screens: Max Range: +25% Submarine: Max Range: +25%	150
Vanhoover Dockyards	Coastal Defence Fleet Designer	Owns state Vanhoover (14)	Naval Research Speed: +15% Carrier: Production Cost: −25% Max Range: −50% Capital Ships: Production Cost: −25% Max Range: −50% Armor: −20% Heavy Attack: −20% Screens: Production Cost: −25% Max Range: −50% Submarine: Production Cost: −25% Max Range: −50%	150

Aircraft Designers
Name	Trait	Requirement	Effect	Cost
Light Air Company	Light Aircraft Designer	None	Air Research Speed: +15% Small Airframe: Agility: +10% Max Speed: +10% Carrier Fighter Airframe: Agility: +10% Max Speed: +10%	150
Medium Air Company	Medium Aircraft Designer	None	Air Research Speed: +15% Heavy Fighter Airframe: Reliability: +20% Medium Airframe: Reliability: +20% Scout Plane Airframe: Reliability: +20%	150
Heavy Air Company	Heavy Aircraft Designer	None	Air Research Speed: +15% Large Airframe: Strat. Bombing: +10% Transport Plane: Range: +10%	150
Naval Air Company	Naval Aircraft Designer	None	Air Research Speed: +15% Naval Bomber Airframe: Range: +10% Naval Attack: +10% Carrier Naval Bomber Airframe: Range: +10% Naval Attack: +10% Carrier Fighter Airframe: Range: +10% Agility: +10% Carrier CAS Airframe: Range: +10% Naval Attack: +10%	150

Materiel Designers
Name	Trait	Requirement	Effect	Cost
Small Arms Company	Infantry Equipment Designer	None	Weapons and Equipment Research Speed: +15%	150
Artillery Company	Artillery Designer	None	Artillery Research Speed: +15%	150
Motorization Company	Motorized Equipment Designer	None	Motorization Research Speed: +15%	150

Industrial Concerns
Name	Trait	Requirement	Effect	Cost
Industrial Company	Industrial Concern	None	Industrial Research Speed: +15%	150
Electronics Company	Electronics Concern	None	Electronics Research Speed: +15%	150

Theorists
Name	Trait	Requirement	Effect	Cost
Generic Advisor	Military Theorist	None	Land Doctrine Cost: −10%	150
Generic Advisor	Naval Theorist	None	Naval Doctrine Cost: −10%	150
Generic Advisor	Air Warfare Theorist	None	Air Doctrine Cost: −10%	150

Chiefs of Army
Name	Trait	Requirement	Effect	Cost
Generic Advisor	Army Offense (Specialist)	None	Army Experience Gain: +0.20 Division Attack: +5% AI Modifier: Focus on Offense: +15%	50  30
Generic Advisor	Army Defense (Specialist)	None	Army Experience Gain: +0.20 Division Defense: +5% AI Modifier: Focus on Defense: +15%	50  30

Chiefs of Navy
Name	Trait	Requirement	Effect	Cost
Generic Advisor	Decisive Battle (Expert)	None	Naval Experience Gain: +0.30 Capital Ship Attack: +10% Capital Ship Armor: +10% Screen Attack: +10% Screen Defense: +10%	100  20
Generic Advisor	Anti-Submarine (Expert)	None	Naval Experience Gain: +0.30 Submarine Detection: +15%	100  20

Chiefs of Airforce
Name	Trait	Requirement	Effect	Cost
Generic Advisor	Close Air Support (Expert)	None	Air Experience Gain: +0.30 Close air support attack: +3% Close air support defense: +3% Close air support agility: +3%	100  20
Generic Advisor	All-Weather (Expert)	None	Air Experience Gain: +0.30 Bad Weather Penalty: −20%	100  20

Military High Command
Name	Trait	Requirement	Effect	Cost
Generic Advisor	Artillery (Specialist)	None	Artillery Attack: +10% Artillery Defense: +5%	50  30
Generic Advisor	Army Logistics (Expert)	None	Division Attrition: −8%	100  20
Generic Advisor	Fleet Logistics (Specialist)	None	Naval max range factor: +5%	50  30
Generic Advisor	Air Combat Training (Expert)	None	Ace generation chance: +10%	100  20

Military Leaders

This list includes both the starting military leaders and those that join the Vanhoover Commune after completing the first focus.

Field Marshal
Field Marshal	Traits	Description	Skills	Race
Field Marshal Dust Hoover	Expert Delegator The art of delegation allows this leader to efficiently command several armies. General Max Army Group Size: +2 Invader An expert in performing naval invasions. The perfect guy for preparing an invasion of a hostile beach and carrying it out. Amphibious Invasion Speed: +30% Invasion Preparation Time: −30% Naval Liaison A good relationship with the navy will ensure that naval fire support will be more plentiful. Shore Bombardment Bonus: +25%	None	Level 3 Attack: 2 Defense: 3 Planning: 2 Logistics: 3	Pony

Generals
General	Traits	Description	Skills	Race
General Moonlight Elegy	Infantry Leader Skilled at leading infantry in combat. Infantry Division Defense: +13% Winter Specialist Possesses an intuitive understanding of the difficulties of fighting in Cold conditions. Winter Attrition: −50%	None	Level 1 Attack: 1 Defense: 1 Planning: 1 Logistics: 1	Pony
General Lavender Blossom	Harsh Leader Discipline is necessary to lead an army, but some leaders take it a bit too far. Division Recovery Rate: −10% Attack: +1 Infantry Leader Skilled at leading infantry in combat. Infantry Division Defense: +13%	None	Level 1 Attack: 2 Defense: 1 Planning: 1 Logistics: 1	Pony
General Turbine Whirl	Focused Focusing on a small portion of the army, the general can organize and manage their divisions in the most efficient way. Division Organization: +3% General Max Army Size: −12 Media Personality This general will go out of his way to talk to the media and will always try to be in the limelight. Army reassignment duration: +100% Naval Liaison A good relationship with the navy will ensure that naval fire support will be more plentiful. Shore Bombardment Bonus: +25%	None	Level 4 Attack: 2 Defense: 3 Planning: 4 Logistics: 4	Pony
General Gleb	Commando Skilled in Amphibious operations, Air Assaults, and Cold weather conditions - the Commando is a man of many talents. Non-Combat Out of Supply Penalties: −25% Infantry Officer Trained as an infantry officer. Infantry Leader experience factor: +100% Invader An expert in performing naval invasions. The perfect guy for preparing an invasion of a hostile beach and carrying it out. Amphibious Invasion Speed: +30% Invasion Preparation Time: −30%	None	Level 3 Attack: 1 Defense: 3 Planning: 3 Logistics: 3	Pony

Flags

Flags
Flag	Information
	Vanhoover Commune
	Vanhoover Republic / Vanhooverian Empire / Vanhoover State

Economy

Laws and Development

Laws and Development
Conscription Law	Trade Law	Economy Law
Volunteer Only Recruitable Population: 1.50%	Export Focus Construction Speed: +10.00% Research Speed: +5.00% Factory Output: +10.00% Dockyard Output: +10.00% Resources to Market: +50% Civilian intelligence to others: +20.0% Navy intelligence to others: +10.0%	Civilian Economy Industrial Research Speed: +3% Electronics Research Speed: +2% Consumer Goods Factories: 35.0% Military to Civilian Factory conversion cost: +30.00% Civilian to Military Factory conversion cost: +30.00% Fuel Gain per Oil: -40.00% Fuel Capacity: -25.00% Infrastructure construction speed: +10.00% Military Factory construction speed: -30.00% Civilian Factory construction speed: -30.00% Refinery construction speed: +5.00%
Scientific Development	Society Development	Illiteracy
Developed Science Base No penalties	Modern Society No penalties	Negligible Illiteracy No penalties
Poverty	Race
Negligible Poverty No penalties	Pony Uses Pony Racial Tree

Industry and Resources

Factories*

Military Factories	Naval Dockyards	Civilian Factories	Fuel Silos	Synthetic Refineries
1	3	2 (-1)	0	0

Numbers in red indicate the number of civilian factories required to produce consumer goods, based on economy laws and the total number of military and civilian factories, rounded up.

Resources

Oil	Aluminum	Rubber	Tungsten	Steel	Chromium	Crystal
0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Numbers in red indicate how many resources are reserved for export due to trade laws.