Creating After Action Reports

When should I write an After Action Report?
Any time you feel like it. AARs give a richness to the game that fuels an RP guild like the St. George Squadron of the White. Any time we can read about your exploits is a treat. There are times, however, when it is crucial to undertake the responsibility of writing an AAR. Any time you engage in an action which is historic (e.g. a Port Battle) or an action, win or loss, in which something important is learned or something new is tried, an AAR is a must!

Will my battle be documented for future generations to gaze upon in wonder?
Any AAR posted on the wiki will be checked by an Archive officer. He may edit or clean up the article; however, all articles will remain on the wiki as long as space allows.

How are AARs organized?
How kind of you to ask! For your convenience, AARs are divided into four groups:

Battle - Port Battle

Actions - PVP

Duel - Subset of PVP, 1v1 fights only

Patrols - PVE or Missions

So if I want to learn about strategies, I have to go through all the reports, huh?
Not at all! For your convenience, each report is accompanied by relevant tags. We will be putting the tags on the AAR Archive front page. If you want to read about successes and failures regarding the weather gage, simply click on weather gage! It's so easy, it must be technology!

What makes a good, quality After Action Report?
In general, a good AAR does everything it can to allow the reader to think he/she witnessed it first hand. It should be technically correct in game terms, but it should also be true to our role-playing roots. Think of it as actually going to your superiors (because it is, actually). It should be a historic and accurate account, and described in a way that is easy to visualize.

'''Gah! That's hard!''' Seriously! But don't worry. What follows is a tentative, loose template to follow when posting your AAR. Follow it in spirit, if not directly in form. Please note that it may change in the future, so please check back.

Choose a Page Name
First you need to create a new page. In the page search box enter the name of the page. The page name consists of 3 components. First, the action type (see above). This needs to come first so they can be categorized easily by the wiki. Second, the date, and third, a brief description of the event Examples:

Duel - 1720 - May 10 - Fight with Seeth Dark

Patrol - 1720 August 26 - Patrolling the Yucatan

Ships in Action:
Note the names of the captains in your squadron, as well as their ship types. Please also note the ship types of your opponents, when possible. Also, as a matter of flavour, feel free to refer to what ships you can by their HMS Name.

Action Setup:
Give a brief account of how the battle began. Who started it? Who entered the battle with the weather gage? Were you in an open sea formation or did captains enter from all sides?

The Action Itself:
Describe the action in detail. Again, feel free to role-play here as much as you like, but when describing a technical detail, remember to use practical in game terms as well as historic terms, and, of course, you are on your honour to be honest at all times.

The Result:
Did you accomplish your goal or were you defeated? Even a defeat can be a net gain if there is something to be learned, so if you were defeated, do not think of it as a failure, only as opportunity for redemption!

Lessons Learned:
Readers will each take what they will from an AAR, but if you felt there was a lesson to be learned in your action, then for God's sake, please let us know!

Lastly, and this is only an option, but it's a mighty pretty one, pics are encouraged. It takes very little effort to hit the P key once in a while, but don't be distracted!

Copy and Paste Template
==Ships in Action:== ==Action Setup:== ==The Action Itself:== ==The Result:== ==Lessons Learned:==