Y'all Think I Can Pull off a Four-way War?

[MakBow]

So, for my Level Up – To Break All Limits I Have | Scribble Hub novel, I already know how it's going to end and everything, but the thing is...it's going to be a four-way war between my MC, and like three other antagonists (Not the full context)

I don't intend to change the ending, but...y'all think I can pull it off?

Does it sound hard to pull off because I know there's usually a two-side war at the end of a lot of novels, so here I am, tryna be different with a four-way, MC +Humanity vs the Sovereigns vs the Apostles vs The Qybirths with the Earth being a literal warzone ?

 

[Paul__Michaels]

Sure

 

[Tyranomaster]

So, for my Level Up – To Break All Limits I Have | Scribble Hub novel, I already know how it's going to end and everything, but the thing is...it's going to be a four-way war between my MC, and like three other antagonists (Not the full context)

I don't intend to change the ending, but...y'all think I can pull it off?

Does it sound hard to pull off because I know there's usually a two-side war at the end of a lot of novels, so here I am, tryna be different with a four-way, MC +Humanity vs the Sovereigns vs the Apostles vs The Qybirths with the Earth being a literal warzone ?

The main thing to keep in mind is how each side would handle truces and temporary alliances. The Allies in ww2 are a good example of the fact that multiple enemy wars devolve into 2 sided wars that happen in series (ww2 immediately was followed by the cold war). It really comes down to simple math. If any enemy teams up, then you're at an extreme disadvantage and need to team up yourself.

Just keep in mind which ideological motivations each faction has and who they'd be willing to form truces with temporarily.

 

[MakBow]

The main thing to keep in mind is how each side would handle truces and temporary alliances. The Allies in ww2 are a good example of the fact that multiple enemy wars devolve into 2 sided wars that happen in series (ww2 immediately was followed by the cold war). It really comes down to simple math. If any enemy teams up, then you're at an extreme disadvantage and need to team up yourself.

Just keep in mind which ideological motivations each faction has and who they'd be willing to form truces with temporarily.

Oh no, there's no alliances, all of these are divine beings in a cosmic war, the sovereigns being embodiments of chaos, the apostles being the embedment's of order and the Qybirth desiring the extinction of everything.

Nothing political about this

 

[Genesis_King]

Just make a basic draft and keep writing. At the time of editing is when you will have to worry. Just make sure that you yourself are satisfied at the end ?.

So, for my Level Up – To Break All Limits I Have | Scribble Hub novel, I already know how it's going to end and everything, but the thing is...it's going to be a four-way war between my MC, and like three other antagonists (Not the full context)

I don't intend to change the ending, but...y'all think I can pull it off?

Does it sound hard to pull off because I know there's usually a two-side war at the end of a lot of novels, so here I am, tryna be different with a four-way, MC +Humanity vs the Sovereigns vs the Apostles vs The Qybirths with the Earth being a literal warzone ?

So, for my Level Up – To Break All Limits I Have | Scribble Hub novel, I already know how it's going to end and everything, but the thing is...it's going to be a four-way war between my MC, and like three other antagonists (Not the full context)

I don't intend to change the ending, but...y'all think I can pull it off?

Does it sound hard to pull off because I know there's usually a two-side war at the end of a lot of novels, so here I am, tryna be different with a four-way, MC +Humanity vs the Sovereigns vs the Apostles vs The Qybirths with the Earth being a literal warzone ?

 

[Deleted member 34529]

Don't know, may be you should write it and find out.

 

[TinaMigarlo]

did you ever take a *giant* mouthful of peanut butter, and find out how hard it really is to get down without dying? this sounds like an advanced thing to shoot for. If you think you have the experience and ability, then hell yeah go for it. My advice would be to not try to pants such an undertaking, though. Plan that sucker out, and have a clear goal for each chapter, what its supposed to accomplish. When you like the outline, then go for it.

 

[MakBow]

did you ever take a *giant* mouthful of peanut butter, and find out how hard it really is to get down without dying? this sounds like an advanced thing to shoot for. If you think you have the experience and ability, then hell yeah go for it. My advice would be to not try to pants such an undertaking, though. Plan that sucker out, and have a clear goal for each chapter, what its supposed to accomplish. When you like the outline, then go for it.

I'm allergic so no, I can't take a mouthful of peanut butter, but yeah, I understand what you're saying

 

[melchi]

My question wouldn't be can this be handled. The proof would be reader receptiveness.

Possible complaints:

1.) Too slow
2.) Faction shallow

Too much depth would cause the story to drag, get to 100k words and still the MC hasn't fought the 4 factions that could be one feedback.
Another could be that the factions just appear, they fight and the reader wonders what's up because it comes across as rushed. The trick is finding a balance between the two.

 

[DoodTheMan]

Imo the best way to pull off a 4-way war is to split it into a pair of 1v1's. Have the protagonists fight the 3rd-strongest faction and struggle, while the 2nd and 1st strongest duke it out off-screen. That way you have a current antagonist who is a serious threat, but another looming in the background who is way more powerful. Plus its way less complicated then having to jump between like 4 different perspectives.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

The best way to do this is the way Tolkien did with The Battle of Five Armies and the way I may have to if I don't find a way to merge a few of the forces in one of my novels on Pocket FM: Cheat.
You only see bits and pieces of the conflict, and most of the decisive action involves the MC doing stuff on the side or dealing with the major players directly.

 

[Emotica]

I’m sure there’s better advice, but one of the stories I’m writing has a war that involves a lot of parties. The way I found best to write it is to outline the events. Every war has a pretext, and an instigator. If your worldbuilding is strong, then how each party reacts sequentially should become clear. After that, you just guide events towards the outcome you want. I essentially wrote the setting, and then let the events play out. In this specific case, I didn’t know who the victors would be until I organically reached that conclusion, but if it was essential to the story, then it’s fairly easy to write “random” events that turned the tides of war. You just don’t want to end up with a non-sensical conclusion. Geography is really the most important continuity element for a war with multiple parties.

 

[MFontana]

So, for my Level Up – To Break All Limits I Have | Scribble Hub novel, I already know how it's going to end and everything, but the thing is...it's going to be a four-way war between my MC, and like three other antagonists (Not the full context)

I don't intend to change the ending, but...y'all think I can pull it off?

Does it sound hard to pull off because I know there's usually a two-side war at the end of a lot of novels, so here I am, tryna be different with a four-way, MC +Humanity vs the Sovereigns vs the Apostles vs The Qybirths with the Earth being a literal warzone ?

Could it work: Absolutely
Would it be cool: Depending on the execution, most assuredly.
Would it be difficult: That depends on how deep into the nature of war, and the conflict itself, you are willing to delve. Surface level would be trivially easy, but also equally shallow. (These guys hate those guys, who want to murder these other guys, and so on). The more depth you intend to add, the more difficult (and more rewarding) it will become to balance everything.
Before attempting something like that in full-scale, I would highly recommend taking the time to study warfare, strategy, tactics, and politics to get an understanding of how the different elements interact.
Towards that end, if you're looking for a quick crash-course, I'd suggest starting here with Matt Colville's GM-Tips / Running the Game videos. They're focused around topics prevalent in TTRPG's which inevitably can bleed over into narrative fiction, and he's got a lot of great advice and insight. (Videos linked below)

Start Here:

Then watch this one:

This one is optional, but recommended:

Lastly, this one:

Last one in the series, but you can skip it:

Would it be recommended: Only if you understand the fundamentals of war, peace, and conflict on that scale. I could spend hours (literally) writing all about it, but beyond those videos, there are a number of major literary pieces that I'd call "Required Reading" for the subject.

• The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu
• The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi

And reading through them would cover the fundamentals of everything that I would be going over.

---

As for whether you can pull it off or not... well that's a question that only you can truly answer. By making the effort to do so. The most that I can offer, is my insights and advice on things you would need to consider if you are attempting it.

 

[TinaMigarlo]

The best way to do this is the way Tolkien did with The Battle of Five Armies and the way I may have to if I don't find a way to merge a few of the forces in one of my novels on Pocket FM: Cheat.
You only see bits and pieces of the conflict, and most of the decisive action involves the MC doing stuff on the side or dealing with the major players directly.

small niggle I have. That's not *Tolkein* doing that. The battle of the five armies, the whole second trilogy? Thet's Guillermo Del Toro, the director and the peoiple he collab'd with. That said, I enjoyed watching the second trilogy. I actually watch that trilogy first, then the regular original trilogy. Since its a prequel. But, never forget that's all Guillermo, not Tolkein.

That said, I agree with your take on things.

My own idea? I'm big on invoking Sun Tzu or The Prince. Find a way to let one enemy fight another enemy. Then, you only have to fight *one* enemy instead of two. I like an MC who is the "thinking man's tough guy". Just my thing. The way you go about this type of thing, could be really cool "strategy sessions" and war councils. You know, get some mileage out of it.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

small niggle I have. That's not *Tolkein* doing that. The battle of the five armies, the whole second trilogy? Thet's Guillermo Del Toro, the director and the peoiple he collab'd with. That said, I enjoyed watching the second trilogy. I actually watch that trilogy first, then the regular original trilogy. Since its a prequel. But, never forget that's all Guillermo, not Tolkein.

No, the novel The Hobbit does go into the battle in very minor detail, but mostly focuses on Bilbo ticking of Thorin by taking the one treasure he wanted, the Arkenstone. The movie was ... more like how TSR described an AD&D campaign with Battlesystem encounters way back when - you have side quests for the PCs to shine, and the war scenes going on as a backdrop; have the results of some battles give the PCs modifiers, have the outcome of the side quests modify other battles and you're done...

That said, I agree with your take on things.

My own idea? I'm big on invoking Sun Tzu or The Prince. Find a way to let one enemy fight another enemy. Then, you only have to fight *one* enemy instead of two. I like an MC who is the "thinking man's tough guy". Just my thing. The way you go about this type of thing, could be really cool "strategy sessions" and war councils. You know, get some mileage out of it.

Good strategy.

 

[DarkCosmos]

So, for my Level Up – To Break All Limits I Have | Scribble Hub novel, I already know how it's going to end and everything, but the thing is...it's going to be a four-way war between my MC, and like three other antagonists (Not the full context)

I don't intend to change the ending, but...y'all think I can pull it off?

Does it sound hard to pull off because I know there's usually a two-side war at the end of a lot of novels, so here I am, tryna be different with a four-way, MC +Humanity vs the Sovereigns vs the Apostles vs The Qybirths with the Earth being a literal warzone ?

Just make sure you have a rough outline for the ending you want to achieve.