Personally, I think an excellent RPG context would be if the PC was on the losing side of a war.
My third favorite game of all time follows that concept actually!
Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front a game set during the One Year War period of UC Gundam. In which you play a team of Zeon Special Forces known as Midnight Fenrir from the initial Second Descent Operation to the battle of A Baoa Qu. Basically March to December. During that time you see the highlights of the Zeon campaign on Earth, from their initial landing landing, their capture of roughly 70% of the planet inside a handful of weeks of fighting, you see the fall of California Base, the death of Captain Garma Zabi. You see the climatic battle of Odessa which sends the Zeonic invasion force reeling across Europe in retreat. You see the attempted invasion of the Federation main headquarters at Jaburo, you see it fail, and the general retreat across Earth as Zeon forces abandon that front to defend their homeland in space.
Basically towards the end of the war, with the Zeon campaign losing steam rapidly, you have to make do with part and ammunition shortages, supply shortages,their supply lines can't keep up, their mobile suit product is slowing down due to resource and part shortages, the Federation is beginning its own mass production of the GM series based on the V-Project Gundam. In fact the second to last mission symbolizes what I am talking about perfectly. You have to defend a HLV as it prepares to launch at California Base. The Federation is sending wave after wave of enemies at you attempting to recapture their precious little base and to kill any Zeon they run into. Their are more of them now, they have better suits then you now, the war's course has shifted on a dime, anyway you defend the HLV, destroy the Feddies, even scrap a prototype Gundam...all this results in? You ensured resources and troops to defend your own homeland as it is now being invaded.
There is no real victory for you here, it doesn't matter how many Feddies you kill, how many mobile suits you wreck, how much you try to cripple their capacity to wage war, because you are simply one unit, admittedly one of the best units in Zeon, made up of aces and what have you, but never the less, you are just a single team. Anyway here is a line symbolizing what I meant.
"We were successful in sending off the last HLV into space without any disruptions from the enemy. The focus of the war would now shift from Earth to outer space. However this was by no means a end to the battles on Earth, as long as our comrades remained here, we would fight, our supplies might diminish and our enemies siege might escalate with each passing day even so we would endure it to the end. We would never give up, not until the day our comrades up in space returned once again to Earth." That's a quote from your CO in game. It basically tells you what I did, the Earth campaign is falling apart, as much of the military is fleeing the rock as quick as they can, but there aren't enough HLV's and ships that can breach atmo for everyone, this was a military effort of tens of thousands.
Some like Fenrir have to stay behind and hope for the best.
So even after the front switches, and you are trapped on a world that is rapidly being regained by the Earth Federation, you still keep fighting. Which is indicative of your other point.
Come the end, the war is lost, the PC leads the last holdouts, and the final choice? To surrender, or refuse to give up and fight to the last
This is exactly what happened to Zeon basically, their war ended at A Baoa Qu, but what of Fenrir and other forces that never made it to that final battle? A ceasefire was broadcast across the solar system,and then later a peace treaty signed with the newly formed Republic of Zeon, with their own nation having fallen apart in its final hours with much of its leadership being gutted at A Baoa Qu, basically the replacement for Gihren and Kycilia Zabi just staged a coup and bargained a deal with the Federation. But well...I will let Gerhart Schmitzer reply on how he will believe that will go.
"We arrived at safely at the command headquarters while escorting the allied troops we had rescued. The Prime Minister's ceasefire announcement was being broadcast repeatedly even now the actions of the Federation forces and other factors indicated the agreed upon ceasefire was indeed genuine.The Principality of Zeon...had been defeated. For our nation, for justice and for the protection of our loved ones defending the Zeon flag our soldiers were pitted against a formidable enemy, each came from a different background and each fought for a different personal reason and many lost their lives.The Principality of Zeon was defeated-However as long as their comrades who continue to fight for their beliefs kindled by their love for those on the home front our own battle will likely never end."
So basically the long and short of that speech should be obvious but, here's the cliff notes. Zeon regulars and special forces are going to basically disregard the ceasefire and keep fighting, and they do...for years. Like most Zeon's.
In a conflict spanning five decades, and one that costs humanity billions and billions of people and ultimately results in a one neither side really won.
Hell of a series though, Tomino is aces in my book because of it.
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