For centuries the source of most of the world's industry was a substance known shards of oblivion pulled from deep below the Earth. These could be used as fuel and thus kick started an industrial revolution once someone figured out how to actually build a steam engine.
However several decades ago a renowned master alchemist by the name of Thaddeus von Dietrich managed to figure out how to split a shard of oblivion into its component elements. These elements had unique properties which the alchemists and engineers of the world quickly put to good use sparking a second Industrial Revolution. Unfortunately the new processes consumed far more of the shards of oblivion than before and extraction was limited to only a select few areas with viable mines. So inevitably war broke.
The Great War raged for more than six years before it finally died out as the various sides reached a grudging peace. It is now two decades later and the flames of war are stirring once again in the rebuilt countries of the world.
Military - Your soldiers, walkers, and moving fortresses. On the attack and on the defense this stands between your enemies and the rest of your more vulnerable assets. Is also the only stat capable of directly seizing a mine.
Espionage - Your spies and agents. What you use for infiltrating enemy countries and stealing their secrets. Less useful for stealing actual physical goods, but still capable of it. Can temporarily shut down or divert a portion of the production of a mine.
Morale - How loyal and hardworking your people are. The higher this is the more resistant your country is to infiltration. Your people can also be directed to focus on a single project or endeavor through the use of ample propaganda. Doing so will grant a bonus based on how high you morale is.
Research - Your alchemists and engineers diligently work to make your country stronger. Research is a measure of how effective they are. It could just be a few brilliant alchemists, or a whole lab full of mediocre technicians. Research can grant both general advancements in technology which help your other areas, or more specific traits which grant unique bonuses in certain fields.
World Opinion - World opinion is how other countries feel about you. It is also somewhat unique in that it is tracked individually between each country. But only the aggregate is shown on the stats. World Opinion cannot be used directly, but will measure how likely a country is to respond to your overtures.
Hades Pits - Deep scars that penetrate into the depths of the earth. Mostly full of treacherous slip falls and winding tunnels, but in the deepest regions can be found shards of oblivion. Pitch black these crystals burned with an unseen fire, and for centuries fueled the hungry steam forges of the known world. But then at the turn of the century a master alchemist was able to do what no other alchemist before him had been able to. He broke an oblivion shard into its component elements. When he opened the cooling crucible he found five different materials which reshaped the workings of the world.
Every turn each Hades Pit will produce enough elements to give an additional + of stats to its controller.
The Elements of Oblivion
Spoiler
Lethium - The substance of shadows. It bends the light of the world around itself, and hides itself from all who would observe it.
- Warps lights around itself. Most countries have their alchemists use Lethium to create shadow plating which hides the vehicles to which it is attached.
Styxium - The substance of hate. Nothing can touch it, nothing can harm it. Only through the other oblivion elements can manipulate this floating substance.
- Styxium repels all normal elements. Alchemists have found that the strength of this repelling is determined by the amount and power levels of the Styxium. Small quantities can be embedded in armor to deflect bullets and swords. Large quantities can be built into engines to lift vehicles and allow for easier movement. A few experimental Styxium/Kokytium engines were used to produce flying machines during the Great War.
Acherium - The substance of sorrow. Woe be to the unwary alchemist that touches this foul substance as it can suck the very life out of all living things. Unfortunately it is also the only substance that can bind with non-oblivion materials. And as such handling it is an ever present and unavoidable risk for every alchemist.
- Contact with living material will slowly drain the subject of life. It is not fatal or even irreversible unless handled excessively, but it will cause the subject to become lethargic and begin wasting away as if suffering from illness. It is unique in that it can be welded and forged with normal materials like iron. As such the majority of machines that use the elements have layers of Acherium somewhere inside and carefully sealed from human touch. As a rather major consequence destroyed vehicles tend to scatter Acherium across the land poisoning it. Many Great War battlefields have become wastelands because of this.
Kokytium - The substance of lamentations. Viewed by most as an unholy substance Kokytium screams with the souls of the dead which it can absorb from any of the dying or recently dead. Only Kokytium can restore the other elements to their unholy glory once their powers dim. Prolonged exposure to Kokytium has been known to cause insanity.
- When newly created Kokytium appears inert, a simple shard of black metal not unlike the oblivion shards which all elements are processed from. However it has been shown that exposure to dying humans, and to a lesser extent animals, imbues the Kokytium with something. No is entirely sure what, but the Kokytium begins exhibit what appear to be veins of glowing blue fluid beneath the surface. Alchemists who work with charged Kokytium report that they can almost hear voices. By itself Kokytium is of limited use, but by bringing charged Kokytium into contact with another element the strength of the other element can be greatly enhanced or restored if the element has been depleted. To a lesser extent Kokytium can also be charged by exposure to the already dead. As such graveyards have become centers of a rather dark industry.
Phlegethium - The substance of fire. Pure flame in solid form. Where once the shards of oblivion fueled the forges of the world now Phlegethium powers them to even greater heights.
- Glowing bright red Phlegethium is extremely hot. No normal substance burns as hot as a shard of Phlegethium or for as long. As such many factories and steam engines have been modified to run on the element. Some experimental weapons have been developed to try and take advantage of its properties as well, but so far nothing has come of it. At least not publicly.
Note: All the elements of oblivion will over time discharge and become inert. With the notable exception of Kokytium which can restore other elements at the cost of draining its own charge.
Also note that these are only the discovered properties. As the elements have only been known for a few decades, additional research could reveal further properties.
Messages
Spoiler
Any diplomatic message in spoilers can be read if your espionage beats the lowest of the either the sender or recipient's defensive espionage.
Displayed Stats
Spoiler
Going to take a page out of Mistral's book here. Only your morale, reputation, and defensive espionage will be public. Defensive espionage is your morale plus any espionage you spent in the previous turn defending yourself.
Non-Military Annexation
Spoiler
Using espionage, and possibly other stat if you play it right, you can subvert the stats of other factions. While you cannot directly control subverted stats this grants several immediate benefits. Subverted stats have little effect when used against you, since you can see them coming. You can see what subverted stats are doing when used elsewhere, although I probably won't remember to tell you unless you ask for regular reports from your agents. And you can try and influence what they are used for, although doing so risks exposure.
Once you have subverted at least 10% of the other faction's total stats you can launch a bid for full control. The success of which will depend on how much you control. If you've achieved 100% subversion then it will be a mere hand off formality. If you've only achieved 10% subversion they will probably shrug it off.
WO
Spoiler
There are 7 levels of relationships with NPCs. These are Enemy, hostile, unfriendly, neutral, friendly, very friendly, and Ally. Each NPC's relation to you is tracked individually, but I'm only going to publicly show the aggregate.
An Enemy hates you with everything they have. They will never help you and will actively try to oppose you if they see a chance to do so.
A hostile NPC hates you, but can be persuaded to help you if there is a third party hostile power to unite against. Or in some sort of dire circumstances.
An unfriendly NPC will be suspicious of you, and will probably require hefty incentives to aid you, but will do so if the circumstances are favorable to them.
A neutral NPC doesn't like or dislike you. They'll agree to various treaties just so long as they think they're getting as much or more out of it as they're putting in.
A friendly NPC is willing to be a bit more agreeable. They're willing to take slight losses to help you.
A very friendly NPC is willing to lend you a hand when you need it. They'll help out in wars and disasters. But they still need to look after their own interests.
An Ally NPC is willing to help you no matter what. They'll stick with you in a war even if you're lossing. They'll take large losses in order to help you.
Moving along the paths gets harder as the NPC moves away from neutral. Moving to hostile or friendly for instance is fairly easy and straightforward. Moving to hostile or very friendly requires a larger investment of time, planning, and resources. Moving to Enemy or Ally is very hard. It requires either a special set of circumstances where in the NPC is either saved from the brink of destruction or pushed to it by you. Or alternatively taking or giving 5 permanent stats points to or from an enemy or ally will push them in the appropriate direction.
Eg, Raiding a hostile country and stealing 5 research will cause them to be an Enemy. Giving a very friendly country 5 mil to help them patrol their borders will make them an Ally. It also works the other way. Giving an Enemy 5 points of reparations will upgrade them to hostile. Which seems pointless, but there is a small but critical difference in the two. Namely a hostile npc might occasionally take a shot at you if the opportunity presents itself. An Enemy will actively try and make that opportunity present itself. Similarly an Ally who gives you 5 stats in loans won't expect it back, but they will downgrade to very friendly.
Last edited by ArcaneStomper : 05-09-2012 at 11:17 AM.
When the Hades pits were discovered, many were quickly snatched up by the strong nations to south of Scandanavia; with their large volumes of resources they could devote to the project. The nations of Sweden, and Norway, did not of the sheer economic or military might to seize the hell pits for usage. They didn't even have an espionage network strong enough to steal some of the extracts from the pits. They were therefore forced to maximize what they could do with what they could gather from the Hades pits, making sure that the elements they extracted were put to their best use.
However, neither Sweden nor Norway had the technological power to do enough research to have a hope of catching up to the countries to the south. Realizing that, in order to have a hope of keeping up, they had to work together; the two Scandinavian neighbours overcame their differences and merged their research divisions. As their two nations slowly became more and more tied together, the idea for formally merging their two nations was formed.
VIPs
Spoiler
President Fillip. Known solely by his first name, President Filip is the 5th President of the SU, and thought by many to be the best the nation has had. He has both improved their research facilities, maintained relationships with other nations, all while keeping taxes low and giving the people a fair amount of services.
Foreign Minister Tom Bradley. The voice to the outside of the SU, he is a good diplomat and very close to the President himself. He often functions as an adviser, using his knowledge of other nations, when he is not visiting other nations.
Stats
Spoiler
Military: Medium-Low. Though the SU does not focus on their military strength, they do possess a defense force that will allow them to muster some resistance against any attackers.
Economy: Low. The northern location of the Scandinavian Union, combined with a lack of focus on their economy, means that they do not have a mighty economy.
Espionage: Very low. The SU does not try to spy on others, and does not really care about their espionage.
Research: Very high. The SU relies on research to not fall behind others, and has many scientists working to develop new technologies.
Morale: Medium-High. The people of SU are proud of their developments, and live a good enough life not to complain too much.
Often enough in it's history, Luxembourg has been the target of larger and more powerful nations nearby. Every time, the invasion has been called off for internal reasons, politics or something else.
The Swiss are called neutral. Luxembourg /never/ participates in wars, nobody even knows anything about their army, if they even have one. Yet nobody pays them any mind.
During the Great War, foreign troops marched through the Lowlands multiple times, in many directions. It's true that some aircraft did pass over Luxembourgian airspace, but curiously all the armies happened to pass around. It was a single drop of peace on a world map of bloody war. And this was a nation with Hades Pits, too. Very curious.
In fact, there are many interesting things about Luxembourgian history. However, nobody appears to be interested in those things. Strange, isn't it?
Stats:
Military: Military? Luxembourg? I suppose they do have some sort of a police force...
Espionage: Heh. Nobody knows anything about Luxembourgian espionage. And that's not because it isn't the largest, most powerful, secure and best-hidden organization on Earth.
Morale: High enough. Quality of life is good, there's no wars, Luxembourg is always peaceful, dull and somehow detached from Europe.
Research: Well, I suppose someone in Luxembourg must be looking into their Hades Pits, scratching their heads at what they are. Generally speaking, there's not enough money nor drive in the nation to pursue technological advances. They'll cross the border from France or Germany eventually.
World Opinion: Luxembourg? Is that a nation? Huh. I never knew.
__________________
Trophies:
Spoiler
Trophies.
Quotes:
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by lamech
Trusting Murska worked out great!
Quote:
Originally Posted by happyturtle
A Murska without lies is like a day without sunshine.
When Zheng He left on his sixth voyage his fleet made port in Kyoto in preparation for seeking the River of Eternal Light, also known as the Northwest Passage.
There they encountered Emperor Kyousuke, son of Emperor Go-Komatsu and grandson of the Jianwen Emperor who was able to convince the fleet to defect to him from the Yongle Emperor through his virtue and great skill.
When the fleet returned they found the capital in a state of chaos. A coup had resulted in the death of the Yongle Emperor. With the backing of Zheng He's fleet and his own prowess in politics he was able to claim the Ming throne. He became the Hongxi Emperor and united the monarchies of China and Japan. His line has continued to rule at least symbolically since then.
During his long reign Kyousuke reorganized the tax system, improved roads and canals, expanded the rights of tradesmen and merchants, promoted industry and the arts, founded several academies, and reorganized the government to allow more local participation. While he and his line remained unpopular among the intelegenci for decades the support of the people and his lavish spending on public works resulted in a flowering of culture and prosperity. The peasantry, almost entirely ignorant of information about Japan, were greatly impressed by his descent from the Sun goddess and so solar motifs became central in the Renaissance which followed. This aesthetic tradition has continued to this day amoung the Shì who trace their origins mostly through common lines.
Today the Kakushinbitoku Emperor Hiroyuki reigns. He, the Shogun, and the Shì exist in a carefully balanced state with each possessing nominally distinct but often overlapping areas of control. The Shì no longer dominate the bureaucracy, a task the Shogunate has subsumed, but instead are composed of the alchemists and technocrats who's knowledge and high social regard has made them a defacto governmental body.
Technology
Spoiler
Drawing from numerous sources including the Yongle Didan, the Vedas, Egyptian temple carvings, and most recently the work of Nikola Tesla the Imperial technopraxis is considerably different from western alchemies.
Vimana flying machines, solar furnaces, electrical power transmission, and other such wonders are common place in the empire. Agriculture has been almost entirely mechanized leading to the end of agrarian society.
The quasi religious belief system popular among the people has been described by outsiders as the religion of science. The distinction between laboratories and temples is fuzzy, meditation and philosophical debate are part of the research process, and even young children are conversant in topics that Western university students find difficult.
From an objective view Imperial science is more mature then Western. To many of the leading minds in Europe it is also a dead end, having reached the end of the inquiries it is willing or able to make. In support of this they point to the recent fervent work on Oblivion shard derivatives. The Empire lags far behind the West's alchemists who have had centuries of practical and theoretical work on the chemical and metallurgical sciences. Indeed, even early starts in the art of war have not aided them. Ballistic and military developments are positively medieval owing to the long years of peace and skilled use of relative advantage over the savages surrounding them. They lack walkers, artillery, field guns, even practical personal firearms. Their military still train with swords and bows for goodness sake!
What Imperial sources think of these criticisms is not reported.
__________________
Many, many thanks to azuyomi244 for the avatar.
Territorial Claims: Mexico, Central America, Colombia
Enemy: The People's Republic of Caribbean Ally: Spain
History:
Spoiler
When the people of Aztlan came from the north to the Valley of Mexico, the gods sent them a vision. An eagle perched atop a cactus, which grew from a stone, clutching a pulsating shard in its claw. A sign to settle, and of the power to come. Upon the founding of Tenochtitlan, the Aztlan discovered a a pit, gouging deep into the earth and containing the shards they had seen in their vision. The priests declared them to be gifts from the divine, and set it as their holy mission to unlock the secrets of the shards. This was 1325 CE, when the Aztlan Empire was first forged within the fires of Hades.
Since then, they have fought a bloody war of expansion, seizing control of Central America and Colombia from the native tribes that had held it before, and spreading their culture throughout the lands. Once an area is subjugated, they take a hands off approach to control. Any talented shamans, soldiers, or other persons of interest are conscripted into the Hegemony, but the rest of the operations are left independent. Of course, any resistance is met with ritual sacrifice of the conspirators, so they may not be the nicest of rulers, but as long as there is no dissent they are good enough.
As they expanded, the priests used their knowledge of the shards to link the major settlements with railways and construct massive temple workshops, uniting the Aztlan both physically and spiritually. Skirmishes at the edges of their lands brought in enough prisoners to be sacrificed to appease the gods, and times were good. But the Aztlan became complacent...
The arrival of Spaniards from the "Old World" shook them out of that. A fellow alchemical power, the conquistadors came to the New World expecting backward tribes, ripe for the conquering. The scouting party marched into King Itzcoatl the First's throne room and claimed ownership of all the land. Their hearts were sent back to the rest of the expedition, escorted by the king himself and his royal guardsmen. Being the wise and holy ruler he was, Itzcoatl had the foreigners bring back a message to their own king. The Aztlan was not a group to be trifled with, and any further attempts at colonization would be met with equal force. But, if instead the Spanish Court would rather find a partner in trade and research, the Hegemony would be glad to begin working with them.
In the nearly five hundred years since first contact, relations between Spain and the Aztlan Hegemony have blossomed into a fruitful alliance. The New World was introduced to the Old, and goods and technology passed across the Atlantic. In recent years, the Great War led to the Aztlan's seizing of Colombia and the entirety of Mexico from the Caribbean Alliance, leading to a rather tumultuous relationship between the two in these days.
Stats:
Spoiler
Military: Average. With a need for prisoners to sacrifice to their gods, the Aztlan have harnessed the powers of the oblivion shards to aid in their conquest and warfare. The most iconic weapons in their arsenal are their floating fortresses, acting as mobile bunkers, artillery forts, or troop transport depending on the necessity of the mission. The forts have the appearance of stepped temples, the same as the structures constructed throughout their empire, and are used in similar rituals of sacrifice. Since the discovery of the shard components though, these rituals take on a even more important use, as sacrificed prisoners are used to charge Kokytium which in turn refuels the array of other elements of the forts. In addition, the Aztlan have also been experimenting with flying craft, having their Eagle Warriors take the role of pilots and using them as reconnaissance in the final battles of the Great War.
Espionage: Very Low. The Aztlan were never ones for subtlety. For the first four centuries of existence, they never encountered a force capable of challenging them. Because of that, sabotage and deceit weren't needed to win their wars. Now that they've become involved with the world as a whole, they realize that it may not solely be the purview of heathens and cowards.
Morale: Very High. The religious fervor of the Aztlan has always been the cornerstone of the culture, binding the diverse ethnic groups into a cohesive whole. The church is also the group in charge of education, and has refined their telling of histories over the centuries into brilliant tales of valor, piety, and patriotism.
Research: Average. For centuries the priests and shamans of the Aztlan people have explored the capabilities of the oblivion shards, embedding the knowledge into their rituals and holy rites. The Hades Pits are gifts of the gods, and understanding them is a step closer to understanding the divine themselves.
World Opinion: Low. A deeply fanatical and expansionist power that practices human sacrifice? Yeah, they don't have too many friends out there. Powers outside of the Americas are slightly more indifferent, considering they have an ocean to keep away the Hegemony's zealots.
Hades Pits: 2
VIPs:
Spoiler
King Itzcoatl IV: The Obsidian Serpent, Itzcoatl the Fourth has been in command of the Hegemony for only five years. His father led the nation as a vicious general during the Great War, primarily against the Caribbean Alliance's holdings in Mexico and Colombia. Itzcoatl IV has taken more after his namesake, who was the one to first broker a treaty between the Aztlan and Spain. He prefers diplomacy to war, though under him the military has seen great strides in technology.
Head Priest Tochtli: The highest ranking member of the Aztlan religion, Tochtli is in charge of both keeping the Hegemony well liked among its citizens as well as the developments and improvements of the alchemical sort.
High General Quauhtli: The military commander of the Aztlan forces.
The divergence point from actual Canadian History would be in 1880, where Quebec politics went in a different direction than historically.
History
Originally the Canadian Imperium was founded as two separate entities. First was the french colony that occupies much of what is now considered the Free Quebec Nation. The second major colony to be founded was Lower Canada (now Ontario). The French Colony was later superseded and conquered by the British as they sought to colonize North America. After The American revolution Canada remained loyal to Britain for some time, taking part in the British war effort in WWI, for which they ere granted independence.
Due to cultural differences between the culturally french Quebec and the rest of the culturally British Canada unrest was always there, but for the most part had been ignored as it wasn't sever enough to cause problems. This changed in 1880 when a prominent politician in Quebec started to play the two cultures off of each other to gain office. Later becoming the Premier if the province his separatist rhetoric caused many problem for the Canadian government, who passed legislation to counter his separatism tendencies. This of course only furthered the gap between the cultures.
This came to a head 3 years after WWI. Quebec had sent fewer volunteers to fight in the war effort, and as such had a larger population capable of fighting than the rest of Canada did. The anger over being forced to participate in a war they didn't want combined with the problems that the cultural differences had caused resulted in a revolution. The war was bloody, and ended with Quebec holding the Atlantic provinces, and successfully securing independence. Since then the renamed Canadian Federal Imperium and the Free Quebec Nation have had a peace. Quebec has no present interest in war with Canada, while the Canadians are happy to be rid of the problems Quebec had brought them.
This separation brought many changes to Canada. The first was the movement of the government to Northern Alberta, far away from any borders. The war caused Canada to realize that having a small military is a massive problem, and as such should be avoided, leading to a military buildup. The lack of Quebec as a dissident culture caused Canada to become more mono-cultural, and to become paranoid about other nations.
In addition to this the infustructure of Canada changed greatly. The most obvious change was the development of arctic infustructure. Long looked at as basically uninhabitable, Canada was forced to develop the arctic in order to maintain trading ports with Europe and Africa to a lesser extent. This lead to a significant amount of Canadian infrastructure being located in the arctic due to this trading.
Despite the lack of a military rivalry both Nations maintain extensive espionage networks, and are unofficially very paranoid, and conatantly spy on each other. Despite the lack of desire to reunite with Quebec Canada has been eying some of the resources south of the border with interest however. as the southern nation(s) are fairly similar in culture Canada wouldn't have the same worries as they would with Quebec if they were to attempt to conquer them.
stats
Spoiler
Military: medium. Canada learned the lesson that having a small military is bad when they lost the Separation War, and maintains a well funded military since then.
Espionage: Very High. Due to the mutual paranoia with Quebec Canada maintains an extensive intelligence network, which spans not only Quebec, but also many other nations. For the moment it is focused on Quebec and {whatever nation(s) take the place of the USA in this world}.
Morale: High. With Quebec gone the major reason Canadians were discontent with their government were resolved. Canadians are generally happy with the status Quo.
Research: Low. with the economic devastation caused by the Seperation War, the Canadian economy is more focused on rebuilding than on researching new technologies.
WO:As it is determined at the end not sure what to say here.
Yay Canada.
Enemy: PRA
Ally: DUS
How long do turns last?
__________________
"The AI does not hate you, nor does it love you, but you are made out of atoms which it can use for something else" - Eliezer Yudkowsky
Last edited by hydroplatypus : 04-15-2012 at 08:57 PM.
I still haven't fletched out my religion. Also, Is it to late to propose the Morrocan Emirates as my allies (Madagascar already is my enemy). At first I wanted to add the Caliphate I had written up but I get it that too many NPCs are hard to manage.
I also updated relations with other states on the 1-5 skala.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zethex
Spoiler
Kheranic Republic of Saloa
Medieval History: (this is mostly backround and not as important)
Spoiler
The roots of this nation lie in the small kingdom of Saloa (real world western half of South Africa) neighbored by similar kingdoms to the east (the largest one being Zimbabwe that then included south Mozambique and a bit of north South Africa) and many tiny independant duchies to the north. Like most regions in the early hundreds AD this one too had many small and big wars and dynasty changes and so on.
The biggest historical event was in the year 774 AD when the great prophet Kheran descended into Zimbabwe from the north and started preaching his monotheistic religion of racial equality. Till then minorities of the non-ruling tribes had always been oppressed in Africa and women had been little more than slaves. Kheran quickly gained support of the Zimbabwe population and after the king there was overthrown, Kheran and his newly wed wife Anna quickly became the leaders of an unstoppable crusade of liberation that united much of the southern half of Africa.
While many nations fell to this onslaught, king Odena II of Saloa quickly converted and showed his support towards Kherans cause and thus kept a great degree of autonomy, even gaining administrative leadership of many not so cooperative nations around Saloa.
The first major defeat was in the war against Madagascar. The tribes there were proud of their polytheistic traditions which had a predominantly female clergy and they were also so intermixed that inter-tribal conflict was non-existant and thus they were not so receptive to this new Kheranic religion. The first attempt to invade was thwarted by the total inexperience in naval warfare of the Kheranist generals and the second one was stopped by a highly organized front of the Madagascar tribes, now united under a single king. Before the war could be won by attrition Kheran died at the age of 63. And thus in the year 812 AD political uncertainty swept over the Kheranic empire as there was no true heir, his wife Anna only having mothered daughters.
In a few years the empire had splintered into several caliphates and kingdoms that, although allied, were far from being a united force. King Odena III of Saloa heir of Odena II managed to politically outmanuver many rivals and it was him that secured the lands that until today still belong to the Republic.
Recent History:
Spoiler
The last few kings had been oppresive and autocratic, exploiting all the nations recources to increase their personal riches, not adhering to Kheranic tennets and staying in power through foreign help. But the final straw was when Tristan IV, last king of Saloa, decided to aid Madagascar in anexing his then weak Zimbabwe neighbours in exchange for part of the land and good trade relations. This decision to hand the holy lands of Kheran to heathens triggered a fundamentalist revolution headed by the widely regarded scholar and religious teacher Samubai Imikheras who, after succesfully dethroning Tristan IV, became supreme leader of church and state.
Sadly the revolution weakened Saloa and so Madagascar was succesful in conquering most of Zimbabwe and even gained some territory in western Saloa.
Current state:
Spoiler
Although there is a parliament and an executive holding nominal power it is heavily controlled by the religious constitutional court whose members in turn are nominated by the head of the church, Samubai Imikheras. Only persons approved by this court can be elected into parliament and the President of the Republic, who heads the executive and represents the nation on a foreign level, practically only issues policies that the Supreme Leader approves of.
The population of Saloa, although economically not as exploited as before, is still recovering from the revolution and is loosing more and more civil liberties as religious law is being codified into legislation.
Some of the greatest supporters of the new regime are the Zimbabwe fugitives who were welcomed with open arms. This includes the Zimbabwe Caliphate in exile, the former (also strongly religious) government of the land now occupied by Madagascar which still nominally rules the remaining free westernmost part of Zimbabwe. It is totally dependant on Saloa so what remains of Zimbabwe can technically be seen as part of the Kheranic Republic.
Kheranism:
Spoiler
Coming soon...
Allies/Enemies:
Spoiler
Allies: Moroccan Emirates (pending on GM descision Enemies: Kingdom of Madagascar. Opinions: Any nation of Kheranic religion: 4 to 5 dependant on fundamentalism level.
Small nationalist states with acceptable religions: 3 to 4
Commie states: 2 to 3 dependant on size, strength and distance.
Atzlan: 1 (human sacrifice for gods sake).
Atzlan allies: 2
All other: 3
Stats:
Spoiler
Military - Moderate + : Now that the last royal loyalists have been destroyed, the Kheranic Republic of Saloa commands a farely strong and highly fanatic army that uses the heavily developed military assets that were used by the former kings to stay in power.
Espionage - Moderate: The Supreme Leader is investing in a strong intelligence network in the hopes of "guiding" other wayward nations of Africa onto the right path.
Morale - Moderate: There is high support because of religious fanaticism, propaganda and the fact that the new government just succeded in freeing the population from the oppresive kings regime. The liberal, the educated and the upper class people however are not so happy as it is dawning to them that making religion into law can only be bad for them and that they may have traded the oppresive but lesse faire king for a far worse backwards and over-idealistic dictator.
Research - Moderate - : The previous king was highly interested in sience and research, although reaping all the benefits for himself. As such technology is greatly developed and there has been a fair amount of research into the new elements. Since the regime change however things have turned for the worse. The fundamentalist leaders put the holy scriptures above scientific facts, declared several research paths as immoral and banned the use of Kokytium alltogether. Additionally they advocate a simple lifestyle so even civil research has slowed down. Any dissenting scientist is publicly ridiculed or worse. This means that the military is now mostly based around the use of standard oblivion shards.
World Opinion - No Idea:
Hades Pits - Whatever is Average
__________________ I won't be posting anymore for a long time. It pains me but I really have to get my internet addiction in control. I'm sorry for any inconvenience I cause. Wish me luck!
Can I have at least some general info on al these asian nations? I only know that some are allied to the Empire of the Resplendent sun and some are enemies. What is their government/society/technology like? Or should I learn that stuff purely by roleplaying and act as if my people are completly 100% ignorant of asian affairs?
Also, V.I.P.s
Spoiler
Samubai Imikheras: Supreme leader of Church and State. Mubar Maroon: President of the Republic. Sonja Imibwazi: Diplomat. More may come.
__________________ I won't be posting anymore for a long time. It pains me but I really have to get my internet addiction in control. I'm sorry for any inconvenience I cause. Wish me luck!
As the secrets of the Oblivion Shard were cracked, Portugal found itself in the rare combination of the large number of Hades Mines and progressive minded King Jose Eduardo Silva, who set to the task of revolutionizing his nation with the new technology. In less than a decade Portugal grew from a relatively minor player into one of the Europe's major industrial powers. The King chose to join World War I, seduced by the Imperialistic ambitions and the popular theories of Melthusian Catastrophe, that stated that as the world got contaminated by alchemy, the people would soon run out of clean lands to survive and grow food in just a few years (a theory that grossly overstated the rate of pollution and availability of lands and food, without taking into acount new methods of farming, that nearly quadrupled the crop yield). His side lost.
The Portugal wasn't invaded and it's troops were actually deep into the enemy territory, when the news that its allies surrendered came. The general opinion of the public was outrage at the betrayal - if the war lasted just a few more months, the victory would have been in their grasp. It was the weakness of the people and their fears in other nations. Portugal was forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty, that saw reduction of its military forces and pay enormous reparations for ''causing the war''. King Jose Eduardo Silva died a few years afterwards, having taken to heavy drinking. His son King Jose Santos Silva II assumed the throne.
The Portugal has recently refused to follow the peace treaty, stopping the reparation payments and expanding the size of its military. King Jose II has began to grow more and more tyrannical expanding secret police and obsessing with traitors and spies.
Stats:
Military: High (Well, yeah)
Espionage: Slightly Above Average (Secret Police Ahoy!)
Research: Low (With high reparation payments and death of King Jose I, there were neither funds nor interest in research)
Morale: zero (Portugal lives in fear of Evil King Jose)*.
WO: Low (Other nations look at Portugal with worry).
*I decided to change stats at the last moment, so it's not that explored in background, how Jose I is evil.
Edit: Do we get stats from Hades Pits starting next turn? Do we decide which elements we get? Do we decide which stats we gain from elements? How long the stat boost works?
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Magical Emperor Monkey. You have my vote.
I learned two things about Montgomery that day... ...The first was that his men would follow him off a cliff. The second was that he would lead them there.
Last edited by Thelonius : 04-16-2012 at 07:19 AM.
Can I have at least some general info on al these asian nations? I only know that some are allied to the Empire of the Resplendent sun and some are enemies. What is their government/society/technology like? Or should I learn that stuff purely by roleplaying and act as if my people are completly 100% ignorant of asian affairs?
Also, V.I.P.s
Spoiler
Samubai Imikheras: Supreme leader of Church and State. Mubar Maroon: President of the Republic. Sonja Imibwazi: Diplomat. More may come.
I'm going to post the NPC summaries some time today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thelonius
Edit: Do we get stats from Hades Pits starting next turn? Do we decide which elements we get? Do we decide which stats we gain from elements? How long the stat boost works?
Hades Pits produce new stats every turn. The elements are fluff, you can choose whichever ones you want and make sense for your country to be using to produce a certain stat.
How do we know how many Hades Pits we have and how long do we have for a round in RL?
__________________ I won't be posting anymore for a long time. It pains me but I really have to get my internet addiction in control. I'm sorry for any inconvenience I cause. Wish me luck!
How do we know how many Hades Pits we have and how long do we have for a round in RL?
Each faction gets 2.
I am initially going to set things for a week per turn. It will likely get pushed to two weeks as the game goes on, or if that's what everyone wants, but I'm hoping that the trimmed down stats will make EoTs easier for me to process.
Do we already get Pit benefits in the first round or will you inform us?
Also (and this one is embarasing but I couldn't find any general rules for TW) what are EoTs and how do they function? This is my first TW and I also haven't actually studied concluded games any more than to be sure its something I want to do.
EDIT: I have another thing that confuses me. You were talking of the setting as Diesel Punk in the beginning but then you keep on mentioning Steam everywhere. Did you maybe mistake the two? Or else is it common or at least possible to make combustion motors running on Oblivion Shards? Also how small is a shard and can you also use it (and phlegentium) in dust form or even mix with a liquid to have it run through tubes? If yes, then that is where I will go with my research to balance out the fact that Kokytium is Anathema, Acherium is banned and all other elements are distrustedby my nation.
Sorry for asking so much .
__________________ I won't be posting anymore for a long time. It pains me but I really have to get my internet addiction in control. I'm sorry for any inconvenience I cause. Wish me luck!
Do we already get Pit benefits in the first round or will you inform us?
Also (and this one is embarasing but I couldn't find any general rules for TW) what are EoTs and how do they function? This is my first TW and I also haven't actually studied concluded games any more than to be sure its something I want to do.
EDIT: I have another thing that confuses me. You were talking of the setting as Diesel Punk in the beginning but then you keep on mentioning Steam everywhere. Did you maybe mistake the two? Or else is it common or at least possible to make combustion motors running on Oblivion Shards? Also how small is a shard and can you also use it (and phlegentium) in dust form or even mix with a liquid to have it run through tubes? If yes, then that is where I will go with my research to balance out the fact that Kokytium is Anathema, Acherium is banned and all other elements are distrustedby my nation.
Sorry for asking so much .
The pits give stats in the EoTs. Since there has not been EoT you won't recieve a benefit until next turn. It is assumed that past usage of the pits is what got your stats to where they are at start.
Yeah I really need to an EoT example to my starting rules template. Anyway the EoT is the End of Turn. An EoT report is a list of actions that you want your country to do. It general involves you giving one or more action for each stat.
For instance.
Spoiler
Example Nation: The Republic of Lu
Mil 5
Esp 5
Res 5
Mor 5
HP 2
Mil 5
1. Send 2 mil to attack my northern neighbor over border disputes.
2. Send 3 mil to train in seige warfare for future wars.
Esp
1. Send all 5 esp to steal state secrets from my western neighbor.
Res
1. 3 to researching new rifles for my troops.
2. 2 to researching a better way to process fuels.
Mor
1. 5 to inspire my mil in the north to fight harder.
HP
1. 1 to replacing losses in the northern war.
2. 1 to increasing my research capacity.
I admit diesel punk is a bit of misnomer. It was meant to evoke the setting difference between this and steampunk. Steampunk is more victorian and has in my opinion more of a lighter pulpy feel. Diesel punk is the next stage of technological advancement. It is grittier and more likely to have nasty wars in it. Which I think fits the tone of this game despite the fact that diesel is not actually used. Although it does exist. So if you really wanted to be a stickler you could develop actual diesel punk technology.
In the games history steam was the major driving force of industry for several centuries. Up until a few decades ago it was a steampunk setting. But then it was discovered how to split the shards apart. Which provided a new power source. The reason I mentioned steam constantly is that it is still a major power source. There are other ways to generate power from the elements of oblvivion, for instance mounting Styxium into an engine and manipulating such that its repellant forces turned an axle at high speeds, but the discovery of the elements is very recent so the world is still in the transistion phase between steampunk and dieselpunk, actually more like Souls-of-the-Damned-Punk, but that's a mouthful and requires me to go into a detailed explanation of this settings science. So dieselpunk works better.
Combustion engines require things to combust. Oblivion shards don't combust, although phlegentium does get super hot, so that's out. You could probably use it to augment a normal combustion engine though. But like I said above though there are other ways to power engines with shards than combustion.
In their standard below ground form Oblivion shards can vary from a few centimeters to meters in size. The most common output of the mines are shards approximately 2 meters in length. They can however be broken apart into smaller fragments. They can be ground into dust and delivered in a liquid. But they require certain conditions to actually heat up, otherwise they would burn up where you didn't want them to and that wouldn't very useful as a fuel source. I won't get into what condition those are, because I have no idea, but it basically entails making a small contained chamber which can then be heated. Making it possible to burn the oblvion while it was in open tubes, or even in the open entirely would be more difficult and require research.
My questions seem never to stop... Gameplay: Can I send civilians to colonize/influence unclaimed areas? If I choose to put military units to training do they still defend the area they are in and if yes, is there any benefit to keeping them vigilant and on patrol instead? Do I gain any Hades Pits by conquering neutral areas? Will you keep track of messages from one NPC to another? Is there any benefit to trade and commerce and how it is represented ingame?
Lore & worldbuilding & stuff: Is there any efficient way to propel ships/planes/hovercraft with more than propelers? Are normal Oblivion Shards technically just special coal and what are its benefits compared to petrol? Do walkers work on steampunk, hydraulics and suspension of disbelief or do you have a more elaborate idea behind it (I'm guessing there were already walkers before the discovery of the new elements potential)?
And the last questions to everyone: Is there any nation who actually "won" the first world war? I guess Madagascar and Atzlan kind of did, but Portugal for instance mentioned paying reparations and stuff. Anything in mind who they lost to?
If I am disrupting the game by asking too many details and I am supposed to just go with the flow and let stuff magically work on rule of cool please tell me. It wouldn't be my favorite thing to do but I am capable of doing fun stuff that way too.
__________________ I won't be posting anymore for a long time. It pains me but I really have to get my internet addiction in control. I'm sorry for any inconvenience I cause. Wish me luck!
Canada although involved came out largely unchanged as most of the fighting took place in Europe. That being said they were devastated by the Seperation war, so they don't exactly have a great economy right now (represented as low research).
__________________
"The AI does not hate you, nor does it love you, but you are made out of atoms which it can use for something else" - Eliezer Yudkowsky
My questions seem never to stop... Gameplay: Can I send civilians to colonize/influence unclaimed areas? If I choose to put military units to training do they still defend the area they are in and if yes, is there any benefit to keeping them vigilant and on patrol instead? Do I gain any Hades Pits by conquering neutral areas? Will you keep track of messages from one NPC to another?
Lore & worldbuilding & stuff: Is there any efficient way to propel ships/planes/hovercraft with more than propelers? Are normal Oblivion Shards technically just special coal and what are its benefits compared to petrol? Do walkers work on steampunk, hydraulics and suspension of disbelief or do you have a more elaborate idea behind it (I'm guessing there were already walkers before the discovery of the new elements potential)?
And the last questions to everyone: Is there any nation who actually "won" the first world war? I guess Madagascar and Atzlan kind of did, but Portugal for instance mentioned paying reparations and stuff. Anything in mind who they lost to?
If I am disrupting the game by asking too many details and I am supposed to just go with the flow and let stuff magically work on rule of cool please tell me. It wouldn't be my favorite thing to do but I am capable of doing fun stuff that way too.
Gameplay
Yes you can send colonists out, but what you get will be heavily determined by what's already there.
Training units do still defend an area, however units who are actually patrolling will negate the advantage of a surprise attack as well be able to catch smaller raids that might otherwise slip through.
You can gain Hades Pits that way. If the neutral area has a Hades Pit to begin with. You will have to do some initial exploration just to make that determination. After all if the Hades Pit was well established then it would probably be a power in its own right.
NPCs only rarely "talk" to each other. And usually only when I think there is something important enough that PCs with high enough espionage would want to intercept. They will however remember their relationships with other NPCs.
Lore
I point you to the description of styxium. Control can be a bit tricky, but forward movement is possible. Further refinement is probably required. Or you could just use propellers. No jets if that's what you're asking. Even in the real world that would be pushing it for this time period. There are rockets, but only early weapon prototypes. Nothing anyone but the craziest of pilots would want to strap on their vehicles.
Yes basically normal Oblivion can be thought of very long last, very high temperature coal, without any nasty pollution side effects. On its own its probably a toss up as to whether petrol or oblivion would be better. We do still use coal today in power plants and petrol in vehicles. The same distinction would probably apply to oblivion, but only if petroleum became well known. Which it probably won't since oblivion elements are considerably more useful. Both in pure power applications and in all their various other properties.
Walkers did not exist before the splitting of oblivion. Walkers are almost entirely based on the discovery of styxium, which allows gravity to be countered. And negating the kind of pressure and material strength problems that would otherwise make walkers impractical. As a result walkers in this setting are not slow and clumsy, they are quite fast and agile. They have to be or the tanks, which also exist, would displace them as the premier battlefield armor unit. Or at least that's what the walker proponents would have you believe. Early walker prototypes are still kind of slow and clumsy. Their steam engines don't lend themselves well to maneuverability. However the use of styxium engines in airships have given the lab boys some ideas for new engine types that could change that. (Technically I guess an internal combustion engine would also solve this problem, but again the whole petroleum thing never caught on in this world.)
Before the discovery of the new elements the most ubiquitous form of transportation were trains and steamships. There are railroads everywhere. Every town has its own miniature rail network for people to get around on. On the other hand non rail vehicles are rare. They did exist, but only in specialized forms for groups that needed to go places that tracks didn't extend to. And the new elements didn't really change that. The military uses walkers instead of steam tanks now, or at least the elite units do, but the civilians still use the railroads and trains that have served them for centuries.
As to who won. I'll leave that up to you guys. And go ahead and keep asking questions. It helps flesh out the background of the world.
Given that the massive military power that is the PRA is sitting right below me I do in fact care about minor PRA messages. Trade, War, even something about the leaders pet dog is potentially valuable. Just keep the info flowing. I might see a use for something you would have said was useless.
__________________
"The AI does not hate you, nor does it love you, but you are made out of atoms which it can use for something else" - Eliezer Yudkowsky
@oblivion6: If that is true you should discuss it with ArcaneStomper. There is a nation called Germania tht includes Germany and also Poland and still your Russian nation doesn't even border it.
__________________ I won't be posting anymore for a long time. It pains me but I really have to get my internet addiction in control. I'm sorry for any inconvenience I cause. Wish me luck!
Given that the massive military power that is the PRA is sitting right below me I do in fact care about minor PRA messages. Trade, War, even something about the leaders pet dog is potentially valuable. Just keep the info flowing. I might see a use for something you would have said was useless.
Hah if you think I'm doing that for 17 NPCs you're crazy. Besides even PCs don't have that much message traffic.
i didnt necessarily win but i didnt lose either. i conquered a good portion of germany. austria hungary escaped me however
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zethex
@oblivion6: If that is true you should discuss it with ArcaneStomper. There is a nation called Germania tht includes Germany and also Poland and still your Russian nation doesn't even border it.
I've given Russia a good bit of eastern Europe. However between the fact that you specifically said that you got turned back and because Russia is already quite large, I'm going to stop your borders there.
Hah if you think I'm doing that for 17 NPCs you're crazy. Besides even PCs don't have that much message traffic.
Not 17 NPCs, merely the PRA. That being said I understand if it becomes too much work.
And ya the lack of message traffic is interesting certainly.
__________________
"The AI does not hate you, nor does it love you, but you are made out of atoms which it can use for something else" - Eliezer Yudkowsky
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