NukaNESIOT I: Regicide Roulette (V 0.1)

Stragglers get your votes in, I'm about to cut it off We will have our first update today

The Kingdom of Edolas was founded in the year of 724, on the eve of the Sacaritian invasion from the south. Their strange god, and their penchant for rape, enslavement, theft, and murder of lands they attacked forced six otherwise rather hostile houses to band together for common defense. They determined that of the six, Arthos Rinvon, the greatest strategist of the day, would be the perfect choice for King, and his victory at the battle of the Field of Touiller confirmed his enthronement.

Rinvon was certainly popular from his victory, and it was likely because of this victory that he lasted as long as he did. Because while being a war hero does afford a certain amount of respect, this respect is mostly limited to letting one be the first one to dance at a party, or to be addressed in a more formal manner, and certainly does not extend to financial matters. When Rinvon attempted to actually tax his nobles, even for a necessary expenditure of state, he found himself quickly friendless. And childless. For but a week later, as he entered his hall he saw his two children dead and as he rushed forward, a sword was run through his chest. As he lay dying, choking on his blood, reaching towards his children, Rinvon had but two thoughts. The first was that people were tremendously ungrateful [rescinded], and the second was that he should have let them die to the Sacaritians. There was probably a third thought of an expression of pain, but that is not important to our narrative. What is important is that his murderer, his own brother in law, became King immediately after, kicking off a proud Elodisian tradition of murdering your sovereign to become the new sovereign. And Rinvon, aside from the Palast Rin bearing a part of his name, started a proud Elodisian tradition of being forgotten almost immediately.

Edolas had changed significantly since its founding of course. No one had expected the Kingdom to last a hundred years, let alone a thousand. A few tiny holdings fearful of invasion had grown to be the dominant power of Western Cilicia. It had become a cosmopolitan empire with a wide variety of people proudly or hatefully calling themselves Elodisian. Great cities dot the landscape, and the monarch has far greater power than they did in 724.

Of course, one thing that did not change was the nobility, and their, what could honestly be described as a hobby at this point, of murder. For on the eve of the new year, King Haralus IV was found in his bed chamber, dead from heart failure. And technically, this was true. After 47 stab wounds, hearts have a very difficult time of functioning properly. While this was not an uncommon occurrence in itself, the situation that it had created was. At age 93, King Haralus had no children, nieces, or nephews. He did have a smattering of cousins, second cousins, and third cousins with a variety of descendents, but one did not have a particularly strong claim to his throne. The six cardinals gathered as the rest of the city was celebrating the New Year, and discussed the implications of the latest round of regicide. The closest descendant was technically a three year old girl living in the Avenian Isles, but the nobility were unlikely to accept a foreign child for a King. Besides, the Cardinals were rather unwilling to put a child in a situation where he would be almost certainly murdered. Frustrated, and unwilling to see the land descend into civil war, the Cardinals invoked the sacred laws of the founding of the Kingdom: the election of the next sovereign. Letters were sent all across the Kingdom, with one thought from the cardinals: let them figure it out.

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The capital was abuzz of course, when they heard the news.The nobility were coming in from all across the Kingdom, and certain preparations had to be made. Families were putting on their finest clothing. The streets were cleaned and the poor were quickly shooed away. The taverns and prostitutes were quickly raising their prices. Locks on the doors were being reinforced. And the city, much less the Kingdom, would likely never be the same…

First came the nobility from what some called “Edolas Proper”. Those families who often called their lands the “core” of the Kingdom. Sonereal, Aubrey, Rohan, Armagh, and Altmarc: their carriages poured through the capital, though Armagh opted for a war horse. From the Callatian border, Lord Fides rode on a magnificent Tuscarian Charger, and cut a dashing figure in his uniform.

The northern lords began pouring into the capital soon after. Though many had declared living in the north to be the truest test of spirit, their nobility were some of the richest in Elodas, with many growing fat from the fur and silver trade. The matriarchs Seretis and Krats, too old to bother with horses arrived in carriages inlaid with silver to show off their wealth. The child ruler of Deòir was greeted enthusiastically by crowds, who cooed at his riding skills for such a young age.The eccentrics of the North as they were known, the Lord Catullus and the Duchess Anguish, were next to arrive, and caused a mixture of fear and suppressed laughter at the figures they cut. But the arrival of Lady Frostraven silenced all, and she rode her warhorse down the street as if it were a military parade.

Compared to the Houses of Ambre and Lusovine though, the other houses looked little better than beggars. Perhaps it was because of the desire to show the wealth of the Neroan territories? Perhaps to deflect the mocking that called them, especially the Lusovine, the “colonial houses”. In any case, two powerful galleons, ships that would look comfortable in the Royal Navy, arrived in port, filled with exotic goods and people. The High Lord Origen II and the Duchess Claramente both impressed the capital about the sheer amount of wealth they held.

The last arrivals were from the southeast. Though the region itself was poor, the Baroness was wealthy from the trade in the Indigo Sea, and rode a great stallion and wore a fine cut of cloth, though her small figure made her look near ridiculous. The guards were unable to recognize the Brockport symbol, and barely believed her when she declared who she was. If not for the timely intervention of a Cardinal, there may have been a far greater incident. Last to arrive though was the Lady Commander Bridget of House Cromwell. The Brighton Vale was near constantly under attack or in rebellion, which one might think would affect the fortunes of the Cromwells, but judging by the Lady Commander’s full suit of armor, that certainly was not the case. One joke was that the Cromwells paid taxes with Gallian heads, and the Lady Commander, loving a good joke, obliged the crown by sending several hundred severed heads to the capital. And from then on, few words were ever spoken against the Lady Commander.

As the last stragglers arrived, the Council chamber closed, and the doors would open once Elodas had a sovereign once more. Almost immediately, Lord Sonereal announced that he would put himself forward for King. He began an aggressive campaign to gather votes, and it seemed he had some support, but for whatever reason his interest waned. It seemed that few were particularly interested in becoming the monarch. It seemed some smatterings of support could be found for the Duchess Anguish, but the main attention soon focused on the Countess Aubrey, though she herself never declared publicly that she sought support. Concealed whispers would be how the game would be played it seemed.

Some few of course were completely unwilling to play at all. The ladies Frostraven and Cromwell seemed as if they’d prefer the outcome determined on a battlefield than in a council chamber, while the Lord Deòir officially abstained. A few other names were whispered, and soon it seemed as though there was one dominant name.

Eventually the head of the Church of Elodas, Cardinal Mazell called for order to begin the council assembled. “Your Graces! Today, we revisit one of the ancient traditions of Upon your sacred oaths to Our Savior, all shall abide to the decision made in these halls. I shall now announce the votes you have made to determine your sovereign.”

The Cardinal cleared his throat

“Violla Aubrey”

The next slip of paper

“Udyr Catullus”

“Violla Aubrey”

“Violla Aubrey”

“Udyr Catullus”

“Violla Aubrey”

“Violla Aubrey”

“Lyanna Brockport”

“Kaja Anguish”

“Kaori Seretis”

“Udyr Catullus”

“Violla Aubrey”

A murmur went through the halls. The cardinals nodded to one another, and Cardinal Mazell spoke “The votes have been cast, and the result is clear. Violla Aubrey has been chosen as our sovereign. With the aid of Our Savior, we hope Her reign is a long and prosperous one. Do you accept the crown of Elodas, and all of the responsibilities it holds?”

“I do.”

“Then by the power vested in me by Our Savior, and by the consent of this Council, I hereby proclaim you Queen Violla the First of Elodas. Long live the Queen!”

“Long live the Queen” repeated the council. And yet already, the council seemed like a pack of wolves, eagerly waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting sheep. Did they give her a crown? Or a death sentence?

The bells were ringing throughout the capital, and couriers sent to all corners of the Kingdom. By tonight, there would be toasts only giving one salute:

Long Live the Queen!

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I am going to set a deadline for let's say....7 PM PST on Wednesday? If that's not enough time, let me know

Small note: Elections are not a normal turn, you all still have 120 GP, aside from the Queen who has 170 GP. You will gain your 10 GP at the end of turn one

House Frostraven pledges its blades to our rightful monarch, in fealty. Long live the Sovereign.

If my knees weren't so weak, I would kneel before you, my Queen. As it is, I must simply offer my congratulations. May your reign be long and fruitful.

Long live the queen.

I may be young and new in the ways of the royal court, but House Deòir bows to her Imperial Majesty.

Long live the Queen.

I swear fealty to the queen, and love all who she loves, and shun all whom she shuns.
Long Live the Queen! (An excellent game)

Long live the Queen! May she reign ten thousand years.

Long live the Queen! May her reign be prosperous and fruitful!

Long live the queen. But not too long! Ha-ha, just a bit of Neroan humor. Don't mind me.

Ha-ha, the Lord-Castellan of Altmarc and his retinue are pleased by this grotesque sense of humour displayed by the House of Ambre. Bravo.

Long live the Queen.

*As a gesture of good-will towards the newly elected monarch, the house of Altmarc unloads 10 GP worth of silver from their carts in public donation to Queen Violla of House Aubrey. may our fresh sovereign use these funds as she so graciously sees fit.

The Queen has the support of the Anguish Dynasty. We will prove our loyalty in due course and ensure our contribution to the continued prosperity of your realm.

Long live the queen. I wish you a prosperous reign, and may the Queens peace last forever and benefit us all.

High Lord Origen II offers his congratulations to the new queen. He would humbly ask to what service would she put him, in service of Queen and Country?

Officially joining as Lord Vasili of the House of Orlov.

Dynastic shield and details are on the way!

PATCH PREVIEW
PATCH 0.01, UPDATE TO VERSION 0.11
WILL OCCUR: NEXT TURN

NEW FEATURE: Prestige

Prestige will be our official "Score Card" so to speak, and will be my sort of running counter to when your time on the throne has solidified into "victory". Prestige will also have the added effect of making your involvement in plots becoming more powerful and having a bit of extra defense against them, along with special unique actions and events that may come your way.

Other sub sections of prestige shall include actions such as duels, fashion, and construction.

NEW FEATURE: Monarch Policy

-The monarch will be allowed to determine national policy in one of three ways. Internal development, Colonial Ventures, and War. Whatever policies they choose will determine random national events. As a quick way of explanation:

Internal Development: Will slowly increase the value of your lands and how much revenue they produce per turn, and will have almost no risk.

Colonial Ventures: Will be a medium amount of risk for a moderate amount of gain.

War: Very large amount of risk with a very large amount of potential gain.

These will help determine random events that occur, though are by no means a guarantee of one happening or another.

Other small patches, to be implemented immediately:

-Spies and Reconnaissance have a chance of failure naturally.
-New protection: Agent: reduces the chance of Spies or Reconnaissance working against you.
-Small price adjustments (mostly going down)
-You may only hire 3 spies, 3 agents, and 3 reconnaissance missions per turn, total (So 9 total is possible).
Let me know if you have any questions preemptively. The full ruleset will be posted with the Wednesday update.

5/18 orders in =O

EDIT: 24 HOUR Warning Is this enough time or do you all need more?

I'll give it a go.



Background: Clan Sidhe is one of the more tenuous member of the nobility. It is more by convenience than right that they Dougal Sidhe and his ancestors find themselves as nobility within Edolas. Over the last several centuries, campaigns to the south east have occasionally depended upon access through the Wodes, swampy land that have been stubbornly occupied by the Clan Sidhe and other native tribes for a times that reach farther back than Edolas's memory. Early campaigns attempted to subdue the Wodes and the Sidhe residing withing. They found themselves stymied by local geography and the guile of the Sidhe folk. Later campaigns attempted to circumvent the Wodes, but found occupation and assimilation to be difficult to maintain. After over a century of Edolan posturing and dithering on the issue, a begrudging alliance was proposed to the Sidhe folk, who were in on paper, surrounded by Edolas. It was also begrudgingly accepted. For the last century and a half, the Wodes have been nominally citizens of Edolas. Change has been slow coming to Wodes.