Iron and Blood 2 - Game Thread

Mini-update's going to be delayed because I can only access the forum intermittently due to extreme slowness.

arya126 said:

An America with the worst...Admirals in the world

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That's supposed to be my title!

Great, now I have to go to war, make a navy, and reclaim my title.

... Kidding of course.

arya126 said:

A Power hungry man who somehow became despot of Catalonia and managed to conquer Marseilles in Massena's absence.

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Okay great. Things clear here: you hate me, I hate you, and everything else is just fine. As much as I'd want to try to correct you, and I say try because you'd invariably continue with your trolling, I want a truce or a ceasefire of something, because in 23 hours I'll be gone for 2 weeks, and so I won't be able to send orders or anything.

Tyo said:

That's supposed to be my title!

Great, now I have to go to war, make a navy, and reclaim my title.

... Kidding of course.

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You could just donate your good admirals to me, and call yourself 'Mericuh

Papal Condemnation of Paraguayan Aggression

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The Holy See condemns the apostate Paraguayan government, which filled with the bitterness and wrath of Satan so oppresses the true religion in its lands and crushes beneath the state the sacrosanct rights granted by almighty God to all men, for its blatant act of aggression against the Portuguese Empire.

The Holy See shares Paraguayan disgust at the abominable practice of slavery, which is condemned by the Christian religion, but we cannot help but note their hypocrisy for they enslave their own people to their dangerous and perverse ideology, and to the tyranny of the dictator. Paraguay is morally even more degenerate than portugal!. Regardless, slavery, as it was in Europe is to be extirpated by increased holiness and ever closer conformity to the will of Christ and his Church, and the social doctrines it infallibly teaches with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who is the Lord and giver of life. It is not to be resolved through the initiation of hostilities.

As such, considering that the war initiated by Paraguay is simply an act of aggression. The Holy See calls upon all the faithful in Paraguay to stand firm in opposition to this barbaric regimes myriad of aggressions and its persecutions of the faithful, even should it lead to death. For the seed of christians is the blood of martyrs, and the crown of eternal life awaits those who die for our Lords sake. For it is written that there is no greater love than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

To the portuguese, know that our prayers are with you in the face of imminent paraguayan invasion, and that God is on your side in this war.

~ Pope Pius VII



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OOC: Important!

JoanK has peacably retired from the conflict in France, returning Picardy to its rightful owner, and has temporarily placed his legitimate lands under apostolic administration in acknowledgement of his strategic defeat and due to the fact he will be going away for two weeks.

A PM by Joan has been sent to Tailless to confirm this. It re-iterates the acceptance of the following arrangement

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Just an offer for you considering your going away

If you cede Picardy to France, I would be willing to run your remaining lands, temporarily under the papal states, for however long your away and reconstitute an independent nation for you out of all the iberian territories I posess (excluding Gibraltar if I have it) at the time of your return.

Ergo, I look after your lands while your away so they aren't divided between the various powers of Europe, or otherwise marginalised due to neglect.

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PS: Papal diplomacy is the best diplomacy.

Since I'm going away tomorrow, I cede Picardy to France for peace and Jehoshua will administrate my lands for the next 2 weeks.

For the record, France is still officially at war with the Federation for the time being. I would like to say however, that their failure to approach us via the appropriate diplomatic channels regarding this so called peace is very disturbing, and for the government to discover they have made a peace offer via their newspapers is only another sign of their incompetence.

We also question the wisdom of this peace for our nation, and therefore my marshals and myself are in communication with the Pope to talk it over. No decision has yet been made in conclusion, and no decision is forthcoming in the foreseeable future unless another factor comes into play, such as the ceding of South France.

On Imperial French Statements

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A formal peace treaty between France and Mediterranea is unnecessary, according to the terms the government of Mediterranea agreed too in the face of almost certain destruction in the future at the hands of the coalition, the lands of that state will (and have) temporarily from the very instant of treaty coming into effect, come under the sovereignty of the Papal States until the time comes that a new and independent state as a successor realm to Mediterranea is established within the time-frame agreed to with the Mediterranean government. In short Mediterranea has ceased to exist and has been replaced by the temporary administration of the region by the papal states under a distinct non-sovereign entity, the "Apostolic Administration". This entity is under the sovereignty of the papal states and is its instrument, and the lands it shall govern from this time until the reestablishment of local sovereignty are territorially under the dominion of the Papal States. This entities domestic and military administration are however separate from the Holy See's ordinary temporal jurisdiction in lieu of the temporary nature of the administration, and the solemn intent for a future state in the region. This reality ends the war in the west

In regards to the interests of France, the Holy See as a religious entity is not so much concerned about the territorial ambitions of states but rather for the good of the faithful under the universal jurisdiction of the Holy Catholic Church. As such although it can sympathise with potential discordance with French territorial or strategic interests, in the mind of the Holy Father and the Church the greater good of peace, and the necessity of ending this needless war and the suffering and damage it causes to both realms necessitate this agreement. Furthermore this papal intervention is perfectly in accordance with the Popes status as superior to earthly princes, and this intervention merely showcases how the Church and the papacy are necessary to ensure peace in Europe. Now, the Holy See understands the concern in France that France was not consulted and has as such engaged in dialogue with the imperial government regarding Frances concerns in order to illuminate the situation and ensure stability is restored with a minimum of discord. It has done so to ensure that all points of contention are discussed and duly satisfied to the maximum reasonable extent. However the Holy See stresses that dialogue is an ongoing process, and that addressing the underlying issues that sparked the conflict, namely the French ambitions towards restoring its territorial extent to its original expanse, must be dealt with over time and that solutions for these problems cannot be concluded instantaneously.

At this point we conclude it is important to again remind France and all outside observors that the treaties effect places all formerly Mediterranean territory (temporarily) into papal sovereignty, as such any attack on those territories during papal administration of said territories will be rightly seen as an attack on the Papal States as a whole, and be met with our full military and diplomatic retaliation. We therefore suggest that all dialogue with the Holy See regarding the future of certain territories is made with an eye towards the time when a new state is established to succeed Mediterranea rather than at a point prior to the allocated timeframe for the reconstitution of secular rule in the regions in question.

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~ Cardinal Richelieu, Secretary for Relations with States.

Iron and Blood 2 – Mini-Update

IMPORTANT INFO BELOW PLEASE READ

Mistakes from Last Update
- Wagadou invades Sokoto (fails)
- Scandinavia now has 7 IC
- Kongola now has 7 IC
- Azadistan is now known as “United States of Azadistan”
- DoubleA is now in control of California
- Sawaiki is now temporarily an NPC
- EIC (Singapore) is now temporarily an NPC

Changes since Last Update
- Picardy is ceded to France (I'm not reuploading the map; just imagine that Picardy is coloured blue)
- Mediterranea is temporarily managed by Jehoshua
- Mediterranea is now at peace

Changes to Game Rules (Patch Log)
- National Unity is no longer a percentage; there are now ten levels, with Level 10 being the highest, and Level 1 being the lowest. All starts with level XIII
- Formula for calculating National Unity cost is changed to NUC = (Base IC / (Total Provinces – Foreign Provinces under Occupation))
- National Unity now gives a slight combat bonus; the level of NU is the lower cap for RNG (an NU of 10 gives a lower cap of 10, so the RNG only generates numbers between 10 and 100)
- Formula for calculating IC cost is changed to ICC = (Base IC / (1+Number of Cores)
- Embargo is removed as a game mechanic (ie embargoes no longer affect stats)
- Blockade is removed as a game mechanic; it’s too damn complicated.
- Naval Support bonus for land battles is now set at 1% for each naval unit participating until further notice.
- “Active” espionage missions no longer costs IC to initiate but are now less likely to be successful.
- Colonisation formula is changed (calculator at the bottom of this post)

Changes to Last Update’s Events
- Wherever it says “National Unity decreases by -10%”, it means National Unity decreases by one level. If 15%, it’s two levels.

Changes to Orders and Update Policy

READ THIS DAMN IT!

A game turn will now be divided into two phases: a diplomacy phase and an orders phase.

The diplomacy phase lasts for 96 hours AU (after update). This is mainly the time for roleplaying and conducting diplomacy and planning your moves for the turn. Additionally, the following must be done during this phase:
- Responses to events
- Any ceasefire agreement or peace treaty
- Any land transfer agreements
- Declaration of war (if the DoW is against a country at peace, it must be posted within the first 48 hours)
Do NOT send any spending, expansion, espionage or battle orders during this phase.

The diplomacy phase will be followed by a Mid-Turn Update in which I will change the stats to reflect actions taken in the diplomacy phase. After the MTU the orders phase will begin; this will lasts 48 hours and during this time you can send your orders. All orders must be sent to me via PM, with the subject line “IB2 Order” followed by the name of your country (or, if you are sending one order for your whole alliance, the name of each of the countries in your alliance). Please put everything – this is, all spending, war plans, major diplomacy/alliance stuff I need to know about, and response to events – in the one message. If you are changing any of those, you must resend the entire order (ie not just the part you are changing). I will count the newest order I receive for your country or alliance as the official order, unless I receive a note (eg if you want your country orders to override the alliance’s, you must say so).

(This is so I don’t have to look through both the thread and my PM box for orders, and this way I can easily find the newest and complete order, minimising the chance that I will miss something or use an outdated order.)

After 48 hours I will stop accepting orders (“orders lock&#8221 and begin work on the update. Throughout the orders phase and after you can still post stories, but after the orders lock it may not count towards your stats.

This is the procedure I will follow for updates from now on. It differs slightly from the procedure I followed for the last update:

Mid-Turn Update:
- Fix mistakes from last update
- Apply event response
- Apply territorial changes
- Apply faction changes
- Apply relevant diplomatic actions

Final Update:
- Apply spending orders
- Apply CP or SP bonuses from factions.
- Apply CP from role-playing
- Apply espionage orders
- Apply colonisation orders
- Apply battle orders
- Write events
- Write updates

Battles are calculated last, so everything that you do in the turn may affect the outcome of battles.

New Stats












The Diplomacy Phase for Turn 2 has begun
This phase ends 96 hours from the timestamp on this post

Edit: New Calculators

I think that people(me included) Saw that orders are accepted at a mid turn update, and as this is a mid turn update of sorts, people got confused.

In short, our(my) bad(s).

EVENT RESPONSES


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references


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L'Osservatore Romano

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Autonomy granted to the region of Croatia Slavonia


The Holy Father, in an act of paternal generosity in accordance with the social teachings of the Church, has agreed to the humble requests of a delegation from Croatia for limited autonomy in the region. This delegation, led by Cardinal Stepniac, Archbishop of Zagreb and the former King of Croatia-Slavonia Tomislav II was elated at the Holy Fathers gesture. Cardinal Stepinac said...

"The Holy Father has acted in full accordance with the social teachings of the Church, fulfilling completely the principles of subsidiarity that we hold so dear. By generously permitting limited autonomy, and allowing the continuation of local institutions, the Holy Father reveals the sincerity of his intent in incorporating Croatia-Slavonia into the Papal States. For in light of the crusade, and in the light of this agreement, it is clear that his words prior to the papal annexation were honest, and that the protection of Catholic Europe from Bosnian intrusion was at the forefront of his mind.

Regardless, it is my hope that the people of Croatia-Slavonia through their unity with the people of Italy within the Church can, in opposition to the Bosnian infidels and in the oneness of the faith increasingly come into unity within the greater papal states. For as the Church is many people but one family, so too the Papal States can become a reflection of this many in one reality of the Holy Catholic Church."

Cardinal Stepinac, a scholastic scholar, according to a public statement from the Secretariat of State has been appointed as Apostolic Governor of Croatia Slavonia, under whom the local governing arrangement shall work, with him being the final authority short of the Holy Father himself. This local arrangement shall be managed under Prince Tomislav, son of Tomislav II, who along with the rest of the former croation royals has been inducted into the roman nobility, along the lines that existed in the old croatian Kingdom with croatian continuing in official usage alongside latin in the region, and the architecture of the former croatian government remaining mostly intact.

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(Papal States Event Response: Option One)

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Apostolic Administration established over Mediterranea


Fearing imminent conquest with the entrance of Israel into the war, and the defection of Russia. Mediterranea has in desperation accepted after a whirlwind round of talks with the Holy See to disband and come under the sovereignty of the Papal States.

This agreement has been designed with the intent at resolving peacefully the war in the west with an eye to in time dealing with the underlying issues that existed between France and Mediterranea. The agreement dictates that the Apostolic Administration shall be temporary in nature, and that at the soonest possible time a new successor state to Mediterranea shall be established in the Iberian Peninsula region.

Regardless this agreement has been seen as a victory for the Bishops Assembly of Catalonia, Provence and Andalucia, with the assumption of direct, if temporary, papal rule and the restoration of peace showcasing the influence of the Church in the region, and the Church's pivotal role as an arbiter for the cause of peace. Cardinal Ximenes, newly appointed Apostolic Administrator of Provence, Andalucia and Catalonia had this to say in a press conference to the Barcelona Reporter, the regions top newspaper.

'The end of the tragic war between Catholic brothers, and the establishement of the temporary apostolic administration over these lands is a sign of the pivotal importance of the Church in securing peace in Europe, and in the world. This agreement between the former Mediterranean government and the Holy See has restored the status quo with Picardy being restored to France, with the regions forces being focussed on defensive, and rebuilding measures instead of needless violence. It is my hope that the temporary Apostolic administration of which I am head can ensure a lasting peace in the region and to the peoples of Catalonia, Andalucia and Provence."

Cardinal Ximines as his first acts has ordered the withdrawal from Picardy and the regions restoration to France, and instructed the Provisional Armed Forces of the region to return to a defensive arrangement

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(Apostolic Administration (Mediterranea) Event Response: Option 1)

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~ Jehoshua

I believe that the Mediterranea event is now obsolete since they aren't at war anymore....

ooc: The events are there, and since Im obliged to respond to events in the diplomatic period its only precautionary (considering it hasn;t been declared obselete by Tailless) to respond to the mediterranean one now.

If it is obselete, then nothing happens, if it is still around then at least I do what Im supposed to do.

The Finnish Monarch’s rejection of Union with the rest of Scandinavia.

Alexander I of Finland has rejected union overtures by the Prime Minister's envoy. He said the scandals involving the Scandinavian Government and the King made acceptance of Union with the rest of Scandinavia an untenable option. Also, with his own problems trying to keep his lands together, adding the additional complication of union with Scandinavia would have made it virtually impossible to govern his lands. He hopes that this will not cause any worsening in relations with Scandinavia.

The envoy tendered his resignation to the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister's loss of stature following the rejection of the union with Finland, and still being tarnished by the Foreign Ministry scandals also made his position untenable. He notified King Charles XIII, that he intends to hold new elections immediately. The King accepted his argument and approved the calling of new elections.

The Scandinavian Elections of 1820

Before the elections could take place an amendment to the constitution was made whereby the new Scandinavian Union nations of Denmark and Norway could have a greater say in the Scandinavian Union Government. 20 new seats were created to be added to the existing 50 seat parliament, which were 10 seats for Norway and 10 for Denmark. There was a motion made by the Monarchists to create these in a new upper house, but this was firmly rejected by both the Democrats and the Republicans, as it may be seen by many as some form of elite. No changes were proposed to the National assemblies of Denmark and Norway who would continue as they are.

The Democrats consultative manner, it is now seen as weak, by many of the population, in this time of turmoil and stronger action and direction is required. The Democrats campaigned on continuing the ideal of inclusiveness that they have used previously, the Republicans campaigned on strong decisive leadership, the Monarchists campaigned on traditional values and a new faction the Purists, split from the Republicans, campaigned on a "One Scandinavia" slogan.

The Purists campaign won strong support in Norway, whereas the Republicans were strong in Sweden. The choice by the Democrats to select Copenhagen as the Office for foreign affairs, gave them strong support there. The Monarchists were at the bottom of the opinion polls.

The Scandinavian Union Election Results

Sweden: 30 seats
Republicans 50% (25 seats)
Democrats 22% (11 seats)
Purists 16% (8 seats)
Monarchists 12% (6 seats)

Norway: 10 Seats
Purists 60% (6 seats)
Republicans 20% (2 seats)
Valhallans 10% (1 seat)
Democrats 9% (1 seat)
Monarchists 1% (0 seats)

Denmark: 10 seats
Democrats 60% (6 seats)
Monarchists 20% (2 seats)
Republicans 10% (2 seats)
Purists 10% (1 seat)

The strong showing by the Monarchists in Denmark had come as a bit of a surprise to the political pundits. However, further analysis revealed that the Crown Prince of Denmark, Frederick VI was well liked and the land reforms he initiated, whereby former aristocratic estate lands were sold to farmers and fishermen, had improved sentiment towards the monarchists and hence their support in the election. However, as the polls predicted, the Democrats made a clear victory due to their appointment of the Danish Internal Affairs Office for responsibility of Foreign Affairs. Due to the higher number of foreigners in Denmark, the Purists campaign failed to resonate with the people.

The poor showing by the Democrats in Norway was an even greater surprise, because the fringe Valhallan Party gained more votes than them. But the real winners here were the Purists, who campaigned on keeping Scandinavia for Scandinavians and even used the "Incident at Copenhagen Gates", in the speeches and pamphlets, as to an example why immigration should be curtailed and contained.

Unsurprisingly the Republicans made a strong showing in Sweden and gained half the votes, campaigning on strong leadership and requiring decisive action to forge a strong Scandinavian Union. They used the failure of the Democrat Prime Minister to not see the Grand Conspiracy of 1814 and the recent failure of his mission to Finland in 1818 as examples of bad leadership and decisions. Here also, the Purists made a strong showing using a similar campaign they used in Norway, but the Democrats still had the strong loyal support and were able to gain more votes than them. The Monarchists vote fell significantly, due mostly in part to the Grand Conspiracy and while they distanced themselves from it, doubts remained as to their motives.

The New Scandinavian Union Parliament

Republicans: ~58% or 29 seats (previously ~30%)
Democrats: ~36% or 18 seats (previously ~40%)
Purists: ~18% or 9 seats (new)
Monarchists: ~16% or 8 seats (previously ~30%)
Valhallans: ~2% or 1 seat (new)

Clearly the Republicans could govern on their own, but decided for long-term stability they would sign a coalition agreement with the Purists, whereby the Purists would agree to confidence and supply as long as they were given the post of Minister of Internal Affairs. This gave the Government 38 seats out of 50, which was a clear majority and mandate to govern.

Norway and Denmark assemblies

Norwegian and Danish assemblies will be holding their elections next year, and given the results of the Scandinavian Union Elections, it will be very interesting.

The Monarchists now called the Conservative Party

Meanwhile the Monarchists retreated to their estates and focused on the running of them. It will be sometime before we hear from them again. Their stature having severely diminished it was thought the best action to take. Some aristocratic estate holders that did not have much income were forced to sell their lands to the Lantmannas (farmers and fishermen) at very low prices. The election results cemented their fall. To further distance themselves from its monarchist roots the party renamed itself the Conservative Party.

In addition, Charles XIII died just after the elections, thought to be a heart attack, likely brought on by sadness of the loss of his sister to Iceland and the fall of the Democrat government, which he supported. A new Monarch would need to be appointed as he had no heirs. This would be the first act of the new Parliament.

The Democrats now called the Social Democratic Party

The Democrats tried to form an opposition coalition with the Monarchists and the Valhallans, but were rebuffed as neither wanted to have anything to do with them. They decided they would then consolidate in Denmark and rebuild their support from there. They also renamed themselves the Social Democratic Party, which better reflects their ideals.

The Purists now called the Scandinavian Party

Norway is now seen as an important part of the Scandinavian Union and the efforts of the previous government grew its industry and it will continue to grow in importance. The Purists took advantage of this new found strength to boost its own fortunes and will continue to campaign in Norway to try to get a strong result there in next year’s local assembly elections. The Purists decided to rename themselves the Scandinavian Party, which better reflects its ideals.

The Republicans now called the Liberal Party

Having decisively won the election, it felt it had a mandate to ensure that the Scandinavian Union was as strong as possible. It needed to give clear signals that it was now in-charge and would ensure that it would continue the ideals of a United Scandinavia, and will do whatever is required to create it. In order to be seen as a more inclusive party, it decided to rename itself the Liberal Party

The First Acts of the new Parliament.

The new Head of State appointed

Without a Head of State for the Scandinavian Union, a new King needed to be appointed. Crown Prince Bernadotte a former Marshal of the French Empire was selected as he was instrumental in the formation of the Scandinavian Union and the successful conclusion of the Treaty of Kiel. He was also Commander-in-chief of the Swedish Army, with the previous King holding the title of Field Marshal of all Scandinavian Armies. His credentials were second to none. The "Purists opposed the appointment, but the Republicans and Democrats were unusually united in this crucial vote and he was soon appointed, with the rightfully monarchists abstaining.

The new King Charles XIV will ascend the throne in a formal coronation in 1821

The reaffirmation of the Neutrality Law of 1815

Given the current world war situation, the new parliament were quick to pass a motion to re-affirm the Neutrality Law passed by the previous government. This was seen as important to show that stability still remained in the Scandinavian Union and also the people could feel safe in their lands and could continue their affairs in peace. Only the Valhallan party opposed motion saying that Iceland should be part of Scandinavia too, as it is the true seat of the Gods, but the lone representative was laughed out of the house.

With the passing of this motion, meant that the Danish Internal Affairs Office would continue its role as the main conduit for foreign affairs.

The reaffirmation of the Lutheran Church as the State church of Scandinavia.

The parliament also passed a law to continue to fund and support the Lutheran Church, whose main focus is the welfare of its people and those in need, and also includes the running of city hospitals and funding local health physicians.

The Issue of Finland

A parliamentary committee will be created to discuss options to bring Finland into the Scandinavian Union, with new approaches being considered.

Summary

The successful and smooth transition of power from the Democrats to the new Liberal Party and the appointment of a new Head of State, showed to the people and the world the Scandinavian Union is democratically strong and stable. It also re-affirmed that constitutional monarchy form of government is the right one as chosen by the Swedish people and it extension to other nations proves it is a workable arrangement.

Event Option 2 choosen
Option 2: Let the political landscape rearrange itself (Monarchists dissolves, Purist faction arises, Republicans reformed as the Liberals, Liberals become new ruling faction)
(Liberal Faction: favours trade, limited expansion, strong federal state, has the support of reform-minded nobles and capitalists, gives -25% IC cost)
(Purist Faction: xenophobic, militant, gives +50% Defensive bonus and -20% CP/turn)

Embassy details updated

The Chinese Federation would like to invite any Eastern Asian nation into the Eastern Asian Treaty Organization, provided that they are deemed suitably reasonable.

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Mongolia would like to join.

I won't be available for the next week due to bannage.

Terrance888 said:

I won't be available for the next week due to bannage.

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You can still use PM, can't you? Use that to send me stuff.

No, as in after a few more minutes, I am not allowed to touch a computer at all, for a week.