fcNES: Gods and Despots

Anonymous2U said:

Scythians
Leader: King Kissar
Government: Despotism
Wealth: <do not fill>
Industry: <do not fill>
Army: <do not fill>
Navy: <do not fill>
Notes: A tribal confederacy held together by group powerful warlords and their henchman. The warlords have been known to devastate entire regions in order bring them under their control. They have destroyed entire villages, because a few people expressed dissent. The central region is ruled directly by the warlords. The people are no better then slaves to the will of their masters. There are no cities, only fortified administrative centers. The outer areas are not loyal to the King. They are tributary tribes, that pay an annual tribute to King Kissar. Their loyalty is based totally on the fear of the warlords and mostly would mostly likely turn to any power that is capable of destroying the Scythians. To put it simply, the Scythians love war. They constantly seek new people to terrorize and force to pay tribute.
Projects: <do not fill>
Starting location: North coast of the Black Sea, near the sea of Azov
Color: Black as the darkest night.

Click to expand...

How did I know that someone would join right next to me after I joined...

flyingchicken said:

Hopefully this is a simple mistake, because I'm sure Scythia will end up controlling not a single person if its not.

They're pastoral, nomadic people? If so, note that (1) horsemanship is non-existent and (2) staying in one place for a long time will lead to the corpulent agricultural lifestyle unless it is forcefully stopped.

Click to expand...

The Scythians are traditionally a nomadic people that are slowly morphing into a pastoral people. Some of the subjugated people are beginning to settle. The warlords continue to value the nomadic life. Their brutality stems from their hostile environment. One day they may be killed during a hunt or ambushed by an enemy tribe. For them life is short and brutal. As they observe in nature, the strong and powerful thrive, while the weak are destroyed.

They do not destroy every village that rebels, but the warlords act on their own authority. Some of them are quick to anger and not very tolerant of dissenters.

52 hour warning...for nothing big, really. You may opt to not send orders, but sending them will give men an idea on how you want to start the game.

Dammit, double-post.

EDIT: Do you guys want an update now? I can make one now.

I'm ready for an update now I vote in favor for: BRINGING IT ON!

Yes, I want it now!

Update Zero Point Five should come in 1 or 2 hours 3-4 an hour or so more since editing since time of posting, because my computer crashed and I had to start over AND I underestimated the time needed. So far 12 people wanted to consolidate their starting positions with the pseudo-orders (the kind with no stats) I asked for. The morning after I take a post-midnight nap. Map is done...here. Complain if you want. I need criticism.

EDIT: People who want to do things that, you know, maybe needs sources, please put one or two (even a Wikipedia article will do). For example, if you want to advance to an iron- or bronze- using civilization, tell me where the iron and copper and tin is found. Also, if you want to found a city, draw it or use an OTL city location. Not following these two quasi-rules will result in updates being delayed by my long stays in Wikipedia and Google.

Looks good!

Were my orders ok? Can Corinth eventually grow to become a city visible on the map?

Mmm...My mation is too little XD
Seriously, I think even proto-nations should have borders, even if the doesnt touch any other nations.
And a question, are you going to use any tipology of Special City Sistem? Like trading or religious centre...

Where are the truly ancient civs?
The Chinease?
The Persians?
The Indians/People of the Indus?
Palestine/Cannan/Hittie/Israel/Judah/Trade routes?
Oh, and Rome by Brother? You will conquer me but will have to conquer Milan first!

Rats, I didn't know that there was an update already!

I thought I still had a few days.

EDIT: This was an unsightly thing. I decided to stay true to my deadlines.

Israel
Leader: Abraham (Not the original, but one of his descendants)
Government: Theocracy
Wealth: <do not fill>
Industry: <do not fill>
Army: <do not fill>
Navy: <do not fill>
Notes: Nation revolving around the continuation of the Jewish religion. Laws and leaders all taken directly from the church and Tanakh and Talmud.
Projects: <do not fill>
Starting location: Jerusalem.
Color: Whatever's not taken, as long as its not pink.

Israel! Although those Babylonians might be a problem...

Not just the Babylonians (The Heavenly Empire), but the Urartu and Abalonians as well.

Update 1 (2000 BC - N/A) is coming in 2 to 14 hours from the time of posting. Get those last minute pseudo-orders in.

hmm, i though that the set up update was supposed to place us on the map and give us the basic stats? but i see no stats!

Fëanor;6248518 said:

hmm, i though that the set up update was supposed to place us on the map and give us the basic stats? but i see no stats!

Click to expand...

Update's not up yet

10pm, people! Working on real update (and stats -- will be posted first) now.

The rules have changed! 1 wealth and 1 industry now buys you 5 (give or take) infantry or 1 (or slightly more) cavalry regiment(s), just to be more realistic.

I'll be on Yahoo! Messenger should anyone need me (burnfire08642). Yeah, Y!M.

flyingchicken said:

10pm, people! Working on real update (and stats -- will be posted first) now.

The rules have changed! 1 wealth and 1 industry now buys you 5 (give or take) infantry or 1 (or slightly more) cavalry regiment(s), just to be more realistic.

Click to expand...

edit it in OP then we're all happy

I don't have the time to look right now wherever you did already or not, so please feel free to me if you have done it already.

Update 1 - Prologue
Entering the 2nd millennium BC

Overview

The Middle East
Mesopotamia, the Cradle of Civilization which we all know and love, has finally risen above petty border skirmishes to enter a bloody new age of imperialism! The ancient city of Babylon is under new management, specifically the god-king Deus Fëanor Primus, who has already taken the first steps to subjugate nearby city-states to establish The Heavenly Empire. Though his claims to godhood may have shaken the traditional beliefs of Mesopotamians, many are quiet either in satisfaction or fear of his rule.

It is not only the Babylonians who have tried to forge a large state in Mesopotamia, however: Many Abalonian lords have rallied under and sworn allegiance to King Alba in preparation for the growing threats north and south. The Urartu people, apparently uninterested in its peers and neighbors, have launched an assault of colonists and charioteers northwards, crushing most opposition and imposing their own band of culture,

To their west, Israelites have begun settling in, united by both color and creed. A clan of Bedouin tribesmen decided to settle down after the local sooth sayer declared that it was part of some convoluted plan of the divine, and have succeeded in conquering other clans who laughed at them in doing so. Pastoralists are traveling less and some are becoming farmers. Indeed, sedentariness is a sign of human progress.

Eastern Europe
The Scythians, meanwhile, establish an "empire" out of violence, coercion, and banditry to the north of the Sea of Azov. Several smaller tribes and towns pay tribute to the Scythians. Those who do not had their homes razed, wives raped, and children mercilessly slaughtered all on top of being killed. Those who have not yet been virtually subjugated usually end up in near-one-sided deals with the Scythian warrior-merchants.

The only township that has proven itself resilient to Scythian arm-bending is Kiev, where the Ruskhan people have formed a unified state through a combination of shared religion and well-justified fear of the easterners.

Northern Europe
In Jutland, the people of Angeln can be found fishing, hunting, and raiding other tribes' coastal villages. Though not especially politically unified, their occassional tribal leadership conventions has barely earned them the name of a confederacy, but in practice they have something more of an "occasional alliance born of convenience." The Celts and the Picts to the west have found the irregular "long-range" raiding of the Angeln to be particularly troublesome, considering that they have done nothing but live in peace while expanding their cultural influence.

The Mediterranean
Along the Mediterranean Sea, civilized societies with refined cultures can be found. Indeed, far removed from the wild and savage men of Europe's forests are the noble and manly Greeks who can profess their teacherly eroticism without fear. Tangentially, the Athenians and the Corinthians have formed the Greek City Confederacy. Naturally, the other city-states felt threatened by this union of philosophy and frugality, so they formed a network of alliances that would ensure their survival, or so they thought.

The Romans and Remuslons are building up their city-states to grandeur, building upon the decaying Etruscan influence, while the Ligurians have been aggressively expanding their commercial hold of the world, establishing trade posts in Western Italy all the way down to Northern Egypt. Speaking of those Egyptians, they are enjoying a golden age of inner peace and political unity, making them a good candidate for becoming a superpower of the ancient world.

In Iberia, the Kingdom of Aragon sets up a feudal monarchy much like the one Abalonia has, only with fewer external pressures and more individual ambition. Meanwhile, the Zaratians &#8211; just having established the very first intercontinental colonial state in the world &#8211; still itch for land and continue to grow in size and strength.

Africa
Elsewhere, regional powers have established control in their respective...regions. For example, the D'mt have successfully enslaved much of the local population, and the shock of it all has kept most rebellious thoughts subdued. King Sembrouthes had probably begun a pattern of "conquer completely and enslave entirely" that would plague the world forever, but only time can truly tell. For now, slaves have provided the King D'mt merchants with mounds upon mounds of gold and/or whatever (other) things are considered valuable in D'mt society.

Asia
The Kh'mer have done quite a lot of jungle fighting in Cambodia to acquire lots of land, much to the expense of whatever forces they are left with to actually hold what they gained, but for now they enjoy extended borders and many subjugated people. Faraway, in Honshu, the Empire of the Rising Sun is no longer struggling just to survive: It is now struggling to acquire power, and some can say it is struggling quite well.

The Americas
In Mesoamerica, the Tikal have created a state rooted on bloodletting with some advances in the field of mathematics, while in North America the riparian tribal confederacy that is the Missouri Nation is united on the somewhat weak premise of aiming to control trade and commerce.

All in all, it is a good time for mankind. Except for the killing and slavery, mind you, but that is always collateral to progress. But then again, the notion that killing and slavery are bad things is a completely modern one.

Military Events

After receiving disappointing replies to ultimatums sent to the city-states of Ur and Chogha to the south near the end of the 21st century BC, Deus Fëanor Primus sent several thousands of soldiers to deal with the insolence. After several defeats against the numerically superior Babylonians, the armies of Chogha and Ur were forced to retreat. The Babylonians now besiege both cities, confident of victory.

(The Heavenly Empire: -4 infantry regiments)

Urartu advances to the north had met some resistance. However, victory came almost as swiftly as their chariots could cover ground, establishing the Urartu as a force to be reckoned with. A few contemporary historians have described some battles as the most terrible shows of one-sided violence they have ever seen or heard of in their lives.

(Urartu: -1 infantry regiment)

The Bedouins launched full-scale assaults against other tribes and clans who did not like the idea of settling down. Of course, deserts not being the most populous parts of the world, a "full-scale assault" there was no different from a large raiding party elsewhere.

(Bedouins: negligible casualties)

A Scythian warlord tried to monopolize the power of the confederacy in one ill-planned "coup." The other warlords quickly responded, planning to pay the renegade with due brutality. There is a myth that a beautifully-rendered, highly-realistic golden bust was put up in whatever was left of his honor after the execution-by-decapitation, but then those myths are always so outlandish and unbelievable. Clearly, only madmen had taken them for fact!

(Scythians: -1 infantry regiment, -1 horseback regiment)

Other Events

A city-state to the northwest of Abalonia have decided to join King Alba's band of high lords, swearing allegiance by whatever local gods they worshiped. It was a happy day, and the King himself was said to have more than danced with several drunken women the night it was officiated.

(Abalonia: +1 infantry regiment, free land)

The druids of Great Britain have just recently built the Stonehenge, something of great astronomical and/or spiritual importance. A few say that the gods use the Stonehenge as a door into the mortal realm, while others say those few are total idiots.

(Generic culture in Great Britain is strengthened)

The Cult of Malik Nous has gained significant following among the Ruskhan people, even going beyond political boundaries into the rest of the steppes. Similarly, Judaism grows in influence among the Hebrews, though it is not as widespread or far-reaching.

(+Judaism, +Cult of Malik Nous, +world culture)

OOC:

Okay, I lied. I didn't post stats up first. Just tell me if you (1) want something changed (in the stats, too, when I get them up) and we'll see, (2) want the update format changed, because I myself am not too satisfied with it, or (3) are confused and want to clear something up.

Remember, 1 turn is 100 years. A whole lot of things can happen in 100 years. Direct all relevant questions to me. As if you had any other choice, right?

Turn 2 orders are due on December 21, 2007, same time, same place, same thread.

This was a quick update because...It's not a "real" update.

Map (2000 BC):

Stats are...half done. Notes will come when I don't feel like my eyelids are filled with lead.

lord_joakim, it is an economic and timetable thing. Those Mesopotamian guys gots lots of time and energy to spend, unlike the Zaratians. Expect your plans to come into fruition in the next update.