Kashmir: pre-thread

Frontier thread

Introduction:

Hi, I'm SK, whom you may remember from this or this.

But what is more relevant is my first NES, SKNES I: Architecture of Aggression. It lasted a solid 11 updates, more than the vast majority of NESes, and apparently quite a few people enjoyed it, but looking back it's pretty easy for anyone to see the many, many mistakes I made, particularly since I was literally in middle school when I first had the idea. This will be my attempt to redo that NES's concept, and recapture its spirit, and do it the justice it deserves.

So what exactly is this? Long story short, it's something of a twist on the classic fresh start NES - instead of starting at the beginning of civilization, in 4000 BCE or whenever, we're starting in the great age of migrations near the beginning of Earth's medieval era, in 500 CE. I hope to, along with everyone, collectively create an interesting - and more importantly, fun - history of this alternate world (and, yes, that means the entire Old World, not just Europe and the Middle East like in the first) through the centuries to come.

I welcome anyone to join, no matter what your past experience with NESing or IOTing or STGing or whatever the hell we're calling it these days is.

Special thanks to Bair_the_Normal, as it's pretty much entirely his fault this game exists.

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So is this a signup thread?

Kind of. You're naturally welcome to start signing up, and I'm putting the entirety of the ruleset in the next post, but the main purpose of this thread is to gauge how much interest there is at each respective forum. I will certainly be primarily running it at CFC, but I'm open to finding a way to run a dual-thread setup (and have some ideas how to do so) at least temporarily, if there's enough people who are interested at the Frontier but don't want to return to CFC for this game.

But you're hosting it in IOT, how is it a NES/STG?

Labels are labels, and I assure you the ruleset would have been absolutely identical wherever I hosted it.

Will this die in 2 turns like the last one?

I know in the past few months I've launched several abortive games, but those were mostly launched at a whim. I'm entering the great abyss that is second half of my senior year of high school, so time isn't really an issue. And this is actually something I've wanted to do for a pretty long while, so I have assured myself I will see it through to something satisfactory.

Is there a place I can talk to you?

Yep. I'm usually on IOTchat (novaiot.chatango.com) so you can come and talk to me there - you do, however, need a chatango account, but you can chatango PM. I don't usually come on #nes but I can if the proper summons are given. I can also be accessed through steam chat or AIM - ask me for my information in that case. That failing, PMing is almost always entirely reliable.

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Starting Out:

At the very least, fill out this template:

Country/Player
Color: Pretty obvious. Anything except for black, white, grey, or the map color of the water is fine.
Government: Tell me your form of government. Could be as simple or as complex as you wish it to be, keeping in mind the limitations of the time period.
Religion: Tell me your state religion. It could be historical, or something else entirely.
History: Please outline your country's history, in as much detail as you wish to. As far as limitations go, all that I'm going to say is that everything up to the date of Alexander the Great's death in 323 BCE is absolutely hardlocked, but everything after that is not. If the players all decide they'd rather play in a world that somehow involved an Indo-Greek Empire stretching from Italy to Bengal, then that's perfectly fine with me.
Core Lands: The lands that you control and consider the heart of your country. Please be reasonable with this, and note that controlling larger amounts of territory gives you gradually decreased stability at the start.
Reach Lands: The lands you would optimally like to control, should no one else or no NPCs be there. Again, please be reasonable with this, and remember that more territory means greater instability at start. The size of the Sassanid Empire or Tang Dynasty China should be a guideline for the absolute maximum here. This and the above help me determine your territory at the start.
Neighbors: (Optional) Since 500 CE is obviously not the start of world history, I intend to have a living, interesting world already in place when we start the NES, with plenty of NPCs to fill in the spaces between players. If there are any particular ideas you'd like to have insofar as what your neighbors are, feel free to put them here. Additionally, unlike Byzantium and the Papacy from SKNES I, no nation will "automatically" exist at the start.

I'm not going to restrict the start too much, so let your imaginations flow! And the more information you give me, the better. But remember that I do reserve the right to reject anyone, and please make your start at least historically justifiable. You're welcome to create entirely new cultures and societies, or messing with alternate migrations to create fun.

On that note, a few things you should keep in mind are mostly the few restrictions that I am placing. If you're planning on playing as a complex state society (as opposed to a nomadic tribe or whatnot), please start in places where such state societies actually existed in historical 500 CE, and so on and so forth with other types of societies. Not all starts are equal, nor should they be - the closer you are to the erstwhile centers of classical civilization, the more advanced you'll start off. In addition, again, before you go off carving out a massive superstate, remember, larger starts give you significantly increased instability. You can, or course, start as tribes or nomads, and if you play as nomads, you can move around to your heart's content, and of course raid and settle where you wish to. The last thing is that this game will unfortunately be limited to the Old World. I don't know what I'm doing with the New World yet, though I have ideas.

Once the game has begun, you can still join as something new! Fill out the template and you can start in the grey space, or, if it interests you, pick an existing country with negative stability (yes, that includes PCs) and you can start as a revolt there, though obviously, your survival isn't guaranteed. (Or, you could still always join as an existing NPC, if that suits you better)

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Please don't post yet.

The Rules:

Kingdom of Mysore/SouthernKing
Absolute Monarchy: Wadiyar Dynasty
Stability: +2
Economy: 9(2/3/4)-4/5
Projects:
-Grand Samosa Kitchen: 4/10
Religion: Hinduism (70%)
-Sunni Islam (20%/3)
-Jainism (5%/4)
-Oriental Christianity, Shia Islam (5%)
Development: Land 9, Navy 9, Economy 8, Culture 10
Army (10/13): 5 Infantry Companies, 4 Cavalry Companies, 1 Siege Train, 2 Mercenary Companies
Navy: 10 Squadrons
Prestige: 15
Description:

Government

Your form of government is listed under "Government" (go figure), in concise but detailed form. This form can be changed over time with reforms, or as the trends in your country change. Besides your government is your country's current ruling dynasty or faction, where applicable. Knowing this is essential; while actual monarchs will not be tracked due to the turn length (though you can certainly do this yourself) arranging marriages and inheritance is completely possible.

You should also pay attention to your stability, which, simply, is a measure of the internal cohesiveness of your realm. Stability goes from +3 to -3. Not only does higher stability lessen the chance of political upheaval, it also translates into better economic performance, as the people take advantage of the peace to make themselves and the country prosperous, rather than having to concern themselves over basic subsistence. Outright revolts may occur if your stability drops into the negatives, with the chances of revolt increasing as you go further down. If, at any time, your country is at -3 and loses stability (in other words, hits -4), your government will automatically collapse.

Economy

The economic system of this NES is based on EPs. The first number in the economy stat is the total income of EPs you will gain this turn. You gain EPs from three sources, listed in the parenthesis next to total income: rural (income from agricultural production), urban (income from artisans, craftsmen, and other city-based production), and trade (income from, well, trade, both land and sea). Next is your total upkeep per turn. Finally, the last number is the number of banked EPs you have. You can bank as many EPs as you wish to; they don't make interest or anything, they just sit there looking shiny. It's advisable to keep at least some banked in case of emergencies or if a sudden large expenditure is necessary. EPs can be spent on whatever, but you can't spend fractions of EPs.

How can you grow your economy? There are multiple things you can do. Investing in infrastructure or agricultural improvements will improve rural income. Investing in infrastructure will also increase trade income, as will opening new trade routes through expeditions and the like. There are many other things that will affect income, but I'm not going to list all of them. And lastly and most importantly, this is still the age where you can pretty much build cities at a whim, so spending 5 EP will give you a shining new city. Bewarned however, just because you built a city does not mean it will survive. Note that cities will form on their own as well, but this is certainly one thing you can do - building cities also gives non-economic benefits, such as giving you a base of control.

Cities of sufficient size will be marked on the map as grey-outlined black circles. Capital cities, where applicable, will also be marked, as white-outlined black circles. I'm going to borrow the old "three-city" system that whoever it was (Thlayli?) invented some years ago. Each city will contribute 1 EP. There are three specialties of cities possible:
-Economic centers (Blue): Cities that serve as the homes of financial centers or hubs of trade. (ex. Venice, Aden, Zanzibar, Calicut, Malacca)
-Cultural centers (Green): Cities renowned for their contributions to art or learning. (ex. Paris, Florence, Baghdad, Delhi, Kyoto)
-Religious centers (Red): Cities that serve as the spiritual center and/or holy site of a major religion. They'll become sought after by pilgrims and the spiritual. (ex. Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Mecca, Varanasi)
Cities can attain specialization either through certain projects, or through natural evolution. Cities can also lose specialization, or even be destroyed completely, if they decline sufficiently enough to be abandoned, or are sacked. Any specialized city contributes 3 EP.

There are certainly other potential sources of income. Chiefly amongst them is simple - plunder. Sacking cities and countries will net you a great deal of wealth taken from the unwilling local populace - often, far greater than you could gain from normal means. Additionally, it is perfectly possible to ask for tribute under the threat of the sword. These mean that you don't need any sort of permanent income in this whatsoever. But remember that relying on plunder and tribute for your wealth leads to its own issues - namely, that once the plunder runs dry, no one is happy.

Projects:

Projects are special, large expenditures that usually take multiple turns. They can roughly be compared to Wonders from Civilization, but could easily be far more mundane. A project could include such things as building great monuments, infrastructure improvements, opening of trade routes, policy changes, inquisitions, and infrastructure. PM me if you want to begin one for details including the total cost and effects.

Religion

Obviously, this being the Middle Ages, faith is of the greatest importance. In many cases, it is the very thread holding thousands of people's everyday lives together. Discontented large minorities are a recipe for rebellion and instability. Attempts at conversion and intolerant state policies, while good for the spiritual unity of the state religion, will lead to greater disloyalty. On the flipside, tolerance and appeasement of non-state religions will make their followers more loyal, though these carry their own risks; namely, potential for discontent from those who follow the state religion.

Religion as a gameplay mechanic works somewhat like the factions systems seen in some other games. The percentages reflect the rough proportion of people under your rule who practice said religion, in increments of 5%. The first religion listed is your state religion or the religion of your ruler or ruling classes. Each of the other major religions have a loyalty that ranges from 1 to 5. This scale represents the general contentedness of this religious minority, who more often than not just wants to be left alone. Attempts at conversion or repression, either from your or the people, will reduce this, while policies of tolerance and plurality will increase this. The last 5% are used to describe various communities that exist within your borders but are too insignificant to create a major difference politically, though they can certainly play a role in the grand scale - just look at Europe's Jews over time. If you manage to comprehensively eliminate all minorities, then you'll reach 100%, but this can often be a task that is both exceedingly difficult and exceedingly detrimental to your resources.

Development

Development is this game's version of technology or advancement or what have you. There are four fields of development:
-Land: This field covers the equipment and tactics of your land forces. Higher development naturally gives improved equipment and tactics, and thus improved performance in combat.
-Navy: This field covers shipbuilding, navigation, and naval tactics, both in rivers and ocean - so otherwise landlocked countries will see this improve as well. Higher development will naturally improve naval equipment, tactics, and development. Unlike land development, navy development has peaceful benefits as well; higher development allows for your ships and sailors to traverse longer distances, and also increases your naval trade revenue.
-Economy: This field covers advances in agriculture, engineering, infrastructure, economics, and administration. Higher development will lead to higher rural and trade incomes, and a potential greater chance for cities to develop as well.
-Culture: This field covers any miscellaneous advancements or evolutions in art, literature, philosophy, and the natural sciences. The returns from culture development are rather more abstract than any of the other fields, but are no less potent. Becoming renowned, and, can potentially give your country a major prestige boost.

The potential levels of these fields can range from 0 to (theoretically) infinity. A rule of thumb is that the most advanced nations will have development levels equivalent to the number of the century we're currently in. The system is meant to create an at-a-glance, vague, but somewhat comprehensive comparison of relative levels of advancement across the entire globe. This being an era far before direct government investment in mass scientific projects that expect concrete results, you can't really throw money at development and expect the numbers to automatically increase. They represent general benchmarks of progress, not concrete stages. However, you can indirectly affect the rate of development, by a number of methods, such as funding military improvements, financing scholarship, opening schools, and encouraging intellectualism, but by no means limited to those.

Military:

The first two numbers in the army stat are the number of non-mercenary units you have and the total force limit of land non-mercenary units. This limit is determined via [2*(rural income)+3*(urban income)]. Do note that since we're largely before standing armies, and because turns are broad enough, your army numbers represent less your standing forces at any given time and more the total capacity of forces you can raise. There's no upkeep required on units within the force limit.

If you reach your force limit and still desire more men, you do have the option of hiring mercenaries, which cost just 1 EP each to raise, but continue costing the same 1 EP per turn afterwards until killed or disbanded. Who these mercenaries are is another matter - this largely depends on your situation. They could be barbarian tribes, or they could just be enterprising young men from within your country. Failure to pay them, of course, can and will lead to Very Bad Things happening to you. You have been warned.

Land Units:
-1 Infantry Company: 2 EP
-1 Cavalry Company: 3 EP
-1 Siege Train: 5 EP
-1 Mercenary Company: 1 EP/turn

Navies work slightly differently. There is no naval force limit; you can build as many ships as you like. However, for every 5 naval units you own, you must pay 1 EP in upkeep. All cross-sea transport of land units is handled automatically when necessary; listed naval vessels are strictly warships.

Naval Units:
-1 Squadron: 2 EP

War is a part of what is perceived to be everyday life in this era; don't even bother with any sort of nonsense "declarations" if that's your wish. Conducting war just requires you to send war plans to me. It may be a good idea to pay a little extra for logistics and supplies, otherwise your armies will be forced to live off the land they're passing through. That is not necessarily a bad thing - especially if you're just a bunch of nomads passing through.

Prestige:

Prestige is, loosely, the respect and wonder that others hold of your country. It is the collective legacy of what you have done in the past, unfairly compressed into a single, unitless number. Emerging victorious in great battles, successfully conquering or subjugating other realms, building great wonders, and creating great works of art, literature, or science are but a few of the things that give prestige. On the other hand, stagnating, falling into decadence, and losing in combat will cause you to lose prestige.

What does prestige do? Higher prestige. On a more OOC level, prestige is also something of a meterstick, to measure your relative achievement with others in the world. The country with the highest prestige at one time can be considered the "greatest" empire to exist at any one time (whatever that actually means)

Miscellaneous

A few notes should be said on the map. Collections of shattered city-states or petty states (such as the taifas of Muslim Iberia or the petty states of Rajputana through much of its existence) will be represented by a medium-dark shade of grey. Areas where scattered, disunited, yet still relatively advanced tribes or chiefdoms have control will be represented by a lighter shade of grey.

Stories:

Stories are nice. I like them. People who write stories or give other contributions to this universe will get a stats bonus from me as a reward, in addition to mentions in the update.

Housekeeping:

I intend for biweekly updates. At first, each update will cover 25 years of time - so 500-524, then 525-549, and so forth, until we reach 900; after which we'll probably reduce to 15 year-long-turns until...some date in the future. I'm not entirely sure about that just yet, so I might change my mind, but that's the plan for now.

As far as orders go, please send them via PM, and try to limit them to a single PM - my inbox tends to fill up far too quickly.

You may now post!
-Please read the 1st post in its entirety before posting, thanks!
-Again, please no new world claiming



Map:

I havent even read the whole thing yet and I'm in

Ghassanid Kingdom/ Amesjay (Zannh on Frontier)
Color: Uh. A lightish bluey-grey?
Government: The Ghassanids are ruled over by their king, though there are nobles who rule provinces under the king.
Religion: Predominantly Christianity, with Islamic and Zoroastrianism influences.
History: The Ghassanid Kingdom aligned itself with the Sassanid Empire (as opposed to the the Byzantine Empire in OTL). In ~359CE Emperor Julian lost at Ctesphon to the Sassanid Empire with assistance from the Ghassanids. Following which Shapur II was able to push the Romans back and managed to conquer much of the Roman held land (OTL Syria, Lebanon, Israel). For their assistance and pressure upon their eastern borders from arab tribes, the Ghassanids were granted then lands of OTL Lebanon and Israel. From there King Jabalah III ibn al-Nu'man was able to conquer parts of northeastern Roman-held Egypt as they had been distracted by Attila and other barbarian invaders to the north and west.
Core Lands: OTL Ghassanid Kingdom, with current day lands of Jordan and Israel.
Reach Lands: The rest indicated by my map
Neighbors: Presumably a weakened Byzantine Empire, a strengthened Sassanid Empire, and slightly weakened arab tribes of Lakhmids, Kindah and Hejaz
Location:


Excuse my poor paint skills, you'll probably have to fix it up and make it nice.
Also, this is just an idea I had, so I'm happy to modify it depending on what other players want etc.

Friso-Batavia/Civ'ed
Color: Orange ofc
Government: Friso-Batavia has one concrete Kening, or King - Currently, this is Kening Radboud IV. There are several classes within Friso-Batavia.
The Ethelings are the nobles, and often rule over large tracts of land. The majority of nobles are Friso-Batavian, but some Saxons exist in the Etheling class as well.
The Frilings are free men. They are composed of Friso-Batavians, Belgii, and Saxons, with a few Britons also being part of this group.
The Laten are, for lack of a better word, serfs and other peasants. While there is a fairly relaxed way of looking at their rights (so-called "Fryske Fryheid" or "Frisian Freedom", they tend to be tied to the land they work on.
Religion: The religion in Friso-Batavia is fairly complex and mostly adheres to the Germanic pantheon, with the addition of the Zeelander sea goddess Nehalennia. In Brithain, some Celtic gods remain in vogue.
History: The lack of a strong roman empire allowed the Frisians and Batavians to consolidate their power base in OTL Netherlands. Sooner or later, the Frisians would start to expand as floods started to threaten their homeland, and by 200AD the Frisians would control an area from OTL Bremen to Normandy. Around 300 AD, the first Friso-Batavian adventurers went on conquering expeditions to Britain, and control here was cemented around 360 AD.
Core Lands: see above
Reach Lands: None particularly, although Kent would be nice.
Neighbors: Some Britonic kingdoms in England (preferably no angles or saxons), angles, jutes and saxons in Germany, Belgian and Gaulish tribes.

Scythia/Immaculate

Color:

Orange

Government:

The ruler is known as the Koloksai. Feudal hereditary monarchy with satrapies ruled by loyal satraps providing taxes and soldiers. Capital in the crimean peninsula.

History:

Probably originating in the Altai Mountains of Central Asia, the Scythians were among the earliest peoples to master mounted warfare. In the 8th century BC they possibly raided Zhou China. Soon after they expanded westwards and dislodged the Cimmerians from power on the Pontic Steppe, and subsequently came to dominate a vast region stretching from the Carpathian Mountains of Europe to the plains of central China, creating what has been referred to as the Central Asian nomadic empire. Based in Crimea the Scythians were ruled a by a wealthy class known as the Royal Scyths. The Scythians established and controlled a vast trade network (Silk Road) connecting Ancient Greece, Persia, India and China, contributing to the contemporary flourishing of those civilizations.

During the 5th to 3rd centuries BC, the Scythians expanded considerably into south-eastern Europe, settling in present-day Romania and Bulgaria, and across the steppes of today's East Ukraine to the lower Don basin. Here they came into significant contact with the settled peoples of Greece and Roma, primarily through trade. The Scythians were heavily involved in the slave trade, preying on Goth, Germanic, and Finno-Ugric peoples and trading them through ports at Olbia, Chersonesos, Cimmerian Bosporus, and Gorgippia. They also grew grain, and shipped wheat, flocks, and cheese to Greece and Roma.

In 350BC, Philip of Macedon attempted to dislodge the Scythians, doing war with them at the Maeotian swamp. The Scythians proved resourceful and adaptable opponents and while the Macedonian had some early successes, he was unable to strike a decisive victory against the nimble opponent only too eager to allow his troops to enter his land, over-extend their logistics and supply and fall upon their rear. Eventually Philip, impressed with the horsemanship and archery of the Scythians withdrew to the south instead employing the Scythians as mercenaries and allies in his wars in the south, where their horse-archery often proved decisive against the flanks of the Athenian and greek soldiers.

During Alexander's operations against the Persians the Scythians again served as mercenaries, fighting for both sides as the fortunes and treasures of both sides rose and fell. The scythians learned much of the Persians in managing far-flung empires and adopted such innovations as state-operated caravansarai, yam (supply point route messenger system where horses and messengers are exchanged to allow for rapid dissemination of orders and intelligence over vast distances), and a system of feudal provincial government based on Persian satrapy. From the Hellenic peoples they learned mathematics, writing (Scythia uses a mangled form of the Greek alphabet and many words, especially in natural philosophy can be traced to greek origins), geometry, ship-building, and the practice of 'leasing' state resources (mines, forests, etc) for development by vassals keeping a portion of the profits in payment. Scythian law is a unique mixture of their own steppe traditions, and persian and hellenistic influences.

The years from 0 AD to 500 AD saw the further consolidation of the Scythian culture. The kingship was formalized and adopting the ways of the Hellenic people, became a hereditary institution. Scythia traded far and wide and became increasingly cosmopolitan with influences from China, India, Parthia, Greece and Rome, and the Germanic tribes. From across the baltic they even made contact and traded with the powers of Friso-Batavia and the British isles. Settled villages and cities became more common and permanent, and stretched all the way from China in the east to the Carpathian mountains and Wista river in the west. The royal military was formalized with an elite full-time professional military sustained through direct taxation and reinforced by the feudal soldiers of the satrapies from across the vast kingdom. Gothic and Germanic tribes, caught between the Romans and the Scythians several times attempted to move into Scythian lands but proved unable to withstand the might of the increasingly entrenched and coordinated kingdom. Many times the Scythian kingdom instead allied with the Goths or Germans against the Romans and it is thought that their assistance helped in accelerating the downfall of these Mediterranean peoples.

Today the Scythian kingdom reaches from east to west and controls the majority of the silk road trade with wide-flung caravansarai and centralized communications and messenger systems to coordinate the far flung satrapry. The kingdom is ruled from a capital at Chersone, near modern day Sevastapol, and the city itself is the center for trade on the Black sea and from there with the Mediterranean people. The Satrapy of the west tend to be more settled, practicing a higher density of agriculture and relying on herding animals to a lesser degree. The east, while still very settled at major cities along the silk route, tend to have lighter population densities away from the agricultural resources of the rivers and thus focus on semi-nomadic herding and shepherding to a greater degree.

Religion:

The scythian people continue to practice their ancient religion but it is obvious that Persian and Hellenistic influences have crept into their faith over the centuries. They worship a pantheon of eight gods. They provide sacrifice to their gods, usually livestock, with the most valued sacrifice being the horse.

Military:

Scythia continues to be primarily served, militarily, by mounted archers. Increasingly they have come to use infantry to supplement their horse. From their experiences with the hellenic people they have learned to fight with spears in formation but do so without as heavy armor as the hellens did, preferring to count on a strong shield and longer spear and greater mobility than on armor. Like in OTL, the scythians are one of the few people to actively use biological agents in warfare (they grow gangrenous bacteria from spoiled meat, mix it with snake venom and tip their arrows therein).

The royal military is professional and paid for full-time service. Vassal soldiers serve under the satrapies and are called upon as needed (standard feudal arrangements)

Core Lands:

a vast region stretching from the Carpathian Mountains of Europe and the Baltic sea to the plains of western China in the east

Reach Lands:

Siberia and northern russia, eastern russia to the pacific. Northern Iran.

DIKTATORIAM LATINIKIS​

O Teus Sol us vigent ​

Map:

Government: Military Republic
The Dictatorship is ruled by the Dictator, who is elected by a majority in the Senate. The Senate consists of 300 senators that have served in the military in the past and are the most prestigious members of a society. The Senate has military power. The Great Tribunal consists of 6 Magistrates, of whom five are retired generals and one is the Head of the "Solariki Latreytes".
A woman can be a senator or a member of the Great Tribunal. Indeed, a woman can also be the head of the Solar Faithful. However, women can not join the Solar Legions.

Religion: Sol Aniketus
Even though the Latin Dictatorship is a heavily militarized society, there is a place for literature and science. The "Solariki Latreytes", which means the Solar Faithful, is a clerical and monastical order for those who believe in Sol the Aniketus. They are responsible for the education of the children in the sciences, and their work is more scientific than theological. There are also some Solar Legions, which are monastic orders that have taken up the arms and are ready to defend Latini and all Solar states. Their name, organisation and secondary goals depend on the Saint they wish to imitate. The most prominent Solar Orders are the "Legio tis Nikis" (Legion of Victory, patron saint is Dictator Valinos, the one who defended Latini from the Germans) and the "Legio to Teo" (Legion of God, patron saint is Kladamus, founder of the Solar Faithful and ascetic monk that is said to have transcended mortality.). There are other less known Solar Orders too. Some Solar Orders, while still possesing arms, are usually
distinguished in charity work. So far, no Solar Orders are state funded, and they have to solicit donations from the rich and the Faithful in order to survive. Some times, the Solar Order combines with the army of the Dictatorship and takes part in military campaigns, like what happened when Latini was attacked by the Germanic Tribes.
While sacrifices are rare in the Sol Aniketus religion, they are nominally allowed. Indeed, someone who has been approached to convert peacefully but has declined the offer can be sacrficied. However, since the society is progressive in regards to some sectors, such a thing is considered tabboo.
The God Sol Aniketus is worshipped in specific temples that combine light and fire. The buildings themselves are circular, and on top they have a specific kind of glass that magnifies the light coming from the sun and sets things beneath it on fire. This is done to show the relation between light and fire, elements that are both important to humans and to show the hegemony of the Sun over all living things.
The After - life is a core belief in the Sol Aniketus religion. It is said that those who are virtuous join the Sun in his never - ending quest to grant life to humans. Those who are not however serve their punishment by being stars themselves and having to live isolated from the sun, seeing only glimpses of his true might instead of prospering in it like others.

Society and Education:
A heavily militarized society.

History: Basically the Latins and Romans repelled the Germanic invasions from reaching Rome but not the North. Will expand later

Core Lands: Lands in Red.

Reach Lands: North Italy and Sicily

Neighbors: Greek Hegemonies in Greece/Weakened Byzantium in Greece
Tributary Roman States in Napoli, Croatia and Corfu
Germanic Tribes in North Italy

Going to join in the British Isles but I have to go to work in 15 minutes so I'll post an actual signup tonight

For the record you can still (partly) claim over other people hence the core/reach lands thing. These will just be recorded as land disputes and such. Just don't claim over other people's core lands.

Actually I lied. I'll have something else up.

Probably in Japan or something.



Hirajima Kingdom [平島國]/Bair_the_Normal

Government: Monarchy

Great King/治天下大王:

Religion: Kan'nagara-no-michi [惟神予道]

History: Please outline your country's history, in as much detail as you wish to. As far as limitations go, all that I'm going to say is that everything up to the date of Alexander the Great's death in 323 BCE is absolutely hardlocked, but everything after that is not. If the players all decide they'd rather play in a world that somehow involved an Indo-Greek Empire stretching from Italy to Bengal, then that's perfectly fine with me.

Core Lands: Seven Circuits and Capital Region

Reach Lands: Vassal Domains

Neighbors: Varied Ainu Tribes in Ezo; Varied Ryūkyū Petty Kingdoms

Notes: First project is 差摸索神宮 Grand Samosa Shrine is a go.

Divisions and Stuff:

THOSE WITHIN THE HIRAJIMA KINGDOM ITSELF:

-Shichidō [七道]:
San'indō [山陰道]
San'yōdō [山陽道]
Hokurikudō [北陸道]
Tōsandō [東山道]
Saikaidō [西海道]
Nankaidō [南海道]
Tōkaidō [東海道]

-Kinai [畿内]:
-Yamato-kuni [大和國]
-Yamashiro-kuni [山城國]
-Kawachi-kuni [河内國]
-Settsu-kuni [摂津國]
-Izumi-kuni [和泉國]

VASSAL DOMAINS OF THE HIRAJIMA KINGDOM:

Tsukai-kuni [對海國]

Kumaso-kuni [熊曽國]

Emishi-kuni [蝦夷國]

Notable Cities in the Hirajima Kingdom:

-'Capital'/Location of Royal Court: Taitenka'heian-keijō [大天下平安京師]

San'indō:
Izumo [出雲]
Uchikoshiyama [打越山]
Izushi [出石]

San'yōdō:
Ōwada [大和田]
Itsukushima [厳島]
Akamagaseki [赤間関]
Himeji [姫路]

Hokurikudō:
Ōkōzu [大河津]
Fukui [福井]
Etchū [越中]
Kawanakajima [川中島]

Tōsandō:
Umayabashi [厩橋]
Asaka [安積]
Imahama [今濱]
Matsumoto [松本]

Saikaidō:
Dazaifu [太宰府]
Ōmura [大村]

Nankaidō:
Naniwa [浪速]
Iyo [伊予]
Tokushima [徳島]

Tōkaidō:
Anōtsu [安濃津]
Ise [伊勢]
Hamamatsu [浜松]
Suruga [駿河]
Karasuyama [烏山]

Tsukai-kuni:
Tsushima [対馬]

Kumaso-kuni:
Sakura [桜]

Emishi-kuni:
Iwadeyama [岩出山]
Shiwa [志波]
Hachinohe [八戸]
Jizōden [地蔵田]
Hiramori [平森]

Or not.

Dál Riata/Omeg(s)a
Color: A deep celtic green
Government: Decentralized monarchy based in northern Ireland, with the land in Scotland basiclly being a colony. Feudalism is not really a thing yet, but powerful clans serve as a counterweight to the monarch
Religion: Druidism. Attempts at Chrsitianization has led to the beginning of literacy of the kingdom, but to the disappointment of missionaries, the religion itself has been for the most part rejected.
History: Pre-Christian Dál Riata has 0 written historical records, so I will make something up later.
Core Lands: Probably this
Reach Lands: Probably the map I posted below
Neighbors: (Optional): The rest of Scotland should be occupied by Pictland, who by 500 are beginning but not totally Christianize. The rest of Ireland should be divided by other Gaelic kingdoms, who are in fact are near the /end/ of the Christiniazation process (rulers are converted, and most of the non-rural population has too).

The Kingdom of Venehar




Am working on the application, but for now, here it goes.

REPUBLIC OF CARTHAGE / SAMSNIPED
Color (RGB 239/135/31)
Government: Roman-esque republic with aspects of an Athenian democracy
Religion: Cult centered around the goddess Juno
History: Short version: Rome and Carthage never came to blows, instead focuses on combat with the Greek city-states and continuing a mutual non-aggression agreement until circa 100 AD. Carthage expanded and developed, Rome continued its struggles with its neighbors. By 100 AD, Carthage had begun to fight for the various islands and expanded across Spain.
Core Lands: Bright orange below. Carthage and some of the coast of North Africa, Eastern coast of Spain, parts of Sardinia and Sicily.
Reach Lands: Influence extends over the light creme orange color.
Neighbors: Frankish states would be cool. Maybe an Arabian tribe or two in the east with some influence to the south. Greeks are a necessity.

The Kingdom of Nornidr

Government:
Hereditary Kingdom, All domains are the property of the King, who hands it out to who he wants on an individual basis. While it is assumed that a Jarl's eldest son will inherit, his position still has to be validated by the king before he officially rules the land.

The Military of Nornidr predominantly consists of raised levies led by an elite core of Jarls and their accompanying Huscarls, Many of whom fight from horseback. Increasingly, however, the Jarls have followed the example of their southern neighbors and the lands of the people they conquered so long ago, by creating standing regiments of Military Men. These Huslegio fall somewhere between Huscarls and the peasant levies, in that many of the members of individual huslegio are not nobility.

Religion:

Faith of the Allfather

At the dawn of time, God the All-father slew the giant Mangi. From the giant’s blood he fashioned the oceans and from his bones he carved the rock of the nine worlds. With this work done, he plucked each of the giant’s eyes out, and they became the two ravens Thought and Memory. Together, they wandered the worlds, hoping to find something. Eventually, as they neared the the corpse of the slain giant, God grew to be lonely, accompanied as he was by nothing but his thoughts and memories.

Reaching into the rotting corpse, God grasped the giant’s hearts and willed it aflame. He set it into the sky, and it became the sun. Now, God could truly see the spread of the worlds he had created, and again he was struck by the loneliness of it all.

On the first day, God created the world tree, to bind all the worlds together.

On the second day, he created the angels, and split them into two groups, the Asur and Vanur. To the Asur, he granted dominion over all things physical and solid, and to the Vanur, he gave dominion over all things that grew, from the grass on the ground to time itself.

The greatest of the Asur was the Morning Star, Loki, but nearly his equals were the guardians of heaven Himdal, Mikal, who governed the lands, and Raggal,. Many more Asur exist, but those are the most important. God took Raggal as his wife, and begat many more Asur. Following his example, the other Asur also took wives and begat more asur.

The Greatest of the Vanur was Njordr, who had dominion over all the oceans of the world. His two children were Frej and Freja, who were known, after Loki, to be the most beautiful things in all of creation. So Beautiful was Freja, in fact, that the dwarf Gandalf sought to recreate her beauty and made moonlight.

For a time, there was peace between Heaven, the domain of the Asur, and Vanheim, domain of the Vanur. But, as all creatures are imperfect, eventually disharmony arose. Wars were fought, and time and time again, God intervened. There were heroes on both sides, and many tragedies. Finally, to end the wars, God made the Asur and Vanur one.

Seeing that the Asur were still imperfect, God tried again, making the Alfar, lesser beings to the Asur, but still much greater than humans would be. They were given immortality, but, like the Asur before them, they were ultimately a part of God and not their own. To them, he gave the world of Alfheim. This was the third day.

Loki became great friends with the Alfar, teaching them many crafts, such as writing, forging, and magic and to love God. But, as Loki walked amongst the Alfar, the seed of jealousy grew in his heart. Surely, he who was second only to the All-father could also create something as great as the alfar.

On the fourth day, Loki crafted the giants, and the dwarves. However, they did not have true life, as only that was a gift able to be given by God. Loki wept over his creations, and his tears became the stars in the heaven. God heard his weeping and found Loki standing over his lifeless creations. Angered though he was that Loki had tried to take the place of God, he was moved to pity, and bade Loki chose which of his creations he wished most to see alive.

Loki chose the dwarves, and the All-father breathed life into them. They awoke, and immediately loved god, for he had given them life when they should not have. Once God was gone, Loki, who was angered at the dwarves abandonment of him, stole half the life God had bestowed upon them, and gave it to the Giants. As such, both dwarves and giants are only half alive, missing a crucial part of their being. Dwarves and Giants have hated each other ever since.

On the fifth day, Loki travelled amongst the Asur and the Alfar, helping some, hindering others. He became known as a trickster, though many loved him, for he brought down many tyrants and put up those oppressed. Loki and his followers approached God, asking him to bestow the ability to create life upon all of them. Unfortunately, this was a gift the All-father could not give, for even he did not know how he gave life, only that he could. Loki, in anger, drew his sword on god and struck him, blinding him in one eye. For this, he was cast down out of heaven and into the abyss, where many of his followers joined him. As he fell, he cursed God and all of his creations, foretelling Ragnarok, the end times. God was saddened, as he knew the truth of Loki’s words. Loki came to the world at the bottom of the World Tree, and became its king.

Saddened, God tried to create life one last time. Reaching into Mangi’s almost completely rotten corpse, he took a handful of the giant’s brain. Crafting it into his own image, he breathed life into the first man and woman, Ask and Eva. Though mortal, for they were made from the rotting flesh, they were nearest to God, for they could create in ways that no other creature could. For a time, they lived in heaven, and so did their children and children’s children, but Loki crept to them in the shape of a horned serpent. He spoke to them, and befriended them. But his words carried the taint of corruption, which all of humanity has had since. This corruption finally forced God to expel humans from heaven, as they could not longer live there. He promised them that one day he would send his son and that this son would lead them back to Heaven. He gave humans middle earth, and they soon grew to rule it.

Many stories can be told of this time, of the flood and Njord’s great ship, of the slaying of the great wyrms Leviathan and Behemoth by the heroes of the earth, of the Smiting of Jericho, of the Exodus from either the frozen wastes of the North or the dry deserts of the South. But, really, there is only one more great story worth telling, That of the Son of God Thor, or Jesus, as he is known in other lands, who died at the hand of the Romans to lead Humans back into heaven, and of his apostles, the most loyal of whom was Judas, who Sold Jesus out to the Romans so that his purpose could be accomplished.

(In essence, a synthesis of Nordo-Germanic myth and Christianity.)

History:
The reasons behind the migrations of the Saxons, Franks, and Jutes into the areas of Northern Italy is poorly understood. Some scholars argue that they were displaced by other migrants into the area, while others argue that climactic change is responsible. Certainly the eddas and stories of these people are not very helpful, speaking of the migration in poetic terms. They write that the people of the tribes of the Saxons, Franks, and Jutes were chased southwards by the “Frozen fangs of the hounds of Hel,” phrasing that can be interpreted both ways.

Either way, the Semi-mythical Jutish King Hrothgar “The Wanderer” is the one said to have gathered his tribe and travelled southwards. Many fanciful stories accompany the travels, exploring the great many varied people they encountered along the way. Like many such mythical travel stories, not much truth should be attributed to them, as they speak of tribes of people without heads, or with eyes on their hands, or with the legs of dogs. Ultimately, however, As the Jutes travelled south, they gathered to their migration tribes of Saxons and Franks, many who swore oaths of loyalty and fealty to King Hrothgar. It is during this migration, also, that the the people of King Hrothgar first encountered the teachings of “The White Christ.” For some reason, perhaps because of the informal interaction between the faiths (no records of active missionaries or saints exist among the migration), Christian stories were incorporated into the already disparate mythology of the Jutes, Saxons, and Franks. As literacy was introduced, many of the stories were written down, and by the time official missionaries were sent from Rome, the Faith of the All-father was already established and vibrant, nearly untouchable, especially as many adherents saw christianity as only slightly different than their own faith.

Though the stories tell of King Hrothgar establishing the city of Meduseld on the shores of the Adriatic, most scholars agree that the migration would have taken generations. Regardless, the vibrant port city was established at the mouth of the Po river, and grew in size. It served as the Home of the Kings of Nornidr before their conquest of Venehar (venice) by King Nordabard.



Neighbors:
I’d like to see a smattering of small duchies and petty kingdoms either related to my migration or displaced by it. Additionally, the faith of the All-father is easily as aggressive in proselytizing as the catholics of OTL.





Anyone feel free to use any aspect of this application for own.

Claiming Northumbria, will get to posting maps and other information momentarily

Yr Hen Ogledd/Robert Can't
Colour: Parsley Green
Government: A loose union of various kingdoms held in place by the King of the Northmen. The Kingdom contains both Saxons and Britons and the two factions often play off against one another in the frequent internal wars. The cohesion of the state is limited by the High King will almost always be able to field larger numbers of men that any of the sub-kings and so all bend their knee and pay their tithes too him.

The Current King is Meirchion Hen Godebog of the Coeling line
The kings of Bernicia and Deria are of Saxon lineage while the kings of Rheged (Llywarch Hen) and Eidyn (Clydno Eiddin) are of the Coeling line. Many of the smaller kingdoms in the west and north are ruled by other Cumbric kings. The most powerful is the Gododdin (Cunedda ap Edern) near the kingdom of Eidyn. All of the kings have sworn an oath of loyalty to Meirchion and though the kings cnstantly fight amongst themselves Meirchion maintains a balance of power between them so none will grow powerful enough to challenge his position.

Religion: Celtic Paganism dominates. However among many of the constituent Christianity is taking hold. Already Bernicia and Gododdin are led by Celtic Christian kings. Amongst the rest though paganism is dominant though it forms little influence on the ruling of the nation.

History: Following the leaving of the Romans the Saxons came to Britain. With the coming of the Saxons in the 4th century came great upheaval. The old Cumbric kingdoms were being invaded and pushed further north and west. But the Saxons did not stand united and one leader King Meirchion Hen Godebog, Yr Coeling took advantage of this to subjugate the Saxon settlers into his grandfather's (Coel Hen's) kingdom. Yr Hen Ogledd was growing quickly with new kings bending knee to Meirchion Hen every day.

Core Lands: Bernicia, Rheged, Deria, Lothian, Lancashire
Reach Lands: On this Map, the lands labelled Northumbria and Lindisware as well as up to the border of Dal Riata in Galloway
Neighbors: (Optional): I think the rest of Britain is covered by players

Claiming Jutland-Holstein-Pomerania!

I'm glad there's so much interest so far! I'm really excited to run this.

In any case I'll probably give the rest of the week for signups and such and work from there. At this rate I think I'll be running it entirely here, unless anyone has any serious objections to that.

I shall also try to assemble a rudimentary TL for the background from what we have so far, one that's easy to change but also tries to gather everything so far.