PerfNES I: Ultima Ratio Regum

India is relatively empty, only two players. I suggest Bengal. I wouldn't want das to feel lonely.
 
From: Amir Faisal ibn Sayf ad-Din of Saragossa
To: King Albrecht of Lotharingia


As first envoy of the faithful to your kingdom in centuries, we bid you good health and fortune and confirm the nobility of your gracious majesty to be true; shepherd of his people in peace, and leader of men in war. While the will of God has behooved it incumbent to separate the faithful from your flock in the passing centuries, we hope that taqdeer will find us friend and ally.

By the Grace of God, we urge you to agree to our final entreaty to engender a wellspring of peace in and between our domains. Clasp our hand in friendship and confirm defensive alliance with us against all who would threaten our humble goal.
 
Das is a very nice old-timer around here. I vaguely remember joining half a year after (I think) he did the first NES?
If you get in his path he'll take you out though so I suggest working with him as he's fairly reliable IC if you help him out with mutually beneficial stuff.

Tver might not be easy either with the Horde and the two big Russias, but if you do join as them remember to make MPPs with Polotsk and Moscow.
 
And vice versa considering Bengal is compelled to wage war against the Buddhist infidel in Delhi.
 
Excepet that would be incredibly OOC. As the stats make clear Delhi and Bengal must wage war to the death.
 
Haishu and all other domains of men under Heaven.

Diplomacy after factions.
 
To the Haishu Emperor
From Republic of Guangzhou

If it would please your Highness, the Guangzhou Society would would like to formalize an alliance against any further Nanhai Dynasty aggression. We are not interested in prolonging the ongoing conflict unless attacked. Should you agree, we will come to your aid if you are attacked, and would expect you to return the favor.
 
Attention: The deadline for Turn 1 orders is Friday, February 25, at 1600 EST, 2100 GMT.

Is Tver the best nation left? It was one of a handful recommended and asked to be filled and the only one that remains unpicked. I will take it unless someone can think of something better, that way I'll be helping out. Optimally I would like something a bit quiet, but with an oppertunity to engage in raiding or hiring out mercenaries if I need extra income or excitement.

Yeah, Tver's probably the best left, with the possible exception of Zabid, but I don't know that it's likely to be all that quiet. Though really, I don't know that many places in the NES are likely to be quiet. Oman, maybe, or Jaffna.

Factions for Sweden, Poland, Delhi, Volynia

Merchantry: Are being pretty thoroughly squeezed by Danish control and League commercial dominance in the Baltic. Feel ignored by the government, don't like magnate dominance of political affairs, and wish the state would take some action to try and break the aforementioned Danish and League stranglehold.
Högre frälse: 'Higher nobility'; the great territorial magnates. Exempt from nearly all taxation, hold vast hereditary fiefs, and form the king's Privy Council. Provide most of the best troops to the state. Don't like anything that would threaten their position, don't like lower nobility being raised to higher status. Paranoid about Danish influence in the state, in favor of allying with anyone and everyone to bring down the Danes.
Lägre frälse: 'Lower nobility'; the lesser nobles. Don't hold hereditary fiefs, tend to be fairly poor. Handle a lot of the administration of the provinces. Wish the higher nobility would pull its own weight. There are a couple of particularly powerful members currently angling for elevation.
Monastic church: The monastic organization. Heavily taxed, and unhappy about it. Dislikes the influence of the magnates over the king and the Church. Significant pro-Danish sentiment in some areas of the lower ranks.
Västergötland: The provincial thing of West Gotland. Has some relatively minor privileges over the other provinces, and is jealous of those privileges. More Danish-influenced than the rest of the country, but, persistent royal fears to the contrary notwithstanding, is generally loyal to the Swedish crown.

Army of Bohemia: The officers of the Polish permanent force in Bohemia, headquartered in Prague. Mostly drawn from the native Bohemian nobility. Reliably pro-crown and anti-noble; often frustrated by lack of funds due to the latter's intransigence. In favor of the reconquest of Bohemia.
Szlachta: The noble class, and the irregularly called Sejm in which they meet. Not nearly as broad or as privileged as the OTL Polish nobility, but moving in that direction lately. Provide most of the best of the crown's levies. Tend to resist taxation efforts on principle. Generally opposed to foreign adventures. Don't want to give up what's left of Bohemia, but don't trust the crown enough to give it the money for a major offensive.
Mozny: The magnates; the richest, and most powerful of the nobility. Concentrated in the east. Oppose giving more resources to the Army of Bohemia; would rather concentrate on Volynia, or on having another crack at Pomerania.
Burghers: The urbanites. Have something of a rivalry with the szlachta for influence over the crown. More pro-crown than the szlachta. Some are being somewhat squeezed by Danish control of the routes to the Baltic, and support the state doing something to fix it.
Royal court: The king's retainers and the royal demesne. Tend to support most royal initiatives and oppose magnate influence over royal affairs.

Moguls: The descendants of the Mongol conquerors, most numerous around Delhi and a couple of other former garrison towns. Provide the best cavalry to the army. Thoroughly Buddhist, and in favor of anything that supports the Yenogretic movement. Don't like having to let Hindus and Muslims have a role, but understand the necessity.
Mansabdars: Rank-holders; the officials of the bureaucracy, both civilian and military. Usually Buddhist, often from Turkish or Persian families. Often supported by jagir-type temporary grants of revenue. Tend not to like overreliance on zamindars.
Zamindars: Feudal chieftains ruling over large hereditary fiefdoms; more numerous and powerful in the southern territories. Responsible for local administration and tax collection. Most are still Hindu or Muslim. Provide the most numerous but lowest quality component of the army.
Gujarati merchantry: The merchants of Gujarat. Formerly mostly Muslim, but large numbers have converted to Buddhism in the last couple of decades. Have taken a leading role in the general revival of the Indian Ocean trade routes in the last few decades. Mostly left alone by the state, and like it that way. Don't like Pandyans trying to control the Malabar trade.
Rajputs: The entrenched Hindu martial elite, most numerous in Gujarat and Rajputana. Reconciled to Buddhist rule by a combination of military coercion, and khanate confirmation of their privileges and reinforcement of their local administrative role. Don't like the aforementioned privileges being touched, aren't hugely keen on war with Bengal.

Tatars: The Tatar confederacy around the lower Dniester. Provides a lot of light cavalry to the prince's armies. Like being left to manage their own internal affairs, and any wars where they get to pillage things worth pillaging. Currently raiding and being raided by tribes in the Crimea.
Valakhii: The small Vlach polities in the south. Don't like the prince messing with their internal affairs. Tend to be anti-Roman.
Radhanites: The Jewish population, most numerous around Vladimir and on the upper reaches of the Dniester. Descended from Jewish traders settled in Volynia by princes in the eleventh century. Protected by the crown, and in return are traditionally strong supporters of the prince. Important in the commercial life of the principality, and provide a lot of prince's administrative staff.
Boyars: The great nobility. Aren't organized in an official council, and have less of a constitutional role than in most Russian states. Don't like Kiev's independence, tend to prefer fighting the Poles or Hungarians to the Lithuanians.
Orthodox church: The Kievan church. Supports intervention against both the Gaborites and the Lithuanians. Doesn't like the Jews being so prominent.

NorthKing said:
So we can name our ruler, obviously. But are you deciding who the heirs are? Who all the children are? If so, then will they be in the stats soon?
Yes, I am, and yes, they should be stats by tomorrow.
 
To: England
From: König Albrecht III of Lotharingia


We accept with your offer of friendship. Our second son, Konrad, is in need of a wife, and we believe your daughter would make an excellent bride for him. Will you agree with this offer of royal marriage?

From: König Albrecht III of Lotharingia
To: Amir Faisal ibn Sayf ad-Din of Saragossa


So let it be written; so let it be done. We accept your offer and confirm this defensive alliance.
 
I appreciate all the advice and discussion.
I will listen to Perfectionist and go with Tver.
 
Oh, I forgot to mention Yaroslav, they're almost as close to you as Moscow, much moreso than Polotsk.
Anyway, looking at the Russia's again they don't seem as strong as I remember from my first reading, but they're more decentralized and populous so can draw on greater reserves financially and in particular militarily, especially militias.
 
From: Aimeric II, Prince of Sicily, Sovereign Custodian of the Catholic Church
To: Our Dearest Egyptian Cousin


We greet you with unending affection. We believe it meet to reaffirm our longstanding amity, and our impassioned, eternal commitment to the protection of our brotherhood of faith.

We are troubled, however, by the lack of coordination between our respective churches. Naturally we agree that the Papal authority is in abeyance for as long as the temporal power in Rome corrupts that noble edifice, but nonetheless, the immemorial hierarchy of our Catholic Church must be respected. An assurance from your Council of State that the religious decrees and the hierarchical position of the Archbishop of Palermo are premier to those of the Egyptian church, and that the Archbishop of Alexandria, as first among equals within the Egyptian church, is subordinate to the Archbishop of Palermo, will ease our conscience.

The costs of compliance with the dictates of a lawful hierarch are naturally in excess of those levied upon the unbound heretic, and in recognition of this duty we are more than willing to grant an appropriate allowance to the relevant bureaux for the purpose of ensuring ecclesiastical unity.
From: Lucrezia III, Queen of Egypt, Duchess of Cyprus, Lady Protectress of the Holy Church in Egypt, Countess of Candia, etc., etc.
To: Our Dear Sicilian Cousin


Your unending affection is joyfully received, and returned a hundredfold. Would that such greetings were sent more frequently; otherwise one might think We were growing apart. It would certainly not do for Our relations with Our beloved cousin to be reduced to merchants' matters and crass financial exchanges.

While the matter of ecclesiastical coordination between the Egyptian and Sicilian congregations does sometimes trouble Us, We cannot say that it has been a matter of undue concern requiring immediate rectification. Nevertheless, loyal followers of the Cross, unbending before the Roman tyrant, must show one another the due respect and courtesy fellow Catholics deserve. We and Our Council of State would personally not betoken such a declaration of submission. But perhaps it is best for the men of God themselves to decide. Ought not the Primate of the Church in Egypt and the Primate of the Church in Sicily, and the due representatives of the congregations of Our two realms, meet in holy council to determine such matters?
 
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