StGLNES I "In Story and Song" II

Gelion

Retired Captain
Joined
Jul 25, 2004
Messages
12,958
Location
Earth Dome
This is a continuation of a a tragically frozen NES by Cuivienen which was in its turn a re-incarnation of one of North Kings NESes. All the credit goes to them.

The Original NES can be found here: here.

The updates will happen once a week on the weekend with orders due every Friday. I will follow the fashion and allow a maximum of 2 PMs of orders. I do accept orders by email (for those who know it, those who dont - please ask me as I will not post it openly). Please label both clearly.

Rules:

Economy

Economy is all based around the single stat: Income. Income doesn’t really represent income, that’s just a nifty term to make you ignore the inconsistencies.

Income really represents the total income, production, and trade of your nation. It represents both money and stuff you produce, then, and overall, what you can put toward projects. So, basically, it’s a single number.

Increasing your income is as hard as anything else. You either really have to up production (which sacrifices a level of Manpower AND Infrastructure–more on that later), raise taxes (which decreases Confidence and can only be done so far...), up trade (you’ll have to find more trading partners for that, and it will put great strain on and decrease the level of your Infrastructure), or by finding something creative.

Manpower

The levels represent the spare Manpower you have to invest in anything: the industries (hence why upping production to get more income will cause you great distress), the military, etc.

To increase your spare manpower, you either have to conquer new lands, have some great population spurt, or accept a new group into the citizenry. The thing is, for every level of Manpower you gain, the Infrastructure is strained (-1 level per each level of manpower), the Education is lowered on average (-1 level, unless the new population is somehow more educated than you; it could happen), and Confidence may suffer if your agriculture can’t support the new mouths to feed.

On the other hand, sacrificing a level of it can help a lot of things along. Recruiting military will automatically lower your Manpower if you recruit a bit too much. You can also sacrifice a level to help your income (though that will also lower Infrastructure). And you can sacrifice a level of this for a point or two on your projects (which is very important).

Oh, and the lower it goes, the people might grow more unhappy (war weariness), or simply go on strike if it’s all being used in industry.

Levels:
Bled White, Exhausted, Depleted, Little, Average, More, Plentiful, Huge, Hordes

Military

This is numbered. You’ll get a unit for each income point you spend, or maybe a few. Depends on the age. But it any case, you won’t be able to build too much without the manpower level starting to go down.

Education

This is, obviously, how educated your folks are. This actually only shows how educated your stable manpower pool is; you won’t get to see how educated your minorities are. This falls if you increase Manpower, or if you lose important trading contacts, etc. It’s pretty much the education stat you always knew, though.

Levels:
Horrible, Pathetic, Bad, Poor, Average, Decent, Good, Excellent, Fantastic

Infrastructure

The quality of your nation’s roads, farms, and stuff like that. Logistics. Will decrease if you have a heavy increase in usage (like many new traders, or Manpower increase), or if it is destroyed, either by you for some masochistic reason or due to an invasion.

Levels:
Horrible, Pathetic, Bad, Poor, Average, Decent, Good, Excellent, Fantastic

Confidence

This is how much them folks like your rule. Pretty self explanatory: if they like what you’re doing, it will be good, if not, then bad. However, you cannot increase this via Income points. Stories can help.

Levels:
Horrible, Pathetic, Bad, Poor, Average, Decent, Good, Excellent, Fantastic

Culture

This is your nation’s cultural influence on other nations, and it affects how quickly your religion will spread and how much people will accept your rule. Stories help, Income points do not.

Levels:
Horrible, Pathetic, Bad, Poor, Average, Decent, Good, Excellent, Fantastic

Projects

The main things you’ll want to do with these is increase Culture, Confidence, or just plain build something. They won’t have some magical spawning generator that gets you dozens more men, or something like that. They won’t have a tangible effect, but will instead display your culture and thus make it seem more impressive, or make people more faithful to you.

Or this could be used as a long term project to improve your nation’s standard of living, or a new, deadly military technology (generally only in the late game).

Projects do not cost a fixed number of economy points but will be more effective if more economies are invested into them. This, however, is largely the discretion of the moderator.

Major Cities

Centers of Economic Activity are represented by red dots and give an income bonus, one point per turn to the owner of the center; they must be owned officially and controlled by the nation in question–occupied centers give no bonus to the occupied or the occupier. Economic centers are usually lost when conquered, though they always have a chance of recovering.

Centers of the Arts are represented by blue dots and give a cultural bonus, either a level per turn of culture or education, or certain other bonuses, randomly decided, to the owner of the center; they must be owned officially and controlled by the nation in question–occupied centers give no bonus to the occupied or the occupier. Cultural centers are always lost when conquered and will never recover under a conqueror unless that conqueror is or becomes very similar in culture to the original nation.

Nation Template:

Nation: [Full Nation Name]
Ruler/Player: [Ruler/Username]
Age: Early Bronze Age
Religion: [Animism is default]
Government: [Despotism is default]
Income: 1
Manpower: Average
Army: 20 hundreds
Navy: 10 ships [if your nation is landlocked, exchange these for 10 hundred men]
Education: Horrible
Infrastructure: Horrible
Confidence: Horrible
Culture: Horrible
Projects:


Some more stuff...

Order sets, as mentioned at the beginning, are a maximum of 2 PM’s long. No more. If you forget something like a map, an extra PM is permitted. If you forget a bunch of internal things, then resend the whole set.

Get your order sets in on time. Otherwise, you’re screwed. I know that it might be not nice, but I’m writing the update when I write it; I’m not waiting for you. You can still send in orders while I’m writing the update, but they will be counted as late, and as they are late, your military will start mobilizing later in the turn, your economic orders will be slow to come into place, etc.

I did not create a pretty red, green and grey map showing the civilized zones. This is because I expect that you all know what the civilized zones are and will choose starting locations accordingly. Basically, I won’t allow you to start outside of a relatively logical region. No starting in Scandinavia, Australia, the Americas, etc.

Steppe tribes are discouraged. They will be hard to play until such a time as steppe nations became a true influence in the world (c. 300 CE). This is also generally true of nations in regions that were largely insignificant early in history such as southern India, northern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. These regions will become more playable as they became more significant historically. By then, of course, they will be covered by NPCs.

Oh, and don’t post before I tell you that you can.
 
Player Nations

These are ones you can’t play unless you are listed as their player, because they are already under player control. To get one, make a new nation, and I will add it as soon as I can, or pick one of the Non-Player Nations listed below.

Alba
Ruler/Player ?/Hellfury
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Celtic Polytheism
Government: Tribal Alliance
Income: 2
Manpower: Average
Army: 15,000 Spearmen, 7,000 Archers, 5,000 Swordsmen
Navy: 5 Galleys
Education: Pathetic
Infrastructure: Pathetic
Confidence: Pathetic
Culture: Horrible
Projects:

Aragon
Ruler/Player: no clear ruler/emu
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Polytheism
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Income: 2
Manpower: Little
Army: 43,000 Spearmen, 35,000 Archers, 10,000 Swordsmen
Navy:
Education: Horrible
Infrastructure: Horrible
Confidence: Poor
Culture: Pathetic
Projects:

Babylon
Ruler/Player: King Hammurabi/Jason the King
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Mesopotamian Polytheism
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Income: 3
Manpower: Average
Army: 44,000 Spearmen, 31,000 Archers, 9,000 Swordsmen
Navy:
Education: Pathetic
Infrastructure: Poor
Confidence: Bad
Culture: Bad
Projects: Hanging Gardens (6/7)

Carthage
Ruler/Player: Commander Hamilcar/Global Nexus
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Ba'alism
Government: Hereditary Monarchy
Income: 3
Manpower: Average
Army: 25,000 Spearmen, 20,000 Archers, 5,000 Swordsmen
Navy: 20 Galleys
Education: Pathetic
Infrastructure: Poor
Confidence: Pathetic
Culture: Horrible
Projects:

Eire
Ruler/Player: High King Cimbaoth/Israelite9191
Age: Middle Bronze Age
Religion: Druidic Polytheism
Government: High Monarchy
Income: 3
Manpower: More
Army: 25,000 Spearmen, 20,000 Archers
Navy: 10 Galleys
Education: Average
Infrastructure: Horrible
Confidence: Bad
Culture: Average
Projects: Port of Dun Aillen (+Infra and Economy) 0/5

Germania
Ruler/Player: von Dunkelheit/stalin006
Age: Early Bronze Age
Religion: Norse Mythology
Government: Despotism
Income: 2
Manpower: Average
Army: 35,000 Spearmen, 25,000 Archers
Navy: kidding? ;)
Education: Pathetic
Infrastructure: Average
Confidence: Poor
Culture: Horrible
Projects: The Niebelungenlied (3/6)

Japan
Ruler/Player:Oda Nobunaga/Dreadnought
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Shintoism
Government: Shogunate
Income: 2
Manpower: Average
Army: 33,000 Spearmen, 25,000 Archers, 8,000 Swordsmen
Navy: 30 Galleys
Education: Horrible
Infrastructure: Pathtic
Confidence: Horrible
Culture: Pathetic
Projects: Highways 0/3

Mitanni
Ruler/Player: ?/Thlayli
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Animism?
Government: Monarchy?
Income: 2
Manpower: Little
Army: 25,000 Spearmen, 20,000 Archers, 5,000 Swordsmen
Navy:
Education: Pathetic
Infrastructure: Horrible
Confidence: Poor
Culture: Pathetic
Projects:

Orleans
Ruler/Player: King Capet I/Azale
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Animism
Government: Despotism
Income: 3
Manpower: Average
Army: 33,000 Spearmen, 27,000 Archers, 6,000 Swordsmen
Navy: 25 Galleys
Education: Poor
Infrastructure: Poor
Confidence: Pathetic
Culture: Bad
Projects:

Pandyas
Ruler/Player: ?/North King
Age: Middle Bronze Age
Religion: Animistic Proto-Hinduism
Government: Confederacy bounded under a single ruler
Income: 2
Manpower: Average
Army: 20,000 Spearmen, 20,000 Archers, 5,000 Swordsmen
Navy: 30 Galleys
Education: Pathetic
Infrastructure: Bad
Confidence: Poor
Culture: Bad
Projects:

Persia
Ruler/Player: Achaemenid Dynasty/Granmaster
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Animism
Government: Despotic Monarchy
Income: 2
Manpower: Average
Army: 23,000 Spearmen, 36,000 Archers, 11,000 Horsemen
Navy: 10 Galleys
Education: Pathetic
Infrastructure: Poor
Confidence: Poor
Culture: Bad
Projects:

Portugal
Ruler/Player: ?/erez87
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Animism
Government: Despotism
Income: 2
Manpower: Average
Army: 33,000 Spearmen, 21,000 Archers, 7,000 Swordsmen
Navy: 33 Galleys
Education: Bad
Infrastructure: Horrible
Confidence: Pathetic
Culture: Pathetic
Projects:

Rome
Ruler/Player: Emperor Romulus/andis-1
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Roman Polytheism
Government: Monarchy
Income: 2
Manpower: Little
Army: 47,000 Spearmen, 21,000 Archers, 19,000 Swordsmen
Navy: 12 Galleys
Education: Horrible
Infrastructure: Poor
Confidence: Poor
Culture: Pathetic
Projects: Italian Allies 0/3

Scythia
Ruler/Player: King Azez/Stormbringer
Age: Middle Bronze Age
Religion: Animalism
Government: Tribal Community
Income: 2
Manpower: Little
Army: 10,000 Archers, 12,000 Horsemen, 20,000 Mounted Archers
Navy:
Education: Horrible
Infrastructure: Horrible
Confidence: Average
Culture: Bad
Projects:

Sicily
Ruler/Player: Nequam Caesar/Azash
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Deitification of the Emperor
Government: Despotic Republic
Income: 3
Manpower: Average
Army: 20,000 Spearmen, 30,000 Archers, 5,000 Swordsmen
Navy: 65 ships
Education: Pathetic
Infrastructure: Pathetic
Confidence: Bad
Culture: Pathetic
Projects:

Tartessos
Ruler/Player: King Arganthonios/The Farow
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Animism
Government: Despotism
Income: 3
Manpower: Average
Army: 28,000 Spearmen, 23,000 Archers, 6,000 Swordsmen
Navy: 40 Galleys
Education: Bad
Infrastructure: Bad
Confidence: Pathetic
Culture: Bad
Projects:

Thrace
Ruler/Player: King Alexander/Kal'thzar
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Greek Polytheism
Government: Despotism
Income: 2
Manpower: Little
Army: 35,000 Spearmen, 18,000 Archers, 6,000 Swordsmen, 3,000 Horsemen
Navy: 10 Galleys
Education: Horrible
Infrastructure: Pathetic
Confidence: Poor
Culture: Pathetic
Projects:

Trebizond
Ruler/Player: Alexius I/ThomAnder
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Greek Polytheism
Government: Monarchy
Income: 2
Manpower: Average
Army: 20,000 Spearmen, 20,000 Archers, 5,000 Swordsmen
Navy: 10 Galleys
Education: Pathetic
Infrastructure: Bad
Confidence: Bad
Culture: Poor
Projects: Celestial Temple (4/5)

Turkia
Ruler/Player: King Odaturk/Swiss bezerker
Age: Early Bronze Age
Religion: Animism
Government: Despotism
Income: 2
Manpower: Average
Army: 25,000 Spearmen, 45,000 Archers
Navy:
Education: Horrible
Infrastructure: Horrible
Confidence: Bad
Culture: Horrible
Projects: Palace of Jahor Nazid (+Culture) 0/3

Wu
Ruler/Player: Lord Wu/TerrisH
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Ancestor Worship
Government: Dictatorship
Income: 2
Manpower: Average
Army: 25,000 Spearmen, 25,000 Archers, 15,000 Swordsmen
Navy: 10 Galleys
Education: Bad
Infrastructure: Poor
Confidence: Pathetic
Culture: Bad
Projects:

******************
 
Non-Player Nations

These are nations that you can play. Just tell me which one you want, by posting or by private messaging me if you want to keep it secret. Try to stay in character with the nation’s background.
Anyang
Ruler/Player: no clear King/
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Seekers of the Way
Government: Benevolent Dictatorship
Income: 2
Manpower: Average
Army: 27,000 Spearmen, 25,000 Archers, 8,000 Swordsmen, 1,500 Horsemen
Navy: 15 Galleys
Education: Pathetic
Infrastructure: Poor
Confidence: Poor
Culture: Bad
Projects:

Athens
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Greek Polytheism
Government: Republic
Income: 2
Manpower: Little
Army: 20,000 Spearmen, 10,000 Archers, 5,000 Swordsmen
Navy: 20 Galleys
Education: Poor
Infrastructure: Poor
Confidence: Pathetic
Culture: Poor
Projects:

Armenia
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Animism
Government: Kingdom
Income: 2
Manpower: Little
Army: 22,000 Spearmen, 15,000 Archers
Navy: 5 Galleys
Education: Horrible
Infrastructure: Pathetic
Confidence: Poor
Culture: Horrible
Projects:

Assyria
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Mesopotamian Polytheism
Government: Kingdom
Income: 2
Manpower: More
Army: 40,000 Spearmen, 15,000 Archers, 10,000 swordsmen
Navy:
Education: Horrible
Infrastructure: Pathetic
Confidence: Average
Culture: Horrible
Projects:

Bactria
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Animism
Government: Anarchy and Occupation
Income: 1
Manpower: More
Army: 9,000 Spearmen
Education: Horrible
Infrastructure: Horrible
Confidence: Horrible
Culture: Horrible
Projects:

Baekje
Age: Late Bronze Age
Religion: Ancestor Worship
Government: Kingdom
Income: 2
Manpower: Average
Army: 20,000 Spearmen, 15,000 Archers, 5,000 Swordsmen
Navy: 15 Galleys
Education: Pathetic
Infrastructure: Horrible
Confidence: Horrible
Culture: Bad
Projects:

Banas
Age:
Religion: Indian Polytheism
Government: Kingdom
Income: 2
Manpower: Average
Army: 28,000 Swordsmen, 14,000 Archers, 8,000 swordsmen
Navy: 15 Galleys
Education: Pathetic
Infrastructure: Horrible
Confidence: Pathetic
Culture: Bad
Projects:

Basque
Brittany
Castile
Catalunya
Corsica

Dacia
Etruria
Ghaznids
Cholas

Gorgoyeo

Gwynedd
Halicarnassus

Helvetii
Hittites

Ilium
Indya

Israel
Kush
Khwarizmia
Lydia
Macedon
Medes
Minoa
Mittani
Panchala
Petra
Phoenicia
Punjab
Sabae
Silla
Sind
Thebes
Sumeria
Thebes
Tingatel
Turkia
Vidabha
Zhou

Rest will be added later. If you need some stats of a particular nation I will PM them on request.
 
Additional NPCs will fit this spot. I swear.
 
Terra still Incognita
StoryandSong3.png
 
1. Update I - Feb 21 (Map)
2. Update II - Feb 24 ( Map )
3. Update III - scheduled for 21st March
4. Update IV - scheduled for March 25/26
 
Largest City: Babylon
Most Populous Nation: Wu
Most Advanced Nation: Sicily
Largest Army: Rome
 
Reserved #1
 
Reserved #2
 
Could you PLEASE put my leader in my stats? Its in the stats at the bottom of the orders I sent you. I asked Cuivenen like a million times to do that. Also, THANK YOU for reviving this.
 
stCVNNES: In Story and Song, Update Zero: In the Beginning…

…the Earth was without form and void. But let’s skip to the beginning of human history.

We begin in the far west and south where a small group of humans has settled the southernmost regions of Iberia. They call their land Tartessos, and though they have fought small skirmishes with the surrounding Iberian peoples are generally well-liked due to their penchant for trade. Their Lusitanian neighbors might not be inclined to agree…

To the north and east across the Pyrenees lies the fertile realm of Orleans, named for its capital city. Though the land itself is fertile, Orleans is on the edge of civilization, and, when compared to nations around the Mediterranean is somewhat backward. Nonetheless, it has great potential for the future, particularly if it harnesses the latent potential of its land. Unfortunately, Catalunya and Massilia to the south prevent Orleans from easily acquiring a Mediterranean coastline…

Even more remote than Orleans is the tiny nation of Germania. In a cold and bitter environment surrounded by barbarian tribes the Germanians can only hope for a brighter future. However, they are not inclined to lives of leisure and may prove formidable opponents in war to the softer nations to their south. Now, though, legend of their existence barely even reaches Etruria…

Nearly directly south of Germania, across the Alps and Mediterranean lies the subtropical port of Carthage. Once a far-flung Phoenician possession, Carthage long ago became independent and now vies with Syracusae for control of the central Mediterranean. Though Carthage is ideally situated to become a great power, it currently faces many great threats; the Numidians to their south are fierce…

Across the sea from Carthage the River Tiber and its jewel, Rome. Some among the Romans say that they have seen a future where Rome rules the known world. Others call them insane. Nonetheless, it is certainly true that Rome currently faces no significant threats, though its expansion southward is rapidly being encroached upon by Syracusae and northward by Etruria…

At the northern end of the Aegean Sea lies the nation of Thrace. Somewhat set apart from the multitude of Hellenic city-states to the south, Thrace has a rougher edge that often has it sparring with nearby Macedon. This has made the Thracian mighty warriors, if somewhat lacking in culture. If only their culture rivaled that of Ilium across the straits…

Hustled around the Nile Delta lies the nation of Egypt. Proudly proclaiming itself the one true Egypt despite a challenge from upriver, Egypt has the greatest agricultural potential of any nation, but it is perhaps limited in potential by a rigid political system and overdependence on the Nile River. Of course, these things also characterize their Upper Egyptian rivals…

Far to the north can be found the “civilized nomads” of Scythia. Influenced by Greek culture, the Scythians have settled down somewhat, though they retain their marauding armies and distrust of the sea. While one day they may pose a threat to the Greek world, currently the Scythians are held in place by the Cimmerian barbarian tribes and by quarrels between leaders. Despite their disunity, they have become feared in such nations as Dacia…

On the opposite shores of the Black Sea lies the city of Trebizond. Once a colony of Athens, Trebizond has been independent since Athens lost its status as the strongest of the Greek city-states. While culturally more significant than surrounding peoples, many of the local tribes are hostile to the Greeks who stole their land. These sentiments are only stoked by the Hittites, who would use them for their own advantage…

In the aptly-named Fertile Crescent lies the mighty city of Babylon. Once only an offshoot of Sumerian culture, Mighty Babylon’s armies now threaten to overwhelm the quiet city-states to its south. Of course, this assumes that the Persians do not overrun it first…

Now far to the east lies the realm of Turkia. Much like Germania, it exists in lonely isolation, surrounded by hostile tribes in a resource-poor environment. This has made the Turkians tough, but left them bereft of much technology and virtually any culture. Their own hope for glory may be to conquer, but there are many barbarians between them and any nation at all, even Sind…

Just south of Sind lies the Punjabi nation. One of many Dravidian groups to settled down and build cities, Punjab is somewhat defended from the impending Aryan onslaught by its fellow Indus Valley nations. In the fertile flood plains Punjab has grown to become one of the most populous and organized nations, but it is yet to be seen if it can stem the tide that may soon engulf Harappa…

At the other end of what is now known as India lies tiny Pandyas. Known both as mariners and warriors, the Pandyans are also Dravidian, though much further south than the Punjabi. They are on equal footing with their surrounding rivals, however, and so will need to work hard to establish themselves on the world scene. After all, Cholas would not mind at all adding Pandyas to its mighty empire…

Though most Chinese civilization lies along the Huang he, the nation of Wu has appeared on the fringe of Chinese civilization. Known more as mariners than as philosophers, the Wu are unique among the various Chinese peoples, and that uniqueness may allow them to challenge the status quo. After all, China has long been divided between Shang and Yi—maybe Wu can break that barrier…

Finally, on the islands of Japan one Shogunate has risen to power over many others. Though much of the islands does not yet fall under his control, Oda Nobunaga has taken great steps to unifying Japan, a concept never before attempted. After all, if Japan is ever to compete with the mainland it will need to be unified. Japan is resource-poor, and the Ainu constantly threaten…


stCVNNES: In Story and Song
Update 1: The Early Years


We begin with the nation of Rome. The Romans are known to dream of empire, and their recent developments show it. Stretching their manpower thin, the Romans have built a mighty army, far stronger than those of the surrounding nations. Although the Romans claim that this army is solely for the purposes of defense, the ruthless conquests of the tribes of Campagnia and Tuscany suggests otherwise. And, when three Etruscans brothers claimed the throne of that nation, Rome intervened and conquered the citadel of Genoa, cutting off Etruria from the Tyrrhenian Sea. Currently, the Romans hold all of Italy in thrall save the Po River valley, in Etrurian hands, and Calabria, owned by Sicily. Rome is well on her way to empire.

Sicily, on the other hand, Rome’s primary rival, has focused instead on its navy. As strong in naval power as Rome is on land, Sicily dominates the central Mediterranean with complete control of the island of Sardinia and the Calabrian peninsula. Unfortunately for them, they have to contend with the naval powers of Carthage and Minoa as well, but currently Sicily is the strongest of the central Mediterranean naval nations. However, they are often plagued by pirates from Malta and the Libyan coast, and, some say, pirates hired by Catalunya to harass their ships in the west, though Catalunya formally denies any involvement.

Meanwhile, to the west, Tartessos has been very busy consolidating its control over the Straits of Gibraltar. Though not particularly mighty in any military sense, the Tartessians do seem to have merchant instincts. Although the Mauretanians initially fiercely resisted their attempts to colonize the southern coast of the Straits, the Tartessians bought them off with furs purchased by their merchants in Orleans, and control of both sides of the Straits has allowed Tartessos to monopolize trade between Atlantic and Mediterranean nations, bolstering their economy. Whether the various other naval powerhouses will allow this to stand forever is unclear, however.

One of those naval powerhouses that may threaten Tartessian dominance is Portugal. Foiled in all of their attempts to settle in Africa due to the hostility of the Mauretanians (and not having the instinct of the Tartessians to buy them off), the Portuguese have also been locked out of the Mediterranean by strict Tartessian regulation of Gibraltar. Portugal has, however, met with greater success in Aquitaine, where most of the region now lies under Portuguese rule. Separating these two parts of Portugal are the fiercely independent Basque who have refused to submit to either Aragon or Portugal. Thus, the Portuguese are often in battle along their borders and have been further slowed in their dreams of conquest and empire.

In central Iberia, the Aragonese, having no coastline, have pursued a very different strategy: they have recruited a mighty army capable of crushing that of any of the other myriad Iberian nations. And, unfortunately for Catalunya, this army has been unleashed on them. While the Catalunyan army was away. Fortunately for the Catalunyans, they have allies, and so while the Aragonese have captured all of Valenciana, the Catalunyans have held the line just south of their own capital. It remains to be seen whether the Catalunyans and their Orleansian allies can defeat the mighty armies of Aragon, but the Aragonese certainly hope not, particularly after their raids against the Castilians and Basques made them highly unpopular in the rest of Iberia as well.

Speaking of Orleans, they, too, have been doing some conquering. Massilia is no more. After allying with the Catalunyans, the two nations plotted to conquer Massilia, and, though Catalunya has had poor fortunes at home, they did succeed in overrunning Massilia by sea while Orleans overran it by land. Through this conquest, and by expanding to the Atlantic coastline, Orleans has also become the only nation to control an entire trade route between the Atlantic and Mediterranean aside from Tartessos though the Orleansian route requires a great deal of overland travel. However, the Orleansians have been bogged down recently in aiding their Catalunyan allies against the Aragonese. In addition, a few Massilians have escaped to Corsica where they established the Kingdom of the Isle, a rogue pirate nation sure to trouble Orleans in the future.

North of Orleans and of all other nations lies tiny Eire. A recently-established nation, Eire has had relatively little time to develop. Unlike the other, more fiercely militaristic and economically-centered nations to the south, however, Eire has made itself a cultural center, particularly impressive for an isolated land. While they have met some few disunited realms on Luthany, Eire is largely alone, though they do trade with Brittany and with Tartessian and Portuguese merchants that reach their shores.

Another upstart nation is Germania. Still separated from the rest of the civilized world by barbarian hordes, Germania has, rather than building up a military or their culture, begun educating their populace and establishing lasting farmsteads. This has attracted the eyes of barbarians, many of whom have raided Germania over the years, but by and large Germania has become a safe, secure and fertile realm in an inhospitable place. Rumors of a great tome being written are as yet unconfirmed.

Now the tales of the last 2000 years move eastward to the realm of Thrace. The northernmost of the Greek realms, Thrace has historically had a great rivalry with the nation of Macedon to the west. Over the course of 2000 years, one might think that the two nations could work out their differences, but this was not the case. Instead, Thrace and Macedon have been fighting wars off and on for the entire period. The Thracians have gained only a small amount of ground over the centuries, but pirates they have hired have recently weakened the Macedonians who may finally be ready to collapse. In the north, the Thracians have met the isolated Dacians, with whom they have traded extensively. Though their rivals the Trojans (Iliumites) control the far bank of the Bosporus, the Thracians have also managed to make their town of Byzantium into a mighty trading port.

North of Thrace, and of Dacia, lies Scythia, a land of fierce warriors and conquered serfs. The population of Scythia is very low and spread wide across the plains, but the Scythians are fierce, horse-mounted warriors feared by the Dacians and hated by those they have conquered. Fortunately for Scythia, the population of the lands conquered is even lower than that of Scythia proper. Nonetheless, while Scythia has a mighty and proud army, it is also stretched thin, and the need to conquer to prevent economic collapse is ever-present.

South of Scythia across the Euxine Sea (that’s the Black Sea to you modern-folk) lies the realm of Trebizond. A former colony of a Greek city-state, Trebizond today is unique for its location, a strong and centralized nation. Extending along most of the southern shore of the Sea, Trebizond is a nation of merchants, connecting the Greek world directly to Mesopotamia without any Phoenician toll-takers. Relatively friendly and benign, the people of Trebizond (OOC: Anyone know the noun for someone from Trebizond?) are more inclined to business and religion than war, and are currently in the process of constructing a vast “Celestial Temple” to their primary deity, Zeus. The people of Trebizond are also known for being longwinded, but that isn’t so important (though it may impede their success as merchants).

While the people of Trebizond have been enjoying their status as one of the few nations connecting the east and west, the Babylonians have been exploiting it. Heavy taxes imposed on all goods travelling through Mesopotamia have made Babylon rich. Furthermore, their puppet in Sumeria, the descendant of one installed after the Babylonians “assisted” Sumeria in dealing with pressure from Persia has provided the Babylonians with access to the Persian Gulf and thus goods from the east. While Babylon is now surrounded by Medes, Sumeria, Assyria and the Arabian desert, it is largely self-sufficient and has no pressing need to expand. The construction of a massive “hanging garden” in the capital city is almost complete and has made the city a center of culture in Mesopotamia.

East of Babylon, the Persians have also built a mighty empire, this one more of spears and arrows than of stones. Less civilized than their similar Medean neighbors to the north, the Persians have ever been a threat to Babylon and their Sumerian puppets but despite constant warnings from Babylon have never actually attacked. Rather, they have built up a large army of horsemen and archers, though whom they hope to unleash that army against is still unclear. The barbarians to the east have retreated somewhat out of fear that they may be the targets.

Elsewhere, the Aryan invasion has come and gone. Punjab alone of the Indus valley states survived as the same political entity; Sind still exists under Aryan rulers and Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were destroyed utterly. In their places lie other Aryan-ruled kingdoms of Dravidians, or the southeast of Punjab, a Dravidian-ruled kingdom of equally Aryans and Dravidians formed by a lesser branch of the Punjabi royal house. Overall Punjab has become a relatively powerful nation, though, as Dravidian, it is little liked by its Aryan neighbors. Its agriculture is famous, however, and, though Hinduism is a decentralized religion, Punjab has become a major cultural powerhouse around the religion.

Turkia was very boring, but they do have something of an army. Unfortunately, much of it is always embattled with barbarians.

Pandyas has greatly expanded its sphere of influence, and, when the nation of Sinhala disintegrated into civil war, Pandyas conquered the nation and the entire island of Sri Lanka. As yet unaffected by the Aryan migration, Pandyas and its surrounding nations, Cholas and Chalukyas, have each grown large. Unfortunately for Pandyas, this leaves little room for them, crowded on the southern end of India, but perhaps they can exploit the natural rivalry between Cholas and Chalukyas for their benefit.

In China, both Wu and Anyang have grown strong and expanded at the expense of their less-civilized neighbors. Weakness in the Shang court allowed Anyang (formerly known as Yi) to expand without Shang intervention, and the subsequent fallout in Shang led to the collapse of the Shang dynasty to the more rugged Zhou dynasty. The Zhou are warlike, and a threat both to Anyang and to Wu but right now are not so strong as either. China remains isolated from the rest of the world; Wu ships and Pandyan ships just missed each other at the Straits of Malacca.

Finally, Japan has somewhat succeeded in its bid to unite the Japanese islands. Although northern Honshu and all of Hokkaido remain far outside of the control of the Shogunate, the entirety of Kyushu and Shikoku as well southern Honshu lies in their hands. Civilization has flourished in these southern lands, and Japan has opened some trade links with nearby Wu and Anyang and the Korean nations of Baekje, Silla and Gorgoryeo.

Spoiler map :

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woot....although I dont know what to do now except wait for the update.
 
The update will be done this weekend. Israelite and The Farow got +3 impatience points. And you're welcome :) Azale is also in the list..... :p

I am still not sure how many soldiers is one economy point and what you are doing with your nations. So do help me when you can. Old players can claim their nations until update IV when those nations become NPCs.

The game is officially contnued. The sooner I recieve all the orders the sooner I may post the update. Dixi
 
No troubles.....
I will make all the changes (leaders names and so on) with the update.
 
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