Israelite9191
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YosefNES I: Oif Gelt, Oif Gelt, un Oif Gelt
Oif drei zachen stait di velt: oif Torah, oif Avodah, un oif G’milut Hassidim.
The world stands on three things: Torah, Prayer, and Acts of Righteous Benevolence.
– Rabbinic Teaching
Oif drei zachen stait di velt: oif Gelt, oif Gelt, un oif Gelt.
The world stands on three things: Money, Money, and Money.
– Yiddish Proverb
Shalom and welcome, after one year and eight months of on-and-off work, to the first installation in the YosefNES series, YosefNES I: Oif Gelt, Oif Gelt, un Oif Gelt.
The Series
Named after the extraordinary first-century Jewish historian Yosef ben Matihyahu, otherwise known as Titus Flavius Josephus, YosefNES will be my second series. The main difference between the YosefNES series and my first series, IsrNES, is the dedication of YosefNES to alternately historical and historical NESes, rather than the fresh start and related NESes I have pursued in the past. Hopefully, with the inspiration of Yosef ben Matiyahu, we will together be able to make the YosefNES series as successful as any other.
The NES
YosefNES I: Oif Gelt, Oif Gelt, un Oif Gelt is a continuation of my alternate history timeline “The Age of Elisabeth.” The premise underlying this alternate history is the unbearable power of money. Throughout the history of mankind the exchange of gold, silver, copper, and paper trinkets has proved decisive in determining the fates of empires and civilisations, of kings and peasants. In the world into which we are about to delve one queen mother, intent on achieving greatness for her beloved son, has wielded the power of gold to give birth to an empire like none that Europe had ever seen before. Pushed by the irresistible lure of Magyar florins the world was thrust into a new, unforeseen direction as the great empires of history fell and new ones rose. Now, it is your chance to take up the reins of history and see if you cannot as well wield the might of gelt.
Rules
Starting Date
1503 CE
Alternate History Timeline
The Age of Elisabeth - I-III, IV-VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV
Nations
There are two kinds of nations, Player Countries (PCs) and Non-Player Countries (NPCs) which, as the names suggest, are, respectively, those nations that have a player controlling them and those nations that do not. NPCs will be controlled by me and while I won’t control them in the same way I would a PC in someone else’s NES, I will make them challenging opponents.
Players
There is no limit on the number of players, at least for now. To join pick an NPC from the list or approach me with an idea for a new nation, independence movement, secret organisation, etc. Please do note that some nations have been reserved and are not available. Additionally, certain nations, given their power and important role in the NES, require my confirmation in order to be assumed. In general, I will try to assign these based on a first-come, first-served policy, but I may deviate from this.
Now, remember that by joining you are making a commitment. I expect a lot out of all of you, but I also understand that things happen and that certain obligations must come before NESing. As such, I am more than will work with you as situation arise. However, I also expect that you will work with me. Imagine my policies as being similar to those of that favourite teacher of yours, the one who always challenged you to do better and always expected you to fulfil your potential and obligations, but also recognised that your life was more than their class and didn’t jump down your throat if you couldn’t do one assignment.
Orders
Orders are, simply, a description of what your nation is to do for the turn. Preferably they will be sent to me via Private Message (PM); however, if absolutely necessary, I will accept orders via e-mail. They are required to include all diplomatic agreements, your stats, and calculations (i.e. 5 eco X 5 blah per eco = 25 blah). It is advisable that you maintain a balance between detail and concision.
Over time, experience has taught me that a constant, weekly schedule is simply impossible for me. Thus, I will be implementing what used to be the preferred system, changing deadlines. With each update I will give a different deadline. However, the time that orders are due will always be 4:30 PM (16:30) U.S. Central Time (GMT -6).
Now, as I said above, I understand that things happen and that life doesn’t always go according to our own plans. As such, I am more than willing to work with you. However, I will (almost always) need you to tell me about complication before the deadline. I will generally continue to accept orders after the update in any case, but send orders late at your own risk. If you do not send orders four times in a row without giving me reasons, you will be NPCed and your nation thus freed up for others to take. Furthermore, if you do not send orders, and in particular if you do not give me notification or a reason, you are basically giving me full range to manipulate your nation as I see fit for the turn. Generally, I will maintain a hands-off approach, but if I see it as particularly advantageous to the NES and the player, I may throw in some twists (a ruler dying, for instance). Don’t be scared though, I don’t bite (hard).
Interesting Times (IT) and Boring Times (BT)
I will be using North King’s, as opposed to Das’, definition of the IT/BT system. The main reason for this is that while Das’ definition is focused on military conflict, North King’s is broader. To paraphrase North King:
IT is like a normal NES, with much smaller time passing every turn, a BT will be like a traditional story NES, just much more general and vague than normal. Orders in an IT should be rather specific and direct orders on what you want your nation to be doing, including spending and military recruitment. BT orders are like general guidelines; you can say where you want your finances to go in general, or to focus on military recruiting, etc, but not specific things like “3 points into UU” or what have you.”
Updates
My updates are slightly different from what has become the norm. Rather than being designed primarily as game updates, they are stories written as historical record. As such, I will not include troop casualties, stat changes, etc. within the update, but will rather give you an narrative of what happened. For specifics you will have to look at how the stats have changed by comparing the updated ones to the previous turn’s. Updates will also likely include a spotlight (though I plan to do these quite differently than is standard), “special bonuses” à la ITNES I – An Epoch of Change (in other words, rewards for various things such as having the most fleshed-out religion, the funniest stories, the best tactics, etc. depending on my mood), and OOC (including the orders deadline for the turn). In addition, if necessary, “privileged” information will be sent via PM to the necessary parties.
Map
I will be using the standard CFC map. Cities will be shown as black circles, eco centres as black circles with red rings, cultural centres as black circles with green rings, religious centres as black circles with blue rings, capitals as black circles with white rings, colonial capitals as black circles with yellow rings, and cities that are both capitals or colonial capitals and something else as a combination of white or yellow and the respective colour. If a city is both, say, a religious and an economic centre, it will be shown as religious; economic and cultural, as cultural; cultural and religious, as religious. Fortifications will be shown as lines of black squares. Rebellious regions will be shown as light grey. Thick borders on the map are those in between two nations, thin but solid borders show the boundaries between pseudo-national entities that have varying levels of independence but do not have an independent foreign policy (if they do have an independent foreign policy but are in some way not technically independent, i.e. the OTL states of the Holy Roman Empire, they will have their own colour), and thin, broken borders show a variety of things including political subdivisions and geographic, cultural, ethnic, and religious regions (these will often overlap). Finally, the map includes the names of the various peoples and other entities that have some sort of cohesive identity but do not form strong political states, otherwise known as “barbarians.”
Important Cities
This NES will utilize the three-city system of economic (eco), cultural, and religious centres. Unlike in previous incarnations of the three-city system, all benefits are at the discretion of the mod. This does not, however, mean the cities will have no effect and aren’t important. They will be key contributors to your economy, your culture, and practically all other stats. If you lose even one of them to an enemy it could be disastrous. In addition, maintaining your important cities will be much more fickle than before. Finally, it is possible to get a centre due to a project, just as before, but such centres may be more likely to lose their status.
Economic Centres: Economic centres are cities where economic activity is greatly concentrated. Eco centres are almost always due to the concentration of trade, but industry, finance, banking, etc. can also cause an eco centre to come about. The benefits of an economic centre will be one eco per turn, unless for some unforeseeable reason I make an exception. Modern examples of eco centres would include Tokyo, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, and New York.
Cultural Centres: Cultural centres are cities where the culture of a nation, a region, or even of the world is personified. Art, education, nationalism, regionalism, philosophy, science, pan-nationalism, media, etc. can all contribute to the creation of cultural centres. The benefits of these cities are just as varied as their causes. Modern examples would include Paris, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tehran, Oxford, Buenos Aires, and Chicago.
Religious Centres: Religious centres are cities where major religions and movements find there centre(s) and where great pilgrimages take place. While religious centres will generally form without outside coaxing, government approval and conversion always help in the forming of such cities. The status of religious centres is a little different than that of cultural and eco centres, being somewhere between special city and capital city. They can be primarily administrative and more like a political capital (i.e. Canterbury) or spiritual and more like a special city (i.e. Glastonbury). The benefits will be mostly religious in nature, but may also extend into those areas benefited by cultural and economic centres. Modern examples would include Dharamsala, Jerusalem, Mecca, Rome, Istanbul, and Mexico City (Guadalupe).
Stories
While not required, stories are highly encouraged. In the past I have been very lenient on stories, but no longer. You will still be able to progress without stories, but stories will lend immense, nearly necessary, help. Also, keep in mind that stories, at least in my book, come in many forms. Flags, descriptions of your government, descriptions of your religion, “historical records,” and just about anything else that helps to flesh out you nation in a creative/artistic way will count as a story.
Deterioration
Your stats may deteriorate over time. In order to prevent this, invest eco and keep up a forward momentum.
Intelligence
There are two options here. First, you ask me questions. Depending on the particulars of the situation, I will give you an answer holding a varying amount of truth and ambiguity. Your other option is to include espionage in your orders. This can include anything from simple information gathering to sabotage to assassination and everything in between. As your espionage network expands and contacts develop, the information you receive through espionage in your orders as well as through direct conversation with me will improve in quality and reliability.
Diplomacy
All diplomacy, public and private, needs to be brought to my attention. Secret alliances, double crosses, and all other such deals must be included either in orders or in other communiqués.
Template
The template is the layout for stats. Each nation, both PC and NPC, will have a full and every-changing set. Unlike in other NESes, however, the stats are not meant to be the focus, and should be seen only as an aide in the development of our world.
Nation Name
Ruler/Player:
Capital:
Government (Efficiency):
Dependencies:
Size:
Army (Quality):
Navy (Quality):
Religion:
Culture:
Economy (Points) (Total Points):
Infrastructure:
Education:
Technology:
Confidence:
Projects:
Nation Background:
Ruler
The name of your ruler will generally follow the format: personal name, ordinal, epithet (if applicable), name of royal house, title. Normally, only one title, that closest associated with the state, is listed. This title will generally only include the position (such as “Emperor”
without the territorial designation (not “Emperor of Hungary”. If the territorial designation follows a different pattern than the name of the nation, then the territorial designation will be included (“King of Bohemia and Bavaria”, not “King”. In the few, select, occasions where more than one title, with different territorial associations, are equally or almost equally important, multiple titles are listed (“Emperor, Duke of Saxony,” for example). While I will try to maintain this formula in all cases, in some specific instances this may not be possible.Capital
The capital is the political centre of your nation. Capitals also have a greater chance of becoming cultural, economic, or religious centres. Furthermore, keep in mind that capitals have the ability to either unite or divide a nation. For instance, if you place your capital in between two or more bitterly opposed factions you may be able to prevent divisiveness. On the other hand, if you are not careful, a capital’s location in one region of a nation may cause hatred and secessionist feeling in another area. Capitals are also often essential components of a national identity. Their loss can cause the collapse of nations, their mistreatment by foreigners can cause immense, uncontrollable hatred, and their glorification can cause unparalleled national pride. Capitals are powerful political and cultural tools, use them wisely.
Government
Your government is, simply, how you govern your people. Ranging from dictatorial to anarchist and revolutionary to reactionary, the variations on governmental systems are inexhaustible. No matter what sort of government you have, be it a dictatorship or a democracy, you will always have to face off against political adversaries and juggle the balance of power between various factions. In dictatorial governments you will generally have more control over your opponents, but this is not always the case. While government can be changed, the mechanisms to do this are not constant. In some cases all that is needed in gradual reform, in others brutal revolution. So be careful, whatever it is you choose to do.
Additionally, government has an efficiency stat that shows how corrupt, how lazy, how bloated, how bureaucratic, etc. the government is. The levels of efficiency are:
Imaginary-Corrupt-Incompetent-Blundering-Tolerable-Improving-Competent-Efficient-Brilliant
Dependencies
Many nations, particularly the more powerful ones, have dependencies. Generally, particularly as the Age of Discovery is now upon us, these take the form of colonies. They can, however, also take on the form of protectorates, dominions, or anything else you all come up with. In this line I will list the names of the dependencies you have along with their capitals in parentheses. There will be no additional information on the dependencies listed here, but you should be able to surmise their general value and status based on the updates, stories, and general progress of the NES.
Size
This is, as the name suggests, the size of your nation. Size is an amalgam of both population and land area, as well as how easy it is for each part of the nation to reach the other part (a colonial empire, by its nature, will have a higher size stat than a nation of equal land and population size that is on one continuous chunk of land). What this means is that a nation like the Khanate of Sibir, while having a tiny population, will have a very large size stat because of the immensity of its land area and the difficulty of connecting various communities to one another. As nations’ technology advances and efficiency and communication improve, their size stat will go down. Size determines how costly it is to upgrade a stat, as well as the effectiveness of various factors (plagues, military strategies, increased taxation, etc.). The levels, and the corresponding points, are:
Tiny (1)-Petite (2)-Small (3)-Medium (4)-Large (5)-Huge (6)-Gargantuan (7)-Monstrous (9)
Unless otherwise noted, all stats require the number of eco points corresponding to their size in order to grow by one level.
Army
The army is your nation’s land forces. The army will be divided into thousands with five thousands available per eco point. In addition, remember that if you do not pay for military campaigns, those campaigns will almost certainly fail. An army does, after all, march on its stomach. Likewise, if you do not provide for maintaining your standing troops, you will experience troop desertion and deterioration. Besides the quantity of your military forces, the army stat also shows the quality. This is an amalgam of training and leadership. Quality levels are:
Mob-Pathetic-Poor-Tolerable-Normal-Better-Good-Great-Mighty-Juggernaut
In order to raise the quality of your forces, you must spend one eco per three thousands per level up to good and two eco per three thousands per level up to juggernaut.
In addition to your normal military forces, there are levies. In times of war when large numbers of troops are needed as quickly as possible, you can conscript your population. Additionally, when your territory is invaded, existing citizen militias as well as new ones raised by the local inhabitants in resistance will become available for your use. These troops have minimal, if any, quality in most cases and are basically cannon fodder. However, extraordinary leadership can, at times, instil enough nationalistic vigour to make them more useful than one might expect.
In general, particularly if you are a European nation, do not expect to have a very large army, at least for now anyway. The mass of your forces during war time will undoubtedly be new recruits and levies, not standing forces. The fact of the matter is that standing forces are simply too expensive to maintain in exorbitant numbers and European populations too small to produce large armies. As time progresses the numbers will begin to increase. For instance, OTL France in the 1550’s was able to field approximately 20 thousands, while by 1700 France could mobilise 255 thousands. Obviously, a lot of this has to do with the European population boom’s effects on the numbers resulting from conscription, but there are also much larger standing armies involved in this equation. So, basically, just sit back and wait. Eventually, you will be able to get those gigantic armies you all love so much.
Navy
The navy is your nation’s military force on the sea. The navy will be divided into ships with five ships available per eco. Just as with the army, the navy has a quality stat combining training and leadership. Also as with the army, you must always account for logistics when operating your navy. You will need to pay for campaigns by your navy, or your navy will be forced to either return home or continue sailing and die of starvation, dehydration, scurvy, or some other nasty ailment. In fact, it is advisable to fund even non-military ventures. Likewise, you ought, as with the army, to plan for maintenance investments.
Similarly to the army, when necessary it is possible to boost your naval ranks through conscription. By pressing your nation’s merchant fleet into service, you can significantly boost your numbers. While the crew of these ships will generally be of a higher quality than the levied troops used in the army, the design of the ships, which are meant for transporting goods and not for fighting, will result in lower quality rankings than your standing navy.
In order to raise the quality of your navy, you must spend one eco per three ships per level up to good and two eco per three ships per level up to juggernaut.
Religion
The religion stat shows the various belief systems present in your nation. If a nation has an official state religion then it comes first, whether it is the most widespread faith or not; otherwise the most adhered to faith comes first. Religion will play a very important role in this NES, as it should but doesn’t in most NESes. Furthermore, I consider myself something of a religion/theology buff, which means I will vastly enjoy watching all of you develop the religious atmosphere of your nations.
A note on churches and official religions: In this era there is a significant divide between the theology and administrative structure of religion, particularly in the Reformation areas of Europe and the Orthodox Christian regions of Europe and the Middle East. As a result, a distinction must be made between the churches and the religions. Where this is applicable, the first item listed under the religion stat of a country will be the official (or dominant) religion followed by the name of the church(es) in parentheses. For example, in Ireland the line would read “Celtic Reformed Christianity (Reformed Church of Ireland)” followed by any other significant religious denominations present in the country. Where a similar situation exists but the religion/church is not the official religion of the state, the pattern will take place later in the line, as appropriate. In the Ottoman Empire, for example, the religion line would partially read “Oriental Orthodox Christianity (Armenian Apostolic Church, Coptic Orthodox Church (Ethiopian Orthodox Church), Syriac Orthodox Church).” As you may have noticed, following the Coptic Orthodox Church entry is “Ethiopian Orthodox Church” in parentheses. This is because the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is a major, semi-autonomous subset of the Coptic Orthodox Church that is important enough to legitimise its being listed independently. Wherever else this is the case, the pattern will be repeated. However, minor subsets that are not significant will not be listed.
Culture
Culture here will be a general description of important cultural changes taking place. Examples would include a cultural renaissance, religious upheaval, Westernisation, and urbanisation.
Economy
I will be using a modified ITNES I (b) eco system. There will be a descriptor, chosen from stagnant, stable, expanding, quickly expanding, receding, or depressing, as well as two numbers. The first number will show you the base point value of your economy, including agriculture, industry, etc. The second number shows the total available eco points when added to the points coming from important cities and any other sources of eco points for that turn. Players are encouraged to experiment with different fiscal policies and economic policies in order to develop their economies.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is the transportation network of a nation. A good infrastructure is invaluable, aiding everything from army movement to culture cohesiveness to government efficiency. The levels are:
None-Dirt Paths-Pathetic-Barely Tolerable-Tolerable-Improving-Good-Efficient-Very Efficient-Great-Excellent
Education
Education is a composite of: a.) how literate and generally well educated your people are and b.) how educated your élite are. Good education will benefit numerous things, ranging from the availability of the next age to government efficiency to the economy. Bad education, likewise, will have detrimental effects. Since education is a lifelong process, the benefits and detriments of education are long term and may not be felt immediately. However, do not let this discourage you or make you feel safe, for eventually you will feel their effects. Education will most likely go up due to economic investment, but it is not a guarantee. Similarly, economic advancement is not necessary for educational advancement. The levels, and the corresponding points, are:
Idiotic (1)-Illiterate (2)-Ignorant (3)-Below Average (4)-Average (5)-Clever (6)-Smart (7)-Wise (8)-Enlightened (9)
Technology
This is a general descriptor of the technological development in your nation. The stat is entirely relative to the development of the rest of the world. Being more technologically developed than your neighbours has distinct advantages, not just militarily but in economic and social matters as well. However, being technologically superior is not a cure-all. Technologically far inferior forces have on more than one occasion dealt debilitating blows to opponents light-years ahead of them. The levels are:
Ancient (1)-Left Behind (3)-Losing Ground (5)-Average (7)-Modernised (9)-Advanced (11)-Futuristic (13)
The amount of eco points required to advance one level is equal to the size stat divided by the education stat, rounded up, then multiplied by the technology stat. However, due to its highly relative nature, the level is likely to change without the individual player’s input, or more cheaply due to good strategy. Attempts to increase technology may also fail, the chance of which is decreased by the presence of important universities.
Confidence
This is, basically, how confident the people are in their nation’s leadership. If the people are unconfident, then chances of rebellion, secession, etc. rise dramatically. If the people are confident, then chances are they will rise to support you, be it against foreign power, rebels, coups, or anything else. The levels are:
Lynching-Hateful-Resentful-Barely Tolerating-Tolerating-Respecting-Admiring-Loving-Cult of Personality
This stat cannot be raised directly with eco point, but investment will have some impact.
Projects
Projects are the equivalent of wonders. Ranging from large scale social reforms to giant harbours, projects can be just about anything. What really matters is that you: a) give me a name, b) give me the benefits of the project, and c) give me a description of the project; if any of these are missing, then the project will not go through. Depending on the project, there will be a cost in eco, as determined by my judgment. Each turn you must invest one eco to keep the project going. If you do not, it will at first stagnate, and then start to decay; depending on the nature of the project, this decay could be quite rapid. Finally, you may invest two eco to advance the project by one extra turn. You may only do this once every other turn.
Kvetching (i.e. Complaints to the Mod)
I am more than willing to listen to your gripes. In fact, I encourage them. If you believe that there has been a mistake or that you have been unfairly treated, tell me and I will address the problem as best as I can.
Contact
You may contact me in several ways. The preferred methods are AIM via the screen name stignatiusjew and PM. If you do not have AIM but wish to have the kind of fulfilling conversation only available through instant messengers, I can normally be reached on MSN via Israelite9191@hotmail.com . If you insist or if these are not possible, then you are welcome to drop me a line via e-mail at btzalel91@yahoo.com.
Should any modifications become necessary, they will be made and the rules updated to reflect the changes.
