New NESes, ideas, development, etc

Eurasians - It is often said that in the mixing of blood the best characteristics of the parties come together in the final product. With the Eurasian this is not the case and while the form and features of these people can be European, it must be admitted that the thought and feeling are wholly Asiatic.

This should be unsurprising given that the Eurasian is the product of miscegenation between an Asiatic women and a European man in-thrall to the basest of passions. European man and an Asiatic women. Sometimes the reverse has occurred but this is always the result of rape.

The basic rule when dealing with Eurasians is to never treat them like Europeans because in short they are not nor indeed should one treat them as half-Europeans because that presupposes that at half their makeup is like ours. This is not the case. Rather, the appropriate response when dealing with a Eurasian is to treat them like Eurasians a bastard people.

In occupation the Eurasian is limited to the role of junior clerk, work-boss, assistant in the hospital, assistant to the surveyor &etc. Like Asiatics the Eurasian should never be trusted with money or placed in a position of independence because of their innate laziness. The man who forgets this rule will pay in due time.

Javanese - The Javanese are rather like the Malays in all things save their attitude towards work. In this the Javanese are much superior especially in the working of plantations.

In organisation, the Javanese are rather different form the Chinese in that they are willing to accept as a work-boss the guiding hand of a European. This stems from the Javanese belief in a rigid hierarchy with Europeans at the top and their unwillingness to let one of their own be placed above them. Generally speaking, this important work is delegated to the Eurasian, but it is an important consideration and one that should be born in mind.

In religion the Javanese are Mohammedans, but they are of a different sort to the Malays and a very different sort to the Arabs. On occasion these differences have caused trouble when Arabs and Malay youth have called the Javanese kuffir which is a Musulman word meaning unbeliever. Perhaps this is due to the Javanese affection for alcohol and whoring though this should not necessarily be held against them owing to the good work they otherwise perform.

As a people the Javanese are quite clean and appreciate good quarters which they are more than capable of constructing in a short time. These quarters can be made with the minimum of materials such as wood and palm leaves. In such mean circumstances the Javanese is quite an able craftsmen even if they lack the concentration to turn their hands to finer work. Really, on the whole the Javanese are superlative plantation workers in a way that the other races are not.
 
In brief, perhaps two-thirds of the European houses (~300), two-thirds of the Eurasian clerk accommodation (~150), barracks accommodation for the Malay Rifles and Horse (~250), the wharf, a couple of warehouses, government offices in the capital, a small sugar refinery, a tramp steamer, the Hospital, the Post Office, the General Store and ten government posts elsewhere in the island. That covers the physical assets. The Company also owns (the rights to) all of the land that wasn't already under cultivation prior to the Company's arrival or that hasn't been leased or sold since that date. It also continues recognizes the traditional rights of the Malay peasantry to harvest forest products e.g. bird nests, firewood, bamboo, fallen trees (standing trees belong to the Company) and hunting small game (the hunting of elephants and deer are reserved for Europeans). The Company make no claims in respect of fishing.

Private European parties own the plantations, the plantation houses, warehouses, shops, ships, the remaining housing stock, the two big European tin mines, the steam dredges which are leased to the Chinese, and basically everything else of worth.

The Chinese are barred from owning land, but can lease on favorable terms lands suitable for cultivation. Mining leases can also be held by Chinese but on different terms to those available to Europeans. The biggest difference being that the Chinese are only allowed to work alluvial deposits of tin. Leases for housing are difficult to acquire. So most Chinese live as squatters. The better established Chinese families (mostly Straits Chinese) are usually able to get around this problem. The Chinese issues with tenure and land ownership probably help to explain their willingness to work as wage laborers.

Malays don't own land as individuals but hold it collectively through the village and are given it based on need. The larger a family is, the more land is awarded and vice versa. In theory, all Malay land is owned by the Sultan who accepts tribute in exchange for the right of the village to continue to work the land. In practice, the Company collects some indirect taxes (i.e. taxes on trade, the slaughtering of livestock and a share of the profits of the government pawn-shops) and nothing else. Some of the above are paid back to the Sultan in the form of rent which amounts to about $1000 pound.

Eurasians are allowed to own land but are usually only allowed to purchase land suitable for a shop and house. Plantation ownership is out of the question.

Javanese labor contracts usually preclude them owning, well, anything except their personal belongings. Even their wages are withheld until they leave the plantations service. In reality, that never happens because the Javanese are forced to buy from the plantation shop at above market prices and are required to pay out their indenture fees before they can quit. A free Javanese is novel enough that the sole newspaper on the island will run a story on it.

I am more than happy to answer any other questions.
 
The setting is really fantastic, and unintentionally humorous in a way that only Edwardian sensibilities can be.

I look forward to creating my character and playing. :) I will probably do a little write up on the history and status of Catholicism on the island as well, limited though it obviously is.
 
Agreed; the setting is amazing.

Two questions --

* is there a map of Pulau Emas yet?
* is the island large enough to have a second large, protected anchorage or port?
 
There is indeed a map which Iggy has prepared.

Spoiler Map :



The main settlements are in the sheltered bay in the far north-west. Although Malay villages exist on pretty much every waterway. The tin mining operations are scattered along the west coast. There's also a second smaller settlement that's grown around servicing the two European tin mines. It has a wharf but that can only service smaller vessels, due to the relative shallowness of the water nearby. Before launch I'm going to put all the settlements on the map. I just haven't managed to corner Iggy yet...

As to Catholicism, there's a grand total of one Priest who lives in the capital and ministers to the European flock there. Sometimes he travels around and conducts mass for the (Malay and Javanese Catholics (Javanese Catholics being preferred as hires where possible) but mostly care of the natives is left up to the small number of Native Deacons (native being relative, most are from the Moluccas). Eurasians can attend the main Church but are forced to sit outside for fear of the women seducing European men whilst at Church. Natives are allowed to attend but have to sit in the adjoining graveyard or crowd around the Church gate. At least part of this has to do with a lack of room inside the Church... Catholic Missionaries have existed but haven't tended to last long. Sickness and death got to most of them. Protestant Missionaries have been a bit more successful but not much more. The total Catholic community is maybe 400 Europeans, about half of whom don't attend with any regularity because they live on plantations or out in the bush, about half that number of Eurasians, and perhaps two-thousand natives. About half of the natives aren't, well, natives but are Malays who have emigrated to the island. Most of these are from the Moluccas or Java. Other than that, your free to innovate.
 
I see mitochondria.
 
Would there be any interest in a Royal-Houses, Game of Thrones type Nes... if so, I have things written up; I just need players :p and interest
 
Would there be any interest in a Royal-Houses, Game of Thrones type Nes... if so, I have things written up; I just need players :p and interest

Im Interested
 
I was thinking of starting right when Robert was crowned King, and before he married Cersei, so alot could happen. The King himself would be a NPC but the remaining 6 Kingdoms + Renly Baratheon of the Stormlands would be playable, additionally I could make Stannis and The Greyjoy's playable, if people wish.
 
Renly is just a boy when Robert's Rebellion just ended.

I like the idea of limiting it to 6 players, and brining in "guest players" for important NPC's as they pop up (The King of the Wildings, Individual house members who gained a lot of power, etc.)
 
Renly is just a boy when Robert's Rebellion just ended.

I like the idea of limiting it to 6 players, and brining in "guest players" for important NPC's as they pop up (The King of the Wildings, Individual house members who gained a lot of power, etc.)

I know :p, so it's a challenge.
 
I would happily claim House Martell or Arryn. (Though, I could play any without a problem... Even Tully :p )
 
Here's what I'm thinking for stats; I'm a bit sketched out on manpower, it may be too high, it may not be a relevant stat in these times but I need something to discourage people from building endlessly large armies.

The Reach
Capital: Castle Highgarden
Lord Paramount: Mace I, House Tyrell (28)
Spouse: Lady Paramount Alerie, House Hightower (24)
Heir: Lord Willas, House Tyrell (7)
Other Children: Lord Garlan (6), Lord Loras (3), Lady Margaery (2)
Treasury: 250c (+15)
Troops: 13,000 Heavy Infantry, 8,000 Light Infantry, 3,500 Cavalry, 2,500 Archers
Ships: 53 Warships, 12 Transports
Manpower: 2,857 (+11)
Vassal Levies (Can only be raised in times of war; vassals may refuse): 45,000
Stability: 8/7
 
Would there be any interest in a Royal-Houses, Game of Thrones type Nes... if so, I have things written up; I just need players :p and interest

I honestly would love that. This is exactly my kind of game. I also think that most of the army comes from the peasants, since maintaining a regular army is very expensive. And peasants going to war means a decrease of the economy. After all, more people on the battlefield, fewer people in the field.

I would like to participate as House Lannister. There is no better choice to have the sympathy of other participants. :p
 
Ours is the Fury

I will play any one of these three

 
Top Bottom