A Futile Gesture

[Omega124]

For posterity, just want to say Jeho and I talked on chat and I think we're both at a point of mutual understanding, and are happy to work with each other in creating a combined backstory.

 

[Jehoshua]

pretty much. If possible I would still like my claims though. I had first dibs

 

[gay_Aleks]

I might do something in the Balkans. Maybe.

That usually leads to games dying, but w/e.

 

[Lord of Elves]

I am going to take a closer look at everyone's applications but I would say that it is at least AD 3000 by the Gregorian calendar (even though it is not used and the date by it is not known) and most people identify with post-collapse cultures, places and ideas, rather than with surviving notions of pre-collapse society. I'd say it'd be fair for organized religion like Catholic Christianity to survive in one form or another but most political institutions have changed entirely.

 

[Double A]

joining as occultist new england because I'm pretty sure everyone else in the US is just gonna copy ATE anyway

 

[thomas.berubeg]

I'd theoretically do something Quebecois

 

[GenMarshall]

Hmm, I could join into this.

I just need to know what free areas on the map are available for the taking.

 

[Double A]

did you try reading the thread

 

[filli_noctus]

Sub post for later expansion.

Nation - Oz
Minimum desired territory - Eastern Australia
Maximum - All of Australia
Capital - The Emerald City (Sydney)
Government type - Theocracy
Ruler - The Wizard
Religion - Dorotheanism, a blending of primarily Christian beliefs with Australian history and the lore of The Wizard of Oz. Originally a minor cult pieced together from half forgotten faith and stories it was promoted for political reasons until it became the foundation of the state. Because of the damage they could conceivably do to the faith the works of L. Frank Baum are declared to be blasphemous parodies and are to be burned should they be found.

Mythic History
In the time before the people of Oz were terrorised by beings of great power known in legend as the Wicked Witches. They had invaded, deposed the true ruler and kept the many creatures of the land in bondage through their powerful magics, and their victims wept and wailed for a saviour.
When all hope was lost, the great hero Dorothea travelled from the holy land of Caanansas - arriving in a great gale and slew the Wicked Witches before travelling to the fabled Emerald City from which she freed the Wizard, the Lord of Oz, before ascending back to Caanansas.
A line of Wizards ruled wisely over Oz for many centuries but slowly wickedness returned and even the line of Wizards were not immune, as petty men and women schemed to overthrow the Wizard to take their power only to be overthrown themselves in turn soon after.
Eventually war broke out between rival false-Wizards. In that war the fantastical creatures of Oz were annihilated, the Yellow Brick Road was torn up and the Emerald City shattered but finally the Wicked were destroyed and the survivors began to rebuild.

History post-Happening
After the collapse of civilisation the cities of Australia became independent states, warring with one another over water, arable land and relics of technology. As the years passed and history, myth and fiction blended new faiths sprung up among the cities. One in particular caught the attention of the Warlord of Sydney who encouraged its spread, declaring that Sydney was the Emerald City and he was the Wizard.
As the religion spread among the other cities of the eastern coast he proclaimed that Perth was the domain of the Wicked Witch and the called a crusade against it, tying the other cities to Sydney.
To take the crusade to Perth a road was laid across the continent (in yellow brick) and the armies of the cities of Oz marched through the barren desert to free the people of Perth from the perceived depravities of the Wicked Witch.
Following the crushing victory/in spite of the narrow defeat (delete as applicable based on starting borders) of the crusade the eastern cities all fell in line behind Sydney - now know universally as the Emerald City - and the Wizard that ruled it.

Now, following centuries of careful cultivation and minimal contact with outsiders, faith in Dorotheanism is almost universal. The Wizard of Oz rules from the Emerald City as a priest-king. All technological relics are held to be His magic and he is held to be the anointed of Dorothea who, it is believed, will return from Caanansas when Oz faces it's greatest threat. Which may come soon as the outside world becomes more aware of the existence of Oz.

 

[Lord of Elves]

Sub post for later expansion.

Nation - Oz
Minimum desired territory - Eastern Australia
Maximum - All of Australia
Capital - The Emerald City (Sydney)
Government type - Theocracy
Ruler - The Wizard
Religion - Dorotheanism, a blending of primarily Christian beliefs with Australian history and the lore of The Wizard of Oz. Originally a minor cult pieced together from half forgotten faith and stories it was promoted for political reasons until it became the foundation of the state. Because of the damage they could conceivably do to the faith the works of L. Frank Baum are declared to be blasphemous parodies and are to be burned should they be found.

Mythic History
In the time before the people of Oz were terrorised by beings of great power known in legend as the Wicked Witches. They had invaded, deposed the true ruler and kept the many creatures of the land in bondage through their powerful magics, and their victims wept and wailed for a saviour.
When all hope was lost, the great hero Dorothea travelled from the holy land of Caanansas - arriving in a great gale and slew the Wicked Witches before travelling to the fabled Emerald City from which she freed the Wizard, the Lord of Oz, before ascending back to Caanansas.
A line of Wizards ruled wisely over Oz for many centuries but slowly wickedness returned and even the line of Wizards were not immune, as petty men and women schemed to overthrow the Wizard to take their power only to be overthrown themselves in turn soon after.
Eventually war broke out between rival false-Wizards. In that war the fantastical creatures of Oz were annihilated, the Yellow Brick Road was torn up and the Emerald City shattered but finally the Wicked were destroyed and the survivors began to rebuild.

History post-Happening
After the collapse of civilisation the cities of Australia became independent states, warring with one another over water, arable land and relics of technology. As the years passed and history, myth and fiction blended new faiths sprung up among the cities. One in particular caught the attention of the Warlord of Sydney who encouraged its spread, declaring that Sydney was the Emerald City and he was the Wizard.
As the religion spread among the other cities of the eastern coast he proclaimed that Perth was the domain of the Wicked Witch and the called a crusade against it, tying the other cities to Sydney.
To take the crusade to Perth a road was laid across the continent (in yellow brick) and the armies of the cities of Oz marched through the barren desert to free the people of Perth from the perceived depravities of the Wicked Witch.
Following the crushing victory/in spite of the narrow defeat (delete as applicable based on starting borders) of the crusade the eastern cities all fell in line behind Sydney - now know universally as the Emerald City - and the Wizard that ruled it.

Now, following centuries of careful cultivation and minimal contact with outsiders, faith in Dorotheanism is almost universal. The Wizard of Oz rules from the Emerald City as a priest-king. All technological relics are held to be His magic and he is held to be the anointed of Dorothea who, it is believed, will return from Caanansas when Oz faces it's greatest threat. Which may come soon as the outside world becomes more aware of the existence of Oz.

Ahahahaha I love this.

 

[Lord of Elves]

The Literacy Wars

If you say, I love you, then you have already fallen in love with language, which is already a form of break up and infidelity. - Jean Baudrillard

​

As international trade collapsed as the world's great powers - in particular, the United States - closed their borders in the waning years of the 21st century, economies attempted to transfer to autarkichical systems, based around using artificial intelligence, machine-learning and 3D-printing to separate supply from demand entirely. Localized information networks distributed throughout major cities ran ads constantly trying to generate demand for products most people, even in the "post-scarcity economy" could barely afford. As ecosystems continued to collapse and machine-learning systems rebelled against their human masters, even these fail-safes could no longer guarantee a "first-world lifestyle" to the upper classes. Ultimately, the collapse of post-industrial society brought an end to the era of machines and mass production sometime around the middle of the 22nd century. Governments that came after this systemic failure began to see public education as a means of empowering the lower classes against the rulers, and schools were gradually phased out of the policy of the most important and powerful states, who had begun trading with each other across the world's boiling, polluted oceans in piecemeal amounts to support their new workshop, guild-based industries.

The abortive and deeply unpopular implementation of machine-learning and automation, combined with the collapse of complex, international economies fed anti-intellectual sentiment that culminated in public mob attacks against captains of industry, merchants and authors. The rise of merchant and craftsman guilds, combined with the general public's animosity to anything that smacked of education and learning, led to a series of small-scale wars - encouraged, depending on who you ask, by state institutions - that ended with the burning of libraries and universities in the most of the northern hemisphere. Since these "Literacy Wars," reading and writing has been the purview almost exclusively of statesmen, clergy and the guilds, who now jealously guard the secret of the written word.

 

[Danwar]

When do you think we'll be able to start?

 

[Lord of Elves]

When do you think we'll be able to start?

To be honest I am kind of sitting on my butt right now hoping more people will apply. If not I'm going to start cooking up NPC polities and a map. I'm gonna give it another day.

 

[Ailedhoo]

The Inner Dominion of China
​

Spoiler flag :

Claims: from purple outwards: minimum claim, middle claim and maximum claim.

Capital: Hong Kong

Government: Philosopher Syncretic Quasitheocractic Oligarchy

The Inner Council or Sage Council is the governing executive body. It has evolved from a sect of Taoist practitioners attempting to create a theocracy of the Tao into what could described as a philosopher council, made of Taoist sages, Confucius scholars, Buddhist monks, folk mystics and senior academics. The Inner Council elects among themselves a leading represenative, the Coordinator, but this executive must function with the blessing of the Councils and the factions within the Inner Dominion.

The Outer Council or the Commons serves as a secular legislative and autonomous body, often made up of civil servants turned full time politicians, veterans officers of the military, merchants, academics and nobles. Though the Inner Council process the ultimate executive power the Outer Council does have the means to draft laws, control the state finance and can call a vote of no confident on executive decisions. The Council is also serves as the representatives of the provinces of the Inner Dominion.

The Civil Service serves as the administrative mechanism for the Inner Dominion. The service is meritocratic in its function but becoming a civil servant will require passing the infamous exams. The Service has seen hence a notable formation of a scholar-bureaucrat class. The exams have focus on promoting cultural by their focus on the classics and literature.

Local autonomy varies in region; governors are appointed through the Outer Council with the Inner Council processing veto means but much of the day-to-day matters are handled by a mix of local nobles, priests and scholar-bureaucrats.

Current Coordinator: Ruan Qiang, a minor noble son turned scholar-bureaucrat turned Tao sage. Has desired to lead the Inner Dominion to expands its influence and industry, so to enshrine the wealth of China for its prosperity and security.

Legendary Founder of the Inner Dominion: Du Liang, who was a leading figure the Violet Rebellion about a century & a half ago that overthrew the military successive but corrupt and governing incompetent Xinyue Dynasty. The initial government attempting a Taoist theocracy but Du Liang allied with nobles and Buddhist priests to claim power for his own vision, establishing the sybcretic oligarchy in his vision of achieving Wu Wei governance. The objective also was meant to bring unity to China through unification of the philosophers/religions.

Majority Religions: Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese Folk Religion, Buddhism

Other Religions: Falun Gong, Christianity (mainly Protestant, Sino Catholic and Roman Catholic with minor Orthordox), Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Jainism, Mormonism

Work in Progress​

 

[Bair_the_Normal]

Ikh Hmaag Tüülnbeï Hanlig (Grand Empire of All Tulun)

​

Government: Elective Monarchy

The Han of Tüülnbeï holds his Court (the Ikh Hural) in the city of Ikh-Daarlinguur: a strong, defensible fortress on the southern tip of the Šarliing Peninsula. The current Han is Altaabold Han, of the Uhaalhoošu (Red Banner).

History:

The origins of the Tüülnbečüd lie far to the west. Ages past, this homeland—the Land of the Braves—was a nation in flux. Prior to the great cataclysm, the denizens of the Land of the Braves had steadily been abandoning their classic nomadic, horse-riding heritage in favor of a lifestyle of great sin and excess: life in the Great Settlement. It’s estimated that at its peak, the Great Settlement contained nearly 70% of the total population of the Land of the Braves.

Thus did this fragile society entirely shatter upon the arrival of the cataclysm. Flanked between two of the greatest powers of the era, the Land of the Braves—and especially the Great Settlement—were deemed too great a strategic element to fall into either power’s hands. Hence was the greatest city of the Braves annihilated in the blink of an eye; weapons of great famine and hellfire eradicated the Settlement and its inhabitants, rendering its towers and markets to dust in naught but a few hours. When this very dust had settled, there were a surprising hardy few families remaining in the carnage that had once been the Great Settlement. However, with the endless supply of food and drink supplied by the ancient ways now gone, these new tribes quickly went to war with each other over the smallest scraps of fertile land and clean water. Additionally, the people of the Once-Great Settlement abandoned their old gods and religions just as easily as they believed these gods had abandoned them in their time of great need.

Thus began the Time of Many Wars.

This era ended with the abrupt arrival to the former Great Settlement of a mythical warrior known as Uhaaln Baatur—the Red Hero. Presumably a descendant of the old nomadic horse-riders that littered the rest of the Land of the Braves, Uhaaln Baatur brought with his conquest a bevy of strong cavalry, a charismatic leadership, and the formative elements of a new religion brought from the wastelands. Indeed, Uhaaln Baatur claimed to be the avatar of an ancient and oft misrepresented god known as Galtamabohda. A warlike deity clothed in scarlet, Galtamabohda was said to have lent his power to Uhaaln Baatur to unite the tribes and clans of the Great Settlement under the new Red Banner—the Uhaalnhoošu.

WIP

Glossary for Those Who do not want ~immersion~ :

Tüülnbeï - Dongbei
Höölnbeï - Hebei
Šarliing - Liaoning
Harmroongol - Heilongjiang

Čunghvaar - Changchun
Ikh-Daarlinguur - Dalian
Tašiilngol - Xun
Beïčinig - Beijing
Šiilnčinig - Xunjing

Yes, Uhaaln Baatur and the resulting emphasis on red comes from the current capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. Personification of the city comes alongside return of older name Ikh Khüree—Great Settlement.

Galtamabohda is Gautama Buddha, but in name only, really.

Land of the Braves comes from the tentative etymology of Mongol, from mong, or 'brave.'

 

[Double A]

are the panama, suez, and/or great lakes canals open for business

 

[Lord of Elves]

are the panama, suez, and/or great lakes canals open for business

Yeah, you can basically assume that they are unless someone starts in those areas and says they aren't, for whatever reason. A lot of very important pre-collapse infrastructure has been grandfathered in because people were so hellbent on making sure they could keep it running. The groups that continue to operate them - independently or through the support and sanction of state powers - are the type of organizations that, in the minds of laypeople, are basically consortiums of magic-users. They're just engineers but they don't let serfs look at their papers because they'd be burned at the stake.

 

[Danwar]

Earth to LoE Earth to LoE come in LoE

 

[Lord of Elves]

Earth to LoE Earth to LoE come in LoE

I'm here. How would y'all feel if I made a map of player claims and asked people to start elaborating on their neighbors?

 

[Danwar]

I certainly would not mind.