Seon
Not An Evil Liar
Long time no see.
We have a discord server, if you wish to discuss things more easily with fellow players.
December World - game thread
- Thread starter Ahigin
- Start date
We have a discord server, if you wish to discuss things more easily with fellow players.
Shadowbound
Incorrugible
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2007
- Messages
- 4,062
I would still love to have a co-pilot/viceroy/buddy for Siberia. Glorious Mother Russia can have multiple players.
Yeah, and Siberia is a good entry-level power.
Immaculate
unerring
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2003
- Messages
- 7,623
Tokugawa Shogunate Declaration of the Bunbu-Ryōdō Tekuno-kurashī
(adoption of the technocracy policy)
The Bugyō (奉行, senior samurai-bureaucrats) met in a grand hall at the Edo-jō (castle). The hall is minimally furnished and open on one end to allow a view of a carefully landscaped garden, a thin layer of snow melting slowly in the surprisingly warm winter afternoon soon. The room boasts a slightly raised central floor upon which the senior officials of the Shogunate sit. Behind and below the bugyō, their attendants wait upon them, physically lower to symbolize their negligible relevance at this meeting of these senior officials.
When Ōta Ieyasu arrives the room is quiet. He is one of the last to enter, as befits his station. The senior officials turn towards him, shuffling deliberately, slowly and cleanly, without standing, and offer bows of varying depths as befits their hierarchical station relative to his. The assistants all lower their heads to the ground as is appropriate. Ieyasu offers the appropriate bows in return, almost none of them as deep as the ones he has recieved. He notes that the intensity of the gaze of many attendants and realizes that word of the kiri-sute gomen has preceded his arrival. Inwardly he smiles somewhat at this- outwardly, his carefully crafted expression of neutrality does not change.
Soon Tokugawa Yoshinobu arrives and everyone’s brows are soon bobbing along the floor in difference to the Shogun, making the appropriate observances of authority and rank.
Attendants soon make themselves busy arranging and distributing printouts from the grand Edo-jō engine, carefully stepping over the haori of the Bugyō who had deigned to remain jacketed against the winter chill. Ieyasu notes with pleasure that this time the ink does not stain his fingers; the savants servicing the great subterranean industrial monstrosity have obviously improved their materials since summer when the senior officials had all left with stained fingers. New also is a delicately embossed chrysanthemum mon at the top of each page.
Most of the printed papers address only one issue- the restructuring of the government to empower and adopt the system of the Bunbu-Ryōdō (文武両道, “pen and the sword in accord"). Modern samurai, though having had to defend the Shogunate in the Boshin war that ultimately ended after seven years of battle with victory for the Bakufu, were generally as much scholars and bureaucrats as they were warriors. The difference being proposed today was not in the empowerment of the scholar, but in the basic manner in which advancement and rank would be allocated. Traditionally rank was appointed through a combination of hereditary ties, military heroism, and political acumen. The Bunbu-Ryōdō would give greater value to scholarly merit, even instituting an official testing system based on the system of modern education introduced only seventeen short years ago. At the same time it also recognized the value of samurai tradition, requiring extensive training and exquisite control of the two swords, and support of the arts.
Most of the younger or lower-ranking samurai were eager to adopt the Bunbu-Ryōdō, seeing in it an opportunity to break into the higher ranks. A growing movement had taken to sporting a top hat, a western fashion meant to illustrate their support for the ‘modern way’ and their perception of themselves as savants of the "Tekuno-kurashī". To Ōta Ieyasu, Tekuno-kurashī was a bastard western word as abrasive to his ears as the top hat was to his eyes.
For the men in the hall, all of senior rank and invested with privilege and responsibility, it was perhaps not as universally despised as might be expected. These were senior Bugyō and had extensive influence within the Bakufu, including, for the last sixteen years, control over the purse-strings that controlled academic and scholarly grants. Almost all of them were involved in the modernization that had swept the Shogunate in the last two decades and had heartedly driven mechanization and engine-cipher-based development, much to their political and financial fortune. For most the changes had been an opportunity to cement, not a threat to, their influence. The matter would be discussed today, but because it was already clear that Tokugawa Yoshinobu favored the declaration no one would make any real objections to Bunbu-Ryōdō.
In truth though Ōta Ieyasu does not approve of the declaration. He can understand the Ee ja nai ka movement, though he does not approve of that either. He is helpless before the tide though and knows that in part it is his many years that make him resistant to change. Still, he is wily and has lost none of his cunning or ambition; he will adapt and change- and his family will prosper. Already his vast agricultural and industrial fortunes support a number of promising samurai-scholars through which he hopes to wield considerable influence and power in the Bunbu-Ryōdō regime.
Ultimately the declaration is changed very little by its discussion amongst the Bugyō, the only changes being to reinforce the role of the soldierly code of conduct and respect of conservative traditions. The means of obtaining rank might change, but the respect and observance due the appointed would not.
Still, despite the last minute conservative bent to the declaration, Ōta Ieyasu is not pleased. And if he had to be honest with himself, that is perhaps why he cut down that obnoxious top hat-wearing junior samurai, kiri-sute gomen or not.
(adoption of the technocracy policy)
The Bugyō (奉行, senior samurai-bureaucrats) met in a grand hall at the Edo-jō (castle). The hall is minimally furnished and open on one end to allow a view of a carefully landscaped garden, a thin layer of snow melting slowly in the surprisingly warm winter afternoon soon. The room boasts a slightly raised central floor upon which the senior officials of the Shogunate sit. Behind and below the bugyō, their attendants wait upon them, physically lower to symbolize their negligible relevance at this meeting of these senior officials.
When Ōta Ieyasu arrives the room is quiet. He is one of the last to enter, as befits his station. The senior officials turn towards him, shuffling deliberately, slowly and cleanly, without standing, and offer bows of varying depths as befits their hierarchical station relative to his. The assistants all lower their heads to the ground as is appropriate. Ieyasu offers the appropriate bows in return, almost none of them as deep as the ones he has recieved. He notes that the intensity of the gaze of many attendants and realizes that word of the kiri-sute gomen has preceded his arrival. Inwardly he smiles somewhat at this- outwardly, his carefully crafted expression of neutrality does not change.
Soon Tokugawa Yoshinobu arrives and everyone’s brows are soon bobbing along the floor in difference to the Shogun, making the appropriate observances of authority and rank.
Attendants soon make themselves busy arranging and distributing printouts from the grand Edo-jō engine, carefully stepping over the haori of the Bugyō who had deigned to remain jacketed against the winter chill. Ieyasu notes with pleasure that this time the ink does not stain his fingers; the savants servicing the great subterranean industrial monstrosity have obviously improved their materials since summer when the senior officials had all left with stained fingers. New also is a delicately embossed chrysanthemum mon at the top of each page.
Most of the printed papers address only one issue- the restructuring of the government to empower and adopt the system of the Bunbu-Ryōdō (文武両道, “pen and the sword in accord"). Modern samurai, though having had to defend the Shogunate in the Boshin war that ultimately ended after seven years of battle with victory for the Bakufu, were generally as much scholars and bureaucrats as they were warriors. The difference being proposed today was not in the empowerment of the scholar, but in the basic manner in which advancement and rank would be allocated. Traditionally rank was appointed through a combination of hereditary ties, military heroism, and political acumen. The Bunbu-Ryōdō would give greater value to scholarly merit, even instituting an official testing system based on the system of modern education introduced only seventeen short years ago. At the same time it also recognized the value of samurai tradition, requiring extensive training and exquisite control of the two swords, and support of the arts.
Most of the younger or lower-ranking samurai were eager to adopt the Bunbu-Ryōdō, seeing in it an opportunity to break into the higher ranks. A growing movement had taken to sporting a top hat, a western fashion meant to illustrate their support for the ‘modern way’ and their perception of themselves as savants of the "Tekuno-kurashī". To Ōta Ieyasu, Tekuno-kurashī was a bastard western word as abrasive to his ears as the top hat was to his eyes.
For the men in the hall, all of senior rank and invested with privilege and responsibility, it was perhaps not as universally despised as might be expected. These were senior Bugyō and had extensive influence within the Bakufu, including, for the last sixteen years, control over the purse-strings that controlled academic and scholarly grants. Almost all of them were involved in the modernization that had swept the Shogunate in the last two decades and had heartedly driven mechanization and engine-cipher-based development, much to their political and financial fortune. For most the changes had been an opportunity to cement, not a threat to, their influence. The matter would be discussed today, but because it was already clear that Tokugawa Yoshinobu favored the declaration no one would make any real objections to Bunbu-Ryōdō.
In truth though Ōta Ieyasu does not approve of the declaration. He can understand the Ee ja nai ka movement, though he does not approve of that either. He is helpless before the tide though and knows that in part it is his many years that make him resistant to change. Still, he is wily and has lost none of his cunning or ambition; he will adapt and change- and his family will prosper. Already his vast agricultural and industrial fortunes support a number of promising samurai-scholars through which he hopes to wield considerable influence and power in the Bunbu-Ryōdō regime.
Ultimately the declaration is changed very little by its discussion amongst the Bugyō, the only changes being to reinforce the role of the soldierly code of conduct and respect of conservative traditions. The means of obtaining rank might change, but the respect and observance due the appointed would not.
Still, despite the last minute conservative bent to the declaration, Ōta Ieyasu is not pleased. And if he had to be honest with himself, that is perhaps why he cut down that obnoxious top hat-wearing junior samurai, kiri-sute gomen or not.
Last edited:
FAQ - Part 1
- Can a Corps or a Squadron work on some construction, exploration, or other non-violent tasks? Yes, they can, although they're not the best units for it. A Corps may help with construction (even though the result will be a bit too utilitarian), or with handling a natural disaster, or with exploring new territories, etc. A Squadron can help with boosting up merchant marine in some region, or with evacuation of refugees, etc. They're not going to be as good as non-military units at these things, but they may be able to step in sometimes. (However, your orders in that case should be specific. You can't just send a Corps to "develop Region A." They don't "develop" by default, so they need some details to be useful in that role.)
- Can I make it easier to negotiate with less friendly NPC nations? Yes, absolutely. Of course, first you probably may want to check with me what such and such nation would think about such and such offer. But if that nation doesn't really want to have anything to do with it, you have an option. Send a Mission (or a bunch of Missions) to that nation and influence their politics (lobbying, press campaigns, colluding with political candidates, anything goes). I'll create a new Regional Quest for your task and let you eventually resolve it (it may take time), thus making that NPC more friendly to you. On the other hand, other nations may try to block your efforts via their Missions. Either way, geopolitical positions of different nations are designed to be fluid. It's built-in into the game system.
- Does a specific combination of policies improve my Challenge Rating if it fits it from role-play perspective? Yes, for sure. If you have Political Police, not only will you get associated bonuses to income, but cracking down on dissent will be easier, too. I'm sure you can come up with other examples yourselves.
- Can I discard a tech for another nation to use? Yes. Discard it in your orders and mention which nation you want it to go to. It'll be added to that nation's new tech stack next turn. Otherwise, I'll go randomly about it.
- Can I "loan" my units to another nation? Yes, but you still absorb all the losses and maintenance, while the receiving nation gets all the good stuff (and they're the ones who give orders to the "loaned" units). Make sure you "loan" units when it's actually worth it.
Last edited:
Shadowbound
Incorrugible
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2007
- Messages
- 4,062
To Finland, Baltic Duchies, Poland, Ukrainian Hetmanate
From Russia
Greetings, friends and neighbors. Glorious Russia is strong again under the enlightened leadership of the Directory, but do not fear! We wish to confirm our existing borders with all of your nations and exchange mutual assurances of non-aggression, so that our nations can live alongside each other in peace, harmony, and brotherhood.
From Russia
Greetings, friends and neighbors. Glorious Russia is strong again under the enlightened leadership of the Directory, but do not fear! We wish to confirm our existing borders with all of your nations and exchange mutual assurances of non-aggression, so that our nations can live alongside each other in peace, harmony, and brotherhood.
Seon
Not An Evil Liar
To Baltic Duchies and Poland
From NGF
Echoing Russian calls for non-aggression, we would also like to confirm our existing borders with our neighboring nations so that peace may continue to exist for the foreseeable future.
From NGF
Echoing Russian calls for non-aggression, we would also like to confirm our existing borders with our neighboring nations so that peace may continue to exist for the foreseeable future.
From Finland
To Directorial Russia
We praise you for your respect of our independence and territorial integrity, unlike our greedy Western neighbor. We guarantee non-aggression against Russia and would be open to establishing closer ties with it.
From United Baltic Duchies
To Directorial Russia and North-German Federation
We respect and value your offer. We fully commit respecting our mutual borders.
From Ukrainian Hetmanate
To Directorial Russia
We are surprised by your offer, but we fully back it. In turn, we request that Russia does not intervene into our internal politics. We would like to be able to sort out our own differences without any pressure from the Russian side.
From Poland
To Directorial Russia and North-German Federation
We have very little faith in your statements. Germans and Russians have been our maulers for centuries, and we don't expect it to change based on a some high-spirited statements. Poland reserves after itself the right to act the way it sees fit.
To Directorial Russia
We praise you for your respect of our independence and territorial integrity, unlike our greedy Western neighbor. We guarantee non-aggression against Russia and would be open to establishing closer ties with it.
From United Baltic Duchies
To Directorial Russia and North-German Federation
We respect and value your offer. We fully commit respecting our mutual borders.
From Ukrainian Hetmanate
To Directorial Russia
We are surprised by your offer, but we fully back it. In turn, we request that Russia does not intervene into our internal politics. We would like to be able to sort out our own differences without any pressure from the Russian side.
From Poland
To Directorial Russia and North-German Federation
We have very little faith in your statements. Germans and Russians have been our maulers for centuries, and we don't expect it to change based on a some high-spirited statements. Poland reserves after itself the right to act the way it sees fit.
Sniiperman456
Warlord
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2016
- Messages
- 253
We humbly offer a nonaggression pact to Poland.
Immaculate
unerring
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2003
- Messages
- 7,623
Ima Naoaki grieves for his lover
Nihon Shinsho is a member of the growing chōnin class (townsmen), making his living by operating a steam-driven mechanical carousel at the edge of the lake, beyond the Yoshiwara district. It is night and clouds cover the moon and stars. A light snow falls and covers the darkness in an insulating immediacy. In the deep darkness, the weak flicker of gaslights shed a dull bronze glow upon the falling snowflakes. Gaily-painted mechanical horses reach, strain and jump for the delicate orange-tinged flakes, eternally hopeful, frozen.
Shinsho rubs his grease-covered hands together briskly over the dying coals of the carousel’s mighty steam engine, blowing into them and stomping his feet in the thin snow cover to warm himself. Presently the sound of a high-wheeler bicycle slowly winding its ways along the lake-wall emerges from the distant and muffled sound of the Yoshiwara revelry.
A dark figure, Shinsho notes to be samurai by the twin swords at the edge of his silhouette, guides the towering contraption towards the carousel. The samurai is thin, neither old nor young, with a long mustache trailing to his chin. He wears a tophat in the English fashion but is dressed more conservatively, in both haori and kimono. He alights from the bicycle with practiced ease and steps slowly towards the carousel’s engine, seemingly not noticing Shinsho.
The samurai has evidently been weeping; the glowing embers of the engine shine on his wet cheeks and give evidence to reddened eyes. Still ignoring Shinsho, the samurai steps towards the engine and opening the coal-door reaches to fill it from the bin behind Shinsho.
Shinsho steps back and stares at the strange samurai, unsure what to say and frightened at his strange nighttime appearance in the otherwise still night. There is something familiar to him Shinsho thinks but it is only as the samurai begins to fill the engine’s boiler that he recognizes him, recognizing in the man the actions of another who had accompanied him once.
He bows deeply, suddenly aware that he has not yet done so, “Konbanwa. I recognize you,” he blurts without decorum, “Two nights ago you were here with a younger samurai, more junior. He wore a tophat like yours and you paid me generously to let him operate the engine." He pauses briefly, "You did not have your tophat then.” Shinsho thinks perhaps the tophat the thin mustachioed samurai wears was the one the younger samurai who had operated his carousel had worn though he cannot be sure.
The samurai does not answer, instead throwing another shovelful of coals into the boiler and poking it expertly with the stoking iron. He turns the crank to engage the central axle to the steam engine expertly as if he had been doing Shinsho’s job for years and quietly reaches for the engagement drive that will propel the pins and tin disk of the music-box. He lowers the flaring horn and suddenly the winter darkness is lit by tinny music. The samurai leans on the bicycle’s giant wheel and withdraws a pipe, packing it with tobacco from his obi. As the engine warms and the samurai puffs slowly, the snow-encrusted horses break from their lethargy and begin to slowly wind their way, once again perpetually tracing their paths into infinity.
Shinsho waits, and after some time tries again, “Samurai-sama,” he began, more composed now, “where is your friend?”
At last the tophatted samurai deigns to speak, and Shinsho sees he is weeping quietly again. His words are frightening, mad even, and Shinsho realizes he is grieving.
Ima Naoaki whispers his answer, “I am underwater. Naked and running out of air, deep down where all the light’s gone, and I have to come up for air. I spend every last precious ounce of my life’s energy in the effort to rise to the surface and take that badly needed breath. And just as my heads breaks from the water… I remember, too late, I am a fish.”
Shinsho rubs his grease-covered hands together briskly over the dying coals of the carousel’s mighty steam engine, blowing into them and stomping his feet in the thin snow cover to warm himself. Presently the sound of a high-wheeler bicycle slowly winding its ways along the lake-wall emerges from the distant and muffled sound of the Yoshiwara revelry.
A dark figure, Shinsho notes to be samurai by the twin swords at the edge of his silhouette, guides the towering contraption towards the carousel. The samurai is thin, neither old nor young, with a long mustache trailing to his chin. He wears a tophat in the English fashion but is dressed more conservatively, in both haori and kimono. He alights from the bicycle with practiced ease and steps slowly towards the carousel’s engine, seemingly not noticing Shinsho.
The samurai has evidently been weeping; the glowing embers of the engine shine on his wet cheeks and give evidence to reddened eyes. Still ignoring Shinsho, the samurai steps towards the engine and opening the coal-door reaches to fill it from the bin behind Shinsho.
Shinsho steps back and stares at the strange samurai, unsure what to say and frightened at his strange nighttime appearance in the otherwise still night. There is something familiar to him Shinsho thinks but it is only as the samurai begins to fill the engine’s boiler that he recognizes him, recognizing in the man the actions of another who had accompanied him once.
He bows deeply, suddenly aware that he has not yet done so, “Konbanwa. I recognize you,” he blurts without decorum, “Two nights ago you were here with a younger samurai, more junior. He wore a tophat like yours and you paid me generously to let him operate the engine." He pauses briefly, "You did not have your tophat then.” Shinsho thinks perhaps the tophat the thin mustachioed samurai wears was the one the younger samurai who had operated his carousel had worn though he cannot be sure.
The samurai does not answer, instead throwing another shovelful of coals into the boiler and poking it expertly with the stoking iron. He turns the crank to engage the central axle to the steam engine expertly as if he had been doing Shinsho’s job for years and quietly reaches for the engagement drive that will propel the pins and tin disk of the music-box. He lowers the flaring horn and suddenly the winter darkness is lit by tinny music. The samurai leans on the bicycle’s giant wheel and withdraws a pipe, packing it with tobacco from his obi. As the engine warms and the samurai puffs slowly, the snow-encrusted horses break from their lethargy and begin to slowly wind their way, once again perpetually tracing their paths into infinity.
Shinsho waits, and after some time tries again, “Samurai-sama,” he began, more composed now, “where is your friend?”
At last the tophatted samurai deigns to speak, and Shinsho sees he is weeping quietly again. His words are frightening, mad even, and Shinsho realizes he is grieving.
Ima Naoaki whispers his answer, “I am underwater. Naked and running out of air, deep down where all the light’s gone, and I have to come up for air. I spend every last precious ounce of my life’s energy in the effort to rise to the surface and take that badly needed breath. And just as my heads breaks from the water… I remember, too late, I am a fish.”
Last edited:
Decamper
..!
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2014
- Messages
- 1,159
From: The Sublime Porte
To: Hungary
CC: World
The Pact of Szeged
After too much shed blood, the Sublime Port and Hungary have signed the Pact of Szeged, affirming a state of nonaggression with one another, as well as a pledge to work together for the betterment of both peoples.
Signed - The Grand Divan of the Sublime Porte
To: Hungary
CC: World
The Pact of Szeged
After too much shed blood, the Sublime Port and Hungary have signed the Pact of Szeged, affirming a state of nonaggression with one another, as well as a pledge to work together for the betterment of both peoples.
Signed - The Grand Divan of the Sublime Porte
Sniiperman456
Warlord
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2016
- Messages
- 253
I confirm this.
The Boer-Braganza Accord
1. A mutual military alliance will be agreed upon between the Free Boer Republic (FBR) and Portugal-Brazil (PB). Either party can terminate with a one year notice to the other party
2. A non-aggression pact shall be agreed upon for the duration of the alliance.
3. A mutual agreement to settle conflicting colonial claims peacefully
4. A mutual agreement to lower trade barriers and investment for one another
Signed Empress Isabel I of Portugal-Brazil
1. A mutual military alliance will be agreed upon between the Free Boer Republic (FBR) and Portugal-Brazil (PB). Either party can terminate with a one year notice to the other party
2. A non-aggression pact shall be agreed upon for the duration of the alliance.
3. A mutual agreement to settle conflicting colonial claims peacefully
4. A mutual agreement to lower trade barriers and investment for one another
Signed Empress Isabel I of Portugal-Brazil
From Poland
To Hungary
You are the only major neighbor of ours that we are willing to have a non-aggression deal with. You have been an oppressed nation for years, and we have reasons to trust you. But stay away from our borders, our business, and our politics. If you break this rule, the non-aggression pact is cancelled.
On a separate note: I love, love, love Immaculate's stories, so his nation gets a resource cookie this turn. There's many more cookies where it came from.
To Hungary
You are the only major neighbor of ours that we are willing to have a non-aggression deal with. You have been an oppressed nation for years, and we have reasons to trust you. But stay away from our borders, our business, and our politics. If you break this rule, the non-aggression pact is cancelled.
On a separate note: I love, love, love Immaculate's stories, so his nation gets a resource cookie this turn. There's many more cookies where it came from.
FAQ - Part 2
- If I have no units of a particular type, are my tech upgrades coming for free? I have erroneously told some people that yes, it comes as a free action in that case. But then, after playing it out in theory, I see how it allows players to break the game in some aspects. So let's agree that you can't upgrade your techs if you have no units of that type. You can only roll back techs in that case.
tobiisagoodboy
Prince
"Padre, sadly the Colombians and North Africans have denied our offers, we wanted to do honest business with them, but they wouldn't accept. They see us as trash."
A small smile was visible on the old mans face, as he listend to the younger men around him. Yes, it was sad that they couldn't secure these recourses for their industry, but for now they had accept it.
"That is sad, Angelo my boy, but I know that their arrogance is not your fault, I should have known this from the start." the men around him visibly relaxed after this words, as the old men went on.
"We did our best to build the, our republic, but nobody wants to accept us in this world. We will ahve to use other methods to gain what we need.". He now took a short break, inhaling the the zigarette smoke around him, before he went on.
"Luigi, my younger brother, are the ships ready ?" he asked and his over ten years younger brother replied
"Yes, my squadron is ready to sail to Greece and cooperate with the Turks in fighting these pirates." a few of the present men looked suprised, it was not their style to use the military to fight other criminals.
"Good, maybe this cooperation will offer some other benefits, but for now, please cooperate with them as good as possible." Luigi saluted his older brother, before he left the gathering. The Padres younger brother always stuck out like a sore thumb, everybody wore suits or civillian clothes here but he came in his flashy admiral uniform.
"The other familys are getting nervous, they fight with us for turfs, both in our motherland and elsewhere, we must find a solution to this, padre." another man raised the question the oldest man replied.
"Yes, infighting between the families is bad. We build this republic and if we start fighting each other, powers from the outside or inside will use this to remove us from power. I'll think about it. We must find a compromise to stabalice our nation, maybe we'll even have to give up some turf, but we can not allow our nation to fall apart." the man around him nooded, before an old woman, the Padres wife, came into the room, carrying a large plate to the desk. Pizza was on it and the man started to praise her.
"Oh mama, what would we do without you ? You're spoiling us so much." the old man also smiled and after smoching her cheek, he said "Oh my dear cuoricino, you really spoil us all too much."
(Sorry for this cliche post, I had to do it)
christos200
Never tell me the odds
Really sorry but will have to drop out. I do not have much free time right now and so I cannot do justice to this game.
