DisNES II "A Twist of Fate"

[Disenfrancised]

A Twist of Fate

Summary

A twist of fate brought the supreme english victory in Agincourt under the command of a Henry Plantagenet, and the following history of europe and the world was very different. Now, three hundred years later, with the rise and fall of the Iberian and Plantagenet empires, and the rise and rise of the Ottomans and Hapsburgs, we find a world bursting with energy. In every threatre; Europe, India, and Asia, enemies old and new prepare to lock horns and do battle. A century of regional and fractional warfare seems inevitable in the old world...

...unless of course fate roles her dice again, and gives the Old Worlders space to breath. For Transoceania sits undiscovered after all this time, its inhabitants blissfully unaware of the forces that might soon bare down on them. The fate of this world, like so many others, will depend on the luck of kings and nations. Are you felling lucky?

Alt history

Can be found in the Alternative history thread. Or in the handy word document I've attached to this post.

Links to Updates

1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708

 

[Disenfrancised]

Rules

Players, stories, orders, NPCs, barbarians, updates, map, countries

Players - unlimited. Please only join if you trully have the time to PARTICIPATE, and that doesn't simply mean telling me to "grow economy" at every turn.

Stories - not necessary, but very encouraged. For good (and FULL-LENGTH, i.e. two-three lines will not be considered one) stories, I will give out story bonuses (but not as generous as in ITNES I). Don't forget that stories create atmosphere like nothing else (apart from good, precise, in-depth updates perhaps, but that's not my specialty I'm afraid).

Orders - orders in a list. Ideally, they should be precise and easily-understandable, because I'll have to deal with lots of them; naturally, they will probably be quite long anyway because you people rarely trust your buerocrats and generals for some reason. In democratic and other councillary forms of government (such as Feudalism), you'll have to take the opinion of your council into account; sometimes, depending on your nation's constitution, it might even take matters into its own hands altogether. This, by the way, is one of the reasons for you to send orders a day before the deadline, so that I have time to inform you if the council disapproves of any parts of your orders; the other reason is that it just makes things easier for me. Oh, and note that some of the actions you order might inadvertly have sideeffects, positive or negative.

NPCs - lol, considering they’re NPC, I will play them, kinda. Same as the NPCs in all other NESes of late. Some will roll over rather easily, some will be harder to fight than PCs...

Barbarians - as not all of the world is civilized yet (most is), the barbarians will be there. Not innovatively, they will be light gray and have no stats. They will have their names written on them, unless I forget to do that. And many of them are likely to attack you and try to eat you; others only want to be left alone, and when somebody tries to change that they will... well, they'll try to eat whoever tries that too. The barbarians are NOT to be underestimated, some of them could bring out a horde of ferocious warriors five times larger then your army (okay, maybe not).

Updates – Will occur on a weekly basis, deadlines (apart from the first) will be Fridays, allowing me to complete the update over the weekend.

Map - I will use the current version of the collectively-improved "Jason map". I will put in cities (black circles), fortifications (line of black squares) and rebellion areas (dark gray area within nations). A capital is a city with white borders; an economic center is a city with red borders (a capital economic center will have a combination of the two).

Countries - pick a NPC or start a rebellion or just clamour incessantly for independence (hey, it worked in OTL...). Also, please read your nation background, and don’t act uncharacteristically. There are no alliances at the start, but there are some traditional allegiences, as mentioned in the nation backgroudns; to go against these allegiences is sometimes necessary, but is almost certainly an unpopular thing to do.

NATIONAL TEMPLATE
Nation Name
Capital:
Ruler:
Government:
Centralization:
Tech. Level:
Army (Training):
Navy (Training):
Economy:
Size (points required):
Leadership (Military/Civilian): /
Infrastructure:
Education:
Living Standards:
Culture:
Confidence:
Projects:
Nation Background:

Government

Government - is your form of government. You are free to change your government, and explain it how ever do you want, but that can piss off followers of the previous governments, and might lead to nation-wide riots, or even a civil war. Also, keep it historical. That is, you could invent your own government, but it must make sense for YOUR nation of THAT time. You could consult me about that.

Centralization

This is one of the most important issues of politics historically and today. A centralized state is, on one hand, more stable, and can command its resources more efficiently; but, on the other hand, it is very vulnerable to attacks on the center and is unlikely to be popular among the various minorities, whereas a decentralized state is less stable, less united, but is harder to destroy from within and indeed is more defendable.

You usually (barring random events or unforeseen consequences of your actions) could change your centralization "slider" once per turn, and ofcourse only move forward or backward a level. However, do know that changes are unlikely to be welcomed by those who like the way things are AND ofcourse those who want to move in the opposite direction...

League-Loose Confederation-Confederation-Loose Federation-Federation-Tight Federation-Unitary with Exceptions-Unitary-Uberunitary-More Unitary-Overcentralized

Technology Level

Will use the age system. It is the same as in other NESes of other people, ofcourse the ages are not identical. They will advance at their own pace, though nations with higher education are likelier to advance to the next age.

Early Ages; for which the Military Upkeep threshold occurs at nation Size times 10

Late Copper Age
Early Iron Age
Middle Iron Age
Late Iron Age

Later Ages; for which the Military Upkeep threshold occurs at nation Size times 20

Note that shipbuilding technology (but not naval weaponry) is about half a century behind OTL in all stages past Early Gunpowder Age. Names also subject to revision.

Early Gunpowder Age <1540
Middle Gunpowder Age 1540-1500 OTL
Late Gunpowder Age 1570-1600 OTL
Early Age of Reason 1600-1640 OTL
Middle Age of Reason 1640-1670 OTL
Late Age of Reason 1670 -1700 OTL
Early Enlightenment Age (AT) Early 18th OTL, with some mass production
Middle Enlightenment Age (AT)
Late Enlightenment Age (AT)
Pre-Industrial (AT)

Military

That will, as of now, consist of army and navy (later to be joined by air force). These will be number-based as it gives more versatility. These will be represented in divisions and squadrons (at a later date, I might also add "capital ships" as a separate part of the navy).

What will you have in it? Anything that you can have in it, according to your tech level; if you aren't sure about something, just ask me for clarification. If you just invented some sort of a weapon, you will have to invest some money to re-equip your army/navy with it; the training will also probably drop, due to the unfamiliarity of the weapons. Each &#8220;stat-growth&#8221; will increase any part of military by 5 (however, there could be exceptions). But know that if you have too large an army, your economy will probably suffer, as will your confidence; ofcourse, both could be, sometimes, restored by succesful military campaigns, or perhaps campaigns of propaganda back at home. If you grow your military too fast, your training, and later your military leadership, will suffer.

UUs - one per nation, but can be changed at any point (though the newly-&#8220;demoted&#8221; UU units will not be happy). I will keep a list of them, somewhere. Could be land, sea, or air at a later point. They will be separated from other units in the stats. They are grown as normal units. Remember to keep them REALISTIC. If the amount of UUs exceeds the amount of regular units, they will begin to drop in quality, morale and also in loyalty as their commanders, often being rather arrogant and ambitious (hey, they aren't commanders of an elite unit for nothing), will probably try to use their power base in one way or another.

Irregulars - local militias and simple civilian population that, for whatever reasons, took up arms - most often in rebellion or to defend against an invader, though there are exceptions - they aren't good for much that isn't guerrila warfare, though they can also be a neat diversion, and professional cannon fodder. They aren't too reliable, and often are rather hard for you to control; then again, they are also best left uncontrolled - they fight even worse when away from home, and, on the other hand, if at home they'll probably know what to do better, with their knowledge of the situation and the terrain.

Training - it is done in levels. There are separate training stats for army, navy and fleet, and it is grown with eco. points. UU is assumed to be one level higher then the average training level for its branch. If your army grows too quickly, there will be a chance of training level lowering.

None-Rabble-Semi-Rabble-Tolerable-Normal-Better-Good-Very Good-Professional-Elite

Conscription will give you a certain amount of conscript divisions that you could specify if you want; ofcourse, conscription, especially in democratic countries, tends to be quite unpopular, especially the large-scale variety...

As a certain Corsican once said in OTL, an army marches on its stomach. Logistical support is necessary for any real military operations, so you will probably have to invest 1 eco. point into each such operation, whether offensive or defensive; if involving a particularily-large army (or navy), or if taking place in a difficult territory with little chances for local resupply, you might have to invest more than one eco. point. And if its a large army somewhere far away in the middle of a desert... things get interesting.

Economy

Economy levels still play the vital role. However, the amount of economy points that you have differs from level to level (if you get a negative amount of them, I will decrease a random stat per negative point); it is also influenced by random events and by economic centers (cities that are either trade centers, industrial centers or capitals of agriculturally-rich provinces); each of the latter provides one eco. point per turn to whoever holds it at the time (i.e. if it is on occupied territory, the occupier receives the eco. point). To grow economy (i.e. to advance from one level to another), you have to a) not spend your eco. points, apart from those received from eco. centers, on anything else that turn and b) to point out what exactly are you going to do to grow it (note that eco. growth might not always be succesful, depending on what you do and how things fold out).

Eco. points could (and should) be spent on growing military, miscellanous stats (see below), logistical support for the military and on continuing projects. Speaking of the latter, you could also invest a whole eco. level into a project to speed it up by two turns.

Eco. points cannot be banked.

Eco. levels still could be "sacrificed", i.e. converted into 6 eco. points each. Only two eco. levels could be sacrificed per turn.

Creation of economic centers also requires the investment of at least one eco. point into some specific development programs, most of the times anyway.

Depression (-2)-Bankrupt (-1)-Recession (-1)-Very Poor (0)-Poor (0)-Not Bad (+1)-Normal (+1)-Good Enough (+2)-Growing (+2)-Rich (+3)-Very Rich (+3)-Richer (+4)-Richest (+4)-Economic Powerhouse (+5)-Monopoly (+6) (after Monopoly, you get Monopoly+x (+6+x), where x is the amount of economy levels beyond Monopoly)

Note - under my watch it seems easier to gain and loose economy levels than in dasNES's - prepare for a rollercoaster ride .

Size

The larger your country is, the more money you will have to spend to grow any particular stat. You could invest money into stat growth over time if your country is large enough; in that case, the stat will still increase, but only in some, probably central, parts of the country.

Tiny (1) - Small (1)-Medium (2)-Above Medium (3)-Large (4)-Huge (5)-Gargantuan (6)-Half the World (7)

Note that training and military leadership do NOT depend on the above country size. They depend on army size. You need one eco. point per a full 20 divisions to grow army training; 1 per 20 squadrons for navy training; 1 per 20 divisions OR 20 squadrons (so the total amount of eco. points needed is determined by the sum of both the divisions and the squadrons) for military leadership. Newly recruited troops come in at two training levels below the average training level of your nation.

Military Upkeep

Huge armies, far flung bases, occuping rebellious territory; all these thing cost a great deal of money. This will be represented in the stats by a negative number next to your economy. Note this is just a reminder; you do not have to pay this each turn, if something else requires your attention and funding, but bad thing &#8482; will happen if you don&#8217;t&#8230;

The costs for maintaining outposts and occupation forces will be decided by me pretty much ad hoc, but the costs for huge armies are much more predictable. The is a grace size of the total nation size times a modifier based on the technological age (typically twenty) when you have no cost, but for every 20 (or 10 if you are less advanced) divisions or squadrons over that an upkeep of 1 EP a turn is imposed.

Note that for the purposes of military upkeep, the size level of &#8220;Tiny&#8221; counts as 0.5 towards the free units limit.

Miscellanous Stats

Those four/five stats below are all grown with eco. points, but, like with growing economy itself, you are supposed to point out what exactly you are doing.

Leadership

Whether military or civilian, leadership is an important factor. Competent military leaders will succesfully carry out plans or will even attain some successes on their own without orders; competent buerocrats will greatly help all government programs and assist the development of the land. But incompetent generals will even with the best plan stagger and blunder, while incompetent civilian administrators will embezzle funds and otherwise will be corrupt. So, this is quite crucial, and cadre preparation thus should be an important priority. Note that sometimes it is best to give specifics when growing this stat (meaning, how EXACTLY are you training your new leaders - what military doctrines should be emphasized, for instance, what stance should your buerocrats take on the various rebels, et cetera). When you expand your army radically, your military leadership will suffer; when you expand your territory, the civilian one will.

Feel free to ask me any questions, but the quality of answers you receive will be based (or at least I&#8217;ll try to base them) on the quality of your leadership .

None-Imbecile-Moronic-Stupid-Incompetent-Barely Tolerable-Tolerable-Competent-Better-Good-Brilliant

Infrastructure

Roads, bridges, boats - all things used for transportation of goods and men - are listed under infrastructure. The higher is your infrastructure, the easier it is to move your (or enemy) troops across your territory; also, infrastructure could sometimes slightly grow economic benefits from trade centers, and it is a must for maintenance of a high culture level in large empires, as well as actually maintaining your grip on faraway provinces.

None-Dirt Paths-Pathetic-Barely Tolerable-Tolerable-Improving-Good-Efficient-Very Efficient-Great-Excellent

Education

This is just how your people are... educated, I guess. Obvious enough. With a good education, you have better chances of receiving a &#8220;miraculous invention&#8221;. You could design better walls and siege engines, and ships for that matter, with higher education. The higher education, the more chances you have to develop some technology.

Once someone reaches Enlightenment education, he becomes much more likely to reach the next age as soon as it becomes possible at all. When he does, he loses two education levels.

None-Dumb-Illiterate-Tolerable-Literate-Educated-Well Educated-Perfect-Academic-Enlightenment

Living Standards

This is pretty simple. The higher your living standards are, the happier your population is; the lower, the tougher it is, because of the tougher life. Living standards drop easily, due to economic weakness and war; they are raised as any other economic stats are raised, but the more they are raised the more greedy your people get for more. To create a classic revolutionary situation, raise the living standards somewhat and then neglect them and let them drop.

None-Slums-Very Low-Low-Barely Tolerable-Tolerable-Normal-Higher-Very High-Splendid

Culture

NOTE: NO LONGER CAN BE GROWN BY ECONOMY DIRECTLY.

This is how culturally strong, patriotic and unified your nation is. A nation with strong patriotism is less likely to fall into a civil war, and it&#8217;s people would resist most invaders and otherwise help their government. This also influences army morale. A nation with weak patriotism is unlikely to be as resistant to outside threats, there will often be rebellions and defections.

None-Divided-Untrusting-Average-Strongly Cultured-Devoted-Patriotic-Hyperpatriotic-Jingoist-Uberpatriotic

Confidence

NOTE: NO LONGER CAN BE GROWN BY ECONOMY DIRECTLY.

People can be fiercely unified and patriotic, but they will not necessarily like their ruler - in fact, a strongly
cultured nation with little confidence in its leaders can, in its cultural unity, lynch the rulers and fire their remains from cannons. Into the huge pot filled with boiled sharks. Not that the rulers will care by then...

Lynching-Hateful-Resentful-Barely Tolerating-Tolerating-Respecting-Admiring-Loving-Nation Personified

Investments

Wait! There is even more stuff you could waste your treasury on! Particularily, you could invest it, in the form of eco. points, into all sorts of programs - for example, you could invest them into the development of some technology (NOTE - it MUST be something conceivable for this time. You probably will have to consult me about this too... :sigh: ), though the success will depend not just on the amount of money invested, but also on your education level and on chance. Sometimes it could take quite a while. Or maybe you could invest it into a colonial venture. Or into some nice idea that you have, such as a jungle-clearing program that might increase infrastructure, and, in long-term, economy. This is also one of the few ways you could increase culture and confidence using money.

Note - in no case is success - or, at least, complete success - guaranteed. But its possible.

Detirioration

Over time, all your stats will detiriorate. This can be sped up by many factors, such as war, rebellion, neglect, low economy (not just with a minus eco. point, though the lower the "better"), et cetera. You could delay this by investing money into maintaining your current stats, the more money the less your stats will detiriorate.

Projects

Local equivalent of wonders (that name is inappropriate in most NESes, as these are often modernization programs, national revival and other PROJECTS, not just huge and magnificent buildings). You tell me what it does, I tell you how long do you build it. You will have to invest an eco. point once each turn for the work on the project to continue You can sacrifice an econ. level to speed it up by THREE turns, or invest 2 additional eco. points to speed it up by one more turn. Note that there is a limit - you can only invest one eco. level per turn, and accordingly only 6 extra eco. points per turn. The exact time it takes to build a project will depend on too many factors to list here. You can stop and restart Projects later, doing a different one at the same time, but you can only hurry (i.e. spend more than 1 EP) one in each turn.

Nation Background

To better fit in as the ruler of your country, you will have a brief history of each country here.

Naval Routes

In the "Misc" section is a list of naval routes you can or have unlocked. Who gets to uncover them is dependent on luck (A RNG number generator), some nations have higher chances than others, but it is out of the player control. Until you stumble on the new lands, play as if the Old World is the only world - fancies of fairy kingdoms across the seas is for dreamers, not important statesmen/women such as yourself .

 

[Disenfrancised]

- Kingdom of Affalon.
Capital: Caer Murchaid
Ruler: Bhinseri Myrddin\Swissempire
Government: Semi-feudal Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary with Exceptions
Tech. Level: Middle Age of Reason
Army (Training): 5 Divisions (Semi-Rabble)
Navy (Training): 9 Squadrons (Better)
Economy: Normal (+1) (-1 Military Upkeep)
Size (points required): Tiny (1)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Barely Tolerable/Incompetent
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Tolerable
Living Standards: Barely Tolerable
Culture: Jingoist
Confidence: Admiring
Projects: Bre&#225; Fadiascaireacht (+Caer Murchaid Economy Center) Done! Coexist and conquer (+1 Culture, Influence over natives) Done! Rinn Chuig Calafort (Expanded territory) 1/30
Nation Background: Grown from the small settlement that was the last gasp of the Kingdom of Ireland before its conquest by the English, the Kingdom of Affalon has great opportunities for both success and ruin. Success; as the only technologically advanced nation in Transoceania they have the room to grow be a true Power, and ruin; the real powers of Europe could crush the Affalonians&#8230;if they can find them. The tiny population and technical base is a hindrance as well.

- Tarascan Michoacan.
Capital: Tzintzuntzan
Ruler:
Government: Bureaucratic Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary
Tech. Level: Early Iron Age
Army (Training): 3 irregular divisions
Navy (Training): None yet
Economy: Not Bad (+1)
Size (points required): Small (1)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Competent/Competent
Infrastructure: Barely Tolerable
Education: Perfect
Living Standards: Tolerable
Culture: Hyperpatriotic
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Nation Background: The Old Tarascan Empire briefly dominated Mesica after the Defeat of the Aztecs, but cultural differences and organizational failings eventually pushed them back to their Michoacan homelands, before the Pox devastated the land. However the people are dynamic, united, and martial; perhaps to rise to some new glory? As long as the Acolhuan threat is mitigated in some way of course&#8230;

- Acolhuan Empire.
Capital: Texcoco
Ruler: Priest-King Tlaneltoquititletl\Kal'thazar
Government: Theocratic Empire
Centralization: More unitary
Tech. Level: Early Iron Age
Army (Training): 11 Divisions (Tolerable) 27 Moteinemiliz Zealot Divisions (Tolerable)
Navy (Training): 11 Squadrons (Tolerable)
Economy: Normal (+1) (-1 Military Upkeep, -1 Civilian Upkeep)
Size (points required): Above Medium (3)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Tolerable (1/2)/Tolerable
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Literate
Living Standards: Tolerable
Culture: Strongly Cultured
Confidence: Loving
Projects: Moteinemiliz Cualania (Secret) Done!
Notes: 2EP Loot
Nation Background: The Second Acolhuan empire since the Defeat of the Aztecs was hit hard by the Pox. Under this stress their monotheistic religion&#8230;changed somewhat; and the scheming of the great priest Nezahualcoatl forged the empire anew, as a theocracy under his command. The Lifegiver has been kind to this third empire, for now&#8230;

- T&#8217;ho League
Capital: Cubanacon City
Ruler: Ajaw Chak Tok Ich'aak II\
Government: Merchant-Aristocratic Oligarchy
Centralization: Tight Confederation
Tech. Level: Early Iron Age
Army (Training): 7 Divisions (Tolerable) 4 Irregular Divisions
Navy (Training): 25 Squadrons (Good)
Economy: Normal (+1)
Size (points required): Above Medium (3)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Barely Tolerable/Good
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Well Educated
Living Standards: Normal
Culture: Average
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects: Academy of Kukulcan the Teacher (+2 Education, +1 Civilian Leadership level, +1 Military Leadership) Done!
Nation Background: Most of the Mayan city-states were annihilated by the Pox, but the greatest and most advanced of them, T&#8217;ho, endured despite a severe weakening. The merchants and sailors of the city have rebuilt some of the satellite cities, and are forging out onto the Arawak Sea, with trading posts all around their Cubanacon lands.

- Incan Tawantin Suyu
Capital: Cuzco
Ruler: Sapa Inca Cupayuc\~Darkening~
Government: Divine Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary
Tech. Level: Early Iron Age
Army (Training): 18 Divisions (Normal) 4 Conscript Divisions
Navy (Training): 5 Squadrons (Semi Rabble) 5 Squadrons (Rabble)
Economy: Good Enough (+2)
Size (points required): Huge (5)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Competent/Tolerable
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Literate
Living Standards: Normal (3/5)
Culture: Strongly Cultured
Confidence: Respecting
Projects: Imperial Roads (+1 Infrastructure, +1 Living Standards) Done!
Nation Background: The Incans; masters of south Transoceania, lords of the Andes, the twice forged empire, insert pretentious title here&#8230;are doing well. Touched lightly by the Pox their military is ascendant over their neighbours, but the economy has stagnated, corruption is spreading and the civil institutions of the empire are sorely stretched.

- United Kingdom of Great Britain and France
Capital: London, Paris
Ruler: King Edward VII Tudor\JosefStalinator
Government: (weak) Parliamentary Monarchy
Centralization: Federation
Tech. Level: Early Enlightenment Age (AT)
Army (Training): 66 Divisions (Very Good) 11 Brigade de Fusee Divisions (Professional)
Navy (Training): 20 Squadrons (Professional) 34 Man O&#8217; War Squadrons (Professional)
Economy: Rich (+3) (-3 Military Upkeep, -1 Civilian Upkeep)
Size (points required): Large (4)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Good/Better
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Educated
Living Standards: Tolerable
Culture: Average
Confidence: Nation Personified+2
Projects: London Naval Academy (+1 Military Leadership, +2 Naval Training) Done! East India Trade Company (+Fort Edward Economy Centre, +Colombo Economy Centre) Done! Royal Marine Training (+3 Army Training levels, +1 Military Leadership) 3/6
Nation Background: Once unified under the banner of the Plantagenet empire, the waning of Plantagenet power allowed the outer tips of the British isles; Scotland, Wales and Ireland, to all break free in the 16th century. Wales did under the Tudors, a Welsh dynasty related to the Plantagenets. The Tudors first allied with the Scots, and as the Plantagenet star fell still further the Tudors made their move in 1656, when Robert Tudor rode into London. The Plantagenet empire, now the kingdom of France had to &#8220;recognize&#8221; his gains, and the kingdom has continued on quietly under the Tudors ever since, with brief military adventures to conquer Ireland and Scotland (plus their Icelandic colonies). However the Plantagenets still lurk beyond La Manche, and the kingdom has run out of directions to expand in.

- Kingdom of Iberia.
Capital: Lisbon
Ruler: John V\The Farow
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary with Exceptions
Tech. Level: Early Enlightenment Age (AT)
Army (Training): 12 Divisions (Professional) 30 Divisions (Very Good) 5 Marinas de Asalto (Very Good)
Navy (Training): 24 Squadrons (Elite)
Economy: Richer (+4) (-1 Military Upkeep)
Size (points required): Large (4)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Brilliant/Good
Infrastructure: Very Efficient
Education: Educated
Living Standards: Higher
Culture: Strongly Cultured
Confidence: Respecting
Projects: Economic revival (+3 Economy Levels) Done! Royal Bank of Lisbon (+Popularity for the Bank, +1 Confidence) 1/2
Nation Background: The Kingdom of Iberian, formed out of Castile and Portugal&#8217;s fear of Aragonese power, had mostly stayed out of European conflict in the past few centuries, minus some squabbles with Aragon over Navarre. It used this peace to build naval trading networks that literally spanned the world, reaching all the way to Japan, and amassed quite remarkable wealth. However all good things come to an end &#8211; the Turks broke the east African parts of Iberian power in the 1660s and the branches of Iberian power beyond that withered and died, plunging the homeland into an economic free fall. The Iberians are only just recovering, and reclaiming their position on the Indian Ocean seems unattainable. However not everything is dark &#8211; they still posses exclusive control of the African coasts down to Mozambique and the profits there of; perhaps this new realm can be developed and a more humble presence in the Indian Ocean established. And there is always the comfort of their near matchless Atlantic fleet.

Kingdom of Navarre
Capital: Pomplona
Ruler: King Garcia IV
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Tight Federation
Tech. Level: Early Enlightenment Age (AT)
Army (Training): 5 Divisions (Tolerable)
Navy (Training): 8 Squadrons (Elite)
Economy: Good Enough (+2)
Size (points required): Tiny (1)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Tolerable/Competent
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Educated
Living Standards: Normal
Culture: Hyperpatriotic
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Nation Background: The target of many a conqueror, this small kingdom and its majority Basque population has been seized and rebelled several times over the centuries. The most recent part of this cycle sees Navarre being a bone of contention between Iberia and Aragon, Aragon conquering it several times. Until recently it was free thanks to the Aragonese defeat at the hands of Francois I, but the Iberians invaded in 1701 and toppled the old monarchy. Now with Iberians distractions in France the Navarrese have risen up once more, but must take a neutral path or risk destruction.

- Kingdom of Aragon.
Capital: Saragossa
Ruler: King Alfonso VII\Cuivienen
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Tight Federation
Tech. Level: Early Enlightenment Age (AT)
Army (Training): 20 Divisions (Elite) 11 Divisions (Very Good) 20 Berber Light Cavalry Divisions (Professional) 3 Irregular Divisions
Navy (Training): 2 Squadrons (Very Good)
Economy: Bankrupt (-1)
Size (points required): Above Medium (3)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Brilliant/Competent
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Tolerable
Living Standards: Normal
Culture: Untrusting
Confidence: Barely Tolerating
Projects: The National System (+4 Education, +2 Culture) 5/11 Nueva Aragon: (+Barcelona EC, +2 Economy) 4/5
Nation Background: The approval of the great pope Eugenius IV allowed Aragon to gain Naples in the 15th century, and firmly focused the nation on the Mediterranean, away from any possible Iberian alliance. Since then, despite the great struggles with the Turks, the throne of Aragon has grown to be the foremost economic and naval power of the western Mediterranean and dominate North Africa. Now however, many powers circle Aragon&#8217;s little tide pool; the French have managed to seize Languedoc and now may challenge the Aragonese hegemony, the Iberians are recovering from their fall, and the Turk waits in the East as always.

- Kalmar Union.
Capital: Kalmar
Ruler: Christian VI\Luckymoose
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary with Exceptions
Tech. Level: Early Enlightenment Age (AT)
Army (Training): 22 Divisions (Very Good) 6 Royal Marine Divisions (Professional) 5 Irregular Divisions
Navy (Training): 18 Squadrons (good)
Economy: Growing (+2)
Size (points required): Above Medium (3)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Good (1/2) /Tolerable
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Educated
Living Standards: Tolerable (1/3)
Culture: Untrusting
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects: Christians Master Plan (+1 Confidence, +1 Culture,+2 Living Standards,+2 Civilian Leadership) 2/7
Nation Background: War-torn and divided by the various fractions for the last few centuries, the Kalmar union has never amounted to much on the stage of Europe, despite Christian III&#8217;s attempts to forge the unions of Denmark-Norway and Sweden-Finland together in the late 16th century, quietly developing it&#8217;s trade, industry and civil wars. Things are peaceful now however &#8211; a series of small wars with the Imperials and Russians has unified the populace against these outside threats. However the unity is a fragile thing still and its enemies are mighty indeed&#8230;

-The Hapsburg Principality of Burgundy
Capital: Dijon
Ruler: Prince Ulrich Hapsburg/emu
Government: Aristocratic-Parliamentary Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary
Tech. Level: Early Enlightenment Age (AT)
Army (Training): 28 Divisions (Professional)
Navy (Training): 10 Squadrons (Normal)
Economy: Growing (+2) (-1 Imperial Tithes)
Size (points required): Small (1)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Brilliant/Brilliant
Infrastructure: Excellent
Education: Perfect
Living Standards: Higher
Culture: Devoted
Confidence: Loving
Projects:
Nation Background: One of the three Principalities formed by Josef III to pre-empt the disintegration of the HRE, Burgundy is once more independent (more or less) after centuries of subordination. Now the Burgundians seek to expand into the Atlantic and North Sea trade while developing their profitable crafts and industry. If they ally with Greater Hanover they may even prove a match for the commercial might of Britain.

-The Hapsburg Principality of Greater Hanover
Capital: Hamburg
Ruler:
Government: Aristocratic-Parliamentary Monarchy
Centralization: less
Tech. Level: Early Enlightenment Age (AT)
Army (Training): 12 Divisions (Very Good) 10 Stormtrooper Divisions (Good)
Navy (Training): 12 Squadrons (Good) 4 Squadrons (Very Good)
Economy: Rich (+2) (-1 Imperial Tithes)
Size (points required): Small (1)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Good/Brilliant
Infrastructure: Efficient
Education: Perfect
Living Standards: Normal
Culture: Strongly Cultured
Confidence: Barely Tolerating
Projects:
Nation Background: The second of the three Principalities formed, the empire has finally decided to divest itself of the ever rebellious princes and cities of northern Germans. What they will do now remains to be seen &#8211; work for a share of Atlantic trade? Meddle in Scandinavian politics? Or maybe even something greater still? Whatever they decide on the region has much potential if it can conserve its unity.

-The Hapsburg Principality of Mecklenburg
Capital: Rostock
Ruler:
Government: Aristocratic-Parliamentary Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary with Exceptions
Tech. Level: Early Enlightenment Age (AT)
Army (Training): 9 Divisions (Very Good)
Navy (Training): 1 Squadron (Normal)
Economy: Growing (+2) (-1 Imperial Tithes)
Size (points required): Tiny (1)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Brilliant/Brilliant
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Educated
Living Standards: Higher
Culture: Strongly Cultured
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Nation Background: the smallest and weakest of the three principalities the men of the Baltic coast still have much they can accomplish. With Kalmar&#8217;s current weakness the control of Baltic trade lies open, and Mecklenburg merchant-adventurers already throng in Riga and Helsinki.

- Holy Roman Empire (S&#252;dlichreich)
Capital: M&#252;nchen
Ruler: Josef III Hapsburg\Insane_Panda
Government: Aristocratic-Parliamentary Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary
Tech. Level: Early Enlightenment Age (AT)
Army (Training): 48 Divisions (Elite) 44 Jaeger Divisions (Elite) 11 Irregular divisions
Navy (Training): 9 Squadrons (Elite+1)
Economy: Richer (+4) (-1 Military Upkeep) (+4 Tithes from the Principalities)
Size (points required): Large (4)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Better/Good
Infrastructure: Great
Education: Well Educated
Living Standards: Higher
Culture: Average
Confidence: Loving
Projects: Gleichschaltung (New Federal government, +2 Centralization, +1 Civilian Leadership) Done! Wachstum und Betreibt (+1 Centralization, +1 Economy, +1 Infrastructure, +1 Economy Centre) Done!
Nation Background: The Pax Habsburgus reigns over most of Europe; the acquisitions of Poland, Hungary and Burgundy by various great Hapsburgs past has allowed the dynasty to impose its rules and its leadership on the diverse regions of the holy roman empire, even northern Italy. Ironically the Realms are much more loyal than the empire itself, fearing attack from the many powerful enemies that encircle them &#8211; France, Russia and the Ottomans. After the death of Rudolph II in 1696 the empire has been wracked with instability and is under threat from the Ottomans. Will the Pax restore its unity and defeat its enemies, and take advantage of the cultural and technological renaissance that is flowering in its lands, or will it break apart on the hammer of history?

- Hapsburg Principality of Savoy
Capital: Grenoble
Ruler: Duke Victor
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Uberunitary
Tech. Level: Early Enlightenment Age (AT)
Army (Training): 17 Divisions (Professional)
Navy (Training): 10 Squadrons (Good)
Economy: Rich (+3) (-1 Military Upkeep, -1 Imperial Tithes)
Size (points required): Small (1)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Competent/Good
Infrastructure: Very Efficient
Education: Well Educated
Living Standards: Higher
Culture: Hyperpatriotic
Confidence: Loving
Projects:
Nation Background: One of the few still autonomous realms of the Holy Roman Empire, maintained mainly as a strong bulwark against France in the south. Investment has poured in from the HRE to beef up the small state, and its trading power on the Mediterranean is rising. Despite this rosy recent past, the Duchy looks set to become a battleground&#8230;unless something quite remarkable happens.

- The Papal States.
Capital: Rome
Ruler: \
Government: Theocracy
Centralization: Uberunitary
Tech. Level: Early Enlightenment Age (AT)
Army (Training): 16 Noble Guard Divisions (Elite+1)
Navy (Training): None yet
Economy: Growing (+2)
Size (points required): Tiny (1)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Barely Tolerable/Better
Infrastructure: Very Efficient
Education: Enlightenment
Living Standards: Higher
Culture: Patriotic
Confidence: Loving
Projects: Vallo Miseratio (pays for 2 points of military upkeep, +5 Noble Guard) Done!
Nation Background: The temporal power of the Papal State has waned slightly in recent years with the HRE and Aragon acquiring all the other Italian states, and France ceasing to listen to the Pope anymore. However the Pope still wields great influence over the Catholic populace, and the city of Rome and the Papal States themselves have grown rich and beautiful as the epicenter of the Catholic Renaissance.

- Empire of Russia.
Capital: MoscowMoscowMoscow
Ruler: Vladimir II\Symphony D
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary
Tech. Level: Late Age of Reason
Army (Training): 6 Divisions (Elite) 37 Divisions (Good) 11 &#1089;&#1087;&#1077;&#1094;&#1085;&#1072;&#1079; Divisions (Elite) 35 Irregular Divisions (Semi-Rabble)
Navy (Training): 25 Squadrons (Normal)
Economy: Normal (+1)
Size (points required): Large (4)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Brilliant/ Tolerable
Infrastructure: Efficient
Education: Tolerable
Living Standards: Tolerable
Culture: Uberpatriotic+1
Confidence: Respecting
Projects: &#1053;&#1086;&#1074;&#1072;&#1103; &#1047;&#1072;&#1088;&#1103; (+1 Education, Advance to Early Enlightenment Age (AT)) Done!, &#1053;&#1086;&#1074;&#1072;&#1103; &#1042;&#1086;&#1089;&#1090;&#1086;&#1082; (CEKPET) Done!
Nation Background: The Tsardom of Russia more than makes up for the liberalness of the rest of Europe with elite military units crushing all descent against the Tsar and Patriarch, to create a unified and extremely puritan Orthodox state. Since the victory of Ioann III in the Brothers war of 1682-1686 Russia has turned its attention eastward; expanding into Siberia. However Ioann&#8217;s successors may once more find Europe&#8230;distracting, particularly the activities of old enemies such as the HRE and the Turk (oh and the Kalmar union as well, but they are pretty minor in the grand scheme of things).

- Ottoman Empire.
Capital: Constantinople
Ruler: Sultan Mehmed IV /das
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary with Exceptions
Tech. Level: Early Enlightenment Age (AT)
Army (Training): 5 Divisions (Very Good) 18 Divisions (Better) 19 Janissary Divisions (Better) 29 Irregular Divisions 42 Conscript Divisions
Navy (Training): 72 Squadrons (Good)
Economy: Not Bad (+1) (-2 Military Upkeep)
Size (points required): Huge (5)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Brilliant/Good
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Perfect
Living Standards: Tolerable
Culture: Average
Confidence: Nation Personified +2
Projects:
Nation Background: Despite numerous set backs the Ottoman empire has been gradually rising to ascendance over the last few centuries; reconciling with its Christians (particularly the Genoese), reaching into Europe with several destructive raids (even sacking Rome at one point) and advances, and finally; breaking Iberian power over the Indian ocean with the great fleet of Ismail I the Shipbuilder. While not yet having taken the place of the Iberians in South East Asia and beyond, the rich and advanced Ottoman Empire is probably the most powerful nation on the planet at the current time.

- Songhay Empire.
Capital: Gao
Ruler: King Askia Mohammed Ture \Wubba360
Government: Feudal&#8211;Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Federation
Tech. Level: Early Gunpowder Age
Army (Training): 53 Divisions (Good) 7 Derka Camel Rider Divisions (Better)
Navy (Training): None Yet
Economy: Richer (+4)
Size (points required): Huge (5)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Competent/Good
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Educated
Living Standards: Tolerable
Culture: Strongly Cultured
Confidence: barely Tolerating
Projects: Civil Revival (+living standard, +education+, +civil leadership, +eco centre) 6/8
Nation Background: After the utter destruction of the Mali Empire by the Iberians under Pedro Hurtado in 1523 the Songhay Empire rose to become the hegemonic power of North West Africa, a position it has enjoyed to this day. Trading with the Iberians and quietly stagnating the empire has watched the decades fly by with only brief civil wars separating Dynasties. However the recent refocus of Iberia on Africa may wake up the slumbering giant as the region begins to experience some interesting times.

- Sultanate of Adal.
Capital: Harar
Ruler:
Government: Feudal Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary with Exceptions
Tech. Level: Middle Gunpowder Age
Army (Training): 27 Divisions (Better)
Navy (Training): None Yet
Economy: Growing (+22)
Size (points required): Medium (2)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Competent/Tolerable
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Educated
Living Standards: Tolerable
Culture: Strongly Cultured
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Nation Background: In the middle 16th century the Iberians and the Ottomans warred by proxy in the horn of Africa; the Iberians supporting Abyssinia, and the Ottomans the sultanate of Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi. In the end the Ottomans were better positioned and Adal carried the day, defeating the Abyssinians at Nazret and establishing their dominance (under Ottoman guidance of course). Now Africa lies open for this nation&#8230;What pieces the Ottomans don&#8217;t take of course.

 

[Disenfrancised]

Murad Persia
Capital: Arak
Ruler: Vakilol Ro'aya Ali Murad/
Government: Elective Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary with Exceptions
Tech. Level: Middle Gunpowder Age
Army (Training): 5 Divisions (Tolerable) 7 Irregular Divisions
Navy (Training): None Yet
Economy: Not Bad (+1)
Size (points required): Medium (2)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Good/Tolerable
Infrastructure: Pathetic
Education: Well Educated
Living Standards: Barely Tolerable
Culture: Strongly Cultured
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Nation Background: The Ottoman invasion of the Quqonid Khanate has provided an opportunity for the long suppressed Persians to rise up. Under the leadership of the Ottoman supported Ali Murad, the Persians have made great progress towards their goal, but the Khanate may soon strike back&#8230;

- Quqonid Khanate.
Capital: Samarqand
Ruler: \Stormbringer
Government: Feudal Monarchy
Centralization: Federation
Tech. Level: Middle Gunpowder Age
Army (Training): 35 Divisions (Normal) 6 irregular divisions
Navy (Training): 13 Squadrons (Tolerable)
Economy: Growing (+2)
Size (points required): Large (4)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Better/Barely Tolerable
Infrastructure: Pathetic
Education: Educated
Living Standards: Tolerable
Culture: Untrusting
Confidence: respecting
Projects:
Nation Background: The Quqonid Turkic dynasty unified much of Central Asia and Persia in the early 17th century in a series of marriages and military campaigns. Since then they have clashed many times with the Ottomans and the Gujarati&#8217;s, and have been aided and armed by the Russians who see an ally against Ottoman power. As the 18th century begins the Quqonids could prepare for another round of warfare, but they are unable to challenge the naval or technological power of the Ottomans&#8230;as things stand.

- Kingdom of Nepal.
Capital: Kathmandu
Ruler: Prince Prakash Malla\
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary
Tech. Level: Middle Gunpowder Age
Army (Training): 19 Divisions (Elite+1)
Navy (Training): None Yet
Economy: Good Enough (+2)
Size (points required): Small (1)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Brilliant/Tolerable
Infrastructure: Barely Tolerable
Education: Literate
Living Standards: Tolerable
Culture: Strongly Cultured
Confidence: Loving
Projects:
Nation Background: The petty states of the isolated Himalayan region were reunited (again) by the Malla Dynasty Prince Prakash Malla of Kathmandu in the late 17th century. His progress was eased by the militarization and unity enforced under the pressure of raids from the Gujarat Sultanate. Using his small but very elite military force King Prakash managed to annex the squabbling fiefs of Bhutan and beyond, securing his rule to the Brahmaputra river in the east. Under his successors this tiny kingdom stands ready to repel all who would attempt to attack its high valleys. Without the population base for empire, the skill of their military may allow the Nepalese to play kingmaker to the subcontinent.

- Sultanate of Greater Gujarat.
Capital: Champaner
Ruler: \shortguy
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary with Exceptions
Tech. Level: Middle Age of Reason
Army (Training): 65 Divisions (Very Good)
Navy (Training): 25 Squadrons (Good) 5 Squadrons (Normal)
Economy: Growing (+2)
Size (points required): Large (4)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Brilliant/Competent
Infrastructure: Efficient
Education: Educated
Living Standards: Normal
Culture: Average
Confidence: Admiring
Projects: Towards the Rising Sun (+Yanam Economy Centre, Middle Age of Reason) Done!
Nation Background: After the collapse of the Baburid Mughal Empire and the ensuing chaos the Sultanate of Gujarat gradually rose to power in southwest India, with generous Ottoman backing thanks to the Gujarati&#8217;s dislike of the Iberians. Though suffering somewhat under the golden age of the Iberians in the mid 16th century, they were never subdued. Under Bahadur III (r. 1578-1594) they reformed their army and bureaucracy along Ottoman lines and began to conquer the crumbling empires around it, culminating under Mohammed III and his son Muzaffar Shah II, who seized Bhinmal and Jodhpur, Delhi and Multan, and defeated a Quqonid invasion. With the defeat of the Iberians relations with the Ottomans began to sour, but the Sultanate is strong and unified, holding sway over most of north and central India.

- Kingdom of Bengal.
Capital: Dacca
Ruler: King Shankar
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary
Tech. Level: Early Age of Reason
Army (Training): 51 Divisions (Good)
Navy (Training): 30 Squadrons (Better)
Economy: Richer (+4) (-2 Military Upkeep)
Size (points required): Medium (2)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Good/Tolerable
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Educated
Living Standards: Normal
Culture: Strongly Cultured
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Nation Background: Helped to stabilize and develop by the Iberian merchant-conquerors throughout the 16th century, the Bengalese turned against the arrogant peninsularies when their power was broken, enslaving all those a Chittagong and building the nation into an aggressive power that has clashed with its neighbours on land and Sinhala (over the Andaman islands) and the White Malay (over their dislike of Iberians) on the high seas.

- Kingdom of Madras.
Capital: Madras
Ruler:
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Tight Federation
Tech. Level: Early Age of Reason
Army (Training): 12 Divisions (Good)
Navy (Training): None Yet
Economy: Growing (+2)
Size (points required): Small (1)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Barely Tolerable/Barely Tolerable
Infrastructure: Barely Tolerable
Education: Literate
Living Standards: Tolerable
Culture: Average
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Nation Background: Madras is the last remnants of the once mighty Vijayanagara empire, the old empire collapsing without Iberian allies to prop it up. This small state is weak and poorly developed, only surviving through the balance of power between the Gujarati&#8217;s (who might overstretch themselves currently in reaching it) and Sinhala.

- Qing Empire
Capital: Beijing
Ruler: \alex994
Government: Divine Monarchy
Centralization: Federation
Tech. Level: Early Age of Reason
Army (Training): 8 Ma Bing Divisions (Elite), 14 Xin Bing Divisions (Elite), 14 Divisions (Elite), 6 Divisions (Professional), 17 irregular divisions, 40 Conscript Divisions
Navy (Training): 5 Squadrons (Barely Tolerable)
Economy: Bankrupt (-1) (-1 Military Upkeep)
Size (points required): Large (4)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Good/Incompetent
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Tolerable
Living Standards: Tolerable
Culture: Patriotic
Confidence: Loving
Projects: Xin Guo (Army Modernization) Done! Project Xin Bing (National Modernization) 4/9
Nation Background: The Manchu of the north have threatened China since time immemorial. The most recent of these invasions occurred under the Later Jin dynasty established by Nurhachi in the early 17th century. With the distraction caused by the Japanese attack on Korea Nurchachi and his Eight Banner&#8217;s soon overran Beijing, Nurchachi declaring himself emperor of china in the process. Halted somewhat by Nurchachi&#8217;s death the conquest continued under his son Hung Taiji before peasant rebellions and Ming defenses caused it to grind to a halt. The Jin ambitions have been thwarted on all fronts by the Nan Ming and the Japanese in Korea, and the nation has become stagnated and backwards somewhat. But the military machine that secured all this land is still there; perhaps the Jin will be emperors of all china someday&#8230;

-Ming China
Capital: Nanjing
Ruler: \
Government: Divine Monarchy
Centralization: Federation
Tech. Level: Middle Age of Reason
Army (Training): 82 Divisions (Normal)
Navy (Training): None Yet
Economy: Not Bad (+1)
Size (points required): Huge (5)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Tolerable/Tolerable
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Well Educated
Living Standards: Normal
Culture: Average
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Nation Background: Most Emperors of the 17th century were pathetic weaklings, and Ming authority disintegrated all over China&#8230;not the best of times to do so as Mongol Barbarians, the Japanese and the Later Jin all wanted a piece of the pie. The Japanese took Korea whilst the Jin under Nurhachi (declaring himself emperor of china) overran the north. The Chongzhen Emperor retreated south and with benevolent influence of General Yong Chonghuan and several advisors, begun to reorganize the empire. This was perhaps a good thing as the reformed, reorganized and revived empire defeated the rebels, and halted the Jin in central China with their "Inner Great Wall". Bitter at the defeat still, the Nan Ming fought and lost wars with Japan in the 60s and Dai Viet in the 80s, but they are still hungry for revenge and expansion. The liberal-merchentile and the Confucianist-Agricultural elements have bitterly divided the nation in recent times. Will the Nan Ming heal their rifts and regain what they believe is rightly theirs (and some other lands as well)?

- Japanese Empire.
Capital: Kyoto
Ruler: \silver2029
Government: Divine Monarchy
Centralization: Tight Federation
Tech. Level: Middle Age of Reason
Army (Training): 12 Divisions (Elite)
Navy (Training): 27 Squadrons (Good) 5 Irregular Squadrons
Economy: Good Enough (+2) (-1 Military Upkeep)
Size (points required): Above Medium (3)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Brilliant/Better
Infrastructure: Efficient
Education: Perfect
Living Standards: Higher
Culture: Patriotic
Confidence: Admiring
Projects: New Horizons (advance to Late Age of Reason) 4/10
Notes: 2 EP Loot
Nation Background: In the last decades of the 16th century. Oda Nobunaga, leader of the Fujiwara family, having united the small central Japanese province of Owari under his rule begun campaigning outside of it as well, gradually defeating all the other Japanese factions with able use of European weaponry. He eventual became Shogun and taking great interest in the European culture, encouraged the revival and flourishing of Japanese trade and development. Japan is now on the ascendant in the Far East, its feudal strife mitigated by sending rebellious lords out to conquer a small but growing empire&#8230;a golden age for the land of the rising sun may be at hand.

- Arakan
Capital: Pathein
Ruler: Prince Singu
Government: Feudal Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary
Tech. Level: Middle Age of Reason
Army (Training): 7 Divisions (Good)
Navy (Training): 5 Squadrons (Good)
Economy: Good Enough (+2)
Size (points required): Tiny (1)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Competent/Barely Tolerable
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Literate
Living Standards: Tolerable
Culture: Average
Confidence: Tolerable
Projects:
Nation Background: The southern portions of the old kingdom of Ava have risen in rebellion under the Charismatic and White Malay backed Prince Singu. Will they survive the chaotic situation? And how?

- Ayutthaya.
Capital: Ayutthaya
Ruler: King Mom Pi\
Government: semi-Feudal Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary with Exceptions
Tech. Level: Middle Age of Reason
Army (Training): 52 Divisions (Very Good)
Navy (Training): 18 Squadrons (Tolerable)
Economy: Normal (+1)
Size (points required): Above Medium (3)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Good/Better
Infrastructure: Efficient
Education: Educated
Living Standards: Normal
Culture: Average
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Nation Background: King Ramathibodi I (Uthong) founded Ayutthaya as the capital of his kingdom in 1350. Since then the kingdom has seen some ups and downs, even being annexed to the Ava Kingdom of Burma. However strong links with the Iberians and use of Japanese mercenaries allowed the kingdom to modernize (some even compared Ayutthaya to Lisbon in beauty and size) and break away from the Avans and even taking some of their vassal states for its own. Ayutthaya&#8217;s power would grow and grow throughout the 17th century as it would conquer Lan Na, Laos and Khmeria to become Indochina&#8217;s hegemon power.

- Dai Viet.
Capital: Hue
Ruler:
Government: Feudal Monarchy
Centralization: Federation
Tech. Level: Late Age of Reason
Army (Training): 23 Divisions (Elite)
Navy (Training): 27 Squadrons (Elite) 1 Irregular Squadrons
Economy: Richer (+4) (-2 Military Upkeep)
Size (points required): Medium (2)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Good/Good
Infrastructure: Efficient
Education: Perfect
Living Standards: Normal
Culture: Average
Confidence: Loving
Projects:
Nation Background: throughout the 16th century the Viet lands have prospered despite a number of civil wars that eventually ended in the ascension of the Nguyen dynasty to power. The flourishing naval trade and good relations with the Iberians added to Vietnam&#8217;s old agricultural wealth. However after the defeat of the Iberians the Vietnamese have been the target of a number of new powers in South East Asia. The Nan Ming invasion from the north was beaten back, but Ayutthaya&#8217;s rise in Indochina is menacing the kingdom from the west. An alliance with White Malaya seems necessary to prevent further Ayutthayan expansion, and Japan most likely would prefer an independent Vietnam to a Ming or Siamese one. Despite these gloomy thoughts Vietnam may have a bright future, with the eastern ocean and the Luzonian islands awaiting exploration.

- White Malaya.
Capital: Malacca
Ruler: Raja Abilio Ascari\BananaLee
Government: Limited Parliamentary Democracy
Centralization: Unitary with exceptions
Tech. Level: Late Age of Reason
Army (Training): 24 Panglima Laskar Divisions (Elite) 15 Conscript Divisions (Normal)
Navy (Training): 20 Squadrons (Elite+1) 12 Squadrons (Elite) 4 Irregular Squadrons
Economy: Very Rich (+3) (-1 Military Upkeep)
Size (points required): Medium (2)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Brilliant/Brilliant
Infrastructure: Excellent
Education: Enlightenment+1
Living Standards: Higher
Culture: Devoted
Confidence: Respecting
Projects: Institut Teknologi Malaya (+2 Education, Technical Advancement) Done! Lebuhraya Pan-Malaya (+2 Infrastructure, Quicker communications) Done! Durian Runtuh (New tax system, +1 Civilian Leadership, +1 Economy, Long term financial stability) 3/5
Nation Background: The Iberian presence in South East Asia was strong and Malacca was their principle local base, and the most important trading port in the region. When the root of Iberian power was cut, Malacca survived when the Iberian elite quickly, fortified, reconciled with the native Malays (ending up with the name &#8220;White Malays&#8221 and drew in other survivors from the old Iberian network. By the end of the century, the state has survived and even flourished as the Iberian elite knew better than to antagonize the local population, and instead learned to work with it and taking great interest in local culture. The White Rajah has also defeated several Malay princes and annexed their lands. "White Malaya" is a regional power in its own right though the Siamese threat looms large in the north, prompting White Malaya into alliances and trading arrangements with Dai Viet and Nan Ming.

- Sultanate of Greater Indon
Capital: Semarang
Ruler: \Sheep
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Loose Federation
Tech. Level: Early Age of Reason
Army (Training): 7 Divisions (Better)
Navy (Training): 48 Squadrons (Very Good)
Economy: Normal (+1)
Size (points required): Above Medium (3)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Better/Better
Infrastructure: Efficient
Education: Educated
Living Standards: Barely Tolerable
Culture: Untrusting
Confidence: Barely Tolerating
Projects:
Nation Background: The break up of the old Majapahit empire and the Iberian traders created a power vacuum the Sultanate of Mataram was all to eager to fill, expanding from Kyai Gedhe Pamanahan&#8217;s small state on Java into south-eastern Sumatra, southern Borneo and to the eastern islands as well. Whilst not too strong, stable or advanced, Mataram is quite wealthy and had much potential, and even more ambition; fighting the White Malay in the north for power in Borneo and Sumatra

Sultanate of Sulu
Capital: Zamboanga
Ruler: Sultan Alawaddin I
Government: Feudal Monarchy
Centralization: Loose Federation
Tech. Level: Late Gunpowder Age
Army (Training): 5 Divisions (Tolerable)
Navy (Training): 4 Squadrons (Elite) 26 irregular Squadrons
Economy: Growing (+1)
Size (points required): Small (1)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Brilliant/Incompetent
Infrastructure: Dirt Paths
Education: Dumb
Living Standards: Tolerable
Culture: Strongly Cultured
Confidence: Loving
Projects:
Nation Background: South East Asia has seen a number of great pirate kings, and Alawaddin was one of the greatest. Hailing from that nest of villainy that is the Sulu archipelago his fleets terrorized the seas&#8230;until the powers of the west made him an offer he couldn&#8217;t refuse, and he settled down to rule the first true state of the Sulu Archipelago and beyond. He hasn&#8217;t altogether given up his piratical was though&#8230;

-Neva Sinhala
Capital: Vihaynagaraya
Ruler: Prince Vihay\Harleqin
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary
Tech. Level: Early Age of Reason
Army (Training): 2 Divisions (Elite) 5 Divisions (Very Good)
Navy (Training): 6 Squadrons (Very Good)
Economy: Growing (+2)
Size (points required): Tiny (1)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Better/Competent
Infrastructure: Dirt Paths
Education: Educated
Living Standards: Low
Culture: Hyperpatriotic
Confidence: Nation Personified
Projects:
Nation Background: The utter annihilation of the old Sinhalese empire by the Ottomans forced the Sinhalese trapped on the mainland to flee east in a ramshackle exodus lead by Prince Vihay. Coming first to their co-religionists in Ayutthaya, many sought refugee in the Thai&#8217;s welcoming arms. Prince Vihay however wanted to found a new and independent kingdom, and so with the help of the Dai Viet travelled to a new land the Viet&#8217;s had discovered &#8211; Papua.

 

[Disenfrancised]

MapMapMapMap

Spoiler :

 

[Disenfrancised]

Miscellanous

Wars

War of the Serpent: Acolhuan Empire v. T'ho League, Mayan Cities
The Great Turkish War: Empire of Russia, Quqonid Khanate, Holy Roman Empire (Sudenlichreich) v. Ottoman Empire, Sultanate of Gujarat
The Pirate Wars: Japan, South East Asia v. Pirates
War of the Three Dynasties: Japan v. Da Qing, Nepalese Mercenaries
Indon Civil War: Indon vs rebels

Treaties

Agreements

Nan Ming &#8211; Ayutthaya Defensive Alliance
Nan Ming &#8211; White Malaya Defensive Alliance
Russian &#8211; HRE &#8220;Treaty of Friendship&#8221;
Anglo-Russian Trade and friendship pact
Russian-Qing Trade and friendship pact
Russian-Quqonid Trade and friendship pact

UUs
Ottomans: Janissaries (Garrison and defensive troops - Fanatically loyal to the Sultan)
Britain: Man O&#8217; War (Heavily armed multideck ships of the line, the cornerstone of the new British Fleets)
France: Brigade de Fusee: French combat engineers, specially trained in use of rockets, explosives and artillery.
Russia: &#1042;&#1086;&#1081;&#1089;&#1082;&#1072; &#1089;&#1087;&#1077;&#1094;&#1080;&#1072;&#1083;&#1100;&#1085;&#1086;&#1075;&#1086; &#1085;&#1072;&#1079;&#1085;&#1072;&#1095;&#1077;&#1085;&#1080;&#1103; (&#1057;&#1045;&#1050;&#1056;&#1045;&#1058
T'ho: Kukulcan's Slingers: An amphibious unit of elite slingers
Kalmar Union: Royal Marines, elite infantry especially trained for amphibious deployment
White Malaya: Panglima Laskar, a highly trained combined arms operational unit, designed to be the new offensive core of the Rajah&#8217;s armies.
Sinhala: Pathfinders, an elite guerilla and special forces unit.
Aragon: Berber Cavalry, combining the extreme mobility of christainised desert nomads and modern firepower.
Papal States: Noble Guard, Heavy Cavalry unit - the core of the Popes defense
Acolhuan Empire: Moteinemiliz Zealots, Heavily armoured and superbly trained religious fanatics.
Da Qing: Ma Bing: &#8220;Dragoons&#8221; an evolution of the old Manchu warrior to use modern rifles and tactics, the ultimate partisans.
Sonhay: Derka Camel Riders: Elite Camelry with swords and bows.
Sudlichreich: Jaegars, elite light-infantry skilled in skirmishing, reconaissance, travelling in harsh terrain, and sharpshooting
Iberia: Marinas de Asalto, Elite marine core trained for naval operations in all weathers and terrains.

Naval Routes

[U]Nation					Cirum-Africa 	Far North Atlantic	South Pacific (Asia-South America) [/U]
Kingdom of Affalon.				Known
Tarascan Michoacan.		
Acolhuan Empire.		
T’ho League		
Chibcha Empire.		
Incan Empire.		
Kingdom of England.				Known		
Kingdom of France.		
Kingdom of Iberia.				Known	
Kingdom of Aragon.		
Kalmar Union.		
Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg Realms		
Duchy of Savoy-Provence.		
The Papal States.		
Tsardom of Russia.
Ottoman Empire.
Songhay Empire.
Kingdom of Funj.
Sultanate of Adal.
Kingdom of Kongo.
Quqonid Khanate.
Kingdom of Nepal.
Sultanate of Greater Gujarat.
Kingdom of Bengal.
Kingdom of Madras.
Sinhalese Empire.
Later Jin Empire.
Nan Ming Empire.
Japanese Empire.
Arakan Rebels
Ayutthaya.
Dai Viet.										Known
White Malaya.
Sultanate of Mataram.
Kingdom of Navarre				Known
Courland-Lithuania
Madurai

Economy Graph (1707) PCs are Bolded

[u]Nation						Econ	Ecs	Total[/u]

[i]Superpower[/i]
Holy Roman Empire (Total) 			9	17	26

[i]Great Powers (>11)[/i]
[B]United Kingdom of Great Britian and France	2	11	13
Holy Roman Empire (Sudlichreich)		3	10	13[/B]

[i]Powers (6-10)[/i]
[B]Kingdom of Iberia.				2	7	9[/B]
Dai Viet.					4	5	9
[B]Tsardom of Russia.				1	6	7
Ottoman Empire.					1	6	7
Songhay Empire.					4	3	7
Sultanate of Greater Gujarat.			2	5	7
White Malaya.					4	3	7[/B]
Kingdom of Bengal.				4	2	6

[i]Important Nations (3-5)[/i]
[B]Incan Empire.					2	3	5
Kalmar Union.					2	3	5
Quqonid Khanate.				3	2	5[/B]
Ayutthaya.					1	4	5
[B]Sultanate of Greater Indon			2	3	5
Hapsburg Burgundy 				2	3	5
Acolhuan Empire.				1	3	4
Japanese Empire.				2	2	4
Hapsburg Greater Hanover			2	2	4[/B]
Hapsburg Mecklenberg 				2	2	4
T’ho League					2	1	3
Chibcha Empire.					2	1	3
Duchy of Savoy-Provence.			2	1	3
The Papal States.				2	1	3
Sultanate of Adal.				1	2	3
Kingdom of Madras.				2	1	3
Ming China					0	3	3
Arakan 						2	1	3
[B]Neva Sinhala					2	1	3[/B]
Murad Persia 					1	2	3

[i]Minor Nations (<3)[/i]
[B]Kingdom of Affalon.				1	1	2
Kingdom of Aragon.				-1	3	2[/B]
Kingdom of Funj.				2	0	2
Kingdom of Nepal.				2	0	2
[B]Courland-Lithuania 				1	1	2[/B]
Kingdom of Kongo.				1	0	1
[B]Qing Empire					-1	2	1[/B]
Kingdom of Navarre				1	0	1
Sultanate of Sulu				1	0	1
Madurai 					1	0	1
Tarascan Michoacan.				0	0	0
Guang Rebels					0	0	0

 

[Disenfrancised]

Spare stuff

 

[Disenfrancised]

You can now post, but I really wouldn't bother till I put the nations up .

 

[alex994]

I claim the Manchus. Also known as the Later Jin Dynasty

EDIT: Also first post! I'm joining too many neses...

 

[Insane_Panda]

I claim the HRE!

 

[JosefStalinator]

England!!!

 

[Azale]

Acolhuan Empire...

 

[ThomAnder]

Japanese for me!

 

[The Farow]

Kingdom of Iberia.
Capital: Lisbon
Ruler:
Government: Feudal Monarchy
Centralization: Federation
Tech. Level: Early Enlightenment Age (AT)
Army (Training): 20 Divisions (Competent)
Navy (Training): 30 Squadrons (Elite)
Economy: Recession (-1) (-1 Military Upkeep)
Size (points required): Large (4)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Good/Good
Infrastructure: Very Efficient
Education: Well Educated
Living Standards: Higher
Culture: Patriotic
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Nation Background: The Kingdom of Iberian, formed out of Castile and Portugal&#8217;s fear of Aragonese power, had mostly stayed out of European conflict in the past few centuries, minus some squabbles with Aragon over Navarre. It used this peace to build naval trading networks that literally spanned the world, reaching all the way to Japan, and amassed quite remarkable wealth. However all good things come to an end &#8211; the Turks broke the east African parts of Iberian power in the 1660s and the branches of Iberian power beyond that withered and died, plunging the homeland into an economic free fall. The Iberians are only just recovering, and reclaiming their position on the Indian Ocean seems unattainable. However not everything is dark &#8211; they still posses exclusive control of the African coasts down to Mozambique and the profits there of; perhaps this new realm can be developed and a more humble presence in the Indian Ocean established. And there is always the comfort of their near matchless Atlantic fleet.

 

[Grandmaster]

Kalmar Union.

 

[alex994]

How are we supposed to progress from the Early Age of Reason to the Middle Age of reason?

 

[Wubba360]

going indigineous again
Songhay Empire.
Capital: Gao
Ruler:
Government: Feudal&#8211;Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Federation
Tech. Level: Early Gunpowder Age
Army (Training): 30 Divisions (Semi-Rabble)
Navy (Training): None Yet
Economy: Richer (+3)
Size (points required): Huge (5)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Competent/Better
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Educated
Living Standards: Tolerable
Culture: Strongly Cultured
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Nation Background: After the utter destruction of the Mali empire by the Iberians under Pedro Hurtado in 1523 the Songhay empire rose to become the hegemonic power of north west Africa, a position it has enjoyed to this day. Trading with the Iberians and quietly stagnating the empire has watched the decades fly by with only brief civil wars separating Dynasties. However the recent refocus of Iberia on Africa may wake up the slumbering giant as the region begins to experience some interesting times.

 

[Disenfrancised]

How are we supposed to progress from the Early Age of Reason to the Middle Age of reason?

It'll happen on its own in time, assisted by contacted with more technologically advanced power, public and private efforts, and a high education stat.

 

[Cuivienen]

Aragon for me.

Edit: Gujarat does not appear to have its stats fully filled out.

 

[Disenfrancised]

Aragon for me.

Edit: Gujarat does not appear to have its stats fully filled out.

Rectified!