End of Empires - N3S III

When are orders due? I've also posted the world dictionary in the End of Empires Wiki. It's supposed to help people come up with words and I've even provided extra spaces for people to include things that I haven't already.

http://endofempires.wikia.com/wiki/World_Dictonary
 
Cannae said:
When are orders due? I've also posted the world dictionary in the End of Empires Wiki. It's supposed to help people come up with words and I've even provided extra spaces for people to include things that I haven't already.

http://endofempires.wikia.com/wiki/World_Dictonary
Click to expand...

This is a really cool idea. I can help port over some of the languages, though I can't guarantee I'll get to it anytime soon.

On that note, expect the full stats today.

EDIT: Orders are probably going to be due late May or early June. I'll have to figure out which weekend I can take for the update.
 
Alright, a few things to post for perusal. Please forgive me for the glacial pace here; it's been a bit of a slog to set everything up properly, but it should be smooth sailing from now on. First off, the new ruleset. Everyone should note the changes to the economy section. They are VERY important.

Let me know if anything is unclear:

Rules

End of Empires is pretty similar to most other NESes, so I will refer you to the handy One Page Guide to NESing for the basics.

Read that?

Good.

Let's get down to details:

Spoiler rules :

Here are some example stats:

Spoiler stats :

Anhalter - NPC
Leader: (Age: )
Government: Kingdom
Factions:
[tab]Aelonists Religious faction in power. (Leader: (Age: ))
[tab]Maninists Religious faction out of power. (Leader: (Age: ))
Culture Description: Stettin state, strongly split along religious lines. Most cultural cues taken from Ereithaler.
[tab]State Religion: Aelonism
Annual Income: 3830
Annual Expenses: 2000
[tab] Expenses:
[tab]Treasury: 0
[tab]Debt: 0 (Interest: 0)
Military:
[tab]Army: 5000 Infantry, 1000 Cavalry, 0 Levies, 0 Siege Train(s)
[tab]Navy: 0 Ships
[tab]Maintenance: 2000
[tab]Description: Small but well-trained and motivated.
Wiki Entry


Let's break this down, section by section:

Overview

Anhalter - NPC
Leader: (Age: )
Government: Kingdom
Factions:
[tab]Aelonists Religious faction in power. (Leader: (Age: ))
[tab]Maninists Religious faction out of power. (Leader: (Age: ))
Culture Description: Stettin state, strongly split along religious lines. Most cultural cues taken from Ereithaler.
[tab]State Religion: Aelonism

These are mostly descriptive stats. Your country's name will appear with your name next to it, or NPC if it has no human player. Your leader, if specified, will be listed, with his age (if a country lacks a leader, it is more likely that this is because no one has bothered to name him than the land being leaderless), and the government type, a quick cultural description (a more complete one likely appears on the wiki), and the state religion.

If your country is sufficiently diverse, factions will appear in your stats; these are groups that are powerful enough to have some influence on the course of things. Their relative power in your country and motivation will be listed, along with a leader, if applicable and named.

You can influence any and all of these stats in your orders and stories. Generally, if you suggest an idea for your country, like, “I think it would be cool if they gathered seaweed and collected seashells on their way to make carved necklaces”, I will try to find a way to fit it in. An example of someone who does an extremely good job with this part of his orders is Lord_Iggy, as exemplified here.

The Economy

Annual Income: 3830
Annual Expenses: 2000
[tab] Expenses:
[tab]Treasury: 0
[tab]Debt: 0 (Interest: 0)

Annual Income and Annual Expenses are, well, annual. That is to say that every year, your government earns this much, not every turn. Most turns are ten years long, so your total income over a turn (as well as your total expenses) will be multiplied by ten. I will make it very clear when we don't have a ten year turn.

There is no limit to what you can spend your money on, but most of it usually goes to maintaining your military and other Annual Expenses. You should plan to include Annual Expenses and a more complete budget in your orders' budget: they represent what your government expects to spend on already-planned expenses like the maintenance of your military. If you don't allocate this money in your orders, chances are that your military will either desert or rebel. Please note that military maintenance and ALL Annual Expenses are not automatically deducted from your Annual Income.

How much do things cost?

Here's a general list:

Spoiler costs :

5 Infantry : 1 “Gold”/year
1 Cavalry: 1 “Gold”/year
10 Levies: 1 “Gold”/year
1 Ship: 50 “Gold”/year
1 Siege Train: 500 “Gold”/year

Major Public Works Project (new aqueducts, sewer system, regional road, etc.): 10,000-50,000 lump sum
Large Monument/Temple (about the size of the Parthenon, Colossus of Rhodes, Temple of Kukulkan, etc.): 25,000 lump sum
Spectacular Monument (think size or sumptuousness of the Colosseum, Taj Mahal, Hagia Sophia, etc.): 100,000-500,000 lump sum


If you're not sure where your particular project falls, go ahead and ask me. Usually, the answer is “as much as you want it to,” because things can always be made nicer, but I'll try to give some lower bounds. Of course, keep in mind that the cleverness or originality of a building project may be more important than the raw amount you pump into its construction.

You can also suggest things that organizations, cities, or factions might do on their own in lieu of your own budget, but that is not necessary, and it might happen without your input.

You can run up Debt by spending more than you have (or by spending the correct amount but then war, famine, or disaster causes your income to fall short). This will not only accumulate, but accrue Interest; the interest rate of your country can vary depending on its sources of credit. Feel free to get creative to reduce your interest rate.

The Military

Military:
[tab]Army: 5000 Infantry, 1000 Cavalry, 0 Levies, 0 Siege Train(s)
[tab]Navy: 0 Ships
[tab]Maintenance: 2000
[tab]Description: Small but well-trained and motivated.
Wiki Entry

Your military in this era will be composed almost entirely of Infantry, Cavalry, Levies, Siege Trains, and Ships.

Infantry are foot soldiers, low cost, and relatively easy to replace. Cavalry are more expensive, but more mobile, and usually better skilled. Levies are unskilled common people who have literally no training; their costs reflect only the cost to feed them. Siege Trains are a collection of portable siege weapons that you can bring to reduce a fortified position or city. Ships are things that go on the water.

The description of your military will usually hint at the quality of each branch, and possibly also its equipment or training, if it has some unusual specialty.

Maintenance is part of your total Annual Expenses, and the maintenance for each type of soldier is listed under costs. Certain groups have cheaper Cavalry (like steppe cultures) or Ships (like riverboats); go ahead and ask if you think it applies to you. If you don't pay maintenance, your soldiers will likely desert or revolt.



If you are starting a new culture entirely, fill out the following template:

Spoiler Cultural Template (for new players only) :

[Culture Name]
Starting Location: [Choose from the cradle map; preferably giving me your own map pinpointing the location for me and other players]
Society: [Add a description of your people’s society: how it is structured, how it functions]
Lineage: [How do your people trace descent?]
Values: [What do your people believe to be the most important human qualities?]
Religion(s): [Add a description of your people’s religious ideas]
Language(s): [Add a description of your people’s language, including, if applicable, their writing system]
Mythos: [Explain the mythic origin of your people]
Economic Base: [Give the general economic basis of life for your people]
Country Names: [Make a list of nation names for me to use]
Person Names: [Make a list of names for me to use of famous persons]
Place Names: [Make a list of place for me to use for notable places]
[Add anything else you want to say]








Next up, complete stats for the start of our IT.
 
These are extensive, so I'd appreciate it if people checked their own stats; things like leaders (if you gave them to me but I haven't included them; if you HAVEN'T given them to me, please do so ASAP), the wiki links (I often forget to edit them), and other stuff that doesn't seem quite right. There are over a thousand lines of stuff here so I probably missed some of it.

Stats

[now on front page]
 
Awesome, I'll rub some stones together and spark some details for the Rashai sometime this week or next.
 
Made a wiki entry for the Commonarchy government and the history of Ereithaler. Both are insufficient and unclear, so if anyone wants to edit for clarity, please do so.

EDIT: Just posted notes on the White Man as well.
 
The rule alterations are excellent and I think do much to improve the game and make financial calculations much more intuitive and manageable. The factional information is likewise interesting.

I would like to inquire however about the matter of debt. The mechanical management of debt necessarily requires a consideration that funds are finite (there isn't unlimited money available) and that lenders (since loaned money has to come from somewhere, be it from private lenders [presumably instituted via factions like the golden ships] or state lenders [players loaning each other money] themselves would naturally have a limit to how much they are able and willing to provide to finance debt. So the first question is, Is there a management protocol in place to determine the limits of financial supply from private sources? Secondly I would like to ask, noting that should a nation fail to repay its debt it would still have money (it would only have a mass of money it owes its lender), is there a system of economic consequences should a nation fail to repay a loan (to private lenders, since clearly state lenders can just declare war to get the debt back) apart from the obvious political consequences of angering a powerful and wealthy faction in ones nation (or abroad)?.
 
Zar - Everblack
[...]
Government: Rashai
Click to expand...
The Zeeks are on the Airendhe! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES :run:

...ahem
I'll try to have faction leader names and stuff out in a couple of days, NK. Possibly some faction suggestions too, if you're open to it. Oh, and could you possibly post the blank map without the cities on it? I've been trying to fill out the geography articles on the wiki, and while the satellite's gorgeous and all, it's not that great for making maps.

Oh, and if anyone's editing the wiki, this page of red links might be a useful thing, along with NK's to-do list.
 
Hmm, I think I'll put the interest rate on new loans in the stats directly. The more you borrow, the harder it will be, one way or another, to acquire funds. Defaulting on sovereign debt to non-sovereign entities will lead to some nasty consequences such as political upheaval, as you mentioned, and a long-lasting spike in interest rates.

"Average" interest rates will probably hover around 15-20%, as was normal for the early medieval period OTL.

I'm going to start slogging through the backlog of stuff I have this week -- expect to see your PMs answered in the next couple days, and I will start contributing to the wiki work more. Also, yes, the Aortai will have stats.
 
I will send you a PM with this information as well, NK, but:

Leader: Hazdhar [Emperor] Gambian III (Age: 14); Innu Hazdahremu [Dowager Empress] Amestrunna, his grandmother (the true power) (Age: 79)

Factions:
- Nobility: Landed aristocracy, conservative, more influential in interior regions. (Powerful Members: Ilin Farqud (Age: 68); Dezden Aman Far (Age: 44); Ardun Liswey (Age: 53); Jerinas Imnemha il-Jassa (Age: 36))

The most powerful families of the Trahana nobility in the year 1734 AR are Farqud, Aman Far, Liswey and Jassa, in rough descending order.

Farqud and Liswey are particularly ancient houses with old seats in the mountains below Traha, longtime members of the highest echelon of Trahana society, and they control vast landholdings particularly in the west and north of the empire. The Farqudan in particular dominate production of tea, with their lands accounting for nearly 20% of all tea plantations in the empire, though this percentage has been in decline as the power of the Farqudan is challenged by younger houses and losses of land and capital during the upheaval of the early years of the Golden Ships. Nonetheless, the Farqudan have been the second family of the Trahana for centuries and look for powerful for quite some time in the future. Liswey was not historically as powerful or wealthy as Farqud but has grown significantly in their holdings recently as other houses have been bankrupted by recent turmoils, while Liswey has had steady leadership. They are ambitious, and tensions between Farqud and Liswey tend to keep all of the older Trahana houses from uniting in their political goals, but they are overall the leaders of the more conservative members of the aristocracy. The Farqudan, Lisweyan and other conservative houses led the coup of 1646 AR that deposed the young Emperor Parysats and replaced him with their puppet Ursites I, and although the imperial household today has reasserted its independence of the conservative faction, the Farqudan and Lisweyan remain highly influential.

Aman Far is a Haina house, with strongest holdings in the heart old Haina, though as a practical matter the Haina aristocracy has been completely integrated into Trahana nobility today. Aman Far has by far the largest holdings overseas, and a significant stake in many Golden Ships investments, so much so that their interests are often disaligned from those of the other nobility, and some lesser members of the Aman Faran family have been known to practice Iralliam, a highly unusual trait among anyone in the Empire. They tend to lead the most commercial faction of the nobility. The Dowager Empress Amestrunna, great-grandmother of the Emperor and the primary power behind the throne, was born into the Aman Far and is the great-aunt of its current leader, which has led to accusations of favoritism particularly by the more conservative members of the nobility.

Jassa is another old Trahana house, but a poor one historically that has only recently gained prominence through its holdings in the north and across the sea. They tend to represent a more anti-traditionalist branch of the aristocracy (and are one of the few houses lead by a woman, the young Jerinas Imnemha il-Jassa), which tends to consist of the smaller and weaker houses. Jassa is by far the most powerful house in this faction. Although the anti-traditionalist branch has been disfavored by the Emperors since the overthrow of Parysats in 1646 AR, they have at times wielded some influence, and Jerisan il-Jassa is a particularly close confidant of the current Dowager Empress.

Merchant Elite: Highly influential non-corporate merchants. (Leader: Galdriann of Saigh (Age: 60))

The Council of Eleven is a mercantile organization formed in Mara during the early years of the Decadence, rising to its greatest prominence under the patronage of Empress Samerdis. The organization of traditional merchant classes has come under increasing assault from the noble-backed Golden Ships organization has experienced a significant decline in its power. Of the Council of Eleven, four are elected from the mercantile leadership in Mara, while one representative of each of the major port cities (Marheshi, Adhor, Daran, Farah, Saigh, Amarai and Vinithrissa) sits on the council. Galdriann of Saigh currently leads the Council.


Machai Monastics: Religious leaders. Waning influence; primarily in far west. (Leader: Oran of the Arduinne (Age: 84))

The monastic movement remains highly decentralized. The largest monastery is the Arduinne, in the mountains west of Traha, and its leader (the Great Monk) is sometimes considered the spiritual head of the monastic movement. The monastic movement has been in decline for the past few centuries, with fewer monks and their land holdings sold off to pay debts. However, they do retain significant spiritual authority and temporal holdings and occasionally influence public events. The endorsement of the Great Monk of the Arduinne of the revolt that overthrew Emperor Parysats is often considered an important turning point, though nearly a century of history has passed since then.

Golden Ships: Highly influential pseudo-corporations funded by aristocrats for merchant ventures. Suspected tax fraud. (Leader: Arax Undeall of the Silver Tassel (Age: 43))

The Golden Ships, strongly allied with the more mercantile faction of the nobility, remain the primary source of instability in the Empire despite a crackdown on their activities by Emperor Ursites III in the 1670s and 80s. They have often been linked to the Dowager Empress Amestrunna, who herself hails from the Aman Far family, and it was her marriage to then-Imperial Prince Gambian that cemented the agreements disbanding the earliest and most abusive forms of Golden Ships tax avoidance. Nonetheless, the Golden Ships remain incredibly potent as a source of power in the empire, and during Amestrunna's period of influence over the throne have developed their own naval fleets and militaries, even conducting their own military ventures against the independent Tohan city-states and blockading the city of Ayannai in an effort to reduce docking fees charged by the local merchants' council. Despite their mercantile goals, they have often come into tension with the more traditional Council of Eleven, which today gains as many revenues from stewardship of the ports as it does from trade itself. Their wealth and power only grows, especially in the more remote ports from the capital.

Major entities of the Golden Ships include the Silver Tassel, the Blue Star, the Red Shield and the White Ships. (The Golden Ships was the name of the original corporate entity smashed by the forces of Emperor Ursites III and disbanded, but despite being disbanded, its name lives on as a general term for the inheritors of its complex financial structure. The White Ships are the reconstituted original Golden Ships, much diminished in holdings, but they are significantly less influential than the Silver Tassel, the Blue Star and the Red Shield.)

Northern Peninsulars: Somewhat separatist. Disorganized. Multi-ethnic. (Leader: [None])

Highly disorganized and lacking any central leadership. The local nobility has been entirely crushed or subsumed into Trahana nobility (where they often align with the anti-traditionalism factions), and what leaders there are tend to come from peasant movements. Nonetheless, many communities operate semi-independently of the Empire, and at the very least the traditionalist nobility and the mercantile leadership has little power in the northern peninsular regions. The Blue Star of the Golden Ships has within the past decade begun financing large-scale gold mining operations around Kodre, where their influence is significant despite its distance from the sea, but other than the rich gold seams of the Sechma valley, the northern territories are of relatively little economic importance, either.
 
Alright, I think I've cleaned up my PM backlog. Please let me know if you think I missed a message from you.

BTW Hightower I thought of the "Trahana Decadence" being a name given by its detractors to the pseudo Baroque style currently in vogue, rather than a political movement. But it's fine if it gets applied to both, and I like your faction details.

Great stories everyone, keep em coming. :)
 
The Serpent King

-​

"In a nest of vipers, one finds only serpents"

~ Karashas, Redeemer of the Vithanama Empire

-

The reign of King Fionnach, son of King Aidreann, of the House Amatir began on the year 1719 AR, upon the death of Aidreann in battle against the armies of Dula. Respite from war swiftly followed with the first diplomatic act of the King, a marriage to Dirthanna, daughter of the King of Dula who became queen of Tiagho, cementing in blood a treaty to put an end to the ongoing war.

Once peace was established, the King put himself to improving the administrative apparatus of the state, seeking to move quickly to secure his reign and improve the efficiency of government. To this end he established the Royal Secretariat, as an overarching department to ensure communication and co-ordination between the three boards of the traditional bureaucratic structure inherited from the imperial era, determine appointments, and to ensure direct communication between bureaucracy and monarch. The first task the King ordered the secretariat to implement was the institution of a merit appointments, which broke the noble stranglehold of the noble class over many administrative appointments, weakening their influence over the state. This resulted in an increased prominence of a caste of scholar-bureaucrats who were indebted to the King rather than possessed of independent power-bases and enabled the King to more personally direct government policy, bypassing where deemed necessary the need to convey his commands via the Royal Advisory Council.

This loss in influence resulted in some discontent amongst certain parts of the noble class, which saw power increasingly becoming consolidated in the hands of the monarch. While prudential appointments and marriages by the Kings brothers to the most powerful families secured the loyalty and investment of the greatest potential source of oppostion to the crown, by the year 1726 a group of minor families , who had been particularly heavily affected by the reforms to the administrative apparatus which had effectively banished them to the role of functionless courtiers, rose in revolt against King Fionnach. This resulted in a year long civil war in which the King, personally commanding his army with adroitness and decisiveness on the battlefield, swiftly quelled the dissent, with the rebels lords finally beign captured in a battle near the border with Taidhir. The rebel lords and their families were paraded back to Tiagho, where in an act that would become known as the Night of Flames, the King ordered that the rebel lords and all members of their houses be burnt in the main square of Tiagho, as the entire upper echelons of Tiaghama nobility observed, permanently extinguishing a source of opposition to the Kings rule. The next day all the noble lords of Tiagho were summoned to the palace to pledge loyalty to the King, which all without question observed.

However the King was not blind to the question of the noble class, and over the next eight years the King would take several measures to assert royal legitimacy. The first of these was increasing support for the Church of Iralliam, through the construction of several temples, most of them poignantly connected to the royal victory in the rebellion, and the inclusion of the Patriarch of Tiagho into the royal advisory council. The second measure was to increasingly require the presence of the nobility in court, granting courtly prestige and a life of comfort to those who manifested loyalty through such attendance, while simultaneously reinforcing the military role of the nobility in the fashion of the Vithanama. These measures served to remove potentially rebellious nobles to within the purview of the King, while establishing a sense of prestige and honour amongst them that engendered loyalty and submission. Likewise it served to increasingly separate the military and administrative wings of state, with the nobilities function being increasingly defined as a protective and honorary one, rather than one centred on the administration of civic governance (albeit the meritocratic system allowed for nobles to serve in the bureaucracy if they passed the requirements).

These gradual actions, in addition to the process of securing loyal retainers occupied all important positions of government and military and the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure from the rebellion would occupy most the late 20's and early 30's of the eighteenth century, with the result that the early reign of King Fionnach was one of the most peaceful in recent times, enabling trade and commerce to flow unhindered and ensuring general contentedness amongst the broad mass of the population during this time.

Culturally the King reflected an intellectual and scholarly face, favouring antiquarian styles recalling the styles of ancient Tiagho and the Imperial periods, although he was also supportive of incorporating eastern innovations into this schema. The King throughout his reign found the Trahana decadence style thoroughly distasteful, seeing in it effeminacy and hedonistic decadence unbefitting of manly virtue and martial dignity. While the artistic tastes of the King could not eradicate the Trahana influence entirely his artistic taste in traditional motifs politically in terms of royal imagery served to imply the legitimacy of the monarchy as heir to the legacy of the Dulama and Vithanama, and distinguish the Iralliamite Kingdom from the religiously heathen Trahana Empire.

~ Memorial of King Fionnach of Tiagho: by Atlecozac, Patriarchal Historian, AR 1807.
 
The High Ward and Concourse in RM 799

Alora Montoss (female, 54): High Ward of the Faith

Concourse:

Moril Vaban (male, 51): Prelatyr of the Sadorishi

Rodar Ksatri (male, 62): Representative to Concourse of the Guardian Council of the Order of Serris

Elea Gyldwin (female, 31): Amasir of the Order of Alon

Haekae Safaya (male, 75): Arch-Zaleta of the Order of Raelae

Gryfu Hatrach (male, 44) : Greatspeaker of the Order of Sygwin

Tarlo Raisos (male, 29): Atarach of the Order of Latosh

Reman Torol (male, 53): Orderlord of the Order of Idiril

Alvara Enirros (female, 64): High Treasurer of the Order of Piriven

Eilomenë Ximin (female, 47): Tanai Aleyd of the Order of Epinoë

Khasar Savira1 (male, 39): High-Captain of the Order of Mirai

Izara Sitticos (female, 68): Primarch of the Order of Sattoros

Prokos Zirai (male, 49): Xideka of the Order of Anym

Itaros (male, 67): Arch-Zaleta of the Order of Risadri

1: Also Emperor of the Savirai, though the title is of little consequence
 
Of note to me is the Sattoros, who seem to have borrowed/been influenced by certain Parthecan ideas (or over-amplified pre-existing familial preoocupation, I'm not certain). They've also borrowed/codeveloped the title of "Primarch*", which was a Zarcasen title later coopted by the Parthecans.

* Actual Zarcasen word to come... eventually
 
terrance said:
Of note to me is the Sattoros, who seem to have borrowed/been influenced by certain Parthecan ideas (or over-amplified pre-existing familial preoocupation, I'm not certain).
Click to expand...
The latter. Take Ailuttorutto notions of filial piety, elevate them to prime religious importance, and you get Sattoros. That's the idea, anyway

Lucky said:
Is that the Halyrate's version of Aelea? >:[
Click to expand...
No comment :shifty:

*****​

So, I've pretty much purposefully made the Halyrate as confusing and different from everything else as I can, and Theocratic Mess isn't terribly enlightening. It occurs to me that this is a bit of unfair for those of you who have to deal with it - and I'm plagued by medication-induced insomnia and my judgment is consequently severely impaired - so I proudly present...

(drum roll)

The Incomplete Smart Person's Guide to the Halyrate

What the hell is a Concourse?
Concourse is a council of the leaders of thirteen most important and widespread Orders, presided over by the High Ward. Concourse was created as a replacement for general Synods when the Faith's growth made these too unwieldy. Concourse rules on theological disputes, acts as the court of final appeal, regulates the Orders, and is the mechanism by which general governance (what little there is of it) works.

Okay, but what the hell is an Order?
Glad you asked! As you might expect, a Maninist Order is a network of religiously motivated communities dedicated to following the example of a Harada. However, since the Maninist Faith is so flexible and, for want of a better term, materialistic, Maninist devotion can be expressed in many ways, not just by withdrawing from the world and praying. Consequently there is a great profusion of Orders that in sum are engaged in virtually every aspect of human life. Maninism holds that the pursuit of knowledge, for instance, is a perfectly respectable virtue, and so the Raelites operate as a religious order. The combined Orders thus completely permeate the Halyrate's society, whereas (say) a Ardavani monastics can only ever achieve limited penetration.

What's a Harada?
Saint-like figures, believed to have exemplified particular virtues and thereby ascended to a status where they can guide men who hope to follow them down the Path. Mahayana bodhisattvas are a pretty good OTL comparison.

What about a Synothal Order?
The Synothal Orders are nothing more than the thirteen Orders who sit and vote in Concourse. Each of them is a network of communities stretching across the whole of the Maninist realm, and they each possess resources rivalling most small kingdoms.

Wait a minute, what happened to all the kings and emperors?
They're still there. They're just irrelevant. It was established early in the life of Maninism that the Faith outranked temporal rulers, and the Faith's status as existing outside and above the usual political realm was confirmed in the early Halyrate and the war of the Airani schism. This means that all those kings and emperors can't touch anything or anyone associated with the Orders without incurring the wrath of the Faith, and since everything and everyone is associated with an Orders this leaves them with nothing to do and no one to do it to.

Well, what about the Halyr? Surely he's still around; it's in the name after all.
That would indeed make a lot of sense, but if this whole mess made sense I wouldn't be writing this. No, there's no Halyr and there hasn't been since Javan vanished. The position nominally exists but stands vacant; since the Faith is managing perfectly well at the moment, there's no need for a Halyr. In Faith law the Halyr's a sort of Faith-wide supreme military dictator, with authority over all Orders, chosen by the High Ward and confirmed by Concourse if the situation is sufficiently dire as to warrant it. Of course, no High Ward is particularly interested in appointing someone as his superior, so it hasn't happened in three hundred years. In popular imagination, the Halyr's more of a semi-messianic figure, appearing to save the Faithful in the hour of greatest need; indeed, in many circles it is believed that it will be not just a Halyr but the Halyr, Altaro Javan himself.

Hang on, that seems a bit convenient...
Yes, I have built in a panic button in case you [CENSORED]s try to obliterate my masterwork too quickly :p

How did such an absurd situation come to pass?
Disintegration of central power, elite rivalries being exploited by the Faith, and then positive feedback from network effects. The Orders form an unprecedentedly integrated economic region stretching across the continent; being on the inside is an attractive proposition, and messing with the system gets you kicked out and impoverished.

What's that mean for the actual people? Surely someone must do the governing
It's actually better for the actual people in most ways (another effect stabilizing things). Governments don't do much more than armies and the public works necessary to raise armies, but the Orders have to compete with each other for public affection: if the Tehavis offer more benefits than the Piriveni, the Piriveni will see their adherents and consequently their resources and influence decline. The Orders provide relatively extensive social services to their associates, and most have enacted a sort of rudimentary social safety net: widows and orphans funds, bread distribution, that sort of thing. Public works, likewise, come about from a virtuous cycle of patronage: the Orders contribute to the public good, which attracts resources from people who want to be virtuous (or at least seen to be virtuous) which gives the Orders more to play with. It's all a bit messy, of course, but the effort makes up for the lack of overall unity.

That's all very pretty, but how does it actually work?
By and large it doesn't. It's very difficult for the Halyrate to take united action, barring some clear, Faith-wide emergency on the scale of the Immolation. It's considerably easier for the Orders to act to independently, but they're consumed by inter-Order politics and their own relatively narrow interests, so they typically don't all pull in the same direction. At the same time.

What does this mean for me?
It means that you shouldn't think of the Halyrate as a big purple blob, and you shouldn't address it as such. If you want something actually done you're probably better off addressing a specific Order than Concourse or the Halyrate (OOCly you're still talking to me, of course, at least until I mess up and NK strips some responsibilities from me) - there are some things that would require Concourse approval, but the Orders will let you know if you're asking for one of them.

*****​

APPENDIX A: The Incomplete Smart Person's Guide to the Synothal Orders
Taladi Sadorishi
Criminally short synopsis: Ascetic, militant, devoted to Taleldil as Harada, somewhat resemble argai
Handy mental shortcut when thinking about them: Sohei, Shaolin; really your bog-standard fanatic warrior monks

Order of Serris
CSS: Upstanding paladins of justice and integrity, or the fuzz with a high opinion of itself; very hard line against heresy and monarchism, and very close to the Sadorishi
HMS: City watch driven by urban craft guilds

Order of Alon
CSS: Lovers not fighters, sensuous, emotional, tend to have a lot of appeal with women, Aelonesque (for obvious reasons)
HMS: Aelonists :p

Order of Raelae
CSS: Seekers of knowledge, believers in spreading knowledge, philosophers
HMS: Lyceum, Academy, etc

Order of Sygwin
CSS: Diligent, unpretentious, loyal, proud of being good, honest, hard-working laborers, suspicious of decadent Tehavis and such
HMS: Mazdakites, proto-commies, teltalers

Order of Latosh
CSS: Fierce, independent, adrenaline junkies; idealize 'barbarian' lifestyle
HMS: Every Fighter's Guild in every RPG you've ever played

Order of Idiril (Tehavis)
CSS: Trade, accumulation of wealth, business acumen
HMS: The Hanseatic League

Order of Piriven
CSS: Prudently ambitious; effectively have become financiers
HMS: The Templars minus the crusading part, or Medicis

Order of Mirai
CSS: Reciprocal obligation, honour, loyalty, courage; particularly popular with the old Savirai elites
HMS: Teutonic Knights

Order of Epinoë
CSS: Charity, mercy, tolerance, etc; angels of the indigent
HMS: Sisters of Charity, Mother Teresa, that sort of thing

Order of Sattoros
CSS: Family, daring, having lots of kids, moving around a lot, close relationship with the sea
HMS: Gypsies, Faeoria, Sea Gypsies

Order of Anym
CSS: Patient plotting diplomats, lawyers, and assorted fast-talkers; looked at the Accans and decided to one-up them
HMS: Accans, Venetian Inquisitors

Order of Risadri
CSS: Faith, purity; cloistered theologians and philosophers
HMS: Benedictines; the one Synothal Order that actually looks like a monastic order

Order of Eskar
CSS: Daring, dedicated missionaries; not a Synothal Order, but directly under the High Ward, not Concourse
HMS: Jesuits

Interlocutors
CSS: Not an Order, per se, but Concourse's scary enforcers
HMS: Nobody expects the Maninist Inquisition!

*****​

So, there you are. Now you can all tell me what an idiot I am and that none of it makes sense.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Nikolai II
Let's compare empires!
2 3
Replies
57
Views
3K
moysturfurmer
M
Smayo
  • Poll Poll
Improving Endeavours
Replies
15
Views
996
The_goggles_do_nothing
The_goggles_do_nothing
Mudkip1001
Disable Distant Land Civs
Replies
2
Views
448
Mudkip1001
Mudkip1001
A
  • Locked
Best Historical Books for Civ Fans?
Replies
3
Views
336
Birdjaguar
Birdjaguar
Daftpanzer
DaftRTOR - A Story Untold
8 9 10
Replies
198
Views
22K
Terrance888
Terrance888
Back
Top Bottom