In the Beginning Was Napoleon: Game Thread

Crezth · Oct 8, 2022

The deadline for sending orders for Update 3 is June 4, at 11:00 PM Pacific Time.

The vibe is The World Turned Upside Down, people.

Background

In the beginning was Napoleon. He, at the crest of the heroic French Revolution, sought to overthrow the old and oppressive Ancien Régime, and succeeded. The Holy Roman Empire was destroyed. The Iberian Empires, bowed. Italy, united. Russia, negotiated; and Britain, excluded. By 1819, none could stand to contest the domination of the French Empire, and the Code Napoleon swept the continent on the back of seemingly invincible armies.

Now, it is 1919 and the world is changing once more.

Background Thread

Intro

I will give you the intro words EQ used in 2007 to intro his game about a world without Britain:

EQandcivfanatic said:
The creation of the world we live in should be of interest to us all. Events such as the Great War, the Treaty of Versailles, and the Second World War set the foundation for the current global society in which we exist. The American invasion of Iraq, the persistant tribal fighting and genocide in Africa, and the rise of China to global prominance all have their bases in the events of the past hundred years.

Disclaimer: The following is my own opinion and the basis of the start of the development of this NES

The United States is often given credit for most of the world's problems, especially in the Middle East. As flattering as this may be to us Americans, it is blatantly false. The rise and fall of the British Empire is the direct cause of many of the modern world's difficulties, beginning with the hundreds of years of oppressing Ireland and ending with the destruction of the Islamic caliphate. This train of thought led me and a friend to debating the history of the world if the British Empire was removed from the equation.

With this in mind, we leave it to you, the NES players to figure out what the world could be with the absense of Perferdious Albion.

Let us meditate on these and contemplate the way of things.

The Rules

“In the Beginning was Napoleon” is a PbtA-styled game where players take on the roles of governments of nations, trying to rebuild and navigate the complex political landscape in the aftermath of the Great War between the French-led Western Commission and the Central Republics. These game rules are intended to provide a unique roleplaying experience that focuses on nation-building and international relations in a complex, post-war setting. Players will need to navigate the delicate balance of power, manage crises, and make strategic decisions to ensure their nation's prosperity and security.

You will most likely play as the government of some state or empire, and you will endeavor to expand the power and basis of your mandate and prove the glory of your nation. Vive la révolution.

If you scroll to the bottom of this post, you will see rules that allow you also to play as a rebellion or revolutionary movement, and endeavor to liberate an oppressed nation. Bonne chance! Tu en auras besoin.

Core Stats & Economics

Industrial Capacity

PRISM is the acronym we will be using, representing key sectors within a nation's Industrial Capacity:

Private Enterprise (PE): This stat represents the growth and development of privately-owned businesses and their contributions to the nation's economy. It is most significant in great capitalist powers.
Real Estate & Finance (FIRE): This stat encompasses the financial sector, investments, and real estate market, all of which have significant impacts on a nation's economic stability and growth.
Industry, State Enterprise (SE): This stat covers government-controlled industries, reflecting the contributions of public sector organizations.
Services, Public (PS): This stat represents the provision and quality of public services, such as healthcare, education, public safety bureaus, general administrative affairs, and infrastructure.
Military Industry (MI): This stat deals with the development and maintenance of a nation's military power, including the production of weapons, vehicles, and other defense-related technology.

Each core stat serves a distinct purpose in addressing various challenges and opportunities that nations face, and describes one of five key pillars of your nation's total Industrial Capacity. Private Enterprise focuses on private sector growth, Public Services emphasize the well-being of citizens, Military Industry deals with national defense and strategic power, State Enterprise represents government-controlled industries, and FIRE covers the financial sector and real estate market. By strategically utilizing these core stats, players can navigate their nation through various crises and make decisions that shape the course of their nation's future.

Crisis Clocks represent the ongoing threats and challenges faced by the nations, and players will need to utilize their core stats to overcome checks, prevent the progression of Crisis Clocks, and manage their nation's resources and interests effectively.

Resolution Mechanics

1-6: Failure

7-9: Mixed Success

10-12: Success

13+: Great Success

National Moves: Players can make moves on behalf of their nation to address ongoing crises or to seize opportunities. When making a move, players roll 2d6 and add the number of IC they invest. The outcomes follow the usual PbtA structure: strong hit (10+), weak hit (7-9), or miss (6 or below).

Example moves include:

Economic Stimulus (PE): Boost the economy by investing in private enterprises.
Infrastructure Improvement (PS): Enhance public services and amenities for citizens.
Military Expansion (MI): Strengthen the nation's military power and defense capabilities.
Industrial Development (SE): Advance the nation's industry and technological innovations through state-owned enterprises.
Financial Strategy (FIRE): Leverage finance, investments, and real estate to create wealth and improve the nation's financial standing.

International Moves: Players can make moves that involve interactions with other nations. These moves may involve diplomacy, trade, espionage, or even war. Similar to National Moves, players roll 2d6 and add the number of IC they invest.

Example moves include:

Diplomatic Negotiations (PS): Engage with other nations to forge alliances, treaties, or trade agreements.
Covert Operations (MI): Use espionage or other clandestine tactics to gather information, sabotage, or influence other nations.
Military Invasion (MI): Use combat divisions, supply lines, and taxpayer money to defeat targeted military units and seize control of property and territory.
International Trade (PE or SE): Establish trade routes and agreements to boost the economy and resource acquisition.

Crisis Clocks: These clocks represent ongoing threats and challenges faced by the nations, such as political unrest, economic collapse, or external aggression. Crisis Clocks may vary in the number of segments, depending on the severity and complexity of the crisis. Players will need to make successful moves to prevent or reduce the progression of Crisis Clocks. Failing moves or ignoring the crises can lead to the advancement of the clocks. When a Crisis Clock is full, the related event or consequence is triggered, potentially impacting the nation's stability, resources, or international relations.

Example Crisis Clocks:

Civil Unrest: Represents the growing dissatisfaction among the population, which may lead to protests, strikes, or even a revolution.
Economic Recession: Indicates a weakening economy, with potential consequences such as unemployment, inflation, and reduced investment.
International Tensions: Tracks escalating conflicts or disputes with other nations, which may lead to sanctions, proxy wars, or open conflict.

Collaborative Storytelling and Agenda: The game master (GM) is responsible for guiding the narrative, playing non-player nations, and presenting challenges and opportunities for the player nations. The GM follows a set of principles and an agenda to ensure a balanced and engaging gameplay experience, with the primary focus on storytelling and nation-building.

The Principles:

Emphasize the consequences of actions, both positive and negative.
Introduce new challenges and opportunities that encourage players to adapt and make interesting choices.
Create a living world, where non-player nations have their own agendas and goals.
Encourage cooperation and competition between player nations.

Private Enterprise (PE)

Private Enterprise represents the strength of a nation's private sector, including its ability to innovate, create jobs, and drive economic growth. This stat is useful for situations where the nation's government relies on the private sector to address economic or infrastructural challenges.

Situations and General Utility:

Encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation to create new industries and jobs.
Boosting the economy by incentivizing investment in private companies.
Addressing infrastructure challenges through public-private partnerships.
Crisis Clocks related to unemployment or stagnant economic growth.

Public Services (PS)

Public Services represents the nation's commitment to providing essential services such as healthcare, education, and public transportation for its citizens. This stat is useful for situations that require the improvement or expansion of public services to maintain social stability and quality of life.

Situations and General Utility:

Improving the quality of healthcare or education to increase overall well-being.
Expanding public transportation to improve accessibility and connectivity.
Responding to natural disasters or other emergencies with efficient public services.
Crisis Clocks related to social unrest, public health, or infrastructure decay.

Military Industry (MI)

Military Industry reflects the nation's military capabilities, defense industry, and strategic power. This stat is useful for situations that involve national defense, intelligence, or international conflicts.

Situations and General Utility:

Strengthening the nation's military forces to deter aggression from other nations.
Developing advanced defense technologies and weaponry.
Engaging in covert operations, intelligence gathering, or espionage.
Crisis Clocks related to international conflicts, internal security threats, or military expansion.

State Enterprise (SE)

State Enterprise represents the nation's state-owned enterprises and industries, which are controlled or managed by the government. This stat is useful for situations where the government plays a central role in the economy, directing resources and investments towards key projects and initiatives.

Situations and General Utility:

Developing national infrastructure projects, such as highways, power plants, or telecommunications networks.
Supporting strategic industries, such as energy production, transportation, or manufacturing.
Implementing economic policies or regulations that benefit state-owned enterprises.
Crisis Clocks related to economic inequality, monopolies, or nationalization of industries.

FIRE (Finance, Investments, & Real Estate)

FIRE stands for Finance, Investments, and Real Estate, and represents the nation's financial sector, its ability to attract and manage investments, and the overall health of the real estate market. This stat is useful for situations that involve financial strategy, managing national wealth, and improving the nation's fiscal health.

Situations and General Utility:

Attracting foreign investment by creating favorable business environments and incentives.
Managing national debt and budgeting to ensure fiscal stability and sustainability.
Developing a robust and diverse financial sector, including banks, insurance companies, and investment firms.
Encouraging growth in the real estate market to boost property values and increase revenue from taxes.
Crisis Clocks related to financial crises, inflation, housing bubbles, or credit crunches.

Crisis Clocks

Crisis Clocks are used to track ongoing threats and challenges faced by the nations. The following taxonomy of Crisis Clocks is organized by major assets, obstacles, and features of the game environment.

Economic Crises:

1. Unemployment Crisis: Represents high levels of unemployment, which can lead to social unrest and decreased quality of life.
2. Stagnant Economic Growth: Tracks slow or negative economic growth, which can strain government resources and hinder development.
3. Inflation and Currency Crisis: Monitors unstable currency values and high inflation rates, which can erode purchasing power and disrupt trade.
4. Debt Crisis: Measures unsustainable levels of national debt, which can lead to austerity measures and reduced public services.

Social and Political Crises:

5. Civil Unrest: Represents growing dissatisfaction among the population, potentially leading to protests, strikes, or even revolution.
6. Political Corruption: Tracks pervasive corruption within the government, which can undermine public trust and hinder policy implementation.
7. Refugee Crisis: Monitors the influx of refugees from neighboring conflicts, which can strain public services and create tensions within the population.
8. Public Health Crisis: Measures outbreaks of diseases or other public health emergencies that can impact the well-being of the population.

Military and Security Crises:

9. International Tensions: Represents escalating conflicts or disputes with other nations, which may lead to sanctions, proxy wars, or open conflict.
10. Internal Security Threats: Tracks threats from within the nation, such as terrorism, organized crime, or separatist movements.
11. Arms Race: Monitors the competition between nations to develop advanced weaponry and military technologies, potentially destabilizing the balance of power.
12. Border Disputes: Measures ongoing disputes over territorial claims, which can lead to skirmishes, military buildups, or diplomatic breakdowns.

Environmental and Resource Crises:

13. Resource Scarcity: Represents the depletion of essential resources such as water, food, or energy, which can lead to competition and conflict.
14. Natural Disaster: Tracks the occurrence and aftermath of natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes, which can strain infrastructure and public services.
15. Climate Change: Monitors the impact of climate change on the nation, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events, or ecosystem disruptions.
16. Pollution and Environmental Degradation: Measures the effects of pollution and environmental damage on public health, natural resources, and the economy.

Technological and Infrastructure Crises:

17. Infrastructure Decay: Represents the deterioration of essential infrastructure, such as transportation networks, power grids, or communication systems.
18. Technological Gap: Tracks a nation's lag in technological advancements, which can hinder economic growth and global competitiveness.
19. Metasecurity Threats: Monitors threats to a nation's bureaucratic infrastructure and information systems, such as espionage, data breaches, or “hacking.”
20. Energy Crisis: Measures the nation's reliance on non-renewable energy sources and the potential consequences of energy shortages or disruptions.

Diplomatic and Geopolitical Crises:

21. Diplomatic Isolation: Represents a nation's weakening diplomatic ties or loss of allies, which can impact trade and international relations.
22. Regional Instability: Tracks the overall stability of the region, with potential consequences such as the spread of conflicts, humanitarian crises, or economic collapse.
23. Proxy War: Monitors indirect conflicts between major powers, which can destabilize regions and escalate tensions.
24. Ideological Struggle: Measures the influence of competing ideologies, such as democracy, authoritarianism, or socialism, on a nation's political landscape and international relations.

This taxonomy is meant to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the various challenges and threats that nations may face in the game. By addressing these crises effectively, players can navigate the complex and dynamic environment, shaping the future of their nation and the world at large.

Maintenance

Maintenance, rather than adding to or subtracting your stats directly, applies a small penalty to the effectiveness of all your actions based on your Maintenance Penalty. Your Maintenance Penalty is proportional to the difference between your FIRE score and the sum of your Public Services and State Enterprise scores. If this is above zero, your private enterprise can continue to grow efficiently, else you're just not skimming enough off the top to pay for the operations of your state.

But beware a drop in your Leverage Rank, which is proportional to the difference of all your other scores and your FIRE score. The closer this value comes to zero, the greater the risk of market collapse becomes. The "good news" is that your FIRE score can actually benefit from market collapse, if other countries are dependent on your money supply (say because you'll only trade in silver or your own bank notes, or because you're forcing them to pay reparations, or because you control their economic production directly). This usually does damage to their economy but portends greater gains and control for yours.

sc2k-Make sure FINANCEREAL ESTATE is always greater than STATE ENTERPRISE plus PUBLIC SERVICES.png

sc2k-But beware the LEVERAGE PENALTY and dont grow your FIRE score unless you EXPAND.png

New Division Recruitment

For each new division you recruit, you will roll 2d6+the IC cost of the division you recruited. The average of all rolls made for this purpose in a turn will be used as the reference roll for your overall recruitment effort for that turn.

When you recruit new forces, it is assumed you are recruiting those forces - the people and the equipment and organization necessary to assemble them into divisions - from your population. This may or may not be desirable, for you or for your population. Therefore, you should take care to try to "sweeten the deal" when pressing new soldiers into battle. If nothing else, give them a symbol and an ideal to fight for. Then maybe you don't need to do that much sweetening.

When recruiting new Guards, there will be less disgruntlement than when recruiting Infantry. However, if you have, say, some Guards Divisions already failing in a theater and you recruit new Guards to send them in, beware that it will be really important to the people back home how well you do in that theater, and all the more so when you decide to commit new Infantry. Therefore, you should generally try to make do with what you have.

As a rule of thumb, divide your jingoism stat by 10% to find the number of new land divisions you can recruit without stepping on anyone's toes.

Recruiting new naval and air forces is much less impactful on your population, so you can ignore this rule of thumb, but it is still very impactful on your economy. Be mindful of the effects that constant militarization can have and stay vigilant.

Ground Forces

Guards Division: 1 IC for 2 Divisions. These divisions represent garrisons or local guards forces that are not equipped to go on the offensive.
Upgrade Guards to Infantry: 2 IC for 3 Divisions. A way of preparing new combat forces without recruitment. These divisions are significantly more combat-ready than fresh recruits. Consider this move like dipping into your active reserves.

Infantry Division: 1 IC for 1. These forces provide the standard military forces to most nations. Consisting generally of infantry equipped with rifles, mortars, and bombs.

Cavalry Division: 1 IC for 1: These dragoon forces move much faster than infantry and can fight just as well. All they require is a functioning horse economy.

Must have 5 or more Military Industry:

Armored Division: 2 IC for 1: These expensive divisions assemble armored fighting vehicles and state-of-the-art battle equipment.

Naval Forces

Destroyer Groups: 1 IC for 1 Group. These forces provide protection for sea-lanes and larger ships against marauding enemy submarines and raiders.

Submarine Group: 1 IC for 1. These groups of submarines assault convoys and merchant ships which provide vital lifelines for many nations.

Cruiser Group: 2 IC for 1. These forces fill the niche for open sea control between capital ships and destroyer groups. Cruiser groups are crucial for naval supremacy.

Must have 5 or more Military Industry:

Capital Ship: 3 IC for 1 Ship. These behemoths represent imperial might. They have large guns and are expensive.

Carrier: 3 IC for 1. These ships are built specially for naval aviation and combat.

Air Forces

Biplane Squadron: 2 IC for 1 Squadron. This is a group of about 100 wooden-and-canvass biplanes equipped with machine guns, trained to dogfight as a squadron. They are vulnerable to anti-aircraft artillery, but make short work of dirigibles.

Must have 5 or more Military Industry:

Dirigible Division: 3 IC for 1 Division. This is a division consisting of ground and aircrew, infrastructure, and support for a few combat dirigibles and war-balloons. They are much faster than ground forces and can show up with considerable firepower, but they are expensive and easily destroyed by biplanes.

State and Politics

Government System

The government system of a nation represents the various political approaches available to people to acquire legitimate control of the state. Governments often rely on promoting popular ideas and maintaining tradition to garner support from the populace. The primary expectation from a government is to maintain order and ensure the well-being of its citizens.

Ruling Entity

Beside your nation's government system in the stats is the ruling entity, which could be a political party, faction, or monarch. They are typically held accountable when things go wrong. The Head of State or Head of Government listed here is context-dependent, as is the frequency and nature of elections for governments with electoral authority.

Dissent

Dissent is a key indicator of your government's success and its ability to maintain control. Dissent can be considered an inverse of stability, which can be affected by various factors:

Decreased Stability:

Shifting policies that negatively impact influential political classes.
Politically distancing from influential political classes.
Disruption of expected procedures, such as elections.
Losing a war or facing a proxy war loss by an influential political class.
Other unexpected adverse events.

Increased Stability:

Successfully implementing policies preferred by the public.
Increasing spending on social services.
Winning a war with strong public support.
Re-election of the ruling party or entity.
Other fortunate events.

Jingoism - Public Support for Conflict (PSC)

Public Support for Conflict (PSC), or Jingoism as it's referred to by your character sheet, measures the level of public approval for war and hostile activities. It is crucial to gauge the extent to which people will tolerate the expenditure of lives and resources for conflicts. Low PSC during times of war can result in rebellion, while high PSC can sometimes backfire if radical elements take matters into their own hands. Nonetheless, high PSC is generally preferable for nations that frequently engage in wars.

Reputation

Your nation's global opinion is the reflection that your empire gives to the other governments of the world. The better this is, the more you can snow people into doing what you want, say make it easier to make alliances or trade deals, or get them to listen to your insane megalomaniacal rants. On the other hand, if your nation is feared or hated, all those things will be that much harder to do.

Attacking a nation which is more globally hated than your own will have a less negative effect on your own global opinion. If you attack a nation that is far more beloved, you will bring the wrath of global opinion down upon ye.

Oh, and remember: People love an underdog.

Scale:
Admired-Respected-Liked-Neutral-Disliked-Hated-Feared

Military Orders

When issuing military orders, please provide an overarching plan for the entire war, allowing the generals in charge to determine specific strategies. Keep in mind that your generals can improve over time; remembering their names and keeping them engaged will help enhance your military capabilities.

Integrated Support Units

Artillery and early armor are automatically integrated into your Infantry and Cavalry divisions, providing essential support to these units. Advancements in research related to artillery and armor will significantly increase the strength of your divisions compared to your enemies. The effects of these improvements are reflected in the Military Quality section of your nation's stats.

Military Quality

Your military quality demonstrates how well advanced, experienced, or trained your armed forces are. Good circumstances can be fostered by investing additional resources, but in general experience is the best teacher. The best military quality can only be maintained by constantly remaining at war all across the globe, in one form or another. It exists on the following scale, from bad to good:

Mutinous*-Incapable-Green-Regular-Veteran-Elite

*Mutinous does not technically indicate combat quality, as it is not actually worse than Incapable, which assumes your military is perfectly unequipped for fighting a modern war. Rather, this value will be used to indicate a military that is totally disorganized and splintering. Expect coups and counter-coups, and expect even a once-invincible fighting force to be reduced to nothing by mutiny.

Hidden Green

Generally, when your army quality is Green, your officers are not necessarily aware of it. Therefore, your military quality may be reported as Regular when it is actually Green. The only way to reveal this is to either blow the lid off your army's unpreparedness (difficult as the officers will indeed attempt to keep a lid on things) or go to war and let the meatgrinder grind. Note that after a sudden or emergency draft, Hidden Green becomes a very possible scenario.

Revolutions & Nationalism

Ever since the Revolution, new nations just seem to crop up all the time. Here's how to play as one. Fill out this form:

Organization Name:
Base City:
Objective:

Here's what your stats will look like when they are complete:

Organization Name:
Base City:
Reputation:
Legitimacy:
Base IC:
Army:
Navy:
Objective:

Reputation refers to your global reputation in terms of how seriously people take you. You prefer for this to be on the left side of the following scale:

Fearsome-Respected-Upstart-Indifferent

Legitimacy exists on a 1-100 scale. If it is 50, then 50% of the organization's objective is said to have been fulfilled.

Ground Forces

Militia Division: 1 IC for 2 Divisions. Improperly trained or equipped and with poor morale, fate calls them to war anyway.

Revolutionary Division: 1 IC for 1. Slightly worse than standard infantry, but with very good morale.

Mercenary Division: 2 IC for 1. Slightly better than standard infantry.

Naval Forces

Barque: 1 IC for 1 Squadron. Consider these ships worse than any regular navy vessel. Can traverse rivers and lakes. Better than no navy at all.

Air Forces

Revolutionaries can have air force equipment gifted to them, but presently it is not generally possible to bootstrap an air force.

Military Quality

Army/Navy Quality for player rebellion armies, nationalists, or revolutionaries is considered to be always around Veteran.

Objective

This is vital to creating your nation, you must state an objective for your organization. When this is achieved, or if a convincing impression of achievement has been made, the group ends with victory. If you are nationalists you create a new real nation. If you are rebels attempting to change the government, you get control of that nation and form a new government. The former government is driven into exile.

Crezth · Oct 8, 2022

Reserved for nation stats, background, and map.

Named Characters and Specific History

With 100 years of divergence, many people have not been born that would have otherwise, and vice-versa. Conditions may be familiar, but the people are different.

Currently Unreserved Great or Regional Powers

China, USA, Mexico, Turkey, Japan, Federation of People's Republics

National Stats and Backgrounds

Spoiler Stats, 1920 +Crisis Clocks :

Spoiler Stats, 1919 :

MAP

Crezth · Oct 8, 2022

At Least-Once-Asked Questions:

Anonymous question-asker said:
so I'm confused on how spending works. let's say I want to "improve agriculture". In my orders do I write down a line that says "improve agriculture" and then assign various capacities to that, so for example I might write "improve agriculture, spend 4 Private Enterprises and 1 State Enterprise"?

Answer:

Yes, you've got the right idea! When you want to spend resources on a specific project, such as "improve agriculture," you will specify the action and the allocation of resources in your orders. For example, you might write: "improve agriculture, spend 4 Private Enterprises and 1 State Enterprise."

If this was part of your orders for 1921, I would process these orders and report on the results in the update for 1921 for that turn. I will determine the results based on your allocations and any relevant modifiers, such as Crisis Clocks or other factors that might influence the outcome, and by applying the Resolution Mechanics described in the Rules. Remember to consider the balance between the different sectors (Private Enterprise, State Enterprise, etc.) when allocating resources, as each sector has its own strengths and limitations.

Keep in mind that I might ask for more details or clarifications about your intentions, as the specifics of your plan may impact the outcome. For instance, you may need to specify which aspect of agriculture you're focusing on (e.g., crop yield, technology, or distribution) or which region of your nation will be targeted for improvements. The more detailed your orders, the better I can tailor the results to your intentions and the game's narrative.

In addition to specifying the resources you wish to allocate, you may also want to consider the timeline for the project. Some improvements may require a longer-term commitment of resources, while others can be completed within a single turn. It's essential to communicate your expectations, as I will take these factors into account when determining the project's success and impact on your nation. Once your orders have been executed, I can give feedback on the effectiveness of your decisions, including any consequences or benefits that have arisen from your actions.

It's essential to be clear and specific about your intentions, the resources you're allocating, and any other relevant details that can help me understand and process your orders. By doing so, you can ensure that your nation's goals are effectively pursued and that your decisions have a meaningful impact on the game's narrative and progress.

Legacy Rules:

Spoiler Legacy :

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Crezth · Oct 8, 2022

Year 0
1918 AD

“A calm wind blew off the harbor, while every eye remained fixed on the behemoths still moored in the shadow of Civitavecchia, and the blue-white-red tricolors, distant and wavering. Even though the air was cool and pleasant, the smell of gunpowder and sulfur finally grown faint, and the sky nicely overcast without a hint of red or orange, there was still an anxious mood as every soldier that was garrisoned here the night before was now in plainclothes, and went as a civilian.”

Sebastien Baillard

Journalist for Les Troillaumes, an American-owned French periodical based in Rome with editions in French, English, and Italian.

COMMISSION FORCES OCCUPY CIVITAVECCHIA, MARCH ON ROME
Rome, Italy
It seems that the Great War will finally come to an end, as the Italian government has completely dissolved in the wake of the so-called Spring offensive earlier this year. A two-pronged attack, the naval offensive both sought to bombard and seize the ports at Civitavecchia and Syracuse, and after the initial bombardments, the landing operations were met with almost no resistance (despite some reports of car bombs in Syracuse, which have caused no fatalities). With the French army’s continuing occupation of the Lombard states, the Italian government fleeing Rome and failing to recapitulate anywhere else, several ministers “going missing” only for reports of their whereabouts to turn up later in Illyria and Hungary, and now Rome also occupied by the commission forces, with the Emperor missing no less, the city government seemed to have no choice but to nominate a new plenipotentiary to receive the Commission demands.

Italian soldiers tally losses in front of bombed church.

NEW ITALIAN IMPERIAL CONGRESS FORMED IN VENEZIA
Venice, Italy
Despite the situation in Rome, most political parties and federations bothering to recapitulate at all are doing so in Venice, where no formal extant government has been observed and, instead, a Congress has been created gathering those representatives. With significant political fragmentation now occurring across Italy, it is dubious whether this Congress has any legitimate representative authority, although its first (and thus far, only) official act has been to reinstitute the constitution of the Italian Empire. Now the Congress seeks to hold popular elections for a new Emperor, but may find that difficult to manage without access to the official machinery of the state in Rome. With the entire remnant of the Italian navy now squatting in the Adriatic, Venice is perhaps the last place in Italy truly safe from the west.

SOCIALIST “CONSUL OF THE PEOPLE” ELECTED IN FRANCE, DENOUNCED BY PRESIDENT
Île-de-France, France
Despite the recent successes of the imperial military, the home front remained entranced in the “anti-war mood” which has rocked it for three years now. The latest in a series of political battles which have characterized the Parisian scene, as “chevaliers” have taken to the streets to battle socialist, anarchist, and anti-war agitators alike. Finally, these forces had the wind put in their sails by the Socialist Travailleurs’ Union, whose candidate for the Consulship, a steelworkers’ union boss name of Maxime Reynard Gerard, won a smashing victory for the anti-war movement in the general elections. Promising to “end doomed adventurism” and “force the bosses to take account,” he has already been denounced by the President, who has taken the preposterously rare step of attempting to censure the Consul (mostly ceremonial) before a session of the Congress had even occurred. Addressing the elections, an Imperial spokesperson said: “Despite the outcome, the Emperor maintains his firm faith and trust in the institutions and people of the Empire to pull through in the name of unity and the Revolution.”

S.T.U. candidate addresses union local.

WASHINGTON JOINS WESTERN COMMISSION, DECLARES WAR ON MEXICO
Washington D.C.
News from North America! Apparently, the good boys in Washington couldn’t settle their differences with ol’ Pablo Garcia, so it’s war. Well, for readers in North America, war bonds are surely available at any American post office, and for Europeans who want to get in on the action, U.S. postage stamps are beloved of philologists across Europe, and those proceeds are sure to find their way to the front one way or another! Happy hunting!

GERMAN INFIGHTING WORSENS, “MUTINOUS” ARMY TO MAKE HOMECOMING
Cologne, United German Republics
With Bavaria and Czechia all but independent on their own terms, Brandenburg and Prussia the site of regular terrorist attacks, and the workers’ councils of Stuttgart totally deaf to the strictures of the federalist government, it seems as though the stability of the United German Republics is hanging by a thread. Most local experts believe that Czechia will be fully independent within a year, and legally at that, and Bavaria will be soon to follow (both local governments, for the time being, committed to a legal extraction even as they refuse to foot the bill for the Western Commission’s reparations). To make matters worse, although the current attitude of the civilian federal government is one of acquiescence, and belief that they will triumph in the legal battles, it is well-known that the leading officers of that which remains of the Republican Revolutionary Army, who fought in Manchuria as part of the Commission Treaty Force, are of the vocally-expressed belief that the current civilian government be replaced and the rebellious provinces crushed by force - without any regard for legality. With they and their army’s return scheduled for the coming January, it is unknown what plan, if any, the government has for managing this possible mutiny.

POLAND AND THE WENDS: A CENTRAL EUROPEAN QUESTION
Zaolzie, Poland
In the wake of the Great War, where perhaps none suffered worse than the people of Central and Eastern Europe, a terrible question has haunted Central Europe with an especially insidious vigor: that terrible question known as Russianism. This was the question whose answer, perhaps, was the United German Republics: simultaneously affecting the spirit of the west, while concealing a mask of true Russian character. It was indeed this Russian character that bound the German Republics with the autocratic Russian Tsar, and in a situation where Poland stood alone as the one unambiguously Christian nation, the one unadulteratedly Christian nation, Pagan indignations surrounded the camp palisades with legion. Much is said of German Christendom, of course, but others would say there is a difference between “German” “Christendom” and Bavarian Catholicism. At the end of the day, which part of Europe is really "Central" and not Eastern? In any case, they would certainly say there is a difference between Germany’s illegal occupation of Bohemia, and Poland’s righteous annexation of Zaolzie: by all accounts, a Wendish territory, of Wendish heritage, and belonging to a Wendish union of nations which stretches to Old Eesti. Remember this the next time you read an irresponsible tabloid that doubts the unity and integrity of the Wendish nation, and ask yourself whether they’re serving the agenda of peace, liberty, and equality, or something rather more Russian instead. And the next time your troublemaking "friend" at the union brings up "Fritz Metzler," tell him: "No thanks, I love Christ!"

Political cartoon from Cincinnati newspaper.

SPANISH COLONIALS GRUMBLE
Morocco, Spanish Republic
With the dust settling in Spain finally, new Spanish media circles have picked up the story rotating in from the empire where the constant receding battle lines of the imperial forces have resulted in a great concentration of the remaining forces in Morocco. Now with the loss of the Philippines, a cry from the imperial gentry class of “but what about us!” is only matched by the apparent tragic futility of the French-style Revolutions that had attempted to occur only half a century ago. After all, if Gran Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, Argentina or even the Philippines been permitted to overthrow their kings, as the French once overthrow their own king, as the U.S. once overthrew its king, perhaps these regions would be prosperous republics today. Instead, they are almost all lost to the mob, the colonial police, or some demonic combination of the two. Truly, though imperialism is a savage business, maybe these grumbling Spanish officers are not where the blame for this failed empire lies.

TURKISH REVOLUTIONARIES SEIZE CONSTANTINOPLE, MOVE INTO THRACE; GREECE THREATENS WAR
Constantinople, Turkey
Trouble continues in the Balkans as a rogue armed band, apparently based in the hills around “Ankara” and having ties to old Turko-Islamic tribes, have managed to sneak past Commission garrisons and seize the city of Constantinople, apparently out from under their noses. The Commission forces have withdrawn, and rumors abound as to what plans exist to retake the city. Greek officials in Athens have reported that the Turkish armed band’s movements are “unacceptable” and that “any bandits in Thrace will be crushed in the coming year’s police actions.”

SOCIALISTS SWEEP DUTCH ELECTIONS
Amsterdam, Dutch Republic
In a shock to everyone, the socialists have managed to dominate the elections on an anti-war, anti-West program. Along the lines of “We shall not be France and England’s puppet any longer,” the current crop of populist candidates are wildly successful, and keen to use their position as a bludgeon against their political foes. Within the new government, a new divide is forming between the pro and anti-Indonesia factions, where certain die hard socialists insist on expanding representation to Indonesia - a preposterous concept that is widely maligned even within the socialist camp.

FILIPINO REBELLION HOISTS NEW FLAG
Manila, Philippines
Victory over the Spanish Empire became a reality in the Philippines this past year as the rebel forces have finally managed to rout the last of the Spanish military positions and seize the last of their property. With plantation after plantation captured now by peasant rebel tribunals, observers can only ask when the killing will end.

SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF WORKING WOMEN IN NEW ORLEANS DECLARE “WOMEN’S BILL OF RIGHTS”
New Orleans, U.S.A.
French, Italian, English, German, Czech, Italian, Spanish, Polish representatives. Read the headline! I don’t want to write on this, J.C. Get one of the junior staffers to do it, or see if we can move it to the evening edition. And make sure the boys with the plates get the memo this time.

Women socializing after a tea party.

—.-.-.—

“It’s a little intoxicating, to walk around St. Petersburg and know it’s no longer that old Tsarist name. It’s almost as intoxicating as the smell of gunpowder and the ocean, that smell I smelled so fondly as we often sat with the naval officers at the harbor, shooting the sh*t about going to war, killing the Tsar, and building a new Russia.”

Georgy Nikitin Obolensky

Editor for Skandalist, once a small Russian tabloid but now an international institution with editions in French, English, Mandarin, Japanese, Kazakh, Georgian, and Polish.

“ALL POWER TO THE SOVIETS!;” SOVIET COUNCIL DECLARES OLD CONSTITUTION VOID, NEW SOVIET REPUBLIC; ST. PETERSBURG RENAMED TO SOYUZGRAD
Soyuzgrad, Russian Soviet
In a series of events much to the entertainment of the local officers and pointmen of the St. Petersburg Union of Soviets, for months now acting as a perpetual peanut gallery to the activities of the provisional Russian Republic, the entire People’s Joint Faction was locked out of the Duma halls while an entirely legal “emergency session” was held, supervised by the Chief Councilor. The old constitution was effectively scrapped, and the new constitution formalized a transition of power to the soviets themselves, scattered across Russia. Although formally this empowered many bodies that either do not exist or have no feasible way of contacting any agents in Soyuzgrad, fundamentally the message was clear, and soviets across Russia have voiced their support and are already sending representatives to the capital city. The People’s Joint Faction has of course denounced this endeavor, and many of their top officers have been arrested and are now awaiting trial for treason (exile being the most likely punishment for most of that). Some have escaped west, to Poland, where they have begun lobbying for Commission support against the Soviets; and others have escaped southeast, to the Kazakh Republic, where they hope to find a sympathetic mind.

Soviet poses after successful revolutionary vote.

KAZAKH GENERALISSIMO CLAIMS MONGOLIA
Almaty, Kazakh Republic
To the shock and outrage of the Chinese authorities, the so-called “Kazakh Republic” has now sent its emissaries across the Gobi desert, demanding capitulation or else. Already a rump state that could do little more than answer to the Tsar (dead now for over a year), Mongolia could do little to speak for itself, and even the disunited government of China could offer no real objection. The British government has yet to comment on these affairs, although considering the history of the Afghan campaign it would not be unlikely if they did.

UKRAINIAN CIVIL WAR ESCALATES, SEVASTOPOL BASTION OF COMMUNISTS
Sevastopol, Ukraine Republic
Kiev is now a crossroads of warlords, as recon forces of the Black Ataman can now be spotted in Kievan outskirts pillaging as they wish. The Ukrainian government is scrambling to mobilize its scattered forces and respond, but the going is slow and the situation grows more chaotic by the day. Meanwhile in the south, the retreating communists have managed to find a home in Sevastopol, where reports indicate they have fully unfurled their banners within the city and are recruiting new forces to take the fight to the supposedly legitimate government in Kiev (and not to mention, the Black Ataman’s forces in the east).

CHINESE GENERALS ROOST IN BEIJING AS LINES ARE DRAWN IN MANCHU COUNTRY
Beijing, China
Republican generals have returned from campaign disappointed with the outcome won by the Treaty Force, which in establishing their new “Legation of Manchuria and Korea” has now split both the Japanese and Chinese empires asunder. Despite vociferous objections from the Chinese delegation, they were pointedly ignored at the point of French battleship forces, and the lines were drawn without regard even for property. The new Legation now balances all of these interests as it assembles its civil mercenary government. In Nanjing, a new government of the Republic of China has formed an assembly of representatives from most provinces in China. It is now expected some returning generals that are also members of the National Democracy Movement will give their blessings to the new government, despite sore feelings about the loss of Manchuria, which most politicians now argue was simply inevitable.

Busy center streets in Nanjing.

JAPANESE BUSINESSES SHAKE IN TOKYO EXCHANGES BUT DOUBLE DOWN IN KOREA
Tokyo, Japan
Japan, a nation which experienced great development and industrial growth in the last quarter century, is currently experiencing a miniature economic crisis as investors desert the marketplace following the loss of position for Japanese businesses in Korea. However, few, if any, business relations are actually being nationalized; and at least for the time being, Japanese enterprise continues to act with impunity in Korea. However, Korean Citizens’ Leagues are being formed under the auspices of acting with the Legation, and although they bear no formal relationship to that body, are marshalling troops with clear intent to seize Japanese property and “liberate enslaved brethren.” Certain Japanese army units, rather than return to Japan, went to ground in the plantations and industrial complexes controlled by allied corporations, and set up their barracks among the steel mills to oversee the workers.

THE PROBLEMS OF BAGHDAD
Baghdad, Mesopotamian Commonwealth Protectorate
The British Republican Commonwealth: worldwide, a symbol, a dream, of liberty and a new age for the future of industrial civilization. It was not hard-handed and close-fisted, like that of the French, but soft-spoken and open-palmed. It was, of course, a lie, spun in the style of so many similar lies about the so-called “benefits” of Western imperialism. An ancient kingdom, steeped in tradition, destroyed to the last man and its ancestral princes killed and exiled? This is usually called “progress,” and so, too, was the case with Mesopotamia and the British syndicates. Without any respect for the ancient traditions of this land, the territories of the Armenians, the Assyrians, and the Yaz’idi have been eviscerated, and princes nominated as republican governors remain distant bureaucrats, closely affiliated with their colonial masters and bearing not a shred of resemblance to their fathers’ fathers. Is this really the condition of mankind in the 20th century? To allow entire nations to be laid waste, in the name of soulless profits, and Godless merchants? Well, only history can answer us, really. And according to Fritz Metzler, the scientific socialist, it does answer us. We only have to be willing to consider the evidence for what it actually is. To those who don't believe me, take a walk in Baghdad, and tell me if anything hits you as much as the smell of blood and rot.

Map, beginning of 1919

—.-.-.—

Post-Update Debrief

This was Update 0. I hope you will enjoy, but we'll really get into things with Update 1.

To send orders, simply examine your stats, decide if you want to move any IC around, and then send a PM detailing your instructions for your nation. If you're having trouble getting started, act as if you're instructing your political lieutenants, whom you will expect to be able to exercise some independence even while carrying out your will.

To obtain information and context about your nation to help you make these decisions and feel confident dealing with other players, join the Discord chat room and ask; or if that scene is too screwed up for you, you can post in this thread, or you can send me PMs here on the forums, or on Discord (and you can find me through aforesaid chat room, which you can at least join if you don't want to actually chat in).

If you have a question or really anything to say about the game at all and don't know where to say it, screw it, just post it here with a little "OOC" tag. Like so:

JimmyKiller566 posts forum message contents:
"OOC: Boy howdy I love this game and Crezth is the best!"

All right, now good luck out there.

You may now post.

You may also post expressions of interest in playing as unreserved nations.

Crezth · Oct 8, 2022

Information about Italy's colonies and the status of the war:

The Western Commission has occupied the Lombard states, particularly Milan, and Rome, and Sicily. Italy is disorganized and politically divided, meaning the government has to somehow reform. The French military posture is overwhelming, and Italian forces are both in disarray and deserting.

Italy's navy is intact and fully operational.

Italy had colonies in the Upper Nile, Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, and Oman, but France and the British have occupied them. Legally, they're still Italy's.

The western players shall dictate terms to Italy. Italy's player will decide whether to make peace, being fully aware that Italy is on the verge of destruction if they don't tread cautiously.

You will most likely seek to demilitarize Italy and extract reparation payments from it, stripping it of its colonies and diminishing its ability to wage war on you again, but it's ultimately up to you.

Germany's peace is separate. The current German government has capitulated, and is paying generous reparations. If the German player chooses to pay, they will be paid automatically. If not, then it will become obvious.

Russia's peace is realized in an annexation of eastern and Baltic territories to Poland. Reparations are owed, but it's up to the Soviets whether to pay them. Technically some Polish politicians expect a chunk of Ukraine as well. So be worried about that.

The value of the reparations owed by Germany is roughly 7 IC per turn for 10 turns, and for Russia it is 5 IC per turn for 10 turns. These are split France-Britain by 4-3 and 3-2.

NinjaCow64 · Oct 8, 2022

OFFICIAL MISSIVE OF CONSUL EDOARDO SILANO

Due to the disappearance of Emperor Mario Emmanuel I and this unprecedented national crisis, the Second Imperial Congress of the Italians has voted to give itself emergency powers and appoint former Consul Luigi Umberto as Emperor-Regent. He will serve in this position until the location of Emperor Mario Emmanuel I can be confirmed. In the case that our Emperor is alive and well, he will resume his duties. If the Emperor is dead or incapacitated, the Emperor-Regent will serve until the Italian provinces can appoint an Assembly of Electoral Authorities.

OFFICIAL MISSIVE OF EMPEROR-REGENT LUIGI UMBERTO

As Emperor-Regent of the Italians, I demand that the victorious Western Commission recognises the legitimacy of my government so that we may begin the process of bringing peace to Europe.

Lord of Elves · Oct 8, 2022

I'm China.

tobiisagoodboy · Oct 8, 2022

Diplomatic Notes from the State Department of the United States of America:

1. The United States Government recognizes the Italian Interim Government and asks all civillized nations to do the same. The Great European War has cost too much blood already. We also wish italy good fortune in their search for their missing Emperor.
2. The United States Government recognizes the independent Republic of Phillipines and asks to establish regular diplomatic ties with them. We wish for nothing but friendship and economic cooperation between our two great people and Republics.
3. The United States Government also officially recognizes the indepdent Government of Central America. As fellow Americans we welcome them and ask to establish regular diplomatic ties. We wish for friendship and shared prosperity between our two nations.

Signed by the Secretary of State Theobald Roosebud.

Crezth · Oct 8, 2022

The deadline for sending orders is October 22nd, at 6 PM Pacific Time.

This is a hard deadline, meaning that the update will come the next day regardless if orders from all players are received. Failing to send orders may lead to political instability as other agents within your state will take the opportunities presented to act. Broad, undetailed orders are always superior to no orders.

Japan is currently reserved for Dubbeleh until the end of the month, when they may be able to confirm playing. Until then, please treat Japan as an NPC, and address me with your Japan-directed diplomacy.

Crezth · Oct 12, 2022

France is now NPC, although I intend soon to secure a new player for them. In the meantime, please come to me for your French diplomacy needs.

NinjaCow64 · Oct 21, 2022

EMPEROR-REGENT LUIGI UMBERTO

On behalf of Italy, I accept these peace terms as dictated by the Western Commission:

That Italy shall surrender no less than 3/4 of its floating and underwater naval assets on a per-category basis, to France.

That Italy shall disband all of its standing army forces such that no more than 10 Guards and 5 Infantry Divisions total may remain.

That Italy together with Germany accept all blame for the war, and Italy shall pay reparations the total value of which shall be 100 IC paid out over 10 years.

That Italy shall demilitarize its border with France and construct no fortifications and install no garrisons within 100 km of its northwestern border with France.

That Italy shall surrender its colonies in the Upper Nile, Ethiopia, Somalia, Oman, and Yemen to the Western Commission, to be redistributed within.

In exchange, we will cease the occupation of Italy.

NinjaCow64 · Oct 21, 2022

EMPEROR-REGENT LUIGI UMBERTO

Italy is looking to sell excess infantry equipment to nations in good standing with the Western Commission. Please contact the appropriate Italian representative in your country for more details.

J.K. Stockholme · Oct 23, 2022

The Soviet Revolutionaries

Led by their fearless leader, Anton K. Obin, the Social Democrats are in complete control of Russia as of 1918. Having been arrested or fled the country, the rightists of the People’s Joint Faction, are no more. All power has transferred to the numerous Soviets of peasants and workers whose delegates compose the All-Russian Congress of Soviets in Soyuzgrad. With much work to do as the World Revolution continues, the Soviets have elected the first Council of People’s Commissars, or the Sovnarkom, where Obin chairs a collective leadership of Social Democrats and SRs.

Who are the great Soviet revolutionaries?

First, there are the big three: the leaders of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party’s “soft” and “hard” factions – the dogmatiks and the massoviks – and also the leader of the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (SRs).

Chairing both the Sovnarkom of the Russian Soviet Republic and the Political Bureau (Politburo) of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) and therefore the de facto leader of Russia is Anton Kirillovich Rybakov, better known as Anton Obin. Born in 1868 to a Tartar mother and a Russian father in Tambov, Obin a middle class life and a good education that led him into political activism and eventually a commanding position in the RSDLP by the turn of the century. Obin’s writings, like many of the other Russian socialists, staked out opposition to the revolutionary theories of Lorenzo Baldosa and broadly western socialists who exalt the French Revolution as the only legitimate model for a socialist revolution. Writing in the underground workers’ newspaper Borba (which he co-founded) under his pen name (chosen for the next largest river of Russia not yet taken by other comrades), Obin and other Russian socialists argued against the Napoleonic model of revolution. After the ideological debates of the 1890s Obin answered western socialists with his major work, Dogmatism and Social Democracy, a tract that most successfully advanced the concept of a revolutionary vanguard and opposed the Baldosan mythologizing of Napoleon as an archetypal figure for whom a socialist version should be sought out in the time of revolution so as to consolidate a heroic revolutionary state (that state, the western socialists presumed, being in France first). Anti-Baldosanism took deep root across the Russian left, though Obin’s cultivation of professional revolutionaries as a vanguard was a bridge too far for Obin’s opponents in the RSDLP, garnering him derision as an "anarchist" at times. The division nearly split the party in the early 1900s, whereafter Obin’s faction became known as the “dogmatiks” due to the name of their leader’s great thesis.

What is less well known to both the Russian people and the wider world is that the socialist unity of the RSDLP, from the early 1900s debates that nearly split the party to the start of the Great War to the decisive moments of 1918, depended mightily on the role of Vera Petrova, the leading figure of the RSDLP’s “soft” faction. Despite tumultuous ideological and political conflicts, a bond of personal friendship between Petrova and Obin, and their mutual frustration with Francocentric western socialists, kept the party together. Born Vera Schneurson in 1872 in Chernigov to a working class Jewish family, Petrova engaged in political activism and proletarian union organizing at a young age while working as a tailor, later marrying a Ukrainian socialist revolutionary, Georgi Petrov. Her theoretical works include Spontaneous Solidarity, where she argues for carrying out the class struggle through massive social organizing during wider spontaneous unrest, as well as Conquest of the State, which advances how workers’ councils (soviets) emerging from strikes and in a revolutionary moment might serve as the basis of proletarian democracy (a prophetic thesis in the case of Soviet Russia). Petrova’s camp is therefore referred to as the massoviks for their emphasis on the masses as opposed to a revolutionary vanguard.

As leader of the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (SRs), Stepan Serpov commands the greater share of support from the peasantry, to whom the SR platform is aimed. The SRs are agrarian socialists exalting collectivism and communal ownership of land, and there has regularly been enmity and mutual contempt between the SRs and the RSDLP. One sticking point, besides the adulation of the peasantry instead of the proletariat, is that the SRs are more amenable to western emphasis on the French model of revolution, with some saying that Stepan Serpov sees himself as Russia’s Napoleon in-waiting. Winning less than a majority but nonetheless an impressive second place in-terms of the left-wing delegates in the Duma and delegates in-general in the Congress of Soviets, Stepan Serpov took the fateful plunge and made a grand bargain with Obin and Petrova – agreeing to bar the People’s Joint Faction from the body and handing all power to the Soviets. Born in 1856, Stepan Platonov Ivanovsky grew up in a working class Belarusian family and went to a religious school where he excelled but ultimately relented from the path of priesthood to instead join revolutionary politics under the party name Serpov (taken from a symbol of the peasantry, the Russian word for sickle). He converted wholesale to agrarian socialism in the 1870s and brought a religious fervour to their cause, becoming a founding member of the SRs and eventually its singular leader.

Then there are the other giants of the Social Democrats who now hold decisive posts in the Sovnarkom and other organs of the emerging Soviet state.

The two most dynamic and prolific Sovnarkom Social Democrats, aside from Anton and Petrova themselves, are Isaac Gefestov, Commissar of Foreign Affairs, and Kazimir Rozalsky, Commissar of Nationalities. Born as Isaak Aaronovich Karpovsky in Kazan to a family of wealthy Jewish landowners, Gefestov (his party name taken from the Russian word for Hephaestus) was a child prodigy who began socialist agitation first with agrarian socialists of the 1880s, switching to the RSDLP upon its formation as a massovik and close ally of Vera Petrova. During the near-split between the massoviks and the dogmatiks in the early 1900s, Gefestov developed a theory of socialist unity through several essays (most importantly What to Do?: Questions of Socialist Unity), whereby reformers and revolutionaries, and different camps of revolutionaries, could remain united in common struggle.

Kazimir Lvovich Gzowski was born into Polish nobility in 1878 a small town near Minsk, adopting the party name Rozalsky in a nod to a character in a Polish fiction influential among revolutionary circles in eastern Europe. Kazimir excelled in academics and went to Saint Petersburg University to become a medical doctor, a career he abandoned upon his sudden conversion Metzlerism upon reading the Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital. As a rising member of the party, Rozalsky formulated the RSDLP’s nationality policy in 1912, writing Metzlerism and Nationality, where he contended the need to reverse Russification and to embrace a principle of “national personal autonomy” that would dissociate nationality from territory. On the Sovnarkom he has been arguing for the non-national delineation of administrative divisions – a separation of nation and state.

Finally there are the party’s chief theoretician, an informal role unquestionably held by Sergei Voevodsky, and the head of the newly created All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (Cheka), Benia Spartakov. Voevodsky was born in 1886 to two Russian schoolteachers in Petrograd and became an activist through his studies at Saint Petersburg Imperial University where he participated in student activism that led him to join the RSDLP. A diverse thinker, being perhaps the foremost reader of non-Metlzerian economic and political thought, Voevodsky is the party’s most prolific theoretician, tasked with writing the party’s English-language primer, The ABC of Social Democracy, and the author of numerous books on economics even praised by liberal economists, such as Luxury Economics and the Leisure Class, as well as the political science of socialist governance such as his newest book (published in 1919), Soviet Republicanism.

Beniamin Chakhvashvili was born in 1884 to a Georgian family of petty merchants. Spartakov joined the RSDLP shortly out of graduating from the Kutaisi Gymnasium, defying his parents wishes to become an army officer and instead becoming a radical activist. As Spartakov is a master of disguise and the party’s most formidable militant, he was the party’s chief organizer of illegal activities prior to the revolution and was promoted to the post of the Cheka, a special police force tasked with hunting down rightists in 1919. Spartakov gravitated to the dogmatik faction of the RSDLP because of its radicalism, becoming a professional revolutionary, and also a writer for the party’s paper during the Great War.

Despite their differences, the Russian social democratic tradition is united, fighting their corner of the World Revolution, and wary of a Napoleonic usurper who would pretend to be the people's champion.

Crezth · Oct 25, 2022

Hey all, just wanted to thank those that sent in orders, and note that I am aware of some first time order blues, so two things:

1. I want to get some more weight into this update while giving people time to engage a bit more (myself included), so I'm pushing the "deadline" back to October 29th. Those who haven't sent orders may still do so. I will be attempting to update on October 30th.

2. A more complete order set, with annotations, to explain a little about what your orders are actually meant to accomplish:

State Enterprise Orders:
We are engaging in three (3) discrete projects this turn, which will require the commitment of 3 unreserved Public Services spending. We have, with 4 Public Services and (-1) upkeep, 3 to spend. Since these are state enterprise projects, I MUST commit 1 Public Services; if they were private enterprise projects, I would not have to do that, but the effectiveness of my activity is likely to be mitigated.

1. Agricultural development program. We should seek to introduce new modern farming techniques and farm equipment and reform the distribution of land.

2. Industrial development program. We should seek to expand our steel plant and coal facilities and increase the production of pig iron, and various aggregates.

3. Infrastructural development program. We will create a market for our pig iron and aggregate industries by commissioning a new public service branch to oversee the building of state-owned railroads.

With no special public services effort, attempt to continue disenfranchising the samurai. Offer promotions to some samurai in the bureaucracy in order to win their loyalty. With this justification, attempt to move 1 military industry to public services.

Spending Plan:
Move 1 Private Enterprise to State Enterprise, along the lines of nationalization and modernization for our industrial development programs. The people have to contribute to the empire.
Move 1 Military Industry to Public Services, along the lines of modernization and dismantling the samurai.

Next Year Plan:
Plan to move 1 Private Enterprise to State Enterprise, anticipating the need for continuing infrastructure development.

Miscellaneous:
With whatever government effort capability remains to us, print and issue propaganda flyers in our cities extolling the virtues of the monarch and particularly his representation of the nation.

Hope this helps, I'll stay in touch and you can always hit me up on discord or by PM.

Plains-Cow · Oct 27, 2022

Interested in playing as Hungary.

gay_Aleks · Oct 27, 2022

Welcome to Imperium Offtopicum! I hope you've read the rules of this game carefully as well as the world situation. Come on and join us in the IOT Community Server on Discord, invite's in the third post (or thereabouts)!

Crezth · Oct 27, 2022

Plains-Cow said:
Interested in playing as Hungary.

Confirmed. With both the Ninja Cow and the Plains Cow in this game, the possibilities are unlimited.

OOC: As not all players will use the Discord service, besides which the Discord chatroom is not actually a great record of game activity, I would again like to encourage all players to use this thread and private messaging to be inclusive. Only assume that you can Discord chat with players that have confirmed doing so; the default for diplomacy should be this forum.

NinjaCow64 · Oct 28, 2022

Crezth said:
Confirmed. With both the Ninja Cow and the Plains Cow in this game, the possibilities are unlimited.

OCC: this will be legendary

Crezth · Nov 1, 2022

OOC: Update on the update: the update is 75% done, and I've now gotten everything I need from the players; I'll be taking care of some things this week that should allow me to post update #1 this weekend.

Crezth · Nov 5, 2022

Extended deadline has been locked, the update will post in 26 hours and 55 minutes.

In the Beginning Was Napoleon: Game Thread

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第六天魔王

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