Realpolitik of the Smoky Skies - The Reboot

[cpm4001]

NEW PLAYERS ALWAYS WELCOME!

Realpolitik of the Smoky Skies – Either a Reboot or a Shameless Rip-Off​

Hi, I’m cpm4001. Those of you who hang around the Civ V Stories + Let’s Plays forum know me as one of the depressingly few people who frequent it. Those of you who hang around the IOT or NES forums know me as that weirdo who crops up from time to time, doesn’t know how to properly play the games, and fails pretty miserably (remember Vietnam? How about Turkey?). Some of you may also know me as the Majah of Raspur; despite the fact that my alter-ego comes from a Woody Allen film, I am not certifiably insane.
I don’t think so, anyway.
Anyway, it’s been too long since we had a Realpolitik actually running over here, and so hence this thing. Late last year, dot80 ran a briefly-lived Realpolitik with the “Empires of the Smoky Skies” scenario. It was fun, but died after a single update. So, ripping off the idea, I’m going to try to revive it, with a few twists.
Disclaimer: This is my first time running something like this (I’ve played in a number of ‘em, though), so you’ll have to bear with me when (not if) I make some slip-up or another. Further, I’d like to simultaneously thank and apologize to everyone who has actually worked to develop Realpolitiks and their manifold kin. Thank, because you’ve done a great job creating them, and apologize, because I’m mangling your ideas.

Introduction​

1) We are playing the Empires of the Smoky Skies scenario. As such, the tech tree and social policies have been completely reshuffled; I will do my best to prevent confusion by posting screenshots of these as needed. Additionally, the “internal” mechanics of this scenario are from Gods and Kings, rather than Brave New World, so there are no international Trade Routes, we can get Gold from Rivers and Coasts, etc. Also, there are still Barbarians wandering about the place, but they’re called “Luddites” for flavor and do get fairly strong units (though not Landships or the like, to my knowledge).

2) By virtue of the “Random Leader” function, our nation is “Pulias”. As such, we get +1 Gold for each Strategic Resource tile we work and double the “Aetherium” resources, which despite looking like Aluminum apparently makes Airships fly. Or something. We also have a special building that produces Aetherium, unlocked at the “Automata” tech. We are playing on King difficulty (so that there’s a challenge but it’s not ridiculously hard), and the map is ‘Europe’ (not actual Europe, it’s just a random map that looks vaguely like Europe if you sort of squint) because the game refused to let me randomize the map type. Just so people are aware, this is not a map with “wrap-around” edges, so keep that in mind if you plan any large-scale military campaigns on the other end of the continent.

3) Our end goal is to win the scenario; to do this, our nation needs to hold three or more of the “Honourable Titles” for a set number of turns. We earn Honourable Titles by having the most and newest Airships and Landships, the most National and World Wonders, the City with the Highest Production, the most Social Policies adopted, and the highest gross Gold Income. Keep these aims in mind as you govern the nation!

Basic Rules​

1) You’re stuck with democracy. We can most certainly have fascist or communist parties, but they still have to have elections. Apologies, would-be dictators!

2) To join: pick a class (more shortly). Post it below. Pick a city to reside in. Post it below. And it’s just that easy. All players will be referred to by their usernames, but can of course RP a specific character.

3) Form parties if you want, or stay independent. It doesn’t matter that much, as POPs (more on that shortly, too) have a larger role in this game than in others and so you still have a shot at being elected even if you’re not associated with any specific party. Two or more parties can also form coalitions, either once in the Legislature or to try to get themselves elected. Keep the number of parties at a reasonable level; nine is okay, twenty isn’t.

4) Try not to be a jerk. It’s just a game, you should really just relax. I, being the GM, can and will kick people if it becomes necessary to do so to preserve the fun for the rest of us.

’Classes’​

1) There are five different ‘classes’, if you will: Economists, Savants, Culturists, Industrialists, and Militarists (we have to use pretentious-sounding names or it’s not ‘authentic’.) The classes are mostly for roleplaying flavor; however, each player who is one of the first four classes gets an increase in the starting opinions of POPs of a similar occupation when that POP first crops up: Economists get a boost to opinion with Merchants, Savants a boost to Scientists, Culturists to Artists, and Industrialists to Engineers (but NOT Miners). Militarists get an opinion increase amongst all Jingoistic POPs, regardless of occupation.

2) Each time we get one of the five “titles”, all members of the appropriate class (Newest Airships and Landships = Militarists, Most Gold = Economists, Highest Production = Industrialists, Most Wonders = Savants [hey, they have to have something!], Most Social Policies = Culturists) get a good-sized opinion boost with all POPs. This bonus is reversed if the title is lost.

3) There are also two sub-classes, Adventurers and Officers:

*At any time, any player can choose to become an Adventurer and take command of a unit to explore. Discovering a new Civ, City-State, or Natural Wonder while leading the unit that made the discovery gives a small one-time boost to an Adventurer’s Funds and the opinion of all POPs in the Adventurer’s home city. This bonus carries over after the Adventurer returns to their original class. While on an expedition, the Adventurer cannot carry out any Actions and, if a member of the Legislature, cannot vote.

*In the event of war, any player can choose to become an Officer and take personal control of a military unit. Attacking an enemy city with one of these units makes all non-Pacifist POPs like the Officer more; this bonus is increased if the city is captured with the Unit. All POPs in a specific city, Pacifist or no, will like it if you kill an enemy unit nebbing around that city, too!
In either case, if the unit is destroyed while being led by a player, said player acts like that crappy heir/king you tried to kill in EUIV – he survives and is automatically teleported home.

4) You can swap classes if you want at any time; doing so will cause a hefty relation penalty with all POPs, though.

The Government and Their Powers​

1) Unlike in other IAARs, elections are held to fill our nation’s Legislature, rather than a presidency and governorships. This is designed to prevent what seems to happen a lot in “conventional” Realpolitiks, where one party ends up virtually owning the government.

2) The Legislature starts with seven seats, and so begins with two seats allocated to each city (as, apart from our capital, we have two settlers to start the game off) plus one extra for the capital. As we found/annex more cities, it will be up to the Legislature to decide how representatives should be balanced – more seats can certainly be added. Only candidates residing in a specific city are eligible to run for the open seats in that city; you can choose to move, but you will lose some of your Funds for doing so because campaign offices are expensive to set up (all that coffee and pizza, you know.) You may move to either of our two “bonus” cities penalty-free for two turns after they are founded.

3) After the Legislature is elected (see below) but before anything can get done, a Prime Minister must be chosen by the Legislature from amongst its members. Said Prime Minister, who decides what should be done with our military units and handles other foreign affairs (such as Spy placing), will then form a Government by appointing other members of the Legislature to the cabinet. This cabinet must have at least three other players in it, but what posts each player holds is up to the PM.

4) Orders must be passed by a simple majority of the Legislature before I can carry them out. This will simply entail all current members of the Legislature voting in the thread in favor of or against accepting the Orders (voting against Orders might win you support with some POPs if they oppose certain provisions). If the orders are rejected, the Government can either rework them or hold a special election to pass them; in a special election, all players, regardless of whether or not they’re in the Legislature have a single vote to cast, yes or no, on the Orders. If the Orders cannot be passed, they must be reworked or else we quit playing a Realpolitik and commence playing U.S. Government Simulator 2014™.

5) From amongst the members of the Legislature NOT in the Government, the Opposition Leader is chosen. Being the OL means that you are slightly more effective when convincing POPs of how bad the current Government is and how much better a Government run by you would be. You can also do a couple of unique Actions.

6) The legal use of force by the nation of Pulias, apart from those situations outlined in subsection 6(3), can only proceed once the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) if a vote on the Declaration of War motion satisfying all of the requirements of the Senate Voting Act 1822 enjoys the support of two-thirds of votes cast in the Senate;

(b) a Declaration of War referendum of all Pulian voters ((POPs and players, who each get one vote)) is then held and passed successfully by a majority of voters, in which the following conditions are satisfied:

(i) the wording of the referendum must be clear and unambiguous in its intent;

(ii) the result of the referendum is binding on the Government and the Senate; and

(iii) a Declaration of War referendum can only be held once a Declaration of War motion has successfully passed the Senate in accordance with subsection 6(1);

(c) Authorisation of the use of force through the mechanisms in Section 6A and Section 6B can be excepted in the following circumstances:

(i) if a state of war already exists because another nation has declared war on Pulias; or

(ii) in the case of Luddites, because they are perpetually hostile forces who have declared their intent to wage war on all modern nation states, of which Pulias is a member.

Elections​

1) The game will start after we have a good number of players. When this occurs, we will hold an election to select an Interim Government, consisting of the three Cabinet members plus a temporary Prime Minister. For this election alone, parties can run one candidate for each of the four posts. Each player will have one vote to cast for each of the seats; parties can set up a 'ticket' covering some or all the seats if they so choose. This Government will hold power until our next two cities are founded; it is then dissolved and the “full” Legislature is founded. No, you can’t delay settling the cities; that must be the priority for the first several turns. During the Interim Government, no Actions of any kind can be taken; this is the time for getting your platforms developed and prepared for later in the game!

2) We will hold the first election after we have all three of our cities founded; this will begin Turn 1. Thereafter the elected officials’ terms will last for ten in-game turns (one turnset.) Orders will need to be submitted every turnset. These sections no longer relevant, but maintained for reference should anyone ever want to run a game a similar way.

3) During an election, all seats in a City are up for grabs. Therefore, each party can run up to two candidates for the seats in a City, (three for the capital). Each player can vote for up to two different candidates, and each POP will cast two votes for the two candidates it likes the most. Logically, then, the candidates receiving the most votes will fill the open seats of the Legislature.

POPs (not ripped off from another game)​

1) Okay, now onto POPs. Rather than use generic NPCs, in this game we’ll be using POPs, because reasons. Each POP has five main stats: Location (what city it’s in, of course), Occupation (what it does and what 'class' it is; see below), War Policy (determined at random when the POP is first created; it varies between Pacifist [prefers peaceful expansion], Neutral [doesn’t care one way or the other], and Jingoist [likes war!]), Dominant Issue (what the POP wants done), and its Lobbying Group. All these affect the POPs opinions of players and parties.

Now, the in-depth explanation of the above stats:

Spoiler :

*A POP is represented by a Citizen in-game. The occupation of a POP is chosen when a new Citizen is born in one of our cities and assigned (I will balance new POPs as best I can from city to city). The highest yield from that tile, or the specialist slot the Citizen works in, determines the occupation of the POP (Food = Farmer, Production = Engineer when a specialist or Miner when working a tile, Gold = Merchant, Science = Scientist, and Culture = Artist). In the event that a tile yield is “balanced” (i.e., 2 Gold and 2 Production for a mine), the POP will be determined by what tile yield is highest after the construction of an improvement (so, in the case above, the POP is a Miner, not a Merchant.)

*POPs have classes too; however, unlike player Classes, these simply indicate where on the social ladder they fall – Farmers and Miners are considered lower class, Engineers and Scientists (getting a grant is harder than you’d think) are considered middle class, and Merchants and Artists are considered upper class. This affects their opinions of players and parties to a degree, and more importantly alters the most effective way to persuade them that you’re right.

*A POP’s War Policy affects their opinion of players, as you may have guessed. So, a Pacifist POP will like players who support peaceful expansion and trade and dislike those who advocate war. Conversely, Jingoist POPs tend to jump around while at the psychologist’s, shouting “Kill!”, and so will like players who support war and think that those who like peaceful expansion are wussies. Neutral POPs just want to live and let live/die. War Policy can change over time; a war going well might sway Neutrals (and maybe a Pacifist POP or two) into thinking that peace is maybe kinda boring, while a war going badly (or rampant Luddite invasion) will start to chip away at the self-confidence of Jingoists. A POPs War Policy is not secret and will be revealed when the POP is first created.

*The Dominant Issue for a POP is what they want done. This is randomly determined and can be anything from “Build a Tile Improvement” to “Research This Tech” to “Ally That City State”. Whenever a POP’s Dominant Issue is addressed, all players and parties supporting that issue get an opinion boost with the POP. Opinion boosts are increased if the given person is a member of the current Government.

*A Lobbying Group is a political organization that, each turn, releases a series of demands to the government as to what they want done. The Dominant Issue, as well as military stance, of a POP determines which Lobbying Group they join. Meeting the demands of a lobbying group will improve the opinion of all POPs in that lobbying gorup, while not doing so will upset them.

2) POP opinions are arranged on a sliding scale from -20 to 20. Logically, the opinion determines if they’ll vote for you or not. The scale is determined as follows:

*From -20 to -16, they hate you utterly and will not vote for you, ever. That means that if a favored party is only running one candidate, and all other candidates are hated, the second vote will not be used.
*From -15 to -11, they oppose you. You’ll find it harder to persuade them you’re right.
*From -10 to -6, they lean towards opposing you. They’re slightly more resistant to your speeches or the like.
*From -5 to 5, they’re neutral towards you.
*From 6 to 10, they lean towards supporting you. They will, as such, like you slightly more as a result of speeches.
*From 11 to 15, they support you and will generally accept what you say as true. Your party (you if you’re an Independent) will get a small boost to campaign funds as they start to funnel money your way.
*From 16 to 20, you are considered the Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread®. You will always get their vote as all other candidates are ignored, and you will get more money from them.

When you conduct a poll, you’ll receive the numerical value of each POP’s opinion.

3) A POP decides what candidates to vote for based on their opinion of the candidate modified by their opinion of the candidate’s party. So, a highly popular party might be able to elect a candidate who is not well-liked, while if you belong party a POP thinks sucks your affiliation might sink your ambitions.

4) In the event that not enough candidates are run for the seats in a city, I will randomly generate an NPC Senator based on the Dominant Issues of the city’s POPs to fill the seat. Said NPC will always vote "Yes" on orders (unless they are actively detrimental to that senator's city), but will abstain from voting on any other issues unless contacted by a player (that is, I am sent a PM).

Funds​

1) Each turn, each player earns a certain amount of money, known as Funds for more reasons. You use Funds to pay for Actions. The amount of Funds you get each turn varies based on our in-game era, your political status, and your party affiliation.

2) Funds can be transferred between players and parties; send me a PM informing me of any transactions when they are agreed upon.

Actions​

There are a number of available actions players can choose to undertake:

Public Actions (post in the thread what you’re doing)
*Form Party [Free]. Get together with at least one other player and proceed into politics!
*Form Coalition [Free]. Get together with at least one other party and proceed into politics!
*Make a Speech [Free]. Get on your soapbox and talk/rant/run your mouth off about some issue or another! POPs opinions of you, your party, or your opponents will be changed by varying amounts. Before you start your speech, note what city you are in so that I can adjust the appropriate POP opinions. Works best on Lower and Middle-class POPs. Additionally, utilizing a speech from Tropico 4 will win you the undying support of El Presidente and his Loyalists.
*Hold a Debate [Free]. Rope one or more of your opponents into debating the Issues of the Day with you. Apart from the normal opinion change based on the results of the debate, POPs will like you more for taking part in the debate (and dislike you some if you refuse&#8230. Works best on Lower and Middle-class POPs.
*Call for a No-Confidence Vote [Free]: The Opposition Leader holds a vote in the Legislature to recall the Prime Minister. If the vote succeeds by a 2/3rds majority, the current Government will be dissolved and a replacement must be assembled.
*Make an Endorsement [Free]: “A popular former leader says this candidate is great! Better vote for him!” Endorse a candidate. Effects are random based on the public opinion of the endorser among what occupations and classes of POPs.
*Accuse of Voting Fraud [Free]: Have the Opposition Leader publicly accuse a candidate or party of committing voting fraud. If correct, any seats won from that voting fraud are vacated, the candidate(s) committing the fraud banned for an election cycle, and POP opinions of all people involved in the fraud reduced. If wrong, the denouncer and any associated party suffer a severe opinion hit.
*Imprison/Release from Prison [Free]: Throw a player in prison, preventing any actions from being taken or funds being gained by that player. Alternatively, release a previously-imprisoned player. Requires a 2/3rds vote of the Legislature, and adjusts POP opinions based on their opinions of the player being imprisoned/released.
*Demand Recall [15 Funds per candidate]: Hold a vote amongst all members of a given city (player and POP alike) to recall one or more of the Legislators of that city and force a new election. If the vote succeeds, a new election is held for that City.
*Restore Order [300 Funds per City]: If a city has been Seized, send in the troops to throw the occupiers out and restore the seats to their original controllers. Changes POP opinions based on their opinions of each side. May, for an extra 150 Funds, choose to Seize the city for yourself.

Private Actions (Send me a PM informing me of your plans)
*Letter Campaign [15 Funds per Lobbying Organization]: Target a specific Lobbying Organization to increase their opinion of you or your party.
*Publish a ‘Little [Color] Book’ [25 Funds]: Using the dot80 Publishing Company’s presses, release a book talking about your political ideology. Will gradually increase the opinion of Upper-class POPs, but may work on Middle-class ones as well.
*Release Propaganda [25 Funds per POP in a City]: Increase the opinion of all POPs in a city by a good amount (varies based on their original opinion of the Propaganda-releasing party). Propaganda can also be used to decrease the opinion of another party or player.
*Throw a Fundraiser [50 Funds per City]: Have a big party to try to milk convince POPs to give you some of their money. Results are random based on the opinions of the POPs in the city – higher opinions = more monies! Upper-class POPs will also get an opinion boost, because they like $150-a-plate Steak Dinners.
*Throw the Election [350 Funds per City]: Bribe an election official to discover a few thousand Highly Legitimate Votes carelessly overlooked! Guarantees that a city will vote for you or your party in the upcoming election. Risky, but potentially high-reward.
*Seize City [450 Funds per City]: Replaces all legislative members in a specific city with ones loyal to you or your party and blocks further elections, but at the cost of all but your most fervent supporters.
*Revolution [650 Funds per City in the Empire]: You say you want one? Well, you know, we all want to install a favorable government. Sparks a Civil War in which all players and POPs pick sides (neutral IS a side). The winning side controls the government at the end of the action; the losing side ends up Imprisoned and/or dead.

I reserve the right to add in new Actions as people suggest them/I remember ones I forgot.

”History”​

Yadayadayada Jacobin revolt overthrew monarchy yadayadayada installed democratic government or something yadayadayada steampunk-y technobabble yadayadayada now we have land ironclads and airships and crap yadayadayada let’s just get going on the game, shall we?

 

[cpm4001]

Players​

Spoiler :

*Et Absoluti - Industrialist - Coventry - 60 Funds
*Heerlo - Economist - Haven of Peace - 45 Funds
*Magnive - Economist - Pulias - 50 Funds
*Melda - Culturist - Haven of Peace - 15 Funds
*MiguelBazil - Scientist - Coventry - 30 Funds
*1889 - Culturist - Pulias - 15 Funds
*Gurra09 - Industrialist - Pulias - 15 Funds
*Wyverncraft - Industrialist - Coventry - 15 Funds
*megamihime - Economist - Haven of Peace - 30 Funds
*Christos200 - Militarist - Pulias - 15 Funds


Inactive Players
*lokithepunisher - Militarist - Pulias
*Sir Parker II - Militarist - Pulias
*Tambien - Industrialist - Haven of Peace
*Aaronius - Militarist - Pulias
*CELTICEMPIRE - Militarist - Pulias
*A Space Ostrich - [No Class] - Pulias
*Silverman6083 - Culturist - Coventry
*bouncymisha - Savant - Coventry
*GreekAnalyzer - Militarist - Haven of Peace
*PortugalPower - Industrialist - Pulias
*dot80 - Economist - Pulias - 15 Funds

Parties​

Spoiler :

*Pulias People's Party (PPP)

Founder: Gurra09
Members: Gurra09; Melda; 1889
Funds: 20
Platform:

Spoiler :

The Pulias People's Party is a socialist party constantly working towards the total freedom of the people. We believe that the government is for all the people, not just the upper class, and we intend to bring Pulias into the future through means of peace and justice. Our political work is based on the three Ps: Peace, Productivity and the People of Pulias.

We believe in a borderless world of peace, and as citizens of the world we intend to make it our life's work to see that this become a reality. War has brought nothing but destruction to this world, and the Pulias People's Party condemns the use of military power for other purposes than defense. No person shall ever be harmed by us, unless they try to harm the people of Pulias.

In order to make Pulias a better place to live, we must invest in cultural development to build a nation where everyone is welcome to participate on equal terms. We must strengthen the production of our industry to be able to give back to the people what this nation owes them. And we must never tolerate aggressive warfare, because that will only help achieve inequality and devastation. The people of Pulias, and the people of the world, deserves nothing less than to live life as equals in a free world. We will never stop working until that has been achieved.

Join us in building a nation of freedom and equality! Join us as we help bring peace and justice to this world!

*Pulian Advancement Union (PAU)
Founder: Magnive
Members: Magnive; Heerlo;
Funds: 37
Platform:

Spoiler :

We of the Pulian Advancement Union does not believe in focusing on one point ahead of all others - instead, we seek the best the world has to offer for our citizens. To do this, we desire to turn our cities into growth and production centres, thus allowing our citizens to become Merchants on our tiles.

To do this, we will seek to adopt the Republic, Communism, United Front, and Planned Economy social policies in the short-term - with Socialism, Trade Unions, Meritocracy and Mercantilism as goals further down the line - so that our cities may produce Hospitals and Water Mills. With these buildings, we will be free to convert the tiles to Trading Posts, thus allowing us to enrich our citizens!

We intend to support the adaptation of Analog Computation as our first Technology, and the subsequent construction of Difference Engines in all cities, and the Analytical Engine in our capital. If we have the requires resources, we will also likely have factories at this point, giving us a great industrial base for further growth, as well as potential for construction the wonder Big Ben, which would be a great boon to our nation.

After the construction of the Analytical Engine, we will push for an expansion of our great nation by founding more cities, and using the gold we have earned with our policies to quickly allow those newly founded cities to become prosperous as well.

On the subject of military, we believe in the ancient proverb Si vis pacem, para bellum, meaning that if we seek peace for our nation, we must prepare for war. This means that we must never neglect our military, as doing so would only invite other nations to invade us.

*The Pulian Imperial Party (PIP)
Founder: Et_Absoluti
Members: Et_Absoluti; MiguelBazil
Funds: 35
Platform:

Spoiler :

The founder and leader of the Imperial party recognized that the pacifist politics of the PAU and the PPP are out of place in our time.We will do whatever it takes to make Pulias strong, for the people of Pulias are worth doing anything for.

Imperator Augustus founder of the PIP realises how important the frontier cites are and has been tirelessly campaigning to make sure your voices are heard!
Remember, a vote for the PIP is a vote for a stronger Pulias! The PIP promises to make a country where Pulian culture,science, and industry can flourish!

*Nationalist Party [Defunct]
Founder: Christos200
Members: Christos200
Funds: 0

Platform:

Spoiler :

We believe in the superiority of the Pulian nation and that is the only worthy nation in the world. We want to form a strong military to subjugate other nations and use their people as slaves in order to ensure a high standard of living for the Pulian people while securing living space. Men live in order to gain glory and we promise to lead the Pulian people to glory through military conquests that will stay in history as the greatest achievements of a nation.

Socially, we believe in maintaining tradition. The soldiers should get more rights and respect than other citizens because they risk their lives for our glorious nation. We also want to secure law and order and make sure that all citizens follow the laws. We also promise to battle the decadent and corrupt socialists who humiliate our nation by accepting to live in peace with inferior people and who want to erode our traditions. We shall also develop the economy through military conquests and building up the nation's infrastructure.

In short: we want to expand the military, secure living space, use the citizens of conquered nations as slaves, maintain tradition, give more rights to the soldiers, secure law and order and battle the decadent socialism.

*The Mossback Party [Defunct]

Founder: dot80
Members: dot80
Funds: 10
Platform:

Spoiler :

The Mossbacks seek to preserve the tradition of Pulias. They support a government made up of those who have been educated at the finest universities and from the finest families. They will support policies that they see as bringing glory to Pulias. Generally this means they will work to attain the titles of Grand Philanthropist, Captain of Industry, and Lord of Refinement and all that achieving those titles entail. Their foreign policy can generally be described as isolationist. They support a strong military. Most favored social policy trees include: Culture, Industry, and Military.

*National Expansion Party (NEP) [Redefunct]
Founder: Sir Parker II
Members: Sir Parker II; lokithepunisher; Tambien; Aaronius
Funds: 15
Platform:

Spoiler :

The National Expanse Party, as with anyone, wants this nation to succeed. Expansion is our key to success, even if it is at the expense of others.

Taking over new lands will be profitable, as we can gain many new resources, both strategic and luxurious. Also, by solidifying our military power, any nations which we see as immediate threats, be it culturally, scientifically, or in any way, can be dealt with properly with minimal casualties. Domestically, Arsenals and other military buildings are crucial to our success, along with units, of course.

The bottom of the scientific table is our main focus, Eruptives being the first we pursue, following that up with Propulsion, and then seeing just how advanced we can make our military as we continue along the path.

We wish to see our soon to be great nation take policies from the Military and Commerce paths. Military Tradition and other Military policies will help us grow in size through force, with Commerce's bonuses slowly building right along with us.

Pulias shall unite this world.

Current Government​

Spoiler :

Elections in Progress

Past Governments​

Spoiler :

Interim Government
Prime Minister - Gurra09, PPP
Minister of the Interior - Magnive, PAU
Minister of Science - Heerlo, PAU
Minister of Culture - Silverman6083, PPP

Spoiler :

Turn 1 Government
Prime Minister/Supreme Chancellor - Palpatine of Naboo Heerlo - PAU
Minister of Interior - Silverman6083 - PPP
Minister of Science - Magnive - PAU
Minister of Culture - Sir Parker II/Et_Absoluti - NEP

Spoiler :

Turn 2 Government
Prime Minister: Heerlo (On Campaign)
Deputy Prime Minister: Melda (Currently Acting Prime Minister)
Foreign Relations: Gurra09
Intelligence: Gurra09
Infrastructure: Magnive
Construction: Gurra09
Economy: Magnive
Defence: PortugalPower
Culture: Melda
Science: PortugalPower

Lobbying Groups​

Spoiler :

* Armament League

Spoiler :

6 POPs: 4 in Coventry, 1 in Pulias City, 1 in Haven of Peace
Platform: Drawing its strength from many of the lower-class members of Coventry (and, recently, Pulias City), the Armament League calls for a rapid increase in the our military strength through the construction of the latest military units.

* Culturists of Pulias

Spoiler :

2 POPs: 1 in Pulias City, 1 in Coventry
Platform: The Culturists, our nation's artists, are focused on improving our nation's culture through a variety of cultural initiatives.

* Exploration League of Pulias

Spoiler :

3 POPs: 1 in Pulias City, 1 in Haven of Peace, 1 in Coventry
Platform: Always looking to the future, the Exploration League is supported from the Scientific community of Pulias City. It advocates for the nation to never stop pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery.

* Fiscal Responsibility League

Spoiler :

2 POPs: 1 in Pulias City, 1 in Haven of Peace
Platform: The Fiscal Responsibility League is tired of what it views as excessive government expenditure. Supported by several of the most notable banking and merchant families in the nation, it calls for an immediate resolution to the national deficit and its conversion to a gold surplus

* League for Peace

Spoiler :

5 POPs: 3 in Pulias City, 2 in Haven of Peace
Platform: The League for Peace has emerged as a counterpart to the Armament League. Again primarily supported by other lower-class citizens, it wants to see a greater focus placed on internal development and the pursuit of peaceful relations with the other Empires. It also strongly supports the various Luddite Rehabilitation efforts.

* Pulian Fascist Party

Spoiler :

1 POP: 1 in Haven of Peace
Platform: Tired of what it views as national weakness (embodied in their eyes by the Luddite Rehabilitation groups) and a trend towards the political left, the Pulian Fascist Party has recently been organized. Though currently a minor group, it has support from both an upper-class merchant group and some of the middle-class engineers of Haven of Peace. Being essentially reactionaries, they also refuse to refer to Pulias by its current name, insisting it be referred to as Britain once again.
Footage from a recent rally can be seen here:

Link to video.

* Pulias First

Spoiler :

4 POPs: 2 in Haven of Peace, 1 in Pulias City, 1 in Coventry
Platform: The emergence of a true isolation party has been somewhat surprising. Pulias First is almost entirely supported by the lower-class, as with the League for Peace and the Armament League, but supports only certain aspects of each. They advocate for a focus on internal development, but also wants Pulias to have a military strong enough to defeat both Luddites and any nation that might attack us.

*Mossback Party

Spoiler :

2 POPs: 2 in Pulias City
Platform: The Mossbacks are reactionaries, and want increased power for the monarchy and what remains of the nobility.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

If I only have Vanilla will I still be able to understand the game?

 

[cpm4001]

If I only have Vanilla will I still be able to understand the game?

Well, the Realpolitik part of this isn't that different from other ones, so you shouldn't have trouble understanding that. For the rest of it...possibly. As I mentioned, the Tech and Social Policy Trees are all changed for the scenario, and so I'll be posting screenshots of them to help people figure out their next moves (so you won't be hampered by not having the scenario in that respect). Otherwise, most of the game mechanics are about the same as Vanilla, though units have 100 hitpoints (instead of 10), there are Spies who can be used to rig City-State elections and steal technologies from other Civs, and there are a few other Luxury Resources.
So, I'd say give it a try. You can always drop out if you're too confused.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

Well, the Realpolitik part of this isn't that different from other ones, so you shouldn't have trouble understanding that. For the rest of it...possibly. As I mentioned, the Tech and Social Policy Trees are all changed for the scenario, and so I'll be posting screenshots of them to help people figure out their next moves (so you won't be hampered by not having the scenario in that respect). Otherwise, most of the game mechanics are about the same as Vanilla, though units have 100 hitpoints (instead of 10), there are Spies who can be used to rig City-State elections and steal technologies from other Civs, and there are a few other Luxury Resources.
So, I'd say give it a try. You can always drop out if you're too confused.

I'll give it a try then, this forum isn't very active and I'm glad you're trying to start something up.

 

[Gurra09]

Well... I haven't played Realpolitik before, nor this scenario, but it sounds like a lot of fun so count me in! I'm an Industrialist and I guess there's only one city to live in for now so that's where I'll live.

How does forming a party work exactly? Do I need another person with me before I can start it up, or can I say "hey I'll form this party" and when someone is with me we are officially elect...able?

 

[cpm4001]

How does forming a party work exactly? Do I need another person with me before I can start it up, or can I say "hey I'll form this party" and when someone is with me we are officially elect...able?

Great to have you! If you want to form a party, you can go ahead and do so now. Just make a platform of issues (what you want to build, what you want to research, etc.), maybe add in some roleplaying stuff about where on the "political spectrum" your party falls, etc. Then see if you can't attract some other players (there will be others. Just have to wait for the G&P crowd to show up.)
EDIT: Oh, CELTICEMPIRE - you need to pick a Class. I'll assume you're in Pulias for now.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

Great to have you! If you want to form a party, you can go ahead and do so now. Just make a platform of issues (what you want to build, what you want to research, etc.), maybe add in some roleplaying stuff about where on the "political spectrum" your party falls, etc. Then see if you can't attract some other players (there will be others. Just have to wait for the G&P crowd to show up.)
EDIT: Oh, CELTICEMPIRE - you need to pick a Class. I'll assume you're in Pulias for now.

I'll be a militarist.

 

[Magnive]

MWAHAHAHAHA! RP HAS RETURNED!

Hell yeah, count me in. Also, I utterly fail to see any resemblance whatsoever to Victoria II.

I'll tentatively go as an Economist. Would it be possible to change within the next few days if I changed my mind? Assuming, of course, that it happens before the first update.

Also, do we get screenies soon?

 

[cpm4001]

MWAHAHAHAHA! RP HAS RETURNED!

Hell yeah, count me in. Also, I utterly fail to see any resemblance whatsoever to Victoria II.

I'll tentatively go as an Economist. Would it be possible to change within the next few days if I changed my mind? Assuming, of course, that it happens before the first update.

Also, do we get screenies soon?

There are things called POPs! That's the sole resemblance to Vicky.
You can change your mind prior to Turn 0 commencing. That's when we'll have screenshots up, too (Turn 0 starts when we have at least 6 people playing.)

 

[A Space Ostrich]

I'm on mobile right now. But I want in. Is it still in the setup phase?

 

[Gurra09]

I'll go ahead and announce the formation of Pulias' first political party, the Pulias People's Party (PPP).

We intend to bring Pulias into the future through means of peace and justice. The government is for all the people, not just the upper class! To achieve this, Pulias must be a place for peace and productivity.

Adopting Communism will help us strengthen our production and benefit all the citizens of Pulias. To further improve our production, the scientific community of Pulias should look into Analog Computing to develop the Difference Engine which will give a boost not only to production but to science aswell. These technological advancements will also allow us to construct the magnificient Eiffel Tower to provide happiness for a growing population.

War has brought nothing but destruction to this world and the Pulias People's Party condemns the use of military power for other purposes than defense. No person shall ever be harmed by us, unless they try to harm Pulias. Instead, Pulias should invest in cultural development and build a nation where everyone is welcome regardless of who they are and what they believe in. Working towards a society of Religious Tolerance is of utmost importance for a bright future.

Help us build a nation of peace and justice!

That's the platform I have for now until there are some screenshots of our starting location so we, the PPP, can decide on the rest of our platform together. Basically, the PPP proposes to focus on the Industry and Culture policy trees to help culture and production, and to start researching the Analog Computing tech. We are a Communist party and mainly pacifist. However, said pacifism doesn't mean we should have no military but rather focus on defending ourselves than conquering others. The culture focus will help us achieve the social policy honorable title while focus on production will lead our way to the highest production title and possibly the wonder title by having the production to construct them.

If you aren't familiar with the techs of the scenario, you can find information on them here: http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_technologies_in_Empires_of_the_Smoky_Skies

 

[Magnive]

Well, then I will make the second party, the Pulian Advancement Union.

We of the Pulian Advancement Union does not believe in focusing on one point ahead of all others - instead, we seek the best the world has to offer for our citizens. To do this, we desire to turn our cities into growth and production centres, thus allowing our citizens to become Merchants on our tiles.

To do this, we will seek to adopt the Republic, Communism, United Front, and Planned Economy social policies in the short-term - with Socialism, Trade Unions, Meritocracy and Mercantilism as goals further down the line - so that our cities may produce Hospitals and Water Mills. With these buildings, we will be free to convert the tiles to Trading Posts, thus allowing us to enrich our citizens!

We intend to support the adaptation of Analog Computation as our first Technology, and the subsequent construction of Difference Engines in all cities, and the Analytical Engine in our capital. If we have the requires resources, we will also likely have factories at this point, giving us a great industrial base for further growth, as well as potential for construction the wonder Big Ben, which would be a great boon to our nation.

After the construction of the Analytical Engine, we will push for an expansion of our great nation by founding more cities, and using the gold we have earned with our policies to quickly allow those newly founded cities to become prosperous as well.

On the subject of military, we believe in the ancient proverb Si vis pacem, para bellum, meaning that if we seek peace for our nation, we must prepare for war. This means that we must never neglect our military, as doing so would only invite other nations to invade us.


For those too lazy to read the entire thing, what I intend to do is using buildings for food and production as much as possible, allowing Trading Posts to be built as improvement, and then combining that with the Big Ben wonder and the Mercantilism social policy to allow us to quickly make and improve a second wave of cities after the Analytical Engine has been built. Done properly, this will surely secure us the Master of Wealth title, and the gold and expansion would allow us to maintain a large number of Land- and Airships, making us a contender for Defender of Progress as well.

 

[cpm4001]

I'm on mobile right now. But I want in. Is it still in the setup phase?

Yeah, we're still setting the game up, though people will be able to join even once the game starts. What class?

Also, great to see that we're getting parties established!

 

[Heerlo]

I'll join, though I'm not sure what class I want to be yet.

 

[cpm4001]

I'll join, though I'm not sure what class I want to be yet.

Whew, now we have enough confirmed players to actually form the interim government!
Come on, lurkers, feel free to hop in!

 

[Heerlo]

Whew, now we have enough confirmed players to actually form the interim government!

Alright!

Btw, I'm gonna be an Economist.

 

[Silverman6083]

First of all thank you Heerlo for directing me here Secondly I would like to join as a culturalist, if you'll have me of course

 

[Magnive]

Would any of the independents (we don't have as many parties as players? A miracle!) be interesse in joining the PAU? If anyone had any questions they would like me to answer, please feel free to drop a PM.

 

[Heerlo]

First of all thank you Heerlo for directing me here Secondly I would like to join as a culturalist, if you'll have me of course

No problem, Silver. Good to have ya.