Shadowbound
Incorrugible
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2007
- Messages
- 4,062
ShadowNES
Age of Supremacy
Age of Supremacy
This world became different when the Khazars, dwelling between competing Christian and Muslim civilizations, chose the Moon and Crescent over the Cross. Their armies assisted those of the Caliphate in toppling the Byzantine Empire with the capture of Constantinople. Islam advanced, stopped only by the Pyrenees and Alps, and the melting pot of India. The eventual Umayyad collapse saw the rise of the Bulgarians, whose own empire followed into the ash-heap of history only to rise against out of the first Rome to claim the Second. In the East, the Jin built a similar great empire, only to see its fall after waking the dragon of Japan, which crushed the successor states and claimed the Mandate of Heaven for its own, with its rulers existing between Japan and China but of neither, locked in a Hundred Year War with the Mongols. Back in Europe, a pan-Christian empire under the Franks failed, but now France is resurgent, along with Britannia, Sweden, Poland, and Muslim Andalusia, standing in the midst of a cultural and technological renaissance that exceeds the one taking place in the rest of the Dar-al-Islam.
A new age is beginning, as the rising European states jockey for control over the New World, Affalon, while a similar struggle takes place in southern India over dominance in the Indian Ocean. Against these new powers the Rubin Chinese and Rumadid Bulgarians are still far greater, but stagnating and beset by threats within and without, while the wealth of the Silk Road that connects the two is fought over by the civilizations inhabiting the Pivot of History, Central Asia. Africa’s native states also see a rise of trade, but with the trade from Europe and India come both opportunity and threat.
The year is 1550, and the world holds its breath.
Welcome to my First NES
Credit goes to Symphony D. for the ruleset, Das for the timeline and help with the setting.
• PLAYERS
Players may join at any time should they be able and willing to participate fully. I will restrict the positions of major powers to those who I deem worthy.
• STORIES
Stories are not mandatory, but strongly encouraged for the atmosphere which they can create. The potential exists for bonuses to be granted for the creation of good stories or other constructive items of interest.
• ORDERS
Orders should be clear, concise, and easy to understand. It is likely they will be long, but such length should to be a function of topic breadth. Depth should be saved for important subjects. Examples of past orders can be found here. It is possible that certain orders by a country with a representative form of government, or some other limited system (feudalism) may be found objectionable and not executed, or will need to be reevaluated in order to be completed. Orders may always have unintended consequences as well, good or ill.
• DEADLINES and UPDATES
Deadlines will be scheduled at the discretion of the Moderator. Information on the current deadline can be found in the third post.
• COUNTRIES
Players may select an open country at any time or attempt to start an independence movement or otherwise scheme to create a new one. In the event of the former, reading the provided national background and following the description given as a guideline recommended. In the event of the later, PM for relevant information.
• NON-PLAYER ENTITIES
A Non-Player Entity (being a country or organization, "Character" is not appropriate) is a group, be it official or unofficial, which interacts with Players but is controlled by the Moderator. A Player may take one at any time. Their level of interaction and commitment, as well as their behavior, will vary according to their position and history.
• UNOCCUPIED TERRITORY
Unoccupied Territory tends to be inhabited but under weak, loose, or non-existent centralized control and may typically be claimed with only minor military commitments, although other factors such as terrain and disease may inhibit the rate of such occupation.
• MAP INFORMATION
The following iconography is utilized on the map:
- Black Squares: Fortifications
- Black Crosses: Cities
- Black Crosses Edged White: Capitals
- Black Crosses Edged Red: Economic Centers
- Black Crossed Edged White and Red: Combination Capital and Economic Center
- White Area in National Territory: Active Rebellion
______________________________________________________________
<NATION NAME>
CAPITAL: <Location>
RULER: <IC> / <OOC>
GOVERNMENT: <Type> (<Efficiency>)
CENTRALIZATION: <Level>
POPULATION: <Descriptor> (<Number>)
AREA: <Descriptor> (<Number>)
CONFIDENCE: <Level>
ECONOMY: <Level> (<Numbers>)
TECH. GRADE: <Level>
ARMY FORCES: <Units> (<Training>)
ARMY BASIC: <Level>
ARMY EDUCATION: <Level>
NAVY FORCES: <Units> (<Training>)
NAVY BASIC: <Level>
NAVY EDUCATION: <Level>
EDUCATION: <Level>
LIVING STANDARDS: <Level>
INFRASTRUCTURE: <Level>
PROJECTS: <Variable>
BACKGROUND: <Variable>
• GOVERNMENT
Government is the system of rule employed by a particular country, and its overall level of capability. Governments may be changed at any time, but it's quite likely that adherents of the previous system will not be happy with any major changes in its method of operation. Increased ability generally results in better success in implementing new policies, dealing with unforeseen crises, and other such things.
Levels: Useless - Inept - Amateur - Decent - Competent - Qualified - Clever - Skilled - Brilliant - Masterful
• CENTRALIZATION
Centralization reflects the overall level of control that the government of a country wields over its constituent parts. More centralized states may direct resources at their disposal more efficiently, but on the other hand are more vulnerable to figurative decapitation. Less centralized states are less efficient, but more durable and flexible to change. It is possible to change one's centralization at any time, but a strong reason must be provided for doing so, and it is possible that it may be changed automatically to more accurately reflect one's actions.
Levels: League - Coalition - Alliance - Confederation - Federation - Union - Federalist - Oligarchic - Consulistic - Dictatorship - Absolutist
• AREA and POPULATION
Area and Population are measures of a country's ruled territory and the number of people it rules, respectively. Larger areas and larger groups of people are more difficult to rule and thusly implementing policies that affect them takes more money.
Levels: Tiny (1) - Small (2) - Medium (3) - Large (5) - Huge (7) - Monolithic (10)
• CONFIDENCE
Note: cannot be grown directly.
Confidence is a measure of how much stock a given country's citizens place in their current regime's ability to rule effectively (in a way that will benefit said citizens). More Confidence generally means more cooperation from the ruled, while low Confidence may result in a large assortment of what the ruling regime would consider bad, such as revolts or revolution.
Levels: Outraged - Resentful - Disillusioned - Nonexistent - Meager - Growing - Considerable - Great - Boundless
• ECONOMY
Economy is a measure of a country's economic health, and accordingly the amount the government of money the government is able to take through taxes. Each economic level contains four (4) and sometimes five (5) entries, from left to right: 1. a level's description, 2. the level's EP yield, 3. the EP required to reach the next level, 4. the EP yielded from sacrificing the level and dropping to the next, and optionally 5. the number of EP invested into growing the economy. It is possible to invest in growing the economy in increments over time of any amount. Any invested economy will be preserved after a sacrifice, and if it is equal to or greater than the level-up requirement of the dropped to level, will automatically raise the economy again to the initial level.
Levels: Nonexistent (1/2/0) - Dysfunctional (1/1/0) - Faltering (2/2/1) - Weak (3/3/1) - Stagnant (4/5/1) - Stable (5/7/2) - Growing (7/9/3) - Robust (9/14/4) - Prosperous (12/16/6) - Dominant (15/30/9) - Hegemonic (20/0/15)
more will be added if necessary
Economic Centers, marked by red tinged cities on the map, add one extra ep to your available spending whenever they are controlled.
• TECHNOLOGICAL GRADE
Technological Grade denotes the approximate overall level of advancement of a given country in terms of equipment and inventions at its disposal, civilian and domestic. A higher education makes it more likely for you to advance into the next age, increasing with time, effort, and the number of neighbors that have advanced. Development has not in this timeline, and probably will not, mirror OTL, as technology may advance faster, slower, or in different direction from real life.
• MILITARY FORCES
Military Forces constitute the available tools a country has at its disposal for war. Forces are represented by generic, relatively undetailed units of a particular type which will improve with technological progress and may be enhanced in other ways, such as by designated tactics.
5 Army Regiments or 5 Naval Squadrons can be recruited for 1 EP.
A given nation is capable of producing two (2) times its Population number of Units per turn at its Military Basic level. Every Unit after that for that turn up to four (4) times its Population number will be at its Military Basic level minus one (1), and every Unit that turn after that up to six (6) times will be at Military Basic minus two (2), and so on.
A given nation may also have certain “unique units”, specialized or elite troops, that only that nation can use and increase. If the amount of UUs exceeds the amount of regular units, they will begin to drop in quality, morale and also in loyalty as their commanders, often being rather arrogant and ambitious (hey, they aren't commanders of an elite unit for nothing), will probably try to use their power base in one way or another. Unique Units are recruited for the same way and at the same cost as regular units.
Unit Quality:
Unit Quality is a function of various factors, all of which influence the overall fighting capability of a unit, such as equipment, training, discipline, and morale. New Units are allocated a training level based upon that nation's Military Basic capability. It Costs 1 EP to upgrade 5 divisions or squadrons one level
Levels: Untrained - Rabble - Green - Disciplined - Regular - Seasoned - Hardened - Veteran - Professional - Elite - Commando
Conscription:
Conscription may be ordered at any time by a given government to bolster the forces available to it. The number of forces so gained is dependent upon the conditions in the country in question, as is their relative ability. Mass Conscription may lead to unintended and likely negative consequences when conducted by democratic-leaning or unpopular governments.
Partisans:
Partisans are likely to appear in the event of an invasion by a foreign power, although their numbers and quality and highly variable. They represent the tendency of civilian populations to resist armed occupation by foreigners in semi-unorganized ways, and are generally only suited to combat in the regions in which they appear.
Logistics:
Logistical support is critical for a military operation to function properly, and the required amount for an operation to do so is typically dependent upon its size, distance from its typical supply bases, length of supply lines, and the terrain being fought in. As a general rule, 1EP per operation is a wise investment.
• MILITARY BASIC
Military Basic is a concept related to training, and specifically relates to the ability of a nation to initially train its various military units upon their creation. Every given nation starts with a Military Basic level, representing its initial capability at the start of the scenario. Increasing it beyond this requires a payment of Population x Training Level's Cost, as given by the following:
- Untrained to Regular: 1X
- Seasoned to Veteran: 2X
- Professional to Elite: 3X
- Commando: 5X
• MILITARY EDUCATION
Military Education is the overall capability of a country's military commanders in executing the plans issued by the government in a campaign, or in devising and executing contingency operations outside of those plans as it becomes necessary to do so. Excellent commanders may improvise or see shortcomings in a plan; terrible ones will fumble even the most well-crafted scheme. Additional information such as method of education, strategic and tactical doctrines, and so on, may be of use when working at growing this statistic. Rapid expansion of a military tends to hurt its educational level.
Military Education costs two (2) EP per 10 Regiments or per 10 Squadrons
Levels: Useless - Inept - Amateur - Decent - Competent - Qualified - Clever - Skilled - Brilliant - Masterful
• EDUCATION
Education is a reflection of a given country's overall capability at teaching its citizens to be productive and (more especially) creative members of society. A higher Education tends to manifest a better environment to live in, and assists greatly in the solution of a wide variety of complex problems a nation might encounter, such as engineering feats or innovation. Once a country has achieved Enlightened Education, it is that much more likely to reach the next Technological Age as soon as it becomes possible. Should this occur, the country in question will lose three (3) Education levels.
Education costs one (1) times a given country's Population statistic.
Levels: Nonexistent - Ignorant - Naive - Illiterate - Literate - Educated - Learned - Intellectual - Academic - Scholarly - Enlightened
• LIVING STANDARDS
Living Standards measure the relative (dis)comfort in which the bulk of which a given country's population resides. Higher Living Standards lead to happier citizens, while lower ones leader to tougher ones. Living Standards are strongly affected by economic prosperity, and thusly by all the things which might affect that, such as war.
Living Standards cost two (2) times a given country's Population Statistic.
Levels: Wretched - Squalid - Destitute - Impoverished - Sparse - Average - Pleasant - Comfortable - Luxurious - Opulent - Decadent
• INFRASTRUCTURE
Infrastructure is the measure of a country's physical development in the way of transportation. Better infrastructure makes commerce and military deployments easier to undertake and makes communication easier, thus making centralized rule more sustainable. It does however also make it easier for enemies to invade as well.
Infrastructure costs one (1) times a given country's Area statistic.
Levels: Atrocious - Terrible - Bad - Poor - Mediocre - Passable - Decent - Good - Great - Excellent - Magnificent
• Colonization
Numerous nations of the game have access to uncontrolled regions of Affalon, Africa, and Oceania. While these regions frequently have native populations, it is usually small, and while there is little resistance other than the natural terrain in claiming these regions, there is also little value. Nations can expend EP to give value to these regions, building up population and exploiting natural resources. Your primary income from colonies is in the form of Economic Centers, which come about when there is enough development. ECs are easier to create in colonies, but easier to lose, as they exist because of trade between your colony and homeland. Also, the more developed a colony is, the more capable it will be of raising its own troops to fight off enemies - or rebel from you.
• PROJECTS
Projects are programs or constructions that will in some way benefit a country in a more creative fashion than ordinary investment, and may have a variety of effects, including increasing stats which cannot be paid for. The time required to complete a project will be determined by the Moderator, based on its effects and other factors. A Project requires 1EP per turn to advance by a single (1) turn. This can be increased to two (2) turns by paying 3EP, or to three (3) turns by investing 7EP. 7EP is the maximum that may be spent on a Project on any given turn. Projects may have both their effects or time to completion listed as "SECRET" however this may prolong the time required to complete them due to the measures required to ensure such secrecy.
• INVESTMENTS
Investments are smaller-scale programs or constructions than Projects and represent a more localized effort, such as the creation of an Economic Center, the funding of a technology, or a voyage of exploration. Investments are not listed in statistics and their progress and investment must be kept by the player.
• BACKGROUND
The Background gives a short description of a given country's history.
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