Tani Coyote
Son of Huehuecoyotl
- Joined
- May 28, 2007
- Messages
- 15,191
Welcome to Weltpolitik and Realpolitik, or WaR for short. This is a forum game that combines elements of an AAR with internal politics. A story-style version of this game's events will be kept over at this thread for observers.
We are playing as Italy, a humble imperial power that has a lot of potential with the right guidance, given its strategic location in the central Mediterranean and a fairly good line of naval units. Its infantry are subpar by European standards but could make waves overseas. Speaking of overseas, its starting colonies are garbage, but with the right management, that could change…
You will join the game as a Faction, a close-knit group of family members and allies that works to dominate politics and economics. The easiest ways to grow your power are to invest in Cities, thus increasing your cut of their own political power, and in Industries, increasing your revenue each turn to spend on your various activities.
==Mechanics Explanation==
This game being based off Civilization 3’s Age of Imperialism mod by El Justo, the Cities tab’s Shields, Commerce and Culture columns are self-explanatory. “Controlled By,” likewise, merely indicates which faction (or group of factions) dominate the city. If there is no clear dominating power or coalition, the city’s production is managed by me; otherwise it is up to the controller what the city produces. When giving orders for production, it is suggested to be generic: production, income, culture, air force, navy, army, artillery, etc. Age of Imperialism has so many buildings and units we’d be here all day if we got tied up in specifics. Every building and unit contributes to the size of economic sectors (a bank being built will, for example, increase the size of the financial sector); sectors will be described in another paragraph. However, every type of production has its own benefits: increasing production is more shields, which is good by itself for future construction; more commerce means a larger economy, which means more money for you; more culture increases your family’s prestige, which basically is a measure of how much you can control national foreign policy, the ultimate gem of power; building more military units increases the prestige allocated by a city, but it also means you have units loyal to you (or more accurately, to the city that built them; keep control of that city!) in the event the poop hits the fan.
Note: Workers are auto-produced by the capital and are not built. However, colonial territories can build conscript workers, which work at 33% efficiency but are otherwise unlimited. One way for a colony-based faction to build itself up would be to produce many of these; the Government will take control of the workers once they have improved all land around their city of origin, but workers built will accumulate great respect with the government and increase one’s prestige.
Let’s discuss economic sectors, or the Industries tab. An industry is a generic economic sector, such as finance, shipping, etc. Every building or unit adds to at least one industry’s total value – more soldiers increases the armaments sector, more schools increases the education sector, etc. When you control a city, you can designate it to build structures that will contribute to a sector; if you own Rome for example, and have a large stake in the Entertainment sector, it’d make sense to order constructing theaters and stadiums. Every sector represents a portion of the economy, and you can invest in a sector with your faction’s money to get a cut of that economic revenue. So if a sector is worth 100 gpt and you own 50% of the sector, you make 50 gpt off of it. Simple enough, yes?
Now there’s the Factions tab. This is straightforward and lists characters in the game, their faction alignment, their rank within the faction (from 1 being the leader to 2 being the heir onward), and their stats. Charisma increases the prestige the character generates for your faction, Security represents how well-guarded they are against enemy espionage, Efficiency dictates how much of a bonus they give to your income, while Cunning only is active if they are a spymaster or part of the ruling coalition of a city. Stats are generally applied across the faction generally; your lowest man’s efficiency rating will still add to your overall income just like your Leader’s. Characters can also serve as Governor of a city, whether backed by a majority of influence in a city or by a coalition; the Governor title is primarily for bragging rights, but a Governor’s Cunning ability is applied to missions undertaken in the city (i.e. you won’t want to back a very cunning person not of your faction as Governor of a city, lest he use his espionage talents to kick you out).
As you can guess from that last one, besides their numbered rank, you can assign to each member of your faction a specific role. Roles are separate from being Leader or the Heir, which are primarily formalities that carry across the board bonuses; your character can be both a leader/heir and another one of the following rules. You can have: one Spymaster, who adds a bonus to all espionage missions or defenses against them; one Treasurer, who oversees assets and thus determines your overall income; an unlimited number of Generals, Admirals, and Captains, who control units in battle and can bring you prestige if they are victorious (and possibly be killed if they’re not).
Troop Loyalties are self-explanatory, detailing which city commands the loyalty of how many soldiers, so let’s focus on a hidden aspect: espionage. You may invest espionage in whatever city you wish and direct it to do more or less whatever you want, though destroying an enemy’s property or trying to kill their characters are the most obvious choices. Simply send me a PM specifying where you want to spend your money, and any espionage actions you wish to undertake. There is a limit of five actions per turn.
==Signing Up==
Simply give your faction a name, choose your home city (Rome is not eligible to be anyone’s home city, due to its importance), and mention what parts of the economy you make your money in. These are the economic sectors:
You can be involved in more than one sector, but this means you have less of a stake in each one.
You do not necessarily need to be Italian in origin, given that the elites are always able to make a new life for themselves overseas, and you can be anything from a criminal organization to a business conglomerate to an aristocratic family.
It is also suggested you give five character names, with a brief description of their expertise and role within your faction. These characters will be assigned stats based off these descriptions.
Beyond that, roleplay and detail to your heart’s content.
==Turn Procedure==
Every time I post an update, you will specify, whether publicly or via PM, where you are spending your money, any production orders you wish to give, any espionage orders, and anything else. I will process all these updates while playing the actual save file. At start I will post an update every 13 in-game turns, but as the game becomes more action-packed, updates will come with greater turn frequency.
His Majesty’s Government is represented by me; the Government directs production in cities with no clear ruler or ruling coalition, while it will also monopolise Workers at the start. Similarly, the Government directs foreign policy, though it will often take the advice of the Oligarchs – that’s all of you.
That’s about it. Will cover things as they come up where prudent.
Spoiler Starting Territory :
We are playing as Italy, a humble imperial power that has a lot of potential with the right guidance, given its strategic location in the central Mediterranean and a fairly good line of naval units. Its infantry are subpar by European standards but could make waves overseas. Speaking of overseas, its starting colonies are garbage, but with the right management, that could change…
You will join the game as a Faction, a close-knit group of family members and allies that works to dominate politics and economics. The easiest ways to grow your power are to invest in Cities, thus increasing your cut of their own political power, and in Industries, increasing your revenue each turn to spend on your various activities.
==Mechanics Explanation==
This game being based off Civilization 3’s Age of Imperialism mod by El Justo, the Cities tab’s Shields, Commerce and Culture columns are self-explanatory. “Controlled By,” likewise, merely indicates which faction (or group of factions) dominate the city. If there is no clear dominating power or coalition, the city’s production is managed by me; otherwise it is up to the controller what the city produces. When giving orders for production, it is suggested to be generic: production, income, culture, air force, navy, army, artillery, etc. Age of Imperialism has so many buildings and units we’d be here all day if we got tied up in specifics. Every building and unit contributes to the size of economic sectors (a bank being built will, for example, increase the size of the financial sector); sectors will be described in another paragraph. However, every type of production has its own benefits: increasing production is more shields, which is good by itself for future construction; more commerce means a larger economy, which means more money for you; more culture increases your family’s prestige, which basically is a measure of how much you can control national foreign policy, the ultimate gem of power; building more military units increases the prestige allocated by a city, but it also means you have units loyal to you (or more accurately, to the city that built them; keep control of that city!) in the event the poop hits the fan.
Note: Workers are auto-produced by the capital and are not built. However, colonial territories can build conscript workers, which work at 33% efficiency but are otherwise unlimited. One way for a colony-based faction to build itself up would be to produce many of these; the Government will take control of the workers once they have improved all land around their city of origin, but workers built will accumulate great respect with the government and increase one’s prestige.
Let’s discuss economic sectors, or the Industries tab. An industry is a generic economic sector, such as finance, shipping, etc. Every building or unit adds to at least one industry’s total value – more soldiers increases the armaments sector, more schools increases the education sector, etc. When you control a city, you can designate it to build structures that will contribute to a sector; if you own Rome for example, and have a large stake in the Entertainment sector, it’d make sense to order constructing theaters and stadiums. Every sector represents a portion of the economy, and you can invest in a sector with your faction’s money to get a cut of that economic revenue. So if a sector is worth 100 gpt and you own 50% of the sector, you make 50 gpt off of it. Simple enough, yes?
Now there’s the Factions tab. This is straightforward and lists characters in the game, their faction alignment, their rank within the faction (from 1 being the leader to 2 being the heir onward), and their stats. Charisma increases the prestige the character generates for your faction, Security represents how well-guarded they are against enemy espionage, Efficiency dictates how much of a bonus they give to your income, while Cunning only is active if they are a spymaster or part of the ruling coalition of a city. Stats are generally applied across the faction generally; your lowest man’s efficiency rating will still add to your overall income just like your Leader’s. Characters can also serve as Governor of a city, whether backed by a majority of influence in a city or by a coalition; the Governor title is primarily for bragging rights, but a Governor’s Cunning ability is applied to missions undertaken in the city (i.e. you won’t want to back a very cunning person not of your faction as Governor of a city, lest he use his espionage talents to kick you out).
As you can guess from that last one, besides their numbered rank, you can assign to each member of your faction a specific role. Roles are separate from being Leader or the Heir, which are primarily formalities that carry across the board bonuses; your character can be both a leader/heir and another one of the following rules. You can have: one Spymaster, who adds a bonus to all espionage missions or defenses against them; one Treasurer, who oversees assets and thus determines your overall income; an unlimited number of Generals, Admirals, and Captains, who control units in battle and can bring you prestige if they are victorious (and possibly be killed if they’re not).
Troop Loyalties are self-explanatory, detailing which city commands the loyalty of how many soldiers, so let’s focus on a hidden aspect: espionage. You may invest espionage in whatever city you wish and direct it to do more or less whatever you want, though destroying an enemy’s property or trying to kill their characters are the most obvious choices. Simply send me a PM specifying where you want to spend your money, and any espionage actions you wish to undertake. There is a limit of five actions per turn.
==Signing Up==
Simply give your faction a name, choose your home city (Rome is not eligible to be anyone’s home city, due to its importance), and mention what parts of the economy you make your money in. These are the economic sectors:
- Shipping
- Finance
- Infrastructure
- Agriculture
- Raw Materials
- Entertainment
- Armaments
- Manufacturing
- Energy
- Education
- Crime
You can be involved in more than one sector, but this means you have less of a stake in each one.
You do not necessarily need to be Italian in origin, given that the elites are always able to make a new life for themselves overseas, and you can be anything from a criminal organization to a business conglomerate to an aristocratic family.
It is also suggested you give five character names, with a brief description of their expertise and role within your faction. These characters will be assigned stats based off these descriptions.
Beyond that, roleplay and detail to your heart’s content.
==Turn Procedure==
Every time I post an update, you will specify, whether publicly or via PM, where you are spending your money, any production orders you wish to give, any espionage orders, and anything else. I will process all these updates while playing the actual save file. At start I will post an update every 13 in-game turns, but as the game becomes more action-packed, updates will come with greater turn frequency.
His Majesty’s Government is represented by me; the Government directs production in cities with no clear ruler or ruling coalition, while it will also monopolise Workers at the start. Similarly, the Government directs foreign policy, though it will often take the advice of the Oligarchs – that’s all of you.
That’s about it. Will cover things as they come up where prudent.
Given that the first year is pretty boring and dull, you’re not missing anything. 1896 is when the game will REALLY begin. 
