Modern World STGOD Concept

[Siege]

With regards to superweapons, judging by this thread it looks like the majority preference so far is 'no superweapons'. That's alright by me, although as moderator (which I guess I now am, thanks all for your trust) I'll be inclined to interprete this loosely. So world-ending doomsday machines are out, but if you can spin a good story arc out of launching a fragile satellite bombardment system or building a weather control machine then I'm not immediately opposed to that. However my suggestion would be to consult your peers/the moderators in advance before launching such an arc to avoid their irritation and/or your disappointment.

EDIT: Siege, I'm also thinking that my Kingdom doesn't really like your corporate hellhole of San Dorado. Seems too...irrational for my science-fascist state to tolerate.

I don't think anyone likes San Dorado much at all. It's plenty obvious those in charge there aren't exactly nice people. But they are smart and pragmatic and they can be trusted to scrupulously stick to the contract. So irrational wouldn't be how I'd describe them... Well unless you count their form of spirituality, but the extent to which that shapes their behavior is a boardroom secret (and also to be determined).

That doesn't mean I'm opposed to having antagonistic relations... But just know that means we might supply your archnemesis at a discount .

[Steve]

Did a change Beo requested, added E_F, and marked Isla Aurum.

Edit: Also moved the Rheinland continent as asked. And I added the NPCs on the north eastern border of Omnia; Mesopotamia and Hellas, plus an independent "Cyprus" due to a mix of populations from all corners of the bay.

[Thanas]

Steve, if we are not using the Russia part of the map, could you cut it and move the Rheinland/others continent to the right, so that there isn't that much space between Ostrheinland and the mainland as well as there being more space between Rheinland and whoever those four islands are?

[Steve]

I was actually sort of hoping to put NPCs there, but I can move the continent to the right, certainly, and shrink the gray space if it becomes necessary.

Only so far, though, or your WWII-era air bridge to San Dorado stops working.

[Thanas]

Fin: Got your PM, currently working on a reply.

Steve: Well, not really, a 45° angle line would still work.

[Steve]

Ah screw it, even newer version of the world map with the Great Rift Lake, a large inland freshwater lake that separates the main spinal mountain ranges of Australis from the southwestern mountains that dominate Corona. For a long time this was the only route from which Omnia could dominate the south of the continent, aided by dashing San Doradan corsairs sailing up the Slate from San Dorado, until Britonia established an empire in the mineral rich lands past the Cape of Storms and drove Omnia out (as part of the conflicts that led to the "middle" war of the 80 Years War Period of Rheinland). To this day Omnia still controls the northern islands of this lake, but the south is now controlled by the independent countries formed by the same nationalist forces Britonia once used against Omnia and by Britonia's total defeat against Rheinland.

[Steve]

The Height of the Omnian Empire. Effective control of the Great Rift Lake and a large chunk of the inland of the South, with a strip of land following the Ganwaddy River to the Southern Sea east of the Cape of Storms. The small kingdoms and city-states of this region could not resist the legions of the Great God Om, not until new players entered the fray, as Francia, Granadia, and Britonia began to build their own empires along the Southern Sea. Britonia, in particular, became the dominant power south of the Great Lake, and spent the 19th Century driving Omnia back in repeated colonial wars, playing local princes against them and then suborning the weakened ones until the the lands of India (placeholder name) became the Crown Jewel of their Empire, providing rich resources that would fuel their wars against Rheinland and Omnia as the 19th Century became the 20th.

It was during the middle conflict of what the Rheinlanders called the Eighty Year War that Britonia enjoyed its greatest expanse of success. Hellas and Mesopotamia were detached from the Empire, the final footholds the Empire had on the Lake's southern shore were lost, and the sultanates of the Eastern provinces, between Mespotamia and the inland mountains, successfully broke away in the following decade. Omnia seemed terminally wounded, with the other powers lining up to begin carving up the corpse.

But then the Second Great War erupted, as Rheinland once again rose to fight Britonia and the Nipponese, and from there the war expanded with Klavostan turning to Britonia for help in conquering Cascadia's southern states, Nippon looking to reconquer Fuso and reform Oyashima, and presumably other conflicts arising. The powers that might have carved up Omnia were now set against each other. The Emperor, Vice-Regent of the Great God Om on Earth, and his Cenobiarch got to watch in enjoyment as San Dorado sold Rheinland the means to resist Britonian air attack and as Britonia's allies were leveled, one by one, by the angry republicans of Cascadia and Fuso. Although Omnia's army was not yet capable of reconquering lost lands, it did give breathing space for it to gain new weapons and put down revolts against the Emperor, assuring the modern border.

When the dust settled in the 1950s, the belligerents were too tired and not at all predisposed to meddling in Omnia, and the Empire survived as it has to the present day. It has tasted victory and defeat in the time being, of course, but most importantly, it has survived.

[Eternal_Freedom]

This is looking sweet.

And yeah, I'll go along with no superweapons. After all, they do tend to make things annoyingly stable

[Steve]

Just a small fix.

[Thanas]

Looks much better though again I don't see why we need NPCs for the rest of the Rheinland continent. Better so save the space and push Cascadia, Hawaii, Fuso and Ostrheinland closer to the UOCSR.

[Eternal_Freedom]

If no one is going into that large continent next to me I may have to look at expanding my borders once the game starts. It's too tempting not to try.

[Steve]

There will be NPCs there, but you can always scheme.

Thanas, I actually had a couple ideas for NPCs on that shore of the continent, but I've already shortened the extension. I'm just waiting for Fin and Zuk to say they don't want that territory to the east.

[Steve]

Also, given the range of WWII-era fighters, you'd need more islands for your air bridge to San Dorado if you move further east, especially to get around Britonia. I actually wouldn't mind a sizable archipelago or island nation around there, actually, although we'd have to decide who controlled it or what NPC it was.

[Thanas]

It was during the middle conflict of what the Rheinlanders called the Eighty Year War that Britonia enjoyed its greatest expanse of success. Hellas and Mesopotamia were detached from the Empire, the final footholds the Empire had on the Lake's southern shore were lost, and the sultanates of the Eastern provinces, between Mespotamia and the inland mountains, successfully broke away in the following decade. Omnia seemed terminally wounded, with the other powers lining up to begin carving up the corpse.

Can we use other names for that, because neither of those make sense.

Also, given the range of WWII-era fighters, you'd need more islands for your air bridge to San Dorado if you move further east, especially to get around Britonia. I actually wouldn't mind a sizable archipelago or island nation around there, actually, although we'd have to decide who controlled it or what NPC it was.

Wasn't an air bridge, san dorado shipped it to an island near Rheinland, then they were flown into Rheinland. So it wasn't really an air bridge except for the last few hundreds kilometers or so.

[Steve]

Oh, didn't know that, NM.

As for the names, why not? Unless I'm wrong, "Mesopotamia" means "land of the two rivers", so all I need to do is put rivers. As for Hellas... we make it the land where this world's Hellenic civilization sprouted, where the great city of Ephebe exists and such.

[Thanas]

Well, it first is a language issue (Greek etc.) and second, it clashes with Rheinland's history as it stands if it is indeed the land where hellenic civilization sprouted.

[Steve]

I didn't know Rheinland held the source of it? I mean, I knew you had them as Roman, but the Romans got their stuff from the Hellenes too, even if the Hellenes were rather closer.

[Thanas]

I didn't know Rheinland held the source of it? I mean, I knew you had them as Roman, but the Romans got their stuff from the Hellenes too, even if the Hellenes were rather closer.

Sorry, I could have written that better but I thought that Rheinland would fulfill both Rome and Greece analogies here. It really isn't that big a bone of contention to me though, I'm just wondering how Rheinland could have gotten the ideas of Greece without them being able to cross the ocean in antiquity, which kinda screws over the whole Rome analogy because Rome would not have worked without being in proximity to Greece. Which is why I would argue for them being something else than Hellas, especially because that is an ocean and not the mediterranean.

[Thanas]

BTW, I'll try and have an OrBat up either today or tomorrow.

[Steve]

Point. Although if we scatter an archipelago between the two it could explain it more, since the distances from points of land would be sufficiently close for antiquity voyages.

Still, I'm not entirely demanding on the issue, and I could go with, hrm, how aboutan ancient Hellenic colony that became the center of hellenic civilization after the Rhein-Romans overran their homeland, and who managed to keep their nationality under Omnian rule for centuries.

Granted, I'm really just looking for an excuse to make their capital Ephebe for the Discworld references.

[Thanas]

You could always have them be a colony expedition that got blasted off course and landed there, if need be.

[Steve]

Sure.

Anyway, Sorchus? Where did you want your PCs?

[Eternal_Freedom]

As a first-timer, what stuff do I need to prepare (other than a more detailed history, which I'm working on) before the game begins?

Thanas, what dating system are we using? As my nation is a former colony of Britonia it would be helpful to know dates so I can get my timeline sorted.

[Thanas]

I think for easier ease of use we use the common system (so BC/AD). For the general history of Rheinland/Britonia see the post of mine (http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic. ... 4#p3838144).

[Eternal_Freedom]

So if I shorten things a bit, say that Orion seceded a year or so into your war, say in 1864, that would fit smoothly. It gives the colony enough time to have developed enough for the governor to see secession as a viable option. Then say five years before the civil war breaks out in 1870, ending in 1975, giving me 125 years to develop to the modern day.

That works quite nicely.

Has any PC laid claim to first discovering various scientific discoveries, like nuclear fission? AS a nation os scientific fanatics it would be good for us to be able to claim some milestones, and as we have lots of thorium we'd be in a prime position to develop nuclear power. Perhaps that's what propelled us onto the world stage.