Modern World STGOD Concept

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Simon_Jester
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Simon_Jester »

Siege wrote:I really don't think you need a copy of North America to make it work.
Agreed- arguably, it'd work well if, say, you had a continent where colonization of one side was made easy because the natives were dispersed Iron Age tribes, while the other side was resistant to any attempts by rugged mountain men to penetrate over the mountains because it was... reasonably... organized... hm.

Hey, Steve, wanna go back to back across the Rockies?
Simon_Jester wrote:Pssst, would you like to collaborate on an antiship missile project or three?
Don't be silly. I can assure you that Helix Industries can and will sell you all the antiship missiles your heart desires, for the low low price of... Let's see, how about a century's worth of lease on some of natural resource deposits? And this means no unfortunate accidents befall your weapons labs either. It would be a real shame if your lead missile designer stabbed himself to death, wouldn't you agree?
:D

I have a guy who'll just love you people. You don't happen to have a megacorp named World Steel, do you?
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So then, hm, Thanasia Rheinland.... exactly who was the Eighty Years' War fought against, anyway? It sure wasn't Umeria; you guys would have rolled right over us eighty years ago.

Also, letting Shinn have an Asian country is traditional. Shinn, wanna play Japan to my China?
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Thanas
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Thanas »

Here is my history idea from Rheinland, everybody is free to add to it or incorporate these events in their own history:

(note this is basically still subject to mod approval as all the other things I wrote). Also, the name of the nations might change if others want their countries to be named that way.)
History

"Rhenani eunt domus" - first recorded protest sign in Rheinland history

Beginnings
A long legend has it that while civilization was born in tropical zones, it evolved into civilization on the banks of the River Rhenus (or Rhine in the local language), the mightiest of all Rivers. Rheinlanders claim to be the first to have formed a united empire, with the first lingua franca to be accepted in other states being latin (which later evolved into the Rhenan language after contact with the north). No matter the truth of these legends (and historians from other states dispute it vehemently) it is accepted fact that the Imperatorum Rhenanum was formed around 1200 BC in a city in the temperate climezone where the Rhine meets mountain ridges. (visualization of similar topography here). From this city, named Rhenania, this group of highly organized people struck out with their triremes, integrating or conquering the neighbouring people with a combination of their navy and highly disciplined infantry formations. Theirs was the first continent-spanning empire (again, other nations dispute this) with the final conquest being achieved in 49 AD. Sadly, the empire disintegrated soon thereafter as energies which were directed outwards released inwards. The following 800 years were called the Steel Age, after the metal which often decided the fate of the multiple powers the empire fractured into. Attempts to reform the Empire, such as the Holy Rhenanian League and Rhenanian alliance were unsuccessful. The 15th century saw Rhenania reduced to being a city state again, a city state living amongst the rubbles of the glorious past.

Rhenania's fortunes changed heavily when the Great Miner, Johannes XIV, acceded to the throne. He was the first to sent out largescale operations to the frozen north, recognizing that with advances in technology previously unsettled areas could be exploited. A discovery of several diamond mines funded the rapid modernization of the city. By the 17th century Rhenania held dominon over the northern third of the continent.

A series of successive wars, marriages and alliances culminated in the annexation of all but the southernmost nations, which had formed an alliance with an island nation. That island nation, colloquially known as Britonia after the main dialect of its people, had become a world leader in maritime trade and fiercely defended that position of power. For the next 150 years an uneasy truce persisted as both nations industrialized.

However, in 1862 the heir to the Rhenanian throne was assassinated when his ship was sunk with all hands by what was believed to be an attack by Britonian agents in the Port of Bretonia Magna (other states historians claim it was instead a coal explosion due to unrefined storage techniques. New studies showed this to be the case). Rheinland demanded special rights to fully investigate the death. Britonia had by that time allied with another maritime nation on the other side of the globe, Nippon, thereby making it independent of Rhenanian food imports. From that position of strength and knowing the combined fleets would be stronger than the Rhenanian Navy, Britonia refused. Thus started what Historians termed the Eighty Years War.


The Eighty Years War - Part I

"They say Rheinland depends on diamonds and steel. I say it depends on trade. Let's see who is right" - Britonian Admiral of the Fleet Jackie Monger


The first phase of the war became a disaster for Rheinland. The Navy was unable to prevent the merger between the two fleets. The Army took several of the southern cities but was unable to make significant progress. After being blockaded for six years, the Rhenanian fleet made a desperate sally but was cornered and decisively defeated by attacks of massed torpedo crafts. The following year, Rhenania sued for peace. The conditions imposed upon it - though they included no territorial losses outside of a few fortresses - nearly wrecked the economy. Even worse, the Diamond monopoly, the pride of the state treasury, was broken with all mines being turned over to Bretonian interests. Britonian businesses were given the right to import and export goods free of taxes and tolls.

Massive strikes by displaced Rheinland workers prompted a reaction from Britonian police. The Miners Strike of 1871 was notorious for its brutality and was put down eventually by the Britonian military with thousands of deaths. Rheinland had no choice but to declare war in response to the tragedy despite the still tragic state of the military. Luckily, Britonia was equally unprepared (and engaged in several colonial disputes) and the peace treaty of 1874 restored the status quo. Over the next decades, Rheinland public opinion became even more heated and in 1902 the monarchy was transformed into a constitutional monarchy. The first Reichskanzler was an old army officer named von Rogge. Luck smiled on Rheinland during the first years of his presidency as the trade with El Dorado and other nations intensified. The Rhein valleys boom - a second wave of hyperindustrialization centered around Rhenania proper - ensured the coffers were finally full again. With rising tensions, another war was inevitable.


The Eighty Years War - Part II

"Ride faster. I want to slice them with my sword" - Oberstleutnant Marius Reinhardt, commander of the last cavalry charge in Rheinland history.


The land war of 1908-14 went even more terrible for Rhenania as well prepared defences and new technologies like the machine gun and gas weapons stopped the vaunted Rheinland Army in its tracks. On the other hand, the new submarine forces more than distinguished itself at sea. Yet, the blockade once again did its work and Rheinland surrendered in 1914 as war materials had run out. Von Rogge was handed over to the Britons and publicly executed for the submarine warfare. Rheinland was split up into three nations, with its citizens having to endure a brutal occupation during which the Nippon troops especially gained a reputation for war crimes.

Bretonia however had suffered horribly in the war as well and did nothing when overwhelming popular majorities among the split Rheinland resulted in the country reforming. An appeasement party allowed Rheinland to rearm. In Rheinland, new, egalitarian policies ensured a steady flow of commerce and immigrants. Autarky was aimed for and mostly achieved. Eventually, an incident at a border post gave Rheinland the pretext it needed.

The Eighty Years War - Part III

"Instructions unclear. Have overrun enemy line three hours ago" - Rheinland war hero General Erwin Kölle, commander of the Tenth panzer division, in response to attack orders.


In 1936, a Britonian guard dishonored a Rheinland women at a border crossing. In response, Rheinland unleashed the new form of warfare called Blitzkrieg. Within less than a year, the south had been completely overrun and most of the Briton army taken prisoner. An evacuation attempt was foiled as the reformed Imperial Navy clashed with the naval forces of the directorate of Britonia and Nippon off the mouth of the River Rhine. In the worlds biggest recorded naval battle, no less than 500 warships, including 52 Rheinland and 67 Allied dreadnoughts clashed, with 32 ships dreadnoughts (14 Rheinland, 18 allied) and over 100 smaller craft being sent to the bottom. With no clear victor, both sides retreated to their respective harbors.

Rheinland, now in clear possession of the south, expected Britonia to sue for peace. Instead, Britonia attempted a blockade again. This proved less effective than in previous wars. In response to climbing sink rates for Rheinland submarines, Britonia unleased its newest weapon in 1941 - the strategic bomber.


The years of slaughter

"The aim of the Combined Bomber Offensive should be unambiguously stated to be the destruction of Rheinland cities, the killing of Rheinland workers, and the disruption of civilised life throughout Rheinland. The destruction of houses, public utilities, transport and lives, the creation of a refugee problem on an unprecedented scale, and the breakdown of morale both at home and at the battle fronts by fear of extended and intensified bombing, are accepted and intended aims of our bombing policy. They are not by-products of attempts to hit factories" - concivted Briton war criminal, name struck from civilized memory


Massive swarms, each over thousand four- and six-engined bombers strong, struck at the civilian population of Rheinland. The first attack hit the capital Rhenania. A massive firestorm destroyed 491 of 573 historic buildings and left over 2 million dead as the city burned for days. The planners of Rheinland were completely unprepared for such an occurrence - they had thought of the war in old terms like strategic positions and momentum, in terms of one party suing for peace once at a disadvantage. Instead it turned into a total war - and a slaughter of civilians. Within the year, production levels had fallen to a quarter as most resources were dedicated to building shelters and AA guns. Only the fact that the Army held the entire continent saved Rheinland, as only a token force could be supplied anymore.

The Rheinland Air Force tried to respond, but after a year of terror bombing it was clear that with the current production it would at best prevent some, but not all of the attacks and certainly not enough of them to stop nearly all the cities being flattened. By 1945 Rheinland had turned from a nation of cities into a nation of villages, with some insidious combination of poisonous gasses dropped by the Britons ensuring the ruins remained toxic for much longer.

"We have suffered the ravages of occupation. We have braved the flames. What else can they take besides our honour? And so I say No to surrender. 'Tis more noble to stay free then to become a slave. They want to burn us, we will rise like the Pegasi of old. They want to smother us with gas, we will rise above the fumes like the eagles on our standards. No surrender, no retreat." - Reichskanzler Meier


It was at this time that Chancellor Meier delivered what was quite possible the most famous speech in Rheinland history, exhorting his countrymen to never surrender and declaring that Rheinland would accept nothing less than the unconditional surrender of the allied nations. Meier enacted a series of terrible yet necessary decisions. The south, most in range of the bombers, was evacuated and/or left to its own devices, with all available AA weaponry in the south moved to guard the railways and shipyards/harbours. And he used every reserve of currency to find a supplier of fighter planes. It was luck that a state was willing to take the extra risk - at a hefty bonus, of course.

"Rheinlanders think the whole affair a matter of honour. To us it was Tuesday on the stock exchange. Still, free diamonds are nice I suppose" - unnamed San Dorado company CEO

Planes were carried by San Doradoan freighters to an uninhabited Island in the middle of the ocean which had been transformed into an airstrip by three divisions of Landsknechte. The Island, named Devil's Atoll, became a continous airport as Doradoan mercenaries assemblend and then flew plane after plane to the frozen north, where a succession of primitive airstrips provided enough fuel to make the trip to Rheinland proper. Despite the massive cost of manpower (including all of the 90.000 Landsknechte when Bretonian troops managed to conquer the island less than nine months after the airstrip was established and put the whole garrison to the sword) over 5000 planes were delievered within a year. It is widely accepted that this was what gave the Rheinland Luftstreitkräfte the boost they needed - and the reason why all heads of the companies that provided the planes still receive a gift basket of diamonds on the anniversary of the first plane touching down on Rheinland soil. The Luftbrücke is celebrated each year on the 10th of July.

More and more industries meanwhile had relocated from the south and central part to the north Rhein valley and rebuilt their lines of production. The Rhine river allowed for the transport and assembly of more and more ships while even more of the south was sacrificed in exchange for time. On Black monday - almost four months later - the time for revenge had come. Equipped with Doradoan radar, the Luftstreitkräfte were ready. Three swarms of bombers and escort fighters were annihilated mid air by the reformed Rheinland air force before they ever reached their targets. Similar things happened the following weeks until the bombing campaign turned into a toothless tiger.

One year later, on 6th July 1944 the newly formed carrier arm defeated the Allied Navy decisively, with a last charge by the Nippon dreadnoughts being stopped by Rheinland dreadnoughts. Now it was Britonias time to be blockaded though the lack of strategic bombers for Rheinland meant that hunger had to do the trick. A rescue fleet sent by Nippon was met mid-way by the carrier arm of Rheinland and utterly annihilated. IN 1946, after two years of hunger rations, Britonia surrendered unconditionally.

The Great Armada
With the collapse of Britonia in 1946, Rheinland demanded the surrender of Nippon. Confident in their safety of distance, Nippon refused. In response, Rheinland launched the Grand Armada, scraping together every ship they had while begging and borrowing what they could. A total of over 5000 ships set out for the greatest expedition in Rheinland history. Though only ~4200 actually made the journey, they contained enough troops to conquer the smallest of the three islands adjacent to Nippon. After a year of buildup and successful convoy battles - the submarine experience serving Rheinland commanders well - Rheinland launched the main invasion of Nippon, where the most ferocious fighting of the war took place. Nevertheless, the outcome was never in doubt, even if it took five years and 8 millions of casualties to subdue Nippon. In 1952, the God-King of Nippon died defending his throne, thereby ending his line, his nation and the eighty years war.

By now, many in Rheinland were wondering what all the fighting was worth for.

1953 - the Empire of Blood
"It is a good old Rheinland tradition that convicted murderers get one chance to try and cross the river. Which is more than the victims of bombers ever had." - Reichskanzler Meier


The Eighty-Years war had caused immense destruction and suffering in Rheinland. Of the total population of over 210 million, only 100 remained. The unprecedented and unexpected slaughter of the bombing campaigns was seen as a crime against the rules of war and even worse, against humanity itself. Additionally, Rheinland authorities carried out a thorough campaign of arrests against Britonia (and less against Nippon, who had fielded far less bombers). In total, nearly all of the 1 million men and women that had made up Bomber command were put before tribunals. After it had been pointed out that membership had been voluntary and the campaign had the stated aim to kill as many civilians as possible, all those who had been part of a bomber crew were sentenced to death unless it could be proved that they did not take part in missions.

This caused massive international outrage, especially among those nations who had just started building their strategic bomber force. Eventually, a weary Chancellor Meier commuted all death sentences to lifelong prison except for 300 planners, high ranking officers and politicians. On the first of Decemnber, all 300 were tossed into the freezing river Rhine, making a mockery of the old Rhenan ritual called "Eiswette". Most of the other convicted were released after serving on average five years, while the massive diaspora of Britons protested against the Empire of Blood. The black gang however are reputed to have carried out a series of assassinations on the most heinous of bombardiers.


The Tragedy of Meier
"Sic semper Tyrannis" - old Rheinland saying
Although the execution of 300 self-admitted war criminals did cause less outrage than his original plans to execute 1 million, Reichskanzler Meier started to see enemies everywhere. Riding a wave of popular support, he postponed elections and was allegedly planning to deport the surviving populations of Nippon and Britonia to the north. After he had shouted down a parliament inquiry, a member of one of the oldest Rheinland families, one Julius Longinus, decided to use his ancient right and challenge the chancellor to a duel. Meier, when given the choice of weapons or chamipon, promptly named the champion of the last fencing olympics his champion. Longinus then chose the bow as his weapon. The contest lasted exactly five seconds.

After Meier's forced exit (and eventual descent into full-blown madness, being caught in his memories from the firestorms of Rhenania) the assembly chose Longinus as successor. He dedicated his life to mending the wounds of the war but served less than two years in office before dieing of a heart attack. Historians later claimed that he had not slept in days before collapsing.


Decades of progress - and turmoil
The war had thoroughly changed Rheinland, which was at the crossroads of becoming a full-blown apartheid state or trying to pick up the pieces and move on. In the 1962 special election, sanity prevailed. A constitutional committee was appointed. It was Generalfeldmarschall Kölle who eventually would emerge as the leader the country needed. His plans included constitutional reform, full voting rights for the newly conquered territories and a general program of economic recovery. It is often said that without Kölle - and the newly appointed foreign minister, the former citizen of the nation that will not be named, the Countess of Oiseau - the country would have fallen apart. Sadly, the Countess disappeared after Kölle was killed by malfunctioning explosive during field tests.

However, the general election of 1968 confirmed the structure of the nation - a federal, constitutional monarchy. It also transformed the nation into what some call the liberal sodom.


The big issues:
- What is the direction of the country? Rheinland is a militaristic nation shocked by warfare. Old honour codes clash with new forms of living. What happens with the ruins?
- Seperatism abounds in Ost- and Westrheinland (as if that were a shocker). Many question the need to keep Ostrheinland as it forces a global presence on Rheinland. Others argue for an abandonment and resettlement of those living there to Rheinland proper.
- And most importantly: What is Rheinland's Place in the world?


Current leadership:
TBD, but will feature at least one leopard.
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A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
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Shinn Langley Soryu
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Shinn Langley Soryu »

Simon_Jester wrote:Also, letting Shinn have an Asian country is traditional. Shinn, wanna play Japan to my China?
Thanas has already conjured up the entity of Nippon (Japanistan?) to serve that purpose. Fuso as I've envisioned it is probably far more similar to South Korea than anything else. Perhaps they had broken away from greater Nippon during the Eighty Years' War.

Of course, my original plan was for Fuso to have been a once-great empire that had fallen into decline during the 19th century and was promptly carved up by foreign powers such as Rheinland and Cascadia. The modern-day Republic of Fuso would have been descended from the territories once controlled by Cascadia (or whatever other colonial powers are out there).
Last edited by Shinn Langley Soryu on 2014-05-05 06:19pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Ahriman238 »

Isla Aurum (Golden Island)

30,000 sq miles with almost 2,000 miles of coastline. Highest elevation 3,500 ft. Population 4.3 million. Government a representative democracy, of sorts.

Or, I'm terrible at coming up with new names. I also borrowed a few cultural quirks, like the sign language from the Adem of Rothfuss' Kingkiller books. Any other resemblance is coincidental, in fact it was realizing the similarity between what I had and the Adem that made me include them, because I'm curious how these traits would interact with others.

History and Government

Isla Aurum was one of the earliest colonies of Dresigrond, and achieved independence in a friendly split as Dreisgrond declined. This is appropriate, for trade and extensive contact with other nations, plus significant hybridization of culture with the locals had by then transformed Dreisgrondian colonists into something else altogether.

Isla Aurum is so named for the significant gold deposits it had when discovered, but it took the Dreisgrondians only about eighty years to exhaust the gold veins. Left with little but fishing and farming and general proximity to a moderate-use shipping lane, the Aurums decided to make the most of their valuable assets, themselves. Building on the 'can-do' attitude of the colonists and the aboriginals exceptional drive towards self-excellence, three generations of Aurums were put through the finest universities of Dresigrond and elsewhere, and came home to set up even better colleges at home. Since that time, Isla Aurum has been an exporter of skilled and expert labor. Aurum technical experts serve around the world from the court of Arcadia to the corporations of San Dorado and the Aurum government that pays for the universities takes a generous cut from each.

To the average citizen, academia is almost everything. Full citizenship is granted only to those who complete a graduate degree, or enter a position of civil service. Even so, their citizenship and franchise expire after five years of not producing any papers, or working for the civil good at home or abroad. At any given time, only about 46% of adults are full citizens though sociologists always have some scheme to get the numbers up. The highest honor an Aurum can aspire to is civis perpetua a citizenship that never expires, awarded only to those who perform a truly exceptional service to the state.

The dark side of this is that those who don't pull their intellectual and financial weight get no say in Aurum politics. This extends to the disabled though they are well-cared for in all regards. But if a degree and productive work is beyond them, so is participation.

There are presently 21 academic disciplines recognized by the Aurum government, though more can be added at any time. Each has a Council, elected every three years by everyone holding a relevant degree, which approves master projects and reviews papers within their field. Each elects two of their own members to stand in the Master's Council and represent them. The MC is headed by a Chancellor elected through popular vote, there is likewise an elected President who holds strictly defined executive powers.

The Council of Law does not participate in the Master's Council, but serves as supreme court and general overseers of the Judiciary.

There is, to a large extent, a central planned economy to deal with their shortages and annual crises, just don't call them communists where any Aurum can hear.

They also have a really good shipbuilding industry, and have for literally centuries. Aside form generally being a leader in science.

Isla Aurum spent some time hand-wringing and trying ineffectually to mediate the Eighty-Years War. Aurum mercenaries and technical experts worked for both sides, but overall their impact was minimal.

Major Issues

Isla Aurum is well-placed for a mild farming climate, but poorly placed to endure hurricane season. Much discipline and planning is required to minimize the damage, and many man-hours each year. Flooding is a constant hazard in low-lying areas of the island, and has led to no less than four major famines that would have destroyed Aurum civilization if not for strict rationing and Dreisgrondian aid.

Isla Aurum has a tiny military, and real prejudice against the military as those who couldn't 'cut it' in the classroom like a good clever Aurum. What military they have is as over-trained and over-equipped as you could wish, but they have effectively zero chance of standing off a developed nation if it comes for them. To keep the military sharp and offset costs, they engage in regular mercenary activities approved as causing no harm to Isla Aurum or it's major relationships as well as to bring in money. Fresh troops are called 'Redshirts' despite wearing standard camo for obscure reasons.

The Zombie Plague is an aggressive disease that resembles rabies, save it is insect borne and has a shorter incubation period, and thrives in the upper-tropical climate of Isla Aurum. This disease holds special terror to the Aurums, who value their clever brains so much. Another role of the military is that of domestic Zombiehunters, and the appropriate quarantine procedures are understood by all.

Aurums can seem aloof and arrogant to outsiders. Possibly because they can be very arrogant to outsiders, whom they regard as barbarians, though never where the barbarians can hear. With the exception of Dreisgrond, which gave them so much of their language and culture, and their support through hurricane, famine and plague. In the Aurum culture, if someone has the wit to understand that you're mocking them, you have clearly underestimated their intelligence and should quickly and sincerely apologize. This is fine for day-to-day, but outsiders, particularly foreign students to Aurum universities find themselves within a blizzard of references and jeers spoken with the greatest of outward manners.

For that matter, the adult Aurum never smiles. The body language and facial expressions of children and barbarians are beneath them. Moods and some more complicated ideas are expressed with a complex sign language involving only the left hand while the face remains impassive. Including the sign for 'barbarian' which, if pressed, they will confess to mean 'foreigner.' This can make them seem very creepy to outsiders, and diplomats and traveling experts undergo courses to learn once more the use of the face. But it is always calculated and never genuine when an Aurum smiles and outsiders can definitely sense this.


Foreign Policy

The Aurums have never been big fans of self-delusion. Surviving this harsh world with such a small population means either having nothing anyone wants, which is a good historic strategy but the Aurums are starting to see real wealth from their trade and expert assistance, or having so many friends that attacking them would set off a World War, and they're working on that latter. Fortunately, the Aurums have over-educated experts in everything coming out of their ears, including diplomacy. Their expert diplomatic corps works tirelessly to kiss the butt of any serious military power, and some Aurums have come to see themselves as the voice of reason and peacemakers in international politics. Certainly the Aurums have long recognized the trend for nations to become more and more economically interdependent, a trend they celebrate and encourage wherever practical.


Religion

The Aurum (actual name fairly unpronounceable but begins with an 'au' sound) aborigines believe they are the sole survivors of an ancient global empire that was destroyed when an uprising and a cowardly assassin with steel eyes murdered the father and king of the gods, the sea-god Leto. With his dying breath, Leto cursed the faithless to die without his life-giving waters, then dissolved into many great wurms who between them drank up the oceans, rivers and lakes and turned all the world but this small refuge of theirs to desert. There is zero archaeological or geological evidence to back this up but more than a few still believe in the ancient gods, and that's fine by the average Aurum, they respect freedom of religion as long as it harms no one.

The majority of Aurums follow the pseudo-religious philosophy the Via Aurum from the book of the same name by Jon Krymeus. Krymeus and the then Elders rather cynically created the religion as a force for social cohesion, as well as a way of recording valuable information and life experience in what he believed was the only way such is effectively transmitted. This is generally known and accepted. Most religions manipulate people for their own good and that of society, at least the Via Aurum is honest about it. The Via Aurum can read a lot like a self-help book, it stresses that there is a right way to do everything with care, precision, efficiency and moral clarity, and a great many wrong ways. People are encouraged to find the correct way to do all things, profound and mundane while stressing constant reflection and re-examination of the assumptions that might be holding you back. And naturally it extolls the virtues of family and community, and one's duties to both. The Via Aurum stresses cleverness in finding solutions or workarounds to life's many problems, and stoic endurance of the truly insoluble.

The Via Aurum does not claim to have all the answers, it claims to provide a framework, a system that will let you find all the answers yourself.

To understand the book's success you really must consider when it was released, some time before the split, but while Aurums were still reaching for a spate national identity. The Via Aurum spoke to a lot of people, colonist and aborigine both, and is by now an inseperable part of their cultural legacy.


Daily Life

Being so focused on self-improvement and cleverness, Aurums love puzzles and game of skill, which they import from around the world. Riddling games go in and out of fashion pretty much every generation or three.

An Aurum education begins fairly early and is rooted in two concepts: that a child should be exposed to many things to best learn what they enjoy and are good at, and that there some practical skills everyone should simply know. Thus every Aurum youth learns to sail and navigate, learns first aid, learns ethics and rhetoric and at least one skilled trade to a basic degree.

Aurum law is carefully considered in reasoned, if sometimes passionate, debate and so is rarely too harsh or too lenient. In fact, most aspects of Aurum life benefit from a surplus of experts and a tendency to preplan carefully. For instance, the military stockpiles are excessive for the actual military, and Aurum Industry is always built with an eye towards future expansions. The Standard of living is pretty good, if not strictly first-world, and is improving steadily towards that goal.

Isla Aurum is a world leader in many sciences and arts, yet no person has heard an Aurum symphony or can name a single Aurum composer, something not many think about. To the Aurum sensibilities, music is something taught to all, but shared only between family and close friends, it is intimate and private, because it is the product of an truest expression of one's mind and soul, and so they're far more private about music even than sex.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Thanas »

Shinn Langley Soryu wrote:
Simon_Jester wrote:Also, letting Shinn have an Asian country is traditional. Shinn, wanna play Japan to my China?
Thanas has already conjured up the entity of Nippon (Japanistan?) to serve that purpose. Fuso as I've envisioned it is probably far more similar to South Korea than anything else. Perhaps they had broken away from greater Nippon during the Eighty Years' War.

Of course, my original plan was for Fuso to have been a once-great empire that had fallen into decline during the 19th century and was promptly carved up by foreign powers such as Rheinland and Cascadia. The modern-day Republic of Fuso would have been descended from the territories once controlled by Cascadia (or whatever other colonial powers are out there).
Like I said, if you want Nippon, I can easily change the three islands to something placed somewhere else.

EDIT: A few things on the general impression of Rheinland - it does not have colonies and never did. They got their continent and some outlying islands which is more than enough for them and ever was. These three islands are the first massive investment they made in any kind of overseas territory.
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A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Skywalker_T-65 »

Arcadia isn't a colonizer either. Potential to be one yes, but they've probably been busy enough keeping the nation from self-destructing for the last ~300 years.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Ahriman238 »

Former colony (thanks Jub!) sort of lacks the population base or, until relatively recently, the resources for colonization.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Shinn Langley Soryu »

Thanas wrote:Like I said, if you want Nippon, I can easily change the three islands to something placed somewhere else.

EDIT: A few things on the general impression of Rheinland - it does not have colonies and never did. They got their continent and some outlying islands which is more than enough for them and ever was. These three islands are the first massive investment they made in any kind of overseas territory.
No, I still think there's a way for you to keep Nippon/Ostrheinland as is while I get to keep the Republic of Fuso. In any case, consider the colonial aspect dropped.

Consider the following: Nippon and Fuso both refer to Japan. Another classical name for Japan is Ōyashima, or "Great Country of Eight Islands" (alternately, "Great Country of Many Islands"). In this world we're creating, there was once a greater empire named Ōyashima consisting of exactly eight major islands that underwent a civil war sometime prior to the 20th century and split in two, forming the states of Nippon and Fuso. Nippon/Ostrheinland occupies three of the islands that once made up Ōyashima, exactly as you've described. The Republic of Fuso occupies the remaining five.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Ahriman238 »

Funny question are we using a common calendar here? It may be helpful to establish when certain events took place in relation to each other.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Simon_Jester »

Hm.

Interestingly, it seems like more of us are into playing former colonialized powers than the countries that might conceivably once have been colonialists. We may need to give this some thought.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Ahriman238 »

Unless we want to make Jub/Dreisgrond a super-colonial power fallen on hard times, I cleared mine with him.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Force Lord »

Granadia once had an overseas empire, only to lose it during its civil war.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Jub »

Ahriman238 wrote:Unless we want to make Jub/Dreisgrond a super-colonial power fallen on hard times, I cleared mine with him.
If we need to go that route Dreisgrond will end up being a hybrid of Britain and Russia with overseas colonies and former client states closer to home. Much like the two nations it would be based on relations with former holdings will be a mixed bag.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Skywalker_T-65 »

Arcadia could reasonably be modified to be an old colonizer if needed too.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Simon_Jester »

Hm.

Do we want Thanas's long war with quasi-Britain to have been against a PC state, or not?
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Jub »

I'm game for a past war between two PC nations, but it's up to Thanas.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Steve »

Shinn Langley Soryu wrote:
Simon_Jester wrote:Also, letting Shinn have an Asian country is traditional. Shinn, wanna play Japan to my China?
Thanas has already conjured up the entity of Nippon (Japanistan?) to serve that purpose. Fuso as I've envisioned it is probably far more similar to South Korea than anything else. Perhaps they had broken away from greater Nippon during the Eighty Years' War.

Of course, my original plan was for Fuso to have been a once-great empire that had fallen into decline during the 19th century and was promptly carved up by foreign powers such as Rheinland and Cascadia. The modern-day Republic of Fuso would have been descended from the territories once controlled by Cascadia (or whatever other colonial powers are out there).
That would actually work rather well, in terms of Cascadia having practiced voluntary decolonization and working to set up political structures in Fuso.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

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Simon_Jester wrote:Agreed- arguably, it'd work well if, say, you had a continent where colonization of one side was made easy because the natives were dispersed Iron Age tribes, while the other side was resistant to any attempts by rugged mountain men to penetrate over the mountains because it was... reasonably... organized... hm.

Hey, Steve, wanna go back to back across the Rockies?
I've thought about that, but I've begun to enjoy considering making Cascadia more like Rheinland in terms of controlling its landmass as a subcontinent-island. We can talk about your idea at length, however, since my border's security will determine how realistic it is to go for a strong navy; such isn't as affordable if the Rockies had to be turned into redoubts to defend my eastern frontier.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Beowulf »

I've been thinking of having my as yet unnamed country having once been a colonizer, before losing a war against another imperial power, and subsequently losing most/all of it's colonies.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by TimothyC »

I think I'm in for The Kingdom of Hawai'i.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Simon_Jester »

You just want to use all those pretty flowery airliner pictures. :D
Steve wrote:
Simon_Jester wrote:Agreed- arguably, it'd work well if, say, you had a continent where colonization of one side was made easy because the natives were dispersed Iron Age tribes, while the other side was resistant to any attempts by rugged mountain men to penetrate over the mountains because it was... reasonably... organized... hm.

Hey, Steve, wanna go back to back across the Rockies?
I've thought about that, but I've begun to enjoy considering making Cascadia more like Rheinland in terms of controlling its landmass as a subcontinent-island. We can talk about your idea at length, however, since my border's security will determine how realistic it is to go for a strong navy; such isn't as affordable if the Rockies had to be turned into redoubts to defend my eastern frontier.
Umeria isn't the sort of country that would pose much of a military threat until recent times, and frankly they've had other things on their mind than building up the army.

Another possibility is to scale up the natural terrain obstacles into something more like the Himalayas, so the direct land route between the two countries becomes effectively impassable.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Jub »

My nation is basically British Columbia and Alberta terrain wise, with Saskatchewan being the area that broke away; it's not laid out the same though. The Alberta like side will be ocean facing with the Rockies inland. The Saskatchewan breakaway state will be south of both of them with another mountain range which will make Dreisgrondian military action against them tricky if it were to come to that.

I'm thinking of going big for the reason for the collapse, maybe a nuclear event (or the equivalent) hit some major cities in the now broken away state. The government at the time was a weak coalition and they spent more time protecting themselves than fixing things or making the average citizen feel secure. Worse, they either didn't know or weren't telling who carried out the attacks and they've gone unavenged for two decades creating a massive real national sore spot. With the economy stagnant, but clear of crisis (for now) the new government will need to act fast to fix things or they'll ousted by a non-confidence vote just like how they ousted the last government.

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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Siege »

Simon_Jester wrote:I have a guy who'll just love you people. You don't happen to have a megacorp named World Steel, do you?
No, and I'm missing the reference too. Steel is the bailiwick of Acheron Amalgamated.
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It is widely accepted that this was what gave the Rheinland Luftstreitkräfte the boost they needed - and the reason why all heads of the companies that provided the planes still receive a gift basket of diamonds on the anniversary of the first plane touching down on Rheinland soil.
Those would be SANDEX (for transport) and Helix (for the planes themselves) then (they probably named themselves differently in the past, but those two companies). Oh, also, it's San Dorado, not El Dorado :).

With regards to colonies, San Dorado never had any of its own, but its companies wouldn't have minded extracting resources in other people's colonies (for a fee, but then you don't have to do the dirty work of keeping the locals in line yourself either - somewhat like the East India Company then).
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by RogueIce »

Can I be FF7 Land again? :D

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Though without all of the labels, of course (I'll pick my own city placement, and even geography if I can get an outline version somewhere). The Northern Islands may be closer, or even dropped. And I'm not 100% on keeping the Mideel or Woodland Areas, but they're there for now.

Obviously a bit of an island, with my concept being a decently sized Navy but a largely defensive Army. Relatively high-tech, just not huge. Maybe cutting some corners with a similar concept to the Israeli Merkava tanks, trying to kinda-sorta make several variants from the one chassis. Air Force will be smaller to mid-sized, with most roles dedicated to Air Defense and CAS but a fairly limited Strategic component as well. Essentially most of the defense spending goes to the Navy as my nation's first line of defense. Plus influencing people, since I can't do a lot of occupations without A) a draft and B) sending them out with old stuff from stockpiles or built/bought on the cheap.

As far as colonial powers go, I guess I could be one of the former ones but we'll see. And that's about as far as I've been able to come up with thus far (Finals Week and all that). Size of my land mass, strength of economy/military/technology TBD of course when we get to that point.
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Re: Modern World STGOD Concept

Post by Siege »

I'd ask people to consider being a little less island-heavy. There's nothing wrong with island nations, but we want some player-populated continents as well.
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