For over ten years, darkness had enveloped the world. A sudden and massive eruption of a volcano in the northern hemisphere created an ash cloud that covered most of Othea. The world cooled and for those ten years, famine and internal strife became the norm. Empires shuddered or outright crumbled, governments collapsed, and in some cases, entire species were eradicated.

From the ashes of the old world, now comes a new reshuffling of the world. New ideologies have taken hold of governments, backwater nations suddenly having the room to expand once more. The world is now stepping into a new age, filled with fire, steel, and smell of exhaust from the engines of war!

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**BE NICE**
Whether we disagree or not, don’t get personal, don’t get mean. We’re here to have fun first and foremost, not stress each other out. Make sure to treat your fellow man with some respect please

**BE FAIR**
This RP is a story driven, character focused nation roleplay. You may have noticed from the nation template that there is no real stats. This is because this isn’t about winning a game, but building a fantastical tale with friends. As such, it is expected that you do not meta-game, create a mary-sue nation, or anything of that sort. Battles will be collaborative efforts between players to achieve the coolest, best outcome! Maybe the underdog will grab a unexpected victory from the jaws of defeat, or perhaps a rising empire will crush all who dare stand before it! These are the moments that we all enjoy, so make them enjoyable for all!

**STAY FOCUSED**
We like to go down rabbit holes when discussing various aspects of the setting or story of RPs. For the sake of time and ease, let’s make sure we stay focused on the RP itself. Remember to get shit done!

**STAY ACTIVE**
Due to the nature of this RP, nobody should expect you to post every day or what have you. However, baring some sort of life related complications, post at least once a week! This will be enforced strictly, so make sure to provide a reason for any delay at the earliest convenience. Real life always takes priority, but it is rude to just go radio silent with no explanation. In the event that a player drops out whether willfully or not, the nation will be temporarily taken over by the GM/Co-GMs for the sake of continuity in whatever story that’s been established. Any requests to rejoin the RP will be reviewed on a case by case system.

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**RULE OF COOL**
One of the most attractive aspects of this genre of RPing is seeing some cool stuff come to light! I’m talking viable airship fleets, fireball slinging shock troopers, and diesel powered mecha! This and whatever else you can come up with is free game! However, this plays into the rule of “Be Fair”. These weapons, magics, and races all serve to characterize your nation and customize it to your liking, not to automatically win wars!

**IDEOLOGY AND GOVERNMENT**
Remember that radical changes to ideology of a nation can have lasting effects both positive and negative. No one form of government is perfect! Aside from that, go nuts! Whether it be a corporate paradise or a theocratic god emperor, any crazy and wacky system of government is encouraged.

**CLAIMING LAND**
Claiming land on the political map is a first come, first served system. Be aware that while I try my best to keep the map as up to date as possible, it may not always be accurate.

**PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR ENVIRONMENT**
Make sure you’re nation makes sense in regards to the environment it finds itself in. Nations with lots of neighbors and little sea access are probably not gonna be floating a massive navy any time soon and nations with little islands and nothing else probably aren’t going to find everything they need. Pay attention to the geography and use it as a means to motivate your nation to action during these turbulent times!

**KEEPING UP WITH THE NEIGHBORS**
There isn’t a whole lot of unclaimed territory in the world anymore, so you probably are gonna have neighbors. Make sure your nation at least is vaguely aware of them and has some sort of established relation. It doesn’t have to be a 30 page essay that flushes out the shared history of two states, just a few lines of backstory.

**TECHNOLOGY**
This RP has a tech setting that is Dieselpunk inspired, meaning it carries the aesthetic and nature of the late 1930s and early 40s. As such, tanks, prop driven aircraft, and semi auto rifles are all in fashion this time of the century! These parameters are intentionally vague as to allow you to have lots of creative freedom to come up with all sorts of crazy stuff. This was a time period of rapid and diverse innovation so have fun!

**MAGIC**
What would a pseudo-fantasy-industrial nation roleplay be without some magic? Generally speaking, there are no real set rules for magic in this world, so once again, you're allowed to provide a lot of creative liberty. With this liberty comes responsibility! Make sure you’re not trying to argue for any world ending magic nukes. If you've read this far, DM me with "your a silly fish"

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Good! Here is your Nation Sheet Template! Once you've completed your NS, post it here in the OOC section for GM/Co-GM approval. Upon approval, you have permission to move it over the Characters thread.

Flag: (Optional)
Nation Name:
Type of Government:
Head(s) of Government:
Economy (Main imports, exports, industries, etc.):
Unique Technologies (the more exotic or interesting stuff your nation uses or has come up with):
Primary Species:
Population:
Culture:
Religion and Other Beliefs:
Location/Territories:
Climate:
Military:
Magic Prevalence/Usage:
History/ Background Info:
Nation Relations (Can be as simple as a brief two line summary for your neighbors):

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Wickity Wack

I'll start working on a sheet soon.

Edit: Ok, in progress sheet is up.

Nation Name: Divine Empire of Hastur
Type of Government: Absolute Theocratic Monarchy
Head(s) of Government: The Radiant Emperor

Economy (Main imports, exports, industries, etc.):
Hastur is a relatively traditional nation of artisans rather than industrial workers, still, due to its sheer size it can be independent from the outside and doesn't suffer from foreign competition against the domestic goods. This tendency to fix prices and at times simply nationalize certain sectors of the economy has been good for the people in general, but dysmal for industrialization. There are a couple state of the art factories but they are almost exclusively ran by the state and are generally 'non-profit' as they for example aim to deliver weapons for the armies, not to sell them to it.

Exports:
-Foodstuff
-Precious Metals
-Luxury Goods

Imports:
-Weapons
-Industrial Goods
-Slaves

Unique Technologies:
-The Ontology: The rules of magic in the world have been established for quite some time as it being a power from within. But The Ontology of Hastur is different, for it is a power from without. This has been hailed as a proof by the philosopher and clerics of Hastur that Hastur alone is a true God and that these are not the works of magic, but true divine miracles! One may notice that the 'powers of a god' seem in many ways more limited than that of a mage in how it must be casted using precise incantations, movements and wearing specific items in certain holy places, but its effect is undeniable for in this global crisis Hastur has for the most part, thanks to The Ontology, always received bountiful harvests.

Primary Species: Humans

Population: 150,000,000

Government:
For all of its known history, Hastur has always been founded around a powerful bureaucratic administration that was generally meritocratic. Through the centuries however, instabilities within the Golden Palace led to the Janisi caste getting increasing influence within the administration until it took it over. Janisis are educated castrated slaves that have either been captured very young or are of second generation. It is a well kept secret, but the blood of the bearers of the Golden Mask has been foreign to Hastur for many generations now.

The Palace is a microcosm of its own where its all politics as a lowly eunuch cleaning the marble floors can rise to become one of the most powerful person of the world if he is cunning enough. This makes Mask Bearers ruthlessly good at internal politics, but maybe makes them focus too much on that. Very little bearers have taken interest in the outside world lately, too busy dodging plots and poison to care.

It doesn't mean this attention is unwarranted though, for outside the Golden Palace are the local governors and the Warlords. The governors have mostly been neutered as the semi-democratic selection process where landed men may voice their opinion to select whom they think should serve as governor is generally decided by the Palace as it'd be very hard to get the landowners to vote for a conclusive choice that isn't the Palace's. In addition to this, the post of governor comes with great priviledges such as a Janisi administrative cadre, bodyguards and a harem that should in theory be loyal to the governor alone but who of course spy for the Palace (To be sent to work away from the Palace in the Provinces is seen as a punishment by most and as a way to keep enemies far for some, though one shouldn't underestimate how much power a Janisi away from the Palace and with the ear of a powerful Governor can get. Many 'usurpers' were ousted from the Golden Palace by outsiders.)

And then of course, there are the Warlords. The meritocratic system of Hastur extends to its army as well where trained military academy students get junior posts along with promoted soldiers showing potential. Promotions get approved from the top down but this gets complicated when the title of 'Warlord' needs to be given. The process is that the upper officers of the army in question join to select one of themselves to take the title and then ask for approval of the Palace. The Radiant Emperor can of course refuse and appoint whomever he chose but military men tend to be independent minded and choosing an outsider generally leads to an assassination marathon and 'accidents' to happen.

The Golden Palace thus does whatever it can so the Warlords position remains precarious, its main balancing tool being the relentless competition between the Military Academy officers and the Promoted Grass-to-brass ex-grunts who tend to hate each others.

Culture:
Hasturian culture has been shaped massively by its religion and the quest for perfection and betterment, both personal and through the generations and that purity of thoughts and actions lead to health and a long life. The culture thus has a somewhat superficial aspect to it in the fact that good and healthy looking individuals are prone to be seen as better at making choices while a successful person that is say, ugly or afflicted by cancer will be suspected to have achieved his success in dishonorable a fashion by exploiting the people under him and so forth.

While this is a stereotype, it doesn't mean any good looking person just waltzing in is certain to get a prestigious job for at the same time, betterment of the mind and education are also held in high regard, making the Hasturian society quite educated.

Why then, would they keep believing in such baloney as an immortal emperor that got unmasked and killed publicly dozens of times through history?

This baffles outsiders but what a lot of them fail to understand, prefering to think themselves superior to Hasturians most of the time, is that the 'Divine Mandate' of the Radiant Emperor is a white lie that everyone silently acknowledge because its better for stability. Indeed, why has the Empire grown to such heights and population in a world ravaged by warfare? Because of the silent agreement that when two rulers with equal right to rule should rise, then you just side with the one that treats the peasants better and say 'Hail the Radiant Emperor' to just like that be on the right side of history and get on with life without having to go through a devastating civil war. Hasturians simply don't care a whole lot for Palace Intrigue and the Great Game of politics, just going along with whatever's happening currently as not to ruin something good.

And likewise, the Palace prefers not to intervene too much in mundane affairs, except of course to extract wealth out of it. The taxes tend to be flat across the board, a successful merchant not paying a whole lot more than a landless peasant and said taxes would be considered quite high if it wasn't for the value of human lives. Indeed, a household (as determined as everyone of the same blood living under the same roof) may pay its taxes with a life. This means lower income households often pay their entire taxes every year with their offsprings, providing a massive supply of new slaves that will go to the Janisi Academy to either succeed and move to greater things or fail to then grow the ranks of the Central Army or to serve in the state owned industries, mainly the exploitation of deep and dangerous mines.

This system where a massive part of the males are castrated and used as cheap muscle also permits the Empire to allow polygamy as it has a healthy surplus of women. It is judged as a good factor as less successful families will tend to go extinct by selling their young males into slavery and females for dowries, insuring society betters itself. Beware to the households who have neither gold nor young children to pay for the taxes else the tax office may declare them bankrupt and defunct, all assets being seized and people enslaved. Any non child has considerably less value as a slave as they can't take the Janisi exams and are automatically sent to hard labor.

Religion and Other Beliefs:
'In the beginning there was only the chaos of everything that was and could be, changing at every moment. For aeons, the darkness that creates and destroy pointlessly created and destroyed, that is until Hastur was made and he could not be destroyed. Hastur then separated things from the everything and from things made the world as we know it. To keep things orderly while he busied himself creating the universe, Hastur created life, a thing chaotic by nature but the only thing capable of repairing the damages caused by entropy, the Crawling Chaos that hides everywhere, and so it was good.'

'It is the ideal of any sentient being to change itself for the better to try and reach artificially what Hastur is naturally: Perfection. The Radiant Emperor, steward of Hastur on this world, is by far the most touched being on this planet. Immortal and above the power of any and all on this earth, his flesh is of solid gold and to witness it would be sure to leave a man blind. His cunning and intelligence is also beyond that of any mortal and as such, to question his actions is futile and one must know that in the end, it is all part of the Grand Plan to instill perfection on this earth and build paradise.'

'There is only one way to perfection and a single wrong action leads to failure and chaos, for a perfect being would never have made a mistake. The way to perfection is uncertain for the only being who never made a mistake ever is the Radiant Emperor but to be placed in the care of his chosen educators is certainly a safe choice to give your offspring a better chance at perfection.'

'Failure to achieve perfection is most likely and so most are destined to return to the Crawling Chaos. But do not worry, for Hastur works tirelessly to separate things from everything so in time, you shall have another chance as you are reborn pure and without the dark mark of mistakes.'

'Outsiders will say that through history, the Radiant Emperor has been ousted from power and unmasked many times, but it is important to look at history in hindsight. The Radiant Emperor always returned triumphant and that is because every event in history was part of the Grand Plan, for the Radiant Emperor never once did a mistake in his existence. At times the Grand Plan demanded body doubles to be put in place and traitors to be allowed to fake being the Emperor at times. If you ever ask yourself 'If the Radiant Emperor is perfect, how could he have known failure?', you have already failed on the road to perfection but should know that your feeble mind simply cannot understand the Grand Plan. For example, if a people is becoming weak and effeminate, then the harshness of war and devastation will whip them back into shape and closer to Perfection. There is always a point to what the Radiant Emperor does.'

Climate:




This country that should in all certainty be dry and hot at all times benefits from a bountiful wet season where suddenly rivers and green sprout in the harsh wasteland, allowing for bountiful harvests and beautiful flora to exist for a bit less than 6 months before the heat returns and everything dies again. This is the cycle of life and most inhabitants of the empire live with it, busying themselves with farmwork during the monsoon and with craftsmanship during the dry season.

Military:

-LAND:

Military affairs of the empire have historically been a large and complex affair without the existence of radio or telegraphs and as such, the distant provinces of the Empire were assigned commander given practically unlimited power as to the recruitment, training and deployment of his forces, many wars were fought in the pass without a single word of the Emperor as the Warlords have also diplomatic privileges and the duty to protect Hasturian interests whenever they can. Today things are slowly reforming with the creation of a central military academy but still the regional commanders have extreme powers compared to any military officer of any rank in most nations.

-The Border Armies are poorly equipped with overstock last generation bolt action rifles and the likes from more advanced nations and their training ranges from decent to lackluster depending on which of the four armies they are from.

The Septentrional army led by Warlord Selim Al-Facil is reputed to be a hardened fighting force with much experience behind it fighting Acradian forces in constant border skirmishes involving them punching way above their supposed strength against a superior enemy. The north however holds some of the poorest provinces of the Empire and is where the monsoon ends, leaving only desert, as such it isn't the most numerous army, which isn't helped by the fact that Al-Facil is reputed to be confrontational and critical of the Golden Palace, which in turns try to limit his power as much as possible.

The Oriental army led by Warlord Alaydin Al-Mansul guards the eastern coast and a large part of the front behind the Septentional army. These two bodies should ideally work together if they'd hope to have success in the northern operations but Al-Mansul is a known stooge of the Golden Palace prefering much more to spend his days with concubines and enjoying the benefits of his position than really lead his men. As such his army, while sizable and in theory well equipped and supplied, has grown complacent and lazy, anyone competent being held back to lower ranks as not to menace the position of the Warlord.

The Occidental army led by Warlord Sheik Mustafa Al-Bagreb has always been considered 'Old and reliable' like the general leading it. Al-Bagreb himself is far from a tactical genius but is yet considered an excellent Warlord due to his ability to remain calm, identify good ideas and manage inter-officer relationship within his Staff as well as temper the expectations of the Golden Palace. He doesn't hesitate to say he owes his long and succesful carreer to his ability to avoid praise and that his greatest trait is humility. His forces are thus kept at robust efficiency though innovation maybe isn't his strong suit.

And finally, the Meridional army led by Warlord Simbel Beiyang, alone in the south. With the relations warming with Alvaria and Hsir while in the north things go to hell, the Meridional army is considered the least important of the 4, but if anything this just leaves more room for Beiyang to further his expertise. The man went to the military Academy and was trained by foreigners, having already travelled the world to get lectures from the best modern generals and taking his job very seriously, he constantly studies both the latest in military news and all military history he can gets his hands on. Knowing not to let bodies grow idle, he spends his and the time of his men training and preparing for fantasy invasion scenarios by the neighbors, knowing preparation, while it doesn't survive contact with the enemy very often, is still key to success.

Then, there is the Central Army. All of the wealth the empire receives amasses itself in the Golden Palace and the Central army has historically been the most likely to march on the palace to 'remove usurpers' and as such it is always kept under tight control and a short leash. This army is also the one to intervene should a Warlord or provincial governor get upity and defy the Radiant Emperor and as such, it gets the benefits of all the advanced weaponry and training offered by the rest of the world to Hastur. Its troops are capable of great things, remains to see if he who will lead them will get his post due to competence or nepotism for lions led by a sheep are a menace to no one.

And finally at the core are the personal troops of the Emperor. In the palace, the Key Masters and their Underlings guard specific doors of the Palace, some obvious some secrets, but their role is mostly ceremonial, the body guards are Elite Janisi indoctrinated from birth to fear only the eternal hell that awaits them should they break their oath not of protecting the emperor's life (for he is immortal and his intellect so great he'd never get caught in a disfavorable position in the first place), but to protect his divine sight from things so displeasing as someone foolish enough to even try the impossible!

-NAVY:
Curiously, the navy (or rather navies as East and West are almost completely dystinct), despite being the subject of the least attention from the capital in term of reforms, is easily the most effective force of Hastur and indeed is considered frighteningly powerful by many, Fenice especially who in the lat ten years saw the Western Navy being considered a bunch of pirate rabble to a near-peer menace that manages to cause considerable military loses and crippling civilian ones. This is mostly due to a lack of oversight from the Golden Palace (You can't sail a ship to the Palace to make a coup) that allows true meritocracy to be achieved along with with a prize system giving out generous rewards for capture and destruction of enemy ships making the post of Sealord one the most lucrative enterprise in Hastur at the moment without counting the monstrous profits to be made in capturing freight and slaves.

The Western Navy under Sealord Mistral Grel, a demi dark elf exodite from Acrad, has grown legendary for its boldness and balls-to-the-walls raids on Fenice, the best known of them being how a slave raid on the island of Djin that had been held by Fenice for centuries turned in a liberation thought impossible just because Grel saw an opportunity and took it. He is now the wealthiest man in Hastur and attracts countless wannabe mariners with his generous gifts of prize money to the best crews as he now focuses on vanquishing rather than just fighting back the Fenician navy using a doctrine of combined surface, submarine and air ships to try and crack open their battlefleets, sink their sea castles and retake all of the land lost to foreigners and their navy for the Emperor declared he'd reward the person responsible for such a feet with a wish of anything one might desire. What Grel desire is for the Emperor to command his armies to march on Acrad and liberate his homeland from the boot of the humans there, make this land a province and make he, of course, governor.

Where the western navy and its Sealord are reputed for boldness and aggression, Sealord Nizar Al-Reef is liked by his men for being a no-nonsense and eerily silent type. A friend of the merfolks and other undersea humanoids that make a significant part of his crew, he prefers to leave slve taking to others as he just sinks his targets and pillage them from the sea floor. Reputed to be a frustrating enemy, he always seeks to not lose before trying to win and isn't one to take baits or being forced in a corner.

-AIR:
Sealords and Warlords all have their small auxiliary flying units but there was never a true Air Force, united in its command until recently. The newly appointed Skylord Seung Lafla was top of his class along with the now Walord Beifang in his class of the Military Academy. It was unofficially built thanks to the effort and material of Avalia but isn't stuck within the framework of its doctrine either as Avalia never did bother to make this training official. Still, the fleet is relatively modern and its officers and crew well trained and eager, the next step is to create a native design produced within Hastur.

Magic Prevalence/Usage:
The use of magic (as opposed to miracles done using the Ontology) was always borderline heretical if only for the fact that mages tended to try and call out priests as just doing magic the same way they did, which is heretical, but there never were purges. There is even a small but prosperous mage's guild in Hastur promoting responsible and above all, discreet, use of magic. Recently however things changed. On one hand it seems like mages are more in demand than ever with the Coreshaw delegation building prototype magic powered factories but on the other, it is rumored slaves with magic and the poorer mages are disappearing to... somewhere.

History/ Background Info:
Hastur has been there since recorded history (which conveniently starts about 3000 years ago, anything older being impossible to find) and it is said that before there were only tribes of men obeying the will of powerful witches and wizards calling themselves dieties until Hastur revealed itself to the Radiant Emperor. With the power of the almighty Hastur, the 'golden man' defeated all who opposed him, enslaving and neutering the men and marrying their women to insure ethnic unity (and indeed, the generic 'Hasturian' people are the largest single ethnicity of the world) and would go on to conquer, having a massive magical edge over its enemies.

At times Hastur was closed on itself, at others it became resurgent but always its enemies feared its armies, unending and with the backing of a numerous population to equip and pay for it. Even as firearms revolutionized warfare, it only seemed to make Hastur stronger for its craftsmen were eager to show their expertise to the world! When the industrial revolution came around however, Hastur did not partake in it with the same enthusiasm. It was anathema to the culture of self perfection Hastur had always preached, one of the things that made it strong in the olden times as the men strove for perfection while others wallowed in contempt of their own situation. It is impossible to become a master of anything if you work in a factory hitting the same nail on different shoes, over and over again.

Then, trouble began. Foreigners saw the weakness of Hastur, but still it had the gold of its past glories. Foreigners demanded concessions, unequal treaties and gold, meanwhile the Radiant Emperor dodged conspiracy after conspiracy, many armies unmasking false emperors and placing others on the golden throne. It was 50 years ago that the downward spiral seemed to slow down and stop, the Emperor having changed his strategy from uh... letting the fakes fight one another, to then return on his throne and stay there. It was 10 years ago however that Hastur rather than recover, once again began to expand! The volcano was a curse sent by the Emperor on Fenice for their hubris and with the north falling apart, the dark elves of Acrad who had so long resisted the emperor came to beg him for safety that he provided, in the south more tribes were annihilated and overall, Hastur stands greater than ever and not at all overextended. In fact, it hungers for more.

Nation Relations:
-Republic of Acrad: Acrad in its multitude of states had been for the last couple centuries the bulwark of the north, the enemy with which Hastur traded blows for generations. Hastur cheered as the nations of the desert collapsed and indeed secured territories out of the whole ordeal but they didn't foresee that it would actually come back from this chaos, much less that it would do it so fast. Maybe energy spent fighting Fenice would have been better used putting Acrad out of Hastur's misery once and for all but what is done is done. Everyone knows Acrad and Hastur will fight again, but its a question of when.

-Hsir Confederacy: Back in the days, Hsir seemed the weak link of the chain around Hastur, an easy target. The reptiles proved the Empire otherwise. Hostilities between the nations really kind of... stopped. One day it was war, the other Hastur was too busy elsewhere. Warlord Beifang and the local governors didn't push the issue, it seemed these folks were contempt staying in their mountains and so they'd leave them. Whatever they had of worth was easier to trade for that to take by force.



Name: ??? (The Radiant Emperor)

Age: ??? (It is theorized the first Radiant Emperor destroyed all recorded history of Hastur over 2500 years ago to create the religious narrative Hastur is known for today.)

Psychology: His Radiance seem to have decided lately that the Grand Plan demands modernization and an end to the centuries of isolationism the Empire's been in. Hastur will unite all, but pragmatic deals with other temporal leaders who think somehow they'll conserve their authority on the long run shouldn't be discarded either.

Physical Description: ???

History: ??? (Looking for a princess to have been captured and enslaved by Hasturian forces and have sired an offspring that would be the current person behind the mask.)

Flag:

Nation Name: Republic of Acrad

Type of Government: Stratocracy

Head(s) of Government: General Leader Ovald Regix

Population: 25,000,000 registered citizens and an unknown number of non-citizens including other races.

Climate: Desert arid, with small spots of savannah and oasis sites.

Religion: Multitude of religions.

Magic: Only techmaturgical (technology running on magical source)

Nation relationships:
Soven-Ampara - Acrad struggles to maintain cordial relationships with Soven-Ampara in order to cast more and more influence over the neighbour. They represent a strategic flank and an economic source of food from their fertile lands.
Fenice - Economic trade routes and anti-piracy pact.
Hastur - Uneasy, hostile tensions between the two nations due to long history of Hastur aggression and republican propagandistic demonization on them and their culture. Regional competing political power. Threat to southern security, and oil rich land ripe for conquest.
Vaesen - Little to no interaction for now. Unknown potential.

Flag:

Nation Name: Bjergavjern
Type of Government: Volkist Fascism
Head(s) of Government: Staatfuhrer
Economy: Heavily industrialized due to an abundance of iron, silver, gold, copper, nickel, tungsten, chromium, aluminium and other metal ores and precious stones found in the mountains. Has a growing agricultural base due to the 5-year plan developed by the Volksfacistikefurband av Bjergavjern (VFFB), the ruling party of the nation. Has 120,000 miles of railways and nearly 60,000 miles of paved roads.
Unique Technologies:
Ball Tanks: Spherical armoured vehicles that carry two or more armaments at any given time. Can travel up to 26 mph on road or 13 mph off-road.

Armoured Bears: Big, ferocious, and cladded in armor, these warbeasts serve as a for a heavy cavalry for the military.


Heavier Artillery:




Primary Species: Dwarves
Population: 90 million
Culture: The dwarves of Bjergavjern are short and stunted in nature but possess an extreme degree of durability, endurance, strength, and stubbornness akin to a stone slab or an entire mountain in which they ive in. Most dwarves stand about 3 or 4 feet in height and have very strong and thick arms, broad shoulders, and short but powerful legs. Female dwarves share a similar body but only more curvaceous and instead of beards they fashion braids as a sign of age and status. Being short and strong makes dwarves natural inhabitants of the mountain's cramp environments. Being excellent miners and diggers makes them all the well suited for industrial work.

For a young dwarf, the rite to adulthood begins with military service or mining and ends when they are allowed to pursue their own careers. And they began growing their beards at an early age as beards signify status in dwarf society. The longer the beard, the greater the respect the dwarf receives from his peers and the rest of society. The life expectancy of dwarves are average 213 years though the select few are as old as 281 years old with magnificent beards to prove it.

Interesting note, Bjergavjern dwarves are famous for being alcoholic drinkers as beer halls and brewers are seen as respectable establishments and as a career choice. As such with their strong intake of alcohol, the Bjergavjern dwarves developed a rather resilient liver. Honor and oaths are another important aspect of dwarf society as the saying goes "Never make a pact you don't intend to keep." Such value is placed upon honor and oathkeeping that civil wars in Bjergavjern practically nonexistent.


Religion and Other Beliefs: Ancestral Worship. The Bjergs believe highly in the importance of oaths and honor in order to uphold the integrity of the family name. There's no greater shame than ruining the future generation of dwarves than disgrace of the family name.
Location/Territories: The red nation in the west.

Climate: The mountains and valleys of Bjergavjern are one the most sensitive ecosystems of the world affected by the climate change caused by the volcanic eruption. Being the main supply of freshwater and a source of hydroelectricity, the mountains experienced a greater increase in glaciers and the inhospility of the local fauna. Basically more dry and cold than before yet the ash from the volcano gave in an increase in soil fertility for future farms and ranches. The mountains themselves affect rain and wind on both sides as they block air coming from the west and from the Great Othean Ocean.
Military: Ever since the bloodless fascist coup at the capitol, the military of Bjergavjern has been in the process of centralization ever since. The obsolete bolt action rifles were phased out and replaced with semi-automatic rifles and smgs. 10 dwarf squads were given two machine guns to increase mid-range firepower. Assault troopers were finally formed armed only with smgs and satchel charges. Most importantly, a General Staff was created which was something lacking in the decades prior.

The battle doctrine the Bjergavjern chosen to follow the Superior Firepower doctrine where every battle hinged on the importance of heavy artillery and combined arms support. Where every victory is achieved as quickly as possible and as brutally as possible by blowing the enemy to pieces. This also meant that the military is more defensive leaning by fortifying the mountains with flak Towers, concrete bunkers, and heavy siege equipment and weapons.





The primary goal of the air force of Bjergavjern is to maintain air superiority over the battlefield through its use of heavily armed fighters and coordinated attacks with ground AA. Just like the Superior firepower doctrine the army uses, the air forces extensively uses bombers to carpet bomb enemy positions and cities into submission once air superiority has been achieved. Industrial complex, railway junctions, and enemy bunkers are primary targets for strategic and tactical bombers.

The Navy is currently a coastal one. Mainly filled with submarines, destroyers, and light cruisers.
Magic Prevalence/Usage: Used in runes put into charms and trinkets. Mainly used to increase the reliability and durability of items and tools.
History/ Background Info: Originally, Bjergavjern was a confederacy of kings ruled by a High King as the nation's leader. Technically speaking, the High King rules Bjergavjern without question but in reality, he rules at a council of advisors to cool his temper and to help him make decisions. The title of the High King is hereditary unless the throne is vacant of the heir in which a new royal line is elected.

The lesser dwarf kings rule their own clan and territory with complete authority yet they still have to obey the edicts and rites issued by the High King. This allowed for each clan to create their own army equal to the High King's own. This system soon found itself obsolete when Bjergavjern suffered a military defeat at the hands of Fenice. With each dwarf king his own commander in chief of his army, there was no coordinated assault or defence against Fenice. The island was lost and the dwarves retreated to the mountains.

When the volcano erupted and covered the mountains with ash, a food crisis occurred in Bjergavjern yet the government was paralyzed due to the fact that none of the kings could decide on what to do. The crisis was growing dire by the day as food was quickly running out until a fascist coup happened at the capital. It was a shock to the nation chose to flee instead of denouncing the act.

It was then did the fascist party immediately embarked on a centralization process to restore order and to unite the nation where the dwarf kings failed. The party, called the VFFB, championed the idea of "Volkism", that no matter what social rank the dwarf holds, everything depends on the advancement of dwarf-kind. Despite winning a two thirds majority to keep the fascist party in power, there were still plenty of monarchist sympathizers and supporters within and without the fascist party. Only time would tell if the Staatfuhrer would do anything to about it.
Nation Relations: The Pact of Steel with the Western Neigher to divide the individual states between each other. Also establishes a DMZ for 50 years.
Tension with the GCR over treatment of the Bjergavjern dwarves inside their territories. Currently, the VFFB is doing a campaign to get the dwarves to immigrate back into the home mountains.

I am interested in this. I'll start on my CS.

Very interested! Time to salvage a nation from one of my favorite cancelled RPs!

Nation Name: Fadrus, Mare Impero

Flag:


Type of Government: Unitary states, led by a Monarch. Where provinces have a certain degree of autonomy, while the central Government has absolute power. Ex (The U.K.)
Head(s) of Government: Akinara Pascucci I (King)
Primary Species: Humans, and Merfolk.
Population:
Humans: 52,769,325.
Merfolk: 60,542,436.
Religious and Other Beliefs: God of the Sea.(expanded upon later if relevant)

Location/Territories: Midaden Enclave Islands

Climate: Tropical, Subtropical, and Temperate. Hurricanes, and tropical storms are frequent in the seas around the islands however they typically don’t strike the islands unless the storm is unusually strong.

Military: Mainly focusing on Naval and Air power the land troops have been lacking in recent years. Numbering 4,000,000 men across the branches of military.

The Navy is mostly composed of a motley assembly of older ships, some dating back over a hundred years. Fleets Composed of old sailing ships with simple field guns on deck, and ranging to the latest battleships. The majority of the ships sunk by the Fadrus fleets are retrieved from the seafloor by the merpeople and brought back to the islands for either salvaging or repairs. The entirety of the navy makes up over 2,500,00 men.

The Air Force on the other hand has seen a lot of growth in recent years. Almost the entirety of the air force is centered around the dirigible carriers. Which are capable of deploying up to 45 aircraft from their interior landing strip. These B31-Carriers are capable of extremely long distance flight. Other Aircraft include the D351-class defence blimps, which are armoured and armed against any air incursions. And of course the planes, most notably the FR.32 Fighter (Discontinued), F.200 Fighter Bomber, Fc.135 Medium Bomber, and F7A Fighter (Replacing FR.32’s).

Magic Usage: The most common types of magic found on the islands are Air and Water magic, the Air magic is more prevalent in the humans, while Water magic is more prevalent in the merfolk. Other types of magic are found but much less frequently than these two types. Those who do show some aptitude for magic are sent to a special university to hone their skills, and later are encouraged to join the armed forces.

History/ Background Info: The islands were discovered by Anastasio Pascucci, who was shipwrecked on the island by a tropical storm hundreds of years ago. He was saved by the princess of the merfolk and was brought ashore. Anastasio went on to marry the princess and encouraged mainlanders to come and colonise the islands. Years later when piracy was becoming a problem, King Anastasio, became concerned that the essentially free trade policy that he had would be affected severely by these pirates. However instead of pursuing the common solution to the piracy problem he came up with a different plan. First he dispatched a number of people to known pirate ports with a message, it read as follows:
“Privateers, in light of recent expeditions by other nations to hunt you down. I invite all privateers to the port of Fano on the 23rd of June to the River Stone and discuss your situation, and possible cooperation. Signed ~Nightmare”
“Nightmare” as he was called by his fellow privateers would go on to negotiate the Articles of Protection. Which would govern the interactions between the pirates and the Kingdom of Fadrus and her peoples.

Over the years the Kingdom’s trading prospered, and became one of the best mercantile states in the world. By the time of the volcano eruption Fadrus became home to 20% of world trade, passing through its ports. Even after the eruption due to Fadrus’s geographical location it was minimally affected by it. Once again giving the small state a very effective position on the global stage.

Culture: The Fadrus culture dates back to 1563, when the country was established. The culture while still focusing on olden traditions, is still modern to some degree. The core of the Fadrus culture revolves around the state, and it’s monarch. The state is the protector of the people, and the monarch is the great leader that has taken advantage of global conditions time and time again to help the country prosper. After the state the next group of importance is the family unit, in which traditionally the father provides for the family. However with the recent industrialization in the islands women are beginning to find work in agricultural,and industrial fields. Finally the core personal beliefs of the people revolve around the lack of a class system, they are only limited the amount of effort they choose to put in to advance in society.

The culture of the merfolk is vastly different when compared to the human culture. The merfolk mostly focus on themselves to the extreme of being almost isolationist towards all others except the humans on Fadrus who they see as fellow sea faring people, while the rest are land lubbers.

Economy (Main imports, exports, industries, technology level, etc.):
Exports:
Fish,
Rare Metals,
Helium

Imports:
Building Materials,
Food,
Coal,
Oil,

Industries:
Ship Building,
Underwater Mining,
Fisheries,
Salt pans,
Fruit Plantations,
Small scale Farming.

This seems kinda interesting! Never tried this type of roleplay before (contrary to what it appears, am a previous member returning from a six month hiatus as college got busy), but sure am interested to give it a go. Whilst I spend a couple days putting together a 'character' sheet, could I possibly reserve the small islands to the south east of the Eastern continent, the mountains to the west of it, the forested area and a small amount of plains to allow for a small amount of arable farming please?

Edit: currently called Elyr (Eh-Lyre)

Primary Species:
Humans

Population:
39 million Registered Citizens

@Blenheim

Welcome! Make sure to join the Discord as a majority of the discussion happens there. As for your claim, sorry, I think the area you're referring to is claimed already. Make sure to check the political map often for map updates.

Ignore...

First draft of CS.

Flag:
Nation Name: The Volsinii empire
Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy
Head(s) of Government:
Emperor Messor Aetius
Empress Lusia Aetius
Emperor-elect Syra Aetius
Imperatoris Marcus Tybal
Procurator Euclio Bruccius
High Justiciar Virgo Siculus

Economy (Main imports, exports, industries, etc.):


Unique Technologies (the more exotic or interesting stuff your nation uses or has come up with):
Telsa weapons:
The Volsiniins created weapons to harness electric forces harnessing them as weapons. Mounted and use by various Volsinii units. From small squad weapons to larger ones mounted on there skyships. Used mostly against lightly armored and infantry.
Coal liquefaction:
The demands for resource during the imperial civil wars require more creative methods to create what they needed. Due to this the Volsinii created the process of Coal liquefication to maintain their supply of oil with importing large amounts of it from abroad. After the wars the production was scaled down for peace time demands.

Primary Species: Human
67% humans
13% orc
10% forest elf
5% dwarf
6% other races

Population:
39 million

Culture:
The culture of the empire had gone through major shifts in the recent decades become far more focused on the national identity. The explosions of nationalistic art, music, and monuments inspired by the imperial victory. The values that are held in high regards in the empire are hard work and self-sacrifice to the state. Sacrificing one’s self towards the betterment of the state is consider the highest value of a citizen.
Attitudes towards the many races depends on the side they chose during the civil war. As the groups who fought on the side of the imperial throne are greatly respected. While those who did not are discriminated and treated with suspicion or outright hate.

Religion and Other Beliefs:
The Main state religion is the worship of Virmar the legendary hero who founded the empire centuries ago. Often time referred to as Virmar Dragonslayer. The stories of the first Emperor ascension are widely told and intergraded into the official records. Shortly after uniting the Vosta under his banner a force of dragons invaded the northern lands. The emperor united his forces and fought back the dragons. As he slew them he could take their power and use it against the dragons. Eventually he was able to drive them from the north. Not before the fighting the elder dragon leading the invasion. In the titanic clash between the two Virmar was mortally wounded. Calling upon the power taken from the other slaying dragons to launch a final attack. The attack slew the dragon its power was drained by the dying emperor. The result was upon him death he ascends to godhood.
While the other faiths of the other members are tolerated the pantheon of the elves have been banned due their decision to side against the empire during the civil war.

Location/Territories:


Climate:
Cold with mild summers and long winters.

Military:




Magic Prevalence/Usage:
The use of magic is restricted to priesthood. Other forms are hunted or repressed.

History/ Background Info:

Nation Relations:
The Republic of Avalia: Long standing rivals for most of there histories.
Fenice: There is a mutual dislike between the nations. Due to past conflict and territorial loss to the empire.
Empire of Oswaria: trade partners.

Flag: (Optional)

Nation Name: the Unitary State of Coreshaw

Type of Government: Oligarchic Magocracy

Head(s) of Government: Mage-King Sola-Gore represents the Council. The Council's current membership consists of Tech-Priests Qin-Tetra (a rare female mage skilled in all things violent), Zo-Khan (in charge of internal policing), Per-Ahkin (head of industry), Lin-Quan (an adjudicator), Dek-Jay (who, along with his partner, lead the agricultural and housing corps), Nen-Koo (Dek-Jay's partner), Tarano-Shay (the chief educator), Ivi-Col (distributor of resources to the people), and Ben-Dane (Ivi-Col's partner). Formerly the head of government was Queen Cavo-Shin, but Sola-Gore lead a revolution during the ashen years, overthrowing her. While theoretically the Council has no set roles for its members (and thus no additional titles), each one has their own niche and specialty.

Economy: Their main imports are various metals (though they do have some of their own), various chemicals, and weapons such as rifles (though most of their more skilled soldiers rely on magic). Exports include various medicines, wood (mostly of the magically reinforced variety), various foodstuffs, and enchanted tools.

Unique Technologies-
Simulacrums: Coreshan mages, specifically industry mages, tend to pass down the ancient art of artifice-crafting. Simulacrums vary wildly, from horse-equivalents to giant turtle-equivalents to human-equivalents. Their intelligence is rather basic; while they certainly tend to possess a cunning animal intellect, they aren't too hot at complex problems and don't have prominent personalities. Some simulacrums are laborers (as long as you make sure to give them specific orders they usually won't break things), though this is mostly obsolete when compared to Priest-Factories. There is a certain section of mid-powerful mages who animate wooden (with light metal reinforcement) horned horse-equivalents, which they use to hunt (on occasion), scout, and attack (considering simulacrums don't feel pain they make for effective cavalry).



Population: Roughly 26 million at the moment.

Culture: Coreshans in general are very sensible or at least try to be; pragmatism, efficiency, and common sense are valued among them. They love any form of entertainment and learning about foreigners (even if they can be a bit racist sometimes). Magic is highly valued among them as a symbol of status, power, and skill. Most of them are very cooperative, friendly, and good-natured; however, the more intelligent ones, for whatever reason, tend to be a bit more morally grey, usually being of the coldly logical variety. This moral greyness and willingness to do wrong things for the greater good is also seen as a trait of a good leader. Most Coreshans are very obedient to their percieved superiors, tending to obey laws to the letter and spirit (unless they think it is absolutely necessary to break them). The Coreshans that are the percieved superiors are a bit prideful and consider them above other Coreshans. They recently have become enamored with technology and the idea of 'forward progress', seeking to gather any pieces of tech they consider useful, interesting, or cool. This trend is even extending to the magic-proficient leadership. Coreshans are also enamored with foreign cultures. Not necessarily mimicking them, but learning and adopting certain aspects.

Religion and Other Beliefs: Coreshans believe in a nature god, referred to simply as Kkrikak (loosely translating to permanent yet changing) or sometimes End. In a way he could be percieved more as a god of entropy. He embodies the uncaring nature of things, how things will always happen even once life is gone and how things move inevitably towards an irreversible state of unbeing. In other words, he doesn't represent life-nature, but universal-nature. The Tech-Priests simultaneously worship him and work to slow his blossoming grasp on this world.

Location/Territories:

Climate: A tropical climate, though their huge hive-trees of the past have made certain trees considerably larger and changed the local ecosystem a bit.

Military: Their military is very loosely organized. They've gotten this far via magical excellence, though technology makes it harder nowadays. Technically the Commander-in-Chief is Mage-King Sola-Gore, but in practice it is lead by Tech-Priest Qin-Tetra, who is what one might call absurdly violent. Officers tend to be mages or very skilled baselines (the nickname for Coreshans with no magic). While in modern times they have begun a basic navy and competent air force, they've always preferred land conquest. Navy and air forces are built almost completely to counter the enemies forces instead of actual offensive use, (i.e. lots of AA guns and stuff like that) forcing the enemy to engage them on ground, where the mages have an upper hand.

Magic Prevalence/Usage: Magic is heavily prevalent in Coreshaw. All the major leaders are proficient mages (and tend to be former soldiers), and magic-gifted Coreshans are usually well-respected and make for useful factory runners and military officers. The government does regulate magic to prevent another uprising or perhaps some experiment gone wrong, but only truly interferes when an individual is designated a High-Risk mage, whereupon they are conscripted into the Tech-Priest order. Coreshans, compared to other races, have plenty of magical power and an absurd amount of control over it.



Nation Relations:
Southern Verdasou - Cordial. It's rumored that the Magi Coup was partially financed by their Queen. There is a mutual respect between them, and they both have influence in each other's lands.

Kingdom of Elyr

Please be aware that this is very much unfinished.

Alright, we're going to be closing applications and starting on February 15th, so make sure to get you nation sheets completed or in working order by then! Make sure to have either myself or the Co-GM review your sheet before posting it in the characters tab!