[center][h1]The World Undone[/h1]
(1905--)[/center]

[right]“But now, for the first time, I see you are a man like me. I thought of your hand-grenades, of your bayonet, of your rifle; now I see your wife and your face and our fellowship. Forgive me, comrade. We always see it too late. Why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony--Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy?” 
― Erich Maria Remarque, [i]All Quiet on the Western Front[/i][/right]

The [b]Known World[/b], analogous to our own but remarkably different. The food almost assuredly tastes the same, the weather can be just as miserable but it is so definitely different as to remain unique. In the [b]Known World[/b], it is the Year of the Nineteen Hundred and Five, with technology settled much the same as our year, in a similarly linear progression that no one need a history lesson here if they are familiar with our own world. The geography may be different, but the men are all the same. Colonialism, imperialism and industrialization have all taken root. The parties and monarchs may have different names but they rule no differently than of our own ancestors. The difference here, is that you set the stage. You help shape the narrative.

[hider=Orders Not Received]
All players in this list may PM their orders now. Posting IC remains optional but strongly recommended.

1. [s][b]Tyrian Empire[/b][/s]
2. [s][b]Republic of Paraka[/b][/s]
3. [b]Helrox Empire[/b]
4. [b]The Serene Empire of Tara[/b]
5. [s][b]Holy Empire of Vigentino[/b][/s]
6. [s][b]City-State of Julia[/b][/s]
7. [s][b]High Kingdom of Itherae[/b][/s]
8. [b]Confederation of Hokkan-Shirito[/b][/hider]
[hider=Orders]
- Posting IC will be immensely beneficial to you as a player. It is, however, not necessary. This is designed so that you can still send in your orders if you are too busy to post, but posting IC will provide a tangible bonus to your DRM (Die Roll Modifier).
- Each [b]Turn[/b] represents one In-Game Month. The player will submit [b]3 Orders[/b].
- Each order is then subject to a 1d6 roll. A 6 means a perfect execution and a 1 means a horrible failure. Posting IC gives you a +2 die roll to a single order, or a +1 die roll to all three. [Specified at the end of your IC post.]. This means that more active players are rewarded.
- [b]Orders[/b]:
* [b][color=yellow]Economic[/color][/b]: An order designed to benefit the nation economically.
* [b][color=red]Military[/color][/b]: An order designed to affect your military.
* [b][color=green]Diplomacy[/color][/b]: An order designed to conduct diplomacy.
* [b][color=blue]Imperialism[/color][/b]: Exploring and developing new lands.
* [b][color=purple]Request Design[/color][/b]: Required to design a new weapon of war. Fulfilling this order requires the following info: [Type of Weapon: Small Arms, Field Gun, Machine Gun, Submarine, Destroyer, Cruiser, Dreadnought.] [Contract: International or Domestic] [Length: 1 to 24 months]
* [b][color=gold]Conference[/color][/b]: Used to call a [i]Political[/i] or [i]Military[/i] Conference. Select which nations to invite. Begins a [b]Conference[/b]. (See PM for rules).
* [b][color=silver]Spend Point[/color][/b]: Used to spend an available point in a Corporation to further their specialization.[/hider]
[hider=Tensions]
1. [b]City-State of Julia[/b]: +1 Tensions with [b][color=gray]Holy Empire of Vigentino[/color][/b].[/hider]
[hr][hr]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/95YUdM7.png[/img]
[i]Eurania and Faresia, 1905[/i][/center]

[center][u]Turn 1[/u][/center]
[b][u]January, 1905[/u][/b]
[b]January 25th[/b]
In the quaint [u]Republic of Ustrela[/u], brother and sister Emilia and Sebastian de Halt stood, overlooking a wide and grassy plain that rolled in quiet waves. The blades of grass shifted under the strong currents of wind. "Are you ready, brother?" She asked, watching him strap into the device near the apex of the hill. He nodded the affirmative. She raised a hand and he struck a pose. The camera flashed. Satisfied the eleventh attempt was now documented, he took off at a full sprint down the hill, his arms working the device.

[center][img]https://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/slide_229341_1032860_free.jpg?w=800[/img]
[i]Sebastian de Halt in the De Halt Flyer I, circa 1905[/i][/center]

The wind caught, but just barely and yanked him from the ground. He angled and banked, barely crossing the ground. By Emilia's count, he was airbone for forty-two seconds and flew nearly three hundred sixty feet. The landing, more like a forced skid that nearly wrecked the flyer, ended with a set of bruised ribs. Man's future laid in the clouds, but only the de Halt siblings knew it. [The [u]Republic of Ustrela[/u] discovers [i]Heavier than Air Flight[/i].]

[b]January 26th[/b]
In the [b][color=gray]Republic of Paraka[/color][/b] the [b]Chromium Act[/b] is passed, hoping to allow future chromium deposits. Until new chromium deposits were discovered however, the lasting effects of allowing land grants within the vast Parakan territory would be unknown.

[b]January 27th[/b]
The government of the [b][color=crimson]Helrox Empire[/color][/b] places an order for a month's worth of Syndére machine guns after several orders are botched. The factory given the contract predicts 53 machine guns a day can be cranked out, but it's uncertain whether these lofty production goals will be achieved.

[center][img]https://drawingdatabase.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Machinegun_Maxim_drawingB86_483-1.jpg[/img]
[i]Syndére machine gun blueprints supplied to the Helroxi factory for license production, 1905[/i][/center]

The mechanism of the Syndére gun employed one of the earliest recoil-operated firing systems in history. The idea is that the energy from recoil acting on the breech block is used to eject each spent cartridge and insert the next one, instead of a hand-operated mechanism. Syndére’s earliest designs used a 360-degree rotating cam to reverse the movement of the block, but this was later simplified to a toggle lock. This made it vastly more efficient and less labor-intensive than previous rapid-firing guns, such as the Parakan Veltruse, Tetring, Engner, or Sudenhuber, that relied on actual mechanical cranking. The Syndére gun design was provided with water cooling, giving it the ability to maintain its rate of fire for far longer than air-cooled guns. The disadvantage of this was that it made the gun less flexible in attack than the lighter air-cooled weapons, being heavier and more complex, and requiring a supply of water.

Trials demonstrated that the Syndére could fire 600 rounds per minute. The Syndére was heavy, bulky, and awkward. A lone soldier could fire the weapon, but it was usually operated by a team of men, usually 4 to 6. Apart from the gunner, other crew were needed to speed reload, spot targets, and carry and ready ammunition and water. Several men were needed to move or mount the heavy weapon.

[b]January 28th[/b]
In the [b][color=skyblue]High Kingdom of Itherae[/color][/b], the small arms company [u]Leonidian Manufacturing[/u] finishes a patent on basic stabilization technology for rifles and potential rapid fire automatic guns.

[hr][hr][hider=Notable Corporations]
[color=skyblue][b]Forino Estadi Automobili[/b][/color]: A mechanical company founded by Giovanni Mateo in 1899 in the [b]Holy Empire of Vigentino[/b], the [i]Mateo Carriage[/i] is wildly considered the world's first automobile despite it's failure. F.E.A. is a privately owned firm currently operating out of Cogoli, Vigentino.
- [b]Inventions[/b]:[list][*][i]Forino 4HP[/i]: A 4 horsepower petrol motor that can theoretically power light machinery or pull a wagon if properly mounted. 
[0 Produced to date][/list][/hider]