The Sword of Damocles - (Sign Up Thread) - Closed, 2017 Game Next

[Lumine]

The Sword of Damocles:

The World of Balance of Power, 20 Years After:

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Welcome to a different world.

It was two years ago that a game named Balance of Power was hosted, in which a number of very skilled and clever players played the great powers of the Belle Epoque starting from 1901, all the way into 1905 and an epilogue in 1907-1908. Evidently enough, it resulted on several increasingly large conflicts until... we got the World War. While a large and traumatic event on its own for Europe, it was not as nearly as damaging and hard as our OTL World War, allowing for a much different world to result, one not as nearly fearful of war as the Post-1918 would be. The proverbial "Sword of Damocles", therefore, consists of two things: the threat of the ever rising and ever improving military technology (around our World War One levels), and of course, the threat of World War Two, the second coming of a world-scale conflict... one considerably bloodier and harsher as well.

What's the novelty?

The novelty is that, since this is a much different January 1927, this world requires a good amount of imagination, and more importantly, player participation. Players will be able to select players with different amounts of autonomy (with some, you'll only be able to choose a head of state, with others, you can be free to come up with ideology, government system and other such things provided I grant approval), afterwhich the full backstory will be provided to explain how we got to that particular world... and then, you will take over as the leader of your nation and you will try to lead it to the top. Of course, should you fail or become too unpopular, you might lose elections (if country has them), face revolution, or even go down in a civil war..

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Basic Rules:

1. Turns: Just like BoP I and II, players will have to play turns that represent six months, in which they will react to ongoing crises and events and post their policies, moves and reactions to what other players do. If we enter a World War (which I will define), the game enters a special mode, much slower, in which we play month by month or with two-month turns at best.

2. Historical Context: The Game starts on January 1st, 1927. All events before January 1st, 1901 are considered to have gone as they did in history, and after that, we'll base our new history from Balance of Power I and the backstory we will come up with.

3. Messages: Secret messages between the players must include the GM, all of them. I will not acknowledge moves or negotiations I am not aware of, so be careful with that.

4. Historical Events: A mixture of dice and random number generator will work out to determine events as they go. There are no historical events to simulate per se, but we will see similar events to our history emerge in the game. Each year, we will also have the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize and the Man of the Year (from a magazine I will select later on), prizes that any player can win to boost his public profile and prestige.

5. Stats: These have not changed, to be released every two turns in terms of your popularity, economic state and internal strife. I have reworked the military system of BoP II into a much simpler version, and in this game we will use Divisions, Fleets and Air Corps rather than going by too much detail. This will be explained in further detail on a thread of its own.

6. Game Over: Game Over can come in three ways: A.- (All) By getting defeated in war and then deposed by the enemy. B.- (Democratic Nations) By losing a significant election, and C.- (Monarchies/Dictatorship) Losing a Revolution/Civil War. Assassinations and ending one's term in office (with no electoral defeat) will not count as Game-Overs, and you will continue with the successor if your party or movement won. In case of a game over for a player who led a nation that still exists (or has changed leaders via elections), said nation will be offered to another player first.

7. Players, Nations and Simulation: I will simulate all NPC countries, but will do so in simple manner. The objective is not to come up with a 100% accurate and realistic world, but to strike a balance between gameplay and something "realistically" ahistorical.

[Lumine]

Players and Countries:

Europe:

German Empire: (Cranberry)
The German Empire was the undisputable winner of the 1901-1908 shift of alliances in Europe, standing as the strongest power in Europe with a sizable set of vassals of its own in Eastern Europe. Due to its decisive role, Germany is a constitutional monarchy, and as a player you would play as the Chancellor of the Reich. Players may choose Chancellor, ideology and parties supporting him on the Reichstag, and the current level of militarism in this country.

France: (Windjammer)
If Germany won the Balance of Power, France decidedly lost it. Crushed in the World War after losing Paris, the Treaty of Amsterdam took away most of the French colonial empire and left the nation bitter and in despair regarding democracy. As a result, France cannot be played as a democracy, but it's open in the remainder to the player as either a left-wing or right-wing revanchist dictatorship. Player may choose ideology, government, heads of state and government.

British Empire: (Weyfield)
Despite being on the losing side of the war, Britain emerged mostly undamaged from the conflict with few territorial losses, but with crucial issues regarding its colonial empire that would have to be solved at some point. Emerging from the 1926 General Election with a strong majority in the House of Commons, the British player must begin as a democracy, but he can choose the Prime Minister, his party and his political programme if needed be.

Italy: (Southern Gothic)
Italy was another succesful nation, solving many critical issues of unity and creating a surprisingly large colonial empire given the lack of territories it had by 1901. Despite that, Italy ended without its political instability over, making it a wildcard. Therefore, Italy is the most open country to any player. You can freely choose government, ideology and leader, provided I grant it permission.

Russia: (Blair)
Russia faced a very hard time during the 1901-1908 period, facing two wars, open rebellions and increasing authoritarian rule from Tsar Nicholas II. Russia is as much as a wildcard as Italy, but with a twist. After undergoing civil war in the late 1910's/early 1920's, the country has broken up on an undetermined number of states. You can freely choose a Russian state with government, ideology, system and so on, but that state cannot have the full Russian territory to itself (for example: you could have a rump Tsarist state, a military dictatorship, a revolutionary or anarchist state, and so on).

Crimea: (GarlanGunter)
Backstory later.

Spain: (Spamage)
Backstory later.

Other:
The exact fate of the rest of Europe is undetermined, but Austria-Hungary broke up during the 1910's (whether that was peaceful or not depends on the backstory) and is now comprised of several states, although I do not excluse a loose federal entity. If you wish to play a different European country let me know, but the priority is on the large powers.

America and Asia:

United States of America: (Mauldania)
The USA underwent a dramatic shift with Presidents McKinley and Hay, going strongly internationalist despite great unrest at home (almost leading to an impeachment crisis). Allied with Germany and triumphant on the war, the USA nonetheless faced a political crisis with the  La Follette and  Hearst administrations, and the country became not only more broad in terms of parties (the GOP being badly, badly hit), but more isolationalist. The United States is open as well, you can choose between a socialist or democratic (you choose the party) government in the middle of its complicated term, or a military junta that just took over in a coup in 1926 (I personally recommend a MacArthur Junta for fun).

Ottoman Empire: (Kalwejt)
The Ottomans narrowly averted termincal decline due to the later years of the great Sultan Abdul Hamid II, who restored stability despite having to stomach some territorial losses, putting the Empire on the road to modernization with close ties to Germany. Abdul Hamid's successor as Sultan has proven weak, and therefore you will either play as the representative of a military junta (Enver Pasha recommended) or a strong Grand Vizir that rules in the Sultan's name. Some freedom is given on the current politics and modernization level of the Empire.

Japan: (Dereich)
Japan significantly expanded its colonial empire during the 1901-1908 time span, gaining the Philippines, Indochina and a large number of bases in the Pacific. With Emperor Yoshihito now dead, Japan is also a wildcard. You can choose to play as a custom made Emperor (as Yoshihito's sons were born after 1901) or as a head of government of your choosing. You can also choose the level of militarism or democracy on Japan, along with ideology as long as it respects the Emperor.

China: (Kingpoleon?)
Backstory later.

Other:
From Asian and American countries (no African ones), you can choose Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, or, most important of all, China. With the exception of Canada (a democratic and independent country that both British and Americans fight to influence), these countries are wildcards in terms of their current situation. If not requested, I'll make the backstories myself.

[Lumine]

To clarify, the sequel is here!

This one will have a lot of player input, so we won't be starting until (probably) one or two more weeks from now. I know it's a lot to absorb, but I think it's better than just creating nations from scratch as that would take too much time.

Let me know if you have any doubts, you can start claiming countries if you want and provide the details later.

[Lumine]

Sounds interesting - I'll give the British Empire a shot.

Noted, Weyfield! Do let me know who you want to play as Prime Minister (and whether he's from Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberals or a different party) once you're ready.

[Lumine]

Some boundaries we'll have to adjust for the backstories, but this can be considered a current map for a good part of the world. Probable changes will include Austria-Hungary and Russia balkanized, possibly China as well.

[Lumine]

USA please.

Noted, do let me know what sort of government and President (or dictator) you have chosen once you're ready.

[Lumine]

I would like to claim Germany! Maybe Theodor Heuss can be its President at the head of a PPP or GDP?

Noted! It would be Heuss as Chancellor, as Germany remains a monarchy (under the more liberal Wilhelm III), leading a liberal party (probably GDP, as you suggested). First turn should see Heuss having to choose his governing coalition in the Reichstag, would that be fine?

[Lumine]

This is a bit bad now, but I didn't see this earlier - I actually said in the thread a few weeks back that I would love to play as Germany again. I saw you reserved the Ottomans for Kal, so I thought you would have put that into consideration as well.

Would you mind terribly, Kingpoleon, to play as another country? This is an akward situation and all, I know...

Actually, that's my mistake, I was sure you had posted you wouldn't be free until June (it was May you actually said) and so I left Germany open. Apologies!

Any chance you would like to switch countries, Kingpoleon? (since Cranberry had expressed interest in Germany quite a long ago)

[Lumine]

This is a bit bad now, but I didn't see this earlier - I actually said in the thread a few weeks back that I would love to play as Germany again. I saw you reserved the Ottomans for Kal, so I thought you would have put that into consideration as well.

Would you mind terribly, Kingpoleon, to play as another country? This is an akward situation and all, I know...

I'll change, quite willingly. Is it possible to play as Romania? Or do you have a nation you'd prefer me to play as, Lumine?

Many thanks!

I would insist on the large powers, really, minor countries are only there in the case we get a very large amount of players.

Can I be the Netherlands?

Well, not quite, these games usually work best when the players are, say, no more than ten. Is there any of the available great powers that interests you?

[Lumine]

If I play France, is a restored monarchy an acceptable form of government?

As long as it not a democracy, sure, xD

What did you have in mind? Bonapartist? Bourbon? Something else?

[Lumine]

I suppose Italy isn't too bad.

Granted! Italy is the ultimate wildcard, so let me know that sort of Government and Leader you will go with.

I'll give a Provisional Government led Russia a go

Excellent news! What sort of a Government, if I may ask?

If I play France, is a restored monarchy an acceptable form of government?

As long as it not a democracy, sure, xD

What did you have in mind? Bonapartist? Bourbon? Something else?

I definitely was thinking Philippe VIII and the Bourbons being returned to the Throne as the nation takes a far right turn following the embrassment of WWI.

Excellent idea, welcome in!

OK. OK. This is definitely madness but how bad can it be? If it turns out I've over-committed I hope I can recede from this plan without undue chaos.

Well, if you think time may be an issue, then I'd say a smaller country would be a good idea in your case. And I'm not going to lie, I am growing fond of the madness you have suggested, xD

That said, Crimea is now an Ottoman Protectorate under Tatar control, so I'm not sure it's the best place for Yusupov. I could recommend some place in the Caucasus, Siberia, or Vladivostok, or if you really want Crimea either arrange it with Kalwejt or take Sebastopol, the single city of the area under Russian administration.

[Lumine]

Polarisation between right and left is signficantly lower than in OTL Weimar Republic, as all parties but the KPD and some minor right-wing lunatics are in favour of the status quo, as is 90% of the public and the imperial family. Militarisation is lower than Kaiserreich / Prussian-levels, but still quite high for a democratic country. There is a sort of "Germany is a great power" feeling, seeing as Germany is a centre of democracy and economic development.

Not at all, that is precisely what I was aiming for!

Chances are I'll make some adjustments to political parties and Reichstag numbers, but most of the scenario is gladly approved.

[Lumine]

Oh, ok, I was just looking up where Yusupov had hung out and had estates. The main thing is I'd like a cool dodgy decadent domain, possibly with some Czech Legionnaires hanging about. Possibly the Caspian coast? Yusupov was big in Petersburg and Moscow (which I think are a bit ambitious for me!), Kursk, Poltava, and Voronezh, if any of that helps. I just want to dig down in somewhere nice and watch Mother Russia burn while I fiddle...

All good options, really. As soon as Blair settles on the nature of his Russian Provisional Government, I'll give you a clear option for Yusupov to reign (with a Czech legion, of course).

Honestly I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it well because I don't know enough about the major players and possibilities of the era, but I'd like to give Japan a try. I'll start research for possibilities soon.

Good to hear, welcome aboard!

This looks really interesting but I'm a bit apprehensive as i know little of Europe's history aside from major events... Also I don't have a good grasp on politics so that makes it worse lol

Well, remember that this is an alternate world, our history went by the window in the larger aspects (a good part of the game is seeing prominent people on different roles, or people that didn't get far in our world rise to power). I hope you'll decide to join at some point!

Hmm... A great power. I'm willing to play the Ottomans if Kalwejt won't, but otherwise I guess I'll take Japan or China, whichever you prefer me to play.

As the Ottomans is still reserved (I'll message Kalwejt), I would indeed recommend another one. China sounds great to me, really! You just need to settle on what type of government you'd like for China.

[Lumine]

Could I play France please?

EDIT: damnit, I didnt notice Spamage's post, although he hasnt explicitly sait he was going to take France  he was just hypothetical.
Well, just to say I have studied a lot about this era in France and I would have many ideas but this is your call Lumine, and Spamage.

Sorry, Windjammer, but I would indeed consider it as a claim (unless Spamage retracts, I take is having chosen France). You're welcome to choose a different country that you'd like, of course!

Looks like all the major players have been picked. Let's play!

Indeed, but we need to settle on the leaders and the ideologies for the countries first. I know this takes time, but I'm putting a provisional date of Sunday 15th for people to either sign up and or choose the details I left open to the player (alternatively you can have me choose those details, but I thought the players would prefer choosing).

From there on, I make the backstory (simple, so we don't go overboard with detail), and the game can start next week (the earlier people send me the details I left open to choose from, the earlier we can play).

[Lumine]

Could I play France please?

EDIT: damnit, I didnt notice Spamage's post, although he hasnt explicitly sait he was going to take France  he was just hypothetical.
Well, just to say I have studied a lot about this era in France and I would have many ideas but this is your call Lumine, and Spamage.

Sorry, Windjammer, but I would indeed consider it as a claim (unless Spamage retracts, I take is having chosen France). You're welcome to choose a different country that you'd like, of course!

If have no problem with Windjammer taking France, seeing as he's interested in the period. In that case would it be possible for me to play as China? If so what information would I have to submit?

Yes, it's still not formally claimed (although Kingpoleon suggested China first, he has first rights over that one). China could potentially be broken into two states if both players want it. You would have to choose a government system, ideology and leader (monarchist China, Republican China in different flavors, dictatorship, warlord, a revolutionary state, etc).

[Lumine]

Update: I have what I need for the USA and for Germany. Will need the input on Russia, Italy, UK, France, Japan (so I can settle on the context for the Yusupov state). I sent a message to Kalwejt to claim the Ottomans if he wants as well. China remains a possible contention point between Spamage and Kingpoleon, but it can be split in two Chinas or more a player to another country.

We have enough players to go on, so the Sunday deadline stands.

[Lumine]

Some of what has been proposed will be implemented, but as puppet states there will still be opposition and varied levels of discontent to German and Ottoman control (so yeah, Eastern Europe and the Middle East won't be chaotic, but it won't be a silent area either).

I'm not fond of giving Austria to Germany, but it's been very hard to select an outcome to what might have happened in Austria-Hungary. Any thoughts?

[Lumine]

Galicia will go to Poland, yes.

I suppouse Abdülmecid II would be now a decorative Sultan-Caliph.

Indeed, Mehmed V and VI are dead by now, so Abdülmecid II is the figurehead.

I'll probably grant Austria to Germany the way we're going now, and compensate by making Serbia, Hungary and Romania very powerful while having a lot of minor states.

Current List of Heads of State:

USA: Commander in Chief General Douglas MacArthur (Ind)
UK: Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Con)
Germany: Chancellor Wilhelm Marx (Zentrum)
Ottoman Empire: Minister of War Enver Pasha
Russia: Russian Provisional Government (no leader selected yet)
Yusupov Crimea: Prince Felix Yusupov
France: Revanchist Dictatorship, no leader selected
Italy: No government selected
Japan/China: Bit of an issue as we have Spamage, Kingpoleon and Dereich interested in this area, I would ask them to choose among themselves who is to take what (remember that there are still European countries available, and China can perfectly be split in two).

We're making progress!

[Lumine]

Sebastopol will be the capital of Yusupov's state. That said, his presence there is a blatant breach of an international treaty, so expect it to be an issue in the game.

[Lumine]

Actually, it Spain playable? I realized they haven't been mentioned yet.

Yes, sir! Spain is a wildcard, too, you get to choose government, ideology and leader.

[Lumine]

Surprise, surprise! Updated World Map!

[Lumine]

Galicia will go to Poland, yes.

I'll probably grant Austria to Germany the way we're going now, and compensate by making Serbia, Hungary and Romania very powerful while having a lot of minor states.

Great, many thanks!

One other thing that I thought might be interesting (I must be getting on your nerves pretty heavily by now, Lumine xD), is if one of the German colonies in Africa had a pretty large presence of German white settlers (say similar levels to South Africa in the 1920ies, so ~20%) - would you be on board with that, and if yes, which one would you think is most likely? South West Africa would be pretty easy to get a pretty large share of Whites as there were maybe half a million blacks there at that time at most, but the country is pretty desertous and so not a top target for migration... So Tanzania, or that Cameroon-Congo colony I have on the west coast (would probably be called Deutsch-Kongo, I'd assume)?

Approved, it will be Tanzania.

Great job Lumine!
What the hell happened to Russia?

The country was very, very unstable by the time our game ended, and not even Snowstalker could save Nicholas II for himself. Thus, the country quite literally went to hell in a long civil war since the late 1910's. Among other things, my ideas are:

-Finland declared independence, later on captured Karelia and Murmansk once it became clear they could do it with no answer from the weakened Russian states.
-Central Asia is hell on earth. Having been put in chaos by the Russian invasion, the area is home to warlordism, famine, war crimes, and so on.
-The Caucasus is divided among Georgia and Azerbaijan to the South, and an undetermined state to the North (possible Cossack or Anarchist).
-German Volga is now independent, although it's a fairly weak state.
-Up in Arkhangelsk we have another government, possibly a warlord one.
-Blair's Russian Provisional Government has the color of old Russia, controlling Moscow, St. Petersburg and most of the industralized Russia.
-Towards the east we have four more states, plus Mongolia. At least one of them will be Tsarist if the Tsar is not part of the provisional government, one will be revolutionary, possibily two will be  made of warlords or ethnic groups.

Great job, though I believe Bulgaria has been partioned last time.

Russia... itr's just great XD

Bulgaria recovered its lands on a previous incident on the late 1910's. Sadly, it's not an Ottoman Puppet anymore, xD (Greece is not an Italian vassal either, all because of balance)

[Lumine]

Bulgaria recovered its lands on a previous incident on the late 1910's. Sadly, it's not an Ottoman Puppet anymore, xD (Greece is not an Italian vassal either, all because of balance)

OK, thanks for an explanation.

(am I left without any puppets? )

Just Crimea, I gave you annexed Armenia and Northern Persia (as you said you planned to go for that) to compensate. There's still ample room for the Ottomans to expand, although be warned, there's going to be a lot of ethnic strife (same goes for Germany, their current empire is very large, but it's going to be hard to maintain).

[Lumine]

By the way Lumine,
I think France would have lost much more colonies after a defeat with Germany, but that's your call.

They did lose virtually everything, they got to keep Algeria and Northern Africa because defeat was not total and the British were able to put pressure to prevent further loss. Who will you play as, by the way?

Update: World building is growing large, so I can adventure we'll have several threads for this (perhaps by continents). Chances are I'll put a NO WAR rule among players for the first few turns so we can balance things out and let the scenario grow.

[Lumine]

De La Rocque would be fine with me, he'd be 42 and while young, it's still plausible. I find that better than a fictional character.