Jig

New Dawn Rising

Some of those things are specific unit types. What you want is actual weapon types. Browse peoples stuff for ideas, ask individuals about stuff you're interested in.

And let me make sure you understand that you do not need super military knowledge for this RP. Its not stat based so there's nothing to worry about.

@Monkeypants

Yeah, I'm glad. NRP's sometimes demand a huge amount of knowledge so I kinda appreciate the freedom of this one. I'm thinking that Jodesia has a long history of just sitting in their goddamn fortress and shagging until the enemy gets cold and goes home, so they'll be defensively-focussed. East Jodesia is probably not under threat anyway, because nobody in their right mind would want it (though increasing airborne power might make it more attainable nowadays), so I'm mostly thinking about West Lamonia.

West Lamonia is basically one huge cash-cow for the Empire and I guess it's in everybody's interest that it remain intact - the only threat it would realistically face would be nations who simply don't want it to exist at all (probably not too many, as it's so eager to sell itself), or, more likely, people who'd quite like to have it for themselves. Therefore, we're talking probably high levels of defence against an invasion force. The military presence is huge but much of it is simply domestic and I'll probably look to (ahem, on this one instance) 1930's Italy and Germany for some inspiration - all the macho compensating-for-something-ness is something I definitely want to capture.

Threats along the lines of actually capturing the island mean that aggressors can't simply walk troops in, so I feel that defending the harbours and high anti-air presence (this would depend on how prevalent airforces are in the setting, I guess) are the key defensive strategies. I'm just not sure, to be honest, how you stop a boat landing with troops and taking your base or how you tackle planes/airships. My military history is Advance Wars for the GBA/DS, and you stopped planes by buying Anti-Air Tanks for 8000G and they'd tackle them just fine and you stopped boats of troops and tanks from landing on your base by either blocking the shores with your own units or having artillery nearby to just blast the invaders on your turn. Not sure either of those apply in this scenario. So how do you stop a boat from turning up in your harbour? Or is that not even a thing that happens? My other reference is the opening seen from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and, again, I don't feel that's the best resource.

Note: I don't want to make myself invincible. It's just reasonable that the place would be prepared to put up a credible fight against credible threats. No use bringing a knife to a gun-fight and with my canon of knowledge, I'd probably bring a bubble wand.

New Dawn Rising

All up to you really. If you feel having an colony made to be the impoverished kind would improve the story in some aspect, I'd say go ahead. But if you feel satisfied with the current setup, that's also good :)

@Sigma

I'll keep an eye on the map as it fills up/doesn't fill up and if a convenient patch of land opens up, I'll nom it. I'm guessing that when we're ready to start, you'll do a last shout for landgrabs so I'll have another look then. As I say, I don't want to bite off more than I can chew.

Jig, with military you have two options, go rogue and make all domestic weapons or integrate into the world community and purchase weapons from willing nations.

@Monkeypants

Thematically, I kinda get the notions, but, like, other players have written terms like 'grenadier' under their military sections. I have no idea what that is, and while I can wikipedia it to understand other people's sheets (surprise! I should've guessed from the word... :|), it'll make mine really stupid and nonsensical to read. It's like when I try to describe cars to Jig's Mechnically More-Informed Partner*. I can work out roughly what it's 'about', but actually describing it in a way that the military buffs here who actually know stuff don't find insultingly simplistic/unintelligible nonsense.

* "The Porsche?"
"The blue one."
"There's two blue ones."
"Then we have a problem."

How to get custom titles?

@TheMaster99 helped Mahz with working on some coding for the forum after Guildfall and when we had like no coding whatsoever. If it's not a perk of having helped out, he might have magical computer powers that lesser mortals might not understand and just did it himself.

New Dawn Rising

There's nothing in particular that I explicitly want, I don't think. I don't know quite exactly what I was going for with Jodesia but I seem to kind have made some happily-Stalinist mega-Viking not-Dwarves with a colonial Netherlands which has been gripped by 1930's Italian Fascism fever with just a dash of Nineteen Eighty Four Oceania. I'm reluctant to bite off more than I can chew or try to make Jodesia out to be a super-power because it doesn't want to be, but maybe some old-school native-abusing colony might be a nice option, just to round off the Everythingland I seem to have concocted.

New Dawn Rising

Rich people plus maybe smuggled badlands terrorists or not :P *evil grin*

@Sigma

Everybody's welcome, so long as they don't talk shit about His Imperial Highness. :P

If anybody wants to fill territories (probably not in the US, though), incidentally, Jodesia is a bit of a small empire right now. I don't want to claim anything particularly massive or draw focus away from the ideas I'm currently developing, but it probably wouldn't hurt to have a few more splotches of pink if we need to make up numbers.

New Dawn Rising

And I'd imagine West Lamonia will be quite interesting, being somewhat close to, but a safe distance near a conflict hotspot.

@Sigma

Hence my desire for an enormous weapon of frankly ambiguous utility for when shit kicks off tensions rise. :P
(won't abuse, promise)

Consumerism drives this fairly similar to today's culture. Small and large businesses alike vie for power and prosperity among an ever growing and evolving population. This open economy model has allowed for a wide variety of products and the lax laws on certain things such as guns and automobiles has created huge leaps in designs through constant competition. This competition does not stop at guns and automobiles though. Music and Motion pictures are a huge growing market throughout the nation.

@Monkeypants

So, either the NAU values West Lamonia as a great place to do trade or is envious of it or both. If the NAU is a capitalistic nation, there's probably some rich people who like going on holiday. Just spitballing.

Suggestion:
Would it be worth compiling a list of races, who they are, where they're geographically located and such? That way, when creating demographics for places with high levels of migration, we can kinda integrate all our ideas. Also, it'd be a useful reference without having to go into the Character Sheets.

New Dawn Rising

Boom. I have a sheet. It's not finished. Sooner or later I'll end up asking for maybe some advice or critique on my military sections. I'm also keen that West Lamonia (the pink off the coast of North America) has a history that is slightly more interesting and detailed than 'The Jodesian Empire colonises it', though it doesn't necessarily have to be that the Jodesian Empire successfully invaded.

The only other additional would pretty much be that strip of land where the state of Maine would be. That strip of land leading towards pink.

@Monkeypants

Looks like you're now near it. Want some shared history? Either way, it'd be nice to know the NAU's attitude toward it. Ya ninja'd me. Technically it's not a direct border, because there's a leeeetle bit of sea, but definitely swimmable ;)

@Willy Vereb You're also a short sail across the sea from my turf. Any shared history you'd like to work on?

New Dawn Rising

Jodesia and the Westerijk:

The Jodesian Star

Aka: The Jodesian Rijkdom (to refer to both Jodesia and the Westerijk)
People: Jodesians (both in Jodesia and the Westerijk)
Population: _{will scale according to what others have, as applicable}
Races: Human
Government Type: Dictatorship
Head of Government: Keizer Maximor III and Regentes Maximor-Alfona
Government Structure:

Jodesia is ruled over by the House of Jodan, a dynasty roughly dating back to the original warlords. The title of Keizer is passed, typically, down the bloodline, just as in monarchies, although, just as in monarchies, it has been known for other family members to ‘intervene’ in who gets the top job. The name Jodan, however, has always stuck.
The Westerijk, despite being so far away, is no less ruled by the Keizer, although it has its own puppet-ruler and figurehead, in the form of a Regent. The Regent has very little power of any kind.
Both the Keizer and the Regent are advised by a single council known as the Rijksraad, which is mostly located in Jodesia. Its function in Jodesia is to guide the Keizer, while, in the Westerijk, it instructs the Regent according to the Keizer’s wishes. The Rijksraad is formed of around thirty people in total from the ruling elite, and typically also connected to the House of Jodan. In Jodesia, these people represent specialist fields and regional interest, while in the Westerijk, where there has never been more than five members of the Rijksraad, they are typically people as close as possible to the Keizer, regardless of any specialism.
The Rijksraad always had, up until the past ten years, much more power than the Keizer, and the Keizer’s dominance is a relatively new throwback to much earlier Jodesian history.

Geography and Culture:

Geography of Jodesia:

Jodesia is a very low-lying country, much of which is technically below sea-level. This has been a huge challenge to the country, although one which they have been forced to respond to admirably. Controlling the flow of water across Jodesia is possibly the most significant technological development in the nation’s history, and one of the stand-out global examples of having done so. The country, particularly in the North where there’s also the actual sea to contend with, is littered with world-leading dams and canals.
Even with these measures in place, however, it’s nevertheless a very wet country, and, particularly in West Jodesia, so wet as to be boggy and marshy and borderline uninhabitable. Settlements in the West tend to be few and far between and centred around the highest regions and arable land.
Things are somewhat less difficult the further East one travels, where marshes give way to lush forests and then to open, sweeping, arcadian valleys and hills. Here, settlements are somewhat more organic, and small villages and towns are commonplace, instead of periodic, large cities.
Given the benefits that canals offer, extensive canal networks have nevertheless been constructed as transport links to the East; there are a few railways, but the network is far from convenient, with only the most important destinations connected in this manner.

Culture of Jodesia:

The culture of Jodesia, much like its settlements, are divided into typically urban in the West and typically rural in the East, and the two share a hugely symbiotic relationship. The West Jodesian, due to their more metropolitan surroundings, is typically more highly-educated and more driven, with more reference-points than just their own little village; East Jodesia, populated almost exclusively by peasants and farmers, is much more introspective and very poorly-educated. Without the rural expanses of the East, the West would starve, and without the advancements and reasonably beneficent rule of the centralised government of the West, the East would barely have advanced beyond the notion of crop-rotation and more than likely have been invaded by somebody else.

Full modernisation has reached Jodesia very slowly indeed, and now it is trying to keep up with the rest of the world. Its leaders are envious of other nations’ well-defined cultures and artistic heritage, while it has simply focussed on functioning at all; a certain nationalism, designed to gee up the (particularly) Western Jodesian to contribute to the nation’s glory-to-be, is being rolled out with some success. To that end, foreign cultural imports are discouraged, although, at the same time, foreign cultural imports are also desperately in demand, mostly as an indicator of what Jodesians could be achieving.

While a certain amount of loyalty toward the Keizer has long been embedded into the highly hierarchical society of both West and East Jodesians, the amping up of national feeling over the past decade has only amplified the feelings toward the Keizer and the regime, to the point where any criticism of him is not only censored, but all but illegal - and, one anticipates, will become actually illegal shortly. At the same time, Jodesia has been heavily investing in its military as well as, to a lesser extent, the modernisation of the whole country, including, in particular, the expansion of electricity, telephone and radio access. Plumbing for the practically-aquatic nation has never been an issue, of course. These public investments have called for higher taxes, somewhat exaggerating the gap between the richest and poorest in society, although at least the under-employed can now earn a little more public kudos and (minimal) extra funds by enlisting in the paramilitary organisations available to them.

Geographia of the Westerijk:

The Westerijk is a small island off the coast of IRL North America, which is both temperate and actually rather lovely. The very centre of the island is dominated by a very small mountain range that could barely be considered tall hills, while the coast are lined with rather impressive, bustling cities, the largest of which genuinely qualify for metropolis status, if not in size, by culture.

These cities, which form a ring around the island, are connected by a decent but not entirely reliable rail network.

Culture of the Westerijk:

As far as Jodesia is concerned, the Westerijk is basically a cash-cow. Established as a colony just over two hundred years ago, it, almost accidentally, evolved into a natural port between one side of the Atlantic and the other. Originally, lax trading laws made the place a hugely popular destination for traders, and, basically, it has stayed that way.

Now, it is, if anything, more popular than ever, and almost 70% of the inhabitants in urban areas comprise foreign nationals, who, due to the wealth of art and technology and, well, wealth, that they bring to The Jodesian Rijkdom as a whole, have pushed actual Jodesian citizens into almost a sub-class; they now find themselves in the service industry, in the military, or simply priced out of the cities entirely.

In the Westerijk, money makes the world go round. While the Jodesians have a reputation for being standoffish to outsiders, there is a mutual understanding that foreigners are valuable, and therefore, can get what they want - although sometimes a bribe is extorted along the way. Apart from anything that actually subverts the Keizer’s authority, almost no crime or indiscretion can’t be paid away, and, subsequently, the Westerijk is also a thriving black market, tax haven, and even hideout for seriously-wanted criminals. Of course, with the right incentive, the Westerijk is more than happy to rat out any ne’er-do-well that finds peace on its shores, or simply make them disappear altogether.

In order to cement the Jodesians’ loyalty to the Keizer and to give them a sense of pride and purpose in a country that almost exclusively chases foreign capital, the militarism of Jodesia is even more intense in the Westerijk. This is actually one of the key selling-points of the Westerijk, which has a well-deserved reputation for being incredibly safe and well-run; the paramilitary has a hand in broadly everything and any civil disobedience is instantly quashed. It may be true that the military displays and parades set some people’s teeth on edge politically, it does make for great national feeling, at least for now. The byproduct of this all, of course, is that the Westerijk is essentially stranded, and the clear displays of strength should hopefully discourage any aggressors.

Important Persons:

_{onging WIP}

Maximor III

Keizer Maximor Filon Jodan III
King Maximor III is a popular Keizer, even by Jodesian standards. He has a reputation for an earthy wisdom which sets him apart from his somewhat loftier predecessors. While he is no less utterly demanding of his subjects' loyalties (he is, if anything, more so) he perhaps does more to endear himself to his people, partly because more modern technology has enabled him to visit The Westerijk more frequently and be in touch, via radio transmissions, with even the more rural communities of Eastern Jodesia.
He ascended to the throne aged eight years ago, aged thirty-eight, and is now, not surprisingly, forty-six. Though careful guidance from the Rijksraad - to which he does begrudgingly listen - has given him the air of a wise ruler, he is privately known to be impulsive and easily-infuriated. His primary project is to somewhat modernise Jodesia, without empowering his subjects beyond their station.

Keizerin Marmora (deceased)

Keizerin Marmora Farida Jodan
Queen Marmora, Maximor's aunt, who neither married nor had children, was the previous Keizer of The Jodesian Rijkdom. While criticising any Keizer, and certainly insulting her memory, is still not acceptable under any circumstances, she is perhaps regarded as less wonderful than others, possibly because her extensive reign of sixty-two years and her disinclination to interact or engage with her subjects on any level. However, she is considered by scholars to be instrumental in cementing The Westerijk's position as a trading powerhouse of the West due to careful and skilled politics. She ruled until her death eight years ago, aged eighty-four.

Regentes Maximor-Alfona

Regentes Maximor-Alfona Laran Vigones
Born simply Alfona Laran Vigones, she took the name Maximor for the Keizer that appointed her - and whose mistress she is. The status of Regent, essentially political eye-candy, was taken rather more literally by Maximor III, who highly values her physical appearance, both as his mistress and as somebody that reflects well on the land under her stewardship. Their relationship is something of an open secret, broadly known about in the ruling classes but never ever mentioned by any (still-)living soul.
Being beautiful isn't all that Alfona has going for her, however. She does actually have a good head on her shoulders, and thinks critically about her lover and King. She does care for the Jodesians under her stewardship, knowing more about them than the King ever will, and at least partly maintains her relationship with Maximor in order to tacitly influence him - though also out of fear. She was appointed four years into Maximor III's reign and they began their affair shortly thereafter and is now aged twenty-eight.

History:

Origins:

The House of Jodan is a very, very old bloodline with roots in the warlords in the Age of Restoration. When all that was to be said of what became modern-day Jodesia was that it was a series of tribes doing their best to function in the marshy Western territories and not to be pillaged, many of the cities of present-day were formed, although obviously they were very rudimentary settlements back then. The House of Jodan was simply the most successful tribe, and did the best pillaging, brokering successful alliances, conquering the conquerable and laying siege to those who would not be conquered until there was nothing left of them. These myths are remembered fondly by Jodesians, who, as a result, consider their heritage to be one of survival (if not militarism) and pragmatism.
By about 700 by the Restoration Calendar, the roots of Jodesia were formed, then a much smaller country. Between 700-1200, the Jodesian territory expanded piecemeal to the South and to the East, much of which was in fact voluntary. Jodesia was not too terrible a nation to belong to, and much smaller states and principalities stood to gain from the association much more than they stood to lose by fighting it.
There was a stagnation in this amassing of land between 1200-1350, until Jodesia sought to invade both Lamiria and subsequently Lamonia, slowly encroaching their territories until they were simply swallowed up in 1389. Since then, those tensions have actually broadly dissipated, since the primarily rural denizens of Eastern Jodesia didn't overwhelmingly notice the difference; they were always importing agricultural produce to Jodesia anyway, except now the were being paid slightly more directly, rather than having their former nation's administrations cream off profits for themselves.

In 1399, Jodesia discovered the political value of what was then known as Yamont, an island off the coast of the Americas. Seeking treasures for what he hoped the be an Empire, Keizer Galgorius ordered its colonisation, and was shortly followed by a similar move from the NAU. The two nations, between them, successfully butchered the entire population of the native peoples and began constructing and consolidating their respective territories by the 1430's, with brief but minimal flashes of conflict erupting between the two invading parties. To Jodesia's good fortune, a market crash in the NAU withdrew investment into the establishment of its territory, and the whole of what became the Westerijk fell into Jodesia's hands.

_{More to come}

Modern Political History:

WIP. Hopefully something along the lines of:
"Jodesia waded into/was dragged into the Great War, was roundly fucked and forced to sign a treaty incurring a loss of territory and particularly dignity. Political repercussions at home and machinations by the House of Jodan crippled the Rijksraad's influence and maximised the influence of the Keizer."

Military:

General:

The army of the Jodesian Rijkdom is divided into two sections: The Rijksguard and the Krijgsguard. The former is a paramilitary organisation, and the second is the army proper. The resources available to the military in Jodesia are incredibly limited according to a treaty signed in the aftermath of The Great War, although, among one of many loopholes, it does not apply to the Westerijk. Much of the Jodesian Rijkdom's equipment is purchased from the NAU.

The Rijksguard:

The Rijksguard is a paramilitary organisation founded under Keizerin Marmora, but has utterly flourished under Keizer Maximor. With the standing army officially castrated under the treaty signed after the Great War, with numbers highly limited, Jodesia uses a legal loophole to bolster its numbers with this paramilitary organisation. Equipped with only basic weaponry but well-disciplined, the Rijksguard protects public buildings and maintains law and order (to the disbanding of the police force) in both Jodesia and the Westerijk. Technically, there is no reason for the paramilitary to exist in the Westerijk, since the treaty doesn't cover that jurisdiction, although it is a useful tool for keying up nationalist spirit in the citizens there, and it prevents the country from too-overtly being swamped with military personnel.

Concept for Rijksguard

The uniform of the Royal Guard will be based broadly on this design, though obviously less grungy and rebranded to my purposes. It'll emerge in the IC, I'm sure, so I shan't go into excessive detail here.

The Krijgsguard:

The standing army proper is limited to incredibly small figures in Jodesia so that the country can conceivably defend itself but not pose any credible threat to any other nation. Therefore, per capita, it is fairly well-equipped. If scaled-up, it would potentially be an invasion-force to be reckoned with.

Concept for the Krijgsguard

Design is based off SeeD concept art from FFVIII.

Navy and Air-Force:

Jodesia's fleet, both naval and airborne, is limited in size, but modern.

Relationships:

The NAU

The NAU, as the Westerijk's closest nation, is a hugely valuable trading partner, and former contender for control over the island. With that issue peacefully resolved, and as mutually-compatible allies, the two nations are on excellent terms.

Cascadia

Franco-Iberia

The Holy Hungarian League

Oceos

The American Badlands

The Middle Kingdom of the Great Han

The UHSR

---

Everything below this line is in a state of being amended to fit the above sheet. None of it should change super-drastically. Apologies for the inconvenience. I'd stick it in a hider, except I'm so sick of coding and would have to re-code then un-re-code the hiders that're already here, and I'll probably still need them.

Technology:

Pre-Cataclysm:

The Galgorius

The Galgorius is Jodesia's only pre-Cataclysmic artefact, and boy is it a doozy (maybe). It was found buried and knackered during preliminary explorations of the Northern territories during the reign of King Galgorius almost one hundred years ago, for whom it was named. It was assumed to be awesome and incredible and therefore was kept entirely secret from the world until the Jodesian scientists, such as they were, managed to operate it - for all of five minutes, in time to fire just one volley of pre-loaded projectiles into the ocean almost 300km away. In order to keep the monstrosity secret (and discourage onlookers from also wishing to hunt in the Northern Territories, further experimentation was done on the Galgorius until they managed to develop a theoretical understanding of operating it; without actually testing it, lest it be discovered. This process continued throughout all of Galgorius' lifetime and well into Queen Marmora's reign.
Once this experimentation was completed, Marmora sought to consolidate her hold of West Lamonia, and so the Galgorius was dismantled insofar as possible and transported piecemeal to West Lamonia where it was rebuilt within a specially-commissioned compound right within the biggest city for all the world to marvel at - and know who was boss, at least on that island.
To this day, the Galgorius has still only been truly fired once, and that was by accident. While the Jodesian military is confident that it could comfortably wipe out a battleship from 200-300km... they have no way of knowing for certain. Fortunately, given that they never worked out how to drive the thing, its range is so huge that they'll never have to move it again.

The image is reasonably true to description. Although it was found in a state of aesthetic disrepair, it has naturally been polished and made all shiny.

New Dawn Rising

Heh, you've really spotted my weakness in NRP's: this kind of technical, non-political history is something I just really don't have. I'm kind of aware that 'making sense' is great, but part of me has the attitude of 'this is fiction' - particularly given the maximum that sufficiently advanced tech is indistinguishable from magic, and this is hand-me-down sci-fi from the nation's forefathers (ie: a pre-war find. Maybe you missed that?). Sure, in the real-world, blowing up a warship just isn't really a thing with a tank, and I take that as read - but this isn't the real world.

The reason I'd like it to be a stupidly oversized vehicle is because it's stranded on an island, both nerfing itself and seeming faintly ridiculous at the same time, while also guarding the vulnerable island at least by discouraging people from trying it on. If it was itself replaced by a warship, that's something that could actually have a practical offensive function, which isn't what I'm going for here. Meanwhile, if it was simply a big fuckoff cannon, somehow it loses something of the compensating-for-something vibe that I feel that a comically oversized vehicle that is also an archaeological heirloom has.

I'm reminded of the battleships that the UK has in the Thames; there was a headline a few years ago about how a boat in London could hit something in the North of the country, if it so chose.

For starters artillery are far from accurate, especially on moving targets.

@Willy Vereb

I feel like this might be the key line, assuming anything quite so powerful isn't off the cards by virtue of being OP: the reason it's impractical is because it's so unlikely to hit. But if it does land a hit, it's gonna sink something.

@JigI will create a map of Oceos when I get time using a cropped version of the GMs map. The Oceons might designate routes for your trading vessels and may occasionally monitor traffic,but they will have enough problems as island dwelling mutants, so they won't want any trouble.

@Inkdrop

Awesome. I'll peruse your sheet as I write mine and double-check certain things with you.

New Dawn Rising

@Inkdrop

If you look at our two claims, you'll notice they correspond quite highly: yours are all nordic islands, while my territory is a nordic peninsula which will also, I realise, have to account for its enormous coastline with some naval expertise. Crucially, the main shipping route (assuming sea travel) between my one tiny island off the coast of North America (my turf is coloured baby pink) will be... smack bang through sea that your territory will have dominance over.

Judging by the peaceful nature I'm getting from your character sheet, would it be fair to assume that our nations could have a friendly relationship (at least to begin with)? I don't want to set anything in stone, but rather than scattergun a whole sheet and hope it works, I'd rather work out what I'm dealing with beforehand. I'm not envisioning my nation (The Jodesian Empire / Jodesia) to be overwhelmingly (or even remotely) culturally compatible with yours, but nor is it stupid enough to be belligerent in the face of a useful trading partner. Given that Oceos appears to be focussed on naval military and it's making increasing sense for Jodesia to go in that direction, a formal alliance between the two nations could actually stand them in good stead.

Everybody

Could I maybe be cheeky and suggest that people include an indication of their territory on their sheets? It would save a lot of cross-referencing text with finding the person's claim-post.