Mantido

The Age of Steam

Beleky Kurzan

Nation's Name: Beleky Kurzan (More often just called Kurzania, or the Kurzan Empire)

Flag:

Form of Government: Imperial Federation

Describe the System: Kurzania operates through an Imperial Federation, which essentially means that many of their culturally distinct holdings are under their control with some small autonomy. In addition to the Imperial Authority and the Parliament, a third governing body exists; one that dictates the laws and doings of every semi-autonomous state. Both the Parliament and the Colonial Authority report to the Emperor, or Belek, who has the final say in any decisions he wishes to. In short, everyone ends up reporting to the emperor, or reporting to someone who does.

Location on Map Desired: Anywhere large, cold, and untamed. Ideally, spans two continents, with the western edge near the other players and the central and eastern parts spanning far off.

Capital: Kurzan, 1500km from the western border, on a tributary leading to an Antarctic sea in the far south. Kurzan is central head of many of the top bureaus and administrative centers in the Empire, but Peranog operates as sort of a backup capitol--in fact, it was the capitol for some time before it was moved back to Kurzan!

Important Settlements: Countless, most on the northern and western ends of the country. Vast pine forests and rolling, hilly plains are practically unsettled, but claimed as territory of Kurzania and have some new cities.
-Peranog - northwest of the capitol city. Larger and with its own centers of government, including an spare Imperial palace and the ever-growing Bureau of Chemical Science.
-Dzhevsk - A relatively new city in the dense, wild, and untamed center of the nation, Dzhevsk is one of two main homes to truly vast manufacturing complexes that outshine most other nations due to imperial decrees mandating and supporting their creation. Dzhevsk is home to hundreds of blocks of above-ground worker housing, while much of the factories are set partway underground for better insulation against the cold. Typically, the factories look like one- or two-story buildings with massive belching smokestacks.
-Ologovzhelsk - A second massive manufacturing center, much nearer to the capitol. This was the start of the transnational Kurzan railway, and the center of their arms manufacturing. What Dzhevsk is to civilian industry, Ologovzhelsk is to military industry and R&D.

Description

Generally the culture is somewhat homogeneous, at least in the vast western heartland of the country. Militarized life is still fairly common in the east after the rapid expansion that occurred two to three centuries ago. Formerly a nation on the border of unexplored territory, sudden rapid advancement in technology mixed with half a century of frigid winters allowed them to be relatively safe from northern incursion, thus allowing them to spread their armies across the lands of more primitive peoples to the east.

Shortly before this expansionistic period, Kurzania had expanded from a series of treaties and favorable conflicts between other nations, using both to its great advantage in encompassing its former rivals, shading them under the cloak of growing Kurzan might. Now with positively vast stretches of fertile grasslands, mineral-rich mountain chains, and some of the largest, thickest forests in the known world, Beleky Kurzan has incorporated many of the less advanced peoples into its political sphere and direct governance. It's been two hundred years since then, and though industrialization started slow, factories have begun springing up overnight in vast industrial parks all over the countryside, and a large transnational railroad system is nearing completion. Their army has become state of the art both technologically and administratively and may be the largest on the continent, though this is mostly at the cost of advancements in air and sea travel. They have cutting-edge technology including standard-issue breach-loading rifles, massive long- and short-ranged artillery pieces using indirect fire tactics, and emplacements using devices such as the newly-created autocannons. Although their navy is severely lacking, Kurzans are very adept at river travel, as their nation is criss-crossed by countless number of them, and the winters and subsequent extreme muddiness make land travel problematic for about half the year. Kurzania was slow to awaken, but is now a lumbering giant of a nation shaking off the frost of its bygone ages.

The culture can be as cold as its southernmost fringes, with people who are generally suspicious of outsiders. Ancient folklore is still strong, as are the Old Ways and the Old Gods. Even inside the relatively cosmopolitan cities, people tend to be superstitious and somewhat primitive in terms of philosophy and religion. Vibrant colors are splashed on every building, as are murals despite the fact that many are hidden in the snow come the winters. Many buildings are somewhat spread out from one another, expressing in part a desire for space as well as the ability to have it in this largest of countries. Many buildings are set somewhat underground. Parks are constantly desired, and omnipresent, even in the cities where chemical runoff and belching smokestacks reduce much surrounding nature and darken the skies.

People tend to have an attachment to the idea of traveling and moving, and the glory of the eastward expansion with all its riches and opportunities is still fresh the collective Kurzan mind due to stories and still-rising aristocratic stars. Also, beards are extremely common among men, and the people of this ethnic group tend to grow them quickly and thickly. Bonfires are a standard way of celebration, alongside communal song-singing. There's generally a great bond between the Kurgan and the ethnic brethren they encompassed over two centuries ago, but this means that people of other ethnicities are somewhat looked down upon even though they are allowed to retain some aspects of their culture.

Important Characters:
-Emperor of the Kurzan Federated Empire, King of Kurzania, Prince of Tilsyt and Peranog, Grand Duke of Maloyaroslopetin and Nepomuk, Rurik Anatolyevich Kharitonov, Second of his Name
-Prince Arany Kytzil, Joint Grand Field Marshal of His Imperial Majesty's Armed Forces, and Chief of the Main Staff of the Imperial Kurzan Army
-Prince Pyetr Bizuhov, Field Marshal of His Imperial Majesty's Army
-Count Aleksandr Dolokhov, head of the Bureau of Military Science
-Count Ivan Kuragin, head of the Bureau of Chemical Science
-Duke Anatol Drubatsk, Imperial Spymaster
-Yermak, official Crown diplomat

Traits:
Large Army -2
Professional Army -3
Conscription -1
Militias -1
Landlubbers +1
Scared of Water +3
Rotting Hulls +2
Scared of Air +3
Deflated Balloons +2
Strong Industry -2
Fertile Fields -2
Empire -4
Serfs +/-0
"I’m not a racist but…" +/-0
=0 spare points

Army: (I will roll this, navy, GDP and stability.)
Navy:
Airships:
GDP:
Stability:

Population
Percentage of Population in: (This will be rolled by me as well.)
- Industry:
- Farming:
- Mineral Production:

The Age of Steam

WIP here. Glory to Beleky Kurzan!

Nation's Name: Beleky Kurzan (More often just called Kurzania, or the Kurzan Empire)

Flag: Black angular tree-like design inside the chest of a stylized eagle on a diagonal white and green bicolor

Form of Government: Imperial Federation

Describe the System: Kurzania operates through an Imperial Federation, which essentially means that many of their culturally distinct holdings are under their control with some small autonomy. In addition to the Imperial Authority and the Parliament, a third governing body exists; one that dictates the laws and doings of every semi-autonomous state. Both the Parliament and the Colonial Authority report to the Emperor, or Belek, who has the final say in any decisions he wishes to.

Location on Map Desired: Anywhere large, cold, and untamed.

Capital: Kurzan, 1500km from the western border, on a tributary leading to an Antarctic sea in the far south.

Important Settlements: Countless, most on the northern end of the country. Vast pine forests and rolling, hilly plains are practically unsettled, but claimed as territory of Kurzania. Among these:
-Perunalin - northwest of the capitol city. Larger and with its own centers of government, including an spare Imperial palace and the ever-growing Bureau of Chemical Science.

Description

Generally the culture is somewhat homogeneous, at least in the vast western heartland of the country. Militarized life is still fairly common in the east after the rapid expansion that occurred two to three centuries ago. Formerly a nation on the border of unexplored territory, sudden rapid advancement in technology mixed with half a century of frigid winters allowed them to be relatively safe from northern incursion, thus allowing them to spread their armies across the lands of more primitive peoples to the east.

Shortly before this expansionistic period, Kurzania had expanded from a series of treaties and favorable conflicts between other nations, using both to its great advantage in encompassing its former rivals, shading them under the cloak of growing Kurzan might. Now with positively vast stretches of fertile grasslands, mineral-rich mountain chains, and some of the largest, thickest forests in the known world, Beleky Kurzan has incorporated many of the less advanced peoples into its political sphere and direct governance. It's been two hundred years since then, and though industrialization started slow, factories have begun springing up overnight in vast industrial parks all over the countryside. Kurzania is a slowly waking giant of a nation.

The culture can be as cold as its southernmost fringes, with people who are generally suspicious of outsiders. Ancient folklore is still strong, as are the Old Ways and the Old Gods. Even inside the relatively cosmopolitan cities, people tend to be superstitious and somewhat primitive in terms of philosophy and religion. Vibrant colors are splashed on every building, as are murals despite the fact that many are hidden in the snow come the winters. People tend to have an attachment to the idea of traveling and moving, and the glory of the eastward expansion with all its riches and opportunities is still fresh the collective Kurzan mind due to stories and in rising aristocratic stars. Also, beards are extremely common among men, and the people of this ethnic group tend to grow them quickly and thickly.

Important Characters:
-Emperor of the Kurzan Federated Empire, King of Kurzania, Prince of Tilsyt and Peranog, Grand Duke of Maloyaroslopetin and Nepomuk, Rurik Anatolyevich Kharitonov, Second of his Name
-Prince Arany Kytzil, Grand Field Marshal
-Count Aleksandr Dolokhov, head of the Bureau of Military Science
-Yermak, official Crown diplomat
-More to come

Traits:
Large Army -2
Professional Army -3
Conscription -1
Militias -1
Never Been Out of the Village +1
Landlubbers +1
Scared of Water +3
Rotting Hulls +2
Scared of Air +3
Deflated Balloons +2
Strong Industry -2
Fertile Fields -2
Empire -4
Serfs +/-0
"I’m not a racist but…" +/-0
=0 spare points

Army: (I will roll this, navy, GDP and stability.)
Navy:
GDP:
Stability:

The Age of Steam

WilsonTurner said
Are all the creatures going to be the creatures we have today? No fictional ones? I figure that one would want to make the world more dangerous, to force people more along the beaten path or into the air, for fear of death and destruction at the hand of powerful, fictional foes.

That would be a significant factor in Army-based play if it was enough to cause development of airships. It feels like you really want some kind of megabeast in this, and barring genetic alteration you would rather capture them.

The Age of Steam

Commodore Robot said
'Fraid Australia has been claimed by about 23 million people friend. Though as this is a made up world there are millions of nations waiting just below the surface of that great sea known as Imagination

I like you, pal.

The Age of Steam

Commodore Robot said
I don't know about anybody else but I'd genuinely prefer that there were honest to god made up nations in this made up world. But that's just my personal opinion.

I agree. It takes me out of the world to have Germany and Austria, even modified Germany and Austria, in this.

The Age of Steam

As a German, I'd like if you would at least change the name. It'll mess with my head otherwise.

The Age of Steam

Are we really putting in real nations like Germany and Austria?

Can I make a Zaporozhian-controlled Russia, and call my people the Sichan Rus?

The Age of Steam

I'd be interested, if you think you can fit me in.

Void of the Stars: A sci-Fi Nation Roleplay

Hello. I would like to join.

Name of nation: Aquilan Kyriarchy

Species: Shsthyerouwetaru-
1. the Shsthyerouwetaru (more commonly referred to by various slang terms) are a species of primarily aquatic, single-sex mollusk equivalents. Specifically, they seem to share many similarities with cephalopods. They have no larval stage and from birth require little help from their parents to avoid predation. They are carnivorous megafauna, but were not apex predators until complex tool use became widespread among them. The Shsthyerouwetaru typically wear hydration and mobility enhancement suits when not in the water, but these aren’t necessary for them to live on land. The Shsthyerouwetaru frequent the shallows whenever possible, but they can safely dive to just short of a thousand meters on their home planet, which has roughly 0.8g at sea level.

2. - General Morphology - the Shsthyerouwetaru’s torso equivalent averages 2.5 meters long when relaxed, and ranges from spherical to ovaloid shapes. Often there is a slight tapering nearer to the top of the body. However, their bodies are very rarely relaxed, as outside of their suits, they are constantly in motion. When swimming, this motion involves sequential tensing of most of their muscles. When on land, it involves grasping and pulling the ground. This means that their shape is constantly in some sort of flux. In addition to this, they can change their shape easily and it’s not uncommon for them to camouflage themselves in this manner. To the touch, their flesh feels very similar to gel inserts; plenty of give, but still retaining the same basic shape. When their muscles are tensed, however, their flesh hardens considerably.

3. - Skin - the skin of adult Shsthyerouwetaru is rubbery and semi-opaque, often having a vibrant natural coloration of a bright blue-green. Through a process similar to that of cuttlefish or the mimic octopus, however, they are capable of complex shifts in skin pattern and color. These shifts are used for both communication and camouflage, and the Shsthyeroutwetai use them extensively. What’s typically the most comfortable pattern for them to maintain is a mildly translucent blue-green with black mottling and speckles.

4. - Limbs - The Shsthyerouwetaru have twenty tentacles total, and a system of bladders redirects liquid into these limbs to enlarge and lengthen them at will. They are heavily muscled and are coated in tiny dull barbs not unlike those on a cat’s tongue. The tip of each limb holds a curved extendable claw-like spike as both a weapon and utility.

5. - Sense organs - Shsthyerouwetaru have eight eyes, which ring the center of their main body. They are very difficult to distinguish from the regular speckles and mottling on the skin, not to mention that the Shsthyerouwetaru tend to try to disguise them when they can. They are more capable than human eyes in that they double as somatic sense organs for the purpose of detecting vibrations from movement in water. These eyes are also capable of distinguishing the orientation of polarized light, like terran coleoidea. They share their other senses with humans, and are roughly equivalent in the capabilities of these senses.

6. - Diet - almost entirely meat, although this is by choice. Shsthyerouwetaru are technically omnivorous, but they prefer the taste of meat. A set of muscular hydrostat mandibles grabs and shovels food towards a system of muscles that pull the food deeper into a fanged beak into which digestive acid is regurgitated for easier chewing and processing. The taste organs line the esophagus, which can be evacuated easily.

7. - Reproduction - Shsthyerouwetaru don’t have a libido as humans would classically understand it. There’s no pleasure for them in the act of reproduction, physical or mental. Although bonding and emotion is a part of their society, reproduction is in fact best reserved for those that one has no affection for at all. The process of reproduction involves injecting a given life form with the beta-keratin penis equivalent that every member of the species possesses. A paralyzing toxin can temporarily incapacitate most organic beings, which should then be restrained or more permanently incapacitated while the children grow large enough to begin eating their way out of the victim. This process typically takes roughly three weeks, meaning that the victim needs to be kept alive or otherwise preserved for the first week or two, depending on the surrounding conditions. Most Shsthyerouwetaru are hesitant to do this to sapient life, however, as the purpose of reproduction to them is to combat loneliness. The destruction of company to create company is seen as pointless to most of them, and those who defy this cultural norm are almost universally faced with both formal and informal social sanctions. This issue hasn’t really been a traditional part of Shsthyerouwetaru culture, since they’re relative newcomers to cross-species relations. There are those who directly oppose this standard, but they’ve earned the ire of both the established Shsthyerouwetaru government and the governments of other nations.

8. - Suits - Shsthyerouwetaru make extensive use of hardsuits even when underwater. Just about every member of the species owns one, and often they provide general purpose utility. NBC and electrical protection are standard, since much of their industry relies on nuclear and electric activity, while chemical dangers are very common among the fauna of their home planet. These hardsuits come in many shapes, but the most common is cephalopoid, followed closely by humanoid. Many of these suits also carry onboard AI for interspecies communication purposes. All of them have reoxygenation and rehydration systems, which serve to filter and infuse ambient oxygen into an H2O mixture that serves their need for hydration. The suits are often fairly easy to enter and exit, with at least two exit ports in case of severely impeded mobility. The considerable size of the Shsthyerouwetaru mean that their suits make them into imposing figures, but that’s arguably preferable to snaking around on the floor. Many of their suits are equipped with the same mesh that their ships have, re-sealing them when breached.

Description of government: Monarchal Feudalism, ruled by a council of six monarchs known as the Queens, despite their lack of sex. One dominant Queen is the Empress in title, but in truth she only carries a deciding voice on the council.

1. - Society - Shsthyerouwetaru are generally a very collective and social species, most choosing to live in massive underwater hive cities or in migratory shoals, with little middle ground. The shoals typically sustain themselves by essentially being large hunting parties with various reasons for avoiding city life; philosophical, practical, moral, et cetera. They operate almost like biker gangs, moving across large distances and supporting members of the group to the detriment of members of other groups if necessary. These nomadic shoals are typically shunned by the more numerous city groups. The cities usually extend under the sea floor more than over it, and most cities have in recent decades expanded to the surface for the sake of non-aquatic immigrants. Their social organization is somewhat similar to manorialism, wherein individuals pledge loyalty in return for tangible rewards such as living space or resources. Governmental observers watch subjects and allocate rewards on a merit-based system. A large difference is that the intermediaries, who would have been lords on medieval earth, are instead bureaucrats who wield little authority that doesn’t immediately pertain to the enrichment and function of the land they’ve been assigned to. Money isn’t seen as particularly worthwhile to the Shsthyerouwetaru, as they value what’s immediately useful rather than a pool of a single-purpose resource. The currency-based economy they do have is therefore not very complex, and should one try to cross over to more complicated currency system, it can be very easy for them to be tricked in financial matters.

2. - Culture - As is to be expected with any species, the single most important cultural value is tough to pin down. Sociability, duty, service, personal ability; all and more are a connected concept in modern Shsthyerouwetaru philosophy. Not that philosophers are a particularly important part of their society; they rely mostly on tradition and logic for their philosophical values. Early in life, Shsthyerouwetaru children are indoctrinated into a particular system of morality, and from there are set about doing suitable manual labour until developed enough for a proper education. This allows for a level of individual variance in values, but attempts to ensure that all Shsthyerouwetaru operate on the same basic moral framework.

Description of military:
1.- Drones -Shsthyerouwetaru research primarily focuses on developing artificial intelligence for their drone systems. Robotic servants are a very important part of Shsthyerouwetaru society, in large part because they require fewer resources to maintain than organic populations while simulated personalities can fulfill the desire for company that the species almost universally shares. Since their culture values hard work, the drones are primarily used only for particularly dangerous tasks (including warfare and colonization of hostile planets) and not for routine work that an organic would normally do. However, because of the lack of a particular profit motive and the regular way cost/benefit analyses work among other species, the drones make for an absolutely massive manufacturing base; since almost every household has at least two drones that are technically tenants of the overseers, the work force is on average anywhere from double to quintuple the number of Shsthyerouwetaru. This of course depends on whether or not an individual drone is capable of fine manipulation and complex instructions, but they almost always are imitations of creatures with these capabilities, including the Shsthyerouwetaru themselves.

2. - Weapons - Shsthyerouwetaru weapons aren’t terribly complex in relative terms. Electricity (ever since they developed their suits, anyway) and high-powered lasers are the base and standard, and magnetically-propelled projectiles are a large part of their space combat doctrine, and exotic particle beams are just beginning to enter vogue. They are less enthusiastic about chemically-propelled weapons, since these often work very poorly in water and are non-functional in a vacuum. However, they are willing to use them in air and ground combat.

3. - Ships - The Shsthyerouwetaru have developed very advanced industrial alloys that they try their best to keep to themselves. These alloys serve as modular adaptive “healing” mesh that can be programmed into certain shapes. When thick enough, they’ll spread themselves to return to the original shape, and so if pierced or otherwise forced out of shape, they can re-seal holes automatically. Extensive damage from hull breaches in Shsthyerouwetaru ships is therefore exceedingly rare, though of course any damage to systems and the actual hull still needs to be repaired properly. These alloys are only really in use among crewed ships, as they’re very expensive. The vast majority of ships in the Shsthyerouwetaru armada are self-sufficient specialized robots controlled by one or more redundant AI cores. Even non-robotic ships make extensive use of artificial intelligence, both to aid in regular tasks and for emergency use in case the crew is incapacitated.

4. - FTL - The FTL travel of the Shsthyerouwetaru takes the form of what they call their wavecutter drive; other races have much more negative names for it. A given ship will rip into the fabric of normal space, creating a physics-defying wake behind it through which other ships can travel safely. The size of the wake is directly proportional to the power poured into the drive, but the speed is constant and incredibly fast; 100 parsecs can be traversed in about 48 hours. The power requirements are immense, however, meaning that the larger a fleet is, the longer range it has; one ship can pick up wake generation when the present one runs too low on power. A large disadvantage of this system is the gravitational eddies that are created upon the collapse of the wake. These create localized fields of rapidly shifting gravity, which can rip almost any ship apart. Therefore, transit back along the same path is impossible to perform safely for a variable period of time, usually no more than a week.

History: The Shsthyerouwetaru came into first contact with modern galactic society when they expanded into two systems, known to humanity as Theta Aquilae and Iota Herculis. Most of their colonies are in the Aquila constellation, although there are some in Hercules and Aquarius, the last of which is honestly pretty fitting. Politically and culturally, they have proven to be expansionist, but are still such a new force to the other galactic powers of this region that no one really knows their martial history or capability. They keep extremely close watch on any foreign ships entering their territory, and jam their sensors while escorting them. No one really knows how big the Kyriarchy is, or has a solid knowledge of its military capabilities. Even its citizens are often kept somewhat in the dark about it, but it's said that naval construction projects are so common that over 70% of the work force has done some work that directly contributes to ship construction.