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Author Topic: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread  (Read 4817 times)

Man of Paper

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Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« on: July 25, 2019, 11:35:55 pm »

Welcome to the Year 1936.
This Arms Race is a direct sequel to Industrialized Warfare Arms Race.
Discord Link Right Here You Nerd

Inithar Thread
Embral Thread




Since the dawn of man The Old World has been engulfed in conflict. Large nations, and even whole empires, have formed throughout history, but the nature of humanity and their deep-seated desire for conflict always prevailed. As a result The Old World is populated by dozens of nations-states in constant flux. You come from one of these nations.

Ships full of personnel and supplies left your nation not to find peaceful pastures like those who left before, but to investigate rumors of world-changing technologies and resources - things that could tip the scales of conflict in your nation's favor. These rumors all lead to a specific location in The New World, known by researchers only as Harren Island. Ignoring safer shores on all sides, your people opted to land on one of the shores of said island. This place is an anomaly one thousand times over - nothing, not even the weather, acts as one would expect.

Those folk traveling from the nation of Embral landed on the southern section of Harren Island, an area which remains uncomfortably warm all year long and is easily identified by streams of molten materials and the massive ever-burning ruins of it's old inhabitants. Embral occupies the southern landmass of Harren, which will be more thoroughly identified in their thread. The Embralish faced harsh winds and strong currents to land on what was once apparently the shores of a grand trade city now reduced to a permanently smouldering corpse. Their primary headquarters is in The Rupture.

The nation of Inithar approached Harren from the north, combating devastating hail storms and threatening icebergs in order to reach it. Ice covers the location of an old outpost-turned-city throughout the year, and the frost covering the surface must be carefully navigated lest one succumbs to the permanent chill. The Initharites occupy the northern landmass, with specifics laid out in-thread. The Rimefields are where they've set themselves up.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your opinion) for the new arrivals, Harren is still occupied to a degree by it's old inhabitants. Facilities dedicated to the development, production, extraction, and distribution of near-magical resources rumored to exist on Harren are still manned and heavily defended by "The Pact". Approaching a location under Pact control is a death sentence, as their near-mastery of the unique materials across Harren gives them an unprecedented, immeasurable advantage over any comers. Luckily for everyone the world over, The Pact are heavily Isolationist and will rarely move against another entity unprovoked. The Pact are based out of a Fortress-City positioned in the center of the strait separating northern and southern Harren, and while this obstacle can be bypassed, prying it from them would provide immeasurable benefits for the new controller.

That said, it is your job to discover, recover, and utilize these resources while denying the same chances to any other Old World opportunists that show up (which is to say the other team). You know of only two resources native to Harren Island that can be utilized in any meaningful amount: Gavrillium and Caelium. While you are unable to create facilities for gathering and utilizing the materials on your own, The Pact can be forced from their holdings in order to pry the resource from them. Otherwise, you're going to be utilizing Ore, Oil, and Wood for primary resources, as well as the unique resource your nation has utilized throughout their past.

With the surface of Harren in a constant state of turmoil, control of "Great War" Facilities has become vital. Fortresses, tunnels, and trenchworks join Pact-held locations as primary objectives during your nation's expansion across the island. Combat on the open surface still happens, but the frozen grasp of the north and the withering gaze of the south make such engagements very undesirable even if they're necessary.


----------------


Before we go any further, both nations are currently poorly defined. This is because the opening five turns will be very different from standard turns. Your design phases will pose a situation that requires the design to answer, and as the turns progress these decisions will shape your nation as well as augment the pool of equipment you may choose to start with. Each opening turn will represent a technological Age for your people, and Revisions will be capable of "modernizing" equipment to bring an old piece of your kit into the current era, whichever that may be at the time. By the end of the Prelim turns your designs will be in or around the level of our Interwar technologies.

If you were involved in IWAR, do note that resource and entrenchment distribution is balanced for both sides so that, for example, should both nations take all the Caelium mines in their land they will have an equal amount of the stuff. Anyways, more in-depth information will be contained in spoilers.

Spoiler: The Setting (click to show/hide)




Spoiler: Strategy Phase (click to show/hide)



Spoiler: Combat Phase (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Credits You Can Has (click to show/hide)


Finally, remember that this is an internet game on an internet forum run by a "human". Errors can happen, emotions can occur, just keep it under control. We're all here for fun, trash talk, and maybe a few war crimes. If you notice anything missing or have questions, feel free to say something. I've been working on this post across three days, so I may have thought I included information and actually didn't. You do not need to have played IWAR in order to join this game. IWAR simply set the stage for MWAR. If you're new to the IWAR universe don't be intimidated. It may seem like a lot of information, but I will gladly help guide youse, and I'm sure some experienced teammates will as well.

So that's it! Pick a side and get to it!
« Last Edit: July 25, 2019, 11:44:53 pm by Man of Paper »
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Madman198237

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Re: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« Reply #1 on: July 25, 2019, 11:54:44 pm »

Joined Embral, forwards unto saltiness and great fun!
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Rockeater

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Re: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« Reply #2 on: July 26, 2019, 03:20:05 am »

Joined Inithar
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TricMagic

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Re: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« Reply #3 on: July 26, 2019, 09:39:21 am »

Inithar, the cold is good. Beats the heat at least.
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Craftsdwarf boi

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Re: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2019, 06:18:23 am »

I, AS THE SURVIVING ABERRAN ROYAL ENGINEER THAT HAS NOT ENTERED THE HARREN FORTRESS-CITY, WILL JOIN INITHAR
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MaxTheFox

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Re: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2019, 08:02:26 am »

Joining Embral, because I like orange.
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flabort

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Re: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« Reply #6 on: August 18, 2019, 05:19:57 am »

From arms race general discord, apparently Inithar is holding up the game due to lack of active players, so it's my duty to declare to get them moving.
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TricMagic

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Re: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« Reply #7 on: August 18, 2019, 09:37:24 am »

Really? Wouldn't have known that.

Talk some more in thread, would you? I can't know what happens if possible designs don't get posted.
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NUKE9.13

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Re: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« Reply #8 on: October 26, 2019, 10:11:17 am »

Quote from: Embral's view of Inithar
The trip across the sea was long, but not as lonely as one would like. Another fleet, the Grand Fleet of the Initharian Empire, had been identified as headed toward Harren as well. Th Great Fleet did not engage, as Embrallia could not risk losing lives vital to the survival of the nation - at least not while there were civilians aboard the ships. Luckily it seemed these Initharians were in a similar situation, and neither fleet decided to approach the other.

Which was good, because there were nothing but bad tales about the Initharian Empire.

The Initharian Peninsula housed a number of growing tribes that eventually came together as a strong seafaring nations, with their extremely well-made voyaging canoes aiding in their expansion and control of the islands and nearby seas. As these tribals dominated the surrounding area they began covering their ships in vibrant, clashing colors. They apparently held meaning, but only the Initharians know for sure.

The Bronze Age's Median Empire had decided to tame the wild islanders, but were turned away. The tribals had gained access to some strange green-glowing stone of force. They used it in their arrows to great effect, where the impact of the arrow seemed to have an extra devastating kick to it. Hails of arrows were capable of bringing down ships, and over the course of a siege could sufficiently weaken walls and damage defenses. They used this devastating power to push into the Land of the Medes and "coerce" others to turn against their largely benevolent ruler. When the Median Capital fell, it was the Initharians who rattled them with their arrows and crumpled them with their "Boom Sticks" - spears using this odd metal - then stood by and allowed a myriad of tribes and nations to sack the ancient city with reckless abandon.

The Initharian's claimed much of the Median Empire, imposing their will and forcing trade through their ports for a large number of mainland nations. When a nation would refuse their terms, the Initharians would strike without hesitation to maintain dominance. During the advancement through the industrial revolution of their nation (which was delayed in part due to their very strict profession-based caste system's innovative incompatibility) they went through an event known as "Inithar's Folly". They had tried to harness water and their "refocyte" in some way at specialized dams called Charging Stations. One such dam exploded terribly, killing many inside. This included the heads of the "Refocyte-worker Fellowship". While their economic growth took a massive hit, Inithar's stranglehold on the area's economy kept them afloat. During this same period of time they went on to introduce boats that ran on coils of their refocyte. Smokeless, quiet, and potent, Coilengines increased the pressure they applied on coastal nations. They also moved away from the gunpowder weaponry rapidly gaining popularity, and instead crafted firearms which utilized their wondermetal. While their weapons suffered from lower range and penetration compared to similar weapons, the only noise they make is that of the firing mechanism striking a metal plate. They were also significantly shorter but stockier than contemporary counterparts.

The Initharian Oppression lasted millennia, and it was only relatively recently that a number of nations were capable of joining together to overthrow these aggressors. The Great Powers began pushing them back to the seas, but the islanders refused to give in, fighting relentlessly on the coasts and asea. When a stalemate was forced, The Great Powers introduced aircraft onto the battlefield. The Initharian response was initially weak. The A1 Iwa was a largely unremarkable two-seater biplane save for it's quiet coilengine and the inclusion of a "refocyte battery" that ultimately acted as a supercharger. Refinements were hastily performed, and the Supercharger Coilengine came into being. While it wasn't enough to completely turn the tides, the improved Iwa was able to dive in and hit a target or two at high speed before flying off, often unable to be caught.

The Powers finally managed to make progress in the seas thanks to their vast numbers of men and material. It seems the Initharians had a refugee convoy pass through their territory as well, because they soon created and sent forth their "Grand Fleet". Rumor has it that the ship is some sort of superbattleship people refer to as a "Kona-like".

These people are cruel and savage, and if the bounty of Harren should fall into their hands it would only be a matter of time before they would use those resources against us, if someone else doesn't take them and turn them against us anyway. They are a vital threat, and so after we've landed and begun work on studying and extracting the island's resources we will be prying them from the Initharians as well.
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Re: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« Reply #9 on: October 26, 2019, 10:13:09 am »

Quote from: Inithar's knowledge of Embral
The trip across the sea was long, but not as lonely as one would like. Another fleet, the Great Fleet of the Embralish Empire, had been identified as headed toward Harren as well. Th Grand Fleet did not engage, as Inithar could not risk losing lives vital to the survival of the nation - at least not while there were civilians aboard the ships. Luckily it seemed these Embralish were in a similar situation, and neither fleet decided to approach the other.

Which was good, because there were nothing but bad tales about the Embralish Empire.

They were a jungle people who, through access to some strange caves, were able to make things that manipulated sound. They levied their frightful powers throughout history, with the earliest documented instances of their encounter with an outside civilization being as some sort of demon guardians of the jungles. They wore masks that they used to emit a foul, frightening shriek that could cause fear in those who heard it. The ancient technique to counter that had been to stuff whatever could fit (and hopefully remove) into their ears. More modern methods are a well-protected secret.

Click here to hear their flute noise.

They had also utilized large drums to produce an invigorating sound that boosted the growth rate and yield of crops (and other plant-life). Unknown to them at the time, the increased bounty caused the soil to grow barren faster. While this was ultimately solved by crop-rotation and the introduction of drums played automatically via waterwheel that helped to regulate the boosted growth rates, it also ultimately helped lead to the more modern disaster that was Khada-Miti Artificial Fertilizer. But we'll get to that later.

The Samnite Empire was a bustling, thriving Bronze Age Empire that made the mistake of trying to tame the jungles. Nobody knows how or why, but the Embralish were able to slowly and steadily leech their way through Samnite territory. City after city fell to armies that seemed to be in just the right places at just the right times. Leaders fell and commanders turned coat throughout Samnium, and the Embralish benefited the entire time, eventually becoming a major player in the area and forming the Embralish Empire on the corpse of the Samnites.

As the Embralish expanded, they began diverting rivers to provide for their growing network of water-powered drums. This rightfully pissed off their neighbors downstream, and frequent attacks on their drums and their rigid supply network led to the Sacking of Samium during the Bronze Age. While not much is known about the exact composition of besieging forces, evidence of their sacking of Samnium can be found in the city's ruins, notably in the Flooded Citadel. This Ancient Wonder of the World was broken apart and toppled, though the subterranean chambers largely remained intact. On the walls are carvings of dozens of different languages, some lost and some not, though everything we've translated so far has been fairly vulgar and directed at the Embralish.

Though many border nations saw a ripe target, they also constantly fought among one another, and no dedicated push past the old Samnite capital was made. This border chaos was compounded by the persistent Embralish Legions and the Strings of Motion that accompanied them and seemingly allowed them to mobilize much faster than expected. During the Renaissance Embralish were initially well-received when not at war with someone thanks to the unique properties of instruments made of "well materials". Eventually however the fact that Embralish music could manipulate targeted emotions didn't sit too well and was widely banned outside of their own borders.

The Embralish Empire managed to hold relatively stable borders for the amount of chaos outside of them. Conflicts often went ways that happened to benefit the Embralish, and mysterious, sudden deaths very rarely wouldn't provide some advantage for their Empire. This process lasted for centuries. During industrialization a large number of chemicals were finally able to be produced thanks to scientific and technological advancements, and this was the other major factor in the Khada-Miti Artificial Fertilizer disaster.

The latter half of the 19th century saw Khada-Miti Artificial Fertilizer promoted as a miracle chemical fertilizer - the first of it's kind in the known world. Not only did it boost yield of crops but it also worked to repel pests and deter animals. We know now that this was at least in small part thanks to the use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane(DDT), and some fields were so saturated by carcinogenic materials that the government sectioned the lands off and to this day they remain completely uninhabited. The effects of the dangerous fertilizer were not fully understood until a few decades after it's creation. By this time groundwater had been affected. All the farms using the fertilizer happened to be upstream of nearby borders with other nations, so it was the citizens of other countries that suffered the effects most. This mass poisoning was but one of many contributing factors to the Union invasion.

The People's Union of States was a rapidly developing and expanding nation swallowing up neighbors by word and gun. They controlled territory bordering the Embral Empire that had been affected by the tainted groundwater. People were becoming ill, weak, or dying, and the Embralish were not taking responsibility for their actions, so the Union marched.

The Union took border territory that the Embralish had poisoned and ultimately abandoned, but pushing into the Empire was an effort made difficult thanks in part to the Sikari special forces. The Sikari embody their ancient heritage, striking suddenly and without warning, whistling through their mask the entire time.

The Embral forces rapidly maneuvered, hit, and retreated from the front lines over a number of months. The Sikari proved their worth massively during the opening of the campaign, credited with a number of crippling strikes at supply lines and command posts. The initial advance was slowed as the tainted borderlands taxed the relatively disorganized Union supply lines - it was extremely difficult to supply a massive poorly organized force consisting of people using weapons from dozens of different recently-absorbed manufacturers. Without the ability to use local resources, the need for untainted water and food was felt drastically. It wasn't enough to win the war or even completely halt their advance though, as the Union was massive and eventually worked out it's logistical issues.

When the first aircraft were deployed the Embralish Empire tried something called the Cikaviga. While little is known about why it failed, it marked a turning point in the Empire's historical streak of luck. The plane itself was also a disaster, with a man in a pulpit mounted forward of the propeller, and meant to lob grenades with whirring blades right behind him at high speeds. And so with the skies lost, the Embralish went down - literally. They went all-in on their efforts to fortify the ground part of the ground war, creating vast networks of tunnels, bunkers, and even a railway, untouchable from the skies but more than capable of striking at the enemy anywhere at any time.

While their terror tactics slowed the Union's attempts to beat back this evil Empire, the Union was still making progress. The Embralish had also come across a group of Harren refugees and had decided to head towards Salvios. Rumor has it that their fleet is led by "The Leviathan", but little is known about it past being a submersible.

These people are cruel and savage, and if the bounty of Harren should fall into their hands it would only be a matter of time before they would use those resources against us, if someone else doesn't take them and turn them against us anyway. They are a vital threat, and so after we've landed and begun work on studying and extracting the island's resources we will be prying them from the Embralish as well.
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Powder Miner

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Re: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« Reply #10 on: October 26, 2019, 10:33:10 am »

Inithar Lore
Here are the standalone lore pieces I wrote during the game. We have several small pieces of lore written along with our designs but I suspect it's probably best to share these once we see each other's armories and see each other in action in 1938, since though some of these NARRATIVE SLICES in the designs don't reveal anything, I can see some of them giving away a detail or two.

IMMEDIATELY BEFORE INITHAR'S FOLLY:
Quote
Art in Inithar:

Color is a vitally important part of life and culture to any Initharian. A kaleidoscope of color and visual designs fill the sight of anyone in Inithar, as the Tales of Color transmit information of person, family, craft, island, nation, purpose. Carefully created and beautiful, the Tales of Color are known to often wow foreigners.

But Initharians don't consider the Tales of Color as art. The Tales of Color serve a profoundly instrumental purpose in Initharian society, and the aesthetic satisfaction that comes from them is merely a byproduct of the Initharian drive for skill in all creations -- instead the Tales of Color are something greater than art to Initharians, they're a core part of Initharian society and a careful representation of the achievements of entire classes and lineages in Inithar. For this reason, painting for leisurely and artistic reasons are actually viewed as taboo in Inithar -- it can be seen as a degradation of the Tales of Color, or in the worst cases it can even be seen as falsely claiming achievements, something which has baffled foreigners to no end.

But with that said, Inithar is far from devoid of art. Dance, sculpting, and music are all common arts in Inithar, even possessing their own craft-caste political units, relatively small ones though they are -- these are arts that can be refined and honed after all, with master sculptors in Inithar creating stunningly, hair-detailed sculptures over years and years. Initharian society does respect perfection of skill almost more than any other value, after all.

Initharian craft-castes are often very territorial in a sense, refusing to let foreign works "pollute" their own history of refinement unless it proves to be vitally necessary. While many of the other castes are often forced into adopting practical measures by the realities of an increasingly world economy and the increasing violence of the Old World, the artist castes of Inithar never had to adjust in quite the same way -- sculpting, music, and dance in Inithar are devised with Inithar audiences in mind, and it isn't as if they needed to take any particular direction to defend the nation. As a result, music and dance especially come off as very strange to foreign ears, with many standard musical practices in the rest of the world rejected, but even foreign travelers have to admit that Initharian music and dance is highly precise and highly technically complex, as Inithar craft-castes naturally tend to emphasize these things.

Now, that said, art and culture in Inithar aren't totally dominated by the craft-castes either. Worksmanship and sailing are two of the major aspects of life to Initharians, and when you're spending a lot of time doing either of these things, music and to an extent dance come as natural parts of life that make the days easier. Accordingly, Inithar has a history of popular music as well in a way that is actually shockingly familiar to a lot of familiars, with celebrity popular singers and musicians being fairly common things in Inithar. The difference is that this is actually a cultural tension point, with music and dance coming from the craft-castes having their own set of fanatics who find the more common sources of music to be a threat to the Initharian way of life, whereas a lot of listeners to common music don't feel that the music and dance craft-castes have a compelling reason to exist when they're just trying to do their own, tangibly useful jobs. Foreign music does end up as part of this package of common and popular music in Inithar, as well.

Literature, poetry, and drama also have a place in Inithar. As Inithar did create a written language outside of the Tales of Color after some time, it was only inevitable that literature would come, and as Initharian contact with the world grew and grew after the Median war that launched it onto the world stage, poetry and drama would come to Inithar through the travelers of its many trade routes, and as the centuries passed on, these three disciplines became common sights in Initharian society, and are much more integrated with foreign art than are some other disciplines in Inithar. They're quite widespread these days, with Inithar authors and poets and playwrights being not unknown to the world stage, even if Inithar is not regarded as the master of these arts. Some Initharians look down on literature, poetry, and drama as "foreign", but because they've been part of Inithar society for hundreds of years, it's usually fairly half-hearted and focused on some up and coming author or another who took inspiration from some faraway country like Embral.

AFTER INITHAR'S FOLLY:

Quote
The Opening of the Castes
Inithar's Folly changed a great deal of things.

The loss of the finest minds of Inithar's Refocyte-smith caste, and of many of their head families, was such a blow to Inithar that it changed the course of their history and their place in the world. The craft-castes of Inithar were by definition closed -- which meant that the replenishment of the Refocyte-smiths would have to wait, in the generational uprearing and training of new Refocyte specialists. This meant that the damage done by Inithar's Folly would affect Inithar's capabilities for decades, possibly even centuries. Inithar wouldn't reach its peak within the lifetimes of those then alive, or their children, or their children's children, or perhaps even their children's children's children.

And for a long time, that is precisely how events played out. Crippled by the combination of its reliance on its most powerful resource and the scarcity of those who could not only work on Refocyte technology but advance it, Initharian industry grew slowly, unreliably. Whereas other countries tore into the industrial era with aplomb, cities rising smoke as factory after factory rose up. But for Inithar, every new type of machine was a miracle, every factory a careful effort straining the resources of the few Refocyte-smiths in the country. Inithar fell behind. Whereas it had once sat atop the world, immovable, a gem of prosperity and trade, its ports jewels of greening silver, and the rainbows of hundreds of kinds of goods, now its former friends turned away from it, skirmished with it, as the promise of Initharian prosperity declined not only for its own citizens but for those who would have traded with it.

And Initharians were not happy. There had already been some level of discontent about the lack of social mobility within Inithar -- not every son of a woodworker enjoyed or succeeded in the lifestyle of a woodworker. But always this discontent had been countered -- the caste system, it was always explained, was responsible for the Inithari excellence which had kept it in such a prosperous position for so long. Now, though, the Initharian excellence wasn't so apparent. Now, that social mobility that had so long been denied was evidently the cause of Inithar's decline and suffering. Now, what had only been occasional voices and swells of disagreement became a full blown sociopolitical crisis, as protests against Inithar's strictly stratified, restrictive, and now damaged castes came from all angles, but were fiercely opposed themselves by the supporters of the ways that had seen Inithar through so many centuries, and those who felt that destroying the castes would reduce Inithar to naught but unskilled, purposeless amateurs.

In the year 1861, Viliami Nima was in a dilemma. With Inithar's Folly eighty years ago, the Nima family had been left as the most major of the surviving head families of the Refocyte-smith caste, and it had taken a very central position -- but that wasn't doing Viliami terribly many favors. Though able as a Refocyte-smith, Viliami's father had proven essentially inept at carrying the role of guiding the Refocyte-smiths -- and he was not the only one. This trend had contributed to the industrial decline of Inithar, and now the hue and cry surrounding the Refocyte-smith caste was deafening. Those who despised the caste system felt that the very existence and leadership of his caste was responsible for Inithar's problems. Even those who favored the caste system acknowledged its failure and simply dismissed it as an unfortunate anomaly. This meant the caste's social position was in danger, as was Viliami's own power and prestige. And not only that, but Viliami Nima could not help but feel the criticisms of those who opposed the castes were correct. Inithar's future, and his fellow smiths', were doomed at this rate.

And so Viliami took an action that would change the fabric of Initharian society wildly and permanently. He gathered opinions from the opponents of the caste system, then gathered the people of his caste, and then made an announcement: his caste was now the Fellowship of Refocyte-Smiths. No longer would birth be the sole determiner of who could join that profession, but instead all who were willing to work to prove themselves would be able to join the Fellowship, -- and raise through its ranks as they continued to work in it. Furthermore, those who desired could leave, and contact with other professions was encouraged thanks to these two development.

This may not have been a complete and total destruction of Inithar's social model, but it was an extremely controversial change nonetheless -- but with the social pressures on Inithar having nearly reached their bursting point, it was a change that caught on. One or two other castes whose members were increasingly liberalizing followed Viliami's lead and announced their change to the model of Fellowship -- and then as momentum built, as other castes started to lose members to the Fellowships, as external pressure grew, caste after caste changed to Fellowships. It was a process that took decades, but by 1911 Inithar's society had seen a total reformation, with the caste system fully replaced by the Fellowship system, and with some unpopular and small castes like the artistic castes even totally vanished.

Of course, with a reformation this large and rapid there is still a great deal of controversy. Supporters of the old ways are still present and often both vocal and angry, discrimination in favor of those from more established and experienced bloodlines is still a decidedly present factor among the Fellowships and even among society as a whole (exacerbated by the culturally important record of family achievements that the Tales of Color are), the drive to work to prove oneself to one's Fellowship often sees people working themselves to the very brink, and politics has taken on a wildly unpredictable and sometimes cut-throat nature, as the political power of each Fellowship in government is affected by the number and stances of its members, leading to jockeying for members -- and all of these issues are hotly debated by Initharians themselves. But while rigidity and strict stratification ruled previously, now social mobility between professions, mutual support and decision-making within Fellowships, education and productivity, and a new openness to working with other Fellowships and even with foreigners and their ideas has led to an Inithar that keeps both the generational knowledge of the old days and gains the innovation and self-actualization of the new days.
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Strider03

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Re: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« Reply #11 on: November 02, 2019, 09:40:48 pm »

Ima just. . .do that thing. . .


ptw for now, soon maybe more
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NUKE9.13

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Re: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« Reply #12 on: November 03, 2019, 12:17:08 am »

A bunch of propaganda:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)



RIDICULOUS EDIT: Decided to put this here. Was my entry to the lore contest Strider won.

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« Last Edit: October 14, 2021, 01:37:31 am by NUKE9.13 »
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Re: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« Reply #13 on: November 03, 2019, 12:18:59 am »

The Tale of Color of the Grand Fleet:

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In normal circumstances, Tales of Color are painted before a finished ship or boat is lowered into the sea, giving the boat days of construction time as the paint was added and then as it dried, even if Inithar had long, long developed paints that don't wash away -- Inithari prided themselves on their craftsmanship and precision, after all, so even a little marring was unacceptable. But the Grand Fleet was not formed under normal circumstances; the very survival of Inithar was on the line, and delays needed to be minimized if the Grand Fleet were to provide Inithar with the tools for survival.

That's what led to one ambitious journeyman of the Painters' Fellowship to put a scaffold over the INFS Kaipo'u as the Fleet sailed to the fabled land of Harren, and begin his work, a painstaking but inspired process which would last a not-insignificant portion of the journey. He wasn't alone in this -- several other of the members of the Painters' Fellowship did similar works on other ships. But the work on the Kaipo'u drew eyes, for what it was was a Tale of Color representing the entire Grand Fleet of Inithar -- and quite the controversy it was for a while, with members of major fellowships sometimes quibbling over who deserved more or less representation, and members of minor fellowships grousing about not being included.

Nonetheless, views changed as the journey towards Harren continued -- a fleet of the appalling nation of Embral was spotted also on the way to that strange continent, and the grimness of the whole situation once again settled down on them. To save Inithar, they were going to have to unite, and they really were going to have to fight, and they were going to have to not be stopped -- the survival of their very homeland depended on it. And in that light, the message of the Tale of Color really began to resonate with the members of the Grand Fleet: the fellowships, together, in a straight and unbroken shot towards their future. What had been controversial rapidly became inspiring, a rallying point for the craftsmen and warriors on the Fleet; their path was clear, and they would take it, no matter the obstacles. (A certain young painter's status within his Fellowship, by the way, got quite the boost).

As for what the Tale of Color actually means -- the lines progressing through the Tale from left to right each represent one of the primary fellowships involved in the Grand Fleet of Inithar and the then-upcoming war. The silver line represents the Refocyte-smiths' Fellowship, the line deviating from its path to represent Inithar's Folly, and returning to represent the strength it gained back in the transition from caste to fellowship. The dark brown represents the Miners' Fellowship (something that in truth covers all gatherers of resources, including woodcutters and petroleum workers). The orange line represents the Chemists' Fellowship (which contains all physical scientists, to many physicists' ire). The dark blue line represents the Naval Fellowship. The green line represents the Army Fellowship. The light blue line represents the Air Force Fellowship -- which came into existence only during the war against the Great Powers, with the invention of the A1 'Iwa. The dark grey line represents the Mechanists' Fellowship, descended from the caste of blacksmiths. The yellow line represents the Painters' Fellowship. The red line represents the Doctors' Fellowship. And last and in fact arguably least, the light brown line represents the Woodworkers' Fellowship.

The lines of each fellowship amble their way through the gold of Inithar's age of prosperity and trade (the Tale of Color essentially represents the 19th century and on) and the bloody red of the war with the Coalition, but they come together in the Grand Fleet to suddenly become a straight shot into the edges of the Tale, through the blue of the ocean, and to the white of the rumored icy caps of Harren, united and without distraction, moving into the future.
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NUKE9.13

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Re: Mechanized Warfare: An Arms Race/Core Thread
« Reply #14 on: November 03, 2019, 12:56:23 am »

Some lore stuff:
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Kai Guna Rasata
For whatever reason, deistic religion never really took off in Embrallia. There is evidence that the first tribes worshipped nature spirits and suchlike, but soon after adopting agriculture, even this died out. Some have theorised that there was an organised effort to stamp out such superstitions, based on how quickly it disappeared- but this theory has several holes, most notably the fact that Embrallia had no centralised government capable of pursuing such goals. Regardless of why it happened, the end result was the same: the ancient Embralish had no time for gods.
Nevertheless, people around the world seek out meaning in their lives, and the ancient Embralish were no different. They found this meaning in the Kai Guna Rasata (the Manifold Path). The Rasata philosophy emphasises personal growth, and offers adherents several ways of attaining such growth- in fact, it offers them an infinity of ways, as it is stated that no two people can follow the same path, and so it falls to each of us to find our own way forward. We can be helped on our journey, of course, guided and counselled, but no one can walk your path for you.
Casual adherents of the Kai Guna Rasata may seek guidance from a Guru at a Rasata Temple. Gurus will often address congregations, giving a sermon on some aspect of Rasata philosophy. More serious students may visit a monastery, where the many mysteries of the Rasata may be studied- although it is usually encouraged for adherents not to seclude themselves from the world fully, as one may lose sight of the path that way. Pilgrimage, in the sense of travelling to visit various Rasata temples and monasteries, is also practised, with the emphasis being not on the destination, but the journey.
Those who wish to become a Guru themselves must be able to demonstrate some aspect(s) of their own lives in which they made great progress, a deep knowledge of Rasata philosophy, and a selfless dedication to guiding others. If three senior Gurus acknowledge the candidate, they may take up the orange robes, and join a temple or monastery. There is no strict hierarchy amongst Gurus; advancement, such as it is, is primarily based on the acknowledgement of one's peers. The exception is the rank of 'senior Guru', which requires fifteen years of service, and the approval of seven other seniors.
Most Gurus choose to dedicate their lives to the Kai Guna Rasata, living off of donations, but some prefer to remain in the workforce, believing that to be where their own path lies, or that they will be most capable of helping others there. Gurus are discouraged from taking political or military office, although there is no rule against it per se.

The Kai Guna Rasata was initially confined to Embrallia, but spread rapidly after the Samnite-Embral War. The Embral Empire has no official state religion, but over 70% of the population is a Rasata adherent, and the state often makes donations to Rasata temples. There are some adherents outside of the Empire, but these often find themselves viewed with suspicion by their homeland's government, due to the strong connection between the Embral Empire and the Rasata faith.
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