Choice of Rebels: Stormwright (XoR2 WIP)

[mshan95032]

@Havenstone

that big Ch 2 update will be on its way sooner.

As ever, I look forward to seeing the results of your hard work!

@Havenstone

just posted one over on the writers’ support thread .

Whoa, that’s a very vivid scene!

@Havenstone

It would have very low credibility (given the MC’s reputation) so I’m not sure the bluff would succeed.

In a system of discrimination as deeply entrenched as the Karagond one, most people won’t go for a subaltern leader with questionable credentials unless they’ve got an incentive like “without him, the masses will clearly have our heads on spikes.”

And what if the compassionate MC in this scenario were the “good cop” (having already formed a flank movement alliance with a polar opposite violent rebellion), who’s telling his opponent, “I don’t know how much longer I can keep my ‘bad cop’ teammate at bay, so you better start changing your tune to agree with my suggested “give my allies (especially the lower orders) a meaningfully better quality of life” societal reforms before I start turning a blind eye to what the ‘bad cop’ does to you?”

K could well be the “bad rebel” to your “good rebel,” but it wouldn’t be an act, and they wouldn’t stop just because it was hurting your efforts to make some noble alliances.

Per our past conversations, I do remember (and painfully acknowledge) that K will not be a helpful ‘bad cop’ (at least in the context of what I hope for MC to achieve in the above mentioned scenario). If K is useless/noncooperative, will there be other ruthless NPCs (e.g. Teren) who would be willing to enable/comply with MC’s “bluffed genocide” stunt?

@Havenstone

some attempts at theocracy

@Havenstone

Alternative religions can be effective “glue” over wide areas – but “all of Shayard” is too wide an area for something novel to sweep in and hold it together. Spreading a new religion would help with some social-order problems, but the problem of Shayard’s internal diversity isn’t one of them.

Could devout Eclect nationalist helot MC reasonably hold together/administrate all of historical Shayard (or merely the current archonty borders) as a theocracy with a sufficient amount of Theurges/blood/aether and the combined admin capacity of priests, merchants, and telones? (while deliberately excluding, purging, and marginalizing most (if not all) of the old guard aristos)

And if the answer is yes, is the answer still yes if Homelander Eclect Helot MC started shifting towards Cosmo in order to incorporate Xthonic Erezza and/or (hopefully still) Xthonic Wiendrj into his theocratic empire? (while reducing Karagon into a source of replacement helots and deliberately allowing atheistic Nyryal to be MC’s politically independent but economically allied neighbor)

@Havenstone

except for the ones who’d like to set up Shayard as an imperial power controlling its neighbors and eventually subsuming them into its superior culture

@Havenstone

Could (the Leaguers) be tempted into a more aggressive imperialism under the guise of koinon (like Athens’ koinon in real life )? Maybe.

How firmly stubborn are the (current membership) Laconniers in their “restored Olde Shayard should be an isolationist kingdom/autarky” mindset? (and compared to the Leaguers, how much persuasive effort (and/or violent repression) would be required to get the Laconniers on board with MC’s potential “Shayard should replace Karagon as the continent’s latest reigning imperialist power” agenda?)

@Havenstone

Then Aenor reverently speaks the name of Charivert de Shayard: the earliest king whose name is known, the one who first took the Gryphon as his sigil and founded the Knights to bring order to the wild-lands. And all around the circle, the yeomanry murmur as one in their Mesnielic Shayarin: l’veru roye. The true king.

Holy crap, a concrete clue on the “deeper historical ties” modern-era Gryphon claimant! (Who will most likely become a huge competitor (or instead a marriage candidate?) of de Syrnon claimant MC)

@Azthyme

There exist some external founts of legitimacy: the ancient Shayardene monarchy is perhaps the most discussed of these. But it may not be the case that this option is available everywhere.

Wiendrj: Religion (either as the Xthonic Eclect or as a prophet/druid of the resurgent Forgotten Gods) seems to be our best source of legitimacy here.

Nyryal: in the absence of religion, could evoking the mantle/title of the Nyrnakan Republic be the source of legitimacy for a modern-era Nyrish urban confederation?

@Azthyme

Right now, there’s a belief that Shayard will be able to work as a first among equals in the koinon, a leader. Suppose that’s not true: would the soft nationalists still support the status quo of the koinon?

If I had to guess, they’d most likely jump ship to the “(more aggressive) Shayardene imperialist” faction(s).

@Azthyme

Or, perhaps, nationalists and opportunists in Shayard itself calling for Shexit, believing the koinon is holding them back despite their influence and special privileges as a leading and founding member?

A past quote from @Ramidel comes to mind: “Conversely, @mshan95032 will also have to convince Shayard’s elites, whoever they may be post-revolution (he wants to keep the nobility more-or-less as-is, so the nobility) that Erezza is worth spending blood (both in the metaphorical and literal senses) and treasure defending instead of making peace with their friendly neighbors in Halassur, who just want lands that are theirs by right and were stolen by the illegitimate Thaumatarchy anyway.”