Starvation wasn’t a strong motivation for settlement in to US at really any point in its history. Modern scholarship attributes some climate pressure to mass migration in the early 400s CE, but like other steppe conquests in Europe and Asia there were a variety of causes not the least of which was fleeting dynamic leadership and technological advantage. Key thing to remember here is that steppe people are/were pastoralists so the crops they are really looking for was pasture or hay not wheat.
In the Hegemony case the starvation will be driven by a gradual and then sudden breakdown of the agricultural system. It takes half a year at least for food put into the ground to grow and be harvested without theurgic intervention. So people can migrate wherever they like unless it is to steal already harvested food it won’t stop starvation. Starving people also make poor warriors. I think the idea that the starving urban masses could put together a multiyear conquest and agricultural exploitation of the abhuman lands is fanciful. It will be OBE anyway once famine kills enough people.
I think the more challenging and likely scenario is the crop/yield failure happening in successive waves as the remaining internal agricultural areas are struck by mass migration from desperate nearby urban populations. They won’t get much further than that though before starvation kills the mouths that can’t be fed.
Which makes me wonder about the usefulness of “starving masses meatgrinder” strategy, supposedly possible if we go along with creation of anti-hallasurq crusader-like state on the eastern border of Hegemony, or just against our enemies.
It might work if the state diverts food to its soldiers, but then you economic base necessarily suffers. The logic of famine is a tragedy of the commons problem. The coldly analytical thing to do is immediately kill the exact right number of people so that the remainder get enough to survive. The problem is that we are human. People don’t go down without a fight and a regime with the power, population literacy, and lack of morals to deal with a famine in this way tend to be unjust and incapable moderation that kills “just enough.” So what typically happens is that famine “overkills” as many people get some but not enough.
For the Hegemony in particular the population that is most rheostated is also responsible for the agricultural output. Harrowing the other classes will infringe on their privileges and cause revolt therefore war is the only alternative.
without some food that strategy wont work. what could be possible is to get some food from all other faction and then commence attack until it gets depleted. problem for us is that we don’t have food to feed 40-80 million people until next harvest (12 months) and most likely we would face same or worse deficit in next year. what post hegemonic factions can do is give them food for 3-4 month and hope that they die and somehow conqueror more territories then to feed themselves. its insane strategy but it may achieve some measure of success depending on circumstance.
Yeah, my MC doesn’t really have a clue what to do next. “Fuck shit up so the Hegemony sends people after me, then unveil my Theurge powers so hopefully some important would be rebel takes notice of my success and asks me to work with them” is as far as her thinking went in book 1. Coming across a third circle theurge and becoming her apprentice was beyond anything she’d dare hope, but she’s not sure what to do with it now. The last two chapters of the book are probably going to be dedicated to answering the what comes next question.
The real problem is the Seracca are more numerous, more organized, and more individually deadly than Native Americans ever were. You can theoretically make a trek south across the Federation to some promised California, but you have to do it on their terms, otherwise you’re getting turned right around or getting turned inside out. I don’t think they’d take kindly to a true mass exodus through their lands with intent to settle.
Yeah, a big factor in the Americas was native populations being badly thinned out by epidemics from European settlers, often before Europeans even arrived in a particular area since the epidemics travelled faster than colonization. The Seracca won’t be dying of Hegemonic pathogens.
With enough strategy and technology a centralized warring nation can be advantageous to colonists trying to take over their government, as IRL’s South America and Africa prove.
The hegemony likely has a year to a few years of food stores for at least a portion of their population. Pre-modern societies knew their crop yields were irregular and took precautions. Helots would be excepted from that of course. Slaves and peasants usually lived hand to mouth
Of course the question is how much of that would be left post-war and could we even get it before it was eaten or burned
That’s a fair point. I was thinking more of “internal” continental migration from the East Coast toward the West, but you are absolutely right. I suppose the same might be said of German migration after WWI, and some Asian migration to the West Coast in the late 1800s.
ADAT @Fioganmade their first post on the XoR WIP thread. After continuing to provide thoughtful feedback throughout the development process, they would go on to be an invaluable beta tester – especially but not only in fleshing out the ace MC options. So glad you’re still part of this community, Fiogan, and here’s to another 10 years.
Apologies for overcomplicating things (as usual). But in all honesty, I’m trying to have my cake and eat it too: wield nationalism as a strong mobilizer of troops in the early games, and then pivot to cosmo to shore up MC’s empire-building.
Silly Rami, the Leaguers clearly want Shayardene imperialism just as badly as (some of) my MC(s) does, but simply don’t know how to be honest with themselves. So no thanks to “use and discard”, but so much yes to “use and RETAIN.”
@Havenstone On top of the obvious “protection from Halassur” boon, so long as Erretsin territory/borders remains intact and Erretsin culture is allowed to peacefully coexist with Shayardene culture, this crusader state arrangement will get Cerlota’s endorsement (or at least her amicable tolerance), right?
If only Earlunder aristo MC could convince cousin Hector that the answer to his insecurity issues is to sign up under MC’s Earlund separatist (or Earlund-conquers-the-rest-of-Shayard) movement, and then direct the (previously misplaced) vengeance against his Grand Shayard bullies.
Must Phaedra’s research be strictly conducted within the Lykeion? For such a progressive, open-minded, aspiring ruler, Phaedra is sure missing out on the modern benefits of working remotely (and offering employees and/or allies that benefit too).
Didn’t work for Alexander. Probably won’t work for the MC.
The best you could probably do starting as a nationalist is something like the Socii. Foreign peoples “allied” and sub-servient to Rome in terms of foreign policy and military, but largely autonomous.
Anything truly cosmopolitan won’t be accepted by your original elite rebels, who are bought into the Shayardine idea. And even an autocrat relies on his or her elites to make policies into physical reality.
Havenstone has indicated that you will be able (in a later book) to essentially about-face your rebellion and sacrifice most of the influence you’ve built up to throw in with a new faction.
Oh it’s more impactful on your game. The first time I played I really felt it’s my country just in a fantasy world. I’m really in love with XoR because it’s a fantasy of mine to be a revolution leader in my country too.
The impression I get is that this is only allowed because his job necessarily separated him from his wife. If he were actually living with her he’d be expected to put out, it shouldn’t be taken as universal Hallasurq practice.
Book 3 in Grand Shayard seems the most logical place for that to happen. Your rebellion is still pretty small and it’s a good place to impress and join/co-opt a more established group. It wouldn’t be hard for a Nationalist to throw in with the Leaguers and change their tune for example.
Probably there will be an opportunity again to sell out to the heir or another of the successor leaders after the collapse.
