How do you suppose the local strongman assembles a militia with enough cohesion and military power to confiscate arms from a subject population? Seems like we are arguing chicken and egg here. I think the host of loyal soldiers comes first. There is a pretty strong argument that you can trace the entire geopolitical history of the state around the need to organize, train, and equip a military. States with ungovernable areas basically encountered this problem somewhere and when the juice isn’t worth the counterinsurgency squeeze.
I’d agree that a version of the future history of the region that was once the Hegemony might look like modern ungoverned spaces. In places with geography like Ezzra and Wendry it might in the end, but places with cities and economic vitality will necessarily coalesce into something. I’m hopeful that the possibility for theurgically imposed totalitarianism will be costly enough to be unlikely in the settled and built up areas. We may get pre-unification Germany or Italy, but it will hopefully at least be free.
The next important step is information control: if even one enemy spy gets lucky (or if even one traitor spills the beans), then there’s nothing stopping one (or more of) the other factions from learning how to use their own version of the Xaos storm technique.
Aside from the loss of the “special tactical edge” Cerlota spoke of, MC is also worried about the potential of Hegemony-wide “nuclear proliferation” (of the Xaotic storm sort).
Everybody throwing fireballs at each other for the pettiest of grievances (real and/or perceived) is already stressful enough as is, but now worsen that bad scenario with Ward-shattering, (maybe?) collateral-damage inducing Xaotic storms? Oh boy.
And I especially hope we’ll get see an Oppenheimer-ish “What have I unleashed?” moment of self-reflection (and regret) from Cerlota later down the road! (if possible)
How appealing does the “Self-Sacrifice Theurge-Powered Canal” (per what was previously suggested on the Uprising thread) sound to you?
If augmented with Whendish support/technology, the hypothetical canal sounds like a very attractive Ward alternative to work with.
On a separate (but related) note, what are your thoughts on the Ministry of Magic? (an important faction from the Harry Potter franchise)
Quoting TV Tropes, I find it both interesting (and terrifying how) the Ministry is a “Crapsaccharine World: The Ministry takes a lot of effort to make the wizarding community look like an efficient government, but even if we remove corrupt politicians like Fudge and evil terrorists like Voldemort from the equation, the Ministry’s own workings are basically those of a Dystopia, lacking basic human rights and separation of powers among many other things. The possibility of a final totalitarian turn, as it happens under Thicknesse’s mandate, was not only predictable, but also inevitable.”
Random follow-up theory (taking inspiration from your Cao Cao archetype):
What if the real reason (for Kleitos’ lack of normal human behavior in the modern day) is that his reckless experimentation with Theurgy has led him to become an empty/suggestible shell of his former self? (Thus opening the door for one or more Ennearchs to covertly act as the Dong Zhuo-style “power behind the throne” in XoR’s present-day era)
Perhaps now we see another potential reason for Phaedrx rebelling against the Hegemony: to free the Hegemony from the treasonous usurper(s) who have manipulated Phaedrx’s father into acting against his true nature (e.g. helplessly “rubber stamping” the false flag operation that restarted the war against Halassur).
And how will your MC handle the “old guard hereditary aristos”?
Do you think that a peace (or at least a grudging co-existence) can be brokered between the old guard aristos and the newcomer “Nobles of the Robe”?
Or would you instead prefer that the old guard be completely marginalized (and/or wiped out)?
This part of your explanation resonates with me the most, especially since I still fondly remember the two following quotes (from ASOIAF/GoT’s Varys):
“In a room sit three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man with his gold. Between them stands a sellsword, a little man of common birth and no great mind. Each of the great ones bids him slay the other two. ‘Do it,’ says the king, ‘for I am your lawful ruler.’ ‘Do it,’ says the priest, ‘for I command you in the name of the gods.’ ‘Do it,’ says the rich man, ‘and all this gold shall be yours.’ So tell me – who lives and who dies?”
“Power resides where men believe it resides. It’s a trick. A shadow on the wall. And a very small man can cast a very large shadow.”
Also, another relevant quote that came to mind was from Lucas Grey (a major character from Hitman’s “World of Assassination” video game trilogy: "“I have found that he who wields the sword, decides who holds the pen.”
What are your thoughts/opinions concerning Cao Cao’s rumored iconic quote: “I would rather betray the world, than let the world betray me.”
Do you think the quote/philosophy has any relevance towards how you want to shape the behavior of your MC? (or will you instead opt to take a “creative liberty” divergence here from your Cao Cao template?)
While also making sure that the Kryptasts are ready to subdue and then arrest any Theurge(s) who gets any funny ideas about overthrowing the state.
Internal Affairs is important for a reason, guys!
Though do be mindful of how much you invest in Internal Internal Affairs (e.g. the people assigned to monitor the Kryptasts, and so on); after all, you don’t want to get endlessly bogged down with paranoia such as “But then who will snipe the sniper snipers” or an overly convoluted chain about “who shoots who”?
Can’t believe I completely forgot to include the “Harrow All Convicted Criminals” and “Harrow All Convicted Murderers/Rapists/War Criminals” options.
I was going to make the change after your suggestion, but it appears that I’ve now passed the “5 minute limit” (for editing the poll).
EDIT: You know what, never mind. Screw it. I’m closing the old poll and then redoing the poll (properly this time). Everybody, please resubmit (and/or reconsider) your answers, now that the two “criminal options” have been incorporated.
Maintain the Hegemony’s existing Harrowing policy as is
Stubborn 100% reliance on Self-Sacrifice Theurgy (No Harrowing at All)
Mostly Use Self-Sacrifice Theurgy (But Harrow Infants if Emergency)
Copy Halassur’s Policy of Harrowing Infants (As the Default Option)
Use Vigil as a Battery (FYI a unique suggestion I found on Discord)
Harrow All Convicted Criminals (Can Overlap with a Previously Chosen Option)
Harrow All Convicted Murderers/Rapists/War Criminals (Can Overlap with a Previously Chosen Option)
Is this still a thing, I wonder? Could it be that helping training the Sojourn forces will be more significant in the short and long perspective than we thought?
Not in the way I envisioned it at the time, I’m afraid. I was still thinking “Chaos and Telos” would end with an actual battle of Sojourn. As I wrote, I decided that didn’t make sense (unless I really turned Ch1 into the whole of Game 2). Your strengthening of Sojourn will make a difference, but in later chapters and games.
She’d prefer to co-opt the elements that are willing to remain in their post and accept her leadership. A wholesale removal of the elite who wants to cooperate out of a distrust of their motives can only be done after around 4-8 years of rule. She’ll wipe out and harrow the one’s who won’t bow to the reforms she wants.
What Cao Cao meant by this is, the World is the Han Dynasty. Essentially he was stating that if he had to betray the Han he would do so because if he had to overthrow the Han to establish the regime he wanted he would do so.
Cao Mengde even when he unified China would have been very cautious to usurp authority. Many of his most loyal officers and advisors remained loyal to the Han and thus to him since he was a figure of stability to the Han. He tested the waters multiple times for usurpation and each time he decided not to carry it out due to a lack of support across all his ranks.
Essentially Cao Cao was stating that: he will not usurp the Han as long as they don’t betray him.
This is what my MC believes in too, basically the Hegemony is an established regime and name, it’s easier to use its reputation and power to push reforms through.
If she overthrew it and instead established a Koine or League in its place- she will need to rebuild the legitimacy and also its institutions from scratch if she does a clean break. Ideally- if she decides to go this route she’d get Phaedrx to abdicate to her and then do a formal establishment of her regime. But, she doesn’t think that’s wise unless she wins out. Which is what Cao Cao ultimately did- he set the table for his son Pi to create Wei.
@Havenstone would it be possible to add an option asking Cerlota about her personal involvement in Harrowing? I think those MCs morally opposed to the practice might be interested to know how many people she personally has put through through the process, and her feelings on it.
I want to ask if there will be a chance for a mc trained in Egeite becoming a Seracca/Abhuman before the end of the series?(By that I mean the end of 5)
I can’t remember if this has been answered before, but where do they think aether in humans comes from? If it always sublimates away from humans back to the heavens, and it decreases in a body from infancy to adulthood, then how is new aether gathered in new infants?
@Havenstone It’s been mentioned up thread about adding more reactivity for Cerlota if your rebellion failed, which I think is a very good suggestion. I think the story would also be improved with more reactivity from her in regards to who you ingratiate yourself within Sojourn and your general attitude towards her. She shows remarkable willingness to work with an MC who basically thinks it’s ok to sell half of Erezza, may very well think the other half should be part of a Greater Shayard and who spent the whole of their time together being unpleasant to her.
I’m not saying that it should be easy to alienate her enough to make her not want to work with the MC but I do think having the possibility would improve the story.
Actually, follow up to that, will a Skeptic MC be able to embrace the Seracca faith (or any other non-Canonical faith for that matter), or are they locked into skeptical atheism?
Currently, if you chose stand and fight for what happened in chap 4, you don’t lose Zvad as a companion.
Also I have some questions for the author or anyone else who can answer them:
Will the companion we chose to go the Xaos lands be with us until chapter 8? Or do we reconnect with the rebellions leaders earlier/later than that.
How significantly will our relations with our chosen leader affect the rebellion? For example, will they disregard our orders and commands while we’re in Irduin. Would they actively undermine and erode our position as top leader.
How differently will each leader act? From replaying game 1 I remember something like at least 5 different options for your replacement, which seems like a lot of variation. E.g. how different would Radmar and Simons actions be? Or Breden and Korszata?
Will companions with higher cred challenge/disregard our chosen leader? For example, would high cred Radmar challenge/disregard low cred Simons or Bredens leadership?
How would the aristocrats of Grand Shayard react if the MC proposed to make the helots into yeoman smallholders? Would they be diametrically opposed to the idea? Would we have to completely break the power of the ruling aristocracy for that to take place? What does Simon think of the idea?
Could the MC spread their religion into the noble circles? For example, as a prophet of the inner voice.
Will we have anymore opportunities to improve stats this game? Or will it be one per game?
Self-Sacrifice Theurgy isn’t a path to more theurgical power. It is a path to substantially less. I suspect there is a reason the Hegemony didn’t go with a cheaper option for the Xaos Lands. We know they are skilled canal builders already. I think the majority of the remainder of theurgical power in my MC’s post-Hegemony will need to be dedicated to agriculture and war. His main counter to the aether extraction empires relies on mass on the battlefield and infiltration and subversion abroad. That requires a lot of people.
As for the Ministry of Magic, I try not to take JKR’s world-building too literally. Her stories are full of plot holes and contradictions. It better to enjoy them without too much interrogation imho. Its like watching Top Gun. If you know anything about military aviation it makes no sense, but it can be fun to watch if you suspend disbelief.
So the big revelation for my MC for Chapter 5 is that she sees for the first time the degree to which Karagon, Erezza and Shayard have a lot of cultural overlap now that she has the contrast with people from Nyral, Serraca and Halassur. She knew that in theory before but it’s just become concrete rather than words on a page.
The prospect of the Apanthropoi, Nyrish and Halassurqs working together was something that was very jarring. This, coupled with that fact that two of the people she sees as key members of her rebellion, Zvad and Cerlota, aren’t even Shayardenes is causing her to start to temper the romantic nationalism that led her to revolt in the first place.
For the first time she’s thinking things like maybe the Karagonds aren’t the greatest enemy and maybe I mustn’t weaken Karagon too much, perhaps we will need their help against Halassur. And are the Nyrish potential fifth columnists?
She worked hard to discredit Erjan to the others while in Sojourn. Good chance she actually ends up working with the Leaguers despite being a Homelander and comes to see the Laconniers as useful idiots for Halassur.
@Havenstone Would it be alright if I asked you for a rough timeline of the second game? How long would the player be spending at each location in Stormwright? Will it add up to roughly a year like in Uprising? Furthermore, is there an idea for how long the timeframe will be for the complete five-story arc?
I hope not, the Wiendish lowlands are apparently a prime location for water-powered industries and Erezza is necessary as both a bulwark against Halassur and to provide vital resources.
Halassur would just love to steamroll over those, which means the whole of Erezza up to and likely including Avezia would be gone, as would Nyral, no matter how frustrating the Nyr are to their cousins, as per Jev. Which means at best a greater Shayard that would be wholly dependent on trade with either the abhumans or Halassur for survival as anywhere close to a modern power with industry and that is assuming they’d even allow such trade, otherwise it is back to medievalism in Shayard.
An established nightmare and one that would never yield power to a helot besides.
What if, instead of animal traits, my mc wants to use the techniques to enhance his human form?
Don’t we spend almost a year in the Xaos lands alone? I think by the last game the mc will significantly older…although due to magic whether they’ll look (much) older that is hopefully another story.
My MC isn’t a Helot they think the best way to help them is to improve their quality of life and give them a way out. Which she thinks can be done via military service.
She doesn’t see any of her original cadre of rebels as Helots, she sees them as freemen/women, brothers/sisters in arms, and her first generation of leaders/officers/governors/statesmen.
NGL I can’t morally or logically play any solution to helotry other than ‘free the helots’. Like if you are leading an armed slave revolt IDK how you are gonna get them back into the camps… ever (assuming you go that route and don’t fail, jailbreak is different). Better to plan for the dissolution of the institution IMO.
