# Choice of Rebels: Uprising — Lead the revolt against a bloodthirsty empire! **URL:** \ **Category:** Choice of Games games\ **Tags:** gender-choice, high-fantasy, choice-of-games\ **Created:** [November 9, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/choice-of-rebels-uprising-lead-the-revolt-against-a-bloodthirsty-empire/32089 "2017-11-09T16:43:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 511
**Author:** ![Norilinde](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/norilinde/32/14109_2.png) [@Norilinde](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Norilinde)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 3:37am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/choice-of-rebels-uprising-lead-the-revolt-against-a-bloodthirsty-empire/32089/511 "2018-02-03T03:37:55Z")
> [@idonotlikeusernames](#): > > It’s not as if our own infrastructure won’t need rebuilding and my mc could always use more labour for the canal, so just giving it away would seem like a dumb move. My MC would want some minimum standard of living for the rebellion’s own prisoners but would not shed many if any tears if such standards were not met by wherever certain prisoners were extradited. Consider it another layer of punishment beyond what the rebellion’s legal system would otherwise permit. Anyways, my MC would prefer that the future state’s own people handle rebuilding its infrastructure as much as possible. > [@idonotlikeusernames](#): > > Only one official language for my mc. Local translations would be acceptable so long as they’re paid for by provincial means, but legally the Koine version would be the sole authority. > > Treaties and contracts with foreign powers would be the sole exception there as Koine would be co-equal with the official language of the other power(s) on such documents. Having more than one language with official status on international treaties seems to be just asking for trouble in the future. My MC would prefer one and only language for international treaties even if it is the language of the other parties to any treaties. > [@Havenstone](#): > > There’s a reason, of course; and I hope when all’s said and done, the dystopia of Karagon hangs together better than Omelas. But I want to be careful not to slip into writing misery for misery’s sake, and I hope I can do more justice to happiness in future volumes. Rebels will never be a utopian work, but nor should it be a hopeless one. > [@cascat07](#): > > IMO the most critical problem is food production. The Hegemony is already clearly in a tight spot with food production since it is taking 7 harvests a year to keep Shayard City fed. That is way beyond modern industrial capacity, and represents a massive blood investment. Even the rebellion just disrupts the blood faucet it could cause severe shortages, which will impact everyone including the rebels. This is also something that has to be resolved with the year or you’ll be pulling an “Arduous March” before you know it. I personally don’t see a land reform or techne path to 7 harvests a year. I would agree that food production currently seems to be the biggest long-term problem. > [@cascat07](#): > > I assume (unless the Hegemony is just straight up malevolent) that the blood tax is significantly less efficient than harrowing. The rebellion inherently will control less of the population than the authorities and the ability to enforce a tax requires legitimacy. > > There is also the problem that currently the phosphate mine is also the farm equipment and your soldiers. The efficiency equation is not looking great is all I’m sayin’… As [stated](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/choice-of-rebels-part-1-wip-thread/1601/1150) by @Havenstone > Yep. Unfortunately, “blood” isn’t just blood, as will become clear early in Game 2… So an Empire-wide blood tax/donation scheme would have to hit a much higher total volume to accomplish the same effects. @Havenstone also [stated](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/choice-of-rebels-part-1-wip-thread/1601/7297): > The element of the oil economy that I’m most interested in is the profound difficulty of changing it to something that doesn’t do the same damage; and that has to apply to the Karagond blood economy, too. If it could be solved as simply as Hegemony-wide blood drives, the only reason for the current system to persist would be pure demonic malice, which would make for a much less interesting rebellion. (It may be worth repeating again what I’ve said a couple times upthread: the theory that it’s pain/torture/terror of the victim which gives aetherial blood its power is wrong. That would take the metaphor in a direction which I think is less true to the real world challenges of e.g. the slave economy or the oil economy.) > It’s true that the choice between continuing to Harrow people and allowing thousands to starve or die in war is unlikely to be entirely escapable. In the current game, that choice between killing and allowing to die is already there, on a smaller scale. One thing that does concern me about the eventual plot is the question of whether or not millions will be starving unless our MCs implement harrowing or something like it on our own. If the analogy is to switching off of fossil fuels, then while that requires a monetary price to be paid, it does not require large scale starvation and if anything large scale starvation will be the eventual result of failing to make the switch away from using fossil fuels. The technology for the switch already exists but that would mean powerful people lose money so guess what the result is… > [@Havenstone](#): > > I enjoyed Mistborn, especially the first book. I suppose that means it influenced me on some level; but I also think there are a lot of differences between my intent and style and Sanderson’s. Not least, I don’t think the world of the Hegemony will be quite as depressing. 🙂 > > PS: But you will get to infiltrate a ball. The first book was my favorite as well. > [@Ramidel](#): > > but for every Elery, there’s a Radmar (someone who should be kept at least a bowshot away from the levers of power, because he’s a Millstone around her neck) and a bunch of followers who just listen to what their leaders say. I do find Radmar’s last name to be quite appropriate. > [@Ramidel](#): > > Maybe. That said, if we assume that Karagond is between 1500 and 1800-ish (watch me condense three centuries of rapid technological advancement into a sweeping, inaccurate generalization 😃) then breaking the Malthus trap will require blood magic. I personally am skeptical that there wouldn’t be a lot of aetherial blood spending that could be reduced without starvation. I don’t think the Hegemony would have spent aetherial blood for the sole purpose of growing more food to support an increasing population if the increased blood supply from an increased population was completely used up just growing the food. If there is still a shortage of food afterwards, then my MC would prefer to encourage emigration either to other nations or to newly founded colonies overseas along the lines of the British Empire and the [Irish Potato Famine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)#Emigration). And if that requires taking land by force, well that reduces the surplus population too though my MC would prefer at that point to focus on overseas governments that abused their people. On a completely different note and in all seriousness, @Havenstone, I was wondering whether the Xaos lands have the equivalent of > **Kittles** > > ![Kittles02](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/original/3X/6/6/66c83ba31a35e02ff0cfd8b76c6a8d017f04b99f.jpg) from @WayWalkerLeigh’s [Way Walkers University 2](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/way-walkers-university2/1776). I say in all seriousness because returning to the band with an innocuous pet Xaos creature could be an excellent way of showing the band that the Xaos lands are not inherently evil which would be a useful demonstration for MCs that want to convince their bands to move into the Xaos lands. It would also be another useful way of disproving the Hegemony’s religious lies. --- _[View the full topic](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/choice-of-rebels-uprising-lead-the-revolt-against-a-bloodthirsty-empire/32089)._