I’ve begun work on my new game The Empress’ Demand. In it, you play an heir to an advancing empire with modern technology and a feudal system.
Edit: The new update is for testing purposes, there will be plenty of other scenes between the start and the current update.
To play the demo, go here: https://dashingdon.com/play/kuriosiasoun/feudalism-simulator-2019/mygame/
Incoming loredump in 3…2…1…
The Caste System
The Goldblood Empire(named after the upper caste) has a rigid and oppressive caste system.
Lowest to Highest:
The Serfs: The lowest and largest caste, 60% of the Goldblood Empire are part of this class.
Q: What are the duties of a serf? A: Almost any form of labour that the other castes don’t want to do, from toiling in the fields, or working in the factories, or fighting in the various warlords’ armies.
Q: What are the rights of a serf? A: Serfs don’t have rights, they are property of whichever lord owns them.
Q: What are the “pressure valves” that stop massed uprising? A: Religious festivals and the chance of advancement to freeman or even freeholder. Also, they spend almost all of their waking hours toiling in their lord’s field(or factory), and then working in a freeholder’s(doesn’t apply for factories) in exchange for extra food, which is most often necessary to survive the winter due to the stingyness of their lords, which leaves them with very little time to revolt.
Q: Can they get a job on the side to make money? A: Absolutely not, even if they could find a job which would be a minor miracle on it’s own, they would be shot(or killed in some other way) for handling money, something which is strictly forbidden to them.
Q: You mentioned serfs fighting in the various warlords’ armies, what form does that take? A: They are used as cannon fodder for the men-at-arms, freeholders, and if the lord is high ranking enough, professional soldiers. If they perform a deed their lord deems worthy, they might be freed or awarded a parcel of land and made into a freeholder vassal.
The Freemen:
Q: What is a Freeman? A: Either a serf freed by their master, or someone who had freeman or freeholder(only applies to children who didn’t inherit the freehold) parents. 30% percent of the Goldblood Empire’s population are members of this caste.
Q: Do freemen have rights? A: No, but some of the laws regarding serfs(Including the ones about money and being slave labour) do not apply to freemen.
Q: With serfs filling up the menial labour industries, what jobs can the freemen get? A: The men can join the expanding Imperial Army(a dedicated state military that’s currently rapidly expanding), or if they have a trade(engineer, technician, woodcrafter, etc) they can always find well-paid work in the cities. The women can get jobs as servants to Goldbloods that are too highborn(or rich) to have serf servants, and too lowborn to have other Goldbloods as servants.
The Freeholders: Around 7% of the Goldblood Empire’s population are part of this caste.
Q: What’s the difference between them, and a Freeman? A: They own a parcel of land and are obligated to serve as an at need military force for the lord who they are a vassal of.
Q: Do some freeholders own more land than others? A: There are freeholders who own more land than some landed Goldbloods do. In other words, yes.
Q: How large on average is the parcel of land which they own? A: Two acres.
The Goldbloods: The upper classes of the Goldblood Empire and the second-least populous caste, only 0.25% of the Goldblood Empire is a part of this caste. In numbers, there’s 120000+, but only 20k are landed or the heir to a landed title.
Q: Are the Goldbloods actually genetically superior, like the banebloods of the Dragoon Saga? A: Absolutely not, they claim to be, but that claim is pure BS.
Q: Do they have any rights? A: Yes, they have many rights, the most noteworthy being: "The right to freedom from arbitrary execution or judicial punishment, the right to freedom from conscription or forced labour, the right to a trial(The local nobility decide the fate of commoners accused with crimes).
Q: What power over the state do they have? A: Apart from the fact that they de facto control a lot of it, not much. There is no equivalent to the House of Lords, or for a COG example, the Cortés. They do have control over most of the state military however(after an absolutely devastating civil war ten years ago, the Empress and her Privy Council are trying to create a powerful state military under the direct control of the Empire, so they don’t have to rely on the ad hoc levies of vassals for major wars.)
Q: Is there a peerage? A: Yes, and I will loredump about that tomorrow.
Q: What is the majority succession law? A: Agnatic-Cognatic Primogeniture. For those who don’t play CKII that basically means that the oldest male (legitimate) son of the reigning holder of the title inherits, and males take precedence over females regardless of age but females can inherit if they are the only candidates for succession. The succession law of the Imperial Throne, however, is different and I shall be talking about that with the next caste.
The Trueborn: The ruling class of the Goldblood Empire, and the least populous caste. There are only two members currently, and two members is the maximum.
Q: What makes a Trueborn a Trueborn? A: A Trueborn is the eldest child of the reigning Emperor(or Empress)(Even if they aren’t Trueborn themselves), and the designated heir.
Q: What happens if the Trueborn heir dies? A: A Great Council of all the high ranking nobles and members of House Sol(The ruling house, and the one your MC is in) is called to determine who should be heir(Only members of House Sol can be nominated). The results often end in a succession war.
Q: Is the MC a Trueborn? A: Yes.
Q:But I thought you said that only the oldest child of the Emperor(or Empress) can be a Trueborn? A:His parents, in tandem with the Privy Council and Empress, managed to figure a loophole in the rules. I’ll leave you to speculate on what that might be .
Q: Hang on, if women can be Trueborn then why the hell are you genderlocking the game? A: Because although women can be Trueborn, they still can’t lead their armies into battle due to societal expectations, and any reform would be a great deal harder to do.
Any feedback, including questions about the lore is of course welcome. And I know that the WiP is painfully short, but I wanted to get a thread up and running quickly.
Update 10th of March: Here’s a preview of the planned ROs, and the age you’ll meet them at, the list can and will change:
Love Interests
(You’ll meet her at sixteen) Duchess Catherine of Redmarch(named for the infamous slaughter of almost every serf in the Duchy during the Second Pacification fifty years ago(she was not the Duchess then)) Perhaps the richest noblewoman (who is not the Empress) alive. Famed for paying the entire budget of the Empire for a year. Exceedingly intelligent and skilled at intrigue. Middle-aged. Marriageable.
(Sixteen also) Grand Prince(heir to a High Kingdom) Andrew of Chelmark. An enthusiast of the military sciences. General of the Tenth Brigade of the Expeditionary Force. Two years older than you. Marriageable (if gay marriage is legalized).
(Twenty) High Queen Maria of Third Aldlight. Her land is noteworthy for being militarily powerful and a hotbed of anti-Imperial sentiments. (I haven’t decided what her hobbies and skills are yet). Sixty-five. Overweight. Marriageable.
(Thirty) Lord Major ${firstname} (he’s named after you) of the Imperial Guard. Ten years younger than you. Not marriageable.