Too much peace too much for Dwilight

[Indirik]

You do what you have to do to keep the peasants in a constant, artificial state of fear. Just like modern governments do.

[songqu88@gmail.com]

Or you can take a page from Orwell and institute constant controlled warfare to achieve a state of perpetual peace.

What I mean in BM terms is, you set War with a neighboring realm and have one predetermined battle once in a while to ward off TMP. Agree to set taxes around similar levels, and coordinate so that you separately protect each other's borders from monsters. Then when the monsters even thin out (Like in winter) you step over the border to take a few shots at each other just to entertain the soldiers. Then pull back and resume border patrol and policing the streets.

Boring as all heck, but I believe you can in fact do that, if you find any willing partner that would actually do it without getting subversive and sabotaging that setup.

[De-Legro]

Or you can take a page from Orwell and institute constant controlled warfare to achieve a state of perpetual peace.

What I mean in BM terms is, you set War with a neighboring realm and have one predetermined battle once in a while to ward off TMP. Agree to set taxes around similar levels, and coordinate so that you separately protect each other's borders from monsters. Then when the monsters even thin out (Like in winter) you step over the border to take a few shots at each other just to entertain the soldiers. Then pull back and resume border patrol and policing the streets.

Boring as all heck, but I believe you can in fact do that, if you find any willing partner that would actually do it without getting subversive and sabotaging that setup.

I thought planned or limited wars were against the rules for exactly this reason.

[Perth]

Or you can take a page from Orwell and institute constant controlled warfare to achieve a state of perpetual peace.

"What? What do you mean? Yes, of course, Terran has always been at war with D'Hara."

[songqu88@gmail.com]

I thought planned or limited wars were against the rules for exactly this reason.

It's kind of like a professional wrestling match...More about entertaining the fans or something. But BM really is probably supposed to be more about real PVP stuff. Like, enemies at war are really supposed to be fighting each other, not staging some theater.

Ah well, there's nothing wrong with knowing that this stuff exists, as long as you don't actually try doing it.

[Vellos]

I thought planned or limited wars were against the rules for exactly this reason.

I think this is true...

Though, frankly, that would require that D'Hara go to war with Caerwyn, or Madina, or Barca, or Terran. War with Caerwyn or Madina is imaginable and not completely self-destructive. War with Barca or Terran would make no sense at all.

Honestly, again, this has a lot to do with D'Hara's geography. Its high urban density combined with controlled border corridors (narrow land routes with allies, long sea routes) renders it uniquely secure from external attack, uniquely dependent on external trade, uniquely unable to acquire sufficient domestic food supplies, and uniquely unable to engage in aggressive warfare. Code that makes a great deal of sense elsewhere will have disorienting effects on such a distortionary realm.

[Chenier]

I think this is true...

Though, frankly, that would require that D'Hara go to war with Caerwyn, or Madina, or Barca, or Terran. War with Caerwyn or Madina is imaginable and not completely self-destructive. War with Barca or Terran would make no sense at all.

Honestly, again, this has a lot to do with D'Hara's geography. Its high urban density combined with controlled border corridors (narrow land routes with allies, long sea routes) renders it uniquely secure from external attack, uniquely dependent on external trade, uniquely unable to acquire sufficient domestic food supplies, and uniquely unable to engage in aggressive warfare. Code that makes a great deal of sense elsewhere will have disorienting effects on such a distortionary realm.

Which is why I believe that the effect of TMP on tolerable taxes should take into account the realm's food supply ratio. D'Hara, or other city-states (say Rines seceded but could not convince adjacent regions, or enough of them, to join) need high tax rates to feed themselves via imports, and these are often the realms where war is the least feasible.

[De-Legro]

Which is why I believe that the effect of TMP on tolerable taxes should take into account the realm's food supply ratio. D'Hara, or other city-states (say Rines seceded but could not convince adjacent regions, or enough of them, to join) need high tax rates to feed themselves via imports, and these are often the realms where war is the least feasible.

I'm not sure we should be making code changes like this just to increase the viability of a chosen realm location.

[Chenier]

I'm not sure we should be making code changes like this just to increase the viability of a chosen realm location.

It would not only affect D'Hara, though, but all realms in comparable situations. Granted, you won't find the same geographic circumstances elsewhere, but as I said, I think that if big cities secede to form city-states that always lack a lot of food, they should be viable without having to pick a fight with likely vastly superior neighbours. Such a measure would help out the smaller realms that would otherwise not be so able to pick fights themselves, as there's a direct link between food supply and realm size (while smaller realms go from both extremes, large realms usually at least break it even, if they don't produce surpluses).

[Sacha]

Why doesn't D'hara send a few armies to help their allies fight the monsters? It'd give you lot something to do besides pissing money away in tournaments :P

[De-Legro]

Dwilight, if you aren't bitching about the impossibility of fighting off rogue hordes, you are bitching there aren't enough rogue for TMP purposes :)

[Chenier]

Why doesn't D'hara send a few armies to help their allies fight the monsters? It'd give you lot something to do besides pissing money away in tournaments :P

Beats me, I'm not in charge of these things. If it were up to me, we'd always have troops in Barca fighting off rogues.

There must be some reason...

[Sacha]

You're duke of the strongest duchy in D'hara, and yours borders another realm. Exercise your power, man!

[Perth]

You're duke of the strongest duchy in D'hara, and yours borders another realm. Exercise your power, man!

Or secede to Terran.

[Sacha]

Well yes, that's where I was going ::)