Hello! Welcome to
World in Revolution: 1861! This game is the brainchild of Frymonmon and Red Cesar over on the Paradox Forums (
Original WiR: 1861 Game) that I often visit to read. However, after looking through this game being played there I thought it would be something fun to try and start here. I would now like to present this forum game for your enjoyment. The rules are fairly simple and the game is almost entirely role-play based. It MAY seem complicated at first, but just realize it is actually very simple and most of what you will be doing is simply role-playing discussion, news reports, proclamations, etc. from your nation. You can be almost as creative as you would like. You have very few things to worry about. The GM (myself) will do most all of the work behind the scenes.
Disclaimer: This is my first time either playing or GMing; things may be rough at first, but we'll smooth it out and get things running well! 
The basic idea of this game is that it is April 14th, 1861. The United States Garrison at Fort Sumter in South Carolina has just surrendered to soldiers of the newly formed Confederate States of America. It is now your duty to take up the leadership of ANY nation existing in 1861, as this will NOT be an American Civil War centric game, it is merely the starting point. You are to simulate your country as it's Head of Government. You may pass laws, direct your military, pass reforms, and guide your nation through the turbulent Victorian Age. However, as any good leader - you must keep the consent of the governed in mind, otherwise you could have a Revolution on your hands, be it by the people or the army.
Rules & Procedures:The rules are fairly simple. As the leader of your nation, you send a set of orders you wish to do to me, Perth. The orders you choose are basically unlimited, your only restraints are the time period and your imagination. This means, if you want to hatch a crazy plan of trapping African Gorillas and letting them loose in Washington, D.C., well, go ahead. If you want to build a nuclear reactor in 1890, it's not going to happen. Keep in mind, you can trade with other nations, create secret treaties, wage war and all of that.
Each turn will constitute three months. Four turns will complete a year of game play. We start off in April 1861, giving us three turns before 1862 rolls around. Now, of course, this is to simulate the slower pace things went back in the Victorian Era. As the years progress, and if it seems the pace should be either quickened or slowed, then that can be done.
So, what is your main goal in this entire game? Guide your nation through the Victorian Era. This means building industry, infrastructure, waging war for your nation, diplomacy, keeping your government stable. You can pretty much shape your nation anyway you want to be, provided you have the support. However, a genuine degree of realism should be sought after and the GM will seek to regulate out of bounds play. Also, the GM will help with random events, movements, etc. such as Revolutions and the like. When I say "realism," however, I do not mean you cannot aspire to greatness and glory as a tiny nation, rather only that outrageous claims, events, or actions should be avoided and I will strive to regulate.
We should seek to create a fun and interesting alternate history. Not everyone will win every war or battle, and obviously not everyone will end the game as the Greatest Empire The World Has Ever Seen! Some good advice is to set goals for your play: dominate my sphere of influence, become a trade empire, an industrial behemoth, a colonial empire, etc.
Please keep in mind: both you and I will be learning as we go. Please be constructive in criticism, open minded to changes or how things go, and a good sport!
Orders:A Nation shall submit their orders to the GM (Perth) via Private Message. In the title of this message it MUST have your countries name and the date, as well as the months this order is for. For example, for the United Kingdom in the second half of 1863 it would read
"WiR - Untied Kingdom: July-December 1863"The orders are fairly simple. Every nation is allowed to submit 4 orders of any kind encompassing anything. However, there is a twist. If your nation is at war, you get supplemental "War Orders." You must clarify that your orders are War Orders and, similar to regular orders, you get 4 of them. This way, a nation can submit a maximum of 8 orders if they are at war, 4 normal and 4 war orders.
For Example:
WiR - Untied Kingdom: July-December 1863Orders:
1. Invest 250G in general industry.
2. Begin construction of a Railroad between Bombay and Calcutta.
3. Hire and begin training 20,000 Regulars.
4. Raise taxes on the lower classes.
(If applicable) War Orders:
1. Advance the Army of Northern Virginia towards Baltimore.
2. Deploy the 15,000 new conscripts in the West to Army of California.
3. Attempt to lay siege to Berlin.
4. Establish Naval Blockade of Gibraltar.
If there are any questions you have regarding orders, what would be acceptable, etc. please ask!
Updates:There are three types of updates. A Normal Update happens every 3 months of game time (for every set of orders submitted). A larger, more encompassing and informative, Yearly Update will happen after every four turns (one year) to provide an overall picture of World Events, Atmosphere, Diplomacy, etc. The last kind of updates are the Mini-Updates. These simply serve to move along the In-Character discussion with various tidbits and facts that effect game play and what not.
The Updates serve to provide the GM produced objectivity to the game. You should look to use these to spur and guide further RP on your own part. For instance, if the update gives the results of two armies meeting and the results of the battle, you and your opponent can then role play from that point on the consequences and implications, etc.
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Guide to your Country's Stats:Along with the yearly update I will post a graphic of each nation’s “stats” or “info.” This is all public information and provides a way to keep a good track on a nation as a whole and how it is doing. Here's a rundown of the Confederate States, this is not the starting screen, but an idea of what could happen after a few turns (graphic still to come!)
1. Country Stats - This shows the flag of your nation, as well as the name of your nation.
2. National Banl - This is pretty obvious. It is how much money you have resting in your national bank. Money is used for basically everything. You need money to wage war, create infrastructure, and foster industrial growth. You can run a debt, however there is a point where it starts to become a major damper on your economy, and if left unchecked could become a serious problem. There are a few "reoccurring" expenses, but they are covered in point three.
3. Income - This is how much money is added to your National Bank after each turn. This constitutes how much money you earn from taxes, revenues, and tariffs. Your money supply will likely grow over the years, slightly, as your population grows. You may raise taxes, tariffs, and other things to get revenue as you wish, but keep in mind the views of the population. You may lower your income by supporting an Army and a Navy, or other orders. Construction of infrastructure and industry comes out of your National Bank.
4. Trade Balance - This is nothing more than a modifier. Your goal is to import and export goods with other nations (Player or NPC), to maintain a positive trade balance. It will speed up the process in gaining resources, increasing growth faster. If you have a negative trade balance, you are either vastly importing goods or not trading at all. A negative trade balance will lower your income.
5. Stability - Fairly simple. This is the stability of your government. It runs on a scale of 0 - 10. A 0 means your nation is almost guaranteed a revolution, while 10 means you are a stable, held together nation. Stability may increase or decrease and it is influenced by your population's support, as well as how well you manage your nation.
6. Industry - This is the industrial output of your nation. The higher the score, the better you are able to manufacture goods and the higher your income is. It is as simple as that. A nation's industry will grow naturally, slowly, but you may make an order expanding it.
7. Infrastructure - This is a measure of your nation's railroads, telegraph lines, roads, public works, government buildings, bureaucracy, ect. This is directly reflective of how fast you can do things. Your orders will have a better chance of succeeding, and succeeding quicker, with a higher infrastructure. Unlike the other categories, this does NOT grow naturally and it must be increased by player action. However, you may be specific or vague in your order. (Build Infrastructure or Build Telegraph line from City A to City B. Both are fine.)
8. Army - Size of your nation's armed forces. They are divided into two categories. Regulars and Conscripts. Regulars are the highly trained, but slow moving and take a fair amount of time to create. Conscripts are simply volunteers or draftees. These should only be used in times of war, and can be raised very quickly, are cheap, but serve for a limited amount of time. They are also inexperienced fighters.
9. Navy - Your nation's navy. This is divided into Large Ships and Small Ships. They are essential to establish a Merchant Marine, can be used in blockades and naval warfare. Ships are a large investment and can take a while to build, so plan accordingly.
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So, I still have a few things to think about and draw up before getting started. However, I also want to gauge interest for participation. If you would like to play, please sign up here and feel free to pick a nation! I will list 10-15 suggested starting countries, however, of course, you are allowed to choose any nation that existed in April of 1861!
Thanks!
-Perth
