Sorraine vs. Ohnar West

[Hroppa]

To be honest, given that Battlemaster involves battles, there is a serious existential question that realms too small to go to war have to answer.

[Scarlett]

I would start with the more literal question of 'how do I stop being a small realm?'

[Hroppa]

Yes; *can* I realistically stop being a small realm, too.

[Zakilevo]

Take your chances. Join the losing side!

[Velax]

Lets break it down we have Coryalynth at war with us but we cant attack them because   Arcea  is going to send troops to reinforce their lands so we cant. Sorraine surrounds our entire realm. Sorraine has triple the resources OW in every category besides food. Now lets see what OW has we have 4 regions that are among the poorest region on the map. the resources we do receive is almost laughable.

I would be at least mildly grateful that Arcaea isn't going to attack you. As it stands, you have a chance. Small, perhaps, but a chance. If Arcaea got involved fully, you would not, and it would likely dissuade the only realm you have a hope of convincing to join you to not do so.

Ohnar has brought this on itself. Since the former Arcachonians took over, Ohnar has done everything it could to make itself seem unreliable and untrustworthy. Callandor pissing off Arcaea and Toupellon by trying to play them against each other, Me'hoe acting like an utter twat on the rulers channel, Me'hoe attempting to play both sides of the north/south divide, as well as Ohnar giving all its positions to disreputable nobles like the McGahees and the Rhentronies. Ingall had actually done a little to improve Ohnar's standing, and Velax was even thinking perhaps he wouldn't destroy Ohnar West after all, but then Lefanis goes and screws it all up and reminds Velax exactly why the former Arcachonians can't be trusted.

[Indirik]

LOL one nobles sells food to another realm and it some how goes to OW betraying everyone.

Of course.

Melehan selling food to Kindara shows that Ohnar West supported Kindara in the war, and sought to undermine and oppose the alliance. At the same time, Melehan was using the food sales to try and garner favor to spread the Way of the Dragon into the south. And the Way of the Dragon and Sartan mutually consider wach other as evil. And Ohnar West is the founding realm of WotD.

That's how politics works. And if you were on the other side of it, you'd be claiming the same thing.

So no, there's no gang banging here. It's a lot of mistakes and indiscretions by OW. You have a very bad rep, and do little or nothing to fix it.

[bluexmas]

It is also worth pointing out that Ohnar wasn't always a small realm. When I joined it was much larger. Obviously the creation of Toupellon and then Sorraine have had big parts in the current size of Ohnar. My points are that politics naturally ebb and flow, and that the idea that weakness should be heralded because of its "underdog" nature is far from a medieval point of view. If you were a small kingdom, you were likely to be the punching bags of much larger ones unless you had serious friends for protection. If Ohnar can't make those friends, or turn them into allies, something else will naturally take its place.

[D'Espana]

So I'm really the only one in OW who saw this coming and thinks it's perfectly natural and makes complete sense? Come on! Half of the troublemakers of FEI are there, we have no strenght to protect us from bullies and the most similar thing to a friend we have in the continent are the granaries's NPCs. It has not surprised me, in fact I am still not believing we have survived so far. So take up your swords, Ohnarians, and let's die honorably while cursing and killing our enemies!

[Lefanis]

Arcachon didn't just fight a war with Arcaea -- they insulted Arcaeans every chance they got. They made it as difficult as possible for Arcaea to conquer the Dark Isle even well after it became clear that they had no hope of winning. Their mission was to make life for King Velax as unpleasant as possible. So it is no surprise to me that three quarters of what anybody thinks about Ohnar West is made up of leftover grudges against Arcachon nobles.

Never gets old, does it. The Arcachonians refused to roll over and die, when another realm decided to take all their cookies, despite having assured them otherwise. Makes me wonder which nobles really ought to be holding grudges.

[Lefanis]

I would start with the more literal question of 'how do I stop being a small realm?'

Unfortunately, past few months for Ohnar have been- "How can I survive being gobbled up by my neighbours", and "how can I stop myself from becoming even smaller".

I think Sorraine's reason for going to war is perfectly legitimate.

Legitimate enough to justify breaking alliance with the ally who was supposedly betrayed.

[Scarlett]

Cathay and Sorraine have no formal alliance, chiefly because Galiard never wanted an on-paper agreement with Caspius. They allied when Caspius declared for Cathay during the Kindaran war and there is considerable goodwill between the two realms, but there is also considerable skepticism, because Cathay was re-founded by everybody in Toupellon who wanted nothing to do with a Sartanist theocracy.

So it's a complicated relationship. Most individual nobles in Sorraine get along with most individual nobles in Cathay. But formal interactions between the Crown of Cathay and the Church of Sartan are dicey because Galiard doesn't even like having a Church addressing a King as any kind of equal in power.

[Norrel]

because Cathay was re-founded by everybody in Toupellon who wanted nothing to do with a Sartanist theocracy.

also William

[Anaris]

Unfortunately, past few months for Ohnar have been- "How can I survive being gobbled up by my neighbours", and "how can I stop myself from becoming even smaller".

From what I understand, this is mostly because of the terrible reputation Ohnar West garnered while they were bigger (and then did absolutely nothing to attempt to dispel once they weren't bigger anymore).

However, my understanding is second-hand at best

[Scarlett]

also William

And also William.

[Solari]

From what I understand, this is mostly because of the terrible reputation Ohnar West garnered while they were bigger (and then did absolutely nothing to attempt to dispel once they weren't bigger anymore).

Environmental determinism is out of vogue in reality, but I'm a firm believer of it in BM. Ohnar West, like the multitude of realms that resembled it on EC, is cursed with terrible geography. They were always going to be at a disadvantage.