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Old 11-14-2016, 04:49 PM   #31
Emerald Cat
 
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Default Re: [Game] Work Up a Steampunk Setting

Question 24
In 1911, there's this really freaking big ship being built in the Southampton dockyards, almost ready to be launched. What does it look like, and what is its purpose?

Answer to Question 24
The ship is the RMS Titanic. She is intended to transport tourists across the world's oceans. Most existing ships are very utilitarian with minimal creature comforts. In contrast, the Titanic's third class accommodations are on par with first class accommodations on other ships. Harland and Wolff boast that the first class accommodations are fit for royalty.

Except for using the reef fuel she has the same design as in OTL. She is planned to sail from Liverpool to New Orleans as her maiden voyage.


Current Question List:

Question 20
How are the governments of the world powers organized?

Question 23
What kinds of medical advances have been achieved, and how has this affected society?

Question 27
Why is California a great power and not Texas?

Question 28 (new)
Will the Titanic risk encountering an iceberg on a trip from Liverpool to New Orleans?
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Old 11-14-2016, 06:32 PM   #32
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Default Re: [Game] Work Up a Steampunk Setting

Question 27
Why is California a great power and not Texas?

Answer to 27
While California is being isolationist, Texas is even more isolationist but very territorial about their freedom. At the moment they are following California's lead on the world stage, while they try to find their own place in the mix.
Once Texas fully develops their resource potential, they will become a powerful ally or even friendly rival with California.

While Texas might not have much political power at the moment, they have proven themselves to be a very stubborn and dangerous opponent to mess with.
Just ask Spain about the tenacity of gringos and Mexicans working together to oust someone. The one thing that the Republic of Texas has in spades at the moment is the very experienced cavalry which they crushed Spain on several battlefields. Rumor has it they are working on something called mechanized or armored cavalry.

Current Question List:
Question 20
How are the governments of the world powers organized?

Question 23
What kinds of medical advances have been achieved, and how has this affected society?

Question 28
Will the Titanic risk encountering an iceberg on a trip from Liverpool to New Orleans?

Question 29 New
Who is winning the race to plunder the depths of the seas?
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Old 11-14-2016, 07:39 PM   #33
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Default Re: [Game] Work Up a Steampunk Setting

Question 28
Will the Titanic risk encountering an iceberg on a trip from Liverpool to New Orleans?

Answer to Q28
No, the route tends far more to the south. Unlike the real Titanic, it will be traveling from Liverpool to Belfast, then onto Cork and then Bordeaux. After, it will cross the Atlantic before it will stop for supplies in Bermuda. It will then round the Florida Keys and travel on to New Orleans (Yes, this travels right through the Bermuda Triangle).

Question 30
Who owns Australia?
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Old 11-14-2016, 07:48 PM   #34
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Default Re: [Game] Work Up a Steampunk Setting

Current Question List:
Question 20
How are the governments of the world powers organized?

Question 23
What kinds of medical advances have been achieved, and how has this affected society?

Question 29
Who is winning the race to plunder the depths of the seas?

Question 30 NEW
Who owns Australia?
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Old 11-15-2016, 09:30 AM   #35
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Default Re: [Game] Work Up a Steampunk Setting

Question 20
How are the governments of the world powers organized?

Answer 20a
France is a constitution monarchy, as implemented by Prime Minister Napoleon. The Nobility has little power left, unless you're talking about fashion. The King himself remains surprisingly empowered, and while he doesn't move often, when he moves the masses tend to follow his lead.

Answer 20b
Germany has a mostly democratic government with a federalist structure. Most states have aristocratic heads, but the national head is selected by vote. Most of these monarchs come from Austria, Prussia, or Bavaria.

Answer 20c
Brazil is a monarchy with an emperor with a fairly comprehensive set of powers, and in a europe with aristocracy means less and less, the temptation to transfer your power base there is tempting.

Question 20 d-g: Louisiana, California, Britain, Japan
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Old 11-15-2016, 10:05 AM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ericthered View Post
Question 20 d-g: Louisiana, California, Britain, Japan
Question 20d

Louisiana is, in theory, a constituent assembly split into two houses, the lower house being made up of anyone who wishes to participate. The upper house is comprised of elected individuals from their communities who hold session throughout most of the year. This has, in essence, created a class divide as the only citizen that can afford to run for the upper house are well off individuals or intellectuals with powerful benefactors.

The upper house may also veto any measure that has passed through the lower house, but this has rarely occurred as many of the "professional" lower house representatives are in the pocket of upper house political factions. The common folk don't pay much attention to political goings-on, they seem to think that they have no business commenting on the decisions of those who know more than they do (or at least appear to).

The upper house is balanced by a council of judges who are appointed every five years by the Arch Elector who is also elected every 5 years. The Arch Elector carries out the will of the houses, whilst overseeing the policies of Louisiana. There are no terms limits however.

**We have a lot of questions, so I'm not going to add to them this time around.**

Question 20 e-g:

How are the governments of California, Britain, Japan organized?

Question 23
What kinds of medical advances have been achieved, and how has this affected society?

Question 29
Who is winning the race to plunder the depths of the seas?

Question 30
Who owns Australia?
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Old 11-15-2016, 12:20 PM   #37
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Default Re: [Game] Work Up a Steampunk Setting

Answer to Question 20 e-g:

How are the governments of California, Britain, Japan organized?

The Red Star Republic of California

Ostensibly, California follows a republican model of government. The nation has a single-chamber Senate popularly elected, a popularly-elected presidente, and an independent judiciary in which judges are appointed by el presidente and confirmed by the senatores.

However, in practice, California politics is actually quite oligarchical, and those who run for office and get elected to serve come from the same set of 200 or so wealthy families. Additionally, there are no term limits for any post, and certain offices tend to get filled by members of the same set of interrelated families, generation after generation.

For instance, the California minister of justice always seems to have the last name, "de la Vega," while the Carsons tend to hold high army posts, the Vizaínos are a long-standing navy family, and the post of el presidente is frequently held by descendants of Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo.

Most of the 200 families descend from the old "dons" of the days of Alta California. While the territory of the Red Star Republic of California extends from the middle of the Columbia River, to the north, all the way to Cabo San Lucas, to the south, the baja peninsula remains sparsely populated, largely lawless, country.

Internally, California mostly struggles with the same sorts of special interest conflicts as most people. However, efforts to secularize the mission system has had limited success, and the Catholic Church remains the nation's largest single land-holder. The church uses its wealth to leverage considerable political clout, and while it has no formal political authority, as a practical matter no judge gets appointed in California without the tacit approval of the archbishop of San Francisco.

Externally, California enjoys warm relations with the Lone Star Republic of Texas, and the Anglo-Hispanic mixed cultures are quite similar between the two nations. California is the single largest consumer of Texas petrol reef exports, and plenty of traffic -- both shipping and rail -- flows between the two countries.

However, the issue of indentured servitude is a source of some conflict between the two nations -- Texas continues the slow (glacial...) process of ending the system, whereas indentured servants have been illegal in California for nearly two generations. The Red Star Republic recognizes no such status in its territory -- California soil is free soil, and the Catholic Church has declared the keeping of slaves "in any form" as a cardinal sin. Any efforts by the contract-holders to repatriate indentures or seek reimubursement for losses are summarily dismissed in California courts, and the plaintiffs frequently ordered to pay court costs and attend Mass.

By contrast, the Red Star Republic of California considers the Mormons in the territory of Deseret as little more than heretical bandits. California's borders are closed to Mormons, and none may legally settle there. In the past, the archbishops of San Francisco have urged active crusades against Salt Lake City, but opponents have narrowly defeated such proposals, thus far and the archbishops have had to content themselves with missionary efforts.

Most of the nation's wealth is concentrated in the cool, temperate, northern provinces, save for the large ports at Los Angeles and San Diego. The national capitol, in San Francisco, lies about midway through California territory, and is a bustling Pacific seaport and center of North American trade with Asia. California's provincial borders roughly follow those of the counties, in our time line, but the provinces have no autonomy under the California system of government and exercise only the powers delegated to them by the Senate.

The Empire of Great Britain, and the United Kingdom of Britain and Wales, and the Protector of the Celtic Nations

The government of His Imperial Majesty Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom and British Dominions, Emperor of India, Lord Protector of the Celtic Federacy, closely matches the government of the British Empire of our world, save for the commonwealth status of the Celtic Federacy of Ireland and Scotland. The House of Lords packs a bit more clout, while petrol reef wealth from territories in southern climes results in few more brown faces in the House of Commons, but for the most part the sun never sets on the British Empire, which stands at the zenith of its wealth and power.

Also, there are no MPs from Northern Ireland. The island was never partitioned and remained unified as the Principality of Ireland held by the heir of the British Crown (along with the principality of Wales) until the British Parliament buckled to pressure to grant commonwealth status to both Ireland and Scotland during the Napoleonic Wars. The two Celtic peoples had strong ties, and used the distraction of the continental wars to gain additional autonomy. Once granted it, the newly-minted parliaments in each voted to join the war against the French.

(The Scots fought as enthusiastically as any proper Englishman, while the Irish did the duty more reluctantly.)

Externally, the country enjoys warm relations with Brazil and the Louisiana Confederacy, although the persistence of indentured servitude in those areas is a source of friction (his majesty has publicly called the system, "a transparent effort to extend the vulgar institution of slavery"). However, relations with the primary continental powers of France and Germany range from "lukewarm" to "positively chilly," and favorable comments about strong navies in the two "Entente" nations is guaranteed to send the diplomatic temperature plunging.

The collapse of Russia has given the British Empire a much freer hand in South Asia, and its position in the region remains quite secure, and the Raj has firm control of India. However, the rising power of the technically-friendly Empire of Japan is a source of increasing concern.

Internally, nouveau riche industrial families who dominate the House of Commons joust with "old-money" landed aristrocrats in the House of Lords, and slowly but steadily gain ground. The primary conflict in Parliament centers around the expansion of the franchise to include women, as well as voters in colonial territories, as well as the rise of trade unionism in the empire's industrial and petrol reef extraction districts.

The Empire of Japan

Far and away the most aggressive great power in the world, today, the Empire of Japan actively pursues efforts to establish its Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. The collapse of the governments of Russia and China created profound opportunities for expansion from the home islands to mainland Asia, and the Japanese have taken advantage, energetically.

By contrast, the lack of a strong, unified power in North America means the Empire of Japan has little interest in the creation of a Pacific Buffer Zone, and while it patrols the Western Pacific and has a few naval bases, there, it focuses the vast majority of its efforts on the Asian mainland.

The elderly Emperor Meiji, under whose reign the Japanese made an astounding transition from a feudal society to a modern industrial one, technically rules the empire and all its holdings. However, the increasingly-ill emperor, whose character includes a strong pacifist streak, pays little attention to daily governance, and privately views Japan's violent expansion to the Asian mainland with some dismay.

That leaves day-to-day government administration and pursuit of war efforts in the hands of the Imperial Diet, divided into a powerful House of Peers, and a much less powerful House of Representatives.

Japan is mostly ruled by the oligarchs from the traditional daimyo noble families, who support the Rikken Seiyukai (Constitutional Association of Political Friendship) party, led by Saionji Kimmochi, with Ito Hiobumi as prime minister. The politically powerful Imperial Japanese Army supports the conservative oligarchs who, in turn, supply and support military expansion of Imperial Japan.

Externally, the Empire of Japan sees the British Empire as its primary rival and, while the two countries remain technically friendly and at peace, isolated incidents have occurred in mainland China when Japanese troops and British tommies have come into contact. Additionally, Japan keeps a close eye on the maneuvers of the British East Asian fleet, as that powerful flotilla evokes a healthy sense of caution amongst the newly-industrialized Japanese forces.

In addition to Nanking, large sections of Manchuria and all of the Korean Peninsula, Japan has cast its eyes southward toward Indonesia (still controlled by the British), and southeastwards as far as Guam island. However, an attack on Indonesia would likely mean war with the British Empire, and Imperial Japan doesn't feel ready for such a conflict.

Yet.

Question 31

Which nation(s) or group(s) in the Middle East offer the greatest opposition to the stagnant Ottoman Empire, and who are their primary international backers?
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Last edited by tshiggins; 11-15-2016 at 01:31 PM.
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Old 11-15-2016, 12:27 PM   #38
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Default Re: [Game] Work Up a Steampunk Setting

Quote:
Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
In addition to Nanking, large sections of Manchuria and all of the Korean Peninsula, Japan has cast its eyes southward toward the Phillippines (still owned by a fairly weak Spain), and southeastwards as far as Guam island. However, an attack on the Philippines would likely draw European powers into the Western Pacific, and Imperial Japan doesn't feel ready for such a conflict.
Point of order: The Phillipines are already established as under japanese control, as is indochina.
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Old 11-15-2016, 12:35 PM   #39
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Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
Produced at the Cork Brassworks, in the Celtic Federacy...
Likewise, the existence of a Scotland/Ireland union, although they could be subordinate to a British Crown.
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Old 11-15-2016, 01:13 PM   #40
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Default Re: [Game] Work Up a Steampunk Setting

Quote:
Originally Posted by ericthered View Post
Point of order: The Phillipines are already established as under japanese control, as is indochina.
Sigh. I missed that. Fixed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
Likewise, the existence of a Scotland/Ireland union, although they could be subordinate to a British Crown.
Missed this, too. Added a paragraph to explain that -- the Celtic Federacy is a Commonwealth within the British Empire, similar to the parts of Canada that aren't Quebec.
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