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Jul 6, 2018 23:09
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This makes me laugh harder than I should. It’s ok; I don’t need my sides anymore.
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Jul 6, 2018 23:13
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go go hellwar, hopefully the Chinese version of Christianity figures everybody else's interpretations just got hosed by the mandate of maybe an immortal* God emperor of mankind formed from the failures of the West and the successful syntheses of the East is just what we need. Beijing or wherever, nineteenth Rome, must rule the globe and the heavens *after all if Western/near Eastern alchemy has been doing so well, why shouldn't the Chinese have had some success too? they certainly tried hard enough irl
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Jul 6, 2018 23:15
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Oh ow ouch owie, my bones. Guess our God was the right one in this case.
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Jul 6, 2018 23:23
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I believe my sides are currently reaching escape velocity.
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Jul 6, 2018 23:32
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This really is the worst/best timeline. 
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Jul 7, 2018 00:02
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Jul 7, 2018 00:10
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It's beautiful, really cheers me up seeing them happy. The greatest generation, so to say!  The Protestant Slavers who've been trying to destroy Italia and Catholicism knew what they were doing from they first Byzantine declarations to the attempted genocide of southwestern Europe, and they knew the risks! ^_^ This calls for a month of celebration across the Catholic World! siiiigh I'm gonna miss these guys 
rarx fucked around with this message at 17:54 on Jul 7, 2018 |
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Jul 7, 2018 00:18
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Pope: We did it everyone! We saved Europe from heretics! Mercenary carrying loot out the burning Tower of London: From what?
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Jul 7, 2018 00:24
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You did it guys (and gal), you did it!
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Jul 7, 2018 00:28
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considering this irl era included an episode where the emperor kinda accidentally vandalized rome because he didn't bother gathering enough money to pay the troops he 'led' there and, oopsie-doopsie, a lot of those mercenaries were fanatical lutherans, and regardless of religion mercenaries then as now just want to steal poo poo and go home, so he tried to threaten the pope and ended up letting a bunch of protestants burn the gently caress out of rome and (according to some timelines) end the renaissance. so sacking non-rome places is a positive step up. does this game attempt to model how little control states had over their armies in the early modern era? i assume it doesn't, there's only so much you can do with a board game ported over to the computer. there's a gently caress of a lot you can do, but still things you can't. i guess vv oh yeah ill vote 5 too
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Jul 7, 2018 00:31
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Jul 7, 2018 00:31
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oystertoadfish posted:so sacking non-rome places is a positive step up. does this game attempt to model how little control states had over their armies in the early modern era? i assume it doesn't, there's only so much you can do with a board game ported over to the computer. there's a gently caress of a lot you can do, but still things you can't. i guess It's a grand strategy game of moving pixelmen around, there's not enough non-military elements of the game to make modeling historically accurate lack of communication and control anywhere near fun. If you play one of the Paradox grand strategy games as anything but a blood-thirsty warmonger on a throne of skulls, you do it in spite of the game rather than because of it.
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Jul 7, 2018 01:32
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HereticMIND posted:Any chance we could glimpse into Sergius’ thoughts, Crisis? I would love to see his reaction to the Twelve Years’ War, even if it’s merely inarticulate rage at the Vactican. Especially if it’s inarticulate rage at the Vactican. I've actually been considering doing some short creative writing (or perhaps something artistic) about some of the events or background elements that have occured. I loved everything involving Victoria during the Twelve Years' War, seemed a really cool legend of a nation's founding - holding SF Bay against all odds while the rest of the country is exiled to the deserts before retaking their home from invaders with anything they had at hand. Most the things involving Sergius and Fadazu and all of Nicholaus III's life would be good too. I imagine Sergius is still religious and believes in God, but has no little or no love for the Catholic Church. The fact there was another immortal and that he managed to turn Mark and thousands of other Christians despite their previous loyal devotion continues to deeply trouble him. Having to kill Mark, and then having no choice but to kill Tupac Amaru instead of finding out from him... everything he could along with one hundred years of fighting for the Papacy is what finally tipped him over. I think it's a thing that anyone that gains immortality ultimately pays some heavy price and has to spend all of eternity atoning for it. Sergius would not have approved of the Twelve Wars' War, nor so many Christians dying even if they were heathen Protestants. His early attempts to stem the reformation back-fired and for the first time he was unable to solve a problem with brute military force which made him question a lot of his decisions up to that point. Fighting Byzantium initally was different as they posed a direct threat to Italy and the Papacy but the prospect of going to war with potentially most of Europe didn't sit well with him. sniper4625 posted:You did it guys (and gal), you did it! Empress Mary of France, Pope Paschalis II, King Abel II of Hungary. oystertoadfish posted:so sacking non-rome places is a positive step up. does this game attempt to model how little control states had over their armies in the early modern era? i assume it doesn't, there's only so much you can do with a board game ported over to the computer. there's a gently caress of a lot you can do, but still things you can't. i guess Short of having to add in new events and have them fire constantly to simulate that there's no way it could be done. The closest thing remotely to that is in CK2 with missing payments for mercenaries causes them to deser to turn on you. (Which is how we got the Navarrese Company). But basically this - Conskill posted:If you play one of the Paradox grand strategy games as anything but a blood-thirsty warmonger on a throne of skulls, you do it in spite of the game rather than because of it. I've already had to handicap and stall my own progress a few times in CK2 (and may likely need to again future) to stop the Papacy just becoming so powerful that doing any action is an assured victory and becomes boring / repetitive.
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Jul 7, 2018 01:40
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Except for Victoria 2 sometimes
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Jul 7, 2018 02:17
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No, you play Victoria 2 to spread the glorious proletariat revolution.
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Jul 7, 2018 02:24
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Crisis Now posted:I've already had to handicap and stall my own progress a few times in CK2 (and may likely need to again future) to stop the Papacy just becoming so powerful that doing any action is an assured victory and becomes boring / repetitive. spend the next two centuries waging bloody, expensive wars to convert china tank europe's population by purging it of all suspected heretics and blasphemers have sergius (or a sergius imposter) show up and try to boot the corrupt papacy out of europe
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Jul 7, 2018 02:35
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... I wanna have the Popemobile be an armored Death Wagon. With skulls.
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Jul 7, 2018 04:47
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Make the pope do horifically inefficent missions to convert countries to catholicism. Try and get a foothold everywhere to overextend yourself.
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Jul 7, 2018 06:31
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wedgekree posted:... I wanna have the Popemobile be an armored Death Wagon. With skulls. The Pope-mobile is actually the remodeled husk of DaVinci's original Armored Wagon design, just now with a fancy bullet-proof glass cup on top.
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Jul 7, 2018 10:08
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The Pope-mobile is just Dr. Wily's UFO, take a few hundred years.
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Jul 7, 2018 10:49
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Crisis Now posted:Stuff about Sergius' feelings about us. Should we really blame the Church, or Sergius for what happened in Europe? The only serious accusation that can be leveled at the Catholic Church is how we helped France conquer Imperial states. Germany is justified in its anger, yet we had little choice. If we had not Byzantium would have destroyed the Papal States and quite possibly Catholicism in the long term. The other choices Sergius was made were in self defense against Byzantium, Andalusia, Europe and the Incans. Taking Gibraltar from Andalusia was hardly as bad as the drama queens made it out to be, they chose to rival us, and Byzantium chose to ally them, and they were both going protestant by then. We've also razed or accidentally sacked 4 cities in the last 200 years (Cairo, Graz, El Dorado and London), but that's actually quite restrained. The Papacy has a long history of saving country after country, the Holy Land, Egypt, Syria, Andalusia, Italy, Arabia, the Holy Land again, Europe against the Mongols, Europe against the Yazidis, Europe against the Yazidis again, and defending ourselves against blatant treachery from people whose armies, countries and families we saved just years ago over and over and over and over. If it was possible to sit in Rome and defend Catholicism without blobbing over Italy and the New World we would have done that, but noone remembers us saving their people or faith from genocide for more than a single generation at best (and frequently we do stuff like save the entirety of Egypt, and the French Emperor makes us enemies for life because of Cairo) and decide to rival and kill us at the slightest whiff of profit (Andalusia, Byzantium, France (even though we gifted Egypt once and saved it twice), and the HRE (who got India) also had plans to destroy us at the end of CK2)! The world pushed us to this, pushed us to unite and better the World through force to bind together the gains we, and the world, make thanks to our older methods of the Holy Catholic Faith, innovation and diplomacy. For 400 years we tried to improve things the diplomatic and innovative way, helping people and binding faiths together. Now we're trying to use force, and so far it is going much, much better! The light of Catholicism has spread across all of North America, and the people there have been saved from slavery and genocide at the hands of Protestants. The faith of Rome, and the technology of the Old World can be exported to the New, even as the goods of the New World enriches the Old and accelerates its discoveries and strengthens it to continue spreading the light of Jesus Christ. The Vatican and Catholicism is the only organization and the only faith that can be entrusted with World Domination. rarx fucked around with this message at 11:25 on Jul 7, 2018 |
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Jul 7, 2018 11:10
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So you're saying we should pick Quality next, while the getting's good?  It would also improve our lacking navy substantially.
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Jul 7, 2018 12:55
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If we're going for world administration we really need to get better at Diplomacy and (edit) Influence, the world needs to be guided by our cultural representatives to understand and accept our point of view. (Not very optimal, but it feels like it might save us from some handcrafted RP events. We really do need maritime, but it doesn't seem popular.) rarx fucked around with this message at 09:31 on Jul 8, 2018 |
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Jul 7, 2018 14:17
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I’d say we need diplomatic or influence just for the rp
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Jul 7, 2018 14:41
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RP's always a valid reason.
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Jul 7, 2018 20:09
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Either diplo or influence would be nice, but assuming that we've got the vanilla Papal national ideas influence synergizes better.
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Jul 7, 2018 20:45
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Dr. Snark posted:This is so beautiful. Where else would the Pavonians set up their new empire but one of the most dangerous and inhospitable places on the planet? There's enough habitable land in their empire for 30 or 40 people!
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Jul 8, 2018 00:52
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Yeah, leaning on Influence because it just makes sense for the church.
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Jul 8, 2018 01:37
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If we get both we'll have six allies (plus all the colonies we manage to hold onto), when the entire world eventually tries to snuff us out.Affi posted:I’d say we need diplomatic or influence just for the rp Speaking of RP, it's really weird how the game was all about Jerusalem and holy sites until EU4, and then not a single word is spoken in-update about The Holy Land and the Templars falling. As part of our mission to gain influence over the worldwide Church we must hold Jerusalem! No Holy Age without our Holy Land! If we're not going on any offensive wars for half a century, could we just make a single exception for the four provinces of Judea, Nablus, Gaza and Sinai? It'd be an excellent area that would make sense for the Mother Church to hold directly after 500 years of failed attempts to parcel it out to others. (Making it a March would also make sense, altho we can't really afford the relationship, unless we mod it in for free like with the Italian league.) Edit: it would be nice to use our Diplo points to convert cultures, especially now that it's -25%, since that prevents catastrophic nationalist rebellions and balkanizations, never discount your enemy, they may win someday. Altho it seems a bit out of character. We could just use it on non-accepted cultures and say we're using diplomatic incentives, and the foreign non-accepted cultures are assimilating due to cultural attraction and ease of business and politics? rarx fucked around with this message at 17:07 on Jul 8, 2018 |
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Jul 8, 2018 09:30
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A single dip power lost per month is nothing. Had it been any of the other two, it would've been unacceptably devastating, of course.
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Jul 8, 2018 09:47
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Crisis Now posted:I imagine Sergius is still religious and believes in God, but has no little or no love for the Catholic Church. Sorry to bring this back up, but: What would he have had us do? The actions Saint Sergius took up to the point he left meant reproachment was both internally and externally impossible. Our only option (which would likely have meant a reactionary coup) was to gradually surrender Catholic Europe to similar or likely even worse treatment at rabidly angry Protestants and Greeks (even if only the Germans were truly justified in their anger and declaration of war). And even if we had gradually surrendered all it would have done is delay hostilities, and we would have had to fight France and a civil war at home. Probably more people would have died, as the Papacy has historically been more restrained than its opponents on the field of battle, and with the exception of our treatment of London we stuck with our normal professionalism (the Constantinople description was fluff after all, not any special action, all we did was occupy the city). And then there's the fact that before Sergius and during the early Sergean era (CK2) we tried giving away kingdoms constantly and that worked out even worse, leading to mass invasions and an unstable Christianity. I really think what we're doing right now is best for the long term, but more to the point how could we have done any better with how frenzied, bloodthirsty and unstable the political situation was on both sides at the point that Sergius left? At least Paschalis and Mary were willing to stick with the southern Mediterranean and the Rheinland respectively in promoting long term stability through the creation of regional Empires and guarantors of laws, from justice and trade to such key civil rights issues as the ban on slavery, and didn't escalate the situation further to a Multi-Continental war with a declaration of war on an entire faith. rarx fucked around with this message at 16:36 on Jul 9, 2018 |
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Jul 9, 2018 13:46
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Sergius spent how long under the strain of trying to choose the least bad option? Perhaps men are mortal so that their leaders don't have time to collapse under the strain and Sergius is a reminder of that.
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Jul 9, 2018 16:14
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1600 - 1624 - Pax Pontifica As the 16th century draws to a close so to does the "age of reformation". The Twelve Years' War has ensured the dominance of Catholicism across Europe and the Western Hemisphere. Kings, dukes and dodges alike have realised the grave error they have made backing the reformation and abandoning the rightful church and have begun abandoning the Protestant and Reformed faiths. Of course Jesus taught forgiveness and now the war is over we will not begrudge these people nor their leaders that chose the wrong path and now long for reconciliation, should they wish to rejoin our flock we will welcome them with open arms. The war has also shown the inherent flaws of the feudal system which is now being rapidly being phased out in favour or rulers taking more direct control of their realms. The need for permanent professional standing armies has also become apparent as the highly drilled and cared for regiments of the Papacy showed and now many nations seek to emulate our military. Rampagaing unpaid mercenaries, deserting peasant armies and temerarious brigands and other less savory members of society had casued havoc in much of Nothern Europe and Southeast, the rulers of Europe wish to avoid any of this unpleasantness happening again. And even without the strife and disease huge areas have been depopulated simply by the peasantry being levied en-masse to serve and then promptly dying in some pointless battle. After the numerous peasant revolts and the sharp decline of noble power (with many noble houses become extinct after all their male members died fighting) serfs are now gradually gaining more power with serfdom being abolished outright in some nations - a great deal of the lower class as a result are now flocking to the cities for new employment oppotunities that have opened up or many seek passage to the New World. The Netherlands has reconverted to Catholicism but is heavily divided politcally. Iberia is now majority Catholic once more with the Kingdom of Andalusia reduced to just a few mere cities and the Revivalist faith has been quashed with the collaspe of the Byzantine Empire and the Russian Tsar has been forced to accept the Orthodox faith by the Persians.  We do not forget the promise we made to our Scottish friends. their mercenaries were invaluable in overcoming the English and conquering London. An envoy with a generous shipment of ducats is sent to Edinburgh upon Paulus II's ascension.  The ecconomny of the Papacy is now very much reliant on our trade and the tarrifs there of from all goods traversing the Atlantic. Our immense military (which has the capability to expand to over a quarter of a million soldiers if we so desire) is a huge burden on us financially but is a noble price to pay for security and hopefully ensuring peace in Europe. Tarrifs on the colonies are high and only continue to grow higher (decreasing them would be disasterous for our nation and much of the military and many institutions across the nation disbanded for us to stay afloat.)  We try all we can to appease and placate the colonies with promises of lowered tarrifs and greater privileges come the next few decades. It is with some luck then (if it can be called that) that our largest and most belligerent colony - Sergia (whose actual status as a colony is questionable) is distracted as a great eruption of a huge volcano in the Andes mountains has occured. The Inca natives all claim it is the vengeful spirit of Tupac Amaru trying to drive the Europeans out, which has angered their fervent Sergean-zealot masters greatly but as the dark clouds continue to shroud the skies of Ayubia they can only hope to maintain control as famine sets in. We aid how we can but it is seemingly not enough according to the new Governor-General and dissent continues to slowly grow. The effects of this eruption are felt even here in Europe as the summer begins to feel like winter and many harvests are late or fail altogether - which certainly doesn't help with rebuilding efforts. Many here in Europe see the darkened skies and colder climate as a sign of God's dissaproval of everything in the preceding century.   Should anything terrible happen to our coloines then the Papal States must be prepared, great efforts continue to expand and build new industry all across the realm. As well has heavily incentivising merchant ventures across all the globe and not just in the New World. The Papal Guard came to dominate Pontificate politics and the administration / delegation of much of the realm throughout the 16th century first with the Peruvian Crusade and then the war with the reformists. Now that peace has returned and all efforts are being taken to avoid major war in Europe again the Guild of Merchants hope to rise once more and make the 17th century their own.   This has already had a positive effect in Pisa, as trade with incense and perfume producing provinces aboard has increased demand for it in the city so much that many patricians have funded and invested heavily in producing it locally to cut down on time for new goods.   Despite being considered Italy's "secondary port" and once being only used as a military dockyard for the various Papal army expeditions of the past Pisa is increasingly becoming one of the more important economic centers in the region as the Avallonis colonies of Maryland / Adamane / Victoria slowly eclispe that of the Brendadines and Sergia. The former going exclusively to Pisa and the later to Naples - the longstanding port city of the Papal States for four hundred years. A myriad of longstanding charters and acts giving privileges and rights to certain cities has created a tangled network of trade links within and without Italy that is frustrating for many small businesses in the country and merchants from aboard but was seemingly all orchestrated by the Guild of Merchants to ensure each city recives their fair share of trade. - - - Pisa controls all trade in the North New World and beyond Cape Town. - - - Naples controls all trade in the South New World and Africa. It is also the (continental-side) center for the Brendadine Company. During the Greek-Italian wars the acquistion of Genoa and Milan facilitated trade with other European powers. And then the final unification of Italy at the war's culmination only complicated things further with huge privileges granted to the cities of Florence and Venice. - - - Venice controls all trade in the Mediterranean east of Italy via sea. - - - Genoa meanwhile was given authority to trade (with all Europeans) east of Italy via sea. - - - Milan is our hub of all overland trade in Europe, with caravans coming and going to Paris, Prague and Pest. The greatest upset came with the inclusion of Florence who demanded the largest concession to accept integration in to the Papal State - - - - Florence acts as an intermediate hub for ALL internal trade north of itself. A merchant wishing to travel from Milan to Rome (or vice-versa) must stop at Florence first and offer his wares for sell. Additionally a merchant travelling from Gorz to Milan must go south to Florence first. Which is a cause of major frustration and many seek to rectify this exploitative rule that benefits the city greater - but the riches this has brought Florence allows it's representatives on the Guild of Merchants council immense sway. The Friends of Florence - a minor GoM sanctioned military order patrol the roads of Northern Italy and ensure merchant caravans do not attempt to travel between cities without first attending the Florence markets and recieving date and timestamps on their goods. Many try to pass off as foreign traders which allows them direct access to Milan (with mixed results) and this has also caused contention with the Papal Guard who must pay extra to Florence for weapons shipments from Gorz. - - - Gorz is the newest economic hotspot of Italy and the center of the nation's military industries. With the rise of firearms, canons and other new weapons of war Gorz was quick to seize upon demand and built some of the first weapons manufactories, seeing some success in the Greek-Italian wars but really came in to their own in the Twelve Years' War. Gorzian weapons are highly regarded and can be found in the hands of soldiers from Victoria to Japan. - - - Ancona being the birthplace of the Guild of Merchants and the location of Guildhall makes it an integral location in Italy, with many merchants owning numerous lavish properties in the city due to repeatedly having to visit to attend GoM council meetings as well as being the point of contact with many foreign traders and business owners. - - - Rome being the capital obviously sees the most trade and everything from Pisa and Naples generally goes there first before on to Florence and then the rest of Europe (though it is not required for Pisan and Neopolitan merchants to visit Rome it is often the most profitable). Being the headquarters of both the Papal Guard and the Office of Alchemy also brings great trade to Rome in the form of weaponry/armour and books/equipment for scientific endeavours.  Speaking of the Office of Alchemy it has become apparent that having a single centralized center of learning here in Rome is no longer enough to serve all the people of Italy. While there is some opposition from Anglicus alchemists who believe only they can teach and here in Rome, there are others who see the benefit of expanding our institutes of learning far and wide. A number of OA campuses are funded in Milan, Venice and Florence while a slew of whole new universities are now being constructed on the West Coast - overseen by the Engineer Corps of course.   While it serves us well to impart high tariffs on New World goods there is no need to unnecessarily tax plentiful and low value goods that are critical to colonial wellbeing lest we anger the colonies even more.  North of Victoria the Cascadia region is becoming rife with colonial activity from Far Eastern nations. The riches that Ouchi's colony of Togawa drawing Uesugi and their Korean allies to the shores of Avallonis. While just north of them Andalusia is making one last ditch attempt at forming a colonial empire as it tries to settle people in the frozen north.  And in the south during the chaos of the Twelve Years' War the Knights Hospitaller's main colony on the northern end of Ayubia has broken free, declaring itself the 'Republic of Gregoria' - in honour of Pope Gregorius VII, conquerer of the Holy Land and one responsible for the Hospitaller's and Templar's inception. Gregoria has set a dangerous precadent that the colonies can declare independence and successfully stave off their overlord and no doubt the other colonies are watching very closely to see if it would be advantageous to follow in kind.  And speaking of Hospitaller and Templar and old Gregorius VII - There are calls by some of the advisors that the Papacy has been neglecting it's duty as preserver of the Catholic faith in not pursuing direct control of the Holy Land and freeing it from the clutches of infidels. We don't think we should have to remind our eager countrymen that we have been some what preoccupied fighting a reformation for fifty years culminating in the bloodiest war ever seen. And that for one hundred years before that we were fighting for our very survival against the Greeks. And before that dealing with Timur, turbulent shifting politics between East and West, numerous plagues, decadent Popes and the near-collaspe of the entire Papacy and Catholic world in the face of Yazidi and Tengri threats. And even if we were trying to 'retake the Holy Land' as if this were still a time of knights and feudal lords there is no way we can with the shape Europe is in at the moment and the fact that Medina is more powerful than any of the previous heathen powers that held it. On top of that they are allied with the Mamluks, but more surprisingly they are allied with the Orthodox Persians and especially surprising they have allied with the Yazidi Timurids. It would seem all the Non-Catholics of Eurasia are happy to put aside their differences to better protect themselves from us with Catholicism emerging on top of the religious wars in Europe. Combined this Axis of Heathenry can field over half a million soldiers, no one is capable or even willing to join us in a hypothetical offensive war against them. We are no longer just the city of Rome, with not a threat in the world but a few daring bandits - we are the rulers of all of Italy (and some of Austria/Croatia) and have 10,000,000+ subjects we must now think of. This would not be the time to go chasing nostalgic dreams of being stewards of Jerusalem once more.   With the increasing reforms made in the Papal military we are keen to rely less on militas and other third-party agents, we must make an army that is prepared and willing to fulfill all duties and tasks that could face it. This has meant disbanding large parts of the peasant-reserves, if these milita wish to aid us then they can enlist and serve like the other proper soldiers. And unfortunately this has also had a knock-on effect on our officer capabilites but we will not compromise on quality, we will just have to intensify our recruitment efforts.   The east is still reeling from the collaspe of the Byzantine Empire. Greece, liberated at our hands and once the center of the reformation and instigator of the Twelve Years' War has become Catholic once more. Queen Thekla seized the throne in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Constantinople, a supposedly long suffering and eternally loyal Catholic baroness under the old Protestant regime (these claims can only be somewhat verified as she hailed from an incredibly minor noble house with few ties ) seeks to bring stability to the Balkans which became de-jure Greek Kingdom as Byzantium was gone. Civil war, unrest, famine and disease still plague the region and the Queen begs for the Papacy's forgiveness of the Greece people for their misguided ways and to begin the road to redemption.  If the Galesiotis Queen is true to her word then we can begin the reintergration of Greece to the Catholic world.  The collaspe of Byzantium also saw the end of it's colonial empire - Mexiko was suddenly left without an overlord but unlikely Gregoria to the south it lacked a large army and the southern Mayans of Tlapanec marched their primitive (but still overwhelming) army into the Greek colonies and incorporated them in to their realm. This has been a surprisingly... unbloody process - with the Tlapanec learning greatly from the Greeks who in turn now have protection and are allowed to continue farming the land and living in the settlements assuming they do not interfere with tribal "government" or try to convert them.  The powerful Greek settlers have managed to convince the tribal leaders to invade Texas - provide new lands for the Avallonian-Greeks and let them slowly relocate from the lands of the Maya. Russia is still under a great deal of unrest from losing the war with the Persians and being forced to accept Orthodoxy, Texas should have been easy picking - but the Texans had allied with the Pueblo. Pueblo in turn have traded extensively with Victoria, after relations between the two were formally established when a large number of Victorians were exiled to the deserts when the West Coast was sacked in the Twelve Years' War. Pueblo are half way a "civilised" nation with a government mimicking European ones and fielding armies with musket and calvary. On top of all that they have had to come to the aid of the Zapotec to the south who are being invaded by the Spanish.  The Spanish have come to dominate the northern continent with New Spain stretching from the Brendadine Sea to the Great Lakes where immense cotton and tobacco plantations have been established - the latter becoming incredibly populare here in Europe and bringing great riches to the Spaniards.  The Russians defeat has also left the other Uralic nations without a major power to defend them. The Habsburgs (a minor German family who lost their land in the Third Black Death and became increasingly involved with the Teutonic Order. Assisting Pope Sergius V in his Northern Campaign and being rewarded with land in the north before becoming grand dukes of Livonia) who were forced to accept the Uralic faith of their people had managed to inherit the Kingdom of Sweden during the Twelve Years' War - but the Protestant Swedes want no part of a heathen duchy and risen as one to free themselves.  Our efforts to reform the Papal military continue to bring success and international renown as foreign diplomats regularly visit wishing to hire our officers to train and reform their own armies. Meanwhile the initiative to build new universities in Italy has spread to most of the nation.   The OA tires endlessly day and night to find new technological breakthroughs to aid us - the firearm continues to evolve with improved methods of loading and firing now devised and being implemented, research continues in to the possibility of loading ammunition from the breech of a musket or making a 'repeating-musket' these are far less successful however.  New weaponry brings focus back to the military and the idea is brought up to raise a new regiment manned by subjects from our eastern provinces. The Krain Regiment is established with majority Austrian soldiers and officers and a small number of Croatia (who may need their own regiment soon enough)   With Tlapanec finding victory against Texas, Adamane jumps at the oppotunity to seize what remains of the Texas colony. Despite the increase of intra-colony conflicts and feuds and the ever harsher tariffs imposed on the New World people still flock in droves across the Atlantic.   All Papal vessels crossing Atlantic must dock in New Vatican City as per the Brendadine Company Charter - even non-merchant vessels (only military ships under direct control of the Papal Guard are omitted). So New Sicily is the first thing everyone sees of the New World, hopefully to encourage people to settle there and sell themselves in to indentured servitude for one of the numerous plantations but the Brendadines dont quite carry the appeal they did a century ago as all the valuable land has been claimed and everything there is owned directly or indirectly by the Brendadine Company. Although New Italy comes under the Brendadine's authority it enjoys more freedom than the islands and offers greater opportunities for new arrivals. But beyond the coastlines it is not quite as desirable as the tropical paradise of the Brendadines - so some instead opt for Maryland where fur and tobbo industries dominate but competition with the Spaniards and Hansa are stiff. Adamane is a true untamed frontier with an ever expanding border in to the great Avallonis plains where settlers can stake out great swathes of land for farming or livestock but the further ones venture from New Orbetello at the mouth of the great Mississippi the less support they have. If one wishes to venture further then they must transfer to another vessel sailing to Cape Verde - a heavily fortified safe haven in the Atlantic from the Mali corsairs. It is currently impossible to sail directly from Italy to Africa or Ayubia without at some point coming across a Mali vessel if sailing close to the North African so it has simply become easier to take a wide a route as possible and go to New Italy and then double back. (While this is true for reaching South Africa it is not so much for the West-Coast colonies as the map would have you believe - so there is some speculation that this is infact a ploy by the Brendadines to squeeze yet more money and possible settlers out of colonial ships). The Cape Colony is much the same as Adamane, a frontier perfect for livestock and farming but with the climates switched and blistering sun baking the colonists throughout most the year. It does also offer extra daring merchants and adventurers access to India and the Far East of which we have still much to learn. Taking a ship around Cape Horn brings people to Chile and Sergia, both products of the Tenth Crusade and extremely undesirable locations for settlers. Chile is a wind-battered barren rocky land with settlers clinging to the mountainsides with their sheep and cows - and pretty much nothing else. Chile is merely a remnant of Sergius war on Peru and many wonder why we maintained it as a colony - but remarkably the most foolhardy or brave of us still seem to venture there in very small number each year. Sergia meanwhile is a brutal military state led by the elements of the Papal military that remained behind in the region after Sergius' disappearance. The Sergians generally dislike any non-military or non-veterans settling there and the local Inca just generally hate everyone as they watch their culture and faith being continuingly destroyed by the soldiers who are still fiercely loyal to Sergius. Only a handful of the soldiers who actually participated in the crusade are still alive - and now quite old but they have married and had a great deal of children with the Inca and now these Creolo soldiers carry on their fathers' fanaticism- replacing one God for another and professing the eventual return of the immortal warrior-priest to lead them to a new promised land, away from conflict / famine / natural disasters. Which leaves Victoria - the hardest region to reach but the most sought after by colonists. Tales return from the Avallonis West Coast of a land of plenty, where men want for nothing, crops are abundant and climates always favourable. The experiences of the Twelve Years' War - the defence of Saint Francis and the journey of the Exiles has created a great resolve in the Victorian people and they prize themselves as the most resilient and resouceful of all the New World. They are also conveniently the furtherest making them the least affected by the politics and affairs of Europe and many see them as a truely 'free nation' drawing a great deal of peasentry willing to risk the long arduous journey.  A new Kaiser is elected - another Askainer of Bohemia which enjoys universal support and admiration from the other prince-electors basking in the glow of victory from the Twelve Years' War.   An interesting note about Portugal - which is now a part of the Holy Roman Empire. And an elector. At the begining of the 16 the century when the Kingdom of Portugal was on it's final legs it had managed to round the bottom of Africa and reach India - using the last of it's wealth and military to take control of Goa on the west coast. This land was still considered part of the Holy Roman Empire from the days of the Kaiserraj (Which had rapidly declined with the severing of overland trade routes between Europe and India and reduced to just one landlocked city in the middle of the sub-continent.) When the lone Portugese city and last hold-out of the free Mozarabic people re-established contact with continental europe in the final days of the Twelve Years' War, we had learnt they had remarkably survived a century against repeated Tamilakam invasions and subversions but was on it's last legs - they conceded to Imperial rule under and the protection of the Kaiser (though how Bohemia aims to get to the India is anyone's guess) and in return Portugal was granted the ability to reclaim rightful Imperial Indian land should they gain the support.  Efforts to reintegrate Greece in to the Catholic Church have gone well and relations are the highest they have been for centuries. In 1616 - on the 150th anniversary of what was the start of Byzantium's invasion of southern Italy and the beginning of the Greek-Italian wars Pope Paulus II attends a major diplomatic mission in Athens. Papal and Athenian diplomats spend days discussing, debating or outright arguing about the previous actions of both nations and the path they may take in the future, despite some animosity and a handful of very vocal dissenting voices (who are swiftly ejected from the meetings). It is agreeed that with the end of the Twelve Years' War a new era has dawned for Europe and it would be foolhardy to cling to old grudges and rivalry. Meanwhile Pauls II has been an honoured guest of Queen Thekla and they discussed at length the efforts the new Queen has taken to bring Catholicism back to Greece, the lament at the loss of the colonies and the plight of the Greeks in the New World, the likelihood of war with the Byzantine-successor state of Anatolia across the Aegean who still hold true to Protestantism. But very prominently talks of fear of Hungary who have been rampant in their conquests in the Balkans and Black Sea Coast. Pope Paulus II ends centuries of hostilities and rivalry between the people of Italy and Greece by signing a pact of friendship with Queen Thekla. Greece is admitted in to the great Papal League, Greek merchants will find better prices in Italian trade cities and vice-versa. A large sum of ducats and the services of the Engineer Corps granted in the rebuilding of Constantinople and a number of priceless ancient artefacts looted from the city are returned to Athens.  Twenty years have passed since the end of the war, Catholicism has resurged across Europe, the reformist preachers can no longer be found on the street corners of major cities peddling their heresy and the reformation has been confined to a number of hold-out HRE princes and the edges of Europe.  His Holiness has proven very shrewd; Papal diplomats travelling nonstop between European courts, shifting gurantees of defence and often just sums of ducats have all helped to keep the other nations of Europe from each other's throats. However-  While our declaration as the defender of the Catholic Church has stopped our brothers of the faith from being invaded or bothered by reformists anymore it however doesn't stop them feuding with each other again now that they have regained their strength. The Kaiser seeks to regain territory lost in the Twelve Years' War with any luck this will be a quick war.  It at very least gives the Krain Regiment a proper exercise to test themselves with.  The siege of Tirol goes without incident and with numerous other allied nations in the war already sprawling across Bavaria it makes little sense to prolong our involvement and the Krain Regiment returns home.   In the center of Poland Czech/Hungarian/German forces clash with a hastily cobbled together arrangement of Polish defenders but to no avail as Kaiser Askainer comes out on top.   In recognition of our new friendship with the Greeks and in thanks for our help rebuilding their nation a number of prominent Greek nobles have gathered a large sum of gold which arrived in Rome today. Many of advisors floated the idea of using it to built some kind of monument outside the Vatican as a symbol of the new peace between our peoples, others wanted to give it to the GoM to build a special ship specially for Venice-Athens journeys. But the money just seemed to vanish once it came under His Holiness' care, we're sure he's putting it to good use.  Greece is still wracked with unrest, peaseant armies demand more rights, croats, serbs and bulgarians demand freedom and nobles demand the throne. The Greek army is weak and stretched thin and so Papal armies make a short trip across the border to lend their services.  The increasing size of our army means there is a constant need to expand and update our military camps - many become more permanent bases. The Engineer Corps have been exceedingly busy these past years.  Victoria's borders now push up against those of the natives lands. A handful of Victorian ambassadors are arguing in Rome that we should restrict the expansion lest we upset the Mayans. His Holiness however intervenes and informs them Victoria shall be allowed to expand as far as she wishes until the borders meet those of another our colonies. Skirmishes and conflicts intensify on the Victorian-Mayan border.  Unrest also rises in Adamane where Texan separatists still loyal to Russia try to break free from Adamanian rule.  While Sergia and New Sicily have formed local colonial assemblies in opposition to our appointed governors, making their job extra strenuous and our ability to tax them and recieve goods just a little bit more tedious. The Brendadine Company is very unhappy with these developments.   Spies still operating in London tell us that the English plan on going to war with Japan -over their colonies. It would seem the English are also trying to regain their place as a major coloinal empire after the severe loss of much of Argentine to the Navarrese Company and figured the Cascadia region would also be an easy area to claim.   On top of that Ouchi has dismissed our diplomats and dissolved our alliance. No doubt under pressure from the Timurids and the Yazidi spies no doubt rife all over their naiton.  A prominent GoM trader who had spent most his life life travelling between Pisa and New Orbetello in Adamane has passed away, he was much loved by the people of Adamane and funded a number of schools and hospitals in the blossoming region. The Adamane diplomat talks at length about all the things the late merchant's money could be used for to improve the life of the people there. His Holiness has other ideas.  Unfortunately Paulus II doesnt seem to see the value in de-escalating things in the New World, if the colonies complain about tariffs then he just raises them higher to spite them.   The Twelve Years' War has given rise to the notion of a nation-state, and the affairs and politics of each realm being dictated only by their governing bodies without interference of foreign rulers. This only makes us think of the colonies and a number of us convince His Holiness that perhaps we need to reform or improve some our methods if we wish to keep the empire intact.   To the south and Carthage is seeing a resurgence after suffering at the hands of the Malian advance in the Twelve Years' War, the fall of Tripoli has reinvigorated them and they go to war with Trinacria for land that they claim is rightfully theirs. While on the now-free island of Crete major breakthroughs in ironworking are being made and the knowledge shared with Greece who in turn show us what they have learnt.   The armies of the Papacy spend any time not engaged in a conflict drilling and training and conducting numerous excercises up and down the country. It is costly and sometimes many can get injured until we get everything right but it has all paid off. The Papal armies are the best in the world, and a model that many try to emulate.   And to prove it the Krain regiment is sent north on futher peace-keeping missions, aiding Bohemia in crushing Protestant unrest in the Ore Mountains   Improved firing methods for our muskets have brought not just reliable firing but improved accuarcy - so much so we can now begin making them shorter and more wieldy.  An unsanctioned trade company has set up shop in South Africa, bringing exotic wares from India and China and bypassing existing tolls and taxes, which has made the people of the Cape Colony very happy. And displeased his Holiness.   But still this does not detere potential colonists.  The handful of Muslim merchants who come to Rome from the west tell us of the remarkable technological and scientific wonders of the Mali Empire. There have only been rumours of a great center of learning somewhere deep in West Africa but of course they cannot be verified as any Christian that gets close to Mali is captured and hauled off to the slave markets. But increasing information from seperate merchants seem to confirm the existence of The Timbuktu Madrasahs, of which we know next to nothing about and that scares a few of the advisors who ponder what mysteries lie behind these closed doors beyond the scorching sands of the Sahara. Until finally one of the merchants brings directly to the Office of Alchemy devices from Timbuktu that he was permitted to trade by the Mansa - seemingly to show off Mali's abilities (and were sold to us at absurd prices). The devices are unlike anything we have developed here in the Catholic world -we can gaze upon the surface of the Moon as if it were just the other end of the city and and through the use of the microscope discover a whole new world beneath our very noses.   Pandidakterion - The oldest still running institution (though with long periods of inaction) orginally founded in 425 but reformed in 1046 - destroyed at the end of the Greek-Italian wars and now rebuilt in 1625 with funds and assistance from the Papacy. Concerns itself with Law and Philosophy. The Baghdad House of Wisdom - once the center of Islamic teaching and knowledge it was lost to the Yazidi in the formation of the Pavonian Empire. Rumour is the Yazidi wished to burn it to the ground but instead took all material inside and "cleansed" it off Abramhic taint by rewriting as much as they could and locking the originals in some deep vault to be forgotten. Now they build upon all they have learnt from the House of Wisdom and continue using it to further the fields of mathematics and astrology. Cordoba Royal Library - Founded by Caliph Al-Hakam II sometime in the mid-10th century it was seized by Crusaders durign the first crusade and became a key Andalusian center of learning ever since, many times being the closest rival to our own institutions. It is responsible for some of the most beautiful architecture in Western Europe - it's biggest discovery would of course be the entirty of the New World. It's days are numbered and it is unknown if the Spaniards will continue to use this center of learning once they inevitably conquer Cordoba or wish to elevate one of their own. The Azhar University in Cairo was once considered the most prestigeous university in the Islamic world under the Fatimids but now is a center of both Islam and Christianity under the Chrislamic Capets. It's campuses stretch the length of the Nile and it deals with all manner of subject. It is mostly dealing with Theology - being the birthplace of Chrislam which is now spreading across the Levant. The Dual Universities of Oxford-Cambridge - The renown English universities that merged under a single administration shortly after the Twelve Years' War. Scholars, linguists and writers flock to the Dual Universities for it's supposed unparrelled teaching in the fields of literature and language. Pontifical Office of Alchemy - Our own center of learning founded in 1316 by Saint Nicholaus, smartest man to ever live. Often the leader in scientific breakthroughs, responsible for the firearm, the armoured carriage, the philosopher's stone, to name a few. As the name implies our scientists are often dabbling in chemistry but also applied mechanics and ways to combine the two. Charles University - Founded in 1348, first university in central Europe and housed a prominent Catholic Academy during the reformation. Now that it has come under the direct control of the Czech Kaiser it has recived considerable funding so the Holy Roman Empire can keep up with the likes of us and the French, but now it is mostly art and theology - many of it's students and preachers are responsible for turning the tide of the reformation. Timbuktu Madrasahs - Founded in 1440 from what we can tell, is not a single institution but three (or possibly four), extremely decentralized but reportedly contains the greatest collection of knowledge and texts since the Library of Alexandria. Invented the telescope and mircroscope. Paris Academy of Science - The Academy may be one of the youngest institutes but has made remarkable breakthroughs in the fields of engineering and physics, creating both the mechanical battery which has given rise to the automatic-carriage and improved industries, mines and farms but also the creation of the first aircraft in collaberation with our own OA. Mackinac University - The first university founded in the New World just outside of New Hamburg, named after a prominent Native Avallonian who converted to Catholicism and helped broker the deal that saw the numerous tribes of the Hudson Valley integrate with The Hansa. Despite being new it has made big waves in the New World and it's musings on law and politcis is quickly shaping the poltical-landscape of the colonies. There are some considering conducting some kind of secret undertaking to either get some of our people into Timbuktu or to bribe the Muslim merchants to bring back more information, but the Director of the Office dismisses all these plans and has the conspirators punished - they are men of Science and not scheming spies and saboteurs. The pursuit of knowledge should be free of the petty politics that plague the land. The Papal Guard and Guild of Merchants find the Director far too naive and victim to foolhardy idealist fantasies.  The GoM make a point of this by restricting or otherwise heavily tolling the Muslim merchants that pass through the strait of Gibraltar. While the Papal Guard insist on the need for further direct control and convince His Holiness to pursue further absolutist methods - he is after supreme and divine leader of both Church and State as dictated in the Papal Summit of 1543. The people should listen and obey his every command and the Papal Guard are more than happy to enforce it (and incease their fundining and power necessary for that while their at it.)   The Austrian people of the Adriatic Coast have proven themselves an invaluable asset to the Papal State - working tirelessly in the great foundries of Gorz to produce the best weapons and armour possible for our armies and serving in the Krain Regiment on numerous peace-keeping expeditions across Eastern Europe. Pope Paulus II has seen fit to give Austrians living within our borders equal rights to the Anglicus and other central Italians, which will hopefully serve as an example to follow and should the other peoples of our great nation pick up the slack like the Austrians then they may reap the benefits too.  Meanwhile the Lombards of Milan are gathering behind a prominent merchant-turned-politican by the name of Telesphorus Marcus - he is a hero to the Lombard people and has funded public services all across Lombardy, various schools, hospitals and almshouses. He is also a strong critic of Florence and their methods, he has defended many Milanese caravans in legal battles against the Friends of Florence (and reportedly his men have had numerous scuffles and clashes with the FoF when caravan inspections have gotten out of hand). There is call in Rome to bring this great statesman here to work for us directly but we think it better he stay put in Milan and we give him the means and funds to improve the city and Lombard people as he sees fit without the restrictions being an offical member of the government would bring.  The 17th century is almost a quarter over already. Pope Paulus II's diplomatic efforts have so far proved successful and major war in Europe has been avoided, to ensure continued prosperity and peace on the continent an invition is extended to the Kingdom of Spain to join the Papal League, who are delighted to join.   The Papal League has shifted from a mere confederation of nations seeking to defend themselves from outside powers (though it is of course still that) - it is now a maintainer of the current balance of power in Europe. None of the nations in the league can go to war with one another without incurring the wrath of the other members or the direct intervention of Papal armies. Anglican England cannot hope to unite the British Isles without us intervening. Nor can the still-Protestant princes of the HRE expand without incurring French of Czech anger (and the allies that will follow). Greece has been brought back to the light and with our support can stand against the reformists of Anatolia. And the advance of Mali has hopefully be halted as Spain and Carthage is now backed by the Catholic world. It is also allowing economic, political and technological ties to be greatly shared between the member states and we can all benefit from the success of individuals.    Pope Paulus II passes, age 70 from a mixture of illness and old age taking their toll on him. Opinion on him is divided - a great proponent of peace by the continent, a money-crazed tyrant by the New World. 
Crisis Now fucked around with this message at 12:06 on Jul 10, 2018 |
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Jul 10, 2018 11:20
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Yay, another lackluster embezzler.
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Jul 10, 2018 12:22
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Holy poo poo I finally caught up. What a fuckin' ride!
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Jul 10, 2018 12:25
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Spend your ADM, for the love of God! I, for one, can't wait to see what brings on the collapse of the Pax Catholica. e: An Embezzler might not be good for our colonial empire. I seem to recall liberty desire was not looking too good the last time we saw it in the updates. frankenfreak fucked around with this message at 13:34 on Jul 10, 2018 |
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Jul 10, 2018 13:26
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It seems the GoM advisors are attempting to pull the wool over the eyes on the Pope on the need for high tariffs. The budget they presented him with pretends that we are barely running a surplus budget, basing its numbers on wartime funding of the army and navy. We humbly request to the Pope that he ignore the shortsighted voices of greed that ask we only raise tariffs, popular rebellion will lead to rebellion and either widespread destruction in the New World or the independence and loss of markets. (I know it's fluff to make us weaker as we're already massively strong, but I just gotta try my best to help the Papacy. )Wonderful update, love the trade maps and internal politics! Crisis Now posted:The Baghdad House of Wisdom - once the center of Islamic teaching and knowledge it was lost to the Yazidi in the formation of the Pavonian Empire. Rumour is the Yazidi wished to burn it to the ground but instead took all material inside I see we shall be fighting the Yazidi amongst the stars... Edit: At least he's 57 years old... Nice to see France has recovered Jylland (3-4), 2 provinces in the Netherlands and a handful in Ireland. They're still down 50% of Ireland and 5 provinces in the Netherlands, but it's decent progress. Too bad Victoria and Adamane are short of money, or they'd probably DoW their neighbors much faster. Edit: Hmmm, looks like Shirvan is dealing with Turkestan somewhat. rarx fucked around with this message at 23:21 on Jul 10, 2018 |
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Jul 10, 2018 14:31
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Next time: World Megawar 2:Colonial Independence Boogaloo. This string of embezzler Popes is gonna cause some problems, and Callistus is no Paulus in just general ability.
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Jul 10, 2018 14:42
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I wonder what the Lord himself what have to say about the Church going full on white imperialists? Equality for all in the Papal lands, says I!
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Jul 10, 2018 17:44
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