The War of the Three Kingdoms (Rules and Sign Ups)

[DKrol]

The War of the Three Kingdoms

Historical Context:

The year is 1642. In the heat of the English summer, King Charles has raised the royal standard in Nottingham and the first English Civil War has commenced.

After feuding with Parliament for his entire reign, the tensions have reached a boiling point between the King and the men elected to represent his subjects. The root of their conflict is the premise of where the right to rule comes from. For Charles, it comes from the Divine Right of Kings. For the Parliamentarians, it comes from the consent of the governed. Both the King and the Parliamentarians have their armies raised and subjects are taking sides.

It is not just England that is facing discord. Scotland has not been favorable to the Royalist cause for some time, with Charles' efforts to Anglicanize the Church of Scotland failing terribly and causing the Bishop's War in Scotland. The Irish as well have used this period of instability to build momentum for their independence cause, having their own religious war in 1641. Ireland is being run by the Catholic Confederation and is loosely supporting the Royalist cause but their focus is mostly internal.

On the continent, war is in full swing as well. Most notably along religious lines, the powers of Europe have drawn sides in an effort to curtail the influence of the Habsburg family. The war has been dragging on for decades by this point and lots of blood has been spilled by all sides. Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III is rumored to be planning to sue for peace, while the French Cardinal Richelieu, although aging and ill, believes victory is at hand.

How will the English cause make out? Will Europe rebuild after decades of bloody war?

[DKrol]

Rules:

Turns: Turns will last for 72 hours at a minimum, although they can be extended, if needed, to a maximum of one week. Each turn will cover 3 months in-game: Early (January to April), Mid (May to September), and Late (October to December). The game commences on August 22, 1642.

Intrigue and Diplomacy: Covert negotiations and decisions must be sent to me so I know what is going on in my game. I will not recognize any orders, alliances, plans, plots, or otherwise that I am not informed on. This is a strict rule.

Start of Turn Updates: The map will be updated at the beginning of every turn. Each turn will begin with an update on the effects of the previous turn and I will give each player two to four personal problems to address. Lack of responding to these problems will result negatively for the inactive player. Too many inactive turns and your character will be killed off and you will not be allowed to rejoin, without special circumstances being granted.

Assassinations: Several rules were successfully assassinated during this period and there were numerous other conspiracies to commit other assassinations. To account for this, every player will be designated a number between 1 and 100 at the start of the game. At the end of each turn, I will hit a random number generation and, if those two numbers match, that character will be assassinated. If your character is assassinated, depending on the situation in your country, you may be able to continue ruling as if nothing happened, you may be locked in a bitter power struggle, or you may have reached your end game.

Succession: Laws of succession in this time were not as clear as they are today. Male, legitimate children are the best and safest way to ensure easy succession. This does not always happen. Depending on your country, the in-game decisions made, and the manor of your death, things could go a number of ways. Another player could make a power-grab and make a claim to the throne. Your chosen heir could be recognized as legitimate and you carry on playing as normal. Your chosen heir is not universally recognized and you’re now faced with a succession crisis and, possibly, a civil war. Remember these wise words: monarchs need an heir and a spare.

Rebellions: This period is ripe with rebellions. In the British Isles, Ireland and Scotland have already raised rebel banners in the last decade. This can happen in any other country, at largely any time, based off of in-game decisions. Depending on the scope, scale, and cause of rebellion, you could be overthrown and reach your end game, or your face yourself with a tricky situation that needs urgent attention before the guillotine comes out.

Colonization: Due to the vast unrest in Europe, colonization is not on a lot of people’s minds at this point. With that said, there is an opportunity for some nations to expand their colonial holdings or for other nations to launch their colonial empires while the major powers are wrapped up in wars at home. The English are not in a position to expand their colonial holdings at this time because of their instability at home, but they can continue to govern their current colonies.

Statistics: To avoid overcomplication, economic status will be ranked in four categories: Excellent, Good, Mild, and Poor. You obviously want to be in Excellent. The higher your economic status is, the easier time you will have ruling. Your popularity will also be ranked in four categories: Excellent, Good, Mild, and Poor. A ruler with Poor popularity will face rebellions and opposition from within. Legitimacy will also be judged on the four point scale: Excellent, Good, Mild, and Poor. New rulers will often begin at Mild. A ruler with Poor legitimacy will be faced with the possibility of a civil war and other challenges to their rule.

Simulation: As Lumine does in his games, I will use dice rolls and a random number generator for all sorts of events, actions, and player moves. That doesn't mean everything is left to chance, as factors change the order of the dice roll. I’ll use the same reasoning Lumine uses.

Example: An army of 20,000 men fights an army of 5,000 on an open field. Since numerical superiority is so large, the first army is awarded an extra dice (three against two). But let’s say the 5,000 army is instead defending a strong city like Worcester, or the commander disparity is large (as in, pitting James Graham against a young Oliver Cromwell). Then the smaller army would get an extra dice because of that advantage, and so on. Then we roll:

The Parliamentarians have two dice, plus one on account of numbers. It rolls a 4.
The Royalists have two dice, plus one on account of defending Worcester with James Graham. It rolls 18.

An extreme example and unlikely example, yes, but you can see the large disparity would make this a crushing victory for the Royalists. Then I roll again, one dice for each side, to account for losses. The Royalists could roll a six for high losses, but since their margin of victory is huge it won’t be as painful. The Parliamentarians could just roll 4, but since they got crushed they will take heavy casualties.

Players:

The initial playable nations are as follows:

Royalist England Led by King Charles of Stuart
Parliamentary England Led by Robert Devereaux, 3rd Earl of Essex (TimTurner)
Royalist Scotland Led by James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (Garlan Gunter)
Parliamentary Scotland Led by Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll (Henry Wallace)
Confederation Ireland Led by Richard Butler, 3rd Viscount Mountgarret (GoTFan)
Kingdom of France Led by King Louis XIII of Bourbon (Windjammer)
Kingdom of Sweden Led by Queen Christina of Vasa (NewTennesseePolitician)
Holy Roman Empire Led by Emperor Ferdinand III of Habsburg (Louisville Thunder)
Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal Led by King Philip IV of Habsburg (YPestis)
Dutch Republic Led by Stadtholder Frederick Henry of Orange (Lumine)

Additional states and characters may become available as the game progresses.

A Note: I will not allow just anyone to claim certain characters. To play as the major characters (Charles, Devereaux, Louis, and Ferdinand) you must have shown a history of commitment to these games and to taking them seriously.

[DKrol]

Richard Butler, please.

Granted

the King of France please!

Granted

Parliamentary England please.

Granted

...you got me; Montrose please!!!

Granted

I would like to have the kingdom of Sweden please.

Granted

Can I take King Phillip IV of Spain and Portugal?

Granted

At this rate, I may need to open up more characters.

[DKrol]

Archibald Campbell and Parliamentary Scotland, please.

Granted

Dkrol, what other characters could one play besides Charles and Ferdinand? (the ones I see available, and not quite to my liking)

Upon some research of the monarchs and characters of the era, could I humbly request Frederick Henry, Stadtholder and Prince of Orange?

Although I'd like to have Charles I and Ferdinand III filled before creating other characters, I can offer you either Frederick Henry, Pope Urban VIII, or James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond because I want you involved in the game.

Parliamentary Scotland, please.

Sorry, Parliamentary Scotland has already been claimed. Royalist England and the Holy Roman Empire are the two nations that remain although, as I expressed to Lumine above, there may be other options open if you really don't want to be Charles I or Ferdinand III.

[DKrol]

Although I'd like to have Charles I and Ferdinand III filled before creating other characters, I can offer you either Frederick Henry, Pope Urban VIII, or James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond because I want you involved in the game.

Thank you very much, Dkrol! I'll take Frederick Henry and the Netherlands then (Ormond was very, very tempting though).

Granted

[DKrol]

I'll take Ferdinand III of the Holy Roman Empire.

Granted

I'll be down to play Royalist England. I finally have the time I think. I know I have a history of dropping out, though I've never been inactive IIRC. If you don't think I'm qualified, I'd be happy to take on a secondary role as a Royalist character (I'd actually really like to be my direct ancestor, Spencer Compton, the Earl of Northampton.)

Edit: On second thought, I'd prefer being Compton. I'd take King Charles only if nobody else wanted him and I was deemed qualified enough to play.

I'm not going to open up subsidiary Royalist characters until we have all of the main characters filled. You can have Charles if you want him.

It does strike me that since Monty didn’t really get much done till 1645 maybe I could step in and control Charles for the time being? Although I do think ideally both main English camps, exceptionally divided and treacherous as they were, should be represented by more than one player

Just because Montrose didn't do much until 1645 IOTL, doesn't mean he won't in this game.

[DKrol]

In that case, I'll take Charles. I'll hand him over to a more experienced hand should one choose to join.

I don't want to start the game with this kind of attitude from the most important character. The person playing Charles has to actually want to be Charles and not give him up when someone else comes along.

I'm sorry, but request denied.

[DKrol]

F**k, I missed it.

Missed what?

The opportunity to sign up (I know, Charles is still out, but...)

While I think you'd make a great Charles, I can offer you either I can offer you either Pope Urban VIII or James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond.

[DKrol]

OK, I'll give Charles a chance. After all I did manage to somehow keep the Ottomans afloat.

But if they cut off my head I'd insist on rejoining even as a minor player.

That'd I can grant.

With that, all major characters are filled. If other people still want to join, I can offer some minor characters as needed.

 I'll begin the write-up to get the game going.

[DKrol]

After finishing up some final research, we should be looking at a start tomorrow afternoon/evening UK time.

[DKrol]

I've actually gotten more done sooner than expected. I actually may have the first turn posted tonight.

[DKrol]

F**k, I missed it.

Missed what?

The opportunity to sign up (I know, Charles is still out, but...)

You can have Charles. I'd rather be a lesser Royalist figure if possible.

You can still join us as either Pope Urban VIII or James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond.

[DKrol]

Right, the first turn is up and the game has started. The turn will last at least until Friday (9 February) but I may extend it until Sunday (11 February) if there hasn't been sufficient activity.

Don't forget to include me in PMs, or it won't count.

[DKrol]

Without wanting to be too forward, Dkrol, could I recommend a world map I found? It's on 1648 borders (Westphalia), but I think it could be a good way to get a grasp of the state of the world beyond Europe:

Thanks you for finding this for me. I will include it in all maps beginning with the next turn.

[DKrol]

Great! Just a final question, shouldn't Portugal be in the middle of its revolt against Spain at this moment?

João IV was acclaimed as King in a coup in late 1640 as Portugal split from Spain, leading to that bitter war of almost three decades for Portuguese independence.

For the sake of the game (and my sanity), the Portuguese revolt is just simmering at this point but could, easily, boil over in the next year or so if steps aren't taken to address it.

[DKrol]

Do we send PMs to ask to start Colonialization or do we announce it on the game?

You could certainly post it in the game thread, but I would appreciate more thorough colonization plans sent to me in PM.

[DKrol]

I already have plenty for a mid-turn update. I love it!

[DKrol]

I already have plenty for a mid-turn update. I love it!

When would this be posted?

No earlier than Wednesday

Also, can I say that the PLC wasn't involved in the TYW and wasn't a part of the HRE (Prussia wasn't either). The only modern day part of Poland that was in the HRE at the time is Silesia. Just needed to clear it up a bit.

I will concede I got a bit over zealous with the use of the fill feature in Paint. But, for our purposes, having Poland-Lithuania in HRE colours serves to emphasis the point that, as a non-playable state, it is within the HRE's sphere of influence. The same stands true for Brandenburg-Prussia, as an electorate of the HRE and certainly in the HRE's sphere.

[DKrol]

F**k, I missed it.

Missed what?

The opportunity to sign up (I know, Charles is still out, but...)

You can have Charles. I'd rather be a lesser Royalist figure if possible.

You can still join us as either Pope Urban VIII or James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond.

I'll take Butler. I want to start with something simple. I have a history of being forced to drop out of these projects early due to real life obligations and I won't allow my departure to throw the game into chaos

Great! Glad to have you. I will write you in for the start of next turn.

I want to sign up as Brandenburg-Prussia, but I don’t want to distract from your main theater.

Unfortunately, there have already been several IG actions taken that would make if unfair for you to join as Prince-Elector William Frederick of Brandenburg-Prussia at this point.

I can offer you Pope Urban VIII, Portuguese rebel leader John IV, Duke of Braganza, or William Seymour, Marquess of Hertford and Welsh Royalist leader.

[DKrol]

What about Denmark-Norway?

Sure! I'll write you in as Christian IV of Denmark-Norway at the start of the next turn.

[DKrol]

Ideally I'd like to have the turn close on Friday, giving me the weekend to simulate and write up, but I only have 1 set of orders in at this point, so I'm open to keeping the turn open until Sunday.

[DKrol]

Ok, so now I need a new Charles.

[DKrol]

Ok, so now I need a new Charles.

Like others suggested, I think it's best to leave him as an NPC for now.

I don't see how that's a possibility. He's an intergral character in the story and the choices Charles makes can, effectively, decide the course the game takes.

[DKrol]

If Kingpoleon wants Charles, he can have him.

[DKrol]

I have moves from almost everyone but, without a Charles I, I can't move on. I'll leave the turn open until Sunday for someone to definitively step forward and say "I will be Charles I, no if, ands, or buts about it" or I'll have to think about the direction of the game.