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.

[GoTfan]

Richard Butler, please.

[windjammer]

the King of France please!

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Parliamentary England please.

[Garlan Gunter]

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

[Huey Long is a Republican]

I would like to have the kingdom of Sweden please.

[YPestis25]

Can I take King Phillip IV of Spain and Portugal?

[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.

[Joe Haydn]

Archibald Campbell and Parliamentary Scotland, please.

[Garlan Gunter]

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.

I reckon both 'main' British factions could contain more or less infinite subdivisions if necessary (indeed in your position I would possibly have limited the game to the British Isles, but that's your choice and I'm sure it will add an exciting European dimension!)

But it would def be fun to play as, say, Waller or Lambert on the Parliamentary side, or Sir Edward Hyde or Rupert on the Royalist

Also wonder if Ireland should be divided like Scotland? At this point the Confederates were pretty totally active rebels against Charles's forces under Ormonde and Antrim...

Ignore all this if too annoying / no more players needed of course

(and forgive my ramblings, this period is presently the closest thing I have to a day job!!!)

EDIT: other thoughts if nec: Netherlands? Denmark? Protestant German princes?

[Huey Long is a Republican]

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.

I reckon both 'main' British factions could contain more or less infinite subdivisions if necessary (indeed in your position I would possibly have limited the game to the British Isles, but that's your choice and I'm sure it will add an exciting European dimension!)

But it would def be fun to play as, say, Waller or Lambert on the Parliamentary side, or Sir Edward Hyde or Rupert on the Royalist

Also wonder if Ireland should be divided like Scotland? At this point the Confederates were pretty totally active rebels against Charles's forces under Ormonde and Antrim...

Ignore all this if too annoying / no more players needed of course

(and forgive my ramblings, this period is presently the closest thing I have to a day job!!!)

EDIT: other thoughts if nec: Netherlands? Denmark? Protestant German princes?

I would've originally liked Brandenburg-Prussia but it was wasn't available, so I chose Sweden.

[Lumine]

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

[Lumine]

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

[Kingpoleon]

Parliamentary Scotland, please.

[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.

[Lumine]

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).

[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

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

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

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

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.

[Garlan Gunter]

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

[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.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

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

[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.

[Garlan Gunter]

This game could be subject to a similar weakness as the (wonderful I thought) Alea Iacta Est - an intimidatingly huge character being indispensable (Caesar, Charles). In such cases even those with time to commit sometimes feel a bit workshy (I tend to prefer an at least theoretically smaller role I feel sure I can keep of top of!)

In a way there might be a case for keeping the Crown - like its opposite Parliament - in an NPCish state, influenced by bickering Royalist players (one could definitely be the Queen!), but determined by the mod - which is, ironically enough given the Divine Right of Kings, often how Charles's court functioned...