Babel
| The Republic of Babel | |||||||||||||
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| Politics and Religion | |||||||||||||
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| Population and Economy | |||||||||||||
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The Republic of Babel was established by the overthrow of the Empire of Babel. The extremism and misgovernment of that Orthodox regime led to a radical anti-theist ideology spreading through underground presses, eventually overthrowing the theocracy and establishing a state based on anti-clericalism and human rights, in percieved opposition to Divine Right. More traditional states are now watching the experiment with anything from amusement to alarm, while the fledgling republic seeks to secure its position and spread freedom and democracy to the oppressed of other lands and shores.
History
Ancient History
In the early days, a convergence of geographical, geological and supernatural factors produced outstanding farmland in an arid region of Creation, which was settled and densely populated by humans, who were conquered by the Alfar like all others when their time came.
After the influence of the Alfar became negligible and then vanished completely, the great men of Babel collapsed into bickering, leading to a long period of misrule by warring noble families that exchanged settlements and populations like game pieces. The image of the ‘Grand Game’ or ‘Noble Game’ remains strong in Babelic culture, both as a board game (now unpopular) and as a concept invoked to condemn the way nobles and gods use their subjects. However, the Noble Game itself did not survive the Necromantic war and the coming of Orthodoxy.
The Necromantic War
The Necromantic was was one of the few times in history that the nobles displayed a semblance of unity. With the assistance of Orthodox crusaders they fought in the bitter conflict for decades, and Orthodoxy spread through much of the land. As the war drew to a close however, the lords fell into bickering once more. The Church, displeased, backed the strongest Orthodox lord and with the aid of the Crusaders the region was unified under Emperor Carloman.
The Orthodoxy
Carloman's empire established the first unified church and institutions, and was a roaring success. However the governments of his successors were marked largely by incompetence, arrogance and oppression. The most critical manifestation of this was their focus on traditional and foreign enemies which led to a failure to isolate and stamp out rising of Merodist sentiment among the general public until it was too late. The final errors were the decision of the Orthodoxy to support the corrupt government against its opponents, and the public execution of Merodin himself, which sparked a general revolution against both the government and the Orthodox church itself. The Orthodox government was doomed, and certain critical events such as the defection of General Rim-Sun and the isolation of Orthodox reinforcements only hastened the inevitable.
The Republic
That was five years ago. Now the Republic is firmly established, governed by an elected Senate, Representative Councils and an Emperor in turn elected by them. The statues of the Orthodox Emperors and Angels have been torn down and replaced with Urist, Merodin and Empress Semiramis, and the masses of the people that validate the power they hold.
Politics
The Principles of the Revolution
1. All rational beings are in essence equal.
2. No authority derives except from the consent of the governed.
- "Can a people crushed by centuries of propaganda and oppression give meaningful consent? Of course not, no more than you or I would accept a confession from a man beaten senseless by his captors. It is our moral duty to free these people and uplift them until they can establish a government of their own."
3. All rational beings inherently possess the rights to life, property, and freedom of thought and agency.
4. These rights may only be abridged as is necessary to defend the rights of others and the principles of the revolution.
- "The promulgation of material denying the righteousness of the revolution is inherently a threat to the rights of the people and the integrity of the republic they have created. To allow these demagogues to walk free is not a defence of our principles, it is a betrayal."
Geography
Military
The Army of the People
Babel is threatened at every turn by the forces of Reaction, and so a policy of conscription has been enacted. Every able-bodied man and woman is expected to serve a tour of duty in the army and be ready to defend the revolution. Even beyond this the revolutionary fervour is such that many people voluntarily remain in the military once their time is completed. This has enabled the creation of a large army that makes up for a lack of training and tradition with motivation and professionalism, aided (and sometimes hampered) in no small part by various technical and organisational innovations.
The Republican Guard
The armoured spearhead of the military however is the Republican Guard. The most hardened veterans of the revolution formed the basis for this body, and are only joined by those who distinguish themselves in the regular army in terms of talent, bravery and ideological purity. These men and women then form a fanatically devoted and cruelly trained elite that the goverment can call upon to perform the most important tasks.
The Inquisition and Exquisition
Freedom is an irrepressible but fragile thing. The seeds of its destruction in Babel must be uncovered and crushed. The seeds of its creation in other countries must be spread and nurtured. To this end the Republic has established a secret order of the most dedicated and capable children of the revolution. In its two branches, it acts outside of public knowledge to defend the republic and the principles on which it stands.
Cast
- Semiramis I: Empress of Babel. Bright-eyed fanatic. Leader and hero of the Revolution with a cult of personality.
- Kin-Apli: Chairman of the General Council. Dependable bureaucrat who tirelessly but fruitlessly fought corruption and sought reform, then threw in his hat with the revolution when it came.
- Matar: Foreign Minister. Major intellectual of the Merodist movement.
- Souman: Minister of the Interior. Former merchant instituting liberalisation policies.
- Sundjata: Minister of War. Unsmiling fanatic. Distrusts Rim-Sun.
- Rim-Sun: General Officer of the Army of the People. Major former Orthodox general.
- Riai: Scientific genius.
- Ninya: Semiramis' daughter. Entitled brat.
Miscellaneous
Fabulous fashions of the wives of the wealthy: 1, 2,3, 4
Babelic music is primarily based on stringed instruments. The harpsichord is popular in the city, though being supplanted by the newly invented and highly fashionable fortepiano. Rural folk music uses simpler instruments and makes greater use of percussion.
The symbol of the revolution is a red circle, commonly represented with a ribbon or a garland of roses. The heraldry of Babel consists of a red circle on a white field.
Sample Build (250 pts)
Emisum
- Countryside (major river, genesis, mana leak)
- City, Town, Horse Ranch
- Production: 6-7 food, 1350 gold, 150 mana, 25 horses, 40 books
- Draft: 12C, 1N
Samium
- Countryside (major river, genesis, mana leak)
- City, Horse Ranch
- Production: 6-6 food, 1150 gold, 150 mana, 25 horses, 30 books
- Draft: 10C, 1N
Zabaia
- Demesne (major river)
- Town, Levistone Quarry x2
- Production: 2-1 food, 350 gold, 100 mana, 2 levistones, 10 books
- Draft: 2C
Sin-Iquisham
- Wastes x3
Sin-Iddinam
- Wastes x2
Totals
- Domains: 8
- Population: 24C, 2N
- Gross food production: 14
- Net food production: 0
- Gold income: 2850
- Mana output: 1000
- Levistone output: 2
- Book output: 80
- Horse output: 50
Sample Build (250 pts, no Genesis)
Emisum
- Countryside (major river)
- City
- Production: 3-5 food, 1150 gold, 100 mana, 30 books
- Draft: 9C, 1N
Samium
- Countryside (major river)
- City
- Production: 3-5 food, 1150 gold, 100 mana, 30 books
- Draft: 9C, 1N
Naplanum
- Countryside (major river)
- Town, Horse Ranch
- Production: 3-2 food, 350 gold, 25 horses, 10 books
- Draft: 5C, 1N
Gungunum
- Countryside (major river)
- Horse Ranch
- Production: 3-1 food, 150 gold, 25 horses
- Draft: 3C, 1N
Zabaia
- Demesne (major river)
- Town, Levistone Quarry x2
- Production: 2-1 food, 350 gold, 100 mana, 2 levistones, 10 books
- Draft: 2C
Sin-Iquisham
- Wastes x3
Sin-Iddinam
- Wastes x2
Totals
- Domains: 10
- Population: 29C, 2N
- Gross food production: 14
- Net food production: 0
- Gold income: 3150
- Mana output: 750
- Levistone output: 2
- Book output: 80
- Horse output: 50