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WE WILL NOT DIE TODAY

>>96849971
Tsardom anon here. I own nothing, I willingly did unpaid research and work for a niche collaborative project on a Papuan bird watching forum, knowing full well it's out of my hands the moment I hit post.
Templates would be very useful and a shared TTS could work as a solution, though I'm not sure how that would work, exactly.
I don't think you've ever had a big problem with imposing your views on submitted content. We're all human of course, but you've been pretty consistent on trying not to treat the project like you own it, even though you did put in most of the work. I can emphatise with why everyone involved did what they did, and in retrospect this incident was not that important. So I am glad to hear you'll stay on, the threads, I feel, would not be the same without you.

Ok, I've finished the rewrite of the Japan lore, mixing the lore in the wiki with Kaiser's proposal.
-------
Very few nations in Asia were more deeply transformed by the changes brought by the 19th century than Japan. After the Tokugawa Shogunate implemented the “Sakoku” policies at the beginning of the 17th century, Japan became isolated from all western influence, and greatly cut its ties with its neighbors, all to finally attain peace and unity after centuries of civil war. However, by the 19th century, the effects of these policies had left Japan in a precarious position. The Chinese defeat at the hands of the British in the First Opium War and then again by a coalition of european powers in the Second Opium War had left China, the traditional power in the region for millennia, humiliated by the western nations. All the while, their expansion, both political, economic and colonial, continued throughout Asia and the Pacific. While many began warning about the risk this represented to the stability of the nation, the shogunate government was firm in their resolution. This would come to haunt them, as the american diplomatic expedition led by commodore Matthew Perry managed to force the shogunate to open their docks to US’ shipping and business in 1854. The result of this gunboat diplomacy left the shogunate humiliated, and led the way to the arrival of further western influence into Japan. Seeing that the need to modernize was dire, least they become a mere plaything of foreign powers, multiple local clans began moving against the shogunate, seeing it as a threat to the reforms needed to be done to allow for the nation’s survival.

>>96852005
In particular, this push for renewal was lead by the Satsuma and the Chōshū clans. Having been modernizing their armies for years by talking to foreign assistants, buying western weaponry and adopting new strategies, they were in a strong position to restore power to the emperor, the first stage for the deep reforms the country needed. At the beginning of 1868, a force loyal to the Satsuma and Chōshū clans took over the imperial palace in Kyoto, declared the return of absolute power to the young emperor Mustuhito and demanded the abolition of the title of shogun. The shogun’s rejection led to the Boshin War, a civil war that lasted until the few remaining supporters of the shogunate had to surrender in Hokkaido in 1869.

>>96852016
With the Imperial victory in the Boshin War, and the crushing of rebellion after minor rebellion throughout the country as unruly samurai were brought to heel and integrated into the new system, the Emperor Meiji, who now wielded a centralized power not seen since the mythological emperors far back into Japanese history, began to evaluate his priorities. It had been through the adoption of a new model army that victory over the remnants of the shogunate had been achieved, and the Emperor, his privy council, and his Imperial Diet began the process of economic, socio-political, and military modernization that would become known as the Meiji Restoration. Thus, the imperial capital was moved to Tokyo, and a long process of modernization began. After a slumber of nearly three hundred years, and only maintaining contact with the outside world through the Dutch and Portuguese in controlled circumstances, Japan walked into the outside world and beheld a great change. Not only had the world modernized, the world had been hollowed. Below the surface, the great empires were taking their slice of the melon. The emperor intended to bring his own knife to the table, soon enough.

>>96852032
But first, Japan needed to consolidate their control in Asia. After all, what chance would they have to create an empire if they could not prove their mettle to their own neighbors? Japan began building up their armies and their navy, hoping for a chance to prove their worth between the empires of the world. Their chance arrived in 1871, when a Japanese ship had run aground on the coast of Taiwan. Its crew, 54 hands in all, were brutally murdered by the native tribes of Paiwan, which had been nominal tribute-bearers of the Qing Emperor. However, after the chaos that had resulted in China after the success of the Taiping Revolution, the island of Taiwan was far from the control of the followers of Hong Xiuquan. Thus, the island presented a great target for Japanese expansion: both hoping to secure their strategic interests in the Eastern China Sea and to gain a great deal of prestige, the Japanese launched a punitive campaign to the island. In 1874, six warships and nearly four thousand men landed in the island, quickly taking over it, and beginning the subjugation of the natives. Japanese settlement of the island continues to this day, with frequent clashes between the local populations and the new arrivals.

>>96852050
However, this was not a seamless transformation. In particular, the Satsuma Clan, one of the main driving forces against the shogunate, quickly became disillusioned with the way the government was going. The rapid westernization of Japan clashed with many of the Confucian ideals of the clan’s leader, Saigō Takamori, seeing it as losing the very soul of the nation. The growing influence of the outsiders was also an affront: while they recognized the need to establish ties to the West, the degree of external influence over Japanese culture was seen as a treason to the “Sonnō jōi” they had defended years earlier. Even the conquest of Taiwan was not enough to quell the criticisms of the old samurai class, stripped of their centenarian rights, were hungry for some sort of retribution against those who had wrong them. Soon enough, thousands of jobless samurai flocked to the ranks of the Satsuma. Both sides began preparing for war, and the tensions finally erupted in 1877, when an apparent assassination attempt was used as justification for the Satsuma Clan to rise in rebellion. However, not even a week after the uprising began, a massive earthquake shook the island of Kyushu, sinking almost all of it into the sea.

>>96852076
The shock of the sinking was quickly compounded by further unnatural events. Less than a month later, a sudden invasion force appeared within the island of Hokkaido, seemingly from thin air, and began to attack nearby towns and cities. The Imperial Diet immediately sent their forces to combat this enemy, believing it to be one of the western powers at first. However, the Japanese forces were met in combat by armies of dinosaur riders and sea monsters, proving not to be european or american nations, but the denizens of Agartha. Western experts identified the threat as the forces of New Mu, having come out from an, until then, unknown entrance deep in Hokkaido. While the Japanese army had progressed greatly during the previous years, the sudden attack from within their borders and their already limited control over Hokkaido meant that the muan forces could quickly move across the territory, gaining the favor of the local ainu tribes, many of them preferring the muans over their Japanese as overlords. Caught off guard, the Imperial Diet even discussed the idea of asking the western powers for help, but this was eventually rejected. Not only this would make Japan dependent on foreign protection, completely missing the point of the Meiji Restoration, but the western powers themselves were not too kin in regards to fighting a war against an agarthan power in favor of an Asian nation, least that risk their own holdings below. In the end, the muans finally defeated in the Siege of Hakodate. In the Treaty of Hakodate, British and french diplomats managed to intercede between the Japanese and the New Mu forces, to limit the latter’s expansion to Hokkaido, while also respecting the property and economic interests of western traders and businesses. Thus, the island of Hokkaido became a feud controlled by multiple saur rider clans, and a blow to the honor of the Japanese Empire, an affront that they would work for decades to correct.

>>96852087
The sinking of Kyushu was immediately seen as an omen to the imperial government, and thus they accelerated their process of modernization, but the loss of one of Japan’s main islands was a big blow against it, and now they were reeling from the defeat at Hokkaido. The government contacted the french embassy: after the Fall of Paris, they realized that the island might not have just sank beneath the waves, but it may have suffered a similar fate to the city of lights, and they began exploring the possibility that Kyushu had ended up in Agartha. Both parties, as well as british, american and Italian volunteers, began sending explorers across Agartha, seeking to figure out whether the island was indeed below the earth. At the same time, the Imperial Diet also recognized the need for developing their defenses even further, least the muans decided to go beyond Hokkaido. The efforts of the Japanese government led them to a massive project of alphabetization, schooling and military readiness. This venture, known by the papers and tabloids as the “Blood Tax”, resulted in dozens of demonstrations and protests across the nation, something almost unheard of coming from the common classes. This clash resulted in a serious questioning of the new imperial government, having to step back in the scope of some of their goals.

>>96852105
Meanwhile, the supposition that the people at Kyushu might have survived the fall turned out to be right. Most of the island of Kyushu had ended up near the eastern shores of the Neo Tethys in the 3rd layer. Historians often compare the Fall of Kyushu with the Fall of Paris, though while similar at first glance, the fall of Kyushu had many important differences from the Parisian situation. While the majority of the population survived the fall, Saigō Takamori did not live for long, suffering a fatal heart attack a couple of days after the landing in Agartha. The loss of the main leader of the Satsuma Clan forced his generals to coordinate to try to get a hold of the new situation. Fortunately for them, the island had been preparing for a rebellion for years, and thus had been gathering resources and weapons for a long time, not to mention the thousands of samurai ready for war. This level of military preparation allowed the survivors a much faster response to the threats from their new home. This did not mean all of the Kyushu populations endured: some of the cities had to be abandoned, either due to natural causes (Nagasaki had landed in the middle of the sea, and the slow sinking of the land below forced its population to evacuate as quickly as possible) or through external pressure (their close proximity to New Mu resulted in an assault to the city of Fukuoka, being razed to the ground). The city of Kagoshima, the center of power of the Satsuma, managed to survive, though it was eventually abandoned and rebuilt southwards once the situation was stable enough to allow it.

>>96852116
All this resulted in most of the population having to move southwards, along the coast, which forced them into conflict with the local tribes of the area. The Satsuma Wars were a complex process, and in many areas are still ongoing. The thousands of samurai saw their fall not as a misfortune, but as a chance to recover their honor and lost rights. Bands of samurai launched a campaign of conquest against the tribes of the region, and while they in theory did so in the name of the Satsuma Clan, in reality they were gaining feudal holdings of their own. This was also helped by the fact that, unlike in the case of Paris, the more traditional and less industrialized way of life of the Kyushu inhabitants meant that they suffered less of a shock when having to survive in Mnemosynia. It also helped that the region they landed in was much less populated that the Tethian Claw Peninsula, resulting in an easier takeover. That did not mean that they had no difficulties: in many cases, the samurai had to result to political marriages rather than fighting due to their limited numbers, being absorbed into the local nobility and resulting in the first samurai saur riders. After seven years, the Satsuma Domain had been firmly established, ironically taking a form closer to the shogunate they had originally fought against, with a central capital ruled by a coalition of Satsuma generals trying to control the samurai land nobility.

>>96852128
Another thing that helped the expansion of the Satsuma was the fact that they were quickly discovered. In 1881 the Satsuma leadership received a series of Parisian envoys, managing to establish trade between the french colonies in Agartha and the Satsuma Domain. This helped the Satsuma receive many of the resources they needed to establish themselves, while also aiding them in reestablishing contact with the imperial authorities in Tokyo. The negotiations between the Satsuma envoys and the imperial government in 1882 were much smoother than many in the West expected. With the death of Saigō Takamori, the remaining Satsuma generals were much open to reestablish relations with the imperial government, though they left quite clear that, while they still recognize the emperor’s authority, they did not recognize that of the imperial government. On their part, the imperial government was glad that they not only had survived, but that the Satsuma had given them a way to relieve the still tense situation back in Japan. There were still plenty of movements against the government, either by more traditionalists cells or by disgruntled samurai.

>>96852136
The Satsuma Domain gave them a chance to relieve this tension by sending these elements underground, allowing the rest of Japan to continue their program of modernization, all the while they expanded Japan’s domains in Agartha. In 1882, the Satsuma-Tokyo Reconciliation Conference took place, reuniting the governments of Tokyo, represented by Saigō Takamori’s nephew Jutoku Saigo, and the Satsuma representatives. The reunion resulted in the signing of the “Treaties of Reunion”, which on paper reunited both into a single nation, but in practice recognized the existence of two nations with a shared monarch. This was inevitable, as the two regions have no direct contact between them, as New Mu still controls the entrances that could led to the Satsuma territories, and thus, neither side has any way to impose their authority over the other (not that either one wants to, as they are quite comfortable with the arrangement).

>>96852146
With this sudden change of luck to their favor, the Imperial Diet began moving to reconquer the island of Hokkaido. After many years, the cold and snowy island of Hokkaido had become boring for the saur rider clans in charge of the territory, and many had either gone back below or had begun to fight each other. Now, with an army stronger than ever, and a great deal of counsel from the Satsuma Domain, highly experienced in fighting New Mu and their saur riders, the chances of retaking the island were considerable. A small skirmish in the small town of Oma in Honshu led to the perfect excuse to restart hostilities against the island’s occupiers. In 1883, the Japanese army launched a massive amphibian invasion of Hokkaido, quickly dispersing the few saur rider clans that had remained near the shores. The war, while slower and bloodier than expected, was a victory for the Japanese army, finally cleaning the island from most saur clans by 1884, though some saur clans still remain in the mountains to this day.

>>96852166
Now, the question is what to do about the entrance. The Hokkaido Entrance is not under full control of Japan, as the area at the other end is well within New Mu territory, and the muans have proven time and time again to be quite adept at tunnel fighting. However, now that Japan knows where the entrance is, they have created a series of fortifications, some of them carrying the biggest artillery pieces in the whole country, all ready to repel any attack from the entrance. Hokkaido has also been quite militarized, aiming to prevent another surprise from below, though that resulted in many reprisals against those ainu populations who willingly joined the muans and even fought for them. There is a great deal of discussion about what to do next. Many parties within the Diet believe that Japan needs to prove their strength by expanding downwards properly, and thus war against New Mu is inevitable, this time on Japan’s terms. For all their efforts, Japan still needs a great deal of raw resources to feed their growing industrial economy, and the lands below might prove rich in that regard. However, the Satsuma are growing less and less interested in Hokkaido and war with New Mu. They not only are still expanding across the region and thus have no need to go to war alongside Imperial Japan, but going against New Mu right now, while they are still expanding and their position is not completely safe, could result in disaster for them. Beating the occasional assault from New Mu saur rider clans is one thing, but having to fight a unified New Mu front is another entirely. Indeed, the Satsuma have also discovered an entrance to the 4th layer and have begun establishing outposts in the region, though the difficulty defeating the nomad warriors around the area makes this expansion difficult.

>>96852183
Something I realized last night was that the Germans might have given over Landsknecht tech to Japan in exchange for the right to use the Hokkaido entrance when it's (in their minds) inevitably conquered. It parallels their OTL interest in the Pacific for colonial ventures and also tracks with their strategy of paying for entrances with gold or Catholics, as opposed to the British strategy of saying "it's ours now"

>>96852614
>Virgin British colonialism
>OI MATE YOU GOT A LOICENSE FOR THAT ENTRANCE?!
>Chad German colonialism
>Here, mein Freund, have a kool robot, ja?

>>96852614
It would make sense. Considering that, in OTL, Germany bought all of the Pacific colonies Spain couldn't defend after their defeat in the Spanish-American War, it would make sense for them to offer help to Japan in exchange for passage below as a parallel. Giving them the german gundam is probably too much, the germans are probably keeping that piece of technology as secret as possible, least other powers begin imitating it.

I would like to say I quite like the use of Japanese art for the various Imperial soldiers.

>>96853566
>Giving them the german gundam is probably too much, the germans are probably keeping that piece of technology as secret as possible, least other powers begin imitating it.
Yeah, while the idea of Meiji mechas is entertaining, I'm a bit concerned about the powercreep, both game wise and lore wise.

>>96853566
>>96853744
When I saw the inclusion of the mech in the Japan list a month or two ago I said I'd post an idea for it and then flaked as I often do. My pitch would have been a 1-person crew "character enhancer" that a unit could get inside of and pilot with a melee focus and a slowly recharging AP pool with a high AP cap, like a less powerful stealth maybe. The recharging would be meant to evoke battery power vs German diesel and the one-person focus would have been closer in theme I think to a lot of those animated Japanese shows with the robots people like. I do like the current version as a sort of reworked Landsknecht though, it has a fun retrofit feel to it.

As for the implications of Japan getting a mech, I think that it's alright since the Germans are already leasing out Landsknecht walkers. They don't have the advantage of actually owning an entrance so I think it makes sense they'd be more willing to make deals to get boots on the ground. If it does feel like the mechtech is spreading too far too fast my suggestion would be to slap "prototype" on the front of the Japanese mech's unit name and give it the character keyword so people know it's a one of one collectible and not a production line yet. That way the unit can stay without denting the lore overmuch.

I can't speak for how powercreep-y it could be ruleswise or not. That's something which testing could help with.

>>96854577
>my suggestion would be to slap "prototype" on the front of the Japanese mech's unit name and give it the character keyword so people know it's a one of one collectible and not a production line yet.
Germany leased a company of prototype Landsknechts to Japan only to lose all but one in a disastrous Muic plot, and the pilot of the last one gets crippled and has to teach a plucky Japanese teen how to use it before the Mu horde destroys the Satsuma domain. Or something like that, I've never actually watched Gundam.

>>96850711
>"Hey, Atlan Immortal, did you know there's a new anti-grey hair product on sale at-"
>"I WILL NOT DYE TODAY!"

>>96850638
Tiny Horse: 5 Silver
AP: 2
Movement: 3, Accuracy: 3, Strength: 4, Discipline: 4, Evasion: 5, Labor: -, Awareness: 6
Health: 1
Armor: 000
Horde [x6]
Unobtrusive

Cute: Models that Activate in the same hex as a Tiny Horse gain +2 Discipline until the end of the turn, but always lose Parleys not initiated by them. When a Tiny Horse dies, both players take 1 Dread.
>TQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5jUaX9yypc

>>96855026
If your models are high enough Discipline, you could effectively disable a low Discipline army like the Tsardom by strategically shooting Tiny Horses.

>>96854841
I'd watch the shit out of that. And not just for the inevitable Muan Priestess scenes.

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>>96854841
I watched The 8th MS Team last year. It felt like what i'm told Battle Tech is like.
>>96853566
https://desuarchive.org/_/search/boards/tg.desu.meta/text/osore/
German-Italian cooperation in developing Japans railways and Entrance. Japan wants an entrance they control so get involved in Tonkin hopping the French will let them develop and own (if partly) Son Doong. I don't expect you guys to use that proposal, but it's there.
It would be a way for the Germans to get involved within giving them a Mech, although i see no reason why they shouldn't, and really they must, as the only other option would be a Joshi Kouhei type deal. I say that, but them unearthing a giant working Dogu would be kino. "The foreigners won't cooperate, but it doesn't matter because our ancestors already made a better mech, and we just found it underground", feels like something straight out of Eva.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog%C5%AB
>they blow up their own entrance idea from last thread
I really like this. It feels right. Maybe in attempting to reopen the entrance they dig up the dogu?
>>96855098
Damn, that's a good point. It should be "When a Tiny Horse dies, players that control a model effected by Cute gain 2 Dread".

>>96855356
The Mechanical Dogu would also function as a Deep foil to China's Terracotta Warriors and such.

>>96854865
>Atlan Immortal! Vile outlanders have crossed the sacred wall! Rise from bed and come to our aid!
>"I WILL NOT TRY TODAY!"

>>96856336
>Atlan immortal! We are out of bread, do you think you could...?
>I WILL NOT BUY TODAY!!

>>96855026
>>96855098
Now I want a story about how the Tsarina's love for tiny horses made many Tsardom army units to have pet tiny horses as well.

>>96855356
>Japan wants an entrance they control so get involved in Tonkin hopping the French will let them develop and own
Maybe it's just me, but I'd like to keep any Vietnam expedition to be a French-Spanish affair. As Spain did intervene in Cochinchina in OTL, it would make sense for the french to use the Philippines a a launching board for eventual control of Vietnam, plus the carlists would be interested in intervening in the defense of catholicism, like what happened in Đại Nam, and maybe get an entrance out of it.

I've been thinking about the Mu economy strategy. The chocobo herder only gives you an avenue for profit in the form of meat, but I think there's a better way to make money.
>Step 1: Get Morlocks
>Step 2: Morlock Grunts die adjacent to Tallyman, this either gives you and your opponent 1 silver or neither of you any silver.
>Ghoulish Taxation lets you pump up LP
>Use this LP to spam "Have you paid the Tithe, Outlander?" On two Mu Masters (are you allowed to take the same hero trait on two heros?) and one Priestess
>You can afford the LP cost for failing, especially if you have regenerating Morlock grunts with Endless Swarm and Morlock staff crit fishing (Fishing, get it?)
>You can also buff the Mu Masters to hell and back awareness-wise so they don't fail the parley.
>Morlock bodies in front to stop specialist/hero sniping, and to produce more corpse tokens. Specialists/heros behind to parley at opponent.
>If I understand parley correctly then this should max out at around 30-45 silver per turn, depending on if your units are fed or not, which is profitable on turn 2 but only after a significant list investment and grouping all of your units together to get wiped by artillery.
>Part of me wonders if this is why Old Mu even keeps Morlocks around

>>96856398
>Atlan Immortal! We just saw the vile Epigeans massacre a herd of tiny horses for sport! They got away before we could do anything!
>I WILL NOT CRY TODAY!!

>>96856499
Damn... He is litterly me.
>>96856442
I wonder how that would work in practice. Thinking about it, the Agarthan factions don't really have econ lists in the same way. I guess that makes sense.
>are you allowed to take the same hero trait on two heros?
Yes.
>>96856437
It's mostly just an excuse to get the Japanese and Chinese to fight before Korea (do they even control Korea?). The Spanish can get involved too, but i very much feel the focus should be on the French and Japanese.

>>96857424
I mean, control over Korea could be a good enough excuse for a chinese-japanese clash. No need to get them involved in Vietnam, where western powers are already encroaching upon. Hell, before Vietnam, wouldn't they want to control closer things like Manchuria or Hainan?

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Updated timeline with the new japanese lore.

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>>96858444
Also, here is the updated world map with Japan included.

I just thought of something. If Korea was quite christian by mid 19th century, how would they react to taiping christianism?

>>96842795
I'm only addressing things that i see as misunderstandings, things that i have inspired a new idea, or if i have a question. If i don't reply to something, it doesn't mean i've discounted it, just that i've nothing productive or illuminating to say regarding it.
>the literary angle
I'll address this first. The Bergen Correspondent and Armed Neutrality are that. Armed Neutrality is meant to give the impression of people being urged on by the press. The name is from Kierkegaard. The Warfex angle (you read that right enough) is also the literary angle, again from Kierkegaard.
>Hans Christian Andersen
>navy was better than their army
Both hard things to represent. The Danish Faction Trait and Tidal Bore on the Scandinavian Sailor were my attempts. Ugly Duckling Boat? It starts out shit, but gets really good near the end of the game? I don't know how to do that without aping Agarthan Engineering. Maybe some artifact found by Bjelke? Like, a Viking Longship that slowly grows into an Ironclad? Maybe it requires Neptunium to do so? The method of upgrading the ship then would be to build Neptunium Wells, then draw Neptunium and bring it to ship for it to drink. You'd pour it down the throat of the figure head. It would also be a sort of metaphor for industrialization.

There is more i want to get to, but that's all i have for now.

>>96859553
I'd say "notably Christian", but it wouldn't be a stretch to say they are more Christian than they were. As for the Korean Christians, foolishly optimistic, i would imagine. The old school Confucians would be quite upset, certainly, and depending on how far north Tai Ping's influence reaches, afraid. It might be a situation where the upper classes would be open to selling out the country to the Japanese in order to keep their positions and Christianity at bay, while an amount of the underclasses would be embracing "Christianity with Chinese characteristics". Maybe that's all just psychic gravity from the war in the 50s.

>>96858444
>Spanish-American war
I'm pretty sure it was not meant to be a war, just a combination of American and British support for Cuba focring Carlos to abandon it. At the very least, a full on war makes less sense right after the Paraguay Incident.
I believe we *mostly* agreed on the proposals in my draft. Will you be adding them next? Is there anything left to resolve?