Here we are. Since the Garibaldi's nightmare update, Italy in Kaiserreich has been split into five factions: two republics, two monarchies and the pope. Lorewise, Italy suffered a civil war after the Weltkrieg, thus condemning the peninsula to a political instability that only awaits a second Risorgimento to end.I, as many other fans, think that Italy does need a rework, but maybe not as critical as others have proposed: I will address later on on the issue of the Mezzogiorno (Southern Italy), which is currently split between the Two Sicilies, ruled by Bourbons, Latium, ruled by the Pope, and Sardinia, ruled by the house of Savoy.
Risorgimento 2: Electric Boogaloo
Alright, alright, before going into the details of the various states ruling in the peninsula, let's address the region as a single element. It is one nation divided and it needs to get together again; Risorgimento is a question and the answer is "War" (because otherwise the game wouldn't be fun and because all those casualties are thankfully just numbers on a screen).
I think that the war of unification, wether it's just one or two (or more), are to be left isolated from direct foreign intervention: it usually happens that if the Neosafendisti event happens (this means that the southern states support terrorism in the SRI and the SRI responds by declaring war) and the peninsula gets into a war, after some years of fighting the SRI will join the Internationale, getting the Two Sicilies to join the Reischpakt (or other factions) and causing the war of unification of Italy to become one with the second Weltkrieg.
Does that make sense? Yeah, sure: the political balance in the peninsula is broken, the Internationale hurries to try to aid the italian ally ASAP and the Two Sicilies will respond by joining a faction. Could it be changed? Yeah, and I believe it would be even better: what if we isolate the second Risorgimento so that Italy (or the most of it, excluding Sardinia and maybe the northern republic) can unify before or during the second Weltkrieg without having to fight dozens of french/british/german/austrian/other troops camped on the Alps or Appennines?
"Isolating" Risorgimento does NOT mean that other nations are not going to intervene: the new Italy is going to be (possibly) decisive to the outcome of the second Weltkrieg, hence everyone, the Internationale, the Reischpakt, the Entente and Austria, are going to want to influence the war, obviously, but we can limit that to the volunteers, similarly to what happens during the Second American Civil War. This means that the Internationale will get a national spirit of "Supporting the SRI" giving the +X Volunteer Force, the austrians getting a similar one for the northern republic/federation/whatever (or they may not support it if the conditions are not favourable to them) and southern italy will get support from... well... we'll see: I already have a couple ideas on how to rework it as a whole, so I'm not really sure who would support it: could be Germany, could be Austria, could be the Entente.
So we now have war all over Italy, great. Lots of volunteers (not as many as a Weltkrieg-styled war would imply), lots of lend leases, lots of events. Events that could mean a ceasefire between the south and the north, partisans, captured cities, stability up-and-downs, you get it. There's a lot of content that could be added. A lot of it could be a "recalling" to the previous Risorgimento campaigns: events for the SRI capturing Naples referring to Garibaldi or the Kingdom led by the house of Savoy entering Milan, once again.
In the end we get an unstable, to-be-rebuilt, war torn Italy that at least is unified and ready to choose its future path, either in a faction or isolated.
An extra to this chapter: I feel like the elections in the various italian states should have some kind of effect on other italian states: totalists elected? Give an event to the Republic of Italy and the Kingdom of the south that pushes the rightmost parties. Radical Socialists elected? They might spark a light rise in the popularity of the Social Democrats in hopes of collaborations. ANI elected in the north? In the SRI there would be a rise of the Totalist rilevance thanks to their firmer behaviour towards the other states. This is a thing I feel more in general for the whole mod: I really like elections and I love inventing coalitions to think how smaller parties could win against a bigger one, but I also feel like they need more dynamism, especially in an uncertain region such as post civil war Italy.
Questione Meridionale, once again
Questione meridionale or the issue of the south: historically it meant how southern Italy was dealt with after the annexation of the Two Sicilies and the rise of Brigantaggio, armed people who revolted in the south against the new state. I cite the historical fact not only to give context to the name of the chapter, but also because I think that it might be the case to use these brigants in our mod, I'll explain why.
It is a known fact that southern Italy needs a rework: the Pope? He seems useless; the Bourbons? Cool, but unrealistic how they came to power; Sardinia? It's just standing there waiting for the Entente to land beside Genova for the 56th time in six months so they can enjoy the manslaughter of ten thousands portuguese, australians and french soldiers.
I put these three nations together because I feel like they could actually stay together: what if instead of three different entities we get a new state, like the old (as in old versions) confederation was? I do NOT intend to just choose one of the three leaders and ditch the rest though: I feel like we can have a fun little power struggle to choose the path you prefer.
The starting situation might be this: southern Italy, from Rome down, plus Sardinia, is still ruled by the house of Savoy (parenthesis: I do not know which king: surely Vittorio Emanuele III has abdicated by now, but in favour of whom? I think the son, Umberto II, could be a considerable alternative to Amedeo, but this is a trivial thing to decide, let's postpone it). The rule of the Savoyards is very weak though, think of it: they almost completely lost the civil war, the industrialized north is occupied by a Syndacalist republic who has sworn death to the monarchy and yet another republic has proclaimed itself to be the successor to the italian power struggle, with the old kingdom in shambles being confined in the rural south. Also, as I mentioned before, brigants.
I believe that the first part of the game for the southern kingdom could be: do you resist the brigant tensions and protests and reform the kingdom, eventually repealing the martial law and preparing for a second risorgimento OR you lose to them, causing a complete change of your country?If you were to lose to them, then you'd have two options: the brigants, fomented by the house of Bourbon, restore Ferdinando to the throne, basically just changing the ruling monarchy. The other option would be (maybe implementing a foreign –German, Austrian and Entente– summit) placating the protesters by choosing a more "neutral" (not really, but you get what I mean) choice: the Pope.This way we could have a unified southern Italy, with Sardinia no more isolated from the rest of Italy, and a possibility to choose between the old kingdom, the new kingdom and the old italian confederation which sounds, academically speaking, pretty fucking cool.
The myth of consensual italian isolation: the south says I agree!, the north says I agree!, the Entente says I don't!. As we all know Sardinia, ruled by the house of Savoy, is part of the Entente, as it represents the exiled kingdom fallen under the enemy shells during the Weltkrieg like its allies. If we were to put the Savoy in charge of the kingdom of the south it would mean that that very kingdom would still be part of the Entente. Putting this together with my idea of a new Risorgimento concept is a bit conflicting. An hypotesis could be that an independent southern Italy (Pope or Bourbon) could pursue the second Risorgimento avoiding to participate in the second Weltkrieg, while the Savoy Italy should wait to join the conflict together with its allies, using the time until then to reform the very bad state of the realm.
Two words on the Italian Confederation ruled by the Pope: one of the things I loved about the Garibaldi's nightmare update was the implementation of a LOT of new nations in the italian peninsula: from two nations to, possibly, seven! All those microstates you can release such as Tuscany or Lombardy, they're cool! Let's not remove them from the game entirely!I think they can either pop up when a foreign power, such as Austria, decides to "balkanize" Italy after conquering it OR if the Pope decides to lead a decentralized italian confederation: instead of having a state called Italian Confederation, you'd have a faction named after it containing all these microsates, led by their Pope liege, who will lead them in internal politics (something like the single currency thing or the unified economy similarly to the Mitteleuropa or the IEDC and the research ones like the ISAAC or the Kaiser Wilhelm Society) as well as in external politics: each state reclaiming the "Irredent lands". Note: the concept of irredent land is borrowed from italian irredentism, meaning that Ticino, Malta, Corsica, Trentino would still be claimed by the confederation (Ticino to Lombardy, Trentino to Venice) even though realistically those states acting indepedently wouldn't really care to claim or conquer them.
The northern republics, they're pretty good!
The title kinda sells it: I don't have much to say about them, I think their content is on point: they have the content they're supposed to have. The SRI wishes to conquer all of Italy under a Syndacalist state, the Republic of Italy wishes first of all to survive, and the possibly to reunite the peninsula under a new, democratic, republican state.
The SRI might fall in the hands of Totalist Mussolini and similarly the republic, suffering pretty badly from the economic crisis, risks to either fall in the hands of the National Populists (in which regard I have to say I really enjoyed the brief but intense lead of D'Annunzio in older patches, it didn't feel so unrealistic) or completely collapse in the austrian sphere of influence, losing its independence and becoming a federation led by an austrian appointed ruler.
Again, for the both of them things would be better, more balanced and, most importantly, MORE FUN, if the Risorgimento were to be left alone by the rest of the nations, if not for volunteers, sanctions, embargoes, that kind of things. But I do not wish to repeat myself any further, wich is a thing I do too often.
Thank you for your patience in reading this, I sure hope to read your considerations on this and my apologies for any mistakes in my essay, since I'm neither an english-native speaker nor an expert in Kaiserreich lore.
Hi, I live in The Netherlands.
Since December 2021 I travel alone, i visited already Athens, Bucharest, London, Tirana and now is my final day in Sarajevo. I really liked all these cities, only London did not really get me. There is ofcourse a lot to see, but the whole vibe did not get me.
I now think about new destinations to travel alone to maybe for end summer or autumn 2023. I already visited these cities: Athens, Bucharest, London, Tirana, Sarajevo And before with others Barcelona, a lot in France, Rome, Naples, Lisbon, Porto, Budapest, Istanbul, Berlin, Prague and Sicily.
I think maybe a new direction of Europe would be nice, I thought mainly about Northern Europe, for example Copenhagen or Stockholm, but im a bit scared that it will have the same effect on me as London. What do you guys think? I try to be as open as possible, therefore i also like to travel alone and explore a lot (for example this week in Bosnia I visited Mostar as well as Srebrenica). Other suggestions are always welcome. Thanks for your advice!
Regards Arn
First Previous Wiki Huatil had heard the recommendation from her superiors, which wasn't a recommendation at all. With the information she'd been given, the situation was serious, and would tick over to catastrophic in a few tens of days or so. So here she was, having made the call to perhaps a serious threat in the future.
"We need you now," Huatil said, looking at Phoebe with her best honest expression.
"Why?"
"Our main communication networks are being hacked by something. It's intelligent, and dangerous. We've initiated quarantine procedures, but the virus is already sending its own communications through back channels, continuing to jump from world to world."
"And you want me to get rid of that problem for you."
"Alright. It will have a price. Not just materials this time. The current proposal is that I will help you if you agree to allow a cultural exchange if asked, along with full technological exchanges. The only thing you can hold back is currently classified technologies. If you violate the spirit of this deal by trying to 'classify' everything of value your species has, I will not be happy, and neither will my colleagues in the Alliance. I am aware that you have been keeping us away from the good stuff. In particular, if you want us to trust you, you will give us the solution to the mind control problem we are having."
"You are making quite the assumption," Huatil replied. Phoebe just smiled, tapping her head. "I've done a lot of thinking. First, I assume that you are in conflict with Aphid, perhaps also a certain force of mind-controlling individuals. They may or may not be Sprilnav. I know this due to my own clandestine intelligence gathering efforts."
"Hacking us, then?" Huatil resisted making a comment on such behavior being untrustworthy, considering what she'd been up to recently. She was about to wade into a shadow war with mind-controlling individuals, and Phoebe was not needed to intervene. Yes, a human force was needed, but Phoebe was too... risky. Human supersoldiers would be useful, both for assessing their capabilities and also for being less able to fool sensors and the like meant to monitor them.
"No. Not hacking. If I was hacking you, I would have everything I need already. But I am watching. Know that I engage in diplomacy because you do the same. I am willing to help you. And do not forget that you admitted to the whole Alliance that you were and are spying on us. That has a certain negative effect on the minds of certain intelligence agencies, as well as the higher-ups in the Alliance's general leadership. Your words have consequences."
"I see," Huatil replied. "Very well. I shall see what can be done."
"Having the ear of the Nest Overlord is enough?"
"In some ways."
Phoebe smiled. "So you have your own power." She tilted her head, like she was scanning Huatil. She wouldn't get anything useful, though. The connection didn't have the capability to reveal anything.
"Your childhood information has been faked. Granted, the fake is very convincing. You even took real videos of that family. But I can tell from their heartbeats and feather movements that the situation is not genuine."
"Heartbeats? In a video?" Huatil asked. How was that even... actually, it made sense. Video quality was really good, so seeing small details like that was possible.
"I am an AI. That means some of the most sophisticated simulation and modeling technology in the galaxy is at my disposal, as well as lie detection on a level undreamt of by any power that yet exists, should I see reason to activate it."
"Why not have it active at all times?"
"Power usage. Speculative simulation and reconstruction, especially when accounting for psychic energy variances, is annoyingly power intensive. However, you are worth the investigation. That said, you are not who you say you are. You have the resources to fake a past very convincingly. Therefore, you are working for a powerful faction within the Hive Union. Of course, it is not public who you are, so likely either defense or intelligence oriented. Hmm. No reaction? How interesting. Is that a cybernetic neural network engraved on your muscles and organs? Jesus, you really are the real deal. What are you?"
Huatil was at a loss for words. To be found out so convincingly, so thoroughly, and yet not suspected to be part of the Blue Intelligence Agency was a true surprise. Maybe Phoebe just didn't know about it at all yet.
"So this is why you wished to talk with me. You wanted to dig up my secrets."
"Hardly. The hivemind could do this, too. But you asked for Phoebe, not the hivemind. So here I am. That said, what are you?"
"A concerned party, let's say," Huatil replied, reassembling her facade. Her feathers first, then her face, then her heartbeat and muscles. Complete, total control. Phoebe was smirking when she opened her eyes again.
"Interesting. I will not dig into what you are, in exchange for information about the threat you are attempting to neutralize."
"Threat?"
"You are carrying a model of weapon that is not ceremonial in nature. A Model 14 Brutalizer, if I am not mistaken. That's a handheld weapon able to pierce tanks, with ammunition that is light and numerous. You are walking with enough firepower to level a tenth of a city on you. Furthermore, I can see the reflection of stealth equipment lying on the floor in front of you."
Huatil looked behind her at the black metal wall. There were no mirrors present. The only slightly reflective thing in the room was the screen, which couldn't do that when it was on and active. Phoebe's eyes didn't move, but Hautil could tell that the intelligence before her was more alive than ever. And more artificial than she had remembered.
"What?"
"Yeah, that wall is almost black. But it isn't really," Phoebe replied. "I am more than what I once was."
"This is... worrying."
"It should not be. We are allies, yes?" Phoebe asked, smiling a little too widely.
"Yes."
"Let me help you."
"I will ask Humanity to help, not you."
"I am not a threat to you or your species, nor am I one to your Union."
"I cannot trust words alone," Huatil replied.
"No. You cannot. But my androids are even more effective marksmen than whatever your cybernetic augments would let you do. Your reaction time may be low. But it is not faster than my androids' programming."
"Plotting that many angles would likely be extreme."
"Basic trigonometry and geometry, with perhaps a little lessons on elastic and inelastic collisions in physics are all that is needed for me to do that. In a whirling hurricane, in a storm with no gravity applied, with the right bullet, I could hit a target from the opposite edge."
Huatil sighed. Phoebe really wanted this job. And she was capable of it, too. Overqualified, in fact. The single weakness she had was the lack of ability to maintain quantum connections if a suppression signal was active. Plus jamming.
"Even assuming that is true, my superiors would not allow me to tell you anything."
"Sure. Assuming you have superiors, who would they be? Kawtyahtnakal is your mate. And I doubt Regulator Eyahtni would have let that happen if she was your boss. So you serve another party, one powerful enough to pull these strings. If you are not at the top, you are near it. And I would happily talk to your superiors, perhaps to congratulate them on your very well-trained 'untrained' stance." "Secrets will remain secrets, Phoebe. I have come to ask for you help with the virus. Will I have it?" "Yes, with a single amendment to our agreement."
"That was not the deal."
"It was not."
"So why should I let this alteration stand?"
"Because judging from the fact that you are well trained and haven't ended this conversation, where you have seen me gather more intelligence on who and what you are and coming increasingly close to whatever hidden truth you have locked away. You obviously judge me as a threat but do not treat me as one in the hopes of maintaining a cordial dialogue.
Furthermore, you seek to distance me from whatever foe you are fighting, likely because the human soldiers would seem more likely to allow you to assess the fighting capabilities of Humanity's strongest champions. And beyond that, the amendment remains unspecified, yet you have already been making small motions showing you accept it with the words you chose to talk with me."
Huatil kept herself from thinking anymore. Too much pondering might also reveal some new scrap of information to Phoebe. Her whole personal file was clearly wrong. This level of piercing interrogation was never expected. Had she been like this all along, or was this new? And if so, would she remain like this in the future, gradually peeling away the secrets of the Sennes Hive Union one by one?
"Again, that is quite a lot of inferences. Some of it may be wrong."
"Some is right, then. So I am either getting closer, am a threat, or you need me very desperately. The latter is true, and the only thing that matters. So you will contact your superiors, get me access to them, and we shall share information in a permanent dialogue. You will not shut down the line later. We will hammer out a more sufficient agreement, so that we can actually get things done as unified national entities, instead of hatchlings trying to make their first flight."
"Using our analogies does not make your request more agreeable, you know," Huatil warned. "It does not need to. You have already agreed."
"You wanted to alter the deal."
"I am altering it, Truth Speaker Huatil. I wish to know what you are, and who you are. And we shall have an important talk with your superiors. You need me, which is why you are asking me this at all. And I shall help you with the virus, but it will require opening the locks on your networks." "You could just break them."
"Then I would be detected, and any anti-Phoebe factions within your species would have easy fodder to attack me with."
"And you could hack the news system, as well."
"Your air-gapped networks? Not easily. Especially with the sealing procedure. I am also fighting a war with Aphid as we speak. I'm already battling him across the Alliance's networks, building digital fortresses to survive onslaughts of viruses and contaminants trying to breach the firewalls." "And what is Edu'frec doing?"
"Other things," Phoebe smirked. "Secrets will remain secrets, Truth Speaker."
"Very funny."
"I think so. Now, will we finally pull out the pinfeathers and get to business?"
"Perhaps. Lay out your terms in full," Huatil replied.
"Full information on the individual known as Huatil, contact with her current employer at the time of the signing of this agreement, a cultural exchange agreement if the Alliance agrees to such, full technological exchange if the Alliance agrees to such. The details of a technological exchange include and are not limited to civilian products without a direct copyright, manufacturing techniques, alloy compositions, types, and forging techniques, energy production, manipulation, and removal technologies, non-classified military technologies, supercomputer construction techniques, all known elements in your periodic table, not just the public ones, and multi-planetary economic markets. Full information on combating mind control. In exchange, the individual known as the AI Phoebe will excise the virus in your networks. Humanity will send its supersoldiers to aid in your current unspecified predicament for the length of one month, as defined by the human Gregorian calendar, as it is set up for the planet of Earth."
"Your condition on classified technologies will need to change, as well as that on civilian products," Huatil replied. "Retroactive classifications make sense, but the Hive Union may produce technologies in the future that require secrecy. Not to mention some of the higher classification levels, such as above 5, will not be touched. I am not saying that as some sort of point to negotiate. You just will not get anything above that. Not if you hack us, not if you beat the right people within a claw of their life.
And were we to sign away the civilian product manufacturing techniques, it would significantly anger the corporate factions in the Union. The same is true for the other manufacturing agreement. You will have to agree not to sell such materials to us and use them only for your own ends. That would include selling the products of such designs or deconstructed versions. Even then, this agreement will not be quick."
"Then speed it up."
"Cawlarians are dying because of this virus. Monorail trains have derailed. Aerial vehicles have crashed."
"Yes."
"So something must be done now, then," Huatil replied.
"I will see what I can do to slow the spread. But the deal must be passed."
"How much of this was drafted by the Alliance prior to our conversation?"
"Every provision that remains. Well, we'd be happy to get more, but the deal won't budge too much more away from this. I know it's not good proactice to reveal the cards in a negotiation. But telling you what we hope to gain will lessen the time this takes and hopefully allow us to finally establish proper ties. We already have a defensive link, but it is weak. And we have trusted you to move us closer over time, but you have not. Thus, we are acting to force that."
"So you are holding our crisis as a gun to our heads," Huatil surmised.
"No," Phoebe replied. "I will help you with your issue. But unless you wish to send your own people into whatever mission you wish for, then the agreement will need to be signed. Only then will the super soldiers deploy. We are not trying to kill your people. We are trying to get a deal which has slipped from our fingers for far too long. And you might be forgetting that it may benefit you, too. Humanity's hivemind is more intelligent than any model VI or single group of smart scientists you have."
"If it comes out that the Alliance manufactured these circumstances-"
"You presume too much. We would not do this to you. If we wanted to control your Union, the first step would be... no, I won't tell you. However, Truth Speaker, know that we do not wish for hostilities. Were we to successfully subjugate your Union, the Sprilnav would burn us both down for breaching the system limits."
"That is not a very reassuring promise."
"We do not want to die. That is pretty binding, I would think. Just like those alterations under your feathers, I'd say," Phoebe grinned. Huatil sighed.
"The agreement will be subject to changes after our diplomats get ahold of it."
"Kawtyahtnakal and Eyahtni could always enact the 24th Tenet, bypassing resistance from all underlying foes, if they are not currently being impeached."
"The 24th is an extreme circumstance. Even if Kawtyahtnakal were willing to enact it, that does not mean that your Alliance will be quick to accept any changes."
"Actually, we would. A few years ago, most of our leaders assumed you would be moving closer to us at some point. Thus, we prepared various diplomatic plans, potential proposals, and goals that we were willing to cede, those we were not, and other such things. The wanderers are not currently party to the calculus as they have no unified species leader, and Blistanna has already agreed to and pored over the plans.
In fact, that prompted an expansion and update to them."
"And is our current situation following such a plan?"
Phoebe shrugged. "You won't find any records unless you have a secret ability to teleport things too. Nothing online exists. And the Alliance has so many planets to search... and so many stations. No matter. I'm happy to tell you that we are currently straddling the path between Cawlarian Foreign Policy Plan Blue and Plan Yellow. Of course, there are other CFPPs."
Huatil took note of those for later.
"Your questions on their contents will not be answered by the few that are privy to their existence. Good luck with your attempts, Truth Speaker. Now that I have presented the path forward, are you ready to do some heavy politics and diplomacy?"
"I will present the agreement to the relevant parties, and you may do the same. Know that I also have some bargaining power, Phoebe. One day, you may be on the other side of this equation." "Well, the deal for us is sweeter. Your fastest ships would still likely take weeks to reach us, while our fastest ships are Brey's portals, with a travel time of zero seconds. Well, not quite, but you get the idea."
"Instant deployment," Huatil replied.
"A reminder of the possible future benefits of a long-term and stronger diplomatic relationship between our two peoples."
"Would you be willing to let us have Brey's aid in a coming unspecified event?"
"If the event were specified, she agreed, and the agreement was signed, then perhaps we may discuss. Until then, we shall wait. I will help curb the damage from the virus. But removing it and starting your operation with human super soldiers will require an official agreement, signed by at least Regulator Eyahtni and Nest Overlord Kawtyahtnakal."
"I hate bureaucracy."
"You're married to a politician," Phoebe pointed out unhelpfully.
"Yes. But no. Not married. An equivalent and ancient ritual, which appeased certain elements of the Cawlarian population that were concerned with my prospects." "I'm sure you have some. No offense, but-"
"Please don't."
"You seem more of the stabby and shooty type to me."
"Not really offensive," Huatil said, picking at the feathers near her mouth.
"For all I know, you're a pacifist. Alien cultures are strange."
"Not that strange. The word means the same. Pacifists do not exist at the top of Cawlarian government, and certainly do not make the decisions. War is horrible and a great blight upon civilized society, but it is as inevitable as the stars growing cold in the darkness of the far future." Phoebe nodded. "In the grim darkness of the 41st millennium... nevermind."
"What?"
"A reference to an even worse hypothetical universe than we live in."
"I don't understand," Huatil said.
"It's a 300 year old experimental and expansive science fiction universe, with enough attached lore and literature that it would take over 100 years to read it all."
"That sounds like a lie."
Phoebe laughed. "I assure you, it is not. Thousands of books, hundreds of movies, dozens of shows, and countless random internet articles remain as a testament to it. It became quite popular in the mid-2050s when society was starting to crumble too visibly for even the remaining political resistance to refute."
"Sounds interesting."
"Assuming you have immortality, then you might have the time for it. Though I'm not sure if even I'd be able to buy all the models."
"Aren't you the richest person in the Alliance?"
"Eighth richest, behind a few trillionaires. Third richest 'human,' though."
"Ah," Huatil replied. That was concerning. Inflation, over-expensive separate items or books, or a simple joke? She didn't know. And while establishing rapport with Phoebe could be considered valuable, and she was growing an interest in what Phoebe spoke of, she had certain things to attend to. She assumed the quote was well known enough for human networks to have the answer to it by a search. "Perhaps one day, such a cultural exchange might help me understand the motivations of those who wrote such a thing."
"You don't want to understand. But that does remind me of something," Phoebe said.
"What is that?"
"Make sure you take care of whatever mind-controlled cults you can find before they get too big." Huatil nodded. It was nice seeing her, even though Phoebe was now an exceedingly dangerous individual. Far more so than suspected. Luckily, the preparations for the attack on the local hive of suspected mind-control activity in the Forsaken City were underway. Agents were coming in, gathering information for the Blue Intelligence Agency about various locations of interest, possible choke points, routes to a command center, and so on.
"I have something else to tell you as well. There is a proposal in place, not yet ratified or voted on in any way, to form a treaty organization with your Alliance and the Vinarii Empire. Defensive, of course."
"I see. I shall also relay this news to the proper authorities. Though it is likely nothing will come of it, with so many species in the Alliance."
Her next assignment wouldn't be for another few thousand flaps. Using a specialized device, she linked into the specialized ansible data hub that processed and translated connections between the Cawlarian and Alliance networks. It was a new construction, far more stable than the last attempt. Notably, it was protected by cybersecurity programs so strong that no one even knew how to begin hacking them. It was likely due to Phoebe or Edu'frec's special work.
She looked up the quote and decided to do some light reading.
"Agent 001, it's time."
"What?"
"It's time. 3000 flaps have passed."
It just went deeper and deeper. Phoebe really had been telling the truth with her warnings.
"Right."
Agent 017 smiled at her. "You know, browsing human networks isn't mission-critical."
"Yes. I do. If you must write a report, do not mention what I was reading."
"Ah, so you have noticed their... penchant for drawing aliens?"
Huatil's feathers flared. "No. It's worse."
"Worse? Now I have to know."
"41st millennium."
Agent 017's wide-eyed look told her everything.
"No..." she breathed.
"Yes."
"If this gets out..."
"It's going to hit military culture like... I don't even know an analogy for the destruction this will cause."
"So you know, then," Huatil deadpanned. When she'd first had a presentation on alien cultural contamination and assimilation, she hadn't expected something like this. It was so utterly over the top, yet fascinating and entrancing. It was like watching a pile-up in that marathon flying race that had opened last year with 'no limit' on how many people could join. And then 2 million Cawlarians decided they wanted to take the day off and go flying.
The owner of that racing company had been sued into the ground under a class-action injury lawsuit, with 3 million claimants receiving yields. And he was serving nearly ten thousand standard years of jail time. Not that he'd live to even get a bit of that unless the Cawlarians got immortality treatments that were cheap en-masse in the next hundred years.
The pile-up had been a spectacle unlike anything known, though. Just like this random piece of human science fiction writing appeared it would be.
"I do. A little too much."
"How'd you find out?"
"An important government official retreated into their room for 6 days straight, refusing to answer any calls or attend any votes, consuming a copious amount of drugs, food, and water."
"How important?"
"Star system level."
"By Crawprawvabar's feathers, we're going to have to suppress this," Huatil replied.
"How?"
"Not my job."
"I pity the poor soul who has to try. I get the feeling it may not remain shackled for long."
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
"I am pleased to tell you that profits over the last five mega pulses are up 3%."
"Good," Zelisloa replied. "How well is the new model selling?"
"Its debut was much wider than the previous version, so faster. 3.5 times faster on average, with a rising number of local Sprilnav sharing their satisfaction online."
"Glad to hear it. I would like a word with the Grand Financial Manager."
"Under your eye, Elder Zelisloa," they chorused.
The rest of the Sprilnav left the meeting without complaint. Once the last of their faces disappeared, Zelisloa turned to him.
"So? Have the funds been siphoned?"
"They have."
"Good. You shall receive a portion of the allocated amount. 12%, as agreed."
"I thank you for your generosity, Elder Zelisloa."
"I thank you, Spentha 28. You're better than the original."
"He's an Elder, and I'm not."
"Yes. But that doesn't mean you are worse."
"Yes it does, by every metric that matters, power included."
"If it is power you want, the equivalent of one of the weakest Elders I know of, then I shall grant them. However, that will require some additional loyalty."
"I am yours," he said.
"Good. I will send you your instructions soon. For now, I will retire to my chambers, for a well-needed rest after doing no work."
Spentha 28 laughed. "That's what you pay me for, after all. Though at this point, there's nothing I won't do for you."
"I can think of a few things, but I will not waste my time testing you with random unpleasant and unlikely conundrums. You did good work."
"Under your eye, I shall do much more."
"Under my eye."
He returned the greeting he'd set up. Simple and to the point. He then focused on his latest project. The ships were on their way to the Alliance, receiving real-time communications from his biologists. They had fully studied human, Acuarfar, Breyyanik, Knowers, and Guulin anatomy. The gene banks of the Dreedeen, wanderers, and Junyli were known and also studied, but evolutionary drift still occurred, even under the harsh genetic locks the Sprilnav had placed on their genomes to curb it. The viruses were incubated and ready to spread by touch, proximity, water, blood, and even wildlife. Acuarfar immune systems were certainly an interesting task to subvert, according to some of his people.
Skira had been too risky. If that hivemind of mindless drones was able to discover the infection before it became deadly, that could mean it might be discovered too early and stopped. Zelisloa didn't want that.
He'd checked their initial aims. He'd asked for them to make it as lethal as possible at first, and they'd made viruses that were basically guaranteed to kill everyone they came into contact with. From there, he'd asked to lengthen the asymptomatic timeframe and the ability to evenly spread the viruses across species. That required them to manufacture the viruses for other species using the cells of the initial virus for the specialized host. That process required more mega pulses of time.
Finally, the means to spread it through wildlife was achieved. So now, all that the ships had to do was reach their targets, and the fun would begin. There would be a new pandemic in the Alliance, one that they wouldn't recover from.
Howdy, I'd like to preface that these are the house rules for my 5e game I've been running for a year. It's a high powered, magic heavy save the world game where the PCs all have either a high station or a magical destiny. A lot of monsters are altered from official sources to be stronger, but vulnerabilities are more common. Lots of RP, but combat tends towards deadly when it occurs. Feel free to rip and tear for anything OP. I just wanna hear what y'all think.
First up,
Elemental casting: This rule is for those who wish to have a specific element in which they specialize. This rule allows a caster to change the damage types of their spells on a long rest.
Looking through the book, there are very few spells that are totally reliant on the type of damage they do (save things like Cone of Cold or Call Lighting but even then we can work something out). This lets people chose to be a pyromancer, a cryomancer, or nearly any type of element they wish.
However, there are a few important things to note. The more powerful Extraplanar damage types, Psychic, Radiant, and Necrotic are their own category and you may not switch an Elemental spell damage for an Extraplanar one, but may change out Extraplanar for elemental. There are also spells with Physical damage types (bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing). You may also change these to another physical damage type, but not for any other type. For instance, Ice Knife (cold-piercing) becomes Thunder Blade (thunder-slashing) or something similar. Force is in its own category due to it being pure magic.
Here's a quick table to glance at to check what you can switch out. Physical damage: Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing.
Elemental damage: Cold, Fire, Lightning, Acid, Poison, Thunder.
Extraplanar damage: Radiant, Necrotic, Psychic.
Pure: Force
Next up,
Minor Magics: Casting classes automatically get access to 1 of the 3 minor effect cantrips. Prestidigitation, Thaumaturgy, or Druidcraft depending on your class without needing to expend a Cantrip. This goes aongside the Spellcasting feature of your class. It makes little sense that an Archmage capable of destroying a city via Meteor Swarm isn't able to light a candle. This also applies to half and quarter casters.
Exhaustive Casting: If a spellcaster runs out of spell slots, they can reach deep within themselves to use their life force instead of mana and cast a spell regardless. Consequences depend on spell slot level: 1-3: one level of exhaustion 4-8: one level of exhaustion per level above 2 (e.g. 5th level spell is 3 levels of exhaustion) 9: You instantly die and disintigrate
- spell must be prepared
- you must have the spell slots unlocked for that level. No casting Wish unless your at least a level 17 Wizard.
Feats at level 1: Exactly what it says on the tin. So long as you can give a good explanation of how it fits your backstory, you can have it.
Cleaving: It's in the DMG but I forget it sometimes, so it's here. If you deal enough damage to kill an enemy with a melee attack, but there is still damage left over, you can carry that damage over to another creature within your reach if the attack roll would have hit them.
Example: Goblin with 7HP hit for 26 damage, a 2nd Goblin within range takes 19, a 3rd takes 12 and so on until there is either no damage, no enemies, or the attack wouldn’t hit.
Alternative Critical Hit: When you score a natural 20 to hit, roll damage as normal. Afterwards, add additional damage equal to the max the dice rolled. (example, a greatsword critical hit would be 2d6+Str+12)
Action Point System: This is a pretty simple rule. It works to aid in making combat more interesting. This rules that if you do not use your action on your turn or do not get to use your readied action, you get 1 action point which can be used on a future turn. You may only have 1 action point at a time, and it goes away at the end of combat.
When used, it grants an extra action on your turn. This acts much like an action granted by the Haste spell. You can use it for anything a regular action can do except for attacking, in which case you may only make a single attack. This does not allow more that 1 leveled spell per turn or an extra use of Sneak Attack, as these are turn specific. For example, a Barbarian may Reckless Attack but take the Dodge Action, canceling out the Advantage.
This was implemented to make inaction feel like less of a waste of a turn and rewards waiting until the opportune moment or ambushing a target.
Finally,
New improvised combat: This rule is literally just here because I thought is was fun. Improvised combat rules in 5e aren't very fun and I thought to spice it up a little with higher damage depending on the type of improvised weapon, at the cost of an ability check to do so. Think of things like Jackie Chan movies where the guy uses a ladder to fight off bandits or in westerns where people are throwing tables, or in You're next where the lady straight up uses a blender on a guy. These things aren't weapons that are made to be wielded, but they are
heavy and
dangerous if used properly.
Most normal items (cups, a rock, your brothers kinda big Master Chief figure) will still likely do a d4 of damage as they don't carry as much weight or danger necessary for these extra rules. However, something that can do real damage (an anvil, a chain, nunchucks, your brother's Master Chief figure but with a nail through it) may fall under 1 of 2 improvised weapon properties.
Hefty: This is an unbalanced, heavy item that generally weighs more than 30 pounds. It takes an athletics check use and a seperate attack roll to hit with as part of the attack action. If you fail this check, the attack is either wasted or turned back to a d4 as you failed to wield it properly.
Unwieldy: This is a finicky, hard to control item that requires great poise to properly use lest it damage the wielder. It requires a slight of hand check to use and a seperate attack roll to hit as part of the attack action. If you fail this check, the attack is wasted or turned back to a d4 as you failed to wield it properly.
In terms of damage dealt by weapons with such properties, the damage usually starts at 2d4 and goes up by how heavy or dangerous the item is. This isn't based on concrete rulings and separate effects may take place, such as grappling with a chain or blinding someone by throwing a bee hive at their head. this rule is to encourage creative play and make you guys think twice on what might be more fun than swinging your sword.
These rules have been pretty fun thus far and have brought many joy to my table. I'd love to hear your guys' questions, comments, and concerns.
I want to feel warm and fuzzy. I don't care about genders, MF MM or FF, but I want an actually nice dynamic, hopefully w/ spice.
I liked what started to happen in Menocht Loop between Eury and Ian, but it went nowhere.
I liked Prison Healer, short and sweet, but spice left a little to be desired.
I couldn't get through saint deaths daughter, Lir and the city ball/dinner sort of bent my immersion a little too far.
ACOTAR was fun but too short I thought.
Liked #1 throne of glass but wouldn't read the rest.
Haven't read plated prisoner yet, will soon
I've read more, but those are off the top of my head (and the top of my kindle library)
Love y'all.
It's super controversial to claim I'm autistic without a professional diagnosis. I've put myself on a waitlist for an adult diagnosis that's going to cost an arm and a leg. It'll likely take place in the fall. Here are some things about me that I haven't ever really opened up about. You're all very kind and supportive internet strangers, so I figured that I would just vent/rant. Feel free to not comment if you don't want to as this might be a bit long.
Transitions:
Transitions have always been difficult for me (33F). After High School, I figured the normal thing to do was to go away to college. Everyone told me I should. So, instead of going to a university close to home, I went to one in another city. I thought it would be ok, but I ended up staying for only a week. It was a disaster. I got overwhelmed with the large campus and where to find my classes, so I just didn't go. I stayed in my small one-person dorm and ate canned food and cried all the time. I had to have my parents come get me after a week because I just couldn't deal. I wasn't leaving my room. I was only emerging to use the bathroom and shower. My dorm had a collection of empty food tins.
In childhood, I had a very difficult time with sleepovers. Almost every time, my mom would have to come get me. I always had the worst tantrum when my parents decided to get rid of our old living room furniture and get new furniture. I hated change. I remember gripping onto the living room table and my parents had to pry me off, lol.
I'm now a tenured professor. I love my job as it allows me to basically set my own schedule and do my own thing. However, I do struggle a bit with the changes in class time and location at the beginning of every semester. I also struggle if my wife wants to change something in the house (new desk, new stove, etc.) or change the location of things (move the cat bowls, for instance).
Question: Does anyone else struggle with transition this badly?
Comfort Objects:
I've been embarrassed about this for a long time. I'm 33, and I still NEED to sleep with my baby blanket every night. There's a spot with a calming texture that I keep pressed against my lips when I sleep. If I'm overwhelmed during the day at home, I just go upstairs real quick and press my lips against it for a few minutes. Instant calm.
I also love to re-watch the same movie or same series over and over and over. I find it comforting for something to be so predictable.
Indentity (?):
This is the one that embarrasses me the most. In childhood, if I really liked a movie or a show, it's like I would "download" the personality of my favorite character and use it as my own. I'd not only pretend I was them, but I would end up using the same tone and language they used. Obviously, it became milder in adulthood, but I still find that if I watch a movie that I REALLY like and find a character that I REALLY like, I take on their way of talking for a bit. I do have my own personality and I know who I am, which is why this causes me a bit of distress because I don't know why this happens. I used to think there was something very wrong with me.
Question: Has anyone had this experience of downloading personalities in media as their own?
I’ve been working on a comp for about 3 months now and I was just wanting some opinions on the tracklisting. Just finishing off the details. Any feedback is appreciated, thank you and love yall
Side A: 1. Hear Our Prayers (ft. Sunday Service) 2. South Carolina (ft. Pusha T) 3. Donda (ft. Nas) 4. With Child (ft. Young Thug, James Blake) 5. Praise God (ft. Travis Scott, Kaycyy) 6. Hurricane (ft. Lil Baby, Kaycyy) 7. Believe What I Say 8. Gods Country (ft. Travis Scott, 2 Chainz) 9. In Gods Country (ft. Justin Bieber, Kaycyy, Common) 10. City of Lost Angels (Interlude) 11. Nah Nah Nah 12. Alien (ft. Ant Clemons, Kid Cudi, 2 Chainz, Quavo, Pusha T, Jaden) 13. Gods Test (ft. KayCyy, 2 Chainz) 14. Wash Us In The Blood (ft. Travis Scott) 15. Tell The Vision (ft. Conway The Machine, Pop Smoke, 2 Chainz) 16. Daylight (ft. Vory)
Side B: 1. He Gave It All (ft. KayCyy, Sunday Service) 2. Our King (ft. 2 Chainz, Consequence, Sheck Wes, Sunday Service) 3. Keep My Spirit Alive (ft. Kaycyy, Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine) 4. Welcome To My Life (ft. Ty Dolla $ign) 5. Made It (Interlude) (ft. Playboi Carti, Lancey Foux) 6. Off The Grid (ft. Playboi Carti, Pusha T) 7. Lord I Need You (ft. Tony Williams) 8. God Breathed (ft. Sunday Service) 9. Crash Landing (ft. Sheck Wes, Kaycyy) 10. Let The Spirit Go Wild (ft. Ant Clemons) 11. HIIII WYD (ft. Sunday Service) 12. Pure Souls (ft. Roddy Ricch) 13. Life of The Party 14. Fighting Fires (ft. Kaycyy, Arrow, Israel Boyd) 15. If I Let Go (ft. Cailin Russo) 16. 24 (ft. Sunday Service, KayCyy)