[RB1911] Signup Thread
Post your character profiles for the RB IH here, and be sure to keep them updated. Also make sure to post a map showing where your Headquarters (if you're a Terrorist) or Home Riding (if you aren't) is.
Character format:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:Name:
Age: (keep this updated every turn BTW)
Class: (Not social class, but whether you are playing as Politician, General/Admiral/Air Marshal or Diplomat...or Terrorist)
Noble titles: (only if you have them and you're not a Terrorist)
Ethnicity:
Religion:
Social background:
Family: (Marital status & kids, if any)
Biography:
Political beliefs: (legal politicians only)
Demands: (Terrorists only; just state whatever it is you want to achieve through terrorism here, whether it be the secession of a part of the IU, a radical transformation of the government, more power to a religion or ethnic group, etc.)
Personal Funds: (Keep track of this, a lot. I cannot stress the importance of making sure your bank account is up to date in this game, where personal funds will be extremely important. Everyone starts with 10,000 PF for fairness)
Politics:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:Imperial Politics - Are you a Unionist, a man who believes that the Imperial Union should be held together? An Autonomist, who believes the IU should be devolved into a commonwealth of autonomous Dominions serving the same Emperor? Or a Nationalist, who wants to secede from the Union entirely?
Taxation - Self-explanatory.
Military - Should we work to keep the Imperial Armed Forces at the top of their game? Or is this a good time for a break in funding? Or maybe a pacifist approach should be followed?
The Economy & Trade - Should free-market principles be followed? Or is a protectionist approach in order? Should rural interests be prioritized over commercial and industrial interests, or should it be the other way around?
Foreign Policy - Should Britannia align with the Holy Roman Empire or with Russia against the other? Or should it try to remain neutral? However, negotiations with Columbia are impossible, and a confrontation with the Puritan zealots south of Canada seems inevitable...
Immigration - Should we welcome all who pass through our borders in search of better fortunes? Or limit immigration to protect local business and the like?
Disestablishment - Should we work to remove the Catholic Church's standing as official state religion? If so, is it to keep Britannia a secular state or to place another religion in that place? Or is that a fool's errand? Or, perhaps, we should further empower it instead?
Prohibition - Is alcohol an evil we must get rid of, or would such a course of action be...less than successful in practice?
Women's Suffrage - Should women get the right to vote? Or should they stay in the kitchen and make the men sandwiches?
Ethnic backgrounds:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:The following can be used by any player, regardless of where they are starting:
English: You are either an Englishman born & bred in the Home Isles, or the descendants of English colonists in one of the Union's many far-flung outposts and domains. Along with the other Home Nations, you are the foundation of the Imperial Union - without you, there can be no Britannia. In fact, you make up the majority of the population of the Home Isles, Canada and Australia. The English are sociopolitically the most versatile of the Empire's people, and thus you can come from pretty much any social background and take on any political position you want.
Irish: You are either an Irishman born & bred on the Emerald Isle, or the descendants of Irish colonists in one of the Union's many far-flung outposts and domains. Your ancestors were some of King (and later Emperor) Charles's most stalwart supporters, having benefited greatly from his rule, and you are almost certainly no different. The Irish are also known as the Imperial Union's most fervent Catholics, and though generally not as militant as the Puritans who loathe them (and who they despise in return), like your countrymen you have no problems with standing up and loudly defending your faith. Most Irish are still rural and conservative folk with strong Unionist beliefs like their ancestors.
Highland Scots: You are either a Highlander born & bred in Northern Scotland, or the descendants of the many Highlander soldiers stationed as colonial garrisons in the Empire's early days. Like the Irish, your ancestors benefited tremendously from Emperor Charles's rule, and the Highlands still retain a great degree of autonomy today; in turn, you are likely to be strong supporters of the Union and of the Emperor. Most Highlanders are either Catholic or High Church Protestant (specifically, Scottish Episcopalian) and come from military families - as mentioned before, they usually made up the first colonial garrisons in a newly-claimed territory, or if they remained in the Home Isles they had a tendency to be deployed as front-line shock troops.
Lowland Scots: You are either a Lowlander born & bred in Southern Scotland, or the descendants of the many Lowlanders who fled to the colonies to escape religious persecution and Anglo-Highlander tyranny back home following the English Civil Wars. The Lowlanders are generally much less supportive of the Crown than the rest of the Home Isles, and for good reason - due to their constant resistance against King/Emperor Charles I, your people have been locked out of administrative positions, faced heavy discrimination toward their Low Church Protestant (specifically, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland) and generally treated as the black sheep of the Home Isles. Official discrimination ended only in 1900, and the wounds they have left have not even begun to heal. You are likely to be a Low Church Protestant and of a poor background thanks to nearly three centuries of repression and government-sanctioned discrimination, and still deeply resent the English and Scots-Irish.
Welsh: You are of Welsh ancestry, and either was born & bred in Cymru or was born/migrated overseas to one of Britannia's many colonies. Your people were and still are the butt of many jokes involving sheep, but you've never forgotten the fact that you are the closest of all the British peoples to the earliest Britons - something you and your people have held with pride, even after nearly 700 years of English subjugation - and many Welshmen dream of the day that they take their place in the sun as a valued and properly respected member of the Imperial Union (which would also hopefully put an end to those irritating sheep-shagger jokes). Your are likely to have come from middle-class or poor rural origins and follow the Catholic or either High/Low Church Protestantism (almost certainly the Methodist Church).
For Canadians only:
Old Loyalist: Your ancestors were among the earliest settlers of British America, but were driven out for their faith or allegiance to the Emperor after the Columbians gained their independence and began a reign of terror down south. Many Loyalists took part in the conquest of Canada, and were generously rewarded for their service with large fiefs of land and small fortunes from the Imperial treasury (or from the spoils of battle), making them the oldest 'native-born' nobility of Canada. Today, their descendants still harbor great bitterness toward the Puritans and tend to look down on the Quebecois (who they subjugated, after all) and the so-called 'New English' (newer waves of settlers from Europe) who don't have the distinction of fighting the Columbians over the past 300 years. Loyalists are, pretty much without exception, Catholic or High Church Protestant, either extremely affluent aristocrats or military officers (or both, making them true 'noblesse d'épée') and hold strong Unionist beliefs.
Franco-Canadian: Your ancestors were French settlers in Quebec, who were subjugated by Britannia in the aftermath of the War of the Spanish Succession. Politically, your people have often been caught between a rock and a hard place - on one hand the 'Anglos' are resented for their economic and political dominance in Canada, on the other they fear and hate the Columbian fanatics to the south even more. The general consensus is that the British are the lesser of two evils, though that in no way means that the Quebecois should not seek greater autonomy in the Union. The Quebecois are sociopolitically quite versatile - there have been many cases of Franco-Canadians ascending to the upper circles of Imperial Canadian society - but generally hold Autonomist or (less likely, due to the Columbian threat) Nationalist beliefs.
Other European-Canadian: Your ancestors were likely not even born in Canada; you are one of many non-British immigrants invited to settle the Canadian West, roped in by promises of free land and some start-up funds, and can come from pretty much anywhere in Europe - Germany, Italy, Russia, the Balkans, you name it. You lack the wealth and historical prestige of the Loyalists, but what do those sneering old duffers know anyway? And you may not be as well-established as the Quebecois or British settlers in the east, but who cares what they think when you have crops to raise, tracks to lay down and shady Columbians to watch out for in the West? Most European-Canadians are yeoman farmers who, while not rich, aren't dirt-poor either, can hold any Christian religious belief and are generally either Unionists or Autonomists.
Métis: You are descended from the union of Europeans and Native Americans, and probably live in what is now Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Despite traditionally enjoying considerable autonomy (mostly because the Eastern Establishment in Ontario and Quebec were too busy trying to defend themselves from the Columbians) you witnessed your rights being trampled upon, your land bought up at unfair prices and appropriated to more settlers from across the Atlantic and your people forced further north or conscripted to serve as border guards, and things only got worse in the aftermath of the failed Northwest Rebellion. The Métis generally come from poor backgrounds, usually having been conscripted as frontiersmen or soldiers, and resent British rule, falling under the category of Nationalists.
For Oceanians only:
Convict: Your ancestors were convincts dumped on the Land Down Under by a government unwilling to look after them, and ranged from mere pickpockets and conmen to heretics and political dissidents to serial killers. Ironically, many of these convicts would go on to become the de facto aristocracy of Australia and later, Oceania, receiving land grants and funds for exploration & settlement after reforming (whether sincerely or not) and have adopted the trappings of the British upper class. Today, the descendants of the Convicts are almost without exception urban nobles and, unlike many other British aristocrats, they are usually Low Church Protestants (many of them are descendants of Lowland Scots whose only crime was making fun of the English one too many times or practicing their faith too openly) who, using their money and social position, led the movement to end discrimination against their coreligionists. The majority of these 'rags-to-riches' families have remembered their ancestors' disgraceful arrival, and generally hold Autonomist or Nationalist views.
Gold Rusher: Your ancestors came to Oceania when word of gold down under started spreading, and may or may not have succeeded in striking the motherlode and becoming filthy rich. Many Gold Rushers still carry the bitter memory of the Eureka Rebellion, which their grandfathers possibly participated in, and harbor resentment toward the Imperial administration and their local representatives, the now-aristocratic descendants of the Convicts and Squatters. Gold Rushers and their descendants can hold any Christian belief and come from any background - a lucky few actually struck gold and become aristocrats thanks to their newfound wealth, others pulled themselves up by the bootstraps after the Rush ended, and still others were left too poor to buy a ticket back home - and can hold any political views, usually Autonomism or even outright Nationalism.
Squatter: Your ancestors illegally occupied Crown Territory and started farming and herding operations there, eventually becoming rich enough to buy the rights to the land and later forming the rural counterpart to the Convicts-turned-aristocrats who dominated urban Oceania. Many Squatters went on to build massive rural plantations surrounded by irrigated farms or livestock 'stations' and worked by dozens or even hundreds of indentured workers and Aboriginals. In contrast to the Convicts, most Squatters are rural, well-off Catholics or High Church Protestants with firm Unionist beliefs.
For Indians only:
Anglo-Indian: You were born to British parents in India. Closer to the Indians than their distant cousins back home, the Anglo-Indians form the cream of the new Indian aristocracy and colonial administration, occupying all high offices and serving as the colonial middlemen between the distant London government and the people back in their true homes, India. They get along well enough with most Indians, who after all are their biggest partners and underlings. Anglo-Indians are a socially versatile class and can come from any background, follow any Christian creed and hold Unionist or Autonomist beliefs.
Indian: Your ancestors witnessed the arrival of the British, but held on to their identity in the face of British bayonets and missionaries. The Indians have traditionally labored hard for chump change (or even less) under the British, but following the Sepoy Rebellion gained some measure of representation in the Imperial government, sending their first MPs to London in 1909 despite the best efforts of the British colonial administration, and now seek to overcome further discrimination. Indians (politically active ones, anyway) can come from any background save the aristocratic ones, hold any faith (Christian, Muslim or Hindu) tend to hold Autonomist beliefs.
For Japanese only:
Anglo-Japanese: You are descended from British settlers who married into the Japanese population, usually either the old Japanese courtly aristocracy or (for those who weren't from British noble families) the 'Hidden Christians. The Anglo-Japanese have traditionally formed the colonial administration following the Conquest of Japan in the 18th century, acting as middlemen for the distant Imperial administration in London and providing the ethnic Japanese under them with a degree of autonomy. They are generally Catholics from wealthy, if not aristocratic, or at least middle-class backgrounds, and hold firm Unionist or at least moderate Autonomist beliefs.
Japanese: Your venerable ancestors witnessed and quite likely tried to fight the British gaijin as they invaded Japan, but were ultimately defeated and subjugated - and that's you can no longer call them 'gaijin' to their face without facing a prison sentence. The lot of the Japanese has steadily improved under the administration of the Anglo-Japanese 'new aristocracy', and after two hundred years most Japanese have now at least partially adapted to Western ways. They can come from any but the aristocratic social backgrounds, are generally either Christian (any creed), Buddhist or Shinto, and usually hold either Unionist or Autonomist views, though a radical minority yearning for the days of the old Japanese Empire (and ignoring the danger poised by Russia from Hokkaido) are Nationalists.
For Africans only:
Afrikaner: Your ancestors were the German settlers of the Austrian and later Imperial Cape Colony before it was sold to the British. After the sale, many Afrikaners (descended from refugees of the Great German War, including a large number of Protestants who tried to escape persecution back home) initially tried to work with the British authorities, but following wave after wave of British settlers who received favorable treatment, packed up and left for the interior, where they established a number of 'Freistaaten' (independent republics). Their relatively short-lived Freistaaten were destroyed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the British army despite their best efforts to keep the 'Afrikaner Dream' alive, and today many Afrikaners still deeply resent the colonial establishment for the atrocities visited upon them during the First and Second Afrikaner Wars. They can come from any non-aristocratic background, are generally Protestants and hold Autonomist or Nationalist views.
Uitlander: Your ancestors were British settlers who decided to live in the Cape Colony following its purchase by the Imperial government. You were among the many Uitlanders who jumped at the Motherland's call in the Afrikaner wars, and actively supported Britannia as the redcoats (and later, khaki-coats) marched past the Tilly River. Following the war, you maneuvered yourself into a well-paying job in the new colonial administration. You can come from any non-aristocratic background, are probably a Catholic or High Church Protestant, and hold either Unionist or Autonomist views.
Egyptian: Your ancestors (or maybe even you yourself, if you were old enough) saw your country subjugated by the British while your supposed Ottoman protectors did nothing. Egypt is still nominally independent and under the rule of a Khedive from the Muhammad Ali dynasty, but this is quite obviously a transparent attempt by the British to project an illusion of independence - The Emperors of Britannia have added 'King of Egypt' to their list of titles, all the important government offices were staffed by British aristocrats and officers until recently, and Egypt still has to send MPs to London like any other colony of Britannia's. Egyptians come from all social backgrounds, are generally Muslims or more rarely Copts (who however usually receive favorable treatment from the British), and can hold any political views: some Egyptians prefer integration into the Imperial Union as the way forward, others desire actual autonomy and still others want total independence.
Religion:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:Catholic - You are part of the Roman Catholic Church or other Churches in full communion with the See of Rome (Eastern, Maronite, Chaldean Catholic etc.). This church is the dominant and state religion of the Imperial Union.
Orthodox - You are part of the Eastern Orthodox (officially Orthodox Catholic) Church, and more specifically one of its autocephalous churches - Constantinople, Greek, Russian, etc.
High Church Protestant - You are part of one of the Protestant Churches that place an emphasis on formality and resist 'modernization' efforts, ex. the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Low Church Protestant - You are part of one of the Protestant Churches that show a more Evangelical than formal feel and are generally more open to reform, ex. the Church of Scotland or 'Kirk'.
Other Christian - You are part of another Christian denomination not mentioned up there, ex. the Coptic Church, or are simply non-denominational.
Sunni Muslim - You are a member of the Sunni branch of Islam, following the Sunnah - Muhammad's hadiths.
Shi'a Muslim - You are a member of the Shi'a branch of Islam, believing that only Allah can appoint representatives of Islam and thus not recognizing any authority elected by mere mortals.
Judaism - You are a Jew, a practiotiner of the oldest of the Abrahamic faiths. You may belong to the Orthodox. Conservative or Reform traditions.
Hindu - You are a Hindu, a follower of one or more among numerous Indian deities with multiple traditions to draw on from.
Other - You are a follower of a religion not mentioned here, ex. Buddhism, Druze, Shinto.
Social backgrounds:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:The following can be used by any player regardless of his location in the IU:
Rural aristocrat: You are the 'old money', a landowning gentleman with a fortune behind his name (and quite possibly one or more fancy titles) who lives out in the country and plays an active part in administering his large farms, plantations and ranches. You hold conservative views and try to live the 'Cavalier Ideals' of Faith, Honor and Valor - which, in public satire, translate to politicized Catholicism, Unionist political beliefs and an eagerness to buy an officer's commission whenever a war breaks out - but try to emphasize rural interests while you're at it.
Urban aristocrat: You are also 'old money', and while you probably no longer own a massive tract of land like the Rural Aristocrats, you have likely dipped your hands into the business world and serve as the center of the British social scene, bringing glamour and good fun to meetings and social activities instead of being boarded up in an office managing stacks of paperwork like your stuffy rural counterparts. You also hold conservative views and try to live the Cavalier Ideals, but will advocate urban interests over those of the countryside.
Business magnate: You are 'new money'. You managed to pull yourself up by the bootstraps and rise from the gray masses into an elite circle of the country's wealthiest men, and you take great pride in the fact that you did all of this largely on your own instead of inheriting money and estates from someone else without actually doing anything to earn it. You may try to live the Cavalier Ideals, but hold the aristocracy in contempt as a bunch of inbred, doddering old fools who have never done an honest day's work in their lives (and they, in turn, see you as an arrogant upstart who lucked out) and lean toward classical liberalism and pro-business policies.
Clergyman: You are a member of the clergy. You can be a Catholic bishop, Protestant preacher, Muslim imam, Hindu brahmin, etc. but one thing about your position is that it means people listen to you. You hold a traditionally deeply respected position in the social order, and in the case of Catholic clergy you actually get quite a bit of money off the government tab. Naturally, once you enter politics you will almost certainly hold fiercely conservative, if not outright reactionary views, and will try to put the creed you belong to into the political limelight (or, in the case of Catholics, keep it there).
Soldier: You are a military man, though your experience can range from several battle honors won for 'unsurpassed valor' and other such things in the Afrikaner and Mahdist Wars to almost blowing your own foot off in boot camp and occasionally making rude gestures toward Puritans on the Canadian-Columbian border. Regardless, joining the military one way or another is one of the fastest tracks into politics, as even a few years of experience carries with it a certain respect in Imperial society. You will likely try to prioritize the military over everyone else's interests.
Factory worker: You've worked twelve-to-eighteen hour days in filthy factories for what amounts to chump change, or even less if your boss was particularly nasty, and were forced to endure torrents of abuse from your employers without ever retaliating out of fear that you'd be kicked to the curb and left to starve. However, the emergence of the French Commune has brought hope to the politically active members of the proletariat like you, and you decided to enter politics with the ultimate objective of easing the suffering of your fellow workers.
Peasant: You are a rural laborer, possibly bound to a noble's land not by serfdom but by lack of money with which to feed your family, forcing you to work the fields for many hours under the sun, rain and snow. Nevertheless, you and your fellow peasants just grin and bear it, seeing your hard labor as your duty in the social hierarchy. Peasants like you tend to be much more conservative than urban factory workers; the ideal peasant is one who obeys his lord unquestioningly, does whatever is needed of him to keep the women and children well fed, actively attends church and pays the proper respects to Emperor - and this is an ideal you and your fellow country folk do their best to live up to.
The following are for Canadians only:
Refugee: You are a recent arrival from Columbia, having eluded State Security agents and border patrols on a desperate trek up north so you would be able to practice your religion and speak your mind (relatively) freely without the fear of being taken to a 'house of happiness' or simply shot in your sleep. Naturally, you hate Columbia and all that it stands for, and once you get your hands on some power your fellow refugees will expect you to push for a war to destroy that abomination of a state; all other political issues come in second after that. You are distinct from the Loyalists in that while they are descendants of the original Loyalists who fled to Canada in the 17th century and are now Canada's established upper class, you are a newcomer to the 'True North' and may or may not be wealthy depending on your financial position in Columbia before your flight and how much money you managed to take with you.
Homesteader: You are a yeoman farmer, owning and living on a small but prosperous farm out west on the Prairie. You are the other liberal ideal, besides the Business Magnate - a hard-working, independent fellow who, through sheer force of will and hard labor, made something of himself, as opposed to the greedy leeches up above and down below you in the social ladder. You are likely to advocate rural interests before urban ones and harbor liberal views.
The following are for Oceanians only:
Ex-Bushranger: You were once an outlaw in the wilds of Oceania, attacking trains and banks with impunity and getting into shootouts with the police. However, for one reason or another - perhaps you were finally captured, perhaps you had an epiphany of some sort and decided that you were wasting your life away, or perhaps out of the realization that you could accomplish so much more if you had some real power - you left behind your life of crime and became an upstanding (well, at least publicly...) citizen. You tend to favor socialist or liberal politics, they are after all the kind of people who would have taken mercy on you if you were still a Bushranger...
Grazer: You are a 'grazer', the Oceanian equivalent to wealthy ranchers in the Canadian or Columbian West. Your family owns a large ranch called a 'station' (possibly on a previously-uninhabited piece of land that they 'squatted' on) and have grown wealthy from the business, as ranchers provide a considerable part of Oceania's exports to the rest of the Imperial Union and the world. You have likely led a comfortable life out in the country manor and are a representative of conservative, rural politics.
The following are for Japanese only:
Kuge: You are part of the new nobility of Japan, an honor your family has held since your distant ancestors made the pragmatic (and quite wise) decision to collaborate with and possibly marry into the incoming British elite. You live like the best of British aristocrats and serve as colonial middlemen between London and Japan proper, making sure your citizens are kept well-fed and happy to reduce any risk of rebellion against your true Emperor in London. You have a tendency of looking down on the Ultranationalists, who your class consider a bunch of crazed romanticists with no grounding in reality, and holding conservative or moderate views.
Ultranationalist: Your ancestors were once members of Japan's military aristocracy, only to see themselves left destitute and a bunch of treasonous pigs take their place by marrying into gaijin families and appeasing the false Emperor in London. Having restored yourself to a stable financial and social position, you now take every opportunity available to preach against the evils of the imperialist British and their puppets, the Anglo-Japanese 'kuge' - at least as long as it takes for you to recover your old family fortunes & estates. You are likely to be a fervent Nationalist and to push for Japanese independence at every turn, and all other politics come in second place after that major issue.
The following are for Indians only:
Colonial enforcer: You are, or at least were, once part of the Imperial Indian Police Department and helped enforce British colonial rule on the subcontinent, shooting or hanging rebels and locking up particularly vocal independence activists. While resented by many Indians for your bloody work, your exemplary service record and loyalty to the Empire is lauded by the Anglo-Indian elite, and elements of said elite have offered to help propel you into the realm of politics. You tend to hold pro-British views above all else.
Activist: You are one of many Indians who have turned to peaceful methods to try and liberate your country from the British yoke, or at least get it reorganized into an independent dominion, once it became clear that the British military machine could not be overcome in battle. You have faced heavy pressure from the Imperial Indian Police and possibly even got yourself landed in jail several times, but your perseverance has won over the hearts of many Indians who now proudly march alongside you every time you enter the street to call for autonomy/independence. You hold pro-autonomy/independence views above all else.
The following are for Africans only:
Ex-resistance fighter: You once fought valiantly to defend your family, your ideals and your way of life from British imperialism, but it was all in vain as the Afrikaner Freistaats fell one by one in the face of the Imperial war machine, and you yourself may have been captured and deported to an 'internment camp' where you were held without trial or any hope of escape for years. Now that you are a free man in a not-so-free country and it has become clear that the British cannot be overcome militarily, you have decided to work for independence or at least autonomy through peaceful channels. You hold pro-autonomy/independence views above all else. Available only to Afrikaners.
Collaborator: When the British swept into the Afrikaner Freistaaten, you saw the writing on the wall and figured that if you can't beat the British, you ought to join them - or maybe you were an Uitlander who jumped at the chance to fight for the Motherland. Either way, following the fall of the last Freistaaten, your gambit paid off, securing you an office with a nice salary attached in the Greater Rhodesia colonial administration. In the case of Afrikaners, your fellow intelligent comrades have (sometimes unfairly, sometimes...not) been caricatured as cowardly, selfish and manipulative backstabbers who sold out their own people to a foreign conqueror in exchange for rewards, and you may or may not fit that stereotype...obviously, you will hold Unionist or at least Autonomist views above all. Available to Afrikaners and Uitlanders only.
Ex-Pasha: You were once an officer in the Egyptian Army, but after your country's ignominious defeat at the hands of Britannia you were left out of a job, until one lucky day you were offered another commission - this time in the very army you were shooting at only a few years ago. British rule doesn't seem that bad to a man with power such as yourself, and you have decided to abandon any nationalist pipe-dreams in favor of serving the highest bidder - er, Britannia. For the good of the Egyptian people and totally not your checkbook at all, of course. You hold pro-British views above all else. Available only to Egyptians
)
)
Don't forget to put down your Home Riding or HQ (if you're a Terrorist) BTW. Watercress's map is a good example.
I'll fix those!
Originally Posted by Dan the Man
)
