This Is Madness 2 - Imperium Sine Fine (Interactive Mega Campaign)

[CzokletMuss]

FACTION MEETING - CLOSING

Illustrious President of the Imperial Senate magistros Nikephoros Dalassenos hereby annouces that

THE MEETING OF THE RED DEMES HAS ENDED

Honorable senator Alexios of the noble House ESTE-RAVENNA (played by: Undead Martyr) was elected as Speaker of the Red Demes.

May the blessing of Saint Markos be upon all of us.

Signed,
Nikephoros Dalassenos
President of the Imperial Senate​

 

[CzokletMuss]

DIARIUM SENATORUM IMPERIALIS #22

ALBUM SENATORIUM
Illustrious President of the Imperial Senate magistros Nikephoros Dalassenos hereby annouces:

1) that the noble Houses have chosen the following honorable aristoi as their delegates in the Imperial Senate:

1. senator Absalon of the noble House HVIDE (played by: Drucchi)
2. senator Alexios of the noble House VON HOHENZOLLERN (played by: zenphoenix)
3. senator Dooley of the noble House AZIZID (played by: TurtleShroom)

2) that as of this moment the Senate Factions consist of the following members:

1. Speaker of the Red Demes senator Alexios of the noble House ESTE-RAVENNA (played by: Undead Martyr)
2. senator Honorius of the noble House SCIPION (played by: varetta)
3. senator Leon of the noble House TAURINUS (played by: Ponce_The_Great)
4. senator Nonamark of the noble House WEDROVANDER (played by: Kingjerkera)
5. senator Harun of the noble House AL-ASKARI (played by: bigseb31213)
6. senator Donasien of the noble House DE LA LUMIERE (played by: Tecumseh23)
7. senator Alexandros of the noble House MANDROMENOS (played by: Mach Twelve)
8. senator Zeno of the noble House MOJMIRID (played by: Teutonic King)

1. Speaker of the White Demes senator Decius of the noble House PYLAEUS (played by: ThetrueColt)
2. senator Iskander of the noble House OURANOS (played by: Blogman66)
3. senator Lodovico of the noble House DI CAPPONI (played by: Enlil)
4. senator Lazaros of the noble House MELISSENOS (played by: McGrey)
5. senator Marius of the noble House SERAPIS (played by: Serpent)

1. senator Leon of the noble House CORTEZ (played by: zqfrmb)
2. senator Alexios of the noble House COLOMBO (played by:luciusmalfoy012)
3. senator Valerios of the noble House RAOUL (played by: Attalus)
4. senator Duilius of the noble House ARRIUS (played by: TheAnguishedOne)
5. senator Nikephoros of the noble House SALAMIS (played by: ParrotGuy)
6. senator Kastor of the noble House KASTELOS (played by: Leandor)
7. senator Absalon of the noble House HVIDE (played by: Drucchi)
8. senator Dooley of the noble House AZIZID (played by: TurtleShroom)

unaffiliated

1. senator Markos of the noble House VON HABSBURG (played by: GulMacet)
2. senator Alexios of the noble House VON HOHENZOLLERN (played by: zenphoenix)

3) that as of this moment the Imperial Senate consists of 23 Senators as per the Album Senatorium:

1. senator Decius of the noble House PYLAEUS (played by: ThetrueColt)
2. senator Leon of the noble House CORTEZ (played by: zqfrmb)
3. senator Iskander of the noble House OURANOS (played by: Blogman66)
4. senator Lodovico of the noble House DI CAPPONI (played by: Enlil)
5. senator Alexandros of the noble House MANDROMENOS (played by: Mach Twelve)
6. senator Lazaros of the noble House MELISSENOS (played by: McGrey)
7. senator Honorius of the noble House SCIPION (played by: varetta)
8. senator Leon of the noble House TAURINUS (played by: Ponce_The_Great)
9. senator Nonamark of the noble House WEDROVANDER (played by: Kingjerkera)
10. senator Alexios of the noble House COLOMBO (played by:luciusmalfoy012)
11. senator Valerios of the noble House RAOUL (played by: Attalus)
12. senator Duilius of the noble House ARRIUS (played by: TheAnguishedOne)
13. senator Harun of the noble House AL-ASKARI (played by: bigseb31213)
14. senator Marius of the noble House SERAPIS (played by: Serpent)
15. senator Alexios of the noble House ESTE-RAVENNA (played by: Undead Martyr)
16. senator Nikephoros of the noble House SALAMIS (played by: ParrotGuy)
17. senator Donasien of the noble House DE LA LUMIERE (played by: Tecumseh23)
18. senator Markos of the noble House VON HABSBURG (played by: GulMacet)
19. senator Zeno of the noble House MOJMIRID (played by: Teutonic King)
20. senator Kastor of the noble House KASTELOS (played by: Leandor)
21. senator Absalon of the noble House HVIDE (played by: Drucchi)
22. senator Alexios of the noble House VON HOHENZOLLERN (played by: zenphoenix)
23. VACANT SEAT of the noble House RASHID (played by: BanishTheSpleen)
24. senator Dooley of the noble House AZIZID (played by: TurtleShroom)

May the blessing of Saint Markos be upon all of us.

Signed,
Nikophoros Dalassenos
President of the Imperial Senate​

***​

In other news the schedule of the Sixth Session is changed from:

SCHEDULE (WARSAW TIME)

• Opening of the Session – 10:00 p.m. 23 September (Wednesday)
• DEBATE (2 DAYS) - 10:00 p.m. 23 September – 10:00 p.m. 25 September
• RECESS (1 DAY) - 10:00 p.m. 25 September – 10:00 p.m. 26 September
• DEBATE (2 DAY) - 10:00 p.m. 26 September – 10:00 p.m. 28 September
• VOTING (1 DAY) - 10:00 p.m. 28 September – 10:00 p.m. 29 September
• Closing of the Session - 10:00 p.m. 29 September (Tuesday)

to:

SCHEDULE (WARSAW TIME)

• Opening of the Session – 06:00 p.m. 18 September (Friday)
• DEBATE (1 DAY) - 06:00 p.m. 18 September – 06:00 p.m. 19 September
• RECESS (1 DAY) - 06:00 p.m. 19 September – 06:00 p.m. 20 September
• DEBATE (1 DAY) - 06:00 p.m. 20 September – 06:00 p.m. 21 September
• VOTING (1 DAY) - 06:00 p.m. 21 September – 06:00 p.m. 22 September
• Closing of the Session - 06:00 p.m. 22 September (Tuesday)

 

[Ponce_The_Great]

{{Wow the Blues are resilient, I mean they've been arrested for conspiracy, they're the faction with the kick me sign on their back and get blamed for everything from heresy to starting the plague to being Pisans, and still they're tied for biggest faction. The Force is strong with this faction}}

 

[ParrotGuy]

{{Wow the Blues are resilient, I mean they've been arrested for conspiracy, they're the faction with the kick me sign on their back and get blamed for everything from heresy to starting the plague to being Pisans, and still they're tied for biggest faction. The Force is strong with this faction}}

{{And yet we'll not be in power for ages because pretty much everything we have is useless for an Imperium in crisis}}

 

[CzokletMuss]

{{Wow the Blues are resilient, I mean they've been arrested for conspiracy, they're the faction with the kick me sign on their back and get blamed for everything from heresy to starting the plague to being Pisans, and still they're tied for biggest faction. The Force is strong with this faction}}

Well, what can I say? Considering how resiliant they are I'm afraid we all will end up Blue.

 

[TheAnguishedOne]

{{We may be useless in the current situation, but the army can't deny the need of a powerful navy. Besides, an alliance with the Reds and the Whites means they need all of them to agree to reach a majority. An alliance with the Reds and the Blues is much stronger.

When is the Blue's meeting starting? Surely we have matters to discuss.}}

 

[CzokletMuss]

Navy is very important - with transporters moving armies between Italia, Africa or Syria is a matter of weeks, without them it takes months. Imperium is not a landlocked blob, even game-wise the ability to quickly move your troops around is critical. And there's also revenue from trade, exploration etc. All of the Factions represent vital interests of the Imperium.

 

[ParrotGuy]

{{We may be useless in the current situation, but the army can't deny the need of a powerful navy. Besides, an alliance with the Reds and the Whites means they need all of them to agree to reach a majority. An alliance with the Reds and the Blues is much stronger.

When is the Blue's meeting starting? Surely we have matters to discuss.}}

Actualy... Isn't trade the biggest money maker by far right now? A trade policy could be very, very useful?

 

[McGrey]

{{Habsburger and Hohenzollern. I can't wait to see if they go along!}}

 

[Serpent]

{{Habsburger and Hohenzollern. I can't wait to see if they go along!}}

{{Well, I'm not marrying anyone from the Habsburgs. Those who do tend to get their lands inherited.}}

 

[ParrotGuy]

Czoklet, can my Senator arrive with a servant carrying a basin, lots of water and soap, and the servant will be constantly filling the basin so that the Senator can wash his hands (plauge paranoia)? That'll be the servant's only action.

 

[CzokletMuss]

This won't be possible this time I'm afraid.

 

[Ponce_The_Great]

Czoklet, can my Senator arrive with a servant carrying a basin, lots of water and soap, and the servant will be constantly filling the basin so that the Senator can wash his hands (plauge paranoia)? That'll be the servant's only action.

I suspect he said no because you guys will be on a ship. On that note, Reds find some plague infested rats and put them on the Blue ship.

And after all this turmoil in the faction meetings I can't wait to see what the senate meeting ends up being like

 

[CzokletMuss]

FACTION MEETING - OPENING

Illustrious President of the Imperial Senate magistros Nikephoros Dalassenos hereby annouces

THE MEETING OF THE BLUE DEMES HAS BEGUN​

RUMORS AND GOSSIP
Here are the pieces of information your Faction have gathered recently. Remember that most of them are not entirely trustworthy and some of them may simply be not true:

1. According to rumors brought by merchants from Ceylon, the devastating Plague consumes the Far East and even more people are said to be suffering from it than in the whole Imperium.
2. Many of Roman banks and trading companies which became insolvent are being bought by the Pisans.
3. Caledonians have started trading in plants and other goods from the Far West.
4. Some say that it was not an accident that Great Pandidakterion was partially burned during the riots but arson – several hooded figures were allegedly spotted by students nearby the place where the fire started.
5. More and more Italian patricians refuse to pay taxes to the Imperium.
6. Both xocolatl and smoking leaves called tabacco by Pisans are available in great quantities in Italia and some say that the patricians openly disobey imperial ban on trading in forbidden xenoi plants.
7. Prices of exotic spices from the Far East have more than doubled due to great scarcity of this valuable goods.
8. Conquered during the war, Beirut became the window to the West for the dominion of Timurids - merchants from Pisa and Caledonia are making fortunes selling them goods from the Far West in return for slaves, some of which are said to be Roman captives.
9. They say one out of every three men have died so far from the Plague in Europe and even the Horde seems to be affected

FACTION INTELLIGENCE
Due to the position of the Blue Demes in the imperial administration the following information has been obtained:

Spoiler

May the blessing of Saint Markos be upon all of us.

Signed,
Nikephoros Dalessenos
President of the Imperial Senate​

***

30 December 1559
Imperial dromon Velos, port of Thessaloniki

Streets of Thessaloniki, one of the greatest cities of Graecia, were empty. No trace was left after booths of merchants from all corners of the Imperium where spices, produce and artisanry were sold. Once prosperous workshops and inns were closed and many houses were empty. Some of them, especially the ones in which were once headquarters of trading companies or banks, were burned down, looted by the mob during riots like in dozens of other Roman cities. In poor district near the docks piles of unburied bodies were rotting in the gutters and no living soul could be seen. When you reach the harbor you welcome the salty wind blowing from the Aegean, hoping that it will remove the stench of the dead from your clothes. No ship enters or leaves the port due to the quarantine; in fact many of the vessels seem to be abandoned and left to rot by their unfortunate owners.

Imperial dromon named Velos – Arrow – doesn't look even half as good as you expected from a ship which is going to transport you to the City. Two banks of oars employing over two hundred of slave rowers and three huge lateen sails should ensure you a safe journey. The ship however has seen better days and the scars of battles against vessels of the Westerners are clearly visible on the hull. Dekarchos of the Senate Guard welcomes you as you get aboard. The deck is crowded and you count at least 50-60 armed men -
you notice however that only 10 of them are members of the Guard. With your servants and men-at-arms left on the shore you are escorted to the great cabin where you will spend your journey.

{{Images which should help you visualize everything:

Dromon

Spoiler

Great cabin

Spoiler

The Velos and her great cabin look more or less like this. }}

As you enter the great cabin to your surprise you notice that there is someone in the cabin. With his boots on the table, a middle-aged man with red beard wearing brown lamellar armor is cleaning his nails with a dagger. He notices you and smiles.

Bearded man

Please, take your seat. There are no servants onboard I'm afraid, so you'll have to help yourself with your food and wine – you must be thirsty.

*The man takes his boots off the table and you notices that he has two small pyrovolo oploi – fire-weapons – in holsters attached to his belt. His accent indicates he must be from Aragon altough he seems to look more like a... Pisan? Seeing confused expression on your face and nervous glances you give to his weapons, the man lifts both his hands.*

Don't worry, senator, I mean you no harm – quite the contrary. I will explain everything when the last of you arrive and we set sail for the City. In the meantime...

*The man pours some red wine for both of you. He empties the cup and wipes the wine from his beard with his sleeve. Seeing that you don't drink, he pauses*

No? It's Aragonese, you know.

*The man smiles again and you can see that he's missing several teeth*

Your choice, noble senator.

*He pours himself another cup*

***​

GOALS OF THE MEETING
During this meeting the Blue Demes has to elect Faction Speaker.

• Election is unanimous (no voting).
• Every member of the Faction has a right of veto.
• To elect a Faction Speaker a consensus has to be reached by the Faction.
• To reach a consensus not a single veto has to be used against the candidate.
• Every Senator at least 35 years old is elligible to run for position of the Faction Speaker.
• If all candidates were vetoed, the Faction carries on without a Faction Speaker.

During this meeting the Blue Demes can also change its modifiers in the same way Senate Policies are made („buying” bonuses from Nation Designer list). Here's a list of the current modifers Blue Demes provides while it's a dominant Faction:

	#Good
	idea_cost = -0.05
	diplomatic_upkeep = 1
	merchants = 1
	colonists = 1
		
	#Bad
	land_morale = -0.05
	global_missionary_strength = -0.02
	army_tradition = -1
	manpower_recovery_speed = -0.10
		
	#Cost
	global_ship_cost = 0.30

You can change the bonuses (#Good modifiers) in any way you want using administrative modifiers from Nation Designer list. Warning – in case information on the wiki is outdated the in-game costs apply.

Other rules:

• Your „budget” you can use to „buy” bonuses is equal to 25 points.
• You have to have at least 2 and up to 4 bonuses (so you can't use all points to buy one superbonus)
• I'll be changing maluses accordingly so expect for instance Blue Demes to give malus to coring cost if White Demes gives bonus in this area.
• The cost modifiers will be eliminated entirely.

REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING

• Begin every post written in-character using the following template:
  

  [b][size=4]Senator <name>:[/b][/size]

• While writing in-character, you have to use italics.
• While writing out-of-character during the Senate Session or Faction Meeting, you have to use brackets.
• You may type „@<ForumNickname>” in your post to tag forum users (they get a notification they were mentioned in your post)

EXCERPT FROM THE RULES

Spoiler

Article 12 – Faction Speakers
1. Each Faction has a Speaker who represents it before the Senate and other Factions.
2. Speaker is elected among the members of his Faction by acclamation.
3. Speaker:
- proposes Senatorial Policies in the name of his Faction;
- requests a Meeting for his Faction;
- notifies members of his Faction via PM of the Meeting;

Article 13 – Faction Meeting
1. Each Faction may hold a Meeting for its members to discuss public affairs of the state between Sessions.
(...)
4. Speaker ensures order and decorum during the Meeting, while members of the Imperial Senate Guard ensure safety of the Senators.

 

[ParrotGuy]

Nikephoros II Salamis:
*Nikephoros arrives accompanied by three loyal household guards who are left on the shore. He's carrying a basin, and in it a few soaps and waterskins. After awkwardly hailing the bearded man he steps towards the table and sets the basin on it, fills it with water and begins using a soap to wash his hands frevently. The rest of the soaps he puts on a clean piece of cloth near the basin, careful not to let it touch the table. The Plauge paranoia did not hit Nikephoros like some people who veiled their whole body, but he was still extremley paranoid. Nikephoros was, nontheless, a bright minded man. He was sent by his father to a mountain resort when the plauge reached island Salamis, accompanied by a small group of guards and servants and the house's trusted councillor, the christianized (or is he?) Jew Zacharia Pollitis, who was his tutor. The upside was that Nikephoros' mind remained relatively untouched by the horrors outside, but the downside was that even though Zacharia has done his best to negate this effect, Nikephoros is still somewhat awkward in social situations. Nikephoros is perhaps the youngest Senator since the reformation of the Senate, only 22 years of age, and still the oldest member of his house, which suffered greatly during the years- the plauge and the in-house civil war between supporters of the White Demes and supporters of the Blue Demes killed many members of the house. Still, island Salamis is now a relatively safe haven, blocked to outsiders and with the plauge weakening.*
"Th... Thank you, Ser, but I'm not thirsty."
"So..." Nikephoros tries to start a conversation, "Are you... Here to inform us of something?"
Realizing that he socialy failed again, Nikephoros curses himself, muttering.

 

[House Doukas]

{{Well, I will be damned. I never expected to see my hometown featured in TIM. }}

 

[CzokletMuss]

{{ I want to have the White Tower featured at some point too }}

 

[TheAnguishedOne]

Senator Duilius Arrius:
*Duilius arrives alone, not feeling the need for guards. He has seen the damage on the plague in person as he fled Thrakesion, as it took his wife from him. He no longer fears it killing him. It has done more than enough. Duilius takes his seat near the bearded man, unafraid of the guest. While waiting for his fellow Senators, Duilius speaks him.*

"I will pass on the refreshments. My father taught me better than to arrive parched. Many strange rumors are thriving among the Imperium, no doubt thanks to this plague. You must have heard many, being a trader... I presume. How does Aragon fair in these dark times? Has this far-reaching death sank its talons into her as it has here?"

 

[ParrotGuy]

Nikephoros II Salamis:
"Ah, welcome, Senator! May I inquire as to which house you represent?" *Nikephoros thinks for a moment, and then remembers the courtesies and comes to shake the Senator's hands*
"I suppose you've been we... I mean, I suppose you arrived with no trouble on the, um, road?"

{{Btw, is it possible to express the thoughts in the Senator's head, perhaps by *thoughts thoughts thoughts*?}}

 

[Enlil]

{{ I see the chaos caused by Alexandros, and I smile at the horror I have wrought forth... }}