About to dip my toes in the water

And I think I'm getting ready to stick my toe in the water.

We'll see.

Slave Trade? Opium Dealing? Triads?
This is news to me, nothing on my turn sheet suggests any of these activities.
As to shaving my hair. No chance I love my long flowing locks.

As to a Harem... well I have plans in that direction, but perish the thought that i should sully myself with uncultured Barbarians... well allright I might a little, so anyone got daughters they wish to sell?....  

Hope you do join in Deacon, it is a very different game to Glory and has a strange addictive quality

I shall await your letter Wilderbeest...but no geishas for you

Wilderbeest wrote:Slave Trade? Opium Dealing? Triads?
This is news to me, nothing on my turn sheet suggests any of these activities.
As to shaving my hair. No chance I love my long flowing locks.

As to a Harem... well I have plans in that direction, but perish the thought that i should sully myself with uncultured Barbarians... well allright I might a little, so anyone got daughters they wish to sell?....  

Does your Sima sheet show an corporation tax? And do you know which corporations are paying Sima?

It is possible that the former King of Sima was also running a second "Company" (or Church) position and all the dodgy activities were down to "private enterprise" and were nothing to do with the fine honourable upstanding Govt of Sima (honest Gov!). This may help to explain the high public status of the position. While most players think Sima = Triads + Opium dealers.

On the subject of Trade Companies/Churches which operate out of your territory these can be a great boon or a total *******.

Lord Derby the Tory Prime Minister of Britannia is probably the expert in this field having to deal with no less than three active ones:

- The Tea Cartel seem to be the good trouble free tax paying company (very, very close to HM Government)
- The Opium Cartel is basically anti Govt, anti Tea Cartel & anti HEIC & out to give Lord Derby grey heirs and be a total pain.
- The HEIC pays its tax and provides important R & D........but if Lord Derby is your moderate Tory, the HEIC is on the Hanging & Flogging extreme right of his party which can cause problems.

The inter Brit feuds can cause problems for others trying to work out who is doing what. In your area the Gov of Hong Kong and its garrison is probably Britannia Govt everything else is "free enterprise"........but just because its not a Government is no reason to dismiss it. Some of these British "Hongs" command a lot of fire power .

We have a had a few female Characters mentioned........mostly mistresses of the German Chancellor and Catholic Nun's! Not sure if any are actually for Sale.

I think we need to send the Crown Constabulary back to school for some refresher lessons on human biology...and the differences between a man and a woman...

Ok, I had hoped to make a grand entrance, and play the game tongue firmly in cheek, but my setup has arrived and I am flummoxed.

I am the great Franconia(french).... Islamic republic!!?!?!

That caught me flat footed. Can somebody explain how the crazy frogs managed to get this crazy? I had great plans for the Franconian wine and cheese agents, but this? Am I to be reduced to peddling Baclava?

The man who is the leader now killed Napoleon III and declared the Islamic Republic of Franconia. I would think a assassin could help you get back to the Catholic straight and narrow.

Great. My first turn, I need to assassinate myself!

Thought you would find the humor... This from a protestant power!

[quote="Stuart BaileyDoes your Sima sheet show an corporation tax?  And do you know which corporations are paying Sima?

It is possible that the former King of Sima was also running a second "Company" (or Church) position and all the dodgy activities were down to "private enterprise" and were nothing to do with the fine honourable upstanding Govt of Sima (honest Gov!).  This may help to explain the high public status of the position.  While most players think Sima = Triads + Opium dealers.....

****** *********

Well I had to go home, and last night find the sheet. It says I get £145,987 from corporation tax which I assume is good. I also get a heck of a lot of trade tax from the Wild west which i may need to explore further.

Welcome to the game Deacon.

Anyone know how we got a vampire in the game?

You see... She was bitten by another vampire.   

Anybody know when the Imperial Nippon Navy is supposed to have been doing such naughty things to the Chinese that they decide to murder one of my merchants? Far as I can make out, my fleet has been happily sitting at home for quite some time...

I would have to look back at the old turn results this weekend as nothing really stands out to me.

Thanks

I mean, I'm happy to make the Navy abuse the Chinese...

Deacon wrote:
Great.  My first turn, I need to assassinate myself!

You dont actually need to have an agent assassinate the President of the Islamic Republic of Franconia.

You can always give an order to "retire" a character if he or she is in the home country or "disown" them if they are banged up abroad.  This then allows you to raise another character. (taking 12 turns).

Fairly rescently a HEIC chap pocketed a large bribe from the opium cartel, cashed in his share options and retired to his yacht, town house and place in Hampshire but I expect a French "retirement" to be a bit more fruity!

How you do fancy being cut down in a military coup? Torn to bits by nuns? Or retired to Devils Island following charges of fraud, sexual crimes against nuns and a under aged goat and spying for the Germans?

Its OK to have a NPC head of State either a Emperor or a President of the Republic.  The British naturally have Queen Victoria to name Ironclads after, take tea with and generally toady too.  While the Russians have both an Czar-Emperor in who's name they tend to issue demands to "Respect his authority.....or die".

The bad news is that if Richard as Queen Victoria says she is "not amused" your prestige score takes a dive  

I await developments in Franconia with interest.........its always been the most "wild" power.

Bah, Wilderbeest, ignore this lot, go out and try and convert the world to Islam...

...well, when I say world...I of course mean only those bits nowhere near Nippon...

Jason wrote:Anybody know when the Imperial Nippon Navy is supposed to have been doing such naughty things to the Chinese that they decide to murder one of my merchants?  Far as I can make out, my fleet has been happily sitting at home for quite some time...

The forces of Nippon did invade China a while back and their was also all that diplomatic fuss over Korea.

But killing your rivals merchants, burning their opium convoys, banning them from ports and getting your rivals banks banned all seems fairly standard business practice in China.

When Canton was closed to everyone's trade apart from that of the Opium Cartel I expected some Govt action.  But nothing happened.

Is the Govt of Nippon now going to sort out the uppity Hongs, Triads & Brit Opium Traders?

Wait and see Mr B    mind you, might need to do something about the Nippon army first...

revvaughan wrote:You see...  She was bitten by another vampire.    

  Yes I had assumed that part. Do we know where she was bitten (don't say on the neck!) as King Mongkut would find a Vampire an interesting creature for his collection.

Bah, Wilderbeest, ignore this lot, go out and try and convert the world to Islam...

...well, when I say world...I of course mean only those bits nowhere near Nippon...
.

Good Grief No. King Mongkut is a Budhist (he is now ,no matter what he was before).

Ooops! Sorry that should have been Deacon, not Wilderbeest!   

Jason wrote:I think we need to send the Crown Constabulary back to school for some refresher lessons on human biology...and the differences between a man and a woman...

In case any non scabble players were wondering about the above post (and has Jason finally flipped). The July 1856 edition of The Britannic Times is now out and it seems that:

1) Following the £4M theft from the Tea Corporation which had the paw prints of Sherlock Holmes & the Opium Cartel all over it ..... Sir Quentin Lee Chamberlain of the Yard decided that was too obvious and instead arrested a chap called the "Silk One" for the dastardly deed.

- Slight problem "The Silk One" was not in London at time of theft, is not a chap and as readers of the Flashman Papers and past Britannic Times are no doubt aware her links are with Flashman & the HEIC not the bloody triads and opium gangs!

- As if False arrest and slander was not enough Sir Quentin has now "lost" the Silk One.

In other news:

2) Ohio is now part of Canada & Adringa (dont ask, basically its a Mountain somewhere) is part of Siam. While North Africa is currently under offers........With the Islamic Republic and Vampire Nun in her flying machine on one side V the German Africa Corp claiming to be acting for the French 2nd Empire (in exile) on the other.

3) If you think one side as the edge on crazy and odd weapons ....... think again the German Navy has just decided to avoid any more naval fiasco's by taking twice as long as normal to build a giant torpedoe boat.

4) Meanwhile after a long delay caused by a belief that Ships will be replaced by Air Power the Austrians finally decided to up gun their Cruisers with guns purchased from the British in 1852. Sadly after 4 years abandoned in the rain and Snow the spirit of the Prussian Yacht Squadron circa 1740 is alive and well and has a 2nd home in Prague.

5) The Russians decided to exile a crazy Jewish trouble maker to New York but he jumped ship and headed for Paris instead. Well what's one crazy revolutionary more in less in Paris.

6) In Indea a lot of chaps were polishing their pistols (see point 1 above??????)

7) Some Jap merchant got lynched in China and the Emperor of Japan has called in his Generals.

Adringa is a mountain range in Madagasca, and which aside from the Italians having a naval port on the northernmost tip I now completely control. (probably shouldn't say that, it may give people ideas)
If I give the Italians money will they go away?

Wilderbeast... Not sure where she came from. It would appear that the prior French ruler and his rather eccentric ways gave us some weird things to read about.

The French are usually to blame