So I seen someone post a tier list about how well can the characters run a country and like a month ago I posted a tierlist about how much I respected the characters so I decided to do a new one with how much I liked them.

PS: Ejall is that much of a prick that he isnt even on here. But if he was that bum is going next to alvarez in godspeed.

Nothing ever happens simulator. You have to start a war to have some fun in it.

Was wondering is this better than the valgslandian one?

I have recently done a reformist and anti Su Omina run, giving Brenas police control over reinforcements and removing Rico.

But the whole time Su Omina kept being a main in the ass, doing police duties and enforcing thier own laws in suburbs. So how the F do I kill these bastards.

I watched from someone who followed the game back in 2023 who said he read messages from the devs. Apparently at least 3 of them expressed the opinion that Suzerain made Gus Manger give off a different impression to the players than they intended. The intention was that players think of him as fine normally but gets rude and abrasive when things go wrong. I didn't like that idea, but it wouldn't be unprecedented since they changed Kesaro Kibener a bit to make him more believable. I can see how someone like that with only 40 seats in the Assembly can get people on board with his bills if he frames things right.

In the release version game, Gus is always polite to Anton. If you don't do what he wants, he might not give the player an investment opportunity, but he is polite about it. Even if you pass the Worker's Rights Act (which somehow doesn't hurt Lorren economy so the Oligarchs are liars or the devs made a typo), he is cordial to Anton and continues to look for ways to improve agriculture like mechanisation. He does get pretty upset if Anton embargos Arcasia, but that doesn't just hurt him, there are also nasty side effects on Sordland's economy.

I went to check to see if this changed and... nothing. Gus is still polite not just to Anton, but also everyone else he talks with except if you push the big "destroy economy by embargo" button. He expresses displeasre politely to Anton. The biggest change I noticed wasn't the game itself but the epilogue. If you do Valken's dig in strategy things seem to go normal. If you do the pincer and it works, the military casualties are about 30 times as much as they used to. I can't seem to bring it to 5 digits anymore but this was possible before. I thought maybe they just left "Rude Gus" on the chopping block and was going to forget all about it, but one comment said "they did what you said they'd do." I wish I saved that link so I could show you I can't seem to find the video anymore.

I’ve heard that, according to the history of the Galmish people, a massive migration of Valgish people from the mainland to the island of Valgos took place a long time ago, creating tensions between the newcomers and the native Galmish population. The Valgish people eventually drove the native Galmish-speaking population southward on the island, into what became the Kingdom of Il Eryll and the Duchy of Éifne around the year 1000.

From what I’ve heard and read on the Torpor Games website, the Galmish people who lived on the island of Valgos were the first true victims of Valgish supremacy. They were utterly devastated and subjected to genocide, both through direct killings and systematic discrimination by the Valgish people themselves, to the point that they eventually became extinct. This was the first great trauma and the original sin of the Valgish people, marking the beginning of their era of grand imperialism.

Then came another phase during the Valgos Empire era, when both the Kingdom of Galmoch and the Kingdom of Holmoch were conquered by the Valgs in the 1400s and incorporated into the Valgos Empire. This was the Valgs’ second major sin, and arguably their greatest crime against the Galmish people. It marked a point of no return for Valgish imperialism, beginning a long period in which both Galmish kingdoms fell under Valgish rule and endured roughly 320 years of humiliation.

It was only relatively recently, around the 1920s, that Galmland finally gained independence from the Valgs. The Valgish monarchy was overthrown in a coup and revolution led by Malenyevist revolutionaries under Wilhelm Ulbrik. This revolution paved the way for both islands to gain independence and establish the Republic of Galmland in 1920.

The game is officially set in 1948, meaning that Galmland has been independent for only 28 years. Given its long history of subjugation under the Valgos Empire, the historical trauma and wounds of the Galmish people are likely still very fresh. In fact, I would argue that these wounds could run even deeper than the trauma caused by the Sordish Civil War, considering the centuries of humiliation and suffering that Galmland endured under Valgish rule.

I’ve also heard that, despite both countries belonging to the CSP, tensions between Galmland and Valgland remain as explosive as a volcano. Valgland still retains control over the islands of Ejker, Fejker, and Sijil, which makes Galmland furious because it considers them part of its own maritime territory in the south.

This is why I have a theory that historical events will play a huge role in the Galmland DLC, and why we need to be very careful with our decisions. We can't afford to become too openly pro-Valgsland or too supportive of Hegel, or we risk being seen as nothing more than Valgsland's lapdogs and bootlickers. Our political opponents could use this against us to undermine our leadership and destroy our chances of remaining in power.

For players who want to pursue peace, I think we will need to handle the situation carefully and maintain friendly relations with as many countries as possible. We have to remember that Galmland likely has a much smaller population than Valgsland, which has an estimated population of 63 million people. If a war breaks out between Galmland and Valgsland, we will probably be at a significant disadvantage.

At the same time, I think this could be a lot of fun for players who enjoy creating chaos and political havoc, just as we can do in the Sordland scenario when dealing with Rumburg. There could be various ways to outmaneuver Valgsland, from forming military alliances and sabotaging its international reputation at A.N. meetings to pretending to be a peaceful nation during news interviews while secretly working against its interests.

Nationalism could also be a double-edged sword in our gameplay, offering both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, we could exploit historical grievances and nationalist sentiment to rally public support. By shifting the blame for Galmland's problems onto Valgsland and Hegel, we could portray them as enemies of the Galmish people and encourage political factions across the ideological spectrum to unite behind the principle of "Galmland First." This could potentially boost our popularity and strengthen our political position, although it could also escalate tensions and create new diplomatic problems.

Anyway, that's just my theory based on what I've read about Galmland's history and its relationship with Valgsland. I'm really curious to see how Torpor Games will incorporate these historical grievances into the Galmland DLC and how much our decisions will be influenced by the past.

Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts! I'd love to hear what you all think. Do you agree that Galmland's historical trauma and its complicated relationship with Valgsland will play a major role in the DLC, or do you think things will turn out differently? Feel free to share your theories and opinions in the comments. I'd love to hear other people's perspectives and discuss them with you!

Tolerates them with restrictions instead

Well not only for the Rumburg war but for future Sordland too.

Gameplay wise none of them are totally ideal. It depends on what you ally and whether you do solo or with allies. Modernize fit for allied, expansion for solo. Air force for Valgsland alliance or solo, army for solo or no Agnolia or Wehlen alliance, and navy for Lespia alliance.

Currently, making him VP reduces the chance that he'll betray you. But shouldn't it be the opposite?

What are the consequences of utilising Rizian Intelligence especially in war run.

I funded lucita's proposal and built Mave norotos intelligence hub which gave green modifier

Obviously the game itself might not call it Juche but still considering Galmland will be socialist I don't think we should dismiss that possibility

Let’s say I want to bring Angelica Sazon back from exile. At the same time, I plan to centralize the country during my reforms. As I understand it, the Azaros will accept such a reform if I marry into the mountain of Montaklar and name my son the heir. But how can I ensure the loyalty of the Sazons in this scenario? Is it even possible? Since they won’t get Zille or Iza back (which would be pointless under centralization), can I leverage the fact that Angelica is a traditionalist (I don’t intend to strip the King of real power anyway) or simply rely on the act of pardoning her?

This leads to my second question: how do I get Vina to accept the change of heir? I’ve read that being a good father and maintaining perfect relations with her is key—is that truly enough on its own, or are additional actions required? Is this possible if I marry Axel (to annex Pales peacefully) without forcing Vina, but rather by gently nudging her toward it?

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

Part VIII

Part IX

Part X

Part XI

Once again, this installment ended up a bit too long for Reddit's character limit, so I've split turn 7 into two chapters.

\*

Turn 7a

 The Nedam Mining Group and a minority share of the Sordish State Corporation were privatized.

"Rayne took office pledging to continue privatization for Sordland's remaining SOEs, and he intended to deliver. The much-despised Nedam Mining Group, responsible for the triple-digit-fatality Morbel mine disaster of the last year, was first on the chopping block with little mourning (…) The Kingdom-era Sordish State Corporation was a touchier subject, with most USP conservatives still attached to it as a symbol of national pride. Rayne was sympathetic, mostly out of fear of letting Tusk and Underhall monopolize too much of the construction sector, and only signed off on a compromise minority sale that was not too offensive to Speaker Tory and the party." - Eduard Deiter, Rayne Revisited (2017)

"The end of Sollonomics did not mean an end to state involvement in the national market. Targeted investments and preferential credit rates continued to incentivize heavy industrial development, particularly in the steel and shipbuilding sectors, to support Rayne's breakneck militarization drive (…) With its traditional construction domain being increasingly taken over by the private sector, the Sordish State Corporation was redirected towards the domestic manufacture of strategic industrial machinery and heavy military equipment (…) While a lesser priority in the face of the growing tensions with Rumburg, 'Hollonomics' was careful to avoid the missteps of the Malenyevist heavy industry cult and provided performance-based subsidies to private consumer goods producers, especially those with high export potential, which could also be sold to the Sordish public at more affordable prices than foreign imports." - Sebastian Niel, Tiger Economies of East Merkopa (1997)

"There was much ado within the USP about our privatization drive supposedly promoting domestic oligarchy and hollowing out Soll's industrial base, enough that Galade was seriously worried that it would derail the upcoming constitutional vote (…) Despite all the furor around Koronti and the Nedam Group, Rayne's main concern at the time was attracting more foreign capital to keep the industrial boom going in the long-term, since we both knew that another lucky fiscal windfall like Gasom probably wasn't coming anytime soon. Continuing the transition away from the Sollist model was a definitive signal to our western partners that Sordland was still open for business, and that sustained growth much more efficiently than continuing to pour taxpayer ren into the black hole of SOEs ever could have." - Symon Holl, Inside The Third Republic (1974)

Rayne gave the shares from the privatizations to Marcel Koronti.

"With inside aid from the administration, the HOS conglomerate broke out of its traditional domain of the media to acquire the entire Nedam Mining Group and a respectable share of the SSC, with most of the rest getting picked up by Taurus Holding. This gave Marcel Koronti a commanding role over Sordland's domestic strategic resources, which he dutifully exploited to the fullest possible extent (…) Rayne might have wished to modernize the Sordish mining industry in the long-term, but the anticipated demands of war production required cruder, faster solutions. Koronti was given an unofficial exemption to the Worker's Rights Act and a free hand to hire cheap non-Sordish migrant labor in the enormous numbers needed to rapidly expand coal production in the Lorren region, with predictable results for worker welfare and mortality. Rayne considered this a tidy little temporary solution, seeing dirty mine work as unbefitting of Purple-Bloods anyhow." - Carol Circas, Suzerain: A Portrait of Anton Rayne (1975)

"Heart of Sordland soon broke the national champion model in way that Rayne's other preferred partners did not. While companies like Taurus, Underhall, or Gasom were kept to their particular niches, HOS was allowed to spill out across all sectors of the economy. The Korontis stuck their fingers into everything from natural resources to biomedical research, while maintaining their traditional monopoly over media and tourism. Rayne liked Koronti on a personal level and considered this an worthy reward for his loyal service to the Sordist cause, but this blatant favoritism generated tensions in the national business community which would turn into serious political rifts in the not-so-distant future." - Sebastian Niel, Tiger Economies of East Merkopa (1997)

"State policy was never to support private monopolism, even in the case of HOS. It was quite the opposite, we aimed to encourage healthy competition in the private sector and discourage oligarchical opportunism. This was the rationale behind the controlled dismantlement of those last vestiges of the command economy (…) The national champions idea was supposed to give the state a dominant say over vital strategic industries, and Rayne saw the media as one of those. HOS was our media champion, and Marcel Koronti was our political ally. That Koronti saw fit to expand his personal horizons across other sectors was not at odds with our objectives, and though he certainly grew his owned share of the national economy, HOS never constituted a monopoly over any industry but its traditional media niche." - Symon Holl, Inside The Third Republic (1974)

"There's no sense in denying the obvious, there was a backroom bargain in 1956 between Rayne and Marcel that secured the sale of the Nedam Group to him. It was reciprocity for our family's media backing, certainly, but it also tied HOS to the regime in a way that it had not been before. It gave Rayne just as much leverage over Marcel as Marcel held over him. They were joined at the hip now; if Rayne went down, HOS went with him." - Isabel Koronti, Sordish Heart: The Koronti Story (1974)

Rayne signed the Unified Education Language Act.

"Passing the UELA was in retrospect the last gasp of the Sordish right's old assimilationist tendency towards the Bluds. While Rayne could appreciate the bill's utility for shutting down Bludish-language schools and signed it to solidify NFP support for the 1956 Constitution, that was all he thought it useful for. For an ideological circle that saw the Bluds as nothing more than the parasitic vestige of a long-defeated race, Kibener's rhetoric of improving public educational standards for them seemed quaint at best and counter-productive at worst - though judging by the statements of figures like Holstron, many in the NFP's hardline wing really saw the bill as a merely a means to further stir up Bludish unrest with which to justify a crackdown." - André Pascal, Bloodlands: The Rummo-Sordish Wars (2010)

"A great irony about Kibener and Rayne was that they despised each other for the exact same reasons - those being that the other was a spineless career politician - while having almost identical career paths (…) Kibener could at least pretend to be an anti-establishment opposition leader with a genuine anti-corruption record, no matter how much of slimy parliamentarian he was otherwise - and look what happened to him at the hands of Rayne, the lifetime USP man, the slimiest creature of the Sollist swamp. In the end, the NFP base didn't see much difference, beyond that Rayne actually delivered on beating down the Bluds while Kibener seemed to be fixated on assimilation.They all fell in line behind Rayne without question when it came down to it." - Carol Circas, Suzerain: A Portrait of Anton Rayne (1975)

"It is appealing for many westerners with over a half-century of hindsight to place all the onus on Rayne and the Sordish right for the bloody climax of the Bergia conflict. This is partly justifable, given the regime's proven intent to escalate the violence for its own political advantage, but too often this disregards the interests and nuances of the Bergian Sords in favor of a narrow narrative of oppressor and oppressed. Any objective analysis of the conflict though must acknowledge the complete unwillingness of the Bludish movement to negotiate in good faith, in favor of a hybrid strategy of terrorism and 'peaceful' activism. The ostensibly moderate, pacifist WPB legitimized this strategy by presenting its maximalist demands as the only solution to BFF violence, which did little to ease the fears of the Bergian Sords (…) Even within the early Rayne regime, liberal Bergians like Nia Morgna advocated for a compromise solution that had unfortunately been rendered impossible before Rayne had ever taken office. 1957 was less of a conscious choice than the inevitable culmination of what had begun in 1927, if not earlier." - Eduard Deiter, Rayne Revisited (2017)

"Joining of peoples only occurs successfully when there is a natural pressure for it occur. With our Agnolian brethren, our bond stems from our common tribal roots, our shared interests, and our common foes - and even then the process of joining our peoples into a single political entity is a delicate one. Attempting to force 'Sordishness' on a race millennia diverged from our own, which has been at best a persistent competitor against Sords all the while, was met with a century of failure and only compounded mutual feelings of resentment. This is the folly of a nationalism that centers the state, or institutions, or something as nebulous as 'culture' or 'values' instead the people themselves. But that has all ended now. The New Sordland no longer indulges the fantasy of the infinite malleability of peoples." - Herbert Krull, On the Sordist Revolution (1964)

"Why, exactly, must the Blud be an inherent enemy of the Sord? If nations are to be considered organic, evolving entities, why could the Bluds not be assimilated into the national community, or perhaps afforded cultural autonomy in exchange for political loyalty as in the feudal age of Markia? These are valid questions, ones I have seen debated much on the right since my university days, even as the worst Bludish atrocities of the Civil War were being committed right outside ours doors (…) I can only conclude that the Bluds of today are too poisoned by their petty nationalism, too attached to their tribal indigeneity, too resentful of the loss of their Renan-era privileges, and all too eager for opportunities to indulge in wanton violence against their Purple-Blooded neighbors to alleviate their sense of inferiority to ever accept a position of dignified subordination under Sord imperium. I have always welcomed the foreign merchants and laborers who come with pure intentions and benefit Sordland with their trades, just as Sords should enjoy the right to seek their own fortunes abroad. But for a rabid dog in one's own home, there can only ever be one solution." - Anton Rayne, The Sordish Struggle (1960)

"No Blud was surprised by the passage of the Language Act. Few in my little group, hidden away in an Old Town tenement, were even terribly bothered by it in particular, since it told us nothing new about the Sords. The Security Forces were focused on searching through Bludish schools, boarding up the many 'noncompliant' ones and arresting the teachers, which gave my cell some room to maneuver. Our orders were to receive smuggled Rummish arms and stockpile them around the city, including at the big Bergia Steel warehouse where many of our brothers worked. We had a good laugh about that one. Bron was looking for us in all the wrong places." - Evin Dijl, Memoirs of a Fighter (1970)

BFF GUNS FOUND IN DEYR SCHOOL - Sordland Today, 1956

OP-ED: ENOUGH WITH THE BLUDISH PROTESTS - Lachaven Times, 1956

SITUATION IN BERGIA REGION 'CRITICAL' - Geopolitico, 1956

The 1956 Constitution passed the Assembly with a historic result of 225 ayes and 26 nays.

"All the maroonshirts came flooding into Holsord on the day of the vote. With Kibener's endorsement, they had no more reason to shy away from embracing us. Rayne had the decency to keep them out of the Assembly, but the message was clear enough. I spent the day in the Justice Ministry, watching Nia watch them go marching by in columns (…) Wisci had returned from Lespia for the day to show his support, but I know he must have had the same gnawing pit in his stomach that I did. It had to be worse for him, since he and Rayne were true friends going back decades. Being dragged further and further down a path you know in your bones is wrong by a friendly face is torturous. I knew that day that I needed to find a way out before they all shut." - Ciara Walda, Rayne and I (1972)

"The administration's campaign of lobbying, bribery, and naked intimidation paid off handsomely. The 1956 Constitution sailed through the Assembly, despite a last-minute appearance by former President Soll to try to rally votes against it. Soll was far too little, too late to stop the crumbling of the opposition. Only a portion of the PFJP, the left-wing independents, and a handful of old guard USP diehards dared to vote nay. Even Richter, who attended the proceedings visibly sleepless and ill (no doubt from the SSP's relentless harassment campaign) declined to give any defiant final statements against the reform package (…) With ninety percent of the Assembly voting in favor, Rayne had been granted an resounding mandate to launch his final assault on the Supreme Court." - Colin Gilson, Rayne: Anatomy of a Dictator (2003)

"My fellow Sords! Today we have taken a great first step towards the revitalization of our institutions. The Assembly deserves credit where it is due. It would have been immanently possible for the legislature to reject reform, to reject rejuvenation, to embrace the squalor and decay which we have all come to expect from our once-esteemed Republic. Yet they chose to set aside their self-interest and listen to the will of the Sordish people and their elected executive who has restored peace to their streets. For this, they find themselves on the right side of history today. They have voted to at last arrest the disintegration of the Sordish community, the pitting of institution against institution, of class against class, of all against all  (…) The final question is that of the judiciary. Shall these eleven ladies and gentlemen commit to continue our nation's peaceful development? Or shall the Supreme Court rule that death and chaos is to be Sordland's fate? I warn them that I shall stand against it. May they now make the decision themselves, for peace or for war." - Anton Rayne, speech on the Assembly constitutional vote, 1956

"I just heard the news. What happened in there?"

"You were right, Orso. There's no loyalty anymore."

"Never mind that, we need to talk about next steps. We need to meet, now."

"…fucking Young Sords."

"Tarquin?"

"Fucking Luderinites. Galade, the fucking Black Battalion! Did we not shoot enough of them, Orso?"

"Focus, Tarquin. We can still stop them."

"We shot so many of them! Why are they back?"

"We underestimated the depth of their treason. We won't make the same mistake again."

"That fucking weasel. I made him! Me!"

"And the liberals let him off his leash."

"Hmph. Maybe I should have fought with Rikard instead."

"Then we'd be having the same conversation about stopping the Reds from destroying our republic."

"Maybe."

"It's not over. Meet me this evening. We'll talk with the Justices, get them to see reason."

"…No."

"No?"

"I'm going to Erlory for the weekend. I want to talk to him, man-to-man. Do what you have to, Orso. I trust you."

- Phone call between Tarquin Soll and Orso Hawker, recorded by the Secret State Police, 1956

"The constitutional vote in Holsord went largely unremarked upon by the western press, who still maintained their old stereotype of Sordland as a dictatorial backwater even with Rayne and Koronti's efforts to improve foreign media perceptions. In Eastern Merkopa though, the news came as a shockwave across the region. Few outside observers predicted that Rayne's ambitions would even be able to overcome the institutional inertia against him, let alone how decisively it actually ended up being. Nowhere was the result received more glumly than Thornbourgh and Haelm, who could already see that it would only embolden Rayne to take yet more drastic action against them (…) Beatrice reputedly lamented not invading Sordland during the Alphonso presidency, since in her mind a willful autocrat like Rayne was an inherently more dangerous foe than a liberal. Nevertheless, she remained confident for the coming war and all too eager to put the little bourgeois upstart and his grand claims of Markian lineage in their rightful place." - Gerald Peletier, The Powder Keg: Eastern Merkopa in the Twentieth Century (1980)

Soll confronted Rayne during the movie premiere.

"Tempers flared dramatically at last weekend's premiere of Alfred Kcirbuk's new historical fiction epic 'The Morning Shall Come,' when former President Tarquin Soll unexpectedly encountered current President Anton Rayne in the facilities of the luxurious Erlory movie theatre. Kcirbuk's guests, including the most glamorous actors and acclaimed filmmakers of eastern Merkopa, were stunned to witness the two strongmen storm out from the toilets, shouting breathlessly at each other. Experts suggest that this is a symptom of the tense political atmosphere in the country, and the charged social commentary of Kcirbuk's work (…) - Scandaleux: The Talk of Merkopa article, The Washroom Summit, 1956

"I have often wondered why Soll couldn't ever bring himself to get on board with Anton's reforms even after we had done so much to help the country. I supposed it is just the nature of prideful old men, especially ones still riding their past greatness, but I think it goes deeper than that. Soll's vision for our country was eternal stasis, and it had been even from the beginning. He had come out of the Civil War fearful of change, and his entire regime had been devoted to warding it off through force. If we had stayed his course, if the Sordish people had not broken out of that self-imposed shell, change would have come regardless and eaten us all alive." - Monica Rayne, My Autobiography (1962)

Rayne granted the Rummish whistleblower asylum.

"In 1956 the Royalist regime unleashed a new sweeping purge targeting liberals and Arcasian sympathizers within the Rummish state, who the hardliners now believed were a hostile fifth column. Simultaneously beginning a populist 'Crown and Folk' propaganda campaign that deemphasized the regime's anti-communism in favor of lambasting western 'plutocracy,' the Greater Rummish Union Party seemed intent on justifying an eastward geopolitical realignment ahead of the anticipated war with Sordland and Agnolia (…) The primary target of the Queen's wrath was the so-called 'Glenhill Plot' of western-educated, pro-capitalist reformists from that troublesome hub of Rummish republicanism, most of whom were already trying to arrest the regime's collision course with the west and thus were accused of fomenting an anti-monarchy coup. Over ten thousand Glenhill natives within the government and academia were arrested within the month, sending many others fleeing abroad (…)" - Gerald Peletier, The Powder Keg: Eastern Merkopa in the Twentieth Century (1980)

"Chelston Hailstone of the Royal Security Bureau was neither a liberal nor an Arcasian sympathizer, but he had recently found himself on the losing end of an internal feud with a rival within his agency. This was dangerous enough in normal times, but the fact that Hailstone was a Glenhill native made his situation precarious indeed. Personally seeing the first execution orders handed down for the accused conspirators of the supposed 'Glenhill Plot,' Hailstone decided to not wait around to see if he would be put on the next list. He stole the highest-level classified information he could get his hands on and drove straight across the Sordish border to Estord, where he knew he could expect a warm welcome from the Sordish Intelligence Directorate."  - André Pascal, Bloodlands: The Rummo-Sordish Wars (2010)

"Hailstone's intelligence that Rumburg was in the final stages of its nuclear program sent shockwaves through the Sordish government. Rayne had originally wanted military preparations for an extended conflict to be completed by 1960; it was clear now that the window for waging war on Sordish terms was about to close entirely. At best, a nuclear-armed Rumburg would be unassailable. At worst the Rums could unleash a nuclear attack against Sordland as the opening barrage of an all-out onslaught across Eastern Merkopa. With the Queen and the hardliners of the Greater Rummish Union Party surrounding her riding high after their Rizian proxy's victory in the Pales war, issuing ominous threats of a 'Grand Awakening' to every country around them, the General Staff saw the latter option as a serious possibility." - Eduard Deiter, Rayne Revisited (2017)

"Much to the sorrow of western tabloids and the royalty-loving audiences that typically read them, Rumburg had utterly demonized itself by the mid-50s with its atrocities piling higher and its unpopular interventions in Pales, Vendonesam, and elsewhere. The reputation of 'Queen Bea,' once the darling of the Arcasian press, was now roughly equivalent to that of Malenyev himself. The revelation of her government's nuclear program only put the final nail in the coffin of international sympathies. After 1956, many westerners were quite eager to see the Queen finally receive a royal comeuppance at the hands of her East Merkopan neighbors. President Rayne, who was still then at the peak of his good publicity, seemed like an easy man to root for as he delivered it." - Colin Gilson, Rayne: Anatomy of a Dictator (2003)

Rayne began diplomatic negotiations with Lespia.

"Prime Minister Alvarez's administration was falling apart by 1956. Not only had his Foreign Ministry received repeated humiliations at the hands of 'Romus the Red,' as the Lespian press famously nicknamed the King of Rizia - including allegations that Lespian money loaned to the Rizian crown via intermediaries had in fact been used to develop the military-industrial complex now being thrown against Pales - but the fallout of Operation Bear Trap was rapidly spilling over into Lespia's own legally segregated Bludish minority, whose numbers were swelling as refugees poured out of Wehlen and Sordland (…) Worst of all, Alvarez's old allegations of criminal misconduct had resurfaced and sparked a wave of resignations across the cabinet. It is a small wonder that the man relapsed into severe alcoholism, which may have made him unusually suggestible to extreme gambles to save his political career and halt the parliamentary investigations being arranged against him." - Gerald Peletier, The Powder Keg: Eastern Merkopa in the Twentieth Century (1980)

CIVIL RIGHTS PROTESTS IN LESPIA TURN VIOLENT - Geopolitico, 1956

BLUD RIOTS KILL FIVE IN LESPIA - Sordland Today, 1956

LESPIAN POLICE BEAT REFUGEES - The Royal Herald, 1956

"With Lespia's humiliation at the Rum-backed hands of Rizia in Pales, the jingoist fervor in Thornbourgh reached a delusional fever pitch. Queen Beatrice, her past restraint now long forgotten, was gripped by fantasies of Rum legions sweeping south through Sordland all the way to Perla to undo the Century of Revolutions at the barrel of a KA-74 and force Arcasia to at last acknowledge Rumburg as an equal superpower (…) BFF cells in western Lespia were activated and armed, where they found plenty of recruits among the Bludish refugee population and local second-class citizen Bluds alike (…) During a drunken rant amidst the BFF-led San Verlon Riots, Alvarez allegedly attempted to issue a declaration of war against Rumburg before being restrained by his own Defense Minister. The very next day however, he received a call from Sordland: Deivid Wisci wanted to talk about the Rumburg problem." - André Pascal, Bloodlands: The Rummo-Sordish Wars (2010)

"Wisci was rarely one to mix his personal sentiments with his work, but his lifelong realpolitik lapses right around 1956, as Rayne consolidated the 'Third Republic.' He certainly wasn't isolated from the reports coming back from northern Wehlen either, and the cognitive dissonance seems to have started to take a serious toll. He spent practically the entire final year of his career in Lespia, lobbying the government and local NGOs to take in as many Bludish refugees as possible, but he still never spoke a word against Rayne directly or indirectly. Admitting any personal role in what was unfolding seems to have been an impossibility for him." - Gerald Peletier, The Wisci Papers (1974)

"I never had much regard for Mr. Alvarez. His reputation as a crook and a sleaze was well-established even before my presidency. It came as no surprise to me that he would try to save his falling government through race-baiting and saber-rattling. But I was surprised at how badly he was outplayed over and over again, first by the Rizians and then by Rayne. I suppose he learned the same hard lesson that I did, that business and political acumen aren't interchangeable." - Ewald Alphonso, interview with ABC News, 1961

"While President Walker still harbored a fondness for his ancestral homeland and sympathized with the pro-détente faction of the Arcasian Foreign Ministry, the Pales War had unleashed forces that were rapidly spiraling beyond anyone's control. The Arcasian public was furious over Rizian atrocities in Pales and demanded a harder stance against Rumburg, while the enraged Alvarez government was determined to take matters into its own hands no matter what Ventrie City said about it (…) Ambassador Grandis' efforts at wooing Sordland into ATO had actually more pushed Lespia into the Sordish sphere of influence, and turned ATO into a battering ram which President Rayne could point at Rumburg." - Eduard Deiter, Rayne Revisited (2017)

"Louisa gave me the impression that her husband was trying to push Rayne back towards democracy on behalf of President Walker, and that the intelligence I was feeding her was serving that purpose. That was, in hindsight, nonsense. The Arcasian embassy put no pressure on Rayne to restrain his ambitions, while it selectively used its leverage to push Holsord and Perla together in an anti-Rumburg axis (…) To get back at Petr I let myself be turned into a pawn in what was ultimately a factional conflict within the Arcasian Foreign Ministry. I believe that Ambassador Grandis actively encouraged a general East Merkopan war because it would destroy his rivals in the pro-Rumburg faction and advance his own career. That it would destroy East Merkopa in the process seems to have been unconsidered." - Evelyn Vectern, The Maroon Court: My Life Inside the Sordish Regime (1965)

*

Apologies for the long hiatus on getting this chapter out. Expect the second part tomorrow, and then I hope to get the next installment out sooner but no promises. Thanks as always for reading!

From what i know its god damn expensive. First building 5 budget and the further increase 7 budget. From what i can see especially in the late game authority maxes out a lot quicker then with the two expansions. Same goes for budget and energy.

Is there anything else it blocks me to do if i aint got the second upgrade?

As much as Arcasia Prides itself on free speech, it does seem like the saying

"If you don't read the news you are uninformed and if you do read the news your misinformed"

Neutral Lens would most likely be a game of balancing news and your own survival

I don’t usually play war runs but I decided to give it a shot and I have so many questions! The guides I was able to find online for the conflict are pretty lackluster so I am also looking to fill in the blanks left behind. My questions:
[Warning, this is pretty much all spoilers]
After the first operation went well, Beatrice offered to broker a ceasefire, I said no. What would have happened if I had said yes? I know Rumburg’s direct involvement in the war in the epilogue leads to a bloody disaster of a war, but would it have been different if they brokered the ceasefire? Could I have gotten out of the conflict as a victor, and just seize more land in the ceasefire negotiations?

Secondly, I wanted to launch a coup against the other houses to seize more power. However, I thought it through and realized I am relying on the Azaros in the war heavily, and I couldn’t find online if purging them would hurt my war efforts. I let the Azaros survive for the sake of the war, and just wiped out the Sazons. I got overthrown by Adarfo before I could see how that ended, but I think the Azaros probably would have couped me. My question is does killing the Azaros hurt the war effort? They are a clear threat but also useful in war.

Thanks everyone for the help in advance!

Whether or not the President of Sordland can pardon people is kind of vague. There are a few instances in the game where it’s said you’ve commuted sentences or given amnesty, but those are tied to decrees and if you require an enabling act they can be blocked. Meanwhile Rayne can and does order the arrest of several people even without the SSP. So what’s the status on pardons in Sordland? Is it the assembly’s discretion or are they tied to the unreformed decree powers?