Kammanism is a pernicious and dangerous philosophy peddled by rebels, anarchists, and foreign agitators. It claims that the distribution of wealth is unfair, and Kammamasts attempt to rally support for their vile agenda by agitating the lower classes. This vile agenda is the destruction of the pillars of human order: religion, law, the mage's guilds, and the family, to name a few. Kammanasts can be identified by excessive use of the color red...
-Pamphlet distributed by the Avandis Imperial Police
What is Kammanism? It is the simple argument that those who labor and provide Aether should have a share in the profit of their labor. It is an argument for equality and justice, and it is an inevitability of history...
-Pamphlet distributed by the Avandian Kammanist Front
The Great War was the most devastating in the history of humanity. Hundreds of thousands died in battles that raged across five continents and dozens of countries, large and small. The aftermath left victor and vanquished broken and exhausted. On the fields of Serges, at the climatic and final desperate offense into the teeth of a trench line, the corpses were piled ten high for miles, some burned to ash, some turned to stone, some melted by acid or shattered into thousands of pieces. And while the poor spent their blood, the wealthy and powerful only grew more so, from loans to the warring powers, from selling war machines or operating crystal mines or from a thousand other ways, and every gold coin they made was dyed red in the blood of labor.
And people have had enough. In some nations, victory was enough to assuage the sting of so much death for so little gain. In others, the exhaustion and malaise of defeat prevented any resistance. But in many, people rose up and fought.
You and others like you have been fighting for a long time. One uprising was put down with the iron fist and the velvet glove, others were strangled before they could even begin. You still resisted. You were banished to the wilds of your home, forced to labor in grueling mines, flogged and beaten and left to die. You were exiled. You were called an outlaw, a bandit, and a thousand other more insulting names. But now you have returned to the land of your birth, to the Avandian Empire to take part in another, greater uprising.
You believe in every word of the Kammanist doctrine: equality, justice, freedom. From the end of the mage's guilds to the open elections, you want to see it all implemented across the world. You know you may need to compromise - there will be no elections until the state is secure, for instance - but you have faith in your case.
Of course, you still have to win the fight.
The Avandian Empire is a behemoth, but one that had been dying for hundreds of years. Dozens of ethnic groups and dozens of religions are ruled by it, most of whom hate each other. Though rich in natural resources, most of it is gathered only inefficiently, and corruption and crime are both rampant. There is little industry. Most of the population is poor and backward. Many are never even tested for magical ability.
The "victory" and the debts incurred in the attempt to earn it were the last straw. Nobles began to hoard grain in preparation for new taxes, literally stealing it from the hands of starving peasants and workers, and when the Emperor tried to stop them, he was overthrown and executed. The nobles promptly began to feud over who would fight, and that was when you declared your uprising.
You have control over the capital city, and allied uprisings have taken place in many others, but vast swathes of land will need to be conquered or won. And plenty of pro-aristocratic forces are out there. They will fight to the end. That's not even getting into different groups, with different goals or methods you will have to deal with. And though all the nearby nations are also wracked with revolutions, there is still the possibility of foreign intervention.
You do have some advantages though...
(Choose at least 1. For each extra you take, choose a Liability. Assets and Liabilities which are opposites cancel each other out, I trust you will know which are those. You can double up on a specific asset or liability, doing so will cost or gain exponentially. Taking the same asset twice would cost three total liabilities, taking it three times would cost seven. Vote in plan format.)
Assets
-[] Front Discipline - The Avandian Kammanist Front is highly unified. While your underlings may disagree with a course of action, as long as you can persuade the Central Committee they are certain to obey to the best of their ability. It will take severe defeats or compromises before they grow unruly enough to try and vote you out of your position or worse... (You start off with higher Front Support)
-[] Defectors From Decadence - Not all aristocrats are evil, and the proof stands by your side. Several nobles chose to side with you. They may not entirely be trusted, but they have brought you wealth and soldiers and warcasters. (If not taken, they will likely have died at the hands of fellow aristocrats or your own men. For this one, I will roll to see what you get)
-[] Army Deserters - The army was called in to suppress the rebellion. The units already in the city defected in mass, killing their officers in the process. They are ragged and tired, but they are also experienced and disciplined troops, already equipped and trained with some of the best weapons the Avandian Imperial Army had. (If not taken, the units which defected were less experienced, trained, and equipped, and had less men.)
-[] The Imperial Treasury - Though depleted, you have access to the Imperial Treasury, having managed to seize it before any noble or looter could. There's a great deal of coin there, as well as the Imperial Regalia. (Start with extra Wealth, and less legitimacy for all noble factions. If not taken, the treasury will be mostly looted and you will have no idea where the Regalia is.)
-[] Broad Support - Somehow, you have support among several religions, ethnic groups, and political factions. You have no idea how you managed to pull this off, but you and your front are now the head of a coalition, that while potentially fragile is still mighty. (You start off with increased opinion with many factions, and will gain special actions for dealing with them.)
-[] Foreign Support - The enemies of the empire are many. Though most are just as imperialistic and capitalistic as the Avandian Empire, they are happy to support you in the hopes that you will deal more damage to their foes. At least as long as it doesn't look like you are winning. (Foreign supporter who will give you support in various forms. This will dry up (or worse) if they get caught or think you are growing too strong...)
-[] Intact Industry - The uprising you led was a short, sharp thing, over before it had really started in the streets. This means relatively few casualties among the workers or damaged factories. Even the Aetherails and the stockpiles nearby were barely damaged. (Start with bonuses to support among the workers, better infrastructure, more Resources, and an intact industrial base.)
-[] Intact Libraries - A friendly mage was able to get you copies of all sorts of basic spells and Aether manipulation models, meaning you will better be able to teach casters and construct autocasters easier. (Start with bonuses to teaching and recruiting mages, better magical knowledge, and the ability to construct autocasters.)
-[] Peasant Inroads - Though dead, Comrade Zenus (Not his real name, but the name of a folk hero who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor) has given you a significant gift. Many among the peasantry know of both the legendary and the real one, and the fact that he supports you. It's given you greater support from the generally conservative peasantry than you otherwise would have. (Greater support outside cities.)
Liabilities
-[] Shattered Front - Many are suspicious of you, questioning your devotion after your long years in exile. Some even wonder if you are still a Kammanist. Though you were still given the position of Committee Chairman, your position is weak. (Start with lower Front Support.)
-[] No Army - Your forces were gutted in the first battles, you have a bare handful of soldiers left. You will need more, and fast. Because literally everyone else has a bigger one, and some of your soldiers are fighting with single-shot casters. (Start with a small and poorly-equipped army.)
-[] Internal Tensions - The Front was heavily infiltrated by members of the Emperor's secret police and foreign agencies. But no one realized how bad it was. Now everyone is suspicious of each other...and there really might be some left. (Start with a split front and potential subversion.)
-[] No Support - Propaganda about the Front and Kammanism have been spread for years among the middle classes, the priests, the peasants...everyone is suspicious of you, convinced you are demons from the Thousand Hells or literal baby-eating monsters or fronts for religious minorities plotting the destruction of all that's good in the world... (Start with penalties with other factions.)
-[] A Broken City - The uprising was brutal, lasting days, and giving the aristocrats and factory owners and mages guilds plenty of time to make your victory as pitiful as possible. Factories are ash, the guild libraries were empty of anything but traps, and the destruction left thousands dead or wounded and more homeless. And now you have to pick up the pieces. (Start with an unhappy populace, devastated cities, reduced ability to train mages or make autocasters, and a badly damaged industrial and infrastructural base.)
-[] No Money - The Treasury was gone when you got there, which you expected, but so were all the stockpiles of resources in the Aetherail yards and by the factories, stolen by aristocrats or looters or simply not having arrived thanks to a strike by Aetherail workers. Which generally you approve of, but not in these specific circumstances. Even the Aether crystals were gone (Start with no Resources, Wealth, or Aether.)
-[] Armed Bandits - You seemed to have upset some people in the process of the Uprising. Or maybe they are class traitors. You don't know, but you have people launching attacks on your members in the city, and it could easily escalate. (Start with an insurgency in the city.)
-[] They're Coming - High Duke Radmos Austerbach, one of the most infamous nobles and a callous but competent general, is approaching you. Which would be fine, except he has an army with him, a mixed multitude of Imperial troops, deserters, mercenaries, household men...and he's less than a month away. And he isn't planning on surrendering. (Start with a hostile army approaching. Not recommended if you take it with No Army.)
