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Land of the Free (XVII century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Quest)

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Adhoc vote count started by Sertorius on Aug 20, 2021 at 7:10 AM, finished with 25 posts and 18 votes.
  • [X] Kingdom of Ireland – Irish you say? While not even remotely as numerous as the Scots, Irish expatriates have found their way here as well. Most are Catholics escaping prosecution from their Protestant overlords, therefore they gather sympathy. Good soldiers and officers, like their Scottish counterparts. Lucky them. Hey, did you know, that 1 out of 10 people here in the Commonwealth is a noble? Some even double that number, Back in the West it's about 1 in 20 at most. You're asking me what does this have to do with the Irish? The Hell if I know. Must be the mead talking…
    [X] Kingdom of Ireland
    [X] Holy Roman Empire – German, by God I was right! When the average noble thinks of a wigheaded foreigner, a German is the first thing that comes to his mind. They can be found almost anywhere in the Commonwealth and form a majority of the population in it's northern and western parts. Did you know, that infantry regiments trained in Western military tradition are called "German" even though not a single soldier there knows a word of German? Sure, commands are given in that language and quite a few officers are of German extraction, but still… other than that, they can be found practising any profession, but it is their military tradition of supplying good infantry for the cavalry dominated Commonwealth army that makes them stand out.
    [X] Holy Roman Empire
    [X] Kingdom of Scotland
    [X] Kingdom of Scotland – Ah, the Scots, good lads! Did you know that Scottish presence in the Commonwealth makes them the largest Western minority in the country, Germans excluded? Or that the word "Szot" in Royal Prussia became synonymous with a traveling peddlar? The country is full of villages brimming with Scottish settlers if you know where to look. Respected as diligent merchants, scholars and above all, excellent soldiers and officers, Scots have settled in well.
    [X] Kingdom of England – Think of England, of course! Did you know, that the Commonwealth send it's recruiters there a few times to raise regiments of mercenaries to fight against the Ottomans? Too bad the war was usually over before they even got back. The English have no particular presence here, yet those that do are usually merchants, officers, sailors and the like.
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Character Creation II
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    • [X] Kingdom of Ireland – Irish you say? While not even remotely as numerous as the Scots, Irish expatriates have found their way here as well. Most are Catholics escaping prosecution from their Protestant overlords, therefore they gather sympathy. Good soldiers and officers, like their Scottish counterparts. Lucky them. Hey, did you know, that 1 out of 10 people here in the Commonwealth is a noble? Some even double that number, Back in the West it's about 1 in 20 at most. You're asking me what does this have to do with the Irish? The Hell if I know. Must be the mead talking…


    What was that again…?

    Ah right, so you're Irish! Fine, fine, a proud and old nation to be sure! You know, sometimes I think that if I wasn't born a Polish noble, I'd sure as Hell like to be an Irish lord, ha! We have much more in common than people assume! But that's a chat for another day. Hey Jew! More mead! This here Irish gentleman's paying! I'd like to see you ask HIM if he's got any money, haha! You see sir? These people are amazing. Think a foreigner's got more coin on him than us, proud defenders of the Motherland! What's this world coming to…

    Speaking of coin, sir, you do seem to be quite affluent. I take it your family's got a nice estate and you've got your share of it on you, haven't you? So, tell me a little bit about yourself!

    What's your family background?


    [X] Magnate – So, just like I thought! You were born to a powerful and affluent noble family with considerable influence. Mayhaps even inherited a title of nobility yourself? Do be careful of using it around, though. Aristocratic titles are forbidden by law, since technically all nobles are equal, the sole exception being made for old Ruthenian princely families. Besides, you have a full purse, standing in courts that know your pedigree and considerable social skills, so what's the use for a title anyway? True, fighting and outdoors might be a bit problematic, but that's the highborn today, the valour of their great ancestors all but a memory.


    [X] Middle nobility – Ah, the cream of the crop if I do say so myself! Forget about those puffed up aristocratic bastards, this is where true power lies! The relatively wealthy nobles waged a brutal political war with the magnates for generations. So far, their collective vote balances that of the rich, yet it probably won't be long untill that changes. For the worse I mean. It also means that you still have social standing among your peers and some money to back it up. Since the best Polish cavalry is made up mostly of wealthy landowners, you are not as poor with a weapon as those dandies raised in palaces.


    [X] Petty nobility – Believe it or not, but the majority of nobles in Poland don't even own a single village, not to mention owning any land at all. I guess back at your country you were one of those, huh? Did you know, that you can find loads upon loads of villages populated by no one else, but poor nobles owning just a small strip of land each, which they tend to themselves? Some had fallen on hard times, despite their once great pedigrees. This also means you lack social skills and standing. While many care for nothing, but their small little hamlets, the most audacious and adventurous can be found here in greater quantities than anywhere else. Coin can be a problem too. However, you more than make up for it with your fighting qualities and whatever things you've learned while on the road. Hey, did you know, that 1 out of 10 people here in the Commonwealth is a noble? Some even- wha? I told you this already? Impossible…


    [X] Poor pleb – Don't tell me you're not even of noble birth?! Why the Hell am I wasting my bloody time with a lowlife! Oh, you were just joking? Really? Haha! Got me there, I'll tell you! Believe me, any peasant or other unfortunate scrub pretending to be a noble has one foot in the grave already! For impersonating a nobleman you hang, sir! Maybe even get tortured for good measure! These whelps have the social skills of a mule and you can smell their stench from far away! Not only that, most are hardly a match for a good noble, who's trained from birth to wield a weapon! Their only saving grace are the survival skills they had to employ to get to this point, many of them quite dishonourable for a noble. Did you know, that a nobleman by the name of Walerian Nekada Trepka wrote na interesting 800-page book called Liber generationis plebeanorum or Liber Chamorum for short, that is The Book of Plebeian Families or The Book of Boors describing nobles and their relatives who, according to him, have a false claim to nobility? A juicy read indeed!​
     
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    • [X] Middle nobility – Ah, the cream of the crop if I do say so myself! Forget about those puffed up aristocratic bastards, this is where true power lies! The relatively wealthy nobles waged a brutal political war with the magnates for generations. So far, their collective vote balances that of the rich, yet it probably won't be long untill that changes. For the worse I mean. It also means that you still have social standing among your peers and some money to back it up. Since the best Polish cavalry is made up mostly of wealthy landowners, you are not as poor with a weapon as those dandies raised in palaces.
     
    [X] Magnate– So, just like I thought! You were born to a powerful and afluent noble family with considerable influence. Mayhaps even inherited a title of nobility yourself? Do be careful of using it around, though. Aristocratic titles are forbidden by law, since technically all nobles are equal, the sole exception being made for old Ruthenian princely families. Besides, you have a full purse, standing in courts that know your pedigree and considerable social skills, so what's the use for a title anyway? True, fighting and outdoors might be a bit problematic, but that's the highborn today, the valour of their great ancestors all but a memory.

    Does this give us ties to a historical Irish clan?
    That either is still ruling or were driving out by the Protestant English?
    Would love to get some cool historical references(like the Flight of the Earls or similar stuff) to that with one of the options.
     
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    [X] Poor pleb – Don't tell me you're not even of noble birth?! Why the Hell am I wasting my bloody time with a lowlife! Oh, you were just joking? Really? Haha! Got me there, I'll tell you! Believe me, any peasant or other unfortunate scrub pretending to be a noble has one foot in the grave already! For impersonating a nobleman you hang, sir! Maybe even get tortured for good measure! These whelps have the social skills of a mule and you can smell their stench from far away! Not only that, most are hardly a match for a good noble, who's trained from birth to wield a weapon! Their only saving grace are the survival skills they had to employ to get to this point, many of them quite dishonourable for a noble. Did you know, that a nobleman by the name of Walerian Nekada Trepka wrote na interesting 800-page book called Liber generationis plebeanorum or Liber Chamorum for short, that is The Book of Plebeian Families or The Book of Boors describing nobles and their relatives who, according to him, have a false claim to nobility? A juicy read indeed!


    - i find this as the most humorous and hence has my vote!

    Edit: plus we can use the book reference if we want to claim that we have noble blood
     
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    Hroll said:
    Does this give us ties to a historical Irish clan?
    That either is still ruling or were driving out by the Protestant English?
    Would love to get some cool historical references(like the Flight of the Earls or similar stuff) to that with one of the options.
    Click to expand...
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    Correct, you'll be part of an important clan and its rulling elites.
     
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    [X] Poor pleb

    Edit:
    [X] Petty nobility
    Petty nobility might be okay too, But I don't want anyone more powerful than that.
     
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    [X] Poor pleb

    Yes, even petty nobility had political value and all the freedoms they could wish for. Can't prove your nobility though? Get fracked.
     
    This one was a close call.

    In the end, a poor noble from some backwater in Ireland will have to do. :)

    Scheduled vote count started by Sertorius on Aug 20, 2021 at 7:22 AM, finished with 20 posts and 17 votes.
    • [X] Petty nobility
      [X] Magnate
      [X] Poor pleb
      [X] Middle nobility – Ah, the cream of the crop if I do say so myself! Forget about those puffed up aristocratic bastards, this is where true power lies! The relatively wealthy nobles waged a brutal political war with the magnates for generations. So far, their collective vote balances that of the rich, yet it probably won't be long untill that changes. For the worse I mean. It also means that you still have social standing among your peers and some money to back it up. Since the best Polish cavalry is made up mostly of wealthy landowners, you are not as poor with a weapon as those dandies raised in palaces.
      [X] Magnate– So, just like I thought! You were born to a powerful and afluent noble family with considerable influence. Mayhaps even inherited a title of nobility yourself? Do be careful of using it around, though. Aristocratic titles are forbidden by law, since technically all nobles are equal, the sole exception being made for old Ruthenian princely families. Besides, you have a full purse, standing in courts that know your pedigree and considerable social skills, so what's the use for a title anyway? True, fighting and outdoors might be a bit problematic, but that's the highborn today, the valour of their great ancestors all but a memory.
      [X] Poor pleb – Don't tell me you're not even of noble birth?! Why the Hell am I wasting my bloody time with a lowlife! Oh, you were just joking? Really? Haha! Got me there, I'll tell you! Believe me, any peasant or other unfortunate scrub pretending to be a noble has one foot in the grave already! For impersonating a nobleman you hang, sir! Maybe even get tortured for good measure! These whelps have the social skills of a mule and you can smell their stench from far away! Not only that, most are hardly a match for a good noble, who's trained from birth to wield a weapon! Their only saving grace are the survival skills they had to employ to get to this point, many of them quite dishonourable for a noble. Did you know, that a nobleman by the name of Walerian Nekada Trepka wrote na interesting 800-page book called Liber generationis plebeanorum or Liber Chamorum for short, that is The Book of Plebeian Families or The Book of Boors describing nobles and their relatives who, according to him, have a false claim to nobility? A juicy read indeed!
      [X] Middle nobility
    Click to expand...
     
    Character Creation III
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    • [X] Petty nobility – Believe it or not, but the majority of nobles in Poland don't even own a single village, not to mention owning any land at all. I guess back at your country you were one of those, huh? Did you know, that you can find loads upon loads of villages populated by no one else, but poor nobles owning just a small strip of land each, which they tend to themselves? Some had fallen on hard times, despite their once great pedigrees. This also means you lack social skills and standing. While many care for nothing, but their small little hamlets, the most audacious and adventurous can be found here in greater quantities than anywhere else. Coin can be a problem too. However, you more than make up for it with your fighting qualities and whatever things you've learned while on the road. Hey, did you know, that 1 out of 10 people here in the Commonwealth is a noble? Some even- wha? I told you this already? Impossible…

    Yet more things we share in common, sir. No palaces, no comfortable beds, no silken robes, just hard work to scrape out a living. You were born to a poor, yet proud noble family, much the same as I. Though living in poverty, you have not forgotten who you are and wanted to find your place in the world, prove that you are no mistake. That the deeds your ancestors did to grant you this honour were well founded and can be repeated. The Commonwealth is a large country and anyone bold and brave enough to seize his opportunity in order to raise himself above his station may achieve that goal.

    Take Jan Zamoyski for example. He started his career as a poor, landless noble and ended it as the Crown Chancellor and Crown Grand Hetman, owning many villages, towns and serfs. The most powerful man in the country once was a poor noble, just like us. His meteoric rise to power and prominace is without precedent. More than that, he never forgot where he came from and always was a proud leader of the reformist circles, fighting other magnates's abuses! Truly, a man for the ages! If he were still alive, this country would have been in a much different situation.

    As for a foreigner you ask? Well, all I can think of at the moment is Bernard Pretwicz, a German from Silesia. Bernhard von Prittwitz was his birth name I believe, bleh, these foreign names… sounds like stepping into a pile of crap if you ask me… anyway, this Pretwicz came to Poland and quickly made a name for himself fighting the Tatars in Ukraine. Though not a native of the steppes, he possesed an uncanny military talent for fighting these heathen pillagers and looters. Thanks to him and his incredible work there, the southern border was safer from Tatar raids than anytime in history! He died a wealthy and accomplished man, having received grants and offices from our kings.

    Fine, fine, just remember that anyone can become a rich man in this country, so long as he has a skill with weapons and enough wits about him! A fine company of men behind his back helps too!

    Damn it all, this mead's strong I say! I'd swear by the Virgin Mary, that it wasn't as hard-hitting just yesterday! By the way I do hope that, like all good Irishmen, you sir believe in the Virgin Mary.

    Well do you?

    [X] Catholic – Excellent! Praise be to Jesus! You see sir, a good majority of the nobles and most of the populus believe in the Virgin Mary and every good Catholic can expect to be well received. This is due to king Sigismund III, who used to be called the "Jesuit King" and his long, 40-year-old rule. Anyone wishing to have a career in his court or even in the provinces, had to be a Catholic or convert. Sure, some powerful men could resist this, but converting was usually easier for the sake of political expediency.

    [X] Protestant – Whaaaat?! You don't?! I can't believe it! I know I said something about religious tolerance, but I never expected to… oh, nevermind. Do know this though: many nobles, commoners and the like have an aversion to heretics. Don't expect a warm welcome in many places if you like to brag about your religion. Some magnates, however, are known as protectors of reformed faiths and anyone who's like them is welcome there, especially men with talent.

    [X] Atheist – Well, this is… awkward to say the least. Sure, many people don't have much faith in anything, but they usually have a general idea, that a God does exist… somewhere. Know this: don't tell anyone. Atheism is seen as a stain on one's honour no matter where you go. Even if others might agree with you in private, they'll condemn you in public just like everybody else. Some say, that this is the only confession not covered by the Warsaw Confederation, the document guaranteeing religious freedom. So, if you're unlucky, you can end up like that French maiden, Joanne d'Arc and be burned at the stake.​
     
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