CALRADIA 1815
Devblog
Lore & Factions
CALRADIA 1815 builds on the world invented for the Mount & Blade: Warband Native module, and turns time forward from the year 1257 to 1815. With centuries of history between the events of Native and CALRADIA 1815 come changes to the factions, technology and style of warfare on the continent. Read on for an overview of the lore giving a brief explanation of the state of the world in 1815, and the events that brought us to this point.
LoreIn 1257, the height of the Calradian Middle Ages, a series of short wars erupted. All 6 powers of Calradia: Khergits, Nords, Rhodoks, Sarranids, Swadians and Vaegirs, were involved in many of these short, petty wars, in which one side would make small territorial gains, declare peace, only to lose their conquests often not even weeks later in another, equally futile conflict.
Each nation’s military forces had their own strengths - some, like the Khergits, made great use of horse archers as masters of open field battles. Others, like the Nords, hard descendents of hard fighting men, found no rampart could withstand their assault, but against the thunder of hoof and lance, their short spears and small shields were of little utility.
Among them all, one kingdom began to build momentum. The Swadians, master of horse and man in equal measure, used lances to drive their enemies back to the walls of their castles, where their siege towers paved the way for well-armored infantry and skilled crossbowmen to take castle and city from the hands of even the most highly trained and experienced Rhodok sergeants, often thought of as masters of defense.
Surrounded on all sides by potential enemies, they were constantly at war. To the Swadian soldiers, peace was as foreign as far off Balion in the West, but in time, they knew they could rely on war ending in victory just as surely as they could rely on the sun rising each morning. Eventually, Swadia began to swell in size, through large, permanent territorial acquisitions won in battle, and shrewdly-chosen marriages made with the nobility of other kingdoms. By the year 1500, the Swadians were ruled no longer by the King in Praven, but the Emperor in Suno, undisputed master of the continent. The Nords were carved up by the Vaegirs to the East and the Swadians from the South. The Vaegirs only ruled themselves along the northern coast, ceding their own southern lands to the Princes of Dhirim, a major Swadian line. The Kingdom of Rhodoks had receded entirely into the mountains, the lowlands now the stomping ground for Swadian marquesses. The Sarranid Sultanate reverted into a barren desert of petty, disunited tribes and warlords. The Khergit Khanate too had become fragmented - as the Khan’s kingdom was split equally between his sons, and then the sons of his sons, they were unable to hold back the imperial aspirations of the Swadians. Khergit sovereignty was ended and their culture radically altered.
Civilisation progressed. Government had become less about the might of the feudal lords, and more about the purity of their blood. Unlike their medieval ancestors they so revered, their authority was not won by the sword, but by their birth. As the march of time continued, the men ruling the Empire became fat and lazy. The bones of iron which once held up their dominion began to buckle under the weight of their bloated conquests. The economic situation of the Empire began to decline in the late 1600s, the nobility too concerned with their own personal arguments with other dukes and princes. Some lords, disgruntled with the weak rulers who had plagued Suno’s opulent palaces, began to cease to render military aid to their Emperor. The Empire became an Empire in name only, with princes governing their territories according to their own whims, and not the desperate needs of their empire.
Meanwhile, the advent of musket and cannon had irrevocably altered the face of warfare. Smaller, independent states realized that highly disciplined standing armies were the way to gain victory. Forward-thinking tacticians in Jelkala and Shariz were the first to realize that future conquerors would be those who could most effectively combine musket, horse and cannon in battle. In 1750, the Emir of Shariz began a campaign to reunite old Sarranid lands by force. By 1760, Emir of Shariz was but a minor title held by the newly crowned Sarranid Sultan. It became a land where the mightiest ruled by their fists of steel under the glorious banner of a reunited Sarranid Sultanate.
At a similar time, enlightened philosophers in the lands of the Rhodoks, inspired by the democracies that predated even the glorious, ancient Calradian Empire, paved the way for the end of the Kingdom of Rhodoks, and the beginning of the Rhodok Republic. Once again, Tribunes governed the Rhodok mountains and their people, this time under a single Premier Consul. Military leaders were no longer those who had paid to raise their own regiments - they were the most competent… and the most zealous to spread their enlightened ideals across the continent.
The true death blow for the Swadian Empire came when the Rhodok Army reconquered Veluca in 1762, lost centuries earlier. The Swadian nobility were too preoccupied with their own problems to render effective military aid, and Swadia would never again gain another inch of ground. One charismatic Swadian Emperor - Harlaus IX - rallied an effective defense against further Rhodok aggression, and the mountain men soon returned home, resolved to master the art of horseback warfare to accompany their proficiency in infantry drill and their love of using artillery to make steel rain from the sky.
Concurrently, the Sarranid military buildup was in full flow. Shielded from the rest of the continent by mountains, they were free to gear up their economy and military for full scale war.
The only other kingdom on the continent, the Vaegirs, were too busy defending themselves from attempts by Nordland, a less civilized land across the northern sea, to recolonise their coastal realm, unable to turn their attention to retaking lands Swadia had snatched from them centuries ago.
By the start of the 1800s, both the Premier Consul and Sarranid Sultan were waiting for their opportunities to strike: two new great powers, both desperate to mould the future of the continent in their image. Though not openly hostile to one another, tensions had never been higher. Both sides refrained from outright war so as to not weaken themselves for their upcoming campaigns of conquest against Swadia.
The death of Harlaus IX on 15 March, 1815, cleared the way for Rhodoks and Sarranids to pursue the path of smoke and steel onto eternal glory. There was no clear successor, and the two foremost lords - the Archduke of Praven and the Prince of Dhirim, had no interest in wearing the imperial crown. Indeed, their own incompetence as governors and commanders meant that their military forces were simply not strong enough to assert such a claim - all other major nobles of the realm faced the same problem. With the throne empty, Uxkhal, Dhirim and Halmar each declared their independence within hours of each other on 20 March. Weak militarily and economically, these cities and their surrounding villages were ripe for conquest. It was not a question of if they could be conquered, but by who - and how fast?
The Premier Consul announced his intentions to liberate old Swadian lands, promising destruction to any army who would stand in his way. The Sultan announced his intention to dominate the very same, promising a similar annihilation for anyone who challenged his sovereignty over Swadia. War, though not yet declared, seemed to all Calradians as though it could erupt at any time.
On 23 March, 1815, the Rhodok Republic and the Sarranid Sultanate commenced their marches down the road of smoke and steel. Their destination: mastery of Calradia and eternal glory.
FactionsCalradia 1815 returns to the traditional NRP Campaign style of 2 opposing factions fighting for control of the campaign map. To understand what drives these two factions, and to get an idea of which team you want to play for, read on...
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THE RHODOK REPUBLICA supposedly democratic state run by the Premier Consul, who also acts as Commander-in-Chief of the Rhodok Army. The Rhodoks are eager to spread their republican, democratic way of life all throughout Calradia, and their strategy to achieve this is to conquer the defenseless Swadian territory and establish themselves as the sole superpower on the continent.
The Rhodok people have a proud history of democracy - once an elective monarchy, and before that, a nation run by elected tribunes. The notion of freedom and equality runs thick in Rhodok veins: the tribunes who command their armies under the Premier Consul are all selected not by virtue of their blood, but by their military genius. Many of the most gallant and courageous Rhodok officers began their careers as soldiers, distinguishing themselves in battle against Swadia to gain rank and honour entirely on their own merit.
The propagation of democracy is the overarching goal of the Rhodok state. Constant political, economic and military innovation is their key to achieving this, and the green blood of these mountain people is seen as a small price to pay in pursuit of this goal. The people of Calradia must be free to rule themselves, and the most dear tenet to any Rhodok is that nothing is worth more than their freedom. The first goal of the Consul is to ensure Rhodoks rule in their own territory as one democratic state.
Their capital city is Jelkala.
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THE SARRANID SULTANATEGoverned by the Sultan, the all-powerful dictator of the desert lands of Calradia. Through superior strength of will and military might, their goal is to conquer old Swadian land and set themselves as the new superpower on Calradia.
The brutal conditions of the desert makes the people of the Sarranid Sultanate hard, ruthless, and unforgiving. This in turn makes their military viciously efficient: the strongest warlords dominate. A noble ancestry is nothing if you cannot defend your power against a stronger man of common blood with a stronger army. In the Sarranid desert, the Sultan is supreme, but it is iron that is master of it all.
After the turbulent history of this fractured nation ruled by fractured tribes and warlord, Sarranid unity must never again be compromised. A true Sarranid chooses would rather die than have the integrity of his homeland compromised - but there is no glory in death if it means the unified fabric of the Sultanate tears and splits. The Sultan will conquer - else he would not be Sultan - but the Sarranids are strongest when together, and conquest for the sake of conquest spits in the face of all they hold dear.
Their capital city is Shariz.
CALRADIA 1815
sees these two mighty forces clash in the scramble to conquer the remnants of the Swadian Empire and establish a new era on the continent, moulded in their own image. The goal of war is to support political doctrine - and this war risks much for both sides. Commanders and generals must do everything in their power to bolster the position of their faction, but they must be careful not to lose sight of their duties to protect their nations and populace.
Leadership applications and the campaign rules will be released very soon!
