Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 21 Mar 2003 to 22 Mar 2003 (#2003-82) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 23/03/2003, 19:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 2 messages totalling 82 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Global Interaction (2) ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.dnd.starflung.com/ To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2003 13:47:50 -0600 From: John Walter Biles Subject: Re: Global Interaction On 19 Mar 03, at 17:12, DM wrote: At Sun, 16 Mar 2003 12:23:32 -0500, Mischa Gelman preached to the masses: > > Can it be they enter a period of isolation because there's NOTHING left to > > conquer outside in their own solar system???? I very much believe so... > >> > >2 BC to 0 AC - Alphatia loses Thyatis, Ochalea, the Pearl Islands, and >>>> about half of the Isle of Dawn. [DotE] > > > >> > In 2 years they lose what they gained in 300 years of warfare and >> > conquests. Does it see so logical and realistic to you? > >> Empires can collapse very quickly. See the Aztec Empire, the Soviet Union >> and numerous other real world examples. Alphatia correlates well to the >> USSR IMO - once one nation bucked the empire and showed it to be the paper >> tiger it is, everyone else follows suit. > The USSR collapsed mainly because of the world capitalist economy being > against the communist economy as a whole (no DIRECT war between USSR and > USA). > The Aztec empire collapsed because the Conquistadores had better arms and > superior equipment and had bacteriological weapons (i.e. European flu). > But Ok, I can imagine they could do it against Alphatia exploiting the > knowhow gained during the ages and the Alphatian indolence and internal > conflicts.. (but if Alphatia had so many internal conflicts I wonder why it > never really collapsed.. instead it's been doing fine for the last 2000 > years... it sure is taking a long dying breath :p) The Holy Roman Empire was rife with internal conflict for hundreds and hundreds of years and only ceased to exist due to conquest from the outside. This is because the various lords fought each other like mad weasels, but would unite to fight against invaders. Holy Roman Emperors who sought to wage any sort of war outside the Empire, on the other hand, could only rely on their own patrimony and would get little support from the lords. This seems to model Alphatia perfectly to me. John Walter Biles : MA-History, ABD, Ph.D Candidate at U. Kansas ranma@falcon.cc.ukans.edu http://www.dkcomm.net/rhea/falcon.html rhea@maison-otaku.net http://maison-otaku.net/~rhea/ "That all princes shall kiss the foot of the Pope alone."--Dictatus Papae, 11th century ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2003 23:21:35 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Global Interaction John, hitting the nail on the head, sayith: <> There was a farmer, had a dog... You know his name! James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 21 Mar 2003 to 22 Mar 2003 (#2003-82) ***************************************************************