VSF Lunar Campaign Kicks off with the World Background Info

THE WORLD SITUATION...Lunar Campaign

The year is 1881, in this timeline Garfield was assassinated by his wife when discovered in bed with some Senator’s wife by his own wife, and before he won the presidency. The president of the UUSA is Winfred Scott Hancock, a handsome and diplomatic ex-general (and Presidential candidate in our own timeline).

The USA and CSA have a tentative peace, unhappy and some border disputes, but they are at peace. The Mason Dixon line now extends from sea to shining sea. The Swiss Ambassador is serving as an intermediary because Switzerland is neutral and economically involved with both countries. President Hancock (USA) has repeatedly stated that he will only go to war if attacked first. President William Mahone of the CSA has ended slavery due to recent technological advances that made supporting slaves more expensive than just hiring them. President Mahone makes the same claim, he will not attack first.

Quebec is at war with Canada, this is very recent. The USA has not declared but is only selling weapons to British Canada, and not to Quebec. The French have declared for Quebec, the British of course support Canada, and the declaration of war between the continental powers is expected momentarily.

The CSA is trying to annex what we would call the New Mexico Territory, and reinforce their claims on the State of Southern California, including Baja. The Republic of Texas (Sam Houston III, hereditary president of Texas), Mexico (which now consists of the States about even with Mexico City on down) and Spain all object. Italy is throwing out feelers for their support.

The Duchy of Phobos is at war with Germany. Germany admits to some tensions between them. The Phobos war fleet is inbound, unknown to most everyone on Earth.

Britain, under the continued Queen Victoria and her beloved Prince Consort Albert (note, in this timeline Albert survived much longer) Britain has expelled all members of the Marxist Society. Marx and Engels are currently imprisoned in Milan for heresy and petty theft. Marx is very ill. Albert has brought a strong German cultural presence into Britain starting with the introduction of his personal guard in 1860 and adding “guard battalions” for each of their now 19 Children. The German and British Royalty are very close friends and family and there is growing talk of both a permanent alliance and a revolution against the Germans.

Prussia has been taken under Disraeli’s wing. The assassination of the Hohenzollern Royalty and their immediate heirs in 1878 left a power struggle that Britain settled with an invasion, err, peace keeping force that happened to be nearby. The German influence is growing in Prussia even as it loses territory to Germany.

Germany is also in a cold war with Russia that could flame into a full fledged hot war in an incautious moment.

The Ottoman Empire is at war with most of the Middle East and Greece. There are changing alliances between the countries at war with Greece. There are some of the world's finest sparks sponsored by the Ottomans, Persian revolutionaries are at war with the Ottomans, something the Ottomans do not even deign to notice..

The current situation in the Lunar Colonies is very fluid. The Germans have, against international treaties, imported thousands of domebusters. They have used one, in an “accidental” destruction of the Phobosians dome. This is according to Germany the cause of the tension between the two powers. Phobos sees it differently, they see it as Imperialistic murder of their people and have pledged to make Germany and anyone who aids them pay 10 score.

The Duchy of Grand Fenwick is allied with the CSA.

The Seward purchase never happened, Alaska is Russian. British Canada is moving settlers in trying to change that. Rumors of the discovery of gold in the Klondike are surfacing. No official announcement of anything yet.

Switzerland is still the international bank for all intents and purposes.

Belgium has invaded the Netherlands and is at war there. Belgium has declared war on and been ignored by every other country in Europe. Belgium has laid claim to all previously unclaimed territory (by European countries) in Black Africa (very few troops there, most of whom are happy to be as far away from their King as possible). Belgium has invented drone blimps that are piloted by programmed robots. Belgium’s monarch is thought mad by most of Europe. He is, but mostly because he is an aggressive spark of more than moderate talent. The rest of the world doesn’t know of the thousands of acres of underground storage filled with his war machines, many of which actually work.

The Kingdom of the Danemark (King Gustav Adolfus V and Queen Anna Maria) has entered an alliance with Japan, and is at war with China. At this pointing time it mostly means supplying Japan with metal and gunpowder at their Okinawa manufacturing facilities. Danemark makes regular protests that it is only helping Japan, not actively at war and that the volunteer troops of Scandinavian commandos working in China are rogue volunteers and not an official armed force of the Kingdom.

Tibet is still a closed Kingdom. Mystical warriors have lately appeared in various places in the world, assassinating the most evil Sparks and joining campaigns against Belgium. Anyone calling them ninjas does not survive the day they make that vile accusations.

Nikola Tesla, a brilliant 24 year old Spark, is cultivating patronage and is currently based in Chicago, Illinois. (written for me by a good friend Kevin F.)

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This constitutes the Genre setting for this campaign, changes will be happening as the world devolves into WAR!!!