"Would you realize what Revolution is, call it Progress; and would you realize what Progress is, call it Tomorrow."
~ Hugo
"The French Revolution gave birth to no artists. The only poet of the times was the guillotine."
~ Camus
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Paris, 1793
It is the fifth year of the French Revolution, and its fate is balanced on a guillotine’s edge.
The country is besieged on all sides by enemies, currently fighting against Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Britain in a fierce war that threatens the new republic’s survival. In response, the governing body of France, the National Convention, has declared a levée en masse, or mandatory conscription of the country’s young men. While the sheer numbers of troops suddenly available to France may even the odds, they still have a long way before turning the tide.
While these external threats are certainly potent, it is the nation’s internal problems that truly threaten to tear France apart. Across the country, particularly in the western region known as the Vendée, counter-Revolutionary violence has sprung up in response to the increasingly radical direction the government has gone in recently. Divided at all levels of society - community, family, church, and more - every individual has had to make a choice: Where exactly do you stand politically? With the stakes of selecting the “wrong” answer to this question growing ever more severe, everyone is on edge.
Louis XVI is dead, sentenced by the Convention and executed by means of that great equalizer, the guillotine. Lafayette and Mirabeau, those great noble heroes of the people, are either in exile or dead. In Paris, the common people, known as the sans-culottes, have taken to patrolling the streets in paramilitary groups in order to enforce their ideals of the way things should be. The optimistic verses of the Revolutionary anthem Ça Ira (“It Will Be Fine”), so popular in 1790 and carrying the hope of every Frenchman that the dreams of 1789 would be realized, have largely been replaced by more bloodthirsty stanzas calling for the death of the aristocrats and priests. The ambitious Constitution of 1793, designed to further the aims of the Revolution and to continue the march towards equality, was suspended before ever going into effect due to the national emergency.
The Revolution’s innocence has departed, and the Reign of Terror has arrived.
In the National Convention, four separate factions vie for power:
- The Mountain (or Montagnards), a fast-rising political group who want to continue the radical turn the Revolution has taken. They are ruthlessly competent, have some of the brightest political thinkers of the era, but have also racked up quite a high body count in pursuit of their goals.
- The Girondins, the formerly-majority party who have lost some of their influence but are still strong. The Girondins are seen as moderate (for those who view that as a good thing) and experienced, but are also increasingly perceived as lazy, corrupt, and largely to blame for France getting into so many wars.
- The Populists, who have seen what the common people of France can do when truly inspired and want to further tap into that power for the sake of the nation. The Populists more than anyone else enjoy the support of the sans-culottes of Paris and elsewhere, but are also disunited in political views (ranging from somewhat moderate to ultra-radical) and are seen as ineffective at actually governing.
- The Militarists, hypercompetent specialists in usually one or two fields who want to put their expertise to better use. The Militarists, if united, can almost certainly do what is needed to keep France afloat, but they are also seen as little more than ambitious technocrats who are largely distrusted by the people (and themselves).
All four of the factions have roughly equal representation in the National Convention, each with their own specific strengths and weaknesses. At the end of the day, only one faction can emerge triumphant and direct the course of the Revolution to their will.
However, what they don’t know is that a fifth faction has secretly infiltrated the Convention: The Royalists. Driven underground but not entirely exterminated despite the Convention’s best efforts, this faction’s greatest desire is to kill everyone else, take back control of the government, and restore a Bourbon to the throne and end the Revolution altogether, a completely unacceptable result for anyone other than themselves.
Will the four main factions put aside their differences long enough to stop the Royalist threat, knowing that only one of them may emerge triumphant at the end? Will the Royalists complete their goal and turn the clock back on the country forever? Will the draconian policies of the Terror be enough to truly safeguard the gains of the Revolution? The world is waiting to find out.
Overview:
Welcome to French Revolution Mafia! You will play an elected member of the National Convention - the governing body of France during the Reign of Terror - and are part of one of four political factions, as described in the above flavor as well as the rules below. Your job is simple: outnumber the other three factions by the end of the game, and eliminate the Royalists, who have infiltrated the Convention and serve as the mafia faction this game. Maintaining a perfect balance between these two aims will be the key to obtaining victory.
Game setup and rules:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Historical disclaimer:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
More on factions:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Signing up:
We're aiming for a February 28th start. I'm going to be pretty hard and fast about sticking to 24 players for this one. First come, first served, all subs are welcome! I'm not 100% confident this game is balanced, but I am pretty sure it will be fun. And hey, you might learn something!
Signed up (24/24):
Montmorency
Csargo
Lewwyn
Renata
Dp101
BSmith
Zack
Arakhor
seireikhaan
Choxorn
atheotes
Kagemusha
Snerk
Fenn
Askthepizzaguy
Sooh
autolycus
Al Sipsclar
El Barto
Jabbz
NotACop
Logic
Manasi
Monstrdude
Subs:
