(Coterminous Earth: The Great War) National Boundaries?

[LoA]

So I've decided to try an exercise in organizing my world building thoughts. Instead of making a setting from the ground up, I would try to summarize my setting in a few  sentences, and then use that as a guideline to detailing my world so I don't get sidetracked by every detail.

One world I've been working on for a while was one called Coterminous Earth. Basically it's sort of like steampunk/dieselpunk Shadowrun set in an alternate WW1. The earth reconnects to magical planes of existence in the middle of the 19th century, just as the civil war is beginning. Russia falls to the dragons, and it becomes the center for the mystic nations. Louisiana is taken over by a vampress who basically unleashes unholy hell on the earth, and takes over a large chunk of the southern united states, declaring herself a monarch. No her name is not Marceline. She is utterly evil and ruthless, but if you obey the laws, she's more or less ambivalent towards your existence. Still this left questions after the fact. Does the Kingdom of Louisiana cause the rest of the southern rebellion to regroup with the Union? In my mind, yes, because it's far better to stick with the devil you know. Texas in my mind, being cut off from the United States by the KoL manages to gain independence and even expands it's territories a little bit. My main question is what would the fate be of the western states? I imagine that the US would be too busy dealing with the KoL to ever effectively expand out west, and that would leave the West wide open.

I had two ideas in mind for the fate of the West. Would western america be conquered by the Asian nations (Japan forming a colony, China forming colonies), or would the West become another hotbed for magical creatures? For a while I've had this idea for an alternate earth where japan formed a colony on the western coast of America. However, there haven't been any grand triggers that ever caused Asia in general to try to expand across the world. Would a more magically inclined asia be more imperialistic? The coterminous effect doesn't happen until the 1860's, that's just when Japan was forced to reopen to the world by the United States. How does that effect this new world?

Another thing that worries me is Europe. Naturally there's a huge upheaval in Europe as the Magical planes make huge splashes. Creatures and races begin migrating into Europe, but the real question is "Who will become mystic powers (a term like the Central powers and Allied powers), and who will become Industrial Powers? Does Britain fall to the influence of magic users and creatures, or does it stay the center of Industrialism in Europe? Germany is one I'm struggling with, because the Unification of Germany under Otto Von Bismark doesn't happen until 1871. Does the Austria Hungary Empire become a mystic power, or does it remain with machinery?

What i'm trying to get at is i'm trying to set up what the world looks like when The Great War hits. I want to know how the dominoes are falling down when the Seminal Catastrophe begins.

[Rhamnousia]

I really dig the general idea but I don't understand the logic behind some of your decisions.

You said the convergence of the planes happens around the beginning of the Civil War, so lets pin it down to 1860 just for the purposes of discussion. What was said convergence like: a subtle and gradual awakening as in Shadowrun or a violent interposition of realities, with magical creatures suddenly spilling into our world en masse? Is there any relation between our real world mythologies and the magical planes or are they completely alien?

There's absolutely no way that Japan colonizes the Western United States unless you make some enormous historical changes. The Meiji Restoration, which is generally accepted as the beginning of Japan's industrial revolution, didn't occur until 1868; prior to that, the country is still essentially medieval. It didn't become anything approaching a modern military power until 1905. If Russia is ruled by a dragon, I imagine that the Russo-Japanese War plays out a lot differently, though I have doubts about that decision as well.

Basically, I think Germany and Austria-Hungary are the best choices for being the heart of the Occult Powers. The fractious states of Central Europe would be the perfect location for an extraplanar conqueror - whether a dragon, a vampire, or something else entirely - to hammer out their own kingdom. 

[Ghostman]

Since you've already set up Russia as a major center of mystic nations, then the British Islands (and France too?) should probably get the same treatment - that way you can keep the Central Powers vs Triple Entente conflict, which was the driving force behind WW1, while flavoring it in terms of mystic powers vs industrial powers. Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire could become a nexus of steampunk-tech if they offer an asylum for foreign scientists and engineers fleeing from persecution of the magical invaders.

[LoA]

I really dig the general idea but I don't understand the logic behind some of your decisions.

You said the convergence of the planes happens around the beginning of the Civil War, so lets pin it down to 1860 just for the purposes of discussion. What was said convergence like: a subtle and gradual awakening as in Shadowrun or a violent interposition of realities, with magical creatures suddenly spilling into our world en masse? Is there any relation between our real world mythologies and the magical planes or are they completely alien?

It was more like an explosive event, but it didn't happen everywhere at once. The invasions from the extra-planes didn't happen for at least a few months until after the planes began making contact with earth. The Dragons were the first to strike, and they struck hard against Russia, essentially establishing themselves as the masters of the land. All human governments in russia (AKA the Csar, and other lords) were under their thumb, and were forced to give homage to the dragon lords. The dragons political structure is something I'm still thinking through.

Eventually this would compel other beings and forces to invade to earth and take over chunks of the world. My question is where do they succeed and fail? I like the idea of a Louisiana terriotory controlled by the mysticals, So during the Civil war, a powerful vampire comes and conquers Louisiana with what amounts to a dark army, and then takes parts of the south with her. My question is would this force the rest of the south to rejoin the union under a common enemy, or would this just collapse any idea of a United States as we know it?

There's absolutely no way that Japan colonizes the Western United States unless you make some enormous historical changes. The Meiji Restoration, which is generally accepted as the beginning of Japan's industrial revolution, didn't occur until 1868; prior to that, the country is still essentially medieval. It didn't become anything approaching a modern military power until 1905. If Russia is ruled by a dragon, I imagine that the Russo-Japanese War plays out a lot differently, though I have doubts about that decision as well.

Basically, I think Germany and Austria-Hungary are the best choices for being the heart of the Occult Powers. The fractious states of Central Europe would be the perfect location for an extraplanar conqueror - whether a dragon, a vampire, or something else entirely - to hammer out their own kingdom. 

That's what I was thinking. Germany wouldn't be the Germany we know today until the 1870's, so it would be unstable enough to be vulnarable to the conquests.

You are right about Japan. It was just me spit-balling ideas. I guess that brings up the next question. Who in the Orient would be vulnerable to the Extra-planars? Does China remain independent, or does it fall to some outsider force? What of Japan as well?

Since you've already set up Russia as a major center of mystic nations, then the British Islands (and France too?) should probably get the same treatment - that way you can keep the Central Powers vs Triple Entente conflict, which was the driving force behind WW1, while flavoring it in terms of mystic powers vs industrial powers. Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire could become a nexus of steampunk-tech if they offer an asylum for foreign scientists and engineers fleeing from persecution of the magical invaders.

There is an interesting idea in what you said about a technological persecution. There is a huge amount of persecution from Dragons in Russia about technological advancements. Some technology though is alright by them, such as railroads which make trade easier, but they will not tolerate any technology that compromises their power.

Still I don't see Germany becoming an industrial power. That doesn't happen until 1870, and Germany was pretty unstable before then.

[Ghostman]

I'm just fixated on this vision of the Red Baron piloting a steampunked up hybrid triplane/ornithopter to dogfight with a flight of wywerns while a horde of screaming goblins charges across the no man's land under MG fire. :P

[LoA]

I'm just fixated on this vision of the Red Baron piloting a steampunked up hybrid triplane/ornithopter to dogfight with a flight of wywerns while a horde of screaming goblins charges across the no man's land under MG fire. :P

Okay, no more awesome situation has ever been written.  Still if I'm being completely honest, I can't see an un-united Germany standing much of a chance against a fullblown paranormal invasion.

[Rhamnousia]

I'm having a hard time envisioning the Tsar and the rest of Russia's nobility bowing down to a dragon. I think the Germanies would be a better location for a draconic empire, especially since you have a perfect human collaborator in the form of Otto Bismark.

[LoA]

I'm having a hard time envisioning the Tsar and the rest of Russia's nobility bowing down to a dragon. I think the Germanies would be a better location for a draconic empire, especially since you have a perfect human collaborator in the form of Otto Bismark.

That is a good idea to involve Otto Von Bismark into the formation of a Germanic mystic state, but the Dragon conquered Russia remains. It wasn't a dragon that conquered Russia, it was an army of Dragons. Maybe metallic dragons and other good leaning dragons take over Germany, and the chromatic/evil dragons take over Russia?