Could/ Should A Revolution Happen, And How Could It Be Done Right?

[indyfan98]

So, during a roleplay meeting in the roleplay discord, I had brought up the topic of revolutions, and I was told that they would be very difficult to do in a way that is fun for everyone, so the staff have been taking a hard stance against it. It would seem that the biggest fear is that people will just be killing people, and no one wants to lose their characters. So, I pose a question: how could a revolution be done right?

Monmarty had said something about the idea of Slizzar being used to seduce people in power to get new legislation passed in favor of those who seek to rebel. Killing people and barricading the streets ala "Les Miserables" is simply disrupting to roleplay for those who don't want to take part. However, there have been peaceful rebellions that have succeeded. Likewise, there have been assassinations of people in power that lead to turmoil (these people in power could be NPCs), and eventual collapse of governments. So, we need only look at real life for examples of a revolution done right.

But, I want your guys' ideas. What could be done to make a revolution fun, exciting, and still be successful for those involved? Also, if there is a way for a revolution to be done correctly, would you like to see it happen? Comment below, and have a Massive day!

*THIS THREAD IS FOR CIVIL DISCUSSION ONLY ON THE TOPIC OF REVOLUTION.

 

[ZiHAMMER]

CIVIL DISCUSSION

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REVOLUTION

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[FireFan96]

Andrieu Anahera, Freya Lo, Virathus Krupp. Rebellions which impact more individuals than a friend's group happen from time to time. Most of the time this is purely players taking the initiative, with very little (if any) staff support.

If you want a Revolution, do it IC. But if there's no cause to revolt besides "Regalia is evil" then it will eventually flop due to the lack of a rallying cry.

 

[fuithlug]

 

[soapboxstage]

I tried to start a sort of kind of jacobins a few weeks ago, but turnout wasn't too great. I'm still trying to get into it. The philosopher salon should have a second meeting in the next two weeks or so.

 

[Wumpatron]

https://forums.massivecraft.com/threads/crime-roleplay-how-to-guide.71434/#post-886960

This has a huge point of connection to this because if you start a revolution you become a villain, as such you need to have a good reason to do it beyond nya they're evil.

People like to say their characters are dirt poor slummers who want to change the status quo, but why? If you really are dirt poor you'd take up a trade befitting of someone poor and just work and get food and you'll be kosher. Only reason to rebel or have a revolution is because you feel you are cheated or treated poorly or that simply you were harmed in the past and need to scapegoat a way to have your 'revenge'.

Right now there is that Anglian mist business, but given that there are a lot of bars and food shops opening and running in V5 it's safe to say that the food crisis is nonexistent and wrapping up.

Pretty much, how I see it is don't focus on a true revolution, because very few will rally behind that, make a character, if something happens where they need to challenge authority, build a power base and use that to propel yourself.

Just a few thoughts.

 

[Athorian]

Thought you might need a good song to inspire and get you motivated

 

[fuithlug]

I'd also like to add on a serious note, given the state of Regalian politics and it being a Feudalist system the chances of a people's uprising are incredibly small from a realistic standpoint. Real-life comparisons, the only people I can name off the top of my head to usurp a Royal Feudalist system of law were the French and even before that they abolished Feudalism/serfdom and then the tithe to the Catholic Church.

So really, the most likely way to do it would by being a popular noble and go the English way (but the process from start to finish did take several hundred years) -- being the nobility forcing the King to sign the Magna Carta in 1215, all the way to the 1918 Representation of the People Act, in which the UK became a full democracy. (It's still a constitutional Monarchy but shhh)

Anyway, just some food for thought )


sidenote: I agree with Wump though, justifying starting a revolution as a commoner/poor character would be incredibly difficult. It's hard to see someone jumping to that instead of becoming a hunter, carpenter or smith, etc.

 

[soapboxstage]

People like to say their characters are dirt poor slummers who want to change the status quo, but why? If you really are dirt poor you'd take up a trade befitting of someone poor and just work and get food and you'll be kosher. Only reason to rebel or have a revolution is because you feel you are cheated or treated poorly or that simply you were harmed in the past and need to scapegoat a way to have your 'revenge'.

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Equal representation of lower classes in government. Rights for non-human races. More just rule. I've been working on a complex motive for a while now.

 

[ezalB]

I would be careful to choose between the words revolution, rebellion, and governmental overthrow but an elite-- aka, a coup of sorts. When using the term rebellion, one more often speaks of a group that wishes to change something in government or leadership style, but not necessarily overthrow it. Revolutions generally involve total societal overhaul, and coups can compose a variety of things, but generally end with the recompilation of the government via military force. The latter bit-- a coup of sorts, I see as something most likely to occur and the least likely to affect players at large in a negative way in Roleplay, due to the decisions being player-generated rather than Freya Lo esque characters (characters with an inhuman and 'evil' goal) , and more senseful to the populous at large-- or atleast, one would hope.

As prem_ stated above, Regalia theoretically runs on a feudal system-- however the system that Regalia runs on is less akin to full on feudalism, with manorialism in full swing and whatnot, but rather something that originated at a much later period in time. I certainly do not claim to be an expert on any sort of historical bits, but I would like to think I atleast know a few things. And something that Massivecraft is more akin to is that of the German Confederation (with some twists). While nobility in this societies did exist, their influence was not the be-all-end-all-- serfs were not as prevalent* as they had been say during the middle ages, as increasing standards of living (as are very much prevalent on Massivecraft) meant that social mobility was possible.

I am personally of the opinion that while all out revolution against the state is unlikely, a series of rebellions (as they are already occurring) or local civil unrest in order to attempt to push the government to action would occur. As it stands, Regalia I believe-- while certainly being on its knees, still remains a strong state, with the memory of the pre-mist Empire still very much in people's minds, and something that many i'm sure still wish to return to. Should there be any sort of overthrow of the government, I believe it would occur not at the level of the common person, but rather the extremely-rich-merchant class and high-nobility, constituting a coup. We have had similar events like this in the past, as stated previously, but all have generally been vilified and turned into villains. Should the a good lens be put on the would be over-throwers, I suspect that the outcome may be different-- possibly in the end, the same, but overall different.

Now, I speak above largely of non-RP and non-IC things, but rather simply theoretical and ideas. In reality, and what I think would be the best in terms of revolution-- is none, rebellion, for plot device, and a coup only if enough players band together themselves and do it. I personally will almost always be against RP that disrupts/destroys a group of people's-- be it extreme racial/religious oppression, or simple violent annihilation. While it may benefit and be entertaining for those committing the act, for those on the receiving end, having something they have worked so hard for can often be an upsetting experience. And while it is indeed what you risk when you sign up and/or create such sorts of groups, I do not believe that is any reason to use that as an excuse for squashing RP.

TL;DR
Ezalb thinks that if there is any sort of uprising it should be in the form of a coup, where the elite use military to overthrow the government. Ezalb also thinks he knows things about history, but, probably doesn't. Generally, he isn't the biggest supporter of any sort of overthrow, and believes it could be damaging to players and the lore universe, whether or not it may be realistic or not.
ty for making this thread it <3

*While serfs did exist during those time periods, their commonality aswell as general support for manorialism and fuedalism (the two going hand-in-hand) had waned significantly as national governments took power. And certainly, it could be said that the national government of Regalia is much less so than it was in previous times. Serfs are a characteristic of the medieval era, and did not stop once the renaisance came about-- as the renaissance was arguably only felt by the elites of society.

Apologies for the ramble, and possibly getting a little off topic-- and too speaking out of my butt here a little bit, since I didn't feel like citing sources or something gross like that, I just sort of started writing and didn't stop. I pumped the text size down to 3 otherwise this would be a long af post