Bagnia

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Bagnia (巴格尼亚)
Full Name	Kingdom of Bagnia 14
Type	Country; monarchy overthrown by a revolution and later restored under Chris 14 423 479
Location	Greek Continent, between the Bohemian Empire, Retalia Empire, and Minicia Kingdom 14 502
Capital	Votradnoi 112 186
Ruler	King Chris 423 479
Queen	Elena 508
Languages	Bagnian; Chinese is also used in administration, signage, and the integration of annexed territories 81 134 292 509
National Symbol	Black-and-gold Double-Headed Eagle flag 487
Status	Restored kingdom and expanding major power; annexes Minicia and later mobilizes against a demon invasion 479 571
First Appearance	14

Geography

• Original territory: A small, roughly triangular country wedged between three stronger neighbors 14.
• Terrain: High average elevation, extensive mountains, and little farmland. Difficult passes favor defenders and restrict large-scale troop movements 117 185 300.
• Kaslo Mountains: The range divides Bagnia and shields both it and Minicia from invasions and cold coming from the west. Bagnia lies at the range’s end, providing a route between Bohemia and Minicia 14 316.
• Kingdom Plain / King’s Plain: The country’s only stretch of flat land, with fertile soil and abundant water. Votradnoi stands here at a crossroads connecting Bagnia’s major regions 186 286.
• Mountain forests: Mixed coniferous and broadleaf woodland, with dense trees suitable for concealment 80.
• Bolas Gorge: An approximately hundred-kilometer-long gorge containing Bolas Fortress 80.

Strategic Position

• Bohemia can use Bagnian territory to approach Minicia without crossing the otherwise impassable Kaslo Mountains 14.
• Control of Bagnia also offers Bohemia another front against Retalia 14.
• Minicia historically subsidizes Bagnia to keep this corridor closed to Bohemian troops 14.
• Bagnia’s mountain border later helps prevent Bohemian intervention after the annexation of Minicia 508.

Major Cities and Strongholds

Location	Significance
Votradnoi	Capital and political-economic center, with nearly 300,000 residents when described during republican rule. Its central castle serves first as the royal residence and then as the Republic’s government seat 186.
Hegrande	One of the original kingdom’s three major cities, with a permanent population of 100,000. A trade hub and industrial center containing dozens of workshops 112.
Ankandela	Third major city, near the Retalian border and 150 kilometers south of Bolas Fortress. Its substantial walls make it a potential border stronghold; later receives new gravel roads 112 185 474.
Bich Town / Bichi Town	Remote mountain settlement between the civil-war fronts. Originally survives by selling stone; becomes Chris’s foothold and an industrial center 63 133 135.
Bolas Fortress	The kingdom’s most difficult fortress to breach. Its surrounding rocky farmland cannot support the growing refugee population 117 133.
Tavitsky	Captured Minician city that becomes a military staging point and industrial center; the starting point of a planned railway to Suvano 317 423 449.
Anvil Fortress	Military assembly point and railway destination linked to Votradnoi 388 405.
Omdur Harbor	Occupied by Bagnian detachments during the Minician campaign; later used for naval operations and training 371 536.
Treasure Island City	Former Minician capital brought under Bagnian rule. Young Charles is invested as Duke of Treasure Island 426 472 536.

History

Earlier Kingdom and Minician Ties

Before the old king’s reign, Bagnian rulers led annual raids east into Minicia, taking grain, money, captives, and household goods. The old king replaced this pattern with a peace agreement: Minicia redirected defensive expenditure toward hiring Bagnian mercenaries for its southern frontier 299.

Dynastic marriages reinforced the arrangement. Chris’s mother was a Minician princess, and Minicia supplied annual grain and weapons on the condition that Bagnia resist Bohemian influence and deny passage to Bohemian armies 14.

For centuries, Bagnia’s ruling order depended on nobles, religious institutions, and the underworld. Noble and wealthy families controlled economic interests spanning trade, handicrafts, and mining 174 245.

Revolution and Civil War

Revolutionaries overthrew the monarchy. The displaced king took his remaining wives and children to Minicia, while eldest prince Flower maintained a restoration army of approximately 10,000 men and sought Bohemian assistance 14 20.

The country split between the Restoration Army in the north and the Republic in the south. Bohemia backed the royalist cause, while Minicia supported the Republic despite its family ties to the deposed dynasty. Bohemian officials also hoped to sponsor Chris as a rival claimant who could keep Flower dependent on them, but Chris refused their offer 14 63 66.

Mountain castles made the conflict predominantly a war of sieges. By spring, both sides were exhausted and largely deadlocked, although scouting clashes and sabotage continued. Famine accompanied the fighting; Mia’s parents died of hunger and illness before she escaped the country 39 117.

Chris’s Foothold and Restoration

Chris established himself in Bich Town, which the Republic had abandoned after removing its remaining grain and withdrawing its garrison. Its isolation initially seemed to offer time to organize his forces 63.

The players’ capture of Bolas Fortress gave his followers a territorial base. Chris sought to support refugees through textile workshops, local industry, and construction, but a Republican offensive forced him to interrupt development and mobilize 117 133.

After entering Votradnoi, Chris faced repeated assassination attempts from both local opponents and suspected Minician agents. His restored monarchy subsequently pursued road building, railway construction, and an expanded civil service 305 309.

War with Minicia and Retalia

Bagnia advanced into Minicia during the instability surrounding Albert III’s death and the ensuing succession conflict. Tavitsky became the initial objective and a staging point for further operations 317 321 324.

When Minicia and Retalia temporarily cooperated against Bagnia, Chris launched a preemptive attack on Golden Ear City. The assault failed to take the gate, and he withdrew to fortified positions at Boulder Heights before the Retalian army arrived 350 354.

Bagnia defeated the subsequent Retalian assault with artillery, rockets, infantry defenses, and player attacks, but the Hegrande Legion lost 3,200 men killed or too badly wounded to fight. Captured nobles became leverage for obtaining horses and other resources 365 367.

A saltpeter-technology agreement secured Bagnian neutrality while Retalia devastated Minicia’s supply network and heartland. Bagnia occupied additional territory, including Omdur, but inherited destruction and hostility in the conquered provinces 370 371 373.

Snake-Men Campaign and Annexation

Suvano’s fall to the Snake-Men prompted border preparations and the accelerated formation of the Mechanicus Cult’s Holy Crusade Army. The expedition entered Minicia while civilians fled toward Bagnia for food, shelter, and work 420 423 425.

Bagnian forces fought through the swamp and supported displaced Minicians. After the battle at Naxi Fortress, Colonel Vigo asked to bring his Self-Rescue Army into Bagnia, declaring that Minicia’s rulers had abandoned them 438 448.

Minicia’s political collapse opened the way for annexation. Bagnia preserved its former royal line by making Young Charles Duke of Treasure Island and promised restored order, lower taxes, protected trade, and action against bandits and Snake-Men 471 472 479.

Consolidation and Later Threats

Annexation transformed Bagnia into a major power, but integration encountered rural rebellions and bureaucratic obstruction. Chris planned an inspection tour to strengthen unity; by late winter, visible unrest in Minicia had increasingly given way to stable order 479 508 509 539.

Bagnia also projected naval power overseas, dispatched mercenaries to Casarina Island, and sent fleets across the Storm Belt. During the later demon invasion, it completed nationwide mobilization of the Defense Force, Blue Banner Army, and local militias before demonic meteors reached its territory 485 511 522 571.

Government and Administration

Central Institutions

• Military Affairs Department and State Council: The two institutions through which Chris initially managed most national affairs. Annexation required a larger court and additional government positions 479.
• Civil service: Player officials and a new local bureaucracy improve order, but initially lack the capacity to administer the entire country effectively 305.
• Players in public office: Available posts include village chiefs, mayors, constables, inquisitors, and tax officers. Warbands can exchange military merit for territories and towns 451.
• Inquisition, Department of Justice, and Intelligence Bureau: Support administration, suppress rebellion, and conduct covert operations 450 508 536.
• Local authority: Chris instructs player officeholders to respect existing law and officials, even when granting prestigious titles with little actual power 286.

Political Factions

Faction	Power Base
Civil Servant Faction	Civilian bureaucracy 508.
Bichi Town Faction	Chris’s old followers, holding substantial military power 508.
Hegrande Faction	Marquis Dirac and the Hegrande Legion; seeks influence in the Department of the Interior 508.
Minisia Queen’s Faction	Named among the kingdom’s internal factions 508.
Young Charles’s Faction	Centered on Duke Young Charles; remains neutral and focused on military rather than political affairs 508.

Integration of Minicia

• New laws, taxes, and Chinese language and culture disrupt established Minician life and intensify resistance to annexation 509.
• Former officials, nobles, and merchants obstruct administration through records, regulations, and delays 508.
• The Blue Banner Army’s harsh suppression deters armed revolt, but Chris recognizes that force cannot secure lasting loyalty 508.
• Chris keeps Young Charles close and dependent on Bagnian support rather than leaving him unobserved with his army in Minicia 508.
• Royal succession becomes a security concern: Elena’s pregnancy takes precedence over her planned participation in the inspection tour, because Chris regards an heir as essential to the kingdom’s survival 509.

Economy and Infrastructure

Resources and Industry

• Original limitations: Scarce farmland and poor transport restrict development. Nobles and wealthy families dominate trade, handicrafts, and mining before Chris’s consolidation 117 174 305.
• Agricultural damage: The burning of the King’s Plain leaves abandoned fields and seed germination below 30 percent. Organized spring plowing later marks a visible recovery 286 292.
• Manufacturing: Bich Town produces matches; its industrial park develops smithing and militia-equipment production. Chris also plans looms and sewing machines for refugee textile workshops 133 135.
• Military orientation: The shortage of arable land and Chris’s policies push the economy toward militarism, with handicraft production increasingly serving military needs 314.
• Guano Island: The Tia Family’s proposed bargain offers extraction rights and a marriage dowry. Chris values the guano as a source of fertilizer and saltpeter, and the family’s maritime expertise as a foundation for ports, ships, and trade routes 347 388.
• Livestock shortages: Bagnia lacks cattle after its expansion; 100 kilograms of gold can purchase about 2,000 cattle locally, compared with over 3,000 in Retalia 481.
• Post-restoration growth: Agriculture, mining, industry, education, culture, and commerce expand rapidly under Chris 423.

Transport Network

Development	Function
Road reconstruction	Chris plans better links between the three original major cities and assigns surveying and construction to players 305.
Mountain defenses	Proposed road forts and fortifications combine employment projects with improved regional security 133.
Votradnoi–Anvil railway	Completed steam railway transports large quantities of supplies, troops, weapons, and officials 403 405.
Tavitsky–Suvano railway	Construction begins as the Snake-Men campaign approaches its end 449.
Votradnoi station	Becomes the kingdom’s busiest transportation hub 511.

The mature steam railway draws diplomatic missions from all three neighboring powers. After riding it, Bohemia’s ambassador concludes that his country should obtain comparable technology before risking war with Bagnia 405.

Military

Main Forces

Force	Characteristics
Bagnia Defense Force	Regular army combining firearm-equipped line infantry with smaller spear and sword-and-shield contingents. Standardized equipment and strong logistics underpin its effectiveness 321 362 366.
Player troops and warbands	Excel at reconnaissance, breakthroughs, and attacks on difficult targets. Their resurrection and exceptional combat ability distinguish them from ordinary soldiers, but recklessness creates administrative and tactical problems 321 352 373 474.
Hegrande Legion	Marquis Dirac’s formation, equipped by Chris and dependent on state supplies. Suffers crippling losses defending against Retalia 317 365.
Blue Banner Army	Initially recruits displaced Minicians who receive land and security in Bagnia. Later supports occupation administration and suppresses rebellion; Young Charles commands a Blue Banner force 388 508.
Holy Crusade Army	Mechanicus Cult expedition organized for the Suvano campaign. Its assignment is reframed as war rather than religious “purification” 420 423.
First Fleet	Overseas naval force commanded by Vice Admiral Marlow. Its twelve-ship deployment to Casarina includes three battleships and disciplined marines 511 512.
Local militias	Participate in territorial security and nationwide mobilization 133 571.

Equipment, Logistics, and Limitations

• Weapons: Improved flintlocks, field guns, Crouching Tiger Cannons, heavy artillery, and rockets support Bagnia’s land campaigns 321 362 365.
• Ammunition standardization: Riflemen receive bullets matched to their weapons and prepared cartridges, avoiding the need to cast individually fitted ammunition 362.
• Soldier welfare: Regulars and auxiliaries receive rice, flour products, meat, and vegetables. Better nutrition and daily training markedly improve stamina and morale 325.
• Medical care: Bagnian medics provide ordinary enemy prisoners with clean bandages, medicine, food, and water—treatment that astonishes Retalian nobles 367.
• Mobility limits: Ordinary riflemen cannot carry the players’ loads. Their armor, weapons, ammunition, and emergency supplies favor positional warfare over pursuit and forced marches 321.
• Cavalry shortage: Chris avoids open encounters with Retalia’s superior mounted forces and negotiates for 2,400 breeding horses to develop a future warhorse supply 371.
• Naval design: The Sea Lion, Bagnia’s largest battleship, combines layered long-range cannon fire with improved sleeping arrangements, sanitation, medical care, and food 512.
• Storm Belt passage: Chris compels the Agriculture and Earth Mother churches to supply divine statues for official fleets, reducing losses during passage 522.

National Mobilization

Effect	Value
Merit-point efficiency for Bagnia-aligned players	Increased by 15% 573.
Logistical supply costs	Reduced by 10% 573.
Prepared forces	Defense Force, Blue Banner Army, and local militias assembled with personnel, provisions, weapons, and equipment before the demonic landings 571.

Foreign Relations

• Bohemian Empire — Initially sponsors royal restoration as a means of controlling Bagnia. Later facilitates saltpeter smuggling, then grows alarmed by Bagnia’s expansion and seeks railway personnel and technical intelligence 14 405 473.
• Retalia Empire — Battlefield opponent turned negotiating partner. Saltpeter technology, land, prisoners, and horses shape agreements that help prevent another war after Minicia’s annexation 365 370 371 508.
• Minicia Kingdom — Former benefactor, dynastic relative, and employer of Bagnian mercenaries. Supports the Republic, fights Chris’s restored kingdom, and is ultimately annexed 14 66 299 479.
• Makon Alliance / Macon League — Seeks relations with the rising kingdom and hires Bagnian mercenaries for Casarina Island. Bagnia later refuses contract renewal despite offers of higher fees and coastal territory 480 485 540.
• Pomerelia League — Southern trade republic that requests formal diplomatic relations after Bagnia’s annexation of Minicia 480.
• Overseas elves — Bagnian naval attacks and the capture of elves and half-elves create a new overseas conflict. Elven officials identify Bagnia as a country on the distant Magicless Continent 536 543.

Society and Culture

• Mountain identity: Bagnians who still identify as people of the mountains ask that their ashes be returned home or scattered in its rivers and streams, regardless of religion 303.
• Royal memory: Oakland’s childhood habit of looking at the northern star is associated with the belief that past kings watch over their people through it 303.
• Poverty and lawlessness: Remote areas produce armed desperadoes; Valentin describes merchants and bandits as frequently overlapping occupations 284 298.
• Refugee reputation: Minician civilians seek Bagnia because they hear that Chris provides food, shelter, and opportunities to earn a living 425.
• Religion: The Earth Mother Goddess and Goddess of Agriculture have rival followings, sometimes provoking violence. Chris demands practical agricultural results rather than costly, limited miracles 286.
• National prestige: After restoration and annexation, Chris becomes a symbol of Bagnian strength. Families display his portrait, some communities establish small shrines, and parents urge children to be brave and wise like him 479.
• Integration tensions: Old Bagnia’s pride contrasts with former Minicians’ grief over lost independence and discomfort with new laws, taxes, and cultural expectations 479 509.