Merveilles du Monde
(also known as MdM) is a map game on the the Alternate History Wiki, in which players choose a nation on the pre existing map (starting as a map of our history in 1295) and detail events happening in that nation and describe the descisions its government makes, both domestically and abroad. As changes pile up and nations interact with each other through war, diplomacy, and trade, a completely new timeline is created, which players continue too play in until the end of the game. It is meant too serve as a spiritual successor to the earlier Principia Moderni map games on the same website, which were similar but started earlier and often featured mass implausibility and gratuitous Alternate History Wank too an extent most players found annoying, with Md M meant too correct these mistakes and create a more realistic (but still fun) map game)
As of January 3, 2020, the game is in the year 1377, the eighty second turn of the game.
Current Player Nations of Md M
- Kingdom of England
- High Kingdom of Eiru
- Kingdom of Scotland
- Kingdom of Sweden
- Kingdom of Denmark
- Hispanian Empire
- Kingdom of Portugal
- Kingdom of Iceland
- Kingdom of France
- Duchy of Burgundy
- Papal States
- Kingdom of Padinia
- Swiss Confederacy
- Kingdom of Bohemia
- Hanseatic League
- Archduchy of Lotharingia
- Poland-Lithuania
- Byzantine Empire
- Kingdom of Georgia
- Sultanate of Hindustan
- Japanese Empire
- Kingdom of Dai Viet
- Chinese Empire (Tian Dynasty)
- Majapahit Empire
- Mali Empire
- Nyazwe Kingdom
- Iroquois Confederacy
- Tarascan Empire/Toltec Alliance
- Mayapan League
- Chimu Empire
Tropes that appear in Merveilles du Monde:
- Adaptational Heroism: Just like in all alternate histories, many people’s fates are far different than that of there OTL counterparts, and thus there relative villainy or heroism is also far different.
- Alternate History Wank: This is mostly avoided, but obviously there are nations that do much better than in real life.
- Aragon forms Spain much earlier than in OTL and conquers southern Italy, Sardinia, and Corsica
- The Mali Empire stretches across most of West Africa, doubling its size under the rule of Mansa Musa
- The Tian Dynasty of China kicks the Mongols out decades earlier than in otl and proceeds too conquer most of there land and vassalize Laos.
- The duchy of Brabant conquered much of the Lowlands and reformed the old Kingdom of Lotharingia as an arch duchy within the HRE (albeit without stretching into the massive territories the original had in the south), and it’s ruler latter becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
- Ethiopia has conquered most of Somalia and is planning further expansion.
- Georgia has conquered much of Turkey and parts of Iran
- The Latin Empire has reformed and conquered most of Greece and much of Western Anatolia
- The Berbers ruling Tunisia seized control of Egypt and began building trade posts in Southeast Asia within 20 years
- Big Bad: There is no overarching Big Bad since just like in real life it’s mostly Greyand Gray Morality, and all the different nations are played by different people with different enemies, and thus who serves this role too who depends on which nation a turn is from the perspective of
- Crapsack World: The world overall is not like this, since it’s meant to model real life, but depending on the time period this definitely applies on a regional level.
- China during its civil war lost 7 million people and then was completely ravaged by the plague only a few years latter, resulting in the loss of nearly half its population and the most devastating period since the three kingdoms. Japan also went through a similar period just before this, although that was much less devastating and would help lead too their current golden age.
- The Middle East for a fair portion of the game became a massive one as Persia utterly collapses after the fall of the Ilkhanate before being invaded by Nomads from Central Asia who engage in Rape, Pillage, and Burn and do even more damage too it, well Egypt and the Abbasid Caliphate are taken over by the extremely radical followers of Ibn Taymiyyah, a man who’s writings in real life were one of the biggest inspirations for Isis and Al-Quaeda, although luckily the Egyptians have overthrown them and de radicalized and the Abbasids have chilled out somewhat, and things seem to be slowly improving again outside Persia (which is now being invaded by Timur).
- Curbstomp Battle:
- The Crusade against the Ottomans completely crushed them in just a few battles, resulting in their complete destruction and the reclamation of massive amounts of land by Byzantium long before they could become a threat too the rest of Europe.
- Every single battle in the Fourth Sino-Mongol war was won by China, and the only reason that they didn’t completely destroy Mongolia was inability too occupy Inner Mongolia successfully due too poor logistics.
- The Vinlanders did this too the Beothuk they faced in battle, although they fought back hard and lost due too superior numbers, weaponry and logistics on the part of the invaders, not a lack of skill, much like in most real life cases of European-Native American conflicts.
- The Louisian phase of the Hundred Years’ War ended up as this, with France being invaded by Spain and England at the same time as burgundy rebelled....only too subvert expectations by completely curb stomping the English and Spanish forces due too English incompetence and infighting between the English and Spanish Players.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him:
- Edward III was built up as a powerful and successful ruler by the first player of England, before the next one unceremoniously killed him off in his very first turn.
- Forever War: The Hundred Years’ War analogue looked like it was going too be this, before France was invaded by Spain as well and then proceeded too utterly crush the opposition and retake most of Aquitane.
- From Nobody to Nightmare:
- The first ruler of the Tian dynasty was a peasant boy randomly selected too be passed off as the last living member of the Song Dynasty by a group of powerful Confucian nobles led by General Mao Xieren as a figurehead during the rebellion against the rule of the Yuan dynasty due too his impressionability and naïveté as a young child. He ended up growing into one of, if not the most powerful rulers on earth and leading China too utterly destroy the Northern Yuan/Mongolia and conquer most of their land, massively expand Chinas borders far into the north and west (and also Taiwan), and nearly entirley wiped out Christianity in China, which had previously been rapidly growing due too the prominence of it among the mongol court and it’s promotion following the conversion of the Genghisids.
- Karma Houdini: Pretty much every successful ruler who isn’t crushed is this, due too the many morally questionable or downright evil actions that are required too be successful as a nation during the late Middle Ages.
- Killed Off for Real: Every single character in the game eventually becomes this, just like in real life.
- The Alliance: The Celtic Confederacy is an analogue too the Holy Roman Empire and a mutual defensive pact formed between Scotland, Ireland, and Iceland for mutual defense and alliance against England, which is viewed as a massive threat too all of there nations following Ireand and Scotland’s successfully winning there wars for independence.
- The Empire: There are many examples of this, with the most prominent so far being the Latin Empire, the Byzantines, Hispania, The Celts (technically), the HRE, China, Japan, Ethiopia, Mali, the Abbasids and Georgia.
- Vestigial Empire: There are also several examples of this, such as the Mongols (too an even greater extent than in real life), England (Which has lost Ireland, Scotland, and almost all of its French lands), Persia, and the Khmer (before there conquest by Vietnam).
