History Characters / VictoriaFalls

* FantasyCoubterpartCulture: To UsefulNotes/NorthKorea - both are culturally and technologically backwards polities that [[MilesGloriosus boast of having capabilities to project force far beyond their actual skill level]]. Both also use intense amounts of slave labor and make claims of self sufficiency they cannot back, aided by extremely pervasive propaganda and StateSec. And just like North Korea and China, Victoria only survives because it is backed by Russia as a way to secure its boarder.

* FatalFlaw: Victoria's greatest weakness is its absolute adherence to Retroculture regardless of whether or not it holds true. Victoria is functionally stagnant as a nation because it refuses to consider even for a moment that Kraft's ideology could be wrong, and this leads them into all kinds of problems, [[spoiler:including getting their entire army virtually annihilated fighting the Commonwealth]].

A young freelance reporter from Detroit assigned to the ''New Chicago Tribune'', recently promoted to battlefield reporter.

** Rather humorously, their explanation for the construction of most of the western railroads in the United States (which were made using significant amounts of labor from Asian immigrants) is that they were the result of a ‘’ failed Chinese invasion''.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: The Victorian government has reduced blacks to slavery in all but name and expelled all other minorities. They believe women should StayInTheKitchen and anyone outside their borders are cultural and racial degenerates.

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Can't talk about Chicago without talking about deep-dish pizza.

When Victoria swept up state after state following the collapse of the United States, Rumford and Kraft set their eyes on New York City as their next target of conquest. Their Russian advisor "Father Dimitri" however recognized that the size and scope of the metropolitan area, in addition to its international significance, was overwhelming, and barely managed to convince the two to leave NYC alone. Today, the Free City of New York is the home of several million refugees, subsisting entirely on imports from Europe and warily watching its Victorian neighbors.

* InvincibleVillain: Since Russia still has nuclear weapons, they're effectively untouchable by anyone, even those with nukes of their own. All of their "defeats" so far have involved defanging their proxies, and while it looks like things are going to fall apart [[spoilersometime after Nicholas takes the throne]], this isn't any consolation to the Commonwealth.

* SexSlave: Women captured by the CMC are either made into "war-brides" (essentially [[Literature/AHandmaidsTale handmaids]]) or sold into slavery.

* HateSink: The more we learn about Victoria, the more the players have expressed a desire to totally destroy the nation for its various crimes, as it has absolutely no redeeming features. It has gotten to the point that SV moderation staff had to put up a notice to avoid a HeWhoFightsMonsters situation, as some people were teetering close to calling for a FinalSolution against Victoria.

* InternalReformist: An odd example. Following the fall of Detroit, he came to the conclusion that the Commonwealth's embrace of technology and materialism has resulted in their nation coalescing into a pseudo-HiveMind state. He attempted to convince the Victorian Army high command of the need to adapt 4th-Generation Warfare to combat the Commonwealth "Machine State" in a war of annihilation.

* ColonelBadass: Downplayed. "Hellfire" Burns built a reputation as a brilliant officer still fighting the good fight long after his comrades had died or gone to ground, but in some (mostly Victorian) circles he is seen as a coward who puts force preservation above all else. Later promoted to [[FourStarBadass General]]
* DisasterScavengers: He and his Devil Brigade used to be a band of this, fighting off Victorians and avoiding Russian airstrikes. They go from town to town, overthrowing petty warlords in exchange for equipment and manpower as well as parts for their precious Old World Equipment.

Originally the Northern Confederation, Victoria was born out of the reactionary "retroculturalist" movement and far-right militias that rose up during the economic crises of the 2020s. Through a series of convoluted schemes and events involving global economic strife, U.S. government incompetence, Russian covert assistance, smuggled nuclear weapons, and revisionist propaganda, Victoria has crafted itself into a thriving totalitarian fascist state in spite of its massively backwards mindset, outdated technology, undereducated populace and bafflingly nonsensical understanding of military doctrine.

* ALighterShadeOfBlack: He prohibited the practice of "war brides" in his division, but he's ultimately loyal to Victoria and its fascistic and retroculturalist ideals.

When Victoria swept up state after state following the collapse of the United States, Rumford and Kraft set their eyes on New York City as their next target of conquest. Their Russian advisor "Father Dimitri" however recognized that the size and scope of the metropolitan area, in addition to its international significance, was overwhelming, and barely convinced the two to leave NYC alone. Today, the Free City of New York is the home of several million refugees, subsisting entirely on imports from Europe and warily watching its Victorian neighbors.

* SuccessionCrisis: Tsar Alexander IV is old by the time of the story's present, and is not long for the world. His appointed heir, his daughter Catherine, is by all accounts an excellent choice for the throne, but doesn't want to rule, while his son, Nicholas, does want to rule, and has the support of the nobility to account for his lack of competance. [[spoiler:When Alex dies in 2076, his daughter vanishes as Nicholas ascends to the throne]].

* HumiliationConga: The war with the Commonwealth does not go kindly for Victoria - their Air Force is sabotaged by California and takes heavy losses, their navy is destroyed ''twice'', their army is almost completely destroyed, the nation erupts into a CivilWar shortly afterwards, suffers a humiliating defeat in New York that forces them to accept a treaty lopsidedly in favor of the Commonwealth to end the way, ''and then Winter sets in''. Oh, and most of their harvest has rotted by this point.

%%* ColonelBadass: Later promoted to [[FourStarBadass General]]
* DisasterScavengers: He and his Devil Brigade used to be a band of this, fighting off Victorians and avoiding Russian airstrikes.

* NormalFishInATinyPond: More like [[ExaggeratedTrope Small Fish In A Tiny Pond]], but the Erie Campaign makes it clear that Victoria only holds hegemony over North America because of numbers, Russian backing, and the majority of their opponents being unable to Mount a proper defense. Against a competent foe with technological parity (such as the Commonwealth), they are in for a CurbStompbattoe that is not in their favor.

* HateSink: The more we learn about Victoria, the more the players have expressed a desire to totally destroy the nation for its various crimes, as it has absolutely no redeeming features. It has gotten to the point that SV moderation staff had to put up a notice to avoid a HeWhoFightsMondters situation, as some people were teetering close to calling for a FinalSolution against Victoria.

* SuccessionCrisis: Tsar Alexander IV is old by the time of the story's present, and is not long for the world. His appointed heir, his daughter Catherine, is by all accounts an excellent choice for the throne, but doesn't want to rule, while his son, Peter, does want to rule, and has the support of the nobility to account for his lack of competance. [[spoiler:When Alex dies in 2076, his daughter vanishes as Peter ascends to the throne]].

* GreaterScopeVillain: None of Victoria's successes would have been possible without Russia's covert and overt assistance. It is now the largest obstacle to world peace and the reconstruction of North America.