Pre Game scenario, set-up, and introduction to the times.
Welcome into the 17th Century. Many of the modern states are just begining to take recognizable shapes.
The Holy Roman Empire is still a major player in Europe but there are signs it is going to fall. The constituent entities are becoming increasingly more fragmented micro-states, many agitating for increased soverignty, including the alpine-forest cantons and the netherlands, supported by outside powers such as France, England, & Sweden. Meanwhile other areas of the empire are pushing for, not increased soverignty, but rather increased recognition within the empire, such as in Imperial Italy. Boundary questions and peculiarities have arisen as lands have changed hands over the years, with many imperial soverigns having properties outside of the empire and other powers who are not a part of the empire have lands within it (Denmark, Poland, Spain, Sweden). Internally, Religious discord and tensions are on the rise again between Catholics and Protestants... will the Peace of Augusburg hold? Both groups have formed leaques (The Catholic league and the Evangelical Union) to better coordinate their interests among the micro-states and the Hapsburg emperor can not ignore the tension for long, though the Austrian ruler may be more distracted by the external threat of the Ottoman's continuing to menacing in the Balkans.
Meanwhile the emperor's cousin Philip is King of the Spains and Indias (and etc, etc). This hapsburg branch is growing fat and rich with its dominance of the new world, though the English defeat of their armada indicates times may be changing. Despite these hapsburg's being the wealthiest state in the world, the United Provinces have managed to extracate themselves from Spanish Hapsburg rule in long, bloody fighting. There is currently three years left in the 12 year cease fire agrement, and all are preparing for the resumption of hostilities, but will the last three years of the cease fire hold or will the seiges resume before then?
The French Bourbon's have surprisingly held on to most of the territory of France, but they find themselves nearly surrounded by Spain, not only across the Pyrenees, but also in Brabant, French-Comte, Burgundy, and Artois. Even Monaco is a spanish protectorate! The young french king has finaly thrown off his MeDici mother's regency, but not before she allied the new king to those spanish Hapsburg's through marriage to Philip's daughter Anne. Meanwhile the English monarchs continue to claim to be the 'Kings of France'.
Now that the English have subdued Ireland, and unified all the british isles, will they turn to reclaim their continental properties in France? Or will they focus on the oportunities of the New World, where their colonists are threatened by the savages (native american indians) and the sea routes to them risk being reclosed (if the Spanish can restore their navy) or closed (from Piracy by the Barbary states of North Africa).
The new Ottoman overloards of Tunisia and Algiera appear to have no interest in reigning in the corsairs, neither the ones under their control nor the ones in Sale (Morocco). Though the Ottoman empire is at its greatest extent ever, it has hostile borders with both the Austrian Hapsburgs and the Safavid Persians. Despite desiring complete control over the Black Sea, it is content for now with supporting the Crimean Tartars against the Russians.
The Ottoman emperor's desire to be (and claim to be) the rulers of a restored caliphate, but both the safavid persian and mughal indian empires desire the same. For now the three empires effectivelly (and often hostily) mutually block each other from that goal. Will one of the three ally with the islamic mongol tribes against the other's?
Various Hindu kingdom's in southern India are resisting the Mughal's for now, and many are looking for external support.
In Western Africa, the collapse of the Songhay empire by the forces from Morocco has left the region in disarray. Will the Ashante, Futa, Hausa, or someother tribe forge a new empire in the area? The slave trade to the new world may just be the tool to finance such empire building. While a moroccan invasion force still holds Timbuctu, civil war back home will likely result in the recall of that force.
It remains to be seen in eastern africa wether the expanding ottoman's and Portuguese will clash will each other or with the Ethiopian empire, or if Ethiopian's will ally with one of the sides.
In Eastern Asia Japan has finally been reunified under the Tokugawa shogunate. Meanwhile the Chinese Ming dynasty has apparently not learned the lesson's of history. Like their predecessor's, they turned inward and isolationist, and now Emperor Wanli find's his empire crumbling under the advancing Manchu's.
The new Romanov Tsar's would prefer to focus on their expansion into Siberia, and on consolidating their control amongst the nomadic reindeer herder's of the area, but are faced with a very hostile European front. The Commonwealth [of Poland and Lithuania] still occupies Ukraine, and the Swedes still hold Novogorod, and while a cease-fire is in effect with both, it is not expected to last. Meanwhile the Romanov's are sewing a complex set of treaties and alliances with various friendly Tartar, Cossack, Circassian, Mongol, and other steppe peoples against hostile Tartar, Cossack, Mongol, and various other steppe peoples, not to mention the Ottoman's.
In all it is a time of great men (and women!), bloody neverending wars, religious discord, new inventions and ideals, devastating plagues, and great new opportunities. Won't you step into this era and see if you can change the course of history for a continent, and perhaps the world? Or lead the Counter-Reformation in Europe (or oppose it and spread the Protestant ideals?). Or maybe just lead great armies and forge a vast empire, wether it be for a religious zeal (ie restore the caliphate) or for power and wealth.