Quote Originally Posted by KariTheFox View Post
Condemning Garlemald's wars of aggression and expansion does not mean you have to support the expansionist policies of other nations in the setting, you could in fact - condemn all of them.

Nothing about thier situation necessitated turning into an imperialist state because we already know they existed as a peaceful republic for generations.
Every nation state is going to want resources and territory. I do not blame them for pursuing these things in order to better the quality of life for their people. I'm not going to condemn any of them when it comes to this issue of survival. There's nothing to gain from self-inflicted "virtuous suffering" from tolerating another state taking away the things you need to live a functional life.

The Garlean Republic from as far as I can tell wasn't effective in safeguarding its own people and all that "peace" got them pushed all the way into an inhospitable artic wasteland. That signifies a massive failure of leadership and military competence. Being led by a council of weak senators for so long got them nowhere. Being led by someone who was as intelligent and calculating as Emet-Selch enabled them to make great advancements and superseded many other nations to the point where they were centuries ahead of everyone else.