Aguacenta
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SOUND: A tone plays signaling the start of the daily broadcast. Followed by static and the deep male voice.ANCHOR: Bienvenidos. Welcome to tonight's broadcast. You are listening to AG 756 AM, La Voz de la Nación. This is Hector Bolívar reporting.
SOUND: Theme music plays.
BOLIVAR: After a National Assembly vote to declare May 22nd, the day of the flood, a national day of remembrance and federal holiday for the coming year, First Minister Cabrera addressed a rare joint legislative session today. The event was televised and broadcast nationwide. In his speech, he applauded first responders, clean-up crews, and citizens for their diligent work in restoring the southern coast of the Republic to working order. However, he also acknowledged that there is still much to be done in rebuilding the nations major metropolitan centers and ports. He stated that the the Home Office, in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Works, and the Ministry of Economy have already begun to implement long-term reconstruction plans.
BOLIVAR: According to official numbers, 95 percent of displaced persons have now returned to their homes or found new permanent residences. Power, water, and other utilities have been restored to all but the most remote areas of the southern coast. National Guard troops are now being demobilized, however elements of the Aguacentian regular land forces, including army engineers and medical personnel, remain in place in certain parts of the country to help assist with long-term rebuilding and recovery efforts.
BOLIVAR: The First Minister announced that he will ask the National Assembly to sell assets and disperse funds from the nation's sovereign wealth fund in order to bolster the depleted emergency management and disaster relief funds in order to insure that aid continues to flow to the worst affected areas of the country.
BOLIVAR: First Minister Cabrera also announced that he has officially directed the Minister of Justice, Albert Acosta, to begin a formal inquiry into events that occurred in the aftermath of the recent earthquake and tsunami, including allegations of misappropriation of funds, price gouging, and possible wrong-doing on the part of several engineering firms responsible for the initial construction of several port facilities and coastal levees.
BOLIVAR: First Minister Cabrera also took time to point time to spot-light acts of heroism and humanitarianism performed by citizens, civilians, and military personnel in the aftermath of the tsunami. The First Minister announced several recipients of national honors. Notable among these, was the awarding the Aguacentian Medal of Charity to French troops and support personnel who contributed to disaster relief effort within the Republic.
BOLIVAR: In response, Jorge Antonio Baston-Santiago de Cadiz, current Bellator Magnus of Ciudad and official figurehead of the Brotherhood of the Guiding Star, the nation's oldest and most distinguished military co-fraternity, announced that the Grand Council of the Rising Star would officially extended an invitation to join the Brotherhood to Captain Toma and the crew of the French Frigate Titan, as well as other French military personnel who aided in relief efforts
BOLIVAR: You have been listening to broadcast frequency AG 756 AM, La Voz de la Nación an Aguacentian Far East Radio Network station. This concludes today's headline edition. I wish you all a good night. This is Hector Bolivar signing off. Buenas Noches.
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2 hours ago, Spectral said:
As far as I recall, time passes the same way it does in the primary game. That was the official rule in NatRP when I asked long ago, and it's the rule I've stuck with. 1 ooc day = 12 ic days. 1 ooc month is 1 ic year. So on and so forth.
This seems pretty reasonable to me. It also works out nicely that one calendar week is about 3 months. Using that calendar, OrgRP should currently be around 2033-2034 (?). I think that works pretty well on a macro-level, but it does mean if you have person-level RP (e.g. interactions with other diplomats, stories about local characers of any length) it might have to be fudged a bit so it can fit into the standard time-line.
I will definitely have to update some things in my backstory to bring it in line with the current calendar if that's what we're going with.
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Revenue and Expenditures of the Republic
The Budget of the Republic of Aguacenta is the annual budget set by set by the Treasury of the Republic of Aguacenta for the financial year with the revenues to be gathered by Aguacentian Revenue and Customs Service and the expenditures of the public sector, in compliance with government policy. Budgets are usually set once every year and are announced in the in the National Assembly by the Minister of Finance.
Budget Process
The official start of the financial year of Aguacenta coincides with the calendar year, it begins 1 January and ends 31 December. Historically, the budget is introduced in the November prior to the financial year, the budget is discussed and modified, and legislative action typically begins in the second week of of December. In the event of a budget is not agreed to before the beginning of the financial year, the National Assembly will pass a instrument of financial continuation, which allows the government to continue to operate for a defined period of time.
Government departments submit their funding requests, called a Financial Needs Requirement, to the Treasury in the June before the start of the financial year. The Treasury then aggregates each department's budget request into a single document called the Master Financial Needs Requirement for approval of each of the National Assembly. The current budget of the Republic is approximately 52.2 billion USD. The biggest budget expenditures are social protections, education, and internal economic programs.
Taxation and Public RevenueTaxation is carried out by the Aguacentian Revenue and Customs Service (ARCS), a department of the Ministry of Finance. ARCS is responsible for collecting the four main national taxes; the National Income Tax, the National Healthcare Tax, the National Pension Fund Tax, and the National Corporate Dividend Tax. The most recent year resulted in 52.2 billion USD in total revenue. The largest portion of tax revenue is collected as income taxes.
Income Taxes
Aguacenta has a progressive income tax. Under the current National Income Tax Plan, there are five tax bands, these are set at to correspond roughly to the each quintile of income earners. The current tax rates for each bracket from the lowest income bracket to the highest income bracket are 0%, 1%, 20%, 45%, and 65%. Income taxes account for 84.4% of all tax revenue.
Program Specific Taxes
ARCS collects two program specific taxes to cover expenses related to healthcare and social security. These are both flat taxes. The current National Healthcare Tax is set at 1.25% and the current National Pension Fund Tax is set at 2.5%. Combined Health and Pension taxes account for 10.9% of total tax revenue.
Corporate Tax
ARCS collects a National Corporate Dividend Tax on all corporations incorporated in Aguacenta and corporations doing business within Aguacenta. Currently, corporate taxes are implemented as a single flat tax on all corporate profits. The current National Corporate Tax is set at 20%. Corporate Taxes account for approximately 4.6% of total tax revenue.
External Taxes
In addition to the taxes income, program, and corporate taxes. ARCS is responsible for collecting two taxes for external parties: Provincial Taxes, which are used to fund Provincial governments; and National Religious Contribution Tax, often referred to as the "Church Tax", which is used to support the Aguacentian Church.
Provincial taxes are marginally progressive. The current Provincial Tax has five brackets based on income. From lowest income bracket to highest income bracket these are 1.00%, 1.10%, 1.15%, 1.20%, and 1.25%. Provincial Taxes are used by each Province to fund local programs not directly funded by the National Treasury.
Church taxes are currently implemented as a flat tax. All Aguacentians are required to pay 1.5 % of their total income to help support the Aguacentian Church and state religious programs. Exemptions are available for individuals who are not members of the Church of Aguacenta and do not wish to pay the Tax, however in practice such exemptions are almost never granted.
Other Taxes
Other minor taxes and fees do exist in Aguacenta, however they do not contribute substantively to the national treasury and are often not tracked in official government documents. Other taxes, including sales taxes and property taxes are collected independently by localities or municipalities are not subject to monitoring by the central government.
Expenditures
The most recent Budget of the Republic of Aguacenta allocated approximately 52.2 billion USD in total spending. The largest spending segments were social programs, education, and investments in industrial and agricultural supports. Social protections represent the single largest portion of Aguacenta's national budget and account for approximately 30 percent of all government spending. The second biggest spending segment was education at 14.3 percent. Aguacenta devotes about 12 percent of its total public expenditures to industry, agriculture, and employment. This includes industry subsidies, development grants, job training, and employment programs among other things.
Aguacenta maintains various healthcare programs including a largely subsidized national healthcare system. While service fees and co-pays are required for some health services, the majority of the funding comes from the Treasury. In the most recent budget, 9.4 percent of total spending was allocated to healthcare and health related programs. Aguacenta spends modestly on defense. Current spending on defense is estimated at 1.6 percent of GDP, which represents 4.4 percent of total expenditures.
Aguacenta allocates a substantive portion of its budget to foreign investment, development, and humanitarian causes. In total, these expenditures represented 2.5 percent of total expenditures.
By law, all surplus funds a given financial year that are not specifically allocated to a program or need are required to be held in trust by Aguacenta's sovereign wealth fund, the Organization for Aguacentian Sovereign Investments and Stimulus (OASIS), which invests funds in foreign markets, resources, and commodities. Certain profits from state owned companies and resource exploitation are also currently held by OASIS. Strict legal rules exist that govern the use of funds from the sovereign wealth fund. The current market value of funds managed by OASIS is 17.39 billion USD.
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Life After the Flood
Julia started off excited about the flood. At first, everything about it seemed like one big adventure. They took a ride on the bus into the countryside to one of the displaced persons camps. There were kids her age to play with, they camped out every night in a big tent, and she didn't have to go to school. As far as Julia was concerned, the flood was the best thing she had ever experienced. However, eventually the novelty wore off and reality set in. Soldiers told her mother that the water had receded. They told her that it would be a good idea to stay in the camp for another week or two, but her mother was insistent they went home.
When they got home, her mother took everything out of the house and piled it on the lawn. Her uncles came and took all the drywall out of the house and threw it in the pile. A couple days after they got home, the power came back on in their town. She had almost forgot what it was like to have power. However, they still didn't have drinkable water. Julia thought it was strange, when she turned on the tap the water looked clear, but her mother told her not to drink it. Every third day since they came home they had to go to the central square to get clean water. Today was one of those days.
Her uncle had given them two big blue square cans to bring back the water. On the first day they went to get water, her mother didn't realize how heavy the containers would be once they were filled. They had started to drag the containers home, but before they could get out of the square two men from the Council's Guard saw them and carried the containers to thier house for them. Her mother was so glad to have the help, until the guardsmen asked for payment. Today, her mother had remembered to bring a wheel-barrow to move the containers once they were full.
They had been waiting in line for water since before the sun came up. It was now almost 4 PM and they were finally nearing the front of the queue. One of the boys from her neighborhood told her that there was a French soldier helping to distribute water in the square. Julia was nervous, her cousins had told her that Europeans had two heads and had giant claws. She wasn't sure if they were being truthful, but it she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.
They finally got to the front of the line. A soldier filled their containers from a large water truck. Her mother started to push the wheel-barrow, but struggled with its weight. That's when she heard a voice from behind them. "Senora. Senora, do you need help?" Her mother stopped for a moment, she was reluctant to let one of the soldiers help after what happened last time, but she wasn't really in a situation where she could argue. The soldier spent the walk back to their house chatting with her mother. There was something funny about the way he talked, but Julia couldn't figure out what it was. Finally, they got home and the soldier asked her mother if she wanted him to carry the water cans up the stairs to the house. He carried them with ease and then began to set off back toward the square.
As the soldier began to walk away, her mother shouted something Julia didn't understand down the street at him. He turned around, smiled, and waved good-bye. Julia looked at her mother and asked what she had said to the soldier. Her mother told her it meant "Thank you, sir" in French. Julia's eyes got as big as saucers. She had met a European and she didn't even realize it.
Teo walked across the plaza to the Parliament Building. Thanks to the back-up generators, it was one of the few buildings in the city with working electricity. Its bright lights contrasted the unusually dark backdrop of the capital. He walked through the security check-point in the lobby and headed toward his office. It was 03:30, but the building was already full of people. As he walked down the corridor he had to avoid interns and staffers sleeping on the floor. It seemed like every couch, every chair, and every bench had someone sleeping on it. Hundreds of people had stayed on during the night to ensure relief programs were in-place and running. He suddenly felt bad for returning home for a few hours to check on his family and sleep in his own bed.
Finally he reached his office, plastered to his bulletin board were notes from his secretary. Each one an agency head or organization he need to place a return call to. The scale of the disaster was overwhelming. Destruction of this magnitude was unprecendented in this the history of the region and no one had expected it. The Home Office's disaster relief fund had been depleted in the first week after the tsunami.
Thankfully, the National Assembly quickly voted to disperse more funds. Even with with the added money and foreign support the numbers just didn't add up. The First Minister had made promises of a swift rebuild, but Teo knew it was all rhetoric. It would take years if not decades to completely recover, the best they could hope for in the short term was a return to relative normalcy. It wasn't pretty, but they were slowly attaining that goal. Clean-up was underway, electricity and water were being restored, and people were returning to their homes.
The political aftermath was less certain. Internal reports showed that both local authorities and humanitarian organizations were misappropriating funds. Instances of both abuse and incompetence by National Guard units were widespread. Businesses were profiteering and price gouging. Citizens were looting stores and robbing their neighbors. The one bright spot, was the military's disaster relief force. It had been dispatched quickly and in areas where it was operating things were generally good.
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I like the first idea. If it comes to be, I'd be happy to man the 'NPC' type nations, although I'm not sure I'd move from OrgRP simple due to the amount of time sunk and my inability to effectively multi-task.
I don't mind the second idea, whether it would be for the suggested new RP or as a change to one of the existing RPs.
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Military Rank System of the Republic
The military ranks of the Aguacentian Defense Force is derived from the Spanish military rank system. The Land Forces of the Republic and the Air Forces of the Republic use an identical rank system, while the Armada of the Republic uses its own system.
Army & Air Corps Ranks
The enlisted scale for the Army and Air Corps contain eleven ranks. They range from Soldado, the lowest enlisted rank, to Senior Sub-Lieutenant, the highest enlisted rank. The officer scale for the Army and the Air Corps contains ten standard officer ranks. The lowest officer rank is Alferez. The highest standard officer rank is Capitan General, it is equivalent to a five-star general in other armies. Typically the rank of Capitan General is reserved for the Army Chief of Staff and Air Corps Chief of Staff. The officer scale also contains a developmental officer position, Cadete, which is reserved for officers in training.
Naval Ranks
The enlisted scale for the Armada contains nine ranks. They range from Marinero, the lowest enlisted ran, to sub-lieutenant, the highest enlisted rank. The officer scale for the Armada contains eleven standard ranks. These range from Second Lieutenant, the lowest naval officer rank, to Capitan General. Capitan General of the Armada is equivalent to a five-star admiral in other navies. Typically the rank of Capitan General of the Armada is reserved for the Navy Chief of Staff. The officer scale also contains a developmental officer position, Guadiamarina, which is reserved for officers in training.
Special Ranks
In addition to the standard officer ranks, both rank systems include the rank of Cuadillo. Cuadillo is a non-standard military rank that comes with added political, economic, and social powers. During times of war the legislature will appoint a Cuadillo to oversee and coordinate all military activity, and direct economic planning to help meet the needs of the armed forces.
Council Guard Ranks
The Council Guard maintains their own rank system, which contains five standard ranks. Defender, the lowest ranked member of the Council Guard is equivalent to Soldier or Marinero. Rompedor de Lanzas, is the second lowest rank in the Council Guard. The name is derived from the Italian lanzia spezzata, which means "broken spear", the term is used for seasoned Defenders, who are usually responsible for leading units of 5-10 men. This rank is analogous to Lance Corporal in other militaries and Cabo in the other branches of service of the Aguacentian Defense Force. The next rank in the Council Guard is Chief of the Guard, this rank is equivalent to a senior NCO in most other militaries. The Council Guard has one officer rank, the Captain of the Guard, which is equivalent to a Colonel in most other forces. The highest Council Guard rank is Protector of the Republic, which is analogous to a general officer in most other forces. The rank of Protector is reserved for only most senior personnel within the Council Guard. Typically fewer than ten officers with the title Protector exist at any one time.
Ranks and Insignia of the Aguacentian Defense Forces - Larger Version
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We could have an independent group of players not involved in the war and wouldn't be biased to determine the outcomes, except that wouldn't really work if their is a global war where every player is at war.
We could do a point system
Aggressive points and defensive points
That's definitely a workable solution. An alternative one might be a DnD or Risk style system, it could be done using a pre-set RNG over discord, so that takes out the work of having any given player determining the outcome. It's definitely worth its own discussion and broad input. If something winds up getting sussed out, we should also consider implementing the same system in OrgRP, regardless of what form it takes.
QuoteThere shouldn't be a system of Victor or Loser. Someone that has lost the will and has been pushed will either accept peace and the demands and work on them or if declined all of the nation will be rolled. Simple
So, your solution is to essentially berate a player until they stop wanting to play anymore? That hardly seems like a good idea, both mechanically and for the community.
In this case, there's really no "rolled". Even without a consent rule RPing a conflict requires a certain degree of cooperation. Otherwise, you're going to repeatedily get this scenario:
Smalltopia: Invades Bigtopia
Smalltopia: Army takes the capital.
Bigtopia: No it didn't. We defended the capital successfully.
Smalltopia: Army slaughters all resistance
Bigtopia: No it didn't. All YOUR troops were lost.
Repeat ad naseum.
1 hour ago, Mogar said:1. Most people are uninterested in any sort of in depth RP
2. This is certainly not the first person to RP a retarded nation, get blockaded by the entire planet, and then proceed to completely ignore the fact everyone wants to attack them, nor is trading with them, and RPs a fully functional and super awesome society where nothing bad ever happens. Eva has done this repeatedly in NatRP. There is no "political conundrum" as much as there are people unwilling to RP the consequences of not having any sort of foreign trade in a modern society. North Korea is not exactly a place anyone who currently lives in the west would be leaping at a chance to move to.
3. The United States, as well as several other countries have fought many wars over fictional attacks, it's rather silly to pretend that political willpower for genocide is not a justification that has been used in war, Iraq 1 and the Balkans conflict in the 90s come to mind as examples of global willpower allowing the pariah state to get rolled. This is also working under the assumption that nations being RP'd are exactly the same as IRL versions, and in most cases that is not accurate. Character and plot development is fine, but extreme actions receive extreme reactions, that's just the reality of RPs.
4. If the US embargoed China in 1996, NK would not have nukes right now, Pariah states primarily exist due not to lack of political will, but rather lack of economic will, and this world is not anything like reality when it comes to economics.
5. Considering I'm a continuation of pre map reset, my primary export is weapons, whether arriving in a crate, or raining from the sky.
6. No Opinion
7. There is very few new RPers who actually end up getting attacked, primarily it is due to extremism.
8. Developing their RP is fine, but again negative actions tend to have consequences, and that's the core issue of this topic.
9. By resetting the map we did the same exact thing.
10. Migration happened due to two specific players using the consent rule to not have to worry about any negative actions against them while also explicitly RPing provocations at every turn, where the majority of the playerbase is coherent enough to grasp what was occurring.
11. I'd have no issues with discussing this idea.
12. There is plenty of OOC differences, and both sides of that have done nothing but provoke the other for several months, don't pretend there's anyone without blood on their hands there. Regardless of the allotment of guilt, this RP community has spent the past year and a half or so slowly working towards a more actionable community. The issue is just a few players don't wish to play in a collaborative sandbox, rather we all have our own separate ones without any interactions between them, and that's not how a beach tends to work.
1. That's kind of my point. Removing the consent rule wont change that, as suggested by others.
2. Consequences should be had, it's really not one or two people at this point and spans both RP's. Removing the consent rule doesn't resolve the underlying problem. Without a reasonable replacement we're only likely to see more drama.
3. Eh, I'm not going to get into an argument with you over the merit of specific stated reasons for conflicts, since here is not the place. The point still stands, there have been way more ethnic conflicts and genocides that have been ignored than there are ones where others got involved. Most involvement occurs long after fighting starts to die down rather than prior to the event. NATO action in the Balkans is the exception, not the rule.
4. Lack of economic will is lack of political will. Differences aside, maybe it should be. If it shouldn't be, your point made in response to 3 is moot.
7. Maybe so, but it's useful to have reassurances for prospective players. I'll give you that it's hard to know whether or not they even care about such things, since they don't tend to comment.
8. I agree. How often is armed conflict an actual solution to an actual problem? Not often. You can make the argument, that the existing RP world is different, but I don't think having the ability to "roll" a nation is actually going to have the effect you think it will, especially without cooperation or some form adjudication there's really no consequence if you choose to ignore the fact that you are being attacked. Which is the same problem that exists with actions short of armed conflict.
9. Perhaps that wasn't a good idea, but what's done is done at this point.
10. OrgRP isn't immune to such things, even without the consent rule. The solution is to encourage good RP and fair-play. I don't see how removing the consent rule does either, given that most people here seem to prefer to RP military actions as a list of equipment followed by an outcome. Especially especially given that without some form of impartial adjudication all that is going to happen is people are going to get more heated.
11. Let's do it then.
12. Just because everyone deserves a certain degree of blame doesn't mean we shouldn't encourage everyone to be less shitty to each other.
I got lost tracking the numbered list about half-way through, so it's entirely possible that certain ones don't correspond to their original thoughts.
I think my general thought process can be dumbed down to:
- Realistic RP is a good thing. This includes consequences and negative outcomes. This includes actions short of war.
- Since "wars" or any type of economic/social conflict actually require two combating parties to cooperate even without a consent rule, it wont actually cause consequences or negative outcomes unless there's some sort of adjudication system or one/both parties are interested in such things. Removing the consent rule without having a supplemental war system in place is bound to cause problems.
- Really the only way to have realistic RP with balance is to have players actually want to do that. We should encourage that.
- Creativity is good for the RP, we should encourage that too.
- I like lists with five points better than I like lists with four points.
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As an outside observer to NatRP, but participant in the broader RP community here are a few thoughts on what's been said so far and the consent rule as a whole.
1. The "if we get rid of consent, people will have to develop their IC more" hypothesis being tossed around is pretty fallacious. If this were true, we'd see mass depth development in OrgRP where there isn't a consent rule. We don't, because persona development is largely a result of players wanting to do it, and nothing else. If anything, war is a political short-cut to solving problems without any real interaction or plot development. Don't like a nations internal political actions? No need to try anything else, just immediately threaten armed conflict.
2. If anything, the consent rule has actually forced the community in NatRP to deal with policies they don't like in a more creative and realistic manner. Without the ability to "go to war", the community is now faced with the problem of dealing with hostile states and policies they don't like with actions that don't involve armed conflict. From the outside, the political conundrum the consent rule has created for the NatRP community IC is a lot more interesting than anything else I've seen in the PnW RP community since I started here.
3a.Not having the ability to go to war at all is a lot more realistic than being able to go to war at the drop of the hat. In practicality, most nations shouldn't have the economic or political ability to go to war regularly due to domestic and international constraints -- particularly for humanitarian and moral causes -- which is what sparked this suggestion in the first place. Don't believe me? All you need to do is compare the number of times political and social atrocities have occurred in the last 100 years (it's more than a trivial amount) to the number of major interstate wars have been fought IRL over cultural differences or ethnic cleansing in the last 100 years or so (you probably only need one hand to count them all).
3b. Ultimately the PnW RP's are not "war RP's" and shouldn't be treated as such. If anything, we should strive to de-emphasize war and emphasize character and plot development.
4. Pariah states are a thing IRL and exist largely because the international community is helpless to do anything about them. The nation that has spurred this suggestion is pretty effectively RPing a pariah state similar to North Korea. Their RP is consistent and it's caused plot development, I'm not sure why you would want to stop it.
5. Even if the consent rule was removed, and the nations that would like to "go to war" due the incidents that have sparked this suggestion, most of them have no IC reason to actually do so. The vast majority don't have established super-strong religious beliefs or histories of humanitarianism that would spur such an action.
6. The "war doesn't matter anyway to your 'in-game' nation, so therefore it should be allowed without consent in RP" hypothesis being tossed around is also silly. If that's your preferred line of logic, why bother with RP at all since it has no affect on your in-game nation.
7. The consent rule allows new RPers to get into the RP without fear of outside threat and without having to worry about RPing something as complex as a major war when they first start out.
8. The consent rule is present to insure people can develop their RP without outside interference and to prevent groups of nations from brigading a single nation they don't like. Currently, it's doing a pretty effective job.
9. By eliminating the consent rule, you've effectively created to parallel versions of OrgRP. In which case there's no real reason to have both.
10. The "the consent rule is killing the RP" hypothesis is also silly. There are lots of RP communities that have similar rules and have super in-depth and lively RPs. If anything, it's lack of creativity and a migration to OrgRP that caused the decline of NatRP.
11. To co-opt Monika's idea, if you're not going to have consent, what mechanism are you going to use to determine victors and losers, especially when one or both parties have no interest in a negative outcome. As an aside, this is something we should consider discussing as a community for OrgRP as well, since it's bound to come up eventually.
12. Let's call a spade and spade. I fear that ultimately this suggestion is brought about by OOC differences rather than genuine concerns about NatRP.
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Honors System of the Republic
The Aguacentian honors system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the Republic of Aguacenta. Honors are bestowed on both military members and civilians to recognize personal accomplishments and contributions to the Republic. The honors system consists of eighteen major honors and numerous lesser honors. Honors can be awarded to both individuals and groups. Major honors currently fall into five categories: High Honors of the Republic, Orders of the Republic, Decorations of the Republic, Service Medals, and Co-fraternities.


High Honors- Hero of the Republic. Hero of the Republic (1) is the Republic of Aguacenta's highest honor. It is awarded to those who commit heroic actions or deeds that go above and beyond the call of duty in the service of the Republic and its people. It is awarded by the First Minister of the Republic and can be awarded to both civilians and servicemen. The award consists of a light blue ribbon with white stripe and a hand-crafted gold rendition of the the North Star. In the middle of the star is mounted a round cabochon sapphire. Individuals awarded the title of Hero of the Republic also receive a life-long housing stipend, living stipend, pension with survivor benefits, tax-exempt status, free transportation on all public transit systems, medical benefits, and an entertainment subsidy.
- Star of the Republic. The Star of the Republic (2) is the Republic of Aguacenta's second highest honor. It is awarded to individuals for exceptional actions, deeds, or achievements that serve the economic or cultural interest of the Republic. It is awarded by the First Minister of the Republic and can be awarded to both civilians and servicemen. The award consists of a white ribbon with light blue stripe and a hand-crafted silver rendition of the the North Star. In the middle of the star is mounted a round cabochon emerald.
Orders
- Order of the Patriarch. The Order of the Patriarch (3) is conferred upon those who have rendered distinguished service in promoting the Aguacentian Catholic faith, or who have contributed to the glory of the Church, either by feat of arms, by writings, or by other illustrious acts. It is awarded by the National Council in consultation with the Patriarch of Cadiz. The award consists of a ribbon and medallion. The ribbon is light blue with white center stripe. The medallion consists of a gold cross with a blue and white roundel in the center. The cross is mounted on a laurel wreath and gold ring bisected by crossed swords.
- Order of the Merit. The Order of the Merit (4) is conferred upon those who have made significant contributions to the national security or defense of the Republic. The award consists of a ribbon and a medallion. The ribbon is light blue. The medallion is in the shape of the Aguacentian Eagle adorned with a light blue shield with a white fimbriation.
- Order of the Republic. The Order of the Republic (5) is conferred upon those who have made significant contributions to science, art, literature, or for the promotion of Aguacentian culture. The award consists of a ribbon and a medallion. The ribbon is white with a light blue stripe. The medallion is a gold five-pointed star with polished dark-blue Azurite face affixed in a gold ring.
Decorations
Decorations are awarded to those who demonstrate one of the seven heavenly virtues of the Aguacentian Church. While these virtues are theological in origin, in modern Aguacenta they have also come to represent different aspects of the model citizen. All of the major decorations are civic medals and are awarded by the First Minister's Office.
- Medal of Chastity. The Medal of Chastity (6) is awarded for acts of self-control, discipline, or morality that contribute to the benefit of the People of the Republic. The award consists of a light-grey and white ribbon and a light-grey and white lacquered square plate mounted on a gold frame.
- Medal of Temperance. The Medal of Temperance (7) is awarded for acts of prudence or wisdom that contribute to the benefit of the People of the Republic. The award consists of a purple and white ribbon and a purple and white lacquered square plate mounted on a gold frame.
- Medal of Charity. The Medal of Charity (8) is awarded for acts of altruism or generosity that contribute to the benefit of the People of the Republic. The award consists of a green and white ribbon and a green and white lacquered square plate mounted on a gold frame.
- Medal of Diligence. The Medal of Diligence (9) is awarded for acts of persistence, effort, or work ethic that contribute to the benefit of the People of the Republic. The award consists of a yellow and white ribbon and a yellow and white lacquered square plate mounted on a gold frame.
- Medal of Patience. The Medal of Patience (10) is awarded for acts of endurance, forgiveness, or mercy that contribute to the benefit of the People of the Republic. The award consists of a blue and white ribbon and a blue and white lacquered square plate mounted on a gold frame.
- Medal of Kindness. The Medal of Kindness (11) is awarded for acts of compassion that alleviate emotional or mental suffering and contribute to the benefit of the People of the Republic. The award consists of a orange and white ribbon and a orange and white lacquered square plate mounted on a gold frame.
- Medal of Humility. The Medal of Humility (12) is awarded for acts of bravery, modesty, or reverence that contribute to the benefit of the People of the Republic. The award consists of a brown and white ribbon and a brown and white lacquered square plate mounted on a gold frame.
Service Medals
- Gold Service Cross. The Gold Service Cross (13) is awarded for an act or acts of extraordinary heroism or gallantry in combat not justifying the awarding of the title of Hero of the Republic. The award consists of a medallion attached to a hexagonal ribbon. The ribbon is light blue and yellow. The medallion consists of a flat gold cross mounted on a gold ring.
- Silver Service Cross. The Silver Service Cross (14) is awarded for an act or acts of heroism or gallantry in the field. The award consists of a medallion attached to a hexagonal ribbon. The ribbon is light blue and white. The medallion consists of a flat silver cross mounted on a silver ring.
- Naval Star. The Naval Star (15) is awarded to to individuals who distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to Armada of the Republic. The award consists of a medallion attached to a hexagonal ribbon. The ribbon is blue with two yellow pin-stripes. The medallion is a silver four-pointed star with a lacquered blue square.
- Air Corps Star. The Air Corps Star (16) is awarded to to individuals who distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to Air Corps of the Republic. The award consists of a medallion attached to a hexagonal ribbon. The ribbon has alternating blue, grey, and white stripes. The medallion is a silver four-pointed star with a lacquered grey square.
- Land Forces Star. The Land Forces Star (17) is awarded to to individuals who distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to Land Forces of the Republic. The award consists of a medallion attached to a hexagonal ribbon. The ribbon has alternating green, light-green, and white stripes. The medallion is a silver four-pointed star with a lacquered green square.
Co-Fraternities
- Brotherhood of the Guiding Star. The Brotherhood of the Guiding Star (18) is a military co-fraternity modeled roughly after medieval chivalric orders. The Brotherhood is official military order of the Republic, but is independently managed by its own internal bylaws. Soldiers, sailors, and airmen are invited by existing members to join the brotherhood. New members are invited when they demonstrate actions of valor that benefit or glorify the Republic. Collectively all members of the brotherhood are referred to by the title of Bellator. Membership is tiered into four ranks, and various sub-ranks based on service and involvement in the brotherhood. The highest level of membership, reserved for those in national leadership roles, is Bellator Magnus; the second highest level of membership, reserved for those in regional leadership roles, is Bellator Exemplar; the third level of membership, reserved for regular members, is Bellator Verum; and the lowest level of membership, reserved for new members of the brotherhood, is Bellator Novicus. The award is a large lozenge-shaped bronze radiant star with a polished ovaloid center-piece. The center-piece is etched with an Aguacentian landscape that features the North Star, a mountain range, a field, and a river. Traditionally, the insignia of the Brotherhood can be worn alone, around the neck of a collar ribbon, on a sash, or with backing ribbons. Rank within the Brotherhood are denoted by stars etched along the bottom of the oval-center, with three stars etched on the medals of the Knights Magnus and no stars etched on Knights Novicus.
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An International Radio Broadcast, of a speech given by First Minister Emiliano Cabrera. Given this evening on the steps of the National Parliament Building.
Today I stand before you, the leader of a beleaguered people.
Many of us have lost loved-ones and friends in the recent tragedy that befell our nation. We, as a people, have witnessed many of the villages, towns, and cities of the south coast being devastated by earthquakes and the force of the sea. We have witnessed destruction, we have witnessed tragedy, we have witnessed disorder, and we have witnessed opportunism. However, we have also witnessed the best that humanity has to offer. Neighbors comforting each other, communities sheltering strangers, and an outpouring of support, not only from within the Republic, but from abroad.
While it is easy to dwell on the cruelty and inhumanity we have see, I encourage you instead to revel in the selfless compassion of those who have sought to ease the suffering of others. I encourage you, not to look toward the past, but toward the future. The road ahead of us is uncertain. It contains many hardships and potential hazards. But, no matter how difficult the road gets, we as Aguacentians will walk it together. We will revel together in our triumphs and reassure each other in our hardships. We will leave no-one behind.
Tonight, many of you are are listening to these words in places far from your homes. Forced to abandon your homelands. Force to reside in shelters, relief camps, in churches, and in the homes of strangers. Tonight, many of you will be wondering if you will be able to return to them. While I would like to able to say that a time-table is in place, and that you will soon be able to return to your homelands, unfortunately I can not.
But, as leader of this Republic, tonight, I make each and everyone of you this solemn promise. We will rebuild. We will not stop at the halls of Parliament behind me. We will rebuild all that was lost. We will emerge from this tragedy stronger and more united than ever. We will not stop until those who have been displaced have returned to their homes. We will not stop until those who have lost are made whole again. Today the vanguard of Republic marches in lock-step. Together we can insure that humanity and compassion are one again triumphant over their foes.
All departments of this government are currently working with vigor and haste to allow for a return to normalcy. The National Assembly has authorized the use of every resource at our disposal to aid in relief efforts. The armed forces of the Republic, along with the National Guard, Gendarme, civilian agencies and relief groups are currently working under a single umbrella with common purpose. The National Assembly has begun to take actions to spur rebuilding efforts and mitigate further damage to infrastructure and the economy. In short order, funds will begin to flow from government coffers into the hands of relief organizations, citizens, and industry. Help is on its way.
It is on its way, not only from your government and from your fellow citizens, but from citizens of the world, who have put aside past grievances and opened their hearts to us in our time of need. Fellow Aguacentians, hear this, you cries have been heard. Our strategic partners in the Nation of Rokkenjima and the our newest compatriots in the Republic of France have heard your pleas and have extended their hands in friendship and good-faith to help. In the coming days and weeks, you may see many new faces in the streets of our cities. Fear not, for these are our brothers and sisters.
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VOICE: ATTENTION. ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is a Far East Radio Network civil defense news bulletin. Repeat. This is a Far East Radio Network civil defense news bulletin. Please stand by for a critical news update.
VOICE: The official death toll is now over 32,000. Another 15,000 have reported serious injuries. Numbers are expected to continue to rise as authorities gain access to previously unreachable areas. Hospitals along the southern seaboard are swamped, and military triage stations are over capacity. Approximately 550,000 people have been temporarily displaced. As many as 150,000 people are expected to displaced in the long-term.
VOICE: Displaced persons camps set up by the Home Office and Department of Defense have been overwhelmed. The government has begun relocating people to facilities in the northern cities of Siero, Callao, and Olivia which were unaffected by the disaster.
VOICE: A temporary communication network has been set-up using balloon mounted cellular antennas. Electricity has been restored in pockets along the southern sea-board. Current estimates suggest less than 25 percent of residential customers have had their power restored at this time. Representatives of the major power cooperatives suggest that it could be weeks before power is restored to the majority of customers, and caution that restoration of power in rural areas could take several months. Critical facilities, including hospitals, dispatch centers, and emergency coordination facilities remain on generator power, however supplies of diesel are currently limited.
VOICE: Access to potable water remains a problem in the southern cities. The Home Office has set up portable water reclamation facilities and distribution points in most urban areas, however lines remain long and rationing is currently in effect.
VOICE: Total damage is estimated to be in the 12 - 15 billion USD range. One expert characterized the damage to Aguacenta's fishing and shipping industries to be "the worst damage that has ever been incurred by an industrialized nation in modern history". Environmental damage is expected to be irreversible.
VOICE: The National Assembly has declared a state of emergency in the southern provinces. Military, National Guard, and Gendarme are currently working under direction of the Ministry of Defense and the Home Office. Military forces are currently exercising police powers to prevent looting and other criminal activity. At present, the majority of Military and Gendarme disaster relief personnel are in place. National Guard units remain slow to mobilize, and are expected to take at least another week before certain units are in place.
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I guess up until this point I have been making certain assumptions about the way the international system functions that may not be universally accepted. For the sake of a coherent RP, it'd be nice to get a general consensus on how the international system works and how nations interact in between times where governments are taking direct actions toward one another.
Here are some of the assumptions I've been making, and it would be nice to get input on them from the rest of the community:
- That nations have maintain diplomatic contingents in other countries unless specified otherwise in canon (e.g. travel bans, having them recalled/deported, periods of armed conflict, etc.). There are going to be variations in size and nature of these contingents based on national relationships.
- Trade, at least in some degree, occurs between all nations unless specified otherwise in canon (e.g. embargoes, periods of armed conflict, etc.). There are certainly going to be variations in specific trade partners and volume of trade.
- Currencies, where they exist, are in general circulation and are generally exchangeable at the proper exchange rate.
- People, more or less, have free movement between countries barring specific reasons in canon to the contrary (e.g. oppressive regimes, travel bans, etc.).
- Unclaimed territories are generally inhabited and may or may not have some form of marginal government that can be interacted with in reasonable ways. They may or may not have populations and economies similar to their real world counterparts.
- Seas are generally governed by norms that, more or less, resemble the real world.
- Skies are generally managed in a manner similar to the real world, with international cooperation to manage civil aviation.
There are probably some obvious things that I missed. It would also be awesome to come to some sort of mutual agreement on at least a vague idea of what the international system looks like.
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We find it curious that the Ottomans maintain such tight control over the movement of their citizens and the growth of their private enterprise.
OOC: The assumption that no business transactions or exist or have ever existed between two nations who up until this point have been on good terms just because there is no formal agreement in place is absurd. Unless your conjecture is that all citizens have to request permission to enter into business arrangements or travel to-and-from your country, which is also generally absurd. Even at the height of the cold war there was exchange between the US and USSR.
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VOICE: ATTENTION. ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is a Far East Radio Network civil defense news bulletin. Repeat. This is a Far East Radio Network civil defense news bulletin. Please stand by for a critical news update.
VOICE: Reports of the devastation continue to filter in from much of the southern sea-board.
VOICE: There are confirmed reports of extreme damage to the port facilities in the cities of Puerto Libre and Merida. Both ports are expected to see extremely reduced capabilities for several months while repairs are completed. Several vessels of the Southern Fleet, which was moored in the harbor at Peurto Libre, suffered damages. Among them was the Corvette ANS Minotaur which was partially beached by the force of the wave. Lesser damages to port facilities in Ciudad Neuvo, Alicante, and Punto Agido.
VOICE: Severe flooding in the Peurto Libre, Merida, and Ciudad Nuevo. This includes damages that resulted when several levies burst in Ciudad Neuvo and water poured into the city's historic district. Large portions of all three cities remain under-water and there have been reports of residents trapped in their homes. Flooding in in-land portions of country near rivers and wetlands have also been reported. Authorities recommend avoiding contact with flood waters as they may be contaminated, especially in Peurto Libre where we have unconfirmed reports that an underground storage cistern at a chemical plant may have leaked.
VOICE: Structural damage to buildings, the result of earthquake aftershocks, has been reported in many cities along the south coast. This includes damage to the National Parliament Building, whose east wing-had to be evacuated after engineers discovered damage to the building's foundation.
VOICE: Power and communications infrastructure remains out along most of the coastal sea-board, and restoration make take weeks or months depending on location. In areas where power infrastructure was partially working, authorities have disabled main feeds in order to prevent risks associated with life electrical conduits interacting with flood waters. Residents are advised to avoid downed electrical wires and power sub-stations.
VOICE: Aftershocks have resulted in municipal water lines being fractured in several metropolitan areas. Residents are advised not to drink water from wells or municipal sources until they can be evaluated for quality and safety. Boiling water may not result in all contaminants being removed.
VOICE: Looting has been reported in several cities. Local authorities have already made dozens of arrests related to vandalism and looting. Curfews and travel restrictions are now in effect for most of the southern coast.
VOICE: The Home Office and Defense Ministry along with other supporting ministries are currently coordinating disaster relief efforts. Temporary evacuation camps are currently being set up in in-land areas of the Vigo, Lograno, and Utrera provinces. Elements of the 1st Infantry Division, garrisoned at La Paz, and 2nd Armored Division, garrisoned in central Vigo, have been dispatched to take part in disaster relief and recovery operations.
VOICE: The First Minister has asked the National Assembly to activate several contingents of the National Guard that specialize in disaster and humanitarian relief efforts. The First Minister has also asked the National Assembly to authorize the Gendarme to be temporarily integrated into the United Land Forces Command, an action usually reserved for times of war. The National Council has authorized use of the Council Guard for humanitarian relief efforts.
VOICE: There are currently no official reports of the number of lives lost, but unofficial estimates speculate the number could be in the tens of thousands. Unofficial estimates of the total damage to property suggest damages could reach into the billions. Meanwhile, damages to Aguacenta's economy remain unknown at this time as the Economic Ministry has suspended trading on all Aguacentian exchanges.
VOICE: Members of the Foreign Office report a number of offers of foreign assistance. Coordinated efforts between the government of Aguacenta and several international partners are expected to begin in the coming days. The First Minister is expected to make his first public address since the disaster before the weeks end.
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From the Foreign Office of Aguacenta:
As a the Socialist Ottoman Empire no longer has a region partner, it is expected that their forces be withdrawn from the East Asian Region. As such, the Republic of Aguacenta is preparing to take the following actions should the forces of the Socialist Ottoman not be withdrawn from the region.
- All Ottoman nations currently within the territorial borders of the Republic will be deported to their home country at their own expense. All Ottoman citizens found within the borders of the Republic after 30 days from the deportation order will be detained for violation of Aguacentian immigration and customs laws.
- All Ottoman citizens will be barred from entering the borders of the Republic until Ottoman forces are withdrawn. All Ottoman citizens found to be entering the country illegally will be detained for violation of Aguacentian immigration and custom laws.
- All Ottoman public and private assets of Ottoman citizens currently within the Republic will be frozen until Ottoman forces are withdrawn. If forces are not withdrawn in 30 days from the initial ban, these assets will be expropriated by the state and used to fund various non-profit efforts supporting the proliferation of international law.
- All commercial ships flying an Ottoman flag will be barred from the use of Aguacentian ports, Aguacentian territorial waters, and specified exclusion zones. Vessels found within these waters 30 days from the initial ban will face the following consequences: Vessels and cargo will be impounded and auctioned. Proceeds will be donated to international anti-piracy organizations; Crews will be detained for violation of Aguacentian immigration and customs laws.
- All Ottoman goods will be barred from entering the Republic.
- All Aguacentian firms doing business within the Ottoman Empire or with Ottoman firms will face escalating fines, until such time that the firms desist in their interactions.
- All political officials from the Ottoman Empire currently within Republic will be deported to their home country. Aguacentian officials within the Ottoman Empire will be recalled.
- Any third party or unclaimed territories of the East Asian Region found to have accepted Ottoman flagged vessels will have their vessels denied access to Aguacentian ports and subjected to the same prohibitions and policies listed above.
- Any third party found to rendered military assistance to the Ottoman Empire shall be subjected to the same prohibitions and policies listed above.
Should their militarization effort result in a territorial claim in the East Asian Region, the Republic will deem this to be a needless provocation and blatant violation of the East Asian Treaty's prohibition against outside colonial claims and further action will be taken. As always, the Republic remains committed to peace and economic stability in the East Asian Region despite repeated and unnecssary provocations on the part of the Socialist Ottoman Empire.
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Little is known about the early history of the area, there are many stories of how the first settlers came to the region from the Iberian peninsula, but no evidence to support any of them. What we do know is that historical records in the Aguacentian Historical Archive show the first known permanent settlements of Spanish speaking peoples in the region were established in the 1590's. The mineral and biological resources of the area made the local settlements very wealthy. In 1671, the first colonial charters were officially granted by the Crown in order to allow taxation of the local settlements. This situation remained until the early 20th century, when increased demands placed on the colonies lead them to revolt.
In 1921, the southern colonies declared themselves in open rebellion against the crown. The war started poorly for the colonies. However, in 1922 the northern colonies joined the insurrection, and momentum had swung n the colonists favor. By the end of 1923, an armistice was signed and the colonies gained their independence. Between 1923 and 1935 the former colonies existed as separate countries. In 1935 they joined together in a political union and formed the Confederation of Aguacenta. This system of government lasted until 1987 when a major economic and political crisis caused the territories of the confederation to re-evaluate their system of government and the Aguacentian Republic was formed. Initially, "the Republic" was actually ruled by a religious oligarchy, whose precedence dates to the early colonial period of Aguacenta. This system of government lasted until 1994 when protest movements lead to Aguacenta's first democratic elections. Since then, Aguacenta has been governed by a democratically elected assembly with oversight from the religious oligarchy. Despite its successes, Aguacenta continues to struggle with democracy, economic development, and the civil rights issues.
tl;dr - Spanish speaking peoples somehow wound up in eastern Siberia, were claimed by a yet to be specified country in the Iberian peninsula. This lasted until the 1920s, when the colonies rebelled. The colonies attempted to form their own countries but failed ultimately resulting in a confederation of the former colonies. This lasted a while until the system broke down and a more integrated system was created.
Other stuff:
- There's diagram of Aguacenta's history here: LINK
- A longer version of Aguacenta's history LINK HERE
- If any of this poses a problem for the common history, I have a semi-creative IC way to get out most of it, but there still has to be a way to get romance language speaking peoples to far eastern Russia...
You can find a map of Aguacenta in 1921 here:
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(Affected Areas and Estimated Origin Position)
A loud continuous tone plays for 30 seconds. A pre-recorded computerized voice comes on the air.
VOICE: ATTENTION. ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is a Far East Radio Network emergency broadcast. Repeat. This is a Far East Radio Network emergency broadcast. This is not a test. Please stand by for a critical news update.
VOICE: At 04:25 Ciudad Nuevo local time, the formation of a tsunami wave in the Sea of Cadiz was reported by Air Corps maritime spotters. At 05:31, a the front of the wave made contact with the southern coast of the Republic. At present, the wave is estimated to have been between 18 and 21 meters high when it contacted the shore in certain areas.
VOICE: Wide spread flooding, strong currents, and major structural damage to buildings has been reported in cities along the southern coast. Power outages are widespread. Disaster response teams are currently in position or en route to affected areas.
VOICE: If possible, remain in-doors in a safe area until flood waters have receded. Additional updates will be broadcast on this frequency as they become available.
There is a short pause, then the message begins to repeat.
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A loud continuous tone plays for 30 seconds. A pre-recorded computerized voice comes on the air.
VOICE: ATTENTION. ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is a Far East Radio Network emergency broadcast. Repeat. This is a Far East Radio Network emergency broadcast. This is not a test. Please stand by for a critical news update.
VOICE: DANGER! At 03:49 Ciudad Nuevo local time, the Aguacentian Geological Institute detected a magnitude 8.9 earthquake in the Sea of Cadiz. The earthquake originated approximately 65 miles off the coast of the western coast of the Cordoba peninsula, approximately 225 km south-southeast of the city of Merida. Severe aftershocks are likely to occur.
VOICE: A tsunami that may cause widespread flooding is expected to occur. Dangerous coastal flooding and powerful currents are possible and may continue for several days after initial arrival. A Tsunami warning is now in effect for the cities of for the cities of Ciudad Nueva, Puerto Libre, Merida, Alicante, and Punto Agido, as well as towns and villages along the southern coast of Aguacenta, and settlements along the eastern sea-board of the Cordoba Peninsula.
VOICE: TAKE ACTION. If possible, move in-land or to higher ground. Otherwise, seek shelter immediately. Be prepared to follow the instructions from local authorities.
VOICE: ALL motorways along the southern coast are currently operating only in an in-land direction to facilitate evacuation. If possible, avoid travel to the areas along the southern coast. Additional updates will be broadcast on this frequency as they become available.
There is a short pause, then the message begins to repeat.
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So, I started writing a response to frame out a basic set of guidelines for new players. As is typical, it got a little out of hand. By the time I was done I realized I had most of a RP tutorial written, so I figured I'd just flesh it out all the way and tack on a brief how-to for newbies. It might be a decent start to a broader frame-work for the RP. I'm sure it could use some additions and subtractions to get it to a finished product that is agreeable to everyone. Anyway, if anyone is interested in reading a "book", I've posted it below.
QuoteAn Introduction to the PnW Nation RP: How to Build a RP "Good" Persona, Get Started, and Be a "Good" Community Member
Greetings! Welcome to the National Role-Play section of the PnW forums. It doesn't matter if you're an experienced RP veteran or you have never done this type role-play (RP) before in your life, we hope you will take the time to consider joining us. Whether you have been browsing this sub-forum for a while and have developed an interest in RP or you just happened to stumble upon this forum accidentally, getting started can seem like a difficult task if you are unfamiliar with RP. But, I promise, it isn't!
Below you will find a some-what in-depth beginners guide to help you get started. This introduction covers four things: (1) How to develop a "good" persona for your RP nation; (2) how to get "officially" recognized and put on one of the RP maps; (3) things you can do to get started developing your nation; and (4) a list of RP best practices. Please keep two things in mind when reading this document. First, this is only one way to approach the PnW Nation RP, it is not the only way. Second, this how-to is by no means exhaustive, but it should get you well on your way to being an integral part of the PnW RP community.
Introduction
What is Role-play (RP)? Role-play comes in many forms. In an RP you take on the part of a person or character and interact with others in a in a themed fictional setting. The fictional setting can vary from broad and undefined campaign to a very precise re-enactment of a historical event. RP can encompass a wide variety genres, including history, fantasy, and science fiction. In the PnW National RP you take on the role of a country and the people within that country. You then act out the development of your country and its interactions with other countries. This can range from acting out the life of a specific individual to the developing the policies of an entire nation?
At its heart RP is a form of collective story-telling. Many authors contribute to one big story. Along the way, they develop smaller stories. By participating in this RP you are working with others to develop a historical canon that makes up this particular fictional world.
Making Choices
In a few minutes, you're going to contemplate several important choices about the character of your nation. These choices are going to shape how you RP and how others react to you in the RP. Before you start making choices, I want to encourage you to consider two important things.
Balance. One of the most common mistakes new RP'ers make is failing to take into account the need for balance when first developing their RP nation. You will often see new RP'ers introduce a nation that has a massive developed economy, large population united in their beliefs, and gigantic modern military. In many RP communities there are strict guidelines that define how a nation can be structured in order to encourage balance. While there are certain rules in place in this RP that put limits on this sort of thing, the PnW Nation RP sections to be relatively regulation in this regard. As such, it isn't against the rules to introduce a large, wealthy, modern country with a sizable military, but doing so affects the balance of the RP.
If your nation is the most technologically advanced, wealthiest, awesome-st country on the planet, it gives your nation an advantage over other nations in military, political, and economic aspects of the RP. This is generally considered poor gamesmanship and should be avoided. When choosing the character of your nation, I implore you to consider the need for balance and make realistic choices. If your nation has a huge diverse population with a gigantic military, perhaps it also has servere economic problems. If your nation is highly advanced and wealthy, perhaps it is also small and has a low population.
Interest. Making interesting choices benefits not only you, but the RP community. Having countries with different sizes, different levels of wealth, access to different resources, and different political problems makes the RP more interesting. Diversity in the type of nations in the RP means there are a more types of interaction for players to experience, more incentive for interaction, and more varied plot development. When all the nations in the RP are too similar, story-lines tend to get repetitive and the RP tends to stagnate. W
Furthermore, by creating a nation that has flaws, you are making it easier on yourself to develop your nation's plot and backstory. Having economic disparities, political difficulties, and social problems gives you something to write about and helps to move your national development along. It makes your writing more interesting and it gives others something to work with. When deciding on what your nation is like, I encourage you to consider the need for diversity.
Getting Started
Step 1: Figuring out a national theme.
The first step you should take in this RP is to figure out a national identity. You don't need to have every aspect of your national identity figured at the beginning, but you should have a basic idea of what it is like to live in your country. You can work out the details as you go along. At the beginning it is sufficient if you can answer the questions "Who lives in your country?" and "What is it like to live in your country"".
There are three major things you should consider when starting-off are; culture, government, and attributes.
Culture.
Your nation's culture is key element to your RP persona and should play a large role in how your nation behaves. There are many aspects to culture and as you develop your RP persona, it is likely that you will develop cultural idiosyncrasies that are specific to your nation. For example, your people might like bull-fighting, be heavy drinkers, dance badly, or observe some strange ritual. At the beginning all you need to do is nail down the basics. You do not need to be very specific, it is enough if have a broad conceptualization of how things flow.
The first aspect of culture to consider is your country's cultural history.
- Language. This is probably the simplest choice you make with regard to cultural history. What language do your people speak? All of your RP on these boards will be done in English, but you can give your nation a little bit of personality by choosing one or more language to be the dominant language(s) in your country. Do your people speak German? Chinese? their own unique language? a dozen different languages? In this example, our nation will speak Arabic.
- Values. Another important aspect of your nations cultural history is your country's values. What things do they consider good or bad? desirable or undesirable? Your nation's values will shape the way its citizens behave and how your government react to world events. Do they value selflessness? military prowess? individualism? If you're new, it is best to choose a 2 or 3 major cultural values to start off with. You can always incorporate new ideas later. In this example, our nation will value self-sufficiency and piety.
- Norms. Based on your nation's values, you identify a generalized set of norms, the standards and expectations for behavior, that exist within your nation. Do your people learn to horsemanship or military skills from an early age? Are they socially conservative or widely hedonistic? Your norms can be complementary or conflicting. They also can vary between different groups in you country. In this example, since our nation values piety, we will make our people somewhat traditional.
National History.
Your national history is the history of your country. It tells others how your nation started and how it developed. Having a national history can help you explain why your people act certain ways, do certain things, or have certain beliefs. It can also help other RP'ers understand your vision for your nation and where you intend to take your nation in the future.
- Origin. How did your people get where they are? Have they always been there, did they flee religious persecution in their homeland, were explorers from a distant land? How they got where they are now can both be a byproduct of your national culture and influence your national culture. In this example, we will make our people descendants of Arabic pirates who established an island outpost somewhere.
- Formation. How did your nation develop? Was it the byproduct of a bloody revolutionary struggle, peaceful succession movement, has it always been there? In this example, we'll make our band of pirates a group of exiles who settled peacefully in an uninhabited area and eventually developed their own government.
- Backstory. You can ignore your national backstory for now, but it's worth considering at some point, even if it's only in broad terms. Your national backstory is everything that's happened between when your country was formed and modern times. Your nation might have a history of violent religious extremism, constant civil war, or a long tradition of democratic government? For the sake of simplicity, we will ignore the our country's backstory.
So, now we have the rough outline for our country's culture. We are a bunch of moderately religious and individualist Arabic speaking pirates who settled somewhere after being exiled from their homeland.
Government
Many of your interactions with other players will be "official" actions on behalf of your government. As a result, it is necessary to develop a basic framework for your government in order for others to understand how to interact with you and why you make the choices you do. If you are inclined to do so, you can work out the details later on, but for the moment you should consider the following three things.
- Type. Since this is a Nation RP, government is an important aspect of the RP. To start off, you will need to pick a form of government. The two simplest types of government to start off with monarchies and dictatorships. For beginners, choosing these types of governments allows you to make quick changes, only have to develop one major persona (the dictator/monarch), and doesn't require a lot of elaboration on the inner workings of government. If autocratic rule isn't your thing, then a somewhat generic republic with few specifics is a good way to start off. No matter what you choose, you always sort out the details later. You can always change your government later. In this example, we'll choose an absolute monarchy with a pirate king.
- Demeanor. How does your government react to your people? Are they repressive or inclusive? A mix of both? Do they advocate specific issues or style of life? In this example, we'll make our pirate king a benevolent leader, who tries his best to make other pirates happy.
- Capacity. How effective is your government? Is your government full of competent bureaucrats or is it corrupt and falling apart? Is it a loose confederation or a strong centralized state? In this example, our government will be mostly ineffective.
So now we can add a government to our persona. A weak government lead by a benevolent pirate king that governs our band of moderately religious and individualist Arabic speaking pirates who settled somewhere after being exiled from their homeland.
Attributes
Every country has dozens of different attributes that cover a broad spectrum of things. Most of them are just to add flavor to your nation and can be developed later. However, because they play a large role in how you interact with others, there are three things that warrant consideration from the beginning.
- Economy. What does you country's economy look like? Is your country poor or rich? Is your economy stable or does it have major issues? Is wealth uniform or are there vast disparities in income? Are your people farmers, miners, or arms merchants? For our example, our nation will be relatively poor. It will be based largely on maritime trade, but some of our people will occasionally resort to their old pirate ways.
- Population. How many people live in your country? Is your population small and homogeneous or massive and varied. Perhaps it is somewhere in between. For our example, we'll make our population small.
- Military. How big is your country's military? Do you have a huge land force or maybe your air force is the envy of the world? Perhaps your nation's military is small and only used for defensive purposes? Maybe it has no military at all. We can't have a nation of pirates without a strong naval tradition, so for our example, we'll have a moderately sized pirate fleet.
- Foreign Policy. How does your nation interact with other nations? Are you people imperialistic, isolationist, internationalist, etc?. For our example, we'll make our nation lean toward militarism and have slightly erratic behavior.
Now we have a rough framework for our nation. A weak government lead by a benevolent pirate king that governs our band of moderately religious and individualist Arabic speaking pirates who settled somewhere after being exiled from their homeland. Our population is small, poor, and desperate. We have a moderately sized navy. We are open to diplomacy, but can be aggressive and erratic.
Getting on the Map
Awesome! Now, we have a basic concept for your nation. The next step is to get on the map. There are currently two "Info & Application" threads, one for National RP and the other for Organic RP. National RP tends to be more informal, but it does have more restrictions on what you can do. Organic RP tends to be more in depth, but has fewer restrictions on what you can do. Both RP's have active communities. Both have different players and nations. Many people take part in both. You will have to take a look around and decide if you prefer to be involved in one or both of the main RP's.
Once you've located the appropriate "Info & Application" thread, you're going to need to evaluate the map. It should look similar to the map below. There will be colored areas, which are already claimed by another nation, and white areas that are currently available to claim. There are limits on how much territory you can start off with in each RP Info & App thread, so be sure to read the restrictions on claims.
Before you make a map claim, you should think about the decisions you have already made about your nation. We decided that our nation is made up of pirates who settled down somewhere. We also decided that our nation was going to be relatively small. Our claim should reflect these things. To keep our claim consistent with our national identity, I've decided to pick out a few provinces in Antarctica, since it's near to both the coast and far from the homeland they were exiled from.
The application thread asks for several things, but the only things that are truly necessary are a nation name, nation description, and claim map. Our example nation is dubbed "Piratistan", we'll use the description we developed earlier in this post, and the claim map below. If you want to add population figures and other information now, you should feel free to do so. If you would to have a national flag added to your claim, you can choose a real world flag or use one of the numerous flag makers you can find online. FlagMakerJr, Scrontch's Flag Designer, and FakeFlag.net are some of the most accessible websites for making a flag. None of them require a login, pay, or install anything.
Congratulations! you're now set-up and on the map. You'll need to make a post in the appropriate sub-forum following your application in order to stay on the map. After that you'll need to post at least once a month to remain on the map. From here, it's time to start developing your nation and interacting with players.
Easy Ways to Get Started
The world is now at your finger tips. Your nation is at your command. So what do you do now? This RP is essentially a "sandbox", which means it has no set goal or purpose, so you are free to do almost anything you like. Here are few common ways that people get started:
- Make a Declaration of Existence - This one is easy. If it fits into the history of your nation, make a post declaring your country exists. This can be a couple paragraphs or a few pages, it's up to you. Explain how your nation was formed, who inhabits it, what kind of government are establishing, and who is in charge.
- Tell the Story of Your Struggle for Independence - Is your nation a former colony that fought for independence, a break-away territory, or group that fled their homeland to establish a new country? Tell us how it got to that point! Was it a peaceful breakaway or was there a conflict? Who were they fighting? Why? For how long? What does your new nation aspire to become?
- Write About An Election or Coronation - Maybe your national backstory characterizes you nation as one that has existed for a long time. In that case, you might not want to issue a declaration of existence or tell about your revolutionary struggle. Instead you can tell us about the recent election or coronation that put your government in power. Don't forget to include things like who the major players are, why people wanted them to be in charge, and their roles in society.
- Establish a News Service - Does your nation have a news service? You might want to establish one. Tell us about the things going on in your nation in a broadcast format. Has there been a new election? Are you experiencing a drought? Is it baseball season in your country? Tell the world. Feel free to add a few pictures to help set the tone.
- Write a Fact-book - A fact-book is an encyclopedia that has information about your country. Often times they contain the same type of information you would find about a country on wikipedia. There's no need to write an entire wiki page worth of stuff, but you certainly can if you want. Outline your nation's government, culture, history, and economy. Often the easiest way to start a fact-book is with a few general headers that have a couple of sentences or paragraphs about the aspect of your nation that is being discussed. You can always go back and fill in more information later.
- Call for Ambassadors - Ask the nations of the world to send envoys to your nation. Invite the world to your nation for a party. Ask them if you can reciprocate by establishing an embassy in their nation. Then see if there are any common issues your nations want to address.
- Post to Someone Else's Event - There are generally lots of things going on in the RP world, from civil wars and natural disasters, to policy announcements and technological advances. Find one that is ongoing and post on behalf of your government. You can weigh in with an opinion, advice, or support.
Do's and Don'ts of RP
Both of PnW's national RP's tend to be very laid back. Most people are willing to help you, either on one of the RP subs, in private messages on the forums, or via the RP discord server. If it's your first RP don't worry too much about making mistakes, everyone starts out at different levels. No one is going to yell at you for screwing up. But there are things you can do or avoid doing to help everyone enjoy the RP as much as possible. This is not a rule-book, but rather a set of best practices.
DO:
- Develop Breadth. RPs that have breadth allow players to interact in many different ways. In geo-political RP's this means countries have the ability to take action to deal with a variety of different problems. These can be social, economic, political, ecclesiastical, or humanitarian. It doesn't matter whether it's constantly being at war, always being at peace, continuously experiencing growth, or experiencing the same sort of turmoil repeatedly. RPing the same type of events over and over can gets stale and players get bored. The best way to avoid to avoid tired and repeitively plot-lines is to develop an RP that has breadth. As an RP'er you can help by developing a wide variety of stories about your nation and engaging a broad range of issues.
- Develop Depth. RPs that have depth keep players engaged. You can engage a many different topics, but if there is only ever surface level information and interaction it's hard to really get into the plot. Developing depth requires is probably the single most difficult thing to do in an RP setting, it requires continued commitment to a single story-line over a period of time. As an RP'er you can help by developing interesting characters with their own quirks and conflicts and creating nuanced story-lines that don't always go in the direction you expect. The best RP'ers are ones that are able to develop breadth and depth.
- Show Us, Don't Tell Us. Simply stating that there is an ongoing crisis in your country, that your people fear for their security, or that your people are suffering is certainly acceptable. But, good RP moves beyond just direct statements. If you've ever seen the Star Wars franchise, you know it can be summed up as "There was a power struggle for control of the government. A group of rebels fought against an oppressive totalitarian regime." But, such a description would be a great injustice to the series. It illustrates crisis by showing how it impacts peoples lives, it creates fear by triggering the reader's basic instincts, and it shows suffering by appealing to your humanity. Good RP should do the same. As a player you can help by developing illustrative stories that help show the impact of events.
- Maintain Logical Consistency. It is important to be internally consistent within the RP. This doesn't mean that nothing should ever change and that you can't introduce new aspects to the RP. But, rather that your characters and plots should fit within your overall theme and behave in more or less consistent manner. If your country's leader is a malevolent psychopath, his actions should consistently reflect that. If your nation adopts a particular doctrine or system of beliefs it should be in-line with your established canon. It is completely acceptable to have your characters change or move your canon in a new direction, but there should be some sort of process involved that leads to the change. For instance, our malevolent king might slowly be influenced by his advisers or have a life altering experience that causes him to change. As a player you can help by keeping in mind established canon and making changes incrementally.
- RP About The Things You Like. People RP better when they like what they are RP'ing about. They can offer more insight into a specific area and create both breadth and depth simultaneously. However, it's important to remember that not everyone likes the same things. At some point you will probably encounter a plot line you think is boring or a character you think is dumb, such is the nature of collaborative story telling. As a player you can help by working on things you like, letting others work on things they like, and seeing if you can't get them to work together as part established canon.
- Interact With Others / Build on the Work of Others. RP is about interacting with others and working collaboratively. Working with others in the RP is beneficial for everyone. Collaboration means that more than one person can share the load of building complex plot-lines. It also means that each individual RP'er never knows exactly what direction things will take. These things help to keep things plot development interesting and keep stories consistently moving. Without collaboration and interaction RP is just a series of individual monologues standing in isolation. As player you can help by seeking ot others and working together.
- Maintain the IC / OOC Line. Every RP'er has an Out of Character (OOC) persona, the person you are in every day life, with all the beliefs and baggage that comes along with it, and potentially dozens of In Character (IC) personas. It is better for everyone if IC and OOC issues stay separate. You may not like the way someone RPs, the characters they develop, or the stories they tell. You may not like that someone invaded your country, destabilized the global economy, or committed some violation of international norms, but you shouldn't let that affect how you view them as a person OOC. Similarly, you may have disagreements with people OOC, you shouldn't let that seep into the RP. Mixing OOC and IC problems never ends well and always serves to make things worse. As a player you can help by maintaining distinct IC and OOC personas, keep IC forums IC, and always differentiating what is your opinion and what is the opinion of your RP characters.
- Advance the Plot. It is important to keep story-arcs developing. It is alright to move from one story-line to another, and then come back to a new plot. In fact, doing so is often a good way to create depth. However, there will be times when a plot-line begins to stagnate despite not reaching a conclusion. When this happens the RP can bog down around a particular issue or character. In these instances sometimes it is necessary to intentional take an action you know will move the plot along to keep the story going. This could be the untimely death of a particular character, introducing a natural disaster, or moving in a new direction politically. As a player, you can help by adding new developments to story arcs that have lost steam.
- Give People the Benefit of the Doubt. Sometimes people are going to screw up, some times they are going to annoy you, unless there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, assume that people are fallible and that it was a momentary lapse in judgement or an honest mistake. If you move past a unfortunate incidents, it's better for everyone involved. As a player, you can help by leaving the past in the past.
- Have Fun. This is an RP. This is supposed to be fun. If it stops being fun it's probably time to move on. As a player, you can help by keeping things in perspective.
DON'T:
- Don't God-mod. Traditionally god-modding is developing abilities, characters, or plots that give your nation a decisive and insurmountable advantage. However, it also includes: manipulating what happens to other people's characters or territories without permission; always refusing to take any losses or lose; never suffering from negative events or repercussions; having armies that are too large, too advanced, beyond your nation's capacity given its established canon, unsustainable in common sense terms, etc; and creating national geography that is in your extreme advantage or to others extreme detriment of others. As a player, you can help by being balanced and encouraging fair-play.
- Don't Meta-Game. Meta-gaming is taking any action or using any strategy that exists outside of the RP to influence the RP. Typically meta-gaming falls in two categories; Using knowledge gained OOC for IC purposes, for example discovering a player is a planning a major military offensive from an OOC discussion and then RPing your nation having knowledge of the incoming attack and being able to preempt it, and manipulating OOC factors to influence IC, for example baiting or compensating another player OOC to take an IC action. As a player, you can help by maintaining a strong IC / OOC line and encouraging others to do the same.
- Don't create Mary Sues. A "Mary Sue" are characters that perfect. They preform better than they reasonably should give the bounds of reality. For example, a leader who is a smooth talking and always able to bend the people of your nation to their will would be considered a Mary Sue. Alternatively, having a nation that only every experiences economic growth and political harmony would be creating a Mary Sue. Hyper-realism is not required in the development of characters. Sometimes it is just simpler to develop over-the-top characters and other times it's necessary to help a story develop, but use a modicum of sense. As a player, you can help by creating realistic characters.
- Don't Get Too Lost in the Details. Specification sheets, statistical digests, long lists, and overly complicated diagrams make for good technical manuals, but they don't necessarily make for good RP. You can include "tech specs" for things, but they should be used to add flavor to an existing plot-line and not in lieu of on. Diagrams and lists can be useful to illustrate complicated topics and create a broader understanding of scale, but they need to be simple enough to be understood by a layman. As a player, you can help by focusing on story-telling, avoiding jargon, and limiting things that are overly technical.
- Don't over-night things. Building things takes time, whether that is developing new technologies, increasing your population, or constructing an army. Things should try to develop things in the RP over time when possible, unless there is something in established canon that allows you to do something quickly. If you do rapidly create something, minimally you should provide a backstory for how you were able to do so, and there should be a political or social consequence for doing it. For example, if you rapidly raise an army through conscription, you might suffer from major political unrest. As a player, you can help by developing things incrementally and on a reasonable time frame.
- Don't Grief Other Players. Griefing is intentionally taking actions IC that you think will irritate or anger other players OOC. This can be developing a plot-line to intentionally ruin a plot that someone else has been developing, building technologies or abilities that you know another player doesn't like and then unleashing them on them, or generally just being a nuisance to get a rise out of someone. As a player, you can help by being considerate of others.
- Don't Immediately Resort to Moderation. Moderation should always be the last resort to get something done. The first step should always be to try and work things out between yourself and other players individually. If you find that to be impossible, you should seek out others in the community to see if they can help to resolve the issue. As a player, you can help by only requesting moderator intervention should only happen once all else has failed.
- Don't Use Moderation as a Weapon. This generally falls under the category of meta-gaming, but it warrants specific consideration. Mods are there to keep the playing field level and resolve disputes when all else fails. Mods do not exist to help you get your way either IC or OOC. It's OK to ask a mod to intervene if you believe there is a genuine problem, but it's not OK to report people in an effort to discourage them from taking actions that are within the bounds of the RP. As a player, you can help by playing within the established bounds of the RP.
- Don't Post Explicit Content. This is a Nation-based RP and sometimes politics can get nasty. Torture, gore, humanitarian atrocities, violent behavior, and many otherwise unpalatable things happen every day in the real world. Introducing these types of stories into the RP should be done carefully and with consideration of others. There is no need to graphically describe such things. If that fact that doing so is generally a terrible thing to do isn't enough to dissuade you, it's also against the forum rules. As a player, you can help by abiding by the norms of common decency.
- Don't Skirt the Rules. There aren't many rules in the PnW Nation RP forums. The ones that do exist tend to be enforced in a fairly lenient manner. Just because something is allowed under the current rule-set doesn't mean you should do it. It is impossible to create a rule or guideline to deal with every potential issue that may arise, and we really shouldn't have to. As a player, you can help by operating in the spirit of the rules and not just the letter of rules.
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For Rimski:
QuoteThen Eva-Beatrice has not made any specifications and weaknesses to her Army, while most of us posted Many Specs of Armies, either via Wikipedia link or what PRC did. Now, I have two complains here, how can she do all of the above when having that large of a military, then it is not specified which tanks. It can be a New Zealand WW2 Bob Tank as far as we know, it was never specified.
Why should any player have to explicitly define what their forces consists of? This isn't explicitly a military RP. People find different aspects of the RP to be interesting and choose to develop that aspect of their nation. You can make great contributions to the RP community through developing social, political, and economic aspects of a nation. Furthermore, if your concern is about engaging in "combat", it's entirely possible to develop a convincing and in depth for a military campaign without ever mentioning a particular piece of equipment.
QuoteOther is the Elements she made up and the magic sword. Eva said she introduced the Ether Element as protection against our space-faring vesseles, while I think it is OP as it sucked in an armada of Missiles and it was only dammaged, then the sword without any explenation, she said 'it was just a poisonous sword', and the newest element she found. I do admit having a Navium element, and I planned on only using on small usage like Batteries for small units used in the Military or any Civilian, so reducing the consumnment of Batteries, but as she made up Ether as Self-protection against our fleets, I'd have to do something as well.
Part of having an unregulated RP is figuring out a way for all these things to work together, and accepting that sometimes things are going to work out to your detriment. The trick is to not let it get out of hand.
For Hunter:
QuoteI'd appreciate if we stopped taking IC matters to OOC matters ... People need to be more mature on these issues, on an RP group we have its like a golden rule. The RP is the RP. Wether we do something that could be offensive irl, or if we fight each other we keep the RP to the IC and as that. I don't think we should complain about something OOC without having merit.
I don't really pay attention to the drama between others, but this really seems to be the crux of most of the issues. Even in this thread, which is supposed to be about building a set of community guideline, certain folks have turned to petty bickering rather than a constructive conversation. A stronger IC / OOC line doesn't prevent this sort of thing, but it'd definitely help.
QuoteWe would create a map of resources. Basically, there would be resources like lumber, natural gas, coal, rare-earth minerals, etc...Each nation in their starting points understands these resource allocations. Each province would be worth 5,000 of X resource. Resources like steel, petroleum, and carbon-fiber would require Industry Provinces which would replace a resource province. In essence there would be three types of provinces
Military Province: Produces Military Units as agreed by previous RP rules
Resource Province: Provide X amount of resourcs
Industrial Province: Provides Population Boost, Economic Productivity, but removes Military and Resource Buff.
I appreciate the thought that went into this, but I'm not sure it would be a good idea. It would definitely create functional limits for development, but it creates a few problems. The first three things that come to mind are: (1) It encourages land grabbing for resources and disadvantages nations with small territorial borders. I, for one, would have approached the RP very different from the beginning if this was in place. (2) More complicated rules mean more work for moderation and makes the RP less accessible for new players. The more people in the RP the more interesting it becomes, so I think we should avoid anything that could deter new players from joining. (side-note: some of the behavior in this thread is a really bad look, and after reading it, I wouldn't blame new players from joining. If I had seen such behavior and drama, I would have been reluctant to join). (3) Implementing a resource system means having implementing systems that derive from that e.g. now you have to decide how much of each resource is necessary to build certain things, and that can get out of hand quickly.
QuoteExpansion is limited to four provinces every two months. The RP's have become a land-grab based system where people expand for the sake of expanding or to basically beef up their armed forces etc...
I agree with this, the number of "I'm expanding to ____ for strategic reasons" posts without much explanation is troublesome. They don't help to move the plot of the RP along and they don't add to the canonical history of the RP. It also seems like many people feel obligated to expand on a monthly basis. I think this should also extended to moving territories. While countries occasionally abandon territories IRL, it tends to be rare. Also, just because they countries do abandon territories, that doesn't inherently translate to the acquisition of new territories. The French didn't get to claim the Malvinas Islands because they gave up Algeria.
QuoteNations can 'research' two technologies every week and most consistently RP their developments.
I don't mind this idea, but it's going to cause some refinement to define what a "technology" is and what an acceptable rate of development is.
For Eva:
QuoteAs far as my military goes, I'm staying within the military maximums and building it up little by little.
Yeah, but if the goal is common sense, the current military maximums are broken. Pretty much that maintains a large military in the RP would be suffering from a major economic crisis or have insufficient resources to actually maintain their forces given their current territories. Add on to that the problems of manpower and global resource availability, if we achieved the RP military maximum IRL, we'd probably be living in a resource depleted wasteland. This is mostly a personal gripe for me, but as is so-often quoted, RP economies are not RL economies.
QuoteI am not required to explain how I maintain it.
You're not, but for the logical consistency of the RP it would be nice if everyone at least provides some sort of backstory for such things.
More for Rimski:
QuoteI'll consider them the first tanks that have ever existed.
I would assume this would be forbidden by the RP rules, since manipulating another player's units, territories, or internal development without approval is blatantly god-modding.
QuoteWhen David gave me evidence on your threats, you claimed it was ooc, but you cannot split ooc and ic. It could have been considered IC as you talked about ic and what can happen if he refuses. It has direct correlation to the RP.
I disagree, IC and OOC should always remain separate. It is entirely possible to discuss IC issues in an OOC matter. It's important to differentiate when you're doing one or the other.
For all:
It might be a better idea to approach this in the abstract rather than the specific. At the heart of this conversation is really the question "What is beyond the scope of the RP?"
From other RP's I've done, typically things that make this sort of list include -
- Manipulating what happens to other people's stuff.
- Always refusing to take any losses or lose.
- Never suffering from negative events or externalities
- Having armies that are too large, too advanced, beyond your nation's capacity given its established canon, unsustainable in common sense terms, etc.
- Creating national geography that is in your extreme advantage / to others extreme detriment.
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Quote
Same thing could be said to players using Anime and Magic, but nobody is throwing a fit over that. If the players using FT have to give up their tech, than the players using Anime and Magic have to give up their stuff as well.
Personally, I have no problem with that. Others might.
QuoteExample, the current tensions between the UNSC and CEAN(is that what it is called?)
I'm not sure what tensions you are perceiving, but if there is any tension between those groups, it's entirely one sided. IC issues between economic and military spheres is part of the game. As for the OOC issues between certain members of the community, I try to avoid that like the plague.
QuoteCould and should be handled via players...
Discussions are ongoing and in IC. It's somehow developed into a broader IC political crisis that it should have, so it takes time to navigate.
Quote...however I got messages and reports from both sides(mostly between two certain players, one from each side) and on top of that, going straight to Alex, the game developer to interfere in Organic RP.
I can't speak to that, but seems silly to me.
QuoteModerators shouldn't be used as a weapon.
Definitely don't disagree there.
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It isnt giving them an advantage. FT nations cannot attack MT nations aggressively to begin with.
Yes, but only because of an artificially imposed rule, which complicates RP and doesn't make logical sense in IC terms. No nation is going to have access to advanced technologies or weaponry and not use them in a conflict. It's the functional equivalent to the British showing up in Africa and saying "Yeah, I know we have riffles and machine guns, but we're going to fight the natives with spears and wooden shields".
QuoteIn my opinion, that causes a form of divide and puts up barriers to keep players from interacting, but it was the way we kept both parties happy,
It definitely causes a barrier. I also understand that it was put in place to placate the different groups in the RP community, but that doesn't make it a good rule, nor does it address the underlying problem.
Quote...until now when a player decided that nobody should have space tech, now we have to have a debate on the way we handle it.
Given conversations I have had with fellow community members, there is definitely more than one person that takes issue with the presence of far future technology, or minimally take issue with the way it tends to develop. I am not sure what percentage of the largery community they comprise, since it's usually off-hand conversation. Certain people are definitely more vocal about it than others about it.
QuoteI personally wanted to keep it the way it was, cause less Forum Moderation and have the player base more indulge in self moderation via the United Nations that was suppose to be created(I do not remember if a UN was created or not.) ... however I was under the impression that personal beef between the players would be dealt between them, not delt with using Forum Moderation.
I agree, that would certainly be the ideal way to go about things. What can we RPer do to help facilitate it?
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Upon arrival in his office, Emiliano Cabrera, First Minister of the Republic of Aguacenta received the following communique:
FROM THE FRENCH FOREIGN OFFICE: The French Ambassador wises to speak to the First Minister over his remarks on the UNSC CEAN discussions.
After spending an inordinate amount of time fumbling with his desk phone, First Minister Cabrera was unable to figure out how to get an outside line. As is usually necessary in these situations, he has his secretary connect the call to the French Ambassador. A transcript of the conversation follows:
FRENCH AMBASSADOR: First Minister Cabrera, thank you for taking the time. I am just here to notify you that the French Government will be releasing a statement in response to yours. This is in now way a hostile-message, but to give clarity and what we saw on the events that led to negotiations failing. I was asked to inform your government the UNSC 'demands' were not ultimatums, but were talking points CEAN requested from the UNSC to set an agenda on what we will discuss.
MINISTER CABRERA: Mr. Ambassador, we appreciate your clarification on this matter. We were most distressed to find our request for an outline of multi-party talks receive such a response. The fact that this may have been a miscommunication between parties is reassuring.
MINISTER CABRERA: However, you must understand that any starting point of a discussion must be on terms that are fair and equitable. Any terms that restrict the ability of our Republic to defend itself and its allies, or to respond to international concerns are not only unpalatable, but not politically feasible given the domestic political concerns of the Republic.
MINISTER CABRERA: Additionally, we hope you understand how any restrictions on the use of international spaces in contravention of political norms could be perceived as being made in poor faith.
MINISTER CABRERA: We are certainly open to talks with all sovereign nations, both individually and collectively. Especially if such talks alleviate tensions between our allies and those nations. We believe finding a common ground that satisfies the economic and security concerns of all parties is not only possible, but desirable.
FRENCH AMBASSADOR: I would agree, but it was hard enough to bring some in the UNSC to agree to talks after Rokkenjima led an anti-communism war that had hurt many in communist China, USSR, and SoE. While it is not the intent of the UNSC to impede the travel or rights of CEAN, their demands were of same quality; denying the UNSC access to The Pacific, territory in the region, and among other matters that the Rokkenjimas presented to us on behest of CEAN. While we understood those were talking-points, would it not be hypocritical of CEAN to say we are acting in mal-faith when we were asked to send talking points which are the bedrock to start a discussion. Would CEAN prefer we lie to them and present them soft and kind statements to get us no where, or would they like to see the harsh demands to begin the discussion and smooth the surface for an end result.
FRENCH AMBASSADOR: France is happy to work with your country, but unfortunately we will no longer be willing to negotiate with Rokkenjima and the CEAN members who believe it is their right to trash-talk the UNSC, attack our member states by calling them puppet-masters, and then cry foul to our talking-points to make it seem as if our diplomatic team issued ultimatums to CEAN. France by nature is a peace-loving and diplomatic nation. As a courtesy we wished to inform you because we a see your country among others in CEAN to be respectful and we hope peace-loving nations.
MINISTER CABRERA: The Republic is aware of no such demands made on the part of CEAN, by the Nation of Rokkenjima. Nor are we aware of any demands on the part of CEAN being discussed with the Coalition Council. We would be curious as to the content of any such communique provided by Rokkenjima on the part of CEAN.
MINISTER CABRERA: Additionally, while the nations of the East Asian Coalition are opposed to colonialism, particularly when that colonialism has the potential destabilize the region. However, we understand the rights of sovereign states to act in accordance with their economic and security interests. The exclusionary zone established in the Coalition Charter is for the purpose of protecting the peoples of East Asia in unclaimed lands from subjugation and protecting the economic well being of the region.
MINISTER CABRERA: While the East Asian Economic Zone, as currently constituted, is protected by the East Asian Coalition to prevent political claims. This is meant to deter threats from potentially hostile powers that would seek to interfere with out collective security and economic well-being.
MINISTER CABRERA: No portion of the CEAN charter, nor any official policy of the Coalition, forbids travel to these lands or use of the waterways or skies in the East Asian region. Nor does it prevent the deployment forces to the region. However, we trust that all nations would use sound judgment and act in good faith regarding their overseas forces.
As requested, the French Ambassador provides transcript of prior discussions with the Nation of Rokkenjima
Quote"I suppose I'll just leave our offer here then while awaiting a response. To start off, Rokkenjima will not make any attempts to colonize a territory outside of Asia. Additionally, we will not move any military forces to places other than Asia, unless it's in defense of an ally. In exchange, we ask that the aforementioned nations not colonize or move military forces between the 90th east meridian and the 180th meridian, and below the 50th northern parallel and above the 10th southern parallel.
Crestia of the Nation of Rokkenjima
FRENCH AMBASSADOR: As you can tell, this was in the same spirit that CEAN asked us to these ideas. We assumed it would be no problem to send our unrefined agenda topics which Rokkenjima was persistant we provide.
FRENCH AMBASSADOR: While we wish to agree with you, the 'offer' submitted by Rokkenjima would not allow us to do some of the things you listed. France has respected the CEAN agreement because if CEAN does not colonize Europe, we have no reason to colonize Asia...However, CEAN no longer offers a diplomatic route so France must be constantly weary of CEAN's intentions.MINISTER CABRERA: While the potential for a formal summit was withdrawn, the doors of the East Asian Coalition remain open to all those who wish discuss matters of common interest. Perhaps, in the near term it would be beneficial for any discussions between our two collectives to first flow through the Foreign Office of Aguacenta, and it's counterpart in the Republic of France. This might serve to mitigate the potential for future misunderstandings and alleviate the political tensions between some of the less agreeable partners on both sides.
MINISTER CABRERA: As it is only with continued discourse that peaceful relations between all nations can be maintained.
Notes: Reposted with consent. OOC portions of this conversation were omitted. IC conversation remains in its entirety.
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Quote
Interplanetary travel happens today. Terraforming is ft but the simple act of traveling between planets is hardly FT. FTL is the baseline for most advanced civilizations and I hardly see any reason to do otherwise here.
I generally agree with this sentiment. Space travel is possible in a modern context. Classifying travel between planets as future tech means that any nation that sends a manned mission or probe to Mars would be classified as "Future Tech", which is simply not the case, since it is something that is achievable with current "real life" levels of technology.
However, with all things, it is a matter of degrees. While sending a single manned mission or probe to another planet is certainly not FT, the construction of a fleet of large "space arks" is FT or similar, even if they travel at sub-light speed is definitely FT.
QuoteCold War Tech(CWT) - Tech based from 1945 to 1991. If you are using these tech or designs of this style of tech, you will be considered as a Cold War tech based nation.
Modern Tech(MT) - Tech in this time will be a little in the grey area. I will consider anything from tech created from 1991 to 2018 as MT
I am not sure this differentiation is necessary. These technologies existed contemporaneously, and many "poorer" countries still use Cold War era equipment. It is entirely possible that a Cold War era T-62 facing off against something modern.
If it is really necessary to delineate historical eras, because a consensus can not be reached on what is an acceptable level of development, then the simpler the better. Something like...
QuoteHistorical Tech: Technologies used prior to mass industrialization (circa 1910s-1920s and before).
Contemporary Tech: Technologies used after mass industrialization to the present. Also includes "near future" technologies that are reasonably achievable given current levels of development, i.e. they are likely to become reality in the next 25-50 years. Basically, if you walked up to an engineering or design team and said "if I gave you a near unlimited R&D budget, and brought in worldwide expertise, can you build ___ in the foreseeable future" and the answer is "Yes." Then it falls in this category.
Future Tech: Technologies not reasonably achievable given current levels of development. If it doesn't fall in the previous two categories, it goes here.
Personally, I don't see how the creation of certain future tech isn't a light form of god-modding since it presents its users with an unequivocal advantage, especially given it is usually presented without much explanation or without a process of development or significant backstory. This might be less of a problem for those that are familiar with the outside story-lines and technologies they are based on, but I'll be the first to admit I have very little knowledge of such things. Then again, this RP community is in many ways very different from those I have participated in in the past.
However, while I tend to be very conservative in my RP and tend to focus on realism, I recognize that RP is about fun, and that others have different ideas about what makes RP fun, so at a certain point the introduction of fantasy or science-fiction elements is inevitable to a certain degree. Although, such things make it incredibly difficult to interact IC at times, since there is no common frame of reference. Some RPers manage this better than others, and I find that even when a nation professes future tech, it is easy to find common ground for the development of the broader community if all parties are willing.
I am not sure that splitting OrgRP into different eras is wise. I find it to be generally unfortunate, since larger communities lead to more avenues for development and interaction and interaction is at the heart of most RP. Otherwise, we might as well all just stand in a room by ourselves while we preform a monologue. On the other hand, I sometimes find myself wondering if it would not be better to have separate "Sci-fi" and "Fantasy" RP sections for those that wish to partake in such things.
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Cooperativa Minera Seeks Foreign Investors
in Organic Roleplay
Posted
Cooperativa Minera Pan-Aguacenta Seeks Foreign Investors
The Republic of Aguacenta is seeking foreign investment in the state operated mining and resource extraction company, Cooperativa Minera Pan-Aguacenta (CMPA / PAMC) in order to expand the firm's oil and natural gas extraction capabilities. PAMC has played a key role in Aguacenta's economy since before the inception of the Republic, and is largely responsible for the consolidation and modernization of Aguacenta's mining and oil industries. While the company has historically emphasized extraction of hard minerals and metals, it has recently sought to increase the utilization of the Republic's oil and natural gas reserves as a way to expand Aguacenta's economy and bring much needed capital to the country.
Recent efforts to map deposits near Aguacentian territory undertaken as a joint venture between the PAMC and the Aguacentian Geological Survey (AGS) estimate total petroleum reserves at approximately 10 billion tons of oil, worth 5.4 trillion USD, and 12 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, worth 59 trillion USD. Charted deposits are predominately located under the continental shelf under the Arctic Sea. Future surveys are planned for deposits under the Sea of Cadiz. The majority of Aguacenta's major deposits currently remain unexploited do to lack of infrastructure and funds.
In recent years, Aguacenta has sought to stimulate growth of the Republic's privately held extraction efforts, however growth has been slow and privatization efforts have stalled due to lack of domestic funds and expertise. As a result, the Republic hopes to increase its petroleum extration by scaling up the size of the PAMC's operations. The Aguacentian government currently holds a 77 percent stake in the conglomerate and has been able to maintain slight, but stable growth over the last several decades.
The PAMC has a modest oil and gas extraction operation, that is undersized for the scale of the deposits that fall under its domain. PAMC's total revenue was estimated at 9.8 B USD for the most recent fiscal year with a net profit of 1.07 B USD. Currently oil and gas operations account for roughly 7 percent of Aguacenta's total GDP, but petroleum extraction remains an area of the economy ready for growth. The company's total assets are estimated at 15.1 B USD and are primarily invested in extraction and storage.
PAMC is seeking 31.5 B USD in foreign investment over a ten year period, to allow it to develop new oil extraction, transfer, and storage facilities. With these investments, the PAMC expects to increase extraction at an average rate of 13 percent over the next 15 years as new facilities come online and expertise is developed. After the initial development period, PAMC expects to maintain a steady, but manageable growth. Capping total extraction revenue at between 100 B and 110 B per annum to insure the longevity of existing reserves, with an expected net profit of between 10 B and 12.5 B per annum.
The PAMC is offering a percentage of the company's net profit. Under the proposed profit sharing scheme, investors will receive a gradually increasing percentage of the profit over 30 years. Investor profit percentage will start at 7.5 % in FY1 and reach 20.0 % in FY10. The share will then increase by 1/2 of a percent every five years, reaching a peak of 21.5 %. Profit share does not come with equity in the company or voting rights, however investors or investor groups are entitled to a non-voting position on PAMC's executive board.
In exchange, investors will provide capital for PAMC development efforts. Starting with 10 B USD in FY1, 5 B USD in FY2, 4 B USD in FY3 and ending with 1 B USD in FY 10. Investors should expect to recoup their investment between 25 and 27.5 years into the agreement, with a total return on investment of around 15 - 25 percent. The PAMC expects to utilize investor funds in four phases, Phase 1 - Infrastructure Development & Extraction In Identified Fields (FY1 - FY4), Phase 2 - Development of New Deposits (FY5 - FY7), Phase 3 - Redevelopment and Exploration (FY8 - FY10), and Phase 4 - Comprehensive Repayment (FY10 - FY30).
The PAMC will take bids and hear proposals from all interested parties. The PAMC's Executive Board will then make accept one or more bids. Partial bids are acceptable, however it will be necessary to reduce any profit-sharing incentive appropriately.
The Republic of Aguacenta is also seeking permanent foreign shareholders to purchase a portion of the Republic's stake in the PAMC.