RPing Questions? Ask Here!

[Kylarnatia]

I have never really role played on the internet other than roblox but i'm interested in learning

Well, let me be the first to welcome you to NationStates! :)

I imagine roleplaying here is a lot different than on sites like Roblox, primarily in the sense that this is more forum text-based whilst I assume that Roblox is more chat-based. In any case, I'd say the easiest way to look at it is that here on NationStates you're essentially writing one large collaborative story with other players. There's no real limit to what you can do besides your own imagination, although it's key to remember one thing: when writing with other people, everyone has to be happy with what goes down. That's the whole essence of collaboration. This is why it's good to always share your ideas with people and be open to feedback, both positive and negative, because that's what will help you develop your nation into a more deeply detailed story in time.

My next biggest piece of starting advice, as a beginner, is not be too hasty in trying to do things. Take some time to read what others have done, get to know people. Then, when you've found some people you enjoy spending your time with, work with them to help you build your nation and your ideas. Don't worry about trying to be the best writer / creator straight off the bat, as your skills will no doubt develop with experience as well as with patience. Take your time with writing, and experiment. We all had to start somewhere, so don't look at starting with nothing as a bad thing, because it's probably the best thing ever.

Do check out the Welcome thread to help get you started. There you'll find a brief explanation of our roleplaying forums and the terminology used, useful contacts such as myself and the other Mentors, and a wealthy list of guides on a variety of topics to give you some expanding insight on how things work here.

I hope this helps, and if you need anything else, please don't hesitate to let me know. :)

[Sosteura]

How would I go about introducing my new nation to the world in the style of an aftermath of a devastating civil war? I have been on here once before, but never really gave much of an introduction to my old nation. I also haven't really RP'd much in over two years, which is why I come to this thread to ask what I should do from experienced players like many of you.

In advance, thanks for any answer, and it's good to be back!

[Ghant]

How would I go about introducing my new nation to the world in the style of an aftermath of a devastating civil war? I have been on here once before, but never really gave much of an introduction to my old nation. I also haven't really RP'd much in over two years, which is why I come to this thread to ask what I should do from experienced players like many of you.

In advance, thanks for any answer, and it's good to be back!

I might suggest starting a thread in International Incidents where you introduce your nation and begin to tell the story of your devastating civil war as a backdrop to the plot of the narrative in the roleplay thread. The plot of the thread could consist of exploring the aftermath, as you indicated an interest in, and then you can specify how other players / nations can interact in that roleplaying situation. I'd suggest telling the story through the POV of various characters who can offer their thoughts / feelings / recollections of the events of the war, and how they are dealing with it presently and moving forward.

[Kylarnatia]

How would I go about introducing my new nation to the world in the style of an aftermath of a devastating civil war? I have been on here once before, but never really gave much of an introduction to my old nation. I also haven't really RP'd much in over two years, which is why I come to this thread to ask what I should do from experienced players like many of you.

In advance, thanks for any answer, and it's good to be back!

Welcome back! :)

Well, my suggestion would be to consider what the Civil War was all for to begin with: was it for political reasons, socio-economic reasons, religious reasons, or a combination of these? What are the objectives of the winning side now that they've won? Do they wish to reconcile with their former foes or persecute them ruthlessly?

Once you figure those things out, I'd say you'll be able to decide how best to interact with the rest of the world: Will you be searching for aid to help rebuild your nation, or will you perhaps be trying to track down your countries "traitors", now in exile? Once you know what state your actual country is in, and what your priorities are from there, I think you'll have an easier time figuring out how you're going to present yourself to the world.

Hope this helps. :)

[Sosteura]

I might suggest starting a thread in International Incidents where you introduce your nation and begin to tell the story of your devastating civil war as a backdrop to the plot of the narrative in the roleplay thread. The plot of the thread could consist of exploring the aftermath, as you indicated an interest in, and then you can specify how other players / nations can interact in that roleplaying situation. I'd suggest telling the story through the POV of various characters who can offer their thoughts / feelings / recollections of the events of the war, and how they are dealing with it presently and moving forward.

Welcome back!

Well, my suggestion would be to consider what the Civil War was all for to begin with: was it for political reasons, socio-economic reasons, religious reasons, or a combination of these? What are the objectives of the winning side now that they've won? Do they wish to reconcile with their former foes or persecute them ruthlessly?

Once you figure those things out, I'd say you'll be able to decide how best to interact with the rest of the world: Will you be searching for aid to help rebuild your nation, or will you perhaps be trying to track down your countries "traitors", now in exile? Once you know what state your actual country is in, and what your priorities are from there, I think you'll have an easier time figuring out how you're going to present yourself to the world.

Hope this helps.

These both help greatly. Thank you two for helping me get an idea, this will really also let me put together a comprehensive factbook in the near future. Thanks a lot

[Ghant]

These both help greatly. Thank you two for helping me get an idea, this will really also let me put together a comprehensive factbook in the near future. Thanks a lot

You're welcome, I'm glad I could be of assistance Good luck, and if you have any other questions or need some help, please don't hesitate to post again.

[North Sciencia]

For those new, uncertain, at a rut, or wanting to discuss any sort of topic in between in regards to II Role-Playing, please feel free to posit questions, threads, and topic discussions. This thread is intended to be an open area of general discussion on II Role-playing, for newer and older players and where assistance can be given. Please keep all off-topic chatter to a minimum.

NOTE: II, GE&T, and F&NI RPing questions only, please. NSSports and Gameplay-based RPing questions are not the main focus of this thread.

Okay, I have a question in regards to role playing in wars etc.

When you role play in a war, I see a lot of people saying countries go bankrupt from war, and that you need to have a strong economy to support the war etc etc etc.

But does my economy actually get effected by any of this besides role play? Besides role play, there is no actual costs to the effort is there?

[Ghant]

Okay, I have a question in regards to role playing in wars etc.

When you role play in a war, I see a lot of people saying countries go bankrupt from war, and that you need to have a strong economy to support the war etc etc etc.

But does my economy actually get effected by any of this besides role play? Besides role play, there is no actual costs to the effort is there?

The answer to that is no, because ultimately, to what extent your economy is effected by anything, is up to you and you alone. Having said that, if you roleplay in regional communities that have some degree of regional integration, there may be recessions, economic crises, etc. that could effect your economy. So while only you can decide what effects your economy and to what degree, there are certain things that exist in an roleplaying world (war, recession, economic crisis) that could effect your economy if you allow it to be so effected in that fashion.

[Adevia-Ardvilla]

I have three questions.
1. In the Orentor Civil War thread, Tamaria siezed territory from Orentor to make sure that there was a safe haven for the people, even though there were rebels fighting against the side which the siezed territory's armies sided with. Are nations allowed to do this?
2. Nobody is responding to my RP thread. Can you tell me why?
3. Why are there so many private or closed RPs these days?

[Lubyak]

I have three questions.
1. In the Orentor Civil War thread, Tamaria siezed territory from Orentor to make sure that there was a safe haven for the people, even though there were rebels fighting against the side which the siezed territory's armies sided with. Are nations allowed to do this?
2. Nobody is responding to my RP thread. Can you tell me why?
3. Why are there so many private or closed RPs these days?

1) Yes. NationStates RP is free form, so everyone can do everything. However, this goes both ways, so 'everything' can include 'Not inviting you to participate in our RP'. As such, it generally behooves you to check in and talk to your fellow RPers so you can discuss what you're doing to make sure everyone is on the same page with how the RP is progressing.

2) I'm not sure, but I'll take a look at your posts later to see if I can give you some pointers.

3) A lot of players have formed RP groups or regions that are self-contained, and their nations have a long history of interactions Some players may want all the nations in their region to have a certain theme, or follow specific rules. These players will usually make their RPs closed or private so they don't have people from outside their region dropping in. Other RPs are pre-planned, with general story points along with who will be involved set in advance. However, if you see some RPs that are marked closed or private, feel free to send a telegram to the poster asking about joining. I'm willing to bet that most of those groups will always be happy to recruit new players!

[Kaumann]

Had been in NationStates roleplaying scene for years in NS Sports, there's on thing that i want to ask.
I want to join an RP in International Incident(later i called it II), from what i saw in II, RPs usually involved a region member and sometimes inter-regional. If i come from a regional that doesn't play in II or their off-site forum, can i join it freely? or i must become their region member?

[Lamoni]

Had been in NationStates roleplaying scene for years in NS Sports, there's on thing that i want to ask.
I want to join an RP in International Incident(later i called it II), from what i saw in II, RPs usually involved a region member and sometimes inter-regional. If i come from a regional that doesn't play in II or their off-site forum, can i join it freely? or i must become their region member?

You don't need to join any specific region in order to RP on II, though there are some RPing groups who like to RP with each other over a common theme, or other such consideration. You'll be fine with your nation being right where it is.

[Runali]

I'd like some advice for my citizen's draconic natures in terms of roleplay! What can I do to make it seem more believable!

I'd suggest looking at my factbook entry before doing anything, I will probably also add in a Human silhouette to those pictures later to provide a sense of scale.

[The Macabees]

I'd like some advice for my citizen's draconic natures in terms of roleplay! What can I do to make it seem more believable!

I'd suggest looking at my factbook entry before doing anything, I will probably also add in a Human silhouette to those pictures later to provide a sense of scale.

I'm not able to see the images at all, fyi. Maybe it's just me (my internet has been very poor this past week), so hopefully someone else can double check that.

I, however, love the idea. Have you read Temeraire? It's not a purely dragon-based society, but it does deal with dragons in the Napoleonic Wars!

In response to your question: what do you want to make believable about it?

[Adevia-Ardvilla]

I have other questions about RPs.
1. Why do RPers, when landing on a shore, mostly have that shore have a beach? I've read it happen even if the landing city, town or village is a RL location which does not have any beach at all. Is it because of D-Day?
2. Why do private RPs have nations godmodding what the other nation does and says? For expamle, say I was doing a private RP with some nation and I gave that nation's character a booklet saying what hotels are in the city that the RP was taking place in. Then, the other nation replies and makes up a hotel name. Are they allowed to do that?

[Pillowlandia]

I have other questions about RPs.
1. Why do RPers, when landing on a shore, mostly have that shore have a beach? I've read it happen even if the landing city, town or village is a RL location which does not have any beach at all. Is it because of D-Day?
2. Why do private RPs have nations godmodding what the other nation does and says? For expamle, say I was doing a private RP with some nation and I gave that nation's character a booklet saying what hotels are in the city that the RP was taking place in. Then, the other nation replies and makes up a hotel name. Are they allowed to do that?

Well the first one is simple, landing on a beach is less chaotic than an urban area. Urban fighting is nasty for any attacker. And landing on a nonexistent beach could just be a misunderstanding

2. That player is simply disrespectful/ didn't get what you tried to convey

[Adevia-Ardvilla]

I have other questions about RPs.
1. Why do RPers, when landing on a shore, mostly have that shore have a beach? I've read it happen even if the landing city, town or village is a RL location which does not have any beach at all. Is it because of D-Day?
2. Why do private RPs have nations godmodding what the other nation does and says? For expamle, say I was doing a private RP with some nation and I gave that nation's character a booklet saying what hotels are in the city that the RP was taking place in. Then, the other nation replies and makes up a hotel name. Are they allowed to do that?

Well the first one is simple, landing on a beach is less chaotic than an urban area. Urban fighting is nasty for any attacker. And landing on a nonexistent beach could just be a misunderstanding

2. That player is simply disrespectful/ didn't get what you tried to convey

But RPers always do it. Also, they never harm their home state, ever.

[Lubyak]

I have other questions about RPs.
1. Why do RPers, when landing on a shore, mostly have that shore have a beach? I've read it happen even if the landing city, town or village is a RL location which does not have any beach at all. Is it because of D-Day?
2. Why do private RPs have nations godmodding what the other nation does and says? For expamle, say I was doing a private RP with some nation and I gave that nation's character a booklet saying what hotels are in the city that the RP was taking place in. Then, the other nation replies and makes up a hotel name. Are they allowed to do that?

1) Most likely. World War II is one of the most prominent example of large scale military action in popular culture, and many of its tropes are deeply embedded in popular culture. Since World War II amphibious assaults generally involved assaults on beaches that gets represented as well. The same is true of things like big gun battleships and close range dogfights.

2) They shouldn't do that. They are 'allowed' to in the sense that moderation won't do anything about it if you report it, but godmodding of any form is considered poor RP etiquette. In such a situation you should reiterate that they must draw from the list of hotels you provided. However, in other situations, when it seems like god modding is happening, often the players have discussed the situation and agreed for one player to make a post that involves controlling the other player's characters. Such forms of pre-planning and discussion for RPs are pretty common in certain RP groups/regions.

[Rhodevus]

I have other questions about RPs.
1. Why do RPers, when landing on a shore, mostly have that shore have a beach? I've read it happen even if the landing city, town or village is a RL location which does not have any beach at all. Is it because of D-Day?
2. Why do private RPs have nations godmodding what the other nation does and says? For expamle, say I was doing a private RP with some nation and I gave that nation's character a booklet saying what hotels are in the city that the RP was taking place in. Then, the other nation replies and makes up a hotel name. Are they allowed to do that?

1. I think Lubyak answered this one perfectly, so I am not going to try and top him/her

2. This really depends on the nations involved. For newer, less experienced nations, this would constitute god-modding which is heavily frowned upon here in nationstates. However, if the nations had a long history of RPing together, it is often allowed. An example of this is me and a close (online) friend of mine. We have been RPing together for near three years now, so each of us does in fact god-mod quite a lot in our private RPs, but since we know our characters' preferences and actions, we can act them out realistically. Generally, when RPs are private, people can get away with a lot more than if they were public.

[Adevia-Ardvilla]

I read a RP where the OP said it was over, but another player restarted it against their will. Are they allowed to do that thing?

[Ghant]

I read a RP where the OP said it was over, but another player restarted it against their will. Are they allowed to do that thing?

Technically speaking, anyone can start a thread about anything, but it's considered poor form to start a thread involving a player and their creative material without their OOC consent. In addition, anyone can refuse to recognize or participate in a thread if they so choose. Hence, this "restarted" thread can just be ignored, and thus the thread has no legitimacy.

[Stahn]

I have other questions about RPs.
1. Why do RPers, when landing on a shore, mostly have that shore have a beach? I've read it happen even if the landing city, town or village is a RL location which does not have any beach at all. Is it because of D-Day?
2. Why do private RPs have nations godmodding what the other nation does and says? For expamle, say I was doing a private RP with some nation and I gave that nation's character a booklet saying what hotels are in the city that the RP was taking place in. Then, the other nation replies and makes up a hotel name. Are they allowed to do that?

1. I think Lubyak answered this one perfectly, so I am not going to try and top him/her

2. This really depends on the nations involved. For newer, less experienced nations, this would constitute god-modding which is heavily frowned upon here in nationstates. However, if the nations had a long history of RPing together, it is often allowed. An example of this is me and a close (online) friend of mine. We have been RPing together for near three years now, so each of us does in fact god-mod quite a lot in our private RPs, but since we know our characters' preferences and actions, we can act them out realistically. Generally, when RPs are private, people can get away with a lot more than if they were public.

I don't think I am a very good role player but I try to think of a RP as a dance.

You try to anticipate, have a good time and create something of "beauty".

You shouldn't be too neurotic about these things I think. Something like coming up with a name of one of your hotels could in some cases really help the flow of things. If you don't like the name or something like that you can always ask him or her to edit the post the way you like it.

If in a RP you find yourself in someone else's nation, you almost can not avoid creating a tiny bit of it. If only because you most likely have to move around and such. A strong effort should be made to make it fit with your intentions but for me personally, I love it when people do stuff like that in a considerate way.

I don't think these things must be looked at like if they were strategy or board games. It is much more like role playing (well, that is how it is called) and creative writing.

At least that is how I see it and I like to RP with people who see it somewhat simular ways.

If people are too competitive I find myself not enjoying it at all.

[Lubyak]

I read a RP where the OP said it was over, but another player restarted it against their will. Are they allowed to do that thing?

If the player who 'restarted' it took material from the original OPs post, then it might be plagiarism, which is a reportable offence. It is definitely in bad taste to take over someone's RP without their permission.

[Ghaghara]

Hi, so I'm new.

What is a RP? And how do I create a nation? Somebody told me that everything was sort of just made up and pretend, so I assume that none of the game stats matter.

In that case, which one is the true game?

[Aquitayne]

Hi, so I'm new.

What is a RP? And how do I create a nation? Somebody told me that everything was sort of just made up and pretend, so I assume that none of the game stats matter.

In that case, which one is the true game?

An RP is a roleplay. It's most easily defined as a story being told by multiple people. It can be any type of story you want; war, diplomacy, love, betrayal, whatever suits you. An RP is simply you roleplaying a character in a certain place in time.

As to creating a nation, you've gotten started already in creating Ghaghara. Most of the NS community breaks NationStates down into two parts: Gameside and RP. Gameside is your statistics as defined by NationStates, as well as the whole raiding regions thing. Frankly, your nation is whatever you'd like it to be. If you want to make it a small, technologically advanced nation with a small but formidable military, you can do that. If you want to make it a large, industrial nation with a huge but perhaps ill-equipped and little trained army, you can do that as well. You define what your nation is, how its run, who runs it, what those people are like, and how your nation interacts with the rest of the world. I suggest reading through some threads to help you figure out some basics: viewtopic.php?p=9160667#p9160667

Feel free to TG (telegram) me if you need any other help or anything.