RPing Questions? Ask Here!

[Jenrak]

It really isn't possible. Gene therapies are still in their nascent stages.

what about glow in the dark dogs?

You can have rats.

[Delmonte]

what about glow in the dark dogs?

You can have rats.

If I may point out the problem with glow-in-the-dark animals: They would be VERY sleep deprived and might even die/go crazy.

[-The Unified Earth Governments-]

Is there anything to be known rules-wise or something similar about an FT nation doing an alien invasion of an MT-PMT nation?

Totally legal so long as all the participants agree.

Speaking of that, I'm planning on doing one soon

Not possible in MT.

Does MT mean modern tech as in the modern era(16th to 20th century)?

I'm curious how you got that :\

[Kelvaros Prime]

Not possible in MT.

Does MT mean modern tech as in the modern era(16th to 20th century)?

Had to chuckle at this.

The 19th century's events included the American Civil War. That's not exactly modern. For the Modern era, I'd say 1995-present.

[Maltropia]

"Modern" in the sense that Early Modern History refers to 16th century on and Late Modern refers to the French Revolution on. From a historical perspective, 'modern' doesn't necessarily mean 'contemporary'. From a roleplay perspective, it does.

[Draica]

I've been wondering on this for awhile, and still pondering on it.

According to you guys(anyone who reguarly browses the thread) how are my rping skills?

[The North Pacific League]

Does MT mean modern tech as in the modern era(16th to 20th century)?

Had to chuckle at this.

The 19th century's events included the American Civil War. That's not exactly modern. For the Modern era, I'd say 1995-present.

Eh I'd I'd say '60s to present. Some nations are more advanced than others, and some have larger military budgets or different priorities, but that assumes that everyone at least has access to jets, modern armor, and modern small arms (though those are usually not very different than even WWII small arms and IMO even bolt-action rifles are still entirely viable--NPL uses them; they can have the power to defeat modern ballistic armor whilst intermediate-cartridge "assault rifles" don't.). It also assumes SAMs that you can't just fly over with a B-52 equivalent with impunity.

And it includes aircraft carriers of course. For that you could go back to WWII but detection ranges and guided missiles mean WWII naval warfare isn't a good guide for modern naval warfare. Guided munitions and improvements in radar are the major things there AFAIK (wasn't a Navy officer .)

But at the end of the day there are often (relatively) low-tech solutions to high-tech problems.

Maybe it's bias but I think most wars come down to infantry combat anyway and that is not at all technologically demanding in the present and likely won't be in the future. Kinetic energy is what it is and works plenty well. I forget who said it but: "It's likely that the first astronauts to land on planets with intelligent life will still be carrying (more or less) AK-47s."

[Draica]

Well, perhaps I'l ask a question you guys can answer..

What is up with all this antartica/arctic countries? Are they MT? How are they possible?

[Lamoni]

Well, perhaps I'l ask a question you guys can answer..

What is up with all this antartica/arctic countries? Are they MT? How are they possible?

That depends on the storyline of the nation or nations in question, tbh. Can't really answer that without looking into their backstory.

[Roski]

Well, perhaps I'l ask a question you guys can answer..

What is up with all this antartica/arctic countries? Are they MT? How are they possible?

Artic nations are more than possible.

Just ask Hitler.

[Xiscapia]

The description I've always heard for MT was 1980s-present.

[Kylarnatia]

In reality, there aren't really any strict definitions as to what each tech band means (PT, MT, PMT, FT etc.) - it's all just commonly assumed what they mean. Fact of the matter is they're all open up to different interpretations, and so long as all the participants in a roleplay agree on said interpretation, there should be no problems. :)

[Bears Armed]

Well, perhaps I'l ask a question you guys can answer..

What is up with all this antartica/arctic countries? Are they MT? How are they possible?

At least one nation in the arctic, Kandor, is definitely FT...,

[The Anon Hactivists]

How does cyber warfare work in MT?

[Jenrak]

How does cyber warfare work in MT?

With a lot of careful planning and pre-planned consent.

Cyber warfare is one of those big picture unknowns, where people specialise or are familiar with one aspect (whether it's the cybersecurity or security dimension of it), but aren't overly familiar with how it all tends to play out. Sure you've got people good at computers who aren't familiar with policy and decisionmaking, and vice versa. It's difficult to use examples in the real world, because a lot of cyberwarfare is a bit difficult to understand due to the hush-hush nature of cyberwarfare.

For instance, we have good ideas on things like Stuxnet and Flame as well as their general architecture, but most of the circumstances that we as civilians have regarding their origins are all unofficial and hearsay. The same challenge is generally expected when there's a nation that hasn't made an official declaration, but issues arise.

There's also issues of sovereignty that arise versus issues of nationhood. For instance, if Nation A's hackers like to attack Nation B's national banks, would that constitute as a terrorist attack? Or would it constitute as an aggressive act? Implicit versus explicit doctrinal motives underline several legal, theoretical, and operational qualms that come with cyberwarfare.

Particularly fast-growing is the use of information dumping (or 'doxxing') to release private information on private subjects. The release of this information can coerce and force several actors or groups to respond in different ways, and the end result can certainly be seen as acts of war.

What's important to know is that the modern conception of security is based around Actors and Referent Objects. Referent Objects are the things that must be protected; actors are the things that respond or accentuate threats to these referent objects. In realist and neorealist theory, states are referent objects because they're the main analytical, institutional, and normative means upon which governments can, well, govern. In neoliberal theory, the referent object can vary, but it's usually the people or the ideas that create positive-sum power relationships for optimal governance.

Cybersecurity has a different formulation for the referent object and the threat. Instead of establishing a referent object and a threat, cybersecurity - and cyberwarfare in general - doesn't effectively differentiate between a lot of referent objects and a lot of threats. It just establishes that a relationship exists, but oftentimes there's no clear indicator who is being targeted in particular and who is doing the targeting. Since malware can spread like wildfire beyond borders, hacker groups can have obtuse or cryptic goals and allegiances, and doxing can be done by any coordinated group and no singular identity, then cyberwarfare is trouble because it bucks the trend of a lot of security theory and formulation. It feels very much like a puzzle that needs to be solved, and should be framed as such.

Now, there are moments where there are referent objects and clear threats. For instance, in the chance there is escalation between Russia and Ukraine, we'll likely see massive DDoS, network congestion, and possibly pipeline sabotage. Doxing and information warfare will probably be another component to consider.

It's almost important to note that cyberwarfare, as the fifth domain of warfare, is probably one of the greatest equalizers in terms of military might. While it's definitely true that the more advanced a state, the more advanced their cybersecurity suites will likely be, that's not the be-all and end-all in cyberwarfare. Cyberwarfare is just as much about espionage than it is about all out warfare, and cyberwarfare can take on the form of a lot of different things: getting the right politician to open the wrong emails, shutting down centrifuges because they're all made by a particular manufacturer, or having your own soldiers disagree with you and releasing private information.

It's constantly shifting, requires a lot of work and planning for it to come off as realistic, and for that reason I wouldn't really suggest committing to a cyberwarfare conflict unless BOTH players are familiar with it or they've planned it out beforehand.

tl;dr it's a lot of work to do it compellingly and realistically, and looks kinda dumb when you do it for action

If you're really interested, I suggest Mehan's Cyberwar, Cyberterror, and Cybercrime. Likewise, you may also benefit from Buzan's Security: A New Framework for Analysis.

[Phyllch]

What thread do you make after a sign up thread here in II.

[Roski]

What thread do you make after a sign up thread here in II.

You have an OOC/Sign Up Thread
then an IC thread.

[Phyllch]

Thanks

[Phyllch]

Say you make an international incidents post about people trying to find and kill a group of terrorists. How would you start your IC thread after you made your sign up thread?

[The Macabees]

Say you make an international incidents post about people trying to find and kill a group of terrorists. How would you start your IC thread after you made your sign up thread?

An RP is really a story, so your first post will want to introduce the readers (and especially the potential RPers) to the storyline. The more detailed the better: who, what, where, why, how. Imagine yourself reading a book on the topic you're writing on. How would you want the first chapter to look like? That'll give you a good idea of how to go about starting your IC thread.

[The Sotoan Union]

What is a good way to RP an entire faction, without just talking about the actions of a few characters?

[The Macabees]

What is a good way to RP an entire faction, without just talking about the actions of a few characters?

Is this what you have in mind, more-or-less? The difference between this post (from a more strategic/meta POV) and this post?

[Rhodevus]

What are some different forms of espionage that are usually used by nations at war as well as during peace time?
This is an MT question

[The Sotoan Union]

What is a good way to RP an entire faction, without just talking about the actions of a few characters?

Is this what you have in mind, more-or-less? The difference between this post (from a more strategic/meta POV) and this post?

Yeah. I see more of the latter post when people RP factions, which isn't really representing the whole faction.

[Vancon]

What are some different forms of espionage that are usually used by nations at war as well as during peace time?
This is an MT question

You need to be more specific.

In general, there is physical (on-location) spying, Wire tapping, Assasination, Blackmail and countless others.