RPing Questions? Ask Here!

[Great Palkia]

I have been playing Nation States for about four months now and I want to create an international incident. The only problem is, I don't have anyone to play the role of the bad nation. I see that a lot of people just make up their own bad guy but how would that work? Would it be better to get another nation to fill the spot of the bad nations or should I just make up a bad nation and choose the choices for them?

[Rhodevus]

I have been playing Nation States for about four months now and I want to create an international incident. The only problem is, I don't have anyone to play the role of the bad nation. I see that a lot of people just make up their own bad guy but how would that work? Would it be better to get another nation to fill the spot of the bad nations or should I just make up a bad nation and choose the choices for them?

It is all a matter of control. How much control do you want over how the international incident is run? If you control the baddie yourself, then you can control the main storyline. You are able to lead the roleplay the way you want it and direct it to various engagements of your own choosing.

If you allow another nation to be the baddie, you lose some of that control. They may throw some twists which you did not think of. It may make the RP better, it may make it worse. It is all chance.

As someone who has tried it both ways, I prefer controlling my villain, but that is just me. Playing with another nation as the badguy can be loads of fun. They change the RP into something where you are the leader and navigator into a place where you are also the player, trying to figure out how to move around a seperate player.

[Zahlung]

So I'm pretty new to Nation States and have taken the time to read through a bunch of introductory materials on RP'ing here and I really like the idea. I was dissatisfied with my current nation (for an RP'ing perspective) so I created this one to participate. However, I don't quite follow how to actually start role playing. All of the threads I've seen have thousands of posts and seem well established. I assume it would be bad form to try and barge in to one of them. Where can I find new RPs and, as a new player, am I welcome to join them? Or is there a dedicated newbie section I should head to to get a hang of things?

Thanks for your help,
Zahlung

[Murovanka]

So I'm pretty new to Nation States and have taken the time to read through a bunch of introductory materials on RP'ing here and I really like the idea. I was dissatisfied with my current nation (for an RP'ing perspective) so I created this one to participate. However, I don't quite follow how to actually start role playing. All of the threads I've seen have thousands of posts and seem well established. I assume it would be bad form to try and barge in to one of them. Where can I find new RPs and, as a new player, am I welcome to join them? Or is there a dedicated newbie section I should head to to get a hang of things?

Thanks for your help,
Zahlung

Take a look around II; those labeled [OPEN] you are more often than not welcome to join. As you've already read up on the introductory materials, the next step I suppose would be to read others' posts and see how they do it. As long as you're willing to keep an open mind there shouldn't be a problem.

[Akastan (Ancient)]

Good morning. My name is Senator Benjamin Fraser, and I'm the head of the government of Akastan. I'd like to ask if there are any requirements before I can post on the Forum here on NationStates.
Could someone please reply to this ASAP.

Thanks,
I won't declare war on you unless you are annoying.

[Shazbotdom]

Good morning. My name is Senator Benjamin Fraser, and I'm the head of the government of Akastan. I'd like to ask if there are any requirements before I can post on the Forum here on NationStates.
Could someone please reply to this ASAP.

Thanks,
I won't declare war on you unless you are annoying.

This thread is not in character, threatening people with invasion here is not really needed.

[Zahlung]

Take a look around II; those labeled [OPEN] you are more often than not welcome to join. As you've already read up on the introductory materials, the next step I suppose would be to read others' posts and see how they do it. As long as you're willing to keep an open mind there shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for the advice

[Lubyak]

So I'm pretty new to Nation States and have taken the time to read through a bunch of introductory materials on RP'ing here and I really like the idea. I was dissatisfied with my current nation (for an RP'ing perspective) so I created this one to participate. However, I don't quite follow how to actually start role playing. All of the threads I've seen have thousands of posts and seem well established. I assume it would be bad form to try and barge in to one of them. Where can I find new RPs and, as a new player, am I welcome to join them? Or is there a dedicated newbie section I should head to to get a hang of things?

Thanks for your help,
Zahlung

Take a look around II; those labeled [OPEN] you are more often than not welcome to join. As you've already read up on the introductory materials, the next step I suppose would be to read others' posts and see how they do it. As long as you're willing to keep an open mind there shouldn't be a problem.

Even if a thread is labeled [CLOSED] or [SEMI-OPEN], feel free to TG the OP of the thread asking about it. Many of the RP groups/regions on NS are always happy to get new members, so if you find an RP you like--even if you can't participate in that specific RP--it could be worthwhile to TG the OP about it, and see what options there are for you.

[Maltropia]

I'd like to ask if there are any requirements before I can post on the Forum here on NationStates.

Yes, registering an account. Since you've clearly already done that, all the requirements are fulfilled. Post away!

However, you might want to be aware of a few things. Most importantly, as Shazbotdom has rightly noted, there's the in-character/out-of-character distinction. Don't let in-character disputes get to you; just because my country's at war with yours doesn't mean I have anything against you. Similarly, just because you don't like a guy doesn't mean you should automatically go to war with him or embargo him. Don't let personal disagreements translate into roleplayed ones or vice versa.

Also, threads like this one (and any thread marked [OOC]) are entirely out of character. No need for roleplay. [IC] denotes threads where you absolutely should not have conversations out of character; at most you can tack on a little note like "OOC: Is his name Johnson or Jensen?" or "Let me know how many ships you're deploying."

If you've any other questions getting started, please ask!

[Minroz]

I was working on my AU-verse as of recently. I've been thinking of making one-shot stories based in my AU canon. So where do I can post them in NS?

[Rhodevus]

I was working on my AU-verse as of recently. I've been thinking of making one-shot stories based in my AU canon. So where do I can post them in NS?

If the AU involves NS nations, then in II.
Otherwise, the best place is P2TM

[Islamic Republic of Aceh]

Hallo,
I made a thread, http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=380226, but I have a feeling that it might made in the wrong forum. Is that true? If yes, then what I can do?

[Santheres]

Hallo,
I made a thread, http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=380226, but I have a feeling that it might made in the wrong thread. Is that true? If yes, then what I can do?

What makes you think it's in the wrong forum? Either way, it's actually fine where it is. There's a possibility (absolutely no guarantee) that it might get more action in the NS forum instead of II but it's fine in II.

[Islamic Republic of Aceh]

Hallo,
I made a thread, http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=380226, but I have a feeling that it might made in the wrong thread. Is that true? If yes, then what I can do?

What makes you think it's in the wrong forum? Either way, it's actually fine where it is. There's a possibility (absolutely no guarantee) that it might get more action in the NS forum instead of II but it's fine in II.

Oh, thanks. I have a feeling that it may located in the wrong forum because most of the same threads are located in the NS.

[Eonstar]

What are the general guidelines for sizing your population? I'm sizing my population at a moderately large level (few hundred million) and would like to keep it that way (barring increases or decreases due to international incidents such as pandemics, military massacres, or successful wars), instead of starting out with a few million and constantly growing till it reaches billions. Would this be frowned upon in RPs?

[Ghant]

What are the general guidelines for sizing your population? I'm sizing my population at a moderately large level (few hundred million) and would like to keep it that way (barring increases or decreases due to international incidents such as pandemics, military massacres, or successful wars), instead of starting out with a few million and constantly growing till it reaches billions. Would this be frowned upon in RPs?

Depends on what the people you plan on RPing with do. Some people use NS pops (which is the population listed on your on-site account, which is often very high), while others use RP pops (which is determined by the roleplayer for roleplaying purposes). There are many communities and RPers that utilize high-end populations that number in the billions (mostly in PMT regions), while others in more realistic RP groups (most notably MT) have populations similar to what you would find in RL. So my suggestion would be to base what your IC population is around what sorts of RPs you'd like to get involved in and who you'd like to RP with, because naturally, NS pop and RP pop nations have a hard time interacting ICly in a number of areas (especially as it concerns military RP). Hope that helps.

[Eonstar]

What are the general guidelines for sizing your population? I'm sizing my population at a moderately large level (few hundred million) and would like to keep it that way (barring increases or decreases due to international incidents such as pandemics, military massacres, or successful wars), instead of starting out with a few million and constantly growing till it reaches billions. Would this be frowned upon in RPs?

Depends on what the people you plan on RPing with do. Some people use NS pops (which is the population listed on your on-site account, which is often very high), while others use RP pops (which is determined by the roleplayer for roleplaying purposes). There are many communities and RPers that utilize high-end populations that number in the billions (mostly in PMT regions), while others in more realistic RP groups (most notably MT) have populations similar to what you would find in RL. So my suggestion would be to base what your IC population is around what sorts of RPs you'd like to get involved in and who you'd like to RP with, because naturally, NS pop and RP pop nations have a hard time interacting ICly in a number of areas (especially as it concerns military RP). Hope that helps.

Thanks. Since I'm interested in more realistic MT roleplays, this works for me.

[Roski]

Depends on what the people you plan on RPing with do. Some people use NS pops (which is the population listed on your on-site account, which is often very high), while others use RP pops (which is determined by the roleplayer for roleplaying purposes). There are many communities and RPers that utilize high-end populations that number in the billions (mostly in PMT regions), while others in more realistic RP groups (most notably MT) have populations similar to what you would find in RL. So my suggestion would be to base what your IC population is around what sorts of RPs you'd like to get involved in and who you'd like to RP with, because naturally, NS pop and RP pop nations have a hard time interacting ICly in a number of areas (especially as it concerns military RP). Hope that helps.

Thanks. Since I'm interested in more realistic MT roleplays, this works for me.

With a modern tech population, a "few hundred million" depends on the group. In groups I was in previously, people with populations within the USA-China Range were viewed with suspicion. If you want to just screw around on NS, having a few hundred million people is fine. But if you want to join a "realistic" mt group, I would try to keep it, if you must have high ends, between about 87 million (Germany) to 200 million (roughly Brazil).

[Eonstar]

Thanks. Since I'm interested in more realistic MT roleplays, this works for me.

With a modern tech population, a "few hundred million" depends on the group. In groups I was in previously, people with populations within the USA-China Range were viewed with suspicion. If you want to just screw around on NS, having a few hundred million people is fine. But if you want to join a "realistic" mt group, I would try to keep it, if you must have high ends, between about 87 million (Germany) to 200 million (roughly Brazil).

Heh, I had arbitrarily chosen 172 million, so that should work.

[The Federation of Kendor]

How to make a good RP post?

[Maltropia]

Just to tack on something I'd said recently elsewhere, Eonstar:

I find it easier to work with smaller countries if you want to create a more immersive world, but at the same time you don't want to go too low if you want to retain a certain amount of diplomatic/economic/military clout. I personally consider 70-200 million a decent range for mid-sized powers in NS, but it depends on your perspective and your roleplaying partners/region. The smallest I've gone is 1.4 million, but that's attached to an imperial overlord with a population of, again, about 200 million.

Of course, a lot of people'll never check to see what your RP population is so you could probably get away with whatever you like. I'd say 40-250 million is what you want to look at.

---

How to make a good RP post?

Basically? Read books, and write what would keep your interest. Don't write something short, write a paragraph or several (or more, if it's appropriate). Check your spelling and grammar. Re-read it once or twice to make sure it makes sense, that it flows and that it's good.

[IAPA]

Sorry to post under my puppet, but a player brought this question came up while I was coding stuff. I figured it was best to get an answer here:

Mal, is there any rule of thumb when determining military size? I would imagine it's based, in part, on a percentage of the population and the resources available?

Thanks, - Swith

[Maltropia]

Sorry to post under my puppet, but a player brought this question came up while I was coding stuff. I figured it was best to get an answer here:

Mal, is there any rule of thumb when determining military size? I would imagine it's based, in part, on a percentage of the population and the resources available?

Thanks, - Swith

There are many, many variables, few of which I'm qualified to list, but the most often-quoted figures are 0.5-5% of your total population, where 5% would be the in time of utmost need figure. It depends on economics, national and [regional] international politics, etc., and there are several stances on the thing. I'll search this thread for the last major post made on the matter.

EDIT: See this post and Lubyak's addendum; and also this post.

[Gemperia]

How can you use role plays to declare war? Shouldn't there be a modification that allows a button on a nation's main page that other nations can click to start war RP's with the nation?

[Rhodevus]

How can you use role plays to declare war? Shouldn't there be a modification that allows a button on a nation's main page that other nations can click to start war RP's with the nation?

NationStates is about each individual person being able to create their utopia (or dystopia or whatever they want) of a nation, without war between nations changing it. So, no. There is no built in system of war. Everything that is done on the forums, such as war RPs have to be discussed and agreed upon by the two (or more) players in the war. So, you cannot just go to a nation's page and declare war, but telegram them first and ask if you two can have a war RP. Hope this helps!