Thanks to Wight for the logo.
I) Introduction
Welcome to Baptism of Fire 47, everyone! 48 nations are going to participate in what is the hardest championship to win in NS Sports. Why is that? Because this is your only chance to win it!
The Baptism of Fire. Your football/soccer journey begins now. I see a group of nations here who have a varying degree if experience in NS Sports. First, I see the puppets of nations that already in. For these puppets, I welcome you, but hope that your participation becomes a little longer in the community with this nation and that it is not just an effort to win this with a secondary nation.
Now, for my true newbies. You are the ones I really want to talk to before we get started. There are three groups of you. The overly enthusiastic, the “testing this to see what it might be all about”, and the people who will for whatever reason will not participate as a roleplayer.
For my overly enthusiastics, welcome to the Baptism of Fire. Of the three groups of new users, you are the ones probably with the highest expectations of success here. Go get it! Let your creative juices flow, and show us all how great your nation is. However, do know that things might not always go your way and do not become discouraged if it seems as though your roleplaying is not paying off. Sometimes, things don’t go according to plan, but such is the world of sports. Too often we have seen great roleplayers in the Baptism of Fire, then never saw them again. Keep that level of enthusiasm high not matter what happens. You have to be patient. That’s the most important word for you. Patience!
Now, for my testing this to see what it will be all about users. I was one of you. When I signed up for Baptism of Fire 30, I never planned on becoming a long-term member of this community, but it just happened. Relax and take it all in. Read the roleplays of others and interact and you may just find yourself creating rivalries and making friends along the way, and soon you will have established a nice football/soccer program. Many of you will be won over and become long-term participants. Surely though, there are bound to be some that decide this is not for them. If so, then do keep in mind that we do pretty much every sport in NS Sports, so maybe another sport is more suitable. And remember, that NS Sports will always be here. If you choose to not return then in a few months or a year or whatever, want to try it again, we will be here.
Now, the people who will end up not roleplaying at all. Some of you still might be checking scores. But if you are checking scores, I do suggest to throw in at least one or two short RP’s in to at least let us know you are out there and checking up on things. But for some you, something may have happened in the last month in the real world, that prevented you from participating. That’s fine and understandable. Never feel that this means you will not be welcomed in the future to build on what you did here. We understand real life can get in the way. If you want to return, we will be here for you.
B) “What do I do first?”
You want to begin by creating a roster. This is important as it will certainly help you in your roleplaying but it will also help your opponents and the 47 other nations in the 47th BoF. Rosters can come in all shapes in sizes.
First, we have the Basic Roster. Though it is basic, it provides a list of names which were able to be used in RP’s, if not by this nation, then by any nation that opposed them. If this is all you have time to do for a roster, don’t feel as though you HAVE to do more. Very simple, but very, very appreciated.
Rosters though usually provide some basic information about the players. It can be serious information, like this, or more light-hearted, such as this.
Many nations choose to include pictures of their kits, or their stadiums, or both. However, in the Baptism of Fire, you are only playing in Cassadaigua or Ipeland, so the stadium picture can be saved for World Cup qualifying.
From there, some people will provide a ton of detail and let their creative side show like this, this, or this.
C) Roleplay
There are many different ways you can roleplay. Match reports, player interactions, media analysis, first person blogs, or telling an ongoing story. Or more. Or much more, the sky is the limit.
But when you do, you will need to follow this, the RP Permissions. You will notice that all the rosters I linked to up above had RP Permissions. This is where you tell opponents what they can and can’t do, and likewise where they give you limits on what you can do, to them. It is very important to follow these permissions. Let’s take a look at them and go through what they really mean:
If my opponent RP’s first, can they?
Choose my goalscorers: Y/N
Something you probably want to allow unless you are really particular about having things go your way.
Godmod scoring events: Y/N
Things that depart from reality are covered here. The goalkeeper getting a hat-trick, goals allowed after the referee blew the whistle for full-time, the coaches 10-year son suddenly joining the team because no one else was scoring and suddenly being the hero. I thank Starblaydia for clarifying this, even for me!
RP injuries to my players: Y/N
Do you want your opponent to injure your players? A common response to this by people who don’t really want their players injured but like to give the opponent free-will to say there was an injury is to say “only say they were hurt. I will determine what happened and the severity.”
Godmod injuries to my players: Y/N
Taking the above a step further. Or maybe many steps further, to even serious injuries or death. Not recommended for the casual RPer.
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Y/N
Can they say someone got yellow-carded? Like with injuries, if someone doesn’t want a rash of cards, but wants the opponent to have free will, they will say something like “yes, but no more then two.”
Hand out red cards to my players: Y/N
Just like with yellow cards. Sometimes if this is allowed, you might want to name a couple players who are more likely to get a red card, then other players.
Godmod other events: Y/N
Allows for crazy, unlimited, circumstances. When you took a penalty, did a wild goose suddenly fly in the way and stop the shot? Did a group of opposing supporters invade the pitch and mass-kill members of the team? Was your team abducted by aliens? We’re talking about complete free-will here. Some people love doing this, and others want to keep it real. Choose yes or no accordingly. If you don’t want people to do something nutty without your consent but are open to doing crazy things, a common answer is “telegram me your idea first”.
For more, check out this: thread
So, let’s get this started! Coming up in the following posts:
The Group Draw and schedule (also where links to rosters are found).
Information about Cassadaigua.
Information about Ipeland.
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GOALKEEPER
