RPing Questions? Ask Here!

[British North American Colonies]

I am creating a RP for the first time, and it involves line battles, natives, gunpowder weapons, etc. I am wondering how to create, play out, and come to a fair way of figuring out who wins. Thanks!

[Aquatus]

I have a sample map that's more designed for space nations than terrestrial nations but could be modified for that use. You'll need the GIMP or a program that can open .xcf files. The gimp is free, of course.

http://Www.pacifier.com/~cziller/images ... aceMap.xcf

The various layers are marked to their purpose and you can just copy and paste your images into the layers and manipulate from there.

How to make and edit a map for nationstates?

There is no way to do it on Nationstates. You need to do it using MSPaint or any other software like that.

Thank You

[The Cyberiad Council]

Okay, so I was wanting advice on etiquette when proceeding with one of the RP threds I'm in. This nation invaded one of the other nations in my region. I was not aware of this until another Ally asked for my help in a new thread to retake the lost lands. My ally needed my help because of sanctions placed on him as part of the treaty that stopped the first war. At first the enemy participated in the thread, but then went inactive when he saw he was going to lose. So far me and my have slowed down our posting. We don't want to be jerks, but don't want to have this drug out forever. Should we just end the invasion or wait for the other guy to become active? Thread here

[Lamoni]

It would depend on why the other player went inactive. If they really are mad that they are losing, you can just close the thread, really. But if there are other (particularly RL) reasons for them not posting, then it can wait a bit. The main thing would be to get in touch with the other player, and find out exactly why they are not posting, first.

Although, a total of 14 posts in a war thread? It should really just be getting started, not ending.

[The Imperium Empires]

What generes are considered popular for RPs on nationstates.

[Pillowlandia]

Mt and FT are ones I see a lot of, but if the idea is really good you'll get people no matter what

[Aquitayne]

What generes are considered popular for RPs on nationstates.

Well, there are four main timeframes for any RP: PT (Past-tech), MT (Modern day), PMT (within the next 20-40 years), and FT (future tech). First thing to decide is where your RP falls on that timeline.

The next thing, which I assume is what you're asking, is what kind of RP to make. The most common RP's, obviously, revolve around armed conflict and wars erupting over various strategic resources, political flashpoints, and so on. First things to ask yourself is:

• Do I want the RP to be a war or small armed conflict?
  
• Do I want this RP to be character-driven or take place on a national stage?
• Do I want this RP to take place domestically or internationally?
• Do I want this RP to be about social, economic, or political struggle?

From my experience, answering those questions first can really impact the RP in the direction that you want to go. Let's say I want to do an RP, but I'm not sure what I want it to be about. So I ask myself the first question, and decide I don't want it to be a war. Then I move on, saying I want the RP to take place on the national stage, domestically. Now the last question is really what opens up the RP to what you want to do. You can pick one, two, or all three of those types of issues to form the foundation of your RP. Let's say I pick social and political struggles. What can be done with that? Well...

• Political Protests over recent legislation
  
• Mass riots over racial inequality
• Militia groups targeting high-ranking political figures for assassinations
• A non-profit uncovering a heinous government plot to restrict freedom of speech and press to the people
• A whistle-blower releasing classified documents regarding the torture or killings of national citizens

Really, you can take your RP's anywhere you'd like. Even though I picked the national stage, I can follow the rebel leader or maybe a journalist that's covering the militia's progress through their killings. Just brainstorm ideas through your head and pick a topic.

[Neo-Vekta]

Is there any rule when it comes to a region versus region?

[Aquitayne]

Is there any rule when it comes to a region versus region?

Other than making sure each of the nations consent, not particularly.

[British North American Colonies]

How do battles and war in the forums work? As in how are they played out or what consists of them?

[The Macabees]

How do battles and war in the forums work? As in how are they played out or what consists of them?

The way battles and wars are usually fought is through cooperative roleplay. This is pretty broad and can be done in a number of ways:

1. There are more competitive approaches, where the involved players don't really cooperate as much on outcome. Instead, each player will roleplay the battle by writing scenes, responding to these, etc. It's up to the players to determine damage on their own forces and to determine how their forces react. With this method you usually get a lot more disagreement, especially over things like damage. So all players have to be willing to let some things go and you have to agree to peaceful debate on the finer points, where each player ultimately has the health of the RP in mind. Otherwise, you get a lot of out of character (OOC) fighting and the in character (IC) RP ends up dying.
2. There's also the more cooperative approach, where players will usually agree to certain outcomes and that way there's a lot less room for controversy and disagreement. From experience, these RPs tend to be the most successful.

In both cases, it's best to opt for a group of players you trust and that you're cool with. And, in both cases, the real objective is to write a great story, not to win. The "I need to win" mentality is the biggest cause of failed RPs, because it's just not compatible with this game, or at least with the way this game is usually played.

[Aquitayne]

How do battles and war in the forums work? As in how are they played out or what consists of them?

What Maccabees said, and also, I strongly advise checking out the posts linked here: viewtopic.php?p=9160667#p9160667

[British North American Colonies]

Thanks, to both of you!!

[The Coalition of the Magical unicorns]

Willing to bet it was asked before, but is there any RP tutorial around here? Role play is fairly new to me.

[The Macabees]

Willing to bet it was asked before, but is there any RP tutorial around here? Role play is fairly new to me.

Welcome!

There are a series of guides that you can find here. I recommend A Guide to Story Making and A Theory of Roleplay. Honestly, all of those guides are worth the read.

There's also a team of mentors available to you. We can help answer questions and we're here to help you through the RPing process.

All that being said, roleplaying comes down to collaborative story telling. To tell the story you need the setting, which is where world building comes in. What's your country like? What kind of government does it have? What does the day of the average citizen look like? Then you come up with a story, or plot. This can be a war, or it can be an election, or it could be about a drug lord who operates in your country. Most plots are game, so do what interests you. Then you need characters, and the RP is really the telling of the story through the characters' eyes. It's much like writing a short story, but you're working together with other players.

Edit: Sorry, you can also check out the RP Think Tank thread. Here players share RP ideas, and if you're not ready to join your own you can coordinate to join another RP. I recommend this route, because you'll learn the ropes and once you're comfortable you can host your own RP.

[The Coalition of the Magical unicorns]

snip

Thank you, when I will have more time I'll take a look on those threads

[Great Feng]

I want to post about a border incident between Ayeariss and Feng(That doesn't boil into war, just tension), but I'm unsure of how to write it, since I am not used to writing in detail simple international incidents that aren't short news posts.

[Kylarnatia]

I want to post about a border incident between Ayeariss and Feng(That doesn't boil into war, just tension), but I'm unsure of how to write it, since I am not used to writing in detail simple international incidents that aren't short news posts.

Well, firstly, I'd say you'll definitely want to collaborate with Ayeariss in order to create a fun, functioning, and enjoyable roleplay for you both. Since it involves them, it's best to consult them regarding details, and even better to ask them to collaborate to help add to the detail (as they'll be the ones best suited to write about their nation's response, etc.).

Beyond that, focusing on your side of the story, my personal recommendation would be to develop the story from two angles: first, from the perspective of the people living / working on the border who may have been involved in the incident (what they saw, how it affected them, what they think and do as a result etc.). Second, from a national level: what will your government say? What will the media say?

Again, I'd definitely recommend working with Ayeariss on it, as you two will understand each others nations more than anyone else, so you'll both be able to answer these questions.

[The Macabees]

I want to post about a border incident between Ayeariss and Feng(That doesn't boil into war, just tension), but I'm unsure of how to write it, since I am not used to writing in detail simple international incidents that aren't short news posts.

In Imperial Recrudescence Lamoni and I RPd border tensions along a frontier of a recently occupied island. I would do stuff like fly jet aircraft over his border, attack insurgents on his side of the DMZ, send special forces to help organize resistance on his side of the border, etc. That kind of stuff can develop into a cool story, especially if you're following characters and the RP is more about the characters', their activities, and their human stories (their emotions, feelings, their vulnerabilities and weaknesses), etc. Tension RPs can turn out really well; Aeyariss is a very good RPer, so you have a good game partner there.

[Sunset]

Seconding (Or Thirding?) my fellows here...

Along a similar line, I've been RPing a proxy war with Roania essentially by proxy-again; Both of us are posting short vignettes of the action, diplomatic and political events, and other similar elements that are not directly confrontational in our respective nation maintenance threads. Examples would be political rallies, scenes from a throne room, intelligence analysis, and of course the troops on the ground. This allows us to proceed at our own pace as well as focus on those story-telling elements that suit our particular strengths. While we have something of an end-point in mind, the story has changed and events have unfolded differently than first envisioned but it has allowed us both insight into our and the other's nation. It doesn't hurt that he's one of the best writers I know - I would say without question better than myself.

So there are a variety of ways you can go about creating your story; Stick to one, mix and match, or create something entirely new.

[Caragandy]

Typically, when one thinks of a civilization, they think of a great and powerful civilization much like the Aztecs, the Chinese or the Mesopotamians. But there is one thing that all the civilizations you can ever think of have one thing in common: they are all situated on land. They also rely on the land for agriculture, food, shelter, and all that stuff. As one of the only few (if not, the one and only) water-based MT human civilization in all of NS, are such civilizations feasible enough for realistic, MT RPs?

In my case, my civilization has discovered things other nations have not, chiefly in the field of water (though since I'm too lazy to come up with any good theories, there are no such things I can think of rn). We have also learned how to successfully build urban establishments on water, as well as stay underwater and walk on the seabed for five minutes. Establishments are built in a similar fashion as to how Venice was built; through wooden platforms in the middle of the sea. People travel around by walking on seabed sidewalks, using boats, or driving unnamed practical-ized submarine hybrids on roads by the sidewalk. Think of Venice, but you walk inside much bigger canals, you are lunge-walking, weird wooden things are flying above you, and there are submarines passing by you. Also, stilt houses are added.

[The Macabees]

That may not be 'strictly' realistic, or at least you may not have a way to show that it is. But, honestly, I think a lot of players are forgiving when its purpose is clearly to build an interesting world. It makes the setting really cool and fun to RP in, and as long as all the players are cooperating with each other people can accept those stretched ideas. In the end, it depends on the player; some might find it within their bounds, others may not.

[Questers]

Typically, when one thinks of a civilization, they think of a great and powerful civilization much like the Aztecs, the Chinese or the Mesopotamians. But there is one thing that all the civilizations you can ever think of have one thing in common: they are all situated on land. They also rely on the land for agriculture, food, shelter, and all that stuff. As one of the only few (if not, the one and only) water-based MT human civilization in all of NS, are such civilizations feasible enough for realistic, MT RPs?

In my case, my civilization has discovered things other nations have not, chiefly in the field of water (though since I'm too lazy to come up with any good theories, there are no such things I can think of rn). We have also learned how to successfully build urban establishments on water, as well as stay underwater and walk on the seabed for five minutes. Establishments are built in a similar fashion as to how Venice was built; through wooden platforms in the middle of the sea. People travel around by walking on seabed sidewalks, using boats, or driving unnamed practical-ized submarine hybrids on roads by the sidewalk. Think of Venice, but you walk inside much bigger canals, you are lunge-walking, weird wooden things are flying above you, and there are submarines passing by you. Also, stilt houses are added.

The two most powerful civilisations in world history, the British Empire 1815-1914 and the United States 1991-2008 were water based civilisations, so there you are.

[The Macabees]

I think the distinction here is that 99% of Britain's and the US' division of labor is land-based, whereas I think Caragandy means his whole division-of-labor exists on some massive floating city.

[Aventovia]

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