The New Player's Guide to All Things Roleplaying (Updated)

[New Azura]

20
Crucial Tips for New Players
Real Help from Roleplayers Who've Been There Before...


An Introduction...
This guide is the culmination of several months' worth of discussion, work, and camaraderie with the various nations, both Moderators, Mentors, and veteran players who wanted to make a difference in the NationStates Roleplaying Community. For what it's worth, this game, and these boards, are a special place. While it's easy to dismiss roleplaying as an unimportant, even childish pastime, true players of the game know the truth. For better or for worse, NationStates has become an important part of our lives. It's an entertaining diversion from the stresses of the real world. It's a place to make acquaintances with people from all over the world. And it's an experience that most of us would have never been privy to see living in our own little corners of the world. There's an international flavor to our small corner of the 'Net, and it's an absolute privilege sharing this game with people from all across the world. This is the very best of online communities in my eyes, and in the eyes of others.

But to truly relish the experience that the NationStates Roleplaying Community can provide, you have to learn the basic ins and outs of it. Sometimes, that task can be a daunting one, especially when confronted with the monolithic titans of the community—those nations who have earned a reputation out of respect, fear, insanity, or maybe a mixture of the three. You will find some colorful characters in our community, but make no mistake about it, it can be a challenge finding answers to those questions that riddle you, and keep you from fully integrating into the community. The existence of long-established cliques can also leave new players feeling like they're on the outside looking in a lot of times.

Recently, however, a campaign has begun by assorted parties to correct this flaw in an otherwise admirable system, and have begun to take advantage of different avenues to help guide others through the ins-and-outs of the NationStates Community. This guide is a labor from which I've postulated and pondered, dabbled and doted. It's not a perfect guide, nor is it a complete guide. What it is, on the whole, is an honest attempt by one nation to answer the questions that once confused me, so that others don't make the same mistakes I did. In the process, I'm opening this guide up to any and everyone that has questions or concerns. If you want to address them publicly by posting your questions in this thread, go for it. If you want to do it via Telegram, anonymity will be respected. In any case, if you have questions, this is a judgment-free zone where answers can be found.

I've started off this thread with a few questions that may be common knowledge to some, but look like Greek to new players. If you want to participate by answering questions or serving as helpmeets in completing and carrying on this thread, shoot me a telegram. This NationStates Community belongs to everyone that participates here. And whether you're a Mentor, a Moderator, a veteran, or simply a player looking to have fun and make friends, there's a spot for you here. I'll be posting new questions and answers constantly, so keep checking back for new information.

This guide is for any and everyone that's ever graced our community, and made it what it is today. You are the very best of us, and we appreciate all that you have done.


Guide Update
This is the second version of this guide. The original version was more spread out, with the potential for pages and pages of information that could be scattered all about. The new version presents everything in a concise, centralized location for ease of navigating. We've also added new sections for resource lists, player-asked questions, and a special section for writing assistance and tips.

Question #1: What is the meaning of a "Pop-Cap" Region?
A pop-cap region is any region where the nations involved place a cap, or limit, on their national populations. In most regions, nations use the population figure that their main NationStates account acquire. In Pop-Cap regions, however, the nations in question choose to roleplay their entities with more realistic populations, typically using real world conventions as a model for their region. In essence, a pop-capped region would not be likely to play host to a nine or ten billion-population nation. When you look to inquire about joining a new region, make sure to ask whether they use population caps to produce a more realistic community. Uncapped nations that move into a pop-cap region can sometimes ostracize themselves right off the bat. Get to know the other nations and what they roleplay with, so that you can find a nice, even balance. Doing this simple task can really help open doors for you in roleplaying circles.


Question #2: How can I differentiate between the various tech levels?
Tech levels are a tricky business when you're first starting out, but over time you can begin to grow accustomed to the differences in the levels of technology used for a setting. While there is no uniform convention that's widely published as roleplaying law here in NationStates, a good rule of thumb is to abide by the following table. It's the closest you can really get to a commonly accepted theory of tech levels:

Abbreviation	Represents	Rough Description
PT	Past Tech	Antiquity - 1980
MT	Modern Tech	1980 - 2040
PMT	PostmodernTech	2040 - Pre Lightspeed Future
FT	Future Tech	Post Lightspeed Future

As is the case with most things in NationStates, there is a degree of gray area to consider. For instance, a Past Tech roleplay can involve a vast range of settings, from Ancient times to the 1940s. Likewise, Future Tech can involve far-reaching intergalactic settings, or post-apocalyptic hellscapes. Somtimes, you'll see labels like Fantasy Tech, which can include the use of magic or other fantasy elements (hence the title). Steampunk is occasionally highlighted on the board, where steam technology and other Victorian-era themes are present in a modern or postmodern setting, as if the real world had evolved in that way.

The best thing to do is speak with the OP (the person who created a roleplay) via telegram, or through a specially marked OOC forum to see what technology is and isn't proper for the roleplay. It's the best way to know for sure what to expect when you dive into a new story.


Question #3: Where should I post my roleplay?
Where you should post your roleplay or concept depends on what you're looking to post. If you have an idea that relates to the geographic or historical background of your country that reads almost like an encyclopedia entry, you want to go to Factbooks and National Information. That forum is a resource for roleplayers to compile information on their countries in a non-RP type setting, and view the work of others in that regard. If you're looking to create an embassy, or set up a diplomatic meeting about trade agreements, the NationStates Forum is a very good place to go. Wars, diplomatic crises and alliances are best left to the International Incidents forum, where most people make their bread and butter roleplays. If you want to create a financial endeavor, like a storefront or a bank, Global Economics and Trade is the place to be. If you wanna participate in a sports-themed RP, then the appropriately named NationStates Sports is where it's at.


Question #4: How can I make an impact when my nation is so small?
This is such an important issue to a lot of new players. The challenges ahead of a nation created in 2011 can be daunting, make no mistake about it. When confronted with a nation from Antiquity who has had more than seven or eight years of interaction with others, building up their reputation with others, newer nations can often feel overwhelmed. Yet there have been very impressive cases over the last few months where young nations have made an impact. One such nation was chosen to become an II Mentor recently, while another has not only created successful regions, but has become a part of one of the largest and most lauded roleplaying cliques around.

The way to establish yourself is both easy, yet often overlooked. The first tip is to not rush into anything. Take your time working on your own material for a bit, in addition to roleplaying with others. Craft well-developed RPs with innovative twists and good writing, so that people will want to read more of what you write. Instead of going full-steam ahead into war RPs (which are a dime a dozen), choose your spots carefully, and gain the respect of others who only see a field full of warhawks in the 2010-2011 nation pool.

Most importantly? Be yourself, and make friends in the community by asking questions and understanding the ins-and-outs of the game. Show a desire to improve, and to contribute. Laugh at the funny things, and never take NationStates events personally. But always trust your instincts, and be willing to take the lumps early on. Because if you stick it out, you'll have friends and memories that will go with you for the rest of your life. It's not merely a game—it's a place where people from around the world share their creative ideas together in a massive online community. Have fun with it, and enjoy the ride.


Question #5: Should I join an alliance?
This one is entirely up to you. If you feel that you would be best served being in a military alliance for protection or diplomatic reasons, then go for it. If you want to be on your own, then stay the course. But if you do decide to join an alliance, here are a few helpful tips. First, make sure to stay active in an alliance by keeping up to date with the group news. Stay connected with the other members, and offer help to them in the form of participating in their roleplays or creating special projects with them. Second, always remember that the unity and integrity of the alliance is paramount to making a successful alliance. If you want to join an alliance, consider it an extension of your national pride. Your in-character creation is staking its reputation on the survival of the alliance in the international community. Don't join an alliance and forget about it—make sure that you give your new alliance every chance it can to succeed.


Question #6: What do I do if a bigger nation invades me?
First, don't panic. After all, it's just a game! After the initial shock and confusion, remember that you do have several options. First of all, if you never provoked the invasion, nor did you ask or request that nation to invade you, then you don't have to roleplay with that party. This is a freewill game, where you control what you do and what you don't do. No one can invade you, colonize you, or declare war on you without your consent. Politely decline to participate in their threads. If they continue to harass you, then go to Moderation and request their help in dealing with the offending party. But above all else, don't harass or prod another nation to attack you, then back out of the story. If you ask for a bigger nation to attack you, be sure to play it through to the end. Though it seems misguided, going through the rigors of an invasion or occupation can produce spectacular roleplays, can help bring you into contact with veteran players who can show you the ropes, and can really boost your reputation as a player who's not afraid to take chances. Whatever you do, try to avoid the damaging practice of "retconning".


Question #7: What is retconning?
Retconning is the process where one nation cancels out things that were considered "canon" (or legitimate happenings in the mythos of your country or group) in a roleplay. In other words, a nation who has roleplayed with other nations about a major diplomatic event, such as a war or an assassination, suddenly decides to erase all that was created and revert to a nation where those events never took place. Sometimes, retconning takes place when one or more parties can no longer participate in a thread, requiring the other parties to change their histories as a result.

Far too often, however, retconning comes in the form of a smaller or younger nation who picks a fight with a larger, or more powerful enemy, and doesn't like the way their roleplay is going. Sometimes, nations choose to retcon roleplays and pretend they didn't happen when they're on the verge of losing out in a war. This is a damaging tool that players use too frequently in the community. Think about this: if other players see you quit out on a story so that you don't have to lose, would they desire to participate with you and put in hard work on a story, only to see it go for naught?

The sign of a good player is to pick and choose their spots carefully, so that they're not thrust into a no-win situation. The sign of a great player is one who is willing to take the lumps and risk losing a war or a battle for the sake of having fun, and creating an awesome story. Though retconning happens sometimes, always strive to make it a last resort when roleplaying.


Question #8: "Nation X" is insulting me—what should I do?
There exists a very thin line between legitimate roleplaying material (such as blustering speeches made by national leaders) and very real insults that are posted to hurt or offend. If you're in the middle of a war roleplay with another nation, take the time to telegram them and let you know that you feel uncomfortable with the way things are going. More often than not, issues that seem legitimate are actually friendly bickering that is simply misinterpreted, and the situation can be resolved amicably and for the good of all.

If a nation is posting hateful remarks to you, however, with the intention of making fun of you, then do two things. First, don't retort with equally vitriolic comebacks. As much as you would like to, flame wars often get both parties into trouble with moderation. The less you stoop to their level, the better you look in the eyes of the community. Then, go to the Moderation Forum and post your complaints about what's happening. Generally, experienced players will be ahead of you, and will go to Moderation at the first sign of trolling or flaming. In all things, however, remember that troublemakers (while rare) can pop up from time to time. Don't let their idiocy detract from your overall experience here.


Question #9: People complain about my military RPs: what should I do?
I doubt that a more derisive or conflicting problem exists in NationStates than the issues regarding militaries. While an entire guide could be written on the issues you can and should avoid when building your military, a few very brief points can help you out when you go to do a war roleplay. First, the size of your standing military should fall into the "Two Percent Rule". Most nations try to keep their national military populations around 2-3% of their overall national populations. For instance, if your nation is 5 Million large, your national military population would realistically be around 100,000 for your Navy, Air Force, Army, and Marines (if applicable). Anything from 5-10% borders on a North Korean-type nation, where welfare and the economy are in the toilet. Over that mark, nations are practically impossible to roleplay successfully. If you try to make your nation into a clone of the United States while having a 20% military enrollment rate, then you'll have a tough time being taken seriously in the game.

Often, your military population is the major source of contention that others may have with you, but there are other issues to remember as well. For instance, having an Army of 100,000 men doesn't mean that you'll realistically have 100,000 men ready to fire rifles in a war RP. The best players consider matters of logistics in their roleplays. In one famous guide, it was noted that for every ten infantrymen you have, you'll need at least double that to support them by getting them ammunition, food, water, transporting them, etc. Most people try to use a 50/50 ratio for their military. Under this system, if your Army is 100,000 people strong, then you would have 50,000 be involved in actual combat missions, with the other half focused on logistics, engineering, supplies, etc. However, several top military-savvy roleplayers now suggest something closer to a 1:4 ratio, where for every combat troop, you would have four logistical personnel. For your Navy, it'll be closer to 30% personnel on your actual ships, and 70% in logistical roles on land. Your Air Force would be even higher than that, with much logistical help needed to keep aircraft flying high.

Also, always remember that a war in NationStates, particularly those away from your own borders, aren't the central focus of the entire world. What I mean by that is simple: if you have 5,000,00 in your military, you're not going to realistically deploy 5,000,000 overseas to fight in a war. For starters, sending your entire military overseas leaves you zilch in terms of domestic protection. In a war with bigger enemies, nothing would stop them from marching in unopposed and toppling you. Further, deploying that many troops is a logistical nightmare, and is so cost-prohibitive as to almost be a futile gesture—and one that gets you a bad reputation. Despite having the potential capability of staffing tens of millions for military purposes, the largest single deployment ever in a military action was 2,000,000 total. On average, our largest force deployments, for a nation of 9 Billion, is a mere 250,000. And even that is a large force to transport, even for a nation the size of the Azurans. Be considerate of this when you participate in roleplays devoted to war. If you can master these concepts, 95% of your issues can disappear almost immediately.


Question #10: I was accused of puppetwanking—what does this mean?
Puppetwanking, albeit a funny term, is a pretty serious offense in the parlance of the roleplaying community. Generally, any time you take control of another person's NationStates account and subjugate that RP entity to your own, that's called "taking a puppet" in the OOC (or Out of Character context). In an in-character context, your nation would call the subjugated nation a colony or a puppet. Puppets can be successfully used internally as a means for greater economic production and as a source of national defense, moving your military there to give your country a greater overseas military capability.

Despite this, you cannot use your puppets to bolster your military numbers in any way. In other words, taking the population of your puppets and using them to bolster your military strength is called puppet-wanking. Some other things that are against the rules is what's called a "bait and switch". What happens here is one nation uses a puppet to secretly challenge another nation to a fight. When the nation accepts the challenge of the puppet, the main account nation is tossed into the fray, beating the outnumbered nation and virtually humiliating them. This practice, besides being a big no-no in the community and in the game rules, is also cowardly and quite an injustice to the community as a whole. Don't hide behind your puppets, or use them to artificially enhance your nation in illegal ways.

Talk to others who have taken puppets, and learn from them what having colonies means. Ask the veterans about what you can and can't do with multiple accounts. And as with all problems, if you make a mistake, learn from them with respect and humility. No one will fault you for trying to play the game. Only those that don't seek help are the ones that can get themselves into real trouble.


Question #11: What does SIC mean?
"SIC" means Secret In-Character, and refers to anything in a roleplay post that should be considered secret knowledge until such a time where the information can be made public. The tag is often used not as an overall modifier like "MT", "IC", or "OOC" is, but rather, is used for individual posts in a larger roleplay. As such, when the "SIC" label is used for a roleplay post, then all other parties in the roleplay are expected not to counter that post with their own characters or nation using that material against them.

The label is quite useful in roleplays, because there seems to be an unfair notion that anything posted in a NationStates roleplay post should be considered open game for others to use against them. When you're posting your troop movements in the middle of a battle, this is understandable. Where it's not understandable is when a nation posts a secret diplomatic meeting between the national leader and his military adviser about a possible war, only to see the next nation of a roleplay mobilize as if the war has already begun, when according to the roleplay itself, no such offensive action had been taken. The "SIC" label is used when a nation wants to keep certain aspects of a roleplay underwraps for the time being. It's obvious that you can't always use that label for every situation, as it presents an unfair advantage in its own right. But if you see the label on another nation's post, then be sure to respect the integrity of the story for the time being, until that information is translated into another post, where you can respond.


Question #12: Are there any good regions for newer players?
There are a few good choices out there for sure. Any region that's pretty much wide-open is going to be your best bet when first starting off, because you just wont have the body of work necessary to gain entry into password-protected or application-only regions. The North/South/East/West Pacific Regions are where you start, and a high proportion of its membership is new players as a result. As of this posting, one of the best regions that I've come across personally is Azhukali. It's an open region where anyone can join, and there are a lot of good RPers that have a propensity for helping others learn the ropes. Until you get established enough to where you can hold your own in a larger region, I would highly recommend it to new players.


Question #13: Can you recommend places where I can learn more?
Definitely, there are plenty of sources available to help you with the intricacies of the game. Definitely start out in the International Incidents Forum and look at the various "stickies"—often guides that deal with broad-reaching topics. The guides can be a Godsend, and most can be found in the various roleplay forums. Don't be afraid to go to the Gameplay Forum for different tips and helpful hints, and the Moderation Forum is the place to go when you have an issue with posts, or other players. Beyond that, check out dedicated roleplaying groups that can be found in looking at the board, and get into an active region where you can learn the tricks of the trade. The various #IRC Rooms are a great place to socialize with other players, and you can occasionally find helpful resources there. A few good links are provided below for great social IRCs and helpful places for a variety of topics:

Good Social IRCs (Beware of Mature Content Occasionally):

• #Judea
• #NSLegion
• #NSSanctuary

Helpful Resources

• #Draftroom
• #Gameplay
• #II
• #NationStates
• #The_Security_Council

A full list of good IRCs can be found here.

Question #14: Where should I begin in roleplaying?
Perhaps the most important moment in all of your time here in the NationStates Roleplaying community is when you take the chance and step out into this massive spectrum. If you have a working understanding of what's in store for you, then you'll be able to navigate these hallowed forums much more successfully. I promise you, if you hang tough and avoid the pitfalls that derailed a lot of us from time to time, you'll still have the same yearning to participate in these forums when you're on Post #3,686.

The first thing you want to do is establish a good working relationship with the other roleplayers around you. While making friends is a wonderful part of the experience, you should put aside any misguided notions that you're going to befriend everyone here. You should also realize that not everyone will dig on what you write, roleplay-wise. If you set out to try and impress everyone with your work, then you're going to be sorely disappointed when you have the detractors that pop up. Everyone in the game, from the best of the moderators to the lowest of the low have detractors at some point along the road. You're just not going to get through to everyone, and you really shouldn't even try. I would always stress that you do the very best that you can with your natural talents—anyone could say that. What my advice to you is, however, is something that most people don't really consider when they first start out. Be yourself.

I know, it's a crazy concept, but think about it: so many people try to emulate the successful reputations of others when they first start out, hoping that by doing what the Jenraks, the Beasts, or the Automagfreeks of the world do, they too can become well-respected. Still others tread over the same old ground with their first dozen or so roleplays. Almost always, new nations jump into alliances by the masses, then begin launching cruise missiles before a single piece of framework has even been laid for your nation's creative background.

When you start roleplaying, trust yourself enough to be yourself. Don't worry so much about what others think of you at first, because the stigma of being a new player is very difficult to break right out of the starting gate. What you do by being yourself, however, is make your future road much easier to travel. By trusting in your own creative ideas, you're opening up the real you (as much as one can open up in the NationStates forums) to all the potential players that will eventually become your peers, your friends, and even your confidants. No one will ever accept you for who you are if you try to model yourself solely on another person.

Once you're ready for the introduction, I suggest a number of things to do first. If you are an especially creative person, or a good writer, then I would suggest starting out with your own roleplay. The benefits of having your own roleplay are enormous, considering that you immediately lose the fear of "messing up" since you're a party of one in this dance. You can get an idea for the layout of the "post a message/reply" thread windows—the coding, the special tabs, how to save your drafts for later, etc. You can work on different conventions for your nation ICly, such as special characters that will be recurring throughout your roleplays. And, most of all, you can work at your own pace, and develop a unique roleplay style that will stick with you throughout your time in the community.

If you don't feel as if you're a very good writer, or are interested in improving, then there are a few pathways for you to travel. The first is to seek out counsel from experienced nations that are open to helping you learn. While I can't speak for everyone, I can say that a lot of veteran players are willing to, at the very least, give you a few pointers here or there that can help you out immensely. Even still, there are players who thrive on assisting in great depth with your issues, believing it to be "for the good of the community as a whole". Take a look around the various guides, or seek out an II Mentor (you can find them by their light-green names under their national flags). They are excellent sources for help.

As always, you can try your hand at jumping into a current or ongoing roleplay. When you do so, be sure to check to make sure that the roleplay is tagged "Open"; otherwise, you'll need the permission of the OP (post/roleplay creator) to post in the thread. When you look for a roleplay to join, be sure to get a feel for the preceding posts—how they look, the general length of the posts, etc. You don't have to post a War and Peace sized introductory post when you jump into a new roleplay, but a lot of players will tell you that a one-two line roleplay post turns a lot of people off. As a good rule of thumb, try not to go under two paragraphs with your posts, and not over six or seven when you're joining other people's roleplays. The further into the story you get, and the more comfortable others are with you in the thread, you can then begin to branch out and do longer posts.

A lot of people should consider doing a brief write-up on their nation, ala the Factbooks and National Information Forum. It's the first subforum in the Diplomacy (aka RPing) section of the NationStates Forums for good reason, as it's an excellent starting point for new nations. I would highly recommend scanning some of the threads there to get ideas on what you should be looking to establish for your nations. Some industrious players have created everything from national questionnaires to world census reports that can help you get solid creative juices flowing towards the creation of your nation. Others have come up with Wikipedia-style factbooks with pictures and everything in them! As you get more experienced, you can even find the real NationStates-themed Wikis that are popping up. NSWiki and WikiStates are two prominent ones, for instance—Google them!

Above all else, just have fun, and be open to constructive criticism. Know going in that not everyone is going to treat you like a cancer, or scream "Newb!" at you every time you show up. There are some truly wonderful people in this community, many from all across the world. And each person you meet will share with you, directly or indirectly, the richness and vibrancy of their own cultures. In my short time here, I've met people that have profoundly changed the way I look at things, the way I roleplay, and even the character of my personage. Have fun, expect great things, and in all things, don't be afraid to take the chance. You may be surprised by what you find!

[New Azura]

Question #15: What does the term "Godmodding" mean?
Godmodding, in a sense, is the theoretical act whereby one nation assumes "godlike" powers over another nation in the context of a roleplay. In the practical sense, it's when one nation takes control of another nation, typically for the purpose of the controlling nation's benefit, or else does something that's completely out of whack and impossible even by NationStates standards. Nine times out of ten, Godmodding takes the form of an illegal action that takes place in a roleplay about war, so that's where we'll focus most of our time at.

There are two main types of war roleplays in International Incidents. The first type are roleplayers where two or more nations come together before hand and plan out an intricate storyline, whereby everything is preplanned. These planned-out wars are generally free from Godmodding, because the game aspect takes a back seat to the creative process of creating a great story. Then there are are free-form wars, where people come into the roleplay without much contact with the other parties, and hammer out the details as the story progresses. In these types of roleplays, the action takes place on a turn-by-turn basis, with one nation describing the launch of an attack, while the defending nation describes both the result of an attack; and, if pertinent, the launching of a counterattack. This type of roleplay is ripe with the potential for Godmodding.

There are a lot of examples for Godmodding, each of which can cause out-of-character turmoil and anger from offended parties. If you're not careful, rampant Godmodding may not only cost you participation in a great roleplay, but it could cause you problems with your reputation, and even a visit from the Mentors or even Moderators if it becomes habitual. For your benefit, I've got a very short list about some common problems that relate to the issue at hand:

1. Nation X declares war on Nation Y from the distant region of Bigtopia.

• Godmodding ... The Nation of X declares war on the Nation of Y. Five million troops have mobilized and sailed across the sea, and will now begin the invasion of Bigtopia.


• Not Godmodding ... The Nation of X declares war on the Nation of Y. Five million troops will be mobilized for this great endeavor, which we intend to win. Soon, we shall begin the trek across the miles of vast ocean expanse that separate our two nations. Yet nothing will separate us from total victory in the end!


2. Nation X invades the Nation of Y to begin its conquest.

• Godmodding ... The Nation of X begins the invasion of Nation Y by sending 1,000,000 infantrymen ashore. Aircraft carrier ships launch their fighters and close air support aircraft, which destroy the coastal batteries of Nation Y. Nation X's troops advance inland some five hundred miles, and are poised to destroy all resistance.


• Not Godmodding ... The Nation of X begins the invasion of Nation Y, with 1,000,000 infantrymen preparing to land on the beachheads. Fighters and Close Air Support aircraft are inbound, having been launched from air craft carriers in the task force. Their objective: to provide air support for troops that will be needing it desperately. Fighter pilots scan the horizon while keeping an eye on their radar, wearily watching out for enemy aircraft to approach. Their missiles are now within range of the targets. The first wave fire their missiles, watching them streak towards the coastal defenses of the enemy.


3. Nation X carries on a forced march towards the capital of Nation Y.

• Godmodding ... The Nation of X established its beachhead and began to move equipment on shore. Eventually, all 5,000,000 personnel were on the ground, and began the movements towards the capital of Nation Y. All resistance was smashed, and the Nation X forces swiftly captured the regime and toppled the enemy.


• Not Godmodding ... The Nation of X established its beachhead after suffering heavy casualties in the invasion. As equipment and personnel began to move onshore, the forward moving units of their forces began to advance on the long road to the capital. What lied ahead, however, no one truly knew.


4. Nation X launches a plan to assassinate a political leader of Nation Y.

• Godmodding ... The Nation of X launched a bold and daring plan, whereby the Special Forces would send an assassination team deep behind enemy lines. Military aircraft took off and evaded enemy anti-aircraft systems, dropping the Special Forces into enemy territory. They sneaked their way into the capital, where the team was able to penetrate the Imperial palace of Nation Y and kill their leader.


• Not Godmodding ... The Nation of X launched a bold and daring plan, whereby the Special Forces would send an assassination team deep behind enemy lines. Military aircraft would fly the BlackOps team over the front, and with any success, allow the team to parachute well behind the enemy lines. As the planes took off, the assassination squad began to steel their resolve for the task ahead. If it worked, the war could be over in a matter of hours.


5. Nation X launches a preemptive missile strike against Nation Y.

• Godmodding ... The Nation of X launches a missile salvo against the military and industrial targets of Nation Y. 300 nuclear missiles were launched from silos in Nation X's interior, and exploded over targets in Nation Y. Millions were killed in the attack. [Note: The usage of nuclear missiles or other weapons of mass destruction, including biological and chemical agents, is frowned upon without prior consent. Check with the people in your roleplay before even considering the usage of those weapons in your posts. Often, these types of wars will have a "No WMD" tag to it somewhere, generally in an OOC thread. That means that nuclear missiles and other weapons of mass destruction are disallowed.]


• Not Godmodding ... The Nation of X launches a missile salvo against the military and industrial targets of Nation Y. 300 nuclear missiles were launched from silos in Nation X's interior. Military officials tracked the missiles with baited breath as they began to climb higher and higher towards apogee. Only time would tell how many warheads would find their mark on the enemy.


6. Nation Y launches a counterattack missile strike against Nation X.

• Godmodding ... The Nation of X detected incoming missiles from the Nation of Y, and activated their impenetrable missile defense network. Interceptor missiles were fired at the incoming bogeys, and destroyed every single one before they could hit their targets.


• Not Godmodding ... The Nation of X detected incoming missiles from the Nation of Y, and activated its missile defense network. Interceptor missiles were fired, wiping out 25% of the inbound bogeys in the first wave. A second wave was less effective, taking out only 18% of the inbound missiles. With fail-safe measures exhausted, 57% of the missiles found their mark on Nation X soil, bringing widespread destruction wherever they landed. Hundreds of thousands, maybe millions were killed in the attack.

As you can see, Godmodding takes a variety of forms. In each instance provided above, a poster would have engaged in a serious breach of roleplaying etiquette by posting the offending material. If this had been an actual roleplay, any one of those posts could have brought the entire story to a screeching halt, robbing yourself and countless others the fun and enjoyment from participating in the roleplay. Even worse, it could have devastated your online reputation, making it infinitely more difficult to establish yourself as a member of the roleplaying community.

1. Godmodding ... The Nation of X declares war on the Nation of Y. Five million troops have mobilized and sailed across the sea, and will now begin the invasion of Bigtopia.


• This is a common occurrence amongst a lot of new players, who are so desirous of getting involved in the action right away that they jump the gun and immediately toss their forces into the fray. To truly grasp the concept of a war roleplay, you must give your nation time to mobilize its forces, which will probably not be prepared to sail for Nation Y immediately, let alone launch a major invasion. You need to give your forces time to set sail for the enemy's territory also, which could take anywhere from several days to several weeks depending on the distance between your country and the enemy. In real life time, it's best to at least give a few hours difference between the time you post your forces mobilizing and the time when they come into the area of your enemy. This at least gives the other nation a heads up that you're entering the fray. When nations instantly toss their forces into battle without prep time or forewarning, it's known as the Teleport Godmod.


2. Godmodding ... The Nation of X begins the invasion of Nation Y by sending 1,000,000 infantrymen ashore. Aircraft carrier ships launch their fighters and close air support aircraft, which destroy the coastal batteries of Nation Y. Nation X's troops advance inland some five hundred miles, and are poised to destroy all resistance.


• Several major infractions can be found here. The first major problem is that the nation in question has posted both the beginning of an attack and the results of the attack. This is known as the Classic Godmod, where the offender is essentially "playing God" by taking over the responsibility that lies solely with the other nation. It's the most common form of godmodding, and effects a ton of new players when they first start out learning how to effectively give and take damage in a war roleplay. Though it's not always the case, most Classic Godmod instances are accompanied by a second tag team partner—the Out-of-Turn Godmod, where a nation not only posts the losses of an enemy, but skips well ahead of them in the storyline, preventing the other nation from getting a chance to respond.


3. Godmodding ... The Nation of X established its beachhead and began to move equipment on shore. Eventually, all 5,000,000 personnel were on the ground, and began the movements towards the capital of Nation Y. All resistance was smashed, and the Nation X forces swiftly captured the regime and toppled the enemy.


• Among other things, this is another classic form of Godmodding. When a nation posts in a roleplay that they have achieved total victory without consulting the other nations, or even giving them a chance to defend themselves, then the poster is guilty of committing the Superman Godmod, where his forces win the day without giving the other nation any chance to respond. A lot of times, new or inexperienced nations will post this type of response in a roleplay with their very first post, infuriating the community at large and possibly taking you from Godmodding to outright flaming territory if you're particularly vitriolic about it.


4. Godmodding ... The Nation of X launched a bold and daring plan, whereby the Special Forces would send an assassination team deep behind enemy lines. Military aircraft took off and evaded enemy anti-aircraft systems, dropping the Special Forces into enemy territory. They sneaked their way into the capital, where the team was able to penetrate the Imperial palace of Nation Y and kill their leader.


• Once again, we see the Out-of-Turn Godmod with the troops bypassing enemy defenses entirely, preventing the other nation from getting a chance to respond. Also, a major infraction here takes the form of the Coup d'état Godmod, where you kill off another nation's main characters without their consent. Often times, players will have special characters that exist in their mythos, and pop up in a number of their stories. Wiping another player's characters out without their permission is almost a guaranteed way to have a roleplay retconned, your time wasted, and your reputation trashed.


5. Godmodding ... The Nation of X launches a missile salvo against the military and industrial targets of Nation Y. 300 nuclear missiles were launched from silos in Nation X's interior, and exploded over targets in Nation Y. Millions were killed in the attack.


• There's several different issues with this post. For one, the description of not only the launch, but the effects of the missile attack is an example of the Classic Godmod. Bypassing the enemy's defenses, and not allowing the other player to respond to your launch also qualifies as an Out-of-Turn Godmod. Either infraction could get you into trouble, obviously. However, when you delve into the realm of weapons of mass destruction usage, especially in canon roleplays (or roleplays that will effect the nations in question going forward), you're not only causing great destruction in that roleplay, but you will also create a huge handicap for the other player as they move forward, hamstringing their ability to play their country as they see fit. This is what I like to call the Day After Godmod, where your actions could cripple the opposing nation to the point of irrelevancy.


6. Godmodding ... The Nation of X detected incoming missiles from the Nation of Y, and activated their impenetrable missile defense network. Interceptor missiles were fired at the incoming bogeys, and destroyed every single one before they could hit their targets.


• This is an example of the Invincibility Godmod. When you're roleplaying in a war, and refuse to take any losses or damage whatsoever, you're engaging in Godmodding. In terms of a missile attack, it's prudent to know that you can't realistically stop every missile from hitting your territory. Even the best of Missile Defense systems can't give you 100% protection from incoming missile salvos. For instance, the premier platform of the United States Army, the MIM-104 Patriot Anti-Ballistic Missile system has had a varying success rate. Independent analysis from some sources indicated that the system may only care a 10% success rate, though that number was considerably higher during its deployment in the first Gulf War, where the success rate was between 40-70% depending on the location. In general, once you wipe out more than half of your enemy's missile salvo, you begin inching towards Godmodding territory. But the gray area is eliminated if you wipe out all of them—that is plain Godmodding without question.

Most of the time, newer players will have difficulty avoiding Godmodding at first, unless they're really good or really lucky. There are a number of conventions regarding roleplaying etiquette that are foreign to new players when they first start out. If you don't know what to look out for going in, the only way to learn is by trial and error, which can really make your early years a miserable experience. The best thing to do when someone accuses you of Godmodding is to reassess the post in question, and to apologize if you did in fact do something wrong. If you're not sure what you did wrong, ask the person to explain how to avoid the mistake in the future. If you're not sure that you're guilty of what they claim, send a telegram to an II Mentor (their names are light green, and have the "II Mentor" label underneath them) asking for clarification. And in all things, keep both an open mind and a humble spirit about the situations. Even if you do Godmod at first, showing people that you're willing to learn from your mistakes can cancel out the negative repercussions of Godmodding in the first place.


Question #16: How can I debate without falling into flaming?
As much as I'd like to say otherwise, the simple fact of the matter is that we're all human, and we're all going to make mistakes. As level-headed as I tend to be, I can get the dander up with the best of them sometimes, and we post mistakes that we come to regret down the line. When you're trying to talk with someone about a situation, and both you and the other person have conflicting views on the matter, you instantly throw yourself into a tempest from which only bad things can happen.

First, you will not always get along with everyone in the Community. As I said before, sometimes there's just people that don't get along with you, for whatever reason. When you come across these people, just be as polite as you can. If being polite to them isn't your cup of tea, then diffuse any potential situation by removing yourself from the equation. It's better to avoid a public flame fest than it is to stick around out of pride and get yourself punished by Moderation.

Now, onto the real reason for this post—when you find yourself in a debate with another nation, try to remember these simple steps. First, always, always remain civil in your debate. While debating in general is a good ticket to problems, at least be civil and respectful, even if you don’t like what the other person is saying. Two, refrain from making insults or snide remarks that can be considered hurtful, as it may backfire on you in unintended ways. Third, and most importantly, don’t try to be a hero and win the debate, or make a stand for the righteous cause. Even if your cause is just, step out of a debate when it becomes heated, or insults are being lobbed at you. The only thing that can result from prolonged exposure to this is bad news.

And, before I post, allow me to make mention that yes, you will struggle with this throughout your time on NationStates. Only the saints among us have gone their entire time on NationStates without having some type of squabble. I myself have had my share of heated disagreements, even recently. If you always stand quick to apologize when you go overboard, and try to always keep a level head, then you’ll end up okay in the end.


Question #17: How can I improve my dialogue in roleplays?
In helping people with their roleplays, I've come across three common complaints that a lot of players seem to have. A good deal of people have discussed issues such as grammar and formatting, which really isn't as important as some make it out to be. Certainly, good grammar is a definite plus, but I'm hardly what one would call a good linguist. Your style and your body of work can overcome a lot of your stylistic shortcomings, to be flat out honest. Then I have a lot of people come to me about characterization, and making characters that are deep and fleshed out. That takes a greater involvement than the style issues, but it's still something that's quite simple and straightforward to address.

But of all the issues that players seem to have in writing roleplays, the one issue I hear about most frequently is the dialogue between characters. Using speaking parts in a roleplay can be a challenging process, and a lot of people have trouble with the dialogue aspects of their story. And you know, it's not that they don't know how to insert dialogue. It's that they feel as if it's too wooden, too dry. Almost unauthentic, in a sense—to them, the dialogue hampers the flow of the story, prohibiting the reader from loosing themselves from the bounds of reality which then allows them to become fully engrossed by the writing. Dialogue can make or break a great roleplay, and I don't think anything tortures new players more than mastering the concept.

To be fair, almost everything about "improving roleplays" is subjective. Beyond the basic necessities of a good roleplay (appropriate length, punctuation, creativity), almost everything there is to the business of improving your roleplays is subjective. When you seek counsel on improving your roleplaying ability, what you're actually doing is trying to figure out a way to get what you're trying to convey from your imagination to the typed forum post better than you have been. You have a concept for a roleplay, and you can see it clearly in your head, but when you go to post it to the forum, you feel as if it's lost something in the translation from thought to text.

The first thing to do when you're trying to improve your dialogue usage is to understand the pitfalls of that mindset. Indeed, it can be a mental pitfall for you if you approach the situation as if you have "failed" as a roleplayer because of your "inadequacy". Nine times out of ten, the inadequacy we feel we exhibit isn't an inadequacy at all, but is simply a mirror of our creative passion for the roleplaying aspect of the NationStates Community. Understand first and foremost that in order to produce a great roleplay, you have to trust what you're doing from the get-go. And most of the time, your mind will convince you that things are worse than they actually are.

Now, I'm not saying that improvement can't be had. We can all improve as writers, make no mistake about it. I of all people can attest to that—every two years or so, I look back at the things I'd written in the past, and marveled at just how God-awful my work looked to me, even from such a short time period ago. A lot of your issues will be solved with continued experience in roleplaying, and age. The older you get, the more tricks you pick up on, and the more knowledge you obtain about superfluous notions that can become incorporated into your body of work. Perhaps you pick up a new stylistic format that suits you better, or perhaps your linguistic patterns evolve to incorporate the increased knowledge that you possess outside of the game.

In any event, time and effort are the best recipes for improved dialogue. But, there are a few steps that you can take in the interim to help put your mind more at ease in terms of your dialogue usage. The greatest piece of advice I can give to you is this: 99.9% of the time, the problem with dialogue in roleplays isn't the dialogue itself, but the supporting text around it!

Let me clarify: in general, most people that have problems with their dialogue believe that their word usage comes across as being "bland", or "dry"—so many believe that their dialogue comes across as boring, thus stifling the flow of the roleplay. In reality, the dialogue between their characters is fine; rather, it's what goes around the dialogue that can cast a damper on your work. Here's two short excerpts that I put together to demonstrate this. Read carefully, and see which paragraph feels dry, and which paragraph seems to flow better:

Sample #1
"Commander," General Morgan asked, "are we supposed to expect an attack from the enemy force today?"

"No," the General replied. "Intelligence suggests that we are to remain here for the time being. This is supposed to be the safest place in the entire fleet."

"Sir, I have enemy contacts on my radar! They're enemy contacts, right? We don't have any birds in that part of the grid!"

"Sound the alert!"


Sample #2
There was a commotion about the control room, and it was making Captain Horne uneasy. Things never seemed to be this... tense on the bridge, even during the rather strenuous training exercises that the Fleet ran through weekly. It was as if everyone was walking on pins and needles, and he didn't like it. The new radar officer, Morgan something or other, was particularly bothersome to the Captain. The young noncom studied his panel with a growing look of dissatisfaction. "Commander, are we supposed to expect an attack from the enemy force today?"

"No," the Captain shook his head. "Intelligence suggests that we are to remain here for the time being. This is supposed to be the safest place in the entire fleet."

Morgan began to shake his head violently, as if to deny whatever it was that he was seeing. With a sudden burst of movement, the petty officer dove forward towards the comm panel, pressing down his alert switch. "Sir, I have enemy contacts on my radar! They're enemy contacts, right? We don't have any birds in that part of the grid!"

The Captain could literally feel the blood drain from his face. Yet in a split second, his adrenaline began to course, and then there was no more time to think—only act. "Sound the alert!"

Hopefully, sample #2 felt like the better read to you. The dialogue seemed more natural, more fluid, and more intense than in sample #1. When given the choice between a roleplay full of dialogue from sample #1 or sample #2, most people will instinctively gravitate towards sample #2. Its dialogue just feels right, compared to the choppy nature of sample #1.

But examine both closely, and notice that the actual spoken dialogue between the characters didn't change between the samples! The only thing that changed was the added detail from one sample to the next. In sample #1, the dialogue was quick and to the point, with little or no details about the situation that precipitated the two characters' conversation, or their thought processes that guided their trains of thought and speech. In the second sample, you get an insight into why the petty officer says what he says. The Captain in sample #2 has an added layer to his character, which automatically allows the spoken dialogue his character produces for your roleplay take on a deeper meaning. Without even worrying about what you're placing between the quotation marks, you've already improved your dialogue by leaps and bounds!

Adding scenery, thought processes, and set-ups for the physical dialogue accentuates your dialogue so well, it makes it feel as if the dialogue sounds better. You can have a nice turkey for a holiday meal, but without the trimmings and dessert, you've just got turkey. With all the accentuation and additions thrown in, now you've got a feast. It's the same principle with your roleplays—it's often the side dishes (description, narration, character thoughts, etc.) that throw your dialogue off, rather than the turkey itself (the physical talk between characters). Try working out the things that go around your dialogue, and I'll guarantee that you'll at least see an improvement to some degree in your dialogue usage.

If you need additional help with the use of dialogue, consider this final tip. If you can't figure out how to make your dialogue sound more realistic, and you don't think sprucing up the narration around your dialogue is working well enough, consider creating dialogue for your roleplays based off a conversational tone. This works especially well when you're having dialogue between two characters in a story. Often, we get into the storywriting mode, and we subconsciously remove ourselves from reality to do so. We "zone in" during the typing process, and we lose the ability to truly empathize with what we're creating in the roleplay. The trick to beating this is to approach the creation of dialogue like you're having (and hearing) an actual conversation. Instead of making your characters talk all wooden and boxy, try to imagine what you would be saying if you were in the situation. Would you speak with proper grammar and stiffness, or would you be a bit looser because Holy Cow, a missile is inbound for your position! The same thing works with sprucing up the narration around your dialogue. If you were on a naval ship and were about to be attacked, would you be moving like a robot from order to order, or would your thought process be thrown off by the sensation of your pounding heart creating a thumping sensation in your ears?

So much of the roleplay process is based on your ability to step back and take a look at the finished product with neutral eyes. You want to make the best roleplay possible, but you have such high expectations for the final product, considering you gave life to it through your imagination. Have faith in your abilities, and trust in yourself when you go to write. Use these tips, and see if you can overcome the limitations that your subconscious is imposing on yourself. As always, telegram me or find me online if you need more help.


Question #18: How far is "too far" in a roleplay?
When crafting a roleplay on the boards, you can sometimes find yourself in need of an "edge" to your writing. Most players on the board are familiar with dirty words, aka explicit language. Sometimes, however, you may find more than a few well placed vulgarities in the roleplays you come across. Language, to a point, can add a bit of grit and realism to a story that needs it. The best writers will tell you, though, that going overboard with language isn't just bad form, but it can ruin the flow and strength of the work. Try to strike a balance when you're crafting a roleplay. If you need explicit language to "spruce up" your piece, use it sparingly, and with an eye towards the quality of the work first and foremost. If it doesn't need it, don't force it.

In terms of sexually explicit material, it's generally a good idea not to go there. I have yet to see an instance where sexually explicit material as flown well with Moderation, so any type of material that can be considered pornographic or of an explicit nature should probably be kept out of your roleplay. The same thing goes with excessive racial slurs and other discriminatory remarks that are added for shock value.

Another big thing that can find its way into roleplays is gore, or especially violent and descriptive pieces on the consequences of war or other militant actions. Gore can be a necessary element when a writer seeks to capture the true horror of war. If done as tastefully as possible, it can give a bit of realism and dramatic oomph to your story. But if you go overboard with the "tomato sauce", then you're likely just going to offend more people than you're going to impress or entertain. Try to find a balance between what's needed to convey the message of your roleplay, without turning it into an exploitation piece.

Finally, consider the usage of a Disclaimer—a warning tag at the start of a roleplay, or in extreme cases, a warning at the top of an individual post that alerts readers to the fact that explicit or mature content will follow. Some people use the tag [ Mature ] while others give a more classic "Warning!" tag. Just make sure to add the tag if you feel like your material isn't suitable for children. Doing so can absolve you from problems later on!


Question #19: Should I open an Embassy?
Embassies can be a wonderful diplomatic tool, but very rarely do people ever use them for much beyond collecting license plates from foreign nations. More often than not, an Embassy exists only to collect applications from nations who thrive on sending ambassadors to far-away countries, then forgetting about them. Such actions, while far from being illegal or in any way bad for a nation, really misses the benefits of an Embassy.

An Embassy can be a wonderful way to connect your nation with other nations in a roleplay setting. If you have a diplomatic roleplay that you're working on, you can use your ties to another nation through an embassy or consulate to include a second party in your work. The diplomatic ties demonstrated through the incorporation of your Embassies can also add to the realism and creativity of your work. More than that, an Embassy can provide a very real link to the person behind the nation. Through the contacts that you make with your Embassy, you can not only establish treaties or non-aggression pacts, but you can make acquaintances that will provide incalculable help during your time in the roleplaying community.

If you want to open an Embassy, I would highly recommend doing so. But as a friendly tip, be sure to maximize the usage of your Embassy or Consulate Program. It's such a great resource that often goes untapped, and it's one that a young nation really can't afford to pass up on.


Question #20: Do you have any final words of wisdom?
Just one last bit, and it's something that I've already said before. Be yourself, guys! Don't try to be anyone different than yourselves. If people cannot interact or write with the real you, then you shouldn't worry so much about trying to impress them, or fit in with them. As open as the roleplaying community is, there still remains a large degree of factionalism within the boards. There are cliques, there are roleplaying groups, and there are collections of roleplayers who have become quite good friends outside of the game. If you attempt to "fit in" by being someone else, you're going to torpedo your greatest asset: yourself!

I cannot stress that bit enough. If you're not yourself, then you're going to have an impossible task ahead of you. When I've tried to be more like those around me, I've fallen flat on my face, and actually ostracized myself more than I would have otherwise. Believe me, you don't want to find yourself sitting at your computer, feeling totally alone in the roleplaying community on account of foolishness like trying to blend in with the wrong crowd. Allow people to accept you for who you are, and you'll have a great experience here.

[New Azura]

A List of Helpful Resources (Links)
The following resource is a collection of links to both NationStates and Non-NationStates Resources for roleplayers, including important game resources, roleplaying guides, vital links to important starting points, and writing resources for players. We try to scan all of our links, particularly the non-NationStates URLs for any offensive material, and while we are fairly certain that no such issues exist, do remember that NationStates has no authority over off-site links, so please use your own discretion before continuing off-site. If a subsection contains links to off-site material, it will be so tagged in its section header.

Good NationStates RP Resources

• About Factbooks and National Information
• Factbook Guide
• FaNI Index v2.0
• General Sports Roleplaying Questions
• Global Economics & Trade Help Desk
• Have a Question? Ask it Here!
• Links to Frequently Reported Issues
• New to International Incidents? Start Here!
• Roleplaying Tips and Suggestions - Orig: Euroslavia
• The New Guide to Embassies and Consulates
• The One Stop Rules Shop
• Using Multiple Nations Productively
• What Is & Isn't an NS-Setting RP


Good Resources for Writers (OFF-SITE LINKS)

• About.com Fiction Writing
• Archetype Writing
• Writing.com


II Mentors Contact List (Alphabetical)

• Anemos Major
• Cyrupe
• -Deus-
• Feazanthia
• Lyras
• Mikoyan-Guryevich
• Milograd
• New Azura
• Salzland
• Santheres
• The PeoplesFreedom
• Tergnitz
• United Gordonopia
• Ustio North
• ViZion


Important NationStates Forums

• Gameplay Forum (Excellent Resouce)
• General Assembly Forum
• Got Issues? Forum
• Moderation Forum
• Security Council Forum
• Technical Forum


IRCs - Helpful Resources & Regional/Social Rooms (Beware Mature Content)

• #Draftroom
• #Gameplay
• #II
• #Judea
• #NationStates
• #NSLegion
• #NSSanctuary
• #The_Security_Council


Military Resources (OFF-SITE LINKS)

• About.com U.S. Army Chain of Command
• Military Weapons Catalog
• Military Weapons / Tactics
• Wikipedia Article: Military Organization (Tables)
• Wikipedia Article: Military Uniforms


NationStates Calculators (OFF-SITE LINKS)

• Absolution NSTracker
• NSEconomy
• Sunset Calculator


NationStates-themed Wikis (OFF-SITE LINKS)

• Azhupedia
• ESUSWiki
• NSWiki
• WikiStates


Translation Sites

• FreeTranslation.com
• Google Translate
• Wikipedia Article: List of Latin Mottos (Full)


Word Resources

• Dictionary.com
• Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
• Thesaurus.com


Writing Generator Resources (OFF-SITE LINKS)

• Chaotic Shiny RPG
• Serendipty
• Seventh Sanctum

If you know of any NationStates or Non-NationStates information or resources that would be beneficial for new players, please telegram New Azura with details. If the resource checks out, then we'll add it to our expanded resource list. Be advised, however, that joke entries or links to explicit material will be treated very harshly. Any attempt to post such material to the resource guide will be turned over to Moderation!

[New Azura]

Ask a Question!
Frankly, there are so many issues surrounding new players that it's nigh impossible to create a guide that handles all of them. If you haven't been able to find the answer to your question in this or any other guide, you have the ability to telegram one of the II Mentors or myself with your issue to ensure complete anonymity. If you feel comfortable with sharing your question with other players however, we would be extremely happy to answer your question directly in this thread. By stepping forward with your questions, your issues and your concerns, you're opening a door by which others with similar problems can also find help. In effect, by asking the question, you're helping other people get the answers that they have been looking for.

There are no stupid questions to be asked, if they're asked in seriousness. While I would ask that posters refrain from making joke inquiries, we don't want any new player to feel out of place or intimidated by posting here. Even if you think your question is benign, unworthy of being asked, or going to get you laughed at, I assure you that no such activity will take place (for if it does by another poster, I'll politely escort them down the hallway to Moderation. This is a judgment-free zone where you can ask the questions that will improve the quality of your roleplaying experience, and help to open so many doors that were previously closed to you.

If you have a question that you'd like answered, use the brief form that we've provided below. When you've finished filling it out, post it to the thread, and we'll get back to you fairly quickly—no more than one or two days at the most, usually on the same day. Once your question has been addressed, we'll add it to this page, where others can find helpful information that may already be addressed here. And again, I want to thank you guys in advance for contributing to the content of this guide. Without your help, we can't get all the information compiled here for new players. Thank you again for your time!


Question Form:

Nation's Name:
Date Posted:

Please post your question here:
[ Describe your issue... ]

---

1. Tergnitz Asked...

A nation in real life does not simply revolve around military conflicts and foreign affairs. Therefore, how do you think that nations (both new and old) should approach their domestic affairs realistically to avoid becoming a Mary-Sue topia?

Excellent question, and an excellent point for all new (and some experienced) players to remember. The construct of nation-building in our roleplaying community is such that you, the handler of your nation, are free to create as you so choose. Your not indefinitely bound by parameters of your main account, as attested to by those who use pop caps, or create a completely different country in roleplay form from what their main NS account would suggest.

One of the most rewarded things, I've come to discover, is not embarking on great military conquests or creating major alliances—it's laying out the groundwork for the internal affairs of my country. But too often, new players feel the need to jump into the middle of a conflict right off the bat, and know as much about their country as the people their fighting. Still others never evolve beyond the military aspect of their nation, turning their roleplay creation into a virtual military junta by default; one that wont be too popular, and one that will hold you back.

New players should focus heavily on their domestic affairs, particularly the creation of their culture and government in particular. One of the best ways to give focus to the internal structure of your country is to create a Wiki based on it. Using the Factbooks and National Information subforum is a great tool for new players, who can put the ideas of their country down into posted text. It provides an avenue where you can channel your creative energy and look at you country from the inside out. In my experience, the more you dabble with your country, the more in-tune you'll be with the domestic affairs of your country. If you're also interested, there are a host of off-site places like NS Wiki and WikiStates that can be a great resource for ideas on how to build your country.

One thing I would definitely recommend is keeping an eye towards realism for your country. I italicized realism, because the consensus for "realism" in the NationStates World is a far cry from what would really fly if your nation actually existed. But, in doing what we can with what we have, the best players try to balance their nation with a collection of strengths and weaknesses. If you view your nation as an extension of yourself and your personality only, you do run the risk of creating a perfect juggernaut—one that may earn you condemnation or disrespect. Keep in mind: you're free to do as you will with your own nation. But there are a few good rules of thumb to bear in mind.

First, every militant and diplomatic effort that you create with other countries will have a profound impact on the people of your nation. If you establish free trade and diplomatic relations with Country X, your people will be exposed to Country X's culture. If your people are repressed by a tyrannical government, then this would ostensibly change the way that they live and act. Second, no nation is well-enough off to fund a military that's 20% of the national population, yet still have the lifestyle of a United States. It has been said, and is generally noted, that a military that's 10% of the size of its parent nation would create North Korea-levels of poverty. Even at 5%, the economic influences of your country would be pretty strong. Consider these factors when you work with other countries, or build a major military empire. Everything done externally should be reflected internally.

Finally, don't be afraid to examine your people, your culture, your customs, or your government in a roleplay setting. The NationStates subforum is an excellent avenue where players can do some good internal roleplays, either by themselves or with others. Examining the customs of your people, the mores, and even the locations that comprise your nation is an excellent way to diversify your creation, and really make a good statement within the roleplaying community. The more depth and detail you provide for your country, the more likely you are to create a well-balanced, inventive, and unique presence in the NationStates World. And, as always, to avoid "Mary Suetopia" as Tergnitz so eloquently put it, never be afraid to lose out. Winning or losing wars is a lot like losing a baseball game in real life. While it may change the direction of your nation, it's far from the end of your nation. More respect to those that have endured than to those that never take the heat.

[New Azura]

RPU
Roleplaying University
A Crash-Course in the Finer Points of Roleplaying
[Because Everything Needs a Fancy Intro!]


Welcome!
There are a ton of things that new players will experience right out of the starting gate here in the roleplaying community of NationStates. Inside these forums, an eclectic mix of people from various locations, cultures and age groups contribute to the wonderful and unique experience. Sometimes poignant, sometimes a zoo, the NationStates roleplaying forums offer both entertainment, enlightenment, and the chance to make friends that you never could have dreamed of making before you arrived here. It's more than just a game, when you think about it. It's an experience that can not only provide fun for you and an outlet for your creativity, but it can enrich your life in a very positive manner.

Here's the deal, though: if you have trouble playing the game, you may find yourself handcuffed in terms of what the game-aspect of the community has to offer. Through roleplaying here at NationStates, a brilliant world can be opened up to you. But if you have difficulty roleplaying, then you'll have a more difficult time acclimating yourself to the boards. In truth, a certain degree of writing skill is necessary to truly integrate yourself into the community here. You don't have to be the world's greatest writer—quite the contrary. We have various nation-handlers who vary in terms of writing backgrounds and proficiency levels. Some writers can craft eloquent, heartfelt pieces that can literally move you to tears. Others are just beginning to build their writing style, allowing would-be readers the chance to watch young and promising writers blossom into well-tuned RPing machines.

The bottom line is this: if you don't enjoy writing to some extent, you're probably not going to make it very long here in the roleplaying community. When you find yourself getting bored easily by posting, or when making new posts becomes something of a burden or chore to you, it may be time to reassess why you're here, and whether it's best for you to continue. Roleplaying should be something that excites you, and motivates you to produce not just time-wasting material, but work that can entertain people, move them emotionally, or motivate them to try and improve their own work as writers. That's the glorious nature of our community, in a nutshell: roleplays mean so much more than one would surmise from glancing at our community on the surface.

If you have a passion for writing as a hobby; if you're just starting out, and want to pick up some pointers, or if you think that your writing skills aren't up to snuff, then this part of the guide is aimed directly at you. In it, we've tried to come up with helpful tips, tricks, and resources that can help you re-evaluate your writing style. If we do our job right, this post may help you improve as a writer. It may give you the tools necessary to overcome hurdles that have been holding you back. At the end of the day, if this guide in any way helps you have more fun, then it was worth it. Your comments, questions, and suggestions are more than welcomed—they're desired to let us know if we can improve anything.

In closing, we're not experts in the field of creative writing or literature—far from it. We make mistakes just like anyone else does from time to time, and we'll all have periods where we just don't feel like writing. But deep down, we know two things for a fact: first, writing here at NationStates is a fun and rewarding experience that beats wasting time elsewhere on the internet. And second, that fun and rewarding experience can lead to so much more here at the site. We're just regular people that want to see other regular people maximize their experience, so that we can share it together. If you're ready to go, class is now in session...

Lesson #1 - Deconstructing the Perfect [aka Complete] Roleplay
Alright, so the first lesson in, and we've already begun with the hyperbole. In truth, there's really no such thing as a "perfect" roleplay, because most writers typically find ways to improve their working style over time. That's really the first major point that needs to be emphasized here—you will improve as a writer the older you get! Perhaps you pick up new diction skills or expand your vocabulary to the point where your writing looks more polished. Maybe you learn a new writing technique that helps you go from "occasional writer" to "serious enthusiast". In any event, patience is definitely a virtue. Don't feel too discouraged because you're unable to craft the roleplay you've always wanted to. In time, you'll be churning out fun and exciting reads that meet your standards. Often, the hardest critics to impress are ourselves, so hang tough guys. In time, your work will come around.

Now then, onto the meat and potatoes of our lesson. While we've assessed that there's no real criteria for a "perfect" roleplay, there is criteria that can be used to assess whether a roleplay is complete. A complete roleplay refers to any and all instances where a writer's work meets a checklist of items that separate the ho-hum stories from the great ones. While we're using the following checklist as a general outline for discussing the characteristics of a good roleplay, you can use it as a mental checklist to run through when you're building your own roleplay! Here's the criteria we're looking for in a "complete" roleplay:

• Flow of the Plot
• Detail of the Setting
• Characterization and Dialogue of the Characters
• Style of the Roleplay Post
• Creativity of the Work

Though there could possibly be hundreds of minute details that go into the crafting of each and every roleplay, for our purposes, these are the major five categories that we want to focus in on for the time being. They're an excellent resource for beginners to use when trying to self-analyze or self-critique their own work. Each step in the checklist represents a vital part of your post—every item entails a core tenet to your work, whose individual quality will effect the overall quality of the story. We're going to go through each one, detailing and describing the intricacies entailed therein. We'll provide demonstrations of what we're talking about, so that you can get visual aids to go along with these written instructions. Hopefully you'll have a fuller understanding of each section by the time that we're done.

FLOW OF THE PLOT
One of the first things you want to look at when you're critiquing your roleplay post is to see how well your plot moves throughout the entry. Since entire stories (with the exception of short story threads) take multiple posts to move through, you'll have two general issues to keep an eye on. First, you'll want to see how well the plot moves and reads in an individual post, since each post in a roleplay represents a building block to something bigger. If one block is faulty or defective, it can upset the entire balance of the story. At the same time, each block must tie into one another to produce a coherent and readable story, so that each block you place into the roleplay accentuates one another. The plot through an individual episode will tie into the overall plot of the roleplay, so it's doubly important to make sure your story posts are flowing and reading well.



Helpful Hint:
Try using a plot outline on your own computer to
create a general outline of where you want your
roleplay to go. Once you get the basic premise of
your story out of the way, you can create side plots
and intricate details to give your stories more
pizzazz.

As you critique your post, try to localize your dissection of plot movement in the following ways. First, examine the speed at which events occur in your narratives. If characters require two posts to get a cup of coffee in your roleplay, you may be moving a bit too slowly with the plot. On the contrary, moving from a peaceful day in a quiet suburb to global thermonuclear war in three posts is almost impossible to pull off without cutting some serious corners. You can often times intuitively sense when a story is moving too fast or too slow upon careful revision. Just try to ballpark the right speed for your story—war roleplays will typically move much faster than diplomatic or character-driven threads. Just make it a point to not speed yourself up too much, as it can rob you of detail in your writing.

Here's a great example of a roleplay that maintains a great plot flow. It comes from a short-story thread, meaning its a self-contained entity in and of itself. Thus, it really helps to identify what we're looking for in a sample:

Roleplay Example:

• A fell wind howled and the skies themselves darkened the light of the system’s twin stars, baking the planet beyond what any normal planet could endure. The Borderlands held many secrets and treasures for those with either the guts, money or lack of sanity to venture out beyond the Central Governments’ control. Many have these things, and some venture out there. Few survive. Even fewer return.
  
  Observing a small, ramshackle camp from atop a ridge, the windswept sand kept a pair of figures hidden from the sight of those they spied upon. They lay, side by side, as still as it was possible to be. Covered by sand-camouflaged sheets, the barrel of a rifle poked out from underneath one, whilst a pair of magnoculars was just visible beneath the second. For a few moments, the lay silent, observing the goings on of the camp.
  
  Sighting down on the camp, the sniper, a woman of no more than twenty-five years old, watched intently as various people, ranging from the young, the old, male, female, civilians and mercenaries or pirates went about their business, unaware they were being watched. She scanned the camp slowly, placing the crosshairs over several people, but moving on from them after a moment. Finally, she allowed the crosshairs to come to a halt over a makeshift tent. Watching the flap open up, her whole body tensed against the desert sand as a man, clearly into his late forties, wearing a damaged but still recognisable military uniform, emerged into the open.
  
  “Is that him?” she whispered, assuming her compatriot was aware of who she was sighting down upon.
  
  “Yeah Caira, that’s him alright” a male voice replied, the magnoculars following the man below as he moved from person to person, conversing with each one in turn. “Colonel Varus himself. Motherfucker.”
  
  The pair watched his movements for a few moments. He continued to wander the camp, conversing mainly with the armed men and women, who were a mix of slavers, pirates and hired guns, although occasionally, he stopped to chat with someone not carrying a gun. Suddenly, he glanced up, and Caira took a sharp intake of breath as she found herself staring down the scope, with him looking back at her. He stared for a few moments, Caira’s heart pounding in her head, until he finally looked away, speaking to someone else. Caira took a few deep breaths, composing herself after a moment and continuing to watch.
  
  “Did he see us?” she whispered, her voice betraying her as she asked, keeping the rifle sighted on Varus’ head as he continued his rounds.
  
  “No.” the other replied “Must have just been spooked by something.”
  
  ***
  
  
  The bulkhead of the ship creaked eerily as it drifted through open space. Stars, debris, dust. All floated by in silence, leaving the hum of the engines and the muted sound of voices passing by outside as the only sounds to be heard. A clink of glass interrupted these sounds, echoing slightly around the small cabin.
  
  A man of about thirty five, clad in a uniform not native to the Solar Defence Force, placed a small tumbled down upon a desk, adding a pair of ice cubes to it. He took a bottle from a small cupboard, opening it and pouring a small amount of the brown liquid over the ice cubes, before taking a short swig from the bottle itself and then setting it down upon the desk.
  
  “Log entry, date…fuck” he began to say aloud, taking another mouthful of the drink “Date is 9th November, 4098. Commander Edward Stephens, Echelon Special Tasks Group, acting Captain of the frigate Defiance. Assigned to Borderlands mission codenamed Operation Recover. Tasked with finding and retrieving both rogue military officer, Colonel Marcus Varus, and Echelon agent, codenamed Aurora, as well as picking up Scout Team assigned to follow and report on Varus’ movements.”
  
  
  Stephens finished off his drink, pouring another from the rapidly emptying bottle and replacing it on the desk before adding;
  
  “Report of events culminating in the critical failure of Operation Recover begins.”
  
  ***
  
  
  Caira continued to watch Varus wander about the camp, stopping from time to time, disappearing into huts and reappearing a few minutes later. He seemed at ease, unaware of the sniper team watching his every move with intent. As he walked about, he came to a man, his onyx black hair clashing with Varus’ sand-covered, tattered uniform. Caira watched them converse, even go so far as embrace, before a voice derailed her train of thought.
  
  “Codename Aurora sighted.” her spotter whispered, also watching the dark haired man as she joined Varus and they both wandered the camp, continuing to chat with it’s inhabitants now and then. After a moment, Varus stopped, pressing a finger to his ear, presumably using his com-link. Aurora watched him with intent, as did Caira, as he replied to whatever message he was receiving. From this distance, he did not show any emotions as to what was being said, and without the decryption key to the local com-net, Caira and her spotter would be unable to find out what was being said.
  
  “Tyler, what do you think he’s being told?” Caira whispered to her spotter, watching Varus and Aurora with her eyes for a moment, rather than through the scope.
  
  “Probably the latest updates on ‘El Dorado’ or whatever he called it.” Tyler replied, still watching him through the magnoculars, although lying next to their stand now was his own weapon “He must have a ship near here. Or in deep orbit, at least.”
  
  “Could he get that sort of equipment?” Caira asked, returning to the scope of her rifle, Varus’ face becoming suddenly closer to her own. Even at this distance, the powerful scope of the rifle picked out every little detail of his battered and worn face, right down to the furrowed brow, the greying moustache and the cratered scars, reminders of battles long since won - or lost.
  
  “He’s a decorated Marine Colonel, Chief” Tyler replied, matter-of-factly “Short of the sort of freedoms Echelon STG has, he can get just about anything. A ship would be a piece of piss for him to acquire, especially if he told the brass he was looking to track down a slaver gang in the Borderlands.”
  
  A rustling to their left caught their attention, but as they looked over, it was merely a karg pup, which scampered away across the sand when it noticed them. Returning to their overwatch, they had only just sighted down on Varus again when the low bellow of a man’s voice, like that of an angry bear, caused them both to glance to their right.
  
  A mountain of a man emerged over the top of a small rock, his eyes darting madly from Caira to Tyler and back again. He let out another feral bellow, before charging at the pair. Reacting quickly, Caira swung the camo-sheet off herself, bringing the rifle to bear as the man closed distance extremely quickly, despite his size. Squeezing the trigger, the Worthington ABR recoiled sharply, unleashing a deadly .338 magnum round into the bezerkers’ gut. A blast of blood showered the sandy ground, but the shot did nothing to slow his advance, and the eight-foot monster quickly closed the remaining distance before Caira could line up another shot.
  
  Knowing that they were compromised now, she swung the butt of the rifle menacingly at the bezerker. In spite of her agility and his size, he had lightning reflexes, a huge hand darting out and stopping the rifle butt dead, before yanking it from her grip. He smiled, a savage, toothless grin, snapping the exo-steel rifle with little effort, before bearing down slowly on Caira. She drew a knife from her belt, unable to retrieve her pistol, and brandished it carefully in the bezerker’s direction, giving him another cause to snarl menacingly at her, a feral hunger lingering in his eyes.
  
  At that point, Tyler, brandishing his own blade, attempted to blindside the otherwise occupied bezerker. A futile attempt, Caira looked on helplessly as Tyler threw himself at the man-mountain, somehow managing to stagger it, drawing it’s attention to him as he too staggered back from the tackle, shaking off the pain and attempting to focus on the bezerker, who let out a feral howl before charging at Tyler.
  
  “NO!” Caira screamed, unable to catch the man before he’d closed in on Tyler. He was merciless, landing a massive fist into Tyler’s gut before combining that with a devastating forearm smash to the face, sending Tyler slumping to the floor, the sand stained with both his and the bezerker’s blood. Her body moving in instinct, the adrenaline surging through her body, she attempted to leap onto the bezerkers’ back, jamming the combat knife into the back of his skull and yanking it violently. Howling in pain, the bezerker tried wildly to throw the girl off, swinging and flailing his arms in an attempt to get a hold of Caira. She clung on, screaming and yanking the knife, warm blood spraying all over her hands and uniform. A few moments later, in one last defiant act, the bezerker caught a hold of her arm, throwing her across the sandy floor as he collapsed into the blood-stained sand.
  
  ***
  
  
  Stephens paced his cabin slowly, still drinking from the bottle of whiskey he started earlier. He stood at the window, finishing off another glass, before continuing his log.
  
  “Marcus Varus. Colonel, Solar Marine Corp. Decorated with the Solar Star and the Crimson Heart for his actions on Zael in 4083, where he risked his life against a large mercenary band to save over one-hundred and fifty civilians, who had been under the thumb of a mercenary warlord for several weeks. Wounded in action, and spent two months in hospital undergoing extensive cybernetic reconstruction. Returned to active duty on 13th September 4084, requesting resources and personnel to protect civilians living out in the Borderlands.”
  
  Stephens paused, considering Varus’ history for a moment, before continuing
  
  “Reported by his XO as having taken unnecessary actions against civilians he believed to be in league with a slaver ring. Formally dismissed of war crimes at a tribunal, and returned to the Borderlands one month after. XO subsequently killed during a raid on a pirate gang. Varus continues operations in Borderlands until early 4096. Suddenly vanishes off the grid. Wreck of pirate ship found transmitting SDFS LADAR signal, along with the bodies of Varus’ crew. Varus himself not found, assumed taken hostage along with members of his crew and his ship captured. No sign of him for almost fourteen months.”
  
  Stephens paced across the room, placing the empty glass down and taking a seat in a chair before his desk, before adding the final part of Varus’ history to the log.
  
  “Bombing of Nova Meria stock exchange, May 21st, 4097. Over one thousand, two-hundred and fifty civilians killed in massive bomb blast. Message transmitted from the warship ‘Valiant‘, now named ‘Borealis’ by Varus, to central government, claiming responsibility. Central Government vows action, tasks Echelon STG with tracking and detaining Varus for a criminal tribunal. Varus flees into The Veil, finally re-appearing in the Borderlands again. Echelon agents begin manhunt as Varus reportedly preys upon settlements in the Borderlands, leaving death and destruction in his wake, whilst more psychos, mercs and pirates flock to him. His purpose remains…” he paused once more “…unknown.”
  
  ***
  
  
  Jeering and shouting greeted Caira as she returned to consciousness. She was numb all over, but feeling quickly began to return as she her vision began to clear and she realised where she was. Her feet dragging along the sandy floor, two muscular mercenaries pulled her along through the middle of the camp, the faces of many staring down at her in disgust and anger. She had been stripped of her combat armour, her blood-stained muscle suit showing off her slender body as the mercs pulled her up, bringing her face to face with Varus himself. Even all that time watching him through the scope, her heart skipped a beat now she was faced with him in the flesh. She glanced sideways, seeing Tyler, bloodied and barely conscious, dragged forward before Varus like her. He watched the pair intently, his beady eyes following the curves of Caira’s body. She attempted to deter him from doing so, staring directly into the black holes of his eyes, to which he returned a smirk. Dark purpose lay behind it, and he moved from his ‘Throne’ to her, a hand caressing her satin hair, tousled as it was.
  
  “Well well” he cooed, as she shook her head, jerking her hair out of his grasp in defiance “What do we have here? Too lightly armed to be Marines or Army. Too many weapons to be Elementals.”
  
  Varus looked over at the battered figure of Tyler, another smirk crossing his face.
  
  “Well, I’ll be damned. It seems fate has brought you back to me, Mr Tyler.” Varus said, the crowd that had gathered continuing to jeer “How long has it been since Morrock? Almost seven years now, if memory serves me correctly. You didn’t agree with my methods back then, did you?”
  
  “Fuck you, traitor” Tyler spat, blood spraying onto Varus’ uniform. He laughed, wiping it from his face, before returning to Caira. She caught sight of Aurora, watching from a distance, behind Varus’ throne. She tried to catch his attention, but he looked on, almost blankly, before Varus blocked her view.
  
  “So.” he began “I’m sure you have questions. Right now, so do I. So let’s start with who you work for.”
  
  “Monroe, Caira. Gunnery Chief, 5440312-” Caira began defiantly, looking him directly in the face as she recited the words. After a moment, Varus’ smirk vanished, and he landed a fist hard into her abdomen, doubling her over as she coughed blood.
  
  “That’s not what I asked, Ms. Monroe” Varus cooed, pacing over to Tyler. Spitting blood, Caira raised her head in defiance, looking over at him as he stared down at Tyler.
  
  “It’s over Colonel” she spat angrily, as he looked over to her, another smile crossing his face “We know everything. What you’re doing. Where your sites are. You can’t run any more.”
  
  Varus laughed, and the crowd followed suit, laughing with him. Caira glanced around, panicked, before Varus stepped up to her again.
  
  “Is that so, Ms. Monroe?” he snarled, now inches away from her “You don’t know anything. I know everything. I know that you’re both working for Echelon STG as part of a scout team tracking my movements. I know that the frigate Defiance has been following my movements for the past several weeks. And I know that all your information on me is false.”
  
  “What?” Caira asked, her voice faltering.
  
  “Oh yes. Your informant? Gone. I replaced him and have been feeding your buddies back at Echelon false data. So they’re welcome to hit my sites in…” he checked his watch “…a little over five hours. They’ll not even see my taillights. I have what I needed from this wasteland.” He smirked again, turning to the crowd and adding; “You heard me: We’re packing up and moving out. Get moving.”
  
  He walked away as the crowd dispersed, lighting a cigar with a small, gold plated Zippo lighter. He walked another step before one of the mercs called out to him.
  
  “Guv, what d’you want us to do with these two?” the merc holding Caira asked. Varus stopped, smoking the cigar for a moment.
  
  He didn’t turn. He just grinned.
  
  
  ***
  
  
  
  The storm had subsided some time later, and the rumbling engine of a jeep split the relative silence of the desert as a small group of vehicles proceeded across it, kicking up dust in their wake. Stephens sat in the front car, bouncing slightly as the 4x4 crossed rough ground. The sat-nav bleeped.
  
  “Over that next rise.” He noted to the driver, who nodded in agreement, turning the 4x4 to follow Aurora’s sat-beacon signal. They continued driving, until ahead, the remains of a ramshackle camp appeared over the hill. Coming to a halt, they dismounted, taking up their rifles and spreading out across the camp. Stephens looked at the remains; it had been abandoned not long ago, less than three hours at most, he guessed. Taking out his pistol and his own tracker, he indicated the soldiers to spread out and search the remains. The tracker bleeped again, and he stepped forward, following it’s arrow. He didn’t need to go far before he spotted the body; hung from it’s ankles above a blood stained throne like construct.
  
  Stephens approached slowly, the Marine who had been driving moving up with him. Upon closer inspection, the body had clearly been beaten badly, judging from the bruises on the face, before having it’s throat slit, probably whilst it hung there. The knife used to kill it was presumably the same one, also stained with blood - old and new - embedded in the body’s stomach.
  
  “Mother of mercy” the Marine whispered as Stephens inspected it closer “Is that Aurora?”
  
  Stephens didn’t reply immediately. He checked the body up and down, mentally correlating what he knew about Aurora with what was left to work with of the body. After a moment, he stepped back, removing a tracking beacon stuffed into the body’s mouth.
  
  “No” he said simply “It isn’t.”

In this story, the writer uses the space allotted to create a self-contained story in the roleplay index. The events of the roleplay move at the just the right pace to keep the reader's attention. Everything flows well within one another, especially given the confines that a short story naturally possesses. When you're writing a roleplay, each post should get the information necessary to advance the story across without bogging the reader down in needless details. It should be long enough to capture their attention, but it needs to flow well enough to keep their attention as well.


DETAIL OF THE SETTING


Helpful Hint:
When you go to describe the setting of your roleplay,
try to imagine describing a picture of the scene in
your imagination!

The detail of the setting should be a vital area to critique in you roleplays. Look specifically at the way you describe the setting and events transpiring. Some people believe in a "less is more" philosophy, where your details are actually less than they would be normally, to give the reader a chance to "create" the world that they're reading about. I disagree with this philosophy—the reader at NationStates has thousands of options to choose from when they're looking for a story to read. You want your roleplays to contain vivid imagery and imaginative settings that can capture the attention, or "hook" the reader into visiting your work more often.

This excerpt contains some vivid imagery that sets the tone and mood of the roleplay, and helps give the reader a mental image of what they're reading. The more a reader can connect with the story you're writing, the more likely they are to read more of your work!

Roleplay Example:

• The air was thick with smoke from the ruins of the burning homes in the town, and the puddles of fuel that blazed fiercely in the centre of the town, leaking from fuel tanks ruptured by weapons fire. A reek of unwashed bodies ran through the air, mingling with the smoke, the smell of gunpowder, and the scent...of death. The town's streets, broad, paved affairs, were covered with the mutilated bodies of the denizens. And amidst all the clamour, the ruin the turmoil...was the Orkz. Nearly a thousand-strong band cavorted in the street, hacking apart bodies to devour the pieces, defecating in the rubble, ramshackle trucks hurtling round as their riders whooped in feral delight and fights broke out in a dozen places.


CHARACTERIZATION AND DIALOGUE OF THE CHARACTERS


Helpful Hint:
When you create characters for a roleplay, try not
to create "Mary Sues"—characters who are virtually
extensions of the authors themselves. You want to
flesh out your characters during the creative process
thoroughly to avoid this syndrome.

Characterization and dialogue usage can be critical when you're critiquing your work. If your roleplay depends on strong central characters that your audience can relate to, its imperative that you clearly and effectively establish who the character is, and what purpose the character serves in the roleplay. Flesh out your characters before you put them to the boards, so to speak, and get a good feel for who they are emotionally, not just physically. Get into the character, and figure out what makes that particular person click. The more detail you give your characters, the more depth your story will have. And just like in the first guide of this page, good dialogue usage can turn a good roleplay into a great roleplay.

Here are a pair of examples that highlights both good characterization and good dialogue usage. Notice in each instance how the usage of description and conversation both enhances the story aesthetically and provides a "hook" that draws in your attention:

Roleplay Examples:

• “Hey Hex!" a Female voice pierced through the noisy space ports air. Sending a warm feeling up his spine.
  
  “Alandra..” Hex spoke softly before turning around, to see the stunning beautiful women stood behind him hands on hips, the Skin tight Jump suit accentuating each and every one of her considerably delectable curves. “No body told me id have the pleasure of your company on this lowly run.”
  
  “You talk to much Hex it’ll get you killed” she smirked as she walked past him running a finger delicately across his jaw. Her chocolate brown hair flowing in the warm summers evening breeze. Sitting on the back of the Loader she her self smiled almost flirtatiously before pulling out a finely crafted pistol cocking it the pistol gave off a soft whine as it activated the chambered round. Putting it back and doing the same with the second on her other side. “And we wouldn’t want that now would we” she cocked her head to the left looking at him a few strands of hair falling over her beautifully immaculate and perfectly proportioned face. Banging onto the Side of the loader with her fist it, signalling for the others to hop on,several clunks later and the whine of the Anti grav engines they set off. Moving off the landing pad leaving the ship and the rest of group behind to look ater the ship and off load the legal goods.


• “Repeat last, Cotvatch, over.”
  
  “Repeat! Unidentified planes flying overhead! I have no idea who they are! Over.”
  
  “Copy that, Cotvatch. Hold while we verify. YMC out.”
  
  Captain Alexander Kasonovic, of the CSN Destroyer Cotvatch, looked out his portside window on the bridge. They looked like transports, but why would transports be launching into Clamparapan airspace? The radio buzzed back to life.
  
  “Cotvatch, come in, over.”
  
  “This is Cotvatch, over.”
  
  ”This is the Yahin Maritime Command. We have spotted the transports on radar, but it seems like they are cutting in and out. We believe someone has been sabotaging our equipment, causing the errors to occur. Can you get a read on the number of aircraft? Over.”
  
  “Negative. There’s too many to cou… YMC hold on. Over.” One of the Captain’s radar operators was yelling something at him. “Say again.”
  
  “Fighters! At least a dozen! Heading right for us!” Cursing, Kasonovic got back on the radio.
  
  “YMC! Come in, over!”
  
  ” Go ahead, Cotvatch, over.”
  
  “We have fighters approaching our position! We read about a dozen or so. Can you scramble any fighters from the Pathfinder to assist?” The carrier Pathfinder was operating within range of the Cotvatch, something that Kasonovic was aware of.
  
  ”Wait one, Cotvatch.”


STYLE OF THE ROLEPLAY POST


Helpful Hint:
Try using the "blocktext" feature to narrow out your
posts a bit, and separate paragraphs with full spaces
to make your stories easier to read.

Style in a roleplay is something that takes time to develop. Though the medium would seem to present only a limited number of ways to present a roleplay, you'd be surprised at the number of ways people have come up with to get their stories out into the community. Good spelling and grammar are always helpful, but definitely take advantage of the HTML formatting tabs above your text box. Experiment with colors and spacing to get a roleplaying style that suits you aesthetically, and gives your stories a nice, polished look about them.

This excerpt combines several winning tactics in the style department. It has good word usage, is well written, and is both functional and easy to read. In the process, the style of the roleplay post accentuates the material contained within, giving the author an extra boost in trying to get the reader's attention.

Roleplay Example:

• "Refuges." A man said with a deep, thick voice as he inhaled. "We're receiving refuges from Luicinas? I just want to get this straight here. I don't need to make a fool out of myself by getting their country of origin wrong." The man had a hint of self conscious nervousness in his voice that was out of character for the giant. Black short hair, tanned skin and a goatee framing his worn face made Jakob Buchanan a frightful man in appearance yet in reality he was but a gentle giant. Not that he couldn't be violent -- after all he had made the decision to join the military. He just preferred to avoid violence whenever possible.
  
  "Yes Jakob, they are from Luicinas. They're not Refuges in the normal sense of the word though." A much shorter man standing at 5'9 said. In stark contrast to the giant, he had almost white hair and bore signs of age on his face. Clean shaven and smelling lightly of cologne, it was almost obvious that he was the one in charge of the pickup operation. And to guess William Rice was in charge was a correct assumption. "What do you mean by 'not normal' William?" Jakob asked with a faked curiosity. "Well, it is quite the long story but apparently these three are rebels from Luicinas trying to escape the current regime's brutality. At least that was the briefing - you probably should have paid attention to it."


CREATIVITY OF THE WORK


Helpful Hint:
Don't be afraid to try bold ideas in your roleplays.
It's often the risk takers that are rewarded most
for their inventive use of the roleplaying medium!

Above all else when you're reviewing your roleplay, get a feel for how creative your work comes across to you. The creative aspect of roleplaying cannot be stressed enough—it's your bread and butter here in the roleplaying community. So much of what we do already is derived from the imagination of us nation-builders. When you write your roleplay, try to think outside the box. Try and do something that you don't see everyday on the boards. Whether this means creating a fantastic alien civilization that hasn't been done before, or whether it means coming up with a new and fresh approach to writing about a war, be your own best source for inspiration. If you can imagine in, write about it!

Here is an excellent roleplay sample that highlights this theme. The writer here goes for it all, creating a splendid visual representation of the concept they created. It's unique and inventive, and makes the reader want to keep coming back for a fresh take on the genre that the writer presents them with.

Roleplay Example:

• The oceanic planet of Dac home of the Mon Calamari and Quarren species was a beautiful and breath taking planet. Its oceans were vast and spectacular and it was dotted with many island that basked in a tropical atmosphere. It was home to one of the oldest space faring species in the galaxy and one of the most populated systems in the outer rim with just over 25 billion inhabitants. It was a rich system with an industry and wealth unmatched by any but the largest Coreworlds.
  
  That had been true once before the plagues and AI massacres that wiped out most civilizations in the Core with the fall of Palpatine’s regime. There had been little contact with the Core since then, the Confederations nearest system of Taanab had suffered greatly but it had stood the test. Now the Council was considering moving into the area to find out what survived the holocaust. That action awaited the approval of the High Council of the Confederation.

In Conclusion...
This guide isn't the definitive resource for creating a roleplay by any means. There's way too much information to convey in a single post. However, these general pointers are a basic resource that may help you improve your writing abilities. In the end, though, the most important thing to do is give it your best shot. I'm a firm believer that, when you set your mind to something, it can be accomplished no matter what. If you think you're not a good writer, then I challenge you to use this guide and the tips provided therein. Whether this guide helps you or not is irrelevant. What matters is that you can do it, if you want it bad enough. If you have any questions, please feel free to post them below!


A Very Special Thank You...
To Aldarminia, Caragonia, Clamparapa, Cyrupe, Gratislavia, Of The Arch Ilands, Ozymos, The WIck, and Yohannes for their invaluable help in creating this guide.

[Cyrupe]

I'm Cyrupe and I endorse this Guide.

Seriously, great job with it. I'm glad that you decided to bring it back as much more cleaned up guide.

[New Azura]

I'm Cyrupe and I endorse this Guide.

Seriously, great job with it. I'm glad that you decided to bring it back as much more cleaned up guide.

Yeah, I was frustrated that I didn't have the foresight to do a better job of preparing the ground for it. This one, hopefully, will keep everything much more concise and "together" than the last one. We've got the space now to fully integrate all of the ideas for the previous edition into this one. Thank you for your kind words, mate—your approval means a lot!

[Tiami]

I'm very glad you took your time to make this. Thank you.

You deserve a cookie.

[New Azura]

I'm very glad you took your time to make this. Thank you.

You deserve a cookie.

Make sure to check back tomorrow evening. We're going to be adding a lot more to it.

[Tiami]

I'm very glad you took your time to make this. Thank you.

You deserve a cookie.

Make sure to check back tomorrow evening. We're going to be adding a lot more to it.

I sure will.

[Milograd]

Hot damn Azura, nice job once again.

[Bellganamos]

A great guide Azura. Now re-join Incursus!!!!1

Nah, I'm just kidding. Great guide, and, in my opinion, it should be stickied.

+3,564.3 internets

[Ustio North]

I'm Oz and this is my favorite RP Guide on the citadel NS.

[-St George]

This is seriously the greatest guide/whatever is II.

Ever.

Like.

Seriously.

[United Gordonopia]

This may be the most helpful guide for RPers I've ever seen on NS, and it's still expanding. Even I learned a thing or two reading it. Sigged as 'standard reading material'.

[Esternial]

Indeed. I agree with my colleagues that this guide provides a basic source of information for newcomers and will surely help them with their integration into the NS Community we all love and cherish. Evidently, I support this guide and wish to praise it's author, New Azura for the time and effort he spent into making this guide which he is never getting back - ever - this partly giving up a small fraction of his life for our wonderful little pseudo-community.

Oh, and I propose this to be stickied.

[New Azura]

Indeed. I agree with my colleagues that this guide provides a basic source of information for newcomers and will surely help them with their integration into the NS Community we all love and cherish. Evidently, I support this guide and wish to praise it's author, New Azura for the time and effort he spent into making this guide which he is never getting back - ever - this partly giving up a small fraction of his life for our wonderful little pseudo-community.

Oh, and I propose this to be stickied.

I drank three root beers in making this guide. I assure you, the time was well spent!

[Esternial]

Indeed. I agree with my colleagues that this guide provides a basic source of information for newcomers and will surely help them with their integration into the NS Community we all love and cherish. Evidently, I support this guide and wish to praise it's author, New Azura for the time and effort he spent into making this guide which he is never getting back - ever - this partly giving up a small fraction of his life for our wonderful little pseudo-community.

Oh, and I propose this to be stickied.

I drank three root beers in making this guide. I assure you, the time was well spent!

And then they say only women can multi-task

Unless...

[New Azura]

Important Guide Update:
Resource Links for New Players

Though it's far from a comprehensive list, the post gives new players possession of a cadre of good roleplaying and accessibility resources that could help them more easily navigate the boards. Both help resources (Mentor contact info, general forum guides), roleplay resources (such as writing guides or generators), and other information has been stored there. If you have a suggestion for a roleplaying guide or an off-site link that can be included, please telegram New Azura with your suggestions. To be placed on the list, the links need to be free of explicit language or imagery (of a graphic or pornographic nature), and needs to be relatively free of spam information. If the links check out, they'll be added to the list with full credits offered!

[New Azura]

Second Important Guide Update:
Ask a Question

This is the second of the three guide updates coming today, and arguably the most important one of the bunch. Because of time and (relative dimension in) space limitations, we've added an "Ask a Question!" feature to the guide. Basically, any question that you have can be asked now, and the responses will be added for posterity in a "guide within a guide", so that other players can have additional resources to go through when they come across a problem.

If you have a question that you don't mind being made public, there's a very easy to use form that you can post with on Post #3 of this thread. If you'd rather keep your questions in confidence, you can telegram the problems or issues to me or an II Mentor directly, and secrecy will be kept. Please, to keep new players from feeling lost or intimidated, only serious inquiries, please. Gratzi!

[New Azura]

Third Important Guide Update:
"Roleplay University: A Crash Course in the Finer Points of RPing"

This is the third and final update for the guide. Outside of adding player-asked questions and the subsequent answers, there will be no further update content-wise for the base guide. I hope that you guys found it useful and informative. If you found it helpful, I'll see what I can do to build more for you guys.

Personally, this is merely scraping the tip of the iceberg in terms of what I wanted to do with the post. There's just so much to be said about roleplaying, it really deserves its own guide entirely. If the post reads well enough (it's a bit longish, and has an unusual formatting about it), then I'll continue on the course with Cyrupe and others about a dedicated training center where these types of guides can get more space.

As is, I hope that it isn't too clunky for you guys. I've done all that I could with the style, and a BIG-TIME shout out to all the nations who submitted their roleplays to be used as samples for the new players. I couldn't get it all in there because of space limitations, but I gave each and every one of you that sent samples in credit for helping to build up that guide. If I missed you in the credits, PLEASE telegram me and let me know so that I can get your name in the credits as well!

[Saint Clair Island]

*cracks knuckles*

20
Crucial Tips for New Players
Real Help from Roleplayers Who've Been There Before...

Ok, I've seen better gimmicks but I guess originality's not a big concern here.

An Introduction...
This guide is the culmination of several months' worth of discussion, work, and camaraderie with the various nations, both Moderators, Mentors, and veteran players who wanted to make a difference in the NationStates Roleplaying Community. For what it's worth, this game, and these boards, are a special place.

Anything between two commas is a parenthetical statement. "This game are a special place" is not correct grammar. This is an incredibly common mistake.

While it's easy to dismiss roleplaying as an unimportant, even childish pastime, true players of the game know the truth.

But do the true players truly know the truth? Tell me true.

For better or for worse, NationStates has become an important part of our lives. It's an entertaining diversion from the stresses of the real world. It's a place to make acquaintances with people from all over the world. And it's an experience that most of us would have never been privy to see living in our own little corners of the world. There's an international flavor to our small corner of the 'Net, and it's an absolute privilege sharing this game with people from all across the world.

Series of fairly uninspiring sentences, rather clunky due at least in part to every sentence ending in "world." I'd rewrite.

This is the very best of online communities in my eyes, and in the eyes of others.

As a rule, stronger writing avoids qualifiers. You'd have a better closing sentence for that paragraph if you just said "This is the very best of online communities—period." or some variation.

But to truly relish the experience that the NationStates Roleplaying Community can provide,

"Relish" is the wrong word here. You'd be looking for something like "make the most of".

you have to learn the basic ins and outs of it.

"Ins and outs" implies "basic." I know my last suggestion increases wordcount, but as a rule you should really be looking to cut that down.

Sometimes, that task can be a daunting one,

This is a personal pet peeve.

Look at the phrase "a(n) X one", where X is any adjective. Identify any unnecessary words.

See them?

Yes, that's right. "a(n)" and "one". "Sometimes, that task can be daunting." The other two words just serve to inflate the sentence: puffery. Avoid puffery. It's pretentious, long-winded and just annoys people who prefer it when writing makes its point quickly.

especially when confronted with the monolithic titans of the community—those nations who have earned a reputation out of respect, fear, insanity, or maybe a mixture of the three.

"earned out of"? That's another very clunky phrase.

You will find some colorful characters in our community, but make no mistake about it, it can be a challenge finding answers to those questions that riddle you, and keep you from fully integrating into the community.

Why are these two things in the same sentence? What does the existence of colourful characters in the community have to do with answers to questions?

The existence of long-established cliques can also leave new players feeling like they're on the outside looking in a lot of times

Unless the feeling of being on the outside looking in is something you experience at individual, specific moments, I think you meant "a lot of the time".

Recently, however, a campaign has begun by assorted parties

Should be "has been begun" or—much less clunky and avoiding the weak passive voice—"Recently, however, assorted parties have begun a campaign..."

What are the assorted parties? Be specific.

to correct this flaw in an otherwise admirable system, and have begun to take advantage of different avenues to help guide others through the ins-and-outs of the NationStates Community.

Why is community capitalised?

"...to take advantage of different avenues" is also annoyingly vague.

This guide is a labor

Labour is a verb.

from which I've postulated and pondered, dabbled and doted.

Midparagraph stylistic shifts are bad. Don't switch to whimsicoracally [sic] poetic alliteration for one sentence then return to your ordinary dry, clunky prose the next.

You don't postulate, ponder, dabble, or dote "from" anything. That is the wrong preposition.

It's not a perfect guide, nor is it a complete guide. What it is, on the whole, is an honest attempt by one nation to answer the questions that once confused me, so that others don't make the same mistakes I did. In the process, I'm opening this guide up to any and everyone that has questions or concerns.

"anyone and everyone"

Every time you see the phrase "on the whole", delete it. On the whole, it's puffery.

If you want to address them publicly by posting your questions in this thread, go for it.

I don't think "addressing" a question means what you think it does.

If you want to do it via Telegram, anonymity will be respected. In any case, if you have questions, this is a judgment-free zone

You make this too easy ;)

where answers can be found.

I've started off this thread with a few questions that may be common knowledge to some, but look like Greek to new players. If you want to participate by answering questions or serving as helpmeets in completing and carrying on this thread, shoot me a telegram. This NationStates Community belongs to everyone that participates here.

This NationStates community, as opposed to the one over there. That sentence is also quite vague.

And whether you're a Mentor, a Moderator, a veteran, or simply a player looking to have fun and make friends, there's a spot for you here. I'll be posting new questions and answers constantly, so keep checking back for new information.

This guide is for any and everyone that's ever graced our community, and made it what it is today. You are the very best of us, and we appreciate all that you have done.

"anyone and everyone", again.

De-emphasizing style from this point on, largely because content is more important.

Question #1: What is the meaning of a "Pop-Cap" Region?
A pop-cap region is any region where the nations involved place a cap, or limit, on their national populations. In most regions, nations use the population figure that their main NationStates account acquire. In Pop-Cap regions, however, the nations in question choose to roleplay their entities with more realistic populations, typically using real world conventions as a model for their region. In essence, a pop-capped region would not be likely to play host to a nine or ten billion-population nation. When you look to inquire about joining a new region, make sure to ask whether they use population caps to produce a more realistic community.

See, this is pretty good. The writing could be tightened, but I see no objections to the content.

Uncapped nations that move into a pop-cap region can sometimes ostracize themselves right off the bat. Get to know the other nations and what they roleplay with, so that you can find a nice, even balance. Doing this simple task can really help open doors for you in roleplaying circles.

This bit is not necessary; everything it says already been implied above.

Question #2: How can I differentiate between the various tech levels?
Tech levels are a tricky business when you're first starting out, but over time you can begin to grow accustomed to the differences in the levels of technology used for a setting. While there is no uniform convention that's widely published as roleplaying law here in NationStates, a good rule of thumb is to abide by the following table. It's the closest you can really get to a commonly accepted theory of tech levels:

Again you can delete the last sentence.

Abbreviation	Represents	Rough Description
PT	Past Tech	Antiquity - 1980
MT	Modern Tech	1980 - 2040
PMT	PostmodernTech	2040 - Pre Lightspeed Future
FT	Future Tech	Post Lightspeed Future

1980 as upper limit for past tech? 2040 as upper limit for modern tech?

Real world modern tech starts around 1960-70; earlier in some cases (e.g. B-52s). I realise why NS likes to claim 2025 or 2040 or 2050 as upper limit, of course: II posters do not actually know anything about technology, and simply want stuff that's slightly better than what newbies not part of their clique can get. I would suggest that perpetuating a RP culture in which modern tech is full of ETC guns and orbital artillery and thousand-meter battleships will only lead to wanking over whose theoretical technology is superior, but I suspect I'm being overly optimistic. The 98% rule will tend to remain in effect unless one of the participants commands genuine OOC respect.

As is the case with most things in NationStates, there is a degree of gray area to consider. For instance, a Past Tech roleplay can involve a vast range of settings, from Ancient times to the 1940s. Likewise, Future Tech can involve far-reaching intergalactic settings, or post-apocalyptic hellscapes.

Both of these "gray areas" were made obvious in your table.

Somtimes, you'll see labels like Fantasy Tech, which can include the use of magic or other fantasy elements (hence the title). Steampunk is occasionally highlighted on the board, where steam technology and other Victorian-era themes are present in a modern or postmodern setting, as if the real world had evolved in that way.

The best thing to do is speak with the OP (the person who created a roleplay) via telegram, or through a specially marked OOC forum to see what technology is and isn't proper for the roleplay. It's the best way to know for sure what to expect when you dive into a new story.

As long as you're going to keep repeating this mantra you may as well have "Work things out OOC" expressed as a basic rule somewhere. Euro did it.

Question #3: Where should I post my roleplay?
Where you should post your roleplay or concept depends on what you're looking to post. If you have an idea that relates to the geographic or historical background of your country that reads almost like an encyclopedia entry, you want to go to Factbooks and National Information. That forum is a resource for roleplayers to compile information on their countries in a non-RP type setting, and view the work of others in that regard.

Not in practice it isn't. Factbooks and National Information is a forum for all out-of-character RP content not related to a specific in-character thread. Anything that doesn't fit in one of the in-character forums will go there.

If you're looking to create an embassy, or set up a diplomatic meeting about trade agreements, the NationStates Forum is a very good place to go.

Embassies are explicitly meant for the Factbooks & National Information forum. The difference between NationStates and International Incidents is not one of content but of community; any roleplay threads may go in either forum depending on whom you're hoping to attract.

Wars, diplomatic crises and alliances are best left to the International Incidents forum, where most people make their bread and butter roleplays.

Except when they aren't. It's easier to draw the distinction as such:

NS - Western Atlantic, The Vast, Raumreich Oversector, Fatal Terrain, the Non-Democratic Alliance, etc.
II - Gholgoth, Nova, Greater Dienstad, Azhukali, the Conglomerate, etc.

If you want to create a financial endeavor, like a storefront or a bank, Global Economics and Trade is the place to be. If you wanna participate in a sports-themed RP, then the appropriately named NationStates Sports is where it's at.

Can't argue with those.

Question #4: How can I make an impact when my nation is so small?
This is such an important issue to a lot of new players. The challenges ahead of a nation created in 2011 can be daunting, make no mistake about it. When confronted with a nation from Antiquity who has had more than seven or eight years of interaction with others, building up their reputation with others, newer nations can often feel overwhelmed. Yet there have been very impressive cases over the last few months where young nations have made an impact. One such nation was chosen to become an II Mentor recently, while another has not only created successful regions, but has become a part of one of the largest and most lauded roleplaying cliques around.

I'd take issue with the implication that the best way to make an impact is to join a clique, but I suppose it's technically true.

The way to establish yourself is both easy, yet often overlooked. The first tip is to not rush into anything. Take your time working on your own material for a bit, in addition to roleplaying with others. Craft well-developed RPs with innovative twists and good writing, so that people will want to read more of what you write. Instead of going full-steam ahead into war RPs (which are a dime a dozen), choose your spots carefully, and gain the respect of others who only see a field full of warhawks in the 2010-2011 nation pool.

Most importantly? Be yourself, and make friends in the community by asking questions and understanding the ins-and-outs of the game. Show a desire to improve, and to contribute. Laugh at the funny things, and never take NationStates events personally. But always trust your instincts, and be willing to take the lumps early on. Because if you stick it out, you'll have friends and memories that will go with you for the rest of your life. It's not merely a game—it's a place where people from around the world share their creative ideas together in a massive online community. Have fun with it, and enjoy the ride.

Let me see if I can condense this: "It's easy, but hard. Work on your own material, and RP with others. Write well. Don't do war RPs, except when you do. Be yourself, while trying to get accepted by others. NS is just a game, but it's not merely a game."

Rarely have I seen such an obviously self-contradictory series of empty platitudes. The simple fact is that there is no way to establish yourself. Every established player went about it differently. The only advice I would give is "never be satisfied." Whenever you do something, look to see how it can be improved. I don't think it really matters whether you're a "fuck it I'm doing my own thing" or a "please love me guise ;_;" player—Questers and New Azura are somewhat extreme examples and they've both been fairly successful by a metric of "being 'respected' on an internet forum"—but you have to write consistently and well, and whatever your personality you have to be secure in it. Assertiveness, writing skills and the ability to get along with others (either through conciliation or through charisma) are the necessities.

Question #5: Should I join an alliance?
This one is entirely up to you. If you feel that you would be best served being in a military alliance for protection or diplomatic reasons, then go for it. If you want to be on your own, then stay the course. But if you do decide to join an alliance, here are a few helpful tips. First, make sure to stay active in an alliance by keeping up to date with the group news. Stay connected with the other members, and offer help to them in the form of participating in their roleplays or creating special projects with them.

... so they won't think you're just in it to avoid being curbstomped by older players, which is probably true.

Second, always remember that the unity and integrity of the alliance is paramount to making a successful alliance. If you want to join an alliance, consider it an extension of your national pride. Your in-character creation is staking its reputation on the survival of the alliance in the international community. Don't join an alliance and forget about it—make sure that you give your new alliance every chance it can to succeed.

This also provides a good excuse to spam propaganda posters and smilies away from the watchful eyes of the mods; that seems to be the only real purpose of in-character alliance threads apart from showing off your ability to use BBcode tags.

Question #6: What do I do if a bigger nation invades me?
First, don't panic. After all, it's just a game!

Given that you've repeatedly called NS "more than just a game" one could be forgiven for doubting that.

After the initial shock and confusion, remember that you do have several options. First of all, if you never provoked the invasion, nor did you ask or request that nation to invade you, then you don't have to roleplay with that party.

It's kinda dickish to simply back out of every war you don't think you'll win, though.

This is a freewill game, where you control what you do and what you don't do. No one can invade you, colonize you, or declare war on you without your consent. Politely decline to participate in their threads. If they continue to harass you, then go to Moderation and request their help in dealing with the offending party. But above all else, don't harass or prod another nation to attack you, then back out of the story.

It would be worth making a distinction between IC and OOC provocation here.

Indeed, there should be somewhat more emphasis on metagaming throughout this guide. Players should remember that IC and OOC are intended to be completely separate.

If you ask for a bigger nation to attack you, be sure to play it through to the end. Though it seems misguided, going through the rigors of an invasion or occupation can produce spectacular roleplays, can help bring you into contact with veteran players who can show you the ropes, and can really boost your reputation as a player who's not afraid to take chances. Whatever you do, try to avoid the damaging practice of "retconning".


Question #7: What is retconning?

Nice segue.

Retconning is the process where one nation cancels out things that were considered "canon" (or legitimate happenings in the mythos of your country or group) in a roleplay. In other words, a nation who has roleplayed with other nations about a major diplomatic event, such as a war or an assassination, suddenly decides to erase all that was created and revert to a nation where those events never took place. Sometimes, retconning takes place when one or more parties can no longer participate in a thread, requiring the other parties to change their histories as a result.

Far too often, however, retconning comes in the form of a smaller or younger nation who picks a fight with a larger, or more powerful enemy, and doesn't like the way their roleplay is going. Sometimes, nations choose to retcon roleplays and pretend they didn't happen when they're on the verge of losing out in a war. This is a damaging tool that players use too frequently in the community. Think about this: if other players see you quit out on a story so that you don't have to lose, would they desire to participate with you and put in hard work on a story, only to see it go for naught?

Retconning should not be necessary in any circumstances. If you're fighting a war and you don't wish to lose you can simply (OOCly) contact the player you're fighting and say so. The two of you can then arrange some sort of compromise over the IC outcome that you both find sufficiently reasonable. Losing a war on NS is not a huge deal anyway; the 98% rule implies that your country will be mostly intact at the end anyway and peace treaties are about 75% metagaming.

The sign of a good player is to pick and choose their spots carefully, so that they're not thrust into a no-win situation. The sign of a great player is one who is willing to take the lumps and risk losing a war or a battle for the sake of having fun, and creating an awesome story.

Wars do not often result in awesome stories. They tend to result in "fire missiles, fire anti-missile missiles, fire anti-anti-missile-missile missiles, losses: 30 troops" and then people's posting schedules growing infrequent and the whole thread kinda just ....

Though retconning happens sometimes, always strive to make it a last resort when roleplaying.


Question #8: "Nation X" is insulting me—what should I do?
There exists a very thin line between legitimate roleplaying material (such as blustering speeches made by national leaders) and very real insults that are posted to hurt or offend.

If you're a good RPer, the line is nowhere near thin.

I have to say that for a "respected RPer" your grasp of the IC/OOC divide seems tenuous.

If you're in the middle of a war roleplay with another nation, take the time to telegram them and let you know that you feel uncomfortable with the way things are going. More often than not, issues that seem legitimate are actually friendly bickering that is simply misinterpreted, and the situation can be resolved amicably and for the good of all.

Bear in mind the first-person rule: speaking in first person implies that you are being OOC. "I think Saint Clair Island is a huge bitch" and "The king of New Azura thinks the empress of Saint Clair Island is a huge bitch" are not the same thing, and if you mean the latter you should make it very clear that you are speaking ICly. If you're using the latter as a thinly veiled way to say the former, I'll just ignore you until you start being substantial.

If a nation is posting hateful remarks to you, however, with the intention of making fun of you, then do two things. First, don't retort with equally vitriolic comebacks. As much as you would like to, flame wars often get both parties into trouble with moderation. The less you stoop to their level, the better you look in the eyes of the community.

Yes, that is the only possible reason not to insult others: you might look bad. It's not like there is actually anything intrinsically wrong with being a dickhead.

Then, go to the Moderation Forum and post your complaints about what's happening. Generally, experienced players will be ahead of you, and will go to Moderation at the first sign of trolling or flaming. In all things, however, remember that troublemakers (while rare) can pop up from time to time. Don't let their idiocy detract from your overall experience here.

Really I think 95% of complaints about flaming or trolling could be resolved without moderator intervention.

Question #9: People complain about my military RPs: what should I do?
I doubt that a more derisive or conflicting problem exists in NationStates than the issues regarding militaries. While an entire guide could be written on the issues you can and should avoid when building your military, a few very brief points can help you out when you go to do a war roleplay. First, the size of your standing military should fall into the "Two Percent Rule". Most nations try to keep their national military populations around 2-3% of their overall national populations.

This is rather stupid. There are practical limitations on the sizes of militaries that do not scale evenly with percentages. A nation of 5 million could easily field a military of 40 personnel per thousand capita; that would prove difficult for a nation of 500 million and nigh impossible for a nation of 5 billion.

For instance, if your nation is 5 Million large, your national military population would realistically be around 100,000 for your Navy, Air Force, Army, and Marines (if applicable). Anything from 5-10% borders on a North Korean-type nation, where welfare and the economy are in the toilet. Over that mark, nations are practically impossible to roleplay successfully. If you try to make your nation into a clone of the United States while having a 20% military enrollment rate, then you'll have a tough time being taken seriously in the game.

Basically this, except financial limitations should be taken into account as well.

The United States of America has a military with about three to four active personnel per thousand population. It spends approximately 3.5% of its GDP to maintain a force of that size. A smaller nation with similar percentages of personnel at similar quality will spend a fair bit less as percentage of GDP. A NS-style nation of three billion, maintaining a military ten times the size of that of the USA at equivalent or higher quality, would have to spend eight to ten percent of its GDP on the military; this means fairly high taxes and military spending far outstripping government spending in any other area. Claiming 5% of your population is in the military would require a massive decrease in quality and eminently unrealistic economics along the lines of "80% of our government budget goes to the armed forces"

Often, your military population is the major source of contention that others may have with you, but there are other issues to remember as well. For instance, having an Army of 100,000 men doesn't mean that you'll realistically have 100,000 men ready to fire rifles in a war RP. The best players consider matters of logistics in their roleplays. In one famous guide, it was noted that for every ten infantrymen you have, you'll need at least double that to support them by getting them ammunition, food, water, transporting them, etc. Most people try to use a 50/50 ratio for their military. Under this system, if your Army is 100,000 people strong, then you would have 50,000 be involved in actual combat missions, with the other half focused on logistics, engineering, supplies, etc. However, several top military-savvy roleplayers now suggest something closer to a 1:4 ratio, where for every combat troop, you would have four logistical personnel. For your Navy, it'll be closer to 30% personnel on your actual ships, and 70% in logistical roles on land. Your Air Force would be even higher than that, with much logistical help needed to keep aircraft flying high.

No issue here. For Air Force I'm pretty sure most real-world countries have ratios of anywhere between thirty and a hundred ground crew/associated logistical personnel per aircraft. It does not correlate with quality either. Having 80 personnel to a plane doesn't necessarily make you better than someone with only 40; your planes are just less likely to malfunction. And we all know nothing ever malfunctions in NS.

Also, always remember that a war in NationStates, particularly those away from your own borders, aren't the central focus of the entire world. What I mean by that is simple: if you have 5,000,00 in your military, you're not going to realistically deploy 5,000,000 overseas to fight in a war. For starters, sending your entire military overseas leaves you zilch in terms of domestic protection. In a war with bigger enemies, nothing would stop them from marching in unopposed and toppling you. Further, deploying that many troops is a logistical nightmare, and is so cost-prohibitive as to almost be a futile gesture—and one that gets you a bad reputation. Despite having the potential capability of staffing tens of millions for military purposes, the largest single deployment ever in a military action was 2,000,000 total. On average, our largest force deployments, for a nation of 9 Billion, is a mere 250,000. And even that is a large force to transport, even for a nation the size of the Azurans. Be considerate of this when you participate in roleplays devoted to war. If you can master these concepts, 95% of your issues can disappear almost immediately.


Question #10: I was accused of puppetwanking—what does this mean?
Puppetwanking, albeit a funny term, is a pretty serious offense in the parlance of the roleplaying community. Generally, any time you take control of another person's NationStates account and subjugate that RP entity to your own, that's called "taking a puppet" in the OOC (or Out of Character context).

Um. No.

A puppet is simply any other nation you control. Since you may have any number of nations so long as only one is in the World Assembly, it's not illegal to create puppets; it is, however, frowned upon to use puppets to give yourself a RP advantage: military, economic, political or demographic.

Hijacking someone else's nation account is an offense and a very serious one which will get you deleted or IP banned. (You can subjugate other people's nations ICly without taking control of their accounts OOCly, however; that's perfectly fine.)

In an in-character context, your nation would call the subjugated nation a colony or a puppet. Puppets can be successfully used internally as a means for greater economic production and as a source of national defense, moving your military there to give your country a greater overseas military capability.

Most people would call any use of puppets to give yourself a military advantage puppetwanking, actually.

Despite this, you cannot use your puppets to bolster your military numbers in any way. In other words, taking the population of your puppets and using them to bolster your military strength is called puppet-wanking. Some other things that are against the rules is what's called a "bait and switch". What happens here is one nation uses a puppet to secretly challenge another nation to a fight. When the nation accepts the challenge of the puppet, the main account nation is tossed into the fray, beating the outnumbered nation and virtually humiliating them. This practice, besides being a big no-no in the community and in the game rules, is also cowardly and quite an injustice to the community as a whole. Don't hide behind your puppets, or use them to artificially enhance your nation in illegal ways.

This is sort of like what I said, except I was more elegant about it >:|

Talk to others who have taken puppets, and learn from them what having colonies means. Ask the veterans about what you can and can't do with multiple accounts. And as with all problems, if you make a mistake, learn from them with respect and humility. No one will fault you for trying to play the game. Only those that don't seek help are the ones that can get themselves into real trouble.


Question #11: What does SIC mean?
"SIC" means Secret In-Character, and refers to anything in a roleplay post that should be considered secret knowledge until such a time where the information can be made public. The tag is often used not as an overall modifier like "MT", "IC", or "OOC" is, but rather, is used for individual posts in a larger roleplay. As such, when the "SIC" label is used for a roleplay post, then all other parties in the roleplay are expected not to counter that post with their own characters or nation using that material against them.

The label is quite useful in roleplays, because there seems to be an unfair notion that anything posted in a NationStates roleplay post should be considered open game for others to use against them. When you're posting your troop movements in the middle of a battle, this is understandable. Where it's not understandable is when a nation posts a secret diplomatic meeting between the national leader and his military adviser about a possible war, only to see the next nation of a roleplay mobilize as if the war has already begun, when according to the roleplay itself, no such offensive action had been taken. The "SIC" label is used when a nation wants to keep certain aspects of a roleplay underwraps for the time being. It's obvious that you can't always use that label for every situation, as it presents an unfair advantage in its own right. But if you see the label on another nation's post, then be sure to respect the integrity of the story for the time being, until that information is translated into another post, where you can respond.

The "secret in-character" tag should not actually be necessary. It is possible to make clear ICly that what you're doing will not be visible to any casual onlooker. If someone does respond as though the actions in question were not secret, ask the player to RP detecting the action first. Intelligence is a sadly underexploited realm of RP.

Question #12: Are there any good regions for newer players?
There are a few good choices out there for sure. Any region that's pretty much wide-open is going to be your best bet when first starting off, because you just wont have the body of work necessary to gain entry into password-protected or application-only regions. The North/South/East/West Pacific Regions are where you start, and a high proportion of its membership is new players as a result. As of this posting, one of the best regions that I've come across personally is Azhukali. It's an open region where anyone can join, and there are a lot of good RPers that have a propensity for helping others learn the ropes. Until you get established enough to where you can hold your own in a larger region, I would highly recommend it to new players.

[shameless plug]

Question #13: Can you recommend places where I can learn more?
Definitely, there are plenty of sources available to help you with the intricacies of the game. Definitely start out in the International Incidents Forum and look at the various "stickies"—often guides that deal with broad-reaching topics. The guides can be a Godsend, and most can be found in the various roleplay forums. Don't be afraid to go to the Gameplay Forum for different tips and helpful hints,

Actually don't bother. Sedge and CG are very anal about RP questions. The Gameplay forum is strictly for the huge waste of time some people call raiding.

and the Moderation Forum is the place to go when you have an issue with posts, or other players. Beyond that, check out dedicated roleplaying groups that can be found in looking at the board, and get into an active region where you can learn the tricks of the trade. The various #IRC Rooms are a great place to socialize with other players, and you can occasionally find helpful resources there. A few good links are provided below for great social IRCs and helpful places for a variety of topics:

IRC channels are chat rooms. They discuss WWII, videogames, sex and whatever random links people are pasting into the channel. Expect very little conversation actually relevant to the stated purpose of the IRC room.

Good Social IRCs (Beware of Mature Content Occasionally):

• #Judea
• #NSLegion
• #NSSanctuary

Helpful Resources

• #Draftroom
• #Gameplay
• #II
• #NationStates
• #The_Security_Council

Why is #draftroom listed as a "helpful resource"? It's a wretched hive of scum and villainy.

A full list of good IRCs can be found here.
Question #14: Where should I begin in roleplaying?
Perhaps the most important moment in all of your time here in the NationStates Roleplaying community is when you take the chance and step out into this massive spectrum. If you have a working understanding of what's in store for you, then you'll be able to navigate these hallowed forums much more successfully. I promise you, if you hang tough and avoid the pitfalls that derailed a lot of us from time to time, you'll still have the same yearning to participate in these forums when you're on Post #3,686.

blah blah, more pretension about how awesome NS is, whatever

The first thing you want to do is establish a good working relationship with the other roleplayers around you. While making friends is a wonderful part of the experience, you should put aside any misguided notions that you're going to befriend everyone here. You should also realize that not everyone will dig on what you write, roleplay-wise. If you set out to try and impress everyone with your work, then you're going to be sorely disappointed when you have the detractors that pop up.

There's also the option of, er, actually coming to welcome criticism? To find it helpful? I know to some of you I must be speaking in tongues, but criticism is not a bad thing. When I give criticism I'm not trying to make people feel bad; I'm trying to make them take a second look. When I receive criticism I examine my own work and attempt to determine whether or not the criticism was valuable. It's not healthy to become too attached to your own words, since chances are that your readers would prefer to see half of them cut.

Everyone in the game, from the best of the moderators to the lowest of the low have detractors at some point along the road. You're just not going to get through to everyone, and you really shouldn't even try. I would always stress that you do the very best that you can with your natural talents—anyone could say that. What my advice to you is, however, is something that most people don't really consider when they first start out. Be yourself.

I know, it's a crazy concept, but think about it: so many people try to emulate the successful reputations of others when they first start out, hoping that by doing what the Jenraks, the Beasts, or the Automagfreeks of the world do, they too can become well-respected.

;)

Still others tread over the same old ground with their first dozen or so roleplays. Almost always, new nations jump into alliances by the masses, then begin launching cruise missiles before a single piece of framework has even been laid for your nation's creative background.

When you start roleplaying, trust yourself enough to be yourself. Don't worry so much about what others think of you at first, because the stigma of being a new player is very difficult to break right out of the starting gate. What you do by being yourself, however, is make your future road much easier to travel. By trusting in your own creative ideas, you're opening up the real you (as much as one can open up in the NationStates forums) to all the potential players that will eventually become your peers, your friends, and even your confidants. No one will ever accept you for who you are if you try to model yourself solely on another person.

On the other hand, modeling yourself on another player is a good way to get yourself into a position to "become yourself"—to whatever limited degree you're different from every other n00b out there. It's easy to fault people for being followers, but the fact is that most writers don't develop a distinctive voice at all, and those who do will take quite a long while to do it. Joining a community is about as simple as lurking in their IRC channels and acting as though you've always been there, mind.

Once you're ready for the introduction, I suggest a number of things to do first. If you are an especially creative person, or a good writer, then I would suggest starting out with your own roleplay. The benefits of having your own roleplay are enormous, considering that you immediately lose the fear of "messing up" since you're a party of one in this dance. You can get an idea for the layout of the "post a message/reply" thread windows—the coding, the special tabs, how to save your drafts for later, etc. You can work on different conventions for your nation ICly, such as special characters that will be recurring throughout your roleplays. And, most of all, you can work at your own pace, and develop a unique roleplay style that will stick with you throughout your time in the community.

The first thing you want to do as a new player is to flesh out your nation in some detail. I'd suggest a thread that discusses various aspects of your nation in IC posts—this can be a series of vignettes concerning life in your nation, a storyline centering on a character from another nation visiting yours, etc.—since it's more interesting to write and less dry and boring than another CIA World Factbook knockoff. No one really cares about your life expectancy and how much bauxite you produced in 2008 and the number of paved airfields over 740 meters in length.

If you don't feel as if you're a very good writer, or are interested in improving, then there are a few pathways for you to travel. The first is to seek out counsel from experienced nations that are open to helping you learn. While I can't speak for everyone, I can say that a lot of veteran players are willing to, at the very least, give you a few pointers here or there that can help you out immensely. Even still, there are players who thrive on assisting in great depth with your issues, believing it to be "for the good of the community as a whole". Take a look around the various guides, or seek out an II Mentor (you can find them by their light-green names under their national flags). They are excellent sources for help.

As always, you can try your hand at jumping into a current or ongoing roleplay. When you do so, be sure to check to make sure that the roleplay is tagged "Open"; otherwise, you'll need the permission of the OP (post/roleplay creator) to post in the thread. When you look for a roleplay to join, be sure to get a feel for the preceding posts—how they look, the general length of the posts, etc. You don't have to post a War and Peace sized introductory post when you jump into a new roleplay, but a lot of players will tell you that a one-two line roleplay post turns a lot of people off. As a good rule of thumb, try not to go under two paragraphs with your posts, and not over six or seven when you're joining other people's roleplays. The further into the story you get, and the more comfortable others are with you in the thread, you can then begin to branch out and do longer posts.

Length requirements are silly.

Your first post in a RP thread should be long enough to cover all of the relevant details explaining why your nation/character is entering that particular thread, if they are not explained elsewhere. Lots of short posts are a bit annoying to read; if they're the result of a conversation between you and someone else you can just write the post cooperatively in Google Docs or something.

A lot of people should consider doing a brief write-up on their nation, ala the Factbooks and National Information Forum. It's the first subforum in the Diplomacy (aka RPing) section of the NationStates Forums for good reason, as it's an excellent starting point for new nations. I would highly recommend scanning some of the threads there to get ideas on what you should be looking to establish for your nations. Some industrious players have created everything from national questionnaires to world census reports that can help you get solid creative juices flowing towards the creation of your nation. Others have come up with Wikipedia-style factbooks with pictures and everything in them! As you get more experienced, you can even find the real NationStates-themed Wikis that are popping up. NSWiki and WikiStates are two prominent ones, for instance—Google them!

Ugh, exclamation points.

If you are writing up your nation on NSWiki or somewhere, I'd advise against using pictures. It's a guarantee that someone else has already used the one you want. Yes, I'll accept that your city has 30 million people in it, you don't need to show me the same picture of Hong Kong that thirty other people already uploaded to convince me. Point is moot if you feel like drawing/'shopping all your own pictures of course <.<

Above all else, just have fun, and be open to constructive criticism. Know going in that not everyone is going to treat you like a cancer, or scream "Newb!" at you every time you show up. There are some truly wonderful people in this community, many from all across the world. And each person you meet will share with you, directly or indirectly, the richness and vibrancy of their own cultures. In my short time here, I've met people that have profoundly changed the way I look at things, the way I roleplay, and even the character of my personage. Have fun, expect great things, and in all things, don't be afraid to take the chance. You may be surprised by what you find!

Clunky fluff, but I suppose you need some.

[Saint Clair Island]

Question #15: What does the term "Godmodding" mean?
Godmodding, in a sense, is the theoretical act whereby one nation assumes "godlike" powers over another nation in the context of a roleplay. In the practical sense, it's when one nation takes control of another nation, typically for the purpose of the controlling nation's benefit, or else does something that's completely out of whack and impossible even by NationStates standards. Nine times out of ten, Godmodding takes the form of an illegal action that takes place in a roleplay about war, so that's where we'll focus most of our time at.

No.

Godmodding can be summarised in one sentence (credit to Euroslavia) and it's much more specific than yours: A godmod is an arbitrary statement of superiority detrimental to good RP.

I already know what the following section will say so I won't bother quoting it. We have nine billion guides to godmodding already and yours is much more longwinded than necessary.

"An arbitrary statement of superiority" = a one-hit kill, or its opposite, a refusal to take any damage. What really ties this category together is the fact that the opponent has no chance to respond before the result occurs.
"Detrimental to good RP" = this arbitrary statement was not pre-agreed upon between the participants.

Skimming it, the examples seem pretty repetitive.

Question #16: How can I debate without falling into flaming?

Wait, do you think the average newbie can't tell the difference between an argument and an insult-slinging match?

Might be a wee bit of projection on your part there.

As much as I'd like to say otherwise, the simple fact of the matter is that we're all human, and we're all going to make mistakes. As level-headed as I tend to be, I can get the dander up with the best of them sometimes, and we post mistakes that we come to regret down the line. When you're trying to talk with someone about a situation, and both you and the other person have conflicting views on the matter, you instantly throw yourself into a tempest from which only bad things can happen.

First, you will not always get along with everyone in the Community. As I said before, sometimes there's just people that don't get along with you, for whatever reason. When you come across these people, just be as polite as you can. If being polite to them isn't your cup of tea, then diffuse any potential situation by removing yourself from the equation. It's better to avoid a public flame fest than it is to stick around out of pride and get yourself punished by Moderation.

Now, onto the real reason for this post—when you find yourself in a debate with another nation, try to remember these simple steps. First, always, always remain civil in your debate. While debating in general is a good ticket to problems, at least be civil and respectful, even if you don’t like what the other person is saying.

Learn to tell the difference between the argument and the person. This is really elementary school logic stuff.

Two, refrain from making insults or snide remarks that can be considered hurtful, as it may backfire on you in unintended ways. Third, and most importantly, don’t try to be a hero and win the debate, or make a stand for the righteous cause. Even if your cause is just, step out of a debate when it becomes heated, or insults are being lobbed at you. The only thing that can result from prolonged exposure to this is bad news.

Also worth bearing in mind: criticisms and disagreements are not insults. Nor are they trolling or any other educated-sounding term you might have learned recently. Don't take things personally. They're just words.

And, before I post, allow me to make mention that yes, you will struggle with this throughout your time on NationStates. Only the saints among us have gone their entire time on NationStates without having some type of squabble. I myself have had my share of heated disagreements, even recently. If you always stand quick to apologize when you go overboard, and try to always keep a level head, then you’ll end up okay in the end.


Question #17: How can I improve my dialogue in roleplays?
In helping people with their roleplays, I've come across three common complaints that a lot of players seem to have. A good deal of people have discussed issues such as grammar and formatting, which really isn't as important as some make it out to be. Certainly, good grammar is a definite plus, but I'm hardly what one would call a good linguist. Your style and your body of work can overcome a lot of your stylistic shortcomings, to be flat out honest. Then I have a lot of people come to me about characterization, and making characters that are deep and fleshed out. That takes a greater involvement than the style issues, but it's still something that's quite simple and straightforward to address.

Grammar, spelling and formatting are important for one reason only: they are the surface of your work. They indicate whether you actually care enough about your writing to adhere to the ordinary conventions of the language. Like a mispronunciation in speech, a spelling error or misplaced apostrophe calls attention to itself and away from the actual content of your work. I'll be honest though—if someone sent me a manuscript riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, I'd send it right back. If you can't use the language properly it inherently biases me against anything you have to say.

But of all the issues that players seem to have in writing roleplays, the one issue I hear about most frequently is the dialogue between characters. Using speaking parts in a roleplay can be a challenging process, and a lot of people have trouble with the dialogue aspects of their story. And you know, it's not that they don't know how to insert dialogue. It's that they feel as if it's too wooden, too dry. Almost unauthentic, in a sense—to them, the dialogue hampers the flow of the story, prohibiting the reader from loosing themselves from the bounds of reality which then allows them to become fully engrossed by the writing. Dialogue can make or break a great roleplay, and I don't think anything tortures new players more than mastering the concept.

One of the best ways to deal with this is to set oneself creative writing exercises. Write a story consisting of nothing but dialogue. Two characters, so that no text outside quotation marks will be necessary. Write a story in the form of an interview transcript, or a phone conversation, or a short play. Always read dialogue aloud, or better yet, give it to someone else to read aloud; if they don't read it the way you hear it in your head, rewrite it. Et cetera.

To be fair, almost everything about "improving roleplays" is subjective. Beyond the basic necessities of a good roleplay (appropriate length, punctuation, creativity), almost everything there is to the business of improving your roleplays is subjective. When you seek counsel on improving your roleplaying ability, what you're actually doing is trying to figure out a way to get what you're trying to convey from your imagination to the typed forum post better than you have been. You have a concept for a roleplay, and you can see it clearly in your head, but when you go to post it to the forum, you feel as if it's lost something in the translation from thought to text.

The first thing to do when you're trying to improve your dialogue usage is to understand the pitfalls of that mindset. Indeed, it can be a mental pitfall for you if you approach the situation as if you have "failed" as a roleplayer because of your "inadequacy". Nine times out of ten, the inadequacy we feel we exhibit isn't an inadequacy at all, but is simply a mirror of our creative passion for the roleplaying aspect of the NationStates Community. Understand first and foremost that in order to produce a great roleplay, you have to trust what you're doing from the get-go. And most of the time, your mind will convince you that things are worse than they actually are.

Now, I'm not saying that improvement can't be had. We can all improve as writers, make no mistake about it. I of all people can attest to that—every two years or so, I look back at the things I'd written in the past, and marveled at just how God-awful my work looked to me, even from such a short time period ago. A lot of your issues will be solved with continued experience in roleplaying, and age. The older you get, the more tricks you pick up on, and the more knowledge you obtain about superfluous notions that can become incorporated into your body of work. Perhaps you pick up a new stylistic format that suits you better, or perhaps your linguistic patterns evolve to incorporate the increased knowledge that you possess outside of the game.

Um, okay. This seems rather pointless, and I would argue that you can never be too self-critical—so long as you approach self-criticism correctly. If you get to the point where you're changing things back to the way they were originally on subsequent read-throughs you probably need to take a different tack.

In any event, time and effort are the best recipes for improved dialogue. But, there are a few steps that you can take in the interim to help put your mind more at ease in terms of your dialogue usage. The greatest piece of advice I can give to you is this: 99.9% of the time, the problem with dialogue in roleplays isn't the dialogue itself, but the supporting text around it!

... no, that's a problem with the dialogue itself: it's too weak to stand up without supporting text.

Let me clarify: in general, most people that have problems with their dialogue believe that their word usage comes across as being "bland", or "dry"—so many believe that their dialogue comes across as boring, thus stifling the flow of the roleplay. In reality, the dialogue between their characters is fine; rather, it's what goes around the dialogue that can cast a damper on your work. Here's two short excerpts that I put together to demonstrate this. Read carefully, and see which paragraph feels dry, and which paragraph seems to flow better:

Since here you're trying to demonstrate style, I will criticise your second sample for style.

Sample #1
"Commander," General Morgan asked, "are we supposed to expect an attack from the enemy force today?"

"No," the General replied. "Intelligence suggests that we are to remain here for the time being. This is supposed to be the safest place in the entire fleet."

"Sir, I have enemy contacts on my radar! They're enemy contacts, right? We don't have any birds in that part of the grid!"

"Sound the alert!"


Sample #2
There was a commotion about the control room, and it was making Captain Horne uneasy. Things never seemed to be this... tense on the bridge, even during the rather strenuous training exercises that the Fleet ran through weekly. It was as if everyone was walking on pins and needles, and he didn't like it.

Show, don't tell.

The new radar officer, Morgan something or other, was particularly bothersome to the Captain. The young noncom studied his panel with a growing look of dissatisfaction. "Commander, are we supposed to expect an attack from the enemy force today?"

If you're trying to show unease or tension this doesn't work quite well. Would probably be a better idea for the radar officer to startle the captain, if he's so rattled.

"No," the Captain shook his head. "Intelligence suggests that we are to remain here for the time being. This is supposed to be the safest place in the entire fleet."

Morgan began to shake his head violently, as if to deny whatever it was that he was seeing.

That sounds more like an epileptic fit to me.

With a sudden burst of movement, the petty officer dove forward towards the comm panel, pressing down his alert switch. "Sir, I have enemy contacts on my radar! They're enemy contacts, right? We don't have any birds in that part of the grid!"

I don't like the non-sequitur nature of this. Why'd he ask the first question, then? Idle curiosity? Moreover, the subsequent self-questioning ("they're enemy contacts, right?") seems inconsistent with the action of diving across a room.

The Captain could literally feel the blood drain from his face. Yet in a split second, his adrenaline began to course, and then there was no more time to think—only act. "Sound the alert!"

Lots of description in action scenes is bad, incidentally. Slows things down.

I'm not sure how better to articulate my criticisms so I'll attempt a sample of my own—I'm not a great writer either but hopefully this explains what I mean. I don't really have the time to write a decent dialogue-only version of that, but this at least attempts a sense of flow:

When the Captain stepped onto the bridge it took him only a moment to realise that something was wrong. The room hummed with the noise of machines and men. The voices of the machines were pitched at a faint scream, but the men's were low and hushed, and they crouched over their instruments intently. As the Captain walked forward half a dozen faces snapped towards him, as though in surprise; and in the moment before recognition dawned he saw their eyes wide and alert, and their grips tightening so that the knuckles whitened.

And then, a voice. "Captain!"

The Captain jumped, and immediately cursed himself for doing so. "Petty Officer Morgan," he said. The young radar officer seemed a bundle of nerves; more so than usual, that is.

"Are we supposed to expect an attack from the enemy force today, sir?" asked Morgan.

The Captain frowned. It was an odd question, and he didn't like the implications. "No..." he said. "This is the safest place in the fleet. Intelligence suggests we're to remain here for the time being."

"Well, sir," Morgan said, returning his hands to the radar display in lieu of a clear consensus on where to put them, "we've picked up some contacts. At extreme range. I don't think we have any birds in that part of the grid..."

"Contacts?"

"Aircraft, sir. At least thirty of them."

The Captain felt his blood run cold, and he knew it before Morgan made his fears clear: "They're enemy contacts, aren't they?"

"Sound the alert." The Captain crossed the bridge to his comm in a few brisk strides, even as the bridge behind him erupted into noise and activity. "Get me on the line to Commander Jenkins, we'll need the Indestructible's support for this—"

But let it be. The rest is klaxons.

Hopefully, sample #2 felt like the better read to you. The dialogue seemed more natural, more fluid, and more intense than in sample #1. When given the choice between a roleplay full of dialogue from sample #1 or sample #2, most people will instinctively gravitate towards sample #2. Its dialogue just feels right, compared to the choppy nature of sample #1.

But examine both closely, and notice that the actual spoken dialogue between the characters didn't change between the samples! The only thing that changed was the added detail from one sample to the next. In sample #1, the dialogue was quick and to the point, with little or no details about the situation that precipitated the two characters' conversation, or their thought processes that guided their trains of thought and speech. In the second sample, you get an insight into why the petty officer says what he says. The Captain in sample #2 has an added layer to his character, which automatically allows the spoken dialogue his character produces for your roleplay take on a deeper meaning. Without even worrying about what you're placing between the quotation marks, you've already improved your dialogue by leaps and bounds!

Adding scenery, thought processes, and set-ups for the physical dialogue accentuates your dialogue so well, it makes it feel as if the dialogue sounds better. You can have a nice turkey for a holiday meal, but without the trimmings and dessert, you've just got turkey. With all the accentuation and additions thrown in, now you've got a feast. It's the same principle with your roleplays—it's often the side dishes (description, narration, character thoughts, etc.) that throw your dialogue off, rather than the turkey itself (the physical talk between characters). Try working out the things that go around your dialogue, and I'll guarantee that you'll at least see an improvement to some degree in your dialogue usage.

I would still try to make the dialogue as interesting as possible on its own before adding window dressing. Obviously a real story won't be only dialogue in most cases—we need something to substitute for the lack of facial expressions and body language—but one should be able to act it out without undue amounts of pantomime.

If you need additional help with the use of dialogue, consider this final tip. If you can't figure out how to make your dialogue sound more realistic, and you don't think sprucing up the narration around your dialogue is working well enough, consider creating dialogue for your roleplays based off a conversational tone. This works especially well when you're having dialogue between two characters in a story. Often, we get into the storywriting mode, and we subconsciously remove ourselves from reality to do so. We "zone in" during the typing process, and we lose the ability to truly empathize with what we're creating in the roleplay. The trick to beating this is to approach the creation of dialogue like you're having (and hearing) an actual conversation. Instead of making your characters talk all wooden and boxy, try to imagine what you would be saying if you were in the situation. Would you speak with proper grammar and stiffness, or would you be a bit looser because Holy Cow, a missile is inbound for your position! The same thing works with sprucing up the narration around your dialogue. If you were on a naval ship and were about to be attacked, would you be moving like a robot from order to order, or would your thought process be thrown off by the sensation of your pounding heart creating a thumping sensation in your ears?

So much of the roleplay process is based on your ability to step back and take a look at the finished product with neutral eyes. You want to make the best roleplay possible, but you have such high expectations for the final product, considering you gave life to it through your imagination. Have faith in your abilities, and trust in yourself when you go to write. Use these tips, and see if you can overcome the limitations that your subconscious is imposing on yourself. As always, telegram me or find me online if you need more help.


Question #18: How far is "too far" in a roleplay?
When crafting a roleplay on the boards, you can sometimes find yourself in need of an "edge" to your writing. Most players on the board are familiar with dirty words, aka explicit language. Sometimes, however, you may find more than a few well placed vulgarities in the roleplays you come across. Language, to a point, can add a bit of grit and realism to a story that needs it. The best writers will tell you, though, that going overboard with language isn't just bad form, but it can ruin the flow and strength of the work. Try to strike a balance when you're crafting a roleplay. If you need explicit language to "spruce up" your piece, use it sparingly, and with an eye towards the quality of the work first and foremost. If it doesn't need it, don't force it.

Swearing is fine in dialogue. Don't use it in narration except to make a point (or if the narrator is speaking in first person and has a very dirty mouth).

In terms of sexually explicit material, it's generally a good idea not to go there. I have yet to see an instance where sexually explicit material as flown well with Moderation,

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=75201&p=3538135#p3538135

Add in plenty more from him as well as Dread Lady Nathicana and various others. Let's just say there's a bit of a double standard and leave it there.

so any type of material that can be considered pornographic or of an explicit nature should probably be kept out of your roleplay. The same thing goes with excessive racial slurs and other discriminatory remarks that are added for shock value.

Another big thing that can find its way into roleplays is gore, or especially violent and descriptive pieces on the consequences of war or other militant actions. Gore can be a necessary element when a writer seeks to capture the true horror of war. If done as tastefully as possible, it can give a bit of realism and dramatic oomph to your story. But if you go overboard with the "tomato sauce", then you're likely just going to offend more people than you're going to impress or entertain. Try to find a balance between what's needed to convey the message of your roleplay, without turning it into an exploitation piece.

The rule for actually being scary is to say as little as possible. You could depict a very effective rape scene with nothing but sound, for example.

Finally, consider the usage of a Disclaimer—a warning tag at the start of a roleplay, or in extreme cases, a warning at the top of an individual post that alerts readers to the fact that explicit or mature content will follow. Some people use the tag [ Mature ] while others give a more classic "Warning!" tag. Just make sure to add the tag if you feel like your material isn't suitable for children. Doing so can absolve you from problems later on!

Technically, everyone using the forums is over 13 so it shouldn't be children you're worried about offending, but adults who think they know best for children.

And as already implied those adults tend to display a bit of a double standard.

Question #19: Should I open an Embassy?
Embassies can be a wonderful diplomatic tool, but very rarely do people ever use them for much beyond collecting license plates from foreign nations. More often than not, an Embassy exists only to collect applications from nations who thrive on sending ambassadors to far-away countries, then forgetting about them. Such actions, while far from being illegal or in any way bad for a nation, really misses the benefits of an Embassy.

An Embassy can be a wonderful way to connect your nation with other nations in a roleplay setting. If you have a diplomatic roleplay that you're working on, you can use your ties to another nation through an embassy or consulate to include a second party in your work. The diplomatic ties demonstrated through the incorporation of your Embassies can also add to the realism and creativity of your work. More than that, an Embassy can provide a very real link to the person behind the nation. Through the contacts that you make with your Embassy, you can not only establish treaties or non-aggression pacts, but you can make acquaintances that will provide incalculable help during your time in the roleplaying community.

If you want to open an Embassy, I would highly recommend doing so. But as a friendly tip, be sure to maximize the usage of your Embassy or Consulate Program. It's such a great resource that often goes untapped, and it's one that a young nation really can't afford to pass up on.

Plenty of people will just assume they have an embassy in your nation if they're RPing with you for some reason, regardless of whether or not you have an embassy exchange programme. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Question #20: Do you have any final words of wisdom?

XD Sure, Polonius.

---

Points for effort. It's a decent guide, all things considered. I'm slightly concerned about the inconsistent messages—very strong emphasis is placed from the start on fitting in with the community and how to get people to accept you, but at the same time you continue to insist that people should be themselves and not try to associate with other communities et cetera. Obviously those who are old and cynical like me can dismiss that as the meaningless platitude it is but it sounds a lot like "be yourself, except when you're trying to impress others."

I'm also slightly concerned about the lack of emphasis place on the IC/OOC divide (and the person/argument divide) when this is one of the most important things involved in good RPing. Reading between the lines, it seems that you yourself have issues separating OOC from IC and person from argument, which makes me question your suitability to write a guide like this one, but no matter; you put in the work to do it and it's done. Anyone who reads this, however, should be aware of that. Do not use out-of-character knowledge for in-character purposes. Do not treat in-character insults as out-of-character ones. Do not construe a disagreement as an insult. Do not start in-character wars over out-of-character slights. In fact, it's very important for you to be on good OOC terms with your enemies in any war thread (or in general, really), since otherwise wars will devolve into "I HIT YOU!" "NO YOU DIDN'T!", mass ignores and retcons, and there will be drama. And I'll laugh at you and people assure me that makes them feel terrible.

Lots of good stuff here, though. :)

[Yohannes]

Heh, great job Azura.

Awesomesauce as ever you are indeed. *bows*

[New Azura]

Heh, great job Azura.

(Image)

Awesomesauce as ever you are indeed. *bows*

Kudos, Yohannes. Thanks for the kind words!


@ Saint Clair Island: I feel like I should send you a fruit basket for going through that entire Guide and offering a review on it. It took long enough to write the thing in the first place. In truth, though, I do appreciate both the kind words and the criticism. I'll definitely spruce the guide up here and there, at least grammatically at first and content-wise as I go. As much as I like to write, you would think that I could construct proper sentences, and review my work before posting.

Such is life, I'm afraid...