Weak Nations?

[Aenglaland]

I'm looking for a weak nation to take over. Anyone know any?

Seriously? I mean, come on, you need to understand how this works enjoy the game and (by the way) welcome to Nationstates

[Ganos Lao]

So how do you research techs, raise militaries, take over actual land that exists, etc?

Why now that's simple.

1. First, you can join regions around here like Xanadou, Nova, Judea, Gholgoth, Xanadou, Varathron, Minyang, Xanadou and so forth. Each have many fine roleplayers within them who'll gladly help you get your nation on the surefire way to researching technology and creating a fine military.

2. You can research whatever tech you want. You don't even need to be a modern tech (tech as of now IRL) nation. You can be long lost Victorian British people with Lee Enfields and singing Rule Britannia as if it was 1867 or you could be futuristic soldiers with robot auxiliaries. You could even be primitive bushmen. The beauty of this game is that it is freeform, and anything goes. As long as it's PG-13.

3. Population, military funding, etc. is determined by your actions in the gameplay section of NS, issues and such.

4. In the end: It's all done via creative roleplaying, some people have resource engines, others have maps, most are just free form. The stickies and other helpful guides are stuffed full of wisdom that'll prove helpful in your quest to make a fine nation.

So how do you research techs, raise militaries, take over actual land that exists, etc?

Well, you need to decide how your nation is. Should it be a democratic republic, or a military dictatorship?

Basically, create your country from the ground. History, form of government, stuff like that.

(I had to struggle with that stuff for a long time before i decided that my nation should be a benevolent dictatorship and such..)

So how do you research techs, raise militaries, take over actual land that exists, etc?

That's pretty much all in roleplaying, except for a few choice issues that might address that. A little thing called imagination.

(Anywho, let's stop cluttering this thread and go to telegrams for helping our new RPer here.)

[Salzland]

OOC: Welcome to NationStates, I hope that you enjoy your stay. Please take the time to read the stickies, which have already been linked by Ganos Lao.

That being said, there seems to be a misconception that nation size is equal to nation strength. In fact, that concept is not true here, at least to a certain extent. The player behind a nation can just as easily overcome unfavorable odds as blow an almost-guaranteed victory. NationStates warfare, just like real life warfare, comes down to training, preparation, and at least a little luck.

So if you're here to conquer and pillage, then selecting the right target will be key. Do you go for the small, industrialized democracy, knowing that if you inflict enough casualties their citizens will push their government to surrender? Do you go for a slightly larger authoritarian state, knowing that if you kill or capture the ruler, the rest of the people will likely fall in line? The choice is yours.

That being said, it's generally advisible to stick to fighting nations at or around your size, at least when on the offensive. It's easier to defend against a larger attacker, but until you get quite a bit bigger (at least a population of several hundred million or a billion), you'll have trouble throwing your weight around on the world stage without having to worry about the strong possibility of a much larger nation looking to either conquer yours, or impose a "regime change."

[Homelands our]

You can't do that here.

[Ularn]

So how do you research techs, raise militaries, take over actual land that exists, etc?

You don't...well, not exactly.

Most of the interaction between nations on NationStates takes place by roleplay. In other words, players write stories about their nation and its interactions with others. There's a lot of rules and gentlemen's codes surrounding how that's done, most of which is outlined in the stickies - threads at the top of each board which explain the basics and give useful guidelines to new players. I'd suggest having a read through them before you get started. It's also worth getting in touch with a Roleplay Mentor (one of the guys with a light-green name, like Milograd or Salzland) who are there to help introduce new nations with introductory RPs to help get you started.

Hope that all helps - welcome to NS!

[Lolzieristan]

I'd be more than willing to engage in an RP with new people. Just contact me, eh?

[Soviet Canuckistan]

I'd be more than willing to engage in an RP with new people. Just contact me, eh?

I know his first RP:An invasion of his country!!!

[Kaukolastan]

So how do you research techs, raise militaries, take over actual land that exists, etc?

It's a combination of Gameplay (choosing issues to increase your stats) and Roleplay (writing on the boards, building alliances and friends).

Now, this is just my experience, but I've found that "Play NS like a sport", that is, competitive, out to out-play the others and establish dominance, is utterly unproductive in the long haul. Because anyone can simply "walk away" from any engagement they don't like, a player who aims to dominate will quickly find themselves ignored and treated like a third world derp-heap. A better strategy, from what I've seen, is to "Play NS like a cooperative writing roleplaying game", building groups of friends to play out cooperative/competitive scenarios for shits, giggles, and cool-factor. Yes, you can still power game, but being as this game revolves around convincing people to agree to let you win, power gaming on NS consists of:

• Writing competently enough to make people think you know what you're talking about, both in terms of technical data and writing style.
• Building up groups of Out-of-Character friends, so that when you do something bastardly In-Character, you're still respected Out-of-Character. Also, you get invited to more RPs.
• Playing cool with other people. The more you play with others, the more you get invited. The more RPs you're in (and most people don't want to play with "I take over you"), the more you'll be treated like a world power. Eventually, once everyone knows who you are, you might be able to get away with carving up empires. Of course, you'll have to convince others that the story will be worth it...

So yeah. It's a different kind of game. You want to "win" nationstates? Play your issues right to build up your Stats. Most people eyeball Size of Population (determined by age) and Size of Economy (Issues), plus maybe Defense Spending and Percentile Badges (Issues). But more importantly, jump in an play some RPs in II or NS (read the stickies), take some hits, pull some jobs for older nations that look fun to play with, and then pull out your world domination card in a year or so. By then, you'll have learned the game through playing.

Of course, if RP is NOT your thing, head to the Gameplay section, for Invading/Defending Regions. It's a WHOLE 'nother game, and one I'm ill prepared to get you into, sadly. Others will help if you ask, however.

Oh, and welcome to Nationstates! It's good people!

[Ganos Lao]

Of course, if RP is NOT your thing, head to the Gameplay section, for Invading/Defending Regions. It's a WHOLE 'nother game, and one I'm ill prepared to get you into, sadly. Others will help if you ask, however.

You could also check out NSG.

That's where people debate about abortion, religion, abortion, religion, FST's insecurities (NSG usually has one poster who always seems to become the butt of jokes), and so on.

Generally, if you're more into debate then roleplay, it's where you go. Just beware the lack of variety in subject matter.

[Kaukolastan]

Of course, if RP is NOT your thing, head to the Gameplay section, for Invading/Defending Regions. It's a WHOLE 'nother game, and one I'm ill prepared to get you into, sadly. Others will help if you ask, however.

You could also check out NSG.

Oh God, why? That place is full of minefields and angry attack dogs, not to mention the barbed wire and marauding snipers.

[Zersium]

Of course, if RP is NOT your thing, head to the Gameplay section, for Invading/Defending Regions. It's a WHOLE 'nother game, and one I'm ill prepared to get you into, sadly. Others will help if you ask, however.

You could also check out NSG.

Well there is a fee of your soul. We all have to pay up to become one of those NSG types.

Anyways, you could join a military alliance.

Always best to surround yourself with allies who'll fight with you, that way if you do invade someone, it takes the pressure off your forces.

[Ganos Lao]

You could also check out NSG.

Oh God, why? That place is full of minefields and angry attack dogs, not to mention the barbed wire and marauding snipers.

It's worth going through all that just to get to Forum 7 and Arts and Fiction.

Like finding a cupcake amidst a whole lot of poison ivy.

[Zersium]

Oh God, why? That place is full of minefields and angry attack dogs, not to mention the barbed wire and marauding snipers.

It's worth going through all that just to get to Forum 7 and Arts and Fiction.

Like finding a cupcake amidst a whole lot of poison ivy.

Long as you don't run into the wacko Brony threads.

Some are good, but there's lot that makes you want to commit Seppuku.

[Milograd]

Of course, if RP is NOT your thing, head to the Gameplay section, for Invading/Defending Regions. It's a WHOLE 'nother game, and one I'm ill prepared to get you into, sadly. Others will help if you ask, however.

You could also check out NSG.

I'm horrified to see a fellow RPer advise anyone to post in NS General. What are you, a sadist? D:<

[Ularn]

Oh God, why? That place is full of minefields and angry attack dogs, not to mention the barbed wire and marauding snipers.

It's worth going through all that just to get to Forum 7 and Arts and Fiction.

Like finding a cupcake amidst a whole lot of poison ivy.

But a cupcake in poison ivy's just going to be a poison cupcake!

[Waraqistan]

Hey for all of you invaders or warlords or any military group that wants to rule come to our region Warlord central and help us with these things. WE want it as much as you do so why not.

[Durmatagno]

Take me for example, I started where you were, wen't through a few cannon wars, and gained the territories listed in my sig along with 10% of the population of each, 10% of their economic stuff, and base my military only on my home region, that way people can't complain about puppet wanking, now I'm close to a billion pop wise, and in an emergency I will tap into the other territories military numbers, theres nations with upwards of 20 bilion, if I were you, I'd read the stickies and start building up an IC economy, a lot of people change their stats, slightly increasing populations for PMT, and FT and not using everything your NS page says is a common practice.

[The Converters]

Also some people (Myself included) do not use the nation pages and RP everything from their population number to their species.

[Snozzerland]

Well, everything is RP.

However, there is one statistic that IS important, and that is your population. Personally, I don't care if you say your nation has 3 billion, the Population Statistic says 5 million so no you can't invade me with a million troops.

And don't declare wars on civilizations that have 2-3x as many population as you do.

Anyway, playing RP like a sport isn't how you go about it, it's about having fun.

[Durmatagno]

Well, everything is RP.

However, there is one statistic that IS important, and that is your population. Personally, I don't care if you say your nation has 3 billion, the Population Statistic says 5 million so no you can't invade me with a million troops.

And don't declare wars on civilizations that have 2-3x as many population as you do.

Anyway, playing RP like a sport isn't how you go about it, it's about having fun.

If you do, gather some allies first

[Arkiasis]

According to your nations date of independence, which is ermmmm today. You are intact the weakest nation. We recommend that you don't openly voice threats upon other nations seeing as pretty every other nation can obliterate you.


OOC: That's not how invasions work, search up "raiding".

[Zersium]

According to your nations date of independence, which is ermmmm today. You are intact the weakest nation. We recommend that you don't openly voice threats upon other nations seeing as pretty every other nation can obliterate you.


OOC: That's not how invasions work, search up "raiding".

They're talking about the RP style, not the style used by people such as the Black Hawks and the likes.

[Ahtreil]

Well, everything is RP.

However, there is one statistic that IS important, and that is your population. Personally, I don't care if you say your nation has 3 billion, the Population Statistic says 5 million so no you can't invade me with a million troops.

And don't declare wars on civilizations that have 2-3x as many population as you do.

Anyway, playing RP like a sport isn't how you go about it, it's about having fun.

I thought Populations had nothing to do with the gameplay side.

I mean, i have almost 2 billion citizens, but i RP as if i have ~200 million

[Alexlantis]

Well, everything is RP.

However, there is one statistic that IS important, and that is your population. Personally, I don't care if you say your nation has 3 billion, the Population Statistic says 5 million so no you can't invade me with a million troops.

And don't declare wars on civilizations that have 2-3x as many population as you do.

Anyway, playing RP like a sport isn't how you go about it, it's about having fun.

I thought Populations had nothing to do with the gameplay side.

I mean, i have almost 2 billion citizens, but i RP as if i have ~200 million

You can RP as having less people than your page says, but not as having more.

[Durmatagno]

I thought Populations had nothing to do with the gameplay side.

I mean, i have almost 2 billion citizens, but i RP as if i have ~200 million

You can RP as having less people than your page says, but not as having more.

Your allowed to if your a small nation surrounded by giants or it's in the future