Vapor II, A Steampunk RP Group [OOC/Interest/Sign-ups]

[Inoroth]

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Greetings, and welcome to the reboot of Vapor, a Steampunk Roleplaying Group. My nation name is Inoroth, but you can call me Ino on the OOC if you like. This is a semi-realistic group, so some bending and deviation from real physics for story's sake is allowable, but no magi-tech. All technologies must pass the 'sniff test' for realism, to be administered by myself and Co-Ops as they are appointed. My goal is to restore some of the former glory of this once-proud RP Group/Region, which considered such themes as:

- The wide-eyed scientific optimism met by the backlash from religion and romanticism,

- The dichotomy of empire and kings during the death throes of nobility,

- The rise of the moneyed bourgeoisie just in time for their workers and peasants to begin uniting and challenging their newfound power,

- The propagation of democracy just at the height of oppressive colonialism and racist nationalism,

- The political intrigue between nations and empires as they try to hold their domains against all threats foreign and domestic,

- The wonders of technology for both good and ill designs, ideas spreading faster than ever before, machines taking over jobs once done by men, the progress and backstabbing, alliances and betrayal, old traditions and revolution, the CHANGE intrinsic to the era.

If any of these things interest you, then cast off your dirigible, feel the ocean's spray at the prow of your ironclad, and all aboard, full steam ahead on the Vapor express!

If you would like to peruse the proud linage of this RP, please feel free to check the old threads, here are the links: 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0.

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Accepted Nations:

Individual posts may not exceed 60,000 characters, so I have moved it to The Vapor Application Archive Thread.

Current Political Map:

(Full Sized Version)

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Continental Map

(Full Sized Map Here)

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Map With Continent Inspirations:

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WIP Do Not Post Yet:

* The Cleved Crown [IC -- Vapor II Only]

Active Threads:

* Coronation of a King, Dawning of an Era [IC -- Vapor Only]

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Courtesy of Fanaglia and Inoroth

National Application (Please read the OP FIRST before filling this out):

Code: Select all

[box][b]Nationstates Account:[/b]
[b]Nation Name:[/b]
[b]Government type:[/b]
[b]Name and title of Nation Leader:[/b]
[b]Demonym:[/b]
[b]Official language(s) ([i]de jure[/i]):[/b]
[b]Commonly spoken language(s) ([i]de facto[/i]):[/b]
[b]History:[/b]
[b]RL Cultural Inspiration(s):[/b]
[b]Religion in you nation:[/b]
[b]Economic Info:[/b]
[b]Military Info:[/b]
[b]Est. total land area (mainland and colonies):[/b]
[b]Est. total population (mainland and colonies):[/b]
[b]Proposed land claim (drawn on a map):[/b]
[b]Other Interesting Facts/Info about your nation:[/b]
[b]RP Sample:[/b][/box]

Colony Information (Please be ACCEPTED before filling this out and please fill out one per colony):

Code: Select all

[box][b]Nation Name:[/b]
[b]Colony Name[/b]
[b]Colonial Government type:[/b]
[b]Name and title of Colonial Leader:[/b]
[b]Official and Common language(s) ([i]de jure[/i] and [i]de facto[/i]):[/b]
[b]History:[/b]
[b]RL Cultural Inspiration(s):[/b]
[b]Religion in you Colony:[/b]
[b]Colonial Military Info:[/b]
[b]Est. total land area:[/b]
[b]Est. total population:[/b]
[b]Colonial Economic Info:[/b]
[b]Other Interesting Facts/Info about your nation:[/b]

Unique Flora/Fauna Application (Please be ACCEPTED before filing this out and delete parenthetical notes):

Code: Select all

[box][b]Species Name:[/b]
[b]Species Nickname(s):[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b] (Image is optional but preferred)
[b]Physiology:[/b]
[b]Uses for Humans:[/b] (If any)
[b]Range/Habitat:[/b]
[b]Evolutionary History:[/b] (This is the most important)
[b]RL Species Inspiration(s):[/b]
[b]Other Interesting Aspects:[/b][/box]

• Servoth and Yasuragi have been appointed Co-Ops
  
• The Vapor universe is semi-relistic steampunk. What does this mean? There’s been a lot of debate about this in the past and a lot of accusations that we’re not “real” steampunk and are instead more like an alternate history. Just because we don’t have stuff like this flying around does not mean we are not steampunk. Like with any fantasy, there is “high” fantasy, full of magic and mystical creatures, and “low” fantasy, which might have the odd legendary creature or some very light magic use (and/or only by a very select few people), there is also “high” and “low” steampunk -- the former featuring completely impossible technology bordering on magic and the latter featuring whimsical designs inspired by actual history (or period conceptions) and limited (for the most part -- some “cheating” is permitted, provided your technobabble sounds legit enough) by physics. We have often described it as “PMT from a PT perspective.” In other words, if someone living in that time period could not have been able to even fathom whatever it is you’re trying to do, chances are that you are making an example of the “Yeah Right Factor,” which brings us to our next bullet point:
• The Yeah Right Factor aka "The Sniff Test": This is the concept that some technology or maneuver or logistics scenario or anything else that causes one or more of the other players say “Yeah, right!” In an effort to keep things semi-realistic (which, as we found out the hard way is necessary for group coherence and longevity), we all need to be playing by the same rules, particularly when it comes to technology and our conceptions of physics. If one player takes issue with another’s technology or actions, discuss it OOC, either here or in TG or things will have to be addressed in…
  
• The Conflict Resolution thread. This is a thread on our off-site forum. Hopefully, we won’t need it, but we have needed it twice in the past. For more information regarding conflict resolution procedures, please refer to the Dispute Resolution page on the off-site wiki (links available on request). We make make such a wikia page if enough interest is generated, but for now, this thread is enough for me to manage.
• The Great Airplane Compromise of 2013: This was the result of an ongoing dispute between several Vapor members about the development of new technologies, proprietary rights, rate of advancement, etc., involving everything from automatic weapons to nukes, but focused most heavily and argued most bitterly over heavier-than-air aircraft (airplanes). The GAC states that
  
  • (Nation) can develop his/her (tech). No one else can develop their own without direct IC help/cooperation or OOC permission from (Nation) for at least two years.
    
  • After no less than two years, you may develop prototype (tech) on-par with his/her original one if you wish.
    
  • Following the production of your first (Tech), your progress in development may proceed at approximately 200% the speed of (Nation’s) and his/her allies due to engineers' observations and/or spies' acts of espionage until you are caught up. From that point on, (tech) research may proceed at approximately the speed it did IRL, albeit the appropriate amount of time ahead or behind schedule.
• The Manhattan Compromise: This compromise came as the result of a related dispute that followed shortly after the GAC over the practice of "calling dibs." Calling "dibs" is normally frowned upon. For most technology, it doesn't much matter if Nation A develops Tech C one year earlier than Nation B, and to argue over it leads to an endless, frustrating cycle of one-upmanship. However, certain technologies have a major impact on the course of world events, such as heavier-than-air flight, nuclear weapons, radar, and computers. Sometimes, it is necessary for us to decide who will get there first because whoever does so will be given a major advantage, at least in the beginning. The Manhattan Compromise states that
  
  • When deciding to call "dibs" on a future technology, make a case for why your nation should be the first to develop it (sometimes, no one else being interested OOC is sufficient reason, sometimes not).
    
  • Nations are not allowed to call "dibs" on technology more than five years in advance without first making a strong case for an exception.
    
  • Nations may make a case for extended monopoly times. In the case of nuclear weapons, the fact that it took the Soviets four years to catch up to American nuclear weapons technology was used to justify a four-year Mishmahigan-Inorothian monopoly on nuclear weapons technology instead of the standard two.
    
  • Any sort of future tech plans that involve a temporary monopoly, no matter how logical and justified (such as the nuclear plans voiced by Mishmahig and Inoroth), should be considered tentative plans at best. Everything might seem hunky dory right now, but two decades from now, one or all parties involved may or may not be in the social, economic, or political situation to even attempt it. Nations with early dibs have the yellow light -- proceed with caution, but be prepared to stop.
• Avoid Superlatives: There's always a bigger fish. It may be easy to keep straight who is "best" while we're still small, but, then again, which is "best" may not be for certain and likely will not stay that way. Add to that an expanding family of nations and confusion and bickering will almost certainly ensue.
  
• Reserving Land in Applications: Under normal circumstances, land claims are 'first come, first serve'.
  - As such, partial apps that are deemed considerably incomplete by OP and/or Co-Ops will not reserve a spot on the map.
  Apps that are Rejected, Pending, or ignored fall into this category.
  - Apps that are mostly completed and/or returned for revising reserve that spot of land for 48 hours after being Tentatively Accepted by OP or Co-Ops (assuming land claim was not one of the items omitted or requiring revision)
  - If you have not received the words Tentatively Accepted in a response from OP or Co-Op, your claim is not reserved.
  - After 48 hours, if a completed app with all necessary revisions has not been resubmitted, and no special extensions have been requested, your land claim is no longer reserved and returns to the 'first come, first serve' rules, where another player may submit a completed app that overlaps you claim.
  - A grandfather period of 72 hours will be granted for all partial apps currently in limbo as of this post, to allow their makers ample time to adjust to the new rule. By Wednesday, Oct 5th, 1:00 pm EST, all such apps will no longer hold claimed land in reserve.
  
• Godmodding and Continuity: Don't godmod and try to avoid doing things that will muck with others' continuity. Our senior members remember the headache that followed the great death camp mistake of 1903.
  
• Inactivity: We here at Vapor understand that real life can be a pain and that your life does not necessarily revolve around NS or Vapor (though, if it did, we wouldn't judge you). However, if you disappear for an extended period of time without notice, that can leave the rest of us in a tight spot. If you are inactive long enough to become an ex-nation, or if you tell us you'd like to quit, we will discuss amongst ourselves what to do. If it is decided that you never really contributed anything noteworthy or important, we will most likely simply remove your nation from the map and retcon you from history (we have already had to do this to several nations). If you were decided to have been too important to simply erase, we reserve the right to do what we have to with your nation to keep our story intact, whether that is to simply have you largely withdraw from major diplomatic associations, have your people start a revolution, or even invade you -- it will be up to us. This is what happened to the nations of Voerdeland and Gratia Infinita in the old threads.
  
• Return from Inactivity: After Vapor had existed for some time, we began encountering an issue we hadn't anticipated, which was former members (lost to either inactivity or an expressed desire to quit) wishing to return to the group. At first, we handled things on a case-by-case basis, but this quickly proved to be inefficient, confusing, and at times unfair; we decided we needed a more explicit set of rules concerning this issue.
  
  • Things done changed. While a nation has been absent, the dynamics of the surrounding region in Vapor have likely changed, regardless of whether the nation was retconned or not. Some of these changes may be very detailed and may have taken a lot of effort on behalf of those involved. These changes may have involved tweaking history to compensate for the inactive nation's absence (in the case of a retcon) or destruction (if a retcon was considered to be unfeasible). Upon your return, every nation must be willing to accept any and all changes made in their absence, no matter how big or how small. In some cases, it may even be necessary to move the returning nation to a different part of the world or start a new nation altogether (for example, if a new nation claimed all or most of the returning nation's territory during its absence).
  • Land and Population Penalty. Most of the time, if a retcon was deemed unfeasible, the inactive nation will have had its population and land area drastically reduced. This reduction penalty is considered one of the changes the returning nation will have to accept. Even if the nation was not retconned, the nation will still suffer a reduction both in land area and population, by no less than 25% on each, or possibly more, if circumstances exist that make it necessary. The returning nation must accept that it was always this size and population unless the returning nation should provide a good, solid reason to explain (preferably by means of a well-crafted role-play) this change at a particular point in history.
  • Give Notice. A nation can avoid these penalties and inconveniences by simply giving notice of an extended absence; accommodations can be more easily made if the rest of the nations in Vapor know the inactive nation will be returning. If the nation does not return on the stated date, the standard 28 days will be given past that date before the nation is considered "dead and not coming back." The above two rules will then apply.
• Off-Topic Chatter: This is something that has been a major problem for our group in the past and something that I would like to put an end to right now. There is too much relevant information getting lost amongst off-topic chatter and spam already and, now that we are opening up again, new nation applications, questions, and discussions are going to add to that. Let's keep it neat and clutter-free. We have an entire off-site forum dedicated to Vapor, which has a whole subforum dedicated to largely-unmoderated, off-topic chatter. Remember, spam is not allowed on NS, but the off-site forum has an entire thread dedicated to it. Let's start using that and keep this reserved to strictly on-topic discussion, mm'kay? We do not yet have an off-site forum, and are just starting out, so some off-topic chatter is more than welcome, as well as ideas for how to catalogue important/relevant info that happens to appear on the OOC.

1.) Go to the Opening Post (made by Fanaglia and Inoroth) and peruse the "Active RPs." Don't read all the posts, just kinda get the gist of how we roll. We do not have any yet, so ignore this bit for now.

2.) While you're at it, check out the sections in the second post (first after the OP) with the gray "Spoiler" icons. These give you a general idea of senior members' nation's people, geography, relationships, armed forces, rulers, and so on. We don't have any nations yet either, but check out my national app for guidance.

3.) Ask Questions in the OOC. If there is something you don't get (especially abbreviations, which we used a lot in the old threads). You might also ask for a brief synopsis of what has happened so far.

4.) Start or join a 'Meet and Greet' Thread. There are all sorts of events that merit an international attendance, like your leader's... Funeral, Wedding, Coronation, Birth, Birthday, etc. You could also have things like Technological Expos, Conferences, etc. You can be as creative as you want about it I will get an IC Thread up once we have some people, and it will almost certainly be such a 'meet and greet' style RP.

5.) Post on one of our active, open threads. There are plenty of threads that could use another active RPer. I would recommend asking first though, because sometimes threads are too full and/or too far along to merit an new arrival. See above.

6.) Get connected! Even the most powerful Nation needs friends, and you are more likely to find your groove (and to be noticed by everyone else) if you have friends. I would recommend allying with nations who are powerful, who are at least moderately active, and are friendly to your cause or share similar goals. TIP: Keep in mind that (most) people don't ally for nothing...they expect something in return. Make sure you are both clear on what the other is expecting, preferably in writing, so as to avoid confusion, suspicion, and accusations of lying later on. Some types of alliances might include Trade Agreements, Mutual Support Treaties, Arms Deals, Joint Research Projects, BFF Alliances, and so on.

7.) If you post something you think you will need to reference later, our reference tag is PANDA. Just put it in red capital letters somewhere in your post, to make it easier to search for important info later. When posting specifically battle plans or colonial aspirations, use the tag ALBATROSS.

8.) NS roleplay is not really about your guns, is it? It's about your RP skills. The guns you are using really shouldn't matter that much 90% of the time. If you're ever reading a novel, I doubt you'll ever see the author go "So-and-so was glad to have brought along an M1911 instead of a more modern Beretta M1 because the extra weight came in handy when he had to pistol whip a guy when he ran out of ammo in his mag." No, 90% of the time, unless the type of gun turns out to be some sort of plot point or in some way says a lot about the character (like someone who prefers an AK-47 over an M-16), the gun(s) remain anonymous. Nine times out of ten, it will read "The bad guy dropped his gun," instead of "The bad guy dropped his AK-74u with extended mags and a red dot sight and collapsible stock." The latter, which is quite common on NS, especially these days, is just bad roleplaying. The point of writing weapons pages for our purposes here in this RP group is only 10% archiving what weapons you have and their specs and 90% writing about something you want to write about, for the sake of writing about it. It should never be a way of calling "dibs" on RL stuff you want.

9) If you've spent much time on the internet, you'll have noticed that people have a tendency to abbreviate a lot. People on NationStates, while they generally write better than the majority of people on the rest of the internet, also have a tendency to use a lot of abbreviations specific to NationStates. Vaporites have developed a culture of even-more-specific abbreviations that can be confusing to new players. Below is a short list of some of the more common ones you may encounter:

• NS - NationStates
• RP - Roleplay
• RL - Real Life
• IRL - In Real Life
• IC - In-character
• OOC - Out-of-character
• IIRC - If I recall correctly
• IMO/IMHO - In my opinion/In my honest opinon
• RR - Railroad.
• RCC - Rothian Catholic Church. Based in Inoroth, it has no major differences from the the real life Roman Catholic Church.
• WIP - Work in Progress

10.) Have fun, and stay active! If being in Vapor ain't fun, don't even bother joining!

That's about it. Hope you enjoy your time here with us in Vapor!

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Combat Reference Threads (Courtesy of Vitzenburg):
Guide to Overlooked Aspects of Warfare
Building Your Military

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*Much credit to Fanaglia, Map Mistress of Vapour, for the structure and content of this OP and the character of the region as a whole -- may her flag ever fly proudly on the celestial waves of the Ex-Nation Seas! Semper Memorata!

**Of course, all the old guard from the first RP were instrumental in shaping the meaning of what Vapor actually is, and none of this would have been possible without their contributions. Thanks to all of you for the memories!

[Inoroth]

Reserved

[Inoroth]

Reserved

[Olimpiada]

Tagged, I'll probably join. I'm assuming I'll be able to RP as a different nation than this one, right?

[Inoroth]

Tagged, I'll probably join. I'm assuming I'll be able to RP as a different nation than this one, right?

Of course, I don't care about the stats of your nation's official account or anything like that -- I am just looking for a good crew who are willing to join a role-play community over the long haul.

[Olimpiada]

Tagged, I'll probably join. I'm assuming I'll be able to RP as a different nation than this one, right?

Of course, I don't care about the stats of your nation's official account or anything like that -- I am just looking for a good crew who are willing to join a role-play community over the long haul.

Alright then. In the app it says things about history and maps. Are we using RL maps, and how are we supposed to handle history when this is alternate history?

[Inoroth]

Of course, I don't care about the stats of your nation's official account or anything like that -- I am just looking for a good crew who are willing to join a role-play community over the long haul.

Alright then. In the app it says things about history and maps. Are we using RL maps, and how are we supposed to handle history when this is alternate history?

I am afraid I still have to finish finding a map, but we will not be using RL Earth maps at all. There will be areas resembling current earth continents (a Europe-like part, Asian, African, South American, North America, and so forth), but these will be general cultural and climactic guidelines and not rigid constraints.

As far as history, I put in far more of it in my own app than can fairly be expect from anyone else -- if you want to leave it blank for now that is perfectly fine, or if you would like you may put in some general notes about defining parts of your culture and internal history (like my myth about the founding of my capital, or my notes about how the national government has been weak form much of recent history and only just coalesced into a stronger force), basically anything internal as opposed to major wars or diplomatic events, for which we need other nations to have.

[Yasuragi]

Oh, you're rebooting this? I feel vaguely guilty for having a hand in letting it lapse in the first place....

Hullo Inoroth.

[Inoroth]

Oh, you're rebooting this? I feel vaguely guilty for having a hand in letting it lapse in the first place....

Hullo Inoroth.

Hello friend... who must have used another account when they were a part of Vapor the first time around?

[Yasuragi]

Oh, you're rebooting this? I feel vaguely guilty for having a hand in letting it lapse in the first place....

Hullo Inoroth.

Hello friend... who must have used another account when they were a part of Vapor the first time around?

It'sa me, Mishmahig. Very long time, no see. I thought you had disappeared for..... military things? Or was that Cygnar?

[Inoroth]

Hello friend... who must have used another account when they were a part of Vapor the first time around?

It'sa me, Mishmahig. Very long time, no see. I thought you had disappeared for..... military things? Or was that Cygnar?

MIIIIIIIIIIISH !!!!!!!!!!!

It has been entirely too long! I have been here, lurking on the boards and occasionally trying to step in, but nothing ever matched the original crew in Vapor. I finally mustered up the courage to try my hand at running a thread, and here we are! Care to join in? If you like, we can keep our history of the persecution of the Mishmahig Christian... that is, if you still wanted to play your old nation -- I suppose you could start completely fresh if you would rather.

Man, it is so good to see? talk? type at you again!

[Yasuragi]

It'sa me, Mishmahig. Very long time, no see. I thought you had disappeared for..... military things? Or was that Cygnar?

MIIIIIIIIIIISH !!!!!!!!!!!

It has been entirely too long! I have been here, lurking on the boards and occasionally trying to step in, but nothing ever matched the original crew in Vapor. I finally mustered up the courage to try my hand at running a thread, and here we are! Care to join in? If you like, we can keep our history of the persecution of the Mishmahig Christian... that is, if you still wanted to play your old nation -- I suppose you could start completely fresh if you would rather.

Man, it is so good to see? talk? type at you again!

It has been entirely too long, indeed! It's good to see you again.

I wouldn't mind joining in, yeah! As you can see, I've switched to a more Asiatic-style nation, so I might go for something like that.... Bring in some fresh ideas to go with the fresh new thread!

[Inoroth]

It has been entirely too long, indeed! It's good to see you again.

I wouldn't mind joining in, yeah! As you can see, I've switched to a more Asiatic-style nation, so I might go for something like that.... Bring in some fresh ideas to go with the fresh new thread!

Excellent! Maybe we should take this reunion stuff to TG, eh? I look forward to your eventual app and participation in Vapor II!

[Servoth]

Don't think you can start this with out me!

Why didn't you tell me?

[Inoroth]

Don't think you can start this with out me!

Why didn't you tell me?

SEEEEEEEERVOTH! !!!!!!!

It's like a class reunion!

I honestly didn't think to TG people who were still active nations (not many, I'm sad to say), but I'll fix that up quick!

[Tsunshun]

*Fires tag cannon* This looks AWESOME!

[Inoroth]

*Fires tag cannon* This looks AWESOME!

Excellent, I like your enthusiasm!

EDIT* Just to give everyone a picture of how long the old RP lasted, I give you a quote from a former member (now ex-nation) Sri Tschow:

During all the time Vapor has existed, 36 people have been to space, two world leaders have died, Earth has completed 3 orbits around the Sun, eleven major scientific theories have been confirmed, and the rate of buildings burned by electric blankets has risen from 4,000 a year to 5,000 a year.

...We endured well over one year and 200 pages of OOC after that quote, by the way

[Olimpiada]

Nationstates Account: Olimpiada
Nation Name: Tlacopani Imperium
Government type: Elective monarchy
]In the Tlacopani Imperium, monarchs are elected by representatives from each state, of which there are currently six. These representatives are the governors (dioikiton) of each state, which are elected directly by the people. The monarch has broad powers over foreign policy, military, and the ability to levy taxes, while the dioikiton have power over law enforcement and spending in their respective states. Additionally, there is a parliament made of distinguished individuals from each state that are selected by the dioikiton. Sixty members in total, this parliament dictates where funds are allocated, judicial matters. Their power truly lies in their ability to veto the king's decisions in the event that they unanimously agree to.
In short, the king may levy taxes, dictate foreign policy, and command armies, the dioikiton may enforce laws and decide how their funds are spent, and the parliament may decide who gets funds, who is punished, and to potentially even cancel out the king's power.
Name and title of Nation Leader: Alexios Cyrenacius
Official language(s) (de jure): Greek (due to primarily greek dynasty), English (Foreign diplomacy)
Commonly spoken language(s) (de facto): Greek, Nahuatl, English
History: In the final days of a dying empire, the ruling dynasty and many people of said dynasty abandoned the old world in hopes of finding a new one far to the west. When they landed and started to create their new home, they began meeting many nearby nations. Once they had grown in size after a few decades, they started to slowly expand their territory, conquering those near to them with their superior technology. The various people mixed over time, creating a unique blend of Greek cultures with a unique Aztec flair. The shift to an elective monarchy came after one ruler died without an heir. Instead of collapsing into civil war like many empires, various nobles instead convened to create a new government, specifically one which gave them more power.
RL Cultural Inspiration(s): Aztecs, Byzantium
Religion in you nation: 90% Orthodox Christianity, 5% Aztec polytheism, 5% Other
Military Info: 320 thousand active, 650 thousand reserve, 30 million in low quality paramilitary/civilian forces (These are basically average people that are capable of pointing weapons at people. There are supposed to be drills run by each city to make sure that these people are able to fight. However, this is often ignored or turned into an excuse for a party.) People are conscripted at age 20 for a year of military service, before being released.
Est. total land area (mainland and colonies): Approx. 9m km^2
Est. total population (mainland and colonies): 45 million
Proposed land claim (drawn on a map): The land to the west of Ambrosia, if possible.
Other Interesting Facts/Info about your nation: Despite the outwardly peaceful and democratic appearance of the Tlacopani government, the various nobles and their ilk constantly are in conflicts of power, this conflict reaching its peak the older the monarch gets. (Yes, this is an invitation to some political intrigue and espionage RP some time.)
RP Sample:
I'll just use an RP I did on my old account (Topkekkia) for this: viewtopic.php?p=28711318

[Inoroth]

Nationstates Account: Olimpiada
Nation Name: Tlacopani Imperium
Government type: Elective monarchy

In the Tlacopani Imperium, monarchs are elected by representatives from each state, of which there are currently six. These representatives are the governors (dioikiton) of each state, which are elected directly by the people. The monarch has broad powers over foreign policy, military, and the ability to levy taxes, while the dioikiton have power over law enforcement and spending in their respective states. Additionally, there is a parliament made of distinguished individuals from each state that are selected by the dioikiton. Sixty members in total, this parliament dictates where funds are allocated, judicial matters. Their power truly lies in their ability to veto the king's decisions in the event that they unanimously agree to.
In short, the king may levy taxes, dictate foreign policy, and command armies, the dioikiton may enforce laws and decide how their funds are spent, and the parliament may decide who gets funds, who is punished, and to potentially even cancel out the king's power.

Name and title of Nation Leader: Alexios Cyrenacius
Official language(s) (de jure): Greek (due to primarily greek dynasty), English (Foreign diplomacy)
Commonly spoken language(s) (de facto): Greek, Nahuatl, English
History: I have some RL notions on this, that said, this isn't exactly RL, so I'm not entirely sure what to put here.
RL Cultural Inspiration(s): Aztecs, Byzantium
Religion in you nation: 90% Orthodox Christianity, 5% Aztec polytheism, 5% Other
Military Info: 520 thousand active, 1 million reserve, 30 million in low quality paramilitary/civilian forces.
Est. total land area (mainland and colonies): I'll be saving this until we actually have a map.
Est. total population (mainland and colonies): 56 million, will likely change once we have a map.
Proposed land claim (drawn on a map): This will eventually have something, but for now, we have no map.
Other Interesting Facts/Info about your nation: Can't really make this without a functional history.
RP Sample:
I'll just use an RP I did on my old account for this: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=28711318

Tentatively Accepted

Overall this looks good, but I do take issue with having over 50% of your population in paramilitary organizations, unless you meant they were organized into militias or home guards of some sort, and even then that 30 million would have to be almost impossible to mobilize effectively -- essentially they would only likely mobilize if their own personal town or village was directly attacked, and even then that 30 mil would be a paper figure, as practically it is a lot easier to join a social group that defends your town in theory than it is to face down an organized invading force and face the fires of battle the first time unseasoned -- plenty won't show up to muster, plenty more will flee at the first shots fired.

With that taken care of, the only other thing is that you didn't tell us which account you were using in your Sample RP, which isn't a big deal because everybody in that RP seemed to have a firm grasp of the basic concepts of roleplay and writing legible English.

I will try to get a raw map made by this evening (let's say midnight Eastern Standard Time), so at that point you should be able to finish your app

[Olimpiada]

Nationstates Account: Olimpiada
Nation Name: Tlacopani Imperium
Government type: Elective monarchy

In the Tlacopani Imperium, monarchs are elected by representatives from each state, of which there are currently six. These representatives are the governors (dioikiton) of each state, which are elected directly by the people. The monarch has broad powers over foreign policy, military, and the ability to levy taxes, while the dioikiton have power over law enforcement and spending in their respective states. Additionally, there is a parliament made of distinguished individuals from each state that are selected by the dioikiton. Sixty members in total, this parliament dictates where funds are allocated, judicial matters. Their power truly lies in their ability to veto the king's decisions in the event that they unanimously agree to.
In short, the king may levy taxes, dictate foreign policy, and command armies, the dioikiton may enforce laws and decide how their funds are spent, and the parliament may decide who gets funds, who is punished, and to potentially even cancel out the king's power.

Name and title of Nation Leader: Alexios Cyrenacius
Official language(s) (de jure): Greek (due to primarily greek dynasty), English (Foreign diplomacy)
Commonly spoken language(s) (de facto): Greek, Nahuatl, English
History: I have some RL notions on this, that said, this isn't exactly RL, so I'm not entirely sure what to put here.
RL Cultural Inspiration(s): Aztecs, Byzantium
Religion in you nation: 90% Orthodox Christianity, 5% Aztec polytheism, 5% Other
Military Info: 520 thousand active, 1 million reserve, 30 million in low quality paramilitary/civilian forces.
Est. total land area (mainland and colonies): I'll be saving this until we actually have a map.
Est. total population (mainland and colonies): 56 million, will likely change once we have a map.
Proposed land claim (drawn on a map): This will eventually have something, but for now, we have no map.
Other Interesting Facts/Info about your nation: Can't really make this without a functional history.
RP Sample:
I'll just use an RP I did on my old account for this: viewtopic.php?p=28711318

Overall this looks good, but I do take issue with having over 50% of your population in paramilitary organizations, unless you meant they were organized into militias or home guards of some sort, and even then that 30 million would have to be almost impossible to mobilize effectively -- essentially they would only likely mobilize if their own personal town or village was directly attacked, and even then that 30 mil would be a paper figure, as practically it is a lot easier to join a social group that defends your town in theory than it is to face down an organized invading force and face the fires of battle the first time unseasoned -- plenty won't show up to muster, plenty more will flee at the first shots fired.

With that taken care of, the only other thing is that you didn't tell us which account you were using in your Sample RP, which isn't a big deal because everybody in that RP seemed to have a firm grasp of the basic concepts of roleplay and writing legible English.

I will try to get a raw map made by this evening (let's say midnight Eastern Standard Time), so at that point you should be able to finish your app

Tentatively Accepted

Apologies for not clarifying. The absurdly high number of "paramilitary forces" is just pretty much anyone you can give a gun to and tell to shoot at things or they'll be executed for treason. As for which account I was using, that would be Topkekkia which I abandoned due to not really wanting a meme name. I'll edit this into my app.

[Inoroth]

Very good, glad that's clarified! Now all we have to do is wait for me to get near enough a computer to find a map I like.

[Yasuragi]

Very good, glad that's clarified! Now all we have to do is wait for me to get near enough a computer to find a map I like.

What rough decade/year are we starting in?

[Inoroth]

Very good, glad that's clarified! Now all we have to do is wait for me to get near enough a computer to find a map I like.

What rough decade/year are we starting in?

Maybe I should have put that question in the poll instead... I think between 1880 and 1885, though as we all know that this RP doesn't follow a linear progression, but can jump forward and backward once we get the ball rolling.

[Olimpiada]

What rough decade/year are we starting in?

Maybe I should have put that question in the poll instead... I think between 1880 and 1885, though as we all know that this RP doesn't follow a linear progression, but can jump forward and backward once we get the ball rolling.

1880s sounds good. It lets us have turn of the century technologies while the technological shift towards steampunk doesn't need much explaining.

[Inoroth]

Maybe I should have put that question in the poll instead... I think between 1880 and 1885, though as we all know that this RP doesn't follow a linear progression, but can jump forward and backward once we get the ball rolling.

1880s sounds good. It lets us have turn of the century technologies while the technological shift towards steampunk doesn't need much explaining.

That pretty much sums up my rational for picking it.