Welcome to the 1870s real-world RP sign-up page! Please read the rules and regulations below! Once you have applied and have been approved, the IC can be reached here: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=264149 .
Here's a brief outline of what is below:
-1- A description of the RP
-2- A map of the RP
-3- A list of countries and their players
-4- Applications for key powers
-5- The application process for non-key power nations
-6- The rules
1870 Real-World RP
It is August of 1870, and several wars across the world are winding down. The Paris Commune has risen in France; Austria has emerged as a dominant world power; Sweden has been forced to give up her colonies; Egypt pushes to expand it's borders.
In this RP, you will be taking control of a nation that existed in the year 1870. Your job is to help that country survive through the turmoil that is world affairs.
Below is the official map of this RP. It shows major powers (with or without players) and nations belonging to players. This map will be updated as often as possible.
Map:
http://i.imgur.com/ttTcpz5.png
Here's a list of the nations on the map (and their players). This is not a list of the only countries allowed to be played.
British Empire [TAKEN BY: Kryskov]
Provisional Government (France) [Open]
Northern German Confederation [TAKEN BY: Pheonix02]
Russian Empire [TAKEN BY: Of the Quendi]
Austria-Hungary [TAKEN BY: Brissia]
The United States of America [TAKEN BY: Gibberan]
Meiji Japan [Open]
Kingdom of Spain [Open]
Qing China [Open]
Ottoman Empire [Open]
Sultanate of Egypt [TAKEN BY: Seljuq Kyiv]
Brazilian Empire [TAKEN BY: Timothia]
Republic of Argentina [RESERVED BY: The Time Alliance]
Kingdom of Italy [Open]
Kingdom of Southern Germany [Open]
Mexico [TAKEN BY: Baja California y Sonora]
Sweden [TAKEN BY: The Norrland]
Albania [TAKEN BY: Dangelia]
Siam [TAKEN BY: Zumreed]
Orange Free State [Open]
Transvaal [Open]
Colombia [TAKEN BY: The Grand Republic of Hannover]
Chile [TAKEN BY: Alleniana]
Several powers are essential to the playing of this RP. Keeping this in mind, and in order to help preserve realism, I have constructed application forms for all of them. If you would like to play one of these powers, please view the spoilers in the list below. If not, see instructions for application farther down. Please consider playing a power if any are available. If you are playing one of these powers, I except you to do some more research so that you know your nation inside and out.
British Empire [TAKEN]
Second Empire of France
Northern German Confederation [TAKEN]
Russian Empire [TAKEN]
United States of America [TAKEN]
Austria-Hungary [TAKEN]
Meiji Japan [TAKEN]
Kingdom of Italy [TAKEN]
Ottoman Empire [TAKEN]
Qing China
Kingdom of Spain [TAKEN]
Republic of Argentina [TAKEN]
Brazilian Empire
Additionally, if any of the data I have is wrong or incomplete, please let me know ASAP. Your input is greatly appreciated!
If you do not want to play one of the above listed powers, please make a post with the following information on it:
Name of Nation: (What it was called in 1870)
Population: (the population of your nation)
Population [Empire Total]: (if your nation is an empire, put the population of the entire empire, including your nation, here)
Standing Military and Reserves: (the total number of soldiers in standing or reserve units)
Maximum Conscription [Native Only]: (take your nation's population, divide it by 100, and multiply that number by 8. Put your result here)
Maximum Conscription [Empire Total]: (if your nation is an empire, take the total empire population, divide it by 100, and multiply that number by 8. Put your result here.)
Country and Territories: (a link to a map of your nation in 1870)
Head of State: (your nation's sovereign in 1870)
Head of Government: (whoever was in charge of your nation's parliament/congress in 1870)
Government Style: (I don't need to explain this, do I?)
Primary Weapon: (the official service rifle of your nation in 1870. Link a picture or article of the weapon as well. If your nation adopted a new rifle in 1871, please put that here as well)
Secondary Weapon: (the official service pistol of your nation in 1870. Link a picture or article of the weapon as well. If your nation adopted a new pistol in 1871, please put that here as well)
Standard Machine-Gun: (if your nation had a machine-gun in 1870 or starting in 1871, put it here. Link a picture or article of the weapon as well. Also mention if it was lightly used or heavily used, and be honest)
Standard Artillery: (the most common field gun of your nation in 1870. Link a picture or article of the weapon as well. If your nation adopted a new field gun in 1871, please put that here as well)
Main Naval Vessels: (the creme of your nation's fleet, either ironclads or steam frigates. Place the number of those ships of your nation in 1870 here, followed by the number of those ships in 1871)
I'd recommend Iran or Bolivia for those not wanting to play one of the aforementioned powers.
I will be background checking all of your application for accuracy. You will not be accepted until your application is as accurate as can be. Don't worry, I will help you out if you don't know any information.
Last but certainly not least, there are a few rules to go over:
Timescale:
In this RP, I will be generally directing the timescale, although you are welcome to help out with that in the game. Because of the nature of the way RPs like this work, a single day can elapse over countless posts, or a single post can advance the timeline by a month. All that is asked is that no-one advance the timeline unreasonably. By this I mean that if two nations are at a conference and are engaging in discussions, some other player can't make a post that takes place a week in the future. That being said, try to keep such conferences to a minimum in order to keep the timeline moving. And be aware of the limitations that exist in communication technologies at this time.
Historical Accuracy:
What does this mean? Obviously, it doesn't mean that we're going to be following history's course exactly, or at all. That would ruin the point of this RP! I encourage players to seek different alliances, find new technologies, and make different decisions that their nations did in 1870. However, this does NOT give you the right to futz with everything all the time always. What do I mean? Well, you can't instantly change your country's goals, for one. Killing off certain figures and promoting new ones for convenience is frowned upon. More specific rules regarding historical accuracy can be found below:
Waging War:
Any conflict that is started must be waged reasonably and realistically. This is 1870, people! Troops can't move more than twenty miles in a day on land, unless they are transported by train, and there are some very obvious limitations that train travel poses. Ship travel is very limited too, with weeks being needed to transport soldiers and supplies across the world. Troop mobilization takes time as well, at the very least two weeks for the most advanced nations. Furthermore, troops are constantly hampered by the technological limitations of the day, which I will go into more detail about below:
Technology:
Understanding the limitations of your nation's technology is important. Anyone whose nation uses the Dreyse Rifle, for example, should know that the rifle was unreliable, inaccurate, had terrible range, and released a choking gas whenever the bolt was opened after firing. The American player, as another example whose main artillery is the 3-inch muzzle-loader, will almost always be at a disadvantage when paired up against European powers. Make sure you research your nation's technology well, and make sure that you play according to that technology. Additionally, I should mention the rules regarding further development of technology: Since it can take years to develop new technologies, programs and designs put into place in 1870 and 1871 can't be cancelled, slowed down, or sped up. Also, there will be no sudden races towards advancement in technology unrealistically early: for example, no developing multi-round-mag. rifles until at least 1890. However, if you wish to start a new tech. program a year or so before it was really started, you can do that, as long as you realistically display the negative effects that accompany staring any program earlier than it should start. Likewise, you can delay a program if you wish to do so for whatever reasons. Just be realistic about it.
Know How to Lose:
This is the biggest problem I see in RPs, and I have no doubt that some dummy will cause this issue at some point. In every battle, at every second, every side tries to describe some heroic definitive victory move, a "checkmate" if you will, that causes their army to emerge victorious. This results in an incredibly childish back-and-forth and makes the game un-enjoyable. if you are losing due to decisions made earlier on, then for god's sake lose! Don't try to make up some bullcrap about a single unit of soldiers that manages to survive and win the day, that's not how real war works. Now, I'm not saying that occasionally, in certain circumstances, definitive heroics aren't allowed. But when that Prussian army that is sent to crush the French main line gets decimated in a suicide charge (like many Prussian armies did), that army has LOST. If I catch anyone breaking this simple rule of integrity in a major way, there will be one warning, followed by out-the-door.
Meta-Gaming:
This is the last point I need to make. What is meta-gaming? Well, when the Japanese start thinking about negotiating a takeover of Korea, and suddenly China sends troops to occupy Korea, that's meta-gaming: because China couldn't possibly know exactly what the Japanese were thinking, but the Chinese player has chosen to act on what the Japanese player posted. This is unacceptable. Espionage was severely limited in effectiveness during this time. A player stating a simple idea in a private setting should expect that the idea remains secret. Yes, there are situations where espionage makes sense, but if you are caught acting on information that your player wouldn't have known about, you will receive a single warning, and if you do it again you will be kicked.
Link to old OOC thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=263558&p=17826807#p17826807
That is all, enjoy!
You beat us all
Peaceful 1, 
