IC thread
THE WORLD
Introduction to Samarasta
Capital: Tongolosi
Samarasta was inhabited by a patchwork of local kingdoms when Istoloa established its first trade post on the western tip, a town known as Forea. Forea was founded in 1516, after Istoloan merchants received permission from the local King Tarogox IV. After a century of meddling in local Samarastan affairs, the area was fully conquered and occupied over a series of wars between 1597 and 1621. In 1627, Samarasta was reorganized into a single territory belonging to the city of Istoloa. In 1715, it was once again reorganized as a territory of the Empire of Istoloa under Aguso I.
It has a population of 5.4 billion, very few of which can trace their ancestors to the original occupants of the land. Much of the indigenous population either died, was forced to flee eastward on the island, or were incorporated into a colonist elite involved in an expanding plantation economy. A trickle of hundreds of new slaves each year began to be imported from as far as Theohuanacu and Holy Panooly. By the late 17th century, hundreds had turned into thousands, and by the middle of the 19th century the Samarastan slave population was in the millions — in fact, over half of the population were slaves by as early as 1790. Because the overseas slave trade was the primary source of new slaves, mortality on the island was high, fertility was low, and slaves were never able to develop a strong local culture as these attempts were continuously washed out by the arrival of new slaves that spoke different languages and had different customs. If Irat was a society with slaves, Samarasta was a slave society, and one could see it by the ocean of chain gangs that spoke foreign tongues and believed in exotic gods. After the abolition of slavery in the empire, in 1893, much of this former slave population became tenet farmers and a new, unique "creoloso" culture developed that now defines the country.
In 1957, Samarasta entered into a violent period of political upheaval and military insurgency. A long war of independence was fought between 1957 and 1972, when its sovereignty was recognized by the Istoloan Republic. Samarasta's colonial elite retained power until 1989, when the first open democratic election was held. President Arujo Mandabi became Samarasta's first Creoloso president in 1990, winning the 1989 elections. Since the 1990s, much of the country's colonial population has emigrated to Istoloa, Fustera, or Tupenga.
The current president is Jurado Mabuto, who was first elected in 2017 to begin his first term in 2018. He is the first Samarastan president to serve more than two terms, currently on his fourth term. He is deeply anti-Istoloan and has created antagonism by being one of the forces behind the rising instability in Tupenga. The former colonial capital of Forea was renamed Tongolosi in 1973, after the conclusion of the Samarastan War of Independence.
Kambopushi Rebels
Claiming much of southern Samarasta, the Kambopushi operate in the Mittouala region. The rebels claim Yadiagara as their capital and have some control over the civilian administration in Ejuba. The northern porn city of Jakeja, in the northern Mittouala, is firmly in government hands thanks to a small naval base belonging to the Golden Throne, but Kambopushi rebels control the hinterland south of the city. The Kambopushi is composed of tribes native to Samarasta that were originally pushed eastward with Istoloan colonial expansion and the arrival of foreign slaves labor. Relations between the Kambopushi tribes and Samarasta's creoloso government are hamstrung by the historic use of Kambopushi tribesmen by the Istoloan military in its repression of the creoloso population and by a general drive among Kambopushi tribal leaders to achieve political independence, and push back the control of the centralized government in Tongolosi. There is some evidence that the Kambopushi are supplied by the Ordenite Reich
Foreign Military Presence in Samarasta
Recent events revolving around Istoloa and its former colonies has increased tensions in the area, and has resulted in the growing presence of central Greater Díenstadi powers. Fustera, another former Istoloan colony, is undergoing a nazification process as it is increasingly occupied by the Ordenite Reich, putatively there to protect the country from the tyranny of a creoloso-majority government like the one in Samarasta and the one threatening to soon replace the Tupengan government. In Tupenga, Holy Marsh is supporting rebel forces in the process of overthrowing their dictator, Marechalisimo Louis-August Bragança. The Golden Throne, for their part, has developed a political alliance with the Samarastan government and has increased its military presence to, according to the imperial government, defend Samarasta from a white supremacist, colonial-minority revolutionary wave like the one in Fustera and the one that precipitated events in Tupenga. The Golden Throne also seems Samarasta a strategic asset in its objective of controlling the flow of naval traffic in and out of the River Dikk, which leads up the Ralkovian rump states. Most of this Macabéan military presence is in Tongolosi and the surrounding territory, with a much smaller base in Jakeja. To date, the Golden Throne's military has not intervened in domestic Samarastan matters.
THE RP
The Samarastan government under Mabuto has invested in the reforestation of the country and the protection of its natural heritage, sponsoring two large wildlife reserves — Kononi and Gounkari. To the Mabuto government, these projects are seen as part of an overarching strategy to claim representation of Samarasta's pre-colonial past and therefore give it an additional aura of legitimacy. However, as rebel forces in the Mittouala strengthen their control over the south, the government's ability to protect the Gounkari reserve has been jeopardized. The southern access points are now entirely under rebel control. In turn, the rebels use these access points to exact tolls from poachers and others who seek entrance into Gounkari to kill for luxury goods or sport. Wars in central Greater Díenstad, especially the revolt in southern Theohuanacu against Macabéan imperial rule, has created a large number of military-aged people whose homes are left in turmoil and who seek opportunity elsewhere. The lucrative poaching business in Samarasta serves as a magnet.
***SPOILERS OF THE OP*** After one group of Theohuanacan poachers posted a photo of one of their party members with a dead cub, the local and worldwide outrage has pushed the Samarastan military to seek private military contractor support. It has chosen to work with Lourens Consortium and, through Lourens, the NationStates PMC Guild. The guild is putting together a team of elite forces experienced in anti-poaching operations to focus on clearing the reserve and closing access to it from the south.
OTHER OOC STUFF
A lot of this taken from Shrapnel is Making Music.
While this is a Guild-related RP it was also open to free lance mercenaries from all across the Multiverse who were approved.
- If you can’t RP on at least a twice-monthly pace, yet are posting in other RPs or NSG, and/or ignore a warning/inquiring TG, or CTE, your character will become NPC and probably canon fodder within a couple posts. By signing up, you agree to this and I have made it implicitly clear to you. If you’re not going to be dedicated for the long haul, then don’t bother. We intend to finish this RP.
- No super heroes. This is a realistic, MT to early PMT RP. Work with your team and follow the orders of your team leader. Be prepared that you may lose your character. This will be a more involved mission with a lot more risk and a bit less safety net. I guarantee you someone or several somebodys are going to die, and already have.
- If you have questions about whether you should do something, check with the OP and co-OP Guild members. Don’t make stuff up, especially your own NPCs, to create interactions without approval of the IC host nations.
- No more than three apps from any NS player/user (all accounts).
- Absolutely NO OOC posting in the IC thread.
APPLICATIONS
This is a character-driven RP. To apply, develop a character and share your "character sheet" here, and the Guild will approve.
Here is a basic sign-up character sheet:
- Code: Select all
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Codename/known name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Nationality:[/b]
[b]Physical characteristics:[/b]
[b]PMC affiliation:[/b]
[b]Service record:[/b]
[b]Specialty:[/b]
[b]Brief bio:[/b]
[b]RP sample links:[/b]
MAPS
Samarasta
Samarasta Relative to the Region
Click for map
APPROVED CHARACTER SHEETS [ALPHABETICAL, FIRST NAME]
Order of information: true name, 'known as name' (affiliated PMC)
- Amanda Choi, k.a. 'Avi' (Maritime Logistics Solutions)
- David Astraeus, k.a. 'Nathen ‘Nath’ Crassus' (SternGuard)
- Estella Maria Larruga, k.a. 'Brinca' (Unaffiliated)
- Graham Meyer, k.a. 'Meyer' (Kestrel Military Contracting)
- Hermann Krieger, k.a. 'Krieger' or 'Mr K' (Freikorps "Iron Brigade")
- Joseph Quinn Bing, k.a. 'Crosby' (Olympic Services)
- Natalo Jopeka, k.a. 'Mr. L' (Lourens Consortium)
- Seng Kuo Jin, k.a. 'Jean') (USG Security Corporation)
- Tyler Brava, k.a. 'Tyler Helion' (Myrmidon Security Services)
- Vira Parubiy, k.a. ‘Makhnova’ or 'Parubiy' (WURCo.)