NEW HOPE (POST-APOCALYPTIC NATION RP) - OOC

[Sao Nova Europa]

NEW HOPE

A POST-APOCALYPTIC RP

2044

The People's Republic of China invades Taiwan. The United States of America vows to defend the island nation against Communist aggression.

The situation spirals out of all control.

Nukes fly on both sides. Civilization is devastated.

Only a few humans manage to survive the apocalypse.

The year is 2151. The North American continent sees the rise of new civilizations. Will they build a new, better society or shall they repeat the mistakes of olden times?

THE CHOICE IS YOURS!

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MAP

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RULES

Welcome to NEW HOPE, a post-apocalyptic RP inspired by worlds of fiction such as Fallout. You will take charge of a nation in post-apocalyptic North and Central America. Nation is a broad term, however: you can apply as a corporation, a gan,g or a tribal society.

But let's present some rules before you can join:

Technology:
Most firearms are rudimentary, ranging from revolvers and bolt-lock rifles in more developed regions to matchlocks and cannons in less advanced areas. Melee weapons have become popular again, with swords and knives returning in military settings. Transportation is largely on foot (in urban regions) or on horseback (in rural areas). The industry has reverted to pre-modern times, with artisans or small privately owned factories producing goods rather than large manufacturing plants.

Great Power/Minor Power:
Great Powers are nations that have advanced to the point where they can exert control over a sizeable amount of territory, have a formidable economic and military potential, and can exert influence outsider their borders. They are most similar to pre-apocalypse governments, though lacking the bureaucracy/centralized control of those states (obviously). Minor powers are smaller types of organizations: city-states (or confederation of city-states), gangs, corporate states, tribal societies, warlords, etch. They tend to control a smaller territory and cannot properly utilize their full economic and military potential.

I will only be accepting a few Great Powers (number depending on how many players we get), and from experienced RPers I trust. The rest can apply for Minor Powers. Being a Minor Power can offer potential for interesting storytelling, and nothing is stopping you from eventually becoming a Great Power in the IC through clever use of diplomacy and military power.

Posting:
I expect posts at least once every week. I also expect posts of quality - at least two well-written paragraphs. It's better to post once with a good post than to make many posts consisting of single lines. I also expect players to avoid OP behavior and godmodding: your nation won't be perfect at everything and won't be able to accomplish all its goals. Try to be realistic and craft interesting stories.

JOINING

To join, fill out the following app format. I believe it is fairly straightforward, but if you've got any questions, feel free to ask me. Your application must be accepted before you can post IC.

Reservations last a week. If you fail to provide an app by then, your reservation is gone. If you plan on joining as a Great Power, aside from your reservation, I want at least a paragraph of explanation of your concept. Then I will confirm if you have the OK to app as a Great Power.

Nation Reservation:

Code: Select all

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Territory:[/b] If you don't have one, write two paragraphs below.


Nation Application:

Code: Select all

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Power:[/b] Whether your nation is a Great Power or a Minor Power. Check the rules to see what that means.
[b]Government Type:[/b]
[b]Leader(s):[/b]
[b]Population:[/b]
[b]Zone of Control:[/b] What lands does your government/organization control?
[b]Capital:[/b]
[b]Motives and Agenda:[/b] What is the ideology of your organization and what are its goals?
[b]Resources:[/b] Include a description of your technological level, economy, and military.
[b]History:[/b] At least two paragraphs long.
[b]RP sample:[/b] If you don't have one, write two paragraphs below.


[Sao Nova Europa]

RESERVED NATIONS

Heavenly Kingdom of Texas - Newne Carriebean7
Kingdom of Shambhala - Benuty
New California Republic - Union Princes

ACCEPTED NATIONS

Illustrious Republic of Nova Roma - Sao Nova Europa
Dunedain Rangers and the Church of Eru - Dragos Bee
Grand Republic of New York - Orostan
Lawrence Confederacy - Nyetoa
Harvard University - Reverend Norv
Great Lakes Republic - Theyra

[Sao Nova Europa]

Name: Illustrious Republic of Nova Roma



Power: Great Power
Government Type: Aristocratic constutional monarchy

The Republic of Nova Roma, despite its name, is led by a Princeps. The current Princeps is Caesar Augustus Aurelius the Fourth. The Princeps is the head of state of the city-state and the leading priest of the Cult of Lucifer. Despite this, his actual powers are limited and he is a figurehead. Real power lies with the Senate: a legislative body comprised of patricians, individuals who have been granted titles of nobility (not due to their blood but rather due to their extreme wealth). Patricians own companies, factories, landed estates, and slaves. Thus they have the finance and manpower to back up their titles of nobility.

The Senate passes legislation that governs the domestic and foreign policy of the city-state. They also elect two Consuls (with a yearly term) to oversee the implementation of legislation passed by the Senate. The Consuls act thus as collective head-of-government but their power varies: sometimes they are monarchs in all but name while other times they are powerless puppets whose strings are pulled by the Senators. Since real power lies with the Senate (and the Consuls), rather than the Princeps, Nova Roma is often called an aristocratic or oligarchical republic.

Competition between Senators for influence and power takes many forms: some use oratory and control over newspapers, others use their wealth to bribe and coerce, and yet others resort to beatings or even assassinations. So far, this frenzied antagonism for power has not erupted into outright civil war, but beatings (or even shootings) between servants of various Senators are not unusual.

While the city of Nova Roma itself is administered by the Consuls and the Senate directly, the rest of the territory of the Republic is administered by Legates, appointed (by the Senate and from among its members) military governors. They have broad autonomy over how they lord their dominion as long as they ensure a steady supply of goods and manpower to the central government. Legates who are efficient and ruthless, and thus stand out from the lot, have a greater chance of gaining influence in the Senate after their term is over (and thus a greater say in how Nova Roma itself is governed). It isn't unusual for successful Legates to be elected Consuls.

Leader(s):

Princeps Ceasar Augustus Aurelius the Fourth



The nineteen-year-old Princeps came to the Golden Throne a year ago when his father - Caesar Augustus Aurelius the Third - died in a hunting accident (or so it is said...). He has little actual powers and is a figurehead meant to legitimize the rule of the Senators who compete for influence in ever more extreme ways. The young man is not, however, content with being a puppet of the Senate and simply enjoying the luxuries of the imperial court. He seeks real power and he will do what is necessary to reassert the primacy of the imperial office.

Consul Isidorus Artemius



Isidorus is a man of wealth. He owns multiple estates in which thousands of slaves labor day and night in gruesome conditions. He also owns a number of factories producing consumer goods for the plebians of the city-state, at least the ones who can afford them, and a popular newspaper. He has used this wealth to gain influence in the Senate over the years, and he has now managed to bribe and intimidate his way into getting elected Consul. A highly ambitious man, he plans to use his Consulship as a stepping stone to even greater influence over the politics of the republic. He knows that if he fails, his political opponents (and he has made many of them over the years) will hound him down like a rabid animal.

Consul Flavius Aetius



Consul Flavius Aetius might not look that tough at first glance, but he is a ruthless man. Appointed a Legate at the age of fifty, after years of lobbying for the post, he ruthlessly overworked both slaves and subject peoples to produce food for the growing city of Nova Roma. He also did what every ambitious Legate would do: without authorization from the Senate, he waged a war of conquest against a nearby sttelement across the border from his jurisdiction. His war was successful (if a rather brutal affair that saw hundreds of civilians executed), and thus earned him respect in the Senate. When his posting as a Legate ended, Flavius used his popularity from the war to host public speeches in the city of Nova Roma. A showman knowing how to impress crowds, he earned even greater popularity and influence than before, which ended up in his election as Consul. Ambitious and ruthless, he seeks to further extend the influence of the Republic - and his own political prowess along the way. His enemies are many, not least the equally ambitious co-Consul Isidorus.

Population: 1,300,000

The Republic is one of the most populous polities in Western America. Not everyone living in the Republic, however, enjoys the same rights. Patricians, the nobility of the Republic, hold most of the power and have rights not entitled to others: (relative) free speech, the right to a fair trial and a lawyer, a good standard of living, generous tax exemptions, and a wage paid by the state.

The rest of the citizens of Nova Roma are plebians. They enjoy some rights: free bread for those below a certain amount of poverty and the right to join the administration of the city (as bureaucrats and clerks, though, since top administrative offices are dominated by the patricians). They have obligations however: to pay taxes and to serve in the military when called to do so. Every male plebian serves two years of military service when he turns 18 and can then be called to arms whenever the Republic requires him to.

Patricians and plebians - the citizens of Nova Roma - are about 300,000 people. Citizenship is a privilege, and one that is not granted to everyone residing in the domain of Nova Roma. The subjugated peoples residing in the various villages, towns, and farming communities of the Republic (except for farming colonies established by Roman plebians, whose inhabitants retain their citizenship) are not citizens and thus lack the privileges enjoyed by plebians. They have to pay much higher taxes and cannot join the administration of the Republic. They are levied in times of need by the Republic but not as a regular trained army but rather as cannon fodder to soften up enemies for the (plebian) legionnaires. Subject peoples can earn citizenship, however, for themselves and their immediate family if they serve ten years in the Roman military.

About 350,000 people are in an even worse state than being subjects of Nova Roma: they are slaves. Most of them work in the landed estates of the patricians, though a minority work as servants in their manors or factories. In past decades, there were revolts in hopes of liberty but they were brutally suppressed: slaves who disobey their masters or try to escape or, even worse, revolt are crucified in public.

Zone of Control: Nevada and northern Utah
Capital: Nova Roma (formerly Las Vegas)
Motives and Agenda:

The Republic is a complex structure. The twin ideological backbones are the Civilizational Mission and the Cult of Lucifer.

Civilizational Mission:

The Nova Romans believe that the world since the Apocalypse has deteriorated to barbarism and brutality. It is their sacred mission to bring civilization - laws, commerce, technology, proper customs - to the peoples of the West. This is the burden of the Nova Roman man.

Cult of Lucifer:

The Cult of Lucifer is the state religion of the Republic, with the Princeps being the high priest. The cult worships Lucifer, the eldest Son of God and Lightbringer, the Lord of Hell who punishes the wicked for their evil deeds and rewards the pious. The cult has thousands of priests and tens of missionaries who want to bring the word of Lucifer to the unwashed masses of the West. And as pious people, the rulers of Nova Roma have a duty to ensure the safety of those missionaries by extending the reach of the city-state.

Material Needs:

The Civilizational Mission and the Cult of Lucifer are, in reality, both used as excuses for the Senate to expand the reach of the city-state and to subjugate new peoples. Their true motives for this expansionism are material ones: more subjects means more taxpayers and more consumers for their products - and more captives means more slaves. Conquest is a rewarding enterprise, and it isn't unusual for Legates to take the initiative of their own to conquer settlements even without the exact permission of the Senate. After all, conquest means profit.

Resources:

The city-state of Nova Roma is an advanced place, at least by the standards of the region. It resembles a city of the late 18th century and houses several (albeit small and privately owned) factories and markets. Patricians - and a fair amount of plebians - can afford and enjoy various consumer products. Newspapers are popular, and are used by Senators to expand their influence. Outside the city itself, though, civilization recedes. The villages, towns, and farming communities under the control of Nova Roma have a technological level akin to that of early modern Europe. It is one of the reasons for the widespread use of slavery, since mechanization of farming is mostly nonexistent.

The military arm of the Republic is its legions. Legions are (mostly) comprised of plebians and are led by patricians. Often, those patrician officers have years of family legacy in serving in the military and undertaking conquests. There are three types of legions: the Imperial Guard legions, which are stationed in the city-state itself and are the elite in terms of both equipment and training. The nominal commander is the Princeps, but often actual command is delegated to a Centurion appointed by the Senate.

The second type is the unraised legions: after plebian men complete their two years of military service, they return back to civilian life, but can at any moment be called back into action if their legion is raised.

The third type is the legions guarding the villages, towns, and farming communities under the domination of Nova Roma. Those legions are under the control of the Legates, the military governors of those outlying regions. Those legionnaires tend to be loyal to the person of the Legate and act as his private army, allowing ambitious Legates to launch unilaterally wars of conquest. Male subjects of Nova Roma can join those legions, for a term of ten years, to earn citizenship for themselves and their immediate family. To avoid abuse of this law, only those who endure the training process can be accepted into the legions.

The legions are equipped with revolvers, bolt-lock rifles, and cannons: legionaries also carry upon themselves swords.

The Republic can also levy subjugated peoples to fight for it (those troops are not termed legionaries) and often uses them as cannon fodder. Those levies are equipped with early modern muskets that lack accuracy or even swords and spears. They also help in other ways: they can carry equipment and provisions needed by the legions. Those subject peoples are disgruntled and unmotivated, and thus they are not trusted by their Nova Roman commanders. On occasions, they have risen in revolts, only to be crushed brutally by the might of the Nova Roman legions.

History:

Princeps Caesar Augustus Aurelius the First exterminated savages, founded the illustrious city of Nova Roma, and restored civilization in the wasteland. At least that is the story officially propagated by the authorities of the Republic. In reality, Caesar Augustus Aurelius the First was born as Jack Anderson and he was the leader of a gang that he used to strongarm a number of small, scattered communities into submitting to his will. His campaign of conquest was marked by extreme brutality but also military acumen far above that of other gangsters.

The history of Rome and its empire had been lost, but a few words and notions of imperial power remained: Jack Anderson clung to those words and used them to legitimize his rule. He was no mere warlord but a Princeps; he wasn't leading a gang but a bastion of civilization in a sea of barbarity. Jack did not use only the idea of Rome to legitimize himself: he also used religion. The Cult of Lucifer - one of the many competing religions striving for influence in the wasteland - was adopted by Jack as the state religion of his realm, with himself as the head of that religion. This allowed him to shroud his rule under a religious cloak, giving him further credence and earning the loyalty of the believers.

By the 2110s, the settlements united by Jack had coalesced into the city-state of Nova Roma. As civilization returned, so did commerce. A moneyed aristocracy emerged and they wanted power. So power was given to them: the richest citizens of the city were granted the title of patricians, a seat in a new institution named the Senate, and the official power to vote on public policy. The Princeps was now a mere figurehead and the Senate emerged as the new seat of power.

In the 2120s and 2130s, Nova Roma expanded its reach. Its legions enslaved nearby villages and towns while farming colonies were established thanks to a growing population. By 2140, Nova Roma controlled most of Nevada and northern Utah and had a combined population in the hundreds of thousands. As it grew, Nova Roma became unstable, experiencing social upheaval and revolts from slaves seeking freedom and oppressed subjects seeking independence. Those revolts were ruthlessly put down with a brutality unseen in decades.

Nowadays, Nova Roma stands as a mostly stable polity. The nobles of the city are scheming, not only to strengthen their own power domestically but also to expand the boundaries of the Republic into California, annexing its rich lands and subjucating its peoples. Will they succeed? It remains to be seen.

RP sample: I'm OP

[Benuty]

Ah I remember the last iteration of this. I'll put up an app quite shortly.

[Union Princes]

Heh, just when I got back to Fallout 4 and New Vegas. I might do something on the East or West Coast like a New England Commonwealth or San Fransokyo

[Newne Carriebean7]

Name: The Heavenly Kingdom of Texas
Territory: Northwestern and the Rio Grande of Texas; Eastern New Mexico

[Dragos Bee]

I'm in; give me a moment.

[Dragos Bee]

Name: The Yeomanry and Cityfolk of California
Territory: California minus San Francisco (if Union Princes claims it; if he does not, add it).
Great Power Justification: The Yeomanry bases its economic prosperity on the remaining fertile land and irrigation works of California's Central Valley combined with several urban centers that act as a focus of proto-industrial activity; these, in turn, funnel resources, men, and money into a Federal Assembly whose President has the power of declaring war or suing for peace. At the cost of an increasing hunger for resources, such as water and land, the Yeomanry and Cityfolk invest not just in proto-industrial workshops and agricultural processes, but also in creating as wide and broad a pool of trained manpower as possible - Both citizens, client states, and auxiliaries are expected to provide military service in lieu of taxes or taxes in lieu of military service when needed. Social divisions between rich and poor are made as porous as possible, not just for ideological reasons against classism and slavery, but also because offering social mobility through military service, R&D in military-related fields, and learning and teaching military history is a self-evident benefit.

If I cannot be trusted with a Great Power, however, I have some alternative reservations planned:

Name: The Provisional Government of the United States of America
Territory: Cheyenne Mountain Complex

Name: Dunedain Rangers
Territory: Various former Hunting Lodges and Survivalist Communes in Upstate New York and other portions of New England.

Name: Pittsburgh Union of Steel
Territory: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I will only pick one of these if California isn't an option.

[Union Princes]

It's tough to choose which idea to go with: either a Japanese-American enclave in San Francisco, exiled Mormons in Roswell, or neo-Colonial America in Boston

[Dragos Bee]

Name: The Dunedain Rangers and the Church of Eru.
Power: Minor Power
Government Type: Quasi-State Organization.
Leader(s): Ranger Chieftain Echtelion,
Population: 3500-strong.
Zone of Control: Aside from Estelendil (see below) and its Nuclear Power Plants, the Dunedain Rangers have 18 lodges containing 25 Rangers (and around the same number of support staff) each, and 9 Fortress Monastries containing 50 Rangers, 25 Swan Knights, 25 Followers of Eru and 75 support staff. These lodges and Fortress Monastries are scattered all over New York State and other portions of New England.
Capital: The town of Estelendil, once Scriba, New York, with the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station and James A FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant as auxiliary bastions of the town.
Motives and Agenda: Rebuild Civilization with lessons learned from the mistakes of the past.
Resources:

Technology - The Church of Eru once opposed the polluting effects of industrialization and technology. Still, the privations of the post-apocalypse had taught them that blind hatred of technology and 'progress' was a gateway to hell. Thus, they now accept the existence of Nuclear Power, 3D Printing, and various technologies that are as un-intrusive to the environment as possible. This has allowed their capital, Estelendil, to preserve books, artifacts, and even computers that contain knowledge of the past - And a full lexicon of Tolkien's Languages, especially Sindarin. Agricultural knowledge is also well-prized; while Tolkien would have considered GMOs an abomination, the risk of mass starvation has made it so that the Church of Eru has sanctified them.

However, the Dunedain Rangers and Swan Knights see it as their pride and joy to fight with as little tech as possible; while they carry guns, salvaged or 3D-printed Body Armor, and swords forged from titanium-steel alloys (called Mithril), their preferred weapons are the bow, the knife, the spear, and the swords mentioned before, while the Swan Knights share a close bond with their horses. This and their small numbers have forced them to adopt guerilla tactics, learn how to fight in small-scale formations, and get good at them.

Ecomomy - The Dunedain Rangers once believed they could live off the land like their fictional inspiration; this resulted in mass starvation and their near-extinction during the start of the apocalypse. Now, they know better but are careful to project the image of people who can tap into the hidden bounties of the forest to impress outsiders. Each lodge is surrounded by 'edible groves' where every tree and shrub has fruits and nuts that can be used as sustenance, while chickens and turkeys are raised in discreetly placed coops.

The Fortress Monastries of the Church of Eru are more overtly technological; solar panels and advanced batteries are hidden inside mystic-looking crystals, and hidden underground lines funnel power from Estelendil's Nuclear Reactors when the sun does not shine. This and the discreet use of 'Sanctified GMOs' allow the Fortress-Monastries to sustain a semi-artisanal economy that nevertheless does not starve those who are not artisans.

But the center of the economy, for now, is Estelendil and its Nuclear Power Plants; without them, all is lost.

Military - The total number of the Dunedain Rangers is 1000, 900 of which are scattered among the Lodges and Fortress Monasteries and 100 guarding Estelendil. There are also 525 Swan Knights, 450 scattered among the Fortress-Monastries, and 75 guarding Estelendil. Finally, there is the Black Guard, a formation of 150 elite defensive infantry that guard Estelendil and its Nuclear Reactors. In short, the Rangers have a total of 1675 armed folk for their needs.

All of these have access to guns from Pre-War stockpiles and arsenals, with hunting, sniper, and anti-materiel rifles favored, as well as more primitive weapons like bows, maces, swords, and spears. They also have Kevlar Armor, while the Black Guard have Pre-War Riot Gear and Gas Masks embossed with the White Tree of Gondor and the Star of Armor on a black background.

The Swan Knights have Horses and ride around on chainmail and plate, albeit with Kevlar padding underneath, but are skilled in pistols and the use of carbines that can be fired from horseback if lances are not an option.

History: The Dunedain Rangers were a union of local survivalists, park rangers, first responders, and a chapter of Society for Creative Anachronism members who really, really liked Tolkien. Rebuilding their society around a syncretic creed where Eru Illuvatar, the One Above All Thrones forever, is the One True God, but gave rule over the world to the Valar, Angelic beings who were the source of all Polytheistic Deities. Eru is also regarded to have manifested in several prophets, his own Son who was part of him, a Final Prophet, and of course, Saint Tolkien the Revelator, whose writings inspired the restoration of the world.

Despite this, Saint Tolkien was also regarded as fallible, due to him not knowing his quasi-divine nature, and his views on government, politics, and sexuality were quickly discarded; the Church of Eru is fairly liberal towards homosexual behavior and transgender identity, provided that monogamy and marriage receive their proper value (the proper value, of course, is left up to interpretation). Added to this were his views on technology and industrialization, which turned out to be impractical after a year of starvation, after which the town of Scriba and its Nuclear Power Plants were brought to the fold in exchange for protection from marauders.

After that was a period of slow growth as the Church of Eru and the Dunedain Rangers fought off bandits, raiders, slavers, and ideological and religious enemies, gaining new Lodges and Fortress-Monastries in strategic points. These, in turn, would kick-start a growth in population around the latter and in Estelendil itself, which became a center of knowledge. However, the small numbers of the Rangers, Swan Knights, and Black Guard are fast proving to be a bane, for new members of these elites cannot be trained fast enough to meet the ever-increasing requests for 'security' without straining resources...

RP sample: viewtopic.php?p=42088130#p42088130

[Benuty]

Name: Benuty as the Kingdom of Shambhala
Territory: The Former State of Colorado.

Born from the fires that brought the end of the world, the light of the Buddha Dharma has remained in the world to achieve a second chance for the liberation of all beings from the illusory world of Samsara. The fires that consumed the world stopped, but not the flowing rivers of Samsara, which trap beings crying out for refuge and salvation. The light of Amitabha Buddha graces those in the West with a chance to reach his pure land of Sukhavati and come back to this broken world as Bodhisattvas. The Buddhas give out their hands the same teachings they gave to our ancestors an era ago, but we must make expedient use of them to liberate all.

[Sao Nova Europa]

Name: Benuty as the Kingdom of Shambhala
Territory: The Former State of Colorado.

Born from the fires that brought the end of the world, the light of the Buddha Dharma has remained in the world to achieve a second chance for the liberation of all beings from the illusory world of Samsara. The fires that consumed the world stopped, but not the flowing rivers of Samsara, which trap beings crying out for refuge and salvation. The light of Amitabha Buddha graces those in the West with a chance to reach his pure land of Sukhavati and come back to this broken world as Bodhisattvas. The Buddhas give out their hands the same teachings they gave to our ancestors an era ago, but we must make expedient use of them to liberate all.

Reservation noted

[Sao Nova Europa]

Name: The Dunedain Rangers and the Church of Eru.
Power: Minor Power
Government Type: Quasi-State Organization.

ACCEPTED

[Dragos Bee]

Name: The Dunedain Rangers and the Church of Eru.
Power: Minor Power
Government Type: Quasi-State Organization.

ACCEPTED

Here's hoping I get more neighbors, then.

[Sao Nova Europa]

Name: The Heavenly Kingdom of Texas
Territory: Northwestern and the Rio Grande of Texas; Eastern New Mexico

Reservation noted

[Sao Nova Europa]

I updated map and roster. Let me know if I made any mistakes in the map

[Dragos Bee]

I updated map and roster. Let me know if I made any mistakes in the map

Scriba is on the shore of Lake Ontario, not the Atlantic.

[Dragos Bee]

Five-pointed Star - Scriba/Estelendil.
Four-pointed Stars - Fortress-Monastries.
Squares - Ranger Lodges.

Note that the intention is to encourage other players to take territory in New York State, so I'll clarify immediately that areas with four-pointed stars and squares can still be taken by other nations on nation creation if they coordinate with me and recognize the existence of the monasteries and lodges in the area.

[Sao Nova Europa]

Map updated.

[Union Princes]

Name: The New Californian Republic
Territory: California, claims on northern and southern Baja California

[Nyetoa]

Name: The Lawrence Confederacy
Territory:

[Union Princes]

Name: The New California Republic

Power: Great Power
Government Type: Federal Republic
Executive Branch

• President: The head of state and government, overseeing the executive branch, supreme commander of the armed forces, and acting as the public face of the NCR.
• Vice President: Acts as the second-in-command and assumes the presidency if the current president is incapacitated or removed. Leads Congress during a session.
• Cabinet: Includes advisors and federal officers who assist the president in governing.

Legislative Branch

• Congress - Unicameral house that drafts and passes laws, manages budgets, and checks the executive branch's powers.

Judicial Branch

• Composed of lower courts and the Supreme Court that interpret laws, mediate disputes, and ensure equal justice.

Leader: President Billy Kitagawa
Population: 1.1 million citizens
Zone of Control: California State, encroaching settlements and outposts on Baja California
Capital: Fransokyo (Old San Francisco)
Motives and Agenda:
Californian Neoprogressivism: For good or for ill, Californian unity is rooted in Old American values of meritocracy, self-determination, and righteous justice. The nuclear hellfire that engulfed the former United States was a calamity for sure but also an opportunity to truly begin again. A chance where any man, regardless of origin or circumstance, can truly rise and forge his own destiny. In this war-torn hellscape, hope for a better tomorrow shall flourish.

The Renaissance of the West: Federalization, reform, application; President Kitagawa was elected on the platform to not just bring order to the former California State but to reinvigorate it into a beacon of knowledge and culture. He called for greater emphasis on archeological work, further investment in education and the arts, and the empowerment of local and state governments.

The Freeman, Free Soil: Given the clashing views, it was inevitable for the NCR to come into conflict with the Roman State of Nevada. The institution of slavery practiced by the Neo-Romans was abhorrent to hear and rallied the Californians to put a halt to the westward expansion of slavery. Californian agents work to set up secret networks to free slaves and transport them into California to regain their freedom. President Kitagawa passed even more draconic laws targeting slaveholders and traffickers, branding them as zen jinrui no teki, enemies of all mankind, and leaving them liable to be attacked, captured, and destroyed by anyone at all with the ability and desire to carry it out

Resources:
Fransokyo is the most technologically advanced city in the New California Republic; its architecture is a crossbreed of Tokugawa Era and Colonial American aesthetics with a notable artisan and commercial district. The repairs done to the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco port have allowed for a greater volume of land and maritime trade, bringing more wealth to the capital. The wealth that Fransokyo uses to invest in federal and state infrastructure and communications throughout the NCR. A considerable sum of the federal budget has been spent on modernizing the agriculture industry in California to ensure that every farmer has access to roads, education, security, steel tools, and draft animals.

The economy of the NCR is largely agricultural but commercial trade saw stable growth in the industrial sectors of urban centers. A few early manufacturing plants have been established to take advantage of the rediscovery of the steam engine, textiles, and machine tools. One of the most well-paying and respected jobs in the NCR is the Pony Express, mounted couriers employed by the federal government to deliver mail, newspapers, and packages through the Californian states.

While the New California Army is a large infantry force with around 40,000 soldiers, Kitagawa has supplemented it with private military contractors, citizens temporarily hired to fulfill civilian and auxiliary army roles and help maintain logistical and command cohesion. These PMCs have more varied equipment, whether revolvers, crossbows, bolt-action rifles, or katanas.

History: The Great Atomic War. It was the war that was meant to bring the end of humanity as tens of millions of Americans were wiped out across the West Coast of the US and yet, some stubbornly clung to life and duty to the American ethos. Among the few survivors were the Japanese Americans who endured the consequences of folly leadership. Death and despair ruled over the ruins of California as both technology and knowledge were lost in a flash of fire and smoke but underneath that visage of misery, slowly but surely, life began to rebuild. It took a decade for the dust to settle. Another decade before humans did the same, establishing small villages, in the corpses of once-great American cities and towns.

It wasn't until 2080 that San Francisco emerged as the most populated area in the post-apocalypse California as the Japanese-Americans grew in number and skill. Through massive labor programs, they worked to repair and scrap the ruins of the bombed-out city, demolishing old houses in place of new ones bearing the designs of their ancestor's home country. Gone were the memories of "San Fran", in its place was Fransokyo, a beacon of Asian American endurance in the face of annihilation. However, the city's continual growth created greater demands for resources and skilled laborers.

Expeditions up and down the West Coast brought in new contact with nearby tribes and small communes. Some were friendly, most suspicious, but contact nonetheless brought much rejoicing from the Japanese-Americans. Soon enough, a decision was made and Fransokyo approached these enclaves with a proposal: to unite and become part of a new political entity. Through negotiation, politicking, and conquest, the New California Republic was established in 2096 with Hiro Hamata as its first President. Hamata's regime saw the institutionalization of constitutional law, branches of government, and the national army.

Hamata's successor, James Iha (2104 - 2112), continued these policies of consolidation and federalization, even incorporating new states into the republic as he expanded the borders eastward. Local corruption was clamped down, the slave trade was eradicated, and peace was enforced under his leadership. He was popular enough to have run for a third term but Iha declined so he could focus more on his estate. A move that would establish a precedent for the next few presidents that expanded the New California Republic to its original state borders until Billy Kitagawa was elected in 2130. An ambitious political animal with a shrewd mind and strong connections, his presidency would redefine the identity of California; a full syncretization of American culture with Japanese heritage.

Kitagawa's Presidency saw Californian politics transition from a multi-party republic to a dominant-party democracy as his Neoprogressive platform became more mainstream; with the borders properly defined and no longer in limbo, he was allowed to focus inward and adjust the institutions to be more amicable. After winning a third term in 2142, Kitagawa felt comfortable enough to enact his most radical policy: the legalization of polygamy. Although he had full support from Congress, the Supreme Court, and a substantial part of the voter population, the president still went out to justify his decision through grand speeches decrying the labor shortage in the NCR. Too many jobs and not enough hands to employ.

Of course, plenty of his detractors pointed out how he stood to benefit the most from this new law given his countless affairs with other women throughout his life. Although this put a sharp dent in his popularity, Kitagawa managed to win a fourth term in 2146 due to growing fears of Roman expansionism to the West, promising to protect the national sovereignty of the NCR and to halt the expansion of slavery. Now, in 2151, whether through true admiration or cynicism from his supporters, President Kitagawa had won his fifth term in office under the promise to keep California safe and prosperous.

RP sample:https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=527903

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Name: The Great State, otherwise known as the Horde of Jesus
Power: Minor
Government Type: Nomadic tribal confederacy
Leader(s):
President - Nadua (De iure leader of the State)
Great Sheriff - Joshua Adams (Military leader)
Princess-Bishop - Alejandra Arrabal (spiritual leader)
Population: 2,500,000
Zone of Control: The Horde has no control over any set geographical area, and their presence coexists with more sedentary peoples and states. However, the Horde calls the Great Plains home.
Capital: n/a. The Horde has not set capital, although Kansasity City is one of the larger population centers, and Fort Worth holds special cultural relevance to the Horde.
Motives and Agenda: What is the ideology of your organization and what are its goals?
Resources: The Horde is a coalition of nomadic peoples from across the Great Plains. They have three main modes of subsistance. Many of them are buffalo herders, driving great herds of domesticated buffalo across the Great Plains. They live off their meat and trade the skin, bones and other resources with the outside world. Then, there are the traders. These people travel across the Great Plains and sell wares they bought elsewhere, providing an important link of trade known as the High Grass Way. Traveling without a nomadic companion can be dangerous in these parts, not least because of their third enterprise: raiding. Some groups, whether from desparation or opportunism, engage in raiding of either traveling caravans or villages on the outskirts of the Plains. Within the Plains, most settlements are under the protection of some warlord or other, such as Kansasity City, which is under the protection of the President themself.

Technology-wise, the Horde is quite ecletic. They can only take what they can carry, and this limits their technological options substantially. However, they have a deep appreciation for things that survived from the Old World. They might live in tent cities, but those tents are as likely to be made from plastic tarp as from bison leather. They may cook on fires, but they cook in old pressure cookers. They ride on horseback, but their weapons are from the Old World, handed down through the generations, used alongside the newer jezails that they construct themselves.

What they are especially interested in, and for which they are not given enough credit abroad, is their love of knowledge of the Old World. Those stories hold ancient wisdoms, that might guide them onto a more righteous path. They therefore are always looking for more legends, more stories to incorporate into their already substantial literary and oral tradition.
History: The Reign of Fire, as the people of the Plains call the nuclear apocalypse, created one of the largest human migrations the continental US had ever seen. It also created one of the largest ecological disasters in human history. What had once been prairie was now covered in corn and other crops. But among the farms were also silos, and this was known to China and Russia. Thus, these fields were targeted the same as the large cities, causing immense firestorms that raged across the country for months. It was seemingly impossible for anything to have survived that onslaught.

And yet, something did. Not days after the fires had burned out, the first plants began to sprout from old seeds, long having been dormant in the soil's seen banks. Fertilised by the burning crops, and by nutrition left over from years of over-fertilisation, the grasses of the prairie began to grow back. These empty lands were a welcome home for those who had managed to escape the destruction of American cities. These had turned from pinnacles of civilisation to death traps within hours, as soon as the power cut out and drinking water became scarce. Many of those who stayed behind were not incinerated, but merely starved or died from thirst. Those who managed to escpae were those who had been self-sufficient before: preppers, yes, but also those who had not been overly reliant on motor transport. Farmers, among them. Mountaineers and park rangers. And especially native Americans. These lonely survivors banded together. They hunted at first, but soon found domesticated buffalo ready to be tamed, eatting from the flowing seas of grass and turning cellulose into meat that these early pioneers could eat.

Over the generations, these survivors fused into a single culture of nomadic peoples. From the south, Mexican and other Hispanic migrants brought their Catholic faith and doctrine. From Texas came the rangers, with their Texan legends and their own deeply held faith. Native Americans, especially Comanche, shared their ancestral knowledge. And so, tens of thousands combined into an enormous melting pot, creating a culture that combined elements from all its various parts, however they seemed to clash at first. These people have since united into a single cultural identity, although politicall they are still divided into their various clans and tribes, paying homage to a single nominal leader but valuing their independence.

[Orostan]

Name: Grand Republic of New York
Territory: Main claim in dark blue, client states in light blue

I will be larping as a classical republic. Relations with the church of Eru will probably be hostile considering they seem to have some advanced gear they probably will not want to share with an aggressive and expansionist state. I don't think I will have the ability to go after the Eru to any meaningful degree though considering my claim only overlaps with one of their forts in the Catskills that would be at the edge of my territory and also very remote.

[Benuty]

Name: Dharmic Realm of Shambhala
Power: Major Power.
Government Type: Reincarnative Theocracy- From the great monasteries of the City of Earths Blessings the schools of the Buddha Dharma have their representation, but the Palace of Wisdom governs atop the center of the city. The incarnation of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra looks over their subjects and governs by Dharma. The incarnation works to ensure proper spirituality and morality in the population by giving proper worship and veneration to various ancestors, spirits, Devas, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas.

Manifestation of Samanthabhadra: Rules for life until they die, and are reincarnated. The world of the manifestation is absolute, with his or her rule combining religious and temporal power, they are a living symbol of the Buddhist practice, and the sun of the realm. When a manifestation is found all of the realm assembles to witness the crowning, and when a manifestation passes the realm mourns until the next manifestation is found.

Regent: The highest temporal authority who, during the lifetime of the manifestation, serves as an advisor and negotiator but, during the interim period, is the de facto ruler of the country. Upon the eighth year of their rule, they meet with the manifestation of Manjushri and together travel the country with a caravan of monks and nuns to test children who have turned eight to see who is the rightful manifestation. After a successful test is concluded, the boy or girl will be taken to the capital, and after a time of training, the manifestation will be crowned and assume more and more power. Upon the age of adulthood, the regent relinquishes full power and in a ritual hands the crown over to symbolize transfer of authority.


The Householders: Male and Women heads of household, the laity of the realm have voting power, rights, and responsibility. Whether they were born a free person or escaped into the realm a slave those who prove themselves by raising a family, practicing the Dharma, and contributing to the good of society have a role in.

The Sangha: Buddhist monks, nuns, and ordained priests who belong to a recognized lineage represent a powerful part of government in Shambhala. It is speculated by some census that 15 to 25% of the country is classified in this category. Each lineage in the Sangha is descended from survivors of the old world who carried on the transmission of the Dharma and passed it on to new members. The Sangha is divided into different factions carrying on embers of the old world into new world discourse. Each lineage has shaped its identity around essential questions whose answers cannot be crossed without putting one outside of the fold of that lineage or its schools.

Council of Princes: Clans of those whose ancestors were formerly independent kings, dukes, and in some cases outright warlords that controlled much of the Colorado. The individuals who were kings gathered together, and forged their crowns into one handing it to the first manifestation. These individuals the made up the very first council to the manifestation, and have since played an important role in politics. Technically, the title of Prince is reserved for the heads of the families who once ruled as kings themselves in both an effort to placate them and to acknowledge their royalty. Yet over time dukes and even those accused of being warlords have been granted the title of Prince much to the contempt by those who feel they have a hereditary claim to the title. Outside of advising the manifestation, the major role of the Council of Princes is to elect a Regent

Assembly of Merchants: The merchant lords of the Colorado grew wealthy, controlling trade from various sources into the former state. Many lineages of the Sangha got their start from donations of land by Merchants wishing to make merit to help their ancestors they believed were reborn in bad rebirth realms. Yet, at the same time, these Merchants were acting in their interest when uniting the realm under the Edict of Unity. Sure, they controlled various independent city-states, but now, with a united realm, their wealth and its reach have spread farther. Nevertheless, there is a contention between them and the Sangha over matters of debt collection and usury.

From here the ruler chosen by years of intensive search and testing marks an auspicious occasion where the whole realm celebrates. The Regent, in years of intermission, rules the country but is sworn by oath to find the next incarnation, be they boy or girl upon the turning of their eighth year of life. It is believed that in the eighth year of life, a human is capable through transmission by a teacher of beginning to uphold the eightfold path. As a result, boys and girls who turn eight are inducted in a special ceremony at the Temples where a teacher begins over eight weeks explaining the Eightfold Path. The incarnation is a child that is expected due to the qualities of Prajna (wisdom) to be able to understand such things instantly. If the testing conducted proves them to be the incarnation, they are brought to the palace immediately and sworn in amongst the throng of civilians watching.

As the incarnation ages and reaches the appropriate age of adulthood, the Regent steps back from direct rule into an advisory capacity, working to advise his holiness on all matters. The Regents are always picked from the Council of Princes, an assembly of individuals descended by clanship to the former kings, and independent holds that made up Colorado before its unification. Every eight years the clans

from the former kings who ruled parts of the area until they set aside their differences and crowned the first manifestation of Samantabhadra in the year of unity in 2100. The unified state of Shambhala turns 51 this year, and the primary focus on continuing to

Leader(s): Samantabhadra no Gosei-the manifestation of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra.Whatever the individual name, such individuality is erased when the reincarnated Bodhisattva is found again and ascends atop the stairs of the Palace of Wisdom.
Population: Two million citizens live within the boundaries of Shambhala, a shadow of the nearly six million people who once lived in Colorado, but with hope that the number will one day recover.
Zone of Control: The Former State of Colorado.
Capital: The City of Earth's Blessings (Formerly Denver).
Motives and Agenda: The motivations of Shambhala on the surface are to ensure peace for all sentient beings within their lands. War is a cancer upon society and humanity rooted in the three poisons that keep humans and other sentient beings chained to the realms of Samsara. Change is going to happen, but the hope is by upholding the dharma, a peaceful place can at least be found for the citizens and those sheltering within Shambala.

1. Abolitionism: Slavery is a cruelty, human fate is not decided by caste or place of birth. People make their choices, and their choices are reaped as karmic effects in this life or the next. Slavery only begets enslavement in turn, and makes both ends of this system hate one another. All slaves are welcome in Shambhala for they will find true freedom.
2. Spreading the Dharma: The Buddha Dharma must not be spread aggressively, but by efforts of missionaries, and the sending of statues, relics, and sutras to people with an ear to listen. Forcing the Dharma can only backfire.
3. Defending the Dharma: The holiness of the realm is tied to its following with the Dharma. Yet a major hindrance to it can be neighbors that raid it or, worse, aim to conquer it. As a result, the Nova Romans are eyed cautiously, for they hold life in disregard and aim to enslave and conquer all they can to fuel their insatiable thirst and hunger.
4. Establishing an ethical standard: It is known that the ancestors that belonged to the old world before its collapse frequently spoke on ethical matters from the fragments of their works we have found and painfully translated. Ethics found in our Dharma surely won't be able to appeal to everyone, so why not work to unite people on ethical issues that people no matter religion, language, or culture can understand?
5. Gathering Knowledge: The monastery libraries of Shambhala have dedicated efforts to gather common and obscure texts to reproduce them to ensure their populace can read. Without reading, how can one chant the Sutras or take the first steps of awakening? As such, efforts are being made to gather outside knowledge and reproduce it to spread these ideas inside Shambhala as well.
Resources: Include a description of your technological level, economy, and military.
History: At least two paragraphs long.
RP sample: