10 days ago The Tattered Fox Robot of New Westmore
Toremicz Cppiaa Hi, and welcome to the East Pacific!
New Westmore Check out this dispatch to help get you settled into TEP. To begin, you can sign up for the World Assembly and once done, endorse the Delegate and his Viziers to help keep our region safe and strong.
⇐ ⇒ ↺ ☖ | 🔒 Secure | https:// step.gov.caek/steps/stepone
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Summary
Welcome to the East Pacific! We are one of the oldest regions out there, with 20 years of experience. We have a lot to offer, including two current tech roleplays and an accessible legislature and executive.
You are reading STEP, The East's guide to NationStates. Each dispatch contains a summary and then more detailed explanations, including screenshots and detailed insights from our experienced players. If you're new, we recommend reading every dispatch in order, but you can also read them independently of one another.
You have either been founded in a frontier or a feeder, two types of regions which accept new nations. If you find yourself in the East Pacific, please read this guide! If you aren't in the East Pacific, go to The East Pacific and scroll down until you see "Move [YOUR NATION] to the East Pacific."
You'll be seeing a lot of recruitment Telegrams, which can get spammy and annoying pretty quickly. To disable recruitment telegrams, head to Settings > Telegrams > Preferences > Block All under "Recruitment".
Nations receive issues once every six hours. Some issues spawn card packs, which contain cards ranked by rarity that you can retain, trade or sell.
Got questions? Telegram Delegate Merlovich
Introduction
Hello and welcome to NationStates, and the East Pacific. You are currently reading STEP, our guide designed to get you jump started in the game. If you're like other newbies, you'll probably have many questions about how everything works. This guide, lovingly written by our hospitality team, is designed to answer all of your questions, and more. If you want to get a quick summary of things and then get launched into things, you will get the jist of things by reading the summaries on top of these dispatches, however our dispatches aim to be short and accessible while also going into enough detail, so we recommend you read them in full.
If you have any questions, we have multiple government members that are willing to answer them! Feel free to ask on the regional message board, or telegram our Delegate, they will be happy to answer any question you might have!
The East Pacific is one of five feeder regions who share fifty percent of all new spawns, with the other fifty percent going to frontiers, regions founded by users which also accept new nations, trading guaranteed security for the privilege. If you've let your nation go inactive and Cease to Exist, and then logged back in, you have likely spawned in one of three restorer regions, which are designed to rehabilitate nations that have returned after a brief period of absence.
If you're reading this, it is likely that you have been founded in the East Pacific, however, if you haven't you are still more than welcome to join, and we would love to have you on board. To move, you should go to the East Pacific's regional page, scroll down until you see the Move [YOUR NATION] to the East Pacific and then click on it.
The East Pacific is an active democracy, and participation can be enjoyed by all that seek to contribute in good faith. If you're interested in joining, STEPs Three onwards will take you through applying to the East Pacific.
Telegrams
Many regions send you automated recruitment telegrams in an attempt to get you to join their region. There are a lot of these, and it can get spammy and overwhelming fast. Thankfully, NationStates has given you a way to block Telegrams you don't want. To do this, you need to click on the settings button, which is usually found in the top bar of the page.
If you then scroll down to telegrams and go to preferences, you'll see a grid which looks something like this:
Our recommended settings are as follows, however, you are free to choose whatever you want. "Allow Some" occasionally allows telegrams in, and "Allow Most" blocks some. If you click the "block all" for recruitment, your nation will stop receiving the large volume of recruitment telegrams. Keep in mind that your inbox can only hold twenty telegrams.
Issues and Cards
Issues are problems that you need to handle, and they impact your nations statistics and rankings abroad. Initially you get a higher rate of issues like normal, however, once you've played the game for a while, you only get one issue every six hours. As long as you abide by general decorum, the East Pacific does not penalise you for the way you answer issues - we're a big community, and your type of nation reflects that.
There is no "correct" way to answer issues, only the way that you want to. Every issue changes your statistics, and some might change your national policy. If you want to, there are websites such as this one that give you the general trend in issue outcomes, however using these aren't necessary and you should only do it if you find it fun!
Issues sometimes generate cards. Cards are minted irregularly and are a snapshot of a nation, divided into various classes of rarity, from common to legendary. Cards can be bought, sold and traded on the market.
Note: This dispatch is automated. Do not edit manually.
And once you're done, you can join either one of the two official RP maps for this region, which are Valsora and Urth. Valsora uses the Regional Message Board (the place you and I are talking in right now) to facilitate interactions between its players, while Urth takes place on TEP's official forum, which you can find at forum.theeastpacific.com. Urth is mostly for experienced roleplayers, so since you're new around here I highly suggest you start out on Valsora, which is the map I linked on Reddit.
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Welcome fledgling!
So you're new here, and you want to find out what this whole 'Valsora' business is. No worries, we'll get you up to speed.
Valsora is the most popular RP map in The East Pacific, accounting for nearly all of the roleplay you'll see on our RMB (regional message board) (that place where all the people are talking). We've been around since October 2018, and have remained steadfast as a bustling hub of roleplay activity ever since. Valsora is an MTRP map (that stands for modern-tech RP) and is based 10 years in the future from whenever you're reading this. The map boasts 7 continents, all with a unique cultural background and style. You'll find nations based on hundreds of cultures and other users from all across the world to interact and RP with. Many roleplayers come and go but a steady population of around 75-100 nations exists almost constantly! Now, let's get into the fun stuff.
AISLADA
The smallest continent on Valsora, Aislada is a continent loosely based on Australia / New Zealand, with strong ties to aboriginal and pacific islander cultures via the Demetric Ocean. The continent is generally humid and experiences varied wet and monsoon seasons due to it's location along the globes equator. Aislada includes the many small islands surrounding it, often referred to as the 'Exteriorem'.
ARASEOS
Araseos is the fourth-largest continent, and is based on germanic culture. It is home to some of the oldest nations on Valsora and is a constant hub of diplomatic and military activity. It's geography features vast northern mountainous regions between Bavatia and Prisonica, dense forests dotting the centre of the continent and green rollings hills across the far west stretching to the Friedlich Ocean. Many veteran RP'ers have called Araseos home and many more no doubt shall. Araseos is one of the only continents with a specified single ethnic and cultural identity, making the nations than span her very alike.
NONSCIO
Nonscio is often seen as the centre of activity on Valsora. It is by far the most active continent in the map's history, and several outstanding RP figures have come to exist here. It is the second largest continent by area, behind Orientalis. Nonscio is a melting pot of peoples, loosely based on western european / anglo american culture. From the mediterranean south to the slavic north-east, from the jungles of Altusia to the tundra's of Kurikia. Nonscio is a perfect starting place for any western-based nation.
ORIENTALIS
The largest continent on Valsora (by a wide margin), Orientalis represents a distinctly unique blend of cultures and well-being. Orientalis was originally designed as a continent for east-asian nations, those mirroring china, korea or japan but has since gradually developed into a broader sense of asian-ness. It has boasted cultures ranging from Filipino, Indian, Chinese to Korean and more. Orientalis, being the size it is nearly always has space for new nations, and there's plenty of growing room and friendly neighbours to welcome you.
SOLITAS
The second smallest continent on Valsora, Solitas is a cluster of large continental islands that spans the ocean between Araseos and Usnistan. Solitas has always had an odd place within Valsora, never really giving itself to one ethnic group or culture. Solitas today has adopted more of a broad central / south american tone, with nations originating from Brazilian culture, Argentinian, Mexican, Texan and more. Solitas has always been a place where creative freedom and expressionism has flourished, it's situation allowing for more freedom when creating your own nation. She has always played a fairly minor role in Valsoran geopolitics, but perhaps with the entrance of a new nation, this may change?
USNISTAN
The smallest of the original five continents, Usnistan is based on middle-eastern / north african culture. It at one point had a reputation for being a colonist hub, where all the great powers of Valsora would host vast colonial empires. It has since thrown off the shackles of it's overlords (for the most part) and stands today as a strong, independent continent, home to several experienced RP figures. Usnistan's geography features a vast desert in it's centre and south, with more temperate, even humid climates in the far north.
YASTREOVAKIA
Coming in as the third largest continent, only just behind Nonscio is the great slavic bear that is Yastreovakia. This vast continent hoards the top of the map, hosting some of the coldest, wettest climate areas on the planet. While much of it's north lies in tundra, the southern half of the continent is more temperate. 'Yastreo' as many of us call it has been home to several cartographers at one point or another, with both Nova-Colombia, Zukchiva and Merlovich at one point inhabiting the continent. While she once was an epicentre of activity on Valsora, she nowadays rests fairly quietly. There remains plenty of open space for a new nation to rise Yastreovakia from it's slumber and the slavic bear may roar once more.
What the hell is MTRP?
Alright, let's break this down to simple terms.
MTRP stands for M odern T ech R oleP lay, which refers to roleplay set in modern times, or within around 20-30 years of our current period. Other terms may include FTRP (Future Tech RP) or PTRP (Past Tech RP)
Valsora operates 10 years to the day ahead of whenever you're reading this. For example, I sit here like an idiot writing words in a dispatch only you and a few others will ever read at 11:30pm on the 4th of April 2023, in Valsora it is currently the 4th of April 2033. Thus, Valsora's technological development can be attributed roughly to 10 years ahead of our own.
This often leads to varied confusion, as of course how can we predict the future? Well my friend let me introduce you to a thing called an "estimated guess" . Truth be told, the world could blow up tomorrow, we could finally cure cancer next week but we simply don't know. We can only make an educated guess as to how things will be in 10 years time. Will we have cured cancer? Maybe, probably not though. Will we have colonized Mars? No. Will we have more advanced rifles, probably yeah. As a general rule of thumb, especially when it comes to military development, if something is not already being developed today, or is not being researched, it's not going to be ready to operate in 10 years time.
So when it comes to your technological developments, generally try to base it on our current, real world capabilities. You can always make things slightly more efficient or operate that fancy new technology the US government is spending all your hard earned tax money developing for 2030. But keep it reasonable, don't go too far. If you're ever curious as to whether something is fair and / or reasonable, feel free to reach out to a cartographer who will be able to give you a solid yes or no answer.
To assist as a guide, here is a list of our most frequently queried technology.
Mechs - Nope
Yes, fantasy and magic exist on Valsora
Valsora has a long-standing, vibrant and flourishing fantasy community. Since the map's inception magic and non-humans have been permitted on the map, with generally loose rules surrounding them to maintain realism and fairness for those who choose not to partake in fantasy.
There are generally 3 distinct areas of the community on Valsora, those being
A. The based realism enjoyer - Exists entirely in the real world spectrum of fantasy, does not partake in magic RP and does not recognize / interact with non-humans.
B. The chad middle-ground enthusiast - Exists in the realism world, but dabbles in fantasy from time to time, may partake in some magic related RP, perhaps has non-humans present amongst their people. These individuals make up the vast majority of Valsorans.
C. The magic-pilled fantasy enjoyer - Exists mostly in the realms of fantasy, engaging in many RP's involving magic, non-humans and other elements of fantasy roleplay. These individuals may also, and generally do involve themselves in realism RP, but are usually limited to interacting with nations that recognize and partake in fantasy RP.
When it comes to fantasy RP on Valsora, it's really your choice. It's more of a broad spectrum than my silly list there suggests, a lot of people just don't tend to enjoy fantasy, and therefore don't interact with it. Many experienced and new RP'ers alike also enjoy a bit of spice to their worlds, they may create or RP with dozens of different non-human species, they may use magic-wielding characters. It's really up to you where you fit on the spectrum. That being said, there are nowadays stricter rules in place to prevent unfairness, maintain realism and ensure things are properly kept. In the past Valsora has had some wacky and outlandish fantasy elements that have strayed too far from the maps original intentions, and as such today we have stricter rules regarding what is and isn't allowed. These detailed rules can be found in the rules and guidelines dispatch.
Let's go over some of the basic things you may come across.
MAGIC - This term is a broad one, enveloping dozens of categories and things but for the most part it's how you see magic presented in the real world. Magic can be witches and wizards with wands, or humans with innate abilities that make them special, it can be wands and harry potter or subtle differences in how characters go about their day to day lives.
NON-HUMAN(s) - This one's fairly self explanatory, it covers a wide variety of species and creatures that are not distinctly human. These can vary from dragons to a rare breed of blue cow, perhaps it refers to humans with cat-like features and appearances, maybe it refers to werewolves and vampires. Any species or creature that is not inherently human as we are in the real world falls under this term.
So, what is Natural Expansion?
Valsora has a unique system of expanding your nations borders, we call it 'natural expansion'
Natural Expansion has gone through dozens of changes since it's inception around 2018, but the system is tried and true, preventing nations from growing too large quickly, and ensuring space remains for new RP'ers to join the map.
Natural Expansion in it's current form is a post by any nation, including yours that allows you to expand your nations borders through RP. You can write up a story about intrepid explorers battling through the jungle, or military convoys rumbling into derelict towns and bringing relief to remote communities. The goal of the RP is to tell a story of how your nations borders grew, what was happening in the areas you now own? Who was there, what is the history? Questions like these provide a good basis for starting your writing.
A minimum of 800 words is required for a Natural Expansion post to be accepted, this may seem steep at first but once you have a story and an idea set up, it's suddenly not such a daunting number. You can write a Natural Expansion post every two months from the moment you published your last. For new nations, you are permitted to write an expansion post two months from the moment you were officially added to Valsora.
These new requirements are a result of long and thoughtful deliberation by the Cartography Council, intended to ensure that land remains for new RP'ers, and ensures that existing nation's cannot simply grab vast swathes of land quickly and without any effort.
As for the size of expansions, there is no concrete rule on how many pixels you may take, however it's generally assumed your claim will be reasonable. For example, here are some image links to a GOOD BAD lodge a complaint .
Natural Expansion requests should be sent via telegram to Valsora
So you want to join Valsora?
Awesome. We're so glad to have you join our community :)
The claim process is pretty simple, let's walk you through it.
FIRST, let's figure out what your nation is like. If you already know this, feel free to skip this step. However if you're not entirely sure yet, read on. This is the most important part of the process, and involves thinking hard about what your nation is, who you want your people to be, what's their story? Without a solid foundation, you'll struggle to find enjoyment in RP, so take this step seriously and put some time aside to develop an idea. Try relate your nation to a real-world equivalent, then relate that back to an area on Valsora. If your nation is similar to Japan, or China than maybe Orientalis is the continent for you. If you're germanic, maybe Araseos. If you're Slavic or Central-Asian, perhaps Yastreovakia is your new home.
Think up what government type you'd like to be, will you be a thriving beacon of democracy, a socialist paradise or maybe a ruthless military junta. The choices are endless, and all in front of you. Maybe take a look at your potential neighbours, see if they have any dispatches that may be helpful.
Once you have a good grasp of what your nation will be like, it's now time to send a telegram to Valsora template . This template features a FAQ tab at the bottom of the page to answer some of the more common questions we recieve, however if you still find yourself confused, feel free to reach out to the council via telegram or our official discord .
IF you intend to use fantasy elements in your nation, please also make this clear. Please also note as per the rules and guidelines any new non-human species or big magic stuff has to be passed by the Cartography Council before it can be canonised and used in RP or lore. This application can be done at a later date, but be careful not to worldbuild your entire nation around something like this in-case the Cartographers reject it.
That's about it, feel free to click that big ol' send button and your claim should be through to the cartographers! Please allow up to a week or so before being added, updates are generally done once a week by one of the three cartographers. You may send it through just after an update is done, or you may do it the day before, that's up to luck. If you have any issues after being added, just shoot a telegram through to the same account (Valsora
We are your Cartography Council
Now that you know all about the map, here's a little about the three people you entrust with our beloved map. Our cartographers were elected by the people, to serve the people as the custodians of cartography. We are responsible for everything Valsora, whether it be making tough decisions on rules, or spending hours in front of Paint.NET drawing up maps. The Cartography Council replaced the former system of cartography, which was simply a one-person cartography team who maintained the map. This system worked fine from 2018-2022, but the people of Valsora saw the need for refinement in the system, after all six hands are better than two. The new system of maintenance allows for faster updates, democratic votes to major map changes, more hands to work on geographic and topographic maps, as well as events and outreach.
Let's take a moment to recognize the cartographers who spent their valuable time maintaining this great map. Since it's foundation on the 8th October 2018, she's been under 8 different administrators, all of whom have done an outstanding job keeping the map alive and well to this day.
CARTOGRAPHER
TERM
Zukchiva / Nova Colombia
Founding Cartographers
Nova-Colombia
08/10/2018 - 20/10/2019
Zukchiva
20/10/2019 - 12/12/2019
Merlovich
12/12/2019 - 05/02/2021
Shavara / The Angel of Charity
05/02/2021 - 12/02/2022
Plazland
12/02/2022 - 22/08/2022
The 1st Cartography Council
22/08/2022 - 14/11/2022
The 2nd Cartography Council
14/11/2022 - Present
So, you've just been founded or have moved into the East Pacific and you are looking to get more involved with this community. Or maybe you have seen me and other users roleplaying on the map with giant walls of text. That is a huge part of TEP's community, and what you are looking at is its most vibrant RMB roleplay map. So, without further ado...
Welcome, fledgling, to the world of Valsora!
What is VALSORA? Valsora
Valsora is a roleplay set ten years from now whenever you are reading this. The RP's technology is a mix of modern technology and fantasy, but more or less is like the Earth we live on, with distinct cultures, identities and people very similar to ours. As it is an RMB RP map, it uses the chatroom for the East Pacific (called the Regional Message Board or RMB) as a medium for its participants to interact with one another.
Sounds cool, right?
How do I join? Valsora
I, [YOUR NATION NAME], would like to submit a request to join Valsora,
• On-Map Nation Name: (What is the name of your country on the map? Your NS name and map name can be different or the same.)
But wait!
So, what is an overview?
The first question the telegram will ask you is an overview of your country. It is generally a quick history of your country and how it came to be.
This is important, as establishing your country's history will help you figure out the "who" of your country - its identity. For example, some questions you can ask yourself about your country's history can be:
Is your country a war-ravaged country?
If you are able to demonstrate your ability to competently establish your nation's historical identity to the Cartographers, it shows to them that you know what you want your country to be and signals that you are ready to join the map and interact with its bustling community.
Note how I said competently. That means that you and everyone else who can read it can understand its general storyline easily. A good example of this could be as simple as this:
A country that has existed since 1910. Has a history of political extremism. In recent times it was subject to a separatist movement that resulted in the country collapsing for a period of a year, before returning to functioning order this year.
A bad one though, could be something like this:
westmore is a country that is really awesome and cool. we are the best on earth and nobody can say otherwise.
In your overview, your history should establish your nation's personality traits as a character on the map and show what your society is or was like. If it does neither of these or only one of these, then it is not a good overview and you should spend some more time rewriting it to reflect these standards.
What about the cultural base?
A cultural base is basically what your country's cultural identity has been inspired by. This is an important one, since if you have created a really unique identity you will need to figure out which real-life culture it aligns with the most.
The main reason you need to figure out your cultural base is this: Valsora's map has continents with identities that closely resemble those of the real world you and I live in . For example, Orientalis (the big amogus-shaped continent to the right of the map) is based on Asia, while Araseos (the continent in the lower-left corner of the map with the giant country called "Kampf Empire") is based on Germanic culture.
But New Westmore, that's so hard! I can't be bothered looking up cultural identities and stuff... Then too bad. If you are really unable to answer that question you may find it more difficult to fit your country into Valsora's community without having issues along the way. You don't really have to answer this question, but it may make the Cartographers question as to whether you are fit to join the map.
A helpful guide to culture approximations on Valsora What is this business of a "GDP?" and "Population?"
All countries on Valsora, like the ones in the real world, have a finite amount of money called their GDP. The GDP basically determines how much moolah your nation can spend away to its heart's content. Like a counter as to how rich you are. As with your population, your population basically determines how many people really live in your country on Valsora. Most people usually say their country has at least 20 to 30 million people depending on how big their country is, but you do you.
Before you type in a random arbitrary number, you need to know this: You can only find your GDP when you determine your on-map population. And if you are figuring out your population, you cannot use your NS stats because Valsora doesn't use those stats to determine your nation's wealth and population.
Since it can be difficult to find a GDP based on a population number, a good tip I can recommend is this: When you are figuring out your population, find a real-life country with a population number similar to yours and then steal their GDP and GDP per capita information. I actually used this trick to determine New Westmore's economic information - my population on Valsora averages out at 26 million and since I'm based on Australia, I also used its GDP as my GDP.
This is not foolproof, and sometimes it will result in the Cartographers saying your GDP and/or population is way too high, but it is a good starting point to figuring out your stats for your country on the map.
Hey, I'm on Valsora now!
That's awesome! That means your application got through and now you are a member of one of the best roleplay communities in all of NationStates! But, now that you are on, you are also in a world full of hostile neighbours and belligerents everywhere around you. So, here's a few tips to surviving Valsora while you are here with us.
1. Understand your continent's political landscape. When you join Valsora, you will be dropped onto a continent with multiple other countries near or around you. As such, before you start allying with everyone under the sun, understand what the dynamics in your continent are. Some questions you can ask yourself when looking around your continent can be:
- Are there extremely tense relations with two countries on the continent?
2. Be careful with who you ally with. Basically, be careful with your alliances. For example, you don't want to be allied with too many nations, because this can cause problems such as two of your allies going to war or having allies who are enemies of one another. This isn't to say that these situations can happen with smaller alliance numbers, but it tends to be more common in nations who have a lot of ties with other people on the map.
3. Don't immediately go to war with everyone under the sun. This is self-explanatory. Going to war with everyone, and I mean everyone, often results in the premature death of a lot of nations who join Valsora. You can only go to war so many times before it either goes stale or you pick a fight with the wrong person, such as the Kampfian Empire or Dabiristan. Seriously.
If you plan to be a warmonger, the general rule of thumb to avoid conflict with a political superpower is this: If you can very clearly see their countries on a small version of a map of Valsora, then you are probably going to want to not pick a fight with them since this often indicates they have been around for a long time and know very well how to fight like a man. Real warmongers always pick on the little guy.
If you know what is good for you, avoid this man at all costs. He will not hesitate to crush you into red powder.
4. Keep your IC persona separate to your OOC persona. Valsora is a roleplay community. That means that the things a lot of people do around here are just roleplay. What they say and what they do does not necessarily represent their real personality. Thus, this is the concept of In-Character (IC) and Out-of-Character (OOC).
When you are on Valsora, you are playing a character, be it your country or a person from your country. Since you will interact with a lot of other people, you need to keep your character's actions and mannerisms (IC) separate to your real self (OOC.) In simple terms, that means if your character gets killed by someone else on Valsora, do not take the conflict to a personal level and start roasting their mother and their entire family lineage.
Swearing and flaming when you are playing a character is generally alright, but keep it PG-13 and within reason. Don't flame someone though OOC and then claim to the mods it was just a character. You have to make it clear when you are IC and when you are OOC.
Valsora is a game. Keep it as that.
5. Have fun, accept criticism and respect everyone. Valsora is a bustling hub of interaction. If you are a good player, you can make friendships that may last a lifetime after you leave the game. You can also learn extremely good tips about storywriting, since this community is basically a little storywriter's guild. However, all of this will only come if you have fun and treat everyone you meet as a human being.
In simple terms: Don't be an asshole. Don't be annoying or violent when someone tries to give you constructive criticism - keep your ego in check. Don't get upset when your country gets annexed by your neighbours - it's just a game,
You are part of a huge community. It isn't hard to be a decent member of that community.
6. The word of the Cartos is final. The Cartographers are the people who manage Valsora as a community. That means that they get to dictate what goes and what doesn't. If they tell you that you can't do something, don't bother trying to push against their word unless you absolutely believe and can competently prove to them that their judgement on a certain ruling is wrong. And this is the important part: competently. You cannot be a whiny bitch and force them to change their mind. You need to show them through logical and levelheaded reasoning why they are wrong. But I digress.
Bottom line, they have administrative powers, you don't. If you are unable to listen to their advice or what the cartographers tell you to change in your country's statistics or lore, you will only cause more unwanted problems and will only harm your relationship with them and other people in the community.
7. Plan out your wars and collaborative stories with others beforehand. This one sounds a little odd to newcomers on Valsora, but trust me, you will want to plan out your wars and collab stories OOC before actually doing it. Unlike games like War Thunder, where conflicts happen in the spur of the moment, Valsora's idea of war is literally just another form of story you can tell through your nation, and like all good stories, you must have a planned out storyline for you and other belligerents to follow. By doing this, you reduce the likelihood of petty OOC conflicts and disputes ruining the fun, and trust me, your roleplay will be really, really good too.
Does it mean you have to follow the original plan down to a t? No! You're free to change the story you tell on a whim however you want, but you should always run your plans past other roleplayers you're interacting with to make sure it doesn't cause issues later down the track.
Help me! I don't know what to write about on Valsora!
A lot of newcomers and OGs face this problem every now and again, and honestly, I can't blame you. Writing stories, however long or short they can be, can be quite a daunting task if you are doing it for the first time or if you have run straight out of ideas to pen down as a story. If you are hit with a bout of "writer's 'flu" or writer's block, here are a few things you can do to get out of it:
Read another book or a piece of media to get your mind jogging! It can be either creative or non-fiction, but the general idea is that by reading, you can find an idea in those books to use as your RP post. For example, you can read about Project MKUltra and by using it as a base for your ideas, your RP posts can be about clandestine government activities of dubious moral ethic.
Listen to music! Music can be a powerful tool in getting your mind's creative juices flowing. It can be rap, it can be orchestra, but if you listen to music while thinking of what you want to write about I promise you, something will click and all of a sudden your ideas will start flowing out the way they should.
Brainstorm! Make a mind map and write ideas for RP posts on it, no matter how dumb, silly or stupid they may be.
Write dispatches about your country's inner workings! This is a really good one, and very often while you worldbuild your country an idea will come along and give you your saving grace for an RP post. If you are out of ideas to worldbuild as well, you can write about how your people perceive hygiene, how your government works, what the history of your country looks like... you can basically write anything about your country, and sooner or later it will just click.
Practice your writing skills and be open to critiques! Don't be afraid to display your writing skill, even if you believe you're terrible at writing stories. You are in a bustling community of budding storywriters, and lucky for you many of them would be more than happy to give you advice on how to improve your writing! But again, part of taking that advice means you need to be open to criticism. Your ego should never inhibit you from getting better at being a storyteller.
Ask other people on the RMB! Don't be afraid to get ideas from other people around the RMB. Many of us often give each other ideas for new stories to tell, and many of us often ask one another for ideas to pen down. If you ask nicely and if you don't shoot down every idea that comes your way, we'd be more than happy to help you out of your writer's block!
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10 days ago The Republic of Wanlikuo NationStates is back so I thought I'd make this!
Republic of Wanlikuo Armed Forces
Conscription:
Conscription age:
Headquarters:
Founded:
Active personnel:
Reserve personnel:
Commander-in-Chief:
President of the Republic of Wanlikuo:
Minister of Defense:
Chief of the General Staff:
Service branches:
Domestic Suppliers:
Foreign Suppliers: Budget:
Percentage of GDP:
The Republic of Wanlikuo Armed Forces is the armed forces of the Republic of Wanlikuo and the principal force tasked with national defense from external and internal threats, to protect national interests, and uphold territorial integrity. It consists of the Republic of Wanlikuo Army (ROWA), the Republic of Wanlikuo Navy (ROWN), the Republic of Wanlikuo Marine Corps (ROWMC; under the ROWN), and the Republic of Wanlikuo Air Force (ROWAF). The National Coast Guard may be integrated into the Armed Forces during wartime. The Ministry of Defense is guaranteed constitutional control and oversight over the military, a cabinet-level agency within the civilian government. The peace-time Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and day-to-day administration is relegated to the Minister of Defense, while the Chief of the General Staff heads the Republic of Wanlikuo Armed Forces General Staff, the principal military advisory committee to the Ministry of Defense. The President of the Republic of Wanlikuo automatically replaces the Minister of Defense as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces during wartime, under the Constitution of 1921.
History
The Republic of Wanlikuo Armed Forces can trace its origins to the imperial armies of the Jin dynasty which were centralized into the Imperial Wanlikan Army in June 1914 by the Weilung Emperor, the penultimate huang-ti of Wanlikuo, following the Fuhsing Uprising in February 9, 1914. The Imperial Wanlikan Army preceded the system of ying , consisting of hereditary military families. This evolution of the ying system led to the creation of two ying classes; the older and more prestigious noble families (kueishih) and the peasant levies. By the early 1800s, the ying system was poorly managed and diluted with conscripts, causing the decline of Wanlikan military.
Thus, when the Fuhsing Uprising erupted in 1914, the unmodernized Wanlikan imperial military was caught off-guard and suffered great casualties against the republican rebels armed with modern firearms and artillery. It was put down but at a great cost. The kueishih , for their inaction and complacency, were punished and the ying system was abolished on February 9, 1914, and immediately replaced by the Imperial Wanlikan Army. The Weilung Emperor carried out several military reforms of modernization and reorganization, however, he died of pneumonia on October 17, 1916. His death halted all future efforts to reform, with only one corps meeting Western standards — the Chungpei Army. However, the leadership of the Chungpei Army was devoid of meritocracy and capable leadership as it was headed by the former kueishih. This long-standing grudge by the kueishih for the new army added to the lack of further reforms. Much like the Fuhshing Uprising, the Imperial Wanlikan Army failed to react properly to another 1920 uprising in Hopao. As a result, the Jin dynasty was toppled on March 12, 1921.
The Imperial Wanlikan Army was formally dissolved following the republican Constitution of 1921 and was replaced by the modern Republic of Wanlikuo Armed Forces as the national defense forces.
Organization
The Minister of Defense is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in peacetime but is automatically replaced by the President of the Republic of Wanlikuo during wartime. The Legislative Yuan may transfer this position whenever desired. The professional head of the Armed Forces is the Chief of the General Staff, who is directly under the Minister of Defense and the President of the Republic of Wanlikuo. Below the Chief are the Executive Vice Chief of the General Staff and two other Vice Chiefs, who oversee several Deputy Chiefs of the General Staff, each of whom leads a section (J-1 personnel, J-2 intelligence, J-3 operations, J-4 logistics, and J-5 planning). The headquarters of each branch are subordinated to the General Staff.
The following service commands are directly subordinate to the General Staff:
During wartime, the National Coast Guard may be incorporated into the General Staff and its superseding bureau, the National Coast Guard Administration, from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Ministry of Defense.
Republic of Wanlikuo Army
The Republic of Wanlikuo Army is the terrestrial-based branch of the Republic of Wanlikuo Armed Forces. It has traditionally been the oldest and dominant branch, possessing the largest number of personnel and share of the government budget. Most conscripted personnel are enlisted into the army as a result.
Republic of Wanlikuo Navy
The Republic of Wanlikuo Navy is the principal maritime defense force of the Republic of Wanlikuo Armed Forces responsible for naval warfare and protecting the waters of Wanlikuo, including offshore islands and shipping lanes. The navy can be divided into two fleets: the western Hshihai Fleet and the eastern Tunghai Fleet.
Republic of Wanlikuo Marine Corps
The Republic of Wanlikuo Marine Corps is the amphibious warfare service directly under the navy. They are tasked to carry out amphibious landings and to establish a bridgehead for army forces — acting as shock troops for the military.
Republic of Wanlikuo Air Force
The Republic of Wanlikuo Air Force is responsible for defending Wanlikan airspace, providing interservice logistics, and disaster relief assistance. They are perhaps the most technologically advanced branch of the four.
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