RP Advice OOC

[Akiiryu]

If you're unsure about something ask! There are plenty of experienced rpers here who will be more than happy to help you out. Equally, don't feel insulted when a more experienced player queries an rp act out of character (OOC). They're not attacking you, they're trying to help you develop your skills and keep the rps realistic/fun. Also, and most importantly, remember that just because a 2 nations hate each other in character (IC) doesn't mean their players dislike each other ooc...it is, at the end of the day, a game after all.

 

Ask your questions here, and we'll try and help you out.

[Haken]

I have a question, mister!

 

I'm interested in joining an alliance, which one is best?

[Akiiryu]

Actually, although made in jest, Haken has asked a very good question.

 

Joining an alliance is one of the most important rp decisions you'll make. While alliances can offer your country many benefits in the realms of defence, trade, R & D and political influnce these benefits come at a price. First, you have to consider what your allies think - unliterally acting without consulting your allies first can get in you trouble. They may, at the very least, refuse to back you in the political or military fight you have chosen to get your country into. At worst they may eject you from the alliance.

Second, what does membership in your chosen alliance require of your state? Are you going to be running off to war everytime one of your alliance members picks a fight? Are you required to provide monies and troops to a standing force? Will senior alliance members have the power to dictate some (or all) of your foreign policy (and maybe even some of your domestic policy)?

Third, what are the alliances stated goals and who are its members? Does your state agree with the goals? Does it have similar ideologies to other member states?

Fourth, who are the enemies/opponents, if any, of the alliance you are considering joining? In other words, who are going to dislike your state if it joins the alliance? What trade/political etc opportunities are going to lose? Whose army is potentially going to end up on your doorstep?

 

All-in-all in may be better to stand back from joining alliances when you first enter Europa RP. Take some time being a neutral state. Being neutral both allows you the chance to get the feel of regional political, and - pontentially - puts you in a position of considerable power as you maybe able trade with all blocks. Furthermore you maybe able to play different alliances off each other for the benefit of your state. Be careful though, the last thing you need is to stand alone against two, usually competing, alliances that have united to crush you because you've annoyed them both!

 

One final piece of advice. When you first enter Europa your country is likely to be small. It won't have any real political or military weight to throw around (and if it attempts to push other countries around it may find itself facing the very real possibility of a larger country, or a group of larger countries, deciding that your state needs a change of government - this has happened in Europa). Enjoy this weakness! This is the time you can really rp your nation into existance, this is the time when you really have to play the political game. Small countries with little or no militaries can still beat countries with million men armies (without a shot being fired) if they play the political game well. That is your challenge.

[Tagmatium Rules]

If you are going to enter into a war with another nation, one thing you must do is discuss before had the nature of events out of character. Often if a player declares war with out this discussion, and out of the blue, it will lead to arguements and people being put off roleplaying.

 

Often, this acting without prior discussion, especially if large forces and even nuclear weapons are used, can come under the heading of Godmoding. This means, basically, acting without prior consent from your "enemy" or acting without giving them a chance to retaliate. This is definately so in the case of uses of WMDs, as such weapons can annhilate whole cities and armies. It's not just new players that do this, old ones can also. Doing it too much can mean that you develop a bad reputation and people may refuse to roleplay with you. Do it too much, can you can get booted from a region. People can also legitimately ignore such an event.

 

One Golden Rule: Just because your nation may hate another nation In Character, this doesn't mean that you cannot get along Out Of Character.

Edited January 27, 2006 by Tagmatium Rules (see edit history)

[Akiiryu]

Thanks for that Tag.

 

In case new rper don't know, Tag. is one of our rp moderates. Along with Tamurin and Adaptus. These guys are, basically, hands off "refs." I'll leave it to them to provide a more detailed explanation of their roles. Gentlemen.

[Adaptus]

Firstly, I?d like to welcome all new members to the forum, and please excuse my spelling; it's not too good, even though I?m in set 1 for English.

 

Anyway, I guess I best talk about the Europa map, as that?s basically of my area. The map of Europa is there to 1: let people know where they are in the world, 2: to help with RP's, as you can't really RP a civil war in your nation, and expect people to send you help if they don?t know where you are. And 3: a bit of RP fun on the side.

 

Now every nation is entitled to a plot on the map, as long as you are located in Europa, have over 20 million populace and at least 5 posts on the forum. now that doesn?t mean you can come along, post five times, ask for a plot, and never post again, because if you don?t put the effort in to be an active member, your nation will be deleted from the map, it's as simple as that.

 

Another thing is, you can expand your nation on the map, if you meet the expansion requirements, which are as follows.

 

20 - 500 million + 5 posts: 1 plot.

500 million - 1 billion: 2 plots.

1 - 1.5 billion: 3 plots.

1.5 - 2 billion: 4 plots.

2 - 3 billion: 5 plots.

3 - 4 billion: 6 plots.

 

So basically its 1 plot for every 500 million population you have. But there is a limit to your conquest. You?re only aloud 6 plots max, we don?t want you taking everyone else's plots, and now do we?

 

Another way to expand your borders in by RP, for example war, if you had a war with someone, and captured a small part of their land, a real life example of this is when Germany captured Alsace-Loraine from France. now this doesn?t mean you can declare war on everyone to try and gain land, oh no, I recommend, that if you do choose to expand like this please consult with the other nation, and come to an agreement first, don?t just jump in and say I captured your oil fields, as that will just spark arguments.

 

As well as having requirements to get onto the map, there are also a few requirements to get kicked off. Which are as follows:-

 

(1) Your nation leaves Europa (exception made for TEA).

(2) Your nation ceases to exist.

(3) You ask that your nation be removed from the map.

 

Also, if the Cartographer feels fit, and the senators and mods agree, you can be deleted from the map.

 

Now if you?re wishing to claim a plot, i ask you claim in a orgonized way, stating clearly, which plot you want, your nation colour, nation name, and capitol and other cities, and there whereabouts. a good exapmle of this is as follows:-

 

Nation Name: Nation X

 

National colour: Red

National flag: http://www.mynationflag.com

 

Capital City and location: Capitol City, just north of Myville

Others cities and location (optional): Myville, very south corner of the plot.

Militaries buildings and location (optional): Billy Air Force Bace, Very center of the plot

Spacial centers and location (optional): no

 

Link all locations: Yes

Conect me with the others countries: No

 

i hope this bit of advice helps you when it comes to requesting plots, and mannaging your nation on the map. if you have any queiries just PM (personal message) me, and i'll answer any questions you have.

 

and once again, welcome to Europa and i hope you enjoy your self. well intill next time, laters.

 

[Akiiryu]

WAR, some points on army numbers:

 

This post builds on an earlier post:

 

Your military is going to be 2-5% of your nation most of the time. Some nations, if they prepare 2-4 years ahead, can say 10% if they prepare big-time. This, even with preparation, will be a huge blow to that nation?s economy unless they prepare maybe 10-20 years ahead. And remember, that 2-5% is very split. It would be generous to say 50% of your military is combat. In fact, it would be generous to say 30% of your military is in combat, some cases it will be much less (during the Second World War, for example, Canada has a teeth to tail ratio of 1-to-13, in other words 1 man fighting for 13 men in logistics, admittedly this is an extreme example, but you need to think about these things). This does not even count the fact that probably only about 25% of the actual combat troops are actually fighting at any given time, but that?s another story (and something we don?t really have to worry about). Basically half of your military, if not more, are drivers, cooks, ground commanders that don?t fight, airplane maintenance, ship maintenance, etc etc etc, all members vital to having a working military - but don't generally shoulder a rifle (and if they do it is because your country, or at least their unit, are in an extremely tight spot!). So don?t think you can have 5% of your population all fighting. It would be generous to say half of that.

 

I would also suggest you think of the number you come up with as your total man/women power. That means reserves, replacements (for the dead and wounded) as well as your initial forces. In other words that number is all you've got.

 

Okay, so we have the numbers. That is only half the, well, battle. You then have to supply, train, house, feed and pay our troops (don?t forget pensions and benefits, especially in the case of war widows and orphans). Any idea how much that costs? Lots! And we haven?t even got to buying your military' s toys (tanks, planes, ships etc) yet! Tanks and other equipment are expensive to buy and have a horrible tendency of dating quite quickly (not to mention the other, equally painful tendency of chewing through resources like there is no tomorrow?an Abrams tank takes roughly 8 gallons of fuel simply to turn over the engine when you start it up!). If they weren?t expensive enough you have to constantly pay for their up keep. You know, repair engines, replace the fluffy dice all that kind of stuff. This not only means you?re spending money, it also means some of your assets are always going to be in the shop. Just because you own 100 tanks, doesn?t mean all of them are ready for battle!

 

Did I mention how much it costs to make ammo? You guessed it, lots! And we?re not just talking about the costs of the materials need to make all those shiny bullets and bombs, you?ve also got to buy the machinery to make your little packets of death, pay the men and women who make them etc etc.

 

My point?militaries are expensive, so just because on paper you can have 500,000 troops doesn?t mean your government can afford them all at once. Nor even, if it can afford them, will it want to.

 

More to come...I haven't even talked about disability pensions yet.

[Rekamgil]

OOC: OK, So my nation is growing. In Nationstates it says that one of my spending priorities is defence. So how do I transform that into purchasing military equipment etc.? I'm assuming I need to announce that I'm recruiting, setting up a ministry of defence, veterans, etc., and purchasing/manufacturing military equipment.

 

So:

1. Where do I post such intentions and organizations?

2. How do I know how much I have to spend on equipment? If, say, my population is 10 million (which I recognize is very small but will soon grow). As I said, nationstates confirms that one of my spending priorities is defence. I want to start building asap... so please... help! I guess I'm just a little confused as to how my nationstates profile affects my freedom of movement on the forums... but I know that there is some link!!!

 

Thanks in advance for your replies!

[Tagmatium Rules]

OK.

 

Here's a calculator for stats on spending and the like, encase you need it:

http://nstracker.retrogade.com/index.php?nation=rekamgil

 

Concerning the whole of the purchasing military equipment, there are several "storefronts" which you could do worse than check out. You can roleplay the purchasing of weapons from one or more of these companies if you wish.

 

About the roleplay of setting up a Ministry of Defence etc, I'd say most people do take it for granted that they already have one when their nation comes into existance, which I'd say is fair enough. After all, war is a major occupation of most nations, whether one likes it or not, so it'd be one of the first actions of a nation to set up its armed forces and infrastructure as soon as it came into existance.

 

Does that help?

 

EDIT: Spelt nation name wrongly

Edited February 14, 2006 by Tagmatium Rules (see edit history)

[Akiiryu]

Well, the link is both strong and weak. Think of the NS stats as a guide to the way you play your nation in this forum. For example, a nation, such as yours (and mine for that matter), with high defence priorities, will probably have armed forces at the larger end of the scale of things (unless you go for a small, uber trained and equipped army...kind like the way I rp the Royal Akiiryan Navy, small in comparison to most of countries of Akiiryu's size, but with a "punch and jaw" several steps greater than its size). There are a number of calculators around which can provide some detail into your actual funds and stuff...but again they're only a guide.

 

Your basic guide is realism, spend sometime thinking about your nations defense philosophy etc and history, as well as its current global aims. Then think about what it can afford to put in the military (manpowerwise and moneywise). You'll make the right decisions I am sure. If you're unsure write something up and show it to me or a mod.

 

R&D needs to be rped (with, hopefully all the twists and turns that R&D involves) especially if it is something new.

 

You can always "buy" systems of other states, but Xheng's recent theft of another state's purchase funds (Xheng was building a civilian ship for that state) indicates the dangers of such a path...

 

 

We can talk about this more via PM or such if you want.

 

Tag posted while I was writing.

[Scipii]

unless you go for a small, uber trained and equipped army

Sounds like me

 

Population over 2.5 billion

18% GDP defence budget

Only 750,000 Standing army with 250,000 reservists.

 

Uber trained and equiped

[Vanarambaion]

http://home.hetnet.nl/~henkwillems/war_rules.htm

 

 

This is the site I've been using since the beginning of my stay in Europa. It's simple enough to work, and complicated enough to allow diversifying of my military.

[Rekamgil]

Thanks to all. This helps.

[Upper Strathyclyde]

Is 100 million troops and 50,000 Tanks ( roughly ) an appropriate size for a 2.100+ Billion nation?

Edited February 16, 2006 by Upper Strathyclyde (see edit history)

[Akiiryu]

US Van's calc. page.

[Upper Strathyclyde]

Way too complicated for me. Is there a simpler way please.

[Tagmatium Rules]

Just be conservative with your numbers is the best advice, I'd have to say.

 

There's no real precedent with numbers, as there are no real-life nations of corresponding size and development.

 

And I find all these calculators way too confussing and complicated.

[Upper Strathyclyde]

Ok. then I will be conservative then. thanks

[Tagmatium Rules]

By which I mean, if I'm not being clear (I don't think I am ) don't go for 30-odd cruisers in your fleet or 5 million soldiers in an army. Think about logistics and the like, and imagine if an army that size was based near you. The only times armies that size have been gathered together is before an invasion like D-Day or Desert Storm, which are hardly everyday activities. A nation can't keep a large force mobilised or together for too long amounts of time, as they would begin to strip an area of resources.

[Upper Strathyclyde]

I was thinking along the lines of 200 thousand odd volunteer regulars or so.

[Scipii]

Christ my popn is 2.6 billion and my army is only 750,000 strong

[Upper Strathyclyde]

I see. Hmmmmmmmmm

 

 

Ok. I will make it around 250,000 Standing army, 300,000 Fuill conscription war time junk.

 

 

I'll talk about tanks tonight. Off to my work

[Orioni]

Some facts and figures:

• D-Day (1944) "Battle of Normandy"

  Allied Powers:

  - 326,000 soldiers

  - 47 divisions

  - 6,900 vessels

  - 4,100 landing craft

  - 12,000 aircraft

  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Normandy

   

• Persion Gulf War (1991) "Desert Storm"

  US-led coalition:

  - 660,000 soldiers

  Iraq:

  - 280,000 conscripted soldiers

  - 120,000 professional soldiers

  - 4,500 tanks

  - 4,000 armored vehicles

  - 3,000 artillery pieces

  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War

   

• Iraq War (2003-) "Iraqi Freedom"

  US-led coalition:

  - 263,000 soldiers

  Iraq:

  - army 350,000

  - navy 2,000

  - air force 20,000

  - air defence 17,000

  - Fedayeen 44,000

  - reserves 650,000

  - Republican Guard 50,000 to 80,000

  - paramilitary 20,000 to 40,000

  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Freedom

[Suverina]

Allied Powers:

- 326,000 soldiers

- 47 divisions

- 6,900 vessels

- 4,100 landing craft

- 12,000 aircraft

Those are frontline soldiers that landed on the beaches?

 

I guess so, as other elements of the forces landed after the beaches were taken.

 

 

I have a question? How you use different doctrines when fighting a war?

 

I think that i somwhow counted out that I have approx. 100.000 soldiers, will count more exactly later and so ofcourse.

[Haken]

^ Nobody answered his question.

 

Two experienced players should have a little and simple RP war here to show how it's done, I suggest.