NationStates Jolt Archive


role playing?

20-11-2003, 04:05
I just recently dropped by the role playing section and I have no idea what it's all about! what's OCC? what's ICC? how do you know what kind of weapons you do and don't have!? keeping track of soldiers? is there a formula you use to determin that? help please!
20-11-2003, 04:16
I just recently dropped by the role playing section and I have no idea what it's all about! what's OCC? what's ICC? how do you know what kind of weapons you do and don't have!? keeping track of soldiers? is there a formula you use to determin that? help please!

OOC is out of character (as your real life self)
IC is in character (as a character from your nation)

As for soldiers, etc. just keep it realistic. It's more important that you provide an interesting story to read than how good your calculations are.
20-11-2003, 04:17
OOC: (out of character)

IC: (in Character)

character is the "role" you are taking on in a story (hence the word in "role" playing)

and there is a GDP calculator that will tell you how much mone you can spend on military, stuff, and I don't know the site.

Any more questions??
20-11-2003, 04:19
but whats with these people buying and selling stuff then???
Steel Butterfly
20-11-2003, 04:21
but whats with these people buying and selling stuff then???

It's all roleplay...a better word...for a pretend story.

You take the role of a national leader or just a random character and play as them. Have you ever played RPG's like Final Fantasy or so on video games. It's kinda the same thing...except you make the story...and there's no hit points. :lol:

A better metaphor would be writing a story with a group of people, not just yourself...
Crimmond
20-11-2003, 04:21
but whats with these people buying and selling stuff then???Well, lets say your nations main rifle is an AK-47. This other nation is making M16A4s. You would rather have the superioer M16, so you buy some from them and then you nation can copy and produce your own. It's basicly the same for missile systems and other things.
20-11-2003, 04:27
how do i get some weapons in the first place? and where can i find the calculator?
Steel Butterfly
20-11-2003, 04:29
how do i get some weapons in the first place? and where can i find the calculator?

Don't use the calculator...it's too liberal...

as for weapons...use your nation's industries to craft some
Nianacio
20-11-2003, 04:32
Getting weapons is all role-playing. You might want to start by making a post saying you have some AK variant (AKMs would be good), and then buy new ones from someone else, or build more.
Well, lets say your nations main rifle is an AK-47. This other nation is making M16A4s. You would rather have the superioer M16, so you buy some from them and then you nation can copy and produce your own.While the original AK-47 stinks, so do all M16 variants.
20-11-2003, 04:32
so i can just like say "wallah i have 1,000 ak-74's" and they're there? and what about the number of people in the army, and number of citizens and such?
Nianacio
20-11-2003, 04:33
and what about the number of people in the army, and number of citizens and such?Population divided by 100 is a good equation for figuring out how many people you have in the military. Not all of them will be in the army, and not all of the people in the army will be fighting soldiers.
Have you looked at this (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29774) thread, yet?
imported_AmandaTheGreat
20-11-2003, 04:34
It's all about a good imagination. Yet, I suppose you might want to look at the size of your state before you decide how many are in your army.
Crimmond
20-11-2003, 04:35
how do i get some weapons in the first place? and where can i find the calculator?It's assumed your nation has something like a .4% military and a working weapons manufacturing sector. You already have the weapons. Just you can buy or develop new technology through RP and then integrate it over a week or two into your nation.

http://www.esyn.org/SOTA/NationStates.html is the easy interface to the calculator.
Steel Butterfly
20-11-2003, 04:35
UN Category: Father Knows Best State
Civil Rights: Very Good
Economy: Good
Political Freedoms: Few

The Free Land of Blue Window is a small, environmentally stunning nation, notable for its complete lack of prisons. Its compassionate, cynical population of 10 million are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

The large government juggles the competing demands of Social Welfare, Education, and Religion & Spirituality. The average income tax rate is 26%, but much higher for the wealthy. A large private sector is led by the Retail industry, followed by Gambling and Book Publishing.

The latest Harry Potter book is a bestseller, young children are regularly seen wagering pocket money at blackjack tables, the dove is a protected species, and extreme political groups are outlawed. Crime is well under control. Blue Window's national animal is the dove, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the piney.

This states that you have 10 million citizens. That probably means that you have 100,000 people in the armed forces...and approx. 25,000 soldiers. Make an announcement (via. a new thread) saying that you are producing weapons. Add pictures, get creative.

Most use a 1% population in the armed forces and 3:1 ratio of support staff to soldiers in the military.
20-11-2003, 04:36
so i can just like say "wallah i have 1,000 ak-74's" and they're there? and what about the number of people in the army, and number of citizens and such?

Anything you could realistically have, you can say your nation has.

The number of citizens is on your nation page. In your case, 10 million.

The military should be a sensible percentage of this. I think 1% or lower (but I'm not sure)
Steel Butterfly
20-11-2003, 04:38
how do i get some weapons in the first place? and where can i find the calculator?It's assumed your nation has something like a .4% military and a working weapons manufacturing sector. You already have the weapons. Just you can buy or develop new technology through RP and then integrate it over a week or two into your nation.

http://www.esyn.org/SOTA/NationStates.html is the easy interface to the calculator.

Calculator = bastard liberal shrine

civil rights influencing economy...pfff! :x
Crimmond
20-11-2003, 04:38
Add pictures, get creative.Ugh, don't tell the newbies to add pics. If they can provide all the information needed without using pics, it's so much more satisfying to read and RP. The pics should always be the last thing you do in a development thread.
20-11-2003, 04:39
who keeps track of a nation's info in RP?
Steel Butterfly
20-11-2003, 04:39
Add pictures, get creative.Ugh, don't tell the newbies to add pics. If they can provide all the information needed without using pics, it's so much more satisfying to read and RP. The pics should always be the last thing you do in a development thread.

I always thought pics made for a more interesting and realistic thread. :roll:

Besides...if you're telling them to use that stupid calc...I'll tell them to add pics :wink:
Steel Butterfly
20-11-2003, 04:40
who keeps track of a nation's info in RP?

What do you mean by this exactly?
Crimmond
20-11-2003, 04:40
who keeps track of a nation's info in RP?You do. Each player keeps track of their own nation(s) stats.
20-11-2003, 04:41
who keeps track of a nation's info in RP?

You should keep track of your own info. Write it down somewhere.
Steel Butterfly
20-11-2003, 04:42
UN Category: Father Knows Best State
Civil Rights: Very Good
Economy: Good
Political Freedoms: Few

The Free Land of Blue Window is a small, environmentally stunning nation, notable for its complete lack of prisons. Its compassionate, cynical population of 10 million are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

The large government juggles the competing demands of Social Welfare, Education, and Religion & Spirituality. The average income tax rate is 26%, but much higher for the wealthy. A large private sector is led by the Retail industry, followed by Gambling and Book Publishing.

The latest Harry Potter book is a bestseller, young children are regularly seen wagering pocket money at blackjack tables, the dove is a protected species, and extreme political groups are outlawed. Crime is well under control. Blue Window's national animal is the dove, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the piney.

This states that you have 10 million citizens. That probably means that you have 100,000 people in the armed forces...and approx. 25,000 soldiers. Make an announcement (via. a new thread) saying that you are producing weapons. Add pictures, get creative.

Most use a 1% population in the armed forces and 3:1 ratio of support staff to soldiers in the military.

your military advice in case you missed it
20-11-2003, 04:43
this sounds cool, how do u determine who wins the war? flip a coin...
20-11-2003, 04:47
this sounds cool, how do u determine who wins the war? flip a coin...

It's not about winning, it's about making a good story. Btw, there are other things to RP too, you don't just have to have wars.
Crimmond
20-11-2003, 04:51
this sounds cool, how do u determine who wins the war? flip a coin...No, it is Free Form Role Play. No one knows how it ends, the story progresses and one starts losing more people than the other side or another nation enters the war and tilts the balence... after a while it gets complicated.

That's why I want to say that War RP is fun, but it's not the only kind. There are political alliances, individual characters you can make for your nation and interact with people from another nation, You could marry off part of your ruling family.... the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.
20-11-2003, 04:51
do u use maps? my citizens have no rights, can i make all of them but the children fight during war times?
Crimmond
20-11-2003, 04:53
do u use maps? my citizens have no rights, can i make all of them but the children fight during war times?Maps are used if a nation has them, otherwise you have to desribe what the enemy will face. And... you could make the masses fight, but they'd get slaughtered because of no training and the friendly fire stats would be through the roof.
20-11-2003, 04:53
do u use maps? my citizens have no rights, can i make all of them but the children fight during war times?

If you make all your citizens fight, there'll be no-one left to run the nation. No labour, no administration, no nothing!
20-11-2003, 04:54
yeah... that's your true communist nation, mwuhah!
Steel Butterfly
20-11-2003, 04:55
do u use maps? my citizens have no rights, can i make all of them but the children fight during war times?

I shouldn't say anything since I don't know your age, but doing so would actually make you lose much faster than not doing so. You need industry to back up your supplies and an economy to keep them fighting. War is very expensive. If everyone fought except the children...who would take care of the children? Imagine of mob of pre-teens. Having a small but highly trained and expensively equipped military is much more efficient and you get the most "bang for your buck"...ahh...the power of rockets, tanks, jets, etc. Technology wins wars, not manpower.

Post #5600, Friggin' Eh! :lol:
20-11-2003, 04:59
ok ok, point taken i was jk... I need to get started... anyways, goodnight
Crimmond
20-11-2003, 05:00
Post #5600, Friggin' Eh! :lol:#5310 for me. :shock: God we spend too much time on this black hole of a game!
Kaukolastan
20-11-2003, 05:12
who keeps track of a nation's info in RP?

You should keep track of your own info. Write it down somewhere.

Even better, provide References so you can link them and say, "Here! I said my stuff did this. Mind you, what you say it does + what their stuff does = something knew. I do mine like so:
The Universal Guide to All Things TRSN

History of the Terran Republic (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=94265&highlight=)
Starships (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=94198&highlight=)
Starship Weaponry (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=94238&highlight=)
Ground Forces (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2155440#2155440)
Infantry Weapons (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=94229&highlight=)

and I post it in almost everything I write as that nation and some things I don't!

NOTE: People love pics, but I can't draw, so I describe... but if you can draw, you're set.

NOTE2: Be realistic ("Realistic" depends on tech level, age, economy, and previous RP. Those stats are from a rather young Future-tech puppet of mine.) You can't have nukes for a while. You don't have anti-nuclear shields yet (if at all). And trying to buy Nukes will get you NUKED by some vengeanful older nation.
Steel Butterfly
20-11-2003, 05:25
Post #5600, Friggin' Eh! :lol:#5310 for me. :shock: God we spend too much time on this black hole of a game!

Indeed... :roll:
20-11-2003, 05:42
:idea: I have to disagree. In defensive positions in complicated terrain (like Cities, fortified positions in Forests, rocky and/or mountanius terrain) infantry is still extremely effective. It defends well against other infantry (even higher eguipment cost infantry) and the range advantage of tanks and other mechanized units is reduced to effective anti-tank range. Plus infantry can cover in difficult terrain better than mechanized units and use even hit and run tactics in cities.

It is possible to draft even 10% of your nations population (possibly even higher), but they should have had a years / a half years military training to be effective. Plus conscipt armies tend to have bad moral problems. It is not uncommon to see conscript armies abandon tanks, machineguns, and even fortified positions when suppressed. If your population dosen't have a good moral it is unlikely their line will hold months against a firepowerly superior foe.

Ofcourse I agree that in open terrain ( plains, openfields, deserts, etc.. )
infantry doesen't have a change and should not be used in masses.

My own guestion is that can nukes be used ? I mean that many many many nations have uranium mining mentioned in their profile. Is this choise intentional and does these nations leaders have access to nuclear weapons in warfare ? Or EMP ? What about futuristic weapon systems :?: :idea:
Steel Butterfly
20-11-2003, 05:45
Good point about infantry...allthough I'd just shell the mountain. Anyhow, nukes can be used, although if you do use one, you'll most likely just be nuked by a larger nation, with or without probable cause.
imported_The TRSN
20-11-2003, 05:49
Ok, KalTarant, about the Tech Level... you choose where your nation is: modern, post-modern, past, future, fantasy... and then you RP it. You shouldn't break time periods to RP, because people will ignore you and flame fights tend to happen, unless you ask first.

A big problem in this game is the lack of real military tactics and a reliance on Mechae and Ortillery, in defiance of all tactics... but that's NS.
20-11-2003, 07:18
Fortified (digged in and enforced) positions aren't so vulnerable to artillery fire as people commonly think. Artillery is effective. Some say it makes 90% of the casualties in war. Still in historical wars artillery wasen't effective against fortified (and digged-in infantry). Still it is a good way to make slight casualties to enemy forces without risk to own troops and it suppresses the enemy infantry well. Artillerys "golden moment" is when the enemy forces leave their digged-in positions and start to move. The effect artillery fire has on tank columns is however unknown to me.

Artillery units in Mountain positions have enourmous range and infantry there have advantages defending against tank rushes because of the rough terrain.

Ofcourse cruisemissile/smart missile/ air- strikes destroy fortified digged-in positions in any terrain (even heavy foreist if found) and artillery in mountain positions is just beggin to be detected and be destroyed by a missilestrike. This takes me to the ortillery..

Ortillery is a new word to me, but I bet it is Orbital Artillery. Orbital artillery would be so effective that it would change the whole playing field of military tactics. Not to mention space fleets. If some nation has 30 stellar battlecruisers it is in a whole different league than even modern USA.
Does it happen often that two nations are at war and one nation attacks with 15000 Abrams A1M2 tanks ? And the other nation defends with 16000 Abrams tanks. Is there realism in NS wars?
imported_The TRSN
20-11-2003, 07:28
Well, rarely do the nations old and strong enough to have huge tank battles engage so openly. And realism varies per RP. Some people, like myself, prefer war to be focussed on an individual person or unit for the "story" aspect, other like ultra-realistic strategic view (think Command and Conquer in role play form, with real stuff), and others like to use more general terms and just let it be assumed.

You can choose how to do it.

And one of the biggest flaws here, like I stated, is the damn near constant role of Ortillery (yes, Orbital Artillery) by Space Nations on Non-Space Nations. If that happens to you, and you didn't call it on yourself by doing something moronic, call for help. If you don't want to RP with Space Tech at all, then just say it. "I IGNORE all future-tech." You won't be popular, but you won't be Ortilleried to death.

If you play Future-tech, be reasonable. Don't just Ortillery until the planet is gone. And just because someone is in powered armor doesn't make them invincible. An M16 will still get through, eventually, and with tactics, you can defeat them. If they claim elsewise, they are probably godmodding.
20-11-2003, 07:54
Is a "game master" used often or even sometimes in NS ?
I think a game master in war were multiple nations clash would be effective. Secret tactics could be messaged to the game master and if the other nation falled into a the secret military trap the game master would deside the casualties to each side.

Is a "game master" used often or even sometimes in NS ?
Kaukolastan
20-11-2003, 07:56
Never, unless a player wants to be a GM.

It's free-form role playing. You post your actions, your opponent tells the reaction. You post your own damages.

For info, consult the FAQ and other Stickies on Good and Bad RPing.

For secrets, you post, "Secret IC: blahblahblah". If they use the info without "discovering" it first, that's cheating.
21-11-2003, 02:09
i am russian freak so i would want to make an army with infantry armed with ak-74's and T-90 tanks, mobile S.A.M.'s and a small but effective air force consisting of Migs
would this hurt me in a fight? do i to use U.S. weapons to be a formidable opponet? I'm seeing a glorious re-run of Red Storm Rising... :lol:
21-11-2003, 02:23
i don't think it matters exactly what weapons u have, just as long as they are the latest of that series
Kaukolastan
21-11-2003, 02:32
Not even new vs. old matters as much as skill. If I sent a force of a bunch of half trained conscripts with the latest US gear against a bunch of battle-hardened guerillas fighting for their motherland, I would get a thorough pounding until my troops figured out what the hell was going on.

Just know your weapons. An AK packs more punch than an M4, but is less accurate, etc...
21-11-2003, 02:35
so how do i start training my guys?
21-11-2003, 02:38
so how do i start training my guys?
Kaukolastan
21-11-2003, 03:14
Well, it's assumed that you have a military, but you can announce a focus on "quality over quantity" and begin training a small, highly elite force instead of a moderate, poorly equipped/trained military. That's the best way to get any power as a little country.

Then, declare your military stats (size should total 4% or less of population) and equipment. As a young country, you will not have the cutting edge tech yet, remember that. Also, that 4% military includes support, so you can't make it all combat personell. And last but not least: you have no WMD. Attempting to buy nukes from people causes bad stuff.