Post

Region: Barbaria

IC:

"Revival of Talos" - Return of the Atmorans: Part 1

As onlookers of the devout await for the total solar eclipse to transpire, the platform holding the altar of Talos is drenched in blood, in preparation for his revival. Rows upon rows of people clad in battle armor stand at attention, facing their patriarch and High King, Ysgramor XII. As the eclipse begins to envelop the darkening of the sky, a once always land of day and beauty is turned to a shadow, with a deep red hue being cast as the celestial bodies finally merge to make the Eye of Talos. Seconds pass, and there is no light, only the lit fires on the platform flicker in the blackness. The platform's surface begins to enlighten, with geometric symbols glow in the dark, illustrating a map of the top of the world, and the clear boundaries of Boreas. In awe of this, the soldiers, and even the High King, bow before the great majesty that is Talos. In his booming voice, the blind High King makes his speech, by declaring the message of Talos through him.

"...A prophecy was bestowed to my ancestors many centuries ago, highlighting our return to the world, and the restoration of our ancient dominion. During a time before the Cyanists, before the Hyperboreans, we ruled the top of the world, but faith in our Talos diminished when false Gods began to flood our minds. When all hope is lost, Talos will return, blacken the sky, and open his eye before us...Talos wants us to restore our empire, our glory, and our race. I hence forth declare a great and holy war for our lost land. We will slay every last heretic, and rebuild off of their bones and blood, for Talos!"

"For Talos!"

The crowd continues to cheer as they shed their robes, and march on, holding in one arm a rifle, and another their heart. In the midst of the great blackening of the sky, the Atmorans use the cover to unleash a devastating offense on their neighbors, in hopes of reviving Talos' great and amazing empire. Large black warships, built like metallic castles, pierce the thawing ice, and breach the borders of the many nations that border the Boreas Ocean. A heavy fog enrolls and masks the warships, and the bleakness shows no promise to the enemies before them. There is no hope for the defenders, for the Atmorans know they can't return home until victory is achieved. There will be so much suffering, but it will all be in name of Talos, and in honor of refounding the glorious Atmoran Dominion. From all corners, the Atmorans invade Valgoria, Vostag, the Inuit Confederation, the Neo American Union, and have begun flooding the seas with jet black warships, and the sky has been embroiled by flocks of bombers and escort fighter jets. War is literally on the horizon, and the nations whose afflicted by this onslaught, will ultimately be burdened with nearing defeat...Thus begins the "Holy Solar War"

Talos' Dominion - Atmoran Empire

by The High Realm of Imperial Atmora

Ancient Altar Platform of the Temple of Talos

Read factbook

Imperial Atmora reaffirms their claims on the land that is controlled by:

Vostag
Valgoria
Xerznea
Nortus Kvenland
Inuit Confederation
Neo American Union
Quintoine
Novua Elysia

OOC: Thanks for the offer to RP but I'm burnt out on war RPs so I will be using my option to IGNORE and not partake. Thanks again and enjoy.

Roleplay Guidelines & Terminology

by The United Principalities of Aravam

As you read this dispatch you will find that this is not a book of rules but simply a guide, a collection of tools and resources to help all roleplayers have an enriched roleplaying experience. Tools not rules. It is recommended that you try to use these tools to help you avoid having a bad RP experience but you don't have to. Your not using these tools and etiquette may result in people not wanting to RP with you or your having a bad reputation. If you are doing things like powergaming, numberwanking, or godmodding in an RP then the Domestic Affairs Minister or Communications Minister, or anyone for that matter may step in to help whoever you're doing it to as well as to bail yourself out before you dig yourself into a hole. But again in the spirit of voluntary consent you don't have to follow anything here if you don't want. These are tools not rules.

Basic Terminology

Term	Description
Original Poster (OP)	The Original Poster (or "OP") is the owner of a given thread. In International Incidents (as well as other roleplaying boards), thread OPs of non-discussion threads have the right to prohibit players from posting (and request Moderation enforcement if said player continues posting) and the right to request Moderation remove any post, lock, or (re-)open their threads.
Co-OP	Typically an OP-appointed member of the thread or organization which the OP has given limited powers to post on their behalf. Co-Ops may come and go due to player disputes, leading to possible conflicts with the provenance of authority any given "Co-OP" may have. Further, while discouraged, sharing of accounts does occur; simply being on an account that has once logged-into the OP account does not satisfy this requirement. As such, Moderation does not acknowledge any power to thread Co-OPs; thread Co-OPs may not request posts be removed, the thread to be locked, the thread to be (re-)opened, or request to have a player banned from the thread. Moderation requires explicit requests from the thread OP, not by-proxy or otherwise by any other party. This does not prohibit any player from reporting actual rule-violating content, merely that Co-OPs are not granted any form of power bestowed via thread ownership.
In-Character (IC)	In-Character (IC) is any post or thread which is being written from the perspective of a fictional character, body, or organization which is distinct and different from the player. There is a respected divide between In-Character and Out-of-Character in the roleplaying community; Out-of-Character knowledge or impetus should not cross into In-Character posting and vice versa. For more information, see Meta-gaming (below). Simply because something is In-Character does not mean violating the rules is acceptable.
Out-of-Character (OOC)	Out-of-Character (OOC) is any post or thread which is being written-by and utilized by players as players, not as a fictional character, body, or organization. There is a respected divide between In-Character and Out-of-Character in the roleplaying community; Out-of-Character knowledge or impetus should not cross into In-Character posting and vice versa. For more information, see Meta-gaming (below).
Secret In-Character (SIC)	Secret In-Character (SIC) is any In-Character post which is hidden or should not be known by other characters and labeled as such. This may include things like encrypted communiques. A player having their character know such information without approval of the player controlling the SIC material may be guilty of meta-gaming.
Implied Secret In-Character (ISIC)	A separate form of SIC, Implied Secret In-Character (ISIC) is any In-Character post which another character has no reasonable way to know about. This may include things like a whispered conversation or a Top Secret document in another room. A player having their character know such information without approval of the player controlling the ISIC material may be guilty of meta-gaming.
Tech Level	A country's tech level(s) is the relative level of technology (or technological advancement, aesthetic, style, or type) utilized during roleplay and/or the relative continuity of the nation in question. For more information, see Tech Levels (below).

Tech Level

The regional tech level is capped at Post-Modern Tech (PMT) however other tech level roleplays are allowed so long as they are labeled as such.

Term	Description
Past Tech (PT)	Strictly speaking, Past Tech encompasses any piece of technology or continuity which is set before the present (or contemporary era). This ranges from pre-history to yesterday. Some exemplar aspects include: bow and arrows, spears, and Bronze Age technology; Middle Age fortifications, societies, and knighthood; lines of soldiers with muskets, cap-and-ball weapons, and the frontier; as well as trench warfare, airlifts, and recent historical anachronisms. At times, depending on a country's tech level, elements of Past Tech may be incorporated in other tech levels, especially Fantasy Tech/Fantasy and Modern Tech.
Modern Tech (MT)	Modern Tech is typically understood to mean the current level of technology (and/or continuity) which is analogous to the real world. This varies, however, between players and player communities and may, further, include a variance in definition and execution. This can mean that to some, Modern Tech means strictly attempting to portray a country which could fit into the real world with minimal conflict, to a country which exists on a nigh-infinitely large planet ("NS Earth") and thus bound by a different set of rules than reality. Some exemplar aspects include: modern tank warfare, both carrier- and dreadnought-based naval combat, neo-imperialism and neo-colonialism, as well as resource wars. See the NationStates Modern Tech Advice and Assistance Thread: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=382643 for more information.
Post-Modern Tech (PMT)	Post-Modern Tech is typically understood to mean any piece of technology or continuity which is generally beyond the scope of Modern Tech, but before the moment a country has developed faster-than-light (FTL) technology. Some exemplar aspects include: pervasive use of the Internet, nanotechnology, and cyberpunk aesthetics. There is a degree of overlap between both the continuity and aesthetics of Post-Modern Tech and Future Tech; there may also be mingling of certain forms of Post-Modern Tech and Modern Tech, depending upon player and player community. See the NationStates Post-Modern Tech Community Thread: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=376203 for more information.
Future Tech (FT)	Future Tech is typically understood to mean any piece of technology or continuity which exists beyond the moment a country has invented faster-than-light (FTL) technology, specifically transportation/travel. Some exemplar aspects include: multi-system star-states, alien species, (neo-)imperialistic or (neo-)colonial cultures, and general space exploration. There is a degree of overlap between both the continuity and aesthetics of Post-Modern Tech and Future Tech, as well as certain situational caveats for what constitutes Future Tech - often situations where a country is soon to receive/invent FTL technology, either natively or via gift from another star-state (a process sometimes called "uplifting"). See the Future Tech Advice and Assistance Thread: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=270578 for more information.
Fantasy Tech/Fantasy (FanT)	Fantasy Tech/Fantasy is typically understood to mean any piece of technology or continuity which contains elements of the supernatural or occult, magic, or certain "punk" aesthetics. Some exemplar aspects include: magic and the occult, wizards and witches, werewolves and vampires, high/low fantasy settings, and steampunk. Fantasy Tech/Fantasy is also sometimes included as situational amendments to other tech levels, meaning that players may, at times, incorporate fantastical elements into other tech levels; the acceptability of such (and the execution thereof) will vary from community-to-community and player-to-player.

Thread Tags

Term	Description
ATTN/Attention	A thread tag which typically is meant to attract the attention of a region ("ATTN: Exampleland"), nation ("ATTN: Examplestan"), or organization ("ATTN: Example Alliance").
CLOSED/OPEN	Thread tags which indicate whether players may or may not post freely to a given thread. "Closed" indicates a thread that is not open for players to post; also may be used in conjunction with other tags, such as "INVITE" or "APP ONLY" to indicate how players may become involved. "Open" indicates a thread that is open to players immediately and anyone may post in them.
APP/APP ONLY (Application)	A thread tag which indicates players must apply (typically in an OOC thread) and be approved by the thread OP (or thread Co-OP) before they can post in the IC thread.
INVITE/INVITE ONLY	A thread tag which indicates players must be explicitly invited by the thread OP (sometimes with limited permission from thread Co-OPs) before they can post in the thread.
SEMI-CLOSED/SEMI-OPEN	Varies. Typically a thread tag which indicates some manner of prior approval by the thread OP is required before a player may post.
TELEGRAM/TG	Often applied in tangent with other tags as "TG," such as "TG for Interest," "Closed/TG," etc. Tends to indicate that the thread OP wishes interested parties to send a telegram if they desire further information about the thread in question or wish to be involved.
**** ONLY	Where "****" indicates some organization(s), nation(s), region(s), etc. A thread tag which indicates only the aforementioned parties may post in the thread.
IC/OOC/SIC	See "Basic Terminology."
Interest	A thread tag which is typically used to draw the community's attention for the purpose of gauging whether there is enough interest in a particular thread idea in order to gauge whether the thread OP wishes to create an IC thread. Such threads are typically OOC and lead to an IC thread, though sometimes they may be OOC and be transformed into an IC thread once a certain threshold of interest is met.
MATURE	A thread tag which typically indicates a given thread (or post) may contain potentially sensitive material, such as violence or implied sexuality. Using the "MATURE" tag does not mean a player can post material which violates the PG-13/Offensive Material Rules. The utilization of the "MATURE" tag is purely a kindness to other players who may not wish to read/participate in such a thread.
Sticky	While not necessarily a thread tag, a sticky is a thread which is permanently pinned to the top of International Incidents (or any board on the forums) by Moderation. Typically such threads include pertinent information for a board. Read them.

Community Terminology

Term	Description
Bump/Bumping	The posting of a brief message (sometimes just "Bump") in order to boost a thread up to the top of the first page of a board. Sometimes understood to mean "Bring Up My Post." This should not be done in excess, as it may constitute spamming. Once every twenty-four hours or once the thread has fallen off the first page - whichever is the longer time period - is acceptable.
Closed/Open Canon	"Closed" or "open" canon (and continuity) is a distinction made based upon the way players interact-with and determine the existence of their nations in the overall, fictional world. "Open canon" is defined as a canonical world in which no application or acceptance is required for the player's nation to be considered to canonically exist; an example would be "NS Earth" as commonly seen in Modern Tech. "Closed canon" is defined as a canonical world in which application and acceptance is required in order for the player's nation to be considered to canonically exist, often by a central authority (such as a player or group of players); "closed world regions" and/or "closed roleplaying groups" are examples of "closed canon." Such is not to be confused with mere threads which happen to be closed, open, or require application approval to participate.
Closed World Region/Closed Roleplaying Group	A roleplaying region or player group, typically controlled by a central authority (a player or group of players), which requires application acceptance for the player's nation to be considered to canonically exist. Such CWRs/CRGs are considered "closed canon" and often self-limit interaction outside of the CWR/CRG in some way. The amount of limitation can often vary, with a wide range stretching from "all actions undertaken outside of the CWR/CRG are considered non-canonical" to "outside actions are considered canonical based upon individual player discretion." Such is not to be confused with mere threads which happen to be closed, open, or require application approval to participate.
DEAT	A severe punitive action, beyond a simple warning or ban; a slang term describing the deletion of a player account, often understood to have arisen as a typo for "DEAD" as folded-into "delete." See "'NS Summer' and other assorted silly trivia" for more information. See "'NS Summer' and other assorted silly trivia" viewtopic.php?f=16&t=298742&p=20342822#p20342822 for more information.
Delete-on-Sight/DOS	Considered the most severe punishment Moderation will execute against a player, to be declared "Delete-on-Sight" or "DOS/DoS" is to be permanently banned from NationStates. A player that returns to the site beyond their DoS declaration is deleted without warning or notification. It is typically reserved for the most severe violations (such as spamming obscene material) or for players with extensive records that have consistently refused to adjust their behavior and adhere to the rules.
Embassy/Embassy Thread	An embassy thread is a style of thread where players open their country to requests of embassy or consulate establishment from other nations (other players), often with reciprocal arrangements. Such typically include applications, a list of restrictions for foreign embassies, requirements for the same, and may contain other information pertinent to diplomatic endeavors.
Factbook	Derived from The World Factbook (CIA World Factbook). A thread, dispatch, website, etc. that acts as a repository for various forms of information about a given country, often functioning as an expression of worldbuilding. These can exist in a variety of formats, ranging from those similar to the aforementioned CIA World Factbook to a collection of narratives which provide insight into a country - or anywhere in between. Further, the information provided may be given as "In-Character," and thus can be "known" by any character, or may be given as "Out-of-Character", and thus cannot be "known" by any character; if unsure, ask before making an assumption. Not everyone has a factbook, though many players have notes on their countries in some form; expectations for players to have a factbook vary from region to region, player group to group, and even between tech levels.
God-mod(ding)/Godmod(ding)/Godmode	To describe what happens to another player's characters, forces, etc. without the player's consent; refusing to take losses; having absurdly powerful characters, military forces, or technology; having a state's geography (or other features) designed in such a way as to provide an undue advantage. Examples include describing how a missile hits another player's ship, describing casualties or fatalities of another player's characters, or saying another player's character dies. Doing such is a violation of community standards, but not against the rules. Players should allow for the other player to describe the "effect" of any event (such as a military engagement) unless they have their permission to describe such. May also include any activity which otherwise violates community standards, broadly speaking.
Ignore	Players cannot be forced to roleplay with any other player. Ignore (or the "IGNORE Cannon") is invoked when a player refuses to roleplay with another player; this may be simply in a single thread, or wholesale. In the case of the latter, typically means the player ceases to recognize another player's country as existing.
Moderator/Mod	Often an inclusive term describing any member of the NationStates staff which serve to enforce the rules, punish players when required (as with warnings, bans, or other punitive actions), and perform general forum maintenance (such as moving threads, splitting threads, and locking threads). More specifically, a Moderator is one subset of several different staff positions, sometimes referred to as "Moderation/Administration" loosely.
Meta-gaming/Metagaming	To use Out-of-Character information for In-Character gain without the other player's permission. An example would be to use information you (the player) are aware of from reading a Secret In-Character post and allowing one of your character's to know the information.
Nation Maintenance Thread	A style of thread which consists of short stories, periodicals, or vignettes involving a player's own nation, and set in the same. Often used as a means of worldbuilding, concept exploration, or "maintaining the nation" as active - hence the name.
Newb(ie)/Noob(ie)/N00b(ie)	A new player. A player which repeatedly violates community standards (such as god-modding or meta-gaming). Typically used in a derogatory manner. Please note, using such may constitute flaming.
News Thread	A style of thread in which the player (or players) roleplay through presentation of In-Character news articles, stories, editorials, etc. Typically such come in two forms: regional news or domestic (national) news. Regional news are In-Character threads which, typically, may be posted within by anyone in an indicated roleplaying region, while domestic (national) news are strictly for a single nation.
Number-wank(ing)/Numberwank(ing)	An attempt to use numerical superiority without justification for the purpose of increasing player/country prestige, power, or numerical advantage. Examples include having an unnecessarily large population while not acknowledging the drawbacks of such, having an infinitely-large armed forces, or having an amount of military forces in an engagement far beyond what is considered acceptable for a given thread.
ORBAT (ORder of BATtle)	A list of military forces (soldiers, equipment, assets, etc) within a nation's armed forces or what will be utilized in a given thread or post.
Power-game(ing)/Powergame(ing)	While there is nothing wrong with an In-Character desire to win or competitive roleplaying, powergaming describes an attitude in which a player's sole (or primary) purpose for roleplaying is to defeat another Out-of-Character player vicariously through In-Character actions. This can often be conflated with a form of godmodding, such as that a player will godmod by ensuring their nation is surrounded by absurdly treacherous (and otherwise unfeasible) terrain in an attempt to always defeat another player in a conflict so that, Out-of-Character, they can never be said to have lost (powergaming).
Setting Thread	A style of thread in which a given setting is created collaboratively by participants for common use by its contributing participants. An example would be a city set in a player's country, but one in which the original poster allows other player's to create destinations and locations within it (such as malls, museums, etc.) for use in other threads; most often, the setting thread itself is merely a repository for applications for constituent locations and for worldbuilding of the setting itself, with participants having some license (which may vary from thread to thread and player to player, defined in the thread itself) to use the relevant locations in other threads.
Storefront	A type of thread in which a nation, corporation, or other entity trades/sells products or services to others, be they individual characters, nations, corporations, or other entities. Examples include an arms manufacturing corporation selling weapons, a shipwright designing and selling naval vessels, a fast food company offering foreign franchises, etc.
Tag/Tagging	The posting of a brief message in order to indicate a player is interested in a thread. Please note, posting of just "tag" constitutes "tag spamming," an actionable offense.
Worldbuilding/World Building/World-building	The creative process of designing a fictional world, typically a player's country and related concepts. This includes designing a country's culture, political structure, economy, religion(s) or spirituality, history, language, social customs, etc., and, more generally, designing the details of any given, fictional concept (from corporations to naval vessels, firearms to fashion, etc.). Generally has overlap with concepts such as "conworlds" (constructed worlds) and "conglangs" (constructed languages).

Questions & Answers

Question:	Answer:
How do I roleplay?	All roleplaying on NationStates is fundamentally based on freeform roleplay; that is to say, insofar as what you are roleplaying adheres to the rules, it is acceptable. Simply put, roleplaying in most threads is turn-based: one player will post a series of actions of a scene, then another player will respond, rinse and repeat. The ultimate goal is to write a collaborative piece of fiction with yourself and other players as the authors - to tell a story together.
What does "voluntary consent" mean?	Voluntary consent is, ultimately, the backbone of NationStates roleplaying. Simply put: no player can force another player to do something against their will. This includes: roleplay with them, change their country, surrender their country after the loss of an In-Character conflict, adhere to community standards, etc. Fundamentally, a player can do with their country as they wish, insofar as what they wish to do does not violate the rules. This is a two-way street, however. Some examples include... While one cannot force another player to accept losses in a conflict, it is considered poor form to refuse to acknowledge them when the cause to such is roleplayed well and otherwise acceptably; refusing to acknowledge losses can lead to other players refusing to roleplay with a player as they may be perceived as powergaming. Another example follows in that a given player may not wish to follow a given community standard; while that is acceptable, that same player cannot force other players who do acknowledge such to roleplay with them if they choose not to roleplay with a player that does not follow the same guidelines and standards as themselves.
I want to go to war with someone. How do I do that? Is there a button?	There is no inbuilt "war" mechanic in NationStates insofar as roleplaying is concerned. There is no button to press on another nation's page to instigate a conflict. Instead, wars are simply another form of collaborative fiction; this means that if you wish to declare war on another player, you should discuss this idea with them, generally to decide on a rough outline of how the conflict might go, who might be involved, and what some goals (or even victory conditions) for the conflict might be. Communication is important and can often be conducted through an interest thread or telegrams. Keep in mind, players cannot force other players to roleplay with them - this includes war.
What are community standards?	Community standards are a set of guidelines that the community - in this case, II - has crafted over the years. They act as markers, especially for new players, to guide them to roleplay and create in a manner which is least likely to lead to Out-of-Character conflict with other players. Even so, they do not need to be adhered to, as players can roleplay however they desire insofar as it adheres to the rules - no one can change that. That being said, many community standards have been developed with the intent of helping to curtail poor player behavior - such as godmodding and meta-gaming - and many adhere to them, to varying degrees, and often encourage other players to do so as well. This is related to the nature of voluntary consent and the "two-way street" that it is: while "Player A" can flaunt community standards, "Player A" cannot force "Player B" to roleplay with them if "Player B" decides they dislike said flaunting of community standards. Further, specific community standards often vary between board, tech levels, and even sub-communities; equally, their may be significant overlap. Community standards are not rules; they are not enforced by Moderation. As an example: while godmodding may be poor player conduct, it is not against the site rules.
What about my gameside statistics?	Roleplayers often employ one of two (though a mix is not unheard of) bases for their In-Character, roleplaying statistics (population, Gross Domestic Product, military size, etc.): in-game (gameside) statistics that can be found on players' nation splash page, or ones devised entirely through manual calculation, creation, and development. There is no rule that players must use one versus the other; players are encouraged to use what they feel most comfortable with using. That being said, different communities and sub-communities do have preferences: some Modern Tech regions enforce a population cap (a limit on population size of a player's country), thus forcing manual development of other statistics, while this can be compared to Future Tech where statistics such as this are often not required - or even asked about - by other players in specific, with generalities often being acceptable. Ultimately, players tend to experiment until they find a balance they like and which their most common roleplay partners accept and appreciate.