[quote=@Pepperm1nts] Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Can't write an app yet but I'll probably do something centered around one of those two areas. I was just asking in case there was something established in canon. When I joined PoW back in the day Russia already had some established states so I was wondering if any remnant of that lore is being kept. [/quote] I think we've just decided that the Tsar is dead. I don't think he has been named yet. Other then that, we're trying to clean the slate, so its pretty open. Though want to read Minh's app for some details to sync with since he's rolling as the Ukraine. [quote=@Quetzalcoatl] Is the Netherlands open? Seems like it'd be fun. I imagine it'd still have the east indies and Suriname? [/quote] Ahhh... we're trying to free up the colonies as much as possible... ...but I personally think it would be okay to allow the Netherlands to keep theirs. A British player could probably keep some colonies too, just not all of them. [quote=@Pepperm1nts] If you aren't going to play a nation I would advice against playing characters tied to the military of a player nation, because you'd be depending heavily on whether or not they have work for you to RP. Characters without those kinds of ties give you more freedom as a writer. You could also play an organization. Mercenaries are always gonna have shit to do because if PoW has taught me anything it's that players are quick to jump off the precipice head-first into war. Maybe some kind of spy organization, if you really want to play something CIA-like. [/quote] The best idea for someone looking for a low commitment is to pick a comfortable nation with only local relevance. Mexico always seemed like a perfect starter country for these reasons IMHO, at least for an American-born player.