[i]"If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud. Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, my friend, you would not tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate glory, the old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori." [/i] -Wilfred Owen [hr] Welcome one and all to the second iteration of 'Pro Patria Mori'. Now is the time for you to take on the role of a nation's proud leader, and carve out your people's place in a changing world. The year is 1756, and the world is shifting, old powers suddenly finding themselves rubbing shoulders with new and growing nations. Greedy eyes have turned towards the riches of foreign lands, even while the threat of war still hangs over Europe like a dark cloud. The decisions that you make will decide how the coming years will be remembered; whether you lead your nation into a golden age, or plunge into the maelstrom of war, is entirely in your hands. The countries that should cover the map no longer exist. Instead, Europe is a clean slate, ready to be populated by your own nation, and the nations of your fellow players. Of course it is not unfeasible that nation's with the same culture and territory as real countries may exist, but that is entirely up to you. [b][u]Rules[/u][/b] [hider=Enter At Ye Own Risk] 1) Show respect for everyone. This includes respecting the choices and decisions of other players, as well as just generally being courteous to one another. Be excellent to each other. 2) No God-Modding at all. I am the only god here, so remember to use common sense. Your armies aren't immortal, they can't fly around the map, and they can't throw lightning bolts, so be realistic with your actions, or you will suffer the consequences. 3) On that note, this role-play is firmly rooted in mid 18th century technology. Yes there are guns, but they are basic muskets. There is no magic, and the only race your nation can be is human. Any further questions, just ask! 4) If you don't put effort into creating your nation, then chances are I won't put the effort into reading it. Be warned. 5) No meta-gaming. A simple rule. 6) Real life comes first, but please only join this if you envision that you will have the time to participate, and also let me know if you are going to be away for a prolonged period of time. Nations can be made NPC, but I prefer to know if you are dropping out, or merely going through some real-life issues. To show you have read the rules, please include your Nation Leaders middle name. 7) I'm aiming for the turns to last in total one to two weeks, so please aim to make a post for each turn. What you can do during these turns, you can find below. If someone fails to post within the turn period, don't expect the role-play to wait for them, but I will hopefully be providing you with enough prompts to inspire IC posts at least one per turn. 8) This is intended to be a role-play that everyone can enjoy, so please put effort into your posts! You should have no shortage of things to write about, so I expect at least 2-3 solid paragraphs per post. I would prefer acceptable spelling and grammar, but I'm not demanding professional level stuff! A lot of people role-play to improve their own writing skills, I know I certainly have, so you're welcome as long as you put effort into your post. 9) I reserve the executive power to reject, or to expel, any nation, and I do not need to divulge my reasoning. Hopefully I will never have to, but this is a reminder. [/hider] [b][u]Mechanics[/u][/b] [hider=The Cogs Behind The Scenes] For those of you that were lucky/unlucky enough to take part in the first iteration of 'Pro Patria Mori', they will no doubt be expecting to see the by-now familiar mechanics of having a set number of 'Actions' for each turn. But this is the first point in which the two versions differ. The set number of Actions is a tried and tested method, so going with a different system may be seen as a bit of a risk, but I am older (and hopefully wiser) and I have been mulling over this new system for a while. I'll try and lay it out as clearly and concisely as I can, but I am happy to answer any questions or queries that people may have. While giving orders in other systems, the player acts as a fairly omniscient deity controlling every aspect of their nation. I am trying to move away from that. For this roleplay, you will be taking on the role of your leader, and only your leader. Each turn will consist of your leaders interaction with various other figures. Each of your provinces, colonies, armies and fleets will be led by an Important Figure, and they will report back to your leader regarding the various issues that they face. Instead of taking 'Actions', think of it as taking 'Reactions'. The idea is that your leader should be permanently in a state of spinning a few too many plates, and as your nation grows, your ability to control your growing empire should scale accordingly. I'll be able to provide plenty of examples of how this could work once we build up to the IC thread, but for now that should hopefully give you the gist. Another area in which this roleplay will be diverging from the mechanics of it's predecessor is regarding the 'Nation Overview'. While the Nation Sheet that you will (hopefully) submit will still appear to be pretty stat-heavy, once you've been accepted then those stats should seamlessly fade into the background. You will know what your leader knows, and in some cases, that isn't very much. You will have to react to what you know, keeping your fingers on the pulse of your nation as best you can, while I will keep the stats ticking over behind the scenes. [/hider] [hider=A Shared History and A Rich Tapestry] So on to another thing in which 'Pro Patria Mori II' differs from 'Pro Patria Mori I'. What I have personally found with Nation RP's in the past is that people often want to create a shared history, but struggle as people have already created their nation. This is something I hope I can help with a little. If you've skipped ahead to the Nation Sheet, you may notice that for an RP that is going to focus around your leader, the details are pretty scarce, and there is a reason for this. Once I have a set number of players, around six, I will probably be closing it off to new applicants, and moving on to Stage 2 of the application process. While I am fairly loose with the technicalities of this, I intend to work on creating a sense of shared history, as well as collaboratively creating each nations Important Figures. What does that mean in practice? Excellent question. European royal families are pretty much all connected if you go back far enough, and I'm planning on exploring that idea by helping each of you expand your leader's family trees, not only including your heirs, but also the common ancestors. Alongside that, I'll be helping you create your colonies, and giving flavour to your provinces and the Important Figures that will communicate with your leader during the game. This is perhaps the region where I'm breaking most from the norm, which of course means it's the region which most likely will go wrong, but I'm hoping that through working with the players I can both help each player develop their nation, but also develop the tapestry of the RP as a whole. [/hider] [b][u]The Nation Sheet[/u][/b] [hider=Put Your Creative Hat On] [center][h2]Official Name of Nation[/h2][/center] [b]Portrait of Leader[/b] [b]Name of Leader:[/b] [b]Age:[/b] [b]National Capital:[/b] [b]National Currency:[/b] [b]National Languages:[/b] [b][u]Nation Claim[/u][/b] [i]Please name your provinces, as you claim them.[/i] [hr] [b][i]From this point onwards, you have 130 points to allocate between the various aspects. Each aspect can have a value from 0-10. Good luck![/i][/b] [u][b]Nation Demographics[/b][/u] [b]Nation Size:[/b] [i](Each allocated point equates to being able to claim one European Province)[/i] [b]Population:[/b] [i](The population of your nation)[/i] [b]Homogeneity:[/b] [i](How homogeneous your population is. While a diverse population is not necessarily a bad thing, it means you may have more individual issues to handle.[/i] [u][b]Colonial Demographics[/b][/u] [b]Colonial Holdings:[/b] [i](Each allocated point equates to the size of your colonial holdings, but we will come back to how those are decided later. For each point, you must have Stability and Influence. See example sheet.) [/i] [b]Colonial Stability:[/b] [i](How stable your control over your colony is)[/i] [b]Colonial Influence[/b] [i](How much control your colony have over the local people)[/i] [u][b]Army[/b][/u] [b]Infantry Strength:[/b] [i](How large the Infantry arm of your military is)[/i] [b]Infantry Quality:[/b] [i](How well-trained and experienced your Infantry is)[/i] [b]Infantry Logistics:[/b] [i](How well equipped your Infantry is)[/i] [b]Cavalry Strength:[/b] [i](How large the Cavalry arm of your military is)[/i] [b]Cavalry Quality:[/b] [i](How well-trained and experienced your Cavalry is)[/i] [b]Cavalry Logistics: [/b][i](How well equipped your Cavalry is)[/i] [b]Artillery Strength:[/b] [i](How large the Artillery arm of your military is)[/i] [b]Artillery Quality:[/b] [i](How well-trained and experienced your Artillery is)[/i] [b]Artillery Logistics:[/b] [i](How well equipped your Artillery is)[/i] [b]Army Commander Quality:[/b] [i](How experienced and capable your Generals are) [/i] [u][b]Navy [/b][/u] [b]Ship of the Line Strength:[/b] [i](How large your Ship of the Line fleet is)[/i] [b]Ship of the Line Quality:[/b] [i](How well-trained and experienced your Ship of the Line crew is)[/i] [b]Ship of the Line Logistics:[/b] [i](How well-equipped your Ships of the Line Fleet is)[/i] [b]Cruiser Strength:[/b] [i](How large your Cruiser fleet is)[/i] [b]Cruiser Quality:[/b] [i](How well-trained and experienced your Cruiser crew is)[/i] [b]Cruiser Logistics:[/b] [i](How well-equipped your Cruiser Fleet is)[/i] [b]Naval Commander Quality:[/b] [i](How experienced and capable your Admirals are)[/i] [u][b]Economics[/b][/u] [b]Development of Low Industry:[/b] [i](Your farmers and labourers, the working force of your nation)[/i] [b]Development of Middle Industry:[/b] [i](Your bureaucrats and inventors, the mental and logistical force of your nation)[/i] [b]Development of High Industry:[/b] [i](Your aristocrats, the ruling force of your nation) [/i] [/hider] [b][u]The Map[/u][/b] [hider=The World Not As We Know It][img]https://i.ibb.co/J5fctV3/21-2-Updated-Map.png[/img] [b][i]You can claim any white province, corresponding with how many points you allocated to 'Nation Size'. Simply post the map, with your claims, as part of your Nation Sheet[/i][/b] [/hider] [b][u]Example Nation Sheet[/u][/b] [hider=The Kingdom of Ilastiri] [center][h2]The Kingdom of Ilastiri[/h2][/center] [hider=Portrait of Leader] [center][img]https://www.christies.com/media-library/images/features/articles/2016/04/11/18th-century-portraits/sir-joshua-reynolds-pra-portrait-of-richard.jpg?w=780[/img][/center] [/hider] [b]Name of Leader:[/b] King Augustin IV [b]Age:[/b] 46 [b]National Capital:[/b] Bétou (Villeur) [b]National Currency:[/b] Ilas [b]National Languages:[/b] Ilastirian [b][u]Nation Claim[/u][/b] [hider=Claims] [img]https://i.ibb.co/NFwPMxQ/Ilastiri.png[/img] [/hider] [hr] [u][b]Nation Demographics[/b][/u] [b]Nation Size:[/b] 5 [b]Population:[/b] 5 [b]Homogeneity:[/b] 6 [u][b]Colonial Demographics[/b][/u] [b]Colonial Holdings:[/b] 2 [b]First Colonial Stability:[/b] 5 [b]First Colonial Influence[/b] 7 [b]Second Colonial Stability:[/b] 4 [b]Second Colonial Influence[/b] 3 [u][b]Army[/b][/u] [b]Infantry Strength:[/b] 6 [b]Infantry Quality:[/b] 7 [b]Infantry Logistics:[/b] 6 [b]Cavalry Strength:[/b] 3 [b]Cavalry Quality:[/b] 4 [b]Cavalry Logistics: [/b] 3 [b]Artillery Strength:[/b] 2 [b]Artillery Quality:[/b] 3 [b]Artillery Logistics:[/b] 3 [b]Army Commander Quality:[/b] 4 [u][b]Navy [/b][/u] [b]Ship of the Line Strength:[/b] 3 [b]Ship of the Line Quality:[/b] 4 [b]Ship of the Line Logistics:[/b] 3 [b]Cruiser Strength:[/b] 6 [b]Cruiser Quality:[/b] 7 [b]Cruiser Logistics:[/b] 7 [b]Naval Commander Quality:[/b] 6 [u][b]Economics[/b][/u] [b]Development of Low Industry:[/b] 7 [b]Development of Middle Industry:[/b] 4 [b]Development of High Industry:[/b] 5 [/hider] [b][i]With that, good luck! I look forward to whoever joins us.[/i][/b] [@urukhai][@LordZell][@DeadDrop][@SonOfALich][@Heyitsjiwon]