By Frengo
Introduction
Hello and welcome to States of Evolution, a mechanic-less (pretty much, anyway) Nation Roleplay, where players take charge of a species of sentient life forms, and lead them through the ages.
This NRP plays similarly to others, in that players make posts from the perspectives of their nation leaders, generals, politicians etc etc.
HOWEVER, however.
The RP will start during what we'll term as an "Evolution Phase". Evolution Phases are turn-based affairs, in which each player makes a post that covers the advance of their peoples over a hundred year period. Evolution Phases last five turns, so that's five hundred years. This will allow them to modify or adjust the courses of their civilisations, in reaction to those taken by other players, creating a live and dynamic history of their nation.
At the end of an Evolution Phase, the RP resumes as it normally would - with posts from the prominent characters of the time period.
If the RP lulls, or if players wish to advance the technology, the GM will then announce another Evolution Phase, during which time MIA players will be removed and new players admitted.
How To Play!
Playing this game is really simple; there's no dice, no need to write down stats or any of that milarky. This is purely a narrative exercise.
- Fill out a City and Peoples sheet, and submit it for review in the OOC. If accepted, move the application over to the Character Tab and await the GM's instructions.
- Once the game starts, the GM will launch the Evolution Phase with the first post of his people's progress; this should hopefully provide a gist of the kind of thing the game is asking from you. If in doubt, do as the GM does, or ask questions!
- The GM will post a Turn Order - await your turn before posting during the Evolution Phase. This will go on for five turns (you will post five times!). Those who fail to take their turn without warning of possible absence will be automatically removed.
- At the end of every Evolution Phase Post, you will provide a summary of all major societal/governmental changes and technological advances. This is to help with admin.
- On the fifth turn, you will provide an updated map of your nation's bounds, identifying any key settlements.
- Once everyone has taken their turns, the GM will announce the closure of the Evolution Phase, and the RP will begin properly. There is no turn based system for the normal mode of play, and things become nice and casual.
Evolution Phase Explained
An "Evolution Phase" is basically the history of your peoples, except that it is a "live" history, that can twist and turn its way through five centuries. What makes this feature unique is that each stage of your civilisation's development will happen alongside that of other players, allowing you to gear yourself towards technological, cultural or diplomatic conflict or cooperation.
An Evolution Phase post will be written as if by a historian, who chronicles the progress of your peoples. There's no need for a ten thousand word essay, but you do need to mention the key points of a century - whether it was a series of wars, technological innovations or national catastrophes.
The GM will provide an "end of state" advisory on the bounds of technological advancements allowed during the Evolution Phase, to prevent people from discovering WMDs a hundred years after they forged iron.
At the end of each post, players will be expected to give a brief outline (bullet points are fine!) of the significant advances and changes their civilisation has achieved during the century.
Study the GM's post if you're unsure how to write or format things properly - but you can't really go wrong, I don't think.
As mentioned previously, the Evolution Phase is governed by a turn-based post system, which will be published for all to see prior to the start of the phase.
Combat Resolution
This is an NRP, and despite the best efforts of mankind's greatest philosophers and mediators, there's going to be a situation in which two players want to destroy each other - which will in turn risk tearing the RP a sunder.
I have two simple premises for resolving battles, and they are as follows:
1) Mutual agreement between two mature players about a battle's outcome.
2) I take the opposing armies into account, and use a Total War game to fight the battle in a 1 vs 1 A.I match. The outcome of these battles are non-negotiable. Where the armies seem evenly stacked, I will simply use pre-generated forces and let them go at it. Where one army is vastly superior to the other, then I will of course modify the army set ups to reflect this.
If a player is unhappy with the results of a battle, whether they begrudgingly agreed to pre-determined outcomes or their fate was decided by Total War, then they are free to leave the RP. I will waste no time in catering to this childishness. People lose wars, it happens, get used to it.
Handling NPCs
Standing between the handful of player-controlled nation states and world domination, are the innumerable masses of NPC entities.
Crush, stomp and murder them at will, or alternatively, absorb them through peaceful means. It matters little - they are filler content, and nothing more.
This of course changes, when two players both want the same area. As with battles, I'd prefer mature players to discuss things constructively, but where diplomacy fails, we'll call on Total War to relieve us of our selfish burdens.
Empires that spread rapidly will come under close scrutiny, but will not necessarily be smacked down by the almighty GM. If the story behind rapid territorial expansion sounds reasonable, then I'll likely let things be.
Nation Bots: Throughout the NRP, as GM I reserve the right to "summon" a significant NPC entity that threatens a player (or players) either politically, economically or militarily.
When dealing with Nation Bots, your moves will be watched closely; anything unreasonable will be overruled by yours truly.
An example of this, would be the emergence of a "mongol horde" type threat. If your leader brushes them off by dispatching some half arsed force to deal with them, I may step in and ask you to reconsider the seriousness of the threat.
If you wish to diplomatically engage with the entity, consult me either in the OOC or via PM, for their response to your efforts.
Custom Races
When one thinks about it, humans are a totally awesome race. We're a mixture of so many things; we've built empires, slaughtered millions of ethnic minorities cured loads of diseases, invented about a bajillion different religions, and are driven to accumulate more than what we already have. There's more to it, of course, but that's just a little summary for ya.
However, speaking from experience, this whole four-limb, monkey-related get up can become a bit of a drag. And that's why, in this new world of ours, we should be free to pursue whatever species we'd love most to see thrive throughout the ages.
Raptor people? Amphibians? Rat men? Orcs? Dwarves? Whatever floats your boat.
HOWEVER, the more outlandish races will come under scrutiny, so do not be embarrassed if I draw attention from other players to your app, so that I may see what the consensus is. Even if you PM in secret a proposed race, if I am uncertain about it, I will still haul it before a People's Tribunal and let the masses decide.
There is no magic in this world, but my arm might be twisted when it comes to mental abilities i.e telepathy. Although, again, a People's Tribunal will probably be called to decide.
Do not attempt to make a race of super men. Be reasonable. Humans have their advantages, which are equalled by disadvantages. Try to do the same.
City and Peoples Sheet
Caution: This is a draft sheet, and is under review. Draft at your own risk.
Species Sheet
Name of Species: i.e Orcs, Skaven, Humans, Gorillaraptors etc
Genetic Compatibility: A bit gross, but what other races can they mate with? If anyone?
Physical Characteristics of Males: Male appearance. If applicable.
Physical Characteristics of Females: Female appearance. If applicable.
Physical Characteristics: If your race is one of those self-sexing types. Ignore if it's not.
Life-Span:
Diet: Herbivore, Omnivore, Carnivore etc.
Racial Attributes: Resistances to certain climates, elemental weaknesses - anything important that your race can or cannot do. An example would be a fish race struggling to breathe on land, or dolphin-people only being able to communicate telepathically.
Age: How long have they existed for? Humans were around for 200,000 years, and only started building cities 6,000 years ago. This is a benign detail, aimed it giving a little colour.
City Sheet
Location on Map. Put a big dot for now, and I'll copy it the best I can into the big map. If you can't do this, THEN HOW THE HELL HAVE YOU SURVIVED THIS LONG IN THE 21ST CENTURY I'M JOKING JUST GIVE ME A ROUGH IDEA AND I'LL DO IT FOR YOU LOL :D
A picture of your flag - or a text description.
Name of City:
Population:
- Males:
- Females:
- Half-Races: If applicable
This is an early indicator of your race's overall demographics. Girl power? Sausage fest? Balance? A million people is probably the utmost limit for a race of bipedals i.e humans.
Known For: Industry? Agriculture? Fine spices? Recurrent Civil Wars? Art? The things that others would associate with the city.
Culture: A brief overview of your city's starting culture; is it heavily embedded in religious beliefs? Is there gender equality? Is education prized? Is it warlike? Does it have laws?
Religion Overview: Who do they pray to? The Sun? Give a brief outline of their religious beliefs; are they Jesus loving compassion bots? Or are they constantly seeking more BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD?
Government Type:
Calendar: Promethean or custom.
