Information on War Roleplaying

Subject: Information on War Roleplaying Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:42 pm

Greetings and bienvenu! I'm here to explain our war roleplays. Since me and the other directors are no good at creating these sorts of guides though...we decided to take Euroslavia's tottally epic guide. ALL credit for this guide goes to him/her.

Godmodding

Definition of Godmoding:
1) Saying what happens to other people's stuff.
2) Refusing to take any losses. Or lose. Ever.
3) Having übertech armies that are too large, etc.
4) Having your nation’s geography to your extreme advantage.

1) Example: "Okay, I just blew up 300,000 of your troops!"

Why this is Godmoding: Because in free form role-play, it's up to the person being attacked to determine their own losses. This leads to OOC bickering which in turn, ruin the entire RP. Trust me, it’s happened many times. Don’t let it happen.

2) Example: "Oh, well, my soldiers had personal forcefields so none of them were actually hurt. "

Why this is Godmoding: This is probably where godmoding gets its name (from God Mode in Doom, where you were invincible after typing IDDQD). Naturally, if nobody ever takes a hit, the fight degenerates into "I HIT YOU!" "NO YOU DIDN'T!", etc. Remember now, roleplaying isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about telling a story. A nation who is willing to accept defeat gains a lot of respect from others, in turn. Refusing to lose could permanently damage your reputation, making not too many people not want to RP with you.

There is no device known or yet to be invented which is perfect. There is no perfect stealth, there is no perfect radar, there is no perfect acoustical protection, there is nothing which cannot be defeated.

Therefore you cannot tell someone what their results are in trying to find you! You can tell them how your system works, but you can't off and say "you can't see me nyah!".

3) Example: A 2 day old nation with a population of 6 million posts "My 6 billion man army invades u with NUKES!!!!1"

Why this is Godmoding: Okay, little guy nations, I know you're anxious to start throwing your weight around, but let's be honest; you are piddling nothings when you first start out in the world.

Note: Nothing stops you registering a group of nations and RPing each as a different but allied entity, or any other reasonable method of leveling the playing field you can come up with. However, puppetwanking is generally something that is looked down upon, in the event that the puppets themselves are found out. If you plan on roleplaying here, it's probably something you should avoid doing. Age should NOT bring with it arbitary RP advantage.

3.5) Example: 'Ok, I'm going after your major cities with cruise missiles.'
'Aha! My EMP defenses short out your missiles and defeat you!'
'But...Don't they destroy every electronic device in your cities, too?'
'No, because they're...Shielded. Yeah.'
'But then why couldn't I just send a spy to buy, say, a calculator or trouser press which would allow me to learn your secrets?'

Why This is Godmoding: EMP isn’t magic. If you're a nation which has EMP devices and uses them regularly, it'd be ridiculous to think that in all that time nobody would have come up with an effective defense. Same goes for most technology, in fact: you should at least allow for the possibility that a nation which has faced your mighty ubertech on the battlefield has gone off and built something to counter it.

4) Example: “My territory is completely surrounded by mountains, and I have every possible missile defense system that works 100%, so all of your planes will be shoot down, and all of your troops will die trying to get over the mountains!!”

Why This is Godmoding: It is possible to have terrain like this, but there are different ways of showing it. You can’t just up and say, after the war already began, that this is your nation. It also goes a little bit into the first example in that you can’t claim other peoples’ losses. Firstly, it is strongly recommended that you make a map of your nation. If you really don’t want to, then adapt the geography of a Real Life nation. Also, if you do want to RP your nation as having such a rough terrain, you need to enforce it within your nations. For example, the soil probably won't be the best in your nation if you have all rugged terrain.

Not Quite a Godmode, but...
Separate Example of Weaponry
“My tanks go 1044054650mph, and they can fire 100 missiles!!! My ships go 235436 knots, and can avoid your attacks no matter what!!

Explanation: Ultimately, no weapon is a godmode in and of itself, it may be unrealistic and therefore abuse-worthy if it's creator tries to imply it could really be built, but until you do something technology has no effect on anyone else and therefore does not qualify for the high and supreme definition of Godmode, namely:

A Godmode is an arbitary statement of superiority detrimental to good RP.

The aforementioned ridicu-tank / ship would make a difference if used as such in a military RP without any related problems RP'd [in fact I personally believe most techno-sillyness isn't that bad as long as you don't start dodging the natural drawbacks of weapon types], but having a character RP party on a million-mile-per-hour ship shouldn't be a problem because the ship's existence and performance confer no advantage to the owner in that scenario. Everything is relative; you can Godmode just as well with a T-72 as with any ridicu-tank design.

However, abusing higher tech for arbitary advantage is Godmoding. For example, using FTL cold fusion-powered spaceships with ultrashields against a modern nation would be godmoding if the modern nation did not agree to their existence beforehand; in other words, you can't force a higher tech level on another player.

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Table of Contents
1. Logistics
2. Troops and Godmoding
A. Stealth Troops
B. Invisible Troops
C. Very Fast Troops
D. Military Involvement with Nations NOT Bordering You
3. Acts of God
4. The Space Time Continuum
A. Future Tech vs. Present Tech
B. Future Tech vs. Past Tech
C. Present Tech vs. Past Tech
5. The Effects of War
6. Weapons In Your Nation
7. Economy vs. Military
8. Government Ideals
9. The Indefatigable Army
10. Completely Discounting an Opponent
11. Nothing is Perfect
12. Untraceable

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1. Logistics
Also, everybody's happier if you pay attention to logistics. And if you don't know much about Role Playing, there are people willing to teach you.

2. Troops and Godmoding
A. Stealth Troops
"Stealth" is a cool word, but it doesn't mean "invisible". A stealth bomber is just harder to detect than an ordinary one is on radar - ditto stealth fighters. To my knowledge, there is no such thing as a "stealth tank", "stealth rocket launcher" or anything else like that.

B. Invisible Troops
The temptation with magic (of any description) is to make people and things invisible. Thus, "my invisible tank has driven into the middle of your city. HA HA."
Think about this for a minute. Invisibility only extends to sight - an "invisible tank" would still make noise, especially when it shot you. "Invisible troops" would be even harder to work with, doors would open by themselves and all those orders of the sergeants would be very audible. This doesn't mean you can't have invisible tanks / ships / planes, it just means that not being seen doesn't make you undetectable.

C. Very Fast Troops
Espionage is a big place. You might have a large army, but if it's all on one side of the world fighting in one war, it can't suddenly appear on the other side of the world fighting in another war. In other words, your battalions can only be in one place at once. Transporting troops takes time, moving ships takes time, setting up bases and moving supplies takes time.

As a random note, war threads where troops are being deployed should ideally start with troops being readied for combat rather than departing [or worse, arriving] on the first post. It gives your opponent time to prepare, spy on you, and do all those other things that happen in real-life.

D. Military Involvement with Nations NOT Bordering You
You cannot directly invade a nation that doesn’t border you. There has to be a way to get there, whether it be with transports, airdrops, or permission to march through another nations’ territory. You cannot just say that your troops arrived at their border and are invading. That, in itself, is a godmode, coinciding with the “Very Fast Troops” explanation.

3. Acts of God
The cheapest godmode tactic of them all -- invoking God. Surely there is nothing more repugnant than that, especially to those of us who -are- religious. This is a game. God has better things to do with His time than intercede in someone's RPing. This doesn't mean you can't have characters who are minor or even major Gods, it means you cannot simply say 'God smites you because he's on our side!' as a response to an attack. 'S cheesy beyond mortal comprehension.

The Space-Time Continuum and God-Moding
Just because your country zips around in flying saucers and comes from another planet doesn't mean it's invincible. Despite the fact that there are multiple techs, it is still possible to have a war between such nations. It’s going to be a lot harder than having a war with someone within your tech range, but if you can pull it off, it’ll look great.

A. Future-tech vs. Present-tech
What's to stop an M-16, well-aimed, from knocking out all sorts of important bits of androids?

B. Future-tech vs Past-tech
Even a catapult could do some sort of damage. Ditto a crossbow bolt - they're still effective murder weapons today.

C. Present-tech vs Past-tech
If your castle's being shelled by tanks, try to tip some boiling oil over them. Crude, and only successful if the tank is charging your castle, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. Again, bow and arrows on the castle walls is very effective, although, the armor that present-tech may have could probably stop majority of the shots. Just aim for the head *wink*. It’s still very possible though, especially when it comes to close combat.

5. The Effects of War
Wars on your soil damage your infrastructure and economy in ways not quantified by the game in NS1. Wars abroad typically cost lots of money. Keep that in mind, for those of you who are frequent warmongers. Mobilizing troops, tanks, artillery, planes, etc, takes a surprising amount of money each time you do it. Be careful about how you do it as well, especially for you younger nations out there. Your first action being a mobilization, is definitely not recommended. Other things that’ll cost you money is keeping your mechanized military up-to-date, and refurbished. You can’t just let it sit in the shop, its gotta be checked every now and then for problems, and tested out. Don’t forget the amount of supplies each soldier will need too. They’ll obviously need food, water, and for those of you out there who take things safe, gas masks, and things like that [do not mistake this for needing to KNOW the exact amounts].

6. Weapons in Your Nation
When selling/inventing weapons... keep the specs reasonable, as well as the cost.

Example: If you claim you can sell a fighter jet for around $1M USD at any sort of profit, it obviously can't be a topline modern fighter... small old fighters like the F-5 Eagle come to mind.

If your equipment is 'cutting edge' - ie it's at the very top of whatever tech bracket you place yourself in - then you need to boost how much it costs you. Also note that how much the contracting costs your government will vary according to the cost of labor in your country; the rate at which you can build new weapons will vary according to how much industry your country has. For some countries, particularly a number that have no close real world equivalent and few factories, manufacturing may be largely done by humans, or sometimes even individual craftsmen; in others, it is entirely mechanized. The most efficient method varies wildly from state to state.

When buying weapons... remember the above, and additionally remember that the manufacturer may be over-reporting the specs slightly. That top speed of 700mph for your new bomber may have been clocked relative to the ground with a hurricane strength tail wind, and only the pilot and a quarter tank of fuel on board - no cargo, no payload, no copilot, no guns, etc. In other words, feel free to scale down other people's ludicrous specs when you buy their equipment if you're not happy using it 'as-is.'

When selling supplies try to keep in mind real world prices. You may be able to undersell this by a significant amount, or oversell to gullible or desperate countries, but it's a good marker to look at.

Even if they gave it to you... it still costs money to maintain. It may be dirt cheap to man it if you're a communist state, and easy to find skilled operators if you're well educated, but the nuclear subs won't work if you don't have a source of uranium, which is expensive. So is new ordinance to replace the stuff you fired off during the last war on Tuesday.

Stealth matters: the F-22 is much less visible to other aircraft, BUT IT IS STILL VISIBLE ON RADAR, much like the way the B-52 Stratofortress is very visible but a B-1 Lancer is LESS visible.

The F-117A is slow (sub-Mach 1), carries no gun, has no radar (it can only pick up fighters with IR sensors maybe 5 miles away), and carries maybe two reasonable-sized laser-guided bombs.

The F-22 is nowhere near as stealthy. For one, it has that massive heat signatures from the engines- the F-117A has cooling jets to reduce the signature. It has a radar and gives off a big electromagnetic signature, and enemies can know there's an F-22 around from the radar signature. The shape, while stealthy, is not perfect at all and is only moderately stealthy to radar. And it carries just 8 missiles.

7. Economy vs. Military
Sometimes, a lousy economy is entirely due to too much military spending. When in doubt, refer to (if possible) a nation's per capita military spending ranking. Poorer nations often have armies that are more effective for their money, but typically less potent in absolute terms. This means you cannot simply say 'I have a bigger economy, so my army should be bigger than yours.'

As an extreme example, an entire population could have cheap assault rifles, have no permanent home, and exist as nomadic raiders. In which case, you don't have much of an infrastructure to manufacture stuff with.

Try to stay in line with your government type. A democracy would be allowed to do a war every week, but don't expect that candidate to be elected when the next elections come. A oppressive psychotic dictatorship would not have its citizens willingly marching into someone else's country with AK-47's just because the Grand Poobah said so. An anarchist government would not even have an organized military, seeing as there isn't anyone to oversee it. It would be composed of militias, created by the people themselves.

8. Government Ideals
Democracy- Form of government in which government officials are elected by the people.
PROS: Tends to have high evils of political freedoms, good but privately owned infrastructure, moderate sized volunteer armies.
CONS: The people can remove people they don't like from office. People tend to be leery of war and grow ever more dissenting the longer the country is in a state of war.
Military is volunteer based and populace grows disconcerted at huge numbers of military. Although, if the large force still consists of all volunteer forces, it isn't likely that the populace will get upset. It's when a draft is instated, that the people get uneasy.

Theocracy- Government by the religious institutions of the country.
PRO: Populace tend to have fanatical dedication to the government, large military force.
CONS: Tend to be monarchies or puppet democracies. Secular governments tend to frown upon them as terrorist or irresponsible states..
Military is both volunteer AND forced, people however are fanatically devoted to cause and are often willing to declare holy war against their enemies. However, the belief in holy blessing for their cause may lead to poor tactics in combat, since their Generals may believe they will win regardless of what they do or that their enemy are weak from corruption and will fall easily.

Dictatorship: The people are ruled by a single person or group of persons. Is often the most versatile form of government as it can include elements from any other forms of government. Can have elected dictators ((think of Naboo from SW:TPM)) or a dictator which appoints a council to aide him, etc.
PROS: Can have high levels of population support [unlikely for non-benevolent dictatorships], low to no unemployment, Huge militaries (you're a dictator, the people do what you say or else.. mwhaha.. anyway percents vary here depending on the size of your country, economic and infrastructure base, and amount of populace in the acceptable age range.
CONS: Can have low levels of population support. Can have bad infrastructure and high crime ((depending on how well the populace like you)).
Military is forced or selected so it's at will, populace can either be fanatically devoted or not or somewhere in between. What really counts here is how much importance you place in other areas and you could put the leftovers into military ((note the term military THROUGHOUT this post is defined as: combat troops, offices, pilots, naval officers/crew, support personnel, relevant government officials, anyone employed in the sole manufacture, storage, or transport of military goods, an anyone working for the military as defined.)) and then use real word statistics to figure out the individual areas so overall combat troops might only be like 4-9% depending.

Again, the key to not godmoding is to be consistent, think about your form of government AND use your country (give it a history where it came from ect..). Your country is an advantage. If you mix fantasy with role-playing and say your populace JRR Tolkiens' Elves then your military numbers could get a boost (Tolkiens; elves can't die or be affected by disease or old age) and effectiveness increases because of their natural abilities. Just remember to be consistent and within the bounds of the RW or the world you set your nation in. Some people will ignore anything out of the ordinary, but that's something you'll have to live with.

Deploying huge fleets at a moment's notice is one of the more bizarre feats of wankery a player can do, because it involves assuming that your fleet is at DEFCON 1 at all times. Care to say how long the economy of a developed nation could stand up to that?

9. The Indefatigable Army.
Okay, so you've just conscripted your huge (but not too huge) army from your reservists. You've sent them to fight, they arrive in reasonable time, and then you go and screw it up by having them all act like Space Marines. Think about it: how much of your army is career soldiers and how much is petrified civil servants who just want to go home? Your army will start to lose hope if they're being absolutely hammered in some foreign land for reasons they can barely remember. Writing from their perspective makes RP more interesting to read.

10. Completely Discounting an Opponent
'I attack you. You're small, I'm big. I win.'
'That was fun...'

Ok, with superior numbers and weaponry you'll probably have a fairly one-sided fight, but you shouldn't just assume your enemy will be a walkover. Remember, you're on your enemy's home turf and they're fighting for their homes and families. They won't roll over and die just like that. SPR is not real and you can't beat an enemy by throwing troops at his machine gun nests in the hope he'll eventually run out of ammunition. Anything can happen really, when it comes to role playing. A smaller nation can drive out a larger nation through superior tactics, and overall superior role playing. It's difficult and horribly costly, but it can be done.

11. Nothing is Perfect
That goes for your tanks that never break down, your troops that never give up, your NMD that never misses. Adding in things like this during a battle/war would make it much more realistic.

Not Looking Before You Leap
Ex: 'I send a fleet to your nation.'
'Err...The only port we have comes in bottles...'

ASK. If you're going to war with someone, ask for a basic breakdown of their nation's appearance, size and military strength. It is understandable for a nation to have classified information when it comes to military, but all of it shouldn't be. One thing that needs to be stressed is the fact that in order to set up an aggressive war with someone, both nations need to know the other nations’ terrain [or the area of operations if the war isn't fought on either country's home soil]. Without that, then how will you know where to invade?

12. Untraceable (Terrorist Nation/Group)
It’s one thing to make your nation into an organized terrorist organization, and have cells around the world that are hard to detect [assuming that the nations the cells are in agree to the presence of your terror cells beforehand], but when it’s a nation itself that is hosting this terror org, it’s not impossible to see.

There are a large amount of ways of diplomacy when it comes to interaction between 2(+) nations. I plan on covering every aspect of this, as well as relations between nations, and how it effects NS politics.

Table of Contents
1. Intro
2. Forms of Diplomacy
3. Ministers
4. Conferences
5. Transmissions/Communiques/Code
6. Embassies and Their Importance
7. Diplomatic Immunity
8. Custom Contracts for Establishing Embassies
9. Importance of Respect in Foreign Territory
10. Declaration of War

Once you really start to get into Nation States, you really start to see the ‘cliques’ that have been formed, otherwise known as Alliances. Some that really come to mind lately are NATO, RBA, APTO, RWC, and many many more. Some of these Alliances (NATO) are based off of real world alliances, with an NS twist. Others are alliances for specific aspects of a nation. For example, the RWC is the Right Wing Collective, which obviously contains right-wing nations. For those new nations out there, don’t expect to get into an esteemed alliance within your first few weeks of being on NS. Gain roleplaying experience, and make yourself known. Trust me, other nations will take notice. Don’t be afraid to try something new, although, if you make a lot of outlandish threads, such as executing Nazi’s or Republican’s (some nations will still support you), majority of the nations out there will condemn this action, and see to it that your nation doesn’t do it again.

When you first begin your nation, a big suggestion is to either create an ‘Invite RP’, where either your leader sets up conference’s with other world leaders, or you just invite them all over to your nation to discuss relations. It’s a good way to get to know people. For most people out there, the first few nations you interact with will probably become your best allies in the times to come. It’ll surprise you how much some of the older nations out there will be so glad to open up relations with newer nations.

Forms of Diplomacy

There are two major forms of diplomacy. The simplest and the oldest is bilateral diplomacy between two states. Bilateral diplomacy is still common with many treaties between two states (e.g. the Canadian-American Free Trade Agreement), and it is the main concern of embassies and state visits. The other form of diplomacy is multilateral diplomacy involving many states. Formal multilateral diplomacy is normally dated to the Congress of Vienna in the nineteenth century. Since then, multilateralism has grown in importance. Today most trade treaties, such as the WTO and FTAA, arms control agreements, such as the Partial Test Ban Treaty and Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and environmental agreements, such as the Kyoto Accord, are multilateral. The United Nations is the most important institution of multilateral diplomacy.

There is a third form of diplomacy, in fact a variant of multilateral diplomacy, i.e. regional diplomacy, that is mulitlateral diplomacy that is practiced within a closed circle of geographic neighbors. We might call it 'multilateral diplomacy among intimates'. Since neighborhood is a fact of life, regional diplomacy involves a close blend of the bilateral and the limited group multilateral methods in pursuit of mutual interests.

Ministers

A good thing to do is to create Ministers, depending on what type of government you have. For example:

Minister of Defense- Charles Johansson
Minister of Energy- Spencer Abraham
Minister of Defense- James English

Etc, etc, etc...

The most important Ministers you can probably reveal are your ministers of defense and foreign relations, as they will be answering most of the ‘questions’ and making most of the statements to other nations’ actions. One thing you could do is create a thread with all of your Ministers attending, and discuss your nations’ policies. It’ll add a little spice to your responses, but if you decide not to do it, it’s not going to have a major impact on your roleplaying skills.

Another way to do it is to just have the leader of your nation respond to everything. It’s a lot easier, so that you only have to remember 1 name for your nation. Majority of the nations out there do this anyways.

Conferences

Conferences are a big deal in NS. They are easy to lose interest in though. Yes, they may seem boring, but its something that is strongly recommended to have. If you’re new, and you find yourself agreeing with a lot of a specific nations’ policies, then telegram them, and ask if they would like to participate in a Conference to discuss relations with that nation. You never know what may come out of it. You could have just found yourself a new ally, or in time, a new enemy. It makes the game so much more interesting. Remember, do not forget about the thread. If you take a long time to respond to the other nations’ responses, then most likely, they will lose interest as well. Also, too many nations in a single conference could lead to chaos, and in turn, not getting into the actual discussions that were meant to take place.

Transmissions/Communiques/Code
Many nations use transmissions/communiques/code to send a message to another nation, specifically of more important information, for example:

Quote :

Quote:
Transmission to Granzi:

We must ask of you a favor. We need your help in attacking 'Nation A'. We request, because of our alliance, that you send reinforcements in 'Nation A' to help defeat them. Please respond as soon as you can.

End Transmission

You can post these sort of things in a thread, but make sure that it is known who you are sending it to. Other nations cannot use this transmission as evidence of something. That would be considered godmoding. Code is basically the same thing, except the fact that the words are different.

Code:

To whom it may concern in Granzi,
"We must ask of you a favor. We need your help in attacking 'Nation A'. We request, because of our alliance, that you send reinforcements in 'Nation A' to help defeat them. Please respond as soon as you can."

Just a different look to it.

Embassies and their Importance

Embassies are another aspect of the game that could add a lot of roleplay ideas, such as the establishing of relations through an embassy, or even, to make things more interesting, either the expelling of a nations’ diplomats, or the arrest of these diplomats for ‘crimes’ within the foreign nation. Embassies, obviously, help to give nations a presence within another nation, possibly to understand their culture, from an observer stand-point. One thing to remember is that embassies are the territory of the nation establishing the embassy. For example, Euroslavia has an embassy within the nation of Super American VX Man. The embassy is Euroslavic territory, and the diplomats have certain immunities within the other nation. This should be discussed with the other nation before an embassy is established.

To fulfil its obligations, a nation normally establishes diplomatic relationships with the different nations of the world. Depending on the level at which these relations are to be maintained, each nation positions an ambassador, charge d'affairs or a consul in the other country with reciprocal arrangements. The embassies have the following clear cut functions:-

- To project the parent nation's interests and endeavour to protect them.
- To further trade between the two countries.
- To gain as much of information about the host country's interests, actions and activities as possible. Both by overt and covert means.
- To study and report the military implications of the actions of the host nation.
- To look after the interests of its nationals, living or travelling in the host country.

The basic aim of the ambassador is to, 'sell' his country's viewpoint to the people and the government of the host country. This he does by projecting the positive aspects of all his country's activities and policies. He has also to explain away any aberrations, or likely pin pricks, without jeopardising the interests of his country.

To be able to look after the Interests of his parent country, the ambassador, normally, has a number of professional officers, whose ranks would vary from the third secretary to the first secretary. In addition, he has attaches from all the three services. The most important aspect, i.e., of projecting the economic Interests of the parent country would be the responsibility of the trade mission, functioning under the ambassador.

An ambassador has the right to meet the executive head of the host nation, whenever he so desires and project the country's point of view. Similarly, the host country also has the right to summon the ambassador and project its point of view.

To project his country's point of view and even mount pressure on the host country, an ambassador would invariably try to establish a lobby, whose activists would plead and fight for the parent country's interests. They would also mount pressure on the host country's government, through its executives. The best example of the functioning of such a lobby is the pro-Israel lobby in the United States of America. It is also legitimate to use the nationals or people of the parent country's origin, to create pressure groups, in the host nation, to look after the interests of the parent country.

The most important activity of any embassy and the ambassador is to further trade between the parent country and the host nation. Towards that end it must be his never-ending endeavour to search and develop newer markets for his country's produce. It would be profitable to use the nationals/\people of his parent country's origin, in trade, to project and market his country's produce, in the host country. He should also develop the source of supply of raw material required by his parent country, being produced by the host country.

Diplomatic Immunity

The sanctity of diplomats has long been observed. This sanctity has come to be known as diplomatic immunity. While there have been a number of cases where diplomats have been killed, this is normally viewed as a great breach of honour. Ghengis Khan and the Mongols were well known for strongly insisting on the rights of diplomats, and they would often wreak horrific vengeance against any state that violated these rights.

Diplomatic rights were established in the mid-seventeenth century in Europe and have spread throughout the world. These rights were formalized by the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which protects diplomats from being persecuted or prosecuted while on a diplomatic mission. If a diplomat does commit a serious crime while in a host country s/he may be expelled. Such diplomats are then often tried for the crime in their homeland.

Diplomatic communications are also viewed as sacrosanct, and diplomats have long been allowed to carry documents across borders without being searched. The mechanism for this is the so-called "diplomatic bag" (or, in some countries, the "diplomatic pouch"). In recent years, however, signals intelligence has led to this use of diplomatic bags being largely discarded.

In times of hostility, diplomats are often withdrawn for reasons of personal safety, and in some cases when the host country is friendly but there is a perceived threat from internal dissidents. Ambassadors and other diplomats are also sometimes recalled by their home countries as a way to express displeasure with the host country. In both cases, lower-level employees remain to actually do the business of diplomacy.

Custom Contracts for Establishing Embassies

Each nation has a specific set of rules that they wish to establish before setting up an exchange of embassies. Certain nations do not give 'immunity' do diplomats at all. It all depends on the customs of the host nation. Here is an example of what Iuthia has as his own customs:

Quote :

Iuthian Diplomatic Contract

This document provides the authorization of Lord General James deGritz for the building of Embassies within the Diplomatic Quarter of Iuthia’s capitol city, Iuthia Prima. As the capitol is an inland city, 24-hours notice must be given to the Iuthian Diplomatic Corps in written format such as teletype, secured e-mail, or secured fax prior to the arrival or departure of Iuthia Prima borders. Travel outside the diplomatic compound must be escorted by Iuthia Prima Foreign Services personnel.

Rules for Diplomatic personnel and stations are as follows:

Extraterritoriality of Embassies
Embassies are considered to be extraterritorial. Iuthian personnel may only enter with the permission of the Ambassador.

Embassy Law Enforcement
Embassies are responsible for their own security and law enforcement. Embassies are permitted a small armed force up to thirty (30) people to accomplish this. No foreign nationals may carry weapons outside the Embassy compound.

Subjugation of Iuthian Law
With the exception of the Ambassador and five members of the Embassy staff (chosen by the Ambassador) who will be granted Extraterritoriality, all Embassy personnel are subject to Iuthian law outside the Embassy itself.

Expelling of Diplomatic Personnel
The Lord General or Foreign Minister of the Iuthian Diplomatic Corps reserves the right to expel any and all members of any foreign government at any time, for any reason. With the exception of active hostilities between Iuthian and the government in question, any personnel so expelled are secure in their persons and personal baggage until after they have been removed from Iuthian territory (in other words, if we expel your Ambassador, he still has diplomatic immunity until he leaves Iuthian territory).

Diplomatic Security Outside Embassy Compound
Diplomatic security outside of the Embassy compound is the responsibility of Iuthian Diplomatic Corps personnel and National Police personnel. No foreign diplomatic personnel are allowed to travel unescorted within Iuthian territory. All foreign diplomatic nationals employed at the Embassy who object to this are free to live within the Embassy compound.

Electronic Communication Outside Embassy Compound
Each Embassy compound is permitted one- and only one- satellite communications station within the Embassy compound. Communications carried on this system may be encrypted or employ any other anti-intrusion measures the Embassy personnel consider prudent. All other message traffic must go through public communications circuits or be carried in the Diplomatic Pouch.

Diplomatic Pouch Communication Outside Embassy Compound
Messages between the Embassy and its parent government may be carried by one of the Embassy staff with Extraterritoriality in a Diplomatic Pouch- which may be no larger than a standard briefcase. This pouch will be secure against any search beyond normal non-invasive passive sensors. For safety reasons, the briefcase must be transparent to X-rays. Any anti-intrusion electronics within the briefcase must be demonstrated to Diplomatic Corps personnel before the establishment of the Embassy. Any subsequent changes to anti-intrusion electronics must also be demonstrated to Diplomatic Corps prior to its use being permitted within the Diplomatic Pouch. Any electronics within the Diplomatic Pouch that do not match the X-ray signature of the agreed-upon system will not be permitted entry. Embassy security personnel are permitted unrestricted access to the Diplomatic Security screening station before, during, and after the Diplomatic Pouch passes through to ensure that Iuthian is not attempting electronic breaching of the Diplomatic Pouch.

Communication with Foreign Nationals Accused of Crimes
Embassy personnel will be permitted to communicate with citizens of the Embassy's government accused of crimes within Iuthian territory. This communication will be monitored by Diplomatic Corps and National Police personnel, and is not considered privileged information. The Lord General or Foreign Minister of the Iuthian Diplomatic Corps reserves the right to restrict any such communication in the event it may (in the opinion of Iuthian Diplomatic Corps) it may jeopardize National Security.

Diplomatic Vehicles
Each Embassy will be permitted to import two non-military vehicles for use by Extraterritorial Embassy personnel. Diplomatic vehicles will be considered part of the Embassy compound when in use by Embassy personnel with Extraterritoriality.

Prior to entry, any such vehicle will be thoroughly inspected by a team from the Iuthian Diplomatic Corps in the presence of Embassy security staff. All equipment installed in or on the vehicles will be demonstrated to IDC personnel. Any additional equipment installed subsequent to approval must also be examined by IDC and its purpose demonstrated. Diplomatic vehicles will be examined at random intervals agreed to by the Ambassador. Any alteration to the agreed equipment will be considered a violation of the Diplomatic Agreement.

In the event of a suspected crime or threat to National Security, the vehicle and its occupants will be detained in place while Iuthian Diplomatic Corps requests access to the vehicle from the Ambassador. Failure to grant such access will constitute a breach of the Diplomatic agreement. Under these circumstances and in the absence of a state of war, the Embassy may send Security Observers to ensure that the vehicle is not searched or entered by Iuthian personnel as it is destroyed in place. The remains of the vehicle will be returned to the Embassy once destruction is completed. The Embassy will be closed and all personnel expelled once this is completed. The destroyed vehicle will be permitted to leave with the Embassy staff.

Diplomatic Personnel and Espionage
Any Embassy personnel engaging in espionage will be summarily expelled (if granted Extraterritoriality) or prosecuted within the full extent of Iuthian law (all others). Embassy personnel who escape (or attempt to escape) the supervision of their Diplomatic Corps escorts will be assumed to be engaged in espionage.

Travel Restrictions Placed on Embassy Personnel
No Embassy personnel are permitted to depart Iuthia Prima for any reason other than to leave Iuthian territory.

Assuming that these terms are acceptable, The Lord General and Foreign Minister of the Iuthian Diplomatic Corps welcome the opportunity to establish diplomatic relations with your government. Please send any applicable restrictions for Iuthian Diplomatic personnel in your territory.

Best Regards,

Foreign Minister Mick Lakely
Iuthian Diplomatic Corps
The Benevolent Dictatorship of Iuthia
Importance of Respect in Foreign Territory

These diplomats/ambassadors representing a specific nation within another territory must be sure that they are able to respect the laws and customs within the nation they are staying. If a diplomat were to act foolishly, and get punishment from the host country, relations between the two could be dramatically affected. If a supposedly respectful representative from another country cannot act with responsibility, then who says that the entire nation can? Harmful acts by a single man can ruin the reputation of an entire nation.

Declaration of War

Normally, diplomacy precedes and follows the employment armed forces, to fulfil the Policy Imperatives of the Nation to protect or project that nation's Interests. In fact, today, however, the employment of War as an Instrument of State Policy invariably implies the failure of Diplomacy. It, therefore, is important to realise that to fulfil the nation's policy imperatives the employment of diplomacy is of prime importance. For after all War is an instrument of last resort. This takes on more importance when we realise that invariably, a nation's Interests are invariably spelt out in economic terms and war is an extremely uneconomic venture.

War between any two nations will normally occur when there has been a situation created where the two develop irreconcilable differences, resulting in a clash of interests. The resultant is that the Policy Imperatives head for a collision course. We find that before the Second World War, Japan and the United States of America, both vying for the markets of China and East Asia had reacherd an impasse. The War became inevitable when the United States of America placed an embargo on the sale of petroleum products, to Japan. Thus pushing Japan, practically, to the brink of an economic disaster.

Similarly war became inevitable when Iraq occupied Kuwait and thereby threatened the supply of petroleum products to Western Europe, Japan and the United States of America.

Diplomats again take over, after the war to ensure that the Interests of their countries are safe guarded and at the same time not to create a situation, where the loser becomes desperate. It was the failure on the part of the allies, after the First World War, to give Germany a fair deal that forced Germany to go in its search for 'Lebensraum' and take on practically the rest of the World.

Sadly, after all diplomacy has failed, war is likely, meaning, this is the end of the thread.

This is the second version of my terrorist guide. This one is waaaay more detailed and is really a great resource for terrorist nations. I suggest those who have read it read it fully again. I made a few word changes that make a difference and added examples. Sorry if the examples are a bit weird, I made them fast.

1) Communication

OK, lets face it people, Nation 1 doesn't want to wake up and find out Nation 2 has set off a "n00k" in their nation. Nation 3 doesn't want to find out Nation 4 has set off a car bomb and killed the President of Nation 3's nation.

Which is why you should find out a way to get into contact with the nation your attacking. I dont care whether its by TGs, IRC, AIM, MSN, Y, or ICQ, as long as you get communication.

Once you do, come up with an answer to these:

a. What am I using to attack you? (Compromise with the attacked. Be creative. Be original.)
b. How am I going to get the stuff into your nation? (Compromise again. This is simple. Unless the nation doesn't allow in anybody, getting in is easy. The thing is, how am I going to get the things I am using into your nation? And will you find some if not all of it?)
c. What are my target(s)? (Not your choice, his. But for the people being attacked, don't make it lame. No one wants to spend their time on a descriptive post to kill 5 embassy workers and make 1 building crumble.)
d. How should I get to doing these things? (Driving a car in and setting off a bomb? Planting the bomb somewhere and setting it off? There's all sorts of ways one item could be used against a nation. This is the fun part, because good RPers will let you ruin their economy, take out their government, etc etc etc and if you can figure out a great way to do it. Make it very interesting.)
e. Is my attack going to fail or succeed? (Don't be a 500-time succeeder, you need to fail in an attack every once in a while. Maybe only half your attack succeeds and the rest is stopped.)

Then you can write up the post. I usually try to write as much as I can, and be so descriptive. Then you TG it to the guy, he makes any edits necessary, he TGs it to you, you look over it, and then post it.

2) Supplies

You have to think of where you got the supplies. Where are they coming from if they are being shipped. How are you going to get them past the borders if they aren't already inside. Are they already inside?

If not then you have to RP them coming in. Maybe you loose one half of the shipment of it coming in. No terrorist is perfect. Maybe you get your attack leader killed and you have to re-sketch everything with the second biggest brain. Think of all these things.

Oh and you cant bring a nuclear bomb through a border. Its not reasonable. The nations would know of that big a movement. I suggest something other than a nuke or launch it from another nation. Either way, it cant go through borders unless you plain something really well.

And don't plan on being supplied with a nuclear weapon and getting away with it. Nations will probably notice. And if they do you cant just ignore them. Its gonna cause trouble. So don't count on many nuclear attacks.

[color]red]Bad:[/color]

Quote :

I brought nukes into your country while your guard was asleep. I also shut down your cameras so it got through.

Quote :

I have had these bombs in your nation for 48 years! I just never told anyone!

Quote :

I am so secretive all 400 of my troops and their gunzorz slipped into your nation.

Good:

Quote :

The airplane lands in the suburban airport as Bob walks towards the landing zone. The airport is generally small but still has security. The plane lands as the civilians leave the plane and the cargo workers start unloading the cargo.

"What the!? Whats this stuff?" one of them in an orange suit says. A closer look shows a few white circular containers with no label. "This isn't on the cargo list."

Bob takes his chance. "Its mine, boys, Ill take it from here."

One of the workers steps in front of Bob as he tries to get to the hold. "Sorry, buddy, but its not on the list. We're gonna have to verify it first. We'll call you tomorrow when everything has been checked."

"That wont be necessary." And Bob lifts a single index finger. From the nearby forest emerge four men armed with SOKOL-31 rifles. Bob takes out a pistol hiding under his suit.

The three airport workers try and run, and the two guards dressed in navy blue uniforms take out their pistols. Bob shoots the first guard, the rifles take down two of the airport workers. Bob fires at the second guard, but misses as the guard dived down.

The rifles took down the last cargo hold worker. Bob reloaded and walked towards the airport car the guard was hiding under. The guard got up and started firing, Bob was too late to pick up his gun and took three to the chest. The rifles took advantage of the guard's exposure and shot him down.
Now you'd have to find a way to get the containers out without anyone noticing, and maybe hide the bodies too, but you'd have to do it without anyone noticing. Remember, do all this in as much detail as well.

3) Know Where Your Operatives Are

But don't let other nations say they have found them. This is the thing about responsible terrorist organizations, they hide in hundreds of countries at once (if they are that big). The way I have my terrorist nation do it is to have no more than 10% (and usually its much lower) at one nation at a time. And remember, after an attack, your operatives shouldn't hang around. They should leave. Fast. As pointed out by someone in the previous guide, some nations don't want some terrorist org to suddenly declare they have operatives in the region. This presents a huge problem. How do we make sure our operatives are officially in a place without telling nations who'd react with, "NO they AInt cuz i dont lettem of j00 org inside my nation!!1111". That's an interesting question. But I think as long as the terrorist organization is truthful, it'll work out. So only RP with terrorist orgs that you can trust is my solution.

You should especially know where your leader is and what he is being protected by.. And if you have any broadcast stations to hack into TVs (which shouldnt ever be in the same place) know where that is, too. Also know how your going to scramble the signal, even though you should probably leave location soon as the broadcast has been sent through.

Know where your training camps are. Know where your equipment is being held and by who. It makes everything organized and realistic.

4) Get Captured

Let a few of your terrorists get killed, captured, captured but rescued, etc etc etc. This makes for interesting RP with nations. I for one love having my operatives killed during a mission. Some nations RP interrogations with terrorist's they've caught. Hell, even let your leader be captured! That'll cause some havoc! But as a terrorist nation you'd probably be able to recoop without the leader.

Its fun being captured sometimes. You can even RP some of it yourself. Dont make your enemy stupid. That offends the nations your attacking. Have their security be tough and trained. Have it be strong enough to outsmart you sometimes.

Bad

Quote :

All my guys escape your nation through the boats I had there. No one was captured or killed.

Good:

Quote :

Bob had set off the bomb and he saw it explode from the outside. Someone must have been noticing his movement because the guards started firing at him. Black uniformed, military-standard rifle-holding police officers, they seemed to be. His shoulder was pierced with a bullet and one in the neck. He died instantly.

Joe on the other side started running, hoping he wouldnt meet the same fate. He turned around to see where the guards were, and when he turned back, a fist was in his stomach and all he saw was a black, blurry officer. He had been captured.

5) The Actual Roleplay

Make it detailed. I like to make it as detailed as long as it doesnt bore me because then nobody would want to read "he went right, he went left, he skipped the red light and went right". Get what Im saying? But make it interesting and long! Post interaction between the terrorist! Post them talking about their plans! Post about one guy sitting in the shotgun of a bomb-truck talking to the other guy about his ex-gal. And make everything else descriptive, too!

Quote :

The bomb was in the back of the truck and Bob was driving while Joe was riding shotgun. The truck was black with the label of "BooBoo Bandaids" on both sides. They were set to go into the middle of New Fork Town and blow the truck, killing several.

"So, Bobby, why are you doing this?" Joe asked, blowing cigarette smoke from his mouth.

"Huh?" Bob was concentrating on the road. "Doing what?"

"Ya know... This whole... terrorist thing..." Joe took another inhale of smoke.

"Oh, I dont know... Cause it pays good?" They had a laugh at that. They werent getting paid. They were suicide bombers. What good was money if they were dead?

"Yeah... The money. Take a right here." Joe directed. There it was, four blocks down, the center of New Fork Town. Joe had the bomb control in his hand. The big red button to the left was the manual set-off.

"See ya downstairs, Joe." Bob said as he smashed into a man walking across the street. At the same time Joe hit the big red button. Boom.

Detail, detail, detail.

6) The Cause

Now, this is a tricky subject. Some say you have to have some sort of cause for attacking. Well, Jaxus Nine's cause? Is to strike fear. Why? Because once enough fear has been set, it'd be time to start demanding. And who are those nations to refuse demands from some organization who has destroyed their economy or taken out their President? But after all, you have to have some sort of motive. Whether it be money, politics, etc etc etc, you have to have some in the end.

7) Attacking Those Who Helped Attack

If you attack someone, and a lot of people rush over to help that someone, attack one of those people! Its the perfect way to scare the others off. If they still don't budge, attack again! Announce that anyone helping that nation will be attacked! You don't want the nation you just attacked to be back to normal in a few years. You want the effect to be long-lasting. So do a follow-up on another nation helping the nation you attacked. Following me here?

Have A Headquarters

Wherever you attack, you should have a headquarters, a base of operations, a place to stop by and have coffee before bombing hundreds of people. This would usually be in an uncrowded suburban area. I mean, if citizens see 10 big black trucks that seem to have bombs in them in a parking lot, they will get suspicious.

Then again, if your terrorists arent planning anything that requires to be hidden, then be close to your target. Be renting out a hotel next to the place if your just planning to send in a few of your guns.

Sometimes you can work for your target, and they wont even know your planning to blow the hell out of them!

9) Attacks

Be original in your attacks! Be creative! And remember, it doesnt need huge bombs or machinery to be huge! A few men and a few matches could do the job just as well as a plane could if done right. It can go from a nuke to a single pistol. Either way, it could be enormously devestating. Assassinations are fun, too. Remember, creativity and new attacks keep it interesting.

10) Casualties

Only a few words to say on this. Let the one being attacked decide.

Stuff You Should Just Plain Know :

No all caps. No 4, yes four. Spell everything correctly. Use punctuation. Use commas. Use paragraphs. (Dont need to indent though.) Make sure your facts are right. Make sure you look intellegient.

Follow all these rules and you'll be a semi-respected Terrorist. But you have to keep at it to get yourself known.

Now...I, Eonic will explain Espionage's Modern Tech (MT), Future Tech (FT), and Past Tech (PT).

Modern Tech

Modern Tech is basically any technology (a real technology) from 1960 - present.

Future Tech

This is where it gets tricky. The most important part about having future tech is not godmodding with it. Otherwise, large spaceships, weapon sattilites, etc. are allowed.

Past Tech

Any technology before the 1960s is allowed in this catagory. The most common would be swords and arrows.

Match Ups

Now, its possible for a FT nation to fight a MT nation or a PT nation...and vice versa...but things have to be planned carfefully.

Bad:

Quote :

Our large star cruisers fire space lasers at your puny cities, destroying all your infrastructure and burning all your buildings to the ground. There is no possible way for your puny modern nation to retalliate.

Good:

Quote :