Nation Building Politicon: One Nation, Under You (OOC)

[CJAlex]

Single Nations (IC) | >>Out of Character<< | Nation Files | World Consortium (IC)
(Links to come...)
​

Welcome to the con, my friend. I hope you find your new office to your liking. If you ever feel a change of scenery is needed, let the decorations personnel know. They're always happy to accentuate your regime... er... term with new, bold colors.

If you need a quick once-over of your primary responsibilities, you can view the Interest Check here. If not, you have an oh-eight-hundred meeting this morning with your cabinet to discuss our—excuse me—your agenda. Shall we get started?


Your Nation...
Nations are complicated, fickle creatures. Thankfully, in Politicon, a lot of the details about the mighty domain you are to rule can be fleshed out in the IC over time. Nation Files, which are the "character sheets" of this role play's actors, are relatively simple starting out. Below is the skeleton you'll need to fill out and submit to the Nations Files thread as its own post. I have kept BBCode to a minimum for the sake of uniformity. Please do not add any new, abrupt formatting (i.e. color, borders, frilly crap).

For custom maps, flags, and other visual aides (none of which are required), please upload them as attachments, but DO NOT insert them into the posts. These sheets are meant to be clean and simple for ease of use.

Spoiler: BBCode for Your Copy/Paste Leisure

Nation Name
National Motto
[divide][/divide]
Current Head(s) of State: <multiple officials can qualify, depending on the type of gov't>

Type of Government: <i.e. Monarchy, Democratic-Republic, Oligarchy, Meritocracy, etc.; it can even be a blend>
Type of Economy: <i.e. Market, Command, Mixed, etc.>
Current Compass Slant: <choose between either left and right, and then libertarian and authoritarian; i.e. Left-Libertarian>

Demonym: <or "gentilic" is a word used for people or the inhabitants of a place>
Population: <an approximation>

Ethnic Demographic: <break down of your nation's primary ethnic races, either in paragraph or list format>

Controlling Party: <which political party or faction wields the most influence>
Opposition Parties: <significant political parties or factions that oppose the controlling party>

National Religion: <if applicable>
National Philosophy: <if applicable - most practiced ideology, may be used in place of or in conjunction with a national religion>
National Animal/Bird: <if applicable>
National Symbol: <if applicable - may even be the same as the animal/bird>
National Colors:

Moments in History
[divide][/divide]

[LIST]
[*]A bullet break-down of important points in your nation's history. Limit each bullet to a small paragraph or less.


[*]As you continue to play, you can return to this sheet and edit the post to expand upon your history...


[*]...as well as update any of the above information as necessary.
[/LIST]

Spoiler: Preview

Nation Name
National Motto
Current Head(s) of State: <multiple officials can qualify, depending on the type of gov't>

Type of Government: <i.e. Monarchy, Democratic-Republic, Oligarchy, Meritocracy, etc.; it can even be a blend>
Type of Economy: <i.e. Market, Command, Mixed, etc.>
Current Compass Slant: <choose between either left and right, and then libertarian and authoritarian; i.e. Left-Libertarian>

Demonym: <or "gentilic" is a word used for people or the inhabitants of a place>
Population: <an approximation>
Ethnic Demographic: <break down of your nation's primary ethnic races, either in paragraph or list format>

Controlling Party: <which political party or faction wields the most influence>
Opposition Parties: <significant political parties or factions that oppose the controlling party>

National Religion: <if applicable>
National Philosophy: <if applicable - most practiced ideology, may be used in place of or in conjunction with a national religion>
National Animal/Bird: <if applicable>
National Symbol: <if applicable - may even be the same as the animal/bird>
National Colors:

Moments in History

• A bullet break-down of important points in your nation's history. Limit each bullet to a small paragraph or less.
  
  
• As you continue to play, you can return to this sheet and edit the post to expand upon your history...
  
  
• ...as well as update any of the above information as necessary.

Getting Started...
Once you have created your nation and posted it in the Nation Files thread, you're ready to begin. The below post will be frequently (more-or-less) updated with a list of issues that your nation's government can tackle using their Political Capital (see below). As long as you have the PC to spend, you can respond to as many issues as you want, in whatever order you see fit. After 24 hours (real time), you can return to post the result of your government's actions regarding that issue.

Political Capital...
All players have a cap of 50pc, meaning they cannot accrue or save up points beyond 50 at any given time. You earn 5pc per day, and issues cost capital to respond to. How much capital you have to spend on an issue will largely depend on your government's standing on the political compass. For instance, if you choose to adopt a response that actually favors the opposition party(ies) and goes against your current administration's political values (adopting a left-leaning position on a social issue when your party actually leans right), you will incur a higher political cost.

The idea behind Political Capital is to get you to pump the breaks a little. It provides some modicum of realism to the role play. It takes time to implement policies that can shift the direction of an entire nation, and no matter how godlike a dictator may present themselves to be... a god, they are not.

Game cycles last 24 hours, real time, and reset at 00:00 UTC (GMT). So, every night at midnight, you'll gain 5pc and are allowed to provide an update for the decisions you made the previous day. For the sake of keeping everything orderly (since we have a lot of people that have at least expressed interest), just provide us with that update with your next issue-response post.

Example below:

Spoiler: Example Single Nations IC Post

Nation's Name

Capital Gained Since Last Cycle: ##pc

Update
<One or two paragraphs explaining the consequences of each decision made during the previous cycle.>

<You can also add another paragraph that further extends the fallout of older decisions to keep your nation more alive.>

New Responses

• Response to Issue #23 - Cost: 10pc
  • Lorem ipsum...
    
• Response to Issue #31 - Cost: 20pc (+5pc; Opposition Party Advantage)
  • Lorem ipsum...

Total Capital Spent: ##pc
Remaining Capital: ##pc

Spoiler: BBCode for Single Nations IC Post

[SIZE=6]Nation's Name[/SIZE]

[SIZE=5]Capital Gained Since Last Cycle: ##pc[/SIZE]

[SIZE=5]Update[/SIZE]
<One or two paragraphs explaining the consequences of each decision made during the previous cycle.>

<You can also add another paragraph that further extends the fallout of older decisions to keep your nation more alive.>

[SIZE=5]New Responses[/SIZE]
[LIST]
[*][b]Response to Issue #23 - Cost: 10pc[/b]

[LIST]
[*]Lorem ipsum...


[/LIST]
[*][b]Response to Issue #31 - Cost: 20pc (+5pc; Opposition Party Advantage)[/b]
[LIST]
[*]Lorem ipsum...

[/LIST]
[/LIST]
[SIZE=5]Total Capital Spent: ##pc
Remaining Capital: ##pc[/SIZE]

The World Consortium...
There are two in-character threads for this nation RP. The first, Single Nations (IC), is only for your isolated cycle updates. What happens in there has no affect on the overall world, even if you say it does. You can go to war with another made-up nation, declare yourself Supreme Commander of the Universe, and build a super weapon in space that blows up Pluto... We don't care.

On the other hand, you can also represent another instance of your nation in the World Consortium (IC) thread, which aims to play the game through a more diplomatic way. Crisis Points are WC-specific issues that can have adverse affects on the world and, thus, they need a proper response from the world. Every player has a right to weigh in on a Crisis Point. Nations will work cooperatively, through a form of civil discord (a la United Nations) and draft Resolutions that will serve as the official response to a CP.

Of course, every nation has a vote. I doubt any resolution will come about by a unanimous decision. This can serve to generate some intriguing political (and maybe even military) drama between nations.

We'll talk about how the World Consortium thread works when I believe we're ready to introduce it full-term. For now, until I can see how well this RP works out in general (and if it even gets off the ground), we'll focus on Single Nations only. Fair enough?


Pinging all the people that expressed interest earlier:
KAmber kursku @InnovativeClique E.Vasper The Omen of Death Hypnos Semblance H HeckingHeck Spicy Serious Rysesaka Elucid Klythemnestra Blitzer Monster Lady Gay-Gay MrThe @ArisenMoon High Moon Darkeva AldarisLordOfLight ZevVeli ViciousVip3R adrian_

 

[CJAlex]

Single Nation Issues​

The following issues are for Single Nation cycles. It's minuscule right now, but I'll continue to add more over time. You can also suggest issues for me to add by posting them in this thread. As long as they jive with the others, I'll probably take it.

Last update: 22 June 2017

Issues I'm planning to add next time: voting age (for democratic nations), and freedom of press.

Spoiler: #1. Bonfire of the Vanities

Cost: 5pc (+5pc if Opposition Party Benefits)​

A fringe conservative advocacy group is petitioning the government to crack down on and ban "offensive" art, literature, and other forms of media that—they argue—serves no productive or valuable purpose and can be easily seen to offend or expressively provoke audiences. They are citing examples that include, but are not limited to, pornography and other content that portrays sex, literature that criticizes "traditional world values" (presumably the values held by the majority that the advocacy group represents), video games and movies that portray violence, and a plethora of other material they have deemed "offensive" or "immoral". News outlets are beginning to focus on bonfires in remote regions of the nation, where such media and other objects are being burned.

Your cabinet has no concrete proposals for you. How should the government respond to the advocacy group?​

Spoiler: #2. Loose Lips Sink Ships

Cost: 10pc (+5)​

A service member of your nation's military is facing a tribunal for having leaked classified information to the public. The information revealed several unscrupulous practices conducted by top military officials (none of it is linked to your office, thankfully). While the leak exposed the perpetrators of one crime, we are faced with determining whether or not another was committed in the unauthorized disclosure to the general public. The service member did not follow legal whistle blowing protocols.

Your cabinet has prepared three viable responses:

A. Allow the military tribunal to proceed and refrain from interfering with the court.

B. Pardon the service member. This may seem, to some, as a recognition of the service member's faithful adherence to a moral code and rewarding him for trying to do the right thing. To others, it may be a gross overstep and set precedence for future, potentially damaging leaks.

C. Press the military to convict the service member. This would publicly condemn the leak, but might discourage others from stepping up in the future when they learn of a crime within levels of the government and/or military.​

Spoiler: #3. A Matter of (National) Pride

Cost: 5pc (+2)

Some nations encourage a national pledge or motto to be recited every day in schools, mainly those for young children, in order to give students a sense of patriotism. Others make it mandatory that schools do such a thing. Still, others have taken a more libertarian approach and don't believe the government ought to actively encourage or compel the instruction or practice of nationalistic dogma in educational institutions. A significant percentage of our population is pressing the government to take a stance on this issue, now that the debate has boiled over into mainstream discussion and is receiving attention on news channels and talk shows.

Your cabinet feels that you will adhere to party values and will make a decision they can agree with.​

Spoiler: #4. Show Me the Money

Cost: 15pc (+10)

A multitude of bankruptcy lawyers, small town banks and business owners, and private citizens of low and middle income households are petitioning the government to crack down on lending practices. Recently, a late night talk show host's opening monologue criticizing signature loans, the credit system, and bankruptcy has taken the internet by storm. Now, millions are crying out for our administration to take a stance. Some are demanding a complete overhaul of lending practices, others are demanding that we ban the use of credit and debt all-together. Credit companies themselves and fiscal conservatives are firing back and asking us not to listen to such demands, claiming that an overhaul could drastically upset the national economy.

Your cabinet has urged you to approach this issue with caution and patience. Many of them are divided on how to proceed and haven't the foggiest idea of how to overhaul, replace, or outright abolish the current system, to say nothing of whether or not those are viable options in the first place. Whatever position you choose to adopt, it will lay the road map for our domestic economic policies. Think carefully.​

Spoiler: #5. By the Power Invested in Me...

Cost: 15pc (+10)

Last year, a same-sex couple petitioned the government for the right to marry, claiming they loved each other dearly and with the utmost sincerety. The petition caused a dramatic stir in the public sphere and now major outlets and advocacy groups are coming out in protest on both sides of an impassioned debate: should the government recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex?

Your cabinet has presented the following resolutions:

A. Declare same-sex marriages to be a legally recognized union, equal to traditional marriages. This may upset your conservative base, but will gain favor with the progressive base. Libertarians may see this as government meddling too much in social affairs.

B. Do not recognize same-sex marriages, but do nothing else related to the matter. Libertarians and conservatives might be happy, but progressives will likely protest.

C. Ban same-sex marriage all-together. This will upset both progressives and libertarians, but might please conservatives and authoritarians.

D. Take a different approach...​

Spoiler: #6. Tea for You and Me

Cost: 10pc (+5)

A celebrity tea connoisseur wants to import a unique, rare tea for use on his nationally televised show. However, the nation that monopolizes the tea leaf required for brewing the delicious beverage is not allowing exports to just any country and have strict trade laws. Some members of your cabinet have picked up on the issue and propose that the government become more involved in international trading as a whole.

Bringing ourselves to the negotiating table can open up new options for not only obtaining consumer goods and commodities for our markets, but valuable resources as well. However, we cannot ask for something without being willing to play the game. What resources will we be willing to offer as exports to the international community?

Beware: not all are in favor of us becoming involved in international trade and may not like us giving away our resources to potential rival nations.​

Spoiler: #7. Cell Division - Submitted by: Segue

Cost: 10pc (+5)

For the third time in recent memory your prisons are dangerously overcrowded, increasing tensions between prisoners and prompting outcry about the poor conditions which are even life threatening in some cases. Review with the head of your criminal justice system indicates they have no funding to expand facilities and following the escape of seven criminals from a prison on the outskirts of your capital city, this has become a hot topic in your major media outlets.

Your cabinet has prepared four viable options:

A. Increase funding for the criminal justice system to allow for a major expansion of your nation's prisons. Detail whether this funding is drawn from another area of policy (and if so, which?) or through an increase in taxation. Generally the public opposes tax increases, so selecting another policy area to be defunded would likely offend less of your supporters.

B. Overhaul the penal code to replace more prison sentences with financial or societal penalties. This will reduce demand for prison spaces as offenders who under your current system are locked up would be instead fined, placed under house arrest, given community service or similar.

C. Overhaul the penal code so that certain crimes incur sentences of labour, hard or otherwise. The resulting income is used to subsidize prison expansion and this could supply indentured workers for human testing, roadworks, heavy industry or similar. Possible impacts to the prisoners' health or well-being, but...

D. Overhaul the penal code to replace select prison sentences with capital punishment. This will reduce long-term demand for prison spaces as criminals deemed unredeemable are executed instead of receiving a life sentence. Some civil rights activists are concerned that criminals incorrectly found guilty of these crimes could be executed before their innocence is proven.​

Spoiler: #8. Party Matters - Submitted by: Segue

Cost: 15pc (-10)

A sizeable minority faction within your nation's controlling party feels their needs are not being adequately represented and schisms away to become a new (smaller) opposition party. This weakens support for the Head(s) of State and threatens their control of government.

At a late-night cabinet meeting you and your allies settle on one of three viable options:

A. If every member of your controlling party supports every policy you put forward you have just enough support to maintain control. They all have local concerns; promise them whatever you have to to lock in this support.

B. Form a Rainbow Coalition with one of your existing opposition parties. They will support your Controlling Party in exchange for control over specified policy areas key to their interests.

C. Take a different approach...​

Spoiler: #9. Spare the Rod?

Cost: 5pc (+5)

The conservative parent advocacy group has recently filed a plethora of official complaints against your government's child protective service. They claim that the current laws on the books are far too restrictive of their rights as parents to raise their children as they see fit. Of primary concern is corporal punishment (spanking or striking a child as a means of discipline). They are petitioning that the government allow them to use such punishment when necessary, "lest our children grow up to be a bunch of hellions."

Several members of your cabinet are, themselves, parents of young children. They are unable to reach a united decision. Responses they have presented:

A. Stand firm on current child protection laws and reject the petition at the risk of upsetting conservative parents.

B. Reinforce the current laws with more scrutiny on disciplinary actions used by parents. This could put your entire libertarian base into a frenzy.

C. Relax restrictions on corporal punishment, but maintain a hard line between discipline and abuse. We'll hear an outcry from progressives, but parents should be satisfied.

D. Abolish the restrictions on corporal punishment. This might just upset everyone (including parents concerned for their child's safety in other homes or at schools). Your dead great-grandfather might not mind, though.

E. Take a different approach...​

Format for Single Nation Issues suggestions:

Title
Base PC Cost (Cost if Opposition Party Benefits)

Brief explanation of the issue

Viable options (if options are presented; otherwise, it will be treated as an open-ended issue)

 

[CJAlex]

Reserved.

(Beyond this post, you are free to chat)

 

[KAmber]

oh, hey! this thing!

 

[KAmber]

Do i do my CS here?

 

[CJAlex]

Do i do my CS here?

I've added the Nation Files thread to the navigation above in the top post.

 

[KAmber]

kay. half of this i don't get. what the hell is the compass thing

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

Cool~! Gonna make my nation! General idea in mind, but I foresee craziness involved.

 

[Darkeva]

kay. half of this i don't get. what the hell is the compass thing

Political Compass Wiki
Video

It's a short hand way of describing economic/cultual plans and level of governmental intervention.

 

[KAmber]

Done!

 

[KAmber]

When's single Nations?

 

[CJAlex]

Nations are looking good. Just as a friendly reminder: please leave image attachments as just attachments (don't insert into post). These posts can get fairly long after several cycles of updates, mainly for players that enjoy frequently updating stuff.

kay. half of this i don't get. what the hell is the compass thing

Political Compass Wiki
Video

It's a short hand way of describing economic/cultual plans and level of governmental intervention.

Correct. If you're not sure where your government stands, you can take the Political Compass Test and answer the questions as your government would. It's not an end-all-be-all, perfect system for determining where someone stands on the political spectrum, but it can help give you a basic understanding.

When's single Nations?

Soon. I still need to get my own Nation File up.

 

[Monster Lady Gay-Gay]

I'm not gonna lie, my Country has 32 parts in history which I deem acceptable, and I have a question. What if I or you decide a country has a natural disaster, will that affect the affected countries gameplay or not?

 

[CJAlex]

That is entirely up to you. I may present issues dealing with natural disasters, widespread unrest, even revolutions. You don't have to acknowledge them. They don't exist until you choose to take them up and respond to them. It's a Burger King style game. Have it your way.

And the consequences of decisions you make are also in your hands. The only curveballs are going to come on the WC side of the game, where Crisis Points will affect the world.

 

[KAmber]

cool!
so whens the RP starting

 

[KAmber]

also whats the +5 pc thing? it doesn't make much sense

 

[Hypnos]

That is entirely up to you. I may present issues dealing with natural disasters, widespread unrest, even revolutions. You don't have to acknowledge them. They don't exist until you choose to take them up and respond to them. It's a Burger King style game. Have it your way.

And the consequences of decisions you make are also in your hands. The only curveballs are going to come on the WC side of the game, where Crisis Points will affect the world.

How alt history are we allowed to go with our nations? A lot of countries seem to be popping up from the remains of the British Empire: is there a restriction on how far back the PoD can be and how large of an effect it can have?

 

[CJAlex]

also whats the +5 pc thing? it doesn't make much sense

If the decision you make ends up benefiting an opposing party, you spend that much more Political Capital.

For instance: say you have an issue dealing with taxes. Your party doesn't like to raise them and typically avoids it. The opposition party actually raises taxes frequently when they're in power. Ultimately, let's say you choose to raise them. This, in turn, is helping the opposition party by you playing to their tune. Therefore, you spend more Political Capital.

 

[Monster Lady Gay-Gay]

I must say, this is well thought out.

 

[CJAlex]

How alt history are we allowed to go with our nations? A lot of countries seem to be popping up from the remains of the British Empire: is there a restriction on how far back the PoD can be and how large of an effect it can have?

There's not too much of a restriction right now. When we get into the WC thread, some balancing may need to happen, as everyone will represent "versions" of their nations; but for the Single Nations thread, you can be the reincarnation of the Byzantine Empire, if you want.

 

[Segue]

Hopefully the spots aren't all filled up.

I started working on a nation mostly as a creative exercise, but when I completed the Ewe-Fante Foundation's history I decided to get involved after all... if there's still room?

How many PC are we expecting to start with, if any?

I trust you don't want us to decide how we're handling the four issues above just yet?

 

[Elucid]

Monster Lady Gay-Gay Where exactly is Calstoion located? I'm assuming it's somewhere in the pacific? an island country maybe?

 

[Monster Lady Gay-Gay]

Shit, I knew I forgot something.

 

[Monster Lady Gay-Gay]

Done

 

[Elucid]

Done

Yay, we're close by. Us monarchists need to stick together.