Why do people enjoy hardline military stuff in NRPs? Couldn't people be more original and make their nations unique via culture or tech or something? There's more way to conquer the galaxy than shooting everyone in a ten meter radius around you. >.>

Ah, you must be new to the genre. Welcome to Nation Roleplay. Most people in this genre typically have designs on either conquering their neighbors or literally everyone in the RP. Some might not, but feel the need to make their military better than everyone else's because if they don't they might be conquered. It's a rough place, but fear not, there are still those actually interested in driving a narrative, rather than a bullet through their fellow players.

In all seriousness, it is what it is. I don't particularly like the mega-military focused nations, but I have my reasons for my own. Namely being a plot point as the Pomeranians being used as enforcers for things the CE doesn't want to deal with themselves.

While I like the setting as a galactic community actually being here for support I'm really at odds with the tech system.
It sounds like something invented for an old 4X videogame and has little connections with the realities of space warfare.
Kinetic and laser weapons can kind of make sense.
Rest? It's just a complicated rock-paper-scissors game which has no place in a freeform RP.
Besides, I can't really see the need to balance tech in freeform NRPs. At best you would need to step up when there's an unhealthy arms race going on.
Situations like this are handled by a "tech GM" if necessary.
Your weapon vs defense system reminds me of Galactic Civilizations II.

Also if we always make such small nations, did anyone ever thought about the idea of focusing a space NRP on a smaller area? Say, a few hundred star systems because FTL doesn't allow you much beyond it?
See Babylon 5 as an example where travel of a hundred lightyears could take weeks at times and they require established routes to travel.

Anyways, sorry if this sounded like a rant. I hope you guys enjoy this game.

@ClocktowerEchos
Military, yes, unique, still yes.

Taking something not-so-original and then putting an entirely new spin on it can really mix things up. You look at it from the outside, see the same-old same-old, but when you really dive into it (or crash into it), you find that it's a helluva place to be at, even if you're told what you're gonna do for the rest of your life.

Yeah, people like hating on the fact that I really like military shit. Sorry to everyone for reading up on the history of tank development during World War II, where the StuG tank destroyers came about because American blew up the turret factories and there were a bunch of unused guns and tank chassis lying around!

There can be something interesting about something overused- a wizard is stereotypical and overused, but what if that wizard used relatively weak spells to turn the air entirely into oxygen, and then used another spell that lit a small spark- the resulting explosion would be entirely non-magical, and would blast through any magical shield, unless it was suffocating the owner.

I don't like military super nations strongarming the rest, either.
What's the point?
Take my Morte Empire as an example. People were concerned over my fleet but in reality my nation only wanted a new living space and perhaps alliance with other, better established nations. I was a minor power even if I had considerable military.
A nation which builds up a huge fleet and conquers everything only really works for a 4X game or perhaps a badly written fiction. Conquest is more than just killing the enemy soldiers and then painting your flag over the territory.

Anyways, if I join this game I'd do that with an alternate version of White Corps.
It's an interstellar megacorp which may be present in many of your worlds. It isn't really a nation so there are a number of unique dynamics going on.

@WilsonTurner

I'm not saying people can't make unique militaries that are creative and incredible in their own right, I'm saying how there are so many NSs in NRPs in general of a fully militarized nation with the economy to support it, people who never rebel or have anything other than jingoistic views while their state maintains a perfectly moral code of doing things where everyone lives happy and shit. Basically those perfect militarized utopias and completely militarized states in general. And even then, some people use thinly veiled "flaws" to try and balance it out, even though everyone knows the "flaws" are minor set backs at most or they some how find a way to instantly counter act it IC. For me personally its gotten to the point that things have been so saturated with it that even the really good and somewhat balanced ones just blend in to the crap ones made by inexperienced RPers. Think if you had to eat hamburgers for a year, some made my people like Bobby Flay and some just crap McDonalds. Eventually, you'd just taste hambuger, the levels of difference wouldn't matter any more, it'd just take like meat and sauce between bread.

Sorry I got kinda ranty and rambly, this is one of my pet peeves of NRPs >.<

For the record, I would like to use everyone's race who is willing for my organization. Please let me know if you are or are not. Also, I need to know what the stuff for making an org is.

@greywolf375I might be a bit out of touch here. What does your organization do?
My White Corps is basically the space NRP version of Wallmart.

@Willy Vereb They are a Neutral group, Either Traders, a PMC, or a Pirate Group, still deciding

@Willy Vereb One; Aesthetics allow you to make your weapons be near-anything. Two; Bonus Tech can change the way your weapons are entirely. Three; Every roleplay that uses such unbalanced systems die because of arguments and trouble. Fourth; It is an entire galaxy, some civilizations may be more advanced, but I think this is more opinionated than fact.

@ClocktowerEchos I think sonic/sound weaponry, which currently is undefendable.

@Alfhedil Welp, I didn't expect to lose that AGR vote so quickly.

@ClocktowerEchos There's always going to be an aggressor, in any kind of story. Which I'm cool with because... Ally with me and they can't touch you :D

@greywolf375 Not my race



@greywolf375 If you did some partial work on your NS to show people, they may be more inclined to give a decision.

@Willy Vereb And the purpose of this corp would be?

@Alfhedil I find, not only in NRP's, but in all kinds of things and stories there is an aggressor, an enslaver, a harvester, etc. Gives reasons to fight. Not that fighting is good or bad, but why cold war it out forever? Ugh...

@Alfhedil When the roleplay starts the second half of C.E.'s efforts will focus on you, just pointing it out

Does that include me? Because I haven't seen anything acknowledge my existence, so...

@Wernher Since no GM has voiced disapproval, go ahead and be ready to roleplay

Edit: The others haven't, but I have

@Willy Vereb One; Aesthetics allow you to make your weapons be near-anything. Two; Bonus Tech can change the way your weapons are entirely. Three; Every roleplay that uses such unbalanced systems die because of arguments and trouble. Fourth; It is an entire galaxy, some civilizations may be more advanced, but I think this is more opinionated than fact.

@ClocktowerEchos I think sonic/sound weaponry, which currently is undefendable.

My problem is not with the tech levels. Okay, let's try that. I made stat system for a still ongoing Mech RPG so people can compare. It kind of works.

The problem is with the weapon types which make no sense.
Case in point with sonic weapons and how they apparently go right through the defenses.
It's hardly the only part but basically you overcomplicate things and do it in a way which actually makes no sense.

EDIT: Also ever since I participated in games here the reason a space NRP went defunct was the lack of interest and activity gradually dying down as everyone had somebody to wait on.

For the record, I would like to use everyone's race who is willing for my organization. Please let me know if you are or are not. Also, I need to know what the stuff for making an org is.

More than willing! Freedom seekers and all that. Then again, this would make you a target, but my people are oh so open to pay third parties to get advantages. Expect both deals and backstabs to be made, how does that sound?

Case in point with sonic weapons and how they apparently go right through the defenses.
It's hardly the only part but basically you overcomplicate things and do it in a way which actually makes no sense.

That was just me asking a question, I don't think I'll actually be using sonic/sound weapons in this run.

<Snipped quote by Willy Vereb>

That was just me asking a question, I don't think I'll actually be using sonic/sound weapons in this run.

I don't either.
Sonic weapons are just the poor man's DEW.
They could be potentially better than lasers if you manage to focus them because it involves more mass and you can induce material failure in things if the frequency is tuned well.
But otherwise? Your generic shield/armor of sufficient strength should deal with it.
This artificially induced rock-paper-scissor system only helps for munchkins to abuse things further. Why can't people just use whatever and then the GM gives a tech level to the players or say up if something is too much?
You can also try a point system where having higher tech means you have disadvantages elsewhere. Although this can also lead to overspecialization because average joes are always coming out the worst in such deal.

But this? It's pointless and illogical.
I can go in detail on how the weapon and defense categories make little sense but unless I am specifically asked to I think what I said is enough.

@Willy Vereb Interest is actually high, from what I can tell, why there's dozens.

A few have already pointed out it does make sense. And are we arguing about 'I can't have better guns than you' when we all just talked about 'I hate people making Nations like that'

I'm not uber tech, but we can try something. Sonic weapon, though not physical, would cause some sort of physical distortion, depending on their augmentation, right? Force Fields would prevent a good chunk of it. Thick armor may be stable enough hold against it, but the thinner the armor, the more capable it is to be affected and come out of balance, may even set off reactive armor. Any other combination of shields and armor the sonic weapon would cause damage, just like any other weapon.

In Keyguys case, if he uses nuclear warheads for ship to ship, they would need physical and environmental defense, but nuclear weaponry is still unsafe and unstable. Of Keyguys ships take too much damage, it may rupture a warhead, that could cause anything.

@Willy Vereb That's been done before, give everyone whatever they want. Even if it isn't overly powered, in the roleplay there are excuses, which can be reasonable, to say 'mine is better, which is why they die. If they say they are better, they are OP'

I'd rather have a stable system called a munchkin system, than an unstable system die.

Keyguy has witnessed such a thing multiple times. Wilson has been victim to it several times. I'm sure Terminal and Alfhedil have seen it enough.

I am not saying their roleplays were bad, I'm saying the players were.

Willy, if you don't like the system, please don't get involved. This whole system is experimental and was ONLY made because people HAVE to have all out wars. For one, I am extremely tired of the Nations that belittle another because of power.

@greywolf375
My race is in, they love capitalism.

As for the gigantic argument, I'm gonna stay out of it because you guys are scary and I don't think anything is changing.

@Keyguyperson Should I stop before a volcano kills the roleplay?

Alright, starting diplomacy and stuff now. Anyone interested in having prior relationship with the state (TM)?

-Celestial Empire: Cordial but cold relations. Not as ideologically different as the USV but considering the true nature of Velukans, that of conquerors, they hate the fact that someone would dictate laws to them. High target for intelligence since if they decide to invade, it seems unlikely anyone would intervene.

-AUO: Mostly indifferent publicly but enjoyed as a potential gold mine of knowledge and intelligence. Free market is a pants-on-head retarded idea to the Chairmen, but this means a lot less government oversight to acquire technologies and information. Not seen as a military threat so very little attention given on that side of intelligence.

-Ryukyu: The citizens of the State are sympathetic to Ryukyu, it is familiar, like it was before the State came to be: A supreme leader heading a militaristic and socialist state with control over the heavy industry to sustain war but little else. While the State acts cordially it still prefers to limit interaction from their people with those, by fear of reawakening old ideas within the population.

-USV (Assuming it's SPACE! America): Great distaste and seen as the most immediate and direct threat to the State, it is militarily dangerous, ideologically toxic to the Totalitarian regime that is the state. Any diplomatic mission is generally an excuse to shove a diplomatic vessel equipped with a ton of surveillance and intelligence assets near them to peep at what's going on and plan around a possible war.

-Pomerania: They wouldn't dare to support Pomeranian independentists openly of course, but The State knows opportunity to cause trouble when it presents itself and as such, monitors the situation carefully, covertly helping separatists any way they can to weaken, or at least distract, the Empire.