PREMISE
To begin with, this is a roleplay about journalism first and foremost, and more specifically, about how journalism interacts with society. Ultimately, everything else is window dressing. The setting, the mechanics, even the style is ultimately built around the concept of how history and information work and how chroniclers play into or against the biases of the public. This isn't a glamorous roleplay. There's action, but it's a vessel for writing, not something for the players to take part in directly. The journalists will affect the world, but in the way actual journalists do: with hard work and in slow pace followed by short bursts of upheaval. This realism makes the premise function as a simulation and commentary, not an escapist fantasy. If that's a dealbreaker, much apologies, now may be the time to stop reading.
Thematically, the roleplay focuses on authoritarianism, media suppression, civic struggle, the role of a nation, and to a certain extent aspires to political satire. If the above sounds academic and daunting, to a certain extent it is. That said, rarely will such high level concepts be visible at the levels of single articles so much as the arc of the posts.
More to the meat of your role as a player, the basic structure is that at certain specified intervals reports will be published with information of the happenings in the setting. Reports will also list interview candidates, which may be interviewed on the discord server (details in mechanics). With these interviews and information, you will write an article from the perspective of a journalist. The In Character section of the roleplay will consist of these articles. In addition, some players drawn by random selection based on their established connections will receive additional secret reports, these may contradict the government controlled public reports.
The roleplay functions through dissenting articles and players. Much of the theme is focused on limited access to information and civic discourse. In-character disagreements are absolutely to be expected and are indeed encouraged. There will even be cases where players are deliberately lied to by sources and cases of bribery, intellectual dishonesty, and even treacheries of the highest order. That's what makes this fun, in my opinion.
Currently, details about the setting, mechanics, style guide, finalized expectations, and applications are being worked out. At the time of release I've spent six complete hours working on the setting alone but before I go further I'd like to increase my feedback pool. If this is your sort of thing, by providing feedback in Alpha stages you can help shape the roleplay itself. The best way to express your interest is to head to the discord.
