Finally, the long awaited official thread for the Song of Dying Stars! Sorry to everyone I left hanging, and hopefully now we will finally be able to maintain and enjoy a stable, fun role-play. Cheers!
The main application period is only open during the pre-IC period and the first week of IC! Any applications submitted after that time may be accepted, however if you are submitting an application and it is past one week after IC started, you can only play a minor (considered "Emerging") civilization.
If you want to apply, then post your application here.
There will come a time where all once-great civilizations will fall, not by warfare or depressions or corruption, but by natural causes. The torches they once held, illuminating the path around them, the cities and countries once raised from nothing, will become all but emptiness. The lights of these nations, no matter how advanced or how equipped, will burn out; the candles of civilization will eventually be snuffed. Light, likewise life, will fade away, and all we know of the present, past, and future, will be of a dream upon a faint memory; the universe will cease to live on.
For thousand of millennia, life has spread through the universe. Beings of extraordinary capabilities, intelligence far beyond what seems possible, explored the far reaches of the unknown. Planets, systems, galaxies bustled with the species smart enough to develop new technologies, invent new practices, and think logically. Wars were fought, civilizations have succeeded through the misfortunate downfall of others; bloodshed was not uncommon, and it seemed that at the very least universal peace was unattainable.
Long ago, the universe was filled with small civilizations that were limited to their technologies. They all had one thing in common; each and every one of them thought that they were alone in their seemingly endless universe, and each and every one of them were wrong. Years, no, eons passed, and these infant civilizations matured. They expanded their territories and scientific capacities to an extent where they colonized planets of their systems, and the darings ones ventured beyond. The almost infinite energy they managed to extract from their native stars seemed to be a breakthrough, but it was not enough. Life was greedy, and it was ever-growing.
Only a few hundred millennia ago did the galactic show really start. The first civilizations made contact with each other, and this primitive form of communication would expand to something much, much greater; and a hundred-fold more devastating. Technologies like quantum physics, atomic manipulation, and nanotechnology were considered to be a thing of the past, and these galactic nations started thinking amongst themselves. Did they want more? Surely, they were big enough, powerful enough, but the lust for more land was overwhelming. Gradually, over the course of the universe's history, the civilizations built bigger and better colonies. Ships and armies were raised, and tensions arose between the many civilizations that called their galaxies home.
Blood was shed. Trillions upon trillions of intelligent organisms were killed in the inevitable greed for more land, more power. The galaxy saw more and more violence over the years, and civilizations were razed in the snap of a finger. Some considered themselves to be gods, ruling over the petty empires who kneeled beneath them. Others wanted nothing more but to pursue peace, and seldom succeeded. But the nations spread across the stars would learn eventually. Death among the many innocent populations was not the only form of death, either. The galaxy itself appeared as if it were sentient, slowly draining itself of power all the while observing the little nations fight over and destroy its many stars.
Now, the galaxy is at a final point in its life. War is not as frequent as the previous years of the universe, but it still happens. Stars are burning out, civilizations that once sat upon mighty thrones proclaiming their might throughout the stars disappeared almost over night. Only the most advanced ones remained, struggling to overcome the cold, empty, natural destruction brought on by the ever-aging stars.
Some say, if you listen closely, on a cold winter night with a small, cold star sinking below the horizon, you can hear it sing. Not the star itself, but the civilizations that used to speculate the possibilities of an infinite universe, the early astronomers who thought they were the centre of the universe. Those civilizations are gone now, and only several advanced civilizations remain to hear them sing. To hear the universe sing. So, the next time you are out, standing over a cliff peering down over the horizon, listen for it. Listen for the Song of Dying Stars.
The universe is almost at the end of its lifespan. The galaxy which your mighty civilization once called home is burning out at an exponentially high rate, light fleeing in all directions. You've seen your neighbour civilizations disappear before they knew it, and your rivals gone in the blink of an eye. Only several other grande civilizations including yours live on to write the final chapter of the universal history, and it is your great responsibility to you to leave your mark in both space and time.
The Song of Dying Stars is a Sci-Fi NRP set in the final stages of the universe's lifetime. You control a vast civilization stretching across the stars of the elliptical galaxy, engaging in political, economic, diplomatic, and militaristic campaigns with the other players (civilizations). The elliptical galaxy the role-play takes place in, Messier 86 (or M86) has had a violent past with full-scale wars between thousands, possibly millions of different young civilizations. Now, things have quieted down, however some tensions are still present. Wars are still common, and that is to be determined by you, the players. You will leave your mark on the final millennia of the universe, and you will leave your signature on the ending of the only copy of the "universal history book".
A lot of the stars in the galaxy are burning out, and many are turning into red giant or supergiant stars. Civilizations that have home worlds near active stars are at risk of solar wind bombardment, heat waves, and the inevitable expansion and possible supernovae of dying stars. Events are present in the game as well and can range on a scale from negligible actions such as a meteor shower to game-changing catastrophes. It is possible to have your civilization wiped out, and the role-play can and will enforce micromanagement of different planets, units, and such, while still delving deep into character and planetary development.
It is a high casual role-play, however is not near advanced. Character development and overall description in your posts are both expected and mandatory, and activity is highly encouraged. If you go inactive for a period of time without telling me, your civilization will be eliminated whether through domination or natural destruction, whichever the players see fit.
Finally, the Song of Dying Stars focuses more on a realism/sci-fi aspect than complete fiction. Physics are of course present, and some 'feats' will not be possible. However, in this galactic century, technologies have been advanced far beyond what seems impossible today, with our modern technologies today being impractical and almost 'primitive'. Dyson Spheres and speeds that can reach multiples of that of light are possible, however make them have an impact on the game. Also, try not to power game with technologies; sure, high-energy lasers could destroy a large base given the appropriate power, timing, and precision, but it would have a detrimental impact on your economy. Don't go firing four death star lasers every second, for example.
We don't have the best artists in the galaxy, however these rough blueprints are sufficient for nearly all galactic civilizations looking to travel the stars.
Changes can and will be made to the map at any time, since it is on paper. This includes, but is not limited to, stars burning out, territorial changes or acquisitions/losses, placing your civilization on the map, etcetera. If you wish to join, please let me know which sector (and stars) you wish to occupy in the nation sheet thread here, or just copy the map and make your own edit to it.
You will notice the map, or "star chart", has considerably less stars than what you would expect of a map of a galaxy. This is because many of these stars are dying out; the first stages of the universes' demise have already started. Only the oldest stars remain in what is known of the galaxy, and they may burn out themselves soon, as well.
In the Song of Dying Stars HC-NRP, you control an advanced galactic civilization situated wherever you see fit in the M86 galaxy. You manage your economy in time of peace and in time of war, your politics, your military and many other aspects that a leader would be responsible for, similar to many other nation-role-plays. But this time it is in a dying universe. Technology has progressed to an extent where extraordinary things are possible, but require extraordinary amounts of time and economy. Inventions like Dyson Spheres are used in this era, and although being expensive to produce, may return quite a bit of your investment. Or you could take the survival path and just take your civilization's history as it progresses. You could have massive city ships instead of living on planets, offering more protection against time but less against space and the elements. Whatever you do in this old and desolate universe is up to you.
The role-play has a few important rules, and many laws. Laws are different from rules where rules can get your civilization warned, penalized, or eliminated if you break them, and stand on an OOC basis, and laws are more pre-set galactic laws that could have an effect on your politics and economy. Players exerting enough political or militaristic pressure may be able to pass or repeal laws, but the only people who can define rules would be the GM(s).
The rules are as followed. Don't be disrespectful, or blatantly rude. You aren't out there to start flaming away at people because they beat you in a battle. Take the defeat with honour and it will reflect you in a good manner, for example. Don't fill up your role-play with swears. Moderate swearing is accepted, but vulgarity is not. Excessive swearing does not make you look powerful or mighty or whatnot; in fact it makes you look the opposite. Saying this, milder swears are preferred over heavy ones, and they are usually not very literate when not used in context. Also, don't be racist or sexist in the OOC. Sure, disliking a certain species or civilization in the in-character section is alright, but that means you don't like a certain race of the game. If you go saying "I hate blacks", or "All men should die", or "Whites are impure", then you will face consequences respectively. Be respectful to your fellow role-players, and don't morally degrade them. Also, act mature in your role-play, and posts of one or two paragraphs won't cut it. This is high-casual, and you should be descriptive. For example, don't just go to war without any prior actions, act like any nation would and take the matter into political hands first.
The laws are somewhat different. Not many are in place to start off, except for the following. War should be declared prior to any major conflicts. Small skirmishes before-hand are allowed, but before you go seizing any planets or destroying half of their manpower, declare war or be seen as a warmonger or back-stabber. Don't attack weaker nations without a legitimate reasoning. Attacking weaker nations because it is considered easier roughly translates to "I'm a huge asshole" in the language of civilization, and again people will see you as a warmonger. Back-stabbing "friendly" nations is treated with the same disrespect. Don't commit mass homicide against any populations or assassinate any prime targets, whether it is a commander, espionage agent, or political governor in their own territory. It is generally frowned upon and can really upset the targeted nation, possibly issuing a denouncement or trade sanctions and possibly an escalation to war. And don't forget the other nations. Again, remember that there are no direct penalties for breaking a "law". They aren't formally rules; you can do everything here without any OOC penalties; its the other nations acting against you that you should watch out for.
Oh, and attacking a nation that is infinitesimally weaker than you is really just a dick move.
Finally, this role-play is not about winning; it is about telling a detailed story. Sure there can be battles and what not, but don't act like you've got the best fleet in the galaxy. There are no stats as far as roleplaying is concerned, just try to role-play the battles and the dialogues and whatnot out; it makes for a far greater story in the end.
Nations are not all equal. Some may believe in certain faiths or follow certain political systems, while others may exclude faith entirely. No civilization is the same, and this expression of uniqueness can cause bonds or conflicts to develop between the different civilizations. War is not a major priority in the Song of Dying Stars; this role-play is meant to unravel a story more than have your civilization control all of the galaxy, or what is left of it. War is allowed, but it must be declared prior to any battles, major or minor, and attacking weaker or easier nations is strongly discouraged. It is not against the rules, but other civilizations will see you as a ruthless warmongerer.
In a dying universe, many events are bound to happen. Stars explode, systems collapse, paradoxes form, and generally anything believed possible or not. Events can and will happen in this role-play, and natural ones can occur at completely random intervals anywhere from a day or two to more than a week between. These natural events are completely random and target random civilizations, and can range on a scale of negligible to utterly devastating (or helpful). Events can be beneficial or harmful to the political and economic development of a nation, and even in a military aspect, you can fall back or rush ahead quite a bit.
Events are designed to be game-changers or just minor pokes in the side. A civilization that is succeeding and flourishing may all of a sudden have their mother star collapse and explode, rendering almost all of their civilization extinct. Major events, whether negative or positive are rare, but can drastically change the position of any given nation. The events that happen are completely random, determined by dice rolls and whatnot, and will not be used as a means to hinder some I don't like or boost someone I do. The natural events present in the Song of Dying Stars are nearly completely random, and as a result, do not complain or boast if your civilization has a negative or positive event happen upon it.
There are also 'man-made' events, which any civilization with a major political presence can initiate. They shouldn't be too frequent, however, and if an event targets many civilizations at once, there can only be one at a time. You can't directly affect the magnitude of an effect; you cannot spawn in a bunch of fleets for yourself, as an example. These man-made events are more to do with politics and can be anywhere from a galactic pod-race to an emergency political conference determining the next leader of the Galactic Congress, for example. Don't use events as a way to power-game; it is strongly frowned upon, and can get your civilization eliminated if you break the rule too many times.
Events are a very dynamic part of the role-play and can heavily determine a nation's political, economic, and militaristic standings. Civilizations can be destroyed and wiped out from rare events, or they can be lifted up and made much stronger. These events occur at random intervals, and are completely unpredictable.
If you're looking for the interest check for any reason whatsoever, you can find it here; Interest Check.
Also, if you're looking to post an application to join the role-play, you'd probably want this thread; Galactic Compendium.
If you are looking for the main page of the role play's wiki, you will not find it as of yet. However, it is in planning and will be addressed as soon as possible!
Enjoy!
