Welcome to Imperium Offtopicum!

Mosher

Mushroom dad
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Dec 11, 2010
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Hello, and welcome to IOT! Whether you've been a longtime lurker or you just saw this five minutes ago and thought it looked fun, welcome! We're always looking for more players in our game; fresh faces and ideas are what brings vitality to a community, after all.


What is an IOT?
An IOT can be anything from a largely story based adventure, to a stat-and-spreadsheet heavy geopolitical simulation. They originally started in the Off Topic Altered Maps thread, and then evolved into its own independent thing - eventually into what you see today. Most games are somewhat Risk-like, with a simulated and abstracted economic and military system. Each IOT is unique, though, so make sure to read the rules in the OP of any potential IOT you might join.

Community
Community is a large aspect of IOT, and you shouldn't hesitate to try and integrate yourself with it/ask questions, all of that fun stuff. Most of the community can be found at various hours of the day on http://iotjimmiesrustled.chatango.com/ or can be PM'd, as well. For advice on playing games and all of that, any of our more senior members would be willing to help you out (such as Scarlet_King AKA Sonereal, SouthernKing, Red Spy, mechaerik, or myself).

Useful Links
IOT Chat - http://iotjimmiesrustled.chatango.com/
Argentina (Offtopic) thread - http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=492739
Development thread - http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=369094
Map thread - http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=520867
New GM thread - http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=496797
Organization/Discussion thread - http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=541086


This is a bit offtopic, but I wanted to respond to this and I'd rather do it here so if I get something utterly and rediculously wrong then someone can call me out on it. :p This advice applies to IOT more than NES, but I'm sure it couldn't be that different.

I would recommend starting by diving in an joining an IOT. The two I would recommend are either Children of Earth or Iron and Blood. While CoE's ruleset is unorthodox (but simple) and the setting is different to the usual IOT, it is a very narritive driven game and I think you would like that. It has only just recently had its first update so you aren't jumping in halfway through the game either. I&B is much more traditional, but it has a lot much more complex ruleset that might be intimidating and it seems to be very crowded. Also the I&B seiries has a reputation for the games dying off very early (sorry TK no disrespect intended). However, if you want a more "traditional" IOT experience than this is what you want. Also it is still in signups which is a bonus

So, what to do when you actually sign up for an IOT? Firstly read the entire thread, or at least skim it. Then follow the instructions of making a new nation that should be listed in the opening post. If you don't understand something, ask the GM. It is part of their job to answer your questions so don't be shy. :)

Here's a couple of things that are near universal to make a nation for an IOT. Maps are important for most IOTs. If you are bad at editing images, don't worry! Most IOTs use maps that are divided into provinces which are easily filled in with the bucket tool on MSPaint. On the odd occassions they don't have provinces, just do your best job editing the map and the GM will iron out any quirks. If for some reason you don't want to fiddle around with images, then just post vauge guidelines and the GM or another player will make the final product. The other thing you will almost always need is a History and a nation description. Most of the time GMs will accept any history/description of any length, even something really short. Something like "Military Dictatorship" for the description and "North Korea annexed South Korea now it is United Korea." for the history would be totally acceptable. The only thing that would be unacceptable in a history is something that doesn't fit the tone of the IOT (Batmanistan in a serious IOT) or blatantly contradicts the established lore set out by the GM.

Now hopefully by this stage you will have a nation in a living IOT. The things that you should have to worry about now are orders, roleplay and other players. Orders are usually PMed to the GM, usually you will have a certain amount of expansion points that you can use to claim neutral territory and money to spend on the economy and the military. It is possible that your nation could get involved in political shenanigans or a get involved in a war. This part is hard to give advice for as everyone has their own way of dealing with this so I can't help you all that much. Some GMs give bonuses to writing elaborate war plans privately, others don't. I would ask the GM in question before you start writing those. Also try and enjoy, or at least accept, defeat. If your country gets completely outmanuvered or blow up in a war then try and see it like losing in something like dwarf fortress. If you would rather avoid war and diplomatic shenanigans then try playing a neutral power with a large defence force, I personally find that aspect of IOT very entertaining however.

Next thing is role playing (RP), a.k.a the stories. RP can take any form you want really. People do everything from fake newspapers or broadcasts, fake government documents or even traditonal narratives. As long as it is good quality and fits with the setting then it works. Your experience with writing court politics will definately come in handy. :)

If you want more advice then ask me or some other people. If you want to ask a quick question or start a dialogue then the IOT chatroom is a good place to go. That is if you can stand the extremely unusual and sometimes disturbing discussions that take place. There are PM and filter features that I (and I am sure others) will show you how to use if something particularly offends you.

That's about everything I can think of. I hope this was helpful! Also I was on a phone so sorry about spelling mistakes and typos.
 
Subscribed.

I'll update my guide when I get a chance to make it more general and more helpful.
 
My advice for nation based IOTs especially:

1: Even in less RP focused games conducting RP adds a live to the experience. A blank Republic of So-and-so will not only be less interesting then, say, a focused made power but also you will be less committed to the nation and thus less enjoyment from the game.

2: Be nice to your fellow players; you may never know when you will need to ally with them.

3: Flags make the game more wonderful, so be sure to gain access to one for representing your nation or force or whatever.

4: Excel is not only a tool for GMs in IOTs; players playing as democracies can use Excel for their political parties or a monarchy can use it to list their monarchs. Tables can be a useful tool.

5: Expansion is fun but certain games do give penalties for over expansion. Keep this in mind before charging to dwarf the Russian Empire, less you end up with the penalties of it during the First World War.

6: Characters add depth; especially important for your leader. You may not always need a clear leader (say for instance your playing some close oligarchic council) but it helps.

7: Do not be afraid to ask the GM questions, especially if your confused or you fear you may have done a mistake.

8: Everyone makes a booboo now and then, be it joining a war against a super strong power or not exploiting a peaceful means to expand. Learn from these experiences and do not allow them to hinder your progression.

9: A strong economy (in certain games) can help you against a stronger military, if that military is of a nation which has not developed its economic capabilities.

10: Never underestimate the importance of owning the Suez or Panama Canal.

11: If there is a spy mechanic use it or at least set your defense from it, for a player WILL adopt covert activities and they WILL hurt the player who is unprepared.

12: Most importantly: manage the amount of games you join. Joining too many games can hinder performance.
 
Greetings New People!

I am Robert, one of the GMs here.

Beware Chat.
 
Nuclear terrorism is really, really fun.
 
Take time on deciding what/who to play as so that you are inspired to produce creative content for a longer period of time than you would do with something generic.
 
Subbed.
 
Glad to see DT's GM Guide on there :D

I wrote the guide, DT just named it :p

Even with my tremendous ego, I can take no credit at all for anything in the McGM thread. I have never posted anything in it, and probably never will.

DT
[Rambling Self-Promotion] :king:
 
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