NESpolitik: In the War Room: The basic premise of the game is that the main thread will be the floor of the National Parliament, and you the Parliaments members. Each session members of Parliament will debate and vote on issues of national importance, drafting laws, setting regulations, and effectively running the country. Sessions will start off with an introductory post by me containing the following: (1) the most recent edition of the National Newspaper (to show what has been reported to the public), (2) a briefing by the Parliamentary Research Office (essentially domestic, foreign, and economic advisors), (3) and introduction of the reigning Ministers (in case of a change). Everything else will be run by you all. Any other information you may need (extra-parliamentary bureaucracy, current public discourse, ect) will be in a social group and through private messages.
The Start of the Game: The start will be a little different than the rest of the game. My first post will begin with a short history of the nation up to this point, in addition to the first edition of the national newspaper. Following that there will be a short time for player sign-ups and/or questions. Once the game begins Ill give everyone a chance to set up parties, hash out policy ideologies, and do a little bit of networking. After that Ill post the first Session Update, and the thread will generally be considered in-character as the floor of the Parliament from that point forward.
Roleplaying: I want the general feel of the thread to be as realistic as possible. I want players to take on the guise of Parliamentary members and ministers. I want it to feel like we are on the floor of a parliament. I wants posts dripping with details about each member, their appearance, their actions, their expressions. I know this is a lot to ask, and I know this probably won't happen, but I would at least like for players to remain in character as much as possible, and for posts to be well-written (or at least proofread). Posts not meant to be taken in character should have a bolded OOC: at the top of the section that is not in character. In addition, I know there will be watchers who may also wish to comment, these comments I would also like to be prefaced with an OOC. (This rule of course is a bit much and its not as if I would bite someones head off for posting a constructive comment without an OOC tag). Most OOC chatter however, should be placed in a separate OOC thread that will be located in the social group. The more roleplay, the richer the world, the better the game.
Structure of Government: When we first begin the only framework you will have is the creation of a unicameral National Parliament, whose members will be all white, land-owning males (all players will be given land upon sign up and will be considered among these). Beyond that, the government will run off the notion of Parliamentary Sovereignty (basically whatever Parliament decides goes). You can form new bodies, levy taxes, raise armies, restrict or expand rights, virtually whatever you want. The only check on Parliament's power is the will of the people to rise up and revolt.
Behind the Scenes: National Politics is all well and good, but behind the scenes even politicians have to run their personal lives. You will need to manage your estate, have a family, and make heirs to your fortune. In addition, you will have to manage your public image before the news reporters (who I assure you will take every measure to slander your good name). In tandem to your actions on the floor of Parliament, you will be able to do a number of politically and economically driven actions outside of Parliament (see actions section). You will have personal stats which include the following:
- Name
- Family
- Property
- Wealth
- Location
- Personal Attributes:
- Charisma
- Happiness
- Skills
- Reputation
Actions: These are things you do outside of Parliament that have an affect on the world of the game. These include:
- Write a book
- Distribute Propaganda
- Purchase Land
- Begin a business
- Procreate
- Engage in Scandal
- Purchase Luxuries
- Hire Body Guards
- Hire Assassin
- Hire Spy
- ect (whatever would be realistically possible in the game world)
NPCs: A common mechanic in Realpolitiks and IAARs (though maybe not as common in NESs), is the idea of the Non-Player Character (NPC). These are basically everyone else in the nation. At the start of the game there will be 100 NPCs (round number to do easy math with). Whether this number expands or not will just depend. They will all have jobs and incomes, will be divided into social classes, and may even wish to participate in Parliament. These are the people who you will be taxing to pay for public programs. These are the people who will donate to campaign funds (should you ever require members of parliament to run for office that is). These are the people who could one day rise up and decide they no longer wish to be ruled by you and revolt. NPCs will organize themselves into Identity Groups that will generally vote and/or react to policy along the same lines. In general (except among the affluent NPCs) you will be dealing with Identity Groups rather than individual NPCs.
Identity Groups: They are self-defined groups of people that share common values, and that will generally vote along the same lines. Identity Groups can form because of ethnic or religious differences, to champion one issue such as womens rights, or even in support of all conservative-minded (or liberal-minded) policy decisions. Some groups, such as ethnic or religious groups, will be fiercely loyal to one another, while others, such as ones that form over a single issue, will not be. Groups will have their own stats simulating these differences (group loyalty, group ideology, group size).
