Welcome to Pacifica- the modern roleplay of TSPRP. Roleplaying in a modern tech world can be a little intimidating, with realistic roleplay and worldbuilding being necessary. I aim to make it easier to approach the canon by Shamelessly stealing Mav’s format.
Rules
Pacifica not only follows the same rules as TSP and all other RP, but follows some different rules and procedures from the other two canons. In addition to the rp rules, there are also the map and claiming rules outlined in the first post of the map topic; if you don’t follow those, your claim will not be processed.
Before You Claim A plot!
Hold on! Before you claim a plot, it would be beneficial for you to know and do a few things.
Parallels of real life languages already exist. Before you make a parallel to say, the Spanish, Germans or otherwise, please refer to This list. This list specifically refers to languages, but it’s still a comprehensive list of most if not all real-life cultures that have a paralel IRP. Use this to see who you should discuss with first if you want to have a real-life culture you use IRP; I.E, if you want to roleplay a german-ish nation, you should discuss with the other people who are already roleplaying Alman nations.
In a more general sense, if you already have an idea of what you want your nation and its history to be, talk to other rpers before starting. If you want a historical empire which expanded beyond the borders of your plot (or eventual plots) you should discuss this with other roleplayers to see who would be willing to host parts of your empire in the past.
Lastly, be sure to look at the size and climate of your plot when you decide on one. If you want a high population agrarian state, you don’t want a small plot in the desert! And if you want a state without harsh winters, you shouldn’t pick one with a climate that allows it. The most recent climate map will be at the top of the Map topic.
Culture
Culture is one of the most important and distinctive parts of your nation. It includes things like food, language, social considerations, art expression, It will determine a lot of its historical actions, and in some cases may determine foreign policy as well. Cultures, in general, should follow some guidelines:
1: Cultures form around their environment. Cultures generally form dependent on their surroundings. For instance, a culture in a Europe-like climate may have historically had mythological explanations for the 4 seasons- but those in a savanna area will likely only have explanations for the rainy season and dry seasons. This is also true of geographical features- if your plot has a notable instance of a mountain, a river, or other features (like types of tree or animal) they may appear in your nation’s culture.
2: Cultures are influenced by other cultures. This may come in obvious things like loanwords, but it can also be more subtle. Maybe two cultures living in the same area grew to share some common values. Maybe they exchanged stories that were subsumed into each other’s mythos. Perhaps a religion was spread from one culture to another. There are many ways to have your culture influenced, so be willing to collaborate with other rpers in your area- that’s the entire point of roleplay anyways!
3: Culture influences history. This seems obvious, but it can have a very large impact on your history. For instance, a culture historically focused on single combat and strength will probably not have a great navy throughout most of history, and could have neglected its economy. Likewise, a culture based on navigating the seas would likely have been somewhat dependent on trade. Consider the facets of your culture, and how they would have affected your nation’s overall history.
4: Cultures change over time. Cultures are never static. Even over short periods of time, profound societal changes can happen, and this is true with overarching cultures as well. Consider how your history with your neighbors or internally made your culture adapt. Perhaps after consolidating your power, your nation went isolationist. Perhaps the opposite happened- an isolationist people become interested in empire-building. Pearhaps treatment of different sexes, ethnicities, and other groups changed over time. This is an important aspect of driving your history.
And finally, 5: Cultures are customization. These aren’t hard rules by any measure- they’re guidelines to help you. Many facets of culture (like language, for instance) change essentially arbitrarily, and you can customize the tenets of your culture to your liking. Just make everything semi-realistic, and try to adhere to the most necessary guidelines (it would be strange for a desert people to worship a winter god!) and you will have an interesting people whose stories will be told for millennia.
Government, Parties, and Politicians
The government is one of the most important facets of a nation, obviously- it is how it is run! Having good knowledge the nature of your government is key to having an interesting nation.
For starters: What system?
This is the most basic aspect. What system do you want to use? In my opinion, there are three main types of government that are relevant: Democracies, Centralized Dictatorships, and Decentralized Dictatorships.
Centralized Dictatorships are dictatorships in which the primary power is centered in the institutions of the state. That is, the state hold absolute power. These states can have a variety of styles- A pretend democracy like Russia, an actual kingdom like modern Saudi Arabia, and any other styling you can think of. In these systems, political dynamics aren’t so important, as there isn’t really any politics except to garner favor with the government, or to weasel yourself closer to the top. These governments are also very susceptible to decapitation: if you kill the government, there is a massive power vacuum to be filled. These systems are perhaps the simplest to write.
A Decentralized Dictatorship is slightly different. It is a dictatorship in which power resides between multiple factions. A modern example might be Iran, where the government is split between several institutions which all hold some sort of power. These factions can be anything, including oligarchs, provinces, religious sects, warlords and more. The main draw of these systems is the fraught dynamics between the various factions as they struggle for power. These systems are also less affected by decapitation, since the decapitation of one faction just leads the next strongest to gain power- though, if the internal politics are fraught enough, it could lead to civil war…
Democracies are (hopefully) most familiar to you. They are systems in which power is primarily supposed to be held in the people. Democracies, rather than factions, have parties, which have different interests. The primary division used in these is “Liberal vs Conservative,” but you can do more varied and dynamic parties as well, that don’t conform to the (somewhat arbitrary) Left vs Right scale. Democracies can have very interesting internal politics, and they don’t all need to be shining beacons. Many democracies in the real world are still legitimate democracies even though oligarchs or other powerful people have a disproportionate effect on the populace, usually through media control and bribery. Balancing democratic vs anti-democratic efforts can make for interesting tension in your nation.
As for the political leaders themselves: they are important, as they will be your primary characters. It is therefore important to make them nuanced- this doesn’t necissarily mean that if they’re evil they should be “justified,” but they have other humanizing aspects to their character that make them more interesting to interact with. Their personality also has a direct impact on the nation, so take that into consideration when you make them. Overall, for any political leader, you should aim to have an interesting, semi-realistic character that compliments the direction you want to take the story of your nation, elevating it beyond simple news posts.