Rules (Satus of Era)

Here are the rules for Status of Era.

Basic Rules

 * The main goal of these rules is to keep the game realistic, therefore every turn must be plausible; one cannot take over the world in ten turns.
 * A turn is one day. Each turn is composed of one action, which can be militaristic, diplomatic, etc.
 * No editing past turns.The 1st turn is 2 days thereby ending on Wed. not Tues.
 * Exploration (or any sort of sea travel) takes one turn.
 * Any land which is conquered has inhabitants, and they must be dealt with.
 * Keep in mind the linguistic effects of conquering and colonizing.
 * Every person must do an action every year, but only one action.(Declaring War is NOT an action)
 * Every five turns, a map is to be made. A moderator marked as Mapmaker will edit the map.
 * Every map must be saved as a .png on the current map template.
 * Each player will "call" a nation, four nations per player always unless you have 0 nations no switching (this means if you merge 2 nations no new nation)
 * The moderators of this game have the power to grant and regulate technology for every nation, as well as regulate plausibility. They also have the right to create random yet plausible and fair events in any and every nation throughout the course of the game.
 * Alliances and dynastic unions are allowed, as is bargaining to achieve these.
 * If a nation is inactive (does not respond for more than a week without warning), it is considered in civil disorder and thus fair game for conquering even if one was allied with it. However, resistance is stronger than if it were normally conquered.
 * There are supernational confederations (e.g. the Holy Roman Empire, the Kalmar Union), and they function like alliances. They can be broken (e.g. the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire) and they can be formed (e.g. the unification of Spain)
 * You can hire raiders/pirates and make them raid any nation's ship, but this greatly reduces that country's relationship with your nation.
 * The game ends in the present.
 * Profile pages for your country are recommended.
 * If you are new, you start the game in the turn you joined.
 * No editing past turns beyond the immediate. No editing any past turns to contradict events which have already happened.
 * Not everyone can have an industrialized, liberal, stable, peaceful nation.

Turns
You are awarded turns for the following:

•main nation: 1 turn

•second nation in dynastic or personal union: 0.5 turns

•no expansion in five years: 0.5 turns

Normal turns are as follows:
 * 0: diplomacy not against a player nation, cultural events,
 * 0.5: small economic construction (such as a building), continuing statements (e.g. XXX continues to update its technology), exploration, a full turn can be spread out over two years
 * 1: military, expansion, major economic upheaval, new technology

There are no rules on what you can write about: it just has to be relevant to your country, significant, plausible and appropriate. Two guidelines for all posts are:
 * Always include a name for your country. If your country is the United States, you can use "America," "the Americans," "the US," "the USA," etc. Avoid "The White House declares xxx," or "Montana expands north into xxx," but instead "The American government declares xxx" or "American troops in Montana push north into xxx."
 * When you expand into another country, always include the actual name. A map of Europe is on the map section . But don't write "The US expands into China more," if you are invading Tibetan Kingdoms. It would be even better to write, "The US invades the Tibetan kingdom of Lhasa, expanding south as far as Mount Everest."

Colonial Turns
Within each turn, you may expand colonies by a given amount in areas that are black or dark grey on the map. They are given in sq km. Only use numbers divided by 50 in your turns (e.g. do not use numbers like 734, round to 750). This is because 50 sq km is equal to one pixel.

With several extra modifiers:
 * The above chart is for expansion when using a full turn to do so. If you have already used a full turn in your main nation, your colonial expansion is 75% of the normal rate per turn.
 * If the colony itself is younger than five years, it can only expand by 200 sq km, regardless of any bonuses.
 * If a colony is older than 150 years, a bonus +500 sq km is given for expansion in that colony.
 * When areas of the Americas are first contacted by people from Eurasia or Africa, that region that is contacted will have double the colonial expansion rates from those outside nations. Regions contacted in the first 50 years since first contact will have tripled expansion.
 * Additional bonuses will be received with industrialization, and other bonuses may arrive later.
 * Expansion into areas which are fragmented (in civil disarray or small states) can be done through colonial expansions, at half the normal rates. Expansion into organized states requires an algorithm.

Colonization Rules

 * Colonies are defined as any possessions separated from its contiguous home country by an ocean (Britain-Canada) or multiple seas (Italy-Ethiopia). This also includes places significantly distanced from a main home country (France-Lebanon).
 * No colonies until 1500.
 * No external colonies until your country is "boxed in." There is exception if a state has a special connection to a certain area.
 * Only two new colonies are allowed per 50 year period. The maximum number is seven at one time, two of which can be "large size." Large colonies are larger than OTL Peru (1,285,216 km2) OR 25,704 pixels. No exceptions.
 * Colonies begin as a slice off a coast, and expand slowly over a period of 30-100 years to full size.
 * Colonies are designated on the map with red borders, as opposed to the usual grey. This is important for the mapmaker!

Multiple Nations
It is possible to create multiple nations. However, some rules must be observed.

Vassal States
You may have vassal states subordinate to your nation, but contiguous to your nation. They are ruled by your first nation's government, but are allowed to keep their own interests. Size rules do not apply, nor do limits on the number of total colonies, except within plausibility. The size and population of vassal states not vassalized through war should not be more than half that of your main nation. It should take four to five turns at least to vassalize a state. The farther away the potential vassal from your home nation's heartlands the longer it will take to vassalize. Furthermore, the religion, culture and geopolitics of a region will effect how long it takes to vassalize or if vassalizing is even plausible. You can annex vassal states after they have been ruled over by you for a couple decades.

Puppet States
You may have puppet states subordinate to your nation. They do not need to be contiguous to your nation. However, for each puppet state a nation has, a point will be deducted from the main nation's score in every war, regardless of whether the puppets are involved or not.

Dynastic or Personal Union
Dynastic or personal union is multiple countries ruled by a single dynasty or person, respectively. This can be accomplished by overthrowing the dynasty in another country. The other country must border your first country. The rules are the same as standard expansion, but it may be a better idea than invasion if the second nation is an ally or has a different religion. The second nation may have an extra half turn or full turn, with the first nation having a half turn.

Independence
Bordering nations may gain independence at any time. Colonies may gain independence beginning in a 1750. Players may add a quarter turn per year and keep alliance with the first nation, or add a half turn and break alliances. Players may also decide to relinquish control over the independent state and come back to it later, although standard expansion rules apply. After thirty years, the number of turns doubles for an independent nation.

Full Unity
A nation not in dynastic or personal union and without vassal states is in full unity. When not in full unity, the country is more susceptible to invasion, despite having more turns. Newly independent nations are in full unity after 15 turns.

Moderators

 * Anyone may comment on a post believed to be implausible, but only moderators may roll them back or cross the post out.
 * Moderators are in charge of inducting new members.
 * Moderators should be active often to inspect moves for historical implausibility.
 * Moderators may cause natural events, revolts, NPC. Moderators may cause events affecting all players of a certain region or only players who have expanded implausibly.
 * Moderators may have specific roles, which they are in charge of.
 * Inactive moderators may be removed.
 * Moderators may be impeached. The impeachment procedure can only be initiated by another moderator. Only moderators (minus the one being impeached) can vote.
 * A moderator may propose that a user be banned from the game, either temporarily or permanently. The moderators will vote upon this.

Requirements

 * Not having expanded implausibly for fifteen turns, as determined by other moderators.
 * Played for at least thirty moves.
 * Must use a user account for most of their edits.
 * Must be active at least four days a week on average.

Plausibility
Common sense. If it's not plausible, it shouldn't be on the game. This is an attempt to signify a real-life alternate history. Also, just because it's plausible or even if it occurred in real life doesn't mean it follows the rules. Just because you play as Britain doesn't give you a chance to become a mega-superpower.

Common Implausibilities:
 * Advancing technology too fast. You should never invent something or discover something more than ten years ahead of real life, If you have a special circumstance, which could occur, please contact a moderator to ask permission.
 * Expanding too fast. Massive expansion takes time to achieve, and nations that have expanded vast amounts in short periods of time (like the Mongols, Nazi Germans or Napoleonic French) have had their empires collapse, break apart and be defeated soon after doing so.
 * Having real-life people exist. No real-life people born after 1450 will exist in this map game. There are billions of name combinations, other than very common ones or repeat names in royal families, it is unlikely that any of the same names that are for famous people in our world would be for famous people in others.
 * Massive cultural shifts. Cultural shifts take many decades, have to have good reason, and tend to not be drastic. Religious changes in nations, other than secularism rising in the twentieth century, will almost always just be a denominational change, unless they have been conquered by another nation.
 * Being overly liberal for the time period. Especially in the west, religious freedom was a foreign concept in most nations prior to the nineteenth century. In almost all nations, women did not become leaders and important figures with equal rights until the twentieth century. Don't get ahead of real life, like technology

Articles
Users are required to create articles for all of their colonies, as well as their main country. Colonies without an accompanying article for ten turns will be confiscated. Articles are highly recommended for regions, events, and famous people that didn't exist IRL. There is an opportunity for bonus and/or awards for creativity and work put into articles.

A main country article must include (recommended headings in parentheses):
 * capital and other cities (Urban Areas)
 * administrative divisions (Subdivisions)
 * official language, culture, and religion (Culture)
 * ruler or monarch, government system (Government)
 * a quality picture of choice — map and flag highly recommended (can be under any heading)
 * history —may be detailed or brief, but must include important dates such as establishment date and any date of change of government (History)
 * a description of foreign relations (Foreign Relations)
 * list of colonies and colonial history (Colonies)

A colonial article must include:
 * list of settlements in their native language and OTL equivalents (Cities and Towns)
 * cultural description (Culture)
 * history —may be detailed or brief, but must include date of formation and any applicable dates of transfer or full conquering of a sovereign state (History)
 * a picture of choice —map highly recommended (may be under any heading)

All articles are placed under the category.

Maps

 * Maps are updated every five years and are to be posted as soon as possible during the year they are active. They apply to the end of every turn. So the 2005 map will apply to the years 2000-2004.
 * Only mapmakers may edit the map.

Types of Countries
Countries are added to the map, as is custom, after a few turns of activity. This a measure to keep players involved in the game and prevent spamming and people who join just to make a few turns for a country. Countries are disconnected after an extended period of inactivity, and only when it is nearly certain that a player will not return. A player may always return to a disconnected country unless another user has taken over the country. Move your feet, lose your seat.

Regions in the map in light gray are organized states that have a central government or confederation. These states can see minor expansion but at a certain point there will be a large amount of organized resistance and possible war.

Regions in dark gray are fragmented. Countries which are fragmented may have a weak or powerless central government. This could mean that they are in civil disarray, in which the populace is in civil war, or composed of numerous small city-states. Countries that enter this state may come out of fragmentation, but it will take anywhere from a few years to a few decades depending on the size.. They 1.5 times resistance in wars, but cannot take any territory in wars.. Expansion into these countries is difficult and damaging. You may help set up governments in a fragmented area but this is a messy process and must be done carefully.

Regions in black are dominated by a tribal or nomadic system of society. They are the easiest to expand into although that doesn't mean there will not be strong resistance. Major tribes are marked.

War
You may declare a war on any country at any time. You may have any NPC declare war on you as long as it is plausible. Small border expansion can be completed without a war algorithm, but major expansion or invasions require the war algorithm to be completed. In order to declare war, you must specify what country.

An algorithm for war has been developed and is used in any war involving a player. This includes player-versus-player wars and player-versus-NPC wars. Everyone should try to copy the algorithms and construct their own. These algorithms are final. Disregarding the outcome of the algorithm will result in a ban!

In cases of civil wars, other wars where both factions are controlled by the same player, or in an instance where the players controlling the lead nations agree to a fixed outcome, algorithms do not have to be used.

You are not allowed to break off territory into new vassals or vassalize new nations in the middle of a war to increase the nations on your side. Wars can only be retconned if all players involved agree to do so.