Jalal Al-e-Ahmad wrote:I'm not saying status quo is best, but it seems frustrating to RP so much only to have it ignored by most, and constantly attempted to be overturned by another who you can't fully argue or RP with due to language barriers, and who seems set on seizing cabinet powers (despite rarely RPing with them) and making sure our nation is a bland vanilla country once again.
I face a similar problem with
wucott2 in Beluzia. He's the reason
zlopado and
seanrutter left. Don't belive me? Ask them yourselves.
We can't communicate properly, and RP is almost impossible because consent is hard to interpret.
The system was going well, with all players RPing with dynasties instead of parties; he played along OOC and IC. When I made the IC move to sack his Finance Minister, he got emotional about it and changed his party name to "tory" (common "t" and not even "tory Party" or anything; just plain "tory"). He did this to spite me, but even his allies eventually turned against him, and after realising he was really insignificant to Beluzia's RP, he decided to play along to have some significance, by changing his party name back to "Stanton House" - we referred to his characters as the "Stantons" even when he didn't have it as his party name. He had no choice but to either play along or be isolated.
I wouldn't have a problem if his party name was "Tory Rebel Core" or "Tory Republican Movement" or something like that; we could at least have something to RP about, but his opposition to me was more OOC than IC, so IC, nothing made sense because he refused to participate in anything.
Beluzia's system is a hybrid monarchy/republic, where everything is based on the players. Reno is Asian, so Bailon has an Asian culture. wucott2 claims to be British, so Negunia has an Anglo-Saxon culture (influenced by Luthori). Any active player can jump in and have a good amount of influence based on the charisma and wit of his characters. Kristov I, for example, was known to be an arrogant, but benevolent, leader who always found a solution to getting his way, whether it was striking fear into other characters, or twisting things around and playing politics to keep everyone at his thumbs. Nick Williams is known for being a moderate diplomat; he tries to be either friendly or neutral with everyone, only forming enemies when politically convenient. Leto isn't so well-known for anything in Beluzia; he's just a power-hungry guy who craves power and attention. He was never recognised as much as Kristov I, because he never really said anything bizarre enough. Kristov I is known for saying bizarre stuff, like when he threatened to use his paramilitaries to their full extent of power, or when he threatened to euthanize the Stantons. Kristov II "simulated" a plane crash, south of the Rutanian border, as an excuse to lock down the area for military "training" exercises when there were many civilian casualties. The targets of the exercise were blamed for allowing others to die in place of themselves. Political drama, propaganda to back it, and no need to stick to the whole idea that everywhere should either be:
a) a bland republic where characters are made just to be replaced by others with the same policies and views
b) a typical monarchy where nothing really changes, except party seats and heads of government
When the system is based on anything too mainstream (like a typical monarchy or republic), then RP is just along expected events and finding new pictures for new candidates who all seem to be dressed up in Western clothing.
When the system is based on the players, parties, or characters, then there's a flexible storyline with surprises around every corner, and arrogant characters to try to dominate it.