Altys
Registered
- Pronouns
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- Discord
- Altys#4138
⤆ ⤇ ↺ ☖ | Secure | https://epns.mon.gov.caek/issue/2023/12.html
Happy New Year TEP! It brings me great pleasure to welcome you and our region to the new year, and I’m excited to share what the final month of 2023 brought to our region.
The end of each year always brings a warmth of festivity to many communities, and TEP is no exception. This holiday season brought out the best in our region, from spreading the joy in our regional Discord to a swathe of game nights and events. Something that I loved to see was our region's anonymous Santa, giving out postmaster-general to dozens of individuals across the RMB. It’s gestures like these that make me so immensely happy and grateful to be a part of this wonderful community.
December saw our fan-favourite Hunger Games continue as usual. This month's edition was hosted by our lovely EPSA OO and former Delegate Shadow. In what was one of the most even performances we’ve seen, it was District 6 that strolled into a win by default, with Anya surviving Jo, who blew themselves up with a landmine. There were no standouts in the kill counts, with Anya tied with Ethan and Joebama for 3 kills a piece, despite one of the most teaming-heavy games in recent memory. I have often said it is really the person who places 25th who is truly the winner, which is a weird coincidence as that’s where I placed, who knew?!
This month saw some cultural events in the lead-up to Christmas, with a Gartic Phone game night on the 20th, a haiku and flag contest, and a joint game night with TSP and TRR. TEP also took part in the annual Winter Blizzard Bash over the new year period alongside XKI, TGW, TRR and TSP.
We also had some action on the FA stage this month, with TEP and Astoria formally opening on-site embassies, the first new embassy in some time! We look very much forward to working alongside them, and we’ll be welcoming them to our region this month for the January Hunger Games! This month also saw the closure of our Consulate with South Pacific.
I’d like to end with a special note to the two ministers who have stepped down this month, Halley (Minister of News) and Gem (Minister of World Assembly Affairs). The region thanks you very much for your service, as do I.
I hope this update finds you well, and once again I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year. Special shout-out to former MoN Vussul for providing a very useful formatting tool for EPNS dispatch coding!
Hello and welcome to the Foreign Newsstand. We in The East Pacific’s Foreign Affairs server can see the news updates from our friends and allies abroad, but you, dear reader, may not have that privilege. We also discuss major interregional headlines from the Gameplay forum and foreign government statements. For the purposes of sharing interregional news, we’ve developed this quick Newsstand to summarize the goings-on of our diplomatic partners and other regions. Here’s the events of December:
A New Awards System
The East Pacific's old awards system was defunct. The highest award, the OGO, had 40 awardees, which is far too many and the last OGO was awarded in 2021, two years ago. There were many other awards as well that were unused and probably unknown to the majority of TEP. The system was not doing what it was supposed to: provide an incentive for people to do stuff in the region.
The cause of the system's death was quite clear. Delegate Libertanny set a precedent of having the Delegates award their own personal badges. Almost every Delegate after kept this precedent going. This undercut the old system which already had more awards than could be feasibly handled as it had no record keeping system of the awards.
So it was clear that we needed a new system. The first proposal, mine, and the proposal I still believe to be the most effective way to go about an overhaul was to do away with the old awards and have a single order with three tiers for progressively more substantial contributions. This order would have a dispatch that centralised and recorded awardees. This dispatch would be pinned to the main region page to provide motivation to others and to further the prestige of the awards. Awardees would have the reason why they were awarded, when, and who awarded them recorded as well. This idea was shot down by the Magisterium.
With the idea shot down, a different system was developed instead. The new system retains the OGO and keeps the old system's ideas of multiple awards. The new awards range from artwork contributions to Z-Day and N-Day work. The new system also adds tiers to these awards and keeps the idea of a pinned dispatch to record who was awarded. The new system differs in emphasis from my idea. My idea emphasised prestige of awards but the new system is designed to emphasise recognition of particular actions and activities of persons. The new system, developed by myself, Delegate Merlovich, Grand Vizier Aivintis, Arbiter Zukchiva, and Minister Romanoddle has since passed the Magisterium.
Although I disagree with the new system, I hope it works. My advice on using the new system is to be liberal with the new awards. They should be handed out freely by the Delegate to keep them in circulation. Each Delegate should never issue personal awards in the manner of the many Delegates since Libertanny so the new system is not undercut again. And the new awards system should keep all the pomp and circumstance expected of an awards system.[/box]
Another busy month in the Magisterium! We’ve held 9 votes this month, with all 9 ending up on my desk for signature. Below are the bills passed by the Magisterium in December 2023.
A-2023-49 Amendment to the Citizenship Act - Cordial Notifications
CA-2023-50 Proposal for Amendment to Article C of the Concordat - Adapting to New Rulings
A-2023-51 Amendment to the Endorsements Caps Act - Delegate Transitions
A-2023-52 Amendment to the Regional Officers Act - Vizier Delegate Contingency
A-2023-53 Amendment to the Citizenship Act - Border Protection
C-2023-54 Confirmation of Dremaur to the Praesidium
OB-2023-55 Formatting Amendments Omnibus
L-2023-56 The Awards Act
R-2023-57 Repeal of the Pacificum Orientale Awards Act
We enter the new year with 16 active Magisters, down from 19 in November. There are currently 6 inactive Magisters, of which 5 are suspended at present.
The Magisterium voted this week to elect the Provost of the 60th Magisterium. Two candidates stood for election, Dremaur and Vussul. The two candidates remained tied at the conclusion of voting, with Vussul conceding after the two candidates agreed on terms. Dremaur will now serve as the Provost of the 60th Magisterium. Congrats, Dremaur!
December was another positive month for the Praesidium, with the in-game delegacy now comfortably secured, we were able to turn our attention to welcoming a new Vizier. Vice-Delegate and long time TEPer Dremaur was voted into Viziership on the 9th of December, and has quickly jumped to over 300 endorsements. This month we saw the continuation of a decline in overall WA membership as a region, but despite this we saw all Viziers register net positive endorsements across the board. Below is the endorsement tracker for December.
Contents:
Join the Discussion
Anyone and everyone is welcome to join us on The East Pacific's Discord #worlds-to-build channel. Worlds to Build region is now an option as an exclusive spot for The East Pacific residents who can post all things worldbuilding, conlangs, etc. for anyone not on Discord!
Notes from WTB Staff:
- Worldbuilding Prompts will be moving to a sidebar within the next few editions so that we can include more unique worldbuilding articles!
con·lang
/ˈkänˌlaNG/
a language that has been artificially created; a constructed language.
Definition from Oxford Languages and Google
Urth: Tower of Conlangs
Featured Language: Jidduanese by Star Flowers
The name Jiduan comes from the name of the original feline ethnic group that settled in the city-states of the gulf. The Jiduanis, as they were known, were a collection of traveling merchants and statesmen whose presence in the region gave it its moniker. Although Jiduan does not encompass the entirety of the Jiduani Gulf, the country is named after the gulf regardless. Read more about Jiduan on Urth Tepwiki.
Previously featured languages: Ayaupian, Kuduk, Kilumi
Urth: Uniguals: Brining Worldbuilding Alive
By: Star Flowers
On a not-so-far star system, there lives a lone planet named Setera 45xb. For explorers, this place is known for its scenic nature and odd wildlife. But few creatures are as iconic to Setera 45xb as the species living on the southeastern coast of the continent: the Uniguals! As soon as I heard of them, I wanted to speak to one, but, despite my best translation efforts, it doesn’t seem they have the ability to make any noise other than clicks and rattles. These strange creatures, who are usually around the size of a household cat, do little more than sit around and make concussive clicks while rattling their heads at each other.
Their faces seem to be a sort of mask that they customize with paints and clay. Every Unigual has a unique mask, and from what can be seen, they don’t have a real face under it. The masks are treated as their genuine faces, and breaking one is considered taboo. Once a child grows old enough, the ability to create their own mask is treated as a rite of passage. As Uniguals grow older, they may choose to alter their masks as they see fit, or even create new ones so they can have some variety. Some Uniguals have an impressive collection of masks that they choose from, not unlike how we choose an outfit to wear every morning.
In addition to masks, Uniguals like to express themselves with accessories such as belts and necklaces, and they like to cut and shape their hair too! They purchase jewelry from the Azers to their west, only choosing to wear the highest quality jewels that they can get their hands on. Their bodies vary greatly in color. Some come in bright red, others in a jet black, but earthlier tones, such as darker browns and muddier yellows, are most common! Although every Unigual has their own unique mask, Uniguals of the same clan (especially if they’re of high status) have recurring motifs in their masks and accessories.
Breaking the mask of another is considered one of the most horrid crimes to the Uniguals, but not all Uniguals have chosen to abide by that rule. An infamous warlord named Zudi of the Thousand Faces was rumored to have broken the masks of many, hence his title. Eventually, however, it is said that from the weight of the crown on his head, his own mask cracked and fell apart. Zudi lost his power over the Coast of Igual, and the Uniguals went back into their old Clan System of governance.
Out of Character Anecdote!:
if you’re curious, this is what the Sculpted Uniguals look like without their masks! (Yes, the mask is actually removable on the real sculpture!)
For the sculpture, it’s held up with a strip of Velcro, but the actual Uniguals don’t have anything! It’s just a blank slate behind the mask.
When I first made the Uniguals, I was just learning how to create sculptures of the creatures on Setera 45xb, so I made many choices that I now realize to be mistakes! I created the Uniguals out of porcelain, with a cut styrofoam interior. It was very difficult to create the Uniguals this way, as the thin limbs and neck of the Unigual make for easy breaking points. The hair was a pompom bought from a fabric store that I cut to fit around the cranium of the sculpture. Lastly, the mask was made as a separate thing that was added on at the final moment. If I were to go back in time and redo the sculpture, I would likely use a wired armature bulked out with aluminum foil, and create the body using a mixture of super sculpey for the main body and head and the more flexible cosclay for the thin limbs!
Valsora: Against the Tide
By: Malvekia
Natural disasters are an interesting type of nation roleplaying that few are eager to delve into. It requires extensive research into the underlying elements that combine to cause these natural disasters, intricate planning of the actions of one’s own nations and the complex consequences of such events, and if involving other nations, demands coordination among roleplayers to paint a coherent timeline of events as the natural disaster plays out. However, when executed properly, natural disaster roleplays can be the foundation for other interesting political or economic changes a country experiences and be quite enjoyable for all those involved in it.
The same cannot be said for the citizens of Malvekia, who for the first time in the nation’s history experienced the fury of the hurricane. Malvekia, a peaceful coastal country located right above the equator of Valsora, was not what comes to mind when one thinks of natural disasters. Apart from the annual monsoon season that brought flash floods or storm surges and the occasional forest fire, natural disasters were never a fear that hung over the Malvekian people. But that all changed one cloudy afternoon on the 10th of November, when meteorological stations along the coast reported anomalies in the weather data from the usual monsoon weather. Many hoped that the abnormal data would be an outlier or caused by faulty equipment but their worst fears were realized when satellite imagery painted a clear picture for them. A storm had been forming over the North Demetric Sea, and it seemed to be heading here.
Government action was immediate, as the country had never faced down a hurricane throughout its entire history. Entire communities were evacuated, rivers and embankments reinforced with temporary flood defenses, and search and rescue teams were placed on standby for when the storm hit. The military was activated, alongside Civil Defence volunteers, to provide assistance to federal, state, and local authorities for the monumental effort to be undertaken by them. They only had days before the hurricane, dubbed Hurricane Scylla after the legendary sea monster of Greek mythology, made landfall on Malvekia’s shores.
Hurricane Scylla finally made landfall in the early hours of the 14th of November, bringing with it gale-force winds and storm surges 3-metres high. For almost 12 hours Scylla wrought destruction wherever she went, tearing through neighbourhoods and cities alike before finally leaving northbound towards the island nation of Leiland. Though preemptive action managed to reduce potential casualties, the same could not be said for the economic damage brought by Scylla. Storm drain systems and flood defenses unequipped to handle the wrath of a hurricane left cities inundated in floodwater, entire communities levelled, and coastlines littered with debris and refuse. Casualties are in the low hundreds, although many still remain missing as rescue workers and survivors picked through the rubble left behind by the storm.
The situation was even worse for Leiland, a low-lying group of islands to the northeast of Malvekia well-known for its status as a global financial center and tax haven while being less well-known for its near-dictatorial authoritarian rule. Overnight Leiland’s flood defenses failed and dykes gave way to the relentless pounding of the hurricane, sweeping away entire towns and coastal centers unlucky enough to be standing in the path of the hurricane. Fatalities are estimated in the tens of thousands, although many fear that the number might be higher as thousands remain unaccounted for, trapped and buried beneath the rubble and mud. What was left soon devolved into a humanitarian crisis, as essential infrastructure failed, supplies dwindled, and a Leilish government that paralysed by the disappearance of its President and the death of the Vice President alongside many Members of Parliament in a freak accident during a session hearing. Anarchy reigned supreme for a few short days before an international coalition of nations from across Valsora joined forces in delivering humanitarian aid and manpower to the chaos-stricken nation. The situation remains stable, so far.
As the hurricane returned to where it came from, survivors were left picking the pieces of what remained in the aftermath of the hurricane. Malvekia, though its population were left largely unscathed, not only has to begin the painful process of reconstruction but also now contend with the developing humanitarian crisis unfolding across the coast as refugees flee violence and instability from a crumbling island nation. Not only that, the smell of something fishy fills the air as faulty storm drainage infrastructure and poorly built embankments have people up in arms at something sinister happening behind closed doors. For now, Leiland is barely holding itself together via a stream of humanitarian supplies and peacekeeping manpower from generous nations. But will it be enough to keep the peace and rebuild what was lost? Only time will tell how this situation plays out, and whether the combined efforts of Valsora will culminate in a peaceful resolution to this tumultuous situation.
Valsora Features
By: Terreich und Preussen, Lointland, Terrabis-Seran
Diplomat's note
By Altys
Hello! Since I sadly did not post the November 2023 Edition of EPNS in full version on the Europeian forums like I usually do, I've added below in spoilers last edition's World To Build article which is definitely worth a read!
Also, note that "Urth" (TEP Forums' "Urth Evolved Multiverse" too) and "Valsora" are two different roleplay worlds part of The East Pacific's verse. Click on their names to be redirected to their home pages!
By East Malaysia, Star Flowers and New Leganes
Contents:
Contents:
- Update from the Delegate
- The Foreign Newsstand
- A New Awards System
- Magisterium Update
- Praesidium Update
- Worlds to Build
Happy New Year TEP! It brings me great pleasure to welcome you and our region to the new year, and I’m excited to share what the final month of 2023 brought to our region.
The end of each year always brings a warmth of festivity to many communities, and TEP is no exception. This holiday season brought out the best in our region, from spreading the joy in our regional Discord to a swathe of game nights and events. Something that I loved to see was our region's anonymous Santa, giving out postmaster-general to dozens of individuals across the RMB. It’s gestures like these that make me so immensely happy and grateful to be a part of this wonderful community.
December saw our fan-favourite Hunger Games continue as usual. This month's edition was hosted by our lovely EPSA OO and former Delegate Shadow. In what was one of the most even performances we’ve seen, it was District 6 that strolled into a win by default, with Anya surviving Jo, who blew themselves up with a landmine. There were no standouts in the kill counts, with Anya tied with Ethan and Joebama for 3 kills a piece, despite one of the most teaming-heavy games in recent memory. I have often said it is really the person who places 25th who is truly the winner, which is a weird coincidence as that’s where I placed, who knew?!
This month saw some cultural events in the lead-up to Christmas, with a Gartic Phone game night on the 20th, a haiku and flag contest, and a joint game night with TSP and TRR. TEP also took part in the annual Winter Blizzard Bash over the new year period alongside XKI, TGW, TRR and TSP.
We also had some action on the FA stage this month, with TEP and Astoria formally opening on-site embassies, the first new embassy in some time! We look very much forward to working alongside them, and we’ll be welcoming them to our region this month for the January Hunger Games! This month also saw the closure of our Consulate with South Pacific.
I’d like to end with a special note to the two ministers who have stepped down this month, Halley (Minister of News) and Gem (Minister of World Assembly Affairs). The region thanks you very much for your service, as do I.
I hope this update finds you well, and once again I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year. Special shout-out to former MoN Vussul for providing a very useful formatting tool for EPNS dispatch coding!
Hello and welcome to the Foreign Newsstand. We in The East Pacific’s Foreign Affairs server can see the news updates from our friends and allies abroad, but you, dear reader, may not have that privilege. We also discuss major interregional headlines from the Gameplay forum and foreign government statements. For the purposes of sharing interregional news, we’ve developed this quick Newsstand to summarize the goings-on of our diplomatic partners and other regions. Here’s the events of December:
- Operation Eden, an anti-fascist military occupation of the region Sacrumterra, the fourth largest fascist region before the operation, has concluded with a successful refounding of the region as a trophy. Eastern Pacific Sovereign Army leader Eastern Alksearia headed the invasion alongside Rosartemis, the Prime Minister of Astoria.
- Atlanticana has ratified a new Constitution, transitioning into the Third Republic, with Mikaela and Kexin elected as dual heads of state.
- A referendum in The Union of Democratic States proposed by President Ostrovskiy completely reformed and restructured the UDS democratic government, transitioning the Executive branch into a Directorate of three individuals. Two are appointed for life, the third is elected to a six month term, and amongst the three, a Director Primus is chosen to guide the triumvirate. Phoenix Coalition and The Glorious Hypetrain, two prominent UDS high officials, now serve as the first two appointed Directors alongside Ostrovskiy as the elected one.
- Akillian Talleyrand was elected as the Prime Minister of the region United Kingdom, with which TEP maintains consulate relations.
- The Pact of the Sword and Spear was signed between Kantrias and Astoria, a non-aggression pact between the two regions. Astoria currently maintains a Consulate with TEP.
- Atlanticana has opened embassies with the Alstroemerian Commonwealths, a largely apolitical regional union between The Glorious Nations of Iwaku, Eientei Gensokyo, Yggdrasil, and Japan, among smaller regions.
- The North Pacific’s delegate transition has finally ended, with Kaschovia securing the delegacy with the help of the region’s allies.
- The Brotherhood of Malice, following the successful raid of the historic defender region Alcatraz, maintained it under the guise of creating a frontier, refounding the region as a Stronghold to trophy it after ten days.
- The project by Lazarus to establish a protectorate region following the Frontier/Stronghold update has been given a theme - space cowboys and dragons. Lazarus is receiving suggestions from its people for the name of the new region, and will hold a vote on which name to choose before the end of January.
- The Noble Thatcherites, Founder and long-standing Governor of The Union of Democratic States, has resigned as the Governor and Chief Administrator, passing the torch to Phoenix Coalition, a historic former President and current Directorate member.
- Community, the region in which Frontierism, the ideology of raiding inactive frontiers to funnel their spawns into active ones, is temporarily transitioning into a stronghold amidst a period of government inactivity. Government and regional operations will continue as normal.
- Astoria, a region founded this year, hosted “The Twelve Days of Christmastoria,” a holiday festival with contests, games, and other events. Foreign regions were invited to this festival.
- The Winter Blizzard Bash, an event hosted by The East Pacific, The Order of the Grey Wardens, 10000 Islands, the Rejected Realms, and the South Pacific, was held at the end of the month, a successor to the Harry Potter Festival of Friends that occurred for the past five years.
- The NationStates Gameplay (NSGP) awards for 2023 have begun, a longstanding NSGP tradition, in which prominent nations and regions are nominated and voted for awards in various superlative categories.
A New Awards System
The East Pacific's old awards system was defunct. The highest award, the OGO, had 40 awardees, which is far too many and the last OGO was awarded in 2021, two years ago. There were many other awards as well that were unused and probably unknown to the majority of TEP. The system was not doing what it was supposed to: provide an incentive for people to do stuff in the region.
The cause of the system's death was quite clear. Delegate Libertanny set a precedent of having the Delegates award their own personal badges. Almost every Delegate after kept this precedent going. This undercut the old system which already had more awards than could be feasibly handled as it had no record keeping system of the awards.
So it was clear that we needed a new system. The first proposal, mine, and the proposal I still believe to be the most effective way to go about an overhaul was to do away with the old awards and have a single order with three tiers for progressively more substantial contributions. This order would have a dispatch that centralised and recorded awardees. This dispatch would be pinned to the main region page to provide motivation to others and to further the prestige of the awards. Awardees would have the reason why they were awarded, when, and who awarded them recorded as well. This idea was shot down by the Magisterium.
With the idea shot down, a different system was developed instead. The new system retains the OGO and keeps the old system's ideas of multiple awards. The new awards range from artwork contributions to Z-Day and N-Day work. The new system also adds tiers to these awards and keeps the idea of a pinned dispatch to record who was awarded. The new system differs in emphasis from my idea. My idea emphasised prestige of awards but the new system is designed to emphasise recognition of particular actions and activities of persons. The new system, developed by myself, Delegate Merlovich, Grand Vizier Aivintis, Arbiter Zukchiva, and Minister Romanoddle has since passed the Magisterium.
Although I disagree with the new system, I hope it works. My advice on using the new system is to be liberal with the new awards. They should be handed out freely by the Delegate to keep them in circulation. Each Delegate should never issue personal awards in the manner of the many Delegates since Libertanny so the new system is not undercut again. And the new awards system should keep all the pomp and circumstance expected of an awards system.[/box]
Another busy month in the Magisterium! We’ve held 9 votes this month, with all 9 ending up on my desk for signature. Below are the bills passed by the Magisterium in December 2023.
A-2023-49 Amendment to the Citizenship Act - Cordial Notifications
CA-2023-50 Proposal for Amendment to Article C of the Concordat - Adapting to New Rulings
A-2023-51 Amendment to the Endorsements Caps Act - Delegate Transitions
A-2023-52 Amendment to the Regional Officers Act - Vizier Delegate Contingency
A-2023-53 Amendment to the Citizenship Act - Border Protection
C-2023-54 Confirmation of Dremaur to the Praesidium
OB-2023-55 Formatting Amendments Omnibus
L-2023-56 The Awards Act
R-2023-57 Repeal of the Pacificum Orientale Awards Act
We enter the new year with 16 active Magisters, down from 19 in November. There are currently 6 inactive Magisters, of which 5 are suspended at present.
The Magisterium voted this week to elect the Provost of the 60th Magisterium. Two candidates stood for election, Dremaur and Vussul. The two candidates remained tied at the conclusion of voting, with Vussul conceding after the two candidates agreed on terms. Dremaur will now serve as the Provost of the 60th Magisterium. Congrats, Dremaur!
December was another positive month for the Praesidium, with the in-game delegacy now comfortably secured, we were able to turn our attention to welcoming a new Vizier. Vice-Delegate and long time TEPer Dremaur was voted into Viziership on the 9th of December, and has quickly jumped to over 300 endorsements. This month we saw the continuation of a decline in overall WA membership as a region, but despite this we saw all Viziers register net positive endorsements across the board. Below is the endorsement tracker for December.
Contents:
- Join the Discussion
- Tower of Conlangs
- Uniguals: Brining Worldbuilding Alive
- Against the Tide
Join the Discussion
Anyone and everyone is welcome to join us on The East Pacific's Discord #worlds-to-build channel. Worlds to Build region is now an option as an exclusive spot for The East Pacific residents who can post all things worldbuilding, conlangs, etc. for anyone not on Discord!
Notes from WTB Staff:
- Worldbuilding Prompts will be moving to a sidebar within the next few editions so that we can include more unique worldbuilding articles!
con·lang
/ˈkänˌlaNG/
a language that has been artificially created; a constructed language.
Definition from Oxford Languages and Google
Urth: Tower of Conlangs
Featured Language: Jidduanese by Star Flowers
The name Jiduan comes from the name of the original feline ethnic group that settled in the city-states of the gulf. The Jiduanis, as they were known, were a collection of traveling merchants and statesmen whose presence in the region gave it its moniker. Although Jiduan does not encompass the entirety of the Jiduani Gulf, the country is named after the gulf regardless. Read more about Jiduan on Urth Tepwiki.
Previously featured languages: Ayaupian, Kuduk, Kilumi
Urth: Uniguals: Brining Worldbuilding Alive
By: Star Flowers
On a not-so-far star system, there lives a lone planet named Setera 45xb. For explorers, this place is known for its scenic nature and odd wildlife. But few creatures are as iconic to Setera 45xb as the species living on the southeastern coast of the continent: the Uniguals! As soon as I heard of them, I wanted to speak to one, but, despite my best translation efforts, it doesn’t seem they have the ability to make any noise other than clicks and rattles. These strange creatures, who are usually around the size of a household cat, do little more than sit around and make concussive clicks while rattling their heads at each other.
Their faces seem to be a sort of mask that they customize with paints and clay. Every Unigual has a unique mask, and from what can be seen, they don’t have a real face under it. The masks are treated as their genuine faces, and breaking one is considered taboo. Once a child grows old enough, the ability to create their own mask is treated as a rite of passage. As Uniguals grow older, they may choose to alter their masks as they see fit, or even create new ones so they can have some variety. Some Uniguals have an impressive collection of masks that they choose from, not unlike how we choose an outfit to wear every morning.
In addition to masks, Uniguals like to express themselves with accessories such as belts and necklaces, and they like to cut and shape their hair too! They purchase jewelry from the Azers to their west, only choosing to wear the highest quality jewels that they can get their hands on. Their bodies vary greatly in color. Some come in bright red, others in a jet black, but earthlier tones, such as darker browns and muddier yellows, are most common! Although every Unigual has their own unique mask, Uniguals of the same clan (especially if they’re of high status) have recurring motifs in their masks and accessories.
Breaking the mask of another is considered one of the most horrid crimes to the Uniguals, but not all Uniguals have chosen to abide by that rule. An infamous warlord named Zudi of the Thousand Faces was rumored to have broken the masks of many, hence his title. Eventually, however, it is said that from the weight of the crown on his head, his own mask cracked and fell apart. Zudi lost his power over the Coast of Igual, and the Uniguals went back into their old Clan System of governance.
Out of Character Anecdote!:
if you’re curious, this is what the Sculpted Uniguals look like without their masks! (Yes, the mask is actually removable on the real sculpture!)
For the sculpture, it’s held up with a strip of Velcro, but the actual Uniguals don’t have anything! It’s just a blank slate behind the mask.
When I first made the Uniguals, I was just learning how to create sculptures of the creatures on Setera 45xb, so I made many choices that I now realize to be mistakes! I created the Uniguals out of porcelain, with a cut styrofoam interior. It was very difficult to create the Uniguals this way, as the thin limbs and neck of the Unigual make for easy breaking points. The hair was a pompom bought from a fabric store that I cut to fit around the cranium of the sculpture. Lastly, the mask was made as a separate thing that was added on at the final moment. If I were to go back in time and redo the sculpture, I would likely use a wired armature bulked out with aluminum foil, and create the body using a mixture of super sculpey for the main body and head and the more flexible cosclay for the thin limbs!
Valsora: Against the Tide
By: Malvekia
Natural disasters are an interesting type of nation roleplaying that few are eager to delve into. It requires extensive research into the underlying elements that combine to cause these natural disasters, intricate planning of the actions of one’s own nations and the complex consequences of such events, and if involving other nations, demands coordination among roleplayers to paint a coherent timeline of events as the natural disaster plays out. However, when executed properly, natural disaster roleplays can be the foundation for other interesting political or economic changes a country experiences and be quite enjoyable for all those involved in it.
The same cannot be said for the citizens of Malvekia, who for the first time in the nation’s history experienced the fury of the hurricane. Malvekia, a peaceful coastal country located right above the equator of Valsora, was not what comes to mind when one thinks of natural disasters. Apart from the annual monsoon season that brought flash floods or storm surges and the occasional forest fire, natural disasters were never a fear that hung over the Malvekian people. But that all changed one cloudy afternoon on the 10th of November, when meteorological stations along the coast reported anomalies in the weather data from the usual monsoon weather. Many hoped that the abnormal data would be an outlier or caused by faulty equipment but their worst fears were realized when satellite imagery painted a clear picture for them. A storm had been forming over the North Demetric Sea, and it seemed to be heading here.
Government action was immediate, as the country had never faced down a hurricane throughout its entire history. Entire communities were evacuated, rivers and embankments reinforced with temporary flood defenses, and search and rescue teams were placed on standby for when the storm hit. The military was activated, alongside Civil Defence volunteers, to provide assistance to federal, state, and local authorities for the monumental effort to be undertaken by them. They only had days before the hurricane, dubbed Hurricane Scylla after the legendary sea monster of Greek mythology, made landfall on Malvekia’s shores.
Hurricane Scylla finally made landfall in the early hours of the 14th of November, bringing with it gale-force winds and storm surges 3-metres high. For almost 12 hours Scylla wrought destruction wherever she went, tearing through neighbourhoods and cities alike before finally leaving northbound towards the island nation of Leiland. Though preemptive action managed to reduce potential casualties, the same could not be said for the economic damage brought by Scylla. Storm drain systems and flood defenses unequipped to handle the wrath of a hurricane left cities inundated in floodwater, entire communities levelled, and coastlines littered with debris and refuse. Casualties are in the low hundreds, although many still remain missing as rescue workers and survivors picked through the rubble left behind by the storm.
The situation was even worse for Leiland, a low-lying group of islands to the northeast of Malvekia well-known for its status as a global financial center and tax haven while being less well-known for its near-dictatorial authoritarian rule. Overnight Leiland’s flood defenses failed and dykes gave way to the relentless pounding of the hurricane, sweeping away entire towns and coastal centers unlucky enough to be standing in the path of the hurricane. Fatalities are estimated in the tens of thousands, although many fear that the number might be higher as thousands remain unaccounted for, trapped and buried beneath the rubble and mud. What was left soon devolved into a humanitarian crisis, as essential infrastructure failed, supplies dwindled, and a Leilish government that paralysed by the disappearance of its President and the death of the Vice President alongside many Members of Parliament in a freak accident during a session hearing. Anarchy reigned supreme for a few short days before an international coalition of nations from across Valsora joined forces in delivering humanitarian aid and manpower to the chaos-stricken nation. The situation remains stable, so far.
As the hurricane returned to where it came from, survivors were left picking the pieces of what remained in the aftermath of the hurricane. Malvekia, though its population were left largely unscathed, not only has to begin the painful process of reconstruction but also now contend with the developing humanitarian crisis unfolding across the coast as refugees flee violence and instability from a crumbling island nation. Not only that, the smell of something fishy fills the air as faulty storm drainage infrastructure and poorly built embankments have people up in arms at something sinister happening behind closed doors. For now, Leiland is barely holding itself together via a stream of humanitarian supplies and peacekeeping manpower from generous nations. But will it be enough to keep the peace and rebuild what was lost? Only time will tell how this situation plays out, and whether the combined efforts of Valsora will culminate in a peaceful resolution to this tumultuous situation.
Valsora Features
By: Terreich und Preussen, Lointland, Terrabis-Seran
Diplomat's note
By Altys
Hello! Since I sadly did not post the November 2023 Edition of EPNS in full version on the Europeian forums like I usually do, I've added below in spoilers last edition's World To Build article which is definitely worth a read!
Also, note that "Urth" (TEP Forums' "Urth Evolved Multiverse" too) and "Valsora" are two different roleplay worlds part of The East Pacific's verse. Click on their names to be redirected to their home pages!
By East Malaysia, Star Flowers and New Leganes
Contents:
- Worldbuilding Prompts
- Tower of Conlangs
- Conlanging: scripts
- Davy Jones's Padlocked Locker
Worldbuilding Prompts- Your best-developed character meets with a mysterious man in all black with sunglasses. He presents your character with a red and blue pill. The red pill will shatter their reality. The blue will keep their delusions alive. Which pill will they choose and why? By [nation=noflag]East Malaysia[/nation]
- [Part of the 5 Senses Series] Many professional Geoguessr players look at small details like license plates, telephone poles, and the lines on roads to try and guess which country they’re in! What sorts of small details could a Geoguessr player look for to immediately recognize your country? By [nation=noflag]Gonggong[/nation]/[nation=noflag]Star Flowers[/nation]
- Want to have your worldbuilding prompt or scenario featured? Maybe make a CYOA series? Fill out this form today!
Let us know your answers! The best ones will get featured in the next edition! Post it on the RMB (mention East Malaysia). We also have a channel on Discord #worlds-to-build. By the next edition we will also have Worlds to Build as an exclusive spot where you can post your prompts, all things worldbuilding, conlangs, etc. for anyone not on Discord!
con·lang
/ˈkänˌlaNG/
a language that has been artificially created; a constructed language.
Definition from Oxford Languages and Google
Urth: Tower of Conlangs
Featured Language: Ayaupian by Ayaupia
The word is "cralapat", which means dry, and literally means, "cra-lapat" : "[opposite]-wet", moreover "cra-lap-at" : "[opposite]-water-[adjective]"
Previously featured languages: Kuduk, Kilumi
Urth: Conlanging: scripts
By: Star Flowers
Click here if you would like to take a look at the full article that includes Gong's introductory about conglangs!
Before I start, I want to thank Neography for providing the images used in this article!
This article assumes that you already know what type of writing system you want for your script, as well as the writing direction and number of glyphs! If you don’t have that I suggest you do so before continuing!
Scripts in the real world have evolved into the ones we know and love today. The familiar Roman Alphabet traces its origins back to Egyptian Hieroglyphs. If you’re feeling inspired, you can do a similar process of drawing pictographs over and over again and simplifying them as you do so. This method works for all types of writing systems, be it Alphabet or Logography, although Logographies require at least some complexity in their characters to be able to make as many as they need so don’t simplify too much for them! As you do this, you’ll likely end up with your very first script!
This is a starter script that intentionally has a lot of mistakes woven into it. As we go on learning about the principles of design and applying them to scripts, we’ll refine these characters to be more consistent and have a guiding aesthetic.
One thing you could add to make your characters feel more coherent is a graphical motif. Some graphics that repeat throughout the characters can help your script feel cohesive. Additionally, you could add constraints to your script, such as how Buginese script only has diagonal lines, or how Futhark has no curves. These constraints often stem from the writing utensil or the writing medium used.
In this second iteration of the script, the sharp corners of the characters were rounded and the diagonals were made to be parallel to each other. Remember that this is a creative process, so feel free to pick and choose which of these principles apply to your script!
One problem that occurred in the script while adding cohesion is that the first and last characters are now unrealistically similar to one another. There are several ways to fix this, such as adding diacritics, changing the shape, or redoing that character altogether. Here, we will add a line beneath the first character to differentiate it.
Now, let’s start getting into proportions! For a cohesive cast of characters, having some regularity among the proportions of the characters is a must. Several languages in the real world do this in different ways. Some languages make their characters have constant height and width, which gives the characters a sort of blocky look. Others make height constant but allow characters to vary in width. Some languages have no restrictions on height or width for any of their characters. Regardless of which one you choose, remember that most languages with variable height or width usually follow a bell curve in which most characters share similar proportions with a few exceptions.
Most of the time, height differences between characters come from ascenders (such as the top line on the letter b) or descenders (such as the hanging hook on the letter g). These ascenders and descenders always follow a predictable pattern. In English, ascenders and descenders are always the same length above and below the base letter line that they come from. Other languages, such as Khmer, have much more complex ascender and descender rules:
Whatever you end up making, make sure to stick to it! These only really don’t apply if you’re planning on making a logography or a script of similar complexity, because there’s so much variation between characters it's nearly impossible to create guidelines for their ascenders or descenders.
Applying the above principles to the example script, we get this:
We’re onto the final stretch, there’s one last thing we can do to make our script look that much more appealing: Typography! There are many different types of ways to type letters, be it traditional print, sans serif, or any other kind of typeface. Line thickness is another factor that you should consider in your script. You could go with uniform line thickness, which is the easiest in terms of workload. Additionally, you could go with variable line thickness at a fixed angle, which is one of many factors that give the Arabic script its unique “swooshy” feel. And lastly, there’s just straight-up variable line thickness. Variable line thickness is used in the traditional Roman alphabet (think of the Time New Roman font). The final topic we’re going to touch on regarding script design is serifs. Serifs can either be very very small and barely noticeable, or the script could be completely dominated by its serifs. There are no steadfast rules for serifs, so feel free to go with whatever looks right to you!
Applying what we’ve just talked about to the example script, we end up with this:
I’m sure you’ll agree that this script looks much better than the script we started with, which if you’re curious used to look like this:
And there’s no right or wrong when applying these principles to a script! You could start from the same original script, but have ended up in a completely different spot! The key to good script design is to experiment with what you like. I hope that these tips have come in handy for you!
Valsora: Davy Jones's Padlocked Locker
By: New Westmore
Before I begin this RMB feature, I would like to preemptively mention that this feature will contain many, many references to in-world locales and nations that those outside of The East Pacific's RMB roleplay map may not be familiar with. As such, I highly suggest that you check out the official account for Valsora and read their dispatches about the world and its geographical locations.
Trade is, for better or for worse, what makes the Valsoran world go around. It is a tenet of sapient behaviour, a demonstration of our aspect of being an incredibly social animal at work. At an international level, trade is how countries make a profit to support themselves as a functioning state financially, relying on the ability to export to generate their national income. For other nations, trade is their means of "giving back" to the world what they have in abundance. Altruism, if you will.
However, with the advent of widespread international trade and its prevalence in the modern world, it was bound to happen that a select few would abuse free trade to support themselves at the cost of those around them. That, abusing the trust of a ship's crew they would steal and pilfer and be an economic drag on those that have to suffer at their greed.
This is the problem that plagues the Demetric community today. Since October 2033, upwards of 689 vessels have been attacked and assaulted by pirates and various terrorist groups, with most attacks having been traced to a failed state known as the Pirate States, a highly organised group of pirates situated in the north of Aislada. Thanks to these attacks, more than 357 million USD has been lost to the illicit activity these groups carry out on these vessels.
The equipment that is stolen very likely ends up on the black market if it is not used by the thieves themselves.
As such, in response to these attacks, an intergovernmental organisation known as the Intermaritime Commercial Security Office has been proclaimed. Headed by the Republic of Atrocha, the ICSO is effectively the antithesis to the pirates and terrorists that willingly attack trade vessels in the interest of personal financial benefit. It is hoped that the efforts of this organisation can curtail if not outright bring a permanent end to these pirates and their heinous operations for good.
Time will tell what these efforts will culminate in. Very hopefully, it will bring to an end the constant assault on free trade. No one person should benefit from a system designed for everyone.
