The East PacificBoard

Welcome fledgling!

So you're new here, and you want to find out what this whole 'Valsora' business is. No worries, we'll get you up to speed.

Valsora is the most popular RP map in The East Pacific, accounting for nearly all of the roleplay you'll see on our RMB (regional message board) (that place where all the people are talking). We've been around since October 2018, and have remained steadfast as a bustling hub of roleplay activity ever since. Valsora is an MTRP map (that stands for modern-tech RP) and is based 10 years in the future from whenever you're reading this. The map boasts 7 continents, all with a unique cultural background and style. You'll find nations based on hundreds of cultures and other users from all across the world to interact and RP with. Many roleplayers come and go but a steady population of around 75-100 nations exists almost constantly! Now, let's get into the fun stuff.

AISLADA

The smallest continent on Valsora, Aislada is a continent loosely based on Australia / New Zealand, with strong ties to aboriginal and pacific islander cultures via the Demetric Ocean. The continent is generally humid and experiences varied wet and monsoon seasons due to it's location along the globes equator. Aislada includes the many small islands surrounding it, often referred to as the 'Exteriorem'.

ARASEOS

Araseos is the fourth-largest continent, and is based on germanic culture. It is home to some of the oldest nations on Valsora and is a constant hub of diplomatic and military activity. It's geography features vast northern mountainous regions between Bavatia and Prisonica, dense forests dotting the centre of the continent and green rollings hills across the far west stretching to the Friedlich Ocean. Many veteran RP'ers have called Araseos home and many more no doubt shall. Araseos is one of the only continents with a specified single ethnic and cultural identity, making the nations than span her very alike.

NONSCIO

Nonscio is often seen as the centre of activity on Valsora. It is by far the most active continent in the map's history, and several outstanding RP figures have come to exist here. It is the second largest continent by area, behind Orientalis. Nonscio is a melting pot of peoples, loosely based on western european / anglo american culture. From the mediterranean south to the slavic north-east, from the jungles of Altusia to the tundra's of Kurikia. Nonscio is a perfect starting place for any western-based nation.

ORIENTALIS

The largest continent on Valsora (by a wide margin), Orientalis represents a distinctly unique blend of cultures and well-being. Orientalis was originally designed as a continent for east-asian nations, those mirroring china, korea or japan but has since gradually developed into a broader sense of asian-ness. It has boasted cultures ranging from Filipino, Indian, Chinese to Korean and more. Orientalis, being the size it is nearly always has space for new nations, and there's plenty of growing room and friendly neighbours to welcome you.

SOLITAS

The second smallest continent on Valsora, Solitas is a cluster of large continental islands that spans the ocean between Araseos and Usnistan. Solitas has always had an odd place within Valsora, never really giving itself to one ethnic group or culture. Solitas today has adopted more of a broad central / south american tone, with nations originating from Brazilian culture, Argentinian, Mexican, Texan and more. Solitas has always been a place where creative freedom and expressionism has flourished, it's situation allowing for more freedom when creating your own nation. She has always played a fairly minor role in Valsoran geopolitics, but perhaps with the entrance of a new nation, this may change?

USNISTAN

The smallest of the original five continents, Usnistan is based on middle-eastern / north african culture. It at one point had a reputation for being a colonist hub, where all the great powers of Valsora would host vast colonial empires. It has since thrown off the shackles of it's overlords (for the most part) and stands today as a strong, independent continent, home to several experienced RP figures. Usnistan's geography features a vast desert in it's centre and south, with more temperate, even humid climates in the far north.

YASTREOVAKIA

Coming in as the third largest continent, only just behind Nonscio is the great slavic bear that is Yastreovakia. This vast continent hoards the top of the map, hosting some of the coldest, wettest climate areas on the planet. While much of it's north lies in tundra, the southern half of the continent is more temperate. 'Yastreo' as many of us call it has been home to several cartographers at one point or another, with both Nova-Colombia, Zukchiva and Merlovich at one point inhabiting the continent. While she once was an epicentre of activity on Valsora, she nowadays rests fairly quietly. There remains plenty of open space for a new nation to rise Yastreovakia from it's slumber and the slavic bear may roar once more.

What the hell is MTRP?

Alright, let's break this down to simple terms.

MTRP stands for Modern Tech RolePlay, which refers to roleplay set in modern times, or within around 20-30 years of our current period. Other terms may include FTRP (Future Tech RP) or PTRP (Past Tech RP)

Valsora operates 10 years to the day ahead of whenever you're reading this. For example, I sit here like an idiot writing words in a dispatch only you and a few others will ever read at 11:30pm on the 4th of April 2023, in Valsora it is currently the 4th of April 2033. Thus, Valsora's technological development can be attributed roughly to 10 years ahead of our own.

This often leads to varied confusion, as of course how can we predict the future? Well my friend let me introduce you to a thing called an "estimated guess". Truth be told, the world could blow up tomorrow, we could finally cure cancer next week but we simply don't know. We can only make an educated guess as to how things will be in 10 years time. Will we have cured cancer? Maybe, probably not though. Will we have colonized Mars? No. Will we have more advanced rifles, probably yeah. As a general rule of thumb, especially when it comes to military development, if something is not already being developed today, or is not being researched, it's not going to be ready to operate in 10 years time.

So when it comes to your technological developments, generally try to base it on our current, real world capabilities. You can always make things slightly more efficient or operate that fancy new technology the US government is spending all your hard earned tax money developing for 2030. But keep it reasonable, don't go too far. If you're ever curious as to whether something is fair and / or reasonable, feel free to reach out to a cartographer who will be able to give you a solid yes or no answer.

To assist as a guide, here is a list of our most frequently queried technology.

Mechs - Nope
Laser Guns - Also nope
Moon Colonies - Nooope
Moon Landings - Yes but insanely expensive
Rods from God - Yes, but why ???
Killer Satellites - Yep
Clones - Noooooo
Exosuits - Yeahhhh but they're kinda useless
Railguns - Yep they're fine

Yes, fantasy and magic exist on Valsora

Valsora has a long-standing, vibrant and flourishing fantasy community. Since the map's inception magic and non-humans have been permitted on the map, with generally loose rules surrounding them to maintain realism and fairness for those who choose not to partake in fantasy.

There are generally 3 distinct areas of the community on Valsora, those being

A. The based realism enjoyer - Exists entirely in the real world spectrum of fantasy, does not partake in magic RP and does not recognize / interact with non-humans.

B. The chad middle-ground enthusiast - Exists in the realism world, but dabbles in fantasy from time to time, may partake in some magic related RP, perhaps has non-humans present amongst their people. These individuals make up the vast majority of Valsorans.

C. The magic-pilled fantasy enjoyer - Exists mostly in the realms of fantasy, engaging in many RP's involving magic, non-humans and other elements of fantasy roleplay. These individuals may also, and generally do involve themselves in realism RP, but are usually limited to interacting with nations that recognize and partake in fantasy RP.

When it comes to fantasy RP on Valsora, it's really your choice. It's more of a broad spectrum than my silly list there suggests, a lot of people just don't tend to enjoy fantasy, and therefore don't interact with it. Many experienced and new RP'ers alike also enjoy a bit of spice to their worlds, they may create or RP with dozens of different non-human species, they may use magic-wielding characters. It's really up to you where you fit on the spectrum. That being said, there are nowadays stricter rules in place to prevent unfairness, maintain realism and ensure things are properly kept. In the past Valsora has had some wacky and outlandish fantasy elements that have strayed too far from the maps original intentions, and as such today we have stricter rules regarding what is and isn't allowed. These detailed rules can be found in the rules and guidelines dispatch.

Let's go over some of the basic things you may come across.

MAGIC - This term is a broad one, enveloping dozens of categories and things but for the most part it's how you see magic presented in the real world. Magic can be witches and wizards with wands, or humans with innate abilities that make them special, it can be wands and harry potter or subtle differences in how characters go about their day to day lives.

NON-HUMAN(s) - This one's fairly self explanatory, it covers a wide variety of species and creatures that are not distinctly human. These can vary from dragons to a rare breed of blue cow, perhaps it refers to humans with cat-like features and appearances, maybe it refers to werewolves and vampires. Any species or creature that is not inherently human as we are in the real world falls under this term.

So, what is Natural Expansion?

Valsora has a unique system of expanding your nations borders, we call it 'natural expansion'

Natural Expansion has gone through dozens of changes since it's inception around 2018, but the system is tried and true, preventing nations from growing too large quickly, and ensuring space remains for new RP'ers to join the map.

Natural Expansion in it's current form is a post by any nation, including yours that allows you to expand your nations borders through RP. You can write up a story about intrepid explorers battling through the jungle, or military convoys rumbling into derelict towns and bringing relief to remote communities. The goal of the RP is to tell a story of how your nations borders grew, what was happening in the areas you now own? Who was there, what is the history? Questions like these provide a good basis for starting your writing.

A minimum of 800 words is required for a Natural Expansion post to be accepted, this may seem steep at first but once you have a story and an idea set up, it's suddenly not such a daunting number. You can write a Natural Expansion post every two months from the moment you published your last. For new nations, you are permitted to write an expansion post two months from the moment you were officially added to Valsora.

These new requirements are a result of long and thoughtful deliberation by the Cartography Council, intended to ensure that land remains for new RP'ers, and ensures that existing nation's cannot simply grab vast swathes of land quickly and without any effort.

As for the size of expansions, there is no concrete rule on how many pixels you may take, however it's generally assumed your claim will be reasonable. For example, here are some image links to a GOOD and BAD Natural Expansion. If you are curious as to whether your claim is too large, or whether you are being too minimal with your claim, feel free to reach out to a cartographer who will be happy to help you. Please note that if an expansion is submitted, and the cartographers find it to be too large, we reserve the right to cut down on it as we see fit to ensure it is reasonable. If you find these changes to be unfair, you can also always follow up with the council and lodge a complaint.

Natural Expansion requests should be sent via telegram to Valsora, with a link to the RP post you wrote and the date of your last expansion (if applicable). Please allow up to 7 days for the map to be updated.

So you want to join Valsora?

Awesome. We're so glad to have you join our community :)

The claim process is pretty simple, let's walk you through it.

FIRST, let's figure out what your nation is like. If you already know this, feel free to skip this step. However if you're not entirely sure yet, read on. This is the most important part of the process, and involves thinking hard about what your nation is, who you want your people to be, what's their story? Without a solid foundation, you'll struggle to find enjoyment in RP, so take this step seriously and put some time aside to develop an idea. Try relate your nation to a real-world equivalent, then relate that back to an area on Valsora. If your nation is similar to Japan, or China than maybe Orientalis is the continent for you. If you're germanic, maybe Araseos. If you're Slavic or Central-Asian, perhaps Yastreovakia is your new home.

Think up what government type you'd like to be, will you be a thriving beacon of democracy, a socialist paradise or maybe a ruthless military junta. The choices are endless, and all in front of you. Maybe take a look at your potential neighbours, see if they have any dispatches that may be helpful.

Once you have a good grasp of what your nation will be like, it's now time to send a telegram to Valsora. This will be your official request to join the map, so make sure it's presentable and easy to understand. In this telegram, you'll need to use the provided template. This template features a FAQ tab at the bottom of the page to answer some of the more common questions we recieve, however if you still find yourself confused, feel free to reach out to the council via telegram or our official discord.

IF you intend to use fantasy elements in your nation, please also make this clear. Please also note as per the rules and guidelines any new non-human species or big magic stuff has to be passed by the Cartography Council before it can be canonised and used in RP or lore. This application can be done at a later date, but be careful not to worldbuild your entire nation around something like this in-case the Cartographers reject it.

That's about it, feel free to click that big ol' send button and your claim should be through to the cartographers! Please allow up to a week or so before being added, updates are generally done once a week by one of the three cartographers. You may send it through just after an update is done, or you may do it the day before, that's up to luck. If you have any issues after being added, just shoot a telegram through to the same account (Valsora) and let us know.

ValsoraWiki

You'd probably be surprised to learn that Valsora also has its own external wiki site for RPers to store all their worldbuilding in with Wikipedia-styled articles.

Traditionally, Valsora has been strictly set in NationStates with the only external resource being Discord. The issue with NationStates is that it is limited in its capabilities of hosting worldbuilding. Let’s face it, working with NS dispatches just isn’t that fun and often doesn’t look that aesthetic either. ValsoraWiki uses MediaWiki which is the same software Wikipedia uses. If you’re a Wikipedia user or have ever used Wikipedia before, you’ll know how much easier it is to work with. Providing an easier way for roleplayers to write down their worldbuilding aims to help them be more encouraged to write more.

You can find the Wiki via this hyperlink and start working on your worldbuilding:

ValsoraWiki

We are your Cartography Council

Now that you know all about the map, here's a little about the three people you entrust with our beloved map. Our cartographers were elected by the people, to serve the people as the custodians of cartography. We are responsible for everything Valsora, whether it be making tough decisions on rules, or spending hours in front of Paint.NET drawing up maps. The Cartography Council replaced the former system of cartography, which was simply a one-person cartography team who maintained the map. This system worked fine from 2018-2022, but the people of Valsora saw the need for refinement in the system, after all six hands are better than two. The new system of maintenance allows for faster updates, democratic votes to major map changes, more hands to work on geographic and topographic maps, as well as events and outreach.

Let's take a moment to recognize the cartographers who spent their valuable time maintaining this great map. Since it's foundation on the 8th October 2018, she's been under 8 different administrators, all of whom have done an outstanding job keeping the map alive and well to this day.

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