A Quick Start Guide to Caer Sidi

Greetings! So you'd like to know a little more about Caer Sidi and how to get started? You've come to the right place!

I'm not from NationStates, what the heck is this?

Hello Trav'ler! You've stumbled on something kind of wonderful, and kind of terrifying! Welcome to the world of Caer Sidi! CS is what is known as a 'region' within the game of NationStates. NationStates is a multiplayer government simulation browser game created by Max Barry and has been running since about 2002. In the game you create your own nation, name it, set it's policies, answer issues, write history and lore about it, roleplay different scenarios with other nations and most importantly, band together with other nations to form regions. Caer Sidi is a region within the game, made up of over 100 nations that choose to call it home. We have our own community with dozens of active members. We have extensive lore and a vibrant history and a living map that is free to be shaped by you. If you love to roleplay, you've come home. To find our more about becoming a citizen here or more about NationStates as a game, please contact a Mentor on the regional discord or the Monarchy, Regent, or a member of the Interior Council on the forums.

Or maybe gaming is more your style? Enjoy fps? Some exciting adventure? Board games? Turn based? Creating your own village or even kingdom? We play tons of different games together on a regular basis, with almost daily voice chats accompanying our gaming. We even have several self assignable discord roles related to our various gaming clans which you can find in our role list.

We know that Caer can be a bit overwhelming at first, and we are here for you if you have any questions at all! If you ever have something you want to ask, please contact either an Admin or Mentor and they will be able to help.

Now, these are the different sections of the forums that you'll find on the main page:


Newcomers Isle:

Here is where all new travelers come to register for citizenship, as a diplomat or guest, and where they give their introductions. If you haven't yet, make sure to sign up for citizenship and come say hello! You can also find our volunteer center here where you can sign up to help out with culture, foreign affairs or recruitment.



The Bastion of Caer Sidi:

This area is the Castle of Caer Sidi and the home of the Seasonal Monarchy. There are five main areas; the Government Wing, where you can find the different offices of the government, the Spam Arena, home to all of Caer Sidi's spam games, the Oireachtas, Caer Sidi's legislative branch, the Academy at Cora, for sharing lore about the region, and the Royal Library, for all archives of legislation passed.



The Warrens of Aimsir:

All non-canon roleplay take place inside the Warrens of Aimsir. Various worlds, themes, and techs are roleplayed here.



The Materium:

The Materium is the main roleplay world currently being run. Lore and Events are posted here, and participation is open to all!



The Summer and Winter Clans can be found under the Clans and Orders category. If you have an idea for an order, let a member of government know! With enough support your order could become a reality!



Frequently Asked Questions:



REGIONAL GOVERNMENT



Who runs the region?

Caer Sidi is ruled by a Monarchy. The Monarchy is currently Seasonal Queen Aynia Moreaux and her Regent, Carrot Moreuax. They are the heads of the Interior Council and preside over the Judicial Branch. They also work with other parts of government to ensure everything is running properly.



What is the Interior Council?

The Interior Council is the admin group made up of the Council members and the Monarchy. Council members are appointed by the Monarchy and Interior Council to be part of the admin team.



How can I get involved in Government?

We have many positions for newcomers to join. Every citizen is welcome to discuss, propose, and vote on legislation in our Legislative Branch. There are also elections for positions in our Executive Branch and Legislative Branch, as well as the two Clans in Caer Sidi.



What is the Executive Branch?

The Executive Branch runs most of the day-to-day operations of the region. It is headed by the Taoiseach (pronounced tee-shook), similar to a President. The Taoiseach appoints other citizens to lead several cabinet departments such as Culture, Foreign Affairs, and Integration.



What is the Legislative Branch?

Our Legislative branch is known as the Oireachtas. There are two Houses of the Oireachtas, House Baile that covers rp legislation in the region, and House Roayl that covers the non rp legislation.





What are the two Clans?

The two clans are a region-wide roleplay where citizens choose to join one of the clans and participate in games and discussions within their clans, in addition to the regional government. Each clan has an elected leader: Summer has the Luminary and Winter has the Tempest. Clan Leaders oversee activity in their clans and help to bring in new clan members.



Where can I ask more questions?

You are more than welcome to join us on our Discord server, and feel free to ask any questions that you might have to any of the government members.



ROLE PLAY



Where do I start?

At the beginning! No, but seriously this would be a good place to start. Read over the lore essentials here: caersidi.boards.net/thread/266/lore-essentials and finish this guide as well as reading the FAQ to find out more about the region; how it works, how the forums are setup, and where to find more information.
If you have any questions, feel free to ping a member of the admin team on Discord.


What is the setting?

The setting is a homebrew Planarverse directly influenced by Celtic mythology, Fae, and medieval history. Caer Sidi is the center of this planarverse, and for the most part is the main setting of our regional roleplay.



What is the tech level?

The tech level and magic level is roughly high fantasy. What this means is stuff like horseback knights in service to a noble deity, wizards and sorcerers drawing on magical power to survive a dungeon, and/or brawls in a port tavern over lost wages between gambling pirates. What these scenarios all feature is a low tech level and a high magic level.



What is the timeline equivalent?

Caer Sidi is it's own universe separate from our reality it is not possible to fully equate it to our own. However, things such as the level of technology, style and architecture closely resemble those of the early to mid Medieval period across much of the Warren.



What about steampunk?

We don't allow steampunk. Steam engines, difference engines, and gunpowder aren't things that exist in Caer Sidi. Also, it would be really weird to see Victorian era influenced styles and mannerisms in a place where England didn't exist.



How does magic work?

You can read about magic in our official Lore Essentials here: caersidi.boards.net/thread/266/lore-essentials


Are their religions/gods?

Yes, there are. The regional deities are still in development, but after taking inspiration from the Celts we have declared that Holdfasts may have their own "local" deities. What is the difference? Well the regional deities have material forms and can affect the world directly. Local deities are myths and legends that your holdfast's denizens may worship, but do not exist within the actual setting.



Can I have dragons?

Not yet. Currently the dragon species is enslaved by the Chaolich and mostly reside in Chaosium. We have plans for introducing dragons soon, but right now players may not have dragons.



Can we have guns/automatic weapons? What kinds of weapons can we have?

When you think of Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time or Drizzt, do guns immediately spring to mind? No. That's because high fantasy is pretty well defined as a time before technology was very advanced. Say what you want about early guns, we're not allowing them. Gunpowder doesn't exist, guns don't exist, and magic guns don't exist. No loopholes.



What races are native, how many races are there?

Cataloguing every single race/species that is native to Caer Sidi would take the fun out of creating the world for the citizens. If you think of a race that fits, feel free to use it in your holdfast. However, the more prevalent native races would be Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, and Halflings. Humans aren't native to Caer Sidi, they came with the Queens from Syvisa. Fae were not native to Caer Sidi, they long ago migrated from the dead Warren of Eiren. Only humans came over from Syvisa and so any original race from Syvisa must be human.



What is a holdfast?

A holdfast is a gift of land to a citizen from the Diarchy. Currently in the roleplay we are fighting the forces of the Chaolich and a holdfast allows you to enter the war and claim territory for yourself! A holdfast may be of any race you choose that fits canon lore. Please try to keep species canon to the setting of the region. If you'd like your own holdfast you can apply for one here: caersidi.boards.net/thread/267/holdfast-subforums-requests



Do I have to have a holdfast?

No, you don't have to have one, but it can be a good thing to have if you'd like to have land of your own within Caer Sidi that you can use to roleplay with. If you'd like a holdfast but haven't hit the required number of posts, or if you would like to roleplay as only a single character or group of characters, (for example a sellsword or nomadic tribe), you can create a thread under 'Citizen Factbooks'.



Can I have a holdfast underwater?

You sure can! You can have it underground too if you'd like! These three types all have their own advantages and disadvantages and offer different styles of gameplay. Please note the population cap if you are building underground however, as you have very many settlements both above and below ground.



Can I change features on the map?

If you'd like to make a close up map of your holdfast, you may add or remove small features from the map such as a few mountains, hills, woods/forests and of course add things like roads and cities. Please don't do things like add a significant portion of land where there was none before, or remove significant portions of land to change things like coastlines or lakes.



How big of an army can I have?

How you run your holdfast determines a good bit, but the ultimate cap is 15% of your population. Are you militaristic? Then you would be close to the cap. Are you pacifistic? Then a lower number would make more sense. This is to ensure things like nonliving soldiers doesn't give you much higher and unfair numbers compared to someone who wants to run living creatures. After all, armies need supplies.



How does war work?

War will be played out by the game master, either over the forums or on discord. To find out more about how your particular war is being run, please see the gm for your roleplay.



Can we make up creatures? What creatures are allowed?

You can make up creatures for your holdfast. The number one rule for making up creatures is that they are balanced within the game. You may not have creatures that are invincible, all powerful, or have some kind of extraordinary ability that makes them overpowered in any way. Remember that the fun is in the adventuring and storytelling, not in having the biggest and baddest. The number two rule is to make sure that your creatures fit the setting. For example, you would never see robots in Caer Sidi. Does the creature you have in mind fit both of those rules? Then great! It's allowed! If you aren't sure about something you can always ask the Culture Minister and they can help you with your lore and creature design.