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[anchor=one][size=160][font=georgia][color=white][i]W H A T E V E R[/color][color=#6c2a2a]—[/color][color=white]O F[/color][color=#6c2a2a]—[/color][color=white]T H E[/color][color=#6c2a2a]—[/color][color=white]P R E T I T L E[/color][color=#6c2a2a]—[/color][color=white]O F[/color][color=#6c2a2a]—[/color][color=white]N A T I O N[/i][/font][/color][/size][/align][/anchor]

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Thanks Noahs Second Country!

This is indented a little, with the tab code.

Moving on, we have a table. Notice the first row is automatically nifty-fied.

A link to the News page looks like normal, because it's internal to the game. But a link to an external site gets a little icon to signify that.

Minor bug: links to subdomains like liberal NS are treated as external.

Forum links have their own little icon.

You don't need to use tags if you're simply pasting in a link to somewhere on NS: it gets automatically URL-ified, like this: region=lazarus#rmb ...or this: viewtopic.php?f=23&t=170154

Naturally, we support the common NATION and REGION tags.

The very first region in NationStates was The Pacific.

I am Testlandia. Or Testlandia for short. But you can simply call me Testlandia.

You can use UTF-8 characters natively. See: 𝄞

Now in testing: Spoilers! These come in two forms:

Lists!

You can have nested and independent lists. So this works:

• First item

• Second item

  • sub-list item 1

  • sub-list item 2

• Third item
  

... and so does this:

1. List style here is 'i'

2. You can also have '1' for numbers

3. And 'a' for latin

4. Plus 'A' or 'I' for as above, only capitalized

If you screw up a list, the formatting will break your dispatch, but not the whole page. For example:

• Here is a list that

• I should have closed it with a /list tag

• But I forgot.

  Now everything below is in the list! Oh oh!

  Luckily, though, it doesn't screw up the entire page.

Republic of Ponderosa

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Flag

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Motto: "Live Free"

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Location

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Population: 106,584,387
-Density: 39.67/km²

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Capitol: Santa Fe
35.6869° N, 105.9372° W
Largest City: Phoenix

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Official Language: English

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National Languages: English, Spanish

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Demonym: Ponderosan

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Government: Federal presidential constitutional republic
- President: Kimberly Lane
- Vice President: Joseph Auciello
- Speaker of the House: Colin Green
- Chief Justice: Jennifer Larson

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Legislature: Congress
- Upper House: Senate
-Lower House: House of Representatives

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Establishment: from Mexico
Independence: March 1, 1848

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Land Area: 1,037,315 mile²
2,686,634 km²
Water Area: 52,120 km²
Water %: 1.94

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GDP (nominal): $4.63 trillion
GDP (nominal) per capita: $43,679

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HDI (2040): 0.924 very high

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Currency: Ponderosa dollar ($) (PD)

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Time Zone: (UTC−8 to −6)

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Drives on the: right

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Calling code: + 45

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Internet TLD: .pon

Ponderosa
____________________________________________________________

The Republic of Ponderosa, commonly called Ponderosa, is a federal republic in southwestern North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States, on the south by Mexico, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Ponderosa covers over 2 million square kilometers and has has an estimated population of over 100 million. Ponderosa is a federation comprising of 14 states.

Ponderosa was first inhabited by indigenous peoples of the Americas before European exploration. It was first conquered by Spain, then became a part of Mexico. The Mexican-American War in 1848 resulted in independence of Ponderosa. Ponderosa fought with the Union Army during the American Civil War, seizing Texas and Oklahoma. Ponderosa embarked on a period of high economic growth, helping to complete the transcontinental railroad and serving as home to many gold, silver and oil booms. Ponderosa sided with the Western bloc during the Cold War, emerging as a middle power.

Ponderosa is a developed country, with a high national GDP of $4.63 trillion. The per capita GDP of $43,679 ranks highly in the world, although the country also ranks highly in income inequality. The economy is fueled by an abundance of natural resources and high productivity, as well as a free market economy that allows business to thrive. Ponderosa ranks highly in civil rights, political freedom, and economic freedom. Ponderosa is a recognized middle power, as well as a member of several international organizations, including the region of Wintreath and the World Assembly.

Etymology

The Ponderosa Pine is a very large pine tree native to western North America, and very common throughout Ponderosa. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826. The Ponderosa Pine is the official national tree of the Republic of Ponderosa, and is depicted on the Ponderosa flag.

The standard way to refer to a citizen of Ponderosa is as a "Ponderosan."

History

The first known inhabitants of Ponderosa were members of the Clovis culture of Paleo-Indians. Later inhabitants include American Indians of the Mogollon and Ancestral Pueblo peoples cultures. By the time of European contact in the 16th century, the region was settled by the villages of the Pueblo peoples and various nomadic groups such as the Navajo, Apache, and Ute.

The first Europeans arrived in the early 1500's, in the form of Spanish conquistadors. The first of these was Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, sent on a wild-goose chase to locate the Seven Cities of Gold. The infamous Juan de Oñate became the first governor of the Province of New Mexico, comprising the southeastern portion of present-day Ponderosa. Oñate founded Santa Fe, the present day capital of Ponderosa, while brutally oppressing the indigenous peoples. The province was abandoned briefly after the successful Pueblo revolt, but reconquered by Diego de Vargas.

The Mexican War of Independence led to a transition from Spanish to Mexican rule. As turmoil raged in central Mexico, the northern areas of present-day Ponderosa grew economically closer to the United States. American merchants met with Mexicans in trading hubs such as Santa Fe and Los Angeles. Meanwhile, corruption and incompetent bureaucracy, coupled with the rise of Santa Anna, led to northern disenchantment with Mexico City.

The successful secession of Texas from Mexico in 1836 inspired prominent leaders of New Mexico to threaten with secession themselves. However, in 1846, American troops arrived on their march across Ponderosa.

The result of the Mexican-American War was the Treaty of Guadolupe Hidalgo, which failed to pass the US Senate at a margin of 24-28. US troops continued to occupy the land, however, and declared the independence of the Republic of Ponderosa on March 1, 1848. Mexico, in no condition to fight a second war, recognized Ponderosan independence in April of that year. Santa Fe became the new capital in 1849, with the signing of the Ponderosa Constitution.

Ponderosa, while sympathetic to southern independence interests, announced its intentions to remain neutral in the American Civil War. However, this changed when a faction of the Confederate army attempted to stage a coup in the capital of Santa Fe, and convinced several southern counties to defect to the CSA. This provided justification enough to declare war on the Confederate States of America (simultaneously recognizing it as a legitimate state). Rebellions were quashed by Ponderosa army forces, with help from Union Army forces arriving from Oregon. The New Mexico theatre of the Civil War concluded at Glorieta Pass, where New Mexico and Colorado militia forces repelled CSA Major Pyron's Texan force.

The Ponderosa Army continued its incursions into Texas, despite Union protests. After the war, Ponderosa occupied the whole of Texas and the Indian Territory, and annexed them both as states. The Ponderosa position was that both territories were land taken from a hostile power. The American position was that it was American land, and the peace at Appomattox proved the Confederacy was simply an organized rebellion. Ponderosa retorted that this made the United States legally responsible for the significant casualties and damage done by Confederate troops on Ponderosan soil. In the end, the United States agreed to withdraw any claim to Texas. In return, Ponderosa agreed to permit the US to build a transcontinental railroad across the southern half of the country. However, Ponderosa quickly realized such a railroad would not be possible, due to the rocky terrain in what was then southern New Mexico and Sonora. it therefore purchased suitable land from Mexico to allow completion of the railroad.

Meanwhile, an American pioneer named Brigham Young led hundreds of Mormon settlers to the Salt Lake Valley and founded Salt Lake City in 1847. Over the next 20 years, over 70,000 settlers came to this region, and organized themselves into the state of Deseret in 1874.

Ponderosa remained neutral in the American Civil War, although it harbored Southern refugees after the surrender at Appomattox. Eastern Ponderosa became a major ranching hub, while California experienced a population explosion with the discovery of gold in the Silicon valley.

Ponderosa was officially neutral in both World Wars, but served as the location for the secret Manhattan Project, which was marked by the success of the explosion of the first atomic bomb in the Socorro desert. After the end of World War II, Ponderosa joined the United Nations (replaced in 2008 with the World Assembly.

Ponderosa's capitalist tradition led it to side with the United States during the Cold War. Although Ponderosa had previously maintained a policy of avoiding military alliances, Ponderosa's capitalist tradition and economic and political interests were at odds with those of the Soviet bloc. Ponderosa remained a center of nuclear research, and diverted much of its budget towards education and industry spending. Ponderosa also played a major role in the Space Race, working closely with the United States on space research. Ponderosa's contributions were ultimately recognized when one of its citizens, Matilda Pulliam, became the second person and first woman to walk on the Moon. After the end of the Cold War, Ponderosa reduced its military influence, but remains moderately influential on the world scale.

Geography

The land area of Ponderosa is 722,093 mile² (2,941,439.4 km²). The climate on the west coast is mostly Mediterranean. The Rocky Mountains, at the western edge of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado and Durango. The fertile Great Plains spread across Texas, Oklahoma, and parts of New Mexico and Colorado. Extreme weather is not uncommon in this part of the country: Texas and Oklahoma are prone to tornados, and hurricanes often cause damage to the Texan coast.

Much of Ponderosa is semiarid, with large deserts such as the Mojave and Chihuahua in the Nevada Territory and in the southern regions of Sonora and Socorro. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges run close to the Pacific coast, both ranges reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet (4,300 m).

The highest point in Ponderosa is Mount Whitney in Yosemite, with a height of 14,505 ft (4,421 m). The lowest point is Death Valley, also in Yosemite, with an elevation of −282 ft (−86.0 m).

A detailed map of Ponderosa can be found here.

Left: Satellite image of Ponderosa
Center: Ponderosa Pine forest

Demographics

Ponderosa has an estimated population of 106 million, ranking 35th in the recognized world. A census is taken every ten years, with the first taking place in 1850. While the birthrate is only 15 per 1000, the population growth rate is 0.8%, the result of immigration. The largest ancestry groups included Mexicans, Hispanic groups, American Indian tribes, and white Americans. Ponderosa is a minority-majority country. 48% of the population are non-Hispanic whites, 31% are Hispanic, 15% are American Indian, and 6% are other races.

English is the de facto national language. Approximately 70% of the population speaks English as a first language, with another 23% speaking Spanish as a first language. The third most dominant language was Chinese, with 0.9% of the population being native speakers.

The majority of Ponderosa's population identifies as Christian. 32% identify as Catholic, with 29% identifying as Protestant and 10% as Mormon. The nonreligious account for 24% of the population, while Jews make up 3%. All other faiths collectively make up 2% of the population. The Bill of Rights of Ponderosa guarantees religious freedom, and prevents legislation that favors any religion over another. In addition, discrimination based on religion is illegal, with the exception of explicitly religious organizations such as churches.

According to a survey in 2045, 46% of the population said that religion played a "very important role in their lives." Catholics and Mormons are the most devout groups in Ponderosa, while church attendance among Protestant sects is fairly low. The percentage of irreligious people is steadily increasing, especially among younger generations.

Largest Cities

Government

Capitol Building of Ponderosa

The citizens of Ponderosa are subject to three levels of government: federal, state, regional, and local.

Local Government: Administers police and fire forces, as well as other public works. Protects private property rights.

Regional Government: Responsible for education, infrastructure, and taxation.

Federal Government: Headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the federal government is responsible for national defense, foreign policy, and guarantees basic human rights that the regions cannot override, many of which are listed in the Ponderosa Bill of Rights. It is also responsible for regulating inter-regional and international commerce. Since 1945, the Department of Science has been responsible for coordinating and funding scientific research into a wide array of fields, notably nuclear power and weaponry, space technology, and renewable energy.

The federal government is composed of three branches:

Executive: Headed by the President of Ponderosa. Can veto legislative bills, appoint cabinet members and Supreme Court Justices, and is commander-in-chief of the Ponderosa military.

Legislative: Made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Makes federal law, declares war, allocates federal funds, and approves treaties.

Judicial: Made up of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts. Has the power of judicial review, and is the highest legal authority after the Constitution.

Foreign Relations and Military

World Assembly Headquarters

Ponderosa takes an active role in the world diplomatic stage. It is a member of the World Assembly and the region of Wintreath. With the exception of the American Civil War, Ponderosa has been officially neutral in all armed conflicts since its founding, although it did serve as the location of the Manhattan Project. Ponderosa foreign legion serves as the nation's ambassador to other regions.

Total Ponderosa military spending in 2040 was $307.66 billion, over one-third of the federal budget. Up-to-date statistics about Ponderosa's military may be found here.

The President serves as commander-in-chief of the Ponderosa military, which is headed by the Department of Defense. The military is divided into three branches: the Air Force, the Navy, and the Marines. All of these branches serve professionally, and have no other occupation. In the event of a war, the Ponderosa Army is to be reestablished and made up of volunteer troops. Conscription is illegal under the Ponderosa Constitution.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Ponderosa

Ponderosa operates under a system of free market capitalism. According to the NationStates Tracker, the nominal GDP is $4.63 trillion. The private sector is estimated to constitute 98% of the economy, with federal, regional, and local government accounting for 2%. Unemployment is at 2.10%, largely due to the lack of employment regulations throughout the country.

Ponderosa is one of the world's largest exporter of goods, with a trade surplus of $94.5 billion. The United States is its top trading partner, followed by Mexico, China, Canada and Japan.

Information technology is currently the nation's largest industry, followed by retail, arms manufacturing, and gambling. Mining and livestock agriculture are other important drivers of the Ponderosan economy.

Culture

Ponderosa is home to a variety of cultures, a result of a liberal immigration policy. Ponderosan culture is generally considered Western, derived from traditions of European and American culture. There are also large Hispanic and Native American populations. Like other North American nations, Ponderosa has been described as a melting pot where several cultures join into one.

Ponderosans have been described as very individualistic, competitive, and hardworking, even more so than their American counterparts. This has resulted in great economic productivity, and a libertarian form of government. This has also made Ponderosa a popular destination for immigrants. Ponderosans are also firm believers in equality, and do not think that one social class should have more rights than others.

Food

Leonel Manzano, World
Record Holder and
Silver Medalist in the 1500m

Sports

Ponderosa's market for professional sports is roughly $35 billion. While the most popular spectator sport is football (soccer), the national sport is considered to be track and field. Ponderosan athletes have set several world records and won 420 Olympic medals in athletics alone. In addition, the 2036 Olympic Games were held in San Francisco. Basketball, ice hockey, baseball, and tennis are also popular sports.

Infrastructure

Personal transportation is dominated by automobiles, which operates on a system of 1,899,554 miles of roads. Ponderosa has one of the largest automotive industries in the world.

There are no public transport systems. Bus, rail, and subway systems do exist, but they are privately owned and operated. Many people in urban areas walk or bike to work to avoid traffic and transit fees.

The civil airline industry is also privately owned. Unlike most other industrialized nations, most airports are privately owned and run. Houston International Airport is one of the busiest in the world, serving not only Ponderosa, but airlines in the United States and Mexico as well.

Energy
Ponderosa uses a high amount of energy per capita. About 25% of Ponderosa's electricity comes from nuclear power plants, with uranium mined in Socorro and imported from Canada. Other electricity sources are from vast natural gas and coal reserves, and from solar energy, especially in Sonora. Most of Ponderosa's transportation sector uses petroleum, although rising fuel costs have led to a development in green energy.

References

NS Tracker - Economic Info, Military Info
Wikipedia - History, Template
Factbooks of Auralia, Turkish Federation, Maltropia, etc. - Inspiration
View Source Code
Like this factbook? Be sure to upvote it, and find out how to make your own!

Forum Version | > Dispatch Version <

...Well, that's not good news. But it also isn't the end of the world -- and it certainly doesn't have to be the end of your region.

Invading, also called raiding, is when a group of nations from outside your region move in and endorse each other, so that one of their own becomes your region's World Assembly Delegate. This can take the form of one sudden movement, with all these outsiders arriving at once so that there's no time to respond, or it can be a slow and subtle process over many days or weeks.

If this happens to you, it usually has one of two consequences. The first is known as a tag raid, where the new invader WA Delegate will rapidly alter some of the more visible aspects of your region, such as changing the World Factbook Entry and starting to close all your regional embassies, before almost immediately resigning. This kind of raid is very temporary and the damage it causes can be easily reversed, though going through it can be a confusing and unpleasant experience for some. The second potential consequence is an occupation, where the invaders stay for an extended period of time, quickly stacking endorsements on their invader WA Delegate to ensure they remain in control. They may simply occupy your region for a few days before leaving, or if you are particularly unfortunate, they may attempt to ban all the native nations from the region and reduce it to little more than a trophy. This kind of invasion can be frustrating if they only stay for a few days, or significantly unsetting if they decide to attempt to destroy your region.

Being invaded isn't very nice, that's for sure. But no matter how you feel, it's really important that you don't panic. We'll work through what you can do together.

I have apparently been tag raided <_<

A tag raid is a very temporary invasion. The new invader WA Delegate will rapidly alter some of the more visible aspects of your region, such as changing the World Factbook Entry and starting to close all your regional embassies, before almost immediately resigning. Typically, invader groups engaging in this activity will attempt to jump through multiple regions and tag, so to speak, as many of them as possible with a crude advertisement of some kind. These invasions generally target small regions with an executive WA Delegate position, where either there is no current Delegate or a Delegate with very few endorsements.

The aftermath of a tag raid isn't really a struggle of any kind... more like a clean up. It is not difficult but can be tedious. The following is a simple step by step approach to restoring some tidyness to your region.

1. If your region has a Founder nation (who has executive powers) then you already have all the tools you'll need. If you don't have a Founder, or your Founder doesn't have executive powers, then you'll need to elect a WA Delegate.

   If you had a Delegate before the invaders came in, then that nation will likely become WA Delegate again after the invaders leave. You'll need to wait for the next game update for them to get the position back -- about 12 hours from the time of the invasion. If you didn't have a Delegate before the invaders came in, you'll need to elect one now. Just have two nations, controlled by separate players, join the World Assembly, and have one endorse the other (remember, each player can only have one nation in the World Assembly at any given time). Again, you'll need to wait for the next game update for them to get the position.

2. Once you have a nation with the necessary powers, you can start to undo any damage that was done. You can access all the controls you'll need by clicking the "admin" button at the top of your region's page.

   The invader Delegate likely appointed themselves as a regional officer before they left. The first thing you'll want to do is dismiss them, so they can't make any more sneaky changes. You may of course also ban them from your region if you're feeling vindictive.

3. Here's a handy little list of the numerous things the invader Delegate may have altered.

   • The invader Delegate will have altered your World Factbook Entry to some kind of boastful nonsense, and changed your regional flag to their own design. You'll want to remove these and restore your own text and flag. There are some tools available that you can use if you can't remember what these were. You can use udl.taijitu.org/wfe_index/ to try and find your original World Factbook Entry, and udl.taijitu.org/images/rflags/ to try and find your original flag. These tools are maintained by Eluvatar.

   • The invader Delegate will most likely have ordered all your regional embassies to be closed. If they haven't actually closed yet, since this takes some time, you can cancel the closing process. If they have already been closed, then you'll need to go through and request embassies with other regions all over again. You can click the "history" button at the top of your region page to search for what embassies you had. The invaders possibly also opened an embassy between your region and their home region -- you are welcome to cancel that embassy.

   • Your regional tags may have been removed. The changes made will also show up in your "regional happenings" feed -- this would be the easier way to check what your tags were, if you can't remember.

   • Your ban list might have been cleared, though this is a very uncommon practice. There isn't anything you can do about this, except individually rebanning any banned nations, if you can remember what they were. You’ll only be able to ban them again if they’re still mentioned on your regional happenings feed.

   • Some posts on your regional message board might have been suppressed. You can unsuppress posts by clicking the button on the right side of each post. You'll have individually do this for each post. There is now a limit on how many posts can be suppressed within a short time period, so the invaders shouldn't have been able to suppress too many.

   • If you had a poll running, it may have been deleted. There's no way to get this back, sorry. A new poll might also have been started, probably to function as a perverse sort of advertisement for the invaders -- go ahead and delete this garbage.

   • If you had pinned dispatches, they may have been unpinned. You can simply pin them again. Yes, some of these changes can be that petty.

   • If you had a welcome telegram, it may have been deleted. There's no way to recover this. My advice would be that you keep a copy of your welcome telegram in a document on your computer. A new welcome telegram might have been set, again as a sort of mocking advertisement -- delete away.

That's all there is to it! Tag raiding does no lasting damage, and it is very rare for invaders to actually defend their tags these days, so you shouldn't have any resistance or real difficulty in fixing your region up.

The next step is to have a look at how you can keep your region safe, and prevent this from ever happening again.

My region is being occupied!

First and foremost, please don’t panic. Having your home occupied by invaders is upsetting -- and there’s nothing wrong with being a bit upset -- but please, take a deep breath, and don’t do anything that you’ll come to regret later.

Do not send the invaders angry messages, either by telegram or by posting on your regional message board. That kind of reaction isn’t going to help you nor your region. If your message is interpreted as flaming, you could even be warned by game moderators -- which I know might seem mightily unkind, but it is what it is. Some unscrupulous invaders may try to provoke a response from you, but ignore them.

We’re going to walk through some of the things you and the other nations in your region can do to resist a hostile occupation.

1. Ask for help. This is quite possibly the most important thing you should do, and there’s no shame in it. There are many regions and organisations which have made it their mission to oppose invasions -- defenders -- reach out to them, and they’ll be able to provide valuable advice and experience. If the invaders in your region aren’t too entrenched, defenders might attempt a liberation, which is a massive counter attack aimed at taking back your home.

2. All the nations in your region should cross endorse each other. This means you should endorse every other native and trusted nation in your region, and every other nation should do the same -- so every nation has as many endorsements as possible. This helps to increase influence, and will make it harder for the invaders to remove all of you. Send telegrams to other native WA nations, asking them to cross endorse as well. Posting on the regional message board probably won’t work, your messages will likely be suppressed.

3. As many nations as possible should join the World Assembly. Try sending telegrams to all the native nations, asking them to join the WA and endorse other natives. The more WA nations you have, the more effective cross endorsing is. Perhaps more importantly, you want to make the gap between your endorsements and the invader Delegate’s endorsements as small as possible -- this makes it easier for your region to be liberated by outside groups.

4. If any native nations in your region are endorsing the invader Delegate, ask them to withdraw that endorsement. The invader may have initially pretended to be friendly to get additional endorsements from native nations, and those nations may have forgotten to take away their endorsements. Again, you’ll need to telegram them, as the invader Delegate will probably suppress your regional message board.

You’re not going to like this, but that’s about all you can do. The reality is, unfortunately, if your region is already occupied by a large invader force, there isn’t much you can do to stop them. Sometimes the best you can do is wait and hope you are liberated. But the above steps are still very important, because they could increase your endorsements, and decrease the endorsements on the invader Delegate, and both of those things make a liberation more likely.

The most important thing you can do though, is to learn about how to stop this happening again. Read the next section of this guide, and use the information to make yourself and your region safe from invasions.

Remember, if you’ve been targeted for an invasion, that you are not alone. Countless others have been through it and come out fine on the other side. If you want advice, have questions, or need help, feel free to telegram me. If I can’t help myself, I’ll know someone who can.

How can I keep my region safe?

Invasions aren't going to stop any time soon. So it's important that you take some time, and learn how you can prevent them from happening to your region.

Because invasions make use of the built in game mechanics for electing Delegates, there's no technical way to just absolutely avoid them -- there's no simple way you can just opt out of gameplay. The admin team, including [violet], have said they are not going to ban the practice. But there are a few simple things you can do that protect your region against its effects. I know this might seem unfair, that to avoid gameplay you have to dabble in it yourself, but wishing this weren't the case isn't going to keep your region safe. You need to be a little bit proactive and ensure your own security.

The following is the ideal way to make your region an undesirable target and effectively invulnerable to invasion.

1. Your region needs to have a Founder nation with permanent executive powers (this is an option that can and should be enabled when you create a region). This is the first and perhaps most important thing you can do to minimise the risk and damage of an invasion. Regions with active Founders are less likely to be targeted by invaders (though it still happens, especially if your Delegate has executive authority). If your region is invaded, the Founder can eject and ban all the invaders, and revert any damage done very easily. The Founder has absolute power and this cannot be removed by the invaders -- so they can always act as a guardian when needed. Note that the Founder nation must remain in the region, because if they leave then the Delegate automatically gets executive powers, which as explained in point two is not a good thing.

   Note that the Founder continues to have access to all controls when outside the region, including the ban and password controls, so it is not possible for a Founder to be locked out of their own region. If the Delegate has somehow imposed a password or banned the Founder nation, the Founder can still access admin controls and simply unban themselves.

   If your region is founderless, you should seriously consider refounding.

2. Do not allow your Delegate executive powers. The Founder nation can and should disable executive power, and any other powers for that matter, attached to the WA Delegate position. If your Delegate has no power to actually change anything in your region, then if you are invaded the new invader Delegate won't be able to do any damage at all. Because of this, your region won't be a desirable target and is unlikely to be targeted for invasion in the first place.

   If you do want your Delegate (or any other nation in your region for that matter) to have some powers, you should make them a regional officer instead. With this method you can give out specific powers to specific nations, not to positions, so crucially those powers are only available to that specific nation, meaning if your Delegate is replaced then your new Delegate will not steal those powers. Remember though, and this is very important, only give officer powers to nations you absolutely trust. It is not uncommon for invaders to attempt to infiltrate a target in advance -- they will join a region, posing as an innocent new player, and attempt to gain your trust, only to suddenly betray that trust. Some invaders are very good at this. Do not underestimate this danger.

But my region doesn't have a Founder... D:

Then the best thing you can do for your founderless region is to refound it. This is a complicated and sometimes risky maneuver, but having a Founder afterwards, and therefore being completely secure against invasions, makes it very worthwhile. But again, and this needs some emphasis, refounding does have an element of risk -- there are players out there who will, unfortunately, attempt to sabotage your attempt, and even try to steal your region. It's worth talking to some experts before you decide to do this, there are many who might even be willing to help you. Please feel free to contact me, and I can put you in touch with these people. Regardless, I'll explain the process of refounding below.

1. The first step is making the decision to refound. You should consult the other members of your region, explain the risks to them, and make sure they support the plan. If not everyone agrees that refounding is the right thing to do, this can make things very difficult. Perhaps most importantly, you’ll need to decide who will control the new founder nation once the region is refounded -- it needs to be someone who is very responsible, and who everyone in your region absolutely trusts. Once this is decided, create the nation which will be used to found the new region, the refounder, and move it into your region.

2. You’ll need a World Assembly Delegate. This nation needs to be controlled by a player who is very active and who everyone trusts -- as they will be doing most of the work here. Ideally this nation will have a significant amount regional influence. Ask all nations in your region to, if possible, join the WA and endorse your Delegate.

3. Lock down your region with a password, and make sure that password is not visible to residents. Keep this password a very closely guarded secret. If you don’t have enough influence to use a password, make sure you have as many endorsements as possible, and wait until you build up enough influence.

4. Set up a temporary region. Even though this is temporary, again make sure the founder is someone you can trust. Ask all the non-WA member nations of your region to move to this temporary region until your home region can be safely refounded. You should telegram all these nations, and leave messages on your regional message board and world factbook entry -- keep in mind some players aren’t very active, and it might be a short while before they see the messages and move. You will probably have to eventually eject nations which don’t move. This does not include the refounder, which should stay in your original region.

5. You should now only have WA nations in your region, plus the refounder, and hopefully they are all endorsing your Delegate. If they are not, then they are either inactive and so have not seen your messages, or they are active but unwilling to help -- either way, you’ll need to eject them. If your Delegate does not have enough influence to do this, you could try asking all WA nations to swap their endorsements to another trusted nation who has enough influence.

6. Your region should now be password locked, and only have WA nations which are endorsing your Delegate, again plus the refounder. Ask half of these WA nations to relocate to your temporary region, preferably the less active nations. If, after multiple messages, some have still not moved, then eject them. Once that is done, ask the other half to relocate as well, except the Delegate and one trusted WA nation endorsing the Delegate. Again, eject those who do not move. Finally, the last two WA nations, the Delegate and the other nation, should relocate to join the others.

7. You now have a locked region with only one nation in it, the refounder, and are ready to actually refound the region. Do not attempt a refound immediately -- it’s possible you are being watched, and safer to wait a short while so these interested parties lose interest. To refound the region, wait until just before your region updates (game updates occur every 12 hours), and move the the final nation out of the region just before this happens. Ask a trusted defender, and they can give you the exact time to do this (it’s worth noting NS++ does not give accurate update times). Your region will cease to exist, and you can now create a new region with its name. Do this very quickly, or someone might take your name! You should now have a region with your old region’s name, except it will now have a founder nation, and you can invite all the old residents back home.

Again, I need to stress that refounding yourself if you aren't experienced at gameplay is not advised. Seek out help from experts, preferably trusted defenders, and they'll make sure you have the best possible chance of success. For example, both Australia and Deutschland successfully refounded with the assistance of TITO (Ten thousand Islands Treaty Organization). Click on either of those region names to read their story.

We don't want to refound.

I can understand that decision. Refounding will remove your entire message board history, which can be a significant loss for some. It's also an arduous and potentially quite stressful procedure, which, to be very honest, does have significant risk -- there are bad people out there who will try to intercept your refound and steal your region. People often get attached to their regions in sentimental ways, and that's okay. Every region should decide whether to refound or not for itself, and for its own reasons -- I'll give advice, but I can't and won't make that choice for you.

But you need to understand: choosing to not refound your region, choosing to have a region without a Founder, means your region will always be vulnerable. There are many steps we can take to mitigate the danger and keep your region as safe as possible, and I'll discuss those below, but it is much harder to keep a founderless region secure. You'll always be a target, and you'll always need to be vigilant -- this means, like it or not, you'll always need to be aware of gameplay. If you want to effectively opt out of this part of the game, you need to have a Founder.

• If you do not have a WA Delegate, you should get one. You will need to accumulate as many endorsements on your chosen WA Delegate as possible. An invading group of nations can only take control if they can get more endorsements than your Delegate, so if your Delegate has a lot of endorsements this will make things harder for them. Having a Delegate with lots of endorsements also makes it easier for defenders to intercept and stop invaders if they target you.

• You should consider enforcing an endorsement limit for nations in your region. This means setting a maximum number of endorsements that nations in your region are allowed to collect, preventing them from gathering too many endorsements without attracting attention. This is done to ensure the Delegate always has significantly more endorsements than any other nation in the region, which protects you against an unknown nation suddenly surpassing the Delegate and taking control. This is especially important because invaders commonly use sleepers -- they will send an infiltrator to your region, who will pretend to be friendly and attempt to gain endorsements. An endorsement cap would prevent this infiltrator from getting too many endorsements, and prevent them from getting anywhere near the endorsement count of your Delegate. A safe buffer zone should be at least thirty endorsements, so this measure is only really effective in larger regions. If a nation is too close to the endorsement cap, ask them to lower their endorsements. If a nation goes over the cap, eject them.

• You can, and should, use the regional activity feed to monitor who moves in and out of your region. It might seem a tad paranoid, but it's good practice to look at new arrivals with at least a little bit of suspicion -- they could be an invader infiltrator. That definitely does not mean you should be hostile to newcomers, it rather means you should be active and aware. Ask them why they left their old region, and why they chose to move to yours. Ask them about their past experiences in NationStates. Questions like these could give them away as infiltrators. Even if it turns out they aren't a bad guy at all, it helps you get to know your new region mate, so don't be afraid to start a conversation! If, immediately upon arriving, they endorse every nation in your region or actively ask for endorsements themselves, this is definitely suspicious.

• It's a good idea to only endorse nations you know -- don't just endorse any random nation that endorses you. This is very important in founderless regions. Infiltrators will endorse you and attempt to get your endorsement in return, so if you don't recognise a nation, do not endorse them. Until a newcomer has been a part of your community for a short while, and built up a little bit of trust, keep an eye on their endorsement level and don't raise it too high.

• There is a sort of balancing game at work here. Having an endorsement cap, and being very careful with who you endorse, significantly reduces the risk posed by invader infiltrators. However, this also means nations in your region will have less endorsements -- and this means they will gain influence at a lesser rate. Influence is gained faster if you have more endorsements. Nations with higher influence are much more difficult for invaders to eject. So an alternate strategy of sorts might be to encourage nations in your region to actively give and acquire as many endorsements as possible, so that all nations build up as much influence as possible. This means invaders will require a sleeper nation to be able to eject any native nations, and even then will not be able to eject many. However, this kind of approach is focused on mitigating long term damage done during an invasion, and does not stop the invasion from happening in the first place.

• You can consider using a password to control entry to your region. This password should not be visible to residents -- visible passwords are notoriously insecure. Keep the password a secret. Invaders will actively attempt to acquire your password, through various deceptions. If you give the password to a nation so that they can move into your region, change it immediately afterwards, because you have no way of knowing who they might have shared the password with. This is very important -- whenever you let a new nation in, change the password. You need to consider that passwords are generally very bad for recruitment and limit how fast your region will grow. They are however generally a good choice for dedicated RP regions.

• Another option you could consider is moving to a safe new region, but keeping your old region as a sort of museum -- that way you don’t lose any of its history. To set this up, lock your old region down with an invisible password, then remove all the nations except one or two placeholders. Remember to log in to these placeholders at least once every 28 days, because otherwise they will cease to exist, and if your region has no nations in it then it will be automatically closed down.

For smaller regions: You will likely not have enough WA nations to have a useful endorsement limit. You should make sure long term and trusted residents in your region have as many endorsements as possible, to build up influence. Be cautious about endorsing suspicious new residents. Unless you have a particular reason for not doing so, you should seriously consider refounding.

For larger regions: You will hopefully have enough WA nations to enforce a useful endorsement limit. This limit can change over time, but should always be at least 30 endorsements beneath the Delegate if possible. This doesn't have to be a completely hard limit -- consider letting nations you absolutely trust exceed the limit. It's definitely not a bad idea to have a number of high influence and high endorsement nations. Remember, the endorsement cap isn't going to enforce itself, you need to watch regional activity and be proactive!

Wanting to expand your NS experience? Well, look no further. Here is a list of sites and tools to add more depth to NationStates.

Though I have tried, this is most likely not an all-inclusive list. If there are any sites or utilities that you believe should be added to the list, or if one of the items listed stops working, please TG me. I always appreciate the help.

NOTE: All of these sites and utilities have been created by third parties and are not affiliated with the NationStates website or myself. While I believe all of them to be safe, you are using them at your own risk.

If you find this dispatch useful, please "up-vote" it.

NationStates AutoTelegram- This is a utility to allow you to send mass telegrams without using NS Stamps. I have used it many times in the past. It has been extremely useful for WA campaigns and mass TGing my region. This is no longer supported, meaning bugs and errors will not be fixed.

pyNSrecruit- This is another auto telegram program. It has a straightforward and easy to use interface, plus it supports use as a recruitment tool.

Agadar's Telegrammer- This is a desktop application that automates sending telegrams, so you don't have to use stamps. It is useful for recruitment, WA campaigning, and region-wide telegramming.

Communiqué 8 Telegram Client- Communiqué is a simple open-source way to send telegrams through the Telegram API. It is built using Java (you will need an up-to-date version of Java), so it will probably run on your home computer.

nstg-web- stg-web is a free and open source web application that allows you to easily send telegrams to a list of NationStates nations. This also has the benefit of being a web app, so you don't have to download anything.

Flag Creators
If making flags in MS Paint is too basic, and Photoshop or GIMP is just too much try one pf these flag creators.

FlagMaker 2.0- FlagMaker is a tool to easily create flags that includes many different flag elements and emblems. You can create a flag with six different base types and then add as many overlays as you like. It even has a random function if you are all out of ideas. (Special thanks to Zambara for finding this.)

FlagMaker Jr.- FlagMaker Jr. is a simplified version of FlagMaker. It is also an online app, so you don't have to download anything. There is a bit of a learning curve and the options are arranged in a way that is not immediately intuitive, but once you get the hang of it, you can create good looking flags.

Fake Flag- This is a flag creator app that allows you to mix and match elements from real flags. You can create unique, and interesting flags that also look professional. The only downside is that you can't add art or colors of your own. This is a very good option if you want a realistic flag.

Flag Designer- This is an extremely simple flag making app. Not too many options, but the user interface is very straightforward and easy to use. This is a good way to make decent looking flags quickly. Plus, the flags are made in SVG files, so they scale without pixelating or distorting.

Flag Designer - Tennessine- This is another online flag making app. You start with a real-life flag and then insert different elements into it. There are plenty of options that allow you to make pretty unique flags.

Flag Creator- This flag creator allows you to make flags completely from scratch, rather than using real flags as a base. This app can be a little tricky to use at first, but with a bit of playing around it becomes intuitive. This is a pretty good option if you don't want a flag that looks like every other one.

Name Generators
Having difficulty coming up with names? These name generators will help you come up with as many as you need. These are not strictly for NationStates, but they are site commonly utilized by NS users.

Random Name Generator- This is a basic name generator that will give a block of names according to the simple parameters you set. This is ideal for generating a list of names for an entire sports team or military unit.

Behind the Name- This name generator allows you to choose the category of the name, and how many names the person has. You definitely want to narrow the options before making a name, or you may get very strange ones.

Fake Name Generator- Despite the name, this generator doesn't just give you a name but also gives you a full online profile for the character. Very good if you want details, but don't have the time to make them up yourself.

Nation Stats Calculators
Are graphs and descriptions on your nation's NS page not enough for you? These stats calculators will give you the specific numbers and details about your nation. They are perfectly suited for getting stats for Role Playing.

NSEconomy- This is the stat calculator I personally use. It is simple and easy to use.

NSDossier- This stats calculator provides the most regional information but is also the slowest loading calculator.

Phone Apps
Looking for a better, or at least different way to look at NationStates while on your phone? Try out one of these apps for your phone.

Stately- This is an Android App for your phone. It allows you to answer issues, compare stats and graphs of multiple nations, and track your nation stats over time.

NSDroid- This is another Android App to make using NationStates on your phone easier. It allows you to post to your region's RMB, send and receive TGs, and keep track of nations in your dossier.

Plugins and Extensions

NationStates++- This is a browser extension for the NationStates site. It adds stats and reorganizes some of the pages to be easier to use. It also has a feature that allows you to switch between nations you control with one click. It is very nice and kept up to date. This is a third party extension, so use at your own risk. However, NationStates is in the process of acquiring the extension, so it may gain "official" status in the near future.

LibreNS++- This is another, similar browser extension for the NationStates site. Much like NS++, this extension adds more functionality to the NS website, including mobile support, puppet management, automatic RMB updates, and IRC chat added to the region pages.

SerinApprox- This is a bot for your NationStates IRC channels that automatically calculates regions' approximate update times. It is an extremely useful tool if you are using your IRC for NS gameplay. SerinApprox is a plug-in for the mIRC client, so if you are the one running the bot on the channel you must use mIRC. Everyone else on the channel will be able to access the bot regardless of their IRC client.

NSBreeze- NSBreeze is an extension for Chrome, to add keyboard shortcuts to the NationStates site. This gives you the ability to navigate using the press of a key. This is a very useful extension if you are involved in the R/D game.

FluffyCogs- FluffyCogs is a module for the Red Discord Bot. This module will add NS-related commands to your region's Discord bot, such as displaying region data or WA resolution texts. Its a great way to integrate NationStates into your Discord.

Political Graphing Sites
Looking for a way to graph your nation's place on the political spectrum? Well, these sites will help you do that. Now, These are not strictly for NationStates, but they are site commonly utilized by NS users.

The Political Compass- This is the most common political graphing test used on NS. It provides a good measure of one's political stance or the stance of your nation.

Political Spectrum Quiz- This is a good alternative to the Political Compass site. It allows you to weight each question according to how significant you feel it is, so you can add another layer of personalization. However, due to this added feature, it may not be very compatible with the Political Compass results.

Puppet Managers
Have you recently started participating in NS gameplay and now you have so many puppets you don't know what to do with them all? These programs will help you stop them all from CTEing.

NationStates Nation Manager- This is a small application that allows you to log in to a long list of puppets with one click of the mouse. I used to use this program frequently when I was juggling 50+ puppet nations. It is very helpful.

Autologin Script- This is a simple Python script to automatically log in to your puppet nations. It also provides you a list of notices that your puppets received, so you can better monitor what is happening with your nations. It does require that you download Python 3 in order to run the script.

Scorinators
Want to run a sports RP? These programs and spreadsheets will help you generate scores fairly according to the inputs. I personally have little to no experience with these, so my descriptions will be limited.

xkoranate- This is a fairly versatile scorinator that allows you to simulate a wide variety of sports, both individual and team. It is the most widely used scorinator.

NSFS- This is a scorinator design specifically for football (soccer) scoring.

Leagion- This is a Java-based program for american football scores. Written by Rejistania.

Tennis 0.3.1- This is an Excel based scorinator for tennis match ups. Openoffice version. Written by Schiavonia.

League Ranking Sheet 3.2- This is a spreadsheet for league standings and rankings. Written by Osarius.

Wiki sites
Are you looking for a good place to post a world factbook or your nation's history? These Wiki sites are the perfect place for it.

NSWiki- This is a reboot of the now-defunct wiki site of the same name. It is filled with bot generated pages, so the entries may or may not be accurate. It is well kept and managed, and it is highly recommended.

IIWiki- The "II" stands for "international incidents", so this is a strictly In Character wiki. That means nothing can be posted that breaks the "fourth wall".

WikiStates- This is another alternative wiki site. It is rather small but has an active community.

NSIndex- This wiki site was made in response to the chaos created by NSWiki changing owners. The benefit of this site is that it has full access to Wikimedia Commons and there are no computer-generated pages.

Other
Other useful things.

NationStates Issue Results- This site collects data from nations answering issues to determine the results of each choice. It gives you the observed range of each stats change as well as the average change. Very useful if you want to fine-tune your NS stats, or if you just want to be a cheater.

NationStates Battle Simulator- This is a great tool to help war RPs. Instead of just rolling dice or arbitrarily deciding the results of a battle, you can just plug in various factors for both sides of the conflict and have the simulator crunch the numbers for you.

NSHistory- This site allows you to look at the history of nations and regions. How many nations were in the North Pacific in June of 2008? This site will let you know. (The answer is 3,602 nations, by the way.)

NSEmbassy- Regional Embassies make a web of connections across NationStates. How are they all connected? This will show you... In several different ways.

NSRegionFlags- Have you ever wanted to look at all the regions' flag on NS all at once? Me neither. But if you get bored you should check it out.

Planet Creation Kit- This is a random planet generator. It allows you to set some basic parameters and then generates the scientific details of the planet. What is it useful for? I dunno.

This Person Does Not Exist- This is a site that uses a computer algorithm to generate a picture of a fake person every two seconds. If you are looking for completely unique photos of people for your nation's factbook, this is a great utility... Though, you may need to refresh the page a few times before you find one that's suitable.

Lazarus Z-Day 2024: Survival Guide
By now you've heard of news or rumors of a disease outbreak reaching our shores, this will give you an idea of what to expect...

Important Links:

🚀 How to cure zombies
💀 How to exterminate zombies
🧟 How zombies spread the infection
🪖Join a Task Force (and join the fight)

TL;DR of Z-Day:

• There is at least a 20 second cooldown between actions

• If you are hit by a cure missile of another nation there will be a cooldown of under two minutes (or 1 minute 50 seconds) for missiles

• If you are attacked by the zombie horde or an extermination squad then there will be a cooldown of under two minutes

• This cooldown can be useful to block zombies from spreading the infection, though it can also make it difficult to send cure missiles if that nation is hit with extermination squads or cure missiles as it is curing others

• Extermination of zombies is best avoided on nations curing other nations, as this will reduce its ability to cure

• If a nation is going around curing other nations and the vast majority of its people aren't zombies best to leave it alone unless it asks to be cured or is not online, as the cooldown will make it harder for it to send cure missiles

• Most should focus on researching the cure, and the rest should focus on exterminating zombie horde nations that come into the region, until cures become available.

• One strategy to get rid of troublesome nations is to use a nation with horde to infect the troublesome nation, then use Tactical Extermination squads to kill off the resulting zombies, allowing you to gradually turn a nation's population to dead status. This will stop you getting as many survivors as possible though.

• Look for the region activity page to view zombie events region wide, for example: page=activity/view=region.lazarus/filter=zombie

• Look at the zombie spotting page for a full list of nations, for example: page=zombies/region=lazarus
  

Zombie spotting page without options selected

Zombie spotting page zombie exporter option selected

First off, you probably want to know about the undead...

They can't be talked to or reasoned with, so let an axe, spear, or other weapon from the Tactical Zombie Elimination Squads do the talking.

Though given these are perhaps Lazarenes or foreigners turned against their will, the preference should be to cure them first unless that proves impossible.

They will follow the specific hostile behaviors of:

• Rushing into the region after perhaps infecting other poor souls, who you can spot on activity: page=activity/view=region.lazarus/filter=move

• Lying in wait in Lazarus as sleepers, only to spontaneously begin infecting nations. These are best killed off on sight.

• Supporting the voice of the deranged who wish the undead taint upon others. Toss these fools into the pit, as THIS IS LAZARUS!!!

These ones don't dance unfortunately...

Secondly, you probably want to know what you can do about it...

The options are as follows:

• You could do nothing, in which case you join the ranks of the undead or are simply wiped out by those less inclined to do nothing. This is not an opt out from the day, unlike N-Day (Nuke-Day).

• You can decide to research the cure, which you will be able to see in your zombie control area, then you select to research the cure: page=zombie_control

• You can decide to kill the undead, which you will be able to see in your zombie control area, then you select to exterminate: page=zombie_control

• You can decide to support the zombie horde, which you will be able to see in your zombie control area, then you select to support the Zombie Horde (though why would you do this): page=zombie_control
  

Once you've decided which option to support, then you need to prepare your nation or nations ideally, as having many puppet nations is advised. You might want to revive these if they've ceased to exist for the event.

You can see if the event is underway or about to end in news: page=news

Though we recommend that most nations research the cure, it is also necessary to have nations that seek and destroy invading nations.

Finally, you probably want to know the general mechanics of Z-Day..

Not all of these are revealed till they happen, though one thing to be expected is that the opposition to the cure is cunning, and the unexpected will happen.

Whether you decided to research the cure, kill the undead, or worse join them, there is at least a 20 second cooldown between actions, and if you are hit by a cure missile of another nation or worse attacked by the zombie horde, then there will be a cooldown of at least two minutes for missiles.

If you are over-run by zombies, then you need to be cured, though if someone has targeted your nation with a Tactical Zombie Elimination Squad and wiped out all your people then it is game over unless the restoration mechanic kicks in.

The restoration mechanic normally kicks in a day or more after cure missiles become available for most regions, which allows for dead nations to have their populations restored.

When researching the cure...your means to cure is the cure missile

The strength of this missile depends upon:

• The extent of your region's cure research, which will determine whether cure missiles are available as well,

• The extent of your nation's cure research, which will determine which missile you have (if any), such as Mark I, Mark II and so on,

• How many living and zombie free citizens you have, as a nation with 1 billion zombification-free citizens can more easily cure a nation with 1 billion zombies,

• The extent of the population imbalance, as a nation with 10 million could more easily cure another nation with 10 million zombies than a nation with 1 billion could and vice versa,
  

Though even if you select this option, if your nation becomes infected enough such as the majority of your population becoming infected, then research will halt, and you will have to manually set it back to cure in the zombie control settings: page=zombie_control

Warning: This might not be available right away, so till then your nation is vulnerable. It might be an idea to have a few puppets in reserve to research the cure as well.

When exterminating the zombies...your means to kill is the Tactical Zombie Elimination Squad

The strength of this squad depends upon:

• The extent of your nation's experience in killing the zombies, which will determine which squad you have,

• How many living and zombie free citizens you have, as a nation with 1 billion zombification-free citizens can more easily kill off a nation with 1 billion zombies,

• The extent of the population imbalance, as a nation with 10 million could more easily kill another nation with 10 million zombies than a nation with 1 billion could and vice versa,
  

Though even if you select this option, if your nation becomes infected enough such as the majority of your population becoming infected, then you will have to manually set it back to exterminate in the zombie control settings: page=zombie_control

Warning: By default this will mean it kills all the zombies in your nation, meaning these can no longer be cured unless a population restoration game mechanic is in play.

But if I were to be a zombie...how would I go about it?

How zombies go about things is quite different:

• Nations that are mostly infected can send the horde to spread the infection,

• Nations that are mostly infected can send specialized zombies to act much like Tactical Zombie Elimination Squads to wipe out nations that aren't fully infected,

• The extent of your nation's experience in spreading the infection (or the percentage of citizens who are zombies) will determine which squad you have,

• How many zombified citizens you have, as a nation with 1 billion zombified citizens can more easily spread to a nation with 1 billion,

• The extent of the population imbalance, as a nation with 10 million could more easily infect another nation with 10 million than a nation with 1 billion could and vice versa,
  

Though even if you select this option, if your nation becomes cured enough such as the entire population becoming cured, then you will have to wait till you have enough zombies to infect nations again or select another option above.

Warning: If you follow this path, then you have a target on your back as some nations might decide to wipe out your entire population to stop you being a threat.

Z-Day is here! Join a Task Force!

Once the event begins, the suggestion is to set up three task forces: Task Force Phoenix to research the Cure (which is the priority), Task Force Argos for home defense, and Task Force Fury to deal with external threats.

Though at minimum you want two task forces, one to research the cure and send cure missiles, and another to deal with external threats that come into the region or internal threats causing mayhem.

Tasks:

• Research the cure,

• Cure other nations in the region (some of which will be inactive and generating zombies),

• Cure nations that are attacked by zombie hordes

• Needs to check the zombie spotting page for a full list of nations: page=zombies/region=lazarus
  

If you wish to use a flag for Z-Day to identify yourself to this task force, use the current regional flag: https://i.imgur.com/hTptqGz.png

Though you could also just put Force Phoenix as your nation motto or as part of your nation name, which is up to you.

Tasks:

• Kill or cure the zombie population of other nations in the region (some of which will be inactive and generating zombies),

• Needs to check the zombie spotting page for a full list of nations: page=zombies/region=lazarus
  

If you wish to use a flag for Z-Day to identify yourself to this task force, use this tint of the regional flag: https://i.imgur.com/TFwoBkC.png

Though you could also just put Force Argos as your nation motto or as part of your nation name, which is up to you.

Tasks:

• Cure nations that come into the region with zombies,

• Kill the populations of nations that come into region with zombies,

• Needs to check the activity lists for incoming/new nations, for example the activity list filter for zombie: page=activity/view=region.lazarus/filter=zombie
  

If you wish to use a flag for Z-Day to identify yourself to this task force, use this tint of the regional flag: https://i.imgur.com/Lar4dRr.png

Though you could also just put Force Fury as your nation motto or as part of your nation name, which is up to you.

Q1: Does Z-Day change my nation permanently? No. Your nation statistics go back to normal after the event, so your population will go back to being zombie-free.

Q2: Will being a zombie spreader/infector get me banned/ejected? Not as long as you follow the RMB rules around not posting excessively spamming or trolling: page=dispatch/id=1751984#Rules

Q3: Will we be using quarantine for the event? Most likely not, as this will only be implemented if zombie infectors from outside the region are ruining our fun.

Q4: How long does Z-Day last? Approximately two or three days at most, depending on your time zone.

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Brought you by the Lazarus region at NSLazarus.com

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