What are parties? What is my character's purpose on this site? How to get started and other FAQs.

What are parties?

Like in the United States, the nation of Dunrowe has political parties. In this case, it is 4 parties: The Luzon Party, the Shearwater Party, the Starling Party, and the Weaver Party. Each of these parties have different political opinions and tend to attract similar sorts of people. To help you pick a party for your character, below are some short descriptions of political policies, and the sorts of people that may join each party.

Luzon Party

Also known as 'Bleeding Hearts.' They are a party of vibrant isolationists, fearing mingling with outside countries will squash the English language and the culture that comes with it for eternity. Luzons are overtly patriotic and mostly conservative. Many of their policies feature state-first legislation, and cultural preservation. Luzon party members are often self-confident and patriotic, but can be chauvinistic and stubborn.

Shearwater Party

Members of the Shearwater Party are usually merchants and traders, many of their businesses and homes located underground in the black markets of Victoria. They are excessively defensive of the free market, and believe all goods (and beings) should be free for sale. They are enthusiastic about trade with other countries for the sake of stimulating the market. Their policies are very libertarian. Shearwater party members are often cunning and fiscal, but can be apathetic and selfish.

Starling Party

Members of the Starling Party believe that if the nation of Dunrowe wills to survive, it must form an empire. They believe in spreading their culture and dominating other lands, feeling that if the country stays to itself in its current size, it will be swallowed up. They are fairly militaristic and outwardly in their policies. Starling party members are often courageous and strong, but can be xenophobic and aggressive.

Weaver Party

Members of the Weaver Party are concerned with diplomacy, or more so, bettering relationships with other nations through talk. They are anti-war and pro-people, often going to egregious lengths to be accepting and open to others and the change they may bring. Their policies are very open and accepting, and often support immigration or international aid. Weaver party members are often kind and generous, but can be naive and smarmy.

Your character must choose carefully; under no circumstances can they change parties.


What is my character's purpose on this site?

In Dunrowe, the voting age to elect Parliamentary chairmen is 18, as it is in the USA and many parts of the world. However, four years before hand, Dunrowe citizens formally chose their party, a mandatory action everyone must do. Most people believe this is to get paperwork prepared. However, there is a lottery that is run instead with these party applications. If your character is on this website, they were chosen in this lottery.

What is the lottery, exactly? Well, 100 years before the date of the site (3057), the parties of Dunrowe had a month-long feud over Prime Minister after their previous method, the majority-seat party's decision, was hindered with a four way Parliamentary seat tie. One thing led to another, and they agreed on a deal; whoever took control of the most districts in the capital Victoria, would choose the Prime Minister of the nation. This turned rather violent, the political parties each forming militias to occupy different districts. And while this is often considered a one-time shame on Dunrowe politics, it became a secret tradition. It has warped slightly over the years, however. The militias are in secret, mercenaries charged over the 2-year pre-election period to secure district checkpoints. And these mercenaries begin their jobs at fourteen.

This is what happens when your character is picked from the lottery. Those chosen must join their politic party's task force, more commonly known as Street Cleaners, for reasons to later be explained. They must secure the checkpoints of each district and garner the most they possibly can, getting in often-lethal disputes with other parties. The party to secure the most districts before the election, which occurs every 2 years, gets their choice of Prime Minister, and essentially has an upper hand on every other party in Dunrowe.

Your character is supplied with a standard plasma gun and a glowing bracelet that identifies them as their party with their color (the parties are color-coded above). If they tell anyone about their job, even their parents, they and those they told will be killed by the party. If they don't report to their job, they will be killed by their party. If they make too much of a scene of themselves, they will be killed by their party.

Each officer serves for 4 years, 2 elections, from 14 to 18 years old, when they are legally allowed to vote for Parliamentary chairmen. They still cannot speak of their job.

How do parties battle for checkpoints in a crowded metropolis?

Shortly after this new District Conquering system was introduced, the parliament introduced a city curfew hour. This curfew hour is 12-1 am, and citizens must be back in their residences from then until 5 am. If they do not, they are fined and even arrested at times. This was introduced as an alleged city plan to keep the streets clean through nightly cleansing programs, but in reality, this is a secondary reason; the real reason was so that the taking and defending of the district checkpoints could be possible without alerting the public at the first shot of a gun. This is the reason task force members are known more commonly as 'Street Cleaners.' It's tongue-in-cheek. This also means most attacks take place during the AM hours, and all characters' shifts begin at this time. Sleep is hard to come by in Victoria, but schooling is only a few hours long anyhow. It's futuristic and stuff.

While topics having to do with the job, such as in battles and standoffs and patrols, take place during the AM hours, this does not mean that all RP does. Characters can interact and hang out normally with each other during the day, and they can also do recon during this time. This is the time that characters from different parties may clash without violence. Day patrols still exist. Checkpoints are still capturable during the day, though remember that if your character makes too much of a scene, they will be executed. Fighting is still allowed in this way, mostly in low-population areas such as alleys.

I'm sensing a trend here. Isn't this super unfair for my character?

Absolutely. Your character is a puppet for the party, a body to put in harms way for the sake of their own ambitions. Your character will fight, will have a good chance of dying, will lose a lot of sleep, and will probably be caught by their families sneaking out at night once or twice. The only good that can be taken away from the program are the friends your character makes, and that most officials in the party are veteran Street Cleaners; it keeps a viscous cycle in play.

So where do I start after creation?

Well, after creation, you have to make or join a topic involving your character arriving at Headquarters for an official check-in. Here, your character may RP with other party members and learn about the headquarters and whatnot, just hang out and meet allies. After this, you are free to join missions and patrols and whatnot. You do not need to necessarily finish this topic to be able to roleplay elsewhere and join these missions and patrols; just start it and make an effort to post a bit if people reply.

What weapon(s) do(es) my character use?

Each character gets a standard plasma handgun in the mail along with the letter affirming their pick in the lottery. In 3050, these sorts of plasma-powered weapons have replaced bullets, as plasma is rechargeable in this universe and finite ammo is not a problem. These guns will fire compact plasmic projectiles, projectiles which glow the color of the user's party. These projectiles burn on impact, and impact hard; clothes and armor will dampen shots, but typically a shot from a standard plasma handgun will leave a centimeter-deep incision in a person's skin, a burn mark with singed skin that will likely sting badly for hours to days depending on the severity. And severity is a factor; many shots can go through a person depending on how direct, hard, and unobstructed that they hit a person. Street Cleaners are provided with little armor in their uniforms for the sake of mobility; the parties want them to be able to run and secure a checkpoint quickly and efficiently, so they sacrifice safety in their protocols for this. Most weapons will not damage hard surfaces such as buildings or monuments.

Severity will also be a factor in the purchasing of different weapons. Higher-powered weapons and melee weapons will be able to be purchased at the site store with user currency. Many of the higher-powered blasters are extremely lethal, even with just one shot, and the melee weapons are no different. The perks of these weapons will mainly be RP-based; opponents will fear your character and you will be more inclined to push forward and cause them to flee. Battle as it is now is mostly roleplay-based. The advance of your weapons will be reflected in how others deal with your character, and how you are able to wound or kill them with your weapon upon connection. For more information on battles and how they are operated, click here