Rules of Roleplay - Vienna Accords

'The Vienna Accords (rules of roleplay) are the basic rules/guidelines agreed upon by all current nations at the 1750 Congress of Vienna. Prior to this document's creation, common sense and several unwritten rules concurrently agreed upon by most nations were law. The key leaders of the world formed councils and committees to discuss and agree upon a draft to be presented before all nations. After days of debate, compromises, and hearings, the nations of the world that were present during the international summit agreed upon these terms and conditions as presented below. The international community frowns upon any disregard for these common rules. Other nations are tasked with policing each other to maintain a balance of power.'

Claiming a nation:

 * New claimants of countries require at least two-thirds of the world's active countries' recognition to become a legitimate country. This process should take no more than a month.
 * If individuals desire to claim a country, they must intend to maintain possession of their country for a period of 10 - 12 months (at least a year) before they are able to concede their entire claim of the country to another country.
 * A new country must wait a period of at least 3 months after its creation before performing any land deals (trade of territory between 2 or more nations).
 * All new countries that participate in land deals after the 3 month period cannot cede their historical region containing their capital until after the period of 10 - 12 months (at least a year).
 * Claimants may only claim historical countries with historical borders/territory that existed in the present RP year (ex: 1750).
 * All organised countries’ borders must be of that of the present RP year; ex: 1750 (Any changes to any borders done through conquest/war/or treaty are exempt from this rule).
 * Claimants of countries must have at least 150 members in order to be considered a nation.
 * All current nations with guilds below 150 members will be given a reasonable time limit (until the end of summer) before their nations can be PENALISED by nations with the required minimum by un-recognising these "inactive" nations, especially when a "stronger" claimant for said nation that follows the Vienna Accords introduces themselves to the international community.
 * Subjects or citizens of an existing country must leave that country and give up all rights and privileges of said country to make a claim to new country. If the individual acquires two-thirds of the world's active countries' recognition, the individual's claim shall be recognised, irrespective of whether said individual intends to create a puppet state. The full history of the individual claimant and his petition addressed to all other nations explaining the rationale for a new nation shall be provided to all nations before they decide on recognition. All other points still apply to the new nation.
 * New claimants of countries that have established themselves (A guild, and in-game recognition by most players) on the game/TLOPO do not require a two-thirds majority of the world's active countries' recognition to be recognised as a legitimate country. If a claimant seeks to claim an already existing nation that has established itself (A guild, and in-game recognition by most players), then the currently-recognised nation and the claimant must negotiate to reach a compromise or fight for country in question.

Succession and government:

 * All countries must have at least 2-3 members (EX: King, and a First Minister) that hold legitimate (recommended historical) positions within their country's government.
 * All countries should have an order of succession for state officials/leaders, including an heir apparent or heiress apparent, so that if the claimant goes inactive, then one of the other members can be elected/appointed the successor.
 * If the leaders or ministers of a country desire to resign their positions and relinquish all influence within their country, a proper 10-day notice is recommended to provide other members of the country in question adequate time to elect/appoint successors.
 * If ever, a nation is split into multiple nations, the other nations of the world must convene and decide whether the new nations will receive representation in the congregation to decide a 2/3rds vote. This is to prevent already-existing nations from splitting into multiple nations to gain extra votes.
 * All nations will be required to have a government or "cabinet" that consists of 4-6+ members of that nation, and all those cabinet members must be active on Discord.
 * The Papal States (or any other nation(s) composed of sockpuppets) shall not be given a vote on the international level as long as their nation is composed of sockpuppets.

Trade of territory:

 * All trades of territory require accompanying documentation to ensure the finality of the matter. Land deals can be done in-game between two individuals as long as proper screenshots are provided, but it is highly recommended that all trade of land is recorded on visual documentation (Wikia, etc) that can be viewed/edited by both parties involved, with proper visuals (map of the land traded), descriptions of the land (in clear historical and geographical context), and identification of the countries involved. The treaty will be recognised once the two countries add their signatures to make it legal.
 * Signatures must be added by the person who owns the signature. An individual who adds another's signature to a treaty is a forger; the treaty/trade of land will be then considered invalid.
 * In-game screenshots must include the land in question being traded, what is it being traded for, who will acquire the land and confirmation between the representatives of the nations. It is recommended that proper visual documentation be archived at a later date with the same terms and conditions displayed on the screenshot.

Section 1: Declaring war:

 * To declare war on another RP Nation, the nation's leadership must be online for both parties to assess the situation and prepare for war. The leadership on both sides must be online for the war to officially commence. Declarations of war must be supported by legitimate reasons.
 * War is the final redress for grievances; therefore, it can only be declared for egregious, provocative transgressions that are conducted without contrition.
 * In the case that a member of a nation attempts to start a war, the leader of the nation must approve said claim in order for it to become valid.
 * If the provocateur nation(s) provokes conflict between other nation(s), but refuse to fight in the war, the provoked nation(s) may arrange battles (once every 7 - 10 days) to slowly occupy the land of the provocateur nation(s), but must open discussions with the provocateur nation(s) to schedule the battles at mutually convenient times. If the provocateur nation(s) refuse/ignore the aggrieved nation(s), they slowly lose land to the provoked nation(s).
 * In the event a nation being warred against believes the terms their enemy belligerent lays out are unfair (ex: they're attacking too much land at once, they set up an inconvenient time and refuse to reschedule, etc.) then they can take their concerns to a congregation of nations (neutral third-party of at least 2 other nations) for arbitration.

Section 2: Rules of engagement:

 * In a time of war, nations must accept terms of a battle (Land being fought over, for control, etc. Ex: SvS, PvP), requested from either side within 48 hours. Leaders of the two nations at war must agree upon a time and place (server/third-party game, ex: Empire Total War), and time limit for the battle/event 24 hours in advance of the actual battle.
 * All official battles fought between nations must be watched by a third party or must be documented by taking a screenshot or recording.
 * A nation may not declare that it has conquered another nation/gained another nation’s territory without an official battle for said territory or nation.
 * During a battle, should there be any form of glitch or crash, the affected players must state so immediately in-game. Both nations will be required to rematch. If the player(s) of a particular nation cannot enter the battle due to crashing or glitches, the two nations must find an alternative form of battle. Screenshots or video, if viable, are recommended to support said claims.
 * A naval battle (SvS) must be at least 45 minutes, but no longer than 3 hours, unless agreed upon by both sides, of said conflict. If a belligerent believes that the battle is lost before the agreed battle time limit, they must state so, and port their vessels.
 * The belligerent with the highest score/bounty at the end of the agreed duration of the battle shall be declared the victor. The victor may then screenshot the scoreboard, and port their vessels. If the screenshot is proven counterfeit, then the supposed “victor” will relinquish its victory to the supposed “loser.”
 * 5 minutes prior to a land battle (PvP), belligerents must state who shall represent their factions in the PVP; all weapons are to be permitted unless stated/agreed upon by both belligerents.
 * During a battle, should any nation attempt to use illegal modifications, hacks, or other forms of cheating to gain an advantage over the other nation, the nation that is cheating forfeits the battle to the other nation immediately. Screenshots, or video evidence if available, are recommended to support said claim of cheating to be reported to in-game administrators.
 * Defeated nations must accept said outcome. No Exceptions. Nations will not be dissolved or excommunicated; the victors will receive the disputed territory owned by the defeated country before the battle. Defeated nations may, at a later date, attempt to reclaim their lost territory through another battle.
 * In the event that TLOPO shuts down for an extended period of time due to updates, all conflicts will be temporarily suspended (unless agreed upon to use a third-party game EX: Empire: Total War) until TLOPO returns.

Section 3: Making peace/truces, forfeits, and concessions:

 * A peace treaty or a non-aggression pact may be discussed at all times and both sides must agree to its terms for it to enter force.


 * In an event of a holiday, new content, break, etc, during a time of conflict (in-game), belligerents are encouraged to parley to suspend the ongoing conflict by mutually consenting to a truce. During a truce, no belligerent may attempt battle or conquest for the period of time agreed upon during the parley. (A truce must be at least 5 days but may be no more than 4 weeks.)


 * If a belligerent refuses to fight any future battles even though they have fought previous battles, that belligerent forfeits its territory if they do not sue for peace or surrender.


 * If a belligerent attempts to leave the realm of RP during a time of war previously agreed upon, then that belligerent of said, nation(s) forfeits all territory. Ex: Ishmael Decksteel claiming they are leaving RP during the war to not lose land or continue the conflict without suing for peace.


 * If a belligerent whom has been provoked or is the provocateur of a conflict between nation(s) refuses to fight in the war (Ex: Refusing to meet to schedule an initial opening battle for the war) or who has previously fought battles and ignores all future requests for battle and does not sue for peace (EX: In order to halt the capture of their nation's land) during a time of war previously agreed upon, then it is up to either belligerent to set up battles (after a waiting period of 2 weeks if there have been no previous battles fought in that war) at their own convenience for the other belligerent's territory every 48 hours until the nation is without any land.

Inactive Nations:

 * Nations with a leader who has been inactive for more than 2 months and no other active members relinquish their claim to their nation unless the nation has a treaty of succession. Leaders who are inactive and return must return for at least 7 days. If they do not return for at least 7 days, then it is at the international community's discretion whether to continue to recognise that leader.


 * Nations whose leader has gone inactive for a period of more than 2 months, but have active members of that nation, keep their claim of the nation at the leisure of the highest ranking official/heir of that nation to whom is still active. The highest ranking official/heir of that nation that is still active may at his or her leisure dispose of the inactive leader and become the new leader.


 * In the event that TLOPO shuts down for an extended period of time due to updates, all inactivity notices or requirements shall be temporarily suspended until TLOPO returns.

Conquering Unclaimed Land:

 * Land that is terra nullius (nobody's land) is neutral territory. Nations may not claim sovereignty over neutral territory unless they have historical evidence to support that their nation has even the slightest presence in the region during the present RP year (EX: Expanding into Central Africa would not be practical until the 19th century due to technological limitations).
 * Any expansion of said nation into unclaimed territory that lies along a nation’s borders with proper claim and within reason (EX: Russia claiming the Kingdom of Kartli (Georgia) early because of no challengers or claimants) will be permitted as long as no other country or faction challenges their claim. If no challengers arise, within 7-10 business days, then the nation’s claim shall be recognised regardless of any other nation’s opinion.

Signatories
A copy of this General Treaty shall be deposited, in the Archives of the Court and State of his Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, at Vienna, in case any of the Courts of Europe shall think proper to consult the original text of this instrument.

In faith of which the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed this Act, and have affixed thereunto the seals of their arms.

Done at Vienna the 19th of March, in the year of our Lord 1750.

Great Britain






Switzerland




Ottoman Empire


Wolf Strife 

Haiti