PEEL Roleplayer's Guide

This guide is intended to give a brief overview of the Region of PEEL within the NationStates community, covering topics such as its major nations, calendar, currency, etc. For a more detailed in-character overview of various aspects of the Region, the reader is advised to refer to the specific articles related to the topics at hand.

Overview

The Region of PEEL is a NationStates region founded in February 2003 by members of the Futurama message board, the Planet Express Employee Lounge (although the Region itself has a different name with the same acronym, the Planetary Economic and Environmental League). Initially formed after interest spiked when the link was posted in a link thread on PEEL, initally the Region was fairly isolated and small, with a number of the original nations "dying" shortly thereafter.

The Region underwent a resurgence in popularity during April 2003, with the game gaining it's own thread on PEEL and subsequently attracting more members. Since then the NS community on PEEL has expanded significantly, with a NationStates thread always being open for the past two and a half years. The community has had its share of inactivity, most notably in late 2003, but at the moment the level of activity is generally moderate and steady.

Geography

PEEL, as it stands, generally takes place on a planet similar to Earth, named F'Rama III, composed of land and sea but much larger in size. This planet is composed of three major Great Hemispheres, with the bulk of the action taking placing in the Great Central Hemisphere, which is home to the entire of the Region of PEEL. This region is split into subregions, which are further split into territories. These territories are assigned territory codes, such as NA12 - meaning North New America, Area 12. Nations generally occupy one or two of these territories.

Nation Expansion

Nation Expansion (that is, taking control of unoccupied neighbouring territory) is currently restricted to nations which have recently collapsed - i.e. you cannot take control of empty territory which has never been occupied. However, creating a nation, sticking it in a neighbouring territory and then purposefully allowing it to collapsed is generally frowned upon, although may be acceptable with sufficient reason, such as overpopulation or roleplaying.

If a neighbour does collapse, generally a grace period is allowed to give the PEELer responsible time to resurrect the nation if they desire. If this does not happen the territory may be swallowed whole by one nation or split between many neighbours. This may require negotiation and counter-proposals in order to obtain a deal.

Calendar

PEEL uses a time system unique to the Region, known as STS (Standardised Time System). This was introduced relatively recently to create a common framework for time within the Region. STS is based on the standard Gregorian Calendar, with the same months (January - December), seasons and number of days in a year (365), as well as the length of day (24 hours). (The fact that F'rama III is significantly larger than Earth and thus should have a longer day is ignored, although could be explained by a higher rotational velocity). STS is related at a ratio of 6:1 to real time, as well as being approximately 50 years or so in the future. Conversion between STS and RT is possible using the calculators on the PEELStates site.

As this system is a relatively recent introduction, incorporated long after roleplaying activities had started, retroactive continuity is generally applied to fit pre-STS events into the overall framework. Under this system the Region itself became prominent during the 2040s, although it is generally assumed to have existed long before this (possibly as early as the late 20th century, although this is subject to change).

Other calendar systems are in use within the region, most notably the EK system employed by the Tschanovitch nations (Zedoljev et al). This system uses 13 months and is exclusive to Zedoljev and her related nations.

The other nation which prominently uses a calendar is Nurdbotia, which varies wildly from STS, with the Region possibly being founded sometime in the late 19th century.

In addition, some nations choose to use RT dates in their roleplay. This practice was sometimes used by New Cyberia prior to STS, and currently by Dvorakia.

Technological Level

Generally PEEL is judged to be "near-future" in its technologies, although there are exceptions (like The Unimatrix). The level of technology is generally Fusion Age, with fusion power the most prevalent form of energy generation in many of the region's nations. The individual preferences of each nation dictate what technology is in use, although mechanoid vehicles, hoverjets and stealth technology are generally available.

Currency

Each nation within PEEL maintains it's own currency, but for comparision and conversion purposes, are judged relative to the SCCU (Standard Cyberian Currency Unit). This is a purely logistical association, as CyberKnight, who runs New Cyberia, maintains the PEELStates site.

Nations

Generally the Region can be split into three main groups of nations, the Founders, the Expanders, and the Latecomers. The Founders are the nations which originally were part of the Region and survive till today. The number of Founders is gradually diminishing, and is currently composed of Nurdbotia, Teral, Salchara, West - Europe, Dylsexia, and Spifflandia. These nations have similar populations which are generally 500 million larger than the next group, the Expanders (the one exception is Dylsexia, which lies half-way between the two). Nixorbania unofficially falls into this category, but was not originally part of the Region. These nations were founded in February and March 2003.

The Expanders are those nations who joined during April/May 2003 and originally constituted the bulk of the Region. They include the nations of New Cyberia, Zedoljev, Dvorakia and Slimmy, amongst others. Originally classed as middling powers, with the continuing increase in size, these nations have virtually the same amount of power as their larger cousins.

Finally, the Latecomers are composed of everyone else, who joined between June 2003 and the present. These nations are no less important but generally due to their smaller size have less power than the other two groups. However, they are the largest group of nations within PEEL due to the collapse of many of the elder nations.

International Relations

PEEL is largely independent of the rest of NS, not by hostility, but purely by circumstance. Most PEELers are less active roleplayers than the majority of the rest of the NS site. The main exception to this is when responding to threats of invasion (in which case a debate will occur between the PEEL nations on the appropriate course of action, and in UN affairs.

The UN

PEEL has a very small active set of nations who participate in the UN. The Delegacy is open to any nation, although after a period of rapid replacement of delegates when the region was first founded, the delegacy has been held by two main nations : West - Europa, and New Cyberia, the current delegate.

Any UN member nation within PEEL may indicate to the current delegate their vote on the current UN resolution. The delegate may choose to take that into consideration when casting their vote. Nations are of course free to cast their own votes however they like.

As of September 2005, New Cyberia was the UN Delegate for PEEL. The policy maintained by New Cyberia is to abide by the majority verdict of all the other UN nations, and will only use it's own vote to break a tie on matters (hence, if 2 nations indicated that they wished the current resolution to pass and 2 others that it should fail, then the delegate would use its own preference to break the tie. However, if the situation were 2/1, the delegate would vote that way without using its own judgement. This attitude is by no means compulsory, and this should form part of a UN nations decision to endorse any potential replacement delegates).

The DROOP

The DROOP is PEEL's own version of the UN. It is used to debate PEEL-specific issues in much the same way as the UN does for the whole of NS.

The PEEL Council

This term generally refers to every nation within the Region of PEEL, and can be interchangeably used with the DROOP.

Gaining Entry

Membership of the Region is generally (although by no means exclusively) restricted to members of the PEEL forum, as well as their relatives and friends.

Prior to 2004, the Region was unprotected and freely accessible to any nation. However, fears regarding possible invasion attempts lead to the institution of a password, which can generally be obtained by telegramming in NS any of the active nations, but generally the UN Delegate (As of September 2005, this is New Cyberia). Alternatively users can post within the thread on the forum to obtain the password.

Things to do after gaining entry

After gaining entry, the most important task is to pick a location on the PEEL map. Unclaimed territories are generally marked with an area code (e.g. NA12), however this may depend on how recently the map has been updated. If the territory you request has already been claimed then you may select another one. Selecting a location on the map is not required, but is appreciated as it makes for easier roleplay.

Another thing which you may like to do is add in entries on the PEELStates site, the official website of the region. If you wish to do this you will need to obtain an account password (your username is generally the HTML version of your nation name (for example, "New Cyberia" becomes "new_cyberia") from CyberKnight, who administers the site.

Puppet States

The general unofficial policy on puppet states within the Region is that they are welcomed, to a sensible limit. Generally most PEELers maintain around 2 or 3 states each (to experiment with different styles of government). There is a small group of PEELers who maintain a larger number of nations (CyberKnight and Zed 85 among them) but they tend to be largely there for roleplaying purposes.

Threads

The NS community on PEEL has been going for over two years, and in that time has accumulated various threads. The time taken to reach the 20-page limit on PEEL has varied, but the most current threads take around 2 months to run their course. Threads are generally titled "NationStates <thread number in Roman numerals> : <thread name>", with a recent trend towards Star Wars/Trek inspired titles (this is not a rule).

For readers who would like to catch up on the events within the Region, a list of links is generally maintained on the first page of the most current thread.

Most Current Thread : NationStates XI : The Undiscovered Country;

1. Episode I : Nationstates
2. Episode II : After The Revolution
3. Episode III : The Epic Continues
   1. Episode IIIA : When Nations Attack (Failed Thread)
4. Episode IV : The New World Beckons
5. Episode V : Welcome to Paradise
6. Episode VI : The Neverending Story Part ¶
7. Episode VII : The Fall of the Republic
8. Episode VIII : Attack of the Drones
9. Episode IX : Revenge of the Spasitel
10. Episode X : Tides of Darkness

PEELers

A large proportion of the Offtopic membership of the forum has or had a nation within the Region of PEEL, to varying degrees of participation. Roleplaying is by no means compulsory but welcome. Below is a list of the major active PEELers within the region, their nations and any special roles they play.

• CyberKnight (Nations: New Cyberia, Free Allied States, The Unimatrix, etc)

CyberKnight owns and maintains (sporadically) the PEELStates site. He is also responsible for territory allocation, although this responsibility has been temporarily assigned to Zed 85.

• Zed 85 (Nations: Zedoljev, Urallia, etc)

Zed 85, as mentioned, is responsible for territory allocation within the Region. He is also one of PEEL's most talented artists, and contributes a huge amount of art (including the PEEL maps) to the NS community on PEEL. By far one of the most active members of the PEELStates community, Zed's nations have almost certainly the most complete, complex and detailed backstory.

Related Regions

As various storylines have occured, additional regions have been created to allow additional nations (generally managed by one person) to play a part without cluttering the main region.

• PEEL Colonial Territories

As the name suggests, a colonial outreach of the main PEEL region.

• Greater Cyberian Union

Nations of the GCU reside here. Like Cardassia, the GCU is not really a region but more a suballiance, created to avoid cluttering the main region.

• Urallian Homelands

Region located on the same planet as PEEL, but in the Great Western Hemisphere. Generally isolationist.

• Athria

Region located on the same planet as PEEL, but in the Great Eastern Hemisphere. Prepared for an upcoming storyline.

• Cardassia

Nations related to the Obsidian Order.

Website

The PEELStates website has undergone various revisions, and was formerly located at http://cyberknight2003.netfirms.com (that version remains but is now defunct). The most current version of the site is located at http://peelstates.ktsltd.co.uk.

Addendum

Role-playing Points in Greater Detail

Written by Douglas “Zed 85” Hilliard

The following points are just general issues of continuity that have formed over the years and are generally considered to be canon. They will delve into the role-play of the region quite heavily, so you have been warned. These are not “rules” by which all role-playing in PEEL is determined, more a guide to the slightly bizarre or less obvious points of role-playing.

The Planet

As previously mentioned, F’Rama III is very similar to Earth, only many times larger; however, there are several other points to be taken into account.

• It is sometimes referred to as the planet PEEL – however this is not directly to do with the PEEL region itself. The ancient Athrian people of Asgard were the first to chart other celestial bodies accurately, and gave F’Rama III its own personal name - Pemranii-Eloriada (Planet of Life) from which the simplified name PEEL came.
• Due to a freak occurrence (The Great Climatic Change) that happened only within the last fifteen or so thousand years, the axis of the planet was knocked out of a normal position, and rotates at a different rate to the actual time it takes the planet to orbit the sun (F’Rama)
• This in some way explains how deserts and massive glaciers can appear on the equator, only a few dozen thousand miles apart, if that.
• This also means that the seasons do not occur at the same time every year. An ancient Urallian scientist managed to calculate and prove that the seasons did however follow a constant pattern rather than a random one as previously expected. From his findings came the Evanovich Calendar system, that measured a year by the coming of the seasons, not by the time it took the planet to make a complete orbit of the sun. To differentiate between a Evanovich year and a Standard year, the Evanovich “year” is sometimes called a “cycle” instead.
• F’rama III does not necessarily suffer the same ailments that inflict Earth. Problems such as resource shortages and global warming do affect the planet, but not nearly in the same scale. Events like hurricanes and earthquakes often can and do occur, as well as a few types of freak weather only native to the planet – but they rarely happen in the region it self.

The People

Generally speaking, the bulk of the population of the planet is called Terran – humans in other words. Many of the societies in PEEL reflect real-life societies – Zedoljev mimics Slavs (Russians perhaps in particular), Nurdbotia mimics the Soviet Union, Anubinia mimics ancient Egyptians, New Cyberia mimics Britain and Uudestaan mimics Finland – just a few for example. There are several nations as well that mimic non real-life societies that a “borrowed” from somewhere else. Prime examples are the Unimatrix that mimics the Borg, the Obsidian Order that mimics Cardassians, the former country of Rura Penthe that mimicked Klingons, and the current country of (New) Star Warsia that…well…mimics Star Wars… There are several other weird and wonderful civilised races littered around the planet, although it could be said that most if not all bare very close resemblance to humans – relatively speaking.

The Religions

The most dominant religion on the planet is Farnhovanism, which believes that the entire solar system was created by an overseer – the God Farnhova. It is the current belief that the Lord God has passed on, leaving the Messiah Gods to run the solar system. These are the Saviour Phillipe – Farnhova’s Holy Prophet, and the Goddess Leila, Phillipe’s Cyclopean companion. However this religion has been prone to schisms and has broken into separate – but relatively associated – Churches. The most powerful of which is the Reformed Church of the Goddess. -Yes, most of the old religion in PEEL is loosely based around the main characters of Futurama.

• The explanation for Leela becoming the most powerful…well, let’s just say that many of the main role-players are “fans”…

However, many other religions exist in the region and around the world and while many do not have the power of the Farnhovan religions, this does not stop several or individual nations worshiping them very passionately.

The Technology

As stated earlier, PEEL is in a Fusion age. Technology greatly reflects that of Earth presumably will be like in 20-50 years time. Various nations have pioneering technology – Zedoljev prides it self on reactive camouflage that can blend aircraft, tanks and even soldiers almost perfectly into the background. It is also experimenting with a deflector shield generator able to fit on a tank, and is comfortably up there with designing the most advanced weapons in the region, including laser rifles and targeting systems that can almost guarantee a perfect and deadly shot. New Cyberia is rumoured to have perfected a ***CENSORED BY THE NEW CYBERIAN INTELLIGENCE AGENCY FOR BREACH OF NATIONAL SECRETS***. It was one of the pioneers of laser weapon technology, and its armed forces reflect this. Nurdbotia has perfected the ability to create “floating cities” in an attempt to alleviate problems with over-crowding by building large cities out to sea.

MDKCorp and the former country of Pyrexonia have managed to create a time-travel device, and have managed to adapt it to make it capable of teleportation – as normal time-travel would unfortunately place the traveller in a separate universe all together. These are just a few nations’ own achievements, to give an idea of where technology has reached. They are not widespread – as such – but reflect many technologies readily available across the region that are not available today. It is worth noting that despite the inclusion of such societies such as Klingon and Cardassian – all of these (with the exception of Star Warsia) keep their technology tree planted firmly within the boundaries of the rest of the region.

The region has managed to make it into space, and even as far as settling small colonies on the planet’s several moons. However, up until very recently, this has been restricted to simple space stations and shuttles. When Anubinia entered regional affairs, it soon became apparent that she had aircraft that could be used as weapons both in the atmosphere and in outer-space – flying in the face of the DROOP Space Treaty. It also came clear that they also processed a space-based orbital cannon, that later turned out to be EMP based. This was a cardinal sin to many nations in the region, many who had been suspicious of Anubinia for quite some time, and the War of the Dominion was begun. During the war however, it quickly became apparent that the Anubinians were not the only ones with fleets of space worthy combat vessels. The Neo-Urallians emerged on numerous occasions with starfighters of their own, and later, even space going Capital Ships, that they “helped” the Coalition – Anubinia’s main enemy – by quickly whittling down the Anubinian space armada.

However, this has left the Neo-Urallians with a near unchallenged rule of space over the region, and many fear that this will be used by the Neo-Urallians to launch untold terror and destruction with perhaps an older, even more destructive space cannon of their own. To work against this, Uudestaan has proposed the formation of the Cosmonautical Cooperation of the Continents of PEEL (CCCP) – pooling the resources of Uudestaan’s allies of the former Coalition, as well as former enemies from the Dominion to come up with a defence against the Urallian space fleet.