Aurora is originally ©2003-5 by Mike Phyle and is used by permission

ImagiNations is ©1997-2006 by Mooney

The rules of Aurora

Aurora's rules are used not so much to regulate a player's actions, but to try and settle any disputes between players, hopefully before they occur. If a majority of players support a rule change, that change will take affect (unless the PM vetos the change).

Disregard mention of the simulation - it is on hold for now.

Nations

• Nations must be of a realistic nature (no magic, no sci-fi technologies, etc.).
• Nations must fit within the setting of the game.

Websites

• Websites must be accurate in the information that they relay. Propaganda is *in-game* -- we players need to know what the real state of your nation is. A web page can be full of propaganda or marketing of any twist you like, so long as you label it as such.
• Each site must have at a minimum a flag, the full name of the nation, a general desciption of the nation, and a link back to this website. This can be pages in the wiki or hosted by your own ISP or hosting service.
• Websites must be respectful towards other players and real-life aspects of the world. Humor is OK, slapstick silliness is not. We're pretending, but the pretense is that Arora is a real world.
• Nations will be awarded bonus Building Points to their nation's economy by creating additions to their websites. The list of additions and their value can be found here.
  [moot point since we're not using a simulation]

Conduct

• Respect is the first rule.
• No nation may make use of pictures, symbols, words or other elements of a culture that can be directly tied to a group that expresses opinions that are contrary to the spirit of respect that Aurora is based upon.
• No profanities will be tolerated. Consider Aurora to be rated "PG-13"
• If a player is not heard from for more than 90 days, their territory may be given to other players, or broken up and distributed to other players.
• Participation is subject to the PlanetMaster's discretion.

Territories

• Territories will be assigned on a first-come-first-served basis.
• Territories will be held for a player who is making a new nation, but only for 90 days after the player is accepted into the game. A basic informational site or set of wiki entries can be done in far less time than three months.
• Any change to the map that is not a definition or redefinition of national boundaries can only occur if a majority of players support the change. The planet is predefined in Fractal Terrains, so cannot be easily modified.
• To increase your nation's borders, you must present a proposal to the group that explains what your new/altered nation will be like, and why this will benefit the group.
• No player may affect the cultural and governmental aspects of another nation without the approval of that nation's owner. Economic effects may occur, but only through the actions of an outside nation (i.e. the price of a commodity that a nation produces can be affected by another nation's decision to buy or sell that commodity).
• Major territory can be traded between players' nations, but is subject to the approval of the PlanetMaster.
• Nations can exchange small parts of territory of their nations, anything from in-game agreed-upon conquest to outright barter/sale of land.
• Territories are predefined, to permit some coordination of the background and character of the planet. If you want your 'country' of one such territory to be a union of eleven sovereign nations, each with its own language, culture, navy, and web site; go for it. The PM and other players may want to deal with you as a unit, so *effectively* you're one nation. If you create a compelling enough set of subnations, others may well be willing to treat your entities separately.
  
  A lot of these are big nations, as large as the continental USA or western Europe on earth, depending on lattitude. We have found that much smaller units of territory (with corrsponding smaller populations) are quite playable if a modest nation is what you want. Neither Taima nor Indirian is going to be a true mover and shaker in world events. On the other hand you can far more safely play a tin-hat penny-ante dictator with a hundred thousand miserable serfs, than you could one with a hundred million. All a matter of what kind of stories you want to tell.
  
  If you want to use more than one territory for your nation, make your case in your initial joining request. The PM *might* be convinced :-). Third-world nations should probably be smaller than first-world ones.
• Territories have some predefined resources. Don't feel like you're handicapped to not have some raw material you need - trade for it enriches your interaction and gives reason for all sorts of storylines. Plus there's lots to mine and produce that's not on the list.

Adding Rules

• New rules can be proposed by anyone.
• A vote will be held for any proposed rules. If a majority of the players support the new rule, it will be effective immediately.
• Votes have to take at least ten days - far longer may be needed to fully discuss some changes.
• The PlanetMaster can veto any rules.
• Any rules that affect the interaction of nation that can be resolved in-game through treaties and the like will more than likely be vetoed.

New Games

• The PlanetMaster may call for a new game if there is no available territory for new players.
• The PlanetMaster may call for a new game if there are fewer than three players, including the PlanetMaster.
• If the majority of players ask for a new game to start, the PlanetMaster may do so.

<tech> vs in game

• Whenever a player posts on the discussion group they will be assumed to be posting in-game, as a person or institution from that player's nation.
• If a player needs to discuss something that's outside the game, or describe an occurrence within their nation that cannot be described in game terms, they should use the tags "<tech> </tech>". Anything that's within the tech tags will be taken as the player explaining something to the other players, rather than a nation giving information to another nation.
• There's a section of the discussion board specifically for <tech> discussion. Use it.

The PlanetMaster

• The PlanetMaster's nation can only participate in scripted wars (see the rules about war).
• The PlanetMaster can appoint any number of Assistant PlanetMasters as they need.
• Assistant PlanetMasters will be held to the same rules that the PlanetMaster is subject to if the PlanetMaster is on leave.
• The PlanetMaster cannot share any simulation information about the nation of another player. They may use their own nation as an example to help other players learn the rules, or may create non-player nations.
• Non-Player nations are controlled by the PlanetMaster or by groups of at least three other players. They cannot expand into unoccupied territories.

War

• Aurora is to be a realistic setting. War is one way real nations settle disputes.
• But Aurora is not a wargame, with winners and losers. Our wars need to be played out as agreed-upon facets of our cooperatively-written world history.
• Unscripted wars are theoretically possible. Ask the Planetmaster. He'll probably say no.
• If you want warfare to be a major part of your play, consider selecting a territory that can be divided into two or more antagonists. Others can join, but they don't have to. Neither will your war stories have to drastically affect your neighbors' storylines.
• Non-Player nations haven't been completely figured out yet. For the time being, they don't participate in wars. One exception is the Nolophon / Sinoptikon pair which were created to be in a constant conflict.