Empire - User contributions [en]

Rules update 2016

2016-05-26T07:00:51Z

Splitter: /* Reasoning */ r

==Overview==
Over winter of 2015/2016 we have carried out a review of the rules from the third year of Empire. As a result of that review we are implementing some changes to the published rules. We are in the process of updated the wiki and the downtime system to reflect the changes, but will summarize and explain all changes here so that players can identify the changes easily.

We will try to include a section after each rules update to explain the reasoning behind the change.

We will continue to update this page throughout January with any further changes and post a link to the page to players once the update is complete.

==Boxes and Chains==
If a player's tent includes a wooden or metal box or a metal chain then you should assume that they are made using weirwood and strengthened with the runes Verys and Diras, to the point where they are virtually indestructible. It is possible to destroy a box or a chain - but only by spending hours smashing the item to pieces - making tremendous noise and utterly destroying the contents in the process if you are breaking open a box.

This means that any solid box which is locked ''cannot be opened in game'' without the key or a mundane way to pick the lock. If the box is chained to the tent then ''it cannot be removed''.

Players who keep boxes in their IC areas are encouraged to use good looking props where possible. If you want to mark the box with runes for Verys and Diras - you can do so. In particular you should use an appropriate in-character lock which uses a key (combination locks are not appropriate in the setting). The key is obviously a vital in-character phys-rep and should be treated accordingly. It should be kept with other in-character belongings and can be stolen and used as normal. If it is a modern key then please consider what cosmetic changes you can make to it, to make it look more obviously like a game prop.

You cannot have an IC box that can be easily opened and claim it is a locked box. The phys-rep must actually be locked and physically secured. You are allowed to store important in-character and out-of-character valuables together in the box, but bear in mind that it is still theoretically possible that someone might steal the box if it is not chained down. If they do so - they must bring the phys-rep to GOD within half-an hour as per our normal rules for stolen items.

===Reasoning===
Security of valuables is a classic problem in LRP games. To prevent thieves from stealing items, players tend to bring boxes and chests to put them in. The thieves then appeal to the referees to give them the contents of the box on the grounds that they would have attempted to break open the box. Refs are left trying to arbitrarily decide whether or not a broadsword might really cut through a thick iron chain - how long it might take and how much noise might be involved.

At the heart of the problem is that the activity cannot be phys-repped - the broadsword isn't real - and you couldn't legitimately smash up a player's expensive phys-rep box if it were. Any proposed solution that tries to invoke "realism" just invites escalation. If this box is thin enough that it can be broken into - what happens if I bring a box twice as strong? What happens if it's banded with metal bands? What happens if it's a box made of inch thick steel? Theft is an inherently PvP activity - where both parties want the opposite outcome and both tend to instinctively make the opposite assumption about how easily and how quietly and how quickly the security measures might be breached. Live roleplaying games work best when we can use live mechanisms to find the outcome but here the crucial element that would determine success simply cannot be done "live".

Ultimately, what that means is that PD has to make a ref ruling on whether or not such boxes can be broken open or not. We are ''bound'' to disappoint one party - either the person with the valuable box or the person trying to break into it. The only question is which side to favour. To work out the answer to that we go back to some of the original elements of the game design.

Crime is an important part of the Empire setting - but we've always been clear that we wanted crime to be a very deliberate thing. One inspiration for the setting was the clever cons perpetrated by Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastards in the Lies of Locke Lamorra. We think there is great game in tricking and outwitting other players - in picking pockets in the market place, in a perfectly planned and executed robbery to steal a key. We'd asked players to refrain from casual murder - and instead to use assassination as a scalpel to remove their enemies and we've been heartened by the largely positive way players had adopted that for Empire, but we realized we'd never really said anything much about robbery. So we were left looking at how much game was created by characters simply going through tents at night and taking anything of IC value and whether that game fitted with what is intended to be a profoundly political PvP game.

Although we were not convinced that casual theft added a great deal to the game - there were some clear OOC problems that were particular to Empire. Late at night children may be sleeping in a tent, and some parents were understandably concerned at the idea that thieves might be rifling tents in which children were sleeping. In practice a better time to rob a player's in-character tent was around 11:30 on Saturday morning - when the character had gone off to battle - or even worse when they had volunteered to monster. Inadvertently we had created a situation which discouraged in-character camping with small children... and discouraged participation in the battle.

As a result we have chosen to settle the dispute in favour of the people with the boxes. We appreciate that this will make it significantly more likely that people will invest in essentially impervious boxes to store IC valuables - and that turning over tents when people are out is likely to diminish, probably significantly as a result. We had to make a decision on this - we fully appreciate that this decision will not suit everyone but we feel this decision better fits with the overall character of the game we are trying to deliver for players at Empire. A brilliantly executed theft or clever con are still intended to be very legitimate parts of Empire - and we hope this ruling will inspire enterprising montebancs to carefully craft their daring heists.

===IC Explanation===
Artisans in Wintermark have discovered that they can strengthen chains and boxes made with mithril and weirwood using the rune of Verys. Their discoveries have been quickly copied by skilled artisans in several other nations. The results are highly expensive - even more pricey than an Urizen lightstone - but any character of wealth and means (any character who attends Anvil) is welcome to roleplay that they have acquired one.

<ic>
"Ta da" said Deorwine proudly, beaming at his wife.

She looked at him and then back at the small box in the centre of his steel making table. Then back at her talented but often incredible obtuse husband. "It's a little box?"

Doerwine nodded, still grinning from ear to ear. "It's fashioned from weirwood, and reinforced with mithril bands! I've spent two weeks carving the inside with paired runes - Verys and Diras".

Aune shut her eyes and did some mental calculations. It wasn't a big box but weirwood was one of the most expensive materials in the Empire. Only an utter fool would even contemplate using such a priceless material for a box. She had already written off the time for the week spent carving - marry a Steinr and he's just going to put a rune on everything... it's what they do. "It's an astonishingly expensive little box?" she said - trying hard to hide her sense of exasperation.

Doerwine nodded again - still grinning. Aune was reminded of the time her sister, Essi had once commented on her husband's likeness to a boarhound. She couldn't help but smile, Win's loyalty was unwavering, whereas Essi had come back from from a week's hunting to find her husband in bed with some Freeborn strumpet. "What's it for my love?" she asked, reminding herself that loyalty was a virtue that should always be returned.

"Watch!" he said, and walked over to his tool rack. He picked up his biggest sledge, a huge over-sized hammer, and with a groan he swung it over his head. Aune's jaw dropped in horror as he brought it crashing down on top of the priceless box. Unfortunate, as sometime later she realized was still standing there like some slack-jawed Marcher astonished by their first sight of magic. The box wasn't just intact, it appeared unscathed.

"Good eh?" said Deorwine. "I've no idea what I can use it for - but I've strengthened it so much that you'd need to be a troll to smash it open."

Aune looked at the box on the table. She thought about what a rich Thane might pay for a box no thief could ever hope to break open. Such a little thing... to be worth so much.

"Better than good my love.... Much better. How many more can you make before the solstice?"
</ic>

==Conjunctions==
We have updated the rules on major conjunctions to limit which nations can go on the battle and when. In the first year of the game there were limits on how many nations - with larger nations like Wintermark counting double - but those rules largely lapsed. We trialed some new rules at event one in 2016, but they were too restrictive. Consequently we have adapted the rules to allow the widest possible arrangement of nations - to let the players choose any strategic combination that still preserves roughly equal numbers for each battle.

Under the new rules, the civil service will present the [[Imperial Military Council]] with the best estimate of the fighting strength of each nation. of their options, which nations could take the battlefield together. Each of the two battles must have at least 50 and at most 60 force weight sent on it. These weightings will be subject to change over time.

At the forthcoming event, the weightings are:

===National Weightings===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Nation !! Force Weight
|-
| Wintermark || 20
|-
| Navarr || 15
|-
| Dawn || 14
|-
| Highguard || 13
|-
| Varushka || 11
|-
| League || 10
|-
| Marches || 9
|-
| Urizen || 7
|-
| Imperial Orcs|| 6
|-
| Brass Coast || 5
|}

All the nations are much bigger than the numbers listed - the numbers listed reflect the relative numerical strength of the nations not the actual number of fighters who take the field.

===Reasoning===
One of the fundamental design principles for Empire is to try to avoid giving players any opportunity to have a bad time. It is one of the truisms of LRP that many players will follow what their characters does - and have a bad time - rather than pick the option that is the most fun. In our view, good game design is about presenting players with cool in-character choices - where they will have out-of-character fun no matter what option they choose.

The nations are radically different in size - but our volunteer pool is drawn from the players who are not fighting that battle as their character. So the number of Imperial characters who fight on a battle directly impacts on the number of volunteers available and that is a big factor in how enjoyable the resulting fight is. In effect, if one battle is more political expedient than another, then it is strategically sound to weight that battle and give up on the other one, even though that makes both battles less enjoyable from an OOC perspective.

There are also issues in which a significant factor in military council choices about the battle were the perceived levels of warriors that each nation was bringing. The perceived need to balance the sides - for fairness - was crowding the IC discussions which might otherwise have focused solely on the political and tactical implications of the choices.

Therefore, we have removed this dimension of choice. We are tracking the number of players who take the battle from each nation each event - that will allow us to pick at least four battle options for every event that we know are broadly even. Players in the military council will not need to worry about balancing the sides - that has already been done - they can concentrate on making choices based on purely in-character considerations.

===IC Explanation===
The Sentinel Gate is known to be strongly linked with movements of the Wanderer, a fickle and unpredictable star. Recent movements of the star, have indicated a subtle but vital weakening of the strength of major conjunctions - a vital part of the Imperial military machine. After much examination of the gate, the Imperial magicians employed by the civil service have identified that the conjunctions are still operational - but that the options for which nations may travel together are now more limited than they once were.

The magicians expect that the options are likely to change with time - indeed they do not expect them to remain constant from one summit to the next, but they are confident that they provide the military Council with a definitive list of options each summit by through the use of night magic divination.

<ic>
Megaris, leaned back and rubbed her eyes, trying to use her fingers to relieve the strain caused by the hours spent staring through the lens of her mentor's telescope. She picked the stylus and recorded the coordinates of the three stars she had been observing, sighing as she did so. Star-gazing had seemed so mysterious, so exciting, when she was a young student. If she'd realized that her chosen occupation would mostly consist of counting stars, she might have been less disdainful of other traditions.

"I wander why Vitula is so interested in the Wanderer" she said aloud. "What it is doing that is so important?"

"Child, how many times must I explain?" Megaris jumped at the sudden intervention. Vitula, her mentor was always quiet and had developed the intimidating habit of coming up behind her student. She wandered how long the woman had been watching her.

"The stars don't do anything. No more than the runes the Mark pull from their bags. They're just a way to sense what is happening in the world. I met a Feni wizard once, who used to drop molten wax into ice-water, claimed he could read the winds of magic in the patterns formed."

Megaris rolled her eyes, she'd heard this explanation a thousand times from Vitula. It was only a figure of speech, that was all. Besides ... not everyone quite agreed with Vitula's view of the matter, no matter how often she repeated it. Still she was Vitula's student, the time for having her own opinions on magic was after she had learned what she could from her teacher and not before.

Thankfully the dreary anecdote of the Feni magician was cut short as Vitula leaned over her desk to inspect her latest records. She stared at them intently, ignoring Megaris who waited eagerly if she would dispense some wisdom on what it all meant.

"We need to keep watching, we need to record the motion accurately, to discern what is happening" was all she said before turning and gliding silently away.

Megaris signed, and rubbed her sore eye again before bending back to the telescope. Her teacher knew a lot about the stars, it was her definition of "we" that left a lot to be desired.
</ic>

==Shatter==
We have increased the minimum length required to use a weapon with the [[Heroic_skills#Shattering_Blow|shattering blow skill]]. The previous minimum was 42", this has been increased to 48". This means it will no longer be possible to use the skill to call shatter by holding a 42" sword in two hands.

In addition, we have clarified the rules to make clear that it is not possible to use the shattering blow skill using a spear, similar pole-arm, or quarterstaff.

We're also taking other steps to reduce the frequency of the shatter call on the battlefield, starting with our approach to briefing monsters.

===Reasoning===
[[Calls#SHATTER|Shatter]] is one of the most powerful calls in the Empire system. Its role in the system is partly to balance the weakness of two-handed weapons in live roleplaying games. In the real world, two-handed weapons provide a significant advantage to the wielder by allowing them to strike a heavier blow, but at the cost of being able to use a shield. In Empire, a character with a two-handed sword cannot use a shield, but they gain no advantage at all in terms of being able to strike a heavier blow. The shatter call tries to address that inherent limitation.

We appreciate that 48" two-handed swords are uncommon, that most weapon makers create swords to the commonly used system lengths, 42" for a one-handed weapon and 60" for a two-handed weapon. There is some variation but since most player want the longest reach that they get, weapons size tend to closely follow standard category limits. As a result, we anticipate that the majority of characters using the shattering blow skill will do so using a large two-handed weapon. This is desirable, we want characters wielding two-handed weapons capable of shattering a shield or weapon to be clearly identifiable to other participants on the battlefield.

The original rules meant that it was possible to use a 42" weapon in two hands with the [[Heroic_skills#Shattering_Blow|shattering blow skill]]. This had a very unfortunate and undesirable consequence with monstering, where it is common for volunteers to turn up armed with a 42" sword and no shield. In some circumstances, it was clear that these volunteers were being briefed to have one hero point and an appropriate call - at which point they made the understandable but undesirable assumption that it would be acceptable to wield the weapon in two hands to call shatter, before reverting to one-handed use. That increased the prevalence of shatter on the battlefield, made it impossible to identify when having your weapons shattered might be a risk, and removed the relative advantage of two-handed weapons, by allowing characters to use the skill with a one-handed weapon - albeit wielded in two hands for that blow.

The new rules make clear that situation is not possible - you cannot wield a 42" weapon in two hands to call shatter with the shattering blow skill.

The original rules also made it possible to use a one-handed spear of the right length and then attempt a shattering blow by putting a second hand on the weapon. The new rules make clear that this is not possible - you must have an appropriate phys-rep to use the shattering blow skill - either a sword, axe, hammer or mace - that is of the right length.

Any player who wishes to drop the shattering blow skill as a result of these rules changes can do so by [mailto:admin@profounddecisions.co.uk emailing us].

==Artisan's Oil==
We are implementing a new option for artificers for 2016 onwards - allowing them to create three doses of [[Artisan's Oil]] in a month at a cost of 1 crown.

===Reasoning===
At present there is no consumable resource (other than mana crystals for wizards) that could allow a character to repair a shattered weapon. Comparable battlefield effects, like a cleaved limb or being reduced to zero hits can be treated with magic or with herbs. Creating an additional consumable mechanism for repairing shattered items brings it into line with these effects - and also gives artificers an additional ability that they can utilize on the battlefield.

===IC Explanation===
Manuals explaining how to create the oil were bought from the Commonwealth by members of the Purple Sails Sodality, who then distributed it widely across the Empire.

==Downtime==
We have amended the downtime system to remove the option to commit illegal or risky acts, foreign trade with barbarians, piracy with foreigners and raiding of nearby nations. From 2016 onwards fleets will be able to trade with foreign nations or pirate barbarian nations, or support Imperial navies. Military units will be able to support Imperial armies or carry out "mercenary" work.

We have removed the cost to the Empire to pay for the civil servants who were preventing illegal fleet actions.

The reasoning behind these changes is highly theoretical and consequently requires a fairly lengthy reasoning to explain it.

===Reasoning===
The version of the downtime system in the first few years contained actions that allowed players with fleets and military units to make choices in downtime that would impact the wider campaign. For example, by pirating foreigners it was possibly to damage foreign relations with that nation. When the Thule ceasefire came into being, it created the possibility that a few players might wreck the treaty simply by clicking a downtime option to raid the Thule - quite possibly even without realizing the implications of what they were doing.

At first glance, it appears appealing to give players the opportunity to change the campaign dynamics through downtime options. The previous game that we had run, Maelstrom, made widespread use of this concept, presenting players with downtime options that were beneficial to them but caused friction with other players. While it worked for that game, there were significant problems with the approach, but we had imagined that Empire would avoid these errors by shifting to political PvP mechanics instead of camp rolling.

In practice, the hugely streamlined downtime system used for Empire served to demonstrate the fundamental conceptual flaws in allowing this kind of downtime action. There are four core problems:

====Conceptual====
The Empire downtime system was conceived as an adjunct to the game. Its purpose is to produce an outcome we call "reflection" - the idea that the actions the players take should be reflected in changes in state to the world. Because this is a live roleplaying game - in this context, actions means "actions taken at the events". It exists to give the campaign meaning and credibility. If the Empire cede a region in Skarsind to the Thule - this has meaning and a discernible impact because the downtime system ensures that those decisions have palpable consequences.

Its purpose is not to drive the campaign - we want a downtime system because we want to ensure that Empire had a believable credible campaign setting - where the actions of players have a profound impact on the game world. But the design goal was to ensure that Empire remained a live roleplaying game 100% - that all the important decisions were ones taken at the events - that the campaign was driven by the actions of the players while roleplaying at the events - not by the choices they make in downtime.

We absolutely do want players to have opportunities to wreck peace treaties that other players have worked incredibly hard to create - that is essential to the game. But that opportunity should only happen as a result of actions taken while live roleplaying at events - not by decisions taken in downtime.

====Cognitive====
Research into various cognitive biases shows that human beings find it easier to break rules the further removed they are from the consequences of their actions. The more abstract the situation, the easier it becomes to justify the action to breach social protocols and break laws. In takes a significant degree of nerve - and preparedness for confrontation - to act against the socially agreed consensus - for example by breaking a treaty. But experience has shown us that players find it vastly easier to do this when choosing downtime options - where the actions are highly abstracted from the actions and the consequences are distant - than they would be to take actions with similar effects at an event. (for example see [http://io9.gizmodo.com/5974468/the-most-common-cognitive-biases-that-prevent-you-from-being-rational the current moment bias]). In LRP terms we could summarize this as "Downtime crime is easy - uptime crime requires real guts".

At first glance, this appears desirable, if conflict is the lifeblood of a PvP political game, then seducing players into choosing antagonistic actions by making the pathways to conflict easier should create more conflict. Unfortunately the abstraction and the ease with which these decisions can be taken has a downside - namely that players feel detached from the decisions they haven taken. The actions do not feel like genuinely heartfelt decisions - because they are not - they are abstracted artificial choices.

As a result of this lack of internal commitment to the decisions, many players will attempt to reverse their choice when faced with the consequences at an event. In the best cases they tend to backtrack and use the artificiality of the downtime system to create new narratives that distance or divorce themselves from the actions they have taken. (Maelstrom provides a charming example of this, where characters who were horrified by the existence of slavery would continue to work large plantations full of slaves in downtime by claiming in uptime that the slaves were actually serfs). In the worst cases, players will abandon the character completely rather than face a confrontation they have not fully committed themselves to or in some cases even claim that the action was not taken by them (blaming system errors).

As a consequence the conflict that is generated by these kind of downtime actions is very often substantially inferior to the kind of conflict that is generated by uptime actions. Players who are the victims of the actions find it frustrating that there are few players prepared to stand by their actions. Players who are the perpetrators don't enjoy the experience of the ensuring confrontations because few were really committed to the actions they have taken, they were neither prepared for the ensuing conflict nor fully invested in what they have done.

The net result is that while these kind of conflicts are artificially easy to generate, they are often negative for the game experience as a whole. In Empire we want the conflicts that develop to be the result of actions that players have taken live at the events; in this way they are more fully invested in those decisions and better prepared for the ensuing confrontations.

====Consequential====
Empire is intended to be a game of significant decisions with important consequences. For those consequences to happen, actors in the campaign need to be able to link the actions of individuals to the perpetrators of those actions. As a simple example, there are no consequences to stealing - unless someone is caught for it.

In an ideal live roleplaying game the mechanisms that allow characters to identify the antagonists do not require reference to the organizers. If you assassinate a character in Empire, whether or not you are caught depends most heavily on whether there are any witnesses, how you dispose of the body, how well you hide your motivations - and so on. When working well, none of these factors require you to interact with Profound Decisions - they exist purely in the interaction between players in the field. Players may obtain interventions by refs using spells, rituals, or similar, but these work in predictable and readily repeatable ways. In essence whether or not you get caught for your actions depends on what you do, how well you do it and the IC actions of your political rivals.

Unfortunately, this situation is reversed when the actions take place in downtime. When a player clicks a downtime option to pirate a foreign vessel, whether or not any word of that action ever gets back to the foreign nation is a judgement decision made solely by us as organizers. There are almost no mechanisms that players can pursue at events that will allow them to identify who did the piracy - unless we choose to add a ritual or similar that identifies the guilty party - at which point there is no possibility of error. In effect, all the information pertaining to the action and its consequences can only be gained through interaction with Profound Decisions rather than through interaction with other players.

This makes it exceptionally difficult for organizers to decide how difficult such information is to obtain. The two simple outcomes are to provide all the information or no information and while it is possible to obfuscate the information, it is fairly tortuous to do so. If we give out no information we make it impossible for the perpetrators to be discovered, which makes it almost impossible to catch and stop them - and that removes the possibility of consequences. If we give out all the information we make it impossible for the perpetrators to get away with their crime

It is conceptually undesirable that the actions needed to investigate a downtime action rely solely on interactions with the organizers, but also highly problematic for the organizers to find themselves in the position of either giving out all the information or none of it.

====Challenge====
Actions that challenge the status quo - especially things like piracy and raiding would in reality be risky and difficult endeavours. They would be laced with danger and the clear risk of failure. None of this risk can be adequately modelled by our downtime system - the closest we could come would be choosing a random outcome to try to cover the possible risks. In contrast, actions taken at events have a clear risk of failure which is set by the environment, the actions attempted and the acts of others.

This latter element is crucial - at an event other participants can choose to act in ways that will make the actions of their rivals more or less likely to succeed. The difficulty of successfully achieving the desired outcome is dependent on the actions of everyone present - rather than random numbers generated by the organizer. Critically it allows other participants to act in ways that try to prevent their antagonists from succeeding, something is entirely lacking in a simplified downtime system like Empire. In plain terms, players can pass laws at events to allow or disallow piracy, but they can't put spies on ships or dock fronts to try and catch those engaged in it.

In a simplified downtime system it is very difficult to set the challenge of engaging in conflict at a justifiable level and almost impossible to have the level of challenge take account of the actions of other players who might wish to prevent it. In contrast, the challenge involved in succeeding at actions at events that would generate conflict is set totally organically and takes perfect account of the efficacy of the counter-actions of everyone involved.

====tl:dr;====
Conflict generated from actions taken in downtime is inherently inferior to conflict generated from decisions and actions made at events. We have chosen to remove the option so that we can better focus our efforts on improving ways to generate conflict at events.

===IC Explanation===
The changes made to military units do not require an explanation. Characters who choose to receive a bounty rather than supporting an Imperial army are free to roleplay that their military unit has been raiding the Thule, the Jotun or whoever. However what we have clarified is that such raids are below the abstraction layer - they do not have a significant campaign effect and consequently they are not detectable.

The legal changes made to fleets - that prevented them engaging in illegal piracy and illegal trade were made as a result of a law passed by the Empire. This law is back in force after a brief absence but the very significant costs - 50 thrones per season - are now being paid by an Imperial sodality - the Purple Sails - rather than from the Imperial treasury. Should the Senate ever decide to repeal this law, we would restore the option to commit illegal piracy and trade but it would be less effective than legal actions (to reflect the difficulties in carrying out illegal actions) not more effective as it was previously - and there would be an immediate and significant negative response from all foreign powers in the world of Empire.

==Commission Costings==
We have amended the costs for the [[Imperial Senate]] to [[Commission]] a [[spy network]], to [[Imperial_army#Costs|raise an army]], and to enlarge an Imperial army, by adding a cost in thrones to reflect the labour required for these tasks (we have reduced the number of wains required). This has been done to bring these costs into line with other commissions. All standard commissions should now be operating on a system in which there is a labour cost of 2 crowns per wain used.

We have added an upkeep of 5 Thrones to a [[shipyard]] to reflect their increased significance in the system; we will adjust the Imperial budget so that there is no impact to ''effective'' existing costs arising from the Madruga Shipyard.

We have removed the requirement for an army to remain out of conflict for a year for it to be enlarged. While this restriction could be regarded as "realistic" and was originally conceived as part of the play balance preventing large armies, it was clear in hindsight that the increased costs for a large army were already significant. Critically we did not want the experience of an Imperial general elected to serve for a year to be one in which they ordered their army to do nothing while it was enlarged to make it more effective for their successor.

==War==
We have amended the published [[Army_orders#Attacking|rules on the wiki for armies attacking a region]] (it is now clear that it must be adjacent to an existing Imperial controlled region). During discussion, it was clear that many players and some members of the game team held different views on how this fine point of the rules worked. The wiki is now very explicit and the rules are simple and help to provide a basis for long term strategic planning by Imperial generals.

==Fast Casting Effects==
Since the changes to spellcasting, rituals and items that allowed the fast-casting of [[Spellcasting#Regular Spells|regular spells]] were lagging behind in effectiveness. We've now adjusted these effects to allow a magician to cast spells with a few seconds of appropriate roleplaying, rather than 5 seconds of roleplaying. Furthermore, this means that (as with [[Spellcasting#Offensive Spell|offensive spells]] the caster is not interrupted if they or their target are struck, or if the target is making an attack. All other restrictions of casting regular spells apply, especially the requirement that you must be capable of touching the target with your casting hand as you cast the spell. These changes effect the [[Hands of the Healer]], [[Smooth Hands Shape the World]], and [[Thought Becomes Action]] rituals, as well as the [[Forge of Isenbrad]] and [[Trollsweave Vest]].

===Healer's Harness===
At the same time, we've altered the [[Healer's Harness]] ability to prevent loss of mana when interrupted while casting a healing spell. The change to spellcasting meant that ''nobody'' loses mana when a spell is interrupted; they simply have to begin the casting again, We have changed the effect, and slightly increased the cost in materials to create the item, which now provides reciprocal healing for the wearer when they use certain healing spells.

===Warcaster's Oath===
Likewise, the [[Warcaster's Oath]] effect has also changed. This shield is thematically intended to be useful for magicians who fight on the front lines, and the new power - to gain a burst of personal emergency healing in return for personal mana - is intended to reflect that.

{{Rules Updates}}
[[Category:Rules]]
[[Category:Game Design]]

Crusade

2016-03-20T16:35:19Z

Splitter: /* The Shadow of Peytaht */

<ic>Jessica stood on the orcs chest and took a firm grip on her great two-handed sword. She had hit the little bastard far too hard. She wiggled the weapon back and forth slowly working it loose from where it had lodged in his chest.

Sir Jory stomped up to her, and smacked her on the back with the loud "clang" of bloodsteel on mithril. He was covered in blood, and she could tell from the way he was favouring one leg that at least some of it was his own.

"That's the last of them," he said grimly.

"What about the ones that made a break for the tree-line?" asked Jessica. finally getting her sword free. She checked he blade carefully, then kicked the orc corpse in the head. "Notched the blade, dammit."

"They didn't get far." Sir Rory inclined his head to a Navarri archer picking among the dead for unbroken arrows.

Jessica looked sceptical, but held her peace. Like many Dawnish she considered the bow-and-arrow a poor choice for a warrior's weapon.

"None of them made it into the trees, then?"

Sir Jory shook his head. "It was strange, mind. Three of them made it to the edge... and then... they came back."

Jessica began to wipe her sword clean. Sir Jory put his hands on his hips, breathing heavily, and leant forward slightly. He looked pale under the blood.

"Are you alright?"

Sir Jory waved her concern away. "Right as rain once I've had a sit down. One of the brutes dinted my helmet for me. That'll teach me to turn my back on a desperate Druj, even if it's cause two of his friends are trying to disembowel me."

The two Dawnish looked towards the forest. A wall of green, stretching as far as the eye could see. Not just a metaphorical wall, not really.

"How far does it go do you think?" asked Sir Jory.

"All the way to the Barrens, obviously." Replied Jessica. She sheathed her blade, now clean, and looked speculatively at the dead orcs around her. Sir Jory made a sound halfway between a grunt and a snort.

"They've attacked Drycastle, I hear." he said to nobody in particular. "And set one of the Towers aflame to boot. Bloody vermin."

Jessica, a questing knight, had more experience fighting the orcs of the Barrens. She chose her words carefully.

"You know they brought Lord Agravaine back? I remember telling you - the questing knight?"

Sir Jory nodded. "I remember you saying that all the talk was that the Barrens was ''ripe for the conquering''."

"I know that with a fourth army, with the Druj out, with Spiral Castle admitting they're part of Dawn again, there won't be a better time to strike in the next decade, if ever. Once we get bogged down in Urizen, or on the west side, we'll not get loose again easily."

Sir Jory shrugged. "I don't know if I agree with you ... but I do know that right now there are orcs shooting arrows into Dawnish yeomen and the only thing between us and them are some trees."

They looked at the Forest of Peytaht again. Jessica forced a grin - and the Paragons knew there had been few enough of them in the last few months.

"Spooooky trees," she joked. Sir Jory met her gaze.

"Well, you know what a Dawnishman such as myself says when told that a forest is full of things even the Druj are frightened of?"

They stared at each other in silence for a moment. Jessica's grin become stronger, more natural.

"I assume it's the same as this Dawnishwoman says - let's go and see what the Druj are so afraid of ...."

She slapped Sir Jory on the back with a clang of mithril on bloodsteel, and the pair of them went off to report the destruction of another orc encampment.</ic>

==Overview==
In [[Semmerholm]], the mustering of the fourth [[Dawn|Dawnish]] army is almost complete. Almost every noble house in Dawn has provided stout [[Yeoman of Dawn|yeomen]], noble knights, and [[Dawn_magical_traditions#War_witches|war witches]] to take up arms under the banners of Dawn. Valentin of House Orzel is the [[Senator]] for [[Weirwater]] who [[Raise Dawnish army II|proposed the motion]] - assuming that he is able to provide the final wains of mithril required to complete equipment and deployment, the army will enter service during the Spring Equinox.

This season the senator for Weirwater is expected to confirm both the name of the army and the [[Army qualities|composition of its forces]]. Senator Valentin is under pressure from some [[noble house|noble houses]] to have the new army take up the banner of the ''Gryphon's Pride'' - the army lost in [[the Barrens]] in 276YE. Troubadours encouraged by House Lionsguard (among others) have spread the tale of the Gryphon's Pride's [[Army qualities#Glorious|glory]], and made much of the idea that the Barrens are Dawn's destiny. With the [[379YE_Winter_Solstice_winds_of_war#The_Thunder_of_the_Barrens|current situation in the Barrens]] it is clear that many Dawnish nobles will be watching to see what the Senator announces with interest.

The final mustering of the new army could not come at a more propitious time.

A well-publicised agreement with the [[Jotun]] orcs says that Dawn will keep its armies away from the conflict on the western border and instead fight the [[orc|orcs]] hero-to-hero in glorious battle beyond the [[Sentinel Gate]]. At the same time, the indigenous orcs of [[the Barrens]] have launched a sneak attack against the [[The_Barrens#Towers_of_the_Dawn|Towers of the Dawn]] and the houses of [[The Barrens#Dawnguard|Dawnguard]]. Dawnish blood has been spilled by these so-called "foreigners" and it ''will not stand''!

This attack, along with the memories stirred by the talk of the Gryphon's Pride, has reignited [[Ambition|ambitions]] to finally conquer the Barrens. The [[Druj]] have been driven back, and all that stands between Dawn and control of this large, exceptionally rich [[territory]] are a trio of aggressive barbarian armies. Within a year, they could be scattered and the Barrens conquered - and who could then deny the [[glory]] of Dawn?

==Significance==
<div style="float:right;">
<quote>When promises were lost, a Gryphon’s Pride would bear the cost 
A lion leads, whilst cowards stayed behind 
Into the jaws they ran, her golden armour in the van 
And before the Golden Sun the Druj were blind 
 
Though glorious was her art, merely mortal was her heart 
And in the heat of day it gave its last 
Whilst bravely they had fought, the Gryphons Pride was all for nought 
And the blood that spilled was Dawnish blood at last</quote></div>
===Crusade===
There is a strong undercurrent in the nation at the moment that it is time to take the Barrens. The [[Dawn_military_concerns#The_Hounds_of_Glory|Hounds of Glory]], the [[Dawn_military_concerns#The_Eastern Sky|Eastern Sky]], and the [[Dawn_military_concerns#The_Golden Sun|Golden Sun]] will be more than a match for three armies of savage orcs, and when the new army joins the fray as well the orcs will finally be driven out of the Barrens once an for all. The mithril at the [[The_Barrens#The_Fangs|Fangs]] and the weirwood of the [[The_Barrens#Eaves_of_Peytaht|Eaves of Peytaht]] are valuable prizes, quite apart from the fact that the Barrens as a whole is rich - almost certainly rich enough that control of it would allow Dawn to raise and support a ''fifth'' army.

If the Dawn national assembly calls for the conquest of the Barrens, the people will listen. A suitably worded statement of principle could name a Dawnish priest to support the armies. The priest would need to collect 50 doses of liao, to enable creation of auras of [[Courage]], [[Pride]], and [[Ambition]], and this would mean that every [[military unit]] controlled by a Dawnish captain would gain a significant bonus to their fighting strength when engaged in fighting in the Barrens for the next season while supporting a Dawnish army or [[fortification]]. By contrast, any Dawnish military unit that chose to fight elsewhere would suffer a significant penalty to their effective fighting strength.

It is likely that if the assembly makes this statement, the [[opportunity]] would exist to keep supporting the Dawnish conquest of the Barrens.

The Barrens orcs are still foreigners - so this statement would do nothing to make an attack against the orcs ''legal''. However, the troubadours argue, it is not a crime for the knights and war-witches of Dawn to defend the Towers of Dawn ... and kill any and all orcs who attempt to take the fortification, and the manors of Dawnguard, away from them. In self-defence, of course.

===The Shadow of Peytaht===
At the moment the Hounds of Glory and the Eastern Sky are in [[Reikos]]. While they could easily reach Dawnguard this season, this would entail passing through either the [[vallorn]] infested depths of [[Brocéliande]] ... or through the Great Forest of Peytaht.

Stories claim that some dark force lives at the heart of Peytaht, where even the Druj feared to tread. Yet it is clearly possible to pass through - as the eastern barbarians proved when they brought their armies down into Reikos in the first place. Indeed, in the last months of the war in [[Holberg]] the Druj moved their armies through the forest again.

There is no doubt that passage through the forest is dangerous ... but it is the quickest way to reach the Barrens in the event that the Dawnish wish to launch their crusade ... or simply wish to defend their people in Dawnguard. While it is glorious and [[Courage|courageous]] to face the unknown, running in unprepared is [[Wisdom|unwise]]. There are certainly precautions that can be taken.

If the Dawn national assembly, or the virtue assembly of Courage or Wisdom, upholds a statement of principle that glorious warriors guided by courage and wisdom should not fear to face the dangers of the Forest of Peytaht, this would surely help mitigate the risks involved in moving through the forest. The statement would need to name a priest, and the priest would be responsible for collecting liao to support Imperial troops passing through the forest this season.

If 50 liao are collected, one army would receive significant protection from any dark forces in the forest of Peytaht, or two armies could be partially protected. Alternatively, if 100 liao are collected it would provide significant protection to both armies if they went north from Reikos into the Barrens.

Regardless, it is the obfuscated nature of the threat that makes Imperial forces so reticent to pass through the forest. A courageous army risking the wrath of Peytaht is one sure-fire way to find out whether there is actually any substance to that threat, or whether it is simply orcish superstition.

===Thorny Questions of Legality===
Currently, the [[Imperial Senate]] has [[Declare_peace_with_Barrens_orcs|declared]] the Barrens orcs to be foreigners. Yet that same senate [[Accept_Barrens_peace_treaty|refused to accept]] a peace treaty negotiated with the orcs. Now they are [[379YE_Winter_Solstice_winds_of_war#The_Thunder_of_the_Barrens|aggressively attacking]] the Dawnish people of Dawnguard.

It is entirely legal for the Dawnish people to defend themselves against the attack by the Barrens orcs; any number of captains can support the Towers of the Dawn without facing criminal charges. There is some grey area as regards the legality of moving Imperial troops into the Barrens to protect the people of Dawnguard - but again a case could surely be made for self-defence and duty to Imperial citizens.

However, if the Barrens orcs remain legally foreigners, attacking or conquering the Barrens would be a serious crime, not only for those [[general|generals]] who ordered their armies into battle, but for the captain of any military unit that assisted them. The constitution, however, supports the rights of the generals to give such orders to the [[Imperial army|troops under their control]], however, in the expectation that those orders be carried out, regardless of the motions passed by the Senate.

In the words of the notoriously uncompromising General Artur deCoyne, "''It's usually a lot easier to get permission for something once you've proved it can be done.''"

Wither the Seed

2016-02-06T12:22:50Z

Splitter: /* Description */

==Rules==
{{Season|Winter|150}}

===Performing the Ritual===
{{Casting time|10}} {{regio|Winter}} {{Target Territory}}

{{curse}}

===Effects===
Over the next thirty years, the fertility of the target territory undergoes a marked decline. Fewer and fewer animals and people are born there, and while plants are not as seriously effected, they tend to produce less blossom and thus less fruit. Cereal crops become sparser, and less fruitful, which may lead to increasing hunger or even famine.

[[Vallorn]] and vallornspawn in the target territory tend to become slothful and quiescent for the duration; they are not harmed, but they rarely expand beyond their borders unless provoked.

The ritual has no real effect on resources, even farms, but over time the population of people and animals in the area will drop dramatically.

The curse has lingering effects on creatures who have spent a lot of time in the area making conception more difficult if not impossible without magical assistance.

Over time this will have a significant effect on a foreign or barbarian region, damaging their agriculture and industry and reducing their capacity to field troops and feed their people.

The effects last for around thirty years.

===Removing the Curse===
The curse can be removed by certain powerful creatures or items with powers associated with fertility (most likely the [[Eternals|Eternal]] [[Yaw'nagrah]]) although such assistance is unlikely to come cheaply. It could also be removed by an extremely powerful ritual, probably from the [[Spring_rituals|Spring Realm]] that restores fertility but such an effect is likely to approach magnitude 200, and potentially higher if it is to remove lingering effects.<label type="important">TBA</label>.

==Description==

This ritual was initially designed to be an 'answer' to the problem of barbarian orcs, but it has not been used. It was suggested as a bloodless way to deal with the barbarians but has several marked flaws. The most obvious is that the barbarians quickly realise what is going on, and leave the area; they often do so by invading Imperial territory.

As the populations of prey animals decline, predatory animals move out of the area. Any population that relies on hunting is likely to follow them. Within a decade, most areas effected by this spell will have been effectively emptied of natural animal populations which can have a devastating effect on hunter-gatherer societies..

The ritual has mostly been used to encourage [[vallorn]] and their spawn to quiescense. It is not foolproof, and unfortunately it has the same effect on birth-rates of any humans who share the territory with the vallorn so is rarely an ideal solution to vallorn expansion. Some scholars believe that this ritual was performed on [[The Barrens]] centuries ago, and that some residual effects linger there to this day.

==Common Elements==
A map of the target territory is a common focus for this ritual. The ritual usually involves the evocation of the [[Yoorn]] rune, although [[Naeve]] may also be referenced. It is generally accompanied by slow, sonorous music and quiet incantations. Likewise dust and ashes may be scattered over an area, and are often used to obscure the map required to perform the ritual. The entire ritual tends to have a feeling of ievitability or slow decline about it; the [[Eternals|Eternal]] [[Kaele]] is sometimes evoked due to her connection with entropy and slow decline.

[[Category:Winter Ritual]]
[[Category:Rituals]]

Staff of Power

2016-01-15T17:20:40Z

Splitter: /* Rules */

==Description==
While a staff of power is sometimes compared disparagingly to a [[Staff of the Magi]], the power it offers should not be underestimated. As the [[Hakima]] Zacarias i Guerra said during an argument with Tiberius of Sunspire, "For the price of one of your staffs, magus, I can give a staff of power to both my brothers, and still have enough left over for a stormcudgel with which to beat you." For this reason they are more generally found amongst those people who value magic less than martial prowess.

A staff of power often bears the six [[Dawn|Dawnish]] symbols of the [[Realms]], worked in with orichalcum or carved along its length. Alternatively, the haft itself may have the form of a hexagonal prism (with rounded grips for the hands, of course), or a hexagonal weight at the casting end. A staff with this form, whether carved with the Realm-Runes or not, is known as a Staff of the Six Realms, after a very ancient example which actually predates the development of the [[Staff of the Magi]], and which therefore represents the pinnacle of achievement in this field in its day. The original Staff of the Six Realms is long-since lost, disappearing in the shipwreck that killed its owner, Polonius of Coppermount Spire, in the Bay of Catazar in the second century B.E.

==Rules==
{{Staffs}}
* '''Effect:''' Once per day you may [[spellcasting#cast|cast]] any spell you know for no mana cost.
* '''Materials:''' Crafting a staff of power requires ten measures of [[Materials#Iridescent Gloaming|iridescent gloaming]] and five ingots of [[Materials#Tempest Jade|tempest jade]]. It takes one month to make one of these items.

Jotun

2015-09-19T06:13:08Z

Splitter: /* Magic */

===Overview===
The Jotun are [[orc|orcs]] who dominate the lands to the west and north-west of the Empire. Historically they have been especial threats to [[Wintermark]], the [[The Marches|Marches]] and the [[Navarr]] territory of [[Liathaven]]. They are barbaric by Imperial standards, but they are neither savage nor primitive. They enshrine the warrior-ideal, and seem to fight the Empire as much for the joy of battle as for any desire for territory or hate for the humans.
{{CaptionedImage|file=Jotunarmy.jpg|title=Jotun banners often show the skulls of powerful creatures.|align=left|width=350}}
===The Tribe===
Much of what the Empire knows about the Jotun has come from interviews with slaves, both orc slaves and human slaves taken by the Jotun who later escaped. They are a warlike tribe that values strength-in-arms and fighting-spirit as their highest virtues; to become more like their ancestors, they seek out challenges against which to test their might and their nerve. While they may view climbing a mountain, wrestling a [[legendary beasts#Mandowla|mandowla]] or swimming across the Gullet to be renown-worthy acts, they seek true glory and renown in battle.

Jotun ancestors drive them to achieve victory in combat, to fall surrounded by their foes, and to face every threat or obstacle head-on. Jotun regularly fight for sport and pleasure among themselves, as well as to establish precedence. As with all orcs when they have slain ten times their number. It is the bravest or strongest warriors who are able to cross the Howling Abyss to help their ancestors.

This tribe tends to act in a fashion identified by their Imperial neighbours as "honourable." They almost never use poison or venom, for example, preferring to win their battles by strength of arms. They may use complex tactics, but rarely employ ambush or other guerilla tactics unless they are greatly outnumbered. They will usually accept a surrender unless they have reason to believe they are being tricked in some manner, and often allow injured opponents to retreat. They have also been known to allow opponents who have fought bravely to gather their dead or injured, or retreat from the battlefield - while ruthlessly crushing those who they believe have behaved in a treacherous manner. However, they are known to greatly respect those who fight unarmoured or against impossible odds ... and express that respect by giving such opponents a glorious and honourable death in battle.

This is not to say that the Jotun are all warriors. Jotun who are not soldiers tend to be farmers rather than hunters. and it is believed by Imperial scholars that they have learnt many techniques of agriculture and animal-husbandry from their human slaves. Orcs who do not fight have lower status than even the least experienced warrior, however, so it is no surprised that the majority of Jotun prefer to practice the arts of war and leave farming to their human thralls or subjects.

Warriors of the Jotun see little honour in killing the weak or the unarmed, and prefer to take them as thralls. Human (and orc) thralls are treated reasonably well by the Jotun; as long as they show proper respect to their overlords, they are usually left to their own devices. Many modern Jotun thralls are the descendants of humans taken in battle, and consider the Empire their enemy as some tragic attempts to 'free' them have demonstrated.

The Jotun are also competent builders, able to quickly and efficiently throw up stockades and pallisades around their camps and settlements, as well as possessing several strong stone fortresses especially along the shores of the Gullet. Some [[Highguard|Highborn]] scholars suggest that the orcs did not build these fortresses themselves, but rather occupied the structures of some earlier inhabitants (some go so far as to suggest these castles were built by the [[Paragons and Exemplars|Paragon]] of [[Vigilance]] known as [[The Sentinel]]). The Jotun are also known to have several clans who specialise in [[Crafting skills#Artifice|artifice]], specializing in making strong, durable weapons and armour. The northern and western mountains of Kallsea are believed to be rich in [[materials#orichalcum|orichalcum]] and [[materials#green iron|green iron]].

===Warriors of the Jotun===
Among the Jotun, certain warriors especially stand out. They include:

* The '''Jarls''' are the leaders of the Jotun, and are always their strongest warriors. The Jarls seem to rule areas of land in Narkyst and Kallsea, dominating the orcs and humans that live in those areas and contending among themselves for prestige and honour. Jarls are effectively chiefs-of-chiefs, and often have several lesser Jarls (both Jotun and from subject tribes) who offer them fealty and tribute. A general is often a lesser Jarl, taking charge of battle-field tactics at the command of a more powerful Jarl who sets strategic goals for their army.

* The '''Ulvenwar''' are among the most noticeable warriors on the battlefield, wearing the head and pelt of a large bear, wolf or dire beast they have slain with their bare hands. They are usually armed with [[Weapons & armour#Two-handed weapons|great weapons]], rarely wield shields, and their faces are often painted or tattooed with warlike symbols. They are often selected from a young age and extensively trained in groups, pitted against each other in multiple challenges, and only the one who defeats the others is deemed worthy of becoming ulvenwar. Many ulvenwar appear to be [[shamans]], or enjoy some special relationship with the Jotun ancestors.

* The '''Skjaldborg''' are surprisingly disciplined units of warriors who live together and are considered elite soldiers by most Jotun. They generally wield shield and [[Weapons & armour#One-handed spears|spear]], and the ties between them appear to be even more pronounced that the ties between normal members of a tribe. According to some stories, they believe that if one of them possesses the strength of will to cross the [[Imperial Orcs religious beliefs|Howling Abyss]], that warrior will return to carry their battle-siblings across when they die. They tend to be much more defensive than other Jotun, and occasionally use a variant of the [[#Jotun Challenge|challenge]] in which they call out a unit of enemy warriors. Skjaldborg ''never'' leave one of their number behind if there is any chance they can be rescued. Skjaldborg are often the warriors of a subject tribe, fighting in the style of their Jotun overlords.

* the '''Yegarra''' are usually lightly armed and armoured, and wield hunting weapons especially javelins and spears. They serve as runners, messengers and scouts and are usually encountered in small numbers. On the battlefield they engage in skirmishing tactics, but their real targets are the skirmishers, scouts and messengers of the enemy force. Some yegarra are humans who seek to gain the appoval and respect of the orcish warriors; they often serve as auxiliaries or supporters to the core Jotun force. Human yegarra often look quite primitive, with rags or scraps of fur and bone tied to their makeshift leather armour.

====The Jotun Challenge====
Most Imperial citizens have experience of the Jotun only in the context of fighting, and engagements often involve the ''Jotun Challenge''. The Jotun love one-on-one fights, but they have little respect for or appreciation of "champion battles" as such - they seem to believe that everyone on the battlefield should be prepared to act as a champion. An engagement with Jotun will often involve a group breaking up to engage their Imperial opponents one-on-one.

The challenge begins with the orc pointing at an opponent with their weapon and then raising their head up to show their necks to their opponent. Making a slashing or ripping gesture with their hand as they bring their head down with a snarl. This signal shows that they consider the person they are looking at as worthy of honourable combat. The same gesture is often used by warriors facing the Jotun, especially [[Steinr]] warriors.

The target may return the challenge, and engage the Jotun in single combat that ends until one warrior cannot continue; withdraws indicating they consider the other combatant their superior; or surrenders to the other, offering them the chance to strike them down or take them as a thrall. It is important to note that the battle does not pause during a challenge, but efforts by warriors on either side to join in void the challenge and may cause loss of honour to the Jotun involved, or give the Imperials a reputation for treachery. The Jotun are most likely to offer a challenge to, or accept a challenge from, someone they have identified as Winterfolk or [[Dawn|Dawnish]].

Imperial citizens often ignore the challenge, in which case the engagement proceeds in the more traditional way. A Jotun who does not wish to accept the challenge will usually indicate this with an exaggerated shake of the head. This is the most common response from a Jotun challenged by someone they have identified as a [[Navarr]] or [[Druj]].

If the challenged warrior spits on the ground, they indicate that they do not consider the challenger to be a worthy opponent, or that they do not trust the target not to act in a dishonourable way. This is generally treated as an invitation to engage in a fight to the death, without any concern for rules of enagement. Jotun treated in this fashion, will generally fight until either they or their opponent is dead. This is the most popular response from a Jotun challenged by an [[Imperial Orcs|Imperial Orc]], assuming they even acknowledge the challenge.

===Magic===
Like all other intelligent beings the Jotun employ magic, but they do not seem to consider it a particularly appropriate weapon for the battlefield. The majority of Jotun magicians appear to focus of [[Heal|healing]] and restoring the [[restore limb|limbs]], [[Mend|armaments]] or [[Purify|general health]] of the warriors. There are few battle-magicians among them, and even those tend to focus on the [[swift heal]], [[empower]] and [[purge]] incantations rather than the more aggressive spells. Jotun magicians rarely wear [[Weapons & armour#Mage_Armour|mage armour]] or wield [[Weapons & armour#Staff|staves]].

===The Imperial Orcs===
The Jotun despise the Imperial Orcs. They never challenge them, and will not accept a challenge from one of them. They do not offer them quarter, nor expect it from them. Attempts by Imperial Orcs to change this attitude have been tragically unsuccessful.

===History===
The Jotun tribe is geographically divided but culturally united. The northern Jotun control the area dubbed Kalsea by the Winterfolk. They tend to be a little more cautious and more traditional than their southern cousins, and have a great deal of experience fighting the forces of [[Wintermark]] - they have been raiding into [[Sermersuaq]] and north-western [[Kallavesa]] since before the arrival of the Steinr. There are known to be a number of human settlements scattered across Kallsea, whose inhabitants offer tribute and fealty to their orc masters. These humans often fight alongside the Jotun, and seem to have little love for the Empire; while they are clearly not the equal of their inhuman overlords, they seem to have a social position below that of a minor orc tribe but above that of slaves or thralls. In 371 YE the [[Empress Britta]] dealt the northern Jotun a crushing defeat, driving them back into Kallsea and while they have made a few raids into Wintermark since then, they have not launched a significant attack against the Empire.

The southern Jotun occupy the area the Winterfolk call Narksyt. In pre-Imperial times they occupied much of western [[Bregasland]] and accompanied their northern cousins in raiding Kallavesa. With the arrival of the [[The Marches|Marcher]] army from the east, they were eventually driven out of the marshes. Their numbers were swelled by the lesser tribes driven westward from what is now the Marches; according to historians, they engaged in a brutal war of dominance with the lesser tribes, conquering them and requiring them to offer fealty. Today the southern Jotun are much more aggressive than the northern branch of the tribe; in 347YE they began a campaign of conquest against the [[Mournwold]], sweeping through [[Liathaven]] and driving out both the [[Navarr]] and the Marchers. They still occupy these territories to this day and make regular raids into [[Kahraman]], [[Mitwold]], [[Bregasland]] and even as far east as [[Tassato]].

At various points in their history, the Jotun have entered into pacts with the humans of the Empire, most notably during the reign of [[Emperor Guntherm]]. These treaties reflect earlier conventions between the Jtoun and the [[Wintermark|Winterfolk]] in the years prior to the formation of the Empire. Such pacts and treaties take the form of ceasefires, and rarely last more than two years although in some cases they have been renewed. Some [[Wintermark political leadership|thanes]] living on the borders, and even a few [[The Marches|Marcher]] [[Steward|stewards]] have engaged in smaller-scale pacts with individual clans of Jotun in a similar way.

===Look and Feel===
The Jotun value courage, strength and martial prowess above other attributes. They do not throw their lives away, nor use their subject tribes as disposable troops, but they are invariably looking for a way to increase their honour, with an eye towards becoming ancestors when they die. The only true dishonour, most Jotun recognise is showing fear in the face of the enemy, or striking a worthy opponent down by treacherous means.

Jotun favour axes and hammers over other weapons, whether two-handed or coupled with a round shield. They tend to shy away from bows, and seem to have no appreciation for the crossbow as a weapon of war - when it comes to ranged combat they prefer thrown axes or javelins. Their love of battle and emphasis on personal glory and honour, as well as their war-like traditions. means that many Jotun warriors are a match one-on-one for their Imperial counterparts, striking [[Combat#CLEAVE|savage blows]], [[combat#SHATTER|breaking shields asunder]] or fighting on with [[Heroic skills#Second Wind|incredible vitality]].

The colour red appears to have totemic significance for the Jotun, and figures on most of their banners. They consider powerful creatures such as [[mundane beasts#dire beasts|dire lions, dire bears and dire boars]] and mandowla to be potent symbols of strength and might. and many Jotun standards are topped with skulls of such animals.

==Playing the Jotun==
TBC

[[Category:Barbarians]]
[[Category:The World]]
[[Category:Bestiary]]

Sentinel Gate design

2015-08-08T22:29:39Z

Splitter: /* The Gate is for players */

==Overview==
The [[Sentinel Gate]] is an essential part of the Empire game design - it allows us to combine a political game centred on Anvil with battles against the Empire's enemies on her borders. as well as using the entire Empire for quests. Because the Gate has such a significant out-of-character role in enabling the game, inevitably the mechanics that drive it are primarily driven by those requirements.

==Core Design Criteria==
* '''You can only ever use the portal if something interesting will happen when you get there'''
* '''The number of the people who can go through is determined by the specific plot being accessed'''
* '''We do not want players to feel they have to spend their time guarding the gate'''
* '''We want to avoid trapping players on the other side if humanly possible'''
{{CaptionedImage|file=Gate1.jpg|title=The Gate is a way for players to leave the field to have adventures|align=left|width=350}}
==At the Appointed Hour==
The Gate can only be used at "predestined" times. These opportunities reflect the plot we have prepared for the weekend and the plot actuation schedule that has been created to run that plot. Because the destination and time of departure have been set for OOC reasons - they can be moved for OOC reasons - but there is no IC mechanism the players can employ to change the OOC game schedule.

The purpose of the Gate in the game is to allow for an enormous range of plot that would otherwise be impossible. If players cannot travel to the battlefront - they cannot actively participate in the war between the Empire and it's enemies. The Gate justifies swift travel around the Empire allowing us to run battles involving players as well as having the broadest possible scope of plot that we can run.

In theory we could allow players to travel to a location we have not prepared any plot for and then throw a random fight at them or simply say "nothing happens", but there are many potential flaws with this approach. It is likely to be an underwhelming and disappointing experience by anyone expecting something to happen. This is especially true if characters have committed time or expendable resources to an expedition that cannot succeed because it does not exist. It can also create continuity errors, with mistakes on plot actuation resulting in players being told nothing is happening in an area when other plot indicates there is. For all these reasons we have chosen to implement a very simply rule - if the plot isn't prepared and timetabled for that moment - ''then the Gate cannot be used to go there''.

This is the reason why conjunctions only happen at predestined times. Players cannot use the Gate to travel to areas where we do not have something interesting happening for them. They cannot go to Sarvos simply by asking to go there, unless we have planned or prepared a quest, skirmish or battle to support that expedition, and have that ready to go. We ''want'' to respond to player requests like this - but we want to do those requests justice. The best way to do this is to spend time between events writing and preparing the plot and encounters the players find when they do go there. The emphasis is to make expeditions as engaging as possible - rather than as immediate as possible.

Because of the logistical demands of plot actuation, we have to schedule when the quests and battles take place. This predetermines the opportunities that exist to use the Gate. If the quest team have prepared a quest to defeat a plaguewulf that has been scheduled to run at 7pm Saturday evening in Karsk - then the opportunity exists to go to that specific location in Karsk exists for 7pm on the Saturday.

If players need to request that a piece of plot is ''moved'' then they can only do so for OOC reasons. Wanting to do two bits of plot at the same time is not a valid OOC reason - our group has to leave early on Sunday because we have a long drive back to Scotland ''is'' a valid OOC reason to ask for a Gate slot to be moved. In that situation, the correct approach is to make an OOC request to Profound Decisions crew, explain the OOC circumstances and we will see if we can accommodate this.

We have deliberately specified that there is no IC agency in the game world that can over-ride the rules of the gate, no rituals that move a slot, nor any Eternal that can do so, so that players know what their IC options are - and can make sensible choices accordingly. Rituals and eternals may provide IC means to facilitate an existing piece of plot that has been written and scheduled - that is they can help characters access a predestined conjunction - but we don't want players wasting their IC efforts trying to change an OOC plot actuation schedule.

==In the Appointed Number==
To minimize the situations where there are more players than a plot can involve, the number of people who can go on a quest is set in advance. This forms part of the immutable rules of the Gate, like the destination and the time of departure. For skirmishes and battles, the number who can go through is not fixed, but the number of nations that can go is specified. There are no in-character mechanisms that exist in the game world to vary these details.

When we create a battle, skirmish or quest, we want the expedition to be challenging to those who go. While a purely simulationist approach might imply that many expeditions should be a walk-over while others would be utterly impossible due to the overwhelming odds - in practice this would be equally unsatisfying for players and writers. The laws of narrative apply - we only have a weekend of play - so we need to try and ensure that the hours of the weekend are as engaging as we can make them. This can be very difficult however if the players have no indication of how many people a quest, skirmish or battle might require - and we have no indication of how many may go.

For this reason, when our plot writers are creating a quest, they decide how many players they want to go on the quest. This influences how they stat the encounters, but it is about more than just play-balancing fights. We need to plan for the effective involvement of players - if a quest involves a single encounter to negotiate with an NPC - that is not something that fifty players can enjoyably participate in. Providing an engaging experience is inherently challenging - but specifying how many characters can go gives the players a strong indication of how many ''should'' go - and lets our plot writers create an experience with an idea of how many ''will'' go. That doesn't ensure an enjoyable quest - but it does make it much easier to achieve.
{{CaptionedImage|file=Sentinelgate3.jpg|title=The Gate has to serve many different uses|align=right|width=585}}

==Anvil is Safe==
Only Imperial citizens can use the gate. It is possible to use ritual magic, magical items and the powers of Eternals to get around this restriction - but it is sufficiently expensive that it is not reproducible on a large scale. This means that it is simply not possible for the Empire to be invaded through the portal by any means - and therefore that there is no need for any guards for the Gate.

We do not want players to feel obligated to spend valuable game time guarding the Gate to prevent an incursion. Allowing this to happen produces a cycle in which plot writers feel obligated to throw monsters at the guards to keep them busy - and players increasingly obligated to stay on guard to keep the monsters at bay. We want Anvil to be busy with plot, trade, politics and interactions - we don't want players to feel they need to stand watching all that happen while they guard a Gate.

==The Barbarian High-command is Safe==
The Gate can only be used to travel to places the Empire has a connection with - places in the Empire, or on the borders, or locations where Imperial troops are stationed. You cannot use the Gate to teleport into the heartlands of foreign or barbarian nations.

If characters were able to launch a deep-strike attack on the Thule high command to assassinate their leaders, it would be overwhelmingly the best strategy to adopt in almost every circumstance. It would always be easier than fighting their way through hordes of Thule troops in the field, so it would always be preferable to any alternative strategy for purely IC reasons. An interesting military campaign develops from stories of iconic battles in the field. We want those players involved in the military campaign to make long term strategic plans, to push forwards on fronts and try to seize key regions. To ensure they have a complex game with a wide variety of choices we need to rule out the one choice that would always be IC preferable to any other.
{{CaptionedImage|file=Gate2.jpg |title=The gate is a wonder of the Empire|align=right|width=350}}
==The Outward Gate Closes==
The Gate is only open for a short time - just sufficient to let the players gathered to pass through. After that time the outward gate closes and no IC agency can reopen it. The players who have travelled away from Anvil may still return - the return gate does not close until the appointed duration has expired - but nobody else may now travel to that quest, skirmish or battle.

We want the potential for failure to be real and tangible in Empire - otherwise the pleasure of triumph is fatally undermined. The only way we know to make that experience real is to allow players to fail sometimes. We will never plan for that to happen - but the vagaries of fate ensure that ''if it is possible - then sometimes it will occur.''

In these situations players will inevitably be highly motivated to immediately reattempt the same quest, skirmish or battle - nothing tastes as bitter as defeat. But if we allow players opportunities to reattempt a quest, skirmish or battle that fails - then the narrative impact of defeat is lost. Ultimately the entire experience of going through the Gate would be diminished if the players learned that they could just reset and go again in response to any failure. Triumph and defeat would both be undermined.

This is a classic case where giving the players what their characters want - another opportunity to use the gate to attempt the same action - would actually make the game less enjoyable for everyone in the long run. This is why it is laid out clearly that there is no IC mechanism to re-open a gate to make a new attempt. We want players to plan for each expedition they make - and to be nervous if their preparation has been sufficient. We want the Gate to naturally develop a history of great triumphs and bitter defeats.

The only exception to this situation is where our battle management has gone awry for purely ''out-of-characters'' reasons. This should happen less and less over time as the team's skills improve, but it would be naive to rule out the idea that it could ever happen. We don't want to penalize players for our mistake, so in that circumstance - ''and only in that circumstance'' - the battle refs are allowed to rule that a second conjunction develops that is sufficient to allow players to react to the situation.

==The Return Gate Closes==
The opportunity to return through the gate expires after a predetermined time. Once the appointed duration allocated by the plot actuation team expires then returning via the Gate becomes increasingly dangerous - simulated through distribution of magical traumatic wounds.

We have limited resources to simulate the world outside Anvil, we have limited time, limited crew and limited space. This means that a quest, skirmish or battle can only run for a certain length of time, before the resources it is consuming would be better spent elsewhere. To create the IC urgency needed to satisfy this basic out-of-character requirement, we have set limits on how long the players can remain away from Anvil.

We want players to know how long they have to complete their quest, skirmish or battle - but because their characters are motivated by IC reasons, we want them to have an IC reason why must return once their allotted time expires, even if they have not succeeded. The in-character risks inherent in remaining too long are not intended to be a credible threat to a character's survival, but rather to present a player with an IC justification they can use to justify accommodating the limits of the quest.

As far as possible, we want to avoid players becoming trapped away from Anvil. Therefore we want anyone who passes through a gate to be aware of ''approximately'' how long remains before the gate closes by asking a referee. Players who remain behind after a battle or skirmish ends but who are not captured by orcs are assumed to have made their way back to the portal and snuck through. They should see a ref and receive an appropriate magical traumatic wound to represent the dangers of their dangerous return.

If players are on a quest and are simply refusing to return to Anvil within the duration allotted to them, then the referee are instructed to give them a few minutes at most to complete what they are doing. If it is clear that they are not returning, they will then time-out the area. Ideally our plot will avoid situations where this outcome is likely - for instance NPCs can be briefed to leave an area after half-an-hour. Quests should, where possible, succeed or fail within the allotted duration in a way that is obvious to everyone who is taking part. But if this can't happen and the players absolutely refuse to accept that the time available to complete a quest has expired, then the referee needs a basis to intervene.

==Anyone may go==
There are no limits on who can go on a quest. The number who can go ''is'' limited, for reasons outlined above - but any Imperial citizen can go - and they can go on as many quests as they can access. Battles are currently limited to one per event - but this is purely because of the need for players to volunteer to fill out our monster ranks for the big encounters where 100 dedicated skirmish crew is not enough. The allocation of who can go on specific battle and skirmish opportunities should remain in player hands (in this case it is decided by the Military Council).

We have been deliberately vague about how "major conjunctions" occur. At present the game is limited by the number of players, crew and the size of the event. However if the event grew, or we had a larger site, we would want to scale the amount of battles and skirmishes available accordingly.

==The Gate is for players==
It is not possible for players to use rituals or call on aid from eternals send additional fighting power on quests, skirmishes or battles. There are rituals and Eternal powers in Empire that allow players to create additional troops for use in the downtime campaign, but these creatures cannot pass through the Gate.

If this was allowed to happen we would need to phys-rep the NPC monsters who were going to fight alongside the players. This would diminish the resources we had available to fight against the players. More importantly, it would also create an enjoyable iconic role... ''that was being played by an NPC''. To stop this happening, summoned creatures such as husks or minotaurs, cannot go through the Gate. This ensures that the pivotal individuals who pass through the Gate are players.

Players have many good reasons to attempt to capture members of our crew or player volunteers and bring them back to Anvil as prisoners. For critical instances - where the roleplay or the plot demands it - we can facilitate this in small numbers. Beyond this it is logistically challenging to support. Player volunteers need to return to playing after a battle is completed, while NPCs will be needed for other plots. For this reason there are costs to bringing prisoners or other characters through the Gate - to encourage the players to do it only when the need is pressing and real.

==Avoid NPC only abilities==
The IC rationale of the Gate is, in effect, that it is predetermined by the stars, not by any mortal or sentient agency.
Players have the widest possible remit to take advantage of the opportunities - but since the Gate operates according to an OOC logisticial timetable - - they do not have the IC ability change the nature of the opportunities.

However we don't want players to feel that the gate is controlled by another "higher power", because that power would overshadow the players and make them feel less important by comparison. There is no ''practical'' difference between claiming that the stars determine the conjunctions and saying that the conjunctions are set by a god or similar character. But the stylistic differences are significant - players are less likely to feel overshadowed by the sun and the moon.

So as far as humanly possible we want to avoid special NPC only abilities - although we have to have control over when the Gate can be used for logistical reasons, (what time it can be opened, how many can go through and to where) - we don't need to have control over how the Gate is opened, or who opens it. The design for the Gate avoids deliberately eschews NPC control by having the limitations on its use set by fate - the stars control under what circumstances the Gate can be used - but actual implementation and use can be done by any player with the appropriate skills. Likewise any player magician can find out if a conjunction exists.

Our civil servants may be able to do this for the players - and we want to incentivize the players to involve the [[Egregores|Egregore]] as it is part of these NPCs' remit to try to add to the drama of the event - but they can easily do it themselves. This avoids the need for special NPC only abilities and also allows the potential for players to go on missions without the approval of the civil service if that fits the plot and their characterisation. There is an implicit resource tax involved in this, the cost to detect a conjunction and to operate the portal - but it is not dear.
[[Category:Game Design]]