Information

Again, dev milestone is completed and paid, and town is completely debt-free except for consols (whose purpose is to add an economic anchor to the game mainly).

This year, a dividend of 1,500 will be paid for CKG. Its midprice is 81 mil, so its dividend return is almost 0.2% now.

Health Challenge is initialized. Tomorrow we will see the deaths.

Also a few of the year change scripts will be done tomorrow.

Hi! The challenge with user guide is that the game is so much in development all the time (and will be for a long time to come) that no matter how perfect a guide someone writes, it will still be outdated in quite a short time. Also the playing (and the things that the guide should include) is incredibly different for people in entry levels and in higher levels. And it is possible to get to higher levels quick as well, without having enough time to master the previous levels.

My recent attempt to write a story in the eyes of a newbie commoner. It is continuing every day! Hope you like

Update on food markets:

The annual spoil of MEAT and FOIE (5%) is administered. We will probably move to 10% spoil each other year, to reduce the need to set up the asks that are cleared when spoil takes effect. (The system is already in force with NPC and suits). Also new MEAT is produced to Manors and FOIE to S-FOI holders!

BEER was produced some time ago already.

Only 7.5 realhours remain until yearchange. Make your purchases (and sales) now!



ADD: Land taxes and building dividends will still happen. The county reports and quests will need to wait some time still.

King's quest is now to find the culprit for the fire and punish him!


ADD: The turmoil in the markets has lead Martti to cashflow crisis, the first tough problem in his so far tranquil life!

12 halvings are done, and only 35 tickets remain! The historical Cognac, CLXII, was awarded to these. The tickets are still in 16 different hands (char_id's (3, 6, 7, 11, 19, 26, 31, 36, 54, 64, 88, 94, 113, 131, 173, 66))!!


Prizes Awarded

47,671 * CAN given!
23,707 * BEER given!
1,484 * FOIE given to 118 chars!
735 * JAD given to 90 chars!
373 * W1603A given to 64 chars!
191 * MIN-5 given to 48 chars!
86 * CS1625E given to 34 chars!
35 * CLXII given to 16 chars!


Best Prizes Still Remaining

35 tickets (RAF-1) remaining; halving every month (realday)

25 * WOS-E1 (Green Suit, gift of HH The Mayor)
20 * MIR (Venetian Mirror 1 sqm, gift of HH The Duke of New Liberty)
15 <- when this number of tickets is reached, the subsequent SPOILs are 25% only to increase excitement!
- - -
10 * Baronet of CK (lowest numbers available starting from highest ranking winner, incl promotion to L12 if applicable)
1 * Fourth Prize: Any Real Estate up to the value of 100,000,000 m (to the 4th last ticket; gift of HRH Zechariah)
1 * Third Prize: 1-SE-V76 Korean Restaurant (1518) (to the 3rd last ticket; gift of Prince of Soul)
1 * Second Prize: TRC4-19 Most Elab 4-Horse Carriage (to the 2nd last ticket; gift of M of White Cross)
1 * Grand Prize: Any Real Estate up to the value of 500,000,000 m (in the whole game, you pick, King pays   )

Total Value of Prizes: 2,000,000,000 m !
(Expected value of a ticket: 57 mil(!))

Practical note on the 1st and 4th prizes. The winner gets to pick his real estate from a list of listed properties costing (at max) 500 mil. To qualify for the listing, the seller must register the property latest on the day when # of tickets goes to 15 or below. It must be listed and buyable by others as well. When the winner is known, he will be notified and the King will buy the prize selected and gift it to the winner. Do not forsake this opportunity to advertise that you have RE for sale!!

King has listed the "500 mil real estate": Hotel King's Guesthouse (1-N-J17). This is one of the 2 private properties located closest to the Royal Palace compound in 1-C/1-N. The distance to the wall of the detached Royal Wine Cellar is 6 m! The other one is Dr. Choo Townhouse from 1436 on the Earls' St. side. He had it on the market for 1,000 mil decades ago but then decided that it is not for sale. The building that King's Guesthouse shares a wall with, Rhadamanthus' Palace, was sold about 20 years ago for 1,400 mil to its current owner, Baron Lloyd IV.

Heimo has a piece of land with currently a placeholder hut in the prestigious 1-E area for the 100 mil option.

Heimo also listed the remaining units in Garden Row (2-SE) for sale, 49 mil each. Designated homes (or 2nd homes), they produce 4-5 (CUL+IC) each, for a very nice 2-3% ROI on the IC market value only. Now can middle class people get a home!

The King gazes at the smoking ruins of his historical, cozy, once even Great, palace. The game has surely taken a turn towards the new direction. Last time the gamemastering was in serious question was in 1608, with the Plague decimating the wine and spirit stores of the peers and ravaging the ancient lower middle class with the high costs of staying alive. The previous calamity was the Earthquake in 1600, laying waste to 7 great buildings with losses to the players amounting to billions.

This time, strangely enough, the most immediate losses were suffered in the gold markets while the fire was still raging. The mysterious, probably well-timed dump from King's treasury had brought his balance up to 7 bil, but the arbitraging from other players during the early hours had brought it back to the starting point, below 4 bil. The only net result so far is that King has less gold due to selling it cheaper to Coinshop bids than what the others sold to King's bids.

Therefore the first thing to organize was the gold market. All King's and Coinshop's existing offers were cleared and coinshop seeded the market with laddered buy and sell offers in all gold coins, eg.

CR1418E, 5 CKG gold coin

5,063,000 1 Coinshop
4,801,000 1 Coinshop
4,538,000 1 Coinshop
4,407,000 2 Coinshop

^- ask --- bid -v

3,627,000 1 Coinshop
3,492,000 2 Coinshop
3,358,000 20 Coinshop.


Now it is again possible to enlarge your collection of gold coins, due to the very cheap premiums the Coinshop is asking, and the large selection available (all is put for sale with ask in more than 100 items!)

The King moves on with the organizing work, to make sure that the slaughter of pigs is carried out on time despite the catastrophe. And also the RAF-1 tickets need to be halved, although it sounds a bit ironic against the silhouette of the ruined Palace 

In the cold December 13th, 1623 night...

The Royal Palace fire

TL;DR: The Royal Palace burned down in the middle of the night with the loss of many unique, invaluable treasures.


The Royal Palace (1-C-K), burned down in the night following Friday, December 13th. (Not only weird but) Suspicious activity had been occurring for a few days, but the locals were accustomed to it. Right before the fire, strange orders were sent from what was believed to be the King. Right after the fire had started, a dump of 5,000 CKG was ordered, bringing the price down to as low as 650k, erasing all gains since 1607. Thick snow was covering all the area including the roofs of the buildings. Royal Palace main body roof was free-of-snow due to being gilded and inclined.

Flames were sighted from many of the windows simultaneously. When the Royal Palace Guard realized what was going on, they stormed to save the lives and valuables. The Palace was largely empty (except for the guard of 35 who camp in the lowest floor) so no NPC were lost. The fact that the wing buildings (Throne Room and East Wing) roof is horizontal, and allowed the snow to pack, probably saved them. They also acted as buffers towards all the other buildings in the Old Town. (And of course the soldiers tried what they can to save the throne room). No other buildings got any damage. The following items were lost:

GOO-67 The Golden Suit (1450) <- This is intact. Somebody saved it and is asked to return it against a bounty of 100 CKG. (Given to random character)
ART-14 Faberge Egg (1567) <- This cultured era treasure is destroyed
BFR-2 Roof of Royal Palace (1446) <- 6640 CKG was salvaged (rules) but rebuilding it costs approx. 800 mil
BRO-1 Gilded, Silvered Brass Mantelpiece (1582) <- Took heavy damage
CAF-4 Blue Room Table & 6 Chairs (1446) <- Burned
GIL-3 A large collection of various items gifted to the King <- Destroyed
GIO-31 Snake skin boots <- Lost
WOC-1 Carpet to the Blue Room (1442) <- Burned, 60 CKG salvaged from this blue carpet
WOU-2 Curtains to the Blue Room (1442) <- Burned down.

More valuables may be found missing and/or destroyed after the complete extent of the destruction is known.


The events in the night leave much room for speculation:
- It has been rumored that the King had not fulfilled his Magnificence MGN -quota of 44 MGR-points assisted, but this has 1) always been the case historically and 2) was not even the case right now after the promotions.
- The wisdom experiments had taken a surprising turn. But the King himself was not even in the palace - nobody saw him on the scene or escaping from the building. He slept a good night in the Palace of Culture & Science where he had been planning SCI with HH of North Face. He only saw the ruins of his Palace upon returning to 1-C in the early morning.
- Some of the King's enemies or foreign powers is involved.
- Accident. [IRL, Malla has burned down approximately once in a century.]
- (your turn).


The Royal Palace was the first large building project in town in 1432-1446. It was extensively renovated in 1603 after the earthquake with all very elaborate facades (original ones had been rustic). Prior to the fire, it generated 4% of the Kingdom's (CUL+IC), but this has now been reduced to about 1/3 of the previous level effective next year.

No, never. (VR, to me, is defined as realistic looking graphics etc.)

It is a 1991 Retro Virtual World, mimicking the graphics of that era and the play-by-snailmail RPG of an even earlier era.

11 halvings are done, and only 86 tickets of the original amount (225,000) remain! The special Jubilee silver mintage, CS1625E (only 100 exist), was awarded to these and if you did not get it, you can still redeem yours from the market (2/char). The tickets are still in 34 different hands!! (Noms, Soul, OZ, SirJacket and NL having many, most others who are in the game, only 1-2 each).


Prizes Awarded

47,671 * CAN given!
23,707 * BEER given!
1,484 * FOIE given to 118 chars!
735 * JAD given to 90 chars!
373 * W1603A given to 64 chars!
191 * MIN-5 given to 48 chars!
86 * CS1625E given to 34 chars!


Prizes Remaining

86 tickets (RAF-1) remaining; halving every month (realday)

50 * CLXII (since there are no restaurants qualified to participate in the auction, it will be raffled instead)
25 * WOS-E1 (Green Suit, gift of HH The Mayor)
20 * MIR (Venetian Mirror 1 sqm, gift of HH The Duke of New Liberty)
15 <- when this number of tickets is reached, the subsequent SPOILs are 25% only to increase excitement!
- - -
10 * Baronet of CK (lowest numbers available starting from highest ranking winner, incl promotion to L12 if applicable)
1 * Fourth Prize: Any Real Estate up to the value of 100,000,000 m (to the 4th last ticket; gift of HRH Zechariah)
1 * Third Prize: 1-SE-V76 Korean Restaurant (1518) (to the 3rd last ticket; gift of Prince of Soul)
1 * Second Prize: TRC4-19 Most Elab 4-Horse Carriage (to the 2nd last ticket; gift of M of White Cross)
1 * Grand Prize: Any Real Estate up to the value of 500,000,000 m (in the whole game, you pick, King pays   )

Total Value of Prizes: 2,150,000,000 m !
(Expected value of a ticket: 25 mil)

Practical note on the 1st and 4th prizes. The winner gets to pick his real estate from a list of listed properties costing (at max) 500 mil. To qualify for the listing, the seller must register the property latest on the day when # of tickets goes to 15 or below. It must be listed and buyable by others as well. When the winner is known, he will be notified and the King will buy the prize selected and gift it to the winner. Do not forsake this opportunity to advertise that you have RE for sale!!

King has listed the "500 mil real estate": Hotel King's Guesthouse (1-N-J17). This is one of the 2 private properties located closest to the Royal Palace compound in 1-C/1-N. The distance to the wall of the detached Royal Wine Cellar is 6 m! The other one is Dr. Choo Townhouse from 1436 on the Earls' St. side. He had it on the market for 1,000 mil decades ago but then decided that it is not for sale. The building that King's Guesthouse shares a wall with, Rhadamanthus' Palace, was sold about 20 years ago for 1,400 mil to its current owner, Baron Lloyd IV.

Heimo has a piece of land with currently a placeholder hut in the prestigious 1-E area for the 100 mil option.

Heimo also listed the remaining units in Garden Row (2-SE) for sale, 49 mil each. Designated homes (or 2nd homes), they produce 4-5 (CUL+IC) each, for a very nice 2-3% ROI on the IC market value only. Now can middle class people get a home!

Haha, well August 1 was also when the revived CK after a few months break and have now had the new dev for 6 months

HRH Zechariah is selling his Wines and Spirits stock, since he Cannot operate the Wine Store while being Commander and out of Town

According to the orders of the Prince-Royal;
The intention is to liquidate the "excess" (the sales stock) in all non-strategic drinks. This means that the only things left will be:
- Drinks for "personal consumption" (2,000 bottles of wine and "enough" of the spirits)
- Drinks of strategic importance (SWx)
- Drinks of storytelling importance (CLXII, LAG)
- Drinks of historical and special value (pre-Plague wines, VOH)
- Wines that are undergoing cellaring (wines peaking far in the future).

Everything else must go before the Jubilee. So expect reasonable deals in all the drinks and unbelievable ones in the part of stock that is being realized!

Zechariah started as a wine merchant in the very early 1600s, and now feels that the others have taken on his duties, and he can move on to other things, for now being a field commander of the army, and in the future, Ruler of Crypto Kingdom.

The sale has already started!

As we speak, 19 wines exist in the game

1 has ask of 5.0 mil (DOM)
4 have ask at 298k-650k range
3 have ask at 150k-200k
4 have ask at 65k-85k
6 have ask at 40k or less
1 does not have ask

This means that it is time to stock up on quality (or cheap wines). Health challenges are getting tougher!

As for spirits, prices are likewise rock bottom with 3 different spirits available at 150k or less (the tax on spirits alone, is 100k/btl   )

You wish.

Tidings from Counties, 1623
The status of this post is SOMEWHAT IN PROGRESS, and will be marked "completed" when ready by the end of the year.

"Loot" will be divided "soon".

One more PRE accumulation round and the prizes of up to 500*CKG will be awarded.

Encounters may still happen for summer-1623, since it just takes so long for them to be heard at home.

(Name of County - PRE total - PRE from 1623)

NorthFace - 44 - 14

The Duchy of North Face is reputed vast, but despite the PRE accumulated, little first hand information exists. The orders have been to stick to the main camp which is in the southern side of the region because of climate. Little locals have been sighted and while they do not exactly seem poor, their wealth is well hidden as they are nomads, skilled in trade, and well equipped and armed. The area is claimed by Queen Louhi, CK and HKM Gustaf Adolf, but none of them seems to have much going on in there, because the latest orders from the Duke were to have the camp evacuated and troops moved to the south, where they happened to just tip the scales in the Campaign on the River, not that it mattered much because at the time of the "Final Battle", the treaty had already been signed. The Duke is left pondering what to do with the land mass as the mere surveying of it is dangerous and few immediate benefits are obtainable. The King is dreaming of the mystical Ultima Thule in the far north, where it becomes warm again after the inhospitable cold that must be traversed to get there. (QUEST given).

Plath - 37 - 13

Despite being only a County, Plath has been raking in PRE at a commendable pace. The initial encounter of CK expansion, "The Ambush", happened there as well. The area is in the border of deeply-catholic Polonia, but they have not sent a high emissary to Sir Crichton, because they feel a Duke is required from our side to the negotiations as well. Ramsey is the closest Duke to the county at the moment. From the intelligence gathered, Polonia and Sweden are not at war for now but tensions are very high. Plath is in the inland with the nearest coastal town being the Free City of Danzig. The capital of Polonia, Krakow, is further inland. Unlike Sweden that is a centralized country, Polonia is more populous but with nobles doing what they wish. The preparations of Sir Crichton advanced peacefully despite Prince Boguslaw's claim to the territory. Probably the local powers were just happy that we were at war with Sweden, their archenemy. They get this kind of information much faster than we can even dissipate it inside the Kingdom, because of the sea communications in Östersjön (using the Swedish name for the great lake, on which at least Stockholm, (preparation site of) Paldiski, Riga and Danzig are located). The north side of Östersjön is ice-free 4/7 months a year, the south is more erratic but usually 6/7 months. The final month before the ice is known of heavy storms and navigation is treacherous. (ASK for QUEST).

Ramsey - 33 - 12

Getting along with the locals with no taxes levied to them, the Duchy of Ramsey survey is going on very well. The "west sea" (Östersjön when seen from the Swedish coast) was found but believed to be New Liberty territory. New Liberty forces had spent their time in the northernmost tip of their duchy so unable to explore this side. The command post has been kept at the same place all the time and even the locals have been referring it to as Baghdad, which had to have been a joke originally, but the jokes.. they sometimes stick. Some patrols were sent to the south, leaving Plath to their right-hand side, and as far as they went, no change in the conditions was observed. "This land is HUGE." To the east, some mystical phenomena was experienced, and the scouts turned back, believing that White Cross was there with its special conditions and capable leadership. (QUEST awaiting, ping GM).

FSpagnolo - 28 - 11

This requires a complete post, which is coming soon after this one.

NewLiberty-C - 27 - 12

The troops' movements have been duly reported and the civilian team moved with them, hampering the progress. On the other hand, HH The Duke in his new position as Ambassador, has been able to gather intelligence. New Liberty is a large Duchy with Riga as its historical centerpoint. (According to some sources, even Stockholm lies on the lands of the original Duchy. As the safety of Riga is guaranteed, and the lands in the other side ceded to Sweden, and even the Threestone preparation site given back to them, the problem becomes that in this large coastline, there is no logical place for a Seat that would also be located in the coast! Towns may not be started too close to each other, it is against the rules. According to the terms of the Treaty, we have taken the responsibility of the protection of Riga, which is not a chore to the New Liberty troops - they in fact quite like the libertarian nightlife of this small and war-ravaged but energetic town.

OldDuchy - 26 - 10

OldDuchy's own PRE gain plummeted when the 100*OTH were busy with laying the stone to the ground that the other counties provided. The paved road now leads from Old Town to San Pietro and in the north facade of the (planned) Versailles palace, dividing with one branch going to Haljala (this one is not paved yet) and the other one to Essu and even a bit beyond (this one is fully paved, 4 m wide, except around Versailles where huge squares have been laid). Otherwise the Old Duchy troops, what were left after the 1st Regiment took to the north, have remained stationary. The recent reports of Rossiyan action in the north have not yet lead to retaliation. Some VOD with no taxes paid have been found in the town, and the recent mapping of all the Urban Boroughs (go and check the Town Map with the navigation arrows) has lead to the idea that the perimeter of the whole town be fortified with a stone wall, inner side sloping. The guards could walk on the top, and from outside, rising to the top in the middle of the night would be easy with a wooden ladder, but disposing of the ladder would not be easy, so intruders would reveal themselves and the tax revenues would be secured.

WhiteCross - 26 - 12

White Cross has gained a mystical feeling with its "element boroughs" but we can assure it is a physical land. The characteristics are just special, and also what is weird is the lack of human locals there. This usually means that special creatures inhabit the land, for good and bad. With the absence of contact - not only to leaders but to anyone! - the expedition force has a free decision in which of the Boroughs to settle and start preparations for establishing the County Seat.

Stonehaven - 21 - 8

What can be said of this is mostly in the war chronicles already. As the county is located so close and so many troops have marched to and fro and even had the "Final Battle of the Campaign on the River 1623" in the area, we know this place reasonably well. The River, which is the northern border, flows slowly, so we can conclude that there is not much elevation. The plain continues to approximately half of the county to the south, from where small hills and then sharp hills begin. That is the way to get back home. In the east, not too far from the preparation site, the Swedes have their outpost, and beyond that, nobody has yet been able to go. To the west, our outpost is near Paldiski (mouth of the river). In the South(-East), Rossiyan thugs are trying to expand their influence. The land is not rich (refer to the name of the county!) but with a good connection to CryptoTown (yet to be constructed), this could become a handy source of crispbread and horses, meat and even VEG.

Grass - 19 - 7

The Grass-lands continue as far as eye can see, and turn richer as we go. The lack of 1 PRE-point prevented an important meeting, but we are sure to hear of it next year. (QUEST given).

Tavastia - 17 - 8

The contact to the Tavastia camp was finally made. They had explored the land and made the preparation site where they believed the economic centerpoint is located (about 40% towards the supposed North Face border from the River, and also 40% from the "west sea" towards the eastern border). To make the decision easier, near the location, the ruins of a mighty medieval castle was found, so good energies abounded there. The place was from early on named the House of Tavastia. The locals were submissive and had good horses (H2), some of which were pressed for service, against compensation of course. It is here that the crispbread originates, because this is so far north that VEG are still being cultivated, yet too far that they could be a reliable food source during the winter, yet the place is too populated that there would be enough meat for all (from game) unlike further north, where game abounds yet people are sparse.

Petrichor - 15 - 7

This pesky group also, had been in their mission for quite a long time. From the river crossing, they turned to the east, upstream. After some time there were no plains even by the river, so they took a 90° turn towards the north, and after considerable time (but possibly less distance) arrived in the village of Sisu. What is in there, you have already seen. The Swedes had been in the area a few years ago, but abandoned it as too poor (and not even good horses). The northern border of the county is a bit weird, there are bodies of water with something mystical on them. The locals do not dare to venture that way so no information can be found. To the west, albeit after an arduous journey through thick woods, lies Tavastia. The people there (as do many in Stonehaven) speak the same language. To the east, a lightly forested area, unfit for farming, and hellishly cold in the winter, opens far and wide. If it is even possible to imagine, these people from their ur-lowly starting point, have historically escaped the looters there, and they keep stores of supplies hidden in the vast hinterland.

The kill & promote round for NPC has been done. The benefits & costs round has NOT, so keep this in mind when making trades. It will be done soonish and announced. Same for horses.

Saddam's Colonel died    One LTC only was promoted but we have plenty of MAJ, CAPT and NCOs now.

The year has been cold with smaller than usual VEG production. The positive side is that VEG "summer spoil" did not come. Meat price is also high, even though there are some stocks of meat (40k exist). Foie Gras has plummeted to as low as 25k in the market.

New S-VE1 common garden plots are opened to combat this in the future: 10 more (1/char) exist.

Right now there are new veggies for sale, 1450/1300.

Commander (PC) promotions in the Royal CryptoArmy

When the war is victoriously over, there is no need to wait for the Jubilee with the promotions:

To Brigadier (AOD-Brig):

HRH Archduke Zechariah, The Prince Royal of CK "for special merit in conducting the Campaign on the River, 1623"

Brigadier can be gained normally for having a unit with 300 BV

To Colonel (AOD-Col):

HH The Duke of New Liberty
HH The Duke of Ramsey
HE The Prince of Soul
(it is reasonable certain that NL and Soul already had the letter, but it is confirmed now)

Colonel can be gained normally for having a unit with 150 BV

To Lieutenant Colonel (AOD-LTC):

HH The Duke of North Face (unless he has a higher previous rank which is unavailable for me to check just now)

Lieutenant Colonel can be gained normally for having a unit with 100 BV

To Major (AOD-Maj):

HE The Prince of Forte Spagnolo (in absentia, provided he is not already higher)
The Marquess of White Cross
Sir Crichton of Plath
Sir Mooo of Stonehaven

Major can be gained normally for having a unit with 50 BV

To Captain (AOD-Capt):

The Marquess of Grass
Sir Heimo, The Earl of Sarajas (unopened)
Lord Syksy, Earl of Petrichor.


This is the start of the Age of War in Crypto Kingdom, and no claims of historical ranks in AOD will be accepted after the snow falls in 1624. So please check that your historical promotions are in order, otherwise you lose the right to claim them.

The Story of Martti has reached its 11th month!

Quick recoup:
- Martti has only received about 2 mil worth of personal gifts so far, so is playing as a non-depositor (which is his rule).
- Martti still owns his original peasant clothes (WOS-G) but is actively seeking an upgrade, latest before the L4 promotion round by the Jubilee, which he will miss without a more proper suit.
- Martti gained a free title to a mosquito-infested piece of land (250 sqm) in 4-SW. It is waiting for the Building module to be enabled (and Martti to gain more funds).
- His first health challenge last year ended up Moderate.
- Active, nimble and lucky speculation in the markets has increased the wealth.
- Martti's possessions include 3*PIG, 1*DIS and 1*S-VE1 for significantly boosted annual profits in addition to his salary (0.7 mil).

Ten halvings are done, so only about 0.1% of the original number of tickets remains! The most elaborate small plate of china, MIN-5, was divided to 48 characters, so the tickets are still in very varied hands, and anyone can win any of the prizes (or actually - almost all of them, one by one!). The probabilistic effect is waning, and luck starts to take over now!  


Prizes Awarded

47,671 * CAN given!
23,707 * BEER given!
1,484 * FOIE given to 118 chars!
735 * JAD given to 90 chars!
373 * W1603A given to 64 chars!
191 * MIN-5 given to 48 chars!

Prizes Remaining

191 tickets (RAF-1) remaining; halving every month (realday)

100 * CS1625E (special edition 5 CKS only 100 minted)
50 * CLXII (since there are no restaurants qualified to participate in the auction, it will be raffled instead)
25 * WOS-E1 (Green Suit, gift of HH The Mayor)
20 * MIR (Venetian Mirror 1 sqm, gift of HH The Duke of New Liberty)
15 <- when this number of tickets is reached, the subsequent SPOILs are 25% only to increase excitement!
- - -
10 * Baronet of CK (lowest numbers available starting from highest ranking winner, incl promotion to L12 if applicable)
1 * Fourth Prize: Any Real Estate up to the value of 100,000,000 m (to the 4th last ticket; gift of HRH Zechariah)
1 * Third Prize: 1-SE-V76 Korean Restaurant (1518) (to the 3rd last ticket; gift of Prince of Soul)
1 * Second Prize: TRC4-19 Most Elab 4-Horse Carriage (to the 2nd last ticket; gift of M of White Cross)
1 * Grand Prize: Any Real Estate up to the value of 500,000,000 m (in the whole game, you pick, King pays   )

Total Value of Prizes: 2,400,000,000 m !
(Expected value of a ticket: 12.6 mil)

It is still possible to give prizes to the auction. Unique prizes will be listed as 5th, 6th etc. prizes, and will always be awarded.

Practical note on the 1st and 4th prizes. The winner gets to pick his real estate from a list of listed properties costing (at max) 500 mil. To qualify for the listing, the seller must register the property latest on the day when # of tickets goes to 15 or below. It must be listed and buyable by others as well. When the winner is known, he will be notified and the King will buy the prize selected and gift it to the winner. Do not forsake this opportunity to advertise that you have RE for sale!!

a.k.a.               
               
How to play a Gamemaster (GM)               
               
Judging the fates of half of our lands and troops requires a suitable inspiration, so I decided to do it on the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn. As the pundits have certainly noticed, the Great River has been inspired by this narrowish piece of water separating the people with a peculiar language in 2 parts, because of the strategic importance of the "end of the navigable body", which a Foreign Power has claimed.               
               
Gamemastering is an art, and art is such that can be liked and disliked. Instead of just writing the story, I open now the whole process of how the story was gained. This is for a few purposes:               
- To convince all that GM work is rigorous evaluation of circumstances and probabilities, and can be trusted.               
- To be open for praise and criticism and proposals of alternative courses of events that might have been possible with the same roll.               
- To teach the other admins, because the administering of more and more detailed actions (Kingdom level - Duchy - County - Estate - Farm) requires more GM's; it is impossible for the development of the game engine to keep up, and some things just require human work.               
               
My style, especially as I am a player myself, is to make the rolls in what I call "need to know basis". This is to minimize the privileged information that I have, but others do not, even if they analysed everything that is publicly available. Usually I delay the rolls until the result can be published immediately.               
               
16 rolls of d20 were needed, and an earlier roll that has not been disclosed yet is included as well for 17 total. It took 45 minutes to go through the war and peace negotiations, while sipping some Pannier with lightly roasted flounder.               
               
To be able to follow the campaign, first I beg you to read the previous reports. Then: the locations are marked with codes. (A) is the most downstream and (E) most upstream :               
A - Place called "Mouth of the River", "Threestone", "3-stone" and "Paldiski", a Swedish preparation site.               
B - The site of the Final Battle.               
C - Where NF forces met the river when coming from the north.               
D - Stonehaven preparation site and camp. Previously used for NF, Tavastia, Petrichor river crossing to the north where they dispersed.               
E - Believed to be the location of the Swedish preparation site "Gustaf Adolfsburg".               
               
1. What happened to the Earl of Stonehaven?               
1/20            
Uh oh. If we did not have the explicit result that "nobody died when Stonehaven camp surrendered", this would have been one. So, instead: "The Earl said (in IRC) that he had been out surveying some land. So when he came back to the camp at dusk, he was met with a musket shot, he fell from his horse, was wounded from the shot and captured by the Swedish. Character:Health was reduced. The Swedish said that he was mistaken for a thief who are a nuisance.               
               
2. GA treachery roll - did he fake the peace/alliance proposal?               
14/20               
No. GA is acting honestly and in good conscience.               
               
3. Riga regiment awareness - how did they participate in the action?               
20/20               
When NL regiment went to the north last summer, the Riga regiment naturally sent a detachment to spy their every action. However the NL regiment seemed so quarrelsome and unprofessional and conducted peacefully towards the smaller garrison in (A) Threestone, the detachment finally dropped guard totally, leaving the guarding of NL regiment to the Threestone garrison and returned to the town Riga where it is much more fun to spend Christmas. No word reached them in time for anything else.               
               
4. GA Threestone (A) reinforcement - when the ice melted, was the first thing coming huge reinforcements from Sweden proper?               
19/20               
No, nothing arrived. Perhaps he needs his troops elsewhere.               
               
5. Swedish Middle Force (the 80 troops in Stonehaven camp (D)) aggression and focus?               
11/20               
With a small number they would have force-marched to (A) and captured it back, and high number would have made them go back from where they came. This time the result was interpreted that they stay where they are but 1/4 of the troops is sent back to the east, perhaps they were just to ensure the favorable result in capturing the Stonehaven camp (that surrendered without fight).               
               
6. Swedish Middle Force formation?               
19/20               
High roll indicates that their objective was to prevent river-crossing, so they dispersed along the River. Small would have been to find a hedgehog defence position against CK assault. (It was chosen that the high roll is a worse decision for them and better for us, because units fight 1-on-1 and our units are weaker. Low rolls are by convention "bad" for the "friendly actor".) So after sending 20/80 of the soldiers to (E), the rest were dispersed between (B),(C),(D), and Zechariah with his RRF was preventing them from going south but too weak to attack them until the Main Army came. (Zech had known of the plan to send Main Army when he left.)               
               
7. North Face Company initiative?               
18/20               
The Duke had sent orders for the Company to leave the preparations and come back. Even twice. The "initiative" is a general roll where the worst results in NF-style extreme conditions mean that the whole troop perished (and the fun is to make up the story how). Middle results would mean that they are ok, but not got the message, or delayed or whatever. 18/20 means that they arrive nicely at the scene right when needed, rested and ready, only a little bit west (C) from where they aimed at (D), because of navigation mistake.               
               
8. Tavastia War Braves initiative?               
9/20               
Orders had not reached them so they continued preparations where they were, totally oblivious of fighting.               
               
9. Had Tavastia camp encountered any Swedes?               
20/20               
This was important to find out to, for instance, know towards what direction the Swedes that we will soon decisively defeat, would like to retreat in utter disarray and devastation. If they had a camp in Tavastia, sightings would have been likely. The roll resulted in definite information that nobody of the peasants had seen any swedes in a year at least, in any area not in the vicinity of the River.               
               
10. Main Army relocation initiative?               
2/20               
Oh no. Despite a slam-dunk move of a well prepared, huge and well-armed unit moving in good weather a small distance in a secured area starting from their own capital (with roadless rough terrain being the only possible problem), something can go wrong. What is it?               
               
11. What is Main Army problem?               
15/20               
The former roll had already determined the approximate severity of the problem, so for this I drafted a list of many possible reasons why the move is delayed. 15/20 corresponded to problems with Rossiyans, so: Rossiyan bootleggers, swindlers, thieves, and even looters have infested the area making the coordination of the move north difficult and the camp needed to be in tight guard by night. In these conditions, a big army is easily slowed more than a small one, especially with a cautious CO (COL from RCA, ready to give his army intact to Zech when they meet by the River - which never happened).               
               
12. What happened when NF force contacted the River?               
20/20               
Ohh-yees.. shame that there were so few enemies.. The North Face column numbered 50 soldiers and a large number of civilians, and the materiel train. They came to the river (C) seeing a few Swedes there, who panicked at the sight of such a great force from a surprising direction. Their behavior and peasant reports soon confirmed to North Face Company that hostilities are ongoing so in the ensuing action, NF crossed the river, captured some enemies, and made a contact with the RRF so that the River was held as follows:               
(A) Still ours because none of the 3 threats materialised (200 BV)               
(B) The western end of the Swedish, now surrounded by our larger forces from every side (60 BV)               
(C) NF just secured this (110 BV)               
(D) Enemy occupies this but with token force (80 BV) only               
(E) The strength of the enemy forces here is unknown (need to know principle..)               
And in addition in the plains in the south is the RRF (80BV), avoiding battle due to its mobility.                
               
13. Disarm the Swedes in (B)?               
5/20            
Zechariah saw that the time had come for a push to the west, so deciding (I play Zech so can decide) to ignore the threat in the east (E) and the gaining back of the Stonehaven preparation site (D) and the release of Mooo's people and even the Earl himself, he got as much of the RRF to the west to join the NF Company there for the push towards the river-mouth (A). But there were some Swedes still in (B) that the RRF quickly gained and harassed from a distance. Neither side knew who possessed Threestone (A), both wanted to get there to find it out.

Not having superior mobility, and being 20 troops vs 70, the Swedish CO still did not want to surrender but demanded that if he wins the arranged field battle ("kamp"), he will be let free to go wherever he wished. (It is notable that the CO did not know that Sweden had declared war to us, nor us to them, from his understanding the HKM Eastern Army had acted on their own initiative (to capture Mooo's camp in (D), but very rapidly met with enemy (our) forces from both north and south, making the position disastrous.

14. The Battle: 20 Swedes against The Duke of North Face Company in (B)
16/20
The Swedish were brave at first, some even believed in their victory as they did not know how large our North Face company (a single unit) was. But 50/20 (and a lesser difference in BV) was too much. Once the battle was declared started, the Musketeers started to shoot at the NF forces, who were running directly towards the Swedish line (not possessing firearms, so needing to get to melee). 1*SGT + 2*PTE died of their wounds from the fire and fight, about half of the Swedes were incapacitated before the rest were taken prisoner. 5 functioning muskets were confiscated.

15. Does GA know of the situation in the Mouth of the River when the peace delegation comes?
5/20
Note: Riga was occupied by the Swedish company but because of the earlier roll, they did not have initiative so let our delegation pass without anything. GA does know that the Rivermouth was captured by force, and does not know yet about anything in further east. The sailing ships cannot sail through ice, which had blocked all communications to him until end-of-March and NL Regiment in (A) and RRF (south of C-D), Rossiyan marauders (between Kunda and D) and the readiness in CryptoTown prevented sending messagers that way. The north route on foot would have been too long anyway.

16. GA response to our accepting of his Treaty without modifications?
12/20
"Thank you." He knows how many assets he has in the east (we still don't), sees riverside (A) in our hands (which he knows from time delay calculations, was captured before the forces doing it could have known of his treaty proposal), knows his overall situation, and can interpret the treaty however he wishes because it was so broad. With a very low number (given that GA is not treacherous as per earlier roll, which would have further complicated the matter), he would have declined the entrance of the delegation based on "CK hostilities" and sent all his 1,000 extra BV from Stockhold alone to clear the river in the same year still. (The low roll would have indicated that such forces exist - now we can deduce from all the rolls that GA might be strong or still in preparation, but a war in the River with CK is not his highest wish. Since he does not abhor war, the hesitation has to be with the River, or with CK.)

17. Is GA quick or hesitating with submitting himself to the treaty (SCI help to us)?
18/20
HKM Gustaf Adolf makes possible all that he can, that we get the following Foreign Power credits starting 1624:
Printing Press 5,000 SCI (total 10k)
Seafaring 10,000 SCI (total 20k)
Engineering 5,000 SCI (total 10k)

He toured the delegation in the Royal Academy of Science and other institutions in Stockholm (which was seen to be a town 1-2x the size of CryptoTown and remarkably similar in other ways as well, except being located at a strategic place opposite to Riga and - depending on conditions - only 1-2 weeks by sail. The town is undergoing a preparation against threats both from land and sea, fortifications, cannons, walls, towers, gates, but these were not discussed).

The delegation gave the valuable gifts including old spirits and Ming China, whose value exceeded the 500*KMT that HKM already had sent to us (the gifts came from HM stores who also took possession of the KMT because "University has no need for it").

Approx 800 sqm of very valuable land was apportioned to be our Embassy site in Stockholm and they promised that master craftsmen will build it against us doing "likewise" to them.

Good that our delegation was so large, because a part of it was now staying in the temporary embassy with The Duke of New Liberty as the Ambassador. A part was left home to relay the info to the King and get the research going, and a further part was sent with Swedish military attachés to the River to declare peace to all the troops there.

The "River Peace Delegation" got to the Mouth of the river easily, and met the Duke of NL Regiment garrisoning Paldiski preparation site (A). They had no way but to accept its return to the Swedes with PRE and NPC intact. The captured muskets were said to have been sent to CryptoTown already (which both sides knew was a lie but we had 200+ BV onsite, the Swedes a few officers and a scroll of parchment with several seals).

Next they met the advancing NF Company right outside (A). They accepted the end of hostilities and Zech sent them to CryptoTown because of their orders to go there anyway. Going to the east, almost no contact to any troops was made until reaching Gustaf Adolfsburg outposts (E). They denied further entry and promised to obey the treaty. Our troops were left occupying the area from (B) to (D). The imprisoned Stonehaven camp had been evacuated to (E) when the fortunes had changed for the Swedes. They were released, no one was missing, and The Earl was alive yet weakened.

Zechariah thought that the peace was fragile. As when, coming back from (E), the Main Army finally started to show up in (D), he decided to stay there over the winter, commanding the Royal 1st Regiment (260+ BV, with 6 sections, 6 cannons, mercs, COL, LTC) in person. He took half of the muskets that had been captured and some horses of the RRF (horses had also been pressed for duty during the campaign) and established a hedgehog defence in Stonehaven preparation site with stationary cannons, aimed at monitoring the Swedish transit of the river (which would quickly freeze, allowing easier sightings of the moves as they cannot be hidden in boats), and securing crossing, and establishing contact with Tavastia camp which was still in hiding. All these included, about 350 BV was now garrisoning the Mooo site, which would be significantly harder to capture the next time...

The rest of the troops were sent home before the winter for regroup and promotions. Following exhortations were messaged:
- The threat of Rossiyans is probably not sanctioned by their leaders, it is just local warlords taking advantage of the unclear situation and at enmity with anyone.
- If possible, the Royal Unicorn could be of use (as NF also had a gold unicorn).
- Please liquidate my Wine & Spirits store. It is fitting for a Field Commander to drink expensive drinks, but not fitting to do business with them. Leave 2,000 bottles for my personal use and send some here for the officers, especially if I must stay here during the Jubilee as well.

17/20
As a result of having the mercenaries around, and the captured muskets as well, and plenty of time for drill and disassemble, a whole 7,500*SCI was gained towards Muskets manufacturing (12,500*SCI left, and Foreign Power credits not used). Also another weapon, Pistol, might be possible to manufacture as well. They could use the same caliber of ammunition. Pistol would be a lighter (in weight) weapon for shorter range, eg. officer self-defence before melee range, or light cavalry who also need to stay away from the enemy line due to not having armor.

The (mass) VEG has arrived, perhaps a few days later than usual (July 21) but also a little more plentiful than average (28/25).

MEAD does not seem to find its way to the parched throats. (80% of production is owned by the hungryMob and they drink it all.) 50 more DIS is for sale by the Town (commoners only, max 5*DIS may be owned by a single char).

A comprehensive report on the war front and the alliance front will come in about 12 days (real-hours). This means it will not come before that and the fate of half of our land and troops is uncertain until that.

So it is an excellent time to announce that STO will get double effectiveness on PRE this year, and the deadline to send it is the moment when the war report arrives. The PRE levels of 1623 will be evaluated then and the report given before the year end.

A quick recap on PRE:
- PRE points are administrative, military and engineering preparations to found a county seat, which means town. When 100*PRE is reached, the town can be formed with civil administration, land titles, etc. Lesser amounts of PRE grant other benefits.
- PRE is untransferable and stays in the county. If a county is lost or abandoned, the PRE accumulated starts to degrade. If the preparations are canceled but the county is kept, the PRE is unaffected.
- PRE is gained by:
1. Sending SCI to county, where admin spends it
2. Sending stone to county*, where admin spends it
3. Having MGR, ASS and OTH in the county (not spent but cost money - prerequisite for any PRE to be gained)
4. Having forces in the county
5. Other things such as S-BLD (minor effect, usually not spent)

*The stone is not really transported 100s of miles. It stays in the capital and OldDuchy pays the workers to use it for general improvements. The PRE benefit goes to the donator's county.

SCI update (to be amended to HH the SCI-Controller's post)

King and University paid 1,000 SCI (50/50) to obtain this information:

1. All SCI advances are 10,000 or more SCI face value. With Foreign Power aid (50%) it is theoretically possible to cash in the aid, and reach the advance by waiting 15 years for the time bonus and then throwing in 1,029 SCI (or any combo of less time and more SCI).

2. Slow researching gets a MGN discount - the formula for MGR(&ASS) points needed in the Research account is 1 MGN point per 100 SCI annual accumulation (both "own" and time bonus SCI are counted), with a maximum 10 points (previously fixed 10 regardless of speed).

3. On the other hand, a 20 mil admin fee is to be paid to SirJacket for setting up a new Research account. This covers the administration of the project to its conclusion.

4. Crispbread - 10,000 SCI. It is known that Sweden has it, and believed that others do not. The intended outcome is to gain competence to cultivate a new grain previously found in the north only. Bread can be made that would spoil only slowly (as do all other consumables except VEG and CAV). To make this a privately interesting project, royal monopoly can be granted for a time.

5. Medium Cannon - 10,000 SCI. It is believed that all powers have it (Rossiya not sure). The shot would be a standard 6 pound to allow enemy cannonballs to be used. This weapon is more powerful but less mobile than the 3-pounder. 3-pounder has a crew of 3 (making 3 cannons per section). If this could be handled with 3 men in the field, it would boost firepower greatly. Included comes all kinds of research about artillery use in the field.

6. Heavy Cannon - 10,000 SCI. It is believed that at least some continental powers have it. The shot would be 24 pounds, capable of demolishing stone walls etc. The weapon is largely roadbound. Indirect fire is possible. Included comes all kinds of research about artillery use in the siege.

7. RWWC is willing to start cannon research immediately at a medium pace. It is yet undecided, which one. Cannon research opens the way to further research.

8. Engineering - 10,000 SCI. We realized that engineering had fallen into neglect in our town with the number of NPC declining. This advance would unlock a plethora of others (to be researched), including road and countryside fortifications construction. The immediate benefit would be the organisation of engineering talent to the new ENG NPC-type, and also allow OTH to promote for better cost-effectiveness. Kingdom-wide joint effort is advisable for this important advance, which all except Rossiyans surely have and at least Sweden is using efficiently.

9. Seafaring - 20,000 SCI. Again, all except Rossiya has it. Will allow trade and troop movement vessels to be constructed and operated and open the way for new research. Funding arrangement unknown at the moment, perhaps we should sell "1st Lord of the Sea" titles...

10. Military Science - 10,000 SCI. This is so cheap because we have had the department for so long time already. Researching the advance would grant +10 points of Command to all units and quicker (higher) officer promotions as well. Plus perhaps other things. And unlock new important military research.

11. Confirmation about B-22. When this is completed, it allows all the 25 boroughs in CryptoTown to be utilised as we then have the knowledge to allocate enough but not excessively space for support functions.

The (mass) VEG has arrived, perhaps a few days later than usual (July 21) but also a little more plentiful than average (28/25).

A comprehensive report on the war front and the alliance front will come in about 12 days (real-hours). This means it will not come before that and the fate of half of our land and troops is uncertain until that.

So it is an excellent time to announce that STO will get double effectiveness on PRE this year, and the deadline to send it is the moment when the war report arrives. The PRE levels of 1623 will be evaluated then and the report given before the year end.

A quick recap on PRE:
- PRE points are administrative, military and engineering preparations to found a county seat, which means town. When 100*PRE is reached, the town can be formed with civil administration, land titles, etc. Lesser amounts of PRE grant other benefits.
- PRE is untransferable and stays in the county. If a county is lost or abandoned, the PRE accumulated starts to degrade. If the preparations are canceled but the county is kept, the PRE is unaffected.
- PRE is gained by:
1. Sending SCI to county, where admin spends it
2. Sending stone to county*, where admin spends it
3. Having MGR, ASS and OTH in the county (not spent but cost money - prerequisite for any PRE to be gained)
4. Having forces in the county
5. Other things such as S-BLD (minor effect, usually not spent)

*The stone is not really transported 100s of miles. It stays in the capital and OldDuchy pays the workers to use it for general improvements. The PRE benefit goes to the donator's county.

SCI update (to be amended to HH the SCI-Controller's post)

King and University paid 1,000 SCI (50/50) to obtain this information:

1. All SCI advances are 10,000 or more SCI face value. With Foreign Power aid (50%) it is theoretically possible to cash in the aid, and reach the advance by waiting 15 years for the time bonus and then throwing in 1,029 SCI (or any combo of less time and more SCI).

2. Slow researching gets a MGN discount - the formula for MGR(&ASS) points needed in the Research account is 1 MGN point per 100 SCI annual accumulation (both "own" and time bonus SCI are counted), with a maximum 10 points (previously fixed 10 regardless of speed).

3. On the other hand, a 20 mil admin fee is to be paid to SirJacket for setting up a new Research account. This covers the administration of the project to its conclusion.

4. Crispbread - 10,000 SCI. It is known that Sweden has it, and believed that others do not. The intended outcome is to gain competence to cultivate a new grain previously found in the north only. Bread can be made that would spoil only slowly (as do all other consumables except VEG and CAV). To make this a privately interesting project, royal monopoly can be granted for a time.

5. Medium Cannon - 10,000 SCI. It is believed that all powers have it (Rossiya not sure). The shot would be a standard 6 pound to allow enemy cannonballs to be used. This weapon is more powerful but less mobile than the 3-pounder. 3-pounder has a crew of 3 (making 3 cannons per section). If this could be handled with 3 men in the field, it would boost firepower greatly. Included comes all kinds of research about artillery use in the field.

6. Heavy Cannon - 10,000 SCI. It is believed that at least some continental powers have it. The shot would be 24 pounds, capable of demolishing stone walls etc. The weapon is largely roadbound. Indirect fire is possible. Included comes all kinds of research about artillery use in the siege.

7. RWWC is willing to start cannon research immediately at a medium pace. It is yet undecided, which one. Cannon research opens the way to further research.

8. Engineering - 10,000 SCI. We realized that engineering had fallen into neglect in our town with the number of NPC declining. This advance would unlock a plethora of others (to be researched), including road and countryside fortifications construction. The immediate benefit would be the organisation of engineering talent to the new ENG NPC-type, and also allow OTH to promote for better cost-effectiveness. Kingdom-wide joint effort is advisable for this important advance, which all except Rossiyans surely have and at least Sweden is using efficiently.

9. Seafaring - 20,000 SCI. Again, all except Rossiya has it. Will allow trade and troop movement vessels to be constructed and operated and open the way for new research. Funding arrangement unknown at the moment, perhaps we should sell "1st Lord of the Sea" titles...

10. Military Science - 10,000 SCI. This is so cheap because we have had the department for so long time already. Researching the advance would grant +10 points of Command to all units and quicker (higher) officer promotions as well. Plus perhaps other things. And unlock new important military research.

11. Confirmation about B-22. When this is completed, it allows all the 25 boroughs in CryptoTown to be utilised as we then have the knowledge to allocate enough but not excessively space for support functions.

If even Knights are included in some cases, Ernak most likely can claim one as well.