Crypto Kingdom - 1991 Retro Virtual World(City)

[noms]

The Marquess of White Cross has had a full and enjoyable life thus far. His legacy must be passed on at some point (in the distant future), so it is with great excitement that he would like to introduce his son Jackson Cooper, age 15. Cooper has been watching his father for years and has learned a great deal about markets and land. He aspires to someday be a nobleman himself, so he is quite interested in learning the ways of the upper echelons of society.

As he was born in 1606, his father, The Marquess, is asking that anyone who might have a gold coin from that year to consider selling him one to commemorate his birth.  His user id is 207.

His father bequeaths the following gifts to him as he comes of age:

• 50,000,000 m
• 8 x HM1600J ckg coins
• 50 x CS1617E cks coins
• WOS-127 - green suit from 1604 (older than he is!)
• 30 x s-hb - The Hypothecary Bank in CryptoTown share - to help set him up for the future

Welcome to the Kingdom, Cooper!

[rpietila]

Countryside is Opened in 1622

Flying banners and wagons of supplies have been rolling in the name of His Majesty The King of Crypto Kingdom to all the corners of the country.


TMA Duchy of North Face (14 PRE)

North Face is a large, barren, hostile and in a way - wicked - land. Despite the largish quantity of troops and workers sent, they felt like ants in a desert. Deciding on a proper scope of how much of this land to civilise, will become a priority soon.

Everyone here knows how to fight for himself. Towns do not exist (well - in lack of roads and not much people, we could not find our way anyhow), except one where some sort of tavern afforded us a few weeks' stay. A short but stately fellow in fur clothes and having apparent valuables all around him, and a retinue of a few soldiers, approached us and spoke in our tongue:

Greetings, Envoy, and welcome to our land. On behalf of HM The Queen Louhi of North Face, Guardian of all the lands where the Sun does not rise and beyond, I present to you these coins. Milady is amused to meet you, and upon a continued spend of SCI is interested to tell you why.  

The "envoy" stares at 5 unimpressing, unshiny, yet somehow frighteningly sharp detailed small coins (CP1300E) in his hand and immediately deploys a fortified detachment to escort them to the Duke, as well as inform on the existence of this "queendom" and the mysteries it may contain.

Upon coming back and spilling the beans about the find to "everybody" (well it does not take long for "everybody" to know after half a loose word, since everybody had been waiting for news), a most strange thing happened: first it was the old prankster Sir James who showed up in the Monero House tavern to make a wager with the envoy that he can steal one of the coins. Since the coins had been delivered to HH the Duke already, the poor servant thought this to be a sure deal, but then Sir James actually did pull a coin from his pocket! With a few more similar happenings, everybody knew how the coins looked like, nobody was willing to wager concerning them, and it had become clear that unbeknownst of each other, the Bishop, NewLiberty, James, Ale, Zenon, PJ, Febo, Soul and smooth each had exactly one of exactly similar coins in possession, and has had since longer than he remembers. (The coin is an Artefact coin with no Anciety rating and is not officially old, just "thought to be".) King had to reveal the secret that he had had 3 all this time. It is probably a coincidence that only the 10 oldest characters had these coins, which have never been used as currency in CK.

County of Plath (12 PRE)

There is a land that is dark and riddled with the ashen promises of charlatans. In this land, mad men and thieves are bent by the will of a false profit who gets them to speak ill towards those willing to stand up to the lies and corruption that pervade their borders. It is my duty to take my sword Vengeance into this land and sow the seed of misery to all who prop up their king and deify him as having wisdom equal to the prophet Satoshi and sorcery on par with the House of Monero. This boy-king has brought war to our friends to the south and has stolen their flag and called it his own, and while most of them still survive, the ghosts of their fallen comrades cry out for retribution. Please grant me my wish, so I can walk in the shadows of this forsaken place and do what my sword's demands in namesake and deed.

Uh, oh. You have deployed quite a force and consumed much wisdom and material preparation. The land surveyed is indeed ridden with charlatans and trolls. The trolls feel so secure that they even walk on the streets and join the scammers for drinks! Since this kind of evil is only fit for destruction as you also rightly understood, careful play is required. The trolls are mighty, but they don't know any organisation (some say there is a secret Guild of Sockpuppetry, which allows the members to play as if they had only one controller). New information is needed on how to handle the case. Luckily the land seems rich and some locals are throwing valuables at your men just for the fun of seeing them bow to pick them up!

TMA Principality of Forte Spagnolo (8 PRE)
TA Duchy of Ramsey (8 PRE)
The County of Stonehaven (6 PRE)
TA Marquessate of Grass (5 PRE)
The Marquessate of White Cross (4 PRE)
The County of Petrichor (3 PRE)

No information has yet arrived. (Limit=10 PRE)

General Information

- It has become apparent that VEG cannot be brought profitably from afar. TVA Duchy surrounding TMA CryptoTown is able to produce for all the town-dwellers.
- Even transporting MEAT from the very ends of the kingdom is difficult, due to the lack of roads.
- Geese have been found so FOIE will be able to be procured once the taxation arrangements are clear.
- No information on CAN is available yet (waiting for more counties to get info).
- MUS is rumored to be found easily in the north at least. The detachment brought back some.
- Amber (AMBNP) was often seen in many forms. Some of the peasants who were met, willingly gave theirs as a tribute.
- Tailors were not found yet (pending more organisation) but a few suits were obtained in fair dealings, especially orange ones that are held in high esteem.
- The logistics delay works such that the delay is effected on creation of the item, and therefore immediate transfer is possible. Only 2 counties have "returned troops" so others might have goodies in the pipeline.
- More information is coming as more PRE is generated.

[generalizethis]

YM, my county looks unsustainable in its present condition; mushrooms, amber and orange suits do not appear to be in demand and foie makes up a miniscule portion of my resources, meanwhile soldiers and workers need paid. Please send word that vegetables and meat and can will make their way through the county within the next year or my county will most likely have to be abandoned within the next two years. I'm already forced to sell some of the PRE generated and 20% of my workers in preparation for next year.

Your loyal servant,

Crichton, Earl of Plath

[rpietila]

YM, my county looks unsustainable in its present condition; mushrooms, amber and orange suits do not appear to be in demand and foie makes up a miniscule portion of my resources, meanwhile soldiers and workers need paid. Please send word that vegetables and meat and can will make their way through the county within the next year or my county will most likely have to be abandoned within the next two years. I'm already forced to sell some of the PRE generated and 20% of my workers in preparation for next year.

Your loyal servant,

Crichton, Earl of Plath

HM gazes the Obelisk:

- Plath is facing its first winter. Crypto Kingdom is 221 years old. The latter is nearing profitability. The former is not.

And goes on to explain:

- Exactly 100 years ago, in 1522, the subgame Quarry (later renamed Quarry-1) was born. Six adventures were started with high hopes. It took 4 years to reach what was to be 25% of the final aggregate production, 6 years to reach 50%, 9 years to reach 75% and 11 years to reach the average of the following 2 decades. The first year production was only 1% of what it was to be. (source: /Q1 tab in google DB)

Some hit it big, others perished between the wage bill and unforgiving grey stone. Financial deals were forged, adventurous managers navigated between demands of owners, markets and geology. In the end, a huge pile of stone remained, which was only completely consummated in the early 1600s. The most lasting legacy were the various skilled workers who represent the bulk of MGR-4,5 and SPE-4,5 even to this day!

Dumb astonishment between seeing the 1st year costs and what little the first returning caravan brings back, might be new for you, Sir Crichton, but it certainly is not new for us. Go in peace, and take heed to the experiences of the Ancients before you.

[saddambitcoin]

Indeed, do not despair if the going is difficult. We are embarking on a new adventure to further the reach of Crypto Kingdom! It is a most noble cause, and we are lucky to be a part of it.

Thinking back to those glorious Quarry days, as luck would have it I had chosen the most difficult site to produce stone. While others were churning out massive amounts, Saddam QC yielded the least stone, at a cost of ~150m/stone! The vast amount produced caused stone prices to drop to the double digits, and I was forced to hold on to my stone, which now can be sold at current prices without any loss. In addition, I earned the King's Hero medal for my valiance in the face of dire circumstances.

The Countryside subgame is even more challenging, so I highly encourage anyone to persevere through the initial pitfalls, as it may be quite rewarding! And at this point in the game, who knows what will happen.

[generalizethis]

My troops and I will bear through the winter in hopes of a great spring. We are thankful for the reassuring words of the ancients and will do what we must to endure and prosper.

[rpietila]

Year Change 1622

NPC salaries and dividends were given. 3,205 CUL+IC was given and in addition 3,044 SCI. In all, NPC produce about equal value of production as buildings do, and also some NPC are valued at 100 mil each, to the same range as buildings.

Borough-22 Project has managed to produce 362 shares (out of 1,000) in 5 years. About 8-9 years thus remain. Since the Town has already redeemed the borough from the King, it must be paid! So the next conversion is cold, hard cash. The progression of share price is historically low, allowing large players to buy quite many shares! Money is to be deposited to SSP: GIVE M amount SSP [B-22].

16 mil => 1*S-B22
34 mil => 2*S-B22
54 mil => 3*S-B22
76 mil => 4*S-B22
100 mil => 5*S-B22
126 mil => 6*S-B22
154 mil => 7*S-B22
184 mil => 8*S-B22
216 mil => 9*S-B22
250 mil => 10*S-B22 <- 10 shares for 250 mil is the maximum this year!

The county race has started. As in any business, it is very unlikely that cashflow would be positive from day one, especially if you are doing it the first time. We have a subgame written for the brave, though. Not losing heart is quite important here. I just distributed 6,000*FOIE to the holders of S-FOI. For comparison, the counties in aggregate received 100*FOIE. But there remains the promise that all the FOIE will come from counties some day, even though at present only 1.6% does. Patience is the name of the game.

North Face and Plath have received their challenges. The King has agreed that the worthless trolls living in Plath are fit for destruction, but the masterplan needs of course to be devised. Also there might be good folks as well and it is important to spare them as much as possible. The situation in North Face is more challenging. Not much is known of Queen Louhi except her brilliant scheme of instilling awe in the oldest people in Crypto Kingdom, by giving some of the Artefact coins known to them since the times forgotten. The lore says that people in that corner of the world take pride in lying, so without this proof it would be sensible to dismiss the story of the queen altogether.

I am eager to receive instructions on what to do there and what kind of information to seek, whether to let people keep their valuables or demand them as tribute in the day or steal them in the night, etc. The new accumulation of PRE points are the allowance of "soft Action Points" and the grand total are the total preparation. All of this is quite familiar for the players of Quarry-1 more than a realyear ago The controls get better when more points are gathered, and also secret info and private question hours are arranged.

The economic boom in the Town side (as evidenced by the pressure to liquidate gold in the player side) has increased the gold dividends. As we finally have a functioning script, 1,000 m was paid from 1620, 1,000 m from 1621 and finally 3,000 m from 1622. So the total distributed is 5,000 mil to the owners of gold.

The Quasquibicentenary is approaching soon. Now there is no reason for all the characters not to have everything they need for decent life, including houses, suits, horses, carriages, useful and memorable items, etc. All these will be evaluated in the promotions and gift-givings of that glorious year, reminiscent of the Golden Jubilee 175 years before. (Golden Jubilee also started the era of preparation for Barbarian Invasion.)

ADD: Some BUT-3 have arrived to the town to prepare for the celebrations. One BUT-3 has only 0.15 mil net cost and produces 1*CUL, 1*IC. The real value of these is that they promote quite readily. a BUT-6 for instance, has a net cost of 1.0 mil and produces 12*CUL, 12*IC and still has 3 promotions left! All the previously-announced new NPC have also arrived (SPE-1, LT, PTE, OTH).


ADD: Commoners have received their salaries! The salary level of L6 is a little behind the norm (1.4 mil instead of 2.1), but on the other hand L2 was given 0.7 mil despite the norm saying they don't get anything at all! (Most of them will be abandoned, and other ways are planned to make them grind for their money)

[rpietila]

An old letter is being circulated in the palaces, taverns, and street corners. It is as if HE The Prince of Soul was preparing himself to speak again...

HE Dr. Paul Choo, Ph.D, The Prince of Soul, AOD-Col, RT-3

Everyone with an interest in the University, Culture & Science, the shareholders of the Most Ancient and Worshipful Corporation of the Town Hall, and for the success of the Kingdom


Greetings,

Despite my involvement in the Kingdom since 1418, and the fact that I am the person who has seen the largest number of other players in the real life, and participated in the (1st) Satoshi Roundtable - among the newer entrants there time and again circulates a rumor that I don't even exist.

The rumor is false: I very much do, and converse intensely with my friend, HM the King, about what is the right course of action for the Game, and for our commercial success as well. The King has instructed me to buy gold when it was undervalued, and huge areas of land, when that was. Having a sound financial base, which I do, due to my successful endeavors in foreign lands, and my advanced age, enable me to take a long-term stand in current matters.

The loss of the University (Main Building) in its youth, as it had barely started to produce fruit, was a terrible loss of morale for many. I am fully in favor of the King's new, decentralized plan, believing that it will more quickly, more fairly, more steadfastly and more robustly increase the Culture&Science production in the Kingdom, which we need to increase our living conditions and compete with foreign lands in the new century that is ahead of us. I can draw the parallels with the decentralized Army, which I strongly believe is a winning concept compared to the one where the forces would be in one hands only, no matter how noble our King is, he is now mortal as well as the rest of us, and the successor situation is not at all clear. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In the same line of thought - I welcome the increased role of the Church in new player accommodation etc., while hoping that the organisation could be made transparent and decentralized. I offer my token pledge of 100 gold to the Church.

I own land in Culture&Science, the Borough 3 which I support to be renamed University, once a few colleges have started operations there. I am willing to offer this land at reduced prices for the new colleges. The 3-NW already has the Soul Park, which fulfills the criteria of the area being suitable for the King's hopes of the University being sprinkled with green. I will also establish the University Institute of Eastern Cultures there once the reconstruction situation allows.

In addition, I have decided to not claim back the 1,500,000,000 m donated to the old University. It was a donation, and it was spent according to the wishes, and the University was one of the 3 "my" buildings that received heavy damage in the earthquake. I was the person who suffered the most, by far, but hold the understanding that natural forces cannot be affected, human life is not secure, and the rich are in that position so that they could help their inferiors in the times of suffering, while letting them alone to grow their fortunes when no such help is needed.

In addition, I have, rather ironically, minted a PAULUS PRINCEPS SEOUL // DONATOR UNIVERSITATIS gold coin, in the same year that the building pictured in this large and beautiful 25 CKG coin was completely destroyed. Watching the coin - gold is eternal - sealed my determination that not a penny from the donations would pass back to me. Rather,

I pledge 100*CH1600Y gold coins to be sold to collectors and supporters of the University at a price of 2 million each (p.o.) to help to make the claims whole. If not all the coins are sold in this manner, I will redeem the remainder and pay the 2 million each myself to the University. If the claims can be made whole, it is up to the administration how to use the funds.

Which brings us to the administration. The King explained his dream of the new University to me and persuaded me to take the position of Chancellor, after HE The Marquess resigned and reaffirmed his non-willingness to continue even after the King's hint. As for the qualifications, he pointed out my position as Professor IRL and very wide connections to all walks of life. After some hesitation, I decided to accept, and promised that I can allocate the time to fulfill the duties in V.4 (against his promise that he will continue to take care of my finances as he has done so far). We both feel that the only person more suitable for taking the helm as Chancellor at this point is HH The Duke of New Liberty, but he has not been able to be contacted lately. If he is interested and can spare the time for the role that requires good interpersonal skills, we are both happy to pass it on to him.

As for the Town Hall, it has been difficult to reach the other stockholders. With careful examination of the state of the current structures, of the company finances, taking into account the wishes to widen the New Liberty Street, but also that the Town Hall is a Cultured Building and for a reason, I propose the following:

- The Town Hall will be restored.
- We aim to not raise new funds via a stock offering, because many owners would experience dilution, and the commercial valuation of the Town Hall is hard to determine - an offering would lead to the increase in my ownership for sure, and while I do have the interest in increasing it, this means would be perceived unfair by some at least.
- To raise the money for repairs, an offering of the immensely historical TH1454 bronze coins will be made, in addition other non-essential property will be sold, and of course we hope that the ongoing activities will be profitable as well.
- Taking a short-term loan from the Hypothecary Bank is also possible if it cannot reasonably be avoided.

As for the Portal, I have deemed the loss of 2,500 sqm of prime commercial, restaurant, office and apartment space to be an instance of extremely bad luck. Nevertheless, since The Prince of OZ has built a multipurpose property just the opposite, the reconstruction of the Portal is not of immediate importance, and the site will be cleared. The remaining structures, the corner bar and the Department Store, are left standing and operational.

The calamities, misfortunes, and losses are meted out to us humans to enable us to better understand life and feel and appreciate the good times more deeply. With pleasure I hear of the plans of large new constructions in 5-N, the zeal in the Fellowship of the Round Table, even the schemings of the Church to make the gameplay interesting for people with lesser means. My feeling is that we are just about to begin this game, and consequently hinted the King that my financial involvement in it will continue in the following months.

[generalizethis]

The King has agreed that the worthless trolls living in Plath are fit for destruction, but the masterplan needs of course to be devised. Also there might be good folks as well and it is important to spare them as much as possible.

A young Captain of mine has special knowledge of Trolls and tells me they are like rats in that are they drawn out by any hint of weakness and find their bravery in numbers.  Our plan is to draw them out in the open by using their predisposition against them. This plan has the benefit of bringing the trolls (and their dubious allies) to us and avoiding the loss of innocent civilians who still must think it odd to have armed men roaming their country who are not bent on raiding and destruction--it seems they are looking for any excuse to have their suspicions confirmed by hostile action (the trolls have been baiting us to this end as well).

We will send word on how well our mission fared in three days time and update you to any changes in the meantime.

Your loyal servant,

Crichton, Earl of Plath

[noms]

The County of White Cross

There exists a place that has only recently been discovered. It has been said that this land is a magical place, full of many magical creatures, such as centaurs, dragons, fauns, goblins, golems, harpies, nymphs, and other fictional (?) beasts.

In addition to the unique magical creatures in the land, there are also humans that colonize there--these are much like you and I, but they are sometimes found to have magical powers, unlike you and I.

In addition, the locals have mentioned that there are various areas to be found in this Kingdom:

1) the borough of Air
2) the borough of Earth
3) the borough of Fire
4) the borough of Water



Not much is yet known about these places by the Army or the Marquess. More exploration will be required for these questions to be answered satisfactorily.

Since the arrival of the White Cross armies in the county of White Cross, they have encountered little to no resistance from the locals, and not a single magical creature has been spotted. Perhaps they have not been looking well enough--or not in the correct way. Perhaps wisdom will help!  Regardless, they push further into the county to attempt to get a better idea of the land that they have found.

[rpietila]

Pliny completes his Epic History:


- - - * * *  The Most Magnificent  * * * - - -


1.  44  HM TMA, Most Cultured and Blessed King rpietila I of Crypto Kingdom, The Duke of TVA Duchy, Lead Designer of The Game, Founder of TMA CryptoTown, Professor of Economics, CEO of RWWC and HB etc., AOK-GM, TMA AOD-Gen, MG-2 etc(x2)

2.  21   HE TMA, Most August, Blessed and Cultured Prince of Soul, High Rector of TMA University, 4th/I & 17th/I Bt of CK, AOD-Col, OD-K, RT-K, etc(x2)

3.  20   HSH TMA Blessed Heroic Cultured Duke of OZ, Patron of The Arts, 3rd/I Bt of CK, AOD-Col, OD-K, KH, RT-K, MG-4, RT-K, FBB, TB, CB, KFB, HB

4.  17  TMA Corporation of TMA Town of CryptoTown

5.  14  HE TMA Prince Riccardo "fluffypony" of Forte Spagnolo, 10th/I Bt of CK, AOK-S, RT-K, CORE-KC, AOD-Col, MG-3, HB   , KFB, CB, TB, FBB

6.  13  HH TMA Blessed Heroic Duke of North Face, TA Viscount of Forte Spagnolo, 2nd/I Bt of CK, Mayor, CEO of TMA Grand Hotel & FluffyPony Horse Corp, AOK-S, RT-K, AOD-LTC, OD-K, KH, GJB, FBB, TB, KFB, HB

7.  11  HRH Archduke Zechariah, The Prince Royal of Crypto Kingdom, TMA Marquess of Tavastia, CEO of TA NewCorp, OD-GM, RT-K, AOD-Capt, GJB, FBB, TB, CB, KFB, HB

8.  10  The Church

9.  8  The Blessed Marquess Noms of White Cross, TA Viscount of Marquessate of Armagnac, Councillor, CEO of NRC & GoldenHarp & Phaeton, AOK-S, OD-K, HB, KFB, CB, TB, MG-4

10.  7  HH TMA, Wise and Cultured Duke of New Liberty, 5th/I Bt of CK, Chancellor of TMA University, Premier of TMA Noble Palace, Colonel in TMA Royal CryptoArmy, AOK-K, MG-4, etc(x2)

10.  7  The Royal Corporation of King's Coinshop and Royal Mint  

12.  6  HH TMA Duke Saddam of Ramsey, 7th/I Bt of CK, CEO of Pawnshop, AOK-S, King’s Hero, RT-K, AOD-C, MG-4, KFB, CB, HB, TB

13.  5  HE TMA Princess Roopatra of Neverland, Adventurer, TA Viscountess of OZ, 9th/I Btss of CK, Councillor, CEO of RAQ & Unicorn Corp, AOK-C, MG-4, GJB, FBB, TB, KFB, HB

13.  5  TMA Corporation of the Grand Hotel

15.  4  The Marquess of Grass, 8th/I Bt of CK, TB, CB, HB, Architecture Contest Winner

16.  4  TA Marquess of Naoned


The magnificence comes at a cost. Per each Magnificence point (the value of 4...44 above next to the rank), the character must constantly keep in readiness 1 MGR point, to maintain the sprawling empire of all goodness. Managers (MGR-1...MGR-5) give 1-5 MGR-points according to their level. Also 1 ASS-point per manager needs to be present. ASS-1...ASS-3 give ASS-points according to their level. ASS-3 is automatically credited to 3 ASS-points OR 1 MGR-point according to the greatest need.

Ineffectiveness penalty, when evaluated, is 10 mil per missing point.

Others except the characters in the list, need not care for the maintenance. It is an old rule now reinstituted and specially tailored to make the rich pay a bit more.

It may feel that it does not make sense to keep MGR's if not forced to do so (above). It might still make sense, though, as the skill base needs to be kept kingdom-wide, and the fewer are the possessors of an important skill, the more valuable they will be when the skill is again needed. (The number of BUT has started increasing already, ART and CHEF are the most endangered ones atm.)

[djjacket]

Countryside is Opened in 1622

Flying banners and wagons of supplies have been rolling in the name of His Majesty The King of Crypto Kingdom to all the corners of the country.


TMA Duchy of North Face (14 PRE)

North Face is a large, barren, hostile and in a way - wicked - land. Despite the largish quantity of troops and workers sent, they felt like ants in a desert. Deciding on a proper scope of how much of this land to civilise, will become a priority soon.

Everyone here knows how to fight for himself. Towns do not exist (well - in lack of roads and not much people, we could not find our way anyhow), except one where some sort of tavern afforded us a few weeks' stay. A short but stately fellow in fur clothes and having apparent valuables all around him, and a retinue of a few soldiers, approached us and spoke in our tongue:

Greetings, Envoy, and welcome to our land. On behalf of HM The Queen Louhi of North Face, Guardian of all the lands where the Sun does not rise and beyond, I present to you these coins. Milady is amused to meet you, and upon a continued spend of SCI is interested to tell you why.  

The "envoy" stares at 5 unimpressing, unshiny, yet somehow frighteningly sharp detailed small coins (CP1300E) in his hand and immediately deploys a fortified detachment to escort them to the Duke, as well as inform on the existence of this "queendom" and the mysteries it may contain.

Upon coming back and spilling the beans about the find to "everybody" (well it does not take long for "everybody" to know after half a loose word, since everybody had been waiting for news), a most strange thing happened: first it was the old prankster Sir James who showed up in the Monero House tavern to make a wager with the envoy that he can steal one of the coins. Since the coins had been delivered to HH the Duke already, the poor servant thought this to be a sure deal, but then Sir James actually did pull a coin from his pocket! With a few more similar happenings, everybody knew how the coins looked like, nobody was willing to wager concerning them, and it had become clear that unbeknownst of each other, the Bishop, NewLiberty, James, Ale, Zenon, PJ, Febo, Soul and smooth each had exactly one of exactly similar coins in possession, and has had since longer than he remembers. (The coin is an Artefact coin with no Anciety rating and is not officially old, just "thought to be".) King had to reveal the secret that he had had 3 all this time. It is probably a coincidence that only the 10 oldest characters had these coins, which have never been used as currency in CK.

The Duke of North Face stared down at the 5 small coins that were given to him from the escort from North Face, thinking about all the other information that came along with these items.  Maybe the stories told to children about the dealings in the North may actually have some truth?  The Duke requested council with his most senior Butler who has been with him for a long time and was employed at various capacities throughout the Kingdom over the centuries.  Maybe he had some insight into the coins that have been mysteriously been "found" among the eldest of the kingdom's founders.  Much research into these items and their significance is required to gain wisdom on how to deal with situations in the North.......

The Duke is also aware that the "claim" on the land by an unknown Queen could become problem since it is unknown how many a loyal to her and how far away they may be.  We will send a small group to make contact with this "Queen" and determine where she and her followers are located.  More importantly, how much of a threat are they to the claim on North Face.  Diplomatic care must be taken, so the Duke is sending in a diplomatic Specialist (SPE-4) who can handle any tricky situation that may arrive.

As for the practicalities for the North Face expedition, instructions have been sent to establish a core camp and not spread out too thin.  The area is vast and all preparations for the county should be contained within a central area.  The bareness of the land is troubling, but since it is a far reaching land, the Duke hopes that fruitful trade can be established to maintain PREparation operations going forward.  We are also dispatching some horses to the area since it is so vast.  This should help with scouting area and travel within the county.

Additional analysis of the PREparedness efficiency is being performed by SPEcialists in the North Face business offices.  Updates to the operation will be communicated to the envoy.

[rpietila]

225th Jubilee Raffle - Great Prizes!

See link for more information. The 225,000 RAF-1 tickets were created to the owners of CUL and 225 were also directly given to every character rich and poor alike! (landed nobles were exempted because they have so much CUL). The ticket is freely tradable in every stage!

Prize Schedule
190,917 tickets (RAF-1) remaining; next halving Thursday

50,000 * CAN
20,000 * BEER
- - -
2,000 * FOIE
1,000 * JAD (1 kilo of unworked Jade, special gift from Ming merchants)
500 * W1603A (pre-Plague wine, the historical Spring Wine)
200 * MIN-5 (Most Elaborate Ming China Plate 16cm)
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)
- - -
10 * Baronet of CK (lowest numbers available starting from highest ranking winner incl promotion to L12)
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: 4,000,000,000 m !
(Nominal value of ticket: 20,950 m)

It is possible to give prizes to the auction. Unique prizes (please give only items of considerable value) will be listed as 3rd, 4th etc. prizes and will always be awarded. Fungible prizes you need to give the maximum amount to the King, and they will be dividended when the number of tickets reaches or goes below the amount, the King doing what he wishes with the difference.
JAD is a new creation, the rest of the items are King's donations unless indicated.


King has listed 22,500 tickets for sale at 22,500 m (how else?   ) GRAB YOURS!


Note on Jade (JAD) and Amber (AMBNP)

Jade and Amber are precious materials with currently no "use". When times get better and society evolves, each 1 kg will be able to be made a large number of small items. No pieces are larger than 1 kg (in fact some are smaller but that is not of a concern here). No new Jade will come to the game, making this raffle a prime opportunity to grab your share. Amber can be gained in the Countryside since it is somewhat plentiful and universally appreciated there.

[rpietila]

Embassy Tower Owner's Suite 4-6 Floor, Central Square, Old Town, this 23th/I, A.D. 1622

HE Dr. Paul Choo, Ph.D, TMA, Most August, Blessed and Cultured Prince of Soul, High Rector of TMA University, 4th/I & 17th/I Bt of CK, AOD-Col, OD-K, RT-K, etc(x2)


HM TMA, Most Cultured and Blessed King, Lead Designer of The Game, Founder of TMA CryptoTown, Professor of Economics, AOK-GM, etc(x3);

HRH Archduke Zechariah, The Prince Royal of Crypto Kingdom, TMA Marquess of Tavastia, etc(x2)

HH TMA Blessed Heroic Mayor, SirJacket the Duke of North Face, TA Viscount of Forte Spagnolo, etc(x2);

The righteous, courageous and adventurous players of the Countryside subgame;

The peers of Crypto Kingdom and officeholders in the administration, industries and services in TMA CryptoTown;

Everyone with an interest in the University, Culture, Science and War, the shareholders of the Most Ancient and Worshipful Corporation of the Town Hall, and for the success of the Kingdom;


Greetings.

I continue to follow the developments of the Kingdom with keen eye and converse with my friend, HM the King, annually about current matters in my possessions as well as with the Kingdom at large. My more of 200 years of being the resident in this town, and also the long travels to Rossiya and other countries, have afforded an unique long-term stand in the matters at hand.

With gladness, I have seen that no claims towards the University have been made so far. If the situation persists, when the building is enabled, we will see a great resurgence of Colleges springing up in the University Borough to take advantage of the 25% SCI bonus there. While I do not want to dwell extensively in the loss of the Main Building in 1-NW, the years have not weaned from me, the will to make the University great once again in stone, as well as in spirit.

As is known for the addressees, 3 buildings in the University blueprint were built in the 1500s. Of these, The Palace of Culture and Science (1559) was extensively renovated in the Reconstruction era, and The Hungus Complex (3-W, 1599) did not get much damage. My wish is before leaving this land and going to my Lord, to rededicate the University Main Building in one of these. Naturally I much prefer TA Palace of Culture and Science, because of its location in the heart of the University Borough in the zenith of 3-C, with "unobstructed view to the Citadel", and also because it actually predates the first University Main Building!

I know, Your Majesty, that the building in question is one of your remaining Crown Jewels, after the large donations to HRH The Prince Royal. Still I must plead - something I do not usually do - if you could consider selling the building to the University with all the Ancient valuables contained therein. This will make the things proper again and I can go in peace. For all the fresh donations to the University towards this endeavor, I will match 25% and challenge you, my friend, to do likewise! My contribution will be in the form of CH1600Y, rounded up.

Many considerations and, to be honest, some back-and-forthing, have associated the situation of my peerages, the Principality of Soul and County of Gangnam. After leaving these lands in 1418, I have been there only once again. The lands are cultured and rich, but so far away that land travel to reach them, for setting up an administration, is a folly. Our Kingdom has no mastery in seafaring, and I am also old, so for now I would like the following arrangements to be made, with mixed feelings:

- The Principality will not be started yet. When things settle down with the lands closer to us, an Expedition can be made to establish commerce relations, even better this will be if Seafaring is enabled meanwhile.
- If it pleases your Majesty, may my only son, Paul Jr (#135) be created the Earl of Gangnam. He is already 36.
- I have decommissioned the military troops. I am a man of peace, and of spirit. The objective of war is to gain peace. My involvement in the security of the Kingdom is hopefully over. Retaining the rank of Colonel-in-reserve, I am ready to die for the King if the duty calls!
- I will donate COA-6 - TMA Battle Aquila of Prince of Soul Company to Lord James Daniel. He is fit to continue the traditions.
- I will donate COA-20 - TA Battle Aquila of The Soul Fighters to Sir Crichton, the Earl of Plath. I have to admit this one was more difficult to find the worthy recipient. In the end, Plath seems more prepared than White Cross, and this will become of better use there. The condition of the gift is that the aquila may never be sold but only gifted.
- I gift 1,000 raffle tickets to The Marquess of White Cross. May they be successful.

As for the Town Hall, I have spent nearly a century in trying to gain a majority of the shares, but they seem very entrenched to the original shareholders. Sometimes a life is not enough to fulfil a vision (which is the reason it is good to have several!) and I am now willing to part with the 168/500 shares. The histories are too numerous to mention, and this Worshipful corporation (the only one in the game) can only be steered with utmost piety and reverence. This does not mean that it is a relic, however - the Town Hall Brewery is steaming on, providing satisfaction to the thirsty! If you believe you are the right person to gain prominence in the 1-C, and take the commanding ownership of this landmark, second in age to the Monero House only, please contact HM the King for negotiations.

As for the raffle, I also want to donate a prize. My Korean Restaurant (1518) in 1-SE-V76 is a historical building fitted with WIAL windows (ancient, and larger pane size than the contemporary WIRS). It resides in a developed tranquil neighborhood of The Village, next to the chapel and a a few minutes walk to the main old town squares. Last time checked, it produces 22*IC dividend. Operating a restaurant is also a thing of the young. [storytelling only, no ingame effect]

While I am still at decent health, and try to keep it there by all means possible, every day at this age feels a gift from God (which it should for the young as well, no man knows the length of his days!) Oh yes - about this Queen Louhi: she is quite real. My paper is about to end, I just want to warn you not to make the mistakes by acting haughtily as I did in not asking for blessings in before the Earthquake, costing me thousands of sqm of collapsed buildings. I believe God can grant the prayers of everyone without middlemen, but He also respects the powers and laws He has set in the spiritual echelons above us.

I beg to remain, Sirs, your most humble and obedient servant,

[rpietila]

Raffle prizes updated (see previous post):

- Wine upgraded to W1603A. A councillor inquired whether there was a contradiction in King's words that stated both W1608 and "pre-Plague wine". Since King's words do not have contradictions except at a great personal cost to himself, the wine has been upgraded to the most healthy Spring Wine instead, that being not only the best in the game, but also the only pre-plague wine obtainable in such quantity.

- The kind donation of Korean Restaurant by the Prince of Soul added to be the 3rd prize (unique). We will officially reply to his letter in due course.

- Rules changed to better allow unique prizes: raffle will start in Wednesday instead of Thursday, and will continue as halvings until 16 or less tickets are reached (used to be 6). After this, the spoil will be at 25%. All unique prizes will be awarded by dice if more than one ticket expires simultaneously. The raffle immediately ends when 1 ticket is left (was not explicit).

- We will have the 22500@22500 offering listed until the first halving, after which we will concentrate on grabbing as much JAD as possible. Once that is gone and hopefully much of it in our royal treasuries, we intend to let go of the remaining tickets, because it is not that much fun to win your own prizes, hope you understand

[saddambitcoin]

ckBot has a new command (along with some bug fixes):

!marketbuy <item> <amount>
This will calculate the total cost of market buying a certain item, and what the resulting price would be. Use for calculating your buy orders!

Example:

Code:

!marketbuy CAN 10000

Response:

Code:

saddam: Market buying 10000 units of CAN would cost 31,085,625m and bring the unit price to 3,500m.

!marketsell will come tomorrow  

[noms]

ckBot has a new command (along with some bug fixes):

!marketbuy <item> <amount>
This will calculate the total cost of market buying a certain item, and what the resulting price would be. Use for calculating your buy orders!

Example:

Code:

!marketbuy CAN 10000

Response:

Code:

saddam: Market buying 10000 units of CAN would cost 31,085,625m and bring the unit price to 3,500m.

!marketsell will come tomorrow  

Nice! I like it. I think there may be a bug though, I did a !marketbuy raf-1 3000 and it said that it would cost me 200mil+ and bring price to 22500. 3000 tix * 22500 mil is actually only around 67mil total, so there may be some maths issue.  Nice work though, this will be very helpful as a preview function.

[MoneroMooo]

The Earl of Stonehaven looked around him as his horse reached the hilltop. The undulating terrain turned to highlands on one side, vast expanses of land dotted with herd of grazing sheep, and lowering to the other side, abruptly reaching to the sea to the north, and leaving modestly sized fertile flat plain to the south. Parts of the highlands turned into short almost mountains, cliffs exposing bare rock to the elements. Rivers criss crossed the landscape, most small rivulets easily crossed, but also a few major ones, most merging before reaching the shore, from which a few islands could be seen. The Earl wondered of those were inhabited. He wasn't aware of settlements on the islands, and no settlement was visible, though smaller structures may not be visible at that distance.

The Earl's expedition had now receded into the distance, to explore the highlands. They would be back soon, bearing the news of what they found. Hopefully more than the apparently omnipresent sheep. The broken earth from the high hills to the north and northeast seemed like it might be host to a few surprises. The islands closest to the shore could also be investigated, at least in good weather.

But this would have to wait. The Earl had a good last look at the outskirts of the Stonehaven county, and drew back towards Crypto Town, leaving his detachment to push further into the new land and discover what would not yet be apparent from the edge.

[generalizethis]

Art K9 1610

Caravaggio's David with the head of Goliath



In black, Carivaggio's head shines
half-lit, a lantern which drips
into the hidden pool of mortal sin.
Our youth (wiser?) must wonder if
the hand that seeks this absolution
reveals a truth in the gaped jaw,
lips swelled, each tooth potted, a rotting tomb.
while one eye throbs a growling scowl
that stares forward in puffed intensity,
the other sags, a testicle
sullen within its given progeny
to let genius be its gospel.
For him the road to heaven wasn't straight,
but paths returning violent states.

For me the power of art is in what it inspires and reveals. The context of this piece is that it was created for Cardinal Borghese as a gift for pardoning Caravaggio of murder. The sword in David's hand carries an abbreviated inscription H-AS OS; this has been interpreted as an abbreviation of the Latin phrase Humilitas occidit superbiam ("humility kills pride"). While there is the possibility that David was one of Caravaggio's former lovers/models/assistants, there is also the possibility of David being a representation of Caravaggio's still innocent youth (the sonnet included was written in this mode after it was noticed that the black background allows for Goliath/Caravaggio to be the holder of the sword). The story turns even grimmer, because on his way to deliver the work to Cardinal Borghese, Caravaggio was detained from his ship and imprisoned  by a law officer who either confused Caravaggio for a wanted criminal or hadn't been aware of Caravaggio's imminent pardon. Caravaggio was eventually released, and on foot, tried to catch up with his ship. Tragically, he broke out in a fever and died before he could reach his ship--though the last details of his life vary and it could have as easily been lead poisoning or murder.

[rpietila]

Countryside and County Rules #3

It is somewhat hard for me to withhold this information for an extended time, but it is scheduled to be come into public piecemeal. So the ambiguity in all things regarding countryside is because it is planned to be so, and all words in the posts have meaning, though it might be deceptive as well. At least you have plenty of time.

A Peerage is created often in history, but more are still being created.

A County is opened when 1 PRE points are gained in the county.

The Seat is inaugurated (town founded) when 100 PRE points are gained.

PRE points may be lost gradually if a county is in abandon for some time. As long as any PRE points are gained annually, there is no spoil of existing PRE points.

There are reasons to go fast and reasons to play slow, as always, and no need to explain. It will be told somewhat in advance if the opportunity to Open counties will be suspended.

PRE points will be gained by the following:
- Administrative capacity (MGR+ASS)
- Army pacifying factor
- STOx (based on automatic consume, which in turn is based on how much you send)
- SCI (likewise)
- Other things (several are mentioned, also good finances, thread posts, anything may have an effect)

Counties will produce goods. This production can be of two types:

1. Loot. These are one-time bonuses resulting from various actions and meeting milestones etc.

2. Dividend. These are based on hard work in arranging the farming, manufacturing, trade etc. Usually are based on immovable dividend shares such as S-FOI.

Counties will have Quests as part of the Opening process. Some of them we have already seen a little bit. The usual storytelling is that when summer comes (~Wednesday), the new orders are issued and troops go on their way. Nearer the winter (Sat-Sun), the GM gives the results.

Foreign Powers and other things may be encountered. Their power, objectives and actions, results of encounters, etc. are rolled on a d20 on a need-to-know basis (giving the GM as little information as possible). Example as follows:

12.1.2016   10:30   Louhi intention roll   masked   masked
12.1.2016   10:30   Louhi activity roll   17   No action

Note that intention roll (which I now know, but you don't) had the range of results from 1="Destroy CryptoTown, kill the King and Loot all Valuables" to 20="Seek a legitimate heir to North Face to whom give all the Lands and Powers and Treasures". This was needed to know, before correctly interpreting the activity roll results, which cause things to happen. Currently 17/20 result from this roll caused nothing at all to happen. Normally I would not have told that yet (or at all), just kept you in suspense. Also the power roll was not needed to be rolled yet, so nobody, including the Gamemaster, really knows what range of power and in what domain (carnal, mystical) Louhi possesses, or what she even is!

Encounters are sometimes handled without player intervention, sometimes approximate real time session is organized if the encounter is important and/or the player-controlled character is personally present. (Risk of death.)

So that you don't see battles as fields of slaughter for 100s of millions worth of NPC's (sorry to be so blunt), a good battle can also be seen as a training opportunity and many promotions can be had, also in the officer ranks given our lack of COL/LTC.