Crypto Kingdom - 1991 Retro Virtual World(City)

[noms]

Further into White Cross...

As the Marquess's army started moving to the far off areas of the county, they noticed that they were perspiring far more than normal. As they started removing their armor to try and mitigate the heat, it started to get warmer and warmer. This must be the fire borough!  Sure enough, off in the distance was a mighty volcano that looked like it might erupt at any moment.

Sitting down, Private vail took off his iron chestplate and removed his mighty helmet.  Free of the prison of his protection, he started looking down into the ground. his eye wandered to a small black rock that was darker than anything he had ever seen. He picked it up and marveled at it's clarity. While it was black, it almost looked like glass. What was this? He had heard of such things but had never seen them before.


Obsidian is found!


Therapeutic Properties of Black Obsidian:

Obsidian is considered extremely protective and said to allow no negative energy or negative spirit to enter-it is thought to drive out demons. It provides protection from negative spirits.

Obsidian can be polished to a shiny mirror surface. Because of this shiny, mirror surface, Obsidian is attributed with the ability to reflect back to us our true selves. It reveals to us our flaws in no uncertain terms. Because of this property, obsidian is said to remove emotional blocks. Said to be a vision stone for use in vision quests and prophetic dreaming.

Obsidian is a gemstone of the 1st Chakra. It provides protection, grounding and protection from negative self-image, especially with respect to our physical appearance. Extremely helpful in times of grief. Obsidian was given as a remedy for snake poison.
also Useful to combat depression.

He put it into his knapsack--this was one worth collecting...

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[rpietila]

The Adventures of Martti  -  day 1  -   March 1622

Read me in Blogger and tell if the platform works OK so I'll move there!


Martti arrives to CryptoTown from the countryside near town. He has been to the town many times as a kid, but now he is 15, and the time has come for him to seek fame and mammon. Martti has set a few goals for his life:
- Become a billionaire (wealth 1,000,000,000 m) in his lifetime;
- Become an Earl (L14) in his lifetime;
- Never accept unrighteous gain or unfair privilege;
- Not log in to play more than once per day, except one extra time per week, bots and scripts allowed;
- Never deposit nor withdraw money, and pass all his belongings to the successor.

Martti exists to let the Gamemaster play as a commoner and feel first-hand the pitfalls in the gameplay. He hopes to be able to post short updates here or in the coming ingame media (or a blog if someone wishes to lend a hand).

Martti was able to register in the game using this link. The "email" asked is not mandatory, but it is currently the only way to recover password. There is no way to recover it unless email is provided, so since Martti has nothing to hide, he gave the email. (Later, anonymous recovery will be provided.)

Martti goes to MyCharacter, and does not even see his name except in the small box in the left. It is time to Edit character (small link in the upper centre). Since Martti being a countryboy does not have a surname, and there are no other Martti's in town, he is content with that as a Full name. He does not see any promotions, so the Title will also simply be "Martti". Clicking "back" from the browser a few times, he comes back to the MyCharacter, and sees "Martti" displayed in 5 different places. That'll do.

The info box on the left shows:
Born: 1607
Start year: 1622
Age now: 15
Character ID: 210
Level: 2 Stranger


Success Tracker
wealth: 0 / 1,000,000,000
level: 2 / 14

HE The Prince of Soul has promised to give 2,000,000 m to each new character who register and update their Full Name and Title as Martti did above (this is a sort of captcha). The gift will be administered manually, and Martti hopes to start his next day with having more money than he ever did. HM The King has given 225*RAF-1 tickets worth about 4,500,000 m to all the characters up to id=208, and from id=209, this Prince of Soul starting gift takes effect. Every new character will also bring their WOS-G (Peasant Brown Clothes) with them, and that is added to the Items after some delay as well.

Martti wants to make clear the unrighteous gain or unfair privilege oath. At present, it means he can accept all gifts, donations and incomes that result from his status as a character, and have nothing to do with his person. All things that are given to all similar characters are accepted. Personal gifts, however, can not be accepted in excess of the value of 1,000,000 m per giver, at present at least. Martti is wary of strings attached and if necessary, too large gifts will be returned. (Don't do it.)

Martti tightens his belt for both lack of warm food, and because of the spring cold, and seeks the nearest peasant shelter, finding one and starting dreaming about the future.

[Syksy]

Meeting the people of Sisu at Petrichor

Lord Syksy oversees a land named Petrichor from a small hill, with his meager escort behind him. From the top of the horseback he sees a vast land of green gold - wood. Other than that, the Northern lands are frost-bitten by the cold morning dew, and only the sound of humming trees and chirping birds catches his attention. There is nothing especially particular, other than that Lord Syksy feels comfort in that he can observe the landscape in silence, his old friend. It's good to be out of the ruckus of the town - finally to be able to hear one's own thoughts, and breath through the smell of pine trees giving out a scent of a living and healthy land.

As the day progresses, a distant cloudy smoke starts embracing the dimly sun-lit horizon. Lord Syksy quickly sets up with his convoy to inspect this further, and is met with a forest clearing, where local people are burn-clearing old trees and ground vegetation to fertilize their nutrition-poor farmlands.

As the convoy approaches, the people attending 'Kaski', swiddening of the land, awaken to the sudden presence of horses and armed men. A dirt-covered elderly man steps ahead to meet Lord Syksy, who immediately unmounts to meet this man, who apparently holds enough authority to function as their leader. They exchange a conversation with some difficulty as the elderly man speaks with a difficult dialect, albeit it is clear that the root language is the same.

He speaks of a poor yet heartful people, who live in peace with the land and each other, but without luxury and a constant threat of famine. The Elder leads Lord Syksy to their village, 'Sisu', which is located near the burn-fertilized farmlands. The village is small, consists of very basic wooden and only a few more important buildings of stone (such as the mill), but there are no grand castles, no silver or gold, or even the slightest hint of any such luxury. Even a warm bed may be hard to come by during the fiercest winters. He observes just ordinary people striving to live their lives in peace, with simple dreams and meager ambitions of having a family, a small log-house, some farmlands and at most some farmhouse buildings.

If one would closely inspect Lord Syksy's face, he'd notice watery eyes. He very well remembers his humble beginnings, the toils of his dear grand-father - who died a poor farmer, withering slowly away with his lungs succumbing to tuberculosis - despite Lord Syksy's and his father's greatest efforts and buying the most expensive medicine of their time in attempt to save their grandfather 'Tuta'. He pledges to the Elder that should they be able to establish a county and a rule, Lord Syksy would serve the people rather than put a yoke on their shoulders - he expects little or possibly even no taxes, possibly even just expenses.

He vows to the Elder, that he will do everything in his power to help the struggling yet spiritually noble commoners that strive to live in this Northern environment - even if it will become a burden to himself. He feels as if he grew a few years older in the day he spent at the village, and feels guilt of luxury of gold, silver, and ming at home. When they set out to leave the village, he turns back on his horseback to see a dirt-covered little girl standing by the muddy road-like path. Beneath the cover of ash is hidden blonde hair and bright eyes of youth and life to come, and for a moment he is reminiscent of his very own daughter Eleanor. He will return to this place.

There are no great treasures to be found or glorious battles to be fought here - except that of life and mundane happiness. In life there are no guarantees, except death and taxes, and even sometimes death feels elusive. Let the latter be few if any, if it is for Lord Syksy to decide. In the evening back at their base camp, Lord Syksy spends exceptionally long period in solitude writing a letter back home and sends it with a messenger, who rides out to the darkening night.

[rpietila]

The Duchy of New Liberty * Liberation Force

Excluding brief periods in time (1418-1450 when the Prince-Bishop was, and 1525-1570 when the Duke of OZ was), HH The Duke of New Liberty has been the premier peer in the Kingdom. His vision of the land of New Liberty has shone clear during the darkest night. So it may sound tragic that as Liberation finally is at hand, his marshals need to send the forces as his personal affairs deny participation.

The marshals have done everything they could, mobilized the Most Ancient Duke of New Liberty Company (1466) and equipped it with the most valiant men and the still-hot-from-the-cast Cannon. The Company is a magnificent sight in the banners and full uniform. It is rumored that the 50-strong unit can produce 175 BV. Left home is the Ancient New Liberty Company who drill and do guards duty around the Ducal Palace (practically meaning they can shake hands with the Royal Palace guard parading in the vicinity).

50*OTH and very large managerial resources have been allocated to the task of "paving the way". Until now, no one else except the Duke of New Liberty has been able to decode the meaning behind sending stone "but no more than 1 million units" translating to 10,000 tons, with workers and managers to somewhere, and at the same time even meat being too difficult to bring back. The Duke in his wisdom, saw that the stone is for reinforcing the road connections around CryptoTown but decided to play along nevertheless. "The Art of War has much to say concerning supply lines and it is most cost-effective to make them operational near us, where we can do it - let us suffer where it can not be done.

3,000*SCI have been sent as well. The actuaries have estimated that because this stake is higher than anything the others have allocated, it should produce more PRE as well. The orders are to gather as much intelligence as possible about political and economic conditions, avoid battle until it is clear no claimants to the land exist, and take every opportunity to find and bring home natural and manmade valuables in return for a lavish SCI spend.

The troops march to the West.

The Duke of New Liberty donates 20*MIR (Venetian Mirrors 1 sqm) to the 225 Jubilee Raffle and laments that he has needed to actually sell some of his ticket allocation to keep the finances in balance after the massive preparation costs.

[generalizethis]

YM,

We have sent a letter in weak cypher with one of our most trusted men, and while this man is trusted, it is that I trust him to see a certain lass with ties to the boy king--a lass who has a knack for decoding crypto and men. The letter outlines how on a certain two days we wish the King to reconsider his travel to our county, and that while we do not question HM's wisdom, we do question his desire to avoid any publicity by traveling with a retinue of only four men (only two armed!). The letter goes on to outline that you are seeing a certain Shaman known to all for his miracles and cures. We do hope the King can provide us with a response that HM should never be questioned in such matters and that two guards will be fine and that any more security provided would be an insult to the King's wishes to keep his ailment private and far from the lips of gossipers (who are known to inhabit the land of Plath). We further hope that the King's response will be in the same cypher and my trusted man will be charged with seeing that it reaches my hands and no others--though I expect the smell of perfume will accompany the letter when delivered.

Our plan is to secure the Shaman's house deep in the Plath forest and have a disguised group of five men arrive there at the appointed time. The rest of my men will be following this small retinue from the Northern border as the Trolls will surely strike along the road to the Shaman's house or wait until the "King" is settled and receiving his treatment at the Shaman's abode.

We hope these plans meet with the King's blessing,

Your loyal servant, Crichton, Earl of Plath

[rpietila]

225th Jubilee Raffle - Great Prizes!

See link for more information.

First halving is completed! Despite the fact that ticket is twice as valuable now, in the spirit of 225 years of Kingdom, The King will drop more of his tickets for sale at this cheap price (22,500 m) but only today. Be ready with your bids!

Prize Schedule
95,668 tickets (RAF-1) remaining; halving every day

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)
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 * 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: 41,800 m)

It is possible to give prizes to the auction. Unique prizes (please give only items of considerable value) will be listed as 4th, 5th 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 is very happy if you wish to donate something to the 225ary Raffle!

[rpietila]

Important Gamemaster update setting the guidelines for the decades to follow
The Royal CryptoArmy Organizes

The departure of The Duke of New Liberty Company towards the setting sun moved the King deeply. Not many know that the initial organisation of the Army in 1466 coincided with the King's 100th birthday (this was not publicized as monarchs only publicly care about their reign, not birthdays) but the King himself remembers it. In 1566, a medal was minted to celebrate the Army Centenary (King's 200 years) and in 1616, the King reluctantly minted one to celebrate his 250th birthday, perhaps the last such occasion.

With this intertwining of the fortunes of the King and those of the Army in mind, the King has gifted some of these medals to the adventurous commanders of the army companies and owners of the Battle Aquilae, and will continue to do it as a special personal honor.

The initial hassle in the King's own troops is over and they are now ready for all duties. The strength is adequate already, but as promotions increase the number of competent COs, and more CAPT's and NCOs get promoted, the manpower will be able to be increased further. In addition, the Cannon, the rushed scientific advance of last year, will increase the battle value markedly. 8*CANN is produced annually, and 4 of them will be sold in open market and King will redeem the other 4 at the same (total) price.

At present, the value of the troops under the OldDuchy command, is ~500 BV. The maximum single unit is (upon special arrangement) ~300 BV. The normal order-of-battle consists of a Cannon Company tasked to defend the Citadel and 4 Infantry companies in different sizes and battle values, which may be deployed to assist the troops of the peers upon need. The joint-CO of these armies is a COL, and a LTC is in charge of the Cannon Company. In addition, The elite Royal Palace Guard remains in King's personal command and is quartered in the basement of the Royal Palace, as they have done since the unit was formed in 1446, the year when the Royal Palace Gilded Roof of 6640 CKG was installed and the Palace was thus completed.

Thucydides is about to complete his Epic History about the most BV under the Commanders soon after the others make their arrangements and record them in the GameDB/ARMY.

Meanwhile, the promised promotion round of the Commanders (the PC "owning" army troops) is postponed. The practical difficulty of some being in the field and not enough information on the regular size of the troops has prevented it. This will be done approx in 1624, somewhat after the next NPC kill&promote round. The new rules are as follows:

Each Unit with a stable strength of 300 BV is given the name of Brigade, and the commander promoted to Brigadier (AOD-Brig; new rank).

Each Unit with a stable strength of 150 BV is given the name of Regiment, and the commander promoted to Colonel (AOD-Col).

Each Unit with a stable strength of 100 BV is called Heavy Company, and the commander promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (AOD-LTC).

Each Unit with a stable strength of 50 BV is called Company, and the commander promoted to Major (AOD-Maj).

Each Unit with 15 BV or more is called a Detachment. (It may be styled Company if total manpower is 30 or more.)

Each Unit with less than 15 BV is called a Squad.

AOD historically does not have a lower rank than Capt for PC. All peers with troops in their command will be promoted Capt at least. A new rank AOD-Lt will be introduced to be the starting rank for career officer PC later. All existing ranks will remain regardless of current troops: if there are no troops in command, the PC officer is "in reserve". Overpromotion is possible for valor in combat.

The markets remain open for arrangements of troops. There is still about 8-11 realdays left until the next kill&promote round with 3x effect in both kills and promotions.


Exhortations For County Fiefholders and General Preparation

TVA Duchy included (which is very crucial and gets PRE and the perks, but not another town as it already has one), 11 Counties have been opened, and of 2 (North Face and Plath), there is semi-reliable information. Many counties remain unopened, so since it is now May (Wednesday), it is a good time to make the deployments and participate in the County race. The PRE generation is not linear, therefore even a small expeditionary force is able to generate the PRE required for the information package in 2-3 years, bringing home valuables, and saving the money that would be spent otherwise in a later all-in approach. (Especially) If you give special orders to the troops, a thread post is valuable to account for them, see examples above.

The NPC Officers have horses (H1 for LT, H2 for CAPT etc.) currently included in them. The NCOs (MSG, SGT, CPL) and the PTE are not trained to fight on horseback. The CANN are drawn by oxcarts (included) as are the provisions (not implemented). The experiences from the Duchy of North Face, however, point to the usefulness of sending horses with the forces. They increase the mobility of small detachments greatly and make information come back sooner. If the PC go with the force in person, a high-quality horse can save lives! Carriages increase comfort and need to be accompanied with the required number of horses as well. If valuables are sent, they may be used as gifts to leaders met in peaceful negotiations. (Gold and moneretos will never be given away automatically though.)

Horses will have a promotion round with the NPC round, and all horses are eligible for promotions. The Fluffy Pony Horse Company will have special quick promotions and also the availability of new H1 horses. Their capacity is to hold only 50 horses though but with the new rules they are sure to be able to get rid of the valuable ones. They can also increase the capacity to 100 horses with an additional annual cost of 10 mil and a requirement to build a new Stables when building becomes possible. Horses will start to have upkeep of 0.5 mil each regardless of level, starting from 1624. More uses for them is planned as well so ditching them might not be wise even for town-dwellers.

Horses can be looted from the countryside using threat of military force. Unless this is pre-authorized, it will only happen in dire needs.

Our spy network has brought reports that the foreign powers have noticed both the mobilization of our army, the scientific advance of cannon making and the speedy commencement of production, and the troops sent to lands that have historically belonged to us but have nevertheless not had permanent settlements nor troops loyal to HM The King. It is therefore expected that as our troops march forward, they might not only meet the peasants as previously expected, but also envoys and even regulars of foreign powers. It is important to lay down the basics:

King/Kingdom usually denotes a sovereign lord (Foreign Power). Since the foreign relations are to be handled in sovereign level, it is advisable to conduct well towards Kings before negotiating with HM The King, who only wants Crypto Kingdom to exert influence on all its historical possessions, and not embark on costly ventures with established powers, especially as our own military is still in the buildup stage.

Dux or any titles similar to our senior nobles, may refer to approximately anything. They may or may not be subservient to Kings, and this - as well as the degree of their loyalty - is a thing to find out. Their factual power becomes apparent when you try it, or gather intelligence. (PRE will be used towards this end automatically, though you will be able to set other priorities as well.)

Tribal Chiefs should be loyal to HM The King, if they are not, they may need to be subdued in the various ways possible, depending on your playstyle.

Whether the lands have larger settlements or dispersed peasantry, will be told in the GM reports, as well as other useful info.

The starting of this Subgame has made the d20 appear. It is not entirely impossible, given the state of tension in the continent, which our own preparations have been rumored to increase, that sudden events occur that affect the whole Kingdom and the dwellers of CryptoTown. To protect the lives of everyone, including the hungryMob and the peasants in the immediate vicinity, it is important to have enough non-perishable food and drinks, should the unexpected happen.

During our open borders with everyone in the last decades, the state of our defences is woefully apparent: Only the boroughs 1 & 2 are perimeter-walled (well 7 is as well but there are no buildings nor people to protect). These two have rather many stone buildings to be used as cannon- and command posts. The Citadel has finally some military value with the cannons, and the central keep is the house for the crown jewels. It is still severely lacking in many aspects with outer walls thick but not high enough, no proper towers, and central keep cannot suffer extended cannonfire. If the courtyard is used for people shelter, winter will be tragic even if food were not a concern.

ADD: Food production updates, so the nonexistence of VEG (and everything else that happens on the market) is completely planned. As long as you know that, no need to read this link explaining all in detail.

[noms]

The Marquess of White Cross had been thinking long and hard about the county that he was in charge of. There were many preparations that needed to be made post-haste. Winter is coming.



He sent many people, both civilian and military, to set up his new county:

* He sent a total company of 33 soldiers into the area. These were organized into 3 sections with a total Battle Value (BV) of 95.  
* 30 OTHer workers were allocated, as well as managers of multiple levels and assistants to serve them.


The Blue Angels (4 horse-carriage) was sent with the armies to aid in foreign relations. It wouldn't do well to show up to foreign dignitaries for negotiations in anything less than a noble carriage. 4 Senior Good Horses (H4) were brought along to pull this carriage.



2500 MEAD, 1500 CAN, 1450 BEER, 2300 MEAT, and 900 bottles of French Wine (1620 vintage) were also brought along to aid the newcomers in the foreign land. Some of these items could prove very helpful when meeting with the existing residents to serve as gifts-not to mention that they can feed the hungry armies.  Those who saw them leave said that they were using carriages without tops to carry all of the food. It was rumored that CARTs had been contracted to be made by Phaeton Carriage Works, in CK.



Three SPEcialists (SPE-1) were also brought along with 4 Good Horses (H3) to serve as diplomats as well as scouts. The Captain of The Marquess's company had discovered the Fire Borough, but there were still the Air, Water, and Earth Boroughs that they had heard about, but never seen. The specialists were ordered to each take a good horse and travel until they found their respective areas, and then make contact with anyone they came across, spreading the word of the Marquess.  Green Herbs (CAN) and French Wine (W1620) were sent along with them to help them smooth over any problems they may encounter.

Lastly, 2,000,000 STO were sent along as well to aid in building roads, bridges, housing, or even a castle if need be.

[smooth]

Smooth QC (Brewery) report, dividend

As anticipated, conditions in the BEER market have continued to weaken with nearly half of last week's production remaining unsold and the remainder sold at around 4000, yielding 30% less profit than in previous weeks. The dividend is reduced to 10000 per share and has now been paid. Outlook remains negative.

Conditions have stabilized with most BEER being sold at around 4000. We are continuing the dividend at 10000 per share this week.

[smooth]

Smooth Investment Fund Dividend

For the first time in our long history, SIF has declared and paid a dividend of 228 per share (total payout 6 mil). This income is derived from dividends received from our holdings CKG, CON, and corporation stock holdings. Further dividends will be declared and paid as justified by investment returns and market conditions.

[generalizethis]

Ambush

My Master Sergeant and I wait inside the Shaman's house. I hear crickets chirping outside in the warm spring night. The rest of my men wait patiently outside in the shadows for what must come tonight--if ever. Perhaps they wouldn't come--

Master sergeant, "Pst!"

I peak from behind a large cauldron and see the sergeant pointing at the door. The sergeant tenses in anticipation from behind a desk. We watch the door. And ever so slowly, slow as a man reaching for his dagger in a game of poker that's about to go south, the brass handle inches and creaks to the right--

The door flies open!

Three Trolls burst in, one yells, "Upstairs! Get 'em before they wake!"

Two of the Trolls run up the stairs. There's a commotion, furniture being tossed, the Trolls yelling in consternation...

The sergeant and I watch the Troll downstairs wait impatiently and yell, "Well, what of it! Have you taken the king?"

One of the Trolls upstairs yells back, "There's no King to be had! The rooms are empty--"

"Whada you mean empty?" the Troll screams as he walks to the foot of the steps.

My sergeant comes out from behind the desk, covers the Trolls mouth with his left hand while raking his dagger across his neck with the other.

"I mean there ain't no King to be found, Tok. You want to come look yourself?"

We hear the voice get closer as we pull the body away from the stairs. We ready ourselves as the footsteps get closer.

"Go up and look your--"

I put my sword Vengeance through his liver and out the other side. Warm blood spurts out onto the hilt and onto my hand. The sergeant runs up the stairs and I follow. My sergeant is on the last troll before he knows what is happening. He falls to the floor and twitches as blood pools around his body.

I laugh, "Easier than I thought. It's strange that I don't feel pity for these creatures. They're almost human."

My sergeant gives me a stern look, "Almost--"

We start down the stairs when we hear yelling outside. We were so in tune with the details of our mission that we forgot about the men outside.
We go outside and are spellbound; Trolls fighting, dead Trolls on the ground, my men no where to be seen...?

The sergeant and I stand our ground ready for an assault, but these Trolls seem intent on killing each other.

I say, "Sergeant, is this some sort of coup? I hardly know who to rout for."

The sergeant looks shocked and afraid (seeing his fear drives an icy spike through my heart), "Sir, see the standard bearer, there! He guards our Eagle!"

I stare in disbelief,  "I don't understand--"

The sergeant grabs my arm, "There's magic here. No Troll would guard our standard. That's our man in the presence of a Troll."

I turn around and look into the blade of my sword, cursed and damned from magic, and see the reflection of my men at battle with one another. A turn and see a man on a black horse on a nearby hill in the dusk light, he waves a black staff over the scene and wears a mask of silver.

I say to my sergeant, "It's the boy-king. I'm sure of it!" I grab my sergeant by the shoulders, "Go to each man and state the oath of our fathers, the oath of our allegiance to the one true King, tell them to stop their fighting and that magic has hold of them. Tell them to look to the
standards and that no Troll should have the insight or courage to guard the symbol of our true and honest might! Go!"

And with that I ran to my horse, got on and galloped fast as I could toward the illusionist wielding the power to dim men's minds to the reality which is present to all who know truth. I glanced back at my men. They had not stopped fighting altogether, but the Sergeant's earnest pleas had diminished their violence and they did not all together trust what seemed apparent to their eyes. As I neared the boy-king, I reared back my arm and swung at him with all my might--

Air! An empty swing that almost knocks me from my horse.

The spell's broken. My men star at each other in disbelief. We see a great mass of fallen Trolls, but also our friends and comrades among those taken by the might of our swords. My heart sinks in sorrow as I wait to hear the tally of our dead....

[rpietila]

225th Jubilee Raffle - Great Prizes!

See link for more information.

Second halving is completed, and first prizes, almost 50 kilos of CAN, have been dividended to the remaining ticket owners!

Prizes Awarded

47,671 * CAN given!

Prizes Remaining

47,671 tickets (RAF-1) remaining; halving every day

25,000 * BEER (amount increased in the true spirit of celebration!!)
- - -
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)
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 * 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: 3,800,000,000 m !
(Nominal value of ticket: 79,700 m)

It is possible to give prizes to the auction. Unique prizes will be listed as 4th, 5th 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 is very happy if you wish to donate something to the 225ary Raffle!

[rpietila]

New Vegetables have come to town!

For a limited time (a few days from the first new crop, usually on the first half of July) the new VEG enjoy a health bonus while still being VEG (item healthiness edited temporarily). It is up to the players to figure this to their consumption patterns. More VEG will arrive (hopefully) in great quantities in the coming days.

Martti is now living in a separate blog, and he already took advantage of the situation. As of this writing, 1628*VEG still exist.

New opportunities for players to make their own food have appeared:

S-VE1 is a share in common garden. Only one per PC.
DIS is a mead-making equipment. One will be donated upon L3, Town has some for sale. Max 5, commoners only.
PIG generates meat for christmas. Max 4, commoners only.

[rpietila]

New Permanent IC Conversion Table


WINES

The French Wines are international renown (and the Germanians are the runner-up). When wines comes to initial market, they are cheap, but Town will add 10,000 m tax at some point afterwards to the then-existing stock. This can only be done once, so every further conversion after the taxation will be tax-free. Conversion prices in the aftermarket go up. Currently available are the following post-plague wines (pre-plague cannot be had any more). All are taxed so no further costs will be added:

W1611  1/IC  (note: W1611)
W1612  3/IC  (note: W1612)
W1614  3/IC  (note: W1614)
W1616  4/IC  (note: W1616)
W1620  6/IC  (note: W1620)


SILVER

The basic premise of silver conversion is "you get fixed grams per IC". This has been as large as 32 grams in the very ancient times and now is 2 grams. When we are talking about imported items (wholly paid with IC), the price of silver has risen to be so large as to overshadow the manufacturing cost. So it is possible to simplify the things and use the following formulae for determining the IC price of silver items, whatever kind (assuming silver is the main raw material):

TS16x Silver Coins = no premium   (note: TS162)  <- note that since the coin is 12 CKS, the IC must be divisible by 6!!
Elaborate items = 1 IC/instance + 5%
Most Elaborate items = 2 IC/instance + 10%
Very Elaborate items = 4 IC/instance + 20%


SWORDS

See previous post.

ART

ART-items are in levels K7-K10 only and thus cost a minimum 100 IC + possible backdating.


NEW: Copper

With New Liberty convoy going to the west, it did not take long for merchants coming from the trails with their deal: a new KMT is a handy way to own pure copper. One 10 kg plate is even stamped to be worth 5 grams of silver, yet they are offering them at a discount, with price of 2*IC only:

KMT  2*IC  (note: KMT)


Note on Wines

All wines have again matured 2 years, so their tastes and healthinesses have been updated.

A sorry thing happened to the much-loved W1600 wine: although it reached peak in 1606, it had brought continued satisfaction to drinkers up to this year. Now the age of the wine finally turned against the drinker with also some potentially very hazardous fungi found in some bottles. The whole vintage was deemed unsuitable for consumption and item:healthiness set to zero. As soon as technicalities allow, it will be removed from WINE and put to GIO item type for collectors. It was the first wine in the Kingdom (with W1600M still maturing).


Note on B-22

This year will continue with the previous formula. From now on, it has become clear that there are Scientific hurdles to overcome before the Borough can be opened. So in 1623 and all future years until otherwise mentioned, the share conversion table will be as follows:

50*SCI => 1*S-B22
150*SCI => 2*S-B22
300*SCI => 3*S-B22
500*SCI => 4*S-B22
750*SCI => 5*S-B22

Five shares per year per character is the maximum.

[rpietila]

Commoner path to glory - First steps

We are now encouraging new players to play for the fun of it, and this is probably the first time The new players we have can be roughly classified as follows:

- Commoners (non-depositors or depositors of small amounts)
- Power Players (playing characters with higher balances)
- Foreign-Owned-Corporations (investment accounts with 50 XMR frontload)

All these can be started now, the first two start in an equal way by registering, and FOC requires admin who will open the account for you. In practice saddambitcoin is the right contact because he can issue the payment id for the initial deposit.

Corporations are dull, they stay at level L0 forever, don't require health etc.

...so we are here talking about player characters!

1. Level promotions happen on year_change, which is a large set of activities on December (Sunday). Instant promotions are possible but rare.

2. A PC starts on level L2 Stranger, and gains the following starting capital:
1*WOS-G Peasant Brown Suit
500*CAN Herbs
Currently the value of these is about 1.5 mil.

2.B There is a special evaluation round every day, with a PC who has updated his character name and title, receiving:
2.0 mil (special gift, limited time only)

3. He has a high probability to advance to L3 Beginner on the first occasion. It only needs some proof of play. L3 grants the following:
1*THS1 (Silver ring, special gift, limited time only)
1*DIS mead-making equipment
Currently the value of these is about 1.5 mil.
It also enables annual salary of 0.7 mil, which starts right away, prepaid for the following year.

4. To get to L4 Novice, typically about 2 years are required. In this time, the suit must be updated to match the profession and enough experience must be gathered. L4 grants the following:
1*CT1600C (3 CKG gold coin, special gift, limited time only)
Currently the value of these is about 3 mil.
It also enables annual salary of 1.05 mil.

5. To get to L5 Expert, it may happen in 2 years but also take much longer. House and proper clothes are required, both of which are expensive. Many other items and playstyle are evaluated as well, decent handling of health challenge, etc. Also physical age is a factor and may delay promotion for very young players. L5 only directly grants a pay raise to 1.4 mil but there might be special gifts as in previous cases.

6. Promotion to L6 Master happens after a considerably longer time, about 10 years in previous level is common (with a mandatory minimum age of 25). Mastery requires fulfilling of personal goals and a household of many things, means of transportation etc. A pay raise to 1.75 mil is in effect but the majority of income typically comes from other sources as the requirements of health and lifestyle cannot be met with salary alone.

7. Other levels are available. The ways a commoner can leave the basic path above are as follows (the departure, except to the cart, happens predominantly after Master is reached):

- Death. Abandoned characters die naturally in a few years.
- Noble Promotion to L11 Knight - For special valor.
- Noble Promotion to L12 Baronet - By gaining (read: purchasing) a BT-x item.
- Noble Promotion to L13 Baron - Characters who gain Masters early are screened for Baron promotion at about 40 years of age, although it is possible other time as well.
- Promotion to L7 Wizard - Usually happens to Masters if they reach advanced age and play actively.
- Promotion to L8 Doctor - For academics, can be gained in any age.

[MoneroMooo]

Back in CryptoTown, the Earl of Stonehaven did not lose any time in continuing preparations. While the first troops had gone, more were needed.

The first port of call for the Earl was the Academy. While the first group sent was of limited military use, the news coming from the lands of North Face and Plath left no doubt that defence was to be a priority, lest the rest of the expedition fall prey to one of the unknown dangers that undoubtedly lay in wait.  Desirous to avoid confrontation where possible, the Earl felt that a reasonably sized force combined with a diplomatic approach would prove a good combination in establishing the county's seat. Alas, plans often have to adapt to changing circumstances, and preparing for those was wise.

To many a gold trader's delight, a number of coins and bars were sold at bargain prices, while the Earl's troops swelled to triple their original size. Care was taken to recruit experienced NCOs, to better provide a strong cadre for the fresh troops making up most of the Earl's detachment. Hopefully some of the ne
w recruits could prove promotion material.

While the troops were preparing for travel, the Earl turned his attention to the provision of other workers. Indispensable in such an endeavour, those people would be leaving with the new troops to join up with the forward group. First aid rudiments were teached and practiced along with the troops, and what could
be had as way of medical supplies was obtained, in prevision for a long stay in a potentially hostile land.

With the departure date approaching, the Earl went back to sword practice. Being newly ennobled, he hadn't had the benefit of military training from a young age, though he was picking it up quickly, thanks to his healthy physique from his long days as a cowherd in the hills, leading his animals from pasture to pasture. His new sword now felt quite comfortable in his hand, the latest swordsmithing technology offering an excellent balance.

Soon enough, the group wrapped up provisions and tools, as well as letters from loved ones of those in the first expedition, and left on a clear summer morning, following on the footsteps of the previous group, aiming to join up within Stonehaven County before winter got too cold. Bringing with them the latest news from CryptoTown, from the recent food shortages to the rumours of a Queen in the north, the convoy was soon out of CryptoTown's view. It would probably not be long before the Earl found a new species of plant of animal that he would want to draw on one of the thick notebooks he had carefully packed the night before.

GM note: Mooo goes with the convoy this time, and brings a few personal items: WRB-3 and GIO-36 to satisfy his passion for recording Nature's magnificence, and PWS-32 to avoid that passion from being cut short. These are kept in Mooo's ownership, but can be temporarily moved to Stonehaven if this is needed for game mechanics purposes. He also brings a number of bottles of spirits, to be used as helpers in negotiations. Best bottles for best expected results. Obviously, Mooo will make sure they are kept out of his troops' "care"

[kronicblazer]

After spending months fine tuning the details to construct more efficient methods, The Marquess of Grass is ready to move forward on his plans to build and populate the county. He believes the time spent on proper preparations justifies sending his convoy a little bit later than the other nobles.

"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win." - Sun Tzu

There is word going around that this new land could be the land of water that we have been hearing about lately.  More time is needed for discovery and testing to confirm.  If this land proves to have water that can match the ancient spring water, it would be a huge asset to the kingdom of CK. Contact with a small amount of locals have been established and they seem friendly so far, light bartering has been made with no trouble.

It is the Marquess' intention to pacify the county as peacefully as possible to protect livelihood of both local and CK citizens.  Avoiding conflict(if possible) would also allow the finances to be used on more beneficial things like infrastructure or gifts to establish relations with foreign powers.

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting" - Sun Tzu

It is important to establish a proper central command post/base as soon as possible to give out orders more efficiently and prepare defenses to protect our people in case of invasion.  This command post should be located on a strategically and geographically advantaged location (being in an easy to defend location like a hill or enclosed area and close to natural resources like fresh water, wood, stone, etc), with enough room to expand more in future .  A suitable location was found by the advance team sent last year.  The temporary command post constructed last year will serve as a relay point for ease of further expansion.  A cannon will be purchased from the market next year when more is available, to better fortify the defense of the central base.

- 60 OTH workers will be helping to build the central command post, roads, and other tasks
- huge amount of managers and assistants are present to ensure smooth running of operations, extra managers/assistants that are not needed to direct workers will be tasked to other things(lots of important things to be done when starting a new county, especially for decision makers)
- an initial detachment of 20 soldiers were sent to maintain peace and order and scout the land
- SPEs and Art will survey land to make maps, experiment with new things discovered, test water quality, etc.  An active record will be kept so no knowledge is lost
- another horse has been sent to assist operations, carriage will be used to improve logistics
- provisions like beer, mead, meat, can, etc will be sent to boost morale of workers since they are stationed faraway from home.  CAN should not be consumed during work, beer in light moderation as long as it does not affect productivity and judgement.  Soldiers must keep a clear head at all times while on duty. 
- sci and stone will be used to improve research/development and speed up process of constructing buildings/roads
- gifts like MIN, wine, expensive liquor, etc will be used to develop relations with local powers
- moneritos will be sent as well to maintain operation costs and cashflow

The Marquess of Grass will be joining the expedition this year to boost morale and make better decisions on the fly.  He brings with him his ancient Muramasa sword and full suit of armor, hoping he would not have to use it.  The proficient swordsmanship skills learned from the foreign nation where this prized katana was found has not been forgotten.  Instead, The Marquess has been practicing diligently all these years to strengthen his body and mind.  One can be considered a true master, when he has over 100 years of experience with the sword.  He is ready to defend the kingdom in HM's name, but prays that no one will be unfortunate enough to experience this cold beautiful steel moving inside their body.  (the sword and armor will be kept on kronicblazer's account since he is wearing them)

Last year was a bit lacking due to the unknowns, but The Marquess of Grass is much more prepared this year to tackle the challenges ahead. 

[rpietila]

225th Jubilee Raffle - Great Prizes!

See link for more information.

Third halving is done, so only 1:8 of the original number of tickets remains! Cartloads of BEER was distributed as we now enter to the phase with no prizes until Foie Gras at 2,000 tickets left! It will take until the next year to decimate the number of tickets, and very good opportunities might be available in the aftermarket in front of items that specially interest you, or even collectively.

Prizes Awarded

47,671 * CAN given!
23,707 * BEER given!

Prizes Remaining

23,707 tickets (RAF-1) remaining; halving every day

- - -
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)
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 * 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: 3,700,000,000 m !
(Nominal value of ticket: 156,100 m)

It is possible to give prizes to the auction. Unique prizes will be listed as 4th, 5th 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 is very happy if you wish to donate something to the 225ary Raffle! After all, how else would King know who the upcoming nobles in the Kingdom are... this information is needed for the Celebrations for sure!

[rpietila]

Greetings from he who makes mortals tremble:



HKM Gustaf Adolf, by the Grace of God, Sweden's, Gothia's and Wendia's King, Duke of Scania, Tavastia, Pomerania and New Liberty, Prince of North Face, Margrave of Ingria, Inventor of Seafaring, the Cannon, Combined Arms, etc. etc.

We see that you have sent the most valiant troops to meet us. Indeed, they almost managed to churn out the BV matching that of our Regulars! The valor of your army matches that of Tilly! We must train harder, fight more to gain promotions, and decimate on serious offences only... Denmark, Polonia and Rossiya are already subdued by our might! Their armies lay scattered on the battlefield!

Greetings. We, etc., have ruled over the Kingdom of the North for all our life. We recognize your Kingdom as older peerage than ours and treat you as equals. We admire your historical achievements and the ancient age of your leaders. The march-past was organized to show you our mastery in warfare, which is the dread of the Imperial forces! The Officers, Musketeers, Infantry, Cannon and Light Cavalry have their places.

Now the only thing we want to ensure - the freedom of religion must be protected in your lands. If this is kept, our campaigns will liberate more lands in other directions; if not, we will enjoy bringing liberty to New Liberty as well as all of our other domains, as soon as the time is right, and we are still young. Pick your side, and do it carefully.

The squad sent from New Liberty read the declaration out loud, as was their instructions. The other information on the place will be private for now.
GM update: 3* d20 rolls were used to produce the declaration: GA attitude roll, GA intention roll and NL diplomacy roll.

[rpietila]

No sooner than the herald had read aloud his proclamation and unrolled the engraving bearing HKM likeness and royal seal, something very unusual happened:

Lord James Daniel collapsed.

The credible details about the might of the Swedish Army, and the untold but almost touchable fear and relief that there had not been an immediate encounter between the Duke's troops with the Swedes (with unknowable result), had made many of the weaker townspeople faint.

But the First Baronet doing the same from seeing the foreign King was unforeseen.

When revived, still in shock, James Daniel exclaimed: "My friend, my brother! He is only 5 years older than me, and I was in the group when we played all the summers together in our country place! One summer, I was 10 or so, the group did not gather together any more. I was not told what happened. He was the natural leader of everyone and I still remember the blood oath I gave to him...."

The chilling silence that fell upon the Central Square following the utterance of this treasonous statement and the white faces of the peers around him, made James Daniel pass out again.

Earl Heimo was quickest to act and - with efficiency never before seen in public - all his "guard" consisting of 1*BUT-5, 2*SPE-3, 2*BUT-3, 1*AR-3 and even his COOK-3 took a diamond formation, glanced dauntlessly at the bystanders, lifted James Daniel and escorted him away. In less than a minute, he was not to be seen.

Not a sword was drawn, but some old ladies swear to have seen a glimpse of a gilded eagle.