Advanced Rulebook

ACTIONS IN MODERATION

There are two types of actions in Quest: GME. A Special Action (SA) and a Free Action (FA). The term Action (SA or FA) is used a lot in Quest: GME, it is an abstract game mechanic that represents such things as a party's/Alliance's influence, time, power level, but most importantly GM time.
An action is a single event/topic this applies to both SA and FA. Do not put more than one action in one section; each action has to be in its own self-contained action.
Something worth keeping in mind about issuing any actions:

  • If a party does not have a moderated aspect, for example a FA to use a Power Scroll: Portal, another example a SA to carry out a ritual on a magical site to empower a weapon, that allows them to carry out a normal game order then it has to be issued as game order.

    Examples: Asking the GM to issue a turn to cast a spell or miracles. Asking the GM to issue a turn to enter or leave a settlement. Asking the GM to issue a turn to engage a monster group.

    • This is not to be confused with an action that can be issued as a normal turn order when a party has access to a moderated aspect that is similar to a normal game order then that can be carried out as an action.

Examples: Issuing a SA to rob somewhere. Attacking the town hall. Using a SA to recruit a character. Using a FA to use a PS: Portal I to teleport to another settlement.

  • Parties will automatically use basic items like oil, wood, etc. A party, or Alliance, does not stockpile lots of it. With the magical abilities available to a party, setting fire to a building is not too difficult. There is no need to issue a SA to collect firewood, etc.
  • The GM will automatically interpret any Action in the most beneficial way. If an Action has been badly explained then the GM will strive to translate it in a beneficial way - however, writing a clear Action can only help improve things.
  • Characters will automatically act in the best interests of themselves and their allies, unless the action specifically states that they should not do so.
  • Important NPCs likely have their own liaisons to handle enquiries for them. Requesting to see the King to ask a question about a topic will likely fail or result in an appointment being arranged; requesting to see the Settlement Officials will likely succeed with the question being answered. Unless specifically required, make contact Special Action Quests to the Organisation not an individual, and this will only cost 1 Special Action. If a specific person is required, the Special Action may result in an appointment being arranged, and thus may require a further Special Action.
  • Negative Actions, in particularly anything destructive, can have bad consequences for a party or Alliance. Attacking an official or burning down buildings will usually get a party, or even an Alliance, banned. More dire consequences are possible, depending on what was done and how successful the Action was. Issue any hostile actions with caution.
  • Any action that would require the GM to make a huge reply will likely be amended or rejected. Due to the open nature of the rules and the size of the rulebook a definitive list of specific actions is impossible but the following provides a good guide as to what this rule means.

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  • For Example: Using a SA to ask an Organisation for a list of the Power Scrolls they have in stock. This is not allowed as it could result in a huge list being required as Organisations often produce a lot of PS, and a good indicator that this is not possible is that the party is in fact trying to use one action to get numerous results.
    The rule regarding PS is that a party can use a SA to try and purchase up to three PS.

  • Here is another example.

    For Example: Using a SA to ask just an ordinary citizen their life history. This is not allowed even though the request is clear and is technically only about one topic, but this is obviously a huge question that would take even a person with a boring life days to fully detail. Asking an important member of an Organisation the same question would likely result in an even bigger result.
    What would be allowed is asking an NPC to tell them about one important event in their life.
    Another good point to remember when issuing an action is that a moderation action requires a GM to process the action; this point is at the heart of the moderation and should be remembered. If GM time is spent processing only a few actions then the game would not be possible to run and thus play
    .

  • It is possible to send actions in earlier than the date specified in the event, the results will be delayed until the date is reached.

What follows is an explanation of the two types of actions:

WHAT IS A SPECIAL ACTION?

The following is a breakdown of when an action is a Special Action:

  • Using a Moderation Skill, unless the Moderation Skill says otherwise will cost a SA. Using a combination of skills on one action will still only cost one SA.
  • Asking a Quest Liaison a question. All the information required to carry out a Special Quest is provided when the SQ is issued, so asking questions of the liaison about the quest requires a SA.
  • After completing a SQ asking a Quest Liaison for a different reward than the reward specified; there is an exception if the request is to help lift a ban.
  • Trying to talk with a specific person other than a Quest/Organisation Liaison. This only applies if the party trying the action does not know the location of the person or they need to sort out an appointment first. Note: Meeting someone to pickup or deliver an item for a SQ is a FA, but only as part of a SQ.
  • For each session of Moderation Skill training purchased it is a SA.
  • The second, and each time after the 1st, an Alliance HQ name is changed it is a SA.
  • The second, and each time after the 1st, the Alliance HQ blurb is changed it is a SA.
  • The second, and each time after the 1st, the blurb and level of expense for a Player Controlled Shop is changed it is a SA.
  • Upgrading the Alliance HQ requires 50,000 gold and a SA

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  • An Alliance can issue a SA to add a 100-word message to the GM that will appear on the Alliances next turn. The message needs to be already error checked and in plain text format, the GM will not type the message out.
  • Passing on a piece of moderated information so that another party or Alliance knows the information IC requires a single SA, only 1 party or Alliance pays the cost.
  • Using a party spy in another Alliance to pass on a piece of moderated information requires a SA.
  • Checking for a Spy within your Alliance requires a SA. The Alliance should also include a cover-story as a FA.
  • Commissioning a magical item costs a SA.
  • Requesting Power Scrolls (PS), up to three PS can be requested as one SA.
  • Retiring a character from a party to join an Organisation or even an individual costs a SA.
  • Requesting more information from a Rank 3 turn for a subject that has not been designated a SQ that cycle requires a SA.
  • Due to the time mistakes take up, even though they are likely not processed, a SA will likely be charged. This is because the time taken up by trying to work out what an action means and querying it with the player is usually more than what is required if an action was correct.
  • During an action the rules that are debated will likely cost a SA, this due to the time required as the action cannot be simply processed. If you have something that you thing is a good reason for the rules being changed then please first get other player opinions about the idea before approaching the GM with the idea, an ideal place to do this is on the forums.

HOW DO I GET SPECIAL ACTIONS?

Alliances that have fulfilled the moderation requirements receive one Special Action quest plus one more per five active parties, per moderation turnaround. The GM informs the Alliance members of the number of Special Actions available to them in each moderation cycle. These SA cannot be saved up, or shared with other Alliances.
(An active party is one that is played regularly, and is not on holiday.)

Independent parties do not receive normal SA; however if the independent party is participating in a moderation event such as a SQ they may be authorised to carry out a specific action even if the action requires a SA, the player is not allowed to deviate from the designated action.

WHAT IS A FREE ACTION?

A Free Action is something that has been designated as not requiring a SA to carry out, even though they still require GM time to process.

The following is a breakdown of when an action is a Free Action:

  • Replying to a yes or no question, with a yes or no.
  • Collecting items that are listed in an action as being available.
  • If designated by the GM a short clear response to an event can be issued as a FA.

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  • Passing on Special Quest information to the Quest Liaison is a FA. Note: that telling the liaison about plans is not a FA.
  • An Alliance passing on moderation information to their Organisation Liaison is a FA. The information has to be short and clear; often no more than a sentence or two is required.
  • Delivering a moderation quest item. If the party is required to also attend a meeting to discuss something with someone as well as delivering a moderation quest item, then the delivery is one action and it is a FA, and the meeting to discuss things is SA and is thus another action; as always the two actions should be clearly separated.
  • Going to meet someone to receive information about a Special Quest is not a SA, but a FA if the SQ said that it is allowed by specifically mentioning it. This is not a meeting where any questions are raised; the player simply lets the GM know that the party is in place to receive details about a SQ.
  • The first time an Alliance HQ name is changed it is a FA.
  • The first time a blurb is added to the Alliance HQ it is a FA.
  • The first time a blurb and the level of expense are set for a Player Controlled Shop it is a FA.
  • Rejecting a Special Quest is a FA.
  • Nominating up to two pieces of information on a Rank 3 turn, as the Alliance's SQs are FA, or just one piece of information if the Alliance has more than one goal and the other Organisation has issued a Special Quest that cycle. More information will be given if appropriate.
  • Asking a Quest Liaison for help to remove a settlement ban instead of the specified reward for the completing a SQ.

HOW DO I USE AN ACTION?

To use an action, be it a SA or a FA the player needs to contact the GM with the game, party, Alliance and account number plus the relevant action needs to be short and clear.Moderated information in general uses the above basis to keep it short, to the point and thus more playable for all. When issuing any Actions, players are not allowed to give a detailed breakdown of what their characters will do, or any speeches they issue. For reasons as above, it is time consuming for a player to sit and write a detailed, perfect speech that is made all the more difficult by our real-world differences; so instead of writing lots of detail, a short OOC explanation is all that is allowed.

TRYING TO CARRY OUT SEVERAL ACTIONS WITH A SINGLE ACTION

This is a very important concept to understand, one action can be used to try only one thing, so multiple actions are required to accomplish multiple things.
When wording any action an indicator that the action is not valid is to reread the action and anywhere in the action it mentions words like "also" "and", "plus" "additional", or phrases like "as well as", or something more complicated like "whilst 'x' is doing something 'y' will do something". The GM will reject any requests that contain an action that has more than one action in it. The GM will not use actions without a player's permission.It is understandable that players will try to make the most of their actions, particularly the SA, but this rule is fundamental to the game and must be adhered to.

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SAs AND AN ALLIANCE INTERACTING WITH ITSELF

It does not cost a SA for parties from the same Alliance to interact with each other. This section only applies if an Alliance party is interacting with another Alliance party such as, whilst one Alliance party is in disguise and another party is interacting with them in some way to confuse some NPCs.

It is important not to confuse this section; the above rulings have to be taken into consideration at all times.

Alliance's can pass information to their own members without restriction; this should be carried out by the Alliance players and does not involve the GM.

SPECIAL ACTIONS AND STATUS

Using a Special Action could cost an Alliance Status; it depends on what is being attempted. Generally it is easy to guess at what will use Status and what will not. An action that involves the Alliance using its connections to an Organisation will generally use status, whilst an action that is unrelated to the Organisation will not.
It is important to remember that an Alliance carrying out actions anywhere in the world where it is known that the Alliance is involved means the Alliance is representing the Organisations it works for, this especially true for Alliances at the higher Ranks. Actions carried out on the other side of the world could result in status changes, as the Organisation could have political feedback on the Alliance's action given to them. Two factors determine whether there is any status change, does the Organisation actually care and what is the Organisation's relationship with the other Organisations in the area.

For Example: An Alliance caught stealing in a settlement, whilst the Alliance works for a different settlement's Thieves Guild, is unlikely to lose status or gain status with their settlement's Thieves Guild. The Thieves Guild thinks stealing from others is acceptable, although they frown on getting caught.

For Example: An Alliance working/for a settlement's Phyloqure Temple is found out to be behind the death of many citizens in a settlement riot, due to a sermon they carried out that went horribly wrong. Even though the results of the sermon was an accident the Alliance's actions resulted in unnecessary violence and death. It is likely that the Alliance will lose some status.

As status is a hidden game mechanic it is not something that will be explained in more detail and the system is designed that unless an Alliance issues lots of SA each cycle using their connections with their Organisation the loss of status is minimal in comparison to the gain in status from completing Special Quests.

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CONSEQUENCES OF ACTIONS

Whilst it could be fun to issue a SA to try and assassinate a major Organisations Official, the player needs to keep in mind that every action could have numerous different results leading to many possible consequences. If an action goes bad, all sorts of unforeseen events could transpire, people can be badly injured or killed by accident, the party could get banned or possibly their entire Alliance, the party could be arrested and placed on trail.

For Example: An action to break into a building and rob the place could result in a fight with someone present, the result of which could be the death of the person; the party has just committed murder and may have to face the consequences.

For these reasons it is very important that a player is willing to face the consequences of their actions; there is an explanation of crime and punishment later.

USING MORE THAN ONE ACTION TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING

There are two times when using more than one action to achieve something could be worthwhile doing.

  1. If a party tries an action and gets results that are negative, or results that do not seem positive or negative, then issuing a follow-up action could result in a more successful result. The saying "If you first you do not succeed then try, try and try again." is the basis of this recommendation.

    For Example: A party carries out a sermon to celebrate the worship of one of the Gods. The party results described the sermon as being predominately ignored by the citizens. A second SA to carry out another sermon could yield a more positive result.

  2. Attempting a difficult action straight off is often not the best way to go about it. If an action is used to first gather extra information about the action, such as scouting, scrying, visiting taverns for gossip and so on, the party could gain a bonus, possibly a big bonus, to their chance of succeeding with the main action.

    For Example: If a party wants to assassinate an important Official then it is likely that the party will struggle due to the security and possible power of the Official.
    If the party uses a SA to first scout the Official's home to see what security the Official has then the party could gain a bonus if they try to rob the place or assassinate the Official.
    A PS: Detect Power could be used on the Official's home to see what powers can be detected, this will firstly let the party know if PS should be used, and secondly could give the party a bonus if they try to rob the place or assassinate the Official.

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LONG-TERM EVENTS AND USING REGULAR SPECIAL ACTIONS

It is possible to use a SA to set-up a long-term series of events, but each time the party/Alliance interacts with the "event" a SA is required. Thus it is possible to set-up business deals, information trades, sermons and so on. Here is an example of what is meant by this statement:

For Example: Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith The Mystics (1032).
Using a SA the Alliance wants to retire character 12 Sauvil from party (1032) to join the Avaellia Temple of Phyloqure.
(GM NOTE: A form is provided that would also be included but is not here due to its size, see the section about retiring characters for more information.
Possible Results: The Avaellia Temple of Phyloqure accepts Sauvil.
OOC - SA used by 1032, 1 left.

Days or Months later another SA is used to interact with Sauvil.

For Example: Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith The Mystics (1032).
Using a SA the party contacts Sauvil who used to be a member of our party who joined the Temple of Phyloqure. The party asks Sauvil what he knows about the Temple of Phyloqure's relation with the Magic Cyrcle here in Avaellia.
Possible Results: The party members meet Sauvil who greets his old comrades with a smile. Sauvil explains that the current relation between the Temple of Phyloqure's and the Magic Cyrcle here in Avaellia is a strained one; this is due to the Elven Head Phyloqure Priest Phalan's daughter being courted by the Halfblood Mage Thanil who is known for his Fleyshurian beliefs.
OOC - SA used by 1032, 0 left.

Each time the Alliance wants to interact with Sauvil it needs to spend a SA.

TIME AND ACTIONS

As mentioned in the section 'Moderation & Time' the amount of time taken to carry out actions can be important. Time is not quite linear on normal Quest orders with regards to certain orders.

For Example: The Y order can be issued to accept a quest after a party has left a settlement and is technically not currently in the settlement to accept the quest.

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There is a time limit on how long the party can leave the action, for example if the party does not process a turn and misses the next game week then the quest will no longer be available and the Y order would fail. Moderation keeps this same idea to help with ease of play, but only with a few action types. If you do not follow up on these actions until after 4 weeks have passed then the action will likely fail.

  • Investigating monster remains after a fight, which requires a SA to do.
  • Collecting items after an action result, which is a FA.
  • Any time the GM specifies it is allowed; this does not mean that a similar type of action will be allowed.

For Example: After killing a monster a party is given a moderation blurb on their turn saying that the remains of the monster are unusual, so the player who has access to a SA issues a SA to investigate the monster remains. This is possible even though the party is no longer in the same sector as the monster.

PARTIES JOINING OR LEAVING AN ACTION AFTER THE ACTION HAS STARTED

Some common sense is required when determining whether it is appropriate for a party to leave after a moderation result, or more parties to join in with the next action. One way of thinking of what is happening is that once an action occurs the party is no longer in the normal time stream for purposes of how long the player has to carry out follow-up actions, since follow-up actions could take place mere seconds after the previous action. Of course the party IC is still in the game time stream. This is quite an abstract game ruling so here are some examples.

For Example: A party issues a SA to arrest an NPC, but the NPC turns out to be more powerful or has more guards than the party thought and the party has the choice of fighting or leaving the NPC.
At this point the player may be tempted to try and have more parties turn up to help in the fight, this not allowed, even if the second party spends another SA to help. The party would not have time to call for help, the help would not have time to arrive, the NPCs would either have already left or fought the party.
What the players would be required to do is let the NPC go, then issue another SA now in this example with two parties to try and track the NPC down and arrest them. This could result in the NPC being more difficult to find and more difficult to arrest, as the NPC is likely now taking extra precautions.

If the follow-up action takes place sometime IC after the previous action then it is okay to have different parties involved in the action.

For Example: After the fight and resulting arrest of the NPC the party takes the NPC to another settlement where another party uses Power Scrolls on the NPC and the other party uses a SA to interrogate the NPC and ask three questions.

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This other party joining is fine as the follow-up action is not a direct follow-on from the previous action, so it is quite easy to imagine that some time has passed in the game thus enabling the two parties to meet up.
In the case of a situation where a party wants to leave part way through a moderation result, if the situation would allow the party to do so it should be apparent, if in doubt contact the GM to check.

For Example: A party issues a SA to arrest an NPC along with another party. The NPC tells the parties to back down or face the consequences; the NPC has a powerful weapon and many guards, the action results say "FA to attack or walk away".
The two parties did not expect the NPC to be so powerful or has more guards and one of the parties is quite weak so at this point the owner of the weak party then decides that the party should not fight. It is possible for the weaker party to not fight, as the action indicates that the parties can walk away, so the players issue something like the following action.
"As a FA the weak party walk away whilst the stronger party initiates the fight."
There is a chance that the weaker party would still get involved in the fight, but there is also a chance that the party could escape unscathed.

FIGHTING IN MODERATION ACTIONS

It is possible that during an action a fight occurs; this is one of the reasons why party statistics and equipment are important in moderation.

After the fight a short summary is given, this summary is different to the standard fight descriptions and summary, in that it generally only mentions who died and the fight outcome. Power points, ingredients and health are not altered.

It is possible the fight could be against a NPC party, if this is the case then a free update will be sent to the player with the moderation and fight results. Due to the time it takes to process this sort of fight this type of fight is rare.

Due to the fact that fighting can happen all players must keep in mind that if a moderation action goes badly their party could end up in a fight, and suffer the consequences of losing characters.

MASS BATTLES

Quest is not a war game. Although conflict plays a major part of the moderated game, parties will not be able to attack settlements, or the armies mentioned, unless as part of a moderated action.
The Quest party can be thought of as a 'Special Forces' adventuring party. They may be given Special Quests to go to a location and scout enemy troops, but unless an NPC party is present they will not be able to engage the army in any way. They will be able, as part of moderated Quests, to undermine settlements and eventually destroy them, but not in the manner of a direct assault.

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The soldiers of the settlement-states could complete the normal and Special Quests offered to Alliances, but they have a limited amount of time, and the adventuring parties are proven to be generally faster and better able than the average soldier is. The settlement-states do have elite troops, but they rarely leave the settlements, otherwise they risk leaving the settlements too weak.

There will be times when an Alliance is offered a Special Quest that involves investigating an area and passing the details onto the appropriate Organisation. Many of these types of investigation results will describe a large camp of troops. Due to the sheer amount of troops, be it Goblin, Soldiers, etc, parties should not attempt to engage them. Even the most powerful party would be overwhelmed. The system has been designed this way as it is assumed that the vast majority of parties are too careful to do anything as suicidal as to engage three hundred Goblins in a single encounter. At the time of writing this rulebook it is not possible for multiple parties to team up and engage one or multiple targets with normal turn orders. So although an Alliance could organise twenty parties to go to a location and attack an army with potentially 300 characters this sort of large-scale action is not possible. It is possible via moderation to be involved in a mass battle, but only if the player is totally sure they want to risk losing lots of characters.

PARTY SIZE & MULTIPLE PARTIES

Sending several parties to attack a target is usually a good idea; the threat alone of so many opponents can result in a fight being avoided. If a fight happens the numerous characters could help pin down the opponents easier.
An important factor about sending several parties to participate in an action is that the local security, such as Temple guards, or Settlement militia, could immediately be on the defensive due to the danger of having so many people travelling about together.

Although a Quest party can have between one and fifteen characters not all of the characters may be able to get to an opponent at the same time, when several parties are involved in a moderation action the same could also be the case.
Adventuring parties are predominately based around skirmish fighting in the wilderness, being smaller than the standard military unit. Fighting in a settlement, and in particular in buildings is often more akin to dungeon fighting due to the limited space to manoeuvre in. Fighting in large open areas like a settlement square or a warehouse is where weight of numbers becomes a real bonus.

If several parties participate in an action then it is likely that the numerous characters will get in each others way, so sending lots of parties does not mean that opponents can automatically be overrun and/or reduce the chances of characters dying. For the above reasons sending in lots of characters, particularly weak characters, to swamp an opponent will often result in a few characters suffering severe injuries or even death; of course the swamp tactic is quite a valid tactic to use, just keep in mind the chance of deaths.

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BEING INVOLVED IN BATTLES

Quest parties are not set up to operate in the front lines of an army, for this reason moderation is designed to keep parties out of major battles.

TPA - TOTAL PARTY ANNIHILATION

Moderation is designed so that characters act in their best interests at all times, unless the player specifically says not to and gives a good reason why. A TPA could effectively leave a fifteen strong party with just a few characters alive, or possibly that everyone is killed.If a player tries to carry out a moderation action that has a very high chance of resulting in TPA, then the GM may query the action. If a player is adamant about carrying out a very suicidal action then the player runs the risk of TPA, total party annihilation and if the player can provide a very good reason for proceeding with the action then the GM will allow it.

POLITICAL ACTIONS

When a party or Alliance is involved in a political action there is some leeway given with regards to the amount of information that can be sent to the GM. When a party issues an action to rob someone, for example, details behind the robbery are not important, but the reasons behind a political action are always important.A political action is an action that involves dealing with Organisation Officials to determine an important political decision, like determining whether a political treaty such as declaring war or merging is agreed upon. Meeting with Organisation Officials to carry out an investigation, purchase PS, pass on information about a quest, enquire about something and similar actions do not count as a political action. As this ruling is rather abstract the GM will let players know when an action is classed as a Political Action, so unless there is an OOC message it is best to assume that the action is not considered a political action.
Up to three briefly explained reasons can be included in a political action.

For Example: A peace treaty between settlements is planned and a party is sent to meet with Officials of the opposing settlement. The player issues the following action for their party.
Game 31, Hermetics (1475), Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith. Using a SA the party meets with the Officials of Tavack (5) to discuss terms of peace and persuade them that it is in all of our interests. The formal diplomatic papers are presented in Message Scroll (96123).
The following reasons are included to back-up why the peace treaty is in the Officials of Tavack's interest:

  1. Further war with Avaellia will only weaken both City-States further, making it much more likely that both City-States will be conquered by Tavack (11).
  2. The Officials of Avaellia are convinced that agents of Tavack (11) initiated the troubles between our City-States to weaken us both.
  3. One of the reasons for Tavack and Avaellia tension has been due to the opposing religious influences; with the changes in both City-States and the resulting dominance of Baldor followers this reason for trouble between us has gone.

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If a player wants to issue a political action without the GM designating an action as a political action then the you should ask via a SA first, this method is required as players have tried to abuse the system in the past and then argued that every action is technically something that can have huge repercussions, this part of the system is designed to make the game more playable not for people to power-game. The player should make it clear that they want authority for to issue a political action. The GMs response will say whether it can be a political action or not.

For Example: An Alliance wants to propose a peace treaty between two settlements, but nothing has been arranged yet, so there is nothing saying that a political action can be given, so the issue a SA to arrange a meeting.
Game 31, Hermetics (1475), Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith. Using a SA the party arranges a meeting with the Officials of Tavack (5) to discuss a peace treaty in a meeting. I would like this to be a political action.

The following response is given:

Possible Results: The Officials of Tavack (5) agree to meeting with the party to discuss a peace treaty.
OOC - You can issue 3 briefly explained opinions as a FA.

The player then issues the following action:

Player FA: Game 31, Hermetics (1475), Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith.
The following reasons are included to back-up why the peace treaty is in the Officials of Tavack interest:

  1. Further war with Avaellia will only weaken both City-States further, making it much more likely that both City-States will be conquered by Tavack (11).
  2. The Officials of Avaellia are convinced that agents of Tavack (11) initiated the troubles between our City-States to weaken us both.
  3. One of the reasons for Tavack and Avaellia tension has been due to the opposing religious influences; with the changes in both City-States and the resulting dominance of Baldor followers, this reason for trouble between us has gone.

GOLD IN MODERATION ACTIONS

Gold can be used in moderation actions for various reasons. If gold is being used then the player needs to make sure that the party definitely has enough gold and that the source of the gold is specified.

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Gold can only be taken from one source. The sources are:

  • Party Bank Account
  • Alliance Bank Account - the other Alliance parties will be told the party number who has used the Alliance account.
  • Party Cash - if this option is chosen then the amount will be taken from the party total and the remaining gold will be equally distributed amongst the characters, so use with care.
  • Individual Character Cash
  • Special Moderation Source if the party has one it will have been specifically designated as such by the GM.
  • If gold needs to be taken from another Alliance or party then transfer it first before issuing a moderation action.

If the sources do not have enough gold then there is a chance the action can go quite wrong, although it is more likely the action will simply fail as the party is unable to proceed.

BRIBERY / DONATION SPECIAL ACTION

An Alliance can offer bribes or donations of Gold to the liaison, the actual Organisation, or both. The reasons for, and ways of doing this, can vary. As the liaison is the sole person that the Alliance deals with regularly in an Organisation, there is a risk that the liaison may decide to keep the Gold and lie to the rest of the Organisation. Each liaison has a personality, and thus may react differently. A vague guideline is as follows: a liaison working for a Good Organisation is more likely to be honest and pass on the Gold, but will be unlikely to release secret/sensitive information. Whilst a liaison working for an Evil Organisation, or one who is just selfish, is more likely to pocket the Gold and lie, but they are also more likely to release secret/sensitive information. Additionally, if the Alliance does bribe the liaison or the Organisation, there is a chance that this information could be used against both the Alliance and the liaison or the Organisation.

Donations of Gold can be offered to the Organisation that the Alliance deals with. These are different as they are not as risky, although the liaison may still decide to swindle the Alliance. A donation does not have any Quests attached to it beyond a thank you, and also a possible small increase in Status. A reason for donating Gold so generously is that Organisations can always make use of it, and thus the Alliance is helping their allies.

The amount of Gold offered can play an important factor. A rich Alliance offering a small amount of Gold is likely to receive a less positive outcome than a poor Alliance offering the same amount. Factors like how much Gold the Alliance has, and how many parties and items are in the HQ effect whether the Alliance is classified as rich.

To summarise, the Alliance should decide whether and how they want to approach the liaison, and whether they believe it is worth the risk. These acts require a Special Action

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BRIBERY / BUYING INFORMATION

Gold's value is not a static thing; its worth greatly depends on the person, be it PC or NPC that is being dealt with. When people do not desperately need gold then its effective value can greatly diminish, for example a Settlement Guard that has fine clothes, a nice home and equipment with a bit of spare gold in the bank is much less likely to accept a small bribe than a Settlement Guard that has lots of debts. The result is that it is very hard to determine how much gold should be given in the way of 'Bribes' or for 'Buying Information'. The following list is to give more of a guideline as to how much gold to offer to different people.Offering an amount of gold in any special action can help as the party could use it to help "motivate" NPCs. Offering a much smaller amount than the NPC feels they are worth is dangerous, as it runs the risk of angering the NPC you are trying to bribe!

People Types Gold
Ordinary Citizen that don't not have access to sensitive information or who do not have a position of responsibility People like a Farmer, Shop Keeper. Up to a few 100 gold
Someone who has a low level position of responsibility. Someone who has some information that they know could be quite useful.People like a Guard (foot troop), Initiate Priest, Low Level Thieves Guild, Low Level B&M Guild.
Up to a few 1000 gold
Someone who has a position of some responsibility. Someone who has quite important information.People like an Apprentice Magic Cyrcle, Settlement Official. Medium to High Level Temple Official, though it greatly depends on the Temple. Medium Level Thieves or B&M Guild. Up to a few 10,000 gold
Someone who has a very important position of responsibility - Someone who has information that they know to be in high demand.People like a Medium Level Magic Cyrcle, High level Settlement Official/Priest/B&M/Thieves, etc. Possibly between 50,000 to 100,000 gold
The occasionally incredible greedy person who knows "they hold all the cards", or an exceptionally important person who is unlikely to be interested unless a silly amount of gold is offered. Possibly sums of up to several 100,000 gold

 

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Note: Please remember that this list is only a guideline. All sorts of factors could come in to affect the decision.

To offer a bribe to an NPC a SA is required. The Moderation Skill required is one of the Social Etiquette skills; whichever is the most appropriate for the situation and the NPC.

Offering gold to a PC can be done via the game orders. It is possible to use a SA for a single gold transaction but it would be a waste.

In the SA you must specify the amount of gold that you are willing to spend, the default amount is 0 so if you do not specify that a specific amount of gold is available to be used then none will be.

If the party gets a good result they are likely to be able to convince the NPC to reduce the amount of Gold that they want. A bad success could still result in the information still being purchased, etc, but at a higher price than normal.

As with other aspects of moderation there is no need to write lots of information specifying various conditional situations, keep the action short and clear:

For Example: Game 31, Hermetics (1475), Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith. Using a SA the party will attempt to bribe the Shop Keeper of shop 23 in settlement (5) to sell the information about the merchant shipment to us. Offer up to 4000 gold, which will be taken from their party bank account.

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