Advanced Rulebook

A SERIES OF MODERATION EXAMPLES

ALLIANCE SETUP

The example below shows how an Alliance is set-up and then how moderation works.The Alliance and the details here were made up for the purpose of this example.
1) The Alliance start-up form is completed as normal, the Alliance members get their next turn with confirmation that everything has been set-up.

2) The Moderation Alliance form is then filled in once, and only once, the Alliance has formed and the player has received a turn back with confirmation.

Game Number: 31
Account Number: 12345
Player Name: Bobby Joe Smith
Email Address: bobbyjoe@email.com
Alliance Name: Mystics of Avaellia
Alliance Number: 111
Settlement Base: Avaellia (6)
Shop Number: 59
Primary Goal: The City of Avaellia (6)
Secondary Goal: Magic Cyrcle
Tertiary Goal: None
Leader: The Mystics (1032) - bobbyjoe@email.com
Recruiter: The Initiates (1930) - fred@email.com
Treasurer: Hermetics (1475) - traceyjo@email.com
HQ Manager: Prophets of Avaellia (1147) - timmytom@email.com
Overview:
The Alliance is extremely loyal to Avaellia and although the Alliance is also Mage based and works with the Magic Cyrcle they will put all concerns of Avaellia before even them.

All of the Alliance members receive the following information on their next turn.

Greetings I am Joseph Frana your liaison with the Settlement Officials of Avaellia.
OOC - Joseph is a middle-aged Human male.

Greetings I am Samuel your liaison with the Magic Cyrcle Officials of Avaellia.
OOC - Samuel is an old elven male.

ALLIANCE EXAMPLE: RANK 1

The example Alliance set their goals last month, they were told who their liaisons are, so they are now eligible for Special Quests. The Alliance is offered two Special Quests, these can be replied to without taking up any Special Actions.

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The first Quest is from the settlement Officials of Avaellia, it is to find a signet ring that was owned by the Baron of Elkaes. He was robbed by some Goblins in the Forest of Night. The court has traced the item to the possession of a group of Goblins (4772), but they are unable to say whereabouts this group of Goblins is. This signet ring is very important as it gives forgers the ability to forge documents more easily for the town of Elkaes. A reward of 20,000 Gold will be given to the Alliance upon the return of the ring, plus 10,000 Gold to the party that completes the task. Joseph.
OOC - Sq31-ma01/02/02-1.

So the Alliance Hierarchy can either nominate a party to take care of this, or just let everyone go for it. They do not need to inform the GM until they have arrived at their destination or achieved whatever they are doing.

The second Quest is from the Magic Cyrcle in Avaellia. There have been rumours of a magic shrine near to Avaellia for years now, but no one has managed to locate this. If the Alliance can track it down the Cyrcle will be extremely grateful. Since the power trapped within the shrine is beyond the means of the Alliance, the Cyrcle will grant access to the Alliance once the shrine is under their control. Due to the magic protecting this place, finding it will be extremely difficult. The best clue the Cyrcle can offer is to speak to the Hermit Phanaem, a Molwanh Priest. All they know is that he was last thought to be in the Spine Mountains near to Avaellia. Samuel.
OOC - Sq31-ma01/02/02-2.

Of the two example Quests shown here the first is very straightforward, and is likely to be completed in a short space of time, although some Quests may take unexpected twists and thus take longer. The second quest is the beginning of something that will likely take a long time to complete.

Additional: in addition to being offered Quests the Alliance is also asked the following:

'Greetings Mystics of Avaellia. Elkaes, one of our towns, is in need of financial aid at this time. For several reasons we are unable to gather the amount of 100,000 Gold that will be needed to sort out the town's financial troubles. Would you be interested in investing any money? If so you can buy up to 100 shares, each at 1000 Gold. This will not give the Alliance any control over Elkaes. In (3 months OOC) the Alliance will be eligible for profits or costs, depending on how financially successful the investment works out. Joseph.'
OOC - To accept the offer a SA is required. The investment figures seem to show that this investment has a good chance of creating profit.

Moderation Notes: Receiving extra moderation events is not normal event, and thus players should not be disappointed when none are issued.

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Three Special Actions: since it has 12 active members the Alliance is allowed to issue three Special Actions this moderation cycle. The GM informs the Alliance members about this with the following message:
OOC - For the cycle that started on the 01/02/02 the Alliance has 3 SA.

Moderation Notes: As explained previously Special actions cannot be carried over and must be used in the same moderation turnaround period they were given out in.

The Alliance Hierarchy discusses what actions should be undertaken with their allotted number of Special Actions, and the following ones are sent in:
SA 1: The Alliance decides to go ahead with the offer of investment that Joseph told them about.

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345 Bobby Joe Smith
Using a SA the Alliance contacts our liaison Joseph and informs him that the Alliance happily excepts the offer to invest money into the town of Elkaes, and we will purchase 100 shares, making a total of 100,000 Gold to be taken from the Alliance's bank account.

Moderation Notes: The Alliance could have used a SA to investigate the investment offer further, which could have been done via a number of methods such as asking one of the Elkaes Officials, one of the Avaellia Officials, Joseph's opinion, someone in the Bankers & Merchants Guild, and so on.

The following reply from Games Master is given to all the Alliance members:
'Thank you Mystics of Avaellia, the gold has been taken from your bank account as agreed. The investment will go a long way to helping the citizens of Elkaes. Joseph.'

SA 2: The Alliance decides to use a SA to ask Samuel a question relating to arcane matters.

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345 Bobby Joe Smith
Using a SA the Alliance asks Samuel an Arcane Question about whether the Magic Cyrcle knows anything about the Fangtooth Sword, the weapon owned by the great Lord Wolfholm.

The following reply from Games Master is given to all the Alliance members:

'The Fangtooth Sword has not been heard of since its use in the battle between Avaellia and Tavack more than a century ago. The Sword is supposedly able to change its slaying ability once a full moon into any type of race that has a race slaying weapon. Samuel.'

Moderation Notes: The Alliance could have used its Arcane Question to ask for information about the nearby shrine or the Hermit, but that would have very likely been a waste, since it was the Magic Cyrcle that have asked for their help.

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The following are other possible courses of action the Alliance could take:

If the Alliance had also been working for Molwanh, as one of it's goals, they could have asked the Temple about the Hermit.

The Alliance could ask the Temple of Molwanh themselves but the Alliance knows that the Temple of Molwanh is not currently on good terms with the Alliance or the Settlement.

The Alliance could ask the Magic Cyrcle to ask the Temple of Molwanh for them, but if it was that simple then the Magic Cyrcle would not have asked the Alliance, they would have asked the Temple of Molwanh themselves.

The Alliance could ask the Settlement Officials to ask the Temple of Novala, which the settlement does have a good standing with to ask the Temple of Molwanh, but this could cost quite a lot of Status as the Alliance uses its standing with one Organisation it works with to further the goals of another Organisation.

The Alliance could bargain with another Alliance to find things out for them, but this will cost the Alliance at least one SA to use the IC deal to provide the other Alliance with IC information that they can investigate. It is also likely the other Alliance will require some compensation for using its SA.

The Eldritch Slayers (1645) have found the Goblin group (4772), but no ring was found, instead they found a message saying contact the Games Master. The player can either choose to contact the GM, or ask one of the Alliance Hierarchy to do it on their behalf. In this example the player decides to contact the GM themselves and they send the following message in:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 3333 John Jones.
OOC - Sq31-ma01/02/02-1. My party, Eldritch Slayers (1645), have found the Goblin group (4772), but no ring was found. Instead a message saying contact Games Master.

The GM will then check the game database to make sure all the goblins were killed, which they have been.

The following reply from Games Master is given to the party (1645):

'With the battle over the party check for signs of the ring, but it is not found. Grabbing a Goblin that is near death, the party get the information out of it. The ring has been given to some bandits that had hired the goblins for 5,000 Gold. A description is given of the bandits. The Bandits (6231) are on their way to Tavack. The 5,000 Gold is found and taken.'

Moderation Notes: In this case the straightforward Quest has turned out not to be so straightforward. In addition the party has discovered a likely plot, as it appears that someone from Tavack has hired bandits to capture the ring. This leads to all sort of possible scenarios.

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Since time is probably, short the player contacts the rest of the Alliance and they organise another party to locate the bandits, which then goes after them. This other party successfully tracks the bandits and attacks them. Checking the party's plunder slot the signet ring is found, so the party should head back to Avaellia on their next turn.

Moderation Notes: As always with moderation the results can vary greatly, instead of getting the ring in the party plunder slot there might have been a moderation message saying that remains of the bandits are possibly worth investigating. The player could have decided to strike a deal with the Bandits, and so on.

With their arrival back at Avaellia, the following message is sent to the Games Master:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345 Bobby Joe Smith
Sq31-ma01/02/02-1. The Snow Tigers (1860) are back in Avaellia, with the signet ring (?43876).
The following parties were involved with the quest 1645 and 1860.

The Alliance members receive the following message on their next turn:

'With the return of the signet ring the settlement Officials are pleased with the Alliance's service. The reward of 20,000 Gold has been added to the Alliance and the 10,000 Gold to The Snow Tigers (1860) bank account. Joseph.'
In addition to this the parties involved in the quest, in this example 1645 and 1860 receive a share of 3000 Experience Points, so that will be 1500 XP each evenly distributed amongst the party members.

Although the Eldritch Slayers had started the mission they did not complete it, so they did not get the reward.

Moderation Notes: The Alliance chooses not do anything with its third Special Action so they lost it at the end of the cycle. The Alliance could have chosen to use the SA for a number of things, such as meeting with Settlement Officials at another settlement if the Alliance had a party in an appropriate place, if the Alliance could afford 50,000 gold available it could have used a SA to purchase a Moderation Skill, or the Alliance could have enquired about purchasing up to 3 PS, and so on.

ALLIANCE EXAMPLE: RANK 2

This example uses the same Alliance shown in the Rank 1 example. It is important to remember that the following example of what one-moderation cycle could be like could proceed quite differently due to events in the game, or results of actions being different. Explanations have been added to clarify some of the background.

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The Alliance is Rank 2 with the Settlement and Rank 2 with the Magic Cyrcle. The Alliance membership has grown to 31, but over the moderation cycle only 25 parties are active, so the Alliance is allowed to issue 6 Special Actions. The following message is given by the Games Master to all the Alliance members at the start of the moderation cycle:

OOC - For the cycle that started on the 13/11/03 the Alliance has 6 SA.

Upon receiving the notification of how many Special Actions they have the Alliance discusses what to do and decides to use one of the Special Actions immediately, which uses some Status as well, before they receive any Special Quests.
Last cycle the Alliance recovered a magical amulet and they attempted to use a 'Detect Power' Power Scroll, which the party had acquired from an earlier Special Quest, but they were unable to determine what the amulet could do.
Moderation Notes: As per the SA explanation you can only use a SA if you have one and you cannot send in a SA early.

The following message is sent to the Games Master:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345 Bobby Joe Smith
Using a SA the party Snow Tigers (1860) asks our Magic Cyrcle Liaison to appraise the magical amulet in their possession (?43776)

The Alliance members receive the following message on their next turn:

'Greetings, the amulet (?43776) has been examined and it has been ascertained that it is enchanted with the ability to Hide Truth, which can negate the Truthsayer Power. This is a permanently enchanted item and it is worth approximately 25,000 gold. Samuel.'
OOC - SA used, 5 left.

The Alliance members decide to wait until they receive their Special Quests before using any more Special Actions.

The Magic Cyrcle Special Quest is issued at this moment, the following message appears on all the Alliance members next turn:

'The Magic Cyrcle has need of an errand. We are aware that several groups are interested in getting hold of some important Magic Books that are about to be transported, so we would like your Alliance to be the couriers. Please nominate a party that is in Avaellia to act as couriers. The Alliance will be paid 15,000 gold upon the successful delivery of the books. Samuel.'
OOC - Sq31-ma13/11/02-1.

Moderation Notes: Whilst it is normal that Special Quests are issued at the start of the cycle they may not always be. All the Special Quests tend to be issued at the same time, but it is not always the case.previous pagenext page

 

 

The following message is sent to the GM:

OOC - Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith Sq31-ma13/11/02-1.
The Alliance informs Samuel that the party that is going to carry out the courier Quest is: The Initiates (1930), and they are currently in Avaellia.

On the turn for The Initiates (1930) the following information is included. The player waited a few days between the Games Master being told which party was going to do the Quest and sending in a turn:

The following two books, (56346) and (56347) need to be taken to the Ratham(10) Magic Cyrcle. As the settlement is four journeys away it will take a while to get there. The route you take is up to you, but be warned that we are aware that other groups are interested in these books, and that parties may be sent to intercept them. Samuel.
The player opts to do the quick and easy route, i.e. the direct journeys and proceeds to work out their next turn.

Meanwhile two Alliance parties were busy investigating the forest to the south of the settlement, as last month the Settlement had asked the Alliance to check out some peculiar reports from there of bizarre magic lights and strange noises. The following quest code was given to the Alliance Sq31-ma16/10/03-1. The Alliance was given a three by three block of sectors in which to investigate, i.e. a sector 10 sectors south and 5 sectors east, and the sectors around it. The two parties have been moving onto each sector and issuing an 'I 0' order. One of the parties, the Eldritch Slayers (1645) uncovers the following.

** Hidden within the forest is a small clearing with a dark stone presiding in the middle. The characters try to approach but some sort of barrier prevents them. Strange runes are marked upon the stone. In addition, the mangled remains of a body circles the base of the stone. It appears that minions of Fleyshur are behind this.

The player passes this information onto the Alliance Leader, who sends the following message:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith
Regarding Sq31-ma16/10/03-1, the Alliance will inform Joseph that the Eldritch Slayers (1645) have uncovered the following magical site:
'** Hidden within the forest is a small clearing with a dark stone presiding in the middle. The characters try to approach but some sort of barrier prevents them. Strange runes are marked upon the stone and in addition the mangled remains of a body circle the base of the stone. It appears that minions of Fleyshur are behind this.'
The two parties involved in the quest were Eldritch Slayers (1645) and Hermetics (1475).

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Moderation Notes: As explained in the liaison section directly copying the information a party receives for a single moderation action is perfectly fine to do, and with email turns it is very easy to copy and then paste the results into a moderation action; another bonus of doing this is that the player can avoid mistakes easier by doing so. It is also okay to provide information in a short summary format.

The following information appears on the next turns of all the parties in the Alliance:

'The Settlement Officials have been informed and they thank you for your help. 20,000 Gold has been paid into Alliance Funds. Expanding on this further, the Alliance needs to get hold of a Remove Enchantment Power Scroll to negate the magical barrier. At this time we do not have one, but we have petitioned the Magic Cyrcle for help. You could try adding your influence to speed this request along. Once you have access to the clearing report back what you find, and from there we can decide how to proceed. Joseph.'
OOC - Sq31-ma13/11/02-2.

Due to the Quest being completed and the message to the GM including a breakdown of parties involved, in this case two parties, they are given 3,000 XP between them, which is 1,500 XP each.

In this example the previous moderation cycle Special Quest has been completed and a new quest has been issued to follow-up on the results of the last one.

At this point the Alliance decides whether to issue a SA to ask the Magic Cyrcle for a PS: Remove Enchantment, which normal costs 15,000 gold. As a SA allows an Alliance to purchase up to 3 PS in one request the players decide that a Scry III 12,000 gold, and a PS: Persuasion 6,000 gold will also be requested. The following message is sent to the GM:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith
Using a SA the Alliance asks Samuel if the Alliance can purchase the following Power Scrolls:
PS: Remove Enchantment, PS: Scry III and PS: Persuasion. The Alliance is willing to spend up to 40,000 gold, which should be taken from the Alliance bank account.

The following information appears on the next turns of all the parties in the Alliance:

'The PS: Remove Enchantment is being subsidised by the Magic Cyrcle as it has been agreed that it is in our interests to do so, so the Alliance is only being charged 7,500 gold. The PS: Scry III and PS: Persuasion are both in stock now and are available at the standard price. The 25,500 gold has been taken from the Alliance's account and the PS: Remove Enchantment (53776), PS: Scry III (53777) and PS: Persuasion (53778) have been passed on to the Alliance Storeroom. Samuel.'
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One of the Alliance parties, The Mystics (1032), is taking part in a Special Quest that was advertised in the newsletter (620), quest code Sq31-57/16/10/02. The party members have been battling, along with other parties, a hoard of Undead monster groups that were attacking the town of Durinth (57). The Mystics used an Uncover Location I Power in the area, which was successful and thus the party managed to locate the portal through which the Undead were coming to the area. Using the information that was put on their turn last month they approached the sector containing the portal, and performed an 'I 0' order. The following information was gained on their turn.

** Up ahead the party spot an anomalous glimmer of light. The light has a strange metallic shine. Moving closer the party sees a hole in the ground. In the hole a shimmering portal swirls.

The player contacts the Games Master with the following message.

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith
Sq31-57/16/10/02. The party sends a message to the liaison acting on behalf of the Officials of Durinth (57). They inform them that The Mystics (1032) have found the portal where the Undead hoard have been coming from, it is 7 sectors west and 4 sectors north of the town. All the Undead in the area have been killed, which is what the SQ required so the party claims the prize of 25,000 gold.

The party also let the Quest Liaison know that the party can close the portal if it is worth their while. The party is paid 25,000 gold and the following reply is on the party's next turn:

'Many thanks for helping our town, the 25,000 gold has been paid to the party's bank account as agreed. An additional 30,000 gold will be paid for closing the portal. Officials of Durinth.'

Moderation Notes: Whilst the message included a question about the portal it does not cost a SA to ask it as it definitely clearly relates to the quest. Although the Quest is not an Alliance Special Quest it is still a Special Quest and thus the rule regarding informing the liaison of things relating to a Special Quest applies.

The Alliance gained a Dispel Undead II Power Scroll two months ago, which 'The Mystics' kept hold of. A PS: Close Summoning Portal could be used, a PS: Portal Dampen might work although it is designed to work on settlements, a PS: Remove Enchantment could possibly work but as it is a catch-all power it is not generally as effective as the more specific powers.

The player contacts the rest of the Alliance about whether they think it is worth using the power in exchange for 30,000 gold and they agree since 30,000 gold is the standard fee for the PS and it was gained at no gold expense by the Alliance, so the Alliance Leader sends the following message to the GM:

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The player contacts the rest of the Alliance about whether they think it is worth using the power in exchange for 30,000 gold and they agree since 30,000 gold is the standard fee for the PS and it was gained at no gold expense by the Alliance, so the Alliance Leader sends the following message to the GM:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith
Sq31-57/16/10/02. The party The Mystics (1032) use the PS: Dispel Undead II (53148) in our position to close the portal they are stood nearby to.
The Games Master removes the power scroll from the Alliance and the following information will be on the party's next turn.
'Using the PS: Dispell Undead II causes the portal to shrink until eventually nothing is left.'

Once the results are read by the player the following message is sent to the GM:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith'
Sq31-57/16/10/02. The party The Mystics (1032) contact the Quest Liaison acting on behalf of the Officials of Durinth (57). They claim the additional 30,000 gold for closing the portal.

Moderation Notes: Since the Power Scroll was in the party's equipment they could use the Power Scroll. If it wasn't they would have to go and collect it first, so whilst keeping PS in the Alliance Storeroom is a lot safer it means the Alliance parties have to spend game turns travelling about more.

The Alliance members now decide that they want to increase their Cryptography Skill. They send the following message to the Games Master:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith
Using a SA the Alliance wants to purchase training in the skill of Cryptography.

This uses a Special Action and some Status along with 50,000 gold that is taken from the Alliance's bank account. The following message appears on all the Alliance member's next turn.

OOC - 50,000 gold and a SA used to purchase Cryptography Training, 3 SA left.

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Later on in the cycle The Initiates (1930) have had a turn processed, and are waiting in Narant (14) for the next game week so they can have another turn processed. Unfortunately for them they have had the books stolen by a party from another Alliance that is known to work with the Thieves Guild. The stealing party is The Masked Ones (1232). So upon receiving their next turn the party find out that they have lost the books (56346) and (56347). Initially panic sets in, and the player contacts the rest of the Alliance to get their input. Formulating a plan, the Alliance locates the guilty party and then sends several parties after them. They decide not to contact the offending party or Alliance, as the steal item order does not always give the target party the identity, so as to not let them know that they are about to be attacked.

Luckily there is another Mystics of Avaellia party, Hermetics (1475), only a journey away with a turn still due. This party is sent to the settlement to get the books back. The Hermetics decide to attack The Masked Ones (1232), as their Thief is not very skilled. The Hermetics turn results are received by the player, but the Anti-Annihilation Routine has prevented a fight. So the player immediately sends the following message to the Games Master:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 11334, Tracey-Jo Mabbit Sq31-ma13/11/02-1.My party, Hermetics (1475), engaged The Masked Ones (1232), and the Anti-Annihilation Routine prevented us from fighting, since we would have annihilated them; see me last turn. Please pass the books (56346) and (56347) onto my party. In addition my turn ended in a different settlement, and we issued an order to hand the books from the plunder slot to a character, and then onto The Sages (1762) who are members of our Alliance.

Moderation Notes: Note that the player has not processed another turn and they did not send in new orders, so the GM can check the party's last turn to confirm that the AAR did occur.

In this case the hand orders would have failed since the books weren't yet in the party's custody, but the order wouldn't have really since the books should have been carried by the party, so the Games Master gives the books to The Sages.
The books are passed on and The Masked Ones (1232) are informed of what has happened with the following message for their next turn:

OOC - Due to the AAR preventing the party Hermetics (1475) from fighting your party the moderation items books (56346) and (56347) have been taken from you and given to Hermetics (1475).

The Sages (1762) are given the following message for their next turn:

OOC - Hermetics (1475) have passed on the following items: books (56346) and (56347)

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Later in the cycle the following message is given to all of the Alliance members.

'Greetings Mystics of Avaellia, we are in need of some financial support. As you are aware our fair settlement has been suffering from problems, with what little evidence we have managed to gather seems to point towards Tavack as the culprits. Due to this we wish to strengthen the military presence in and around Avaellia. We would be extremely grateful if the Alliance could donate at least 200,000 Gold to the settlement funds. We do not wish to borrow this money and we were hoping that your Alliance would be able to spare the Gold. Joseph.'

Moderation Notes: In this case the settlement has asked the Alliance for a donation. How an Alliance wants to handle this is entirely up to them. 200,000 Gold is quite a lot of Gold for an Alliance, although this amount is not a major sum to a settlement, it is still an important amount. See notes on donations and the benefits for the specific rules.
Using a Special Action, the Alliance decides to go ahead with the donation, deciding that the Status they will receive in return will be worth it. Additionally, the Alliance has stated that their primary concern is the settlement, thus it makes sense to make sure that it is safe. So the Alliance Leader sends the following message:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith
Using a SA the Alliance lets Joseph know that although our finances are somewhat limited the Alliance is able to donate 200,000 Gold.

The following message is on all the Alliance members next turn:

Many thanks to the Alliance for the 200,000 gold donation, the Settlement Officials are very grateful. Joseph.
OOC - SA used, 2 left.

Moderation Notes: If the Alliance had decided to not go ahead with the donation then no SA would be required. If the Alliance wanted to go ahead but it did not have the gold or SA necessary then it could let the liaison know as a FA what it planned to do.

Checking the settlement news, item (620), the Alliance members see that there is new moderation information available. The newsletter has a special report on mercenary troop movements near to the settlement Phanie(9), information code I31-9/16/11/02, which is quite close to Tavack, but no details as to who the troops are working for and/or what their motivations could be are revealed. The Alliance players discuss the possible repercussions of what is going on and then decide to use another Special Action with the Settlement to try and find out more information. The Alliance Leader sends the following message to the Games Master:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith
Regarding I31-9/16/11/02. We contact Joseph our liaison and ask him If he has any information about the mercenary troops spotted close to Phanie(9)

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The following message is added to the next turn of all the Alliance members:

'I have done some checking on the troops. From what I can gather, mercenaries are being hired in Phanie(9) and they are heading to a fortified encampment to the south west of the settlement. I am speculating, but I believe that a representative of Tavack is probably hiring them. Joseph.'
OOC - SA used, 1 left.

The Alliance discuss whether they should send a party to Phanie(9) to use a SA to carry out an investigation; in the end they decide it is their best interest to not put this off so the Ashen Company(1991) head to Phanie(9). The settlement is not to far away so the party is able to make it there quickly, and upon arriving in the settlement the player contacts the Alliance Head to issue a Special Action on their behalf. The Alliance Head sends the following:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith
I31-9/16/11/02. Using a SA the Ashen Company(1991), whom are in Phanie(9), will investigate the rumour about mercenaries being hired here in Phanie. Since we believe that it may be an operative from Tavack the investigation will be subtly carried out, i.e. we do not want to barge into a tavern and ask outright.

Moderation Notes: As per the rules about moderation actions this action has enough information to be acted upon by the GM. Whilst it is possible that all sorts of approaches could be used many might not be the best way of carrying the action out; so the players in the Alliance did not have to work out a detailed plan of how to go about the Investigation instead this brief summary is ideal. The players also decided to state that they wish to be subtle, not blatant, which is a good thing to state if the players feel it is important.

The party finds out the following information, which is on their party's next turn:

The characters investigate the taverns of Phanie by splitting up and single targeting drunken adventurers, whom are more likely to let information slip. After several conversations the characters are able to find out the following things:
A wealthy merchant called Jilona arrived in Phanie a short while ago, he has been offering a lot of gold to anyone willing to join his task force, the exact reason for this task force is supposedly to cleanse the nearby forest of a large camp of bandits that have so far evaded capture and have been hampering Jilona's business.
Another conversation revealed that Jilona has a lot of business in Tavack, and that he deals in many things, but one of his specialities is weapons.
Another conversation from a disgruntled chap was that Jilona was heard talking about using the mercenary force to ambush an Avaellia Troop Division believed to be in the region cleansing the same bandits; the chap has no other proof than his testimony. The camp is supposedly about 2 sectors NE of Phanie.'
OOC - SA used by 1991, 0 left.

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This information gives the Alliance quite a bit of information to go on. They could tell the Avaellia liaison immediately as a FA, but the Alliance members decide to wait and gather more information by investigating the sector ASAP.

The Alliance party Vorpal Storm (1110) kill a group of bandits; the following message is reported after all the bandits have been killed.

With the battle over the party start searching through the belongings of the bandits and in plain sight is a map indicating that there is a Faerie Circle 12 sectors east and 6 sectors south of Tavack. There is no indication as to why the bandits had this information, or what they intended to do with it.

Moderation Notes: Sometimes information is gained without the need of a SA being used.
Another moderation item gained from the latest settlement news is a request for aid by the settlement Doniville (19), special quest code Sq31-19/16/11/02. The Doniville Officials are offering a PS: Portal II as payment for killing the lead Gnoll group that is currently attacking the settlement, however they are not sure which one the Gnoll groups is the lead group; all Gnoll groups should be killed in the area if possible, but the lead group is the priority target. Different parties, including the Mystics of Avaellia party Rolling Storm (1139), in the area of the settlement go Gnoll hunting. The Rolling Storm (1139) does not manage to kill the lead group just a few normal Gnoll monster groups, nor does the party come across anything else of note.

Moderation Notes: As with everything else in the game, please bear in mind that things will not always turn out in the party's/Alliance's favour, and others can complete Quests as well.
Meanwhile events with one the Alliance's special quests have progressed, The Sages (1762), who were handed the special books a short while ago, send their next turn orders in. The party ends its turn in the settlement of Ratham(10) and immediately tells the Alliance Head who sends the following message to the Games Master to deliver the books:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith
Sq31-ma13/11/02-1. The Sages (1762) have arrived in Morthan (10) and deliver the two books, (56346) and (56347), to the Ratham(10) Magic Cyrcle as per the instructions they were given.

The following message is ready on the party's next turn:

Arriving at the Ratham (10) Magic Cyrcle the party are greeted by members of the Magic Cyrcle and the delivery of the books takes place without incident. The party is thanked for its service.

Moderation Notes: It is possible that the delivery of the books could have gone badly, the Ratham (10) Magic Cyrcle could have been in the midst of a crisis that resulted in the books being lost, someone could have attacked during the meeting, and so on. Even in a simple delivery quest a lot can happen

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The Alliance Head sends the following message to the GM:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith
Sq31-ma13/11/02-1. The Alliance informs Samuel that the two books (56346) and (56347) have been safely delivered to the Ratham(10) Magic Cyrcle.
The Alliance parties involved were The Sages (1762), Hermetics (1475) and Initiates (1930).

The following message is put on the next turn of all the Alliance parties:

The delivery of the books completes the quest and the 15,000 gold has been paid to the Alliance as agreed, good work. Samuel.
3,000 XP are shared between the three parties, The Sages (1762), Hermetics (1475) and Initiates (1930), so each party receives a 1,000 XP to split amongst their members.

Whilst returning to Avaellia from a Temple Quest, Crusading Sorcerers (1856), meet a group of Fairy Folk (3587). Luckily the party are set to a general attitude of friendly to monsters, to try to avoid fighting everything and also because they are a generally peaceful party in philosophy. The meeting with the Fairy Folk goes differently as the monster group had a moderation tag on them, so the party receives the following information:

Your pleasant manner and ability to make us laugh has impressed us, which is a hard thing to do. As a reward here is a Resist Persuasion Power Scroll. Fairy Folk.
OOC - Please contact GM to collect quoting the code M-FF3587-13/10/02.

Extremely surprised the player decides to risk taking the PS and so sends the GM the following message:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith
Crusading Sorcerers (1856), met a group of Fairy Folk (3587), and were offered a Resist Persuasion Power Scroll, M-FF3587-13/10/02, the party will accept the PS.

Moderation Notes: A player can keep things to themselves, but that could create problems for them at a later date, for example the Alliance could desperately need a PS: Resist Persuasion and if the player had kept their find a secret and then suddenly says "I've got a PS: Resist Persuasion" the other Alliance players may be annoyed; the player has the choice.

The encounter with the Fairy Folk could be quite different, for example the Fairy Folk could have asked the party to participate in a ritual that would then require a SA for the party to do so, the Fairy Folk could have given information to the party about a magical site for free but it could turn out to be a trap, and so on.

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After sorting out some other things orders are sent in for Eldritch Slayers (1645) to collect the PS: Remove Enchantment (53776) from the Alliance storeroom and then travel back to the sector that contained the hidden clearing and the dark stone. Once the party arrives at the correct location the Alliance Leader contacts the GM with the following message:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith
Sq31-ma13/11/02-2. Using the PS: Remove Enchantment (53776) the Eldritch Slayers (1645) will remove the magic barrier they found at the site.

The Games Master checks to make sure that the Eldritch Slayers are located at the clearing and tests are carried out to see if the PS works. The GM puts the following message on the players next turn:

** With the magical barrier successfully removed the party are able to approach the dark stone in the clearing. The stone pulsates with an evil aura. As the party is able to closely examine the stone and the strange runes the party is able to determine that this site is designed to weaken the barrier between this world and the demon worlds. Someone is planning to unleash a demonic hoard unto the area.

The Alliance Head sends the information to the GM:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith
Sq31-ma13/11/02-2. The Alliance will inform Joseph. The following information has been uncovered: "With the magical barrier successfully removed the party are able to approach the dark stone in the clearing. The stone pulsates with an evil aura. As the party is able to closely examine the stone and the strange runes the party is able to determine that this site is designed to weaken the barrier between this world and the demon worlds. Someone is planning to unleash a demonic hoard unto the area."
The following party's were involved with the SQ: 1645
In reply to this information the following response is given:

The information about the successful removal of the magical barrier the quest is completed and a follow-up SQ will be issued shortly. Joseph.
Due to the Quest being completed and the message to the GM including a breakdown of parties involved, in this case just one, party 1645 are given 3,000 XP.

Nearly at the end of the cycle's moderation, one of the Alliance parties kills a group of Orcs, and in the plunder slot they see a messages scroll; it stands out as unusual due to a "?" being in front of the item number. On the party's next orders the player moves the item to a character and then issues an 'I' order on it. All the blurb says is 'The message is encrypted.'

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Moderation Notes: The Alliance has used all of its Special Actions, so it will have to wait until the next cycle to try and decipher what the book is about. If there was a SA spare then all that would be required is a message from the head, or player, with their details and the message number and the monster group number from where it came. A test would be made against the Alliances Cryptography Skill and the results of the test would then be given to the party.

ALLIANCE EXAMPLE: INITIATION FOR RANK 3

The Mystics of Avaellia receive the following message on all the Alliance members turns one day:

OOC - The Alliance is nearing Rank 3 with the Settlement of Avaellia, the Alliance can suggest three initiation tests to carry out in order of preference.

The Alliance members have a good debate about what they would like to do. After two weeks the following information is sent to the GM by the Alliance Head:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith
The Alliance has the following 3 ideas that are listed in order of preference:
1) The recovery of an ancient artefact.
2) Enhancing the Magic Cyrcle's standing in Avaellia.
3) Improving relations between Avaellia's Magic Cyrcle and Ratham (10) Magic Cyrcle.

The GM decides which one of three ideas best fits in with the current political climate for the Avaellia Magic Cyrcle and also what plots are occurring at the moment. After deciding the GM puts the following message on the next turn of all the members of the Alliance:

The current political climate in Avaellia is growing more and more precarious, so it has been decided that the Magic Cyrcle will increase its political standing here in Avaellia. As the Alliance also works with the Avaellia Officials the Alliance is in a good position to achieve this goal. Samuel.

The Alliance members discuss how best to go about completing this quest. The Alliance then proceeds to issue actions that will enable it to do so.

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ALLIANCE EXAMPLE: RANK 3

*******************************************
Game Number: 31
Settlement: Avaellia (6)
Magic Cyrcle Information
*******************************************
The recent census puts the settlement's population at: 151504
Category Area Overview Last Cycle
Food Satisfactory Satisfactory
Magic Satisfactory Satisfactory
Maintenance Good Satisfactory
Military Poor Poor
Trade Good Good
Treasury Good Good
Morale Good Satisfactory
*******************************************
Current Positive Settlement Conditions
*******************************************
Enhanced Fortification III: Yes 8 Weeks
Terrain Warn III: Yes 3 Weeks
*******************************************
Current Negative Settlement Conditions
*******************************************
Plague: Yes 3 Weeks
*******************************************
** Organisation Information: Magic Cyrcle (MC) **
*1* The leader of the Avaellia Magic Cyrcle, Thomas Vorlorn, has invited the Alliance to a meeting taking place in two weeks, 13th June, here in Avaellia. If the Alliance wants to attend nominate up to three parties.

*2* There are reports of unrest in Nallia (71). There has been rioting, with many citizens being arrested causing lots of logistic problems for the Officials, namely a big drop in production. The ringleaders are at large and are apparently Fleyshur minions, so they could be agents from Tavack (5).

*3* Avaellia Magic Cyrcle has uncovered information relating to an old relic of Avaellia's former power, the "Crown of Truth". Nominate a party to be given more details if the Alliance wants to pursue this matter.

*4* There is a decision facing the Magic Cyrcle, the Thieves Guild has proposed a plan to help undermine Tavack, but it heavily requires our two Organisations interacting. It is risky allowing the Thieves Guild access to our sanctums, but their idea seems sound. Should we agree to allow the Thieves Guild access to our Sanctums? Vote on this subject now.

** MC Jobs-Board **
(OOC - all details for these are known IC, just use a SA and go;-))
*5* There is a ritual taking place in two weeks, 13th June that that Alliance can assist with. If you want to help with this job nominate up to three parties that will be in Avaellia when the ritual takes place.

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** Other Organisation & Settlement Information Learnt **
*6* Phanie (9) has broke it's pact with Tavack (5). The information given out at the moment is that there has been a big falling out between the two Settlement-State Officials about the cost of Tavack supplying troops to Phanie.

*7* Mavlon (56) was recently struck by a plague, however the Mavlon Officials say that the plague has been contained and should ease off.

** Trade Deals of Note **
*8* There will be a merchant caravan arriving in Avaellia in one week; it could be worth checking out.

** General Divine News **
*9* Rumours are that there will be a big Fleyshur ritual taking place in Tavack (5), although what the ritual is about is unknown.

** Battle Reports **
*10* A skirmish took place between Avaellia (6) and Tavack (5). Avaellia won the skirmish with only a few losses.
*******************************************
OOC - Add the number at the start of each section to the following code Sq31-moa29/4/03R3- to denote what information the Alliance is referring to.

ALLIANCE DECISIONS

The Alliance decides to do the following during the cycle. At the start of the cycle the Alliance sends the following message:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia (111), Account Number 12345, Bobby Joe Smith.
The Alliance contacts Samuel of the Magic Cyrcle and nominates The Initiates (1930) to receive more information about the "Crown of Truth".
Code: Sq31-moa29/4/03R3-3. This will be the Alliance's Special Quest 1.

Just after the 6th June the Alliance contacts the GM with the following message:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia (111), Account Number 12345, Bobby Joe Smith.
Hermetics (1475) use a SA to interact with the merchant caravan looking for moderated magical items to buy.
Code: Sq31-moa29/4/03R3-8.

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Just before the 13th June the Alliance contacts the GM with the following message:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia (111), Account Number 12345, Bobby Joe Smith.
The Alliance contacts Samuel of the Magic Cyrcle and nominates The Mystics (1032) and Hermetics (1475) whom are both in Avaellia for the meeting with Thomas Vorlorn.
Code: Sq31-moa29/4/03R3-1. This will be the Alliance's Special Quest 2.

Just before the 13th June the Alliance contacts the GM with the following message:

Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia (111), Account Number 12345, Bobby Joe Smith.
The Mystics (1032) and Hermetics (1475), whom are both in Avaellia, are available for the magic ritual, we understand this will cost a SA.
Code: Sq31-moa29/4/03R3-5.

EXPANDING THIS FURTHER

This is only a series of examples in what could be a countless number of potential outcomes. With the ability to issue very diverse Special Actions an Alliance can pursue its own avenues of interest.

Looking at the Rank 1 Example, if the Alliance was not really loyal to Avaellia they could have chosen to sell the signet ring to another Alliance, one that is maybe an enemy of the settlement, or they could have chosen to hold on to it. This of course means that no reward would be given, since the Quest was not completed, and, more importantly, the Alliance would not gain an increase in Status. After a time, the Quest would be declared incomplete by the Settlement, even if the Alliance doesn't do so, and thus a decrease in Status would occur. Instead this Quest could have been quite short if the Goblins still had had the ring. Or it could have gone horribly wrong if another party had killed the bandits and found the ring. They could then have contacted the Games Master to ask what they had found and decide whether to sell it to the Alliance, if they know the Alliance works for the settlement, sell it to the settlement or maybe sell it to an enemy Alliance/Settlement.

It is important to remember that there could be times when moderation results will not turn out as hoped, but these problems add their own individuality to the game's story.

As an Alliance grows and its Status with the various Organisations increases more and more aspects will become available; so the amount of events that the Alliance is involved in is likely to increase, barring most of the members leaving and/or the Alliance not doing well.

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