NuTRANESIV: Fallen Fantasy

[nutranurse]

Orders SENT.

Please look over and point out any screw ups, its a new NES and a new Moderator to me.. wouldn't want things to go wonky from the off

Not a problem, Abaddon. I want to be as friendly as approachable as I possibly can be because this NES is as new to me as it is to you. I am probably going to re-work some stats/mechanics around next turn, though it will not effect the whole setting/way the NES is played that much. Things tend to fall apart when transplanted from the drawing board to application!

In fact I will probably rework the front page entirely so as to clarify some things before they become too much of an issue. Things like spending, order format, etc.

 

[nutranurse]

Here is a preview for what I am thinking for kingdom stats. Basically I want to make things as open as possible.

Spoiler :

Council
Character Name/Prominence/Faction [Aims] (Traits)

Kingdom
Kingdom Name
Type
EP Income: (Base/Manufacture/Trade)
Investments:
--
Infrastructure
Military
Culture
Domestic Affairs
Foreign Affairs
Commerce
Treasury
---
Stability/Weariness
Military: Desc. of typical army
Armies: (Leader) X Units; (Leader) X Units

Factions: (Name, Strength/Support)

Cities: (Name/Type/Size)

Clearly the new things to note is the idea of 'investments' (shamelessly stolen from kkmo) and 'factions' (which are not all that unoriginal and kind of a NES staple) and 'units' (an element of the military).

My goal with 'investments' is to provide the player with some idea of what they can pump their EP into. They will function similarly to the idea that kkmo has laid down, with players assigning amounts of EP to each category each turn, and 1 EP being spent each turn regardless to maintain the 'status quo'. This way you will always potentially have something going on!

What does this mean for Action-Capable-Characters (ACC)? Well, in your orders you are free to go in depth on your various investments, assigning characters to those detailed investments you want to focus on.

As for factions, this is basically just to represent the elements of your kingdom not entirely under your control. All ACC, save for your monarch, will belong to a faction and in turn represent the 'prominent' members of the various factions. The stronger a faction the more ACC it produces/attracts.

In my previous model for stats a player's military was kind of just a bunch of numbers that had no meaning. In an attempt to give some definition to this lacking stat I am dividing the military into a two-fold stat: a description of the typical army for that nation, and the 'armies' and 'units' within those armies.

Armies are attached to characters and are either High-Low-Broken in their morale. Units are part of the armies and each unit = 1,000 men. So an army of 2 units = 2,000 units strong. What those units are exactly depends on the army description. Players can influence the development of their armies by investing in their military and dedicating ACC's to specific innovations.

No changes for races yet, though I am thinking of adding 'factions' to them as well to spice things up for race players.


edit: All changes will effect the NEXT turn, not the current turn, so send in orders as normal.

 

[kkmo]

I continue to watch with interest. I am glad you opted for military descriptions and your use of investments allows for appropriate flexibility while clearly laying out how much is needed to maintain the status quo. I may end up joining this. But I don't like to bite off more than I can chew, so I'll continue to lurk.

edit: Another reason why I prefer the investments take on rulesets is that you can simulate emergency funding by taking from status quo maintenance to provide for the military (only in a dire situation; it doesn't make sense if a nation is being overrun by nine-armed cow-dragons and still caring about the quality of its water).

But with a NES such as yours, maybe your investment categories should be more flexible. A gruesome, maniacal kingdom hell-bent on continental domination shouldn't have to put 1 EP into Commerce or Foreign Affairs. With LotRS, it makes sense in a historical context. Here, you might need to tweak things a bit.

 

[nutranurse]

True, true. I am using your investment categories as a base and will move from there.

 

[Abaddon]

Anyone else got their orders in? I'm excited for yet another update

 

[nutranurse]

Frozen, Adrogans, Joakim, Penguinraider. Not counting yours till they're sent in the proper format (actually I had to go over my inbox a few times to find your orders because they're not in the right format!)

 

[Abaddon]

How can "Heol Orders I" not be clear? Regardless, i'll change it and resend

 

[nutranurse]

NutraNES IV (Kingdom/Race) Orders/(Player Name)

Because it's not that.

 

[Abaddon]

Are you converting them to another format or downloading them something? I would have thought who I am is pretty clear considering it is me sending it

 

[nutranurse]

Having a format helps me to find orders much easier when I need then, and yeah I do download them and put them in a PDF format for storage and story purposes. It really does help me get through things faster.

 

[thomas.berubeg]

Orders sent... please let me know if I did anything wrong.

 

[Adrogans]

The Sun exploded and the various bits of flame and light expanded for a distance before they began to come back together and reform once more. The day had ended and yet night still eluded the Dohtel, as it had for centuries now. King Soter XI sat in The Hall with the council behind closed doors addressing the most central issue at the heart of the Dohtel, the succession as directed by the Essence and the Unmarked.

“Council,” King Soter XI stood and spread his hands in the traditional greeting to the council, “please sit and discuss the future of our people.” Everyone sat. “We have lived this long due to the grace and guidance of the Essence as it filled our bodies to survive the Change. Long ago the marks we bear on our bodies were not with us from birth, but were granted once a child became an adult and began their life’s journey.” Muttering broke out among the council at this disclosure. “The royal lineage of the Dohtel are the keepers of what records and traditions could be saved from before the Change and Suin being closed to us.” King Soter XI took a moment to collect his breath as his old lungs struggled to keep his energy up. “I have poured over the texts and written down much of the traditions handed down from monarch to monarch over the centuries as I have little time left and no heir of my own.”

Councilman Egil stood. “Sire, you know the Essence will simply choose your closest relation and appoint them to your post why are we worrying about this? The Essence will choose it always does what is best for the Dohtel.”

“Because I can see the Essence pulling at my closest relation to do just that, but my closest relation is an Unmarked.” Pandemonium erupted as if the Council was a fire that just had dry tinder dropped on it.

Shouts of “That cannot be!” or “I won’t accept it!” echoed throughout The Hall. King Soter XI let them continue on until he had regained his strength and then bellowed them quiet.

“We the Marked have to come to terms with the fact the Unmarked are our future!” King Soter XI waited until this pronouncement quieted the Council. Once order was restored he continued in a calmer and more composed fashion. “It has been almost a decade since the Unmarked appeared and still no Marked has been born. The first generation of Unmarked is approaching adulthood with questions the Marked never had to ask. I hear them when they do not realize my ears can reach them. Laments of ‘What am I going to do?’ ‘What am I?’ and the most confusing of them all for the Unmarked is ‘What is my purpose?’” King Soter XI let all those questions sink in and saw that some of the Council Members actually contemplated them and he could see their sorrow. Unfortunately it was only some not all of the Council. King Soter XI could see that the other Council Members ignored this entire discussion because of course the Essence would bring the Marked back to the Dohtel. They refused to accept that even their children would forever be Unmarked by the Essence, at least on the skin. The Dohtel would always be driven by the Essence in one form or another.

“Bah!” Snorted Councilwoman Triana derisively. “The Essence has simply been weaker in this last generation. It will right itself and the Dohtel will continue as we always have.”

“What you mean as unparalleled Sorcerers? Have you not noticed that the Essence changes the world and specifically us? We used to be masters of wielding the Essence, then we became wielded by the Essence.” Councilman Frahm shouted back. “Do you think the Essence was wrong now that the Unmarked have come to the Dohtel?”

“The Essence is the Essence, we are but slaves to its will and must adapt. Even if the Marked start being born again the Unmarked must have a purpose or else the Essence wouldn’t have created them in the first place.” Councilwoman Rinsha commented in her light airy tone.

King Soter XI waved the room quiet. It stilled with respect given to their monarch. “In any event I have watched my relative for some time now and I have listened to their discussions. Apparently the Unmarked do feel pulled by the Essence, but in more than one path. They have to make a choice we never have for centuries: What do I do with my life? Can any of you tell me what you would have done faced with that choice? Of course you cannot because you cannot comprehend that it was even a choice that could be made. These Unmarked not only can choose, they must.”

 

[nutranurse]

I am missing orders from Seon & Masada. Other than that the update is on its way!

 

[Abaddon]

When is/was deadline?

 

[nutranurse]

Wednesday was the deadline. I've only not received orders from Masada. I have the first part of the update written, though being sick and puking up bile has stopped me from getting anymore work done.

 

[Abaddon]

Well I hope he proves me wrong, but in my experience, Masada isn't the most reliable for sending orders...can't you NPC him?

Also, hope you get better soon, I bet it was all that drinking I'm feeling lousy after a big weekend myself!

 

[Adrogans]

Hmm that's an interesting point you bring up Tequila. Along with my snacks.

 

[nutranurse]

I think this is just a carryover of me being sick in general this past weekend; I haven't had booze in 2 days!!!

But my girlfriend brought tomato soup and gatorade, so I feel decent enough to at least think about something that's not my churning stomach.

edit: And yeah, I did not figure Masada would be consistent in getting his orders in.

edit edit: I lied. I'm going to go lay down

 

[Masada]

GF+Sim3=problem.

 

[nutranurse]

An update on my progress:

I have finished the 'overview of the past' and the military & domestic events for the Great North (Nak Akkal, Karinthians, Akonai, Djata, Dothel) and will begin working on the other two regions as I get time. The update may be a bit slow getting out because this coming week is hell-week in that I have my senior thesis proposal due, a research paper due, another random essay due, and a class discussion to lead (for the entire week). Next sunday will be my day that I spend my whole time on the update (as I will be recovering from my psychedelic Halloween trip) so I aim to get the update out on next next wednesday (2nd of Novemember). Cheers!