Topic: Crypto Kingdom - 1991 Retro Virtual World(City) - page 101. (Read 632672 times)

Cooper thought about the request for applications for Estates and decided that if he was to become the noble that he always wanted to be (after his father, The Marquess of White Cross), he needed to act in line with how a noble would act. He must make his way without his father "helping him out" all the time. He told the Marquess that he wanted to get an Estate, and his father tried to donate hundreds of millions of moneritos to him to donate to the treasury. While he hasn't had too many problems growing up, he was starting to see these handouts as a major issue and wanted to make his way on his own.  He turned down the money and used his own funds for this. 

He had a problem though, he was only 26 and he hadn't thought much about making an army. The marquess lent him a few troops to get his estate started. Cooper was adamant that they would be returned as soon as he could afford to purchase his own, from profits made by the estate.  He wants to do this ON HIS OWN!! To this effect, he would like to apply for the Essu estate (or others, if that one is taken).

* He has a SGT and 6 PTE for a small army that he will assign to the Estate to patrol. 
* He would like to donate to the King 10 x CS1617E, the CS-series 5 CKS gold coin from 1617
* He will make a royal treasury donation of 10,000,000 moneritos

King's High Council

Town has its council that decides about the important matters of the game. But King also has a council which is called when the Kingdom is in danger.

In an adhoc meeting with peers present, the following was decided:

1. Exhort the Prince of Soul to deploy a convoy to the Principality of Soul, with the specific objective to gain blueprints of the local weapon known with its Chinese name Cho-Ko-Nu so that it can be perfected in Crypto Kingdom to be used by our troops (and optionally other objectives).

2. Draft plans for the merging of Phaeton Carriage Company to the Royal Windows Works Company and dedicate the new company to weapons research and production under the name Royal Weapons Works Company (RWWC). At the earliest opportunity, the production of CANN will be doubled, and research and later, production, started for cast copper cannonballs and chained balls.

3. After as much information on other frontiers is received as possible, however no later than January, 1623, deploy a detachment on horseback to the south with money to recruit mercenaries. The County of Plath is one possible location. The mercenaries to be recruited need to be veterans, have their own equipment and NCO (but no officers!) and be trained in Muskets (and have them as well). They will fight integrated to our own forces with special care given that despite their superior firepower, our loyal troops remain the majority of the Fighting Strength in every unit (if possible).

The currency that will be sent with the recruitment force is IC (CONSUME IC amount [mercenaries]). Everyone who wants Mercenaries can contribute to the pot, and the NPC recruited will be divided in accordance when they return to CryptoTown. If another destination is wished, it must be communicated beforehand. Note: if a local NCO costs 20-100 million, it can be that the mercenaries also cost serious dough. Moreover, their salary is unknown at the moment. d20 is strong here, so the venture might end in anything between "all recruiters killed and IC stolen" to very lucrative deals.

Mercenaries have same ranks as regulars. Because of their muskets, mercenaries' Fighting Strength is higher, as follows:
MSGM = 5
SGTM = 4
CPLM = 3
PTEM = 2
And they are eligible for the Position bonuses (which easily causes their Fighting Strength to surpass the regulars, which might randomly be even hazardous!)

4. If the expedition of Soul returns, Cho-Ko-Nu is researched. If not, care is taken that some muskets remain in our possession after the mercenaries, so that it speeds up our research effort to start producing them for the regulars. It is hinted that Heavy Cannon can be researched at a reasonable 10,000*SCI, but this is of limited use in the field and not a priority. Seafaring is a very tough challenge for our land-based people, and also requires a town on the coast. None of the counties has even explicitly confirmed a suitable coast, although of course they exist.

Gamemaster is very happy that in as little as 12 hours (days, gametime) after meeting a credible foreign power, the Kingdom is mobilized for preparation effort like not in a century!

A Friday Night special brings us the memories from the Most Ancient times (posts abridged)...

Number of PC in 1422 was already 19, and gold was cheap:


In preparation for the Golden Jubilee in 1450, suits already cost a big penny:


And if the current time sounds that huge money is pressed to the PREparations, in 1450 it was even tougher:

Formation of Historical Estates in TVA Duchy
ADD: To differentiate these from "Estates of dead people", we will try to change the term to Manor in the future

With the changes in the Food generation, King has realized that his historical lands in TVA Duchy, both the farms and the taxes-in-kind combined, account for roughly half of all the VEG and MEAT supply of TMA CryptoTown currently - the rest being independent farmers selling from their own account (Farmers). With both the PC and NPC population in the rise, the good management is paramount to keep their production up.

The Counties are already ramping up their FOIE production and the MEAT production is in the rise as well (which is very good as these "regular" meats are not sufficient even for current level of consumption).

Being overwhelmed with the state affairs, the King has called the land in the Old Duchy to be divided according to the historical Estates:

1. Aaspere
2. Essu
3. Haljala
4. Kunda
5. Pada

Each of the Estates has a nominal farm production of 9,500-21,500 VEG and meat production of 3,000 MEAT. All the costs of production are already paid in kind (and a big part of this is tax revenue from the peasants anyway). This makes at "standard prices" (1000 m for VEG; 5000 m for MEAT), these Estates yield 25-37 mil annual profit each.

Aaspere has the largest VEG production and Pada the smallest, and this is their order of preeminence. We are now calling the industrious nobles and commoners alike to post their interest in becoming tenants of these Estates (production shares will be transferred to character account). Even corporations are not excluded!

Terms of awarding:
- King will award the Estates to whomever he likes, and Aaspere is reserved for Lord James Daniel.
- King considers the following things in awarding:
* Level, history and playstyle of the applicant.
* Current strength of Army in command of the applicant and currently undeployed. (It is too late to call back troops.)
* Proposed donation to the Royal Treasury (charged only to those who are accepted).
* If gifts are given to accompany the application, they will remain with the King.
- The applications are to be made no later than the close of the year and the winners will be announced in January.

Terms of tenancy:
- The tenant may use the title "Lord of [Essu]" after Viscounties and before Baronetcies (this is a courtesy title for a tenant though).
- The tenant can keep all the proceeds of selling the production. Hoarding will be penalized.
- The term is 2 years, 1623-1624 (VEG coming in autumn and MEAT by the close of year).
- The estate must be protected by an Army contingent, and this is evaluated in the end of term. (All Army promotions etc are evaluated at the same time so no double-duty is possible.)
- The tenant agrees to not keep any forces stationed in CryptoTown but only in the estate and other legitimate places.
- Gameplay is allowed.
- A short report must be produced in the end, outlining the success of market operations and the protection level (strength, BV) acquired.

What comes afterwards:
- The faithful managers are offered continuation term or even the outright Lordship of the Estate. Every continuing Lord will be ennobled and promoted Baron L13 (when applicable).
- It is unlikely that the other Counties will reach this level of PRE in a few years at least.
- Estates are about to be incorporated "soon" - this is a part of larger game modules though (allowing eg. urban wood and stone building and rural building).

Gamemaster note:

But what happened to James Daniel? Four rolls of d20 were required to find it out. For the first 2 days nobody saw the King, nor Heimo, nor James Daniel (King had not been present in the reading of Gustaf Adolf proclamation). Wild rumors circulated around the town, fueled by the word "brother". People even took sides about whether James Daniel is a bastard son of the late King of Sweden, or whether their current king is a bastard of HM The King. Others were more moderate and interpreted the word by "close friendship" only with no illegitimacy involved. Only a few were dismissing the incident completely. Strong men do not pass out when seeing engravings of other strong men. The "blood oath" received surprisingly little attention.

But Heimo had sensed danger to James Daniel life mainly based on that. It is not easily reconcilable that a son to the King has sworn to a boy who later became a king of another Power. In the hours following, the Prince of Soul proved his sense of honor in the upper room of the Gilded Goose by swearing that he will kill his only son if this is revealed a traitor (Paul Jr was not present).

Heimo had taken James Daniel to one of his auxiliary palaces and arranged it so that he could escape with plausible deniability (after all, Heimo's whole retinue was the 7 men mentioned, and they have other duties as well). It took a day but no longer before the King sent for Heimo, who confessed possession of James Daniel. He saw it fit to agree to King's demand to fetch him immediately.

When they arrived to the summerhouse in person, James Daniel was there unharmed. What follows, is announced in the thread. Heimo says he did not question James Daniel and has only acted honorably and in subservience to the King.

As for the Estates, the King is no fool. He is playing as if he was oblivious of the rising tensions that the County Rush is creating, nor the potential difficulties arising from religious freedom. Sweden became a protestant country long ago, due to the political expediency at the time when the Crown needed funds that could nicely be confiscated from the Church. We don't have such a problem luckily, the Church is rich but the Crown is way more powerful. The King is undecided in the actual matter of faith - both sides have their strong points. If possible, let this state of affairs continue.

But it does not mean preparations were not on a high gear here as well. The advance of Cannon should have come years earlier, but better late than never. The defence of CryptoTown and the lands that provide food is important. Getting the lands out to the lords will be a hit to the royal incomes, but will serve as getting the loose troops out from the town, and their owners committed to the defence in the perimeter. With the information James Daniel gave about HKM, all kinds of readiness is most needed, and more will follow soon. The town has not been attacked during its history, which may have lead the people to believe it could not happen in the future. Hopefully they are correct.

The Foreign Powers (currently Queen Louhi, HKM Gustaf Adolf) are masterminded by players who are not characters in the game, and their decisions will be given to the GM for evaluation.

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

Lord James Daniel collapsed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Greetings from he who makes mortals tremble:



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

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

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

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

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

See link for more information.

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

Prizes Awarded

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

Prizes Remaining

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

- - -
2,000 * FOIE
1,000 * JAD (1 kilo of unworked Jade, special gift from Ming merchants)
500 * W1603A (pre-Plague wine, the historical Spring Wine)
200 * MIN-5 (Most Elaborate Ming China Plate 16cm)
100 * CS1625E (special edition 5 CKS only 100 minted)
50 * CLXII (since there are no restaurants qualified to participate in the auction, it will be raffled instead)
25 * WOS-E1 (Green Suit, gift of HH The Mayor)
20 * MIR (Venetian Mirror 1 sqm, gift of HH The Duke of New Liberty)
15 <- when this number of tickets is reached, the subsequent SPOILs are 25% only to increase excitement!
- - -
10 * Baronet of CK (lowest numbers available starting from highest ranking winner, incl promotion to L12 if applicable)
1 * Third Prize: 1-SE-V76 Korean Restaurant (1518) (to the 3rd last ticket; gift of Prince of Soul)
1 * Second Prize: TRC4-19 Most Elab 4-Horse Carriage (to the 2nd last ticket; gift of M of White Cross)
1 * Grand Prize: Any Real Estate up to the value of 500,000,000 m (in the whole game, you pick, King pays   )

Total Value of Prizes: 3,700,000,000 m !
(Nominal value of ticket: 156,100 m)

It is possible to give prizes to the auction. Unique prizes will be listed as 4th, 5th etc. prizes, and will always be awarded. Fungible prizes you need to give the maximum amount to the King, and they will be dividended when the number of tickets reaches or goes below the amount, the King doing what he wishes with the difference.
JAD is a new creation, the rest of the items are King's donations unless indicated.
King is very happy if you wish to donate something to the 225ary Raffle! After all, how else would King know who the upcoming nobles in the Kingdom are... this information is needed for the Celebrations for sure!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Commoner path to glory - First steps

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New Permanent IC Conversion Table


WINES

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

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


SILVER

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

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


SWORDS

See previous post.

ART

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


NEW: Copper

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

KMT  2*IC  (note: KMT)


Note on Wines

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

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


Note on B-22

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

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

Five shares per year per character is the maximum.

New Vegetables have come to town!

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

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

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

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

See link for more information.

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

Prizes Awarded

47,671 * CAN given!

Prizes Remaining

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

25,000 * BEER (amount increased in the true spirit of celebration!!)
- - -
2,000 * FOIE
1,000 * JAD (1 kilo of unworked Jade, special gift from Ming merchants)
500 * W1603A (pre-Plague wine, the historical Spring Wine)
200 * MIN-5 (Most Elaborate Ming China Plate 16cm)
100 * CS1625E (special edition 5 CKS only 100 minted)
50 * CLXII (since there are no restaurants qualified to participate in the auction, it will be raffled instead)
25 * WOS-E1 (Green Suit, gift of HH The Mayor)
20 * MIR (Venetian Mirror 1 sqm, gift of HH The Duke of New Liberty)
15 <- when this number of tickets is reached, the subsequent SPOILs are 25% only to increase excitement!
- - -
10 * Baronet of CK (lowest numbers available starting from highest ranking winner, incl promotion to L12 if applicable)
1 * Third Prize: 1-SE-V76 Korean Restaurant (1518) (to the 3rd last ticket; gift of Prince of Soul)
1 * Second Prize: TRC4-19 Most Elab 4-Horse Carriage (to the 2nd last ticket; gift of M of White Cross)
1 * Grand Prize: Any Real Estate up to the value of 500,000,000 m (in the whole game, you pick, King pays   )

Total Value of Prizes: 3,800,000,000 m !
(Nominal value of ticket: 79,700 m)

It is possible to give prizes to the auction. Unique prizes will be listed as 4th, 5th etc. prizes, and will always be awarded. Fungible prizes you need to give the maximum amount to the King, and they will be dividended when the number of tickets reaches or goes below the amount, the King doing what he wishes with the difference.
JAD is a new creation, the rest of the items are King's donations unless indicated.
King is very happy if you wish to donate something to the 225ary Raffle!

Ambush

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

Master sergeant, "Pst!"

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

The door flies open!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Go up and look your--"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Smooth Investment Fund Dividend

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

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

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



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

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


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



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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Exhortations For County Fiefholders and General Preparation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See link for more information.

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

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

50,000 * CAN
20,000 * BEER
- - -
2,000 * FOIE
1,000 * JAD (1 kilo of unworked Jade, special gift from Ming merchants)
500 * W1603A (pre-Plague wine, the historical Spring Wine)
200 * MIN-5 (Most Elaborate Ming China Plate 16cm)
100 * CS1625E (special edition 5 CKS only 100 minted)
50 * CLXII (since there are no restaurants qualified to participate in the auction, it will be raffled instead)
25 * WOS-E1 (Green Suit, gift of HH The Mayor)
20 * MIR (Venetian Mirror 1 sqm, gift of HH The Duke of New Liberty)
15 <- when this number of tickets is reached, the subsequent SPOILs are 25% only to increase excitement!
- - -
10 * Baronet of CK (lowest numbers available starting from highest ranking winner, incl promotion to L12 if applicable)
1 * Third Prize: 1-SE-V76 Korean Restaurant (1518) (to the 3rd last ticket; gift of Prince of Soul)
1 * Second Prize: TRC4-19 Most Elab 4-Horse Carriage (to the 2nd last ticket; gift of M of White Cross)
1 * Grand Prize: Any Real Estate up to the value of 500,000,000 m (in the whole game, you pick, King pays   )

Total Value of Prizes: 4,000,000,000 m !
(Nominal value of ticket: 41,800 m)

It is possible to give prizes to the auction. Unique prizes (please give only items of considerable value) will be listed as 4th, 5th etc. Prizes and will always be awarded. Fungible prizes you need to give the maximum amount to the King, and they will be dividended when the number of tickets reaches or goes below the amount, the King doing what he wishes with the difference.
JAD is a new creation, the rest of the items are King's donations unless indicated.
King is very happy if you wish to donate something to the 225ary Raffle!

YM,

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

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

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

Your loyal servant, Crichton, Earl of Plath