Surrounding Sanctuary is the Half World Ocean. You know this because you crossed it, chased from your home by marauders. You drifted for a nearly a year living on seaweed and whatever you could catch, and the sight of land at last seemed like a trick of the eye.
But this is a new life for your clan. This is a fabled place. You may explore it, exploit it, control it, destroy it, defend it. You can even leave it, but it is a long and lonely sail to the other side of the world.
Important note about the map: The lines are one "mark" apart, which is a unit of measurement used by the locals. It is a distance of about 50 kilometers or 30 miles in our uncouth ancient terms. One mark is roughly the distance that can be traveled overland in a long day. Sea vessels in these turbulent waters fare somewhat better at about 5 marks per day of constant travel. For the purposes of this game, we will refer to all distances in marks.
The most important rule of play is this: Don't cooperate with other players behind anyone's back. If I sense any sort of coordination between players -- anything that suggests that you are sharing information you could only get from another player without my permission -- I will drop you from the game right away. I may consider an appeal based on strong evidence, but the main thing to remember is Don't Cheat.
Also, Keep Everything Secret. If there's a good reason for two clans to be in close communication, then I'll arrange for some information sharing between players. Until then, assume that every stranger is a potential enemy.
There is a Twitter account for this game. On it you will find facts about the world and hints to help you survive. You'll also see game updates and reminders about upcoming deadlines. Players are not required to follow this Twitter account but it is strongly recommended. Non-playing observers are welcome.
Would you like to join this game? The entry deadline has passed and there are currently no open positions available. A waiting list has been started. If you would like to be added to the waiting list, please send your request by email to luminousbeings@yahoo.com. Title your email "Sanctuary Game Waiting List."
If you have general questions, ask them in this thread so that everyone can see the answers and I don't have to repeat myself in private messages. (Thanks for playing nice!)
I can cover a few questions that you might have:
What's the climate like here? Subtropical and very rainy. Much of the land is covered with rainforests, jungles and extensive swamps. There are also grasslands and wide river valleys, and even some dry areas in the northern islands.
What are we going to be doing in this game? You'll be in control of a clan of survivors trying to establish itself in a foreign land. I'll ask you questions and you'll give me answers and ask me questions, and pretty quickly we'll just start telling a story together.
Are there elves, goblins, etc.? No, just humans, like on Earth. You will see some of the same animals, vegetables and minerals you'd see on Earth. But you might see some new things, too.
Is there magic or anything? Many believe in magic, the power of gods, the truth of superstitions, but really these are nothing more than illusions, delusions and myths. Never the less, each clan is likely to have its own strong set of beliefs, cosmology and pantheon. These will be left for you to create if you like, and might be affected by the things you discover in Sanctuary.
How many people are in my clan? I'll let you know when I reply to your territory and leader selections.
What does my clan start off with? Not much more than fishing nets, reed boats, a few simple tools and a small number of weapons of wood, stone, bronze and iron. I'll let you know if you know if you possess anything more elaborate than that.
Is this going to be just like Risk? Not really. This will be more like a clan-scale tabletop RPG. I want to see each clan develop into something unique and memorable. As the game's creator and game master I'll provide the world, the NPCs and the weather, and some obvious plot twists. The other players may be your allies, rivals and enemies.
Will there always be deadlines for posting my clan's latest move? Yes. I will give you a tight but reasonable deadline to post (email) your next turn.
If you know you will not be able to meet a deadline, you must inform me as soon as possible so that arrangements can be made.
If you miss two deadlines for any reason, even if you notify me, you will be dropped from the game. (I would still appreciate being notified, even if it's just to acknowledge your resignation.)
What if I want to quit playing? You may quit at any time. We'll clean up after you.
How many people are playing right now? 10, not including the game master.
How do I join the game? There are no positions currently available. Instructions for joining the waiting list are listed above.
Joined: Dec 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 1,286 Location: Bologna, Italy
Re: Let's play a game « Reply #1 on Mar 25, 2012, 3:51am »
Seems nice!! Questions: - Do you think that my english is enough to be able to play? Tell me without fear: i don't want to be a burden if allowing me to play means that you have to rewrite anything i wrote and you fear that i will not understand the story.
If you think i can play, then: - Are the lakes made with salt or sweet water? - In case they're salt, where's the drinkable water sources? - Is the island explored by all clans, or each one just know a bit of the area around his settlement? - Is "Iron Age" meaning this? I'm trying to imagine the clans level of "evolution"....
Are the lakes made with salt or sweet water? ...Where's the drinkable water sources?
Just like here on Earth, most lakes and rivers in Sanctuary contain fresh/sweet water. That is one thing you probably do not need to worry about. In most of this region (except for the drier northern island), it rains for a few hours nearly every day, so it should be easy to collect clean rainwater to drink.
Is the island explored by all clans, or each one just know a bit of the area around his settlement?
To start with, you will know only about the area near your home settlement (your starting square), and you will not have contact with other clans yet. That will probably change quickly as you develop your clan and the game really begins.
Yes, kind of like 1000 BC. The process of making steel is known to all player-controlled clans. It is simple steel, but it is an improvement over iron and bronze. Simple glass can also be made. These are the heights of technology.
In the lands you came from, on the other side of the world, there are people who are more primitive (stone age). The marauders who drove you away could not even make bronze.
You will have to explore Sanctuary to see if there are primitive or more advanced people here.
« Last Edit: Mar 25, 2012, 10:31am by dagobahdave »
"There is wisdom in turning as often as possible from the familiar to the unfamiliar: it keeps the mind nimble, it kills prejudice, and it fosters humour." George Santayana, philosopher (1863-1952)
Re: Let's play a game « Reply #9 on Mar 26, 2012, 11:26pm »
I'm in... Great idea!
This reminds me of some never-ending stories I used to frequent on a Bulletin Board back in the late 80's... Each person in the game had a character and was a contributing author to the story. Your posts focused on your character (for the most part) and continued the story from previous posts. It was a lot of fun... except when I spent a couple of hours writing a story arc only to log on to find someone else had taken the story in a different direction...(Grrr)
"There is wisdom in turning as often as possible from the familiar to the unfamiliar: it keeps the mind nimble, it kills prejudice, and it fosters humour." George Santayana, philosopher (1863-1952)
I keep hitting refresh...it's past 6 am PST, dave!
Ah, but that was your deadline. The GM's work really only starts when your deadline ends.
You may expect your Turn 1 email to arrive sometime today, but that is because I have been preparing the responses all weekend. From now on, I will probably need two or three days to process each turn and send you the next one.
There are fewer days in a year here (320 days), but the days are longer (28 hours). In the end, this world's year is about 200 hours longer than an Earth year.
Re: [Play-by-email game] Sanctuary « Reply #16 on Mar 27, 2012, 11:13am »
Question regarding the deadlines:
Will individual players have their own deadlines, or will it be a set deadline that all (currently) 13 will need to respond by? It appears to be the latter, but wanted to ensure.
Will individual players have their own deadlines, or will it be a set deadline that all (currently) 13 will need to respond by? It appears to be the latter, but wanted to ensure.
One deadline to rule them all. Players may have different deadlines.
I'm thinking four or five days should be enough. At most, you will need to spend 20 or 30 minutes reading and writing your reply for each turn, so I think this is a reasonable timeframe.
Joined: Jan 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 1,033 Location: Australia
Re: [Play-by-email game] Sanctuary « Reply #20 on Mar 27, 2012, 3:32pm »
Understand yazzas question now. I'm going on stone/bronze age man that age 30 tended to be considered old anyone 40+ was one of those ancient relic people who had seen it all.
"There is wisdom in turning as often as possible from the familiar to the unfamiliar: it keeps the mind nimble, it kills prejudice, and it fosters humour." George Santayana, philosopher (1863-1952)
what is considered old? 40, 50 or is 80 and 90 possible?
Life is harsh here, but for those who survive infancy they can expect to live a healthy 60 years or more. Accidental injuries and diseases are the most likely cause of death before then, but people have even been known to live to be 100.
On a related note: In most clans, one is considered an adult and accountable for oneself by around age 15. "Able-Bodied" clan members will be between the ages of 15 and 60, and comprise roughly 2/3rds of your population. The rest are children and the elderly, usually with a few disabled or heavily injured.
« Last Edit: Mar 27, 2012, 4:14pm by dagobahdave »
Re: [Play-by-email game] Sanctuary « Reply #22 on Mar 27, 2012, 4:59pm »
Yes, kind of like 1000 BC. The process of making steel is known to all player-controlled clans. It is simple steel, but it is an improvement over iron and bronze. Simple glass can also be made. These are the heights of technology.
Since we know how to make simple steel, I would say it's safe to assume our clansmen would know what materials would be necessary for the simple steel.
For the player who doesn't know what his character knows, what materials would we want to look for?
Since we know how to make simple steel, I would say it's safe to assume our clansmen would know what materials would be necessary for the simple steel.
For the player who doesn't know what his character knows, what materials would we want to look for?
To make steel, you need iron and charcoal. To make bronze, you need copper and tin. You can also make weapons out of copper alone.
Your clan has some members that know how to work all of these metals if they are available.
« Last Edit: Mar 27, 2012, 5:04pm by dagobahdave »
"There is wisdom in turning as often as possible from the familiar to the unfamiliar: it keeps the mind nimble, it kills prejudice, and it fosters humour." George Santayana, philosopher (1863-1952)
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 310 Location: Luxembourg
Re: [Play-by-email game] Sanctuary « Reply #25 on Mar 28, 2012, 7:36am »
oooohhhh we get to draw our clan members? do they have a style or can we design it? we probably should wait a few turns to see what materials they have at hand...
Joined: Nov 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 1,603 Location: USA
Re: [Play-by-email game] Sanctuary « Reply #26 on Mar 28, 2012, 1:30pm »
Why You Left Home
Before your clan arrived here, Sanctuary was just a legend in your minds. The island chain where you come from, halfway around the world, is overrun with the fiercest, foulest, most loathsomely brutal people imaginable. The Marauders move from island to island, burning down every home, defiling and slaying everyone in their path, eating their flesh and even wearing the skin and scalps of the dead. They are ravenous, insane and unstoppable. When trapped, they attack and feed on each other like rats, but they are uncannily clever and seem to have boundless energy. There is no army strong enough to resist the Marauders, and it would be stupid pride for a small clan to stand and die fighting against them. You simply could not stay and let your own people's bones be sharpened into weapons in those filthy hands.
So you set out on the Half World Ocean in rafts and boats, lashing them together into a tiny floating village. And you drifted out into an ocean that was thought to be endless. You expected to die at sea, a better fate than being eaten alive. But you hoped and prayed for sanctuary, any dry land, as you tried to catch enough fish and gather enough sea-grass to avoid starvation. Many of your people perished. After big storms, entire boats or rafts would go missing, whole families lost in the waves.
You drifted so long that the stars and moons moved to different places in the sky. When you finally saw land, it was like a miracle. To you, it is an entirely new and uncharted place. You may not be the first humans on Sanctuary, of course. After all, the Marauders attacked many islands, and many clans probably did the same as you, including most of the tribes that lived near you back home. Some of those clans might be here already, or on their way now. There might even be Marauders here, gods forbid.
« Last Edit: Mar 28, 2012, 1:31pm by dagobahdave »
Re: [Play-by-email game] Sanctuary « Reply #28 on Mar 29, 2012, 5:59am »
How individualistic should we get? For instance, if I tell group A to consistently train for combat, and group B to learn better ways of farming, but then I get attacked, will it be taken into account that group A is more adept, or will it just be "people vs. people?"
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