I've been getting questions from several of our newer players on how to handle their actions and I thought it might be useful to simply go over it on the full list for everyone. Obviously, this is not the only way to do things, just the way I do them now and, as always, suggestions are welcome. At the beginning of each game year, as GM I sit down and roll up the random yearly events. I post these events to the list, announce the year has begun, comment on any odd things in or out of game that might be of interest, and give a tentative date that I'd like to end the game year (usually 3 to 4 weeks). Then I lazily sit back and wait for everyone to submit all their actions for that year, answer a few questions for players, and hint strongly that I'm ready to end the year. When it seems that everyone has their actions in, I resolve them (usually in one long evening of die rolling and charts spread around the room), give some suggestions for how the results should be interpreted, and wait about a day for anyone I've missed who is running late with their actions. Occasionally, I'll have forgotten a modifier, misunderstood an action, or the like and the players and I fix my mistakes. Once everything is wrapped up, the entire procedure starts again with the next year. Now, when I first started playing, I have to admit that the sheer open-endedness of the game left me a little confused as to what I was supposed to be doing. It wasn't that the rules weren't clear or anything, just that I had so many options I didn't know where to start or how much to try all at once. True, I had adopted the Eerith but I think that most players face a similar confusion/intimidation at the beginning so, I'd like to offer a few suggestions. First decide what you want to do and then decide what you can do. The what you want to do part is just what it looks like--what do I want my people to accomplish, how do I want them to change and develop as a people, what parts of the society sparked my interest to begin with, etc. In the early stages, while you're still trying to get a feel for the game, you can also simply react to the events of the year and to the neighboring societies around you. The yearly events are good 'hooks' for choosing a direction and usually, as a player, you start with an idea for your society that you want to develop as well. There is plenty to do but, now that I know where I want to go, how do I get there? That was my problem when I started. I had more things to do than I had actions and I didn't really have a clear idea of how much I could do at once. This is what I mean by deciding what you can do. You have four actions (normally) in a year. Currently, as a GM I have players submit all four at once. I do this because we've had trouble working out a fair logistical system for doing sequential actions but I also think that, choosing all four at the same time helps to keep in perspective how much can be done in a year. For example, if all four actions involve the same actor, it's a good time to consider just how tired this poor fellow (or fellows) are going to be at the end of the year. A series of meetings with your bordering neighbors is a busy but possible year. Traveling coast to coast and then around the base of the world is probably too much. When you're starting out, it's probably a good idea not to give the same actor more than one action per year until you're comfortable with the game. Reading the turns of other players is also a good indicator of how much you can bite off to chew in a single action. That's one of the reasons I prefer to always have all the actions sent to the list instead of to the GM directly--the older players lead through example. So, we know where we want to end up and we know who we want to do it. Remember that each action is a years work and decide how far towards that end goal your people can get in a single year. Just use common sense and guess. If it's a project that you can't break into steps, you can also spread out the action over several years (those are the strategic actions where you see Year x of y). Obviously, how much a people can do and how far you can go is a subjective thing and that's where the GM comes back into the picture. I try to be pretty forgiving. If you ask for more than I think is reasonable, I'll say so and we work things out from there. One thing I would caution new players against is war. It seems exciting to jump in and go right off to war with your neighbors but usually it end with very frustrated players. Fact is, war is slow, messy, and it drags down the resources of your society in a hurry. I'm not saying don't do it; just that I'd caution against making it a priority until you're familiar with the game. I'd also point out that, in general, the turn results that the GM sends back are not exactly law. The die rolls are what they are and, as a GM I always reserve the right to change difficulties and modifiers if I have too, but you can alter outcomes to better suit your society. Let me give an example: I'm playing a society made up of clans and, as an action, I have a meeting of all the clan elders. The rolls turn out very bad and we're left with a disastrous result. As a GM, I might suggest that the elders fight with each other and the clans begin to war against each other. You might want to do something different or more dramatic. You can't change from a disastrous result but you might propose that instead of general dissention, the old Chief who unifies the clans is killed and the struggle begins to determine who might become the new one. No problem, the value of the result doesn't change but what occurs is better tailored to your vision of what you want for your people. As far as the numbers go, the existing societies have most of their determinants already set. After deciding on an action, decide what determinant(s) are relevant, think through the process logically and decide how hard the project is, who will do it, and if there are any unusual circumstances that would modify the results. I'll roll the dice and we'll have the numbers. It looks like a lot but it's really simple. Pick four things, think them through, write them up with the numbers you think fit, and send them to the list. I'll change them if I think it's appropriate (and I try to remember to explain why I did and on what I based my decisions) and, at the end of the game year, everyone will have results on the list. Then we start again. I hope this helps. More than that, I hope it isn't even more confusing. I'd definitely like for some of our older players to elaborate on this if they see fit and thank you all for your questions and your patience. M. Keaton ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
