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EPISODE 04: KEEP IT SECRET, KEEP IT SAFE
EPISODE 09: YOU WIN OR YOU DIE
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Welcome to the land of Okoto. It is divided into six regions; fire, jungle, water, ice, stone, and the dead region of earth. Each region is populated by Protectors of that element, and each region is governed by one of their Protectors. All five populated regions are officially united under the banner of the Mask Maker, who is the ultimate ruler of Okoto.
Twenty years ago, the Protectors of Fire, Stone and Ice united to overthrow a corrupt Mask Maker whom they felt had held onto power for too long. Their rebellion was successful after they struck down the Protectors of Earth, wiping them from Okoto entirely. With the Protectors of Earth gone, the three regions allied together struck at the heart of the island, and allowed a Protector of Stone to slay the corrupt Mask Maker (this Protector became known as the ‘Mask Breaker’). This victory was followed by placing a Protector of Fire on the throne. Despite its success, the rebellion made enemies of the Protectors of Jungle and Water; their relationships with the Protectors of Fire, Stone and Ice have suffered in the years since.
Not all has been well with the tribes of the rebellion, either. Three years ago, sick of the Mask Maker favoring the Protectors of Fire and Stone over them, the Protectors of Ice attempted to assassinate the Mask Maker. Their attempt failed, causing their few allies within the other regions to cut all ties with them entirely. One year ago, the Protectors of Fire also mysteriously fell out of favor with the Mask Maker, the reasons for which appear to be unknown to all except the Mask Maker themselves.
There is an air of discontent throughout Okoto. Alliances are frayed thin, and support for the various leaders across the island – including the Mask Maker – wanes as missteps are made. A dark shadow looms on the horizon, and eyes turn to the seat of the Mask Maker, deep within the center of the Ancient City.
It is the game of thrones…
…and in the game of thrones, you win – or you die.
HOW IT WORKS
The game will last for ten “rounds”, known as “episodes”. Several key mechanics of the game are explained below – but I cannot stress enough that the game’s open nature truly does leave many things open to interpretation or manipulation (or even in some cases, being able to be outright ignored).
If you have any questions about whether a move you want to make is legal or not, simply shoot me a private PM to ask. If a move is impossible to make, I will make sure to let you know.
Of course, before what you do can be explained, I need to explain how you do it.
Moves
Every player will make their moves for each round via PM, of which there are two kinds – OFFICIAL and BACKDOOR.
An Official PM is any PM that involves me, the host; moves made in Official PMs are the only ones that will be included in the scenes for each episode, which means that they are the only moves that will actually occur. If you want to kill another player, or bar them access to your region, that would have to take place in an Official PM. The upside to Official PMs is obvious – it is how you make things happen! The downside is that everyone will be aware of what occurs in these PMs.
A Backdoor PM, then, is any PM (or other method of communication) that I, the host, am not a part of. Anything said or done in these PMs will not be included in the scenes, which means that they will not technically occur; in this way, the downside is obviously that your abilities are limited. You cannot kill someone (or take other such drastic actions) in a Backdoor PM. But they do allow you to operate behind the scenes where I and others cannot see, and this can allow you to set up plans that might take several episodes to come to fruition.
Now that we’re done with that, let’s move onto some of the core mechanics.
Travel
Click the map up above to see Okoto.
Each episode, if travelling, players can move from one region to an adjacent one each round. Someone in the Fire Region could travel to the Earth Region, Jungle Region, or Ancient City in Episode 1, but would have to wait until Episode 2 to continue their journey elsewhere. The Ancient City can be reached from any region and likewise has access to all six regions.
Travel will most commonly be done by each region’s DIPLOMAT, although any player can do it. Travel is most often done either on orders or with permission from a region’s RULER; doing so otherwise will often bring about less than desirable consequences.
Trade
Due to how complicated this game is already, there isn’t any sort of real money system; as such, the trade of materials boils down to two options: either you do or you don’t. If one region stops trade with another, that will have varying effects depending on the regions involved.
While trade is active, it is assumed that each region has enough of every material to last them for three rounds; if the Fire Region and Jungle Region were to cease trade in Episode 1, neither would run out of the other region’s trade items until Episode 4.
Trade is done through each region’s TRADER, usually on orders from the RULER (but not necessarily always). If a region’s Trader dies or goes missing, that region will have up to four rounds until they run out of resources unless the Ruler, Diplomat, or Council Member takes over the role of Trader (renouncing their old role and powers).
Communication
Communication is probably going to be the primary action that most of you will make in each round, done through both backdoor and official channels. The MASK MAKER’S COUNCIL will receive their own Official PM for communicating with each other, as will each individual REGION (non-Mask Maker members of the Council will thus be included within two official PMs right off the bat).
Any communication made with other regions will typically begin between each region’s DIPLOMAT before extending to other members of both Regions (generally the RULERS), although in both of these cases, exceptions will obviously be made.
The COUNCIL MEMBERS will frequently communicate with each other and the various Regions; as their roles imply, they will be the Mask Maker’s primary sources of information, and with this comes an expected level of communication – as well as a certain amount of influence and power.
Communication will very frequently take place behind closed doors, where I cannot see it (and thus cannot share it). Undoubtedly, this form of communication will prove to be the most useful to all of you, but keeping things public can have its own advantages….
Other Actions
There are a variety of other actions that one might decide to take in a round. Perhaps you want to keep someone silent for a little while. Perhaps you want them to be silenced permanently. Perhaps you discover some new information, and this knowledge requires you to make moves not listed here.
I have not thought of everything, for that would be impossible – and I will keep an open mind. If you have thought of an action to take that has not been mentioned, run it by me first if you are uncertain, and I will be able to inform you of whether it would be possible.
Edited by Lucina, Jul 17 2016 - 01:26 PM.
