Author: Moderator

Bandits on the Roads

An excerpt from a caravan leader’s letter to his employer:

…our delays were unavoidable, owing to the extra precautions we were obliged to take because of the many bandits on the road between Niya and Miran. Though the royal patrols assure us of our safety, they cannot even protect their own wells from these uncivilized jackals. I must ask you to send further payment…

A Translated Poem

An excerpt from a poem transcribed from memory by Cai Wenji. Originally composed by an anonymous poet, on the occasion of seeing the army patrols in the countryside south of Dukan in 115:

“Viridian fluttering below
Bright wending lines,
The waving banners
doubled in marsh-water.”

All Players Should Have Contacts

All of the players should have their contact lists by now. If you have not received it, please check your spam folder (and add your contacts to your address book). If you still don’t have it, email me at towerofcallisto@gmail.com and I’ll resend it.

TAY-TOP

An excerpt from The Anglo-American Cyclopaedia, volume XLV:

Traditionally, the Oasis Kingdoms considered men unsuited to the artistic and intellectual pursuits. Though this was subject to some regional and individual variation, the members of the artistic and intellectual classes were most commonly women.

A succession

From the Annals of the Oasis Kingdoms…

In budding season of the 115th year, the country of Kucha mourned the death of its ruler, Queen Fadya. Following the precepts of the laws of Kucha, she was succeeded by her daughter, Queen Shayn.

A note on names

You can (and are encouraged to) change your website user account name to reflect your character name, either completely or as Jane “Empress Theodora” Doe or something like that.

If you’re using an email address just for this game, I also recommend putting your character name in the sending field in your email headers: http://www.cnet.com/how-to/change-your-name-in-gmail-yahoo-mail-and-outlook-com/ so its easier for everyone to keep track of. (Also helps if you’re using a pseudonym in general).

Advice on Letter Writing

  • You can be as short or as lengthy as you like.
  • Do let the ref know if you have questions, or you feel overwhelmed by all your mail, or you feel neglected because you haven’t received any.
  • Don’t feel like you have to invoke your narrative authorities every time. It is better to keep the conversation going than it is to strain to justify everything.
  • Do share your character’s opinion on the news that you hear. Maybe your character saw something related to it, or was told something about it? You don’t have to be physically present to comment on it, after all.
  • Don’t be afraid to be boring. That is, even if you can’t think of something exciting or super-creative to say, the fact that it is coming from your character will have some meaning. The things that seem obvious to you might take other players by surprise.
  • Do ask the other characters for advice or solicit their support, particularly if you can’t figure out how to accomplish something that you want to do. Don’t feel like you have to wait for their response or follow their advice, though.
  • On the other hand, don’t ask permission or wonder if you should act. Just do it! None of your characters need anyone’s permission to take action. If you have an idea for what to do, go ahead and describe how you did it.
  • If you don’t know the answer to the question, make one up. Even if it isn’t in your area of narrative authority. Another player might even put it in the news later.
  • Each cycle of the game will be about a week of real-time and two months of in-game time. Your character can accomplish quite a bit over the course of a season.

Veteran players, feel free to add more advice in the comments.