Empire!7 - Into the Depths: Out-of-Character Thread (CWBG)

[LapisCattis]

Empire!7 - Into the Depths: Out-of-Character Thread

Important Links:
Rules Thread
Recruitment Thread (read about how to join here)
Waters of the World (approved region writeups go here)
In-Character Thread (turns go here)
Out-of-Character Thread (questions go here)
Dice Rolling Thread #1
Dice Rolling Thread #2
Tables
Organization Tables
Discord Server

The Team:
Head GM: Aerin
Organization sub-GM: Lumaeus
Rules sub-GMs: Rolepgeek and Minescratcher

Welcome to the Out-Of-Character (OOC) thread! Please drop your questions for the GMs here, as our inboxes can fill up quite quickly. Questions can be posted even before the game starts and before players have been approved (for now). Feel free to chat, discuss, or even arrange for collaborative IC events with other players here, but remember that everything in this thread is Out-Of-Character and will have no influence on events in the world. Our optional community discord server is also available here.

[LapisCattis]

Pre-Game Frequently Asked Questions:

Can Region 1 be claimed?

No, Region 1 is at a different depth level and cannot be claimed as an initial region - an updated map will be given as soon as possible.

What depth can players reach at start?

At start, players can only reach the shallowest level - Depth 0, however technologies can be developed over the course of the game to explore deeper levels

Can player races be based on deep-water creatures/have deep water settings?

Just as in real life the habitats and ranges of perceived deep water creatures can very widely and stereotypically deep features such as hydrothermal vents can occur in fairly shallow water, if a player is interested in creating a race or region with deep water features, those interests can be accommodated by reaching out to a GM. Similarly, while players won't have advanced knowledge or ability to manipulate metals, metal deposits can conceivably be found even in shallow areas.

Do the colors on the map mean specific habitat/biome types?

The design of the map is meant to inspire player creativity and give more visual depth to the world. While some regions have definitive biome types in mind (Temperate, Tropical, Polar), colors and shading within those biomes is meant more as an inspirational guideline rather than a rule of something specific. Black spots could be shallow hydrothermal vents, a mineral mound, or perhaps the mark of a dark structure. Green shading in the polar region could be a kelp forest, a breeding ground for green jellyfish for use in technologies and development, or a persistent toxic algae bloom, or whatever else strikes a player's fancy. If a player is concerned that their idea doesn't fit with the setting, feel free to reach out to a GM.

How many players will E7 have?

Typically past Empire! games have had between 20 and 40 players, though not all players play for the entire life of the game (some join during play and others may find that their schedule no longer accommodates play). We aim to keep recruitment open and always accepting interested players for as long as E7 lasts.

Do you have any particular rules changes you want to highlight, especially for veteran players who might not be expecting them?

Each Empire game alters rules and play from the previous game, and this iteration is no different. A few key changes are:
The Support system is a massive overhaul that took a lot of time and debate to balance and in an ideal world we would've gotten a playtest for
Lots of changes and updates to Special Actions across all Action Types
Not strictly rules, but we also now have a dedicated Chaos GM (PotatoPriest) and an Unrest GM (Gaius) who will be handling NPC interactions so that those can have more time and development given, and in Potato's case make sure that no area is getting too stagnant and no one person is getting steamrolled over and over. That dynamic I want to keep an eye on and I'm looking forward to how it plays out

The rules say the three starting areas have "limited awareness" of each other- what does this mean in practical terms?

At the start of the game, you are not considered to be in diplomatic contact (and cannot send or receive items) with regions that there is no explored path to, however your people may hear dispersed tales of other countries, particularly from the Chelonian Chora.

What is the default race built on?

The Mers are based on clawed seals, particularly harbor seals. Though other marine mammals have a more complete aquatic nature, the evolutionary and logic jump from a dolphin to a creature with manual dexterity for tool-use was larger compared to the jump from a clawed seal to such a creature.

Spoiler: Reference Image

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What are the effects of the starting techs?

Starting technologies have no mechanical effect and are instead meant to build background to your country and can be used as prerequisites for technologies players develop throughout the course of the game

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How narrow can we go with resource requirements without handicapping ourselves? Say for example having foodstuff vs lobsters. Are the GMs then going to add some lobsters within reasonable distance before game start or keep to a pre-existing list where there might not be any lobsters at all?

This is a recurring question throughout Empire! games and will likely be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. I suggest not making a desired import extremely specific (such as only accepting cotton candy lobsters), but we will be doing our best to make sure players aren't in an import desert.

what sort of scale are we looking at for the map?

The map is of the entire world and roughly Earth-sized

That paragraph says the war deadline is the second Thursday. The combat section says it's the second Friday. Which is it?
War deadline is the second Thursday of the round. The rules will be edited to reflect the proper deadline, and we will also include a reminder schedule with the Round 1 opener.

is there significant tidal action in this world?

Only if a player or event makes it so (such as in a region write-up). Mechanically significant tidal action will not be present as a baseline

Do we have any indication of what the deal is with region 1?

Explore and find out!

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Can the Divine Nacre's Gene Splicing be done multiple times to the same general/spy over multiple turns (assuming enough favours and the willingness to keep the guy benched) to keep increasing their stats to get a low-roll character up to max stats?

No, only once per character, and we will edit the rules to clarify this. There's no max stat from it, though.

Does the starting unit cap sink to 2 if the player chooses to not start with aristocratic support?

No. Electing to start with Open Aristocratic Support will result in a starting unit cap of 4 (base 3 + 1 region owned) compared to a cap of 5 starting with owned Aristocratic Support (3 + 1 region + 1 Aristocratic Support)

[Moriko]

Pre-Game Frequently Asked Questions:

In the Distance Loss section, the following is included: "Regions you own do not increase the effective distance." A few paragraphs later, though, it's mentioned that you can "pay" three regions to skip from your capital to a region you own. Is this solely for the purposes of exclaves, or am I misunderstanding how those two phrases interact otherwise?

This rule is in place for exclaves and special borders

Would special borders count full amount, if it costs say, 3 to go over one, if you own both regions, or would it cost X-1, in that case2?

The regions themselves wouldn't count; but the increased cost from crossing a special border would still add to the distance.

Addendum/clarification to my map-scale question: How large, roughly, is a region? Earth-sized world is good to know, but I'm wondering if things like nomadism (within a single region) are possible or if the regions are too small for that?

Nomadism is very possible. A single region would be similar to a large fraction of the Gulf of Mexico?

could, for example, I and another player start with support of each others things? Like I have support of the merchants in theirs and my region and they have support of the clergy in mine and theirs? or alternatively we have support of the merchants in each others regions?

All of the above examples would be ok, yes (the person posting the application needs to indicate who has the supports in their region).

What is the tech level of the setting at the start of the game?

Due to biological and ecological differences the tech will have differed for our underwater inhabitants compared to earth. With that being said the general standard of living, cultural and emotional growth could be vaguely compared to the late middle ages / start of the renaissance.

Regarding Merchant Marines: "Except for battle rolls, each Treasure spent past the first gives an additional +1 bonus."

Just for clarity's sake, since I can see this being interpreted either way, does "additional" mean "in addition to the normal +1 each treasure would provide" or "in addition to the +1 from spending the first treasure?"

IE, if I spend 2 treasure, is that +2 or +3 total?

The total would be +2 if you spend 2 treasure.

Do the planet / zones / historical event have names?

They do not have an official name although the organizations and many player races may have their own names for it.

Not sure if this has been answered but a thought comes to me, how deep are we and how deep is each of the depths?

You are on depth 0 and at the start of the game at this depth you have full access to the light colour spectrum. We are not putting hard values on how deep each depth is.

For cities that grant a bonus to a given kind of action, based on where you build them, how is that determined for your starting location?

This is based on the resource of the region. Players can choose the city bonus but the GM team have to accept this choice.

Can the Chora's Song of Prosperity target countries in different areas of the world (eg a Polar nation using it to make a trade route with a Tropical nation before a connection is found between them with exploration), presumably explained by the nomads doing the transporting, or is it limited to your own area?

No, you cannot interact with regions you have not discovered yet (Have an uninterrupted explored path toward.)

The only reference to rounding I can find anywhere in the rules is under the section on target numbers and opposed rules (found in the spoiler "Action Basics" under the Rounds and Actions heading), which states a different ruling to what you seem to presume as normal?

You are correct the part that mentions that casualties can be rounded down was missed and will be added.

I've not encountered the term "rounding negatively" before, I don't think that's a thing? I'm guessing that means rounding down, but it probably needs changing.

Will be updated to rounded down.

Do the seafloors of Deep Ocean regions have their own resources, or will those regions only ever give the resource you can access while it is Fathomless? If they do have resources down there, once revealed do they replace or coexist with the Fathomless resources?

These regions can be prospected to replace the Fathomless resource with a new resource (determined by the GM team) please see prospect under Economy in the rules.

Does prospecting a deep ocean replace the surface region, add an additional region, or some combination of the two?

Exploring a previously explored Deep region with depth access does not create a new region, it simply adds or modifies the existing region's information (holy sites, factions, etc). Prospecting changes only the region's resource and possibly quantity of TPs.

• -Explore the Deep region without tech -> Fathomless region
• -Explore the Deep region with tech -> normal region, interaction locked behind having tech
• -Control and Prospect region -> TPs in region change

Less a rules question and more a clarity question, when can we expect a rough list of who will be in what region?

Once your region submission has been reviewed a number will be assigned. We will do our best to make sure this is your requested region but in some cases you might be moved.

So if I'm understanding that correctly, any resources, holy sites, factions etc that exist in the fathomless region are overwritten once the deep region is discovered, but in theory they should still be there, is there any way to access them?

Fathomless regions contain nothing but TPs.

Will an explored Wastes start with 0 TPs, or one?

It will start with 0 TPs

Will it be possible to sway/instill a Merchant Class within a Wastes region?

There are no Factions in waste regions and you cannot sway what is not there.

Will it be possible to Colonize a Wastes Region?

At the start of the game no but perhaps with tech this could be possible. Think of waste Regions as Ocean regions from previous Empires.

Can you colonize a Fathomless region?

No, only if you have explored the seafloor

Also, I just realized, but it's been mentioned that we will be able to trade off stuff regarding our supports, but far as I know we won't be able to interact at game start because of fog of wat. What will the rationale be?

We will not add fog of war to the starting areas so you will have access to everything you can see now.

Five of the regions in the temperate zone are completely blocked to us by brackish borders (108, 125 and 126 being 100% brackish, and 107 and 137 being brackish to us and another type of impassable outside the known area), so part of the starting area is unusable until someone researches tech for traversing brackish borders. Is this intentional ?

This was indeed intentional

If so are they banned for player starting regions or can people choose to live in a cut-off region if they really want to?

Players are not allowed to start in areas that are inaccessible at the start of the game. These brackish regions are an example of such regions.

Will we still know their resources and other details before we have the right tech, since they're revealed?

Yes this information will still be available.

Apologies if this is already written somewhere and I missed it, but what's the typical lifespan of a Mer?

If one lives long enough to die from old age this will be 60-80 years.

[Rolepgeek]

Mini-announcement for posterity, small adjustments have been made to the Org Table:
Abyssal Stewards Reputation bonus for Rank 3 (Favored) and Rank 4 (Core Branded) have been adjusted - the Magma Forges technology now also give +1 Depth Access, while Core Branded's extra defensive bonus now applies at Depth level 1 or deeper.
Divine Nacres Reputation bonus for Rank -3 effect altered - The Black Spot now only takes the full -3 penalty to leader loss rolls when the roll is not related to a battle; battle-related leader loss rolls receive a -1 penalty instead. Further, they gain an additional +2 bonus to all Maneuvering Rolls, on top of the bonus to Subcommanders.

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To build off of the question about the starting tech level of the game and give some examples of possibilities for players who may still feel uncertain or want inspiration for the specifics of their culture's capabilities, I've put together some of the lists and setting-relevant potentials that came up while developing the world.

Spoiler: Baseline Biotechnological Capacities

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This is a list of some of the things biotechnology might be able to accomplish (with varying levels of efficiency) at game start, before the starting techs get involved; I've added some example mechanisms or organism name ideas after each, for potential inspiration.

• Light production/concentration/diffusion [Triggered or Permanent Bioluminescence; Reflective Scales]
• Toxin filtration/neutralization (specific toxins, small-scale) [Savior Leech; Detox Fern; Ashtongue Goby]
• Wound treatment, fighting infections, treating some illnesses, and dealing with parasites [Skincleaner Fish; Disinfection Worm; Suturebug Larvae]
• Converting inedible materials into edible materials or some types of non-useful energy into useful energy [Livestock; Domesticated Plants/Fungi/Microbe Colonies; Cultivated Undomesticated Ecosystems]
• Enhancing the nutritional value or period of safe consumption of edible materials [Spices; Fermentation/Curing; Organically Concentrated Ingredients]
• Recycle, consume, or dispose of waste products [Filter Feeders; Scavengers; use as Fertilizer]
• Provide decent static protection/insulation against environmental shifts, create separation between areas, and protect against intrusion [Rampart Coral; Giant House Anemone; Sunkwood Sprouts]
• Provide limited portable protection/insulation against environmental dangers, and injury [Biochemically treated and shaped or specially grown skins, shells, or leaves; Tightly woven fiber; Living creatures designed to wrap around or engulf the body]
• Manipulate terrain/seascape [Burrowing/Digging Organisms; Corals; Cliffcracker Moss; Clumproot; Black Spotted Glue-slug]
• Transport items, creatures, or information [Mounts; Pack Beasts; Messenger Critters; Waveweed]
• Aid in gathering sustenance [Hunting Beasts; Regurgitators; Harvester Shrimp]
• Help create tools, materials, and structures with some favorable properties [Haftspine Sturgeon; Shieldshell Turtle; Twinespinner Jellyfish; Shapescour Mite]
• Help manage or enable other biotechnology [Numb Whale; Herding Sharks; Evernest Algae; Slimeteacher Eel]

Any number of the above capabilities might be enhanced or expanded through trade with the Divine Nacres as player cultures gain access to some of their more advanced stables of biotechnology, and particularly specialized or high quality forms of these or mass reproduction of them may warrant technologies.

Spoiler: Potential Trends

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Warfare
Between water having a higher resistance to things moving through it and comparatively better biological manipulation abilities for recovery, physical injury/trauma from sharp objects or blunt force trauma is probably less likely to kill or maim on average for typical combat sort of stuff. Toxins and chemical weapons, on the other hand, are probably quite common, in part because of the above.

The primary form of warfare for most cultures that can swim half-decently is probably gonna be pillaging and/or terror raids, not pitched battles or sieges, at game start - after all, most players won't start the game with massive armies, large immobile cities, or significant fortifications. The relative difficulty of fortification and relative mobility of many/most valuable assets makes it more useful as a strategy. Keyword is [I]most[\i], though.

Explosive devices would be much more effective if and/or when they end up being used at all, due to more effective shockwave propagation, and the fact that having your organs pulverized by a shockwave doesn't leave a lot to be grafted back together and sealed up with Suturebugs/Cureslime/etc.

Production and Development

Construction of buildings and their equivalents is likely often based around large, mostly sedentary organisms whose growth can be shaped and operate in relationship with their inhabitants, potentially involving significant grafting to create a composite structure with favorable properties/behaviors.

Submarine landscaping/terrain modification is probably harder in some respects without metal tools...but at the same time, digging organisms can be very strong, and for hard rock faces, there's always trade with the Abyssal Stewards if you're too impatient to wait for the cliffcracker moss to finish.

Preparing tools/goods/etc. from raw materials will probably usually involve feeding something to a(n) organism(s) and getting out a partially processed product, which may need to be processed further by more organisms depending on the product in question, before being refined down into its final form.

A lot of organisms are finicky! That's why handlers and breeders are still specialized professions, just like handling/raising crops is; it's not as simple as just tossing some dead fish to your toolmaw shark every once in a while.

The means by which all this genetic modification is done is wibbly and I am happy to largely handwave the exact details of. Not even I want to try to get into whether folks know the molecular structure of DNA or if they're just using weirdly fast selective breeding or whatever - makes things too complicated esp. when their baseline tech is stuff we can barely do irl if at all.

Daily Life
Given the conductivity of water to sound waves, and the amount of things that would love to be doing communication/echolocation/etc., it's potentially pretty noisy anywhere with a decent population - might be laws regarding it in some cultures so that Important Shouts can get through - audio communication, messengers, and hormonal signals are also likely the main 'technology' used to communicate before Photospore Signalling or the like.

'Cooking' is probably gonna involve a lot of fermentation or similar processes, maybe using acid or salt or special cooking yeast/bacteria/whatever to kill potential pathogens in the food and help break it down, without an easy source of directable heat that can be produced lots of different places.

Light propagation through the water is much higher than one might normally expect; there is no immediately obvious reason for this and the GM team is unlikely to ever give one. Sight/color gets to matter beyond the first 50-100 meters from the surface, have fun with it.

Though subaquatic environs tend to be somewhat more consistent over time, there are still likely to be cyclical changes in any given environment, as well as the potential for drastic shifts every once in a long while. These might be believed to be linked to, caused by, or a byproduct of the cataclysmic events described in the opening blurb and their aftermath, or they might not be. This is principally so we can have some analogy to seasons and weather, especially as it also then gives room for cultural differences in how groups handle these shifts.

[LapisCattis]

Pre-Game FAQ #6

Random question: Can you use the I5 special Procure Spy as a secret action? It makes sense in the fiction but seems like it'd be a real bugbear for bookkeeping.

It does make sense for flavor but it does breaks down in bookkeeping, and since those are meant to be characters and it doesn't make sense to have a character you can't write fluff about and share, so no secret procurement of spies.

What's up with the partial roughs border between regions 7 and 19? As far as I can tell, that's more or less entirely mechanically non-functional. I'm guessing that that's meant to be all one or the other?

It's meant to be partial for flavor, and partially it might become fully one or the other based on player interaction

have any genetic links between species been established that would be significant to reproductive xenocompatibility or disease xenocommunicability? Or just for interesting biological history things? I don't think genetic engineering has been developed yet that would override this yet, but in case it has? Just wanted to ask, since last game and all. Never even got one diplomatic marriage, and at the same time, diseases didn't make sense, but they were magic, so they didn't need to, but then again this is a biopunk setting, not a 'swords and sandals' setting?

As far as reproduction and interesting biological history, we will broadly leave this open to players. Just like with the Wastes and Toxic borders, there exists some level of toxin and shared biology that means that all races are harmed by those borders. If there are disastrous events that happen, we'll be keeping the setting in mind.

Can we use Faith/Econ to make spy gadget tools

Try it and find out (but try with Econ first)

[Frostwander]

From the Rules on Sway Faction (Diplomacy action):

If you attempt to Sway a Merchant faction which is either in or adjacent to a region in which you own a Trade Post, and either the Support is Open or you own a Trade Post corresponding to the region's Desired Import, then the TN to successfully Sway drops to 12.

Does this mean that regions besides player starting regions will also have Desired Imports?

[farothel]

Probably, as it would be difficult to have all desired imports otherwise. The Players can't provide all of those, although some could be provided even if they are not specifically mentioned.

[Volthawk]

The Resources and Trade section says that populated regions will have a Desired Import, yeah.

That brings up a related question - when you colonise an Open Waters region, does the Colony gain a Desired Import (either at the Colony stage or after you've settled it with a project)? If so, is it GM or player determined?

[LapisCattis]

Pre-Game FAQ #6


For completeness: How does this relate to Claims that have mechanics relating to dynastic or non-dynastic inheritance on a player's first ruler? Or, to put it another way: Does this mean that players can decide whether their first ruler inherited dynastically or non-dynastically for purposes other than stat-rolling?

If you want to choose dynastic or non-dynastic for your first ruler, you can, but dynastic inheritance would only give a disadvantage (for forming confederations) for the first ruler, so keep that in mind. We definitely won't stop players from making choices for flavor though

How are we going to do marriages between different races? I mean, the procedure should be easy enough, but how will the producing of the heir take place between different races?

This is something that players can and should hash out during the game as interest and opportunities arise

Following up some stuff from the Discord, it seems that the rules are currently missing details on how players can build Org bases and relating details. That should probably be added.
Tangentially, it came up in that conversation that Org bases are 1/region; that should probably be noted as well, for completeness.

Thanks for pointing this out! We'll aim to get edits in today

Will regions besides player starting regions will also have Desired Imports?

Yes!

When you colonise an Open Waters region, does the Colony gain a Desired Import (either at the Colony stage or after you've settled it with a project)? If so, is it GM or player determined?

The Colony does gain a Desired Import which players determine and must be approved by the GMs. However, if the region is Prospected and the resource updates to something that matches the region's Desired Import, the Desired Import will change as a region can't import and export the same thing.

When do the GMs imagine that we'll begin play?

We're hoping to start with around 40 players (though this isn't a strict cut-off, recruitment will stay open as long as we can manage). However, we don't want to drag things out for too long, so right now we're looking to start in about 2 weeks if 40 players aren't approved by then.

[Lt-Murgen]

A nomination for what a Mer looks like:

Spoiler: image

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A rodhocetus

Taken in a candid moment at a clothing-optional event, of course.

[LapisCattis]

Community Update

Round 1 is upon us! As we start the game, there are some important guidelines and issues that we want to address.

This is a community world-building game, where all players take part in developing, shaping, and interacting with the world. To recognize that we are all different people with different interests and limits, there are some community guidelines that are going to be enforced.

Though it is also already against the GitP's forum rules, we want to reiterate that descriptions of sexual violence, whether graphic or implied, are completely unacceptable in this space, no matter what type of characters are involved or how frequently sexual violence may or may not have occurred historically or otherwise. If there is no consent involved, it cannot happen in any of Empire!'s public spheres. If any players are interested in a storyline involving such activities between their own characters, they are free to do so in private.

Returning players may have noticed that the Assassination action now requires the explicit consent of the player whose character you want to assassinate when targeting rulers. By a similar token, substances and methods that alter mood, thought patterns, or memory may not be applied to characters without the consent of their player or the use of a Special Action that alters who has narrative control over said character (e.g. Incite Betrayal). While some story beats may make more sense for a character to have ingested something unknowingly or be affected by the use of drugs while imprisoned, it is important to discuss this with their player ahead of time to avoid damaging the sanctity of narrative control over one's characters.

If you are interested in writing fluff that you think may be questionable or disturbing to other players (such as detailed torture, common phobias/triggers, or exceptionally realistic prejudice), you may reach out to a GM or to other players to gauge comfort level. If in doubt, containing the fluff in spoilers and accompanying it with a content warning will usually be sufficient. Likewise, if you feel like another player's fluff crosses a line for you, please feel free to reach out to them and copy the GMs on any communications there, so they can adjust their fluff or - more likely - know to spoiler any similar fluff in the future.

While violence is inevitable and expected in a game where war is an expected and even profitable venture - this is still a game, and while a certain amount of tragic or horrific elements are to be expected, we request that players at least allow for plausible deniability in public fluff descriptions of atrocities, especially when interacting with another player's creation. Mass displacement of an entire people, for instance, has horrific and catastrophic impacts, and if you want to go into detail about these impacts, please see the above paragraph for how to handle it.

[Rolepgeek]

Mini-announcement regarding the Orgs.

The effects of having -3 Reputation with the Chelonian Chora have been adjusted slightly.
The Dissonant may now Undermine Unruly Factions to reset them to Open, and may use their free action each round to Undermine any Faction in a region they control, not just those controlled by foreign powers.

That is all.

[Tychris1]

I generally plan to write about addiction if that’s something uncomfortable for certain people let me know what’s good. My peeps can’t get enough of the Light and damaging their retinas.

Also I am aware of the depth region regulation. My angler-esque folks just like to stare down into deeper parts of the world.

[Silent_Interim]

Table-keeping heads-up: Region 22 appears to be unmarked, despite being visible in the Tropical map. As far as I can tell, all the other Tropical regions are correctly accounted for.

[Ivor_The_Mad]

To all my tropical friends! Your invited to a Friendly Neighborhood Potluck! Just come on down to the reef. Bringing some of your local cuisine is encouraged but not required. There will be games!

https://forums.giantitp.com/showthre...0#post25416700

[Feathersnow]

Marcion, a semi-clone of the great prophet and evangelist Thekla, has left her pupil phase and is to be installed as Primarch. They have invited every nation and people they could reach to meet (that'd be the temperature zone,) at the Inner Garden of the Old Temple to trade and commune

Thread link

[LapisCattis]

Questions from Discord:

"If someone gets to rank 4 reputation with the Abyssal Stewards and uses their ability to access all depths to colonise (or do other actions that depend on being able to properly interact with the Deep Ocean region in question, like prospecting and then buying the new TPs), what happens when they change rulers, rep drops to rank 3, and they lose access to the ability to access all depths? Is the colony still there but inaccessible until they regain the tech (and if so, does the region no longer count as being under their control for unit cap and empire minimum size and similar things that are based on how many regions you have), do they still have any post-prospecting TPs, and so on?"

Anything you've obtained in the inaccessible depth levels is still present and still counts for cap and size, it doesn't disappear into the void, but you can't interact with it or do actions there until you regain access.

"If a player starts with a Faith as the same name as an NPC Faith, is it possible for them to assert that the NPCs with that Faith follow broadly the same religion, but with sufficient distinction in doctrine and/or leadership to require conversion to reconcile it?"

We didn't want to put player faiths in NPC regions. If an NPC region's faith has a name you like, you can take it and we'll replace the faith that was in those regions with something else. If you want that sort of continuity with an NPC faith/area without mechanical advantage, then you can name yourself something similar but different, or different but establish that there's a history there.

[Epinephrine_Syn]

So, some questions about requirements.

Can Kelp Oil be used as burnable material for a heat source?
Can Warped Shells be used as a building material?
Can jellyfish be used for food? I don't know how appetites work down under, especially among varied species?

Also, I believe that it is about turn 5 or so if I recall correctly that we need our required resource by, right?

[farothel]

So, some questions about requirements.

Can Kelp Oil be used as burnable material for a heat source?
Can Warped Shells be used as a building material?
Can jellyfish be used for food? I don't know how appetites work down under, especially among varied species?

Also, I believe that it is about turn 5 or so if I recall correctly that we need our required resource by, right?

How are you going to burn something under water?

shells can be used as building material (coconut octopusses do) and turtles eat jellyfish, so yes, it can and is eaten.

For the required resource, I don't see it anywhere in the tables, so if I can't explore, I won't be able to get it, right? And where I am, I need to have a tech to get out, so that's going to be tricky.

[Volthawk]

For the required resource, I don't see it anywhere in the tables, so if I can't explore, I won't be able to get it, right? And where I am, I need to have a tech to get out, so that's going to be tricky.

Don't forget that you can do expeditions out of regions you have Mercantile Support in, so if you can get that in 6 or 13 you can then explore north (or go for 15/22 if you're willing to have your Eco 5 special be a specialised ship and to put the actions into prospecting the wastes), and if someone else's exploration (like Ivor's expedition westwards) reveals the right resources there's nothing stopping you trying to buy it normally.

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On the topic of desired imports, I might as well check now whether the pairings I have in mind so far will work:
Giantsbane Seeds (114) for Military Equipment (109) - The seeds are described as being usable as a way of rapidly entering battle and being usable as a weapon themselves against larger targets.
Native Gold (122) for Valuables (112) - I suppose this depends on if gold is still good underwater.
Bioluminescent Tunicates (117) for Light Sources (118) - They're luminescent, but I suppose it depends on if they're bright enough to satisfy the need.
Fortified Bonemeal (112) for Food (122, among others) - Almost certain this fits, given the nature of the NPC actions in the region, but might as well have confirmation.

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Also, since we're supposed to be putting more stuff on the forums, I should probably post the turn 1 temperate maps here. First shows region ownership, aristrocratic support and native defenders (will probably see the best way to represent national armies too in later turns), second map shows trade post ownership and mercantile support, and the last one does holy site ownership and clerical support.

Spoiler

Show

[Rolepgeek]

For the required resource, I don't see it anywhere in the tables, so if I can't explore, I won't be able to get it, right? And where I am, I need to have a tech to get out, so that's going to be tricky.

You actually don't need a tech to get out - brown borders are Roughs, which do not require any technology to cross. Likewise, yellow borders are Shallows and don't require any technology to cross, while cyan borders are Briny, and don't require any technology to cross.

[Minescratcher]

Giantsbane Seeds (114) for Military Equipment (109) - The seeds are described as being usable as a way of rapidly entering battle and being usable as a weapon themselves against larger targets.

Hmm, if you're going to become an arms dealer, I should probably make sure the recipients aren't going to use them against the faithful

[Volthawk]

Hmm, if you're going to become an arms dealer, I should probably make sure the recipients aren't going to use them against the faithful

For what it's worth, that's not happening for a bit, since the Cyphiri's future as an arms dealer requires them to first successfully break into the bonemeal-based cereal market.

[LapisCattis]

So, some questions about requirements.

Can Kelp Oil be used as burnable material for a heat source?
Can Warped Shells be used as a building material?
Can jellyfish be used for food? I don't know how appetites work down under, especially among varied species?

Also, I believe that it is about turn 5 or so if I recall correctly that we need our required resource by, right?

You'd likely have problems lighting oil on fire underwater, so a "burn for heat" logic wouldn't work, but there are other ways to get heat or insulation from something.

The others are just questions about how your species' logic works. Shells are physical things, so if your people want to build with them, sure. Likewise with jellyfish. The resources are left fairly open so if you can make a logical argument for use, that's the main thing.

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On the topic of desired imports, I might as well check now whether the pairings I have in mind so far will work:
Giantsbane Seeds (114) for Military Equipment (109) - The seeds are described as being usable as a way of rapidly entering battle and being usable as a weapon themselves against larger targets.
Native Gold (122) for Valuables (112) - I suppose this depends on if gold is still good underwater.
Bioluminescent Tunicates (117) for Light Sources (118) - They're luminescent, but I suppose it depends on if they're bright enough to satisfy the need.
Fortified Bonemeal (112) for Food (122, among others) - Almost certain this fits, given the nature of the NPC actions in the region, but might as well have confirmation.

---

Also, since we're supposed to be putting more stuff on the forums, I should probably post the turn 1 temperate maps here. First shows region ownership, aristrocratic support and native defenders (will probably see the best way to represent national armies too in later turns), second map shows trade post ownership and mercantile support, and the last one does holy site ownership and clerical support.

Spoiler

Show

Thanks for putting together those maps, Volthawk! All of those desired import pairings sound good. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so if gold is valuable, then it's a valuable

[Epinephrine_Syn]

This one's more a Potato question than anything about an offer, but

Economy: Offer: The first nation to spend an economy action to gift region 59 a trading post of a food resource will instantly recieve the support of the mercantile and aristocratic nodes in the region.

What does 'gift' mean? Does region 59 own the TP with its own flag? Do you still own the TP and provide it for them? Does it just become unowned? Something else?

[JBarca]

Are any Polar players interested in working with me on the CCA's Reefback Nursery DNA's Holdfast? I plan to devote an action to building one in Danabae each round, but if anyone else wants to join in I'm happy to discuss how to split the rewards (or figure out other payment since I'll also benefit from the base bonus).

I'm also happy to discuss a similar arrangement (or a trade of actions or some such) for one of the other bases. Just let me know!

EDIT: I definitely meant the DNA's Holdfast, sorry!

[Autumn Stars]

i have posted! but i cannot link my roll post in my ic post, becaues i only have uh, 4 posts total. XD

[LapisCattis]

i have posted! but i cannot link my roll post in my ic post, becaues i only have uh, 4 posts total. XD

Could you copy-paste the URL to your roll post? I believe the minimum limit is 10 posts, so feel free to post whatever in the OOC thread until you get there

[Rolepgeek]

Added a note to the Smoking Garden effect in the Organization tables to make more obvious/clear one intended effect:

Also allows the region resource to be become a Hard Metal through Development (Economy 5 Special Action) or (potentially) Prospecting.

Also wanted to let everyone who's been doing fluff re: their interactions with the Orgs know - I've been really enjoying reading it!

[LapisCattis]

Round 1 Ending Reminder

Hi all, this is just a reminder that Round 1 will end at 10am UTC+1 this Sunday. If you have any war actions, those must be submitted by this Thursday night.

Round 2 will open later in the day on Sunday and will be a normal 2-week long round