http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/mudreading/~3/183422352/metathinking

Meta-game thinking, which I’ll abbreviate here as metathinking, is the term for when players in an RPG use their knowledge about the game as a game in order for their characters to make decisions that real people would not make. For example, if player knows that they have 51 HP and that jumping off the 50 foot cliff can only do up to 50 damage to them, and they jump off the cliff knowing they will certainly survive, they just made a decision that a real person would probably not make. Real people can’t make decisions about jumping off 50 foot cliffs that way.

In RPI MUDs players try to avoid the practice. In a way, it’s the exact opposite of roleplaying.

The problem is that its hard not to metathink. A player is acutely aware that they’re playing a game, and short of some Matrixesque scenario, they always will be. Acting as though you do not know something is just not a natural behavior. Outside of roleplaying, its usual applications are common in courthouses.

How do you avoid it? Lots of practice and lots of honesty with yourself. Writing is good practice, as it involves putting yourself in someone else’s shoes where that someone else’s actions don’t result in a punishment or reward to you: If you write a book in which a character dies, you don’t have to start over with a new book at level 1.

In a hack-and-slash MUD the opposite may be ideal. To some degree a hack-and-slash MUD is a numbers game. You have to weigh the risk of losing 27 HP against gaining 57 gold fighting a level 3 goblin. Metathinking is the way of life here. Some RPGs have taken to doing some of the math for you. For example, World of Warcraft shows you your DPS, which is a useful number derived from some other information. Players were already able to calculate it, so might as well make things easier.

For a game administrator interesting questions arise. An administrator can choose how much information that could be used for metathinking they want to provide. RPI MUDs typically try to minimize it, leading to hidden skill levels and fuzzy mechanics. In general, this helps roleplayers with their difficult task of avoiding metathinking.

Sometimes outside influences, such as other players, create a need for metathinking. If another player tells me that Fido isn’t really a normal rabbit, he’s a dog disguised as a rabbit, then I’m forced to pretend I didn’t know that in order to realistically play my character. I may not enjoy this, and I may mistakenly act on my knowledge. This is one reason some RPI MUDs require such a strict separation of IC and OOC information. Another reason, of course, is that it can be disappointing to have secrets spoiled, for you and for others involved in the plot.

It’s not always so clear which is preferable. Say a player sees a thief, but decides that their character could not have seen the thief and thus they decide to play from there on out as if they never knew there was a thief. I’m going to refer to this as “mushy” roleplaying, referring to MUSHs where this type of roleplaying is more prominent. This does make things harder for the player: they have to maintain two sets of knowledge, one for them and one for their character. It requires metathinking in order to determine what your character does. A less “mushy” way of roleplaying would be saying that if the code told you there was a thief, your character must know it. If the code is written in a way that this is reasonable, this turns out to work just as well, and no metathinking was involved. On the other hand, it may be less realistic in the end.

Here is another, tougher situation. Say I’m cornered between green ogres wearing raccoon-skin armor and a cliff. I know, as a player, that jumping off the cliff will certainly kill me. But my character doesn’t know that. Do I need to seriously consider jumping off the cliff? This is a very difficult question. It might seem reasonable to assume that my character’s lack of knowledge about the deadliness of the cliff is a shortcoming of the game, and that I can instill a little intuition into the character so they don’t leap to their demise. Even the strictest anti-metathinking activist will pause here.

In the end it’s a sliding-scale. Players will have different preferences, and MUDs will generally nudge players toward some point in the spectrum. It seems, however, that you can’t be 100% one way or the other. In any case, good awareness of what metathinking is and the situations it influences does help keep the game enjoyable for everybody.

http://www.zalanthas.org/blogs/brideofson/archives/001399.html

I've spent some time over the last few days gluing maps together. So far people have been building in separate areas that they select in RMBT (our web-based graphical building tool). Combining areas involves first aligning the areas, using some database magic to change all the coordinates in one so the areas are in the right relative points in space. Then I switch the rooms from one area to the other, and if all went well they're hooked up.

In doing this we've started looking at interesting questions like where roads will link up, and in a few cases there have been spaces between areas and we've had discussions on what to do with them. This has led to some interesting new ideas, though here for much smaller areas of space than the major areas that have been written.

I've also been working on a faster version of RMBT: I have a prototype that loads in 1/3 of the time, but its read-only. The faster version will be just as fast but with full functionality. If you choose the largest map size some areas take 45 seconds to load so this is a fairly major speedup.

http://www.zalanthas.org/blogs/brideofson/archives/001400.html

Here is a recent IDB (Immortal Discussion Board) post that shows what we're up to at the moment. We have the teams picked out now and are getting started.

We're going to go through a decisionmaking process to finalize some of the game's major systems. Here is how it will work:

Each major system will have an HL+ coordinator / decisionmaker. They'll recruit team members to help gather information.

Each team will compile information from the wiki, IDB, and elsewhere. All brainstorming should be gathered. This is not a new brainstorming stage, its a matter of gathering all the brainstorming that has already been done.

Team lead reads the compiled info, decides what the system will be based on these ideas. It may be specific ideas, combinations of ideas, or whatever makes sense. Coders confered with for "is this possible" verification.

Team generates summary of system.

System posted on wiki/IDB for general comment. Again, this will be to look for holes or problems with the system, not a brainstorming session. This will be 1-2 weeks depending on how much discussion happens.

Any changes are made, team lead submits finalized system to OLs for last sign-off.

OL provides signoff fairly quickly. If there is OL discussion it may be a week or two, but the system is already very polished and is probably good to go.

Team incorporates OL feedback if needed.

System approved.

Team writes official (staff and player) documentation. This may include documentation of the game mythos, system specifications for coders to work from, or whatever is appropriate for the given system.

Currently team leaders are:

Classes / Skills -- Raesanos

Time / Weather -- Mekeda / Tiernan (since he already has determined much of this)

Combat -- Belenos

World Economy -- Mekeda / Vanth

Magick / Mythos -- Adhira (to confer Raesanos on class / skill aspects)

More may come as needed.

Use this thread to discuss and volunteer for / create teams.

http://www.zalanthas.org/blogs/brideofson/archives/001401.html

I thought you all might like a taste of what I've been up to recently with the new game. Here is the abstract I wrote for the staff wiki which has been guiding my work:

Kalashasa is a long stretch of rocky valley pressed between the precipices of the Shalindral mountains which leads to the lands and caverns claimed by the Basani. A swept path winds through the craggy terrain, beginning at the bordering western rift, and running through to the eastern Basani fields and into Canakmara. The geography of the region changes from volatile geothermic fields of gas vents and tainted hot springs, into mountainous badlands, and finally into a stretch of dry plains and steppes. Other geographical features include twisting canyons, maze-like networks of precipitous stone spans suspended over scalding geysers, a hidden (something), (something else), climbable ridges and mesas, an abyssal guano-caked chasm, and an underground network of caverns and dried lava tunnels. Though the mountainous badlands and struggling plains support some plant life, the slopes of the bordering mountains are also scattered with small pockets of plants and stunted trees at different altitudes. Animal life ranges in a robust chain, from nimble herbivorous rodents and arthropods to their predators, with a focus on a detailed ecosystem.

I have also included two creatures from the player discussions in the Armageddon Reborn forum, as well as some ideas forwarded by players about areas for the new game (as you might recognize in the abstract). We do pay attention to those things, so if inspiration strikes you, feel free to contribute to those threads -- you might just have the opportunity to be savaged by the fruit of your own imagination in the new incarnation!

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/mudreading/~3/189668005/balance

Balancing games is hard. This article is dense and math heavy, but it demonstrates a way to make balancing work, because although it’s hard, it isn’t impossible.

Experimental balancing (And why it’s bad)

Here is the classic scenario. You’re playing your favorite character, and you find something interesting: your Ice Bullet spell kills Fire Imps in one hit, so you can defeat them with no damage or risk. Fire Imps have Fire Gems which sell for 200 gold. There is a cave with 5 Fire Imps that respawn every 5 minutes. Woohoo! You found a way to make 200 gold per minute.

Then someone who works on this MUD notices and decides that 200 gold per minute is way too much. So they do something to fix it, such as:

Nerf the class. Take away the Ice Bullet spell.

Buff the Fire Imps. Make them more dangerous.

Reduce the Reward. Make Fire Gems worthless.

This probably fixes the situation. However, here are the problems with this approach:

• The damage is done. Somebody made a killing and has more gold than they should.


• The player is pissed. They feel they should be rewarded for their clever find. Sometimes admins will think the player is cheating or abusing the system, but really, there should be cases where players find cool ways to get money, how do they know the difference between the intended and unintended ones? They don’t. Don’t be mad at the player; be mad at your unbalanced game!


• The fix may not work. The admin’s intuition may under-balance or over-balance, making it still too easy to get money, or even too hard.


• Unintended side effects. This is a big one. If you take away the ice bullet spell, other enemies may suddenly be too hard. If you buff the fire imps, other classes may have too much trouble with them. And so on.

Quantitative balancing (And why it’s good)

You might not like this, but it involves math. If you don’t know a spreadsheet program, it’s time to learn. I really like Google Docs.

First things first. You need goals. One problem with experimental balancing is that there is an idea of “all classes should be equally powerful” and “all ways of spending time should be equally cost-effective” and so on. That’s not specific enough. Here are some example goals that you can probably come up with for your MUD:

• A player should be able to make 300 gold per day


• A player should be able to kill enemies their own level fairly easily


• A player should gain 1 level per day.

This is a good starting point, but from here things need to get drilled down on.

300 gold per day is good, but since players don’t play 24 hours a day, you need to figure out how many hours they do play. Take a look at your logs, take a poll, or whatever you can manage. Let’s say your players play on average 3 hours a day. Therefore, they should be able to make 100 gold per hour. Players who play more will make more and players who play less will make less. Let’s assume that’s OK, because it would take a fairly unconventional approach to do otherwise.

An hour is still too big a unit of time to compare to how long most tasks take, so let’s go with 1.6 gold per minute (GPM). Now, for your game to work, all tasks should provide, on average, 1.6 GPM. Allowing for random fluctuation of course.

Let’s say you have a foraging system. It takes 15 seconds to forage an item, and you get one of 3 items. One item costs 24 gold, one costs 12, and one costs 36. They’re all equally likely to be found. Is this balanced? Yup! On average, the player makes 1.6 gold per second.

What about killing fire imps? Let’s say it takes 30 seconds to kill one on average (How do we get 30 seconds? Hold that thought.). The fire gem should cost 30 times 1.6, or 48 gold. Congratulations! You just balanced combat with crafting. Your high-level goal of 1.6 GPM made it possible to balance things that have nothing to do with one another.

Not only did we balance unrelated systems, we also had none of the issues that arise when fixing problems after the symptoms emerge.

Let’s do this with Combat

Of course, it only gets more complicated, but I’m going to chase around some common complications to show that everything can be quantified. Let’s talk about the 30 seconds it took to defeat that fire imp.

DPS vs. HP is the name of the game. DPS is Damage Per Second, and HP is your usual Hit Points or Health Points or whatever-you-call-them. All combat can be boiled down to whose HP hits 0 first given their opponent’s DPS.

But it’s complicated. Armor, weapons, strength, skills, all play into it. Is it too complicated though? No! Make a list of everything that can play into combat. In my example game, here is my list:

• Armor resilience


• Weapon power


• Strength of attacker


• Constitution of defender


• Swords Skill


• Extra Skills like ‘Kick’

Its easy to get inundated with these factors, so get back to the high level. Let’s decide what a player’s DPS should be on average. Let’s say it’s 5.

What if my sword does 1d6, and imp armor reduces damage by 3, and my strength increases my damage by 1d2, and the imp’s constitution reduces damage by 1, and my extra “kick” skill does 1d6 damage with a cooldown of 20 seconds.

1d6 is 3.5 on average, reduce by 3 is .5, increase by 1.5 is 2, reduce by 1 is 1. The sword does 1 damage on average. In our combat system you get an attack every .5 seconds. Your DPS is 2. You have to add the kick skill onto that, though. 3.5 damage every 20 seconds is 1.75 DPS. So your total DPS is 3.75.

Ugh, that was a lot of math! But we got somewhere. If we want the imp to die in 30 seconds, we need to give them 3.75 * 30 HP, or 105 HP. Score.

But all for what? We figured out one imp’s HP. We can’t do that for every enemy in the game! Well don’t! Figure out the intended result first.

Just like you want players to make 1.6 GPM, pick a value that makes sense for your DPS and make everything conform to that. Let’s stick with 3.75. Now we know players will usually have 3.75 DPS, so when we design that imp, it’s easy to figure out how many HP they should have without doing much work.

The reason I listed the factors that played into the DPS is simple: this only works for a preset list of things that factor into DPS. If players can wear an infinite number of Fire Gems that increase damage by 1, you’ll never balance things out. If usually bracers don’t increase damage, but there is one pair that does, all else being equal that pair is unbalanced, because it increases your average DPS without taking anything away.

Next time you can work backwards. Take your 3.75 DPS and split it among your various combat factors: Weapons do on average 2 DPS, armor reduces 1 on average, and have it balance out.

OK, I know you’ve been thinking about this already, so here it is: players need to improve with time. Choosing 3.75 DPS for everybody is not possible. Instead, choose a range. Say 1 DPS is for totally fresh new characters, and 10 DPS is for the most powerful characters possible. Everyone else should be somewhere between. Same goes for GPM: Say that skilled characters should make 100 GPM, and unskilled ones only make 10. For your forage skill, make the items you get appropriate to your skill, in that they result in a GPM that reflects your place in the range. For enemies, make their HP such that they can only be killed by someone of a specific skill level, then make the loot appropriate for someone of that skill level.

Summary of what we’ve done so far (You still with me?)

Things are still being oversimplified, but I can’t describe a whole game engine in this article. I think I’ve demonstrated enough of my process to get the point across. The summary is:

• Create goals, which are generally of the form “something per unit of time.” I used damage per second and gold per minute, but it can be anything, such as experience per minute. Make these goals into a range for inexperienced to experienced characters.


• Break down the factors that result in a player’s value for these goals. Strength and weapon power are factors that eventually result in DPS. Create a finite number of these factors. Create an individual value for each factor. 2 DPS for weapon, 1 DPS for strength, and so on. Again, they should be ranges over experience. Make it so they add up to your goals.


• Make sure every factor matches its expected value. Make sure all swords for experienced players do about 2 DPS.

Let’s do this with experience and rarity

Mix in some other factors. Rare weapons might do more damage than your allotted DPS for weapons. Rarity might seem like something that you can’t manage as a balance factor, but you sure can. Let’s say fire imps have a 1% chance to drop a fire sword. Fire swords do an astounding 1d2, or 1.5 DPS! If your average DPS for an inexperienced player is 2, and your average DPS for a sword is 1, then your inexperienced player just got 2.5 DPS. This effectively, and instantly, made them better than a typical inexperienced player.

If you can defeat a fire imp every 30 seconds, and they have a 1% chance to drop a fire sword, it takes, on average, 50 minutes to get a fire sword. Using experimental balancing, you might be tempted to drop the chance to .001% or something, but resist the urge. Think about your goals again.

Here we need an experience rate goal. Let’s say you want it to take a year to create a fully-experienced character. Break down that goal. If a newbie does 1 DPS and a master does 10 DPS, you need characters to be able to improve their DPS by .83 every month. There are 30.4 days in a month on average, so that’s .027 DPS per day. And our average player plays 3 hours a day, so that’s .009 DPS per hour. Phew, that’s not much!

So, back to our fire sword. At 30 seconds per imp, you can defeat 2520 per week. Yes, no player would ever do this, but since everything is balanced, we can assume anything they do is no better or worse than killing 2520 imps. That may be a bit of a leap of faith, but its mathematically sound. If we make a fire sword drop .04% of the time, that means you’ll get one roughly once a week at this rate. The player spent 21 hours, so 21 * .009 DPS per hour experience rate gives us .19 DPS. If the sword does 1.19 DPS, up from the 1 DPS it would do if it was normally balanced, then the sword’s being unusually powerful lines up with the expected rate of improvement for a character.

What about experience points? Again, you need to break down your rate-of-experience into factors. Experience points, rare drops, skills bought from trainers, and so on should all have their own expected rate-of-experience values.

What else? (We’re not done yet?)

I’m not going to go through these, but this system could be applied to:

• Hunger. How much food should you be able to get in a day? How much do you need?


• Crafting. What did the source material cost? How long did it take to get it? What is the cost of the item I created?


• Class balance. You cast magic. I use swords. We both need the same DPS in the end.


• Elements. Fire does extra damage to ice. Earth is strong against wind. Add ranges for “when elements are against you” and “when elements are in your favor” for combat balancing.

This is too hard (You can’t expect me to do all this)

Then make your game do it for you. A coded check to label a weapon as “balanced for newbies” or “balanced for experienced players” based on the weapon’s damage rating is doable. Then you only have to do all this math once, and as long as builders respect the balance info, you’re good to go. You can even go in reverse, and have a flag on weapons that label them as “expert” or “newbie” weapons, maybe “rare” or “common”, and calculate damage values as appropriate. This is usually more intuitive for builders anyway. Micromanagers won’t like it: usually when I suggest this, builders want a way to override the results. “Override” means “bypass the carefully thought out automatic balancing and try to do balancing by experimentation.” But it’s hard to convince people of that. Maybe they’ll read this article!

Keep your big picture in a spreadsheet. The high-level values such as DPS for newbies, GPM for experts, and the breakdowns into factors such as stats, skills, for each.

What about my existing MUD? (Since it rules)

It would be really hard to make a MUD work this way if it doesn’t already. It is a good goal to work toward though. Here are a few suggestions:

• Collaborate with your staff to make your big picture. Everyone can probably figure out what they generally agree someone should make in a day.


• Avoid complicated math. 3d6 seems innocent, but it actually creates the need to do statistical math during balancing and that’s not fun. Do you really need 3d6 instead of just 3 through 18 with equal likelihood?


• Choose simple over complex unless complex is truly adding value.


• Avoid special items or abilities that don’t fit into your balance goals. If you want to add them, work out exactly what they will do and rework your goals if needed.


• Why increase armor by 5 for 15 seconds when you can decrease damage done by 1.2 for 15 seconds? Its much easier to balance if you have a DPS goal.

Conclusion

In the end, I know no MUD has ever been made from the ground up with this approach, and while it’s certainly possible, it’s hard to say for sure how it’d turn out. I’m too busy with other things to pursue it right now, but I’d really like to. However, some of these ideas do often work their way into how I run the MUD I work on, so hopefully you picked up some food for thought or even helpful ideas on improving some other MUDs.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/mudreadingcomments/~3/189718159/bala

Balance

hey, great article Raesanos — clear and concise, interesting stuff!

http://www.zalanthas.org/blogs/brideofson/archives/001396.html

Senga introduced Tyleki with some stories, here's some more information on it. Like the stories, its only a taste to give you an idea on what the town will be like.

Tyleki was created by Halaster with Senga and I coming in afterwards to flesh it out and build it in Arm 2.0. It is a mid-sized trading town located in the Tablelands that has secured an exploitive trade deal in recent times, with the *censored* concerning copper. Tyleki is the main exporter of copper and this brings much wealth into the town. However, most of the newfound wealth remains in the hands of the three founding families who rule Tyleki in a Council. Often behaving selfishly, the Council tends to make laws that benefit themselves at the expense of commoners.

Tensions between the people of Tyleki and the ruling families run high. In an attempt to dissuade the anger of Tylekans, the ruling families host festivals in an attempt to curry favor and appease the people. The festivals are also as a major source of income for the town. Despite their best efforts, this has only fueled Tylekan paranoia in recent times with many claiming that festival entertainers are simply spies. The families' use of psionists only adds further fuel to the anger and paranoia in Tyleki. As a result, the townspeople have allowed magickers of all types to have a place in society among the lower classes.

Government

A Council made up of three members is the governing body of Tyleki. The Council members represent each of the founding families: the Gorash, Meric, and Tranile families. Most are secretive about how the family selects their representative, but the Merics are the exception to this. The family hosts a festival every three years where Meric family members enter competitions and the final winner becomes the new representative.

While only the Council can make laws, they cannot enforce the law and are instead reliant on the founding family guards to do this. In earlier times, the Council had more control over Tyleki. With the recent tension between the ruling families and the townspeople, the families have taken back much of the control from the actual Council.

Psionicism

Once outlawed from Tyleki, psionists were forced to remain in hiding. However, near the turn of the first century after the Cataclysm the city was in the grip of violent riots, many of which involved magickers. The Council found Psionists essential in combating the magickers. In the following years, they became more accepted by the ruling families which only enflamed the citizens of Tyleki. In spite of the objections of the townspeople, the ruling families remained firm and, as years passed, the hatred Tylekans had for psionists faded and fear and distrust replaced it. Due to this fear and distrust among the people, psionists keep their nature hidden and find their employment discretely and carefully.

Magickers

Although always allowed in the town, it was only after the inclusion of psionists in Tylekan society that the lower classes lost much of their fear of magickers. The ruling families tolerate magickers in Tyleki, but their guards who patrol Tyleki are often much harsher to magickers than to ordinary people and will often enact harsher punishments for lesser crimes. Magickers will often hide their own nature from the ruling families, instead seeking employment from people of the lower classes.

Resources

Tyleki has access to a variety of goods, however in recent years the ruling families have relied primarily on exporting copper. As such independant merchants are able to trade in a variety of other goods such as weapons, armor, mounts, dyes and glowcrystals. The main import in Tyleki is food with the ruling families having secured trading deals with other towns to ensure a steady stream makes it to the town. Various other luxury goods that are imported into Tyleki include cloth, large pieces of valuable rocks, wood, salt and wine.

The People

Appearance is everything. Knowledge is vital to survival. As the ruling families struggle to retain their position they are ruthless in their ways, yet at the same time court the favor of the citizens. Following the example of their leaders, Tylekans have learned the importance of a public face. While sabotaging a rival is common, it is seldom obvious as theft, burglary, and murder are illegal and publicly frowned upon. Trade in these crafts often flourishes behind closed doors and in the poorer parts of town. Information is a valuable commodity and its sale can be profitable with many taking pride in their abilities to gather and make use of information.

The Arts

Tylekans value artists and artisans of all kinds both for their political uses and for economic potential. The ruling families often employ bards to sway public opinion in their favor, while discontent citizens may use song or satire to air their grievances and incite unrest. Artisans and crafters make many of the Tylekan exports and work at the festival. Those skilled in the working of copper are especially prized. Local flora and fauna heavily influence designs, but they often have a border of geometric shapes.

Clothing

Always concerned over appearances, the ruling families take great pains in outfitting themselves in the latest fashions. Although never partial to one color, the ruling family members occasionally show a dislike for a particular color. Brightly colored clothing is popular due to their influence and the plentiful supply of dye while black is normally only appropriate for guards unless heavily accented with bright accessories. The poor wear plainer items of clothing, while the wealthy often have embellishments of embroidery or beadwork. Clothing is loose fitting and comfortable for hard labor with long hemlines, while in contrast blouses and shirts which fit less modestly.

http://www.zalanthas.org/blogs/brideofson/archives/001402.html

I have been working on one of the new settlements for Armageddon 2 since February. The name of the settlement is Basal and, in an effort to keep the information flowing, I would like to make myself available for questions. I won't be able to comment on concepts that have not yet been fully completed or revealed, largely dealing with the code: combat, class systems, magick, and probably everything you really want to know.

However, I hope that there is some general interest in the settlements being developed and am interested to hear your questions, concerns, and suggestions.

This was the blog I posted back in February:

Armageddon Reborn Blog wrote:

As others have done, I wanted to give everyone a small taste of one of the new settlements in Armageddon 2.

Nestled against the base of an enormous rock spire exists a mud walled settlement whose people strive daily to improve their social rank through the accumulation of wealth. Not only a matter of great pride, social rank often determines where one may live, what resources are available to them, and even how they must act in accordance to their complicated and rigid culture.

Many occupations are available to a citizen from gathering and processing raw clay to farming a rice like product called 'chorza' to working delicate crafts of stone and ceramics for trade and barter in neighboring settlements. While many of these professions involve hard physical labor, the upper tiers of the social structure spend time organizing expeditions, trade caravans, and even careful raids in an attempt to increase their family holdings. The political scene is dangerous and unforgiving, with each family constantly scrabbling for position and looking to increase their holdings.

Located directly east of the settlement is a dusty expanse of land known as the Mud Flats, upon which many citizens lower social rank spend their days hunting and gathering shul water from the wells that periodically rise to the surface from deep within the earth.

I took your questions and have included the answers below.

1. So really it is a very capitalistic society? Rising above the others with wealth?

To a degree. It's important to understand that the "wealth" referenced in the snippet above is comprised only of Basal currency, called the Basu. The Basu is water backed, only distributed to Basal citizens through trade, and represents the citizen's, or family's, ownership of the settlement's water supply. The more Basu you or your family hold, the more water you own, and the higher status you hold. "Wealthy" men and women are considered those who have enough water to support themselves and others. It is possible for someone born into the very lowest of families to earn or achieve any position in the social tier -- though the upper two tiers will be extremely challenging to reach.

2. What is the main export of the town?

The main exports of Basal is probably worked/raw stone, worked ceramics, chorza wine, raw and worked semi-precious stones, and some smaller amounts of fungus.

3. Any traditions or strange facts that make it appealing that you can tell us?

Bassa culture pays specific attention to height. This can be the height of someone's home, the height of a table at which they sit, or the height at which they stand opposite another. Here are a couple examples of how that cultural trait could play in day-to-day exchanges:

Insults

Bowing is considered a shameful and subservient action. When one bows, they are physically lowering themselves beneath their station. Most Bassa would consider it akin to grovelling. To be asked to bow to someone is extremely offensive, even when the person asking is of higher social rank. All Bassa are proud, and respect one another's place in the social tier. Asking someone to bow to you is the same as making a man fall to his knees and beg in common terms. This has sometimes caused issues with other cultures who exchange bows as a sign of respect, leading to the common phrase, "Bassa do not bow."

Picking items up off the ground. Bassa are acutely aware of any action that lowers their bodies. One of their more common social ploys is to place items, chairs, or objects in places that require their opposite to lower themselves. Throwing an object on the ground for someone to pick up is about as blatent a slap in the face as they can muster without completely offending someone's honor. Many Bassa employ lower tier family members as aides or servants, so that the lower ranking person may pick such an object up in their stead.

Compliments

Bassa culture also allows for compliments to be made to one another through physical actions. Here are a couple examples.

Raising something over your head. Lifting an object over one's head is a significant gesture amongst the Bassa people as a sign of respect and admiration. It could be a particularly well crafted piece of stone, the plans to a well designed home, a newborn, a cup in conjunction with a toast or word of praise.

Speaking to someone of lower social rank at eye level. Most of the time, social rank is accomplished by the tiers upon which individuals live. They are standing physically taller than others. There is very little flat land in Basal, almost all structures located in the common area stand on a graded slope moving high to low, left to right. When a person of higher social rank purposefully speaks to lower ranking Bassa citizen at eye level, it is a compliment. It may signify that they find the person's words insightful, or appreciate their content.

Whomever rises/lowers themselves will also make a statement. In most cases, the person of higher rank would ask the lower to take a step forward and stand equal with them. This is a case of an individual rising above his station and is normally the situation for praise. If a higher ranking member steps down to the lower's level, it usually implies that that they are admitting they were wrong and apologizing -- demonstrating that their action was beneath them.

4. Are the Mud Flats actually muddy ground? Why would mud be present there when water is so scarce around the rest of the world.

The Mud Flats are called such for two reasons. First is that the area is subject to harsh winds out of the east that race across landscape, mostly in the evening. This has eroded much of the eastern section of the area surrounding Basal and produced a somewhat desolate and flat environment. Second is that the mud flats infrequently produce small and shallow puddles of dirty water, called 'shul' water. While the name may indicate the entire expanse is muddy, soggy, or wet -- the truth is that the area is extremely hot and dry with the rare and fleeting puddles creating the mud. Many lower class citizens of Basal hunt the flats on a daily basis in an effort to locate and gather shul water to sell and/or drink.

5. Did you find a way to enforce flowing PC market for clay and ceramics?

The game's economy is still a system undergoing refinement independant of my project. Until that system is completed, we won't know for sure how the PC market will be enforced. However, PC's will be capable of gathering or paying someone to gather their own clay deposits for crafting if that arrangement proves economical. It is planned to have code that will allow players to rent stores/storekeepers for their businesses. And there will be several resources and tools alike that are available only to PC's of a certain social level. Thus, not everyone will be able to make everything regardless of station. This applies to many of the town's resources (e.g. stone, semi precious stones, processed chorza, etc...).

6. Is it going to be another variation for sids_out_of_nowhere_skill that works only through NPC shops again?

This will likely depend upon decisions made regarding the game's economy system, which is still being finalized and isn't something I can answer. However, my intention is to build a living economic system with the addition of scripts and the flow of resources through the settlement. This system should be represented by PC's and NPC's alike, some of which will have scripts to physically demonstrate the flow of supply and demand through the community.

7. Do the "Major Families", the highest, wealthiest ones, form some sort of governing body that determines when a new person/family is allowed access to certain resources(for example: copper or say, rare foods from another settlement/medicines/etc.)? Or is it that, just because of your obscene wealth you can now afford these expensive materials/pleasures, and therefor now be counted as part of the social elite? In short, how is the government of this place set up?

There are five social tiers in Basal. From wealthiest to poorest (and subsequently highest to lowest), they are the Upper Ridge, Lower Ridge, Upper Shelf, Lower Shelf, and the Shallows. The Upper Ridge contains the three wealthiest families. The Lower Ridge contains the next six wealthiest. The government is based upon the rulings of a council, and the council is comprised of one member (normally the patriarch or matriarch of the family) from each of the nine families. These positions, and the number of families that dwell within the Upper and Lower Ridge, are fixed meaning that if a new family rises through the social ranks with their eye on the prize -- one of the existing families must descend or fall.

The council elects and oversees the training of two governmental positions: Watchers and Waterlords. Watchers, or Well Watchers, are the protectors of the settlement and are a fixture upon the mud walls surrounding the community as they pace and watch for any sign of danger, foreign or domestic. Waterlords are the keepers of financial and family records within Basal as well as the social watchdogs that ensure the status quo is maintained between the social ranks. Both of these positions are planned to be comprised almost exclusively of mundane characters.

In conjunction with my first question, "complicated and rigid culture". Could a little bit more be explained?

The social ranks are based upon an individual, or family's, Basu count. Family (and I may change this word) does not represent thet same notion most of us think of when hearing the word. Basal "Families" are generally contractual arrangements between individuals, and not a collection of blood relatives. While some of the wealthier families can afford to include all of their blood relatives under the same family name, it can become expensive and dangerous for mid level citizens to take on anyone that may not be a productive and contributing member. This may lead to planned births, estranged family members, blood relatives separated by levels of wealth and social stature, and many other complicated situations.

8. How do they interact with their neighbors? Are they known as isolationists? Do they greet all newcomers with open arms and dagger-in-fist?

The Bassa people are not isolationists. They trade frequently with Daja and some families even have semi-permanent shops/warehouses there for purposes of sustained trade and political ambition. Basal tolerates almost any traveler or trader, though some people are watched more closely than others and there is even a significant Cendi population working for one of the wealthier families. Magickers of any kind are not well liked and treated with extreme suspicion. It is not impossible for them to exist as a functional member of the settlement as long as they obey and adhere to the community's laws. Of course, one of the laws is that they cannot use their magick within the settlement walls, so that can often become a difficult relationship.

That said, the Bassa people are extremely cutthroat and mercenary about their dealings. It is not uncommon for them to form disguised raiding parties and attack or plunder travelers or remote peoples for goods that will bring them a higher place on the social ladder. This normally happens well away from the settlement itself, as too much of the wealthy family's trade depends on stable and productive trade.

9. How are the different races seen within the city?

Most of the playable races are tolerated within the settlement.

> Humans are the best received because of the obvious physiological similarities, though cultures can sometimes clash.

> Cendi are respected for their size and strength, but viewed more as an asset than an equal.

> Basani are treated with disdain and mockery for choosing to live beneath the earth. Basal will not purchase water sold by Basani merchants.

I will delay comments for the remaining races and peoples until closer to the world release.

10. What is the general atmosphere of the Shallows? Is it a lot like today's Labyrinth? How is it similar or different to the Upper and Lower Shelf?

The general atmosphere of the Shallows is crowded, muddy, poor, and base. The Watchers were long since pulled out of the neighborhoods due to near constant skirmishes with the locals. Instead, the neighborhoods largely govern themselves with families and gangs. My intention is to implement code that will take someone's social station and citizenship into account if attacked in the Shallows. For example, if a Shallows level citizen is attacked by a foreigner or someone from an upper tier, some of the Shallows neighborhood NPC's might come to the defense of their fellow Shallows member. If two Shallows citizens get into a fight between themselves, the Shallows citizens would be likely to let them have at it and sort it out themselves.

Unlike the Labyrinth, which I've always felt is very barren and deserted, the Shallows will feature an intense sense of community. You will hopefully sense the crowded nature of the streets, the stifling heat of too many people in too small a space, the almost constant company of watching eyes and listening ears, and both the good and bad products of living in a community of men, women, and children. And for the folks that really want to play the dirty part, I'm happy to say that beneath the shallows exist a network of disgusting tunnels and sinkholes that should help you discover your inner gutter rat.

Here are a few differences between the Lower Shelf and Shallows:

> Shallows quit safe rooms are predominantly communal living areas due to the extreme overcrowding. Mud Shelters, Ramshackle Tent Camps, etc... The Lower Shelf will introduce the first mud huts that can be rented by a single individual.

> Shallows operates on a self governing system without Watchers while the Lower Shelf will have Watchers patrolling some of the main areas and keeping the peace.

> Shallows has very little in the way of crafting goods or resources to purchase from stores. Storekeepers will only sell certain tools, goods, or raw materials to PC's of a certain social rank. The Lower Shelf will allow players to enter the Chorza Fields and farm, train to fight in a communal facility that features private barracks for rent to accommodate budding mercenary groups, and purchase a wider variety of trade goods and tools.

11. What is the pronunciation of Basal?

I pronounce the words as follows, with the emphasized syllables in bold:

Basal - Bah-sahl (like basalt without the t)

Bassa - Bas-uh.

Basu - Bas-oo

That doesn't mean you have to pronounce it like that, but that's what I say. Wink

12. How is pick-pocketing and assasination seen within Basal?

Both occupations would likely see a fair amount of play within Basal. The community is a bit more tight knit, but because of the almost businesslike attitude toward families, it's not uncommon for people to attempt to sabotage or assassinate rival families. Pick-pockets are common, especially in the central market. However, this brings us to an important point that had not yet been mentioned -- punishments.

When a Bassa citizen or family has reached the necessary Basu count to elevate themselves to the next social rank, they will appear before the Waterlords and make such a request. The Waterlords will check their account and then mark them accordingly. What does this have to do with pick-pockets and assassins? Well, one of the most common punishments a Waterlord will issue for breaking the law is a fine. And while that fine might seem lenient, it can have dramatic and disastrous results when it moves one family from a particular social level to the next.

They must forfeit where they live, any goods or benefits that are deemed above them, and move down to the next social tier. If you've burned some bridges, this could be rather inconvenient, embarrassing, or even dangerous. This is often why families will hire, rather than adopt, lower tier employees, servants, and less public workers in case they are caught. Because of the nature of these fines, it is often important that if a family chooses to move against another -- they must ensure success or be well prepared for failure.

13. I assume they're human?

The Bassa people are human and have no restrictions or limitations regarding their physical appearance. Due to the cultural importance placed upon height, most natural born citizens of Basal are above average in height and weight. Common physical characteristics include earth toned skin and hair (i.e. ebony, hazel, brown), angular features (i.e. narrow brows, high cheekbones, slender nose), and oval shaped eyes. Decorative tattooes and piercings are common throughout the settlement and even some more extreme methods of physical manipulation that affect one's posture or height surface from time to time. Hair styles vary between the social tiers with the poorer citizens tending to wear their hair down, often unkempt and loose about the shoulder, while more prominent citizens wear their hair up, often bound in dyed leather, bone, or stone ornaments/decorations.

14. So it might be common to see items like neck rings?

Yes, though this type of adornment would probably be the province of the wealthier families who are less concerned with moving up (because they are already so high) and more concerned with appearing taller than their peers. Such extreme measures would also only be taken by those who could afford whatever physical challenge may go along with it.

15. Question: What do they do for fun and recreation?

Many citizens gamble and watch scheduled fights or competitions, socialize at the main tavern drinking, play music (mostly percussion) together, story telling, taking up hobbies (i.e. stoneworking, clayworking, jewelry, etc...), engage in friendly competition with their peers; accuracy with the sling is a popular game amongst youngsters and even adults, so is a version of "king of the hill" with bare handed wrestling and an earthen mound.

I also want to leave some aspects up to the players to invent, as undoubtedly they will help breathe life into the settlements and help explore what recreational activities make sense and 'work' within the environment.

16. What is the starting point for Bassa citizen PCs, social-wise?

I haven't made a decision yet on what options will be available, but I am leaning toward PC's being able to choose one of two starting locations in Basal. Picking the first would place them at the lowest social tier, and picking the second would start them at the second social tier. This [em]would[/em] mean that those players choosing the higher social tier would begin with a bit more financial opportunities via their Basu count, but I don't want players to always feel as if they must grind through the first social tier with every new character. However, I want players to have a choice to begin at the very bottom if they are interested in that role and the RP.

17. Also, is there a way for an outlander to become Bassa citizen? How, if there is.

Not at this time, but that doesn't mean that I'm completely against the idea. It would probably be extremely rare as most non-Bassa are considered to be lower in social rank and inferior to the Bassa. Taking one into your family would probably be subject to ridicule, but non-citizens could certainly be employed by the family as servants, guards, workers, scouts, raiders, etc...

18. Is there any other currency in Bassa other then Basu count? Is it currency at all, or just social tokens?

Yes. Basal shops will deal in two forms of currency: the Basu, and the Daja currency which should be used in many of the settlements. This will allow outlanders to conduct trade in Basal and receive a currency useful in other markets. The system will disallow someone from making or stealing a large amount of foreign currency and somehow converting that into Basu. The only way to obtain Basu in this form would be for someone to use the earned or stolen foreign money to purchase actual goods or resources and have the Bassa citizen sell them to interested merchants in Basal.

The Basu is carved from a stone unique to these caverns, mined and obtained by workers guarded by Watchers, and processed by artisans of the top two social tiers within the settlement. The artisans carefully chisel a stone circle, 1/2" in width and 2" in diameter. The stone is then carefully marked, painted, and carved into 16 even pieces (triangular like a pie). Each of these 16 pieces counts as 1 Basu.

19. If counts are currency, does spending Basu counts from one's account lower their rank immediately? I mean, let's imagine that I am a happy guy from the Upper Ridge. So, I am spending a good deal of Basu counts to purchase a wagonload of silver or, even better, a well outside the city lands. Did I just commit a social suicide?

No, spending Basu after you have been elevated to a new social rank will not automatically lower your rank. The primary two methods by which citizens are demoted in social rank are:

> When they are punished and fined by a Waterlord, who will use that opportunity to review their total Basu count.

> When a citizen of equal or greater social standing accuses them of "living a shallow life". This statement means that the citizen in question believes the accused does not have the financial backing required to hold his/her social status. This accusation is made to a Waterlord, who then reviews the accused citizen's Basu count. If the Basu count is found to be lacking, then the accused is moved to the appropriate social tier. If the Basu count is found to be correct, then the accuser faces possible fines and may, in turn, be moved to a lower social tier. This political dance is especially dangerous at higher social levels, where families enter into "trusts" with one another, pooling and combining resources during moments of weakness in return for oaths of political allegience or favors.

20. But what if I am said merchant in Basal, international high-profile trader. Will I have to worry that everytime I go to Daja to sell ceramics, I also need to bring back something from Daja to sell in Basal? Otherwise, if I bring back the large sum of Daja currency, in order to convert it into money that matter I will loose either time or money or both while trying to convert currency through goods on local market.

I expect Bassa merchant characters who have reached the point where they are trading processed goods in a foreign market to have a need for both forms of currency. One aspect of their trade will be to constantly acquire goods and services rare to Basal that will reward them much more than any currency conversion. Much of this is theoretical, so I have no problems considering changes to the system that make sense, but if such a currency exchange was allowed (Daja to Basu), the rate would likely result in a profit loss anyways.

The issue with taking foreign currency is that you run the risk of outside interests affecting the ranking system. The Bassa people cannot precisely control the creation, distribution, and backing of foreign currency like they can with the Basu. Operating under a system where the Bassa merchants are required to trade both ways (distributing Basu only when purchasing tangible goods and resources), Basal is always benefiting in a tangible and material way.

That said, the earned Daja currency can still be used to purchase resources, tools, employees, and crafted goods from Basal markets for personal use or future trade. They will just have to keep their mind open and constantly searching for goods that will reward them with Basu and increase their holdings. Nothing would stop an enterprising merchant from offering their own Basu in exchange for Daja currency if they're willing to assume the risk themselves, using that money to pay independent employees or merchants to cart raw goods from other markets into Basal.

21. And another thing about Watchers and Waterlords. Am I correct in assuming that they are elected from upper class families? What is it, to be a Wacther in comparrison to their peers? Is it privilege and advantage or duty? Do they accept bribes?

Waterlords are chosen with much greater care and foresight than Watchers. Waterlords are often chosen at a young age, voted upon and approved by the council, and trained solely amidst the Waterlords for many years before they begin working in any official capacity. Even then, they are normally paired with elder Waterlords to learn and assist. Waterlords are the only role within Basal that is free of the ranking system. They are "above the law" in the sense that no one is immune to their punishments or fines if they are found guilty of a crime.

Watchers are considered to be Upper Shelf (3rd Tier) citizens with the obvious duty to protect the settlement. They have access to the Watcher's facilities as well as to the many posts and walls moving throughout the settlement. Similar to Armageddon 1 militia, they have the ability to arrest and detain guilty parties -- but they are no more immune to punishments and fines than any other citizen. Gross negligence or abuse of power would not be commonplace, but neither would it be absent. Watchers are not above seeking higher social positions and may offer their "services" to families that tempt them with adoption into the Upper Ridge or Lower Ridge tiers.

22. Given the importance of climbing social ladders, would physical climbing also be popular? For example an annual climbing of the Spire where prisoners compete and fight to be the first to the top to earn a pardon or die trying, while commoners make bets from below and nobles observe from platforms higher up.

Yes, climbing would be popular amidst the Bassa people and climbing the spire is a wonderful idea for an annual event, perhaps related to reaching adulthood or for some kind of social recognition.

Watchers also need to be excellent climbers in order to navigate the sloped mud walls of the settlement when defending or pursuing criminals.

Taken from the Basal documentation on Watchers:

Walking atop the mud-brick walls, patrolling the dense marketplace, or standing watch over upper level entryways, they are the most common form of law amidst the population. Watchers are most commonly identified by their haruu, a long wooden pole fitted with a thick leather noose. These instruments are often used to grapple criminals from atop the mud-brick walls surrounding each of the layered tiers of Basal, looping about the wrist, shoulder, or even neck.

23. Can you explain more about adoption and promotion to higher tiers. Let's say, I am 3rd tier, and I want to adopt Mansa, for example, who is from Shallows, but is exremely gifted. My Basu count is okay for 3rd tier, but what happens with my Basu after I adopt him into my family? Do I need to have enough Basu counts to spare him so we both would have enough for minimum 3rd tier requirements? What happens if later on someone from the Ridges will decide to adop Mansa into his family? Will I get any sort of retribution?

Individual and family accounts will be judged differently. Any player will be able to create a "family" by registering with the Waterlords for a small administrational fee. Players are in fact buying a family of a certain size (3, 5, 10, 20, etc...) with banking and leadership priviledges. As long as they have the Basu count to support the size "family" they are registering, they can "adopt" the appropriate number of people without their account needing to be constantly examined. You can think of the family registration as a charter with a list of names that can be added and removed by the family patriarch/matriarch. The family leader can promote members to positions that allow them to access portions of that family's Basu if desired, recruit if desired, replace them if they die, etc...

Individuals within families still maintain a personal account in case the patriarch or matriarch disowns them. If disowned, that individual is then judged upon their own Basu count rather than the family account to which they previously belonged. Family leaders have no rights of their family member's individual Basu counts.

For example, if Josahn was a member of the Betaal family he would be able to deposit Basu into two accounts; his personal account, and the Betaal family account. If he did not have family permission (in the form of rank), he would not be able to view the balance nor withdraw from the Betaal family account. If he is later disowned by the Betaal family, his personal account now defines his place in society. This encourages some degree of loyalty and accountability for employees because if a family leader is displeased with the actions or performance of a family member, it is entirely possible for them to quickly disown them and report that action to a Waterlord.

To answer your specific question: If your character had a Basu account enough for a small family (3) in the Upper Shelf, you would be able to adopt up to (2) additional family members who would share your family name and station. So, if you adopted Mansa in the Dopple family and someone later recruits him into one of the Ridge families, you would not be out any Basu other than what you might have given him as a family member for his individual account. If you gave him special access to the family account and he deceived you, took the money and disowned the family -- that's part of the game.

It would be my hope to create banking priviledges that allowed access to [em]portions[/em] of the family accounts (e.g. 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%).

24. What's up with the family in the common sense of the word, is there bond between mates other than mutual pleasure? Do marriages exist at all? Who looks after children?

Family and community is very strong amidst the lower tiers, because it is easier for families to stay together. Young adults often watch the children and the entire group is usually supervised by one or two adults while the rest work, hunt, or scavenge in the day. In the evenings, many families spend it together cooking and telling stories. Family remains important to the Bassa, but the stress of financial ruin can sometimes bleed into their personal lives and the Bassa who desires wealth and social recognition more than a family and mate may find themselves estranged.



There are bonds between mates above mutual pleasure. Trusts are formed at every level. The pooling of money and resources are often started by the true family unit. If you trust someone enough to procreate with them (assuming that was your intent), then that lays a foundation for a good working relationship with a mutual concern -- the child. While families may begin to take on members that are not offspring or blood relatives, many of them are started that way. There are no marriages as we view them: lush ceremonies, exchanged vows, etc... Bassa are more interested in forming lasting 'trusts' - a financial contract that combines multiple assets into a shared account. In this way, Bassa couples often ask each other to literally "put their money where their mouth is" when it comes to love.

25. Does not look like these roles are going to be available to regular PCs through development. Does it mean special apps or PCs will continue to work under gentle and caring whip of NPC superiors?

There are two things to address here. First, I’d like players to have an opportunity to experience the culture, learn the surroundings, and move through the space awhile before attempting to play a character that can so easily and quickly affect the other players. Second, the Waterlords are not charged with protecting the settlement or policing the streets, they are mediators. They have the authority to levy fines and, in extreme cases, order the Watchers to make arrests, but they do not hold the power of life and death over the citizens, only social life and death. (I say this not because I think you are misinterpreting anything, but to highlight the differences as people may be making mental links between them and templars.)

It is not my intention to create a layer of NPC authority that cannot be changed or accessed. If there are players who have come to understand the nature of Basal well enough and want to special app for a Waterlord, I have no qualms with that. There are actually some rather fun and interesting quirks about the Waterlords that players will discover as they explore the settlement – and it was my intention from the beginning for them to be a viable PC role. Just not at the beginning.

26. Distant subdue? Is it going to be coded for real use?

If I have my way, yes. I honestly have no idea what is possible at this point, however, and while the concept will remain, the practice may shift to something a bit different.

27. The Waterlords sound mostly NPC but will the Watchers have a PC population in them? If so does one need to first become a upper shelf citizen or does being selected as a watcher raise one's status?

The Waterlords will be mostly NPC in the way templars were mostly NPC – one or two of them is generally quite enough to adequately represent the role in the space. The Watcher role will be a much more accessible and frequent PC role. Being selected or recruited to be a Watcher increases one’s status to the 3rd Tier as a part of the organization. The position can just as quickly be removed by one’s superiors, so if the individual (or his family) does not meet the Basu count to remain a citizen at that level, he/she can find their position much changed. This makes Watchers fairly good workers and obedient, but it doesn’t mean their superiors are straight arrow boy scouts that require them to be the pinnacle of righteous justice.

This specific process of advancing in rank is called adoption, as mentioned earlier. And Watchers are not the only ones that can benefit from such an arrangement. It is possible for the lowliest ranked citizen to be adopted into the Upper Ridge should the family find cause. This is sometimes done when an extraordinarily gifted or physically impressive Bassa is born amidst the lower social ranks. In an effort to keep their bloodlines running with the best chance for tall sons/daughters, they may adopt prime physical specimens if they have the money and the space.

And since they're relatively highly ranked citizens (and are presumably fewer in number), what does the city do in times of war when it needs mass armies? Does it draft up the lower rungs of society, hire foreign mercenaries or a mix of options?

The settlement (not really a city) would defend itself as a community. Most citizens who were able to stand and fight would do just that. The Watchers would likely direct volunteers, who would be most of the settlement because they are all affected by the outcome of the fight. There have been vicious attacks against the settlement, but I’ll leave you to discover the details ICly.

28. Are midgets sources of humor? One thing you rarely see in Arm 1 are short people other than dwarves and almost never midgets. In a society where height=prestige I'd think having midget jesters would be hilarious.

Midgets would be a challenged group in Basal. They would have a difficult time overcoming the stigma their short stature would carry, and probably have to work much harder than their taller companions. People might hire them as jesters or fools, but more likely as servants or political tools.

I know there’s a trend for people to select the tallest and heaviest characters possible because people want to be “big and muscular” – but nature thrives on variety and I do hope that players are willing to make Bassa characters who are not always the tallest possible height offered at character creation simply because of the culture there. Knowing the great players that we have, I’m sure that won’t be the case.

29. Does the need to be higher by all means affects fashion? How about platforms and highheels? Are they okay, or is it similar to kankriding among elves?

The focus on height would certainly affect fashion, but it's normally done in small and subtle ways. To a degree, using props or extreme measures by which to increase one's height might seem a little desperate on the part of the person, as if they were making up for something. The social equivalent perhaps of stuffing your bra or pants.

More frequent forms of fashion being affected by the culture might be hairstyles, clothing with large shoulders or neck pieces, articles of clothing that reinforce posture, and likely shoes such as heels and platforms as long as they weren't extreme. Extreme examples might be purposeful racking, neck rings, stilts, etc...

30. Another example. Say, I am average 3rd tier citizen, with no real chances to advance in nearest future. Would I go to expences to urgently purchase free property within my tier that's several cords higher than my current house, effectively postponing my promotion even further?

Movements up and down the social tiers, especially into the fourth and fifth gear often take place over the course of many years, so moving from a smaller house to a larger one wouldn't be an unwise choice, especially if it improves your chances of impressing the higher tier families and having a chance at a political alliance or trust.

31. Will the NPC leaders of the "Families" change over time? Is there a way to do this automatically? I don't want the "Families" to end up like the Noble or Merchant houses are currently. I'd like to see the "Families" move up and down and be able to be 'wiped out' completely.

I understand your concerns, and our goal will certainly be to allow players to have a larger impact on the game and its organizations that the previous game has allowed with such organizations as the Great Merchant Houses and the Noble Houses of either city-state. However, simply because we make things possible does not mean they will be easy and I will always strive to make the reward equal to the journey.

Much of the high level political game has yet to be fleshed out, and we may not ultimately know how the rocket will fly until we get some people in the cockpit. My goal, however, will be to present an environment that challenges every style of player, rewards hard work, cunning, and innovation, and most of all provides the players with an environment in which they can truly feel a "part" of the game world.

New players to Basal will also likely have the added benefit of helping form Bassa slang, songs, stories, traditions, customs, fashion, and much much more. Much of the power is already in your hands.

32. How important to look and act higher (physically) in comparison to be higher social-wise?

The easiest answer is to say that the citizens are not consumed by notions of height, they are aware of it. We are aware that how we dress says something about us as a person, but we don't show up to work dressed in a tuxedo or wearing our most expensive jewelry. We dress nicely for interviews, important business meetings, first dates, weddings, church, and a myriad of other social events when we feel that our physical appearance is important because we might be judged.

The same applies to life in Basal. Day to day, most Bassa citizens are more concerned with accumulating wealth and getting ahead than appearing ahead. Important social gatherings, annual festivals, and infrequent celebrations might be the time when people really let the peacock feathers fly.

35. Where is the line when one's attempts to look and act higher will attract hostile attention of Waterlords and Ridges accusing him in acting beyond his social standing.

The line can be wherever the person in superior social position decides it should be, but they have to live with each other. You don't make allies and friends by constantly reminding everyone how poor they are in comparison to you. The line would likely be drawn when flagrant displays of disrespect are made such as a Shallows citizen approaching a Ridge citizen and initiating a conversation with them at eye level. Or a Lower Shelf citizen trying to sit at the same table as the Upper Ridge citizens in a shared and public space (like a tavern).

Waterlords are usually not necessary to mediate everyday exchanges and, when they do, they are normally stepping it to make an example of someone flaunting the social structure rather than to placate the wounded pride of an Upper Ridge citizen. Their job is to make sure everyone knows their place, not to chastise or humiliate people who make mistakes. They would just as soon pull someone quietly aside and explain their inappropriate action as make a public spectacle of it.

34. How hard-coded different families in different tiers are going to be? I mean, will all families in Ridges have their NPC representatives and compounds coded? What about Shelves and Shallows, will there be any visible NPC organisations there?

Yes, there will be coded compounds. There will be visible NPC organizations in the Shelves and Shallows, but to a lesser degree than in the Ridges. To represent every single member of each of the nine families would involve hundreds of NPC's and I don't believe that it would be productive. No one could possibly track each individual movement of these people or keep tabs on their agendas. Options that might make more sense would be to create a working schematic of each family from protection to production to politics and populate the leadership NPC's in charge of each. When one of those people were eliminated or promoted, then it might create a void that someone could fill, VNPC, NPC, or PC - whichever made the most sense at the time.

One of the complications with trying to squeeze PC's into the upper echelons of the community are that you need so many roles beneath it in order to truly appreciate the system running full steam. What I want to do is create a system that can accommodate both a very large and a very small player base, and that provides some unique challenges.