Ancient Times #0196a From: keith.langley@mdcs.com (Keith Langley) Date: Sat, 27 Jan 1996 00:00:00 +0000 A N C I E N T T I M E S "All the news that's fit to chisel" Festival of the Groundhog - issue #1295 Sacred Scripture Rules changes and announcements applicable to all games USING THE MAIL - Lately it seems the mail is moving more slowly -I suppose the government shut-down, holidays and blizzards could have something to do with it. This turn one package (mailed a day after the deadline) took 8 days to reach me, and another took 6 days to arrive. If you are mailing near (or worse, AFTER) the deadline, please cough up $3 and send your turn Priority Mail. I don't recommend Express Mail, UPS or other extreme measures, as the extra day is not worth the expense. If you do use those services, though, make sure to authorize delivery without a signature. Otherwise, if I am unavailable, they may haul the package to their office in Denver (50 miles away). Game 5 starting - new GM for game 6! - I now have enough players verbally confirmed to start game 5; as soon as I get their deity information we can begin. There are still one or two slots available in that game if you hurry. Game 6 will be run under revised rules, and by a new GM. Avalon Rusk (Vulcan in this game, Tinuviel in game 4) has agreed to do some programming for me as a "license fee-in-kind" while I teach him the OTF system. I will advise him as he runs game 6. If the arrangement works well, we should end up with a smoother, faster game system that will accommodate many players, and two GMs to run dozens of games at once. OTF Web page up and running - If you have internet access, check out our new web page! Avalon put this together. Its address is: http//:nyx10.cs.du.edu:8001/~arusk/otf.html We'll be adding to it as time goes on; our first priority is an electronic version of the (new) rules, that can be downloaded directly. NEW RULE: Special Mission getaways - It seems a bit odd for heroes and priests who complete a special mission to end their turn in the province they just raided. So, priests and heroes (and any accompanying carts or cargo ships) may make an additional normal move AFTER a special mission. This additional move must be to a friendly province, and a ship's range cannot be extended by taking risks. RULE CHANGE: Persecute - It has been pointed out that five population points, with no army or leaders present, can capture 10 Ent priests-A on a special mission, just by executing a Persecute order. This seems a bit extreme, so I need to do something about it. So, here is Persecute (revised): PERSECUTE: Your worshippers zealously root out and destroy heretics. For every 5 size points of persecutors, one size point of idolatrous evildoers (you may choose the target faith; default is largest non-agnostic minority present) is killed. As with other orders, this is adjusted for relative size. Persecuting cultures who hate or dislike their targets inflict double casualties. For every 50 persecutors, one point of temple is also destroyed. For each non-artillery unit assisting in the persecution, an additional worshipper and an additional temple point are lost, AND one grade of hero/priest is captured (lower grades are captured first, possibly allowing ringleaders to escape). Military units assisting may not move or take any other action this turn; they may be units newly created in the province. A priest of the persecutor's faith may use Summoning miracles to provide additional troops for a Persecution; the priest must also not move or do anything else. A victim priest may only use Summoning (or other battlefield miracles) if a civil war erupts. If a Rioting population is Persecuted, a civil war results; see RIOT for details. Only a province's controller may issue this order. ABOUT MIRACLES - Some players have asked about using priest miracles in different situations. Can a priest with Disguise lead a unit of disliked troops? Can I conjure soldiers to help in a Special Mission? and so on. Here are my rulings on these situations: PREACHING miracles are only useful when preaching; Disguise won't help you escape, Alter Self won't let you fight as an Ent. MIGHT and FIREBALL are useable whenever a fight happens, on the battlefield or in a Special Mission. CONJURE SOLDIERS takes time, preparation and space. It can only be used by the controller of a province, or as part of an attack against a province. This means it can be used to bring up extra soldiers to Persecute, as described above. DISRUPT ARTILLERY is only useful on the battlefield. INSPIRATION and LEADERSHIP can be used in a Special Mission (all friendly heroes/priests are considered a single unit), or in battle. HEALING can be used in battle or on a special mission, but not when executed, martyred, or struck by any type of Divine Intervention. It will cure Mummy's Touch, but not Boils. ESCAPE is used whenever a priest is captured, immediately and again each turn that the priest is held. If it succeeds, the priest gets a free move, similar to a Special Mission getaway move. This must be to a friendly province if possible, or at least to one not controlled by the former captor, if one is available. TRAVEL miracles are only used in movement. They do not affect a unit's behavior on the battlefield. Teleport requires extensive preparations and an elaborate ritual; it cannot be used to escape captivity. NORMALCY may be used at any time. Up