New: Township (in the traditoin of The Village PBM) (free, open-ended, email, human, fantasy, modern, economic, abstract)

From: lindahl@pbm.com (Greg Lindahl)

Date: Sun, 20 May 2001 07:13:00 +0000

Name:		Township (in the traditoin of The Village PBM)
Email:		inane@oppcatv.com
Frequency:		twice a week
Type:		fantasy political
Costs:		FREE
Last-Update:		2001May13
Keywords: free, open-ended, email, human, fantasy, modern, economic, abstract

Description:

anyone remember The Village pbm? I played (and enjoyed) it until it went
under. I've been unable to find any other game like it since then, much to
my disappointment. Since I couldn't find one like it, I've decided to run
a game very similar to The Village. There will be several slight
differences, of course, the main one being that where The Village focused
almost entirely on politics, Township will encompass more action.

Some other differences are that Township will include some fantastical
elements (no dwarves or orcs or zombies...but there will be a bit of the
supernatural every once and a while). There will be random events such as
natural disasters as well. There is a simplistic monetary system being
implemented right now which will allow players to build their own
buildings, hire other players as bodygaurds or assassins, etc.

Gameplay is very simple with very few rules. Each turn consists of one
day. You can do anything you want your turn (within reason). Just tell me
in your turn what you want your character to do, and it will (more than
likely) get done. The game map consists of a main structure (the town
hall), a lake, and five smaller structures. The five smaller structures
are known simply by numbers (Building 1, Building 2, etc). At the end of
each turn, you can move to a new location (simply put that you want to go
to the Town Hall, house 1, the lake, etc.) You can only move ONE location
each turn.
Your character will have a dagger for protection. This weapon will ALWAYS
be with you and cannot be lost or thrown away.
ALWAYS put your character name in the subject of your e-mail. This makes
things MUCH easier for me. If I don't hear from you within three turns,
I'll assume you've given up on the game and drop you. So, if you're going
on vacation or won't have access to a computer for a while be SURE you let
me know.

The game will be very open-ended. In the beginning, you'll just be making
friends (and maybe enemies) with  your fellow villagers. You can set your
own goals, but a little later there will be elements introduced such as
religious and political groups which will be warring with each other.
There will be killers and robbers, preachers and police. You can take your
character in any direction you want, convincing the other characters to
form a governmental body and maybe even elect you ruler.

If you're the kind of person who thrives on beautiful descriptions and
talented writing...this probably isn't for you. I won't go out of my way
to make each turn a literary masterpiece. I'm pretty straightforward with
what's going on in turns, telling you only what you need to know. I don't
expect players to be award-winning novelists, either. As long as I can
understand what it is you're trying to get across, we'll be ok. I'll
always be accepting players, so don't hesitate to sign up. All I need is
your characters name.

I think that's it. E-mail me with any questions. Hope to hear from you soon.

[ This is a new entry for the PBM List. You can find the list
itself, and instructions for adding games or comments, at
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/pbm_list/ -- greg ]