Based on nominations for June, story points (SP) were awarded to Ethos and Tancred for their contributions to the game. Experience points (XP) were also awarded to Aurana, Dagur, Janden, Reyna, and Sirona for their contributions over the previous month.

For more information concerning the system, see +HELP SP and +HELP XP. For information about how to use story points or experience points you’ve earned, see +HELP ADVANCEMENT and SYSTEM ADVANCEMENT

+Rumors has seen several modifications, following recent feedback.

* Botched investigations will now only return PCs from the area of play as possible sources. Currently, the code does not check for connection time, so some of the results may remain implausible (from an OOC perspective). We will evaluate whether checking for connection time is also desirable.

* Rumors with an obfuscation of 2 or higher (ratings run from -4 to 4) were previously impossible to discover the source of. This how now been changed somewhat. 4’s remain impossible to discover under any circumstances—the person who has started the rumor has simply covered their tracks too well. However, if your investigation roll is superior to the obfuscation value of a rumor, its obfuscation rating will fall by one point. This means that a rumor with an obfuscation of 3 will, after two superior roles, be reduced to a rating of 1 which would then mean a subsequent successful investigation will discover the source.

Finally, each time the source of a rumor is successfully discovered, the obfuscation rating is dropped by 3 points. This means that when it hits -4 (the lowest value), +rumors/view will show the source of the rumor to all people.

Some of these changes are, again, experiments in an attempt to find the perfect balance for the system. Please take that into consideration when using the system and providing us feedback.

The guidelines for the Rumor system have been expanded on and, we hope, clarified. The following addition was made:

For targetted rumors it is important that the contents of the rumor actually constitute a positive or a negative rumor that realistically would affect someones Influence or Renown. This means that although targetted rumors still can be false, they need be believable. Players who feel that a targetted rumor fails in adhering to these standards should report this to the Admin via +jobs (+HELP JOBS).

Since the system is seeing a lot of usage now, make sure you have read the whole Rumor Guidelines file and make sure to direct any questions to Admin as soon as possible.

The nomination code has now been overhauled to be a general nomination code as supposed to just nominations for SP. Players can now submit 5 general nominations per month, and the Admin will base their decision on what to reward on the reason given in the nomination. Options include SP, XP, Influence and Renown (not yet). Please see +HELP ADVANCEMENT for the new in-game helpfiles for the code and SYSTEM ADVANCEMENT for the helpfiles on the web which discuss other aspects of the system.

We have been tweaking a few things about the in-game boards. Most of the boards now have a longer timeout, and we are also adding more detailed descriptions of the board to help players see what they can be used for. To see the timeout and the description (as well as some other information) about a board, simply type +bbinfo

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The most significant change so far has been to establish the Plots board. We are hoping to use this board as an easy overview of on-going plots that guests and new players can be pointed to. Players are welcome to post plots to the board as well, just make sure to follow the established format.

If there are any suggestions for boards to add (or drop), please let us know. The current list of boards can be seen with +bblist.

As a further step to making influence more useful, we have now instituted code that will automatically increase or decrease current influence levels at the beginning of each month. Influence points available to be used shall be raised or lowered each month, depending on whether they are presently above or below their current base level, and by what margin. Players who are significantly below or above their base influence will automatically gain or lose influence at a higher-than-normal rate.

We have reset everyone to their base influence, as a first step to furthering the use of influence on the game. In the process of doing this, we discovered various minor errors which failed to give people the correct entries in their status field (for example, many knights did not get the benefits of taking Knight). Furthermore, after further consideration, we have modified the process by which influence is derived. Many players will find that their influence is somewhat lower than it was previously, to better reflect the strong negative impacts that negative modifiers can have on status.

-There is currently (at the time that this message is posted; for up-to-date information, see +CDB/QUOTA) 6 slots for tier III characters and 4 slots for tier II characters available. As some of these slots just opened up, there will be a 5 day request period from the date of this announcement. If the slots are not taken within 5 days, they will remain open and available on a first come, first serve basis. Please see the quota helpfile for further information about how this works.

The issue with CG and XP has now been corrected. CG and XP expenditure is once again available to players.

A major bug in CG and XP was discovered today, which has caused some significant problems in relation to advancement. For the time being, CG and XP spending via the practice command are closed.

Based on nominations for April, no story points (SP) will be awarded this month. However, we’ve determined to award XP to Aurana, Ethos, and Janden for their contributions to the game over the previous month.

For more information concerning the system, see +HELP SP and +HELP XP. For information about how to use story points or experience points you’ve earned, see Advancement helpfiles.

Just a quick note for players, as we’ve noticed this cropping up in logs:

When roleplaying about a house as an entity or collective body, you use the plural form.

Wrong: The Targaryen do not like this.
Right: The Targaryens do not like this.

And so on. And while we’re on the subject of nomenclature: the Dornish, the Dornishmen, Dornishwomen. Not “the Dorne”. Dorne is a place, not a group.

Based on nominations for March, a story point (SP) has been awarded to Dagur for his contributions to the game in the last month. In a move to use the nom system more broadly to be able to award things other than SP, we’ve also awarded XP to Ardon and Orene.

For more information concerning the system, see +HELP SP and +HELP XP. For information about how to use story points or experience points you’ve earned, see the Advancement helpfiles.

Based on nominations for February, story points (SP) have been awarded to Jonn and Ethos for their contributions to the game in the last month. In a move to use the nom system more broadly to be able to award things other than SP, we’ve also awarded XP to Reyna and Sarmion.

For more information concerning the system, see +HELP SP and +HELP XP. For information about how to use story points or experience points you’ve earned, see the helpfiles.

The Religion and Technology sections of the Theme Helpfiles have now been fleshed out. If there are any questions or comments about this material, let us know.