Basic Facts

TOM's Message for Reference

A collection of "basic facts about the BattleMaster world". It should contain a short list and then for each point a paragraph or two of explanation for some of the basic facts we expect everyone to know. For example:

• There are no non-human player characters in the game.
• Players are nobles and expected to act as nobility (with a few examples, especially duels, protesting, etiquette, etc.)
• A link to the Inalienable Rights
• Where to get help

There are various "getting started" and tutorial and other help pages already. What I would like is a page that I can point new players to and tell them "read that and you know everything that's really important".

No game mechanics. This is about how to play.

Start of the article

I'm just putting down the bare bones to start with and working from there, so easy with the comments.

Welcome newbies, to the immersive world of BattleMaster. I'm sure that by now, you have figured out what some of those links do, how hours work, and maybe even how to send/read messages. But before you get too involved, you need to know some of the finer details on exactly how to play this game.

• Low fantasy
• Noble heritage

Low fantasy

BattleMaster roughly based on the Middle Ages. (anywhere from 1200 to 1600 technologically and politically) We play as nobles who live the good life and fight our wars as peasants toil and labor for our benefit. Much like the Middle Ages, no matter how equal the government claims to be, peasants are never considered more than a work-force.

In history, were there stories and myths of magic, non-human creatures, enchanted items, ect.? Yes. Are there in BattleMaster? Yes. Do they truely exist in either place? No. With the exception of a few monsters and undead creatures, everyone is a human. No orcs, no dwarves, no enchanted undead fairy dragons. Except for the Sirionite elves, which are protected in a grandfather clause because they existed before the rules about only human characters.

Noble heritage

As stated earlier, everyone plays as a noble from the upper class. You're rich, you're pampered, and you can do anything you want with no one being able to stop you just because of your name. However, there are a few things that tradition dictates you do and do not do.

Duels

This is not your average training or sparing match. (those can be roleplayed) Duels are swordfights that are used to defend one's honor. Why challenge someone to a duel? He offended your wife, spoke ill of your family name, ruthlessly murdered a family member, or has opposed every single idea or chance for advancement you had just because he has a grudge against you. The list goes on and on. However, it is important to remember that a duel is a big deal and it is almost guaranteed that someone will walk away wounded, if at all, so duels should be rare. Petty arguments, bets, tests of skill, and disagreements over the last mug of beer can easily be solved by other means.

One last point: Challenging a noble of higher status than yourself to a duel is highly inappropriate and is not taken seriously. Why would a Duke, who has spent years in the realm proving himself and may have at one time been in the counsel care if he offended a knight that just joined the realm and is practically unknown to anyone outside of his estate?

Protests

Protesting is where, either publically or privately, you disagree with the actions of a counsel member. This is considered not as severe as duels, but still a serious matter

Playing Details

Things you should know that are not necessarily obvious otherwise:

• Links with elipses (Example...) mean that there is another page where you put in details or choose options. Links without elipses (Example) usually mean that action is taken immediately (hours and gold spent, etc.)
• You can not bookmark characters directly. Bookmark the family page.
• If you do nothing for about 20 minutes, your session will time out and the game will act as if you had not logged in. If you are in the middle of some playing, that might result in some odd error messages. Just log in again and do it again.