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 at best and cannon fodder at worst.

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? Who can say. What can be said is that all players are human, with one exception, the Sirionite elves. The elves of Sirion (east continent) are protected in a grandfather clause, meaning that they existed before the rules about only human characters and were alowed to continue existing.

So this isn't a High Fantasy setting with fantastic races and massive quests to save the world, this is a place where people just live normal, if not a bit primitive, lives..... for the most part.

There are hints of a slightly fantastic flavour to the world, only small ones and only in some places. Undead and monsters often roam, strange prophets fortell of terrible events which come to pass, nobles seem to live forever and heal any wound no matter how grevious if given enough time, and there was even once a liche. What does this mean? Well for those who will have no part of anything as silly as superstition, it's just proof of how misguided some poor fools are and that science still has some ground to cover. For those who think hanging a horseshoe over the door is a good idea, it just gives them more fuel for the fire. The point is that these kinds of things are exceptions rather than the rule, popping up once in a while, and for the most part people's day to day lives are totally normal, full of terrible wars, but normal.

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 to be not as severe a duel challenge, but still a serious matter. If the ruler backed out of a promise to give someone a lordship, the judge fines someone you think is innocent, the banker makes a severe and unwaranted tax "adjustment", or the general is overstepping the bounds of his authority, then protesting may be in order.

Fealty

I know that I said nobles are rich, and they are, but a landless noble still needs a way to get money for his extravagant lifestyle. This is where oaths come in. Usually, landed nobles are looking for landless nobles like yourself to help organize, maintain, and defend their region. Though every oath is different, it will usually involve you agreeing to serve him in exchange for a share of his taxes.

Fealty is a very personal thing. You might not want to accept a lord's offer for any number of reasons. Maybe you can't or don't want to provide the service he needs, someone else is offering you more money for the same work, or you just don't like the idea of taking orders.

Whatever your reasons for accepting or declining an offer, remember this: accepting an oath of fealty means you promise to serve your lord under any circumstances. The clause in the agreement that states "I promise to serve ..." might as well be replaced with "I give my free will to...". Loyalty was a huge deal in the middle ages. If you broke an oath, you were practically an outcast from society. So you better think things through before making a decision.

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.