05-25-2011, 02:37 PM
I can answer the simple questions and I'd be glad to post a full review at some point as I've been playing it for 3 years now, though the only other play by mail game I've played is Stars!.
It will probably be a while before Walter gets a chance to review it as we are currently in a processing lull so it will probably be a month before he gets his first turn results. The game is not far off from what Jon jokes about (complete with lots of flourishes on the capitals in the style of medieval monks). Every detail is hand created and processed including the maps and the results. So now that the game is in full swing with about 50 players, it's taking a while for turns to get out. But I can totally recommend the game as that is it's only problem, and it's really only a problem for some. Others like the break as the game can get pretty crazy and involved during a turn with various poletics. I'm also working on some turn automation tools for the gm for the parts that can be automated, but it's a totally open ended game, so much of it will never be automated and who knows when I'll finish though it always seems to me like any month now I'll be done.
There are two currently open continents though they share the same game world.
Here are the pages where you can see the public turn results. Each realm also gets private turn results in the form of stat sheets. The last turn chronicle for Sahul is 52 pages, the last turn for Oratoa was 24. Next to each turn you'll also see the color coded map for who owns what territories each turn. On the Oratoan page you can also download the detailed maps that include information on each region, it's terrain type, ruins cities, religious features etc. The sahul maps aren't online but are a printed atlas.
Sahul
http://www.sardarthion.com/?page_id=55
Oratoa
http://www.sardarthion.com/?page_id=249
To answer some of 4am's questions.
Usually right before he releases a turn he'll announce what positions are open for folk to join for the next turn.
Most play positions are a realm with about 7 or 8 leaders and a guard unit and their troops. Though it's also possible to play other kinds of positions, like a religious primacy (there are 4 main religions) , a secret society or a military order. Usually you contact the GM and talk about what you'd like to play and he'll give you advice about the open positions. I'd be happy to put up summary descriptions of the open realms and their situations when they are known. I'll be happy to put up a summary of Where Walter's position is at as well, if I understand which realm he's taken over.
Not everybody is fighting everybody and the two continents have very different personalities. As the game is very open ended, some folk just like to build their realms, research spells or technology, participate in diplomacy and storytelling and investigate the many mysteries that are scattered around the history and the maps.
Sahul is governed by a historically corrupt and ineffective empire that is entering a renaissance period, though with the open ended nature of the game, the players are managing to improve it somewhat. For example last turn a court of law was created. How well that turns out, time will tell. Many of the players here are content to build, research, participate in politics and trade and explore. Others want to create trouble.
Oratoa is more in the style of a Robert E. Howard novel. More primitive technologically, more warlike in culture, with larger armies, with hero's going on individual quests. Investigating ruins, searching for artifacts and writing up their hero's quests in public postings or to be included in the official chronicle.
The situation in Oratoa currently if you look at the map of turn 17 at the top of that page is that there are three pretty tough eastern realms up there that are Urdan, worshipers of the earth goddess, the west is filled with 7 or 8 smaller tarotist, chaos worshiping realms, the south center are Illuvarians, kind of like the Templar knights and the south west are formerly dissorganized wild tribes of Yagnarists, devil worshipers, that are now coming together under the banner of myself and an ally. The big region in the middle is a wild card that is unplayed so far.
The Illuvarians (Poukaiatoa and Orofer) have just declared holy war on Myself and my ally (Iagnar is me and my ally is Atuburrk), who are both from the continent of Sahul. Largely because I brought the avatar of Iagnar with me, who has a bit of a past on Oratoa. We are also in some sort of agreement with the Tarotists that nobody knows the details of and are fighting Ancalime, which along with Orofer and Poukaitoa, were determined to not allow any realm of Oratoa to trade or deal with the southerners from Sahul.
The only two realms that I know are open on Oratoa are Ancalime and Orofer. Those two nations and Poukaiatoa had a pact, but two of the players left the third in the lurch.
Ancalime might be doomed this turn or they might have fought off the Tarotists, time will tell with the results. Orofer is a small nation and I think it's chances of surviving against me for long are not great, but I think if someone wanted to pick up a fun challenge it would be a very fun position to play and to try to survive with. They do have Poukaiatoa as an ally and Poukaiatoa is at least as strong as I am thus far. Also things shift in pretty big ways, pretty quickly, so nothing is set in stone. It is always possible that Walter (who I think took up Keatoa) and the other urdan nations of Kuroa and Pakoa might help out against me because of Iagnar's bad rep. But they trade with the realm listed as the viceroyalty of new ingazi which is also an urdan realm but one from Sahul. As they and I are both technically a part of the empire of Sahul it would be illegal for them to help against me. And the three realms Ancalime, Orofer and Poukaiatoa made some proclamations that implied that the fact that the northern urdans are trading with the southern urdans, that they consider that practically an act of war and treachery to the cause of the continent to remain uncolonized.
That's it in a nutshell. I'll be glad to answer any questions. It's a crazy and awesome game. I think playing it would go well with playing one of the automated games with short turn cycles and I've often been tempted to try one of them, but I can't let myself do so until the automation tools are done. That's why I'm enjoying going through this site. It's a great way to think about and appreciate this style of game without distracting from the process of working on the automation tools.
-Cort
It will probably be a while before Walter gets a chance to review it as we are currently in a processing lull so it will probably be a month before he gets his first turn results. The game is not far off from what Jon jokes about (complete with lots of flourishes on the capitals in the style of medieval monks). Every detail is hand created and processed including the maps and the results. So now that the game is in full swing with about 50 players, it's taking a while for turns to get out. But I can totally recommend the game as that is it's only problem, and it's really only a problem for some. Others like the break as the game can get pretty crazy and involved during a turn with various poletics. I'm also working on some turn automation tools for the gm for the parts that can be automated, but it's a totally open ended game, so much of it will never be automated and who knows when I'll finish though it always seems to me like any month now I'll be done.
There are two currently open continents though they share the same game world.
Here are the pages where you can see the public turn results. Each realm also gets private turn results in the form of stat sheets. The last turn chronicle for Sahul is 52 pages, the last turn for Oratoa was 24. Next to each turn you'll also see the color coded map for who owns what territories each turn. On the Oratoan page you can also download the detailed maps that include information on each region, it's terrain type, ruins cities, religious features etc. The sahul maps aren't online but are a printed atlas.
Sahul
http://www.sardarthion.com/?page_id=55
Oratoa
http://www.sardarthion.com/?page_id=249
To answer some of 4am's questions.
Usually right before he releases a turn he'll announce what positions are open for folk to join for the next turn.
Most play positions are a realm with about 7 or 8 leaders and a guard unit and their troops. Though it's also possible to play other kinds of positions, like a religious primacy (there are 4 main religions) , a secret society or a military order. Usually you contact the GM and talk about what you'd like to play and he'll give you advice about the open positions. I'd be happy to put up summary descriptions of the open realms and their situations when they are known. I'll be happy to put up a summary of Where Walter's position is at as well, if I understand which realm he's taken over.
Not everybody is fighting everybody and the two continents have very different personalities. As the game is very open ended, some folk just like to build their realms, research spells or technology, participate in diplomacy and storytelling and investigate the many mysteries that are scattered around the history and the maps.
Sahul is governed by a historically corrupt and ineffective empire that is entering a renaissance period, though with the open ended nature of the game, the players are managing to improve it somewhat. For example last turn a court of law was created. How well that turns out, time will tell. Many of the players here are content to build, research, participate in politics and trade and explore. Others want to create trouble.
Oratoa is more in the style of a Robert E. Howard novel. More primitive technologically, more warlike in culture, with larger armies, with hero's going on individual quests. Investigating ruins, searching for artifacts and writing up their hero's quests in public postings or to be included in the official chronicle.
The situation in Oratoa currently if you look at the map of turn 17 at the top of that page is that there are three pretty tough eastern realms up there that are Urdan, worshipers of the earth goddess, the west is filled with 7 or 8 smaller tarotist, chaos worshiping realms, the south center are Illuvarians, kind of like the Templar knights and the south west are formerly dissorganized wild tribes of Yagnarists, devil worshipers, that are now coming together under the banner of myself and an ally. The big region in the middle is a wild card that is unplayed so far.
The Illuvarians (Poukaiatoa and Orofer) have just declared holy war on Myself and my ally (Iagnar is me and my ally is Atuburrk), who are both from the continent of Sahul. Largely because I brought the avatar of Iagnar with me, who has a bit of a past on Oratoa. We are also in some sort of agreement with the Tarotists that nobody knows the details of and are fighting Ancalime, which along with Orofer and Poukaitoa, were determined to not allow any realm of Oratoa to trade or deal with the southerners from Sahul.
The only two realms that I know are open on Oratoa are Ancalime and Orofer. Those two nations and Poukaiatoa had a pact, but two of the players left the third in the lurch.
Ancalime might be doomed this turn or they might have fought off the Tarotists, time will tell with the results. Orofer is a small nation and I think it's chances of surviving against me for long are not great, but I think if someone wanted to pick up a fun challenge it would be a very fun position to play and to try to survive with. They do have Poukaiatoa as an ally and Poukaiatoa is at least as strong as I am thus far. Also things shift in pretty big ways, pretty quickly, so nothing is set in stone. It is always possible that Walter (who I think took up Keatoa) and the other urdan nations of Kuroa and Pakoa might help out against me because of Iagnar's bad rep. But they trade with the realm listed as the viceroyalty of new ingazi which is also an urdan realm but one from Sahul. As they and I are both technically a part of the empire of Sahul it would be illegal for them to help against me. And the three realms Ancalime, Orofer and Poukaiatoa made some proclamations that implied that the fact that the northern urdans are trading with the southern urdans, that they consider that practically an act of war and treachery to the cause of the continent to remain uncolonized.
That's it in a nutshell. I'll be glad to answer any questions. It's a crazy and awesome game. I think playing it would go well with playing one of the automated games with short turn cycles and I've often been tempted to try one of them, but I can't let myself do so until the automation tools are done. That's why I'm enjoying going through this site. It's a great way to think about and appreciate this style of game without distracting from the process of working on the automation tools.
-Cort