Musings of the Autarch

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Musings of the Autarch

Post by [Syl] »

I realize this is a bit tricky, so allow me to explain it further.

First off, Sacrifices. Something must be destroyed. Something of value has to leave the world. There are many ways to do this, but the easiest example is livestock. Now, this doesn't mean a whole animal is thrown onto a large fire. The simplest act is the killing of the animal. By killing it, you've basically cut off all further use. No more milk, wool, labor, offspring, and so forth. You can go further by putting certain parts of the animal (or all of it) into the fire, adding more value to what you're (your priests, technically) are giving up, or you can have the priests or the followers receive the carcass and so forth. The more value you give up, the more DRP you gain, but there could be benefits to holding some back, too. This is all up to you.

One hundred (healthy) cattle (aka, a hecatomb) will get you 1 full DRP and max out a temple. Let's say 1/3 of that if you actually destroy the whole cow. Other animals are fine, too, of course, but the value will be compared monetarily, as it would for non-living sacrifices. It would take a lot more chickens, for example. This is so that I can keep it fair when taking into account gods' varying choices of sacrifice.

You can also assume a very close exchange rate when spending your DRP on stuff like that. If you spent 1 DRP on giving your followers healthy livestock, they'd probably get about 100 such. Let's say 200 if you're just healing them. *shrug*

Now, about worshipers. This might be the biggest change from Pantheon or Aesir. You don't have any, technically. At least, you don't have any that the other gods do not. This is a truly pantheistic society. They'll worship anyone who they think will help them at the time. This is another reason for the materialistic nature of the sacrifices. They expect something in return. The entire Acropolis should be your target audience, and you want to appeal to as many as possible (while still keeping your brand unique, of course). This is why I've tried to steer most of you towards more broad domains. It's great to corner a niche market, but if that's your primary appeal, you're going to be behind the eight ball for most of the game.

Now, you do have a priesthood, and their numbers contribute directly to your DRP similarly to followers in Pantheon or Aesir. To use a metaphor, they're the horses to which your wagon (temple) is hitched. The high priest is the driver, and the cargo is... well, you. This doesn't mean they won't offer sacrifices to other gods, though. You wouldn't expect your employees to shop only at your store, even if they have a good discount. You can change this, but it won't be easy.

Finally, reputation. This is going to be the trickiest part, I think. It's far less quantifiable and more subjective (and yes, subject to my opinion, though I promise to keep it game-based. arguing with The Autarch will not reduce your rep ;)). It is a measure of the population's overall faith in your effectiveness. If they look to you as much as they do all the other gods combined, it will probably be over 50%. It could be lower, though, if a good chunk of the populace doesn't bother praying at all (not necessarily implying atheism, but just a general lack of faith in the gods). If stories are told about you (no, making your priesthood talk about you won't work by itself), this can contribute as well. Whether you're loved or feared (or both) is again up to you.

I'm very much looking forward to how you guys tackle these three categories. There is play between the categories, but you can do well by focusing on only one, nor will you be hurt much by ignoring only one.
Last edited by [Syl] on Sun Jun 06, 2010 3:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
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Post by Chime »

Finally, reputation. This is going to be the trickiest part, I think. It's far less quantifiable and more subjective (and yes, subject to my opinion, though I promise to keep it game-based. arguing with The Autarch will not reduce your rep ). It is a measure of the population's overall faith in your effectiveness. If they look to you as much as they do all the other gods combined, it will probably be over 50%. It could be lower, though, if a good chunk of the populace doesn't bother praying at all (not necessarily implying atheism, but just a general lack of faith in the gods). If stories are told about you (no, making your priesthood talk about you won't work by itself), this can contribute as well. Whether you're loved or feared (or both) is again up to you.
From this, I take it that it's possible that if a particular deity does something disasterous (from the pov of the population) we could all suffer?
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Post by [Syl] »

More about the people.

They're simple. Not stupid, but not complex by any means. They're mostly concerned with what's right in front of them. They generally don't think much farther in the future than 'this time next year.' A crafty fellow might think about next year's harvest as he's planting this year's.

The median lifespan is 35. The average (not counting infant mortality, which is quite high) is around 28.

If it was good enough for his father, it's good enough for him. And if it was also good enough for his father's father, he'd almost think it lunacy to do anything differently.

There is slavery.

As there is no writing (they've only heard of it), there are no codified laws. The king rules by decree. The further you are removed from the king, the less privilege you have. The poor have little rights. Poor women have little more than slaves.

Finally, abstract thought is strange to them. The belief in Gods who control certain aspects of their world is the highest philosophy they have.

There are exceptions to most of these, but generally, that's not seen as a good thing. I encourage all of you to change as much of this as you want, but even though I'm providing this as a kind of blank slate or at least base template, I don't want you guys to think it will be easy.
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
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Post by [Syl] »

Chime wrote:From this, I take it that it's possible that if a particular deity does something disasterous (from the pov of the population) we could all suffer?
Possible, but not likely. Though they think of the gods as all belonging to a certain class, they perceive them as individuals. It's far more likely that they'll look to another god (or gods) to fix the situation.

The exception may be when two or more gods are seen as closely linked (most likely from them working together frequently, getting married, or even constantly quarreling).
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
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Post by [Syl] »

A note on strategy:

The way I see it, there are two ways to go about playing the game. One, you can focus on increasing the primary stats (PSR). While I'll almost certainly shoot down "I spend 2 DSP increasing my priesthood," I'm pretty liberal with what works. Two, you can focus on being a god. By that, I mean just doing stuff that gods do in a way only gods can do.

Concerning the latter, there are some gods in this game that I think I know very well now. Their personality and so forth. Others, not so much. This isn't a condemnation, but of those gods I don't know much about, I could probably tell you what their high priests like for dinner. ;) All I can say is that of the mythology I've read, things often don't go well for the mortals that get any press. But I digress. As far as gains go, this method is more likely to lead to increased reputation.

Concerning the former, I'm wondering if people haven't been doing more of it than I took it for. Unless you want to leave it up to my discretion (which could be both good and bad), I would suggest in your one-line summary to be explicit about what stat you expect this to help. As an example: "1 DSP to make the fire at the altar burn hotter (increase sacrifice)." Just make sure the connection isn't tenuous, or it could affect the gains. Making your high priest more attractive to seduce a key character and then claiming it as increasing your priesthood won't work. :mrgreen:

Oh, and things are looking good for you guys this turn. Too early to say for certain, but I predict success.
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
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Post by Herald of Sataniel »

Some of your recent posts make me wonder if my attempts to cause collateral damage might be missed, simply because I do not state the intention, only put things in certain places at certain times...
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