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Derby Evening Press/Issue 08

2008-06-22T16:03:36Z

Black Joe: /* Derby Rangers */

==Derby News==

===Arthur Lines, threat or menace?===
[[Image:Arty.jpg|thumb|200px|Arthur Lines' recent makeover. He was a messy man before.]]
Arthur Lines, once a peaceful environmentalist, turned aggressive several months ago when officers of the [[1st Derby Privateers]] searched his home in the forest for clues in ongoing murder investigations. The Privateers were shocked to find evidence that Arthur had been killing travelers for using the roads.

This shocking discovery earned Mr. Lines 'Kill on sight' (KOS) status with the local authorities. In retaliation, Mr Lines launched a one-man guerrilla campaign against the [[Eastern Federation]]. Mr Lines was told that he could contest the decision of the Privateers by going to court. However, we now know that Mr Lines believes the Court to be corrupt, because it is lead by members of the Federation.

The Privateers' captain Rob Zombie had this to say: "Well, personally, I think he's an idiot. A few squares of rapidly growing jungle for the sake of human lives? And thinking the court is corrupt? Ha! He calls me a convicted killer, and I am. But I was convicted by that court. Surely if it was corrupt, I'd have never seen the inside of the courthouse?"

Mr Lines has continued his campaign against the Federation by founding the organization known as The Derby Protectors, or somesuch, and is trying to gain support of the local people. Our sources confirm that Mr. Lines is thus far the only member. As well as being convicted of the murders of road users, Mr. Lines is also guilty of the murder of a shaman, who earlier that same day had left his job with the Federation. Rincewind, of the [[Sentinels]] and [[Open Arms]], was a peaceful Shaman who had exorcised over twenty seven 'spirits' from Derbian streets. Mr. Lines killed Rincewind because of his (Lines') anti-Federation views. It was known that Rincewind was preparing to leave town that very same day.

Though the Derby Evening Press has no political views, we do remind you that the DEP is funded by the Federation.

===Reader's write-in: Got Rum?===
[[Image:jugorum.jpg|thumb|100px|Two jugs o'Rum.]]
Derby stands upon the edge of a knife...balancing...and if we dont do something soon, we'll all DIE! Yes, DIE! From lack of alcohol. Have you noticed how the taps in Derby Tavern have been dry for weeks? There's no beer, there's never any rum and water is a sad thing to have in a pub. So, I call to all pirates, for the sake of Derby! Please, trade us your rum! Bring us your beer!

==International News==

===York Invaded...Yet Again===

Less than a month after the end of the Dork Cup, York is being invaded again. This time, it's not [[WickSick Headhunters]] or the [[Mercenary's Guild]]. In a move hearkening back to the [[Second Battle of York]], pirates are attacking York. It is not clear what the pirates' motives are. Possible motivations include anger at York policies, a twisted sense of nostalgia, or pure boredom. Whatever the reason, the attack has provoked a flurry of activity in York.

In response to the threat of a pirate invasion, York's foreign allies are sending aid to their endangered sister city. The number of clans involved is the largest since the [[Durham Headhunt Contest]] rallied most of the outsider and pirate clans on Shartak. Below is a list of the clans defending York.

====York Coalition====
[[Image:redcoats.jpg|thumb|200px|York Coalition recruits, in their red uniform, practicing their rifle skills.]]
The de facto command center of York's defense, the [[York Coalition]] is a conglomeration of York patriots, including many former members of the [[CCTU]] (now disbanded), former members of the [[Colonial Police]], and at least one representative of the [[Order of Patriots]]. The York Coalition was the backbone of the Dork Cup defense, accounting for 78 of the 95 headhunter deaths. If the York Coalition wishes to maintain its leadership position, it will have to do equally well this time around.

====Derby Rangers====
[[Image:rangerdude.jpg|thumb|150px|One of the Derby Rangers in Czechy's. Guess who.]]
The Eastern Federation's new military unit, the [[Derby Rangers]], has mobilized and is now moving to York. While most of the Rangers are veterans of the [[Derby Derby]], this will be the Rangers' first combat as a unit. The unit also includes members of the [[Derby Privateers]] and the [[Derby Hospitallers]]. This will be the fifth time the Eastern Federation has participated in a major defense of an outsider town.

====Durham Pistoleers====
[[Image:bluecoats.jpg|thumb|200px|Pistoleers marching.]]
The [[Durham Pistoleers]] have reportedly sent two members, one Lara Croft and new recruit The Malice. The latter is a particularly surprising addition to York's defenses, since he was a leader of York's long-time enemy, the Mercenary's Guild. Nonetheless, The Malice insists he intends to help defend York, given his new allegiance to the Pistoleers.

However, it is equally surprising that the Pistoleers are involved in this conflict. Historically, the Pistoleers have not involved themselves in any conflict outside of Durham. When asked by the DEP, Pistoleer leader Dennis Kjuit explained that it was Croft's idea. The move reflects a desire on the part of the Pistoleers to forge closer ties with their sister towns. The Pistoleers also apparently approve of the changes York has undergone, though Kjuit declined to go into specifics. When asked about The Malice, Kjuit simply said that Malice was the first volunteer after Croft.

====The Spartans====
[[Image:spartan.jpg|thumb|200px|Several Spartans in battle.]]
The Derby Rangers are not the only newly-founded group coming to York's aid. The [[Spartans]], a group that has far been uninvolved in Shartak politics, have decided to lend their aid to York. Spartan leader Leonidas tells the DEP that one of his men, tiring of the constant attacks on York, decided to lend his aid to the [[York Coalition]]. In keeping with the Spartans' philosophy of loyalty to their fellow Spartans, Leonidas has journeyed from Derby to assist as well. The Spartans have contacted the York Coalition in order to coordinate the defense.

====Colonial Police====

Once York's greatest protectors, this clan has fallen on hard times. Two wars with the Mercenary's Guild, questionable command decisions, and international isolation badly weakened the Colonial Police. The CP was then nearly destroyed by a war with the 5punk-affiliated group, the Colon Police. Now, with new leadership, the CP appear to be on their way to recovery. However, with the York Coalition now in the leadership position, it is unclear if the CP will be taken seriously in the upcoming conflict.

===1st Colonial Militia Leaves York Coalition===

The [[1st Colonial Militia]], the hardline outsider group led by the fiery Serious Sam, has officially left the [[York Coalition]]. The rupture was reportedly caused by an incident between 1CM member Lukas Alexander and former mercenary (currently Durham Pistoleer) The Malice. Malice, reportedly on his way to assist in the defense of York, was killed by Alexander on the road.

The York Coalition was reportedly furious, given that the Coalition had voted overwhelmingly to give Malice another chance. Serious Sam, in a display of loyalty that was either admirable or terribly misguided, sided with his fellow militia member, Alexander. The resulting exchange of recriminations ended when Sam announced that the 1CM would be leaving the York Coalition. With the expected pirate invasion of York to begin any day, it is unclear if the 1CM's departure will affect the defense of York.

===Colonial Police Registration Sparks Controversy===

In the days leading up to the most recent invasion of York, both the York Coalition and the Colonial Police asked all friendly pirates and natives to stop in and say “Hi” to ensure that they would not be mistaken for the enemy. The York Coalition simply asked for the individual in question’s name The Colonial Police, however, asked that registering pirates or natives pay a fee of two gold in addition to giving their names and reasons for any recorded York kills. Former hostiles were required to pay four gold instead of two. Reactions were decidedly mixed.

The first three to register were Tom Failur, Zydd Soral, and Javier Sortani, the first two of whom were previously considered infamous criminals in York and the latter of whom formerly was Colonial Police member and currently serves actively in the Eastern Federation. Said Soral: "I think it's reasonable. paying so little for less people to worry about killing you is actually quite fair." Tom apparently also happily paid his fee.

Sortani's reaction, however, was unfortunately unprintable. When he calmed down, though, he gave a more thorough answer, saying, "It's not the gold I begrudge. I've got over a hundred and I'm not doing much with it. It's the thought that a guy who's coming over for the express purpose of defending, whose criminal record is cleaner than the buttons on his dress uniform's coat, has to pay two gold just so they won't kill him. If they want to kill me, they're welcome to. Not my town I'm defending." First Colonial Militia leader Serious Sam was also heard to voice uncomplimentary opinions of the Colonial Police's registration process.

===WickSick Headhunters Hold Ritual===
[[Image:wikysiky.jpg|thumb|200px|Two Wicksick in Wiksik. Unmasked faces blurred for privacy]]
The WickSick Headhunters are a mysterious organization. They are an exclusively native organization. Their members seek to collect the heads of any outsiders and pirates in retribution for the perceived crimes committed by those groups. However, they have no political agenda or real goals. They seem to merely seek to gain honor for themselves by inflicting suffering. Many of the headhunters seem to be at least somewhat mentally ill, suffering from what they call "WickSickness", a strange but powerful compulsion to kill non-natives and take their heads as souvenirs.

While emphatic in their insistence that they are not a clan and have no leader, their name nonetheless instills terror across the southern coasts. They sponsored the now-infamous Annual Winter Games, a series of headhunts across the south coast. Two of these contests are now the most bloody conflicts in Shartak history, surpassing even the Fourth Battle of York in loss of life.

So what do the headhunters do when not terrorizing outsiders in barbaric contests? For starters, they terrorize outsiders some more. They take a cheerful attitude towards their grisly work, bragging about their new heads publicly. However, occasionally, the headhunters disappear. Now seems to be one of those times. Headhunter kills have dropped precipitously. The usual areas dedicated to WickSick bragging rights have been curiously silent. Why?

The answer is that they are conducting a ritual. The exact procedures of this barbaric ceremony are unclear, but our sources tell us that multiple animals and at least one outsider have died for the WickSick ceremony. We are not sure exactly what the ceremony is intended to do, but we can predict the result. Once the ceremony ends, the WickSick Headhunters' fervor will boil over into a cataclysm of blood and terror, and we, the people of the south coast, will be the first to suffer.

Dork Cup

2008-06-22T15:58:04Z

Black Joe: /* The Effects */

{{Historical Article}}

==Dork Cup Begins==

With the highly entertaining [[Derby Derby]] coming to a close, the [[WickSick Headhunters]] turned their attention to the final settlement on the South Coast: York. Having already attacked [[Durham]] and [[Derby]], the Headhunters confirmed they would be holding the final contest of their First Annual Winter Games in York.

==The Participants==

The Dork Cup's participants differed in several ways from the previous Winter Games. For the first time, pirates took part in offensive side of the Dork Cup, the [[Jolly Roger Gang]] and the [[1st Imperial Privateers Regiment]] having sided with the defenders during the [[Durham Headhunt Contest]]. Pirates also defended Derby during the Derby Derby, but all pirates in that conflict were members of the Derbian clans. In contrast, the pirates participating in the Dork Cup were largely independents. No clans were officially involved. The Dork Cup participants numbered 22, by far the largest of any of the games.

==The Opposition==

Facing off against the contestants was the newly founded [[York Coalition]]. Partially resulting from the [[Colonial Police]]'s near-collapse, the York Coalition drew together the [[1st Colonial Militia]], many former members of the respected [[CCTU]], and former members of the [[Colonial Police]]. The York Coalition also was assisted by members of the [[Derby Hospitallers]]. There were persistent rumors that the apolitical clan 5punk lent its assistance as well, though the exact extent of their assistance is disputed.

==The Contest==

The Dork Cup was the bloodiest conflict in Shartak history with nearly 350 deaths. The headhunters inflicted 252 kills on the Yorkmen, while the defenders cost the headhunters 95 losses. In terms of "heads" taken, the Dork Cup was the most successful contest the headhunters ever had. The defenders took some comfort in the knowledge that they had inflicted higher casualties than any previous group of defenders. The York Coalition managed to stay together for the duration of the conflict, no small feat given York's fluid politics.

The winners of the Dork Cup were:

*First place: Escariot - 29 heads taken
*Second place: Lama - 27 heads taken
*Third place: Nick Soapdish - 23 heads taken

==The Effects==

The Dork Cup marked a major change in York politics. The Colonial Police, long the leader in York's defense, was largely sidelined by questionable policies. Taking the CP's place, the fledgling York Coalition shouldered the burden instead. Afterward, foreign allies largely ceased discussions with the CP, implicitly recognizing the York Coalition's dominance, until the eventual demise of both York-based groups.

For their part, the WickSick Headhunters had a highly successful campaign, adding to their already fearsome reputation. Several new members joined the headhunters in the wake of the Dork Cup. As for the winner, Escariot is now 1500 gold coins richer, and the proud owner of a coveted heavy sword (until it breaks).

Fourth Battle of York

2008-06-22T15:50:16Z

Black Joe: /* The Effects */

{{Historical Article}}
[[Image:Colonial_milita_troops.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Local soldiers resting in-between skirmishes.]]

==Hostilities Begin==

The '''Fourth Battle of [[York]]''' started in early-to-mid-February 2007 when {{profile|6206|Keiichi}} hired the [[Mercenary's Guild]] to besiege York. Upon being tipped off that the Mercenary's Guild was planning something in York, several [[Colonial Police]] officers surrounded a hut in which mercenary leader The Malice was sleeping. Upon discovering he was surrounded, he tried to escape but was shot dead by Colonial Officers. Swearing revenge, the Guild decided an invasion was needed. Saying they would only attack the Colonial Police and the [[Shartak Protestant League]], the Guild rushed into York, killing several officers and citizens who had voiced their dislike of the Guild.

==York's Defenders==

Though the CP and the Mercenary's Guild were the most prominent combatants in the Fourth Battle of York, neither side was without allies. The Colonial Police received substantial assistance from the [[Order of Patriots]], the [[1st Colonial Militia]], [[Colonial Counter-Terrorist Unit]] and the [[Derby Hospitallers]]. The [[1st Derby Privateers]], annoyed with what they considered the unacceptable behavior of the Colonial Police, renounced their alliance with the CP at the invasion's outset. The 1DP sat out the remainder of the battle.

==The Invaders==

Like the CP, the mercenaries were not alone in their war against York. The [[Jolly Roger Gang]], having long declared its hostility to York, chose this opportunity to put its words into action and joined the MG's assault. Also joining the assault was the [[1st Imperial Privateers Regiment]]. 1IPR announced its intention to withdraw from its raid on the native town of Wiksik to help the mercenaries in their invasion.

==The Battle==

Although weakened, the Colonial Police did not stop fighting. They soon launched a powerful counter-attack that killed nine mercenaries, among them 'The Butcher of York' himself- Tom Failur. The Order of Patriots, in addition to inflicting casualties on the invaders, hunted down and killed the nearest roaming shaman, forcing the invaders to revive much farther away. York's defenders coordinated their efforts, putting together patrols to sniff out and eliminate hostiles. The Guild, out of arms and men, vowed to return with more soldiers.

A few days later, the Mercenary's Guild returned, and averaging "five kills a day," according to the Guild's spokesman. The war moved from downtown York to the surrounding jungle, as the two sides pursued a two-sided guerrilla warfare campaign against one another. According to the [[Yorkman]] newspaper, the Fourth Battle resulted in just over 200 deaths. The vast majority of these casualties were borne by the Mercenary's Guild, the Colonial Police, and the 1st Imperial Privateers. It should be noted that these are only kills logged in the Shartak Underworld, so these figures are probably a tad low.

==The Effects==

The Fourth Invasion had little effect on the long-standing grudge between the Mercenary's Guild and the Colonial Police. If anything, the positions were only hardened. However, the particularly poor performance of the Imperial Privateers (suffering a 2:1 casualty to kill ratio) resulted in a distinct loss of prestige for that clan. The Imperials' version of events is detailed [[Fourth_Battle_of_York_(1IPR)|here]]. The 1st Imperial Bank left York, headed for the shipwreck, but CP leader Kjendlie publicly requested its return, apparently trusting the Bank's claims of neutrality.

On the York side, frictions developed between several of the defenders in the wake of the battle. First the Colonial Militia withdrew from the Alliance of York, and the Derby Hospitallers soon followed. This is ironic, given that the two clans agreed on virtually nothing. Long-time Colonial Policeman Nighter also departed the CP. Meanwhile, politically-motivated hostilities between CM member Arminius and CP officer Che threatened to drive the CM and CP further apart.

The primary effect of the Fourth Invasion seems to be a hardening of the stances of the two major combatants. A fifth invasion was universally expected. However, with inactivity causing the demises of the Colonial Police, Mercenary's Guild, Order of Patriots, Jolly Roger Gang, Scurvy Crew, and the 1st Imperial Privateers Regiment, coupled with the disbanding of the Colonial Counter-Terrorist Unit, this now seems unlikely. The successors to these groups have all moved on to other issues. Only the 1st Colonial Militia and the two Derbian groups remain.

==Also See==
[[First Battle of York]] <br>
[[Second Battle of York]] <br>
[[Third Battle of York]]

Third Battle of York

2008-06-22T15:44:17Z

Black Joe:

{{Historical_Article}}

The "Third Battle of York" (called the "Third Invasion" by Yorkpeople) was a bitter four-week-long military conflict (from mid-September to mid-October 2006), fought primarily in the city of [[York]] and on the [[York peninsula]], principally between the [[Mercenary's Guild]] and lesser numbers of their pirate allies, and a broad coalition of York groups and individuals.

== Background ==

Immediately after its foundation, the [[Mercenary's Guild]] established its base of operations in York. Soon the mercenaries began to come into inevitable conflict with various elements within York. The [[Order of Patriots]], the most visible foe of the Guild, alleged that the Mercenaries Guild was pro-pirate and "anti-York". This was not long after the bloody [[Second Battle of York|Pirate invasion of York]], and anti-pirate sentiment was high. Additionally, the Guild had been in involved in the [[Second Battle of York]], which may have been another reason. Over the summer of 2006 though, CP-MG relations improved, and it is rumoured that then-CP-leader MickR secretly hired mercenaries on several occassions to kill criminals. However, MickR has since denied this.

It was not long after the mercenaries set up in York that the military wing of the Order of Patriots began to disrupt mercenary operations, assassinate mercenaries, and agitate against them. After weeks of low-level conflict and anti-MG agitation by the Order of Patriots, the Mercenary's Guild withdrew from York and abandoned their guildhouse in southeast York. Their reasons for withdrawing are a subject of some debate. Whatever the reason, there was in fact bitterness on the part of the Mercenary's Guild leadership towards the Order of Patriots. This was made very clear by the events that unfolded in mid-September [[The_Yorkman/Issue_004#The_Third_Invasion|which would come to be known as the "Third Invasion"]] by the people of York.

== The First Shots of the Battle ==

On Septmber 18th, reports of seemingly unrelated and random attacks and murders of Yorkpeople by mercenaries began to trickle into the [[Colonial Police]] headquarters in southwest York. One attack even occurred against an officer. The Colonial Police were baffled at these random unprovoked murders, which seemingly happened without rhyme or reason. Little did anyone (save the Mercenary leadership) know at the time that the first shots of an impending major battle had been fired.

The Mercenary's Guild continued random assassinations of York civilians through Sepember, refusing to explain their actions or make any demands. Several days into the battle, the Colonial Police officially proscribed the Mercenary's Guild and declared that all persons suspected of being mercenaries were to be killed. It was at this time that things began to severely escalate and spiral out of control.

In the days after the "first shots", a shaky, vaguely-defined "pro-York" coalition began to slowly emerge. The most notable of these alliances-by-circumstance was that of the Order of Patriots and the Colonial Police. The Colonial Police and Order of Patriots had had a deteriorating relationship since CP-founder MickR retired in late August. With the beginning of the Third Invasion, the two groups put aside their differences, becoming close allies as a result of the apparent threat to York. This relationship continues today. This pro-York coalition, which became the 'spokesmen' and the 'face' of York, has had a significant effect upon York politics ever since, largely defining the socio-political and cultural nature of the city of York. '''See the [[Third Battle of York#Effects|Effects]] section of this article for more information.'''

== Why did the Mercenaries Attack?==

In the first two weeks of the battle, the Mercenary's Guild refused to explain their actions or make any demands, and simply continued random assassinations of any and every York civilian. The reason for Mercenary's Guild attacked was ostensibly to kill enough York citizens that they would draw out the Order of Patriots, then once they identified all members, they would concentrate solely on slaughtering Order members, the eventual goal being to extirpate the Order from York forever and force its members into permanent exile. Another major goal of the invasion, suspected by many, was that the Mercenary's Guild was still sore from being "chased out" of York in the summer, and wanted to come back to town and set up shop again in Shartak's bustling central city. The speculatation was that the mercenaries would cause as much disruption and trouble as possible, then force the powers in York to sue for peace. One of the terms for this peace would be to allow the Mercenary's Guild back into York permanently. After preliminary negotiations failed with the Colonial Police, and the two groups became hardened against one another, this goal was abandoned.

== York's Response ==

As the number of York civilians killed continued to mount in late September, the Order of Patriots, an avowed and longtime enemy of the Guild, immediately put out a call to arms. In response, [[the Pirate Hunters]], [[Shartak Rebel Forces]] and numerous independent Yorkmen leapt into the fray against the mercenaries. The [[Colonial Police]], still reeling from the surprise attack, likewise begged their allies from other towns to send a relief force. The [[Derby Hospitallers]]' assistance was requested in particular, but no official response was ever made. A number of unaligned Yorkmen rushed to assist in the defense of their home, and the johnny-come-lately [[Royal Expedition]] declared a mere week before the carnage stopped that its hospital in York was to be safe haven for any non-combatants. At the very end of the conflict (two days before mercenary withdrawal), the Expedition joined the fight on the side of the Yorkmen.

This very broad coalition of "York's defenders" was itself fairly unprecedented in the history of York. Many people and groups, all with different goals, came together for one purpose. This foreshadowed the rapid rise in November of the [[Durham Defence Unit]], formed in reaction to the much-feared [[Durham Headhunt Contest]]. Ironically (or not), the largest partner in this defensive coalition (DDU) was in fact the Mercenary's Guild, a complete reversal of roles from the Third Battle of York. More ironic still was that the Mercenaries were allies with many of their former enemies, including the Colonial Police. '''See [[Durham Headhunt Contest]] for more information.'''

== The Northern Threat ==

At the request of mercenary leaders, the [[Jolly Roger Gang]], known to be long-time public enemies of York in general and the Order of Patriots in particular, came down to join the apparent full scale invasion. The [[Scurvy Crew of the Hell-born Strumpet]] joined in at the same time. Both groups made it clear that their involvement was the result of persecution at the hands of the Order of Patriots and the Pirate Hunters. However, [[User:Tyler Whitney|Tyler Whitney]], captain of the Scurvy Crew, specified that his crew was to attack only members of the Order of Patriots and the Pirate Hunters. In contrast, the Jolly Roger Gang declared war against all of York. The impact that these two groups, and independent pirates who came down to take part in the battle, actually had is unclear. It was certainly not as high as the pirate violence against York citizens during the [[Second Battle of York]].

== The Battle ==

Once the battle began in earnest the fighting became very bitter. Both sides inflicted significant casualties upon the other. The battle was hard fought not just with bullets and blades, but in terms of propaganda as well. Both sides launched verbal broadsides at each other in an attempt to claim the moral high ground. Attempted peace negotiations between the various groups failed.

The military aspect of the conflict eventually plunged into a tactical stalemate, but it can be fairly said to be a strategic victory for the 'York coalition'. The first two weeks it was without doubt a tactical victory for the Mercenary's Guild, but once the 'York coalition' got its act together, things evened out. York was of course helped by the fact that the mercenary attack force consisted of many foreigners who [[Kahuni]] refuses to revive.

Most agree that the two weeks following the surprise attack were a major victory for the Mercenary's Guild. They achieved in spades exactly what they wanted during this period, throwing York into confusion and fear, and overwhelming the Colonial Police. The second stage of the mercenary plan, however, apparently failed. They wanted to draw out the Order of Patriots, break their power, force their members into permanent exile. This has not happened.

== The Conclusion ==

In early October, the mercenary leadership explained in private to the Colonial Police that their goal was to "weed out" the [[Order of Patriots]], and that they were hired to do this by ex-member and co-founder of the Guild {{profile|578|Wojciech}} as he was leaving the island of Shartak. However, this crucial fact was not made known to the public until after the general killing had stopped. Colonial Police leader Kjendlie bitterly refused to negotiate with the mercenaries, although the Mercenary's Guild did speak and confer extensively with ex-high-ranking CP member Zydd Soral, ultimately futilely.

In the end, the fighting simply wound down, coming to a halt. The Mercenary's Guild proclaimed that it had fulfilled its contract and departed. The Order of Patriots and the broad 'York coalition' claimed that the mercenaries had been driven out, and declared victory. In the end, it is not clear who, if anyone, was "victorious" as such. But, since the Order of Patriots remain active in York, it can be said that the mercenaries failed to achieve their primary objective. If each side's reports are to be believed, the battle was costly for all involved.

== Effects ==

The most evident effect of the "Third Invasion" of York was that it hardened already-existing anti-pirate and anti-mercenary sentiment in York, leading to a bitter hatred between quite a number of the larger groups of Shartak. Many now kill one another on sight, while the omnipresent authority figures of York have even begun to finally start to ally against the common cause of pirates and mercenaries seeking to hunt in York. On the other hand, mercenaries and pirates are now forced into extreme caution if they wish to stop in York - or even if they just wish to pass through it. It is unlikely anyone anti-York or perceived to be so will make it even close to York without scarring.

There were many other lesser effects of battle. The highly-respected and powerful [[Royal Expedition]] suffered a loss of prestige from their handling of the conflict. Their failure to act in time, only finally intervening less than 48 hours before the mercenaries withdrew, has undoubtedly hurt their image. The 'pro-York coalition' has mostly not lasted in any meaningful sense, as after the battle's end, the people and groups who formed it soon began to bickering and squabbling amongst themselves. The Order of Patriots more or less survived intact, before finally succumbing to inactivity. The Colonial Police gained prestige during the battle once they got their act together, before falling on hard times. The Order of Patriots and the Colonial Police alliance remained intact for some time after the battle. The Mercenary's Guild itself gained significant respect and military prestige; the Guild won the respect of many across the island for their well-executed military plan while at the same time radicalizing many against them for their perceived aggression.

==See Also==
*[[The_Yorkman/Issue_004#The_Third_Invasion|''The Yorkman'' newspaper reports from during the battle -- "The Third Invasion?" (published during the height of the fighting)]]
*[[The_Yorkman/Issue_005#Third_Invasion_At_An_End.2C_Claims_Mercenary.27s_Guild|''The Yorkman'' newspaper reports from during the battle -- "Third Invasion at an End - Claims Mercenary's Guild"]]
*[[The_Yorkman/Issue_006#Patriots_Honour_Defenders_of_York|''The Yorkman'' newspaper reports from during the battle -- "Patriots Honour Defenders of York"]]
*[[The_Yorkman/Issue_006#The_Situation_in_York|''The Yorkman'' newspaper reports from during the battle -- The York Loyalists blame the Order of Patriots for provoking the invasion.]]
<br>
'''Other historical articles'''
*[[First Battle of York]]
*[[Second Battle of York]]
*[[Fourth Battle of York]]

[[Category:Events]]

Derby Evening Press

2008-03-19T15:20:09Z

Black Joe: Updated.

==Derby Evening Press==

As part of Derby's continuing attempts to civilize this savage land, the Derby Evening Press has been founded. The goal of this publication is to focus on issues that matter to Derbians. Guest submissions are welcomed. Contact us at [http://z3.invisionfree.com/Derby/index.php? the Derby Forums]. We hope you enjoy reading!

==Issues==
Most Recent:

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_15|Issue 15]]

Past issues:

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_01|Issue 1]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_02|Issue 2]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_03|Issue 3]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_04|Issue 4]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_05|Issue 5]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_06|Issue 6]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_07|Issue 7]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_08|Issue 8]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_09|Issue 9]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_10|Issue 10]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_11|Issue 11]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_11|Issue 12]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_13|Issue 13]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_14|Issue 14]]

==Other==
In addition, the DEP News Team has the honor of wikifying and editing Michael Edward's novel, [[The Tower Of Death]].

The DEP News Team also has compiled a [[Guide to Towns]] to assist Shartakians looking for a home, and a [[Guide to Clans]] for those seeking membership with an organized body.

==The News Team==
*[[User:RobZombie|RobZombie]] - Reporter/Rum Expert
*[[User:Mark D. Stroyer|Mark D. Stroyer]] - Reporter/Editor
*[[User:Elegost|Elegost]] - Reporter/Photographer
*Javier Sortani - Columnist/Reporter
*[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]] - Ninja Copy Editor

[[Category:Roleplaying| ]] [[Category:Newspaper]]

Derby Evening Press/Issue 14

2008-01-22T16:00:41Z

Black Joe: /* The Current Situation */ Removed error

Welcome to this special edition of the Derby Evening Press, covering (as much as possible) the series of events collectively known as the Durham Crisis. In this issue, you will find a series of interviews, a guest column, a few news articles, and one extensive summary of the conflict, written by the Derby Hospitallers' Ambassador to York, Broderick.

=Durham News=

===The Durham Crisis: 'History Made Simplish'===

By Broderick

Since people have been all confused over what’s happening, let’s make it easier to understand. This writer has tried to record the events with as little bias as possible.

Once upon a time, there was a little Independent Republic called Fort Creedy. People lived happily together, apart from one or two criminal exceptions (who were ruthlessly put down). However, one day a queen came along. She said she was a nice queen and wanted to be Creedy’s friend. Eptavian, the leader of Creedy, said “Yes!”. So Fort Creedy was merged into the queen’s Court of Greater Raktam, and together they became the Commonwealth of Greater Raktam and Fort Creedy. Everyone lived happily together, until one day the queen said she was scared of an attack from their next-door neighbour, Durham! “I’ll send Grand Vizier Tathers, some of my soldiers, and my tax-collector, to scare away any evil clans,” she said. “Yes!” said Eptavian. And so Grand Vizier Tathers, the queen’s soldiers, and her tax-collector, arrived to keep the peace in Fort Creedy. Everyone lived happily together, but not for long.

It all began when the Grand Vizier Tathers was in Durham trying to make them happy after Durham started to get scared about having a lot of soldiers from Raktam so nearby. The news came in that the leader of Durham, Ron Burgundy, was becoming so scared that he wanted some people to come to Fort Creedy and kill everyone! Lord Lordington did come and kill one, Ben Harker, but nobody took much notice of this because Lordington is a bad man and kills people from York all the time. Then, a new baddie turned up, Warlan Raniski, who came in and killed Dappled Shadow, one of the Queen’s soldiers. The problem was that Raniski was a member of the Durham Pistoleers!

Then there was a funny moment, when Grand Vizier Tathers came in and said “It looks like it's going to be peace between the city and Fort.” We all now know that he was wrong! Then the queen’s tax-collector, Loughbridge, told him what had happened and said he wanted revenge. The two men began to argue, while everyone else was confused. Were the Pistoleers really attacking? Soon the murmurings began. Dappled Shadow and Elias Pryde began to question the settlement reached by Tathers. Shortly afterwards, another baddie came in, Ethir Wraithwain, also a Durham Pistoleer! He claimed to be following the wishes of ‘the Master’ and the ‘White Raven’, and then killed Baron Robert Surcouf, the commander of the queen’s soldiers. People were becoming very suspicious when the madwoman Elizabeth Bathory came in and killed Dappled Shadow in a berserk rage. She too was of the Durham Pistoleers.

However, because there was a peace treaty between Creedy and Durham, newly signed, everyone was still confused, especially when the man who had signed the treaty, Tathers, left to report to the queen. What should they do? In the end, Ben Harker tracked down and killed Wraithwain, but it was small consolation, for here entered another aggressor, Semper, who murdered the president of Creedy himself, Eptavian. With four different Pistoleers attacking and killing them, the members of the Commonwealth of Greater Raktam and Fort Creedy decided enough was enough. With an order from the queen to crush the Pistoleers, war between the Durham Pistoleers and the Commonwealth of Greater Raktam and Fort Creedy was declared. Raniski reentered and killed Surcouf, and Bathory killed Marvin twice, claiming Fort Creedy as Durham’s. However, more intrigue was to follow, when Elias Pryde, of the queen’s mercenaries, turned on his fellows and killed Starvin Marvin! As he delivered the killing blow he cried, “Creedy is dead. Long live Fort Fellgrim.”

Since then, the queen’s mercenaries have been killing Pistoleers and members of the Durham Citizens, and vice versa. The leader of the Pistoleers, Dennis Kuijt is not renowned for his vocal activity, and so The Malice, ex-leader of the infamous Mercenary’s Guild, is the clan’s spokesman. He claimed that the Pistoleers were not responsible for these members’ actions, and he sent Kuijt the message to kick one of the rogue members. The Commonwealth’s response was to demand the expulsion of the rest of the rogue members, the payment of 500gc in reparations, a formal apology and a garrison in Durham made up of members of the Commonwealth. The rest of the rogue Pistoleers were eventually banned from the clan, but the other demands have yet to be met.

There are without doubt three different sides operating here: the Commonwealth, Durham and this mysterious group. What is not known is whether any of these groups are working together. Is this mystery group in league with the Commonwealth, giving it an excuse to attack? Is it under the orders of the Durhamites, who’ve shown they were willing to adopt underhanded tactics? Or is it working entirely on its own agenda? If so, how many more are there, hidden amongst other clans, biding their time before they plunge those clans into a crisis like that which now exists on the Durham Peninsular?

==Durham Crisis: Updates==

Since the above article was written (less than a week ago), history has continued marching with breathtaking (and, to reporters, maddening) speed.

===Allies Respond===

With the news that Raktam and Creedy were marching on Durham, Durham's allies have followed their stereotypical paths to respond. The Eastern Federation, represented by Hospitaller Tribune James Barnes, has initiated a prolonged diplomatic offensive, coordinating with Raktam, Creedy, Durham, and York in an attempt to defuse the situation. Negotiations with Raktam reportedly were polite, but went nowhere, while EF negotiations with Creedy were hindered by friction between Creedist President Eptavian and Barnes. The EF's dealings with Durham and York have largely taken place behind closed doors, and the DEP is unable to provide much information on these talks.

In York, Serious Sam, leader of the 1st Colonial Militia, announced that the Militia would march to Durham and kill any Creedists and Raktamis in the area. Meanwhile, the York Coalition, which had been bordering on dormancy given the relative peace in York, was roused by the events to their west. Their exact intentions are unknown at this time.

===An Unexpected Peace===

The involvement of Serious Sam, ironically, ended the war, albeit in a manner few foresaw. The Malice, a bitter enemy of Sam's since the Third Battle of York, refused to accept Sam's help, promoting a fiery war of words between the two men. Finally, Sam declared all Pistoleers to be Kill on Sight for Colonial Militia members, a stance that reportedly appalled both the Eastern Federation and York Coalition.

The Malice, judging Sam a greater threat than the Queen, left the Pistoleers, joining the Royal Court of Greater Raktam instead. With his departure, Dennis Kjuit, disgusted with the flak the Pistoleers were receiving, disbanded the clan, ending any cause for a war. With the Malice now acting as intermediary between Durham and Raktam, the situation rests on a knife's edge.

===The Current Situation===

As the situation stands, Ron Burgundy, of the Durham Citizens, has declared that Durham will never be part of Raktam, with both Malice and the Queen denying the Court held any designs on the town. Meanwhile, a spirited debate has broken out over Durham politics. On one side, a coalition of peace advocates, Raktam supporters, and anti-Militia activists (led by The Malice and anti-York fighter Lord Lordington) is arguing in favor of peace with the Queen. On the other side, nationalists (led by the Militia) are voicing opposition to any merger with Raktam. These parties, given the Queen's attempts to merge with a number of towns, fear that any concession to the Queen will be a first step to absorption.

Complicating the situation even further is civil unrest in Durham. Durhamites are increasingly expressing dissatisfaction with the leadership of the Durham Citizens, complaining of disenfranchisement, secrecy, and simple ineptitude. The Durham Utility's founder, Edward "DarkFerret" Grey, has demanded a new election. Burgundy attempted to impose the Durham Citizens' electoral rules, provoking a firestorm of criticism. The most controversial rule was that only Durham Citizens could vote. Since the clan Durham Citizens requires invitations for membership, opponents accused Burgundy of stacking the deck in his favor. Additionally, the Durham government's attempts to tax its citizens went over poorly, particularly as the government had not provided any tangible benefits before discussing this.

The Malice proposed an alternate set of rules, greatly simplified, eliminating both controversial policies. Though Burgundy continues to defend the government's policies, his support seems to be eroding daily.

The Eastern Federation went silent during this time, but our sources tell us that the Derby Rangers began preparing for a major undertaking known only as Operation Moonwalk. Our sources refuse to tell us what this operation entailed, or even what its target was. However, with the conflict defused, we are told that Moonwalk has been put on hold. Meanwhile, Derbian leaders have renewed communications with York and Raktam in an attempt to further smooth over tensions, with James Barners and Ranger Commander Mark D. Stroyer visiting the Raktam Court in person to negotiate with the Queen.

=Interviews=

The DEP has interviewed several prominent figures in the conflict to get their views. These interviews were conducted prior to the Pistoleers' decision to disband, but provide a useful look at the participants' thoughts.

==Malice Interview==

Q: You claim that the Pistoleers attacking Creedy are rogues. Does this mean that Durham supports Creedian independence?

A: ... It's very hard to make a definitive statement in this nature. The forces governing Durham believe in Creedy's independence; various independents do not and are actively obstructing progress. Because of the large amount of natives moving into the area, many don't see attacking them as a crime. It's a prejudicial thing. They assume all natives are hostile. ...

Q: There are rumors that the Queen's forces will be attacking Durham over this. Some have gone so far as to accuse the Queen of using this as a pretext for invading Durham. What do you have to say about this?

A: I think the Queen's motives are shady. She does appear to be attempting a political takeover, but in case of an actual battle, I can't imagine her forces winning. It's hard to kick us out of our hometown, you see. ... My guess is if the Queen *is* mounting an invasion, if her peaceful methods don't work she'll resort to violence. ... All in all, though, I'm not reloading my rifles yet. I've lost one clan to blindly attacking already. This time I'm going to be a bit more careful in my approach to politics.

Q: Serious Sam has announced that the 1st Colonial Militia will be coming to Durham's aid and attacking the Royal Raktam forces. Do you intend to ask any other foreign powers, such as the York Coalition, the Brotherhood of the Coast (which has always been relatively pro-Durham), or the Eastern Federation to assist you?

A: No. We are not Durham's Private Guard, we are Durham's Police force. If Sam wants to get involved, that's his problem. I have strong feelings against that fool. When he joins a battle it tends to shred any possibility for a diplomatic discussion.

Q: Finally, what is your stance on the rumored involvement of the so-called "Felgrim" warriors? Conspiracy theorists blame the entire conflict on these people, supposedly numbering less than half a dozen. Do you really believe that four clans in three towns, consisting of roughly 70 people in total, could be brought to the brink of war by a handful of agitators? And how great a threat do you think these supposed agitators are?

A: As I've said before in public, I do believe some party is attempting to incite a war, but I don't know who. 3 of them were marauding as Pistoleers. ... They've either been kicked and banned from the clan or are about to be kicked and banned. [Editor's note: As for this printing, all of the above members, plus one additional member, have been removed from the Pistoleers]

... They aren't a threat. Thanks to Jacobi's paranoia everyone is informed of the situation and anything that happens between the Queens' and Durham's forces in a negative light will be met with suspicion until an explanation is given.

... Another thing that worries me about the entire situation is how quickly the Queen was agitated. My personal belief is that she wants war. ... there's a good possibility I'm absolutely wrong, but the Queen's actions and statements and general expansionist rule is bothering me quite a bit.

==Interview with Eptavian==

Q: You accuse the Durham Pistoleers of having attacked the Republic of Fort Creedy. Some, including Malice and Commodor Jacobi, allege that a third party is at work, attempting to provoke a war. What is your stance on this?

A: That is what they would have us believe. In fact, they had us fooled in the beginning and that is why we did not immediately act. We wanted to be absolutely certain who was responsible. Now however it is evident that all this was a plot by the Pistoleers to start a war by making us look the instigators. The proof is that after several days and even though they had every opportunity, the Pistoleers still have the supposedly 'rogue' members in their ranks.

Q: Does the sudden betrayal of one of the Royal Raktam mercenaries lend any credence to this? Given his talk of 'Fort Felgrim'?

A. It is not clear at that moment what this specific individual is trying to achieve. He was the only one of the attackers who was not a Pistoleers member, so it is not clear if he was taking part in the secret plot or not. Personally, I believe he was a spy listening on our discussions. When he realized he was close to be revealed [sic] he decided to act and disappear. 'Fort Felgrim' I believe was just a ruse to lead our investigations on the attackers astray.

Q: Ron Burgundy's attempts to undermine Creedy are becoming increasingly well known. Do you think he was involved in this?

A: That is a tough question, and I am afraid I don't have enough evidence to prove he was or was not involved. On one hand Grand Vizier Tathers was convinced that Ron Burgundy was honest in wanting peace and I trust Neil Tathers' experience and diplomatic abilities. On the other hand, Ron Burgundy did admit proposing secret targeted assassinations of Creedy and garrison members. Also the Pistoleers are in fact a the [sic] law enforcement branch of the government and thus under Burgundy's indirect command. Therefore, even if he was unaware of the plan, he still carries full responsibility for what happened.

Q: Some allege that Blue Hummingbird is using this as a pretext for expanding her empire, given her unsuccessful attempt to incorporate Derby and her support for Wiksikian insurgents. What stance do you take on this?

A: That is what people don't know her well think. For those have met and talked with her, it is obvious that she only wants to bring peace and prosperity to her people. And what better proof of that, than the formation of the Commonwealth with Fort Credy. The Creedy Republic is a small establishment, and yet in the interest of peace, the Queen accepted us as equals, even though her initial terms were for Creedy to become a sort of vassal state. In every diplomatic incident so far, Blue Hummingbird has tried to talk, understand the situation and mediate. See for example the case of the Necromancers in Wiksik. Never did she try to impose her will with violence.

Q: The 1st Colonial Militia has decided to intervene against Raktam. Are you concerned that other, more powerful groups, such as the York Coalition or the Eastern Federation, might intervene against you?

A: First of all, tactically we are not concerned too much with other groups offering their help to any side. The great distance of Durham and Creedy from other settlements means that any help will take too long to arrive and anyone killed will be out of the battle for a long time. Diplomatically, it seems that most groups are not concerned with what is happening in Durham, as was the case historically. Therefore, I don't expect any other major groups intervening.

I would like to say at this point, and I am sure you will this part out before going to press, that I was diappointed with the EF's stance in the crisis. At the early moments of the attack, when the Pistoleers were killing our members repeatedly, and before we had the opportunity to defend ourselves, the EF made a statement of keeping a neutral stance towards both sides. It is as clear as day to me, that this was a veiled statment of support for the aggressors. You cannot have a slaughter gonig on, with ruthless killers and innocent victims and say that you are neutral. This would be an encouragement for more attacks. I saddens [sic] my heart to see the EF, once known as a beacon of justice, to forget its principles for the sake of old friends who lost theirs, such as the Durham Pistoleers.

==Ron Burgundy Interview==

''The DEP wishes to convey its thanks to Ron Burgundy for his extraordinary succinctness.''

Q: The Durham Pistoleers claim that the attacks against Creedy were committed by rogue elements. Do you support this stance?

A: I support the Pistoleers' stance that these attacks are being perpetrated by a third party. I've listened to a representative of the third party that has been attacking, and they through a misguided preemptive measure have needlessly tarnished the pistoleers' name.

Q: There have been persistent suggestions that you may be behind these attacks, given your previous proposals to absorb Creedy. Do you wish to offer a public defense?

A: I am not behind these third party attacks. Though I have proposed actions against Creedy in the past, my intent with those ideas were to keep our forces close in size so no side would make a move against the other.

Q: If there is a third party involved in this war, what do you think their goals are?

A: Given what I've heard so far I would say that their goals are the removal of the Queen's influence and forces from the Durham Peninsula.

Q: Some allege that the Queen is merely using this as an excuse to further expand her empire's borders. What is your stance on this?

A: I don't know we are going to have to wait and see what she does. If she attacks the Pistoleers I would have to say yes.

==Blue Hummingbird Interview: Excerpts==

''The interview with Queen Blue Hummingbird on the Left ran too long for us to print it in its entirety. Please look [http://forum.shartak.com/index.php?topic=971.msg31666#msg31666 here] for the full interview. Below are excerpts from this interview.''

Q: Some, such as the Malice and Commodore Jacobi, allege that this ''(Editor's note: the Durham Crisis)'' is the work of a third party. This stance would seem to be supported by the turncoat mercenary Elias Pryde referring to "Fort Felgrim" or "Fellgrim" (spellings vary). What is your stance on this?

A: Malice is a Pistoleer. Obscurification of the truth is a tool of propaganda frequently used by the Pistoleers. A clearer and more truthful explanation is that the Pistoleers attacked Creedy at Burgundy's direction, and were surprised at the strength and forthrighness of the Commonwealth's entirely justified military response. We would not be surprised if in the fullness of time these ostensibly "expelled" members were quietly reintroduced into the ranks of the Pistoleers, once the Burgundy War is over.

Q: Your Grand Vizier, Neil Tathers, has expressed vigorous opposition to a war between Raktam and Durham, going so far as to imply that he will resign as Grand Vizier, should this happen. Has this affected your considerations?

A: This has been misreported. The Grand Vizier worked very hard to prevent the Government of Durham from acting in the way it has. The very existence of the Burgundy War fills the Grand Vizier with great sadness, as it does in the hearts of all of the peaceloving people of Greater Raktam. The Grand Vizier has given Us no indication that he will resign, and We support his diplomatic efforts entirely. The Grand Vizier is currently endeavouring to make peace in Wiksik between the warring parties. His efforts at bringing peace to Our small island are warmly appreciated by Us, and he is ever in Our good favour.

Q: Some allege that, given your attempt to absorb Derby and your support for the Wiksik insurgency, you are in fact attempting to expand your empire. They claim that you are using this incident to take over Durham. Do you wish to defend yourself.

A: We have no claims to expand Our domain into Durham - which, frankly, isn't that nice a piece of real estate - and, unequivocally, would never expand into Wiksik. Our cousin Black Fang and Our colleague Rancor Pigskin has Our support as a friend to Wiksik, not as its despot. Presently a large number of Raktam warriors are in Wiksik endeavouring to diffuse the situation.

=Guest Article=

==A Soldier's Story==

By Marvin.

''Marvin is a native warrior under the Queen's command. At our request, he sent us the following description of his time at Creedy. Our request was made to all concerned, but only Marvin responded with a complete story. We have printed it unedited.''

I was deployed to Creedy by the Queen to oppose an unknown enemy that threatened Creedy by being part of an increasing garrison to deter the enemy or repel them in an attack. It was quite a walk form Raktam to Creedy but when I got there I was stunned, I never saw such large buildings of iron and stone bigger than the and elephant possible rivalling the mystical giant squids themselves. The place was old and rusted, inside was no less aged, a few attempts of brightening up the place was made but with ill affect. I entered Hall with little notice from the others already settled in; discussion was flying around the hall about a possible imminent attack from Durham such speculations gave me my answer on who our enemy was, it wasn’t the wreck as I thought, I was stunned. It seemed my late entry caught me by surprise.

At this time the subject wasn’t really making headlines in international affairs, but it was concern of this matter would soon be making headlines. Talk was Ron was making moves against Creedy but he didn’t have the support still conspiracies were floating around keeping us on our toes. Many plans for pre-emptive strikes, political victories neutralizing a possibility for an attack and benefiting Creedy and peace talks. I myself was egging for military action on the matter but I wasn’t the only one wanting this, in fact the majority of us demanded it, a few of us wanted it but didn’t want to be the aggressor and the minority only wanted a peaceful resolve.

The talk of war attracted some attention, not just media attention but a group of people wearing the badge of the Durham Pistoleers. Things were cooling down now and I was about to set off and prepare for the swamp when suddenly a strange deluded man came in and killed Baron Robert Surcouf, my garrison commander, the killer was a Durham Pistoleer. Now we were attacked before by DP, Dapped Shadow fell to a blade wielded by someone who held a vendetta against her so we disregarded it as an official attack but the attacker who killed the Baron had no connection, calls for blood increased in ever so more shouts. This wasn’t the last of it, an insane screeching woman by the name of Elizabeth Bathory killed poor Shadow again horridly licking the blood of her victim, and they called us natives savage? Even Eptavian fell, I later avenged him. Loughbridge was outraged by these events and was the loudest in the screams for revenge harshly calling Neil Tathers our diplomat trying to resolve some peace an appeaser. The Baron finally gave into the attacks and started to organize an attack on the DP for what they had done, shortly after this he was killed again by a German man called Warlan soon I was to be killed too by that strange savage who screeches at you whilst attacking but she wouldn’t stop, she continued to scream abusively at my lifeless corpse.

The cries for war and the attacks soon drew more attention of other people; I suppose this is why I’m telling you these series of events. I retuned to Creedy only to bare witness to a load killing where I myself was killed again and someone who I suspicions against but them kept to myself finally showed their true colours and joined in on the killing. The killing has already begun in Durham but I blame that small ring of attackers but there is bound to be more.

=Native News=

While the Durham Peninsula edges toward cataclysmic war, conflict has broken out among the island's natives. This in itself is unusual, as native clans tend to unite to counter the more numerous and organized outsiders. Insurgencies have broken out in two native towns.

==Wiksik Insurgency==

Wiksik, if it has a dominant clan, is controlled by the Necromancers' Guild, a controversial alliance of mystics dedicated to studying Shartak's spirit world. However, the Guild's practices have earned it many enemies, most notably its execution of exorcists and its seizure of the Wiksik medical supply hut.

In response to these disagreements, an ad hoc alliance of opponents, led by Black Fang, Wicksick Headhunter Baron Samedi, and island oddity Rancor Pigskin, has begun a merciless uprising.

Another major objection is the Guild's tolerance of peaceful outsiders. While tolerance of peaceful foreigners is the rule for every southern outsider town and the Royal Court of Raktam, the Guild's opponents seem to favor a more reactionary stance. Black Fang, one of the de facto spokesmen for the rebels, had this to say:

"This is Wiksik. Outsiders die here. There is no such thing as a friendly outsider. There is no safety in Wiksik for outsiders. There never will be. THIS! IS! WIKSIK!"

The insurgents have demanded an end to all of above policies, threatening destruction of the Guild if their demands are not met. Attempts to negotiate were curtly rebuffed. The "discussion" then degenerated into self-righteous speeches and the occassional machete fight (making Wiksik look a lot like the rest of Shartak).

The Queen of Raktam (possibly for no other reason than to get some peace and quiet) stepped in to end the conflict, providing the Necromancers with a new home north of Raktam. Disconcertingly, the Necromancers and their allies are now discussing the use of spirit attacks to raid outsider homes.

==Raktam Insurgency==

The Royal Court of Greater Raktam is by far the largest clan on Shartak, with many natives deferring to the leadership of its queen. However, when Eastern Federation leaders arrived in Raktam to discuss the Durham Crisis, they found the area filled with bodies and anti-monarchist literature scrawled on hut walls. Reportedly, a handful of dissenters have begun an insurgency. With the Queen's forces scattered across the island, the insurgents were able to inflict a sizeable amount of damage before the royalist counter-attack. More news will be provided as the situation develops.

=Other news=

==Barnes Departs==

James Barnes has announced that he is departing Shartak to look for a way back to the outside world. Barnes tells us that he made arrangements for others to carry on his work with the DEP and the Eastern Federation. "I am confident that my friends and allies have the competence to carry on what we started together," he told the DEP. "Therefore, I have no problem leaving Derby in their hands."

==Loose ends==

With the end of this issue, we have one question remaining. Who are the mysterious agitators that nearly created a massive war? What are their intentions? Do they secretly serve some faction, or are they new to Shartak? And if so, what do they want?

Talk:Derby Evening Press/Issue 14

2008-01-22T16:00:10Z

Black Joe:

(IC:) I see your editor didn't even bother to correct obvious typos from eptavian's interview. Instead they introduced more of their own. Makes you wonder how your reporters' quality compares with that of your spell checkers. <br>
(OOC:) Another great issue, thanks! What is this about James Barnes leaving Shartak? Like, he will disappear from the face of the island? I'll miss him. Good luck with his future adventures. --[[User:Oktavius|Oktavius]] 23:26, 21 January 2008 (UTC)
:The DEP never alters its interviewees' words without permission. As for introducing our own...it's entirely possible, given the format. As for James Barnes...I'm leaving the game soon. :)--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 16:00, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

Derby Evening Press/Issue 14

2008-01-21T04:46:37Z

Black Joe:

Welcome to this special edition of the Derby Evening Press, covering (as much as possible) the series of events collectively known as the Durham Crisis. In this issue, you will find a series of interviews, a guest column, a few news articles, and one extensive summary of the conflict, written by the Derby Hospitallers' Ambassador to York, Broderick.

=Durham News=

===The Durham Crisis: 'History Made Simplish'===

By Broderick

Since people have been all confused over what’s happening, let’s make it easier to understand. This writer has tried to record the events with as little bias as possible.

Once upon a time, there was a little Independent Republic called Fort Creedy. People lived happily together, apart from one or two criminal exceptions (who were ruthlessly put down). However, one day a queen came along. She said she was a nice queen and wanted to be Creedy’s friend. Eptavian, the leader of Creedy, said “Yes!”. So Fort Creedy was merged into the queen’s Court of Greater Raktam, and together they became the Commonwealth of Greater Raktam and Fort Creedy. Everyone lived happily together, until one day the queen said she was scared of an attack from their next-door neighbour, Durham! “I’ll send Grand Vizier Tathers, some of my soldiers, and my tax-collector, to scare away any evil clans,” she said. “Yes!” said Eptavian. And so Grand Vizier Tathers, the queen’s soldiers, and her tax-collector, arrived to keep the peace in Fort Creedy. Everyone lived happily together, but not for long.

It all began when the Grand Vizier Tathers was in Durham trying to make them happy after Durham started to get scared about having a lot of soldiers from Raktam so nearby. The news came in that the leader of Durham, Ron Burgundy, was becoming so scared that he wanted some people to come to Fort Creedy and kill everyone! Lord Lordington did come and kill one, Ben Harker, but nobody took much notice of this because Lordington is a bad man and kills people from York all the time. Then, a new baddie turned up, Warlan Raniski, who came in and killed Dappled Shadow, one of the Queen’s soldiers. The problem was that Raniski was a member of the Durham Pistoleers!

Then there was a funny moment, when Grand Vizier Tathers came in and said “It looks like it's going to be peace between the city and Fort.” We all now know that he was wrong! Then the queen’s tax-collector, Loughbridge, told him what had happened and said he wanted revenge. The two men began to argue, while everyone else was confused. Were the Pistoleers really attacking? Soon the murmurings began. Dappled Shadow and Elias Pryde began to question the settlement reached by Tathers. Shortly afterwards, another baddie came in, Ethir Wraithwain, also a Durham Pistoleer! He claimed to be following the wishes of ‘the Master’ and the ‘White Raven’, and then killed Baron Robert Surcouf, the commander of the queen’s soldiers. People were becoming very suspicious when the madwoman Elizabeth Bathory came in and killed Dappled Shadow in a berserk rage. She too was of the Durham Pistoleers.

However, because there was a peace treaty between Creedy and Durham, newly signed, everyone was still confused, especially when the man who had signed the treaty, Tathers, left to report to the queen. What should they do? In the end, Ben Harker tracked down and killed Wraithwain, but it was small consolation, for here entered another aggressor, Semper, who murdered the president of Creedy himself, Eptavian. With four different Pistoleers attacking and killing them, the members of the Commonwealth of Greater Raktam and Fort Creedy decided enough was enough. With an order from the queen to crush the Pistoleers, war between the Durham Pistoleers and the Commonwealth of Greater Raktam and Fort Creedy was declared. Raniski reentered and killed Surcouf, and Bathory killed Marvin twice, claiming Fort Creedy as Durham’s. However, more intrigue was to follow, when Elias Pryde, of the queen’s mercenaries, turned on his fellows and killed Starvin Marvin! As he delivered the killing blow he cried, “Creedy is dead. Long live Fort Fellgrim.”

Since then, the queen’s mercenaries have been killing Pistoleers and members of the Durham Citizens, and vice versa. The leader of the Pistoleers, Dennis Kuijt is not renowned for his vocal activity, and so The Malice, ex-leader of the infamous Mercenary’s Guild, is the clan’s spokesman. He claimed that the Pistoleers were not responsible for these members’ actions, and he sent Kuijt the message to kick one of the rogue members. The Commonwealth’s response was to demand the expulsion of the rest of the rogue members, the payment of 500gc in reparations, a formal apology and a garrison in Durham made up of members of the Commonwealth. The rest of the rogue Pistoleers were eventually banned from the clan, but the other demands have yet to be met.

There are without doubt three different sides operating here: the Commonwealth, Durham and this mysterious group. What is not known is whether any of these groups are working together. Is this mystery group in league with the Commonwealth, giving it an excuse to attack? Is it under the orders of the Durhamites, who’ve shown they were willing to adopt underhanded tactics? Or is it working entirely on its own agenda? If so, how many more are there, hidden amongst other clans, biding their time before they plunge those clans into a crisis like that which now exists on the Durham Peninsular?

==Durham Crisis: Updates==

Since the above article was written (less than a week ago), history has continued marching with breathtaking (and, to reporters, maddening) speed.

===Allies Respond===

With the news that Raktam and Creedy were marching on Durham, Durham's allies have followed their stereotypical paths to respond. The Eastern Federation, represented by Hospitaller Tribune James Barnes, has initiated a prolonged diplomatic offensive, coordinating with Raktam, Creedy, Durham, and York in an attempt to defuse the situation. Negotiations with Raktam reportedly were polite, but went nowhere, while EF negotiations with Creedy were hindered by friction between Creedist President Eptavian and Barnes. The EF's dealings with Durham and York have largely taken place behind closed doors, and the DEP is unable to provide much information on these talks.

In York, Serious Sam, leader of the 1st Colonial Militia, announced that the Militia would march to Durham and kill any Creedists and Raktamis in the area. Meanwhile, the York Coalition, which had been bordering on dormancy given the relative peace in York, was roused by the events to their west. Their exact intentions are unknown at this time.

===An Unexpected Peace===

The involvement of Serious Sam, ironically, ended the war, albeit in a manner few foresaw. The Malice, a bitter enemy of Sam's since the Third Battle of York, refused to accept Sam's help, promoting a fiery war of words between the two men. Finally, Sam declared all Pistoleers to be Kill on Sight for Colonial Militia members, a stance that reportedly appalled both the Eastern Federation and York Coalition.

The Malice, judging Sam a greater threat than the Queen, left the Pistoleers, joining the Royal Court of Greater Raktam instead. With his departure, Dennis Kjuit, disgusted with the flak the Pistoleers were receiving, disbanded the clan, ending any cause for a war. With the Malice now acting as intermediary between Durham and Raktam, the situation rests on a knife's edge.

===The Current Situation===

As the situation stands, Ron Burgundy, of the Durham Citizens, has declared that Durham will never be part of Raktam, with both Malice and the Queen denying the Court held any designs on the town. Meanwhile, a spirited debate has broken out over Durham politics. On one side, a coalition of peace advocates, Raktam supporters, and anti-Militia activists (led by The Malice and anti-York fighter Lord Lordington) is arguing in favor of peace with the Queen. On the other side, nationalists (led by the Militia) are voicing opposition to any merger with Raktam. These parties, given the Queen's attempts to merge with a number of towns, fear that any concession to the Queen will be a first step to absorption.

Complicating the situation even further is civil unrest in Durham. Durhamites are increasingly expressing dissatisfaction with the leadership of the Durham Citizens, complaining of disenfranchisement, secrecy, and simple ineptitude. The Durham Utility's founder, Edward "DarkFerret" Grey, has demanded a new election. Burgundy attempted to impose the Durham Citizens' electoral rules, provoking a firestorm of criticism. The most controversial rule was that only Durham Citizens could vote. Since the clan Durham Citizens requires invitations for membership, opponents accused Burgundy of stacking the deck in his favor. Additionally, the Durham government's attempts to tax its citizens went over poorly, particularly as the government had not provided any tangible benefits before discussing this.

The Malice proposed an alternate set of rules, greatly simplified, eliminating both controversial policies. Though Burgundy continues to defend the government's policies, his support seems to be eroding daily.

The Queen, perhaps in an attempt to be done with the whole mess, has suggested that the York Coalition, with its fierce fighters and respected leadership, take over police duties in Durham until a new Durhamite police clan can be founded. The Coaltion does not appear to have been formally notified of this request. Consider yourselves notified, gentlemen.

The Eastern Federation went silent during this time, but our sources tell us that the Derby Rangers began preparing for a major undertaking known only as Operation Moonwalk. Our sources refuse to tell us what this operation entailed, or even what its target was. However, with the conflict defused, we are told that Moonwalk has been put on hold. Meanwhile, Derbian leaders have renewed communications with York and Raktam in an attempt to further smooth over tensions, with James Barners and Ranger Commander Mark D. Stroyer visiting the Raktam Court in person to negotiate with the Queen.

=Interviews=

The DEP has interviewed several prominent figures in the conflict to get their views. These interviews were conducted prior to the Pistoleers' decision to disband, but provide a useful look at the participants' thoughts.

==Malice Interview==

Q: You claim that the Pistoleers attacking Creedy are rogues. Does this mean that Durham supports Creedian independence?

A: ... It's very hard to make a definitive statement in this nature. The forces governing Durham believe in Creedy's independence; various independents do not and are actively obstructing progress. Because of the large amount of natives moving into the area, many don't see attacking them as a crime. It's a prejudicial thing. They assume all natives are hostile. ...

Q: There are rumors that the Queen's forces will be attacking Durham over this. Some have gone so far as to accuse the Queen of using this as a pretext for invading Durham. What do you have to say about this?

A: I think the Queen's motives are shady. She does appear to be attempting a political takeover, but in case of an actual battle, I can't imagine her forces winning. It's hard to kick us out of our hometown, you see. ... My guess is if the Queen *is* mounting an invasion, if her peaceful methods don't work she'll resort to violence. ... All in all, though, I'm not reloading my rifles yet. I've lost one clan to blindly attacking already. This time I'm going to be a bit more careful in my approach to politics.

Q: Serious Sam has announced that the 1st Colonial Militia will be coming to Durham's aid and attacking the Royal Raktam forces. Do you intend to ask any other foreign powers, such as the York Coalition, the Brotherhood of the Coast (which has always been relatively pro-Durham), or the Eastern Federation to assist you?

A: No. We are not Durham's Private Guard, we are Durham's Police force. If Sam wants to get involved, that's his problem. I have strong feelings against that fool. When he joins a battle it tends to shred any possibility for a diplomatic discussion.

Q: Finally, what is your stance on the rumored involvement of the so-called "Felgrim" warriors? Conspiracy theorists blame the entire conflict on these people, supposedly numbering less than half a dozen. Do you really believe that four clans in three towns, consisting of roughly 70 people in total, could be brought to the brink of war by a handful of agitators? And how great a threat do you think these supposed agitators are?

A: As I've said before in public, I do believe some party is attempting to incite a war, but I don't know who. 3 of them were marauding as Pistoleers. ... They've either been kicked and banned from the clan or are about to be kicked and banned. [Editor's note: As for this printing, all of the above members, plus one additional member, have been removed from the Pistoleers]

... They aren't a threat. Thanks to Jacobi's paranoia everyone is informed of the situation and anything that happens between the Queens' and Durham's forces in a negative light will be met with suspicion until an explanation is given.

... Another thing that worries me about the entire situation is how quickly the Queen was agitated. My personal belief is that she wants war. ... there's a good possibility I'm absolutely wrong, but the Queen's actions and statements and general expansionist rule is bothering me quite a bit.

==Interview with Eptavian==

Q: You accuse the Durham Pistoleers of having attacked the Republic of Fort Creedy. Some, including Malice and Commodor Jacobi, allege that a third party is at work, attempting to provoke a war. What is your stance on this?

A: That is what they would have us believe. In fact, they had us fooled in the beginning and that is why we did not immediately act. We wanted to be absolutely certain who was responsible. Now however it is evident that all this was a plot by the Pistoleers to start a war by making us look the instigators. The proof is that after several days and even though they had every opportunity, the Pistoleers still have the supposedly 'rogue' members in their ranks.

Q: Does the sudden betrayal of one of the Royal Raktam mercenaries lend any credence to this? Given his talk of 'Fort Felgrim'?

A. It is not clear at that moment what this specific individual is trying to achieve. He was the only one of the attackers who was not a Pistoleers member, so it is not clear if he was taking part in the secret plot or not. Personally, I believe he was a spy listening on our discussions. When he realized he was close to be revealed [sic] he decided to act and disappear. 'Fort Felgrim' I believe was just a ruse to lead our investigations on the attackers astray.

Q: Ron Burgundy's attempts to undermine Creedy are becoming increasingly well known. Do you think he was involved in this?

A: That is a tough question, and I am afraid I don't have enough evidence to prove he was or was not involved. On one hand Grand Vizier Tathers was convinced that Ron Burgundy was honest in wanting peace and I trust Neil Tathers' experience and diplomatic abilities. On the other hand, Ron Burgundy did admit proposing secret targeted assassinations of Creedy and garrison members. Also the Pistoleers are in fact a the [sic] law enforcement branch of the government and thus under Burgundy's indirect command. Therefore, even if he was unaware of the plan, he still carries full responsibility for what happened.

Q: Some allege that Blue Hummingbird is using this as a pretext for expanding her empire, given her unsuccessful attempt to incorporate Derby and her support for Wiksikian insurgents. What stance do you take on this?

A: That is what people don't know her well think. For those have met and talked with her, it is obvious that she only wants to bring peace and prosperity to her people. And what better proof of that, than the formation of the Commonwealth with Fort Credy. The Creedy Republic is a small establishment, and yet in the interest of peace, the Queen accepted us as equals, even though her initial terms were for Creedy to become a sort of vassal state. In every diplomatic incident so far, Blue Hummingbird has tried to talk, understand the situation and mediate. See for example the case of the Necromancers in Wiksik. Never did she try to impose her will with violence.

Q: The 1st Colonial Militia has decided to intervene against Raktam. Are you concerned that other, more powerful groups, such as the York Coalition or the Eastern Federation, might intervene against you?

A: First of all, tactically we are not concerned too much with other groups offering their help to any side. The great distance of Durham and Creedy from other settlements means that any help will take too long to arrive and anyone killed will be out of the battle for a long time. Diplomatically, it seems that most groups are not concerned with what is happening in Durham, as was the case historically. Therefore, I don't expect any other major groups intervening.

I would like to say at this point, and I am sure you will this part out before going to press, that I was diappointed with the EF's stance in the crisis. At the early moments of the attack, when the Pistoleers were killing our members repeatedly, and before we had the opportunity to defend ourselves, the EF made a statement of keeping a neutral stance towards both sides. It is as clear as day to me, that this was a veiled statment of support for the aggressors. You cannot have a slaughter gonig on, with ruthless killers and innocent victims and say that you are neutral. This would be an encouragement for more attacks. I saddens [sic] my heart to see the EF, once known as a beacon of justice, to forget its principles for the sake of old friends who lost theirs, such as the Durham Pistoleers.

==Ron Burgundy Interview==

''The DEP wishes to convey its thanks to Ron Burgundy for his extraordinary succinctness.''

Q: The Durham Pistoleers claim that the attacks against Creedy were committed by rogue elements. Do you support this stance?

A: I support the Pistoleers' stance that these attacks are being perpetrated by a third party. I've listened to a representative of the third party that has been attacking, and they through a misguided preemptive measure have needlessly tarnished the pistoleers' name.

Q: There have been persistent suggestions that you may be behind these attacks, given your previous proposals to absorb Creedy. Do you wish to offer a public defense?

A: I am not behind these third party attacks. Though I have proposed actions against Creedy in the past, my intent with those ideas were to keep our forces close in size so no side would make a move against the other.

Q: If there is a third party involved in this war, what do you think their goals are?

A: Given what I've heard so far I would say that their goals are the removal of the Queen's influence and forces from the Durham Peninsula.

Q: Some allege that the Queen is merely using this as an excuse to further expand her empire's borders. What is your stance on this?

A: I don't know we are going to have to wait and see what she does. If she attacks the Pistoleers I would have to say yes.

==Blue Hummingbird Interview: Excerpts==

''The interview with Queen Blue Hummingbird on the Left ran too long for us to print it in its entirety. Please look [http://forum.shartak.com/index.php?topic=971.msg31666#msg31666 here] for the full interview. Below are excerpts from this interview.''

Q: Some, such as the Malice and Commodore Jacobi, allege that this ''(Editor's note: the Durham Crisis)'' is the work of a third party. This stance would seem to be supported by the turncoat mercenary Elias Pryde referring to "Fort Felgrim" or "Fellgrim" (spellings vary). What is your stance on this?

A: Malice is a Pistoleer. Obscurification of the truth is a tool of propaganda frequently used by the Pistoleers. A clearer and more truthful explanation is that the Pistoleers attacked Creedy at Burgundy's direction, and were surprised at the strength and forthrighness of the Commonwealth's entirely justified military response. We would not be surprised if in the fullness of time these ostensibly "expelled" members were quietly reintroduced into the ranks of the Pistoleers, once the Burgundy War is over.

Q: Your Grand Vizier, Neil Tathers, has expressed vigorous opposition to a war between Raktam and Durham, going so far as to imply that he will resign as Grand Vizier, should this happen. Has this affected your considerations?

A: This has been misreported. The Grand Vizier worked very hard to prevent the Government of Durham from acting in the way it has. The very existence of the Burgundy War fills the Grand Vizier with great sadness, as it does in the hearts of all of the peaceloving people of Greater Raktam. The Grand Vizier has given Us no indication that he will resign, and We support his diplomatic efforts entirely. The Grand Vizier is currently endeavouring to make peace in Wiksik between the warring parties. His efforts at bringing peace to Our small island are warmly appreciated by Us, and he is ever in Our good favour.

Q: Some allege that, given your attempt to absorb Derby and your support for the Wiksik insurgency, you are in fact attempting to expand your empire. They claim that you are using this incident to take over Durham. Do you wish to defend yourself.

A: We have no claims to expand Our domain into Durham - which, frankly, isn't that nice a piece of real estate - and, unequivocally, would never expand into Wiksik. Our cousin Black Fang and Our colleague Rancor Pigskin has Our support as a friend to Wiksik, not as its despot. Presently a large number of Raktam warriors are in Wiksik endeavouring to diffuse the situation.

=Guest Article=

==A Soldier's Story==

By Marvin.

''Marvin is a native warrior under the Queen's command. At our request, he sent us the following description of his time at Creedy. Our request was made to all concerned, but only Marvin responded with a complete story. We have printed it unedited.''

I was deployed to Creedy by the Queen to oppose an unknown enemy that threatened Creedy by being part of an increasing garrison to deter the enemy or repel them in an attack. It was quite a walk form Raktam to Creedy but when I got there I was stunned, I never saw such large buildings of iron and stone bigger than the and elephant possible rivalling the mystical giant squids themselves. The place was old and rusted, inside was no less aged, a few attempts of brightening up the place was made but with ill affect. I entered Hall with little notice from the others already settled in; discussion was flying around the hall about a possible imminent attack from Durham such speculations gave me my answer on who our enemy was, it wasn’t the wreck as I thought, I was stunned. It seemed my late entry caught me by surprise.

At this time the subject wasn’t really making headlines in international affairs, but it was concern of this matter would soon be making headlines. Talk was Ron was making moves against Creedy but he didn’t have the support still conspiracies were floating around keeping us on our toes. Many plans for pre-emptive strikes, political victories neutralizing a possibility for an attack and benefiting Creedy and peace talks. I myself was egging for military action on the matter but I wasn’t the only one wanting this, in fact the majority of us demanded it, a few of us wanted it but didn’t want to be the aggressor and the minority only wanted a peaceful resolve.

The talk of war attracted some attention, not just media attention but a group of people wearing the badge of the Durham Pistoleers. Things were cooling down now and I was about to set off and prepare for the swamp when suddenly a strange deluded man came in and killed Baron Robert Surcouf, my garrison commander, the killer was a Durham Pistoleer. Now we were attacked before by DP, Dapped Shadow fell to a blade wielded by someone who held a vendetta against her so we disregarded it as an official attack but the attacker who killed the Baron had no connection, calls for blood increased in ever so more shouts. This wasn’t the last of it, an insane screeching woman by the name of Elizabeth Bathory killed poor Shadow again horridly licking the blood of her victim, and they called us natives savage? Even Eptavian fell, I later avenged him. Loughbridge was outraged by these events and was the loudest in the screams for revenge harshly calling Neil Tathers our diplomat trying to resolve some peace an appeaser. The Baron finally gave into the attacks and started to organize an attack on the DP for what they had done, shortly after this he was killed again by a German man called Warlan soon I was to be killed too by that strange savage who screeches at you whilst attacking but she wouldn’t stop, she continued to scream abusively at my lifeless corpse.

The cries for war and the attacks soon drew more attention of other people; I suppose this is why I’m telling you these series of events. I retuned to Creedy only to bare witness to a load killing where I myself was killed again and someone who I suspicions against but them kept to myself finally showed their true colours and joined in on the killing. The killing has already begun in Durham but I blame that small ring of attackers but there is bound to be more.

=Native News=

While the Durham Peninsula edges toward cataclysmic war, conflict has broken out among the island's natives. This in itself is unusual, as native clans tend to unite to counter the more numerous and organized outsiders. Insurgencies have broken out in two native towns.

==Wiksik Insurgency==

Wiksik, if it has a dominant clan, is controlled by the Necromancers' Guild, a controversial alliance of mystics dedicated to studying Shartak's spirit world. However, the Guild's practices have earned it many enemies, most notably its execution of exorcists and its seizure of the Wiksik medical supply hut.

In response to these disagreements, an ad hoc alliance of opponents, led by Black Fang, Wicksick Headhunter Baron Samedi, and island oddity Rancor Pigskin, has begun a merciless uprising.

Another major objection is the Guild's tolerance of peaceful outsiders. While tolerance of peaceful foreigners is the rule for every southern outsider town and the Royal Court of Raktam, the Guild's opponents seem to favor a more reactionary stance. Black Fang, one of the de facto spokesmen for the rebels, had this to say:

"This is Wiksik. Outsiders die here. There is no such thing as a friendly outsider. There is no safety in Wiksik for outsiders. There never will be. THIS! IS! WIKSIK!"

The insurgents have demanded an end to all of above policies, threatening destruction of the Guild if their demands are not met. Attempts to negotiate were curtly rebuffed. The "discussion" then degenerated into self-righteous speeches and the occassional machete fight (making Wiksik look a lot like the rest of Shartak).

The Queen of Raktam (possibly for no other reason than to get some peace and quiet) stepped in to end the conflict, providing the Necromancers with a new home north of Raktam. Disconcertingly, the Necromancers and their allies are now discussing the use of spirit attacks to raid outsider homes.

==Raktam Insurgency==

The Royal Court of Greater Raktam is by far the largest clan on Shartak, with many natives deferring to the leadership of its queen. However, when Eastern Federation leaders arrived in Raktam to discuss the Durham Crisis, they found the area filled with bodies and anti-monarchist literature scrawled on hut walls. Reportedly, a handful of dissenters have begun an insurgency. With the Queen's forces scattered across the island, the insurgents were able to inflict a sizeable amount of damage before the royalist counter-attack. More news will be provided as the situation develops.

=Other news=

==Barnes Departs==

James Barnes has announced that he is departing Shartak to look for a way back to the outside world. Barnes tells us that he made arrangements for others to carry on his work with the DEP and the Eastern Federation. "I am confident that my friends and allies have the competence to carry on what we started together," he told the DEP. "Therefore, I have no problem leaving Derby in their hands."

==Loose ends==

With the end of this issue, we have one question remaining. Who are the mysterious agitators that nearly created a massive war? What are their intentions? Do they secretly serve some faction, or are they new to Shartak? And if so, what do they want?

Derby Evening Press/Issue 14

2008-01-21T04:44:34Z

Black Joe:

Welcome to this special edition of the Derby Evening Press, covering (as much as possible) the series of events collectively known as the Durham Crisis. In this issue, you will find a series of interviews, a guest column, a few news articles, and one extensive summary of the conflict, written by the Derby Hospitallers' Ambassador to York, Broderick.

=Durham News=

===The Durham Crisis: 'History Made Simplish'===

By Broderick

Since people have been all confused over what’s happening, let’s make it easier to understand. This writer has tried to record the events with as little bias as possible.

Once upon a time, there was a little Independent Republic called Fort Creedy. People lived happily together, apart from one or two criminal exceptions (who were ruthlessly put down). However, one day a queen came along. She said she was a nice queen and wanted to be Creedy’s friend. Eptavian, the leader of Creedy, said “Yes!”. So Fort Creedy was merged into the queen’s Court of Greater Raktam, and together they became the Commonwealth of Greater Raktam and Fort Creedy. Everyone lived happily together, until one day the queen said she was scared of an attack from their next-door neighbour, Durham! “I’ll send Grand Vizier Tathers, some of my soldiers, and my tax-collector, to scare away any evil clans,” she said. “Yes!” said Eptavian. And so Grand Vizier Tathers, the queen’s soldiers, and her tax-collector, arrived to keep the peace in Fort Creedy. Everyone lived happily together, but not for long.

It all began when the Grand Vizier Tathers was in Durham trying to make them happy after Durham started to get scared about having a lot of soldiers from Raktam so nearby. The news came in that the leader of Durham, Ron Burgundy, was becoming so scared that he wanted some people to come to Fort Creedy and kill everyone! Lord Lordington did come and kill one, Ben Harker, but nobody took much notice of this because Lordington is a bad man and kills people from York all the time. Then, a new baddie turned up, Warlan Raniski, who came in and killed Dappled Shadow, one of the Queen’s soldiers. The problem was that Raniski was a member of the Durham Pistoleers!

Then there was a funny moment, when Grand Vizier Tathers came in and said “It looks like it's going to be peace between the city and Fort.” We all now know that he was wrong! Then the queen’s tax-collector, Loughbridge, told him what had happened and said he wanted revenge. The two men began to argue, while everyone else was confused. Were the Pistoleers really attacking? Soon the murmurings began. Dappled Shadow and Elias Pryde began to question the settlement reached by Tathers. Shortly afterwards, another baddie came in, Ethir Wraithwain, also a Durham Pistoleer! He claimed to be following the wishes of ‘the Master’ and the ‘White Raven’, and then killed Baron Robert Surcouf, the commander of the queen’s soldiers. People were becoming very suspicious when the madwoman Elizabeth Bathory came in and killed Dappled Shadow in a berserk rage. She too was of the Durham Pistoleers.

However, because there was a peace treaty between Creedy and Durham, newly signed, everyone was still confused, especially when the man who had signed the treaty, Tathers, left to report to the queen. What should they do? In the end, Ben Harker tracked down and killed Wraithwain, but it was small consolation, for here entered another aggressor, Semper, who murdered the president of Creedy himself, Eptavian. With four different Pistoleers attacking and killing them, the members of the Commonwealth of Greater Raktam and Fort Creedy decided enough was enough. With an order from the queen to crush the Pistoleers, war between the Durham Pistoleers and the Commonwealth of Greater Raktam and Fort Creedy was declared. Raniski reentered and killed Surcouf, and Bathory killed Marvin twice, claiming Fort Creedy as Durham’s. However, more intrigue was to follow, when Elias Pryde, of the queen’s mercenaries, turned on his fellows and killed Starvin Marvin! As he delivered the killing blow he cried, “Creedy is dead. Long live Fort Fellgrim.”

Since then, the queen’s mercenaries have been killing Pistoleers and members of the Durham Citizens, and vice versa. The leader of the Pistoleers, Dennis Kuijt is not renowned for his vocal activity, and so The Malice, ex-leader of the infamous Mercenary’s Guild, is the clan’s spokesman. He claimed that the Pistoleers were not responsible for these members’ actions, and he sent Kuijt the message to kick one of the rogue members. The Commonwealth’s response was to demand the expulsion of the rest of the rogue members, the payment of 500gc in reparations, a formal apology and a garrison in Durham made up of members of the Commonwealth. The rest of the rogue Pistoleers were eventually banned from the clan, but the other demands have yet to be met.

There are without doubt three different sides operating here: the Commonwealth, Durham and this mysterious group. What is not known is whether any of these groups are working together. Is this mystery group in league with the Commonwealth, giving it an excuse to attack? Is it under the orders of the Durhamites, who’ve shown they were willing to adopt underhanded tactics? Or is it working entirely on its own agenda? If so, how many more are there, hidden amongst other clans, biding their time before they plunge those clans into a crisis like that which now exists on the Durham Peninsular?

==Durham Crisis: Updates==

Since the above article was written (less than a week ago), history has continued marching with breathtaking (and, to reporters, maddening) speed.

===Allies Respond===

With the news that Raktam and Creedy were marching on Durham, Durham's allies have followed their stereotypical paths to respond. The Eastern Federation, represented by Hospitaller Tribune James Barnes, has initiated a prolonged diplomatic offensive, coordinating with Raktam, Creedy, Durham, and York in an attempt to defuse the situation. Negotiations with Raktam reportedly were polite, but went nowhere, while EF negotiations with Creedy were hindered by friction between Creedist President Eptavian and Barnes. The EF's dealings with Durham and York have largely taken place behind closed doors, and the DEP is unable to provide much information on these talks.

In York, Serious Sam, leader of the 1st Colonial Militia, announced that the Militia would march to Durham and kill any Creedists and Raktamis in the area. Meanwhile, the York Coalition, which had been bordering on dormancy given the relative peace in York, was roused by the events to their west. Their exact intentions are unknown at this time.

===An Unexpected Peace===

The involvement of Serious Sam, ironically, ended the war, albeit in a manner few foresaw. The Malice, a bitter enemy of Sam's since the Third Battle of York, refused to accept Sam's help, promoting a fiery war of words between the two men. Finally, Sam declared all Pistoleers to be Kill on Sight for Colonial Militia members, a stance that reportedly appalled both the Eastern Federation and York Coalition.

The Malice, judging Sam a greater threat than the Queen, left the Pistoleers, joining the Royal Court of Greater Raktam instead. With his departure, Dennis Kjuit, disgusted with the flak the Pistoleers were receiving, disbanded the clan, ending any cause for a war. With the Malice now acting as intermediary between Durham and Raktam, the situation rests on a knife's edge.

===The Current Situation===

As the situation stands, Ron Burgundy, of the Durham Citizens, has declared that Durham will never be part of Raktam, with both Malice and the Queen denying the Court held any designs on the town. Meanwhile, a spirited debate has broken out over Durham politics. On one side, a coalition of peace advocates, Raktam supporters, and anti-Militia activists (led by The Malice and anti-York fighter Lord Lordington) is arguing in favor of peace with the Queen. On the other side, nationalists (led by the Militia) are voicing opposition to any merger with Raktam. These parties, given the Queen's attempts to merge with a number of towns, fear that any concession to the Queen will be a first step to absorption.

Complicating the situation even further is civil unrest in Durham. Durhamites are increasingly expressing dissatisfaction with the leadership of the Durham Citizens, complaining of disenfranchisement, secrecy, and simple ineptitude. The Durham Utility's founder, Edward "DarkFerret" Grey, has demanded a new election. Burgundy attempted to impose the Durham Citizens' electoral rules, provoking a firestorm of criticism. The most controversial rule was that only Durham Citizens could vote. Since the clan Durham Citizens requires invitations for membership, opponents accused Burgundy of stacking the deck in his favor. Additionally, the Durham government's attempts to tax its citizens went over poorly, particularly as the government had not provided any tangible benefits before discussing this.

The Malice proposed an alternate set of rules, greatly simplified, eliminating both controversial policies. Though Burgundy continues to defend the government's policies, his support seems to be eroding daily.

The Queen, perhaps in an attempt to be done with the whole mess, has suggested that the York Coalition, with its fierce fighters and respected leadership, take over police duties in Durham until a new Durhamite police clan can be founded. The Coaltion does not appear to have been formally notified of this request. Consider yourselves notified, gentlemen.

The Eastern Federation went silent during this time, but our sources tell us that the Derby Rangers began preparing for a major undertaking known only as Operation Moonwalk. Our sources refuse to tell us what this operation entailed, or even what its target was. However, with the conflict defused, we are told that Moonwalk has been put on hold. Meanwhile, Derbian leaders have renewed communications with York and Raktam in an attempt to further smooth over tensions, with James Barners and Ranger Commander Mark D. Stroyer visiting the Raktam Court in person to negotiate with the Queen.

=Interviews=

The DEP has interviewed several prominent figures in the conflict to get their views. These interviews were conducted prior to the Pistoleers' decision to disband, but provide a useful look at the participants' thoughts.

==Malice Interview==

Q: You claim that the Pistoleers attacking Creedy are rogues. Does this mean that Durham supports Creedian independence?

A: ... It's very hard to make a definitive statement in this nature. The forces governing Durham believe in Creedy's independence; various independents do not and are actively obstructing progress. Because of the large amount of natives moving into the area, many don't see attacking them as a crime. It's a prejudicial thing. They assume all natives are hostile. ...

Q: There are rumors that the Queen's forces will be attacking Durham over this. Some have gone so far as to accuse the Queen of using this as a pretext for invading Durham. What do you have to say about this?

A: I think the Queen's motives are shady. She does appear to be attempting a political takeover, but in case of an actual battle, I can't imagine her forces winning. It's hard to kick us out of our hometown, you see. ... My guess is if the Queen *is* mounting an invasion, if her peaceful methods don't work she'll resort to violence. ... All in all, though, I'm not reloading my rifles yet. I've lost one clan to blindly attacking already. This time I'm going to be a bit more careful in my approach to politics.

Q: Serious Sam has announced that the 1st Colonial Militia will be coming to Durham's aid and attacking the Royal Raktam forces. Do you intend to ask any other foreign powers, such as the York Coalition, the Brotherhood of the Coast (which has always been relatively pro-Durham), or the Eastern Federation to assist you?

A: No. We are not Durham's Private Guard, we are Durham's Police force. If Sam wants to get involved, that's his problem. I have strong feelings against that fool. When he joins a battle it tends to shred any possibility for a diplomatic discussion.

Q: Finally, what is your stance on the rumored involvement of the so-called "Felgrim" warriors? Conspiracy theorists blame the entire conflict on these people, supposedly numbering less than half a dozen. Do you really believe that four clans in three towns, consisting of roughly 70 people in total, could be brought to the brink of war by a handful of agitators? And how great a threat do you think these supposed agitators are?

A: As I've said before in public, I do believe some party is attempting to incite a war, but I don't know who. 3 of them were marauding as Pistoleers. ... They've either been kicked and banned from the clan or are about to be kicked and banned. [Editor's note: As for this printing, all of the above members, plus one additional member, have been removed from the Pistoleers]

... They aren't a threat. Thanks to Jacobi's paranoia everyone is informed of the situation and anything that happens between the Queens' and Durham's forces in a negative light will be met with suspicion until an explanation is given.

... Another thing that worries me about the entire situation is how quickly the Queen was agitated. My personal belief is that she wants war. ... there's a good possibility I'm absolutely wrong, but the Queen's actions and statements and general expansionist rule is bothering me quite a bit.

==Interview with Eptavian==

Q: You accuse the Durham Pistoleers of having attacked the Republic of Fort Creedy. Some, including Malice and Commodor Jacobi, allege that a third party is at work, attempting to provoke a war. What is your stance on this?

A: That is what they would have us believe. In fact, they had us fooled in the beginning and that is why we did not immediately act. We wanted to be absolutely certain who was responsible. Now however it is evident that all this was a plot by the Pistoleers to start a war by making us look the instigators. The proof is that after several days and even though they had every opportunity, the Pistoleers still have the supposedly 'rogue' members in their ranks.

Q: Does the sudden betrayal of one of the Royal Raktam mercenaries lend any credence to this? Given his talk of 'Fort Felgrim'?

A. It is not clear at that moment what this specific individual is trying to achieve. He was the only one of the attackers who was not a Pistoleers member, so it is not clear if he was taking part in the secret plot or not. Personally, I believe he was a spy listening on our discussions. When he realized he was close to be revealed [sic] he decided to act and disappear. 'Fort Felgrim' I believe was just a ruse to lead our investigations on the attackers astray.

Q: Ron Burgundy's attempts to undermine Creedy are becoming increasingly well known. Do you think he was involved in this?

A: That is a tough question, and I am afraid I don't have enough evidence to prove he was or was not involved. On one hand Grand Vizier Tathers was convinced that Ron Burgundy was honest in wanting peace and I trust Neil Tathers' experience and diplomatic abilities. On the other hand, Ron Burgundy did admit proposing secret targeted assassinations of Creedy and garrison members. Also the Pistoleers are in fact a the [sic] law enforcement branch of the government and thus under Burgundy's indirect command. Therefore, even if he was unaware of the plan, he still carries full responsibility for what happened.

Q: Some allege that Blue Hummingbird is using this as a pretext for expanding her empire, given her unsuccessful attempt to incorporate Derby and her support for Wiksikian insurgents. What stance do you take on this?

A: That is what people don't know her well think. For those have met and talked with her, it is obvious that she only wants to bring peace and prosperity to her people. And what better proof of that, than the formation of the Commonwealth with Fort Credy. The Creedy Republic is a small establishment, and yet in the interest of peace, the Queen accepted us as equals, even though her initial terms were for Creedy to become a sort of vassal state. In every diplomatic incident so far, Blue Hummingbird has tried to talk, understand the situation and mediate. See for example the case of the Necromancers in Wiksik. Never did she try to impose her will with violence.

Q: The 1st Colonial Militia has decided to intervene against Raktam. Are you concerned that other, more powerful groups, such as the York Coalition or the Eastern Federation, might intervene against you?

A: First of all, tactically we are not concerned too much with other groups offering their help to any side. The great distance of Durham and Creedy from other settlements means that any help will take too long to arrive and anyone killed will be out of the battle for a long time. Diplomatically, it seems that most groups are not concerned with what is happening in Durham, as was the case historically. Therefore, I don't expect any other major groups intervening.

I would like to say at this point, and I am sure you will this part out before going to press, that I was diappointed with the EF's stance in the crisis. At the early moments of the attack, when the Pistoleers were killing our members repeatedly, and before we had the opportunity to defend ourselves, the EF made a statement of keeping a neutral stance towards both sides. It is as clear as day to me, that this was a veiled statment of support for the aggressors. You cannot have a slaughter gonig on, with ruthless killers and innocent victims and say that you are neutral. This would be an encouragement for more attacks. I saddens [sic] my heart to see the EF, once known as a beacon of justice, to forget its principles for the sake of old friends who lost theirs, such as the Durham Pistoleers.

==Ron Burgundy Interview==

''The DEP wishes to convey its thanks to Ron Burgundy for his extraordinary succinctness.''

Q: The Durham Pistoleers claim that the attacks against Creedy were committed by rogue elements. Do you support this stance?

A: I support the Pistoleers' stance that these attacks are being perpetrated by a third party. I've listened to a representative of the third party that has been attacking, and they through a misguided preemptive measure have needlessly tarnished the pistoleers' name.

Q: There have been persistent suggestions that you may be behind these attacks, given your previous proposals to absorb Creedy. Do you wish to offer a public defense?

A: I am not behind these third party attacks. Though I have proposed actions against Creedy in the past, my intent with those ideas were to keep our forces close in size so no side would make a move against the other.

Q: If there is a third party involved in this war, what do you think their goals are?

A: Given what I've heard so far I would say that their goals are the removal of the Queen's influence and forces from the Durham Peninsula.

Q: Some allege that the Queen is merely using this as an excuse to further expand her empire's borders. What is your stance on this?

A: I don't know we are going to have to wait and see what she does. If she attacks the Pistoleers I would have to say yes.

==Blue Hummingbird Interview: Excerpts==

''The interview with Queen Blue Hummingbird on the Left ran too long for us to print it in its entirety. Please look [http://forum.shartak.com/index.php?topic=971.msg31666#msg31666 here] for the full interview. Below are excerpts from this interview.''

Q: Some, such as the Malice and Commodore Jacobi, allege that this ''(Editor's note: the Durham Crisis)'' is the work of a third party. This stance would seem to be supported by the turncoat mercenary Elias Pryde referring to "Fort Felgrim" or "Fellgrim" (spellings vary). What is your stance on this?

A: Malice is a Pistoleer. Obscurification of the truth is a tool of propaganda frequently used by the Pistoleers. A clearer and more truthful explanation is that the Pistoleers attacked Creedy at Burgundy's direction, and were surprised at the strength and forthrighness of the Commonwealth's entirely justified military response. We would not be surprised if in the fullness of time these ostensibly "expelled" members were quietly reintroduced into the ranks of the Pistoleers, once the Burgundy War is over.

Q: Your Grand Vizier, Neil Tathers, has expressed vigorous opposition to a war between Raktam and Durham, going so far as to imply that he will resign as Grand Vizier, should this happen. Has this affected your considerations?

A: This has been misreported. The Grand Vizier worked very hard to prevent the Government of Durham from acting in the way it has. The very existence of the Burgundy War fills the Grand Vizier with great sadness, as it does in the hearts of all of the peaceloving people of Greater Raktam. The Grand Vizier has given Us no indication that he will resign, and We support his diplomatic efforts entirely. The Grand Vizier is currently endeavouring to make peace in Wiksik between the warring parties. His efforts at bringing peace to Our small island are warmly appreciated by Us, and he is ever in Our good favour.

Q: Some allege that, given your attempt to absorb Derby and your support for the Wiksik insurgency, you are in fact attempting to expand your empire. They claim that you are using this incident to take over Durham. Do you wish to defend yourself.

A: We have no claims to expand Our domain into Durham - which, frankly, isn't that nice a piece of real estate - and, unequivocally, would never expand into Wiksik. Our cousin Black Fang and Our colleague Rancor Pigskin has Our support as a friend to Wiksik, not as its despot. Presently a large number of Raktam warriors are in Wiksik endeavouring to diffuse the situation.

=Guest Article=

==A Soldier's Story==

By Marvin.

''Marvin is a native warrior under the Queen's command. At our request, he sent us the following description of his time at Creedy. Our request was made to all concerned, but only Marvin responded with a complete story. We have printed it unedited.''

I was deployed to Creedy by the Queen to oppose an unknown enemy that threatened Creedy by being part of an increasing garrison to deter the enemy or repel them in an attack. It was quite a walk form Raktam to Creedy but when I got there I was stunned, I never saw such large buildings of iron and stone bigger than the and elephant possible rivalling the mystical giant squids themselves. The place was old and rusted, inside was no less aged, a few attempts of brightening up the place was made but with ill affect. I entered Hall with little notice from the others already settled in; discussion was flying around the hall about a possible imminent attack from Durham such speculations gave me my answer on who our enemy was, it wasn’t the wreck as I thought, I was stunned. It seemed my late entry caught me by surprise.

At this time the subject wasn’t really making headlines in international affairs, but it was concern of this matter would soon be making headlines. Talk was Ron was making moves against Creedy but he didn’t have the support still conspiracies were floating around keeping us on our toes. Many plans for pre-emptive strikes, political victories neutralizing a possibility for an attack and benefiting Creedy and peace talks. I myself was egging for military action on the matter but I wasn’t the only one wanting this, in fact the majority of us demanded it, a few of us wanted it but didn’t want to be the aggressor and the minority only wanted a peaceful resolve.

The talk of war attracted some attention, not just media attention but a group of people wearing the badge of the Durham Pistoleers. Things were cooling down now and I was about to set off and prepare for the swamp when suddenly a strange deluded man came in and killed Baron Robert Surcouf, my garrison commander, the killer was a Durham Pistoleer. Now we were attacked before by DP, Dapped Shadow fell to a blade wielded by someone who held a vendetta against her so we disregarded it as an official attack but the attacker who killed the Baron had no connection, calls for blood increased in ever so more shouts. This wasn’t the last of it, an insane screeching woman by the name of Elizabeth Bathory killed poor Shadow again horridly licking the blood of her victim, and they called us natives savage? Even Eptavian fell, I later avenged him. Loughbridge was outraged by these events and was the loudest in the screams for revenge harshly calling Neil Tathers our diplomat trying to resolve some peace an appeaser. The Baron finally gave into the attacks and started to organize an attack on the DP for what they had done, shortly after this he was killed again by a German man called Warlan soon I was to be killed too by that strange savage who screeches at you whilst attacking but she wouldn’t stop, she continued to scream abusively at my lifeless corpse.

The cries for war and the attacks soon drew more attention of other people; I suppose this is why I’m telling you these series of events. I retuned to Creedy only to bare witness to a load killing where I myself was killed again and someone who I suspicions against but them kept to myself finally showed their true colours and joined in on the killing. The killing has already begun in Durham but I blame that small ring of attackers but there is bound to be more.

=Native News=

While the Durham Peninsula edges toward cataclysmic war, conflict has broken out among the island's natives. This in itself is unusual, as native clans tend to unite to counter the more numerous and organized outsiders. Insurgencies have broken out in two native towns.

==Wiksik Insurgency==

Wiksik, if it has a dominant clan, is controlled by the Necromancers' Guild, a controversial alliance of mystics dedicated to studying Shartak's spirit world. However, the Guild's practices have earned it many enemies, most notably its execution of exorcists and its seizure of the Wiksik medical supply hut.

In response to these disagreements, an ad hoc alliance of opponents, led by Black Fang, Wicksick Headhunter Baron Samedi, and island oddity Rancor Pigskin, has begun a merciless uprising.

Another major objection is the Guild's tolerance of peaceful outsiders. While tolerance of peaceful foreigners is the rule for every southern outsider town and the Royal Court of Raktam, the Guild's opponents seem to favor a more reactionary stance. Black Fang, one of the de facto spokesmen for the rebels, had this to say:

"This is Wiksik. Outsiders die here. There is no such thing as a friendly outsider. There is no safety in Wiksik for outsiders. There never will be. THIS! IS! WIKSIK!"

The insurgents have demanded an end to all of above policies, threatening destruction of the Guild if their demands are not met. Attempts to negotiate were curtly rebuffed. The "discussion" then degenerated into self-righteous speeches and the occassional machete fight (making Wiksik look a lot like the rest of Shartak).

The Queen of Raktam (possibly for no other reason than to get some peace and quiet) stepped in to end the conflict, providing the Necromancers with a new home north of Raktam. Disconcertingly, the Necromancers and their allies are now discussing the use of spirit attacks to raid outsider homes.

==Raktam Insurgency==

The Royal Court of Greater Raktam is by far the largest clan on Shartak, with many natives deferring to the leadership of its queen. However, when Eastern Federation leaders arrived in Raktam to discuss the Durham Crisis, they found the area filled with bodies and anti-monarchist literature scrawled on hut walls. Reportedly, a handful of dissenters have begun an insurgency. With the Queen's forces scattered across the island, the insurgents were able to inflict a sizeable amount of damage before the royalist counter-attack. More news will be provided as the situation develops.

=Other news=

In other news, James Barnes has announced that he is departing Shartak to look for a way back to the outside world. Barnes tells us that he made arrangements for others to carry on his work with the DEP and the Eastern Federation. "I am confident that my friends and allies have the competence to carry on what we started together," he told the DEP. "Therefore, I have no problem leaving Derby in their hands."

Eastern Federation

2008-01-13T20:22:14Z

Black Joe:

{{Clanbox|
clan_name=Eastern Federation|
official_id=124|
open_to=outsiders|
clan_image=[[Image:EFFlag.PNG]]|
clan_leaders={{profile|5353|Janet Grey}}, {{profile|5317|James Barnes}}, {{profile|4949|Rob Zombie}}|
clan_membership=31 active|
clan_goals=To protect and assist the inhabitants of Derby in particular, and outsider society in general. Generally members of the 1st Derby Privateers, Derby Hospitallers, and Derby Rangers.|
clan_recruit=Those loyal to Derby and outsider civilization.|
clan_contact=Select the Eastern Federation as your clan in-game. Forum participation is preferred. [http://z3.invisionfree.com/Derby/index.php Our forum]|
}}

==For the Good of Derby==

The Eastern Federation is an alliance based in the town of Derby on Shartak's southeast corner. The EF considers Derby's well-being its highest priority. In addition to defending Derby, the Federation works to improve their home. Since the clans of the EF formed, they have made both independent and unified efforts to better the settlement. Notably, the Federation was the first clan to offer medical benefits and subsidized prescription drug benefits for its members.

==Federation Activities==

The following list details all operations conducted by the Eastern Federation or its constituent clans.

===Activities in Derby===

*The [[Derby Academy]], run by the [[Derby Hospitallers]]
*The [[Hanged Misfit]], run by EF member RoadWorkBob.
*The [[Derby Hospital]], run by the Hospitallers
*The [[Derby Pharmacy]], run by the Hospitallers
*The [[Derby Evening Press]], Derby's newspaper
*Derby's defense against [[the WickSick Headhunters]] 'Derby Derby' (the first joint Federation military operation)
*A police force, provided by the 1st Derby Privateers.
*The [[Derby Court]], an opportunity for people wanted by the Privateers to try and clear their name.

===Activities Outside Derby===

*Assisting in the defense of [[Durham]] during the [[Durham Headhunt Contest]].
*Assisting in the defense of [[York]] during the [[Fourth Battle of York]] and the [[Dork Cup]]
*Assisting the Dalpok Liberation Front in its defense against the Brotherhood of the Coast.
*Ambassador program to Durham and York
*Foundation of the [[Durham Academy]]

==Members of the Eastern Federation:==

===Founding clans===

[[Derby Hospitallers]]

[[1st Derby Privateers]]

[[Derby Rangers]]

===Other Members and Allies===
[[The Octavius Popebury Memorial Expedition of 1886]] (member)
[[Greenwolves]] (member)

[[York Coalition]] (ally)

Derby Pharmacy

2008-01-13T20:18:39Z

Black Joe:

#REDIRECT [[Derby Hospital]]

Derby Hospitallers

2008-01-13T20:16:46Z

Black Joe: /* Activities in Derby */

{{Clanbox|
clan_name=Derby Hospitallers|
official_id=79|
open_to=outsiders|
clan_image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v155/Bluegoo/Logo2.png|
clan_leaders={{profile|5317|James Barnes}}|
clan_membership=10 active|
clan_goals=To protect and assist the inhabitants of Derby.|
clan_recruit=All outsiders, pirates, and natives willing to follow the Hospitaller code.|
clan_contact=Select the Hospitallers as your clan in-game. Forum participation is preferred. [http://z3.invisionfree.com/Derby/index.php Our forum]|
}}

== For the good of Derby! ==

Derby was once a backwater, a settlement without law or defense. No longer! The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Hospitallers Knights Hospitaller] are an old order, dating back to the Crusades. Now, a group has emerged on Shartak, basing their conduct on the Hospitallers' code of protection and aid. These noble wardens of the peace are dedicated not just to preserving Derbian lives, but improving them.

== The Hospitaller Code of Honor ==

Hospitallers are encouraged to uphold the following code of conduct.

*Hospitallers' first duty is to Derby and its inhabitants. Hospitallers should:
**defend Derby from hostile incursions. Examples include pirate or native raids. The Hospitallers oppose attacks on peaceful pirates or natives within Derby's city limits, particularly in designated safehouses.
**heal wounded Derbians and other wounded outsiders.
*All Hospitallers should maintain a proper sense of decorum. They should refrain from vile language and insults. (Out of character, don't flame people. If someone flames you, responding in kind just makes you and the clan look bad. As for foul language, while there won't be consequences for the occassional slip, excessive foul language is pointless; it makes you look like you aren't smart enough to express yourself in any other way. Basically, act like a mature adult.)

== Laws of the Hospitallers ==

Unlike the code of honor, which is a set of ideals to strive towards, the laws that follow are strictly enforced. Violation may result in immediate expulsion from the Hospitallers.

*Murder of innocent Derbians, Yorkmen, and Durhamites is strictly forbidden.
*Practicing the dark art known as "Zerging" is absolutely and utterly forbidden under Hospitaller law.

== Hospitaller Activities==

===Activities in Derby===

The Hospitallers run several facilities in Derby. These facilities provide free services to any Derbian who wishes to make use of them.

*The [[Derby Academy]], a two-hut facility next door to the Derby trader's hut.
**The Academy's Gymnasium, located at [-70.094,+26.350].
**The Academy's Lecture Hall, located at [-70.093,+26.350].
*The [[Derby Hospital]], located at [-70.093,+26.352].
*The [[Derby Pharmacy]], also located at [-70.093,+26.352].

The Hospitallers also participate in the [[Derby Court]] and sponsor the [[Derby Lecture Series]].

===Activities Outside Derby===

The Hospitallers do not confine their activities to Derby. Hospitallers are active across the south coast. They:

*Assisted in the defense of [[Durham]] during the [[Durham Headhunt Contest]]
*Assisted in the defense of York during the [[Fourth Battle of York]] and the [[Dork Cup]].
*Sent ambassadors to both York and Durham. We are currently looking for new ambassadors, as both of our previous ambassadors are inactive.
*Founded the [[Durham Academy]] (now inactive).
*Took part in the Battle of Midway to drive the [[WickSick Headhunters]] from the island of Midway.

== Life in the Hospitallers ==

The Hospitallers require relatively light duty from their members. Capable, willing members may assist in running Derby's public services, or they may start their own (with the the approval of the Hospitaller leadership). Otherwise, Hospitallers are free to do as they please, whether it be enjoying the sights of Derby or wandering through the jungles. The only requirement is that Hospitallers come to Derby when the town is threatened.

All Derbians, whether they are Hospitallers, Privateers, or unaligned, are welcomed at [http://z3.invisionfree.com/Derby/index.php our forum]. Newcomers are encouraged to look at our [http://derby.jconserv.net/viewtopic.php?t=5 Beginner's Guide].

== Allies ==

[[Durham Pistoleers]]

[[1st Derby Privateers]] - our oldest allies, and fellow members of the [[Eastern Federation]]

[[Derby Rangers]] - Fellow members of the [[Eastern Federation]]

[[The Octavius Popebury Memorial Expedition of 1886]] - The newest members of the Eastern Federation

Derby Hospital

2008-01-13T20:15:37Z

Black Joe:

The Derby Hospital was opened by the [[Derby Hospitallers]]. Located at [-70.093,+26.352], the Hospitaller on duty provides free treatment to any wounded individuals within the hut, including non-hostile natives or pirates. The Hospitallers would like to thank the [[Royal Expedition]] for introducing the [[RE field hospital]], the Derby Hospital's inspiration.

===Hospital Policies===

*The Hospitaller on duty choose the order of treatment for patients.
*Any patients within the Hospital are under Hospitaller protection.
*Should hostile natives, pirates, or PKers sleep in the hut, the Hospitaller on duty is not obligated to follow these policies regarding them.

=Derby Pharmacy=

The Derby Pharmacy, located at the Derby Hospital, is the [[Derby Hospitallers]]' latest effort to provide services to their hometown. This unique establishment is the first of its kind on Shartak. The Hospitaller on duty will keep a supply of first aid kits on hand for anyone who needs it. Anyone not hostile to the Eastern Federation will be able to purchase up to 10 first aid kits per visit for the price of two gold coins per kit. Eastern Federation members and allies will receive a 50% discount, with forum-active Federation members receiving the medical supplies free of charge.

The Hospitallers caution that the pharmacy guarantees only its prices, and cannot guarantee that it will have enough to meet demand at all times.

To request supplies, simply visit the Pharmacy, and ask the Hospitaller on duty for the desired number of first aid kits, then wait there. The Hospitallers will not track people down to provide them with their medical supplies.

Healing will still be available for the wounded, free of charge, in the hospital.

Talk:Derby Player Map

2008-01-06T05:13:55Z

Black Joe:

How does this differ from the main Derby page? --[[User:Johan Crichton|Johan Crichton]] 02:56, 6 January 2008 (UTC)
:This map has all the various player-run facilities on it. We initially listed them on the main page, but it got so crowded, we reverted back to the original. We're trying again on a new page.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 05:13, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

Derby Player Map

2008-01-05T16:10:32Z

Black Joe: It's a start.

{{Infobox Home|
| image = satellite_derby.png
| cx = -70095
| cy = 26350
| type = Outsider
| huts = 23
| shaman = Balchig
| shaman_gps = [-70.095,+26.350]
| shaman_loc = (08,08)
| trader = Tom
| trader_gps = [-70.092,+26.350]
| trader_loc = (11,08)
| ammo_gps = [-70.096,+26.356]
| ammo_loc = (07,02)
| medical_gps = [-70.099,+26.353]
| medical_loc = (04,05)
}}

'''Derby''' is one of the four outsider [[camp]]s on Shartak. Located on the far eastern side of the island's southern shore, it consists of twenty-four huts in a roughly circular clearing.

A [[shaman]] named Balchig is held captive in the center of the clearing.

== Map ==
{| cellspacing=1 cellpadding=8 style="background-color:#e0e0e0" |
| colspan=15 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | '''The Village of Derby - Territory Map'''
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| bgcolor=#6666ff|13
| bgcolor=#ffebcd|
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| bgcolor=#ffebcd|
| bgcolor=#aa8866|H
| bgcolor=#aa8866|H
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|-
| colspan=15 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | '''Legend'''
|-
| bgcolor=#33c033|
| colspan=14 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | Unincorporated ("Jungle")
|-
| bgcolor=#aa8866|
| colspan=14 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | Village territory ("Derby")
|-
| bgcolor=#aa8866|H
| colspan=14 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | Hut
|-
| bgcolor=#aa8866|'''T'''
| colspan=14 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | Trading post
|-
| bgcolor=#aa8866|'''A'''
| colspan=14 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | Ammunition hut
|-
| bgcolor=#aa8866|'''M'''
| colspan=14 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | Medical hut
|-
| bgcolor=#aa8866|'''S'''
| colspan=14 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | Shaman
|-
| bgcolor=#aa8866|'''DH'''
| colspan=14 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | Derby Hospital
|-
| bgcolor=#aa8866|'''DP'''
| colspan=14 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | Derby Privateers' Headquarters
|-
| bgcolor=#aa8866|'''DF'''
| colspan=14 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | Derby Academy - Fencing Hall
|-
| bgcolor=#aa8866|'''DL'''
| colspan=14 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | Derby Academy - Lecture Hall
|-
| bgcolor=#ffebcd|
| colspan=14 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | Beach
|-
| bgcolor=#6666ff|
| colspan=14 bgcolor=#f9f9f9 | Water
|}

Notes:
* The above is a territory map, not a map of jungle density (which constantly changes). Therefore, the jungle and village squares will very likely be colored differently in-game than they are here. Squares within the town of Derby will be displayed as "Derby" on the game map, and jungle squares will be displayed as "Jungle".
* The numbers on the map are merely for local reference and are not related to GPS coordinates at all.

==Important Locations==
===Medical Hut===
This hut is the best place to search for healing items.
===Ammunition Hut===
This hut is the best place to search for weapons.
===Trading Post===
Each camp has a trading hut. Although items cannot be found by searches in the trading hut, any item can be sold here, and each trader sells from a stock that includes local goods as well as items traded in by other characters.
===Shaman===
Players from Derby can resurrect at the [[shaman]] when killed.
===Derby Hospital===
This institution, run by the Derby Hospitallers, provides healing free of charge to anyone in its halls (unless those people are enemies of the [[Eastern Federation]]). It is also the location of the Derby Pharmacy.
===Derby Privateers' Headquarters===
This hut is the base for Derby's primary law enforcement clan.
===Derby Academy: Fencing Hall====
This facility, run by the [[Derby Hospitallers]], provides training for anyone who wishes it. Practice your combat and medical skills on the instructors in this building. Visitors can also ask questions about life on Shartak.

==Further Information==
[[Derby/RoughGuide|Read the Rough Guide]] to Derby.

[[Derby/ImperialGuide|Read the Imperial Guide]] to Derby.

==Groups Operating in Derby==
Although Derby may not be the most populous Outsider town, it has seen its fair share of activity in the past few months. Several clans operate in Derby:

*[[Eastern Federation]];
**[[1st Derby Privateers]]
**[[Derby Hospitallers]]
**[[Derby Rangers]]
**[[The Octavius Popebury Memorial Expedition of 1886]]
*[[Durham Utility]]
*[[Healers of Shartak]]
*[http://www.shartak.com/clanview.cgi?id=191 Dethklok]
*[[The Derby Protectors]]

{{Locationsnav}}
[[Category:Locations]]

Main Page

2008-01-05T04:45:46Z

Black Joe: Given that the Yorkman has been dead for several months, it might as well be removed.

{{Main Page Announcements|


mainpage_intro=This is an information hub for '''[http://www.shartak.com/ Shartak]''', a browser-based massively-multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).
New players should read the '''[[Gameplay]]''' guide and perhaps the '''[[Tips and tricks]]''' and '''[[Requests for information]]''' pages.

The island of Shartak has been inhabited for several hundred years by native tribes from the villages of '''[[Dalpok]]''', '''[[Raktam]]''' and '''[[Wiksik]]'''. In recent months, strangers to the island have appeared wearing strange clothes and carrying loud sticks. These outsiders have formed camps known as '''[[Derby]]''', '''[[Durham]]''' and '''[[York]]''' and have been joined by pirates whose '''[[shipwreck]]''' lies on the island's north shore.

The strangers once stayed on the coast, away from the jungle, but some are traveling inland in search of knowledge and plunder. It won't be long before they stumble across the villages and learn of the treasures of the tribal ancestors.|



mainpage_alert=''No messages.''|



mainpage_activities='''Current wiki activities'''
* [[The Shartak Wiki:Policies and guidelines|Policies and guidelines]] for the wiki are being [[The Shartak Wiki talk:Policies and guidelines|proposed and discussed]].
* The [[Identify Friend or Foe]] initiative has been launched.
* [[Special weapon event odds]] are being researched.
* [[Shaman|NPC shamans]] are being tracked.
* [[Search odds condensed|Search odds]] are being researched and [[Search odds condensed (results)|summarized]].
* [[Trading hut stock reports|Trader stocks]] are being reported.
* [[Talk:Character classes|Class-specific skills]] are being charted.
* Important locations are being logged in the [[Parchment Pages]].
* Get an overview of towns with the Derby Evening Press's [[Guide to Towns]].
* Read up on in-game news and gossip in the [[Derby Evening Press]], and [[Jungle Drums]].

'''Current projects'''
* [http://www.blackant.net/other/shartak/ Shartak MetaMap]: Creates a map of the island from user input.
* [http://www.itechsc.com/misc/shartak/ubermap/ Shartak UBER MAP project]: Creates a detailed map from user input.
* [http://www.philosoph.us/misc/shartak/underworld Shartak Underworld]: Permanently logs kills and deaths.
}}

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Derby Evening Press/Issue 13

2008-01-05T04:44:34Z

Black Joe: I think that's it.

==Derby News==

===Derby-Raktam Relations Expand===

Not long ago, James Barnes of the Derby Hospitallers journeyed to Raktam to visit the Queen of Raktam, Blue Hummingbird. Acting as official emissary of the Eastern Federation, James Barnes acknowledged her widespread support in Raktam, noticing the leaps and bounds the village had made since her ascension. As a result, Barnes conveyed to Hummingbird the Eastern Federation's decision to recognize her court as the official government of Raktam, a first in EF history. The EF has yet to recognize the Durham government, or even open up contacts with it, possibly out of loyalty to their long-time allies, the [[Durham Pistoleers]].

The Queen of Raktam returned the favor recently by visiting Derby and meeting with Barnes in the Hotel De Derby. Also attending were her ambassador to Derby, Tik Tok, and the Derbian Lardman, famed for being the most frequently taken head in the [[Derby Derby]]. The Queen, while somewhat suspicious of outsiders west of Mt. Shartak, expressed a desire to work with the Eastern Federation to benefit both Raktam and Derby. She offered two suggestions:

1. The EF would pay a single lump sum to provide free passage for Derbians through Greater Raktam. Innocent Derbians killed by Raktamites would be reimbursed by the court.
2. Derby would be added to Greater Raktam as a completely autonomous territory, providing free passage to Derbians and Raktamites through each other's land without a fee.

The Federation apparently had no intention of agreeing to the second. Derby Ranger commander and senior Federation member Mark D. Stroyer had this to say:

"To put itself under the name of another who has done nothing for the town of Derby would be to completely disregard the sacrifices given by Derbymen in making it the place it is today."

Stroyer also commented:

"I have always been outspoken in stating that the Eastern Federation is not the ruling force in Derby, but simply an force rotating around the well-being of Derby, enforcing and protecting, and providing other services as we see fit. As such, we have no authority to make such a decision that would affect the entirety of Derby in such a way. That would be a matter for the entire people."

The counter-proposal the Federation finally offered was an alliance between Raktam and the EF, a proposal Stroyer reportedly supported. The Queen politely but firmly rejected this option, returning immediately to Raktam without further attempts at negotiation. The Federation has not publicly commented on the Queen's actions.

===New Clan Joins Eastern Federation===

The Eastern Federation continues to grow in size. Another clan has joined the Federation, the EF's fifth. The new clan, the Greenwolves, is unique in the EF for not being a Derby-based clan, instead spreading throughout Shartak. While Greenwolves founder Mill Wilkinson assures his members that they will retain the trademark independence of the Greenwolves, the Federation does ask that those joining their ranks abide by its moderate ideals.

==New Facilities In Derby==

===Derby Library Announced===

On the island of Shartak there are few luxuries, save for mangos, artfully ragged clothing and the occasional native lady running throught the forest. But enough of Queen Hummingbird. A new service has been announced within the town of Derby, one which builds on the reputation of culture and sophistication the town has basked in lately.

As pseudo-governments, would-be governments, sort-of governments and actual governments spring up around the island, the don't-call-us-a-government known as the [[Eastern Federation]] has established a home for literature.

The Library of Derby will host works of fiction and non-fiction for not just the common man to enjoy. It is possible that private areas for political recordings and other private memoirs will be established, but no comment as of now, has been given on this by the EF. Mill Wilkinson's unofficial standpoint is "I love this idea. Finally I can unleash my skillz with keyboard!"

===Derby Pharmacy Opens===

The Eastern Federation, in its effort to continue providing more services to Derbians, has announced the foundation of a new institution: the Derby Pharmacy. This unique establishment is the first of its kind on Shartak. Located at the Derby Hospital, the Pharmacy is run by the [[Derby Hospitallers]]. The Hospitaller on duty will keep a supply of first aid kits on hand for anyone who needs it. Anyone not hostile to the Eastern Federation will be able to purchase up to 10 first aid kits per visit for the price of two gold coins per kit. Eastern Federation members and allies will receive a 50% discount, with forum-active Federation members receiving the medical supplies free of charge.

Hospitaller Tribune James Barnes points out that this will allow Derbians and visitors a second option for purchasing first aid kits, should the notoriously finicky Trader Tom raise his prices due to shortages. The Hospitallers caution that the pharmacy guarantees only its prices, and cannot guarantee that it will have enough to meet demand at all times.

To request supplies, simply visit the Pharmacy, and ask the Hospitaller on duty for the desired number of first aid kits, then wait there. The Hospitallers will not track people down to provide them with their medical supplies. As Barnes said, "We're pharmacists and doctors, not deliverymen."

Healing will still be available for the wounded, free of charge, in the hospital.

===Derby Tavern Reopens===

The Derby Tavern was first founded by the Derby Privateers. However, the bar foundered from lack of use. Now, since the inhabitants of the island have mysteriously realized that they can hand things to each other, rather than going through a trader or dropping things in holes, an ambitious member of the Eastern Federation has decided to reopen it.

RoadWorkBob has recently begun accumulating drinks for his new venture, and the EF has suggested several huts for him to use.

The tavern, renamed the Hanged Misfit, will be set up near the beachfront for many reasons quite obvious to drinkers (e.g. Drunken swims under the moon), also to mention that saltwater is a very good cure for hangovers.

The bar will serve a variety of drinks, but right now it only has beer, rum and water. For food, a number fruits will be provided. Poisons will be available for retail just for that special someone that you want to bump off.

Accommodation is provided in the form of table with a pillow thrown on it for that weary traveller or trader. Gag buckets are held in the store room. Feel free to take one, but the tavern staff insists they be returned.

No killing, bounty collecting or fighting (except for the occassional fistfight) will be permitted. The sole exception is a recognised law enforcement agency (the EF) hunting down wanted criminals. The bartender and owner (RoadWorkBob) is part of the EF; if any aggressive behaviour takes place RWB will take note of the events for the EF or take action on behalf of the EF.

==International News==

===Native Newspaper Enters Circulation===

Natives have long been Shartak's most neglected group, with few clans and fewer active programs. Some natives have tired of this, and they have stepped forward to print a native newspaper. This newspaper, known as Jungle Drums, was long in coming.

After reading the articles, this reviewer is somewhat concerned by the tone taken by the journalists involved. While the DEP is delighted to see natives taking an increasingly active role, we wonder if perhaps the paper's editors are observing journalistic objectivity.

Hatred and contempt for outsiders in general drip from most of the articles, whereas many outsider publications differentiate between hostile natives, such as the WickSick Headhunters, and most peaceful natives. The Derby Evening Press hopes such bigotry is limited to the natives' newspaper, and not shared by natives as a whole.

===Spotlight: Durham Utility===

The [[Durham Utility]] has been quietly developing for months now. Founded after Derby's own Hospitallers, the Utility followed a similar, but independent, path by providing services to the people of Durham.

The Utility has founded the Durham Academe, with Edward Grey acting as headmaster. Interestingly, his sister, Janet Grey, founded the Derby Academy, and retains the position of headmistress there.

In addition, the Utility provides financial services via its banking arm. [[Utility Bank]] has recently begun negotiating with the wealthier Templar Bank to provide unified financial capabilities to all of Shartak.

The profits reaped from the bank finance the academy and one of the Utility's other projects: road building. The Utility is working to connect Durham to its southern sister cities via a trans-jungle roadway. The Utility also probes the market with several minor projects, such as delivery, brought on by "the eradication of finger sickness on Shartak" (Editor's note: The DEP is not entirely sure where this Durhamite phrase comes from, but it appears to be a reference to the sudden Shartakian ability to hand over possessions to others).

If the Utility succeeds, Durham might take its place among its more powerful sister cities, Derby and York.

===French Casino Opens===

[[The French]] have landed on Shartak. Almost immediately, the French began claiming territories, most of which has been ignored by the larger Shartak community. The only significant land grab was the island of Midway, the scene of the bloody battle between the WickSick Headhunters and a Derby-York alliance. The French claimed the island, converting its ruined tower into a casino.

While the wisdom of using a crumbling tower to host a casino is questionable, the French seem to have had success. They offer a game called "Two-Up." Involving coin tosses, participants can gamble their money for a chance to multiply it...or lose it.

[[1st Colonial Militia]] leader Serious Sam initially opposed the casino's location, considering the island York territory. In the wake of the Eastern Federation's reminder that Derby had helped liberate the island, and an announcement that the Federation supported the island's use, Sam backed off from his claims.

===Santa Claus Visits Shartak===

The jolly old elf known as Santa Claus visited Shartak recently. Mr. Claus, alias Kris Kringle, Saint Nicholas, Papa Noel, and Father Christmas, came to Shartak with two elves to keep him company. Our reports indicate he arrived in the company of flying reindeer (Editor's note: the Derby Evening Press believes the witnesses were smoking the natives' dried herbs at the time).

Claus provided gifts to any who asked for them, the amount varying on his opinion of whether they had been good that year. Over sixty people gathered to receive these gifts, with pirates, natives, and outsiders largely co-existing in a Christmas truce.

However, it was not a merry Christmas for all. Several people killed Santa, the first being the notorious Tom Failur. Those interested in preserving the peace collected a donation to place bounties on the killers' heads, with the Durham Utility volunteering to act as broker for the bounties.

Queen Blue Hummingbird of the Royal Court of Greater Raktam attempted to tax those present, claiming Santa's Grotto (as the hut hosting Santa is known) as part of Raktam's territory. In this, the otherwise popular and successful monarch seems to have overreached, as a few disputed her claim, and the rest of those present simply ignored her.

Shortly before Christmas, the informal truce broke down, with countless people dying for little or no provocation. Observers were generally only surprised that it lasted as long as it did.

===Creedy-Raktam Merger===

In the wake of her failed bid to incorporate Derby into her dominion, the Queen of Raktam, Blue Hummingbird, negotiated with the Independent Republic of Fort Creedy. Unlike Derby, which rejected annexation immediately, the Creedists accepted her proposal. Outsider mercenaries on the Queen's payroll and native warriors in her service have moved to garrison Creedy.

Meanwhile, ominous rumours within the court have been circulating about Durham's intentions to conquer Creedy. Such rumours have been circulating since shortly after Creedy's foundation, when a miscommunication between Durhamite Tomn and Creedist leader Eptavian led to similar accusations. Now, however, Creedy has the backing of the island's most powerful clan.

Oddly, nothing has been heard from Durham. No public declarations of hostility have been made. Is the Durham government using an insidious plot to take over its neighbour? Or is the Queen of Raktam looking for an excuse to attack the weakest of the outsider towns? Only time will tell.

Durham Consul Mill Wilkinson vigorously denied any knowledge of any of these accusations. He said he had no hostile intentions whatsoever towards Creedy, saying, "Durham has zero military strength." He attributed this quote to a senior Derbian, but the DEP was unable to confirm whether or not said Derbian ever made this comment.

Ron Burgundy disputed the accusations as well. He alleged that, rather than Creedy being afraid of Durham, Durham needed to defend itself from Creedy. Apparently concerned by the rising number of merecenaries taking up residence in Creedy, Burgundy wishes to either negotiate a cap on their numbers or set up a Durhamite defense.

Burgundy did acknowledge suggesting taking out contracts on unspecified targets, but he said that the idea received no support in Durham. Thus, it, as he put it, "never got off the drawing board." Burgundy added, "Thats how our system works, one of us says an idea and if it gets enough support we do it. This idea received no support so we aren't doing it."

===Durham to Hold Elections===

The city of Durham will apparently be holding its third set of elections. Edward "Darkferret" Grey (Editor's not: don't ask us about the nickname, we don't know where it came from, neither does he), leader of the Durham Utility, announced the election.

In his announcement, Grey accused the current government of "barbershop policy", saying that the Durham Consulature has suffocated the Durham Pistoleers, Durham's long-time protectors, while doing nothing to actually govern the town.

The current [[Durham Government]] did not object to the election, Consul Matt Wilkinson replying, "I happily give up my consulature. I know I sucked at it, but you'll never know when I'm coming back! Just kidding. I think we consuls agreed to release the handle when a new election is called. Just do it proper this time, okay?"

A date has not been set, but Grey's target is some time in January. Currently, discussions are being held to decide who will count the votes.

===York Coalition Suffers Losses===

The York Coalition, the elite group of York protectors founded on the ashes of the [[CCTU]], Kjendlie's [[Colonial Police]], and the [[Order of Patriots]], has recently suffered the loss of two key personnel.

Nighter, the group's founder, spokesperson, and semi-official leader, has left the Coalition. His reasons were not publicly posted, but we do know that relations between the Coalition and the Colonial Police (reviving under its latest leader Lexus) have been increasingly tense, represented by several arguments between Nighter and Lexus.

The other loss is Javier Sortani. A pirate and former Colonial Policeman, Sortani left York in disgust at former CP leader Kjendlie's policies. Sortani joined the [[Derby Hospitallers]] and the [[Eastern Federation]], occassionally writing articles for this newspaper. With the foundation of the York Coalition, Sortani returned to York, though he retained his Derbian affiliations.

Sortani, like Nighter, did not publicize his reasons for leaving. However, he had been acting as mediator in the tense CP-Coalition relationship.

It is unclear what, if any, effects these departures will have on the Coalition and York in general.

===Scavengers Contest Ends===

The Scavengers, Shartak's most violent group of psychopaths, finished its first contest: The Trial of the Seven Swords. This contest asked participants to amass as many shargle kills as possible. Shargles, for those unfamiliar with them, are the notoriously foul-tempered, flightless birds that live atop Mt. Shartak.

The heavy sword given to the winner was once the possession of a great warrior, according to Scavenger lore (the existence of this lore is news to the rest of the island's inhabitants, who typically consider Scavengers to simply be crazy).

The top contestants are as follows:

Jesus 32
Leaky Bocks 24
Star god Tinxiweewee 22

Congratulations to all who participated. Kudos also go to the Scavengers, for doing something that didn't involve widespread death and mutilation.

===In Memory of a Hero===

By Javier Sortani

I miss Kjendlie.

Now, say what you will. Inflexible? Always. Xenophobic? Yeah. Irrational? Usually. Mildly deranged? More often than not. But, as I’ve thought about this, he actually became one of the greatest forces for good on all of Shartak.

Let’s look at this. From a personal standpoint, he brought me, a lonely wandering pirate, into politics, and I owe him one for that. Heck, I wouldn’t be writing this column if not for him.

Of more general interest, he’s really half the reason the York Coalition was established. After all, if not for his insane hatred for Bauer and, well, general insanity, Nighter and Broderick would never have left the Colonial Police in disgust, and the CCTU might not have disbanded. There would have been no need for the York Coalition; everybody would’ve gotten along fine in the first place, but probably would’ve stayed a bit on the ineffective side, like we were in the Fourth Invasion. Instead, we have the York Coalition, which is probably the most successful and veteran groups of Shartakian soldiers. Let’s look at the list: the Coalition has (with allies) repelled a pirate invasion, taken Midway, and proportionately given pretty much as good as it got in the Dork Cup.

It’s a little-known fact that when the Coalition was founded, Kjendlie was supposed to be one of the four executive members. But, great guy that he is, he decided to stay out of it and leave the politics to the competent.

Also, Hospitallers recruiting has never been so good as during the death throes of Kjendlie’s reign. Norris, Broderick, and I all became Hospitallers members in the midst of Kjendlie’s burgeoning madness.

Back to the Coalition for a moment. My live-and-let-live style of politics hadn’t usually played well in York; advocating that the Malice or Endzone be given a green card, as it were, got me shot down immediately as a weak trusting pacifist or an anti-York activist. However, after the fall of Kjendlie’s Colonial Police, most of the Coalition was so sick of the era of McKjendlieism that things played out precisely how I wanted them to.

He also contributed to Shartak culture; for example, thanks to him, the word “Soral” is now synonymous in the Shartak edition of Merriam-Webster with “traitor.” Additionally, that fine establishment, the Waugh Arms, formed more than anything else to annoy him. Two more pieces of Shartak history, both attributable to Kjendlie.

Let’s not let the man’s glory obscure the bad parts of his era. He was a pathologically illogical madman who managed to make the Malice’s brand of obnoxious jokesterism look good by comparison. He alienated every one of his closest allies; he even managed to alienate Sammo. He supported Nathan Hale. (These days, does anyone not laugh when that name is mentioned? Anyone? I thought not.)

I believe that Kjendlie is in a better place now. He’s off in some perfect York, where the Mercenary’s Guild never was and the First Imperial Privateers are laughable. Well, more laughable. But in any case, I hope that, some day, he’ll come back to say hello and do something absurd.

Really. Could ya, buddy? Hospitaller recruiting hasn’t been so hot lately.

==ANNOUNCEMENT==

Have you ever wished to contact the members of your clan? Did you want to give someone a message, but you don't know where they are? Do you want to find a buyer for a heavy sword, but no one in your town can meet your price? Visionaries have long sought ways to contact others on the island. Beginning next issue, the Derby Evening Press will help by offering classified ad space for purchase.

The cost is one gold coin for 50 words. To pay, simply go to any bank and explain that the money is pay for a classified ad. Then contact James Barnes or Black Joe in-game, at the official forums, or at the Derby forums, and give him the text of your message.

There are certain exceptions. The Derby Evening Press is a family newspaper, and will not publish any obscene or otherwise controversial material. Similarly, we will not publish diatribes, provocations, insults, or propanda.

The Derby Evening Press has partnered with the following banks:

Durham Utility Bank - Durham: [-70.650,+26.346]

Durham Utility Bank - Derby: [-70.092,+26.349]

Durham Utility Bank - Shipwreck: Shipwreck Galley

Durham Utility Bank - Dalpok: [-70.436,+26.441] (Currently absent)

Raktam Bank: [-70.319,+26.473]

Templar Bank - York: [-70.319,+26.473]

Derby Evening Press/Issue 13

2008-01-05T04:32:22Z

Black Joe: I think that was all....

==Derby News==

===Derby-Raktam Relations Expand===

Not long ago, James Barnes of the Derby Hospitallers journeyed to Raktam to visit the Queen of Raktam, Blue Hummingbird. Acting as official emissary of the Eastern Federation, James Barnes acknowledged her widespread support in Raktam, noticing the leaps and bounds the village had made since her ascension. As a result, Barnes conveyed to Hummingbird the Eastern Federation's decision to recognize her court as the official government of Raktam, a first in EF history. The EF has yet to recognize the Durham government, or even open up contacts with it, possibly out of loyalty to their long-time allies, the [[Durham Pistoleers]].

The Queen of Raktam retirmed the favor recently by visiting Derby and meeting with Barnes in the Hotel De Derby. Also attending were her ambassador to Derby, Tik Tok, and the Derbian Lardman, famed for being the most frequently taken head in the [[Derby Derby]]. The Queen, while somewhat suspicious of outsiders west of Mt. Shartak, expressed a desire to work with the Federation to benefit both Raktam and Derby. She offered two suggestions:

1. The EF would pay a single lump sum to provide free passage for Derbians through Greater Raktam. Innocent Derbians killed by Raktamites would be reimbursed by the court.
2. Derby would be added to Greater Raktam as a completely autonomous territory, providing free passage to Derbians and Raktamites through each other's land without a fee.

The Federation apparently had no intention of agreeing to the second. Derby Ranger commander and senior Federation member Mark D. Stroyer had this to say:

"To put itself under the name of another who has done nothing for the town of Derby would be to completely disregard the sacrifices given by Derbymen in making it the place it is today."

Stroyer also commented:

"I have always been outspoken in stating that the Eastern Federation is not the ruling force in Derby, but simply an force rotating around the well-being of Derby, enforcing and protecting, and providing other services as we see fit. As such, we have no authority to make such a decision that would affect the entirety of Derby in such a way. That would be a matter for the entire people."

The counter-proposal the Federation finally offered was an alliance between Raktam and the EF, a proposal Stroyer reportedly supported. The Queen politely but firmly rejected this option, returning immediately to Raktam without further attempts at negotiation. The Federation has not publicly commented on the Queen's actions.

===New Clan Joins Eastern Federation===

The Eastern Federation continues to grow in size. Another clan has joined the Federation, the EF's fifth. The new clan, the Greenwolves, is unique for not being a Derby-based clan, instead spreading throughout Shartak. While Greenwolves founder Mill Wilkinson assures his members that they will retain the trademark indepedence of the Greenwolves, the Federation does ask that those joining their ranks abide by its moderate ideals.

==New Facilities In Derby==

===Derby Library Announced===

On the island of Shartak there are few luxuries, save for mangos, artfully ragged clothing and the occasional native lady running throught the forest. But enough of Queen Hummingbird. A new service has been announced within the town of Derby, one which builds on the reputation of culture and sophistication the town has basked in lately.

As pseudo-governments, would-be governments, sort-of governments and actual governments spring up around the island, the don't-call-us-a-government known as the [[Eastern Federation]] has established a home for literature.

The Library of Derby will host works of fiction and non-fiction for not just the common man to enjoy. It is possible that private areas for political recordings and other private memoirs will be established, but no comment as of now, has been given on this by the EF. Mill Wilkinson's unofficial standpoint is "I love this idea. Finally I can unleash my skillz with keyboard!"

===Derby Pharmacy Opens===

The Eastern Federation, in its effort to continue providing more services to Derbians, has announced the foundation of a new institution: the Derby Pharmacy. This unique establishment is the first of its kind on Shartak. Located at the Derby Hospital, the Pharmacy is run by the [[Derby Hospitallers]]. The Hospitaller on duty will keep a supply of first aid kits on hand for anyone who needs it. Anyone not hostile to the Eastern Federation will be able to purchase up to 10 first aid kits per visit for the price of two gold coins per kit. Eastern Federation members and allies will receive a 50% discount, with forum-active members receiving the medical supplies free of charge.

Hospitaller Tribune James Barnes points out that this will allow Derbians and visitors a second option for purchasing first aid kits, should the notoriously finicky Trader Tom raise his prices due to shortages. The Hospitallers caution that the pharmacy guarantees only its prices, and cannot guarantee that it will have enough to meet demand at all times.

To request supplies, simply visit the Pharmacy, and ask the Hospitaller on duty for the desired number of first aid kits, then wait there. The Hospitallers will not track people down to provide them with their medical supplies. As Barnes said, "We're pharmacists and doctors, not deliverymen."

Healing will still be available for the wounded, free of charge, in the hospital.

===Derby Tavern Reopens===

The Derby Tavern was first founded by the Derby Privateers. However, the bar foundered from lack of use. Now, since the inhabitants of the island have mysteriously realized that they can hand things to each other, rather than going through a trader or dropping things in holes, an ambitious member of the Eastern Federation has decided to reopen it.

RoadWorkBob has recently begun accumulating drinks for his new venture, and the EF has suggested several huts for him to use.

The tavern, renamed the Hanged Misfit, will be set up near the beachfront for many reasons quite obvious to drinkers (e.g. Drunken swims under the moon), also to mention that saltwater is a very good cure for hangovers.

The bar will serve a variety of drinks but right now it only hass beer, rum and water. For food, a number fruits will be provided. Poisons will be available for retail just for that special someone that you want to bump off.

Accommodation is provided in the form of table with a pillow thrown on it for that weary traveller or trader. Gag buckets are held in the store room, feel free to take one, but the tavern staff insists they be returned.

No killing, bounty collecting or fighting (except for the occassional fist fight) will be permitted. The sole exception is a recognised law enforcement agency (the EF) hunting down wanted criminals. The bartender and owner (RoadWorkBob) is part of the EF; if any aggressive behaviour takes place RWB will take note of the events for the EF or take action on behalf of the EF.

==International News==

===Native Newspaper Enters Circulation===

Natives have long been Shartak's most neglected group, with few clans and fewer active programs. Some natives have tired of this, and they have stepped forward to print a native newspaper. This newspaper, known as Jungle Drums, was long in coming.

After reading the articles, this reviewer is somewhat concerned by the tone taken by the journalists involved. While the DEP is delighted to see natives taking an increasingly active role, we wonder if perhaps the paper's editors are observing journalistic objectivity.

Hatred and contempt for outsiders in general drip from most of the articles, whereas many outsider publications differentiate between hostile natives, such as the WickSick Headhunters, and most peaceful natives. The Derby Evening Press hopes such bigotry is limited to the natives' newspaper, and not shared by natives as a whole.

===Spotlight: Durham Utility===

The [[Durham Utility]] has been quietly developing for months now. Founded after Derby's own Hospitallers, the Utility followed a similar, but independent, path by providing services to the people of Durham.

The Utility has founded the Durham Academe, with Edward Grey acting as headmaster. Interestingly, his sister, Janet Grey, founded the Derby Academe, and retains the position of headmistress there.

In addition, the Utility provides financial services via its banking arm. [[Utility Bank]] has recently begun negotiating with the wealthier Templar Bank to provide unified financial capabilities to all of Shartak.

The profits reaped from the bank finance the academy and one of the Utility's other projects: road building. The Utility is working to connect Durham to its southern sister cities via a trans-jungle roadway. The Utility also probes the market with several minor projects, such as delivery, brought on by the eradication of finger sickness on Shartak.

If the Utility succeeds, Durham might take its place among its more powerful sister cities, Derby and York.

===French Casino Opens===

[[The French]] have landed on Shartak. Almost immediately, the French began claiming territory, most of which has been ignored by the larger Shartak community. The only significant land grab was the island of Midway, the scene of the bloody battle between the WickSick Headhunters and a Derby-York alliance. The French claimed the island, converting its ruined tower into a casino.

While the wisdom of using a crumbling tower to host a casino is questionable, the French seem to have had success. They offer a game called "Two-Up." Involving coin tosses, participants can gamble their money for a chance to multiply it...or lose it.

[[1st Colonial Militia]] leader Serious Sam initially opposed the casino's location, considering the island York territory. In the wake of the Eastern Federation's reminder that Derby had helped liberate the island, and an announcement that the Federation supported the island's use, Sam backed off from his claims.

===Santa Claus Visits Shartak===

The jolly old elf known as Santa Claus visited Shartak recently. Mr. Claus, alias Kris Kringle, Saint Nicholas, and Father Christmas, came to Shartak with two elves to keep him company. Our reports indicate he arrived in the company of flying reindeer (the Derby Evening Press believes the witnesses were smoking the natives' dried herbs at the time).

Claus provided gifts to any who asked for them, the amount varying on his opinion of whether they had been good that year. Over sixty people gathered to receive these gifts, with pirates, natives, and outsiders largely co-existing in a Christmas truce.

However, it was not a merry Christmas for all. Several people killed Santa, the first being the notorious Tom Failur. Those interested in preserving the peace collected a donation to place bounties on the killers' heads, with the Durham Utility volunteering to act as broker for the bounties.

Queen Blue Hummingbird of the Royal Court of Greater Raktam attempted to tax those present, claiming Santa's Grotto (as the hut hosting Santa is known) as part of Raktam's territory. In this, the otherwise popular and successful monarch seems to have overreached, as a few disputed her claim, and the rest of those present simply ignored her.

===Creedy-Raktam Merger===

In the wake of her failed bid to incorporate Derby into her dominion, the Queen of Raktam, Blue Hummingbird, has begun negotiating with the Independent Republic of Fort Creedy. Unlike Derby, which rejected annexation immediately, the Creedists accepted her proposal. Outsider mercenaries on the Queen's payroll and native warriors in her service have moved to garrison Creedy.

Meanwhile, ominous rumours within the court have been circulating about Durham's intentions to conquer Creedy. Such rumours have been circulating since shortly after Creedy's foundation, when a miscommunication between Durhamite Tomn and Creedist leader Eptavian led to similar accusations. Now, however, Creedy has the backing of the island's most powerful clan.

Oddly, nothing has been heard from Durham. No public declarations of hostility have been made. Is the Durham government using an insidious plot to take over its neighbour? Or is the Queen of Raktam looking for an excuse to attack the weakest of the outsider towns? Only time will tell.

Durham Consul Mill Wilkinson vigorously denied any knowledge of any of these accusations. He said he had no hostile intentions whatsoever towards Creedy, saying, "Durham has zero military strength." He attributed this quote to a senior Derbian, but the DEP was unable to confirm whether or not said Derbian ever made this comment.

Ron Burgundy disputed the accusations as well. He alleged that, rather than Creedy being afraid of Durham, Durham needed to defend itself from Creedy. Apparently concerned by the rising number of merecenaries taking up residence in Creedy, Burgundy wishes to either negotiate a cap on their numbers or set up a Durhamite defense.

Burgundy did acknowledge suggesting taking out contracts on unspecified targets, but he said that the idea received no support in Durham. Thus, it, as he put it, "never got off the drawing board." Burgundy added, "Thats how our system works, one of us says an idea and if it gets enough support we do it. This idea received no support so we aren't doing it."

===Durham to Hold Elections===

The city of Durham will apparently be holding its third set of elections. Edward "Darkferret" Grey (don't ask us about the nickname, we don't know where it came from, neither does he), leader of the Durham Utility, announced the election.

In his announcement, Grey accused the current government of "barbershop policy", saying that the Durham Consulature has suffocated the Durham Pistoleers, Durham's long-time protectors, while doing nothing to actually govern the town.

The current [[Durham Government]] did not object to the election, Consul Matt Wilkinson replying, "I happily give up my consulature. I know I sucked at it, but you'll never know when I'm coming back! Just kidding. I think we consuls agreed to release the handle when a new election is called. Just do it proper this time, okay?"

A date has not been set, but Grey's target is some time in January. Currently, discussions are being held to decide who will count the votes.

===York Coalition Suffers Losses===

The York Coalition, the elite group of York protectors founded on the ashes of the [[CCTU]], Kjendlie's [[Colonial Police]], and the [[Order of Patriots]], has recently suffered the loss of two key personnel.

Nighter, the group's founder, spokesperson, and semi-official leader, has left the Coalition. His reasons were not publicly posted, but we do know that relations between the Coalition and the Colonial Police (reviving under its latest leader Lexus) have been increasingly tense, represented by several arguments between Nighter and Lexus.

The other loss is Javier Sortani. A pirate and former Colonial Policeman, Sortani left York in disgust at former CP leader Kjendlie's policies. Sortani joined the [[Derby Hospitallers]] and the [[Eastern Federation]], occassionally writing articles for this newspaper. With the foundation of the York Coalition, Sortani returned to York, though he retained his Derbian affiliations.

Sortani, like Nighter, did not publicize his reasons for leaving. However, he had been acting as mediator in the tense CP-Coalition relationship.

It is unclear what, if any, effects these departures will have on the Coalition and York in general.

===Scavengers Contest Ends===

The Scavengers, Shartak's most violent group of psychopaths, finished its first contest: The Trial of the Seven Swords. This contest asked participants to amass as many shargle kills as possible. Shargles, for those unfamiliar with them, are the notoriously foul-tempered, flightless birds that live atop Mt. Shartak.

The heavy sword given to the winner was once the possession of a great warrior, according to Scavenger lore (the existence of this lore is news to the rest of the island's inhabitants, who typically consider Scavengers to simply be crazy).

The top contestants are as follows:

Jesus 32
Leaky Bocks 24
Star god Tinxiweewee 22

Congratulations to all who participated. Kudos also go to the Scavengers, for doing something that didn't involve widespread death and mutilation.

===In Memory of a Hero===

By Javier Sortani

I miss Kjendlie.

Now, say what you will. Inflexible? Always. Xenophobic? Yeah. Irrational? Usually. Mildly deranged? More often than not. But, as I’ve thought about this, he actually became one of the greatest forces for good on all of Shartak.

Let’s look at this. From a personal standpoint, he brought me, a lonely wandering pirate, into politics, and I owe him one for that. Heck, I wouldn’t be writing this column if not for him.

Of more general interest, he’s really half the reason the York Coalition was established. After all, if not for his insane hatred for Bauer and, well, general insanity, Nighter and Broderick would never have left the Colonial Police in disgust, and the CCTU might not have disbanded. There would have been no need for the York Coalition; everybody would’ve gotten along fine in the first place, but probably would’ve stayed a bit on the ineffective side, like we were in the Fourth Invasion. Instead, we have the York Coalition, which is probably the most successful and veteran groups of Shartakian soldiers. Let’s look at the list: the Coalition has (with allies) repelled a pirate invasion, taken Midway, and proportionately given pretty much as good as it got in the Dork Cup.

It’s a little-known fact that when the Coalition was founded, Kjendlie was supposed to be one of the four executive members. But, great guy that he is, he decided to stay out of it and leave the politics to the competent.

Also, Hospitallers recruiting has never been so good as during the death throes of Kjendlie’s reign. Norris, Broderick, and I all became Hospitallers members in the midst of Kjendlie’s burgeoning madness.

Back to the Coalition for a moment. My live-and-let-live style of politics hadn’t usually played well in York; advocating that the Malice or Endzone be given a green card, as it were, got me shot down immediately as a weak trusting pacifist or an anti-York activist. However, after the fall of Kjendlie’s Colonial Police, most of the Coalition was so sick of the era of McKjendlieism that things played out precisely how I wanted them to.

He also contributed to Shartak culture; for example, thanks to him, the word “Soral” is now synonymous in the Shartak edition of Merriam-Webster with “traitor.” Additionally, that fine establishment, the Waugh Arms, formed more than anything else to annoy him. Two more pieces of Shartak history, both attributable to Kjendlie.

Let’s not let the man’s glory obscure the bad parts of his era. He was a pathologically illogical madman who managed to make the Malice’s brand of obnoxious jokesterism look good by comparison. He alienated every one of his closest allies; he even managed to alienate Sammo. He supported Nathan Hale. (These days, does anyone not laugh when that name is mentioned? Anyone? I thought not.)

I believe that Kjendlie is in a better place now. He’s off in some perfect York, where the Mercenary’s Guild never was and the First Imperial Privateers are laughable. Well, more laughable. But in any case, I hope that, some day, he’ll come back to say hello and do something absurd.

Really. Could ya, buddy? Hospitaller recruiting hasn’t been so hot lately.

==ANNOUNCEMENT==

Have you ever wished to contact the members of your clan? Did you want to give someone a message, but you don't know where they are? Do you want to find a buyer for a heavy sword, but no one in your town can meet your price? Visionaries have long sought ways to contact others on the island. Beginning next issue, the Derby Evening Press will help by offering classified ad space for purchase.

The cost is one gold coin for 50 words. To pay, simply go to any bank and explain that the money is pay for a classified ad. Then contact James Barnes or Black Joe in-game, at the official forums, or at the Derby forums, and give him the text of your message.

There are certain exceptions. The Derby Evening Press is a family newspaper, and will not publish any obscene or otherwise controversial material. Similarly, we will not publish diatribes, provocations, insults, or propanda.

The Derby Evening Press has partnered with the following banks:

Durham Utility Bank - Durham: [-70.650,+26.346]

Durham Utility Bank - Derby: [-70.092,+26.349]

Durham Utility Bank - Shipwreck: Shipwreck Galley

Durham Utility Bank - Dalpok: [-70.436,+26.441] (Currently absent)

Raktam Bank: [-70.319,+26.473]

Templar Bank - York: [-70.319,+26.473]

Talk:Trading hut stock reports

2008-01-04T23:18:20Z

Black Joe: /* Several Issues */

==Scripting==
It might be possible to whip up a script to strip out this information from the pulldown menu, but for now I'm using view-selection source and replacing the HTML tags. --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 19:58, 3 May 2006 (BST)

:Same here, I cut and paste to microsoft word and then replace (wild cards) "\<*\>" with "" and "^p" with ", ^p". But a greasemonkey script that automatically shipped the data would be much more stylin. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 20:03, 3 May 2006 (BST)

::There is such a script; see [[The Shartak Wiki:Community Portal#Greasemonkey scripts]]. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 21:55, 5 June 2006 (BST)

== Formatting ==

I think the most useful way to display this information is to use a table with a row for each trading hut and a column for each item, like this:

{| border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=1 style="background-color:WhiteSmoke; border:solid 1px Gray; border-collapse:collapse; font-size:80%; text-align:center"
|- style="background-color:Silver"
!colspan="30"| Trading hut stock reports
|- style="background-color:LightGrey"
!style="width:7%"|Camp !!style="width:12%"|Updated !!style="width:3%"|Cut !!style="width:3%"|bTb !!style="width:3%"|Bul !!style="width:3%"|Crb !!style="width:3%"|Rif !!style="width:3%"|Man !!style="width:3%"|Blo !!style="width:3%"|Dag !!style="width:3%"|Ban !!style="width:3%"|Gem !!style="width:3%"|Drt !!style="width:3%"|GPS !!style="width:3%"|FAK !!style="width:3%"|ShS !!style="width:3%"|bPb !!style="width:3%"|Mac !!style="width:3%"|bCut !!style="width:3%"|BotWat !!style="width:3%"|bMac !!style="width:3%"|Snk !!style="width:3%"|HH !!style="width:3%"|Rum !!style="width:3%"|Wood !!style="width:3%"|gc !!style="width:3%"|Beer !!style="width:3%"|Gou !!style="width:3%"|Kni
|-
|align="left"| Dalpok
||04:25, 28 May 2006 (BST)||x|| ||x||x||x||x||x|| ||x||x||x||x||x|| ||x||x||x||x||x|| ||x||x||x||x||x|| ||x
|-
|align="left"| Derby
||04:25, 28 May 2006 (BST)||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x
|-
|align="left"| Durham
||04:25, 28 May 2006 (BST)||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x
|-
|align="left"| Raktam
||04:25, 28 May 2006 (BST)|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|align="left"| Shipwreck
||04:25, 28 May 2006 (BST)||x|| || ||x||x||x||x|| || ||x||x||x||x|| || ||x||x||x||x|| || ||x||x||x||x|| ||
|-
|align="left"| Wiksik
||04:25, 28 May 2006 (BST)|| || || ||x||x||x|| || || ||x||x||x|| || || ||x||x||x|| || || ||x||x||x|| || ||
|-
|align="left"| York
||04:25, 28 May 2006 (BST)||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x
|}
(NB: finished column info, modified column titles, modified some table options. [[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 21:56, 2 June 2006 (BST))

(An "x" means that hut has that item. Also, I count 28 [[items]] in the game, so there are 28 item columns here). This would let people tell at a glance which items were rare, or where to find a certain item. It wouldn't let people track trader inventories over time, but I don't think that would be useful. Also, I would be glad to write a Greasemonkey script which would get a string (like "<nowiki>||x||x|| ||x...</nowiki>") from a trader's <nowiki><select></nowiki> tag, to make it easier for people to add to the table. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 04:25, 28 May 2006 (BST)
:I think that the most useful way would be to have a separate table for each town. The time variation in the trading stock at a particular town is very important, whereas players are less likely to need to directly compare current inventories in different towns. After all, it takes several days to travel to a foreign town: (1) in that time, you could have searched thousands of dollars of equipment in a local hut, (2) if you're about to undertake a trading voyage, you're probably more concerned about whether gems or GPS units might reappear in the next couple days in that foreign town than whether GPS units are there ''right now'', which means that the previous stock history is at least as important as the current stock. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 06:07, 28 May 2006 (BST)
::You're right, a table for each camp would work just as well. When I have time to visit a trading hut I can get the HTML I need for my script. How do you think items should be sorted? It'd be easiest and fastest to use the order in which they appear in a trader's inventory list, but I don't know whether GPS units or poison darts come first, nor where heavy swords go in the list; the order of everything else I have figured out. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 21:31, 28 May 2006 (BST)
:::Poison Darts before GPS units. Ignore the 28th column; if the Trading Hut ever stocks a Heavy Sword, your greasemonkey script should break and a champagne bottle should ride out on the computer's cd tray. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 21:52, 2 June 2006 (BST)

Here's Trading Hut view source from Trader Harry. I removed most of my inventory, and censored a final value="###" that I didn't understand. The next formblock is give-gold or something.

<pre>

<form class="formblock" method="POST" action="/game.cgi"><input class="txbuttonsubmit" type="submit" value="Trade"> my <select name="uobj"><option value="09">gold coin</option>
<option value="08">gps unit</option>
<option value="06">first aid kit</option>
<option value="0I" selected="selected">bottle of water</option></select> for <select name="tobj"><option value="0R">cutlass</option>
<option value="05">rifle bullet</option>
<option value="0O">crab</option>
<option value="04">rifle</option>
<option value="0F">mango</option>
<option value="02" selected="selected">blowpipe</option>
<option value="0P">dagger</option>
<option value="0E">banana</option>
<option value="0Q">gem</option>
<option value="03">poison dart</option>
<option value="08">gps unit</option>
<option value="06">first aid kit</option>
<option value="0B">sharpening stone</option>
<option value="01">machete</option>
<option value="0I">bottle of water</option>
<option value="0C">blunt machete</option>
<option value="09">gold coin</option>
<option value="0T">knife</option>
<option value="0M">bottle of beer</option>
<option value="0D">gourd of water</option></select><input type="hidden" name="action" value="query"><input type="hidden" name="trader" value="####"></form>
<br/>

</pre>

--[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 21:52, 2 June 2006 (BST)

:Thanks. [http://userscripts.org/scripts/source/4165.user.js Here's the script]. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 07:02, 3 June 2006 (BST)
::A couple of minor glitches have been smoothed out. Anyone who downloaded the script before the time of this message's posting should install it again to ensure that they have the correct version. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 07:41, 3 June 2006 (BST)

== The new world of Trading ==

Ideally, our stock reports would show the exact quantities in the trader's inventory whenever possible. It is important to know not just what items are in stock, but whether the items are double-short (he'll buy from you at 2x price), short (he'll buy at normal price but only sells at 2x), normal price, long (he'll buy for less but sells at normal), or double-long (he'll buy and sell at reduced price). Although an 'x' in a column is better than nothing, the table should probably easily allow for a quantity notation and/or codes for short and long inventory quantities. For example, most outsider towns have machetes double-long (selling at about $24), whereas the pirate trader machetes are double-short (he buys at $200). --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 06:07, 28 May 2006 (BST)

====Proposed Table Format:====

{| border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=1 style="background-color:WhiteSmoke; border:solid 1px Gray; border-collapse:collapse; font-size:80%; text-align:center"
|- style="background-color:Silver"
!colspan="30"| Trading hut stock reports
|- style="background-color:LightGrey"
!style="width:7%"|Camp !!style="width:12%"|Updated !!style="width:3%"|Cut !!style="width:3%"|bTb !!style="width:3%"|Bul !!style="width:3%"|Crb !!style="width:3%"|Rif !!style="width:3%"|Man !!style="width:3%"|Blo !!style="width:3%"|Dag !!style="width:3%"|Ban !!style="width:3%"|Gem !!style="width:3%"|Drt !!style="width:3%"|GPS !!style="width:3%"|FAK !!style="width:3%"|ShS !!style="width:3%"|bPb !!style="width:3%"|Mac !!style="width:3%"|bCut !!style="width:3%"|BotWat !!style="width:3%"|bMac !!style="width:3%"|Snk !!style="width:3%"|HH !!style="width:3%"|Rum !!style="width:3%"|Wood !!style="width:3%"|gc !!style="width:3%"|Beer !!style="width:3%"|Gou !!style="width:3%"|Kni
|-
|Camp ||Updated ||Cut ||bTb ||Bul ||Crb ||Rif ||Man ||Blo ||Dag ||Ban ||Gem ||Drt ||GPS ||FAK ||ShS ||bPb ||Mac ||bCut ||BotWat ||bMac ||Snk ||HH ||Rum ||Wood ||gc ||Beer ||Gou ||Kni
|- style="background:LightGreen"
|Dalpok ||05:57, 5 June 2006 (BST)
|style="background:gold"|3++ ||style="background:gold"|14 ||style="background:red; color:white"|0
|style="background:red; color:white"|0 ||N ||N
||N ||N ||N
||N ||style="background:silver"|''L'' ||style="background:red; color:white"|0
|style="background:red; color:white"|0 ||N ||style="background:gold"|''S''
|N ||style="background:gold"|''S'' ||style="background:red; color:white"|0
|style="background:gold"|6++ ||style="background:red; color:white"|0 ||style="background:gold"|2+
|style="background:red; color:white"|0 ||style="background:red; color:white"|0 ||N
|style="background:red; color:white"|0 ||style="background:gold"|''S'' ||N
|}

====Legend====
* x = In Stock, quantities unknown
* N = In Stock, normal stock prices
* ''L'' = Long Stock, cheaper prices
* ''S'' = Short Stock, twice normal price
* 14 = exactly 14 in stock
* 3++ = at least 3 in stock
* 0 = Out of Stock

====Comments====
This information is indeed important, but I recommend that we use a style that accomodates the color-free space/x style (which is quite easy to use, since the Greasemonkey script does it all) and can be extended from there. With that in mind, the changes I would make to your style recommendations would be to:
#Represent empty stocks with empty cells instead of zeros, making it easier to visually differentiate stocked items from unstocked ones.
#Signify long/short/normal prices with background colors only (which may be your intention): long with <span style="background-color: #dfd">#dfd</span>, normal with <span style="background-color: #ffd">#ffd</span>, short with <span style="background-color: #fdd">#fdd</span>, and unknown with no special background color at all. These colors are easier on the eyes and still easy to tell apart, and they distinguish between "normal prices (I checked)" and "unknown prices (I didn't check)", which the current color scheme doesn't do. Submitters shouldn't be required to check the prices of every item.
#Use just one plus for "at least ''x'' in stock".
Here's what my table would look like (with the "Camp" column removed):
{| border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=1 style="background-color:#f9f9f9; border: solid 1px #ccc; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 80%; text-align: center"
|- style="background-color:#ccc"
!colspan="30"| Trading hut stock reports
|- style="background-color:#ddd"
!style="width:19%"|Updated !!style="width:3%"|Cut !!style="width:3%"|bTb !!style="width:3%"|Bul !!style="width:3%"|Crb !!style="width:3%"|Rif !!style="width:3%"|Man !!style="width:3%"|Blo !!style="width:3%"|Dag !!style="width:3%"|Ban !!style="width:3%"|Gem !!style="width:3%"|Drt !!style="width:3%"|GPS !!style="width:3%"|FAK !!style="width:3%"|ShS !!style="width:3%"|bPb !!style="width:3%"|Mac !!style="width:3%"|bCut !!style="width:3%"|BotWat !!style="width:3%"|bMac !!style="width:3%"|Snk !!style="width:3%"|HH !!style="width:3%"|Rum !!style="width:3%"|Wood !!style="width:3%"|gc !!style="width:3%"|Beer !!style="width:3%"|Gou !!style="width:3%"|Kni
|-
|05:57, 5 June 2006 (BST)
|style="background-color: #fdd"|3+ ||style="background-color: #ffd"|14 ||
| ||x ||x
|style="background-color: #ffd"|x ||x ||x
|x ||style="background-color: #dfd"|x ||
| ||x ||x
|style="background-color: #dfd"|x ||style="background-color: #fdd"|x ||
|style="background-color: #fdd"|6+ || ||style="background-color: #fdd"|2+
| || ||x
| ||x ||x
|}
— [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 08:05, 5 June 2006 (BST)
<div style="margin-left: 2em">What about using different colors for each of:
*out of stock (Greasemonkey) (eg <span style="background-color:Pink">red</span>)
*in stock, levels unknown (Greasemonkey) (eg <span style="background-color:WhiteSmoke">grey</span>)
*in stock, long (eg grey or <span style="background-color:PowderBlue">blue</span> or whatever)
*in stock, normal (eg <span style="background-color:PaleGreen">green</span>)
*in stock, short (eg <span style="background-color:LemonChiffon">yellow</span>)
A problem with your arrangement is that I don't understand whether a '''empty grey cell''' is unverified, no information, normal stock, or typo: From a human factors perspective, trader-out-of-stock cells should scream <span style="background-color:Pink">death and destruction</span>, short-stock cells should signal <span style="background-color:LemonChiffon">caution</span>, and normal cells should have a <span style="background-color:PaleGreen">safe</span> color. In my opinion, the long color should warn in its own way, because long-stock items are especially worthless to carry to the trader. (A greasemonkey script could accomodate colors -- the only thing the Script can't do is check actual item counts, short stock, and long stock, all those should have a grey ("no info") color.)
{| border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=1 style="background-color:#f9f9f9; border: solid 1px #ccc; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 80%; text-align: center"
|- style="background-color:#ccc"
!colspan="30"| Trading hut stock reports
|- style="background-color:#ddd"
!style="width:19%"|Updated !!style="width:3%"|Cut !!style="width:3%"|bTb !!style="width:3%"|Bul !!style="width:3%"|Crb !!style="width:3%"|Rif !!style="width:3%"|Man !!style="width:3%"|Blo !!style="width:3%"|Dag !!style="width:3%"|Ban !!style="width:3%"|Gem !!style="width:3%"|Drt !!style="width:3%"|GPS !!style="width:3%"|FAK !!style="width:3%"|ShS !!style="width:3%"|bPb !!style="width:3%"|Mac !!style="width:3%"|bCut !!style="width:3%"|BotWat !!style="width:3%"|bMac !!style="width:3%"|Snk !!style="width:3%"|HH !!style="width:3%"|Rum !!style="width:3%"|Wood !!style="width:3%"|gc !!style="width:3%"|Beer !!style="width:3%"|Gou !!style="width:3%"|Kni
|-
|05:57, 5 June 2006 (BST)
|style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|3+ ||style="background-color: PaleGreen"|14 ||style="background-color:Pink"|
|style="background-color:Pink"| ||x ||x
|style="background-color: PaleGreen"|x ||x ||x
|x ||style="background-color: PowderBlue"|x ||style="background-color:Pink"|
|style="background-color:Pink"| ||x ||x
|style="background-color: PowderBlue"|x ||style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|x ||style="background-color:Pink"|
|style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|6+ ||style="background-color:Pink"| ||style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|2+
|style="background-color:Pink"| ||style="background-color:Pink"| ||x
|style="background-color:Pink"| ||x ||x
|}

The use of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_colors color words] instead of hex codes is a minor point, but when editing the page it is hard to figure out which of #fdd and #dfd and #ddf to use, whereas LemonChiffon is descriptive. On the Urban Dead wiki, some of the Suburb Danger Reports and Zombie Weather Maps appeared to get more traffic (and got much more accurate entries from new contributors) when we switched over to color words instead of hex codes.

{| border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=1 style="background-color:#eee; border: solid 1px #ccc; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 80%; text-align: center"
|- style="background-color:#ccc"
!colspan="30"| Trading hut stock reports
|- style="background-color:#ddd"
!style="width:19%"|Updated !!style="width:3%"|Cut !!style="width:3%"|bTb !!style="width:3%"|Bul !!style="width:3%"|Crb !!style="width:3%"|Rif !!style="width:3%"|Man !!style="width:3%"|Blo !!style="width:3%"|Dag !!style="width:3%"|Ban !!style="width:3%"|Gem !!style="width:3%"|Drt !!style="width:3%"|GPS !!style="width:3%"|FAK !!style="width:3%"|ShS !!style="width:3%"|bPb !!style="width:3%"|Mac !!style="width:3%"|bCut !!style="width:3%"|BotWat !!style="width:3%"|bMac !!style="width:3%"|Snk !!style="width:3%"|HH !!style="width:3%"|Rum !!style="width:3%"|Wood !!style="width:3%"|gc !!style="width:3%"|Beer !!style="width:3%"|Gou !!style="width:3%"|Kni
|-
|05:57, 5 June 2006 (BST)
|style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|3+ ||style="background-color: Honeydew"|14 ||style="background-color:Pink"|
|style="background-color:Pink"| ||x ||x
|style="background-color: Honeydew"|x ||x ||x
|x ||style="background-color: LightCyan"|x ||style="background-color:Pink"|
|style="background-color:Pink"| ||x ||x
|style="background-color: LightCyan"|x ||style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|x ||style="background-color:Pink"|
|style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|6+ ||style="background-color:Pink"| ||style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|2+
|style="background-color:Pink"| ||style="background-color:Pink"| ||x
|style="background-color:Pink"| ||x ||x
|}
This is just another suggestion; I'd be happy to see more proposals. My main point is that the chart should communicate that "empty cell = very bad" -- or very good, if you're bringing in the goods -- "completely out of stock" is not a neutral event. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 01:23, 6 June 2006 (BST)</div>

<div style="margin-left: 4em">Color words are fine by me. I think an empty stock should be signified with a "0" instead of a space so that every empty grey cell (i.e., default formatting and content) means "stock unknown, price unknown" (i.e., default knowledge); changing the Greasemonkey script will be a cinch. Also, I'd use <span style="background-color: MistyRose">MistyRose</span> as the background color for empty stocks instead of <span style="background-color: Pink">Pink</span>, since I find the latter distractingly bold and the former still easy to see. (And keep in mind that #f9f9f9 should be the background color for the entire table, for consistency's sake, unless we have a good reason to use something else. With #f9f9f9 as the default color, <span style="background-color: PaleGreen">PaleGreen</span> works better than <span style="background-color: Honeydew">Honeydew</span>, even if it does stand out a bit too much.) All in all, here's what I'd like to see:
{| border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=1 style="background-color:#f9f9f9; border: solid 1px #ccc; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 80%; text-align: center"
|- style="background-color:#ccc"
!colspan="30"| Trading hut stock reports
|- style="background-color:#ddd"
!style="width:19%"|Updated !!style="width:3%"|Cut !!style="width:3%"|bTb !!style="width:3%"|Bul !!style="width:3%"|Crb !!style="width:3%"|Rif !!style="width:3%"|Man !!style="width:3%"|Blo !!style="width:3%"|Dag !!style="width:3%"|Ban !!style="width:3%"|Gem !!style="width:3%"|Drt !!style="width:3%"|GPS !!style="width:3%"|FAK !!style="width:3%"|ShS !!style="width:3%"|bPb !!style="width:3%"|Mac !!style="width:3%"|bCut !!style="width:3%"|BotWat !!style="width:3%"|bMac !!style="width:3%"|Snk !!style="width:3%"|HH !!style="width:3%"|Rum !!style="width:3%"|Wood !!style="width:3%"|gc !!style="width:3%"|Beer !!style="width:3%"|Gou !!style="width:3%"|Kni
|-
|05:57, 5 June 2006 (BST)
|style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|3+ ||style="background-color: PaleGreen"|14 ||style="background-color: MistyRose"|0
|style="background-color: MistyRose"|0 ||x ||x
|style="background-color: PaleGreen"|x ||x ||x
|x ||style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|x ||style="background-color: MistyRose"|0
|style="background-color: MistyRose"|0 ||x ||x
|style="background-color: LightCyan"|x ||style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|1+ ||style="background-color: MistyRose"|0
|style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|6+ ||0 ||style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|2+
|style="background-color: MistyRose"|0 ||style="background-color: MistyRose"|0 ||x
|style="background-color: MistyRose"|0 ||x ||x
|}
— [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 06:37, 6 June 2006 (BST)</div>
:*Affirmed, I'm correcting typos on column span (28) and Snake (0 = mistyrose) and Dart (''L'' is long):
{| border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=1 style="background-color:#f9f9f9; border: solid 1px #ccc; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 80%; text-align: center"
|- style="background-color:#ccc"
!colspan="28"| Trading hut stock reports
|- style="background-color:#ddd"
!style="width:19%"|Updated !!style="width:3%"|Cut !!style="width:3%"|bTb !!style="width:3%"|Bul !!style="width:3%"|Crb !!style="width:3%"|Rif !!style="width:3%"|Man !!style="width:3%"|Blo !!style="width:3%"|Dag !!style="width:3%"|Ban !!style="width:3%"|Gem !!style="width:3%"|Drt !!style="width:3%"|GPS !!style="width:3%"|FAK !!style="width:3%"|ShS !!style="width:3%"|bPb !!style="width:3%"|Mac !!style="width:3%"|bCut !!style="width:3%"|BotW !!style="width:3%"|bMac !!style="width:3%"|Snk !!style="width:3%"|HH !!style="width:3%"|Rum !!style="width:3%"|Wood !!style="width:3%"|gc !!style="width:3%"|Beer !!style="width:3%"|Gou !!style="width:3%"|Kni
|-
|05:57, 5 June 2006 (BST)
|style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|3+ ||style="background-color: PaleGreen"|14
|style="background-color: MistyRose"|0 ||style="background-color: MistyRose"|0
|x ||x
|style="background-color: PaleGreen"|x ||x
|x ||x
|style="background-color: LightCyan"|99+ ||style="background-color: MistyRose"|0
|style="background-color: MistyRose"|0 ||x
|x ||style="background-color: LightCyan"|99+
|style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|1+ ||style="background-color: MistyRose"|0
|style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|6+ ||style="background-color: MistyRose"|0
|style="background-color: LemonChiffon"|2+ ||style="background-color: MistyRose"|0
|style="background-color: MistyRose"|0 ||x
|style="background-color: MistyRose"|0 ||x ||x
|-
|05:57, 5 June 2006 (BST)
|bgcolor=LemonChiffon |3+ ||bgcolor=PaleGreen |14 ||bgcolor=MistyRose |0
|bgcolor=MistyRose |0 ||x ||x
|bgcolor=PaleGreen |x ||x ||x
|x ||bgcolor=LightCyan |99+ ||bgcolor=MistyRose |0
|bgcolor=MistyRose |0 ||x ||x
|bgcolor=LightCyan |99+ ||bgcolor=LemonChiffon |1+ ||bgcolor=MistyRose |0
|bgcolor=LemonChiffon |6+ ||bgcolor=MistyRose |0 ||bgcolor=LemonChiffon |2+
|bgcolor=MistyRose |0 ||bgcolor=MistyRose |0 ||x
|bgcolor=MistyRose |0 ||x ||x
|}
Since "BotWat" is longer than 3% on my monitor, I'd be glad to see BotW or BWat or BW or BH2O or Bh2o (and GH2O) or most anything 2-4 letters long. I think that 99+ for Long is low, but you didn't seem to like the ''L'' and ''S'' for long and short. I wouldn't mind using "OUT" and "LONG" for 0 and 99+, but using only numbers (and 'x') has aesthetic appeal as well. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 21:01, 7 June 2006 (BST)

:[http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/4165 The script] will soon be updated to use "<span style="background-color: MistyRose">0</span>" instead of " " for empty stocks. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 03:14, 8 June 2006 (BST)

== Preparing for the new column order ==

Trader lists are now sorted by item ID, so the Greasemonkey script needs to be changed, and columns on this article need to be rearranged. See [[User:Elembis/Sandbox#Item IDs]] for a list of known IDs; the script will be updated once IDs for blunt cutlasses and bottles of rum are known. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 07:18, 9 June 2006 (BST)
* I put the IDs for blunt cutlasses and bottles of rum into your Sandbox. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 07:27, 9 June 2006 (BST)

== Arbitrageur Warnings ==

Native hut trader refused to double-short blunt machetes upon my initial purchase. Perhaps we now have to wait a few clicks (or a day) to persuade him that they're scarce... [[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 00:19, 17 June 2006 (BST)

== Abbriviations? ==

Could someone maybe put what the item abbreviations stand for on the page? It might make it easier for other newbs like me to read the charts.--[[User:Henry Jones Jr.|Henry Jones Jr.]] 05:53, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

== Several Issues ==

1: Has this project died? There has been only one change to the discussion page since 2006!

2: I second the idea of having an abbreviation key. Some of the acronyms are pretty self explanatory, but others are very much not.

3: Unless I'm very mistaken, there are quite a few more items now then when these reports were last edited. This might require a change in format.

4: Is anyone even paying attention?
--[[User:Desperado99|Desperado99]] 20:50, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

:Hi! Welcome to the Wiki. To answer your questions in order:

1. Essentially, yes. Most of the people who used to do this have left the game.
2. I agree.
3. Yes, it's been so long, there have been a number of things implemented.
4. Yes, we are. However, the player base's attention has shifted away from statistics and more toward role-playing and simulation. Thus, there's just not as much interest in this. If you're interested in reviving it, feel free to do so. It might encourage others to do the same.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 23:18, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

User talk:Ibn al Xuffasch

2008-01-02T05:47:48Z

Black Joe:

Hey Daves,

I'm glad to have participation in the Guide to Towns, but I'm concerned the Raktam guide might be a bit longer than we're aiming for. The goal is to keep the guide short and to the point, without going into detail (e.g. not all of Derby's institutions are listed). However, I would like to develop a sort of player-run version of the town's various pages, detailing what PC-run services are available in each town. Any suggestions on how to implement this? We used to do it on the main town pages, but they got so bloated, the consensus was to cut them back to their old sizes.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 05:47, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

File talk:Urban faked screenshot.png

2007-12-28T15:16:35Z

Black Joe:

Er, did you mean to upload this image to this wiki? --[[User:Johan Crichton|Johan Crichton]] 06:38, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Yeah. I link to it from my user talk page. Is that alright? --[[User:Buttercup|Buttercup]] 08:17, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

We don't get a lot of UD screenshots on the Wiki. I suspect Johan thought you had the wrong Wiki. ;) --[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 15:16, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

Shartak Merchants' Association

2007-12-07T01:56:10Z

Black Joe:

==Shartak Merchants' Association==

The SMA exists, put very simply, to make money. Its members are typically peaceful, more interested in making money than fighting. The SMA badge is a signal to others that the person in question would rather trade than raid.

(Page under prolonged construction)

Talk:Guide to Clans

2007-12-07T01:53:45Z

Black Joe:

If you think we've left out a clan you believe to be important, or would like to provide other feedback, leave a message here and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

*Have you considered including some of the lesser clans with perhaps a one-sentence description? --[[User:Oktavius|Oktavius]] 18:35, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

:No, we haven't. Would you like us to? -[[User:Mark D. Stroyer|Mark D. Stroyer]] 21:33, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

::I think you should. There are some clans that are not very active or vocal but have quite a few members. And then there are small clans that have an impact in metagaming. Some examples: Kraken Hunters, Pastafarian Buccaneers, Durham Citizen, The Necromancers Guild, The Mad Scientists, The French. --[[User:Oktavius|Oktavius]] 00:31, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

* Doubled. Parrotologists' Society, Healers of Shartak, Knights of the IRC Channel, Creedy Republic, Raktamites... --[[User:Lama|Lama]] 01:07, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Well you did miss us hard working Necromancers of wiksik, we are currently one of the major clans operating in the town!--[[User:Etherdrifter|Etherdrifter]] 02:10, 5 December 2007 (UTC)
:That one I knew about. The Necromancers were first on my list to add. They're the only ones I know enough about to add, in fact.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 15:04, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

It's good to name most clans, it makes little to complain about. Especially the groups with wiki pages. --[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]]
:I've put out a request for clans to give us a short description of what they do. No one has responded yet, and I don't really know enough about the rest of the clans to write something on my own.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 15:03, 5 December 2007 (UTC)
::Sounds reasonable. --[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]] 01:42, 6 December 2007 (UTC)
:::It occurs to me that my phrasing thus far suggests I did all the work. This couldn't be further from the truth. Javier Sortani, Broderick, Mark D. Stroyer, and Rob Zombie all made sizeable contributions to this effort. Bauer also helped us get the facts straight. I'm sure I've missed someone.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 06:11, 6 December 2007 (UTC)
::::...Although James did the largest section on his own. -[[User:Mark D. Stroyer|Mark D. Stroyer]] 23:59, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

== Clan descriptions ==

I wouldn't dare modify your nice guide myself, so I am putting some descriptions here. Feel free to change them as you deem appropriate. I hope this will be an incentive for others to add some more clans. --[[User:Oktavius|Oktavius]] 00:42, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

[[Kraken Hunters]] - A group of devoted hunters, both natives and outsiders, who are after giant squids. The members share information and cooperate to take down these powerful animals.

[http://www.shartak.com/clanview.cgi?id=241 Durham Citizen] - Members of this clan carry the rights and responsibilities of a citizen of [[Durham]] as defined by the [[Durham government]]. These include the protection of and the responsibility to uphold the law and the right to vote.

[http://www.shartak.com/clanview.cgi?id=109 Mad Scientists] - The Mad Scientists are inquisitive minds that aim to study the animals, plants and items found on the island and generally figure out how things work. Dedicated to a life of research for the sake of improving mankind, their motto is: "For Science!"

[http://www.shartak.com/clanview.cgi?id=249 The French] - This clan is open to all who fight against the batard couchon Anglais. Mais oui! And for those who love the wine and the women, mais oui! Huh, huh, oh mon Dieu, mais oui.

[[Knights of the IRC Channel]] - A clan made to promote the use of the Shartak IRC channel. Visit the IRC for chatting, trout slap fests and a lot of fun.

[[Independent Republic of Fort Creedy]] - An independent, democratically-ruled nation based on the grounds of Fort Creedy, NW of Durham.

[http://www.shartak.com/clanview.cgi?id=210 Shartak Deforestation Movement] - Taking a radical approach to the dangers of the jungle, this clan aims to make Shartak safe but turning the island into a desert. Creating a suitable habitat for the Shartak Island Desert Tortoise is a bonus.

==New clans added==

Fort Creedy, the French, Durham citizen, Necromancers.

Guide to Clans

2007-12-07T01:52:56Z

Black Joe:

==Derby Evening Press's Guide to Clans==

So you've been on the island, and you'd like some purpose for your existence. Clans are an excellent way to do that, forming the primary source of power in Shartak politics. Below are listed a brief summary of the more significant Shartak clans. Clans will be sorted by category.

==Town-Based==

===Outsider===

====Derby====

[[Eastern Federation]]: Formed as a symbol of the increasingly close alliance between the [[1st Derby Privateers]] and the [[Derby Hospitallers]], the Eastern Federation has grown to be one of the largest and most active groups on Shartak. The Federation has earned a reputation for moderation backed by military prowess, earning respect from groups as diverse as the [[York Coalition]] and [[the WickSick Headhunters]]. The Federation has added three new clans to its roster since its inception: the [[Derby Rangers]], [[The Octavius Popebury Memorial Expedition of 1886]], and the [[Greenwolves]].

[[Derby Hospitallers]] - The Derby Hospitallers were the first Derby-based clan to arise and were the first sign of the Derbian Renaissance. The Hospitallers, described as an "even-handed, democratic group," initially intended to serve all functions for the town of Derby, operating a hospital, a police force, and a militia. As time went on, other clans quickly arose to perform some of the duties, and the Hospitallers became more specialized. They are now generally accepted as Derby's social workers, operating the [[Derby Hospital]] and the [[Derby Academy]]. Nonetheless, the Hospitallers continue to assist in law enforcement, and have always responded when Derby or its allies are under attack.

[[1st Derby Privateers]] - the second clan to join in the Derbian Renaissance, shortly after the [[Derby Hospitallers]]. They took on the role of police force and acted as part of the militia on one of the [[Derby Rangers]] operations, the Battle of Midway. With the [[Derby Hospitallers]], they founded the [[Eastern Federation]], and with the Federation, helped defend Derby during the Derby Derby Headhunt. Like most police groups, they have come under flak from those on 'Kill On Sight' lists, so offer those on 'Kill On Sight' lists the option to try and clear their name in the Derbian courts.

[[Derby Rangers]] - The last of the core Eastern Federation groups to be formed, the Rangers act as the EF's paramilitary group. They focus on outside threats to Derby, as well as other towns, in contrast to the 1st Derby Privateers, which primarily deal with internal threats. They have taken part in several large operations, and have yet to be met with anything other than success. Due to this and their lethality, they have become a respected force on the island.

[[The Derby Protectors]] - A small band of extremists in Derby, dedicated to opposing the Eastern Federation and its stand on friendly pirates and natives. Arthur Lines, its leader, was once a member of the violent activist clan, the Shartak Preservation Front, and as a result was killed by RobZombie. Ever since has been a menace, killing Eastern Federation members and non-outsiders unreservedly. They are not considered a long term threat, but a niggling irritation. The sanity of their members, in particular that of Lines, is regularly called into question.

====Durham====

[[Durham Pistoleers]] - The Pistoleers have frequently served as Durham's de facto government. Perhaps the least aggressive clan based in a single settlement, they are largely responsible for Durham's reputation of extreme tolerance, due to the Pistoleers' willingness to tolerate anyone's presence, providing that person did not create trouble within Durham. However, because of this, and their relative lack of coordination, the Pistoleers are not particularly known for their military skill. With the foundation of the [[Durham government]], and its stated desire to absorb the Pistoleers as a military/police force, their future is unknown. However, their contribution to Durhamite culture seems permanent.

Durham Citizen (otherwise known as the [[Durham government]] - Members of this clan carry the rights and responsibilities of a citizen of Durham as defined by the Durham government. These include the protection of, and the responsibility to uphold, the law and the right to vote.

====York====

[[Colonial Police]]: York´s first police force, the Colonial Police has had a string of leaders since its founding during the First Battle of York. It has played a prominent part in all defending York through all four invasions, and was widely respected until after the Third Battle of York, when the then leader Kjendlie reportedly went insane, accusing the Colonial Counter Terrorist Unit of plotting to take over York. This period saw the departure of some of the force´s oldest and most experienced officers. The arrival of 5punk on the scene, who took over the Colonial Police Headquarters, heralded the deterioration of the Colonial Police´s credibility, and has only recently begun a possible recovery with its fifth leader, Lexus.

[[5punk]]: 5punk are like Marmite - you love 'em or you hate 'em. Formed from a forum outside the Shartak community, 5punk are renowned for their crude humour and unwillingness to be forced to do anything. Although once widely suspected of zerging, it is generally accepted that 5punk are able to attack locations in large numbers thanks to their large member base outside of Shartak. They now currently run the Waugh Arms, where they offer safe haven for most characters, as long as you haven´t attacked inside there previously.

[[1st Colonial Militia]]: Formed by York radical Serious Sam, the clan seems to have inherited its founder's renowned extremism. Originally part of the York Alliance, the Colonial Militia broke away due to a difference in ideals, namely Serious Sam´s support of extremist Nathan Hale in Durham, though the groups remained on friendly terms. The Colonial Militia took an active role in defending York during the Fourth Battle of York and the Dork Cup, and upon the formation of the York Coalition they agreed to join it. However, differences once again left the Militia independent from the rest of the York groups. Since then, their main battle has been with 5punk and more recently the Colonial Police, and shots have been fired by all sides on numerous occasions. However, the Militia has been working alongside the York Coalition and the Colonial Police again since the promotion of a new Colonial Police leader, and are actively patrolling the area surrounding York.

[http://www.shartak.com/clanview.cgi?id=176 The York Coalition]: Formed mainly of Kjendlie-era ex-Colonial Police and ex-CCTU, the York Coalition boasts some of the most experienced fighters on the island; several members are listed among Shartak's top player killers. Since its inception preceding the Dork Cup, it has participated in and often led the defense of York, most notably spearheading the massacre that was the defense of York against the pirate "invasion" that followed the Dork Cup. For a York-centric group, it is remarkably diverse; it has at least one member from each outsider settlement, and even counts one pirate among its number.

====The Shipwreck====

[[The Brotherhood Of The Coast]]: An effort to unite various raid/trade organizations that lingered around the shipwreck, the Brotherhood was pulled together by a few well established pirates, notably; First Among Daves, Michael Edwards, Rozen and 0000FF Beard. The Brotherhood conducted a few 'training raids' on native settlements, which escalated into arranged Real Time battles, one named 'Pirates Graveyard' and the other known as 'Archer's Pool' - though the real name is somewhat more interesting.

===Other===

[[The French]]: Though the French do not have a true home town, they have claimed the island of Midway as their home. They have turned the tower there into the Casino Royale, and have begun a simple gambling operation for those willing to play.

[[Independent Republic of Fort Creedy]]: Like the French, the Creedists do not have a formal settlement. Rather, they have claimed Fort Creedy as their home. Declaring independence, they run their domain democratically, with little interference from others.

===Island-wide===

[[The Spartans]]: A respected clan in outsider politics, the Spartans volunteered to assist the defenders of York during a pirate invasion and assisting the York-Derby alliance in the [[Battle of Midway]]. As a result, the Spartans have earned the respect and friendship of several larger clans. They are perhaps the smallest clan (numerically) to ever garner significant attention, having been mentioned twice in the [[Derby Evening Press]].

===Native===

====Raktam====

[[The Royal Court of Greater Raktam]]: Claiming to be the blood heir to the throne, Blue Hummingbird created the Royal Court of Greater Raktam. It has since been recognised as a legitimate court by the Eastern Federation and, apart from the odd trouble-maker, has been welcomed as an extra element of metagaming in Raktam, an otherwise quiet and rather dull native settlement. The Court is setting up a tax system, and funding a police force to patrol the surrounding area, creating more job opportunities for young Raktamites and foreigners alike.

====Dalpok====

[[Dalpok Liberation Front]]: A group founded relatively recently, its sole goal is the defense of the village of Dalpok from hostile outsiders, particularly pirates. Many famous natives, including a number of WickSick Headhunters, are in this clan. It was formed by Cracker due to the large number of pirates constantly assaulting the native village. They also stress that they are not a police force, but defenders only, with both patrolmen and a shaman corps for eliminating hostile spirits.

====Wiksik====

[[The Necromancers Guild]]: Though there is no evidence the NG was intended to be a Wiksik-based clan, the town has proven to be the NG's power base. The Necromancers are Shartak's mystics. They oppose exorcism, going so far as to kill exorcists for banishing spirits. The Necromancers believe they draw power from listening to the wails of spirits in their huts, welcoming any who enter their land. In an atypical action for a town-based clan, the Necromancers do not claim to defend their town from any threat, instead focusing on exploring Shartak's spirit world.

==Island-wide==

[[The WickSick Headhunters]]: Although not officially a clan, this group of primarily natives is perhaps the most renowned of all groups. They travel Shartak, attacking each outsider or pirate settlement. They have arranged several competitions, known as the Durham Headhunt Contest, the Derby Derby, and the Dork Cup. These attacks alone cost the outsiders around 500 lives, half of which were inflicted in the Dork Cup. Outsider towns have been known to put aside all differences and unite when a competition is announced. Recently they claimed the island between York and Derby as their own, but were thrown out after a combined attack of the Eastern Federation, the York Coalition, the Spartans, and the 1st Colonial Militia.

==Clans unaffiliated with a faction==

[[Shartak Merchants' Association]]: The SMA was founded by the wealthy native trader Songa to replace the dying South Shartak Trading Company. Though small, with its membership numbers never exceeding the single digits, the SMA is extraordinarily wealthy, commanding more money than any other clan on Shartak. That being said, the SMA is less of a clan and more of a trade guild. Clan members operate with complete independence, their affiliation largely serving to mark them as peaceful traders. Additionally, the SMA is solely interested in the acquisition of wealth, and does not attempt to use the wealth of its membership for any sort of collective action.

[[Open Arms]]: More of a belief system than a clan, Open Arms members are extremely peaceful. Members are expected to never attack without provocation, and many will not kill even in self-defense. Open Arms members believe in building a community spanning ethnic lines, drawing members from across Shartak. Members are expected to be kind and helpful to non-members, regardless of race or creed.

[[Scavengers]]: Perhaps the most reviled clan on Shartak, Scavengers are outcasts in every center of civilization (except perhaps the shipwreck, which is too chaotic and violent to notice their presence). Scavengers kill wantonly, without any reason behind their actions. Membership in this clan will result in becoming an instant entry on defensive clans' "Kill on sight" lists.

[[Kraken Hunters]]: A group of devoted hunters, both natives and outsiders, who are after giant squids. The members share information and cooperate to take down these powerful animals.

[[Knights of the IRC Channel]]: A clan made to promote the use of the Shartak IRC channel. Visit the IRC for chatting, trout slap fests and a lot of fun.

[[Category:Guides]]

Talk:Guide to Clans

2007-12-06T06:11:12Z

Black Joe:

If you think we've left out a clan you believe to be important, or would like to provide other feedback, leave a message here and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

*Have you considered including some of the lesser clans with perhaps a one-sentence description? --[[User:Oktavius|Oktavius]] 18:35, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

:No, we haven't. Would you like us to? -[[User:Mark D. Stroyer|Mark D. Stroyer]] 21:33, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

::I think you should. There are some clans that are not very active or vocal but have quite a few members. And then there are small clans that have an impact in metagaming. Some examples: Kraken Hunters, Pastafarian Buccaneers, Durham Citizen, The Necromancers Guild, The Mad Scientists, The French. --[[User:Oktavius|Oktavius]] 00:31, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

* Doubled. Parrotologists' Society, Healers of Shartak, Knights of the IRC Channel, Creedy Republic, Raktamites... --[[User:Lama|Lama]] 01:07, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Well you did miss us hard working Necromancers of wiksik, we are currently one of the major clans operating in the town!--[[User:Etherdrifter|Etherdrifter]] 02:10, 5 December 2007 (UTC)
:That one I knew about. The Necromancers were first on my list to add. They're the only ones I know enough about to add, in fact.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 15:04, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

It's good to name most clans, it makes little to complain about. Especially the groups with wiki pages. --[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]]
:I've put out a request for clans to give us a short description of what they do. No one has responded yet, and I don't really know enough about the rest of the clans to write something on my own.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 15:03, 5 December 2007 (UTC)
::Sounds reasonable. --[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]] 01:42, 6 December 2007 (UTC)
:::It occurs to me that my phrasing thus far suggests I did all the work. This couldn't be further from the truth. Javier Sortani, Broderick, Mark D. Stroyer, and Rob Zombie all made sizeable contributions to this effort. Bauer also helped us get the facts straight. I'm sure I've missed someone.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 06:11, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

== Clan descriptions ==

I wouldn't dare modify your nice guide myself, so I am putting some descriptions here. Feel free to change them as you deem appropriate. I hope this will be an incentive for others to add some more clans. --[[User:Oktavius|Oktavius]] 00:42, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

[[Kraken Hunters]] - A group of devoted hunters, both natives and outsiders, who are after giant squids. The members share information and cooperate to take down these powerful animals.

[http://www.shartak.com/clanview.cgi?id=241 Durham Citizen] - Members of this clan carry the rights and responsibilities of a citizen of [[Durham]] as defined by the [[Durham government]]. These include the protection of and the responsibility to uphold the law and the right to vote.

[http://www.shartak.com/clanview.cgi?id=109 Mad Scientists] - The Mad Scientists are inquisitive minds that aim to study the animals, plants and items found on the island and generally figure out how things work. Dedicated to a life of research for the sake of improving mankind, their motto is: "For Science!"

[http://www.shartak.com/clanview.cgi?id=249 The French] - This clan is open to all who fight against the batard couchon Anglais. Mais oui! And for those who love the wine and the women, mais oui! Huh, huh, oh mon Dieu, mais oui.

[[Knights of the IRC Channel]] - A clan made to promote the use of the Shartak IRC channel. Visit the IRC for chatting, trout slap fests and a lot of fun.

[[Independent Republic of Fort Creedy]] - An independent, democratically-ruled nation based on the grounds of Fort Creedy, NW of Durham.

[http://www.shartak.com/clanview.cgi?id=210 Shartak Deforestation Movement] - Taking a radical approach to the dangers of the jungle, this clan aims to make Shartak safe but turning the island into a desert. Creating a suitable habitat for the Shartak Island Desert Tortoise is a bonus.

Talk:Guide to Clans

2007-12-05T15:04:03Z

Black Joe: Grrr.

Talk:Guide to Clans

2007-12-05T15:03:38Z

Black Joe:

Guide to Clans

2007-12-03T03:52:38Z

Black Joe: Incomplete

User talk:Wulla-mullung

2007-11-26T03:52:09Z

Black Joe:

=Greetings=
You Tikhon wretch.--[[User:Nuabreed|Nuabreed]] 16:38, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
:Grr I'll eat your brains! --[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]] 16:40, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

You might get the chance if you're coming to Derby. [http://wiki.shartak.com/index.php/The_Octavius_Popebury_Memorial_Expedition_of_1886 We] are lurking about the place.--[[User:Nuabreed|Nuabreed]] 16:12, 24 May 2007 (UTC)
:I've been planning to go there, perhaps I'll see you in the furture. --[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]] 17:56, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

==Response to Eh?==
Yes, they're mostly OctoLegion chaps. But we could use some native guides, porters and the like. We're hardly going to carry our own baggage.
:I'm in Derby right now, at the Inn trying to get tea. For some reason, all I'm getting is yucky coffee! --[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]] 15:21, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
::We have a vancancy for a native guide. Your invitation will be along shortly.

==Thanks!==
Much obliged for fixing the DEP spelling errors. I hadn't proofread them very well, apparently.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 16:07, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
:No probs. --[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]] 16:17, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
::Again, thanks for the copy editing. As for fixing things in interviews, you can fix what the DEP says, but don't fix the quotes from the interviewee. Standard real-world periodical don't touch quotes, nor did the Yorkman. I figure there's no reason not abide by that tradition.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 04:36, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

==Clan Signup==
Feel free to join, any other Tikhoners are also more than welcome.--[[User:Nuabreed|Nuabreed]] 22:33, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Oh, the Expedition is a member of the Eastern Federation which you might want to join. They've got a discussion board here: http://derby.jconserv.net/index.php Join up and PM Lord Twerpington for access to our hidden area. Oh, as a welcome, I just killed your last murderer.--[[User:Nuabreed|Nuabreed]] 19:47, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

nevermind. -[[User:Elegost|Elegost]] 10:35, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

==Deletion recommendation==

Regarding your recommendation of the "Historical articles" template (or whatever it was), I, as the person who made that page, have this to say: DELETE THAT SUCKER! :D--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 03:52, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

Talk:Main Page

2007-11-22T04:03:06Z

Black Joe: /* Newspapers in the main page */

== Original Navigation ==
{{Main Page Navigation|mainpage_navi1a=Glossary|mainpage_navi1b=
* [[Locations]]
** [[Camp]]s <small>([[Dalpok]], [[Raktam]], [[Wiksik]], [[Derby]], [[Durham]], [[York]], [[Shipwreck]])</small>
** [[Terrain]]
* [[Items]]
* [[NPC]]s <small>([[animals]], [[shaman]]s, [[trader]]s)</small>
* [[Character classes]]
* [[Skills]]|mainpage_navi2a=Guides|mainpage_navi2b=
* [[Gameplay]]
* [[Tips and tricks]]
* [[User interface]]
* [[Death]]
* [[Language]]
* [[Tracking]]
* [[Trading]]
** [[Trading hut stock reports]]
* [[Writing]]
* [[Search odds condensed]]
** [[Search odds condensed (results)|Results]]
* [[Special weapon event odds]]|mainpage_navi3a=Feedback|mainpage_navi3b=
* [[Requests for information]]
* [[Game design]]
* [[Bugs]]
** [[Bugs:Not]]
** [[Bugs:Fixed]]
* [[Suggestions]]
** [[Suggestions:Items|Items]]
** [[Suggestions:Skills|Skills]]
** [[Suggestions:Classes|Classes]]
** [[Suggestions:Game mechanics|Game mechanics]]
** [[Suggestions:Miscellaneous|Miscellaneous]]
** [[Suggestions:Implemented|Implemented]]|mainpage_navi4a=Site data|mainpage_navi4b=
* [http://www.shartak.com/faq.html FAQ]
* [http://www.shartak.com/news.html News]
** [http://www.shartak.com/old_news.html Older news]
* [http://www.shartak.com/stats.html Statistics]
** [http://www.shartak.com/statkills.html Kill statistics with NPCs]
** [http://www.shartak.com/statpkills.html Kill statistics without NPCs]
* [http://www.shartak.com/donate.html Donate]
* [http://www.shartak.com/advertising.html Advertising]|mainpage_navi5a=Clans|mainpage_navi5b=
* [[:Category:Clans|Clans]]
** [[:Category:Clans for natives|Clans for natives]]
** [[:Category:Clans for outsiders|Clans for outsiders]]
** [[:Category:Clans for everyone|Clans for everyone]]
** [[:Category:Officially recognized clans|Officially recognized clans]]|mainpage_navi6a=External links|mainpage_navi6b=
* [[Project:Community Portal|Community Portal]]
** [http://www.frappr.com/shartak Frappr map]
** [[Project:Community Portal#Greasemonkey scripts|Greasemonkey scripts]]
** [http://shartak.forumsplace.com/index.html Unofficial forum]}}

== Proposal 1 ==

This is a general redesign proposal for the navigation found on the main page. It attempts to provide the broadest amount of information in the least amount of links. Most of the sub-article links have been removed. Even the external links have been removed as they are listed in the community portal. --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 20:58, 28 May 2006 (BST)

{{Main Page Navigation|

mainpage_navi1a=Basics|
mainpage_navi1b=
* [[Gameplay]]
* [[Tips and tricks]]
* [[User interface]]
|

mainpage_navi2a=Game information|
mainpage_navi2b=
* [[:Category:Glossary|Glossary]]
* [[:Category:Locations|Locations]]
* [[:Category:Statistics|Statistics]]
|

mainpage_navi3a=Feedback|
mainpage_navi3b=
* [[Requests for information]]
* [[Game design]]
* [[Bugs]]
* [[Suggestions]]
|

mainpage_navi4a=Site information|
mainpage_navi4b=
* [http://www.shartak.com/faq.html FAQ]
* [http://www.shartak.com/news.html News]
* [http://www.shartak.com/stats.html Statistics]
* [http://www.shartak.com/donate.html Donate]
* [http://www.shartak.com/advertising.html Advertising]
|

mainpage_navi5a=Clans|
mainpage_navi5b=
* [[:Category:Clans|Clan pages]]
** [[:Category:Clans for natives|Clans for natives]]
** [[:Category:Clans for outsiders|Clans for outsiders]]
** [[:Category:Clans for everyone|Clans for everyone]]
** [[:Category:Officially recognized clans|Officially recognized clans]]
|

mainpage_navi6a=Wiki information|
mainpage_navi6b=
* [[Project:About|About]]
* [[Project:General disclaimer|General disclaimer]]
* [[Project:Help|Help]]
* [[Project:Community Portal|Community portal]]
}}

'''Comments:'''

Wow, I've probably visited the Main Page 500 times, and it seems like half of those I went straight through to one of the following pages:
{| style="width:30%;"
| style="padding:5px;border:1px solid #aaa;background:#d2eed2;text-align:center;-moz-border-radius-topleft:1em;-moz-border-radius-topright:1em;"|'''[[Camp]]s'''
|-
| style="padding:5px;border:1px solid #aaa;background:#fefffe;-moz-border-radius-bottomleft:1em;-moz-border-radius-bottomright:1em;" |
* [[Dalpok]]
* [[Raktam]]
* [[Wiksik]]
* [[Derby]]
* [[Durham]]
* [[York]]
* [[Shipwreck]]
|}
So I was disappointed to see the Camps gradually shrinking and shrinking and disappearing entirely from the Main Page. If I'm heading into a foreign village, I need to be able to get into the Resource Hut & get what I need and move on efficiently. No other pages have such immediate and constant utility. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 05:10, 5 June 2006 (BST)

:Yeah, I understand how useful those direct links were. But when I was removing sub-articles I wasn't sure where exactly I should draw the line so I removed them all. I'm generally fine with readding the camps back in underneath the Locations link or create a new menu section. What is your stance on the links to the Bug and Suggestion related articles? --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 05:27, 5 June 2006 (BST)

:I think the camps should probably be added again, though I like the rest of Lint's changes. But instead of putting the camps back in a list, why not mention them all in the game description (which already names the native camps and links to them)? — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 05:32, 5 June 2006 (BST)

== Why do we still have the link for the Unofficial forums? ==

All it does is confuse people that click on it instead of the official. It should be deleted methinks. Or is there a reason why it stays? --[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]] 21:05, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

:I don't think it should be deleted, because it contains several threads of historical importance. I took the liberty of adding a phrase to deter people from posting there. I couldn't think of a better way to describe the forums as inactive; someone with a better idea should change it. --[[User:Oktavius|Oktavius]] 19:04, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

== Newspapers in the main page ==

Two was fine, but now with [[Jungle Drums]] things will start to be cluttered. Would it be reasonable to have a separate section for newspapers? --[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]] 23:42, 21 November 2007 (UTC)
:Another possibility is the removal of the Yorkman from the front page, since that worthy paper has been inactive for months. I left it there out of respect for the role it once played, but we have to move on eventually.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 04:03, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Category talk:Journal

2007-11-20T22:32:34Z

Black Joe:

Do all journals need to have the "Journal:" prefix, or does nobody care? --[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]] 21:14, 20 November 2007 (UTC)
:Probably better not to require it. It'll save us having to tell newcomers "No no! Put "Journal" in front of your title!" But that's just me.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 22:32, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Talk:Guide to Towns

2007-11-20T05:46:44Z

Black Joe:

Nice read. Hope to see it expanded sometime in the future.--[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]] 02:00, 19 November 2007 (UTC)
:Expansion in what way? The entries are intentionally kept short for ease of reference, so I'd prefer to minimize extra detail. Or do you mean the number of entries?--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 15:04, 19 November 2007 (UTC)
::Mmmm. Didn't really mean anything specific. In fact I don't really know what I meant. Har. --[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]] 03:00, 20 November 2007 (UTC)
:::All right. Also, I hope I didn't sound challenging in my post there. I was just curious what you meant, though (after rereading my post), it could be interpreted to have a slightly defensive tone.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 05:46, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Talk:Guide to Towns

2007-11-19T15:04:28Z

Black Joe:

Guide to Towns

2007-11-19T00:54:36Z

Black Joe: Arrgh. Forgot to use the preview button.

==Derby Evening Press's Guide to Towns==

So you know you want to visit the island, but you aren't sure what town is for you. The Derby Evening Press has compiled a quick reference for towns and their cultures so that you can better decide what town is best for you.

==Native Towns==

===Raktam===

[[Raktam]]'s relative isolation from outsiders has allowed it to develop futher than its sister settlements. Raktam was once controlled by the powerful [[Raktamites]]. Since their decline into obscurity, many Raktam natives are now flocking to the Royal Court of Raktam, the sole native geopolitical power of significance. Ruled by its queen, Raktam is becoming a power to be reckoned with.

===Wiksik===

[[Wiksik]] is a non-entity in Shartak politics. Wiksikians who gain prominence typically do so in a manner unrelated to their town. Wiksik is the most mystically-inclined of the native villages. The Wiksik-based Necromancers' Guild urges its members to listen to the ancestors' cries, using their healing arts to cure ailments resulting from the practice. Exorcists find themselves unwelcome in Wiksik, in contrast to other towns, where a peaceful exorcist will find protection from even outsider police forces. Wiksik is occassionally confused with the WickSick Headhunters, the infamous but unconnected native warrior group.

===Dalpok===

The only native town west of Mt. Shartak, [[Dalpok]] has the misfortune of being close to both the shipwreck and York, the two largest hostile population centers on Shartak. As a result, Dalpok has been ravaged again and again by raiders. This has resulted in the town's cultural development being stunted. Only recently, with the rise of the Dalpok Liberation Front, has Dalpok begun to move beyond its status as a helpless victim.

==Outsider Towns==

===Derby===

[[Derby]] was once isolated and backwater, completely irrelevant in Shartak politics. Since the rise of the relatively large and well-organized [[Eastern Federation]], this town has arguably become the center of outsider culture on Shartak. The town has gained a reputation for balancing diplomacy and force. Derby hosts the sole active educational institution on Shartak, along with the most popular running newspaper, the [[Derby Evening Press]], sponsor of this publication.

===York===

The central outsider town, [[York]] is the second-largest population center on Shartak. While its location makes it a popular destination for traders and explorers, it is an equally popular destination for invading forces of pirates, natives, and rogue outsiders. York has suffered multiple invasions in its brief history, more than the other two settlements combined. As a result, York clans such as the [[York Coalition]], the [[Colonial Police]], and the [[1st Colonial Militia]] are experienced fighters. However, the proliferation of clans in York means that internal strife is far more common than in their more unified sister cities.

===Durham===

[[Durham]], the sleepy town on Shartak's western peninsula, is largely ignored in Shartak politics. This is intentional, as its residents, particularly its original defenders, the [[Durham Pistoleers]], prefer sitting out the various conflicts that inflame Shartak on a regular basis. On the other hand, non-residents complain that it is so boring as to not be worth the considerable effort necessary to reach Durham.

==Pirate Base==

===The Shipwreck===

The most heavily populated base on Shartak, the [[Shipwreck]] is also possibly the most anarchic. While pirate clans appear and last for a time, they tend to be ignored by other pirates, who seem equally happy to kill natives, outsiders, or each other. While many pirates are honorable or peaceful, the actions of the worst pirates have turned much of Shartak against shipwreck residents. Non-pirates are advised to be very cautious about sleeping on land or within the ship, and pirates should be wary outside of their home.

[[Category:Guides]]

Guide to Towns

2007-11-19T00:52:31Z

Black Joe:

==Derby Evening Press's Guide to Towns==

So you know you want to visit the island, but you aren't sure what town is for you. The Derby Evening Press has compiled a quick reference for towns and their cultures so that you can better decide what town is best for you.

==Native Towns==

===Raktam===

[[Raktam]]'s relative isolation from outsiders has allowed it to develop futher than its sister settlements. Raktam was once controlled by the powerful [[Raktamites]]. Since their decline into obscurity, many Raktam natives are now flocking to the Royal Court of Raktam, the sole native geopolitical power of significance. Ruled by its queen, Raktam is becoming a power to be reckoned with.

===Wiksik===

[[Wiksik]] is a non-entity in Shartak politics. Wiksikians who gain prominence typically do so in a manner unrelated to their town. Wiksik is the most mystically-inclined of the native villages. The Wiksik-based Necromancers' Guild urges its members to listen to the ancestors' cries, using their healing arts to cure ailments resulting from the practice. Exorcists find themselves unwelcome in Wiksik, in contrast to other towns, where a peaceful exorcist will find protection from even outsider police forces. Wiksik is occassionally confused with the WickSick Headhunters, the infamous but unconnected native warrior group.

===Dalpok===

The only native town west of Mt. Shartak, [[Dalpok]] has the misfortune of being close to both the shipwreck and York, the two largest hostile population centers on Shartak. As a result, Dalpok has been ravaged again and again by raiders. This has resulted in the town's cultural development being stunted. Only recently, with the rise of the Dalpok Liberation Front, has Dalpok begun to move beyond its status as a helpless victim.

==Outsider Towns==

===Derby===

[[Derby]] was once isolated and backwater, completely irrelevant in Shartak politics. Since the rise of the relatively large and well-organized [[Eastern Federation]], this town has arguably become the center of outsider culture on Shartak. The town has gained a reputation for balancing diplomacy and force. Derby hosts the sole active educational institution on Shartak, along with the most popular running newspaper, the [[Derby Evening Press]], sponsor of this publication.

===York===

The central outsider town, [[York]] is the second-largest population center on Shartak. While its location makes it a popular destination for traders and explorers, it is an equally popular destination for invading forces of pirates, natives, and rogue outsiders. York has suffered multiple invasions in its brief history, more than the other two settlements combined. As a result, York clans such as the [[York Coaliton]], the [[Colonial Police]], and the [[1st Colonial Militia]] are experienced fighters. However, the proliferation of clans in York means that internal strife is far more common than in their more unified sister cities.

===Durham===

[[Durham]], the sleepy town on Shartak's western peninsula, is largely ignored in Shartak politics. This is intentional, as its residents, particularly its original defenders, [[the Durham Pistoleers]], prefer sitting out the various conflicts that inflame Shartak on a regular basis. On the other hand, non-residents complain that it is so boring as to not be worth the considerable effort necessary to reach Durham.

==Pirate Base==

===The Shipwreck===

The most heavily populated base on Shartak, the [[Shipwreck]] is also possibly the most anarchic. While pirate clans appear and last for a time, they tend to be ignored by other pirates, who seem equally happy to kill natives, outsiders, or each other. While many pirates are honorable or peaceful, the actions of the worst pirates have turned much of Shartak against shipwreck residents. Non-pirates are advised to be very cautious about sleeping on land or within the ship, and pirates should be wary outside of their home.

[[Category:Guides]]

Main Page

2007-11-16T01:23:33Z

Black Joe:

{{Main Page Announcements|


mainpage_intro=This is an information hub for '''[http://www.shartak.com/ Shartak]''', a browser-based massively-multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).
New players should read the '''[[Gameplay]]''' guide and perhaps the '''[[Tips and tricks]]''' and '''[[Requests for information]]''' pages.

The island of Shartak has been inhabited for several hundred years by native tribes from the villages of '''[[Dalpok]]''', '''[[Raktam]]''' and '''[[Wiksik]]'''. In recent months, strangers to the island have appeared wearing strange clothes and carrying loud sticks. These outsiders have formed camps known as '''[[Derby]]''', '''[[Durham]]''' and '''[[York]]''' and have been joined by pirates whose '''[[shipwreck]]''' lies on the island's north shore.

The strangers once stayed on the coast, away from the jungle, but some are traveling inland in search of knowledge and plunder. It won't be long before they stumble across the villages and learn of the treasures of the tribal ancestors.|



mainpage_alert=''No messages.''|



mainpage_activities='''Current wiki activities'''
* [[The Shartak Wiki:Policies and guidelines|Policies and guidelines]] for the wiki are being [[The Shartak Wiki talk:Policies and guidelines|proposed and discussed]].
* The [[Identify Friend or Foe]] initiative has been launched.
* [[Special weapon event odds]] are being researched.
* [[:Category:Shamans|NPC shamans]] are being tracked.
* [[Search odds condensed|Search odds]] are being researched and [[Search odds condensed (results)|summarized]].
* [[Trading hut stock reports|Trader stocks]] are being reported.
* [[Talk:Character classes|Class-specific skills]] are being charted.
* Important locations are being logged in the [[Parchment Pages]].
* Get an overview of towns with the Derby Evening Press's [[Guide to Towns]].
* Read up on in-game news and gossip in [[The Yorkman]] and the [[Derby Evening Press]].

'''Current projects'''
* [http://www.blackant.net/other/shartak/ Shartak MetaMap]: Creates a map of the island from user input.
* [http://www.itechsc.com/misc/shartak/ubermap/ Shartak UBER MAP project]: Creates a detailed map from user input.
* [http://www.philosoph.us/misc/shartak/underworld Shartak Underworld]: Permanently logs kills and deaths.
}}

{{Main Page Navigation|

mainpage_navi1a=Basics|
mainpage_navi1b=
* [[Newcomers Guide]]
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mainpage_navi2a=Game information|
mainpage_navi2b=
* [[:Category:Glossary|Glossary]]
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|

mainpage_navi3a=Feedback|
mainpage_navi3b=
* [[Requests for information]]
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mainpage_navi4a=Site information|
mainpage_navi4b=
* [http://www.shartak.com/faq.html FAQ]
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mainpage_navi5a=Clans|
mainpage_navi5b=
* [[:Category:Clans|Clan pages]]
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|

mainpage_navi6a=Wiki information|
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}}

Derby Evening Press

2007-11-16T01:22:04Z

Black Joe: /* Other */

==Derby Evening Press==

As part of Derby's continuing attempts to civilize this savage land, the Derby Evening Press has been founded. The goal of this publication is to focus on issues that matter to Derbians. Guest submissions are welcomed. Contact us at [http://z3.invisionfree.com/Derby/index.php? the Derby Forums]. We hope you enjoy reading!

==Issues==
Most Recent:

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_12|Issue 12]]

Past issues:

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_01|Issue 1]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_02|Issue 2]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_03|Issue 3]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_04|Issue 4]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_05|Issue 5]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_06|Issue 6]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_07|Issue 7]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_08|Issue 8]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_09|Issue 9]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_10|Issue 10]]

[[Derby_Evening_Press/Issue_11|Issue 11]]

===Other===
In addition, the DEP News Team has the honor of wikifying and editing Michael Edward's novel, [[The Tower Of Death]].

The DEP News Team also has compiled a [[Guide to Towns]] to assist Shartakians looking for a home.

==The News Team==
*[[User:Black Joe|James Barnes]] - Chief Editor/Reporter
*[[User:RobZombie|RobZombie]] - Reporter/Rum Expert
*[[User:Mark D. Stroyer|Mark D. Stroyer]] - Reporter/Asst. Editor
*[[User:Elegost|Elegost]] - Reporter/Photographer
*Javier Sortani - BabeWatch Columnist
*[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]] - Ninja Copy Editor

[[Category:Roleplaying| ]] [[Category:Newspaper]]

Guide to Towns

2007-11-16T01:19:19Z

Black Joe:

==Derby Evening Press's Guide to Towns==

So you know you want to visit the island, but you aren't sure what town is for you. The Derby Evening Press has compiled a quick reference for towns and their cultures so that you can better decide what town is best for you.

==Native Towns==

===Raktam===

[[Raktam]]'s relative isolation from outsiders has allowed it to develop futher than its sister settlements. Raktam was once controlled by the powerful [[Raktamites]]. Since their decline into obscurity, many Raktam natives are now flocking to the Royal Court of Raktam, the sole native geopolitical power of significance. Ruled by its queen, Raktam is becoming a power to be reckoned with.

===Wiksik===

[[Wiksik]] is a non-entity in Shartak politics. Wiksikians who gain prominence typically do so in a manner unrelated to their town. Wiksik is the most mystically-inclined of the native villages. The Wiksik-based Necromancers' Guild urges its members to listen to the ancestors' cries, using their healing arts to cure ailments resulting from the practice. Exorcists find themselves unwelcome in Wiksik, in contrast to other towns, where a peaceful exorcist will find protection from even outsider police forces. Wiksik is occassionally confused with the WickSick Headhunters, the infamous but unconnected native warrior group.

===Dalpok===

The only native town west of Mt. Shartak, [[Dalpok]] has the misfortune of being close to both the shipwreck and York, the two largest hostile population centers on Shartak. As a result, Dalpok has been ravaged again and again by raiders. This has resulted in the town's cultural development being stunted. Only recently, with the rise of the Dalpok Liberation Front, has Dalpok begun to move beyond its status as a helpless victim.

==Outsider Towns==

===Derby===

[[Derby]] was once isolated and backwater, completely irrelevant in Shartak politics. Since the rise of the relatively large and well-organized [[Eastern Federation]], this town has arguably become the center of outsider culture on Shartak. The town has gained a reputation for balancing diplomacy and force. Derby hosts the sole active educational institution on Shartak, along with the most popular running newspaper, the [[Derby Evening Press]], sponsor of this publication.

===York===

The central outsider town, [[York]] is the second-largest population center on Shartak. While its location makes it a popular destination for traders and explorers, it is an equally popular destination for invading forces of pirates, natives, and rogue outsiders. York has suffered multiple invasions in its brief history, more than the other two settlements combined. As a result, York clans are experienced fighters. However, the proliferation of clans in York means that internal strife is far more common than in their more unified sister cities.

===Durham===

[[Durham]], the sleepy town on Shartak's western peninsula, is largely ignored in Shartak politics. This is intentional, as its residents prefer sitting out the various conflicts that inflame Shartak on a regular basis. On the other hand, non-residents complain that it is so boring as to not be worth the considerable effort necessary to reach Durham.

==Pirate Base==

===The Shipwreck===

The most heavily populated base on Shartak, the [[Shipwreck]] is also possibly the most anarchic. While pirate clans appear and last for a time, they tend to be ignored by other pirates, who seem equally happy to kill natives, outsiders, or each other. While many pirates are honorable or peaceful, the actions of the worst pirates have turned much of Shartak against shipwreck residents. Non-pirates are advised to be very cautious about sleeping on land or within the ship, and pirates should be wary outside of their home.

Open Arms

2007-11-15T06:11:08Z

Black Joe: Counted the membership.

{{clanbox|
clan_name = Open Arms |
official_id = 70 |
open_to = everyone |
clan_image = [[Image:Open Arms.png|240px]] |
clan_leaders = Other members and our respective consciences |
clan_membership = 18 active, 28 in total (see [http://www.shartak.com/clanmembers.cgi?id=70 the list]) |
clan_goals = Peace and understanding |
clan_recruit = Live right and let us know |
clan_contact = [[Talk:Open Arms|The talk page]] |
sort_as =|
}}

'''Open Arms''' is a group of people working to turn the violence-plagued island of Shartak into a peaceful paradise. Members decry senseless violence, choosing instead to show kindness while keeping the safety of all people of peace in mind. Violent players are regarded cautiously and may be fought off, but everyone else is warmly welcomed to the land we all share.

== Behavior of members ==
Members must be kind to all nonviolent players and may be less kind to violent ones. While the use of force is counterproductive to the clan's goals in the short term, some members may resort to it in an effort to punish violence, and, most importantly, to protect themselves and others from any savage, whether native or outsider, who only seeks harm.

Members are strongly encouraged to speak with those they meet, instruct the young and inexperienced, heal the weak and peaceful, and generally do all they can to build a friendly island-wide community where none currently exists — a community you can help create.

== Activities ==
In an effort to create an island-wide communications system, on 2006-09-05, {{profile|2445|Elembis}} created a native message hut in [[Wiksik]] at {{map|70|237|26|410}} and an outsider message hut one square to the east at {{map|70|236|26|410}} for players to write in in their respective languages. He hopes the idea will stick and be picked up by players in other camps.

Elembis will be leaving for Derby on 2006-09-06 to remind the camp's inhabitants that not all natives are their enemies and to attempt a meeting with fellow clan member {{profile|2893|Saint Matthew}}.

== Advice for non-members ==
People do not always communicate their peaceful intent, and peaceful intent is extremely important to us. If you are an outsider visiting a native camp, or a native visiting an outsider camp, please do the following to help ensure your safety:
# Sleep in or outside a hut so that you can write on the wall that you mean no harm. We may find your message and translate it into the local tongue so that all of your potential killers will be able to read it.
# Explain in your profile the code you follow for attacking (if you attack at all). Those of us who think camps should safe harbors for healing and trading, not areas in which people with different skin colors are automatically killed, would strongly encourage even violent players to be peaceful in foreign camps.

Talk:1st Derby Privateers - Wanted Outsiders Page

2007-11-12T16:03:34Z

Black Joe:

== Spelling ==

It's "kill on sight", not "kill on site"... --[[User:The Yorkman|The Yorkman]] 18:08, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Unless you meet them where there's some building work being done :P --[[User:Rozen|Rozen]] 20:17, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Yeah... ummmmmm... na... Ive got nothing :P But thanks for the heads-up yeah :) --[[User:Cthulhu|Cthulhu]]

Hey, Cthulhu? The Pirate Hunters disbanded.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 16:03, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

Derby Hospitallers

2007-11-11T03:54:16Z

Black Joe:

{{Clanbox|
clan_name=Derby Hospitallers|
official_id=79|
open_to=outsiders|
clan_image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v155/Bluegoo/Logo2.png|
clan_leaders={{profile|5317|James Barnes}}|
clan_membership=10 active|
clan_goals=To protect and assist the inhabitants of Derby.|
clan_recruit=All outsiders, pirates, and natives willing to follow the Hospitaller code.|
clan_contact=Select the Hospitallers as your clan in-game. Forum participation is preferred. [http://z3.invisionfree.com/Derby/index.php Our forum]|
}}

== For the good of Derby! ==

Derby was once a backwater, a settlement without law or defense. No longer! The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Hospitallers Knights Hospitaller] are an old order, dating back to the Crusades. Now, a group has emerged on Shartak, basing their conduct on the Hospitallers' code of protection and aid. These noble wardens of the peace are dedicated not just to preserving Derbian lives, but improving them.

== The Hospitaller Code of Honor ==

Hospitallers are encouraged to uphold the following code of conduct.

*Hospitallers' first duty is to Derby and its inhabitants. Hospitallers should:
**defend Derby from hostile incursions. Examples include pirate or native raids. The Hospitallers oppose attacks on peaceful pirates or natives within Derby's city limits, particularly in designated safehouses.
**heal wounded Derbians and other wounded outsiders.
*All Hospitallers should maintain a proper sense of decorum. They should refrain from vile language and insults. (Out of character, don't flame people. If someone flames you, responding in kind just makes you and the clan look bad. As for foul language, while there won't be consequences for the occassional slip, excessive foul language is pointless; it makes you look like you aren't smart enough to express yourself in any other way. Basically, act like a mature adult.)

== Laws of the Hospitallers ==

Unlike the code of honor, which is a set of ideals to strive towards, the laws that follow are strictly enforced. Violation may result in immediate expulsion from the Hospitallers.

*Murder of innocent Derbians, Yorkmen, and Durhamites is strictly forbidden.
*Practicing the dark art known as "Zerging" is absolutely and utterly forbidden under Hospitaller law.

== Hospitaller Activities==

===Activities in Derby===

The Hospitallers run several facilities in Derby. These facilities provide free services to any Derbian who wishes to make use of them.

*The [[Derby Academy]], a two-hut facility next door to the Derby trader's hut.
**The Academy's Gymnasium, located at [-70.094,+26.350].
**The Academy's Lecture Hall, located at [-70.093,+26.350].
*The [[Derby Hospital]], located at [-70.093,+26.352].

The Hospitallers also participate in the [[Derby Court]] and sponsor the [[Derby Lecture Series]].

===Activities Outside Derby===

The Hospitallers do not confine their activities to Derby. Hospitallers are active across the south coast. They:

*Assisted in the defense of [[Durham]] during the [[Durham Headhunt Contest]]
*Assisted in the defense of York during the [[Fourth Battle of York]] and the [[Dork Cup]].
*Sent ambassadors to both York and Durham. We are currently looking for new ambassadors, as both of our previous ambassadors are inactive.
*Founded the [[Durham Academy]] (now inactive).
*Took part in the Battle of Midway to drive the [[WickSick Headhunters]] from the island of Midway.

== Life in the Hospitallers ==

The Hospitallers require relatively light duty from their members. Capable, willing members may assist in running Derby's public services, or they may start their own (with the the approval of the Hospitaller leadership). Otherwise, Hospitallers are free to do as they please, whether it be enjoying the sights of Derby or wandering through the jungles. The only requirement is that Hospitallers come to Derby when the town is threatened.

All Derbians, whether they are Hospitallers, Privateers, or unaligned, are welcomed at [http://z3.invisionfree.com/Derby/index.php our forum]. Newcomers are encouraged to look at our [http://derby.jconserv.net/viewtopic.php?t=5 Beginner's Guide].

== Allies ==

[[Durham Pistoleers]]

[[1st Derby Privateers]] - our oldest allies, and fellow members of the [[Eastern Federation]]

[[Derby Rangers]] - Fellow members of the [[Eastern Federation]]

[[The Octavius Popebury Memorial Expedition of 1886]] - The newest members of the Eastern Federation

Talk:Derby Evening Press/Issue 12

2007-11-07T04:42:13Z

Black Joe:

Tell us what you think here!

==Derby News==
===Happy Birthday, Hospitallers!===
===Ghost Infestations===
===Do You Have What It Takes to be Mr. Derby?===
===Eastern Federation Recognizes Raktam Court===
==International News==
===Shartak Plagued with the Undead!===
===Financial Scare in Durham===
===The Brotherhood?===
===Interview with Lexus, Colonial Police Leader===
I corrected spelling errors/missing words. They looked dorky. [[User:Lexy|Lexy]]
===Durham Government Formed===
====The Government According to Tomn====
====Burgundy's Durham====
==Retraction==

User talk:Mark D. Stroyer

2007-11-07T04:38:24Z

Black Joe:

Hey! saw a sign today... it said somthing to the effect of "Mark D Stroyer gave his life in defence of a fellow settler"... what is that about?

00:29, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for fixing the DEP main page. I was just too tired to do it last night.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 04:38, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

User talk:Wulla-mullung

2007-11-07T04:36:51Z

Black Joe: /* Thanks! */

Talk:Derby Evening Press/Issue 12

2007-11-06T06:21:50Z

Black Joe:

Tell us what you think here!

==Derby News==
===Happy Birthday, Hospitallers!===
===Ghost Infestations===
===Do You Have What It Takes to be Mr. Derby?===
===Eastern Federation Recognizes Raktam Court===
==International News==
===Shartak Plagued with the Undead!===
===Financial Scare in Durham===
===The Brotherhood?===
===Interview with Lexus, Colonial Police Leader==
===Durham Government Formed===
====The Government According to Tomn====
====Burgundy's Durham====
==Retraction==

Derby Evening Press/Issue 12

2007-11-06T06:19:47Z

Black Joe:

==Derby News==

===Happy Birthday, Hospitallers!===

The Derby Hospitallers celebrated their first anniversary this month. September 20th made one year since the Hospitallers' official foundation. To mark the occasion, the Eastern Federation engaged in a few special activities. Hospitaller Tribune James Barnes (editor-in-chief of this newspaper) dispensed small gifts of gold to Derbians on the 21st. He reported that 38 people received gifts, totaling 190 gold coins.

The Hospitaller Consuls, the clan's legislative body, retroactively approved the expenditure, deducting it from the Hospitallers' expenses rather than Barnes' personal funds. This also made it an official Hospitaller action.

The rest of the Eastern Federation participated, as well. Cthulhu, prominent member of the [[1st Derby Privateers]] and the [[Derby Rangers]] engaged in a friendly boxing match with Lord Twerpington, spokesman for the [[Octavius Popebury Memorial Expedition of 1886]] in the Derby medical hut. Cthulhu jokingly told Barnes to wait at the [[Derby Hospital]], as Cthulhu expected to need its services shortly. In the end, Cthulhu was correct. Lord Twerpington defeated Cthulhu in a technical knockout.

===Ghost Infestations===

Derby and York were once very different towns. Derby was famed for its tolerance of all peaceful visitors, with outsiders, natives, and pirates cooperating in defending the medical supply hut from spirits. Now, matters have changed.

In Derby, all natives are gone, and pirates are a rare sight. Spirits plague the medical hut, terrifying all within its walls. When asked about the problem, Tribune James Barnes of the Derby Hospitallers said, "At one time, the average Derbian actively supported our efforts to bring visitors from other cultures to Derby. Now, apathy, or perhaps complacency, has set in. Derbians no longer lift a finger to heal injured shamans or pirates. They do not report the murders of these people to the Privateers.

"We can't be everywhere. There aren't that many people in the Eastern Federation. We have to have help if we're going to maintain our immigrant community. Without the help of the average Derbian, narrow-minded bigots can kill natives and pirates with impunity.

"If Derbians want the spirits purged from the huts, they'll have to take an active role in protecting our visitors. They can help by reporting murders to us (along with the current location of the murderer, should they know it), attacking shaman-killers themselves, or healing wounded visitors."

York, in contrast, once known as the most xenophobic town in Shartak, appears to have gone in the opposite direction. York Coalition member Nighter reports that the Coalition is having an easier time keeping shamans alive in York's borders. He reports that York has as many as three active shamans working to protect the town from ghostly attackers.

===Do You Have What It Takes to be Mr. Derby?===

The Eastern Federation will be holding a Mr. Derby contest. This contest, open to all Derbian males, will judge contestants on looks, talent, and personality. Females of any region are urgently needed to serve as judges. Contact the Eastern Federation at [http://z3.invisionfree.com/Derby/index.php? their forum] for more information.

===Eastern Federation Recognizes Raktam Court===

The Eastern Federation, represented by prominent Derbian James Barnes, recently made an appearance in the summer palace of Queen Blue Hummingbird on the Left, of the Royal Court of Greater Raktam. Barnes' message was simple: given the court's actions since its foundation, the Federation had decided to recognize the court as the legitimate government of Raktam. Barnes, noting the queen's defense of her people, praised her dedication and foresight.

Barnes explained the reasoning behind the decision. "Really, Hummingbird, for all her nationalism, is a relative moderate. You've got groups wanting to drive outsiders into the sea. Hummingbird is at least willing to share the island with us, as long as we don't kill her people or intrude on her lands. That's about all we can ask. In fact, that's what the Federation asks of other towns, too. Given that, we want to encourage moderates among the natives. Attacking a moderate like Hummingbird will only drive the natives to extremes, like the WickSick Headhunters."

==International News==

===Shartak Plagued with the Undead!===

A great wave of terror has spread across the island, as dozens of reports stream in, all referring to the same incident. For reasons unexplained, during an entire day, October 31st, animals of all types refused to die. After seemingly being killed by occupants of the island, animals instead simply stood back up and continued their attack, no matter how many times they were beaten to the ground.

Although details are vague, last year around the same time, accounts state a similar event occurrence, although the only animals affected seem to have been deer. We now have confirmed sightings of elephants, wild boars, stags, and monkeys suffering the same condition. However, we are at a complete loss as to an explanation for these strange events.

In addition to this, several new creatures have appeared in the streets of the settlements, sources confirming werewolves and bats. Both animals, when slain, have risen back to their feet, just as the rest of the island's animals have. In the face of these relentless animals, all islanders are advised to remain in the safety of huts until they begin disappearing, as the monstrous beings are extremely dangerous and absolutely unstoppable.

Other strange, but more benign, things have appeared on the island recently, as several people have claimed to find pumpkins. How these have escaped discovery until now is unknown, although we suspect it has something to do with the natives’ usage of gourds as water containers. Nonetheless, these pumpkins have been carved for usage as decorative lamps, as well as juiced to make a highly nutritious drink.

===Financial Scare in Durham===

''The Shartak Bank was once an island-spanning operation. Time has taken its toll on the bank, however. For a time, only a single branch in Durham, by Hideo Inakajimita, remained active. Inakajamita holds thousands of gold coins in deposits from a number of clients. Therefore, when he disappeared recently, panic struck the Bank's clients. The banker's unexplained disappearance led many to question how they could recoup their losses.

For the time being, those concerns have been alleviated. Inakajamita has returned, and he recently sat down with the Derby Evening Press to discuss the bank's current status.''

'''DEP:''' For a long time, you were the only active banker on Shartak. Now others have joined you. Could you list the names and locations of these bankers, so that our readers can contact them?

'''HK:''' We're presently in the process of expanding the bank following the deaths of several former bankers. Poor Justine in Wiksik was eaten by a horde of killer ants while nude sunbathing; Monkeypaw in Dalpok set fire to his pants while performing a religious ceremony to the sun, Kristofer Schanz in Derby mistook a floating coconut for a schooner and disappeared on the high seas, and you don't want to know what happen to Gitboy in York.

The present bankers are myself in Derby, Archbishop Blackburne in York, and Crowjane in Raktam. No GPS co-ordinates sorry, as I sell any GPS units as soon as I get them. My branch is south-west of the trading hut and Crowjane's branch is due east of the summer palace of the Queen fo Raktam. I've not been to Blackburne's abode yet so I can't tell you exactly where it is. The bank now goes by the name "Templar Bank", rather than "Bank of Shartak" or "Imperial Bank of Shartak" to reflect the changes in personnel.

'''DEP:''' Your recent disappearance concerned Shartak investors. What steps are you taking to prepare against future disappearances?

'''HK:''' Well, I'm giving up absinthe for staters. The opium habit is a little more troublesome.

'''DEP:''' Have you consulted with the government of Durham to better protect your clients?

'''HK:''' I wasn't aware that our clientele were at risk. Durham was the ideal spot to be when the bank was consolidating itself because it was so quiet.

'''DEP:''' I'll clarify. By "at risk", we mean to ask what plans has the bank drawn up to avoid losing its clients' access if the bankers disappear again?

'''HK:''' In the event that I decide to catch a slow boat back to my native Japan, I'll be handing over all of the funds to a reputable replacement. I daresay the same applies to the other bankers.

'' Now, with the bank reviving under a new name, Shartak once again has another amenity of civilization.''

===The Brotherhood?===

Several months ago, the town of Raktam found itself under attack by pirates using guerrilla tactics. These pirates claimed to be in training for a mysterious conflict. This conflict, to the best knowledge of this paper, has yet to occur. Since the battle outside Raktam and the battle at [Archer's] Pool (the real name of the pool is, sadly, unprintable), the Brotherhood's swords have fallen silent. Some of the Brotherhood's members have disappeared back into the jungle, presumably to continue to pursue personal aims, but Rozen, captain, spokesperson, and least drunken member of the Brotherhood, has been seen on the coast, heading in the direction of Durham.

The Brotherhood Of The Coast has yet to undertake a serious millitary advance on any town, but with so many pirates and so much bloodlust, one can't help but wonder who will be next.

===Interview with Lexus, Colonial Police Leader===

'''DEP:''' What are your long-term plans for the CP?

'''Lexus:''' It's just about giving people a safe place in York. Membership will expand when awesome people show up; we've changed to invite only. Crimnals... Mostly it's off the record, but we don't do posturing or anything. It's not about apologizing, just about encouraging people to do the right thing. So, if someone wants to stop being a dork they can. If they want to keep being a dork they can.

'''DEP:''' You've held contests and other means to stir interest and raise awareness of the CP. Have these been successful?

'''L:''' That's pretty obvious, they haven't started yet. Competitions are like the rest of what we do. We provide a service, and people either use it or they don't. Prizes will keep getting bigger 'till someone takes it off us. We're 16th richest group in Shartak, with about a quarter of the members in the top 10. So, probably when it's up to 400-500 GC or something, people will eventually take the money. They're just shy or something. Tt doesn't particularly worry me.

'''DEP:''' What would you consider to be the biggest current problem in York?

'''L:''' Dorks. There aren't massive problems in York, and the problems are killed daily by YC/CP/5punk. Most of the problems are outside of York. But general people who speak hyperbole about York like it is something from a Kurt Russell haven't been seen in York for ages. They just run around squealing, "omg teh CP are teh nuts!" Look at any recruitment thread we've run.

'''DEP:''' What do you think of the current 1CM/CP relations?

'''L:''' The 1CM/CP relations are fine. Sam is off doing his thing, we're doing ours, that's all.

===Durham Government Formed===

In a first for outsiders on Shartak, an official government has formed in Durham. Led by political activist Tomn, the Durhamites held an election at their shaman. The candidates were Tomn, former Pistoleer, Ron Burgundy, and Mill Wilkinson, founder of the Greenwolves clan.

In what Tomn later admitted to be a botched election...no one was elected. The three candidates all received votes, with a few people voting "no" to a government, and a fairly large number of people voting "yes" to a government without specifying a candidate.

Without a clear winner, the candidates agreed not to elect a governor, instead creating a power-sharing agreement by which the three would rule jointly as Consuls. This is similar to the Derby Hospitallers' governing system, although the Hospitallers add an executive office, that of Tribune. It is unclear if the Durhamites took their inspiration from the Hospitallers or the Romans, who used two consuls.

====The Government According to Tomn====

The government, as explained by Tomn, offers certain benefits to its citizens, but also requires that they carry out certain obligations. The benefits seem to fall into two categories: a role in government and physical protection. Citizens are given the right to vote and hold office. Also, they are assured of the government's protection. Should a citizen be killed, the government will pursue the killer. If a clan is responsible for the citizen's death, the government will approach that clan to make reparations.

The obligations, Tomn admits, are as yet poorly defined. The only real obligations thus far are to refrain from killing (Tomn failed to specify how far-reaching this ban on killing was) and to avoid embarrassing Durham by taking advantage of its protection in other cities. He did also mention a taxation system being set up at some point in the future, although it is not clear what the other Consuls think of this.

====Burgundy's Durham====

For his part, Ron Burgundy did not respond to the DEP's questions in a public area. However, his platform is detailed in his press releases. It is listed below

1. a three lane highway connecting Durham and Derby.
2. A standing army for Durham.
3. A legislative body in which any Durham citizen level 2 or above can directly vote for policies.
4. A casino and boxing league.
5. A policy of noninterference with the Independent Republic of Fort Creedy.
6. an Immigration Office inwhich anyone can become a citizen of Durham for free.

Mill Wilkinson has not published his views. Rather, he seems to be the deciding vote in the Durham government. From our observations of the workings of the government, Burgundy and Tomn seem to disagree frequently, leaving Wilkinson to cast the deciding vote.

''Next issue, we publish the objections of the Durham government's vocal opponent, Blauvelt.''

==Retraction==

In its commitment to fair and accurate reporting, the DEP will correct any ''significant'' errors made in its articles. Per this policy, we wish to correct certain inaccuracies in our last issue concerning the Queen of Raktam, Blue Hummingbird. We stated that the queen was a former WickSick Headhunter. In response, both Foo Fighter of the WickSick Headhunters and Queen Hummingbird herself protested that this was not the case. Hummingbird participated in a single WickSick event, which was open to the public. That was the extent of her involvement. The DEP thanks its readers for helping us maintain our pursuit of truth.

Talk:Animals

2007-11-02T02:21:20Z

Black Joe: /* Let's get this page improved a bit, people */

== Animal attack rates ==

Until now I haven't been looking out to see how often certain animals attack, but it would be interesting to record it on the animals page. So far:

* Elephants: have attacked once an hour when on the same square as me (35 minutes past the hour according to the game report from the server)
* Tigers: have attacked me twice an hour when on the same square (5 minutes past and 35 minutes past according to the game)

Though I'm pretty sure there were times when they attacked less often. Perhaps there's some randomness. Some tigers are pussycats.

Anyone else have reports? If so, add here and transfer to the animal page when it looks helpful
--[[User:The Wary Marsh|The Wary Marsh]] 09:05, 4 April 2006 (BST)

:Yes, the Damage column is worse than useless without the Number of Attacks and the Percentage Chance to Hit listed. If an animal causes 4 damage per hit but only attacks once per half hour at 10%, the animal is fairly harmless, whereas an animal with 3 attacks per half hour at 50% would be lethal.
:* In 22 half hour increments (at :05 and :35), an alligator missed me 4 times, hit once 17 times, and hit twice 1 time (two attacks for 3 damage with the same timestamp). This is extremely consistent with 2x 45% 3dmg.
:* In 35 half hour increments (at :05 and :35), an elephant missed me 14 times and hit once 21 times. This is extremely consistent with 1x 60% 4dmg.
:I'm going to say that all animals perform their attack routine once per half hour (at :05 and :35). Their combat routine is very similar to characters, with a percentage chance to hit that is a multiple of 5% and a weapon damage of 1 to 4.
:Alligators, tigers, and possibly other animals, are known to have a multiple attack routine -- that means that they can surely hit you for twice the listed damage in less than a minute. The other possibility I can think of is that I was attacked by two of the same creature type, one of which then wandered off or was killed. (Next time it happens I'll screenshot the timestamps.) Imho that's important information that needs to be listed on the wiki, and further researched. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 09:31, 24 May 2006 (BST)

:I can help with a boar and large stag. I was recently killed by what appears to be one of each.
:* In 35 half hour increments (beginning at 00:35 and ending at 18:05), a large stag missed me 13 times, hit me 22 times, and did not appear to hit more than once at any given time. 1 x 62.9% 2 dmg. (for the sake of simplicity rounded down to 60%).
:* In 22 half hour increments (beginning at 07:05 and 17:35), a wild boar missed me 10 times, hit me 12 times, and did not appear to hit more than once at any given time. 1 x 54.5% 2 dmg. (for the sake of simplicity rounded up to 55%). --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 10:12, 24 May 2006 (BST)

::Incidentally, since the game doesn't show misses, only hits, and I forgot to check the time when I previously logged off, my attack rates are overestimates -- I should be counting the series of misses that may or may not have occurred before the first hit. (Other misses are sandwiched in between hits and are correctly tallied.) Instead of a random sample of families with boys and girls, take the same random sample, but in each family remove all the young girls until you get to a boy -- the resulting sample is no longer 50/50. (Although for family sizes 35-40 the errors are small.) --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 11:50, 24 May 2006 (BST)

:I can help out with a wild boar and a tiger.. the tiger didn't show up until the second day of sitting idle.
:* wild boar: 10:05, 11:05, 12:05, 15:05, 17:05, 19:35, 20:05, 03:05, 06:05, 06:35, 09:05, 15:05, 15:35, 16:05, 17:35
:* tiger: 04:37, 05:05, 06:35, 07:05, 07:35, 08:35, 09:05, 11:35, 12:05, 13:05, 13:35, 14:05, 14:35, 15:06, 15:35, 16:05, 17:05
:At this point, after having been mauled by 2 animals for a day and a half, I died. --[[User:Simon|Simon]] 13:36, 3 June 2006 (BST)

:It seems the recent news posting means that animals now try to attack you right after you attack them. Can anyone else verify this? --[[User:Frisco|Frisco]] 19:20, 29 May 2006 (BST)

::Confirmed. It would appear that the animal makes one attack routine after each of your attempts to attack it (regardless of whether or not you hit). As usual, if the animal misses, you are not notified. Note that this makes poisonberries and FAKs a bit less valuable compared to tasty berries, bottles of water, and other self-healing, since you can now harvest healing XP by impaling yourself against a dangerous animal. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 17:58, 31 May 2006 (BST)

:The only active animal attacks we should tally to determine their hit rates should be those that occur between the first and last hits, because only for those sandwiched attacks can misses be noticed. In short, we should discard the end hits because they don't depend on the animal's hit rate, while the inner hits and misses do. (I can explain this further and use examples if necessary. Basically, if the first recorded event is always a hit, it's not random, is it?) Using this method, the reliable data submitted by [[User:Lint|Lint]] and [[User:Simon|Simon]] for wild boars consists of 20 turns and 10 hits (from Lint) and 62 turns and just 13 hits (from Simon), totalling to 82 turns and 23 hits, or a 28% hit rate (±9.7%). If we assume that attacks as reactions to melee attacks have the same odds, the 2 reactive hits in 5 attempts (i.e., 5 successful attacks by me) of the boar I killed today moves those numbers slightly to 25 in 87, or 29% (±9.5%). I am going to update the hit rates on the page to correct for the current overreporting of hits. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 01:00, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

::One more thing: since ''[[animal affinity]]'' reduces the likelihood of animal attacks, we must consider whether the players who report animal attacks have that skill. I think Simon has just one active character, and I know that character has that skill, so that may be why he was hurt less often than Lint by the same kind of animal. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 01:08, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

=== Tables ===
==== Active attacks ====
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border: solid 1px #ccc; border-collapse: collapse; margin-bottom: 1em" |
|-align="left" bgcolor="#ddd" valign="top"
! Signature !! ''[[Animal affinity]]''? !! Animal !! Hits and misses !! Notes
|-
| [[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 08:31, 24 May 2006 (UTC) || no || alligator || 22 known attempts, 17 hits, 1 double hit ||
|-
| [[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 08:31, 24 May 2006 (UTC) || no || elephant || 35 known attempts, 21 hits ||
|-
| [[User:Simon|Simon]] 12:36, 3 June 2006 (UTC) || no? || wild boar || <small>10:05</small>, -----, 11:05, -----, 12:05, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, 15:05, -----, -----, -----, 17:05, -----, -----, -----, -----, 19:35, 20:05, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, 03:05, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, 06:05, 06:35, -----, -----, -----, -----, 09:05, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, 15:05, 15:35, 16:05, -----, -----, 17:35 || The attacks ended when the player died at 17:35. ''Valid data: 63 attempts, 14 hits.''
|-
| [[User:Simon|Simon]] 12:36, 3 June 2006 (UTC) || no? || tiger || <small>04:37</small>, 05:05, -----, -----, 06:35, 07:05, 07:35, -----, 08:35, 09:05, -----, -----, -----, -----, 11:35, 12:05, -----, 13:05, 13:35, 14:05, 14:35, 15:06, 15:35, 16:05, -----, 17:05 || The attacks ended when the player died at 17:35 at the hands of a wild boar. A miss should not be assumed for the tiger at 17:35, because it may be that the boar's kill took place before the tiger had a chance to make the final blow. ''Valid data: 25 attempts, 16 hits.''
|-
| [[User:Lint|Lint]] 09:12, 24 May 2006 (UTC) || no? || large stag || 35 known attempts, 22 hits ||
|-
| [[User:Lint|Lint]] 09:12, 24 May 2006 (UTC) || no? || wild boar || 22 known attempts, 12 hits ||
|-
| [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] 06:12, 24 July 2006 (UTC) || no || tiger || <small>02:05</small>, 02:35, -----, -----, -----, 04:35, 05:05, -----, ---- || I left at 06:10, late enough for the tiger to have attacked at 06:05. ''Valid data: 8 attempts, 3 hits.''
|-
| [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] 17:52, 6 August 2006 (UTC) || no || tiger || <small>13:05</small>, -----, -----, -----, -----, -----, 16:05, -----, 17:05 || I left at 17:30, too soon for the tiger's 17:35 attempt. ''Valid data: 8 attempts, 2 hits.''
|-
| [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] 17:52, 6 August 2006 (UTC) || no || tiger || 19:35 || The tiger reached my square at 19:05 and I left at 19:46, leaving it time for just one attempted attack. ''Valid data: 1 attempt, 1 hit.''
|}

==== Reactive attacks ====
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border: solid 1px #ccc; border-collapse: collapse" |
|-align="left" bgcolor="#ddd" valign="top"
! Signature !! ''[[Animal affinity]]''? !! Weapon type !! Animal !! Attempts !! Hits
|-
| [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] 22:07, 19 August 2006 (UTC) || no || melee || deer, small || 8 || 2
|}
Notes:
* "Attempts" is simply the number of times that the player attacks the animal (not counting killing blows) and thus gives the animal a chance to hit in return. "Hits" is the number of times the animal hits back.

== Easter Bunny ==

Anyone see one of these? I just killed one I found. It didn't give my anything interesting...--[[User:Jackel|Jackel]] 03:24, 16 April 2006 (BST)
* Sorry, no chocolate eggs for killing the Easter Bunny. Just plenty of XP for the kill (if I did my calculations right). It's unlikely you'll see one with max hp unless someone's feeling kind. --[[User:Simon|Simon]] 05:02, 16 April 2006 (BST)
**(Does that mean that the Easter Bunnies were implemented with 50 "max" hit points (to bolster their XP bonus award) even tho they only had 30 HP?) --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 11:53, 24 May 2006 (BST)
I just got one, only had 3 hp and didn't attack once it was dead... since Easter was yesterday, was it maybe a straggler? [[User:Tibbalt|Tibbalt]] 11:55, 17 April 2006 (BST)

== Differing HP Limits? ==

I first encountered alligators in the inland swamps, and these had 15HP max. Now i'm over in the swamp on the easternmost peninsula, and alligators here have 25HP max (i've encoutered 4 or 5, each with 25HP). Did all the alligators get a boost in HP limit, or are these alligators super-special-flushed-down-toilet-mutant specimens that get a higher HP limit? This is a rather large swamp, makes sense that it would have bigger alligators. If it is only alligators here that have a higher HP limit, are there any other locations where certain animals have higher HP limits? Also, if it is location based, the chart should reflect this. --[[User:Frisco|Frisco]] 19:23, 13 May 2006 (BST)
:I think that all of the alligators have been upgraded to 25HP. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 09:32, 24 May 2006 (BST)

== Do animals move like predators? ==

While waiting for a fellow native to talk to me one day, on successive page refreshes (at approximately equal time intervals) I saw an elephant appear 2N 1W of me, then 1N, then 1W, then 1S, moving south in a zig-zag but not joining us on our square. I suspect that the direction of an animal's movement is unaffected by human presence on surrounding squares, and that aggressive animals (such as elephants) will only attack if the square they move to happens to be occupied by someone; in short, I'm guessing that aggression translates into unprovoked attacks, not predatory movement. This accords with common sense, too; given the number of animals on the island and Simon's awareness of server load, I wouldn't expect him to have coded complicated animal movement rules when simple ones suffice. Of course, it may be that tigers (and boars) hunt while elephants apparently do not. More tests will tell. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] 08:08, 21 May 2006 (BST)
:I just refreshed the map to see that a monkey is on my square; I didn't see it approach. This suggests that passive animals do not try to avoid humans, which sort of suggests that aggressive ones don't hunt them. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] 12:24, 21 May 2006 (BST)
::One theory is that an aggressive animal that ''you have attacked'' will intentionally track you down if you flee a very short distance. Undisturbed animals appear to wander randomly, in my anecdotal experience. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 18:00, 31 May 2006 (BST)
:::That a fact, Tycho44. Numerous times when I've lacked the AP to finish off a critter, I've used my last AP to move a couple squares away. When I check back a short while later, rather than running off it has "chased" me, sometimes attacked. Its happened far too many times to be a coincidence. Futhermore, even missed attacks count as "aggression", causing the unhurt animal to become hostile and pursue. Elembis, elephants '''are''' hostile, and, like tigers, attack unprovoked, but I'm not certain how far they can "see" before they begin pursuing. --[[User:Jackel|Jackel]] 19:55, 31 May 2006 (BST)

== Uncommon Animals? ==

After traveling through the Durham peninsula for several days, I've only come across a few animals per day, spending considerably more AP trying to find them than actually fighting them. Is this common? Do some areas have more animals than others? --[[User:LouisB3|LouisB3]] 20:34, 24 May 2006 (BST)
:Some areas have more animals than others. I'm not sure whether this is due to (1) built-in location preferences, (2) over-hunting by players, or (3) simple random variation. I believe that all three factors are coming into play. Where animals are very scarce, you can harvest more XP by using your first aid kits on the animal before you kill it. Since you are in less danger of animal attacks, you have less need of faks for yourself. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 18:04, 31 May 2006 (BST)

== Giant Squid ==

We've got squids, people. Anyone have any information on these new formidable beasts of the sea? Do they function as sharks do, or can you actually fight them out there? What, precisely, do they do?--[[User:Wifey|Wifey]] 03:43, 30 May 2006 (BST) EDIT: Talk on the forum shows that they start with ''at least'' 300hp, and hit for 5 damage. So they are an actual animal that we can fight. Neat. I'll add them on to the table.--[[User:Wifey|Wifey]] 04:09, 30 May 2006 (BST)

:So do we got squids, or would it be more accurate to say that we got squid (singular). Errr, had a squid. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 01:36, 9 June 2006 (BST)

They're getting bigger, there is now a "fully-grown giant squid" off the northeast coast of the island, 200 hp and hits for 7 dmg. --[[User:Doppelganger|Doppelganger]] 13:20, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

:I just ran into a fully-grown giant squid. It's also of the NE coast. But this one is slightly different that Doppelganger's. It's hitting me for 6 dmg, not 7. And when I started attacking it, it had 477 hp. That's a hell of a lot more than 200. Plus, it's possible that someone had already knocked some hp off of it, as 477 seems like an odd starting place. --[[User:Stevenskistg|Stevenskistg]] 20:25, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

==Arrrgh!!! BEARS!!==

At the cave at {{GPS|70|368|26|442}}, (on the mountain, two levels up)I have encountered a bear! It had 30 hp when I first attacked it (in the interest of scientific research of course, it is monkeys I have a vendetta against, not bears). As I ran out of AP putting some distance between the two of us, I guess I will soon know all about how much damage it can do...--[[User:John Sevier|John Sevier]] 01:33, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

==Bird Monsters?!==

The most recent update made mention of strange noises on the mountain and the Natives speaking of bird creatures. So I decided to check it out. I went up there earlier today, and when I logged in just now I found I'd been attacked. By a Shargle. That's right. A Shargle. Don't ask me what it's supposed to be, but I know it has a maximum of 30HP, attacks for 2 damage every half hour, and gives an 18XP bonus when killed. So how 'bout that. --[[User:Stevenskistg|Stevenskistg]] 00:33, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

what's a shargle? i mean.. is it big? i don't think a name like shargle is anything but power. -[[User:Elegost|Elegost]] 07:11, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

SHARtak eaGLE was suggested on the forums as an explanation for the name. 30 hp, and it can bite for that 2 damage quite often in combat. Seems hard to hit as well --[[User:Johan Crichton|Johan Crichton]] 09:29, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

==Let's get this page improved a bit, people==
This page is hopelessly languishing without updates. I improved it as best I could today. More animals need to be included, and perhaps the entire animals-table needs to be revised. Do we need to include easter bunnies and zombie animals, which were special temporary animals? (I would say no, it should only be the normal animals. Explain about specials in the section below). Why aren't bears on the list? There's got to be others we are missing. --[[User:Arminius|Arminius]] 15:16, 16 April 2007 (UTC)
:Sadly, the number of active wiki folk involved with Shartak seems to be very low - there's a small handful of people at any one time. Agree entirely with no need to include the special animals in the normal animals section. Bears should be on the list, since they seem to be normal elements of the game - if limited to a single location. --[[User:Johan Crichton|Johan Crichton]] 00:27, 19 April 2007 (UTC)
::Perhaps we can log the special animals in their own section? If so, the Easter Bunny needs to be removed. --[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 02:21, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Talk:Eastern Federation

2007-10-28T04:13:02Z

Black Joe:

I love the flag guys! don't you? - [[User:Elegost55|Elegost55]]

Yep. By the way, we need to update the memberlist, there are more members now. - Rob

How should I report a hostile who randomly attacks folk? --[[User:Johan Crichton|Johan Crichton]] 02:46, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

You could report it here, on the Privateers' talk page, or on our forums. Mad love for the newcomers to our forums.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 04:30, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

something's wrong with our forums.
it says:
44 Access denied for user 'ffh_system'@'www01.jconserv.net' (using password: YES)
any idea what's going on?
-[[User:Elegost|Elegost]] 02:11, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

I'm getting the same message, so it must be the forum's error, not our computers. - Rob.

seems to work fine now. i wonder what went wrong.. hehe -[[User:Elegost|Elegost]] 12:57, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, fellas. I was asleep when you wrote this. Anyway, it was a problem with all of jconserv. A lot of people, myself included, reported it, and they fixed it.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 13:09, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

==Our Forum==
Something's wrong with it.
This board is not properly structured, please contact an administrator at http://forum.jconserv.net/ with the following error code: DP04
-[[User:Elegost|Elegost]] 09:57, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

I think this is the final straw. We just have to change servers. Jconserv is just too unreliable. -[[User:Mark D. Stroyer|Mark D. Stroyer]] 00:15, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

I'm inclined to agree. Any ideas where to move? I'd prefer to avoid Invision, as their URLs are excessively long.--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 04:44, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

Maybe we just let them know how displeased we are with their constant downtime periods? Perhaps it'll smack some sense into them. -[[User:Elegost|Elegost]] 10:48, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

Arrgh! The board has gone down twice in 12 hours!--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 13:32, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

Okay, this is just ridiculous. Has there been a day this week that the board HASN'T gone down? I'm starting a new Derby board on Invision, since that seemed to be a popular idea. I realize I don't know if everyone supports this (since I CAN'T ACCESS THE STINKING FORUM TO FIND OUT!!!), but if you all want to do something different, it's not like we can't just drop the Invision board. http://z3.invisionfree.com/Derby/index.php?c=1 --[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 04:13, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

Suggestions:Skills

2007-10-28T00:15:06Z

Black Joe: /* Curse */

{{Suggestions header|page_type=Skill}}

==Skills==

===Planting/agriculture===
Both outsiders and natives with this skill should be able to plant trees (mango, banana) on fertile land. By clearing away jungle, and applying an example of the fruit of the tree you wish to plant, you could sow the seed. A tree of that type would then sprout X days later. This would open up for plantation, and help feed the villages/settlements. --[[User:DKChannelboredom|DKChannelboredom]] (2 March)

''Comments''
:Interesting idea, perhaps only a chance that a tree will grow, and to ensure a tree grows you have to plant a certain number of fruit of the same kind on the same block. Of course, does this mean that existing trees should occasionally die off, say if they get surrounded by 8 blocks of highest density jungle and the tree block is also highest density jungle.. maybe explained as something to do with lack of sunlight reaching the tree because of the amount of jungle around it. --[[User:Simon|Simon]] 09:47, 2 March 2006 (GMT)
::Why not treat existing trees and planted trees separately? My initial thought is that if I did not have this skill, I would still like the opportunity to gather resources from a dependable source. --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 08:40, 5 March 2006 (GMT)
:::There is now an extensive farm north of York, which makes me thing that players would like to engage in some sort of agricultural production. Rather than limit it to mangoes and bananas, why not have other tropical fruits (pineapples, guavas and pawpaws) and even outsider staples like potatoes and spinach? - [[FirstAmongstDaves]]
----

=== Religious Devotion ===
Required to use "Holy Scriptures" --[[User:One of many doctors|One of many doctors]] 23:22, 16 February 2006 (GMT)

''Comments''
----

=== Jungle Skills ===
The jungle environment has great potential to add significant dynamic to this game. These could be a set of skills to reflect this.
: Jungle Lore: Player has x% chance of discovering item/artifact. Might work in conjunction with search skill.
: Make/Detect Traps: Spikes, Pits etc... Not sure this is possible and what would be need to time degrade this.[[User:Nankilstlas|Nankilstlas]]
: Some kind of "hiding" skill where you can spend AP to conceal yourself in fauna, so you can't be seen by passersby. Visually, it could take the form of "reforesting" a block to dark green, and someone who chops through would "uncover" you, perhaps getting some XP? --[[User:Jackel|Jackel]] 19:34, 25 February 2006 (GMT)

''Comments''
:: A 'trapping' skill looks like it would be exploited by greifers (surrounding someone with traps, for example), but I like the 'Hiding' and 'Jungle Lore' ideas.--[[User:Grigoriy|Grigoriy]] 02:26, 26 February 2006 (GMT)
:: The hiding skill shouldn't conceal you from animals or someone with the Sixth Sense, Exploration, or Jungle Lore skills, otherwise the player would be invincible.--[[User:Grigoriy|Grigoriy]] 21:15, 27 February 2006 (GMT)
:::Agreed, hostile animals should be able to sniff out hidden players, and Sixth Sense makes sense as well. Hidden players have to remain motionless to stay hidden, using items, searching, etc, would "unhide" the person. I was also thinking how the "reforesting" aspect could be abused to create vast areas that needed to be chopped down, so maybe a player could only hide in an already dark green area, (getting a message like ''there is not enough foliage to suitable hide in'' when trying in a cleared area) limiting its effect somewhat, and creating a little extra tension when on the run from someone and trying to find an overgrown area to hide in. --[[User:Jackel|Jackel]] 22:37, 27 February 2006 (GMT)
:::: I like the hiding skill, maybe with different AP required depending on jungle density. Also, first hidden could make you invisible from 2 squares away, while hiding further would hide you from any adjacent square, and a third hide would keep you hidden on the same square unless they chopped. --[[User:Qberry|Qberry]] 3/29/06
::::like the hiding thing as well, maybe it could work in that if you use it then you are only visible if they are in the same square as you? it would certainly keep you quite hidden anyway. -- [[User: fitzcarraldo|fitzcarraldo]]|<sup>[[User talk:fitzcarraldo|T]]</sup> 15:42, 28 March 2006 (BST)
:i think jungle skills could be great as class specific skills, so that only some of the classes can use them like perhaps explorers. Or maybe they could made to favor native classes (due their affinity for the land and what not) more so than the outsiders, thus making gameplay more interesting.--[[User:A for anarchy|A for anarchy]] 04:19, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

----

=== Skinning ===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill addition|
suggest_scope=All classes|
suggest_description=This is a skill that does not have a pre-requisite. Upon coming across an area where a dead animal is present, the player is given an opportunity to skin the animal. The process of skinning costs 1 AP and has a chance of producing items such as '''Animal Hide''' or '''Animal Tooth''' or '''Animal Feathers'''. These items can be traded to an NPC found in villages and exchanged for Gold Coins. This skill should be available to all classes to grant them all with an equal opportunity of earning Gold.
* Extend skinning to killed players? No, that's just wrong. We are civilized.
* Make skinning have a pre-requisite of '''Exploration'''? Perhaps.
* Make skinning always produce an item, rather than chance? No, I like a good challenge.
* Perhaps it could be tied to the Meat suggestion? Possibly.|
suggest_time=21:48, 23 February 2006 (GMT)|
suggest_author=[[User:Lint|Lint]]|
suggest_comments=

* Good idea, perhaps natives don't have a pre-requisite, but outsiders need exploration? *cough* --[[User:Grigoriy|Grigoriy]] 02:12, 26 February 2006 (GMT)
** While that may be a more realistic way to handle it - since natives would conceivably be more experienced with such matters - I think that changing the skill tree for such a minor skill would upset the general sense of game balance between the two sides. --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 02:43, 26 February 2006 (GMT)
***See the Meat and Pelts discussion in Skills. -[[FirstAmongstDaves]]

}}

=== Animal Spirit ===
(native only) Upon gaining this skill, an animal type is associated with the player. Any attacks by the player on that animal result in negative xp, but the animal is less likely to attack the player. Additionally, if the player dons the skin of the animal (perhaps via the Skinning skill) then a bonus is given to the player, such as faster movement, hit bonus, damage bonus. Bonus could be dependant on animal. Upon player death, there is a chance the player's animal spirit will change. --frisco

''Comments''
*Suggestions like this usually make me cringe. Can't really explain why. Could you elaborate, though, on the bonuses gained?--[[User:Wifey|Wifey]] 17:06, 3 May 2006 (BST)
----

=== Build Training ===
(Outsiders only) They gain the ability to build walls around the outsider settlements. There would be different levels like reinforced, light, massive, etc. Whoever can attack them and destroy them. Maybe there would be a skill for building gates? --[[User:One of many doctors|One of many doctors]] 03:33, 1 March 2006 (GMT)

''Comments''
* Natives should be able to make walls too - think King Kong, plus if there are native ruins on this island, then they must still have some decent construction knowledge lingering around. However, Outsiders should have an "Advanced" skill that allows for stronger walls. --[[User:Frisco|Frisco]] 04:41, 1 March 2006 (GMT)
:Yes, any human should be able to build, and they should ONLY be able to build in certain areas, so as not to have some group lay claim to a section of the island with key resources (assuming there are some). Also, it should take a LOT of AP. --[[User:Jackel|Jackel]] 00:18, 2 March 2006 (GMT)
* If this is implemented, would there be holes/platforms to fire from? If so, there would need to be an alteration in rifles and blowguns, as those can be fired from said platforms, or they can be fired at defenders on said platforms. Initially, at least, it would be probably be best if the stockades acted like UD barricades. Those inside can't fire without going outside, but are safe until those outside break down the barricades. --[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 12:41, 11 July 2006 (GMT)
----
=== Build - BOATS ===
'''''A large sandy expanse of beach with so much driftwood scattered around that you could probably build a boat from it if you had the right tools.''''' so basically this patch of beach screams out "search for driftwood and build a boat", so that is what i hhave been doing but i do not have the tools to build a boat or the skill to do so. so yeah.

we need new skills. and pirates need boats for safe travel. i'm not saying a boat as big as the wreck. maybe a canoe, rowboat, or something that would take up a lot of inventory slots.--[[User:Badhammer|Badhammer]] 02:39, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

=== Trap Laying ===
(Native only) They can place one time use traps that dmg outsiders only. This skill can only be used in the jungle. Maybe a skill to be able to detect traps? --[[User:One of many doctors|One of many doctors]] 03:36, 1 March 2006 (GMT)

''Comments''
* Again i'm thinking Outsiders could make traps too - some of them must have been hunters in the Old Country - but perhaps an Advanced skill for natives, leading to higher success rate, since they are more used to the environment. This skill seems dangerous, though, possibly leading to clans just laying traps in every single square of jungle, making it ridiculous for the other side. Perhaps a trap can only be made in certain jungle types, and only lasts until the jungle changes in level (either growing up naturally or down by the same character type chopping it). --[[User:Frisco|Frisco]] 04:53, 1 March 2006 (GMT)
:This was already proposed in the "jungle skills" section. I agree, it seem too easy to abuse by griefers.--[[User:Jackel|Jackel]] 00:18, 2 March 2006 (GMT)
::It would be harder to abuse if it takes something like 50 AP to put down a trap. If you think about it, making traps large enough to hurt humans will take a long time. Since there aren't readymade bear traps these traps would have to be DIY traps made of the enviroment.
----

===Comment Cartography===
Applies to Natives & Outsiders, most likely best applied only to the classes, scouts & explorers. I am thinking that it would be great to get more out of the map. This skill would allow those who have it to be able to add a limited number of short comments to their maps. These comments could work as references so as to be able to use the map to help find points of interest at some other time. I could see this probably difficult to implement, but perhaps it could work in that one could click in a quadrant on the map which would reload the page and allow you to add a text comment / description to a form. This text comment on a save would place a reference number on that quadrant of the map and the text would be listed to the right or below the map with accompanying reference number. -- [[User: fitzcarraldo|fitzcarraldo]]|<sup>[[User talk:fitzcarraldo|T]]</sup> 17:05, 5 March 2006 (GMT)

''Comments''
*This is a great idea, I am not an explorer/scout but I am all for class-specific skills, that are in character, because as of right now there aren't too many differences(which I'm guessing will change.-- [[User:Daylan|Daylan]]00:37, 10 March 2006 (GMT)

*I think this is a great idea too, and very much the way a real cartogragher would operate, making small notations as they explored and surveyed.--[[User:Jackel|Jackel]] 00:49, 10 March 2006 (GMT)

*I've been spoiled by the GPS and haven't really found myself lost enough to need this skill. However, with the random revival change I can imagine that getting lost in the jungle is becoming frequently more common for new players. I had a difficult time accepting the point-and-click location feature. I'm not sure how that could be handled simply. I also considered allowing the player to input X and Y coordinates directly, but that seemed out of character for Natives. One possibility that I settled on was a simple "Add Location" button on map.cgi to document the current location. It would change that map.cgi square to a different color and prompt the player to input a description. Ten location points with unique colors and descriptions will be listed under the map to serve as a key. You could either make this listing a queue (pushing out the oldest entries) or locked at 10 until one of the locations are deleted by the player. --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 09:01, 11 May 2006 (BST)

: In a way, this has been implemented through http://wiki.shartak.com/index.php/Suggestions:Implemented#Locations_List - would others agree? --[[User:Johan Crichton|Johan Crichton]] 02:05, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
----

=== Revive skill ===
Applies to doctors and shamans, a skill to revive spirits, would require Sixth sense (obviously). It is simple enough premis: a skill that revives dead players similar to the regular shamans instead of requiring them to go to town shamans, the revive players aren't as skilled at the craft so the revived players would have only 80% of there hp when revived by other players. --[[User:Daylan|Daylan]] 00:43, 10 March 2006 (GMT)

''Comments''
* Does raise a risk of multi-abuse, but I agree that player shamen should have this ability. Maybe it requires a special powder or item in order to do?--[[User:Jackel|Jackel]] 00:49, 10 March 2006 (GMT)
* I am trying to think of some cost right now but can't decide. I do know that the xp gain rate should be comparable to fighting(and healing when there are more players) so players will want to be a revive player. --[[User:Daylan|Daylan]] 01:41, 10 March 2006 (GMT)
*I don't like the idea of Doctors getting the ability to revive the dead, but that's definitely within the rights of a shaman. Sixth Sense as a requirement, and you must be standing in the same area as a spirit. Give either a 100% chance to work and a relatively high AP cost (10?) or a lower chance to work and lower AP cost. Blam. There you go. Player shamans can now do their part.--[[User:Wifey|Wifey]] 07:18, 28 March 2006 (BST)
*Haven't been around in a bit..... anyways I was just thinking that it seems mighty easy to get levels by "camping" the "enemy" shamen and getting hordes of xp and tonnes of native/outsider kills this seems like an exploit of the current system of revives. If a player aided revive method is put into place the main shamans should be removed, or you can only be revived by your home shaman by the call shaman(or whatever it is called) button to prevent this xp farming. I thought of this because my level 3 pirate has got all his xp from doing this and it is mighty easy and with the Ubermap and stuff it is even easyer to do, though pirates will need a way to get revived by there own.....lol I just realized I put doctor instead of scientist doctor=scientist - [[User:Daylan|Daylan]] 02:51, 4 April 2006 (BST)
----

===Polymorph===
Requires Animal Spirit. Allows character to take the form of an animal. Perhaps one skill per animal, and each transform requires the use of an (AP expensive) animal mask. Upon transforming, people around you cannot tell it is you. If you die as an animal, you turn back to human, having lost half the HP the animal lost. To allow polymorph for outsiders, maybe a skill like "Ancient Reading" with the presumption that this allows them to read the right glyphs in the ruins would give them the ability to learn this skill. --[[User:Frisco|Frisco]] 03:52, 10 March 2006 (GMT)

''Comments''
* I like the idea of having some kind of weird supernatural kind of skill for the natives... But, I think that if you get killed while in animal form, you should be dead and have to seek the assistance of a shaman. Because all the natives would do when logging out is morph into an elephant. That's a boat load of HP for someone to whittle down and kill, only to have the human pop out and have to be hacked away at. Granted, nobody will KNOW outright that the person has assumed the guise of an animal. Would you propose that if someone "kills" the animal form they get the XP bonus of killing an animal? -- [[User:Schmeckel|Schmeckel]] 06:09, 11 March 2006 (GMT)
*Special masks that turn you into animals? They'd need to be quite hard to make, maybe special wood from a certain type of tree, a bit of the animal and something to stick it together. It'd have to be harder to get the ones for better animals. [[User:MorkaisChosen|MorkaisChosen]] 12:19, 11 March 2006 (GMT)
----

===Will o' the Wisp===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill addition|
suggest_scope=Spirits (all classes)|
suggest_description=Will o' the Wisp (can't think of another name) is a potentially simple skill to give a little more incentive to play as a spirit for a bit. It is a sub-skill of '''Ghostly whisper'''. If a player possesses this skill, then as a spirit they will have an option to "Wisp" for 30 AP. Wisping operates on a similar mechanic as the Flare guns and Feeding groans in Urban Dead. Any players posessing '''Sixth Sense''' within a 5x5 range of the spirit will be informed: ''A faint flicker of light catches your eye (x blocks east/west), (y blocks north/south). (timestamp)''.

This skill also has the potential to stack. More spirits on the same square will produce a brighter effect. Possibly in base 5. Ranging from faint flicker, slight illumination, to brilliant flash.

Fixes that I made last minute: reduced the Wisp range and upped the Wisp cost in an attempt to reduce spamming, also making Sixth Sense a prerequisite for recognizing Wisps as it would otherwise nerf the skill to a degree.|
suggest_time=07:53, 25 March 2006 (GMT)|
suggest_author=[[User:Lint|Lint]]|
suggest_comments=

* I like it. The AP cost might be a bit on the high side, but there may be other alternatives to reduce spamming. --[[User:Simon|Simon]] 10:44, 25 March 2006 (GMT)
* What's the point of it? Or is there something I'm missing? I mean, is it just to light up for kicks? Wll o' the Wisps in folklore always attempted to lead travellers into dangerous parts of bogs, where they would find their doom. Since that isn't really an option (and since people, noticing this, would just stop paying attention to them), is there any practical use for this? Still neat, if there isn't, but better if there is.--[[User:Wifey|Wifey]] 07:25, 28 March 2006 (BST)
** As a Shaman with Sixth Sense, I've only come across 1 spirit. I sought a means to encourage the realm of the living and the dead to interact more. It is admitedly mostly aimed towards flavor and roleplaying than mechanics. The most practical application would be to attract people to revive points (in the possibility that they are created). In retrospect, I now see that this suggestion overlaps with the '''Haunting Scream''' description to a fair degree. --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 08:33, 28 March 2006 (BST)
::* Does it overlap? I haven't seen a Haunting Scream in action, yet. I'm all for flavor and RP skills, I just doubt that people woud bother with them too often without some mechanical benefit, which would be a shame. I'll admit, though, that I hadn't thought of attracting shamans to get yourself revived.--[[User:Wifey|Wifey]] 06:48, 29 March 2006 (BST)

}}

===Construction===
construction points, would be implemented and would act like exp, but players earn it by setting up camp, ex: 5exp everytime a player sets up his/her cabin, costs 10ap to set up, to keep from spamming and getting free exp.
*'''construction'''allow players to build 1(one) single hut per GAME that is collapsable, non collapsable, players out in the jungle would have to cut down the jungle to re-construct the hut
this would give players a reason to stay out in the jungle,

simply what it says, first off, we could/should have different buildings because i find it annoying to have to look around at the same picture not knowing where the trading post is. im implying that new icons be put in for huts, like the pirate ship, have different pictures, ex:
there is an armory hut, it's icon would be a hut with a silver tip/ sword on the roof
and etc...

SKILLS:
*'''hut maitenance'''
can change hut 1(one) time into another kind of hut ex: armory hut, extra chance of finding wpns etc
**'''cupboard''' accesible inventory in hut that players can "lock" and recieve a "key" item, other players could break open the "lock" for x amount of AP
*'''bed''' players in hut are shown the "get into bed" option which heals 2 hp every hour they arent logged in
**'''fluffy bed''' heals and extra 1-2 hp
*'''running water'''
if the hut is within x amount of squares to water, they can refill gourds and bottles (i think someone suggested we keep empty bottles, this would require that to be implemented)
*'''fire-pit''' players can cook meat (as suggested, only used if implemented)
*'''craftmanship'''players can see the hut's creator, ex: Richard's Hut, if skill isnt aquired, players see the hut as "dishevelled hut" or "ragged hut" etc.
*'''hut upgrade 1''' hut is given one extra ring of squares
**'''hut upgrade 2''' hut is given extra floor
***'''hut upgrade 3''' hut second floor is enlarged, door locks are given
****'''hut upgrade 4''' hut is given a basement

the use of hut upgrades is to help people hide, when upgrade 3 is given, and locks are attained, players can "lock" their houses up, requiring a devastating amount of AP to open, suggesting around 60-70 AP

*'''house trap 1''' spike trap, inflicts 1 wound
**'''house trap 2''' heavy spike trap, 1 wound and 3 dmg
*'''house trap 3''' blast trap, 7 hp
**'''house trap 4''' heavy blast trap 14 hp

traps are triggered upon breaking into a house, players can attain a new skill:
*'''lockpick''' breaking in only costs 30 AP
with this skill, traps are disabled

*'''animal cage'''
if animal trapping were implemented, then this would keep them from running away when u died,
**'''animal care''' animal care section of the house, determining your pet's status ex:
Richard clicks the button "give pet food" mr whiskers smiles and gobbles it up. it could also just be flavor text, and a way to get rid of meat.
*'''attack animal'''
player buys skill animal now acts like trap, player types in names of people allowed to be in house, anyone not on the list is attacked by animal, animal is treated as "wild" to intruders, as per, it will follow them several blocks away from the house before returning, and can be killed, but is also agressive no matter what breed. ex: mr.parrot attack john doe for 2 dammage and returns home.
**'''rabidity''' animal is now "rabid" and has a 20% chance of "infecting" (wound) the intruding player

other tidings can be added, ex:
*'''taxidermy''' players can pick up dead bodies and mount them in their house ex:
in the second story of richard's hut is a grey elephant head, mounted on oak

my finale,
*'''garden''' allows players to plant a tree/ bush 1 square away from their house, planting requires, 5 of the said fruit and the plants disappear when the hut is packed up, players also have the ability to "kill" the plant and re-grow a different one.
**'''green thumb''' allows players to garden for only 3 fruits
**'''verdant thumb''' allows players to change to growths around their house, ex: a house surrounded by dirt can be changed to light undergrouwth or heavy forest
**'''spade''' allows player to dig a "cellar" 1-3 squares away from house to "hide" or store items.
skill also allows players to loacte any tunnels within 5X5 of the checked area. players can only check within a 3X3 area around the house

house experience does not raise everytime a skill is bought, but the price is set at 100-200 (your choice)

"comments Below"

Sounds like it would be a good idea if the island was bigger but otherwise a 3x3 would be gigantic if everyone had one--[[User:Slith|Slith]] 21:40, 29 March 2006 (BST)
*not really, but the huts are still the same single square size on the outside, it is the inside that changes. --[[User:Richard Rose|Richard Rose]]

I think it would be better to implement this skill while implementing clans - i.e. having clan camps. One way to implement this would be to establish camp/ a hut automatically when a certain number of players from a given clan stand on a single square. This would reward organization and prevent individual players from spamming. In addition, I think that having all those additions as skills is unnessacary. I just adds uneeded complexity. Again, clan based operation seems to be the best way to do this.--[[User:Gandhi|Gandhi]] 00:47, 31 March 2006 (BST)

Well, being able to go out into the jungle and making a little camp would be very interesting. With a clan feature you could set up small clan camps as Gandhi said as small towns perhaps. But one way to assure that it's not spammed is one per person not really clan needed. That way someone could have a small home if they wanted and people couldnt spam them but it would encourage clan building to have a variety of buildings. Of course the problem with a limit is dying then beiong far from your home and then a problem with replacing. But if its as an item in inventory when you die maybe that would work? Use to set up on a square. I personally am setting myself up in the jungle in an area clearing paths and what not but theres really not much for me to do. Construction would be wonderfull if a way is found ot properly manage it.--[[User:Dracul|Dracul]]
----

===Plunder===
{{suggestion|
suggest_time=07:15, 30 March 2006 (BST)|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=Pirates|
suggest_description=So. Pirates have been added, at long last. We all love pirates. They're swarthy, greedy people. Like mobsters, only with eyepatches, bandanas, peg legs, parrots, and the clap. There's something lacking in the pirates on Shartak, though. To get a better idea of this, let's look at the check list.

[x] 1. Pirate ship

[x] 2. Swarthy attitude

[x] 3. Pirate lingo

[x] 4. Murder

[ ] 5. Plunder

Aha! So we've identified the problem: a distinct lack of plunder. For this reason, I've come up with the idea for a plunderin' skill. Now, when you kill some poor sap, you take one coin out of his inventory per level--his level, that is. This keeps it a little balanced, in that you won't be taking away the life savings of some poor little level 1 when you kil him. Unless he happens to have only 1 coin, but that's neither here nor there. Now, of course, if you kill a level 5 who only has 4 coins, you'll only get those 4 coins. If he has 6 coins, however, you'll only get 5 of them.

Is it overpowering pirates to give them this class-restricted skill? Not really. I mean, despite being a combat class, they can't really get any good with rifles. Pretty much all of their kills are made with a cutlass. And what's the real usage of the gold coins? Typically, to buy ammunition. Obviously, the pirates won't be using it on that, as they're terrible shots. They'll just buy themselves some medical supplies, some back-up weapons, and hoard the rest. I can't say I know that many players who hold onto the coins, anyways, though I'm sure there must be some. Still, they generally tend to be spent pretty quickly. Really, I just think that this could lend pirates a little more depth; sure, they're fellow outsiders, but can you trust them? How quickly will they cut your throat for you wallet?

So... Thoughts? Agreement? Death threats?|
suggest_author=[[User:Wifey|Wifey]]|
suggest_comments=

*'''Keep/Change''' (Yarr) I agree that this fits with theme and perhaps rightfully rewards Pirates in that they do not have a Trader NPC at the shipwreck (at least that was the case when I left it several days ago). And I'm glad that this is being presented as a purchasable skill (I believe?) rather than an inherent one.<br>I do generally follow one of the basic tenets of UD - "Don't <del>Tread On Me</del> Mess With My Inventory!" But gold appears to have become fairly plentiful with the Trader NPC; having more gold than your current level is a fairly easy feat and losing gold won't lead to an entirely unpleasant gaming experience. However, I would like a few more mechanics set in place to minimize the avenues to zerging, griefing, and general abuse that this suggestion would open up.<br>The only simple amendment I can think of may be to give '''Plunder''' a percent chance of success. Perhaps allowing for degrees of advanced plundering skills. --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 20:07, 30 March 2006 (BST)
**'''RE:''' A very good point. Very good points from both of you. I had thought of a % chance when I was originally writing the suggestion, but I realized that the nwe'd be dealing with an X% chance to get Y% of the other player's coins, and I thought it might be a little more work on the server than necessary. I thought, perhaps a chence of getting only 1 coin, but that seemed just silly. Perhaps we could limit the pirate to only 1 plunder per day (or maybe a few more, if people feel that 1 is too few)? For example, if you killed John Smith the level 1 Explorer and took 1 coin from him, then killed Mr. Moneybags the level 16 with more coins than you can shake a stick at, you would get no coins from him. If you were to wait a day, though, and kill Mr. Moneybags ''then'', you would get 16 coins--and no more from anyone else for the rest of the day. Additionally, you would not be able ot get money from the same person twice in a row. So if, after killing Mr. Moneybags and taking half of his coins, you killed him the next day, you would get none. You might as well have gone for poor little John Smith. That eliminates griefing, and all it would need to do is keep track of the ID of the last person you killed, checking it the next time you kill someone 24+ hours later..--[[User:Wifey|Wifey]] 23:29, 30 March 2006 (BST)
*i agree with both of them, and with you, id love to see this flavor added, and the trader NPC at the pirate camp has yet to be found, so they would have to go to another village to use it. the closest village (where my pirate is) is dalpok, which, is, as you know native. this hostility would mean pirates would REALLY have to work to hoard medical supplies and weapons, thusly this would be well balanced. i also want to discuss the % success rate. as pirates are VERY good at "plundering" the % chance success rate should start at a reasonably high %, such as 50% and above. as putting it any lower would simply be ridiculous. there could be several level ups to raise the % but if there are no advanced levels then i suggest putting the starting % at around 75%. --[[User:Richard Rose|Richard Rose]]

*'''Plunder''' could be made a search skill (concievably the second skill in the plunder grouping). Rather than having it be merely equivalent to scavenging the plunder skill could only be used in villages (it wouldn't matter if they were native or outsider villages). Scavenging could similarly be changed to a jungle-only skill. Repeatedly plundering a square would deplete it much like chopping down a square of jungle, and squares would replenish over time much the same way. Whether this affects the search odds for other players is open to debate. I'd hate for the pirate class to be burning every other class in the game by plundering all the villages to the point nobody could find a rifle.<br>The odds of finding a broken item should increase while plundering. The more refined the item the greater the chance it would be broken when a pirate plunders it (GPS, first aid kits, rifles, dart guns and any other delicate manufactured items to come being more likely to be broken). It would give people on the island something to do other than filling out the map and hunting game. Since we could then expect groups of pirates moving from village to village it would also increase player interaction (violently or otherwise). Having a wider range of broken items could necessitate a repair skill for players or a similar service that could be provided by a trader adding another level to the game's economy. -[http://www.shartak.com/profile.cgi?id=242 Tyler Whitney]

*With the new "stuff breaks/crit hit" along with traders gold has a major use, instead of searching for that cutlass(or machete both break) you can go trade your hard earned gold coins for a weapon, why stop at just coins? pirates could get this skill and should just take away 1 random item (any item) plus a few gold coins, as we all know pirates didn't just take gold they took anything of value. Though level ones should be completly immune to this and the maximum value of the item you take(based on how many gold coins it takes to trade for the item) should be equal to there level, or some other method all I know is items should get stolen along with coins, you can only get killed once (as of right now) before going back to a village so it doesn't do too much, I mean 1 item? even if it was my machete(whom I call Mary) I wouldn't mind, sure my ghost would scream and haunt the bastard who took her away from me that would just add a new level of fun to the game. As a native(with a pirate alt) I support this skill, though it would entail a new top ten richest in the statistics page so the pirates would know who to hunt.... mwahaha -[[User:Daylan|Daylan]] 03:09, 4 April 2006 (BST)
**Now there's an interesting idea. Perhaps, though, there should then be a hierarchy of items in the eyes of a pirate? For instance, you take 1 item (which might be a gold coin) and one gold coin on the side. The gold coins on the side would increase with one's level. What would the item be, though? Probably first would be a gem. They're shiny and valuable--a pirate's favorite words (aside from "Arrrr!")! Next? A gold coin. Not enough coins? Probably a cutlass or machete. None of those? Rifle. No? Rifle bullet, then. None of those, either? Probably go with a first aid kit. Ah, but those are out, too? Bottle of water. And so on down the list. Bottle of water -> bottle of rum -> gourd of water/banana/berries -> knife/dagger. I doubt a pirate would bother with a blowgun or darts, nor would he yearn for his enemies' driftwood. Once again, just throwing an idea out, though.--[[User:Wifey|Wifey]] 06:28, 4 April 2006 (BST)
*** To a Pirate, Rum would be more interesting than Water...[[User:MorkaisChosen|MorkaisChosen]] 11:40, 28 May 2006 (BST)
**I think plundering items crosses into making this skill much to powerful. It lessens the need for the Pirate class to spend AP searching. They may lose a cutlass or two choppping another player to bits, but then they earn a machete in the kill and can continue on their way. Gold coins can be argued to be powerful, but the lack of a Trader at the shipwreck means they have to make their way to other Villages in order to spend them. After some further thinking, I feel that there should be a plundering cap of 10 coins regardless of level (otherwise it would be unfair to classes with class-specific skills that make them a higher level than others). And it is random chance after the kill produces no coins or some coins or all coins. If the player doesn't have enough coins, the Pirate plunders what he can and is given extra flavor text to reward them on their evil little victory. "Yo ho ho! You have taken all (Player)'s booty." --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 07:00, 4 April 2006 (BST)

*Plunder sounds nice. How about this formula: a pirate's chance of plundering someone equals 4 times the pirate's level minus 2 times the victim's level and always returns the lesser of half the victim's level in gold (rounded down) or all the victim's gold. In other words, if a level 10 pirate plunders a level 1 scientist with 10 gold, the pirate has a 38% chance of getting 0 gold, and if a level 10 pirate plunders a level 13 warrior with 2 gold, the pirate has a 14% chance of getting 2 gold. This simulates higher level non-pirates being more adept at hiding coin purses on their body, and prevents griefing on newbies. I agree with above comments that plunder should be a one time immediate event upon killing a character, based on a percentage chance, and limited to gold - anything else makes the skill too complex and/or powerful. --[[User:Frisco|Frisco]] 13:39, 4 April 2006 (BST)
*I wouldn't support this unless pirates could be plundered ''from'', too, which kind of defeats the point. It's not like pirates are a weak class; the shipwreck has a trader now, and they start with 65 HP. I really like being able to count on having a static inventory while I'm logged out, and I think "Yarr, a pirate has killed you and plundered 1 gold coin" would get old very fast. I think it'd be quite cool if pirates were healed by 1 HP more for drinking beer or rum, but taking gold from their kills is too much. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 16:42, 28 May 2006 (BST)
*Yarr and Keep. I say this is a good addition. I believe all the classes should have some skill specific to them. I have a pirate and a scientist, and neither of them have anywhere special go to in terms of skills, thus making the distinction of them being scientists and pirates useless. Especially the scientist... 10 gold coins? What the? --[[User:Rip Purr|Rip Purr]] 10:53, 30 May 2006 (BST)
*Would it damage game balance much to have the pirate gain gold as described, but ''without'' taking gold from the victim? That way we have the benefits of the skill, without the annoyance of losing your gold. And it wouldnt be an easier way to get money than searching in huts, so it shouldnt unbalance the game too much. --Gitboy 17:26, 3 July 2006
*I like the idea of plunder, and given that pirates don’t have class specific skill it would only be fitting to have it as our first. Rather then trying to create overly complicated system for plunder we should just follow in the tradition of final fantasy more specifically making plunder into a 3 level skill much in the vain of steal (a small chance of taking a random item from opponent’s inventory (maybe 5%)) rob (a greater of chance than the above (10%)) and finally mug (the same chance rating as “rob” with the addition of damage if successful(something like 2 or 3).--[[User:A for anarchy|A for anarchy]] 04:13, 22 July 2006 (UTC)


}}

===Diagnosis===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill addition, class-specific|
suggest_scope=Shaman and Scientist|
suggest_description=This is an attempt to create additional variety within the classes. Diagnosis would be a sub-skill of Triage available only to the Shaman and Scientist classes. It behaves much like Triage does, but it would detect Shark Bites and other possible future maladies and status ailments. Shark Bite victims could be identified with an asterisk next to their name.<br>
I believe that this skill's net benefits will be minimal. It would fit with the theme of the class, while not over-powering them. I also believe that since this is a sub-skill, that there should be additional class-specific skills for Shamans and Scientist.|
suggest_time=18:21, 6 April 2006 (BST)|
suggest_author=[[User:Lint|Lint]]|
suggest_comments=

* If Triage truly only does reveal one person's HP then the skill tree should be expanded for Advanced Triage as well. Where Advanced Triage would display the HP of everyone in the current area - rather than just the most wounded. --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 01:55, 29 April 2006 (BST)
* Corrected usage of Doctor. I hope that this skill can still be considered in-character for Scientists. --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 23:11, 11 May 2006 (BST)

}}

===Alchemy===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill addition, class-specific|
suggest_scope=Scientists|
suggest_description=Allows Scientists to convert seemingly useless items (such as driftwood) into valuables such as a gold coin. Another possibility is crabs into gems (don't ask). This would, of course, cost about 25 AP per use. This would give Scientists a key role in the game because they would be needed to convert intems.|
suggest_time=23:24, 8 April 2006 (BST)|
suggest_author=[[User:One of many doctors|One of many doctors]]|
suggest_comments=

*While I like the basic idea of this, it should be limited a little. That said, I don't know how one would appropriately limit its use. Perhaps you could turn a bottle of rum into a more refreshing bottle of water? How, precisely, would you envision the implementation of this?--[[User:Wifey|Wifey]] 01:18, 10 April 2006 (BST)
*I like it! It gives us something unique to do as scientists! Would you make it so you turn a specific useless item into a specific useful item, or what?[[User:MorkaisChosen|MorkaisChosen]] 15:24, 10 April 2006 (BST)
**I imagine that eventually every class will have atleast one unique skill to separate it from the others and give a reason for choosing that class. --[[User:One of many doctors|One of many doctors]] 01:30, 11 April 2006 (BST)
*I could accept this if it was presented differently. As it stands, it sort of conflicts with my expectation that the Natives are the more mystically-inclined and the Outsiders are more advanced technologically. I just don't envision men and women of science practicing alchemy. I have no objection to the scientist manufacturing items, but not in this manner. --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 03:37, 11 April 2006 (BST)

}}

===Spirit Substantiation===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=Sprits (all classes)|
suggest_description=The spirit has learned to partially substantiate its form, becoming more physical, and can now float on the winds to move at double the normal rate (i.e. .5 AP per move), but only in the direction that the wind is blowing. Note that this requires the game element of wind, which can either be a uni-directional constant (e.g. always blows west) or changes over time (perhaps dependant on location?). If wind direction changes, the game's user interface will need a mechanism to display wind direction, either via game.cgi or added to map.html.

This could be the first in a series of new spirit skills. I see the aforementioned Will o' the Wisp being under this tree, as well as another skill to move .3 AP per move but still only in the direction of the wind. Perhaps some poltergeist type skills can be added as well - allow dead pirates to plunder, any spirit to write messages, any spirit to still map out the area, etc, etc.
|
suggest_time=16:40, 14 April 2006 (BST)|
suggest_author=[[User:Frisco|Frisco]]|
suggest_comments=

* Nice idea, what would happen to moving against the wind? Would that then require 2AP and 1 AP to move at 90 degrees to the wind direction :) --[[User:Simon|Simon]] 17:33, 14 April 2006 (BST)
** I was thinking of substantiation as being a conceptual (not a user toggle switch, something the game system automatically determines) on/off capability of the ghost, so the ghost could have no form and thus no penalty for moving into the wind, then take form and move with the wind. But that's mostly because i don't like the idea of skills that negatively affect a character. I definitely think wind should adversely affect other things, like pigeons taking longer to deliver if the recipient is upwind. It's all more math for you! --[[User:Frisco|Frisco]] 17:49, 14 April 2006 (BST)

}}

===Marksmanship===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill modification and new skill|
suggest_scope=Anyone who uses a ranged weapon|
suggest_description=A few problems that I see with regard to rifle use: 1) Non-soldiers' extremely low maximum rifle accuracy making rifles useless to non-soldiers, 2) Loading rifles takes up a tremendous amount of AP since it costs one AP to load one bullet, leading to a very low damage-to-total-AP-spent ratio, 3) A closely related problem to #2 is the fact that people are carrying around 20 or 30 rifles/blowpipes, which is ridiculous and unrealistic, and a by-product of the AP cost to load. I dont know if the following idea for a solution to both of these problems can realisitically be implemented, but here goes: Change the Advanced Rifle Training skill to make loading rifle bullets cost 0 AP (advanced training would thus mean the abiliy to load rifles very easily and quickly, as opposed to untrained people who take much longer. We are in the time period when it took a long time to load rifles after all). Institute a new skill called Marksmanship in the firearms skill tree, which gives +__% rifle accuracy <s>(I would say +30%). Let marksmanship be a skill that can be acquired by anyone, while rifle training and advanced rifle training remain soldier-exlcusive. If Marksmanship gives +30%, it will improve non-soldiers' maximum accuracy from 20% to 50%, knocking out problem #1 above. Soldiers with the entire proposed rifle skill tree would have max accuracy of 70% and would not have to waste an AP to load, knocking out problem #2. Natives would get the same changes for blowpipe
note: It might be better to have two skills, Marksmanship and Expert Marksmaship, each giving +15% accuracy, and possibly make these two a seperate skill tree. If they were in the rifle training tree, they would have to come after the two rifle training skills, but non-soldiers cannot get rifle training, so it would look awkward.</s>

'''NOTE: [[User_talk:Arminius#Proposal_for_new_rifle_skill_tree|Revised proposal and statistical analysis of current vs. proposed damage-to-AP ratios, click here]]'''|
suggest_time=05:34, 13 May 2006 (BST)|
suggest_author=[[User:Arminius|Arminius]]|
suggest_comments=

*From a gameplay point of view, i don't see that guns/blowpipes need to be any stronger. It's already possible to take someone out in one go, why the need to kill quicker? The proposed change means with one gun and a full load of bullets, one soldier in one day causes an average of 75 * .7 * 4 = 210 HP damage - that's 2.4 pirates with stamina, or 4.2 beginner shamans. It would make the game a lot less fun to be able to die that much quicker and that much more often. Maybe i wouldn't object as much if these old school guns were also subject to backfiring, causing them to blow up in the owner's hands and resulting in owner HP loss and gun destruction (similar to machete/cutlass blade snapping). By the way, elsewhere there's been debate on the timeperiod of the game since we also have GPS units. --[[User:Frisco|Frisco]] 20:00, 13 May 2006 (BST)
::You are calculating ''combat'' damage-to-AP ratio, the proposed modification of the advanced rifle training skill would not affect combat-damage-to-AP ratio very much (it would affect it not at all for people with lots of rifles), it would only affect the rifle's currently very low total overall damage-inflicted-to-AP-spent ratio. (With 28 fully-loaded rifles a soldier can already kill two 85-HP pirates in only 56 AP.) The rifle's total-damage-to-AP ratio today is 0.48 by my calculation, the machete's is 1.35. With the proposed changes, the maximum total-damage-to-AP ratio for a rifle-wielding soldier would be 0.7 (still far lower than machete). Non-soldiers max rifle total damage-to-AP ratio would improve from 0.16 (weaker than a level 0 character with a blunt machete) to 0.4. I like your suggestion of rifles possibly blowing up too, Simon should definitely consider that. [[User:Arminius|Arminius]] 20:28, 13 May 2006 (BST)

*I'm not sure how I feel about the skill yet, but I will correct you, Frisco, in that the GPS unit is not an adequate argument about the game's time period. Simon has already said that he doesn't like the name "GPS Unit" because it is anachronistic, and was considering another one.--[[User:Wifey|Wifey]] 01:03, 14 May 2006 (BST)

* I don't quite see why rebuilding the skill tree is necessary. You could accomplish the same thing by introducing two new skills - one for accuracy which builds upon the existing accuracy skills and one for reloading. Make the first accuracy skill available to all classes (adjusting to 30%), but restrict the secondary accuracy skills to Warriors and Soldiers. But even then, I'm not completely sold on the fact that these skills are necessary. I have no problem with my non-Soldier not depending on a rifle. If I wanted to use a rifle, I can easily make a Soldier character. And while reducing reloading cost might bring rifles and blowpipes more evenly with machetes, increasing the damage or introducing the ranged attack suggestion might solve the problem without providing free lunches. --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 02:31, 15 May 2006 (BST)
::Yes of course it's fine to make them new skills. I suggested it in the way I did because learning to load quickly would fall under rifle training I would say, and we already have the two rifle-training skills in the game. One of the accuracy-improving skills would fall under Marskmanship (or marskmanship/expert marksmanship). How they are added to the game is almost immaterial, the point is to let soldiers be able to acquire a skill which gets rid of their need to waste more than half their daily AP loading their 20 rifles, and get rid of the need to carry 20+ rifles in the first place. I dont see how a skill allowing for a 0 AP cost to load is a "free lunch" at all, it just reduces the price of a ridiculously high-priced lunch, i.e. 1 AP to load 1 bullet/dart (plus I feel it improves the realism of the game, in part by eliminating the need to carry around 25 rifles or blowpipes). The point of the Marksmanship skill (available to all) is not to put non-soldiers on the par with soldiers in firearms capability at all, but to make rifles non-worthless to everyone else. Currently non-soldiers are literally far better off ''punching'' enemies than using a rifle when it comes to damage-inflicted-per-AP-spent, which is just ridiculous. [[User:Arminius|Arminius]] 03:37, 15 May 2006 (BST)
:::I do like the idea of making rifle and blowpipe usage more accessible to other character classes. But I continue to have a difficult time accepting the 0 AP reload cost. Currently there is no action in the game that costs 0 AP besides rejecting a trade, speaking in empty area, healing someone at full health, and dropping an item (all non-actions). Would 0.5 AP would be an acceptable change? But before it is considered, there must be other alternatives before lowering AP cost to make the ranged weapons more balanced. --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 22:27, 27 May 2006 (BST)
::::How about this-- modify advanced rifle training skill so that instead of "Gain another 20% on firearms attacks", it says "lets soldiers load and fire faster" (0.5 AP to load and to fire with that skill), in other words a rifle version of trekking. This would cut down on the excessive AP costs of rifle usage and be an interesting skill to balance rifles rather than another "add 20% accuracy" or something like that. Then two new skills, Marksmanship (+10% accuracy), Expert Marskmanship (+20% accuracy), both of which would be available to all character classes. I would envision the two marskmanship skills as the first two skills in the firearms tree (the only two available to non-soldiers), and then the rifle training skills would come afterwards. -[[User:Arminius|Arminius]] 20:00, 30 May 2006 (BST)
:::::'''UPDATE:''' To see a revised version of my suggestion '''[[User_talk:Arminius#Proposal_for_new_rifle_skill_tree|Click Here]].''' I worked out the current and proposed damage-to-AP ratios, and I invite everyone to take a look. It is far too long and complicated to copy here, so I wrote it up elsewhere. -[[User:Arminius|Arminius]] 01:44, 2 June 2006 (BST)
:*As discussed elsewhere, ''carrying loaded rifles as backup allows you to lock in the kill bonus'' on a much wider range of (remaining-AP/remaining-victim-HP) situations. Since the '''kill bonus is more than a third of total XP for combat''', this throws the naive XP=damage comparisons way out of whack. Anecdotally at least, my Soldier has clearly done better than my other characters in jungle XP-harvesting, because kill-steals and dying while asleep are so common. So while the Rifle (and especially the Blowpipe) needs help, I think that nearly doubling combat-time damage to 2x 50% 5 damage for 1 AP (5.0) instead of 1x 60% 5 damage (3.0) is not an ideal way to proceed. I support Free Reload or Rapid Reload as a Soldier-Only Skill. I also think that an all-available accuracy upgrade for Rifle/Blowpipe (to at least better than Machete) would be great. For example: Base 20% (+General Accuracy +15%) (+Soldier-only Accuracy +15%) (+Soldier-only Accuracy +15%). Or maybe Base 10% (+General Accuracy +25%) (+Soldier-only Accuracy +25%) (+Soldier-only Rapid Reload), and increase Rifle Bullet base damage to 6. Two shots per AP just seems too big a jump to me; imho implementing true range (firing from adjacent square and/or without provoking return melee attacks) is a better way to proceed. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 03:56, 2 June 2006 (BST)
::*Yes the blowpipe needs help even more than the rifle. That limited-AP poisoning skill, along with these proposed boosts to accuracy, would even things out there. I also like the idea of making ranged weapons truly ranged, but that seems difficult to implement and perhaps impractical (for one thing we cant see the names of people on adjacent squares). If any version of QBerry's "auto attack" is ever implemented for players, though it seems unlikely with so much opposition, the "range" of the ranged weapon could come into play by not allowing a person without ranged weapons/ammo to back. This was discussed on the forums in the "Aggressive Animals" thread. [[User:Arminius|Arminius]] 06:01, 2 June 2006 (BST)
:*NB about Free Reload: Incidentally, Free Reload obviously solves the "realism problem" by allowing a Soldier to carry only one Rifle and a huge pile of Bullets, with '''no increase''' in Soldier combat-time damage-per-AP (still 3.0 max avg per AP) nor Soldier field-capacity damage-per-inventoryfull (still 72 shots) since 2 Bullets loose take up as much space as a Loaded Rifle. People who think that 0AP reload is imbalancing have been smoking too much of the dried herbs. As for realism of 0AP reload, the Soldier's "1AP to fire" accounts for time necessary to both reload and fire. I can discuss and reject 160 exchanges with the Trader and or attempt to heal a signpost in the same amount of time. The real-time form submission and IP hit creates a perceptible time-increment. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 03:56, 2 June 2006 (BST)

After thinking about this, it seems to me that the best thing to do is as follows: No new skill, instead simply a change in the game mechanics so that all players take 0 AP to "load" by deafult. The AP cost to fire would thereby represent the time to load and fire, as Tycho44 said above. (Load was in quotation marks there because the load button in-game would thus really represent selecting the bullet to use, the actual action of loading would be included in the 1 AP to fire). This would eliminate the 30 rifles problem straight away (and for all character classes), it would ''not'' increase the combat damage-to-AP ratio at all, and it would be an interesting way to increase the damage-to-''total''-AP-spent ratio (which we need) without having to add any new skill. As for the accuracy boosts, those can be worked out later (non-soldiers need a boost in that department we all agree, perhaps soldiers merit a slight one), but 0 AP to "load" is definitely a sound change to make, I see no argument against it. [[User:Arminius|Arminius]] 23:11, 3 June 2006 (BST)

The reason why I keep pressing for alternatives is because I never saw this as a solution in other browser-based games. Shouldn't the route be to increase the damage dealt to reduce the impact of the reload cost? --[[User:Lint|Lint]] 18:52, 14 June 2006 (BST)

:My earlier arguments notwithstanding, I '''strongly oppose''' universal 0AP reload. A 0AP reload for everyone simply destroys the reloading game mechanism in its entirety, making the 2-bullet chamber of the rifle identical to the 1-dart chamber of the blowpipe identical to the 70-bullet drum of a hypothetical gatling gun. The blowpipe is distinguished by its Poison damage, which can in turn be offset by a Reload Penalty, if we keep that game mechanic. Keeping the reload mechanic enhances the separate-but-equal factions. In my humble and uninformed speculation, tweak up the accuracy on ranged weapons (say 20% base / 35% marksmanship-universal / 50% warrior-only / 65% advanced-warrior-only) and things will work fine. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 23:54, 17 June 2006 (BST)


}}

===Hut Construction (Simplified) ===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill, item, action|
suggest_scope=Every player|
suggest_description=This is a bit similar to the Construction suggestion, but much more simplified. I agree that we should be able to set up little camps, to have bases away from bases. I'll explain the flavour aspect after I've explained the mechanics.<br>
A skill can be purchased called, "Construction", which allows you to erect a hut on land that has been chopped down to 0 density. The hut would have a bit of AP weight to build, say 10ap cost so that full constuction on a 10 dense jungle sq would have a total of 20ap. The hut that you build is at first a regular empty hut. Once you have bought the second skill in the set, "Stock Hut" (or something like that), the hut becomes a mini trade-post, stocking no more than 5 types of items at any one point. The first 5 items are randomized, and then as people trade, they change. Thus, it's a mixed bag of what you could get. These artificially erected huts can be sacked and destroyed. Keep in mind I'm not a coder, so if you know what I'm describing is difficult, but know how to do something similar, please say so.<br>
Flavour: This gives people the feeling of being able to set up their own little base camp for their own clan, without making a whole new village. The fact that each hut can only stock a small number of items, and also that it can be destoryed, means things don't get out of hand and make the original villages defunct. Each hut can also be plauged with low-demand items like crabs or mangoes, making the idea even for grifers, natives, enemies, outsiders and pirates.|
suggest_time=12:05, 3 June 2006 (BST)|
suggest_author=[[User:Rip Purr|Rip Purr]]|
suggest_comments=

Building a hut could also require a certain number of driftwood pieces. --[[User:Rip Purr|Rip Purr]] 12:08, 3 June 2006 (BST)

Ability to create minor base camps away from settlements is good (but for what practical purpose?), but the idea that the island would be flooded with "huts" all over, with the same icon and name as huts in settlements, I dont like that. This is supposed to a wild myseterious island, having huts all over would hurt that ambiance I think (Lower-tech base camps of some sort would not hurt it though.) If hut construction is implemented it would have to be very costly to avoid littering the entire map with them that's for sure. The other thing is, We have to be clear about what the purpose of these base camps would be, what practical benfit would they have. Would they have defense value? Could the builder elect to keep people out unless they are members of clan X or unless they are natives or unless they are Derbyites, etc? [[User:Arminius|Arminius]] 00:59, 4 June 2006 (BST)

:I agree wholeheartedly with your points. It is indeed important to make it difficult to build huts. As I mentioned, the huts would have very small capabilities as a trade point, thus making them a tactical advantage in a seige. Allow me to explain; My clan wants to lay seige to Dalpok. We erect a small camp near the village and stock our huts with bullets through trading. Then we load up, attack, come back to our makeshift camp and take the bullets from our huts. As for the wild, mysterious island element, you're right, but is it not normal for humans to tame and civilise the jungle? And vice versa for humans to destroy one another's homes? With this new skill(s) we can simulate seiges and sackings, but still keep our 7 original villages/bases. I don't think you could exclude people from entering your hut. It's the luck of the draw, and if enemies infiltrate, too bad. makes it all the more exciting. I also agree that making a hut should be very costly, but that's up to Simon as to how he'd like to implement such a cost. Finally, the only variation I can see might be to make huts not a mini trade post, but maybe a small storage area of say 15 slots, to keep bullets or med kits from the main towns...? --[[User:Rip Purr|Rip Purr]] 02:30, 4 June 2006 (BST)

:Here are my thoughts on the matter:
:#To encourage clustering of huts (instead of unsightly and unrealistic random scattering), hut-builders should be required to chop the hut's eventual square ''and'' all surrounding squares (that don't have huts on them) to d0. After all, construction requires some space. This would encourage players to build next to existing huts, since every adjacent hut is a square that doesn't need chopping.
:#For realism's sake, driftwood shouldn't be required to build or repair a hut, because it'd be silly to make a player in the middle of a huge jungle travel all the way to the beach to find wood. Jungle wood could be introduced as an item, but I think it's better to require AP alone.
:#Hut health could be managed by giving each new hut 5 HP (Hut Points =)) and removing 1 HP every 24 hours (obliterating any hut that reaches 0 HP). A hut would require 50 AP to construct (in addition to AP for chopping the surrounding jungle) and 10 AP to repair by 1 HP. Repairs wouldn't require cleared jungle; once a hut is built, jungle growth outside doesn't matter.
:#Special features for huts, such as trade and storage abilities, should be put on hold until buildable huts are already in the game. Not only do huts provide shelter from animals, they hide players inside from anyone not willing to spend a few AP to move to the hut and enter it, so additional features shouldn't be necessary to make hut-building worthwhile.
:— [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 04:52, 4 June 2006 (BST)

A side idea, that probably doesn't deserve a complete new suggestion. It would be interesting to have huts or lean-to shelter structures perhaps providing an extra 0.1 or 0.2 AP per an hour spent after the character has perhaps been idle for an hour or two. It would be something neat, not imbalancing, and wouldn't take away from player interaction with hp regeneration. [[User:Lexus|Lexus]] 01:06, 26 May 2007 (UTC)}}

=== Spirit Transfer ===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill, action|
suggest_scope=Warriors, Shamans|
suggest_description= This suggerstion was inspired by polymorph. Warriors and Shamans can get a new skill that allows them to transfer their spirits into the bodies of a dead animal nearby. Animals won't be able to speak, use items, search, or use any human skills. The player will have the Hp and attack power of the type of animal you possessed. Other players on the map will see you as just another animal, not as a native. Transferring spirits will result in the death of their human form (if it is not already dead) but grants them access to the animal's innate abilities. Eg. Alligators can attack twice but have decreased movement through land, Monkeys can search and use some simple items, Parrots move faster throught all terrain. When the body of the animal possessed dies the player will be in spirit form but wont have a corpse. It will also be possible to leave the animal's body at any time but the trauma would be the same as having the body killed by an outside force. In order to not break the game, certain special animals can not be possessed ( like that giant squid )|

suggest_time=11:37, 3 June 2006 (BST)|
suggest_author=[[User:Stcfg|Stcfg]]|
suggest_comments=

: I would like to suggest a skill for being able to detect possessed animals but that is for another day. --[[User:Stcfg|Stcfg]] 11:40, 3 June 2006 (BST)

}}

===Hunting Prowess===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=Tracking skill tree|
suggest_description=It would be interesting for serious trackers to be constantly aware of recent tracks without spending AP. I propose adding this skill after ''Expert Tracking''—it doesn't have to be called ''Hunting Prowess'' but that seemed like a fitting name. Players with this skill would still have to use the 'Look for tracks' button to see anything but the most recent tracks. One possible limitation is to apply this only to animal tracks, but I definitely intended to include player tracks as well.|
suggest_time=13:17, 9 June 2006 (BST)|
suggest_author=[[User:Vtbassmatt|VTBassMatt]]|
suggest_comments=

:Tracking is currently a bit weak. On the other hand, I don't mind seeing quite a few mild/weak skills, because some players are already looking for more ways to spend XP. Certainly Tracking should top out at stronger than 1AP per attempt. My suggestion was ''Master Tracking'' above ''Expert Tracking'' to reduce time to 0.5AP per attempt. I agree that it would be neat to have the skill ''Hunting Prowess'' as a 0AP ability for only the single most recent track, but I think this skill would be a prime candidate to limit to '''Explorer/Scout-only.''' (Sorry!) 1. Tracking perfectly fits the Explorer/Scout class archetype, 2. Shartak needs better class differentiation, 3. Explorer/Scout is a bit weak, 4. Explorer/Scout currently has no dedicated skills. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 08:19, 15 June 2006 (BST)

}}

===Give explorers/scouts their own tracking skill===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=Explorers and scouts|
suggest_description=While ''trailblazing'' has given explorers and scouts an edge over other players, they need more if they are to compete with the soldier, warrior and pirate classes for the attention of new players. I suggest that ''tracking mastery'' be combined into ''expert tracking'', which will be restricted to explorers and scouts. Any non-explorers/scouts with one or both of those skills would be refunded enough XP for their next skill (or two, if they have both) so they aren't punished. (The refund would occur ''after'' the skills were restricted and actively taken away from any non-explorers/scouts with them. This would let their levels and next-skill costs drop ''before'' the next-skill XP awards were given so that extra XP would not be accidentally awarded.) Full disclosure: I don't have any tracking skills, and I'm not sure how ''advanced tracking'' and ''expert tracking'' differ at the moment, but I think a good 1.5 AP tracking skill for everyone and an excellent 0.5 AP tracking skill for explorers and scouts will give those two classes a notable advantage in what should be one of their fortes. |
suggest_time=22:29, 18 July 2006 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Elembis|Elembis]]|
suggest_comments=

: Shouldn't this be added to the "Hunting prowess" skill entry? http://wiki.shartak.com/index.php/Suggestions:Skills#Hunting_Prowess [[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 7:00, 19 July 2006
:: Yep. ''Tracking mastery'' is kind of handy, but I still think that it should be a universal skill, and that ''hunting prowess'' should be the scout/explorer-only skill. ''Hunting prowess'', at the top of the tracking tree, would cause scouts to receive basic tracking information passively (for 0 AP) at every step. Oooo, neat. --[[User:Tycho44|Tycho44]] 17:30, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
:::Tracking automatically for every move would add too much load on the server as the game becomes more popular. --[[User:Simon|Simon]] 00:11, 22 August 2006 (UTC)


}}

===Melee buffs for intoxicated pirates===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=Pirates under the influence|
suggest_description=Pirates are traditionally portrayed as rum-guzzling brawlers, so it would be fitting to encourage pirate players to drink (and drink to excess). I think imbibing a beer or rum should give a pirate a 1 HP damage bonus for all melee attacks in their next 5 AP. A machete (or cutlass) hits 2.25 times in 5 AP, on average, for a skilled user, so drinking for 1 AP would translate to around 2.25 HP of damage beyond what a machete would normally do. This is comparable to the combat damage dealt by blowpipes (2.4 HP/AP) and rifles (3 HP/AP).

Multiple drinks would extend the duration of the effect but not its intensity. To encourage actual drunkenness instead of casual beer-sipping, a drink taken by a pirate with beer already in their gut could give 7 more buffed AP instead of 5, which is effectively 6 AP (and 2.7 HP of damage) when you consider that 1 drunken AP must be wasted on taking another drink. The skill could be called ''brawling'' or ''drunken fist'' (which is the literal Chinese title of the classic Jackie Chan movie ''Drunken Master'') and would be placed with ''stamina'' under ''body building'' (to keep melee skills together and to avoid starting another tree).

I'm proposing this cautiously because pirates are already tougher and more popular than any other class. However, considering that beer and rum are harder to find and more expensive than darts and bullets (and should probably be even more expensive if this skill is implemented), I don't think this skill would make pirates stronger than warriors and soldiers, and it would improve both the diversity of the classes and the depth of the game's theme.|
suggest_time=06:24, 22 July 2006 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Elembis|Elembis]]|
suggest_comments=

*RE: Beer and Rum becoming more expensive if the skill is implemented- I completely agree, and the increase in price would also represent supplies of booze at the pirate camp running out, which I guess would then lead to outsiders trading beer and rum with the pirates, and adding another dimension to gameplay- [[User:Peg-Hand Grimm|Peg-Hand Grimm]]

*Nice idea. In general I like the idea of making items have some specific use rather than generic AP-insreasers. But how about making it a gamble to take a drink instead of a definite combat-booster. If a pirate were to drink a bottle of rum, his next 5 or 10 AP would either give him +1 damage for every hit (with "flavor text" to let him know he is getting a boost, e.g. "In a drunken rage you inflict more damage on your target"), or it would make him too disoriented and out of it to do anything, and every time he attacks it would give him flavor text telling him he is too uncoordinated to attack, and he stumbles around unable to do anything (he would stay in place, not respond to comannds to attack but waste an AP anyway) till the intoxication wears off in 5 or 10 AP. [[User:Arminius|Arminius]] 00:16, 27 August 2006 (UTC)
**The goal is simply to encourage pirates to drink in combat. A chance of uncoordinated failure would be realistic, but it would also make things a little more complicated, so I'd let Simon make that decision if he decides to implement this suggestion. The effect of my original suggestion would be about the same (for fully skilled pirates) if drunk pirates had a damage bonus of +2 (instead of +1) and 10% less accuracy. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 05:01, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

*This doesn't make sense to me. When your drunk, your hand eye coordination GETS WORSE, not better! The only way I could see the idea working is if accuracy decreased as damage increased. Rewarding pirates for getting sloshed makes about as much sense as drunk driving. Another way to implement this would be to temporarily increase HP with rum ingestion, as this is at least slightly similar to the actual affects of alcohol (kind of like drunken boxing.) Otherwise, I don't see this working. [[User:Gandhi|Gandhi]] 04:20, 27 August 2006 (UTC)
**The idea is to encourage pirates to drink like a pirate would (and in the situations a pirate would), even if doing so is a bad idea in real life. I'd be fine with lowering accuracy even while damage is increased, so long as the overall effect is the same, but that may be an unnecessary complication (my suggestion doesn't increase accuracy, only damage). Your point (that drinking impairs in real life) is a good one, but I think this is a case where the game would be more fun if it diverged slightly from real life. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 05:01, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

}}

===Technical “spell” skills ===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=Scientist/Shaman|
suggest_description=I would like to see the introduction of “tech spells” to the “magician class” of Shartak (scientist/shaman) much like the blue magic of final fantasy XII which rather than doing out right damage produces technical effects like haste, poison or blind. An illustration of this would be giving the shaman class an AP cost skill (let’s call it curse) that produces the same effect as wounded/bleeding (1HP loss per action) on their opponent. But given the nature of such spells the percentage chance of success should be inversely proportional to the strength of the spell or have their effects tuned down, so to retain fairness. As side note I like to see this skill given to NPC shamans to discourage people from attacking them.|
suggest_time=09:33, 22 July 2006 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:A for anarchy|A for anarchy]]|
suggest_comments=

"curse" might be confused with what the ancestors spirits do to zergers. This causes actions to cost more AP than normal. I would imagine that this would be a shaman only skill as scientists don't have magical powers! --[[User:Simon|Simon]] 22:35, 23 July 2006 (UTC)
*i agree with the statement that scientist don't and shouldn't have magic powers, so how about this instead; give them "tech" skills but have them named within a scientific context, for instance the above "wounding" spell could be named "drug" or "poison" instead of say "curse" or whatever. --[[User:A for anarchy|A for anarchy]] 04:01, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

}}

===FAK/Healing Herb Manufacturing Skills===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=Scientists and Shamans|
suggest_description=Perhaps the most in-demand items are healing herbs and first aid kits. They can only be used once, but they're used quite freely. This means that a lot of people must spend a lot of time searching medical huts for FAKs (for the duration of this suggestion, assume that FAK refers to both first aid kits and healing herbs). Meanwhile, we have two classes that don't have much of an advantage: the scientist and the shaman. Perhaps these two classes could learn a skill allowing them to produce their culture's version of the FAK. This would make these classes useful while also increasing the supply of FAKs. Additionally, these two classes are the most likely to know how to do this.

As for how the skill would work, I would recommend having a "Make FAK" button. They would then have a chance of successfully producing an FAK. These FAKs could then either be used (providing a source of XP besides killing things) or could be sold to the trader (since FAKs are always in demand). This would encourage the development of a "healer" class in Shartak, while also giving shamans and scientists useful special skills. I suppose scientists/shamans could be required to find raw materials before manufacturing, but that would just force people to continue the rather tedious and hit-or-miss tactic of farming huts/jungles.|
suggest_time=14:28 31 July 2006 (GMT)|
suggest_author=[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]]|
suggest_comments=

* '''Oppose'''. I agree that shamans and scientists should be best at healing and should have useful special skills, but I don't like this specific suggestion (as well-thought-out as it is) for two reasons: First, I think the jungle should be inhospitable, and turning shamans and scientists into herb farms and kit factories (yes, I'm exaggerating) would work against that. Second, I think the ability to make items is a complication that should be avoided if we can accomplish the same goal in other ways, which we can. I recommend three of the suggestions for shaman/scientist healing on [[Talk:Game design#Scientist and shaman|Talk:Game design]]: (1) give shamans access to ''first aid'' and scientists access to ''natural medicine'', (2) let shamans/scientists see the health of all wounded players on their side, not just the most wounded one, and (3) let shamans/scientists see whether players on their side are suffering from shark bites or poison. (I'd actually make 3 apply to all players, not just those on the player's side, because it wouldn't really be advantageous in combat to notice shark bites and the effects of poison.) 2 and 3 could be smoothly combined into one "Diagnosis" skill that would give these two classes a useful (if minor) healing edge over the others. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 06:10, 1 August 2006 (UTC)
**First, let me thank you for responding. I appreciate any and all input. I've taken some time to think about your objections and prepare my responses. May I propose an alteration? Perhaps, instead of my original suggestion, this "Make FAK" button would (as far as the programming is concerned) serve as a second "search area" button, but one that only produces FAK's, and has a significantly higher chance of producing one than a regular search. Additionally, it would only function in areas where an FAK can be found, as that is where the scientist/shaman would find the raw materials in the first place. This would be similar to UD's "shopping" and "bargain hunting" skills, in that it lets you search for a specific item and gives a boost to the probability of success. Additionally, it would only work in certain areas, like the shopping skill. The difference would be that it only produce FAK's. This would ensure that FAK's aren't simply produced out of mid-air (which is rather unrealistic, now that I think about it) while also giving scientists and shamans a dedicated and valuable healing-related skill. [[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 10:44, 1 August 2006 (GMT) Edited: 16:44, 1 August 2006 (GMT)
**How about having the skill function in a similar manner to the "Manufacture Syringe" skill on UD, thus powering-down the effect by requiring that the healer be in a Medical Hut and use multiple AP? --[[User:Gitboy|Less Than Lethal]] 17:03, 1 August 2006 (UTC)
***I haven't played UD since that was added; that being said, it certainly sounds good to me. Requiring that the healer be in the medical hut was essentially what I had in mind when I proposed it only work for certain locations. As for requiring multiple AP, I suppose that would have the same long-term effect as searching, while simultaneously being less tedious for the healer. Tell me, would this always produce an FAK or would it just offer a chance of doing so? I certainly like the sound of this suggestion. [[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 18:03, 1 August 2006 (GMT)
****What we have now, then, is a skill which would essentially give scientists better search odds for kits in medical huts (and likewise for shamans). Limiting this skill to players in villages is a step in the right direction, and giving it the form of greater search odds makes some sense, too: healers would look especially hard for healing items. But I'm still not persuaded, mainly because the skill's effects seem inconsistent to me. If healers have better search odds (in effect) for healing items, shouldn't fighters have better search odds for weapons and ammunition, and likewise for pirates finding rum and gold? The implications of the original idea could become very messy in practice. Also, wouldn't a pirate bleeding from a shark bite with just 10 HP remaining look even harder for a kit than a healer merely stocking up on supplies? The goal is allow healers to spend more time in the field and less in the hut, but I think we still lack a solution which makes sense. Here's a more realistic and less far-reaching idea which might work: shamans and scientists are given a skill which lets them heal 5 extra HP with a kit or herb if they're healing someone else. Anyone who's ever tried to remove a bullet from their back, bandage their gaping head wound, set their broken bone, or frantically stop their own bleeding will attest to the fact that medical care is most effective when someone else is administering it. This would let scientists use fewer kits in the field without making them better at healing themselves (which I think would be ''too'' useful). As a result, they wouldn't need to spend as much time in medical huts, which I think is the whole idea. — [[User:Elembis|Elembis]] ([[User talk:Elembis|talk]]) 00:28, 2 August 2006 (UTC)
This should be indented, since it's a response to Elembis's post. However, it would be rather crowded if I did that, so here you go. With that out of the way, on to business. You're correct that part of the reason for this suggestion is to reduce the amount of time spent in healing huts. It's also intended to boost the supply of FAK's. Your suggestion would somewhat reduce the demand, which would have essentially the same effect.

As for the inconsistency, that's part of why I suggested calling it "Make FAK." If you've ever spent the night in a healing hut while wounded, you know that SOMEBODY is going to heal you up while you're gone. However, the way I see it, they aren't going to use everything in that kit. Cutlass wounds require different treatment than poison dart wounds, for instance. That means there's going to be a lot of unused medical material around. Realistically speaking, there's probably also going to be some medical supplies that aren't part of a kit. By calling it "make FAK," you can get a message saying, "Using spare supplies, you cobble together a first aid kit." Now, the shaman is slightly different but the result is the same. The medical hut message says there are many herbs hanging up to dry. The shaman could get a message saying, "After looking through the herbs in the hut, you find a healing herb that is ready for use."

Also, I don't want you to think I'm ignoring your suggestion about the extra five HP healing. I definitely agree that it's more realistic to have a healer be better at healing others than themselves. I'd be happy to see it as one of the skills (maybe split that into a seperate discussion?). However, I'm not sure that's enough of a bonus by itself to tempt people to play the rather underplayed scientist class. Warriors and soldiers have extremely helpful skill; I think the other classes should as well. And as always, I appreciate your input, Elembis and LtL. [[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 6:11 2 August 2006

}}

===Require Help===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=All players|
suggest_description=''Allow you to scream to require help when you are in danger.''

Cost 5APs to prevent your "race" (Outsiders, Natives or Pirates) you are in danger at 5 cases in all directions|
suggest_time=17:17, 8 September 2006 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Ownslaught|Ownslaught]]|
suggest_comments=

Comment here

}}

===Forensic Analysis/Advanced Seance===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=Scientists, Shamans, Warriors, Soldiers, Pirates|
suggest_description=Allows the character to determine whose body is lying on the ground and the cause of death. Would require 1 or .5 AP to use, similar to tracking, and would say something like "It looks like Dim Mak is lying on the ground, clawed to death by a parrot." or "Barbarossa is dead on the ground, seems he ate the wrong berries."

Soldiers, Warriors and Pirates would understand forensics as they are used to seeing dead bodies, Scientists because they can think critically to determine the cause of death, and Shamans would hold an advanced seance with the spirits in the area to ask what happened (and perhaps get different flavour text).

There may also be an advanced form of this skill (Advanced Forensic Analysis/Expert Seance) which would indicate approximate time as well as the direction the culprit left, if a PC/NPC did the killing and the character also has the tracking skill - "frisco is shot dead on the ground, his body dead for a while. Tracks show the shooter went southwest recently."

A further advanced form (Expert Forensic Analysis/Seance Mastery) would provide info about who did other actions, like note writing/signposting - "Scribbled in the sand is 'Arrrgh!!!'. It looks like Barbarossa's handwriting."

This skill may help bounty hunters, pk hunters, clan warfare, provide warning information for everyone, and help combat note spamming.
|
suggest_time=16:50, 11 September 2006 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Frisco|Frisco]]|
suggest_comments=

Good suggestion! I support this idea, I think the skill would be a good addition to the game. I can't really see anything wrong with this skill unless theres a technical reason why it can't be implemented. Seems like a good way to combat spammers as well... [[User:Zeff|Zeff]] 10:06, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

I support this idea to ! [[User:Ownslaught|Ownslaught]] 00:30, 13 September 2006 (Paris)

I always wanted to know how those people died. Perhaps this should be part of the tracking skill tree.[[User:Darkferret|Darkferret]] 11:02, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
: Yes, this would be ultimate scout explorer skill. I like it a lot [[User:Lama|Lama]]


}}

===Fishing===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=New skills|
suggest_scope=Evreyone|
suggest_description=

With the ''Fishing'' skill, you can catch fish and use them to heal yourself. There are thee types of fish you can catch: '''Minnows''', '''Bass''', and '''Large Catfish''', each with diffrent dificulty levels and skills required to catch them. Here are the skills:

*'''Basic Fishing'''- ''Able to catch Minnows''
**'''Intermediate Fishing'''- ''Able to catch Bass''
***'''Advanced Fishing'''- ''Able to catch Large Catfish''
*'''Fisherman's Luck'''- ''Better chance of cating a fish''
*'''Fisherman's Lure'''- ''EXP gained is doubled while catching fish''
''(also see belong for precentages on catcing fish)''

If you wanted to fish, you would have to have a '''fishing pole''' ''(new item)'' that could easily be bought at the trading post for 1-5 gold. You would then head out to a body of water (river, lake, ocean) and cast your line. Depending on if you have "Patience" or not and what Fishing skill you had, you'll have the chance of catching a fish. If you've only got '''Basic Fishing''', you can catch Minnows, if you have '''Internediate Fishing''' you have an equal shot at catching Bass or Minnows, and if you have '''Advanced Fishing''' you have an equal chance of catching Minnows, Bass, or L. Catfish.

The fish will also be able to heal a certain number of HP. Here is what the fish will heal:

*'''Minnows'''- ''2 HP''
**'''Bass'''- ''5 HP''
***'''Large Catfish'''- ''7 HP''

Also, when you catch a fish, you will gain EXP. Here is what each fish will earn EXP-wise:

*'''Minnows'''- ''2 EXP''
**'''Bass'''- ''5 EXP''
***'''Large Catfish'''- ''12 EXP''

As with evreything in Shartak, when you do something, the action has a description. Here are the discriptions for catching fish:

*You cast your line... but don't get even a nibble.
*You cast your line... and catch a Minnow!
*You cast your line... and catch a Bass!
*You cast your line... and catch a Large Catfish!

Percentages to catch fish:

*With '''Beginner Fishing'''- 10% chance to catch fish
**With '''Intermediate Fishing'''- 25% to catch fish
***With '''Expert Fishing'''- 40% to catch fish
****With '''Fisherman's Luck'''- +25% to catch fish|
suggest_time=01:54, 24 September 2006 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Che|Che]]|
suggest_comments=

* How about the "patience" aspect being the maximum number of AP you're willing to 'wait' after casting your line... eg [Fish for] <1/2/5/10> minutes. where each minute is the number of AP that you expend. The number of minutes would be a dropdown list, just like targets for attacks. Every minute that you fish for is a separate roll of the dice so you might fish for 10 minutes and not catch anything, or you could fish for 10 minutes and catch something after just 3 minutes. I'm not into fishing so perhaps someone who is can say if those times are wildly inaccurate or not. --[[User:Simon|Simon]] 10:21, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

I really don't know myself. I've fished once before in my life. All the ideas I got from the Wikipedia article on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing fishing]. -[[User:Che|Che]] 06:46, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

I think this is a brilliant idea. Perhaps some parts of the ocean or sections of rivers and lakes have a higher yield rate. - [[FirstAmongstDaves]]

Whenever I go fishing it takes a while to get something. On good days I can get a fish once every 30 minutes. It should take AP to cast your line and reel in the fish but it shouldn't cost AP to wait for a bite.

}}

=== Cutlass mastery ===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type= a skill to add 10% to any player who uses a cutlass|
suggest_scope= Pirates mostly but any native or outsider group.|
suggest_description= at the end of the close quarters combat tree this skill would appear. Buy it and the character gains an extra 10% when attackin with a cutlass, Short simple and sweet. Helps out all non-marksman classes have an edge in dishing out damage.|
suggest_time=23:56, 12 November 2006 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Michael edwards|Michael edwards]]|
suggest_comments=


I think it's brilliant, because we could (i know i keep going on about them) still get flintlocks and nobody would be able to complain because they can master cutlasses too. We'd have nobody whining that pirates could now 'own' anyone. [[User:Rozen|Rozen]]

*I'm all for it, except it should be something more piratey- like Bellyslitting or Gutwrenching or something. Perhaps apply the bonus to knives too (but not other swords). --[[User:Odysseus|Odysseus]] 22:14, 18 February 2007 (UTC)


}}

=== First Aid tweak ===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type= A tweak to First Aid, the skill that follows from Triage|
suggest_scope= All classes|
suggest_description= When you have the First Aid skill and you hover your curser over a guy in the distance (to see their name) you will also see a summary of their HP. Either healthy, injured, or dying. This would save you some AP whilst looking for people to patch up.|
suggest_time=00:50, 04 December 2006 (EST)|
suggest_author=[[User:Aco|Aco]]|
suggest_comments=

Make it for Advanced Triage. Good, though. -[[User:Mark D. Stroyer|Mark D. Stroyer]] 03:14, 23 February 2007 (UTC)
:What Mark said.--[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]] 22:50, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

}}

===Triage Change===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Triage Improvement|
suggest_scope=Everyone|
suggest_description=Currently, the triage skill works by giving you the lowest HP of an injured person in the room. For example, if there were two people in a space, one who's HP is 49 out of 50, another 50 out of 80, you will only be able to see the HP of the first. This is rather unrealistic and annoying. For the guy with 50 max HP, the 1 damage that took him to 49 is just a scratch, while for the guy with 80 max HP, him being at 50 is a very critical wound. The end result is that you waste a FAK on the 49 HP guy, when it could have done much more good for the 50 HP guy.

So, I would suggest that the system be revised, and instead of working on lowest HP number, work on a fractional basis. So now, some one with 60 out of 80 HP is at 3/4 health, and so you would see his HP rather than the guy who is at 49 out of 50 HP, which is only 98%.|

suggest_time=15:41, 19 December 2006 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Tintin|Tintin]]|
suggest_comments=

As a healer, i wholeheartedly support this idea, and can't think of anything that could make it better. [[User:Rozen|Rozen]]

Same here. Very idea :) [[User:Lama|Lama]]

Yup, very good idea --[[User:Htkl|Htkl]] 00:09, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

: Sounds ok, but why not just show the person needing the most healing by calculating (max hp - current hp) instead of a percentage? --[[User:Johan Crichton|Johan Crichton]] 04:45, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

}}

===Mining.===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=Mining for multiple resources depending upon skill and location. Ie: Stone for walls, roads. Metal ore for weapons and equipment. Gold is also possible, but might make more sense in panning on the rivers.|
suggest_description=I first thought of this when I saw the mountain and was getting tired of the jungle growing back in areas. I wondered if it might be possible to mine for rock to build roads in the jungle. These roads would naturally last longer than ordinarily cleared jungle but would eventually be reclaimed by it if not maintained. Mining could be its own skill tree with multiple types of mining yielding different resources. Similarly, only certain areas on the map could be mined and not all types of mining could be done at the same location. Tools of various sorts would probably also be required which would eventually break and need to be replaced.|
suggest_time=14:51, 26 January 2007 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:GreyA2|Grey]]|
suggest_comments=

Comment here

}}
=== Policy Discussion ===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Discussion of policy|
suggest_scope=Suggestions page|
suggest_description=http://wiki.shartak.com/index.php/The_Shartak_Wiki_talk:Policies_and_guidelines|
suggest_time=13:07, 3 March 2007 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Nosimplehiway|Nosimplehiway]]|
suggest_comments= This is a policy suggestion which will impact the suggestion pages. Your input is needed. Please comment on the proposed policy there, not here. Thanks!
}}

===Yelling===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=New skill|
suggest_scope=All Classes|
suggest_description=This was a random idea, but it might work. This skill allows a person to project their voice over several squares, at the expense of additional AP. Now, for specifics.

This skill creates a new button next to the Talk button, labeled "Yell". For 3 AP, a person can yell something with a length equivalent to normal speech, with a range of seven squares. However, as distance increases, so does difficulty hearing it.

1 block away has hearing similar to normal. 2-3 blocks away has hearing similar to having Advanced Language. 4-5 blocks away has hearing similar to Basic Language. 6-7 blocks away has hearing similar to having no language skills. Also, each block away adds a 5% chance for a word not to be heard.

The hearer would receive a message similar to this: You hear a voice coming from 1 block to the East, "This is Mark D. Stroyer. Can you hear ... now? Good!" The ... indicates a word that isn't heard.

Also, if you're inside a building, you would simply see, "You hear someone yelling off to the (insert compass direction here, such as East)." Also, if you are between 7-9 squares away, there is a 40% chance that "You hear someone yelling off to the (compass direction)."
|
suggest_time=16:09, 21 May 2007 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Mark D. Stroyer|Mark D. Stroyer]]|
suggest_comments=



}}

===Taxidermy===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=All classes|
suggest_description= The taxidermy skill could possibly be followed by advanced taxidermy. The skill involves taking corpses (animal, human, etc) and stuffing them. This may require some form of filling and would create stuffed corpse items, which could be used for decoration. Obviously, larger animals such as elephants would take more AP to stuff than a parrot. Small items could be carried and added to the description but larger animals would not be easy to carry and therefore would be set up at a location and the head could be cut off as a trophy which might be placed in an empty hut. All of the animals could be decapitated, with a knife or dagger for small ones and a machete or cutlass for larger ones. Removing the head would create two items: '''Head of a/n <animal>''' and '''Headless <animal>'''. In areas with a corpse there could be an option reading "''stuff corpse''" and a dropdown menu with "''place on floor''", "''mount on wall''"(only available in locations inside or directly outside a hut) and "''seperate head''" could appear once it is in the inventory. |
suggest_time=01:35, 9 June 2007 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Jenerix|Jenerix]]|
suggest_comments=

* I'd like to see this implemented, we often stuff corpses in York, it'd be nice to see it added properly, maybe with some XP given for successful completion? --[[User:Htkl|Htkl]] 02:34, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

}}

===Skills for Pirates===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=Pirate|
suggest_description= Piratesare the hack and slash characters of Shartak. Pirates need to reinforce this image. I propose three ideas.

1. Pirates love their melee weapons so they must always be cleaning them and keeping them battle ready. So why not include a skill to decrease the chance of their weapons breaking or becoming blunt. Skill name: Weapon Upkeep. Re: Weapon maintenance ( thanks Johan Crichton)

2. Pirates are fueled by rum and that makes them unpredictable. Adding a temporary 5%- 10% attack increase whan a pirate has consumed a bottle of beer or rum. After 10 to 15 attacks the effects wears off and attack goes back to normal. This could also increase the chance of dealing an extra point damage. Skill name: Battle Craze (or Bottle Craze).

3. Pirates are . They could duel wield melee weapons dealing one point less damage with the off hand. Of course you need Also you would have to decrease both weapons chance to hit. 10% with average hand and 20% with the other hand. You could add another skill that lets you increase the chance to hit with both hands. 5% on average hand and 10% on the off hand. This would only be used with a machete or cutlass just to keep things clear. Skill name: Duel wield and Advance Duel Wield.

These skills could make pirates more interesting, without destroying fair gameplay or filling the land with pirates. Of course you could just make a skill that gives pirates a 10% increase in attack.|
suggest_time= 0:17 EST July 5, 2007|
suggest_author=[[USER:Crazy Ian|Crazy Ian]]|
suggest_comments=

As a long-time campaigner for new pirate skills or bonuses, I'm interested in these. Dual wielding and rum, not so much, but weapon upkeep is great, and historically accurate. --[[User:Rozen|Rozen]] 23:41, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the input and maybe we should look into the history of pirates for inspiration. --[[User:Crazy Ian|Crazy Ian]] 00:57, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

A couple of comments:
* Could you provide an argument for pirates being the 'hack and slash' characters of Shartak?
* I'd suggest 'Weapon maintenance' might be a better name that 'Weapon upkeep' - and it should be a skill open to Warriors and Soldiers as well
* Alcohol isn't likely to make you hit things more accurately - it's more likely to allow you to take more damage (you don't notice it due to the inebriation) or do more (the sugar gets burnt to energy) - I don't like the idea of alcohol giving a % increase in this way.
* Dual wielding - again, this is a skill that should be available (if introduced) to all martial characters (and it's dual wield, not duel wield). Can you provide the maths on expected damage from having this as an option/skill?
--[[User:Johan Crichton|Johan Crichton]] 01:22, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Yeah good point about the alcohol I should have though that through a bit more. Also Thanks for pointing out that grammatical error. I don't have the formula on the ratio, I'll add it in once I get the formula and figure it out. Pirates are the hack and slash characters because they don't have any special skill just for them. It's pretty much grab a cutlass or a machete and get at it. Of you could also look at like there beginners class for people to get a hold of game and learn it's mechanics (of course experienced players can be pirates too). --[[User:Crazy Ian|Crazy Ian]] 04:01, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

I think pirates need something that's just for pirates, Johan. Currently, they're unbalanced. Everyone's got a skill of thier own, soldiers have the rifle and warriors have a blowpipe, but pirates only have 5 more HP. Some minor skill that benefits them, even if it benefits other people, but benefits pirates more...i just forgot what i was going to say. Screw it. --[[User:Rozen|Rozen]] 08:36, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

}}

===Brute strength===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=Pirates|
suggest_description=An offshoot of Body building, Brute strength adds 1 extra damage for attacks under 3HP. This eliminates the need for cutlasses (other than deforestation) except when combined with Balanced stance for a 2HP glancing blow.|
suggest_time=00:44, 17 July 2007 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Darkferret|Darkferret]]|
suggest_comments=

:This does seem a little excessive, effectively doubling the effect of blows via Balanced Stance. Why would this apply only to Pirates? Wouldn't it also be appropriate for well-fed Warriors and hulking Soldiers? --[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]] 16:05, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

}}

===Iron Constitution===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill / balance change|
suggest_scope=Pirate Class|
suggest_description=Why do pirates have access to the First Aid skill? Medicine of the pirate era was notoriously dodgy and ship's carpenters, cooks and barbers often doubled as the ship's surgeon. This is why pirates are so often depicted as scarred and missing limbs, teeth, eyes et al.

This suggestion is for a unique skill called ''Iron Constitution'' which allows pirates to gain extra HP from all sources (beer, rum, water, fruit, herbs and FAKs) over and above the base HP gain rate for the item. A pirate with ''Iron Constitution'' will gain +1 HP for consuming fruit, water, and fruit juices, +2 HP for consuming rum and beer, and +2 HP for using FAKs or Herbs on himself. The skill does not affect FAKs or Herbs applied to others.

This skill is intended to provide a touch of character and make things a little easier around the resource-scarce shipwreck. My suggestion (possibly controversial) is that pirates be allowed to choose either Iron Constitution or First Aid but not both. Hard men would take Iron Constitution as their defining skill whilst wussy gentrified pirates would take First Aid. If implemented, existing players of pirates would be given a one-time opportunity to trade their First Aid skill for Iron Constitution.
|
suggest_time=22:33, 13 September 2007 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]]|
suggest_comments=

Man, for a second there I thought you said Iron ''Construction.'' Holds promise methinks. --[[User:Wulla-mullung|Wulla-mullung]] 23:39, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
:Woops! Edited to categorize beer and rum together, originally had beer in the +1 HP category with water! --[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]] 10:29, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
:: the FAK/herb effect should work for FAKs and Herbs used on others, but based on the person healed and not on the healer, and it should only give the healer one additional XP instead of two. --[[User:AlexanderRM|AlexanderRM]] 01:58, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

}}

===Spirit Usage Skills===

This suggestion has several skills that are usable by natives that use spirits in some way. Some are benign and do not effect the spirits in any way others exorcise the spirit as well as the skills other effects.

'''War Prayer''' {Warrior Only}<br>
Requires sixth sense. When used on a tile with spirits present gives a 5% bonus to hit with blowpipe attacks, the duration is 1 attack per native spirit present. This skill does not effect the spirits in any way. It costs 5 ap to use. This skill can only be used again one its effects are exhausted.
:'''Ancestral Chant''' {Warrior Only}
:Requires War Prayer. Increases the duration to 2 attacks per native spirit and reduces the ap cost to 3. This skill does not effect the spirits in any way. This skill can only be used again one its effects are exhausted.

'''Spirit Strike''' {Shaman Only}<br>
Requires Exorcism. When used on a tile with spirits present uses a spirit as a weapon, dealing 6 damage with a 40% accuracy. This skill costs 3 ap to use and exorcises the spirit but the spirit also gains exp for the damage done. Can only use native spirits
:'''Necromancy/Voodoo''' {Shaman Only}
:Requires Spirit Strike. Increases the accuracy by 20% (so overall the accuracy is 60%) and increases the damage done by 2 (so 8 damage). Can use all spirits

'''Fertility Ritual''' {Villager Only}<br>
When used on a tile with spirits present this skill gives a 10% bonus to finding any food item for 3 searches per native spirit present. Does not harm the spirits in any way. Costs 3 ap to use. This skill can only be used again one its effects are exhausted.

'''Spirit Guide''' {Scout Only}<br>
When used on a tile with spirits present the scout gains 3 free moves per native spirit present. This skill can only be used again one its effects are exhausted.

That's about it really. What do you think?--[[User:Etherdrifter|Etherdrifter]] 14:02, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

''Comments''

No. Some are overpowered, others are useless. And also, there's not very much reasoning or sense for them. And furthermore, it's unbalanced. Outsiders get absolutely nothing concerned with spirits. -[[User:Mark D. Stroyer|Mark D. Stroyer]] 16:12, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
:Stick to established chronology? Older suggestions at top, new suggestions to the bottom? I've corrected that for you. Regards the actual skills I think they are unbalancing as they affect only natives and give nothing to outsiders. Don't get me wrong, killing outsiders makes me happy but there has to be something for everyone. Sadly I don't think they fit with outsiders. And as per previous comments some seem overpowered (e.g. Spirit Guide) whilst others seem underpowered (e.g. Fertility Ritual)--[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]] 16:58, 20 September 2007 (UTC).
::Well originally only the shaman skills were presant but I thought that would overpower the shaman class by quite alot. Still I can see what you mean by overpowered, why if for some odd reason tribal shamans did not exorcise spirits on sight and there was a build up of spirits in one location the amount of power available would be phenominal...--[[User:Etherdrifter|Etherdrifter]] 20:22, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

----

=== Shallow Diving ===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill / additional mechanic|
suggest_scope=All classes|
suggest_description=The new ability to shallow dive in [[Water]] locations would be made available to all classes for free. It would permit characters to dive to seabed ([[Water]]) or riverbed ([[Water#River|River]], [[Water#Lake|Lake]], [[Water#Pool|Pool]] or [[Water#Waterfall|Waterfall]]) locations only. This ability would not apply to [[Water (deep)#Water_.28deep.29|Deep Water]], that would require a separate skill.

Diving in [[Water]] locations would require 1 APs to get down, 1 APs to surface and 1 APs per 10 second search conducted. When in the appropriate location a button labelled 'Dive' with a pull-down menu of dive times (10 secs to 120 secs) would be made available to those with this skill. Maximum total expenditure for one dive is 14 APs. Shallow diving in [[Water]] carries no risks at this time.

Searches during a dive would be conducted in the same manner as those in land-based locations and would have an YY% chance of finding something as determined by the actual location (e.g. [[Suggestions:Game_mechanics#Oyster_Bed|oyster bed]], [[Suggestions:Game_mechanics#Sunken_Wreck|sunken wreck]]) and [[Scavenging]] would increase the chance of a successful search. In the event that the character maxes out their inventory partway through a diving search, the dive is finished early and the character is forced to the surface; no APs are spent on searches that would be futile but the costs and risks associated with dive and surface are still incurred.
|
suggest_time=12:47, 14 September 2007 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]]|
suggest_comments=

I don't quite get the dive time idea tbh. Maybe underwater search should take more ap (similar to searching in the swamps) and if you ap-out underwater, you simply drown? Apart from that I love both your diving skills suggestions. Support! --[[User:Lama|Lama]] 21:16, 27 September 2007 (UTC)
:I'll try to clarify dive times. Before diving you decide how many searches you want to conduct i.e. how many APs you will spend on the dive. If you want to do 10 searches you have to dive for 10 x 10 = 100 seconds. And a 100 second dive will require 12 APs (1 to dive, 10 to search, 1 to surface). The idea of 1 search per 1 AP = 10 seconds is descriptive only, based on real world breath-holding being around 2 minutes maximum for most people. After you press 'Dive' you are presented with the results of your searches, you are not moved into an underwater realm. This mechanism of selecting dive times is based on Simon's suggestion of simplifing diving into APs spent underwater rather than programming a whole new underwater environment. --[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]] 12:15, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

:...which would be truly awesome; anyway, I think it could be achieved by hitting "dive" button and then "search". After each search you would get the info - you can hold up your breath for ''some time'' more, where ''some time'' would be a measure similar to the one you get using saved map locations. To surface, simply hit the button "surface" (it could be the same one with changed text or maybe just marked "dive/surface"). The point I am trying to make is that we don't have time in Shartak, and these seconds things are a bit out of place in my opinion.--[[User:Lama|Lama]] 12:29, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
::I'm not proposing that the player actually sits at the keyboard waiting for 100 seconds if he does a 100 second / 10 search dive. How about if the button said 'Dive for' and then had a pull-down menu of dive times expressed in number of searches (1 search to 12 searches)? --[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]] 22:14, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
:::that sounds totally reasonable --[[User:Lama|Lama]] 00:00, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

}}

=== Free Diving ===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=All classes|
suggest_description=The new Free Diving skill would be a sub-skill of Swimming. It would permit characters to dive to seabed locations in [[Water (deep)#Water_.28deep.29|Deep Water]] as well as increasing maximum bottom time for shallow dives.

Diving in [[Water (deep)#Water_.28deep.29|Deep Water]] would require 2 APs to get down, 2 APs to surface and 1 APs per 10 second search conducted. When in the appropriate location a button labelled 'Dive' with a pull-down menu of dive times (10 secs to 160 secs) would be made available to those with this skill. Maximum total expenditure for one dive is 20 APs. Diving in [[Water (deep)#Water_.28deep.29|Deep Water]] carries a similar risk of shark attacks as swimming there i.e. XX% chance of a bite assessed per AP spent on a dive.

Improved diving in [[Water]] locations would require 1 APs to get down, 1 APs to surface and 1 APs per 10 second search conducted. When in the appropriate location a button labelled 'Dive' with a pull-down menu of dive times (10 secs to 180 secs) would be made available to those with this skill. Maximum total expenditure for one dive is 20 APs. Shallow diving in [[Water]] carries no risks at this time.

Searches during a dive would be conducted in the same manner as those in land-based locations and would have an YY% chance of finding something as determined by the actual location (e.g. [[Suggestions:Game_mechanics#Oyster_Bed|oyster bed]], [[Suggestions:Game_mechanics#Sunken_Wreck|sunken wreck]], [[Suggestions:Game_mechanics#Submerged_Ruins|submerged ruins]]) and [[Scavenging]] would increase the chance of a successful search. In the event that the character maxes out their inventory partway through a diving search, the dive is finished early and the character is forced to the surface; no APs are spent on searches that would be futile but the costs and risks associated with dive and surface are still incurred.
|
suggest_time=12:47, 14 September 2007 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]]|
suggest_comments=

Comment here

}}

===Hide in Like, You Know, Trees and Stuff===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=Most non combat centric classes|
suggest_description=*'''basic camouflage''' (scouts, explorers, villagers, settlers, scientists, shaman, pirates):
**allows player to 'hide' in jungle squares such that they cannot be seen from two squares away.
*'''advanced camouflage''' (scouts, explorers, villagers, settlers):
**allows player to 'hide' in jungle squares such that they cannot be seen from adjacent squares or farther.
*'''masterful camouflage''' (scouts, explorers):
**allows player to 'hide' in jungle squares such that they cannot be seen at all until their 'hidden' status is revoked

'''notes''':
*chance of successful 'hiding' is based on jungle density: d0=0%, d10=10%, d20=20%, ect.
*character's 'hidden' status is revoked if they preform any action or are attacked. and may be revoked if the jungle is cleared, or searched.
*character has a chance of remaining 'hidden' if the jungle is searched, based on it's level: d10=100%, d9=90%, d8=80%, ect.
*character has a chance of remaining 'hidden' if the jungle is cleared, based on how much is left: d9=90%, d8=80%, d7=70%, ect.
*character can be seen/smelled by animals regardless of 'hidden' status.
|
suggest_time=22:30, 29 September 2007 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Zeek|Zeek]]|
suggest_comments=

Comment here

}}

===Psychic Link===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Skill|
suggest_scope=All classes (spirits)|
suggest_description=This suggestion is for a new ability that aids a spirit in haunting the last person who murderered him or her. With this ability the spirit of the recently deceased gets a compass that points in the direction of the person who killed them. The compass would work in the same manner as the current [[Exploration]] and [[Cartography]] locations ability that points a traveller towards a target location. Spirits with this ability also get a 'Haunt' button which teleports them to the current location of their murderer at a cost of 25 APs.

The haunting ability remains in effect until either the spirit chooses to be revived by a shaman (the ability does not carry over into life) or the spirit is exorcised by a shaman (exorcism breaks the bond between murderer and victim). If a character dies at the hands of an NPC (e.g. squid, shark, wandering shaman) or by suicide then the haunting features remain inactive when the dead character assumes spirit form.

Relative placement on the spirit skill tree is suggested at the same level as [[Shocking shriek]] (i.e. [[Haunting scream]] is a prerequisite). This placement is open for debate, as is the actal name of the ability e.g. psychic link, haunt, curse etc.

I make this suggestion even though my main character is a confirmed headhunter. This skill is intended to improve roleplaying / gameplay by giving spirits a reason (a slim one granted) to be in places other than the medical hut. And it would result in killers being haunted by their victims. Those who police the settlements against murderers might themselves be haunted in turn but other innocents would be safe from the murderers... for a while at least... --[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]] 21:41, 1 October 2007 (UTC)
|
suggest_time=21:41, 1 October 2007 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]]|
suggest_comments=

Don't destory the naturally occouring necromantic system that is the spirit hut! On a less self centered note it is a good idea though I would say death should remove the haunting status, you got your vengence now leave the poor git alone.--[[User:Etherdrifter|Etherdrifter]] 14:31, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

}}

===Fireball casting===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=Shamanic offensive skill|
suggest_scope=Shamans|
suggest_description=Idea of fireball is simple. You cast a hot fiery projectile at your enemy, doing some damage. At doubled attack AP cost fireball would do from 1 to 10 damage, with the highest chance in the mid range (4-6 dmg), diminishing when going to the both ends of the scale (for example, 5% for 1 or 10 dmg, 10% for 2 or 9 dmg, 15% for 3 or 6 dmg, 25% for 5 dmg and 45% for 4 dmg). If you feel the idea of fireballs is out of place on Shartak, name it "using tiny little blowpipes with shamanic mixture of poisonous powder made of berries and herbs" or anything more fitting the game set-up. I mean - this mechanics for ranged attack is serious. Not as serious as Sam, but still serious. I would love to see some comments on this.|
suggest_time=00:05, 4 October 2007 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Lama|Lama]]|
suggest_comments=

OK I'll go first. I dislike the idea of fireballs as it sounds too much like D&D. I have questions. Is the range the same range as a blowpipe or rifle? If so, what would the %age hit chances be and what makes this different from using a blowgun or rifle (or even better than whacking someone with a machete)? Do we want shamen to replace warriors? What is the ammunition for a fireaball? As suggested on the forums, I do like the idea of a shamanic curse and the voodoo dolls idea seems to fit the character class. Maybe I'll work something up... --[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]] 14:01, 4 October 2007 (UTC)
*Here go answers:
- let's call it touch of curse then.

- range is the same as with any other weapon in-game.

- for percentages, read it once again :) the difference is you can wield 10 dmg for 2 AP if you are lucky. Which, in terms of statistics is not really useful (most chances are you get 1 dmg for 1 AP spent), but it adds nice offensive skill for not so offensive class, definitely not replacing warriors or soldiers.

- Shamans would be much better to role-play, if they could use some sort of magic to hurt peoples (refer to any kind of literature, I visualized this myself after last reading R.E.Howard's short novels about Conan.)

- there's no ammunition for psychic-power skills other than AP.

- and thanks for commenting, I hope I made it clearer --[[User:Lama|Lama]] 09:17, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

}}

===Bodyguard===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=New Skill|
suggest_scope=All classes|
suggest_description=This suggestion is for a new skill called Bodyguard, to be placed on the Close Quarter Combat skill tree at the same level as Balanced Stance. When in the presence of another player or an NPC, characters with his skill would have access to a 'Guard' button with two adjacent pull-down menus. The first would be a pull-down menu of APs to be used, minimum of 1, maximum of 10. The second would be a pull-down menu of the current characters (AKA victims) at the location (c.f. the 'Attack' menu). The player would thus spend 1 to 10 APs to act as a bodyguard for a chosen victim. For each AP thus spent the player would automatically be the target of one attack directed at the victim.

If the attack would have been a hit with a ranged weapon, i.e. blowpipe or rifle, the bodyguard takes the hit instead of the victim only 50% of the time (the other 50% of the time the victim is still hit). Bullets and blowpipes fired by trained soldiers and warriors are much harder to defend against than melee attacks. Flavour text would be as follows:
:Attacker text - ''You attack Blue Hummingbird. Raffles interposes himself. You hit Raffles for 4 HP damage.''
:Bodyguard text - ''A Rat attacks Blue Hummingbird. You interpose yourself. You take 4 HP damage.''
:Victim text - ''A Rat attacks you. Raffles bravely interposes himself. He is hit for 4 HP damage.''

If the attack would have been a hit, the bodyguard takes the hit instead of the victim. Flavour text would be as follows:
:Attacker text - ''You attack Blue Hummingbird. Raffles interposes himself. You hit Raffles for 3 HP damage.''
:Bodyguard text - ''A Rat attacks Blue Hummingbird. You interpose yourself. You take 3 HP damage.''
:Victim text - ''A Rat attacks you. Raffles bravely interposes himself. He is hit for 3 HP damage.''

If the attack would have resulted in a glancing blow with a melee weapon, the target is hit as normal. Flavour text would be as follows:
:Attacker text - ''You attack Blue Hummingbird. Raffles interposes himself. You recover your balance and hit Blue Hummingbird for 3 HP damage.''
:Bodyguard text - ''A Rat attacks Blue Hummingbird. You interpose yourself. The attacker slips past your guard and hits Blue Hummingbird for 3 HP damage.''
:Victim text - ''A Rat attacks you. Raffles bravely interposes himself. The attacker slips past Raffles and you take 3 HP damage.''

If the attack would have been a miss, the bodyguard is missed rather than the target. Flavour text would be as follows:
:''Attacker text - You attack Blue Hummingbird. Raffles interposes himself. Your attack misses.''
:''Bodyguard text - A Rat attacks Blue Hummingbird. You interpose yourself. The attack misses.''
:''Victim text - A Rat attacks you. Raffles bravely interposes himself. The attack misses.''

Players using the Bodyguard ability must have sufficient unused APs to allocate towards the defence of the target i.e. they cannot deliberately go into negative APs when setting out to bodyguard. In the event that multiple players choose to bodyguard the same victim at a location, one of the bodyguards is selected randomly for each attack before the results are calculated. In the event that the nominated victim leaves the location before bodyguard APs are used up, any unused APs are lost and not returned to the bodyguard.

This skill would permit a group of players to defend a potential victim. Examples would be villagers defending a [[shaman]] who is exorcising a healer's hut, or an [[SPF]] activist attempting to save an elephant from a hunter's rifle.
|
suggest_time=[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]]|
suggest_author=[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]] 14:58, 9 October 2007 (UTC)|
suggest_comments=

Comment:

Zergers could abuse this horribly. Beyond that, I think it's overpowered. It would make it impossible to kill someone being bodyguarded. Maybe instead of an automatic success it would only have like a 10-15% chance, and a character can only be bodyguarded by 1 player at a time.

I assume while bodyguarding it would be impossible to perform any other actions (since all your focus would have to be on who you're bodyguarding).

But I like the idea! It would open up a lot of new avenues for play (Bodygaurd companies/clans, loyal friends, your example in the Court of Raktam, etc.) [[User:Blahmicho|Blahmicho]] 19:05, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

:I'm not sure that we could do anything against zergers that the game engine doesn't already do. Bodyguarding your own alt should theoretically have the same result as attacking or healing your alt i.e. the Curse of Shartak gets you. It wouldn't be impossible to kill someone unless multiple people were bodyguarding the intended victim. The maximum spend of 10 AP means that a bodyguard can only get in the way of 10 attacks, everything thereafter automatically targets the victim as normal unless there are more bodyguards. That figure of 10 could be altered. I guess that a limit could also be placed on the number of active bodyguards for one character. Any bodyguard who took an action before his 10 APs were used would automatically cancel the bodyguard effect and lose any APs spent. --[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]] 22:04, 9 October 2007 (UTC)
::First, why is the bodyguard spending the AP before he does anything? The AP should be spent when you block an attack, so if the guarded person moves or dies or you die or decide to do something else, the AP aren't wasted. Second, there should be a skill like "assassin" that both increases chance to get past a bodyguard and means that you can avoid being noticed... until you attack the bodyguard or the person they're guarding, of course. Maybe make a "hiding" skill and have assassin as a sub-skill, letting you attack while hidden though you'd have a chance to be found out and be prevented from hiding again while the person you attacked is still alive and being bodyguarded in that square. --[[User:AlexanderRM|AlexanderRM]] 00:06, 16 October 2007 (UTC)
:::The server has no way to tell if you are logged out, asleep or simply inactive for a few moments. Requiring the bodyguard to actively spend APs gets around this problem (and prevents some exploits), provides a potential AP cap on the ability and provides a mechanism for checking for zerging. I dislike the idea of attacking from hiding but if you think that it has merit then write it up for discussion. --[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]] 10:41, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

}}

===Curse===
{{suggestion|
suggest_type=New skill/mechanic|
suggest_scope=Shaman|
suggest_description=This suggestion is for a new shaman skill called ''Curse'' placed on the psychic skills tree at the same level as [[Exorcism]]. A curse would be called down upon a specific map square (indoor or outdoor) via a blood ritual costing 5 AP and 5 HP. Cursing a location requires a dagger or knife to draw blood but grants no XP. Spirits in a cursed area would benefit from a reduced AP cost for Shrieking, Wailing and Possession (-1 AP) and would deliver 50% more damage (and thus gain 50% more XP) when Shrieking and Wailing. Furthermore, it is suggested that spirits in a cursed area would be YY% more resistant to [[Exorcism]].

Cursed locations would be detected by anyone with [[Sixth Sense]]. For those people the location description would include text along the lines of:

:''This place makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.''
:''You feel an otherworldy chill in this area.''
:''You sense an inimical presence nearby.''

Temporarily cursed areas may be cleansed by any Shaman who performs an [[Exorcism]] once the area is free of spirits. Successfully exorcising the spirits grants XP as normal and cleansing the area would grant a further 5 XP. It is suggested that permanently cursed locations (e.g. battlefields, ruins) also be created.
|
suggest_time=[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]] 14:46, 18 October 2007 (UTC)|
suggest_author=[[User:Skull Face|Skull Face]]|
suggest_comments=

Not a bad idea but I would suggest giving outsiders a skill to negate curses as outsiders already have a hard time with ghosts as it is.--[[User:Etherdrifter|Etherdrifter]] 19:14, 27 October 2007 (UTC)
:Possibly a scientist-based skill called "Skepticism"?--[[User:Black Joe|Black Joe]] 00:15, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

}}

Talk:Eastern Federation

2007-10-25T13:32:37Z

Black Joe: /* Our Forum */