The Barbarian
Liturgist
‘The first of the peoples poured into Muria from the Great East. Most likely, along the northern reaches, where there is plenty of big game to hunt and good fishing to live on. These early Men were fierce and savage heathens, and knew naught of law or civilization. Bands and hunting parties would range farther and farther in search for food and shelter, and their families would follow closely behind. Mile by mile, they slowly encroached upon the virgin land of Muria, previously untouched by the hand of Man. This long migration would consume centuries. Eventually, they found themselves in its verdant interior, wherefrom they spread rapidly, feasting upon the natural abundance of our storied home. It was not long before the first tribes arose – family groups bound by blood, marriage and necessity. From such humble beginnings did mighty realms come into being; great and terrible alike. This is their chronicle. This is the Chronicle of Muria; the Muriad.’
- Moloteo the Younger, Chronicler and Master Steward
0. Current Players
JagreenLern - Amalechites
Azira - Costalians
anus_pounder - Emphythines
Johnny the Mule - Inui
DamnedRegistrations - Mobians
treave - Panoplites
1. Introduction
Welcome to the Murian Chronicle!
Your friendly neighborhood Barbarian has taken it upon himself to make a return (as if he was the Mack) to glorious Codexia by today announcing a new circlejerk for his brothers in arms, comrades and fellow citizens of this hallowed board. The Redsea Saga, sadly cut down in its prime, remains on hold, as the Barbarian tries to make something real of it in his paltry spare time. While that process takes shape over the coming weeks and months, Conan chooses not to sit idle – figuratively speaking. To that effect, he has prepared a treat for his brothers.
The Codexian Saga, for all its joyous glory, was more like a text adventure than the 4X game Conan originally envisioned it to be. Assuredly, it had elements typical to the 4X strategy genre. But it was never all that it could be, in that sense. The Barbarian wishes to remedy this. Enter, the Murian Chronicle. The premise of this humble endeavor is as follows:
Conan requires six intrepid brothers (not including reserves) to undertake a journey into the history of the make-believe continent of Muria. Each will, in the first instance, design a tribe/state and will then guide that state through at least a thousand years of recorded history. How will they do so? Imagine, if you will, a game of Civilization. Any in the series will do. You pick a tribe. You build a city. You select the technology you wish to research and the unit or structure you want to build. At the end, you press ‘End Turn’, the world spins, and things happen.
The Muriad will run much the same – in an overarching sense. The circlejerk is turn-based (hallelujah?), with each early turn representing fifty years of Murian history. Later, the period of time covered by each turn will shrink, as your various states become more and more developed. For those of you reared during the tumultuous 1990s, you may notice how similar this concept seems to many of the PBEM and PBW games of that day. This is no coincidence, as Conan was a big fan.
Now, while the previous comparison to the Civilization series remains apt, some careful distinctions need to be made and some other preliminary matters noted:
1) If you imagine the Civilization series giving you a bird’s eye view of building a civilization, then the Muriad will afford you a view from an orbiting satellite. That is to say, you will be influencing the meta-development of your states, rather than dictating how many troops to raise in Province X, or what your tax rate will be, for example. The scope of the game will be made apparent by the range and nature of actions you can take during any given turn, as outlined in the Rules.
2) There is no transparent system at play. This is a two-sided coin. On the one side, you may become frustrated with how matters develop as a result of your choices. You may wish to rage, and call Conan names, because you feel personally slighted that your master plan is not working out how you had hoped. If you feel that this may become an issue, please do not join the fun. The Barbarian has nothing but the warmest feelings for his brothers. Whatever happens in the game is a direct result of Conan’s system of logic in action. In other words, your orders will bring about a result that he believes makes sense, given the contextual framework involved. The goal, here, is to build a world and to have a good time in doing so. Not to have your mastery of strategic concerns enshrined in Codexian lore.
3) Though Civilization takes players from 4000BC to 2000AD+, the Muriad will never move past – at the very, very latest – Muria’s equivalent to the Renaissance period. In other words: no machine guns, no radio, no space-ships and no World War Two Part Deux. This is a fantasy world, with no supernatural elements (at least, none that you need to be aware of at this stage).
So, we have now established that Conan is running a TBS play-by-web (i.e. the Codex Playground board) game for six players, set in a fictional world of Conan’s making. But how is it actually going to run? The following step-by-step procedure is instructive:
Step 1.
Each prospective player will, after consulting the rules and the map, design a tribe and send it to Conan by e-mail. The address is: conanism@hotmail.com. No designs will be posted to the game thread. The Chronicle itself will tell you all that you must know about the opposition. Details regarding this step can be found in the posts that follow.
Step 2.
After Conan selects the six players, they will be sent their Player Sheets by e-mail. Much like the CIA Factbook, the Player Sheet concisely outlines the specifics of the player’s faction. For example: population, territory controlled, military, cultural traits, political structures etc. etc.
Step 3.
Each player thereafter sends Conan a set of orders for the following turn – once again, by e-mail. All orders are due in at least two days before the next turn is to be processed. This necessitates a commitment to check your e-mail and respond within five days of each previous turn being processed.
Step 4.
Conan will then do several things:
1) Update the map, as required.
2) Update each Player Sheet and e-mail them to the players.
3) Compile the portion of the Chronicle covering this period, noting all significant events and developments. The Chronicle will be posted to the game thread with every passing turn, so that the entire board may partake in our splendourific mental masturbation and follow along.
Step 5.
Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until the game ends.
And that’s it. Simple! ‘Yes,’ the Barbarian hears you say, ‘but what about the rules? How do we actually play?’
Conan is very glad you asked. Please consult the post below.
- Moloteo the Younger, Chronicler and Master Steward
0. Current Players
JagreenLern - Amalechites
Azira - Costalians
anus_pounder - Emphythines
Johnny the Mule - Inui
DamnedRegistrations - Mobians
treave - Panoplites
1. Introduction
Welcome to the Murian Chronicle!
Your friendly neighborhood Barbarian has taken it upon himself to make a return (as if he was the Mack) to glorious Codexia by today announcing a new circlejerk for his brothers in arms, comrades and fellow citizens of this hallowed board. The Redsea Saga, sadly cut down in its prime, remains on hold, as the Barbarian tries to make something real of it in his paltry spare time. While that process takes shape over the coming weeks and months, Conan chooses not to sit idle – figuratively speaking. To that effect, he has prepared a treat for his brothers.
The Codexian Saga, for all its joyous glory, was more like a text adventure than the 4X game Conan originally envisioned it to be. Assuredly, it had elements typical to the 4X strategy genre. But it was never all that it could be, in that sense. The Barbarian wishes to remedy this. Enter, the Murian Chronicle. The premise of this humble endeavor is as follows:
Conan requires six intrepid brothers (not including reserves) to undertake a journey into the history of the make-believe continent of Muria. Each will, in the first instance, design a tribe/state and will then guide that state through at least a thousand years of recorded history. How will they do so? Imagine, if you will, a game of Civilization. Any in the series will do. You pick a tribe. You build a city. You select the technology you wish to research and the unit or structure you want to build. At the end, you press ‘End Turn’, the world spins, and things happen.
The Muriad will run much the same – in an overarching sense. The circlejerk is turn-based (hallelujah?), with each early turn representing fifty years of Murian history. Later, the period of time covered by each turn will shrink, as your various states become more and more developed. For those of you reared during the tumultuous 1990s, you may notice how similar this concept seems to many of the PBEM and PBW games of that day. This is no coincidence, as Conan was a big fan.
Now, while the previous comparison to the Civilization series remains apt, some careful distinctions need to be made and some other preliminary matters noted:
1) If you imagine the Civilization series giving you a bird’s eye view of building a civilization, then the Muriad will afford you a view from an orbiting satellite. That is to say, you will be influencing the meta-development of your states, rather than dictating how many troops to raise in Province X, or what your tax rate will be, for example. The scope of the game will be made apparent by the range and nature of actions you can take during any given turn, as outlined in the Rules.
2) There is no transparent system at play. This is a two-sided coin. On the one side, you may become frustrated with how matters develop as a result of your choices. You may wish to rage, and call Conan names, because you feel personally slighted that your master plan is not working out how you had hoped. If you feel that this may become an issue, please do not join the fun. The Barbarian has nothing but the warmest feelings for his brothers. Whatever happens in the game is a direct result of Conan’s system of logic in action. In other words, your orders will bring about a result that he believes makes sense, given the contextual framework involved. The goal, here, is to build a world and to have a good time in doing so. Not to have your mastery of strategic concerns enshrined in Codexian lore.
3) Though Civilization takes players from 4000BC to 2000AD+, the Muriad will never move past – at the very, very latest – Muria’s equivalent to the Renaissance period. In other words: no machine guns, no radio, no space-ships and no World War Two Part Deux. This is a fantasy world, with no supernatural elements (at least, none that you need to be aware of at this stage).
So, we have now established that Conan is running a TBS play-by-web (i.e. the Codex Playground board) game for six players, set in a fictional world of Conan’s making. But how is it actually going to run? The following step-by-step procedure is instructive:
Step 1.
Each prospective player will, after consulting the rules and the map, design a tribe and send it to Conan by e-mail. The address is: conanism@hotmail.com. No designs will be posted to the game thread. The Chronicle itself will tell you all that you must know about the opposition. Details regarding this step can be found in the posts that follow.
Step 2.
After Conan selects the six players, they will be sent their Player Sheets by e-mail. Much like the CIA Factbook, the Player Sheet concisely outlines the specifics of the player’s faction. For example: population, territory controlled, military, cultural traits, political structures etc. etc.
Step 3.
Each player thereafter sends Conan a set of orders for the following turn – once again, by e-mail. All orders are due in at least two days before the next turn is to be processed. This necessitates a commitment to check your e-mail and respond within five days of each previous turn being processed.
Step 4.
Conan will then do several things:
1) Update the map, as required.
2) Update each Player Sheet and e-mail them to the players.
3) Compile the portion of the Chronicle covering this period, noting all significant events and developments. The Chronicle will be posted to the game thread with every passing turn, so that the entire board may partake in our splendourific mental masturbation and follow along.
Step 5.
Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until the game ends.
And that’s it. Simple! ‘Yes,’ the Barbarian hears you say, ‘but what about the rules? How do we actually play?’
Conan is very glad you asked. Please consult the post below.