Storm World: Campaign


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User Name Password *If you are not currently a member and you wish to participate in the Storm World campaign,* *click here*	Storm World: Campaign of Scandiaca Frequently Asked Questions Answers to common questions about the site, the game, and whatever else comes to mind. View the Campaign Overview (Flash - Opens a new window) What is the Storm World: Campaign of Scandiaca about? The Campaign of Scandiaca is a turn-based, play by web (email) role-playing game in a medieval fantasy setting. A game of swords and sorcery, castles and dragons. It is not a free-form role-playing game! There is a game system which governs where your characters can go, what skills they know, what powers they have, etc. What do you mean "turn-based"? The realm of Scandiaca is not stagnant. Each turn represents one month of game time (40 days in Scandiaca). During that month, orders are processed for each realm character you control. You get a transcript of all the events which happened to your realm character when the turn is processed. Turns are due on a weekly basis Saturday night by 9PM (CST). Turns results are processed and published back to the site in a matter of a few hours. No game processing occurs during the rest of the week (although you may freely communicate with other dominions during this time). However, some rudimentary activities can still take place over the course of the next week (like conversations with citizens, changes to inventory and research on new items). What is meant by "Play-By-Web"? Is that similar to "Play-By-Email"? To answer the second question first, yes, it is a lot like a standard play-by-email game. However, turns are not sent in, nor received via email. Instead, turns are submitted from online forms, accessible through the website. Your turn results are viewed by looking at the website as well. You get no messages sent by the game. Even dominion messages are handled in the message center on the website. For this reason, "Play-By-Web" seemed more appropriate. How come turns are sent in by web-based forms instead of email? As mentioned before, this is not a free-form (or "story telling") role-playing-game. You send in actions instead of speech. For this reason, the online forms make it easier to formulate the actions in your "actions queue". Some computer-moderated games require you to use complicated turn templates, or strict text formatting for their order parser to recognize. Our online forms do this for you (though you are prompted for input by some actions). This makes turn submission more user-friendly. You imply that this game is computer-moderated. Is that so, and if so, what does it mean? Yes, the Campaign of Scandiaca is computer-moderated. What this means, is that the actions you submit using the actions queue are input into a computer program (commonly referred to as the "game engine"). This program processes all turns, calculates results, and prepares detailed reports for your realm characters. The realm Administrator insures that the game engine is processing correctly by verifying the results. The main advantage to being computer-moderated is the speed. A game of this size and complexity would require weeks to process all turns if done manually. The game engine processes turns in as little as 60 minutes. Another significant advantage to having a computer moderate the game is accuracy. Mistakes happen, but they are far more infrequent when controlled by a computer. Too many corrections would need to be made if the game was human-moderated. Make note though, this does not mean that mistakes will never happen! As with any large, complex program, errors will crop up from time to time. Hopefully, all of them will be minor, and/or correctable. All errors will be fixed as soon as possible so that they never happen again. Players will be compensated in some way for missing an opportunity if the game engine causes this through an error (such as granting gold or items to the dominion). How difficult is the game to play? The game is very complex, but a lot has been done to make the game as user-friendly as possible. The online manual should at least be scanned through so that you understand the game's basic concepts. A dictionary of terms is available for you to understand the terminology of the game. An appendix showing tables of most items/actions/armaments/etc. is provided (we suggest that you print this out). The turn submission form makes actions easy to enter, and turn reports easy to read/understand. As always, email the realm administrator (campaign@gemynd.com) with any specific questions you may have. If you have questions regarding strategy or other planning related concepts, the game forum is a helpful tool as well. How do I win the game? You don't! This is an open-ended game, meaning that there are no ending conditions - no winners. The game is a constantly evolving world, where realm characters live out their lives pursuing adventure. The game does not end, as more players will constantly be joining in, filling out the world. When you complete adventures or quests, more will open up. The game will always have more places to explore and creatures to vanquish. What are the objectives to the game? As with any role-playing adventure game, your objectives will vary depending on your taste. Exploration is a main objective, as there are literally hundreds of locations, and thousands of terrain squares to journey through. Character advancement is important as well (through attributes, skills and equipment). As to your personal objectives, they can include conquering dungeons, founding a stronghold, building a significant trade empire, etc. If you need help getting started, here is a list of things you can do in the game which should help you get started. There is also a Getting Started page that walks you through how to sign up for membership and create your dominion. What if my realm characters die?* Death of your realm characters is a definite possibility. Wild creatures roam the countryside, searching for anything to kill. Sometimes, a creature (or group of creatures) can out match your realm characters. Fortunately, this is not the end of the world. As long as you have someone to bring your character back to life, he can be restored. Priests from many cities can raise the dead - for a cost. Or, if you have a character who is advanced in sorcery, you can raise him/her yourself. Note though that there are penalties assessed to raised characters. However, if your character cannot be raised, your dominion will receive some compensation for the loss. What if my last character dies? Is my game over? Fortunately, this event can always be avoided. Since you can have multiple realm characters* (if you are a premier member), it is recommended that you always keep at least one within the confines of the city - where he cannot be attacked (unless he uses the EXPLORE, BURGLARY or GUARD DUTY actions). If a characters dies, go collect him and bring him back to town. In this manner, your dominion can always continue on without losing everything (this is one of the best features of the game!). However, if your last character dies, your dominion could fall - but there is still hope. A realm character is given one calendar year (10 game turns) to be resurrected. If the realm character is resurrected by another realm character, then the dominion is saved. If the character goes 1 game year and is not raised, then he is forever dead, and the dominion is no more then a historical reference. If your last character dies, this does not restrict you from sending messages to other dominions. This means that you can contact an ally to find and raise your hero. What about "player-killers"? What protections do realm characters have? Player-killing simply cannot happen within cities. Even if all are set to "Aggressive", no realm characters may battle another. All new characters (realm characters within the first 5 turns of creation) have 100% protection against player vs. player combat (unless you initiate the combat yourself). In addition, your dominion has the option to avoid player vs. player combat altogether. From your dominion page, you can select whether you wish to participate in PvP combat by using the option given. Note that any player attacked by another has up to one caledar year to retaliate even if the other dominion has PvP turned off. For example, let's say dominion A attacks dominion B on turn 10, then dominion A turns off PvP combat. Dominion B can still attack dominion A until turn 20 has ended, allowing ample time to retaliate for previous offenses. Note also that if your dominion is declared criminal (posted in the city proclamations), then any dominion can attack you regardless of your PvP setting. How do I join? What must I do? To join the Campaign of Scandiaca, you must be a member of Gemynd Online. To sign up for membership, go to the Membership Registration signup page. Once your membership has been initiated, you can go to the join campaign page and register your dominion and create your first realm character. What membership choices do I have? There are two levels of membership at Gemynd Online: Basic and Premium. Basic membership is free for everyone. Membership automatically renews on a continuing basis so long as you sign in at least once every quarter (3 months). You are free to play the Campaign of Scandiaca with a Basic membership, however, there are a few restrictions which you should be aware of. Firstly, Basic member dominions cannot create more then one realm character. That character's advancement is not inhibited, so you can enjoy the game with a one-character dominion. However, Premier members can create an additional three RCs to a total of four. Since the first RC in a dominion can choose to be Human, Brun, Dwarf, Elf and Lizardman, and subsequent RCs can be Halfling, Gnome and Ursus, Basic members do indirectly get a limitation on species. Secondly, realm characters from Basic member dominions cannot found a stronghold (neither Manors nor Keeps), so any benefits from it are lost. Thirdly, some artifacts and items can only be wielded by Premier members because those items become a part of legend. Although they may acquire them and sell them, they cannot READY them. Outside of these restrictions, Basic member dominions are unrestricted in all other means. Their realm characters can learn any skills, journey to every map coordinate, gain any treasure, etc. All members are, by default, Basic members. At any time the member may upgrade to Premium membership and remove the restrictions. Premium membership costs only $25 per year (that's 52 turns of game-play!) but does NOT automatically renew. Note, the first several turns will be completely unaffected by your membership level. It is not possible to construct a stronghold that early, and the option of adding additional realm characters does not happen right away. For these reasons, you can try the game out for free to see whether it is something you wish to do on an ongoing basis. What must I do to become familiar with the game? There are many words describing what you can do to play the game. Our suggested pages for quick game-play include the following pages (in order): the dictionary (to become familiar with the game terms), the member forum (to learn from other players), and - of course - the online game tutorial. * Note that only Premier members may found strongholds and create multiple realm characters.
Appendix \| Online Manual \| FAQ \| Open Market


Welcome guest	Storm-World.com \| Campaign Home \| Scandiaca Netbook \| Almanac \| Map \| Web Board
User Name Password *If you are not currently a member and you wish to participate in the Storm World campaign,* *click here*	Storm World: Campaign of Scandiaca Frequently Asked Questions Answers to common questions about the site, the game, and whatever else comes to mind. View the Campaign Overview (Flash - Opens a new window) What is the Storm World: Campaign of Scandiaca about? The Campaign of Scandiaca is a turn-based, play by web (email) role-playing game in a medieval fantasy setting. A game of swords and sorcery, castles and dragons. It is not a free-form role-playing game! There is a game system which governs where your characters can go, what skills they know, what powers they have, etc. What do you mean "turn-based"? The realm of Scandiaca is not stagnant. Each turn represents one month of game time (40 days in Scandiaca). During that month, orders are processed for each realm character you control. You get a transcript of all the events which happened to your realm character when the turn is processed. Turns are due on a weekly basis Saturday night by 9PM (CST). Turns results are processed and published back to the site in a matter of a few hours. No game processing occurs during the rest of the week (although you may freely communicate with other dominions during this time). However, some rudimentary activities can still take place over the course of the next week (like conversations with citizens, changes to inventory and research on new items). What is meant by "Play-By-Web"? Is that similar to "Play-By-Email"? To answer the second question first, yes, it is a lot like a standard play-by-email game. However, turns are not sent in, nor received via email. Instead, turns are submitted from online forms, accessible through the website. Your turn results are viewed by looking at the website as well. You get no messages sent by the game. Even dominion messages are handled in the message center on the website. For this reason, "Play-By-Web" seemed more appropriate. How come turns are sent in by web-based forms instead of email? As mentioned before, this is not a free-form (or "story telling") role-playing-game. You send in actions instead of speech. For this reason, the online forms make it easier to formulate the actions in your "actions queue". Some computer-moderated games require you to use complicated turn templates, or strict text formatting for their order parser to recognize. Our online forms do this for you (though you are prompted for input by some actions). This makes turn submission more user-friendly. You imply that this game is computer-moderated. Is that so, and if so, what does it mean? Yes, the Campaign of Scandiaca is computer-moderated. What this means, is that the actions you submit using the actions queue are input into a computer program (commonly referred to as the "game engine"). This program processes all turns, calculates results, and prepares detailed reports for your realm characters. The realm Administrator insures that the game engine is processing correctly by verifying the results. The main advantage to being computer-moderated is the speed. A game of this size and complexity would require weeks to process all turns if done manually. The game engine processes turns in as little as 60 minutes. Another significant advantage to having a computer moderate the game is accuracy. Mistakes happen, but they are far more infrequent when controlled by a computer. Too many corrections would need to be made if the game was human-moderated. Make note though, this does not mean that mistakes will never happen! As with any large, complex program, errors will crop up from time to time. Hopefully, all of them will be minor, and/or correctable. All errors will be fixed as soon as possible so that they never happen again. Players will be compensated in some way for missing an opportunity if the game engine causes this through an error (such as granting gold or items to the dominion). How difficult is the game to play? The game is very complex, but a lot has been done to make the game as user-friendly as possible. The online manual should at least be scanned through so that you understand the game's basic concepts. A dictionary of terms is available for you to understand the terminology of the game. An appendix showing tables of most items/actions/armaments/etc. is provided (we suggest that you print this out). The turn submission form makes actions easy to enter, and turn reports easy to read/understand. As always, email the realm administrator (campaign@gemynd.com) with any specific questions you may have. If you have questions regarding strategy or other planning related concepts, the game forum is a helpful tool as well. How do I win the game? You don't! This is an open-ended game, meaning that there are no ending conditions - no winners. The game is a constantly evolving world, where realm characters live out their lives pursuing adventure. The game does not end, as more players will constantly be joining in, filling out the world. When you complete adventures or quests, more will open up. The game will always have more places to explore and creatures to vanquish. What are the objectives to the game? As with any role-playing adventure game, your objectives will vary depending on your taste. Exploration is a main objective, as there are literally hundreds of locations, and thousands of terrain squares to journey through. Character advancement is important as well (through attributes, skills and equipment). As to your personal objectives, they can include conquering dungeons, founding a stronghold, building a significant trade empire, etc. If you need help getting started, here is a list of things you can do in the game which should help you get started. There is also a Getting Started page that walks you through how to sign up for membership and create your dominion. What if my realm characters die?* Death of your realm characters is a definite possibility. Wild creatures roam the countryside, searching for anything to kill. Sometimes, a creature (or group of creatures) can out match your realm characters. Fortunately, this is not the end of the world. As long as you have someone to bring your character back to life, he can be restored. Priests from many cities can raise the dead - for a cost. Or, if you have a character who is advanced in sorcery, you can raise him/her yourself. Note though that there are penalties assessed to raised characters. However, if your character cannot be raised, your dominion will receive some compensation for the loss. What if my last character dies? Is my game over? Fortunately, this event can always be avoided. Since you can have multiple realm characters* (if you are a premier member), it is recommended that you always keep at least one within the confines of the city - where he cannot be attacked (unless he uses the EXPLORE, BURGLARY or GUARD DUTY actions). If a characters dies, go collect him and bring him back to town. In this manner, your dominion can always continue on without losing everything (this is one of the best features of the game!). However, if your last character dies, your dominion could fall - but there is still hope. A realm character is given one calendar year (10 game turns) to be resurrected. If the realm character is resurrected by another realm character, then the dominion is saved. If the character goes 1 game year and is not raised, then he is forever dead, and the dominion is no more then a historical reference. If your last character dies, this does not restrict you from sending messages to other dominions. This means that you can contact an ally to find and raise your hero. What about "player-killers"? What protections do realm characters have? Player-killing simply cannot happen within cities. Even if all are set to "Aggressive", no realm characters may battle another. All new characters (realm characters within the first 5 turns of creation) have 100% protection against player vs. player combat (unless you initiate the combat yourself). In addition, your dominion has the option to avoid player vs. player combat altogether. From your dominion page, you can select whether you wish to participate in PvP combat by using the option given. Note that any player attacked by another has up to one caledar year to retaliate even if the other dominion has PvP turned off. For example, let's say dominion A attacks dominion B on turn 10, then dominion A turns off PvP combat. Dominion B can still attack dominion A until turn 20 has ended, allowing ample time to retaliate for previous offenses. Note also that if your dominion is declared criminal (posted in the city proclamations), then any dominion can attack you regardless of your PvP setting. How do I join? What must I do? To join the Campaign of Scandiaca, you must be a member of Gemynd Online. To sign up for membership, go to the Membership Registration signup page. Once your membership has been initiated, you can go to the join campaign page and register your dominion and create your first realm character. What membership choices do I have? There are two levels of membership at Gemynd Online: Basic and Premium. Basic membership is free for everyone. Membership automatically renews on a continuing basis so long as you sign in at least once every quarter (3 months). You are free to play the Campaign of Scandiaca with a Basic membership, however, there are a few restrictions which you should be aware of. Firstly, Basic member dominions cannot create more then one realm character. That character's advancement is not inhibited, so you can enjoy the game with a one-character dominion. However, Premier members can create an additional three RCs to a total of four. Since the first RC in a dominion can choose to be Human, Brun, Dwarf, Elf and Lizardman, and subsequent RCs can be Halfling, Gnome and Ursus, Basic members do indirectly get a limitation on species. Secondly, realm characters from Basic member dominions cannot found a stronghold (neither Manors nor Keeps), so any benefits from it are lost. Thirdly, some artifacts and items can only be wielded by Premier members because those items become a part of legend. Although they may acquire them and sell them, they cannot READY them. Outside of these restrictions, Basic member dominions are unrestricted in all other means. Their realm characters can learn any skills, journey to every map coordinate, gain any treasure, etc. All members are, by default, Basic members. At any time the member may upgrade to Premium membership and remove the restrictions. Premium membership costs only $25 per year (that's 52 turns of game-play!) but does NOT automatically renew. Note, the first several turns will be completely unaffected by your membership level. It is not possible to construct a stronghold that early, and the option of adding additional realm characters does not happen right away. For these reasons, you can try the game out for free to see whether it is something you wish to do on an ongoing basis. What must I do to become familiar with the game? There are many words describing what you can do to play the game. Our suggested pages for quick game-play include the following pages (in order): the dictionary (to become familiar with the game terms), the member forum (to learn from other players), and - of course - the online game tutorial. * Note that only Premier members may found strongholds and create multiple realm characters.
Appendix \| Online Manual \| FAQ \| Open Market