AstriaS 3697 Share Posted March 12, 2023 SPIRIT WARS OVERVIEW Ever a tumultuous realm, the world of the Spirits is well-familiar with conflict. Whether fueled by the ambition of the Lesser Spirits or the animosity between opposing domains, it is not uncommon at all for Spirits to turn their power against one another. Depending on the intentions of the aggressing Spirit, these conflicts can have a great many purposes, ranging from the weakening of the Spirit’s enemies to simple, indiscriminate violence and bloodletting. COURSE OF WAR Spirit Wars are separated into three phases. In the first phase, Spirits and their followers declare intent and make the necessary preparations to begin their war. In the second, conflict between the Spirits begins, with their respective forces and followers taking up the cause. In the third, a winner is declared and the results are detailed in a final roleplay post. • PHASE I - Declaration of War - The Spirit war is declared via a roleplay post in the Spirit War subforum. This post should be made by the leader of the aggressing side. Additionally, it should specify an intent from the list below: • Bloodletting: A war of simple violence, carried out to prove superiority, humiliate rivals, or have violence for its own sake. This goal has no lasting effect on either Spirit involved. • Conquest: Carried out between Lessers to build power for themselves, this type of war sees two Spirits attempt to drive one another into submission. The result of this can be either submission, in which the losing Spirit declares fealty to the victor, or annexation in which the loser is cast away and its domain is taken over by the victor. • Deposition: A war waged by a Lesser Spirit to take over the realm of a governing Greater. These conflicts can only be waged after at least three other Lesser Spirits are conquered, or otherwise convinced to support the endeavor. • Secession: In this conflict, a Lesser attempts to seal away a portion of a Greater’s realm for its own. Similarly to depositions, at least three other Lesser Spirits must be brought under control to begin this sort of war. - Establishing the Roster - At this point, the initial roster of worshippers is set. For this purpose, a list of usernames should be included in a spoiler on the declaration post. For the opposing side – should any players choose to oppose the aggressing Spirit – a leader must be declared, and a list of supporters likewise documented. This roster cannot be changed until the first round of Phase II is complete. • PHASE II - Conflict - Conflict is the core of the second phase. It is at this point that the Spirits begin to exchange blows within the Spirit World. Each Spirit begins with a set pool of health and deals damage according to a handful of cumulative factors. The results of this are determined by simple addition and subtraction, as detailed below: • Health Points are determined by Spirit power – Greater Spirits begin with 100, and Lesser Spirits with 75. • Each Spirit deals 5 damage per conflict stage. • Each Worshipper contributes 2 damage, and Shamans contribute 4. • Ceremonies, if performed, can contribute 5 damage. • Great Sacrifices, if performed, can contribute 10 damage. Below is an example of how this would look in practice. Before Laklul HP: 75 Base Damage +5 5 Worshippers +10 2 Shamans +8 1 Ceremony +5 28 Damage Freygoth HP: 100 Base Damage +5 3 Worshippers +6 3 Shamans +12 23 Damage After Laklul HP: 52 Freygoth HP: 72 - Recovery - After the completion of the conflict round, both Spirits will take a reprieve to recuperate from their struggles against one another. During this period, worship from the Spirits’ followers will serve to restore their energy and vitality. • 1 Ritual will restore 5 health. One ritual may be performed each round and should be documented on the Spirit War thread with Screenshots. • 1 Ceremony will restore 10 health. There is a one-round cooldown on the use of ceremonies. • 1 Great Sacrifice will restore 15 health. There is a three-round cooldown on the use of ceremonies. - Repeat - As one would expect of a conflict between immortal beings, conflicts between Spirits may very well last for several years, and the successive rounds of conflict will continue until either one Spirit’s health reaches 0, or the war is called off. Each round will last for 1 OOC week, beginning on the day of the week that the declaration was posted. • PHASE III - Conclusion - Once one of the participant Spirits is defeated, or the conflict is ended in some other way, the war is called to an end and the effects are detailed in a conclusory roleplay post. - Aftermath - Spirit Wars are often devastating for the losing Spirit. Many will have their domains absorbed by other Spirits, or otherwise have their name tarnished by the black mark of failure. Those Lessers who try and fail to rebel against their masters, meanwhile, are almost always stripped of their domains and cast deep into the far reaches of the Spirit World under a new name. WORSHIPPER CONTRIBUTION Though worshippers do not directly take up arms in conflicts between the Spirits, they are nonetheless an essential asset to their success. Through their reverence, they can direct power to their patron of choice, aiding in their battles. This can take three forms, as detailed below. • Rituals: The simplest form of worship is a ritual, consisting of group prayer, performances and/or offerings from worshippers. One ritual can be performed in each round, which will restore 5 health to the Spirit being honored. • Ceremonies: Ceremonies are a more intensive form of rituals, which must be performed at a Shrine of Tier 1 or higher, and must have at least 1 Shaman and 3 Worshippers present. Through a ceremony, the worshippers may contribute either 5 damage or 10 health to their Spirit for that round of conflict. After completion, 1 round must elapse before another Ceremony can be performed. • Great Sacrifices: The most powerful form of worship, worshippers may gather and contribute a significant offering to empower their patron. This offering must be pertinent to the Spirit it is given to, for the purposes of proper reverence. For example, while human sacrifice may please Ogrol, it would displease Akezo. The following are acceptable as offerings for a great sacrifice: • 1 Descendant sacrificed (PK is not required) • 10 mechanical stacks of a material/item • 10 unique roleplay items • 10 animals sacrificed Once completed, 3 rounds must elapse before another Great Sacrifice may be performed. DOCUMENTATION Below are outlined the proper processes for documenting and tracking each phase of a Spirit war. Phase I Spoiler Declaration Post The declaration post is the first step in beginning the Spirit War properly. This initial work needn’t be an overly long post, however, it should be a narrative explaining the beginning of the conflict and the intent behind it. In general, a declaration post should meet the following requirements. • The post should be placed in the Spirit War subforum and titled with a suffix naming the Spirits involved. For example, “Title Here [Laklul v. Freygoth]” • The post should be made by the leader of the attacking side. The leader must have an accepted Shamanism MA. • The post should contain a brief narrative detailing the reasons for the conflict, and its beginnings in the Spirit World. • A spoiler at the end of the post must be included containing necessary summary information. Refer to the image below for an example: The declaration thread will be used to document the war as it continues. Roster The Roster for each side should be outlined in the spoiler at the end of the declaration post. Shamans should be marked with an asterisk for the sake of calculating damage values correctly. The initial roster may not be changed until after the first conflict round is completed. Phase II Spoiler Conflict Rounds and Recovery Conflict rounds occur in two parts, lasting one week in total. First, the leader of each side will make a single post outlining their actions for that round. This will include any rituals, ceremonies or sacrifices performed, including an imgur album for the sake of documenting that the appropriate roleplay has taken place. Additionally, any changes to the roster may be documented here, however they will not take effect until the next combat round. Example: On the final day of the conflict round, the individual overseeing player will post an update detailing the current status of each Spirit. Example: Once the results have been posted, the next round immediately begins. This repeats until one Spirit reaches 0 HP, or the war is called to an end. Phase III Spoiler Conclusion Once one Spirit reaches 0 HP, or the war is called to an end, the leader of the winning side will post a brief narrative post detailing the end of the conflict. Like the declaration post, it needn’t be longer than a paragraph or two, so long as the necessary details are included. Aftermath and Outcomes Within the conclusory post, the results of the war should be made clear, whether that be a particular Spirit being deposed or punished for their transgressions, or some other form of concession. An Abridged Timeline of a War Spoiler Step 1: Declaration • Laklul worshippers declare conflict with Freygoth • 5 worshippers, 2 Shamans • Deposition • Freygoth followers declare opposition • 3 worshippers, 1 Shaman ↓ Step 2: Combat Round 1 • Laklul Worshippers Post • 1 Ceremony (Damage) • 1 Ritual • Freygoth Worshippers Post • 1 Ceremony (Damage) • 1 Ritual • Results Post • Laklul HP: 60 (-20, +5) • Freygoth HP: 77 (-28, +5) ↓ Step 3: Combat Round 2 • Laklul Worshippers Post • 1 Ceremony (Damage) • 1 Ritual • Freygoth Worshippers Post • 1 Great Sacrifice (Healing) • 1 Ritual • Results Post • Laklul HP: 50 (-15, +5) • Freygoth HP: 69 (-28, +20) • • • Step ??: Conclusion • Freygoth defeated • Narrative post describes results REDLINES General Restrictions • One must hold a valid Shamanism MA to declare a Spirit War. • Once posted, information provided (rosters, contribution, etc.) is final. The post may not be edited, for the sake of fairness. • Wars between Lessers may be moderated and conducted by players. Conflicts involving Greater Spirits will require review by an ST at the war’s conclusion. For the sake of limiting staff-side paperwork, documentation for wars will be carried out and overseen by players. • For all combat rounds, damage will always be factored in before healing. • Abuse or loopholing of the system may result in the cancellation of the war. Greater Spirits • Greaters may declare wars against other Greaters, however they may not conquer their realms outright. • Greaters may declare wars against their own Lessers at will. Lesser Spirits • Lessers may declare wars against other Lessers within their own realm, or against their governing Greater. They may not declare wars against any Spirit in realms beyond that of their respective Greater. • In the event that a Lesser Spirit suffers 38 damage (half of their total HP rounded up) in a single round, they may be forced into submission to immediately end the war. • When conducting a Deposition or Secession war, links to either forum posts or screenshots should be included to prove the involvement/loyalty of the prerequisite Lessers. Worshippers • A worshipper may only take the side of one Spirit at a time in a given conflict. They may switch sides, if they so choose. • Any changes made to rosters will not take effect until the round after the change is documented. Contribution • Each type of contribution may only be performed a single time in one round. That is to say, one could perform a ritual, a ceremony, and a great sacrifice in a single round, however one could not perform 2 rituals. PURPOSE The mechanics for Spirit Wars, at the time of this writing, are unfortunately somewhat difficult to follow, and the process is time consuming to the point of being a hindrance to the potential RP to be gained from them. The intent of this amendment was to more clearly define the process and potential outcomes of Spirit Wars, as well as to make them, overall, take less time to carry out in full. The hope is to allow more conflict in Spiritualist circles, and to bring a bit more RP and player influence to the Spirit World, as player interactability is one of the Spirits’ strongest points overall. While this piece is, admittedly, very mechanics-heavy, the goal is for said mechanics to serve as a foundation for roleplay to be built upon, and provide avenues for new roleplay in the process. 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AfroJoeTheOlogBro 1093 Share Posted March 12, 2023 A big need if we ever want to see spirit wars actually used 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatFunkyBunch 2037 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Freygoth You Useless ******* ***** Ass Motherfucker Your ass is grass. LONG REIGN LAKUL All and all a good piece that will help future ST out with Spirit Wars and how they function 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkPapaBear 1975 Share Posted March 12, 2023 so based 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaea_Foundation 581 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Very well written. DOWN WITH FREYGOTH! 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mannamannaa 1626 Share Posted March 13, 2023 I look forward to Commiting murder of Freygoth seeing the wonderful RP brought out by this! Something I wonder about, however, is the nature of infighting between lessers of a domain. It seems like very well backed and RP prevalent struggles of the past, such as Laklul's rebellion, will need a prerequisite of no fewer than 3 spirit wars against what I imagine would be fodder spirits made expressly for the purpose of feeding Laklul? With the 1 week of round based combat that seems like a HEAVY SLOG before the more lore relevant battles can occur if all prior conflicts and RP "casus Belli" for a lesser to have enough weight to contest their greater is instead tossed aside by this new system. How might an abbreviated process of lesser on lesser violence be addressed? 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evonpire 1820 Share Posted March 13, 2023 i ******* hate freygoth 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstriaS 3697 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 23 minutes ago, Mannamannaa said: I look forward to Commiting murder of Freygoth seeing the wonderful RP brought out by this! Something I wonder about, however, is the nature of infighting between lessers of a domain. It seems like very well backed and RP prevalent struggles of the past, such as Laklul's rebellion, will need a prerequisite of no fewer than 3 spirit wars against what I imagine would be fodder spirits made expressly for the purpose of feeding Laklul? With the 1 week of round based combat that seems like a HEAVY SLOG before the more lore relevant battles can occur if all prior conflicts and RP "casus Belli" for a lesser to have enough weight to contest their greater is instead tossed aside by this new system. How might an abbreviated process of lesser on lesser violence be addressed? Well. I was conflicted on this while I was writing it. It's part of the reason I included the option to bring them on board diplomatically as well. However, here's a potential option: "• If more than half of a Lesser Spirit's total health pool (38 HP) is taken in a single round, the Spirit may be immediately forced into submission, ending the war." Or something similar. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatFunkyBunch 2037 Share Posted March 13, 2023 44 minutes ago, AstriaS said: Well. I was conflicted on this while I was writing it. It's part of the reason I included the option to bring them on board diplomatically as well. However, here's a potential option: "• If more than half of a Lesser Spirit's total health pool (38 HP) is taken in a single round, the Spirit may be immediately forced into submission, ending the war." Or something similar. This is a good option, because whilst a lesser may rebel, without absolutely needing to, I can't imagine a Greater Spirit is going to want to get rid of a spirit that draws in worship of the realm they Lord over 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panashea 2644 Share Posted March 13, 2023 While I like the attempt of trying to outline Spirit conflict , I think it has a lot of the problems of the old submission without addressing or trying to fix current issues with shamanism. I don't think every piece should be a bandaid, but I think conceptually Greater Spirits and Lesser Spirits need more fleshing out before a system for them doing battle exists. I'm really not a fan of the old Spirit War system because it insanely rewards the few people who want to participate, and anyone who doesn't is kind of just forced along for the ride. Having health systems for Spirits is very clunky, especially when what effects them is so variable. Why should a small group of shamans have a larger impact then something like a natural disaster or Aengudaemon/Inferi interference? I do want to note that Phase 1 is really good way to outline the different kinds of Spiritual conflicts, I am mostly just in disagreement with how that combat is mechanized and harms the canon/nature of the Spirits. While I think Spirit Wars are something that should be something established and clearly defined in lore, I think it also needs more work on the nature of that conflict and how shamans go about it in roleplay rather then just tallying numbers. I also think this lore could be better integrated with core shamanism as to give reason to pursue these wars and conflicts. I personally want to write a piece on how Lessers and Greater Spirits, I'm just a little swamped. If you ever want to work on shaman stuff lmk. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songwitch 1440 Share Posted June 10, 2023 This lore has been denied. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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