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Thread: Virtual Kingdom ~ The Heavy Cruiser

  1. #16
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    Chemistry Synergy Team:

    Personal experience is a good foundation for understanding what constitutes a workable situation. What I mean by this is what is mutually enjoyable at the point where the game is both fun and the players are reaping success. this requires us to go deeper than the concept of the divisions consisting of 8 provinces.

    The buddy system: This is most evident in a band situation with connections that hone a cohesive sound. Notice in many cases there will be an obvious relationship in the lead section of say guitarist and singer, AND a relationship in rhythm between bassist and drummer. The connecting agents are the string player bassist and guitarist. Despite the relative distance in relationship of drummer to singer, it's the nights when they both are "on" that the best performances take place. - Same goes for quarterback/wide receiver and pitcher/catcher. This is the root by which team synergy grows.

    My basic skepticism of the widely used system here in Utopia is that each kingdom has a peak and then a less spectacular foundation. Here I'm talking about the fun more than the success. Being told what to do in quasi-robotic fashion is fine if your focus isn't quite here. What I'm presenting as a template is a way to take your relationships in the game and express that as unfettered as one can offer. Besides the numerical harmony of the 8 persona/race combinations the game offers, I also decided on divisions to nurture the concept of team. This may seems counterintuitive, but I promise you that even the game of football only gets you 11 players on the field, not 25.

    All the kingdom will be aimed at particular goals but the pursuit is down to the dynamic duo, all 12 of them. From there each duo has a chemistry with a member of another duo. Be it heavy attacker to thief or mage to merchant, each will find someone they can go back to back and take on the world. my hope is that you won't get lost in the mix but found as a unique gem that shines among the jewels around you. Call it art.
    Last edited by StratOcastle; 27-02-2014 at 04:16.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

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  2. #17
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    Triskelion Monarchy:

    Crucially, take a look at the Swiss Pike Square. Now conceive this triangulated to upper, lower and midrange relationships. Diplomacy, goals and tactics.

    ( * I stole " crucially " from the Sir James Dyson * )
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

  3. #18
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    I mentioned a jazz band as influence on the approach to kingdom activity and scope in my last Virtual Kingdom thread. We have a most diverse range of personality/race to have reach in every corner of game mechanics. These aren't massive in any aspect, but there in some authority. We have war hero for all the reasons a war hero is presented as a personality: fast training, immunities, war spoils which all play a part in the myriad of options this kingdom strategy offers.

    Like a jazz band each player has their opportunity to solo with backing support. The rhythm section is still pumping, horns laying out tasteful sustain while you're doing your thing. When you're done we all meet at the bridge. So if war is a song we can ad-lib with one eye on the sheet music. It's not a promise of success, but every player gets a moment to shine in the build they cherish.
    Last edited by StratOcastle; 28-02-2014 at 21:48.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

  4. #19
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    Where Strategy & Roleplaying Fuse: Rule #1 - nobody cares about your D&D character, but tough cookies!

    In my last campaign I played Misty Keghammer. She was a dwarf earth warden who specialized in area effect attacks. Strategically she was an anomaly as she defended her party from a distance. Misty was at her best when surrounded by enemies; the more the better. This complemented the conventional defender types who thrived in traditional fashion. That is, standing as a wall between the enemy and our healers and mages. Warden is the most durable defender build and dwarf ain't bad either. For roleplaying purposes and to lend my Game Master a portion of the fun, I wore only leather armor. This kept the game fun which I think is important when the Game Master sacrifices much to make the game fun for the players. Misty had redundant and far reaching capabilities that made her a very satisfying character to run in combat, but in D&D it's more than that.

    Misty was a rather small dwarf, even shorter than some gnomes. One peculiar detail she was born from an egg. She had long straight silver hair tied in a ponytail and pale gray skin tone with a blue hue. Almond shaped steel blue eyes and a somewhat long pointed nose. Her facial features were sharp like a grey elf with a small mouth and thin pink lips. Her limbs were short and chubby, but shapely if you're into that type of thing.
    Misty had a voice like Kathleen Turner though she was both a close and quiet talker. Her first language was dragonborn and she had a dragonborn accent when speaking dwarf or common. She walked with a dainty swagger and never quite mastered a straight line. This could be because Misty was a relentless drinker, even in life and death combat. Her favorite pipe was a short stout briar with a wide heavy bowl and fond of English tobacco. She carried on her personal business with the charm of Mr.Bean. The essence of her underlying personality was generations of wardens that were reincarnated and carried on in spirit. So even though Misty seemed nothing more than a cute little drunk dwarf girl she was destined for centuries to carry on a mission handed down from the birth of the crystal gate of the Far Realm.

    In conclusion, we have the opportunity to imagine our provinces in full technicolor as demonstrated above. Let strategy and character meet as one and fully enjoy this game.
    Last edited by StratOcastle; 01-03-2014 at 20:51.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

  5. #20
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    Be Water:

    How important is uniformity in Utopia? There seems to be a majority that believe a set core of similar races and personalities have advantage. Yet, someone is losing wars or not growing. Right? I think if we look through the charts we'll see most do this anyway. To make it clear, I think it makes a difference but better players make the most difference.

    So do I really think a kingdom with zero core can beat one of current age efficiency: elf, human, undead? Unquestionably, yes. This template is based in player desire with the tools to do what you're best at. Is there chaos? Yes. But I wonder if this templates mistakes would be as detrimental as the efficient kingdoms mistakes?

    Number crunchers seem to have some grip on what works in some sort of octane delivery ideal. I'm not saying they're wrong, but efficiency in Utopia is bargain shopping. It doesn't account for quality. What I'm doing here is presenting you with quality. With traditional strategies you have simple balance but here in this template we have sophisticated balance. That's right, I'm talking about taste. It would be offensive for me to present this template as better. It is not. What this template offers is complexity. It's beautiful to a player who enjoys sophistication. Doesn't mean this is hard. This template could run on a basic war and peace plan as any other kingdom, but it's upside is it's depth of character.
    Last edited by StratOcastle; 05-03-2014 at 23:19.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

  6. #21
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    What Am I Selling?

    Nothing. This is a Virtual Kingdom template with a few rules to keep a common theme. The reason this is virtual is that while this kingdom could live I know that it probably won't. I'm not fond of monarchy myself and I enjoy traveling from kingdom to kingdom. It's my travel that influenced several features here.

    What I'm presenting is an alternative to raze and recruit. Merging kingdoms is obvious to me because I travel enough to see the same problems in the lower to midrange Utopian sectors. Merger is better for the game and offers greater potential to yield a good kingdom. Egos are the greatest obstacle.
    Last edited by StratOcastle; 07-03-2014 at 20:43.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

  7. #22
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    Almost Forgot:

    We can't fully realize The Virtual Kingdom until we fake tag.

    ~ I christen thee: The Hallmark Channel ~

    Theme will be each province named after a
    Hallmark Channel movie. There, that was easy.

    * Have you watched this stuff? It's fantastic! - So every Saturday I do laundry and watch TV. Now I'm mildly addicted to this stuff and suddenly realized the Virtual Kingdom name has the same initials as The Hallmark Channel ( The Heavy Cruise ). Isn't that goofy like a crazy romantic movie!? ;-) *
    Last edited by StratOcastle; 08-03-2014 at 20:41.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

  8. #23
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    Recruitment & Requirements(?):

    First thing I'd like you to do is look at the recruit page and notice the common theme of minimum requirements. I think if you need to be told to deploy your army twice a day in war you honestly shouldn't be playing competitive Utopia. I'm not saying this because I believe in the doctrine of army in/out, I'm saying if your not interested enough to need minimum level guidance you should simply random to any given kingdom.

    Recruitment here will be handled by division to fit their particular needs. If they desire help from outside their division they are welcome to ask. Shuffling player to player, role to role, division to division is welcome. We want synergy and ultimately happiness, as far as the Utopian ideal. Think about this virtual kingdom in the light of Utopian society. Not snob, not overly idealistic, not narrow minded war mongering.

    If communication were up to me I would use Chatzy as the private channel and have a public irc. The public irc is important to get to know the Utopian community. By getting to know the community you have a much more reliable source for recruitment. By example, #ACPub is the benchmark public irc. How can I say that? Answer: because when AC broke up the personalities were easily recognized by the larger community and several players went from below the charts to top 10 and even 5 kingdoms. Warseekers, Pew Pew, Simians, Legacy come to mind immediately.
    By virtue of happiness it would be nice to have our players that want a shot at crowning to exchange places with top players that want a more relaxed social playing environment.

    I'm an advocate for generous amounts of intel, but i'm a guy who enjoys the charms of Pimp. Clearly not popular with the Upoopo and Stingernet crowd. Here I will be my most ridiculously communist and say let's have all 3. One intel source per division with the kingdom registered to all 3. This way I can have my pimp and you can have Stingernet. We'll figure out something to make the coordination as seamless as possible. Just a few more cups of coffee and it'll all make sense.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

  9. #24
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    Continue To Age 61:

    Did I ever mention I'm left-handed? Lots of people are, but I'm very right brain oriented. This is why you won't see build % here. I'm a feel player to a fault. I need freedom to be happy and the reins of top play simply don't fit. My honest opinion is they are better at this game. So where do I fit, or you if you're like me in this way?
    My suggestion is to find the highest level of play where you have that freedom.

    When you travel this game with good intentions you learn there are a few top 50 kingdoms that can accommodate freedom of build with a level of formidability. I've fought good kingdoms in said places and while we lose it isn't quite because they are better in execution. Most of it has to do with their greater plans. In every case it has been the kingdom I'm in with the handicaps. If we can reason with this then we get to war a refined enemy we can learn from.

    I'll be preparing an age 61 template in the near future. Because it will mirror this template not much will change other than personality to race alignment. As usual these will vary from the immediate impact builds to the builds of sustain.
    I'd love to get periodic build structures from the math oriented players so that interested readers might have a more defined view of this template. Thank you if you stop in to contribute. Or just say hi ;-)
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

  10. #25
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    Relative Understanding: Influence Your Game By Your Interests

    It's obvious some guys in this game use chess tactics and acquired vision via competition. This is why it's important to keep a cool head in diplomacy. If an opponent can learn the depth of your understanding, your level of foresight he may gain advantage. They may use insults or a demeaning affront to get you to expose weakness. My opinion is there are no cease fires for enemies. This seems cruel in short, but our interest is to make them friends. If we look at the picture of grace I can say from personal experience that Roughknecks and Shinra are benchmarks.

    Now, back on track

    Cigars: I love cigars. If you don't know, there are particular blends from different regions. There are tobacco men who master this blending, rollers who are responsible for how well constructed the cigar is and aging to get the characteristics to marry. This at it's zenith isn't about efficiency, it is about quality. It's about care, time and wisdom.

    Revolvers: A fine revolver is a machine of beauty. Timing, lock mechanisms, trigger action, safety features, ergonomics and customization. My preference for grips are smooth, not checkered, single finger grooved Brazilian Tulipwood Hogue. In better revolvers we enjoy the pageantry of man and machine. I enjoy the loping feel of a large calibre, short barreled revolver. Again this isn't efficient, but it brings together charms we simply don't have in automatics.

    Live Music: If it were up to me I'd love to see a resurgence in live music in as many neighborhoods as possible. As with most art it is a display of expression, be it covers or originals. We have the option to listen or walk away. The organic sound from a small venue is always appealing to me. I truly miss the jazz scene where cigars and scotch were the culture. I'm as much a metalhead and simply like being near the music. It is a dimension of art, from the people dancing to the reflections of colored light off chromed instruments to the very reason; to listen to art.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

  11. #26
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    Age 60 concluded, I'm just taking notes for 61:

    1- Faery mystic ( Elf mystic, Halfling mystic )
    2- Faery rogue ( Halfling rogue )
    3- Faery sage ( Human sage, Dwarf sage )
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

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