Olympia I Rules

8/3/2019 Olympia I Rules

1/29

Olympia PBM===========

Rules of Play

Olympia, its rules, documentation and game text areCopyright 1992 by Richard Skrenta. All rights reserved.

Overview--------

Olympia is a computer moderated fantasy simulation. Characters,monsters and other entities move, battle, explore and study inthe Olympian world. Each turn players submit orders for theircharacters. After the simulation runs, Olympia will send reportson the outcome of these orders, encounters with other characters,and end-of-turn statistics to the players.

Olympia is set in a low technology fantasy world. Charactersdo not have fixed races or goals. They may study whatever skillsthey believe will be useful and pursue goals as they find them.An aspiring heroic fighter may purchase weapons, study combat andslay monsters. Business-minded individuals may study the art oftrade and commerce and create a profitable trading empire. Thestudy of magic could furnish tools to advance other dark plans.

Game Mechanics--------------

Each player begins with the control of one character and a sum

of gold, the Olympian currency. Characters may hire subordinates,study skills, purchase items at market, build things, and ofcourse explore. Each turn a player submits orders for all of thecharacters under control. These include the initial character,known as the player character, and subordinates, which belong tothe player character's faction.

The Olympia program will execute orders for characters inparallel. Each order may take no time or many game days tocomplete. As many orders will be processed for each characteras game time allows. Orders not completed by the end of theturn may continue into the next. Olympian turns run about 30

game days.

Some Example Orders

A set of orders for a new character 503 could be:

entity 503form 500 "Feasel the Wicked"unstackstudy combat 30

doneworkstudy combat 10

buy 10buy 18 20explore


2/29

This character would first hire a subordinate "Feasel the Wicked."Hiring a follower costs 500 gold, and 500 additional gold isgiven to Feasel when he is hired. His instructions are to unstackfrom the player character and to study combat for the rest ofthe month.

The player character, after hiring Feasel, would perform menial laborfor wages, then study combat for 10 days, then purchase a longsword(item #10) and 20 units of pipeweed (tobacco, item #18) at market,and finally explore the province for hidden features.

Next turn, commands for both characters would be sent in:

entity 503study combat 10study trade 10move 1001

entity 1081study combat 30attack 502

Note that Feasel's number (1081) is reported after the FORMcommand is run, so it won't be known until the first turnreport is seen.

Locality--------

The world is broken up into distinct locations known as provinces

or regions. Each region is an entity. All characters, monsters andother entities within a location are considered to be in the sameplace, although a character may not necessarily be aware of of theother units nearby.

Each province may have other features which are also entities.These include exits, castles, towers and monster lairs. Since allunits and features in a location are considered to be in the sameplace, travel is not necessary to access these interior features.

For example, if a unit were stacked with the a castle in an oceanport region it could it could unstack and immediately join a stackwith a ship in port. No movement takes place other than the stackingoperations. Likewise, units stacked under one feature may attackunits stacked under another feature or other units located in theprovince.

Interior features such as castles may provide protection to unitsstacked with them. Castles and towers may be built (at considerablecost) by enterprising units. Castles are large and may house manyfighting units. Towers tend to be smaller but also are cheaper toconstruct.

Monster lairs come in many varieties. Often the monster itself willbe found stacked directly underneath the lair guarding some treasure.

The lair provides protection for the monster, which must be slain orcaptured to get the treasure.


3/29

Certain features of a region may be hidden and require explorationbefore they appear on the turn report. However, they can usuallybe referred to be their entity number, and once referred to willbecome visible.

Combat

------

Resolution of combat is based on many factors comparing the strengthsand weaknesses of the engaged units. Skills, weapons, terrain,weather and luck all combine to determine the outcome of battle.

Units will choose the best weapons and armor available from theirinventory to fight with. If a man had a choice between a longbowand a javelin, he would choose the longbow for the higher attackvalue. However, if it is raining and the bowstrings are wet, hewould choose the javelin since the bow would be ineffective.

Winning tends to have a positive effect on loyalty, while losingdiminishes loyalty. If one of the parties flees before combat takesplace then there are no declared victors or losers, and loyaltymodifications do not take place.

The winning stack will receive some amount of booty from the loser.This tends to be higher if the losing stack was completely destroyed.If the losing stack merely fled and escaped, the booty will be moneyand possessions left behind in haste or found on dead men.

The loser's stack may either be completely destroyed or some part of itwill flee to a neighboring province. Additionally, some members of theloser's stack may be captured and held as prisoners.

Units will flee when their damage exceeds the parameter set with theSET FLEE command, or when they are extremely outnumbered. The defaultis to flee when 50% damaged. Note that only the stack leader'sfight-or-flee rating is consulted during battle. A capable militaryleader can rally the troops, and encourage them to fight against greatodds.

Building up your Faction------------------------

New units are created with the FORM command. FORM will create a newunit with one member and assign a name to it. FORM is the only wayto create a new unit of followers.

The RECRUIT and IMPRESS commands add men to an existing unit. They willnot create a new unit.

For example, if you wanted to make a gang of ten thugs, you could issuethe following orders:

form 500 "Gang of Thugs"recruit 9

done

This would create a new unit known as the "Gang of Thugs", give it 500gold, and issue one order to the new unit: try to recruit nine men.


4/29

Gang of Thugs may not find nine willing new recruits, but if enoughmen are available up to nine would be hired.

501> form 500 "Gang of Thugs"Created Gang of Thugs [1058].1058> recruit 9Gang of Thugs [1058] found only two men available. Both

were hired.

The FORM command will report the new unit's number. The next turnorders for the new unit are included as a separate entity section:

entity 501...

entity 1058recruit 7study combat 30

Units must be paid each month or their loyalty will drop. Unitmaintenance costs have a small fixed overhead plus a per-mancharge. The costs tend to rise with the unit's skills. Untrainedgroups of men are the cheapest to maintain.

Low loyalty may cause men or units to desert, and will make themmore susceptible to persuasion. Disheartened men may also fightpoorly in combat, take longer at construction tasks, etc.

Stacks------

Units can be joined together into groups by stacking them. A unitissues the STACK order naming the entity to stack beneath:

entity 1058stack 501

Here Feasel [1058] issues an order to stack under Osswid [501].

Osswid [501], player character, armor 3, stack over:1) Feasel [1058], armor 1, lightly armed

Note that the order of units in the stack depends on the sequenceof STACK commands issued. Entity numbers have nothing to do withstacking order. The last unit to STACK will always be on the bottomof the stack.

Units may also stack with region features such as towers and castles.The fortification is always on top of the stack.

If Osswid issues the STACK 2101 command, he and Feasel will stackbeneath entity #2101, the Tower of Darkness:

Tower of Darkness [2101], tower, stacked over:1) Osswid [501], player character, armor 32) Feasel [1058], armor 1, lightly armed

The unit stacked directly beneath a fortification or ship is the"owner" of that feature. For instance, Osswid has control of Tower


5/29

of Darkness since he is stacked directly beneath it. He may makeuse of the inventory of [2101], change its name, or work to increaseits fortification level. Other units cannot control Tower of Darknesswhile Osswid remains stacked beneath it. He would need to be killedor displaced before another entity could stack in his place.

Therefore is it important to keep a garrison stacked beneath towers,

castles and ships to preserve ownership of them. Abandoned regionfeatures may be claimed by the first entity to STACK with them.

Stacks are convenient for moving groups of units. The stack willmove as the stack leader moves. The stack leader is defined as thetop most character unit in a stack. Thus, Osswid is the stack leaderabove even though he is beneath Tower of Darkness since the tower isn'ta character.

If Osswid issues a MOVE order, both he and Feasel will leave the towerand travel. Similarly, if Osswid issues a STACK order, Feasel willremain stacked beneath him.

If Osswid wanted to travel alone he would need to UNSTACK before moving.This would leave Feasel in control of Tower of Darkness.

Ships are a special case of region fortifications. Units may stackwith a ship just as they stack with towers or castles. However, ifthe stack leader of a ship issues a MOVE order across an ocean link,the entire stack including the ship will move.

Thus if Osswid and Feasel are stacked under HMS Pinafore andOsswid MOVEs to the Gulf of Drassa, both the ship as well as thecharacters stacked beneath it will move.

Carrying Capacity-----------------

There are four modes of travel:stacked with a ship over an ocean linkwalking over landriding over landin small boats over a river link

Travel limits across ocean links are determined by the size ofthe ship. For other modes of travel, the number of oxen, horses,men and small boats the stack possesses determines whether thestack is overloaded.

weight capacity------ --------

man 100 150horse 200 250ox 1000 2500small boat 100 500

For river travel, the weights of all possessions except smallboats are compared against the total capacity of the small boats.

For walking, the weights of all possessions not including men,horses and oxen are compared against the sum of capacities of


6/29

the men, horses and oxen.

For riding, the weights of all possessions including men butnot including horses are compared against the total capacityof the horses. Riding is not possible with oxen.

Examples:

One man with one boat:

weight capacity travel?------ -------- -------

walking 100 150 yesriding 200 0 noriver 100 500 yes

One man with one boat and 100 weight of plate mails:

weight capacity travel?------ -------- -------walking 200 150 noriding 300 0 noriver 200 500 yes

One man with one horse and 100 weight of plate mails:

weight capacity travel?------ -------- -------

walking 100 400 yesriding 200 250 yes

river 400 0 no

Guilds------

Each character in a faction may join one of several Olympianguilds. Guilds specialize in the learning and teaching ofskills. A guild usually has a designated leader known as theguild master, and many members.

Number Guild Skills------ ----- ------3101 Warriors' Guild leadership, combat, archery3105 Guild of Thieves stealth, observation3106 Guild of Magicians various magic, summoning3108 Academy of Engineers shipbuilding, construction3110 Beastmasters' Guild equestrian3111 Traders' Guild trade3113 Performers' Union entertainment3125 Order of the Curators lore research

Members of a guild may stack with towers flying the guild'sstandard and study skills which the guild offers at an acceleratedrate. Study under a guild is more expensive; the guild master

receives the extra funds, which may be used for for upkeep of theguild's towers and promotion of the guild's business.


7/29

A character is only permitted to join one guild. Even ifbanished from his guild, a character may not join another.A fee of 500 gold must be paid when the character joins the guild.Guilds jealously guard their secrets; a traitor to a guild mayexpect switch and decisive retribution from the guild membership.

An example guild tower:

The Archives [3225], tower, guild [3125], teaches lore research,stacked over:

1) Osswid [501], player character, lightly armed

Note that The Archives tower is a separate entity from the guildentity. It is a normal tower, but is displaying the guild'sstandard ("guild [3125]"). Members of the Order of the Curatorsmay stack with this tower and study lore research at twice thenormal rate, paying 150% of the normal cost. Guild membershipmay offer other benefits, including extra commands and reports.These benefits vary from guild to guild, and are described in the

guild's lore.

Maintenance Costs-----------------

Each months every unit (except player characters) is assessed amaintenance cost. This amount will be deducted from the unit'sinventory. The funds go to provide upkeep for the unit, includingfood, miscellaneous items, and the unit's "wages". If maintenancecosts are not paid, the unit's loyalty will drop. Units withsufficiently low loyalty may desert, or switch to another player'sfaction, given incentive.

Maintenance costs rise as the skills and power of the unit increase.A highly skilled trader who earns thousands of gold pieces each turnfor his master will demand more pay than an unskilled menial laborer.

Maintenance costs also rise with the size of the faction, reflectingthe extra bureaucracy necessary to coordinate many men and units.

Maintenance costs for new units with a few members and low skilllevels should be around 40-100 gold.

Olympian Calendar-----------------

Olympian months vary slightly in the number of days theyhave. The calendar has two months for each season, fora total of eight months per Olympian year.

Season Month Days Name------ ----- ---- ----

Spring 1 30 Fierce windsSpring 2 32 Snowmelt

Summer 3 35 Blossom bloomSummer 4 35 SunsearFall 5 35 Thunder and rain


8/29

Fall 6 32 HarvestWinter 7 30 Waning daysWinter 8 28 Dark night

Command Summary---------------

denotes a required parameter, [n] an optional one.

time

ASSIST [days] daysATTACK [mode] 1BUY [max price] 0CANCEL [wpr] -DECLARE 0EXPLORE 7FORGET 0

FORM "unit name" 1 *GET [have-left] 0GIVE [have-left] 0JOIN 0IMPRESS [number of men] 7LOOK 0LORE 7MESSAGE 1 *MOVE [dirloc...] variesPASSWD -PAY [have-left] 0PERSUADE [amount of gold] 7POST 0 *

PROMOTE 0RECRUIT [number of men] 7RESHOW 0SELL [min price] 0SET [arguments]

set FLEE 0set IDLE 0set NAME "new name" 0set TRACE 0/1 0

SIGNAL 0STACK 0STUDY [days] daysSWEAR 0TERRORIZE 7TRANSFER [have-left] 1UNSTACK [who] 0USE [options] variesWAIT

wait GOLD ?wait ITEM ?wait LOC ?wait MEN ?wait SIGNAL [who] ?wait SKILL ?wait STACK ?

wait TIME dayswait UNIT ?wait UNTIL ?


9/29

WORK [days] days

* - Note: These commands require text terminated by the DONEkeyword. Refer to the reference description of thesecommands for further details on their syntax.

Example:

form 500 "Feasel the Apprentice"unstackstudy magic

done

Command Reference-----------------

ASSIST [days]

Assist a unit in a work or construction task. Unit will assistfor the specified number of days. If days is zero, the unitwill assist until the project which is working at iscomplete.

The assisting unit and must be in the same stack. If theunit which is being assisted is engaged in a task which requiresskill, then the assisters must possess at least level 1 of thisskill to be able to help.

For example, Osswid [501] may wish to build a ship. He would

employ the use of his shipbuilding skill to begin construction.Fighters of Pelenth [1058] could stack beneath Osswid and issue:

assist 501 0

to work on the ship until it was completed. Fighters of Pelenthwould need shipbuilding level 1 to be able to help.

Note: Helpers of greater skill than the leader will function atthe skill level of the leader. In the above example, Osswid'sshipbuilding skill level will be used, even if the assistingFighter's level is higher.

attack target [ kill capture booty ]

Giving no style argument is equivalent to style kill.

Attacking to kill attempts to kill the target and its stack.Attacking to capture attempts to capture instead of kill, andattacking for booty means that one is not really interested inharming, but is more interested in treasure (a la highwaymen of the18th and 19th centuries).

Because one has to pull one's punches when capturing, it is harder to

capture a unit than to kill it. Attacking for booty means that theattacker will not pursue a unit that chooses to flee, but willstop and pick up whatever booty it could collect. Units fleeing


10/29

in terror tend to leave some valuables behind.

ATTACK [mode]

Engage two stacks in combat. Only the top most character in a stack

may initiate combat.

One of the following attack modes may be specified:

KILL Atttempt to kill the target and its stackCAPTURE Try to take prisoners, if possibleBOOTY Allow target to flee, leaving booty behind

KILL is the default option.

Battles take place between stacks, not between individual units. If aunit is attacked then the unit's stack is attacked and all units will

aid in the defense. Offensive and defensive ratings are summed forevery unit in the stack to determine battle outcomes. Thus stackingwith a fortification will cause the stack to gain any advantages ordisadvantages of the fortification.

A unit may not attack another member of its own faction.

Two units in the same stack may not engage in combat.

It is harder to capture a unit than to kill it. Attacking for bootymeans that the attacker will not pursue a unit that chooses to flee,but will stop and pick up whatever booty it could collect. Unitsfleeing in terror tend to leave some valuables behind.

Booty gained through combat is not counted against weight limitsfor river boats, ocean ships or fortresses for the rest of theturn in which it is won.

BUY [max price]

Buy quantity of item from the local market. Max price, ifspecified, is the maximum per-unit price which will be paidfor items. If the market is not willing to sell for or below then the goods will not be purchased. Buy orders can onlybe issued in regions containing markets.

CANCEL [wpr]

Cancel waits, pending commands, or a still-running order for thecharacter. The default is to cancel pending orders, and leavewait events and running orders intact.

cancel # flush pending orders

cancel p # flush pending orderscancel w # terminate event unit is waiting for

cancel r # interrupt the currently running order

cancel pwr # cancel the pending wait, currently


11/29

# executing order, and flush the queue

cancel wp # cancel the wait event and flush the# order queue, but let the executing# order finish

Note that if you want to cancel orders for all of your characters

you will have to send in a cancel order for each unit, not justthe player character.

Movement orders may not be interrupted. Units engaged in movementmust reach their destination before executing new orders.

DECLARE

Declare an attitude between two characters or factions. If who iszero then the character's default attitude will be set.

value name description----- ---- -----------1 friendly share possessions in stacks2 cooperative may stack together3 neutral4 unfriendly5 hostile

Units may stack together if they have declared each other cooperativeor friendly. Downgrading a declared attitude may cause forced UNSTACKsif units from different factions are stacked together.

Examples:

Set Osswid's default attitude to be neutral:

DECLARE 0 neutral

Allow Orzok [502] to stack with Osswid's units (if Orzokalso agrees):

DECLARE 502 cooperative

Allow Orzok's units which are stacked with Osswid's access toOsswid's inventories:

DECLARE 502 friendly

Let Osswid's attitude towards Orzok revert to the defaultfaction attitude:

DECLARE 502 default

Note that if any of Orzok's units were in Osswid's stacks when thelast order was executed, they would be dropped. Also, if Osswid'sunits were members of stacks lead by Orzok, they units would unstackas well.

To determine the attitude of one unit A towards another unit B,the following possible attitudes are checked:


12/29

Does A have an attitude towards B?Does A have an attitude towards B's faction?Does A's faction have an attitude towards B?Does A's faction have an attitude towards B's faction?Does A have a default attitude set?The default attitude of A's faction.

Note then that there are fours ways to declare an attitudebetween two characters which are not player characters.Thus it is possible to declare an entire faction hostile buthave a single member within the faction declared friendly.

EXPLORE

Explore the province for hidden features or exits. Takes 7 daysto complete.

FORGET

Forget the known skill or spell.

FORM "unit name"...commands for new unit...DONE

Create a new unit with one member, give it an initial supply of gold,and give it commands to execute. The FORM command costs 500 gold tohire a new follower plus whatever funds the new unit is given to startout with.

FORM must be followed by any number of commands for the new unitterminated with DONE. For example:

form 150 "Feasel the Wicked"unstackstudy combat 10move 1001

done

This form command will cost 500 plus the 150 given to the new entity.The unstack, study and move commands will be executed by the new entity.

New entities are created in the same location as the unit that isforming them and are stacked under the creating unit. The new unitwill have only one member. To add men to a unit, use the RECRUITor IMPRESS commands.

A character must be in a reasonably populous location to be able to forma new unit; if there is no local population it will be difficult to hirea follower. In general this means that form cannot be used while at sea.

Note that the new unit name must be enclosed in quotes or it will not berecognized.

The newly formed unit will only have one member. To add men to theunit, use RECRUIT or IMPRESS.


13/29

GET [have-left]

Retrieve quantity of item from another unit in the same faction.Used to unload goods from a ship or fortification.

If quantity is zero all of the available items will be taken.

If specified, at least have-left quantity will not be taken.

GIVE [have-left]

Give quantity of an item in inventory to another character, shipor fortification. Specifying zero for quantity will cause theunit to give all of its inventory for the item. An amountspecified by have-left will not be given.

The character must declare the giving unit friendly or cooperativeto receive items.

For example, if Feasel has 100 rugs:

GIVE 501 rug 50 # Give 50 rugs to [501]GIVE 501 rug 0 # Give all 100 rugs to [501]GIVE 501 rug 100 # Give all 100 rugs to [501]GIVE 501 rug 100 25 # Give 75 rugs to [501]GIVE 501 rug 0 25 # Give 75 rugs to [501]

IMPRESS [number of men]

Attempt to seize men and force them to join the unit. If number

of men to be impressed is not specified, as many men as possiblewill be obtained.

Men cannot be impressed while at sea. There is no cost to impress meninto service. However, followers gained through IMPRESS have the worstloyalty and tend to be in poorer health than willing recruits. A unitmust have at least 10 men to be able to force others into its service.

Men gained through IMPRESS will be untrained. If the unit has attainedskills through STUDY, the skills will be diluted by the new additions.

JOIN

Join a guild. The unit must pay an initiation fee of 500 gold forentrance to a guild. A character may only join one guild, and guildmembership is permanent. A character which has been banished froma guild may not join another.

Guild membership offers varying benefits depending on the guild.Most guilds maintain towers where skills may be studied at anaccelerated rate.

A character does not need to be in a location with a guild housein order to join the guild.

Number Guild Skills------ ----- ------


14/29

3101 Warriors' Guild leadership, combat, archery3105 Guild of Thieves stealth, observation3106 Guild of Magicians various magic, summoning3108 Academy of Engineers shipbuilding, construction3110 Beastmasters' Guild equestrian3111 Traders' Guild trade3113 Performers' Union entertainment

3125 Order of the Curators lore research

LOOK

Print the description of a province. Descriptions for provincesare printed at the end of a turn for all of a faction's characters.However, the LOOK order is useful to see developments in a provincewhich a character will travel through but not be in at turn end.

Example:move 1041

look # Print the description of this provincemove 1069

Note that the LOOK order is not necessary after the "move 1069"command since the character will end in that region.

LORE

Research new lore on . Requires seven days.

Any Olympian entity may have one or more informational loresheets about it. The levels of lore available for a particular

topic are numbered, starting from zero.

Most skills are described by lore sheets. Usually when acharacter who is studying a skill advances, the lore sheetfor that level of skill appears in the player's turn report.

The LORE command is not needed to make this happen.Studying will automatically reveal skill lore sheetsas your character advances.

However, a character may wish to learn information about skillsthat he doesn't possess, or about other game entities. In thiscase the LORE command may be used.

A character may research lore about a topic up to the levelof skill in Lore Research that he possesses. For example,any character may obtain the level 0 lore sheet for theEquestrian skill:

lore 110 # investigate equestrian skill

However, the character would need Lore Research level 1 before hewould be able to see the level 1 Equestrian lore sheet. If he hadattained level 1 or greater in Lore Research, then further loreabout Equestrian could be learned:

lore 110 # Try to learn more about equestrian


15/29

The Lore Research skill offers more ways to identify and researcharcana about the Olympian world.

MESSAGE ...text of message to send...DONE

Send a message to another player. MESSAGE will announce the sendingcharacter but not the sender's faction. Delivery is usually prompt.

For example, if Feasel issued:

message 501Beware, Osswid! Rumors around town speak of aplot to destroy you!

done

Osswid would see:

A message arrives from Feasel [1084]:" Beware, Osswid! Rumors around town speak of a plot todestroy you! "

MOVE [dirloc...]

Travel in the indicated direction, or to the specified province.If a location is specified, there must be a direct route to it fromthe character's current location.

Compass points may be abbreviated: N, S, E, W, NW, NE, SW, SE.

Visible routes leaving each province are listed in the turn report.For example:

Routes leaving Cnossa:West, wilderness, to Aerondor [215], 17 daysSoutheast, wilderness, to Ossicus [230], 16 daysNortheast, River Estil, river, to Baraxes [232], 4 daysEast, wilderness, to Aldain [233], 9 days

Given this description of routes, the following are valid MOVEcommands:

move w move 215move sw move 230move ne move 232 # Requires small boats!move e move 233

If the stack leader issues a MOVE order, all of the units stackedbeneath it will move also. Units which are not stack leaders willfirst unstack before moving.

Tower of Darkness [2101], tower, stacked over:1) Osswid [501], player character2) Fighters of Pelenth [1058], number: 10

For instance, if Osswid issues a MOVE order, he and Fightersof Pelenth will first unstack from the tower. If the Fighters


16/29

are to be left behind, Osswid should UNSTACK before issuing MOVE.

See the STACK order for a complete description of stacking behavior.

A special case of stack movement occurs if a unit stacked directlybeneath a ship issues a MOVE order over an ocean link. In thiscase the entire stack including the ship and all units stacked

beneath it will travel out to sea.

Travel routes are rated for the normal time it takes a unit towalk the distance. Various factors may affect the actual timeit takes to travel between provinces.

If a unit has sufficient small boats in inventory it may travel overriver routes. A unit with enough horses will be considered mounted,and will traverse land routes in half their rated time.

Encumberance from inventory as well as use of boats and horses isconsidered for the stack as a whole. The allocation of horses, boats,

men, and trade goods between units in a stack is irrelevant.

The first day of a journey will be spent in preparation for movement.The unit will actually leave the province on the evening of theday it issues the MOVE order.

1: move 1001Journey will take 11 days.

11: Arrival at Pactra.12: > ...next command to be executed

This gives other units a chance to interact with a departing uniton the day it leaves. See Appendix B for examples of tricky

command syncronization.

PASSWD

Set the password for a faction. If no password is given thefaction's password will be removed.

PAY [have-left]

Pay amount of gold to indicated entity, keeping at leasthave-left funds available. The PAY command is shorthandfor the equivalent GIVE command to transfer gold fromone unit to another.

The amount of gold to be paid will default to all of theunit's gold if not specified or if zero.

For example, if Feasel has 100 gold:

pay 501 100 # pay 100 to [501]pay 501 0 # pay 100 to [501]pay 501 0 25 # pay 75 to [501]pay 501 100 25 # pay 75 to [501]

PERSUADE [amount of gold]


17/29

Attempt to increase or change a unit's loyalty to the faction issuingthe PERSUADE command. An optional amount of gold may be specified tobe given as a reward or bribe.

If used on one's own units, PERSUADE will increase their loyalty tothe faction. If used on a member of a different faction, then the

unit's loyalty will be eroded. A sufficiently disloyal unit willrenounce ties to its master and join the persuader's faction.

Rich, skilled characters tend to be more persuasive than shabby-looking,unskilled units. Highly loyal minions will speak well of their masters,and large groups are generally more persuasive than smaller ones. Bythe same token, large groups of skilled individuals are harder topersuade than small, unskilled units.

Player characters and monsters cannot be persuaded.

Persuasion takes 7 days.

POST...text of message...DONE

Post a public message in the region. Characters in the region willsee the text of the message in the location description section oftheir turn reports. Signs remain visible for one turn.

Example:

post

All ye beware! These lands are the property ofnoble Osswid. Those who trespass here withouthis permission will come to a GRAVE end!

done

PROMOTE

Promote the position of the specified unit within the stack.The unit will be raised so that it is stacked immediatelyabove the character issuing PROMOTE.

Characters may only promote units which are stacked beneath them.

RECRUIT [number of men]

Attempt to hire followers to join a unit. If number of men is notspecified, as many men as funds and the local population allow willbe hired.Attempt to hire followers to join a unit. Each man hired requires a50 gold hiring bonus. The number of men available for hire is relatedto the size of the recruiting unit and the local population. Ifnumber of men is not specified, as many men as funds and the local

population allow will be hired. Typically, a small group in a regionwith a large population will be able to hire at most 3-5 followers inone week.


18/29

Recruits cannot be added while at sea. Recruits cannot be added to theplayer character. To build units of troops, first FORM them, then addrecruits to the newly formed units.

When an existing unit which has attained skills adds men, the unit'sskills are diluted by the untrained additions.

RESHOW

Print a lore sheet which has already been seen in a previousturn report. The specified lore sheet must already have beenseen by your faction. Example:

reshow 110 3 # Reprint the equestrian level 3 lore sheet

SELL [min price]

Sell quantity of item to the local market. is theminimum per-item price which will be accepted. If the marketis not willing to pay at least , the items will notbe sold. Sell order may only be issued in regions containing markets.

SET [arguments]

Set a unit specific parameter. If entity # is 0 then the unit issuingthe set order is affected. Options which may be set are:

set FLEE

Set the amount of damage that the unit will sufferbefore it flees in battle. Default is 50.

set IDLE Set a command which will be executed by the unitif it has no other pending commands.

Example:set 0 idle "work"

The unit issuing this order would perform the"work" order if it had no other commands to execute.

set 0 idle "use 113"

The unit issuing this order would make use of theentertainment skill to earn money if it would otherwisebe idle.

Multiple commands may be entered for the IDLE orderby separating them with semicolons:

set 0 idle "work 1;study 101 1; study 106 1"

To remove the idle command for a unit, issue:

set 0 idle ""


19/29

The idle command will also be executed while aunit is performing the WAIT order.

set NAME ""Change the name of a unit.

Units in the same faction may change each other's name.The name of a region feature or a ship may be changedby the faction stacked immediately beneath it.

Names should be no longer than 34 characters. The nameof a unit may only be changed once per turn.

Example:set 0 name "Dr. Phibes"set 4593 name "HMS Pinafore"

The unit issuing these orders would now be known as

"Dr. Phibes", and ship 4593 would be renamed to"HMS Pinafore". The faction must have a unit stackedimmediately beneath 4593 in order to change its name.

Note that the name must be enclosed it quote or it willnot be recognized.

set TRACE 0/1

Turn off or on verbose transaction tracing. Tracingwill show specifically how many men or inventory itemsa unit has after every command which changes them.

Example output with tracing:

1200: > transfer 1209 0 21200: 8 men transferred to 12091200: Men now 21209: Men now 19.1209: > get 1200 5 21209: Got 2 small boats [5] from 1200.1209: Small boats [5] now 3.1200: Small boats [5] now 0.1200: > work 11200: Will work for 1 day.1200: Earned 3 gold.1200: Gold [1] now 27.

SIGNAL

Signal a unit issuing a WAIT SIGNAL order. See descriptionof WAIT SIGNAL for more information.

STACK

Stack under the specified entity. A unit may stack beneath another

unit or a fortification such as a castle or tower.

If the unit issuing the STACK order is the top unit in a stack, or is


20/29

the controller of a region feature (stacked immediately beneath it),then the units stacked beneath it will join the new stack as well.

For example, if Osswid is stacked over Feasel:

Osswid [501], player character, armor 3, stack over:1) Feasel [1058], armor 1, lightly armed

and Osswid issues STACK 2101, Feasel will remain stacked with Osswid:

Tower of Darkness [2101], tower, stacked over:1) Osswid [501], player character, armor 32) Feasel [1058], armor 1, lightly armed

However, other members of a stack will unstack first before stackingwith a new unit. If Feasel issued a STACK order, he would first unstackfrom Osswid before joining the new stack.

Two stacks can be joined by having the stack leader of one stack

join the second stack. However, stacks cannot be split in asimilar way. Each unit which wished to leave the stack would needto first UNSTACK, then STACK with a new stack.

Example: The stack headed by 'a' wishes to join the stack xy.

a xb yc

If 'a' issues a STACK x or STACK y order, the new stack would be:

x

yabc

However, if 'b' issued a STACK x or STACK y order, the new stacks would be:

a xc y

b

The entity specified in the STACK order does not affect where theunit will appear in the new stack. The unit joining an existingstack will always be below all of the current members of the stack.

Units from different factions may only stack together if they havedeclared each other cooperative or friendly.

STUDY [days]

Study the indicated skill or spell for a number of days. Daysdefaults to 14 if not specified.

There is an initial cost required to begin study of a skill, paid

the first time the skill is studied. The startup cost for a skillis only paid once, and is the same regardless of the number of menin the unit. For most skills it is around 50 gold, but can be


21/29

significantly higher for esoteric skills such as magic.

Studying a also skill incurs a daily charge, usually around 2 goldper day. Study costs are charged per-man. Groups of five or morereceive a 20% discount on the daily study charge.

Lower levels of skills can be attained fairly rapidly. A character

should be able to reach level one after a couple of weeks of study.The total study time to reach level three is just over two monthsof game time. Units may speed this further by studying with aguild or a teacher.

Higher skill levels, however, require substantially longer periodsof study to attain. Thus, a unit may achieve proficiency with askill quickly, but to become an expert will require considerabletime and effort.

Study is cumulative, so two study orders for 7 days each areequivalent to one study order for 14 days.

A character stacked with a guild will learn skills which the guildteaches at an accelerated rate. The daily study rate, however, is150% of the normal cost. A portion of the extra funds go to the guildmaster, the rest for guild upkeep and expenses. See the JOIN order forinformation about joining guilds.

Number Skill Initial Per-day------ ----- ------- -------

101 Military leadership 60 2102 Combat 50 2103 Archery 50 2105 Stealth 100 5

107 Shipbuilding 50 2108 Construction 50 2110 Equestrian 50 2111 Trade 50 2112 Observation 50 3113 Entertainment 25 2114 Mining 25 2126 Teaching 25 2

Spells are normally learned through the use of magical research.Once discovered, proficiency with a spell can be increased withthe STUDY order. STUDY may be used to attempt to learn spellswhich the character does not know. Success is unlikely, however,without a teacher.

SWEAR

Give a unit to another faction. The unit issuing the SWEAR orderwill be owned and controlled by the indicated faction.

The SWEAR order clears the queue of pending commands, and removesany SET IDLE commands for the entity. Any declared attitudes theentity had are also removed.

The SWEAR 0 order may be used to make a independent. The unit willrenounce its current factional loyalties and become computercontrolled. SWEAR 0, if used by a player character, will drop that


22/29

player from the game.

TERRORIZE

Attempt to change unit's loyalty through terror. TERRORIZE may beused on one's own units to increase their loyalty to the faction,

or on other units to decrease their loyalty to their current lord.

The unit issuing the command should be stronger than the unit beingterrorized. A stack leader gets a 100% strength bonus when terrorizinga lower unit in the same stack. Requires 7 days.

Terror tends to have negative effects on the terrorized unit's health.Extremely high levels of loyalty cannot be attained through terror.Units converted to one's faction through terror will tend to havelower loyalty than those persuaded in, due to the brutal natureof their conversion.

Player characters and monsters cannot be terrorized.

TRANSFER [have-left]

Transfer men from one unit to another. The receiving unit must bedeclared friendly or cooperative toward the unit issuing TRANSFER.

At most, all but one man may be transferred from a unit.

If the specified number of men is zero, all of the available menin the unit except one will be transferred. If the have-leftparameter is specified, at least that many men will remain inthe original unit.

The skills, health and loyalty of transferred men will be averagedinto the new unit. Transferring a highly skilled fighter into aunit with a highly skilled magician will result in a unit withtwo members, each moderately skilled in both magic and combat.

Men may be gotten rid of by transferring them to 0 or to thelocal province. They will be taken out of the unit and addedto the region's population.

transfer 0 5 # Eject five men from unit

USE [options]

Use a skill or spell that the character knows. Use requires thatthe character has attained at least level 1 knowledge of the skillor spell through study.

Note: Not all skills have a direct USE function. Some, such ascombat, are implicitly used when needed.

UNSTACK [entity #]

If a unit issues the UNSTACK order with no arguments it will drop outits stack. If the stack leader gives an argument with UNSTACK, thenamed unit is dropped from the stack.


23/29

Units at sea may not unstack from their ship.

WAIT

Wait for the specific condition to occur. Characters will

execute their set IDLE command, if any, while waiting. Whenwaiting is complete, the idle command will be interrupted,and normal order processing will resume.

wait GOLD Wait until the character has at least gold. Same as WAIT ITEM gold .

wait ITEM Wait until the character has at least ofthe specified .

wait LOC Wait until arrival at the indicated location.

wait MEN Wait until at least men are in the unit.

wait SIGNAL [who]Wait for a unit to signal (see the SIGNAL command).If who is specified, the wait will only be interruptedif the specified unit signals. If who is not given,the wait will be interrupted by the first unit whichsignals the waiting unit.

wait SKILL Wait until the character has attained at least proficiency in the specified skill or spell.

Note that this wait option must be used in conjunctionwith a SET IDLE default study order. For example:

set 0 idle "study 106"wait skill 106 5

wait STACK Wait until the unit issuing the wait order andthe specified entity are in the same stack.

wait TIME Wait for the specified number of days to elapse.

wait UNIT Wait until the specified unit arrives. Theunit may be a character, NPC, ship, or othertraveling entity.

wait UNTIL Wait until the specified day of the month.

WORK [days]


24/29

Perform unskilled labor for wages for the specified number of days.Days defaults to 7 if not given. Menial labor does not pay well,usually 2-3 gold per day. Labor for hire cannot be performed whileunits are at sea. Wages are paid at the end of each week worked.

Appendix A: Skill Dilution and Averaging-----------------------------------------

Men may be added to a unit through IMPRESS, RECRUIT or TRANSFER.Impressing and recruiting bring unskilled men into a unit whichmay have spent time attaining proficiency with various skills.TRANSFER may join groups of men with differing skills, or differentlevels of mastery of the same skill.

Whenever men are added to an existing unit, the skills, loyalty andhealth of the recruits are averaged with those the original men.

Simple averages are performed for health and loyalty. Becauselearning times for skills rise with each level of skill attained,skills averaging is based the typical amount of study time necessaryto reach the particular skill level.

For example, if a combat level 6 man is transferred into a one manunit with no combat skill, the resulting two man unit would havecombat level 4.

Notes:

o There is a hidden digit of precision kept for skill levels,so in the above example, if the fighter was combat 6.0, the

resulting unit would have a combat level of 4.1.

o Any roundoff errors will work against the units. Skilladvancement cannot be achieved by moving men back and forth.

A unit cannot completely unlearn a skill by having men added to it.Thus, a unit's proficiency with a skill may fall to zero, but it willnever need to pay the study begin cost twice.

When moving a skilled man into a unit which has no ability with theman's skill, the new unit will not pick up the new skill unless theresult of the skill averaging would produce yield at least level 1.

For example, suppose a man with equestrian level 2 and combat 1 isadded to a completely unskilled unit with one man. The resultingtwo man unit will have equestrian level 1, but no combat ability.If the unit were to study combat, it would be charged the begin cost.

Appendix B: Order Synchronization----------------------------------

Each morning in Olympia, the order processing engine checkseach unit in turn to see if it has any orders to execute.

If a unit has an order, it will be executed, and the orderprocessor will move on to the next unit with orders.


25/29

If a unit executed an order which took no time, such as PAYor STACK, the order processing engine will come back to itto see if there are any more orders to be executed. This willrepeat until every unit has either run out of orders, or begunan order which will take at least a day to complete.

Each evening in Olympia, the order processor will check to see

if any executing orders finish or otherwise need to run. Thus,all orders are begun in the morning, and all orders which takeat least a day to execute finish in the evening.

An example:entity 501

pay 502 10give 502 longsword 1wait time 0

entity 502pay 501 5

give 501 rug 1buy rug 1

These orders are executed in the following order:

501: pay 502 10502: pay 501 5501: give 502 longsword 1502: give 501 rug 1501: wait time 0502: buy rug 1

MOVE orders spend the first day in preparation for movement, then

the rest of the time in transit.

1: move 1001Journey will take 11 days.

11: Arrival at Pactra.

Having the unit spend the first day in the original locationbefore leaving allows zero time commands which involve themoving unit to succeed:

entity apay b 10stack b

entity bmove 1001

entity cpay b 15stack b

The pay and stack commands will succeed because they are zero time,and entity b won't leave for Pactra until the evening.

If synchronization among zero time commands is necessary, occupying

an order slot with a null command such as "wait time 0" may beuseful.


26/29

Appendix C: Skill Descriptions-------------------------------

Skills numbers and their initial and per-day costs to learn:

Number Skill Initial Per-day

------ ----- ------- -------101 Military leadership 60 2102 Combat 50 2103 Archery 50 2105 Stealth 100 5107 Shipbuilding 50 2108 Construction 50 2110 Equestrian 50 2111 Trade 50 2112 Observation 50 3113 Entertainment 25 2114 Mining 25 2

126 Teaching 25 2

101 Military leadership

Military leadership is skill at leading troops in battle.Often an inferior but better lead force can triumph overa disorganized opponent.

Military leadership only offers advantages if there aretroops to lead. Thus, it is not useful for combat withsingle units.

Military leadership does not have explicit USE options.It is used automatically during combat.

102 Combat

Combat skill is the fundamental skill of battle.It is important for all fighting units to possesssome combat ability, even units which do not engagein hand-to-hand or sword combat, such as archers.

Skill in combat is implicitly used in battle. Thereare no explicit USE options for combat.

109 Forestry

Forestry is skill at working with forest regions.Characters skilled in forestry can produce lumberfrom forests and assess the amount of lumber a forestis capable of producing.

Additionally, those skilled in forestry are rumored tohave special abilities to observe and elude othercharacters while in forest regions.

110 Equestrian


27/29

Equestrian is skill with horse training, riding and care.At higher levels, equestrian skill may give characterspowers over other beasts as well.

Wild horses are typically caught roaming plain regions.They may either be broken and tamed into useful riding

horses, or trained for the demands of battle. War horsesfetch premium prices at markets, when they can be foundat all.

111 Trade

Trade skill is useful for merchants and tradersto gain advantages in their dealings with markets.

Low levels of trade skill give merchants accessto market goods which may not normally appear

for sale.

Skill in trade also confers an advantage when buyingand selling goods. A skilled trader may purchasegoods for less than his competitors and fetch thehighest prices when he sells.

114 Mining

Mining skill is used to produce various elements fromprovinces. At lower levels stone and ore productionare possible. Higher levels allow a unit to mine

more rare items, such as gold and jewels.

Lower levels allow ore and building stone production.At higher levels, rare items such as gold and jewelsmay be produced.

Mining may be attempted in any province, althoughdeposits vary greatly across the land, and someprovinces may lack sufficient quantity of an item tomine.

125 Lore research

Lore research is the study of the arcana of the Olympianworld. Lore sheets describe skill uses, guilds, provinces,and other artifacts.

Skill in lore research enables a character to find entitiesfor which lore exists, and to reveal such lore.

126 Teaching

Teaching skill allows a unit to offer instruction in

skills which it has learned to other units stacked withthe teacher.


28/29

Some Definitions (with examples)--------------------------------

Controlled unit

A unit controlled by a player character. Said to belongto the PC's "faction", which is designated by the numberof the player character.

Example: A controlled unit, a member of Osswid's faction:

Fighters of Pelenth [1058], number: 63, faction [501]

The "faction" designation for a unit will only be seen ifthe viewer's observation skill exceeds the unit's stealthrating.

Faction

The collection of your controlled units and your PC. ThePC is the "faction leader". The faction is designatedby your PC's number.

Independent unit

A character unit not controlled by a PC. There are two waysindependent units are created: either by the death of a PC,which may leave faction members independent, or if the unit's

loyalty dropped low enough for it to desert from its faction.

An independent unit:

Lightworn [542], individual, independent

Independent units can be persuaded or terrorized into joininga faction. The game may play these characters while theyhave no owner.

Independent units are always so marked.

NPC

Non-player characters, usually game controlled. These includevarious monsters and other races which may be encountered.

NPC's may not be terrorized or persuaded into joining a player'sfaction, although limited control may be possible through highlevel skill uses, such as magic or beastmastery.

Some examples of NPC's:

Savage [5945], savages, number: 3, armor 1

Faery [5762], faeries, number: 4Razorbeak [2017], giant bird, number: 1, armor 3


29/29

Here is the Black Night and his company barring the road to Ossicus:

Routes leaving Drucartan:[1074] Northwest, road, to Ossicus [230], 9 days, stacked over:

1) The Black Knight [3608], man, number: 1, unfriendly2) Entourage of the Black Knight [3609], men, number: 53) The Black Night's Squire [3610], man, number: 1,

lightly armed, carrying a black standard

The Black Knight is barring the road because he is stacked with it,and is declared unfriendly to us (thus he will not let us pass).

Note that while the Black Knight is a man, he is not an independentunit or a PC. Therefore he is an NPC.

PC

A player character. The faction is designated by the player

character's number.

A player character:

Osswid [501], player character, lightly armed

Frequently Asked Questions--------------------------

Q: Is the startup cost for STUDY paid per-man, or per-unit?

A: Per-unit. If it were paid per-man, then you could simply

evade it by forming a unit with one man, have him start studying,and then add men later.

Q: Study costs rise in a guild, what about the startup cost fora skill?

A: It stays the same.

Q: If two units are in the same region, but one is stacked withsome men, and the other is stacked with a tower, can theyexchange items with the GIVE command?

A: Yes. Units in the same region may interact, regardless of whatthey may be stacked with. Stacking does not affect locality.

Q: If I have my PC join a guild, can one of my followers join adifferent guild?

A: Yes.

Olympia rules v1.26Mon May 18 01:00:58 EDT 1992

Date post:	06-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	jorge-garcia-sevilla
View:	217 times
Download:	0 times

Olympia I Rules

Documents