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I have just modified the title. I understand the terms were carefully prepared by the other side, so the original title was kind of "ranting".

See the problem lies with people.

People just don't know how to lose gracefully. Probably because this is an internet game.

People's mentality is not 'well we lost. we should prepare for another war to recover from this one'. Their mentality is 'we lost? well **** time to ruin everything!'.

People just can't accept the fact they lost.

You are right. It's hard especially when the internet nature of the game mixed with some RP elements.. Compounded with the mixed background of our players. It's just hard to make such decisions properly in an IC way. This makes BM both fun and boring.

If you're going to come to the forums and toss around wild accusations, Bofeng, at least do us the courtesy of not misrepresenting the truth, leaving out inconvenient facts or just blatantly lying.

Your ruler surrendered with terms she obviously felt she could agree to. Immediately two of your lords defected or seceded (co-incidentally the two who would be required to give up territory under the treaty - I'm sure greed and selfishness played no role in their actions at all) and the rest of you rebelled with the stated purpose of repudiating the terms made. The ruler you rebelled against defected with her territory and without a word you then declared war on Zonasa. And you're apparently shocked that the Empire responded to defend her? I didn't notice you declaring war on Kindara or Sun'Sera, even though they took territory from you as well. In fact, 75% of the regions you have lost this war were taken by your allies or your own nobles. But apparently that's somehow our fault.

Yourself. This entire little rant is apparently about not wanting to give up Ansopen, yet you leave out the fact that we specifically told you, twice, that we were willing to negotiate on Ansopen. You ignore that and, again, that's apparently our fault. And we said you could have Taop back, a region taken from you by your ally. So these terms could actually have seen Cathay larger than it currently is. But no, we're the horrible unreasonable ones just trying to break poor little innocent Cathay.

I feel that bears repeating. If you had been willing to negotiate properly, Cathay could have ended up with more territory than it has now. But you'd rather piss and moan and complain about how poorly you've been treated. You've only yourselves to blame for that. So please work harder, Bofeng and the Marshals of Cathay.

I am not tossing wild accusations, but instead you, Velax, said the leadership in Cathay are idiots. In my eyes, your altitude is the biggest problem in FEI. If you keep treating people in such a manner, you can't expect to win the nobility of your opponents.

No. We never say it's your fault. Don't give yourself so many credits.. Losing the several regions is just the right price to get rid of the puppet Stephanie. And we all blame the former leadership to bring such chaos to Cathay. And we are so glad we managed to remove them.

Oh, no. We are the evil ones, as you try to paint us as. We even stole unique weapons from your majesty. Didn't you just broadcast our evil deeds including starting the war?

Regarding the negotiations, I said we only had difficulty on those three issues. Others were fine. But you were only able to discuss on the third point. Your letters were treated very seriously in Cathay, but at the end the council didn't believe you wanted to show us your mercy.

I am not moaning, but just have to defend our positions. You, Velax, have already conquered most part of the FEI, and we just want some voice out on the forum.

This title topic is also misleading. This is not "people" ask, this is "bofeng" ask.

Fyi, I also doubt your claim that Cathay is the most active realm on FEI and, as far as I know, the idea of the empire system is that it will lead to a lot more regular wars than FEI has known previously.

Yes, I am asking, as others are commenting like "I don't see how the terms being offered to Cathay are awful". Well. I wonder too. But when I brought up the terms to Cathay, I was almost targeted. So this is definitely a debatable topic. As people on both sides see differently.

Nobles in Cathay have been blamed for starting this war which some stupid King started years ago, cheated by the puppet Stephanie, forced to fight a losing, defensive war, and yet we have to pay huge price in order to kneel in front of Velax and to become proudly part of the Empire. What a nice term!

Apparently we don't have the right time either, (thanks to Gods) and got caught by the nature disasters. But otherwise, we are proud of our progress in the past several months.

I am curious about this new Empire system too. As of today and for a long while, Cathay gets a "high" rating on the activity level, where no other realm in FEI is having.

If you decide you'd rather the war continue until your realm is wiped out rather than join the empire system and give up some territory which you no longer even control then great. That's your call. Very gusty it is too.

But it's exactly that: your decision. Your nobles have been fighting the empire, they are the ones refusing peace terms.

So please don't then complain if Cathay gets wiped out.

And no, I doubt the peace terms are "fair". But people who lose a war never get treated fairly. And by BM standards being left with two duchies isn't bad considering the number of realms in similar situations which were wiped out without any chance of survival.

No, we won't complain. It's part of the game, isn't it.

I said whatever terms are reasonable.

1. A ridiculous request, as the demands Kindara had made were unreasonable and there was no way any sort of "package deal" could be made without tossing existing RP out the window.

2. If you torture the brother of the enemy's leader and then lose the war, you should expect there to be consequences.

3. You were told you can have Taop and that Ansopen was negotiable. You didn't even control Haul and hadn't for months, so to claim it's "humiliating" to not be given back territory that your ally currently controls is ridiculous.

1. I don't see why this is a ridiculous request. You are giving terms on the whole Empire, then the terms should cover both Cathay and Kindara. We had no idea how Kindara negotiated with the Empire, but Cathay will consider the terms "incomplete" if they do not talk about Kindara.

2. I didn't say there can't be consequences. I said it's "unlikely" been done. We can pay money or ask our Judge to step down. But effectively banning him from this continent seems too much. Keep in mind it's the first time the player has been playing a Judge. While assassinating nobles are acceptable for players, torturing such criminals is suddenly unacceptable and considered a "crime". That's a new lesson to me too. 

3. I didn't personally think the terms were "humiliating" just because we were asked to hand out Ansopen, and Ansopen WAS controlled by Cathay at the moment. I said "Cathay will not give up her claim on Ansopen, Taop, or Haul." We never gave up our claim on Taop and Haul, though Kindara was having it. That's because we agreed Kindara needed the regions.

Beyond these points, we implicitly expressed we could accept all other terms, and gave up claims on Duchy of Colosan. We were making efforts. On other words, if the Empire would agree to accept the border line at that moment, where Cathay and Kindara controls Zarimel, Ansopen and Haul, Cathy was ready to embrace peace. But beyond that we can't make a deal. Betraying our only ally or banning our respectful Judge, who controls the largest Duchy, will bring a disaster to the foundation of this realm. So those were our bottom lines, and I was very frank to Velax on that point.   

It's reasonable for the winning party to demand whatever terms to the losing party, but just don't blame the losing party for not taking the terms. In reality, losing realms may take whatever terms. But in this game, players will not.

This is especially true when all nobles but two in Cathay joined the realm after the war has started. Velax and the Empire believe that nobles in Cathay should bear the consequence of starting this current war. Yet the very person who started this war has long gone missing. Except two nobles, all Cathay nobles have left. This is indeed a new realm. Velax and many then blamed the new leadership in continuing the war. Well, puppet Stephanie never properly communicated the terms with the council, and Zonasa stole two regions from Cathay from the first day of the new leadership. No one gave us any chance but they still blame us as warmongers.

Kindara has been crippled due to nature disasters. Cathay has lost at least five regions since the start of the war. But these are not enough in the Empire's eyes. They want more. They are so smart to believe that Cathay and Kindara would accept such terms. They are so smart to believe that all Cathayan and Kindaran nobles are careless, mindless, foolish players that care the existence of the two realms so much that we would kneel down and kiss Velax's ass.

Now the terms again. As I said in Bofeng's letter to Velax, if Arcaea was serious in thinking of taking in Cathay into the Empire, why should we cede Ansopen, a rich region that we firmly controlled at that moment? Does it really matter if it's in Cathay or Zonasa? We already lost the Duchy of Colosan and Duchy of Haul, and the war. What's the point in further crippling a realm that is not bordering Arcaea? If the terms do not require Cathay to join the Empire, that's a different story. Keep in mind that what Velax is trying to do is to ask many nobles families to swear loyalty to him. If he wants these 20+ noble families along with more in Kindara to swear loyalty to him, he has to demonstrate that he is a fair, just ruler with enough political wisdom to lead them. But he can't deliver. He can't even understand why so many nobles are so foolish in continuing the losing war. Now who should we blame?

The nature of the last "South vs North" thread, on Velax's part, is to paint a picture how Cathay and Kindara leadership has been so foolish in making vital decisions and how evil the two realms are. His intention was not to communicate, but to undermine the foundation for these two realms. The realty is, however, despite of being the underdog in this nasty war, Cathay has managed to attract and keep a highly active nobility body, in fact the most active one on this continent.

This continent really needs a shakeup. So please work harder, Velax and Marshals in the Empire.

[he has to show more mercy to convince others to kneel in front of him.]

Wow, I didn't notice there has been a public thread here. This is exciting.

There is no excuse in losing the war. The world is not a fair world, and realms are fighting losing wars all the time. There is no need to call your opponents idiots just because you are winning the game. Admittedly, Cathay has some less experienced nobles on the leadership positions. We made wrong decisions that enrage Velax and others. Those decisions could be foolish. But we have been trying us best to stay us float.

I have no personal issue about the surrender terms that Cathay got. Whatever we got was reasonable to the other side of the table. As Bofeng explained in the private letter to Velax, more political wisdom is needed to plan for the next stage of the continent and to end the war. Bofeng was inclined to accept the terms, but nobles declined such terms. It's just the nature of the game. You think the surrender terms are NOT humiliating, but yes many of us do feel that way. We have no problem in admitting the war is lost. But Velax wants more than that. He wants others to kneel in front of him. The problem is, as I told him, he has to show more mercy to convince others to kneel in front of him. If he believes he is great enough to conquer the whole continent, he has to demonstrate that by destroying us to the dusts, or showing us enough mercy.

Now the terms.

1. Cathay lowers (or raises) relations with all realms in the Far East to peace for the duration of the war and offers no assistance to Kindara or any other realms that oppose the Empire.

2. Cathay promises to offer no sanctuary to those nobles decreed Enemies of the Empire - namely Agnes Rossignon, Fedor Ironhorse and any member of the Himoura family.

3. Cathay cedes Ansopen to Zonasa. Any changes - such as the disbandment of militia or the tearing down of recruitment centres - will abrogate this agreement.

4. The banning of Usul Soul for the crime of torture.

5. Cathay joins the Empire. It will sign the same treaty as each other Empire realm has signed.

6. Cathay grants the realms of the Empire passage rights for the duration of the war and agrees to give Kindara or any other realm opposing the Empire no such rights.

7. The agreement between Cathay and Kindara to cede the Duchy of Azros to Kindara at the end of the war is rendered null and void.

8. Cathay agrees to sell excess food to Sorraine at a fair market price until Sorraine can produce enough food to feed its regions.

And my response:
1. A package deal with Cathay and Kindara is preferred if possible.

2. Banning Duke Usul is highly unlikely. Though I understand your pain in losing your brother, Duke Usul tortured him for a good reason. A reparation could be considered instead.

3. Cathay will not give up her claim on Ansopen, Taop, or Haul. Cathay has already lost the war. What's the point in further crippling us?

In fact, my position was soft. But the nobles didn't feel that Velax was seriously in entering the talks because they felt the terms are humiliating. Nobles would rather die together with Cathay.

We are soft, weak, foolish, inexperienced, doomed, just like I was attacked by some when Queen Stephanie was in place. But we stick with Cathay with a reason. We have a dream that is greater than the existence of Cathay or Kindara, that is to bring peace and balance back to this continent. For that reason, we stand and fight. For that reason, nobles choose not to leave the Free Realms.

I still have most roleplay for the zombie event. Let me know if you need. I just realize we had a lot of good roleplay in Cathay. Unfortunately I never contributed much.   :P

Roleplay from Garamonde Bendix    (136 days ago)
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(Two days ago)

Duke Garamonde Bendix rose from his chair in the corner of the room, his ever-present disapproving scowl glowering out from beneath his mustache. He stepped toward the bed with the cautious purposefulness of a predator, but his eyes met the noblewoman's, ignoring the man just recovering from his wounds.

"Yes. Me." He muttered, as though disgusted by some bad phantom odor. "I'm not here to cause any trouble, if that's what you think. I'm sure you assume that I meant to wound him like this. You may even believe I meant to kill him. That would be a false assumption."

Though his words were congenial enough, his voice was full of menace: "If I wanted him dead, he would be dead. And nothing, no feelings you have in your heart or thoughts you have in your mind would protect him. You may think the Gods favor prayer and devotion, but that, too, is a false assumption. The Gods favor only the strong of mind and body; the only true prayer is to prepare oneself for conflict and hardship."

With sudden military rigidity, Duke Garamonde saluted the wounded General as he regained consciousness, then turned to leave the room at a brisk pace, his bootfalls clunking on the wood with the echo of finality.

Roleplay from Angela Windblack    (137 days ago)
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The faint sound from the corner of the room was familiar to Angela, yet at the time she seemed to be so lost in thoughts that her own voice would seem alien to her. Still her eyes wandered to the source of the sound. . . Her eyes widened at the sight of the man, her viking blood began to boil as a thundering roar came out of her.

"YOU!!! What are you doing here? Gu...!

The man seemed to be unaffected by the commotion as he stretched himself. Angela's eyes burned with purest fire, and see seemed to be capable of doing the most unexpected at any moment. Still the Goddess of fate smiled upon the people in the room as the healer shouted in joy.

"Lord Bofeng is regaining consciousness! Quick, bring some water!"

The poor woman rushed to the bed, for the vent she had been waiting for finally came.

Roleplay from Garamonde Bendix    (138 days ago)
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In the corner of the recovery room sat a man who appeared to be sleeping soundly, his feet propped up on the patient's end-table, wide-brimmed hat pulled low over his face. He had been there all afternoon, as the healers and scribes and various factotums doted upon the wounded noble in the bed. By the style of his clothing, they had assumed he was merely some sort of guard or soldier set to watch over the patient. But in truth, the man was no mere peasant, nor was he asleep- he was listening intently to the words of the woman who sat beside him:

"...death can't ever touch you while I'm beside you. Wake up fast my hero!"
Upon hearing those words, the man in the corner shifted, raising his head just a bit to reveal the curled ends of a familiar-looking mustache...

I used to believe Battlemaster is the only light, social game worthy of playing. Until I recently discovered Mush, which puts a lot of focus on interdependency and interaction among characters.

The two games are nothing similar. But in that game, every character can have an unique profile, and people have to depend on each other. There are more randomness in the process, which also increases the "re-playability" for a game that usually lasts only several days.

For example, everyone can contribute to do a single project (in our case, like a "take-over"), but the effectiveness decreases if you continue to click the button. You need another player to contribute too, in order to "reset" your effectiveness. Such design forces good communications among players.

[unique]

The beauty of this game is the social aspect, and this idea is to enhance it by adding interdependency among nobles.

I suggest we add character sub-classes or unique paraphernalia that increase interaction among nobles. For example:

- Weapon Master: spends time to boost weapon production like siege engine and repair weapons for the whole army.
- Food Transporter: can carry a lot of food with them, moves slower, but can feed other nobles' troops upon arrival.
In old times, there was a saying: "Food and fodder should go before [ahead of] troops and horses" (sorry for the poor translation).
- Jester (very unique staff): boost morale for troops
- Army Treasurer: can distribute gold while in foreign territory.
- Rider: can move two regions per turn when without a troop
- Recruiter: can recruit troops faster and cheaper for other nobles
- Trainer

These are just examples. The point is to force nobles to interact with each other and to make them feel they could be very unique and important without being a lord.

Currently, we only need an active noble to gather scout reports and an active Marshal to give orders. And everyone don't need to really interact with others. They recruit soldiers, train them, buy provision, prepare wages, and set ling settings, all by themselves. Maybe we just don't let everyone do all the tasks, but separate the jobs into different roles.

Interaction can add fun and opportunity for more role-playing. More nobles will have to be involved in military planning, and preparation. And that will add fun and help with player retention.

Roleplay from Angela Windblack    (138 days ago)
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"How soon can he regain consciousness?", an eerie voice elapsed after a long pause. The troubled lady gently fondled her lover's hair, yet no one there knew how much a storm had been brewing inside her waiting to pour out in a warm gush of tears. Her eyes were sore and red, she haven't slept in a while and her mind was screaming to let out her emotions. Yet somewhere inside her the never breaking willpower fired her spirits high.

She was always taught that tears never solved anything and would only darken her pretty face. Emotions are her own and would only be dedicated to her soul mate, but cruel fate have bound him to the bed, leaving her no one to share with.

But however long a storm may wreak havoc the sun always bathes the land with his cleansing rays, bringing hope and faith in mortals. "He would awaken soon, the internal bleeding have been taken care of and his wounds are healing fast. Your prayers have been answered."

The light from the lamps found a smile on the face they were desperately waiting for. She planted a small kiss on his lips and whispered, "I know, death can't ever touch you while I'm beside you. Wake up fast my hero!"