DIPLOMACY:
As you walk marbled hallways you come upon a small, out of the way corner filled with a quiet crowd. Young clan members crouch in a semi circle, many attempting to remain expressionless as they toss a pair of dice and exchange small tokens. Few manage to hide their looks of intense concentration, and several can be seen silently mouthing things to themselves. Here and there an older clan member sits and observes, their expressions serene and placid, though the elderly gentleman that approaches bears the distinct air of gentle amusement. His long white hair was, at some point in the day, in a tidy top knot, but is now looking a bit worse for the wear. His robes have a fairly worn appearance to them, not exactly tattered, but compared with the ornate formal wear of many clan members, he is fairly underwhelming.
He gestures for you to come closer, "Do you wish to play? It is a simple game to learn, and in learning you may gain something of great value, hm?" He smiles and laughs before guiding you to sit at the game, "Of course you may lose a great deal as well, which is also a lesson one must one learn. For our young, we call this game Diplomacy."
He picks up a cup and shows you the to two dice within and then give it a vigorous shake before letting the dice drop, cup swiftly covering over them before they hit the floor. His nods at you, "Here you are to say crowns or scepters. A crown meaning the dice are even, a scepter meaning they are odd. If you are correct you win, hey! I say scepters, hey!" He reveals the dice, a one and a four. "I win! Hey!" The man lets out a small cheer but then gives his hands a theatrical look of dismay, "But I am empty handed! What's this? A game with nothing to gain?" He clucks his tongue at you, "Didn't I say there was much to win or lose?"
Shaking his head sadly he reaches out and a young clan member hands him a basket full of tiles, each with a stylized dragon carved upon it. "You shouldn't doubt your elders, little visitor." He plucks one out and hold it up to you, "These are bone dragons, they are little favours, simple things. You may also see dragons of jade and gold,those are the favours of kings and emperors." He looks you up and down quite thoroughly and then lifts an eyebrow, "Bone suits you for now, but who knows what the future may hold, hey!"
He places the bone piece on the floor, and several other players do the same, "This is a game best played by many, though if your heart is easily cowed, you may play with only one other." Another clan member shakes the cup, and once again the cup is slapped down over them as they fall. Each player calls out their choice, including the elderly man. "I am feeling quite odd today," he says to you under his voice, "...so I am calling the scepters! Hey!"
The dice are revealed, a three and a four, and the old man claps happily at his win, "Excellent, excellent! My new young friend must be a lucky charm!" The pot is split between the winners, the old man gaining his own dragon back, as well as two others. He holds the two gained pieces up and waggles them at you, "Now the those who first played these pieces own me a small favour each," he leans in closely, "...and this is where the real game begins. I won because I was lucky, but I will only understand what I have won if I am observant." He jabs on long, thing finger in the direction on young man, who suddenly sat straighter, "Since I am quite observant, I know that both of these were first set in play by Decimus, whose luck must be quite bad today." He tsked again, "Now if I were an young man with young man ambitions, I would continue to play and perhaps all those gathered would owe me a great many favours." He leered at the group, and some of them fidgeted at his regard, "But I am an old man, with an old man's ambitions, and so I shall walk away with these two bone dragons. And Decimus shall clean my fish pond and play me beautiful music as I take my bath this night."
Carefully standing up he gestures you away from the game, "I have walked away from this game, having gained more than I lost, and for that one needs wisdom." He holds up three fingers, "Luck, observation, and wisdom. With these three you learn the art of Diplomacy, and through them the ebb and flow of power."
A clan member quietly approaches the old man, bowing low, "Venerable Crius...please allow me to escort you to your rooms. Your presence has been required for this evening."
With a sigh he nods at her, giving you a sly smile and a small, encouraging wave before leaving the area, attendant following behind, fussing slightly over the state of his appearance.
The OOC
[ How to: ]
Diplomacy requires a minimum of three players, and there is no player cap.
Place the favours you're betting down in your post, as well as your guess of crowns (even) or scepters (odd). Feel free to place additional favours such as prize minipets, silver, and the like.
One person rolls 2d6, if even, those who guessed even win and visa versa.
The pot is distributed among the winners
Bone Dragons are unlimited, if you find yourself empty handed and wish to continue, you can simply grab another
Distributing Dragons:
When you win, you automatically get the dragon you put in back
The remained is split among the winners, this often isn't a clear simple split
As the relationships and abilities of people vary, some favours that the dragons represent are obviously worth more than others. Dragons cannot be split in two, but instead are bartered and bargained for until all parties are satisfied. For a particularly good favour, a player may give up several of their own for the winnings of another. This process can take a matter of moments to long hours of debate.
Example:
A is a skilled baker, B is a bakery enthusiast, C just needs someone to do some cleaning for them.
A loses their dragon, while B & C win. A's dragon is very appealing to B, to they offer one of their own dragons to entice C to let them have A's dragon.
A decides not to continue playing and leaves empty handed.
B leaves the game with A's dragon.
C leaves the game with B's dragon.
[ The Favour of Dragons ] :
Dragons represent favours, bone one's being the smallest ones. Things that can be done in a single day without too much reluctance or hardship.
While similar to the way demons often do business, dragons have to magic or compulsion attached. Fulfilling ones owed favours is simply a matter of honor.
[ Luck, Observation, Wisdom ]:
Satisfying one of these grants you 1 horsemen point. You need to play this game with at least two people
To prove your Luck, you must win 4 times (these do not need to be consecutive)
To prove your Observation skills, you must be able to keep track of whose dragons you have, and who has your own dragons. A dragon, and it's corresponding favour, belongs to the person who first introduces it to the game (this ownership does not change with each round, rather only when the game ends)
To prove you are Wise, you must walk away having gained more favours than you owe. (You're own favours do not count as gained favours)
tl;dr:
favours are simply an IC deal for your characters
but you can get event points for fulfilling certain conditions:
- win four times in a game
- keep track of whose favours you have and who has your own
- win more favours than you owe
Here is an example of the game being played.
