Fascist Game 8 - Proposals 1-35

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Proposal 1

Proposer: Dawn
Proposed: Wed, 11 Jan 1995 21:29:06 +0100 (MET)
Proposal: Oh glorious emperor, we the players come to you in this perisious [perilous? - THS] time. Now that our home country of Atlantis is sunken under the waves, I ask your Imperiousness to grant every player a ship and to name the first brave player who provides your highness with a piece of mainland large enough to build your empire on, The Exalted Winner. We are all aware that we still have a long journey ahead of us and that we will discover many lands and countries, many of which will have to be conquered and others of which will simply be unfit so we will show your Exaltedness the lands we find, and ask your opinion about their usefullness for your empire.

Decision: Accepted as rules 9 and 10.
Comments: While We recognize this Proposal is fallout from a Proposal in Game 6 that never reached the decision stage, We still think it is fairly imaginative, if vaguely written. A lot of things need to be clarified in future Proposals as a result; e.g., what use is a Ship? How are Lands discovered? What constitutes Bravery? Thus, We implore Our Subjects to investigate these matters, that our Empire may be rebuilt on firmer grounds.

Proposal 2

Proposer: toejam
Proposed: Wed, 11 Jan 95 15:30:04 -500
Proposal: To become The Exalted Winner, a player must have at least 10 accepted proposals, and at least a 2-to-1 ratio of accepted to rejected proposals. If at any time a player has more rejected proposals than accepted, that player will have his record zero'ed out. Previous proposals of that player's that were accepted will remain in effect.

Decision: Rejected
Comments: While We can Accept awarding some form of Recognition for Accomplishment in the area of Accepted Proposals, as We desire all Our Subjects to submit meritorious Proposals, it seems to Us that Exalted Victory is too great a Reward for a Task which should be every Subject's proper Duty.

Proposal 3

Proposer: Egil
Proposed: Wed, 11 Jan 95 22:07:44 MET
Proposal: Each player starts the game with rank "Proposer of the fifth class". Each time two successive proposals of a player are accepted s/he climbs 1 in rank. Each time two successive proposals of a player are rejected s/he degrades 1 in rank. The ranks are (in climbing order) : Proposer of the fifth class (P5), Proposer of the fourth class (P4), . . Proposer of the first class (P1), Ruler of the first class (R1), Ruler of the second class (R2), . . .

Decision: Accepted, with modification, as rule 11.
Comments: Indeed, a Ranking structure which serves to Reward Our Subjects meets with our Approval. However, to reflect the presently Nautical Nature of Our Empire, the Names of the Ranks shall be altered to be (in ascending order): Fifth Mate, Fourth Mate, ..., First Mate, Commander, Captain. It shall not be possible to ascend beyond the Rank of Captain by means of this Rule at this time, though Proposals may be submitted for elevation to higher Ranks for suitably Exemplary Conduct.

Proposal 4

Proposer: Egil
Proposed: Wed, 11 Jan 95 22:24:12 MET
Proposal: I would like to state that rule 8 of the initial ruleset is ambiguous and that it should be interpreted as follows: The games ends when a player: i) has earned the title "The Exalted Winner" and ii) is considered to have Won. So being "The Exalted Winner" does not imply being considered to have Won.

[Note that this was sent as a Point of Order. I accepted it as a Proposal, as there are currently only provisions for Proposals in Game 8. Note also that I am being generous to Egil vis-a-vis Rule 6 at this point, since the game is just underway. I make no promises this practice will continue. -THS]

Decision: Accepted; Rule 8 is reworded.
Comments: Upon perusal of Rule 8, it is Our considered Opinion that Egil is correct, the Rule is indeed ambiguous. To rectify this, We shall therefore Accept Egil's interpretation of Rule 8 as the only valid interpretation.

Proposal 5

Proposer: THS
Proposed: 11 Jan 1995
Proposal: An Empire-sized land shall consist of two adjacent Kingdoms, a Kingdom of two Principalities, and a Principality of two Fiefs.

Decision: Accepted, as Rule 12.
Comments: This seems to Us an eminently reasonable way of describing the size of Lands.

Proposal 6

Proposer: Dan Tapp
Proposed: Wed, 11 Jan 95 18:55:58 -600
Proposal: Players who attain the rank of Commander may never be demoted below the rank of Commander.

Decision: Accepted, as rule 13.
Comments: Certainly it would be inappropriate to reduce an Officer of this Stature beneath Officer status.

Proposal 7

Proposer: Tivol
Proposed: Wed, 11 Jan 1995 21:11:36 EST
Proposal: Any "glorp" that is not "shretted" by another player within two days is automatically invalidated and loses all "glorp" status.

Decision: Rejected.
Comments: Application of this Proposal as a Rule would be difficult as the term "days" is not well defined.

Proposal 8

Proposer: Andre Engels
Proposed: Thu, 12 Jan 95 12:57:57 MET
Proposal: Any player having rank of fourth mate or higher may set sail to any part of your Empire. Any player having rank of second mate or higher may set sail to any known land. Any player having rank of Commander or higher may set sail to an unknown land to discover it. If a player discovers a land, s/he gives it a name. A thus discovered land may not have special properties from the start, unless another rule says otherwise. If a new land has been discovered this way, it may not be visited to players of rank lower than Commander for the duration of 15 proposals. After this it is considered a known land. Any land created in another way than according to this proposal is directly considered a known land, and not part of the Empire, unless specified otherwise.

Decision: Accepted, as rule 14.
Comments: At last, a means for Our Loyal Subjects to Discover Lands for the Greater Glory of the Empire. We might suggest that some means for determining Properties of newly Discovered Lands, such as Size, would be appropriate.

[Technical note - I consider this proposal to have created a second type of communication to THS, namely "Sailing orders." Please label any requests to set sail as such. I will not post the sailing orders on this page, but any sailing orders currently underway will show up on the game status page. - THS]

Proposal 9

Proposer: Olivier MARCE
Proposed: Thu, 12 Jan 95 13:33:30 +0100
Proposal: I propose to rewrite rules about Ships in this manner :

10 - To discover a new land, a team needs a Ship and a First Mate rank or above player.

9 - With each proposal submitted, a player tell THS if s/he desires to advance in Rank or in Ship Owning. A player start the game with the level of Clerck. If s/he desires to advance in Rank, the rule 11 applies, else, it applies with the following levels : Auditor, Merchant, Master, Owner. Only an Owner can own a Ship.

Decision: Rejected.
Comments: It has already been established that it requires at least a Commander to Discover Land. Furthermore, since all of Our Subjects already have a Ship, having only an Owner be permitted to have a Ship would be inconsistent with Our current State.

Proposal 10

Proposer: Big Mad Drongo
Proposed: Thu, 12 Jan 1995 13:20:11 +0000 (GMT)
Proposal: To win [To be considered to have Won? - THS] a player must have at least 1000 settlers in their lands, and build a monument to TIE.

Decision: Accepted, with modification, as Rule 15.
Comments: Settlement of newly Discovered Lands is of course a Priority for the Empire during this Time of Upheaval. Building a Monument to Ourselves is extremely Flattering as well, provided the Inscription upon it is suitable. Naturally We would be most displeased were we to learn of Monuments with Inscriptions insulting to Our person.

Proposal 11

Proposer: toejam
Proposed: Thu, 12 Jan 95 08:47:55 -500
Proposal: Oh wondrous emperor, whose breath makes all of his subjects' seem like dog-breath: I propose that upon discovery of a new land, a plyer must remain upon that land for at least 5 proposals in order to establish a colony for you in that land.

Decision: Accepted, as Rule 16.
Comments: Colonization of newly Discovered Lands is of Great Importance to Our Empire. Some relationship between Colonies and Settlers would likely be appropriate.

Proposal 12

Proposer: Death
Proposed: Thu, 12 Jan 95 13:44:06 -2400
Proposal: That in the world there shall be a finite number of continents each of a finite size, though the players shall not initially know the sizes. Each continent shall be divided into equally sized pieces, some of which shall be coast and some of which shall be inland. An exploring ship that lands on a continent shall land on a random piece of coast, and that piece shall be considered "explored," if it had not previously been so. >From that piece of coast a player may explore the next piece of coast in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction by advising THS, at a rate of 1 piece of coast per 5 judged proposals.

Decision: Accepted, with modification, as Rule 17.
Comments: We Approve of the Exploration of Discovered Continents, but We believe some Clarifications are Necessary: Each "equally sized piece" shall be considered to be a Fief, and unless another Rule dictates the Size of a Continent, THS shall roll a fair six sided die to determine the number of Fiefs in a Continent; Continents generated in this manner will have 2 Inland Fiefs if 6 Fiefs in size, 1 Inland Fief if 5 Fiefs in size, and no Inland Fiefs if smaller. Newly Discovered Lands will be Coastal Fiefs on a new Continent.

Proposal 13

Proposer: THS
Proposed: 12 Jan 1995
Proposal: This proposal endeavors to remind TIE of a land previously known to us Atlanteans before the Deluge, which should still lie in its aforeknown position. Namely, this known land is the Near Azores, an island where Pirates do dwell, consisting of one Fief controlled by Pirates, and hence unfortunately not part of your Glorious Empire.

Decision: Accepted; see game state.
Comments: Naturally We must not forget the dread Pirates of the Near Azores. We believe these Pirates may prove Threatening towards the Shipping of Our Empire, so it would be Well if some intrepid Sailor were to clear this Den of Miscreants out.

Proposal 14

Proposer: Toejam
Proposed: Thu, 12 Jan 95 14:47:31 -500
Proposal: Oh most wondrous emperor, for whose greater glory we do expand your empire: Let ships be able to carry a maximum of 30 non-crew personell. A load of at least 25 settlers must be present on a ship in order to establish a colony.

Decision: Accepted as Rule 18.
Comments: Now you need somewhere to get settlers in the first place.

Proposal 15

Proposer: Dawn
Proposed: Fri, 13 Jan 95 11:23:56 MET
Proposal: Every player that does not specify where s/he is at this moment is considered to be at his/her ship. every ship has a number of positions, these positions can be occupied by a player or an object. A starting ship has 2 pos one of which must be occupied by the player to be able to command actions for the ship. If at any time a player with a higher rank is on a ship with the owning player the command of the ship is transfered to the player with the higher rank until the lowerranked player is on the ship and the higher-ranked isn't. If at anytime a ship does not have a player on it then any player coming on the ship can take command provided that s/he has at least 3rd mate rank. A player can not come on a ship if there are no free position on that ship.

Decision: Rejected.
Comments: We suspect this Proposal will add complexity for little gain. For one thing, it specifies the effects of coming on a Ship but never explains when or how one may board a Ship. Also, since every player has a Ship and according to the above you may only command a Ship if aboard it, it would seem less than useful for a player to control more than one Ship at this time.

Proposal 16

Proposer: Tivol
Proposed: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 05:57:56 EST
Proposal: Each player must select a name for his Ship (with which s/he starts, by Rule 9) and must also select a color for his Ship. Ship colors must be one of the following: Orange, Purple, or Green. Ship names, however, are only limited by the fact that each Ship must have a name different from all other Ships' and by common decency. A player who has not yet submitted a Ship name and color will find that every piece of email s/he sends in to the game will go unpublished and unjudged until s/he submits the information.

Decision: Accepted as Rule 19.
Comments: The Color and Name of your Ships should go to THS. The Floating Palace shall be Purple, as befits Our Imperial Dignity, of course.

Proposal 18

Proposer: THS
Proposed: 13 January 1995
Proposal: O, wise Emperor, under Rule 17 there is currently no way to discover a continent of sufficient size (8 Fiefs) to hold even the most minimal of Empires for your Excellency. I therefore propose to remedy this situation through the following amendment to said Rule: Upon discovery, the size of a continent will be determined by THS rolling a fair six-sided die and adding a constant depending on the rank of the player making the voyage of discovery: 0 for a Commander, 2 for a Captain, 4 for a Commodore, and 6 for an Admiral. Commodore and Admiral shall be new ranks, above Captain, in that order. The means of attaining these ranks is left to be determined. In addition, if the player has an Explorer aboard his ship, an additional 2 is added to the die roll. A continent of size 7 consists of 2 inland and 5 coastal fiefs; additional fiefs beyond that shall alternate between inland and coastal, e.g., a continent of 10 fiefs would have 4 inland and 6 coastal fiefs.

Decision: Accepted.
Comments: This should make it possible to find large continents.

Proposal 19

Proposer: Death
Proposed: Sat, 14 Jan 95 05:03:35 -2400
Proposal: That the rank Commodore be reserved for Captains who have discovered new continents and that the rank of Admiral be reserved for Commodores who have both completely explored a continent and founded a colony.

Decision: Accepted, with modification, as Rule 20.
Comments: Since it is not truly much of an accomplishment to Discover and completely Explore a Size 1 Continent, this rule shall pertain only to the Discovery and Exploration of Continents at least 5 Fiefs in Size.

Proposal 20

Proposer: Tivol
Proposed: Sun, 15 Jan 1995 00:40:47 EST
Proposal: It seems as if none of our players are currently Brave, nor Cowardly, nor any number of other adjectives I could think of. Seeing as I can think of quite a few adjectives...

TIE may propose certain Acts of Valor that any danger-seeking player may decide to attend. The more Acts of Valor he successfully faces, the more and more he becomes recognized for his bravery. A player's bravery is one of the words from the following list, with each word representing more bravery than the words before it: Bold, Intrepid, Gallant, Courageous, Gutsy, Heroic, Brave. All players are originally Bold, and may increase their bravery by any number of steps at once by facing these Acts of Valor.

Decision: Accepted, as Rule 21.
Comments: Initially, the following shall be considered Acts of Valor:

Proposal 21

Proposer: Donagel
Proposed: Sun, 15 Jan 95 16:50:29 -2400
Proposal: Oh mighty one; Whereas you are indeed are the greatest of monarchs, your empire should be greatest as well, and; Whereas, through your wise reign, we have an ever growing population and the mightiest army, and; Whereas the humble scribe, for who are appreication has no bounds, should not be too overloaded with common inventory work;

I propose that 1) a full compliment of 25 Settlers be graciously provided when ever a ship docks at The Floating Empire, or docks at a conlony that has been in operation for 15 proposals; 2) that also a full compliment of 5 Royal Marines be graciously allowed, and; 3) that instead of a full complement of settlers, a ship be permitted an extra company of 10 Royal Marines through which we can attack the lawless places that dispute your authority.

I submit this to you with humble head; Donagel of 'The Emperor's Servant'

Decision: Accepted, as Rule 22.
Comments: Naturally the Citizens of Our Empire look forward to embarking on Voyages of Colonization, under the protection of the stalwart Royal Marines.

Proposal 22

Proposer: THS
Proposed: 15 Jan 1995
Proposal: In addition to Proposals and Sailing orders, players should be allowed to submit a "Plea for Guidance." This shall consist of a question concerning a point of law or the state of the realm too confounding for that player to unravel for him/herself. Your Gracious Majesty could then rule on this matter, and your Word would become Law. To discourage frivolous demands on your Eminence's time and judgement, Pleas which in your opinion are unworthy of your consideration shall result in a demotion of one level of rank for the submitting player. By the same token, you may reward Pleas which help call attention to particularly pressing and worthwhile issues with a promotion.

Decision: Accepted, as rule 23.
Comments: The Laws of Our Empire should be well understood by all; We would be pleased to clarify any Matter which Confounds Our Subjects.

Proposal 17

Proposer: Andre Engels
Proposed: Fri, 13 Jan 95 13:00:47 MET
Proposal: In order to establish a colony, a player must have a minimum number of Settlers on that land. This minimum is 100 for a Fief, 180 for a Principality, 320 for a Kingdom and 600 for an Empire. If a land is particularly hostile, for example if the population does not want to be part of your exalted reign, this minimum may be higher. Each colony is considered to be part of your empire, and the Player who has most Settlers in a colony is considered to be Governor of that colony, unless he/she has less Settlers in that colony than the abovementioned minimum. Each player starts with 150 settlers, and each time a player has a proposal accepted his/her number of settlers grows by 10%, rounded up for odd-numbered proposals and rounded down for even-numbered proposals. Rule 10 shall be changed such that a player who is Governor of either an Empire or of a set of lands that (according to Rule 12) together comprise an Empire shall be declared The Exalted Winner.

Decision: Rejected.
Comments: This Proposal has some interesting elements, but has largely been overtaken by events, in particular the number of Settlers needed to establish Colonies. The remainder of the Proposal has merit, though, and might find Favour if resubmitted as part of a new Proposal.

Proposal 23

Proposer: Big Mad Drongo
Proposed: Mon, 16 Jan 1995 09:22:26 +0000 (GMT)
Proposal: Almighty Emperor, since violence should always be the last refuge, and gaining more subjects for your great Empire must be our first aim, I propose that as well as conquering by violence, subversion and conversion should be available options. They would work as follows:

If an area of land has any form of organised government, it can be subverted. To do so will require a number of Royal Marines determined by the Emperor, based on the strength of the government and discontent of the people. A subverted area loses its government and becomes an anarchy.

In an anarchic area of land, conversion would be possible. If the number of loyal citizens of the Emperor is more than 1/10 of the total number of citizens there, then 1/10 of the inhabitants of the land will go over to the Emperor's side, and can be used as settlers. If the number of loyal citizens reaches 50% then all the inhabitants of the land go over to the Emperor, as does the land itself.

This missive penned from my ship, 'The Black Cat', which (due to a small accident in the shipyard) is luminous green.

Decision: Accepted, with modification, as Rule 24.
Comments: As the Royal Marines are a proud and noble fighting force, they would never participate in any activity so underhanded and treacherous-sounding as "subversion". Therefore, it shall require two Saboteurs to subvert a Fief which currently has a government.

An Anarchy which satisfies the 1/10th condition and converts 1/10th of its inhabitants into Settlers shall be termed a Protectorate; at this time, the 1/10th condition can only cause one conversion. (Otherwise, the 1/10th condition will immediately repeat, causing repeated conversions until all citizens are converted, which I don't believe was the intent.)

A Protectorate which reaches the 50% condition shall become a Colony.

Plea for Guidance 24

Pleader: THS
Pleaded: 16 Jan 1995
Plea: O Emperor, how may we resolve this dilemma: Rule 13 states that players may not be demoted below Commander once they have attained that rank. Rule 11 calls for the demotion of any player with two rejected proposals in a row. But Rule 7 says earlier rules take precedence. Thus a Commander who makes two rejected proposals in a row would be demoted. This renders Rule 13 rather useless, since Rule 11 is the only rule providing for Demotions (except occasionally for Rule 23). I therefore ask: Are we just to accept this rather weak version of the intent of Rule 13? Should Rule 7 be changed? Or should Rule 13 be renumbered as Rule 10-1/2? Or is there yet another solution that your Wisdom can provide? Thank you for applying your magnificent cogitating skills to this question.

Decision: Rule 11 shall be amended to indicate that Rule 13 takes precedence over it.

Proposal 25

Proposer: Donagel
Proposed: Mon, 16 Jan 95 12:40:43 -2400
Proposal: Oh mighty Emperor, While it has been recognized the danger of the Pirates of the Near Azores and the need to squash this source of annoyance, I submit that the zone of pirates extends far from those shores. I have heard tell that the seas are so full of these foul scavengers that there is a 1-10 chance you will encounter a Pirate ship! Therefore I submit that any ship who comes across a Pirate vessel on the high seas or in the coastal waters of your future colonies and sinks it should be rewarded with one step increase in bravery. (with humblest regards from Donagel of the GSF Emperor's Servant)

Decision: Accepted with modification as Rule 25, and an additional Act of Valor.
Comments: The Pirates of the Near Azores grow impudent indeed. The 1 in 10 chance shall occur whenever a Ship sets sail, for any destination.

Proposal 26

Proposer: Donagel [Once again I have been moved to generosity by the sheer delight and force of this proposal. - THS]
Proposed: Mon, 16 Jan 95 12:51:38 -2400
Proposal: My liege, you who have sheltered us for far to long! Every day I hear of new atrocities commited on your servants by the Near Azores pirates! I, who have lived under your protection and generousity, must strike revenge in your most reverent name! Therefore I propose that you let me take the maximum number of Royal Marines and set sail for the Near Azores at first light! I realize that I am not yet of suitable rank, but I ask...no I must insist, you let me have at those foul villians who for so long have defied your mighty authority. Let me, in this small way, give back something to you and the Empire.

Ready to leave on you orders, Donagel of the GSF Emperor's Servant

Decision: Accepted; see game state. [Note also that Donagel would soon have been able to set sail on his own anyway, as the acceptance of this proposal brings him up to Third Mate. - THS]
Comments: Though ordinarily We frown upon Proposals which are specific to individual players, We are moved by the courage of Our Subject, prepared to set sail for the Near Azores immediately, despite the nonexistence of means to fight the Pirates as of this time.

Proposal 27

Proposer: Egil
Proposed: Mon, 16 Jan 95 19:46:36 MET
Proposal: When a Ship of the Fleet sets sail to The Near Azores and arrives there, it has a chance of one in three to meet a pirate-ship. THS will use a fair six-sided die to decide whether this happens. If this ship should remain in The Near Azores it will have this chance every fifteen proposals. If the Ship of the Fleet does not destroy the pirate-ship or flee from it, the SF will be destroyed. This means that the player can only continue the game on a new ship and with the rank of Fifth Mate.

Decision: Accepted, with modification, as Rule 26.
Comments: A Ship of the Fleet may Flee from a Pirate Ship by Retreating to the last Location it set sail from. Means for Destroying other Ships will need to wait for other Proposals for arming Our Ships. Additionally, this Fight/Flight condition upon encountering a Pirate Ship shall also apply to Pirate Ships encountered due to Proposal 25.

Proposal 28

Proposer: damian
Proposed: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 11:19:35 +1100
Proposal: Any new land that is discovered can be in one of 2 states: Occupied or unoccupied. If unoccupied then the land may be claimed for the empire, and a colony can be established. If occupied (for instance, the Near Azores), then the occupants can be either friendly or unfriendly (eg the Pirates). If the occupants are unfriendly, then the discoverer of the land must either do battle for the land or flee. If the occupants are friendly, then the discoverer can choose to: (i) do battle, in which case the natives will then become unfriendly (and will remain unfriendly for any future visits) (ii) establish a treaty, or (iii) leave quietly. If the discoverer is successful in battle, the land can then be claimed for the empire, and a colony can be established. If he loses the battle, then he must return to a known land (if any) for at least 5 proposals to recuperate. Details of how combat works, I leave for future proposals. Also, I will provide (unless somebody else does first!) details on how to establish treaties. I suggest that THS should randomly determine if a land is occupied or unoccupied. Likewise, occupants should be randomly friendly or unfriendly, except where visits by previous explorers have made the occupants unfriendly.

Decision: Accepted as Rule 27. [See rules for exact chances of various events. - THS]
Comments: We Approve of this summary of how encounters with Natives shall be conducted. For the purpose of Lands which are Occupied, this Rule shall overrule the Rule requiring spending 5 Proposals to establish a Colony. Additionally, defeating Unfriendly Natives in battle shall be rewarded by a one-step increase in Bravery. Attacking and defeating Friendly Natives shall not receive this award.

Proposal 29

Proposer: THS
Proposed: 16 Jan 1995
Proposal: Any player who has discovered at least two new lands may become an Explorer by sailing to The Floating Palace and declaring his new status. S/he thereby leaves the normal rank structure, and takes up residence on The Floating Palace. S/he can no longer sail to any other destinations on his/her own, but must rather sail aboard another ranked player's ship. The player's original ship remains alongside The Floating Palace, perhaps for possible future use should any ships be destroyed. To compensate for these disadvantages, Explorers gain the following special abilities besides those already legislated: Any other player (of sufficient rank; for this purpose The Floating Palace shall be considered part of the Empire) may sail to the current location of an Explorer, and offer to pick him/her up. The Explorer is not considered to take up any space on the player's ship. Any negotiations/agreements as to the division of any spoils of Exploration are up to the individual players involved.

Decision: Accepted as Rule 28.
Comments: Other Sailors should benefit from the knowledge gained by experienced Explorers.

Proposal 30

Proposer: Andre Engels
Proposed: Tue, 17 Jan 95 11:49:11 MET
Proposal: I wish to clarify the sad state of your reign. For, although your country is amongst the nicest of all countries in the world, its size is not fit for an Emperor of your magnificence.

At this time the Empire consists of 1 Principality and 3 Fiefdoms. All players are at the beginning of the game (and as far as I know, are still) in the Principality of Atlantis, where are your grandious Palace and your celebrated Municipality of Atlantis. The fiefdom of Makal can be reached overland (and so fifth mates can get there, but their ship has to stay in Atlantis), the fiefdoms of Takal and Sakal can only be reached by sailing to them.

A player who has made an especially outstanding proposal can be rewarded by TIE by giving him Governorship over Makal, Takal or Sakal. This player then can make his Governorship effective by sending 5 Royal Mariners to the Fiefdom. A Governorship counts towards the amount of land added to the Empire by a player, even though it was part of the Empire from the beginning. No other way to claim Governorship or any kind of possession of Makal, Takal or Sakal is possible but the one described in this rule. Atlantis will always fall directly under the reign of TIE.

As this is all the land currently in TIE's empire, any land added to his empire in the future must be lands new to the empire. Therefore any time a proposal, proposed after this one, creates a land which is immediately part of your empire, no Royal Mariners are available for 10 proposals, as they are currently fighting to claim the new land.

Decision: Accepted as Rule 29 (plus minor changes to other rules).
Comments: Well, now We have some lands to Rule over, at least, though Our Empire has been much reduced since the Deluge. We wish all existing references in the Rules to docking at the Floating Palace to be amended to docking at Atlantis, as it is cumbersome to have all these Settlers and Marines and such about Our Palace

Proposal 31

Proposer: toejam
Proposed: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 11:22:03 -0500 (EST)
Proposal: Oh Emperor most maritime: I note that currently there is no way to determine whose ship sinks who. Therefore I propose that each ship be assigned a strength rating, with all players' ships starting at 3. For every 5 marines on board, the rating would increase by 1. Also, with the use of 3 units of colonist space, the ship may mount a cannon. Cannon require two Marines to fire, and add 2 points of strength to the ship. upon the engagement of combat, THS will roll a 6-sided die for each combatant, and add the strength ratings of each to their roll. The lower total is sunk. In the case of a tie, both ships are considered damaged, and must return to a port for repairs. Repairs will take 10 proposals.

Also let it be known that the Imperial Aquatic Spies have determined that the pirates have been arming their ships with 4 cannon each, and manning from 10-20 marine-equivalent men each.

Decision: Accepted as Rule 30.
Comments: A good initial Model for Naval Combat. A player commanding a Ship which sinks a Ship with higher Strength shall be awarded a one step increase in Bravery.

Proposal 32

Proposer: Big Mad Drongo
Proposed: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 14:44:51 +0000 (GMT)
Proposal: Almighty Emperor, ruler of the seven seas, lord of the twelve oceans, master of the ninety-three lakes, and owner of the seventy-three thousand two hundred and sixteen small puddles, hear my proposal!

I notice from the rules that we your humble servants can not actually start to serve you until we become Second Mates, and not do anything useful until we become Commanders. Therefore I would suggest that you make more experienced men than us available to man our ships. Clearly we would pay you back for this great honour, to the following scale: 


        Crew Type               Cost to hire
        ==============          =====================
        Second Mate             3000 Imperial crowns
        First Mate              5000 Imperial crowns
        Commander               20000 Imperial crowns
        Captain                 50000 Imperial crowns
Clearly no ship owner in debt to the Emperor could ever be declared winner. Also it is plain to see that having spent all our worldly goods on buying ships with which to serve you, we only have 7 Imperial crowns each to start the game.

Decision: Rejected.
Comments: It seems unreasonable that a sailor would be able to command the services of a sailor of higher Rank. However, this Proposal does bring up the problem that there is not much for low ranking players to do at this time; other Proposals to solve this might be in order.

Proposal 32

Proposer: THS
Proposed: 17 Jan 1995
Proposal: The rules still refer to an unknown place called the Floating Empire, which seems to be distinct from the Floating Palace, and hence did not, I feel, fall under your latest directive to change references from the Floating Palace to Atlantis. Since the Floating Empire is to be the source of Settlers and Marines, I propose that the fief of Makal is undergoing a population explosion, and hence it can supply a steady stream of Personnel. All references to the Floating Empire should be changed to Makal. (A quick word on motivation: going to Atlantis for settlers might be just a bit too easy, since everyone's already there; but this way even a Fifth Mate can go overland and get settlers and bring them back overland, if s/he's willing to leave the ship for a while.)

Decision: Accepted, with modification, amending Rule 22.
Comments: Overland travel is not yet very well-defined, so for now, no more Personnel may be recruited by a player in Makal than could normally be carried aboard the player's Ship; and Personnel are able to follow players on overland journeys.

Proposal 33

Proposer: damian
Proposed: Wed, 18 Jan 1995 11:50:15 +1100
Proposal: Sire, I have heard rumor of a faraway land known as 'Fascist Game Seven'. In this pagan land, the populace pay homage to a usurper known as 'Brian Tivol' who has the temerity to call himself 'Imperious Emperor'! This is an obvious insult to your imperial personage! Apparently this pseudo-Emperor greatly values an object known as 'The Victor's Crown', which is currently missing, and sought by all in this false Empire.

I propose that any valorous subject who sails to this faraway land, should attempt to locate this item and bring it back to Atlantis for the greater glory of your empire! If anyone does achieve this feat, they should be awarded a 3 step increase in bravery and a promotion of 2 ranks.

Decision: Accepted as Rule 31.
Comments: What! Another dares style himself Imperious Emperor? Though the Journey to this mysterious Land is long and ill-defined, perhaps the Rewards shall be great.

Proposal 34

Proposer: Donagel
Proposed: Tue, 17 Jan 95 20:56:35 -2400
Proposal: Oh Liege, I pen this missive aboard the GSF Emperor's Servant on the eve of battle with the Near Azores Pirates.

Before I head into the surge of valor that war is, I feel it neccesary to inform TIE of several rumors I have heard regarding the construction of enemy ships within your empire. It has come to my attention via some of my associates that some interests are seeking the ability to build superships which will be used in an attempt to take control of the seas. As you know, our ships can hold (at the most)15 brave Royal Marines. This force is mighty and I fear not in their company against the small vessles that the priates now possess. Yet I have heard tale of some ventures to build a Pirate ships with a minimum of 4 cannons(though at my time of departure I knew not of this strange weapon) and up to twenty pirates!!!

I hope these to be but passing rumors and not written in stone, yet I felt it my duty to bring them to your attention. Therefore I would propose that immeadiate action be taken against any members of our own building or designing ships for the enemy now or ever. We cannot allow any traitors to further the cause of those oppose to your rule.

My scout informs that I enter soon to battle....LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!!!!

Decision: Rejected.
Comments: Since none of Our Loyal Subjects have the ability to build Ships, surely none of them is betraying Us by supplying the Pirates with Ships. No, We fear that the Pirates have become well-armed as a result of spending their ill-gotten Booty which they gained by Plundering the Merchant Fleets of the Empire.

Proposal 35

Proposer: Dawn
Proposed: Wed, 18 Jan 1995 11:00:00 +0100 (MET)
Proposal: Oh, weaver of the waves, The danger in your waters is growing Some of us do not to protect our ships from the always alert pirates. It would be safer if we could set sail in a group. Since every sensible pirate would think twice about attacking more than one ship, a pirate who encountered more than one ship will flee if the fair die THS shows a number that is the same or lower than The number of player ships divided by the number of pirate ships. If a group fights it fights as a unit, there is no way a ship in a group can be attacked and the other members are not. A group can be formed by a player who declares a to have formed one with a list of other players to the THS. The player who has declared the group is considered to be the leader. Al sailing orders the leader submits the entire group follows, if a player of a group who is not the leader at any time submits any sailing orders that player is no longer a member of that group. If at any time the group consists of only a leader the group has fallen apart and so the group is no more.

Decision: Accepted, with modification, as Rule 32.
Comments: Groups of Ships shall be termed Squadrons. All players in the Squadron being formed must assent to follow the appointed Leader by sending a missive to THS and must be in the same location as the Leader at the time. When the Squadron sets Sail, the Leader must be of sufficient Rank to Sail to the destination under Rule 14, but the Followers may be of any Rank. (Thus even a Fifth Mate would be able to Follow a Commander to unknown lands.)