battlefield independence days

p.  2 - the battlefield
p.  3 - the outpost and its features
p.  4 - how soldiers get recruited for war
p.  5 - decisions .. and ranks
p.  6 - rank table & group sizes
p.  7 - NPC interactions - groups
p.  8 - the NPC cast - roles & npc ranks
p.  9 - THE HUNT and when they're not hunting
p. 10 -           ...when they're assisting
p. 11 - how to join in the first place & get there









 -- BATTLEFIELD --

The battlefield is a rectangular battle ground on a dirty little planet
far away, in sci-fi, that is being used by keorangarians and others to
wage their wars. The battlefield (and most of its mechanics) initially
became known by the independence day quests. The basic idea of the
battlefield consists of each party in the war having a spawn location
(typically the door to the respective recruitment hut) where a seemingly
endless stream of soldiers can emerge. These soldiers divide themselves
up into little groups of four, and search for the enemy on the
battlefield. Once the enemy is found, combat is engaged, and continued
until the soldiers' lives are depleted or no enemy remains to be found.

The battlefield itself is currently 9x9 in size, with the serpent isle
spawn being in the southwest corner and the keorangar spawn on the 
northeast. There is a one-way gate that only members of the respective
army can pass. Anywhere on the battlefield itself, when you use the
WHERE command, instead of the usual display you will see your 
"coordinates" in (x, y) with 1 <= x,y <= 9, i.e. (1,1) for the south-
west corner, and (9,9) for the north-east corner. This only applies
to using WHERE without an argument. where <name> works as usual, and
WHERE is only changed on the battlefield itself.
 -- THE OUTPOST --

Each outpost consists of a shuttle landing platform, which connects the
planet to the shuttle platforms established on Mos Eisley. Close to it
usually a recruitment hut is established, noticable by its door opening
to spew out soldiers. There's a temple established on the outpost, 
providing momentary peace and relief. There's also merchants ready to
cater to your needs, be it food wise or potions, scrolls etc. Finally,
there's a receptionist available in each outpost. You can rent there
to quickly re-engage the battle. Each outpost serves as a safe haven,
as opposite army members cannot enter. If things go awry on the battle-
field, try and get back to your outpost. Also, if things get too scary
for you, you can take the shuttle back from the outpost.



The most prominent item in each outpost is the door to the recruitment
hut, which spits out a stream of soldiers.




  -- RECRUITMENTS --

Doors are loading soldiers. They load in speeds depending on the current
balance on the battlefield. If your side is doing well, they load slowly,
if your side is getting spanked, expect some spam as the soldiers will
be loaded quite quickly. Without further monetary donations from players,
loading works as follows:

First, a sergeant is loaded. He will wait for further followers. Then,
while a sergeant is in the room, more troopers will load and follow the
sergeant waiting in the room. Once their group has reached a size of four,
the sergeant will lead his followers into battle.

You can buy special groups of higher firepower with supporting your
army monetarily. The price list, and what it gets you, can be seen at the 
door itself. To support your cause, you have to DONATE the money at the
door. 
> donate 2.15m coins

This will load the whole group at once during the next spawn interval
of the door, and they'll be off to the battlefield half a second later
as well, so be ready to catch up to them!
  -- RANKS --

Once you have joined a side, the choice sticks throughout the current war.
Enemy soldiers will attack you on sight, and certain traps may go off
when you come close. Typically, the war activities are constrained to
the sci-fi battlefield though.

The good thing about choosing a side is that not only the enemy soldiers
will recognize your allegiance, but the allied soldies will as well. This
allows some interactions that you can use to your benefit.

Ranks are used to determine your value for the army, and thus how much
they will support you. You start out as a mere trooper, and earn ranks
by participating in the madness on the battlefield. Ranks are based on
the number of kills you have accumulated over your various trips across
the battlefield. Note that not only your own killing strikes count,
but all enemies killed by all of your group is considered. Rule of thumb:
if you got exp for someone dying, it counted as a kill for you.

Higher ranks' main benefit is being able to lead a bigger group, and
potentially lead stronger group members as well (if available).

  -- RANK TABLE --

Kills  |  Rank      | Max #followers
-------+------------+--------
 <1000 | Trooper    | 0
  1000 | Sergeant   | 3
  9000 | Lieutenant | 4
 18000 | Captain    | 5
 35000 | General    | 7
 60000 | Duke       | 10

Ask "your" general "ranks" for an update of what / how far you are.

  -- GROUP SIZE / FOLLOWER COUNT --

Group sizes: An NPC sergeant leads troopers (scouts, mages, healers
and plain soldiers). A single sergeant has typically three followers,
making a group of four. As you become a sergeant yourself, you can
lead three followers as well. With increasing rank come increasing
numbers of followers, and the possibility to recruit lower-ranked
NPCs whenever you have enough space for them (and their followers
as well!)
 -- NPC interaction: GROUPS --

 - how to join -

To actually join an ongoing group, FOLLOW its leader, and they will
either accept you into the group, or kick you out. Note this doesn't
happen exactly instantly, but a moment later, so keep your eyes peeled
for what your leader of choice is going. If you are accepted into the
group, you will be grouped as well, so you can check group for status.

 - how to lead -

Once your rank is past trooper, you can lead NPCs into battle. To do
this, BECKON them to come with you. As with the following bit, the reaction
is not instantaneous. Also, there might be reasons for them to choose
not to follow you, so look out for what they have to say. 

Technically, you can beckon on the battlefield, but it often is more
practical to start composing your group near the door, as fighting
soldiers won't switch sides. With a bit of reinforcements, it is 
easier to finish composing your group in a quiet moment during
heat of the battle.  

 -- the NPC cast --

- A soldier - your average trooper, sorcererfodder.
- A sergeant - typical group leader, tough.
- A lieutenant - seldomly seen, if, as group leader. very tough.
- A captain - very rarely seen, if, as group leader. very, very tough.
- A healer - the healer you wish you had by your side in UW or asgard
- A battle-mage - mobile artillery, glass-cannon, weak hand-to-hand
- An elite battle-mage - mobile heavy glass cannon, tough.
- A scout - battlefield assassin
- An elite scout - experienced battlefield assassin, agile and tough.
- A general - you typically don't see these on the battlefield (luckily)

Each of the soldier types act to the best of their abilities (or what
they consider the best of their abilities) to help you kill the enemy
and keep you alive. This includes using their magical abilities, i.e.,
cast spells on you, or use skills on you (sergeants can rescue, for 
instance).



 -- THE HUNT --

When your group is entering a new room, your friends are scanning the
surrounding to see if any enemy is lurking around, and will immediately
launch attack on them if so. This includes players supporting the other
side (yes, the battlefield is all PK). At the moment there is only random
movement (plus a few local overrides) for the sergeants, so it is extremely
more efficient when you get to lead your own group.

 -- when not hunting --

When the group is idle, the soldiers will use their skills to strengthen
the group as well. Battle-mages will cast infravision, armor, strength
and rest on their group-mates. Elite battle-mages will add detect embody,
haste, bear constitution and fly.  Healers will heal you when you're hurt
(they'll also do this in battle). Aside of that, healers will sanct you,
cleanse if necessary, armor, give word of advice, stoneskin and bless,
and heal wither strike and curse, if necessary. All soldiers who got
lost in battle (nasty judo, retreat, fear, ...) will track their group
leader and rejoin ranks as quickly as possible.


  -- when assisting -- 

When the group is assisting, they will also use the best of their
abilities to wreck the enemy. This means mages will not only cast
their most harmful spells to damage the enemy every round of combat,
but they'll also use nasty spells while assisting. A mage might blind,
use corrupt air or weaken before his nuke, while an elite mage might
disable a target's deflect, dishearten and hold them right before
casting a mass sleep and shockwaving the enemy. A healer might curse,
slow, poison, blind or silence the enemy before harming them. A seargent
will do something brutal and beautiful. Scouts will generally stab the
enemy. In the worst case, they will assist quickly.

  -- when leaving for the outpost --

When you are heading back for the outpost, your group will patiently
wait near the gates and not enter battle until you return with them.
They will heal themselves and keep themselves spelled up when magic
abilities are within their ranks.




 -- HOW TO JOIN THE WAR --

Pick your side (look deep inside your heart and answer this question:
do you want to be red (serpent isle) or blue (keorangar) ? Do you care
for the deeper reasons? then check the quest board and think.. This
way or another, go to the leader of your choice (lordprotector or
King Welmar II) and ask them about serpent / keorangar. If you agree
to the terms they are dictacting, nod in approval and you will join
their ranks, enabling you to get to the outposts, and thus the battlefield.

 -- where's the battlefield, again? --

Go to the southern lane of mos eisley. There's a red and a blue outpost
gate there. As an army member, you can pass it. Once you have reached
the shuttle platform, just wait for the next shuttle to arrive to
bring you to the battlefield.