What a Court Game is
Helpful Suggestions about how to play
Behavior Expectations and Processes
What is a Winter Court Game, and how can I play it well?
What is a Winter Court Game, and how can I play it well?
GM * Man of Angles * Sionnach * Scealai * Hamanri's Vessel
A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine.---Anne Bronte
A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine.---Anne Bronte
Re: What is a Winter Court Game, and how can I play it well?
A Winter Court game is a roleplaying game in which players play a delegation representing a clan. It is a game about negotiating around competing agendas and with competing motivations.
Typically, the heart of the game is your clan's agenda as distilled in their posted goals. Sometimes these are pretty direct, but sometimes, depending on the clan's political situation, they can be super complex.
What makes these games interesting, though, are the tensions that you will bring to the game. Your character does not only represent the clan; they also represent themselves and their House. This will give you greater resources to work with, but it will also create a series of competing demands on your character's time and attention. Even if your character prioritizes the good of the clan as a whole over their own good or the good of their house, the very fact that they are ignoring their own needs will produce conflicts within the character that will have interesting knock-on effects.
Leaving aside the needs of the clan, each Winter Court usually has a context that creates a different inflection for the game. In this game, issues surrounding the Imperial Succession will create yet another set of loyalties and alliances that will likely cut across clans, rather than be defined by them, as characters choose to affiliate around their support for one or another of the Winds over the course of the game.
Typically, the heart of the game is your clan's agenda as distilled in their posted goals. Sometimes these are pretty direct, but sometimes, depending on the clan's political situation, they can be super complex.
What makes these games interesting, though, are the tensions that you will bring to the game. Your character does not only represent the clan; they also represent themselves and their House. This will give you greater resources to work with, but it will also create a series of competing demands on your character's time and attention. Even if your character prioritizes the good of the clan as a whole over their own good or the good of their house, the very fact that they are ignoring their own needs will produce conflicts within the character that will have interesting knock-on effects.
Leaving aside the needs of the clan, each Winter Court usually has a context that creates a different inflection for the game. In this game, issues surrounding the Imperial Succession will create yet another set of loyalties and alliances that will likely cut across clans, rather than be defined by them, as characters choose to affiliate around their support for one or another of the Winds over the course of the game.
GM * Man of Angles * Sionnach * Scealai * Hamanri's Vessel
A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine.---Anne Bronte
A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine.---Anne Bronte
Re: What is a Winter Court Game, and how can I play it well?
What kinds of things are there for me to do in a Winter Court Game?
Your primary task is likely trying to achieve your clan, house, and personal goals through negotiation with other characters and concluding treaties.
Treaties are an important part of Winter Court: they are the formal way to transfer goods and services between clans and to agree on actions to be taken during the year. As mentioned above, all Treaties and Marriages between Clans and Families are subject to Imperial scrutiny using the Court Actions system. Your treaty can be blocked in court. Be careful!
Deals between Houses are meant to be subject to the scrutiny of Family Daimyo, but in practice are seldom formally ratified or reported.
Marriages have another hurdle: Otomo Mariko, the Imperial Matchmaker. She may have some opinions about your matches, and she does not hesitate to speak up in court. Running choices by her will surely make the court step of any marriage easier.
How you choose to negotiate is up to you. Treaties are most commonly done between two entities, but multi-party treaties are certainly possible. You just have to approach another character in another clan (make sure that they are speaking for the clan, not themselves alone) and cut a deal with them through roleplay.
Each clan has demands for Commodities and certain concrete Goals to pursue. You may (and probably should) also have both a personal and a House agenda to pursue this court as well. This will, undoubtedly, take up a good portion of your time. I recommend working together with your delegations to manage negotiations. Chaos can (and probably will) break out, but it is the well-organized clan that works together and gets things done. With the current political situation, that might be easier for some clans than others. That's okay. It might feel that there is winning and losing in a game like this, and occasionally the stakes are high, but the stories that come from setbacks (and outright defeats) can be much more interesting than those that come from outright victory.
As a reminder, the Minor Clans all have commodities to trade, and all the Minor Clans as well as the Imperial Families have marriage candidates.
There are also several other things going on. These include,
1) The succession crisis. You can scheme with others to win Influence for one or another of the Winds.
2) Marriage Negotiations. Often a way to seal deals, marriage negotiations can take on their own importance and can be an enjoyable way to play the game. Finding the right match can be tough! Each delegation (including the Imperials and Minor Clans) has a slate of candidates for marriage. However, feel free to arrange marriages for your siblings and relations in your houses as well.
3) Court Games. There are Events for most of the major court games, including Kemari, the Bowman's Wager, the Game of Letters, a sumai tournament (although there's a bit of a twist this time), and of course the Rumormill. That does not mean that you cannot arrange your own pick-up kemari games and shogi or go tournaments, or that you cannot incorporate these games, or other skills like cooking or sailing, in other threads. Enjoy yourself! It doesn't have to be all talk.
4) Feuding. While not always a nice thing to do, sometimes it can be fun to collaborate with another player to set up a rivalry between your characters. The important part there is collaboration. A feud that arises out of bad feelings and without planning is no good for you or for the game. Make sure that you and the player of the character you would like your character to feud with are on the same page at every step of the feud. If you find that you can't agree on how to conduct it, then do not feud.
5) Dojo and Shrine threads. Dojo and Shrine threads are not always successful as pop-ups, but they can be a fun way to have a planned conversation or interaction. They can also be interesting ways to share a little bit about your character in a solo thread, but I would caution against doing too many of these without reaching out to other players for interactive threads. The most successful players write open posts. An open post leaves room for another player to respond. To write an open post, have your character end their post seeming open to or inviting a reply or an approach from another character. If your character ends their post in the middle of performing a solo activity, like sparring with a dummy, or performing a prayer, your counterpart isn't necessarily going to be able to figure out how to intervene. Also, sometimes if you end a post with a thought bubble, people get a little confused and lose the context of that thought. Consider carefully if that is how you want to end your post.
Now, there are times and places for closed posts. Maybe you want to end a conversation. Maybe you are only interested in getting something out about your character. Or your character needs to perform a series of posts to complete an activity. That's well and good, but don't be alarmed if people don't glom onto your pop-up thread if that's how you begin it. A more open choice to start a dojo thread might be to have your character openly looking for a sparring partner, rather than fighting solo.
6) Hitting the Town. Ikoma's Eye is a bustling city that offers connections with the broader Empire. While not the primary focus of the game, people can still find (or invent!) things to do out there.
7) Performances and Art. There are several scripted opportunities for art events in the game, but this is Winter Court and there is always time for more art. Art is a great way to inject ideas into the court's conversation without directly saying you support one thing or another. It's also an act of social altruism in the game: it gives others something to talk about.
8) Scripted Events and Plots. We have many things in store, and many more things that will be derived from character backgrounds and conversations with all of you. These give a sort of arc to the game, but I hope by the above discussion you will see that you are not required to use them to construct your own stories. The game is as much, if not more, in your hands as it is in ours. If you've got a cool idea, you can talk it over with us in your PF, or you can roll the dice and see what happens! As long as you are friendly and open with others, the game is very much your oyster.
There are scripted Events in this game (please see the schedule in the Weather section). These are mechanical and roleplay opportunities that are very programmatic. You should not feel obligated to take part in every Event. If your character cannot play kemari, then the kemari event is very much not for you. It is possible to have a positive experience without taking part in any Event. You just have to be that much more willing to engage with others. Not always easy, but usually very rewarding.
Your primary task is likely trying to achieve your clan, house, and personal goals through negotiation with other characters and concluding treaties.
Treaties are an important part of Winter Court: they are the formal way to transfer goods and services between clans and to agree on actions to be taken during the year. As mentioned above, all Treaties and Marriages between Clans and Families are subject to Imperial scrutiny using the Court Actions system. Your treaty can be blocked in court. Be careful!
Deals between Houses are meant to be subject to the scrutiny of Family Daimyo, but in practice are seldom formally ratified or reported.
Marriages have another hurdle: Otomo Mariko, the Imperial Matchmaker. She may have some opinions about your matches, and she does not hesitate to speak up in court. Running choices by her will surely make the court step of any marriage easier.
How you choose to negotiate is up to you. Treaties are most commonly done between two entities, but multi-party treaties are certainly possible. You just have to approach another character in another clan (make sure that they are speaking for the clan, not themselves alone) and cut a deal with them through roleplay.
Each clan has demands for Commodities and certain concrete Goals to pursue. You may (and probably should) also have both a personal and a House agenda to pursue this court as well. This will, undoubtedly, take up a good portion of your time. I recommend working together with your delegations to manage negotiations. Chaos can (and probably will) break out, but it is the well-organized clan that works together and gets things done. With the current political situation, that might be easier for some clans than others. That's okay. It might feel that there is winning and losing in a game like this, and occasionally the stakes are high, but the stories that come from setbacks (and outright defeats) can be much more interesting than those that come from outright victory.
As a reminder, the Minor Clans all have commodities to trade, and all the Minor Clans as well as the Imperial Families have marriage candidates.
There are also several other things going on. These include,
1) The succession crisis. You can scheme with others to win Influence for one or another of the Winds.
2) Marriage Negotiations. Often a way to seal deals, marriage negotiations can take on their own importance and can be an enjoyable way to play the game. Finding the right match can be tough! Each delegation (including the Imperials and Minor Clans) has a slate of candidates for marriage. However, feel free to arrange marriages for your siblings and relations in your houses as well.
3) Court Games. There are Events for most of the major court games, including Kemari, the Bowman's Wager, the Game of Letters, a sumai tournament (although there's a bit of a twist this time), and of course the Rumormill. That does not mean that you cannot arrange your own pick-up kemari games and shogi or go tournaments, or that you cannot incorporate these games, or other skills like cooking or sailing, in other threads. Enjoy yourself! It doesn't have to be all talk.
4) Feuding. While not always a nice thing to do, sometimes it can be fun to collaborate with another player to set up a rivalry between your characters. The important part there is collaboration. A feud that arises out of bad feelings and without planning is no good for you or for the game. Make sure that you and the player of the character you would like your character to feud with are on the same page at every step of the feud. If you find that you can't agree on how to conduct it, then do not feud.
5) Dojo and Shrine threads. Dojo and Shrine threads are not always successful as pop-ups, but they can be a fun way to have a planned conversation or interaction. They can also be interesting ways to share a little bit about your character in a solo thread, but I would caution against doing too many of these without reaching out to other players for interactive threads. The most successful players write open posts. An open post leaves room for another player to respond. To write an open post, have your character end their post seeming open to or inviting a reply or an approach from another character. If your character ends their post in the middle of performing a solo activity, like sparring with a dummy, or performing a prayer, your counterpart isn't necessarily going to be able to figure out how to intervene. Also, sometimes if you end a post with a thought bubble, people get a little confused and lose the context of that thought. Consider carefully if that is how you want to end your post.
Now, there are times and places for closed posts. Maybe you want to end a conversation. Maybe you are only interested in getting something out about your character. Or your character needs to perform a series of posts to complete an activity. That's well and good, but don't be alarmed if people don't glom onto your pop-up thread if that's how you begin it. A more open choice to start a dojo thread might be to have your character openly looking for a sparring partner, rather than fighting solo.
6) Hitting the Town. Ikoma's Eye is a bustling city that offers connections with the broader Empire. While not the primary focus of the game, people can still find (or invent!) things to do out there.
7) Performances and Art. There are several scripted opportunities for art events in the game, but this is Winter Court and there is always time for more art. Art is a great way to inject ideas into the court's conversation without directly saying you support one thing or another. It's also an act of social altruism in the game: it gives others something to talk about.
8) Scripted Events and Plots. We have many things in store, and many more things that will be derived from character backgrounds and conversations with all of you. These give a sort of arc to the game, but I hope by the above discussion you will see that you are not required to use them to construct your own stories. The game is as much, if not more, in your hands as it is in ours. If you've got a cool idea, you can talk it over with us in your PF, or you can roll the dice and see what happens! As long as you are friendly and open with others, the game is very much your oyster.
There are scripted Events in this game (please see the schedule in the Weather section). These are mechanical and roleplay opportunities that are very programmatic. You should not feel obligated to take part in every Event. If your character cannot play kemari, then the kemari event is very much not for you. It is possible to have a positive experience without taking part in any Event. You just have to be that much more willing to engage with others. Not always easy, but usually very rewarding.
GM * Man of Angles * Sionnach * Scealai * Hamanri's Vessel
A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine.---Anne Bronte
A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine.---Anne Bronte
Re: What is a Winter Court Game, and how can I play it well?
How Can I Win?
You can't. Or rather, that's not a good question to try to pin down. There's no official measuring stick for victory in this Winter Court Game. You need to set and meet your own goals, paying attention to how much effort and time you can afford to commit to the game. The players that tend to feel best about the game after it's over are those that told an interesting story and had a good time with other players, even if their characters did not achieve much, or only contributed in a small way to their clan's goals. That said, you'll have a better chance to feel that way if you reach out to more people.
Alright, I feel like I have a handle on what the game is and what I can do in it. What are some some suggestions for how to work well with other players?
Please pay careful attention to the following points. They contain, in effect, the gm team's limits on how we are willing to run this game. We certainly don't intend to hold the game hostage, but the fact is that we will not want to run a game that is causing a great deal of upset or bad feelings. Some upset we understand is inevitable, but we all know that there is a tipping point that requires action. Therefore, if you find something objectionable in the following points, please get in touch with me immediately in your PF, in Discord, or through pms. If we cannot agree, the best thing is for you to give this campaign a miss.
1) The best advice for getting along in a game is to be pm-ing people about your intentions and then not going back on what you say to them. If you change your mind, check in with your counterpart. If they are uncomfortable about something you are suggesting, first recognize that they are not attacking you. Instead, listen carefully to what they are saying and try to accommodate them. If they suggest something to add to the scene, think carefully about it and respond with what you really think. Don't reject things out of hand, but also be honest if something doesn't feel right. It's not cool to go through with a scene that you know is not going to work. If the best thing to do for you or your counterpart is to walk away from a scene or an idea, then do so.
2) Understand and respect people's limits. Some folks enjoy Romance in these games, for instance, and some folks don't. If a person has indicated a limit in their signature or to you in conversation, do not cross that line. It's just better for everybody if we respect each other in that way.
As an addendum to the limits point, do not be murdering other characters. We will not be stoked if we wake up to pms or a massive flame war developing in OOC chat only to find that someone got killed without having agreed to it beforehand. Retcons will happen, if people are not cool about it there may be bans from the game, and everyone will feel bad. Don't do this.
If tensions are rising between your character and another AND you think it would be appropriate for your character or for another player's character to try to solve their problems with violence, however indirectly, talk over it with that player. Maybe you want your character to be killed. That is legitimate. Maybe the other player is okay with the prospect of their character dying. That, too, is legitimate. The key is consent. If both players agree to the situation, you will both need to send GM Cearnach a pm explaining the situation and we will probably agree to it, unless circumstances are complicated, which complications Cearnach will explain to you in detail.
There are Events that may have combat or damage elements. These are indicated in red in the rules for the event. If you join such an event, you are consenting to receive that damage. Veteran players will tell you that with exploding dice, any damage--even 1k1--can be lethal. You have been warned.
Conflicts with NPCs are a serious likelihood. Certain NPCs we have designed to be extremely difficult to deal with. Others have agendas that will conflict with those of one or more characters. Please understand a couple things:
A) NPCs are characters. Their views do not represent those of the gm team. If we have an issue with something you have done or said, we promise that we will not address it through an NPC. We are going to be talking to you in your PFs or PMs directly and respectfully.
B) If an NPC does something negative to your character, please look on it as a roleplay opportunity. It is absolutely okay from a player perspective to Feud with an NPC. It is absolutely okay to manipulate them. It is absolutely okay to make scurrilous and nasty rumors about them. It is absolutely okay to ruin their lives. It is also absolutely okay to succumb to the NPC, or to be manipulated by them, or to have your character's life ruined. If you are finding something troubling, or want to talk over a plan or get some advice, by all means post your business in your pf. One of us will be along to offer a friendly ear.
3) Do Not Post in Anger
People are gonna do things you don't like or agree with. The best thing to do in that situation is first to gauge how deep your feeling is. If you're only annoyed, then shrug your shoulders and move along. If, however, it is really bothering you and you absolutely have to get it off your chest, then do two things. First, walk away from your computer for a good hour or more. If you still feel like you need to address the situation after that, get in touch with us in your pf. We will facilitate a discussion with the other player. Do not post anything to afk, ooc, or Discord threads about you going through this process. That is to protect you. No one looks good posting in anger.
If you are angry with one of us, please get in touch with one of the others after following the same process. We are going to try to do our best to practice what we preach, but it is a foolish gm that does not acknowledge their fallibility. If we work together and follow this process, we will probably be able to stop things from getting toxic.
You can't. Or rather, that's not a good question to try to pin down. There's no official measuring stick for victory in this Winter Court Game. You need to set and meet your own goals, paying attention to how much effort and time you can afford to commit to the game. The players that tend to feel best about the game after it's over are those that told an interesting story and had a good time with other players, even if their characters did not achieve much, or only contributed in a small way to their clan's goals. That said, you'll have a better chance to feel that way if you reach out to more people.
Alright, I feel like I have a handle on what the game is and what I can do in it. What are some some suggestions for how to work well with other players?
Please pay careful attention to the following points. They contain, in effect, the gm team's limits on how we are willing to run this game. We certainly don't intend to hold the game hostage, but the fact is that we will not want to run a game that is causing a great deal of upset or bad feelings. Some upset we understand is inevitable, but we all know that there is a tipping point that requires action. Therefore, if you find something objectionable in the following points, please get in touch with me immediately in your PF, in Discord, or through pms. If we cannot agree, the best thing is for you to give this campaign a miss.
1) The best advice for getting along in a game is to be pm-ing people about your intentions and then not going back on what you say to them. If you change your mind, check in with your counterpart. If they are uncomfortable about something you are suggesting, first recognize that they are not attacking you. Instead, listen carefully to what they are saying and try to accommodate them. If they suggest something to add to the scene, think carefully about it and respond with what you really think. Don't reject things out of hand, but also be honest if something doesn't feel right. It's not cool to go through with a scene that you know is not going to work. If the best thing to do for you or your counterpart is to walk away from a scene or an idea, then do so.
2) Understand and respect people's limits. Some folks enjoy Romance in these games, for instance, and some folks don't. If a person has indicated a limit in their signature or to you in conversation, do not cross that line. It's just better for everybody if we respect each other in that way.
As an addendum to the limits point, do not be murdering other characters. We will not be stoked if we wake up to pms or a massive flame war developing in OOC chat only to find that someone got killed without having agreed to it beforehand. Retcons will happen, if people are not cool about it there may be bans from the game, and everyone will feel bad. Don't do this.
If tensions are rising between your character and another AND you think it would be appropriate for your character or for another player's character to try to solve their problems with violence, however indirectly, talk over it with that player. Maybe you want your character to be killed. That is legitimate. Maybe the other player is okay with the prospect of their character dying. That, too, is legitimate. The key is consent. If both players agree to the situation, you will both need to send GM Cearnach a pm explaining the situation and we will probably agree to it, unless circumstances are complicated, which complications Cearnach will explain to you in detail.
There are Events that may have combat or damage elements. These are indicated in red in the rules for the event. If you join such an event, you are consenting to receive that damage. Veteran players will tell you that with exploding dice, any damage--even 1k1--can be lethal. You have been warned.
Conflicts with NPCs are a serious likelihood. Certain NPCs we have designed to be extremely difficult to deal with. Others have agendas that will conflict with those of one or more characters. Please understand a couple things:
A) NPCs are characters. Their views do not represent those of the gm team. If we have an issue with something you have done or said, we promise that we will not address it through an NPC. We are going to be talking to you in your PFs or PMs directly and respectfully.
B) If an NPC does something negative to your character, please look on it as a roleplay opportunity. It is absolutely okay from a player perspective to Feud with an NPC. It is absolutely okay to manipulate them. It is absolutely okay to make scurrilous and nasty rumors about them. It is absolutely okay to ruin their lives. It is also absolutely okay to succumb to the NPC, or to be manipulated by them, or to have your character's life ruined. If you are finding something troubling, or want to talk over a plan or get some advice, by all means post your business in your pf. One of us will be along to offer a friendly ear.
3) Do Not Post in Anger
People are gonna do things you don't like or agree with. The best thing to do in that situation is first to gauge how deep your feeling is. If you're only annoyed, then shrug your shoulders and move along. If, however, it is really bothering you and you absolutely have to get it off your chest, then do two things. First, walk away from your computer for a good hour or more. If you still feel like you need to address the situation after that, get in touch with us in your pf. We will facilitate a discussion with the other player. Do not post anything to afk, ooc, or Discord threads about you going through this process. That is to protect you. No one looks good posting in anger.
If you are angry with one of us, please get in touch with one of the others after following the same process. We are going to try to do our best to practice what we preach, but it is a foolish gm that does not acknowledge their fallibility. If we work together and follow this process, we will probably be able to stop things from getting toxic.
GM * Man of Angles * Sionnach * Scealai * Hamanri's Vessel
A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine.---Anne Bronte
A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine.---Anne Bronte
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