the cenobite of the crags

"Once I was as you. Then I met a blessed man who teaches of a hidden kingdom where physical needs are set aside for spiritual contemplation - he healed me and bade me spread his message, that we can all find that kingdom through discipline and service to others. It is a worthy quest my friends - I do not regret it. "
-- The Cenobite of the Crags

The Cenobite of the Crags is a relatively new arrival in the area; his red robes and golden mask hiding bandages and dark red wrappings around hands missing the odd finger. Once a leper, tormented in body and spirit, he keeps a leper sanctuary and offers shelter to the poor and the desperate in the name of a hidden kingdom where suffering will end.

Once there was a man called Japher. He was a soldier cursed with leprosy by a vengeful priest; he could not return home so he wandered the roads and became a lone bandit filled with hatred for priests and hunted by the law. By chance he noticed Brother Ptolemy and three Red Monks travelling back to their dwelling after their work in the city. Japher saw a target and threatened them. Brother Ptolemy began to speak to him - offering him the hidden kingdom. In return, Japher stabbed him with a sword and saw him fail to bleed. The Red Monks fell on him and he was swiftly subdued and taken to the dwelling where Ptolemy worked and Japher left his life to join the Red Monks of the Hidden Kingdom.

Japher was sent out with orders to create another dwelling - Ptolemy could not afford his hatred of priests to prejudice his work in the city. Knowing that other lepers would desire this new state; Japher built a leper sanctuary at the border of three baronies, knowing full well that none of the barons would accept a sanctuary solely on their land. The sanctuary rests among some lonely, craggy hills. A lone bard seeking shelter from a hostile goblin audience found him and a handful of lepers and so Japher was named The Cenobite of the Crags. Half-frozen and blinded by the smell, the bard warmed his bones there then to visit each baron in turn, telling of the compassion of the red monk and his leper charges.

The barons were suspicious of talk of a hidden kingdom (it seemed treason) but the odd figure kept the lepers safe, fed and off their lands. They saw wisdom in charity and sent surplus food and small amounts of coin to the cenobite as lepers travelled the crags to find sanctuary; despite the occasional desperate goblin raid, the sanctuary remains secure and undisturbed. Yet should priests seek to cure the lepers, they will find a rude refusal. Japher and the lepers believe that their leprosy was sent by the gods to test them, who are these priests to tempt them away?

The lepers are devoted to Japher who believes that Ptolemy will come to redeem them as he has been redeemed. Japher faithfully changes his bandages and notices that his disease has not gone any further yet he doesn't know the ceremony to cure the lepers himself, being a warrior he has no knowledge of such. Brother Ptolemy sometimes sends a Red Monk with messages of support and a little extra coin. Japher maintains an effective out of town bolthole if the Red Monks ever need one - and one known to the neighbouring barons as a place of mercy.

This post refers to Brother Ptolemy and The Hidden Kingdom by Nevermet Press.

recap: dungeon construction

If you need to design a dungeon and you're stuck for ideas; these posts can help you break down the problem into things to consider and details that give additional flavour to another 20'x30' room and it's associated corridors and dressing. 2009 is the Year of the Megadungeon and now there's the one page dungeon template you really have no excuse!

elements (& alternatives) - how the four elements can shape a dungeon.
character - what purpose does it serve, and what do you want players to experience?
organisation - who's in, who's out, who's who?
legendry - are there good stories about the place and who's telling them?
ordnance - traps and other ways the dungeon hurts intruders.
gimmicks - set dressing, recurring themes and phat loots.
you - a key ingredient and a noble tradition of self-referential humour.

toolkit: zero sum

Zero sum is where loss or gain is exactly balanced between all participants. If one person gains, then one or more others lose out. This posits a finite resource e.g. a magical sword that must be wielded by a king confers kingship on it's wielder (even if it's no basis for stable government) or a hierarchy (beauty contests or asking a magic mirror to find who's the fairest of them all).

Competition or conflict occurs if there is a need for the resource or to be top of the hierarchy - how the competition or conflict takes place and who wins depends on factors like location, timing, individual or social attributes and opportunity. Inclusion and providing frontiers provides explosive growth as exclusion and barriers lead to loss and recession.

Where there is a finite resource but enough for others to achieve their objective, zero sum may lead to a social trap as multiple parties exploit an available resource for short term gain but then loses out in the long run as that resource vanishes; this can be simulated with a bowl of snacks. When they're gone, they're gone unless they can be renewed. Then the game starts over again.

Making zero-sum situations enjoyable depends on a social contract - perhaps the prototypical social contract. Participation may provide benefits and more often the cliche of 'it's the taking part that counts' and experience through failing to gain those benefits. A zero-sum game where everyone wins assumes limited benefit for all participants leading to the prisoner's dilemma.

Where there are a multitude of new frontiers and niches for self-expression and advantage, there is a shift in values and a sudden wealth of opportunities to gain social capital. Evaluation of such gains challenges previous perceptions of social capital and the lines have to be re-drawn; one example of this is Elizabethan England where new frontiers changed how things were seen.

I've touched on discovering new frontiers before though some would argue that exploitation of those new frontiers means it's just a bigger zero-sum proposition. While it could be argued that if you're going to win, win big there is a cost in doing so. By expanding the winner's circle there is greater gain for others though it means you have to redefine success along the way.

One way is to celebrate the accomplishments of other participants. Another is to positively recognise what is done well and compassionately suggest successful strategies. Yet another is to increase the intrinsic value of participation so those who take part gain something more from it than just the taking part.

inspiring stuff

Courtesy of Scott Kurtz of PvP Online and for those struggling with the worthwhile goal of being creative - Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity.