Heroes

Rule of Cool Note

This is a LOT of information to keep track of, so feel free to use this as much as you want, or Rule of Cool it as simply (or even more complex) as you need or want to.

This is intended as a means of helping to simplify the building of new towns. Simply build up to the level you want, and work backwards. Or, build only as many Guild members as you have at the moment. It's up to you.

Heroes Overview

Heroes are what turns this from a simple, cookie cutter building effort into an experience unique to you. Heroes will be present at every level of the Challenge, from your Advisors down to individual men and women of every town, if you choose to be that granular. Heroes can be any Race, from any Guild. The Major Races are:

• Player: Ruler only, no Benefits nor Drawbacks
• Humans: Crafters, not Merchants
• Testificates: Merchants, not Crafters
• Gnomes: Technology, not Magic
• Witches: Magic, not Technology
• Dwarves: Mining, not Agriculture
• Elves: Agriculture, not Mining.

Heroes deliver a Bonus to their civilization, depending on their Race, and where they are placed in the Hierarchy.

Heroic Hierarchy

• Ruler (Usually the/main Player). The Ruler gives his or her bonus to everyone in the Civilization. If you are using Races, this includes both their Bonuses AND their Drawbacks. This Trickles down to every level.
• Advisors/Guild Leaders/Grand Masters. Advisors from all six Major Guilds (see below), and the ranking Military Officer come to help you run your Civilzation. Their Racial Benefits and Drawbacks are added to or subtracted from those of the Ruler, and those below them.
• Mayor/District Leader. Mayors lead either a town or a District in a major city. Their Racial Benefits are added to and Drawbacks subtracted from those above and below them.
• Shop/Yard/Facility Leader. These people run stores, farms, industrial yards, and much, much more. They are the on-ground management, if you will, whether they're owners or part of an organization. Their Benefits are added to and subtracted from those above them.

Heroic Mastery

Note: This is intended for "Fluff," not a hard and fast rule unless you want to follow it.

An optional means to help your cities grow slightly more organically, Heroes may be picked out of the unwashed masses, and be set upon the path to greatness. to Mastery in one of the Major Guilds, or even an Advisor to the Ruler! This system can be applied to anything in the Challenge (with the exception of the Military, which will have its own version of this) rather easily.

Note: Agricultural numbers are intended to be focuses. Pick one of the bonuses, per Apprentice/Journeyman/Guild Member. Guild Masters can pick an additional focus Master, for a total of 2 foci--AND perform every other function of the Guild, albeit at Guild Member level. Grand Masters get 3, and can perform every other function of the Guild at Guild Master level. This also applies to other Guilds, if such things can apply.

• Apprenticeship: The first stage of learning a new trade, is to find a Master of one of the Guilds and Apprenticing to learn the tools of the trade.
  • If Crafting, being a Merchant, or some other means of production, can only manage 4 items (before Racial Bonuses/Drawbacks).
    • Agricultural Apprentices can manage 16 (1 4x4) plant squares, 4 of any kind of animal, 4 trees, or up to 2 Apiaries (OR 4 Bee Houses)
    • Note: Sales includes both Buying AND Selling the exact same item
  • Apprentices move to Journeymen after one Stage.
  • If there ARE no Masters in the Civilization, a Journeyman can suffice in a pinch.
  • If this is an entirely new discipline in the Civilization, Heroes begin at the Guild Member level.
• Journeyman: The Hero has learned enough of his craft to be trusted (for the most part) to do most things on his own. Generally, he leaves the place where he served his Apprenticeship to someone else in the trade, where his training can be finalized.
  • Journeymen can handle twice as much as Apprentices
    • 8 production, sales, etc
    • 32 plant squares (2 4x4s), 8 animals, 8 trees. 4 Apiaries OR 8 Bee Houses OR one Alveary.
  • Journeymen become a Guild Member after one Stage.
• Guild Member: The Hero has proven that he knows what he is doing, and can be trusted to do things on his own without things blowing up, dying, leaking, or otherwise causing damage to himself, others, or, more importantly, the Guild's bottom line. Members can move on and set themselves up somewhere new, and take on Journeymen or Apprentices, depending on the Guild's requirements
  • Members can handle five times as much as Apprentices
    • 70 plant squares (5 4x4s), 20 animals, 20 trees. 3 Alvearies OR 10 Apiaries OR 20 Bee Houses
    • 20 Sales (Buying AND selling the SAME item), Crafting/Magic/Technology, etc
• Guild Master: This Hero knows almost everything there is to know about the goings on in his Guild. Masters, while they can get their hands dirty, are generally responsible for the training of the next batch of Apprentices, Journeymen, and occasional Guild Members.
  • There is usually only a limited number of Guild Masters at any one time. These guys REALLY know their stuff
  • Guild Masters can handle twice as much as a regular Guild Member. However, Masters usually only practice parts of their craft.
    • Guild Masters get the Guild Master Bonus for only 2 of the possible specialties: If they practice other aspects of their Guild, they perform just as well as another Guild Member outside of their Specialty(ies).
    • 40 Sales (Buying AND Selling the SAME item), Crafting/Megic/Technology, etc. before bonuses/drawbacks
    • 140 plant squares (10 4x4s), 40 animals, 40 trees; 6 Alvearies OR 25 Apiaries OR 50 Bee Houses
    • Only Guild and Grand Masters may use Genetics machines, Nuclear Reactors, and other super-powered/incredibly dangerous items in their discipline.
• Grand Master: There is usually only one Grand Master per Guild. Most of the time, the Grand Master is the Guild Leader, and, if Leader of one of the Major Guilds, an Advisor to the Ruler.
  • Grand Masters are truly overpowered, capable of handling twice as much as even a Guild Master:
    • Grand Masters can pick 3 Specialties. Non-Specialty areas are performed at Guild Master level.
    • 80 Sales (Buying And Selling the SAME item), Crafting/Magic/Technology, etc. before Bonuses/Drawbacks
    • 280 plant squares (20 4x4s), and/or 80 Animals, and/or 80 Trees; and/or 15 Alvearies OR 50 Apiaries OR 100 Bee Houses

Guild Schools

Guild Schools allows a civilization (or Guild) to pump out trained Guild Members quickly. It only takes one turn for someone enrolled in the School to become skilled at the Guild Member level. However, there must be at least 2 Masters teaching at the School.

Now, normally, using this system, it would take a long time to get people up to scratch when it comes to training new people. The answer to this is usually a Guild School. They go by many names, but their primary purpose is to churn out a great number of highly talented Guild Members as quickly as possible. Guild Schools are usually quite large, and have everything they need to train people from scratch to Member level as quickly as possible. Their training equipment may not be as large or as extensive as if they were performing their Guild's function full time, but it is still there.

If you have the time, it is recommended to give each School a unique Banner and/or Shield

Guilds Overview

If you have the time, it is recommended to give each Guild/sub-Guild a unique Banner/Shield

Major Guilds

Guilds are a collection of like-minded people gathered together for protection or for greater bargaining power. While there are six Major Guilds, there are countless smaller Guilds. The Guilds are all specialized and focus on their way of life. In this case, if you are using mods, you should consider each Mod you use to be a specific Guild, but probably form together somewhere under the Major Guilds. In some civilizations, there may only be one of each Major Guild. In others there may be multiple of a single Guild. It all depends on the civiilization, and, especially, its Challenger Ruler. The Major Guilds are:

• Agricultural Guild
• Mining Guild
• Merchant's Guild
• Crafter's Guild
• Engineer's Guild
• Magician's Guild

There is one more "Guild," and that is the Military. However, Guilds are usually (but not exclusively) civilians, and Military forces are usually (but not exclusively) employed by the State (read: Player[s]).

Rogue Guilds

The Rogue Guilds are a collection of criminals that band together for protection. The Rogue Guilds will be expanded further in the future. Example Rogue Guilds:

• Thieves Guild
• Assassins Guild
• Pirates Guild
• etc.

First, let's have a look at the overview of