Difference between revisions of "Triad Diary"

Latest revision as of 19:05, 23 July 2021

Triad Diary

It's a small personal diary that is commonly used by triadists to record prayers, research notes and other things of interest. Centered on the cover there is an equilateral triangle and each of its sides has been drawn with a different colour. Those colours are black, red and green and they symbolize the darkness of Draen-Dalar, the blood of Sa'hr and the venom of Burglefloogah. You may access the diary's commands by typing 'diary'. This item is in AWESOME condition. It looks very light weight.

 +-------------------------=( Your Personal Diary )=--------------------------+
 | Command                          Description                               |
 |                                                                            |
 | help                             This help file                            |
 | command <cmd>                    Change command to operate this diary      |
 | explain <topic>                  View additional explanations              |
 | emotes                           View list of guild emotes                 |
 | doctrines                        List the doctrines known to you           |
 | prayers                          List the prayers known to you             |
 | recite <prayer>                  Recite a prayer from the diary            |
 | research                         List all blood research notes             |
 | research <satomalum>             List research notes for satomalum         |
 | miracle <name>                   View information about a miracle          |
 | miracle list                     View list of witnessed miracles           |
 | miracle timeline [long/reverse]  View the timeline of witnessed miracles   |
 | event list                       View summary of your events               |
 | event current                    View information about active trial       |
 | event timeline [long/reverse]    View timeline of your events              |
 +-----------------------=( Additional Explanations )=------------------------+

affinity

 +-----------------------=( Understanding affinity )=-------------------------+
 | In order to understand affinity, it is important to learn to understand a  |
 | few concepts in the 'triad status' command. The relationship of a          |
 | triadist with a Dark God is represented by affinity. The higher the        |
 | percentage, the more divine power the triadist possesses.                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | Generally these values go up but there are some exceptions which can       |
 | cause them to go down temporarily. These factors are dishonor and          |
 | latency and they both work in the same fashion. If you are affected        |
 | by either, you are very likely to see a temporary reduction in             |
 | your percentages. There are few ways to become dishonored and if           |
 | you become dishonored, you have most likely angered the Gods somehow.      |
 | If this happens, your penalty will eventually go away unless you           |
 | continue what caused you to become dishonored in the first place.          |
 |                                                                            |
 | Another case islatency. Latency means that the person has taken a          |
 | considerable pause from the guild in the form of reincarnation. Latency    |
 | time is accumulated whenever the person is not member of the Triad         |
 | of Darkness. The maximum latency is two months (real time), but it         |
 | also isn't linear. This means that if you're gone from the guild           |
 | for two months, your latency will not be two months, but                   |
 | considerably less. However, the existence of latency                       |
 | means that no one can recover their true powers instantly.                 |
 | Affinity towards a Dark God is represented by a percentage, but each       |
 | affinity has something called the 'Affinity Status' as well, but           |
 | let's take a moment to discuss what each affinity does.                    |
 |                                                                            |
 | Affinity to Burglefloogah                                                  |
 | -------------------------                                                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | Whenever you do evil, your anger grows. When you don't do evil, it         |
 | dissipates. The higher it is, the more effective the evil things you do    |
 | are. In essence, it is a self-fueling loop of evil. You can see your       |
 | anger level by checking the affinity status with 'triad status' command.   |
 |                                                                            |
 | There is also a passive skill called 'seething fervor'. It cannot be       |
 | trained, but is learned by doing. You learn it while your fervor is on     |
 | and it helps you to maintain your anger longer.                            |
 |                                                                            |
 | Affinity to Sa'hr                                                          |
 | -----------------                                                          |
 |                                                                            |
 | Whenever you use death spells you will become closer to Sa'hr.             |
 | Death spells are spells that require a mummy as a reagent. There           |
 | is a link between Sa'hr and Burglefloogah. Whenever you're casting         |
 | harming spells, there is an additional spell point cost. If your           |
 | affinity to Sa'hr is high, you may be able to save some of those           |
 | spell points as untapped resources. These untapped resources may           |
 | be accessed when casting death spells, meaning that the actual             |
 | spell cost for death spells will become lower than it normally would       |
 | be.                                                                        |
 |                                                                            |
 | You may not accumulate unlimited amount of untapped resources so           |
 | be sure to use death spells sometimes to free space for new resources.     |
 | Additionally, the untapped resources will eventually fade if they are      |
 | not used. High affinity to Sa'hr allows you to sustain more untapped       |
 | resources than low affinity. The status of untapped resources is           |
 | displayed in Sa'hr's affinity status.                                      |
 |                                                                            |
 | Affinity to Draen-Dalar                                                    |
 | -----------------------                                                    |
 |                                                                            |
 | Affinity to Draen-Dalar can best be explained through it's                 |
 | affinity status. The affinity status of Draen-Dalar is called              |
 | 'faith' and whenever there is a document that refers to faith,             |
 | it refers to the written status description. Faith is a factor             |
 | that affects almost everything. It affects your skills,                    |
 | your spells and it can even affect your prayers. Faith                     |
 | represents how much you believe in the Dark Gods and when                  |
 | it's high you're more powerful and low faith can make you                  |
 | weaker than you would normally be.                                         |
 |                                                                            |
 | Faith can be gained by participating in the religious events of the        |
 | congregation or it can go up if you're witnessing a miracle. There are     |
 | many things that can increase faith, while there is generally only one     |
 | that can take it away - faith prayers. Faith prayers are discussed         |
 | elsewhere but to condense it into one sentence; faith prayers are prayers  |
 | that can be used all the time, but they cause you to lose faith.           |
 |                                                                            |
 | It should also be mentioned that faith isn't quite as straightforward      |
 | as this document makes it to be. Faith is erratic in nature and sometimes  |
 | your faith can stay high even if you're using continuously using           |
 | faith prayers and sometimes it can stay low even despite your best         |
 | efforts to get it up.                                                      |
 |                                                                            |
 | New members of the congregation typically cannot achieve very high         |
 | faith status. This is because their affinity to Draen-Dalar is not         |
 | very high. When the affinity towards Draen-Dalar rises, the faith          |
 | maximum will go up as well.                                                |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

altars of sin

 +----------------------------=( Altars of sin )=-----------------------------+
 | While worshipping the Dark Gods is often the most typical way of worship,  |
 | there is an alternative way of worship that is also being practiced by     |
 | the congregation of the Triad of Darkness. Many members of the             |
 | congregation worship the seven deadly sins by sacrificing to a specific    |
 | sin in exchange for power. This power is often gained with the             |
 | help of the spell 'glorification of sin', but be warned, as each           |
 | glorified sin also brings a drawback. While reveling in sin will bring     |
 | more power, the cost will also be greater. It is very wise to keep one's   |
 | eyes open and stay alert for the effects. For some more information, you   |
 | can view the syntaxes of the spell with 'cast glorification of sin' and    |
 | view the expanded helpfile with the syntax:                                |
 |                                                                            |
 | 'cast glorification of sin at help'                                        |
 |                                                                            |
 | The Seven Deadly Sins are envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth and    |
 | wrath. Each of the sins have their own altar in the Ziggurat of Serinna.   |
 | In order to sacrifice to a sin, one must choose the correct altar. Any     |
 | sacrifice that is performed will contribute to the sacrifices done         |
 | by the members of the congregation. In other words, the sacrifices are     |
 | not personal and any other member may use your sacrifices to cast          |
 | glorification of sin. However, it is recommended that the congregation     |
 | works together to keep the Dark Gods satisfied. If the congregation        |
 | ignoring their duty to sacrifice, the glorification of sin cannot be       |
 | cast.                                                                      |
 |                                                                            |
 | While the power of the sin is one factor determining the potency           |
 | of the spell, the spell itself is affected by wisdom and knowledge         |
 | in glorification of sin. Depending on the sin, knowledge in skill cast     |
 | special, gluttony, aura of hate, mellon collie or aura of irreverence      |
 | may provide additional power.                                              |
 |                                                                            |
 | Normally the target of the spell is the one who receives the blessing      |
 | of the Dark Gods. This is also the person who suffers the drawback.        |
 | In some cases a different person receives the punishment as the one        |
 | who receives the blessing. This can happen when glorifying sins pride      |
 | or envy. With these sins, the person casting the spell automatically       |
 | becomes the person receiving the punishment. This person is called         |
 | the glorifier. Glorification of sin can always be canceled either          |
 | by the glorifier or by the one who is receiving the blessing. This         |
 | is done with the syntax: glorification stop                                |
 |                                                                            |
 | It is also worth pointing out that not all sins are equal. This means      |
 | that some sins are more popular for glorification purposes as others.      |
 | Certain sins have lesser drawbacks and some have greater, which means      |
 | that glorifying certain sins may be more tempting. However, the more       |
 | a sin is glorified, the weaker its effect will eventually come. Sins       |
 | gain more power when one sacrifices to them, but sacrificing to a          |
 | weaker sin also has a penalty.                                             |
 |                                                                            |
 | Lastly, the Triad of Darkness celebrates certain special days that         |
 | are dedicated to the sins. Members of the congregation often reminisce     |
 | their past deeds and sacrifice at the ziggurat. The sacrifices that        |
 | are performed during the sin's dedicated day are regarded to be            |
 | more significant and the penalty for sacrificing to the weaker sin         |
 | is ignored.                                                                |  
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

assigned positions

 +-------------------------=( Assigned positions )=---------------------------+
 | At this location you may volunteer for different positions of              |
 | the church. You may do this by either looking at the book or               |
 | by typing 'read book' if you haven't already noticed that there            |
 | is indeed a book here. However, before you do that, it is advisable        |
 | to at least glance through the following chapters for more                 |
 | information.                                                               |
 |                                                                            |
 | While rank represents the hierarchical status in the congregation,         |
 | position is the assigned tasks of an individual. In some cases             |
 | rank may be a prerequisite for a specific position, but also in            |
 | some cases holding a position may give the position holder similar         |
 | privileges that a higher ranked official would automatically get.          |
 | The duties, privileges and responsibilities of each positions are          |
 | unique and because of their specificity, it is not possible to             |
 | discuss here what each position entails. However, each position            |
 | has some similarities, so let's discuss those. Each position will be       |
 | shown in 'triad status' command, under the rank information. The           |
 | 'triad status' command will also provide a description about a             |
 | position should you happen to be assigned to a position. This may          |
 | provide you helpful information how you can best contribute to             |
 | the congregation.                                                          |
 |                                                                            |
 | Each position must be held for a specific duration of time. This           |
 | time may not be too short, or too long. You can use 'triad status'         |
 | to see how long you've been assigned to a position. After time             |
 | runs out, you will automatically be relieved from your assigned post.      |
 |                                                                            |
 | There is also something called position focus. Position focus will         |
 | determine how much effort you are contributing when you are                |
 | participating in your position-related duties. It is up to you to          |
 | decide how actively you participate, but position focus does come          |
 | with a noticeable drawback as it diminishes your experience gaining        |
 | rate. The position focus (and therefore the exprate penalty) is            |
 | set when position is assigned, will last as long as the                    |
 | player holds the position and cannot be readjusted during this             |
 | specified period of time.                                                  |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

becoming ordained

 +--------------------------=( Becoming ordained )=---------------------------+
 | Each member of the congregation starts their religious career as a         |
 | novice and some will remain as novices forever. There may be many          |
 | reasons why a person would remain as an novice, but the most common        |
 | reason is that they pursue other interests and do not make religion        |
 | a career. Those who wish to pursue a career in religion must educate       |
 | themselves, and become respectable members of the congregation in          |
 | order to gain influence in the church. When a Triadist has been            |
 | found worthy by the members of the congregation, they are allowed          |
 | to participate in a Divine Trial, which gives them the chance to           |
 | perform for the Dark Gods. If the Triadist passes the Divine Trial,        |
 | it means that the Gods approve of the ascension in ranks.                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | After the Divine Trial is completed, the Triadist may be ordained by       | 
 | an official of the church. Usually the ordination takes place during       |
 | a Holy Day, but novices may be ordained as novice masters or novice        |
 | mistresses on any day. Ordination is usually performed by a higher         |
 | ranking church official, but it can also be performed by anyone who        |
 | holds the position of the rite master.                                     |
 |                                                                            |
 | Triad of Darkness recognizes following ranks in the hierarchy: novice,     |
 | novice master/mistress, (deacon/deaconess), curate, (abbot/abbess),        |
 | priest/priestess, and high priest/priestess.                               |
 |                                                                            |
 | The ranks mentioned in parenthesis are considered to be mostly             |
 | ceremonial ranks and therefore do not have Divine Trials available.        |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

blood vials

 +-----------------------------=( Blood vials )=------------------------------+
 | In this document we discuss the pecularities of blood vials. They are      |
 | slightly more confusing than poison vials, but read through the document   |
 | and if you still have questions left unanswered, well, then it sucks       |
 | to be you.                                                                 |
 |                                                                            |
 | You may have multiple vials. Some of them may contain poison and           |
 | others may contain blood. While handling is similar with both vials,       |
 | this document will only discuss the blood vials and poison stuff           |
 | will be discussed in a separate document.                                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | A blood vial is a liquid container that may contain blood or a             |
 | mixture of blood. We will discuss mixtures later in the document           |
 | but for now, let's talk about the qualities of blood. Triad of Darkness    |
 | uses the blood of these common races: human, dwarf, elf, drow, orc         |
 | and catfolk. Blood vials can contain blood that belongs to any of          |
 | these races. Blood is acquired often with the skill bloodletting.          |
 | Bloodletting allows you to draw blood from a corpse, or from a             |
 | person. If you are one of the above mentioned races, you could             |
 | draw blood from yourself as well, but difficulty in succeeding             |
 | is always trickier with alive person, especially if that one               |
 | is yourself.                                                               |
 |                                                                            |
 | This document doesn't go into details how to do research effectively,      |
 | as such help can be received elsewhere. However, we will talk              |
 | about blood qualities and what you can find out about blood                |
 | just by looking at it. Each blood has its unique qualities. You            |
 | can find out its origin (=race), and main state state                      |
 | (coagulated/boiled) by looking at it. By looking you can also find         |
 | out how it feels in your hand. This gives you an additional tip            |
 | about its main state. Keep in mind that boiled blood will eventually       |
 | cool down. Bloods of different races, or of different                      |
 | degrees of temperature cannot be be mixed. Therefore it is best            |
 | practice to work with cold blood, rather than trying match                 |
 | temperatures later.                                                        |
 |                                                                            |
 | While it's not possible to mix bloods, you may re-use a vial               |
 | that is empty, even if it contained blood from a different race.           |
 | Bloodmixing is a form of art that is not known to most members             |
 | of the congregation. Luckily there are some skilled nuns who               |
 | are very good at this. In the next chapter, we talk about                  |
 | bloodmixing and its final result: the mixture.                             |
 |                                                                            |
 | If the vial is a mixture, it is mentioned when you look at it. A           |
 | mixture of blood is a blood formula that can be used for giving            |
 | birth to bloodborn satomalums. Generally all satomalums are                |
 | bloodborn. A bad seed, which is a type of satumalum, is an                 |
 | exception as it's born of poison. In order to use a mixture to             |
 | grow satomalums you will need to claim a portion of the swamp to your      |
 | own possession. We are assuming here that you know how to do it,           |
 | but if not, check helpfiles for 'control marsh' spell.                     |
 |                                                                            |
 | To make vial handling easier, you may use label command (help label).      |
 | A merchant is not required to label vials.                                 |
 |                                                                            |
 | Each vial can contain a specific amount of blood. There are two            |
 | commands that can be used for emptying vials to the swamp, which           |
 | initiates satomalum growth. These commands are 'empty' and 'pour'.         |
 | The difference between these commands is that empty-command will           |
 | pour all the blood to the swamp, so the container will become              |
 | completely empty. If you only want to pour some of the blood,              |
 | use pour command. You can use pour command multiple times to               |
 | enhance the effect of the growing satomalum, but you need to               |
 | do this immediately. You cannot return days later to enhance it.           |
 |                                                                            |
 | Some examples:                                                             |
 |                                                                            |
 | empty vial                                                                 |
 | pour mixture_1  (if you have labeled it first)                             |
 |                                                                            |
 | If you have a lot of vials, it may make sense to be using some             |
 | kind of bag for vials to avoid confusion which ones you're using.          |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

bookshelves

 +-----------------------------=( Bookshelves )=------------------------------+
 | Bookshelves are containers in a room that allow them to contain books.     |
 | Since it should be very clear what a bookshelf is, we'll just move on      |
 | to provide examples and syntaxes how to use them:                          |
 |                                                                            |
 | Syntax/Example:                                                            |
 |                                                                            |
 | look at shelf           Show which books the bookshelf contains            |
 | get book from shelf     Get a book from the shelf.                         |
 | get 3 from shelf        Get the third book from the shelf.                 |
 | put book in shelf       Move a book from your inventory to the shelf.      |
 |                                                                            |
 | Note that if you use a common identifier, such as "book" you will get      |
 | the book that was added to the shelf last. Therefore when retrieving       |
 | a book you should use a unique identifier if such is available, or         |
 | use the shelf number to allow for better targetting.                       |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

cauldron instructions

 +------------------------=( Cauldron instructions )=-------------------------+
 | Triad of Darkness uses mixtures of blood to grow satomalums at the swamp.  |
 | As blood changes its structure when heated, the church offers a cauldron   |
 | that can be used for heating blood, when necessary.                        |
 |                                                                            |
 | Here are some reminders how to use vials. You can use these with the       |
 | cauldron.                                                                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | Commands:                                                                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | pour <what> into <where>            Pour some from container               |
 | empty <what> into <where>           Pour all from container                |
 |                                                                            |
 | Examples:                                                                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | pour vial into cauldron                                                    |
 | empty vial into cauldron                                                   |
 | pour vial into vial 2                                                      |
 |                                                                            |
 |                                                                            |
 | Once you've heated the blood, you may want to fill your vials again. You   |
 | can use the 'fill' command.                                                |
 |                                                                            |
 | Commands:                                                                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | fill <what> in <where>                                                     |
 |                                                                            |
 | Examples:                                                                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | fill vial in cauldron                                                      |
 | fill vial from cauldron (this works as well)                               |
 |                                                                            |
 | The aforementioned commands are somewhat standard with containers, but     |
 | there is also the 'heat' command. This command has two arguments: on/off   |
 | and usage is fairly simple.                                                |
 |                                                                            |
 | heat on                 (Starts heating the cauldron)                      |
 | heat off                (Stops heating the cauldron)                       |
 |                                                                            |
 | Once the heat is turned on, the cauldron starts boiling the blood. It      |
 | takes some time for the blood to boil. Remember that when you start        |
 | boiling blood, it will very quickly change its temperature, which          |
 | means that you can no longer add any blood into the cauldron. Always       |
 | pour everything to the cauldron before deciding to heat the blood.         |
 |                                                                            |
 | It is up to you to decide how warm you want to heat your blood. Remember   |
 | that after the blood is removed from the cauldron or the heat has          |   
 | been turned off, the blood starts to lose its temperature and will         |
 | eventually become coagulated again. You can always look at your blood      |
 | vials to get more information whether the blood is boiled or coagulated    |
 | and if it's likely to cool down.                                           |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

days of solitude

 +--------------------------=( Days of solitude )=----------------------------+
 | Usually about once a month, the Triadists pause for one day to take a      |
 | break from their mundane chores and dedicate that day to the Dark          |
 | Gods. This day is known as the Day of Solitude, and it is marked in        |
 | the calendar. Many Triadists travel to Serinna to meditate. It has         |
 | been said that dedicating a day to the Dark Gods in this fashion can       |
 | be a spiritual experience. There are also secular members of the           |
 | congregation who opt to show their faces during a Day of Solitude to       |
 | create a good impression to whomever might be keeping track of comings     |
 | and goings. In order to participate in Day of Solitude, simply find        |
 | one the places suitable for meditation, and then 'use dark meditation'     |
 | when it is a Day of Solitude.                                              |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

deep religious concepts

 +-----------------------=( Deep religious concepts )=------------------------+
 | While personal faith in Dark Gods is of utmost importance for any          |
 | Triadist the Dark Gods have their own motifs, desires and a divine         |
 | realm of their own which remains quite intangible to the followers         |
 | of the church. While mere mortals do not hear news about events or         |
 | wars that involve the divine beings, sometimes the effects may be seen.    |
 | There are omens and signs that some are able to interpret and while        |
 | some regard that as cheap theatrics, there are certain views that          |
 | are generally accepted.                                                    |
 |                                                                            |
 | One generally accepted view is that while the gods are mighty, their       |
 | attention is not undivided. They are more likely to listen to those who    |
 | are of more importance and when the number of followers in the             |
 | congregation grows, it is harder for the gods to attend to everyone's      |
 | matter personally.                                                         |
 |                                                                            |
 | Another generally accepted view is basically a religious concept. It is    |
 | accepted that there are two days in a year when Aveallis and Draen-Dalar   |
 | are equally strong. These are the days of First Clash and Final Clash.     |
 | It is also known that Aveallis is strongest during the Summer Solstice     |
 | while Draen-Dalar is strongest during the Winter Solstice. Because of      |
 | this, many Triadists feel strongest during the cold dark days of winter.   |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

divine trial

 +----------------------------=( Divine trial )=------------------------------+
 | Divine trial is a special trial that is available every day and therefore  |
 | it is not mentioned in the calendar. However, only one member of the       |
 | congregation perform the Divine Trial, so if someone else is doing         |
 | the Divine Trial, then it is not listed as available. Before a triadist    |
 | can participate in the the divine trial, they must meet the requirements   |
 | that vary depending on the triadist's current rank.                        |
 |                                                                            |
 | If the requirements are met, you can participate in the divine trial.      |
 | If you are able to pass the trial, it means that the Dark Gods have        |
 | given their blessing and you are allowed to ascend in ranks. You will      |
 | not gain a new rank simply by passing the trial - it only makes it         |
 | possible for you to be ordained by the congregation.                       |
 |                                                                            |
 | Divine trial may be attempted only once every 24 hours. Three              |
 | consecutive failures will prevent you from participating during one        |
 | week.                                                                      |
 |                                                                            |
 | To see the requirements for the divine trial, you can ask Armand           |
 | about the 'divine trial'.                                                  |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

donating doctrines

 +-------------------------=( Donating doctrines )=---------------------------+
 | It is possible that there is a doctrine that is not owned by the church.   |
 | Doctrines may be gotten from events, from monsters or however any          |
 | valuable item is usually discovered. If you ever come by a doctrine,       |
 | it is up to you what to do about it. Generally there are three choices     |
 | and only one of them is insane, but we'll cover them all just in case.     |
 |                                                                            |
 | First of all, you may choose not to pick up the doctrine in the first      |
 | place which has its benefits as then you don't need to read any of         |
 | these documents so perhaps in retrospect, all the choices were sane,       |
 | but full disclosure, this was meant to be the insane choice.               |
 |                                                                            |
 | You may also keep the doctrine to yourself, in which case you may carry    |
 | it around in inventory, save it in a chest or do whatever you want to      |
 | do with it. These doctrines behave as any doctrines and are saveable.      |
 |                                                                            |
 | The third option is to donate the doctrine to the church. This can be      |
 | done by simply giving the doctrine to Lucas of Taegor. He is a man         |
 | who loves to read and makes sure that the valuable doctrine will end up    |
 | in the church's library.                                                   |
 |                                                                            |
 | Any doctrine that is donated to the church will grant the donor some       |
 | faith but the congregation also recognizes the donation and a nominal      |
 | fee is reduced in case you happen to be owing any tithes. If the           |
 | donated doctrine is in particularly good condition (=AWESOME), then        |
 | the congregation will make a note that you have donated an invaluable      |
 | doctrine to the church. In order to advance some high ranks, certain       |
 | number of invaluable doctrine donations must be completed.                 |
 |                                                                            |
 | When a doctrine is donated, it will become property of the church and      |
 | will be made available at the church library at reboot. These doctrines    |
 | do not save in inventory and cannot be chested, but you can borrow from    |
 | the library and you can even use the doctrines that you donated yourself.  |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

gathering influence

 +-------------------------=( Gathering influence )=--------------------------+
 | Power manifests in many forms. Royal people are born with it and           |
 | the nobles are blessed with lineage. One can also gain power through       |
 | wealth and and a soldier can gain fame by performing well in a war.        |
 | For a priest, power is influence over the followers of the religion.       |
 | While it would be interesting to discuss the world politics (it really     |
 | wouldn't be) we are going to dedicate this chapter to discuss what         |
 | influence is, what it isn't, how to gain it and what everything in         |
 | the 'triad status' command means.                                          |
 |                                                                            |
 | Let's start with what it isn't. Influence isn't something that is used     |
 | to persuade the Dark Gods as they couldn't care less how you rank among    |
 | mere mortals; the affinity is for that. Affinities do not earn you         |
 | influence unless you are regarded to be a spiritual leader, in which       |
 | case it will bring you some secular influence as the congregation regards  |
 | you to be an important person. Seniority itself also doesn't bring you     |
 | influence.                                                                 |
 |                                                                            |
 | Influence represents the secular power of a triadist. Usually the head of  |
 | the church is the most influential person and he/she probably gained       |
 | that position because of his/her influence. It is possible that the        |
 | secular leader is also a spiritual leader, but this is not always          |
 | the case. The most influential members of the congregation often           |
 | rise up in ranks.                                                          |
 |                                                                            |
 | Let's pause for a moment to discuss how influence is gained. If you        |
 | have a high rank, you already have some amount of permanent influence      |
 | based on your rank. The prerequisite for having a higher rank is           |
 | education which means that you need to advance levels in the guild.        |
 | You may not become a novice master if you haven't finished your            |
 | novice training and you may not become a priest unless you have finished   |
 | your seminary training, just to give you an example. To rise up in         |
 | ranks, education is not enough, you will also need influence.              |
 | Influence is the key to gaining a higher rank in the hierarchy of          |
 | the church. It will also make you a better candidate when applying         |
 | for positions.                                                             |
 |                                                                            |
 | If your rank doesn't give you enough influence, there are still ways       |
 | to set yourself apart from rest of the congregation by doing influence     |
 | acts. Influence acts are typical to the culture of the congregation        |
 | and they often benefit the community. For example, paying tithes           |
 | is considered to be an influence act. While there isn't a complete         |
 | list of which are influence acts, don't worry, as most of these            |
 | acts are things that you end up doing while you're playing normally.       |
 |                                                                            |
 | You can view the influence summary with the guild command: triad status    |
 | At the bottom of the command you'll see the global influence of Triadism.  |
 | The 'members of the congregation' is the percentage of how many players    |
 | who are currently considered active are members of the Triad of Darkness.  |
 | The sphere of influence represents how many people in the whole world      |
 | have recently been directly affected by the congregation.                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | The personal secular numbers represent your secular influence in the       |
 | congregation and in the whole world.                                       |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

guidelines for prayers

 +-----------------------=( Guidelines for prayers )=-------------------------+
 | Each prayer circle must follow the guidelines for prayers that are         |
 | included in this handbook. A complete prayer will consist of multiple      |
 | verses, but the prayer itself must be evaluated as a whole. Thematically   |
 | it is preferred that the prayers deal with themes such as the Dark         |
 | Gods or the guild itself, but rules concerning the theme aren't strict.    |
 | What matters is the overall quality of the prayer, but there are certain   |
 | strict rules that need to be followed. Each verse of the prayer            |
 | must adhere to these rules:                                                |
 |                                                                            |
 | - Prayer language is always English.                                       |
 | - No politics, profanities, personal insults, racist or sexual language.   |
 | - No futuristic themes, real persons or otherwise unsuitable material.     |
 | - If you're wondering whether a verse breaks rules, then it probably       |
 |   does.                                                                    |
 | - Use thematic roleplay aspects, not technical terms like spell cost,      |
 |   skill percentages or other gameplay lingo.                               |
 | - Write proper English that are typochecked, and capitalization is         |
 | proper.                                                                    |
 | - It's more important to follow the general spirit of these rules. If      |
 |   the guidelines have loopholes which makes your content seem "legal"      |
 |   by a technicality and it ends up being removed, it's pointless           |
 |   to plead to these rules.                                                 |
 |                                                                            |
 |                                                                            |
 | This is a guideline to help you produce quality prayers or approve them.   |
 | Do not use it to seek what is considered grey area. Any prayer that is in  |
 | violation of these rules and is therefore removed from the game by the     |
 | Immortal Guardians will automatically result in punishment inflicted       |
 | upon both the author and the approver of the prayer.                       |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

library loans

 +----------------------------=( Library loans )=-----------------------------+
 | The Cathedral Library is available for Triadists and usually there are     |
 | doctrines on the bookshelf that you can loan. While anyone can borrow a    |
 | book, one needs to be at least a Novice Master or a Novice Mistress to     |
 | find any use for it. If you would like to donate a doctrine to the         |
 | library, you might want to visit Lucas of Taegor about that.               |
 |                                                                            |
 | In order to borrow a book from the library, simply get it from the         |
 | bookshelf. This will start your loan. Once you've studied the book         |
 | and want to return it, simply put it back to the bookshelf and it          |
 | ends your loan period. Sometimes old books are used a lot and they         |
 | start losing their condition. It is even possible that an old book         |
 | crumbles and turns into dust. This is normal and if it happens, you        |
 | are not penalized for the act.                                             |
 |                                                                            |
 | If you want, you may borrow a book from the library and take it with       |
 | you, but you should know that while longterm loans such as this are        |
 | allowed, there might be someone else who wants to study the same book      |
 | as you. Therefore, any longterm loan is automatically reflected in         |
 | your expected tithe cost. This also happens should you fail to return      |
 | the book on the shelf.                                                     |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

listening to sermons

 +------------------------=( Listening to sermons )=--------------------------+
 |                                                                            |
 | Listening to the sermon is one of the easiest things to do, because the    |
 | one who is performing the sermon has to prepare it while you just stand    |
 | there watching the oil burn in the bronze brazier. It is however polite    |
 | manners to stand there silently, when the priest is praying for the        |
 | congregation.                                                              |
 |                                                                            |
 | Usually sermons follow an easy routine. The official who performs the      |
 | sermon will choose the prayers that he or she wishes to preach. These      |
 | prayers are among the ones that you may learn. You can view the prayers    |
 | known to you with your personal diary. In order to learn a a prayer, you   |
 | must be present at the time of the sermon.                                 |
 |                                                                            |
 | If you do not wish to participate in a sermon or you have prayers that     |
 | you do not wish to see replaced, simply move away from the altar room      |
 | when there's a sermon taking place.                                        |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

mummies and death

 +--------------------------=( Mummies and death )=---------------------------+
 | There are certain spells that are known as 'death spells'. These are       |
 | spells that often have "Cast type: death" in their help file, but there    |
 | are a couple of exceptions to this rule. Better way to identify a death    |
 | spell is that it requires a mummy as a spell reagent in order to cast it.  |
 |                                                                            |
 | WHAT IS A MUMMY?                                                           |
 |                                                                            |
 | The members of the congregation use mummies as spell reagents. They can    |
 | be created by using 'mummify cadaver' skill at a corpse. You will also     |
 | need linen sheets before you can produce a mummy. If you cannot produce    |
 | linen sheets yourself, you may consider checking Rosella's guild shop      |
 | as she may sometimes have linen sheets available.                          |
 |                                                                            |
 | It is also possible to embalm a mummy if you have embalming oil. This      |
 | helps your mummy to stay together for a longer time. Each time a death     |
 | spell is being cast, a mummy's condition deteriorates and eventually       |
 | the mummy is consumed.                                                     |
 |                                                                            |
 | HOW A MUMMY IS CHOSEN?                                                     |
 |                                                                            |
 | Let's follow a simple example. If you have an attack spell that you wish   |
 | to cast at a monster in Tarackia, you will need a mummy. In this case      |
 | you will need a mummy that was created from a corpse of a monster that     |
 | lived in Tarackia. In this case Tarackia is the 'origin' from where the    |
 | monster originates from. Whenever you target monsters with your spells     |
 | you are basically targetting the origin. If you have a field spell which   |
 | damages targets, it will damage those monsters that have the origin you    |
 | define, or if you have a protective spell, it will protect from monsters   |
 | of that origin. And origin in this case is the area name.                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | SHROUDED ORIGIN                                                            |
 |                                                                            |
 | There is one exception to the rule. There are players and some monsters    |
 | who do not have an origin. The monsters that do not have an origin have    |
 | a 'shrouded' origin. These include all the player characters, and often    |
 | monsters that are spawned by extraordinary means. If there is a monster    |
 | that summons other monsters, they are very likely to be of shrouded        |
 | origin. Any shrouded origin is the same. If there is a monster of          |
 | shrouded origin in Tarackia, you can use the mummy of that monster to      |
 | target another shrouded monster in Arelium for instance. The               |
 | 'detect death' spell helps you identify the origins of monsters.           |
 |                                                                            |
 | STORING MUMMIES                                                            |
 |                                                                            |
 | There are two ways to store mummies. The most common way to store a        |
 | mummy is to use the Mausoleum of Horrors in Serinna. That is a             |
 | community vault where each member of the congregation may store one        |
 | mummy each if there is enough space in the tomb. All these mummies         |
 | are automatically available to you as you cast a death spell.              |
 |                                                                            |
 | The other way to store a mummy is to use one's own Tomb of Horrors.        |
 | This is a special construction which allows you to store your mummies      |
 | at your own swamp. The mummies in the Tomb of Horrors are yours and        |
 | are not available to anyone else. When casting death spells, the spells    |
 | will try to look for a mummy first in your personal tombs before they      |
 | try to access the community tomb.                                          |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

name days

 +------------------------------=( Name days )=-------------------------------+
 | The calendar is an important part in every triadist's life, because it     |
 | tells you where to go, where to be, and what's happening. On top of that   |
 | it will tell who is celebrating their name day. Each triadist will have    |
 | their own name day and it takes place once a year. Some triadists may      |
 | have to share their name day, but that doesn't make it any less special.   |
 |                                                                            |
 | If you have a good relationship with the members of the congregation,      |
 | they may wish you a happy name day or sometimes even give you a gift       |
 | as it is the tradition of the church. While these people celebrate         |
 | your special day, they're also expecting you to celebrate theirs when      |
 | it's their name day. This is the key to maintaining a good relationship.   |
 | If you don't want to have any relationships with the other members of      |
 | the congregation, you can simply choose not to celebrate name days.        |
 |                                                                            |
 | The easiest way to celebrate someone's name day is to give them a gift.    |
 | If you keep your eyes open, you may figure out what is a good gift, or     |
 | perhaps Lotte can tell you.                                                |
 |                                                                            |
 | Lotte is also organizing collections for random members of the             |
 | congregation in order to celebrate their name days. If you wish to         |
 | take part in the collection, you can give a meager sum to her. The         |
 | coins collected by Lotte will be spent for getting a gift to one name      |
 | day celebrant that they can claim on their name day. Once the name         |
 | day has passed, Lotte will start a new collection. There is no way         |
 | to find out beforehand to whom Lotte is collecting money.                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | In order to maintain relationships with NPC triadists, you may give        |
 | gifts to them on their name day. A typical gift is not necessarily         |
 | a lavish gift, but something that is useful to a Triadist. There is        |
 | also a special day called Day of the Devotees during which the staff       |
 | of the congregation is celebrated for their services.                      |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

mosaics

 +-------------------------------=( Mosaics )=--------------------------------+
 | Mosaics are creations of unknown origin. Some say that mosaics were        |
 | created by the Dark Gods, but as their origin cannot be recorded,          |
 | there are still disputes among the high priests whether mosaics            |
 | are miracles or not. Nevertheless mosaics continue to baffle even          |
 | the elders as no one knows who brought them to the Cathedral of            |
 | Darkness, what makes them work and what even is their purpose.             |
 | The scholars have studied the mosaic creations that are found in           |
 | the cathedral and they have discovered that there are two                  |
 | different kinds of mosaics and they are fundamentally different.           |
 |                                                                            |
 | Rolling Mosaics:                                                           |
 | ----------------                                                           |
 |                                                                            |
 | The rolling mosaics seem to have a life of their own. The scholars         |
 | have tried interacting with the rolling mosaics but nothing has helped.    |
 | Scholars have come to the conclusion that one cannot interact with         |
 | rolling mosaics. They are simply works of art that can be admired.         |
 | They continuously evolve while doing that at relatively sluggish pace.     |
 |                                                                            |
 |                                                                            |
 | Revealing Mosaics:                                                         |
 | ------------------                                                         |
 |                                                                            |
 | The revealing mosaics seem to possess strong magical powers of             |
 | some divine source. By examining a revealing mosaic carefully one          |
 | can often find a way to interact with one. While revealing mosaics         |
 | are astonishing works to admire, they do not do anything on their          |
 | own. A revealing mosaic is an instrument of god, which means that          |
 | the Dark Gods channel their powers through the instrument and with         |
 | the help of a triadist the mosaic can gain its true form. Many             |
 | members of the congregation take part in the creation of a                 |
 | revealing mosaic claiming it to be a very religious experience.            |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

paying tithes

 +----------------------------=( Paying tithes )=-----------------------------+
 | So just when you thought you were in the black, you ran into the tithe     |
 | collector. Before you panic, let's make it very clear. Tithes are not      |
 | mandatory and you don't have to pay them if you don't want to. While       |
 | Hesha may provide some information about what tithes are, let's talk       |
 | about the tithes do.                                                       |
 |                                                                            |
 | Tithes are used to provide services for the congregation. When tithes      |
 | are paid, the money is gained by the church and church may decide to       |
 | use that money as they want, but usually it means maintaining its          |
 | operations and services. This helpfile isn't really focusing on            |
 | what the church does with the money as our focus will be discussing        |
 | how you end up owing tithes and how you can pay them.                      |
 |                                                                            |
 | Paying is easy. You just give the coins to the tithe collector as you      |
 | would to any player. Then Hesha counts them and makes a note that          |
 | you have provided money for the congregation. Sometimes Hesha might        |
 | wander off in the middle of his calculation, but don't worry, your         |
 | tithes have been recorded.                                                 |
 |                                                                            |
 | Whenever you're using the guild's services, you're very likely getting     |
 | an obligation to pay tithes. This obligation is not mandatory and          |
 | you may choose to ignore it if you so wish. The more you use services,     |
 | the more the expected tithe amount will be. As an example, if you're       |
 | getting a blood vial for free from a nun, it is considered a gift to       |
 | you, you're expected to pay tithes. Usually the tithes for material        |
 | items are same for everyone, but for immaterial services members of        |
 | the congregation are supposed to pay according to their rank.              |
 |                                                                            |
 | So how much is enough? Usually the expected tithe ranges from hundreds     |
 | of gold to few thousands. The congregation considers it normal to          |
 | owe tithes as long it doesn't grow to an excessive amount (and even        |
 | then it's still okay to ignore it). Keep in mind that if you would         |
 | consider paying millions of tithe so that you don't have to care about     |
 | it for years, it doesn't work like that. Your tithe donation is            |
 | taken into consideration when you've developed an obligation to pay        |
 | tithes. It's a definitely a good way to clear this obligation, but         |
 | the surplus amount doesn't prevent you from developing this obligation     |
 | again. The surplus amount of money will however be gained by the           |
 | church.                                                                    |
 |                                                                            |
 | At this point you're probably wondering why would anyone pay tithes        |
 | if they don't want to give money to the church for it to maintain          |
 | its services. Like Hesha will tell you, paying tithes do have some         |
 | benefits. If you don't pay tithes and exceed the generosity of the         |
 | church you might find some services to be limited from you until           |
 | you pay them. The second reason is that tithes are considered to be        |
 | an influence act. Influence is discussed in a different helpfile,          |
 | so we'll just discuss what paying tithes does to your influence.           |
 | Those people who aren't owing excessive amounts of tithes to the           |
 | church will be considered more influential than those who do. While        |
 | paying tithes isn't the ultimate road to gain influence, not owing         |
 | tithes, is an additional way to gain influence.                            |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

poison vials

 +----------------------------=( Poison vials )=------------------------------+
 | Handling the poison vials is relatively easy, so luckily someone decided   |
 | to provide a helpfile to confuse the matters. This document discusses      |
 | the syntaxes that can be used with the vials and potential pitfalls        |
 | when dealing with the vials so please read the document to enlighten       |
 | yourself if you're using the vials.                                        |
 |                                                                            |
 | You may have multiple vials. Some of them may contain poison and           |
 | others may contain blood. While handling is similar with both vials,       |
 | this document will only discuss the poison vials and blood stuff           |
 | will be discussed in a separate document, as there are some                |
 | additional things to take into consideration.                              |
 |                                                                            |
 | Poison vials can be used for growing bad seeds. In order to grow           |
 | anything, you will need to claim a portion of the swamp to your            |
 | own possession. We are assuming here that you know how to do it,           |
 | but if not, check helpfiles for 'control marsh' spell.                     |
 |                                                                            |
 | To make vial handling easier, you may use label command (help label).      |
 | A merchant is not required to label vials.                                 |
 |                                                                            |
 | Each vial can contain a specific amount of poison. There are two           |
 | commands that can be used for emptying vials to the swamp, which           |
 | initiates satomalum growth and in the case of poisons, that satomalum      |
 | is a bad seed. These commands are 'empty' and 'pour'. The difference       |
 | between these commands is that empty-command will pour all the poison      |
 | to the swamp, so the container will become completely empty. If you        |
 | only want to pour some of the poison, use pour command. You can use        |
 | pour command multiple times to enhance the effect of the growing           |
 | satomalum, but you need to do this immediately. You cannot return          |
 | days later to enhance it.                                                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | Some examples:                                                             |
 |                                                                            |
 | empty vial                                                                 |
 | pour poison_vial_1  (if you have labeled it first)                         |
 |                                                                            |
 | If you have a lot of vials, it may make sense to be using some             |
 | kind of bag for vials to avoid confusion which ones you're using.          |
 |                                                                            |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

prayer circles

 +---------------------------=( Prayer circles )=-----------------------------+
 | You are standing in the study. It's one of the special rooms in the        |
 | Cathedral of Darkness where one of the special guild related actions       |
 | takes places. The prayer circles gather in the study. Anyone can           |
 | take part in a prayer circle but in order to put together a prayer         |
 | circle, one must possess the rank of a novice master or a novice           |
 | mistress. A higher rank will be equally good.                              |
 |                                                                            |
 | You may have already noticed that the guild item, your personal            |
 | diary, has a command that allows you to recite prayers. Different          |
 | prayers have different effects, but a prayer can only be recited if you    |
 | have already learned a prayer while listening to a sermon. Sermons         |
 | are a different topic, but for now you need to know that prayers           |
 | are a prerequisite for holding a sermon.                                   |
 |                                                                            |
 | The task of prayer circles is to produce prayers for sermons and           |
 | thus contribute to the congregation. In order to participate in            |
 | a prayer circle, keep your eyes open and see if there are any              |
 | novice masters or mistresses looking to put together one. And if           |
 | you ever happen to become one yourself, feel free to visit this            |
 | room again for more information.                                           |
 |                                                                            |
 | If and when you are eventually participating in a prayer circle            |
 | be quiet and pay close attention to the instructions of your               |
 | novice master or mistress.                                                 |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

research services

 +--------------------------=( Research services )=---------------------------+
 | The nuns at the Ziggurat of Serinna offer various services to the          |
 | members of the Polytheistic Seminary which are aimed to make               |
 | satomalum research easier and/or possible. Each of the nuns                |
 | have their own special skills which should help you in your                |
 | quest.                                                                     |
 |                                                                            |
 | In order to find out what services each nun offers, you may                |
 | ask them about 'services', to get a list, and you may ask                  |
 | more detailed information about specific services by asking                |
 | them about whatever they have mentioned on their service list.             |
 |                                                                            |
 | To request them for the service, simply use: request <service>.            |
 |                                                                            |
 | Some of the services may have specific instructions how to                 |
 | proceed, so please ask the nun for more details. These                     |
 | services are free of charge, but as always, paying of tithes               |
 | is expected even if it may not be mandatory.                               |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

staff and responsibilities

 +---------------------=( Staff and responsibilities )=-----------------------+
 | This is the church administrator's office. Sometimes you may see a staff   |
 | member working here. The church administrators manage the church and       |
 | its operations. The church is led by the archpriest/archpriestess and      |
 | is assisted by vicar/vicaress. Reverend, Rector, Missionary and Chaplain   |
 | all maintain their respective departments, or if no one has been assigned  |
 | to the position, these duties become the duties of the archpriest or       |
 | the vicar.                                                                 |
 |                                                                            |
 | Here are the administrative staff members listed by their duties:          |
 |                                                                            |
 | Archpriest/Archpriestess:                                                  |
 | - Leads the church, appoints staff and adjusts church budget if necessary  |
 |                                                                            |
 | Vicar/Vicaress                                                             |
 | - Assists archpriest/archpriestess and adjusts church budget if necessary  |
 |                                                                            |
 | Reverend                                                                   |
 | - Is in charge of all the teachers of the church, except for missionaries  |
 |   that are sent into the important cities of the world.                    |
 |                                                                            |
 | Rector                                                                     |
 | - Is in charge of Ziggurat personnel.                                      |
 |                                                                            |
 | Missionary                                                                 |
 | - Is in charge of sending missionaries to the cities of the world.         |
 |                                                                            |
 | Chaplain                                                                   |
 | - Is in charge of the security and assigns the guard budget in the         |
 |   Archdiocese of Serinna.                                                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | You may list the current staff members with the 'staff' command. If you    |
 | are interested in applying for any positions, you can do that in the       |
 | foyer of the church.                                                       |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

theology of darkness

 +------------------------=( Theology of darkness )=--------------------------+
 | The Triadists can train a skill called 'Theology of Darkness' which is     |
 | an automatic skill, but has multiple purposes. It is a universal skill     |
 | which affects many things, but training it is restricted. In this          |
 | document we will be discussing what restricts training it and what it      |
 | does so let's begin.                                                       |
 |                                                                            |
 | First of all, as it is a normal trainable skill it is primarily            |
 | restricted by your guild levels and you can see how much you can train     |
 | it by using the regular 'triad/curate/seminary info' commands. However,    |
 | there are additional restrictions and the most important of them is        |
 | your rank. The higher your rank, the higher you can train this skill.      |
 | Also high seniority or high secular influence also makes it possible       |
 | for you to train this skill higher.                                        |
 |                                                                            |
 | So, what does this skill do then? We may consider that 'Theology of        |
 | Darkness' has both a secular side and a spiritual side, meaning that       |
 | training this skill brings both spiritual and secular benefits.            |
 |                                                                            |
 | Secular benefits include becoming a better candidate for a religious       |
 | position. The advanced understanding of theology also allows the Triadist  |
 | to be better at certain positions. By training theology of darkness, the   |
 | Triadist will perform better at certain tasks which require participation  |
 | of the community.                                                          |
 |                                                                            |
 | The spiritual benefits are of divine nature. By training 'Theology of      |
 | Darkness' skill, the Triadist increases his or her chance to recite        |
 | prayers and their subsequent power. Theology of Darkness is also known     |
 | to increase a chance that the Dark Gods intervene in the affairs of        |
 | mortals.                                                                   |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

toads and thrones

 +--------------------------=( Toads and thrones )=---------------------------+
 |                                                                            |
 | The Realm of Toads is a polymonarchy which means that the swamps are       |
 | ruled by many toads simultaneously. The toads are always fighting          |
 | for more power and they are willing to usurp each other at every           |
 | possibility they get. A throne can simply be created by constructing       |
 | it, but in order for it to do something, a ruling toad must be             |
 | appointed. Smart satraps appoint smart rulers, while stupid satraps        |
 | appoint stupid ones, but sometimes it is hard to say what is a smart       |
 | and what is a stupid choice. There may be ways to achieve some             |
 | information about the toads, but that is not covered in this document.     |
 | A suitable toad can be evoked with 'evoke toad' spell.                     |
 |                                                                            |
 |                                                                            |
 | Different toads have different characteristics and their ruling style      |
 | will reflect their personality. When appointing a toad, a field of         |
 | expertise must be assigned to the toad and this will define what kind of   |
 | mandate the throne may give. There are thrones for Mystics, Masons,        |
 | Herbalists and Kinsmen. You may build more than four thrones in total      |
 | and appoint additional rulers to battle for power if you wish to do so,    |
 | but having more rulers may not always work in your favour. While a         |
 | notion of some other throne may allow the other throne to research new     |
 | things, we will take a brief and very generic glance at what the           |
 | different thrones do.                                                      |
 |                                                                            |
 | Mystics (requires mysticism)                                               |
 | ----------------------------                                               |
 |                                                                            |
 | The throne of Mystics allows access to notions and constructions that      |
 | are often religious or magical. These constructions may grant some         |
 | direct power to the satrap or allow the satrap to use his/her magical      |
 | powers more comprehensively.                                               |
 |                                                                            |
 | Masons (requires masonry)                                                  |
 | -------------------------                                                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | The throne of Masons allows access to notions and constructions of         |
 | the swamp that often involve the artisans of the swamp. This allows        |
 | satrap to build a society of toads with its civic improvements and trade   |
 | system which gives the satrap access to the products created by the        |
 | toads.                                                                     |
 |                                                                            |
 | Herbalists (requires herbalism)                                            |
 | -------------------------------                                            |
 |                                                                            |
 | The throne of Herbalists helps satrap to make the best of swamp            |
 | cultivation and allows satrap to use the satomalum knowledge of the        |
 | toads. This allows satrap to take advantage of different kinds of          |
 | harvestable satomalums that otherwise wouldn't be of any use to            |
 | the satrap.                                                                |
 |                                                                            |
 | Kinsmen (Requires husbandry)                                               |
 | ----------------------------                                               |
 |                                                                            |
 | The throne of Kinsmen helps satrap improve the culture of the toads.       |
 | The throne of Kinsmen is closely linked with the throne of Masons.         |
 | The throne of Kinsmen allows satrap to gain a better idea what is          |
 | happening at the swamp and by developing the culture of the toads,         |
 | satrap him/herself may find that the throne of Kinsmen may be              |
 | beneficial concerning the development of the swamp realm.                  |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

trial information

 +--------------------------=( Trial information )=---------------------------+
 | Trials are events that Triad of Darkness often participates in during      |
 | special days or special periods of time. To find out which trials          |
 | are available, one can go meet the trial master Armand and ask him         |
 | about the trials, but the trials are often marked in the calendar.         |
 |                                                                            |
 | Armand also provides more detailed information about the trials, and       |
 | to get the complete list of commands, you may use 'trial help' and         |
 | Armand will do his best to provide help to you.                            |
 |                                                                            |
 | Participating in trials is not mandatory, but it is recommended as         |
 | it is a good way to increase faith. Some trials also offer additional      |
 | rewards.                                                                   |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

under the surface

 +--------------------------=( Under the surface )=---------------------------+
 | General information                                                        |
 | -------------------                                                        |
 |                                                                            |
 | The Satrap's Seat is the most important part of the swamp and it is        |
 | always the first room in which something is built. The swamp may not be    |
 | developed before Satrap's Seat is built, but you already knew this or      |
 | otherwise you wouldn't be reading this text but at least we managed to     |
 | waste couple minutes of both of our precious time.                         |
 |                                                                            |
 | The Satrap's seat allows you to list which constructions are being         |
 | built elsewhere at the swamp, allows you to view the mandate, and          |
 | allows to research notions which enable you access to more constructions.  |
 |                                                                            |
 | Satrap's seat is also a special structure and cannot be abandoned          |
 | with 'control marsh' spell before the Satrap's seat is first dismantled.   |
 | Dismantling the Satrap's Seat will cause you to lose any progress that     |
 | you have made, so dismantling it is not recommended. However, it           |
 | should be said that all swamps are automatically abandoned in              |
 | reincarnation, even if you reincarnate back to Triad of Darkness.          |
 |                                                                            |
 | About Research                                                             |
 | --------------                                                             |
 |                                                                            |
 | By researching notions, you may gain access to new constructions that      |
 | can be built at the swamp. You may research only one notion at the time    |
 | and all that is needed to start the research is to have the basecost       |
 | of experience that is required. When research is started, 10% of the       |
 | basecost will be invested in the research. After research has been         |
 | started, you will see how long it takes to research the notion. It         |
 | is likely that it will take too long for you to be happy with it, so       |
 | you can invest more experience to your research to shorten the             |
 | research time, but if it already says "Very soon", then you                |
 | shouldn't invest any more as it is already happening in the next           |
 | swamp update.                                                              |
 |                                                                            |
 | Any experience that is invested in researching a notion will show up       |
 | in "show experience" command. Any invested experience is spent on your     |
 | character and can only be regained through reincarnation.                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | Mandates                                                                   |
 | --------                                                                   |
 |                                                                            |
 | Mandate in this context means permission. Satrap's duty is to serve,       |
 | which means that satrap does not have completely free choice when          |
 | developing the swamp. Satrap is not the ruler of the swamp and             |
 | therefore requires a mandate from one. There are three different           |
 | kinds of mandates that will be discussed below.                            |
 |                                                                            |
 | General satrap's mandate                                                   |
 | ------------------------                                                   |
 |                                                                            |
 | Certain structures, such as the Satrap's seat or the thrones are built     |
 | using the basic Satrap's mandate. Setting up basic constructions           |
 | do not require a mandate of a ruler.                                       |
 |                                                                            |
 | Throne's mandate                                                           |
 | ----------------                                                           |
 |                                                                            |
 | In order to build certain structures or research certain notions, the      |
 | satrap needs a mandate from the ruling throne. You can use 'mandate'       |
 | command to see which throne is ruling and which permissions they           |
 | allow you you. Be aware that the ruling throne may change and any          |
 | mandates given by the previous rulers will become void.                    |
 |                                                                            |
 | Satrap's mandate / Legacy mandate                                          |
 | ---------------------------------                                          |
 |                                                                            |
 | Satrap's mandate is also called the 'legacy mandate' and what it means     |
 | is that researching a notion or building a structure earns you a           |
 | 'legacy'. Legacy means that you have satrap's mandate to build a swamp     |
 | that you had previously built. This means that it is possible to           |
 | reincarnate to the same guild or another guild and build a similar         |
 | swamp that you last had by taking advantage of the legacy mandate. It      | 
 | it worth pointing out that legacy is only saved for the last instance      |
 | of the swamp and if there are many legacies for notions/structures         |
 | that are not spent, you don't retain the "greatest legacy" you once had.   |
 |                                                                            |
 | Constructions                                                              |
 | --------------                                                             |
 |                                                                            |
 | In order to build a construction, you must have the required materials     |
 | in the room or inventory. It is possible to use multiple sources of        |
 | materials and the materials must be refined. However, quality doesn't      |
 | matter. Certain constructions may require a specific mandate or            |
 | require you to have a specific guild level in the Polytheistic Seminary.   |
 |                                                                            |
 | Satomalum cultivation                                                      |
 | ---------------------                                                      |
 |                                                                            |
 | Satomalums are cultivated in the surface world, which means the swamp      |
 | room when going up. However, the introduction to cultivation is not        |
 | within the scope of this document.                                         |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

understanding affinity

 +-----------------------=( Understanding affinity )=-------------------------+
 | In order to understand affinity, it is important to learn to understand a  |
 | few concepts in the 'triad status' command. The relationship of a          |
 | triadist with a Dark God is represented by affinity. The higher the        |
 | percentage, the more divine power the triadist possesses.                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | Generally these values go up but there are some exceptions which can       |
 | cause them to go down temporarily. These factors are dishonor and          |
 | latency and they both work in the same fashion. If you are affected        |
 | by either, you are very likely to see a temporary reduction in             |
 | your percentages. There are few ways to become dishonored and if           |
 | you become dishonored, you have most likely angered the Gods somehow.      |
 | If this happens, your penalty will eventually go away unless you           |
 | continue what caused you to become dishonored in the first place.          |
 |                                                                            |
 | Another case islatency. Latency means that the person has taken a          |
 | considerable pause from the guild in the form of reincarnation. Latency    |
 | time is accumulated whenever the person is not member of the Triad         |
 | of Darkness. The maximum latency is two months (real time), but it         |
 | also isn't linear. This means that if you're gone from the guild           |
 | for two months, your latency will not be two months, but                   |
 | considerably less. However, the existence of latency                       |
 | means that no one can recover their true powers instantly.                 |
 |                                                                            |
 | Affinity towards a Dark God is represented by a percentage, but each       |
 | affinity has something called the 'Affinity Status' as well, but           |
 | let's take a moment to discuss what each affinity does.                    |
 |                                                                            |
 | Affinity to Burglefloogah                                                  |
 | -------------------------                                                  |
 |                                                                            |
 | Whenever you do evil, your anger grows. When you don't do evil, it         |
 | dissipates. The higher it is, the more effective the evil things you do    |
 | are. In essence, it is a self-fueling loop of evil. You can see your       |
 | anger level by checking the affinity status with 'triad status' command.   |
 |                                                                            |
 | There is also a passive skill called 'seething fervor'. It cannot be       |
 | trained, but is learned by doing. You learn it while your fervor is on     |
 | and it helps you to maintain your anger longer.                            |
 |                                                                            |
 | Affinity to Sa'hr                                                          |
 | -----------------                                                          |
 |                                                                            |
 | Whenever you use death spells you will become closer to Sa'hr.             |
 | Death spells are spells that require a mummy as a reagent. There           |
 | is a link between Sa'hr and Burglefloogah. Whenever you're casting         |
 | harming spells, there is an additional spell point cost. If your           |
 | affinity to Sa'hr is high, you may be able to save some of those           |
 | spell points as untapped resources. These untapped resources may           |
 | be accessed when casting death spells, meaning that the actual             |
 | spell cost for death spells will become lower than it normally would       |
 | be.                                                                        |
 |                                                                            |
 | You may not accumulate unlimited amount of untapped resources so           |
 | be sure to use death spells sometimes to free space for new resources.     |
 | Additionally, the untapped resources will eventually fade if they are      |
 | not used. High affinity to Sa'hr allows you to sustain more untapped       |
 | resources than low affinity. The status of untapped resources is           |
 | displayed in Sa'hr's affinity status.                                      |
 |                                                                            |
 | Affinity to Draen-Dalar                                                    |
 | -----------------------                                                    |
 |                                                                            |
 | Affinity to Draen-Dalar can best be explained through it's                 |
 | affinity status. The affinity status of Draen-Dalar is called              |
 | 'faith' and whenever there is a document that refers to faith,             |
 | it refers to the written status description. Faith is a factor             |
 | that affects almost everything. It affects your skills,                    |
 | your spells and it can even affect your prayers. Faith                     |
 | represents how much you believe in the Dark Gods and when                  |
 | it's high you're more powerful and low faith can make you                  |
 | weaker than you would normally be.                                         |
 |                                                                            |
 | Faith can be gained by participating in the religious events of the        |
 | congregation or it can go up if you're witnessing a miracle. There are     |
 | many things that can increase faith, while there is generally only one     |
 | that can take it away - faith prayers. Faith prayers are discussed         |
 | elsewhere but to condense it into one sentence; faith prayers are prayers  |
 | that can be used all the time, but they cause you to lose faith.           |
 |                                                                            |
 | It should also be mentioned that faith isn't quite as straightforward      |
 | as this document makes it to be. Faith is erratic in nature and sometimes  |
 | your faith can stay high even if you're using continuously using           |
 | faith prayers and sometimes it can stay low even despite your best         |
 | efforts to get it up.                                                      |
 |                                                                            |
 | New members of the congregation typically cannot achieve very high         |
 | faith status. This is because their affinity to Draen-Dalar is not         |
 | very high. When the affinity towards Draen-Dalar rises, the faith          |
 | maximum will go up as well.                                                |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

witnessing miracles

 +-------------------------=( Witnessing miracles )=--------------------------+
 | Miracles are either direct creations or acts of God and witnessing a       |
 | miracle is regarded to be a highly religious experience. While             |
 | watching a mosaic is truly fascinating itself, they are unfortunately      |
 | too easily accessible to be counted as a witnessed miracle, but            |
 | generally speaking something like a mosaic could generally be a            |
 | miracle.                                                                   |
 |                                                                            |
 | You might have already discovered that your diary allows you to            |
 | keep track of your miracle timeline and list the miracles you have         |
 | witnessed. If you are a new member in the congregation you probably        |
 | haven't witnessed any miracles yet, but don't worry. Eventually            |
 | there's going to be a miracle and you will be there to write it            |
 | down. It should be said however that witnessing a miracle is a somewhat    |
 | rare occurrence and often it is difficult to force miracles to happen.     |
 | Gods have their own will and should they decide that it is your fate       |
 | to witness one of their miracles, then so be it. If you're lucky           |
 | to have that happen to you, you can consult your personal diary            |
 | for more information. It should be mentioned that witnessing the           |
 | same miracle during a short span of time will not be recorded as a new     |
 | miracle.                                                                   |
 |                                                                            |
 | Experienced priests have also told that witnessing a miracle is such an    |
 | overwhelming experience that whenever they witnessed a miracle, even if    |
 | they had lost their faith in the Dark Gods, the miracle itself would       |
 | often be powerful enough to turn one's beliefs around. If you are          |
 | not familiar with the concept of faith, please consult the chapter         |
 | about 'understanding affinity'.                                            |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+