Board Thread:Off-Topic/@comment-24108228-20150711132827

Fun Fact: Most the .exes I write don't get a single reply!

For some reason I still spend ages writing them. Ah well, eventually I'll write one that gets responses. =Taxes=

The Setting
Collapsed= This is to cut down on the amount of space the OP takes up. Story Version= You pop into the server and to your surprise, there's an organised tribe! Who'd have thought, people who've actually put some thought into the buttons they're pressing.

Anyway, you spawn in on flax and suddenly find yourself the attention of a mithrilite, who's drawn a yewbeam bow. The whole organised tribe thing sounds a lot less appealing all of a sudden. Just as you think he's about to make a pincushion out of your head, he starts talking. Toucs12: You're new to the server, right? You: I am. You: So are you going to kill me? Toucs12: Not if you do what you're told. To stay on our good side is simple. We want gold. Mine gold for us, and we'll leave you alone. You: Isn't that the kind of thing you'd say when enslaving people? Toucs12: Well, yes, but we don't need to be subtle. We've got all the sulphur and mithril deposits walled off, and magma's pretty well defended. Unless you can take on my entire tribe with a crossbow, I'd say you'd be best off complying. Toucs12: 6 gold per half hour, you can have a small grace period to get settled in. We're keeping track of the taxes, I'll collect gold every half hour, and if you can't pay, you pay double next time. If you can't pay twice in a row, you'll join our kill-on-sight list. There is no going back from the kill-on-sight list. Toucs12: Fair enough, right? You: I see. And if I was to hide somewhere? Toucs12: You'd be doing a good job, I'm keeping tabs on everyone. If I can't find you though, I'd ask for your location, and if I don't get it, you'll join the kill-on-sight list. We have plenty of bombs, so good luck if you decide to hermit in a cave. Toucs12: Anyway, I have to run. Mainland's due to pay it's taxes in 2 minutes.

And with that, Toucs hops onto his catamaran and sails towards central mainland, leaving you to explore. You decide to leave flax without taking any materials, and instead use an abandoned raft to go to paradise. You eat from the orchard, and indeed, the sulphur is blocked with a hut and a structure wall, which is presumably fireproofed given the longstanding reign the magma tribe have kept over the rest of the server. After confirming that the sulphur veins are indeed blocked off, you decide to survey chat, and try and find out what you're dealing with.

Toucs's tax run tells you who the other server members are fairly quickly, and from that you're able to make a mental list of the other players: While you're lurking in chat however, you get a PM from Toucs, who was apparently watching you:
 * Toucs has another 3 members in his tribe (totalling 4), who reside in magma and hold the stronghold and produce food.
 * Mainland hosts a tribe of 3 around the tree of life's forest, who primarily produce food. They've laid claim over the two gold deposits on mainland, and react with hostility to anyone who goes too close.
 * Desert contains the largest tribe on the server, holding 6 players and slowly building a reserve of gold, along with partial claim over rockma for it's steel. So far however, such attempts have failed due to a lack of organisation, meaning few of them have any metal tools.
 * The remaining 4 are soloists nomads, who are typically chat-deaf to people who aren't standing right next to them, and therefore pay little attention to server events and wars. They do pay their taxes however, and some are fairly formidable.

Private Message from Toucs12: I WAS being serious about the whole gold thing you know. I'd get moving if I were you, your grace period's up. 30 minutes to get some gold for me. Good luck.

And with that, you decide to get a move on. Tl;dr= There's a tribe of four mithrilites/bluesteelers at magma who blocked off all the mithril and sulphur veins, and have taken to taxing everyone on the server 6 gold per half hour. One of them is a scout, and collects all the taxes and keeps an eye on people; the rest stay at base and work on making bombs, weapons, food, and all the other things you do in magma cave.

Mainland hosts a tribe of three farmers, who have iron/steel items. Desert hosts six players, and have a mix and match assortment of metal tools from their failed attempts at claiming rockma. The rest are four mostly chat-deaf nomads, some of which fairly formidable.

Rules
Basic rules apply: I believe that's it. If I update the OP with anything important, I'll include what I changed in a post so you're all notified if you're following the thread.
 * 1) No leaving the server. To avoid loopholes, we'll assume you've been granted (or cursed with) an eternal game of 303, nothing can end it. You're stuck on this server for life.
 * 2) No hacking or illegitimate play. We'll also assume you can't crash the server, nor does it lag.
 * 3) No magically negotiating your way to power. I mean, it's all well and dandy to say you can talk the magma tribe into accepting you, but really unless you have something useful, you're a dead-weight, and everyone on the server is smart enough to realise that. After all, they've all survived the tyrannical rule of magma, they know what they're doing.

Have fun! 