Research Rules

A Brief Summary

Research is a simple task, yet at the same time complex. Simple put it is a way for players to obtain information in regards to the world and lore via the use of downtime days, getting it directly from either the Gatekeeper's or Arcadum's mouths, depending on the topic in question. As such the following rules are needed to determine its difficulty, and accuracy.

Steps

The first step to research is to fill out a Research Form (Found here) with the subject that you wish to research. It can be open ended, and anything ranging from information on the origins of a faction to something as simple as the lowest point of land on Kalkatesh. It can be as simple or as complex a topic or question as you wish it to be. Simply fill out the form, and inform a Political DM when you do so, so that we can inform Arcadum. Something to note is that research can only be done by individuals, as a Company, or as a faction. Only a Faction Officer or Company Leader can submit research for their respective faction or company. Faction Chapter Masters can veto research submissions made by other Factions Officers.


The second step is to submit downtime days as normal via the Downtime Day Submission Form (Found here) until the required downtime days have been submitted to complete the research. This total will be revealed to you via PM, and is entirely up to the DMs. An important note is that all research will require a minimum of 10 downtime days to complete, except in very rare and extreme circumstances. It should be noted that there is some knowledge that cannot be obtained through conventional means. That said, however, if something cannot be researched then should you submit a research form to begin the research on it, you will be informed as soon as it is determined that you cannot research this topic so that your downtime days are not accidentally wasted. This process will be completed on Sunday. You cannot submit downtime days toward research until you are given the DL requirement. You are required to put the number of days that you spend, regardless of the actual number spent, on the Downtime Submission Form.


The third and final step is simple. Once your research is completed, and you have been informed that it has been, you must wait until that Sunday before the results of the research are given to you, with at least two days to gather said information. Thus if you were to complete your research on Thursday then that coming Sunday you will be given the results. But if you were to complete your research on Friday, you should expect your results to be given on the following Sunday, as there is not a two day buffer before Sunday to gather the information. If the research was done by an individual then it is that individual that gains the sole knowledge and results of that research, if it is a Company than everyone in that Company gains those results. However, if it is a Faction than every member of that faction, PC or NPC alike, gains the results of the research completed.

Additional information

There are outside forces and things that can effect Research. The most notable, and most likely to do so, are the Commune and Legend Lore spells and the Cathedral of Sin reward for several factions that were apart of Azolon's Chosen that have access to research via the Library of Kacael. That being said, using such spells does not remove the need to use the Research system. Legend Lore is a tricky spell in and of itself, and Commune requires the caster to ping Divinity, thus the utilization of these spells are such that they will only aid research, not circumvent it completely. In most cases, individual researchers will not be able cast these spells, as aid and spellcasting of other characters not involved in the research on a Company or Faction wide scale cannot effect it. Thus individuals, though they cannot benefit from spells or help from others mechanically, they are the sole inheritors of the results of that research, if they wish to tell others of it that is their choice. The upside to Company and Faction wide research is that spells and abilities of other members of the Company or Faction in question have effects on the research, provided that they are used.


All information that results from research will be given out via Private Message by either Arcadum or an Admin on the Sunday that the results of the research are to be given out. If you are informed that your research is complete and you do not receive your information or results on that Sunday then please inform a Political DM and wee will seek to rectify that mistake. If your research pertains to a story cluster or another DM's storyline then on completion that information will be given by those DMs.


It is inherent in the Research system that Researching as a faction or company is more beneficial due to the availability of the full of the faction or company's resources. While Individual research is faster, it will more often than not provide less information than if the topic had been researched as a faction or company.


When you are researching an item, state in the research topic field what mission or event the item was obtained from, and who ran it. If you do not know, then state where you obtained the item from.