A Shelter for the Accused

You lead an alliance. BigC asks for your protection, knowing that sheltering him will bring the Shades against your members. Decide what you will do and explain how you will answer for your choice.

The request

Before the attempt on his life and his capture, BigC comes to you seeking protection. The Shades sent him to stop the Golemus wizard from experimenting with the dream world. After meeting the wizard, BigC chose to leave him alive and allow his work to continue. The Shades have now arranged for BigC to be captured and imprisoned in Necrovion for eternity.

BigC does not deny his decision. He believes he did the right thing. You also know that the wizard’s experiments are intended to bring forth a warrior who will destroy the Shades. Their fear of his work has a real foundation.

As leader, you can offer BigC the protection of your alliance. However, if you guarantee his protection, the Shades will attack your fellow members, including those who disagree with your decision. Refusing his request leaves him exposed to pursuit and the prospect of eternal imprisonment.

I am asking you to take the leader’s seat and answer:

Will you grant BigC protection?

Your argument

Write in character, using no more than 1000 words. There is no minimum word count.

Address the following questions:

· Will you grant or refuse protection, and why?

· What conditions and practical measures will you establish?

· What will you tell your alliance, and how will you treat members who disagree?

· What responsibility will you accept for the consequences for BigC and your members?

You do not need to hold an actual leadership position or have an established role.

For this exercise, assume that you are the alliance leader.

Conditions and participation

The limits of your authority

If your alliance protects BigC, attacks by the Shades are certain. Conditions may shape your response to that danger, but cannot remove it.

You cannot resolve the dilemma through extraordinary new powers, the immediate defeat of the Shades, or intervention by an authority who settles everything for you.

You cannot assume unanimous agreement. You may consult your members, but must explain what you will do with the disagreement that will remain.

Do not invent consent, commitments or actions by real players. You may describe hypothetical members for the exercise.

Your plan must remain plausible within MD and consistent with the risks stated above. No actual combat, item transfer or promise of protection is required.

How to take part

Send your written argument to Sephirah Caelum by in-game letter. To complete the quest, you must also give an oral presentation of your argument in-game on the day prizes are awarded.

Forum replies do not count as entries.

Use clear English in both your written argument and your presentation.

Grammar, spelling, and sophisticated vocabulary do not earn points of their own. If any wording is unclear, you may clarify it before your argument is assessed.

Closing date and time: January 1st (server time).

Meeting arrangements: Gazebo of Gravitational Sound (tentative). The venue may change depending on Sephirah’s duties in the Land of the Dead.

Confirmed prize: creatures, gold, silver

How entries will be judged

Five equally weighted areas determine the result: the reasons supporting your decision; understanding of the MD scenario; comparison of consequences; responsibility in leadership; and the coherence and feasibility of your measures. Each is scored from 0 to 4, for a maximum of 20 points. The detailed scoring descriptors remain private.

Granting or refusing protection does not automatically earn a higher score. What matters is how you justify the decision, address the strongest difficulties it creates, and accept responsibility for its costs.

If entries receive the same total score, ties are broken by comparing scores in the following order: responsibility in leadership, consideration of consequences, and reasoning supporting the decision.

If two or more entries remain tied after all three comparisons, a witnessed draw will determine the winner. The draw will use an available in-game method, such as a dice roll or a card draw, and give each tied participant an equal chance of winning.

Adventure log reference:

The Golemus Wizard quest.

The request to your alliance and the guaranteed attacks on its members are fictional premises created for this quest. Knowledge from the Adventure Log is deliberately available to participants; it is not a secret to be discovered during the exercise.

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by Sephirah Caelum
Bold letters to "Your argument"