Test of Leavened Bread

The Test of Leavened Bread
(Test - Worship)
Demonstration Cost
10000 Wheat (Dried, Raw)

Test Description

In this test, you must create an Emir Mortar, and using this, you must bake bread in a bonfire. First, your group makes the mortar holy by stating the proper prayers.

The bread is special - it must be made holy by baking it properly with five others. You and your companions must perform the ritual of baking the bread, adding the proper ingredients, performing the correct absolutions, saying the proper prayers, and so on. Each member of your group will be given instructions - it is important to share and follow the instructions. It is even possible that the bread may not be suitable for your group, and will have to be given to another to consume.

The more people you can share bread with, the more points you gain. The individuals with the most points each week will pass.

Introduction

• The Test of The Leavened Bread is one in which a group of five people produce and share holy bread.
• A point is awarded to the group for each person who eats a loaf of the group's bread. Each week, the seven characters with the highest score pass the test. Unlike pilgrimage, you can dissolve and reform groups without losing points.

Preparing for the Ritual

Grow your wheat ahead of time.

• Loaves cost 5000 wheat each, and one loaf will be used up during the ritual, meaning you will need to have a minimum of 10,000 of a single strain of wheat from any given season
  (A randomise vision during part 1 of the ritual will inform you of which season)
• The wheat must be raw (undried).
• Each extra loaf eaten by a proper Benefactor will gain your group one point. Decide how many points your group wants because that will tell you how much wheat you need to have ready.
• You may bake as many loaves as you want at once, but you can only load the mortar up and bake once during the ritual. One mortar will hold as many loaves as you want to make.
• Only one strain of wheat may be added to the mortar. If your ritual tells you to use Shemu wheat and you choose to use the Druze strain, the wheat you use must all be Shemu Druze.

Make one beer ahead of time (can be any flavor).

This barrel will be partially consumed by the group at the start of the ritual. It can be any flavor/potency/etc. so long as it's good when the time comes to drink it. Spoiled beer probably will not work. You will need another barrel of beer - this time of a specific kind - during the ritual...see below.

• You can use a beer that is already out if there are at least 5 glasses left. - (The 5 glasses do NOT have to be from the same table)

Familiarize yourself with making beer, or find a beermaker willing to work for your group the day of your ritual.

During the ritual, you will have to make or trade for a single barrel of beer of a type to be named when your group has its visions. This second beer can include the new wheat beer flavors. If you plan to make the beer yourself, make sure you've got access to a good yeast map and are also familiar with making these wheat beers. The whole barrel of beer will be used up when you make the bread, but one barrel will make as many loaves as you want.

Choose a location for the ritual.

You'll want to choose a camp with access to usual buildings and resources, because you might need them. During the second part of the ritual, one player will need to do a couple of randomly assigned tasks (like digging a hole, feeding rabbits, cooking a meal). A few things you will definitely need:

• A Ceremonial Tasting Table to drink the beer at the start of the ritual.
• Wood for bonfires and extra wood/jugs of water for bonfire stoking.
• A single Emir Mortar (empty) for baking the bread.
• Beermaking supplies if you're going to make your own.

Decide beforehand who is going to perform each role.

You will need to assign the members in your group a position in the lineup, and the order needs to stay the same throughout. If something in the text below says it needs doing by Player2, then it needs to be Player2. There will be tasks done by all members and also things done individually. You will need to read below to see the full sequence of events, but here is an overview of the tasks unique to each of the positions:

• Player1 - Starts the ritual (via Test menu). Types (or pastes) several prayers into Main at the right time during the bread baking phase.
• Player2 - Builds/lights the bonfires. Handles the emir mortar. Loads the wheat and bread additive. Sacrifices the first loaf.
• Player3 - Adds the beer and other moistener to the mortar.
• Player4 - Performs two tasks (to be specified in the visions).
• Player5 - Should assist as needed.

A few good ideas...

• Have a friend who is not participating standing by to do any traveling for you.
• Don't choose a location so crowded that you cannot drop things.
• Have a text file (or dedicated chat tab at least) prepared for each player that explains their role and gives them any text they need to paste in Main. If you're using the sentences suggested in the notes below, don't forget that quotation marks or brackets and such shouldn't be included.
• Plan on a means of communication for use during the ritual. Main cannot be used.
• Have your group perform their emotes once prior to starting the ritual to make sure the animation has been patched to prevent confusion.
• Warn your group members ahead of time to schedule as much free time as possible the day of the ritual and that they should be ready to be patient if/when things go wrong.

The Ritual, Part I (getting your visions)

Gather your group together at your chosen location. Double check your materials before starting. If you have followed the steps above, you should be in pretty good shape. Remember, once you choose one of the numbered roles, you *must* stay with it and act in order. It's a good idea to stop any talk happening in Main at this point. Once the ritual is begun, no one in the group may use travel time or spousewarp until after the bread is baked successfully (free chariot travel is okay).

• The emote menu is found by right clicking within the chat window

The Emotional Devotion (visions ritual)

1. Player1 chooses "Begin the Ritual of Leavened Bread" under his/her Tests/Test of Leavened Bread menu.
2. Any player opens a barrel of beer. (Can drink an already opened beer, as long as there are at least 5 glasses left).
3. Players 1-5 drink a cup of beer in order from the tasting table. It does not matter which cups you use - only that the players drink in sequence, 1 through 5.
4. Player1 does the Command Me from Heaven emote and says (in Main): Bless us oh god as we humbly seek your wisdom
5. Player2 does the Take My Blood emote and then says (in Main): We ask for your blessings on this home and its generous proprietor
6. Player3 does the Show Me Mercy emote and then says (in Main): We ask that you bless us all your humble servants
7. Player4 does the Enter My Soul emote and then says (in Main): Reveal to us your spirit and wisdom and how we might please you
8. Player5 does the Share My Joy emote and then says (in main): Guide us in preparing our day's bread to fortify and enlighten us and our brethren and to earn your blessings

If all has gone well, players 1 through 4 will receive a vision (a popup) giving information about things the group will need to do. Do not lose this information!

• Copy this information and share it with your group.
• If you have a requirement you can not meet, dissolve the ritual (via the Tests menu), wait two hours (6 game hours) or change priest 1, and try again from scratch.

Your visions will turn out something like this:

• Player1 learns the name of the God to whom the prayers in the second part of the ritual must be addressed.
• Player2 learns the additive (such as aromatic honey) that must be added to the bread. One of each (and 5000 wheat) is needed per loaf.
• Player3 learns the type of beer needed and the season of wheat needed and moistener (such as TBD). Only 1 barrel of this beer is needed.
• Player4 learns the activities to perform (such as cooking a meal or digging a hole). There should be two activities and the emotes to perform.

You can talk in main once you have the visions.

The Ritual, Part II (baking the bread)

You've just learned what new kind of beer your group needs. There is no time limit for making this beer, nor for trading for additional wheat, but you will not be able to use any navigation other than free chariot travel until the bread is baked or the ritual is dissolved. (Expedition travel seems to be okay to use right now, but this is probably a bug and could change.)

• Any player can make the beer, or you can trade for it. Send your runner to go make it/pick it up. ;)

While the beer is being sorted out, Player1 should take a moment to prepare the text that they will paste into Main during the baking phase. This text must consist of five separate lines. Each line needs to mention one group member's name along with the name of the god mentioned during the vision. You can use this sentence: "Oh <god>, we ask you to bless <PlayerN>". Make sure you don't put any punctuation at the end of each sentence. To be crystal clear, if your group members' names are Art, Bob, Charlie, Dave, and Ed, and your god's name was Buto, your sentences would look like this:

• Oh Buto, we ask you to bless Art
• Oh Buto, we ask you to bless Bob
• Oh Buto, we ask you to bless Charlie
• Oh Buto, we ask you to bless Dave
• Oh Buto, we ask you to bless Ed

The above blessing ARE case sensitive

The next steps need to be carefully coordinated, so read through them and be prepared before starting. Once you start this next phase, you won't be stopping until the bread is done.

Blessing the Chosen God, Baking the Holy Bread, and Sacrificing Bread (breadbaking ritual)

The freshness of the bread, is determined by the age of the emir mortar, if you made your mortar more than 7 days prior to completing the ritual, your bread will be stale when its baked!

1. Player2 drops an emir mortar on the ground and builds a bonfire of exactly 105 wood near it. (Other players shouldn't touch the emir mortar, until they have to, otherwise, they'll pick it up at this point.)

Remember to make the mortar public or guild it, so other priests can interact with it

1. Player2 adds wheat (5000 per loaf) to this single mortar. All the wheat used goes into *one* mortar.
2. Player3 adds moistener (1 per loaf) and beer (1 barrel total no matter how many loaves) to the mortar.
3. Player2 adds the additive (1 per loaf) to the mortar.
4. Player2 lights the bonfire.
5. When the wood gets down to between 30-60, Player1 pastes the five prepared lines one by one into Main. The text must appear between 2 minutes and 0 minutes before the fire runs out of wood.
6. When the fire reaches 0 wood, Player2 moves the emir mortar to the bonfire. This is a menu option on the mortar. The mortar will move visibly, although it may not actually reach into/under the fire.
7. Once the mortar has been moved to the fire, one player (any) must perform stoking duty. Each time the fire reaches 0 wood, that player adds 1 wood and 1 water to the bonfire until the bread is baked.
8. During the stoking phase, Player4 performs the common actions mentioned in the vision. Some of these activities may require the assistance of another group member who isn't otherwise occupied.
9. Player2 should check the bonfire while it is being stoked. Player2 should remove the bread from the fire and double-check in inventory that it says "holy" bread.
10. Player2 builds a second bonfire of 10 wood, lights it, and sacrifices one of the breads on the bonfire.
    1. If you are fast enough, you can sacrifice the bread in the initial bonfire used to bake the bread

Part II done! At this point you can safely use any form of navigation and talk in Main again.

The Ritual, Part III (distributing the bread and scoring)

The bread expires 7 days from the point at which the emir mortar used to bake it was created.

The group will score 1 point for every bread consumed (including people in the group who baked the bread) while it is holy and fresh