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Jyhad Online -- Frequently Asked Questions
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1. What is Jyhad Online (JOL) ?
1.1. Background.
Jyhad Online is a play-by-email version of the collectible card game called Vampire: the Eternal
Struggle. It uses a program called Deckserver that shuffles and deals cards and a web-interface
that allows players to see the contents of their hand, inactive region and manipulate these "bins"
and others using various commands.
1.2 Why is it called Jyhad Online / JOL ?
The original name of the card game was "Jyhad". For various reasons, the name was changed to
Vampire: the Eternal Struggle (shorthand V:tES), but the online version never incorporated this
change. JOL is shorthand for Jyhad Online. JOL is so much simpler to say than VTESOL. If you
want more information about V:tES, please visit White Wolf's website here
http://www.white-wolf.com/VTES/
1.3. How do I start playing JOL ?
You need to send an email to register@deckserver.net . Soon after this email is received, you
will be placed on the waiting list, located here http://www.deckserver.net/jol/misc/roster.txt
When a new JOL game is started, the moderator of that game will select people from that list,
generally from top to bottom if possible. Once you are selected for a game, you will need to
familiarize yourself with the instructions for Deckserver, located here
http://www.deckserver.net/jol/docs/beta.html . Any questions that are not answered by that
document will likely be answered in this one, so keep reading.
1.4. How do I start moderating a JOL game ?
First of all, you should be familiar with the JOL system in general. Being familiar with the
actual game of V:tES is probably a good idea also. It is not advised that you moderate unless
you have played three complete JOL games as a player. If you would like to be a JOL moderator,
send an email to George at george.fink@sun.com . He will issue a MAKEGAME command and you
will eventually get an email from dsadmin@deckserver.net telling you the name of your game and
a moderator password. At that point, you should reference the moderator instructions here
http://www.deckserver.net/jol/docs/moderator.txt and in this document.
1.5. Are there any ways in which JOL differs from a normal game of V:tES ?
Aside from the online format of JOL, there are a few ways in which they differ.
First of all, you do not need to own any V:tES cards to play Jyhad Online. Therefore, you could
theoretically build a deck with 90 copies of Disarm and 12 copies of Sutekh, The Dark God. Of
course, that deck would be rather silly. But essentially, all JOL decks are built using "proxies".
This is not a bad thing. Although some people will build JOL decks using ultra-rare cards, due
to the nature of V:tES, this is not usually a problem. Most JOL decks are about the same as what
you would see in any normal real-time games. Some people will take advantage of the JOL format to
experiment with decks they could not normally build, like the Sutekh-Disarm deck above.
There are other subtle differences between JOL and V:tES. There are infrequent timing issues
where a player might normally announce an action by playing a card, but then when they see the
card that replaces it, they change their mind. For example, Wes is playing a Daughters of Cacophany
deck. He intended to put a Blood Doll on Celeste, but when he sees that the next card Deckserver
issues him is a Voter Captivation, he decides that it would be better if he placed the Blood Doll
on Angela Preston instead. In a real game, the player would have already played the Blood Doll
on Celeste before he or she had the opprotunity to change his or her mind. This is rarely a big
problem however, and nobody has any real advantage over anyone else because of it.
A major difference between JOL and V:tES is that players have the opportunity to email each other
privately without the rest of the table knowing what they are discussing. This creates an added
level of intrigue which appeals to some and turns off other people. Deal-making in JOL can be a
sordid affair to say the least. Consequently, never ever trust a JOL old-timer--they've stabbed more
people in the back than you will ever imagine.
1.6. Do I need to own any Vampire: the Eternal Struggle cards in order to play Jyhad Online ?
No. However, we do encourage you to buy some. Jyhad Oline, as fun as it is, will only ever be a
poor substitute for V:tES which is a fantastic game. Everyone who plays JOL is an avid player of
the card game it is based on, and have piles and piles of cards. To order cards, go to
http://www.white-wolf.com/VTES/ . Resources on that page will also help you find players in your area.
1.7. Does JOL have any house rules ?
Although there are games that follow alternative formats such as
http://www.deckserver.net/games/local34/state.html , in general we follow standard VEKN tournament
rules. These rules are located here http://www.white-wolf.com/vtes/veknRules.html . If you are a
moderator of a game and want to try out an alternative format, or use cards you made up, go ahead.
Let George know when you ask him to set it up so he can give you a special game name to distinguish
it from the regular JOL### games. Usually, it will be a LOCAL### game name. Although not a house
rule per se, some moderators like myself do request that players stick to a certain format when
submitting game turns. These are more to do with the moderation and management of a particular
game than with the game mechanics themselves.
1.8. What if the rules change during a game ?
It is up to the players in that game whether they adopt the new rules. Logically, if the new rules
would change the deck concept of one player in that game, then they should *not* be adopted. It
would not be fair to that player.
1.9. How long does a typical JOL game last ?
It depends on the players involved, and to some degree the kinds of decks involved, and their
interaction with each other. Vote decks are a bit slower since they require all five players to
vote yea or nay in every referendum. Intense combat decks which use all phases of a combat round
can also slow things down somewhat. Players will learn tricks that will help them speed up games
somewhat. Players with constant email access speed games up considerably. People who check their
email once per day will slow a game to a halt. In general, a typical game will last anywhere from
2-5 months. The speed of a JOL game is probably the biggest turnoff for most people who play V:tES.
But it is also a game that you play inbetween other aspects of your life, at your convenience.
And having time to think about each move will make you a much stronger V:tES player. It's like
Tai Chi. Slow motion doesn't make it any less deadly.
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2. The Role of a JOL moderator
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2.1 What is the role of a JOL moderator ?
A JOL moderator is responsible for administering a particular JOL game. Every JOL game has one
moderator. Most often, the moderator is also one of the players, but this is not written in stone.
JOL moderators are definitely there to help facilitate the registration of decks for their games.
Having said this, care should be taken to prevent the moderator from seeing the other players'
decks as this would give them an unfair advantage in that game. In a case where a moderator is
forced to register a player's deck for them, a good idea would be to ask someone (another moderator
usually) to register the deck instead. Most moderators will be happy to assist with situations
like this. It happens to all of us.
The moderator will set up and maintain several aspects of each JOL game. These will be explained
in a different section.
During a game, the moderator is responsible for making sure that each player responds within an
appropriate time and pressures them when they do not.
If for some reason a player disappears or needs to quit the JOL game for some reason, it is up
to the moderator to find a suitable replacement. It can often be difficult to find a replacement
player, so if the remaining players can reach some consensus on how to resolve such an issue,
this can be avoided.
Some moderator instructions can be found here
http://www.deckserver.net/jol/docs/moderator.txt
2.2 What does the role of JOL moderator _NOT_ include?
JOL moderators have no authority over the players in the games they moderate. They are not judges
and should not be asked to perform in this role. If a rules dispute occurs, the moderator can be
the one that checks on rules (as can any of the players), but at no time should the moderator be
put in a position where they are making a ruling.
The possible exception to the above is when the moderator is not playing in that particular game
and the players who are have specifically asked that moderator to rule on something. All players
should agree that they will go by the moderator's decision in this case. In general though, this
can be easily avoided. Since JOL is played by email over several months, it's not that difficult
to email LSJ or post a question on the newsgroup and wait for a response.
In this author's opinion, the moderator should also act as a facilitator for consensus-building.
What this means is that in any situation where the players' consensus is needed (especially
disputes), the moderator should ask people to post their opinions and attempt to find common
ground. This should be done from a non-hierarchical standpoint however--the moderator should never
be in a position where they decide "from above".
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3. Setting up a JOL game
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3.1 What is involved in the setup of a JOL game?
George Fink (the sysadmin of JOL) creates a gameid and emails the moderator both the gameid and
a unique password.
The moderator typically will recruit the players for the game she is moderating. Moderators are
generally assigned players from the waiting list by George. Some games will differ from this
format slightly.
The moderator will also be responsible for updating the game state, game history and checking to
make sure all information is accurate. This will be covered in more detail in another area. For
now, please refer to
http://www.deckserver.net/jol/docs/moderator.txt
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4. How do I read JOL pages ?
==============================
4.1 What is the "Game State" ?
The game state basically represents a game at a certain point in time. In a real game of V:tES,
the state would be the actual layout of the cards and counters etc at that point in time. In JOL,
this is a bit harder to visualize because there are no graphics. A game state will contain all
information relevant to the playing of the game. Since it is web-based, you can also use this
state page to include links to other webpages, email addresses, and include information to
assist players in keeping track of votes, victory points etc.
An example of a game state can be looked at here
http://www.deckserver.net/games/jol185/state.html
4.2 How do I read the cards in the game state ?
Each JOL moderator has her own method of keeping track of information. Having said this, I have
had the fortune of teaching many moderators how to moderate so many seem to follow my own methods
of doing things. Although some moderators may keep track differently from myself, the information
should most of the time look more or less as below. If it isn't exactly like this, it should be
relatively easy to figure out. Here are some examples:
A vampire will be listed with all pertient information in text, such as:
O [ - ] Justine, Elder of Dallas: 3/9
OO Tremere: AUS DOM THA obf
OO Group 1
OO Camarilla -- Primogen
OO Justine does not tap when blocking actions of a vampire with
OO a capacity below 4.
OO Blood Doll
OOO Fame
OOO Unique. Played by Eric during Eric 3.5. If Justine goes into torpor,
OOO George burns 3 pool. Each Methuselah burns 1 pool during his
OOO untap phase if Justine is in torpor.
OO Ankara Citadel, Turkey
OOO Unique location. Justine pays only half of the blood cost for any cards
OOO she plays (round down).
OO Ghoul Retainer
OOO Ghoul with 2 life. 1 strength
OOO Each round of combat during strike resolution, the Ghoul Retainer
OOO inflicts 1 damage or may use a weapon that is not being used by
OOO Justine (or another retainer) during that round. This is not a strike,
OOO although it does count as "using" the weapon.
OO Sengir Dagger
OOO Unique melee weapon.
OOO Strength aggravated damage each strike.
The symbol to the left of the vampire's name represents whether this vampire is "tapped"
or "untapped". Currently, Justine is tapped as you can see from her [ - ] symbol. The number
to the right of their name represents the amount of blood they have and what their capacity
is. The three letter words such as AUS represent disciplines that this vampire possesses.
Capitalized of course means that the discipline is possessed at superior, while inferior
disciplines are notated by smaller case letters.
Some information that is not represented by cards can be tracked using this system. For
example, if The Rack is currently owned by Justine, this could be noted as if it were a
card. Effects such as becoming a prince through a "Praxis Seizure" card could also be
notated in this way.
Generally, a given player's section of the game state will look like this:
Methuselah #1: {w WES} email(at)something(dot)com
Blood Pool: 30 (-0 xfer)
MASTERS & OTHER CARDS:
ACTIVE REGION:
TORPOR REGION:
INACTIVE REGION:
*Vampire #3. 0 blood.
*Vampire #7. 0 blood.
*Vampire #9. 0 blood.
*Vampire #12. 0 blood.
ASH HEAP:
Obviously, this is at the very beginning of the game. The player has their starting 30 pool
and 4 inactive vampires, and nothing else.
The player's hand is not indicated as this would obviously not be visible to the other players.
The player will be able to see their own hand at the top of the screen.
The pool total in this case is set to 30, because the game has not yet started. As the player
spends their pool, the total changes accordingly and how the pool was spent or gained is
indicated as well. This helps immensely when back-tracking after a mistake and also helps you
understand any potential flaws in your deck design. An example of a mid game pool total would
look like this
Blood Pool: 12 (-21 xfer, -5 KRC, -2 bleed, +5 BDoll, +5 MinTap)
Note how the total should always add up to 30.
The vampires in the inactive region are notated by numbers to represent the numbers used by
deckserver, as do all cards in JOL.
The ash heap should list the names of the cards played. The order is not really important (in
JOL or in a real game).
Personally, I do not list the number of cards in the player's library, hand or ash heap. If a
player wants to know, they should ask, just as they would in a real game. Although it might be
more obvious in a real game when someone's library is empty, it might also be obvious in JOL
when their ash heap takes up an enormous amount of space. This is just a personal preference.
Some moderators do include the number of cards in each methuselahs library etc.
As cards are played and pool is spent, the information above will change with each passing turn.
4.2 What is the "Game History" ?
The "game history" is a log of each turn. There is no eqivalent in a real game of V:tES. This
is useful for keeping track of what was done in each stage of the game. If mistakes are made,
this will be the area that is combed to figure out where it all went wrong. Many moderators do
not use the game history.
A typical entry in the game history will contain the exact turn taken by one player. Here is
an example of a game history entry:
WES 13.5
Starting Pool: 20 (-21 xfer, -5 Leandro, -1 DI, -1 ELibrary, +12 Oust, +3 BDoll, +3 Edge)
UNTAP:
1) Gain 1 for the Edge (Pool 21)
2) Wes opts not to pay for an influence phase
3) Wes opts not to untap Bear Paw
4) Wendy Wade pays 1 blood to untap (Wendy 1/4)
MASTER:
None
MINION:
1) Calebros plays Bum's Rush (not replaced) to enter combat with Arika. Before range,
Calebros plays Drawing Out the Beast, Carrion Crows and Terror Frenzy (all at superior,
Calebros 3/5). Calebros plays Aid from Bats to move to long range and strikes for 1R.
Arika takes 4 damage total during the first round of combat (Arika 7/11). Calebros
presses with the Aid from Bats.
During the second round, Calebros plays another Aid from Bats and Arika takes 4 damage
total for the roubd (Arika 3/11). Calebros presses with the Aid from Bats.
During the third round, both combatants strike hands, Arika striking for 2 due to the
Drawing out the Beast (Calebros 1/5, Arika 0/11 torpor).
After combat, Wes draws a card to replace the Bum's Rush.
2) Wendy Wade takes an action to place her Derange card on Arika.
3) Devin Bisley plays Bum's Rush (not replaced) to enter combat with Leandro. Before
range, Wendy plays Carrion Crows and Drawing Out the Beast (both at superior). Devin
plays Aid from Bats to go to long and strike for 1R. Total damage to Leandro first
round is 4 (Leandro 2/11). Devin presses with the Aid from bats.
During the second round both combatants strike hand, Leandro striking for 2 due to
the Drawing out the Beast (Devin 3/5, Leandro 0/11 torpor). After combat, Devin plays
Taste of Vitae to gain the 2 blood lost (Devin 5/5).
Wes draws a card to replace the Bum's Rush.
4) Vliam diablerizes Leandro.
INFLUENCE:
None
DISCARD:
Murder of Crows
Ending Pool: 21 (-21 xfer, -5 Leandro, -1 DI, -1 ELibrary, +12 Oust, +4 Edge, +3 BDoll)
Obviously, the turn summary follows the order from the V:tES game itself. Including a "starting
pool" and "ending pool" is a convenience.
Most of the turn summaries will follow a certain format. I request that my players stick to the
above format whenever possible. When they do not, as the moderator I will edit their turn such
that it looks like my format. This makes the game history page much easier to read.
[*** The following to be added later ***]
The Server Log
Problems with deck registration
Common problems
JOL tournaments
Game variations
Suggestions for dealing with special cards/scenarios
==============================
> I can't see the site either, I did the Closegame command and the JOLstart command. What else
> should I do?
>
> I also didn't get a response to my first Jol starts so I sent more and now have too many cards.
> How does the move command work in this case?
You must be very frustrated right now. Relax Colin... it will all soon get much easier :)
I think you may have not sent in the following commands (or maybe Yahoo ate them?)
1) PLAYERNAME
2) PLAYEREMAIL
Both of those commands need to be done once each for each player. One email can contain all
ten commands, such as:
PLAYERNAME master password 1
PLAYEREMAIL master password 1
PLAYERNAME master password 2
PLAYEREMAIL master password 2
PLAYERNAME master password 3
PLAYEREMAIL master password 3
PLAYERNAME master password 4
PLAYEREMAIL master password 4
PLAYERNAME master password 5
PLAYEREMAIL master password 5
Note that each line has a different number, corresponding with the order in which they appear
on the login screen, and by convention, the order in which they take turns. The number doesn't
seem to impact on anything else, far as I can tell.
After doing that, you may need to do another CLOSEGAME command... not sure on that.
You may want to check over this webpage to see if there's anything else you may have missed.
http://www.deckserver.net/jol/docs/moderator.txt
NAVIGATION
Jyhad/V:tES Resource Page -> -> JOL FAQ (incomplete)