Jonathan Walton (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} foreign_devilry) wrote,@ 2005-05-19 14:07:00 |
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Concept Summery
Nine Suns Will Fall (九日之落) is a game for 10 players. One of you plays the last king of the ailing Shang Dynasty, Di Xin, a ruthless, imaginatively cruel, and increasingly inept leader. The other nine players take on the roles of the Royal Shang Diviners, older men from noble families who are responsible for the rituals of state that ensure the continuing prosperity of the Shang royal house, its ancestral homelands, and the Shang people.
The Shang believe in 10 suns who, in the form of giant ravens, take turns making the long journey across the sky. Thusly, the Shang have a 10-day week, one day for each individual sun. Each diviner is given primary responsibility for the rituals that take place on a single day. The Shang King is, due to the nature of his hereditary position, the First Among Diviners and supervises the most important rituals, which take place on the First Day of the Shang week. Each of the other diviners is given a title, such as Minister of the Sixth Day, which reflects the day in which they act as the lead diviner.
The Kingdom of Shang is plagued by many troubles. Roving bandits, natural disasters, evil ministers, decadent noble houses, diseases, drought, fires, clouds of hungry insects, disloyalty and dissent; all of these distabilize what was once the strongest and most righteous kingdom under Heaven. In response to these challanges to his rule, Di Xin grows more paranoid, blood-thirsty, hedonistic, and more lax in his performing of the proper kingly rituals. Recently, the Minister of the Tenth Day performed a harrowing divination that revealed the imminent downfall of the Shang, most likely connected to the so-called "Lord of the West," King Wen of Zhou, and his militant son, Wu. It is no longer a question of "if." It is only a matter of "when" and "how."
The Zhou do no revere the Ten Suns. In defiance of the obvious truth, they say that there is only a single sun which, everyday, journeys across the face of Heaven. Already, they tell the story of an archer-king named Yi, who shot down nine of the suns, leaving only the Zhou's one sun remaining. They say that the ten suns appeared all at once, scorching the land and causing great suffering among the people and that Yi was a great hero, much beloved. They tell this story to make the Shang people resent their King and his minsters. They tell this story to make the people long for the Lord of the West.
When the Minister of the Tenth Day informed Di Xin of his dynasty's impending destruction, the Shang king had him buried alive, along with all of his extended family. The king also declared that this same fate would befall any minister who diappointed him. However, since the demise of the Tenth Minister's noble house, no other family has been willing or able to take over responsibility for the Tenth Day. Continuing to defy the traditions of his Royal Ancestors, Di Xin has declared that there is now to be a nine-day week. One of the suns has already fallen, it seems.
If you have been selected to play the Tenth Minister, you begin the game "dead." It is the responsibility of the dead (and there will be more ministers joining you shortly, no doubt) to take on the role of the Shang ancestors, both royal and otherwise, who wish to see the perpetuation of their line, for, if the dynasty falls, there will be no one to perform the proper rites due to its ancestral forebearers. Over the course of the game, the ministers will continue to antagonize the Shang king, trying to avert as much suffering and disaster as possible, ministers will be executed, the ranks of the ancestors will swell, and the week will continue to get shorter.
Will one of the ministers survive to take their proper place as a royal diviner for King Wu of Zhou? Or will Di Xin be the only one still standing when a soldier's blade ends his grotesque existence? And what of the Shang people? Will they survive the tyrannical rule of the last Shang king and the destruction of the noble houses? That is for you and the will of Heaven to decide.
Nine Suns Will Fall (九日之落) is a game for 10 players. One of you plays the last king of the ailing Shang Dynasty, Di Xin, a ruthless, imaginatively cruel, and increasingly inept leader. The other nine players take on the roles of the Royal Shang Diviners, older men from noble families who are responsible for the rituals of state that ensure the continuing prosperity of the Shang royal house, its ancestral homelands, and the Shang people.
The Shang believe in 10 suns who, in the form of giant ravens, take turns making the long journey across the sky. Thusly, the Shang have a 10-day week, one day for each individual sun. Each diviner is given primary responsibility for the rituals that take place on a single day. The Shang King is, due to the nature of his hereditary position, the First Among Diviners and supervises the most important rituals, which take place on the First Day of the Shang week. Each of the other diviners is given a title, such as Minister of the Sixth Day, which reflects the day in which they act as the lead diviner.
The Kingdom of Shang is plagued by many troubles. Roving bandits, natural disasters, evil ministers, decadent noble houses, diseases, drought, fires, clouds of hungry insects, disloyalty and dissent; all of these distabilize what was once the strongest and most righteous kingdom under Heaven. In response to these challanges to his rule, Di Xin grows more paranoid, blood-thirsty, hedonistic, and more lax in his performing of the proper kingly rituals. Recently, the Minister of the Tenth Day performed a harrowing divination that revealed the imminent downfall of the Shang, most likely connected to the so-called "Lord of the West," King Wen of Zhou, and his militant son, Wu. It is no longer a question of "if." It is only a matter of "when" and "how."
The Zhou do no revere the Ten Suns. In defiance of the obvious truth, they say that there is only a single sun which, everyday, journeys across the face of Heaven. Already, they tell the story of an archer-king named Yi, who shot down nine of the suns, leaving only the Zhou's one sun remaining. They say that the ten suns appeared all at once, scorching the land and causing great suffering among the people and that Yi was a great hero, much beloved. They tell this story to make the Shang people resent their King and his minsters. They tell this story to make the people long for the Lord of the West.
When the Minister of the Tenth Day informed Di Xin of his dynasty's impending destruction, the Shang king had him buried alive, along with all of his extended family. The king also declared that this same fate would befall any minister who diappointed him. However, since the demise of the Tenth Minister's noble house, no other family has been willing or able to take over responsibility for the Tenth Day. Continuing to defy the traditions of his Royal Ancestors, Di Xin has declared that there is now to be a nine-day week. One of the suns has already fallen, it seems.
If you have been selected to play the Tenth Minister, you begin the game "dead." It is the responsibility of the dead (and there will be more ministers joining you shortly, no doubt) to take on the role of the Shang ancestors, both royal and otherwise, who wish to see the perpetuation of their line, for, if the dynasty falls, there will be no one to perform the proper rites due to its ancestral forebearers. Over the course of the game, the ministers will continue to antagonize the Shang king, trying to avert as much suffering and disaster as possible, ministers will be executed, the ranks of the ancestors will swell, and the week will continue to get shorter.
Will one of the ministers survive to take their proper place as a royal diviner for King Wu of Zhou? Or will Di Xin be the only one still standing when a soldier's blade ends his grotesque existence? And what of the Shang people? Will they survive the tyrannical rule of the last Shang king and the destruction of the noble houses? That is for you and the will of Heaven to decide.
