The Fierce Old One rewards ships willing to fight, and I intend to promote the same.
However, sometimes it is appropriate not to fight.
I will select my Chosen without regard for any affiliation they have, and ignoring any personal history I may have had with the captain involved.
Chosen will be expected to act as mentors to junior captains who request assistance in learning about combat.
Chosen must not participate in Evil acts, release Dybuk or carry Evil Zappers, and are expected to assist in hunting down anyone that does. They must also not purge Terminals, unless asked to, publicly and in advance, by the Wise prophet, and should assist in hunting anyone who does.
Chosen will be expected to Praise me from time to time. If I get more people requesting Chosen status than my favour income will support, I will un-choose those with the worst praising record.
I expect my chosen to act honourably, and will take appropriate steps to enforce honour amongst other ships in the galaxy.
Ships must not open fire if they have previously agreed to a peaceful meeting.
Also, ships should not initiate combat with a ship younger than 100 turns old unless:
Ships are free, and indeed encouraged, to register themselves as hostile with this registry.
Ships registered here wish it to be known that they are willing to open fire unprovoked.
Note that being registered here does not guarantee that a ship will open fire if you meet. However, you are encouraged to hail a hostile ship to confirm their intentions, if you don't have a prior arrangement.
Hostile registered ships are still expected to act honourably. They should not attack if they have previously stated that they will not, and they should not attack young ships (subject to the exceptions listed above).
The hostile ship registry is available here.
Young ships are the pool from which the next generation of warriors will grow. They should be encouraged and nurtured.
Ships under 100 turns will be protected in the traditional way - an attack on them by a ship more than 100 turns old is a criminal act unless they release Dybuk, purge a terminal or similar.
I will also offer support to all ships under 200 turns old, to help them grow into the warriors they can become. I'll be creating a Fierce juniors club. Members of the club will get assigned a mentor from among my chosen, who will guide them through a few combats. It won't be a requirement for the mentee to give their mentor their public URL, but it would allow the mentor to offer assistance more easily if it were possible.
Members of the juniors club will be offered assistance in achieving Enlightenment, once they have shown that they understand combat.
I've started to gather together a set of links to various resources around the net containing combat advice, and give captains who wish it access to a forum where combat tips can be exchanged.
Older ships who wish to receive some guidance in combat should hail me too, at bill-tbg@mics.org.uk.
I wrote down some more general advice to newbies a while ago, but it still seems to be apt.
Favour trades are a fact of life, and I am willing to facilitate them. However, you must send me an email in advance and make an announcement in the Times if you are not going to risk excommunication.
I encourage my chosen, and anyone who wishes to follow the way of the Fierce one, to attack the following ships where practical: