Letters are one of the primary methods of communicating content within the game of Concord, and the main way, outside of interacting directly at Summit or Sanctioned Events, that your character has to communicate with others in the world, whether they be PCs or NPCs.
How does receiving letters work at Summit?
At the beginning of Summit, following Elections, the Concordian Civil Service hand out the mail for the event. Typically, but not always, these letters go out to those with titles, or those that are involved in specific content.
It is important to note that both having a title and being involved with content does not guarantee the receival of a letter - there are many factors at play behind the scenes that determine what letters are sent out, when, and to whom.
Often, these letters require some kind of action from the recipient - normally to make a decision, organise Downtime, provide resources etc. Some letters also require the recipient to send a response.
How does sending letters work at Summit?
There are three methods of sending letters/mail at Summit, each for a slightly different purpose. The following flowchart is a guide for navigating these methods for sending letters at Summit:
Civil Service Protected Post
The Civil Service Protected Post works with the Exchange and other secure elements of the Civil Service to ensure that title holders have the means of performing their duties within The Concord without need for arcane or divine ceremonies. Transported quickly and under guard, the CSPP enables important decisions to be made in a timely manner, but at a cost.
Letters requiring a decision to be made, generally for a title holder but not always, may carry the Civil Service Protected Post symbol. This means that the letter can be responded to by completing a letter, sealing it, and delivering it to The Exchange, where it will be placed in the secure mailbag. However, due to a command from the Senate, this process costs the user somewhat, at one Key per page.
Call Winged Messenger
Call Winged Messenger is a Cervitas Ceremony that summons or creates a small winged creature (often a bird of some kind) to carry a written message to a particular person. These creatures are primarily used to communicate important or sensitive information that must reach their target. There are a number of stipulations on the Ceremony, to stop summoned creatures from searching across the mortal plane until they expire. The Ceremony targets a sealed, single, double sided page of paper.
Call Winged Messenger is predominantly used to send correspondence to distant individuals, likely outside The Concord, or in areas that are difficult to reach. A letter will be marked with the Call Winged Messenger symbol to denote that it requires a response through this Ceremony. Within the world of Concord, these matters are of some import, either due to time or scale, and require the use of this Ceremony - no other method will do. Simply complete the Ceremony and present your original letter as proof of origin to the Curate.
In addition, as The Concord opens diplomatic ties with foreign powers, individuals from those nations may make themselves available to communication by Concordian citizens through the use of Call Winged Messenger. These letters do not require proof of origin, and are open to all Concordian characters during the Summit. The list to such individuals can be found here.
Regardless of the origin, Call Winged Messenger is rarely answered swiftly, due to the distances travelled and characters should not expect responses within the Summit the messenger was sent.
The Concordian Mail Service
The Concordian Mail Service is a nascent element of the Civil Service operating under the auspice of the Office of the Archivist. Operating primarily out of Passage, the organisation works with local messengers to communicate letters over land. The organisation has offices in each of the notable cities of The Concord and can generally be assumed to reach most areas held within The Concord, although the military circumstances of these regions and the whims of the economy can change this reach on a day-to-day schedule.
The Concordian Mail Service (CMS) is your go-to for all other mail and should generally be used as a method of furthering your character or indicating to The Concord Team elements of the story you are interested in. Letters can be assumed to generally reach their subjects (within The Concord) and may or may not receive a response.
A note on Resources
In some circumstances, characters may request Resources, items or even wealth from characters, or characters may feel obliged to send Resources to characters without their asking. In these circumstances, characters should attach these Resources to the letter they are sending, placing them within the envelope.
How does sending letters work outside of Summit?
Between their considerable wealth, influence and might, the Heroes of The Concord often find it far easier to get letters to each other than the bureaucracy of The Concord might. Between friends, private messengers, and networks of innkeepers, Heroes of The Concord often communicate through letters of varying lengths, particularly between Summits.
As Concord is a Live-Action game, The Concord Team asks that no roleplay take place online or informally between Summits outside of Concord Events or Sanctioned Events. This keeps Concord a Live-Action game but also restricts the flow of information or story to a rate that The Concord Team deems appropriate. However, we do understand that players often wish to communicate between characters to prepare for future Summits, to scheme, share information or progress relationships, which we are certainly here for.
As such, characters can communicate with each other during the downtime season, however, ALL communications must be done through in character, hard-copy letters. This is to ensure a reasonable pace of communication, to add an air of importance to communicate, and to create awesome props for later use. If you are interested in sending a letter to a character, you are recommended to get in contact with their player and either:
- Obtain their postal address and send a letter through the post.
- Work through an intermediary who will print a letter sent to them through the internet and hand it to the player.
- Send letters via email, for the recipient to then print, in order for there to be physical prop
This may seem like extra steps for the sake of extra steps but be assured that this adds weight and pacing to the communications within the world of Concord, which would be swiftly outpaced by the efforts of systems such as social media or Discord.
Please note that players are unable to send letters to Non-Player Characters during the downtime seasons, including retired Player Characters.
Writing to the Civil Service
The exceptions to Non-Player Characters are the following Civil Service members commonly in attendance at Summits and other events, represented by members of the Concord Team. Please note that not all Civil Service members are contactable in this way, and that the list may change with time.
If you are writing to a Civil Service member you should endeavour to treat the character as a character, rather than a knowledge receptacle. Inviting Civil Service members to events and discussing theology with the Curate is fine, but you should not expect a Passel quality explanation on portals from the Augry or the Pathfinder Captain. You should also be aware that, like any letter, you are not guaranteed to get a response.
| Civil Service Character | Typical Postal Address | Concord Team Member |
|---|---|---|
| Symposiarch Gavril Princep |
One Concordian Plaza, Crux Patricus |
Michael |
| Archivist Frederick Jones | One Concordian Plaza, Crux Patricus Legend City Lerona Mere |
Mitchell |
| Postmaster Cosimo Sforza de la Concord | Central Civil Post Office One Concordian Plaza, Crux Patricus Legend City Lerona Mere |
Oscar |
| Pathfinder Captain Musafir Al’Concord El’Esterra Del’Lumos |
One Concordian Plaza, Crux Patricus Legend City Lerona Mere |
Alistair |
| Commandant Khasim al-ja’Anni | PRIVATE ADDRESS Legend City Lerona Mere (It'll find its way there) |
Lionel |
| Orielle “The Locksmith” Lebeaux | The Cat's Claw Legend City Lerona Mere |
Rosalie |
| Augry Oona of Anderslee | Care of The Shardcircle Passage Lerona Mere |
Phoebe |
| Archivist Concold Ravvart | Care of The Shardcircle Passage Lerona Mere |
Warren |
| Tekle el'Passage al'Concord | Concordian Civil Service Office Passage Lerona Mere |
Sam Bowden |
| Bishop-Curate Benjamin Roennfeldt | One Concordian Plaza, Crux Patricus Legend City Lerona Mere |
Alex |
| Fraudeacon Adeline Müller | One Concordian Plaza, Crux Patricus Legend City Lerona Mere |
Gemma |
| Beckoner-Deacon Deacon | One Concordian Plaza, Crux Patricus Legend City Lerona Mere |
Sam Bushe-Jones |