''You know me as The Stranger.
I remember in my youth, great festivals that took place across the land.
The festivals seemed almost spontaneous, a joyous celebration where everyone participated.
Of course they were not purely spontaneous. We had wise priests who gently guided the people, who organized these celebrations.
And although they received no glory for their work, they welcomed the challenge, and helped for the joy of their Discipline.
Does this generation know any so selfless?
When I walk the land I see people craving glory.
I suspect that this generation will find my next Test particularly... challenging.
I give you - The Test of Festivals!
-- Gharib
The Test Of Festivals requires you to perform a series of rituals to appease each of seven gods -- Isis, Osiris, Bastet, Ra, Maat, Hathor, and Thoth. Each god has a separate ritual which must be performed to please Him/Her. Some aspects of the ritual will vary for each player. These rituals are listed in the next section.
This test, like the others in the discipline of Worship, is very group oriented. Performing a festival by yourself accomplishes nothing. Instead, large festivals involving as many people as possible must be organized (10 is the minimum). Each person who participates in a festival contributes 1 point to that festival's total participation. Each point represents a single percentage point towards that god's standing. Your standing with each of the seven gods must be raised to 100% to pass the test.
When a player successfully performs a ritual, they will gain standing with that god for each other player who performs a ritual to the same god 30 minutes beforehand and 30 minutes afterwards. Therefore, it is optimal for everyone participating in a festival to perform the ritual within the same 30-minute window, so they all get credit for each others' performance. The players do not need to be in the same location; they can be scattered all across Egypt.
During the last Bastet Festival, after some confusion with my requisites, I did not sacrifice until 45 minutes after the announcement, and recieved the popup window (and the points) 45 minutes later than everyone else. Perhpas the window is an hour either way?
After successfully participating in a festival, a player must wait 16 hours (not 24) from the festival they participated in before they may do another one. Successfully participating in a festival will change the requirements for all gods. This is often used to "reset" a particularly difficult requirement by performing a one-person festival to another god with easy requirements, such as Isis.
Successfully performing a ritual will display a message box telling you the god is pleased. If something goes wrong (i.e. You used the wrong components, you missed a step, etc), nothing will happen. Your requirements will not change, and you can try again any time. However, you'll have to find replacements for any goods that were consumed during your failed attempt. The requirements for all gods will immediately change after receiving the message telling you that the god in question is pleased. If is often handy to bring testing supplies with you to see your new requirements immediately after participating.
The hardest parts of this test can be summarized as two things:
The festival suppliers topic may help with finding a supplier, and the festival schedule topic lists the date and time of upcoming festivals. In addition, you can list items you are looking for in the festival needs topic.
Festivals are usually coordinated using the BBC microphone. You may /join BBC at any time to see the most recent messages on the microphone. Tune in 2 hours before the festival to keep abreast of information like "what altars are being operated, and by whom?" Members of the guild "Festival Connection" will generally be coordinating the festivals.
If you need to obtain something from a supplier, make sure you give them several days notice. Trying to obtain supplies on the day of the festival is often way too late.
See also: Tests, Worship, Festival Suppliers, Festival Needs, Festival Schedule, Festival Player Progress, Festival Altars