Tests > Test Of The Leavened Bread

Overview

The Test of The Leavened Bread is one in which a group of five people produces holy bread and shares it with specific types of other (usually rather new) players called Benefactors. During the ritual, the group learns which god they're celebrating and what sort of players they must feed their bread to - could be recently paid accounts or recent Initiates of Thought, for example. A point is awarded to the group for each person of the specified type who eats a loaf of the group's bread. Each week, the seven characters with the highest score pass the test. Unlike pilgrimage, you can dissolve and reform groups without losing points.

Sad History of Passes

With an explaination.

Principle

• Begin the Ritual
• Drink Beer
• Perform the Emotional Devotion
• Bless the chosen God
• Bake the Holy Bread
• Sacrifice some of the Bread
• Holy Bread consumed by a proper Benefactor

(The principle follows the exact same steps that a group trying to try to pass the test must take. This is one of those tests where participating only to gain a level doesn't make much sense.)

Preparing for the Ritual

Grow your wheat ahead of time.

• You will need to have wheat from all three seasons (Akhet, Peret, Shemu) on hand or be ready to trade for it before you start the second part of the ritual. You won't know which season's wheat you need until after you've done the first part.
• The wheat must be raw (undried).
• Loaves cost 200 wheat each, and one loaf will be used up during the ritual. Each extra loaf eaten by a proper Benefactor will gain your group one point. Decide how many points your group wants because that will tell you how much wheat you need to have ready.
• You may bake as many loaves as you want at once, but you can only load the mortar up and bake once during the ritual. One mortar will hold as many loaves as you want to make.
• Only one strain of wheat may be added to the mortar. If your ritual tells you to use Shemu wheat and you choose to use the Druze strain, the wheat you use must all be Shemu Druze.

Make one beer ahead of time (can be any flavor).

This barrel will be partially consumed by the group at the start of the ritual. It can be any flavor/potency/etc. so long as it's good when the time comes to drink it. Spoiled beer probably will not work. You will need another barrel of beer - this time of a specific kind - during the ritual...see below.

Familiarize yourself with making beer, or find a beermaker willing to work for your group the day of your ritual.

During the ritual, you will have to make or trade for a single barrel of beer of a type to be named when your group has its visions. This second beer can include the new wheat beer flavors. If you plan to make the beer yourself, make sure you've got access to a good yeast map and are also familiar with making these wheat beers. The whole barrel of beer will be used up when you make the bread, but one barrel will make as many loaves as you want.

Choose a location for the ritual.

You'll want to choose a camp with access to usual buildings and resources, because you might to need them. During the second part of the ritual, one player will need to do a couple of randomly assigned tasks (like digging a hole, feeding rabbits, cooking a meal). A few things you will definitely need:

• A tasting table to drink the beer at the start of the ritual.
• Wood for bonfires and extra wood/jugs of water for bonfire stoking.
• A single Emir Mortar (empty) for baking the bread. (make this on the pottery wheel.
• Beermaking supplies if you're going to make your own.

Choose a date/time for the ritual.

Choose a date/time when your group can be all together in your chosen location for several hours without having to worry about someone needing to leave. Best case scenario, don't expect a group new to the test to take less than two hours, and expect that it could easily take double that. I don't know if a ritual will ever expire, but you will be unable to use travel time/spousewarp until you've baked your bread, so it's easiest to get it done in one day if possible.

Choose four other people to do the ritual with you.

Your group must have a total of five people. The hardest part of most Worship tests is always getting people in the same place at once and keeping tempers in check long enough to do the necessary tasks. Choose your group accordingly.

Decide beforehand who is going to perform each role.

You will need to assign the members in your group a position in the lineup, and the order needs to stay the same throughout. If something in the text below says it needs doing by Player2, then it needs to be Player2. There will be tasks done by all members and also things done individually. You will need to read below to see the full sequence of events, but here is an overview of the tasks unique to each of the positions:

• Player1 - Starts the ritual (via Test menu). Types (or pastes) several prayers into Main at the right time during the bread baking phase.
• Player2 - Builds/lights the bonfires. Handles the emir mortar. Loads the wheat and bread additive. Sacrifices the first loaf.
• Player3 - Adds the beer and other moistener to the mortar.
• Player4 - Performs two tasks (to be specified in the visions).
• Player5 - Should assist as needed (perhaps is elected to perform the bonfire stoking).

A few good ideas...

• Have a friend who is not participating standing by to do any traveling for you.
• Don't choose a location so crowded that you cannot drop things.
• Have a text file (or dedicated chat tab at least) prepared for each player that explains their role and gives them any text they need to paste in Main. If you're using the sentences suggested in the notes below, don't forget that quotation marks or brackets and such shouldn't be included.
• Plan on a means of communication (a shared guild, TeamSpeak) for use during the ritual. Main cannot be used.
• Have your group perform their emotes once prior to starting the ritual to make sure the animation has been patched to prevent confusion.
• Warn your group members ahead of time to schedule as much free time as possible the day of the ritual and that they should be ready to be patient if/when things go wrong.
• Have at least one member ready to run around and contact newbies the week after you do the ritual. All this is useless if your group isn't successful at feeding your bread to anyone. =)

The Ritual, Part I (getting your visions)

Gather your group together at your chosen location. Double check your materials before starting. If you have followed the steps above, you should be in pretty good shape. Remember, once you choose one of the numbered roles, you *must* stay with it and act in order. It's a good idea to stop any talk happening in Main at this point. Once the ritual is begun, no one in the group may use travel time or spousewarp until after the bread is baked successfully (free chariot travel is okay).

The Emotional Devotion (visions ritual)

1. Player1 chooses "Begin the Ritual of Leavened Bread" under his/her Tests/Test of Leavened Bread menu.
   
2. Any player opens a barrel of beer.
3. Players 1-5 drink a cup of beer in order from the tasting table. It does not matter which cups you use - only that the players drink in sequence, 1 through 5.
4. Player1 does the "Command Me from Heaven" emote and says (in Main): "Bless us oh god as we humbly seek your wisdom"
5. Player2 does the "Take My Blood" emote and says (in Main): "We ask for your blessings on this home and its generous proprietor"
6. Player3 does the "Show Me Mercy" emote and says (in Main): "We ask that you bless us all your humble servants"
7. Player4 does the "Enter My Soul" emote and says (in Main): "Reveal to us your spirit and wisdom and how we might please you"
8. Player5 does the "Share My Joy" emote and says (in main): "Guide us in preparing our day's bread to fortify and enlighten us and our brethren and to earn your blessings"

If all has gone well, each player will receive a vision (a popup) giving information about things the group will need to do. Do not lose this information! Copy this information and share it with your group. If you have a requirement you can not meet, dissolve the ritual (via the Tests menu), wait two Teppyhours, and try again from scratch. If your group did something wrong and did not receive these popups, you can dissolve the ritual and restart immediately. Your visions will turn out something like this:

• Player1 learns the name of the God to whom the prayers in the second part of the ritual must be addressed.
• Player2 learns the additive (such as aromatic honey) that must be added to the bread. One of each (and 200 wheat) is needed per loaf.
• Player3 learns the type of beer needed and the season of wheat needed and moistener (such as coconut milk). Only 1 barrel of this beer is needed.
• Player4 learns the activities to perform (such as cooking a meal or digging a hole). There should be two activities and the emotes to perform.
• Player5 learns the type of person (Benefactor) to give bread to after it is baked (this will be something like "Recent Initiates of Thought").

Question: Is it safe to talk in main at this point?

Yes. You can talk in main once you have the visions. -Aberdon

The principles tab will reflect if the steps have been performed proberly. -McArine

The Ritual, Part II (baking the bread)

You've just learned what new kind of beer your group needs. There is no time limit for making this beer, nor for trading for additional wheat, but you will not be able to use any navigation other than free chariot travel until the bread is baked or the ritual is dissolved. (Expedition travel seems to be okay to use right now, but this is probably a bug and could change.) Any player can make the beer, or you can trade for it. Send your runner to go make it/pick it up. ;)

While the beer is being sorted out, Player1 should take a moment to prepare the text that s/he will paste into Main during the baking phase. This text must consist of five separate lines. Each line needs to mention one group member's name along with the name of the god mentioned during the vision. You can use this sentence: "Oh <god>, we ask you to bless <PlayerN>." To be crystal clear, if your group members' names are Art, Bob, Charlie, Dave, and Ed, and your god's name was Buto, your sentences would look like this:

Oh Buto, we ask you to bless Art
Oh Buto, we ask you to bless Bob
Oh Buto, we ask you to bless Charlie
Oh Buto, we ask you to bless Dave
Oh Buto, we ask you to bless Ed

Just a note (added by HarvestStar): If the names of the players are mispelled the bread will not bake, this is case sensitive in my experience. If you do mispell the name or mess up with entering this part exact you WILL have to start the ritual over from step one. You can not just try baking the bread again.

You should also take the time here to prepare any necessary materials for the tasks Player4 needs to do, get your moistener and additive ready, and make sure you've got jugs/wood/emir mortar nearby. Once your beer is back at camp with you, and you've got your stuff ready to go, it's time to move on to the next part of the ritual.

The next steps need to be carefully coordinated, so read through them and be prepared before starting. Once you start this next phase, you won't be stopping until the bread is done.

Blessing the Chosen God, Baking the Holy Bread, and Sacrificing Bread (breadbaking ritual)

1. Player2 drops an emir mortar on the ground and builds a bonfire of exactly 105 wood near it.
2. Player2 adds wheat (200 per loaf) to this single mortar. All the wheat used goes into *one* mortar.
3. Player3 adds moistener (1 per loaf) and beer (1 barrel total no matter how many loaves) to the mortar.
4. Player2 adds the additive (1 per loaf) to the mortar.
5. Player2 lights the bonfire.
6. When the wood gets down to about 30, Player1 pastes the five prepared lines one by one into Main. The text must appear between 2 minutes and 0 minutes before the fire runs out of wood.
7. When the fire reaches 0 wood, Player2 moves the emir mortar to the bonfire. This is a menu option on the mortar. The mortar will move visibly, although it may not actually reach into/under the fire.
8. Once the mortar has been moved to the fire, one player (any) must perform stoking duty. Each time the fire reaches 0 wood, that player adds 1 wood and 1 water to the bonfire until the bread is baked.
9. During the stoking phase, Player4 performs the common actions mentioned in the vision. Some of these activities may require the assistance of another group member who isn't otherwise occupied.
10. Player2 will get a clear notice (popup) when the bread is ready. (This can actually happen before Player4 has completed his/her activities.) Player2 should remove the bread from the fire and double-check in inventory that it says "holy" bread.
11. Player2 builds a second bonfire of 10 wood, lights it, and sacrifices one of the breads on the bonfire.

Part II done! At this point you can safely use any form of navigation and talk in Main again.

We started at 30 wood and our player #1 only copied the main blessing and tried to type each persons name in. This took too much time and we did not finish before the bread was ready. We had to start the ritual over from step one because of the error. We also had to start over because of a misspelling of a name. The blessings are so important you need to make sure you have someone who can copy and paste quickly. ~HarvestStar

During step 10 above, our Player4 had finished one task and was running to perform the second when Player2 got the message that the bread was ready and removed it from the mortar. We had Player4 do the second task before we moved on to step 11 just in case, but Player2 already had the bread in inventory and said that it was "holy." ~Calixes

Player2 will have to make the Emir Mortar publicly accessible, so player3 can access it.
Our Emir Mortar actually moved to the other side of the bonfire. Looks like it moves one coordinate towards the fire.
The stoking part can take a while, so be patient, if you've followed the steps above, used the right ingredients, and done the chores. It will finish. -McArine

The Ritual, Part III (distributing the bread and scoring)

The bread expires after 7 days. You should now track down Benefactors who meet the requirement you got in your vision. Please keep in mind that "recent" as applies to these categories seems to mean "within the last seven days." There is nothing stopping you from giving bread to an inappropriate recipient.

Ritual asked for "recent paid citizen." Bread given to a person paid 8 days, [got the message] "bread not meant for them."

In order to score points, you must give a loaf to a viable Benefactor, and the Benefactor must eat the bread using the Skills/Consume menu. As soon as a proper Benefactor has eaten the bread, you can check your score via the Tests menu...It will be updated with a new point. Any member (or multiple) of your group may hand out the bread. Any points earned will carry over even if the ritual is dissolved, and you form another one.

It seems you will continue to see a brief popup window any time you use travel time until your ritual is dissolved (or possibly pass).