Proposal: Cabin Fever
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Hesch Syndrome (HS)
HS is simply a neurosis/paranoia syndrome that manifests itself in stages. Each stage is characterized by a level of Hesch. Each stage and its symptoms are a building block for the next unless indicated otherwise. Things are not affected by HS.
Here is a list of the known stages with the Hesch value that is associated and the known symptoms:
Mild Paranoia(1-5)
Intense Paranoia (6-9) - Nerves start to peak, you look behind your shoulder more often. "Are you following me?!"
Delusions(10-12) - You start to hear disembodied voices and noises. "What was that?!"
The Shakes(13-14) - Trembling, talk to yourself, your sense of security is gone, complete nervous breakdown. "I don't wanna die!"
Hallucinations(15-16) - See dark figures darting from you view. The voices become more frequent and intense. "Get out of my head!"
Full Blown Paranoia(17-18) - Can't trust anybody: "They're coming for me!" The Shakes and its symptoms are gone.
Rage(19-20) - Severe hatred, anxiety and a lack of self control. "Well if they're out to get me, I'll just have to get them first!"
Known forms of HS are:
The Shakes: The shakes become manifested when a lifeform reaches the Hesch of 15 to 16. This stage of the syndrome is characterized by the lifeform's inability to stop shaking, thus loosing a great deal of motor function. This makes it difficult for a lifeform to hit a target with a projectile weapon; -1 to all attacks with a projectile weapon. This syndrome has a strange tendency to dissipate during full blown paranoia. (Things are not affect by the The Shakes.)
Hot Tub: Once a lifeform enters the hot tub the soothing affects seem to smother all other concerns. Hesch value decrease by 1 every 3 hours, however if a lifeform has a Hesch value of over 10 this soothing affect will only occur if they are alone. The Hot Tub can only hold 8 lifeforms at a time.
Unfortunately there is no safety control on the temperature dial. Anyone (including Radio) may adjust the dial. The dial reads: Comfortable, Hot, Too Hot, and Boiling. It takes 1 hour to increase/decrease the temperature by one interval. To receive the soothing affects the temperature must remain on Comfortable or Hot. If the dial should read Too Hot or Boiling the individual looses the decrease they received from the hot tub and begin to loose 10 life an hour. If it reads Boiling then anyone that is occupying the hot tub is considered dead.
As it turns out, one of the researchers is actually a psychiatrist who was sent for the purposes of treating such rampant Antarctic mental disorders as: depression and suicide ... and well, Hersch. The psychiatrist is appointed by the Radio but must be an individual of impecable self-esteem (must have a Hersch value of 0). Due to his/her extensive training in the medical and psychological fields the psychiatrist is immune to any increase in Hersch value (except those brought on by diseases). If the psychiatrist's Hersch does manage to raise above zero then he/she may not practice psychiatry until it is once again reduced to zero. Because he/she has taken the Hippocratic Oath the psychiatrist is prohibited from picking up weapons. If the psychiatrist does pick up a weapon then he/she is demoted by the Radio back to researcher.
A researcher that is not the psychiatrist may be healed of his/her Hersch by remaining in the same room with the psychiatrist. For every six hours they are in the same room as the psychiatrist their Hersch is reduced by 1 point.
The Radio may not appoint a Thing to be the psychiatrist.
If the psychiatrist becomes a Thing then his/her abilities and responsibilities remain unaltered.
The psychiatrist shall be denoted with a "+" next to their name.
Every time a human Lifeform kills another human Lifeform, whether it be delierate or accidental, the 'murderer' immediately gains +10 Hersch points. If this carries their total over 15, they drop their weapon through remorse. Any other Lifeforms in the room gain +2 Hersch as well.
When a Lifeform becomes Dead, if its Life is above 0, its Life is reduced to 0. A Lifeform's Life cannot be raised above 0 unless it is simultaneously and legally changed to Alive. In the same way, a Dead Lifeform cannot be considered Alive unless its Life is raised above 0.
Any time a Lifeform's status is changed from Dead to Alive, its Hersch Value increases by 2.
Dead Lifeforms cannot change their Location, perform Attacks, convert Humans or search for weapons .
Dead Lifeforms cannot change their Location, perform Attacks, convert Humans, search for weapons or engage in a Transfusion.
The Supply Shed. The Supply Shed has four states; "open", "locked", "bolted" and "locked and bolted". Lifeforms may only enter and leave the Shed while it is open. A Lifeform inside the Shed may bolt or unbolt it; a Lifeform standing Outside may lock or unlock it, if they have the Supply Shed Key. Lifeforms may choose to Attack the shed door; it is considered to have a Strength of 5, and becomes open if beaten. The Supply Shed had been cleared out by the previous AARG team, and may not be searched.
Tentacle: Strength 1.
Claw: Strength 2. No defence against firearms.
Things may elect to grow or reabsorb Tentacles and Claws at any time; growing them costs 20 Life per Weapon, reabsorption is free.
Lifeforms may carry weapons and equipment; this is tracked in the GNDT. If a Lifeform dies or leaves the game, all of their equipment is lost.
A Lifeform may search their current Location for useful equipment, if no Lifeforms have searched that Location previously in the day. This is done by expending 5 Life (due to the biting cold), with a GNDT comment of "Searching: DICE+DICE". They may then look the result up on the following table, to see what they've found.
2 : Knife.
3 : Knife.
4 : Knife.
5-9 : Nothing found.
10 : Pistol.
11 : Pistol.
12 : Shotgun.
The number of times an item appears in the table represents the number of such items that may exist in the game; if a Lifeform finds an item, but all copies of that item are already in play, then nothing is found.
The Radio may edit the dice results list at any time.
Any Lifeform (unless they were the most recent Lifeform to perform an attack) may attack another Lifeform
Things cannot be killed. When their Life falls to zero, they fall into a comatose state, and cannot move or use weapons. They remain in that state for 24 hours, at which point they can regenerate 10 Life.
However, they can, during that time, be dragged by another Researcher to the Lab, placed in the Thing Extraction Device (TED), and have the Thing sucked out of them. Of course, both the Researchers must brave the diseases running rampant in that room. Any Researcher cured in this way immediately re-enters the game as a human with 50 Life.
"6=shotgun"to
"6=Option of shotgun or Anti-Thing Serum (see rule Anti-Thing Serum)"
Upon searching for a weapon (as detailed in rule 17), if a lifeform rolls two consecutive 6's (the first for finding a weapon and the second to have the shotgun choice), he or she has the option of finding either a shotgun or an Anti-Thing Serum in the base. The serum, as left by the previous researchers, is labelled to "Protect one from becoming a thing" and "to cure Thingness". If the lifeform who finds the serum is a Thing, he or she has the option of turning human again. If this lifeform is in fact already human, he or she may continue to possess the Anti-Thing Serum until it is needed to rid one of Thinghood (the are successfully attacked by a Thing.)
Unlike the weapons, there is an infinite amount of Anti-Thing Serum hiding in the base for those lucky enough to roll two consecutive 6's. If the shotgun is no longer an option (a lifeform already possesses it, the Anti-Thing serum is acquired by default.
delete "1 flamethrower" from the weapons list.
Change "2 hunting knives" to "3 hunting knives" to reflect the actual quantity change.
Remove the sentence "If a player who is the Thing finds the Flamethrower, they are also assumed to have found nothing."
Remove the paragraph that starts "Flamethrower: The carrier of the Flamethrower cannot be killed by the Thing".
There exist items called Isolation Devices. They may be picked up and put down at any time. When the radio decides to deliver one to the Reseachers, it is dropped off outside. The Radio may do this at any time. Any Researcher holding one is immune to all forms of attack and weather damage. Diseases cannot be contracted (though their effects still occur, if already infected) while carrying an Isolation Device, nor can transfusions be attempted. The carrier of a Device cannot propose, due to the fact that he or she cannot speak, and his or her Hersch Value increases permanently by 2 points for every action, after the third, he or she takes while carrying it. You gain 3 Hersch for putting down an Isolation Device. An action consists of:
Changing Location
Attacking
Picking Something Up
Putting Something Down
Voting
Any diseases carried by the donor, that the recipient does not already have, are automatically given to the recipient. Additionally, if they are donating via knife, post a comment to the GNDT, "Knife Transfusion:DICE". If the value is 1 or 2, the donor gets any diseases carried by the recipient. Diseases contracted in this manner are assumed to begin their lifespans at the moment of transfusion.
Lifeforms in the same Location may also post comments of support for the defender, adding their own Weapon Strength to his or hers. (In the event that the attackers still possess sufficient Weapon Strength to overcome the defense, only the original target of attack is killed.)
An unarmed Lifeform is considered to have a Weapon Strength of 1/3 point for purposes of defense, and Weapon Strength of 0 for purposes of attack.
Given the proper equipment, any Lifeform may perform a transfusion of Life to another Lifeform in the same Location at a cost / benefit ratio of 1:1. To perform a transfusion, each Lifeform must post to the GNDT his or her new Life total, with a comment indicating the other Lifeform involved in the transfusion.
Any recipient Lifeform has the right to refuse a transfusion; to do so, that Lifeform may simply choose not to post to the GNDT regarding the transfusion within 24 hours of its initialization. In this case, if the donor Lifeform's Life is still lost.
When the Radio notices a Human donating to a Thing, he or she may roll d6 once. On a 1 or 2, the donor still loses the Life donated, but the Life the recipient would have gained is subtracted from his or her total instead. On a 1, the Thing is converted back to a Human. On 3-6, the transfusion takes effect as normal.
When the Radio notices a Thing donating to a Human, he or she may roll d6 once. On a 1 or 2, the donor still loses the Life donated, but the Life the recipient would have gained is subtracted from his or her total instead. On 3-6, the Human is converted to a Thing, and the transfusion takes place as normal.
Being on either end of a transfusion raises a Lifeform's Hersch Value by 1.
The proper equipment is currently only available in the Laboratory, and cannot be removed, so both Lifeforms must be there to perform a transfusion.
If either the donor or recipient Lifeform possesses a Knife, they need not be in the Laboratory. If they are not, however, the cost / benefit ratio is changed to 2:1 (eg Brendan may sacrifice 10 Life to give Joranj 5 Life).
If a Lifeform's Life drops to 0 at any point, that Lifeform dies.
Each Weapon has a Strength rating. Any Lifeform may attack another Lifeform in the same Location by posting a blog entry declaring this intention - if the total Strength of the attacker's Weapons exceeds that of the defender's Weapons, then the defender is killed outright.
If an attack is not strong enough to defeat the defender, any other Lifeforms in the same Location may assist the attacker by adding comments of support to that post - their Weapon Strength is added to that of the main attacker; as soon as it is sufficient to overcome the defender, the defender is killed. (If, after 24 hours, the total attack is still insufficient, the attack fails.)
Available weapons are:-
Shotgun: Strength 3.
Pistol: Strength 2.
Knife: Strength 1. No defence against firearms.
All Lifeforms are either Alive or Dead. This data is tracked in the GNDT.
When a Lifeform dies, its true Species is revealed and it is dumped Outside. Dead Lifeforms cannot change their Location, perform Attacks, convert Humans or search for weapons.
1=knife
2=knife
3=knife
4=pistol
5=pistol
6=shotgun
Further weapons may be introduced by the Radio at any time. If Hersch Values is passed All weapons give -5 to the Research's Hersch Value, to a minimum of zero.
Further weapons may be introduced by the Radio at any time. All weapons give -5 to the Researcher's Hersch Value, to a minimum of zero. Of course, nothing creates a hostile atmosphere like a group of armed men and women, and the bigger the weapon you're holding, the greater the paranoia can be. The initial -5 bonus to an armed Researcher's Hersch rating dissiaptes after 24 hours. Every subsequent day that the Research continues to hold the weapon he or she gains an additional Hersch points, as detailed below. A Researcher may drop the weapon at any time.
Shotgun: 4 points / day
Pistol: 2 points / day
Knife: 1 point / day
Shotgun: The bearer of the shotgun has the power. Once every two days, he can force one other Researcher to change their vote in any proposal, provided that intimidated Researcher has less than 50 life.
Shotgun: The bearer of the shotgun has the power. Once every two days, he can force one other Researcher to change their vote in any proposal, or drop their weapon, provided that intimidated Researcher has less than 50 life.
Pistol: The Researcher carrying the pistol cannot be forced by the carrier of the Shotgun.
Pistol: The Researcher carrying the pistol cannot be forced by the carrier of the Shotgun. Furthermore, two Researchers with pistols working in unison (i.e. posting BlogNomic entries before the carrier of the Shotgun can) can force the Shotgun-wealding Researcher to drop his or her weapon.
It might be dangerous in the Outpost but it is much more dangerous Outside. Once a day, if it wishes, the Radio gets to decide what atrocity shall befall those hapless lifeforms that are Outside. Whatever the manner of the atrocity (be it rabid penguins or socially disenchanted elephant seals) each lifeform that is outside at the time of one such atrocity shall lose 10 life.
If a Lifeform ever believes that Outpost 37 has been completely cleansed of Things, or has been completely overrun by Things, it may post a blog entry calling for the Radio to send the helicopters back (unless another call for helicopters is still awaiting a response).
If the base has indeed been cleared one way or the other, the Radio will confirm this and the contacting Lifeform wins the Dynasty on behalf of its species. If the base still has a mix of Things and Humans, though (ignoring dead Lifeforms), the Radio responds in the negative and nothing happens.
When a new Researcher joins, it is assumed that they have come from a similar background to the existing Researchers, and thus begins the game with 100 life.
There are weapons scattered throughout the base, dropped by the previous residents and hidden by the wandering snow. Initially, there are 6 weapons in the building:
1 shotgun
3 hunting knives
2 pistol
To search for a weapon, any Researcher, Thing or Human, must post an entry in the GNDT saying "Weapon Search:DICE-5", and expend 10 life due to the biting cold. If the result is a positive number, a further post of "Weapon:DICE" must be made. The results are as follows:
1=shotgun
2=pistol
3=knife
4=pistol
5=flamethrower
6=knife
If the dice gives a result that has already been claimed by another researcher, then the search is assumed to have failed - weapons are small, and the base is big. A Researcher can only search once per day.
Further weapons may be introduced by the Radio at any time. If Hersch Values is passed All weapons give -5 to the Research's Hersch Value, to a minimum of zero.
The specific effects of the weapons are as follows:
Shotgun: The bearer of the shotgun has the power. Once every two days, he can force one other Researcher to change their vote in any proposal, provided that intimidated Researcher has less than 50 life. If Hersch Values is passed Any Researcher forced in such a way gains +2 Hersch; if they chose not to comply, they are killed and reborn as a Thing with 100 Life. The player with the Shotgun has some protection against the Thing; if he/she is attacked by the Thing, then the Radio must roll a dice to see if the Thing is successful, allowing the Researcher a 1 in 2 chance of survival. The Thing can carry the Shotgun, with the same effects if attacked by a human.
Pistol: The Researcher carrying the pistol cannot be forced by the carrier of the Shotgun. This pistol offers some limited defense against the Thing; if the carrier is attacked by the Thing, then the Radio must roll a dice to see if the Thing is successful, allowing the Researcher a 1 in 3 chance of survival. The Thing can carry the Pistol, with the same effects if attacked by a human.
Knife: The knife provides very limited defense against the Thing; if the carrier is attacked by the Thing, then the Radio must roll a dice to see if the Thing is successful, allowing the Researcher a 1 in 6 chance of survival. The Thing can carry the Knife, with the same effects if attacked by a human.
If a Researcher dies or is turned into a Thing, their weapon is dropped and can be refound in the usual manner. The Radio may introduce new weapons through a proposal in the usual manner; he may also edit the dice results table at any time.
(any Lifeform entering the Laboratory must immediately post a GNDT comment saying "Laboratory:DICE". If the value of this roll is 1 or 2, then the Lifeform slips and loses 5 Life, and, if the roll was a 1, gets infected with Green Fungus(see below)).
Lifeforms may, in various ways, become infected with diseases. This is monitored in the GNDT. The list of known diseases is as follows:
Green Fungus: The duration of a Green Fungus infection is 4 days. Each day, the diseased lifeform's Hersch value goes up by 2 and he or she loses 4 Life. After the 4-day period is over, the lifeform gains back all Life lost in this manner. However, his or her Hersch value stays where it is.
All Lifeforms are either Alive or Dead. This data is tracked in the GDNT. Dead specimens cannot change their location or make accusations.
All days in this rule are by the Radio's timezone.
Each Friday, the Radio must make a post entitled "Accusations". Each Lifeform other than the Radio may make one reply to this post accusing one Lifeform of being a Thing. Each Monday, the Radio counts the accusations made within 72 hours of his post, and the Radio announces that the Lifeform with the most accusations against them this week is Dead. If there is a tie, the Radio must make another Accusations post, where Lifeforms can only accuse Lifeforms that were tied in the Last post. 48 hours aftere this post, the Lifeform with the most accusations against them is Dead. If there is another tie, no Lifeforms die.
There is a ghost lurking about the premises. It moves from room to room. The members of the AARG have affectionately named him The Ghost of SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON. Should any lifeforms encounter the ghost the results can be quite unexpected
Upon the enactment of this rule the ghost starts out in a location of the Radio's choosing. Subsequently, at 24 hour intervals the Radio must somehow randomly assign the ghost to a different room. Of course if the Radio should happen to be off for a period of time exceeding 24 hours then the ghost does not move.
If any lifeform is in the same the room as the ghost for the entire 24 hour period then that(those) lifeform(s)'s Hersch value increases by 5.
There are weapons scattered throughout the base, dropped by the previous residents and hidden by the wandering snow. Initially, there are 6 weapons in the building:
1 shotgun
2 hunting knives
2 pistol
1 flamethrower
To search for a weapon, any Researcher, Thing or Human, must post an entry in the GNDT saying "Weapon Search:DICE-5", and expend 10 life due to the biting cold. If the result is a positive number, a further post of "Weapon:DICE" must be made. The results are as follows:
1=shotgun
2=pistol
3=knife
4=pistol
5=flamethrower
6=knife
If the dice gives a result that has already been claimed by another researcher, then the search is assumed to have failed - weapons are small, and the base is big. If a player who is the Thing finds the Flamethrower, they are also assumed to have found nothing. A Researcher can only search once per day.
Further weapons may be introduced by the Radio at any time. If Hersch Values is passed All weapons give -5 to the Research's Hersch Value, to a minimum of zero.
The specific effects of the weapons are as follows:
Shotgun: The bearer of the shotgun has the power. Once every two days, he can force another Researcher to change their vote in any proposal. If Hersch Values is passed Any Researcher forced in such a way gains +2 Hersch; if they chose not to comply, they are killed and reborn as a Thing with 100 Life. The player with the Shotgun has some protection against the Thing; if he/she is attacked by the Thing, then the Radio must roll a dice to see if the Thing is successful, allowing the Researcher a 1 in 2 chance of survival. The Thing can carry the Shotgun, with the same effects.
Pistol: The Researcher carrying the pistol cannot be forced by the carrier of the Shotgun. This pistol offers some limited defense against the Thing; if the carrier is attacked by the Thing, then the Radio must roll a dice to see if the Thing is successful, allowing the Researcher a 1 in 3 chance of survival. The Thing can carry the Pistol, with the same effects.
Knife: The knife provides very limited defense against the Thing; if the carrier is attacked by the Thing, then the Radio must roll a dice to see if the Thing is successful, allowing the Researcher a 1 in 6 chance of survival. The Thing can carry the Knife, with the same effects.
Flamethrower: The carrier of the Flamethrower cannot be killed by the Thing, nor can he/she be forced by the carrier of the Shotgun. He/she can, however, be killed by another human, and turned into a Thing in this manner. The carrier of the Flamethrower can banish the Thing from the research facility by spraying it with fire. Any Thing in the same room as the carrier of the Flamethrower will instantly be transported Outside. The Thing cannot carry the flamethrower.
If a Researcher dies or is turned into a Thing, their weapon is dropped and can be refound in the usual manner. The Radio may introduce new weapons through a proposal in the usual manner; he may also edit the dice results list at any time.
When a new player is found (say, amidst the wreckage of a bulldozer), it is assumed that they have been treated with customary respect and care by the medical facilities (automated, human, or kindly player) at the site, and they thus enter into play with 100 life points.
In (presumed) memory of the (most likely) deceased leader of the last AARG team, Jakob Hersch, each member of the research group is assigned a Hersch value. Hersch values measure the "disturbance level", if you will, of individual researchers. Each researcher's Hersch value begins at 0, and can be any whole number from 0 to 20. Certain factors (lack of sleep, head injury, the silent smothering isolation of the Antarctic, etc.) can increase it, and there probably exist things that can decrease it as well. Hersch values have the following effects on the researchers:
If a non-trivial proposal is pending, the Radio may, once per proposal, roll a d20 for each researcher. These rolls may, but do not have to, be made public. If a researcher's assigned d20 roll is less than or equal to that researcher's Hersch value, then the Radio randomly determines the researcher's vote on that particular proposal, by and then posts "[Player] votes [randomly determined vote]". Votes randomly determined by the Radio may not be changed.
All Lifeforms have a Species - either Human or Thing. All Lifeforms begin the game as Human. The Radio keeps track of each Lifeform's Species secretly.
If a Thing is alone in a Location with another Lifeform, it may attack it by privately contacting the Radio with this intention. If the attacked Lifeform was a Human, it becomes a Thing, and the Radio should contact the victim to inform them of this change.
The first Lifeform to privately contact the Radio expressing a desire to become a Thing will become a Thing. This paragraph may be removed from the ruleset by the Radio, at any time. (If no Things exist when it is removed, then a random Lifeform will be made into a Thing, and privately informed of this fact.)
There are seven distinct Locations at Outpost 37:-
- The Laboratory.
- The Rec Room.
- The Boiler Room.
- The Armoury.
- Sleeping Quarters.
- Kennels.
- Outside
Lifeforms' Locations are tracked in the GNDT, except for the Radio, which never has a Location. All Lifeforms begin the game Outside.
Lifeforms may move themselves to any Location at any time.
Cool, it works.
A Dynasty is considered over when a Representative has fulfilled any criteria raised during that Dynasty and reflected in the current ruleset.
As soon as this has taken place, the Representative must post an entry claiming their own Ascension. This may not be done retrospectively; the conditions must be still be met at the exact time of posting. There shall then follow a 24 hour haitus, in which not further proposals may be submitted, nor GNDT changes made, nor changes to the ruleset (including repeals) enacted; however, Calls to Judgement regarding the Ascension may still be posted.
Assuming, at the end of the 24 hour period, there have been no Calls to Judgement made, the new Speaker may continue about their new Dynasty as detailed below. If a Call to Judgement has been made, neither the new Dynasty nor the old may progress until it has been resolved. Only once it has been resolved will the Representative be considered to have Ascended, and only then may new proposals and GNDT changes be made.
The Dynasty is considered to have begun from when the 24 hour haitus is finished or all Calls to Judgement have been resolved.
Anybody may apply to join BlogNomic by contacting any of the Admin Staff, specifying the name they wish to use in the game and the URL or email address they want their name to link to in the Representative roster. The Admin may choose to approve or reject this application; if it is approved, the applicant will be signed up as a member of the BlogNomic weblog, and will be considered a Representative from the moment that they first appear on the roster in the sidebar.
The first time a Representative uses an Infrastructure during a given week, he or she must either expend 1 Eetcha of Food to feed its staff, or (if the Infrastructure has no human staff) nominate 1 Eetcha of Robots on that Planet which have not been previously nominated that week. If the Representative can neither feed or nominate in this fashion, the Infrastructure cannot be used.
Representatives may choose to demolish existing Infrastructures and Space Utilities on Planets they control. They may claim back 5MC after each successful demolition.