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Saturday, January 10, 2004

Proposal: Cabin Fever

Just to make things interesting, I propose that we give everybody (except the Radio) 2 points of Hersch.

Veto'd by Cayvie, 12/01/04. -5 to Brendan, +2 to joranj

Proposal: What are you doing?

Add into Rule #15, if there is no Rule #15 make one.

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.)


Veto'd by Cayvie, 12/01/04. -5 to Keitalia, +2 to joranj

Proposal: There?s too much Hesch!

Why does the South Pole Research Center get a Hot Tub and we don't?

New Location:

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.


Add a new GNDT entry: Dial; with the necessary options: Comfortable, Hot, Too Hot, and Boiling. If this could only be done by adding another catagory to everyone's options, then change "Anyone (including Radio) may adjust the dial." to "Only the Radio may adjust the dial."

It is assumed that all lifeforms have the appropriate swim wear.

Death by Hot Tub. Go Figure.

Veto'd by Cayvie, 12/01/04. -5 to Keitalia, +2 to joranj

Proposal: Tautologies and contradictions show that they say nothing

enact a rule called "Tell me Your Problems" that says

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.


Veto'd by Cayvie, 12/01/04. -5 to Wittgenstien, +2 to joranj

Proposal: Crisis of Concience

To Rule 20: Death, add the following paragraph:

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.


Veto'd by Cayvie, 12/01/04. -3 to joranj

Thing II

A new Thing has been assigned; they know who they are. And Joranj is no longer a Thing, unless he was the person who emailed me first to be the new Thing...

I'm holding back on reintroducing weaponry until Anti Spree passes, though. Unarmed and Dangerous is still holding up the proposal queue - it's three votes shy of enactment or failure, and is due to time out later today.

Proposal: Stuff (Ridiculously Trivial)

Sorry, there's just a bunch of little things that have been gnawing at me...

Change the title of rule 17, "Weapondry," to "Weaponry"

Change the last sentence of rule 9, "Dynasties," from "the Radio will be removed and nominations for a new Doctor may be posted." to "the Radio will be removed and nominations for a new Radio may be posted.

As per rule 16, "Infections," actually add a GNDT column for diseases.

This isn't a real proposal, so don't give me any points for it if it passes or fails...

(actually, upon further observation, it isn't even legal, as the hiatus isn't up yet... i was misled by the comments at the end of the CFJ's)

Failed by Kevan; wasn't really a proposal (and is confusing my new proposal-detecting Javascript).

Friday, January 09, 2004

Call for Judgement

*squirms uncomfortably* Can we select a new Thing, please?

Passed, 7 votes to 0. We are now in the process of selecting a new Thing - the next email the Radio receives from a Lifeform wanting to become the Thing will result in Joranj becoming Human, and the emailer then becoming the Thing. (If nobody emails me, I'll pick someone at random after 'a while', as before.)

The weapons table will be restored to its original values when we've got a new Thing, and when Anti-Spree has passed.

CALL FOR JUDGEMENT

At 5.27pm, Kevan, the Radio, changed all the weapons to unrollable numbers to prevent Sprees.

At 5.43pm, Wittgenstein claimed one of the un-obtainable weapons.

Thus, her Spree is invalid.

YES!

Passed, 7 votes to 0. Result - Wittgenstein claimed the knife illegally, and couldn't have gone on a killing spree, therefore everyone is still alive.

You all wake up in your previous locations, slightly disorientated. What a horrible dream...
-deleted for gross stupidity-

Call

I call upon the Radio to acknowledge that there are no more Things and to send a Helicopter to pick me up.

Slaughter part 3

I, Wittgenstein do stab Bluebottle, Cayvie, Paleface, and Mat and declare them dead.

Slaughter part 2

I, Wittgenstein do stab Joranj, Keitalia, and Brendan and declare them dead.

Slaughter

I, Wittgenstein, do stab Elazar and Royce and declare them dead.

Proposal: Death and Death [trivial]

Add to Rule 20, "Death," the following:
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.

In the same Rule, change the sentence that reads
Dead Lifeforms cannot change their Location, perform Attacks, convert Humans or search for weapons .

to read
Dead Lifeforms cannot change their Location, perform Attacks, convert Humans, search for weapons or engage in a Transfusion.


Enacted by Kevan, 11th Jan; +2 to Brendan, +2 to Kevan.

Proposal : The Supply Shed

[ A low-tech alternative to Cayvie's "Isolation Devices". ]

Replace "seven distinct Locations" with "a number of distinct Locations", in Rule 12 (Outpost 37).

Then add a new location:-

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.


[ We could represent this with four GNDT locations; SupplyShed(O), SupplyShed(L), SupplyShed(B) and SupplyShed(LB). ]

If the proposal "The New Seekers" passed, replace the result for "2" with "Supply Shed Key", and the result for "5" with "Knife".

Enacted by Kevan, 11th Jan; +15 to Kevan.

GNDT - BlogNomic

We need another field in the GNDT, for Weapons.

If some obliging Admin could do the honours...?

Proposal : Look, No Hands [Trivial]

[ For Things brave or reckless enough to want to reveal their true nature... ]

Add two new Weapons to the Weapons list:-

Tentacle: Strength 1.
Claw: Strength 2. No defence against firearms.


Add add, to the Weaponry rule:-

Things may elect to grow or reabsorb Tentacles and Claws at any time; growing them costs 20 Life per Weapon, reabsorption is free.


Enacted by Kevan, 11th Jan (timed out, 4-3); +4 to Kevan.

Proposal : The New Seekers

[ Moving Searching out into a new rule and giving it a one-off two-dice roll, to save time and to make room for new items. Also saying that two people can't search the same room on the same day, to encourage exploration... ]

Remove the section "To search for a weapon, [...] can only search once per day." and the paragraph beginning "If a Researcher dies", from Rule 17 (Weaponry).

Enact a new Rule, "Equipment and Searching":-

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.


Enacted by Kevan, 11th Jan; +15 to Kevan.

Proposal : Anti-Spree [Trivial]

[ As it stands, the first person to find a weapon will be able to run around and kill everyone immediately, before declaring the outpost "clear". Which was rather careless of us. So let's prevent two consecutive attacks from the same Lifeform.

Rule 17 allows me to "edit the dice results list at any time"; I've changed them all to unrollable numbers, for now, to stop anyone from exploiting the loophole. ]


In Rule 17 (Weaponry), replace "Any Lifeform may attack another Lifeform" with:-

Any Lifeform (unless they were the most recent Lifeform to perform an attack) may attack another Lifeform


Enacted by Kevan, 11th Jan; +4 to Kevan.

BlogNomic

Proposal: Re-habilitation

Royce, new to the facility, took the time to do a little exploring. Carefully avoiding the fungus, the took a look around the Lab.

At the back of the room, he found two tall, glass cyliners, each of which was attached to a smaller cylinder by a thin glass pipe. He opened the first; immediately, a thin gas escaped, which made him cough slightly. He opened the second, and a shrivelled, emancipated human body fell from it; he had obviously starved to death. In the smaller cylinder attatched to the second capsule, a small, brown husk lay, broken in some green goo.

Feeling light-headed from the gas, Royce went to tell the others of his discovery.

To the bottom of Rule 13: Things, add the following paragraph:

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.


Failed by Kevan, 11th Jan - -5 to Joranj, +2 to Kevan.

ATTENTION RADIO

Please send the helicopters back. (There's no harm in calling)

yea, I am back too

yea, I am back too. Didn't feel like jumping back in to Blognomic in the middle of Damanors Dynasty. But hopefully i'll be work-free for a while now so I can be with your lovely bunch of hoodlums.

Royce is back, but where is Damanor?

I've got Royce back into the system, but I'm going to go idle for a while; school is starting up again, and it looks to be a hectic semester for me.

I have no intention of being one of those emperors who quits after losing power; I'll be back once things calm down a bit, and I'll follow things indirectly (through my good friend, Keitalia).

Good luck with everything, and don't get stuck out in the cold...

I'm Ba-ack ...

Hey guys, it's me, Royce, back and better than ever.

That is, I request to be re-activated, or re-animated, or whatever it is this dynasty.

I figured a new Dynasty would be the perfact change to jump back into the game! By the by, I like the new history section. I had no idea that Geran was actually Myke in disguise! Wow!

On another note, could you change my name-link thing to http://home.earthlink.net/~jedisquid/index.html. I don't use my blog anymore.

So, sorry I missed that whole space theme, but since this round's just in the making, maybe I'll be able to catch on quickly.

It's good to be back!

Proposal: The Anti-Thing serum

[This gives those lucky enough to choose the shotgun the option to be released of thinghood OR prevents one instance of further thinghood.]

In rule 17, weapondry, change
"6=shotgun"
to
"6=Option of shotgun or Anti-Thing Serum (see rule Anti-Thing Serum)"


Also, enact a new rule "Anti-Thing Serum" that states
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.


Failed by Mat Jan 10; 20:35

Thursday, January 08, 2004

Proposal: Removing flamethrower references

In rule 17:
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".


Enacted by Mat Jan 10; 20:32

Proposal: Seance You're Gone

The Radio has noticed that these Things have started appearing, and has delivered some equipment to help the Researchers... or at least that's what they think. An unmarked helicopter came and dropped off some cardboard boxes. Inside, there were these strange electronic devices. When one of the researchers picked one up, he was immediately covered in a flickering blue glow. He appeared to cry out in surprise, but no words came out. When he put the device down, the glow went away and he was able to talk.

I propose to add a rule, titled "Isolation Devices"-

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


Failed by Mat Jan 10; 18:34

Proposal: I'm Sorry. You Didn't... BEAT THE REAPER! (trivial)

Basically, if "Let's Hope It's Not In Vein" and "Moss and Lichen, Don't be Silly!" pass, append the following paragraph to "Emergency Transfusion":

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.


Enacted by Mat Jan 10; 15:19

Nomination: Kevan

I nominate Kevan as being responsible for me joining BlogNomic. (Is my 24 hours up yet? Only realised I might be able to play this now)...

Proposal: Unarmed and Dangerous

If Proposal: Guns Don't Kill People passes, add the following to the paragraph of Rule: Weaponry concerning Lifeforms assisting other Lifeforms in attacks:
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.)

Also, add this sentence to the end of the weapons list:
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.


Enacted by Mat Jan 10; 15:16
Don't forget that the proposal "The Ghost of Sir Ernest Shackleton" has only had four votes, so far, and is holding up the proposal queue until it reaches quorum, or times out tomorrow - it's generally helpful to cast your votes in chronological order, if you can (scrolling down until you see the stamp of the most recently passed or failed proposal, then seeing which proposal came after it).

Proposal: Let's Hope It's Not In Vein

Enact a new Rule, "Emergency Transfusion:"
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 Rule: Weaponry passes in some form, add the following sentence:
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).


[Edited at 10:34 EST for new Thing - Human relations.]

Enacted by Mat Jan 9; 01:58

Proposal: Life and Death [trivial]

If Rule: Death is enacted in some form, add to it the following sentence:

If a Lifeform's Life drops to 0 at any point, that Lifeform dies.


Enacted by Mat Jan 9; 01:57

Nomination: Kevan

I hereby nominate Kevan as being solely responsible for my joining BlogNomic. And wisely urging me to run.

Proposal : Guns Don't Kill People

[ Heavily simplifying weapons. I'm still not comfortable with the "forcing" thing - it's really just saying "drop your weapon, or I will shoot and kill you, and the ruleset assumes that you won't want to be killed, so you just drop your weapon automatically". Why not allow people to carry out the threats, and bluff, and things? Player A seriously demanding that Player B drop his knife or be killed, and waiting for a response, seems a lot more memorable (for building up a picture of Player A being angry and dangerous) than Player A just quietly invoking the little "make a player drop his knife" rule.

By adding a rule saying that killing someone reveals their Species, this should make killing a very risky thing to do - if you kill someone that turns out to be Human, then you're likely to face heavy retribution from the other team members (because they'll think you're either a Thing, or a dangerous lunatic). And if you kill a Thing, maybe that'll compromise the identity of some other Lifeforms, who will now have nothing to lose.

Of course, if it turns out that everyone gets killed off in a terrible bloodbath before the end of the week, we can propose a rule for spawning fresh Humans... ]


Replace the weapons list and "The specific effects of the weapons are as follows" in the Weaponry rule with:-

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.


Enact a new Rule, "Death" (or reword it to the following, if it already exists):-

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.


And replace the term "attack" with "convert", in Rule 13 (Things).

Enacted by Mat Jan 9; 01:55

Proposal : Weapons Inspection [Trivial]

[ Just a couple of bug fixes, from comments - removing the dropped-weapon Thingness giveaway, and removing the Flamethrower from the weapon table. ]

In the Rule "Weaponry", replace "If a Researcher dies or is turned into a Thing" with "If a Researcher dies or leaves the game".

Also reword the weapon table to:-

1=knife
2=knife
3=knife
4=pistol
5=pistol
6=shotgun


Enacted by Mat Jan 8; 18:15

BlogNomic

Proposal: Cold Fingers

If Re-Proposal: Armoury passes, change the following paragraph:

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.


to this:

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


Also, change this:

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.


to this:

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.


And while we're at it, this:

Pistol: The Researcher carrying the pistol cannot be forced by the carrier of the Shotgun.


to this:

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.


This should really have been fixed before I resubmitted it.

Enacted by Mat Jan 8; 18:14

Wednesday, January 07, 2004

Proposal: Rigid Designators

enact a rule called "Frostbite":

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.


Enacted by Mat Jan 8; 18:13

Proposal: Let's Be Nice (trivial)

As they're going to be at a severe disadvantage otherwise, I propose that Paleface and Brendan be granted 100 Life each.

Enacted by Mat Jan 8; 18:12

Not that I'm complaining, but...

Where did the 210 Life that Paleface and I have come from? From my best calculations, I should have 110 and he should have 10.

Enter the Thing

There is now a Thing in the compound. If you have emailed me requesting to be a Thing and have received no response, then somebody else beat you to it - you are not the Thing.

Proposal: Victory Condition

Enact a new Rule, "Heading for Civilisation":-

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.


Enacted by Mat Jan 8; 18:11

BlogNomic

Proposal: Revival Revisited (Trivial)

Propose that Rule 15 be removed, and the paragraph, reworded as below, be added to the end of Rule 2: Lifeforms -

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.


Enacted by Mat Jan 8; 18:10

New Player : Brendan

A small unmarked helicopter has just touched down on the far side of the compound, and dropped off a new member of the research team.

BlogNomic

Re-Proposal: Armoury

Shotgun dynamic changed slightly; Flamethrower removed altogether, but can be re-submitted at a later date.

An initial scan of the Armoury was fruitless; the previous residents of the base had obviously made this their first port of call. However, you mind wanders to the deep drifts of snow throughout the base. If the previous researchers had been set upon by wild animals, then the weapons could quite easily be anywhere.

If Proposal: The Thing That Came From Somewhere is passed, enact a new rule, "Weaponry":



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.


Enacted by Mat Jan 8; 18:09

Proposal: Moss and Lichen, Don't be Silly!

While examining and attempting to fix up the Laboratory, the AARG team discovered something unusual and disturbing. Most of the samples collected by the previous group were sealed in airtight jars, but there was one jar, labeled "Unidentified Fungus(?)" that lay broken and empty, save for a few pale green flecks of something. The floor around the broken jar was covered in a slick green sheen that resisted the team's efforts in cleaning it up. Over the course of the next week or so, the slick spot grew until it covered the floor of the entire laboratory. It has not spread to the walls or outside the lab, but it does make walking in the laboratory dangerous. And who knows what other effects it might have...

Alter rule "Outpost 37" in the following manner:

After "The Laboratory" append
(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)).


Add a new rule, "Infections"
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.


Enacted by Mat Jan 8; 18:07

Proposal: Morgue

If proposal Outpost 37 passes, add the location Fire Pit, and change seven to eight.

Failed by Mat Jan 8; 18:04

Proposal: Hunting

Create two new rules. One called Death, reading:

All Lifeforms are either Alive or Dead. This data is tracked in the GDNT. Dead specimens cannot change their location or make accusations.


and one called Hunting, reading:

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.


Failed by Mat Jan 8; 18:02

Proposal: I must say that in the right light, you look like Shackleton

enact a rule called "The Ghost of SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON"

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.


Failed by Mat Jan 8; 18:00

Proposal: Armoury

An initial scan of the Armoury was fruitless; the previous residents of the base had obviously made this their first port of call. However, you mind wanders to the deep drifts of snow throughout the base. If the previous researchers had been set upon by wild animals, then the weapons could quite easily be anywhere.

If Proposal: The Thing That Came From Somewhere is passed, enact a new rule, "Weaponry":

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.


Failed by Kevan, 7th January. -5 Life from Joranj, +2 to Kevan.

Proposal: Revival (of new players)

Enact a new rule: "Revival".

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.


Enacted by Kevan, 7th January. +10 to Paleface, +5 to Kevan.

Proposal: Hersch Values

Jakob Hersch was the leader of the last AARG team. When the current team returned to the site, his room was one of the ones most damaged by the fire of unknown origin. However, amidst the remains of his and the rest of the group's possessions, his tape-recorded log stood, almost completely undamaged. Eagerly anticipating clues that would help solve the mystery of his team's disappearance, the current team immediately began to listen. To their dismay and disturbance, though, after the opening few days, there was a full 18 minutes of silence. When the silence finally cut out, the rest of the tape was filled with Hersch saying rhymed nonsense phrases ("It takes your shape, it wears a cape") and intermittent bursts of his easily recognizable nervous laughter.

Enact a new Rule, "Hersch Value":-

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.


(a bit of a rip from Call of Chthulhu, but hey)

Enacted by Kevan, 7th January. +10 Life to Cayvie, +5 to Kevan.

New Lifeform : Paleface

A new member of the research team steps out from behind an abandoned bulldozer; you didn't notice him on the helicopter that dropped you here - maybe he was one of the pilots, unrecognisable beneath all the aviation gear. Yes, that's probably it.

Welcome to the game, Paleface. I'm afraid you don't seem to get an initial Life value, due to what was the old "Mega-Credits" rule being repealed at the end of the Dynasty. (Life still clearly exists according to other rules, though, so the values remain in the GNDT.) We should really fix this - feel free to make such a proposal yourself, or at least to make a proposal that gives you 100 Life...

Proposal: The Thing That Came From Somewhere

Enact a new Rule, "Things":-

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.)


Enacted by Kevan, 7th January. +15 Life to Kevan.

Proposal: Outpost 37

Enact a new Rule, "Outpost 37":-

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.


Enacted by Bluebottle, Jan 7 +10 to Kevan, +5 to Bluebottle.

Ascension Address

Welcome to Outpost 37! We hope the helicopter ride wasn't too rough.

As newly-assigned members of the Acheron Antarctic Research Group, you're here to replace the team that was lost during the heavy winter storms. The base was badly damaged by the weather, and a large part of the main complex was gutted by fire, but we've rebuilt the worst of it and got the generator up and running again - you can start going through fresh core samples in the morning, after you've all had a good night's sleep.

(By proclamation, "Mega-Credits" becomes "Life", throughout the Ruleset, "Representative" becomes "Lifeform" and "Speaker" becomes "Radio".)

Test Test

Cool, it works.

New representative: Wittgenstein

In this time of awkward logic checking and dynasty change arrives a new representative by the name of Wittgenstein.

Please state your welcomes, as all respectable representatives should.

BlogNomic

Ammendment: Ascension

(This for two reasons: 1, as Kevan raised, it's possible to exploit the same rules loophole as the winner of the Dynasty to take the victory from his/her hands before he has had a chance to repeal it, and 2. assuming the the rules are repealed immediately, it becomes hard to check on the victor's logic, and check for further loopholes that could lead to a CtJ.)

Add the following paragraph to the beginning of rule 10 - Ascension:

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.


Somewhat over-wordy, I know, but I can't see any possible room for loopholes. Basically creates a grey area between Dynasties; as we all know, grey areas have a grand scope for maneuvering in, so I hope this prevents shenanigans....


Enacted by Alex Jan 7; +10 to Joranj, +5 to Bluebottle.

Tuesday, January 06, 2004

Proclamation of Repeals

Rules 12-22 are hereby repealed, as the first act of the new Dynasty. If my ascension is flawed and retracted, they can be restored from the Wiki archive - this is just to stop anyone else using the same loophole to win again. (We really should have a "hold everything" clause while ascensions are contested, shouldn't we?)

Galactic Economy Collapses

I, the Representative of Forge, hereby declare that I have taken total control over the Galactic economy, as defined in Rule 21, and have won the Dynasty. The method hinges on Planets getting a fresh 100MCr from the Bank whenever they become unrepresented, and that the money from demolished Infrastructures need not be claimed back immediately.

Full, boring details are listed below. Challenge me if I've overlooked anything.




Initial MegaCredits - Kevan: 172, Damanor: 324, Forge: 0, Bank: 4952.5

The initial steps of the operation are:-


  1. I demolish Forge's Mining Complex, but do not claim the 5MCr for it just yet.

  2. I give 153MCr to Damanor. I now have 19MCr, causing Forge to revolt. They oust me as Leader, and destroy all other Infrastructures on their planet. Under Rule 12, "A Planet without a Representative has a wealth of 100 MCr"; the people of Forge gain 100MCr. Under Rule 21, this 100MCr comes from the Galactic Bank ("all money that enters the game comes from this finite source").

    MegaCredits - Kevan: 19 (-153), Damanor: 477 (+153), Forge: 100 (+100), Bank: 4852.5 (-100)

  3. I then claim the 5MCr refund for the demolished Infrastructure.

    MegaCredits - Kevan: 24 (+5), Damanor: 477, Forge: 100, Bank: 4847.5 (-5)

  4. I then reclaim Forge under Rule 12, as I now have more than 20 MCr. Since "a Representative has total control over the Credits of their Planet", I redirect this 100MCr to my own account.

    MegaCredits - Kevan: 124 (+100), Damanor: 477, Forge: 0 (-100), Bank: 4847.5

  5. I then build a Factory for 25MCr (25MCr going to the Bank), build two units of Luxury Goods (20MCr to the bank) and demolish the Factory. I donate 60MCr to Damanor, taking me down to 19, and am expelled by the people of Forge, who are given another 100MCr by the Bank.

    MegaCredits - Kevan: 19 (-105), Damanor: 533 (+60), Forge: 100 (+100), Bank: 4792.5 (-55)


From this, we see that every repetition of steps 3-5 removes 60MCr from the Bank and puts it into Damanor's account, and gives me two Eetcha of Luxury Goods. If we repeat steps 3-5 another seventy-nine times, we end up with:-

MegaCredits - Kevan: 19, Damanor: 5273, Forge: 100, Bank: 52.5

This leaves me with 158 Luxury Goods. I claim the 5MCr from the demolished Factory, and reclaim Forge and its money for the final time:-

MegaCredits - Kevan: 124 (+105), Damanor: 5273, Forge: 0 (-100), Bank: 47.5

I build a Trading Post for 25MCr, and use it to sell 8 Luxury Goods for a reduced rate of 9MCr each.

MegaCredits - Kevan: 171 (-25,+72), Damanor: 5273, Forge: 0, Bank: 0.5 (+25,-72)

I then try to sell another Eetcha of Luxury Goods, but the Bank can only afford to pay for the first 0.5MCr. The Galactic Bank is now bankcrupt.

MegaCredits - Kevan: 171.5 (+0.5), Damanor: 5273, Forge: 0, Bank: 0 (-0.5; owes Kevan 8.5)

I generously buy out the Bank by paying off its 8.5 debt (taking me down to 163), and throwing in an extra hundred.

On behalf of the people of Forge, I now have total control over the Galactic economy.

Monday, January 05, 2004

Council Proposal: I Like Haven

The people of Carolina request permission to spread their benevolence into the Medium-Sized planet of Haven, as, well, we discovered it.

New Planet Found! - Alfheim

The crew of my Star Ranger have reported to me that they have discovered another planet, this one Large, named Alfheim.

New Planet Found! - Haven

While the rest of you people were channelling your hard-earned Mega-Credits into Defense and Trade, the brave and courageous people of Carolina decided it was time for some new scenery, and quite frankly, I agreed with them. Submitting to their wishes, ordered my Shipyard to build a Star Ranger, and sent it out into the vast emptiness.

Almost immediately, they returned, with news of a Medium-sized planet, barely outside the reaches of our current empire, populated by a peaceful people, and named Haven.

I'm sure there's plenty more out there for the taking; is anyone else willing to take the necessary risks to discover them?

Idle Players: Squirrel and Loric

I should have done this at the same time I declared Shadow idle, but it didn't make much difference. Now, with a whole 2 MCr on the line (Cleaning up my own messes), I'll idle them officially. Quorum is at 4.

Proposal : Border Control [Trivial]

[ Following on from some thoughts on the Nomic Bulletin Board, it probably wouldn't hurt to give Admin the option of rejecting new-player applications (and at least specifically stating that nothing happens if the Admin ignores or loses the application). ]

In Rule 2, replace the first paragraph with:-

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.


Enacted by Kevan, 7th Jan; +4 to Kevan. Taking the liberty of replacing Representative with Lifeform, as we've shifted Dynasty - issue a CfJ if this makes you really, really angry.

Proposal : Let Them Eat Soylent

[ Proposing a simple mechanic for Food expenditure. ]

To Rule 15 (Infrastructures and Space Utilities), add:-

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.


Vetoed by Kevan, Jan 6. -3 to Kevan.

Sunday, January 04, 2004

Proposal : Trouble at Mill [Trivial]

[ Seems wrong that you can't choose to demolish your own Infrastructure if you want to build something else in its place. ]

Add to Rule 15 (Infrastructure):-

Representatives may choose to demolish existing Infrastructures and Space Utilities on Planets they control. They may claim back 5MC after each successful demolition.


Enacted by Kevan Jan 6; +4 to Kevan.