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Saturday, March 20, 2004

Is anyone else having problems with the voting buttons and the GNDT? I can't see the former or access the later. Might I suggest that, if the problem is widespread (as opposed to my machine being unusual), we switch to FOR and AGAINST as a voting method?

Proposal: Benevolent priest [trivial]

In the rule gods modify the following line:

A successful Prayer to Poseidon allows the Praying Mariner to increase or decrease any Captain's Speed by the Prayer Roll, until the new lacuna starts.

Into
A successful Prayer to Poseidon allows the Praying Mariner to increase his or her captain's speed or decrease any other Captain's Speed by the Prayer Roll, until the new lacuna starts.


To prevent a priest from using poseidon to slow down the friendly ship and then abandon and pass it by with another. Especially to prevent an acolyte from doing that double.

Perturbatrix: A woman who disturbs the peace.  Sorta reminds me of someone... But who? Failed 1 to 13 by Keitalia at 12:49 GMT, 3.24.2004. -3 to Dunam, +1 to Keitalia.

Friday, March 19, 2004

Proposal : Recongregation [Trivial]

[ Reproposal of "Congregation", but resolving excess Priestliness by sacking the newest Priests, rather than those with the lowest Morale. ]

In Rule 17 (Jobs), reword the Priest effect to:-

The Priest may, once per Lacuna, add 5 to the Morale of another Mariner on the same Ship as the Priest, who also worships the same God as the Priest. (Performing this action gives the Priest 2 Morale.) If a Ship has two Priests, no further Mariners on that Ship may become Priests, and further Priests joining that ship automatically lose their job in the process.


To recongregate means to gather again.  It is an appropriate verb to describe Florida during spring break. Passed 10 to 1 by Satyr Eyes at 18:17 GMT, 3.23.2004. +2 to Kevan, +1 to Satyr Eyes.

Proposal: The poet may speak[trivial]

In the chapter rule replace the following line
The Poet will not state which effect happens, until the Mariner has made his choice

by
The Poet will not state which effect happens, until the Mariner has made his choice or the 48 hours are over.


If this proposal passes, Dunam receives 1 instead of 2 points for this proposal.

Because otherwise the poet could never say which effect happens if a mariner defaults to doing nothing. This is sooo trivial and I deserve even less points ;)

Censorship is the belief that a grown man can not eat steak, because a baby doesn't have the teeth yet. Passed 10 to 0 by Dunam at 14:04 GMT, 3.22.2004. +2 to Dunam

Chapter 1 Concluded

The epilogue to Chapter 1 has been added to the original post, here. I won't reveal the thrilling conclusion here; you'll just have to go read it for yourself.

Proposal: Habeas Corpus [trivial]

Replace the following text in the description of the "Imprisoned" ailment in Rule 22:
(except when considering that a Ship may only have 3 Imprisoned Mariners)
with this text:
(except for the purposes of Rules explicitly governing the infliction or removal of this Ailment)
Replace the paragraph in Rule 16 that reads:
The Captain may add or remove the Ailment of Imprisoned to any Mariner aboard his/her ship. A ship can only have a maximum of three Imprisoned Mariners, due to the small occupancy of the brig.
with this text:
The Captain may add the Ailment of Imprisoned to, or remove it from, any Mariner aboard his/her ship, except that he/she cannot make a Mariner Imprisoned when there are three Mariners already Imprisoned on the ship.
Delete the final sentences of Rules 21 and 24.
I think we need some sort of fix so we don't have to keep putting notwithstanding clauses in rules allowing for rescue or escape of prisoners, etc. People keep coming up with new ones.

Rules were meant to be broken. Passed 12 to 0 by Keitalia at 2:40 GMT, 3.21.2004. +2 to Octave, +1 to Keitalia. Rule 16, 21 and 24 are now Rules 17, 22, and 25. The rule change on 17 is legal since that is the only place in the ruleset that contains that paragraph. However the changes to rule 22 and 25 may be contested with a CfJ if that was not the intent of the proposer or if someone has a problem with legality of the change.

Proposal: Lacuna matata [trivial]

In the god's rule replace:

A successful Prayer to Ares increases the effective Battle Strength of the Praying Mariner's Ship by 10% times the Prayer Roll, rounded down, until the Poet next finishes implementing Ships' Actions.


by

A successful Prayer to Ares increases the effective Battle Strength of the Praying Mariner's Ship by 10% times the Prayer Roll, rounded down, until the new lacuna starts.


And in the gods rule:

A successful Prayer to Poseidon allows the Praying Mariner to increase or decrease any Captain's Speed by the Prayer Roll, until immediately after the Poet next implements Ships' Actions.


by

A successful Prayer to Poseidon allows the Praying Mariner to increase or decrease any Captain's Speed by the Prayer Roll, until the new lacuna starts.


And in the mutiny rule:

This Action cannot be changed until the Poet next executes Ships' Actions.


by

This Action cannot be changed during the current lacuna.


Just some lacuna related cleaning up.

Lacuna Wha'TheMata? Passed 11 to 0 by Keitalia at 2:30 GMT, 3.21.2004. +2 to Dunam, +1 to Keitalia.

Proposal: Gods get hungry too [trivial]

Add the following line to the jobs rule, into the advanced jobs list:

Acolyte Once per lacuna, the acolyte may sacrafice 15 supplies of his or her ship to the acolyte's god. During any lacuna where an acolyte has made such sacrafice, that acolyte may pray for a second time for his or her ship. An acolyte counts as a priest. This is an advanced job for priests.


FEED ME! OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES Passed 10 to 1 by Keitalia at 2:27 GMT, 3.21.2004. +2 to Dunam, +1 to Keitalia.

Proposal: polytheism[trivial]

Change the following line:

A Priest may pray to their God or Goddess on behalf of their Ship, if no Mariner has prayed for that Ship during the current Lacuna.


Into

Once per lacuna a Priest may pray to their God or Goddess on behalf of his or her Ship.


If the greek believed in polytheism, this seems appropriate.

All Bow Before The Mighty Pie! Failed 2 to 9 by Keitalia at 2:20 GMT, 3.21.2004. -3 to Dunam, +1 to Keitalia.

Thursday, March 18, 2004

Proposal: It's a Privelege... Not a Right.

I've become tired of admin shenanigans as of late...

Create a new rule # 3 and renumber the ruleset

Admin Staff

Any Mariner may become part of the Admin Staff if they meet all of the following requirements:

1) They have participated in 1 Dynasty without becoming idle.
2) They have read core ruleset (rules 1-11) and show some understanding of their workings by emailing an active Admin.
3) They have posted or commented on the weblog their wishes to become part of the Admin Staff.
4) Have the approval of Kevan. (Optional)

If a Mariner fails to meet these requirements they will not be made an admin. Admin who set up a new Admin may claim 5 morale.

If an Admin fails to comply with the core ruleset on more than 1 occasion, a CfJ may be issued to remove the offending Mariner from the Admin Staff. An Admin may not be removed from the Admin Staff if another rule in the ruleset overrides the core rule which the Admin failed to comply to.

Make the following changes to the Ruleset:

In Rule 1:
Replace:
Rules 1-10 are the "core ruleset"

With:
Rules 1-11 are the "core ruleset"

Replace:
Rules 11 onwards

With:
Rules 12 onwards

In Rule 10 in the 4th paragraph:
Replace:
(excluding Rules 1-10)

With:
(excluding Rules 1-11)

If this proposal passes the +10 Morale is deferred to est.

I've gotten tired with minor misunderstandings and the miscounting of votes... All of which wouldn't really have mattered in the first place. And Dunam, you don't have to vote on your own proposals it is already assumed that your vote is FOR, it confuses the poor Admin. Perhaps I'm over-reacting...again.

? Passed 7 to 4 by Keitalia at 1:52 GMT, 3.21.2004. +10 to est, +2 to Keitalia.

Proposal: Evolution

Add the following to the Advanced Jobs section of Rule 17: Jobs:

Advanced Jobs
Sailor. Once per lacuna, the sailor may make a GNDT comment "Sailing: DICE". That roll is known as the Sailing roll. On a sailing roll of 1 nothing happens. On a roll of 2 or 3 or 4 the speed of the sailor's captain is decreased by 2 until the next lacuna has started. On a roll of 5 or 6 the speed of the sailor's captain is increased by 5 until the next lacuna has started. A sailor also counts as deckhand. This is an advanced job for deckhands.

Hero. Has 1 speed. Once per lacuna, the hero may attempt a rescue and choose a ship within 10 distance to be the attacked ship. He must make one GNDT comment per rescue: "rescue [attacked ship]: DICE" where the name of the attacked ship is used within the brackets. If the roll is one, the hero is transferred to the attacked ship and emprisoned (if there aren't 3 emprisoned mariners on the attacked ship). If the roll is two, three, four, five or six, the hero may choose one imprisoned mariner on the attacked ship and transfer it to his or her ship. That mariner loses the imprisoned ailment.
A hero may increase the morale of any imprisoned mariner within 5 distance by 5 per lacuna.
This is an advanced job for deckhands and warriors.

Prophet. Once per lacuna, the Prophet may give 8 supplies of his or her ship to another ship within 10 distance. All mariners on that prophet's ship gain 5 morale. The prophet may not choose to do this if his or her ship has less than 8 supplies. A prophet also counts as a priest. This is an advanced job for Priests.

Sensate. When a sensate uses the priest ability to increase morale of a mariner that worships the same god, that marine's morale increases by 10. The priest sensate not gain morale from the priest ability. A sensate also counts as a priest. This is an advanced job for Priests.

Archer. Once per lacuna, the Archer may reduce the Morale of all Mariners on any other ship within 10 Distance of their own ship by 3 points. An archer also counts as a warrior. This is an advanced job for Deckhands and Warriors.

Pirate. Once per lacuna, the pirate may attempt a sneak and choose a ship within 10 distance to be the attacked ship. He must make one GNDT comment per sneak: "sneak [attacked ship]: DICE" where the name of the attacked ship is used within the brackets. If the roll is one, the pirate is transferred to the attacked ship and emprisoned (if there aren't 3 emprisoned mariners on the attacked ship). If the roll is two, three, four, five or six, the pirate takes 8 supplies (or all of the ship's supplies, whichever is less) of the attacked ship and add it to his or her ship.
A pirate may decrease the morale of an imprisoned mariner withing 5 distance by 5 per lacuna.
A pirate also counts as a warrior. This is an advanced job for Warriors.


And amend this line from the jobs rule:
Once the Mariner has occupied a basic job for two weeks, they may choose to move on to one of the relevant advanced jobs.

into:
Once the Mariner has occupied a basic job for two weeks without occupying an advanced job, they may choose to move on to one of the relevant advanced jobs.


My last Evolution, Revolution, Everlution! Passed 9 to 2 by Satyr Eyes at 23:38 GMT, 3.19.2004. +10 to Dunam, +2 to Satyr Eyes.

Proposal: Deck Games

I'm struggling to get into this dynasty, mainly because there's nothing to do unless you're a Captain or the Poet. So here's some random little subgames. Loosely inspired by Kaleidoscope.

Create three new fields in the GNDT, labelled 'Game 1', 'Game 2', and 'Game 3'.

Create a new rule, Games and Trends.

To allieviate tension on the voyages, games, trends and sports come into and out of fashion aboard the ships.

There are, at any time, three Games in fashion one each ship. Each Ship records the names of the fashionable Games of that ship in the 'Game 1', 'Game 2' and 'Game 3' fields of the GNDT. Each ship may have different fashionable Games.

The number of times each Mariner has played each Game is recorded in the GNDT field for that game. The Ship also records the sum of these values in the respective GNDT fields. This number is the representation of the game's popularity. Every Sunday, if any given Mariner's favorite game is also the most Popular on their ship, they may claim 10 Morale.

At any time, any ships Captain may issue a trivial proposal to change the active games to either a new or existing game. Only the Mariners on that Captain's ship may vote on the proposal. If the proposal passes, the game with the lowest Popularity when the proposal is passed is replaced by the proposed game. New games, whether passed or failed, are added to the bottom of this rule and may be proposed for re-addition in the same manner at any time. The Poet may remove any game he considers to be damaging at any time; however, if it is reproposed and passes, he looses this right over that specific game.

If a Mariner moves ship, the number of times they have played each game is cleared. If the game they have played the most is active on the ship they are moving to, they may keep half of the value they had on their old ship.

All proposed games are listed here:


Add the following to the rule Games and Trends:

Quoits. Any Mariner, apart from the Captain, may claim to have played this Game if they post a comment to a Proposal that is (a) greater than 25 words, and (b) begins and ends with the same 3 words. This may only be done once per Proposal, and may not be claimed once the proposal has passed. Once per week, the Captain of each ship may choose to award 10 Morale to the Mariner on their ship who has executed this task in the best way. (In this case 'best' is subjective to the Captain's own criteria, which they may or may not choose to make clear.)

Deck Olympics. Any Mariner who makes a Proposal that contains all 26 letters of the alphabet, plus all of the following puntuation marks - :!?;-& - may claim to have played this Game. If the proposal passes, the Mariner may award themselves an additional 20 Morale.

It. When posting a comment, the Mariner who is 'It' may choose to pass 'it' on to the Mariner who commented directly before them on that post, by adding "It" to their list of Ailments. A Mariner may not be made 'It' if 'It' is not an active game on their ship. A Mariner has played this game every time they pass 'It' on to another Mariner. On enactment of this rule, the Poet is 'It'.


On enactment, make 'Quoits' Game 1, 'Deck Olympics' Game 2, 'and 'It' Game 3 for all ships.

This was a really hard proposal, but in the spirit of streamlining I don't want any comments - start voting straight away please, unless you spot something really obvious and stupid that I've just missed out through improper proof-reading. If you do vote against, please feel free to tell me why (and if it's worth re-proposing), and also please feel free to change your vote if you appreciate someone else's arguement.

I really hate failing good, well-thought-out proposals with one serious glitch Failed by Satyr Eyes with voting 3-10 at 23:30 GMT, 3.19.2004. -3 to Joranj, +1 to Satyr Eyes.

Chapter 1: A Dream Deferred? (With Epilogue)

Kevan, the great tactician, captain of the SS Odyssey, awoke with a start, his flowing peppery beard drenched with sweat. Instantly alert, he leaped out of his cot, whipping his head around, his mind trying to reconcile half-remembered images of a great battle with the calm darkness of night surrounding him. Gradually the truth dawned on him, and he breathed a sigh of relief. No, his brethren on the Eriphyle had not forcefully boarded his ship, dragging him to the underbelly of their dank ship as captive. It had been a dream -- brought on, no doubt, by the fever that had wracked his crew of late, already claiming half a dozen lives and reducing the once-great Odyssey to a second-class ship on a dangerous sea.

Kevan lay back down, letting the darkness sink in. His visions had been a dream and nothing more; whence, then, the uneasy feeling stirring in his breast? Perhaps it was just the random wanderings of a fatigued mind, but for a moment the captain felt as though he had been touched by the hand of some god. This was a most uncharacteristic feeling for the pragmatic Kevan, who considered the ceremony of religion to be largely nonsense, and did not genuflect nightly to any patron god as did most of his crew. Still, though the tactician tossed and turned, his malaise did not vanish with time, and the rest of the night brought no sleep for the weary mariner.
Kevan, please select an option. What would you like to do about your nightmare?
1) Ignore it. It was just a dream.
2) Consult Sister Keitalia, seeking her insight.
3) Instruct the sharp-eyed Est to keep his gaze trained on the nearby Eriphyle.
When next Dawn with her fingertips of rose mounted the horizon, bleary-eyed Kevan could be heard barking out harsh orders to the sharp-eyed Est. "Lower the starboard squallnoggin and keep wary watch over the Eriphyle. Captain's intuition," he added, in response to Est's raised eyebrows. "If they give us trouble, we'll be all over them." Est tossed off a salute and went to work, not understanding his captain's order but obeying with a soldier's discipline. Kevan nodded, feeling somewhat more at ease, and knowing that Est would do well the job he had been told to do. Little did Kevan realize that Est had not been the only listener.

Below the ship, nereids sped the news of Kevan's reaction to Poseidon, brooding lord of the deep. "Infuriating fool!" raved the sea king. "I twist the unbeliever's ship in a gigantic whirlpool, end the lives of his crewmen with a horrible fever, and afflict him with a night terror about treachery at sea, and he still refuses to recognize the supremacy of the Maharajah of the Mediterranean? Why, I have a good mind to..."

"Cram it, Poseidon." An unexpected female voice echoed through the lavish throne room. A queenly figure entered, the decorative nets in her hair swaying in the water's current.

"Amphitrite," Poseidon growled. "Long has it been since your haggish face offended my senses. What brings you back to my palace?"

"Business," Amphitrite replied, her lip curled. "But no matter. This Kevan... the one called the great tactician, and who you now propose to smite for the fourth time this week. Why, exactly, do you feel the need to end his existence?"

Poseidon worked himself up until his voice was a thundering bass. "The seaweed-ridden dog refuses to pay his proper respects to me -- me, the god of the very sea over which he hopes to pass! And now he refuses to cower before me as the dream I sent him clearly requires! I demand that just deserts be inflicted upon him for daring to transgress against the will of the Almighty!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear," Amphitrite replied, her voice dulcet. "The supreme lord of the waves feels threatened by the mortal sailor and has to show off. Well, stallion, you might do well to remember that the tactician did act on the dream as he saw fit. He didn't ignore you; he misinterpreted you. Maybe if you would learn to communicate..."

Poseidon slumped. "Enough," he mumbled. "There will be no vengeance. I, uh... I'm tired."

"There, there," Amphitrite consoled him. "Go and get some rest, sugarplum. And no smiting till I say so. Idiot." With that, she stalked out of the throne room, bound for points unknown.

Much higher up, Est spent an uneventful day keeping watch over the Eriphyle. At eight bells he descended from the Odyssey's crow's nest, murmuring a brief prayer to his goddess Athena, and another to Artemis, whose silvery moon was just peeping over the horizon. Est had nothing to report to his captain, but hoped that at least the lack of news would comfort his clearly affected leader.

Kevan's choice is neither a boon nor bane to his ship or crew. Had he chosen the first option, a furious Poseidon would have calmed the winds to keep the Odyssey from sailing. Had he chosen the second, Poseidon, mollified, would have sent a school of fish for the Odyssey to capture and add to their Supplies. Congratulations to Kevan for averting disaster.

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Sigh.

Okay, I accidentally put my "Comment" for passing Satyr Eyes' proposal into his Jobs column. My bad. The problem is, I now can't seem to get it out. Help, anyone? Please?

Proposal : Congregation [Trivial]

[ As highlighted by Atheism, there's no reason for non-Priest Mariners to bother having a religion. One obvious change would be to restrict Priests' weekly morale-boosts to same-religion Mariners. (I'll also add a same-ship limitation and clarify the two-Priest rule, while I'm here.) ]

In Rule 17 (Jobs), reword the Priest effect from:-

The Priest may increase one other Mariner's morale by 5, once per Lacuna. Performing this action gains the Priest 2 Morale. There may only be a maximum of 2 Priests on a ship at any one time.


to:-

The Priest may, once per Lacuna, add 5 to the Morale of another Mariner on the same Ship as the Priest, who also worships the same God. Performing this action gains the Priest 2 Morale. If a Ship has more than two Priests, the Priest(s) with the lowest Morale are automatically defrocked.


Keep your frock on Failed by Satyr Eyes with voting 2-12 at 23:25 GMT, 3.19.2004. -3 to Kevan, +1 to Satyr Eyes.

Proposal: Just who pays tithes to you, anyway? (trivial)

Edit this sentence in Rule 17:

Any Mariner may choose one Job for themselves.


to instead read:

Any Mariner may choose one non-Priest job for themseves. Any Mariner that has selected a God as per Rule 13 may choose one job for themselves.


Add this sentence to the description of Priest in Rule 17 (just in case a god-changing effect is introduced later):

Should a Mariner who is also a Priest, by any effect of any rule currently in force, become unaffiliated with his or her God, that Mariner shall also lose the job of Priest.


This rule, obviously, forces Priests to worship a God. It just seems odd to me that a Priest could be a Priest of nothing specific.

I love the set, not the element Failed by Satyr Eyes with voting 3-9 at 5:51 GMT, 3.18.2004. -3 to Udelar, +1 to Satyr Eyes.

Proposal : Rational Explanations

Add a new God to Rule 13:-

Atheism, a lack of gods. An Atheist Mariner may never pray, nor may they be affected by prayers which affect Mariners. If a Ship has an Atheist Priest on board, then that Ship is immune to the effects of all prayers which affect Ships (although its individual Mariners may still be affected).


Do repropose when it's a balanced idea! Failed by Satyr Eyes with voting 3-8 at 5:47 GMT, 3.18.2004. -3 to Kevan, +1 to Satyr Eyes.

Proposal: Breaking Out Is Hard to Do [Trivial]

Kevan's Imprisonment may be illegal, but it would be irrevocable except by Dunam if it were legal. Seems like we should have some way to get out of the Brig.

Add the following paragraph to Rule 21, "Mutiny":
When a Mutiny succeeds, all Mariners with the Imprisoned Ailment aboard the Ship lose that Ailment. Imprisoned Mariners are considered to belong to their Ship for the purposes of this Rule, in spite of any statement to the contrary in Rule 22, "Ailments."
Add the following paragraph to Rule 24, "Piracy":
When an Attack succeeds, the Captain of the Attacking Ship may choose to remove the Imprisoned Ailment from any Imprisoned Mariner or Mariners aboard the Attacked Ship and transfer them to the Attacking Ship. If he does so choose, he must post the names of all Mariners so transferred as a comment to his Attack declaration within 60 minutes of the success of the Attack. Mariners may be transferred under this paragraph in spite of any Rules that would normally prohibit such transfers. Imprisoned Mariners are considered to belong to their Ship for the purposes of this paragraph, in spite of any statement to the contrary in Rule 22, "Ailments."


Passed 8-0 at 22:19 GMT by Axiallus. (+2 Satyr Eyes, +1 Axiallus)

Proposal: A Pirate Ship with Leaks [Trivial]

Amend the sentence "Failure to post the requisite comments within 60 minutes of the Attack wholly voids the Attack.", in the rule Piracy, to read:
If the Captain fails to post the requisite comments within 60 minutes of the Attack, the Attack automatically fails.
This prevents the exploit I thought Dunam was using -- namely, post the dice rolls, and if you don't like them, wait an hour so your attack is voided and try again.

Passed 12-0 at 21:37 GMT by Axiallus. (+2 Morale to Satyr Eyes, +1 Morale to Axiallus)

Call for Judgment

It seems Dunam tried, several times, to attack the Odyssey over the last couple hours. I don't have any idea how many times he actually succeeded (and I'm not sure he does either, based on the fact that he declared a number of his attacks void but treated at least one as though it had happened). I invite the interested to check the GNDT for the record, but nothing is posted in an organized format, so it is impossible to tell which of Dunam's numerous dice rolls and declarations of attacks actually counted and which did not. At first I thought he was using a (clever and present) rules exploit to guarantee himself a victory, but based on the times of his comments that's impossible.

To correct the problem, I propose we undo all changes Dunam made to the statistics of Mariners and Ships as part of his set of attacks. If he'd like to attack again after this CfJ is resolved, I invite him to do so, in a legal and organized fashion. Feel free to explain what was going on in comments to this CfJ, Dunam.

Passed by Kevan, 17th Mar - 8 votes to 0.

Declaration revisited Attempt: 4

Declaration of attack: Okay this time make it count!

Due to a technicality, what everybody thinks just happened, didn't happen! Therefor we will once again try to attack the ss-odyssey, this time a beheadment!

I declare the attack of the SS-eriphyle against the SS-Odyssey!

I think this is legal. I have to do this, so that it isn't done against me. If I am wrong, let's call for judgement and sort out the pieces

Declaration revisited

Declaration of attack: Okay this time make it count!

Due to a technicality, what everybody thinks just happened, didn't happen! Therefor we will once again try to attack the ss-odyssey, this time a beheadment!

I declare the attack of the SS-eriphyle against the SS-Odyssey!

Decleration of attack: Okay this time make it count!

Due to a technicality, what everybody thinks just happened, didn't happen! Therefor we will once again try to attack the ss-odyssey, this time a beheadment!

I declare the attack of the SS-eriphyle against the SS-Odyssey!

Intimidate those bastards!

Okay Joranj stand ready! We'll enter and massacre those Athena worshippers and atheists! May Poseidon grant us the righteous strength to defeat our enemies!

The ss-eriphyle will massacre the ss-odyssey!

Proposal: Smite the infidels! [trivial]

All mariners that do not worship a god receive -20 morale. The Poet's morale can not be decreased by this proposal.

Keep your hemlock to yourself Failed by Satyr Eyes with voting 2-11 at 1:25 GMT, 3.18.2004. -3 to Dunam, +1 to Satyr Eyes.

Proposal: Jaded choices [trivial]

In the rule chapters, replace
Each option can cause one of these effects, as chosen by the Poet, but there must always be at least one positive and one negative option:

by
Each option causes up to four of these effects, as hiddenly chosen by the Poet. There must be at least one positive and one negative effect to an option. This is the list of effects:


Further amend the rule chapters by changing

The Poet will not state which effect happens, until the Mariner has made his choice.


into:

Although the poet may give a hint towards which effects will occur, (s)he may not in any way reveal to that mariner which specific effects will occur.


And as a clean up, change all instances of 'effect ' into
effects
in the chapters rule.

At the same time the positive and negative effects are mentioned as a list to further clarify the last line of the rule. Because there is no restriction on what a 'positive' and what a 'negative' option is, all this changes is that you may have to choose between morale gain for your self at the cost of your crew or the other way around.

Good idea, but implementation needed work. Failed by Satyr Eyes with voting 6 - 7 at 1:20 GMT, 3.18.2004. -3 to Dunam, +1 to Satyr Eyes.

New Mariner

A tall, gaunt man strides purposefully onto the deck of the Odyssey. He whips his head around once, clearing the seawater-soaked strands from around his face.

"This drunkard fell off the side. Just about drowned, too. Good thing I spotted him."

"Oh, and I'm Udelar."

Please welcome new Mariner Udelar to our weary (but highly adventurous) sojourn. Quorum goes to 8.

Proposal: Freedom of speech [trivial]

Remove the line:
Under no other circumstance may the poet post a Chapter to the Blog.

From rule 15- actions

I have every faith in Satyr Eyes to make some cool chapters, regardless of whether we're supplying or not. One thing to remember as there are currently no unresolved chapters in this lacuna, Satyr eyes can immediately change the possible effects.

Kiwi FruitPassed 14 to 0 by Keitalia at 12:34 AM GMT, 3.19.2004. +2 to Dunam, +1 to Keitalia.

Proposal: Fear of Failure

Amend rule 6 - Enactment
From

When a Proposal fails, its proposer loses 5 Morale.

To
When a proposal fails, its proposer loses 3 Morale.


feel free to start voting. I will self kill this if 'stick in the mud' fails.

MehPassed by Keitalia as a Trivial Proposal; 3-19-04 at 12:31 AM GMT. +2 to Dunam, +1 Keitalia

Crap

This just isn't going to work with the internet access I have now. I can't keep up, let alone actually do anything.

Bye again. Will be back eventually.

(I don't even have time to remove myself. Could someone do it for me please? Thanks.)

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

Proposal Disorder

I don't know if Dunam was just overwhelmed by quorum being as low as seven, but he passed "Atlantis" and "Luck of the Last" while "Battle Strength" was (and is) still pending.

He probably already knows this, but under Rule 6, only the oldest pending proposals can be passed or failed; they have to be processed in chronological order, even if more recent proposals have reached quorum.

Monday, March 15, 2004

Proposal: Stick in the Mud (trivial)

I've been losing interest in these dynasties more and more quickly as of late, and I don't think I'm the only one suffering from this. I've been thinking about why this is, and I've come to realize that I'm getting sick of having to wait to vote on proposals because they're "in development" or whatever. Honestly, I'm of the opinion that people should stop being so conservative of their morale and take a few risks. Propose things; if they have severe mistakes, hopefully they'll fail! Failure is by far the best way to learn to get better. With this in mind, I propose the following:

Edit the last sentence of Rule 4: Proposals from

A Mariner may alter or remove their own Pending Proposals, provided that nobody else has voted on them


to

A Mariner may alter or remove their own Pending Proposals, provided that nobody else has commented on them


I'm hoping that this will result in more carefully constructed proposals that I don't have to wait 24 of the 48 allotted voting hours before I can vote on them.

You got me in a spin but everyfin is a-okPassed 10 to 2 by est at 04:55 GMT, 3.17.2004. +2 to Cayvie, +1 to est.

Admins rock!

I thought admin's got easy points and the only part if it that was fair was that anybody could be an admin. So I became an admin. And discovered the work and time that goes into adminning a few simple things. All players that are active as admin... You rock! I don't think I'll do much adminning in the future unless I see an oppertunity where I can help.

Have a good day.

The Red Star Rises

I've battle's lusty mayhem at my core!
Look on me, puny mortals, and despair!
Cry havoc, and let loose the God of War!

I ooze destruction from my every pore!
With brutal blade I lay my rivals bare!
I've battle's lusty mayhem at my core!

O, comb the dusty tomes of Greece's lore -
You'll find no soul to match my crimson flair!
Cry havoc, and let loose the God of War!

On screaming fields of glory caked with gore
I reign supreme, consummate legionnaire!
I've battle's lusty mayhem at my core!

I've no remorse, and justice I abhor -
Despite its label, "warfare" isn't fair!
Cry havoc, and let loose the God of War!

Let Ares' name ring out forevermore!
O Conquerors, now lift your hands in prayer!
I've battle's lusty mayhem at my core!
Cry havoc, and let loose the God of War!

*****

...And Ares, ever loving a big entrance, enters the Pantheon. His description is:

Ares, god of warfare and hypermasculinity. A successful Prayer to Ares increases the effective Battle Strength of the Praying Mariner's Ship by 10% times the Prayer Roll, rounded down, until the Poet next finishes implementing Ships' Actions.

Proposal: The Law of Averages [Trivial]

Amend the sentence "All Mariners are initially on board the SS Odyssey.", contained within the Rule Ships, to read:
Any Mariner newly joining BlogNomic, as well as any Mariner who returns to BlogNomic after being Idle since the beginning of the previous Lacuna, is placed aboard the Ship with the smallest number of Mariners. If more than one Ship has the smallest number of Mariners, the new Mariner is instead placed aboard the Ship with the smallest number of Mariners that has the largest Distance; if this still does not uniquely determine a Ship, the new Mariner is placed on the Ship with the smallest number of Mariners and largest Distance whose Captain comes first in alphabetical order.
This prevents the Odyssey from being bloated with new recruits, and keeps it from exploiting Piracy (should it pass).

Longtime Idlers are also assigned to the Ship with the fewest Mariners, to compensate for the fact that if all the Mariners who are about to go Idle rejoined, the Odyssey would again be bloated.

Shorttime Idlers are reassigned to their former Ship; we wouldn't want to change their Ship just because they had to leave for a few days, and we also don't want anyone taking advantage of the Rule to make transfers that would otherwise not be allowed.


Edited to insert Distance as a tiebreaking criterion.

You got me in a spin but everyfin is a-okPassed 12 to 0 by est at 04:50 GMT, 3.17.2004. +2 to Satyr Eyes, +1 to est.

Proposal: Pirates of the Mediterranean

Battle Strength. Huh! Good God, y'all! What's it good for? Absolutely nothing -- say it again! Unless, of course, we pass this Proposal.

Create a new Rule, "Piracy":
Once per Lacuna, a Captain may declare an Attack on another Ship within 5 Distance of his own via a post to the Blog. The Captain must specify the target and type of Attack in the post. Types of Attack are:

* Massacre. If the Attack is successful, all Mariners on the Attacked Ship lose 10 Morale, except for its Captain, who loses 20 Morale.
* Raid. If the Attack is successful, 20 Supplies from the Attacked Ship (or the total Supplies on the Attacked Ship, whichever is lower) are moved to the Attacking Ship.
* Beheadment. If the Attack is successful, the Captain of the Attacked Ship transfers to the Attacking Ship. This rule supersedes any and all rules normally forbidding such a transfer. The transferred Mariner is stripped of his rank of Captain in accordance with Rule 11, and may be Imprisoned by the Captain of the Attacking Ship at the latter's option.

If the Attack is unsuccessful, every Mariner on the Attacking Ship loses 10 Morale, except for its Captain, who loses 20 Morale.

Success of an Attack is determined as follows. Within 60 minutes of the Attacking Captain's Attack declaration, he shall post comments of
"Attack (Attacking Ship): DICE" and
"Defense (Attacked Ship): DICE"
in the GNDT, where "Attacking Ship" and "Attacked Ship" are the names of the respective Ships. He shall then post comments of
"Attack Strength: [Battle Strength of Attacking Ship + (100 * Attacking Ship's Dice)]" and
"Defense Strength: [Battle Strength of Attacked Ship + (100 * Attacked Ship's Dice) + 100]",
where the quantities in brackets are replaced by the results of the appropriate computations. Failure to post the requisite comments within 60 minutes of the Attack wholly voids the Attack.

If the Attack Strength is strictly greater than the Defense Strength, the Attack is said to be successful; otherwise, it is said to have failed.
This is potentially an important Proposal. Comments are especially welcome on this one. I've already implemented one of Dunam's.


You got me in a spin but everyfin is a-okPassed 9 to 2 by est at 03:47 GMT, 3.17.2004. +10 to Satyr Eyes, +2 to est.

Proposal: As the Wind Blows [Trivial]

There's a large and growing body of rules that would benefit in clarity and ease of application from a term to describe the period between Poet updates. This is my suggestion.

Add to the end of Rule 12, Distance:
The period of time between one implementation of Ship actions by the Poet and the next is called the Lacuna. An implementation of Ship actions by the Poet may be said to end one Lacuna and begin another.
The rest is tidying up of the Ruleset to include the new term.

Change the portion of Rule 13 reading "A Priest may pray to their God or Goddess on behalf of their Ship, if no Mariner has prayed for that Ship during the previous seven days." to "A Priest may pray to their God or Goddess on behalf of their Ship, if no Mariner has prayed for that Ship during the current Lacuna."

Change the phrase "the next time the Poet implements Ships' Actions" in Rule 15 to "at the end of the Lacuna".

Change "once per week" to "once per Lacuna" in Rule 17's description of the Priest, "once every 7 days" to "once per Lacuna" in its description of the Captain, and "until they have been in that job for at least 5 days" to "until the beginning of the next Lacuna" in its paragraph on changing Jobs.

Change "once per week" to "once per Lacuna" in Rule 21's description of the Imprisoned Ailment.

If "Rising through the Ranks" passes, modify every instance of "once a week" or "once per week" in Rule 17's descriptions of Advanced Jobs to "once per Lacuna."

All references to Actions in this Proposal are to be taken as references to Orders, should Orders be a game term.

Comments welcome, as always.

Lacuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase...Passed 10 to 0 by Satyr Eyes at 1:00 GMT, 3.17.2004. +3 to Satyr Eyes.

SS Calypso

I'm a man of few words.

Sail faster you sonsofbitches!

(I choose Loud and Sail.)

Proposal: Crisis of Conscience

Change rule 5 - Voting from:

Any Mariner may cast their vote on a Pending Proposal by declaring it in the comments of the entry. Valid votes are FOR, AGAINST, and DEFERENTIAL, which must be represented by appropriate icons. If there exists more than one Vote from a single Mariner on a single Proposal, only the most recent of those Votes is counted. If a Mariner leaves the game or goes idle, their Vote no longer counts.

A vote of DEFERENTIAL is a vote of no opinion, or of faith in the decision of the Poet. The vote will count as the same as the Poet's vote. The Poet itself cannot cast a vote of DEFERENTIAL.

FOR votes may be marked as 'Trivial' if the voter thinks that the Proposal should have been marked Trivial. (If most of a Proposal's FOR votes are marked 'Trivial', the Proposal becomes Trivial.)

If the Mariner who made a Proposal has not cast an explicit Vote on it, their Vote is counted as FOR.


to

Any Mariner may cast their vote on a Pending Proposal by declaring it in the comments of the entry. Valid votes are FOR, AGAINST, ABSTAINING , and DEFERENTIAL, which must be represented by appropriate icons. If there exists more than one Vote from a single Mariner on a single Proposal, only the most recent of those Votes is counted. If a Mariner leaves the game or goes idle, their Vote no longer counts.

A vote of DEFERENTIAL is a vote of no opinion, or of faith in the decision of the Poet. The vote will count as the same as the Poet's vote. The Poet itself cannot cast a vote of DEFERENTIAL.

A vote of ABSTAINING indicates that the voter has considered the issue but does not want to cast an opinion on either side, even being deferential. Their vote is, for all intents and purposes not counted.

FOR votes may be marked as 'Trivial' if the voter thinks that the Proposal should have been marked Trivial. (If most of a Proposal's FOR votes are marked 'Trivial', the Proposal becomes Trivial.)

If the Mariner who made a Proposal has not cast an explicit Vote on it, their Vote is counted as FOR.




Recently there have been a series of proposals I haven't wanted to vote either way on. I wished to register this, but not throw my vote in. SatyrEyes votes early and I often knew where my deferential vote would go.

We're obviously going to need a new icon for this.

Only if it passes.Self-failed by Truman Capote; failed by Satyr Eyes at 0:10 GMT, 3.17.2004. -5 to Truman Capote, +1 to Satyr Eyes.

Written error

In the rule ailments, please replace all instances of

Mairners


by

Mariners


Thank you admins!

Sunday, March 14, 2004

Proposal: Poetic freedom

Edit rule number 15 to include the following at the end of the resupply header:

When any ship ressuplies at an isle without special resupplying rules, the poet may post a chapter to the blog. Under no other circumstance may the poet post a chapter to the blog.


Add a new rule 'chapters':

In a chapter, the poet will describe a turn of events. He may include up to three options for the captain or a specific mariner to make. That mariner may then choose one option in the next 48 hours by making a comment on that blog. If no comment is made, the first option will be chosen by default. Each option can cause one of these effects, as chosen by the poet, but there must always be at least one positive and one negative option:

Positive:
*Gain of 10 morale for the choosing marine
*Gain of 5 morale for all mariners on that ship
*Gain of 10 supplies

Negative
*Loss of 10 morale for the choosing marine
*Loss of 5 morale for all mariners on that ship
*Ship must idle as next action, regardless of actions chosen by the captain

The poet will not state which effect happens, until the mariner has made his choice.
When the poet states which effect happens, that chapter is resolved.
When all chapters of a week are resolved, the poet may edit this list.

Replace action/actions by order/orders if rule 15 is called order.

Any specific way how the effects could be hidden and still checked in hindsight? I seperated into positive and negative effects and modified according to satyr's requests.
modified it one more time to make a new rule for chapters.


Behind one of these doors is the Big Deal of the Day...Passed 9 to 0 by Satyr Eyes at 0:05 GMT, 3.17.2004. +10 to Dunam, +2 to Satyr Eyes.

Proposal: Atlantis! [trivial]

Remove this line:

Island of AEolus. (60-55)

from the rule "mariners' map"

ay mateyPassed 10 to 0 by Dunam at 22:28 GMT, 3.15.2004. +3 to Dunam

Proposal: Luck of the last

Amend the rule actions under the subheading sail from:

In addition, the Poet must post a comment to the GNDT of "Sailing (Ship Name): DICE"; on a result of a 1, a mishap occurs, having one of many effects.


to

In addition, if there is a ship with a higher distance, the Poet must post a comment to the GNDT of "Sailing (Ship Name): DICE"; on a result of a 1, a mishap occurs, having one of many effects.


This way only the ship that's behind isn't pushed further behind. thanks for the suggestion satyr!

Scylla! Spit out that Truman, don't make me come and get you! Passed 7 to 0 by Dunam at 22:42 GMT, 3.15.2004. +12 to Dunam

Let's get things sorted out!

Aye, we may not have the quickest ship or the largest crew, but we will show that we are in fact the most skilled ones! I am listening for suggestions, so please be as loud! as possible!

In seven days I can increase the morale of everybody who has higher morale than me by 5

For now I give you the order to sail. I would ask all members of the SS Eriphyle to take a job they see fit. We're going to need no more than one priest and deckhands would be mighty welcome. I would like to know which gods you worship. Although I will permit different religions, I worship poseidon, god of the seas. I hold any worshipper of poseidon in high esteem.

Now raise the sails, we will sail for Ithica at once!

I choose the action sail

Proposal: Battle strength

Amend the rule ships to include the following:

A Ship's Morale is a measure of the battle strength. This is tracked in the GNDT. Any Mariner may update any Ship's battle strength. It's calculated as following:
warrior's morale times two
plus
captain's morale
plus
mariner's morale

If there are no priests on board, it's divided by two.


captains count double, warriors count tripple. It does make sense to use the morale row instead.

Arr, we be more interested in bottle strength!  Pass the rum!Passed 8 to 0 by Satyr Eyes at 23:50 GMT, 3.16.2004. +10 to Dunam, +2 to Satyr Eyes.

As You Start on Your Journey to Ithaca...

At last the drunken carousing subsided. Troy had fallen, and the weary, hung-over mariners were ready to return to home and hearth.

Kevan, the great tactician, looked over his ship, the SS Odyssey, and the crafts of the others. His was full of hungry, unruly sailors who would surely consume all the food on the ship before it hit its next port. But they would learn to pull their weight, all of them -- in time. For now, Kevan thought craftily, he would resupply on the windy plains of Troy, filling his ship so full it might make it to Ithaca before the other ships could even bypass Ismarus.

So he thought. But looking at his ship again, he noticed something... odd. Somehow, in all the excitement after the battle, its moorings had come loose, and the improperly-docked Odyssey was sailing off into the wine-dark sea without him! Swearing like the sailor he was, Kevan plunged after the ship. He was barely fast enough to be caught up by his observant crew, hauled from the sea like a wet dog.

But these were not the last of Kevan's troubles, for no sooner had Troy disappeared from the horizon when a horrible whirlpool appeared off the prow of the Odyssey! The great tactician knew the whirlpool for what it was -- the monster Charybdis, come to swallow up the ship and everyone on it. With regret he ordered his men to throw food off the ship into the monster's vortex, sating its appetite and lightening the load. At long last the beaten Odyssey escaped, its crew (not least its captain) badly shaken.

Charybdis' comrade-in-arms, the six-headed beast Scylla, was prowling the area as well. It happened not upon the beleaguered Odyssey, but instead upon the SS Calypso, a tiny craft captained by long-suffering Truman Capote. Capote saw the dark shape coming and called for his men to come to arms, but to no avail! Scylla snatched Truman Capote from the ship in one of its heads, and would surely have devoured him had another of its heads not gotten caught in the ship's steerage, causing the beast to yowl in pain, hurl Truman Capote to the deck, and retreat to rethink its plan of attack. Capote's small crew tended to their unconscious leader as best they could, but without his guiding hand their efforts to sail for Ithaca were all but ineffectual.

Only great-hearted Dunam, captain of the SS Eriphyle, saw his ship escape misfortune. His crew sailed proudly on, sunset to starboard, knowing that they would soon see Ithaca again.

Proposal : Order, Order [Trivial]

Replace the term "Action" with "Order", as relates to Ship Actions. Reword "Action that he or she wishes to take" to "Order that he or she wishes to give" in Rule 15.

whateverPassed 11 to 0 by Cayvie at 18:46 GMT, 3.15.2004. +2 to Kevan, +1 to Cayvie

Proposal : The Element of Surprise [Trivial]

[ Hm, didn't notice that Captain's Orders have to be made as blog entries, now. Email seemed more interesting, strategically. ]

In Rule 15 (Actions), replace "may post to the blog stating an Action" with "may email the Poet stating an Action".

If this proposal passes with no vote from the Poet, then it has no effect.

As Captain of the SS Odyssey, I hereby declare its intention to Resupply, when Actions are next processed.

whateverPassed 11 to 0 by Cayvie at 18:40 GMT, 3.15.2004. +2 to Kevan, +1 to Cayvie

Proposal: The Devil's Work for Idle Hands [Trivial]

All Mariners voting For with regard to this Proposal, excluding the proposer, gain 1 Morale.

All Mariners not casting a vote on this Proposal become Idle.

whateverPassed 12 to 1 by Cayvie at 18:35 GMT, 3.15.2004. +2 to Satyr Eyes, +2 to Cayvie, +1 to Strider, est, Octave, Dunam, TrumanCapote, Royce, Axiallus, ChinDoGu, joranj, Kevan.