Bay 12 Games Forum

Universe 2: Newtonian
Enthalpy 2/9 | Quandary 0/3

Last updated: 3/13/18

This universe is diverse. You notice upon entering that there are four moons, and four races - and one god. The universe is ruled over by the great judge god Kseowhat, who keeps the races living in harmony.

The planet is covered in majestic mountains, beautiful prairies, formidable deserts, powerful rivers. There are good sized icecaps at either pole. Four continents make up its land area, which covers 70 percent of the surface. There are clear climate belts and different weather systems. Mankind exists in an early Renaissance age of technology. They have colonized the coastlines of all continents in two sprawling kingdoms. They live in harmony with the tortoiselike Ka, shelled reptiles around the size of a dog that can walk on two legs. The Ka are more strategic and more warlike than the humans - despite not having any conflict at the moment, they are ever vigilant and ever planning. They share the same cities as the humans and have worked side-by-side for centuries.

The planet is also home to the Aissh, a race of intelligent, gigantic scorpions. They live below the surface of deserts in vast communal burrows. As the deserts are too hostile for mankind to venture in, contact with the other races has been slow. They have a family-based culture and a rich, but stifling set of traditions. Adherence to the laws of civilization is of tantamount important for them. The other races find them frightening and their ways strange. Due to this and the incompatibility of climates, they rarely mingle with other species, but relations are good. They are distinctly separated socially and politically from the Humans and Ka, but serve as chemists and medical scientists, sometimes using their own venom as part of a cure.

The innermost moon, named Meridian, swirls with deep blue-purple clouds. Its atmosphere is corrosive, the blue mists deadly to all known life. The surface contains deposits of the rare element Meridianum, which inverts properties of physics near it - for instance, it is extremely heavy when oxidized, but is light when in pure form. Thus the ore rocks weigh as much as, well, rocks, while pure crystals, which are silvery and translucent, can basically be juggled. When alloyed with brass in a ratio of 1:108, it creates a substantially lighter and far stronger metal that is very hard and completely invulnerable to heat or corrosion. In the cold upper regions of Meridian's turbulent atmosphere, energized by lightning storms, Meridianum enters into clathrate and metallocene complexes with various organic compounds. In this state, the Meridianum actually catalyzes nuclear reactions, so that these materials burn with fusion as well as chemically. This makes them a very useful source of rocket fuel that can be found in the upper atmosphere of Meridian.

The middle moon, Datum, is a small thing covered in rolling hills and savannah. It is inhabited by the Da, a species of intelligent plants that look like eggplants. The bulbous purple structure above ground is actually a enzymatic processing and fluid management hub akin to a cross between a heart, liver, and kidney. The Da collect sunlight for food and their intelligence is spread across a network of fungus-like strands underground that function as a brain for them. Immature Da can crawl using their roots before deciding upon a spot to stay. Da can exchange information and communicate by connecting their roots and transmitting long-term memories as genetic strands. Having little to do but sit, think, and discuss, they are natural philosophers and hold debates about religion and the meaning of life. They also know things about ecology and chemistry, and the latest generation is working on an interplanetary wormhole. First contact with the planet has not yet happened, but both worlds know of the presence of life on the other and both have budding astronomy programs, so it cannot be long. The Deian relationship with law is rocky at best; they know of Kseowhat’s presence and dislike such a forceful imposition of law.

The outer moon is brilliant blue and surrounded by glittering cyan rings. As you come close, you will realize that it is not a moon at all, but a vast, honeycombed structure, with passages and corridors leading to the interior. The entire moon serves as a giant power amplifier for Kseowhat, and holds his legions of angels and followers. Kseowhat’s architecture is structured around the number five, and pentagons, as well as dodecahedrons with pentagons for sides, recur in the gigantic building. What appear to be motes of dust in the rings are actually gigantic pentagonal habitats, each containing a sliver of demigod life and each serving as a lens to increase the range of Kseowhat’s abilities. At the core is the courtroom of Kseowhat, and at the exact geometric center of the perfect sphere is the simple but majestic bench on which he decides his cases.

Kseowhat is the ultimate judge. He upholds the law without prejudice, without fail - but without emotion, without mercy. His decisions are exacting and brutal - and absolute. His minions and worshippers are policemen and judges and ensure that every mortal is judged according to the laws of his civilization. All mortals are allowed to petition for a decision before him. All people can appeal to his court. If he decides that it is worth it, he will personally judge their cases, call witnesses, ask questions, come to a decision. Asking such a thing requires immense courage - but can grant the ultimate acquittal for a convict, as a decision before that lofty bench will stand in any mortal court.

Turns

Each turn corresponds to six hours. That means four turns to a day. Gods declare all their actions and they are executed at the end of a turn.

Mortal events may be reported at any time.

Forest and the trees

There are issues with being divine. The more power you have, the less you can perceive the world, and you have to give up brute force in exchange for finesse.

Gods are split into multiple shards, each of which acts on its own each turn. Each shard is bound to a particular area, and cannot act outside this area. As the size of the area decreases, so does the power of the actions. However, smaller shards get more actions and can aim these actions better.

Note that shard size limits what you can see as well. It dictates how precise I'll make my descriptions of areas. For example, if you have a shard that covers the entire planet, I won't give the name and description of every single town. Also, although you, as the player, control all shards of your god, you can't target actions based upon observations of smaller shards. The larger shard simply can't see the target.

Shards are created with one action from a shard of a larger size. Mind that you can create vastly smaller shards, but targeting restrictions still apply. For example, a planet-sized shard can create a town-sized one - but you can't pick which town.

There are eight tiers of shard size:

Universal, which spans an entire universe or even more. All gods enter as one of these. They get to act once a turn, but cannot do anything but generate shards on odd number turns. Universal shards can make additions to the fundamental laws of the universe. They have trouble seeing more than the simplest details of conditions on a planetary surface. As shards that spread across the universe, they are the only ones that can create Memetic or Anchored shards.

Planetary, which influence an entire world in the cosmos. Their power is enough to drastically change the environment of their domain - creating new weather patterns, sinking continents, reshaping the land. They get one action a turn. They cannot sense or target objects below continent size.

Continental, which have an area of effect equal to a large country or small continent. Continental shards can exert divine force at town-sized scales - leveling cities, carving rivers. Notably, they cannot make drastic changes to the terrain or climate around them - making a hill, or starting a small storm, is as good as it gets. They get 2 actions per turn. They can view features on their surface, but have difficulty interacting on human or even town-sized scales.

Biome shards have influence over a particular geographic region, perhaps the size of a small country, whose features and nature are consistent - that is, a biome. Towns also count. They can exert limited actions over their area of purview. Three actions a turn. They CANNOT modify the terrain or make any large creations or destructions, larger than say, a good sized mountain. They can't resolve people and smaller things, basically.

Local, which affect an area of a few acres. It's a small landmark, like a pond or church. They can't create or destroy, period, and mostly can grant status effects and transmute and stuff. However, they get to see and target ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING within their purview. Also, 4 actions a turn. They can be used to communicate with mortals within the effect with no cost.

Memetic shards are tied to a particular idea or mode of thinking. They get the perception and powers of a Local shard, but over all areas within view of a sentient being that exhibits the relevant idea or thinks in the right way. They also get significant power over the creatures that fit the description, able to boost their abilities, possess them, or kill them instantly. In addition, while they get as many acts as a Local shard, they are also able to take action whenever a significant figure exhibits their meme in a large way - which means theoretically unlimited actions. However, only Universal shards can create them.

Anchored shards are spread through mortals that worship the god they are a part of. The major difference between these and Memetic shards is that mortals spreading an Anchored shard must be aware of what they're doing. They get 4 acts a turn with the power of a Biome shard but the precision of a Local one, and depending on the fervor of the followers, their concentration, and sacrifices they make, the power can be drastically increased in some areas - potentially to Planetary levels. They can communicate with worshippers at no cost. Must be created by a Universal shard.

Descended shards have willingly taken mortal form. They represent a tiny fragment of the nigh-infinite power of a god, sent to do his or her bidding on the material plane. The downside, of course, is that they can actually be killed. However, they get considerable abilities - specifically, in any area the god is interested in, they have enough power and skill to best any mortal. In other areas, they get the 75th percentile of mortal ability just by being connected to a god. Appearance and abilities can be chosen by the god. Shards can't create Descended, they elect to Descend at the beginning of a turn, before their actions. The targeting of start location is dependent on their perception. And perhaps most importantly, Descended shards can see everything a mortal can see - and action count is limited only by how fast you can post.

Starting shards

All gods get a Universal shard.

If you started in this universe, you also get different smaller shards based upon what I think your god would do before the chase started. Tachyon, for example, is getting a Memetic geared at Warfare.

The devil you know

Kseowhat is watching.

Anytime you cause an action, there is a chance that Kseowhat will notice. If he does, he may deploy a shard of himself to intervene.

The chance is equal to one out of <shard actions per turn>. A 1dn will be rolled, and if you get 1, it is detected. Note that this means Universal and Planetary shards are always detected. The exception is for shard creations, in which the number for the smaller shard is used instead. The exception to that is that the very first shard creation is totally invisible.

And, of course, someone within your ranks is

GO!

Here’s the characteristics that define a god in this game. These are constant in any universe that you visit; everything else can change:

Name and description: Just introduce yourself and what you’re a god of!

Alignment: Your alignment on the Age Old Alignment System, which depends on two perpendicular axes of good v.s. evil and law v.s. chaos. Here's a quick refresher. Do bear in mind that this is a “play as bad guy” game; pick something that would reasonably not agree with Acter in the first place. Specifically, you can’t pick Neutral Good as that’s what Acter is.

Primary focus element: Based on the D&D Inner Planes, this is the Classical Element that your god is most proficient in. Choose from Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Creation, or Decay. This affects the output of divine force; how accurate your manipulation of the world can be, and how many instances you can find in which you can act. Specifically, an act that agrees with your primary element gets a +1 to rolls (although there may be other benefits).

Secondary focus element: Choose from the para-elemental and semi-elemental planes of D&D - that is, an intersection of two classical elements. The secondary focus you select must be adjacent to your primary focus. A map is below. An act that agrees with your secondary element gets a +1 to rolls. An act that agrees with both your primary and secondary gets +d2 (a d2 is rolled and added) as well as overshoot protection (anything above a 5 is counted as a 5). This only affects the force that you can bear on actions; it doesn’t affect which actions you can take, like the primary element does.



Symbol: What physical object represents your god and anchors its personality? If it is an animate object, then any 6s you roll near it are re-rolled; if inanimate, the same effect applies to 1s.

Rolls

This is a roll to dodge, so of course we will be rolling a d6 for every action. The results will be interpreted thus:

1: Not only do you fail the action, you make it much more difficult to attempt in the future
2: You fail to produce any result whatsoever, but at least you don't have a negative result
3: You accomplish part of what you wanted, but it's not as much as you hoped. If the action is already partially compete, I'll take this as success.
4: You accomplish what you wanted to.
5: You do what you wanted and you also accomplish some other goals.
6: In the loosest sense, you succeed, but the result is not favorable by any stretch.

There's a difference between the ability to attempt an action and the roll to determine success. What actions you can attempt are basically based on the magic/power system of each individual universe. However, once you attempt them, they get rolled. The rolls are always d6, and the only things that can affect them are:

• Focus elements, grants +1 if you match either to the action
• If you match both primary and secondary focus, you get a +d2 and overshoot protection
• Symbol, provides either critical failure (inanimate) or overshoot (animate) reroll
• Acter

Conditions

The conditions under which you can attempt an action will be very different in different universes, but there are some common factors.

Every action possible is assigned a primary element, chosen from the main elements and the energies, as well as a secondary element, adjacent to the primary, chosen from the intersection elements (para and semi planes). For actions that are primarily informational, such as mind control, illusions, or alterations to reality, I’ll use the classical associations of elements to mental faculties - fire for willpower, water for emotion, air for reason, and earth for possessions.

As mentioned above and in other places, matching focus elements gives you bonuses to rolls. However, the primary focus element also decides whether you can undertake an action at all or not. Most actions can be done by any god except one whose primary focus element is the polar opposite of the action’s primary - creation and decay, fire and water, air and earth. Some actions, labeled specific actions, represent specialized applications of divine power and can only be conducted by a god with the same focus element as the action (either kind). Some, labeled general, are simple to understand and undertake and any god - even one with a conflicting focus element - can undertake them. Specific actions do not get a bonus if only one is matched. This one is required to attempt the action at all. You get only a +1 for matching both. General actions get no bonus.

Universes

Everything not stated here varies by the universe.

Universes can have different physical laws, different lifeforms, different systems of magic, different levels of technology… different everything.

Universes are marked with numbers as well as short, descriptive names. You aim to run across universes in order to escape Acter. Acter requires four days (96 hours) to cross a universe by default; this can be increased through your actions. Gating out of a universe requires two different resources:

Enthalpy, or Chaos, corresponding to how much you’ve changed the world’s future to be more unpredictable. You earn this by interfering with the worlds below you, causing destruction, conflict, decay, and generally messing with people. The amount needed to exit is equal to the number of gods that you entered with. This means that if you pick up allies (read - more people join) during the universe, you don’t have to collect any more. You can accumulate more after this requirement is met; each Enthalpy accumulated will delay Acter by one hour.

Quandaries, or Cynicism, act more as a lock than a resource, created when sentients are placed into difficult and no-win situations. Each Universe has a certain amount of potential Quandaries, corresponding to particular choices where an individual gets to make a major decision. You must find and trigger each of these by making the choice as difficult and deceptive as possible - a Morton’s Fork, as it were. All of them must be triggered to exit the universe. Some universes may have none - these only have an Enthalpy requirement. If a Quandary is left for a long time, the individual in question may make a decision anyway. This will nihl out both the Quandary and Potential, so it doesn’t hurt you - but it does increase the chance that another Potential forms, and every existing Quandary when you exit delays Acter by another day, so you should try to keep the dilemma going.

A clarification about Quandaries. The point of a Quandary is to disrupt the standard decision making process. The standard decision making process of an individual is thus:

• The individual lists the choices possible
• The individual finds the results of each choice
• The individual selects a desirable result
• The individual carries out the corresponding action

Disruption of ANY ONE of these to a significant degree will award the Quandary to you. That is, in order to “unlock” a Quandary, you have to do AT LEAST one of the following:

• Make it impossible to list choices, by ensuring that there are either more or less choices than the individual believes. The former is possible by forcing the individual into a false dichotomy where there could be ways to take a third option but they are hidden. The latter is possible by creating a false choice that the individual considers but is not actually possible. Note that perception and details matter here. For a false dichotomy, there has to be a legitimate way to take a third option which the individual could use if it knew. For a false choice, on the other hand, there cannot be any actual way to carry out the choice but the individual’s judgement must be influenced by the false choice. The most obvious way to influence someone with a false choice is to have them take it (and find out at their cost that it’s false) but the presence of additional options may influence evaluations in subtler ways.
• Make it impossible to determine the results of choices by making such determinations inconclusive or incorrect. The former may sound easy, as nobody can predict the future, but as before, perceptions matter. To satisfy this condition, the individual must be convinced that it has no power whatsoever to determine what the results of an action is; that any prediction it makes is instantly questionable. This is done by setting things up so that, in Kafkaesque manner, actions have no predictable consequences around the individual in question. The latter is achieved by allowing the individual to predict the results of its actions in a way that is incorrect. This is one of the ways that you can win a Quandary after the decision has been made; by intercepting or interdicting the action so that it leads to an undesired result. Again, details matter. You cannot simply create an undesired result - that would go down as the decision-making process working but failing under outside influences. There has to be some logical reason why the result of the action would change, some system of rules used to intercept the intent.
• Prevent the individual from selecting a favorable outcome. Simplest way to win and the one that I envision you using the most often. Create a lose-lose situation. Please note that it’s not enough to make every action bad or every action equal - you must make everything equally bad. Making everything bad but not equal will result in the selection of the best of a bad situation, which is still considered “favorable,” while making everything equal but not bad will be a win-win situation, a selection among benefits.
• Prevent the individual from acting upon the choice. As before, this may sound easy, but perceptions matter. Throughout the decision making process, the individual must believe that it has influence over the decision. Now, this belief may be incorrect, which is winning by making it the entire thing a moot point. If you would like to bar the individual from action, however, such barring must take place in the time between the individual deciding upon a course of action and completing this course. Depending on the particular Quandary this could be anywhere from nanoseconds to weeks.

If at any point in the Quandary the individual becomes convinced that it has no reason to decide anymore then the Quandary evaporates and will regenerate instantaneously at a random location. If the individual tied to the Quandary dies then the Quandary regenerates somewhat less quickly at a somewhat less random location - the new Quandary will be related to the old, possibly regarding similar subjects, possibly as a consequence. Thus if you mess up good enough, simply shooting the individual may be a good idea.

Quandaries are assigned a definite decision as well as a definite individual. The way that the decision would go without your influence will also be determined. All these points of data can be determined by solving the ciphers I sometimes post.

To ease discussion, here is a list of all means to win a Quandary:

• False Dichotomy: “I thought these were the only ways but they aren’t!”
• False Choice: “I thought this could work but it doesn’t!”
• Kafka: “I have no idea what I’ll affect and in what way.”
• Irony: “This did something different than what I expected.”
• Morton’s Fork: “There is no good choice.”
• Moot Point: “There was never anything I could have done about it.”
• Hands Tied: “Now that I’ve come to a decision, I can’t do anything about it!”

Nothing is without reason. I've organized the above choices in some detail.

My main idea was that there are 4 types of power:
Military
Informational
Scientific
Political

Each type of power also has a complement, a power that must get weaker if the first gets stronger.
Military’s complement is Informational (Dead men cannot report)
Informational's complement is Political (Keep people informed, and the government loses control)
Scientific's complement is Military (Fight smarter, not harder)
Political's complement is Scientific (Stupid lawmakers slow progress)

Now, the choice of position, weapon, and custom are a buff onto one power, as so:
A = the military choice
B = the informational choice
C = the scientific choice
D = the political choice

The time periods are in a different order:
Ancient past = debuff to Military (slow movement, bad equipment)
Victorian = debuff Political (royalty and aristocrats)
Present = debuff Informational (anyone can hide behind the Internet)
Future = debuff Scientific (anyone can make scientific discoveries)

For each idea you propose, I'll divide it into parts and categorize each part by one of these powers. I'll roll and sum two six-sided dice, then add a net buff or debuff based on your choices. The different Questions have different values of buff and sometimes debuff:
Time period: solid -1 to selected
Position: solid +2 to selected
Weapon: +3 selected, -1 complement
Culture: +1 selected, -3 complement

As an incentive to get diverse powers, I'll give you a game long debuff for every category you go negative in:
For negative military, the heroes get a military front rather than just sneaking around.
For negative informational, I'll occasionally give incomplete or delayed information.
For negative scientific, I'll frequently shoot down plans because “rigid thinking”
For negative political, each plan will have a 1/12 chance of spontaneously cancelling.

Also, for every turn and every category, I'll roll 2 dice and if the sum is strictly less than your net bonus the area, you get a favorable result in the area. You can never get a favorable result in a negative area.

Of course, your actions can aim to change these balances of power.

I'm somewhat infamous for coming up with really complicated and convoluted schemes and getting in way over my head, so this is likely to be more complex than other suggestion games. It's still easy to play - I'll just have a lot of complex systems in the background.

I have woefully limited experience with forum games, so there is likely to be much unbalance. I also have a busy life and not much time, but I'll try to get back to you once a day.