Shift Phase 0000:
The
Red Entity hears the voices of their fragments, and stretches their power over the battlefield. The expanse of blank, grey stone Shifts and enters a state of uncertain flux. What was a simple battlefield soon becomes relatively far more complex, as the terrain shifts at every Battle Phase's end.
Battle Phase rules updated.
The
Blue Entity listens, considers, and acts. Their power seeps into the sediment of the design process, and adds a new uncertainty. What shall happen if the war-tools of the dominant faction suddenly fall into the hands of the current lesser competitor?
Design Phase rules updated.
It is now the Design Phase.As a reminder, for the first three Design Phases, each team gets two Designs instead of one. The first (decide which is first however you please) Design each team makes will receive a +1 roll bonus, as well, as both teams decided a Shift before the soft deadline.
The game operates in three phases, the Shift Phase, the Design Phase, and the Battle Phase.
During the Shift Phase, each team votes on one Shift to make to the game mechanics, and the Shift with the highest number of votes is resolved once the Phase ends.
During the Design Phase, each team votes on one Design used by their Entity, and the Design with the highest number of votes is created once the Phase ends.
During the Battle Phase, war is waged automatically, and the team with the most effective and relevant Designs wins, making Progress.
These Phases proceed in order, Shift -> Design -> Battle -> Shift -> Design -> Battle, and so on. Progress shifts each Battle.
If a given team manages to maximize their Progress, they win the game permanently.
During the Design Phase, each team votes for a Design to create, a creation that will aid their Entity in waging war.
Entities do not wage war personally, because that is anathema to their existence. Instead, they create a faction of pawns and use those to fight. You may Design new pawns and new equipment for those pawns. You may also use a Design to modify or improve an existing Design your team possesses.
Of course, a Design isn't guaranteed to be exactly what you ask for. Once a Design is finished, 2d6 is rolled and summed, and the results are based upon your roll.
2 or less: Your Design goes incredibly poorly. Experience is still gained, but the Design is non-functional.
3 or 4: Your Design goes poorly. It functions, but with significant flaws, or falls short of what you asked for.
5, 6, 7, 8, 9: Your Design goes adequately. It functions, and that's all that can really be said about it.
10 or 11: Your Design goes well. It functions, and exceeds the mark by a significant margin.
12 or more: Your Design goes incredibly well. You'll likely gain results far beyond what was originally planned.
Situational bonuses or penalties will be applied based on the level of ambition of your design.
+4: Extremely unambitious
+2: Unambitious
+0: Minor development
-2: Major development
-4: Extreme development
I will apply these bonuses and penalties arbitrarily according to how I see your Design. If you believe I've massively misinterpreted what you were asking for, you may appeal.
(NEW) At the end of each Design Phase, I will roll a d6 Reversal Die. If the die lands on 6, the Designs made by each faction during that Design Phase will be transferred to their opposing faction.
Currently, there aren't any 'resources' that a Design uses, but not all Designs are created equal. Based on complexity, scale, and ambition of the Design, a usage level will be assigned. A usage level represents to what frequency your Design is present in the battles that occur between the factions your teams are a part of. This also roughly corresponds to quantity, if that makes sense for the Design.
Full Usage: Your Design is omnipresent in the battle between your Entity's factions, up to the extent that it is useful.
Partial Usage: Your Design is significantly present in the battle between your Entity's factions, but more availability would still be useful.
Low Usage: Your Design is scarcely present, but it may still be making a difference if powerful enough.
Single Deployment: Your Design is one-of-a-kind. It'll only make a difference if it's really special.
During the Shift Phase, each team votes on one Shift. A given Shift describes an alteration to a specific game mechanic, or the addition of a new one. A Shift does not describe the strict mechanical details of the change, but rather the general effect of it. The moderator will implement the specifics.
Once the Shift Phase ends, each team's voted Shift is resolved, changing the game itself.
Shifts are public, and described in the core thread.
Shifts that discriminate between teams, are too complex by the moderator's standards, or are too grand in scale or scope, will be altered beyond what was intended. This will be focused on making them more reasonable.
During the Battle Phase, there is no vote, the moderator simply writes out the results of the battle between the factions when they have the time to do so. These results will attempt to reflect the Designs that exist on either side. (NEW) The terrain of the battlefield shifts randomly according to the Terrain Table at the end of every Battle Phase. For the first Battle Phase, the terrain is an endless expanse of blank, grey granite.
Gravity exists.
An even match or draw will produce no change in Progress.
A significant advantage for one faction will produce a 10% change in Progress for that faction.
A major advantage for one faction will produce a 20% change in Progress for that faction.
(NEW)
At the end of every Battle Phase, the battlefield's terrain will shift into a new state according to the results of rolling 1d6 on this table.
1: A sandy desert with many dunes and a few sparse oases, small lakes of freshwater.
2: A grassy plain, mostly flat. The height of the grass varies from patch to patch. As there is no sun, the grass will quickly die.
3: A dense forest composed of generic, tall trees.
4: A rocky expanse of many small mountains. The passes and trails will be difficult to maneuver, but potentially exploitable.
5: A moist, muddy swamp with a few generic mangrove trees. Possibly difficult to navigate.
6: A vast sea dotted with small, barren islands.
At the start of the game, each faction has 50% Progress. Depending on the results of the Battle Phase, Progress may change by 0%, 10%, or 20%. If it changes, one faction will lose Progress and the other will gain Progress.
If a faction ever reaches 100% Progress, that faction's team wins permanently.
Metacrystal and You: A Short Generic Materials PrimerYou may have noticed that your starting Designs mention metacrystal. Metacrystal is a generic material. Essentially, its properties are arbitrary, but the further you push it, the greater the expense and complexity of your Designs will be. Your faction's
Entities would rather minimize their direct involvement in this conflict, as per the Arms Race rules (who's heard of an engineer personally joining the fighting in an Arms Race, outside of finale-type turns?). As such, the Designs you create are transmitted to your Rooks, which then operate your Gates to create them.
The bad news is, this makes Designs using materials that aren't metacrystal a bit difficult.
The good news is, you can Shift the game. If you want more things to work with than metacrystal, all you have to do is Shift that.
The other good news is, you're entirely capable of Designing better means of production. The 'Rooks-control-Gates' means I described are just what you have access to
right now. That can change.
