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Dynastic Rules [Para]

The Universes [Para]

There exist two parallel Universes, respectively code-named “Alpha” and “Prime”. These Universes have a common past, having branched off the same single Universe, and started off as separate from each other but identical. The forces of chaos cause them to diverge, but very slowly at first, when they are still considered to be functionally identical.

First Connection [Para]

The two Universes have diverged, as a Portal has been created between them. Contact between the two Universes has been established.

Multiverse Mechanics [Para]

A Portal has been created between the Universes, and Divergence has occurred. This means that the two Universes are diverging at an accelerated pace, and conditions in them are no longer functionally identical. The following is true:

Scientists [Para]

Each Scientist controls two versions of themselves, also known as Selves: one Self originates in the Alpha Universe and one Self originates in the Prime Universe. Each Self is located in their Universe of origin at the time of Divergence, and may be referred to by the addition of “Alpha” or “Prime” respectively after their name; the undifferentiated name refers to the Scientist controlling them.

This duplication has effect only for Dynastic Rules and for the Special Case rule “The Traitor”.

Dynastic Rulesets [Para]

What until the occurrence of Divergence was the second Section of the Ruleset, entitled “Dynastic Rules” (which may be referred to as the “Old Dynastic Ruleset”), has been replaced by three new Dynastic Rulesets. All rules contained within each of these Rulesets are Dynastic Rules.

The first Dynastic Ruleset is entitled “Dynastic Rules [Para]” and may be referred to as the “Paradynastic Ruleset” or “Para Ruleset”. At the time its creation, the Para Ruleset comprises the following rules from the Old Dynastic Ruleset: “The Universes”, “Multiverse Mechanics”, “Portals” and “Cataclysm”.

The second of these Rulesets is entitled “Dynastic Rules [Alpha]” and may be referred to as the “Alpha Ruleset”; the third is entitled “Dynastic Rules [Prime]” and may be referred to as the “Prime Ruleset”. Each of these two Rulesets is associated with the Alpha Universe and the Prime Universe respectively, and for this reason it may also be referred to as a “Universe Ruleset”. At the time of their creation, the Universe Rulesets are identical with each other (except for specific references to named Universes), and each initially contains a copy of all rules that the Old Dynastic Ruleset contained at the time of its replacement, with the exception of any rules listed to be contained in the Para Ruleset.

The effects of rules in the Alpha Ruleset (also known as “Alpha Rules”) apply only to the Alpha Universe and to those Scientists who are located in it, and the effects of rules in the Prime Ruleset (also known as “Prime Rules”) apply only to the Prime Universe and to those Scientists who are located in it, unless such a rule specifically states that it has an effect on both Universes or the Scientists therein.

The Para Ruleset has precedence over both Universe Rulesets; the effects of rules in the Para Ruleset (also known as “Para Rules”) apply to both Universes and to all Scientists.

Proposals [Para]

A Proposal may include the tags “[Alpha]” and/or “[Prime]”; if it includes neither then it is considered to include both and may be updated by the submitting Scientist or any Admin to do so. If a Proposal not tagged “[Alpha]” would amend the Ruleset or Gamestate of the Alpha Universe, or if one not tagged “[Prime]” would amend the Ruleset or Gamestate of the Prime Universe, then that Proposal is Unstable.

Each Scientist may cast no more than one Vote on a Votable Matter, including on any Proposal that would amend the Rulesets or Gamestate of both Universes.

A Scientist may not submit or vote on a Proposal that would amend a Universe's Ruleset or Gamestate unless they control a Self located in one of the Universes named in that Proposal's tags. If such a Proposal is Pending and no Self controlled by the submitting Scientist is present in one of the Universes named in that Proposal's tags, that Proposal is Unstable.

A Proposal is also Unstable if:

  • It would amend the Para Ruleset and does not include the tag “[Para]”.
  • It includes the tags “[Alpha]” and/or “[Prime]” in combination with any other tags.

If a Proposal is Unstable, any Scientist or the Liaison may make a comment to that Proposal indicating that it is Unstable and why. An Unstable Proposal thus indicated may not be Enacted and any Admin may Fail it at any time.

Portals [Para]

Portals are game entities which have a Name (a string), a Star Sign (with the same possible values as a Scientist’s Star Sign), Strength (a number) and a Source (either Alpha or Prime). They are tracked on the Scientists wiki page.

Whenever any Scientist takes a Discrepant Action, they must roll DICE12. On a result of 12, a Portal is opened. The Scientist whose action provoked the opening of a Portal is responsible for then carrying out the following atomic action:

  • Create a Portal with a name made up of one of the names of their choice from this page http://www.gods-and-monsters.com/list-of-greek-gods-goddesses.html and a random 4-digit number;
  • Randomly select a Star Sign for that Portal;
  • Set the Portal’s Strength, which is the result of a DICEx roll where x is the current Crisis;
  • Set the Portal’s Source as the Universe to which the Scientist who provoked its opening is Oriented, or a random Universe if they are Balanced;
  • Make a story post to the blog announcing the opening of a new Portal.

Cataclysm [Para]

If both Universes are ever Cataclysmic then all Scientists have failed and no Scientist may declare Victory. Any Scientist may repeal all Dynastic rules and immediately start a new metadynasty with a blank Ascension Address.

A Universe is Cataclysmic if it has a Crisis value of zero, or if all Scientists in that Universe have a Polarity that is at the most extreme value for the Orientation of that Universe.

Cleanup [Para]

Whenever an admin enacts an Ascension Address they must also change the name of the “Dynastic Rules [Para]” section of the ruleset to “Dynastic Rules”, and remove the “Dynastic Rules [Alpha]” and “Dynastic Rules [Para]” sections from the ruleset.

Dynastic Rules [Alpha]

University Resources [Alpha]

Budget [Alpha]

As a Weekly Communal Action, a Scientist can grant all Scientists an amount of Budget equal to the Crisis amount, then double the Crisis amount. The Crisis amount begins at 1000. Budget is a non-negative integer value. A Scientist defaults to having 0 Budget. Budget and Crisis are tracked on the “Scientists” wikipage.

When a Portal is created, the Crisis amount doubles.

If the Crisis amount for a Universe would be set to over 1 million, it is instead set to 0.

Research Material [Alpha]

Two commodities are crucial to a Scientist’s research: Interuniversal Putty (or simply “Putty”) and Turboencabulators. Each Scientist has a positive integer amount of each, which defaults to 0 and is tracked on the Scientists [Alpha] page of the wiki.

Each commodity has a buy price and a sell price in each of the two Universes; these prices are tracked on the Scientists [Alpha] page of the wiki.

At any time, an X-oriented Scientist (where X is Alpha or Prime) may buy a commodity (decrease their Budget by that commodity’s buy price in Universe X and increase their amount of that commodity by 1) or sell a commodity if they have 1 or more (increase their Budget by that commodity’s sell price in Universe X and decrease their amount of that commodity by 1).

Star Signs [Alpha]

Each Scientist has a Star Sign, which is tracked on the Scientists [Alpha] page of the wiki. A Scientist’s Star Sign is the same for both their Selves.

The possible values for a Scientist’s Star Sign are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, or Pisces, or No Star Sign, which is the default value.

Once in the Dynasty, a Scientist may set their Star Sign by rolling DICE12 against the list above, and setting their Star Sign on the Scientists [Alpha] page of the wiki. Once a Scientist’s Star Sign is set it cannot be changed by any means.

Polarity [Alpha]

Each Scientist has a Polarity, which is an integer between -50 and 50 (inclusive) and is tracked on the Scientists [Alpha] page of the wiki. While there is no Portal open, this value defaults to zero; while there is a Portal open, each Scientist determines their own default to this value through a DICE2 roll, with a dice value of 1 corresponding to a Polarity of -1 and a value of 2 corresponding to a Polarity of 1.

Any Scientist with a Polarity that is negative is considered to be Prime-Oriented, while any Scientist with a Polarity that is positive is considered to be Alpha-Oriented. Any Scientist with a Polarity of zero is considered to be Balanced.

Shifting a Scientist’s Polarity in a negative direction can be referred to as shifting it Primeward, and shifting a Scientist’s Polarity in a positive direction can be referred to as shifting it Alphaward.

Mindflaying [Alpha]

As soon as possible after Monday 10am UTC each week, any Scientist should, as a weekly communal action, Flay. Flaying is an atomic action with the following steps:

  • If there are more than two open Portals, set the Polarity of all Balanced Scientists to either 1 or -1, selected at random;
  • Move the Polarity of all Prime-Oriented Scientists Primeward by a number equal to the number of open Portals with a Prime Source;
  • Move the Polarity of all Alpha-Oriented Scientists Alphaward by a number equal to the number of open Portals with an Alpha Source;
  • Double the Crisis.

Discrepant Actions [Alpha]

If an action is a Discrepant Action and it defines an effect for both an Upsider and a Downsider, then any Scientist may perform it as follows:-

  • If no Portal is Open, they apply the Action's effects with themselves as both its Upsider and Downsider
  • If the Scientist is Prime-Oriented, they apply its effects with their Prime Self as its Upsider and their Alpha Self as its Downsider
  • If the Scientist is Alpha-Oriented, they apply its effects with their Alpha Self as its Upsider and their Prime Self as its Downsider
  • If a Portal is Open and the Scientist is Balanced, they randomly determine which of their Selves is the Action's Upsider and which is its Downsider and then apply the Action's effects

All Discrepant Actions are also considered to be Daily Actions.

The Discrepancies [Alpha]

Scanning is a Discrepant Action which raises or lowers (at the choice of the action’s performer) the Upsider’s Polarity by 1, and does the opposite to the Downsider’s Polarity.

Position and Prominence [Alpha]

Each Scientist has a position tracked on the Scientists [Alpha] page of the wiki, which is one of academic, corporate, criminal, law enforcement, or political, defaulting to academic. Each Scientist has a prominence tracked on the Scientists [Alpha] page of the wiki, which is a number greater than or equal to 0, defaulting to 0.

A scientist may change their position to any legal position by decreasing their prominence by two, or by setting it to 0.

Scientists may seek to interact with or capitalise on the other universe using the following actions:

  • Plagiarism is a Discrepant Action which can only be taken by an Academic Scientist: it raises the Upsider’s Prominence by 1, and decreases the Downsider’s Prominence by 1 (to a minimum of zero).
  • Siphoning is a Discrepant Action which can only be taken by a Corporate Scientist: it raises the Upsider’s Budget by 100, and decreases the Downsider’s Budget by 100 (to a minimum of zero).
  • Grandstanding is a Discrepant Action which can only be taken by a Political Scientist: it raises the Upsider’s Prominence by 2, and decreases the Downsider’s Prominence by 2 (to a minimum of zero).
  • Theft is a Discrepant Action which can only be taken by a Criminal Scientist who does not share a universe with a Law Enforcement Scientist: it raises the Upsider’s Budget by 250, decreases the Budget of any Scientist in any Universe by 250, and sets the Downsider’s Prominence to zero.

Dynastic Rules [Prime]

University Resources [Prime]

Budget [Prime]

As a Weekly Communal Action, a Scientist can grant all Scientists an amount of Budget equal to the Crisis amount, then double the Crisis amount. The Crisis amount begins at 1000. Budget is a non-negative integer value. A Scientist defaults to having 0 Budget. Budget and Crisis are tracked on the “Scientists” wikipage.

When a Portal is created, the Crisis amount doubles.

If the Crisis amount for a Universe would be set to over 1 million, it is instead set to 0.

Research Material [Prime]

Two commodities are crucial to a Scientist’s research: Interuniversal Putty (or simply “Putty”) and Turboencabulators. Each Scientist has a positive integer amount of each, which defaults to 0 and is tracked on the Scientists [Prime] page of the wiki.

Each commodity has a buy price and a sell price in each of the two Universes; these prices are tracked on the Scientists [Prime] page of the wiki.

At any time, an X-oriented Scientist (where X is Alpha or Prime) may buy a commodity (decrease their Budget by that commodity’s buy price in Universe X and increase their amount of that commodity by 1) or sell a commodity if they have 1 or more (increase their Budget by that commodity’s sell price in Universe X and decrease their amount of that commodity by 1).

Star Signs [Prime]

Each Scientist has a Star Sign, which is tracked on the Scientists [Prime] page of the wiki. A Scientist’s Star Sign is the same for both their Selves.

The possible values for a Scientist’s Star Sign are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, or Pisces, or No Star Sign, which is the default value.

Once in the Dynasty, a Scientist may set their Star Sign by rolling DICE12 against the list above, and setting their Star Sign on the Scientists [Prime] page of the wiki. Once a Scientist’s Star Sign is set it cannot be changed by any means.

Polarity [Prime]

Each Scientist has a Polarity, which is an integer between -50 and 50 (inclusive) and is tracked on the Scientists [Prime] page of the wiki. While there is no Portal open, this value defaults to zero; while there is a Portal open, each Scientist determines their own default to this value through a DICE2 roll, with a dice value of 1 corresponding to a Polarity of -1 and a value of 2 corresponding to a Polarity of 1.

Any Scientist with a Polarity that is negative is considered to be Prime-Oriented, while any Scientist with a Polarity that is positive is considered to be Alpha-Oriented. Any Scientist with a Polarity of zero is considered to be Balanced.

Shifting a Scientist’s Polarity in a negative direction can be referred to as shifting it Primeward, and shifting a Scientist’s Polarity in a positive direction can be referred to as shifting it Alphaward.

Mindflaying [Prime]

As soon as possible after Monday 10am UTC each week, any Scientist should, as a weekly communal action, Flay. Flaying is an atomic action with the following steps:

  • If there are more than two open Portals, set the Polarity of all Balanced Scientists to either 1 or -1, selected at random;
  • Move the Polarity of all Prime-Oriented Scientists Primeward by a number equal to the number of open Portals with a Prime Source;
  • Move the Polarity of all Alpha-Oriented Scientists Alphaward by a number equal to the number of open Portals with an Alpha Source;
  • Double the Crisis.

Discrepant Actions [Prime]

If an action is a Discrepant Action and it defines an effect for both an Upsider and a Downsider, then any Scientist may perform it as follows:-

  • If no Portal is Open, they apply the Action's effects with themselves as both its Upsider and Downsider
  • If the Scientist is Prime-Oriented, they apply its effects with their Prime Self as its Upsider and their Alpha Self as its Downsider
  • If the Scientist is Alpha-Oriented, they apply its effects with their Alpha Self as its Upsider and their Prime Self as its Downsider
  • If a Portal is Open and the Scientist is Balanced, they randomly determine which of their Selves is the Action's Upsider and which is its Downsider and then apply the Action's effects

All Discrepant Actions are also considered to be Daily Actions.

The Discrepancies [Prime]

Scanning is a Discrepant Action which raises or lowers (at the choice of the action’s performer) the Upsider’s Polarity by 1, and does the opposite to the Downsider’s Polarity.

Position and Prominence [Prime]

Each Scientist has a position tracked on the Scientists [Prime] page of the wiki, which is one of academic, corporate, criminal, law enforcement, or political, defaulting to academic. Each Scientist has a prominence tracked on the Scientists [Prime] page of the wiki, which is a number greater than or equal to 0, defaulting to 0.

A scientist may change their position to any legal position by decreasing their prominence by two, or by setting it to 0.

Scientists may seek to interact with or capitalise on the other universe using the following actions:

  • Plagiarism is a Discrepant Action which can only be taken by an Academic Scientist: it raises the Upsider’s Prominence by 1, and decreases the Downsider’s Prominence by 1 (to a minimum of zero).
  • Siphoning is a Discrepant Action which can only be taken by a Corporate Scientist: it raises the Upsider’s Budget by 100, and decreases the Downsider’s Budget by 100 (to a minimum of zero).
  • Grandstanding is a Discrepant Action which can only be taken by a Political Scientist: it raises the Upsider’s Prominence by 2, and decreases the Downsider’s Prominence by 2 (to a minimum of zero).
  • Theft is a Discrepant Action which can only be taken by a Criminal Scientist who does not share a universe with a Law Enforcement Scientist: it raises the Upsider’s Budget by 250, decreases the Budget of any Scientist in any Universe by 250, and sets the Downsider’s Prominence to zero.