Re: DIS: What is it? Dragons?

2014-09-03 Thread Alex Smith
On Wed, 2014-09-03 at 23:14 +0100, Luis Ressel wrote:
> I really like this RPG idea, but I think the two previous proposals
> were too vague. I've made an attempt at rewriting them. The text needs
> some proofreading, as this is my first attempt at a more complex
> ruleset (and not being a native English speaker doesn't exactly ease
> the production of watertight legal documents...).

Don't worry, the non-watertight ones are generally more fun. You get a
month or so breaking them and sorting out the resulting mess, and then
you still get to use them as intended once you're done.

-- 
ais523



Re: DIS: What is it? Dragons?

2014-09-03 Thread Luis Ressel
I really like this RPG idea, but I think the two previous proposals
were too vague. I've made an attempt at rewriting them. The text needs
some proofreading, as this is my first attempt at a more complex
ruleset (and not being a native English speaker doesn't exactly ease
the production of watertight legal documents...).


Power-1.1 rule: The Province of Agora

The term "Province of Agora" (PoA) refers to the state of a specific
subgame described by Agoran Rules. The PoA is imaginary and
self-contained; it CANNOT specify aspects of outside entities. The
PoA is secured at a power threshold of 1.


Power-1 rule: PoA entities

The PoA comprises a set of entities called Characters. There are two
types of Characters: Player Characters (PCs) and Non-Player
Characters (NPCs).

The Dungeon Master CAN cause this rule to amend itself to change the
types of entities pertaining to the PoA Without Objection, subject
to the limitations of rule ??? (The Province of Agora).


Power-1 rule: The Dungeon Master

The Dungeon Master is an office. His weekly report includes a
summary of the changes which have occured to the PoA since the
previous report. The Dungeon Master's monthly report includes a
summary of the entire PoA.

These summaries MAY be anything whatsoever (subject to other rules),
but they SHOULD follow common sense, precedent, and Agoran
consensus. Provided they don't describe any entities not belonging
to the PoA, such summaries inside a Dungeon Master's report are
self-ratifying.

The Dungeon Master CAN by Announcement cause this rule to add or
remove entities to/from the PoA or set properties of entities
pertaining to the PoA, unless rules to the contrary exist.


Power-1 rule: Controlling Player Characters

Controller is a PoA Player Character switch tracked by the Dungeon
Master with possible values of any Agora player other than the
current Dungeon Master. If a PC's Controller is set to a certain
player, that player "controls" the PC. A player can control at most
one PC. Notwithstanding that, the Dungeon Master can't control a PC.

The Dungeon Master MAY NOT cause rule ??? (The Dungeon Master) to
set a Controller Switch.

If a PC's Controller switch would at any point in time have an
invalid value (for example after a player deregisters or the Dungeon
Master changes), that PC instead ceases to exist.

If a player does not control any PCs, he CAN cause this rule to
create a new PC, whose Controller switch will then be set to that
player.

A player controlling a PC CAN suggest changes to the PoA by
announcement or by message to the Dungeon Master. " takes an
action" is a valid form for such suggestions. After a suggestion has
been made, the Dungeon Master SHALL announce a change to the PoA. He
SHOULD consider the content of the suggestion for determining the
nature of the change.


-- 
aranea


Re: DIS: What is it? Dragons?

2014-09-02 Thread Luis Ressel
On Tue, 2 Sep 2014 16:15:33 -0400
Benjamin Schultz  wrote:

> Maybe the Province of Agora would work well as a Contest.  Make
> achievements worth points, and put all the informal regulations into
> the contest rules.
> 

Yes, I also think there should be some connection to the "main" Agora
world.

I like the whole idea, but I think we should perhaps wait one or two
weeks with it, so that we can restore Agora to full operation first and
also tinker a bit with the "Rewards Game" which is already on its way
to being implemented.

-- 
aranea


Re: DIS: What is it? Dragons?

2014-09-02 Thread Benjamin Schultz
Maybe the Province of Agora would work well as a Contest.  Make
achievements worth points, and put all the informal regulations into the
contest rules.

-- 
OscarMeyr


Re: DIS: What is it? Dragons?

2014-08-25 Thread Tanner Swett
On Aug 22, 2014, at 2:58 PM, Kerim Aydin wrote:
> 2.  You would need some basic definition of how "informal regulations"
> are made and changed.  What does "informal" mean, anyway?  Anyone
> can change them?  No one has to obey them?  These could fit the
> common definition of an "informal" regulation!

Yeah, this is probably the big problem with the proto-proposal.  Parts of it 
are vague on purpose—but I suppose being unambiguous is probably a good thing 
here.

Deutero-proposal:

Enact a rule, titled "The Province of Agora":

 The Province of Agora is a subgame whose state comprises the
 imagined state of an imaginary region.  The Dungeon Master is an
 office.

 Each player controls exactly one imaginary player character in
 the Province.  (If this character dies, a new one is created.)
 Whenever a player announces that this player takes an action, the
 Dungeon Master SHALL announce the imaginary result of the action
 in a timely fashion.  E MAY state that the result is anything
 whatsoever (subject to other rules), but e SHOULD choose a result
 that follows common sense, precedent, and Agoran consensus.

 The Dungeon Master's weekly report includes a summary of what has
 happened in the Province since the previous report.  The Dungeon
 Master's monthly report includes a summary of the entire publicly
 known state of the Province.  Again, these summaries MAY be
 anything whatsoever (subject to other rules), but they SHOULD
 follow common sense, precedent, and Agoran consensus.

Under the deutero-proposal, the only actual Agoran gamestate is stuff related 
to the office of Dungeon Master and its obligations to announce stuff. The 
deutero-proposal anticipates that other rules will be made governing the 
Province in more detail.

—the Warrigal

Re: DIS: What is it? Dragons?

2014-08-22 Thread Sprocklem
On 2014-08-22 12:22, Tanner Swett wrote:
> Proto-proposal:
> 
> Enact a rule, titled "The Province of Agora":
> 
>   The Province of Agora is a subgame whose state comprises the
>   imagined state of an imaginary region, and the informal
>   regulations which govern this state.
> 
>   Every player controls exactly one player character in the
>   Province.  (If this character dies, a new one is created.)  Any
>   player can, by announcement, cause this character to attempt to
>   take an action.  The results of the action should be determined
>   by the rules of Agora and the informal regulations of the
>   Province.  Where these rules and regulations are unclear, they
>   are to be augmented by common sense, consensus, precedent, and
>   the opinions of the Dungeon Master.
> 
>   The Dungeon Master is an office.  Whenever a player has eir
>   character attempt an action in the Province, the Dungeon Master
>   is responsible for announcing the result of the action in a
>   timely fashion.
> 
>   Any player can alter any aspect of the state of the Province
>   with Agoran Consent.  These alterations can be retroactive.
> 
>   The Dungeon Master's weekly report includes a summary of what
>   has happened since the previous report.  The Dungeon Master's
>   monthly report includes a summary of the entire publicly known
>   state of the Province.

This sounds like a great idea. I haven't had the time to look closely at
the proto-proposal but will try to do that later tonight.

-- 
Sprocklem


Re: DIS: What is it? Dragons?

2014-08-22 Thread Kerim Aydin



On Fri, 22 Aug 2014, Tanner Swett wrote:
>   Every player controls exactly one player character in the
>   Province.  (If this character dies, a new one is created.)  Any
>   player can, by announcement, cause this character to attempt to
>   take an action.  The results of the action should be determined
>   by the rules of Agora and the informal regulations of the
>   Province.  Where these rules and regulations are unclear, they
>   are to be augmented by common sense, consensus, precedent, and
>   the opinions of the Dungeon Master.

Unfortunately, this being Agora, there are some more definitions
you'd probably need to keep this from starting out in legal trouble.

1.  What are PCs (should introduce that abbreviation)?  Are they
persons?  Players?  Another class?  Maybe like assets, we would
define classes of Avatars (PCs and NPCs) and some basic idea of
what they can or cannot do.

2.  You would need some basic definition of how "informal regulations"
are made and changed.  What does "informal" mean, anyway?  Anyone
can change them?  No one has to obey them?  These could fit the
common definition of an "informal" regulation!

-G.











Re: DIS: What is it? Dragons?

2014-08-22 Thread Kerim Aydin


On Fri, 22 Aug 2014, Tanner Swett wrote:
> Enact a rule, titled "The Province of Agora":

We've done a lot of things, but never (that I know of) an 
RPG as a "pure" RPG.  If I get unbusy again in a month or 
so this would be a strong attractant to me.  -G.





DIS: What is it? Dragons?

2014-08-22 Thread Tanner Swett
Proto-proposal:

Enact a rule, titled "The Province of Agora":

  The Province of Agora is a subgame whose state comprises the
  imagined state of an imaginary region, and the informal
  regulations which govern this state.

  Every player controls exactly one player character in the
  Province.  (If this character dies, a new one is created.)  Any
  player can, by announcement, cause this character to attempt to
  take an action.  The results of the action should be determined
  by the rules of Agora and the informal regulations of the
  Province.  Where these rules and regulations are unclear, they
  are to be augmented by common sense, consensus, precedent, and
  the opinions of the Dungeon Master.

  The Dungeon Master is an office.  Whenever a player has eir
  character attempt an action in the Province, the Dungeon Master
  is responsible for announcing the result of the action in a
  timely fashion.

  Any player can alter any aspect of the state of the Province
  with Agoran Consent.  These alterations can be retroactive.

  The Dungeon Master's weekly report includes a summary of what
  has happened since the previous report.  The Dungeon Master's
  monthly report includes a summary of the entire publicly known
  state of the Province.

—the Warrigal