This is not a full explanation but it’s a start
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This is a dry, but if you’re curious @Nightflyer …
The original Badaass, invented and curated by the FANTASTIC Pat Race in 2013, featured “group rewards” that required some level of co-operation, but also provided substantial immediate benefits to individuals who betrayed the group. What game theory aficionados call “Prisoner’s Dilemmas.”
Unfortunately for the hyper-competitive conditions Pat Race was trying to foster, a game theory aficionado among those original two dozen players thought it would be fun to subvert that “Lord of the Flies” game ethos. A major tool for that subversion was interplayer loans. “Space Banking.” To Pat Race’s immense credit, he adapted as the game developed and created a joyous adventure of mutual discovery.
Over the course of the game, a high degree of inter-player interaction emerged. Ironically, the key tool wasn’t the mathematical optimizations of the game theory aficionado but an older and deeper tool completely outside the math: Narrative.
Through several more games since, the group has made a conscious effort to move away from the strongly mathematically-driven original game mechanic ( eg “there is a 75% probability that a blaster will cause 2-12 point of damage, while use of the defense shield will deflect the first 3-18 points of damage”) towards descriptions (“a ship approaches you rapidly. You may fire your blasters or raise your shields”)
Hence the recent Badass Games, where game design supports players build ing characters with backstories and motivations from which the players drive their own stories forward and weave those stories together.
There’s also story about “Space Banking” honking off a certain Publisher of a Major Blog who didn’t think we were Doing it Right. As Gamers say, “We Show our true selves when playing games.” But that is a story for someone else to ell.
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Do we need to get to 10/10 to succeed in our Legacy Projects?
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Not necessarily. 10/10 would represent automatic success, while 7/10 would represent significant progress. Characters that survive and still have resources available will continue to work on their legacy projects in the epilogue.
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Can we send the Life Partner and Little ones out to the estate while burning the midnight oil and dodging the bombs in city, to protect their lives while risking one’s own for fame and fortune?
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I dare say, the standard was set in Old Brittania:
“The children will not leave unless I do. I shall not leave unless their father does, and the king will not leave the country in any circumstances, whatever.”
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I dare say, @David_Falkayn appears to be reading my mind. The standard must be set after all.
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Just to be absolutely clear,
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Who is the sixtth non-military member? I count 10 military and 5 non military. Will manwich get a vote, too?
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If the identical number of players choose option 1 (publicly stand with Weatherby) as choose option 4 (embrace New Prussia), option 4 “fails” and governance of Weatherby does NOT pass to New Prussia.
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Only the five (six?) non-military Leviathan Members, (@nimelennar, @wisconsin_platt, @Donald_Petersen, @David_Falkayn, @mrmonkey), may choose Option 1 or Option 4
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If none of those 5 (6?) non-military members choose option 1, and a single one of those five (six?) chooses option 4, New Prussia takes over the government and the valiant efforts of our military Members will be in vain.
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Option 5 does NOT count for the tally. If , say, all but one of the non-militiary members choose options 5 (resistance) and one chooses option 4 (embrace New Prussia), New Prussia takes over the government.
That’s a lot of political power in a small number of appendages…
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Don’t know about the rest.
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I’d mistakenly listed a player under non-military when it was pointed out to me that they had purchase a commission. I edited the @mention but forgot to update the text. We have 10 military and 5 non-military characters.
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In the event that the balance of Option 1 v. Option 4 is equal, Weatherby is ‘contested’ and everything suddenly becomes very interesting.
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Only the five non-military characters may choose from the ‘Option’ selections. The 10 military characters may only select from the ‘Military’ selections.
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Correct
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‘Option 5’ counts as an ‘Option 1’ for purposes of determining control of Weatherby as @Voice_of_Weatherby has pointed out.
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May I ask what the cumulative “chance” across a whole season would be for each of the above events, for a fair comparison with the other options? If it were, say, a 5% chance that your family is used against you in a given month, compared to a 25% chance that a given member of your family is injured in a season, I could work out the cumulative probability myself, but when the numbers are obscured behind descriptive names, it can be hard to see how they relate to one another (especially since exponentiation can make small differences much bigger very quickly).
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This is an excellent point. Opening the black box and crunching the numbers, the odds across the full season work out to be roughly:
- a Fair chance that you will be captured
- a Poor chance that your family is used against you
Which is a little light on the risk profile by itself. Since resistance activities will still be in and around Weatherby and counts as selection Option 1, the risks of Option 1 should still factor in.
Total risk profile of Option 5 for the season:
In the event the city comes under attack by orbital bombardment, each member of your family individually has:
- a Good chance of being severely injured
- a Fair chance of being killed outright.
Plus the additional risks of engaging in resistance
- a Fair chance that you will be captured
- a Poor chance that your family is used against you
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Sir,
The possibility of successfully navigating the New Prussian gravity well is approximately three thousand, seven hundred and twenty to one, and there is a …calculating…fair chance that we might be accused of desertion by one of the local mayoral candidates.
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Never tell me the odds.
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Wait a minute, I’m confused.
It seems like there are no benefits to being in the military only negative n consequence.
Can’t you earn medals for being in the military and lasting Fame? Isn’t the military a great way for those who are poor and down on their luck to turn their life around?
And will the fact that more people are in the military than not influence the outcome of the game?
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Having purchased a commission that arms and outfits a fighting force that one is also entitled to lead is an entirely positive consequence. It not only bolsters the forces of the empire but also allows one to enjoy the status that it confers. The opportunity to distinguish oneself on the battlefield is merely an unexpected bonus opportunity.
Entirely possible! We will see if the additional military support provided by the fine members of the Leviathan Club is sufficient to repel or at least blunt the attempted annexation of Weatherby by New Prussia. Exciting times!
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Service guarantees True Citizenship!
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a few thoughts, Lady Farnsworth.
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With war can come exceptional status and glory. Winston Churchill, for example, was born at Blenheim Palace-- named for a battle won by an ancestor and paid for by the king. If Weatherby perseveres, those who saw her through will be lauded for generations.
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Desertion is pretty cheap
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There is always Option 3…
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Additionally:
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