Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Proposal: Puh puh puh puh puh puh, puh puh pok-uh face

Can’t reach quorum with 9 votes against. Failed by Kevan.

Adminned at 08 Oct 2010 03:37:57 UTC

Add a new rule to the ruleset, entitled Dodgy Dossiers:

Each Agent has a Dossier in which they keep their secrets. A Dossier has room for no more than five secrets; if an Agent already has five secrets and acquires another then they must discard an existing secret if they wish to keep it. Dossiers are tracked privately by Agents but D-Ops must be informed of any changes to the composition of an Agent’s Dossier as soon as that change occurs. (D-Ops is not required to track each Agent’s Dossier but must keep an audit trail of changes for later validation if necessary.)

Secrets fall into eight categories, which are denoted by the colour of the binder in which they are kept (Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Purple, Orange, Black and White, from most to least valuable in that order) and are allocated a clearance level between 1 and 20, with 20 being the most restrictive level. There is exactly one secret at each clearance level in each category, meaning that there are exactly 160 secrets available.

Secrets tend to be grouped thematically, and thus a Dossier of secrets is more valuable in centrain configurations than in others.

* Sequence. Secrets of consecutive clearance levels within the same category (a “sequence”, e.g. Red 5,6,7,8) are the most valuable. At least three secrets are required to make a sequence. Sequences containing a higher quantity of secrets are more valuable than those with less. In sequences with the same quantity of secrets, value is determined primarily by category; thereafter, sequences starting at higher clearance levels are more valuable.
* Group. Secrets of the same clearance level across several categories (a “group”, eg. Red 10, Blue 10, Orange 10) are the next most valuable. At least three secrets are required to make a group. Groups containing a higher quantity of secrets are more valuable than those with less. In groups with the same quantity of secrets, value is determined primarily by category; thereafter, groups starting at higher clearance levels are more valuable.
* Cluster. Less valuable than a group is a cluster, which is a collection of secrets from the same category but of non-consecutive values (e.g. a blue 3, 5 and 17). At least three secrets are required to make a cluster. Clusters containing a higher quantity of secrets are more valuable than those with less. In clusters with the same quantity of secrets, value is determined primarily by category; thereafter, clusters with a higher total when the clearance levels are added are more valuable. If this still results in a tie, the cluster with the secret with the highest individual clearance level is the most valuable.
* Scatter. Less valuable than a cluster is a scatter, which is three secrets of consecutive values across a variety of categories (e.g. blue 8, green 9, black 10). Two or more secrets may be a scatter. The value of a scatter is primarily determined by the cumulative total of the clearance levels of the secrets involved, with higher being more valuable. If this results in a tie, the scatter which contains the secret of the most valuable category wins; thereafter, the scatter with the highest individual clearance within the most valuable category is the most valuable.
* Overview. If an Agent cannot make any of the above configurations then they Dossier is considered to be an overview. An overview is less valuable than all other configurations. The value of an overview is determined in the same way as the value of a Scatter.

At a time of their chosing, D-Ops may make a story post entitled “Operational Review”, which should contain a date no later than one month after the date of that posting. Whoever has the most valuable Dossier on that date has achieved victory.

Skeleton of a victory mechanic. The means of obtaining secrets tbd.

Comments

Darknight: he/him

06-10-2010 22:12:00 UTC

imperial

Brendan: he/him

06-10-2010 22:13:28 UTC

Interesting, but there are already a ton of small-s secrets in the game; do you plan to make them related to Secrets in any way?  Like, does knowing someone’s Codename or Allegiance actually get me any closer to victory?

In either case, the audit trail and discarding Secrets seems cumbersome—I’d rather see you be able to construct a portfolio of any five of your choice when the review is nigh.

redtara: they/them

07-10-2010 00:00:28 UTC

imperial too long

Bucky:

07-10-2010 00:26:06 UTC

against .  Among other objections, we are overloading the term ‘dossier’ too much.

Josh: Observer he/they

07-10-2010 06:16:29 UTC

@Brendan - I wasn’t planning on extending the word “secrets”, but the actual mechanics are left intentionally vague.

The audit trail is only necessary if it becomes possible to trade secrets between players, in which case it will be necessary for someone to arbitrate trades. Discarding secrets can go, though.

Blacky:

07-10-2010 11:20:42 UTC

against I’m finding the machansim of 160 “secrets” or “files” with the rummy mechanism too complex for a spy game.

Kevan: he/him

07-10-2010 13:03:43 UTC

against Seems like a bit too much data for players to constantly second-guess. Fine for one quick round of poker, less so for a single, long game. I think the current vague direction of “knowledge of Codenames and Allegiances is power” is probably enough, if we sharpen it up. Maybe a victory mechanic of “name everyone within a single enemy allegiance”.

Purplebeard:

07-10-2010 14:37:39 UTC

against

Brendan: he/him

07-10-2010 15:12:35 UTC

imperial

Thane Q:

07-10-2010 15:14:52 UTC

against

lilomar:

07-10-2010 20:36:32 UTC

imperial