Feels a bit paradoxical to be saying that something can be “described in the ruleset as a Mandatory Action” but (if it fails either of the other criteria on the list) is isn’t actually that type of action at all.

Could we get away with skipping the “An action is a Mandatory Action if it meets the following criteria” rule and just saying that starting the Second Age is only a Mandatory Action while the Round Number is 8 (and is a defined but unperformable action otherwise)?

Although given the trouble we had last dynasty with complex atomic actions, where players missed a compulsory step and rendered their action invalid, maybe it’d be wise to avoid mandatory actions as much as possible, here. (There’s certainly no reason why the reset step needs to be part of a player atomic, rather than something that Gaea triggers after Round 8.)

I agree that I want to avoid complex atomic actions. There does need to be some level of dynastic rule distinction between the core-rules definition of what a dynastic action is (of which I expect this dynasty will have few, if any) and how they’ll work in this dynasty, but I accept that this may be kicking too hard in the over-described direction.

I’ve made an amendment lightening it a bit; see what you think.

I think that finding words around “here is the turn order, except this is how the turn order breaks and restarts again while Gaia does something” is going to be too much of a complex pain. This is going to be a big singular event; I don’t think it’ll get forgotten. Forcing it on the start player of Turn 8 is much easier than assuming I’ll intervene at the right time.

“An Action has a Time Threshhold if it is specified that it becomes an Action at a certain specific interval” is possibly backwards here, and should be something more like “if an Action has a Time Threshold, it only becomes an Action during that Threshold’s interval”? (Your Second Age rule doesn’t specify that the action becomes one at a certain interval, it specifies that the action has a Time Threshold.)

I might be overthinking this, I’m just aware that “surprise, this week’s should all have started with ‘blank all gamestate’!” won’t be much retroactive fun later on.

Let’s have both.

Nothing wrong with overthinking, I am also overthinking it so hopefully the combination will end up functional.

Have included your wording and tinkered with Second Age.

obvious typo “Threshhold” to “Threshold”

Tantusar, it’s actually “Thresshholddd” in the UK.

Unclear what

>  If an Action has a Time Threshold, it only becomes an Action during that Threshold’s interval

is supposed to accomplish.

Looking at

> As a Mandatory Action, an Island must select one of their Lists and randomly select one of the effects from it.

So that doesn’t have a time threshold, that other paragraph would imply it is already an Action. But does that mean it can be performed at any time, not just during someone’s turn?

Or if Mandatory Actions already normal Actions, why do we need that additional clause?

Good point Clucky - we probably need something somewhere saying that you can’t perform Mandatory or Optional Actions except as part of taking your turn.

That’s usually implicit, isn’t it? A random archive search turns up something like the Missile Crisis command actions: an action being defined doesn’t mean you can perform it at will, it means you have to look for a rule that lets you take it.