Cycle 16/Ruleset Draft

The Gilded Hall stands abandoned, once the beacon of a now forgotten city, in a time before. In contrast to the decrepit buildings surrounding it, the casino's interior remains untouched. Warm lights cast the room in a pleasant tranquility. But this farce barely suppresses the uncanny silence in the air.

Time

General

All times mentioned in this ruleset are in UTC. Days start at 00:00 UTC. Weeks start on Monday 00:00 UTC.

Phases

Each week is divided into two phases:

• Phase I (Rest): Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
• Phase II (Battle): Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Rules

A rule is a body of text which governs the state of the game. Rules that are in effect apply continuously. When a player joins the game, they agree to abide by the rules in effect.

A subrule is a rule that claims another rule as its parent. The subrule is not part of the parent; instead this relationship is to be used for organizational purposes.

A rule that is not a subrule is a top-level rule.

Players

Any person may become a player by posting a message setting forth their intent to do so in the channel ⁠#game-actions, provided they have not been a player at any point in the past seven days. A player may cease being a player by sending a message that sets forth their intent to do so in #⁠game-actions.

A player is 'reputable' if they have continuously been a player for the previous seven days or if they have continuously been a player from a time that was within 3 days of the round starting.

A player is considered to be 'inactive' if they performed no actions in the previous phase. All players are active in the phase they join the game.

Proposals

Proposals are made by sending a message in the channel #proposals.

A 👍 or 👎 reaction from a player on a Proposal message at the time when the voting period ends constitutes a vote in favor or against, respectively. If a person's vote is unclear (excluding abstentions), it is considered to be against.

At the end of its voting period, a proposal takes effect if it is popular (as defined for its type) and the message in which it was submitted has been neither deleted nor edited. If more than one proposal would otherwise take effect simultaneously, they take effect in the order in which they were created.

The class of a proposal must be one of the classes listed below. When a proposal is submitted, the submitter may specify its class. if no class is specified, the proposal class defaults to Standard.

Urgent Class Proposal

The voting period of an urgent proposal begins at the time it is submitted and ends two days after. An urgent proposal is popular if it has no more than two votes against it.

Rules to the contrary notwithstanding, only a reputable player can submit an urgent proposal. Urgent proposals should only be used to correct the game to its intended state and to maintain playability.

Standard Class Proposal

The voting period for a standard proposal is the phase that started after the proposal was submitted. A standard proposal is popular if it has more votes in favor than votes against.

Judgement

There shall be a sole Judge, responsible for resolving rules disputes. An incumbent Judge can be removed with the assent of two players, but they should not be removed in this manner except for abuse of office. A person can cease being the Judge by publicly stating so.

A request for justice shall take the form of a question or statement. The proper response to a question is an answer to that question, and the proper response to a statement is the truth value of that statement.

Upon formal submission of a request for justice by a person other than themself in #request-for-justice, the Judge can and shall, as quickly as possible, issue a response to the request in ⁠#request-for-justice. This response shall be binding only to the extent that it reasonably directly pertains to the request, and only to the extent that it does not blatantly and obviously contradict rules text while still considering the expressed or clearly implied legislative intent.

Within 4 days of a judge issuing a ruling, a public vote of confidence on that ruling can be initiated in #request-for-justice. Votes may be cast in such a vote for a period of 2 days after initiation. Votes are to be cast by 👍 or 👎 reactions on a clearly designated poll message; if a person's vote is unclear, it is to affirm the judgement. A ruling is overturned if strictly more players vote in favor of overturning than affirming.

A ruling may be overturned by the Judge who made it within one week of being made. When a ruling is overturned in this manner, the Judge shall then issue a new ruling on the initial request, which shall be binding in the same manner as the original ruling.

An overturned ruling shall have no bearing on the interpretation of the rules or of the gamestate.

Any reputable player may become a candidate for the Judge by sending a message in the channel #judge-elections. If there are any Judge candidacies put forward during a week, the player whose message is both popular and has the most 👍 reactions from players becomes the Judge once that week ends. A Judge Candidacy message is popular if it has more 👍 than 👎 reactions from players on its initiating message. Ties are broken in favor of the player with the earliest text message during that week.

If no judge candidacies are put forward during a week, then the incumbent judge retains their position.

Randomness

When randomisation is concerned in this ruleset, it must be resolved by a generally trusted and fair method accessible to all players in the game, and as soon as possible.

When a rule would have a player determine something by random chance, that player should resolve the random chance as their next act, and must resolve it before other actions involving the result of the triggering event may take place - or by phase end. If the randomisation is not resolved, then the event either does not take place, or takes place with only the non-random, non-optional elements resolved.

For instance, if a player receives an item with an optional random chance of having a special trait, they must randomly determine that trait before they may perform actions involving that item, or else the gaining of that trait fails by default. If a player would receive an item with a random attribute that must be determined, they do not receive that item until the attribute is determined.

Random Choices

A person shall not deliberately select random values for a rules-defined action without intending to use those values to the best of their ability to resolve that action.

If a person has selected some or all of the random values necessary to perform an action, they shall not discard the valid specifications in order to attempt a substantially similar action with the goal of obtaining different random values. If there is consensus that a preponderance of the evidence exists, or if a Judge ruling, not overturned, finds that a player has done such a thing, all attempts other than the first are deemed to be invalid and to not have affected the gamestate.

Dice Rolls

A rule that requires a selection of an NdK value, for non-negative integer N and positive integer K, is requiring the random selection of N rolls of a K-sided die.

• If not otherwise specified, this produces the sum of N rolls of a K-sided die; that is, the sum of N independent selections of integers from 1 to K, using a uniform random distribution. If N is zero, the sum is zero.

• If a rule requires an NdK dice roll with a target number x, this instead produces the number of N independent 1dK rolls that meet or exceed the target number and can be abbreviated as "x+". For example, if a rule requires a dice roll with a target number of 3, this can be abbreviated to "3+".

Items

Items are entities defined as such by the rules. Items can be owned by players and are stored in their inventory. When an item's owner cannot reasonably be determined using publicly available information, or if it would be owned by a non-player, it is instead destroyed.

Items with similar properties may be grouped together into item classes.

For an entity to gain an item is for that item to be created in that entity's possession. To grant an entity an item is to create it in that entity's possession.

For an entity to lose an item is for that item to be destroyed from that entity's possession. To revoke an item from an entity is to destroy it from that entity's possession.

Reputable players may trade items from their inventories with the consent of all parties.

Inventory

Each player has an inventory containing all of the items they possess.

Each player has a 'deck' of cards as a subset of their inventory, initially empty.

Trading

A trade is an exchange or transfer of items between two entities, with each entity giving a specified finite set of items to the other.

When otherwise authorized, a trade between two players takes place when both players explicitly consent to the trade in #trades within 7 days of each other.

Using items

If an item specifies an ability to be used, that item can be used by the player that owns it by posting to #⁠game-actions, specifying the item, and any other required details. When used, the item takes effect as specified in its description, then the item is destroyed. If an item's description references "you", it refers to the player who used the item. If it implies that a player does something, then the player who does it is the player who used the item.

Chips

Chips are items. Chips cannot be eaten or used.

Vertebrae

Vertebrae are items. Vertebrae cannot be used.

When a player becomes reputable for the first time, grant them 20 + 5⌈X/2⌉ Vertebrae, where X is the phase number.

Cards

Cards are a class of item. A species of card refers to an entry in the table below.

Obtained cards are automatically stored in a player's deck.

The table below describes the obtainable species of cards.

Name	Value(s)	Suit(s)	Colour(s)	Type(s)	Effect(s)
Ace of Hearts	1	Hearts	Red	Special	Select another participant. They draw 2 cards from their inventory.
2 of Hearts	2	Hearts	Red	-	-
3 of Hearts	3	Hearts	Red	-	-
4 of Hearts	4	Hearts	Red	-	-
5 of Hearts	5	Hearts	Red	-	-
6 of Hearts	6	Hearts	Red	-	-
7 of Hearts	7	Hearts	Red	-	-
8 of Hearts	8	Hearts	Red	-	-
9 of Hearts	9	Hearts	Red	-	-
10 of Hearts	10	Hearts	Red	-	-
Jack of Hearts	11	Hearts	Red	Special, Face	The next participant in the turn order must draw 1 card from their inventory.
Queen of Hearts	12	Hearts	Red	Special, Face	Select a participant and a card in their hand. This card is returned to their inventory and they must draw a different card.
King of Hearts	12	Hearts	Red	Special, Face	Select two participants. Each must draw 1 card from their inventory.
Ace of Diamonds	1	Diamonds	Red	Special	Select another participant. They draw 2 cards from their inventory.
2 of Diamonds	2	Diamonds	Red	-	-
3 of Diamonds	3	Diamonds	Red	-	-
4 of Diamonds	4	Diamonds	Red	-	-
5 of Diamonds	5	Diamonds	Red	-	-
6 of Diamonds	6	Diamonds	Red	-	-
7 of Diamonds	7	Diamonds	Red	-	-
8 of Diamonds	8	Diamonds	Red	-	-
9 of Diamonds	9	Diamonds	Red	-	-
10 of Diamonds	10	Diamonds	Red	-	-
Jack of Diamonds	11	Diamonds	Red	Special, Face	The next participant in the turn order must draw 1 card from their inventory.
Queen of Diamonds	12	Diamonds	Red	Special, Face	Select a participant and a card in their hand. This card is returned to their inventory and they must draw a different card.
King of Diamonds	12	Diamonds	Red	Special, Face	Select two participants. Each must draw 1 card from their inventory.
Ace of Spades	1	Spades	Black	Special	Select another participant. They draw 2 cards from their inventory.
2 of Spades	2	Spades	Black	-	-
3 of Spades	3	Spades	Black	-	-
4 of Spades	4	Spades	Black	-	-
5 of Spades	5	Spades	Black	-	-
6 of Spades	6	Spades	Black	-	-
7 of Spades	7	Spades	Black	-	-
8 of Spades	8	Spades	Black	-	-
9 of Spades	9	Spades	Black	-	-
10 of Spades	10	Spades	Black	-	-
Jack of Spades	11	Spades	Black	Special, Face	The next participant in the turn order must draw 1 card from their inventory.
Queen of Spades	12	Spades	Black	Special, Face	Select a participant and a card in their hand. This card is returned to their inventory and they must draw a different card.
King of Spades	12	Spades	Black	Special, Face	Select two participants. Each must draw 1 card from their inventory.
Ace of Clubs	1	Clubs	Black	Special	Select another participant. They draw 2 cards from their inventory.
2 of Clubs	2	Clubs	Black	-	-
3 of Clubs	3	Clubs	Black	-	-
4 of Clubs	4	Clubs	Black	-	-
5 of Clubs	5	Clubs	Black	-	-
6 of Clubs	6	Clubs	Black	-	-
7 of Clubs	7	Clubs	Black	-	-
8 of Clubs	8	Clubs	Black	-	-
9 of Clubs	9	Clubs	Black	-	-
10 of Clubs	10	Clubs	Black	-	-
Jack of Clubs	11	Clubs	Black	Special, Face	The next participant in the turn order must draw 1 card from their inventory.
Queen of Clubs	12	Clubs	Black	Special, Face	Select a participant and a card in their hand. This card is returned to their inventory and they must draw a different card.
King of Clubs	12	Clubs	Black	Special, Face	Select two participants. Each must draw 1 card from their inventory.
Red Joker	-	-	Red	Special	Can be played upon anything but only cards of the colour Red can be played upon them.
Black Joker	-	-	Black	Special	Can be played upon anything but only cards of the colour Black can be played upon them.

Colours

Cards may have a set of colours. When a colour's opposite is referred to it is detailed in the list following:

• Red opposes Black.
• Black opposes Red.

Types

Cards may have a set of types.

The table below lists the card types.

Type	Effect(s)
Special	A card with the special typing is a special card. Any card without the special typing is non-special.
Face	A card with the face typing is a face card.

Modifiers

Individual cards (and not species of cards) may have additional modifiers applied to them.

The table below lists the possible modifiers.

Name	Effect(s)	Source(s)
Holographic	-	When a random card is granted or by opening a pack, it has a 5% chance to be holographic (unless stated otherwise).

Card Packs

Card packs are a class of items. Any item with "Pack" or "pack" in it's name is a member of this class, unless otherwise stated.

If a player has a pack in their inventory, they can open the pack by stating their intention to do so, obtaining the random cards inside. Open packs are discarded from their inventory afterward.

Already-opened Pack

Already-opened Pack is a card pack. When "opened", that player gains 1 random card with a 10% chance to be holographic.

Handy Pack

Handy Pack is a card pack. When opened, that player gains 3 random cards.

Deck Pack

Deck Pack is a card pack. When opened, that player gains 5 random cards.

Legendary Pack

Legendary Pack is a card pack. When opened, that player gains 5 random cards and 2 random cards with the holographic modifier.

The Croupier

A scarlet vending machine ominously casts it's shadow over a felt table. Cursive letters of neon blue lights label this abomination as 'The Croupier'. The lights blink asynchronously, taunting, terrifying... yet alive? Foil packs of some trading card game are stacked, framed by grisly embellishments of bone. A sickly brown stain garnishes an odd triangularly shaped slot, the only interface with the machine.

Players can purchase items from The Croupier at any time provided they have at least the required cost in their inventory. When a purchase is made, the purchaser is granted the item and the cost is revoked from them.

Items that can be purchased from The Croupier.

Item(s)	Cost
Already-opened Pack	5 Vertebrae
Handy Pack	12 Vertebrae
Deck Pack	18 Vertebrae
Legendary Pack	50 Vertebrae
1 Chip	25 Vertebrae

Actions

Players may perform actions by posting a message to #game-actions that signifies their intent to perform a specific action.

Card gifting

Once per phase, each player (the giver) may select one other player (not themselves) to receive a random card. The following also occur:

• If that player is inactive, they are granted 2 additional random cards. If they then perform an action in that phase, the giver is granted 1 random card.
• If that player has less than 10 cards, they are granted an additional random card.

Exoptotic Battle

During a Rest phase (odd numbered), a player may state their intention to engage in battle by posting a signifying message to #game-actions. In each Battle phase (even numbered), all players who engaged in battle in the previous phase play a collective game of Exoptosis. If a player has less than 4 cards they cannot engage in battle.

In this game, if 24h elapses from the commencement of a player's turn without them acting, their turn is skipped.

The winner of this game receives the following rewards:

• 1 Handy Pack
• 4d3 Vertebrae
• 1 Chip

Exoptotic Duel

A player may request a duel with a group of players by posting a message stating as such to #game-actions. These players may then reply to accept or decline this offer. If all accepted, the players play a game of Exoptosis together immediately.

Exoptosis

Setup Rules

Before a game of Exoptosis commences, all participants select a minimum of 4 playing cards from their deck (a participant must forfeit if they have less than 4 cards in their deck), revealing these to the other players simultaneously. These cards form their hand and are visible to all players. During Exoptosis, a duplicate copy of each card is used, where the original cards never leave their owner's deck. The same card that is already present in a game cannot be added to a hand again.

Winning

The first participant to have zero cards in their hand wins the game of Exoptosis.

Turn Order

The turn order in a game of Exoptosis is determined by the number of cards in participants' hands, in descending order. If multiple participants have an equal number of cards in their hands, their relative turn order is determined randomly.

Betting

Before the commencement of any game of Exoptosis, a player may raise the stakes by betting Chips, up to the number they have. Any bet chips are removed from their owner's inventory and added to a pool for that game. If at least one other player matches this bet, all players must either match or further raise the bet (then all players must match this new bet). If a player does not wish to or cannot meet a bet, they must forfeit the game (but lose no Chips).

If no players match a bet, the raised bet is refunded and the bet restored to the previous amount (or zero). This bet is final and the game then begins immediately.

The winner of the game gains all Chips betted.

Forfeit

During a game of Exoptosis, a player may forfeit at any time. When doing so, any chips bet are not returned. If only 1 other player is participating, that player wins the game.

Termination

With the consent of every player participating in a game of Exoptosis, said game may be terminated. Any chips bet are returned to their original owners.

Playing Cards

On a participant's Exoptosis turn, they must play a card from their hand. If they cannot play a card, they must add one to their hand from their deck (that is not already in the game). If the participant does not have enough cards in their deck, they choose another participant who then gives the drawing person 1 card from their hand.

Unless a card has an effect that indicates otherwise, a participant may play a card if it has a value equal to, one (1) above, or one (1) below that of the previous played card, or of opposite colour - only if the played card is non-special. On the first turn of the game, the player who goes first in the turn order may play any non-special card.

Victory

If a player possesses at least 25 Chips in their inventory, they win the cycle. The cycle then ends.