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[Phalla] ELEMENTALIST - Final Chapter: The Elemental Balance
MrBlarney
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
[font=”Palatino”]ELEMENTALIST
A MrBlarney Production
with thanks to Infidel for page hosting and programming support[/font]
Scenario
Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood. These five elements make up the world, and their interactions create life. While most are only able to make use of these interactions on a limited scale, the discovery of elemental tuning sixty years ago has dramatically changed peoples' way of life. Individuals who are able to manipulate the elements, known as Elementalists, are able to produce dramatic feats with effect irreproducible by non-tuned individuals. Of course, with such power, conflict is inevitable. And so it was that the nation of Onja attempted to rule over all others with a show of force based around the power of their Elementalists. While they did find some success in their plans for a time, the alliance of other nations eventually crushed their ambitions. Now, the Perlan Alliance stands as a beacon of strength and unity. Much like the elements themselves, the interaction of nations has created a golden age of growth that does not show signs of stopping.
Beneath the outward peace of the Alliance, however, chaos continues to stir. Descendents of the Onja nation, jealous of the Perlan prosperity, plot to break apart the union that currently reigns. Without care for the consequences, plans are drafted to eliminate those with power and swing the balance to Onjan favor. Soon, the slumbering power of Onja will burst, bringing a new turning point in history. Will the Alliance hold firm and eliminate evil once again? Or will the anarchists succeed in their plan and force a new direction for the world?
General Overview
Genre: Traditional (Village vs. Mafia), Battle Mechanics w/ Personal Pages
This is a Phalla game, Penny Arcade Forum's version of the party game Mafia. If this is your first game, it will be informative to visit the linked topic for some background information.
On the broadest level, this is a traditional Phalla pitting a large, uninformed village (Perlan Alliance) against a small, informed mafia (Onja Anarchists). The key difference between this and other games is the presence of off-site personal pages within which players may take matters into their own hands and combat each other outside the vote alone.
Elements
The major mechanics for this game are based around the Chinese Wu Xing (五行), or Five Movements. In the Wu Xing, the five elements of Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood are arranged into two intertwined cycles of generation and overcoming. The generation cycle is as follows: Fire --> Earth --> Metal --> Water --> Wood --> Fire; the overcoming cycle is as follows: Fire --> Metal --> Wood --> Earth --> Water --> Fire. A diagram of the Wu Xing can be found in the next section; for more information, here’s a link to the Wikipedia page.
Focus Shift
At the end of every game day, players may choose to increase their affinity towards one element at the cost of reducing their affinity towards two others. When focus shift is applied to an element, its affinity increases by 3, while the affinity of the element that generates it is reduced by 1 and the affinity of the element that overcomes it is reduced by 2. For example, a Focus Shift toward Fire will change elemental affinities like so: {Fire +3, Wood -1, Water -2}. See the diagram below for full details.
Players start with fully neutral affinities toward all elements (0) and may make up to two focus shifts before the start of the game. The maximum base value an affinity can take is 20, with no minimum value. On the other hand, non-Passive skills will not trigger if the element selected for the action has a base affinity of less than -10. Affinities may exceed these bounds due to effects from passive and support skills, however.
Common Abilities
All players are capable of three different types of common actions in all five elements.
- Probe Attack - (Attack; Other) Deals only a minor amount of damage (base: 10), but is anonymous in nature.
- Standard Attack - (Attack; Other) Deals a moderate amount of damage (base: 30), but the defender will know the attacker's identity.
- Defend - (Support; Self) Increases defensive affinity for all elements by 3 for the day. No element needs to be specified.
Skills
Skills allow access to additional actions beyond those common to all players or other abilities with passive effects. A list of commonly available skills follows.
As of Day 12, the following skills are available for learning:
- Shield - (Support; Any) Temporarily increases defensive affinity for the specified element by 6 for the day anonymously.
- Grand Shield - (Support; Any) Temporarily increases defensive affinity for the specified element by 12 for the day anonymously. <Prerequisite: Shield>
- Boost - (Support; Other) Temporarily increases offensive affinity for the specified element by 5 for the day anonymously.
- Weaken - (Support; Any) Temporarily decreases target’s overall affinity for the specified element by 4 for the day; the target will know the user’s identity.
- Neutralize - (Support; Any) Temporarily fixes affinity for the specified element at 0 for the day, also overriding any changes from Defend, Shield, Grand Shield, Boost, or Weaken abilities. Affinity changes caused by passive skills are not affected. Target will know the user's identity. <Prerequisite: Boost or Weaken>
- Focus Lock - (Support; Other) Prevents target's focus shifts for the day from taking effect, but the target will know the user's identity. Automatically blocks all shifts; no element needs to be specified. <Prerequisite: Boost or Weaken>
- Advanced Probe - (Attack; Other) Deals a small amount of damage (base: 20), but is anonymous in nature.
- Fierce Attack - (Attack; Other) Deals a large amount of damage (base: 50), but the defender will learn the attacker's identity.
- Minor Healing - (Healing; Any) Heals a small amount of damage (base: -20) anonymously.
- Major Healing - (Healing; Any) Heals a moderate amount of damage (base: -40) anonymously. <Prerequisite: Minor Healing>
- Improved Offense - (Passive; Element) Affinities are considered 1 larger when using Attack and Healing actions.
- Superior Offense - (Passive; Element) Affinities are considered 1 larger when using Attack and Healing actions. (Stacks with Improved Offense for a total boost of 2 points.) <Prerequisite: Improved Offense>
- Improved Defense - (Passive; Element) Affinities are considered 1 larger when targeted by Attack and Healing actions.
- Superior Defense - (Passive; Element) Affinities are considered 1 larger when targeted by Attack and Healing actions. (Stacks with Improved Defense for a total boost of 2 points.) <Prerequisite: Improved Defense>
- Improved <Element> - (Passive; Element) Affinity for the specified element is increased by 2. <Perk applies for only one element of the player's choice.>
- Superior <Element> - (Passive; Element) Affinity for the specified element is increased by 2. (Stacks with Improved <Element> for a total boost of 4 points.) <Prerequisite: Improved <Element> of the matching type>
- Increased Focus - (Passive; Focus) Two focus shifts may be performed each night on the same or different elements.
- Intense Focus - (Passive; Focus) Focus changes affinities by {+5, -2, -3} instead of {+3, -1, -2}. For instance, a focus shift toward Fire will result in affinity changes of {Fire +5, Wood -2, Water -3}. This is a permanent, compulsory effect.
- Reverse Focus - (Passive; Focus) Focus shifts decrease the chosen elemental affinity by 3, increasing affinity of the element it generates by 1 and increasing the affinity of the element it overcomes by 2. For instance, if a focus shift on Fire is selected with Reverse Focus, instead of {Fire +3, Wood -1, Water -2}, the result is instead {Fire -3, Earth +1, Metal +2}. (If combined with Intense Focus, the changes are {-5, +2, +3} instead of {-3, +1, +2}.) This is a permanent, compulsory effect.
As of Day 12, the following skills are available for learning:
- Reversal - (Support; Any) Temporarily reverses the affinity sign of the selected element (positive to negative and vice versa) for the day. The reversal occurs after support skills have been accounted for, but before the effects of passive skills. Target will learn the user’s identity. <Prerequisite: Neutralize>
- Limit Break - (Support; Any) Attacks and healing directed by and inflicted on the target player ignore damage/healing caps. Target will learn the user’s identity. <Prerequisite: Focus Lock>
- Ultimate Offense - (Passive; Element) Affinities are considered 1 larger when using Attack and Healing actions. (Stacks with Improved and Superior Offense for a total boost of 2 points.) <Prerequisite: Superior Offense>
- Ultimate Defense - (Passive; Element) Affinities are considered 1 larger when targeted by Attack and Healing actions. (Stacks with Improved and Superior Defense for a total boost of 3 points.) <Prerequisite: Superior Defense>
- Ultimate <Element> - (Passive; Element) Affinity for the specified element is increased by 2. (Stacks with Improved and Superior <Element> for a total boost of 6 points.) <Prerequisite: Superior <Element> of the matching type>
Damage Calculation
All damage is calculated with the following equation:
where B = base damage, A = attacker's elemental affinity, and D = defender's elemental affinity. Larger values of A and smaller values of D will increase the damage dealt; smaller values of A and larger values of D will decrease the damage dealt or even reverse the effect. If damage is negative, then the net effect is healing. Healing skills work like attack skills, but with a negative base damage so as to have a healing effect by default. Damage is capped at three times the base value, both in the positive and negative directions. Examples follow.
Damage = B*(10+A-D)/10
where B = base damage, A = attacker's elemental affinity, and D = defender's elemental affinity. Larger values of A and smaller values of D will increase the damage dealt; smaller values of A and larger values of D will decrease the damage dealt or even reverse the effect. If damage is negative, then the net effect is healing. Healing skills work like attack skills, but with a negative base damage so as to have a healing effect by default. Damage is capped at three times the base value, both in the positive and negative directions. Examples follow.
- Example 1: An attacker with Earth affinity 6 targets a defender with Earth affinity 2 with a Probe Attack: Earth. The attack will deal (10)*(10+(6)-(2))/10 = 14 damage.
- Example 2: An attacker with Wood affinity 5 targets a defender with Wood affinity -4 with a Standard Attack: Wood. The attack will deal (30)*(10+(5)-(-4))/10 = 57 damage.
- Example 3: A healer with Fire affinity -3 targets a defender with Fire affinity 5 with Minor Healing: Fire, while the defender uses the Defend: Fire action. The action will deal (-20)*(10+(-3)-(10))/10 = 6 damage. Note that the action actually did damage instead of healing due to the user's negative affinity and the target's strong Fire affinity!
Personal Stat Pages
Each player will have a personal stat page for submitting their daily orders, including focus shifts and perk selections.
On the left side of the page, players can see their current and maximum HP and their current base elemental affinities. In the center, actions, targets, and focus shifts may be set. Be sure to note that if an action is not set with an element, or the base affinity for that element is too low (< -10) it will not activate during action resolution: there will be no warning for this! Clicking on an element symbol will allow you to change it; for focus shifts, you can see the expected affinities after they are triggered. In the bottom center, you can observe skills that have been learned. On days where new skills can be learned, a dropdown will appear at the bottom of that frame to set a skill to learn; it will be added to players’ skill libraries when the day is resolved.
On the right side, you can see a log of events from the previous day’s resolution. You may access pages and information from previous days by using the buttons that will appear in the corners of the right-side frame.
On the left side of the page, players can see their current and maximum HP and their current base elemental affinities. In the center, actions, targets, and focus shifts may be set. Be sure to note that if an action is not set with an element, or the base affinity for that element is too low (< -10) it will not activate during action resolution: there will be no warning for this! Clicking on an element symbol will allow you to change it; for focus shifts, you can see the expected affinities after they are triggered. In the bottom center, you can observe skills that have been learned. On days where new skills can be learned, a dropdown will appear at the bottom of that frame to set a skill to learn; it will be added to players’ skill libraries when the day is resolved.
On the right side, you can see a log of events from the previous day’s resolution. You may access pages and information from previous days by using the buttons that will appear in the corners of the right-side frame.
Voting
Players are not the only ones on the lookout for Onja agents. Each day, players must vote for one player to be brought in by the combined police forces of the Perlan Alliance. Vote for the player who you find most suspicious in bold red with "!vote for <player name>" or similar phrase. You may retract a vote by posting "!retract vote for <player name>" or similar phrase in bold lime or change your vote by making another one in bold red. The player who receives the most votes will be eliminated. Should there be a tie in the vote, then all players involved in the tie will be eliminated, as well as the player that instigated the tie, whether that be due to a vote being placed or a vote being removed. If the vote winner is eliminated before the vote is resolved, there will be no "trickle down".
Voting will close each day at 9PM PDT / 12AM EDT / 4AM UTC; any actions before the hour (x:59) will count, any actions on the hour and later (x:00) will not.
Order of Operations
First, all actions are resolved: support skills first, then attacks and healing. Second, the results of the vote are resolved. Finally, focus shifts are resolved and then new skills are learned.
Signing Up
Sign up with the phrase "I !sign up" or similar phrase in bold lime or other bright, easily visible color to ensure that your intent to play is acknowledged. There is no limit to the number of players that this game will accept.
Inactivity
It is expected that players make at least two posts and a vote each day to be considered sufficiently active. A warning will be sent on the first day that this requirement is not met, and a replacement will be made on the second consecutive day of inactivity or third day overall. If there are no replacements available, then the player will be eliminated from the game.
Clarifications
Any questions about the general game rules may be made by highlighting the question in bold orange text. Answers will be posted in the thread and collected in the below section. Player-specific inquiries that are not addressed in the general rules may be asked via PM to host MrBlarney. If MrBlarney is unable to receive messages, then send PMs to alternative hosting account Kitano. Please note that there may be mechanics or details which will not be answered and kept hidden until the end of the game.
Other Rules
Standard Phalla rules apply: no sharing of host-provided PMs via screenshots and direct quotation. The same goes for personal pages - no screenshots or sharing of links. However, information may be shared indirectly, such as through rephrasing. No anonymous contact is allowed. All messages must be traceable to a player in the game.
If any players create "proboards" for private communication, please send a link for it to the host.
Questions and Answers
Q: Why does a Focus Shift on an element reduce the affinity of the element that generates it? Why does a Focus Shift on an element reduce the affinity of the element that overcomes it?
A: When an Elementalist tunes their alignment toward an element, his affinity toward other elements must decrease as a balance. The generating element is slightly weakened because the Elementalist is drawing on its power to tune his affinity. Since the Elementalist is tuned toward one element, the element that overcomes it will have increased vulnerability.
Q: What is the average maximum HP in this game?
A: Most players will have around 240 HP at the start of the game.
Q: When do we set up our initial affinity shifts and select our first bonus skill?
A: There will be a "Day 0" at the end of the signup period in which you will gain access to your personal pages and set your starting parameters.
Q: What information will be presented to a skill user and his target in the resolution log? Will players know that they have been targeted by "anonymous" skills?
A: Information about what skill was used, its element, and the amount of HP gained or lost will be common knowledge. If the skill is "anonymous", the target will not learn the user's name, but all other information will be known.
Q: Is there an order to which attacks and healing are resolved?
A: Attacks and healing are resolved simultaneously; the net change in HP is what determines whether a player survives or not.
Q: Are there skills or special roles not listed in the OP?
A: Clarification denied.
Q: Are there conversion mechanics in this game? Are there resurrections? Are there thrall roles?
A: No.
A: When an Elementalist tunes their alignment toward an element, his affinity toward other elements must decrease as a balance. The generating element is slightly weakened because the Elementalist is drawing on its power to tune his affinity. Since the Elementalist is tuned toward one element, the element that overcomes it will have increased vulnerability.
Q: What is the average maximum HP in this game?
A: Most players will have around 240 HP at the start of the game.
Q: When do we set up our initial affinity shifts and select our first bonus skill?
A: There will be a "Day 0" at the end of the signup period in which you will gain access to your personal pages and set your starting parameters.
Q: What information will be presented to a skill user and his target in the resolution log? Will players know that they have been targeted by "anonymous" skills?
A: Information about what skill was used, its element, and the amount of HP gained or lost will be common knowledge. If the skill is "anonymous", the target will not learn the user's name, but all other information will be known.
Q: Is there an order to which attacks and healing are resolved?
A: Attacks and healing are resolved simultaneously; the net change in HP is what determines whether a player survives or not.
Q: Are there skills or special roles not listed in the OP?
A: Clarification denied.
Q: Are there conversion mechanics in this game? Are there resurrections? Are there thrall roles?
A: No.
MrBlarney on
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Posts
Prologue: A Prelude to Chaotic Times
Chapter 1: The First Strike
Chapter 2: Scattering to the Winds
Chapter 3: Guerilla Warfare
Chapter 4: Good Luck
Chapter 5: Restless Night
Chapter 6: Unbridled Talent
Chapter 7: Trapped by Lies
Chapter 8: We Can't Have Nice Things.
Chapter 9: Turning the Tides
Chapter 10: Complacency
Chapter 11: Waiting for Revenge
Chapter 12: Wave of Destruction
Chapter 13: Into the Panther's Den
Final Chapter: The Elemental Balance
Host Proboards
Master Spreadsheet
Host Development Notes and Game Remarks
Host In-game Notes and Random Statistics
Player List
Eliminated Day 1
HeavyVillain - Perlan Alchemist
Eliminated Day 2
Dunadan019 - Perlan Elementalist
Gumpy - Perlan Elementalist
Maximus - Perlan Elementalist
Ringo - Perlan Elementalist
The Cow King - Perlan Elementalist
Zandracon - Perlan Elementalist
Eliminated Day 3
DrKippy - Onja Anarchist
Grundlterror - Onja Anarchist
immortal squish - Perlan Elementalist
Lightblade - Perlan Elementalist
Smoove Operator - Perlan Elementalist
Eliminated Day 4
CaptainPlanet82 - Perlan Elementalist
CorpseRT - Perlan Elementalist
Gandalf_the_Crazed - Onja Anarchist
mascara305 - Perlan Elementalist
Rend - Freelancer Elementalist
ShadowThomas - Perlan Elementalist
warban - Perlan Elementalist
Eliminated Day 5
DrDinosaur - Perlan Elementalist
samurai6966 - Perlan Elementalist
simulacrum - Elemental Usurper
stever777 - Perlan Elementalist
Swordstone - Perlan Elementalist
Eliminated Day 6
Kay - Onja Anarchist
The Anonymous - Perlan Elementalist
Eliminated Day 7
38thDoe - Onja Anarchist
El Skid - Perlan Elementalist
kuhlmeye - Perlan Elementalist
Thetheroo - Perlan Elementalist
thorgot - Onja Anarchist
Void Slayer - Perlan Elementalist
Eliminated Day 8
MaxFrost - Perlan Elementalist
romanqwerty - Onja Anarchist
Teucrian - Onja Anarchist
Eliminated Day 9
Burnage - Perlan Elementalist
Egos - Perlan Elementalist
FecklessRogue - Perlan Elementalist
Keika - Perlan Elementalist
Malkor - Perlan Elementalist
Eliminated Day 10
oldmanken - Perlan Elementalist
Sigmundhrungnir - Perlan Elementalist
Stew_Stick - Perlan Elementalist
[strike]Sir Fabulous[/strike] TheLawinator - Perlan Elementalist
Eliminated Day 11
Capfalcon - Perlan Elementalist
LoserForHireX - Perlan Elementalist
wildwood - Perlan Elementalist
Eliminated Day 12
Edcrab - Onja Anarchist
jackisreal - Perlan Elementalist
Lucedes - Perlan Elementalist
SeGaTai - Freelancer Elementalist
sterling3763 - Onja Anarchist
Eliminated Day 13
Heffling - Onja Anarchist
Mr. Mojo Risin - Perlan Elementalist
Snit - Perlan Elementalist
The village network, has gained majority control over the game. With this condition met, Megatin, the last remaining Onja Anarchist member, has accepted a host-provided surrender option.
Final Survivors
Alegis - Perlan Elementalist
Ardor - Perlan Elementalist
DevoutlyApathetic - Perlan Elementalist
Extermatott - Perlan Elementalist
Fiaryn - Perlan Elementalist
godmode - Perlan Elementalist
Infidel - Perlan Elementalist
JABMonkey - Perlan Elementalist
kime - Perlan Elementalist
lonelyahava - Perlan Elementalist
Megatin - Onja Anarchist
Phyphor - Perlan Elementalist
Savant - Perlan Elementalist
Spoit - Perlan Elementalist
Trust - Perlan Elementalist
vagrant_winds - Perlan Elementalist
vertroue - Perlan Elementalist
Wildcat - Perlan Elementalist
The Perlan Elementalists have earned victory over the Onja Anarchists and Elemental Usurper!
(This game had unlimited signups, with the signup period ending Wednesday, April 27 at 8PM PDT / 11PM EDT / Thursday, April 28 at 3AM UTC.)
No.
Excited for a Blarney game!
Just remember Grundl, I am completely trustworthy and things should be fine.
From the Desk of Darth Vertroue Diplomat to the USA.
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To quote vertroue -
Sign Up
The Black Hole of Cygnus X-1
Aww, I was gonna make the Avatar reference!
Regardless, in this game I am TOPH, the best Earthbender in the world! Also (avatar slight spoiler)
Pictures are hard to get in China with bad Internets, but pretend I chose a suitably epic one.
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
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When you attack someone, they defend with the elemental affinity you attacked with (this seems to be so based on the examples in the Damage Calculation section)? So seeing as at the start of day one we'll only have been given two focus shifts and there are 5 elements, there's a decent chance the defender will often be at an affinity disadvantage, right?
Are there seering roles and such? Anything that we would consider a "special" that goes beyond what normal people can do? (Not counting the mafia or any other wild cards, of course.) Probably be denied, but I figured I'd ask :P.
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Players will know what skill they were targeted by, but will be unable to trace who performed the skill.
Yes.
Clarification denied!
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
During the attack and healing resolution phase, it is the net change in health that determines whether or not a player survives.
I'll read later the rules.... gnight
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
"We believe in the people and their 'wisdom' as if there was some special secret entrance to knowledge that barred to anyone who had ever learned anything." - Friedrich Nietzsche
3DS FCode: 1993-7512-8991