[spoon-discuss] Proto-prop: Aes Sedai

["Baron von Skippy" <bvs@xxxxxxxxxx>]

This is a little rough (especially Part C, which grew in fits and starts) and I don't think I explain it very well. It's also not very specific, although this is a feature, not a bug: I want some of this to be open to interpretation. However, if a loose part turns out to be a loophole, that's bad, so let me know if you see a scheme that could cause a Breaking of the Game...

There will also be Ministries to boot, I just haven't written them yet: They're far more ordinary. Two Ministers of Channeling, one male, one female, known as the Dragon and the Amyrlin Seat, respectively, each of which has dominion over their gender's channelers. They only work together to determine the outcome of severing. They'll have channeling power determined like the rest of us, then increased by a factor of 1.5 or 2, and their Mana will completely regenerate each nweek. On the other hand, if a Vote of No Confidence passes for them, they get severed (mot that that's permanent if they can find an able Healer...).

I need a way to give non-channelers the ability to channel, too, and if this passes, I'll be dredging up the old angreal prop and rewriting it.

I plan to propose:
{{
__Channeling__

[[The Wheel of Nomic turns, and Games come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Game that gave it birth comes again. In one Nomic, called B Nomic by some, a Nomic yet to come, a Nomic long past, a wind rose over the ruins of the Grid. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Nomic. But it was /a/ beginning.]]

A. Definitions
There exists the True Source and its two halves, saidar, which is used by females, and saidin, which is wielded by males. Neither gender can use, touch, or sense the half of the Source which is not theirs.

There exist five areas (I know there's a better name, but I don't know what it is, so I'll use 'areas' for now.) of Source power, these being Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and Spirit. Males are stronger in Fire and Earth and weaker in Water and Air. Females are stronger in Water and Air and weaker in Fire and Earth. Both genders are equally strong in Spirit.

A.1. Levels
Players who can channel are given titles to represent this based on their gender and skill level. The titles are, in order of increasing skill, as follows:

Level  Male                  Female
0      Untrained             Untrained
1      soldier               novice
2      Dedicated             Accepted
3      Asha'man              Aes Sedai
4      advanced Asha'man     Sitter
5      M'Hael                Keeper

A.2. Mana
Players can have Mana in each of the five areas of the Source. When a player gains the ability to channel, they get a number of points of Mana in each area based on the following formulas, rounded to the nearest integer:

(X = 1d25 + 75, rolled for each individual area)
Area(s)                                           Formula
Male, Fire or Earth, or Female, Water or Air      1.25X
Female, Fire or Earth, or Male, Water or Air      .75X
Either gender, Spirit                             X

A.3. Flows and Weaves
When a player channels, they either channel a flow or channel a weave. Channeling a flow directs a continual stream of one area of the Source in its raw form, and requires very little mana, although the effects are usually very small. Channeling a weave allows players to intertwine one or more areas for more complex effects. Weaves can also be "tied off" at the cost of more mana, which leaves the weave in place so that the player does not have to maintain it.

A.4. Severing
Players who can channel can lose the ability to channel. This is called "gentling" for males and "stilling" for females, or "severing" in general. A single player may not sever another player. Players may sever themselves by attempting to channel more of the Source than they are capable (as determined by the Dragon or Amyrlin Seat) of handling. Additionally, the Dragon and Amyrlin may agree to sever a player, although this may not be done more than once per nweek.

B. Advancement and Budgets
B.1. Experience
Channeling experience, or CXP, is a Dimension. Each time a player channels a weave, that player gets a number of CXP points equal to 1/10 the total number of Mana points they spent on that weave. Each time a player comes up with a new technique, they recieve an additional 1/10 of the total number of Mana points spent in CXP for each area used in that weave. A player who has the ability to channel needs the following amounts of CXP to attain the corresponding levels:

Level   CXP
0       -
1       0
2       100
3       250
4       500

To get to level 5, a player must both have enough CXP to be at level 3 and have the most CXP of any channeler of their gender, not counting the Ministers of Channeling.

B.2. Mana Budgets
A player may not channel more Mana than they have. Each nweek, each player recovers 1/(6 - their level) of their maximum Mana in each of the five areas, rounded to the nearest integer.

Players can increase their maximum Mana by channeling. Each time a player channels, their maximum Mana in each area increases by .02 for each point of Mana spent in that area.

C. Techniques
Unique weaves, their costs, and their effects are to be recorded in an organized manner by the Ministers of Channeling. Channelers may choose to use an already-tested weave at the same or a different strength, or may attempt a new weave by declaring the areas used, the effects they hope the weave to have or the amount of Mana they wish to spend, and a name for the technique (optional, but requested). Techniques taken from the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan should be kept as true to their counterparts in the books as is possible in the confines of the ruleset.

Declarations of weaves may be sent to a public forum or privately to the appropriate Minister of Channeling, and the Minister of Channeling is not required to announce the effects publicly until those effects would have an affect on one or more players [[so if you lay a trap, no one finds out until it goes off], and even then, the name of the weave's channeler does not need to be announced unless the target could be reasonably expected to know who channeled. However, Ministers of Channeling must record, if not announce, that the channeler hs spent Mana on a weave, as well as determine and record the amount of Mana spent and/or the effects of the weave, depending on whether the channeler declared a desired effect or a set Mana cost. The cost of a weave must be in integral amounts of mana.

Ministers of Channeling may declare a weave failed if they feel the channeler is not capable of managing the weave or if the weave would perform actions overly damaging to the game [[like, say... balefire?]], or, in extreme cases where the channeler is not capable of performing the weave, may declare the channeler to have severed themselves, although in the latter case the Minister of Channeling in question must have the approval of the other Minister of Channeling to declare the severing.

If a Minister of Channeling declares a weave failed, they must post all details of the weave to a public forum [[in case the channeler wants to complain]], along with their reasoning as to why the weave failed. If a Minister of Channeling declares a player self-stilled, they must post the details of the weave to a public forum along with their reasoning, and a CFI is immediately created with the channeler as plaintiff, both Ministers of Channeling as defendants, and the following text:

"The plaintiff of this CFI was not severed from the Source."
}}

[[BvS]]
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