Ghyll:Round 2 discussion

This is a page for Ghyll players to discuss what changes, if any, should be made during Round 2, since the letter Z is not too far away. Before we get into those discussions, we'll talk about what the End of Round 1 means, and what will happen during that interim period between its end and Round 2's beginning. Players get to vote on all this. If you don't vote, you cede to Morbus, and he'll confuse you.

Do you plan on playing regularly in Round 2?

Ultimately, we're looking for 5 to 10 regulars.

Yes. --Morbus Iff 14:42, 15 Apr 2005 (EDT)
Ditto. --Dr. H. L. Ackroyd 16:05, 15 Apr 2005 (EDT)
Of course. --John Cowan 02:32, 16 Apr 2005 (EDT)
Unfortunately, no. The divorce and job change have created too much chaos in my life. I'll finish this round, but I cannot say when I'll be able to return. --Doctor Phineas Crank 10:00, 16 Apr 2005 (EDT)

Sorry to hear that, Doctor Crank. You'll be missed. --John Cowan

Sniff, sniff. --Morbus Iff 15:28, 16 Apr 2005 (EDT)

New player, I'll be here! --Trousle Undrhil 17:09, 16 Apr 2005 (CST)
I'm new but I definitly want to be in on the next round --Jonathon Howard 18:09, 20 Apr 2005
I'm in for most of it, seeing as I'll be out of school then. Wish me luck on the job hunt though. --Theophenes 04:16, 21 Apr 2005 (EDT)
I'd like to play, though I'm not sure I can commit to every round. But I'd like to express interest. New user. --Lisa B. Underhalh 18:10, 21 Apr 2005 (EDT)

Well, since a 'round' consists of 26 'turns' I don't think you'll have any problems, really. :-D --Trousle Undrhil 20:45, 21 Apr 2005 (EDT)

I meant, of course, every turn rather than every round. Thank you for the astute correction, sir. --Lisa B. Underhalh 21:45, 21 Apr 2005 (EDT)

I would love to participate! --Finna Sunderhorn 20:57, 21 Apr 2005 (EDT)

One would dearly love to write as much as possible in the upcoming round, yet the uncertainty concerning my future internet access prevents me from making any binding promises. I can, however, truthfully state that if circumstances allow I will most assuredly be a regular contributor. --Lankin the Mad Mage 10:07, 22 Apr 2005 (EDT)

Between Rounds

A few people have noticed the natural tendency of a Lexicon to have its earliest entries "outdated" by the time you get into the mid- or end- game. For instance, we know a bit more about Ghyllian reproduction, a little more about this, and a lot more about that. An in-game solution proposed by Morbus Iff seemed to also be plausible out of game. Basically, since Round 1 is a "formalized" attempt by the Encyclopedants to create an Encyclopedia, Round 1 could be considered a "First Edition Draft" of the Encyclopedia. Round 2, on the other hand, would be a "Second Edition Draft" and so on. Thus, the time between Round 1 and Round 2 would be used to edit, fix and enhance any and all previous entries.

Allow a two week period between rounds

• Write up in-game "End of Year" reports.
• Finish up any discussions on this page.
• Take a break and collect your thoughts.
• Mad-edit anything that needs to.

YEA: Morbus Iff, Doctor Phineas Crank, Melik Fizzuo, Dr. H. L. Ackroyd, John Cowan, Trousle Undrhil
NAY:

Allow scholars to revamp previous round's entries

• One edit per turn to ANY entry, in addition to regular round rules.
• No NEW facts, just revamped to include missing/clarified facts.
• No dibbing on edits; if necc. mad-edits are collaborative.

YEA: Morbus Iff, Doctor Phineas Crank, Melik Fizzuo, Dr. H. L. Ackroyd, Trousle Undrhil
NAY:

Rule Changes

• WHOOPS are from the original Lexicon: an RPG and were (accidentally) missed.
• HOUSE rules are specific to Ghyll only, and tweak the rules to our conditions.

WHOOPS: New phantoms must start with an upcoming letter in the current round

I've (Morbus) deleted the previous discussion here, and have reconsidered this rule. Whilst I still think this would be useful in enforcing "themed" rounds ('this round will only talk about things from the cactus forests'), I feel that the raw intent behind this WHOOPS (and the next) were based on the game ending at letter Z (where there'd be no "going back" to write remaining phantoms). Since we've already HOUSE'd "this game will run forever", rules that increase constriction and a "definite finish" are detrimental.

WHOOPS: Phantoms per letter may not exceed average number of players

I've (Morbus) deleted the previous discussion here, and have reconsidered this rule. No one wants to run around and be a "EDIT YOUR ENTRY!" whore, especially when we've all got short amounts of time already. The raw intent behind this WHOOPS (and the previous) were based on the game ending at letter Z (where there'd be no "going back" to write remaining phantoms). Since we've already HOUSE'd "this game will run forever", rules that increase constriction and a "definite finish" are detrimental. Anyways, we can always do emergency "two entries per letter" as we did for this round's S and T.

HOUSE: LMNOP are speed turns; one turn per day

YEA: Dr. H. L. Ackroyd, John Cowan
NAY: Sean B. Palmer, Doctor Phineas Crank, Melik Fizzuo, clsn, Morbus Iff, Lisa B. Underhalh

I'd just have to bow out. And why "LMNOP" specifically? --Sean B. Palmer 00:47, 4 Feb 2005 (EST)

In the alphabet song, they're said really fast. --Morbus Iff 07:21, 4 Feb 2005 (EST)

Yeah, I'd be way, way too busy to do a "speed" turn of any kind, so I'd just skip. Which may be okay with you all, considering how lame some of my entries have been lately. --Doctor Phineas Crank 09:07, 4 Feb 2005 (EST)

Actually doing a speed turn isn't really tough if you pre-write one or two entries. All of the cross-linking to Index, Phantoms, and other pages can be done later, writing the entries themselves is the tough part. LMNOP just seemed like a "cute" place to do it in the round. --Dr. H. L. Ackroyd 12:44, 4 Feb 2005 (EST)

Yes, well, that presupposes that we have time to prewrite entries and then edit them. That wouldn't be the case with me. Of course, I committed to a single round and then dropping in as I have time, so, I can certainly skip the speed round. NBD. --Doctor Phineas Crank 16:41, 4 Feb 2005 (EST)

I'd probably skip it as well, as I'm doing now: whenever it seems I can do one, I do. OTOH, the whole Rod of Quiends entry was a one-day inspiration. --clsn 17:55, 10 Feb 2005 (EST)

I think giving the longer time will result in better entries than forcing those letters into one day timelines. And aren't we all here for the good of Ghyll? --Lisa B. Underhalh 18:17, 21 Apr 2005 (EDT)

HOUSE: Of your two phantom citations, only one can be new

YEA: Morbus Iff, John Cowan, Dr. H. L. Ackroyd, Sean B. Palmer,
YEA: Melik Fizzuo, Doctor Phineas Crank, Dr. H. L. Ackroyd, clsn
NAY:

HOUSE: Turn challenges inspired by Kaleidoscope

More information at http://kevan.org/kaleido?faq, and some challenges at http://kevan.org/kaleido. Could be really simple (random global enhancement per turn, optional participation) or complicated (those who take the challenge get points, points can be traded in for multiple entries per turn, specific-scholar "attacks", etc.)

YEA: Dr. H. L. Ackroyd
NAY: Melik Fizzuo

I'd yay it if it were totally optional, and didn't see it much. Newbies really don't need another thing to learn, and the points themselves could cause conflict. --Melik Fizzuo 10:28, 4 Feb 2005 (EST)

It is, by its nature, optional. You can continue to play as you already are without taking any of the challenges. But this also offers an incentive to do certain things in the game or to fill certain needs of the Encyclopedia. And I know *I* was looking for a way to do more than the one-letter-per-turn play (just because I am an overachiever). --Dr. H. L. Ackroyd 12:44, 4 Feb 2005 (EST)

HOUSE: Rule of A: Scholars may always write new, non-phantom, turn A entries

The goal is to ensure that every round has a "fresh start" with new branches of story. By not requiring a phantom to be defined for letter 'A' (regardless of leftover phantoms from previous rounds), we're always "starting" fresh with new, as opposed to already established, content. Of course, Truth from previous rounds must still be accepted as such.

YEA: Morbus Iff, Doctor Phineas Crank
NAY:

As long as we aren't forced to take one, I'm good with this. --Doctor Phineas Crank 16:42, 4 Feb 2005 (EST)

I like the idea of encouraging occasional "fresh" ideas even when there are some "old" ones waiting, but why restrict it to A's? I know, I know, we can't make it totally unrestricted or we'll never get phantoms defined, but why is it only A that gets to be creative? I think I'd rather something like "Each player is allowed k new non-phantom entries (when there are phantoms of that letter) per round," for some small k (say, k=1). Or almost equivalently (but more flexible), "You can define a new non-phantom (when there are phantoms of that letter) if it's been at least 26 letters since the last time you did it." (or maybe something larger than 26, or whatever). --clsn 17:55, 10 Feb 2005 (EST)

Too much record-keeping. --Morbus Iff 15:13, 15 Apr 2005 (EDT)

Round 2 Themes

The original Lexicon post suggests there should be a theme and goal to the entries being written. Since Ghyll, as a world, didn't exist, there was no theme to Round 1: it was ultimately "make a world". What follows are possible themes for Round 2. Alternatively, we can continue to play with no themes. These themes were written very quickly and loosely; any winner will be redefined "in-game" by the 'pedants.

THEME: None Whatsoever

YEA: John Cowan, Trousle Undrhil, Theophenes, Lisa B. Underhalh
NAY:

I think it would be wise to allow scholarly independence to reign. Quite frankly, two of these tasks are too specific to require a majority of our attention. the Hive-lord one is a essentially so random that scholarly preference would probably overtake it anyhow.Theophenes 04:26, 21 Apr 2005 (EDT)

THEME: Hive-Lord Surprise

Three (or more, total) Hive-Lord Questions would be created/asked during the letter A turn of Round 2, and each entry thereafter would attempt to relate, answer, or deepen the search for the Answer to one (or some, or all) of those Questions. The entry need not contain blatant or plainly obvious linkages. At the end of the Round, our "End of Year" reports would put forth what each individual scholar thought was the Answer to each Question (and should enlighten everyone with explanations of any non-blatant entries per the previous sentence.)

YEA:
NAY:

THEME: Doggerel Infection

Doggerel plague victims have been searching desperately for ways of spreading their illness (writing, botanical infection, etc.). Have they figured something out? Has the infection somehow gotten in the water? Did a public and respected speaker get infected, only to become a Prize Spreader? Did they take over the recently moved Iganefta Recorder publishing facilities (now in Folktown) due to lax security? How do you stop them? Ignorance won't work anymore as they've become experts at whispering nothings into your ear while you sleep. How d'ya stop 'em?

YEA:
NAY:

THEME: EctoMechanauts Rights Now!

Are alchemical intelligences truly intelligent, with feelings and concerns? Do they bleed or dream of electronic sheep? Do EctoMechanauts go rogue or be reprogrammed? Do they have charisma, to inspire likeminded (un?)souls? And what of EUPHORIA? Have they become so incensed over the treatment of their mechanical friends to move to violence? Increased recruitment drives? Deafening riots? Can corporate piracy of manufacturing trade secrets spell the end of an aged family business?

YEA:
NAY:

My Entry's Done. Now What?

I'd like to find a way to make entries out of turn occasionally. I know there is Stottlemeyer O'Phelan and that such things do happen, but I wondered if there might be a way to "earn" an out of sequence letter by doing something in-game. --Dr. H. L. Ackroyd 19:31, 28 Jan 2005 (EST)

I don't like this one. Stott is a hack for dealing with certain kinds of problems, and if he gets overused, he becomes uninteresting. (I'd be happy if he was *really* never used again.) I think the letters and the turns are the main thing that keeps Ghyll from becoming a free-for-all where whoever writes first and most wins. --Jcowan 13:29, 30 Jan 2005 (EST)

I hate to say it, but I agree with Mr. Cowan on this. Old Stott was a very, very generous concession made to an entry I'd worked up that was a parody of the History of the Necronomicon. I was crying about how fun it would have been to get it in after all the work I'd done and a kind soul took pity on me, thus was Stottlemeyer O'Phelan born. --Doctor Phineas Crank 09:14, 4 Feb 2005 (EST)

As I mentioned above, this was a suggestion that is closely tied to the "challenges". Even if it allows me to make two entries in a turn (by collecting 30 points say) or allows me to do something outside the normal game play then that is an incentive enough for me. --Dr. H. L. Ackroyd 12:44, 4 Feb 2005 (EST)