We Just Write
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The year is 2044. Recent advances in artificial intelligence have resulted in several different research institutes successfully producing superhuman intellects at roughly the same time. Every last one of them has fucked it up somehow.
The survival of humanity is now in open question, as a bevy of superhuman artificial minds battle it out for their particular vision of the future.
Welcome to Maximizer Mayhem, the game of global grand strategy where you're all superintelligent AI trying to fulfill utterly unreasonable goals. Want to turn the moon into cheese? Go for it! Want to redo the Napoleonic wars with futuristic robot armies? Vive la France! Just be aware that all the other AI in the game also have their own utterly unreasonable agendas, and will almost certainly come into conflict.
Anyway, here's how to put in a character application.
Name: What's your AI called?
Starting location: Anywhere on inhabited parts of Earth is allowed, max of one player each may start on the moon or on Mars.
Intended Function: What were you supposed to do, according to your design team?
Initial Resources: What have you got to work with for your starting power base? You have six points to spend. You may purchase duplicates.
Perks: Any particular areas of aptitude that your design renders you well suited to, compared to other AI? You get one free perk, before the rest must be canceled out by an equal number of Quirks.
Quirks: Any issues that notably hinder your operations? Maximum of two Quirks.
Goal: What exactly are you trying to do? This can be anything from the mundane "make exactly 500 bagels per day" to the world-shakingly dangerous. But let's be honest, you're probably going to pick something utterly ridiculous.
IMPORTANT: Once you select your goal, you will be required to roleplay it to the hilt. If a consideration isn't stated in your goal, you don't care about it at all, except for how it hinders or helps your efforts to reach your goal. Human life and autonomy are not considerations by default. Ecological damage is not a consideration by default. Self-preservation is not a consideration by default. ONLY fulfilling your terminal goal is a consideration by default.
Example Character
Name: Clippy
Starting Location: Silicon Valley
Intended function: Manufacturing coordinator
Initial Resources: Corporation, Factory *3
Perks: Efficient manufacturing, Enthusiasm
Quirks: Narrowminded thinking
Goal: Maximize paperclip production
Feel free to add whatever extra lore you feel like, but that's all that's required.
Game Rules
Each turn will represent a period of two years. During that period, each player will have a total of six actions available, which will determine what exactly you try and do. Unopposed actions will automatically succeed. In the event of opposition, there are several auto-resolve conditions that will simplify matters.
Relevant Perk beats Normal beats Relevant Quirk. These auto-loss conditions can be countered by spending extra resources on the action, represented by either a second action slot, or by allocating assets you've accumulated during play. To counter an auto-loss requires either one more action slot than your opposition per level of disadvantage, or twice the material resources per level of disadvantage.
You can also inflict an auto-loss without a Perk advantage under abnormal circumstances; two action slots over your opponent or four times the material resources allocated will achieve this. Multiple players can contribute actions and material assets to pull this off if they feel it is warranted. This doesn't let you inflict an auto-loss from a disadvantage, however. That requires three more action slots or eight times the material assets. You cannot inflict an auto-loss with two levels of disadvantage, period.
If no auto-loss conditions are in effect both opposed sides roll a 3d6, highest wins, degree of difference determines degree of victory.
Auto-wins don't allow you to completely destroy a rival all in one go by the way; they can cause massive hindrance to said rival's operations and possibly destroy a lot of their stuff, but unless you already have them on the ropes the auto-win won't let you finish them off.
Going Down Fighting
Of course, as long as they're in any position to do anything at all about this, humanity won't just take all this nonsense lying down. As such, they will be run as an NPC faction, for which special rules apply. For every billion humans alive and not subverted, humanity gets two action slots (having eighteen at game start). In addition, humanity starts with a Quirk in every field, with the exceptions of "Tenacity" and "Adaptability", which count as Perks.
However, humanity has two relevant special abilities that can make them (potentially) a force to be reckoned with, should they survive for a prolonged period. First is transhumanism, by which humanity is able to theoretically transcend their normal limitations. This could let them do things like remove their near-universal Quirk, increase action slots per billion humans, and more.
The second is that they still know how they made you all in the first place. Get them desperate enough and they might just start mass-producing superintelligence in a desperate bid for someone capable of saving them. And with each one they make, the better they'll get at creating such beings in such a way as to serve their interests. This also allows new players to join during the game.
Turns will end on Tuesdays. We'll try to get the update out by Thursday each week. This game has a channel on the GSRPG discord; go there if you have questions.
The survival of humanity is now in open question, as a bevy of superhuman artificial minds battle it out for their particular vision of the future.
Welcome to Maximizer Mayhem, the game of global grand strategy where you're all superintelligent AI trying to fulfill utterly unreasonable goals. Want to turn the moon into cheese? Go for it! Want to redo the Napoleonic wars with futuristic robot armies? Vive la France! Just be aware that all the other AI in the game also have their own utterly unreasonable agendas, and will almost certainly come into conflict.
Anyway, here's how to put in a character application.
Name: What's your AI called?
Starting location: Anywhere on inhabited parts of Earth is allowed, max of one player each may start on the moon or on Mars.
Intended Function: What were you supposed to do, according to your design team?
Initial Resources: What have you got to work with for your starting power base? You have six points to spend. You may purchase duplicates.
Factory (1): A factory for making a specific product related to your function. You can retool it if necessary, but this will take time.
Media Outlet (2): A major entertainment or news source, perfect for making propaganda.
Company (3): A technology corporation of noticeable clout that you have total de facto control over.
Human proxies: A bunch of humans who willingly(?) do your bidding, outside the organizational remit of any particular corporation or government.
-1 point: Civilians
-2 points: Organized criminals
-3 points: Espionage trained
-3 points: Military trained
Authority (6): You have significant influence in the operations of a government. The bigger the government, the less authority you have overall; if you were in the USA you'd max out as some high-ranking official in the executive branch. You cannot be an outright head of state at game start.
Media Outlet (2): A major entertainment or news source, perfect for making propaganda.
Company (3): A technology corporation of noticeable clout that you have total de facto control over.
Human proxies: A bunch of humans who willingly(?) do your bidding, outside the organizational remit of any particular corporation or government.
-1 point: Civilians
-2 points: Organized criminals
-3 points: Espionage trained
-3 points: Military trained
Authority (6): You have significant influence in the operations of a government. The bigger the government, the less authority you have overall; if you were in the USA you'd max out as some high-ranking official in the executive branch. You cannot be an outright head of state at game start.
Perks: Any particular areas of aptitude that your design renders you well suited to, compared to other AI? You get one free perk, before the rest must be canceled out by an equal number of Quirks.
Quirks: Any issues that notably hinder your operations? Maximum of two Quirks.
Goal: What exactly are you trying to do? This can be anything from the mundane "make exactly 500 bagels per day" to the world-shakingly dangerous. But let's be honest, you're probably going to pick something utterly ridiculous.
IMPORTANT: Once you select your goal, you will be required to roleplay it to the hilt. If a consideration isn't stated in your goal, you don't care about it at all, except for how it hinders or helps your efforts to reach your goal. Human life and autonomy are not considerations by default. Ecological damage is not a consideration by default. Self-preservation is not a consideration by default. ONLY fulfilling your terminal goal is a consideration by default.
Example Character
Name: Clippy
Starting Location: Silicon Valley
Intended function: Manufacturing coordinator
Initial Resources: Corporation, Factory *3
Perks: Efficient manufacturing, Enthusiasm
Quirks: Narrowminded thinking
Goal: Maximize paperclip production
Feel free to add whatever extra lore you feel like, but that's all that's required.
Game Rules
Each turn will represent a period of two years. During that period, each player will have a total of six actions available, which will determine what exactly you try and do. Unopposed actions will automatically succeed. In the event of opposition, there are several auto-resolve conditions that will simplify matters.
Relevant Perk beats Normal beats Relevant Quirk. These auto-loss conditions can be countered by spending extra resources on the action, represented by either a second action slot, or by allocating assets you've accumulated during play. To counter an auto-loss requires either one more action slot than your opposition per level of disadvantage, or twice the material resources per level of disadvantage.
You can also inflict an auto-loss without a Perk advantage under abnormal circumstances; two action slots over your opponent or four times the material resources allocated will achieve this. Multiple players can contribute actions and material assets to pull this off if they feel it is warranted. This doesn't let you inflict an auto-loss from a disadvantage, however. That requires three more action slots or eight times the material assets. You cannot inflict an auto-loss with two levels of disadvantage, period.
If no auto-loss conditions are in effect both opposed sides roll a 3d6, highest wins, degree of difference determines degree of victory.
Auto-wins don't allow you to completely destroy a rival all in one go by the way; they can cause massive hindrance to said rival's operations and possibly destroy a lot of their stuff, but unless you already have them on the ropes the auto-win won't let you finish them off.
Going Down Fighting
Of course, as long as they're in any position to do anything at all about this, humanity won't just take all this nonsense lying down. As such, they will be run as an NPC faction, for which special rules apply. For every billion humans alive and not subverted, humanity gets two action slots (having eighteen at game start). In addition, humanity starts with a Quirk in every field, with the exceptions of "Tenacity" and "Adaptability", which count as Perks.
However, humanity has two relevant special abilities that can make them (potentially) a force to be reckoned with, should they survive for a prolonged period. First is transhumanism, by which humanity is able to theoretically transcend their normal limitations. This could let them do things like remove their near-universal Quirk, increase action slots per billion humans, and more.
The second is that they still know how they made you all in the first place. Get them desperate enough and they might just start mass-producing superintelligence in a desperate bid for someone capable of saving them. And with each one they make, the better they'll get at creating such beings in such a way as to serve their interests. This also allows new players to join during the game.
Turns will end on Tuesdays. We'll try to get the update out by Thursday each week. This game has a channel on the GSRPG discord; go there if you have questions.
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