Rule 801/0
Geography
Vynd (John McCoy)
The geography of Ackanomic is, for the most part, a mystery to its inhabitants. Few maps have survived from the time of the Ancients. Frequent earthquakes and the treacherous Wilds of Ackanomic make exploration and cartography difficult. What little is known is described in this and other Rules.
Ackanomic consists of many regions. A region is a collection of locations which are close to each other in Ackanomic. No single location can be found in more than one region. Locations are all assumed to be in the City, unless specified otherwise. If it is clear from context that a location is not in the City, but its exact region is unclear, then it is in The Outer Territories. Regions are not themselves locations, no region can be inside, or part of, another region.
The center of Ackanomic is The Lonely Mountain, which is a location that owns itself. The Lonely Mountain can be found on a Kaa of land in the City, which it also owns. No player may visit, own, or otherwise alter The Lonely Mountain and its Kaa unless explicitly permitted to by the Rules.
If a player or other entity enters, voluntarily or otherwise, a region, without having a location specified as their destination, then they go to the default location for that region, or one of them, chosen at random, if there is more than one. If the region has no default location, then that attempt to enter it fails.
The City is a region of Ackanomic located the area surrounding The Lonely Mountain. It is where all Kaas of Land and all Buildings are located, unless otherwise specified by the Rules. The default location for the City is the Library.
The Wilds of Ackanomic are a region which surrounds the City. Full of strange plants and animals, they can be quite dangerous to visit. The default location for The Wilds of Ackanomic is the wilds, which is a very large common location that consists of all the land in The Wilds of Ackanomic that is not specified to be a location of its own.
Beyond the Wilds of Ackanomic is the region known only as the Outer Territories.
Rule 810/7
Locations
Malenkai (Randy Hall)
1) A Rule that defines an entity or class of entity may specify that the entity is a Location. Unless otherwise specified, a Location may contain any number of players. Instances of Locations are entities, and are unique, unless otherwise specified. A Location may only have properties, or be given properties, as specified by the Rules.
2) A player must be in exactly one Location at any one time. A player may only leave, or be removed from, a Location as specified by the Rules. A player may only enter, or be placed in, a Location as specified by the Rules. Locations are unowned unless conditions for ownership, as specified by the Rules, have been met and are maintained.
3) If a Rule specifies that a player enters a Location, they leave their current Location, unless there is some other restriction which would prevent them from leaving the current Location [e.g. Gaol]. In this case they actually do not enter the destination Location; they remain where they are.
4) A Location may be specified as a Common Location. Players may leave and enter such Locations freely, provided they meet any specific conditions that may be defined for the Common Location.
5) If a player leaves or is removed from, any Location, and it is unspecified to which Location that they go, they go to their Home, if it exists.
6) If a player leaves a Location without specifying a destination, or their location is otherwise undefined, and they cannot go to their Home, then they go to The Wilds of Ackanomic.
7) Let the common location known as the Ackanomian River, referred to as the river, exist deep in the wilds. No player may enter the river, as it is a rapidly moving stream with many rocks. No player may cross the river or otherwise move from one side to the other except as specified in the rules. Players with flying may cross the river. [It is possible that with the proper equipment, one could white-water raft down the Ackanomian River.]
7a) On the other side of the river is as yet unexplored land. This land is currently unnamed and is not part of Ackanomia. This land is not Common. Although this land may be visited if a player can cross the stream, it may not be bought, built upon, or otherwise altered except by rules which specify that they apply to this land. [It is rumored that this foreign land is littered with machines of war left over from a battle between the ancients.]
7b) This section, including anything in this rule whose section number begins with 7, takes precedence over all rules regarding land, buildings or transportation except for rule 812, to which it defers.
8) Somewhere Else
8a) Somewhere Else is an unownable and unmappable Location. Entities may not be transferred to and/or from Somewhere Else except whereas such transfers are explicitly permitted by the Rules. No player may ever be Somewhere Else.
9) Any player rejoining the game goes to the Location they were in when they left the game, if it exists, otherwise they go to their Home, if that exists, otherwise they go to the Hall of Elders. Any player joining the game for the first time goes to their Home.
Rule 812/2
Down the river
The Gingham Wearer (Tom Walmsley)
There exists a unique non-tradable entity known as the Great Raft of Ackanomic. Every other Saturday it is transferred to a random active player.
There exists a unique non-tradable entity known as the Great Oars of Ackanomic. Every other Saturday it is transferred to a random active player.
A white water rafting team (hereafter "team") must consist of exactly four players, all of whom must have expressed their consent to be a member of the team in a public forum.
If any valid white water rafting team expresses a wish to attempt to go white water rafting on the Ackanomian River (this is done by any member of the team expressing the wish) and both the Great Raft of Ackanomic and the Great Oars of Ackanomic are owned by members of the team then the attempt goes ahead. Otherwise the attempt fails.
If the attempt goes ahead then one of the following occurs at random:
1) The members of the team have polluted the river and are judged to have broken conservation laws. They are all placed in gaol for one day.
2) The team gets lost in the Wilds of Ackanomia. It takes them a week to find their way home during which time they may not enter any other locations or make another attempt at white water rafting down the Ackanomian River.
3) The team gets part way down the river and then capsizes. They all make it back to the shore but not without loss. Each member of the team loses a random gadget. If any member of the team owns no gadgets, e loses two random trinkets. If e owns no gadgets and fewer than two trinkets e loses all the trinkets e owns. For the purposes of this rule lost trinkets and gadgets are considered to have been destroyed.
4) The team gets part way down the river and then capsizes. All members of the team bang their heads on the bottom of the river, suffer a concussion and are unable to remember who they are for a week. During this week, or until one of em fails to do so, every member of the team must start every public message e writes with the word "Moo!" , end every public message e writes with the words "Quack, quack?" and include at least 5 exclamation marks (since it is well known that "Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind" [Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man]). If e fails to do so e is declared to have "Ignored the laws of nature". Ignoring the laws of nature is a crime.
5) The team successfully white water rafts down the Ackanomian River and enters a cave at the end. In this cave each member of the team receives one random Boon of the Ancients. All members of the team are given the title of "Daring Adventurer" and keep the title until another team succeeds in white water rafting down the Ackanomian River. All members of the team also gain 7 points.
Any player can make only one attempt per calendar week at white water rafting down the Ackanomian River.
Rule 820/2
Land
Vynd (John McCoy)
Kaas of Land are tradeable entities. A Kaa of Land is one Kaa in size. Kaas of Land are all separate Locations, located in the City. Kaas of Land are Common Locations unless specified otherwise. Unowned Kaas of Land are also known as common land. The exact number of Kaas in the City varies, as earthquakes and other developments can create and destroy them. The number of Kaas must always be the square of an odd integer greater than 12, however. Kaas are never in the Treasury, even if unowned.
Kaas of Land have positions relative to each other. They are square in shape, and arranged in a grid pattern, which is itself square. Thus every Kaa is bordered on all 4 sides by another Kaa of land, or by another Location specified by the Rules.
Since ancient times, the peoples of Acka have used The Lonely Mountain, at the center of Ackanomic, as their reference for describing the positions of Kaas. Each Kaa can be referred to through the use of a coordinate system with The Lonely Mountain at the center. The coordinates of a Kaa of land are how many kaas to the North, or South, the Kaa is from The Lonely Mountain, prefaced by an N if it is North or an S if it is South. This is followed by a second number, the number of kaas to the East or West the Kaa is from The Lonely Mountain, prefaced by an E for East or W for West. Thus a Kaa which is 4 kaas North and 3 kaas West of The Lonely Mountain has the coordinates of (N4 W3). If a kaa is directly East or West of The Lonely Mountain, then the first number of its coordinates is a zero, prefaced by an N. If a Kaa of Land is directly North or South of The Lonely Mountain, then the second number of its coordinates is zero, prefaced by a W. The Lonely Mountain's coordinates are always (N0 W0).
Rule 821/0
Real Estate
Vynd (John McCoy)
A player may purchase an empty, unowned Kaa of Land for A$50. He must specify the position of this Kaa, in terms of its coordinates.
A player may purchase an unowned Kaa of land with a building on it only if that building is not mentioned in the Rules. The cost of this land is A$50 plus half the cost of the building (including the cost of any towers) on that land. If purchasing a Kaa of land would cause the building on it to be destroyed, then the player must instead pay A$50 plus the cost of the destruction of the building to purchase the Kaa.
Players may sell Kaas that they own to the Treasury for A$25 each. They cannot sell a Kaa in this manner that has a building on it, unless they are selling all of the Kaas on which that building is located.
Rule 825/15
Buildings
Calvin N Hobbes (Thierry Joffrain)
I. Definition
i) Buildings are a class of named tradeable entity.
ii) Each type of building has the following land requirements and construction costs:
| Size | Land | Construction |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 1 | A$50 |
| Cosy | 2 | A$200 |
| Classy | 4 | A$450 |
| Lavish | 6 | A$800 |
| Sumptuous | 8 | A$1250 |
| Extravagant | 12 | A$7200 |
iii) Buildings may have a description.
iv) A Building is either Attached, Tethered or Floating and may only change between these states as described in the rules. A building is in which ever state it was most recently placed in by the rules. If a building is reattached it becomes Attached.
v) Attached and Tethered buildings are said to occupy the number of kaa required for eir size (as stated above). Floating buildings occupy no land.
II. Construction
i) Provided that e owns enough unoccupied land to accommodate the new building, an entity may construct a building by paying the appropriate fee, as a public action, at which time an Attached building is created in eir possession.
ii) An entity may increase the size of a building e owns by paying the difference in the construction costs between its current size and its intended size, provided that e owns sufficient unoccupied land to accommodate the extra land the building will take up. Extravagant buildings cannot be upgraded
iii) The land occupied by an Attached building always forms a contiguous block unless the rule permit otherwise for a particular building.
III. Real Estate Act 1842
i) An action which would cause a building and the land to which that building is attached to belong to more than one entity is impossible. This section has precedence over any rule which would allow such a action.
ii) Buildings which are unowned are destroyed unless they are defined in the rules.
iii) A building which occupies a group of kaa which is not wholly owned by the owner of the building starts Floating.
iv) Only one Building (except for towers) may exist on any given kaa of land.
v) Regardless of ownership, land and the buildings that reside on it are not considered to be in the treasury.
IV. Description
i) The owner of a building may change its name or description as a public action provided e unambiguously identifies the affected building. Giving a description of the house which is not in accord with the rules is the Crime of Acting Like a Realtor.
ii) A player may designate a single building e owns as eir home. A building designated as a player's home is a Common Location that may only be entered with the permission of its owner.
iii) An organisation may designate a single building it owns as its Headquarters. A building designated as an organisation's Headquarters is a Common Location that may only be entered by member's of that organisation.
V. Destruction
i) The entity which owns a building may destroy it as a public action.
ii) When a building is destroyed any towers attached to it are also destroyed.
iii) If a building is destroyed its owner receives 10% of its construction costs and it no longer exists.
iv) An entity may reduce the size of a building e owns, however, e shall only receive 10% of the difference in the construction costs between its current size and its new size.
VI. Rule Defined
The following buildings are common locations and may never be smaller that as defined originally but can be greater:
i) The Senate Building is lavish.
ii) The FM building is a classy place.
iii) The Courthouse is a cosy building.
Rule 837/6
Nothing Important
Calvin N Hobbes (Thierry Joffrain)
The Ackanomic Afterlife is a Classy building and a common location near the Senate. It is also a palace.
This palace magically heals all burns of players here, and the ashes of players have been known to spontaneously "decombust" back into the player when put there.
A player may leave this palace whenever he or she wants.
Rule 840/5
Library
Calvin N Hobbes (Thierry Joffrain)
The Library is a classy building where a copy of all legal documents are kept. It is a Common Location. The Historian (or by default the Speaker) is in charge of the Library. It may not be destroyed or reduced in size to less than what it is originally (classy).
The Ackanomicon likes a quiet library. To that extent, the Library has a Maximum Occupancy of 15 players. If 15 or more players are ever in the Library at one time, then there shall be a deafening explosion, in which all players in the Library are returned to their homes. In addition, all players not in the Library at the time this occurs are awarded a random Boon of the Ancients each, for having the foresight to avoid such an explosion.
Rule 841/11
Towers
Malenkai (Randy Hall)
1) There are two types of towers: Ostentatious Towers and Public Towers. An Ostentatious Tower is a tower that a player adds to a building they own, or builds as a stand-alone tower not attached to any building (the term "Ostentatious Tower" is always with respect to a particular player). A Public Tower is a tower that a player adds to a public building, (that is, a building defined by the rules which is owned by no player), or to a kaa of public land.
2) A player is always said to be 'permitted' to build (or extend) an Ostentatious Tower associated with them. A player is said to be permitted to build (or extend) a Public Tower provided they submit a plan to the Senate, and the Senate votes approval of that plan. Such a plan must describe a tower that could legally be built (or a legal extension of an extant Public Tower). The Public Tower so built (or extension thereof) as a result of this permission must accord with the plan approved by the Senate.
3) There is no limit to the number of towers that may be added to a building, and there is no upper limit to their height, so long as they are constructed (or extended) via procedures defined in the rules. Towers that are added to buildings are considered to be attached to those buildings. A tower may only be attached to one building. Towers are always owned by the owner of the land on which they are built, or the owner of the building to which they are attached. Towers cannot be removed from buildings to which they are attached, or be attached to a building after they have been built as a stand-alone. Towers cannot be attached to other towers.
4) Constructing a tower is a public action. In order to fully specify this action, a player must announce to which building he is adding a tower (or on which kaa of land he is building it), a description of the tower, and the height of the tower (a positive, integral number). This action fails if the specified height is less than 35 meters or if the player is not permitted to build such a tower. The cost of constructing a tower as A$ 3 per meter; the construction action also fails if the player attempting it has fewer A$ than the construction cost. If the construction succeeds then the construction cost is transferred from the player constructing the tower to the Treasury.
5) Extending the height of a tower is a public action. In order to fully specify this action, a player must announce which tower he is extending, a description of the extension, and the amount he is extending the tower (a positive, integral number). This action fails if the player attempting it is not permitted to extend the specified tower. The cost of extending a tower is A$ 5 per meter; the extension also fails if the player attempting it has fewer A$ than the extension cost. If the extension succeeds then the extension cost is transferred from the player extending the tower to the Treasury.
6) A building's height is the height of its tallest tower. All buildings without a tower are less than 35 meters high, unless the rules specify otherwise. A stand-alone tower built on a kaa of land without an attached building is considered a building in its own right. A stand-alone tower's size is small if it is less than 70 meters in height, cosy if it is 140 to 559 meters in height, classy if it is 560 or more meters in height. Regardless of their size, stand-alone towers require only 1 Kaa of land. Towers attached to buildings do not effect the size of the building in any way.
7) It is said that a tower of sufficient height will reach close to the edge of the stainless steel hollow walls that surround the earth, and it is known that a Brass Monkey is taller than two average cat-heights.
8) Each building with an Ostentatious Tower also has a basement capable of holding one player for each 20 meters in the combined height of all towers on that building. If the total number of players not otherwise Sheltered in a building with a basement is less than or equal to the capacity of that basement, then all those players are Sheltered.
Rule 842/2
The Town Hall
K 2 (Kelly Kelly)
The Town Hall is a lavish building and a Common Location.
The building's exterior is clad in chartreuse marble.
From a flag pole fourteen cat heights high mounted on the highest point
of the roof, flies the Ackanomic Flag. During a state funeral when an
Elder is inducted it is flown at half mast.
Leading up to the building are a series of steps each, one cat height
high and one cat height long. At any moment in time there is exactly
one more step than there are players enshrined in the hall of Elders
(material and labour required for construction is generously provided
by the Ackanomic Construction Guild Inc.). Engraved on the riser of
each step in gold lettering is the name of an Elder, starting with the
most recently inducted on the top most step and proceeding in reverse
order of induction down the steps. On the bottom most step in the
language of the ancients is the phrase "Said the Tensor: Let Their Be
Harf".
On the second Tuesday of each month a player may dance on the Town Hall
Steps, provided that:
i) e pays $A2 to The First Citizen for a Exhibitionist's permit.
ii) During the previous three days e had a proposal accepted, was
acquitted of a crime or had a CFJ submitted by em, ruled in eir favour
(ie True).
iii) the dance is described in verse.
Failure to comply to these requirements constitutes the crime of Rampant
Exhibitionism.
At all times it is illegal to dance naked on the Town Hall Steps. For
the purposes of this rule a player is considered to be naked if e is
not wearing a rule defined garment.
Rule 843/9
Hall of Elders
Malenkai (Randy Hall)
1) Let the Hall of Elders exist. It is a common location, and is housed in a classy marble building, at least 3 blocks from the Gaol.
2) Whenever a player leaves the game, their likeness (hereafter, where appropriate, referred to as if it were the actual player) is eligible to be enshrined in the Hall of Elders. They shall be a candidate for such an honor if someone nominates them (via a public message) for such within 3 days of them leaving the game. If multiple players nominate the same departing player, they are only considered nominated once.
3) If a departing player has been nominated, their confirmation period starts at the time of their nomination and ends 3 days after their nomination. During the confirmation period, players may send messages to the public forum supporting the nominee (maximum one such message per player). The nominee shall receive one confirmation point for each such message posted in accordance with the rules. They shall also receive one point for each cycle (or game) they won while a player, up to a maximum of 5 points from this source.
4) At the end of the confirmation period, the nominee is confirmed if and only if the number of confirmation points they received is in excess of the number of active players divided by 2. After it is decided whether or not the player has been confirmed, all of their confirmation points are destroyed.
5) If the departing player returns to the game either during the nomination period, or the confirmation period, they are no longer considered a nominee. This section takes precedence over all the preceding ones.
6) Once confirmed, the great honor of being enshrined in the Hall of Elders is bestowed upon the nominee. It is a duty of the Web-Harfer to place relevant information about the (including their portrait, if such exists), on a web page which represents the Hall. The Historian should provide a brief biography of the enshrinee, and a list of any offices they may have held while a player. This is considered "relevant information", as per above.
7) Whenever an enshrinee is enshrined in the Hall (either by this rule or another), An Day of Remembrance shall be placed on the calendar, named after the enshrinee (e.g. Elder X's Day). The date (excluding year) shall be chosen as follows:
1) It shall not be Jan 22nd.
2) It shall be the date the player in question originally joined
the game, if that date can be determined with finality, and that
date is not already an Day of Remembrance, otherwise,
3) It shall be the date the player in question most recently left
the game, if that date is not already an Day of Remembrance,
otherwise,
4) The Speaker shall choose a date that is not already an Day of
Remembrance.
8) If the player in question returns to the game at least 30 days after being enshrined, they may use the title Elder, and shall have the powers and benefits explicitly specified by other rules for Elders.
9) The rules may explicitly delineate other procedures for an active player to be enshrined in the Hall, and this rule defers to such where there is a conflict.
Rule 844/1
Maps
Vynd (John McCoy)
Maps are a class of unownable named entities. Maps are depictions of the physical layout of places in the Game of Ackanomic. The rules may call for certain maps to be publicly displayed. If this is the case, then the officer responsible for that map must maintain a WWW page with an copy of said map. The recommended medium is HTML with clickable images/cgi, but any clear representation, including a text description, is acceptable so long as it is accurate. If applicable, the map should include links to other relevant material, such as its contents or other maps.
Rule 845/1
Here There Be Dragons
Vynd (John McCoy)
The Map of Ackanomic is a map of the earth as it is known [described in the rules]. It is maintained by the Map-Harfer, who is permitted to change it as necessary to reflect new discoveries. The Map of Ackanomic is not overly detailed, but at a minimum it must depict any regions found on the surface of the earth. The Map-Harfer is permitted to fill any blank areas of the Map of Ackanomic with wild speculations about the nature of said areas, but these speculations are almost certainly wrong.
Rule 846/7
Map of the City
Malenkai (Randy Hall)
The Map of the City is a map which represents the region of Ackanomic known as the City. It should display all locations found within the City (that are not themselves within another location). This includes, but is not limited to, Kaas of land, Buildings, and Towers. The Map of the City should also represent in some way whatever lies immediately outside the bounds of the City, if anything. The City itself is always square, and the Lonely Mountain is always as close to the center of the City as possible, given other limitations.
The Map-harfer is the officer in charge of the Map of the City, and is responsible for maintaining its accuracy. If a location is known to be in the City, but exactly where it is in the city is unknown, then it is the duty of the Map-harfer to specify a place on the map for that location.
Rule 847/0
Earthquakes
Vynd (John McCoy)
Ackanomic, especially in the region of the City, is distressingly prone to earthquakes. These earthquakes are constantly reshaping the land, requiring constant updating of maps. Whenever an earthquake occurs, all hell will break loose, fire shall rain from the sky, and the earth will be rent with gigantic chasms. All players shall scream in terror and run around like chickens with their heads cut off.
Earthquakes can be triggered by any number of events. When an earthquake is triggered, it will occur when it is publicly announced that an earthquake has hit Ackanomic. Such announcements may only be made in accordance with the Rules. After an earthquake, it is the duty of the Map-harfer to formulate a new map of the City and place it on display as described in this rule. The new map must contain all the locations present on the old map, but their positions may be changed in any way the Map-harfer sees fit, so long as he obeys the following guidelines:
1) Buildings remain on the same Kaas on which they were built
(although the position of the Kaas may be changed).
2) A set of Kaas with a Building on them must remain contiguous.
3) Locations whose positions are specified in the Rules must remain in
those positions.
The Map-harfer has 7 days to prepare and publically display this new
map. It is permissible for the new map to be identical with the old
map. Once the map is on public display, the Map-harfer must announce
that Business as Usual has resumed. Until he does so, no player may
purchase or sell land or buildings.
There is a special type of earthquake which is called a Really Bad Earthquake. They are identical to regular earthquakes in most respects, but they are triggered by slightly different circumstances, and do have slightly different effects. Really Bad Earthquakes differ from regular earthquakes in the following ways: After Really Bad Earthquakes the Map-harfer has 10 days to prepare the new map rather than 7, but the new map must not be the same as the old map. Nor may the new map be such that another Really Bad Earthquake would immediately be triggered by this Rule. The Map-Harfer may author a CSR within three days of announcing that a Really Bad Earthquake has occurred, he should restrict this CSR to altering the Rules in regards to Locations. Really Bad Earthquakes have the ability to add or remove new unowned Kaas to the outside edge of the City, so long as the City remains square.
A Really Bad Earthquake is triggered by any of the following events, this list is not exclusive:
There are fewer then 10 unowned Kaas of land in the City.
There are fewer then 4 contiguous unowned Kaas of land in the City.
Less than half of the Kaas of land in the City are owned.
The Rules call for Kaas to be given to a player or other entity, but there are insufficient Kaas available on the Map [Such as a new player joining but there being no empty Kaas available]. If this triggers a Really Bad Earthquake, then the player or entity will not be given his Kaas until after Business as Usual has resumed.
The above provisions notwithstanding, a Really Bad Earthquake cannot remove Kaas of land which have owned buildings on them, or buildings mentioned in the Rules, or Kaas mentioned in the Rules. Nor may they remove so many Kaas of land that the City has fewer less than 144 Kaas of land within it. Really Bad Earthquakes cannot alter locations in the City other than Kaas (and the buildings found therein), except by changing their position on the Map of the City (in the same manner as a normal earthquake).
This Rule has precedence in matters concerning earthquakes, maps, and land, over all other rules.
Rule 850/18
Museum
Malenkai (Randy Hall)
I. Ackanomic Museum of Antiquities
The Ackanomic Museum of Antiquities (Museum) exists; it is a classy building near the Library. It is a Common Location. The Museum has 3 wings: the North Wing, the West Wing, and the McCumber Annex.
The West Wing is the most prestigious, but the McCumber Annex is sort of cramped and unused. The North Wing and West Wing each have a gold plaque at their entrances, engraved with the names of honored benefactors. A lighted sign also appears near the entrance of each of these wings.
II. Curator
The Financier is the curator of the Museum, and it is a duty of that office to maintain records of the Museum's inventory, and other relevant Museum details.
III. Donation
A player may donate any Gadget, Trinket, or Prosthetic Forehead he owns to the Museum. If the player attempting it is not at the Museum, e first moves to the Museum, and then the donation occurs. If e is unable to move to the Museum, then the attempt fails. All newly donated objects (along with the name of the associated benefactor) are placed on display in the North wing. The Museum has high standards, so it will not accept Prosthetic Forehead donations if it already has 15 such pieces on display (i.e. the donation fails). Items on display in the Museum are not considered in the Treasury.
IV. Donation Value
Objects on display are valued by the Museum as follows:
a) Prosthetic Foreheads: A$10.
b) Gadgets: The most recent price paid for that type of Gadget at an auction such that the proceeds of that auction went to the Treasury. If that value is undefined, its value is A$50.
c) Trinkets: The value the Trinket had when it was donated. If it was once part of a Buried Treasure for more than 60 continuous days, it is an Antiquity, and its value is increased by 30% (fractions truncated), upon donation, and it is no longer considered to have once been part of a Buried Treasure for for that length for the purposes of this sub-section, unless it again acquires that attribute.
V. Benefactor value and becoming a Member of the Museum
Each Museum benefactor has a benefactor value (BV), which is the sum of the value of all objects on display in the North Wing that that benefactor donated (the benefactor of record is considered to be the last player to donate a particular object). Upon a benefactor's BV exceeding A$1000, he gains the title 'Member of the Museum' and his name is added to the end of the list of names on the plaque in front of the North Wing, and the lighted sign in front of the North Wing stops displaying whatever it displayed before, and begins displays that benefactor's name.
VI. Bonus Vote
On the first day of each month, the Museum throws a party honoring its benefactors. This is a private gathering. There are door prizes, but as the Museum is always tight on funds, they are pretty lame. The only one of note is a Bonus Vote, which is awarded to a random benefactor as determined by the Financier. Each benefactor's probability of receiving this Vote is their BV divided by the total BV of all currently active players. If the total BV is zero, however, no award is bestowed.
VII. The Value of Winning
Upon a benefactor's BV exceeding A$5000, if e is a voting player, all objects donated by that benefactor are transferred to the West Wing, and a big ceremony, which is a public gathering, is held. If this appears to occur simultaneously with a player becoming a Member of the Museum, however, it will occur an infinitesimal time afterwards instead. Then that benefactor becomes a Life Member of the Museum, and his name is added to the end of the list of names on the plaque in front of the West Wing, and the lighted sign in front of the West Wing stops displaying whatever it was displaying and begins displaying that benefactor's name, and the lighted sign in front of the North Wing starts displaying 'North'. Then, if that is the first time that player has had a benefactor value exceeding A$5000, he achieves a Winning Condition.
VIII. Traveling Exhibitions
Players can make temporary donations to the Museum so that objects of great historical value that would otherwise not be seen by the public can be put on display. Any player can state that they wish to give to the Museum any trinket e owns that was created more than six months previously to add to the Private Collection Room. It is good form for the donor to give a brief description of the gifts. The Curator can accept or decline such gifts. Although the Museum is pleased to be able to display these artifacts, the donor's Benefactor Value is not changed. However, the player can get back any donation he made to the Private Collection Room by making a public request for it.
IX. Museum Security
Entities may not be removed or stolen from the Museum except as described by the rules. Any person caught stealing from the Museum, as described in the rules, shall go to Gaol with a sentence of 7 days per object pilfered, in addition to any other penalties described in the rules. If the Museum loses an entity displayed there, and the rules do not describe how that entity is manipulated thereby, that entity is transfered to the Treasury, and it ceases to be on display in the museum.
The security in the Private Collection Room is much greater than that in the rest of the museum so as to encourage players to allow their more valuable objects to be put on display. For this reason it is impossible to steal anything from the Private Collection Room and any attempt to use an Otzma Card of type Art Thief to steal an object there automatically fails. However, the card is still used and the player is deemed to have been caught stealing. This paragraph of this rule takes precedence over rule 1240.15
Rule 851/0
Gone But Not Forgotten
Slakko (Duncan Richer)
The Harfonian Institute is a small Building and a Common Location. It is a Duty of the Archivist to maintain a page detailing the exhibits of the Harfonian. The Web-Harfer is the Archivist unless there is a consenting player currently delegated to fulfill the role of Archivist. Only the Web-Harfer may make such a delegation. This delegation may be cancelled at any time, and Archivist is not an Office.
If a non-Trinket possession of a player or Organisation is suspected of having outlived its usefulness, and its name currently does not occur in the Ruleset, then the Archivist may issue a Preservation Declaration naming the possession publicly. If less than two players publicly object to the issuance of this Declaration within 3 days of said issuance then the following steps occur, in order:
(a) an Exhibit is created in the Harfonian detailing the history and background of that possession, including a picture of the possession if possible.
(b) the possession is destroyed.
Exhibits are not entities. "Possession" as used in this rule includes entities.
Rule 852/3
Portrait Gallery
snowgod (Phil Ackley)
The Portrait Gallery is a small building and a Common Location. It is a duty of the Web-Harfer to maintain a gallery of portraits.
This gallery shall be linked to the Official Ackanomic Web Page and must contain a portrait of every player who has submitted one. The Web-Harfer may resize portraits in order to keep them uniform. If a player has no portrait the Web-Harfer shall place an empty picture frame in the gallery containing the words "This space reserved for x" (where x is the name of the player without a portrait.)
If the Web-Harfer can think of a feasible way of doing so, he may charge admission to the gallery. However, the price of Admission must never exceed A$2. Charging admission is a privilege of the Web-Harfer.
The Web-Harfer may, but is not required to maintain a gallery containing images of deceased players.
Rule 854/10
Ackanomic Institute of Genetic Replication
Guy Fawkes (Robert Shimmin)
The Ackanomic Institute of Genetic Replication exists. It is housed in a cosy laboratory in the south part of Acka. It is a Common Location. When required by the rules, it will produce a replica of a player. Such a replica may only take actions explicitly allowed it by the rules, and is rather short-lived, being destroyed at the end of the occasion which warranted its creation. Unless specified otherwise, there is no charge for such replicas.
The Ackanomic Institute of Genetic Replication also provides customized mutations, at a small fee, to any interested player. If in a public message a player announces he is paying the specified fee for a mutation described in this rule, the cost is deducted from his account, and he receives that mutation and any special attributes associated with it described in this rule. If he later wishes to have the mutation removed, he must pay a fee equal to that for receiving the mutation, and he shall cease to have both the mutation and any special attributes associated with it.
Current available mutations:
Extra head: Cost -- 50 A$. Players with extra heads are encouraged to occasionally get into public arguments amongst their heads. [See also rule 931]
Pointy ears: Cost -- 4 A$ each, or 6 A$ for a pair. Pointy ears don't do much, but players who have them may threaten other players with a Vulcan Neck Pinch and be taken seriously. Players without pointy ears may also make this threat, but they are liable to be laughed at upon doing so. Players with only one pointy ear are liable to be laughed at regardless of their actions. A player may never have more than two pointy ears per head; if at any time a player has more pointy ears than this, the extra ears are removed(at no cost to the player).
Wings: Cost -- 100 A$. Winged players need not worry about dangling from the earth, as they can reattach the suction cups for any player that might lose them. Because of the size of buildings, it requires three winged players to reattach a dangling building's suction cups, and after doing so, they must rest for three days before reattaching anything else. Buildings that have also lost their emergency tether can still be reattached by three winged players, but the strenuous effort will cause the players to lose their wings as well. Since extra heads ruin a player's aerodynamics, a player may not have both wings and an extra head.
Forked Tongue: Cost A$250 - Players who have this mutation have a better ability to speak and pronounce the language of the ancients. Whenever a player with this mutation reads an ancient text [such as the Ackanomicon or a Spell Book of Chorg] and the result of that reading of the text specifies a random outcome, the player shall have a 25% chance of being able to pick the outcome deterministically. This paragraph takes precedence over any rules with which it conflicts.
Rule 855/2
Monolith
Fortunato (Aaron Keesler)
1) Let the Monolith exist. It is a common location, and is a sumptuous building.
2) The Monolith is initially a three level structure. Any player may add levels to the Monolith by publicly declaring that they are doing so. No more than two levels may be added per player, per week. The price of adding a level to the Monolith is A$50 * N, where N is (current number of levels / 3), rounded down.
3) Each level of the Monolith must have a name. The names of the first three levels of the Monolith are:
i) Level One: The Lobby
ii) Level Two: The Smoking Lounge
iii) Level Three: The Trophy Room
The name must be designated by the creator of the level at the point at which it is created. It is a Duty of the Web-Harfer to keep a list of the name of each level of the Monolith.
4) When a player has completed 7 levels of the Monolith, e receives a Boon of the Ancients, and is granted the title of Assistant Monolith Meister. This title gives no additional benefits. When a player has completed 10 levels of the Monolith, e receives a Bonus Vote, and is granted the title of Monolith Meister. This title gives no additional benefits.
5) All players who have added at least two levels to the Monolith are Sheltered whenever they are at the Monolith.
Rule 856/2
The Ackanomic Printing Guild
Vynd (John McCoy)
The Ackanomic Printing Guild exists. It is a Common Location. Fortunately, it is built on an area of land where the Ancient had experimented with their famous Space-Time Compressor, allowing an infinite volume to exist at that location. It is a Puny Building. It can be found next to the Library.
All printed materials in Ackanomic are made within the Ackanomic Printing Guild. This includes but is not limited to all copies of the Rules, CFJs, CSRs, newspapers, Documents, and comic books. Whenever such printed material is needed or desired, the Ackanomic Printing Guild shall supply it, with or without request, and collated to boot. These printed materials are produced by the Ackanomic Printing Guild's crack team of an infinite number of monkeys. The monkeys use their infinite number of typewriters to produce the printed materials, which are immediately and instantaneously delivered wherever they are needed. All thanks to the wonders of the Ancients!
This Rule yields precedence to all other Rules.
Timestamp: Fri 02 Oct 1998 08:13 EDT