REPOST – ASCII Dungeon Incursion review

A/N: Taken from http://web.archive.org/web/20091216104314/http://theasciidungeon.net/index.php/archives/157

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Edit: In advance, I apologize for the lack of images. Two relevant screenshots are linked, but problems with the image uploader had created a bit of a set-back. Hopefully other reviewers do not suffer as I have. 😦

I go into this review hoping it helps anyone out there confused or unsure about this wonderful game. Merely trying to create a character can be daunting, but it shouldn’t be what holds you back from really giving this game a go. This is probably my second most played RL, so I’m a wee bit biased. With that said, let’s dive right in…
Character Creation Process: Step One
Incursion is infamous for its complexity and steep learning curve, and one of the most daunting tasks is creating a character. First, you choose a race, of which you confronted with some necessary stats, and then a lot of tl;dr backstory. You might wanna bring in a cup of coffee or something, because the amount of text in this game will substitute for the newspaper. After the the race, you choose a class. Stats will be there, and so will another long description of the classes. Moving on, you get five dice rolls for your Str, Dex, Con, Cha, Int, Wis, and Luck. Each roll will come with two additional things: a bonus item, a bonus feat, a specific resistance, etc. (Note: Humans are extra special and get three bonus additions.) After that, you choose an alignment. Now comes the part that turns people off, I’ve found. Here’s where you choose stats. Incursion has a massive feat/ability tree, and it takes a bit of time to get used to it. You’ll choose a few, depending on you race and class, and then we move on. Then we come to skill manager. This should be relatively straight-forward to those familiar with RPGs or table top games. After that, we start the game. As far as that behemoth of a character creation process goes, it’s pretty fun. Incursion is definitely intended to be enjoyed by those with a bit of DnD experience in them (especially 3.5ed, off which the engine is based).

Gameplay can be pretty challenging. The amount of keys is rather hard to keep track of, but players will get a hold of basics pretty quick. The inventory in particular can be a little tricky. Just keep in mind that when you pick stuff up, it doesn’t go straight to your pack; it’ll be “in the air” (i.e., you holding it) until you either decide to equip somewhere (to do this, you find the place you want to equip it [left shoulder, right arm, belt, etc] and then hit space) or ’s’tow it in your pack. It’s rather embarrassing how long it took me to figure that out. Actual combat is fun, but sometimes really difficult early on. I’ve heard of many people who spend upwards of ten minutes making a character, to die across the first enemy they find. This is not the way you attract players. My suggestion to new players is to try a sneaky, small rogue character first. Use the ‘h’ide in shadows ability, and pick your battles. Smash random keys on your keyboard, and find out what stuff does; this can only help you.

The battles may be tough, but never the same. You’ll fight monsters you’ve never heard of, and you’ll encounter things that no other roguelike offers, like finding a sleeping Dwarven Priest, waking him, and having him join your party. Better have high diplomacy though. 🙂 The game is incredibly original with it’s content; you’ll rarely find a boring moment. The plot may be lacking (more on this later), but it’s really well done; simple, but intriguing.

Varied environments with interesting descriptions make exploring interesting (however dangerous)
Aesthetically, this game is pretty great as well. Think “Legerdemain”, and you’re right on target. It’s colorful, vibrant, and the environments are really varied. From Ice Caves to Fungal Forests, you’ll find rather interesting descriptions of what’s happened. Again, it’s geared to table top gamer. As far as this reviewer can see, the game really doesn’t any flaws as far as simple presentation is concerned. This is certainly a plus, because it makes the environment which one would assume to be rather dull after a while (an abandoned underground fortress) a bit more surreal, and exciting.

The game also allows you to revive past characters. This is really fun, because sometimes you get a great roll, great feats, great items, and then die really early on. That’s no fun. You can replay a deceased character as many times as you want, but the number of times will appear in the character dump. (Ex. Tarsin Highhill II, a hin bard of mine). Mentioning names real quick, it should be noted that you do not choose the names of your character. Small loss. Also, the game autosaves, which is a nice bonus, and makes returning to save files easier.

So, about the plot. The plot is basically “Kill the Goblin King”, which is, as I said earlier, simple and a bit intriguing. However, the interesting (and rather promising thing) is that Incursion is the engine for the game Halls of the Goblin King. Think ToME, and that sort of set-up. This means that the Incursion engine could be used for new games. This is really exciting for those like myself, who are fans of the engine’s adaption of the 3.5ed rules.

So, I suppose in summary, I really only have to say that you should give this game a fighting chance, because for any new players, it won’t give you much of one. 🙂

-Saryn

REPOST – Deus Ex facial lines

A/N: Taken from http://theosek.sitesled.com/lines.html

***

Lines

 

Written by Chris the Cynic, Added to and Edited by walton simons

 

Theories and Observations on the Body Lines
With Nice Pictures

First off we have to separate these things out. The lines on Simon’s face are different from the lines on JC and Paul’s in more than just appearance. Simon’s lines are part of another aspect of the nano augmentation project, and they are only temporary. Simon’s lines are called „bioelectrics”.

The infamous Robert Page before he attempts to become omnipotent. Side, front and back view.

In the intro you may well notice that Bob Page, non-augmented and all, has the same silver lines ending in blue squares on his face as JC and Paul. Further these head lines are not on the Denton clones though there are similar ones on other parts of the body, including ones on the hands identical to those on JC’s and Paul’s hands.

For this reason it is, in my opinion, reasonable to assume that these lines do not have to do with nano augmentation. Though they share characteristics with lines that would appear to.

That said I present a theory:

I think that the lines are extensions of an occipital jack. The occipital region of the brain is the sensory region. Hence the jacks are often used by gamers for a better form of VR than just a helmet. However it might be easier for the wire type things to go on the outside to certain places, the ears for example. Further the jack might be more than that.

Daedalus is routed through JC’s infolink into a computer, that is only possible if the infolink was directly linked to the computer, and that is only possible through some kind of jack. Would a simple occipital jack be enough? I don’t know.

There are problems with this theory. One is that only JC, Paul and Page have these lines. On the other hand other than Alex we don’t meet any computer geeks. This might be explained by these being the most advanced computer interfaces around thus not available to the general public. It could be explained by these being more functional than most, where others would be invisible (we’ll touch on this again.)

Or it could be explained by them being totally unrelated to jacks.

Another problem is that Alex has a jack himself, but we don’t see those lines on him. But he might have a non-visible one, or it could be that his was removed for repairs. That would seem doubtful from the look of the lines, but we don’t know how they are attached. Removal might be a simple process. Why would it be removed? Well at the time of the game his jack is broken.

Why would it be non-visible? Well a more advanced model might not be seen, it could be more expensive, or something like that. Page probably wouldn’t want one like that as he is proud of his technology, JC and Paul may have not been able to afford such, or they might have gotten theirs from UNATCO, which would not give out a more expensive version.

Problem number three, the lines are described as „silver facial tattoos” which they aren’t, but if they are part of a simple jack wouldn’t it say „visible occipital jack” or something like that? Once again the possibility of this being a more advanced model comes up, maybe whatever model this is has yet to be released to the public.

„Denton is approximately six feet tall, with silver facial tattoos and solid blue eyes, the result of a genetic condition usually concealed by a pair of sunglasses. He is armed and extremely dangerous. If you believe you have seen or know someone answering to this description, DO NOT attempt to engage them, but immediately report them to your nearest FEMA, UNATCO, or police presence.”
-MOST WANTED: J.C. Denton, Bulletin

Four is simple, the lines on the hands do seem to relate to nano augmentation, as they appear on the clones. This implies that the face lines may too, but as said the ones on the face do not appear on the clones. This brings up an interesting idea though, the technology used for the lines could be top of the line whatever it is, and modular.

The Clones found in Area 51, front, side and back.

There are jacks in the back of the hands similar to that at the back of the neck. These may be for augmentation canisters (the upgrades as the others must be delivered by med bots) and bioelectric cells. Now there is certainly no reason for three jacks for one purpose, so the one at the back of the neck is still unexplained. (One jack on each hand allows for right and left-handed operation.)

A different theory is that they are somehow nanite highways, this theory is simple, and has only one pro and only one con.

Lines go all over the body and may be like veins of nanites delivering them from one place to another. Lines like these are seen on the Denton clones thus they have a strong likelihood of being related to nanites.

Problem. Lines like this appear on Bob Page long before he is augmented, if he had nanites in him they would kill him (unless he had a system like Simons, which he doesn’t; we’ll get to that.) Also they do not appear on the head on the clones. These two things make it highly unlikely that the lines are related to nanite augmentation.

Another theory:

The lines are simple wire-like conduits for transmitting electrical signals at speeds faster than thought. They could deliver orders to the nanites all over the body, thus explaining their presence on the clones. This would save the user the trouble of having nanite signals going over on the slower nerves as well as bypass any problems with organic transmission of computer-like signals.

It might also explain the lines on the head as being similar things for non-nanite purposes. They could be related to an occipital jack or the infolink, or any number of other things.

The Port on the back of the neck, could be an occipital jack as the lines carry the exact type of signals a jack is made to send and recive.

The Lines on Page, might be related to his (non-nanite) brain augmentation mentioned in the Continuity Bible.

The Ports on the hands, if they carry electrical signals may also have a secondary function of carrying electrical charge, they could be a bioelectric cell port.

This theory is new, there have yet to be flaws pointed out.

Simons is not like JC and Paul, he isn’t immune to the negative effects of the nanites. This means that he should be dying of gray death, but he’s not. Now the blue lines are called bioelectrics, and they can be seen on drug dealers and thugs. Thugs use them to manufacture things like steroids and deliver them to where they are „needed”.

Simons needs two things done to keep him alive, he needs his immune response suppressed, and he needs his newly suppressed immune system replaced or otherwise augmented (not necessarily in the Deus Ex sense of the word.)

It needs to be suppressed because it is the immune response that kills people. That is what the gray death is. („We need to destroy this village to save it” kind of thing, but cells instead of villages.) Without the immune response Simons can live happily ever after with his augmentations, except for one thing. His immune system is suppressed.

So here we have Simons and his own immune system isn’t killing him, but now anything else can. With no, or little, immune response anything can get at him. So now he needs that immune system replaced or helped out. Which leads to the theory that the bioelectrics on his face are a substitute of some sort for his immune system. With the nanite immune response avoided and his immune system replaced simons is theoretically able to be nanotechnologically augmented.

REPOST – Deus Ex Alex Denton theory

A/N: Taken from http://theosek.sitesled.com/alexdentonhologram.html

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Alex Denton: Hologram?

 

Written by Chris the Cynic, Added to and Edited by walton simons

 

A theory concerning the non-solidity of Alex Denton in his tank.

There was a lot of confusion when people said „You’ll be playing a Alex Denton” and later said he was a five year old at the time of Deus Ex. The reason for this was that Alex Denton was in a cloning tank at Area 51 at the time of Deus Ex, we know because we saw him there. This Alex didn’t look like a five year old.

Some might have said, oh he was five years old but growth accelerated, we know that they were planing to growth accelerate clones, but then another wrinkle: Alex was raised mostly in Chicago. A growth accelerated memory in planted clone wouldn’t need to be raised.

So we asked ourselves, „Are there two Alex Dentons?”

Then came the boom, the moment when it all made sense.

Alex isn’t in the tank.

The Alex in the tank wasn’t there, you could walk right through him. A bug? Not likely (we will get to that soon). A solid looking hologram? Yes. Every other clone in the lab is solid. For a long time there was debate, was a solid looking hologram possible? That was the thing keeping the last of the holdouts from believing that the Alex in the tank wasn’t Alex at all. Then it happened, Deus Ex Invisible War screenshots, complete with solid looking holograms. Solid looking holograms notably after The Great Collapse.

The original Deus Ex, Alex was non-solid.
Then a patch that fixed bugs, Alex was non-solid.
Then the remake Game of the year Edition that among other things fixed bugs, Alex was non-solid.
Then in winter of 2001 Deus Ex for the PS2 was born, it was christened Deus Ex: The conspiracy. Ion Storm had spent a year refining and making the bug totally bug free. Yet Alex is still non-solid and every other clone in the room is still 100 percent solid.

Looking at the clone lab from a development perspective we can also see why it is unlikely that the non-solid Alex was a bug. There are two other clones in the clone lab. Both of them are solid. All three clones in the lab are exact copies of each other except the Alex D one is non-solid. When creating the clone lab one clone was made and then copied twice to make three clones in total. The original clone that was copied to make other clones must have been solid or it’s two copies would have been non-solid as well. Therefore the Alex clone must have been directly altered on purpose after its creation to become non-solid.

In short: Bug? Highly unlikely. The chance of it being a bug is astronomically low.

Another theory held by some was that Alex was non-solid because he was the clone used at the end of the intro cinematic. This can be easy disproven however. A different map is used other then the Area 51 cloning lab for the intro cinematic.

So now we know, Alex is a hologram. But why?

–

Well first we have the question of why his tank was there at all, also why JC’s was. The most likely answer for that is control. In creating an identical child you need controlled conditions, simple cloning does not yield an exact match unless it develops under the exact same conditions. You need the same womb.

Now that is impossible, even if you put the embryo in the same person they have changed since the first child was born. The tanks would appear to be artificial wombs, designed to eliminate this problem. When JC was made they only had the very beginnings, JC’s embryo had to be implanted into Paul’s mother at a very early stage. Still it developed in the tank during early stages and this would be the same for all JC clones created in the tank.

As the experiments progressed the embryo could be kept in the tank for longer and longer periods. The end goal being a growth accelerated clones carried to adulthood, this was the reason for the size of the tanks. (When we look at it ingame with two growth accelerated clones -and one hologram of one- the size makes sense, but consider that it was originally used for an embryo only, it’s a wonder they didn’t lose it.)

We aren’t sure how far they had gotten when Alex was born, but it’s reasonable to believe that he was carried to term. Regardless he was born before the growth acceleration work had been completed and had to grow up like any old fashioned human.

The tank, like JC’s, was kept as it had been for him to produce more identical clones. At the time of Deus Ex it was empty, as was JC’s. Perhaps this was because across the lab they had finally managed to growth accelerate two clones. JC and Alex’s tanks were configured for old fashioned born as a baby clones. They may have stopped using them any time over nine months before to focus on the other tanks.

–

JC’s tank being empty was not unexpected as JC was the one who found out it was empty, but Alex’s tank being empty would prove that there was another Denton out there somewhere. In fact there were most likely multiple ones running around. JC had people from all over the world watching his infolink, and it was undesirable for them to know Alex was out there.

As such the hologram of a clone was set up, the datacube as altered, and the door was set to go boom.

REPOST – Deus Ex dev emails

A/N: Taken from http://theosek.sitesled.com/developeremails.html

***

Chris Todd:

„RosyCross is, in fact, a reference to the Rosicrucians, who almost always seem to find themselves somehow entangled with the Knights Templar and even Opus Dei in the various conspiracy theories. In this case, though, I didn’t have a deep (or even shallow) motivation for using that as the Oracle’s address, other than the fact that it fit in with the general atmosphere of the game. On the other hand, I did have a backstory for the Oracle that never really made it into the game – more explanation below.

To understand the Oracle, you need to understand that it’s also something of an inside joke: in the early days of the Internet, when it was mostly nothing but Usenet postings, there was something called „the Usenet Oracle.” You’d post a question, and if the Usenet Oracle deigned, you’d get an answer — usually something humorous — after which the Oracle would demand payment in some form. „You owe the Oracle an apple a day,” or „You owe the Oracle eternal happiness.”

So, I decided — in the best William Gibson tradition — that in the universe of DX, the Internet (or whatever its future equivalent is) had reached a critical mass of information that resulted in one or more artificial intelligences being spontaneously generated. Not wishing to draw attention to themselves, they masquerade as real people and only communicate electronically as they go about their subtle and unknowable business. The Oracle is one of these, but it’s taken an interest in humanity, so it acts as an information broker in exchange for odd favors or items that help it understand people. Of course, essentially being an alien, the things it requests and what it considers a „good trade” are a little different from what actual human beings might desire.

This was something purely of my own creation and was never really integrated with the rest of the game — though it doesn’t necessarily contradict anything in the game either — but I thought it would be a fun little thing for people to wonder about it. Unfortunately, since I haven’t really been involved in DX2, it’s unlikely the Oracle will be making a return.

Well, it’s been so long, I’m not sure there’s much else I can think of…the only thing that occurs to me is my tribute to „System Shock 2″ (one of the best RPG/action games ever made). I had three characters who you never actually meet, but only read about in data cubes and e-mails: an older, grizzled vet, and a younger couple who are in love. Originally working for MJ12 as security, they escape the destruction of the airfield at the beginning of the game and realize that they’re former employers probably wouldn’t be happy to see them, so they go on the run.

And, of course, wherever JC goes, they just happen to be in the same city, trying to buy passports or get out of the country. You can follow their story all the way to Paris, where I was going to have them tragically killed (there’s a news item about a security bot going crazy and gunning down a bunch of folks at a cafe that’s a remnant of that idea), but in the end I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Of course, I couldn’t figure out how to end their story, either, and since it was near the end of the development cycle…they just kind of vanish in Paris. One assumes they’re probably sunning themselves in Tuscany somewhere under new identities.”

Steve Powers:

It is true that the original scope of DX was MUCH larger, and a great deal of it was removed during development, but very little of it would make sense in relation to what the final game turned out to be. After things like the Russo-Mexican battle in downtown Austin, the Chinese moon base and the White House were cut, the story was amended to work without them and then continued to evolve as a smaller entity. The result is that many of the cut elements make little or no sense related to the context of the final game.

A full-scale battle with many combatants in a rubble-strewn street was impossible to do in our technology, so the scene from Texas was cut. The thing I regret most about that was the loss of two NPCs. They were a buddy duo named Tillson and „The Ghoul”, a pair of underground fighters who did some profiteering on the side. Sort of like Jay and Silent Bob, I guess.

Another character I hated to see cut was Jerry Wildman. A NASA astronaut who was stranded in orbit when the space program fell apart. Years of living alone on a derelict station in zero G made him a unique character, and JC would have a chance to recruit him to help infiltrate a second space station that was to be the „Titanic” of space, a massive luxury station where the most elite could live out of international law’s reach. Jerry Wildman had been in orbit on a tub leaking air and falling apart while MJ12 constructed this super station just out of his reach, ignoring him all the while. Needless to say he was bitter.

Much of the lower areas of Area 51 were actually constructed as a moon base, but when the moon was cut the maps were repurposed as you see them in the final game.

The White House was an easy environment to build, but in the end there was very little to do there other than walk around, and it was decidedly un-fun to play. With that we learned that many realistic and recognizable locations don’t really make for fun gameplay.

Tracer Tong originally hid his lab in the guts of an abandoned cargo freighter in Kowloon bay, and if you look at his underground lab now it still largely conforms to the curved hull of the ship it was once in. To reach him the player had to move along a floating sampan island crewed by guards trying to hold you at bay. There was also a scene where MJ12 helicopters mounted a rocket attack on his ship when you tried to leave.

Early in development Gary Savage and Howard Strong were both leaders of cultish communities in the desert that engineered deadly fighting robots and sent them against each other in an arena. The player was able to take part in designing a bot and sending it to fight.

REPOST – Deus Ex Grays

A/N: Taken from the same site as the others.

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Grays: the terrestrial transgenics

 

Written by Chris the Cynic, Added to and Edited by walton simons

 

An explanation of the Gray’s terrestrial nature.

The grays are not aliens. This is not a theory, this is a fact. There will be no, „Problems with this theory,” and no alternate theories. There will be only proof.

For starters the developers said that the Grays are not aliens, as they created the grays they should know. Although where and when the developers said this is lost in the twisting nether of the internet as walton simons found out after spending hours doing Boolean searches on AltaVista.
Thankfully there is enough in-game evidence to prove the Gray’s terrestrial nature.

Now then, in game evidence.

„From: MLundquist//VersaLife.783.48.90
To: MBates; ADonovan
Subject: Gray Project Schedule

I’ve attached a preliminary schedule for the Gray Project and want to get your input before we meet next week. Couple of issues I want to whiteboard are their ability to spontaneously generate radiation as a form of „attack”, and their apparent resistance to a number of environmental conditions.

We’re still trying to resurrect all the information from the old Dreamland data wells, but we have managed to extract a complete genetic sequence from the old bovine experiments that have given us two viable test subjects.
They’ve been isolated in a radioactive field downstairs for observation if you want to work up your informal impressions prior to the meeting.

BTW, we still haven’t heard from Feng about the karkian eggs – we’ve got the Hong Kong police out looking for him now, but we’ll need to push back our planned infant karkian development studies until we hear something.

Thanks,
Dr. Lundquist”

Note that the gray’s entire genetic sequence was in the bovine manipulation project, although I don’t think they are cows I have noticed that the bone structure of the feet does resemble hooves. It would make sense for them to be an early transgenic project. Also possible is that they were grown inside of cows, and this was the cattle mutilation that you hear so much about.

„From: LDeBeers//UpNet.873.484
To: BPage//UpNet.658.9044
Subject: RE: Bovine Manipulation

>I’d like to investigate the possibility of resurrecting
>the bovine manipulation project (MJID-9803HU8932), with
>an eye towards recreating the „Gray” lifeform – while
>the project was deemed a failure at the time, it _was_
>successful as a propaganda tactic in diverting attention
>away from actual Dreamland research. With recent advances
>in genetic science, the Gray lifeform could be engineered
>to protect MJ12 facilities while also serving as a useful
>bit of meme indirection.

An interesting idea, Bob, but I’m sure MJ12’s research allocations can be put to more substantial use pursuing our human augmentation projects; however, I’ll bring up the idea with Stanton and Morgan.

Lucius”

The grays were used in meme indirection. One example of how successful this is was the email on Smuggler’s computer saying that there were no genetic tests via vaccinations (even though there were) because the US had already sold out to the grays.

Also of note is that the gray turned attention away from the real research in Area 51 (Dreamland) This means that the Area 51 projects were unrelated to aliens and benefited from the belief in aliens. Further if there was a cover up to hide the existence of aliens (Roswell) why would they use the aliens to keep people from looking at a different project and risk exposing the existence of aliens thus negating all the work that went into the first cover up?

„Suzie,

Go! The cages are open… I don’t know what happened… some kind of attack… I got into the Aquinas Hub… Yes, the code works, and our monkey friends are transgenics, I’m pretty sure…

I will be in the Reactor Lab. Don’t come to find me… I will meet you on the surface… when it’s safe…”

If he was sure rather than pretty sure this would be all I needed to present.

I’d like to call attention to the inventory images. The gray image has patent numbers and a serial number. Not really anything that we didn’t already know. The image is also labled „Alien Genome” which doesn’t necessarily mean they are from another planet. There are many different definitions of the word alien (at least 5) only one means „from another planet”.

„Alien:
Ecology. An organism, especially a plant or animal, that occurs in or is naturalized in a region to which it is not native.”
–dictionary.reference.com

The above defintion can be used to describe grays as alien without labeling them as being native to another planet.

The Blue fusion device image I find just plain funny. The mechanism is under study, but that doesn’t mean anything because they tell you that Area 51 is filled with all kinds of stuff that they have lost track of (the bovine manipulation project was dug up with difficulty, there are „doors with unknown codes.”)

But what gets me is that the device is said to come from aliens.

„MiBSpecial We want to remove the keypads.
MechanicSpecial I wouldn’t wanna do THAT. Didn’t those things come from the aliens?
MiBSpecial The origin of the blue-fusion devices is classified.
MechanicSpecial Well, I ain’t touching them. Talk to Mac.”

This means that if the devices came from aliens the keypad was attached when they got it, otherwise there wouldn’t be a problem removing the keypad as someone managed to put it in just fine.

The schematic even has it listed as ROS172-E, ROS as in Roswell. This is also where they say that the grays are cloned from. So apparently an alien spaceship crashed carrying antimatter reactors that can’t handle full power, and blue fusion reactors with keypads attached that were the standard human type.

How likely is that?

But it gets better, see the grays are not clones, they are genetically engineered.

So let us say for a moment that the grays are aliens (even though they aren’t) that means that the statement „They were cloned from cells gotten at Roswell” is a lie. (Actually it’s „The grays are just clones — they SAY from cells they got at Roswell”.)

As that is the only thing supporting the belief that the grays are aliens, and we know it’s a lie, the argument that they are alien’s has no ingame, out of game, or any other form of evidence supporting it.

What does it say about it in the (Deus Ex) bible? Well it doesn’t mention them spesifically, but it does give us a clue as to when MJ12 was created. MJ12 was created after the Bilderberg Group, after 1954. As the Illuminati’s technology and communications leader. That’s 5 years or more between the supposed Roswell crash and MJ12’s founding. This goes against the alien theories stating that MJ12 was founded as a result of the Roswell crash, and had numorus operations starting in 1949.

Put simply the conspiracy theories are wrong.

Finally we have Deus Ex Invisible War info specifically calling them engineered transgenics, and not aliens.

REPOST – Deus Ex clearances and day timeline

Clearances

 

Written by Chris the Cynic, Added to and Edited by walton simons

The security clearances are based on the nine order angelic model and they are used by both UNATCO and MJ12. Angel/0A being the lowest clearance and the amount of clearance allowed raising with each level.

These are the only ones that appear in the game:

Angel/0A
Archangel/1B
Principal/2C
Domination/5F
Throne/6G
Seraphic/8X
God (?)

Here is the full model:

Angel/0A
Archangel/1B
Principal/2C
Power/3D
Virtue/4E
Domination/5F
Throne/6G
Cherub/7H
Seraphic/8X
God (?)

God Clearance

God is the theorized tenth clearance, and it is separate from the other 9 in that it doesn’t have a number letter combination. Further the UNATCO handbook mentions only 9 (not by name but you can figure them out.) Both Paul and Jaime mention God clearance, and that is in response to the existence of a killswitch and the phrase of a killphrase. It is still debated within the community whether Paul and Jaime are speaking literally or figuratively.

„You’ve got to have God clearance to… to know… The nanites can be programmed for exponential growth.”
-Paul Denton

„Well, here’s some God-clearance information for you. Dug it out of classified medical records before I left. Gunther’s killphrase is „Laputan machine”.”
-Jaime Reyes

Grigori/-1α.

Grigori are (were) the tenth order, they fell out of the liking of god when they taught people the art of magic and had sexual relationships with human women.Their half-breed kids are called Nephilim which could lead to a new clearance as well.

***

Day By Day Timeline

 

Written by Chris the Cynic, Edited by walton simons

Ok here’s the deal:

The short version:
Day 1 = New York = Friday
Day 2 = Hong Kong = Saturday
Day 3 = New York, Paris = Sunday
Day 4 = Vandenberg, Area 51 = Monday

Little note: We know that it started on Friday because of Dr. Moreau’s notes, and the password email on Alex’s computer. When JC gets to Paris on Sunday it says that the events on Liberty Island took place „last week” this is true because they took place on Friday, and the paper came out on Sunday.

Long version:

From when you get to Liberty Island to when you leave it for Hong Kong is one night.

Further from when you have your killswitch activated to when you reach Hong Kong is 12 hours, from then to when you meet Tong is another four hours.

Now it gets more interesting
At 19:38 (7:38) There is an explosion and a helicopter flying East to West. This is Jock when he blows the doors.
At 20:10 (8:10) There are reports about you asking questions.
At 21:13 (9:13) You enter Versalife.

Why is this interesting? Well because you enter Versalife 1 hour and 35 minutes after arriving. Now there is a four-hour difference between arriving and talking to Tong, meaning that there had to be at least a four-hour difference between arriving and talking to Tong. That would imply that either it was 23:13 (11:13) or 0:13 (12:13) In the first we assume an error by rounding of 25 minutes or more. In the second we assume either a rounding error or transit time. It could also be 22:13 with extreme rounding error.

What does this tell you? Well most likely Versalife is operating on a different time it is daylight savings time when the game takes place, if the Hong Kong police are operating on it and Versalife is not, that would make a 2 hour and 35 minute difference. If Jock rounded down from 38 and JC rounded up from near 13 it could almost make sense, but there is still an error involved of about an hour. BUT Jock came on the scene at least an hour after the killswitch is activated and he could have rounded from when he got there, and not from when it was really activated. Thus explaining the discrepancy.

However, it gets even more confusing because JC said he thought he had twenty hours left, yet Simons said he had twenty three (although he did say within, so that makes it a bit fudged), on the other hand JC was disoriented at the time.

Now then it gets worse, you see Jock picked up that helicopter from the MJ12 base in Hong Kong after it was made available by Daedalus, after JC was captured. This means that in the 12 hours he counted between the activation of the killswitch and the arrival in Hong Kong he made the trip to between Hong Kong and New York three times, if the data on distance I have is right that is a minimum of 1,255 mph. Now isn’t that a little fast for a helicopter to go?

However, if they were converting from Simons’ (which wasn’t accurate as to the 24 hour killswitch model) and assuming that it really was 24 hours it makes things nicer. It could be an inspecific amount of time for the first to legs (to Hong Kong and back), then as many as 11 hours to Hong Kong. But, the killswitch time would be left at 45 hours. Now they were studying the killswitch functionally, which could mean that they found out they were off on their 24 estimate, but still 45? Then we come back the fact that he said within, that could mean that he was taking the high very estimate. Or even trying to trick JC into thinking that he was safe for longer than he would be.

But we still have problems. You see the top speed of as helicopter by some theory or another leaves the time for the trip (one way) at 20 hours. Now that really screws stuff up. So let’s ignore that crap. Lets assume that the theory is wrong and the helicopter is really fast. Lets say that it makes the full trip (to Hong Kong, back and back to Hong Kong) in 20 hours, and that Simons was telling the truth on the timing, that puts the killswitch time at 36 hours.

Now why did I do all of this crap? Does it really help? Well here’s the big thing, when Paul got his killswitch activated he was really hurting, but they based their estimates of how long the killswitch would take to kill JC on data the collected from Paul meaning that Paul’s should have lasted that long. Now Paul probably came by plane so we don’t have to figure out helicopter speeds or anything. But he got there when JC was leaving barely in time to live. That would mean about 36 hours had passed since His was activated at the airfield. JC didn’t have his activated long after, so we can assume that it was a little over 6 hours between meeting Tong and leaving Hong Kong. That makes (obviously) the entire time from the activation of JC’s killswitch to when he left Hong Kong 36 hours.

All of that over we get to New York again. Now I’m not even going to try to calculate this, but let’s say that because it is night in Paris it didn’t take long to get there. We go back to The US, Vandenberg and Area 51, this must be a new day right? Probably, but that is in terms of hours, I’m thinking that it was the same night in terms of darkness passes then comes again =2 nights.

22:39:12 Vandenberg attack is underway. It would appear that it I have not checked out what time zone it is in, but unless it is before Area 51 by 2 hours* (not likely) that means that the Vandenberg attack was going on for almost a day.
*(with a daylight savings time discrepancy, or 3 without it)

19:45:12 Fighting is heard at Area 51, most likely the post (missile) attack slaughter of the non MJ12 soldiers.
23:11:30 JC has apparently not come in yet

REPOST – Deus Ex MiB/WiB background

A/N: Taken from http://theosek.sitesled.com/seriesp.html

***

Series P Agents

 

Written and Edited by walton simons

 

An in depth look on the men and women in black

SECTION 1

Before we start here is a text dump of some of the in-game text that is used.

„PROSPECTUS: SERIES P AGENTS
proposal by Dr. Arthur Donovan (Versalife/HK)

The Series P Agents are the logical continuation of research resulting from the Series N: the development of a human agent with enhanced capabilities and absolute loyalty, but without the non-standard appearance of mechanical augmentation or the unpredictability of nano-augmentation. Like the Series N, the strength and speed of the Series P should be substantially above baseline while new conditioning techniques will result in minimal pain response. We conservatively predict a Series P agent would be 78% more effective in combat than a normal operative without any form of augmentation.

Key features from the Series N agent will also be carried over, including the self-termination mechanism. An ingenious variation on the „kill-switch”, the self-termination mechanism is wired into the autonomous nervous system of an agent. If mortally wounded, the mechanism will activate and explode, eliminating any evidence of the agent and damaging nearby hostiles.

However, we are still continuing in our attempts to isolate the source of the albino traits present ever since the Series L, but so far the simple addition of sunglasses and dark clothing appear to have resolved the matter in a practical fashion…

From: ADonovan//Versalife.839.56.00
To: MLundquist//VersaLife.783.48.90
Subject: Series P Agents (Overview)

The Series P trials have so far produced excellent results, and I continue to believe that our physiopharmaceutical approach to agent augmentation to be superior to mechanical augmentation – and possibly even equivalent to nanotech augmentation – at a fraction of the cost and effort. The Series P agents show a marked lack of pain response with a corresponding increase in endurance and strength, while psychological conditioning has resulted in a Loyalty Estimate of 9.66 on the Yitzhak Scale.

The modified explosive self-termination switch added in Series N has also proven highly effective in eliminating all traces of the Series P in the event that they are mortally wounded or otherwise unable to complete their mission objectives.

We’re continuing in our attempts to isolate the source of the albino traits, but so far the simple addition of sunglasses and dark clothing appear to have resolved the problem in a practical fashion.
–
Dr. Arthur Donovan

From: MBates//Versalife.563.93.07
To: MLundquist//VersaLife.783.48.90
Subject: RE: NEB Trials

MLundquist wrote:

Simons has requested that we equip some of the Series P agents with prototype Non-Eutectic Blades, prior to their mass production, so that additonal functional data can be generated. I’ve also been

I’ve distributed several to the Series P we’ve already got in the building – I know that project is Arthur’s baby, but those suits and sunglasses give me the creeps. Our second prototype run of NEBs was shipped to Simons for distribution this morning.

I still can’t believe those gangsters managed to intercept the original one-off… I saw in the papers that they’re going to use it to resolve some kind of gang war – they’ve taken to calling it the „Dragon’s Tooth.” Can’t wait to rotate out of this place and back to the States.

Drinks sound good. See ya tomorrow.

Mark”

Lets start with the first one:

„PROSPECTUS: SERIES P AGENTS
proposal by Dr. Arthur Donovan (Versalife/HK)”

First of all for those who don’t know:

„prospectus –
A formal summary of a proposed venture or project.”

Dr. Arthur Donovan appears in most information about the M/WIB. All the instances when his name appears relating to W/MIBs can be found in the text dump at the top of the page. The Series P Prospectus was written by him, as is a e-mail regarding „The Series P trials”. The Series P project is refered to as „Arthur’s baby” in another e-mail between Mark Bates and Dr. M Lundquist. Dr. Arthur Donovan seems to be the main man behind Series P agents. Dr. Donovan also seems to have ties with The Gray Project and MJ12 commandos. In one e-mail his input in asked for about the Gray’s radiation oriented abilities. Dr. Donovan also asks for the MJ12 Commando’s specs in another e-mail. Dr. Arthur Donovan works inside the Hong Kong Versalife building as stated by „by Dr. Arthur Donovan (Versalife/HK)” and this sign in list:

„WELCOME TO VERSALIFE
„We Make Tomorrow Look Like Yesterday”

PLEASE SIGN IN

20:55 A. Donovan
21:20 Miriam Casswell
21:32 Richard Hundley
21:34 Dr. Michalopolis
21:46 Claude Harrison
22:52 Cassandra Vargas
22:52 Dr. Lundquist
23:51 Bates, M.
01:10 Dr. Kohl
01:45 Sarah Stern
02:12 Tom Bunch
02:17 Louis Elban
02:24 M. Morgan
02:36 Trellaine V.
03:13 Gary Burkett
…”
This list is particulally interesting as at 21:13 JC Denton enters the Versalife building. That is 18 minutes after Dr. Arthur enters. So Dr. Donovan could very well be in the Versalife building when JC is mucking about. We know this because of the Versalife security log:

„21:13 – Unknown individual enters; may possibly match description of „J.C. Denton”
referenced in security bulletin 133-B. Will continue observation and detain if confirmed match.”

The most common misconception about W/MIBs is that Series N agents are the nanotech agents like JC and Paul, Series L agents and mechanically augmented agents like Gunther and Anna and Series P agents are physiopharmaceutical augmented agents also known as W/MIBs. The logic behind this being: N stands for nanotech and P stands for physiopharmaceutical. I suppose Series L being mechanical is just a logical attempt at filling in the gap. But however, this is all wrong.

„The Series P Agents are the logical continuation of research resulting from the Series N: the development of a human agent with enhanced capabilities and absolute loyalty, but without the non-standard appearance of mechanical augmentation or the unpredictability of nano-augmentation.”

Read this part carefully paying close attiention to the use of the words „without” and „nano-augmentation”. Series N agents are simply an older version of M/WIBs. Series N is NOT referring to nano augmented agents. Series N, P and L refer to different version of the M/WIBs. Series P agents are what you fight in the game.

„Like the Series N, the strength and speed of the Series P should be substantially above baseline while new conditioning techniques will result in minimal pain response. We conservatively predict a Series P agent would be 78% more effective in combat than a normal operative without any form of augmentation.”

Notes:
-strength and speed above that of a normal human
-minimal pain response due to „conditioning techniques”(ouch)
-78% more effective in combat then a normal operative with out augmentation.
An normal operative with out augmentation can be assumed to be an average MJ12 Trooper.

„Key features from the Series N agent will also be carried over, including the self-termination mechanism. An ingenious variation on the „kill-switch”, the self-termination mechanism is wired into the autonomous nervous system of an agent. If mortally wounded, the mechanism will activate and explode, eliminating any evidence of the agent and damaging nearby hostiles.”

Autonomous Nervous System:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/auto.html

Again more evidence supporting the view that Series N is not nano augmentation. The self-termination mechanism is an variation on the kill switch. It is a key feature on the Series N. Therefore the Series N didn’t have a kill switch but instead had the blow-up-when-you-die M/WIB mechanism.

„However, we are still continuing in our attempts to isolate the source of the albino traits present ever since the Series L, but so far the simple addition of sunglasses and dark clothing appear to have resolved the matter in a practical fashion…”

Well this explains why M/WIBs are albino. But why the black eye tattooed on the back of there neck? It’s a symbol of the illuminati so Harvey Smith himself told me. Speaking of Weird M/WIB details… What’s with that mechanical voice?

The second most common misconception about W/MIBs is that their metallic voice is caused by an integrated rebreather in their bronchial pathways and that there is an e-mail which states this.

I have done a comprehensive Deus Ex text search on two different copies of the in-game text and the conversation text on this and came up with nothing. This e-mail does not exist. W/MIB’s voice was never mentioned in the game. Therefore I assume that this was merely a rumor and that M/WIB’s weird voice will remain a mystery. Although the self termination mechanism is mechanical so there is no reason why M/WIBs can’t have something else mechanical inside of them as well.

Moving on to Text number 2:

„From: ADonovan//Versalife.839.56.00
To: MLundquist//VersaLife.783.48.90
Subject: Series P Agents (Overview)

The Series P trials have so far produced excellent results, and I continue to believe that our physiopharmaceutical approach to agent augmentation to be superior to mechanical augmentation – and possibly even equivalent to nanotech augmentation – at a fraction of the cost and effort. The Series P agents show a marked lack of pain response with a corresponding increase in endurance and strength, while psychological conditioning has resulted in a Loyalty Estimate of 9.66 on the Yitzhak Scale.”

Now this is interesting, lots of stuff to pick through. It states the official name of Series P,N and L augmentation physiopharmaceutical. Now physiopharmaceutical is apparently not a real word as 5 dictionaries tell me. But using what we know of other words we can depict its meaning:

physio
1. Nature.
2. Physical.

pharmaceutical
1. Of or relating to pharmacy or pharmacists.
pharmacy
1. The art of preparing and dispensing drugs.

augment
1. To make (something already developed or well under way) greater, as in size, extent, or quantity.

Now put this together to make: physiopharmaceutical augmentation. Which means: The enhancement of the physical natural body through drugs. As stated earlier M/WIBs have minimal pain response due to „conditioning techniques” and the 2nd text section states: „while psychological conditioning has resulted in a Loyalty Estimate of 9.66 on the Yitzhak Scale.” So M/WIBs have been conditioned in both pain response and loyalty. Before we move on to what exactly conditioning is… what the heckzorz is the Yitzhak scale?

Here is something funny too note and also puts the obscureness of the Yitzhak scale into perspective. Do a google search on „Yitzhak scale” and the first thing that comes up is this article.

Yitzhak Frishman is an experimental physicist who has minor connections with nano-technoalagy (http://www.weizmann.ac.il/home/fnfrishm/).

But I couldn’t find any trace of his scale if it even exists. By the context that it is used in the e-mail the Yitzhak Scale is apparently used to measure loyalty. Anyway on to conditioning.

„Conditioning:
A process of behavior modification by which a subject comes to associate a desired behavior with a previously unrelated stimulus.”

Example: Every time you feed the dog you ring a bell. You do this for a couple of months. You ring the bell with out food. The dog will come because he heard the bell and expects food. The dog has been „conditioned” to think of food every time he hears the bell. Classic Pavlov’s dog scenario.

So M/WIB’s augmentation is a combination of drugs and conditioning.

„The modified explosive self-termination switch added in Series N has also proven highly effective in eliminating all traces of the Series P in the event that they are mortally wounded or otherwise unable to complete their mission objectives.”

Modified explosive self-termination switch added in Series N? Well the nano augmented agent’s kill switch sure isn’t explosive. So for the last time Series N is not nano augmentation.

SECTION 2

„Sometimes you’ll get a M/WIB just whispering to himself, saying weird stuff.
Mentally, these guys are pretty far from normal.
MIB Cold. Cold and dark. It goes on forever.
MIB Something’s not right here.
MIB Some of these people are androids. Watch the way they move.
WIB They said the process would make me smarter, but I can’t tell.”

The note at the beginning is a note from one of the developers that was in the conversation file. These examples lead back to the conditioning and use of drugs and suggest that it causes mental damage and is mentally tough and perhaps physically as well on the M/WIBs.

There are three unique M/WIBs in the game. Unique in a way that there is a story for each one. The following text is the story of Adept 34501. Agent Hela and Agent P. Sherman also have a story as well.

„Adept 34501,
Order of the Night Sky,
Third Rank:

Those Who Rule in Majesty, the Twelve, have set you to watch over this place and record all that may happen so we may benefit from your observations, as you may benefit from our wisdom.

You are entrusted with a Key to Sidon’s Vault: 1942

You are entrusted with a Key to the Fountain of Wisdom: 0022

You are entrusted with a Number and a Secret: 34501, 08711

You will guard all these things with Life and Soul, and do your duty so that the Fourth Secret may find a place in your Heart.

XII

Testament of Adept 34501

My name has been taken from me, a thing I need not anymore, and I have been christened Adept 34501. They have set me to keep a record of this place, to record a history of its comings and goings so that Those Who Rule might have the benefit of its knowledge…

… today saw the arrival of Agent Hermann. He is a simple thing, fitted to a dark purpose by forces he cannot understand. In a way, I feel pity for him – an emotion that I know will prevent my advancement beyond the Third Rank – but it is pity I feel nonetheless. He has spent most of his time below in the technology archive, staring at the ancient cross above his head.

He burns with a hatred that I can feel, for himself and for someone else. Periodically he will receive holographic communications from Simons, after which his hatred burns all the brighter. I think it has burned away everything human in him, and only the metal holds him together anymore…

Adept 34501, Order of the Night Sky, Third Rank”

Adept [5 digit #] could be theorized as to what nameless lower class M/WIBs are called. Third Rank? It seems there are not only different Series of M/WIBs but there are also different ranks.Order of the Night Sky? Night suggests black… M/WIB clothes?
Also she states that her emotion will prevent promotion. So MJ12 encourages M/WIBs to be emotionless. The fact that emotions will prevent promotion in the Order of the Night Sky also suggests M/WIBdom again. Although im not completely convinced „Adept [5 digit #], Order of the [Night Sky], [1st, 2nd, 3rd…] Rank” is referring to M/WIBs only so it will remain just a interesting theory.

Thief of Always was nice enough to point out some familiarities between a novel by Ayn Rand called Anthem and the text „Adept 34501”. This is what he had too say:

„This could be a reference to Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem. In the story, a totally collectivist society has formed, each person refers to himself as „we” to crush feelings of individuality, and people are referred to by a term of unity followed by a number. For example, the main character is named Equality 7-2521. The reference makes sense because each member of society is assigned an occupation and is bred to be totally obedient, never questioning anything. The society is even ruled by a small council of appointed men.”

Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

Agent Mari Hela and Agent P. Sherman both lead operations. Adept 34501 is told to: „keep a record of this place, to record a history of its comings and goings” which sounds like a pretty low level non-important operation. Lets see: Adept 34501, no name, low level operation. Agent Mari Hela, name, higher up operation. Agent P. Sherman, name, higher operation. An obvious pattern occurs. Perhaps higher up M/WIBs are rewarded with ether their original name back or a new name. Agent Mari Hela’s and Agent P. Sherman’s story is really unimportant at this point. But for the sake of completeness i’ll do a brief summary of some useful info.

Agent Sherman and Agent Hela both lead operations. Agent Sherman is a temporary acting director for the MJ12 and the normal components of UNATCO HQ. Agent Sherman takes over until Walton Simons comes in. We know Agent P. Sherman is an MIB for the following reasons:

1. The highest ranking officer in the building is an MIB.
2. The above mentioned MIB is siting in Agent Sherman’s Desk.
3. Like nanotech and mechanical personnel W/MIBs tend to be referred to as „Agent”.

Agent Mari Hela leads an operation in Paris and the Paris Catacombs hunting terrorists, remnants of the illuminati and later JC Denton. This leads me to believe that M/WIBs are by default higher ranked then most MJ12 personnel. Sherman’s password is raven, and this suggests dark and evil. Agent Hela’s password is Ragnarok. Ragnarok is from Norse mythology, it is the Norse Apocalypse. In the catacombs you can over hear two MJ12 troopers discussing Hela saying she creeps them out (understandable) and she is in her element. Besides the Ragnarok password which could be just be a random reference, it seems obvious that the developers wanted to give the M/WIBs a dark, scary and freaky emotionless look.

Outline:
Series P agents = current M/WIB
Series N and L agents = older version of M/WIB

Physiopharmaceutical and Conditioning Augmentation in M/WIBs results in:
-strength and speed above that of a normal human
-minimal pain response
-Loyalty Estimate
of 9.66 on the Yitzhak Scale.
-78% more effective in combat then a normal operative. An normal operative can be assumed to be an average MJ12 Trooper.
-The conditioning and use of drugs causes mental damage and is mentally tough and perhaps physically as well on the M/WIBs.

Name and Rank Theory:
-Lower ranked W/MIBs have no name, instead thay have an ID number: Adept [5 digit #]
-Higher ranked M/WIBs are rewarded with ether their original name back or a new name.

M/WIBs appearance:

The Physiopharmaceutical and Conditioning Augmentation (Most likely the Physiopharmaceutical part)
has given M/WIBs an albino trait ever since series L.
They wear sunglasses(red eyes) and black clothes(white skin) to resolve this problem.
M/WIBs have a black eye tattoo on the back of their neck because it is an illuminati symbol.
The M/WIBs weird metallic voice remains a mystery however.

Blow-up-when-they-die:
M/WIBs have had (since Series N) a self termination mechanism that is wired into their
autonomous nervous system. If they are mortally wounded they explode.

REPOST: Deus Ex master timeline

A/N: Taken from http://theosek.sitesled.com/mastertimeline.html, now defunct.

***

Master Timeline

Written by Chris the Cynic, Added to and Edited by walton simons

Events Conserning the plot of Deus Ex:
The Birth of Jesus to the year 2055

This is a year by year timeline of Deus Ex, meaning it isn’t „Friday JC Denton starts at UNATCO” It is „2052 JC Denton becomes an active agent, leaves UNATCO with brother Paul, defeats Majestic 12.”

-02 Estimated time that Jesus of Nazareth is born. This estimate is likely more accurate than the traditional „0”. Jesus is believed by Christians to be the „Anointed one” Messiah in the Jewish tongue, Christ in the Greek. He shakes up the world a bit, this has profound effects on just about everyone.

30 Estimated time of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus of Nazareth speaks of a:
„City on the Hill.”

33 Estimated time of the death of Jesus of Nazareth. He is nailed to a cross in a mode of execution known as crucifixion, created to cause pain. It involves being nailed through the palms and heels, and then left there to die of (after many other things) suffocation. This is result of the actions of three men, the head priest, the Roman governor, and Jesus himself. By allowing, and even encouraging his own death he fulfills a few prophecies.

33 Christianity, a sect of Judaism, is founded shortly after the death of Jesus. There were many players in this, Peter, James, and, most importantly, Mary Magdalene, author of the Gospel of John. This would become the predominant religion on earth.

1090 Hassan Sabah founded the Order of Assassins or Hashishim.

1118 Baldwin II, the Patriarch of Jerusalem accepted the vow of Hugues de Payens, a knight from Champagne, and eight other knights to forever protect the „Kingdom of Christendom.” They were given charitable lodgings in the city temple where they became the „pauvres chevaliers du temple”, or the „poor knights of the temple”. This was the beginning of the Templar Knights, an order of warrior monks.

1128 The Council of Troyes. The Templar Knights adopted the austere, monastic Rule of St. Benedict, along with the white garments of the Cistercians – adding to them the characteristic red cross that symbolized their willingness to spill their own blood in the defense of the One True Faith. Templar Knights receive papal approval.

1215 Earliest records that the oracle found relating to the Illuminati and Majestic 12 are from this year.

1218 Construction was begun on Cathedrale de Payens, financed by the Templar Knights.

1225 St. Thomas Aquinas is born.

1227 Possible alternate birth date of St. Thomas Aquinas.

1250 The coffers of the Templars are so large that it is not uncommon for pilgrims to deposit their money with a temple in London or Paris, and then cash in their receipt upon arriving in Jerusalem, thus establishing the foundations for modern banking and checking accounts.

1264 Siege of Safed, 90 Templars died, 80 others were taken prisoner and, after refusing to deny Christ, died martyrs.

1274 St. Thomas Aquinas dies.

1291 Europeans in the Holy Land were defeated, the Templars left the Holy Land as a result.

1304 With the cooperation of the French pope Clement V, Philip accuses the Templars of heresy and places all members of the order in France under arrest.

1307 Templars secretly move gold of the French treasury to Cathedrale de Payens, just beating the crackdown.

1310 May 12th Fifty-four Templars who had recanted after having confessed were condemned as relapsed and publicly burned.

1311 The dissolution of the order of the Templar Knights. According to The Red Cross: A History of the Knights Templar by Richard Baigent. This is incorrect, it is probably a mistake based on the fact that the council which they were condemned in began in this year.

1312 The order of the Templar Knights is dissolved. According to some sources.

1314 The last Grand Master of the Temple (Templar leader), Jacques de Molay, is martyred.

1317 To fill the place of the Templars in Portugal the king created the Christi Militia. This order received the approbation of Pope John XXII. These Knights of Christ would receive the Templars land and members.

1323 July 18th St. Thomas Aquinas is canonized by John XXII.

1348 The Order of the Garter, allegedly a neo-Templar group, is founded in England.

1352 The Order of the Star, allegedly a neo-Templar group, is founded in France.

1378 Christian Rosenkreuz, the reputed founder of Rosicrucianism, was born. (This is disputed as many believe he didn’t exist.)

1407 Rosicrucian order is founded by Christian Rosenkreuz.

1417 Prince Henry the Navigator becomes grand master of the Knights of Christ. Under him they undertake a plan for the the conquest of Africa for Christ and His Faith.

1430 The Order of the Golden Fleece, allegedly a neo-Templar group, is founded in Burgundy.

1469 The Order of St. Michael, allegedly a neo-Templar group, in France.

1484 Christian Rosenkreuz dies.

1492 Columbus, son in law to a former grand master of the Knights of Christ makes trip to America, under a „Knights of Christ” Templar cross. -Pope Alexander VI commuted the vow of celibacy to that of conjugal chastity finding regular marriage preferable to concubinage. This marked the decline of the order, which though it never died became less warrior monks, and more just plain warriors.

1493 Paracelsus, whose real name is Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, is born. He is regarded by many as the true founder of Rosicrucianism.

1541 Paracelsus dies.

1561 On January 21st Sir Francis Bacon is born. He becomes a prominent Rosicrucianism. Some say he is the founder. (Yes that’s right everyone founded this damn order. Even you and me, it makes it hard to find a date of founding.)

1586 German Lutheran pastor Johann Valentin Andrae is born. Some say he is the founder of Rosicrucianism.

1610 The German manuscript Fama Fraternitatis (Account of the Brotherhood)* probably begins circulating around this year and the work is subsequently published in several languages.

1614 The first printed edition of Fama Fraternitatis appears in the town of Kassel in western Germany.

1615 The Confessio Fraternitatis (Confession of the Brotherhood) is published.

1616 The Third Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosencreutz is published.

1630 John Winthrop uses:
„City on a Hill”

to describe America’s destiny to be a shining example to the rest of the world.

1634 Lingdan Khan, the last grand-Khan of the Mongols, dies on his way to Tibet. His son, Ejei, surrenders to the Manchu and gives the great seal of the Yuan Emperor to Hong Taiji.

1636 Hong Taiji establishes the new dynasty of Qing.

1638 The Muses Threnodie by H. Adamson is published. It says:
„For what we do presage is riot in grosse, for we are brethren of the Rosie Crosse; We have the Mason Word and second sight, Things for to come we can fortell aright.”

This is the only one of the links between Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry that I have been able to put a date on (and thus include.) It is unsure whether the links are small overlap of ritual and idea, or larger more telling things.

1644 The Qing captured Beijing, but spend the next twenty years fighting Ming loyalists in southern China.

1646 The earliest recorded ‚making’ of a Freemason in England is that of Elias Ashmole.

1654 Johann Valentin Andrae dies.

1694 The first Rosicrucian society in the United States is founded in Pennsylvania.

1700s Almost six million exhumed bodies are moved to the Paris catacombs as a health measure.

1717 June 24th Organized Freemasonry begins with the founding of the Grand Lodge of England.

1723 Tong states that Adam Weishaupt was born this year. This is wrong however. He was born in 1748.

1730 December 8th Benjamin Franklin prints the first documented notice about Freemasonry in North America in The Pennsylvania Gazette. The article was prefaced by the statement that ‚there are several Lodges of free masons erected in this Province.

1731 Franklin becomes a Freemason in February

1734 Franklin becomes Provincial Grand Master of Pennsylvania. Franklin brings into print the first freemasonic book to be published in America, an edition of Anderson’s Constitutions.

1748 The birth of Adam Weishaupt.

1753 George Washington, age 20, becomes a freemason.

1776 January Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet „Common Sense”
-May 1st Adam Weishaupt, a freemason, starts Illuminati from scratch in Bavaria.
-June 11th The Continental Congress appointed a committee to draft a declaration of independence. Of the five men on this committee, two are Freemasons and two are believed to be. Jefferson though apparently not a freemason, later founds the Illuminati in America.
-July 4th the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, of the fifty-six signatories nine are definitely Freemasons, while ten others may be.

1783 May 13th General George Washington founds the Order of the Cincinnati.

1786 Bones are removed from the grossly overcrowded Cemetary of Innocents to be stored in the quarries of Mont-Rouge, marking the beginning of the Paris catacombs.

1787 May 25th Constitutional convention opens. There are five „dominant and guiding spirits” behind the Constitution: Washington, Franklin, Randolph, Jefferson and Adams. The first three are freemasons, Jefferson founded the Illumnati in America, and Adams is believed to be a mason.

1789 Constitution is adopted. Of the 40 signatures 13 are freemasons and 6 more would later become freemasons.

1791 Washington wrote that freemasonry was:
„founded in justice and benevolence,” and „the grand object of Masonry is to promote the happiness of the human race.”

1798 Washington writes:
„. . . So far as I am acquainted with the principles and Doctrines of Free Masonry, I conceive them to be founded on benevolence and to be exercised for the good of mankind. If it has been a Cloak to promote improper or nefarious objects, it is a melancholly [sic] proof that in unworthy hands, the best institutions may be made use of to promote the worst designs.”

1802 May 19 Napolean Bonaparte creates Chevalier in the Ordre Royale de la Legion D’Honneur.

1818 Thomas Paine’s Origin Of Free-Masonry, which proposes that Masonry’s embodiment of the sun worship of ancient Druidism is a legitimate alternative to Christianity, is published.

1839 Britain’s desire to continue its illegal opium trade with China collides with imperial edicts prohibiting the addictive drug. The First Opium War erupts.

1842 China loses The First Opium War. Britain and other Western powers, including the United States, forcibly occupy „concessions” and gain special commercial privileges.
-Hong Kong is ceded to Britain in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanjing.

1848 July 4th the cornerstone of the Washington Monument was set with masonic ceremonies by the Grand Lodge of Masons of DC.

1851 The Taiping Rebellion begins. It is one of the bloodiest conflicts in history, a clash between the forces of Imperial China and those inspired by Hong Xiuquan, a mystic.

1853 The impetus of the Taiping Rebellion suffers as Hong Xiuquan withdraws from active control. He devotes himself to meditation, and, allegedly, more sensual pursuits. The failure of the movement to secure European support or that of the middle classes is another blow.

1860 An attempt to take Shanghai in August is repulsed by forces under the command of Frederick Townsend Ward, the force is later became the ‚Ever-Victorious Army’ led by ‚Chinese’ Gordon.

1864 The Taiping Rebellion ends. By this time at least 30 million people have died. Hong Xiuquan declared that God would defend Tianjing. As the Imperial forces approach in June he takes poison. His body is discovered in a sewer.

1867 Society of Rosicrucians formed in England.

1900 90 percent of Americans are self-employed.

1902 Estimated birth year of Lucius De Beers.
-Theodore Roosevelt says:
„One of the things that attracted me so greatly to Masonry . . . was that it really did live up to what we, as a government, are pledged to — of treating each man on his merits as a Man.”

1909 Harvey Spencer Lewis founds The Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC).

1911 The Qing Dynasty of China falls. The Republic of China (ROC) is founded. The followers of the Taiping Rebellion find themselves without purpose. Many are left depressed and angry because they are unable to participate in the uprising.
– Unable to return to civilian life, the rebellion members formed a cult. This becomes known as the Triad. They lose the usual support from the public as the Qing Dynasty is gone. Without the donations they turn to crime.

1918 Cathedrale de Payens purchased and renovated by a group of European investors as a corporate retreat.

1920 League of Nations proposed by Woodrow Wilson.

1921 The Communist Party of China is founded.

1940 Illuminati gathers genetic data via the smallpox vaccinations. This continues for two decades.

1945 Corporations pay 50 percent of federal taxes. United Nations charter.

1946 The land for the United Nations building was „graciously” donated by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The land had been a slaughterhouse and the soil where the U.N. buildings now stand had been fully saturated with the blood of the slaughtered animals.

1947 The UKUSA agreement is signed creating a vast international global eavesdropping network when US, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand joined all of their signals intelligence (SIGNIT) organizations.

1949 The Communist Party of China takes power, founding the People’s Republic of China. Mainland China is put under strict law enforcement and organized crime diminishes. The Triad migrates to the British colony of Hong Kong.

1952 October 24 the NSA is founded by a seven-page Top Secret memorandum from President Harry S. Truman to Secretary of State Dean G. Acheson and Secretary of Defense Robert A. Lovett.
-The two basic functions of the NSA are outlined as follows: (1) „to protect the ‚Communications Security’ (COMSEC) of US telecommunications that are national security related and (2) to obtain foreign intelligence related telecommunications through the interception of ‚Signals Intelligence’ (SIGNIT).”
-The latter represents the NSA’s main activity. Two elements comprise SIGNIT. The first is „Communications Intelligence” (COMINT) which is intelligence obtained through the interception of electronic message communications (ie. telegrams and telephone communication) and the second is „Electronic Intelligence”(ELINT) which is intelligence obtained though the interception of electronic signals (ie. radar and missile emissions.)

1954 The Bildeberg Group is founded. The group meets for 4 days every year and is made up of 115 of the most powerful people on earth. The meetings are secret. Some say it is the executive committee of the Illuminati, in reality it is a new branch. The Illuminati knew that politics and religion was no longer enough to control the world.
-The Bilderberg Group is created to control financial matters around the world through vast mining operations, control over the Federal Reserve Board, The Eurobank and the World Bank as well as through a stranglehold on the world’s supply of gold.
-Majestic Twelve is founded sometime after to control technology and communications. It develops advanced technology and decides what to release to the public. It monitors all communications, some better than others. It also controls drugs, legal and illegal, pharmaceutical and recreational. It even introduces new diseases (for which it already has a cures waiting).

1963 President Kennedy says:
„The high office of President has been used to foment a plot to destroy the American’s freedom, and before I leave office I must inform the citizen of his plight.”

-To quote Lucius DeBeers:
„he’s out, no discussion, no matter that we got him elected.”

-President Kennedy is assassinated ten days after that speech.

1965 The Illuminati finish tracking those who receive a small pox vaccine. From this they are able to build a database of the genetic codes of nearly all citizens of the United States and much of the rest of the world.

1970s Computers with the capacity for automatically sifting through massive quantities of information for specific keywords exist and are in commission.

1973 David Rockefeller forms Trilateral Commission.

1976 Peter Langston’s seminal oracle program is written for the research V5 Unix system at the Harvard Science Center.

1980s NSA designs the Echelon system by interconnecting all SIGNIT information gathering computers in the UKUSA agreement (that is to say in United States, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia) into and integrated whole.

1987 Bruce McIndoe helps to finalize the original Echelon system. Bruce would become the lead architect for Echelon II, which would use words and voice recognition, as well as automatic translation.

1988 12 August NEW STATESMAN is the earliest mention of Project 415, also known as Echelon.

1989 Lars Huttar uses a description of the seminal oracle program to write his oracle program, which is posted to alt.sources in August. This program inspires the Usenet Oracle.
-Steve Kinzler, a systems administrator and graduate student at Indiana University, installs Huttar’s program on silver.ucs.indiana.edu, where it proves to be quite popular. The best Oracularities are posted to in.bizarre, a group local to Indiana.

1996 March 12th The Usenet Oracle is renamed The Internet Oracle. Ray Moody, a graduate student at Purdue University, wrote the core software for this after correspondence with Kinzler.
-Kinzler would continue the development of the system, adding support for the Oracularities postings and ratings and, eventually, the Oracle Priesthood — a hardy and loyal band of volunteers who read through the hundreds of questions and answers each week to choose the best for publication.

1997 The sovereignty of Hong Kong is handed over by the UK to the PRC. A top official of the PRC central law enforcement agency publicly acknowledges his acceptance of the Triad. He states that many of its members are patriotic to the motherland. It is unknown if this is a government stance or a personal opinion.

1998 Bruce McIndoe stops work on Echelon II when his company changes hands.

1999 On January first Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain bowed to Majestic Twelve pressure (via it’s European Economic and Monetary Union or EMU) and adopted the Euro (EUR) as their currency.

2001 On January first Greece fell to the MJ12 controlled EMU.

2002 The Euro changeover was completed.
-On January 28th The Guilder (NLG) dies.
-On February 9th The Pound (IEP) dies.
-On February 17th The Franc (FRF) dies.
-On February 28th Schilling (ATS)
The Franc (BEF) dies.
The Deutsche Mark (DEM) dies.
The Peseta (ESP) dies.
The Markka (FIM) dies.
The Drachma (GRD) dies.
The Franc (LUF) dies.
The Escudo (PTE) dies.
The Lira (VAL) dies.
The Lira (ITL) dies. This really pisses off Chris Witham.
-As a result of this Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, Greece, Vatican City, Principality of Andorra, the Principality of Monaco, and the Republic of San Marino, the Azores, Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Europa Island, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Juan de Nova, the Madeira Islands, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion, Saint-Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon are just a few of the places made economic slaves to MJ12.

2013 „The Wheels Come Off” by Ophelia Carter is published. Suposedly demonstrated that there could have been no „Soviet-American pact” because America had already sold-out to the Grays. According to this theory the polio and influenza outbreaks of the later 20th century were test runs in a larger governmental biowarfare program.

2018 Paul Denton is born.

2020s Mechanical augmentations are just becoming widespread.
-In the early years of this decade work on nano-technology begins. The Majestic 12 scientists assigned to the project (including Bob Page) have a number of difficulties. A self-replicating nanite that can interact with biological material has to be developed. The nanites must be able to interpret commands directly from the mind, and send information back to the mind in a form that can be interpreted.
-This will take years to develop.
-A test subject matching MJ12’s selection criteria is needed, as young as possible.

2022 The pan-Arab invasion of Israel is successful, Majestic 12 control of the region becomes total.

2023 Paul Denton, age 5, is selected as test subject, he is subsequently cloned.

2028 Paul Denton’s mother, who is unable to have any more children but wants another, is approached by MJ12 operatives posing as fertility experts. She is told that she will be paid handsomely in exchange for participating in experimental surgery that will allow her to become pregnant. Mrs. „Denton”, had been poor her entire life, now she could have another child and have enough money to raise her family in comfort. The „fertility experts” assure her that the surgery is minor and the risk is minimal.
-After the parents of Paul Denton agree the mother is implanted with a cloned embryo of Paul. Their lived have already been carefully monitored by MJ12 for many years.

2029 JC Denton born on 3/17

2030s After AIDS cure is released new antibiotic resistant viruses appear. Resistant tuberculosis hits the developing nations, particularly India, very hard. A sample of the 1918 flu virus from bodies buried under the North Polar is accidentally released when it is procured for research.
-Versalife is instrumental in fighting these, originally a genetic engineering company, it branches to embrace all forms of science and commerce.
– At an unknown time between 2031 and 2035 Majestic twelve rebels against the Illuminati.

2030 Cure to AIDS is discovered ending its comeback.
– A major earthquake hits the West Coast, destroying most of San Francisco and dumping all of Los Angeles and most of Southern California south of Lompoc into the ocean. (Raised sea level plays a part, without it much of this space would not have gone under.)
– The earthquake forces the government to declare the west coast (or what was left of it) a disaster area. It begins to ignore the rest of the country.

2031 Utah announces its intention to secede from the United States, declaring its independence and annexing what was left of Arizona and Nevada. Inspired by Utah’s example, fringe groups in Texas declare independence as well.
-Shortly after Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming form the Northwest Secessionist Forces.
-All of these attempts to secede fail, however marital law continues exists in some portions of these states.

2033 Alex Denton’s assigned birth date is on 11/20 of this year. This does not match other data showing Alex to have been born some time in the year 2047.
-Nick Pausback’s assigned birth date is on 5/13 of this year.

2034 Wade Walker’s assigned birth date is on 2/25 of this year.
-Experiments begin on second generation of clones (~age 5)
-Toxicological study found no carcinogenic effects at chlorine concentrations a thousand times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency revised Kyoto standards.

2035 Having lined up all of the Illuminati’s political, financial, military and religious arms beneath it, Majestic 12 inherits the mantle of de facto ruler of Asia, Eastern Europe and South America. It’s rebellion is complete.
-Paul and J.C. Denton’s parents are killed by Majestic 12; J.C. is sent to Swiss school

2040 Paul Denton, age 22, joins UNATCO

2042 Sporting Weapons Act of 2042
-NSF (National Secessionist Forces) formed from gun toating people who refuse to let go of their rifles, grenades, land mines, and other „collectibles.” Lead by Leon Woods they intend the „liberation” of Washington, Montana, Oregon, and Northern California.

2045 Leon Woods dies in (in)famous last stand.

2046 In response to the Upper West Side bombing that killed 45 people and wounded over a 100, the grid zoning laws allowed the police to wall off regions of Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs. Foot traffic between these „zones” was prohibited, and traveling between zones was restricted to authorized subways or highways subject to police surveillance.
-The crash of ’46. Construction of some building in Paris stopped.
-Work on ‚Ambrosia’ project is suspected to begin this year.

2047 Most likely year of Alex Denton’s Birth given that he/she is five years old when the game takes place at some point in 2052.
-„Somnolente Ile” scandal rocks the Serra administration.**
-Beth DuClare’s involvement would cause members of the Republican Social Union for French Democracy (RSUFD) party disputed her right to be awarded the position of Chevalier in the Ordre Royale de la Legion D’Honneur posthumously.
-Bilderbergs may have been involved.
-Rumored to be the approximate beginning of the work on Aquinas by Page Industries.
-J.C. Denton graduates from Swiss school

2049 Doctor Moreau starts to work in MJ12 lab under UNATCO.

2050 Silhouette inserts 20th century style commercials into the Net broadcast of the World Cup.

2051 The Templars are „diminished” by a combined
UNATCO/Interpol raid in Paris . Templars are classified as inactive.
-15,234 young people served sentences in the state’s FBI-run „good
behavior” camps, a legacy of the Northwest War.
-UNATCO bombs Statue of Liberty, attack latter blamed on Silhouette.
-Gray Death „surfaces.”
-Gunther Hermann warns UNATCO not to trust Paul Denton.
-Dr Gary Savage and company walk out of Area 51, stealing „everything
smaller than a paper clip” and C-4’ing the large pieces of machinery
making up the UC. They form X 51.
-Beth DuClare passes away in September.

2052 JC Denton becomes an active agent, leaves UNATCO with brother Paul, defeats Majestic 12.
-Corporations pay 5 percent of federal taxes.
-2 percent of Americans are self-employed
-Beth DuClare is awarded the position of Chevalier in the Ordre Royale
de la Legion posthumously.
-According to Area 51 data cube Nick Pausback’s incept date is 5/13 of
this year.

2054 According to Area 51 data cube Wade Walker’s incept date is 2/25 of this year.
-According to Area 51 data cube JC Denton’s incept date is 3/17 of this year.

2055 According to Area 51 data cube Alex Denton’s incept date is 11/20 of this year.

* Called in English The Universal and General Reformation of the Whole Wide World: together with the Fama Fraternitatis of the Laudable Fraternity of the Rosy Cross, Written to All the Learned and the Rulers of Europe.

**Somnolente Ile, an exclusive resort in Cote d’Azur, was the site of a clandestine meeting between then President Serra and reputed members of the Zuganov crime family in an attempt to funnel almost three billion credits of tainted money through French banks. The deal was reportedly brokered by a cabal of major banking interests – including deceased financier Beth DuClare, her involvement was never proved. Some sources went so far as to suggest that the entire meeting was the result of a plot hatched by the „Bilderbergs”, a supposedly secret society formed of wealthy and powerful industrialists shortly after World War II.

2013 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 15,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

The Veins of the Earth design document

Design goals

1) To create a roguelike; a roguelike being a computer game having the following features:

• Permadeath – the character pays for the player’s mistakes; restoring games is impossible
• Turn-based – it is your knowledge and tactics which decides the difference between success and failure, not the speed of your reactions
• Random generation – most elements of the game, called ‚entities’, are mostly procedurally generated. This includes maps, monsters, items.
• Discovery mechanics – due to the high randomization, the player must discover anew what a given monster or item can do
• Single command set – all commands can be easily accessed and remain the same regardless of the circumstances

2) To create a game which is easily modifiable and extendable

3) To create a game based on the Open Game License. Note that this does not mean adhering slavishly to the content of the System Reference Document nor that of Incursion [which has been declared OGL by its creator]. Original, aka. homebrew elements may be introduced.  The content covered by the Open Game License allows for great customization of one’s character, not being limited to attributes and a class/race combination.

Setting

The game is set in a vast underground world, represented as an infinite dungeon.

Action

The player will be able to undertake multiple actions, usually making use of items. Survival will require both conservation of resources and movement. Stalling will be penalized.

Objective

The character must survive as long as possible. There is no definite endgame.

Graphics

The entities (monsters, items) are represented as ASCII symbols set against a colored map. Certain symbols on map might denote special tiles, such as chasms, moss, water, lava, which have special effects, good or bad.

The player & monsters’ field of vision is also represented on the map, with darkvision being darker than normal light and the tint being progressively darker the further the tile is from the player.

The engine supports an eventual addition of tiles, should a contributor wish so.

Gameplay

 

The player can attack monsters in various ways. Melee attacks are made via ‚bumping’, or moving into a monster’s tile. Ranged combat works similar to spells, in that a player selects a button on the hotbar and clicks on the target.

Score will be granted for the depth reached after a certain number of turns has passed, therefore discouraging level-dipping, and the number of monsters killed. After descending down stairs, there should be no immediately available stairs up. There should be several stairs up and down on a given level.

The levels should be semi-persistent, discouraging scumming but reducing total randomness. They should be generated using pre-set rooms of various shapes and sizes.

A level may contain a shop, that is a friendly entity in a secure room. A player may sell or buy equipment in a shop, using money gained at start or found in the dungeon.

The game should not become focused on inventory management, for which reason containers (some of them of virtually unlimited volume) will be implemented. The number of items the player can carry will be limited by his Strength score, however.

The player should be rewarded for multiple actions, suited to different playstyles. Specifically, XP should be awarded for:

• killing monsters
• spotting a new monster for the first time
• disarming traps
• identifying items
• stealthing past a monster
• descending to a lower level

In addition to XP, the player should be awarded achievements for certain things, such as achieving a high character level, descending deep into a dungeon, defeating a very powerful enemy, narrowly avoiding death, surviving for a long time.

Achievements should enable the player to create more powerful characters in the future.

The player should be able to chat with friendly or neutral entities; the state of friendly or neutral being dependent on the player and the entity’s alignment.

The player should be able to use his skills to interact with his environment, including but not limited to:

• finding and disarming traps
• hiding from monsters
• identifying equipment
• becoming aware of monsters (Listen or Spot)
• walking over dangerous tiles without suffering penalties (using Balance)
• threatening neutral creatures (causing them to do what he wishes on success or turning hostile on failure)
• threatening friendly creatures (turning neutral on failure)
• haggling with shopkeepers (using Diplomacy and/or Bluff)
• gaining up to 2 allies (using Diplomacy) note that the player should be able to influence an ally’s level-ups and equipment

The player moves from one part (‚level’) to the other via entities called ‚stairs’ (the name derives from the fact that the movement is usually up-down). His progress is marked as depth aka ‚dungeon level’, with tougher monsters appearing the deeper he is. The stairs need not necessarily change the dungeon level, they might lead to another level on the same depth, or they might skip some dungeon levels.

The player should be clearly informed of everything that pertains to him, including:

• attack rolls
• skill tests
• the effects of a given skill/spell/stat
• being encumbered
• being hungry/thirsty
• the passage of time
• whether the monster is stronger than him
• what factors influence his stats

 

 

The game will adhere to the System Reference Document, with the following changes/notes:

• initiative will not be implemented
• combat system is to be as close to the System Reference Document
• player character and monsters work off the same rules; monsters can also have levels in classes
• spellbooks and magic system works per System Reference Document (there is no mana)
• paladin class will not be implemented
• every class should provide worthwhile class features every 2 levels
• healing spells should heal a percentage of the character’s total hp, not just a fixed amount (to avoid the ‚chugging a boatload of potions’ effect at higher levels)
• every skill implemented should be useful
• every race should have a favored class, granting a bonus
• 3 classes max are allowed
• 2 prestige classes max
• excessive optimization should be discouraged
• all stats should be useful. the concept of ‚dump stat’ should not exist
• the Luck stat should influence item drops and monster strength and most other statistics