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<H1>[MUD-Dev] A Metaphysics System</H1>
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<LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
<LI><em>Subject</em>: [MUD-Dev] A Metaphysics System</LI>
<LI><em>From</em>: <A HREF="mailto:s001gmu#nova,wright.edu">s001gmu#nova,wright.edu</A></LI>
<LI><em>Date</em>: Fri, 22 May 1998 13:01:50 -0400 (EDT)</LI>
<LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
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<PRE>
In previous discussions I'd alluded to our game's metaphysics system, and
even promised to post them. So, to that end, here they are. :)
This is intended to be a summary of all sentient beings' current
understanding of the universe. Most people in the game would be unaware
of large parts, if not most of, this 'big picture'. Parts of it are left
purposefully obscure, and parts of it are explained as "that's just the
way it is" (usually because we couldn't find a better way to explain it).
------------
1) The 'stuff of the universe' exists in 3 primary states: high energy
(spirit), moderate energy (physical), and low energy (void). It's
actually an analog system, with each state defining a narrow range
of energy where 99+% of all the 'stuff' is found.
2) Stuff is attracted to stuff of the same state.
3) Stuff is repelled by stuff at other states. The greater the
difference in energy levels, the less likely you are to find the
two co-existing.
As a result of 2 & 3, stuff forms into what is conventionally called
universes or realms. Spirit stuff generally remains confined to the
spirit realm, physical mater generally remains in the physical
universe, and void generally remains in the void.
4) Direct links between the realms are possible and do exist in nature.
4a) Stars are direct links between the spirit realm and the physical
universe.
4b) Black holes are links from the physical universe to the void.
4c) There are no known direct links between void and spirit.
As a result of 3, direct links between the universes of the states are
unstable at best.
5) Stuff tends to travel from high to low energy.
6) It is possible to locally raise the energy of some stuff, but only
at the cost of lowering a proportionate amount of higher energy
stuff elsewhere. When higher energy stuff is in the presence of
lower energy stuff, the lower energy stuff accelerates the decay of
the higher energy stuff, and the higher energy stuff 'warms up' the
lower energy stuff to some extent.
7) Spirit stuff is what causes changes in the specific form of physical
stuff. (IE: application of a certain amount of spirit stuff, in a
certain manner, will convert a lump of lead to a lump of gold, or
more mundanely, convert vegetable matter to stuff your body can use
to build muscle, etc).
8) Life is derived from spirit stuff. Plants capture and store it,
which herbivores and omnivores acquire by eating said plants, etc.
9) Sentience is derived from spirit stuff. All* sentient beings are
dual beings, with a form in both the spirit universe and the
physical universe. All* sentient beings have and maintain a small
link between the two.
* The only known exception to this is the vampire, which will be
discussed more thoroughly below.
10) The energy associated with sentience is much higher energy than
that stored by plants, etc.
As a result of 3, 9, & 10, sentience is a very fleeting, unstable thing.
Every day life doesn't tamper with the link much, but any substantial
tampering will cause the spirit stuff to retract from the physical
world, killing the physical body of the person. Death in the physical
realm is always the result of this retraction of the being's associated
spirit stuff. Vampires, again, are slightly different, and being
killed by a vampire can be a little different, but the rule holds in
general.
SPIRIT:
It is easy to incorrectly infer from Rule 9 that only dual beings are
sentient. Spirit stuff has a very high energy and is constantly
changing its form. When this effect is brought into the physical
realm, which is characterized by fairly static, only slowly changing
forms of matter, it is called life. By definition, then, the spirit
realm _is_ life. Sentience is simply life characterized by the
presence of some spirit stuff at a certain, fairly high level of
energy. As such, there are myriad examples of localized accumulations
of such high-energy spirit stuff, confined to the spirit realm, with no
link to a physical body. In other words, there are sentient,
spirit-only beings, commonly called gods, angels, demons, fairies,
spirits, or any number of other things. There is little or no proof of
any form of spirit stuff with higher energy than that associated with
sentience, but if there is, one can only wonder at what properties it
would posses, and what it might confer upon a physical being if brought
into contact with it.
Spirit beings have been known to manifest into the physical universe,
but primarily remain in the spirit realm. (Most likely they accomplish
the manifestation by condensing part of themselves into physical matter,
and establishing a temporary link, though even they can't say exactly
how they do it.) It is known that sentient, dual beings, upon physical
death, can become very powerful, spirit-only beings.
For as long as sentient, dual beings have been aware of these spirit
beings, they have participated in the folly of worshiping them as
higher beings. Despite the obvious oddity of worshiping something
anyone is capable of becoming, there are perks to such behavior.
Because sentience, and therefore thought, is made of spirit matter,
it is very easy for some spirit beings to pick up on the thoughts and
emotions of us dual beings. Most of them simply ignore or pay little
heed to such things, but occasionally one will find the thoughts,
particularly the ones surrounding worshiping its ilk, appealing. When
this happens, the spirit being becomes what is conventionally called a
god. It is able to gain power from its worshipers, dedicating their
thoughts to it in the form of prayers, and in turn, can channel part of
its power through its worshiper's links, performing 'miracles'. These
gods often also provide some amount of protection to their follower's
links, maintaining them and helping them survive as long as possible
(most of these gods have found that us dual beings usually like to get
something for what we give). Worshipers of these gods, particularly
the ones that ask for 'divine intervention', tend to call themselves
clerics.
MAGIC:
Magic is the conscious application of spirit stuff to alter the form of
part of the physical realm. The nature of the link between the
physical universe and the spirit universe allows a being to pull some
spirit stuff into the physical world and 'condense' it into physical
matter, or apply it to some existing matter and alter the matter's
form by raising it's energy level.
A sentient being's link, as nature creates it, is very flexible, and
can be used to alter physical matter forms freely. It is possible to
alter the nature of the link. Magicians can mold part, or all, of
their link to a specific purpose. IE: by binding part of their link
to dealing with changing or creating matter in the form of heat or
fire, the magician gains the ability to pull more spirit matter through
that part of the link. However, the magician looses some flexibility
in what forms that spirit matter can take in the physical realm. What
form the molding can take is purely a psychological thing, with humans
tending towards a 4-element system: earth, air, fire, & water. Other
species view things differently.
It is also possible to channel spirit stuff through someone else's
link, in essence overloading their system with a power surge. The
amount of spirit stuff one can force through someone else's link
depends on the size of the link, if it has been molded, etc.
The major limit on pure magic is that it is not possible to lower the
energy level of matter. Raising the energy level is all that can be
accomplished (see rule 6).
VOID:
Void is the lowest state of energy of the stuff of the universe.
Matter eventually decays into void, just as spirit stuff decays into
mater. Void has some interesting properties. Void tends to have a
considerably lower level of energy than physical matter, a much larger
gap than between the energy levels of spirit and matter. When physical
matter is brought into contact with void, the matter is decayed very
rapidly into void, with little noticeable increase in the void's energy
(as per rule 6). It's quite fortunate that the links between the
universes are unstable, and tend to be few and far between.
It is possible for a sentient being to sacrifice part of their link to
the spirit realm and establish a link to the void. When a link to the
void is established a proportional amount of the link to the spirit
universe is tied up in feeding the void. IE: if a mage dedicates 10%
of their link to the void, they only have 90% of their original link to
the spirit realm, but 10% of that is tied up in 'feeding' the void, so
they only have 80% of their original link to the spirit realm available
for use. The upshot of establishing such a link is that the mage can
then 'draw' on the void for power. In essence they can pull some void
into the physical realm, creating a very unstable condition, and then
use their remaining available spirit link to guide the manner in which
nature re-establishes a stable state. This allows for a great deal of
raw power, but the larger the link to the void, the less control the
mage will have over the end result. Mages who dedicate up to 49% of
their link to void are called Necromancers, or death mages, as they
'constructively destroy' to accomplish their major works.
Most mages do sacrifice part of their link this way, to gain the
ability to lower energy levels, as well as raise them. Most mages tend
to limit the sacrifice to a small percent, so as not to fall too far
behind. The term 'necromancer' is usualy used in reference to those
who have sacrificed larger percentages (25%-49%), though technically
any mage capable of calling on the void is a necromancer.
It is also possible to establish a link that is larger than 49% of the
size of the mage's spirit link. Doing so requires that the mage
acquire spirit energy to 'feed' the void from another source. The void
is consuming more than what's left of their spirit link can supply, so
unless they want to die a quick death, they must find other living
sources to extract spirit energy from. Mages who give up 50%-99% of
their link to the void are called Lich. They are only capable of magic
when they can find some outside source of spirit energy. It is
believed Lich have managed to find ways to store spirit energy in
previously non-living containers, adding life to them, but scant
evidence has been found as Lich tend to be very touchy about giving up
their secrets.
Finally, it is possible to completely sever a link to the spirit realm,
and dedicate it totally to void. Creatures who choose this path are
called Vampires, as they must extract spirit energy from living beings
to continue to survive. When a vampire feeds, it usually taps into the
victim's blood stream and ingests the blood, which is known to be the
means by which the body transports spirit energy to its various parts.
Once ingested the blood is drained of its spirit energy, which goes to
the vampire's system, and is eventually drained away by the void. This
draining of the blood is quite traumatic to the spirit link of the
victim, usually causing it to snap back instantly. Very powerful
vampires, however, manage to stabilize the link and drain from it
directly, for a while. Eventually, even this is too much stress on the
link, and it withdraws. How long the vampire can hold the link is
dependent on the size of the link, the power of the spirit portion of
the victim, and the power of the vampire. The more powerful the spirit
portion, the larger the difference in energy between it and void, the
more unstable the link is.
Vampires do not, technically, use magic, as spirit matter is not what
is brought in to the physical realm. Vampires are capable of molding
their link to the void, as mages are capable of molding their link to
the spirit realm. This allows for some control over the void that
vampires summon, but not very much. Vampires are capable of pulling
vast amounts of void into the physical realm, and are a force to be
reckoned with.
Vampires suffer when under direct sunlight, because the energy level of
the light is too high and starts to raise their body's energy level.
This widens the gap between the energy level of their body and the void
link, causing the void link to become more unstable. Wooden stakes
through the heart, crosses, garlic, and holy water have little to no
effect, unless somehow vested with higher energy spirit matter.
Vampires are inherently more vulnerable to magic that summons spirit
energy and applies it to change the form of physical matter, as this
has the same effect as direct sunlight, destabilizing the link.
Vampires are also inherently immune to magic that attacks through a
spirit link, attempting to overload their system. They have no spirit
link.
------------
We were originally planning on using this system to justify an
afterlife, but on further discussion and design we realized it would
probably split the game too much. It's hard enough to stay focused on
just one goal whilst designing a game. I personally haven't abandonded
the idea of a game with an afterlife based on the above metaphysics,
but I think it is best left for further developement at a later date.
As for how we plan to implement a lot of this, well, that's still very
much up in the air. We'd like a system that allows us to set out a lot
of the basic rules, and has a lot of the stuff described in the latter
paragraphs be emergant behaviors. Or at least appear that way. I
don't think we can call it emergant if the underlying system was
designed such that (at least) those behaviors manifest.
-Greg
</PRE>
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<LI><STRONG>[MUD-Dev] Re: UO's rep system, was: CGDC</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM>
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00852" HREF="msg00852.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: UO's rep system, was: CGDC</A></strong>,
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00820" HREF="msg00820.html">[MUD-Dev] mudschools</A></strong>,
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00807" HREF="msg00807.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: OT: Java multithreading test source</A></strong>,
John Bertoglio <a href="mailto:alexb#internetcds,com">alexb#internetcds,com</a>, Sat 23 May 1998, 20:33 GMT
<LI><strong><A NAME="00798" HREF="msg00798.html">[MUD-Dev] META: New list features</A></strong>,
J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Fri 22 May 1998, 22:40 GMT
<LI><strong><A NAME="00797" HREF="msg00797.html">[MUD-Dev] A Metaphysics System</A></strong>,
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00833" HREF="msg00833.html">[MUD-Dev] Tutorial for Multi-User Environments</A></strong>,
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00834" HREF="msg00834.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Tutorial for Multi-User Environments</A></strong>,
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00796" HREF="msg00796.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Combat in the Abandoned Realms</A></strong>,
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00760" HREF="msg00760.html">[MUD-Dev] Sex in Games -- ya gotta, um, yeah</A></strong>,
J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Thu 21 May 1998, 17:49 GMT
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