Charm: Explanation and Rules Clarification

[Xillen]

Since there were quite a few questions about the bot lately, as well as people being unclear about the rules in #Charm, I guess an update is needed.

What is Charm?

Charm is an IRC bot that allows two players (more if you make use of partners) to play a rock/paper/scissors kind of game, where the losing player will be affected by a charm. Players are required to role play the charms that are placed upon them, while others can either watch or on occasion interact with the charmed player.

Where can I find Charm?

Charm is located in the channel #Charm (on the Sorcery.Net IRC network). Simply type /join #Charm to enter the channel.

How do I play Charm?

You can start a game of Charm, simply by typing !charm in the #Charm channel. The first time you do that, you'll receive a PM from the bot, asking you if you are sure you want to play, and asking for your gender. Simply type either !male or !female in either the channel or the PM to state your gender. After that, you can type !charm in the channel once more to start the game.

Note. Charm will remember your gender based on your Internet address. If this is static, it will remember your gender the next time you visit the channel. If it's dynamic, or when you log in from a different location, Charm will verify your gender again.

Why do I have to state my gender?

Charm effects are sorted into different tables for different genders. Some charms are physically inappropriate to one of the genders, while others have a more masculine or feminine touch to them. It will also allow Charm to use proper grammar when referring to players.

#Charm uses voice to indicate gender. All players that signed up as female receive voice, while those that sign up as male go without it. So if you see someone is voiced (speaker behind their name for mibbit, plus sign in front of their name for most other IRC clients), that player declared to be a female. If you see someone is playing, but has no voice, that player declared to be a male. Of course, people that didn't state a gender can be either male or female, but they're unable to play until they state a gender.

Cross-gender playing is allowed, but whenever you do so, you need to inform all other participants that you are indeed cross-gender playing. Not everyone is comfortable about playing with cross-gender players, so please be respectful of that.

I'm in a game. Now what?

When two people get into a game together, they will both receive a PM from the bot, asking them to pick an element. Be sure to make your decision in PM to the bot, so that the other player is unable to see your choice. !air, !earth, !fire, !life and !water give more detailed information about the elements you can choose, while !summon air, !summon earth, !summon fire, !summon life and !summon water make you actually pick an element.

As long as the other player did not yet pick an element, you can switch your choice as often as you like.

When both players picked an element, Charm will determine which element wins, and place a charm on the losing player. In case both players chose the same element, the game ends in a tie, and both players need to summon a new element. This can be the same element as they picked earlier.

What if someone who I don't want to play with joins my game?

By typing !leave you leave the game, ending it. Note that currently the game ends no matter who leaves, so if two players are challenging each other, a third player partners one of the participants and leaves again, the original two players need to type !charm again to continue play.

Remember to politely inform the other player why you do not want to play against him or her.

Which element is the strongest?

Since it's a rock/paper/scissors kind of game, there is no strongest element. Instead, each element wins over two other elements, while losing to the last two elements.

Air wins over Earth and Water, while losing to Fire and Life.
Earth wins over Fire and Water, while losing to Air and Life.
Fire wins over Air and Life, while losing to Earth and Water.
Life wins over Air and Earth, while losing to Fire and Water.
Water wins over Fire and Life, while losing to Air and Earth.

Does it matter which element I summon?

Yes. Other than determining who wins and who loses, the element of the winning player also decide the charm that will be placed on the losing player. Due to the nature of the game, players can summon specific elements to prevent the opponent from winning by summoning a specific element.

If you win by Air, the charm that is placed on your opponent usually includes the audience in one way or another. If you don't want to be exposed to the audience, summon Air, Fire or Life.

If you win by Earth, your opponent will be charmed into submitting to you in one way or another. If you don't want to be forced to submit, summon Air, Earth or Life.

If you win by Fire, you will be allowed to inflict pain on your opponent. If you don't want pain inflicted upon you, summon Earth, Fire or Water.

If you win by Life, your opponent will be charmed into something with a lot of body contact and possible penitration. If you don't want a lot of body contact or the possibility of penetration, summon Fire, Life or Water.

If you win by Water, the charm on your opponent will force him or her into a solo act. If you don't want to do a solo act, summon Air, Earth or Water.

What kind of elements are Random and Nothing?

Instead of summoning an element, you can type !summon random to summon a random element, or !summon nothing to not summon an element at all.

If you summon a random element, Charm will pick any of the five elements for you. Game progresses as normal.

If you summon nothing, you will automatically be defeated by the opponent, unless he or she summons nothing as well, in which case it's a tie, and both participants need to summon again.

Keep in mind that both random and nothing can make you lose to any of the elements. Do not summon random or nothing, if there are elements you're uncomfortable about losing to.

What's this thing about partners?

You can choose to partner with either of the charm players. Each player can have only one partner, and it's not required for both players to have a partner.

Having a partner is sort of a safety net. You are free to enjoy the game of charm, without risking getting a charm placed on yourself.

If you lose a game, while you have a partner, your partner will soak up the charm effect for you, while you are simply considered an outsider. If the charm effect forces your partner to submit to the public, like with most air charms, you are considered to be part of the public and thus can have your way with your former partner as well.

If you win a game using the Earth, Fire or Life element, while you have a partner, both you and your partner will be involved in the charm that's placed on your opponent (or his or her partner, if both participants have a partner), making it a charm that involves three players.

Keep in mind that if you decide to partner someone, you're totally at the whim of whatever element he or she decides to summon. Do not partner someone if there are elements you're uncomfortable about losing to, unless you can trust the player to summon an appropriate element to ward against them.

What are the hard and fast rules for Charm?

First, everything that happens in #Charm, stays in #Charm. Favors gained by charm effects never extend to other channel or off-chat areas.

Secondly, charms are mandatory! If you receive a charm, you'll have to play it out. Whoever just beat you no longer has control over it, and cannot dismiss the charm. However, for charms that include the winner(s), like most Earth, Fire and Life ones, the winner(s) could simply refuse to do anything to the losing player, making the charm end quickly and harmlessly.

For example, there's a charm that orders you to lie down on the ground and seduce the winner into giving you a massage. You will have to role play lying down on the ground, and asking the winner to massage you, but if the winner states he's not interested, then the charm ends there.

Substituting another charm just because you think the charm is boring is also not an option. You have to finish the charm you received in the first place.

Finally, the loser is never required to do more than the charm is asking him or her to do. If someone is trying to take more than the charm forced you to give him, state between parenthesis that he or she is getting out of line. Unless of course you approve of his or her actions.

Note. There is no rule against concurrent charms. If people are playing out a charm, they did not reserve the entire room. Others are free to start up their own game of charm at the same time.

What does !submit do?

You can type !submit followed by an element or !submit random to have a charm placed on you, just as if you lost a game of Charm.

These charms are under the same rules as charm effects from a game of Charm, making them evenly mandatory.

Note. The !submit option cannot trigger three player charms.

What's with the twister game?

After a game of twister was included as an air charm, it was discovered that there was some need to keep track of things. By typing !twister the bot will randomly assign one limb and color for you to make your move. By following up on the command, Charm will give a visual aid of who's limb is where on the twister mat.

These commands only count as a visual aid. You still have to role play how you place your limbs at the appropriate spots.

When you are done playing twister, each player should type !leavetwister to clear the twister board.

The charm effects are boring and repetitive!

More charm ideas are always welcome! Feel free to suggest your charm ideas in this thread:

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=19461

Note, due to the nature of the charms, this thread is part of the private area of Elliquiy, only visible to approved members.

[Xillen]

In order to enter the channel, you must first have your approval set in #Elliquiy (which means you need to be registered and approved on the Elliquiy forums). You should automatically receive an invite every time you're voiced in #Elliquiy. If that's not the case, type !opme in the #Elliquiy channel. Then simply type /join #Charm to enter the channel.

If you are unable to join #Charm, ask myself or one of the channel operators in #Elliquiy for help.

This part no longer applies. Anyone can now join the channel, so keep that in mind when you play.

[Lord Alexys Zephyrai]

By courtesy of Xillen, and for those of us who are visually inclined or who like to know the board without using !showboard every five seconds... I give you the board for the game known as Charmopoly.

https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/8a/Charmopoly_board_003.PNG

The image is large, so I'm just linking to it here.