Tycho

Tycho / Docs

An engine and a shelf of game features for small, phone-first pixel games in the browser, with Tyrell, a minds engine for games full of people, inside it.

Tuning

Every number that shapes what people do, feel, remember and say, and how their relationships and beliefs move, is a setting a game can change: how often people have breaks, how quickly they make friends, how fast they forget, how readily they gossip or report a crime. There are three places to change them:

Every setting defaults to what Tyrell always did, and every headline knob to 1, so a world made with no settings is exactly the world it was before they were settings, byte for byte.

The headline knobs

A headline knob is a plain multiplier on a whole behavior, for a game that wants “friendships form faster” without knowing which numbers make friendships. Each is 1 by default (multiplying by 1 changes nothing), 2 is twice as much or as often, 0.5 half, and 0 switches the behavior off. Most can be had per person too: the world’s knob times the person’s own.

Module Knob What it scales Per person
Core (config) needs How fast every need rises: 2 and people eat, sleep and seek company twice as often yes
  habits How fast habits form and fade (habitFast, habitSlow, habitDrift); 0 freezes them yes
  learning How fast skills are learned (every skill’s rate, on top of talents); 0 learns nothing yes
  wishes How often wishes and dreams come (wishChance); 0 brings none yes
  crowds How many strangers pass each hour (every region’s perHour) no
Reverie breaks How often breaks come, at a mood under a threshold; 0 never yes
  forgetting How fast memories and beliefs fade (memoryDecay over the hours, beliefDecay and sawDecay over the days); 0 never yes
  feelings How much feelings move the mood (each feeling’s weight in it) yes
  stress How much stress everything adds (bad feelings, acting against their values) yes
Fellowship friendship How fast friendships and enmities form: the regard each meeting adds or takes away yes (the one whose regard it is)
  romance How fast attraction grows from time together yes
  fading How fast relationships fade: regard drifting back to nothing, and how soon faint acquaintances are forgotten yes
Wormtongue gossip How readily gossip spreads: the chance per meeting that someone passes something on yes (the teller)
  reporting How readily crimes are reported: the chance a witness reports yes (the witness)
  heat How much heat each report adds yes (the actor, if a person)
  cooling How fast heat cools (heatDecay over the days) yes (the actor, if a person)
  lies How readily a dishonest teller shifts the blame (lieChance) yes (the teller)
Cityspeak chatter How chatty people in view are: the chance a meeting starts a bark exchange, and how long it runs. Barks change nothing in the world, so neither does this yes (both people’s)
Voice chatter How chatty the one talked to is: how many beats they’ll talk for (patience), and how readily they raise something of their own yes
Bree warmth How much good exchanges warm people: the regard (and attraction) a good one gives yes (the one whose regard it is)
  quarrels How readily people quarrel: the regard a bad exchange takes away, and how appealing hostile kinds are when they meet yes (whose regard it is; the one who’d pick the quarrel)
  escalation How readily a sour turn becomes an argument, and an argument a fight; 0 nothing escalates yes (the one who’d escalate)
  grudges How much a bad exchange leaves a grudge; 0 none yes (the one who’d hold it)
  forgiveness How readily people forgive: how fast grudges fade, and how much an apology or making up takes off them; 0 nobody forgives yes (the one who holds the grudge)
  talk How often people strike up exchanges when they meet, and how long they talk; 0 nobody does on their own yes (both people’s)
Mentat persistence How long people keep at a plan: the replans before they give up (maxTries) yes
  scruples What their scruples cost a way of getting something: the extra cost of illegal ways and of ways against their values (the very honest and the devout still never do them) yes
Gaff events How often storylets fire on their own no
  intensity How much a firing raises its subject’s intensity no
Ceres prices How much prices put people off (the price factor); 0: price is no object yes
Cradle courtship How readily couples form on their own (autoPair’s thresholds are divided by it) yes (each side’s own)
  births How often couples have children (fertility) yes (both partners’)
  deaths How likely people are to die of old age yes
Athelas contagion How catching courses are (every course’s chance per hour together) yes (the one who might catch it)
  duration How long courses last (every phase’s minutes) yes (the one who has it)
Delos mutation How often genomes mutate: trait jumps, gifts and every gene’s mutate no
  variation How far children stray from their parents (every blended value’s noise); 0: a child is exactly the blend no
Morgul violence How readily anyone chooses an action tagged harm; 0: nobody ever does yes
  lethality How often harm at its worst kills (0 by default: nobody dies of harm) yes (the one who’d die)
  vengeance How strongly harm turns into a wish for revenge yes (the one who’d want it)
  caution How much people steer clear of danger they know of (a trap, a taint, a place they were hurt) yes
  healing How fast wounds heal (a wound’s phases last 1 / healing as long) yes (the one hurt)
  suspicion How readily people suspect someone of harm they didn’t see done, and how strongly yes (the one who’d suspect)

Joi has no headline knob: it never changes the world. Tyrell.CORE_KNOBS and each module’s knobs list them, with 'person' or 'world' for whether a person can have their own.

An example

const world = Tyrell.create({
  seed: 'my-town',
  config: { needs: 1.2 },                                   // a hungrier, sleepier town
  moduleConfig: {
    fellowship: { friendship: 1.5, fading: 0.5 },           // friends sooner, and for longer
    wormtongue: { gossip: 0.7, reporting: 1.5 },            // discreet, but law-abiding
    reverie: { breaks: 0.5, minor: [0.3, 6] },              // a knob and a finer setting together
  },
});

world.person('kofi', { name: 'Kofi', tune: { fellowship: { friendship: 2 }, cityspeak: { chatter: 1.5 } } });

// an options screen: a slider for how much the town gossips
slider.onchange = (v) => world.tune('wormtongue', { gossip: v });
world.tuning('wormtongue').gossip;                         // what's in force now

Rocinante shows the same with buildRocinante(Tyrell, { tuned: true }): friendships form half as fast again and fade half as fast, Kofi makes friends twice as fast, Sam gossips, lies and snaps, and Ruth forgets nothing in a hurry. It also takes moduleConfig, over its own.

Per person

A person’s definition can carry their own pace for the headline knobs, by module ('core' for the core’s):

world.person('sam', { tune: { wormtongue: { gossip: 1.5, lies: 2 }, reverie: { breaks: 2 }, core: { needs: 0.8 } } });

What applies to them is the world’s knob (as declared and tuned) times their own; leave a knob out and it’s 1. Only the knobs marked per person in the table above can be had this way: the others aren’t anyone’s (a storylet, a stranger, a newborn’s genome). When a knob involves two people, the table says whose counts: regard is the holder’s (friendship for Kofi’s regard for Sam is Kofi’s), gossip and lies are the teller’s, reporting the witness’s, contagion the catcher’s; a couple’s births is both partners’ together, and a bark exchange’s chatter is both people’s.

Like the rest of a definition, tune is saved with the person (a saved person keeps the definition they had). To change it during play, use world.tune(module, values, id).

world.tuning(module, id) gives the knobs as they apply to someone: world.tuning('reverie', 'sam') is { breaks: 2, forgetting: 1, feelings: 1, stress: 1 } (the world’s times Sam’s own).

During play

The settings are definitions, not state: changing world.config or a module’s config by hand mid-game would be lost on a load and missed by a rewind, which replays history with whatever is current. To change them during play (a difficulty setting, a slider, a story beat that makes the town paranoid), use world.tune:

world.tune('fellowship', { friendship: 2 });          // any setting of a module, by name
world.tune('core', { needs: 1.5, wishChance: 0.8 });   // the core's ('core')
world.tune('wormtongue', { reportDelay: [5, 20] });    // finer settings too, not only the knobs
world.tune('fellowship', { friendship: null });        // back to what was declared
world.tune('fellowship', null);                        // the whole module back
world.tune('reverie', { breaks: 0.5 }, 'sam');         // one person's own knobs (their `tune`)

Tuning from inside a listener waits for the engine’s current work, like any input.

Every setting

Each table lists a part’s settings: the name, the default, and what it does and which way to turn it. Headline knobs are marked knob.

Core

Tyrell.create({ config: { ... } }); during play, world.tune('core', { ... }). See Deciding for how the decision settings work together.

Setting Default What it does
minutesPerSecond 1 Game minutes per real second at speed 1 (world.tick). Set it directly at any time
week 7 Days in a week, for routine variants and job days
urgent 0.85 A need above this is urgent and lifts what meets it above routines (a need’s urgent overrides it). Lower: needs break routines sooner
urgentRank 1.5 The rank an urgent need lifts an option to
desperateRank 2.5 The rank a desperate need lifts an option to, plus desperateSlope a point past desperate
storyRank 3 The rank of a directive that doesn’t say its own
jobRank 2 The rank of a shift’s work. Under desperateRank, so the desperate leave work; over urgentRank, so the merely urgent don’t
routineRank 1 The rank of a routine entry that doesn’t say its own
cut 0.25 Options under this share of the best weight are dropped. Higher: people pick the obvious more often
top 3 At most this many options go into the draw
power 2 The draw is weighted by weight to this power. Higher: more predictable; lower: more varied
inertia 1.15 Bonus for carrying on with what they’re doing. Higher: people stick at things
repeat 0.75 Multiplier for choosing the same thing again soon after (within repeatWindow). Lower: more variety
travelScale 30 Travel factor 1 / (1 + minutes / travelScale). Lower: people stay nearer home
placesPerAction 4 How many places (nearest first) are weighed per action
idle 20 Minutes someone with nothing to do waits before thinking again
backoff 15 Minutes an action is ruled out at a place after it failed there
budgetMs 4 Milliseconds of simulation per world.tick frame. Set it directly at any time
logSize 1000 Westmarch log entries kept
storySize 0 Irulan’s story: entries that matter kept beyond the log, so storylines last for weeks (0: off; see Irulan)
storyMin 0.3 What an entry must weigh to be kept in Irulan’s story
decisions 12 Decisions Palantír keeps per person
checksOnce false A check (a boundary or an urge) already queued for someone at a moment isn’t queued again, so each moment is thought over once
habitFast 0.25 How fast the fast habit weight learns from how a go turned out
habitSlow 0.05 How fast the slow weight follows the fast one
habitDrift 0.02 How far the fast weight is pulled back toward 1 each time it learns. Higher: habits fade sooner; 0 with habitFast and habitSlow 0 leaves only the game’s rewards to move them
habitMin 0.25 Lowest habit weight
habitMax 4 Highest habit weight
compensate true Compensate considerations for their number (IAUS)
pallGain 0.35 Tolerance one go at a pastime adds (a pastime’s gain overrides it)
pallDecay 0.08 Tolerance lost per hour (a pastime’s decay overrides it)
pallPenalty 0.6 The share of a pastime’s appeal lost at full tolerance (a pastime’s penalty overrides it)
wishMax 2 Wishes held at once, not counting a dream
wishHours [8, 13, 17] The hours a new wish (or dream) may come
wishChance 0.5 The chance of one at each of those hours
wishMinutes 2160 Minutes before an unmet wish fades (a wish’s minutes overrides it)
wishPull 1.35 How much more a wish’s toward options weigh (a wish’s pull overrides it)
needs 1 knob How fast every need rises
habits 1 knob How fast habits form and fade
learning 1 knob How fast skills are learned
wishes 1 knob How often wishes and dreams come
crowds 1 knob How many strangers pass each hour (the world’s only)
traitDefault 0.5 The trait someone has when their definition doesn’t give it (the trait term, and every module that reads traits: honesty, courage, thrift…)
needStart 0.2 Where a need starts, for one with no start
needCurve 'pow1.5' The curve a need’s level goes through to make its urgency, for one with no curve
reliefFloor 0.05 An option’s relief for a need counts as no more than the need’s level, but at least this. Higher: needs nearly met still pull
liftRelief 0.3 An urgent need lifts an option’s rank only if it relieves at least this much. Lower: smaller things break routines
desperate 0.97 A need this high (or its urgent, if higher) is desperate: it lifts options above work
desperateSlope 10 Rank added per point of level past desperate, so the starving wake the exhausted
habitBest 2 A go counts as at most this many times as good as expected when habits learn
habitDone 0.2 The share of a go that must be done for habits to learn from it
nudgeSlow 0.25 The share of a reward (world.reward) that reaches the slow habit
pallFrom 0.05 Below this tolerance a pastime doesn’t pall at all
pallDone 0.2 The share of a go at a pastime that must be done for it to add tolerance
repeatWindow 90 Minutes after doing something that choosing it again counts as did it last
targets 6 Most people an action aimed at someone is weighed against at once
meetMax 3 Most people someone meets on starting something with others about (regard, gossip, colds all come from meetings). Higher: news and colds travel faster in crowds
meetMinutes 3 The shortest time together, in minutes, that counts as meeting
awayNeeds 0.4 Coming back from away, needs are at most this
skillRate 0.02 Level gained per hour of practice, for a skill with no rate
skillGrace 3 Days without practice before a skill with decay starts to slip, for one with no grace

Reverie

moduleConfig: { reverie: { ... } }. See Reverie.

Setting Default What it does
base 0.6 The mood with no feelings and needs met
needWeight 0.25 How much unmet needs drag the mood
emotionFloor 0.08 An emotion shows only above this strength; under it they’re fine
minor [0.35, 4] Under this mood a minor break can come, on average this many days apart. Raise the mood to make them commoner
major [0.2, 0.8] The same for major breaks
extreme [0.08, 0.5] The same for extreme breaks
memoryCap 24 Memories kept (not counting core ones); the weakest goes
coreCap 8 Core memories kept
memoryDecay 0.995 Memory strength kept per game hour. Lower: they forget faster
beliefFloor 0.05 Beliefs weaker than this are forgotten
beliefDecay 0.97 Belief strength kept per day, for what they were told. Lower: they forget faster
stressShort 720 Half-life of short-term stress, in minutes
stressLong 10080 Half-life of long-term stress, in minutes
breaks 1 knob How often breaks come
forgetting 1 knob How fast memories and beliefs fade
feelings 1 knob How much feelings move the mood
stress 1 knob How much stress builds
stackMul 0.8 Each extra stack of a feeling counts this share of the one before, for a feeling with no stackMul
feelingStress 0.5 A bad feeling with no stress adds this share of its weight as stress
needEmotion 0.7 A need over this level shows as its emotion (hunger as irritable)
needEmotionWeight 0.8 How strongly, per point over
stressShortWeight 0.6 How much short-term stress counts in stress
stressLongWeight 0.6 How much long-term stress counts
stressCarry 0.15 The share of new stress that also goes to the long term
strainAt 0.6 While short-term stress is over this, each new stress adds strain more to the long term
strain 0.02 See strainAt
memoryImportance 5 The importance of a memory with none given and no kind to say
memoryFloor 0.5 At midnight, memories (not core ones) weaker than this are forgotten
coreRecalls 3 Recalls before an important memory may become a core memory
coreImportance 7 The least importance a memory needs to become a core memory
coreChance 1/3 The chance, each recall past that, that it does
sawDecay null Belief strength kept per day for what they saw themselves. null: the square root of beliefDecay (it fades half as fast)
breakRank 4 The rank a break comes at: above everything else
breakDone 0.5 The share of a break that must be done for it to bring catharsis
catharsisKeep 0.7 The share of long-term stress kept after a break (short-term stress goes)
againstPull 0.8 An action against a value they hold weighs 1 - held × againstPull. Higher: values hold people back more
againstFloor 0.05 …but never less than this
againstStress 0.3 Stress, per point of the values held, of starting an action against them

Fellowship

moduleConfig: { fellowship: { ... } }. See Fellowship.

Setting Default What it does
meetGain 0.03 Regard gained per half hour together, before compatibility and mood
compatSpread 0.6 How much compatibility varies between pairs (0..1)
decay 0.004 Regard drifts back toward nothing by this much a day
sentiments 4 Most sentiments kept per relationship
imitation 0.03 How much a liked person’s habits rub off
forget 14 Days after their last meeting that a faint acquaintance is forgotten; 0 forgets nobody
forgetBelow 0.05 How faint a relationship has to be to be forgotten
labels the standing table Standing labels, rows by fame band, columns by infamy band
friendship 1 knob How fast friendships and enmities form
romance 1 knob How fast attraction grows from time together
fading 1 knob How fast relationships fade
friendAt 0.5 The friend term: regard at least this
foeAt -0.4 The foe term: regard at most this
likeAbove 0.2 friends(): the people liked more than this
compatValues 0.3 How much shared values add to compatibility
meetMin -0.05 The most one meeting can take away from regard
meetMax 0.08 The most one meeting can add
meetCompat 1 How much compatibility colors a meeting: the gain is meetGain × (1 + compat × meetCompat + (mood - 0.5) × meetMood) per half hour
meetMood 1 How much mood colors a meeting. Higher: the gloomy make enemies
attractAt 0.3 Time together grows attraction only between people more compatible than this
attractGain 0.5 Attraction grown per point of regard gained
imitateAt 0.3 Habits rub off only from people whose regard is over this
socialRegard 0.8 A social action aimed at someone weighs 1 + regard × socialRegard + compat × socialCompat. Higher: people seek out those they like
socialCompat 0.2 See socialRegard
socialMin 0.1 …at least this
socialMax 2 …at most this
deedSentiment 0.1 A deed’s sentiment, when the deed moves no regard, holds this much
witnessRegard 0.4 Witnesses to a deed take this share of its regard
bands [0.15, 0.4, 0.7] Where fame and infamy pass into the next band of labels

Wormtongue

moduleConfig: { wormtongue: { ... } }. See Wormtongue.

Setting Default What it does
reportChance 0.6 The chance a witness reports a crime, before temperament (a crime’s report overrides it)
reportDelay [10, 90] Minutes before a report is made
recognizeStranger 0.5 The chance of recognizing someone they don’t know
gossipChance 0.45 The chance per meeting that someone passes something on, before talkativeness
maxHops 3 Gossip goes at most this many tellings from whoever saw it
heatDecay 0.85 Heat kept per day
lieChance 0.5 The chance a dishonest teller who dislikes the subject lies
gossip 1 knob How readily gossip spreads
reporting 1 knob How readily crimes are reported
heat 1 knob How much heat each report adds
cooling 1 knob How fast heat cools
lies 1 knob How readily liars shift the blame
heatPerSeverity 10 Heat a report adds per point of the crime’s severity, for a crime with no heat
heatFloor 0.05 Heat under this is let go at midnight
sawStrength 0.3 A belief from seeing something is at least this strong, however unclear
crimeMemory 4 A witness’s memory of a crime is this important…
severityMemory 6 …plus this per point of severity
plainMemory 3 The importance of a memory of seeing anything else
fearWeight 0.3 How much fear (1 - courage) puts a witness off reporting
loyalty 0.8 How much liking the actor keeps a witness quiet
familiarReport 0 How much knowing the actor keeps a witness quiet: the chance they report is cut this much a point of their familiarity with the actor (Voice’s), up to familiarReportMax. 0: it doesn’t count
familiarReportMax 1 The most knowing the actor can take off the chance
crimeSeen 0.8 How clearly bystanders see a crime someone commits (an action’s crime)
infamyAuthority 0.2 Infamy a report adds per point of severity, with the group it went to
infamyGroups 0.1 …and with the witness’s own groups
toldAuthority 0.8 How strongly the authority believes what a report tells it
bribeGreed 0.6 A bribe’s chance: greed × bribeGreed + (amount, up to bribeFull) / bribeFull × bribeMoney - honesty × bribeHonesty + bribeBase
bribeFull 100 The amount at which a bribe counts in full
bribeMoney 0.5 See bribeGreed
bribeHonesty 0.4 See bribeGreed
bribeBase 0.1 See bribeGreed
scareFear 0.8 A threat’s chance: (1 - courage) × scareFear - honesty × scareHonesty + scareBase
scareHonesty 0.2 See scareFear
scareBase 0.1 See scareFear
scareRegard -0.3 The regard a threat costs
secretSpite -0.3 A secret is passed on only by someone whose regard for its subject is under this
juicyCrime 3 How much more worth telling a crime is than other news
juicyDeed 1.5 …and any other deed
gossipRecency 0.99 News keeps this much of its worth an hour
liarBelow 0.3 Someone lies only with honesty under this…
lieSpite -0.3 …about someone their regard for is under this…
scapegoat -0.2 …onto someone their regard for is under this
trustBase 0.6 How far a listener trusts a teller: trustBase + regard × trustRegard, from trustMin to trustMax
trustRegard 0.4 See trustBase
trustMin 0.2 See trustBase
trustMax 1 See trustBase
trustAlone 0.7 The trust without Fellowship
toldKeep 0.9 The share of a belief’s strength that survives a telling, before trust
exposedAt 4 A secret counts as exposed once this many know it
repeatDays 0 For how many days a witness keeps count of the times they’ve seen someone do the same thing, and warned them about it (repeats); that long without seeing it again and the count lapses. 0: nobody counts, and the world hashes as without it
repeatReport 0 Each time before that a witness saw it makes them this much more likely to report it: the third time, 1 + 2 × this

Cityspeak

moduleConfig: { cityspeak: { ... } }. See Cityspeak.

Setting Default What it does
chatter 1 knob How chatty people in view are: the chance a meeting starts a bark exchange (at most 1) and the lines it runs to (barkLength × chatter, rounded, at least 1); 0 none
barkGap 2.2 Seconds between lines in a bark exchange (cityspeak.barkGap sets it too)
barkLength 3 Most lines in one exchange (cityspeak.barkLength sets it too)
barkCooldown 60 Minutes before someone barks the same line again, for a line with no cooldown
practiceBoost 1.5 How much more appealing role actions are, for a practice with no boost
socialDone 0.5 The share of an action with a social act that must be done for it to be resolved
roomEmpty 0.5 The mood of a room with nobody in it, before the practices’ tone

Voice

moduleConfig: { voice: { ... } }. See Voice.

Setting Default What it does
offers 3 Subjects offered at once
choices 3 Answers offered at once (besides letting it lie and goodbye)
theirs 0.3 The chance, at the start and between subjects, that they raise something of their own
patience 8 Beats before they’ve had enough, unless voice.patience says otherwise
fresh 10080 Minutes a line said to someone is passed over for a fresher one
strong 2 A landing this strong (either way) runs onWell or onBadly, and draws a reaction
onWell [] Effects when an approach lands strongly well
onBadly [] Effects when it lands strongly badly
greet 'greet' The greeting’s line topic
bye 'bye' Their goodbye’s line topic
close 'close' Their closing’s, when patience runs out
react 'react' The prefix of reactions’ topics
deed null A deed recorded when a talk ends
chatter 1 knob How chatty they are: patience times it (rounded, at least 1), and theirs times it
warmthRegard 3 The default warmth a talk starts with: regard × this, rounded…
warmthMin -1 …at least this…
warmthMax 3 …at most this
familiarTalk 0.5 familiarity: this much for each talk…
familiarLearned 1 …and this for each thing learned about them
familiarLand 0 Familiarity as trust: every approach lands this much better a point of the listener’s familiarity with the speaker (times the approach’s familiar). 0: it doesn’t count
familiarLandMax 1 …at most this much better
recallLand 1 An answer or subject that recalls something learned about them lands this much better
cooldown 4320 Minutes a subject takes to come round fresh again, for a thread with no cooldown
soreDays 2 Days a subject stays sore after sore with no number
soreWeight 0.1 A sore subject is worth this share of its weight
revealPull 1.5 A subject for learning something not yet learned is worth this much more
salientFloor 0.05 Subjects worth less than this aren’t offered
variety 0.2 Up to this much is added to each subject’s worth, the same for a pair all day
reshuffle false The variety is drawn afresh each time the subjects are offered, not once a day
followPull 1 A subject sharing a topic (about) with the one just talked of is worth this much more. 1: it doesn’t count
promiseDays 3 Days before a promise comes due, for one with no days
promiseKeep 30 Days a settled promise is remembered (the promise: term reads it)

Bree

moduleConfig: { bree: { ... } }. See Bree. The parts of how an exchange lands are each a weight on a score from the listener’s side; the outcome tables (regard, attraction, grudge, mends, feel, memory) are keyed by outcome (warm, good, fine, awkward, sour, row).

Setting Default What it does
warmth 1 knob How much good exchanges warm people: the regard and attraction a good one gives, times it
quarrels 1 knob How readily people quarrel: the regard a bad exchange takes away, and the appeal of hostile kinds on meeting, times it
escalation 1 knob How readily a sour turn becomes an argument and an argument a fight
grudges 1 knob How much a bad exchange leaves a grudge
forgiveness 1 knob How fast grudges fade, and how much an apology or making up takes off them
talk 1 knob How often people strike up exchanges when they meet, and how many turns they talk for
strike 0.3 The chance a meeting starts an exchange, before talk. Higher: a chattier town
again 0 Two still together after an exchange between them is done may strike up another this many minutes later (by the same chance), and every as many after while they stay together: people sitting side by side talk on and off. 0: only when they meet
quiet ['sleep'] Action tags during which nobody strikes up an exchange, joins one or keeps one going
needPull 2 A kind that relieves a pressing need is more appealing: weight × (1 + relief × urgency × needPull)
traits each role’s trait.<role> The term each trait role is read from (temper, warmth, humor, patience, courage, forgiveness, talkative): map them to the game’s own traits
scale [2, 0.75, -0.75, -1.75, -3] The least score for warm, good, fine, awkward and sour; under the last, a row. Lower them all: things go better
spread 1.5 The luck of a turn: up to this much either way. Higher: more surprises
regardWeight 2 How much the listener’s regard for the speaker counts
compatWeight 1 How much compatibility counts
moodWeight 1 How much the listener’s mood counts, a point from the middle
stressWeight 1 How much the listener’s stress takes away
needWeight 2 How welcome a kind that meets a pressing need is
attractWeight 3 How much attraction counts for romantic kinds
grudgeWeight 3 How much a grudge or a feud against the speaker takes away
rowWeight 2 How much a row between them lately takes away…
rowMinutes 1440 …fading over this many minutes
roomWeight 0.5 How much the mood of the room counts (Cityspeak)
topicWeight 1 How much the topic being to the listener’s taste counts
mannerWeight 1 How much the speaker’s manner counts
sway 0.4 How far each turn moves an exchange’s running score toward its own. Higher: one bad turn spoils more
regard warm 0.04, good 0.02, fine 0.005, awkward -0.01, sour -0.03, row -0.08 Regard each of them gains or loses for the other, by outcome (a kind’s regard multiplies it)
attraction warm 0.05, good 0.025, fine 0, awkward -0.01, sour -0.03, row -0.06 Attraction moved by romantic kinds, by outcome
grudge sour 0.1, row 0.25, else 0 Grudges left, by outcome (a kind’s grudge multiplies it)
mends warm 1.5, good 1, fine 0.5, else 0 The share of a kind’s mends an outcome brings
feel warm good_talk, sour and row had_words, long long_chat, left snubbed Feelings by outcome when a kind says none of its own
memory row 5 Memories by outcome (and long): how important; none under 1
groupShare 0.5 In a group, each pair takes this share of the regard
longTurns 6 An exchange this many turns long, fine or better, counts as long
leftRegard -0.03 Regard the one who walks off loses for the one they walk away from
teachOver 0.2 A lesson teaches only a skill the teacher is at least this much better at
turns partner 8, kin 6, close 8, friend 5, acquaintance 3, stranger 2, rival 4, sour 2 Turns a conversation runs to, by how the starter stands with the other
bonds [0.6, 0.3, 0.05, -0.15] The regard for close, friend, acquaintance and stranger; under the last, sour
rivalAt 0.3 Grudges (or a feud) this strong both ways make them rivals
talkativeTurns 2 Turns added a point of talkativeness above the middle, both together
lowMood 0.35 Either in a mood under this…
lowMoodTurns 2 …and they talk this many turns fewer
turnsJitter 1 Up to this many turns more or fewer, drawn
minTurns 2 Turns at least…
maxTurns 12 …and at most, before talk
quickTurns 2 Turns of a kind with no topics that doesn’t say its own
groupTurns 3 Turns added for each member past two
turnGap [2, 4] Minutes between turns, drawn
topicPull 0.5 A topic to the speaker’s taste is more likely raised: weight × (1 + fit × topicPull)
topicCooldown 1440 Minutes a topic takes to come round fresh again between the same two
topicMemory 8 Topics remembered per pair
tellAt 'fine' News passes on when its telling lands at least this well
trust 0.7 Without Wormtongue, the share of a belief’s strength a telling keeps
shareWindow 60 Two memories of the same kind this many minutes apart count as shared
recentMinutes 1440 What’s happened to someone lately (events topics): their memories of the last this many minutes
likeAbove 1.1 A taste (an instinct or a habit) above this counts as something they love doing
shareFit 0.5 A topic they share (the same doing, a memory both hold) is this much more to the listener’s taste
mannerJitter 0.1 Up to this much added to each manner’s fit, the same for each person always
groupMax 5 Most people in one exchange
joinChance 0.5 The chance someone at the same place joins a group exchange, times their talk
joinRegard 0 Only people whose regard for one of those talking is at least this join
escalateAt 'sour' A turn this bad or worse can escalate, send someone off, and be seen
escalateBase 0.25 The chance the one hurt answers back harder: this…
escalateTemper 0.5 …plus this a point of temper above the middle…
escalateStress 0.5 …plus this a point of stress…
escalateGrudge 0.6 …plus this a point of grudge against the speaker…
escalateRegard 0.5 …less this a point of regard for them; times escalation, and the kind’s own escalation
calmBase 0.1 The chance the other keeps their patience and calms it: this…
calmPatience 0.6 …plus this times their patience…
calmRegard 0.3 …plus this times their regard for the one hurt
stepInBase 0.05 The chance someone there steps in: this…
stepInRegard 0.5 …plus this times their regard for whichever they like more…
stepInCourage 0.3 …plus this a point of courage above the middle…
stepInFrom 0.2 …if they like one of them at least this much
mediateRegard 0.03 Someone who steps in gains this much regard from both…
mediateMends 0.1 …and takes this much off their grudges against each other
leaveBase 0.3 The chance the one hurt walks off instead: this…
leaveTemper 0.35 …plus this times their temper…
leaveRegard 0.3 …less this times their regard for the speaker…
leaveSour 0.2 …plus this for each sour turn so far
grudgeTemper 0.5 A quick temper holds more of a grudge: × (1 + (temper - 0.5) × 2 × this)
grudgeForgive 0.5 A forgiving nature holds less: × (1 - (forgiveness - 0.5) × 2 × this)
fade 0.04 Grudge strength lost a day, at a middling nature…
forgiveBase 0.5 …times this…
forgiveTrait 1 …plus this times their forgiveness (and an apology’s mending times the same)
grudgeFloor 0.02 Grudges and feuds weaker than this are let go at midnight
feudAt 0.5 Two people who hold grudges this strong against each other are in a feud
feudFade 0.01 Feud strength lost a day, times the world’s forgiveness
feudSpread 0 A fight between people of two households sets the households feuding by this much; 0 never
feudMends 0.5 A making-up between members of feuding groups takes this share of what it mends off the feud
avoidFrom 0.05 Animosity weaker than this keeps nobody away
avoidPlace 0.6 An option at a place where someone they’ve a grudge against is weighs 1 - animosity × this…
avoidTarget 0.8 …a social one aimed at them 1 - animosity × this…
avoidFloor 0.1 …never under this
hostilePull 1 A hostile interaction aimed at them weighs 1 + animosity × this instead
reconcileLabel 'made it up' The sentiment a grudge made up leaves…
reconcileSentiment 0.05 …and how much it adds to regard, for good
reconcileFeeling 'made_up' The feeling of making up
reconcileMemory 5 The importance of the memory it leaves
seenAt 'sour' People about see an exchange that goes this badly or worse, and every escalation
witnessStrength 0.8 How strongly a witness believes what they saw
witnessMemory 3 The importance of a witness’s memory
witnessRegard 0.5 A witness’s regard for whoever started it moves by this share of what the outcome moves
witnessFeeling 'saw_row' The feeling a witness gets
recent 50 Finished exchanges kept, for history and witnesses reported late
pairDays 30 Days after two people’s last exchange that what’s kept of their exchanges (the last row, their topics) is let go; 0 never

Mentat

moduleConfig: { mentat: { ... } }. See Mentat.

Setting Default What it does
maxTries 3 Replans before giving up
depth 3 How deep get: looks
priceWeight 1 Minutes of effort one unit of money is worth, before thrift
persistence 1 knob How long people keep at a plan: maxTries times it; 0 gives up at the first failure
scruples 1 knob What scruples cost: the risk of illegal ways and the cost of ways against their values, times it
giveUp 120 Minutes, at least, before a task given up on is chosen again
setAside 2 Plans kept set aside at once
stale 1440 Minutes after it began that a set-aside plan is dropped rather than picked up again
honestNever 0.8 Illegal ways are never taken by someone this honest
riskBase 60 An illegal way costs riskBase + honesty × riskHonesty + heat × riskHeat minutes of effort more
riskHonesty 300 See riskBase
riskHeat 20 See riskBase
valuesNever 0.9 Ways against a value are never taken by someone who holds it this much
valuesCost 200 …otherwise they cost held × valuesCost minutes more

Gaff

moduleConfig: { gaff: { ... } }. See Gaff.

Setting Default What it does
peakAt 0.7 Intensity at which the build-up turns into a peak
peakMinutes 240 Minutes a peak lasts
relaxMinutes 720 Minutes of relaxing after the fade
decay 0.04 Intensity lost per hour
events 1 knob How often storylets fire on their own; 0 never (trigger still fires them)
intensity 1 knob How much a firing raises its subject’s intensity
bump 0.2 How much a firing raises intensity, for a storylet with no bump
relaxAt 0.4 A fade turns to relaxing under this share of peakAt

Ceres

moduleConfig: { ceres: { ... } }. See Ceres.

Setting Default What it does
prices 1 knob How much prices put people off; 0: price is no object (they still can’t buy what they can’t afford)
priceShare 0.4 A priced option weighs 1 - share × (priceShare + thrift × priceThrift), share being the price over what they have
priceThrift 0.8 See priceShare. Higher: the thrifty mind prices more
priceFloor 0.05 …never less than this

Cradle

moduleConfig: { cradle: { ... } }. See Cradle.

Setting Default What it does
year 525600 Minutes in a year (365 days)
stages baby 0, child 3, teen 13, adult 18, elder 65 Stages and the age (in years) each starts at
lifespan [72, 96] People die of old age between these ages
fertility 0.25 The chance per year a couple of the right age has a child
fertile [20, 42] The ages at which people have children
autoPair { regard: 0.6, attraction: 0.5 } Couples form on their own when regard and attraction both ways reach these; null leaves it to the game
courtship 1 knob How readily couples form on their own (the thresholds divided by it, each for their own side); 0 never
births 1 knob How often couples have children; 0 never
deaths 1 knob How likely people are to die of old age; 0 never
ageUnknown 30 The age of someone with no born
pairStages ['adult', 'elder'] The stages that couple up on their own
partnerSentiment 0.3 The sentiment a couple holds for each other (my partner)
childSentiment 0.5 …and parents for a newborn (my child)
traitSpread 0.12 A child’s trait is their parents’ average, give or take up to this (without Delos)
griefAt 0.35 Those whose regard for someone who leaves is at least this grieve
pastLifespan 0.2 The chance a day, on top, of dying once past the end of the lifespan

Athelas

moduleConfig: { athelas: { ... } }. See Athelas.

Setting Default What it does
contagion 1 knob How catching courses are: every course’s chance per hour together, times it; 0 nothing spreads
duration 1 knob How long courses last: every phase’s minutes, times it, as the phase starts
sevAt 0.5 The severity a course’s numbers are written for: afflicted at it (or with none), its phases run as written. A course’s own severity.at overrides it
sevStretch 2 How much severity stretches the phases: each lasts sevStretch ^ ((severity - sevAt) × 2) times as long, as it starts (2: twice as long at 1, half at 0); 1 leaves them be
sevDepth 1 How much severity deepens what a phase does: its rates and weigh factors are raised to the power 1 + sevDepth × (severity - sevAt) / sevAt (twice as deep at 1, nothing at 0); 0 leaves them be
tendBase 0.5 How good a tending is, 0..1, with no skill: the mark tended:<course> reads
tendSkill null The skill that makes tending better: the rest of the way to 1 by the tender’s share of it (null: none)
tendHasten 0.25 A tending brings the end of the phase they’re in sooner by this share of what’s left, times how good it was; 0 none

Delos

moduleConfig: { delos: { ... } }. See Delos.

Setting Default What it does
jump { chance: 0.12, by: 0.35 } A child’s chance that one trait jumps by by, up or down
gift { chance: 0.1, by: 0.4 } A child’s chance of a natural gift: one talent raised by by
mutation 1 knob How often genomes mutate: trait jumps, gifts and every gene’s mutate, times it
variation 1 knob How far children stray: every blended value’s noise, times it
traitBlend founders [0.1, 0.9], bounds [0, 1], cross 0.65, noise 0.1 The defaults for a trait that doesn’t say its own; give any of them, the rest stay
talentBlend founders [0.6, 1.4], bounds [0.2, 2], cross 0.7, noise 0.08 The same for talents
instinctBlend founders [0.8, 1.25], bounds [0.5, 1.5], cross 0, noise 0.1 The same for instincts
lookBlend founders [0, 1], bounds [0, 1], cross 0.65, noise 0.1 The same for looks

Morgul

moduleConfig: { morgul: { ... } }. See Morgul. The knobs and settings are read only once the game declares a means, a wound or a trap.

Setting Default What it does
violence 1 knob How readily anyone chooses an action or task tagged harmTag: its weight, times it; 0 never
lethality 0 knob How often harm at its worst kills: hurt at killAt kills with deathChance times it; a wound’s phase that ends in death kills with it. 0: nobody dies of harm
vengeance 1 knob How strongly what someone holds against whoever hurt them becomes a wish for revenge
caution 1 knob How much people steer clear of danger they know of (cautionPlace)
healing 1 knob How fast wounds heal: a wound’s phases last 1 / healing as long (under 0.01 taken as 0.01)
suspicion 1 knob How readily people suspect someone of harm they didn’t see done (suspect), and how strongly (suspectStrength)
downAt 0.8 Hurt at which someone goes down
downMinutes [20, 60] Minutes they lie there before they come round, unless helped up
downRank 5 The rank lying down comes at: above everything (a break is 4)
down 'down' The action lying down is (declared by Morgul once a wound is, unless the game has one by this id)
fighting 'fighting' The action fighting is: both fighters are held in it while a fight by numbers lasts (declared the same way)
fightRank 4.5 The rank fighting comes at: above directives and breaks, under lying down
killAt 1 Hurt at which harm is at its worst, and may kill
deathChance 0.5 The chance harm at its worst kills, times lethality
direct ['blow', 'throw', 'shoot', 'cast'] The ways of harm whose victim (and onlookers) see who did it; any other way (a trap, a dose, a fall) leaves suspicion
intents meant 1, careless 0.4, accident 0.1, defense 0 The share of the grudge, regard lost, fear and onlookers’ blame each intent brings. 0 for defense: no grudge for a blow they started themselves
grudge 1.5 A victim’s grudge (Bree): severity × this × the intent’s share, times Bree’s grudges knob
regard 0.6 A victim’s regard lost for whoever did it: severity × this × the share
fear 1 Fear of whoever did it: severity × this × the share × 1 + (0.5 - courage) × 2 × fearCourage
fearCourage 0.5 See fear: how much more the timid fear
wary 1 Fear of the place it happened: severity × this
fade 0.05 Fear (× 0.5 + courage), fear of places, and what they hold against someone from harm (× 0.5 + forgiveness), lost a day
angerAt 0.5 A victim with temper × 0.6 + courage × 0.4 at least this is furious, else scared
shakenAt 0.15 A harm at least this bad leaves them shaken
memory 3 The importance of the victim’s memory: this…
memorySeverity 6 …plus this a point of severity (onlookers’, half)
feud 0 Meant harm between people of two households sets the households feuding (Bree) by severity × this; 0 never
sated 2 Harm done to someone they held harm against eases it by severity × this: revenge sated
witnessStrength 0.8 How strongly an onlooker believes what they saw (did:<who>:harm)
witnessMemory 2 The importance of an onlooker’s memory, plus severity × memorySeverity / 2
witnessRegard 0.3 An onlooker’s regard lost for whoever did it: severity × this × the share (and a suspect’s, by the suspicion’s strength)
crimes none The Wormtongue crime each intent is, and a killing: { meant: 'assault', careless: 'negligence', killed: 'murder' }. Declared crimes only; defense never
catch 0.3 A trap’s chance to catch someone who does something at its place off screen, for a trap with no catch
careful 0.5 The careful are caught less: × 1 - (careful - 0.5) × 2 × this
seenCatch 0.3 A trap that isn’t hidden catches at this share of its chance (and whoever it doesn’t catch sees it)
warnAt 0.2 Someone who knows of a trap or a taint set for someone warns them when they meet, if their regard for them is at least this
eats ['food'] The action tags that eat from a place’s pot (a taint with no item)
dose 0.5 A dose’s severity, for a taint with none whose means says none
suspect 0.8 The chance someone who learns of a harm they didn’t see done suspects someone, times suspicion
suspectTold 2 The evidence: being told who set or dosed it, by the belief’s strength (whoever saw it done, knows)…
suspectServed 0.6 …having served it (the place’s owner, staff on shift there)…
suspectGrudge 1.5 …a grudge against the victim (Bree’s animosity), by its strength…
suspectAbout 0.3 …being about when it was done or struck
suspectSpite 1 A suspicion weighs 1 + dislike × this (a scapegoat)…
suspectLoyal 0.6 …and 1 - liking × this, never under 0.1
suspectStrength 0.5 A suspicion’s strength: its weight × this × suspicion…
suspectMax 0.9 …at most this…
suspectFloor 0.1 …and not held under this
fights ['fight'] The Bree kinds that are fights by numbers: ids or 'tag:<tag>'
blows 12 Most blows in a fight
might none A fighter’s might: considerations on them (strength, size, skill, nerve), multiplied
fist 0.1 A bare blow’s severity (and the harm: effect’s, with none given)
fistKind 'blunt' A bare blow’s kind
meansBlow 0.5 A held means adds its severity times this to a blow
meansMight 1 …and to might: × 1 + severity × this
hurtMight 0.6 Might lost a point of hurt: × 1 - hurt × this
blowSpread 0.5 A blow’s severity, give or take this share
yieldAt 0.5 A fighter yields at this much hurt, at middling nerve…
yieldCourage 1 …× 1 + (courage - 0.5) × this
walkOff 0.4 After a blow that doesn’t end it, the one struck walks off with this chance times their hurt over the hurt they’d yield at
playerMight 'might:player' The fact the player’s might is read from (1 when it isn’t set)
respond fight 1, flee 1, yield 1, help 1 How appealing each answer to the player’s harm is, over its shape (nerve, temper, odds, hurt, friends about)
helpFrom 0.2 Someone there whose regard for them is at least this can be called on for help
fightGap 30 Minutes without harm between a character and the player after which the next starts a fight afresh (start)
fleeMinutes 30 Minutes someone who chose to flee, or was frightened off, keeps wanting to get away (and before fear sends them off again)
harmTag 'harm' The tag of harmful actions and tasks (violence, revenge)
fleeTag 'flee' The tag of fleeing (fleePull)
careTag 'care' The tag of tending the hurt (carePull)
avenge 'avenge' The task revenge is: offered, aimed at whoever they want it on, past vengeAt
vengeAt 0.3 What they hold against someone, times vengeance and their temper, at which revenge is an option
vengeTemper 0.5 A quick temper wants it more: × 1 + (temper - 0.5) × 2 × this
vengePull 0.5 Revenge weighs this times how much they want it; a harmful action aimed at whoever they want it on, 1 + that
fleeAt 0.25 Fear of someone there, times poor odds against them, at which someone wants to leave
fleePlace 0.8 Options where someone they fear is weigh 1 - fear × (1 - odds) × this
fleePull 2 Fleeing weighs 1 + fear × this
cautionPlace 0.7 Options at a place they know is dangerous weigh 1 - danger × this × caution
carePull 2 Tending someone hurt weighs 1 + hurt × this × (0.5 + regard)
cared 0.03 Regard the one tended gains for whoever tends them
floor 0.1 None of these weighs an option under this
recent 50 Harms kept, for history and suspicion (and every one not noticed yet)
traits none The terms trait roles are read from (temper, courage, careful, forgiveness): over Bree’s mapping, else trait.<role>

Joi

moduleConfig: { joi: { ... } }. See Joi. Joi never changes the world, so these shape only the prompt and the wait.

Setting Default What it does
wants 0.6 Needs over this go into the prompt as what they badly want
memories 3 How many of their strongest memories go into the prompt
timeoutMs 2500 Milliseconds to wait for the provider before the written line, unless speak is given its own

What isn’t a setting

What’s left in the code changes nothing a person does, or is the shape of a rule rather than a number to turn: rounding, small tolerances, units (a meeting’s regard is counted per half hour, contagion per hour), lists kept for reading (reports, the ledger, a file’s notes, social acts, storylets fired), guards against loops, how specific a line’s conditions make it, and the neutral points of formulas (a mood of 0.5 adds nothing to a meeting; a trait of 0.5 is middling). The built-in feelings (catharsis, grief, scared…) and Ceres’s behind_on_rent are definitions: declare your own with the same id to change them.