The One and Only
I want to add a disclaimer that I know right now Site Staff isn't really considering Mandate ideas at the moment, and I'm fine with that. Just wanted to put an idea that's been bouncing around in my head down on paper -- or electronic screens, lol. But without further a-do:
This mandate may need a little tuning, particularly around the exact post counts that are required, but essentially Momentum Push is designed to lead to more invasions, more chaos, and be a potential safeguard (or just a little buff against) writer burnout in invasion-packed faction wars.
The function of the mandate is pretty simple: if a Major Faction with the mandate wins an invasion, a subsequent invasion launched against the same defending faction within a reasonable period will require fewer posts from the invading Major Faction to be eligible for judging; in my suggestion, I make that decrease by a margin of 20 posts. If a major faction is really on a roll, then this effect could stack multiple times. However, if a Major Faction with this mandate loses any invasion, then the previously-defending Major Faction can counter-invade with a decreased requirement of their own, on a scale that is slightly larger (this is because this is a counter invasion, and the Major Faction launching this counter invasion can only benefit once from the mandate's weakness).
I do think that there currently are two big flaws with this suggestion:
1. Current Posting Requirements: Current posting requirements require only 100 posts from either faction; if a faction with this mandate wins, say, 3 invasions in a row, then with the current numbers of the mandate a Major Faction would only need 40 posts to be eligible for judging. This is partially solved for by the fact that a Major Faction would need to win multiple invasions against the same opponent multiple times, and any loss sets their decreased post requirement back to zero. Another potential solution is raising the base bar for posts needed in an invasion to count for eligibility, but I see this as a very narrow possibility.
2. Participation:
Anyways, there are my Kiffthoughts out on the table. This mandate was inspired sort of by momentous pushes and military campaigns in real-world history and being some sort of OOC thing where it rewards good writing and hard work, and takes a bit of the strain off while still leaving the challenge of winning invasions in it. What do you all think?
Momentum Push
"An object in motion, will stay in motion unless acted upon." - Isaac Newton
- Strength: If this faction wins an invasion, any subsequent invasion launched against the same major faction, or a counter-invasion launched by the defending major faction after the initial invasion results have been declared within a maximum period of 60 days will have a decreased participation requirement for the invading faction by 20 posts, and a decreased participation requirement in any counter-invasion launched by the defending major faction within the same period of time. This strength can stack with multiple consecutive invasion victories.
- Weakness: If this faction loses an invasion, the defending major faction may launch a counter-invasion against the initiating faction with a decreased posting requirement of 25 posts. Any loss of invasion will 'reset' the decreased participation requirement for the major faction utilizing the mandate.
This mandate may need a little tuning, particularly around the exact post counts that are required, but essentially Momentum Push is designed to lead to more invasions, more chaos, and be a potential safeguard (or just a little buff against) writer burnout in invasion-packed faction wars.
The function of the mandate is pretty simple: if a Major Faction with the mandate wins an invasion, a subsequent invasion launched against the same defending faction within a reasonable period will require fewer posts from the invading Major Faction to be eligible for judging; in my suggestion, I make that decrease by a margin of 20 posts. If a major faction is really on a roll, then this effect could stack multiple times. However, if a Major Faction with this mandate loses any invasion, then the previously-defending Major Faction can counter-invade with a decreased requirement of their own, on a scale that is slightly larger (this is because this is a counter invasion, and the Major Faction launching this counter invasion can only benefit once from the mandate's weakness).
I do think that there currently are two big flaws with this suggestion:
1. Current Posting Requirements: Current posting requirements require only 100 posts from either faction; if a faction with this mandate wins, say, 3 invasions in a row, then with the current numbers of the mandate a Major Faction would only need 40 posts to be eligible for judging. This is partially solved for by the fact that a Major Faction would need to win multiple invasions against the same opponent multiple times, and any loss sets their decreased post requirement back to zero. Another potential solution is raising the base bar for posts needed in an invasion to count for eligibility, but I see this as a very narrow possibility.
2. Participation:
The participation judging category would need to take into account the mandate if, say, a faction is only working with a 60 minimum post versus a faction working with a 100 post minimum. Ultimately it is and should be up to the judge's discretion, because having a lower minimum count wouldn't be an excuse to have a subdued presence an invasion, nor would it force them not to or bar them from doing so. In a way it almost becomes an inherent weakness of the mandate, because by nature, the less posts a faction in an invasion makes, the easier it will be for them to lose in certain categories.
- Participation. An invasion is a story of conflict between two factions, and the participation of both factions will contribute to their chances for victory. This does not include the total contribution of posts from one faction as compared to another, nor the total amount of individual writers from one faction as compared to another. This does include, but is not limited to, the level of consistent activity of both factions throughout the course of the thread, the interaction between members of both factions with the opposition from the start of the invasion to the end, the steady responses between writing partners made in a reasonable frame of time, and the amount of cooperation and teamwork between members of each faction to achieve their goals.
Anyways, there are my Kiffthoughts out on the table. This mandate was inspired sort of by momentous pushes and military campaigns in real-world history and being some sort of OOC thing where it rewards good writing and hard work, and takes a bit of the strain off while still leaving the challenge of winning invasions in it. What do you all think?