From 8e1d2b4d31cc4ad094f7a26bbafa9fde3d099463 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: TheRON Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:25:33 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] initial upload --- docs/scenarios/SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0000.md | 536 +++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 536 insertions(+) create mode 100644 docs/scenarios/SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0000.md diff --git a/docs/scenarios/SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0000.md b/docs/scenarios/SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0000.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5988f16 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/scenarios/SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0000.md @@ -0,0 +1,536 @@ +# SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0000 +## The BALNEA Conversation +### Status: Canonical Prologue Scenario Seed +### Layer: OTIVM (Roman Merchant) +### Purpose: Establish the universal opening scenario where the participant encounters Ostia, the six backgrounds, and the logic of economic interpretation through mixed-status conversation +### Repository Path: docs/scenarios/SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0000.md + +--- + +## 0. Design Intent + +This is the one scenario every participant experiences before divergence. + +The participant does not begin by selecting a class from a menu. +The participant begins by overhearing six people interpret the same uncertain opportunity. + +The chosen background emerges from affinity with a way of seeing. + +This scenario exists to validate: + +- character selection through revealed behaviour +- Ostia as pressure field, not backdrop +- BALNEA as mixed-status social node +- rumor as first economic input +- six background perspectives +- the transition from observation to identity +- the first lesson of OTIVM: the event is less important than what it changes + +--- + +## 1. Canonical Identifier + +| Field | Value | +|---|---| +| Scenario ID | `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0000` | +| Title | The BALNEA Conversation | +| Token | `balnea_conversation` | +| Domain | merchant | +| Scenario Type | prologue / background selection | +| Repeatable | no for a given participant | +| Hidden Truth Variants | yes | +| Required Before | `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0001`, `0002`, `0003` | +| Repository Path | `docs/scenarios/SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0000.md` | + +--- + +## 2. Fixed Setting + +The scene occurs in or immediately around a BALNEA in Ostia. + +The baths are selected because they plausibly allow mixed-status contact between actors who would not share a dinner table, household, or formal council. + +Required properties: + +- public enough for social display +- informal enough for overheard speech +- mixed enough for status friction +- connected enough for fresh rumor +- ordinary enough that the moment does not feel staged + +Alternative adjacent nodes: + +- changing room +- courtyard +- entrance steps +- oiling area +- nearby thermopolium after bathing + +Primary rule: the setting must allow all six background archetypes to occupy the same social field without forcing implausible intimacy. + +--- + +## 3. Historical Basis + +Roman baths functioned as social infrastructure as well as bathing facilities. They supported conversation, reputation display, rumor circulation, informal business, and cross-status proximity. + +For OTIVM purposes, the BALNEA is the ideal opening node because: + +- the noble can appear without surrendering status +- the freedman can speak without formal invitation +- the legionary can observe discipline and threat +- the failed magistrate can still perform public standing +- the camp logistician can hear practical supply talk +- the guild scribe can read the numbers behind the words + +Confidence: Medium. +Basis: Roman social practice; Ostian bath archaeology strongest in later periods; structural use as analogue for the default 14 BCE epoch. + +--- + +## 4. Variable Inciting Topic + +The topic should be variable by world seed, but the default first implementation should use the forge smoke from `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0001`. + +### Default Topic + +Smoke has been seen from an industrial district of Ostia. Rumor says a bronze forge has burned. + +### Alternative Topics + +| Topic Token | Linked Scenario | Use | +|---|---|---| +| forge_smoke | `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0001` | default first run | +| capua_timber_shortage | `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0002` | if Capua event precedes local event | +| distressed_contractor | `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0003` | finance-oriented opening | +| warehouse_infestation | future | storage / spoilage tutorial | +| delayed_grain_boats | future | port congestion / food price tutorial | +| new_tax_collector | future | PORTORIUM / legal pressure tutorial | + +Rule: the prologue teaches interpretation, not a single fixed plot. + +--- + +## 5. Dramatic Structure + +### Phase 1 — Observation + +Participant enters the BALNEA environment. + +Immediate signals: + +- heat +- steam +- scraped oil +- stone floor +- wet voices +- gossip moving faster than facts +- smoke or rumor arriving before certainty + +No exposition dump. + +### Phase 2 — Six Interpretations + +Each background archetype interprets the same signal. + +The participant hears not biographies, but methods. + +### Phase 3 — First Choice + +Participant chooses the statement, person, or interpretation that feels most useful. + +This selects the starting background. + +### Phase 4 — Consequence + +The selected background determines initial parameters, resources, liabilities, and first available contacts. + +The prologue ends when the participant can act. + +--- + +## 6. Six Background Voices + +These are not final player-facing dialogue lines. They are design constraints for how each archetype reads the same event. + +### 6.1 Former Legionary + +Sees: + +- route disruption +- guard failure +- movement bottleneck +- disciplined response or lack of it + +Typical interpretation: + +> The question is not what burned. The question is which road, gate, or yard is now blocked. + +Parameter emphasis: + +- disciplina +- itineris_scientia +- periculum_tolerantia + +Blind spot: + +- assumes competence can be commanded into civilians + +Scenario affinity: + +- logistics shocks +- convoy trade +- shortage movement + +### 6.2 Freedman Trader + +Sees: + +- goods respectable men will not touch +- quick buying windows +- underpriced salvage +- ignored customers + +Typical interpretation: + +> Smoke makes gentlemen cautious. That is when useful things become cheap. + +Parameter emphasis: + +- mercatus_scientia +- negotiatio +- clientela through practical contacts + +Blind spot: + +- elite legal exposure + +Scenario affinity: + +- arbitrage +- distressed buying +- market gaps + +### 6.3 Noble Younger Son + +Sees: + +- families involved +- access points +- introductions +- reputation consequences + +Typical interpretation: + +> Before one buys timber or bronze, one learns whose name is attached to the ashes. + +Parameter emphasis: + +- auctoritas +- ius_accessus +- fama + +Blind spot: + +- underestimates operating cost and physical delay + +Scenario affinity: + +- partnership +- access deals +- credit with witnesses + +### 6.4 Failed Magistrate + +Sees: + +- creditor movement +- legal weakness +- signatures +- delayed permits +- public vulnerability + +Typical interpretation: + +> Fire is simple. Rebuilding is where men ruin themselves. + +Parameter emphasis: + +- ius_accessus +- litterae +- compromised auctoritas + +Blind spot: + +- underestimates how much distrust follows him + +Scenario affinity: + +- legal leverage +- debt pressure +- contract traps + +### 6.5 Camp Logistician + +Sees: + +- missing replacement stock +- hungry labor +- cart shortages +- supply timing +- who will need what before they admit it + +Typical interpretation: + +> If the yard is gone, count the carts, not the flames. + +Parameter emphasis: + +- itineris_scientia +- disciplina +- mercatus_scientia under pressure + +Blind spot: + +- offends prestige networks with blunt practicality + +Scenario affinity: + +- emergency contracts +- supply crises +- military-adjacent demand + +### 6.6 Guild Scribe + +Sees: + +- accounts +- debts +- ledgers +- pledged goods +- who was overextended before the accident + +Typical interpretation: + +> The ashes will tell less than the accounts. + +Parameter emphasis: + +- litterae +- negotiatio +- ius_accessus through documents + +Blind spot: + +- physical danger and violent enforcement + +Scenario affinity: + +- FAENVS +- contracts +- debt purchase +- collateral analysis + +--- + +## 7. Background Selection Mechanic + +The participant should not initially see a stat table. + +Selection options should be phrased as interpretive commitments: + +| Choice Style | Background | +|---|---| +| Follow the blocked routes and exposed movement | Former Legionary | +| Buy what fear has mispriced | Freedman Trader | +| Learn whose name governs the opportunity | Noble Younger Son | +| Find the signatures and debts beneath the event | Failed Magistrate | +| Count the carts, crews, and replacement stock | Camp Logistician | +| Read the accounts before the rumors harden | Guild Scribe | + +After selection, reveal: + +- background title +- current resources +- obligations +- first contact +- first weakness + +Raw parameters may remain hidden or appear only in advanced view. + +--- + +## 8. Initial Parameter Effects + +The prologue selects the starting actor profile defined in `docs/actors/`. + +| Background | Primary Opening Advantage | Primary Opening Cost | +|---|---|---| +| Former Legionary | acts quickly under disruption | poor subtle negotiation | +| Freedman Trader | notices mispriced goods | low formal standing | +| Noble Younger Son | gains elite access | expensive obligations | +| Failed Magistrate | sees legal leverage | damaged trust | +| Camp Logistician | maps supply chain stress | low prestige | +| Guild Scribe | understands debt and records | avoids physical risk | + +--- + +## 9. Prologue-Scenario Relations + +```text +rumor_signal -> six_interpretations +selected_interpretation -> background_id +background_id -> starting_parameters +background_id -> starting_resources +background_id -> first_contact +background_id -> first_blind_spot +balnea_social_density ↑ -> rumor_velocity ↑ +auctoritas_visible ↑ -> speech_weight ↑ +status_gap ↑ -> dialogue_friction ↑ +``` + +--- + +## 10. Integration With Existing Scenario Trilogy + +### Link to 0001 — The Bronze Forge Fire + +Default implementation should use visible or rumored forge smoke. + +The prologue teaches: + +- the fire is less important than second-order effects +- each background sees different opportunity +- the participant’s first choice is interpretive + +### Link to 0002 — The Capuan Timber Yard Fire + +If seeded with Capuan timber news, the prologue teaches: + +- distant events matter when routes connect them +- scarcity travels through dependencies +- Ostia reacts before Capua fully explains itself + +### Link to 0003 — The FAENVS Offer + +If seeded with distressed finance news, the prologue teaches: + +- capital can move without ITER +- AVCTORITAS and documents can be more valuable than cargo +- social cost is a real parameter + +--- + +## 11. Ostia Dependencies + +Requires substrate from `CITY-OSTIA-0001`: + +- BALNEA as social node +- rumor velocity +- mixed-status friction +- workshop district +- legal nodes +- port-city information flow +- background-specific city readings + +The prologue is the first practical test of whether Ostia functions as a pressure field. + +--- + +## 12. Player-Facing Tone Constraints + +Do: + +- show six interpretations through speech and gesture +- imply status through behaviour +- keep the event uncertain +- make choice feel like adopting a method +- let the city speak through practical details + +Do not: + +- display a class-selection menu first +- explain all parameters +- declare the true cause of the event +- force all six into equal-length speeches +- overuse Latin as decoration +- write theatrical fantasy banter + +--- + +## 13. Data Model Stub + +```text +scenario_id: SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0000 +scenario_type: prologue +location_id: ostia_balnea_seed +inciting_topic: enum +available_backgrounds: [background_id] +selected_background_id +rumor_seed +known_facts[] +unknown_facts[] +first_contact_id +initial_parameter_profile +initial_resource_profile +``` + +--- + +## 14. Parameters With Confidence Tags + +| Parameter Token | Type | Confidence | Basis | +|---|---|---|---| +| balnea_social_density | social | Medium | bath social function | +| rumor_velocity | information | Medium | port-city and bath setting | +| status_friction | social | Medium | mixed-status interaction | +| speech_weight | social | Low | derived from auctoritas/fama | +| background_affinity | actor | High | direct participant selection | +| first_contact_quality | social | Medium | selected background dependent | +| initial_information_quality | information | Medium | background dependent | +| opening_blind_spot | actor | High | background design rule | +| prologue_topic_seed | scenario | High | direct scenario state | + +--- + +## 15. Replayability Controls + +For a new participant, randomize: + +- inciting topic +- order of voices +- which actor speaks first +- whether rumor is mostly true or mostly wrong +- whether elite or low-status interpretation appears most confident +- environmental pressure: crowding, heat, smoke, rain, noise + +For a given participant, prologue should not repeat. + +--- + +## 16. Repository Use + +Internal simulation substrate. Not player-facing script. + +Use this document to support: + +- opening scene implementation +- organic background selection +- first tutorial logic +- Ostia social-node validation +- scenario chain entry point +- future dialogue drafting + +--- + +## 17. Canonical Success Condition + +If the participant stops asking: + +“Which character has the best stats?” + +and starts asking: + +“Which way of seeing the city do I trust?” + +then the prologue is functioning correctly.