Add SCENARIO-INDEX.md

master scenario library with structural rule and cross-references
This commit is contained in:
2026-04-29 05:38:17 -04:00
parent deb0903ecb
commit cfac01216c

View File

@@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
# Scenario Index
### TheRON — OTIVM / CIVICVS Scenario Library
### Status: Living document — scenarios added as developed, never removed
### Date: 2026-04-28
---
## 0. Canonical Structural Rule
Every scenario in this library must satisfy all five of the following:
1. **One visible signal** — something the participant can observe directly
2. **One uncertain truth** — the real cause or state is hidden or contested
3. **One hidden second-order effect** — the consequence that matters is not the obvious one
4. **Six different readings** — each of the six cast perspectives interprets the event differently
5. **No single obvious correct choice** — a participant who thinks they know the right answer has missed the point
A scenario that fails any of these five tests is not yet complete.
**The engine of the simulation is this:** the participant who stops asking
"what happened?" and starts asking "whose need can I price, and when?" is
thinking correctly. Every scenario is designed to force that transition.
---
## 1. Prologue
The prologue is a special case — it is the only scenario every participant
experiences identically. It precedes all other scenarios and governs
background selection.
| ID | Title | Token | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0000` | The BALNEA Conversation | `balnea_conversation` | canonical |
**Reference documents:**
- `docs/scenarios/SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0000.md`
- `docs/actors/CHARACTER-FRAMEWORK.md`
- `docs/actors/BACKGROUND-0001` through `BACKGROUND-0006`
- `docs/economy/CAST-OSTIA-0001.md`
- `docs/dialogue/TOPIC-BALNEA-0001.md`
---
## 2. Founding Trilogy — Fire, Dependencies, Capital
These three scenarios form a causal chain. They should be experienced in
order where possible, as each compounds the effects of the previous.
| ID | Title | Token | Status | Teaching |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0001` | The Bronze Forge Fire | `bronze_forge_fire` | canonical | second-order market logic |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0002` | The Capuan Timber Yard Fire | `capuan_timber_yard_fire` | canonical | upstream choke-point logic |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0003` | The FAENUS Offer | `faenus_offer` | canonical | capital without cargo |
**Chain dependency:** `recent_scenario_0001 == true` modifies 0002.
`recent_scenario_0001 or 0002 == true` increases opportunity in 0003.
**Success condition arc:**
- 0001: Stop asking "what burned?" Start asking "who now needs what, where, and when?"
- 0002: Stop asking "what burned?" Start asking "what depended on it?"
- 0003: Stop asking "what can I carry?" Start asking "whose need can I price?"
---
## 3. Tier A — Supply and Infrastructure Shocks
High priority. These scenarios teach physical and logistical dependencies
that are prerequisite to understanding the route parameter model.
| ID | Title | Token | Status | Teaching |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0004` | The Warehouse Rat Panic | `warehouse_rat_panic` | planned | spoilage, storage trust, scarcity rumour, inspection fraud |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0005` | The Missing Tax Collector | `missing_tax_collector` | planned | bureaucracy dependence, queue economics, corruption, procedural power |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0006` | The Coin Shortage | `coin_shortage` | planned | credit vs cash, barter, discounting, debt notes, trust networks |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0007` | The Sudden Rainstorm | `sudden_rainstorm` | planned | weather risk, infrastructure fragility, drainage geography, transport delay |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0008` | The Sick Mule Market | `sick_mule_market` | planned | transport dependency, veterinary risk, replacement cost, cascading shortage |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0009` | The Timber Auction | `timber_auction` | planned | bidding behaviour, storage capacity, future demand forecasting |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0010` | The Fire Sale Estate | `fire_sale_estate` | planned | distressed assets, debt priority, insider knowledge, hidden defects |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0011` | The Shipwreck Survivor | `shipwreck_survivor` | planned | insurance, salvage rights, truth vs fraud, distress pricing |
---
## 4. Tier B — Institutional and Political Events
These scenarios teach the relationship between legal and political structure
and commercial opportunity. They require cast members with IVS_ACCESSVS
and AVCTORITAS parameters to respond differently from those without.
| ID | Title | Token | Status | Teaching |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0012` | The Funeral of a Patron | `patron_funeral` | planned | patronage collapse, inheritance uncertainty, CLIENTELA network disruption |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0013` | The New Edict Posted | `new_edict` | planned | law shocks markets, literacy advantage, compliance costs, loopholes |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0014` | The Senator's Arrival | `senator_arrival` | planned | prestige demand, rapid procurement, temporary price spikes, elite access |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0015` | The Temple Festival Week | `temple_festival` | planned | calendar economics, ritual demand, leisure spending, AVCTORITAS display |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0016` | The Public Lawsuit | `public_lawsuit` | planned | witnesses, rhetoric, enforceability, legal cost vs settlement |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0017` | The Dockside Brawl | `dockside_brawl` | planned | labour disruption, ethnic enclaves, security premiums, district reputation |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0018` | The Counterfeit Scale | `counterfeit_scale` | planned | trust, measurement standards, enforcement, public scandal |
---
## 5. Tier C — Social Capital Events
These scenarios teach AVCTORITAS, CLIENTELA, and FAMA as economic forces —
not as background flavour but as resources that open and close commercial
opportunities.
| ID | Title | Token | Status | Teaching |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0019` | The Marriage Contract | `marriage_contract` | planned | dowry economics, alliance markets, AVCTORITAS transfer, household strategy |
| `SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0020` | The Freedman Banquet Invitation | `freedman_banquet` | planned | status mobility, stigma, signalling, social markets |
---
## 6. Historical Reality Scenarios
These scenarios are **internal instruments only — not player-facing content.**
They exist to map the parameter schema for aspects of Roman life that the
economic model cannot be honest without. Their purpose is schema definition,
not gameplay. They are maintained in `docs/architecture/historical-reality-parameters.md`.
These are not scenarios in the gameplay sense. They do not have hidden cause
variants or replayability controls. They document parameter domains, affected
existing parameters, and new parameters required. Academic sources are cited.
| Domain | Document | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Enslaved labour | `docs/architecture/historical-reality-parameters.md` §1 | canonical |
| Legal and status discrimination | `docs/architecture/historical-reality-parameters.md` §2 | canonical |
| Commercial sex | `docs/architecture/historical-reality-parameters.md` §3 | canonical |
| Public violence and the arena | `docs/architecture/historical-reality-parameters.md` §4 | canonical |
**Design principle:** these domains are modelled as parameters and economic
forces. The simulation does not editorialise. It models. The participant
encounters these as the MERCATOR encounters them — as the texture of the
world they operate in, not as moral choices presented for approval.
---
## 7. Future Scenario Domains — Not Yet Scoped
These are identified needs, not committed scenarios. They will be developed
when the simulation requires them.
| Domain | Notes |
|---|---|
| Mesolithic scenarios | Parallel library for CIVICVS — foraging, seasonal movement, territorial negotiation, material exchange. Vocabulary from corpus development. |
| Maritime scenarios | Open-sea ITINERA — NAUFRAGIVM probability, MARE CLAVSVM constraints, crew management, piracy. |
| Multi-route scenarios | The MERCATOR managing simultaneous NEGOTIA on different routes — opportunity cost, personnel delegation, FACTOR trust. |
| Seasonal arc scenarios | A sequence of scenarios spanning a full Roman agricultural and commercial year — spring opening, summer peak, autumn harvest, winter MARE CLAVSVM. |
---
## 8. Scenario Status Definitions
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `canonical` | Fully developed, committed to repo, passes structural rule |
| `planned` | Identified, listed, structural rule not yet applied |
| `in_development` | Being drafted in current session |
| `deferred` | Identified but blocked on dependencies |
| `deprecated` | Superseded — retained for record, not for use |
---
## 9. Cross-Reference: Scenarios and Parameter Registry
Every scenario exposes a subset of parameters from `docs/architecture/parameter-registry.md`.
The mapping below shows which parameter domains each tier primarily activates.
| Tier | Primary parameter domains |
|---|---|
| Prologue | All actor parameters, `background_drift`, `information_quality` |
| Founding Trilogy | `workshop_output_bronze`, `timber_stock_destroyed`, `borrower_distress`, `urban_fire_damage`, `rumor_credibility`, `venture_window_days` |
| Tier A — Supply | `cart_availability`, `porter_availability`, `storage_fee_index`, `food_price_index`, `rumor_velocity`, `dock_congestion`, `fire_risk_index` |
| Tier B — Institutional | `ius_accessus`, `legal_access_index`, `officia_burden`, `auctoritas`, `clientela` |
| Tier C — Social | `auctoritas`, `clientela`, `fama`, `officia_burden`, `background_drift` |
| Historical Reality | See `docs/architecture/historical-reality-parameters.md` |
---
*Scenario Index — living document, 2026-04-28*
*The engine: one visible signal, one uncertain truth, one hidden second-order effect,*
*six different readings, no single obvious correct choice.*
*TheRON — single contributor. AI assistants implement, document, flag — do not direct.*