AMPU Rules for Playtest

[vcczar]

Legislative Committee Phase

 

Once proposals are made, they go to their appropriate committees (see spreadsheet to see where each specific legislation goes). Those proposed in the Senate go to the Senate committee and those in the House go to the House committee. Here are those committees again:

• Domestic Committee
• Foreign/Military Committee 
• Economic Committee 
• Judicial Committee 

The Committee Chair can block one proposal out of those that arrive at their committee provided their legislative ability is higher than the proposer, which can then be replaced by a committee-related proposal of the chair’s choice, if they so desire, unless they have “incompetent” or “harmonious”. For instance, the chair might want to replace a controversial bill with one that might better help the package of bills which will be united into one bill for the House and Senate Votes. The rest must be voted on in Committee. The chair’s replacement bill must be a bill that would go to this committee. It does not get a committee vote and is automatically passed. A committee member with “efficient” cannot have their proposal blocked by the committee chair, unless the chair also has “efficient” or “iron fist.”

Any committee member with the “Debate” trait has a 5-6 die roll chance of flipping a Committee Vote in their favor. If a committee member has their vote flipped twice by debate in one half-term, then they gain “pliable” (50/50 die roll).

 

If the Majority of the Majority Rule is Active, then the Sen Maj Ldr or Speaker, so long as they have “Manipulative” can block one bill in a committee proposed by the opposing party. However, no bonuses or penalties are given, except the faction whose proposal was denied gets a 5-6 die roll chance +1 faction enthusiasm for their party leader and that Sen Maj Ldr and Speaker gets 1-2 die roll chance “Unlikable”.

 

Two of the three votes are required to pass the committee. Any Amendments are voted on separately. 

 

All proposals that get at least two votes are packaged together (excluding amendments, which are solitary) and sent out of that committee, and sent to the US House as a package legislation from that committee. Don’t merge legislation from House Committees and Senate Committees into the same package, even if the committees are identical. (Ex. House Economic Committee and Senate Economic Committee would not have their legislation in the same package).

A committee chair that has 5 Legis ability + "efficient" will be able to cobble mega packages during an on-going crises, so long as the crises relates to their committee. In short, the chair will be able to add three legis proposals of their own during the crisis. One of these can be a tax increase (any tax increase) to help pay for the inflated package.

A committee chair that has "manipulative" + "efficient" can split up packaged legislation into isolated bills. This is good if you think the packaged bill won't pass but that they might pass if they are voted on separately. 

CPU Movements:

• The chair will block a proposal that hurts his or her cards 50% of the time, if possible. The CPU will debate to convert votes. The committee will generally vote in accordance to what helps their cards. However, 50% of the time, the committee member will vote for a bill that helps resolve a crisis. A “puritan” will never vote for anything that will hurt their cards.

[vcczar]

Legislative Voting Phase

Proposed bills go to the US House first, and if passed, they then go to the US Senate. A simple majority in the US House and in the US Senate are used to pass a bill. The Vice President will break a tie in the Senate. If a bill is tied in the US House, then it does not pass. Once a bill passes both houses of Congress, it goes to the president to sign or veto. 

 

If a bill does not pass, then it may still affect the meter and award points or take away points from some factions, generally in the opposite direction than if the bill has passed (see spreadsheet). 

 

If a US Senator or US Rep votes for a bill that helps the leading industry in the state, then they get a 5-6 die roll chance of +1 in their reelection bid. If they vote for a bill that hurts their state’s leading industry then they get a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 in their reelection bid.

 

A player’s senators and representatives can defy their faction by going rogue. 

• For the Senate, senators marked “puritan” will vote against bills that hurt their ideology more than it helps it. Senators marked “integrity” will vote for a crisis bill during a relevant crisis 4-6 die roll of the time when the Human player votes against the crisis bill. Senators marked “pliable” will vote with the opposition 1-2 die roll of the time. However, a Sen Maj Leader with “Iron Fist” holds all of their party’s votes, so long as his or her Legis ability is a 5. That is, they vote according to the Sen Maj Leader for the initial vote.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
• For the US House, US Reps marked “puritan” will vote against bills that hurt their ideology more than it helps it. US Reps marked “integrity” will vote for a crisis bill during a relevant crisis 4-6 die roll of the time when the Human player votes against the crisis bill. US Reps marked “pliable” will vote with the opposition 1-2 die roll of the time. However, a Speaker with “Iron Fist” holds all of their party’s votes, so long as his or her Legis ability is a 5. That is, they vote according to the Speaker for the initial vote.

After the initial votes are presented, there’s an opportunity to convert votes:

• If the president or party leader has a legislative ability of 4, then they can convert the vote of one Senate vote and one US Rep vote of an allied faction, and they can convert 2 Senate votes and 2 US House Votes of an allied faction if their legislative ability is 5. They cannot convert any Senator with “Puritan” or an US House votes of a faction leader that has “Puritan.” As a reminder, the “US House vote” is not really just one vote. That influential Rep will represent a segment of voters. 
• An egghead cannot convert a lowbrow or vice versa.
• An incompetent legislator has a 1-2 die roll chance of accidentally not voting. 
• A lackey will not switch votes if their faction leader has “leadership”
• A disharmonious legislator has a 1-2 die roll chance of not voting for a bill, even if their faction votes for it, if it is not passed by their own party, unless one of the opposition leaders in the same house of congress has harmonious. 
• Any Senator with “orator” can give a speech to flip 3 US Senate votes and 3 US House votes of a faction of their choice if the speech is successful. However, any faction with a “Puritan” Faction Leader cannot have their US House votes flipped. Any member of a House Committee with “debate” can also give a speech, but they will convert only 1 US Senator but they will convert 5 US House votes of a faction of their choice that is not led by a “Puritan” faction leader. Speeches have a 5-6 die roll chance of being successful. A politician can only give one speech per half-term. If the Speaker, House Min Ldr, Sen Maj Ldr, or Sen Min Ldr have “Iron Fist” and 5 Legis Power, then they block the effects of all speeches for their party, except those given by politicians with “orator.” An egghead can’t convert a low brow and vice versa. 
• This rule above also applies to those with “debate,” but only 2 from each house are flipped. For those without debate, only 1 is flipped for each house. A politician with “incoherent” cannot give a speach.
• The Speaker, House Majority and Minority leader, House Whips, and Party Leaders with the trait “manipulative” have a 5-6 die roll chance converting allied votes to their vote preference if the allied faction is voting with the opposition during the initial vote, even if the allied Faction Leader has “Puritan”. If an opposing faction leader has “pliable” then that faction’s House votes can be treated as well. A lackey won’t deviate from their faction leader if the faction leader has “leadership.” An egghead can’t convert a low brow or vice versa. 
• The Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, Senate Whips, Party Leaders with the trait “manipulative” have a 5-6 die roll chance of converting opposing party politicians with the ideology “moderate,” unless the target politician has “integrity.” Additionally, these same leaders have a 5-6 die roll chance of converting votes of opposing party politicians marked “pliable,” but only if the ideology is the same as the leader attempting conversion. Egghead can’t convert low brow or vice versa. Lackey’s won’t deviate from their facton leader if the leader has “leadership”
• If “leadership” is possessed by the Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, Speaker, or House Minority leader, then they block vote conversion attempts by manipulative leaders, except against those marked “pliable,” unless the leader attempting the conversion has “Iron Fist.” Naturally, these Senate and House leaders block the conversion attempts only for the body of Congress people that they lead. Egghead can’t covert low brow or vice versa. Lackey’s won’t deviate from their facton leader if the leader has “leadership”
• Any Senator has a 5-6 die roll chance of converting another Senator’s vote provided he or she has a 2 legislative ability advantage over the target and the target isn’t marked “Puritan”. The Senator attempting this conversion must be from the same state, and their target’s faction leader cannot have “Leadership.”
• The Speaker, House Min Ldr, Sen Maj Ldr, Sen Min Ldr can offer their counterpart a “Congressional Promise.” That is, their faction will support one of the pending bills or packages in exchange for support for one of their bills or packages. To make this offer, the leader must have 5 legis abilities. If they have “efficient” they can make two offers. Such an offer cannot be offered to a leader with “Disharmonious.” A “Puritan” cannot accept the offer if the promise will result in any of their cards drawing negative points. These factions will be required to support this bill, even though conversion and such will still occur after the initial vote.

After backroom attempts to sway the votes are concluded, then you will get the US House and US Senate votes. If a package of bills or a solitary bill is passed by both Houses, it will go to the President’s desk. If an amendment is passed by both Houses, it will go to the states to be acted upon during the Governor’s Action Phase.

 

Note: Voting against a statehood bill gives the opposing party (that is, the party that didn’t propose the bill) a 1-2 die roll chance of a -1 bias against it in that state once statehood is achieved. Additionally, voting against statehood will give any faction leaders of the faction that oppose a bill a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 in elections in all states in the region of where the prospective state belongs. This will be bound to that specific faction leader and not to his or her successor unless they end up opposing the same state’s statehood in the future.

 

CPU Movements:

• Aside from the rogue movements above, the CPU will vote 50% for bills if they help their cards. 25% of the time, they will vote for bills that help their party, even if it hurts their cards. 25% of the time, they will vote for a bill that resolves a crisis, even if it hurts their cards. The CPU will always attempt to convert votes, using whatever methods they have (randomly). 

[vcczar]

Signing Legislation

Note: If the opposition party does not control the presidency or the House, then their party will gain faction enthusiasm, instead of lose faction enthusiasm, when their faction is marked to be hurt by a passed bill, so long as that faction doesn’t vote for the bill. This is to show the party is angry and roused by negative partisanship. This rule does not exist if the opposition party controls a house of congress. 

 

Note: The president cannot veto or sign an amendment. It will go straight to the states. 

 

If the president vetoes more than one packaged legislation in a half-term, then the Speaker has the opportunity to impeach the president for “abuse of power” if that Speaker has Legis 5 ability. If a bill is vetoed that has a chance of resolving a crisis, then the president faces a 1-2 die roll chance -1 in a reelection bid. 

 

If a bill is vetoed, then the positive and negative effects of the bill failing only pertain to the presidential player. 

 

If the president signs a bill, then it is handled much like a General or Scripted Event in that the president and his cabinet may need to implement the bill (See special rules for implementation). Signed bills become law, which may then modify the meters and award or take away points from some factions. 

 

If a bill is vetoed, then it goes to the US House and US Senate for an override attempt. 

 

If a president is “pliable” then a cabinet member, key advisor, or VP with manipulative or leadership can override the president’s veto through his or her influence at a 5-6 die roll success rate (4-6 die roll success rate for key advisor). 

 

The president player’s cards play a large role in Signing Legislation. Most responses either gain points or lose points for players holding cards. If the president only has cards that gain during a response, and doesn’t have any cards that lose points,.then there’s a 1-2 die roll chance of +1 Faction Enthusiasm Meter. If the reverse, then there’s a 1-3 die roll chance of -1 Faction Enthusiasm Meter.  If the president mostly has cards that lose in a response, then there’s a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 Faction Enthusiasm. If the president vetoes a bill that gains points for an ally, then there’s a 1-2 die roll chance - party pref. If the president vetoes a bill that gains points for more than one ally, then there’s a 1-3 die roll chance of - party pref. 

 

If an allied party is lead by a faction with a disharmonious faction leader, that faction will lose -1 enthusiasm if they lose points due to a veto. 

 

A harmonious president cannot veto legislation supported by all other factions of their party. 

 

CPU Movement: The CPU will always sign a bill that helps his party, unless he’s “puritan,” in which case he only signs bills that help his faction. 50% of the time, the president will sign a bill that helps with a crisis, even if it hurts his party. A president with “integrity,” unless they have “puritan,” will always sign a bill that helps with a crisis.

[vcczar]

Override Veto

 

If a president vetoes a bill, then the US House and the US Senate vote to override the bill. 

 

If a president overrides a Veto, then positives/negatives of the passage of the bill only affects the Speaker and Sen Maj Ldr factions, provided it is overridden in both houses. 

 

After the initial vote, the same attempts at vote conversion from the Legislating Voting phase applies here as well. There are also potential rogue votes. 

 

A vetoed bill first goes to the US House, which needs two-thirds of the Legislative Voting Power to override the bill. If they fail, then the bill is successfully vetoed. If they succeed, then it goes to the US Senate, which then needs two-thirds of their vote to override the veto. If they succeed, then the bill is successfully overridden and becomes law. 

 

Whether successfully blocked or overridden, the meter shifts and awards/penalties for factions occur just as with a passed or repealed bill. 

 

A president loses 100 points and he or she get a 1-2 die roll chance of gaining “disharmonious” if their veto is overridden. If the veto would have favored the president’s faction’s ideology card, then there is a 5-6 die roll chance of increased ideological enthusiasm, but a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 party pref. This roll is also done if the president successfully vetoes legislation. The Sen Maj Ldr and Speaker gains 100 points each if they successfully override a president’s veto.

 

CPU Movement: CPU will treat Veto Override attempts as it would a regular vote.

[vcczar]

Executive Action

Note: Players will be notified when new actions are available.

 

Note: If the opposition party does not control the presidency or the House, then their party will gain faction enthusiasm, instead of lose faction enthusiasm, when their faction is marked to be hurt by a presidential action, so long as that faction doesn’t enact the action. This is to show the party is angry and roused by negative partisanship. This rule does not exist if the opposition party controls a house of congress. 

 

The president has several executive actions (or options) to address any ongoing crises or to handle an issue by bypassing Congress. A president can commit as many executive actions per half-term as he or she has Command Points. 

 

Note: Sec of State proposes Treaties, but they count as a pres exec action if the president supports the proposal. This then goes to the legis session. 

 

Note: Cabinet members with egghead may suggest a pres action. This part handles liek Gen Events and Scripted Events. Manipulative can move a pliable president. VP acts if Pres is Easily Overwhelmed.

 

Don’t forget that you can deactivate any activated executive actions from a previous administration.

 

The president player’s cards play a large role in Executive Actions. Most responses either gain points or lose points for players holding cards. If the president only has cards that gain during a response, and doesn’t have any cards that lose points,.then there’s a 5-6 die roll chance of +1 Faction Enthusiasm Meter. If the reverse, then there’s a 1-3 die roll chance of -1 Faction Enthusiasm Meter.  If the president mostly has cards that lose in a response, then there’s a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 Faction Enthusiasm. If a president’s executive action produces negative points for an ally, then there is a 1-2 die roll chance - party pref. If two allies get negative points, then there is a 1-3 die roll chance of - party pref. 

 

If a president has “Pliable” then a VP, key advisor, or cabinet officer with “Manipulative” can make the president’s first executive action at a 5-6 die roll chance of success. 

 

These actions will most likely also require implementation (see special rules), meter shifts, and the awarding/taking away of points for factions. 

 

A player that deactivates an executive action in which the deactivation hurts more of their cards than helps their cards, will earn -100 pts, and their faction leader has a 1-2 die roll chance of a temporary -1 in the next election. If this player controls the party leader, then there is also a -1 to base support and a 1-3 die roll chance of -1 party preference. If the repeal hurts one of their party allies more than it helps them, then the party leader has a 1-3 die roll chance of a temporary -1 in the next election. 

 

Note: Any points/penalties regarding state industries impact the state Gov (and the two Senators) of the state (or states, if tied) leading in that industry. 

 

CPU Movements: 50% of the time the CPU will commit to a random executive action that helps resolve a crisis. 25% of the time they will aim to help their faction. 25% of the time they will aim to help their party.

[vcczar]

Compelled Supreme Court Retirements

 

Players controlling SC Justices can voluntarily resign their justices from the SC at this time if the justices has reached 75 years of age or has served at least 12 years. Additionally, the president can remove a SC Justice by appointing the justice to another office. 

 

A president with “Iron Fist” has a 4-6 die roll chance of compelling one same-party Justice into retiring, so that he or she can make a new appointment. A justice with both 5 judicial ability and has “integrity” is immune to this. 

 

A president with “Manipulative” can attempt to compel a Justice of any party to resign, so long as the Justice has served at least 12 years, at a 5-6 die roll chance of success. If the president has a higher judicial skill than the justice, then the removal is automatic. Generally, justices with “Integrity” are immune to being compelled as are justices with 5 judicial ability. A justice with “Harmonious” will accept resignation by a president if they are of the same party or of the same ideology, even if they have 5 judicial ability. A justice with incompetent will accept resignation by any president regardless if they have “integrity” or 5 judicial ability. A justice with lackey will only accept resignation from their faction leader, if he or she has leadership, and will accept resignation by their faction leader if they have “integrity” or 5 judicial ability. A justice with disharmonious will get angry 1-2 die roll chance of the time if asked to resign, resulting in a random ideology shift for the justice if they are of the same ideology.

 

A SC Justice that is retired from the court has a 1-5 die roll chance of being retired from the game, unless they were retired due to appointment to the cabinet to the US Senate, or because a general event allows them to run for president.
 

CPU Movements: The CPU will voluntarily retire a SC Justice that hits the age of 75+ 25% of the time. They will attempt to compel a retirement 25% of the time, targeting the oldest eligible justice.

[vcczar]

Supreme Court Nomination & Confirmation

 

Note: In the unlikely event that the Supreme Court is abolished, these phases are skipped. Additionally, any law challenged by a state as “unconstitutional” will be nullified/vetoed. 

 

Presidential promises made during the presidential election must be fulfilled during this time. In the event that a promise was eligible, but is now no longer eligible via a death or retirement of the only qualifying politician for a job, then the promise is void without penalty. 

 

Additionally, the Att Gen and Key Advisor have the opportunity to suggest a SC Justice. If the president is “pliable” and the Att Gen or Key Advisor has “manipulative,” then the president is forced to take the suggestion. Randomize if they both have it and both made different suggestions.

 

If a vacancy is available, the president can nominate any politician with Judicial expertise and with at least 2 Judicial skill. However, both the president and the SC Justice get 100 pts for each judicial skill the nominee has. Thus, a nominee with 5 judicial skill will net 500 pts to both the president and the nominee. Double this score for Chief Justice.

 

If a justice of another party is selected, then the incumbent party has a 5-6 die roll chance of +1 party preference, and a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 faction enthusiasm. If the president is “moderate,” then there is no penalty on faction enthusiasm if an opposition party justice is named, but there is a 1-2 die rolll chance -1 faction enthusiasm of any Populist, Progressive, or Traditionalists factions within the president’s party.

 

If a justice is nominated that is of the same ideology as the cards of the incumbent president, then the president has a 5-6 die roll chance of +1 base support, but also a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 party base preference. 

 

Appointing a puritan gives a 1-2 die roll chance - party pref. The upside to appointing a puritan is that the vote is guaranteed to follow the puritan’s ideology.

 

Presidents have the option of promoting an Assoc Justice to Chief Justice. Doing so is automatically confirmed unless the other party controls the US Senate or the justice has “Controversial” or “easily overwhelmed, “ or “incompetent”. 

 

There is no support bonus/penalty for appointing a justice of an allied faction that is not a puritan. This is probably the safest pick if you are wanting to avoid a penalty, but you also avoid a bonus.

 

Once a replacement has been made, then the nomination goes to the US Senate.

 

The Senate Majority Leader must have a reason for calling on his or her party to attempt a party block of a nominee. Use the same rules for blocking a cabinet member, but for “inexperienced” substitute “nominee has only 2 judicial ability or less.” 

 

A SC Justice nominee must receive 60% US Senate votes for confirmation. 

 

The Senate has somes option to block or confirm a pick:

• A Sen Maj Leader with the trait “Manipulative” and a higher Legislative Skill than the Sen Min Leader has two options to alter the outcome. 
  • One option is to employ the “Nuclear Option”, which allows confirmation by a straight majority. However, this gives the Sen Maj leader “unlikable” and a 1-3 die roll chance of - party preference for his or her party, but a 5-6 die roll chance of + faction enthusiasm. 
  • Another option is to “Merrick Garland” the pick by delaying the vote until the next half-term. The “Merrick Garland” option is only possible in a president’s 2nd-term lame duck period or if the President was unelected (A VP that became president without being elected). There’s a 1-2 die roll chance of - party preference for doing this.  

 

Additionally, use the same converting vote rules as are used in the legislative phase after the initial vote. 

 

If the nominee is blocked, then the president must make a 2nd nomination. The replacement justice must be moderate, an ideology of the other party, or a member of the other party. This justice is automatically confirmed. If a justice of another party is selected, then the incumbent party has a 5-6 die roll chance of +1 party preference, and a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 party faction enthusiasm. If the president is “moderate,” then there is no penalty on faction enthusiasm. 

 

Successfully blocking a nominee that has “Integrity” will result in a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 party preference for the Sen Maj Leader’s party, unless the Judicial nominee has a Judicial skill of 3 or less. Blocking a nominee with 5 judicial skill will also result in a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 party preference, unless the nominee is “controversial”. Successfully blocking a nominee with 2 judicial skill or with “controversial” will result in +1 party preference for the Sen Maj Leader Party. 

A president or party leader with Iron Fist can have his or her party follow their preference. A president with a judicial skill of 4 or 5 can get enough votes for confirmation automatically, so long as his or her entire party is also voting with him or her. 

 

Once confirmed, a Chief Justice gains +1 Judicial; An Associate Justice has a 4-6 chance of +1 Judicial. 

 

CPU Movements: The CPU will “merrick garland” or “nuclear option” a pick 25% of the time that these options are eligible. They will attempt to block a pick 25% of the time. This increases to 50% if the justice is a Populist, Progressive, or Traditionalist and their party hasn’t that ideology. This increases to 75% if the justice is “controversial,” or has a Justice ability lower than 2. When selecting a justice, the president will pick a justice from the lowest scoring faction of their party 50% of the time, random 25%, and from their own faction 25%. They will pick a random politician with 5 judicial 50% of the time, 25% for 4 judicial, and 25% with 3 judicial.

[vcczar]

The Election Rules are kind of massive, so I'm not going to post those on here. I won't post the special rules either. So this is all I'm posting in regards to rules on this forum. 

[ConservativeElector2]

15 hours ago, vcczar said:

Supreme Court Nomination & Confirmation

 

Note: In the unlikely event that the Supreme Court is abolished, these phases are skipped. Additionally, any law challenged by a state as “unconstitutional” will be nullified/vetoed. 

 

Presidential promises made during the presidential election must be fulfilled during this time. In the event that a promise was eligible, but is now no longer eligible via a death or retirement of the only qualifying politician for a job, then the promise is void without penalty. 

 

Additionally, the Att Gen and Key Advisor have the opportunity to suggest a SC Justice. If the president is “pliable” and the Att Gen or Key Advisor has “manipulative,” then the president is forced to take the suggestion. Randomize if they both have it and both made different suggestions.

 

If a vacancy is available, the president can nominate any politician with Judicial expertise and with at least 2 Judicial skill. However, both the president and the SC Justice get 100 pts for each judicial skill the nominee has. Thus, a nominee with 5 judicial skill will net 500 pts to both the president and the nominee. Double this score for Chief Justice.

 

If a justice of another party is selected, then the incumbent party has a 5-6 die roll chance of +1 party preference, and a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 faction enthusiasm. If the president is “moderate,” then there is no penalty on faction enthusiasm if an opposition party justice is named, but there is a 1-2 die rolll chance -1 faction enthusiasm of any Populist, Progressive, or Traditionalists factions within the president’s party.

 

If a justice is nominated that is of the same ideology as the cards of the incumbent president, then the president has a 5-6 die roll chance of +1 base support, but also a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 party base preference. 

 

Appointing a puritan gives a 1-2 die roll chance - party pref. The upside to appointing a puritan is that the vote is guaranteed to follow the puritan’s ideology.

 

Presidents have the option of promoting an Assoc Justice to Chief Justice. Doing so is automatically confirmed unless the other party controls the US Senate or the justice has “Controversial” or “easily overwhelmed, “ or “incompetent”. 

 

There is no support bonus/penalty for appointing a justice of an allied faction that is not a puritan. This is probably the safest pick if you are wanting to avoid a penalty, but you also avoid a bonus.

 

Once a replacement has been made, then the nomination goes to the US Senate.

 

The Senate Majority Leader must have a reason for calling on his or her party to attempt a party block of a nominee. Use the same rules for blocking a cabinet member, but for “inexperienced” substitute “nominee has only 2 judicial ability or less.” 

 

A SC Justice nominee must receive 60% US Senate votes for confirmation. 

 

The Senate has somes option to block or confirm a pick:

• A Sen Maj Leader with the trait “Manipulative” and a higher Legislative Skill than the Sen Min Leader has two options to alter the outcome. 
  • One option is to employ the “Nuclear Option”, which allows confirmation by a straight majority. However, this gives the Sen Maj leader “unlikable” and a 1-3 die roll chance of - party preference for his or her party, but a 5-6 die roll chance of + faction enthusiasm. 
  • Another option is to “Merrick Garland” the pick by delaying the vote until the next half-term. The “Merrick Garland” option is only possible in a president’s 2nd-term lame duck period or if the President was unelected (A VP that became president without being elected). There’s a 1-2 die roll chance of - party preference for doing this.  

 

Additionally, use the same converting vote rules as are used in the legislative phase after the initial vote. 

 

If the nominee is blocked, then the president must make a 2nd nomination. The replacement justice must be moderate, an ideology of the other party, or a member of the other party. This justice is automatically confirmed. If a justice of another party is selected, then the incumbent party has a 5-6 die roll chance of +1 party preference, and a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 party faction enthusiasm. If the president is “moderate,” then there is no penalty on faction enthusiasm. 

 

Successfully blocking a nominee that has “Integrity” will result in a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 party preference for the Sen Maj Leader’s party, unless the Judicial nominee has a Judicial skill of 3 or less. Blocking a nominee with 5 judicial skill will also result in a 1-2 die roll chance of -1 party preference, unless the nominee is “controversial”. Successfully blocking a nominee with 2 judicial skill or with “controversial” will result in +1 party preference for the Sen Maj Leader Party. 

A president or party leader with Iron Fist can have his or her party follow their preference. A president with a judicial skill of 4 or 5 can get enough votes for confirmation automatically, so long as his or her entire party is also voting with him or her. 

 

Once confirmed, a Chief Justice gains +1 Judicial; An Associate Justice has a 4-6 chance of +1 Judicial. 

 

CPU Movements: The CPU will “merrick garland” or “nuclear option” a pick 25% of the time that these options are eligible. They will attempt to block a pick 25% of the time. This increases to 50% if the justice is a Populist, Progressive, or Traditionalist and their party hasn’t that ideology. This increases to 75% if the justice is “controversial,” or has a Justice ability lower than 2. When selecting a justice, the president will pick a justice from the lowest scoring faction of their party 50% of the time, random 25%, and from their own faction 25%. They will pick a random politician with 5 judicial 50% of the time, 25% for 4 judicial, and 25% with 3 judicial.

Not sure if that's an inconsistency, but for me the first sentence excludes the other automatically. "If a vacancy is available, the president can nominate any politician with Judicial expertise and with at least 2 Judicial skill. "

"This increases to 75% if the justice is “controversial,” or has a Justice ability lower than 2."

 

I think it's best if the requirement is just 1 judicial skill, but the obstacles should be of course somewhat higher.

[vcczar]

1 hour ago, ConservativeElector2 said:

Not sure if that's an inconsistency, but for me the first sentence excludes the other automatically. "If a vacancy is available, the president can nominate any politician with Judicial expertise and with at least 2 Judicial skill. "

"This increases to 75% if the justice is “controversial,” or has a Justice ability lower than 2."

 

I think it's best if the requirement is just 1 judicial skill, but the obstacles should be of course somewhat higher.

I want it to be at least level 2. That is, someone placed on the career track to be a judge or someone that starts with at least 2. Someone with a 1 is like someone that might have served as a local judge or has the potential to be a judge but is not on anyone's radar whatsoever--especially a president and his or her advisors. 

[ConservativeElector2]

16 minutes ago, vcczar said:

I want it to be at least level 2. 

I thought so, but I still believe this sentence is misleading, isn't it?

"This increases to 75% if the justice is “controversial,” or has a Justice ability lower than 2." <- according to your rule it won't be possible to nominate someone with an ability lower than 2.

[vcczar]

22 minutes ago, ConservativeElector2 said:

I thought so, but I still believe this sentence is misleading, isn't it?

"This increases to 75% if the justice is “controversial,” or has a Justice ability lower than 2." <- according to your rule it won't be possible to nominate someone with an ability lower than 2.

Oh ok. Thanks, didn't notice that. 

[ConservativeElector2]

3 hours ago, vcczar said:

Oh ok. Thanks, didn't notice that. 

Yeah, I thought you were asking for an overview of the rules and when I've already found an inconsistency.. why not pointing it out?

[Timur]

How far has this progressed? Are the rules finalized?

[MrPotatoTed]

1 hour ago, Timur said:

How far has this progressed? Are the rules finalized?

Finalized in the sense that all the rules are written.  But it's a living document, at least for now, we're constantly tweaking things based on the playthrough and other feedback or reviews.