The esplort of the ages, at the mercy of the strongest hands. The client connects to port 5555. It is to be modified for every decree and blessing, and literally every other wild thing that might happen, along with the server. No bigotry is allowed in Smlash.
Smlash is an indie ethical open source (CNPLv5+ licensed) Smash-like combat RPG, similar to a TTRPG in the way that players interact with it as a storytelling device. Smlash is intended for specific groups or “Campaigns”, and one or more of a group’s members will be the Hosts of the Campaign. The Hosts have to know enough about Godot game development to make changes to it according to the events that occur. It is heavily inspired by Blaseball, the browser-based surrealist horror comedy sports fan simulator. It is said that blaseball is a splort, so I will define splort as a word that means surreal horror comedy sport. Following that definition, Smlash is an esplort.
In Smlash, a Campaign is a group of people who organize to use it as a storytelling device - Smlash works better when played alongside some text-based communication that can be used for groups and allows for things such a custom bots. Matrix and Discord are good options. As for people, a Campaign has at least two Players and at least one Host, though the Hosts are also Players. Ideally, the more Players there are, the more Hosts there are, with a ratio of roughly eight to one. To understand more about the role of these, it's best to understand two of the most important mechanics in Smlash (which are directly based from Blaseball): Decrees and Blessings. If you have experience with Blaseball, you have an idea of what these words mean, and may skip their explanation.
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Decrees allow a Player to alter the rules of the game. The rules are to be written in a Book (more on that later), which may or may not be available to all players. Decrees can also play a huge part in how storytelling occurs. They must consist of a name, an icon and a description. These may be as vague or as detailed as the hosts desire. For example, these are the first decrees for the first Smlash competition since the returned:
- Communication: Let's talk.
- Steam Machinery: Lots of energy.
- Mandatory Water: Go Drink It Now.
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Blessings are given to Players as modifiers to them, they do not alter the rules of a Campaign. (in fact, they must adhere to them). They may do things that are not specifically allowed nor prohibited by the rules. They will have a specific order, which must be shown to the players. For example, in the following blessing list
- Fourth Stock
- Friendly Ice
- +10 MELO
"Fourth Stock" can also be referred to as "the first Blessing", "Friendly Ice" can be referred to as "the second Blessing", and so on.
More on how these are decided later. For now, this is enough to understand the role of a Host. A Host shall decide the decrees and blessings that will be used throughout a Campaign, the way these will be distributed, and most importantly, they must implement them into the game every time they change. Yes, it is a tedious-as-hell task. Good luck, fellow Hosts out there.
A Campaign is arbitrarily large and arbitrarily long, and the events that are not allowed to occur in the area of the universe that bounds it are to be discussed previously to avoid causing discomfort or trauma triggers to the people who participate. This is not an option.
A Campaign is to be divided in Seasons. Seasons are divided in two main parts:
- Practice Rounds: Friendly fights of any kind that are only there for practice and to have Fun. Whether events relevant to the story happen here is entirely up to the Hosts.
- Electoral Tournament: The electoral tournament is how Decrees and Blessings are decided. Every player has a MELO (Modified ELO) ranking, which, as the name implies, may be affected by Blessings. The Players shall Fight in a tournament, in which the Winner will be able to choose one of the available Decrees. Then, Blessings are given to the players in order of Ranking.
After an Electoral Tournament, an End Of Season shall start, in which storytelling events may occur. It will last until all chosen Decrees and Blessings are added to the game. No games must be played during an End Of Season.
Every Campaign is to have a Rulebook. Traditionally, these are heavily redacted, and their information is released after important events occur. The Rulebook shall define terms such as Fighter and Stage, as well as all the mechanics that are going to be in effect during a Campaign. This is the rulebook used during the first Smlash Campaign since the returned: https://demo.hedgedoc.org/s/bioPJl9bR#. The Rulebook shall not conflict with anything stated here, no matter the specific Campaign.