Modeling the Real World.

You've probably noticed that Tribute doesn't have Elements for things like character-independent duration of Effects, range or reach, and size. Similarly, it doesn't have them for mass or inertia.

The problem I ran into with these was that if I made Elements for them,  they wouldn't be universal. They'd have no application beyond the physical world with the possible exception of  duration. On the other hand, they are inescapable in the physical world and it would be a glaring omission not to address them. Most campaigns will need them in some form. 

Here's how I will be modelling these types of things:

"Size" as an intrinsic aspect of the physical HOUSE  -"Body', for example. I plan to allow any HOUSE to serve as a battlefield with grid/zone combat or something similar, so I imagine that once I get to those rules, we'll get rules for size. The final rules will certainly involve modeling the ease  of targeting large things, or the difficulty of targeting small things with situational FOCUS.  It will also grant the INFLUENCE of "Reach" as described below. 

"Reach" as an INFLUENCE with { RELAY Effect [#]. } inside. 

"Inertia" as an INFLUENCE with { BRACE Position [#]. } inside. 

"Gravity" as an INFLUENCE with { RELAY Target with "Mass" to ("Center of  HOUSE") [#]. } inside.  So far, things fall at a constant speed, but I hope to make it possible to model gravitational acceleration for those who want it. It might have something to do with a refinement of CHARGE. The ground blocks you from falling into the core, unless you have insane mass...

"Mass" as an INFLUENCE with { BRACE ("Gravity", "Inertia" ) [#]. } inside, along with the INFLUENCE of its own "Gravity" for use when required . This means that Mass makes overcoming gravity and inertia harder for any objects that contain it, and that can they exert their own pull .

"Duration" as an INFLUENCE with { HOLD Effect [#]. } inside. 

As you can see, despite the Tribute notation, these effects aren't very complex. I continue to try to work out a more user-readable version of the notation. I just want to make sure I don't lose anything in translation, and that the results of any such verbose Expressions aren't too large.