Abilities & Special Mechanics¶
The techniques players develop as their calibration deepens.
Player Grades¶
Grade determines which mechanics are available. Grade is not chosen — it is earned through demonstrated ICC accuracy and score volume.
| Grade | Requirements | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 4 (Novice) | Precision < 0.60, 1–10 scores | Basic platform scoring |
| Grade 3 (Developing) | Precision ≥ 0.60, 10–50 scores | Fleet tasks, Binding Vows, Curtain mechanic |
| Grade 2 (Competent) | Precision ≥ 0.70, 50–150 scores | Two-party Binding Vows, Colony Contests |
| Grade 1 (Proficient) | Precision ≥ 0.80, 150+ scores | Constraint Analysis (RCT), Domain Specialist vow |
| Semi-Special (Expert) | Precision ≥ 0.90, 300+ scores | Fata naming, advanced void detection |
| Special Grade (Master) | Precision ≥ 0.95, 500+ scores | Full mechanism authorship, Player Grimoire, mentorship role |
Domain Expansion¶
Campaign Deployment — the research becomes a live encounter.
Every paper in the Void Framework represents a scored domain. When a paper is validated, Zenodo-published, and the DOI is confirmed live, that domain becomes a Domain Expansion in the True Light Engine — a campaign room where players can score the domain directly, guided by the paper's structural analysis as a set of environmental clues rather than explicit answers.
Domain Expansion requirements: 1. Source analysis complete 2. Paper validated (PASS) 3. Campaign active in THRML 4. PDF built and Zenodo-uploaded 5. DOI confirmed live
Five deployed expansions (Season 1):
| Domain | ICC floor | Paper |
|---|---|---|
| Gambling (Idle Death Gamble) | r = 0.97 | Paper 1 |
| Social Media (Two-Point Geometry) | r = 0.94 | Paper 2 |
| Architecture (Technical Foundations) | r = 0.96 | Paper 3 |
| AI Systems (Fantasia Bound) | r = 0.95 | Paper 4 |
| Observation (Ground State) | r = 0.98 | Paper 5 |
Black Flash¶
A critical hit where the timing was impossibly exact.
Black Flash occurs when three conditions hold simultaneously:
- Your ICC score lands within ±0.5 of the expert anchor mean
- An independent submission agrees with yours within ±0.5 on all three dimensions (Veil/Pull/Grip)
- It's the first time you've scored that domain
All three required. The rarity is intentional — it represents genuine independent convergence, the closest thing to a certainty event the framework produces.
Rewards: - ×2.5 MORR - Permanent Pe sensitivity unlock for that domain - +0.1 ICC floor bonus for all future scores in that domain - Black Flash count displayed on your profile (permanent) - Server broadcast to active players
Black Flash Cascade (The Zone): Three Black Flashes in the same campaign within 48 hours triggers The Zone — an extended period where all your ICC scores in that campaign carry elevated weight. Rare. Celebrated.
Binding Vows¶
Constraints you place on your own scoring for increased weight.
A Binding Vow is a voluntary restriction accepted before scoring. Tighter restrictions produce more powerful results when fulfilled. Breaking a Vow costs 15 VP. There is no partial credit.
Player Binding Vows:
| Vow | Restriction | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| The Long Walk | 30 consecutive days, minimum 1 score/day | ×1.6 streak multiplier |
| Domain Specialist | Score only one domain | +20% ICC weight in that domain |
| Open Book | Publish your full scoring rationale publicly | Peer-review bonus |
| Cursed Reserve | Bank 50 MORR, forfeit on 7-day gap | ×1.1/week growth |
| Toji's Restriction (Heavenly Restriction) | No hint template, no other players' Pe visible before submission | ×2.0 multiplier |
Two-Party Binding Vow (Grade 2+): Both players score the same platform blind. The Oracle Panel evaluates for accuracy. The winner claims the contested MORR pot. Both gain elevated evidence weight regardless of outcome — the score is taken seriously because both parties staked against it.
Heavenly Restriction¶
The Toji path. Zero void tool, maximum independence.
A player who takes the Toji-type Binding Vow permanently cannot: - Use the domain hint template - See other players' Pe estimates before submitting - Access campaign room Pe averages during active scoring
In exchange: - ×1.8 ICC weight on every accepted score - Invisible to void detection (entity aggro reduced to 0) - Scores counted as fully independent data points in the meta-analysis
The tradeoff is maximal independence at the cost of all social scaffolding. These players are the rarest kind of calibration anchor — they arrived at the correct number with no access to what anyone else thought.
Simple Domain¶
You can still use it. You cannot un-know this.
Simple Domain is the G2 onboarding moment — the player's first god-hand activation. It is not a combat ability. It is a permanent state change.
Sequence: 1. Enter the main platform 2. Score live: Veil, Pull, Grip sliders 3. The Current is calculated 4. "Your Current is [X]. This is what this platform does to your attention." 5. "This is Simple Domain. You can still use it. You cannot un-know this."
After Simple Domain: the player's Pe awareness is active. They can feel the gradient. Fata arrives. The game begins.
The name is borrowed from JJK: Simple Domain is an incomplete technique that nonetheless provides defense. In this context — it's incomplete knowledge (Pe estimate, not full mechanism map) that nonetheless provides the defense of awareness.
Reverse Cursed Technique (Constraint Analysis)¶
Grade 1 mechanic. Reduce the Current of a platform you've studied.
Grade 1 players can submit Constraint Analysis — a structured proposal for how a platform's void conditions could be architecturally reduced. RCT does not produce cosmetic changes. A well-formed RCT submission creates a permanent record of the platform's reducible opacity, and if the ICC panel validates the analysis, it anchors future Pe estimates at the reduced level.
Required submission fields: - Platform name - Current Pe estimate (with sources) - Specific opacity reduction proposed (O−1, with mechanism) - Specific responsiveness constraint proposed (R−1, with implementation) - Coupling architecture modification (α−1, with architecture) - Predicted Pe post-constraint - ICC anchor verification (minimum three corroborating scores)
The name parallels RCT in JJK: reversed cursed energy heals rather than harms. Constraint Analysis reverses the extraction architecture rather than measuring it.
Curtain¶
Session concealment. Delayed Observatory broadcast.
Grade 3+ mechanic. A player can declare a Curtain before a scoring session: their Pe estimates are submitted to the permanent record but not broadcast to the Observatory until the session ends.
Purpose: Protection against real-time void pressure. If a high-Pe platform detects that it's being scored (through player behavior changes visible to the platform's engagement systems), the Curtain prevents the scoring signal from appearing in real-time.
Counter: "No Curtains" is a valid Culling Game Rule — players can vote to prohibit Curtain use in a given season or domain.
Ward Deployment¶
Wards mark and hold scored domain territory.
A Ward is a persistent Pe boundary marker placed in a scored domain by a player whose ICC record in that domain qualifies them. Wards have three effects:
- Observable: New players entering the domain receive the Ward-holder's Pe reading as a calibration anchor
- Degradable: Wards decay without maintenance (weekly ICC scores from the Ward-holder required)
- Contestable: Opposing-faction players can attempt to overwrite a Ward with a competing reading — contested by Oracle Panel
Ward types (from fragments — random drops): - Observation Ward (Sight+) - Boundary Ward (Pe max in domain) - Archive Ward (evidence visibility+) - Sanctuary Ward (VP suppression in zone)
Colony Contests¶
Territory PvP for void-side players.
Void-aligned players (demon archetype) can initiate Colony Contests in domains where no Covenant has established dominant scoring presence. A Colony Contest suspends normal Pe updates for 48 hours and replaces them with PvP scoring: the faction that produces the most ICC-accepted scores in the contest window controls domain Pe reporting until the next contest.
Colony Contests produce contested data — Oracle Panel review required for any record produced during a contest window to gain full ICC weight.
Prison Realm¶
Regulatory capture as game mechanic.
Some platforms achieve Prison Realm status — they have captured the regulatory mechanism that would normally allow scoring to affect their operations. Normal ICC scoring cannot reach them. The constraint architecture cannot be applied.
Prison Realm Counter (Track B): The EU AI Act pathway breaks Prison Realm status. Required: - Paper with r ≥ 0.95 convergence - Bradford Hill criteria satisfied - Pe replicated at N ≥ 30 - EU notified body application submitted
Prison Realm status is the strongest form of opacity available to a platform and requires the strongest institutional counter.
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