There were few survivors, but the beauty of the ocean worked its magic. Currents carried some of the caimans along a similar path to a strange archipelago in the middle of an ocean somewhere. This is where our story truly begins, on Bora Bora of the Isles of the Crocodile.
Alright!! I'm super excited for this to happen! So this game is the sequel to my very popular Adaptation Island game and it will work in a very similar fashion with a few rules adjustments to generally improve the experience all around. Each player has control of their own group of Cuvier's dwarf caiman which you can read all about by clicking on this nifty little link here. All groups start Critically Endangered (you can find more information about conservation status here) due to starvation from crossing the ocean and poor living conditions and your goal is to take this archipelago by storm. Find the weirdest environment and turn your caimans into the weirdest Crocodilians possible. I'm very excited to see it.
Rules
The game progresses in turns which are each approximately thirty years in length. During each turn, you can make four very minor votes. These votes include physical adaptations, behavior changes, and habitat changes, which are really all just adaptations. A vote is worth a little more than half of what they were worth in the last game, so an example of an acceptable vote would be tougher scales, which would give you marginally thicker hide. It's enough to put you slightly above the competition, but not a game changer in itself. However, you can stack votes, so if you wish to spend three votes on tougher scales, you would get significantly heftier and thicker scales that would slow you down slightly but deter predators when there is much tastier food around. I'm going to be totally honest, this is going to be very hard to judge for both you and me before turn one, but I'm guessing that after you read all forty votes and see their effects, it'll be easier to figure out. Turn one I won't be that harsh.
There are some other ways to obtain votes as well. At the end of each turn post, I'll state the player that I think made the most creative and unusual adaptation or set of adaptations (judged completely subjectively
) and they'll get an additional vote for the next turn. However, you must wait for two turns before you can be awarded that bonus again. There are also some bonus achievement votes listed in a comment here (coming soon) which you can also access via the directory at the bottom of this post. These votes are redeemable at any time for completing the requisite task and completing a lot of them can really shoot you ahead of the competition. I also recommend teamwork, especially at the beginning. There is only so much space on the island and you need a sustainable population before you can move without risking extinction.The caveat for voting this time though is that all of your votes must be explained and reasonable. What that means is no voting for wings unless you have taken all of the steps up until then to support flight and each vote must come with an explanation of how it is advantageous to develop this adaptation. If you decide to develop tougher scales, you have to say, "So that it will be harder for predators to eat my species." The issue that I am trying to circumvent is when people have either a long-term plan that needs a lot of votes ahead of time to enact but don't make sense in the moment, or a person just voting for cool things because they're cool. Remember, dinosaurs didn't start developing the traits necessary for flight for the purpose of flying, but birds evolved anyways. If you can justify it, I'll let it go through.
At the end of some turns, there will be an event. Unlike the last time, it will not be every other turn and I will not warn you if it is good or bad in advance, although I may hint to it in subtle ways, like changes in environment descriptions or disappearance/addition of prey and predators. Be on the lookout for anything suspicious to give you clues. Similarly, after each turn, the map will change slightly, maybe even just a little bit. Some biomes may completely vanish over time while others spread across the map.
Be warned, this game will not be easy and I think some of you will go extinct. All that means is that if you have an ancestor that remains alive you can return to that ancestral species, or you can branch off of a different team's creature, although you must ask permission and use an iteration at least two turns earlier.
Now, onto the map. The Isles of the Crocodile is an archipelago made of four islands based on (and named after) islands in French Polynesia. You start on Bora Bora, an atoll with a volcanic island in the center of it, one volcano still active, and the other dormant. The mountains are cloaked in ash and provide a warm lagoon with mangroves and coral reefs, except there's major competition in the form of saltwater crocodiles (DUN DUN DUNNN). To get a full breakdown of the island, use the directory or click on the link right there, although until I get the whole map finished it'll be the file attached to this post also. Each hex represents about 750ft or 250m, meaning that 4 hexes is a kilometer and 7 hexes is a mile. If you have a clear path to another environment you may use a vote to move there, although the journey may cause a hit to your conservation status (not to mention the actual environment). Feel free to name environments and mini islands as you see fit! The more player involvement in the map, the better!!
A rule very specific to this game is moving to another island. Until the end of the first turn, only the starting island, Bora Bora, will be released because it takes a damn long time to make these things, but there will be three others which I have already planned the shape of. If you are unsatisfied by the biomes on Bora Bora, don't fear, because Taha'a, Raiatea, and Huahine will have plenty of biodiversity in themselves including deserts, salt flats, ice-topped mountains, kelp forests, grasslands, rainforests, and more if you want to plan. If you have a specific environment in mind, shoot me a PM and I'll tell you if it's there. However, moving to another island is an endeavor. Unless you evolve the ability to fly long distances or swim over the open ocean, you're going to need to hitch a ride on some logs because the shortest distance between Bora Bora and any other island (Taha'a) is 13.7km or 7.8mi. So, if you wish to move to a new island, you must be VU (Vulnerable), NT (Near Threatened) or LC (Least Concern). You state the move as one of your votes and then depending on how well equipped your species is for the journey, you will not get a foothold on the island and your population will take a hit, you'll arrive as CR (Critically Endangered), or you'll arrive as EN (Endangered). Your original species remains on the island it was before, although it is likely to be outcompeted eventually. If you wish to switch back later, you can.
I am going to accept at an absolute maximum ten people, and if it comes down to it and I have to choose people, I'll figure something out but I don't want to have to do that, so here's hoping for ten!! The reason for this is because this game is a big time commitment (especially with four massive islands) and I can't write more than ten descriptions without going insane. Also, hold no illusions that this will be a fast-paced game. I will do it at my leisure but I will not let it die. In the event that someone vanishes for one turn and I get impatient, I'll skip over them for that turn, and in the event that they miss two turns in a row with no prior warning, I will have someone take their place.
Remember to have fun!! Now, on to the actual game
Starting Out
Everyone
Arrive on Bora Bora
Paleosuchus palpebrosus
These caimans have arrived on the salty island of Bora Bora and are well out of their element. The only things that prevent them from going completely extinct are their small size, nocturnal habits, and thick body armor. They are able to hide in the big of foliage they can waddle through in the forest and then try and snag some snacks at night. Otherwise, the large number of predators would easily be able to take them out. The salt water is irritating to them, burning eyes and making the location of fresh water a struggle. Additionally, finding places to burrow for laying eggs is a struggle with the limited shorespace, forcing them to compete with each other and the tough roots.
Past Adaptations: N/A
Environment: Beach, Bora Bora
Prey: Crabs, fish, beach mice
Predators: Saltwater crocodiles, sandbar shark, phillippine eagle
Conservation Status: CR
Alright!! So, you are going to start on the island of Bora Bora on one of the outer beaches, whichever you pick. From there the game will begin!! The map of Bora Bora is below and more descriptions are coming soon. Claim your spot with your forum username, a color (that hasn't been picked), and at least two votes with valid rationale behind them. If I were you I'd wait until the Bora Bora breakdown comes out, which is likely to happen sometime tomorrow.
Happy adaptation!!
Bora Bora
Table of Contents
Oh it's so empty!! But one day soon it'll have:
Bora Bora
Taha'a
Raiatea
Huahine
Achievements
