R1M18 Jojolity Delibs

Judge Doom (Logic)
While I’ve said we give Jojolities deference in player interpretation and implementation, there still are minimum standards—not all flavor text rises to the level of mechanical saliency and adding Jojolity adverbs to usual and expected actions. I’ve referred to several tests and heuristics, but they all converge on the question of “how much did this Jojolity impact the strat.”

Landing on scores for these was a little bit harder, but in examining the arguments and mechanics, we can further clarify Jojolity jurisprudence—at least mine.

Initially I found a lot of the tech used and decisions made to be adequate, but thin, within the usual scope of conduct: descriptions of the mountain giving resources to Hava, passing dialogue of Charlie disrespecting the mountain. One could argue Hava’s lengthier flashbacks embody her role as guardian, but Jojolity is “graded by the (primarily mechanical) incorporation”—I can only be so persuaded by flavor text, especially given my privileging of ludonarrative.

One could argue that using the avalanche against Hava is such a mechanical play, but its integration within the strat is rather thin, missing framing and emphasis as Jojolity. Additionally, for all her bravado, I was surprised by the comparative lack of Jojolity writing for Charlie during the CQC (but this lack didn’t affect my score, especially since one could interpret “make a mess of this mountain” as the focus).

Ultimately, what decided my scores was cohesiveness, how well the plays are integrated under a singular thesis and how that thesis is articulated and supported. While I can and do defer as much as I can, I can more comfortably award points to a holistic vision: Hava’s focus on restraint over damage in order to “keep the fools from falling and ensure their ultimate safety” contextualized all of her plays pushing her to an [8] while the players sit at a comfortable [7].

Judge Wundagore (Archerous)
As for Jojolities, all I can say is that we gave both teams a theme, and they nailed it! Charlie and Danny made a solid effort to stick it to the mountain, disrespecting it and the sherpa guarding it at every turn. From building a shack inside the mountain, claiming a part of it in the process, to simple, yet cutting insults, these rebellious youngsters have earned an 8 for this Jojolity!

Turning to Hāvā, I have to say I was utterly impressed by the utter amount of care this sherpa put into this fight. Every move she makes, she aims to ultimately protect the intruders, looking to subdue, rather than maim. She does this while also having to deal with a 2v1 on a hazy mountain. She actively made this battle much more difficult for herself just to make sure everyone, and everything was protected, contained. For that, I believe she too has earned an 8!

Judge Silver (Extra)
Starting with Hava, I was really impressed here. The references to the orphans Hava has been taking care of were nice touches of flavor throughout, but the best part of the Jojolity by far was the ending, where you declared that every action you took was for the sake of keeping the two players from slipping and dying on the mountain. And going back through the strategy... yeah, it sure was. Every attack was pretty distinctly non-lethal, and the generous use of adhesive ropes ensures that, when an attack does land, it pretty much just sticks the target to the mountain (in addition to knocking the wind out of them.) This is a prime example of a Jojolity that not only informs but also elevates a strategy, and for that I think it earns a **9.**

As for the players, there were a couple of moments during the strategy where I was nodding my head, but similarly to Hava's Jojolity, the big reveal comes at the end, where Danny reveals his grand plan to cause an entire avalanche; this, I think, is a particularly pure expression of "rebellion" in context, not to mention an especially brutal finisher. I think this gets an **8.** The buildup to the avalanche is great, and it brings the whole reckless strategy together, but I would've liked to see it a bit more interwoven into the rest of the strategy rather than being somewhat drip-fed into a massive ending.