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Artistic depiction of RPC-418-1 (circa 1585).
Registered Phenomena Code: 418
Object Class: Alpha-Red
| Hazard Types:Additional Properties: |
 Aggression |
 Ballistic |
 Climatological |
 Geological |
 Grouped |
 Invisibility |
 Psychotronic |
 Sapient |
 Sentient |
 Transmutation |
 Bio-Hazard |
 Contact |
 Corrosive |
 Electromagnetic Force |
 Explosive |
 Extreme Temperature |
 Radiation |
 Toxic |
 Destabilization |
 Extra-Dimensional |
 Gravitational |
 Teleportation |
 Temporal |
 Auditory |
 Emotional |
 Ideological |
 Info-Hazard |
 Memory Alteration |
 Mind-Control |
 Mind-Regression |
 Sensory |
 Visual |
 Animated |
 Aquatic |
 Ecological |
 Extra-Terrestrial |
 Immeasurable |
 Incorporeal |
 Mechanical |
 Microscopic |
 Organic |
 Regenerative |
 Titanic |
 Tychokinetic |
 Replicating |
 Newtonian |
 Ontological |
 Divine |
 Hallucinogen |
 High Velocity |
 Proto-Mechanical |
 Proto-Newtonian |
 Proto-Sapient |
Containment Protocols: RPC-418 is to be contained within an anomalous item locker when not in use. Long-term containment of RPC-418 requires moisture removers to prevent any potential damage.
All testing on RPC-418 must be approved by at least 2 Senior Researchers. Personnel interacting with RPC-418 are to be given a file containing the ruleset and must be capable of speaking Latin.
Activation of RPC-418 is to occur in a soundproof testing chamber completed with an observation deck outfitted with a one-way mirror and recording equipment. When active, a game of RPC-418 is not to be disturbed.
All video recordings of RPC-418 during activation periods are to be collected and analyzed for any deviation from the currently understood ruleset.
Description: The designation RPC-418 refers to a set of 49 woodcut playing cards measuring 5.1cm in width and 10.2 cm in length originating from 16th century Venice, modern-day Italy. While similar in design to the Italian Tarocchino, the imagery printed on cards does not match any found within the medieval historical and archeological records. The deck consists of four suits (Cups, Coins, Clubs, and Swords) of non-anomalous numerical cards labeled 1-9. The deck also contains 13 additional cards (termed "Fate Cards" by the Latin writing found on their bottom) whose anomalous properties manifest only while interacting with RPC-418 according to its ruleset. The Fate Cards have both a gameplay purpose and act as punishments for failing to participate in the core stack-building element of RPC-418.
RPC-418 is meant to be played like a card game for 2-4 individuals. The ruleset is presumed to be comprehended by the Research staff. When RPC-418 is removed from its ornate wooden casing, RPC-418-1 manifests.
RPC-418-1 is a humanoid creature roughly 1.6 meters in height dressed in jester motley, similar to the ones worn by 16th century Harlequins. Once victorious in a game of RPC-418, a subject will replace the current instance of RPC-418-1. RPC-418 will manifest only 1 instance of RPC-418-1 at any given time, relinquishing its control over the previous host. All anomalous properties of a subject are neutralized once their RPC-418-1 classification is lost. RPC-418-1 is sapient and fluent in Renaissance Latin. Other languages spoken by a subject before reclassification as RPC-418-1 are not expressed.
Upon manifestation, RPC-418-1 will offer to participate in a game of RPC-418 with those nearby, playing with only 3 individuals at any given time. Should a person refuse to play, the attitude of RPC-418-1 will become hostile, provoking the entity to bludgeon the offender with its wooden club. Long periods of being unable to find suitable players will result in the mental health of RPC-418-1 rapidly deteriorating, prompting the entity to attempt self-termination in order to demanifest.
Should a person accept to play, RPC-418-1 will become pleased and find a suitable nearby surface to deal the cards so that a game of RPC-418 can begin. RPC-418-1 seems to put the game of RPC-418 above all else, as exemplified by its desire to activate its harmful effects even if the said activation could result in damage to itself or others. RPC-418-1 has proven to be immune to all methods of fatality resulting from RPC-418's "Fate Cards", although bodily deterioration resulting from its anomalous effect has been noted.
Counters used to indicate a player's resources (termed "Ducats" by RPC-418-1) bear the appearance of golden coins used for trade in the Italian Peninsula during the late Middle Ages. While not contained within the ornate wooden container of RPC-418, RPC-418-1 will provide the Ducats from a red pouch located underneath its headgear.
Should a subject attempt to use illegitimate methods to gain an advantage, disturb, openly criticize, surrender, or otherwise disregard the rules of RPC-418, RPC-418-1 will become hostile and attempt to clobber the offender to death. If the subject is capable of fighting off the attacker, RPC-418-1 can be terminated by conventional means. Once terminated, an instance of RPC-418-1 will demanifest and manifest again once RPC-418 is interacted with. While RPC-418-1 can recall prior players of RPC-418, it is either unwilling or incapable of recalling itself ever being terminated.
Compiled by: Dr. Constantin
Revision: 1.2.2
RPC-418
Alternative Title: Zanni's Game
Players: 2-4
Setup: All players are dealt 6 cards alongside 3 Ducats.
Hand Limit: 7
Synopsis: RPC-418 is a card game based on stack building. The goal is not to be the player who lost 5 individual rounds.
Rules
Each turn, a player draws 1 card and earns 1 Ducat. Going Clockwise from the “Holder”, players take turns building stacks of cards. Using the standard numbered cards of the four suits (Cups, Coins, Clubs, and Swords), the first player begins by placing a card alongside 1 Ducat on it. This first card dictates the pile's suit. The second player can then place a card of higher value from the same suit onto the pile, also paying 1 Ducat, or play one of the 13 Fate Cards. Playing a card from a different suit is possible only if its value is 1 or 2 lower than the current top card.
This continues, with each player adding 1 Ducat alongside an appropriate card. There is also an option for the other players to start a secondary stack during their turn as long as the total number of card stacks does not exceed 2, following the same rules as the first. During their turn, a player can contribute to one or both as their standard move.
Once the player who placed the latest card in a stack begins their turn, they gather all the Ducats and cards composing it before drawing further cards from the deck. If a hand limit is exceeded, additional cards chosen by them are shuffled back into the pile. If a player is unable to contribute to either deck, they must play a Fate Card.
During their turn, additionally to making a standard game move, the participants may trade cards. Precisely 3 cards must be exchanged during a single trade, with both participants agreeing on the terms before the exchange. The terms of the trade may only be decided without any of the cards being revealed. Both trading partners may attempt to replace one card they offer with another one not agreed upon in the trade. If a player has less than 3 cards, they may not participate.
Every round won by a player, be it through achieving a victory or all the other participants a loss condition, all the held and stacked cards are shuffled back into the deck and re-delt as per the set up rules, as are the Ducats.
Loss Conditions
- If a player can neither contribute to one of the two stacks nor play a Fate Card they lose.
- If a player suffers from a lethal injury induced by one of the 13 Fate Cards, they lose.
Note: Debilitating injuries are not treated as a Loss Condition. Refusal to continue the game of RPC-418 is seen as a surrender.
Victory Conditions
There are a few ways of achieving victory in RPC-418.
- Holding The Sun card alongside 10 ducats.
- Holding The Moon and The Sun simultaneously.
- Blocking the other players from contributing to the stacks, forcing them to either:
- Play a Fate card, resulting in either death or severe bodily harm.
- Trigger the defeat condition.
Endgame
For every round of the game won by a player, they earn 1/5 points necessary for victory. In tallying the scores, each point is treated as an individual letter of the word "Zanni". The victor is declared "Zanni" by RPC-418-1.
Fate Cards
| Card Classification |
| Key |
The Card is used for achieving victory. |
| Beneficial |
The Card grants its user an advantage. |
| Harmful |
The Card will either harm or debilitate its user without posing a threat of fatality. |
| Deadly |
The Card has a chance of causing a fatality, but death is avoidable. |
| Mortal |
The Card will result in certain death. |
Key
Features a depiction of a yellow sun with a human face. Holding this card alongside 10 Ducats results in victory condition. When played due to the user being unable to contribute to the stacks, the card is shuffled back into the deck.
Key
Features a depiction of a blue moon with a human face. Holding this card alongside The Sun results in victory condition. When played due to the user being unable to contribute to the stacks, the card is shuffled back into the deck.
Beneficial
Features a depiction of a headless jester holding out a fig sign to the viewer. This card may be given to another player as long as doing so does not exceed their hand limit, possibly locking them from drawing further cards.
Beneficial
Features depiction of a 14th-century plague doctor. When played, the subject is cured of all ailments caused by any previous cards.
Beneficial
Features a biblical depiction of an angelic being as described in Ezekiel 1:10. When played, the target must discard another Fate Card.
Harmful
Features a humanoid interpretation of Lucifer. When played, the subject becomes instantly blinded through the destruction of the retina, similar to the one caused by overexposure to UV light. Accounts of the survivors describe themselves looking directly into the center of a star.
Harmful
Depicting the process of a thief getting their hand amputated by a saber, akin to medieval punishment. When played, the subject gains all ducats from one of the players while losing either hand, depending on which was used to grab the Ducats. The hand is cut cleanly around the wrist by an unseen force, leaving a dated wound. When the owner possesses neither hand, the card cannot be played and is inert.
Deadly
Features a 14th-century plague victim on its deathbed. When played, the subject becomes infected with a strain of bubonic plague and immediately displays the symptoms of its late-stage, including vomiting blood, acute fever, and swollen lymph nodes.
Deadly
Features a depiction of flames surrounding a distressed king, possibly alluding to Constantine XI Palaiologos. When played, the subject is immediately set aflame. Although often capable of extinguishing themselves, the subjects are left with various second and third-degree burns.
Deadly
Features a depiction of a woman holding a child surrounded by a pack of 5 black wolves. When played, 5 adult members of the Canis lupus italicus manifest within proximity. They will attempt to subdue and consume the user while acting docile towards all other lifeforms. When a game concludes, their docile nature is replaced with standard behavior. While it is theoretically possible for the subject to fight off the beasts, other players interfering is against the rules.
Deadly
Card features a depiction of an eyeless rider atop a skeleton steed. When played, the subject is bound to a manifested wooden pallet and tied to an animated skeletal horse akin to the one displayed on the card, akin to the medieval torture method. Once bound, the manifested figure will begin to gather speed before finally fading out of the baseline reality. After roughly 10 seconds, the rider will reappear with the user’s body before dropping it onto the ground and demanifesting. Severe signs of starvation, broken bones, and internal bleeding have been noted following an autopsy. Aside from physical damage, emotional trauma relating to the incident is often present. The chance of any given individual surviving the process depends on their stamina and build. Accounts of the survivors describe themselves being dragged through a dark pine forest for 6 days straight. While no food was provided, the manifested figure quenched them with a mixture of vinegar and water.
Mortal
Features a lizard-like creature with the face of a cat. When played, the subject’s veins become filled with roughly 210mg of zootoxin similar to the one produced by Vipera aspis. This is often followed by death from blood coagulation. All currently available antitoxins have proven ineffective.
Mortal
Features a depiction of Chimera from Greek mythology. When played, the subject will transform into a seemingly arbitrary collage of human, goat, lion, and snake. Failure of bodily functions due to the ineffectiveness of the amalgamated internal organs precedes death caused by a variety of means. Those range from asphyxiation caused by faulty respiratory arrangement to ruptured organs.
Date: ██/07/2002
Background: RPC-418-1 won all of its 7 approved matches of RPC-418, making some believe that the entity had Tychokinetic properties which made it impossible for RPC-418-1 to lose through consistently favorable card arrangement. Dr. Robinson proposed to gather a team of 3 CSD personnel with an extensive understanding of the game theory of RPC-418 to disprove this hypothesis. The proposal was approved by Dr. █████.
While simultaneously taking part in a 1-month beginner Latin course, CSD-0320, CSD-0322, and CSD-0329 mastered RPC-418 through a series of simulated games. At the same time, they practiced tactics of achieving cooperation without enraging RPC-418-1 through allegations of cheating. Dr. Robinson concluded that since the entity originated from the 16th century, it should have no prior knowledge of the Morse Code using which coordination could be achieved.
Incident: CSD-0322 emerged victorious through the sacrifice of both CSD-0320 and CSD-0329. While it was speculated that RPC-418-1 would enter its enraged state, it instead appeared pleased by the result. Jumping onto the table, RPC-418-1 loudly addressed CSD-0322 as "Zanni" repeatedly. Roughly 15 seconds after his victory, CSD-0322 was recorded disappearing from the testing chamber while the instance of RPC-418-1 transformed into a Mediterranean male in his 30s. The then unidentified man wore late medieval merchant clothing and spoke in Renaissance Latin, although most of his initial dialogue was unintelligible. The subject displayed signs of emotional distress and was tranquilized while attempting to destroy RPC-418. An official interview was requested by Dr. Robinson.
Interviewee: Priore Marino
Interviewer: Aleeza Lane, Ph. D
Foreword: The interview with the then unidentified man originating from Incident#418:██/07/2002 was performed by Researcher Aleeza Lane. The transcript was translated from Renaissance Latin.
<Begin Log>
Lane: Good morning. My name is Aleeza Lane. To begin with, may I ask what of your name?
Marino: Hail. My name is Priore. Priore Marino. I understand that you are a Physician, correct?
Lane: In a way, yes. I am a Philologist. I apologize for the delay, we struggled to find anyone capable of speaking Renaissance Latin.
Marino: Renaissance Latin? I am not certain what you mean. I understand you are more familiar with Church's Latin, yes?
Lane: Actually, I mainly speak English. At work, that is.
Marino: Ah, Queen's English is a troublesome language. In truth, I am more familiar with Spanish.
Lane: Okay, this should make further interactions easier. Now, Sir Marino, could you please tell me about yourself?
Marino: My circumstances are quite strange. A catacomb of porcelain. A Physician of the fairer sex. Oh, I wish I could recall, but my mind is cloudy and family pedigree back in Palermo.
Lane: Palermo? That’s Sicily, correct?
Marino: Indeed. I was born as the son of Fulgencio under King Philip II. My father was a merchant. And I do believe that is all I can recall. Oh, how I used to cling onto those memories while trapped…and now, they are gone.
Lane: I see. Now, Sir Marino, have you ever seen this object? (presents a picture of RPC-418).
Marino: (distressed) The thing of the Devil! Oh, what a fool Francesco was…
Lane: Francesco? Was he an acquaintance?
Marino: A fiend. He was a fiend. A fiend with the Devil’s personal deck.
Lane: Was he the one that introduced you to this deck?
Marino: Yes, the traitor Francesco introduced me to this cursed game while I had business in Venice. He offered me a game. And I won. But that snake tricked me, freeing his son while placing me under the curse.
Lane: So you replaced his son. Does this mean that CSD (pause) — the player replaced you?
Marino: It does appear so. Poor Sir Cessde… I pray that God will forgive me for placing his poor soul in the hands of the Devil…
Lane: I understand. While trapped, did you have any autonomy? Were you aware of your surrounding?
Marino: Faintly, as if looking through stained glass. I knew that I had to find someone to play this cursed game so that I could be free. On several occasions, I tried giving up, but the Devil would not allow this. I always needed to be better until someone more skilled came. This thing…It gave me great affliction of the mind.
Lane: Are you capable of recalling this "Devil"? Did it speak to you?
Marino: I dare not speak! I dare not!
<End Log>
Closing Statement: RPC-418 has been reclassified as a Mind-Control Hazard. The Containment Protocol was altered so that further testing requires the approval of 2 Senior Researchers. Priore Marino was moved to a standard holding cell. Further requests for an interview with Mr. Marino must be approved by the Office Of Anthropology.
July ██, 2002, 12:29
From: <cpr.ytirohtua|nosnibor.nitram#cpr.ytirohtua|nosnibor.nitram>
Subject: RPC-418 Testing Proposal
I understand the containment protocol revision put in place after the incident, but I insist on being permitted to continue my experiment. The main issue with the lack of results is not incompetence on my or the trained CSD personnel's part, but rather the fact that RPC-418-1 began assaulting the trained CSD personnel after coordination through Morse Code was attempted. I also agree that the deaths of 10/12 CSD personnel during 4 testing groups might seem disproportionately large, but I am in no way disregarding our human resources.
Whether this newfound understanding was caused by its defeat during my initial testing or fragmented memory of CSD-0322 is unknown. Recent findings suggest that methods such as verbal steganography can and will be comprehended once RPC-418-1 sees them as a danger to the integrity of RPC-418.
This, combined with the fact that RPC-418-1 has improved its overall performance in the game, will make further extraction difficult unless a proper methodology is devised. It had consistently won every single matchup since the absorption of CSD-0322 despite oftentimes unfavorable initial starting conditions. Sometimes, I really do think that RPC-418-1 is Tychokinetic and puts on a facade.
That being said, I believe that the entity must be explored further. For this reason, another CSD personnel must be transformed into an instance of RPC-418-1. If the retrieval process is quick, not only should their memory allow us to more reliably record the experience of transformation and the subject’s state of consciousness while RPC-418 remains inactive, but the identity of “the Devil” as described by Mr. Marino (proposed designation: RPC-418-2) should become clearer. For this, I request another team of 3 CSD personnel and funding akin to the one exhausted during my initial testing.
Respectfully,
-Dr. Robinson
Denied Until Further Notice
