26 KiB
Optional three-stronghold alliance victory
Advanced classic group lobby preview — 29 October 2026
Prototyped / Partial. The existing explicit Advanced preview can be combined with the group-alliance selection for three to six classic factions, without expansion decks or other optional modules. The host must still start using the explicit Advanced preview action. The selected group ledger is created during fresh setup; old rooms and ordinary Advanced starts retain their prior behavior.
The focused lobby journey uses native setup and first-turn controls, reordering only unopened Spice cards to reach a Nexus. It forms a group through mutual offers and consent, checks legal proposals by all four bot profiles, and continues to the following Storm. The result is an unfinished preview, not certification of all Advanced group interactions, expansion combinations, complete games or deployed behavior.
Basic classic group lobby preview — 29 October 2026
Prototyped / Partial. A host may explicitly select a group-alliance development preview in a fresh Basic game with three or more classic faction seats. The available variants are a maximum of three members with four strongholds, a maximum of three with three strongholds, or any number of members with three strongholds. Changing the setting clears human readiness. The separate short-alliance option, two-controller setup, expansions and other optional modules are excluded from this lobby entry. The later Advanced classic entry is described above.
Start creates the empty group ledger through the ordinary setup path; it does not modify existing games. Existing pair offers, unanimous group admission and leave, the staged faction benefits and minimal bot paths then apply. The game and lobby warn that group timing, benefits and other interactions remain unfinished. This preview does not certify complete group rules or open normal mode/publication gates; historical statements below that no lobby could create a ledger describe earlier checkpoints.
The focused journey uses genuine public start, setup and first-turn actions; only the unopened Spice deck order is chosen to reach the next Nexus. Pair formation, group consent and bot proposals use native actions; the resulting alliance continues through the following turn to the next Storm. It also covers settings, readiness and invalid starts. Full group games, later interactions, expansion entry and deployed acceptance remain open.
Group Fremen–Guild shipment answer — 29 October 2026
Prototyped / Partial. In the staged Basic group, a Fremen member can answer Yes to a Truthtrance reserve-shipment question when its actual Guild ally can transport the group to the named territory. The completion search uses the same group-aware native Guild permission as the transport itself, including its cancellation state, rather than relying on the pair-only ally field cleared by a larger coalition. The printed transport, two native Karama response windows, actual cost and physical force transfer remain unchanged.
The focused journey forms a group through actual Nexus actions after staging an empty ledger; it then stages the Movement phase, conserved force pools and wallets and transfers the actual Truthtrance and Karama from the undealt deck. It verifies the legal Guild route to Carthag, a real question and fulfillment, and minimal legal responses across four bot profiles. Group consent and timing are provisional online interpretations; this does not expose a lobby option or certify full group play, Advanced combinations or other shipment continuations.
Self-funded Guild transport with a live promise — 29 October 2026
In staged Basic and Advanced group games, a Guild ally's transport quote now recognizes the alliance even when a live positive bribe answer temporarily fences group funding. The player must still afford their own payment and keep the answer possible; absent escrow cannot supply donor contributions. Focused cases form the group and the promise through actual actions, stage physical positions and wallets, then complete transport and the promised bribe. Group lobby entry and broader interactions remain unfinished.
Advanced classic group foundation — 29 October 2026
Historical staged prototype. The same group negotiation and donor-specific ordinary bid and shipment funding now admit Advanced games with only classic factions and no optional modules. Advanced group separation uses each actual ally and removes the ending player's shared fighters at that player's own movement deadline, retaining Polar Sink and advisor exceptions. Battle selection excludes every ally; group victory uses distinct strongholds and the configured staged target. Selected group Voice/Prescience, Fremen worm protection and per-recipient Fremen and Emperor revival use their existing native opportunities. Existing unanimous group admission and larger-ally power sharing remain provisional online interpretations.
The supplied revised rulebook, physical p. 42 (printed p. 40), lists the larger-alliance options; physical p. 15 (printed p. 13) sets the Advanced allied separation deadline and advisor exception. This does not certify full Advanced group play, expansion factions, optional modules, all faction interactions or complete games. The later Advanced lobby preview is described above.
Twenty related files pass 143 cases. Two genuine public Advanced setups reach the original Nexus and form groups after only the empty group ledger is staged; selected unopened card ordering and lotteries are recorded by their fixtures. The funding journeys use actual bids, shipments and ordered Emperor revival, with labelled test wallets and a conserved Tank counter. Board separation and the Fremen worm journey use staged physical positions and cards. These tests do not constitute an unstaged full game or Advanced expansion/module acceptance.
Three-member, three-stronghold variant — 29 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. A distinct saved
three-short variant allows at most three alliance members and gives both
pairs and triples a three-stronghold target. Existing absent-variant groups
retain their maximum of three and four-stronghold target; the separate
unlimited variant retains its six-player ceiling and three-stronghold target.
The current two-controller four-stronghold precedence and agreed target
increases still apply. Admission, consent and departure reuse the existing
group protocol; player controls identify this variant, and minimal bots may
request admission to a pair. No lobby creates a group ledger and full group
rules and complete-game acceptance remain open.
Thirteen related files pass 59 cases, including an original four-seat Basic setup and Nexus with a staged empty ledger, actual group consent and all four minimal bot proposals. Later pair/triple victories use conserved forces staged at Collection; they are not complete played games.
The user-authorized revised rulebook, physical p. 42 (printed p. 40), lists the three-member/three-stronghold option separately from the four-stronghold and unlimited options. Saved variant naming and the two-controller precedence are software choices, not additional publisher rulings.
Group admission with joint commitments — 29 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. The joint turn-action planner recognizes an existing group and can quote the member's own departure. Pending invitations pause joint reconciliation while departure is unavailable. Admission checks a detached completed group against the participant's combined accepted payment and travel answers, so commitments continue to share the actual resources. Admission requiring departure remains available when its joint witness can quote that owned departure. Payment to a former ally can be quoted after leaving. Actual whole-turn group changes, group funding with member commitments, wider profiles and lobby entry remain unfinished.
Group admission with live commitments — 29 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. A proposer or accepting participant may consent only when their own unresolved bribe and alliance answers remain possible after admission. A positive payment answer can therefore prevent its respondent from joining the intended recipient; an alternative branch of an expression can still make admission possible. Negative answers and commitments belonging only to outsiders need not block unrelated admission. The server checks each consenting participant; the table shows only the current player's blocked invitations and acceptance. Bots decline when their own acceptance is blocked. The pending invitation can be declined, and alliance answers are not released merely because it temporarily prevents departure. Unanimous consent remains a provisional online procedure.
Admission originally stayed fenced for a participant with both an alliance answer and an unresolved payment or travel-family answer when the older whole-turn planner was present; the later group-aware route above narrows that fence. These staged cases do not certify complete group play or expansion combinations.
Group departures and unrelated commitments — 29 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. An alliance member may leave during a Nexus while ordinary bribe Truthtrance answers remain live. The original payment guide and answer remain binding, and existing reconciliation still checks the acting player's commitments. New group invitations and acceptance initially remained unavailable while any bribe commitment was unresolved; the later admission prototype above narrows that fence.
Group bid and physical-shipment funding now ignores unfinished commitments belonging solely to nonmembers, because those payments do not debit outsiders. An unfinished supported commitment belonging to any group member still fences the entire funding path, including donor pledges. Whole-turn commitments still block group Nexus changes. Funding when a member has a commitment needs further payment and consent preflight; broader profiles and lobby entry remain unfinished.
Group Truthtrance and larger worm decisions — 29 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. Final-Nexus Truthtrance questions now evaluate every member of a group, including grouped and mixed expressions. A respondent can stay when their answers match, or leave their group when that owned action satisfies them; the guide does not invent another player's consent. Another member may leave, with the existing reconciliation rules releasing an answer only if it becomes impossible. Bribe questions reject every current group ally as a recipient. Whole-turn alliance leaves, changes with whole-turn commitments, and wider combinations remain unfinished.
Action-level worm tests additionally exercise three and four threatened group allies in order, with separate allow, cancel or decline outcomes and the Fremen survival response. Those fixtures stage forces together to exercise the response sequence; they do not establish a naturally reachable full-game position. The membership, departure and multi-ally protection procedures remain provisional. Group games still cannot be started from the lobby.
Unlimited alliance prototype — 29 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. The optional
unlimited ledger permits up to the six seated factions in one alliance.
An existing alliance or an unallied entrant may propose a new member; every
existing member and the entrant must agree. A departure preserves the other
members and their original pairwise alliance edges. The table shows the
participants and pending approvals; minimal bots can request admission and
answer. Named allies can contribute separately to ordinary bids and physical
shipments. The staged Guild, Emperor, Fremen, battle preparation and traitor
paths use the same group membership. A qualifying alliance needs three distinct
strongholds, plus any separately agreed increase; the existing two-controller
precedence remains provisional. Other alliances retain their previous targets.
The publisher's optional alliance table pairs any number of allies with three strongholds. Unanimous admission, departure handling, donor-specific escrow and extension of single-ally powers are provisional online procedures, not additional publisher rulings. Tests use an explicitly staged Basic classic-faction ledger, not a normal lobby start. Advanced, expansions, optional modules, some live bribe and whole-turn commitments and complete group interactions remain unfinished. No lobby creates this ledger; the prototype does not certify or open a complete rules mode.
Group roster and self-funded Guild transport — 29 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. The public roster names both members of a player's group outside the Nexus. A Guild group ally can use its self-funded native transport even when an unresolved group-member Truthtrance commitment hides group-funding controls. The original permission and native rate cancellation windows remain in force; group-funded transport continues to use its separate commitment restrictions. Applying the pair privilege to both group allies remains provisional. Full group play and lobby entry remain unfinished.
Group actions after Truthtrance history — 29 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. Fulfilled and released Truthtrance records no longer disable later group Nexus negotiations or group funding. The later scope above allows departures with live bribe answers and funding with outsider-only commitments. The later negative-answer extension below permits current-turn No bribe commitments while other unresolved group-member commitments remain fenced. The existing committed-bid settlement exception is retained. Other combinations remain unfinished, and no lobby exposes group play.
Group funding with negative bribe answers — 29 October 2026
Staged Basic and Advanced prototypes, not selectable game modes. A current No answer to a simple or grouped bribe question remains binding while members pledge and spend group funding on an ordinary bid or physical shipment. Those transactions are not ordinary bribes. Current Yes answers and unreconciled older No answers still fence group funding; unrelated commitment guards and the existing committed-bid exception remain. Group-member recipient controls also exclude all allies, not just a single pair ally. Allocation and group extension are provisional online procedures; other commitments, modules, special transport and complete group play remain unfinished.
Group funding with Karama shipment pricing — 29 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. Group members can pledge and allocate separate shares while a shipper's purchased Karama rate is active. The same rate applies to physical reserve shipments and native Guild transport, and every paid share goes to the bank rather than Guild. The existing native transport permission response still applies. Controls use the purchased price; bots can ship using their own funds. The donor allocation procedure remains provisional, and optional modules and other special shipments remain outside this staged scope. Group games cannot yet be started from the lobby.
Group Fremen worm protection — 29 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. When a worm threatens either or both of Fremen's group allies, Fremen decides separately for each threatened ally in storm order. Each accepted protection has its own Karama response; the worm resolves only after all those choices and Fremen's separate survival response finish. Canceling one protection does not erase another. The choices bind the original worm event and ally, and the existing force loss, spice removal and continuation occur once. Controls name the current ally and minimal bots make the same legal choices. The printed single-ally power does not specify this multi-ally sequence, so its order and separate responses are provisional. Advanced, expansions and optional modules remain outside this staged path; group games are not yet available from the lobby.
Group Guild transport — 28 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. Both Guild group allies can use native cross-planet transport, including a Fremen ally's southern-reserve source. Only Guild may return its own forces to reserves. The shipper can name separate pledged shares from its group allies. Permission and the discounted rate retain their distinct Karama windows before payment or transfer. Rate cancellation keeps the exact original shares and requires the shipper to fund the full-price remainder; otherwise the unused declaration returns without spending. Guild's own contribution goes to the bank and other named contributions go to Guild. Table quotes and minimal bots use the same available group permission. The publisher rules, pp. 9 and 19 and FAQ, pp. 2 and 7 describe the pair power and cancellations. Applying it to both allies and the donor allocation procedure are provisional. Advanced, optional modules, and No-Field remain outside this staged path.
Group Guild-rate shipments — 28 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. Guild and both members of its group receive the ordinary rounded Guild reserve-shipment rate. When that rate changes the price, the original unpaid Karama response resolves before movement or payment. If canceled, the declared donor shares stay fixed and the shipper must fund the full-price remainder; otherwise the declaration returns unused and a replacement uses the full rate. Each payer's contribution is routed individually: Guild's own payment goes to the bank, while other payments go to Guild. The table quote and minimal bot use the same group rate.
The publisher rules, p. 19 grant the Guild rate to its ally; the FAQ, p. 7 permits Karama to prevent that rate. Applying the benefit and original split to both members of a larger group is a provisional composition. Other special transports, optional modules and full group play remain separate; no lobby exposes the group option.
Group ordinary-bid funding — 28 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. A group member can allocate separately pledged spice from multiple allies to an ordinary bid. Each selected share remains committed while that bid leads and becomes withdrawable after an outbid. The winner pays the original donor split once; using a Karama instead releases the shares without spending them. The ordinary Emperor income and phase-end refunds remain in force. The donor sees the amount committed to the current bid, and the bidder sees the combined committed payment. Group controls and minimal legal bot decisions are connected in staged games.
The publisher FAQ, p. 2 describes allied contributions and the Emperor ally's payment returning to Emperor. Recipient-specific escrow and explicit per-donor allocation are provisional online procedures. This scope is Basic classic-faction ordinary auctions; optional modules, competing Truthtrance commitments, special auctions and complete group play remain separate. No lobby exposes group play.
The later staged Advanced group path also retains each donor's original ordinary-bid payment destination. Under the authorized supplied revised rulebook, physical p. 15 (printed p. 13), Emperor's contribution goes to the bank; a direct Emperor alliance gift is buyer-owned and follows the ordinary recipient. This Advanced cutover does not change the Basic interpretation in the preceding paragraph. Further group interactions remain unfinished.
Group ordinary-shipment funding — 28 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. Group allies can set aside separate amounts for each other during Shipment and Movement. A shipper may explicitly allocate amounts from each pledged donor to an ordinary physical reserve shipment; the authoritative payment rechecks those exact pledges, charges the shipper's remainder once, and retains each donor's identity. An outside Guild receives the eligible payment. Unspent pledges return to their respective donors at phase end. Alliance edge authorizations are renewed on formation, preserved for surviving edges and revoked on departure, with aggregated refunds for removed edges. Controls show only the viewer's own outgoing and incoming pledges; bots may continue using their own spice.
This first path is limited to Basic classic-faction staged groups without optional modules or other special transport. Other shipment types, special auctions, and the remaining faction benefits and interactions are not connected. No lobby can start a group game yet. The recipient-specific pledge and allocation procedure is a provisional online convention rather than a printed worked example.
Group Emperor aid — 28 October 2026
Staged Basic prototype, not a selectable game mode. The Emperor chooses which of the two group allies receives a spice gift or paid extra revival. The ordinary Karama response retains the selected recipient, and payment and revival occur only if that response is passed. A staged table exposes a recipient selector; bots can offer legal targeted revivals. The native per-recipient allowance is provisionally applied separately to both allies: the printed power and publisher FAQ describe an ally but do not settle a three-member alliance's limit. This is an implementation interpretation, not an official ruling. The prototype is restricted to Basic classic factions without optional modules; other group faction benefits and combinations remain unfinished and no lobby exposes it.
Group Voice and Prescience — 28 October 2026
In the unexposed Basic classic group prototype, Bene Gesserit may Voice an opponent of either allied combatant, and Atreides may request Prescience for either ally's battle. The existing native preparation order, cancellation, answer and control windows remain in place. The same side selection drives Truthtrance's native-power opportunity; it never substitutes the other ally or allows an ambiguous battle between group members. Extending the printed single-ally wording to both group members is provisional. Advanced, expansion factions and optional modules remain outside this prototype, and normal group starts are not yet available.
Group Harkonnen traitor support — 28 October 2026
In the unexposed Basic classic group prototype, Harkonnen may call its held traitor against the opponent of either allied combatant. The choice remains Harkonnen's, and the native allied-call Karama response, other combatants' votes, mutual calls and battle resolution continue through the existing windows. Applying the printed single-ally power to both group members is a provisional interpretation. Other profiles and normal lobby access remain separate; the remaining group abilities and interactions are unfinished.
Group Nexus negotiation — 28 October 2026
Integrated groundwork, not a selectable game mode. In a staged Basic classic-faction Nexus with the group ledger present, a pair member or an unallied entrant can propose adding the entrant. Every participant must explicitly agree; a decline cancels the invitation and preserves the pair. Each proposal has a fresh event and revision, and an unanswered invitation holds the Nexus. Leaving a three-member group retains the other pair and its original edge age. Pair offers involving the newly formed group are cleared. The staged table renders the group controls and minimal bots can answer.
Unanimity, cancellation, the pending-Nexus hold and the surviving pair are provisional online procedures, not publisher rulings. This scope excludes expansion decks/factions, Advanced, optional modules, whole-turn commitments and pledged aid. Later sections above extend live-bribe admission and group funding in staged profiles. No lobby creates the group ledger: faction ally benefits, group funding and other interactions must be connected before any player can start the printed larger-alliance option. The later unlimited prototype above extends this staged groundwork.
Prototyped / Partial — 28 October 2026. The host can select a shorter two-member alliance game in the lobby. With at least three physical controllers, allied factions need three distinct qualifying strongholds instead of the default four. A solo faction keeps its normal target, a separately agreed extra-stronghold requirement is added afterward, and Tech Tokens retain their existing ownership requirements. The same calculation drives public progress and the Mentat victory decision. Changing the setting clears human readiness; older games omit it and retain the default.
The 2019 GF9 rulebook's optional alliances table, printed p. 24, lists a two-member alliance with three strongholds as a shorter game. The publisher rulebook mirror preserves that table. This first version keeps the existing four-stronghold target for two physical controllers, including the two-faction-per-person setup; priority between that special setup and this optional table is a provisional interpretation. Larger alliance variants retain separate membership and interaction work as described above. Advanced and expansion combinations are not certified by the Basic-focused evidence.