Dune/docs/PLANETOLOGIST_RULES.md

# Planetologist rule contract

Updated 26 October 2026. This note audits the movement and battle effects of the
Planetologist Leader Skill against its physical card, the common Leader Skills
rules, the GF9 base battle rules and designer Jack Reda's walkthrough. The connected prototype is described below; other Leader Skill effects remain separate work.

## Physical and Discovery flight composition — 26 October 2026

The physical Planetologist face permits forces from two territories in a single
movement to a common destination, or +1 normal range capped at3. The physical
Ornithopter face permits one group up to3 or two different groups using normal
movement. Discovery's publisher E3p13 text supplies3 instead of normal movement
for one later movement action. Existing [physical-card provenance](RICHESE_ORNITHOPTER_ENGINE_AUDIT.md#authority)
and [skill-card text](LEADER_SKILLS_RULES.md) remain the source contracts; both
physical faces were freshly inspected. No joint publisher FAQ was located.

Under 14 October choose-recommended authority, use this provisional composition:

| Flight source | Planetologist range | Planetologist gather |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Physical range3 | One origin, fixed3, never4 | Both origins fixed3 to one destination; one card movement |
| Physical twoGroups | Each current movement may add1/cap3 to normal range | Each selected sector uses ordinary range; each gather counts as one of the two card movements |
| Carried Discovery | One origin, fixed3, never4 | Both origins fixed3 to one destination; one ordinary movement action |

Treating the single gather as one card movement is the material interpretation,
despite the physical card's ordinary one-group wording. It is visible guidance,
not an express joint ruling. The two alternatives stay exclusive per action;
different card movements may choose different Planetologist alternatives. A
skilled movement uses one flight source, not physical and Discovery together.

The original physical card is reserved/played and discarded once through its
existing frame. A first gather subtracts every selected source from the original
unmoved cohort. A second selection must fit both those exact normal/elite/marker
quotas and current custody; merged first arrivals cannot be reused, while
untouched residual forces from an original territory may move. Only completing
the second card movement earns its existing movement credit. Early ending
abandons it without an extra credit. Existing Hajr timing/allowances remain.

Discovery still requires acquisition on an earlier turn, current ownership and
one actual commit before consumption. Its existing receipt string additionally
binds the selected skill/leader and both normalized gather origins. Ordinary
single-origin no-skill signatures retain their exact legacy bytes. New skill
receipts cannot be replayed after changing an origin, trainer or alternative.
No new saved root field, action or module gate is introduced.

Projected transport choices share exact ranges, current source events and
cohort checks with actual submission and minimal policy. The existing enabled
Discovery configuration is now projected explicitly so already-admitted native
Skills/Discovery games retain the engine's movement profile in their own view.
This fixes a reproduced projection mismatch; no new module combination opens.
Full transport interactions, browser/deployed acceptance and assurance remain due.

**Frozen evidence:** v3 passes20 files,196/196, types/lint/build and sixteen
native engine/GameTable SSR/actual selected-props submit-callback paths. Twelve
public physical-card routes retain the actual paid card1, shipment4/cost8 and
ordinary split, using Basic74 / Advanced79–80 source actions. Four public
Skills/Discovery routes acquire the original token through turn-one Collection
and use it on turn two, using Basic65 / Advanced71 actions. All six compositions
and all four twoGroups first/second skill pairs finish same-turn Collection in
two-to-four continuation actions. Physical routes retain45 Treachery, Discovery
33; each retains14 Skills/15 Traitors, and Discovery all8 token identities.
Sixteen physical engine cases, seven Discovery cases, fifteen controlled cases
and legacy-receipt/native-profile regressions cover the slice and minimal profiles.
Feedback removes a redundant random Traitor-deal replay, connects the original
Discovery selector, preserves legal pre-shipment policy choices after ordinary
shipments and completes controlled projection fields.

Report/logs: private `20261026-planetologist-flight-proof-v3/` under
`/home/quintine/.local/share/dune/checkpoints/`; journeys/HTML: adjacent
`20261026-planetologist-flight-runtime/`. No saved-room/D1/server, reset/restart,
deployment or recovery operation. SSR/selected-props callbacks do not certify
DOM/hydration, browser/mobile/deployed acceptance or complete combinations/modes.

## Concealed No-Field two-origin gathering — 26 October 2026

Compose the printed No-Field marker-as-one-force rule (E2 pp5–6,10–12) with
Planetologist's physical two-origin alternative. Under the 14 October authority,
the own concealed marker can supply one origin by itself or accompany physical
forces there, while selected physical forces supply the second origin. Exactly
two distinct territories contribute, and every selected sector must reach one
shared destination using its ordinary range. The +1 range alternative does not
stack. This is provisional composition, not a located joint publisher FAQ.

Existing normalization puts the current marker origin first, records both
origins and quotes their routes before either commits. Current living trainer,
token/event, whole physical groups, path, storm and entry remain authoritative.
The same marker relocates concealed, including0; physical counters transfer
from their actual sectors. No reserves materialize, no new shipment payment
occurs, one movement is consumed and the existing arrival/turn flow resumes.

The form retains a separate owner-only marker checkbox in either mode. It
requires the correct origin count, explains ordinary per-origin gather range
and uses the same guarded actual submit action. Empty optional notice text
cannot override current movement/response guards. Minimal policy offers a
marker plus another physical origin through shared legal geometry; existing
positive mixed-marker reveal preference and difficulty strategy remain.

Physical/Discovery Ornithopter, Guild and Homeworld combinations remain
separate. No action kind, saved field, module gate, historical save conversion,
new trainer assignment or complete-mode acceptance is introduced.

**Frozen evidence:** v3 passes10 files,87/87, types/lint/build and twelve native
engine/GameTable SSR/actual selected-props submit-callback paths. Public R/A/E
+choam/Skills sources earn actual training, both paid shipments and optional
split movement/explicit charity. Basic prefixes use74/76 actions; Advanced79–82.
Two-to-three continuation actions reach same-turn Collection, retaining45
Treachery,14 Skills and15 Traitor cards. Fifteen native and twelve new controlled
cases include no stacked +1, exact origins, controlled eligibility supplements,
current callback guards and four minimal profiles. Source feedback repairs a
skipped charity claim; compile feedback corrects the autopilot fixture type.

Report/logs: private `20261026-planetologist-no-field-gather-proof-v3/` under
`/home/quintine/.local/share/dune/checkpoints/`; journeys/HTML: adjacent
`20261026-planetologist-no-field-gather-runtime/`. No saved-room/D1/server, reset/
restart, deployment or recovery operation. SSR/selected-props callbacks do not
certify DOM/hydration, browser/mobile/deployed acceptance or complete modes.

## Concealed No-Field ordinary range — 26 October 2026

The printed No-Field rules (E2 pp5–6,10–12, recorded in the
[token contract](RICHESE_NO_FIELD_RULES.md#verified-lifecycle)) let a concealed
marker move as one force, including value0. Planetologist's physical normal band
adds one to ordinary movement range, capped at three. Under the 14 October
choose-recommended authority, compose these rules for Richese's own marker,
alone or with selected physical forces from that same territory. This is an
explicit provisional composition, not a located joint publisher FAQ.

The existing `move` payload carries `planetologist:'range'`, the selected
`forces`, and the owner's current `noField` identity/`event`. Normalized movement
validates the living uncaptured trainer, current physical token and source,
storm/path/entry and each selected sector using the unchanged range quote. The
original marker moves once and remains concealed; no token value is converted
to counters, no reserve is debited and no shipment payment is made. One movement
is spent, its event rotates, and existing arrival/turn continuation remains.
City ornithopters retain the maximum of three rather than granting four.

The Planetologist form exposes the owner's marker separately from counters,
including marker-only selection with an empty physical group. Same-origin
companions remain ordinary physical counters. Actual callbacks retain movement,
ownership, response, automatic-action and busy guards. Minimal policy adds only
legal marker routes that need the extra range; no difficulty tuning occurs.

At this range checkpoint, gathering retained its separate boundary; the follow-up
above adds the ordinary two-origin alternative. Physical/Discovery Ornithopter,
Guild and Homeworld combinations remain separate. The range change adds no
saved field, new action kind, skill assignment, mode admission or publication
acceptance. Full interactions and final browser/deployed assurance remain due.

**Frozen evidence:** v4 passes8 files,60/60, types/lint/build and twelve native
engine/GameTable SSR/actual selected-props submit-callback paths. Original public
R/A/E +choam/Skills starts train the original leader and ship real0/3/5 markers;
the companion was genuinely shipped on the previous turn. Basic sources use37/74
actions and Advanced41/79–80. Two-to-four continuation actions move the original
marker two territories and reach the same turn's Collection. Each retains45
Treachery,14 Skills and15 Traitor cards. Fifteen native cases include all twelve
sources plus rejections, controlled dead/captured eligibility supplements and
four minimal profiles; thirteen controlled cases cover actual submission and
current guards. Feedback corrects the candidate cutoff, old Suk readiness
chronology, fixture typing and unused imports.

Report/logs: private `20261026-planetologist-no-field-proof-v4/` under
`/home/quintine/.local/share/dune/checkpoints/`; journeys/HTML: adjacent
`20261026-planetologist-no-field-runtime/`. No saved-room/D1/server, reset/restart,
deployment or recovery operation. SSR/selected-props callbacks do not certify
DOM/hydration, browser/mobile/deployed acceptance or complete combinations/modes.

## Printed effect and legal card role

The physical Planetologist card instructs its owner to reveal one green
Special card, other than a Cheap Hero, as part of the Battle Plan “in place of
a weapon.” It adds 2 to that skilled leader disc and says to discard the
Special after the battle. The card therefore creates a distinct legal role for
the physical Special card:

- it occupies the Battle Plan's weapon slot;
- it is revealed as a Special used in place of a weapon, rather than converted
  into a Weapon Treachery Card;
- it supplies no projectile, poison, lasgun or other attack and does not satisfy
  a skill or rule that requires an actual named Weapon type;
- its printed utility effect is not activated; and
- the exact physical card is committed to that plan and cannot also be spent
  for its ordinary effect, Karama, Truthtrance or another pending use.

The designer gives Hajr and Thumper as examples, then specifically describes
using Family Atomics for +2 without blowing the Shield Wall. This confirms
that Planetologist grants an alternate battle use despite the Special card's
ordinary phase or trigger. [Jack Reda walkthrough,
10:36–11:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT_azRVLq_0&t=636s)

The substitution is available only when the assigned Planetologist leader is
the leader actually used in the Battle Plan. Moving the skilled leader and
skill card behind the shield as a bluff, then selecting another leader, turns
off both skill bands. The other leader cannot place a green Special in the
weapon slot through Planetologist. [GF9 *CHOAM & Richese* rulebook,
p. 9](https://www.gf9games.com/dune/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/CHOAM-Rulebook-low-res.pdf)

## Current base-deck inventory

The current 33-card base deck contains these eligible printed green Special
cards:

| Printed card | Physical copies | Current identities |
|---|---:|---|
| Family Atomics | 1 | `effect: atomics` |
| Weather Control | 1 | `effect: weather` |
| Hajr | 1 | `effect: hajr` |
| Tleilaxu Ghola | 1 | `effect: ghola` |
| Harvester | 1 | `effect: harvester` |
| Karama | 2 | `effect: karama` |
| Truthtrance | 2 | `effect: truthtrance` |

All nine physical copies may take the Planetologist weapon-slot role. Their
ordinary timing does not need to be legal because that printed effect is not
being played. A pending or already committed physical card remains unavailable
because Planetologist does not create a second copy.

Cheap Hero and Cheap Heroine are printed green Special components but are
excluded. “Cheap Hero” is the rules' generic component class for both named
copies; each instead occupies the leader position with strength zero. The base
FAQ also says a Cheap Hero cannot substitute for a weapon or defense.
[GF9 base rulebook and Q&A, pp. 10,
23](https://www.gf9games.com/dunegame/wp-content/uploads/Dune-Rulebook.pdf)

For today's `baseDeck()`, `kind === 'special'` happens to select the nine
eligible non-Hero copies. That coincidence is not the printed rule. Eligibility
should be bound to a canonical printed-green-Special classification or explicit
physical identities, because the code's generic `special` kind is also used by
later expansion modules. The designer's Thumper example proves that expansion
cards can qualify, but it does not make every future card encoded as `special`
green or eligible.

## Survival and scoring

The common Leader Skills rule says a skill applies in the current battle unless
its assigned leader is killed in that battle. Planetologist adds 2 to the leader
disc, so the receipt is conditional on that exact leader surviving weapon,
traitor and explosion resolution. If the leader dies, neither its printed
strength nor the Planetologist +2 contributes to the battle total.
[GF9 *CHOAM & Richese* rulebook, p.
9](https://www.gf9games.com/dune/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/CHOAM-Rulebook-low-res.pdf)

A captured skilled leader follows the expansion's general Harkonnen Q&A: the
captor has only the lower battle band and only while actually using that
captured leader. A surviving captured Planetologist may therefore use the same
green-Special substitution and +2; the original faction has no normal movement
band while the leader and skill are captured.

## Mandatory discard

The Special card's own final instruction is unconditional once it is revealed
through this substitution: discard it after the battle. This is more specific
than the base rule allowing an ordinary winner to keep cards played in its
plan. The physical outcome is:

| Battle outcome | Planetologist Special disposition |
|---|---|
| Ordinary win | Discard; the winner has no retention choice for this card. |
| Ordinary loss | Discard under both the base loser rule and the skill card. |
| Opponent reveals the Planetologist leader as a traitor | Discard with the traitored player's played cards; the leader dies and supplies no +2. |
| Both leaders are traitors | Discard with the played cards; the Planetologist leader dies and supplies no +2. |
| Lasgun–shield explosion | Discard after the battle; a killed Planetologist supplies no +2. |
| Planetologist owner reveals the opposing leader as a traitor | Discard under Planetologist's later, card-specific instruction even though the base traitor winner ordinarily loses nothing. |

The last row is a rules-specificity inference. No located publisher Q&A asks
about Planetologist versus a successful traitor call. The physical Leader Skill
plainly says to discard after the battle and prints no winner or traitor
exception, so retaining it would require adding an exception absent from the
later card. The [GF9 November 2020
FAQ](https://www.gf9games.com/dune/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Dune-FAQ-Nov-2020.pdf)
confirms the general winner-retention rule, while the Planetologist card supplies
the narrower override.

“Unused bluff” needs a physical distinction. A green Special actually revealed
in the weapon slot through Planetologist has been used in that alternate role
and is discarded even when +2 cannot affect the result or the winner is decided
by a traitor. A Special merely carried behind the shield but omitted from the
Battle Plan remains in hand; no rule reveals or discards it. A plan using a
different leader cannot legally commit the Special in Planetologist's role.

## Persistent evidence

The source archive at `/home/quintine/.local/share/dune/sources` contains:

- `leader-skills-tabletopfinder-all-upscaled.png`, on which the complete
  Planetologist face is readable;
- `leader-skills-designer-video-auto-transcript.txt`, with the Planetologist
  explanation at transcript seconds 594–666;
- `choam-richese-rulebook-en.pdf` and its layout-preserving text extraction;
  and
- `dune-rulebook-gf9-mirror.pdf` and its extraction, preserving the common
  battle disposition and traitor rules.

The designer's [official expansion
page](https://futurepastimes.com/dune-choam-richese) links the GF9 rulebook.
The full local source hashes and retrieval URLs are recorded in
`leader-skills-source-provenance.txt`.

## Implementation boundary

A focused implementation can expose the nine base physical copies as weapon
slot choices only for the selected, concealed Planetologist leader. It should
record the selected physical identity and alternate role in the sealed plan,
apply +2 only after confirming that leader survives, suppress the card's native
effect, and force exactly one discard after every revealed outcome. Rejected or
canceled plan changes must release the reservation without discarding the card.

Expansion eligibility should be added from each component's printed category,
not inferred from the shared TypeScript `special` bucket. The traitor-winner
discard row should remain documented as the explicit later-card reading because
the sources contain no direct Q&A for that collision.

## Normal movement and supported prototype

The first band gives a choice for one movement: add one to normal range with a
maximum of three, or gather physical forces from exactly two different territories
to one shared destination using each group's ordinary range. These alternatives
do not stack. Moving multiple selected sectors of the same territory remains one
origin. Both groups retain normal storm, path, occupancy and force-selection rules;
the combined move spends one movement. Hajr can provide another normal movement.
See the [physical-card contract](LEADER_SKILLS_RULES.md) and the designer's
[example](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT_azRVLq_0&t=1153s).

Fremen's native range and Planetologist are independent. With the range alternative,
a distance-two move needs only ordinary range one plus Planetologist. Distance
three without city ornithopters uses the Fremen advantage and opens its real
Karama response. Cancellation leaves forces and the movement opportunity in place;
the replacement may still use Planetologist. A gather using Fremen range two also
retains that response, with both origins saved and revalidated before continuation.
This applies the [existing cancellation contract](FREMEN_MOVEMENT_KARAMA_RULES.md),
not a new phase-wide restriction or an automatic shortened destination.

### Mixed advisor and fighter gather — 18 October 2026

The earlier [November FAQ](https://www.gf9games.com/dune/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Dune-FAQ-Nov-2020.pdf)
and [base rules](https://www.gf9games.com/dunegame/wp-content/uploads/Dune-Rulebook.pdf)
review supplies the original determined-destination stance. The authorized
local revision `UNOFFICIAL_Revised_Dune_Rulebook_v.2.3_web.pdf`, physical28 /
logical26, likewise requires one BG stance per territory, matching existing
BG forces, and permits moved advisors to flip in an otherwise enemy-held
territory. Physical17 / logical15 permits Karama against one token-group
flip; physical16 / logical14 permits a legal modified action after cancellation.
The current publisher FAQ URL redirects rather than returning that PDF;
no fresh web summary substitutes for the authorized local text.

Neither examined passage specifies an arrival order for a simultaneous mixed
Planetologist gather. Under the standing choose-recommended instruction,
the prototype adopts an explicit **common-fighter, precommit flip** policy:

- With no existing BG group and another faction present, mixed origins require
  a declared fighter arrival. Before either group moves, open one original
  native advisor-flip response. This grants no chosen order that turns incoming
  fighters into advisors.
- Allowing revalidates the living original trainer, both groups, ordinary
  ranges and destination, then moves them together as fighters for one
  movement. Source positions and usage remain unchanged while the response waits.
- Canceling spends the original counter, leaves both groups and their postures
  untouched and spends no movement or shipment. A turn/movement stamp prevents
  repeating the canceled flip for the same opportunity. A legal replacement
  without that flip remains available; this is not a phase-wide movement ban.
- Fresh accompanying advisors still cannot become fighters that turn. Empty
  destinations and an existing BG destination group retain their original
  compulsory common stance. Uniform origins and already-opened ordinary
  flip windows keep their existing timing.

The [24 October resident follow-up](ADVISOR_MATCHING.md#planetologist-gathering-into-residents--24-october-2026)
retains that final resident stance but adds one precommit matching counter per
incoming origin that changes type. Two changing origins require two responses.
Partial allowance leaves both origins untouched; prevention stops the whole
gather and shares the prevented origin packet's normal movement denial.
The original living trainer, complete movement and approved receipt queue stay
bound privately until the atomic movement can resume once. The earlier
enemy-only/empty policy and already-recorded one-shot responses remain separate.

This is visibly provisional product composition, not a retrieved combined
FAQ or a separately answered numerical ruling. The shared quote drives the
engine, human gather control and legal bot candidates. The exact original
movement is carried by the native response; no counters or private cards are
duplicated. Original normal-lobby setup, paid Carthag shipment and Imperial
Basin accompaniment produce a genuine source-bound regression position.


The runtime now follows the [shared native skill profiles](LEADER_SKILLS_RUNTIME.md),
including per-origin Ixian cyborg range and its independent cancellation window.
Canonical Base and Ix green components remain exact physical matches. The
[bounded native Richese continuation](LEADER_SKILLS_RUNTIME.md#native-richese-composition--4-october-2026)
adds printed Richese `Special`/`Special - Movement` components, not the broadly
encoded Stone/Mirror weapons or Portable Snooper defense. Actual Box and Residual
Poison substitution proves native effect/fee suppression and single disposal,
including a zero-marker battle. Other optional modules, mixed No-Field movement/
battle combinations and Discovery/flight interactions retain their own boundaries.

The movement control builds ordinary authoritative actions with an explicit range
or gather choice. Bots use the same range helper and submit physical source/elite
counts. Saved Fremen continuations bind the selected skill leader, choice and exact
two-origin list; stale custody or receipts reject before spending a response card.
The weapon selector exposes eligible Specials only for the selected skilled leader
and explains +2 and mandatory discard. Bot candidates use that same eligibility and
pair validation. This is a connected prototype with partial combination coverage,
not complete Leader Skills compliance or a publication gate.

## Changed-path evidence — 18 October 2026

Related20-file191/191 and types/lint/build pass. Original controllers and three
source-bound regressions cover common-fighter allowance before either source
moves, one-Karama whole-gather cancellation, a blocked immediate retry, a
legal fighter-only replacement and a fresh accompanying-advisor rejection.
The actual normal lobby/shipments/turns are not fabricated; one original
Karama is conserved from its deck and labelled, not called a natural purchase.

Actual390px GameTable source counts, provisional notice, native Allow/Cancel,
disabled retry/reason, ordinary replacement and fresh lock render and execute
against real engine actions in isolated memory, with no errors/root overflow.
Owned routes/memory are removed, with no stored room/DB change or dev restart.
Four legal bot-policy programmes include three mixed gathers into empty
destinations; they do not exercise the new contested response or certify
calibrated strategy. Compiler/lint and checkpoint evidence are recorded in
[current status](CURRENT_STATUS.md) and [runtime scope](LEADER_SKILLS_RUNTIME.md#mixed-bg-planetologist-gather--18-october-2026).
No full-mode, combination, deployed or deferred assurance claim follows.

## Verification evidence, 13 September 2026

The final focused union passes 84 cases, including the 24-case Planetologist
union and existing skills, Fremen cancellation and battle quote regressions.
Independent movement and battle review closed after the stale already-dead disc
reproducer was fixed. First-choice tests prove all four bot profiles actually use
both alternatives in suitable fixtures. Two source-bound full-game samples finish
with zero rejected actions and six saved restorations each; Basic executes both
movement choices, Advanced executes boosted range. These do not establish full
combination acceptance or calibrated difficulty ordering.

The browser journey verifies genuine setup, range availability, physical gather,
private refresh and the weapon selector's Special role. A separately staged battle
in that new QA room verifies traitor-loss cleanup, one Special discard, skill death
return and the unchanged Shield Wall. [The checkpoint record](IMPLEMENTATION_STATUS.md)
separates those fixtures from the complete-game samples. Required broad check
results, source fingerprints and saved-game comparisons are retained privately
outside the checkout and reported in the verified commit.