Initiative (role-playing games)

In most role-playing games and table-top wargames an initiative system determines in which order player characters and non-player characters take their actions, to avoid confusion on when a character gets to act. Methods of doing this vary from game to game.

Taking turns

In some games, such as Tunnels & Trolls, each faction takes its turn to act - and it is entirely up to the side acting who acts in which order for that side. This is one of the two most common systems in table-top wargames - with Malifaux having a variant of this by which each gang picks one member to act in turn, and the larger gang all acts together at the end.

Statistic based

The other common method, used by games like Dungeons & Dragons and Fate is for each character to be assigned an initiative number based on a relevant attribute plus a random factor, and for people to act in that order. Some games determine initiative order once, some once per round.

Shot Clock

Feng Shui and Arcanis both use a shot-clock; Each round is divided into segments or shots, and each action takes a certain number of these segments. Actions happen whenever the character's next free segment turns up.

Washington Initiative 912

Initiative Measure No. 912 was a proposed initiative in Washington, USA on the ballot in 2005 that would have repealed new motor vehicle fuel taxes passed earlier in the year by the state Legislature. The fuel tax, and this measure, were a major political issue during the 2005 elections in the state. It failed to pass, being rejected by 54.5% of voters.

The fuel tax increases enacted in 2005 for transportation purposes were 3 cents per gallon in 2005 and 2006, 2 cents in 2007, and 1.5 cents per gallon in 2008.

External links

Initiative 200

Initiative 200 was a Washington State initiative to the Legislature promoted by California affirmative-action opponent Ward Connerly and filed by Scott Smith and Tim Eyman, a mail-order salesman from Mukilteo, Washington. It sought to prohibit racial and gender preferences by state and local government. It was on the Washington ballot in November 1998 and passed with 58.22% of the vote. It added to Washington's law (but not its constitution) the following language:

(1) The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.

History

Initiative 200, a Washington State statute passed as the first major civil rights law enacted by direct public vote took place in November 1998. The voting took place statewide, with approximately 1.9 million voters taking to the polls. The enactment was inevitable with a 58.2 percent, or a grand total of 1,099,410 voters saying "yes". Statewide, all counties passed the statute, with only one exception, King County, in all places but Seattle. The law reads "All state agencies, boards, departments and commissions are prohibited from using any equal opportunity programs that grant preferential treatment in hiring. Initial consideration of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin may continue through outreach efforts. No comparable aggressive action to end equal opportunity programs that grant preferential treatment".

Patriot

A patriot is someone who feels a strong support for their country. See also Patriotism.

Patriot(s) may also refer to:

Politics

Patriot (Tublatanka album)

Patriot is studio album by the Slovak rock band Tublatanka released on 17 May 2010.

Track listing

Credits

References

Patriot Act

The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. Its title is a ten-letter backronym (U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T.) that stands for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001".

On May 26, 2011, President Barack Obama signed the PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011, a four-year extension of three key provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act:roving wiretaps, searches of business records, and conducting surveillance of "lone wolves"—individuals suspected of terrorist-related activities not linked to terrorist groups.

Following a lack of Congressional approval, parts of the Patriot Act expired on June 1, 2015. With the passage of the USA Freedom Act on June 2, 2015 the expired parts were restored and renewed through 2019. However, Section 215 of the law was amended to stop the National Security Agency from continuing its mass phone data collection program. Instead, phone companies will retain the data and the NSA can obtain information about targeted individuals with permission from a federal court.

Mortgage loan

A mortgage loan, also referred to as a mortgage, is used by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate; or by existing property owners to raise funds for any purpose while putting a lien on the property being mortgaged. The loan is "secured" on the borrower's property. This means that a legal mechanism is put in place which allows the lender to take possession and sell the secured property ("foreclosure" or "repossession") to pay off the loan in the event that the borrower defaults on the loan or otherwise fails to abide by its terms. The word mortgage is derived from a "Law French" term used by English lawyers in the Middle Ages meaning "death pledge", and refers to the pledge ending (dying) when either the obligation is fulfilled or the property is taken through foreclosure. Mortgage can also be described as "a borrower giving consideration in the form of a collateral for a benefit (loan).

Mortgage borrowers can be individuals mortgaging their home or they can be businesses mortgaging commercial property (for example, their own business premises, residential property let to tenants or an investment portfolio). The lender will typically be a financial institution, such as a bank, credit union or building society, depending on the country concerned, and the loan arrangements can be made either directly or indirectly through intermediaries. Features of mortgage loans such as the size of the loan, maturity of the loan, interest rate, method of paying off the loan, and other characteristics can vary considerably. The lender's rights over the secured property take priority over the borrower's other creditors which means that if the borrower becomes bankrupt or insolvent, the other creditors will only be repaid the debts owed to them from a sale of the secured property if the mortgage lender is repaid in full first.