Whence action processing internal rule response (J)?

Question

I was pawing through the list of responses in the Standard Rules and I found:

action processing internal rule response (J): "(Since something dramatic has happened, your list of commands has been cut short.)"

I gather that this interrupts an extended command along the lines of "n. n. burn rope. jump." but I can't figure out what rule triggers this behavior.

Where does this response come from, and how can I use it to interrupt the players of my games?

Answer 1

It is called from the template layer (hence the 'internal'), in OrderOfPlay.i6t. Specifically, it is used in the GenerateMultipleActions() function, which is called from the generate action rule (GENERATE_ACTION_R()).

'Multiple actions' in this case refers not to a list of commands, but to commands which apply to multiple objects (get the rope and the lamp) and need to be interpreted individually. This comment explains when the response is shown:

Note that we stop processing the list in the event of the game ending, or of the |location| variable changing its value, which can happen either through movement of the player, or through passage from darkness to light or vice versa.

So its function is pretty narrowly defined. I'm not sure how you were wanting to extend its use, but it would probably be hard to change.

Comments

Well, shucks.