Rules

These 'rules' are likely best defined as some principles that we chose to run this game by. We try to make it clear up-front what we expect and what you may expect from us by giving you an idea of our beliefs and motives rather than making you guess or wonder. Simply put, we want everyone to enjoy the game and we want the staff to be trusted and liked by the players.

Learning by example is also something important, having been playing on various other MUSHes since they began, those of various types both "World of Darkness" and otherwise, we are attempting to bring experience to the table as well.

Please review the following sections:

Alts

We have no alts policy. Go wild. Yee-haw!

Code

There are a few simple rules that should be noted concerning code brought to or created here. Please ensure that these rules are read and understood before creating any personal code that you would not want to lose - as a general rule we recommend backing up all data offline for your own sake!

1. The following are not allowed: Car objects — These are grid clutter and will be nuked. Phone objects — There will be code designed to handle phones Logger objects - Any object that stores copious amounts of data
2. Any code that is "queue resident" will be removed from the queue as soon as it is spotted. If you are unsure how to tell if a code is "queue resident," use the command '@ps' to see if anything you own appears there. Normally this will be code that uses @waits to trigger an attribute at a later time - please avoid doing this at all costs.
3. Any code which gives powers beyond the normal appropriate for your game status (Player, Staff, etc) or for your character abilities (spy code, long-distance viewing, etc) is not only unwelcome but grounds for removal from the game. Do not "cheat" the system simply because you have knowledge to do so and always respect the privacy of others.

Cross Sphere

This particular mention of 'Cross-Sphere' specifically refers to characters who could possibly fall under more than one sphere. A Mage with "Fae Blood" background, a Vampire who was a Kinfolk before embrace, and a Kinain shapeshifter are all examples of this. Below we will discuss particular rules regarding this particular form of 'cross-sphere' behavior; it should be noted that roleplay that happens to involve multiple types of characters (A mage RPing with a vampire, for example) is not covered by this. There are no rules regarding who may roleplay with whom.

Simply put, such character concepts are not encouraged. Applying for such a character will fall under the same basic rules that we use concerning 'Taboo' character types, or, in easier terms, we don't plan on making it easy to get such a character and simply taking 'a quick point' in a merit like Kinfolk or a background like 'Fae Blood' will make your application harder to get approved by ten-fold, if not more.

It is our goal here to make things simple, interesting, and entertaining. It is our goal to return to more 'old school' thinking in the World of Darkness. Those goals stated, cross-sphere characters like those used as examples above do not meet them in either way. Such characters complicate the systems, make it more difficult for judges to interact, and provide an overall lack of focus on sphere politics and interaction. It is our hope that people applying for characters will try to create unique concepts while not necessarily feeling that they must do this by blending the spheres.

In Character

IC is IC. The only exception is if all players involved mutually agree on something OOC as having happened, between them, it may be considered IC.

Acceptable: "Bob, Mary and Sam all agree that they have met weekly to discuss various matters occuring in their lives. As they cannot be online at the same time, they have @mailed one another the details each week."

Not Acceptable: "Bob, Mary and Sam all agree that they have regular meetings each week. They assume that Jim knows, but Jim does not have a clue of it, so they assume Jim has been talking to them anyway."

You may not include another PC without that PC's agreement on the issue. Communication is key. If the group wishes to have something occur off-scene, that is perfectly fine, but -all- parties involved must agree and have full knowledge. Someone new must never be assumed to have the knowledge that everyone else already possessed, they must be given that information IC or they will simply not know. If this person misses an off-scene occurance because of being uninformed, then the person missed it — there will be no retconning because some people were lax in informing this person.

Please note that this pertains only to such things as meetings, planned outtings, ritual meets, etc. This does not mean that you cannot get together with a friend and say that OOCly your characters have met in the past, even if it isn't in your background. It is up to the players if their characters have some history beyond the scope of the game.

Lores

Lores are a measure of your character's knowledge of a given subject. Most will recognize such things as Vampire Lore, Garou Lore, etc. We will endeavor to include Breed Lores, Tribe Lores, Tradition Lores, Clan Knowledges, and every other type of 'Lore' that is possible — if it doesn't exist in the system as it stands, it can easily be added. This news file is more to address to point of what these lores represent to characters on this game. These statistics are not purchased with XP, they are given by staff when the character has the In-Character knowledge to reflect it. It is between the player and the staffer to decide on this issue — Lores do not cost freebies nor can you ever simply buy one.

Lores do not represent 'simple knowledge', they represent 'beyond the scope' knowledge of the subject. For example, a Neonate in the Camarilla can assume that they have heard of Shifters from the beginning: No Sire who isn't a complete moron is going to fail to tell his childe this little tidbit about hunting carefully and not traveling in the woods (Twisted Upbringing flaws, etc, are obvious exceptions but based on RP). As well a Mage who has been around enough to be out on his own is going to know about Nephandi, and your average Verbena probably knows about Vampires too. Be reasonable, be logical, and don't try to get a stat to justify yourself.

Those who are aware of Shifters can logically assume that silver is going to hurt, though trying that on an Ananasi may result in bad results. Those that are are aware of Vampires can assume that sunlight is going to kill them, though they make also make that mistake thinking a stake will too. These are not things that will require Lore dots on a sheet to know IC, they simply require either a logical assumption from the character's background (eg, "My sire told me of the knowledge his Sire had imparted upon him on the many dark nights they shared together.").

Lore Dots represent knowledge beyond these things. 'Lore: Vampire 2' means that you have intimate knowledge of vampires; you may know that their blood has powers that are passed into their childer and that some of this blood is more powerful than others, or you may know that there were originally 13 Clans and from them sprang many bloodlines. No one will know the same information due to the simple nature of how random roleplay is. These dots are a measure of this intimate knowledge, not a definition. It is very important that you keep notes as to what your character knows specifically when dealing with things that are learned In Character and not through your original background.

Contact the staff if you feel that your intimate knowledge has risen to a new level. Detail why this is so. Be prepared to back it up and to have those who told you this knowledge IC verify it. It must be remembered at all times that these are loose definitions and must always be backed up by roleplay and notes.

Making A Scene

Making a scene is a sure way to get yourself removed from the game completely. If you have a problem with another player or a staffer, don't be shy about taking it up the chain of command. If your problem is with a wizard? Take it to another wizard. That's why they're here. There is no dispute that cannot be resolved if the people involved are adults. You may feel warned up front that posting rants, insulting staff openly, refusing to compromise, posting logs of private conversations, and this type of behavior will result in your removal and subsequent siteban.

Please, again, remember that we've all been on various MUSHes where certain staff, perhaps even the people running that game, were jerks, rude, or just outright wouldn't take the time to understand what we were trying to say. You are not alone and we will listen.

NPCs

There are two types of NPCs that exist within the definitions of our game, Keeper of the Trinity. We will describe them, and the little rules associated with each, here.

Named NPCs

Named NPCs are those NPCs which are here for plot purposes, to further certain realisms in the game, for short-term or long-term RP, and/or color. These include, but are not limited to, characters created as protagonists, characters created as antagonists, "crunchy minions" of larger PCs or NPCs, etc. These characters are capable of killing you if you make the mistake of doing things you shouldn't (ie, I may only be a Rank 1 Ragabash, but I jumped that Nexus Crawler because he deserved it!). Every character of this type will be marked with an attribute that will tell staff who plays that NPC. If you need to contact them, and data concerning contact is not listed in the character's +finger information, contact any staff member and ask that an @mail or page be sent on your behalf, or simply @mail/page the NPC in question.

Rules for Named NPCs:

1. These NPCs may not use ooc knowledge to have IC information on IC goings on that the NPC would not necessarily have. If he wishes to gain information, he must do so in an IC fashion. If you have a doubt about how an NPC got information, please take it up with the player involved or with staff.
2. NPC character objects are to be clearly marked as such at all time. NPCs can be noted by the _NPC flag (symbol '3') and by the automated marker in their +finger information.
3. Named NPCs should be +requested on creation so they can be added to the NPC listed when players type +jobs. They can then be assigned to players who wish to use them. Notes on their adventures must be made on the relevant +job. Alternatively, an NPC charbit may be made. Staff will set this NPC and notes must be kept on that charbit about their activities and knowledge. Approval for NPCs is less stringent than for PCs, but they may not further personal goals as PCs do - they are there to make lives more interesting for PCs, not for themselves.

General NPCs

These are NPC types who may or may not "physically" exist as objects in the game. People on the street, a bartender, a maid or butler, a couple of Banes in some random part of the Umbra, and the like. These are NPCs that can be generally portrayed by anyone through emits or simply included in poses.

1. Anyone may emit General NPCs. They may be included in poses, but only with -reasonable- assumptions about actions. Anyone may call the emitter on "bullshit" at any time and said emitter should cease their actions. Unlike other characters, PCs may feel free to simply ignore the presence of General NPCs posed by another player (if they find the actions posed objectionable).
2. If agreed to by all those players present, one may choose to 'step out' and emit for the others. This person becomes a storyteller for the scene and can run his own little miniature plots and the like. We have no issues with this. Throwing in a couple of banes for some Garou players to destroy, a faceless Caitiff that happened to be passing through, etc. As long as the use of NPCs is within reason, feel free, just remember that you are not the only person here trying to have fun. If you want your TP to be an accepted part of in-game history, make -absolutely- sure you post to the TP bboards afterward so other players can keep track of what happened for any larger plots that this might encompass later. If you're going to impose a changed reality on other players, then they should have a chance to collectively quash what will make the game less interesting to the majority of them,
3. "Mini-plots" between players are fine. Run them as you wish as long as they follow the rules (both those posted here and those written by White Wolf). Involve as many as you want, though if you get too big we recommend getting a general consensus by way of the player TP bboards. Players who put into the game get more out of it in the end!

OOC Masq

There is no OOC Masq. Period. If you don't wish to tell people what your character is, that's perfectly fine. If you wish to lie about what you are IC, that's also fine (and, quite frankly, expected). The only valid rule concerning an 'OOC Masq' is:

You may not tell others who plays which character nor share information about another character OOC.

Information about your character, your alts, etc, is yours to give out. Feel free to do so. Information about other people's characters, or alts, is not yours, so don't pass it around even if you think they wont mind.

I don't believe it can be more clearly said than this. However, if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask Staff.

PC Animals

As a general rule, no one is allowed to be approved as an animal. That is, you may not play a dog, horse, cat, lion, manatee, or bird as a character. Of course you may pose an animal into your roleplay at any appropriate time, such as your dogs running to the door to great you when you return home, or feeding your cat while chatting with your friend, but you personally may not roleplay said dog or cat.

The exceptions to this rule are those PCs who shapeshift due to their race, such as Garou and the Fera; those creatures which magically shapeshift, such as Pooka Changeling; and those that shapeshift by pure magic alone, such as Sorcerers and Magi. You are, in these cases, still roleplaying a viable character who just happens to be able to turn into such a thing - he or she is not actually one of those things.

In the case of those exceptions it is expected that the roleplay that takes place be appropriate to the scene. A Glasswalker who shapeshifts in the middle of the city into a wolf and roams around can expect to cause the police to be called, animal control, and to be fired at by civilians if they 'look threatening' - Texas is a concealed-carry state, after all.

Powers

Characters in almost every sphere have powers of some kind. This can refer to Disiplines for Vampires, Arts and Realms for Changelings, Gifts for Garou, Spheres for Mages, and the matching ability sets for each corresponding super group. Mortals are not excluded, as they also have Faith, Numina of various kinds, and other assorted abilities beyond the normal. These rules govern all powers. Please make sure you read them carefully before deciding which powers are right for your character and before applying for any powers.

Faith

The power "Faith" or "True Faith" works as described in the revised edition books with some exceptions: In any case where damage is listed in the description of the effects, the damage is considered Aggravated. Also, in any case where the the difficulty is versus Humanity in some form, and Humanity is not the actual path of the Character involved, that Path rating is halved with respect to the roll. If the difficulty is Humanity+2 and a Vampire has "Path of Caine 8" the Path rating is assumed to be 4 for a total difficulty of 6.

Levels

In simple terms: You may not have an out of "character model" power that exceeds your lowest "character model" power. For example, a Gangrel Vampire may not have Animalism 2, Fortitude 3, Potence 4, Protean 4. The vampire in this example would first have to raise both Animalism and Fortitude to 4 before he is able to raise Potence to 4. Another example, a Verbena Mage may not have Mind 1, Time 3, Life 2 since the Verbena's primary Sphere of influence is Life. His Life score must first be 3 or above before another Sphere may be raised to equal it. For Changelings, the "Affinity" of their Kith is guarded by this rule. No other Realm may be raised beyond the particular affinity as the above examples provide. A Pooka may not have a score in Fae Realm of 5 before her Nature Realm reaches 5.

In the case of Shifters, they may not possess more Gifts outside of their tribe/auspice/breed they they do of the lowest tribe/auspice/breed. For example, If the Shifter has 3 gifts from his tribe, 1 from his auspice, and 1 from his breed, he may not have more than 1 gift from outside of his tribe/auspice/breed. Normal rules apply for the rank of any gift purchase, but rank is ignored when totaling the gifts for comparison.

In the case of those spheres that do not have a specific specialty or affinity, such as Sorcerers and Wraiths, they must pick a primary path, psychic power, or Arcanos to be their primary ability. A Wraith, for example, may pick Castigate as his primary Arcanos and will thereafter be unable to raise any other above it; a Sorcerer may pick Path of Enchantment as his primary and the above rules the apply.

In any case of doubt, please refer to staff with your question before making any assumptions. It is our hope that this rule will help create the stereotypes that the game is based around — it has become far too typical to find generic characters who do not fit the molds of their Clan, Tribe, Kith, etc.

In the case where there are multiple powers that are the "Primary" powers, such as with Vampires, if a power is left at "0", then another out-of-scope power may not be purchased at all. The exceptions to this rule are those those who take merits that allow them to have more "in scope" powers, such as Sphere Natural, Additional Discipline, etc, or flaws that allow them to have less "in scope" powers such as Sphere Inept, Magic Resistance for Thaumaturgy Clans, and like flaws from other spheres. In these special cases, the RP aspect should be punishment enough — imagine a Virtual Adept who cannot use Correspondence magic or a Tremere who cannot even learn basic Thaumaturgy rituals no matter how hard he were to try.

In the case of Additional Disciplines, Sphere Naturals, and like merits, this particular power is absolutely ignored when figuring how high a power can go. A Son of Ether Mage with "Sphere Natural: Time" does not have to raise both his Matter and Time before he can raise any other sphere, he only needs to raise his Matter sphere. Likewise, that very same Mage may still raise his Time over his Matter if he wishes. Those who take the flaws which prevent a power from being purchased may remove that power from consideration. A Tremere with Magic Resistance does not have to worry about his Thaumaturgy score before he can add an Out of Clan discipline, he need only worry about his Auspex and Dominate.

Rituals

This news file specifically refers to Thaumaturgy rituals, not those rituals practiced by the Garou. Please refer to 'news rules powers thaumaturgy' for specifics regarding Thaumaturgy and the learning thereof.

As stated in the aforementioned news file, rituals are divided into specific groups based on the type of Thaumaturgy learned. Tremere learn from the Tremere/Hermetic style of Thaumaturgy normally, Assamites from their style, etc. A select few rituals do cross the boundry between the types of Thaumaturgy, but these are accepted on a case by case basis. Please contact staff if you have any questions.

Rituals are learned by the following process:

XP Cost:

Level x 1 (In Clan)
Level x 2 (Out of Clan)
Time: Level x 7 days

Rituals may only be learned from a Library or PC/NPC Teacher.

At character generation, rituals may be purchased at 2 freebies each (for all levels). The limitations are as follows:

1. The rituals must be of the type of Thaumaturgy that the character possesses. For more information on this, please refer to 'news rules powers thaumaturgy'.
2. The ritual must be within the character's Thaumaturgic level of understanding (level of ritual cannot exceed level of Thaumaturgy).
3. The ritual must be a "common" ritual. Staff will be the final judge on what is common and what is rare. (Eg, don't expect to be approved for Night of the Read Heart, Innocence of the Child's Heart, and the like at Chargen.)
4. The rituals must be within the scope of the character's concept. For example, a Traditionalist Tremere who is part of the Guardians of Tradition would not possess Ghost in the Machine.
5. You must not have more rituals of that level than the level below it. For example, you must have three level 1 rituals before you can have three level 2 rituals. A pyramid (go figure) is best (4 x level 1, 3 x level 2, 2 x level 3, for example) when purchasing rituals.

NOTE: The above rituals apply only to application time and freebie costs.

Thaumaturgy

Thaumaturgy is a very intricate discipline. For our game purposes, Thaumaturgy is an "In clan" discipline only to the Tremere. Only the Tremere may ever purchase this power at the In Clan cost, this discipline may not be taken with the "Additional Discipline" merit for any Clan, and those other Clans which also happen to practice Thaumaturgy are at a significant disadvantage when doing so - as what they practice is not a pure version of the discipline. This news file will explain in detail.

For the sake of learning, as described in the Vampire: The Masquerade Revised, the character learns the "Thaumaturgy" discipline and it is added to their sheet. At this time, their primary path is also added to their sheet at one-dot. As the "Thaumaturgy" skill increases, so does the primary path, always at the same level. In addition, for Tremere, the character gains one free ritual at the level of the discipline (at level 1, they gain a level 1 ritual, at level 2 a level 2, etc). These rituals must still be one that the character has access to In Character (from a library, mentor, PC or NPC teacher), but the learn time and experience point (or freebie) cost is ignored. This rule does not apply to those learning Thaumaturgy as a non-clan discipline.

Followers of Set, Assamites, and other clans have their own "brand" of Thaumaturgy. As such, they do not learn the "Thaumaturgy" discipline as described above; instead, the Path that they purchase is added to their sheet at an experience (or freebie) cost equal to a clan discipline. They do not automatically gain a ritual of the appropriate level, though they may then learn rituals appropriate to their form of magic. They may not learn Thaumaturgy rituals except those associated with their particular clan's magic. For example, a Setite who has learned Path of Anubis at level 4 cannot learn Splinter Servant, as this is not a form of magic he is familiar with, just as a Tremere cannot in turn learn Setite rituals without first picking up Setite Thaumaturgy at some level.

Tremere may learn the Paths of foreign Thaumaturgy, but only if they have a PC/NPC Teacher or a Library from that type of magic. In these cases, the Tremere pays for these paths as if he were purchasing his primary path, not secondary paths. (eg, rather than 7XP to start and 4 x level, it is instead 10Xp to start and 5 x level.)

See Also: news rules powers thaum <tremere | setite | assamite | koldunic>,
news rules powers rituals

Privacy

You are entitled to an "assumption of privacy" in certain areas. In others you are entitled to no such assumption. We will attempt to make the "gray area" more clear with the following rules:

1. An area that is OOC (marked as such with the OOC flag) and owned by you can be considered private. No other players or staff should be in this area unless you have invited them.
2. If you are in a private IC residence, you may have an "assumption of privacy" against staff, however, there are powers which allow other characters to spy in an In-Character fashion and you will not necessarily be notified of this.
3. There is absolutely no assumption of privacy from Staff eyes or player eyes when in an IC public place or an OOC public place. You are warned.
4. Any staff member who joins you in a place of privacy will provide a reason for doing so. (For example, "I was asked by Bob to come here as a witness to his RP with you." or "I have to check some judgenotes on your home." "Sorry, mistake!" is also a valid excuse, though these should be rare and far between.) A staffer should never interrupt a scene by joining a player in a private area to check judgenotes! They are OOC entities and they know the distration can cause problems, however, sometimes they may be required to check notes if you are idle or otherwise not engaged in IC activities.

If you feel your privacy has been invaded, please take it up with the Wizards first, "making a scene" will not be tolerated.

Suffixing Names

Adding such things as DEAD, IDLE, OOC, and the like to the end of your name is an unacceptable practice. For example, BobDEAD is an unacceptable name as is Bob_ooc or BobOOC. The +status code can be used to change your IC/OOC status, you may set an @idle message, and the code will keep track if you are dead or not. There is absolutely no reason to add any suffix to your player-object's name.

Unidlers

The use of 'unidlers' is strictly prohibited. Those who should be idling for days online are given the 'idle' power or have a 'wizard' flag on them. If you do not have one of these things, you are not permitted to stay connected 24/7.

The singular exception for using such a command is if you are at your keyboard but idling. If you wish to set up such an unidler, we ask that you set it to recycle every 55 minutes, if you prefer a smaller number, this is also acceptable, but anything less than 20 minutes will be considered an attempt to cheat the XP system.

If paged by a staffer you should be able to respond within 60 minutes or you should disconnect, if you do not, then you are violating this rule. Period. You will be booted off by use of the @boot command and @mailed regarding it. Continued violation of this rule can lead to action by staff up to and including removal of your character from play and/or @nuking of your character.

Note: For those curious. The default disconnect time for this game is 60 minutes. If you idle for 61 minutes you will be disconnected automatically by timeout.