"NO DRAMAS, MATE!"

THE HEAD STORYTELLER RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE TO ANYONE.

While it is an open game, not everyone is automatically welcome.

Talk to the HST Charlotte, which you should be doing anyway to make sure your concept/background is something that she will allow into the game. Sheets and backgrounds are to be submitted to our puppetprince chronicle and may not be played until you receive confirmation of approval. (Approval may be granted for SOFT rp based on concept and background while the sheet is being looked over. This means that if you enter into a challenge based situation before the sheet is fully approved, you relent to all challenges.)

#1 Do Not Be a Drama Llama.
If you are a Drama Llama, we don't want you. For clarification, this would

be someone who constantly or deliberately perpetuates drama, pursuing

ooc conflict with other players or ic conflict with pc's of players they

don't get along with. Usually this is also someone who is repetitively

whiny or obnoxious, as well as other definitions at the ST's discetion.

Also known as Drama Whore, Attention Whore, Mary Sue, and

PRETTY PRETTY PRINCESS.

#2 IC ACTIONS = IC CONSEQUENCES.
Your brand new pc walked into the Sept and immediately showed

disrespect to the Jarl or other established pc's? Gee, we can't imagine why

you're already having to make another new character. Keep in mind that

when your character does something stupid, there will be consequences.

Punishments, even. It could be anything from the pc having no friends

and being constantly ignored, to outright pc death. Don't want to deal

with that? Make pc's that fit in, that get along, and aren't stupid.

#3 IC = IC. OOC = OOC.
Not all pc's are going to get along, just because someone else's character is mean to your character does not mean that they hate you. Seriously. It just means that something about your character's actions/attitude/behavior rubbed another character the wrong way and they don't like your character. If you have trouble differentiating between IC and OOC actions, it may be best that you step away from roleplaying until you can find some perspective. Also, just because you may not get along with another player, their pc not liking yours does not automatically mean that they are somehow cheating. Again, not all pc's get along, if you genuinely believe that the pc having an issue with yours is based on ooc conflict, talk to the ST's and we will find out why the other pc hates yours and take action if it is not a valid and purely IC reason. Otherwise? Respond to IC conflict in game, in character. Don't take it personally if people don't like your pc, it may just be that you made a concept that doesn't mesh well with the game. Want honest and blunt feedback on whether or not this is the case? Just talk to the STs and we will be glad to give it to you.

Interactions with the ST
Downtimes should be submitted via email to charlotteofthehounds@gmail.com this includes downtime actions, xp expenditures, and "Hey I'd like to run this scene with that npc when you have time." Requests not submitted via email may be overlooked or forgotten about. You are allowed to ask via pm or in the ooc room when he is active, but this does not guarantee immediate attention as he may need time to decide how to run your downtime scene or how to respond to your request. Those who do not ask politely are likely to be ignored. Hounding, harassing, pestering, or annoying the ST is unacceptable. Doing these things may result in your request being denied, docking of XP, or even the pc being removed from play.

Rules Calls & Arguments
There are times when the ST may be willing to discuss rules and mechanics with you. These times are not in the middle of a scene or combat. A call will be made based on the information that the ST has available at that time, and may be revised later after more research. Unless this call is going to directly lead to your pc's death, we ask that you simply log with a pm or ooc comment "I disagree and would like to discuss this after the scene is finished" If instead you continue to argue, disrupting game and preventing other players from being able to continue, you will be removed from the scene and the ST will portray your character. Afterward, if the pc survives, you will be given a rundown of what your pc did. One very easy way to avoid this situation is when you buy a gift/rite/whatever make sure to include a writeup of it when you submit the downtime. This can be citation of what book its from if one of the core books that we list in the Houserules or by providing Both Citation AND a writeup of any mechanics involved with the power. Discussing this with the ST BEFORE it comes into play should provide the opportunity to get a clear ruling on how it works, or have discussion on how you believe it should be run. Keep in mind, the st Will eventually make a ruling on how it is going to run in this game, and if you continue to argue after that point the item may be removed from your sheet (potentially with no xp refund).

The HST makes the Final Call
If one of the AST's make a rules call or judgment that you think is unfair, let them know that you intend to talk with the HST about it. However, once the HST has made his ruling, that is final. Going behind his back to the AST's complaining, or "playing mommy against daddy" in attempt to get the ruling changed then you will receive a warning and possibly also 24 hour break from the game. The HST is open to discussing things, but once he has made his official decision on the matter, it is final. Renewing the topic at a later time after finding a clarification of the rule in one of the books may be acceptable, otherwise… Accept it and move on.

Cheating
If you are caught cheating or deliberately misrepresenting the rules to the ST or to other players in a scene you will be removed from the game, banned from the rooms, and unwelcome to return. There are no second chances. We do not tolerate cheaters, we will not allow them in game, and will in fact report any players caught cheating to the staff of other Worlds Apart games so that they can decide whether or not to consider you welcome. Keep in mind, this refers to cheating, a deliberate and conscious act. If mistakes are made due to misunderstandings and misinterpretations then lesser punishments will be decided on.

Interactions with Other Players

Diversity
Due to the nature of our game being online, you will run into a lot of different types of people. Some may become your new best friend, some you may dislike on general principle. Some may even be players that you've dealt with in other games and aren't particularly fond of. Deal with it. If you cannot behave civilly to other players, then you are disruptive and may make yourself unwelcome. If you are consistently rude to the other players, deliberately antagonize people, or a general jackass you will not last long. We don't expect you to go out for tea and crumpets with the people you aren't fond of, just be polite, or at least civil.

Attitude
Sometimes players have bad days. ST's have bad days too. Taking out your bad mood on the other players or ST's is not acceptable. Ever. If you are so aggravated or upset that you want to yell and scream and lash out at everyone around you, don't come in. Whether you choose to take a hot shower, have a couple of drinks, make a booty-call, we don't care… Just don't come in and inflict your bad day on the rest of us.

Behavior
Don't be a jackass. Don't be obnoxious. Don't be annoying. If whatever thing you are doing, likely in the ooc room, that you think is cute is obviously irritating people? STOP DOING IT! If someone asks you to stop, STOP DOING IT! Is this difficult to understand? No.

We are Adults (pt1)
We are all over 18 years of age, this means that our conversations may (and will) at times involve Adult Content. This means Sex, Naughty Language, Bad Words, and all sorts of perversion that probably also involves Sex, Naughty Language, and Bad Words. If you aren't comfortable with a topic, speak up and say so. Usually people will change the subject if you are polite about it. If you aren't willing to speak up, then leave the room or ignore the channel for a while until the topic changes again.

We are Adults (pt2)
If someone says something that upsets you, someone hurts your feelings, someone makes you angry… Talk to them. Take as much time as you need to get enough distance so that you can approach the conversation in a calm and reasonable manner. "Hey, it really upset me earlier when you said that thing…" explain why it upset you, and ask that they try not to do it again. If someone comes to you with an issue, be mature about it. Apologize for upsetting them and do your best not to repeat whatever upset them. This does not mean that you get to whine anytime someone says something you don't like, but that we encourage you to be a grown up person and resolve your issues instead of letting them fester until you explode on people. This will put you in violation of Rule #1. If you cannot resolve the issues between yourselves like real live adults, we will step in and do it for you, just like when Mommy and Daddy had to make you apologize for pulling your sister's hair.

ITS JUST A GAME
We play for fun, to explore our concepts and act out their personalities. This is for enjoyment and relaxation, if the game is causing you stress, upset, depression, or other extreme emotions please take a break, consider bringing in a character which will be more fun to play, go watch a funny movie or kill shit on WoW/etc to de-stress. Nobody here wants this to be something that has an adverse effect on your happiness, and we WILL understand if you need to back off for a bit. If you find that you are taking things personally, overreacting, getting offended by other people's actions… We would rather lose you for a day or a week where we'll fantasize about all the hottubbin' and bar hoppin' you're out there doing in the real world while we sit around at our computers… than lose you in a giant burst of angst and rage. Take a nap, take a break, and come back to us when you are ready.

Examples & Policies:

"Screw You Guys I Quit!"
We understand that passions get high. A tense roleplay scene can turn into an ooc conflict easily. You're already stressed, possibly upset, and someone makes a comment that looks like an insult. Maybe it was, maybe you're just being oversensitive because you're already upset by the ic stuff. Either way, the situation gets worse. Maybe there's a debate, a discussion, an outright argument and you start to feel that you/your character are unappreciated. You get angry or upset and decide FUCK IT I'M OUT! We will give you 24 hours to calm down before considering this decision final. It is your choice to quit, but if you do leave we would prefer it not be something you regret. We may even, at a later date, consider welcoming you back. However those who quit in a tantrum more than once are unlikely to be given third chances, please keep this in mind.

Also, if you quit and return after the 24 hours, your original pc may no longer be available. When you leave, it becomes and NPC and may be used as a plot device that could involve character death. When you quit, you surrender your pc and there is no guarantee that it will be waiting if you come back. As a note, transferring the pc to another Worlds Apart game is at the ST's discretion, so keep these things in mind before deciding to officially quit. We encourage you to instead take a break, informing the ST and other players that you are going to take some personal time away from game. Doing this will result in your pc being put into some form of downtime task that gives them an excuse for being unavailable until you return. This is likely to still involve the pc losing any IC positions of authority they have, depending on the length of the absence. An Alpha can assign his Beta to watch over the Sept for a month, but longer than that and he may come back to meet the new Alpha.

Final Note. If you leave the game in a huff, a flounce, a fuck you letter to the email list or a rant in the ooc room… You may be restricted to basic character types and powers for a time, if you are allowed to return as Special characters are awarded only to those who demonstrate that they can play them responsibly.

Conflict Of Interest
Your PC's cannot interact with each other in any way. There are occasional (large combat, moot) scenes where the st's will allow you to play multiple pc's in the same scene but they cannot interact. If your pc who is an Ahroun needs a spirit bound into their weapon, having your theurge pc do it is considered cheating. Find another theurge pc to do it for you. Your pc's don't know each other, cannot meet, cannot interact in any way. Further, it is advised that you do not tie multiple pc's to the same person. Aka, your second pc should not be your first pc's Mate's Brother. This may lead to indirect interaction between characters, or lead other players to believe that you are cheating.

We do understand its a relatively small game and your pc's may interact with the same person, but these relationships cannot be of the same type. If your main pc is JoeBob's lover, your secondary should not have an intimate connection with him. Also, if you have a close tie with someone, going to that player's other pc for something important should be avoided as it may appear as a conflict to others. While you may have a perfectly valid and acceptable reason for this, others will see it as "Well, he knew that her other pc had better stats for this, so he called that one instead." It is best to avoid the appearance of COI altogether, and if you are doing something that you think may lead to that appearance… talk to the ST's ahead of time so they are aware of the situation before any complaints come up.

If you suspect someone else of COI do not confront or accuse them. Its not your job, you don't have all of the information, you will only be causing drama. Instead, talk to the ST's and explain why you feel there may be a COI. If you have logs, we want those so that we can look it over and get our own perspective on it. There will be an investigation, we will talk to the other player(s) involved and find out their justification for what the pc is up to so that we can determine whether it is a genuine COI. If so, warnings will be issued for misconduct, and further action will be taken as deemed appropriate to the severity of each situation.

As a note, No. You do not have the right to face your accuser unless we decide that you do, and/or the other player is comfortable with mediating the discussion after we have investigated. While this may seem unfair, it is a way of mitigating drama by refusing to play the 'he said she said' game. If we feel that a misunderstanding can be resolved by pulling both/all players into a room to hash things out, we will do so. Otherwise, it is YOUR job to play responsibly so that these situations don't happen in the first place.

3 Strikes

The First Infraction

will result in a private warning, either via IM or Email. The warning will explain what you did wrong, why, and advise an adjustment in behavior/attitude/etc to prevent a repeat of the incident.

The Second Infraction
will result in another warning and explanation accompanied by a 24 hour ban from the OOC and all IC rooms and roleplay. This also includes any side scenes or ic emails. This is an enforced 24 hour break from the game so that you can return and start over again.

The Third Infraction
will result in being banned from the ooc and ic rooms, removed from email lists, wiki access revoked, etc. The ST will decide whether you are welcome to continue playing in the game or whether your continued presence is disruptive to the game. If you are allowed to return, there will be restrictions to character types, and a stricter enforcement of any misbehavior. If allowed to remain in the game this may be conditional to a suspension from roleplay and interaction for one full month during which you will not gain xp and your pc will be removed from any ic positions of authority. Depending on whether the action resulting in discipline originated in an ic or ooc room, it may also involve a loss of renown and rank for the pc.

Minor Infractions
Of course there are lesser infractions which may result in multiple warnings or temporary bans. However these minor incidents will be kept on record, and will eventually stack up. So yes, constantly being whiny, bitchy, or otherwise annoying can still result in your removal from the game.

Abusive Behavior

will not be tolerated. If someone is found to be a constant disruption, a Drama Llama, engages in outright harassment and abuse of ST or other players they will be removed from game and not benefit from the Strike system. There are some things which are completely unacceptable and will make you unwelcome to participate in this game.

Conflict Resolution
If you have an issue that you aren't able/comfortable/willing to directly address privately with the other person, or feel that you need a third party to mediate you are ALWAYS welcome to come to the ST Staff and ask for help in resolving things. This may involve discussing things separately with both/all players to get multiple sides of the same story, or opening a chat room where the discussion can be mediated. Aka "JoBob explain why you are upset" "BarbieSue explain why you are upset" each person gets a turn to talk without interruption, then when both sides have been presented then the Mediator will facilitate communication in effort to find a compromise and effect a resolution. If the players cannot agree, the Mediator will decide how to continue. It is in your best interest to behave maturely and find a compromise of your own.

Contact:
Charlotte, the head storyteller for Galena can be contactable normally through the OOC chat room (#Hounds:OOC ) On the the Darkmyst Game Server for IRC. Otherwise you may email at charlotteofthehounds@gmail.com There are however multiple chat forms on this website for a direct messages to be sent to her as you wish. Thanks!