Policies

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Most policies/rules will be explained here in detail. Some, particularly where they are sphere-specific or better addressed elsewhere, are only linked here as a point of reference so that all rules are easy to find in a central location.

We're all grown-ups. The rules have been written with that in mind, and where punishment is necessary, staff prefers to thwap the abuser, not every user.

While it is not a policy, per se, all staff-created HTML 256 color has been chosen based upon the information in this chart, to correspond with non-eyeblinding ANSI 16 colors. This was chosen as a courtesy to those whose clients do not display colors in 256.


Everyone

  • Abuse - First off, let's define abuse.
noun
əˈbyo͞os/
1. the improper use of something.
2. cruel and violent treatment of a person or animal.

Self-explanatory. Don't do it. If you're caught, you will be punished.

Playing on Fate's Harvest is a privilege, not a right, when it comes right down to it. You aren't paying for it, and staff is not getting paid to run it for you.
As 'home' owners, we are within our rights to kick you out if you're a pest. We don't WANT to, but we're prepared to if we have to.

  • Abuse Definitions - These are the general guidelines for levels of abuse.
1. Small rule: something which does not have a great impact on other players.
e.g. cheating on hedgefruit gathering, joining channels you don't have a right to join.
2. Bad behavior: behaving in ways which significantly detract from the fun of others. This is the fuzziest of the three, and the most open to interpretation.
When in doubt, page the other player to get their consent if you aren't sure. Log the scene and their consent, or, if especially paranoid, +request to open a +job and have them state their consent there, so staff has proof that no abuses were committed. Even if you're great friends, there are more players than staff, and having that +job on record will help if someone down the line suddenly hears about the story and leaps to the wrong conclusions.
e.g. harassment, bullying, persecution.
3. Big rule: major rules relating to game policies, resources and extreme negative behavior. These are the most likely to get you banned.
e.g. breaking alt limits, repeatedly abusing bugs instead of reporting them, repeated harassment of others etc.
  • Punishments. What they are and why.
  • Alt Limits. We're flexible. In essence, 4 higher xp alts, infinite low xp alts.
  • XP Tiers. A way to give you lots of xp and alts without messing up game balance!
  • XP handling. How we handle giving out xp.
  • The game is run under modified nWoD GMC rules, using the following books:
    • World of Darkness: Core Rulebook (WoD)
    • World of Darkness: God Machine (GMC)
    • World of Darkness: Second Sight (SS)
    • Changeling: the Lost (CtL)
      • Rites of Spring (RoS)
      • Lords of Summer (LoS)
      • Autumn Nightmares (AN)
      • Winter Masques (WM)
      • Swords at Dawn (SaD)
      • Dancers in the Dusk (DitD)
      • Equinox Road (ER)
      • Goblin Markets (GM)
      • Victorian Lost (VL)
      • Night Horrors: Grim Fears (NH:GF)
    • Armory (ARM)
    • Armory Reloaded (REL)
    • Glimpses of the Unknown (GotU)

As GMC is not fully compatible with Changeling, house rules are prevalent.


Staff

  • Naming Convention - Mountains! Pick a mountain anywhere.
  • Monikers - Those are the pretty colours on the names, and they are up to personal preference.
  • Equal treatment - If you can't be objective, you shouldn't be staff. All players, no matter how cool or infuriating, need to be treated with the same degree of respect. If you're always giving Good Stuff to the people you like, and Bad Stuff to the ones you don't, it will be noticed, and you will be warned.
  • Wiki Page - All staffmembers must have a wiki page including their usual 'office hours' (when you expect to be around), any plots they are currently running/have run in the past, and any NPCs they are willing to play on request.
  • Transparency - All staffmembers are required to post a list of alts on both their wiki page and in their +finger.
    • You CAN still play your regular PCs, with the caveat that your PCs should not be taking part in plots YOU run.
    • If your PC is in the Changeling sphere, s/he/it may not lead the Freehold while you are actively staffing. If you would like to take a staff vacation for a season, then it is peachykeeneriffic.
    • Do not fill jobs sent from your own PCs. If it is a build job, have someone else sign off on it, even if you do the building yourself.
  • Storytelling guidelines - The game is not a tabletop campaign, but storytelling is storytelling. Think of it as a TV series. It is intended to be a continuous world-story, built up and sustained by smaller episodic arcs. Invite players to explore certain aspects of the world, give them adventure, and close the arc. Give them the satisfaction of knowing they are a part of the larger story. Build on the details of past arcs to keep the world alive. Consequences aren't a bad thing!
Staff storytelling's goal is to ST the setting, to give players world-arcs to bounce off of, and to give the game a sense of continuity and structure. One of STing Staff's jobs is to help players coordinate their own stories, within the larger framework of the world. Don't be afraid to gently nudge a player if their idea doesn't mesh well with the theme.
STs are expected to have notes accessible to all staff members in the event of emergency substitutions. Paperwork isn't the most fun thing in the world, but it keeps things organised if a kid gets sick right before a major event is run. If you'd rather postpone than have someone else try to interpret your work, that's fine, but notes still need to exist.
  • Responsibilities - While staffers are expected to have a working knowledge of nWoD mechanics/SS/Changeling and be able to pick up the slack if others aren't around, in practical terms, not every staffer will be an expert in every subject. These responsibilities are written with that in mind.
    • Answer +jobs. If it is assigned to you, please try to respond within a day, even if that response is only to warn the player that it will take a few days to mull it over.
    • Run Stories. Another no-brainer.  :) We're the STs! Some of this is covered in other sections, but really, seriously, staffpeople are expected to ST things regularly unless they were hired solely for some other responsibility. You aren't going to be fired if your brain needs to lie fallow for a while, but the goal here IS to keep the world alive, and that takes presence.
    • Arbitrate. People are people, and people don't always like other people, or behave well. Staffpeople are responsible for USING THE PUNISHMENT GUIDELINES for ALL PLAYERS. There is a standard list. It is a standard for a reason. If you feel something someone has done does not have a list equivalent, please tell Annapurna and let her handle it. She is the game owner, able and willing to be the source of kvetching and rarrr whyyyy?! from players. Part of the job description.
  • Activity and absences - Be around and available at least a few times a week. Reality happens, busy-ness happens: tell staffpeople when it is going to happen so they can compensate for your workload. It takes 30 seconds to log on and write a note... :) If you are handling +jobs which need immediate attention, hand them off to another staffer. To be very clear, if you consistently flake with no warning and no explanation, that WILL get you put on mental poop lists, and eventually will see you gently removed from staff. Staffing is a volunteer responsibility, but it is still a responsibility.
  • Behavior - No-brainer: don't abuse your privileges. Don't stalk people. Don't hound people with Bad Stuff just because you don't like them. That is harassment, and a one-way ticket away from being staff. Treat players the way you would want to be treated by a staffer; don't yell at them, don't tell them their ideas are stupid, even if you think they are. If you have a problem with a +job and don't think you're capable of being objective, tag another staffer.
  • NPC-Handling - Every staffer must post a public list of which NPCs they are willing and able to run on request. A staff-only list of NPC traits, history, PC contacts etc. must also be created for any cases where the NPC is needed and you aren't there. Staff will not play NPCs belonging to other staffers without permission, and only if meetings for some reason absolutely cannot be rescheduled.

All PCs

  • Building policies.
  • Equipment policies.
  • House Rules policies.
  • Services available, as examples of what certain levels of Allies, Status, Contacts, etc. will accomplish.
  • Size descriptions for easy access.
  • Wikis - For spam-prevention purposes, send in a +req/wiki with your desired account name and password. Staff will create your account. All players are encouraged to create one, however empty the page is, for logging purposes. Staff will not reward XP for PRP scenes without logs. If you are a member of a Family, include your surname in your page name, please. (i.e. if you are an Alexander named Rebecca, rather than creating /Rebecca, you would create /Rebecca_Alexander)
    • Players are allowed a maximum of 5 image files on their character pages. If you have an extensive gallery of PB shots you just neeeeed to include, please A) link your visitors to an external site or B) compile them into one image and upload that. The wiki has a limited amount of space allocated to it, and while staff can expand that (for a fee) we would prefer not to.
    • Staff prefers that players use one wiki account across all alts, but understands that some players would prefer secrecy. Staff requests that, unless you are particularly concerned, you please not request a new account every time you make an alt.
  • Descriptions - Everybody needs one. If you're a changeling, you need two (mask/mien). No, they can't just be a link to a picture. You will not be approved without something which makes you reasonably identifiable. If you're not a fan of writing them, bare minimum required is to slap together something short with your age/gender/height/build/ethnicity/eye/hair color and clothes.
If you are a changeling, you are also required to include at least a brief description of your Mantle (if you have one).
NOTE: If you have the Striking Looks, Feral Mien, Gentrified Bearing or other related merits which rely upon your appearance/demeanor/aura to influence others' behavior, you MUST have a note in your @desc (and/or &faedesc) to show that they are there. Toss SL1/FM/GB in on a separate line with any descriptors necessary.

Changelings

Linked here for easy reference:


Psychics

  • Merits located on main Merits page. We use a blend of GMC and SS, as GMC cut out a lot of psychic powers, and staff preferred to keep them.


Thaumaturges

  • Merits located on main Merits page. As Thaumaturges were not a part of GMC, the merits are derived from SS.
  • Traditions available and relative local populations, opinions thereof, availability of teachers.


Mortals

  • Attribute Limits - If you are a mortal/+ of any stripe, you are a human being. Chances are good you do not spend eight hours a day honing your mind and body to maintain it. More than three Attribute stats at 5 will be heavily scrutinized, no matter how much XP you have, and getting each and every other Attribute to 4, while not technically breaking the rules, will get gently rolled eyes. ;)
The +xps command will not allow anyone with a mortal/+ template to purchase Attribute dots up to 5 once it can see that there are already three at 5 set on their +sheet. You will need to +request them from staff, with justification.
  • Skill Limits - Zippo. While Attribute min-maxing stretches credulity, skills are just what you apply yourself to learn. If you're a regular scholar of all things skill-tacular, go for it.
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