Post by StoryTeller on Dec 12, 2006 18:30:31 GMT
Freeform Rule Number One
This rule is often called "Freeform Rule Number One" because it is the foundation upon which freeform roleplaying stands. It is one of the simplest rules, but one of the most commonly broken.
All you need to remember is to post only what your own character does, or feels, or sees, or how he reacts to the environment. Never post for other characters, in any way.
Combat is one particularly difficult situation for many players to heed this rule. Often a player will post not only his attack but also the results of the attack -- and that is a violation. It is up to the defender to determine what happens to him because of the attack! An attacking character can swing a sword or shoot an arrow at an opponent -- but whether the sword cuts or the arrow pierces is up to the target.
Possessions fall under this rule, in the sense that a character cannot affect another person's physical possessions in the same way that he cannot affect the other person's body. A thief cannot steal a purse; the thief can post that he tries to steal the purse -- but it's up to the victim whether the purse is swiped, and whether the thief is noticed in the act.
When in doubt about this rule, try turning the tables: imagine that you are the other character, and someone is about to post an action or reaction for you. Wouldn't you feel slighted and robbed of control of your own character, if the decisions about what your character does and how he reacts to the actions of others is taken away from you?
Never take for granted what other characters in the game are going to do. Leave it up to them.
What May I Create?
New Areas
the Skulking Orc Inn is a highly defined gameing site with several continents and dozens of locales such as cities, forests, deserts, seas, mountain ranges, and more. It is a rich environment offering sufficient defined content for almost any story. Every day its growing and changing as you the players make it happen.
Players can make new locations as their stories demand. However, common sense must be used, in accordance with Rule #5 "Walking Through Walls (Without Magic)" and per the limitations listed here:
Villages - A small community of no more than a few dozen people may be created wherever settlers might survive. Anything larger than such a tiny village would surely have been noticed by the official cartographers of The United Realms of Garn. The population of such a village must comply with the Cameo NPC rules. The creation of new large towns and cities is not acceptable.
Islands - Characters might encounter islands no larger than a couple of square miles in their travels on the sea: no larger island can possibly exist without having been noted and charted by the mariners of The United Realms of Garn. The creation of new continents is not acceptable.
Planes And Other Worlds - Though several realms are suspected to exist beyond the material lands of the world, they are difficult to reach and impossible to return from. Any player venturing into alternate dimensions is considered to have left the game permanently. The use of "shadow-planes" and related dimensions, especially for purposes of teleportation, must comply with Rule #3 "Balance In All Things." In other words... No. Stick to the real world.
Character Pages - Every character upon acceptance into the Skulking Orc Inn is given an area to create their profile and update their equipment as well as an online journal. No other posts will be allowed along this nature. Please do not create "character pages" because we will have to delete them.
Event/Story Pages - Each page in the United Realms of Garn message board represents a physical area, e.g. The Iron Eagle tavern or the Serobi Wastes Desert. Some other message-board games rely on "chapter"-based message pages such as "King Hulgar meets Jezia" -- this is not the case in this forum. Please do not create "event/story" pages because we will have to delete them. Stick to the location titled area's and create your story's within them.
Supporting Characters
(Characters other than your own character and those of other players are sometimes called "NPC's" per traditional roleplaying terminology.)
New players are limited to one character (user account) for at least the first six months of play. After having resided in the World for six months, a player may request a second character through the game’s application process.
Supporting characters, such as peddlers, well-met travellers, or kinfolk, add interest and color to the tales of Garn, and may be incorporated into storylines through regular posting. These characters are considered to be temporary, however, and are generally used only to support the player’s main character or storyline activity. A more permanent supporting role, such as a sidekick or a familiar, is permissible as well; again, these characters may be included in the player’s posts, or after the 6 months, a separate account.
Some guidelines for the creation of NPC's:
Cameo NPC's - You can populate the storyline in which your PC is active with additional "temporary" characters by writing them into your posts. You might, for example, arrive at a bazaar, wishing to buy a weapon or supplies -- feel free to write a cameo merchant into your post, if one does not already exist. There are instances where a player might need to interact with a guardsman or tavern wench, in which case the player may create and control just such an NPC. Generally these Cameo NPC's are meant for temporary story support and may not be carried through a story indefinitely. This is not a loophole to create multiple PC's.
Sidekicks - Running a sidekick NPC to accompany your main character is acceptable, either by writing him into your character's posts, or making separate anonymous posts. However, a sidekick is not only a doubling of your requirements for maintaining a character, but he is also an asset that will generally count toward the main character's compliance with the Zero-Sum Rule (or, ideally, be so well-defined that he complies with the Zero-Sum himself). Sidekicks should not be taken on frivolously! A sidekick must remain with his patron. Each player may create and control one sidekick NPC per PC.
Villains - Many stories rely on adversaries to oppose the heroes' efforts. Running a long-term villain is acceptable, either by writing him into your character's posts, or making separate anonymous posts. However, like a sidekick, a villain increases your requirements for maintaining a character, and they should not be created frivolously! Each player, per PC, may create and control one long-term villain character (who might be served by Cameo NPC's as outlined above). Create a full profile for your villain -- including strengths, weaknesses, appearance, and background -- and post the info in your character's profile.
NPC's outside your own storyline are not allowed. Creating anonomously-posted NPC's for use as additional characters is not allowed. Clarification: this means you are writing only in the scene your character occupies! Your "story" does not appear on the boards anywhere except where your character is at the time. Without this understanding, any player could simply say, "Yeh but all those characters that I'm writing anonymously all over the game, hey, they're all NPC's for my story!" Sorry, but that would be a subversion of the character limit (Rule#9), and we cannot allow it.
Superpowers
Every character upon application is assessed for balance in strengths and weaknesses per Rule #3 "Balance In All Things."; the same rule must apply to any NPC and even to magical artifacts (such as enchanted items). No super-powered PC's, NPC's, or objects may exist in the game.
Controlling NPC's
An "NPC" is a "Non-Player Character." This term is a bit of a misnomer, because all characters in our game are controlled by players. The phrase comes to us as a leftover from systemized gaming wherein a GameMaster runs support characters to enhance the stories for his players. We keep the term solely because of its wide usage to distinguish main "Player Characters" (PC's) from characters that are primarily meant to provide story support.
If an NPC has a name, no other player may control him; treat him like any other regular character. This is our basic rule for whether a player may control an NPC. Every player must use common sense in all circumstances, but should always lean toward controlling only his own character, whenever in doubt, rather than mistakenly controlling someone else's character, which can cause misunderstandings and arguments.
Some NPC's take the form of gangs of attackers or hordes of monsters. In the case of, for example, a huge pack of orcs attacking a party of characters, it is permissile for the characters to post results of combat, to slay an orc here and there, to get one's sword bloody, even though it might appear as a technical violation of Freeform Rule Number One. Again, when in doubt, use common sense, and lean toward controlling only your own character, trusting that whoever created the orcs will post suitable reactions to your attacks.
Missing Players
Occasionally, characters will not post for a period of time. Unfortunately a missing player can greatly disrupt a scene, often completely stalling all the other players in the story. In this case, a suspension of FreeForm Rule Number One goes into effect:
FIVE DAYS - If a player has not posted for five days, permission is granted for other payers in the story to post for his character, on the provision that no extreme or permanent change may be made to the missing player's character. For example, you may move that character, have him speak and act, interact with others, etc.; but you may not kill or mutilate him, obligate him to extended commitments, give away his prized possessions, etc. This is called "Carrying A Character (In His Player's Absence)." Temporarily, the character is owned by no one, and any player may post actions for him, in keeping with common sense and reasonable story progress.
TEN DAYS - After ten days, if a player is still missing, permission is granted to remove his character from the scene, but only in such a way that the character might return if the original player resumes posting. For example, you can have the character move away to explore a nearby area, after which his whereabouts become unknown; but you may not kill him off. This is called "Exiting A Character."
FIFTEEN DAYS - If fifteen days elapse without a post from the original player, his character must be exited from the scene in a timely fashion. The Missing Player guidelines are not intended as a loophole for players to inherit multiple characters, but as a method of preventing story stalls and smoothing the inevitable loss of players.
UPON RETURN - If and when the original player again resumes posting for his character, FreeForm Rule Number One again goes into effect, and permission for other players to post for his character is revoked.
Each player has his own idea of what "Swords & Sorcery" means. The intent of this rule is to keep gameplay within a consistent framework of medieval fantasy.
Including inappropriate elements in our stories causes disruption and confusion. Other characters will respond with withdrawal, correction, or ridicule; site moderators or the site administrator will respond with reminders to remain within the confines of the milieu.
Some content that has been generally deemed unacceptable for the game:
Power mechanisms, such as steam engines, electric motors or batteries or generators, gasoline (e.g. internal combustion), etc. Magic is the primary power source for those who can command it; others are stuck with water-wheels, tension mechanisms (e.g. crossbows, trebuchets), or beasts of burdern (e.g. horse-power).
Space travel and other planets. Although the Moon plays a part in our game, deep space and the vacuum-void between worlds and the entire concept of steller systems and galaxies is yet un-thought-of by the denizens of this world. Other worlds might exist, but they are in alternate dimensions, and accessible (rarely! and at great expense) by portals or dreamwalking rather than by pressurized vehicles with rocket-power.
Modern science, including chemistry, physics, electronics, plastics, biomedicine, aeronautics, etc. Instead, in this world, the odd sage might have learned bits of lore in the arts of Alchemy or Herbalism, or in obscure schools of Magic. Whether a character can locate such a sage is another matter entirely; locating a scroll containing such lore would likely produce nothing intelligible for the average adventure.
Players are encouraged to reasearch the Middle Ages for further insight into the mundane game setting; but bear in mind that, although this world is medieval in technology and society, it is also rife with wizardry.
If you are in doubt as to whether any particular element is suitable for the United Realms of Garn, please email the site administrator (s_ewing_2000@yahoo.com) or send a private message (which is more likely to be recieved).
"The Zero-Sum Rule." Power not only corrupts; it seduces, especially in a FreeForm environment. It is far too easy to create characters or creatures or devices of such magnitude of ability and influence that game balance is completely destroyed. The Rules of any game must maintain the game's stability; in our FreeForm game, the Zero Sum Rule helps to serve this purpose.
This is the wordiest of our Rules ... but it is a single, simple concept.
THE RULE: Any positive aspect introduced into the game must have an equal and opposite negative aspect. If your character enjoys a great power, he must have an equally great weakness; and if your character can tap into great energies, he must pay an equally great price for their use. Most importantly, the negative aspect must manifest itself in the game at least as much as the positive aspect does (in other words, to offset a power that is used regularly, you cannot claim a weakness that is rarely if ever felt).
BALANCE vs. CANCELLATION: The Zero Sum Rule is not intended to cancel out powers with weaknesses that directly counter them; that would defeat the whole purpose of having powers in the first place!
INFINITY AND NEGATIVE INFINITY: All power must be finite -- measurably so. Incomprehensibly vast powers simply cannot be tolerated, no matter what counterbalances might be in effect. But, to say that a power is "limited" does not in itself satisy the Zero Sum Rule; there must be some negative counterbalance, not just a limit.
UP-FRONT ACCOUNTABILITY: All negatives relied upon to satisfy the Zero-Sum Rule must be posted up-front in the game, either as soon as a corresponding power is used, or before-hand, on a character sheet or in play. No hidden or secret weaknesses satisy the Zero-Sum Rule. However, all players are free to introduce more weaknesses than are necessary to counterbalance their powers; any character may be "over-weak" -- and often such characters are far more fun to play in terms of challenges and triumphs.
THE ARBITRATION: It is initially up to each individual player to define both his powers and his weaknesses. The Honor System assumes that the player will create a suitable balance, and all players are free to introduce whatever powers and weaknesses as they see fit. There are no "points" or numerical measurements involved; common sense must prevail in determining whether a given power is sufficiently balanced by a given weakness. Also, it is not necessary to have a strict one-to-one accounting of powers and weaknesses; if you give your character three or four reasonable powers, you might offset them with one or two extra-strong weaknesses, or five or six moderate weaknesses, as long as the manifestation of these weaknesses balances the powers -- of course, the more such discrepancy a player relies on, the greater the chances of losing his Zero-Sum balance, which can lead to an intervention in play to restore balance, for it is the ultimate decision of the moderators as to whether any character or creature or device is in compliance with the Zero-Sum Rule. The moderators reserve the right to request and suggest whatever adjustments are necessary to maintain game balance.
"FATIGUE": Becoming tired after using a power, being able to use a power only once per time period, or using energy sources that deplete after a certain number of uses of a power, do not effectively create balance for a power. It rarely if ever fails to play out as more than a simple skipping-over of the fatigue, such as "Hax is tired for the rest of the day. Then, the next morning, he feels better ..." Also, if an ability is limited only by its energy source, that balance is lost when a new and better energy source presents itself, which is usually the case. When you are creating an ability for your character, do not try to assume Zero-Sum compliance by "limiting" the power.
The Zero-Sum Rule has caused some controversy; but most experienced roleplayers will embrace and agree with it, and would abide by it anyway, of their own accord ... for it is well understood that the unrestrained exercise of power ("munchkinism" or powergaming) appeals only to poor or misguided players, and that truly enriching and rewarding roleplaying thrives on the overcoming of personal obstacles and limitations. If you do not understand this Rule, just try to abide by it, and you will learn something about roleplaying in general.
Magic
Each character who casts magic must specify his craft(s), either from existing descriptions, and/or in definitions of his own. Each enchanted artifact (except those minor items appearing only briefly and without significant storyline impact) should be described, in terms of craft, when it appears in the game, either as an OOC note, in IC narrative/dialog, or (best of all) within the character profile of the owner or creator.
Magic, by definition, is the manipulation of various natural and supernatural forces -- planar energies, mana, psionics, divine power, and others -- to affect the Worlde, and things in the Worlde, near or around the magicker. This manipulation, without exception, always complies with The Three Tenets Of Magick, as distilled by the greatest of sages over the aeons:
* 1st Tenet: CRAFT: Magic, though random in nature, is most easily manipulated through the use of a crafted system of magic, such as Spellcasting, Rune-Magery, Sparctration, Thaumaturgy, Alchemy, Elementalism, Necromancy, and others. Though many schools of magic exist, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, none is superior to the rest. New systems arise constantly, but each always adheres to the balance inherent in the world, and the nature of magic itself. Every defined craft -- and every magic-capable object (like a wand or enchanted ring), which by definition is a self-contained craft -- consists of five common concerns, each of which the practitioner must fully understand, and by which over time he shall master his craft to his best ability.
o POWER SOURCE: Magickal power can arise from many sources:
+ Nature: lightning, fire (pyromancy), wind
+ Supernatural beings: deities, minions, elementals, imps & spirits
+ Magic-laden objects: enchanted possessions, articles infused with special energies, divine or arcane artifacts
+ The artful combination of mundane substances (alchemy)
+ Mana, which permeates the world: innate energy, including the "spirit" of such things as water (hydromancy, "water magic"), death (necromancy), light/darkness (shadow magick)
Each craft must plainly acknowledge the root of its energy.
o SUNDRIES: Many crafts rely upon (or consume entirely!) physical materials in the process of creating their magic: incense & powders, often burned to fume; holy icons, blessed or cursed symbols; rare gems or metals; dragon-scales; bones, blood, or organs from special (often mystical) creatures. Some crafts also require special tools to handle and process these components. All crafts rely upon lore, either established in previous ages or developed by the magic user himself. Each craft must denote its necessary materiel.
o WORK: Practicing magic entails certain physical acts, whether speaking spells, operating tools or devices, performing complex hand-movements, or issuing commands to agents (who in turn perform the required work). The control of magical power depends entirely upon the specific acts that the magic user performs, both to tap the power source and to manipulate it toward an outcome. Each craft must detail the acts necessary to create the craft's intended results.
o RECKONING: Magic always requires an expense above and beyond the effort put into the casting. Personal physical fatigue, while common, is never the only cost to magic use (although sometimes the very life-essence of the magic user himself is drained to some degree). Expensive magical components are often necessary for physical magics; for spiritual magics, debts to supernatural beings might come into the bargain. Any magic user who tries to cheat natural law will find a reckoning imposed upon him, often with severe penalty. Each craft must fully reckon its costs.
o YIELD: The sole purpose of magic-ing is to produce a specific effect or condition. Every craft has at least one such product; most crafts have many. A "spell list" is the most common manifestation of a defined craft's intended effects. Each craft must clearly define its intended results; each yield might have unique sundries, work, and reckoning, even within a single craft.
* 2nd Tenet: FLAW: No magic user -- even an expert -- can ever perform his craft fully accurately or fully reliably. Magic might fail at any time, produce effects contrary to those intended, produce completely random effects, or create side-effects of an unpredictable nature. Furthermore, as if by some hidden design, error and corruption seem often to occur at the most inopportune moment. Each craft must fully recognize its hazards and challenges.
o HAZARDS: The misdirection or loss of control of magic can produce unintended and possibly horrendous results. Simple pyromancy might lead to a conflagration; poorly created invisibility might cause intangibility or disintegration. Each of a craft's works should recognize, to whatever extent possible, hazards that endanger the magic user and those around him, to give him some chance of avoiding them.
o CHALLENGES: Even if magic does not go awry, there is no guarantee that it will succeed, either. Spells can fizzle; magic-items often require months to create and sometimes years to reveal their secrets of operation, but then only to sputter, freeze up, break, or bleed away their energy over time. At every step of the process, potential pitfalls face the practitioner of magic. Each of a craft's works presents its own unique challenges, which the magic user must acknowledge, if he is to have any chance of overcoming them.
* 3rd Tenet: QUASHING: No magic is ever permanent or irreversible. Any magic can be warded away, dispelled, or rebounded at the magic user, through some effort not less than that of the original casting. Of course, any countermeasures against magic are magical themselves and adhere to the same tenets. Even time itself can fade or bend an application of magic. No witch or wizard can ever foresee all the methods that might be used against his craft.
Lastly, patience is a virtue...
If you post and are looking for a reaction, wait for that reaction! Unlimited posting doesn't mean "give a short amount of time for response and then move on." It does mean, "Don't push a storyline far, far ahead without waiting for others to repond." Different players will post at different intervals; the faster-posting characters must allow the others to contribute and act within the storyline.
If the other charaters in your group are too fast or too slow for you, you should probably try to find a different group to write with.
There is, however, an objective limit to the amount of time a player must wait: please see the "Missing Players" Rule.
I would like to thank the creator of the Worlde Arcane for whom I "borrowed" much if not all of the above. In exchange, please visit that site and maybe even join it... it is after all... one of the best around!!
www.worldearcane.com/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi
This rule is often called "Freeform Rule Number One" because it is the foundation upon which freeform roleplaying stands. It is one of the simplest rules, but one of the most commonly broken.
All you need to remember is to post only what your own character does, or feels, or sees, or how he reacts to the environment. Never post for other characters, in any way.
Combat is one particularly difficult situation for many players to heed this rule. Often a player will post not only his attack but also the results of the attack -- and that is a violation. It is up to the defender to determine what happens to him because of the attack! An attacking character can swing a sword or shoot an arrow at an opponent -- but whether the sword cuts or the arrow pierces is up to the target.
Possessions fall under this rule, in the sense that a character cannot affect another person's physical possessions in the same way that he cannot affect the other person's body. A thief cannot steal a purse; the thief can post that he tries to steal the purse -- but it's up to the victim whether the purse is swiped, and whether the thief is noticed in the act.
When in doubt about this rule, try turning the tables: imagine that you are the other character, and someone is about to post an action or reaction for you. Wouldn't you feel slighted and robbed of control of your own character, if the decisions about what your character does and how he reacts to the actions of others is taken away from you?
Never take for granted what other characters in the game are going to do. Leave it up to them.
What May I Create?
New Areas
the Skulking Orc Inn is a highly defined gameing site with several continents and dozens of locales such as cities, forests, deserts, seas, mountain ranges, and more. It is a rich environment offering sufficient defined content for almost any story. Every day its growing and changing as you the players make it happen.
Players can make new locations as their stories demand. However, common sense must be used, in accordance with Rule #5 "Walking Through Walls (Without Magic)" and per the limitations listed here:
Villages - A small community of no more than a few dozen people may be created wherever settlers might survive. Anything larger than such a tiny village would surely have been noticed by the official cartographers of The United Realms of Garn. The population of such a village must comply with the Cameo NPC rules. The creation of new large towns and cities is not acceptable.
Islands - Characters might encounter islands no larger than a couple of square miles in their travels on the sea: no larger island can possibly exist without having been noted and charted by the mariners of The United Realms of Garn. The creation of new continents is not acceptable.
Planes And Other Worlds - Though several realms are suspected to exist beyond the material lands of the world, they are difficult to reach and impossible to return from. Any player venturing into alternate dimensions is considered to have left the game permanently. The use of "shadow-planes" and related dimensions, especially for purposes of teleportation, must comply with Rule #3 "Balance In All Things." In other words... No. Stick to the real world.
Character Pages - Every character upon acceptance into the Skulking Orc Inn is given an area to create their profile and update their equipment as well as an online journal. No other posts will be allowed along this nature. Please do not create "character pages" because we will have to delete them.
Event/Story Pages - Each page in the United Realms of Garn message board represents a physical area, e.g. The Iron Eagle tavern or the Serobi Wastes Desert. Some other message-board games rely on "chapter"-based message pages such as "King Hulgar meets Jezia" -- this is not the case in this forum. Please do not create "event/story" pages because we will have to delete them. Stick to the location titled area's and create your story's within them.
Supporting Characters
(Characters other than your own character and those of other players are sometimes called "NPC's" per traditional roleplaying terminology.)
New players are limited to one character (user account) for at least the first six months of play. After having resided in the World for six months, a player may request a second character through the game’s application process.
Supporting characters, such as peddlers, well-met travellers, or kinfolk, add interest and color to the tales of Garn, and may be incorporated into storylines through regular posting. These characters are considered to be temporary, however, and are generally used only to support the player’s main character or storyline activity. A more permanent supporting role, such as a sidekick or a familiar, is permissible as well; again, these characters may be included in the player’s posts, or after the 6 months, a separate account.
Some guidelines for the creation of NPC's:
Cameo NPC's - You can populate the storyline in which your PC is active with additional "temporary" characters by writing them into your posts. You might, for example, arrive at a bazaar, wishing to buy a weapon or supplies -- feel free to write a cameo merchant into your post, if one does not already exist. There are instances where a player might need to interact with a guardsman or tavern wench, in which case the player may create and control just such an NPC. Generally these Cameo NPC's are meant for temporary story support and may not be carried through a story indefinitely. This is not a loophole to create multiple PC's.
Sidekicks - Running a sidekick NPC to accompany your main character is acceptable, either by writing him into your character's posts, or making separate anonymous posts. However, a sidekick is not only a doubling of your requirements for maintaining a character, but he is also an asset that will generally count toward the main character's compliance with the Zero-Sum Rule (or, ideally, be so well-defined that he complies with the Zero-Sum himself). Sidekicks should not be taken on frivolously! A sidekick must remain with his patron. Each player may create and control one sidekick NPC per PC.
Villains - Many stories rely on adversaries to oppose the heroes' efforts. Running a long-term villain is acceptable, either by writing him into your character's posts, or making separate anonymous posts. However, like a sidekick, a villain increases your requirements for maintaining a character, and they should not be created frivolously! Each player, per PC, may create and control one long-term villain character (who might be served by Cameo NPC's as outlined above). Create a full profile for your villain -- including strengths, weaknesses, appearance, and background -- and post the info in your character's profile.
NPC's outside your own storyline are not allowed. Creating anonomously-posted NPC's for use as additional characters is not allowed. Clarification: this means you are writing only in the scene your character occupies! Your "story" does not appear on the boards anywhere except where your character is at the time. Without this understanding, any player could simply say, "Yeh but all those characters that I'm writing anonymously all over the game, hey, they're all NPC's for my story!" Sorry, but that would be a subversion of the character limit (Rule#9), and we cannot allow it.
Superpowers
Every character upon application is assessed for balance in strengths and weaknesses per Rule #3 "Balance In All Things."; the same rule must apply to any NPC and even to magical artifacts (such as enchanted items). No super-powered PC's, NPC's, or objects may exist in the game.
Controlling NPC's
An "NPC" is a "Non-Player Character." This term is a bit of a misnomer, because all characters in our game are controlled by players. The phrase comes to us as a leftover from systemized gaming wherein a GameMaster runs support characters to enhance the stories for his players. We keep the term solely because of its wide usage to distinguish main "Player Characters" (PC's) from characters that are primarily meant to provide story support.
If an NPC has a name, no other player may control him; treat him like any other regular character. This is our basic rule for whether a player may control an NPC. Every player must use common sense in all circumstances, but should always lean toward controlling only his own character, whenever in doubt, rather than mistakenly controlling someone else's character, which can cause misunderstandings and arguments.
Some NPC's take the form of gangs of attackers or hordes of monsters. In the case of, for example, a huge pack of orcs attacking a party of characters, it is permissile for the characters to post results of combat, to slay an orc here and there, to get one's sword bloody, even though it might appear as a technical violation of Freeform Rule Number One. Again, when in doubt, use common sense, and lean toward controlling only your own character, trusting that whoever created the orcs will post suitable reactions to your attacks.
Missing Players
Occasionally, characters will not post for a period of time. Unfortunately a missing player can greatly disrupt a scene, often completely stalling all the other players in the story. In this case, a suspension of FreeForm Rule Number One goes into effect:
FIVE DAYS - If a player has not posted for five days, permission is granted for other payers in the story to post for his character, on the provision that no extreme or permanent change may be made to the missing player's character. For example, you may move that character, have him speak and act, interact with others, etc.; but you may not kill or mutilate him, obligate him to extended commitments, give away his prized possessions, etc. This is called "Carrying A Character (In His Player's Absence)." Temporarily, the character is owned by no one, and any player may post actions for him, in keeping with common sense and reasonable story progress.
TEN DAYS - After ten days, if a player is still missing, permission is granted to remove his character from the scene, but only in such a way that the character might return if the original player resumes posting. For example, you can have the character move away to explore a nearby area, after which his whereabouts become unknown; but you may not kill him off. This is called "Exiting A Character."
FIFTEEN DAYS - If fifteen days elapse without a post from the original player, his character must be exited from the scene in a timely fashion. The Missing Player guidelines are not intended as a loophole for players to inherit multiple characters, but as a method of preventing story stalls and smoothing the inevitable loss of players.
UPON RETURN - If and when the original player again resumes posting for his character, FreeForm Rule Number One again goes into effect, and permission for other players to post for his character is revoked.
Each player has his own idea of what "Swords & Sorcery" means. The intent of this rule is to keep gameplay within a consistent framework of medieval fantasy.
Including inappropriate elements in our stories causes disruption and confusion. Other characters will respond with withdrawal, correction, or ridicule; site moderators or the site administrator will respond with reminders to remain within the confines of the milieu.
Some content that has been generally deemed unacceptable for the game:
Power mechanisms, such as steam engines, electric motors or batteries or generators, gasoline (e.g. internal combustion), etc. Magic is the primary power source for those who can command it; others are stuck with water-wheels, tension mechanisms (e.g. crossbows, trebuchets), or beasts of burdern (e.g. horse-power).
Space travel and other planets. Although the Moon plays a part in our game, deep space and the vacuum-void between worlds and the entire concept of steller systems and galaxies is yet un-thought-of by the denizens of this world. Other worlds might exist, but they are in alternate dimensions, and accessible (rarely! and at great expense) by portals or dreamwalking rather than by pressurized vehicles with rocket-power.
Modern science, including chemistry, physics, electronics, plastics, biomedicine, aeronautics, etc. Instead, in this world, the odd sage might have learned bits of lore in the arts of Alchemy or Herbalism, or in obscure schools of Magic. Whether a character can locate such a sage is another matter entirely; locating a scroll containing such lore would likely produce nothing intelligible for the average adventure.
Players are encouraged to reasearch the Middle Ages for further insight into the mundane game setting; but bear in mind that, although this world is medieval in technology and society, it is also rife with wizardry.
If you are in doubt as to whether any particular element is suitable for the United Realms of Garn, please email the site administrator (s_ewing_2000@yahoo.com) or send a private message (which is more likely to be recieved).
"The Zero-Sum Rule." Power not only corrupts; it seduces, especially in a FreeForm environment. It is far too easy to create characters or creatures or devices of such magnitude of ability and influence that game balance is completely destroyed. The Rules of any game must maintain the game's stability; in our FreeForm game, the Zero Sum Rule helps to serve this purpose.
This is the wordiest of our Rules ... but it is a single, simple concept.
THE RULE: Any positive aspect introduced into the game must have an equal and opposite negative aspect. If your character enjoys a great power, he must have an equally great weakness; and if your character can tap into great energies, he must pay an equally great price for their use. Most importantly, the negative aspect must manifest itself in the game at least as much as the positive aspect does (in other words, to offset a power that is used regularly, you cannot claim a weakness that is rarely if ever felt).
BALANCE vs. CANCELLATION: The Zero Sum Rule is not intended to cancel out powers with weaknesses that directly counter them; that would defeat the whole purpose of having powers in the first place!
INFINITY AND NEGATIVE INFINITY: All power must be finite -- measurably so. Incomprehensibly vast powers simply cannot be tolerated, no matter what counterbalances might be in effect. But, to say that a power is "limited" does not in itself satisy the Zero Sum Rule; there must be some negative counterbalance, not just a limit.
UP-FRONT ACCOUNTABILITY: All negatives relied upon to satisfy the Zero-Sum Rule must be posted up-front in the game, either as soon as a corresponding power is used, or before-hand, on a character sheet or in play. No hidden or secret weaknesses satisy the Zero-Sum Rule. However, all players are free to introduce more weaknesses than are necessary to counterbalance their powers; any character may be "over-weak" -- and often such characters are far more fun to play in terms of challenges and triumphs.
THE ARBITRATION: It is initially up to each individual player to define both his powers and his weaknesses. The Honor System assumes that the player will create a suitable balance, and all players are free to introduce whatever powers and weaknesses as they see fit. There are no "points" or numerical measurements involved; common sense must prevail in determining whether a given power is sufficiently balanced by a given weakness. Also, it is not necessary to have a strict one-to-one accounting of powers and weaknesses; if you give your character three or four reasonable powers, you might offset them with one or two extra-strong weaknesses, or five or six moderate weaknesses, as long as the manifestation of these weaknesses balances the powers -- of course, the more such discrepancy a player relies on, the greater the chances of losing his Zero-Sum balance, which can lead to an intervention in play to restore balance, for it is the ultimate decision of the moderators as to whether any character or creature or device is in compliance with the Zero-Sum Rule. The moderators reserve the right to request and suggest whatever adjustments are necessary to maintain game balance.
"FATIGUE": Becoming tired after using a power, being able to use a power only once per time period, or using energy sources that deplete after a certain number of uses of a power, do not effectively create balance for a power. It rarely if ever fails to play out as more than a simple skipping-over of the fatigue, such as "Hax is tired for the rest of the day. Then, the next morning, he feels better ..." Also, if an ability is limited only by its energy source, that balance is lost when a new and better energy source presents itself, which is usually the case. When you are creating an ability for your character, do not try to assume Zero-Sum compliance by "limiting" the power.
The Zero-Sum Rule has caused some controversy; but most experienced roleplayers will embrace and agree with it, and would abide by it anyway, of their own accord ... for it is well understood that the unrestrained exercise of power ("munchkinism" or powergaming) appeals only to poor or misguided players, and that truly enriching and rewarding roleplaying thrives on the overcoming of personal obstacles and limitations. If you do not understand this Rule, just try to abide by it, and you will learn something about roleplaying in general.
Magic
Each character who casts magic must specify his craft(s), either from existing descriptions, and/or in definitions of his own. Each enchanted artifact (except those minor items appearing only briefly and without significant storyline impact) should be described, in terms of craft, when it appears in the game, either as an OOC note, in IC narrative/dialog, or (best of all) within the character profile of the owner or creator.
Magic, by definition, is the manipulation of various natural and supernatural forces -- planar energies, mana, psionics, divine power, and others -- to affect the Worlde, and things in the Worlde, near or around the magicker. This manipulation, without exception, always complies with The Three Tenets Of Magick, as distilled by the greatest of sages over the aeons:
* 1st Tenet: CRAFT: Magic, though random in nature, is most easily manipulated through the use of a crafted system of magic, such as Spellcasting, Rune-Magery, Sparctration, Thaumaturgy, Alchemy, Elementalism, Necromancy, and others. Though many schools of magic exist, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, none is superior to the rest. New systems arise constantly, but each always adheres to the balance inherent in the world, and the nature of magic itself. Every defined craft -- and every magic-capable object (like a wand or enchanted ring), which by definition is a self-contained craft -- consists of five common concerns, each of which the practitioner must fully understand, and by which over time he shall master his craft to his best ability.
o POWER SOURCE: Magickal power can arise from many sources:
+ Nature: lightning, fire (pyromancy), wind
+ Supernatural beings: deities, minions, elementals, imps & spirits
+ Magic-laden objects: enchanted possessions, articles infused with special energies, divine or arcane artifacts
+ The artful combination of mundane substances (alchemy)
+ Mana, which permeates the world: innate energy, including the "spirit" of such things as water (hydromancy, "water magic"), death (necromancy), light/darkness (shadow magick)
Each craft must plainly acknowledge the root of its energy.
o SUNDRIES: Many crafts rely upon (or consume entirely!) physical materials in the process of creating their magic: incense & powders, often burned to fume; holy icons, blessed or cursed symbols; rare gems or metals; dragon-scales; bones, blood, or organs from special (often mystical) creatures. Some crafts also require special tools to handle and process these components. All crafts rely upon lore, either established in previous ages or developed by the magic user himself. Each craft must denote its necessary materiel.
o WORK: Practicing magic entails certain physical acts, whether speaking spells, operating tools or devices, performing complex hand-movements, or issuing commands to agents (who in turn perform the required work). The control of magical power depends entirely upon the specific acts that the magic user performs, both to tap the power source and to manipulate it toward an outcome. Each craft must detail the acts necessary to create the craft's intended results.
o RECKONING: Magic always requires an expense above and beyond the effort put into the casting. Personal physical fatigue, while common, is never the only cost to magic use (although sometimes the very life-essence of the magic user himself is drained to some degree). Expensive magical components are often necessary for physical magics; for spiritual magics, debts to supernatural beings might come into the bargain. Any magic user who tries to cheat natural law will find a reckoning imposed upon him, often with severe penalty. Each craft must fully reckon its costs.
o YIELD: The sole purpose of magic-ing is to produce a specific effect or condition. Every craft has at least one such product; most crafts have many. A "spell list" is the most common manifestation of a defined craft's intended effects. Each craft must clearly define its intended results; each yield might have unique sundries, work, and reckoning, even within a single craft.
* 2nd Tenet: FLAW: No magic user -- even an expert -- can ever perform his craft fully accurately or fully reliably. Magic might fail at any time, produce effects contrary to those intended, produce completely random effects, or create side-effects of an unpredictable nature. Furthermore, as if by some hidden design, error and corruption seem often to occur at the most inopportune moment. Each craft must fully recognize its hazards and challenges.
o HAZARDS: The misdirection or loss of control of magic can produce unintended and possibly horrendous results. Simple pyromancy might lead to a conflagration; poorly created invisibility might cause intangibility or disintegration. Each of a craft's works should recognize, to whatever extent possible, hazards that endanger the magic user and those around him, to give him some chance of avoiding them.
o CHALLENGES: Even if magic does not go awry, there is no guarantee that it will succeed, either. Spells can fizzle; magic-items often require months to create and sometimes years to reveal their secrets of operation, but then only to sputter, freeze up, break, or bleed away their energy over time. At every step of the process, potential pitfalls face the practitioner of magic. Each of a craft's works presents its own unique challenges, which the magic user must acknowledge, if he is to have any chance of overcoming them.
* 3rd Tenet: QUASHING: No magic is ever permanent or irreversible. Any magic can be warded away, dispelled, or rebounded at the magic user, through some effort not less than that of the original casting. Of course, any countermeasures against magic are magical themselves and adhere to the same tenets. Even time itself can fade or bend an application of magic. No witch or wizard can ever foresee all the methods that might be used against his craft.
Lastly, patience is a virtue...
If you post and are looking for a reaction, wait for that reaction! Unlimited posting doesn't mean "give a short amount of time for response and then move on." It does mean, "Don't push a storyline far, far ahead without waiting for others to repond." Different players will post at different intervals; the faster-posting characters must allow the others to contribute and act within the storyline.
If the other charaters in your group are too fast or too slow for you, you should probably try to find a different group to write with.
There is, however, an objective limit to the amount of time a player must wait: please see the "Missing Players" Rule.
I would like to thank the creator of the Worlde Arcane for whom I "borrowed" much if not all of the above. In exchange, please visit that site and maybe even join it... it is after all... one of the best around!!
www.worldearcane.com/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi