Ground Rules

The Sign-In Sheet

Please sign in at every game, with your full name and the full name of whatever character you’re playing. You need to sign in to receive Experience Points. If you don’t sign in, you don’t get XP, no matter how many people saw you there.

The Tip Jar

The STs will have a small jar for donations at each game. There are a lot of expenses that go with running the game. Giving is in no way required, but even 25 cents per game helps alleviate the costs and gives us some funds to purchase props and such.

Chip Cans

Whenever you take Paradox from a spell, use a point of Willpower, or tap a point of Quintessence, put the poker chip in one of the cans around the game room. Paradox is white, Willpower is red, Quintessence is blue.

Suggestion / Comment / Complaint Box

This is a way to communicate anonymously with the ST. Feel free to leave notes, such as ‘the music got too loud,’ or ‘I’m confused by Combat,’ or ‘I saw Doug cheating.’ I’ll do what I can to take care of it. Of course, you can always leave me a note or e-mail without using the box, too.

Rules of Conduct

It’s only a game.

Don’t confuse the player with the character. When the game ends, make sure you can tell where the line between character and player lies. Get to know your fellow players out of character, and make some friends. If you’re starting to dislike someone based on how their character acts, maybe it’s time you got to know them outside of the game. They might just be a good actor.

Don’t worry if you don’t win, if your character dies, or if your plans are destroyed. It’s only a game, and we’re all here to have fun. If you’re not having fun, though, be sure to tell an ST, so we can help!

No touching.

Some people aren’t comfortable with even a friendly handshake or a pat on the back. Don’t touch at all, unless you have their express permission. And definitely never push or hit anyone, even with permission!

No stunts.

If you can pretend you’re a Mage, you can pretend you’ve just leapt over two rows of chairs, slid across the hood of a car and tackled a thug. Never climb, leap, swing, jump, or run on anything during the game. Accidents happen, and I don’t have insurance!

No weapons.

Real weapons of any sort are absolutely forbidden. This is everything from swords to brass knuckles, necklace-daggers to broken bottles. Also, toy guns and swords are normally forbidden. Use item cards to represent weapons.

No illegal activities.

No drugs or drinking at games, obviously, and please don’t come to a game inebriated. We will notify the authorities if there are any illegal occurrences at our games. We will also report assault, sexual harassment, theft, etc. The game is not an excuse to behave badly.

Be mindful of others.

Don’t bring in food or drink that’s likely to spill on the carpet. Don’t wreck the tables and chairs, kick the walls, damage posters, et cetera. Be mindful of your fellow players, as well – many of them will have spent a great deal on their costuming, and damaging their clothing or props isn’t responsible.

Also, when playing in a public space, remember that not everyone around will be a participant in the game. Don’t harass those who aren’t playing, and if anyone asks about what you’re doing, go OOC and explain everything to them.

No smoking or cell phones at the game.

If you need to smoke, please go at least 100 feet from the gaming area. If you have a cellular phone, please turn it off or set it to ‘vibrate’ during the game. You will not be permitted to break character in order to answer your phone unless you go to an out of character area first. (That means we’ll assume that everything you say is in-character, and harass you accordingly!)

The rules are a last resort.

When conflict arises, you should try to settle it through roleplay, and agree on a winner and a result. If both players can decide on an outcome, you don’t need to resort to the rules at all. It keeps the roleplay speedy.

Death is a last resort.

Try to humiliate, disable, capture, hospitalize, or scare your opponents, rather than simply killing them. Some people spend a lot of time on their characters - think about the alternatives before you coup-de-gras someone into oblivion. Note that you must have an ST present to permanently kill a character.

Have fun!

This is the most important rule, and ties into rule 1 – it’s just a game! If you’re not having fun, tell a ST, and we’ll see what we can do to make sure we’re running an enjoyable game.

Cheating

Lying about your character sheet, not rolling for Paradox, picking up used poker chips and using them again, or any other flagrant violation of the rules of fairness all constitute cheating. Intentional cheating will result in the character being removed and the player being ejected from the game. I feel strongly about this – the rules only work if everyone plays by them.