The topics listed here are information about the general roleplay that takes place here on Let The End Times Roll, especially covering the different "types" of roleplay, as well as the basic concept of logging. You should make a point of reading these files before you go IC so we're on the same page.
Episodes
Each season is comprised of roughly ten to thirteen Episodes. Each Episode lasts about two weeks and is made up of about five to six parts, with the final part of the Episode being a "finale" scene, which wraps the Episode up. A season of episodes is complete in about six months.
An Episode is run by the Plot Staff, and in general, each Plot Staffer will run a part of the episode, and then post the log to the Episode forum. Experience is awarded at the end of each Episode part by the staffer who ran the scene. Drama points may be awarded during the episode part, or after the scene is complete.
There are a limited number of slots available for participation in each Episode part. Each player is allowed to have one character involved in each episode, and that character is then eligible to take part in the final Episode part.
Livejournals
LJ can be a great and fun RP tool, and an excellent way for players to get into their character. However, staff at Let The End Times Roll regards LJ entries, as a rule, as an OOC source of information. There are exceptions to this, as many characters use their LJs as representative of physical diaries and thus /could/ be found, with permission from the player. Keep in mind that LJs reflect the thoughts and perceptions of the PC that is narrating them, and thus aren't always factual or representative of the big picture.
It should go without saying that a player has exclusive and executive control of their LJ. As we consider them OOC and not relevant to the game itself (though they are useful for getting to know a PC's internal workings and for players to get more into their PC than most RP scenes allow), we do not allow LJs to be used to justify having information that is called into question UNLESS all parties agree on how the information was obtained.
It's fun to show your PC's internal workings to your fellow players, but we expect players to keep an IC/OOC separation when reading the journals of others. In-game harassment of another player based on the content of their LJ will not be tolerated. Period.
Logging
The Let The End Times Roll forums provide opportunities for players to post logs of their RP for the enjoyment of the game community.
Not only does posting logs provide for a record of what has gone before, it helps new players become acquainted to the game and inspires people to greater activity. Staff are fans of logging, and encourage players to share.
While we encourage players to post their logs to the website for all to enjoy, it is not a requirement.
While all logs are considered 'canon' once posted, just because something was not logged or not posted does not mean it didn't happen (though for very important scenes where there may be disagreements later, it is in a player's best interest to log and retain them if they're not posted, as documentation will be important).
We ask that all logs posted to any of boards have all OOC comments/pages/channel chat/etc. edited out, and that at the top of each log a brief intro and list of participating characters be given. In addition, we ask for players to exercise common sense as far as what would be seen on a prime-time TV show.
Logs should also be properly tagged for ease of sorting and searching. Some example tags are: prp, social, action, patrol, research, etc. Character names can also be used as tags.
We love to see your RP, and so do your fellow players. Have fun, log freely, and share them on the website if you wish. And even if you are shy and don't like to post, we encourage everyone to read about what your fellow players are doing. Just keep in mind staff still expects and enforces players keeping an OOC/IC separation, and reading information in logs (unless you are a participant in that scene) constitutes an OOC source of information. Harassment of another player based on content posted on the log boards will not be tolerated, and use of information OOCly gleaned on logs is a violation of our OOC/IC policy.
Metaposing
Metaposing, we all do it. Thoughts and feelings worked into our poses in a non-verbal fashion. In most cases this is not a problem.
Acceptable Metaposing:
John Doe leans against the counter of the bar. He gazes over the crowd with an indifferent, blase expression. If only the rest of the room was aware of the storm of emotions boiling inside him. Sadness, despair, loneliness. He glances at a woman a little ways down from him and lets out a wistful sigh. What he wouldn't do to just have the courage to approach her.
As you can see in the above example, John is having a hard time of it. Hinting at that hard time in a non-verbal fashion is a good way to facilitate some interesting RP when the lovely lady of his dreams takes it upon herself to approach him instead. It doesn't offend and insult anyone while leaving them with no IC way to respond to the insults such as something along the lines of the following example would:
Unacceptable Metaposing:
John Doe leans against the counter of the bar. His expression indifferent, blase. He glances down the bar and spies a woman standing alone. He takes in her mannerisms, her dress, her expressions, and the way she flips her hair back with one hand and suddenly finds himself happy that he's not tied down to a haughty little bitch like that one.
Can you see the difference? It is very frustrating to find your character coming under the fire of IC insults that they cannot respond to.
In short, don't do it. If you feel the need to insult a character in a post, then do it in such a fashion that gives the other character a chance to respond to the insult accordingly — whether the insult be verbal, or expressed via a dirty look or unpleasant facial expression. Passive Aggressive attacks and insults worked into a pose are not only extremely poor RP Etiquette, but they are a quick way to finding yourself lacking people willing to RP with you.
Player-Storytellers (PST)
PST’s are Player Storytellers, essentially players that staff has approved to run PRP’s and award XP and Drama points for them. PST’s need to have a familiarity with the mechanics of the Buffy game system rules, the LTETR house rules, and some basic understanding of general MUSH commands necessary to run combat. The purpose of the PST flag is to supplement the staff’s ability to run Episodes with smaller, less involved plots or random encounters. PST’s are encouraged to run PRP’s for everyone, not just their friends and their own alts. The PST flag may be removed from a player at staff's discretion for failure to follow PRP guidelines or for violation of game policies.
PST’s earn 1-4 XP, awarded at staff discretion, for every PRP scene they run (though PST's must submit a +request to staff to receive it), and are responsible for using the +xp/add <PLAYER>=<AMOUNT> command to award participating PC’s 1-3 XP for their involvement, and +drama/add <PLAYER>=<AMOUNT> to award drama points for truly exceptional PC actions. They are also responsible for posting the log of the PRP to the Forums (PST’s will not be rewarded their XP for running the event if they do not post the log and submit a +request letting staff know they ran a PRP and a brief summary of it). If a PST’s character participates in his own PRP, that character does not earn points for participating - in such instances, the PST only earns points for running the scene. PST's also earn 1 XP for every Adversary scene they run (which can be claimed from the +jobs list they will have access to once flagged), but to earn it, they must submit a +request as well. Participants in Adversary scenes do not earn XP (though they may still be +vote'd or +recc'd), because the reward for these Drawbacks are received at chargen.
To become flagged as a PST, simply submit a +request to staff your desire to do so, along with a short outline of the PRP you would like to run first and when you can run it (For example, +request PST Flag=I’d like to become a PST. I’d like to run a small random vampire encounter near the casino for 3 or 4 people. I’d like to do this on a Thursday night after 6 pm EST.). A staffer will respond, and help you set up the +event, and will be there during your first PRP to help you. This is not a test, nor to judge a potential PST’s ability to tell a story, or judge the plot he wishes to run. This is simply to provide a resource for the new PST during their first PRP scene to answer any game system mechanics and rules questions that they may not be familiar with, and to help them if they need any other type of help.
Familiarity with +help +combat, and http://endtimes.wikidot.com/npc-creation are recommended for PST’s.
Player-Run Plots (PRP)
PRP stands for Player Run Plot. While we would love to have enough Plot Staff and time that we could run non-stop episodes for our players, we recognize this isn't realistic. And so, we allow players to become Player Storytellers (PST) and run plots, both planned and spontaneously, within certain guidelines. This provides experience to the players participating and to the PST who runs the story.
PST’s have a flag that allows them to grant XP and DP points as part of their plots. Getting a storyteller flag is a fairly simple process, see PST.
Player Storytellers must follow a few simple rules for their plots:
- No changes can be made to characters OTHER than the group of players involved. Essentially, the plot must be a self-contained adventure (though it may span several PRP scenes, or parts).
- There must be some kind of conflict in the scene, whether it is social or physical, it must have a consequence that players work to overcome (or fail at overcoming).
- Nothing that would alter a character’s sheet or background, or the game's universe/theme as a whole, can be run without prior approval from staff (such as gaining or losing a Quality or Drawback, or blowing up half The Strip).
- No magical devices, superscience devices, or resources may be obtained without prior approval.
Exceptions to these rules can be made if you get your plot approved by staff first via +request. If a PST wants to run a plot where a contagious virus infects the entire city, just talk to staff first so they know what's going on. Unless it is something completely against theme, they will most likely approve it — they just want to be kept in the loop.
XP Purchases
While we make every effort to make XP spends as easy and painless as possible, we do want to see some justification for the spends, mostly at higher skill levels and in purchasing qualities or buying off drawbacks. The guidelines are as follows:
Attributes
Some attributes are easier to justify than others. It's easier to justify a strength raise than an intelligence raise, for example. Staff will work with you for your attribute raises, but common sense trumps the amount of XP you have to spend; in other words, your dumb as bricks troll character will never have Intelligence-6 regardless of how much XP you are willing to dump into the stat. Also, please keep in mind that no attribute can be raised above the human maximum of 6 unless it is already boosted via supernatural means.
Skills
1-4: Submit the request, have the available XP.
5-6: 1-3 sentence explanation of what your character has been doing, on- or off-camera to better the skill in question.
7+: cite specific instances in episodes or PRPs where your character has been utilizing the skill; these are the elite skill ranks, what is your character doing to push themselves to these levels of skill?
Traits
Trait purchases are dependent on the trait. Some qualities cannot be bought, such as Slayer, and some drawbacks cannot be bought off, such as Supernatural Form… at least, not without some weirdness. Some qualities, such as Occult Library, don't require much more than the request to be submitted for the lower levels. However, once you get into the higher levels, you'll need to work with staff and/or storytellers in order to arrange for some major book-hunting due to the rarity of many of the volumes in high-level Occult Libraries.
If you are looking to take qualities such as Vampire or Werewolf, staff will arrange for you to be properly infected if you have not already made arrangements with a storyteller or PC on the grid.
For any other traits, just give staff a ping and we'll be happy to work with you to get that shiny XP spent.
XP Transfers
Unspent XP points may be freely transferred between your registered alts (+help +alts; +help xp). Please keep in mind that staff has the last word on whether an XP spend is allowed. The purpose of this command is not to enable players to 'beef up' their higher level characters as quickly as possible, but rather to ensure that if they need XP on one character for a spend, and they've got the XP just sitting on another character gaining dust, then they have the ability to quickly access the needed XP.
