Emerald Shadows Play-by-Forum Game Rules

Table of Contents

  1. Posting Requirements
  2. E-mail subject lines
  3. Combat
  4. IC/OOC dividers
  5. Talking between PCs
  6. Changeling products
  7. Excuse typos
  8. Your "Character sheet" post
  9. Experience Points and Advancement
  10. Backgrounds, Merits, & Flaws

1. Posting Requirements

Every player must post at least once per turn, regardless of whether they want to say something or not. If for some reason you know you will not be available to post for a time, tell me in advance; this is not a problem. I will listen to excuses and appeals fairly leniently, but I really want people involved enough to post, otherwise your character is just dramatic dead weight. Sorry to have to be a bit harsh here, but it is difficult enough for me to come up with NPC actions, let alone actions for PCs whose players didn't respond. Not responding is simply rude to the other players and myself.

Always post in the third person, present tense (e.g.: "Ciaran lowers his sword as Arianrhod approaches. 'I'm glad you're okay,' he says with relief.").

Please try to remember to put a line that tells me that it is your character who is speaking or acting (i.e., "[Character's name] says, 'x...'") somewhere inside each post. This makes it easier for me to sort out who's doing what when I make up the Turn Summaries.

Please read the previous posts in a thread before posting on it. If you are responding to an earlier post in the thread, please quote that post in yours by using the "Quote" button on the forum (located in the upper right-hand corner of the displayed post -- see picture here). This makes it easier to see where the various posts fit in the flow of the thread.

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2. E-mail Subject Lines

Please start each subject line for any game-related e-mails with the words "Emerald Shadows." Helps me keep track of what's what.

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3. Combat

Combat will occurs in the standard Storyteller Action turn format. "If/Then" statements (i.e., "If x happens, then [character's name] does y....") are encouraged. I will roll all dice and keep track of any Wound levels (if your character takes damage, I will send a private post informing you how many Wound Level[s] s/he has taken). Do not post combat actions to the forum. Combat actions should always come to me alone, via either Private Message or e-mail.

Be realistic as to how much can be accomplished in one turn. Remember, your dice pool is the lowest for the actions needed (if your dodge is 2 dex plus 2 dodge for a 4 dice pool, and your melee is 2 dex plus 3 melee for a five dice pool, then your dice pool for a round in which you swing your sword and dodge is 4, to divide between the two actions.) Watching how past battles have worked should make this process much easier.

Here's a good set of examples to help people understand how the Action Turns should work:
Ciaran rushes forward. If he reaches the knight, he grabs the knight's horse's reins while parrying any attacks with his sword (2 dice for grabbing the reins, 3 dice to parry, for a total of 5).

Note: Colorful narrative interspersed with actions makes my job easier and causes me to be favourably inclined towards your character:) It is not a requirement however. It is just easier to modify your narrative then it is to come up with my own whole cloth.

Players may post "descriptive" posts to the list. This includes verbal exchanges, visual signals, and even descriptions of what your PC is doing. However, you as players must keep track of locations and may not take advantage of information your PC wouldn't have. I will try to post guidelines on who is visible to who with each turn. (I might say, for example, "Everyone can glance at each other, except Antonio who is flying high above in the dark, and Thand who is trapped in the cave") If a player is invisible they may only post verbal actions of course:).

Descriptive posts should never include game stats, but do not have to include if/then concepts designations. They can (and should) be somewhat general, though in some cases specific actions are fine: "Thand attacks the two orcs before him viciously", "Alwyna climbs the rope until she reaches the second story, then swings onto the roof and attacks the orc from behind".

I will try to post 'descriptive' posts for the bad guys in battle, but I may not always remember. If I do post such, remember they are not set in stone, I might alter their actions according to what you do. Descriptive posts are _not_ required. Players do not have to post them if they don't wish to. Descriptive posts do not replace the actions sent to me, nor do they replace if/then statements, though they do give me an additional way to judge player intent.

Actions sent to the group will be ignored; your character will take no actions instead when this occurs. This means even if you send a descriptive post, you still need to send an action post to me.

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4. IC/OOC dividers

Separate the material in your posts between IC (in character) and OOC (out of character). OOC should be used whenever you have a question for me, and when describing game mechanics.

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5. IC Conversations

You are encouraged to carry on IC: conversations between yourselves. If you want the conversation to remain private, please use either Private Messages or e-mail. You do not have to send me a copy of every message in the exchange in those cases; just a summary or an OOC post detailing the gist of what happened is fine.

You can also use an "Interlude" on the forum for events that do not involve the entire group (like conversations between only one or two PCs and an NPC, for example). Just let me know, and I'll set things up for you. Keep in mind, though, that everyone on the forum can still read the posts in this case, so you're better off using Private Messages or e-mail if you don't want something to be public knowledge (at least OOC). ;-)

Please restrict conversations and interactions of an adult nature to e-mail or Private Messages; do not post them on the forum.

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6. Werewolf Products

Many of the Werewolf books are excellent resources, though some will have less use then others. I do require that all players have access to Werewolf: The Apocalypse Revised Edition or, failing that, Werewolf: The Apocalypse Second Edition (if you're using Second Edition, let me know, so I can send you a list of what was changed in the Revised Edition). You are allowed to consult other Werewolf books, but the rest are not required. Only use it as in-character knowledge if it is appropriate for your character's background/history. Be warned, I change some things.

Follow the link for a list of the Werewolf sourcebooks being used in this game.

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7. Excuse Typos

Excuse typos from me (poor typing) and from some of our players for whom English is a second language (they still manage to out-type me :))

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8. Your "Character sheet" post

I'll need your PC's statistics in a post sent to me (at storytellingoddess@juno.com), not the forum, with the subject heading: EmeraldShadows: (PC Name). Type all the information into the body of the post (no attachments, please!). In order to make it easier for me to find information when I need it, please use the following format:

Name: [mortal & Garou] (follow the link for more information on Garou Names)
Breed:
Auspice:
Tribe:
Camp: (if any)
Age:

Attributes: Physical, Social, Mental. Include specialties as appropriate, as well as Attribute changes for other forms -- these are listed on the back of the Werewolf sheet [ie Strength 2/4/6/5/3, Wits 5 (conversation)].

Abilities: Talents, Skills, Knowledges. Include Specialties as appropriate, only list those you have a stat in. [ie Drive 2, Performance 3 (storytelling)]

Gifts:

Backgrounds, Merits, & Flaws: List these, for Merits and Flaws provide a shorthand description of what it involves. [ie Resources 2, Ancestor Ally (1 point Merit; -2 to Difficulty to contact this ancestor using the Ancestors Background)]. The shorthand is so I'm not constantly looking up merits and flaws. If your background is a mentor, fetish, etc., describe and name them.

Rage, Gnosis, Willpower: List the permanent values, do not list temporary values here, as they will fluctuate. [ie Rage 3, Gnosis 2, Willpower 5]

Health: List your health levels. For most, it's 0, -1,-1,-2,-2,-5, Inc.

Description/Appearance: Include the description/appearance of all your character's forms here

Background/Personality: This should be the longest section! In this section, please remember to include details of your character's early life, family, First Change (remember that in a First Change, the character loses control and is in a Frenzy. This often results in tragic deaths for anyone nearby!), and Rite of Passage (Rites of Passage are group events, where a pack of young cubs goes through their trials together. They are then given their Garou names and Rank and taught their Gifts.). These are important events, so take the time to think them out.

Equipment: Any equipment your PC has.

Fetishes: Name, history and abilities of any fetishes your PC has.

Rites: List with level (i.e., (1) Rite of Talisman Dedication, (2) Rite of Spirit Awakening)

Miscellaneous: Anything not covered above.

Follow the link for more information on character creation.

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9. Experience Points and Advancement

I will issue experience points at certain points during the game. You may spend or save them. Sometimes, I will issue a point directly in an ability, instead of generic XP. Also, when raising Attributes, Abilities, et. al. with Experience Points, I would like you to give me some sort of in-character reason to justify the increase. This can be as simple as telling me, "My character is taking karate lessons at the YMCA, so I'm going to spend three XP to buy a dot in Brawl," or, "Since my character did a lot of research, I'm buying another dot of Lore." In general, I will mention when it is okay to increase in skill, but if you have decided on something, just ask me and I'll let you know.

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10. Backgrounds, Merits, & Flaws

These are always subject to Storyteller approval, of course. Sometimes, I might grant a few dots in one of these as a reward, similar to experience points. If this happens, it's always because of the circumstances of the chronicle. For example, if a PC steals a great deal of cash and gets away with it, then decides to invest it, that might translate into an extra dot of Resources to represent the interest the investment will be earning. Or, if a PC discovers and claims a lost Fetish, that would indicate a gain of several dots in Fetish.

Follow the link for more information on Backgrounds, Merits and Flaws.

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I'm certain I'll be adding to this as we go along. The Golden Rule is: If you don't know, feel free to ask!

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These rules were modified from the rules for A Holiday Tale, written by Paul Westermeyer.

This page last revised -- April 24, 2003


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