Living in the Shadows: Guidelines, and the target could be you... Options

[WinterRat1]

Living in the Shadows campaign related links:
Living in the Shadows: IC
Living in the Shadows: OOC
Living in the Shadows: Shadowland IC

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to the Living in the Shadows campaign that is being run by Tisoz and myself (WinterRat1). The purpose of this thread is to provide a central place to post guidelines and announcements for the game in regards to both specific and general policy issues. There are four basic parts to this thread at this time.

Synopsis: This is where we will articulate the concept and idea behind this campaign. It will illustrate what we are trying to accomplish, the general style of the game, and hopefully give you a feel for what the world will be like.

Structure: This will illustrate and explain the structure behind this campaign and its related threads. Also included in this section will be basic terminology that will be used in the course of the campaign.

Player Information: For those who are interested in participating as a player in the campaign, this is where you will find player specific information. How to get started, character creation guidelines, and procedure for integrating yourself into the game will be covered in this section.

GM Information: For those who are willing and able to volunteer their services as GMs for this campaign (more information on this below) you will find information on starting up a sub-game within the campaign, integrating a current game with the campaign, how to coordinate your game with the overall campaign, and issues that need to be addressed in a multiple GM game will be covered in this section. This section will also cover the handling and playing of NPCs.

If you have any questions please feel free to PM myself or Tisoz, or post your questions here.

Synopsis

The basic premise behind Living in the Shadows is simple. We are attempting to allow players to play as accurately as possible a character as their life would be in the shadows. Just as more than our job defines our lives, a shadowrunner is no different.

As such, we are going to encompass a shadowrunner’s life in its totality, from the jobs they take to the friends they have, the enemies they make, the places they frequent, the things they do in their spare time, and so on. Therefore, it is a heavy character driven, background based, story centered campaign. We are less concerned with getting your characters from point A to point B than we are creating a world that brings the people in it to life. It is a story that is unfolding and being written, not a script in which everyone plays a certain part.

With this attitude in mind, you will note certain differences between this and the typical game that is started here on Dumpshock.

First, it will be an ongoing campaign. You may join at any time. No more people feeling shut out of games. No more rush to get a half thought through character in to meet a deadline, or trying to be one of the first 6 to get into a game. We not only prefer, we require quality. Having a character that you love to play, whose story you want to see unfold, will provide a much more rewarding experience for both you and us.

Quantity will hopefully come from the desire of both you and your fellow players to play and develop such a well thought out character. GMs may recruit players from this pool of characters for individual games run under the umbrella campaign. Hopefully it will also cut down on games dying by keeping the players interested.

This is good from a GMs standpoint because they can pick characters that fit the game they have in mind. It is good for players, because you will be ensured of having something to do between and/or during runs. You will have the opportunity to guide your own destiny in a personal sense (through the overarching umbrella) while also still being involved in runs in the traditional, professional sense.

If you have thought of running a game but put it off because of the scope of the undertaking, there will be opportunities to participate in that aspect to a various degrees and in varying ways. Potential examples include focusing on running NPCs both major and minor; or perhaps running a specialty with which you are familiar (such as the matrix, or an astral quest). There are various ways to share GMing duties in order to help this campaign run smoothly and efficiently.

If you are the type of player who enjoys developing solid backgrounds for their characters, seeing a story unfold, and would like to take part in a dynamic, interactive gaming environment, then we believe that you would be a tremendous asset to our campaign. If you would enjoy a game in which you are guaranteed the opportunity to pursue your personal goals, affect and play a part in the overall storyline, all while still participating in a traditional Shadowrun game, then we believe that Living in the Shadows will provide you with a tremendous opportunity to do all of the above. We hope that you will enjoy watching your character develop, grow, and come to life within a unique world as much as we will.

Structure

Getting to the specific structure of the Living in the Shadows campaign, we will now discuss in a technical sense the format under which the game will be run.

At the inception of this campaign, there are four threads that are directly related to all participants. They are as follows.

Living in the Shadows: Guidelines (You are in this one now) :)
Living in the Shadows: Recruitment
Living in the Shadows: IC (hereafter referred to as World IC)
Living in the Shadows: OOC (hereafter referred to as World OOC)

Additionally, there will be numerous other threads that will be relevant to this campaign. They will be titled upon creation

<Insert name of Sub-Game here> IC <insert identifying game number here>
(Hereafter referred to as IC1, representing sub-game number 1. Name of game will be omitted for speed of communication)

<Insert name of Sub-Game here> OOC <insert identifying game number here>
(Hereafter referred to as OOC1, representing sub-game number 1. Name of game will be omitted for speed of communication)

The definitions and scope of the above terminology are as follows

Guidelines- You are reading this. It was explained above.
Recruitment- Start here for all potential applicants, player or GM

World IC- Covers all the things in a character’s world NOT DIRECTLY related to their current job (assuming they have one).

World OOC- Covers all the mechanics and out of character stuff in World IC.

IC 1- Covers all the things DIRECTLY related to his current job.

OOC 1- Covers all the mechanics and out of character stuff in IC 1.

The overall ‘universe’ of the game is to be titled and referred to as “World” or Universe.
Each sub-game (hereafter known as SG) within the world will be titled IC1, IC2, etc.

Note that both World IC and IC 1 happen within the context of the Living in the Shadows campaign, which we have designated 'World' as the overarching thread. Whenever a character is not involved in a particular game, he may post in 'World'. This assumes that the character in question has been approved for participation in World. Of course a non-approved character cannot post.

When a character enters a run, he then posts concurrently. Events in the outside world can and do affect a job. So therefore, it is apparent that all players are participants in World to some degree or another.

Remember that it is possible to play in World but not a sub-game. Conversely, it is possible to play in a sub-game but not World. Best example right now is Tisoz's Running Over the Edge game. Although that game is a sub-game of the Living in the Shadows campaign, the characters within are not currently cleared to play in World (so people can start building up first without higher powered characters around just yet) at this time.

Players may (and most likely will be) participants in a SG at the same time. However, they may choose to participate exclusively in World if they so desire (e.g. if they want to focus on personal goals and their personal storyline); similarly, they may also focus nearly exclusively in the SG they are currently involved in. We say nearly exclusively because they have not left the universe, obviously. Their near exclusive participation in their current SG is representative of the fact that they are choosing to focus their time and energy on their job, allowing other personal circumstances to take a back seat.

An illustration of the above structure for the campaign and associated threads is as follows. Note that under World IC there can (and hopefully will be) multiple IC threads. Thus IC2, IC3, …ICX (each with their own accompanying OOC thread) all fall under the World IC thread. For simplicity, they were left off. My apologies here, the graph did not come out well. This is a redo.

Living in the Shadows Campaign
-Guidelines
-Recruitment
-World OOC
-World IC
-IC1 (falls under World IC)
-OOC1 (falls under IC1)

Having illustrated the structure of the game, we will now turn our attention to the structure of the roles that will be present.

There will be three types of GMs, which MAY overlap.
- Universe GMs
- World GMs
- Sub-game GMs

There will be two types of players, which MUST overlap.
- World players
- Sub-game players

There will also be four types of characters that will be present, that MAY or MAY NOT overlap, dependent upon circumstances.
- Normal PCs
- Special/Unique PCs
- Minor NPCs
- Major NPCs

Having established the above classifications, it is important to break them down.

Universe GMs: Responsible for ‘World’, all SGs, all GMs with the exception of other universe GMs, and all players. Primary function is to oversee and moderate the universe and ensure that everything is running smoothly. Coordinate efforts between GMs, and responsible for approving all players applying to join.

World GMs: Responsible primarily for running the World IC section and the accompanying OOC section. Facilitate and keep the universe running. The other main role of World GMs is to assign each player to a particular World GM. For example, if there are two World GMs and 6 players, each WGM would have three players they are responsible for in the World section, and to a certain extent, assisting in issues involving the player in the SGs. Essentially a buffer between the players and the Universe GMs, as well as moderator and aid for the SG GMs.

Sub-Game GMs: Responsible for running and facilitating their own individual SGs and the players within. They will also be assigned to a particular World GM, who is responsible for assisting them both in regards to policy for Universe and their individual games.

World Players: All players in Universe

Sub-Game Players: Any players currently in a sub-game.

So the chain works approximately as follows:

Universe GMs
|
World GMs
/ \
/ \
World Players--------- ---Sub-Game GMs
\ |
\ |
\-----> Sub-Game Players

Note the diagram illustrates that World players are answerable to the SG GMs (if they are in that GMs game; the link between World player and SG players illustrates that World players can and most likely will function in both roles throughout the campaign)

Normal PC: any regular player character
Special PC: any ‘unique’ player character (this is up for interpretation. However it will be defined as anything another GM would not normally or easily allow in their campaign. This includes, but is not limited to, critters, vampires, drakes, free spirits, and so on.)
Minor NPC: The small timers (armorers, bartenders, etc)
Major NPC: Real movers and shakers (crime lords, fixers, etc)

Note that through good roleplaying, a minor NPC may make the transition to a major one. The terminology and structure of the game has now been covered. This is the terminology that will be used in all future posts in the Living in the Shadows campaign.

Player Information

PC creation will be fairly standard. Priority, Sum to 10, 125 Build Points are acceptable. Standard limits of availability 8, rating 6. Bioware that is only available as cultured is acceptable as long as it is no more than availability 8. Cultured Bioware is not allowed (other than the exceptions just listed; bioware available in cultured form only). Alpha, Beta, and Delta grade cyberware is acceptable as long as the grade modifier does not put the availability over 8. (This limits Deltaware to about a datajack, but no one can say we didn't try to let it in. Note that you still need to tell us why you have anything of delta caliber cyberware) All canon materials are accepted. We allow Surged characters on an edge/flaw basis or on the basis of GM rolls. There is a 5 edge and 5 flaw limit as per SR companion. SURGE does not count towards these 5.

Part of this game concept is to still to let players drive the action. But we hope other GMs will join with us to run their games under the umbrella. Some games allow characters to artificially advance themselves through a bonus of nuyen and/or karma. We will handle those games on a case-by-case basis after discussion with the GM of that particular game. Whatever all the GMs can accept will be added to the standard character generation limits. For now, assume the preceding paragraph is the standard for character creation.

Additionally, for those players who have already been submitting Special PCs for approval under the previous thread Possible New Game by Tisoz, those characters will immediately be placed in and played in a sub-game run by Tisoz. So your hard work was not for nothing, and you are not hung out to dry.

Starting players in the campaign will be required to play a normal character. Special characters will be reserved for players who have demonstrated (in this game or through other circumstances, such as being one of the GMs in this campaign) the ability to handle it. (The only exception to this is the players falling under the description of the previous paragraph.)

A free spirit, vampire, immortal elf, whatever, is almost certainly a mover and shaker. Either they are moving and shaking the world, or someone is coming after them to move and shake them. As such, they will almost certainly be on the level of a Major NPC. Additionally, it is important to remember that most GMs will not want those types of characters in their campaign. Maybe, MAYBE one or two, but not a whole crew of them all together all at once.

Therefore, it will be rare that the player will actually get to play in a run. So they must be prepared and able to make their primary contributions through World. It is also most likely they will be required to take certain flaws, even if we have to make one up to fit the specific character. Note that this is to offset the natural bonuses Special PCs automatically entail. Plain and simple, if you have that kind of power, someone is not going to like you very much. And you’re almost certainly going to have someone, probably several someone’s, gunning for you. Hey, it’s tough at the top.

If you wish to play a special character, you may submit a request for it to a Universe GM (currently myself and Tisoz) and we will inform you if and when you will be allowed to play it. Note that an exceptional background is standard for a Special PC, not an option.

The process for character approval is simple.

1. Run your basic idea by us in the recruitment thread.
2. After approval for the idea is given, submit a copy of your character stats to us (in a neat format please; making your character easy to read can only put us in a good mood.) along with a completed 20 Questions form (from Shadowrun Companion).
3. We will work with you on any details that need to be discussed, and assuming there are no problems, we’ll give you the green light, and you are free to post.

If you do not have SR Companion, PM me and I will either send or post a copy of the 20 Questions. Note also that a completed 20 Questions is the minimum. In a story based game like this, the more material you can give us on your character, the more enjoyable the experience will be for you. This is not a ‘kill all the opposition and damn the torpedoes’ game. There are consequences to your actions, good and bad, and to accurately reflect that, we need to know your characters. Also note that bonuses above and beyond starting character creation allowed limits will be given for well thought out, exceptional backgrounds. My suggestion would be to complete a 20 Questions form, and then put it all together in a story format.

Also, we are using Enemies as per SR Companion. In the process of putting together the 20 Questions, you will encounter the question, "Who are the character's Enemies?" This is where you will answer. Note that it is the player who designs and assigns the various enemy rating points to the enemy attributes (Power, Knowledge, Motivation). If you need assistance, your World GM will assist you.

Note that it is our intention to be generous and allow you to play what you want, generally within the realm of your vision for the character. However to do this, we need your cooperation as well to facilitate the flow of the game. Think of it as a give and take. You give us great story and campaign material to work with; you get to take bonuses to your character so they’re closer to the person you imagine playing.

Questions about player creation may be personal messaged to myself or Tisoz, or posted in the Recruitment thread.

GM Information

There are several primary things that the participating GMs and those playing NPCs will need to agree on.

1. Karma and its distribution
2. The timetable of the game.
3. The line between World and their particular game, and how to deal with the crossing over of the two.

Karma will be distributed in the following ways.

1. By actively posting
2. Quality posts
3. Performing runs
4. Playing NPCs

To elaborate on each of the above.

Actively posting: The following rates will be used. These are subject to change.
1 pt per minor NPC per RL week, given that they make at least 3 posts
1 pt per normal PC per RL week, given that they make at least 4 posts
1 pt per major NPC per RL week, given that they make at least 6 posts
1 pt per special PC per RL week, given that they make at least 6 posts

Quality posts are subject to the discretion of the World GM the player is assigned to.

Performing runs will be standard per Shadowrun rules. That is to say, karma for performing runs will follow standard karma guidelines as per Shadowrun rules.

Playing NPCs is a voluntary activity. Minor NPCs can be created along the lines of contacts: a few relevant stats and a paragraph or two is all that is necessary. Major NPCs should be created as PCs (complete with background), and any and all necessary additions will be discussed with a Universal GM.

In playing an NPC, you will be making the rolls and generally behaving as if that NPC was your PC. You will be assigned to a World GM who will help you and generally keep an eye on your NPC(s), just like your PCs. As noted below, the line between PC and NPC can get a little blurry at times. That World GM will also be the one handing out your karma for playing an NPC.

All karma that is awarded to a player for playing a minor or major NPC is a bonus that rewards participation and involvement by allowing them to earn karma for their PC characters. Karma earned for playing an NPC may be applied to PC characters, normal or special.

Please note that active posts should be quality as well. That is, please do not try to cheat the system by entering 6 one line posts. Active post Karma awards will be distributed by either World or Universe GMs. If there is cause to believe a player is not posting to participate and is instead posting just to milk karma, they will not qualify for the bonus.

Of course, if you end up posting a few short posts we will not hold it against you. The idea is simply that all players try to stay active and involved and are rewarded for doing so. Think honor system.

The timetable of the game will be discussed with the volunteering GMs and posted as an update to this Guidelines thread at a later date.

Cooperation and coordination will hopefully ensure that the lines between the games are handled smoothly. Simply be willing to compromise and work things out with the other games and GMs.

Any runs initiated in the World thread are considered generally public knowledge. Spoiler tags will be used, and any big secrets can be handled via PM.

There is a lack of information in this section (GM information), due to the fact that we will coordinate with volunteering GMs to find an appropriate compromise for any issues that may arise. Decisions will be posted in future updates to this thread.

On a final note, GMs ARE permitted to be players. They will be assigned to another World GM just like any other player. A question was brought up earlier if a player could use his PC in World as a catalyst for a sub-game, which he would then be the GM of. That is perfectly acceptable. This example demonstrates the line between NPCs, GMs, and PCs can get blurry at times. We will do our best to work together to keep things functioning smoothly.

Concluding Remarks

Whew. It’s been a very long post, hopefully informative enough for everyone. Please post any questions to the Recruitment thread. Also note that updates, revisions, and policy decisions will be posted here, in the Guidelines thread. To keep this thread easy to read, for new players who may join later, please refrain from posting here so they can find all the updates easily. We hope to see you all in the game!

WinterRat1 and Tisoz

[tisoz]

In the karma and distribution section:

Performing runs will be standard per Shadowrun rules.

means karma for performing runs will follow standard karma guidelines as per Shadowrun rules.

[WinterRat1]

Character Creation Summary

Note: This should not serve as a replacement for reading the complete post. That post is essential to understanding the nature of and the purpose/concept of the campaign world. This is simply a summary of the character creation mechanics and getting started to make it easier for players to find and read.

Overall Process (credit to paul_HArkonen for this excellent summary which I flat out copied and pasted :) )
1. submit character
2. get approval
3. start posting in the "World IC" thread
4. somewhere along the way get a job and get told to start posting in the "sub game IC" thread.
5. finish run go back to posting in "World IC"
6. repeat above steps 3-5 for however long you're still interested.

Getting Approval
1. Run your basic idea by us in the recruitment thread.
2. After approval for the idea is given, submit a copy of your character stats to us (in a neat format please; making your character easy to read can only put us in a good mood.) along with a completed 20 Questions form (from Shadowrun Companion).
3. We will work with you on any details that need to be discussed, and assuming there are no problems, we’ll give you the green light, and you are free to post.

Creation Mechanics (further clarifications to be posted as needed)
1. Priority, Sum to 10, 125 Build Points are acceptable. No BECKS. You may either PM your character to myself (WinterRat1) or Tisoz. You may also email me (WinterRat1) at alexwong945@yahoo.com. Please email me only a Microsoft Word or Excel file.

2. Standard limits of availability 8, rating 6. Bioware that is only available as cultured is acceptable as long as it is no more than availability 8. Cultured Bioware is not allowed (other than the exceptions just listed; i.e. bioware available in cultured form only). Alpha, Beta, and Delta grade cyberware is acceptable as long as the grade modifier does not put the availability over 8.

3. All canon materials are accepted. We allow Surged characters on an edge/flaw basis or on the basis of GM rolls. There is a 5 edge and 5 flaw limit as per SR companion. SURGE does not count towards these 5.

4. We are using Enemies as per SR Companion. In the process of putting together the 20 Questions, you will encounter the question, "Who are the character's Enemies?" This is where you will answer. Note that it is the player who designs and assigns the various enemy rating points to the enemy attributes (Power, Knowledge, Motivation). If you need assistance, your World GM will assist you.
Also, describe your contacts. Nothing huge, just a few sentences to a paragraph on each one will suffice. You may answer this in the question "Who are the character's Contacts?"

5. No material from other websites. If you wish to use something not specifically allowed, discuss it with myself or Tisoz, and we will deal with you on a case-by-case basis.

6. You can use spell points like karma for the purpose of bonding foci and initiating. 1 spell point = 1 karma. Also, you may buy spell points at the stated book rate of 25,000 nuyen = 1 spell point.

7. Remember, flaws will almost certainly come into play at one point or another. Background and hooks are key to this game, so if you put in one, (for better or worse) chances are it will be used at one point or another.

8. Please include your breakdown in the file you sent us. That is, include what method you used to create your character, what you allocated where, (spell points, build points, money, WHATEVER). This makes it a LOT easier to double check your character, saves us time, effort, puts us in a good mood...the benefits are countless. So please, do us a favor and show us not only what you did, but how you did it.

[WinterRat1]

Character Development and Karma Notes

The Living in the Shadows campaign is intended to present a dynamic, realistic campaign world in which players are provided with both the opportunity and structure to develop their characters to a significant level, both personally and professionally (i.e. statistically and storyline wise).

Because the characters within all games exist in a previously defined world, a few consequences occur here that are not found in other games. First and most obviously, there will be a guaranteed place to spend your money and karma after the run. So you are assured of the opportunity to continue to play and develop your character, both in regards to their statistics and their story. Thus, continuity and longevity are also provided for players and their characters. This means that your character’s story will be very important, in regards to not just their story, but game mechanics related to their story (i.e. edges and flaws).

Players who have played with me before both in RL and on Dumpshock will testify that I DO use edges and flaws, and I DO use character’s stories, for better and for worse. Consider yourselves duly notified of this fact. Note that this is not intended to scare off players from creating characters with interesting edges and flaws; it is my belief most players genuinely take story related hooks because they would like to see them pop up in a game, and would enjoy the opportunity to see those story hooks play out. The Living in the Shadows World IC thread provides the opportunity for this to happen. In fact, I can practically guarantee that at some point or another, your story hooks will come up. So if you enjoy role-playing as the opportunity to be a part of creating a story for both the enjoyment of yourself and your fellow players, then we hope you will become a regular player here.

Whenever character development comes up, the problem always arises of needing cash or karma. We do allow Cash for Karma, at a rate of 1 Karma point = 5000 Nuyen (this rate may change, currently under thought), and vice versa. Additionally, we allow karma for markers HOWEVER, we do not want the following to happen:

LITS OOC thread: Person X: I spend 1 karma and get 5000.

Role-play where you got the money or karma from. Maybe it came from a business you run, a small side job you did that wasn’t worth recording, maybe it came from selling some stocks or securities you had, maybe it came from your Dunkelzahn piggy bank. Perhaps it came from helping a friend or family member, or your good deed for the day/week/month/year, depending on how horrible of a (meta)human being you are. Be creative.

Another karma item of note is that characters will die. This is practically a guarantee. A role-playing game without this possibility is simply an exercise in getting stuff, with no real element of excitement or danger. However, to defray the pain of losing a well established character, we have the 'reincarnation rule'. Basically, you get half of your character's total karma earned to date at the time of their death for the creation of your next character, to be used as karma or cash, in accordance with the cash-to-karma rules. That's it though, none of their stuff or contacts or anything like that. Can't have everything in life chummers. ;)

Note also that we will be using staggered karma pools as per SR Companion.

Remember, your story is the most important thing about your character, and so whatever you do to further develop your character’s story, even through something as small as playing out the mechanism by which cash was traded for karma (or vice versa) may provide your GM with a story hook they will use to make YOUR game more enjoyable. So remember, help out your GM, and it almost certainly will help you later on down the line. Karma at work right there chummers. :)

[WinterRat1]

Posting Guidelines

We have all played in or heard about games that came apart on us because a few players decided not to post, and not be responsible and inform their fellow players and GMs about their decision to cease posting. In the sub-games of Living in the Shadows, no problem. The characters are part of a dynamic world. If someone isn’t upholding their responsibilities as a member of the team (by this I mean lack of posting, and lack of responsibility in handling this. Dropping out due to RL issues or handling dropping out responsibly is not a problem; just failing to post and not being responsible by informing your fellow players is) feel free to boot them out and recruit someone else.

That said, what is being responsible? I believe there are three categories of absences.

1. Temporary absences
If you will be unable to post for a few days due to a short vacation or a mountain of work about to fall on your head, just drop a line to your fellow players in the OOC thread and let them know.

2. Extended absences
If you will be out of action for a longer period of time, perhaps due to an extended vacation or other fairly long occurrence, again, just post and let them everyone know, and designate the right to play your character to another player or your GM. If you don’t feel comfortable with that, just have your character withdraw from the run. That’s perfectly fine, and allows your fellow players to know what’s up so they can hire someone else or proceed without unfairly waiting around for you.

3. Permanent absences
If you will be gone permanently from the sub-game, then you have the definite responsibility to inform your fellow players and GM. It takes about 30 seconds to hammer out a one sentence explanation letting people know you have to withdraw permanently, and it is a tremendous courtesy to everyone around you.

Being responsible in the World IC thread is less harshly examined, especially because your character may not be interacting with anyone else at the time. If you are currently involved in a story line with a GM, they have authorization to simply have your character do whatever they find convenient for them, especially if it’s necessary to keep that character in sync with the rest of the story line. So if you’re irresponsible, it’s fine. The GM will do whatever he/she feels is necessary to keep the game going, and hopefully things will be able to move smoothly along.

Just tell your GM you will be unable to post, (i.e. be responsible) and take the initiative to state what you’d like your character to be doing. If you want them to just sit tight for a while, that’s perfectly fine. The GM knows not to worry about your character until you notify them you’re back and good to go. Frankly, if you can’t post for a while, that’s a great time to have your character do stuff like programming, enchanting, and all the other good stuff that takes time to do.

Let us say you have been irresponsible, and you have screwed up by not being responsible. What now? People make mistakes. It happens. Two simple things. First, apologize to those who have been affected by your irresponsibility, and submit to whatever action the GM deems appropriate. After that, all is well. Honestly, if a player makes an honest mistake, or just has been super busy and forgotten, or left on vacation and wasn’t near a computer for two weeks, or whatever, and comes back and apologizes and wants to get back in the game, I’m not going to be too harsh. So if you do screw up, assuming you’re willing to simply apologize and deal with it, don’t worry. More than likely your GM will just ask you to be responsible next time, maybe you’ll have something happen because of your absence, but that stuff happens. Then everyone can go on and play merrily ever after.

Once again, it is the goal of this project to create a dynamic world in which we can all contribute and enjoy a story line we’ve all had an impact and hand in shaping. I don’t want anyone to think I or any other GM will be a Nazi about posting. Rather, we just want to make sure everyone clearly understands what is expected of them and their responsibility towards their fellow players. These guidelines are here to provide some structure and encouragement for everyone to work together towards that goal. Happy posting!

[WinterRat1]

Character Interaction Guidelines

Given the nature of the Living in the Shadows campaign, it is inevitable that players will interact with each other at some point. Duh. However, since it is a long-term campaign, player interaction will play a much more significant role than it traditionally does in a one shot adventure. Therefore, the following guidelines are in place so players can be aware of what to expect in the course of their play here.

Important: Players are requested to not to read the threads, IC or OOC, of the runs they are not a part of.

After all the runs are over, you may read them for your enjoyment. However, even then, I would STRONGLY prefer players did not. In the near future, a Shadowland-style thread will be up for players to discuss in-character the runs and happenings, just like in the Shadowrun world. Use this, or even hold a discussion with another character who participated in the run in the World IC. All these little touches will make the world seem much more lifelike to you, make the game come alive, and ultimately, contribute to a far superior gaming experience for all parties involved.

Obviously I cannot monitor this, but I am relying on players’ sense of honor and desire to maintain the integrity of the games and the campaign to ensure that there will be no metagaming of this sort.

There are two types of interaction: Friendly and Unfriendly

By and large, friendly interaction will be the rule. Working together on a team, just chatting up via Shadowland or in a bar, dating each other, partying together, doing biz and favors for one another, usually there are no problems in this aspect of the game.

However, sometimes characters find themselves at cross-purposes, and as such, may find themselves in conflict. Any time characters interact in way that involves conflict with each other in any way, shape, or form, it is considered to be unfriendly interaction.

There are three types of unfriendly interaction.

Direct: Characters are actively and directly opposing each other in the course of their professional activities.
Examples: Team A is bodyguarding corporate executive B, who is targeted for assassination for Team C. This is pretty obvious, in that it is highly likely the PCs will not only interact with each other, but in a way that almost certainly will lead to direct confrontation and violence in some way, shape, or form.

Indirect: Characters may end up opposing each other unintentionally in the course of their professional activities.
Example: Team A is working on a datasteal for corp exec B. Team C is hired to assassinate exec B. This is a fuzzier, because A may or may not have a problem with the fact that their employer is being targeted. They may not even know about it. The primary distinguishing factor between direct and indirect is in direct, given the conflicting nature of the character/team’s goals, direct confrontation on some level is a near certainty. In indirect, there are numerous reasonable and feasible alternatives to direct confrontation that can ensure the two groups do not end up killing each other.

Personal: When a character wants/seeks conflict with another character for ANY non-job related reason, INCLUDING as a result of something that happened on another job.
Examples: Trying to kill/attack another character for ANY reason; going after another character because they did something that affected you indirectly, going after another character because they killed your Johnson, etc etc drekcetera.

Depending on the situation in which the unfriendly interaction takes place, different actions are or are not appropriate. All examples follow the examples above in their respective categories.

Direct: It’s nothing personal, just business. If PCs end up killing each other in the course of a job or fight, no action will be taken. Note that this ONLY applies while the job is on, although the methods are up in the air. In other words, using the example above, hunting down and killing someone on the other team preemptively is ok. The GM will METICULOUSLY use the Wrong Party rules and all applicable information gathering rules to determine if the character can even be found, let alone attacked. Appropriate defensive measures taken by the PCs will be heavily considered. Note also that hunting down and killing PCs AFTER the job is over falls under personal. Direct ONLY applies while BOTH sides are on the clock. Once EITHER side is off the job, it is no longer direct conflict, but personal.

Indirect: The hardest to deal with. There are two major ways indirect can come up. First, if Team A/B is made aware of the potential conflict BEFORE it actually happens. Second, if Team A/B is made aware of the potential conflict AFTER or WHILE has happened/is happening. In both instances, negotiation and diplomacy are heavily encouraged. Violence should only be used as a LAST resort, but it is still acceptable, IF negotiations or other methods have not proved sufficient. Significant GM discretion will be applied here, if you have questions or doubts, ask your GM. And remember, if in doubt, don’t go at it with the other characters. Their actions may not even affect you, so unless you’re sure it’s necessary, restraint is always the preferred option.

Personal: Direct or indirect confrontation/violence towards another character for personal reasons or in a personal setting is NOT PERMITTED NOR TOLERATED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES (one exception: see below). I don’t care what or why, you can’t. Vindictive flaw, job reasons, story backgrounds, nothing. You may not start having a vendetta against another PC. You may not take a PC as an enemy. They may not become nor qualify as an enemy. End of story. The rationale is simple. Yes, realistically, this would not happen. However, our campaign world is operating under the premise that the shadow community is small and relatively tight-knit. Sure, if Shadowrun were real, runners could (and probably do) kill each other for personal reasons. But this is just a game. It is more important to simulate the game and provide an enjoyable experience for everyone where they don’t have to worry about vendettas and PC hunters and all sorts of other threats to their characters rather than providing a completely realistic experience. To protect the integrity of the game and stop it from degenerating into an endless grudge-fest, we are not allowing characters to go after each other for lonely. Nor can you affect them indirectly by going after their contacts or friends or family or anything like that.

The GMs (Universe and World) will monitor and police this strictly. If any of them even think there’s reason to suspect inappropriate unfriendly character interaction, they will discuss it with the (potentially) offending player. You get one warning, and it’s right here. You cross the line, your character gets the literal cow dropped on he/she/it out of orbit and is dead. You the player are out of the game. That’s it. GMs will police each other’s characters as well as well as runs set up by each other to ensure they don’t indirectly settle grudges (via sending the targeted PC unknowingly on a suicide run, or something like that). If any player has any grievances towards the conduct of another PC or GM, they should talk to myself or Tisoz, and we will ensure the situation is resolved.

The SOLE exception to unfriendly personal interaction is as follows. If it happens that two (or more) players feel their characters have genuine desire and legitimate reason to conflict and to settle the score, they may follow the following procedure. First, BOTH players must separately discuss with me (via PM, email, or chat) their reasons, thoughts, and attempted objectives in entering direct conflict with the other character(s). If all players involved agree to conflict, they may do so under the strict guidelines and supervision of myself or another Universe (or in certain circumstances World) GM. Generally speaking, the guidelines will allow the players to target each others’ characters and their character’s family and/or contacts, but NOT friends/contacts that are NPCs in the World IC, nor any family, contacts, or characters of any players not involved in this conflict, including team members who have refrained from being involved. Most importantly, after the conflict is settled (whether peacefully or in the death of one of the PCs), it is OVER. No family, friends, or team coming to avenge their death, nothing. I do not want an endless series of grudge matches. I will monitor this very closely, and will not hesitate to drop a cow on someone if this is violated.

Please keep in mind, that despite the heavy handed nature of this post, it is not our intention to be arbitrary or unfairly restricting. For the sake of keeping positive player relations, peace within the game and without, and to provide the best possible experience for the most people, these rules have been set to protect the players and the game, and to attempt to be fair and allow for those situations when conflict between characters is absolutely necessary. Any questions, comments or concerns are welcomed. It is our desire to create the best game possible, and any assistance anyone can offer on this most sensitive area would certainly be appreciated. We hope you all understand and will assist us in creating an enjoyable campaign world for everyone! :)