This is a collection of the meta rules that I plan to follow. None of these are set-in-stone, just referee (and player) strategies to get the most out of play. 1) RPGs are a good part mutual story-telling. Although I play the referee, my goal is to make sure everybody has fun. If you want something to happen, or have an idea, or think you have a good way to describe something, go ahead and let it out. As the referee, I can judge whether it makes sense, and I'll try my best to judge whether it fits the setting and theme. Example: "when I punch him, and he falls over, can he fall down the stairs and block those goons behind him?" If necessary, I'll roll to determine random chance. 2) As referee, I would like to keep your characters alive, however I'm not going to pull any punches. A game without a challenge is just a story. Some of my house rules make the game more deadly. However, I've chosen interpretations of the rules which will enhance your chance of survival even when badly wounded. Regardless, all rolls are public, and if the party dies, that's the story. If your character dies in the course of action, you may build a new one with the same XP. If you throw your character away without an in-character reason, there may be an XP penalty to discourage such behavior. If you don't like your current character, talk to me, and we can do something less drastic. 3) As referee, I plan to present a sandbox. I will throw adventure hooks at you, but if you aren't interested, feel free to do your own thing. Even so, I plan to run a real, living world with you as the critical linchpin force. Things will happen - and if you choose not to respond, there may be consequences. 4) No secrets between players. You will have access to each others' bios and info. Before the game begins we will discuss what your characters do and do not know about each other. It's way too much fun as a player to know why the other characters are acting like they do. A mysterious PC who never talks is boring. 5) Splitting the party is fine, but it will split "screen time" among the players. In fact, some obstacles may encourage this behavior. "Two reactors set to melt down at two different locations, oh no!" If you do go off on your own, I will craft encounters and challenges accordingly. However, each person will get ONE event during this time. For example, if the party splits two and three, then the two will get two events, and the three will get three events. If you remain split up (or split differently), then each person will get another event, repeating, until the party comes back together. 6) Even though I don't mind if you split up, try to get back together periodically, especially for big events. If you know you're about to raid the villain's base, please invite the party to go with you! 7) The characters aren't necessarily the good guys, but they definitely aren't the bad guys! I won't mind at all if you're a self-serving jerk sometimes, but you are the heroes of the story, so build characters that will fit that role. Reluctant heroes are fine. Self-centered accidental heroes are fine. Angry vengeful heroes are fine. Robin-hood type criminal heroes are fine. Malicious psychopaths are not. If I have to, I will ask your character to leave the party and you can build a new one. 8) On a related note, regarding PvP. Again, you are heroes and allies. You may have disagreements. You can arm-wrestle. You can talk trash. You can plant bugs into each other's chronocoms. You might even come to fisticuffs to determine who gets to fly the dirigible. However, you aren't going to seriously attack each other. Again, if I have to, I will ask your character to leave the party and you can build a new one. 9) Similarly, I intend to avoid focusing on any type of "mature 18+" type of content. Pretty much every RPG contains conflict, combat, and death. Furthermore, Dramune OuterReach is an unsavory setting filled with drug use, crime, and freely advertised sex. However, this will not ever be the focus of the game - except maybe as a source of conflict or trouble. Player participation in such activities is possible, but if this occurs, I will use the old "fade-to-black" TV-trope and pick up the story afterwards. 10) Experience will be party-based with no differentials. If I give out 1 XP for the night's session, then that means everybody in the party gets 1 XP whether they played or not. Good play is its own reward! 11) You can earn experience (for the whole party) in five different ways: Play: 1 XP each session if everyone shows up on time OR tells me beforehand that they will be late or absent. Goals: A variable number of XP whenever a story, party, or character goal is completed to my satisfaction. You don't have to tie all the loose ends. If the villain escapes, but you destroyed his organization, then that's a win-win for us both! Journal: 1 XP each session for someone to keep a log each session. This task will rotate and I will ask that each person step up. If you can't do it for whatever reason, then that's fine, we can skip you in the rotation, but please try. You can write it as a simple log-of-events, but it's often more fun to read and write the in-character perspective. The goal is to keep a basic log of everything that happened so we can refresh our memory, so switch views if you need to. Creativity: 1 XP each session for someone to produce something creative about the game (between sessions). Again, this task will rotate, but you can skip if you must. You can write a song, draw a picture, build a map, write prose from an NPCs point-of-view, or whatever you like. It must be your own work, and please put a little effort in, but don't spend more than an hour unless you're really enjoying yourself. Whatever else: I retain the right to give out more XP whenever I want for whatever reason. 12) The party will get one XP when each of you finish your character bio. When designing characters, dig deep. Think about the setting and theme and build a complete person with quirks and flaws. The more hooks you give me, the more "screen time" you are likely to get. I'd expect a finished bio to answer SOME (not all) of the following questions: Where are you from? (A different dome? A different city? Orbit? A different planet?) What do you look like? (Anything notable or memorable?) What do you wear? (Preferred styles?) How do you talk? (Word choice? Vocabulary? Accent?) How do you think? (Instinctive? Contemplative? Careful? Brave? Forgetful? Sense of humor? Giving?) Where is your family? How many siblings did you have? How did you grow up? What is your moral compass? What do you think is important? What do you think about various social / political movements and organizations? Why did you enroll in Styrigia University? How did you pay your tuition and living expenses besides the loan? Maybe an internship or part-time job? What extra-curricular activities did you participate in? What other friends / rivals did you make while you were there? What do you do in your free time? Who are some contacts / enemies that you have? What is your dark secret? Do you have a goal in life? What are some of your weaknesses? Think physical, mental, and moral...