Code of Conduct (READ THIS SECOND)

-PLAYERS- Consider these your "Ten Commandments" for behavior in the campaign.  It's a simple list of Do's and Don'ts.  This list may be added to or amended at any time and in any way that I see fit.  It's a good idea to refresh yourself with the rules here, periodically.  If you have any questions, PM me for clarification.  It is your responsibility to read, understand, agree to, and abide by this Code of Conduct.   Ignorance is no excuse. 1)  Treat one another with kindness and respect.  Consider this a command- not a suggestion.  Anyone that is not a narcissistic sociopath understands what this means, so I shouldn't have to explain or provide examples. 2)  The point of playing this game (indeed, any game) is to have fun.  So, have fun, but not at the expense of others.  If you aren't having fun, please PM me and explain what the problem is, so that I can try to address it.  If, despite my best efforts, you are still unable to enjoy your experience here, please consider withdrawing from the game before your dissatisfaction ruins the fun for the other players.  If you allow your general disgruntlement to impact other players enjoyment of the game, I will forcibly remove you from the campaign. 3)  If you do not intend to act as a GM during a session, use the Rejoin as player function in the settings tab. 4)  When a scene is in progress, keep OOC (Out of Character) talk to a bare minimum; resorting to it only when absolutely necessary.  It's distracting and disrupts immersion for those engaged in roleplay. 5)  While Player vs Player (PvP) combat is allowed in this campaign, it is neither expected nor encouraged.  Rivalry, grudges and personality conflicts are certainly expected.  The setting assumes a lot of characters will be shady individuals, after all.  Undoubtedly, some characters will not get along.  This provides fodder for interesting roleplay and can be quite enjoyable, as long as it isn't used as an ooc excuse to bully or antagonize another player (see rule #1, above). However, actual physical combat between two characters is by consent only.  That is, any player wishing to attack another player's character must request permission from the player of that character before doing so.  Regardless, there should always be a designated GM on hand to adjudicate any physical contest between two PC's. 6)  Always pose in the 3rd Person.  Do not post internal monologue (i.e. what your character is thinking), unless your character is speaking telepathically to another character and, in that event, use the whisper function so that only they can see your pose since, logically, other characters cannot read your character's mind. 7)  Keep your roleplay PG-13.  It's not that I'm squeamish or a prude but this is Star Wars, after all, so foul language and gratuitous sex and violence are not really compatible with the feel of the setting.  Also, I would like to allow minors with sufficiently talented writing skills to participate in this game and, for that reason, roleplay of this type would be inappropriate.  This leads me to rule number eight... 8)  Roleplay is consensual.  You have the right, at any time, to tell another player that their roleplay is making you uncomfortable and that you no longer wish to participate.  Likewise, if your roleplay is making someone else uncomfortable, you must respect their wishes and leave them alone.  Any player failing to observe this simple courtesy is in violation of rule #1, and will be permanently kicked from the game. 9)  When not acting as a GM, respect the authority of the person(s) that is acting as the GM.  If you disagree with any particular ruling that an acting GM makes, take it up with them at a later time via PM, so as not to disrupt the episode in session.  If you think the GM is abusing his or her privleges, notify me in a PM and I will investigate the matter. 10)  Show courtesy when joining or leaving a session.  A simple whisper to the GM, such as "Hi- is it ok if I join the scene?"  is preferred.  Wait patiently and give the GM sufficient time to reply (particularly if in the middle of an intense RP) before you repeat your request.  In the meantime, you should follow the roleplay so that you can smoothly segue into the narrative when the GM finally introduces you to the scene.  Likewise, if you have to log off of the game while an Episode is in progress, send the GM a whisper to notify them, so they won't be taken off guard.  Try to exit in a way that maintains the integrity of the roleplay and maintains suspension of disbelief ( perhaps your character goes to his quarters to catch some shut-eye, or sneaks off alone to scout ahead, or departs to work on some repairs or maintenance of the teams equipment). -GAME MASTERS (Directors)- I like to think of Star Wars RPG adventures much like episodes of a Star Wars movie or television series ( Clone Wars, Rebels, etc.). Players that act as GM's for an adventure can be thought of as "Directors". Since every player who passes the vetting process will be promoted to Co-Gm status and has the capacity to act as a Director, it's important to have some guidelines on how this is done in Star Wars: Renegades . 1)   Acting as Director does not exempt you from obeying the rules in the Players Code of Conduct. 2) While acting as a Director, you may not play your character, unless that character is briefly utilized in a scene as an NPC to drive the plot forward for the benefit of the other players. Using your character in this way should be done sparingly. Their appearance should be brief, should not overshadow the player's characters, and should not grant any particular advantage (no matter how small) to your character. The purpose of the Director is to portray the NPC's that the other players will interact with- not to make their own character the star of the episode. 3) If two players wish to Co-Gm together, they may both act as Directors for an episode. This can be particularly helpful when managing large groups of players. If more than one player wishes to GM but does not want to Co-GM with another player, have a roll-off (e.g. roll 1d20 and the high roll wins) to see who gets to Direct the Episode. 4) A Director will never use his or her power to bully, belittle, or abuse another player. I will permanently boot any Director guilty of such abuse from the game. There are no second chances and you will not be allowed to return. You will also be blacklisted from any games that I decide to run in the future. 5) Keep the Player Bookmark on the Splash Page at all times, as this will ensure that all players logging on will arrive on the splash page. Do not move it, under any circumstances. When taking players to another page, drag and drop each player to the new page. Yes, I realize this is a bit tedious. The reason for this should become clear, in rule #6, below. 6) Whenever an Episode is not in progress, the Splash Page should look like this opening crawl (all images on this page are on the Map Layer and should never be moved to another layer): If you are presently Directing an Episode, and still have room for additional players, move the opening crawl to the back, until this image is showing: This will inform any player who logs on that an Episode is in session and that they can request to be added to the scene. If, however, you are Directing an Episode and have reached the maximum number of players that you can handle, you should rotate the map layer until the following image is visible: This will let any players that log on in the middle of your session know that there are no open play slots at this time. When you have ended a session, rotate the image on the Splash Page back to the Opening Crawl. 7)  While you can create new pages, you are not allowed to delete any page that you have not created, though you can manipulate and add tokens and maps to an existing page if it is relevant to the episode you are directing.  When you wrap up a session, try to restore any pages to their original state (removing objects you added and so forth) before logging off.  As the campaign creator, I reserve the right to delete any pages I desire, if I feel the campaign has become too cluttered with pages.  If you desperately want to retain your page for future use, send me a PM and let me know not to delete it.  As long as it is serving a useful function for some players, I will probably allow it to remain. 8) You are encouraged to include as many players in your scene as you can handle. However, be aware of how many players you can direct at one time, and place a hard cap when you reach that limit. If you take on more players than you can GM at once, your direction will suffer, causing all of the players to have a poor experience. It is better to have a great session for 5 players than it is to run a poor game for 10 players, just because you feel bad about excluding someone. Any players that are unable to play that session can probably find a game at a later time. And failing that, perhaps they will be encouraged to direct an Episode of their own. 9) Respect player agency and participation. You should never do any of the following things: Tell a player how their character thinks, feels, or reacts to a person, object, or event- unless interpreting and narrating the outcome of a dice roll. For example, you should never pose something like: The mercenary is stunningly beautiful. You are suddenly overcome with strong feelings of attraction and find yourself moving in her direction, hoping she will notice you. Unless (for example) the mysterious mercenary has an empathic ability to manipulate emotions or has slipped a narcotic into the characters drink that might make them more vulnerable to seduction and the player has failed their roll to resist the effect. Think that it's your job to kill off the player's characters. Rather, your job is to make the characters lives more interesting. While this sometimes creates dangerous scenarios which could result in a character's demise, always provide each character with an escape hatch (see Brains & Blasters , pg. 5), which they can take to evade the clutches of death. After all, the next time perhaps you will be the player and they will be the GM, and you will probably want them to show you the same level of fairness and courtesy. If the player chooses not to take the escape hatch, then the consequences are on them, and you may let the dice fall where they may. Render a character paralyzed or unconscious for more than a short period of time. Players have a limited amount of time to devote to this game and expect to enjoy as much of it as possible by roleplaying. If their character is rendered impotent by not being able to speak or act, they are essentially restricted from doing so. It's fine to have a character knocked out or restrained- even captured by the enemy- but narrate these kinds of events in such a way that the player may participate in the game again, as soon as possible. For example: You feel the impact of a stun baton on the back of your skull. There's a moment of blinding pain, a flash of light, and then... darkness. You wake up a few hours later, and look around groggily, your head pounding. A brutish looking Quarren stands over you, sneering down at you. "Thought you'd never wake up, overlander. Probably going to wish you hadn't." In this example, although the character has been captured, the player can still actively participate (by talking to his captor, attempting to escape, and so on), as opposed to having his character lay unconscious and unable to act, while the GM and the other players are active participants in the game. 10) Use your authority as a GM with wisdom and restraint.  If a player is misbehaving in some fashion, explain to them in a clear and respectful manner precisely what problem they are causing and how to correct it. If they fail to correct their bad behavior, then politely ask them to withdraw from the game. If they refuse or otherwise continue to disrupt your session, PM me and (after thoroughly investigating the incident), I will swiftly deal with the problem.