Expectations, Norms and Rules
Rules of the Game
1. The expected posting rate is about 2-3 times per player per week of IC material, with GM posts interspersed when necessary, to keep the game moving and answer questions. There will always be days where there are more posts than at other times, and there will be times where real life will get in the way and delay posts by a day or so. This is all normal and expected, and I will not force speed. I want this game to go at a nice, easy pace, so that nobody feels overwhelmed by needing to post. My own personal situation may cause delays with updates, etc. and so I am an understanding soul. With that said, however, there will be times where speed is necessary (such as in combat) and I do reserve the right to either NPC a character or eject a player from the game should multiple, extended absences occur without notification.
2. I expect more than a one-line response of spoken text in each post. Every post, even a simple “yes” answer should be accompanied by more describing stance, expression, emotion, or even something of the thought behind it. In short, there are few pictures here, you need to show what is being done and said with words. If a post is unacceptable, I will ask you (privately) to edit.
3. Players and their characters must have a certain level of interested involvement. That means not simply reacting to events as they unfold, but actively investigating leads, clues, and hints: your character should be motivated to act, and to act as part of a group. Neither I nor the campaign deals with hostile loners, apathetic brooders, psychotic serial killers, anti-social pricks, people who get off needling others or pushing buttons, or other characters that must be coaxed into engaging with the world and cooperating with the rest of the group. No Asshole characters.
4. Expect your actions to have consequences. Do not be stupid. Play smart. If I give you lots of hints that opening the Red Box will be bad, do not open the box and expect to live.
5. If you disagree with me on any ruling as GM, I expect a respectful appeal, preferably in private text or message.
6. Observe proper etiquette: it is bad form to remove another player’s agency from their own character; to perform an action on/against another player's character without that player having a chance to react. For example, Red’s player cannot simply write that he picks up Mary and carries her into the tavern over his shoulder. Mary’s player would have to agree or have a chance to avoid Red's grasp. Likewise, with NPCs, they have agency in matters that affect them. This is known as The Agency Rule.
7. There will be no PvP in this game. Do not argue with me that it would be in-character for your character to attack another PC. If that is the case, you and your character were selected for the game in error. Arm wrestling does not count as PvP. I will consider duels that are well-played, carefully considered, and appropriate in the context of the game. The norms and procedures must be followed and among PCs duels are to first blood.
Optional Rules and Other Important Rules to Remember
Weapon Damage by Type Optional Rule is in Effect (p.B27)
1d4 Damage: Torch, Dagger, Sling Stone, and Club
1d6 Damage: Arrow, Hand Axe, Mace, Quarrel*, Short Sword, Spear and War Hammer
1d8 Damage: Battle Axe* and Sword (broad/long)
1d10 Damage: Polearms* and Two-Handed Sword*
* These weapons are two-handed. They cannot be used with a shield and will always lose the initiative.
Morale for Monsters and Retainers Optional Rule is in effect. (p. B27)
TIME: Time in D&D adventures is given in turns of ten minutes each. A turn is not a measure of real time but is a measure of how much a character can do within a given amount of time. A character may explore and map an area equal to his or her movement rate in one turn. It also takes a turn for a character to search a 10'x10' area, for a thief to check an item for traps, to rest, or to load a bag with treasure. The DM should decide how long other actions that characters might try will take. (p. B19)
MOVEMENT: All characters can move 120' in one turn when exploring a dungeon. This is only a base movement rate used to compare the speed of the characters with the monsters which are encountered and to determine both encounter and running speeds. Encounter and running movement are much faster and are given as the number of feet the character can move in one round. Encounter movement is determined by dividing the base movement rate by 3, while running speed is equal to the base movement rate in rounds. A base movement rate of 120' in ten minutes may seem slow, but it assumes that the players are mapping carefully, searching, and trying to be quiet. It also considers the generally "dark and dingy" conditions of the dungeon in which characters are adventuring. (p. B19)
Movement on the Area Map is 1 square per hour if searching, 3 squares per hour walking. Each square is 100 yards. In the Caves of Chaos each square is 10 feet. Hunting for food on the Area Map requires luck, there is a 1 chance in 6 to catch food for one day for d6 men, per turn spent hunting. (B2 p. 12)
RESTING: After moving for 5 turns, the party must rest for 1 turn. One turn in 6 (one each hour of the adventure) must be spent resting. If characters do not rest, they have a penalty of -1 on all "to hit" and damage rolls until they do rest. (p. B19)
ENCUMBRANCE: I will only enforce encumbrance if things get unreasonable or out of hand. Use good judgement and estimate the carrying capacities. If abused I will strictly enforce carrying capacity.
LIGHT: Most dungeons are dark, and it is necessary for characters to bring their own light source with them. A torch or lantern will cast light 30 feet in all directions. A torch will burn out in 6 turns (1 hour); a lantern filled with one flask of oil will burn out in 24 turns (4 hours). It is important to remember which characters are carrying light sources. A character could not, for example, carry a lit torch, a drawn sword, and a shield at the same time. (p. B21)
INFRAVISION: Infravision is the ability to "see" heat patterns. Most living things give off heat. To infravision, warm things are bright, cool things are gray, and cold things are black. Infravision is useless in normal or magical light. Infravision cannot be used to read without light. All non-human monsters have infravision. Infravision is ‘white out’ in the radius of a torch, campfire or other ‘bright’ heat source. (p. B21)
NORMAL DOORS: Doors in a dungeon are usually closed and are often stuck or locked. A lock must usually be picked by a thief. An unlocked door must be forced open to pass through it. To force open a door, roll Id6; a result of 1 or 2 (on Id6) means that the door is forced open. The roll should be adjusted by a character's Strength score adjustment. The number needed to open a door can never be less than 1 nor greater than 1-5. Once a door is opened, it will usually swing shut when released unless it is spiked or wedged open. Doors will usually open automatically for monsters, unless the door is held, spiked, or closed with magical spells. (p. B21)
SECRET DOORS: A secret door is any door that is hidden or concealed. A secret door usually does not look like a door; it may be a sliding panel or hidden under a rug. Any character has a 1 in 6 chance of finding a secret door; any elf has a 2 in 6 chance. The DM will only check for finding a secret door if a player says that the character is searching for one and searching for one in the correct area. The search takes one turn. Each character has only one chance to find each secret door. (p. B21)
LISTENING: A character may try to listen at a door to hear what is on the other side. For each character listening, the DM should roll Id6. A result of 1 (1 or 2 for demi-humans) means that the character hears any noises being made by the creatures on the other side of the door (if any). Each character may only try once per door. Thieves have special chances to "hear noise." The undead do not make any noise. (p. B21)
TRAPS: Dungeons often contain traps, such as a trap door in the floor which springs open when a character walks over it. If any character does something which could trigger a trap (such as walking over a certain point), the trap will be sprung on a roll of 1-2 (on 1d6). The DM must check for each character passing the spot until the trap is either sprung or safely passed by all. Trap damage is usually automatic once sprung, and traps are not considered part of combat. Monsters may either have the same chances as characters, or might never spring traps; the choice is left to the DM. Any character has a 1 in 6 chance of finding a trap when searching for one in the correct area. Any dwarf has a 2 in 6 chance. (This does not apply to magical traps, such as a sleep trap.) Checking a specific area for a trap will take one full turn. The DM should only check for finding a trap if a player says that the character is searching for one. Each character may only check once to find each trap. (p. B22)
HEALING WOUNDS: Wounds may be cured in two ways: by resting or by magic. To cure wounds by resting, the wounded creature must relax in a safe place, and may do nothing but rest. Each full day of complete rest will restore 1-3 hit points. If a day's rest is interrupted for any reason, no healing will take place. Wounds may also be healed by certain clerical spells and some magic items. Spells will heal wounds instantly without the need for long rest. Different methods of healing may be used together: a character might rest 1 full day and be healed by a cure light wounds spell in the same day. (p. B25)
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:32, Sun 09 May 2021.
