Keep these in mind, and we'll be fine:

1. When in doubt, ask.
If you're stuck in-game or out-of-game, not sure how to react or feel like anything is preventing you from posting, either drop a line in any OOC chat or send me a PM. If you don't get an answer within 24 hours, poke me in the GM poke thread. While I may not update every day, I do keep an eye out for PMs and questions.


2. It's your character.
Please familiarize yourself with your character's abilities and how they work. If there is important information pertaining to your character (like how you have dark vision, so you don't get the dark penalties I posted), it is your responsibility to bring that up, not mine, to remember it. You are the advocate for your character; it is your job to give them every advantage they can have. If you have questions, see Rule #1.


3. If you have to leave, drop me a line.
If you're going to be absent for longer than a week, or your RL schedule means you're going to be busier than normal, or school is starting and RL has to be adjusted...whatever the case, drop me a PM before you disappear for longer than a week. I will view you as an AFK player if you haven't posted in three days. After three days I will then begin to NPC your character if they are vital to the plot, finding a replacement player, or working them out of the story. If you disappear for over a week without warning, don't be surprised to find that you no longer have a character. This doesn't mean I can't work you back in, but it would ALL be resolved much better with a bit of forewarning. Even if you don't KNOW but THINK you might have difficulty posting, see Rule #1: When in doubt, send a PM.

If you have not logged in for over three days, I may mark you as (AFK) after your name. If you have (AFK) on your name, I am NPCing your character through encounters, and you are at risk of being replaced by another player OR being killed off for dramatic purposes. To remove (AFK), all you have to do is come back and post.


4. If you take too long, I will advance the story.
PbP can be slow enough without spending weeks/months trying to create a plan. I've seen this happen game after game after game where when the party has to make a decision, nothing gets done, and the game grinds to a halt while people just mill around without anything to do. When you are ready for the scene to advance, you can notify that clearly by writing in an OOC line at the bottom:

OOC: READY!

This will signify to both me and the rest of the group that you're ready to move on. When the majority is ready (or I get bored :P) the game will advance. I will post a default plan, and if the plan hasn't changed before then, then that is what you're going to be doing. If you don't like it, you'd better speak up and get a new plan in the works before I get bored and hit the fast-forward button.

5. Embrace the "onlineness" (together). Let's use the OOC board for "side convos" that would typically happen at the table and blow off steam.

6. Please consider that I can access Rules As Written (RAW) boards, conversations, and postings. Sometimes, I do not agree with these RAW decisions. I will endeavor to take any concerns that players may have into consideration when making my rulings; however, it is important to understand that RAW doesn't run this game, I do, and that my rulings are final.

7. No online character sheets.

8. In order to take full advantage of the tension that happens during Death Saving throws, please post these rolls via private lines to me. This tracks with the IC reality of your friends not knowing if you are okay and if you might parish during a particularly brutal combat encounter.

9. When you roll your Death Saving throw, please take a moment to come up with a cinematic scene for your character and how they might be holding onto life to help their friends, return the kiss of a long-lost love, or to finally pay back a villain for a previous slight. Posting the cinematic allows you to roll twice and take the higher result, however, if you can't think of a reason that your character has for clinging onto life or would prefer not to make a cinematic post we will use the straight roll.

This message was last edited by the GM at 22:13, Sat 07 Sept 2024.

Please note that this game is set to "Mature" and not to "Adult". While I expect absolutely terrible language and there to be some brutal violence I do not plan on this game going into "porn" territory of any kind (goreporn, tortureporn, porn porn :D).

I'm of the mentality that while the story won't shy away from "adult" concepts like hookers or senseless violence that it doesn't need to be explained in every filthy detail and personally I find the imagination of a "fade-to-black" much more immersive then anything people would actually type.

Therefore if we encounter a situation that would cross the line I/we will either take a step back and either fade-to-black or just describe things in a high-level OOC way before getting back to the action.

Reskinning is the idea of taking a set of rules or mechanics and applying a new "skin" to it to provide a new and unique experience for the purposes of roleplaying.


I am all for reskinning and rebranding as long as it follows the following guidelines:

1) It must have a good reason with some solid reasoning from the player. I'm not going to let you reskin your generic laser pistol as a grenade launcher because you want to pretend to have a level 20 character at level 1.

2) The underlying game mechanics are unchanged.


So if there is a feat or power or spell or whatever that you really want to use, but the aesthetics attached to it aren't your style, just let me know, and we can work on re-branding it into something you can really dig, but doesn't unbalance the game or alter the mechanics.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:40, Thu 23 May 2024.

At the bottom of your combat posts, you should specify via an OOC: tag the actions you are taking, and the grid coordinates you are moving to or attacking.

For example:

Grog, the Goliath lets loose a warcry, charging across the battlefield, drawing his energy-axe, and burying it into the head of the lead orc!

OOC:
Action 1: Moving to Q9
Action 2: Drawing Axe
Action 3: Attacking orc at Q8



Using this format is essential to avoid confusion and delays. I have had numerous rounds of battle get delayed because I had to stop updates to ask clarifying questions: "Which orc are you attacking?" "How did you get to this square?" etc.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:26, Wed 14 Aug 2024.

Please think about your character's abilities. If you have a reaction based ability that you might employ please include it as a note in the combat stats on the round before you might use the ability, i.e the first orc who leaves your threatened range will be attacked.

If you would like to prioritize a certain reaction or target, it is up to you to specify that during your round's post.


Reaction[Re]: Change of Plans! If the orc drops I would like to use Change of Plans to target the orc's elf ally.

This message was last edited by the GM at 23:31, Wed 14 Aug 2024.

I want to encourage people to be creative in their combat posts. Feel free to narrate different scenes with the NPCs you're fighting to help flex those creative muscles. One thing to consider is that an attack roll does not always mean you took a swing, and a miss doesn't always mean you didn't hit.

Huge epic combat posts aren't a requirement. I understand that between referencing character sheets and maps and rolling dice, it can really suck your time away, but if you find yourself feeling like combat is dragging on, or you're tired of writing "I swing and I miss" over and over again consider incorporating some of the details of one of your fellow players into your post to help make combat a bit spicier not just for you but for your fellow players as well.

To encourage these types of posts, I will be awarding ST inspiration based on your posts. You may "bank" ST inspiration earned from your post (to help combat the evils of the dice roller), and there is no limit to the inspiration that you may have. ST inspiration may be awarded in [1d6] [1d8] or [1d12] increments. More than one paragraph isn't encouraged but might earn you [1d12] inspiration.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:27, Mon 27 Nov 2023.

Fusion Seals are the traditional weapons of the runners of Aegis base, created by Imir Tramirel, who used a fragment of a strange ore from the bedrock of the base. They take a distinct shape for each runner, forming a weapon that complements their individual fighting style and skills. In addition, they can be connected to the runner's frame to form weapons.

Over time, fusion seals can be altered to form more than one type of weapon for its user. This is seen most prominently in advanced runners given enough training and experience.

• Your signature weapon/item will gain abilities at 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, and 18.

This message was last edited by the GM at 23:33, Wed 14 Aug 2024.

You may have an unlimited amount of Posting Points. You will be awarded Posting Points based on how you reliably roleplay your background when it is challenging for your character to remain true to these traits.

Posting Points Mechanics

Spending 1 Posting Point will:
• Allow players to re-roll 1d20 roll for their character (limit 1/2 character level per long rest). The character must accept the new result, not the higher of the two rolls.
• Automatically succeed one death saving throw (once per long rest).
• Add an additional +5 to a roll for your character: attack roll, saving throw, or ability check (limit 1/2 character level per long rest).
  
  Spending 3 Posting Points will:
• Increase one of your Ability Scores by 2 for one combat encounter. This adjustment affects all relevant traits and abilities. This ability may only be used once per 100 posts.
• Activate a minor ability of your frame.
• Allow a player to re-roll a damage roll for their character only and keep the better result. (limit 1/2 character level per long rest)
• Automatically access any of the abilities of your theme (specifically those for which you do not meet the level requirement).
• Regenerate 1d4 of Ability Score damage.  (Once per long rest)
  
  Spending 5 Posting Points will:
• Allow your character to score a critical hit (double damage on an enemy). This ability may only be used once per long rest.
• Force an enemy character to re-roll an attack roll. (Once per long rest)
• Activate a major ability of your frame.
• Force an enemy character to re-roll any damage rolled. (Once per long rest)

More to be determined

This message was last edited by the GM at 23:38, Wed 14 Aug 2024.