These are the rules that the main e-mail narrator Jeff Neufeld has
developed (with the input of the players). These are the main rules with the e-mail
addresses removed.
Hero Wars: Play By eMail Rules
Everyone has been subscribed to the AmberClan list on Onelist
(www.onelist.com).In future, please direct all mail to ***except*** individual mail
which should go (and come) directly from the narrator. Please include the script as an
attachment. You can also leave a copy of the latest script in the Amberclan onelist file
folder. Try and do both. Please do not delete earlier files. I'll clean things up at the
end of each episode.
For individual messages, I've created a new account at Yahoo ().
This account will be for narrators only. Therefore, when sending or responding to
individual messages be sure that they are addressed to both the yahoo account and my
personal account ().
You will usually receive the latest version of the scene as an HTML
file. When you are looking at the file you will notice that the scene is written like a
movie script, with a Speaker column on the left, and an action/comment column on the
right. The document is mutable and nothing is final until the scene is officially ended
(or the Narrator says so). Essentially, when you get the latest version of the script
(from whoever sent it last) you are free to add in your comments and actions anywhere in
the script (subject to certain rules explained below).
You will note that the different sections of the text are coloured:
1) Yellow - script notes: cannot be changed by players
2) Grey - completed sequence: cannot be changed by players
3) White - ongoing actions: can be added to by players
4) Blue - most recent action: only marked so people know which
actions is your most recent
5) Green - narrator speaking for a player: may be modified for style
and tone by the player but the overall action should not change.
When you are ready to make your actions/comments please follow these
steps:
1) open the document
2) read the recent actions of the other players (or anything else)
3) change all your blue text boxes to white (i.e. the last thing you
wrote for your character but not what other people wrote for theirs)
4) insert your comments (in italics) or actions (in standard text)
adjacent to any white or blue box (before or after) [essentially this means that you
cannot insert an action between two grey and/or yellow colored boxes]
5) color your new text blocks blue so other people know what your
latest actions are.
Note that the scripts should not be released to the Winnipeg players
until approved by the Narrators.
GHOSTWRITING
Subject to the other rules about where people can write (see
INTERRUPTS (below) for a clarification on this)
1) Anyone can write as Narrator to indicate an action to add colour
to the story (as Arne did with the barmaid)
2) Anyone can add a one-off NPC to add colour to the story (as Arne
did with the barmaid)
3) Only Narrators can write for the actual actors (as Doug did with
Per and Cat-boy) but the players can modify the statement (for tone, style, ...) as long
as they don't change the overall act. Note that these passages will be marked in green.
4) Only Narrators can 'gray' a sequence as final.
5) Narrators can change the rules to suit their whims and fancy.
INTERRUPTS
You may insert actions and statements adjacent to any blue, white or
green box. This means that you can be acting on one issue at several different times. For
example, you can be talking to Korol AND asking about about him around town (much earlier)
AND talking to the barkeep about him (somewhat earlier).
As long as you don't take a direct action involving another major
actor (I walk into town and kill Korol) you're pretty much free to do what you want until
that part of the scene is 'grayed out' (typically large sections will be grayed out at the
deadline dates listed in the header).
Where this will get sticky is in 'extended contests' but we'll deal
with those later [for your information, scene 1 had no contests, scene 2 has simple
contests, scene 3 will include extended individual contests while scene 4 will included an
extended group contest (all possibly/ probably)].
I think that we will have to adopt this practice of multiple acts
along the timeline due to the nature of the medium (email) we are using (and yes, there
may be some re-writing necessary and yes, the narrators say is final).
SIDE ACTIONS
For my own convenience, at this time, side actions (email between
narrator and individual actors) will only occur at the individual level. If two or more
actors are involved I will move it to the main script rather than record it separately.
This could change, especially if a pair of people get physically separated from the main
party. Other narrators may do things differently as well, depending on the situation.
SUBMISSION RESTRICTIONS
As far as I'm concerned,you can submit as much and as often as you
want, adding colour to the script is to be encouraged. There may be a de facto limit in
that eventually you'll have to wait for some information/action from a different time
zone.
INITIATES AND FEATS
Please note that initiates cannot learn feats (only devotees can).
The practical effect of this is that initiates can still cast feats but they will always
have an improv modifier (-3 to skill level).
PERSONAL MISSIONS
This is partly to add colour and partly to add play balance.
Occasionally, actors will be given the opportunity to spend a free hero point in a given
context (see my other mail for an example). The hero point must be spent within that
context (e.g. in the city you can buy things, in the wilds you might tame an animal).
Whether you get a personal mission (and the hero point) depends on your cult obligations
(the less obligations you have the more personal mission you will get). Approximately,
over a given time period, if you are just an initiate you will get 3 personal missions, if
you've also joined 1 subcult you will only get 2 personal missions, if you are a dual
initiate or a devotee or you've joined 2 or 3 subcults you will get only one personal
mission, and if you have more cult obligations than that you will get 0 personal missions.
This page last modified November 06, 2000
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