San Francisco by Night
General Rules
1. Our goal is to have fun.
2. We respect others even though they may have different goals and role-playing styles than ourselves.
3. OOC (Out of Character) personality conflicts and bickering have no place in our game.
4. If you have issues with the powers, role-play, actions, and/or abilities of an approved character:
1) Make respectful inquires to the
player in question first.
2) If your concerns are not resolved with this approach, please contact the System
ST next.
3) If the System ST cannot resolve your concern, then please contact the Master ST
as a final approach.
Do not get into an argument with the other player. If the ST determines someone is doing something improper, he will take corrective action. Under no circumstances, attack the player by either name of inference on the Message Board or in chat rooms. Even if your assessment of the other player is correct, this type of behavior is not tolerated in our game and will lead to expulsion from the game for you. The game is more important than any individual player or particular scene. Don't let things get blown out of proportion. If you feel the need to vent, sent a note to the ST who will calmly examine the situation in the light of day.
5. OOC Information. We try to keep OOC information from coming IC (In-Character). Please note that information contained in posts, whether in-character posts or OOC character posts is not necessarily known by your character. If in doubt, assume that you don't know it. Unfortunately, keeping the wall between IC and OOC information can be difficult for even good players at times. Even if we don't purposely misuse information, OOC information possessed by us can color our thinking and perceptions. Therefore, please keep your IC secrets to yourself. If you tell someone OOC about your deep, dark IC secret, chances are good the information will influence the game to some degree, usually to your character's detriment. If you really don't want something about your character to accidentally make it into the game, then don't tell anyone (and I mean anyone), don't post it, etc. Keep it to yourself. If you believe someone is improperly using OOC information, please see #4 above.
6. Combat (Killing Other Characters). The Word of Darkness is a predatory environment. Death and angst are a part of the theme for White Wolf. However, you need to realize that if you kill another character, it is almost a certainly that his friends will hunt you down. If the ST determines that someone has become combat oriented for Out of Character reasons, then the character will be decertified for play in the game and any scenes may be nullified. Every death will receive scrutiny from the ST.
7. Different Sects. If a player plays multiple characters, they should not be of opposing political affiliations. For example, a player having both a strong Sabbat and a strong Camarilla character is disallowed. However, an Independent and a Sabbat is acceptable. We are specifically trying to avoid characters gaining the political secrets of each side and misusing that information.
8. Editions. 1. To resolve conflicts, latest publication date takes precedence. 2. If a power has not been specifically rewritten by a new edition, it remains in effect as per the previous edition. For example, some VtM 2 Thaumaturgy rituals were worded differently in VtM 3. The VtM 3 version of the ritual should be used. On the other hand, many rituals have simply not appeared yet in VtM 3 literature. These rituals should be played as they are written in the VtM 2 source books.
9. Political Positions. All political positions (e.g., Prince, Archbishop, Primogen, Pack Leader, etc.) in the chronicle are received through in-character role-play. Players are free to accept or reject a person's authority as they desire, subject to in-character consequences from that person. In other words, the Storytellers do not assign positions. Players fight for them in character through muscle, brains, luck, etc. If you don't like how someone is fulfilling their role, then work against them. Just be prepared to accept the consequences.
10. Screen Names. A player must maintain an active screen name for their character. Otherwise, I have no way of contacting you. If your screen name becomes inactive, I will assume you have left the game and will respond accordingly.
11. Demolitions/Property Damage/NPC Killings. Anyone attempting any type of mass damage must get approval from an appropriate Storyteller prior to any such attempts. This includes blowing up Member Rooms or large scale-attacks. It should be noted that the Storytellers have found mass damage attacks to be unhelpful in generating storylines and role-playing. It is a rare case that they would be approved.
12. Non-SFbN Characters. Players may intereact with unapproved characters if they so desire. However, only unapproved characters are not allowed to roll dice in SFbN rooms. The web page contains a list of presently recognized characters.