THE BIBLE OF THE 200X ERA(ROUGH DRAFT)
SUMMARYThe 200X era is to be a re-imagining of the 2018 forum, using similar characters as often as possible. The excesses of 2018 are to be avoided. The setting will rely on the goodwill and the cooperation of the writers as a group, backed up by a small number of moderators who will have executive veto and the right to intervene in disputes or nascent disputes.
200X is not a game to be won. It is a storytelling environment in which writers may create stories and interact IC within an established framework. We are not players. We are writers.
Rules don't prevent players from being disruptive. (. . .) Once a player begins to use a character disruptively, regardless of the story that player says they are trying to tell, no one else is part of that story. Why allow a player who obviously cares so little for the rest of the troupe – troupe being everyone in this thread - to take part in the stories of the troupe. Internal consistency is one thing but a player that cares for nothing but his or her characters and his or her stories isn't part of the troupe. So don't treat them as if they are.
I do think that the best structure is one that emphasizes the story part over the rules, but I don't think we should do away with them. If nothing else, they make a good point-of-entry for new players, who may not understand the complexities of forum interaction and politics but who can easily grasp "don't go over this number."
Rule #1: Don't be a dick. Dicks get kicked.
Rule #2: We will cooperate with each other and watch over each other. Disputes are to be settled among the writers whenever possible. If necessary, the moderators will intervene. Moderators may intervene pre-emptively to what they see as a developing problem.
Rule #3: See rule #1.
MODERATORSThe initial moderators are to be (in no particular order of precedence) Nova_OOC, Seph_OOC, and Mr. Fox. In any discussion among the moderators, the agreement of any two moderators will overrule the third.
the existence of moderators must not preclude discussion among the group. A moderator serves the writers, and is there to ensure that the largest number of people possible are enjoying the site. It must always be that way. A moderator who does it the other way around is a tyrant.
The 200X era is to use the contemporary calendar date and will move forward at the rate of one unit of real time = one unit of era time.
If you want to know the date and time in the 200X era, look at the calendar at the lower-right corner of your Windows desktop, or top-right corner of your OSX desktop. Linux users just do whatever it is you do. You're better than everyone else anyway.The Slider assassination and subsequent formation of the Aberrants are to be treated in a way similar to the real-world assassination of President Kennedy. There is an accepted official explanation, yet a trememdous number of consipracy theories exist and are debated with almost religious devotion. Despite all this theorizing, nothing concrete is ever resolved and no government agency will comment on them. Behind the scenes, the shadowy organizations that secretly run the world are cock-blocking the Aberrants at every turn, but allowing them to carry on publicly as a kind of safety valve.
The Night of the Long Knives, the Aberrant War and the end of the world as we know it*, and Trinity are not necessarily destined to happen.
Large scale setting-altering events are to be executed via large multi-author stories. These large-scale stories are to be scripted in advance with a beginning, intended plot arc, and ending. Historically, too many large stories have abruptly ended without a conclusion because people have lost interest and drifted away from it.
THE IC OPNET FORUMThe IC OpNet forum will be considered to be viewable by only novas. There will be one sticky thread which is visible to the public at large called "Ask a Nova" in which curious baselines may ask questions of novas. Participation in the "Ask a Nova" thread is optional.
Making the forums publicly viewable IC would be a bad idea: every post would sacrifice legitimacy for a positive public image. The idea is to have a place where novas can go to be themselves, not to simply provide another advertising outlet where they have to be "on". Also, many Terats wouldn't post there on principle: the N! is owned by baselines, after all. No character I've played or probably would be inclined to would post on such a forum.
Each writer will be limited to no more than two characters each to kickstart the forum, with re-imaginings of 2018 characters
strongly encouraged. This is supposed to be a reboot, after all. Additional characters may be introduced at the rate of no more than one per calendar year per writer, including 2008. New character credits do not roll over into subsequent years.
Characters hastily created in the waning weeks of a calendar year to avoid "losing" a character credit will be looked upon with a baleful eye.
2010 AND 2018The 2010 setting is to be left as-is. Characters from 2010 are not to be transferred into the 200X setting, because this will damage the 2010 setting. 2018 is to be left as-is. 2018 characters who are re-imagined in 200X may still be played in 2018 in their original form.
There is to be no attachment, cross-time movement, reality-shifting, or other mechanism for characters or IC knowledge to move from 2018 to 200X or vice-versa. 200X is an independent and separate reality.
NOVA POINTSCharacters are to begin with no more than 50 NP. A character may begin with fewer than 50NP and add NP up to the cap as justified by stories or IC interaction. The NP cap will be increased by 4NP on the first day of every February and August. Characters created after an increase in the cap will be entitled to use as many NP as the cap at the time of creation.
All increases in NP must be plausibly justified by a supporting body of fiction or interaction.
(Nova's commentary on NP: It is my hope that those who are disappointed by the initial cap being 50NP instead of 60NP will be pleased by the potential for 8NP/year of advancement in semi-annual allotments. This is a significant increase from the figure of 5-6NP/year which had been thrown around and allows for more frequent increases as well. I had toyed briefly with the idea of an increase of 2NP every 3 months, but that would create too much bookkeeping hassle, and would make 200X too similar to 2010.)
CHARACTER CREATIONBy the book: Limited to 7/5/3 atts, 23 abs, 7 BGs, 15 BPs, and the current NP cap (initially 50NP). Taint at time of creation will not exceed 6. Fractions of NP earned by taint are to be rounded AGAINST the character.
Q will be limited to 5 at time of creation. Advancement to Q6 will be available only by appeal to the moderators and MUST be supported by a compelling and robust justification. Submission of the request is NOT a guarantee of acceptance, and you must be prepared for the possibility of a "no" response.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSESDespite being universally despised in the rulebook form, they will be included with the following limits:
-No shift in quantum levels or costs.
-No use of permanence.
MERITS AND FLAWSBecause of the potential for abuse, these are not to be calculated into the character sheet numerically. If one wishes to play a character who has these, go ahead and RP them. However, if it is done to excess, the other writers and moderators will notice and probably not be pleased.
Use merits and flaws responsibly and cautiously.
Well... I don't actually care if anyone uses them. But please don't waste my time telling me that you only took them for "character integrity" and didn't even notice the extra points you were gaining. Forego taking the extra points and I'll believe wholeheartedly in your character's integrity.
Character sheets for each character are to be posted and maintained accurately. Changes made to the character sheet should be explained in a footnote or closely-related post. (The way it is done in 2018, with a forum in which each character is a separate thread works very well.)
TAINTHigh taint or aberrations will incur a significant social penalty. This must not be forgotten.
PUNY HUMAN RULEThe optional rule "Puny Human" is in effect. It is impossible to be kicked to death by spiders.
CONSENT AND THE MESSING-UP OF OTHERSThe consent system in 2018 mostly works and will be copied wholesale into 200X. The main difficulty in 2018 is that 30NP characters could use consent as a shield and taunt Gods with impunity, rather than being smeared into a fine red paste. With the narrowing of the power spectrum in 200X, this should be less of a problem.
Combat is permitted when the participants are willing. If you don't want someone to get the urge to smear your character into a fine red paste, don't kick him/her in the groin. See rule #1.
Combat is difficult because it needs something some of us overlook: a script. This is not the best environment for dice rolling or number crunching. If you feel the need to scuffle with another character (and the opponent agrees) then you two need to take a moment and decide how the battle will be played out. Decide a winner, decide how much damage you're going to cause, is death an option. We're adults, and damn intelligent ones too, there's no reason why it should be difficult to script a battle.
Forget the powers, enhancement, and everything else. Those are filler. All they are for is to make the fiction a good read. Be respectful to the players you battle. If you've been decided the winner then don't just wipe the floor with your opponent and protray attacks bouncing off you. It's a battle of novas for crying out loud, make everything sound as epic (as) possible.
In the end it's about having fun and telling a story, just like at home at the table.
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(* I feel fine.)
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