THE BIBLE OF THE 200X ERA(SECOND DRAFT 21FEB08)
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: Participation in the 200X setting is voluntary. Those who are disruptive and uncooperative will be ejected and asked not to return.
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 frustrating 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 multi-author stories after being approved by a 2/3 vote of active writers, with the official call for vote to be posted by a member of the moderation staff. The voting period will last 168 hours (7 days) from the moment of the call for the vote. For the purposes of this section, an active writer is considered to be a single individual who has posted IC to either the 200X Fiction or the OpNet 200X forums within the 14 days preceding the call for the vote.
These large-scale stories are to be scripted in advance with a beginning, intended plot arc, and ending.
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 allowed to create characters of two kinds: "rebooted" OpNet 2018 characters, and new characters created specifically for the 200X era.
There is no limit to the number of rebooted 2018 characters who may be written into the 200X era. This is by design to encourage re-imaginings of the 2018 characters. Each writer will be limited to no more than one new character to be created within the first thirty days of the new era. Additional new 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.
Example: The writer Nova_OOC could create re-imagined versions of her OpNet 2018 characters "Flicker," "Mithril," and "Flea" at any time. She could further create one new character within the first 30 days of the era's opening. Beyond that, at any point in 2008 she could create one more new character. The total number of characters Nova_OOC could have in play by the end of 2008 is five: three reboots and two new ones. 2010 AND 2018The 2010 setting is to be left as-is, for now. Characters from 2010 are not to be transferred into the 200X setting, because this will damage the 2010 setting and there is still debate over the meaning of several clauses in the 2010 charter. 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.
CHARACTER CREATIONBy the book: Limited to 7/5/3 atts, 23 abs, 7 BGs, 15 BPs, and the current NP cap (initially 50NP). No more than 8 dots of permanent taint may be taken at the time of character creation. Fractions of NP earned by taint are to be rounded AGAINST the character.
Quantum points will be handled differently in this setting than in the core rule book. Characters may have a starting Quantum of up to Q3 for no cost, but a score of Q4 or Q5 must be purchased with bonus or nova points. Characters created with a Quantum score lower than Q3 will receive extra bonus points (not nova points) which may be spent on attributes, abilities, specialties, or backgrounds. Five bonus points will be allotted to a character who is created with Q2, or ten bonus points for a character who is created with Q1.
Quantum scores will be limited to no greater than Q5 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 the submitter must be prepared for the possibility of a "no" response.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSESDespite being almost 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. No specific format is required, but the character sheet must be easy to read. Changes made to the character sheet should be explained in a footnote or closely-related post. (The way it is done in OpNet 2018, with a forum in which each character is a separate thread works very well.)
TAINTHigh taint or aberrations must incur a significant social penalty. This must not be forgotten, and will be strictly enforced.
Taint is a quality of inhumanity which communicates a sense of unease or dread. This makes interaction with baselines difficult. It may be temporarily overcome by high social skills or appropriate powers, but there will still be lingering consequences after the fact.
Mega-social novas always forget things happen once the mega-socials are removed.
Body modifications which make a character appear inhuman are not to be considered in the same mechanic as taint-induced physical aberrations. While the nova is physically altered in both circumstances, only taint produces that specific unsettling and indescribable sensation of unease in others.
SPECIAL EFFECTAvailable to all nova characters is a body modification called Special Effect. This body modification has a cost of 0 NP. This body mod provides no mechanical advantages, no mechanical disadvantages, and is purely for visual aesthetics. The effect goes away when the nova dorms assuming the nova can do so, and writers may write appropriate reactions to the body modification as they desire.
I dated a girl with pink hair in college. She was cute and the hair color was a fashion statement. Didn't creep me out. In fact my parents actually liked her, and that is the true test of whether the hair color was taint induced or not!
Point is, small things like hair color are not going to freak people out, no need to discuss them if they aren't taint derived. If they are taint derived they aren't going to cause much reaction.
The 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 OpNet 2018 mostly works and will be copied wholesale into 200X. The main difficulty in OpNet2018 is that 30NP characters could use consent as a shield and taunt near-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 am not lisping.)
(** I feel fine.)
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