(Any edits or additions made will be noted in blue.)

The World

Setting and Mechanics: NWoD rules, OWoD style. The time is present-day, and the place is California. There is an ongoing supernatural war being waged over the free state, resulting in an upsurge of paranormal activity. Suggested starting location: UCLA campus.

The Forum/Chat Room: It's just a typical local message board called "CalNet." There are no special invites, and everyone isn't automatically assumed to be supernatural. Anyone can log on.

Rating: NC-17. This is the World of Darkness. Sex, drugs, and murder are the least of your worries.

The Character Types

Mage: Mages are allowed. The Technocracy exists, but Avatars don't. Everything functions as per NWoD rules. Technocrats, Marauders, and Nephandi are not options for player characters. (More on this later.)

Vampire: Vampires are allowed. The possibility exists that cults to Cain, Lilith, etc. have risen, but no concrete information regarding the true origin of vampirism (if there is only one origin) will be available. (Special note: Humanity will function as Morality, discussed later. The hierarchy of sins is not a list of hard and fast rules, but a set of guidelines, and feeding from a mortal or defending your territory against hunters is not likely to result in your character needing to roll for a derangement.) Membership in the Sabbat, Belial's Brood, VII, etc. is not available to player characters. Vampires, due to their somewhat unique perception of time, may have been Embraced within the last 5 years. We've decided this is roughly equivalent to the experiences of the other supernaturals, while also pointing to the fact that time affects them differently.

Werewolf: Werewolves are allowed, with one major restriction. They must be werewolves. No were-kittens, were-weasels, were-bears, or were-geckos. Black Spiral Dancers and other agents of the Wyrm are not available as player characters. (It is possible that other tribes will become available later, but we're trying to start things off as stylistically simple as possible.)

Changeling: Changelings are allowed. There is no change from the core NWoD ruleset for the Lost. As with the other supernaturals, being part of an antagonistic group (True Fae, for example) is not possible for PCs. We are also willing to extend a bit of leeway to Changelings in terms of time since they were taken, and for similar reasons as the blooddrinkers. You have the same range that Vampires do: five years or less.

Mortals: Mortals are, of course, allowed. Mortals may even play "hunters" of supernatural beings. Do not confuse this with the concept of "Hunter: the Reckoning," however. Mortal ghoul-hunters are still just mortals. They are not blessed by God Almighty. If you are playing a Mortal, you have the option of beginning play with the "Sleepwalker" Merit (4pts, Mage: the Awakening core book) for free. This will be sacrificed voluntarily upon the addition of a supernatural template to your character.

What about Wraith/Hunter/Risen/Mummy? Currently, the task of revising each of these groups to fit the NWoD is beyond the scope of our ability or interest. They may exist as plot devices from time to time, but none will be common in the setting.

Why can't I play a Nephandi/Black Spiral Dancer/Member of VII? Because, simply, every player character is considered a protagonist in terms of the stories being told, and the games being played. This does not mean that all PCs must cooperate, like each other, or even resist to the urge to stab each other in the back, but they cannot be part of a canon "villain" group. If your character concept/build supports it, these groups may be used to create personal rivals or enemies. Please remember, however, that Moderators may use these against you at any time.

Making a Monster

Character Creation: Standard. Official White Wolf NWoD publications only. (OWoD storylines and NPCs may be used for the character concept, background, etc., since we prefer that setting to the newer one.) No home-brews. You may currently have 1 active character, and that PC must die or be permanently relegated to the ranks of NPC-dom before you may make another. If your PC has contacts, allies, etc., they must be described individually as NPCs when your character is submitted. The Moderators will want to know who they are, what they're capable of, and what history they have with your character. Each dot must be accounted for with the requisite PCs or NPCs. (Rev's Note: Please don't expect that a character thrown together in a few minutes will be accepted. This is World of Darkness, and we'd prefer a little more depth.) Per the NWoD rules, players may sacrifice up to 2 dots of Morality/Humanity/Harmony/Wisdom/Clarity for 5XP per dot sacrificed. This will be considered a voluntary degeneration, and a Moderator will roll to determine whether or not a Derangement is gained. (This roll will be PM'd to you.) Character submitted before this ruling was confirmed for play may contact a Moderator if they wish to make use of it.

Bonuses: Characters may, if they so desire, spend up to 20XP to signify that they’re a bit more worldly-wise (having been embraced, awakened, etc. within the last six months or so.) Obviously, this isn’t required, and anyone who wishes to play a completely green initiate into the mysteries of the really-real world is more than welcome to do so. (This is a suggested alternative to the previous option of 3 additional Merit points, for a total of 10. We're flexible, so if you'd rather have one as opposed to the other, that's fine- just not both. )

Min-maxing: Don't overdo it. Some of you prefer characters who are heavily skilled in specific areas and weak in areas they consider nonessential- "one trick ponies," if you will. We realize this. Attempts to game the system in excess (to be determined by the Moderators) will fall under the infamous "Dick Rule." (Thank you, Nova.)

Concepts and Point Allocations: Will be approved by a Moderator before the character may begin posting. If they don't match up (Your character is a kick-ass martial artist who spends all of his time reading comic books and trolling AOL chatrooms for girls?), be prepared to defend your position. You may be asked to revise the character.

No character may enter play with a Blood Potency, Primal Urge, Gnosis, or Wyrd at a rating higher than 3.


If you wish to play a character who is particularly popular or famous, or has some measure of status within an organization or group, please take the relevant Fame or Status Merit. Drew's English professor, for example, took one dot in Status (Educators) in addition to good mental attributes and abilities to show that he is at least a tenured member of the faculty with some measure of respect. The captain of the basketball team, on the other hand, might have a dot or so of Fame (UCLA) in addition to good physical scores since he'd be well-known on campus, but it wouldn't actually merit him any particular privileges or authority. This is part of making your concept and your expenditures mesh, and we apologize for the few that slipped past our initial review. If your character would be affected by this ruling, please contact one of the available Moderators.

Experience: Will be awarded at a flat rate of 3pts per month. There may be additional bonuses for completed fictions, IC (moderated) chats, or especially productive/entertaining forum threads. A character may not gain more than 8XP for completed fictions, moderated chats, and forum threads during the course of a given month. A maximum of 4 of those XP may be gained from IC chats. This means that a player may earn up to 11XP in any given month between activity awards and those for their writing and participation. Experience may be awarded for other reasons by the Moderators, though such gains will be rare. These caps are to permit those who are more active to progress appropriately, without completely outpacing the rest of the field. This isn't a competition, after all, and we hope this will address the concerns some of you have raised.In the case of cooperative fictions, "cameo" appearances by a PC will generally not count as sufficient participation to merit a bonus. Moderators have the final say on whether or not a fiction, chat conversation, or forum thread provides additional experience for the participants. If a player would prefer his or her experience to be tracked in a particular way, please notify a Moderator. As long as gains and expenditures are easy to see, we're not going to be picky. Otherwise, they'll be tracked in the character profile itself- not in separate posts.

Humanity/Morality: As stated previously, the listed hierarchies of sins will be considered guidelines, rather than strict rules. Whether or not your character is in violation of his or her ethical standards will depend on how the victim or aggressor is categorized: as an Innocent, or a Combatant. A Moderator will determine whether or not the roll is necessary.

Example: Vaughan, the Ventrue Viscount (isn't alliteration fun?) awakens to find a group of mortals breaking into his haven. They've breached his security systems, and when he confronts them, they open fire. If Vaughan elects to kill them, or their deaths result from his efforts to defend himself, he does not suffer any detrimental effects, save for the possibility of being temporarily hacked off about ruining his imported carpet, or the waste of vitae. Why? The mortals were Combatants. There is, in our opinion, nothing morally destitute about a predatory creature of the night defending itself from interlopers.

Alternatively, Butch the Brujah Bully decides to start a fight at the local brewery. He provokes a group of drunk frat boys, and summarily tears them all apart. There wasn't even a hint of a threat. The mortals were Innocents. Butch will have to make the check, and potentially suffer a Derangement as a result.

To summarize: Fending off violence against your person, fine. Defending your territory/packmates, fine. Removing a known Marauder from existence, fine. Cutting the throat of the campus librarian because you think she might've known too much about your occult studies, not fine. Draining local strippers dry because you consider them the dregs of society, not fine. Rampaging through a crowd to get to your intended target, not fine. I hope the difference is fairly clear. If a situation arises in which it isn't clear, the players may call upon a Moderator to make the distinction.

Additional Note: If a player wishes to utilize an alternate form of Humanity/Morality/what-have-you from a previous WoD source (Paths in V:tM spring to mind), they will be approved on a case-by-case basis. Please understand that those philosophies taught by antagonistic groups (like the Sabbat, in the case of vampires) will likely not be approved, or at least not without significant alteration, and that anyone using one of these variant systems of ethics will be observed rather closely by the Moderators.


Spending Willpower: Any expenditures of Willpower made during a fiction should be noted in a "code" box within the context of the post in which the point was spent.

Example:

Code:

Spent 1pt of Willpower to gain 3 extra dice on Seduction roll. (6/7)

How much information you include is up to you, but the fact that a point was spent must be noted.

Regaining Willpower: Willpower is regained at the rate of 1 point per RL week. For the sake of simplicity, we will assume that this happens on Sunday. Indulging in the character's Vice or Virtue when there is the potential for some risk to the character will still function as normal. That is, Virtue will replenish your Willpower completely, while Vice will replace one spent Willpower point. We hope that this will encourage the use of Vices and Virtues in fictions and interactions.

Moderators and You

The Role of Moderators: Mods are not considered players in their official capacity, though they may have player characters. They exist as a means for players to request assistance, intervention, or clarification at any time; to resolve and arbitrate conflicts; to reward good roleplaying; to review and audit character sheets and be responsible for character approvals; to punish rules infractions; to further the storylines and streamline combat and drama, and to control canon and player-created NPCs.

They are not baby-sitters.

Players may ask for the assistance of a Moderator at any time, but by-and-large they should be invisible.

Absent Moderators: If a Moderator is consistently absent, or if the players feel it is necessary due to lack of involvement, a vote may be called to have a given Moderator replaced. All reasonable attempts will be made to accommodate their real-life responsibilities, emergencies, and other unavoidable issues. Any unplanned/unannounced absence which lasts for more than two weeks (14 days) and results in the inability of the Mod in question to perform their Modly duties will be considered sufficient cause for such a vote.

Moderator Decisions: May be appealed by speaking with another Moderator, if you believe the decision was egregiously incorrect. Whether the other Moderators uphold the original decision, or overturn it, the result is to be considered final. Please don't assume that this means you should appeal frivolously, because that will also be taken into account when deliberating on your behalf.

NPCs: Not just Sidekicks

Any NPC may be controlled by a Moderator at any time. This includes player-created NPCs, and in the World of Darkness, your girlfriend or family or whatever could very well suffer for your actions as a PC. Major (canon) NPCs, and any links to said NPCs, are under the Mods' purview alone. As a PC, you were not sired by Vlad Tepes, you are not the mortal incarnation of the Wyrm, and you are not Luna's great-great-grand-daughter. Players cannot have audience with/go clubbing with/attempt to assassinate/bear the love-child of any canon NPC without express moderator consent and involvement.

NPCs "usurped" by a Moderator may be harmed (physically or otherwise) at the Moderator's discretion. The World of Darkness is not a pretty place, and your little brother Billy might find himself the target of the Nephandi if you annoy the wrong people. This is not expected to happen frequently, and any Moderator abusing this privilege will be removed.

Conflict (Because this needs its own section)

Consent: We’re going to consider the type of consent used in WoD: Attrition “limited.” Given the cooperative nature of the forums, we don’t expect this to pose a problem. It will function like this:

Any attack resulting in no damage, or bashing damage is to be handled between the players. Consent is not revoked in these cases. Use of lethal force is automatically considered a voluntary waiver of consent on the part of the aggressor. It does not, however, remove consent for the victim, who may choose to defend themselves, use diplomacy, run, call the police, etc. If the victim chooses to fight back, so long as lethal force is not used, their consent is not considered waived. It remains the prerogative of a Moderator to determine whether or not a killing strike actually accomplishes that goal. At any time that lethal (or aggravated) damage enters the equation, a Moderator will immediately begin observing the situation. As a side note, attempts to dominate or use mind-control powers on another player are considered "lethal damage" for the purposes of consent and Moderator involvement.

Note: Moderators, in their official capacity, are not subject to consent. Any character they may play is still subject to all of the normal rules.

Example: Lucien, incensed at his friend Morgan's refusal to accept his explanation why the local vampire population is suddenly waging war on their fellow mages, slaps her mid-rant. (Consent is not waived.) She grabs her palette knife and, enraged, stabs him in the shoulder, shouting that he is a traitor. (Consent is waived, lethal damage. A Moderator begins observing.) In retaliation, Lucien picks up her easel and viciously beats her to the floor. (Consent is not waived, bashing damage.) Lucien has the option to continue beating her until her brains are so much tapioca, if he so chooses. Why? She used deadly force. This is the World of Darkness, after all. (If, however, Lucien were to pull a gun and shoot her instead of hitting her with the easel, his consent would be considered forfeit, as well, and Morgan would be just as much within her rights to try to retaliate if she survives the gunshot.) A Moderator gets involved at this point, determining whether Morgan is actually beaten to death, or just beaten to the hospital.

“What happens when/if bashing damage rolls over into lethal?”
Using the above example, let’s say Lucien decides to just keep hitting Morgan, even after she’s on the floor. For the sake of argument, we’ll also assume she doesn’t manage to stay conscious. Lucien has the option to either stop beating her now that she’s unconscious (and theoretically do horrible, but non-lethal things to her while she’s out), or keep going and try to kill her. As soon as lethal damage enters the equation, no matter how it’s dealt, a Moderator should start watching the scenario. If it happens unintentionally (for example, Morgan only has two health levels left, but Lucien does four, leaving her with two Lethal overflow), the character has the option of pulling their punch, bringing their opponent to exactly 0. Consent isn’t altered in this case. If, knowing there’s going to be overflow, they willingly deal out enough damage to carry over into Lethal, their consent is forfeit as normal. It will be up to the Moderator to determine the end result of the beating based on the actions each character took. This makes it possible to stage fights for dramatic effect, but also prevents random elements like a Vampire’s Frenzy or a Werewolf’s Death Rage from being ignored or diluted.

Die Rolls: Where necessary, any dice rolled will be handled by a link-ready site such as Invisible Castle, and the links will be provided in the relevant post. They should not be needed in the overwhelming majority of interactions, save for cases in which the PC is resisting a Moderator/NPC ability, a PC ability, etc. If the participants prefer that the rolls be made privately, they must be done via PM, and a Moderator must be included in the PM conversation.