Rules

When you join the site, we ask that you follow these rules to keep The Dirge a fun experience for everyone here. If these rules prove a challenge, we can recommend other roleplaying forums where you might feel more at home.

OOC Rules

 * Don't Annoy the Staff
 * Anyone who actively exploits the systems, undermines the management, or brings down the atmosphere of the site will be asked to leave.


 * The Silver Rule
 * Treat others as they would like to be treated. If someone, whether member or admin, asks you to refrain from some behavior, please do your best to comply.


 * The 48-Hour Rule
 * After joining a scene, please try to post within 48 hours of your turn coming around. Members may ask storytellers to intervene and move the scene forward if someone is holding up a thread.


 * Explicit Content
 * All NSFW, potentially NSFW, or otherwise not PG-13 content must be tagged with an [A] or an [M] in the title; spoilers have been ruled as to being not enough. Even if one post in the thread has such content, you MUST still mark the thread as having mature content. Please ask if the meaning of this is unclear. Since avatars cannot be tagged, we do not allow explicit or "borderline" avatars.


 * No Celebrity Pictures
 * Try to avoid using pictures with backgrounds that have branding on them or otherwise imply that the character works in show business unless the character actually does work in show business.


 * OOC Content/AP Inflation
 * Do not put excess or unnecessary BBCode/formatting in your posts (e.g. nesting tags). Do not put OOC information in posts. Use either the chat system or PM relevant parties the OOC information. The boards count all of the post's content towards AP count, thus posting non-IC content in them will count as exploiting the system.


 * Arguing with Staff
 * Please air grievances with the site and systems via private channels such as the private chats, MSN messenger, or personal messages.


 * Using Previous RPs
 * Using material from past characters or characters from other sites is considered cheating.


 * Username
 * Each character has to be accounted for by its own account. This is to simplify tracking and because of the travel system we have in place. Essentially, if two characters were represented by one account, they'd have to always be in the same location, which doesn't make sense from an IC perspective, so we ask you to name the account after the character you intend to use on it. Storyteller and Assistant Storyteller accounts aren't subject to the travel system, so this rule does not apply to them unless they make a player characters. The resultant player characters will have to have their own accounts.

IC Rules

 * Starting Supernatural
 * Any supernatural characters who do not start as a template-free mortal must write a history (at least 500 words) and are not allowed to be from northern Georgia or any of the closely bordering areas. This will affect your character's access to certain social merits.


 * Illegal Maneuvers
 * Metagaming
 * Using OOC information IC
 * Allowing OOC factors to affect your character's actions
 * Godmodding
 * Using abilities that aren't on your sheet
 * Performing actions that are impossible for any other reason
 * Powergaming
 * Controlling a character that isn't yours
 * Confirming hits or things that affect other characters before the affected player can reply
 * Chronomodding
 * Revising a past action in response to a reply.
 * Example: 
 * Sam punches the werewolf in the face.
 * Zoey the Werewolf catches Sam's fist in her mouth.
 * Sam pulls the punch at the last minute and trips Zoey while she's distracted biting at the air.

Management

 * Off-Board Permissions
 * To prevent confusion, only rulings on the wiki or the boards are official. Permissions given via private channels may or may not be acknowledged by the rest of the staff.


 * NPC Injection
 * An NPC can be assigned to a thread, even if not requested, if the characters are doing something unrealistic or that will attract attention from entities in the area.


 * Witness of Cheating
 * If you see a member breaking the rules or otherwise "cheating", please report it ASAP to Boss or Kazakura. One of them will contact the member and see to it that the rules are clarified.

Handling Conflicts

 * Contesting a Post
 * If you have an issue with a member's post, please follow these steps:
 * Do not reply to the post. By replying to a post, you agree with its contents and forfeit your right to appeal the post later.
 * You must contact the person, explain your objections, and try to come to an agreement.
 * If the person does not reply within 24 hours, is active on the forum, and...
 * ...there is an ST currently writing in the thread, send that staff member a message.
 * ...there isn't an ST currently involved in the thread, then write a staff member who is over that character's splat.
 * The staff member will judge if there is an issue, and resolve it from there.


 * Issues with NPC Coordinators/Other Staff
 * The same procedure as "Contesting a Post" can be applied to assistant staff members by appealing to head storytellers.

Character Creation
You may not start with 5 dots in anything. If you start with 10 extra XP from degeneration, the 10 XP can be used to buy a 5th dot in a merit, however.

Resources
No longer will you have to write a scene in which you earn your money! Each month (assume from the 1st to the 30th and/or 31th or whatever) your character gains pocket money equal to that which is listed under Resources in the corebook. This money can be spent freely. If your character is attempting to buy something out of his/her pricerange, he/she will either have to liquidate assets (spend permanent Resource dots) or RP somehow getting the money needed (see Crime on the wiki here, though note that depending on the crime, it may have to be RP'ed).
 * Earning Money Illegally
 * See Crime

Occult
Ok, kiddies it seems we have some issues with the understanding of Occult and how it works on this site. First off, we are very strict on new characters "knowing" about other splats. We seriously do not like it. It kind of ruins the surprise of meeting others and finding out about them.


 * 1) . Occult Specialties need to be explained very, very well in your background, not just because you want to know about some other splat to be cool.
 * 2) . Hunters, you get your first Occult Specialty without much hassle as long as it was the one that lit your candle.
 * 3) . Normal Occult dots is basic stuff and you still believe that they are not real. Usually this form of Occult gives you other religions, Wicca included, Hindu beliefs, etc. This can also give you Occult classics like about supernatural movies and such. Or even palm reading, tarot card reading, etc.
 * 4) . This does not apply to stuff learned in character from other characters. This does not reflect on your own splat knowledge.
 * 5) . Just because you have a specialty does not mean you know everything about that specialty, you just know more about that specialty than the average human, and you have probably seen one before.

What Occult Dots give without specialty

● - Passing knowledge: You have read a few books on various religious subjects or memorized the original Dracula

●● - A little more in depth: You have just learned to palm read, or tarot card reading, Or perhaps you have traveled to Japan and visited multiple shinto temples.

●●● - Educated: You have checked out every book on tarot card readings, You have been to wiccan covens and learned a few inside things, or you know every line in Dracula, Brams Stroker version included, wolfman, mothman, etc.

●●●● - Well Educated - You have taken new age classes in crystal and aura readings, You have seen the work of mediums (Second Sight Book Merits) and gypsies and know that some of this cannot be explained by science. You are probably starting to look towards the supernatural and think they might exist.

●●●●● - Expert - Wow, the Supernatural world does exist. Not that you really know anything about it. Most of what you know is false.

Merits
The following merits do not (outside of character creation) require EXP to get. These can be gained (or lost!) through RPing. They can no longer be bought with EXP, gaining them has to be justified through roleplaying their acquisition. Contact your Storyteller if you feel you are eligible for one of these merits.


 * (Standard merits)
 * Retainer
 * Mentor
 * Allies
 * Contacts
 * Status


 * (Book of Spirits)
 * Shadow Contacts
 * Shadowless Chambers


 * (Vampire)
 * Domain
 * Feeding Grounds
 * Haven
 * Herd


 * (nossie specific)
 * Unliving Anchor


 * (Werewolf)
 * Fetish


 * Territory
 * Locus

The Resources merit also falls under this system, though EXP may still be spend to raise it (as I do not wish people to be forced to roleplay job interviews). Note that this list is anything but comprehensive, and you should contact your storyteller if you feel you are eligible for gaining one of these merits.

Global Hacks
The philosophy behind enabling these is that in a sandbox forum environment, generally it's harder as storytellers to control the fairness of the combat that takes place without having to be a white knight for weaker characters or otherwise a nanny. To help out people who might make characters who are less combat-oriented, we buff defensive options and a few of the less orthodox methods of offense.


 * Morale = Health
 * Number of health boxes is determine by Size + Stamina or Resolve, whichever is higher. May use the "Inspire" action.


 * Valiant Surge
 * Once every 2 weeks, a character can spend a willpower point to roll Stamina + Resolve as a reflexive action. Each success immediately heals one bashing or lethal point of damage, but not aggravated. Excess successes become temporary health dots until the end of the scene.
 * At the end of the scene, the damage healed returns as one step more severe.
 * Example: Sam uses Valiant Surge and heals 2 lethal and gains 1 temporary health dot. At the end of the Surge, he suffers 2 aggravated points of damage and loses the temporary health dot.


 * Bone Breakage
 * When a character scores an exceptional success with an unarmed or blunt weapon attack, the player may choose one of the following bones of his or her opponent's character to break:
 * One Arm: -1 penalty to attacks or skills that require that arm
 * One Leg: -1 penalty to speed and most Athletic rolls
 * Rib: -1 penalty to stamina rolls that require exertion (e.g. running, holding breath, etc.)
 * Skull: Stunned for 1 turn and suffers a -1 penalty to mental attributes and skill rolls
 * The broken bone persists for 2 weeks.


 * Dangerous Explosives
 * Explosives deal half (rounding down) the flat damage of the explosive plus the damage rolled to people within the blast radius.
 * Explosives also deal (shrapnel) damage (roll Damage Rating) to characters standing within half of the blast area in yards (round down).


 * Power of Will
 * The Hunter merit "Indomitable" may be learned by anyone.

Mage/Genius Interactions
In the presence of Jabir, the mage has to make a composure check with a penalty equal to the Genius' Jabir penalty, contested against their Paradox pool. A loss on this contested roll (the mage being defined as the defender) inflicts the equivalent of the Vampire Rage frenzy on the mage in question.