XP and Game Type
Campaign Length - Expect this game to run until the party hits level 20.
Type of Game - This is a sandbox-style game. It's player-led, meaning you decide where you want to go and what you want to do. If you have no guidance or feel lost, feel free to say something.
Earning EXP - XP is earned by completing quests, solving puzzles, and resolving encounters.
Level-up - You level up once you rest after getting 1000 XP. Extra XP earned is carried over.
Character Deaths/Retirement - If your character dies, all their items may be looted if possible. If a character retires, they will take all non-quest items and divide their gold evenly among the party. Regardless of retirement or death, a new character can be made using these rules.
Player, Behavior, Game Behavior & DM Expectations
Alcohol - Don't get drink so much that you can't play the game right.
Weed - Don't get so high that you can't play the game right.
Player Attention - You shouldn't do anything at the VTT you wouldn't do at an in-person game. If you need to step away, either tell everyone or click the AFK button. I can't see you without a camera to see if you're paying attention or not, so don't make the assumption that we know you're distracted. The game is infinitely more fun when everyone is involved. Repeatedly delaying the game, like most things here, will result in a conversation and then removal from the game if the problem can't be resolved.
Disruptive topics - Topics like religion, politics, and other controversial topics not involving the in-game universe should not be discussed during gameplay.
Unannounced dice rolls - Dice rolls are generally only valid when prompted. If you accidentally roll several dice, the first dice rolled will be used.
Dice rolls against one another - If both parties agree, you can roll a contested check against each other to resolve arguments or other contested activities. This is something that should be used sparingly.
Player vs. Player - If EVERYONE at the table agrees, you can PvP. Otherwise, no PvP combat is allowed.
PC Secrets - Character secrets are allowed and encouraged; the only requirement is that I know about them.
Player Expectations, Types, Goals - Before we start the game, everyone needs to clarify their expectations of the game. Do you want just to kill things? Dark stories? Immersive roleplay? Light roleplay and casual combat? Everyone needs to be aware of what everyone else wants to get out of the game. What can we do for each other to ensure we're all meeting our expectations?
Player Discomfort - If at any point a theme or topic is making you uncomfortable, you can DM me, and we'll resolve it discreetly.
Player Agency - You have total control over your character within the bounds of the dice. The exceptions are if you've been affected by a curse, spell, or other effect making you controlled/confused/petrified. If those occur, try your best to play your character accordingly.
Game Balance & Fairness - This is a sandbox game. You may stumble into an ancient red dragon lair, just as you might get attacked by a pack of low-level wolves. Expect the vast majority of combats to be "moderate" difficulty.
Rules Debates - We'll spend up to 5 minutes determining the correct rule. After that, GM's ruling stands.
Spotlight Sharing - Try to share the spotlight as much as reasonably achievable. Even if you never want to be at the front, participating in the game means sometimes you will be in the spotlight.
Meta-knowledge - I'll try to use as many tools in Foundry as possible to limit or eliminate metagaming, including obscuring creature names, hiding dice rolls, and making undetected creatures invisible. I hope that you will all limit it as well. See the intro page for a list of what your character might know off-hand.
Min-Maxing - Feel free to optimize your character as long as it doesn't bother the rest of the group. In the same way, making a character unoptimized is fine as long as it doesn't bother the rest of the group. Either way, if it causes problem work with the group to resolve the problem. And remember, the free archetype only gives you class feats, not skill feats.
Character Party fit - Your character should not be a loner, should not be apathetic, and should not be an "edgelord". Only team-player characters are allowed. That doesn't mean they have to be a happy person, just that they work well in a group and prefer to be in a group.
Murder Hobos - Do what you have to do, the world will respond as expected.
Other behavior rules - Be respectful of each other and communicate concerns with each other. If you can't resolve it amongst yourselves, you can message me.
The GM
GM Style - I prefer RAW, with leniency for creativity. Regarding rules, I would rather us pause the game for a moment to look it up rather than make a ruling on the spot. When it comes to homebrew, I am personally not a fan. Any homebrew must be thoroughly vetted before it gets approved for use in the game. I prefer the roleplay aspect of the game over the combat portion of the game, and I enjoy letting the dice decide how the story progresses. I prepare for my sessions with an outline of what I expect to happen for the upcoming session, followed by readying battlemaps, NPCs, journals, loot, etc. After I have everything mechanical ready, I flesh out the outline with a few paragraphs. That said, unless you want to play theater of the mind, try not to throw massive curveballs at me at the start of a new session (location-wise, anyway). That said x2, I don't mind theater of the mind play, and I'm fine with improv.
Player Absences - If 3 or more people cancel, the game will be canceled. That means that if at least 3 players show up, we're playing. Don't expect to play leading up to Christmas/New Years. If you ghost the game twice, you'll be removed from the game. Notice needs to be given in text format, either through discord, text message, messenger, etc. Otherwise, as long as you're letting me know you can't make it and it isn't consistent, all's well. If you decide you're leaving the game, please just DM me. I promise I won't be offended.
Player Narrative Authority - You have a lot of creative authority for character creation and backstory. Invent NPCs, invent factions, invent villages, cultural behaviors, holidays, you name it. I'll do my best to incorporate them into the Plot(tm). Once the game is started, you can spend your hero points for small effects on the narrative.
Pet Peeves - These things really bother me, even if I don't say something about it: Saying your name a third time with no response. Hearing a youtube video over audio. Hearing a video game over audio. Basically anything that tells me you aren't playing the game with us.
Ethic Concerns & Topics
Quick Note - I don't think we've had any issues with these topics before, but here are the ground rules anyway.
Gender - It's possible to encounter both matriarchal and patriarchal societies in this game. Aside from that, most species and cultures don't have gender roles, and some do.
Attraction & Sexual Orientation - There is no discrimination against LGBT characters in-universe. You may encounter LGBT NPCs. Don't expect much if any romance/flirting in the game.
Rape, Sexual Assault - Not present in this game.
Racism, Prejudice - While most species and cultures follow a merit-based system rather than a racial-based system of prejudice, some races and cultures can be incredibly xenophobic (Dwarves of Ironclad for instance). Classism is present in the game. Some cultures are prejudiced against anything shadow-based.
Slavery - Might occur as a plot point or within some cultures.
Conclusion
Mostly just keep doing what everyone has already been doing. Remember, the game is supposed to be fun. If you aren't having fun, let me know.
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