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It’s been six months, and we’re all going from strength to strength. The main plot is finally beginning to get off the ground, the relationships that you’ve all formed in character are hilarious, heartbreaking and down right brilliant! There is very little we can say to tell you all how awesome you are, because I don’t think words really cover it. Just trust us, even when we’re at our most stressed we adore what you’re doing with the game.
Now there’s an epic mod post of modly doom. Do pay attention and reply to the post to say you’ve read it. Failure to do so will lead to a formal warning, because we might love you but it’s also very important that you read it all due to the fact that we’re announcing plot, and policy changes.
Characters
The character limit is being raised for the third and final time. The limit is now ten characters, however please only pick up that many if you can handle it. If we think that you can’t handle the amount of characters you have, then you will be asked to reduce it to a more reasonable number. We would rather have a game full of well thought out characters and excellent plots than one full of characters that barely keep to the minimum activity requirements.
As we’re increasing the character limit we’re also creating a new rule when it comes to applications. If you are on the inactivity list then you will not be allowed to apply for a new character for one activity cycle (two weeks). This is presuming that they become active, if they do not and get removed then it will be another two weeks until you can apply. Basically, if your character is on either list when there’s an activity check then you cannot apply for a full activity cycle.
Plot Week
We’d like to announce the second plot week we’re going to attempt to undertake. This will be the last plot week for quite some time so I hope that everyone will put a lot of effort into it and make it as fantastic as possible.
On the second week of August (10th-16th) Adam and Parker are going to use the TARDIS and the game will temporarily move ten years into the future, and we’ll all get to play out a year in the lives of these characters in 2019.
We’re announcing this now so that everyone has a chance to get together and discuss what the future for their characters might be like. There will be more details next week, and there will also be a post that you will need to reply to, telling us what has happened to your character in those ten years.
Things to think about are; did they get married, have kids, get the job they always wanted, turn evil, turn good, or are they possibly dead? But please be as inventive as possible and if you want to ask any questions then you can either do that here or you can get in touch with the mods in all the usual ways.
War Plot
I know we’re still in the process of organising the overall plot of the game, but we thought that now both sides have begun recruiting it would be a good time to cover some of the basics. Most of this is reiteration of the rules, but it still needs to be read thoroughly as it also covers other important things that you all need to know.
- We are happy to guide the overall plot of the game and we will regularly do things to keep it going and influence the plot, however we do not want the full responsibility to fall on us. Ideally, the game will be driven by the characters and not the mods. Cause conflict, have fights, try to kill each other and have fun doing it. The mods will work the plot around the character interactions. All we ask is that when you’re planning these things you send us an e-mail to let us know, this is so we remain aware of what’s going on, we can guide you through any possible consequences and can actually work the plot around the characters.
- Please run all big plots by the mods and wait for our okay. We class big plots as anything that results in death, a long stay in hospital, something that affects the characters of more than two players, or something that will affect the war plot.
- This might be obvious, but in character actions = in character consequences.
If you do something that would gain negative or positive attention from either side of the conflict then I’m afraid it’s something you’re going to have to deal with in character. You can attempt to negotiate the results of the consequences with the mods or the players involved, but we won’t let it go away just because you don’t like it.
Think things through before hitting post, keep things in character but be aware that they won’t always have a happy reaction.
We ask that you do not delete, filter or alter anything because you didn’t like the outcome. Doing so will be considered godmodding and will lead to a formal warning.
We will allow deleting because of a typo, something didn’t make sense, or because you used the wrong icon. Edits and filters will be allowed as long as the original text remains (use a strikethrough that cannot be read), and please put an OOC note to say that the text was previously readable or that the post was previously open.
- Death is a possible consequence. If your character does something particularly stupid that would result in their death then we will e-mail you to let you know that your character has died. This is an excellent reason to warn the mods about anything you have planned in regard to the war plot.
For example, do not attempt to break into either the good or bad guys HQ without telling the mods first. If you think those places aren’t booby trapped then you’re kidding yourself.
- We will periodically ask if people want to be involved in the plot, however we don’t bite and there’s no reason to wait for us to ask. Send us an e-mail to state your interest and we can work something out.
- If you want your character to join up to either side but they would need an IC reason to do so then please let us know and we can set something up. We’ll need to know what the character would be motivated by and how you’d like it to happen and then we’ll either have one of our characters do something IC or ask for someone to volunteer theirs for plot. [For more on volunteering see Modly Stuff You Need To Know].
- Please use your common sense when suggesting a character to join up. We’d like the majority of characters that are heavily involved to be over eighteen. This is because they are more likely to be taken seriously by the leaders and other people within the two groups. There will be exceptions to this, but we’ll need an in character reason for it.
An in character reason would be something they’ve done that would get the attention of someone within either side, it is not ‘they are the reincarnation of the biggest badass who ever badassed.’ There are multiple examples of the reincarnate being nothing like the person they were, and it will not be accepted.
Like everything, if you want your under eighteen character to be involved and need help coming up with something then e-mail us, or if you have an idea then e-mail us and we’ll try and work it out.
- If you want a character recruited then we will need to have a way to contact them. Please make sure we have an IC E-Mail address for them. If you don’t want them contacted over E-Mail, or want to thread/log it happening then get in touch and we can work with it. However, we will still need that E-Mail address anyway.
- If you don’t think your character would be affiliated to any side, or if they’d want to start their own then this is fine. Do what’s appropriate for them; however don’t use this as an excuse to ignore what’s going on in the game.
- Please remember that this is a war. There will be dark themes throughout the plot. People will die, characters will get hurt, and there will probably be things that will make you feel uncomfortable. As the game gets darker, we want to remind you all to use warnings on both threads and journals, use cut-tags where appropriate and friendslock anything NC-17 rated.
- We do have a rule about keeping IC drama to a realistic level and this still applies. Remember that it doesn’t always have to be your character that gets tortured/raped/forced to watch 24 hour repeats of Barney & Friends.
Realistic for being involved in a war is different to realistic for a normal group in a city and we understand this, just remember to spread out the drama. Not everything has to happen to your character or all at once.
- Now that the game is six months old and the war plot is getting going we ask that if you have a significant character that you’d like to drop that you kill them rather than simply writing them out. This is a war and there will be lots of opportunities for death and destruction!
- We will be making plot decisions as everything goes along, and anything can be influenced by the plots you come up with. There is currently no decision about which side will win; it will depend just as much on you as on us.
If you have an idea of a big plot that you think would be fun to do then let us know! This is all just as much about you having fun and creating plot ideas as it is about us organising it all!
- If you ever have any questions, then never hesitate to get in touch with either of us and we’ll answer it as soon as we can.
Modly Stuff You Need To Know
- Every two weeks Katy will write up a plot post that will cover the following things:
The plot developments over the past two weeks.
Mod availability for the next two weeks.
New and removed characters.
Plots we need volunteers for.
Things we have planned for the next two weeks.
When the post goes up, you will all be invited to volunteer your characters for specific plots that we need people for, as well as reply to the post yourselves with what’s been going on with your characters.
This is obviously so everyone can keep up with what’s going on, what’s planned and what the mods and other players need people to do.
- The Mods have also created a Google calendar for OTS that they will be taking screencaps of to post along with the plot updates. However, if you have a Google account and want to view it then please let us know and we’ll arrange that.
- Due to the amount of characters involved in the game the mods are going to post an in character meme every two weeks. This will be similar to the ‘list at least three things your character wants to do before they die’ meme we did earlier and is designed to both promote IC activity and help everyone get to know a little bit more about your character.
There will be a different topic every two weeks, and if there’s anything you’d specifically like us to do then send us an e-mail and we’ll add it to the list of ideas.
- To promote further IC activity, on week’s that we don’t have meme’s we will have a gossip post. These are in character and in game continuity (unlike the meme’s) and will be posted by a mod NPC. You will get an opportunity to submit gossip, and the mods will write it up. Once it’s posted everyone can have fun responding to the rumours of who’s dating who, who’s recently leading the bad guys and who’s pregnant with a lovechild.
- We will be adding lists to the mod journal over the next few weeks. If you want to know specific information then please ask. Katy adores world building, but she’d rather know what people want to know rather than just go nuts.
- If you ever need to take some time off then please respond to the hiatus post, don’t just IM the mods or post it in the OOC comm. Sometimes things get forgotten or missed so the official policy is now that if you haven’t replied to the post then you aren’t on hiatus and will still be subject to the rules on activity. Simply telling us you’re busy is not enough.
ETA: Applications will be closed throughout the month of September so we can focus on the plot and other details. We will remind you of this closer to the time.
Things You Need To Do
There are a few things we now need you to do, not many and I hope they aren’t too painful.
- If we don’t have an E-Mail address for you then we’re going to need one. If you don’t want it to be part of your usual contact information then E-Mail us and we’ll keep a copy of it. This is because E-Mail is going to become the main way we’re going to contact all of you.
- Make sure your characters information everywhere is correct. Check the taken list, in character contact info, their location and your contact info. Make sure things link to the right place and that everything is spelled correctly.
- Please think about the following things, in terms of the overall plot, your characters and the game in general. Is there something on the list that your character could help with? Something they’re interested in doing? Or do you just have a snazzy idea for how we could pull it off? If so, then let us know.
Here’s the list: Propaganda (Both sides, and the Agency).
Combat training (Both sides)
Surveillance (Both sides)
Reconnaissance (Both sides)
Medical training (Both sides)
Actual combat between the two sides.
Recruitment (Both sides)
- Keep being amazing. Keep plotting and playing and doing all of the things that you’ve been excellent at so far. You guys make the game worth running.
- Respond to this post by the 3rd August. Failure to do so without having an official hiatus will result in an official warning.
Thank you for reading the entirety of this incredibly long mod post. If you have any questions then please ask them in the comments, because if you’re thinking it then someone else possibly is too.
- The Mods.
Now there’s an epic mod post of modly doom. Do pay attention and reply to the post to say you’ve read it. Failure to do so will lead to a formal warning, because we might love you but it’s also very important that you read it all due to the fact that we’re announcing plot, and policy changes.
Characters
The character limit is being raised for the third and final time. The limit is now ten characters, however please only pick up that many if you can handle it. If we think that you can’t handle the amount of characters you have, then you will be asked to reduce it to a more reasonable number. We would rather have a game full of well thought out characters and excellent plots than one full of characters that barely keep to the minimum activity requirements.
As we’re increasing the character limit we’re also creating a new rule when it comes to applications. If you are on the inactivity list then you will not be allowed to apply for a new character for one activity cycle (two weeks). This is presuming that they become active, if they do not and get removed then it will be another two weeks until you can apply. Basically, if your character is on either list when there’s an activity check then you cannot apply for a full activity cycle.
Plot Week
We’d like to announce the second plot week we’re going to attempt to undertake. This will be the last plot week for quite some time so I hope that everyone will put a lot of effort into it and make it as fantastic as possible.
On the second week of August (10th-16th) Adam and Parker are going to use the TARDIS and the game will temporarily move ten years into the future, and we’ll all get to play out a year in the lives of these characters in 2019.
We’re announcing this now so that everyone has a chance to get together and discuss what the future for their characters might be like. There will be more details next week, and there will also be a post that you will need to reply to, telling us what has happened to your character in those ten years.
Things to think about are; did they get married, have kids, get the job they always wanted, turn evil, turn good, or are they possibly dead? But please be as inventive as possible and if you want to ask any questions then you can either do that here or you can get in touch with the mods in all the usual ways.
War Plot
I know we’re still in the process of organising the overall plot of the game, but we thought that now both sides have begun recruiting it would be a good time to cover some of the basics. Most of this is reiteration of the rules, but it still needs to be read thoroughly as it also covers other important things that you all need to know.
- We are happy to guide the overall plot of the game and we will regularly do things to keep it going and influence the plot, however we do not want the full responsibility to fall on us. Ideally, the game will be driven by the characters and not the mods. Cause conflict, have fights, try to kill each other and have fun doing it. The mods will work the plot around the character interactions. All we ask is that when you’re planning these things you send us an e-mail to let us know, this is so we remain aware of what’s going on, we can guide you through any possible consequences and can actually work the plot around the characters.
- Please run all big plots by the mods and wait for our okay. We class big plots as anything that results in death, a long stay in hospital, something that affects the characters of more than two players, or something that will affect the war plot.
- This might be obvious, but in character actions = in character consequences.
If you do something that would gain negative or positive attention from either side of the conflict then I’m afraid it’s something you’re going to have to deal with in character. You can attempt to negotiate the results of the consequences with the mods or the players involved, but we won’t let it go away just because you don’t like it.
Think things through before hitting post, keep things in character but be aware that they won’t always have a happy reaction.
We ask that you do not delete, filter or alter anything because you didn’t like the outcome. Doing so will be considered godmodding and will lead to a formal warning.
We will allow deleting because of a typo, something didn’t make sense, or because you used the wrong icon. Edits and filters will be allowed as long as the original text remains (use a strikethrough that cannot be read), and please put an OOC note to say that the text was previously readable or that the post was previously open.
- Death is a possible consequence. If your character does something particularly stupid that would result in their death then we will e-mail you to let you know that your character has died. This is an excellent reason to warn the mods about anything you have planned in regard to the war plot.
For example, do not attempt to break into either the good or bad guys HQ without telling the mods first. If you think those places aren’t booby trapped then you’re kidding yourself.
- We will periodically ask if people want to be involved in the plot, however we don’t bite and there’s no reason to wait for us to ask. Send us an e-mail to state your interest and we can work something out.
- If you want your character to join up to either side but they would need an IC reason to do so then please let us know and we can set something up. We’ll need to know what the character would be motivated by and how you’d like it to happen and then we’ll either have one of our characters do something IC or ask for someone to volunteer theirs for plot. [For more on volunteering see Modly Stuff You Need To Know].
- Please use your common sense when suggesting a character to join up. We’d like the majority of characters that are heavily involved to be over eighteen. This is because they are more likely to be taken seriously by the leaders and other people within the two groups. There will be exceptions to this, but we’ll need an in character reason for it.
An in character reason would be something they’ve done that would get the attention of someone within either side, it is not ‘they are the reincarnation of the biggest badass who ever badassed.’ There are multiple examples of the reincarnate being nothing like the person they were, and it will not be accepted.
Like everything, if you want your under eighteen character to be involved and need help coming up with something then e-mail us, or if you have an idea then e-mail us and we’ll try and work it out.
- If you want a character recruited then we will need to have a way to contact them. Please make sure we have an IC E-Mail address for them. If you don’t want them contacted over E-Mail, or want to thread/log it happening then get in touch and we can work with it. However, we will still need that E-Mail address anyway.
- If you don’t think your character would be affiliated to any side, or if they’d want to start their own then this is fine. Do what’s appropriate for them; however don’t use this as an excuse to ignore what’s going on in the game.
- Please remember that this is a war. There will be dark themes throughout the plot. People will die, characters will get hurt, and there will probably be things that will make you feel uncomfortable. As the game gets darker, we want to remind you all to use warnings on both threads and journals, use cut-tags where appropriate and friendslock anything NC-17 rated.
- We do have a rule about keeping IC drama to a realistic level and this still applies. Remember that it doesn’t always have to be your character that gets tortured/raped/forced to watch 24 hour repeats of Barney & Friends.
Realistic for being involved in a war is different to realistic for a normal group in a city and we understand this, just remember to spread out the drama. Not everything has to happen to your character or all at once.
- Now that the game is six months old and the war plot is getting going we ask that if you have a significant character that you’d like to drop that you kill them rather than simply writing them out. This is a war and there will be lots of opportunities for death and destruction!
- We will be making plot decisions as everything goes along, and anything can be influenced by the plots you come up with. There is currently no decision about which side will win; it will depend just as much on you as on us.
If you have an idea of a big plot that you think would be fun to do then let us know! This is all just as much about you having fun and creating plot ideas as it is about us organising it all!
- If you ever have any questions, then never hesitate to get in touch with either of us and we’ll answer it as soon as we can.
Modly Stuff You Need To Know
- Every two weeks Katy will write up a plot post that will cover the following things:
The plot developments over the past two weeks.
Mod availability for the next two weeks.
New and removed characters.
Plots we need volunteers for.
Things we have planned for the next two weeks.
When the post goes up, you will all be invited to volunteer your characters for specific plots that we need people for, as well as reply to the post yourselves with what’s been going on with your characters.
This is obviously so everyone can keep up with what’s going on, what’s planned and what the mods and other players need people to do.
- The Mods have also created a Google calendar for OTS that they will be taking screencaps of to post along with the plot updates. However, if you have a Google account and want to view it then please let us know and we’ll arrange that.
- Due to the amount of characters involved in the game the mods are going to post an in character meme every two weeks. This will be similar to the ‘list at least three things your character wants to do before they die’ meme we did earlier and is designed to both promote IC activity and help everyone get to know a little bit more about your character.
There will be a different topic every two weeks, and if there’s anything you’d specifically like us to do then send us an e-mail and we’ll add it to the list of ideas.
- To promote further IC activity, on week’s that we don’t have meme’s we will have a gossip post. These are in character and in game continuity (unlike the meme’s) and will be posted by a mod NPC. You will get an opportunity to submit gossip, and the mods will write it up. Once it’s posted everyone can have fun responding to the rumours of who’s dating who, who’s recently leading the bad guys and who’s pregnant with a lovechild.
- We will be adding lists to the mod journal over the next few weeks. If you want to know specific information then please ask. Katy adores world building, but she’d rather know what people want to know rather than just go nuts.
- If you ever need to take some time off then please respond to the hiatus post, don’t just IM the mods or post it in the OOC comm. Sometimes things get forgotten or missed so the official policy is now that if you haven’t replied to the post then you aren’t on hiatus and will still be subject to the rules on activity. Simply telling us you’re busy is not enough.
ETA: Applications will be closed throughout the month of September so we can focus on the plot and other details. We will remind you of this closer to the time.
Things You Need To Do
There are a few things we now need you to do, not many and I hope they aren’t too painful.
- If we don’t have an E-Mail address for you then we’re going to need one. If you don’t want it to be part of your usual contact information then E-Mail us and we’ll keep a copy of it. This is because E-Mail is going to become the main way we’re going to contact all of you.
- Make sure your characters information everywhere is correct. Check the taken list, in character contact info, their location and your contact info. Make sure things link to the right place and that everything is spelled correctly.
- Please think about the following things, in terms of the overall plot, your characters and the game in general. Is there something on the list that your character could help with? Something they’re interested in doing? Or do you just have a snazzy idea for how we could pull it off? If so, then let us know.
Here’s the list: Propaganda (Both sides, and the Agency).
Combat training (Both sides)
Surveillance (Both sides)
Reconnaissance (Both sides)
Medical training (Both sides)
Actual combat between the two sides.
Recruitment (Both sides)
- Keep being amazing. Keep plotting and playing and doing all of the things that you’ve been excellent at so far. You guys make the game worth running.
- Respond to this post by the 3rd August. Failure to do so without having an official hiatus will result in an official warning.
Thank you for reading the entirety of this incredibly long mod post. If you have any questions then please ask them in the comments, because if you’re thinking it then someone else possibly is too.
- The Mods.
