Player Agreement (Rules and Safety)

Gaming Bleak Waters
1

@maiki, how about “Bleak Waters” for a campaign name?

I’ll use that strategy for images from now on.

Here’s one more thing: a set of agreements for when we start. I don’t actually think any of us will break this, but just so we all start on the same page. Feel free to suggest additions.

  1. Don’t directly swear at someone.
  2. No yelling.
  3. Be respectful to others.
  4. The DM is the final arbiter of the rules.
  5. Help contribute to everyone else’s fun.
  6. Don’t be gross
  7. No expressions of bigotry, no slurs - racial, gendered or otherwise.

  • Violence is a pretty big part of D&D, but if I get the impression that any players are using gameplay specifically to act out violent fantasies, I’m uninterested in running that game.The game world is gritty - bad things happen to good people, there aren’t a lot of heroes around, and there’s plenty of villains. But that doesn’t mean the PCs are evil. There’s space for antiheroes, but not for evil PCs.

  • As players, you need to find a way for your characters to cooperate. If you talk to another player and you agree that you want to roleplay a conflict together because you think it’ll make for a better story and more fun for all the other players that’s cool if you run it by me. That also means that I probably won’t be taking secret messages to plot against the other players unless it sounds like it will lead to a good story, be fun for everybody, and not fuck over anyone else’s character.

  • Sex and romance are part of the world, and make for good motivations and for good stories. We won’t be dwelling on it though. If your character decides to sleep with someone we’re just fast-forwarding. Additionally, I’m not interested in any PCs initiating any type of sexual violence, assault, or sexual harassment. These things exist in the gameworld, but I’m just not interested in roleplaying out those scenarios.

  • Torture - your PCs aren’t evil enough to employ it, or are smart enough to know that torture is a bad way to get information you can trust.

  • Character death - You can die. You could well die. If you find yourself facing off against a dragon that just set down in the clearing you wandered into, retreat may be the best option. If you find yourself overwhelmed and things are trending downward, retreat may be the best option. I will not intentionally put your characters in a scenario with no way out, but if you get in over your heads, it may end badly. If your character dies and you’re pissed about it, let’s talk it out.

2

@tim and @maiki, I’d also like to hear: some elements or types of adventures or anything that you’d definitely like to see in the game, and anything you absolutely do not want to see in the game.

For example, I know @maiki reacts strongly sometimes to fiction with children in danger, for many reasons. So we might agree that children in jeopardy might be acceptable, but scenes with dead children might be game-breakingly depressing.

3

I will add more about what I’d like to see, but quick note about the rules:
yeah, all those things are fine with me, and avoiding children danger is
preferable. And gratuitous violence is sometimes a great motivator for the
heroes, but I’d prefer it happen off screen. :slight_smile:

4

Those rules all make sense to me! I can’t think of any other story elements I’d want to avoid.

As for adventure types, hmm I’ll think about that

5

Or even elements. Like, "I want a thieves guild or other criminal organization to give us work.

6

Walking a dangerous path with avowed world-builders on the prowl!

I want to practice action-archeology! I want to know more than a footnote in a player’s guide about the “fallen empire”. I want to find evidence of one or more causes/reasons, and follow through with them until my character could write an in-verse tome that science-mages will generally hold to be the truth for hundreds of years. But I also want to struggle with the logistics of dealing with pirates and local village governments and being a general threat to the status quo with my questions and alliances.

Action science!

7

“But why are there an uneven number of pillars in this hall? It makes no sense, yet the builders must have had a reason. Let’s investigate further!”

Yeah, pretty much. :smiley:

Desired Element: The ability to utilize ranged attacks would be really nice. Like, my longbow can shoot pretty far without penalty. It would be nice to occasionally snipe at a couple baddies before they get close to us.