Welcome to the World of Terranon

Terranon is a game created for collaborative writing, focused on telling a shared story and cooperative roleplaying (RP). Characters in this game should be developed in a way to avoid overt player-versus-player actions. We are a diverse community that prides itself on being open and accepting of all people. Many of our members are LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, or have triggers or trauma, and we strive to make the game a fun and safe environment for everyone.  

Meta to Enable RP

One of our primary tenets is to meta to enable RP. This means that "this is what my character would do" is never an acceptable answer when it comes to anything that would deliberately harm, antagonize, or obstruct other players. While disagreements between characters (and players) will certainly happen, the goal is to always have open communication and work together to create a world that is engaging, diverse, and accepting. Characters should not be antagonistic toward other PCs, and while we don't expect all PCs to always get along (and collaborative conflict and drama are great), no PCs should attempt to undermine other PCs or be a villain.   "We're all friends here" is an adage we live by.  

Historical Fantasy Setting

Terranon uses a modified timeline for the Victorian period based on a world which has always known magic and monsters. While there are some aspects of real history along the timeline, not every historical note in real life is present in our game.   Players must double check the World Anvil timeline or with the Storyteller staff before assuming that a historical event occurred in our timeline.  

Game Structure

Almost all of the game will be soft rp at various points with pre announced hard rp “game nights” or scenes for plot chasing. All players are expected to metagame reasons why your PC does not get into physical combat outside of these prearranged game nights. During soft rp, the use of powers needs to be mediated, consensual, and not plot affecting. Players may use the Scheduling channel to put in requests for hard rp scenes and Storyteller attention.   All scenes will make use of the Discord Safety Tools system for elements of plot, scene, etc., which cover trigger warnings or topics of a risqué nature.   Characters can engage in stories in a variety of ways, from entirely social premises and plotlines to more classic “dungeon” style adventures.   Most adventure style plotlines will be geared towards the standard 4-5 person “party” structure, but players are encouraged to mix and match that structure according to the plotline, setting, character goals, etc.   Character concepts should have some method of using their mechanics to be beneficial and involved with the plots they are in but do not have to be based on an “adventuring” concept.   Child characters, as a general rule, will not be approved and child NPCs can expect a level of “plot armor” where they are protected from injury or death. Non-Combat animal characters, pets, etc. will likewise be protected; however, animals used in combat, such as warhorses, are open to attack. Combat animal NPCs can be revived through normal means in character.  

Play Time Considerations

Pre-Scheduled Game nights will be based on ST availability and the needs of the plot. This could be anything from a game wide premise to small group games for individual storylines.   Soft RP can occur during any point where two players wish to set up a scene, but as noted above must either be entirely social, resolve challenges consensually between them, or wait for a storyteller’s time frame to resolve a dice roll.  

Real Life Schedules

Most players in Terranon have US Eastern time zone daytime jobs and are not available during the day. While some are, the expectation is that the majority of play time, scenes, games, etc. are during the evening and weekends.   While the server is available 24/7, please be respectful of people’s real life commitments and the fact that they may not be available as well.

Game of Yes & Rule of Cool

If you're not familiar with the Game of Yes, the goal is to tell a story cooperatively, where a person offers a statement "Hey, remember that time when..." and the response to that statement accepts and continues the story. "Yes, and...." or "Yes, but..." rather than ending the story with a "No, that never happened." This allows players to build an interesting and immersive world where characters interact in real-time without needing to pause a scene to work out details. Players should use their best judgement and, if ever in question, reach out to the other player privately.  

Example
"Joe, remember that time when you got so completely drunk and hit on that barmaid and she tossed ale in your face?! That was hilarious!"
- "Yes and then you tried to flirt with her and she did the same!"
- "Yes, but as I recall we still went home together that night!"

not
- "No, I don't remember that."

  Similarly, the Rule of Cool allows players and storytellers to fudge things a bit. If, for example, a player wants to do something cool with an attack that is more fluff than mechanical, or wants to try to combine attacks with another character on their initiative even though the rules as written don't give that as an option, the storyteller may allow it. This is not a game where we look for loopholes, are sticklers for every word, or are unwilling to bend things for a moment of awesome. The scene's ST is the final arbiter of any Rule of Cool changes and, if a player is concerned, they should reach out to discuss it privately. It is the storyteller's perogative whether they want to change the scene as written, and may decide to handle the concerns after the game.

Moon-Graping & God Modding

In a collaborative storytelling game where multiple people are telling a story together, there are times when players will get excited or really involved with the story that they're telling and step over the line between what a storyteller or dungeon master should be doing to set the scene and what the player has control of. The general rule is that a player controls only their actions, but is limited to what is on their character sheet or in their approved background.   Moon-Graping is when a player steps over the line between storyteller and player and begins creating setting without checking with the storyteller staff, or tells a story that is not represented on their character sheet or in their approved background. This is expressly disallowed because a collaborative storytelling game requires that everyone is telling the same story.   God Modding is similar to Moon-Graping in that a player is trying to control the setting outside of their character, and is any type of roleplay where a player determines another character’s reaction that is not their own.   Both Moon-Graping and God Modding are expressly disallowed in T:E&E because they ruin the shared setting that everyone is trying to tell.

Monkeywrenching

In a game like Terranon that's mostly played across text, it can be difficult to clearly pass information, share plots, or communicate intent. Monkeywrenching is the act of purposefully making the game harder for other players, either through intentional misrepresentation of plot information, manipulating through misleading information, or writing with the intent to ‘screw over’ another player.   Monkeywrenching is disallowed in Terranon because the medium of the game, Discord, can be difficult enough and written communication requires clarity.   Accidental misunderstanding and misrepresentation is not considered to be intentional monkeywrenching, and almost all text is saved in the channel history for anyone to go back and look. If you forget something, please go back and look to refresh your memory.

Player Conflict

IC ‘isms’ and ‘phobias’ will not be allowed. If your PC wants to be an ass, they need to pick a different topic to be an ass about.   Villain characters are disallowed and while there can be in-character drama between characters, social classes, party structures, etc Terranon is a non PVP game and overt obstructionism and antagonism will not be allowed.   Conflict between characters must be arranged and consensual between players on an out of character basis.  

Honor Policy

This game is intended for adults and we only allow players who are over the age of 18. Since we are all adults here, we trust each other to talk with one another and be honest in our interactions both in character, out of character, and when we roll the dice. Storytellers should be kept in the loop for character development and growth, but will not be micromanaging your sheet and day-to-day RP.  

Open Door

Storytellers have an open door policy for any player to discuss concerns with plot, RP, or another player. We encourage players to have open communication with each other, but if communciation between players is not an option, you can always bring your concerns to a storyteller. The storyteller can then help you come up with solutions or facilitate a mediation between players.  

The Three-Strike Rule

Should a Storyteller be concerned about a player or their actions, in character or out of character, they will reach out privately to try to resolve any issues and work with the player to correct the behavior. This may be a video call or just a DM, and will be handled as a one-on-one conversation.   If it's an in character issue, sometimes the game or a story line just isn't the right fit for our game, and the Storyteller will work with the player to fix it. Our Storytellers have unlimited freedom to correct a scene or rewrite canon if it becomes problematic.   If multiple discussions have happened without apparent improvement, a player may be asked to leave the game.   In this game, we will not tolerate:

• Harassment or Bullying
• Gaslighting or Manipulation
• Cheating or Powergaming

The safety of our players is paramount. If you are considered unsafe for any reason, you will be asked to leave immediately.