SOTF Mini Advanced Rules

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Area Thread Limit

Each subforum of a game (denoting a specific area) may have only one active thread at any given time. A thread is considered active if it has characters in it who have not exited (signified by a ((continued elsewhere...)) tag), even if those characters are inactive or it's been a while since they saw a post.

If you wish to secure an exception to this rule, you're welcome to contact staff, but staff almost always deny such requests due to the continuity headache they can create. We strongly suggest members be flexible in their planning such that they do not require the use of a specific area.

If a thread is posted in an area that is still in use, staff will remove or move it, as best fits. Repeated or intentional errors of this sort may become grounds for warning or further consequences.

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One-Shots

There exists a special exception to the one-thread-per-area rule: the one-shot. A one-shot is a scene posted all at once by a single handler, in which a character both enters and exits the scene. Typically, though not always, one-shots feature only a single character, doing something on their own. Occasionally, one-shots will feature other characters in scenes either collaboratively written or featuring approved GMing. While one-shots are usually a single post, sometimes they are split up among several for issues of flow or length.

To qualify as a one-shot (and therefore qualify for the special rules explained below) a thread must fulfill the following criteria:

• Any and all posts in the thread are posted by a single handler.
• Any and all posts are made within a span of twenty-four real life hours (and ideally all at once, but staff are aware that there are sometimes quirks of time zones/board software that can prevent that).
• All characters in the thread enter and exit over the course of the scene—nobody is left in the area afterwards.

A one-shot counts as activity only for those characters belonging to the handler posting it. Any other characters featured are free to participate, but the one-shot will not reset their activity timers, and thus they will need to be posted with again within fourteen days of their last actual post.

Moreover, a one-shot will not reset a character's activity timer if their last post before it was another one-shot. This is to force characters to periodically interact with the game at large (or at least leave the option for such interaction open; you will not be penalized for making an open thread which nobody joins).

Note that posts in which a character enters and then immediately leaves an ongoing thread that is not a one-shot will be treated the same as one-shots for purposes of activity. You have to actually stick around to count as interacting with the game.

The special trait of one-shots is that they do not count against area thread limits; any one-shots may be posted no matter whether or not there's an ongoing thread in a given area. That said, it is the responsibility of the handler writing a one-shot in an occupied area to read the ongoing thread completely and carefully, and to ensure that their one-shot does not contradict information in the ongoing thread. Furthermore, if the circumstances in the ongoing thread change in such a way as to render part of the one-shot in contradiction after the fact, it is the responsibility of the handler of the one-shot to edit it to fix any generated continuity errors. Priority always goes to ongoing threads.

Specifically in the game of SOTF-TV, characters are sometimes permitted to interact with NPC mentors. A thread featuring a character exchanging posts with their mentor exclusively may be considered to be a one-shot so long as it is noted as such in the description, although all posts do not have to be made within twenty-four hours. As these threads rely on staff engagement and any delays fall on staff's shoulders, any posts to such threads will reset the activity timer. Additionally, should the handler wish to convert a mentor interaction thread into an open thread, they are welcome to do so as long as no other active thread is in the area at the time. This should be clearly noted in the thread's subtitle when the change is made. Otherwise, a character-mentor thread follows all of the above rules.

Please do not exploit mentor interactions to "call dibs" on areas with ongoing threads—if this becomes a problem, staff will revise this provision.

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Private Threads

From time to time, members start threads in games marked "Private." If a thread is labeled as private, that constitutes a request from its creator that other handlers not join the thread without permission, and usually implies that other participants are not being sought. A similar case is threads labeled "PM for Entry," though in this case the creator is signaling that they would prefer others to PM requesting access prior to joining, but are amenable to adding further participants.

In any event, private and PM entry threads in the game proper are enforced not by staff decree but by social norms. If you feel you have a good reason, it is allowed to join such threads, though considered rude. Staff will not delete offending posts except upon request of the handler who created them.

We strongly suggest keeping private threads to a minimum, as they create an atmosphere of greater planning at the expense of fluidity and natural development of characters and plot arcs.

This is slightly different in Sandbox. In the actual game, private threads are not enforced because characters are in a relatively small arena with no real way to keep intruders out. In the normal world of Sandbox, that is not the case, and private threads tend to be those detailing specific moments in a character's life or events in which uninvited characters could not realistically appear. As such, private threads in Sandbox will be enforced by staff, and intruding posts will be pruned.

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Concurrent Thread Limit

In the game proper, a given character may only ever be in a single thread at once. They must exit a thread before entering a new one. There are no real exceptions to this rule when it comes to the typical course of game play.

There is, however, a single situation in which a character can sort of appear in multiple threads at once: if they're being seen/referenced by other characters in another thread. For example, if a character looked through a telescope and saw characters fighting on the other side of the arena in a different thread, that would be fine. If a character left a thread and then in the next post another character followed them, describing the first character's actions in leaving even though that character was already in another thread, that would also be fine.

Aside from these sorts of edge cases, however, this rule is immutable. Characters may not appear in two threads at once via GMing to cheat chronology. Flashbacks are acceptable if confined to one post or otherwise clearly delineated as such, but generally speaking stories should by and large be told start to end.

A character must be out of any current threads before having a one-shot.

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Sandbox Concurrent Thread Limit

In Sandbox, the concurrent thread limit is slightly different. Handlers are still restricted to a single present action thread per character at any given time, for ease of reading and following continuity, but may additionally also have one Memory thread per character at any given time. Memory threads should be set at least six months prior to the game, but can go as far back in your character's life as you desire otherwise. Memory threads should be in the appropriate board when available, and clearly labeled otherwise. Characters should be out of any present-action threads before one-shots are posted, for the sake of tracking chronology, but memory one-shots can be posted at any time, even if the character is active in another memory thread.

There may occasionally be special events (dances, school trips, and so forth) that take place during Sandbox. In such cases, a given character may be active in one event thread at the same time as a current action thread and a memory thread. Events are only authorized if staff-created; otherwise, dances/field trips/whatever fall under the category of either memory threads or present action threads.

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Tagging Entrance and Exit Posts

Please note which threads your characters are coming from and going to when they enter or leave a thread. Linking the thread in question is optimal, but simply giving a name is better than giving nothing.

Linking your threads is really primarily for your own benefit and that of those reading your characters. It allows others to catch up on your characters and get context for their actions.

If you fail to link your threads, staff may or may not take it upon themselves to fix it eventually. If you have some very specific reason to avoid linking your threads in a given situation, staff is certainly willing to hear it, but we request that such things be the major exception rather than the rule.

For your convenience, the code for thread links is as follows:

Code: Select all

((YOUR CHARACTER continued from [url=]THREAD NAME[/url]))
((YOUR CHARACTER continued in [url=]THREAD NAME[/url]))

To isolate a specific post, if you so desire, click its number, which copies the url to link to the specific post within the thread.

You are free to customize the formatting of entrance and exit tags as you like, so long as they serve their purpose. It's the information we care about.

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Danger Zones

Typically, every announcement will include the designation of one or more areas as Danger Zones. In-character, Danger Zones are areas which characters are forbidden from entering upon pain of death. Out-of-character, Danger Zones bring with them a change in how threads are handled.

For the first three days (seventy-two hours), it's business as usual. Threads may continue, and you may start threads or make one-shots within the areas. When this deadline expires, however, a new one is enforced: all characters active in threads in a Danger Zone will have seven days (one hundred and sixty-eight hours) to vacate the Danger Zone. Furthermore, each must do so in the space of a single post—after the first three days, the thread effectively must end in a number of posts equal to the number of characters in it.

Any characters left in the Danger Zone at the end of the seven-day period will be considered terminally inactive and will be killed as such.

SOTF and Mini veterans may notice that this represents a major change to the workings of Danger Zones; previously, all characters had to evacuate within three days upon pain of death. This mechanic, however, was punishing to a degree largely unseen in modern SOTF games; it was last enforced in 2011, and staff has gone out of its way to try to avoid bringing it to bear since. At the same time, Danger Zones play an important role in site function by allowing staff to spur slow threads and corral characters closer together. The current system seems a suitable compromise, allowing handlers a short span of time to close out normal thread business and enforcing a deadline for vacating the thread without either cutting endless slack or casually dropping on handlers the incredibly harsh punishment of losing a character unrolled.

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Designated Weapons and Supplies

Characters are each assigned certain supplies, as well as a weapon. The general supplies will be posted in the important information section for each game, but typically include a duffel bag (with a specific description that should be paid attention), a map and compass, a first aid kit, and food.

Weapons are assigned largely at random from a list populated by staff (and sometimes by handler suggestion). In general, every character has the same chance of getting something good or terrible. Weapons are rolled by staff in much the same way as characters, though logs are usually not posted as they would be unwieldy.

In very rare circumstances, characters submitted at the very end of a submission cycle may come in after all weapons have been assigned. Usually this occurs only when a large number of characters are approved after the initial round of rostering is done. In such cases, staff sometimes creates a secondary list with approximately the same odds per category as the primary list, and sometimes simply assigns characters joke or utility weapons, depending on convenience.

Randomization of other game aspects (powers in Evo, teams in TV, etc.) follows roughly the same pattern.

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Confiscation of Possessions

When characters are taken, certain possessions of theirs are confiscated. This varies universe by universe, but a few constants remain. Anything that can be easily used as a weapon (knives, cudgels, etc.) is confiscated. Prescription drugs are confiscated outside of roughly a week's dosage, and illicit drugs are confiscated except for small amounts (roughly three doses max). Generally speaking, paper and writing utensils are confiscated, though these tend to be available in the arena.

All electronic devices are confiscated, including cell phones, watches, ipods, and so on. If it runs on batteries or uses electricity (even, say, solar-powered pocket calculators), it is removed from a student's possession.

Generally speaking, students are allowed to keep other belongings, including snacks, extra clothes, and the like. If in doubt, however, you can always check with staff to get a ruling on the status of a given item, including a hypothetical one.

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Scavenging and Finding Items in the Arena

Generally speaking, items and tools outside those assigned to or carried into the game by a character may be scavenged and found in the arena. There are, however, certain guidelines for this. Each game has a differing arena, and you should read the area descriptions carefully to make sure anything you want your character to find makes sense. A version set in a walled-off urban block, for example, is unlikely to have plentiful farm equipment lying around; maybe something could be found if a garden supply store is detailed, but it's hard to imagine a situation where, say, a pitchfork would be lying around. Similarly, an island abandoned in the late 1800s is not going to have much in the way of edible food or modern medicine strewn about, unless for whatever reason it has been artificially introduced by those running the game.

The universe also has a big impact on what can and cannot be found. As a general rule, SOTF-TV is most liberal about what is left for students to discover, as the executives know that creativity makes for good viewing, and the prospect of an escape is not as major a concern as in other settings. In Second Chances, meanwhile, the game lacks the widespread acceptance and societal and governmental complicity of the other games, making any disruptions not only a serious blow to the event but a potential threat to the terrorists' existence, and thus they take great pains to remove items that could prove a risk to the smooth function of the game. In all instances, there's a general nod from the game-runners to the idea that scavenged items should not be better than assigned weapons unless the assigned weapons are terrible. Limiting students' ability to upgrade their equipment without engaging their fellows is one of the ways violence is prompted.

You can almost always have your characters find innocuous, everyday items that are appropriate for the area. Rocks small and large in outdoor zones, chairs, tables, and the like in houses, and so on do not require any special communications with staff. Similarly, anything specifically noted in an area description is there for the taking. For objects beyond this but that aren't too high impact (tools that could be used as clumsy improvised weapons like screwdrivers, say) you can usually go ahead assuming it makes sense, but it's always safest to check with staff.

Actual weapons or items that are close enough to effectively be actual weapons (fire axes, convincing fake firearms, sharp chef's knives, etc.) are always removed from arenas unless specifically noted otherwise.

Finally, if you plan to use an item, no matter how innocuous, in some sort of escape attempt, please consult the further rules on that matter.

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Supplies for Use in Escapes

Any item you intend to have your character use as part of an escape attempt, no matter how seemingly-innocuous, needs to be approved for scrounging by staff. Moreover, you need to inform staff of your intentions to use the item in an escape attempt when securing permission. This will, generally speaking, not have any effect on whether or not the item is approved, except insofar as it allows staff to have a better idea of what's intended and whether or not the item would be available in the first place. Staff will not deny an item merely because a handler wishes to use it in an escape attempt, but may note that an item is unsuitable for a given attempt (for example, if a handler has a character who wishes to try to disassemble the collars, they may ask permission to scavenge a screwdriver. Staff, upon consulting, may rule that normal screwdrivers are available in the arena, but that the collars use minute enough workings that specialized equipment, such as jeweler's tools, is required to make any headway, and that such tools have not been left around).

There are situations in which this rule may be difficult to enforce, such as when a character scavenges an item with no eye towards escape, and then some other character later wishes to roll that item into their plan. Staff will usually allow the use of the item in such cases (or explain why it is unsuited). Nobody will be penalized in such cases. The same is true of items that are initially not intended for escape but that a handler later wishes to use. We do, however, require handlers to act in good faith, and should evidence of deception manifest the consequences will be severe, including, at a minimum, the denial of any escape plan built upon that deception, regardless of its other merits. The staff team is not the adversary of handlers or of attempted escapees—at least, not in any way except a narrative one. There is no room for guessing games in approaching escape attempts, and playing them will do nothing but hurt your ultimate chances.

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Escape Attempts

Characters may attempt to escape the game. This does not make them likely to succeed; in fact, even in the universes most amenable to escape, the odds are great that most attempts will fail.

Any escape attempt requires close consultation with staff. As soon as you start mulling the possibility of an escape attempt, you should open communications with staff. The earlier you do this, the better.

While some of you may be familiar with the dire risks associated with escape attempts on Main, Mini is not quite so punishing. There are still typically mechanisms in place to prevent the "go fish" method of escape (where a handler proposes endless escape plans until they eventually find one that works), but characters will not die in escape attempts unless the handler chooses so.

Escape is dealt with as follows in the primary three SOTF Mini universes:

• SOTF-TV is the universe most amenable to escapes. Escapees make for good viewing in many events, and escapes have an established place in the show's history. The producers often leave intentional flaws in collars to allow for the possibility of escapees, though typically if an escape has recently occurred the collars are made more secure for the next few seasons; there's no magic in escapes if they happen every time, after all.
  
  The producers do not detonate collars of escapees unless forced to do so to protect the integrity of the overall game/show or unless attempted escapees push their luck and disrespect the situation they are in. The producers do, however, throw spanners into escape attempts, going out of their way to ensure any success is hard-won. They may shake up plans that at first fail by dislodging students from strongholds via Danger Zones, detonating captured collars students are attempting to dissect, and so forth.
  
  In SOTF-TV, students can usually keep trying to escape after an initial failure. What they're most liable to lose in the attempt is time (as well as the element of surprise, raising the potential for hurdles introduced by the producers if they seem too comfortable).
  
  Students in SOTF-TV need merely escape the arena to be allowed to go free; once a student is safely out of harm's way, the producers welcome them with open arms and see to their medical needs.
• Second Chances is the universe most analogous to the Main SOTF universe. The game is run secretly, by a group of terrorists with a mysterious and vast network of resources. They have a major vested interest in preventing escapes, as any escapes threaten their ideological message and their own safety.
  
  As such, the terrorists take quick and decisive action to stymie escape attempts, directing students to abort any problematic activities as a first recourse, but quickly resorting to detonating collars if need be. This means that characters effectively have one shot at escaping before they face severe scrutiny of the sort to render future attempts nigh-impossible. If your initial escape attempt is unsuccessful and not suitably undetected, staff are likely to declare that your character has attracted enough attention that further pursuit of escape will result in their execution by the terrorists. If your character's plan is such that their death would be its inevitable result at any stage, staff will note that and inform you that your character can't come up with an idea that won't get them killed; you will at this stage be disallowed from floating further plans for the character in question.
  
  One of the biggest hurdles in SC is escaping the arena, as the terrorists favor isolated locations away from prying eyes. Students are still at risk until they manage to remove themselves from the terrorists' reach; merely disabling their collars and hiding in a Danger Zone is not sufficient to escape in SC.
• The Program is the universe least conducive to escapes, as it not only operates with full support of the government and the majority of the public, like SOTF-TV, it is also prone to summary executions of persistently rebellious students like SC. While it may not feature quite the advanced security of SC, with the introduction of collars being a recent phenomenon, arenas in The Program are surrounded by trained military forces and any student who gets away is likely to spend the rest of their days as a fugitive from the government.
  
  The runners of The Program act quickly and decisively to silence dissent, often intervening even in cases where rebellious students stand no real chance of causing damage to the game's integrity or operation. As such, much as is the case with SC, students may quickly blow their chances by drawing the attention of the government officials with a poorly-conceived plan, and students with a bad plan are liable to be barred from further attempts by staff even more quickly than in SC.
  
  Students who somehow do escape the arena are still at risk for the foreseeable future, and will immediately find themselves the subject of a massive manhunt. While the arenas tend to be less isolated than those of SC, often situated on the mainland, the forces arrayed against any student who slips loose more than makes up for that small advantage. All of this make The Program the Mini universe least amenable to escapes, and plans here stand a very, very slim chance of finding success.

Students participating in escapes remain on the rolling list (and thus subject to rolls, inactivity, card use, and the like) until such time as they are safely outside the grasp of hostile forces. In SOTF-TV this occurs fairly quickly and easily, while in SC and The Program students are very likely to be hunted down by those running the game even if they find some initial success.

While generally speaking any handler is allowed to attempt escape with any character(s), staff are a slight exception. Staff are barred from spearheading any escape attempt in any game in which they are operating with insider knowledge. They are free to do as they please in any game where they lack such knowledge. While the most common such scenario is AUs in which the staff in question lack notable insider knowledge, it is possible for staff to be sequestered from information and decisions regarding escapes in a version at their request. Should this be the case, it will be noted publicly at the start of the version. At least half the staff team, including at least one of the admins, must be on the inside-knowledge-escape-committee for any version besides an AU.

Staff characters may join up with escape attempts spearheaded by non-staff if they so desire, so long as they do not leak any information or take any untoward actions. Should any misbehavior be discovered, it will be dealt with extremely harshly, likely through the dismissal of the staffer(s) in question. A staffer involved with an escape, even if not in the driving seat, must recuse themselves from any decisions regarding the success or failure of that attempt (though they may still offer their opinion in a non-voting capacity).

There are no restrictions on escape attempts designed intentionally to fail, though such attempts may complicate or render impossible future actual attempts at escape.

[Mini_Help]

Endgame Rules

Endgame (defined as the final three to six characters or as otherwise specified in a given version) follows a few special rules, as follows:

1. Determining a Winner
   
   A winner (the character who survives a game) is determined by rolls or by unanimous agreement. If a single person disagrees with a proposed winner, they can choose to send the decision to rolls. In certain circumstances (most commonly in SOTF-TV), the winner(s) can be any number of characters who fulfill certain criteria, such as hailing from a single team. This does not affect the process beyond allowing for the prospect of tandem victory, and tandem victories are not an option unless specifically stated by staff in advance of Endgame.
   
   If unanimous agreement is reached, then the chosen winner(s) wins (unless they go inactive). If not, rolls proceed as follows:
   
   Characters will be rolled out one at a time until such time as unanimous agreement is reached. Unless everyone is vying for the win, staff will probably post one rolled character at a time, or have the handlers sit in on the rolls. If you don't want to win under any circumstances, you can bow out at the start.
   
   If a character is rolled, they need to die. Even if three people agree a character should win and one dissents, and the ideal winner is rolled first and the dissenter second, a rolled character cannot win. This is to slightly decrease the advantage of a majority, and to allow for some element of chance in the proceedings.
   
   Similarly, there will be no usage of cards in Endgame. This, again, is so the odds cannot be stacked in one character's favor. In the finals, everyone is on even footing.
2. Endgame Start Deadline
   
   Endgame should be a time of excitement and activity for a Mini or AU. Unfortunately, all too often Endgames get bogged down in the planning stages. There are many reasons for this, and the staff understands the necessity of some planning, but historically Endgames have been delayed in their beginnings long past the point where everything is basically settled. Similarly, it makes no sense to spend months trying to reach an accord on the winner when everyone really wants to take it to rolls.
   
   As such, there is a time limit of one month after the death of the final pre-Endgame character for determining a winner. If a winner is not determined in that time, then the game will go to rolls.
   
   There will also be a deadline for starting the Endgame thread. That deadline will be one week after a winner is determined. This is because activity is not enforced until the thread begins, and it's not really good for these threads to take ages to get rolling.
3. Endgame Activity
   
   Inactivity for endgame will be handled as follows: once it becomes your turn to post, you have six days to get a post up. If you fail to do so, your character gets declared terminally inactive and inactive killed. It doesn't matter if you were supposed to win; inactivity will be enforced. Being Away is still allowed, but staff is keen to avoid huge delays caused by handlers being gone for months at a time. All Away notices should be made as far in advance as possible so that they may be worked around.
   
   If you will be unavailable during the Endgame time period, if you have no interest in being in Endgame, or if you do not feel that you can keep up with the posting regime, you can opt out of Endgame before the final rolls by sending Help a PM stating that you are doing so. Staff will count those characters as automatically rolled, then roll down to the finalists from whoever remains.
   
   Please note that six days is the absolute maximum. Really, it should take much less than that. Bookkeeping in Endgame is always very strict on this; you can and almost certainly will get busted if you stray over 144 hours at all.
   
   Should the selected winner end up getting inactive killed, determination of a new winner (or having no winner at all) will follow the same process as the original selection process, and all active characters will be possible options, so as to prevent any tactical use of inactivity/any incentive to be found in jockeying for later placements. If everyone agrees to a plan that involves no changes to the thread, great. If, however, some level of edits or continuity changes are required to enable the new winner determined by the process, staff will work with the handlers to make it happen. Should a winner candidate go inactive in a version with multiple slated winners, this process will not kick in unless no selected winners remain active.
4. Exceptions and Case-By-Case Rulings
   
   Staff may periodically make special rulings based on the situations in play in a given Endgame to better facilitate the end of that game. All such rulings will be posted for all Endgamers to see and will allow sufficient time (typically three days/seventy-two hours) for the expression of concern or dissent and for appeals to be made if need be. Staff strives to keep things uniform, but not every contingency can be cleanly anticipated and covered in advance.

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Winners, Other Survivors, and Epilogues

Any character who survives a game will receive the opportunity to close out their story. Traditionally, this takes the form of an Epilogue (a single thread written primarily by one handler), though in a situation where a notable number of characters survives staff may use some alternate method of conclusion, and will announce and detail such at that time.

Otherwise, the following rules for crafting an Epilogue apply if you win a Mini/AU or otherwise see one of your characters survive. They are designed to be as nonrestrictive as possible, and are pretty much a formality to ensure universe continuity and plot cohesion.

• No killing non-original characters without staff permission. The basically means you can't kill Brigadier-General Adams unless the staff say you can. This is because often there are plotlines involving NPCs which span versions. If the character you wish to kill was created by another handler, then you require that handler's permission as well. You're welcome to kill characters of your own creation, including characters you create in the epilogue, as long as the other guidelines are followed. Also, if you have a great idea for killing a non-original character, ask! Staff are really receptive to well thought out ideas.
• Epilogues should be realistic for the setting. No ascending to godhood in SOTF-TV, for example. No total military victory for Communism in the Program universe. Stuff should be kept reasonable, to the same standard as is expected in-game (obviously, again, this varies universe to universe. Stuff that flies in Evo would not fly in TV).
• Any world-specific rules must be followed unless otherwise approved by staff. This applies to stuff like the implied fate of Program winners. Anything outside what has been stated/set up needs staff approval. That said, staff are totally willing to work with/accommodate reasonable requests. Basically, this is just to, once again, be sure that lore and plot remains intact. This doesn't have that much bearing on some Minis and AUs, where the winner is basically just released. This clause also lets AU runners set their own rules, so check with whoever's in charge of a version.
• Leaping off of the other points, for core Mini universes, at least one admin (or a staff member approved by the admins) should review the epilogue for continuity purposes prior to publication. For AUs, the host (or another handler authorized by the host) should review it. This is just to make sure that nothing will contradict the world/story. It's to avoid stuff like a handler showing that Danya's home country in SC is really France or something silly like that. It also lets staff exercise some mild control over the preexisting characters used without crimping creativity.

All of these things basically boil down to: Communicate with the staff and keep stuff reasonable for the world. As long as you do, there should be no issues whatsoever.

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Required Reading

One of the best ways to engage with SOTF Mini is to read widely, familiarizing yourself with games past and present and with the works of a wide variety of handlers. It's a great way to improve your own work and to make other handlers feel appreciated, and it's probably the best way to get an overall idea of a version's overall story. That said, it is not required.

The only things you are required to read on SOTF Mini are:

• These rules: If you're here, you're doing well! In fact, only the core rules are necessary in most situations, though the advanced rules should be consulted prior to asking staff for clarifications.
• Important game and universe info for the game you are playing: This is all laid out in a special forum and includes special rules for each universe, daypack contents, a summary of the ways the universe differs from the real world, and more. All of this is necessary to engage accurately with the game and avoid continuity snarls.
• All announcements for games you are playing: Both in-character and out-of-character announcements are important to read. They update handlers on rules and game progress, and the in-character ones are broadcast loudly throughout the arena, such that characters typically react to them.
• The threads you are in: This should go without saying, but it is nigh-impossible to respond accurately and appropriately to posts you have not read. You should read in full any thread you wish to enter (such that you're able to properly assess what situation your character will find themselves in) as well as any posts made over the course of a thread you are in (such that you can acknowledge and respond to what happens).