This thread contains all of the Rule changes that differentiate SOTF: U from other Minis.
Table of Contents
SOTF U: Rules
Required Reading!
Moderator: SOTF U Staff
Character Information
- SOTF: U takes place in the United States, although your characters may be international students, subject to staff approval.
- In order to be approved, your characters must be able to attend a two-week research trip in the near-Arctic.
- Your characters must reside near the city of Tacoma, Washington. The University of Cascadia is located on a purpose-built campus a short distance outside of the city proper, and has comfortable dormitories for international students.
- The abduction takes place in the second week of October of 2022, which would be in the middle of the first semester. A set of courses related to the characters’ primary disciplines was developed as a cover, and they would have been attending these courses prior to the trip.
- There will be a limited Pregame set aboard the NRV Frontier.
- Only 1 character per handler is permitted, and as such each handler will receive one hero card instead of one hero card and one swap card.
The PDAs
The Participants will be issued with Personal Data Assistants that serve as one-way communication devices to relay information from the facilitators. They also provide access to a basic map of the island, and relay some vital signs to the facilitators. While they are capable of relaying audio messages, this is optional for daily announcements.
Every in-game day, an announcement will be sent to the PDA for review by the student.
The below options correspond to buttons on the PDA; the device notably does not use a touch-screen.NEW ANNOUNCEMENT AVAILABLE. PLAY AUDIO?
The announcements will provide useful information, detailing recent deaths, and indicating any rewards issued for exemplary performance during the test. A pending announcement will be indicated by a small, blinking red light on the side of the device. Each day, a loudspeaker on the Island will also play an audio cue that indicates an announcement has been released.YES / NO / TEXT-ONLY
Though they are not fail-deadly (they won't explode if there is an attempt to remove them) they will deactivate permanently if they are removed or tampered with without the appropriate key. This will cut off access to the map and any useful information that is provided by the staff, though they will continue to function as audio recording devices and location trackers.
The Participants are all also chipped with RFID tags during intake processing to ensure postmortem identification.
The Janus-Hayes Anti-Incursion System
Project Lead: Dr. Vadim Komarin
The Janus-Hayes Anti-Incursion System is an installation employed on Severniy Norin to ensure the safety and isolation of the security and support personnel stationed on the island. Aptly named “The Fence”, the AIS consists of dozens of interlinked pylons surrounding the support installation at a minimum distance of 200 meters.
The Pylons are approximately 3.6m in height, and have been outfitted with bulletproof kevlar and ceramic armor plating for the duration of testing. They are securely affixed to the bedrock below. Power conduits for the Pylons are run directly underneath the operational range of the devices, ensuring that they cannot be tampered with using brute force alone.
The operational principle of the AIS is similar to less-lethal directed energy weapons, at a difference of scale. While the specific design details are classified, part of how the Pylons work is by using a combination of infra-sound and microwaves to incapacitate intruders.
The system has two settings; a low-power, less-lethal Deterrence mode similar to microwave riot control devices, and a full-power Denial mode that boasts a 100% kill rate. In theory, the system is capable of intercepting fused explosive projectiles although this is not its intended function.
For the duration of the test, the system will be active in the Denial mode, with the security personnel of the support installation stationed at guard posts, should the system suffer a malfunction.*
*Janus-Hayes assures the research staff that the system has yet to suffer any significant malfunction since its installation, and has outfitted the control center with redundancies in the event of power failure.
Cameras and Recording Equipment
Across the island, remote monitoring systems have been installed to watch over the Experiment. While cameras are not indestructible, they are constructed of materials designed to withstand extreme temperature variation and physical stress.
There are also small, sophisticated drones that fly around and record events on the island. Vulnerable components are hardened against small-arms fire, but they are not technically armoured or armed.
There is no punishment for attempting to destroy them, as the Janus-Hayes has a large supply of replacements. Periodically, the Drones return to the Airstrip to recharge and receive minor repairs.
Daypack Contents and Provisions
The Participants will be allowed to keep all of their belongings at the beginning of the game, including cell phones. All cell signals are jammed from the Monitoring Station and the NRV Frontier, and there is essentially no service on the island anyways - so there’s no need to confiscate them.
Anything weapon-like will be confiscated, but possessions like notebooks, musical instruments and so on may be kept. Clothing will only be what the characters brought with them, and their cold weather gear.
The bags the characters are assigned at the beginning of the game are duffel bags marked with their Participant Number, and contain the following provisions.
- Seven Days of US-Issue MREs.
- Six one-liter bottles of water.
- Flashlight
- Fire Starting KIt (includes strike fire starter, storm-proof matches, shredded tinder)
- Wool Hat, Gray
- Unmarked All-Season Sleeping Bag
- LED Emergency Flashlight, 300 Lumens
- First Aid Kit (Red plastic box labeled Аптечка) containing:
Adhesive bandages
Non-Adhesive bandages
Chest Seals
Tourniquet, black
Hemostatic Gauze, Sterile
Butterfly closure strips
Saline solution
Antiseptic wipes
Burn dressing
Hypoallergenic adhesive tape
Nitrile Gloves
Trauma Shears
Tweezers
Alcohol pads
99% Isopropyl Alcohol Solution
Thermometer
Emergency Blanket
Aspirin, Tablets
Epipen
Ibuprofen, Tablets
Oral Rehydration Salts
Iodine Tablets
Antibiotic Cream
Anti-Fungal Cream
Soap, Bar
Endgame & Epilogue
- The Endgame of SOTF: U will commence after final public rolls and a remaining cast of four characters.
- Within the final four, a number of survivors are rolled to survive. This is relative to the surviving Prototype(s); each dead Prototype will add one to the total survivors who are rolled, with a maximum of the final four all surviving the game. The three Revenants count as a single Prototype for the purpose of these rolls.
- Endgame will take place at the Airstrip, and will be a collaborative effort.
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Escapes
Simply put, there is no escape from this version of SOTF. You may attempt to do so, but given the climate and other perils present on the island, that is almost certainly a death sentence.
However, that is not to say that there are no ways to fight back against the Experiment, should your characters choose to.
Hunting Monsters
Each day, the Prototypes will be rolled in secret with the main cast. Should the Prototypes be rolled, instead of being killed off, they will be marked with a death flag for that in-game day.
This means that attempts to kill the Prototypes can succeed. The pitch process for those is similar to an escape. This is not visible to the main cast, and will be done by staff internally.
Attempts to kill them are risky, but that they’re also not solely to the discretion of the GM ( I only decide whether the attempt could kill the prototype, the roll decides whether or not it will. )
Should an attempt be made that severely injures the Prototype, this will increase its likelihood of being marked with a death flag, potentially to the point of perpetuity throughout the game. Mechanically, this is done via a - modifier to their rolls.
Prototype Kills
Conversely, Prototypes will be available as killers for those who are rolled. Prototypes can kill players in a few different ways:
- Send a PM to Help_U with a detailed request.
- Enter a thread with a Prototype and just go for it!
- Lingering in a terminally dangerous situation involving a Prototype will result in a warning from Help_U in the Prototype’s post that the character will need to be extricated. After that warning expires, the character will be killed similarly to a Danger Zone - think of this as a single-thread DZ, with red HAZARD tags and a PM from Help_U pointing out when the situation has escalated to that point. The warning looks like this:
PROXIMITY WARNING: P000 - PARTICIPANT NAME
- Should a character go inactive, they will be killed by a Prototype. If they are not available, the Fence, Mercenaries, other players, and the elements are also available to Staff in lieu of the typical collar detonation.
- Lingering in a Danger Zone for too long will result in the Prototypes being alerted to the character’s location, at which point the character will die.
Inactivity & Death Deadlines
The only significant changes to the rules surrounding Inactivity and Death Deadlines is in how enforcement will be depicted.
As there are no collars to detonate, inactive and danger zone deaths will be carried out by other, similarly sudden means. For further details, refer to the Mini Rules.
Weapon Assignments
Weapon Assignments will be done as characters are rostered; the full weapon list will be posted one week before the prologue is posted, along with weapon descriptions and a comment from the Janus-Hayes armorer.