The Setting Department is responsible for the development and maintenance of the game settings of vaxia.org. The setting department is responsible for creating and maintaining documentation on the setting to be stored publicly in the wiki and providing training on setting details. This department also approves world-changing sessions and sagas proposed by storyhosts and resolves any consistency issues between existing plots and sessions. The setting department is responsible for confirming if a thing exists in the setting but is not responsible for implementing the system mechanics for it.

Each specific game-setting on vaxia.org has two setting leads. A site member may serve as a lead for more than one setting at a time so there will be a minimum of two leads in the setting department but they should make it clear at any point which setting they are speaking for at the time.

The forums are the best way to contact Setting with any ideas or concerns. This will allow for all members to see the discussion and contribute as needed. The current year's leads will also be posted there with the department's yearly to do list. Forum with the Election Results

Setting Department Forum
If unable to post in the Setting forums then use the General Discussion Forums

Contributing to Settings

The best way to think of the Setting leads is that they are the editors while all the players and SH’s are their writers for content.

The settings of Vaxia are open to have any member of the site write content for them. However this must be done in a way to make sure that this content makes sense, fits within the genre and flavor of the setting, and is within the guidelines of the system, which is what the Setting Department does. Should any content be rejected, the writer of the content should receive a detailed explanation on why the content would not work for the setting the submitted it for in order to allow them to rewrite it if they so choose.

However there are some exceptions to content needing review and approval like sessions. Most sessions will not need Setting to approve them. The Site Continuity section has some examples on when a A/SH would need to contact Setting to get approval for their idea. Though if an A/SH is unsure for any reason about an idea they have for a session it is best to just go ahead and ask Setting about it and get some feedback.

Catching Inconsistencies

Setting catches inconsistencies and works on maintaining records of events and locations along with the A/SHs and players, and ensures our content is up to date. On occasion maintenance can mean changing what has already written, however it is something that is not done arbitrarily and must adhere to the guidelines and protocol established for writing new content, and preserve what history it can.

A/SHs must get permission before running things out of the ordinary! This should be obtained from both Setting Lead(s), via pm that both leads are a part of. NOTE: Only On-Site Requests are allowed - following the principles of Transparency

If the session has become a saga (a session story that is told over multiple sessions for a length of time) then Setting shall observe the saga, facilitates crossovers with other A/SHs if ended, and maintain IC consistency across the various sessions, as the saga or story lines unfold.

In general, at least an outline of a saga needs to be presented to the Setting leads to enable them to help coordinate others with their own stories with it or to be able to continue the saga for the active players should the original A/SH fall out of contact or become unable to run sessions for any reason.

Setting is empowered to null aspects of sessions, rp, and characters that are inconsistent with the greater whole. It is something that is not done lightly, and normally is involved with a case of Real Life Harm

World Changing Sagas

On occasion Setting may encourage and facilitate plots that may drastically change the tone of the setting. This may happen on behest of the players of the site, or if the story of the settings advance in such a manner to happen, or as a means to help reboot a setting to make it more playable. Some examples are the Naga Nori War in Vaxia and the The Crowned in Sirian.

Such plots can and will have a long term and very lasting effect allowing other members of the site to pick up on stories/sessions that continue playing out the aftermath of the larger plot. It is in effect a wide scale saga so permission must be granted from both Setting Leads before such plots are done. It is their job to make sure the setting(s) are in alignment. NOTE: Only On-Site Requests are allowed - following the principles of Transparency.

If an SH happens to stumble into something extraordinary without expecting to do so, for example, half way through a session, he is still required to obtain permission after the IC events have transpired. This is not preferable, because if nulled*, it will be much harder to undo. Where possible an SH should try to defer solidifying the results of the situation until he has a chance to talk to Setting. (It's ok to tell a player you need to put them on hold so you can ask Setting a question.)

Preventing Power Creep

As characters gain power it's tempting to adjust numbers to match them. Unfortunately this leads to an arms-race for numbers that can leave new players unable to function. It also robs players of their earned rewards! A player who has spent XP to get a strong character should get to enjoy having a strong character.

Setting is half of the team that provides oversight and approval of items over +10 bonus, NPCs with Stats and/or skills at or over 70. In the case of items however, Setting works closely with System to maintain game balance. Setting is largely responsible for saying what kind of items exists in the setting, while System checks the numbers.

Setting also works with System on overseeing and managing companions, familiars, or vehicles much like they do with items. Again this is a matter of Setting managing what is reasonable to exist in the setting and System handling the numbers.

Approving Concepts

Setting approval may be required for certain species, conditions or certain backgrounds. This is part of Setting’s responsibility for overseeing and managing what species are available for play in the settings, as well as conditions, and certain backgrounds. Some species, conditions, and/or areas may require more experience and knowledge on the player’s end to ensure they know what they are going to encounter when they play a character such as that. Setting will create walk-throughs to help train players on what to expect as well as help provide additional information as they can.

Writing It Down

Setting leads must be present on the site. Part of the job is to answer questions from players and A/SHs regarding settings. Sometimes, you will have enough written materials to answer the questions from there, which is always preferable. Sometimes you will have to ask people who have worked the issues being asked, for which nothing is yet written down. Sometimes you will need to fill in the gap with something reasonable and consistent with prior material.

In All Cases: Setting must make sure the material is recorded in the wiki. If it's not written down, it doesn't exist.