The following are the basic rules and guidelines to help players manage their character relationships with other player characters in the game.

Why is this important?
To protect and ensure player boundaries are respected
To ensure a player is not taken advantage of
To help manage expectations

Just like in life there are many kinds of relationships that may develop ICly between characters: child-parent, sibling, romantic, employer-employee, protective, etc, are just some examples. These may put a player character in an authoritative position over another player character. This is a lot of responsibility and work both OOCly and ICly and can easily end up hurting another player if one is not careful.

Player boundaries take precedence above all else when it comes to these kinds of relationships, especially as between some characters it can become quite negative. Some players may not be interested or unable to pursue certain types of rp for any reasons. It doesn’t matter if the character would do it, if the player doesn’t want to do that kind of roleplay, do not force them to. It can be extremely harmful for the player to be put in that kind of situation. Even if they do not share the specifics for their reasons, they are to be respected.

So if a player says no, then do not do it. No comes in many forms, the rule is - unless there is an absolute and clear yes that they are ok with the direction of the relationship rp as is, anything else should be taken as a no - period.

A player wishing to partake of such relationship rp must make regular OOC check ins with the other player(s) to make sure they are ok with the direction and tone of the RP as it progresses, as well as to make they are not blocking the player’s ability to play their character. Never assume that the other player will be ok with any change in the rp, even if it is a type of rp they have done before, always ask!

When a player comes along that is not aware of the relationship and what the players have agreed upon, the players involved in the relationship should make sure that the other player is made aware of what could happen, and why some of the roleplay may go the direction it does. This is to help prevent the unaware player from feeling uncomfortable in the situation, and understand that everything going on in the RP is ICly and agreed upon.

If at any time a player becomes uncomfortable or feeling like their boundaries have not been respected with the relationship or begins to feel like they are being blocked and can’t do anything on their character due to the relationship they are encouraged to start a conversation with the other player(s) involved and let them know. This way the players can work out an alternative way to take the rp to resolve this. If the players on their own can not come to a resolution, then the player is encouraged to bring the situation to the attention of Social. Social can assign them a mediator to help come to a compromise or to help work out an exit strategy from the IC relationship with Setting on hand to advise as needed. Remember at any time a player has the right to opt out of an IC relationship.

• A player can not control a character that is not theirs.
• A player can not use an IC relationship to prevent another player from taking the involved character to sessions.
• A player can not use an IC relationship to prevent another player from rping with other players on the involved character or other rp in general.
• A player can not use an IC relationship to force another player to give their character items or silver.
• A player can not use an IC relationship to force another player to do RP topics that they do not want to participate in.
• A player can not use an IC relationship to harass, abuse, or threaten another player OOCly.

A player is not obligated to play out every single moment of any kind of relationship or employment and can not be force to do so.

Underaged PC relationships

Underaged is defined as any character that is physically or mentally under the age of 18 or even looks under the age of 18. In these games underaged is flagged as a special condition that requires Setting approval in order to play. This is due to that in that some scenes underage characters are not appropriate for as well as the expectations of many IC interactions from both PCs and NPCs already put older characters in a kind of authoritative position over the underage character.

• Setting Approval for Conditions
Underage characters are not permitted to partake in romantic or erotic RP. It may be implied, but it can not actually be roleplayed out on this site ever.

• Mature Sexual Content, Romantic and Erotic Role Play Policy
Players of underage characters should be prepared for their character to be treated like a child at any time. This can manifest in many ways but usually in the form of being commanded to do something with no explanation, to leave a potentially bad or extremely dangerous scene, physically be dragged away from something perceived as harmful or to get them out of harm's way, or scolded or reprimanded for their actions. Setting will cover these expectations with the player submitting an underage character after reviewing the character and the player’s history. This is to ensure the player understands what may happen in play, and to encourage them to open OOC channels with other players to let them know what is ok to do to exercise authority over their character and that they expect it.

Players interacting with an underage PC should keep in mind ways to also exercise their character’s authority over the underage in a way to help keep them involved in the session or rp in some way. Checking in with the player of the underage PC with a heads up on what may happen is highly encouraged.

Employment of a PC by a PC

In addition to the above there are some extra rules in regards to IC employment between PCs.

The hiring process is handled like a recruitment session between a NPC and a player. The players of the characters involved will make a request on the SH forums for a SH to run the numbers and officiate the hiring for them. The PC employer should ask questions related to the position being offered as well as request a demonstration of the potential PC employee’s skills that would apply to the job. At the end the SH may recommend an econ score boost, but the PC employer shall determine what is earned if the potential PC employee was hired. Then the SH will record the recruitment on the forums and make any adjustments to the econ score as needed or available. (This follows the same rules as other econ score bonuses and can not go past the +15 max gain per character.).

If the PC employer plans to give the employee a raise or promotion, there should be RP to point to that shows the promotion was earned. In cases where there is the possibility of an econ boost it must also be handled like a recruitment session so there is a record. If there is no boost to econ or other character Stats then a scene can be made to help record the RP that proves the promotion was earned. Similarly, to demote or fire someone, there should be an IC reason to point to, and can also be made into a scene to help keep a record.

The PC employer player can not make one of the terms of employment to have the PC employee give their employer a set amount silver or demand their PC employee make their character items because they work for them. This is in essence forcing another player to give them silver or items. ICly it is already implied that the PC employee is already contributing to the business in some manner, and while it could be said that the employer does take something (especially in regards to commission) no actual exchange of silver or items takes place.

This policy also helps keep PC employers as a viable option for other PCs for work, as if a PC employer takes away actual silver or items, this will make a PC employer less appealing than a NPC employer - who gets no actual silver or items and still provides all the perks of being employed. The perk of a PC hiring a PC is the opportunity for RP and collaboration for those characters.

Be sure to also review the rules on Transfer of items or money between characters for additional considerations linked to IC relationships.

A player may make a request to have you run a gaining employment session for them. These also may be called a "recruitment" session as well. They're almost always player-initiated sessions, and we want to encourage them! Pro-active players are lots of fun to work with.

In this case it is a player looking to get their character a job which could be with a NPC led organization or even a PC one. These sort of sessions are quick things that provide a lot of opportunity for a player and an A/SH to work together to flesh out the character's day to day life.

The numbers end is already pre-determined by the Character Employment system, so they only thing you need to worry about is bringing the NPCs and organization to life. The challenge is bringing this to something fun without turning into a slog it through interview. For it's just as stressful and boring to go through an in-depth harsh interview in a game as it is in real-life.

Planning the session:

• Check the Wiki. Any organizations will have a defined set of requirements in the wiki to match with the standardized diffs and goals. If they don't, you should check with Setting to fill that information out before you get started.

• Plan the NPC. Every organization should have information on an NPC that helps run it. Use that NPC or flesh out the NPC as needed. If there isn't create a logical NPC to be the boss. This will be a NPC other A/SH may play in the future and is something required by Setting for every organization - be sure to go into detail! The character needs motivations for having an employee and enough detail someone else can pick up with them later.

• Set Terms and Conditions Define any rules the NPC may have about employee conduct or shop rules. These are somewhat arbitrary, but often as simple as 'don't talk about the clients', or 'don't leave a candle unattended near the bookcase'.

Session numbers and rules:

These session have a very specific set of rules and established numbers to ensure that the difficulty is universal for all players in all our settings. There is no need to adjust these numbers for an organization - make the requirements fit to these rules. If ever unsure consult with System and Setting for help.

There are three ranks to employment, these ranks can be earned by having multiple jobs or or seeking promotions in one. So be sure to pay attention to what the player is asking for in their request when planning the scenario.

Each rank has its own difficulty and rewards:


● Rank 1 - Difficulty: 25 - Rewards: 200 silver to be unlocked each month
● Rank 2 - Difficulty: 35 - Rewards: 400 silver to be unlocked each month
● Rank 3 - Difficulty: 45 - Rewards: 600 silver to be unlocked each month


The player has to reach the goal of 200 PP in order to succeed in gaining their employment rank.

This PP can be earned by demonstrating any relevant skill as well as using social skills. Be sure to use any existing requirements of the organization to help determine what to ask what actions the player should be rolling for.

Failing an action does have consequences:
● A critical failure will reset the PP earned
● 3 failures will result in failure of the scene

Note: If a player does fail an employment scene there is not further affect on the difficulties should they try again in the future. Though it can be allowed to flavor some of the dialogue for a new session.

Running the Session - structure guidelines:

• Introductions. The PC and NPC meet! If there is no existing description be sure to take the time to describe the shop, you'll be re-using that description later for the location write up.

• Let the player guide the encounter! Asking for a job is hard, so you may want to give them an opening such as a 'Help Wanted' sign in the window, but otherwise this is the player's show.

• Interview the character. The NPC is going to have some reasonable questions about who this person is and why they would trust them. This is where using existing organization requirements can be used. Ask - but don't get too technical - interviews in a game shouldn't be as boring as interviews in RL can be.

• Test the character. This is the important part where there's a chance the character can - without intending it - blow the interview. It should be a reasonable and small test, as simple as a few stat checks, or a demonstration of any skill the character is intending to use. Again keep in mind any existing requirements an organization may have and craft them to fit this scene.

• If they pass, set the terms. Take notes on this too, you'll need them for the character notes later. These terms include things like the NPC's requirements for the shop, and duties for the PC to fulfill. They may also include pay-scales. These too may also be found on the organization page as well.

Writeup and Rewards:

• Write up a session report. While this wasn't a group session or even likely to be deeply affecting the world, it's an important change in the character's life to document so other A/SH's can work with the character later.

• Update the location and organization information in the wiki with any description you added, or additional notes for future A/SH to make use of. Even if it's 'secret' information, if you don't have it written down somewhere then others can't be expected to keep it in mind. Create any NPC you had to use for the session, and update/create the organization page following the guidelines. Be sure to include the base requirements taht shaped your interview, testing of the character and the terms set if successful.

• Reward the player. Use the above Rank chart to note which rank they had gotten and how much silver they have earned to unlock every month. Also include a basic note on what job/promotion led to the rank.

Ruling the Monthly Employment scenes

In order for a player to get their character paid for their employment they have to do a scene each month to earn their rank rewards.

This scene will follow the same rules as the 'earning silver' type of scene.
Regardless of rank the Difficulty is always 25.
PP requirement per rank:

● Rank 1 - 150 PP
● Rank 2 - 300 PP
● Rank 3 - 450 PP

In addition to the silver this scene will also award rep to the character.
● The default rep will be the organization employing the character (This will be the favored rep in any splitting, and always the first awarded)
● Players can request to split the rep with other groups that would likely association with the organization

A player may opt to have the monthly scene award silver instead:
● They will earn the usual rate based upon the total minus the required for the token.
(IE KJ decides they want some extra silver, they have a rank 2 token. In their scene they earn 378 PP. So their extra would be 78 silver which is 378 - 300)

Other Notes

Multiple Jobs - Reasoning of the Employment Rank Cap

Like in real life, there are only so many hours in a day. The moment a character gets multiple jobs, they are no longer pulling full time at either of them. To reflect that, and to allow characters the freedom to get their income in whatever way suits their RP, we impose a cap on the total number of ranks available to get from employment, regardless of how many jobs you have.

This avoids any gaming of the numbers by just seeking multiple ranks and help prevents players from potentially burying themselves under too much work to earn their rewards, as they have to hit a set amount of PP to unlock their employment reward each month.