Group Setup
This section is admittedly very long, but reading it is necessary to participate in the group!
Feel free to use the navigation bar as a bookmark to thumb your way through each section.
Setting The Board
The set-up to any game is just as crucial as the moves that are made during it. The board is created and the pieces are set in their place.
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During this phase, characters are introduced and will be allowed to freely interact with each other and the environment before things take their sour turn. All NPCs are still present and the project proceeds as usual.
With the world at your disposal, what will you do? Can you find the signs of something beginning to go awry? This phase is the perfect opportunity to try and dig a little deeper while you still can. Just understand that no matter what you do, you won't ever escape.
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Setting the Board will always take place during the October 28th — October 30th span of time (in character), unless specified otherwise.
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Witch’s Blessings are not active during this phase. They will not be able to be used.
Navigation
BASICS.
ROLEPLAY.
OTHER.
MECHANICS.
Scheduling
The group will stick to a rather rigid routine of pacing to keep the story moving along within a reasonable timeframe. It will be very important that you’re staying on top of things to prevent yourself from falling behind.
The general format of our schedule will proceed as follows:
Opening
Event
1-2 weeks of free-time and introduction. Setting the Board is the entire opening event.
Plot Progression
Events
Every other weekend following the opening event. These events will always start on a Friday and aim to finish up on Sunday. Any time carried past Sunday may cut into the allotted free-time before the next event.
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These events will need a consistent and attentive activity as it is meant to be more fast-paced over the span of three days. We’ll try to allow for pauses and keep up on posting regular recaps to keep absentees in the loop but please do not rely on these pauses for too long.
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Delays to either the start or end of an event may occur based on either a majority vote or mod discretion if more time is needed to wrap things up. Delays in this way will be communicated ahead of time.
Free
Time
Roughly 2 weeks of free-time will be given in between each plot progression event.
These segments are entirely player driven and will rely on group roleplays to further build character relationships and dynamics. This time can also be used for preparing for the coming events or other plans in the works via player initiation.
Each in character day will last about four days in real time before a changeover happens.
Tea
Party
Runs concurrently with the main events of the chapter.
The Tea Party does not have explicit progression events that’ll take place every other week however. This segment of the group is entirely based on player initiative. More information can be found below.
Finale
Event
The final plot progression event of a chapter.
This can take anywhere from the standard 3 day time to a week for completion.
Calendar
Please use the calendar attached below as a basic reference for the tentative schedule for July.
There is a chance that this may become inaccurate in the future! Check the Discord for updates.
The Witch's Roulette
The reigning Witch’s game begins and unnecessary pieces are removed from the board. Member NPCs and selective primary NPCs are removed from the events of the chapter at this time. It’ll be up to the remaining active players to work together (or against each other) in an attempt to win the game before them.
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Each Witch has their own whims and therefore: their own set of rules and challenges. The only constant is that it’ll be a race against the clock once the first move is made. Once the clock strikes midnight, the Witch(?) will ascend and none shall be left alive.
The Witch may communicate with you in various ways but be vigilant. They could either leave helpful clues or red herrings to lead you astray.
More information about a Witch’s game can be found by navigating to a chapter summary.
Should you win, a miracle will certainly occur.
Notes
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The Witch’s Roulette takes place over the span of several days (in character). The date, however, will never change from October 31st and the time will never be available.
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Witch’s Blessings become immediately active at the start of this phase and can be used freely from thereon.
Player
Objective
What am I meant to be doing during the Roulette?
Your main focus during this phase is to solve the main mystery of the Chapter. This mystery won't always be clear-cut and presented easily however. It will take some intuition and sleuthing to figure out what your course of action should be. Depending on the Witch, they may help you get there with hints. In some cases, the Witch could decide to become a cruel entity and make solving the mystery more difficult. They have win conditions of their own to fulfill in order to ascend after all.
Player characters will not know the identity of the Witch unless stated otherwise. The easiest course of action would be to find the Witch. However, that is not always the answer. Finding the Witch will make them lose at their own game. Maybe the game would stop — but that won't fulfill the winning conditions for everyone else. Be wary of becoming trapped within a limbo.
As the chapter progresses, your goals will become more apparent and unlock more of the story for The Witch's Roulette. You're welcome to have an active hand in progressing things, in fact, it's highly encouraged! But it's also okay to have a more passive role in the story as well as long as you’re active.
Investigations
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Free-time will become available in between plot progression events! This is prime time to make some moves. Set up situations to catch suspicious people in the act, find clues, and get closer to solving the mystery that keeps you all trapped in this Witch's game.
More information on guidelines for free-time can be found below.
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Group investigations don't need to be started with the intention of investigating. It could begin as an innocuous thread and then become a situation where characters are looking for things.
Just be sure to @ the lorekeepers when investigating anything and bold specific actions! Any information found publicly will be added onto the Chapter's TIPS thread.
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Private investigations must be initiated by you in your private character channel!
It'll proceed as any other thread would with the head mod sending various prompts to send you on your way (think of a choose your own text adventure).
While allowed, it's not recommended that this be done frequently as it can easily lead into information hoarding.
If there is a specific plan your character is trying to enact and things need to be done privately, that's more than fine. Any information found privately will not be added onto the Chapter's TIPS thread until shared publicly.
Roleplay Guidelines
Free-Time Guidelines
Free-time periods are a great opportunity to build on character relationships by partaking in the more "mundane activities" around the island.
During this time you can freely start group threads or take part in an occasional private thread. This would also be the ideal time to investigate things, whether it be as a group or privately.
However, this time isn’t unlimited. Be sure to make wise use of your free-time!
Free-time is made available and updated through the use of “day dividers” in the roleplay channels. It is assumed that any time between plot progression events is considered free-time.
Please refer to the following rules and guidelines for more information!
Free-Time
Slots
Everyone has to bathe, eat, and sleep at some point! To account for these tasks, everyone will be given six free-time slots per available in character day to make use of for threads.
These can be split up however it works best for your character’s daily routine but the typical setup would be: two morning, two afternoon, and two evening/night. Any remaining time would be used up by the aforementioned tasks!
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You do not need to use all six slots per day!
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If you max out for a day before the next one opens, you’re more than welcome to turn to The Haze for additional roleplay!
Public
Over Private
Be mindful of how many active private threads there are compared to active public ones!
1 on 1’s are good fun for building deeper connections but it shouldn’t take priority over group wide interaction. The group intends to have everyone interact with each other in some form or another.
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The ideal ratio of public:private roleplays sits around 2:1.
Private
Thread Policy
The only true privacy a thread will ever have is if it takes place within a bedroom or a locked room. Private threads should really only be made if it pertains to that kind of situation or if a character is deliberately trying to sneak around.
A lorekeeper may recommend reopening a private thread as a public one if there’s a high chance of it being interrupted. Any private roleplay can be interrupted at any point especially when taking place in a public area. Please keep this in mind.
Thread
Etiquette
Try not to start multiple threads at the same time and opt to join in on other ongoing ones, if able. Be mindful of when you’re starting them as well! Avoid starting early in the morning or late into the night to try and accommodate non-American time zones better.
When in doubt, afternoon or midday is usually a good time for most!
Timely
Replies
If you let your threads auto-archive without communicating with the people involved about it, the thread will stay dead. It won't be revived and it will end where it was left off. Be a good sport and don’t ghost people without letting them know what’s up! There’s nothing wrong with being busy, not being in the headspace to reply, or anything else that may come up. Just be vocal about it so everyone’s on the same page and there’s no confusion surrounding it.
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If you need some extra time to formulate a response, hold yourself accountable for doing it and give an idea of when a reply can be expected!
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If too many threads are going inactive with no communication, we will be marking them as activity strikes which will affect future participation in the group as a member. This can result in being dropped to a spectator instead.
Thread Guidelines
Please review the following rules when making your threads to make navigating public and private roleplays easy and efficient!
On
Timekeeping
On
Roleplay
Lorekeepers'
Presence
During free-time, it’ll be indicated what day it currently is in the chapter. These dividers will be posted in the top channels. While it’s not against the rules to roleplay in the past, it’s preferred that new threads are not started in the past when the day changes. Any threads made under a divider will be attributed to that day and your slots for that day.
You cannot start threads in the future for days that are not yet available. Please try to avoid “pre-booking” threads for future slots as well unless you’re preparing a starter/idea in advance for a public thread.
The auto-archive setting for all threads is set to three days. You’re welcome to make it shorter, if you’d like. You may not use the one week option under any circumstances. That option is reserved for plot progression events only.
Please do not send any posts into the top channels. Any post sent into them that’s meant for a roleplay will be deleted.
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Top channels will be used to state the time of day and location of threads. This is important to help the mods keep an organized timeline for the chapter! More guidance on how to set up and manage your threads can be found in the server.
Your posts in public threads must be kept to Discord Nitro’s limit of 4000 characters. If you don’t have nitro, the limit is 2000 characters in which you can then make use of two posts. There is no set limit to private threads as long as your partner is fine with it!
Refer to our maps in Player Resources or in the #maps channel to see where you can start threads. Some locations may have specific time constraints so be aware of those!
If a thread starts to involve altering the environment, injuring another character, or entering risky areas (such as the Forest or the Rose Maze), you are required to @ the lorekeepers before continuing. This is non-negotiable and must happen in every instance of it.
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Please @ the lorekeepers when a thread is finished so that it may be archived.
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Additional rules and guidelines may be added if necessary.
Tea Party
Somewhere along the line, you were met with a terrible fate. Do you even remember what happened to you?
You find yourself in a strange purgatory: a monochromatic mirror world of the island.
The Manor, the Guesthouse, the Forest. It's all there. Colorless. Devoid of life. Everything is eerily silent and the water surrounding the perimeter is still. It looks as if it could shatter like glass. Others that have met similar ends can be found here.
There's an interesting legend that tells of finding the soul of a Witch. It usually resides within a monochromatic kingdom.
While your soul is still tethered to this world, can you find the Witch?
There's only one way out of this never-ending world and it won't be long before the board is reset.
Notes
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The Tea Party runs concurrently with The Witch’s Roulette.
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Witch’s Blessings are active during this and can be used within their normal constraints.
Tea Party
Objective
What is the Tea Party?
The Tea Party is essentially an ongoing free-time event for any characters that have either died or been spirited away (depending on the nature of the Witch's game).
This phase is entirely driven by member participation and motivation. The goals of the Tea Party don't necessarily need to be accomplished. If your characters would rather relax on the beach, they're free to do that.
The Tea Party will have its own category of channels to allow for exclusive threads that won't be seen by active characters.
Events of the Tea Party are entirely hidden from the others and should not be shared unless it is done in character through the use of a certain blessing.
Tea Party participants also cannot see the events happening between the active characters (and vice versa).
Player
Objective
What am I meant to be doing during the Tea Party?
Your main focus is split between two options. You can try to locate the Witch's soul. Protect it. Destroy it. Your motives are your own. Locating their soul may provide you with valuable insight into their game.
OR
You can try to find out more about what's happening overall. What is the true mystery of October 31st and this place?
Player characters will not automatically learn the identity of the Witch when entering the Tea Party. However, the Witch may reveal themselves to the participants if they choose to do so. This world is primarily their domain after all.
As the Tea Party progresses, you may unlock exclusive information of the story for The Witch's Roulette or find various boons that you can carry over into the next chapter.
You're welcome to have an active hand in progressing things, in fact, it's highly encouraged! But it's also okay to have a more passive role in this.
Be aware that any boons found during the Tea Party will not extend to those who didn't have an active hand in it.
