Fade Rift Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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faderiftooc2020-08-01 11:44 pm
faderifting) wrote in faderiftooc2020-08-01 11:44 pm
Entry tags:
MOD POST ↠ AUGUST UPDATES
MOD ANNOUNCEMENTS: AUGUST
OOC & ADMIN UPDATES
Notable Dates
AC Changes
Beginning with August AC, the "1 proof" that must be submitted for all characters is going to change to 1 open post, 1 log tag, or 5 network tags. This applies to all characters, including rifters, DA canon characters, native AUs, and IC leaders. The number of tags necessary for bonus AC points remains the same.
We hope simplifying the AC rules to be the same for all characters will be easier for everyone.
In July, MJ ran a live RP session on Discord. We thought it was pretty fun, so while we have no intention of turning this game into a MUSH (we're way too old for that), we do anticipate sometimes doing more of these live sessions in the future (more on this below). That raises the question of how they count for AC, so: logs of live RP sessions that are part of a mod-approved plot and are posted on the comm can count for the 1 tag base AC for all participating characters in the month in which the session was run. They can also count for bonus AC as normal.
As a general reminder about a rule that remains unchanged, all base AC proofs must not only have been posted in the current month, they must be comments on a post that is also from the current month. Even if a thread was begun in August and every comment on it is from August, if that thread is on a post that was made in July, it will not count for August base AC. (This rule doesn't apply to bonus AC.)
Our Rules page is out of date, but we'll make changes there to reflect all of this ASAP.
Leader AC Clarification
The lowered AC requirement also applies to characters that hold IC leadership positions, because in practice AC has never led to us removing someone from a role, so what's the point. But leader characters will continue to have an additional quarterly plot requirement, which we think better targets the type of activity we need from these players. As discussed in previous posts, for Division Head/Project Leader characters this is 1 war table plot run per quarter.
For characters that hold one of our other leadership positions (such as Seneschal, Vice-Admiral, Chamberlain, or any of the other positions on the list that require application but are not DH/PLs), there is a lower requirement that has been in place for quite a while now but has been vague and only intermittently enforced. We plan to be more consistent in the future, so are providing the following clarification of what this rule requires.
In order for your character to keep their position, you must submit proof each quarter that you've RPed about your character's job at least once. This can be fulfilled in one of three ways:
(1) By running a war table mission based on your character's work. We encourage you to go this route if you have ideas; we always welcome more player-generated plots!These proofs will be counted on the same quarterly schedule as DH/PL plot proofs. You're all off the hook for August because we've let this fall by the wayside for so long, but it will be enforced in the next quarter (September/October/November).
But we also recognize that some of these roles may be tough to create that sort of plot for, so we'll also accept:
(2) An open event based on your character's work. For example, the Morale Officer might do a log event running team-building exercises, or the Stablemaster might announce that someone opened all the stalls overnight and now everyone has to run around trying to recapture all of Riftwatch's weird mounts.
(3) Threads that prominently feature your character's work, such as the Head Archivist roping another character into helping them comb through crates of donated books from a noble's library, or the Trademaster sampling various merchants' oatmeal offerings to figure out which is the cheapest that's still tolerable before signing a new supply contract.
If you're unsure whether something would count, feel free to hit the Mod Contact and ask, preferably in advance rather than after your deadline has passed and you're scrambling to find something you've done that works. These IC roles were created to try to enhance RP and add richness to the game world by highlighting some of the specialized duties necessary to keep Riftwatch running and fulfilling its mission. The goal of this requirement is to make sure that they're being used to do that, and it will be enforced in that spirit.
Other OOC Business
There's a lot going on the Fade Rift and that's awesome, but it can present some challenges for folks (like us) to keep up with. In order to help let other players know what's going on and help us make sure that we're aware of everything we should be aware of and can take PC efforts into account where appropriate, we ask that you please make use of the following tracking mechanisms as applicable.
Unofficial/Secret Reports: We require official IC reports to be posted to the comm for official missions (please remember to do those too!), but we know that not all plots we approve get the IC official stamp of approval. We still need to be able to keep track of what's happened, so we ask you to please submit Secret Reports providing us with info about the outcome of plots that aren't getting IC reports publicly filed.
We also used to have a page called Reputation that was intended to be used to let us know when characters got up to things in public that didn't merit a whole plot but could potentially make news or impact NPC perception. That page has been effectively retired for a while, but we ask that you please use Secret Reports for that same purpose: if your character has been out in the world doing something that might piss people off, win over hearts and minds, or otherwise draw attention or impact the game world, whether that's significant charity work, lewd anti-Chantry graffiti, or regularly singing their extremely clever parody covers of tunes from Les Chats on streetcorners, please let us know so we can make sure it's being taken into account and handled appropriately.
Ventures & Jobs: Please also make sure you're filling out the Ongoing Ventures page with stuff your characters are working on, or significant things worked on the past (like Blight/red lyrium research, hinthint). And please help us keep track of when we need to refresh the Jobs Board with new options by moving completed jobs into the designated section. If you previously claimed a Job and never RPed about it and don't think you're going to anytime soon, that's fine, just please go back and remove your character's name so someone else can.
Live RP
As mentioned above, July saw our first live plot session. We think overall it went quite well, and it could be a useful option going forward as a way to make GMing/NPCing easier and make it possible to resolve choice- or action-heavy plots more quickly so that outcomes aren't left hanging in limbo for weeks or months. So we plan to do more of this in the future.
That said, we have no intention of ever making this style of RP mandatory nor the primary means of delivering plot to the game. And we're never going to go full DND and require everyone to fill out stat sheets or anything. So if this type of RP doesn't appeal to you that's totally fine. It will be avoidable. If it does appeal, great, keep an eye out for more to come.
If other players would like to run this type of plot session, just please indicate that intention in your plot request and give us a basic overview of how you plan to handle it. Then make sure to post the log to the comm when completed and submit a report as usual. If you do choose to run a plot this way, please also keep in mind (as we will) that we have players spread across timezones, including a number in non-US timezones. So let's please all try to make sure we're accommodating folks and covering varied timeslots to provide a reasonable opportunity for everyone to participate, particularly if you're running missions for a specific Division or Project.
IC & PLOT UPDATES
Plot Cycle: What's Next
As promised, August will feature a mod plot event. This one will be focused on a return to the Fields of Ghislain, which were controlled by the enemy for more than a year before their forces were pushed back during the recent Orlesian/Exalted March offensive that retook Montfort. Riftwatch's role will be to assist the Inquisition and allies in addressing the numerous issues left behind by the extended enemy occupation of the region and helping ensure that that occupation really is finished (at least for now). You can expect characters to be dealing with things like darkspawn, mage problems, rogue enemy forces, and, most terrifying of all, Chantry relations.
Riftwatch will maintain a presence in the region throughout the month, but characters may be present at different times, travel elsewhere for other missions, or need to remain in Kirkwall to do other work and hold down the fort if you prefer. As always, while it's OOCly up to players whether to participate, bear in mind that it would not ICly be up to your PC to decide, so the fact that they hate Orlais and would never want to go help Orlesians doesn't mean you can't have them there under orders anyway.
We will be posting an open log for this with some prompts around the 10th and some sign-ups for specific related missions soon. In a throwback to some of Fade Rift's earliest mod plot events, we'll also be offering sign-ups to be randomly paired with a tentmate and/or to be randomly assigned a partner and a small, probably menial task they have to complete together.
IC Leader Updates
Please welcome Sylvester as Captain of the Watch! We'll let his player decide whether the abomination in the dining hall is his first day on the job or the day before his first day on the job. Godspeed.
We have a number of leadership roles currently available. If you're feeling inspired by our awesome oatmeal tasting plot suggestions above, you can see and apply for those roles here and steal our ideas. We review applications monthly, so the next due date is August 31.
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