Rights & Responsibilities

Your ONLY Trigger Warning

 

“These are the Chronicles of Darkness, tales of a world like ours, but just slightly wrong. A place we recognize, but where our fears take on lives of their own. The Chronicles of Darkness Rulebook is the key to exploring that world, a guide to storytelling encounters with the uncanny and a foundation for tales in which the monster becomes the hero.”

Chronicles of Darkness page 17

 

Chronicles of Darkness is a modern horror role playing game where the goals are to horrify, entertain, scare, and tell a in depth and personalized story along with an overarching plot. This is a game where the monster becomes the hero, where philosophy is questioned and pushed, and it will consistently operate in morally dark areas for many players and staff. As mentioned in our TOS, current Chronicle at Enteral Noire is for Mature Audiences. Many themes (even controversial ones), will be ever present and possible. Scenes may include violence, sexual themes, strong language, and content that could conceivably offend certain groups. Player discretion is advised.

 

You should inform staff before any scene begins if there is specific content that may bother you. The staff will then inform you if the scene has any planned content of that type. (Please note, player choice in ST-ran scenes may lead to the content regardless of what the ST had planned.) You may then choose to leave the scene before it starts or stay and participate. The ST is not obligated to change the content of the scene due to personal content sensitivities. If the right to leave a scene before it begins becomes abused, the player’s conduct will be reviewed and may be subject to PPS.

 

“Consider that moment in a horror movie where you’re at the edge of your seat, trying to make decisions for a character who’s about to do something dangerous. With your character, you can choose to step back away from the cellar door, or to lash out at the monster instead of standing and screaming. Or, you can embrace that moment of horror and jump headfirst into the awfulness you know is coming. After all, no Storyteller can scare you the way you can scare yourself.”

Chronicles of Darkness page 24

 

Shared Core Game Responsibilities

These responsibilities were not made up by Eternal Noire or its staff. These shared game responsibilities come from the introduction sections of all the Chronicles of Darkness rulebooks.

 

THE STORYTELLER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR…

• …bringing the Chronicles of Darkness to life through description.
• …deciding where scenes start and what’s going on.
• …portraying characters who don’t belong to other players.
• …involving each player and her character in the ongoing story.
• …putting players’ characters in tough spots, encouraging interesting decisions.
• …facilitating the actions players’ characters take, while making sure there are always complications.
• …making sure that poor dice rolls affect but don’t stop the story.

THE PLAYERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR…

• …creating their own individual characters as members of the cast.
• …deciding what actions their characters take.
• …making decisions that create drama and help keep the story moving.
• …highlighting their characters’ strengths and weaknesses.
• …confronting the problems the Storyteller introduces.
• …developing their characters’ personalities and abilities over time, and telling personal stories within the overall story of the game.

EVERYONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR…

• …giving other players chances to highlight their characters’ abilities and personal stories, whether that’s by showing them at their strongest or weakest.
• …making suggestions about the story and action, while keeping in mind the authority of players over their characters and the responsibility of the Storyteller to occasionally make trouble.

 

Additional Responsibilities

These responsibilities expand on the ones in the core rule books and help to clarify what is expected of our staff and players.

 

Players:

Scene Participation – There are some expectations of a player that all STs will have for you: 

• As “Your Only Trigger Warning” cautions (located above on the same page), Eternal Noire’s story is very much back to the roots of the horror game we are playing. STs will give a warning at the beginning of a scene and you may choose to leave before it begins or participate.  
• All scenes will follow ICA=ICC, so be aware of your choices. 
• Treat players and the ST(s) with respect and dignity OOCly at all times. Remember the Responsibilities that the books, core rules, and site policies rules expect. 
• During the scene, if you have rules questions, all questions go to that ST running the scene. During their scene, the ST running the scene has full control over all rules calls, story progression, and mechanics. If you have questions or concerns you need to PM the ST during the scene to not interrupt the flow of the scene in the main chat. Players who Mommy/Daddy an ST during a scene, are being disrespectful (“Being a Jerk”) to the ST or fellow players, or argue about rules in the main chat and fail to move it to PMs or to wait till the scene is over will be subject to PPS. We want to create a fun environment and one where the story is the focus; your ST trusts you so trust your ST. This is also to keep things on schedule and both players and the ST(s) won’t be there for hours.  
• In combat, have your action ready for when your turn comes up. Please PM questions to your ST ahead of time, if possible. 
• We are here to have fun. If you are not having fun, please submit feedback. If you are having fun, and you want to sing praises for the team or tell them about an awesome and/or helpful player, please submit feedback. We love hearing from you! 

 

Staff:

Running a Scene – There are some expectations of an ST that all players will have for you:

• Schedule scenes with as much notice as possible (Typically 1 Week+), and post an announcement in the forums to accompany the scene calendar post. 
• Brief OOC notice or warning for content that is more dangerous than usual before the scene starts. Ask for any questions before you begin and allow players to leave if they want before the scene starts. 
• Open Communication between players and staff. (Check PMs frequently) 
• Keep all logs (PM and Main Chat).  
• If any concerns come up in the scene address them as swiftly as possible or set a time to follow up with the player later. 
• Reward constructive feedback and excellent RP. (Expect 2-5 beats awarded per scene to be normal) 
• File a Scene Report post-scene completion in a timely manner. 
• Award beats for the scene in a timely manner. 

 

Don’t just say “No”

NOT JUST SAYING NO!

“Just that, literally. No is the single most boring answer a Storyteller can ever give. It’s the most boring answer a player can ever give. Gaming, in a lot of ways, is about improvisation, and saying “no” means shutting down the scene. Improvisation is all about taking the threads your partners leave and building on them. “No” ends the thread and denies an opportunity to build. It means limiting what can go on next. It means cutting off choice. Frankly, choices are best when they’re hard, not when they’re limited. As a player, when another player or the Storyteller offers you a background tie, a character quirk, or a connection that’s wasn’t what you had in mind, find a way to make it true. As the Storyteller, when players say something, do something, or make a choice that’s “wrong” in your notes or in your head, find a way to make it right. By default, assume the choice your characters make is the right choice. Even if the end result of the “right” choice is tragedy, always treat that choice with respect. Of course, sometimes “no” is essential. Sometimes, physical laws will stop something from occurring. In those cases, clarity will usually help, since it means the players and Storyteller aren’t on the same page. If a player thinks something could happen which you think couldn’t, that’s because there’s a difference in understanding. As a player, if it’s clear that your choice is wrong, your idea is wrong, embrace the wrong and run with it. Invest in making a mistake in character and enjoy the fallout. Never let the phrase “but my character would never do that” get in the way of having a good time.”

Werewolf the Forsaken 2e page 282

 

Player & Staff Rights

As a player, you have a right to:

 

 

RIGHT TO SUBMIT FEEDBACK.

Feel safe submitting feedback to the staff, positive or negative, about interactions with fellow players, scenes, and rules calls, or behavior or concerns from players or staff. You are protected under our “Whistleblower Policy” as long as your feedback submitted is sincere, complete and without omission of facts, polite, and true to the best of your knowledge. You will not be reprimanded as someone reporting suspected wrongdoing or submitting feedback. You have a right to your voice being heard by the site owner and administration team.

 

 

RIGHT TO UNDERSTAND YOUR PPS

If you get into trouble, we will not hide it from you. There will be no talk of “Non-Disclosure Agreement” and you will know exactly why you got in trouble and be able to defend yourself against any allegations brought against you to the staff. You have a right to appeal any punishment decision to the Admin team, though they have the final say in all issues.

 

 

RIGHT TO SHARED AUTHORITY OVER CREATIVE CONTENT

Except in extraneous circumstances as all, all players have a right to have a say about what happens to their PCs they are desanctioning or leaving. If a player is banned for any reason, they have an opportunity to speak with the team to say what happens to their PC in their absence. The staff will only step in to answer this question in rare circumstances that the PC was very involved in current story and plots and no answer was received from the player. This is a cooperative story, and the players have some shared authority of the characters they create here on Eternal Noire.

 

 

RIGHT TO KEEP IC & OOC SEPARATE

While STORY and PLOT may take sometimes turns we don’t expect that could end up in negative situations, the IC should never affect the OOC and visa-versa. You have a right to be treated with respect from both your fellow players and the staff, and to cooperatively participate in forging the stories together. Negative consequences can be fun, It’s all about how you choose to react to the story whether or not it’s fun for everyone. So even if it may feel a little discouraging at times, step back and laugh it off before plotting out your comeback plan. Our staff will always support keeping IC and OOC separate, to help ensure you have the best time you can.

 

 

In Addition to the Player Rights, Staff have…

 

RIGHT TO CREATIVE FREEDOM

To the extent of their venues, all Storytellers have a right to have freedom to run the stories and plot that align with our site polices in the scope of their venues. Storytellers have a right to have fun running these stories for their players, and to keep in mind sometimes the players will not react to the story or plot the way you’d expect. Due to this, Storytellers have a right to adapt their original plots to best fit with how the story flows in the roleplay.

 

RIGHT TO DISCRETION & ANONYMITY

All Storytellers on Eternal Noire are required to choose a new Staff name they have never used before. This is to help ensure that they can remain anonymous and keep their staff and player persona separated. They have a right to tell who they want that they are a staff member, but only themselves. They also have a right to not tell anyone if they are a staff member. This helps ensures our STs are “Off the Clock” when they play or take breaks to avoid burnout.

 

RIGHT TO TIME OFF/”PLAY TIME”

And Remember…

This is all for fun. We work on these stories and plots together because we are playing a game. We are dedicating our time as players and staff to something that is both fun and a creative outlet for many of us. We enjoy the art of storytelling, we love the epicness of being immersed as the anti-heroes in a seemingly hopeless world to bring a bit of light in this Chronicles of Darkness horror genre role-playing game. It is a game, sometimes it is competitive and always cooperative… in the end the goal, and right and responsibility, of having fun rests with each of us. Let’s make this a fun play to spend our free time, and escape together into adventures, characters, and stories that we can talk about for years to come.