dramatispersonae | Game Master Instructions

Game Master Instructions

Gameplay is based entirely around playing 'Choice' cards against opposing teams to steal points.

How To Win

Possible ways to win:

1. Being the teams with the most points on the final day of the game.
2. Be chosen at random through the lottery
3. Hidden criteria.

How To Play

Each team has 15 points at the start of gameplay. Each team is dealt a hand of five Choice cards.

Each day, teams will confer in private, and must choose at least one (no more than three) Choice card(s) to play, and an opposing team to play the card(s) against.

Each Choice card has a point amount attached. The team that plays the card will gain that many points; the team it is played against will lose those points, and receive the punishment.

Either before or after the daily Choice card is played, the team may also enter the lotto, discard and be dealt a new hand, transfer points, or erect a barrier to protect themselves from all attacks for the day following.

Choices must be in by 3PM PST daily. Rounds will be frozen at this time. By 5PM PST, new cards will be dealt to bring each hand back up to 5 cards (unused cards are kept in your hand), and a new round begins.

At this time, your team will also receive any Dark cards, which are the cards other teams played against you that round. You have until 3PM the next day to decide who amongst your team is going to take the effect of these cards. The effects may be played out at any time during the round at your leisure.

Rules
✧ At least one Choice card must be played against an opposing team each day, but no more than three may be played on any day.
✧ A single team may only play one card against a single opposing team per day. Essentially, if three cards are played on a day, they must each be played on different opposing teams.
✧ Play is anonymous - it will not be revealed who played against whom.
✧ Teams may not go into debt by spending points, only by having them taken.
✧ If a team refuses to play a card, three cards will be selected at random from their deck and played against three random teams. Points will be taken but no points will be awarded to the team.
✧ Teams MAY play a card against themselves AS LONG AS they also play a card against an opposing team as well. Failing to play against an opposing team has the same result as 'not playing.' A card played against one's own team has a multiplier effect and nets 0 points.
✧ The three teams with the least points each night will be dealt an additional random Dark card (this of course does not apply if they have purchased protection that night)
✧ Punishments will be given out via Dark cards given to the team along with their new hand. The team can see what the punishment is on each card, and may ICly choose who picks up the card to have the punishment enacted on them. This can be done at any point during the round. If nobody makes the choice by the end of the round, all teammates take it at the start of the new round. Teams may also choose to take all damage equally.
✧ Dark cards will also come with more information about how to OOCly play out the effect when they are received.
✧ If two teams play Choice cards against each other on the same day, all effects of both cards are canceled, and the cards themselves are discarded.

Characters are ICly aware that the game will be 4 rounds long.

Buying Options

Each day, teams may choose to do any or all of these options once each, on top of playing a choice card:

Buy a Lotto Ticket - For 3 points, the team will be entered into a draw. At the end of the game, one winner will be drawn from the lottery.

Be Dealt a New Hand - For 5 points, all cards will be discarded, and a completely new hand of 5 cards will be dealt for use that round. This should only be used at the start of a round (for example, you cannot simultaneously use cards from your current hand, and also get a new hand).

Buy a Defensive Barrier - For 20 points, the defensive barrier will protect against all card effects played against the team for that day. For 30 points, you can use a barrier on another team.

Transfer - For 16 points, send 10 points to another team.

ALL POWERS ARE OFF.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT HERE IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION/NEED US TO PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR POST AND THERE IS NO GAMERUNNER AVAILABLE IN THE CHAN. The next runner available will get to you ASAP!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Do we start off with a certain number of points or does everyone start with 0?

Each team starts with 15. We'll provide a running total to each team at the start of each round.

Do characters still have any items that were on their person?

Just apply the same logic to it that you would to "all powers are off"—magic healing items no, basic bandages probably okay, etc.

question #2!! Since there are 3 gamerunners should we ping all 3 if we need something in our room? Or are you splitting the rooms up?

It'll actually depend on the time of day!! as to which one of us will be around. The best thing would be to just comment to this post (since we'll all track it) and whoever's available can get to you ASAP.

Could I get Senri added to Jasper's filter...

no bears allowed

(done)

If two teams play Choice cards against each other on the same day, all effects of both cards are canceled, and the cards themselves are discarded.

Does that mean neither of those teams will receive points? Or they still get points?

No points!

You said all powers are off. What about negative stuff? For example, does Thorn still have his bloodlust since that's an innate thing?

That's more-or-less up to you.

WHAT DOES DEBT DO

I see it mentioned in the fourth bullet point but nothing else :|a

Nothing actively at the moment! You have no points to actually buy anything with, and the teams in debt will get an extra punishment card each round. Anything else will be at endgame.

New question! Is there going to be any sort of in-between general mingle so that people can see how each group is faring? I ask this since this is a long game that pretty much has people staying in a room the whole time. I know the true GM takes place in real time so people see each other when they go home each night or whatever. But will this game have any group mingling?

It will not! Previous versions, as I recall the Sabra game, were in realtime and spread out over a longer OOC period as well. Since this is a more compressed game, there really wouldn't be time to stick that in, so the game was designed without that aspect and is blindly-trapped-in-a-room instead. Because of that of course the game is set out-of-time so that normal threading can proceed in the meantime in the comm and you aren't stuck playing just in the game all week.

um

hi

here is a thing in case y'all wanted to react to it in any way

It's a very noble thought, Jasper

I'LL EMAIL ZAZZLE and we'll figure out if there's a response ♥

Do the teams know the specific knights in the knight rooms?

They don't know who is playing for each team so it's fairest to say they don't know which knights are playing either.

GOT IT, ty!

If we have a special healing item on hand (like the super bandaids from plot way back when), do they work?

Nope! Anything that could assist you positively in the game either just isn't on your person/doesn't work.

All right! I FIGURED...

i'm about to sleep so dropping this in here just in case!!

http://dramatispersonae.dreamwidth.org/693624.html?thread=132858232#cmt132858232

Technical question!

Is it okay if a team does not do a turn-in for a night, because I think Amethyst has no one playing the game now? Or should we find something to even it out . . .

No, sorry, if there's no turn in the same rules as always apply! So three cards played randomly and no point awarded.

Can a team play on itself?

Technically, no! It's against the rules. But there is nothing to stop you from doing so, so take that as you will.

I don't see it anywhere in the rules, but I am probably not reading it well. So, if it is against the rules, a team would know that it would not work, then?

IT USED TO BE AM I GOING CRAZY...I may be going crazy.

You can play a card on yourself, but the effects are even more extreme than if you played it on someone else. Does that make sense?

Okay, now, I understand. Thank you for that!

To clarify on that, the rule says—Each day, teams will confer in private, and must choose at least one (no more than three) Choice card(s) to play, and an opposing team to play the card(s) against.

If no cards are played against any opposing teams (aka if they ONLY play against themselves), this counts as 'not playing' and results in random assignments/no points.

If a team plays a card against themselves as well as playing another card against someone else, the card played against themselves results in 0 points and the effect bounces back on them.

I will make this clearer in the instructions ♥

L-Last question, since I want to be sure, Amethyst can't drop out? They would just have random cards applied wherever for the next two days?

That's fine if you want to drop out completely, but are you sure no one from your team is going to be available/want to play for the next two days? The runners are just concerned that, once dropped, someone will want to be let back in. If you're not sure, it would be fine with us to just take the random selection today in case someone is around tomorrow.

Well, we all more or less agreed to give a pass on the game, but we didn't loop Lily into that discussion, because we didn't realize that she doesn't get plurk pings. She is away at a con and is the only member that was playing, so . . . I will grab a headcount from the team to find out if that works for everyone else and get back to you on it, but you should be alright for today. o7

Can I get a quick clarification on this card?

how many tickets can you buy in one round??

One!

question about a card pls '3'

a thing happened, pls advice on what happens next ;u;a

http://dramatispersonae.dreamwidth.org/695642.html?thread=131572570#cmt131572570 Important knight questions!!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Game Master Instructions

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