How...?

Like Lucifer over there on the right, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed right now. Don't worry. There's a ton of information here, but you don't have to absorb it all at once. With just a basic idea of how the world works, you can easily lurk or even play in one of our ensembles. Our players and Admins are very friendly and willing to answer questions.

So just how do the ensembles work? How do you go about joining one or creating a character? How do you know what you're supposed to write?

Well, that's what this page covers.

4.1 Introduction

Have you ever written fiction on your own, just for fun? Have you ever imagined characters, but didn't know what story to write them in? Have you ever been part of a roleplaying game and thought it would nice to do it online, at your own speed? Interactive fiction roleplaying provides all these things: it is a blend of live "table-top" roleplaying and novel writing.

Interactive Fiction roleplaying is roleplaying without a fancy, complicated gaming system. There are no point totals, experience points, or dice. There is not even a GM in the sense of tabletop roleplaying. Everyone contributes to the development of the story. While World Weavers In Nomine is based in the setting of a more traditional gaming system, there is no need to know that system to write here (though we highly encourage you to buy the excellent In Nomine roleplaying material from Steve Jackson Games, who have graciously allowed us to use it).

For those of you for whom all that meant nothing, interactive fiction is simply a chance to escape into a world and a personality different from your own. It is a chance to live adventure in exotic settings and to be someone you could never be in this world. This is done through interactive story writing with other roleplayers. It is, in effect, a cross between a game of pretend and authoring an escape novel. This is the setting for World Weavers In Nomine (WWIN for short). The world is the Earth of today, but seen from the perspective of the War between Heaven and Hell. Our central characters are angels and demons and the humans around them. For more information, please refer to the "where?" and "who?" pages. In fact, please read those first. They will answer a lot of your questions, and help you decide whether IN is a setting well-suited to you. It will also help direct you in the creation of your first IN character, should you decide you'd like to join. Additional questions can be directed to the World Administrator.

If you're not familiar with the term as it refers to interactive fiction roleplaying, a World Administrator is a strange cross between table-top Game Master, online reference library, web page maintainer, source of ideas, and self-proclaimed dictator. The World Administrator adapted the setting to interactive fiction use and pitched the idea to the World Weavers administration and Steve Jackson Games.

The World Administrator is currently Jonathan Walton (jonathan.walton@oberlin.edu). Feel free to email him with any question, no matter how large or small. Be sure to email him if you'd like to join or submit your character to her for approval and assignment, and direct any game-spanning concerns to him.

Below is a description of interactive fiction roleplaying and the specific guidelines of playing in the In Nomine setting.

4.2 Getting Into the Game

4.2.1 Basics of Roleplaying Online

In Nomine is an RPG, a role-playing game. We call the World Weavers setting interactive fiction roleplaying because the entire game is played through writing interactively with the other players.

The game is run through e-mail, but the posts are also sent to the World Weavers server and archived on the In Nomine pages on the World Wide Web. You do not need access to Usenet news or WWW to play. All you need is an email account.

Part of what makes interactive-fiction roleplaying unique is the fluidity of the story. In traditional roleplaying, all challenges, NPCs, and details are set up by the Game Master. In interactive-fiction, the Administrator does not have that kind of absolute power. It's up to the players to add plot twists, expand on the story, provide solutions to problems, and the like. It's possible, even desirable for one player to introduce a problem, another describe it, and a third and fourth work out a way to solve it. This is a unique and wonderful way to game, but it it does not appeal to everyone. If you think that interactive fiction roleplaying is a type of game that would interest you, continue reading to learn how to join and play in the world of In Nomine. If the idea of interactive fiction appeals to you, but the specific In Nomine setting does not, please consider the possibility of joining another setting within our parent club, World Weavers, by checking out their webpage. If this description of interactive fiction didn't immediately turn you on, that's OK. You won't offend us if you stop reading.

4.2.2 Glossary

A few terms of note:

Unit: Also called an ensemble in World Weavers In Nomine. This is a group of five to ten writers who build storylines together using a group of characters who are all generally in the same geographical area together.

For instance, the groups of angels and demons who have been assigned to the Boston area by their Superiors or make it their home base for wider operations will all be part of the Boston Ensemble.

PC: Player Character. This is a character created and written by one of the players in the game. A player may only have one PC in a given unit. The game story centers around these PCs, and the creation of any other type of character is to help or hinder the PCs in some way.

Let's say you want to play Josiah the Malakite. You come up with an appearance, personality, and background for Joe. Then you write Joe meeting up with the other PCs and joining the story. Joe is your Player Character.

NPC: Non-Player Character. The opposite of a PC. A character created by anyone that anyone else can use in the story for whatever purpose. NPCs are often incidental characters that appear once or twice in a story, though there can be more involved recurring NPCs. There may be any number of NPCs in a game.

Let's say that you bring Josiah the Malakite into the game, and you decide Joe needs a new gun. You write him walking into the local gun store and meeting Don the owner. Don's whole purpose in the story is to sell Joe a gun. If someone else in the game wants to buy a gun, he can do whatever he likes with Don.

Secondary Character or Protected NPC: This is a more difficult definition. Secondary characters are somewhere between Player Characters and Non-Player Characters. Basically, these are characters that are created by a player and are not PCs, but other players do not have complete leeway in using them. Secondary Characters usually are very recurring and are largely played by the original creator. Oftentimes, they are friends, loyal servants or loved ones of the PC. Other players are free to use secondary characters, much as they would a PC, but should not do anything drastic to them without permission from the creator. There's no set limit to how many Secondary Characters a player can create, but it's usually not more than 1 or 2.

Let's say you'd like Josiah the Malakite to have a human servant. You write him taking on Rita Barnes, a waitress at Denny's. You've created Rita. She's a Secondary Character. Other players are free to write their characters interacting with Rita, but they shouldn't write Rita: dying, turning out to be a spy for the enemy, losing her job, leaving Josiah, etc. without your permission. After all, you'd like Joe to have a good relationship with his servant.

Admin Character: An Admin Character is a secondary character written by the Unit Administrator largely to handle administrative issues within the unit. Such characters include the various Superiors as well as a few local celestials who have been assigned to the area for a while.

RPG: Role-Playing Game. When used in a post, this marks parts of a post that are written in-character as part of the game.

NRPG: Non-Role-Playing Game. When used in a post, this marks discussion that is not written in character and does not necessarily further to the story.

Theme, Thread or Storyline: One sub-plot going on at a particular play-unit. For instance, a unit may have mysterious poisonings going on, a romance between George and Martha, a misunderstanding between Bob and Joe, and a demon attack on a local Tether. Each of these are themes in the larger Symphony of the story at that unit. They will very likely touch on each other (George and Martha may have to interrupt their picnic to go fight demons) and change each other (Bob and Joe decide to settle their differences when Bob nearly dies in one of the poisonings). Some themes (the demon attack and poisonings) will affect a whole unit, others are personal themes (George & Martha or Bob & Joe) and only affect a few characters directly.

Tag: You will sometimes find in an NRPG at the bottom of a post a comment such as "Tag, Joe!" This indicates to Joe, in case he didn't notice it, that there was a personal theme involving his character (private conversation or event) left dangling in the post. While the expectation is that Joe will finish up or at least add to that event or conversation, it does not mean that no one else may interrupt that event or conversation. It is merely an expression of an expectation. Feel free to interrupt a 'tag' if it seems appropriate. [NOTE: The key to this is "as it seems appropriate." If someone is writing a dinner conversation in the middle of the local Denny's and you want to join them, go ahead by all means. If two players are writing a climactic confrontation alone in the woods, interrupting could sabotage or disrespect their storyline. Use your best judgment.]

Bio: (Or Biography) This is a description of your character's Choir or Band, Superior, vessel appearance, personality, background, and abilities for other players to use as a reference.

Biofile: The collection of character bios for a specific unit.

Crosspost: Two or more stories that have mutually exclusive events. For example, one story depicts Josiah the Malakite eating lunch with Rita at the local Denny's and another one says that Joe skipped lunch to go hiking in the woods. There are a variety of reasons crossposts can occur. The three most common reasons are 1) posts written and sent out simultaneously, 2) a given player not receiving a post due to mail problems or being left off the recipients list of a post, and 2) players not paying attention. Crossposts happen from time to time. Try to avoid them, but don't panic if they happen. We do have ways of dealing with them.

4.2.3 Joining World Weavers In Nomine

Joining World Weavers In Nomine is easy, but let's divide it into steps anyway.

Step One: Just send email to the World Administrator at Jonathan.Walton@oberlin.edu and say that you'd like to join. He will add you to the IN world mailing list, so you will get any updates involving the entire game. Please be aware that in order to properly place you and credit you in the game, we require a full, REAL name and your age. If you do not provide these on first contact, you will be asked before your character will be considered.

Step Two: He'll write you back and welcome you to the game. Now it's time for you to create your character. You need to submit a complete bio for your proposed character for his approval. He'll need to discuss the character with you and tweak it to fit the setting (if necessary). At this stage you should have read "where?" and "who?", the two documents that make up the the bulk of this site. If you create a character without having read these pages, odds are that you're going to end up spending weeks honing that character down to something that is consistent with the setting.

Step Three: Once your character is approved, if you are new to interactive fiction, you will go through a brief training period, where your character is prepared for his first assignment on Earth. While your character is preparing for his assignment on Earth, you will be learning the ins and outs of interactive fiction, so you will be more comfortable with writing co-operatively.

Step Four: After you complete training, a decision will be made as to where to assign you. Once you've been placed in a unit, you'll be added to the mailing list and begin to get roleplaying posts.

Step Five: Introducing your character. It's not a bad idea to mention your idea for bringing your character into the group to the Administrator. He can make suggestions; he's here to help.

From the point that you write your first post, you're fully a part of the group. Good luck and happy roleplaying!

4.3 Characters

4.3.1 Creating a Character

In Nomine has a variety of strange, unusual, and creative characters. Don't consider any character concept off limits until you've proposed it to the world admin and he's rejected it.

Keep in mind, World Weavers In Nomine is a developing setting. The existing Tethers, NPCs and such will be compiled in a constantly-updated list ("constantly" means when the Admin has time). Feel free to use one of these in your character's background, or create one yourself.

First, you have to come up with a character concept. A few good starting frameworks for your new character would be:

A) A celestial recently assigned to Earth. If you are new to Interactive Fiction, this is the preferred starting character. The World Admin will rarely approve another type of starting character for someone new to Interactive Fiction.

B) A transfer to the unit location from another assignment elsewhere.

C) An existing celestial at the unit setting.

D) A reliever, familiar, gremlin or imp who may be a candidate for full angelic or demonic status. Be aware that these characters will not be as powerful as a full angel or demon will be. Such characters must be approved by the World Administrator.

E) A human, undead, Remnant or ethereal spirit. These characters will also not be as powerful as a full angel or demon. Such characters must be approved by the World Administrator.

Give some thought to the abilities and disadvantages your character will have. Since we aren't using the hard-and-fast gaming system, you have some leeway to create anything you think you can write about without any point-system restrictions to keep all PCs equal. However, that doesn't mean that it's a good idea to create a powerful, flawless, can-do-anything character. Those characters aren't much fun to write, and they're no fun to write with. It's a good idea to give your character at least a few quirks and areas of skill where they are weak. Players may be required to tone down their characters if they are too powerful, so be forewarned.

If you own Steve Jackson Games' In Nomine core rule book, feel free to create a standard starting-level character for your own reference. For the character bio, you should, however, put the character's abilities in terms comprehensible to a player who does not own the rules.

- Read the webpages first! This can't be stressed enough.

- Remember that you are probably creating both a celestial and a mundane Role that celestial is taking on to blend in.

Here's an example, to give you an idea of what to write:

Personality: Joe is none too swift, mentally, but makes up for it with brutish strength and speed. He is devoted to his work and his Superior. He still isn't quite sure what to make of Earth. He tends to be a pushover, and other angels make good use of him.

Abilities: Can crush large boulders, bend metal pipes, and frighten large animals by looking at them. The effect usually works on humans and demons, too. If that doesn't work, his Howl attunement usually does.

Skills: Large weapon, bare-handed fighting, dodging, driving, silent movement.

Songs: Corporeal Song of Motion-- grants a few minutes of flight at great speed.

Role: Joe Michaelson, Delivery driver.

Vessel Appearance:
Age: 25
Gender: Male
6'7"; Heaven knows how heavy; close-set, brown eyes; shoulder-length, scraggly brown hair; perpetual unshaven stubble; Very powerful, muscular build; Intimidating.

History:
Josiah has recently been assigned to Earth by his Superior, Michael, to hunt demons. Josiah took the Role of Joe Michaelson, a deliver driver for an independent service in the city, which allows him to drive around the city and keep his eyes open. On his first day on Earth, he met a woman named Rita Barnes at the local Denny's. When he noticed Rita was being stalked by a demon, Joe took the stalker out, earning her eternal gratitude.

He has recently brought her into the knowledge of the War and made her his servant.

Standing out:

Everyone wants their character to stand out, so they look for some character "hook" that will make them different than the other characters. Some suggestions and comments:

- Many people write characters who are very, very attractive. This is, after all, an escapist pastime. Being drop-dead gorgeous won't make your character unique. This doesn't mean that this type of character isn't fun to write, but it really isn't a good hook for being unique. Being ugly or scarred is much less common, for obvious reasons, but has been done here and there.

- Neato-keen superpowers, impressive abilities and so on don't make for an interesting character in and of themselves. How the character feels about these abilities and uses them, and how other characters react to them may be interesting.

- Discord can make fascinating characters, but be aware that most angels will shun angels with Discord, as it indicates an angel fighting against his own nature and likely to Fall. Demons don't much care if other demons have Discord, but are likely to take advantage of them.

- The main way to stand out as a character is to make a personality you will enjoy writing, who has some interesting human foibles, and then write them. Do make sure it's someone you feel comfortable with and will enjoy writing. A character written by someone who enjoys bringing them to life is much more likely to stand out than one you're not sure about who has been designed out of some desire to be unique.

4.3.2 Guest Player/Characters and Villains

Guest Characters are characters that are PCs for a finite period of time. They are played by people who are not normally a part of that gaming unit. Guest Players are placed on the Unit mailing list, then removed when their character has run its course.

An example of a Guest Character might be one that is specific to a storyline: an example might be a visiting celestial who brings word of a strange kind of demonic artifact that he saw, making him the chief source of information for a new mission. Once the mission is over, the celestial travels on.

The most common form of Guest Player Characters (or GPCs) is the villain. Villains are like any other kind of GPC, except that it is agreed that the villain will lose in the end. The player's permission is required to kill a GPC villain, just as any other type of PC or secondary character. The player may choose for the villain to escape to plague someone else another day.

It is also possible to create an angelic antagonist. Use your imagination.

GPC bios must be submitted to the Admin and approved, just the same as regular PCs.

4.4 Posting

4.4.1 Posting Mechanics

All posts should be sent to your unit email mailing list. This address will be given to you when you are assigned to a given unit and added to the list. Always send posts to the mailing list, even if it has been sent for pre-approval (to make sure something you did with their character was all right) to some people on the list, so that-- 1) the person will know it actually got posted, 2) the person has that post in the right order of posting (some people delete posts for approval after responding to them to avoid confusion), 3) so people don't get confused about who got it, 4) so people replying to the post with comments, without checking the headers, have their replies going to everyone.

Be sure to title your posts.

Non-roleplaying emails should have 'NRPG' at the front of the title. This makes it clear to everyone and helps people who are browsing the archives.

Try to identify the timeframe events are happening within your post. This can be done one of two ways:
1. Listing it at the top of the post or section.
Example: [Denny's parking lot, after breakfast]
2. Including it as part of the story.
Example: "After breakfast at the Denny's, he headed to the parking lot..."

Always sign your posts with your real name, character name, Choir or Band and Word, and character's Earthly alias. This is especially important when a unit first starts out so that people can place players with characters more readily. Example:

Likewise, character bios should always include the player name so when they get collected into a biofile, they are all readily available.

4.4.2 Layout Guidelines

Your line-lengths should be set to 75 characters or so. If you have longer lines, it makes your posts hard to read.

Use standard ASCII if at all possible. Word-processor code, HTML, control characters and the like can make a post nearly unreadable.

Don't use tabs. Different systems assign a different number of spaces to tabs. It's better to use spaces.

4.4.3 Etiquette Guidelines

Interactive writing is a free-form gaming environment, but there are a few rules and guidelines to gameplay. Take these to heart:

Respect other people's storylines and characters. Some things to be mindful of in this category:

Respect the other players and your readers.

Respect your administrator.

Communicate.

Interact!

Have fun.

4.4.4 Some In Nomine-specific Rules

4.4.4.1 Time in In Nomine

Time is fluid in the World Weavers In Nomine setting. Fluid time facilitates roleplaying of events that would occur over a long time outside of the game, such as pregnancy of an NPC or recovery from Trauma. These types of events can happen as rapidly or as slowly as the player wishes to play them.

Also, no matter how many game-days have passed in different gaming units, it is always considered the "present" for all units. This facilitates inter-unit roleplaying. For example, if your character is an angel whose friend resides at another Unit's location, you do not have to calculate what the date is at the other Unit to synchronise the visit.

The passage of seasons is determined by time in the Unit location in the real world: if it is April when you are writing, it is Spring in In Nomine Boston. To age your mortal characters normally, you may want to give them birthdays and age each character when the date comes around.

4.4.4.2 Official In Nomine Characters

In Nomine characters from Steve Jackson Games' publications, such as the various In Nomine books and Pyramid Magazine are protected NPCs, owned by the World Administrator. This includes the various Archangels and Demon Princes. They cannot be killed, maimed, made to Fall or be redeemed, or otherwise changed in any major way withouFor those owning The Revelation Cycle books-- Night Music, The Marches, Heaven and Hell, Fall of the Malakim, and The Final Trumpet-- the events of those books have happened already. NOTE that this is a change from WWIN's former policy on this issue. However, characters around whom the adventures in those books revolve-- Furfur, Arthur and Harold Dawson, Thor, Loki, Tancred, Kevin, Maximillian, Mira Klein, Natalie, Khalid, and Magog-- should still generally be avoided so as to not ruin the impact of those adventures for those who want to play them, or confuse those who have played through them.

Other characters from books, Pyramid Magazine, and other In Nomine books may make appearances, as protected NPCs as discussed above.

4.4.4.3 Characters from Fan Fiction and Other Games

Characters from In Nomine-inspired fan fiction or from other games are not available for use in WWIN without their creators' permission. This is true even for characters created by players in WWIN but not used by them here.

4.4.4.4 Real People

Yes, it's fun to throw your brother-in-law in as a brief NPC encounter, since the game takes place in the present. However, it's not generally recommended, as other writers may not realise that minor NPC was a real person and might kill him, make him a villain, etc., which you wouldn't want (well, okay, maybe with some people you would, but you never know when they might stumble across these pages). Now, famous people are obviously going to exist in the setting (we needn't make up a name and personality for the mayor of Indianapolis, for instance), but should generally be in the background and not interacting with the PCs.

4.4.4.5 New Superiors and Word-bound Celestials

If a player wants to create an Archangel or Demon Prince other than those official ones listed, he must get permission from the World Admin before introducing the Superior or a Servitor of that Superior. The same is true of other powerful Word-bound celestials. Among other things, this allows the World Admin to keep track of these NPCs for the Web pages.

4.4.5 Grammar Guide

These are a few of the more basic grammar rules to keep in mind if you are looking for ways to improve the quality of your writing. These are all fairly simple things that can make the difference between incomprehensibility and enjoyability. For those interested in more detailed grammar guidelines, the administrator recommends Strunk and White's The Elements of Style.

Always put a . ? or ! at the end of each sentence, as appropriate. This includes the last sentence in a paragraph and sentences in quotes.

Always use quotation marks or some other indication of speech and mental speech. The standard in IN is to use " " for spoken speech and { } for mental communications. Be sure to use these at the beginning and end of the quote.

Each speaker should have his/her own paragraph.
Not:
"I don't know," he said. "Yes, you do," she replied.
But:
"I don't know," he said.
"Yes, you do," she replied.
This applies to both spoken and mental speech.

A subject change or change in location or mood should probably be accompanied by a new paragraph.

Either leave a blank line between paragraphs or indent each new paragraph. Or do both. Stay consistent within the post.

If you have something like "he said" after a quoted statement, put a , inside the final quote mark and a period at the end. If the quote is a question or exclamation, put the ? or ! inside the final quote mark.
Not:
"I came as soon as I could" he said.
"I came as soon as I could." He said.
"What are you doing" he asked?
"What are you doing," he asked?
"I can't stand it anymore" he said!
"I can't stand it anymore," he said!
but:
"I came as soon as I could," he said.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I can't stand it anymore!" he said.

If you have something like "he said" before a quoted statement, put a , after the "he said," and your final . ? or ! inside the final quote.
Not:
He said "I came as soon as I could".
But
He said, "I came as soon as I could."

Be sure to put an occasional referent to who is speaking in long dialogues. Each quote doesn't necessarily need one, but if you go too long a reader can lose track of who is speaking. As well as the useful "he said/asked," you can also just describe the person doing something (He tilted his head. "I don't understand.") or use another speaker's name in the quote ("Ezbon, I value your opinion.").

In dialogue, the attention-getting use of someone's name should be set off with a , . Consider the difference between these two sentences:
"I've decided I'm going to strike Chris," he said.
"I've decided I'm going to strike, Chris," he said.
Do you see the difference? In the first sentence, the speaker stated he was going to hit Chris. In the second, the speaker told Chris he was planning take action. A single , makes all the difference.

Use third person (he/she) not first person (I). Your character is not you. There are occasions where a post is made more powerful by ignoring this guideline, but care must be taken as first person can sound very stilted.

It's generally best to use past tense. Occasional use of present tense for one post can make it very powerful, but this gets old quickly. Don't switch tenses a lot in a post. This gets confusing.

Just because you use third person doesn't mean you need to write from an omniscient perspective. In general, your writing will be more powerful if you get into your character's head and describe what happens through their senses and thoughts. This requires some thought. For instance, you may consider someone who is 20 to be a young woman. But, if your character is 15, he probably won't think of that 20-year-old as a 'young woman'. Likewise, you may know something about another character that your character doesn't know. It can be difficult to write your character doing something that would be inadvisable if they knew this about the other character, but you need to think about what they would naturally do given the information they have. And, if your character doesn't know Lori is an assassin, she should probably not be described so in your post, even just in passing-- not, "The assassin smiled up at him," but, "The pretty girl smiled up at him."

If you know you're a horrendous speller, run a spell-checker or have a friend that spells well read through your post before you post it, if possible. Watch for homonyms (words that are spelled differently, but sound the same)! These can produce some hilarious results if you aren't careful and ruin an otherwise serious post. Some examples from other settings include the character who approached another in a "threatening manor" and the man who "genitally unbraided" his lover's hair. That's some feat! At any rate, both mistakes ruined serious moments in the posts they were in, as well as garnering the writers a lot of teasing.

Some common homonyms to watch out for:
Then (time indicator) vs. Than (comparative)
To (preposition, "I went to the store.") vs. too (adverb or "also"-- "This is too much," "I want to come, too.")
Of (preposition) vs. Have (verb). Most of the time, this mistake occurs after 'could' or 'should'. It's "Could have" or "Should've" not "Could of."
There (place, as opposed to Here) vs. Their (belonging to them) vs. They're (They are)
Its (belonging to it) vs. It's (It is)
Here (place, as opposed to There) vs. Hear (something you do with your ears)
A part (included) vs. Apart (excluded)

4.5 The Club

The In Nomine setting is just one setting of a larger club, World Weavers (WW), which has interactive fiction units in a variety of genres. If you like World Weavers In Nomine, please, check out some of the other availiable settings on the WW Webpage.

4.5.1 Command Hierarchy

The World Weavers In Nomine setting command hierarchy is as follows:

1. The overall World Administrator. This is the benign dictator of the world. The duties of the World Admin are pretty broad. Among other things, he keeps the web page and posting archive and approves world-spanning themes or unusual new abilities. Inter-Unit conflicts or conflicts with your Unit Admin should be brought to him.

2. The Unit Administrators. Currently, World Weavers In Nomine has several active units, each with its own Unit Administrator. The administrator's job is to ensure that all members can enjoy themselves in RPing with the least amount of restriction or interference without allowing complete chaos. Unit admins have duties which include keeping the roster, biofile, and any additional information on a Unit roleplaying unit and providing these for the WW roster keeper and new players as needed or requested; offering guidance to the story, mediating crossposting problems, and offering solutions to the players when/if they write themselves into a quagmire. The Unit Admin plays, among other characters, the various Superiors as well as an individual character of their own, often the Celestial with the most experience.

Unit admins do not have authority to interfere with the development or direction of the storylines of their Units. Unit admins have the same authority to guide and shape the development of the scenario as any other member. They do NOT have control of the story and they cannot arbitrarily direct it, although they can exert considerable influence and most players will follow the lead of the Unit admin. Unit admins, under no circumstances may stop a story because of their own absence and may not cancel the development of the story on their return. If a Unit admin is out or unable to post for any reason, they should try to name a secondary unit admin, who can become the temporary head of the Unit if the story is being held up. Unit admins are required to follow the guidelines and traditions of WW and do not have authority to make new rules or requirements.

4.5.2 Conflict Resolution

It occasionally happens that a conflict arises in a game. World Weavers has a policy in place to handle such conflicts.

But first, remember, it's only a game. Writing interactive fiction can be very involving; if it wasn't, it would have little appeal. It is very easy to get lost in the setting and characters as they spring to life. Because of this, it is important to keep those four words in mind: "It's only a game." Don't take things personally, and have fun with it.

Now, with that in mind, here are the steps to be taken, in order.

1. Consider whether the problem can be solved with a little work-around. For instance, someone writes a character witnessing or reporting your character doing something that would be dissonant for him. Your first instinct is to ask that the post be rewritten or withdrawn. Before you do, stop and consider. Could it have been a case of mistaken identity, or even an intentional duplicate of your character? Perhaps what the person saw wasn't really what happened. Or perhaps the person is lying or deluded. Sometimes work-arounds like this can be some of the most creative and interesting posts, introducing new and fascinating plots.

2. If a work-around is not possible, your next step is to politely contact the other player privately and bring up your problem. Be extra careful in your phrasing, since facial expressions don't come through email. All the other player has is your words. If you are the recipient of a complaint letter, take everything with a grain of salt. It's easy to read more into the phrasing than is really there. The two of you should endeavour to work out the problem via private email.

3. If private email didn't work, the next step is to take the problem to your Unit Administrator. Avoid hysterics and hyperbole. The Unit Admin will get both sides of the story and work out a solution.

4. If you are unsatisfied with the Unit Admin's solution, or your problem was with the Unit Admin, you should write the World Admin, Jonathan Walton (Jonathan.Walton@oberlin.edu), if that is someone other than the Unit Admin. The World Admin will then get the full story and work out a solution.

5. If you are unsatisfied with the World Admin's solution, or your problem was with the World Admin, you should write the World Weavers Head Administrator, whose current e-mail address can be found on the World Weavers Webpage.

Violation of the etiquette guidelines can produce a spectrum of responses:

1. Mild violations or first offenses usually produce a polite reminder, and if it's a writing problem, the problem will be written around without alteration to the "offending" post. Don't take this too hard. It happens to everyone. We're not out to get you.

2. Serious violation will produce a public reprimand, and your post may have to be rewritten, retracted, or written around.

3. Chronic serious violations can result in the player being asked to leave the game.

It shouldn't come up, but if a player should ever be contacted by someone purporting to be a representative of Steve Jackson Games or Siroz Productions (the creators of the original French game) or someone else claiming use, abuse or misuse of their intellectual property rights, that player should immediately forward all correspondence to the World Administrator.

4.5.3 Awards and Rewards

World Weavers hands out awards for posts and writers at their annual reunion every year. For more information about them, see the World Weavers page.

Additionally, a character may receive extra attunements and Rites, a distinction, or even his own Word at the behest of his Superior, as written by the Unit Admin. Because most Superiors only have three distinctions and other Rites and attunements are rare, the players should not expect these often.

This Writing Guide was largely stolen from the DragonLands Writing Manual, which was largely written by Susan Rati and Lynette R. F. Cowper, with portions lifted from other WW Writing Guides. Persons wanting to start their own interactive fiction groups and use parts of this guide should contact Lynette R. F. Cowper for permission. Those creating writing guides within World Weavers have permission to use any portion of this document in their own settings' writing guidelines which does not reference properties of Steve Jackson Games.