One World by Night By-Laws
By-Laws for the One World by Night Organization
For up-to-date copies of the One World By Night By-Laws, please reference the following documents, posted on the OWbN Website at
www.owbn.net.
OWbN By-Laws Documents (Links to OWbN Website):
Administrative By-Laws
Character Regulation By-Laws
Coordinator By-Laws
R&U By-LawsRage Across the Cape By-Laws
By-Laws for the Rage Across the Cape Roleplaying Society
Administrative PoliciesPreface: DefinitionsRage Across the Cape (RAtC) is a Live-Action Roleplaying (LARP) group dedicated to bringing together a group of enthusiasts for fun and enjoyment. RAtC is a Werewolf game taking place in Cape Cod, MA and surrounding areas (Sept of the Vigilant Light).
Section 1: By-LawsA. These By-Laws will be provided to each new player and signed off before said new player is allowed to participate in a RAtC game. Subsequentially the By-Laws will be provided to every player annually to review and sign off.
Section 2: One World by Night MembershipA. As a member of OWbN, a national coalition of chronicles, we hereby ratify and uphold all OWbN rules and regulations. Any addition to these rules and regulations will be addressed in the appropriate section. Refer to
www.owbn.net for details.
B. Withdrawal from One World by Night
1. At any time, subject to the following conditions, any player in-good-standing may call for a vote to withdraw RAtC from OWbN's organization.
a. A player in-good-standing shall be defined as any player with six (6) or more contiguous months of activity with a character housed in RAtC, who has attended no fewer than three (3) of the most recent RAtC games or events in any rolling six-month period.
b. Any RAtC player shall be eligible to cast a vote at their individual discretion.
c. A majority of no less than two-thirds must be achieved in order for RAtC to withdraw from OWbN.
d. Any such vote will remain open until such time as a clear two-thirds majority is reached, though the vote may not remain open for more than four (4) weeks.
e. No such vote shall take place more frequently than six (6) months and one (1) day from the close of any such previous vote.
Section 3: Legal IssuesA. RAtC will not be held legally responsible for the actions of any individual who is a member of the group
B. RAtC will not become involved in legal dispute, except to act as a witness at the behest of law enforcement in a criminal trial.
C. Players in RAtC should be a minimum of eighteen (18) years of age. Our storytellers often involve mature themes that would be unsuitable for younger players. Exceptions may be made on an individual basis, but in in all such cases, the minor must have a parent of guardian sign a form issued by RAtC. This form will acknowledge that the parent or guardian gives his or her permission for their child to participate. The HST has the right to waive this clause.
D. RAtC waives all responsibility for any injury or damage, including but not limited to physical harm, mental harm, or financial harm, that results from participating in our group.
Section 4: Positions of AuthorityA. There shall always be at least one individual designated as the Head Storyteller (HST). This post can be shared by multiple individuals if they agree to do so. The HST(s) are the final authority on the game and what happens therein.
B. The HST(s) may designate Assistant Storytellers (ASTs). ASTs may develop and run their own plots and scenes, subject to HST approval, and make judgments on mechanics and rules. They have authority similar to that of an HST, with the exception that they can be overruled by an HST.
C. The HST(s) may designate one or more individuals as Narrators. Narrators will be entrusted with running plot when a Storyteller is not available to handle a scene. Narrators may also make judgments on mechanics and rules, such as mediating combat and other such occurrences and may have other duties at the discretion of the HST(s).
D. The HST(s) may designate one or more individuals as Moderators. Moderators may not make plot-based decisions or run scenes, but may make judgments on mechanics and rules, such as mediating combat and other such occurrences.
E. There shall be a Council Member who represents RAtC on the OWbN council. This may be a person who already holds a position or any player that has been active in the game for more than one year. This person shall be chosen by the HST(s).
F. The HST(s) are free to create new positions and designate any individual for any position they deem necessary. They are free to grant as much or as little authority to these positions as they deem necessary.
G. Removal of an HST.
1. At any time, subject to the following conditions, any player in-good-standing may call for a vote to remove an HST from their position of authority.
a. A player in-good-standing shall be defined as any player with six (6) or more contiguous months of activity with a character housed in RAtC, who has attended no fewer than three (3) of the most recent RAtC games or events in any rolling six-month period.
b. Any RAtC player shall be eligible to cast a vote at their individual discretion.
c. Only one HST may be removed per vote. In situations where more than one HST exists (Co-HSTs), individual votes must be held to remove each, though these votes may be held simultaneously.
d. A majority of no less than two-thirds must be achieved in order to successfully remove an HST from his or her position of authority.
e. Any such vote will remain open until such time as a clear two-thirds majority is reached, though the vote may not remain open for more than four (4) weeks.
f. In the event an HST is removed from his or her position of authority, a replacement HST will be installed at the determination of the remaining staff members.
Section 5: Expected/Forbidden BehaviorA. No individual shall engage in any type of criminal activity while participating in a RAtC event. Doing so is grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including permanent expulsion from the game. This includes, but is not limited to, vandalism, larceny, substance abuse, assault, and battery.
B. Players are expected to maintain a division between In-Character (IC) actions and Out-of-Character (OOC) actions. Improper behavior as a result of events that happen in game will not be tolerated. For instance, if someone kills your character IC, you will not abuse them OOC.
C. Using knowledge gained OOC to justify IC actions (commonly called “metagaming”) is severely frowned upon and is considered a form of cheating. For instance, if you read another player’s email and find out that they have hidden a valuable object somewhere, you cannot just go take the item IC, because your character would have no way of knowing said information.
D. Players are expected to use common sense when dealing each other and with administrative staff. Be polite and respect the other person. Unacceptable behavior of any sort, as deemed by the HST(s), may result in disciplinary action.
E. Players are expected to be honest and forthright with respect to the game. This primarily pertains to cheating of any sort, whether it is lying about the stats of a character, metagaming, or lying about what happened in a given scene.
F. Players should not “mommy-daddy” the staff, going between them to pick and choose the Storyteller or Narrator they thing will give the most favorable result. In general, stay with one Storyteller for related scenes unless they specifically send you to another.
Section 6: DisciplineA. The HST(s) reserve the right to bypass this disciplinary structure at any time and immediately expel a player from the group, if they deem his or her actions to be severe or habitual enough to warrant such a measure.
B. There will be a “three-strike” system in place to handle disciplinary issues. The HST(s) can issue a stike at any time to any player. The strikes will function as follows:
1. The first strike is a simple warning to the player, including an explanation of what code(s) of conduct were violated. The player may also be penalized up to ten (10) experience points or the equivalent amount in abilities/powers at the discretion of the HST(s). In the event of cheating, the Player Character (PC) may be administratively GNC’d (killed) depending on the severity of the infraction.
2. The second strike shall consist of a written warning to the player. In addition, the player may be suspended for one or more events, at the discretion of the HST(s). The player may also be penalized up to twenty (20) experience points or the equivalent amount in abilities/powers or GNC’d at the discretion of the HST(s).
3. The third and final strike will result in the expulsion of the player.
C. There will be an open-door policy. Any player may contact an HST or member of staff to discuss any issue regarding the game. This will be completely confidential if the player wishes, and no action shall be taken against the player for anything said in such a conversation (barring threats of violence or admissions of cheating and the like). This allows a player to make a complaint at any time against another player or member of staff.
D. When a player who has one or two strikes levied against him successfully participates in the group for a period of six (6) months without receiveing another strike, the HST(s) will revisit the issue. If they feel that the behavior has been rectified to a sufficient degree, they will remove one (1) strike. They will repeat this review process every six (6) months.
E. A player who has been expelled from the game once may reapply to join after one (1) year, providing that they were not expelled for criminal actions and are still eligible to participate in OWbN. If the HST(s) wish to allow the individual another chance, they may allow him to rejoin the group. However, the individual will be considered to have two (2) strikes against him for a period of one (1) year. At this time, the HST(s) may remove a strike and proceed with the review process as outlined in section 5, subsection D of these bylaws.
F. Individuals with complaints are encouraged to speak to any member of staff about them using the open-door policy as outlined in section 5, subsection D of these bylaws. However, any individual who feels he has not been treated fairly by the HST(s) may file a complaint with the appropriate OWbN Coordinator (contact information can be found at
www.owbn.net). This may lead to and OWbN-wide strike being issued against the HST(s), if the behavior of the HST(s) is deemed inappropriate.
Character RegulationPreface: Reiteration of OWbN Policy These policies are largely reiterations of policies held by OWbN. However, there are some additions, so please read carefully.
Section 1: Character CreationA. A new character shall be restricted to the points allowed under standard character creation in the appropriate Mind’s Eye Theater rules, plus up to thirty (30) experience points, to be awarded as a bonus during character creation. Additionally, up to thirty (30) unspent experience points may be carried-over from a deceased or otherwise permanently retired character. Any awards of traits, abilities, or other character statistics count towards this limit as the amount of experience that the player would have had to spend to purchase that particular statistic. The combined total of additional experience points applied to a character at creation may not exceed sixty (60).
C. In no case shall any player ever receive points previously spent on another character that has been played in any OWbN chronicle. If it has been stamped, initialed, or in any other way approved by an OWbN storyteller those points have been used and are to be considered spent and gone.
D. No player may play two or more characters related to, allied with, or otherwise possessing knowledge of each other at creation. This is intended to cut down on players sharing knowledge from character to character, and is also meant to prevent players from bringing in characters whose goals are to avenge the their last character’s death. This specifically includes playing the spirit of a deceased PC. Upon PC death, the spirit is immediately considered an NPC and will only be portrayed by the former player at the request of an HST in scenes supervised by a member of the ST Staff.
E. Further restrictions may be addressed in a separate listing of house rules.
F. The HST(s) may disallow any character for any reason at any time. All characters are subject to HST approval.
G. All characters created for RAtC are considered to have RAtC as their home chronicle, until such time as the RAtC HST(s) and the HST(s) of another chronicle arrange and approve for the transfer of said character.
Section 2: Character AdvancementA. No character may receive more than 8 experience per month.
B. Any experience earned at a chronicle other than RAtC is subject to the approval of the HST(s) of RAtC.
C. Further restrictions may be addressed in a separate listing of house rules.
D. The HST(s) may disallow any change to any character for any reason at any time.
Section 3: Character LossA. A character can be lost to IC death. If this occurs, the player may generate a new character using any unspent experience or death point rewards (totaling no more than thirty (30) points) from the previous character.
B. A character can be lost to disciplinary action. If this occurs, the player may, with express permission of the HST(s), create a new character, but will be unable to “roll over” any unspent experience from the previous character.
C. A character can be lost to inactivity. If a player is inactive in the game for a lengthy period of time, the HST(s) reserve the right to decide that bringing the character back would cause more of a disruption of plot than an aid to develop it. If this occurs, the player may generate a new character using any unspent experience from the previous character (up to thirty (30) points).
Section 4: Character ShelvingA. Any player may only have one PC active in RAtC at a time. An Active PC is defined as a PC earning Experience Points and Renown. A player may have other PCs in other OWbN games without counting towards this cap, but those PCs may not interact with each other at any time in any game.
B. If a player wishes to shelve a PC they must give the HST(s) a written request prior notice of their intent to shelve. The ST staff will need to approve the shelved request. If a PC is at risk of IC consequences the PC is still subject to the consequences even if shelved.
C. Players may role-play a shelved PC with direct written permission of the HST. If the HST’s PC is involved or the HST is involved in anyway then the AST must issue permission.
D. If a PC is shelved by a player request for reasons other than being made unplayable by plot, the PC may not be un-shelved until either three (3) months have past or their current PC dies. If a player intentionally suicides a PC in order to be allowed to play a shelved PC, this will be considered cheating and the shelved PC may be administratively GNC’d at the discretion of storyteller staff.
Section 5: Character AntagonistsA. RAtC is a game based on the cooperation of PC’s and NPC’s towards a common goal. If at any point a PC is against that common goal that PC will be turned into a NPC. This must be an extreme shift in difference in common goal. Examples: A PC walks the Spiral. A PC becoming horribly Wyrm Tainted. A PC turning Nephandi. Minor shifts in difference in common goals do not qualify. The HST will decide if the shift is large enough for this declaration. If the HST is directly involved in the PC the AST will make this declaration.
B. If a PC turned Antagonist is redeemed, the character can return to play as a PC at the discretion of the HST(s), and pursuant to any applicable One World by Night regulations on such.
Section 6: Rare and UnusualA. RAtC upholds all of OWbN's R&U by-laws, rules and regulations. Refer to
www.owbn.net for details.
B. In addition to the requirements set forth by OWbN's R&U by-laws, any number of character aspects may appear on RAtC's In-House Restricted and R&U Aspects List at any time.
1. A complete listing of In-House Restricted and R&U Aspects shall be made available to any player at any time, upon request.
C. Any aspect that is considered R&U by either OWbN or RAtC shall require majority approval of the RAtC staff. The HST shall hold Veto power over this process to preserve the balance of the Game.
1. Additional approvals may be required, per OWbN's R&U by-laws. Refer to
www.owbn.net for details.
Chronicle InteractionPreface: Purpose These policies are meant to serve as a model for dealing with other chronicles in OWbN.
Section 1: Incoming CharactersA. A “visiting” character shall be defined as a character whose home chronicle is not RAtC.
B. All visiting characters are subject to approval by the HST(s). This includes all traits, abilities, merits, flaws, items, powers and anything else either included on the character sheet or in the character’s background. The HST(s) may either deny the character outright or selectively deny certain aspects of the character. For example, a character may not be able to use a certain fetish while visiting, if it does not meet with HST approval. This ban can be enacted at any time – if an HST misses something when reviewing the character sheet, it can still be banned if an attempt is made to use it in play. However, in such a case, the HST(s) will be lenient due to the fact that a character may not have taken the same course of action without said ability/item/etc.
C. It is recommended that all visiting players send their character sheets ahead via email at least one week before the game which they plan to attend.
D. All consequences of a visiting character’s actions will be brought in full upon that character. If you die while visiting here, you are dead. If a visiting character’s HST chooses to block efforts to hold a character responsible for his actions, the character will be considered dead in all issues pertaining to RAtC, and OWbN will be brought in for mediation.
Section 2: Outgoing CharactersA. An “outgoing” character shall be defined as a character whose home chronicle is RAtC who attends an event of another OWbN chronicle.
B. Mixing of genres is strongly discouraged. For instance, it is inappropriate for a werewolf character to attend a vampire game every month and vice versa. A character will not receive experience for attending a game of a different genre, unless the HST(s) of RAtC decide otherwise. All gains a character may receive from another chronicle are subject to RAtC HST approval. This includes, but is not limited to, experience, items, merits, IC knowledge, abilities, teachers, and backgrounds.
C. Players travel at their own risk. With almost no exception, RAtC will uphold the rulings of another chronicle regarding the negative consequences that befall a character. If we feel that the circumstances were grave enough to warrant intervention (for instance, your character dies as a result of cheating), then we will attempt to mediate with the other chronicle and with OWbN, but until (and if) the issue is resolved, your character will be shelved.
Endnote The HST(s) may change any section of these bylaws at any time if the majority of HST(s) agree to do so. These bylaws must be made available to players upon request.
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