Advanced Rulebook

CONTACTING THE GAMES MASTER

You can contact the Games Master to sort out any moderation problems, submit ideas, or send moderated actions. Send emails to phil@kjcgames.com or by post, if you have no email access.

Do not phone - as there are time constraints to get everything finished, phone calls cause constant interruptions. For extenuating circumstance phone calls will be taken, but as email is far more efficient as details have to be clearly written out unauthorised phone calls will likely result in a request for an email, or a posted letter.
A record will be kept of complaints and problems, so that any future queries can be dealt with more easily, and the history of problems will help show us at KJC areas that need to be addressed to improve everybody's enjoyment of the game.
If you have a bug report, or a basic quest enquiry such as turn results and turn resends please contact enquiry@kjcgames.com do not contact the GM. As each enquiry takes valuable GM time repeat offenders could be disciplined.

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN COMMUNICATION

In all cases it is vital that you include your account number, name, what game your communication relates to and, if it is related to Alliances or parties, their names and numbers. Appropriate information such as monster group numbers, item numbers, settlement names and numbers, etc, also needs to be included. In the case of special information, for example a special location, the information can be copied into the mail. Special information will often have a special code, such as E32J, so instead of copying out the information, the player can forward a message with the code. You will still need to explain what the message is about though as a message with just a code in it does not provide the GM with enough information to do anything.
Do not send emails or letters that contain more details than necessary for the actions being handled. Do not just keep replying to previous messages and sending pages of stuff to the GM, or forwarding previous results. This creates a lot of work for the GM, and it is likely that the actions will be rejected and the player asked to follow this rule.
By using the correct quest code, NPC names and including short clear actions the GM does not need to have any previous actions sent unless specifically asked for.
If you are playing in different moderated worlds then send them in separate emails or on separate pieces of paper. This is because the actions are filed for future reference in an appropriate game folder.
If the GM needs to check your turns for proof, then only your last turn can be looked at, thus you will have to give ample time between notifying the GM and submitting another turn of any type; this applies to all turn types.
Each Alliance, and individual parties having a circumstance entitling them to some personal moderation, should restrict the amount of information in emails/letters that they send. This is for two reasons:

  1. The amount of time spent sorting out replies to questions can quickly become overloading if lots of little communications have to be gone through.
  2. It promotes attention and thought being spent on the communication, thus meaning it is less likely that the communication will have incorrect information in it, and will, therefore, not mess things up for the players

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When sending in anything, please keep it short and to the point. The easier it is to sort out, the more moderation that can be done. Once a letter or email has been sent, the details within will be carried out ASAP. Do not include any IC aspects when communicating with the GM, unless it is an IC message being passed onto another party/Alliance via a SA, but in this single exception please make sure that an OOC explanation is also included otherwise the action will be rejected.

When one of your characters wants to contact an NPC, and the party is allowed to as per the rules regarding SA and FA, then make sure the message is clearly made for their attention and it is all written as an OOC overview.

Please check your information before sending, and thus avoid any mistakes in the first place. If the information sent was incorrect then be quick about sending corrected information. When sending corrected information the rule about all relevant details applies, do not just send in some extra information or description of the correction. You MUST send in the fully corrected action as if it were a new action and make sure it is clearly marked as being a correction. By not following this rule it promotes the chance of GM errors and slows down the process of running the game.

When issuing any Actions the communication with the GM must clearly state what each Action is. If this information is not included and it appears that more than 1 SA is required, the GM may reject the request and query it with the players. So when more than 1 Action is in a message to the GM each Action needs to be separated and clear.

Do not contact the GM about a party's action if they are not at the appropriate location.

For Example: if a party needs to be in Settlement 2 to meet with the Settlement Officials, do not send a note saying that that party will be there on Tuesday. Only contact the GM once the party is where it needs to be.

An Alliance does not need to contact the GM to inform him that a party has accepted a Special Quest, unless the SQ specifically asks that a party be nominated, or a Rank 3 Alliance is informing the Organisation Liaison what SQ are being carried out during the current cycle.

Normally once a party is in the appropriate place to start, the GM should be informed, not before.

For Example: a message delivery Special Quest is issued. The party that is going to carry it out is sent to the appropriate place to collect the message; at this point the GM is contacted.

For Example: a Special Quest requiring a Sermon is issued. So the party goes to the designated place, and at that point contacts the GM, not before.

New aspects, both moderated and in the programme, will continue to be added. With the moderation, aspects can be added with close attention on the effects of the additions.

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New aspects, both moderated and in the programme, will continue to be added. With the moderation, aspects can be added with close attention on the effects of the additions.

It is worth repeating here the following two points previously mentioned in the Liaison section:

  • When passing on information to a Liaison, it can only be information that has been carried out; you cannot pass on information about plans, unless the Liaison specifically asks for your plans. This is not to be confused with the idea of asking the liaison about a plan, which as a question will cost a SA.
  • If you want to pass on information that is wrong, then it will cost a SA to lie to the Liaison. You have to clearly say on the action what you want to do, and also what the truth is.

Please do not ask the GM for special leeway, as refusal often offends and the rules have to be the same for everyone.

NOTE REGARDING TIME AND CONTACTING THE GM

Players need to allow at least a few days; the normal timeframe is three days, between sending a message to the Games Master and receiving a reply. This is to allow time for your details to be checked and the results processed.

POSTAL PLAYERS CONTACTING THE GM

When a postal player sends in a letter with their turn then they should make sure that on the turn card it clearly states, "run after processing letter". If you do not make this clear it is possible that the results of your turn could be wrong.

ARBITRATION & CHEATING

In addition to the cases already mentioned in the appropriate sections please follow the guidelines below.

ARBITRATION

In the event that you believe you have a complaint regarding the conduct of another player or of the Games Master, write a letter or email to KJC stating the exact nature of your complaint and providing supporting documentation. Telephone calls will only result in the request for such information by email or letter, as an investigation cannot be objective when only based on the memory of a telephone conversation.

Paranoia is a large part of the game, such as can you trust the results of an action, is someone truly dead, can you trust your allies even your own Alliance members? Be careful not to let IC paranoia override OOC decision-making.

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Before submitting a complaint, please remember that you will likely not know the whole story. This is especially true in cases concerning the Games Master. The running of Quest: GME is complex, and decisions will often be influenced by events that a player knows nothing about. This is not to say that the Games Master is perfect, and if a mistake has been made, it will normally be sorted out with the minimum of disruption to your turns. Please note if you do request arbitration, the results may well be made public, especially if there has previously been a lot of discussion on the subject. Thus it is strongly advised that complaints are presented to the GM first to prevent the GM possibly having to go on the public forums, newsletters, email lists to explain the full details.

CHEATING / DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOUR

Cheating and being disruptive to the game covers a multitude of sins, including:

  • Running a party under a false name and/or account.
  • Being abusive or threatening to other players, KJC Games or its staff in a real world context.
  • Falsifying any kind of documentation and then presenting it to the Games Master as 'real', including 'faking' errors, in game agreements or any correspondence from somebody else. Forgeries within the game, intended to fool another player's characters are allowed, moderated information that is changed require a SA.
  • Acquiring moderated information OOC and then trying to use it IC, whether by spying, by 'accident' and so on.

In all cases, the Games Master reserves the right to take whatever action is necessary to safeguard the interests of the game. The above list is not intended to be exhaustive in any way.

GM & MODERATION SUMMARY

The moderated worlds have been designed to add depth and consistency to the game; moderation is not a means for cheating, or a way for people to complain to get what they want. Repeat complainers may be advised to not play as moderated games are not to everyone's taste, generally moderated games are quite involved and for this reason some players could find themselves overwhelmed if their private life is complicated. Some players find moderated games a great way to distract them for problems in their private life and just good fun.
The moderation allows players who play the game to get more enjoyment out of it, and also means that any loopholes or problems can be spotted and sorted out more quickly.

Moderation is about removing the "I reckon…" versus the "Well, I well reckon something different then…" scenarios that plague many games. Moderation is about adding more cause and effect to the game world.

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PROBLEM WITH A PARTY NOT BEING RUN

In the event of a party not being run for more than four weeks and the party was involved in moderation event the other members of the Alliance can contact the GM to ask for another party to take over the moderation event. The reason for the party not being run can vary, but the affect it can have on the Alliance will always be the same, it is a problem. Thus the Alliance members need to work as a team and keep in regular contact with its members to make sure that if there is a problem the Alliance can resolve the situation quickly. If a player is out of contact for a few weeks the other Alliance members should be able to guess that there is a problem.

Each case will be examined and a course of action will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Likely resolutions will be moving another party to the location of the party that is not active and then the GM passing over any moderation items, or moving moderation items to their last place where a moderated action took place.

If a player knows they are going to be out of action then the Alliance should send another party to take over the action and as a FA have the new party take over.

SUBMITTING IDEAS

Ideas are always welcome. If you have a good idea then please email phil@kjcgames.com or post it to KJC for the attention of Phil.

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KJC Games Ltd specialises in play by email (pbem) and play by mail (pbm) games.
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