Game Operation Rules
These include experience gaining and spending rules and procedures, game fees and game site rules, as well as the Code of Conduct.
- All About Experience
- Site and Game Fees
- Code of Conduct (read this, folks, seriously)
Game Systems
Health Levels
At the time of the MET: The Shining Host book release, the WoD universe was in second edition. As a third edition was never released, the core book was never updated to the third edition health levels. We are currently using the third edition nine health level system which consists of 2 healthy levels, 3 bruised levels, 2 wounded levels, 1 incapacitated, and 1 mortally wounded.
At mortally wounded a character must succeed at static stamina related challenges to not bleed out to death if the wounds that brought them to Mortally Wounded were either aggravated or lethal damage.
Status
Status can only be bought and benefited from by Commoners. Nobles already have the equivalent benefit of their Title. Status confers a bonus in any social challenge, at the rate of one trait per trait of Status so long as you have made it known to the person you are confronting who you are, and why you deserve that Status. See The Shining Host MET for an excellent example of how that works. (The same will apply to using Title in a social challenge, save that you need only make it clear that you have the Title, not why.) If a Commoner is granted a Title, they lose access to mechanical benefits from any previously-held Status.
Neither Title nor Status will give their bonus traits on Cantrip castings.
Buying Status requires the agreement of a certain portion of the game. This will be determined by anonymous voting, which will be adjudicated by the staff.
Ability Specializations
Instead of the specializations rule as written in The Shining Host MET, The Dark Dream will be using our own specialty rules.
When you buyan ability up to five, you may begin buying a "secondary ability", which must be a highly specialized subset of the primary ability. (For example, Fencing or Florentine for Melee, Opera or Spoken Word Poetry for Performance.) This secondary ability functions just as would a normal ability, imparting a retest in any challenge, save that you may use this retest after your ability retest.
For example: Manny Chunk the Troll, a master of armed combat, is engaged in a battle with a fearsome chimerical monster. He initiates a Physical challenge and loses, so he retests with Melee. The monster cancels with Dodge. Manny, currently wielding his trusty mace, can retest again with "Melee: Mace". Unless the chimera has a like secondary ability in Dodge, he cannot cancel and must throw the retest.
The Staff is the final arbiter of which secondary abilities are acceptable and which are not specific enough. (For instance, Melee: Swords would not be acceptable.)
Glamour Systems
Cantrips With The Intent to Maim or Kill
Any cantrip being used for banal reasons, which includes an attempt at maiming or killing a target, are immediately one bunk trait down. Any time a cantrip places a target in direct danger of dying, the target must throw a simple test immediately and at the beginning of every following turn. If the target of the cantrip wins or ties the simple test, the art fades that turn and they may then take an action the following turn.
Example: Redcap Evil McNarsty casts elder form on a pooka to turn that pooka into a muffin. That pooka, Rapoc Rapo, doesn’t want to be eaten. The redcap bites the muffin, doing one aggravated damage to Rapoc Rapo in muffin form. Rapoc Rapo then throws a simple test and wins the challenge, therefore the elder form he was the target of fades away and he can attempt to flee next turn.
Bunking System
We use the Jester's Rules bunking system (The Shining Host Player's Guide pages 202-205) with some slight variations.
1. Routine use of the same bunk divides the bunk's effectiveness in half. "Routine use" is determined by the STs.
2. Double bunking may only occur in an epic situation, by ST approval.
3. Only one cantrip may be hung on a target at a time, using the Time realm.
4. Double bunks require time, and may not be done in one turn.
5. Double bunking results in a bedlam warning.
Realms
The appropriate realm must be declared at the time of casting. Players are not allowed to ask what level of a realm is appropriate. In the instance that the wrong realm is named, the cantrip fails after the appropriate traits, costs, and retests are used. The person casting is not informed why their cantrip failed, merely that it has.
In the instance of the Time realm, a cantrip occurs exactly when the specified time has elapsed. In the instance that Time 5 is being used, the caster has an option of declaring a “triggered event” where in the cantrip will occur when that event happens up to one month in time from the casting. This casting happens at the first occurrence of the triggered event and if not triggered by the end of the month, it goes off one month from the casting time.
The Dragon’s Ire and The Orbori Berserk
To invoke the Dragon's Ire, characters should have either Remembrance 3 or Gremayre 3. The Dragon's Ire cannot be invoked without staff permission. Dragon’s Ire never lasts longer than one scene.
Characters in Bedlam that invoke the Dragon’s Ire need no challenges; success at invoking is automatic. However, they must make a static Willpower challenge against their Glamour rating. If successful, they control the Dragon's Ire and the scene proceeds as usual. If unsuccessful, they enter a spectacular but deadly form of the Dragon's Ire.
In Stage One Bedlam, the Changeling's Ire traits are doubled; at the end of the scene, the character progresses immediately to Stage Two Bedlam.
In Stage Two Bedlam, the Ire traits are still doubled. Any Kithain looking directly into the Changeling's eyes must make a Willpower Challenge at difficulty eight to avoid going into Stage One Bedlam themselves. At the end of the scene, the character progresses into Stage Three Bedlam.
In Stage Three Bedlam, the Ire traits are tripled. Any changeling who comes into direct physical contact with the character is pulled into a random location far into the Dreaming. Chimerical weapons and Arts have no effect on the character. At the end of the scene, the character is devoured by the Dreaming in a cataclysmic blast.
Oaths
The gaining of Traits from Oaths may allow you to exceed listed maximums, but these are always the first Traits spent. Taking the same Oath multiple times (even in different situations) does not grant cumulative positive effects. The negative effects, however, are cumulative.
Holdings
The number of Glamour Traits that characters can "use" or "absorb" from a freehold on a weekly basis is equal to the number of Traits invested in this Background. The Glamour is distributed as the freehold's owner sees fit. In the event of a freehold controlled by more than one person, the Glamour is split according to how many points each holding member possesses. For example a three point freehold can produce 3 glamour a week, or heal 3 levels of damage a week (or any combination there of).
Banality
This list describes some of the ways a Changeling can gain Banality. Since Banality is a nebulous concept and what some see as banal can be a source of glamour for others, storytellers are strongly encouraged to keep an open mind about what is and is not a source of Banality based on the circumstances of the action, and on the character-concepts and worldviews of those characters involved.
Actively Using Banality
Defending against a Cantrip with Banality: 2 Temporary Banality Trait
Actively denying the Dreaming (per instance): 3 Temporary Banality Trait
Destruction of the Dreaming
Destroying a Treasure: 3 Temporary Banality Trait
Killing a Kithain Chimerically: 2 Temporary Banality Trait
Killing a Kithain mortally: 8 Temporary Banality Traits
Destroying a Freehold (per level destroyed): 10 Temporary Banality Traits
Dying Chimerically: 5 Temporary Banality Traits
Abusing Dross: 1 Temporary Banality per instance at ST discretion
Cold Iron
Being struck by Cold Iron (per hit): 1 Temporary Banality Trait
Contact with or Possession of Cold Iron (per scene): 1 Temporary Banality Trait
Killing a Kithain with Cold Iron: 1 Permanent Banality Trait
Locational (Time spent in areas that possess…)
Banality twice as much as Kithain's Glamour: 2 Temporary Banality Traits
Banality Rating of Nine (per scene): 3 Temporary Banality Traits
Banality Rating of Ten (per scene): 4 Temporary Banality Traits
Cold Iron
Cold Iron is iron that has been "cold forged" by hand, and as such, can only be formed into very crude tools. As a material it is brittle, prone to rust, and has great difficulty holding an edge or point. Cold Iron weapons and tools are usually limited in form to clubs, crude daggers, crowbars, hammers, or poor-quality swords (that do not stand up to use for very long) and have a tendency to break under duress. After a failure to hit with a cold iron weapon, make two simples (as a Staking challenge); if you do not outright win one of the two, the weapon shatters.
Using any weapon larger than a dagger made of cold iron is very unwieldy, putting you down one trait on all attack challenges with that weapon.
As Cold Iron is harmful to Changelings because of its intrinsically non-supernatural nature, using supernatural effects to enhance it in any way automatically fail.
