Game Status: In-Game and Out-Of-Game

Game Status: In-Game and Out-Of-Game

In-game refers to people, objects, or places that can be interacted with in the game. That is to say things that are meant to be part of the game's world and setting. A player that is "in-character" can be interacted with as part of the game.

Out-of-game refers to anything that exists outside of the game, cars, real world conversations, your sleeping bag, etc. A player who is out-of-character is not at that moment a player character who can be interacted with and should be ignored by players who are in-character. At the end of an event, or during the overnight period between the end of one shift and the start of another, everyone and everything is out-of-game

Bright orange colors are reserved exclusively to be used to indicate items and people who are out-of-game. If you see someone with an orange hat on, they are out-of-character and should be ignored.

This is a game where in-game possessions can and sometimes do change hands from player to player. As a result it is important to designate what items are in-game and which are not. Taking someones out-of-game possessions is real world actual theft.

Your character's possessions can be in-game or out-of-game depending on circumstances. When those possessions are in-game they are subject to the possibility of in-game theft. As a result if a player is in-game and that player's character's in-game possessions are being stored in a designated out-of-game area (where they are safe), this is a form of cheating.

Non-player characters will often make wind sounds ("whoosh"), to indicate that they are not in-game. This is typically because they are headed to another location to enter character there, or headed back to logistics. When you see others out-of-game it is important that you remember not to use that information to benefit you in-game. For example it is unacceptable for a character to say I know there are npc's this way because I saw them headed that way out-of-character earlier.

As a player you can go out-of-game, with your possessions at any time as long as you are not doing it for a tactical advantage. So for example if you need to use the restroom that is fine. If you are overheating severely due to heavy armor, need to breath for a moment: you both can and should find somewhere quiet you can drink and recharge. Just don't do it in the middle of a combat situation (unless you feel its a medical emergency situation in which case you should call a "game hold" so you can take appropriate steps to alleviate the medical emergency).

Sleeping players are in-game unless they have marked themselves with orange. At the end of an event, everyone and everything is out-of-game.

Related Rules

Looting Items

In-game theft is allowed but there are some rules to it. There are no skills that allow characters to steal, you must physically do it yourself if you wish to do it.

Only Coin, consumable items, and numbered items may be stolen. Non-lootable items (things that may not be stolen) can be moved away from a person, such as when you want to disarm a person as long as you don't take the item away with you.

Some very specific and special numbered items have special rules (Feb Feast Items) that prohibit them from staying stolen for more than a short period.

Each magic item or valuable object in the Kingdoms of Novitas is indelibly marked with one of these letters (followed by a number):

• "E": A Former Feb Feast Item - This item has lost its Feb Feast properties and is now keepable/ lootable (its easiest to turn an F into an E)
• "F": A Feb Feast item - Return it to its owner by the end of the event.
• "H": A hybrid item - a magic item that is also valuable
• "K": A keepable/ lootable item - This item can be looted. (The letter L is not used so it isn't mistaken for a 1)
• "N": A non-keepable/ lootable item - This item cannot be looted. Plagues are also listed with this letter.
• "Q": A quest item - Something that needs to be returned to logistics by the end of the event. It cannot be kept long term.
• "V": A Valuable item - This item needs estimate value to identify.
• None: Older items have no letter, some of these items are not on the magic item list, and are listed on the estimate value list.

When you search a NPC, if a magical lootable item has a value greater than 100 coin a visible blue glow will be created by the npc to represent the in-game glow that magic objects are meant to give off.

Items marked with orange ribbon/ tape or in designated out-of-game areas are off limits. Under bunks is always considered out of game for the storage of personal gear. It is cheating to intentionally keep in-game items that are out-of-game this way if you are currently in-game.

Props for stolen items that belong to another player must be negotiated for out-of-game after the event during which they were stolen. After-all they are often a player's real world personal property.

Props for stolen items that belong to the game must be returned to the game, at logistics, should you leave the game or should your character retire.

Immersion

Immersion or as it is also called "atmosphere" is the idea of making the game as realistic as possible. Good immersion makes it easy to forget that you are playing a game and makes it easy to remain as the character you are playing. Because you can't just feel the atmosphere simply because you want to, rules can't be designed to make you be more immersed, instead they focus on preventing you from breaking the immersion of others.

To help improve the immersion of the game:

• Make sure you are always wearing appropriate garb
• Break character as rarely as possible.
• If you do need to break character try to do so in a location that is also out-of-game such as logistics.
• Call game holds and time stops only when absolutely necessary.
• Keep conversations in-character while you are in-character. Assume others are listening to you at all times.
• Try to re-frame real world conveniences as in-game fantasy like this?.

Categories: Fundamental Rules | Terminology