Gaming Philosophy

Welcome to EMERALD NIGHTS, a White Wolf, World of Darkness adult role-playing game, set in current day Seattle, Wa. EMERALD NIGHTS is based primarily on the Vampire the Masquerade gaming system but also includes elements of several other WoD systems.

We, the founders of EMERALD NIGHTS, fully concur with the WW philosophy quoted below and have created this game in strict adherence to it. Therefore, we emphasize this is an ADULT ROLE PLAYING GAME and thus not appropriate for younger players. This was decided after after much thought and consideration. The standard LARP policy that no one under 18 years of age will be allowed into the game has been adopted. We fully acknowledge the creativity and great skill of the many younger players we know but we are foremost concerned with our legal, ethical and moral responsibilities. In short this is NOT a "G" rated game.

We are very familiar with a number of fine VtM online games who welcome a broader age range and will happily refer you one of them should you request it.

ATTENTION "Reader discretion is advised. The themes and issues described in this game may be disturbing to some and distasteful to others. Though our purpose is not to offend, our use of the vampire as a metaphor and as a channel for storytelling may be misconstrued. To be clear, vampires are not real. The extent to which they may be said to exist is revealed only in what they can teach us of the human condition and of the fragility and splendor which we call life."

_{VTM 2ed pp2 ww 2002}

INTRODUCTION TO VTM

"Vampire is a game of make believe, of pretend, of storytelling. Although Vampire is a game, it is more about storytelling than winning. If you have never done this kind of thing before, you may be confused by the whole premise of a storytelling game. Once you catch on to the basic concepts, however, you’ll find that it isn't all that strange, and is, in fact, eerily familiar.

You, along with some of your friends, are going to tell stories of madness and lust. Tales of things that go bump in the night. Tales of peril, paranoia, and sinister, shadowy evil. Tales from the darkest recesses of our unconscious minds. And at the heart of these stories are vampires. These stories will capture your imagination far more readily than any play or movie; likewise, they are of a darker nature than the children's fairy tales you might remember (although those too were rather grim if you think back). This is because you are inside the story and not just watching it. You are creating it as you go along, and the outcome is always uncertain.

The game provides a way to experience a horror of an all too immediate nature, for you experience the terror from the other side of the mirror. The horror of Vampire is the legacy of being half beast, trapped in the world of no absolutes, where morality is chosen, not ordained. The horror of vampire is the evil within, and the all-consuming lust for warm blood. Perhaps the greatest danger of playing Vampire is that of seeing yourself in the mirror. To play this game you must face the madness within you, that which you strive to master and overcome, but cannot bear to face.

Unless you are willing to face the reflection of your own imperfections then go no further. Madness as well as wisdom rewards those who dare to gaze into eternity."_{VtM pp21 WW 2002}

#1. Posted material is always considered OOC info unless u were actually directly involved in the scene. This calls on your sense of "fair play" since it is tempting to try to wrangle this info into your IC-SL in some way, especially if it directly effects your character. STs will not give out any IC/OOC info on another players. So don't bother asking lovies. This mean no info...zip...nada...including anything from a players clan, gen, age, haven or any part of their bio UNLESS they have taken Fame or Status or unless there would be some appropriate/obvious "known" info about them. Otherwise its up to you to get what you can IC. This is a general policy with OOC info as well. If another PC begins to interact with your character in a way and assumes they "know" certain things that you don't believe they would please pause the scene and ask them where and how they came by the info. Please try to resolve it between u. If there is a stalemate please cut and past your IM /scene to the STs and we will make a ruling. ((STs are Benevolent Dictators remember, so once u give it to us its our ruling that will be binding. But you can be sure we will always be fair!))

#2. It is general game policy that we do not play other players Character Sheets for them. There may be times this is necessary but it should be avoided as much as possible and NEVER done without permission. This is true of the STs as well.

#3. Given all our different schedules, we need to work with each other as much as we can to schedule play time together. That is in part why Wed night has become Players Night. Also, if a player starts a scene then has to sign off to, heaven forbid, go have a real life, or gets punted, that does not allow any of us to make up IC reasons for them leaving. The scene may need to be paused and resumed later but in any case the PC who had to leave needs to decide how they want it handled.