Persona

DETECTING A PERSONA Players wearing a disguise typically put a lot of effort into developing the persona. Oftentimes, these are used for IC deceptive purposes, like gaining access to locations that the main character wouldn't have access to. To balance conflict in detecting these personas, we've developed a set of rules for what's OK and what's NOT OK for detection. In short, items that are OK are typically IC detection, while items that are NOT OK are OOC detection. Items in the OK group aren't 100% guarantees by themself. Aim for collecting 3 of these before making an accusation. OK: - Inconsistencies in IC stories. For example, if a character couldn't have possibly known it happened unless they witnessed it, it's valid to question the story. If Columbo would ask it, it's fair game. - Asking a character about IC history that they shouldn't know. Caveat: It could be a returning player on a new character, so grant lenience and a retcon if they accidentally reveal knowledge from a previous character that they shouldn't know on the new character. - Asking a character to visit a location that a character wouldn't likely know how to reach. There's always a chance that a player could figure it out by themself, so take this one and all other anomalies as single pieces of a larger puzzle. - Asking a character about a location that doesn't exist. Again, this could also be a misconception, so allow the character in question a chance to give an explanation. One minor anomaly doesn't automatically prove guilt. - Using social cues. For example, a player could have their character act guilty if suspicion comes their way. This is completely optional, and nobody should expect a character to act one way or another. - Noticing similar behaviors or dialogue phrases as another character. If your character only knows one other character that says, 'Party on, chapperino,' then it's valid for your character to grow suspicious of that. - Noticing a character wearing the same clothing as another character. For example, how are they wearing your friend's lucky bandana? - Noticing that the disguised character's desc makes it clear that it's a disguise, such as wearing a cartoonish mask. If the disguise's desc mentions a cartoon duck mask over their face, your character is free to assume it's a disguise. It's okay for a disguise to be written blatantly as a disguise, especially when the character simply wants to use the disguise to conceal their identity for some time. - Noticing that a character has a gimmicky name or is playing a fictional trope or persona. If the disguise's name is something like Joker or Megalopolis or Karaoke or Flawless, you can assume it's a disguise. Please be sensible with your disguise names, and use this category sparingly. NOT OK: - Asking a player to divulge metagame information, such as the wording to system messages. For example, if a character says they paid rent on a rental door, you're not allowed to ask about the phrasing of the 'paid rent' message. - Using any mechanic that gives a different result if a character is wearing a disguise. There shouldn't be any of these, but it's possible a code change could cause an unintended side-effect. You must report these as BUGs. - Asking to divulge OOC contact info. This is a site-wide rule. Players should only volunteer that information when they're comfortable to do so. - Intentionally manipulating the speed or length of a scene. Making shorter poses, making rapid poses, unnecessarily prolonging a scene, or otherwise intentionally trying to get a disguise to drop. - Testing a character's skills to ensure they line up with a new character's starting skills. There are a number of reasons that a character could have a suddenly high skill. Disguise-wearers can also use HOLDBACK after wearing a disguise to appear similar to a new character. Please don't go down this rabbit hole. - Quizzing new characters. Don't scare off potential new players! If you must give them a gotcha question, wait until your second or third scene with the character, and limit the scene to only one or two of such questions. Category: HELP P (Policy) < Previous - Interruption | Next - Policies >