We have several key priorities when it comes to storytelling on LondonMUX:

• We want to empower players to run stories, take advantage of the existing story elements we’ve put into the game, and develop their own narratives.
• We want to ensure, as much as possible, that players have a good experience, even if their characters don’t.
• We want to ensure that the game world remains consistent and that the things characters do are reflected in the way the IC world evolves.

For this reason, we’ve established guidelines for players to run their own stories for one another, without necessarily needing to consult staff in advance.

Player-Run Stories

• Characters are not killed or permanently maimed without the consent of their players. They can be injured, disabled, rendered unconscious, etc., but not killed. The storyteller should avoid situations where it would be difficult to explain why a character was not killed.
• Antagonists should be designed to be roughly equivalent to the PCs in capability. They don’t need to be exactly equal, especially if they’re going to be outnumbered, but they should not grossly overpower their opposite numbers.
• Antagonists may be from different spheres than the PCs are (but please use caution; spheres are not particularly well-balanced against each other, and starting characters in one sphere may be substantially more dangerous than those in another).
• Antagonists should be from antagonist factions, rather than from PC factions. If they’re a PC type, they should not be outside the power level available to PCs (no 7th Generation vampires, no Rank 5 Black Spiral Dancer Ahrouns, no Arete 6 Nephandi, etc.)
• Players may use these stories in justifying XP spends, assuming that the spend in question does not require closer supervision (see XP and Advancement).
• These stories may contribute to justification for XP spends, but they do not provide rewards for which XP spends are required. That is: you can use a player-run scene as part of your justification for buying Resources up to five dots, but you cannot claim five dots in Resources solely from a single player-run scene. Of course, you can always run multiple scenes as part of the same storyline until there are enough to meet the standard justification requirements.
• These stories should be limited in their scope and effect on London as a whole. A building burning down is fine. A city block burning down is probably fine, but it’s best to check just in case there’s something there that may not be obvious. A whole neighborhood burning down is too far.
• Any of these requirements, with the exception of the first (no PC death), can be lifted for a single specific story with staff approval.

Sanctioned Storytellers

A Sanctioned Storyteller (SST) is a player who staff has recognized for their excellence in running stories for other players. If you regularly run stories that fit well within the game and the setting, demonstrate a solid knowledge of the rules and ability to apply them, and provide an enjoyable experience for the other players, staff may offer to recognize you as an SST. This is never done without the player’s consent, and there is no penalty or stigma attached to declining (although we may eventually invite you again if you continue to display a similar level of excellence in storytelling).

Not being offered SST status does not mean we’re unhappy with the way you run stories. We’re deliberately cautious with making the offer, because it carries with it an additional ability to influence the direction of the game. We want to be 100 percent certain that everyone we invite to take part in that process is someone whose input we’ll be pleased to have, and who will be pleased to have the opportunity.

There is no requirement for SSTs to run a particular number or type of stories. It’s meant to provide additional options and a larger toolkit for talented storytellers, rather than to impose additional responsibilities on them.

• SSTs have no ability to see the stats or +notes of other players. As far as the game code is concerned, an SST is just like any other player.
• SSTs may run scenes that cause character death. Scenes of this type must come with an explicit warning to potential players, both in the +event announcement (if applicable) and at the beginning of the scene. Any PC death in a scene run by an SST will be automatically reviewed by staff.
• SSTs may use antagonists built to be superior to the PCs in capability, although they should use caution when doing so in plots where PC death is possible, and should be clear before the start of the scene that they are doing so.
• SSTs may use antagonists from PC factions. It is still expected that these antagonists be characterized as individuals, rather than as representative of the entirety their particular faction or group. PC-type antagonists should still be within the power levels available to PCs.
• Scenes run by SSTs can be used as justification for some restricted types of XP spend, as outlined in XP and Advancement.
• Scenes run by SSTs can in and of themselves be used as justification for any mundane XP spends up to 3 dots, or supernatural XP spends of 1 dot, provided the level of challenge is appropriate. No additional justification is required.
• SSTs have additional leeway in terms of using plot elements and antagonists (see Umbra Storytelling and Subterranean London); additional details in terms of what is permitted and what is not will be forthcoming here.
• From time to time, staff may offer SSTs storylines or plot elements that have a larger or more significant effect on the ongoing TowersMUX metaplot. As with gaining SST status in the first place, this is always optional and there is no penalty for declining.

Staff Storytelling

• Scenes run by staff always carry with them the possibility of character death. There will normally be a warning at the start of the scene just to make sure, but the chance is always there.
• Staff may use any reasonable antagonists required to create a challenge for the PCs, although they should make sense in the context of the game world (a whole group of Sabbat neonates all of whom have Celerity 5, Fortitude 5, and Potence 5, for example, is not “reasonable” by this standard).
• Staff may use antagonists from PC factions, and may characterize the NPCs of those factions as they see fit, although it is expected that they will take care to make space for PCs who don’t share the NPC attitudes.
• Scenes run by staff can be used as justification for some restricted types of XP spend, as outlined in XP and Advancement.
• Scenes run by staff can in and of themselves be used as justification for any mundane XP spends up to 3 dots, or supernatural XP spends of 1 dot, provided the level of challenge is appropriate. No additional justification is required.
• Staff have complete leeway in terms of using plot elements and antagonists from the ongoing metaplot, with the expectation that they will discuss any major shifts with their colleagues before playing out the scene.