"All Roads Lead to Zenithstrand"
SHAPER
Last Updated: October 31, 2019
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SHAPER
Maintain a high standard of roleplay and behavioral conduct.
Work with other members of the plot team and the guild owners to ensure a consistent and balanced game world with a continuing, collective story.
Debrief other members of the plot team and guild owners in regards to the player response to mods. The debrief must be submitted to ownership before the next event.
Play important NPC roles.
Watch for and report cheating, harassment or other violations of rules or policies
Assist with plot camp set up and take down.
Work with other shapers and guild owners to determine the best responses to in-game actions.
Approve mods submitted by Narrators or Seasonal NPCs.
MINIMUM EXPECTATIONS OF THEÂ SHAPER
Shapers should have an excellent understanding of the rules and must be able to make rules calls without hampering the flow of the game.
Shapers must have the ability to maintain confidentiality when dealing with plot and character information, as these things are often discussed during meetings or in plot camp.
Shapers must be able to write a minimum of 5 approved mods per regular weekend Event. This number is increased to 8 on long weekend events. These mods will be reviewed and vetted. Shapers must use Google Docs to submit their mod writing in the format provided by Zenithstrand. Mods must be submitted no later than midnight on the Sunday before the event date. This will allow adequate time for ownership to review the mods and for any required changes to be made.
Shapers must have the ability to take a leadership role and supervise shift NPCs during mods. Ideally, no shifters should ever be sent out without a shaper or narrator among them. The Shaper should go out as one of the NPCs and lead by example while also supervising the other NPCs. Some larger scale mods may require the shaper to marshal the mod OOG, but the shaper should strive to go out in game whenever feasible.
Shapers must remain impartial - they must never target specific players, nor can they show favoritism to others. A Shaper should not run plot for their immediate friends or rp group, nor run plot that is too closely tied to their PC without explicit permission from the guild owners.
Shapers should have the ability to make occasional judgment calls during the event. These occasional calls are expected to not harm the integrity of the game. All such calls should be reviewed with ownership afterward. In most cases, is better to have the players wait for an answer from the owners than to make an incorrect call.
When a call needs to be made, the seniority is as follows:
Owners >Lead Shaper>Shapers > Narrators > Seasonal NPCs > Shifters
All members of the plot team represent Underworld LARP Saskatoon: Guildhouse Zenithstrand and must adhere to our behavior policies.
All members of the plot team are asked to attend one voice chat based meeting per month. In the event that the shaper is unable to attend the scheduled meeting, they are expected to keep themselves up to date by reading the meeting notes and submitting their feedback within 3 days of the meeting.
REWARDS FOR THEÂ SHAPER
Shapers do not pay to attend events for which they are shaping.
Shapers receive 1 blanket per event attended while shaping. (2 blankets for long weekend events).
Shapers receive 50 frags per event shaped. (80 frags for long weekend events).
PERMISSIONS FOR THE SHAPER
Unless otherwise specified by the ownership team, Shapers are permitted to:
Write and sign item tags.
Write story arcs, mods, and insta- mods which fit in with and enhance the game world and setting.
Write personal plot for PCs, permitted they first receive the backstory and personal plot history from the ownership team. The personal plot should always be vetted prior to the event.
Create 1 standard magic item per event. (All magic items must be pre-approved and recorded on the magic item spreadsheet)
Oversee a PC’s 1 in 10 when that character has taken a death, grant death dreams to the PC if required. All PC deaths need to be recorded and reported to the logistics team immediately following the event, so the death can be applied to the card. This includes deaths deemed by the Shapers as RP deaths.
Oversee a PC’s coin flip to determine if a death is final.
Play NPCs capable of issuing Light/Dark Fae Marks
Act as an OOG supervisor during mods or player encounters.
Call descriptive holds in order to deliver environmental effects.
Act as a ritual marshal. (Provided the shapers learns the ritual rules prior to the event marshaling)
Follow up after in-game thefts. Supervise in-game thefts.
Oversee mysticism skills such as haunt, augury, etc.
Create and Issue Haunt Tags.
Respond to Auguries.
Respond to Dark Lore Spells.
NPC as a summoned Holy Warrior or Unholy Warrior.
Oversee the creation of Henges, Groves, Churches or Monoliths.
Decide upon additional effects (if any) granted by Haunts, Henges, Groves, Churches or Monoliths. Effects for everything aside from Haunts will only ever last a single event.
Act as a ritual marshal. (Though they must learn the ritual rules prior to the event marshaling.)
Write any tags created by Rituals.
Plan and run mods during the event that were not included in the mod book (Adhoc mods require the approval of at least two Shapers, Lead Shapers, or owners. - This is to ensure that no mods get sent out without being vetted.)
Adjust mods mechanics or monster stats during the event.
Write and run opportunity mods for obtaining vocations, advanced ritual casting, necromancy or sigil magic.
Issue in-game warnings that a Garbage Elemental is at risk of being summoned.
Send out a Garbage Elemental if required.
Grant a PC a blessing from their god or dragon, this should be done with extreme care so as not to mislead players on the values of their patrons.
Create or play an NPC law representative or Coalition official.
LIMITATIONS OF THEÂ SHAPER
If a Shaper is unsure whether or not something is permitted within their role, they should seek clarification from the ownership team.
Unless they obtain explicit permission from the ownership team, (if ownership is unavailable, the lead shaper may grant these permissions in their place) shapers may not:
Write ANY Artifact or Chemistry tags.
Write ANY Blueprint tags, Ritual tags, or Formula Tags.
Write more than one magic item per event.
Write Relic Items (all magic items must be created via the existing enchanting and other rituals, should generally only have one ability and should not last more than one year.)
Create Magic Items that grant any abilities from the Favoured Spheres OR Witchcraft
Finalize a demon deal with any PC.
Apply any ritual or ritual like effects onto any PCs spirit.
Further any PC’s pathway.
(Pathway plot must be pre-approved by the guild owners and properly recorded for our records)
Use or portray any god or dragon in any capacity.
(This requires us to obtain permission from global and is a lengthy permission process)
Send out any NPC that lacks stats
Write plot that targets a specific character, either positively or negatively.
Write plot for their own character or the close friends of their in-game character, or factions that their PCs are a part of. (If you suspect your plot line could create a conflict of interest, please seek permission or clarification prior.)
Create/Define a Pax or Gnomish Device
Send out the GRIM
Do anything related to Unicorns. (Seriously though - NONE!)
DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS FOR SHAPERS
If a shaper is found to be in violation of their role as outlined in this document, the following disciplinary actions will be taken.
First Transgression:
The ownership team will discuss the transgression with the shaper and a warning will be issued. Additional limitations may be given to the shaper for the remainder of the season.
Second Transgression:
The shaper will forfeit all frags earned for the event in which the transgression took place.
The ownership may choose to remove them from their position as a shaper or from the plot team.
Third Transgression:
The shaper will receive a suspension for one or more events and will be removed from the plot team if they have not been already. A discussion with the ownership team will be required prior to returning to Zenithstrand.
If a Shaper is removed from the plot team due to disciplinary action, or if they quit, they may receive a suspension from NPC shifts for a length of time to be determined by the ownership team. (Meaning they will have to opt out for the duration of their suspension. This will also be taken into consideration should they wish to apply for the plot team in the future.
