Systems - [ CLOSED♥ ] NOVUS rpg

These sections will detail the procedures and nuances for the systems we have in place on Novus. You are not required to memorize any of these, but we strongly suggest skimming through them anyway. Refer back to these sections whenever you're interested in how to attempt to steal another character, how to start your first IC battle, or how to approach conceiving a foal.

▶ Fighting

The Fighting System is easily our most complex system on Novus. We want to be as impartial as possible, allow the underdog to have a chance at winning, and also give credit where it's due to more seasoned characters.

For battle forms, posting layout, and to see how judgement is calculated, visit THIS thread!

TYPES OF FIGHTS

Unjudged

Judged

SKIRMISH: A heated argument that does not lead to a physical battle. These are unregulated and typically only used for plot purposes. No special actions needed; just create a thread wherever you'd like.

FEUD: An unjudged physical battle. These are typically plotted out beforehand, with no rewards (or an IC reward agreed upon by all involved). No special actions needed; just create a thread wherever you'd like.

BATTLE: A battle that will be judged by staff members. These can have a reward that is agreed upon by all RPers involved, but not always. Battles will give you experience.

CHALLENGE: A battle that will be judged by staff members where the reward is a Position of Power (Sovereign, Regent, Emissary, Warden, or Champions). Challenges will give you experience.

RULES OF BATTLES & CHALLENGES

Special Rules for CHALLENGES only:

If the Sovereign is vulnerable (10 or less IC posts in the last month), you may post your challenge immediately.

Opponents posting formal challenges will receive +25 to their total points during the judging.
Vulnerable Sovereigns will lose 50% of their total points during the judging.

If the Sovereign is not considered vulnerable, please message staff before posting your challenge.

Ensure you meet the posted requirements - found under the 'How to Obtain' of each - for the rank you're challenging for.

Check the Fight Records to verify that enough time has passed since the last challenge was finished.

Sovereigns get a two week cooldown
Regents and Emissaries get a one month cooldown
Champions and Wardens get a two month cooldown

Rules for both Challenges and Battles:

Initiate a fight by posting in the Bellum Steppe or Colosseum (one or the other required) with the form found in the Fight Information & Example thread.

Message your opponent to make them aware of the fight and ensure they agree to the rewards.

Characters must be 2+ years old to battle, 3+ years old to challenge, and of any age for skirmishes & feuds.

Automatic forfeits occur if a fighter does not post their response by the deadline.

Whomever forfeits a fight will not gain any experience for participating in said fight.
Extensions can be granted if both parties agree, however said extensions max out at a total of 1 week between replies.

Various items can be used to make the fight more interesting!

Energy shots and drains, NPC Obstacles, and extra attacks & blocks can be purchased from the Agora.

Magic can be used for one attack or block. Bondeds can be used for one attack or block.

The lesser telekinesis granted to all Novus inhabitants is able to be used in officially judged fights. However, it may lift no more than 5 lbs, must be used close to the body (within 5ft), and remains very imprecise and difficult to wield.

BATTLE RUBRIC

Offensive (x/55)	Defensive (x/30)	Writing Metrics (x/15)
The quality of your attacks or offensive moves. 0/30 will be based on the creativity of your offense (originality, imagination, and attention to detail) 0/25 will be based on realism of your offense mechanics, and whether you accurately reflect your Health, Attack, Magic Level, and Bonded.	The quality of your block or defensive moves. 0/15 will be based on the creativity of your defense (originality, imagination, and attention to detail) 0/15 will be based on realism of your defense mechanics, and whether you accurately reflect your Health, Attack, Magic Level, and Bonded.	The overall quality of your your posts. 0/5 will be based on overal writing creativity (originality, imagination, and attention to detail) 0/5 will be based on overall realism (physical mechanics and whether you accurately reflect your Health, Attack, Magic Level, and Bonded) 0/5 will be based on writing metrics (spelling, grammar, punctuation, run-on sentences, etc)

▶ Stealing

Stealing is one of the primary sources of conflict and strife between Courts and characters. It can also be a fun way to create tension and change current IC dynamics, politics, and relationships!

To see an involuntary stealth example from start to finish, please visit THIS thread!

TYPES OF STEALTH

VOLUNTARY	INVOLUNTARY
Done completely In Character with the permission of the target character. This is more a pre-meditated plot device than anything, and are thus not officially regulated! There are very loose guidelines: Any character two or older can steal another character. All parties involved must agree upon the plot. The Sovereign must be ICly or OOCly told who was stolen.	A regulated system based around poetry and creative prose, where the target has no say in the final outcome (unless specialized items purchased from the Agora are used). See below for the regulations regarding involuntary stealths.

INVOLUNTARY STEALTH REGULATIONS

Must be posted in the Abigo Caves.

Sovereigns, Regents, and Wardens can make Involuntary Stealth attempts without needing permission.
- They each get 3 stealth attempts per month (resetting on the 1st).
Vagabonds can make Involuntary Stealth attempts without needing permission.
- Being that they do not have a Regime to answer to, Vagabond characters can steal without limit!
- Each character may only make 1 Stealth attempt at a time.
Other ranks must gather approval from the Sovereign or Regent.

OOC Approval: Acceptable, but screenshots must be provided. Block out any names or hints, if included.
IC Approval: Acceptable, but do not include the name of the character or any hints in the thread. Link must be provided.

Possible targets include any characters, with the following exceptions:

Characters whose members are currently absent (see the Current Absences thread).
Characters currently in a Regime rank (Sovereigns, Regents, and Emissaries).

Attempts must be a poem, riddle, song, or similar composition with at least 3 clues about the character you're attempting to steal.

All three clues must come directly from the character's profile, not any threads they've made or participated in.
Any information on the character's profile is fair game. Examples: physical features, history, personality, magic, companions, accessories, age, gender, sexual orientation, content in the "Other" tab.

How block attempts work: all Courts have the possibility of 10 total possible block attempts within 4 days of the stealth's post date.
- To successfully block a stealth attempt, members must dissect your hints and explain why they think the hints pertain to the character they are trying to block. Staff have a right to reject the block attempts if they feel the member doesn't provide an adequate explanation or is "just blocking to block."
- Sovereigns are allowed up to 3 guesses per stealth attempt. They can block for any character within the Court.
- Regents and Wardens are allowed up to 2 guesses each, per stealth attempt. They can block for any character within the Court.
- The rest of the Court populace has 3 additional attempts across the board. They can only block themselves or their own children.
- At any time during the four day period, members may use a Stealth: Extra Guess item to make an additional guess.
How the reveal works: after the 4 days have passed, you must reveal your target and an explain how each hint relates to them.
- Staff will then respond with whether the attempt is successful or not. This will depend entirely on how transparent your hints are and if you've met the rest of the stealth rules.
Avoidance or Override usage: After staff have posted if it was succesful or not, members have 3 days to use these items.
- Items must be present in member's inventory at the time of use, and will be deleted from the member's inventory upon use.
- All avoidances or overrides used will be subject to a 0-50 success roll using the true random number generator.
  - 0 to 24 is successful. 25 to 50 is unsuccessful.
  - If the roll deems it unsuccessful, the item will not be used or removed from the member's inventory.
- Only one of EACH item may be used per stealth.
- Successful stealths: The member may use a Stealth: Avoidance item to try and avoid it.
- Blocked stealths: The stealer may use a Stealth: Override item to try and make it a successful stealth.
- If the stealth was deemed unsuccesful by staff, the stealer cannot use the Stealth: Override item to overturn that ruling.
At the end of the three days, staff will archive the stealth post, make any necessary changes (like the account group and rank of the character you've stolen), delete all used items, and update the stealth records with the verdict.

▶ Breeding

The miracle of birth is one of the more joyous events that happen on Novus! If you'd like your character to have a foal, you'll rely on our breeding system. Our breeding system is based almost entirely on percentages and randomizers. Please make sure you understand the breeding rules outlined below before you attempt to have a foal.

REGULATIONS

Regulations

Characters must be over the age of three years old to conceive a foal.

You can only attempt a healthy pregnancy once every real life month (resets at the beginning of the month). If you fail on January 4th, you must wait until February 1st to try again.

Both characters must have a "Fade to Black" thread together in Amare Creek. If it's a "virgin" birth (1 partner is dead / a ghost / god / etc), there must still be a thread. See the Immaculate Conception section, and reach out to staff to discuss!

All foals need to have an RPer chosen before they are born. If they don't, it will result in a stillbirth.

You must wait until the next IC season for your foals to be born.

After the foal's birth, females must wait 1 IC Season before they can have another.

Male characters do not need to wait, although can only try once every RL month.

If the pregnancy rolls unsuccesful (whether in the 'Succesful' or 'Healthy pregnancy' roll), ALL breeding items will stay in the player's inventory and none will be used. These items may be saved for the next attempt.

STEP BY STEP

Step by Step

Step 1 - Roll to determine if it's a Successful Pregnancy: Once you fill out the breeding form located here, your chance at pregnancy will be determined by the characters' thread history together. If the parents are not a male and female pair, you may purchase the Breeding: Unnatural Conception item to allow breeding, but you will still need to go through the following steps.
- Thread History: The more your characters have interacted, the higher chance of a successful pregnancy.
  If the characters have already had foals together before, the threads must be new threads together since the birth.
  
  - 1 to 2 threads together has a 50% chance of success
  - 3 to 5 threads together has a 70% chance of success
  - More than 5 threads together has a 100% chance of success
- Staff will use the True Random Number Generator - if the number falls between 1 and your percentage (50,70), it's successful.
- If the pregnancy is unsuccessful, NO breeding items will be removed from player's inventory.
Step 2 - Roll for pegnancy details: If the pregnancy is successful, staff will then determine the details of your pregnancy.
- Healthy Pregnancy: Season plays a role in whether or not pregnancy is healthy for each foal, and is rolled by the True Random Number Generator. You can bypass this by using the Breeding: Healthy Pregnancy item. If the foal is deemed not to survive, NO breeding items will be removed from player's inventory.
  
  - Roll during Spring: 1-80 equals healthy. 81-95 equals unhealthy. 96-100 means the foal won't survive.
  - Roll during Summer: 1-70 equals healthy. 71-90 equals unhealthy. 91-100 means the foal won't survive.
  - Roll during Fall: 1-60 equals healthy. 61-85 equals unhealthy. 86-100 means the foal won't survive.
  - Roll during Winter: 1-50 equals healthy. 51-75 equals unhealthy. 76-100 means the foal won't survive.
  
  - Healthy: The foal is healthy, and there are little to no complications and pain for the mother.
  - Unhealthy: There will be complications and pain for the mother. The foal will have a physical or mental ailment.
  - Foal won't survive: The foal will be stillborn, or die within hours of birth.
  - Roleplayers will determine the circumstances of death (won't survive), or the exact details of its ailment (unhealthy).
- Twins: As long as the pregnancy doesn't result in a stillbirth, staff will then go on to determine whether you have twins! You can guarantee twins by purchasing the Breeding: Twins item.
  
  - 1 to 5 will result in twins.
  - 6 to 100 will result in one foal.
- Genders: Now staff will determine their genders. If you have twins, this step will be done twice. You can choose your own genders by using the Breeding: Genders item (only 1 item needed if twins).
  
  - 1 to 50 will result in a male.
  - 51 to 100 will result in a female.
- Inheritance: Mutations have a 50/50 chance of being inherited regardless of which parent has it. Immortality and Magic (both passive and active) have a chance to pass down if at least one parent has it. If magic is inherited, the foal's RPer will get to design the magic ladder, but it must relate to one or both of the parent's magic in some way.
- Step 3 - Results posted! The staff will reply to your thread with the rolled results. As stated earlier, all foals must wait to be born until the following IC season. This means that even if your results are posted three days before the next season starts, your foals can be born in three days!
  - In this time, the foal's profile can be created. Any applications will not be accepted until the first day of the following season.
  - The foal's RPer is allowed to join them anywhere between the age of 0 and 2. Whatever age they decide on in their application is the age that the foal will begin aging from. This allows you the choice of either RPing out the foal years, or skipping straight to their independent years.
  - Foal designs are left up to you (or their RPer, however you arrange it). The only requirement we have is that it meets the site expectations for character designs, and that the design is believably based off of the mother and father.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Immaculate Conception

Sometimes, characters are blessed (or cursed) by the gods of Novus with a child! This is a semi-random event, but requires certain steps in advance to qualify your character. Use this system when you desire an on-site baby with one parent. Only one immaculate conception can be blessed each season; this means, if one has already succeeded previously within the same season you’d like to attempt, you will have to wait until the next season to have a chance.

Please note: This does not create a demi-god child wherein one of the gods of Novus serves as the other parent. Rather, this creates a blessed child with a single parent and no god-blood.

How it Works
Characters get the attention of the gods by proving their faith and devotion.

Characters must have at least three worship threads posted before looking for an immaculate conception
These threads must follow the worship thread guidelines; they do not have to be complete, but they must have a minimum of 500 words in the first post
All worship threads must be to the same patron deity; that is to say, if you’d like Vespera to bless your character with a child, they should have a minimum of 3 worship threads to Vespera

When a character has shown their dedication, they may post a thread in Amare. This can be a single post, but it must have a minimum of 500 words! Be aware that their god may show up, so let staff know if you’d like to complete a thread! Once this is posted, a single dice will be rolled to determine conception. Your chances of being blessed increase with how many worship threads your character has:

1-2 threads: 0% chance
3 threads: 30% chance
4-5 threads: 60% chance
6+ threads: 90% chance

If your attempt fails, you may try again next season.
If your attempt passes, a dice will be rolled to determine the following traits:

Healthy pregnancy
Twins
Genders
Inheritance

The use of a Breeding: Guaranteed Pregnancy item is not allowed in immaculate conceptions; however, if you would like to purchase any other breeding items, you are free to do so! Because there is only one parent, the foal will have only a 25% chance of inheriting magic, mutations or immortality only if their parent has the corresponding ability.

▶ Character Union

Characters that have established a special bond between one another are eligible to approach Novus’ deities to be brought together as a pair. When granted their approval, both characters are essentially ‘tied’ to each other and gain a whole new level of closeness; but be careful, for betrayal now brings with it the wrath of the gods.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Once your characters have built up a significant relationship, they may consider travelling to Veneror Peak to have their respective deity bless their union. There are, however, some guidelines that must be followed:

Characters must have three completed threads together.

The pair must be exclusive- no side-lovers unless you wish to offend the deities!

Please tag staff and the @'Random Events' account in the thread; we will reply after both characters have posted.

While sailing may be smooth for two characters from the same Court, things are slightly more complicated for those from differing Courts. The deities are not all that fond of seeing their children involved with anyone but their fellow compatriots, so what is to be done when the heart strays?

In order to appease their respective deities, each character is expected to bring an offering. What it is that is offered is up to you, but we recommend something of value to butter up those silly gods!

PERKS OF UNION

After your characters’ union has been blessed, they will feel something begin to flourish in their being. Pairs that have been brought together by the deities have an enhanced awareness of their partners mood and can even sense when they may be in danger. In addition to this, the bond between characters allows them to establish a vague understanding of their significant other’s proximity in times of separation. Should they ever lose each other, this strong connection often leads them back.

Those involved in a character union also gain benefits when it comes to breeding. Rather than roll for a successful pregnancy, characters are guaranteed success and need only roll for stats.

PERFIDY AND BETRAYAL

Character union is a sacred bond granted by the deities. Breaking it will stir their anger and your character will most certainly be the target of their fury. Curses often befall the unfaithful, the effects of which can vary from an unfortunate change in appearance to a nasty bout of ill health. These consequences are temporary (lest the player wishes for something more permanent for plot purpose!), but it takes a great toll on their union with their partner - all perks are weakened, if not lost - and tends to lead to the discovery of their adultery.

A big thank you to Odeen, who suggested this lovely idea to staff!

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