Summary and Design

Part of a series about the Citadel LRP system

Themes

Exploration

Exploring the secrets of the Citadel: what secrets are hiding within, and what impact will they have on the wider world?
Learning about Outlook and the wider world, and interacting with those from outside with different views of the world, specifically its direction for the future.
Learning the secrets of mutations, and the AI, and what is capable using them.

Religion

Choosing who and what to worship, and following their goals as far as you can discern them: some of which will be more difficult.
Defining theologies in a world of differing opinions: choosing what to incorporate from other players’ worldviews, and what to oppose.

Politics

Establishing order in the Outlook: from internal and external forces. This includes negotiating where to go and what to do next in the Citadel, and dealing with envoys from the forces from outside the Citadel.
Negotiating with invading tribes and their claims to the Citadel: and also sabotaging their goals where needed.

Trading

Working within a bartering commodity system, and defining the worth of both material goods and favours.
Meshing your value systems with those of the AI who have very clear conceptions of the worth of what you are offering, even if that metric only makes sense to them.

Fighting

Battling against creatures that have been hiding inside the Citadel, and things that exist on the edges of the Outlook
Competing physically and mentally with NPC enemies

Linear Design

Almost all linears will happen happen within the Citadel itself. Most Linears will be chances to undertake specific quests, and will have direct impacts on the game world.

Linear choices

Linear choices will be introduced throughout the Interactive with the ability to choose and even create linear opportunities towards the end. Interacting with the linear choice framework will be formulaic and transparent and unlikely to change over the duration of the game. In the unlikely event that a linear choice for some reason does not happen in play and a linear group got together, final choice will go to the people playing that Linear.

Linear difficulty

Linears will be signposted according to the risk of death and IC consequences. Implicitly, the higher risk linears will carry more plentiful rewards and are likely capable of affecting the game world to a greater degree.

Most Linears, will have the option to run away, which keeps the player characters alive but means that they do not achieve their goal. Linears where this will not be the case will be signposted beforehand.

Growing

Players are dealing with a threat that is just beginning. It may be less entrenched, and enemies and puzzles are slightly simpler.

Troubling

The issue is one that has gotten bad, and isn't easily going away. Issues are getting steadily worse, enemies are planning and thinking ahead, and may be setting up traps for the heroes. Problems from this Linear may be bleeding into the rest of the system.

Challenging

The problems in the Linear are becoming entrenched, and are only getting worse. Enemies have positions, and plans to fight the PCs. Danger of consequences, up to character death if things go very wrong. This problem is badly impacting the rest of the system.

Monumental

The Doom Scenario. Very high likelihood of consequences and danger, including character death, with multiple objectives. The dangers are already having a huge impact on the World.

Linear Content

Linears will also be signposted according to the primary game components required. Other components will be present in small numbers only.

Diplomatic

Combat

Stealth

Investigation

Going on a Linear

As usual for CLS, a degree of understanding with regards to linear attendance is expected, and if certain people have had a lot of opportunities to play, then it is expected they will give up their slot to those less fortunate.

Linear regularity

At the beginning of Michaelmas term, we will be aiming to run a Linear a weekend for the first three weeks. This is liable to change, based on ref availability and exhaustion.

Crewing

More generic advice on crewing a linear can be found here

You should not feel obliged to crew Interactives but it might be fun
Crewing a Linear will grant your character an extra resource

Every week, players will have the option of playing NPC roles or monster roles instead of playing their characters. This applies to both the Interactive and the Linear. The refs will have a number of NPC roles that can be played.

You should not feel obliged to crew during the Interactives, but we will welcome players that do and the refs will attempt to give you roles that play to your personal strengths. Certain encounters may require specific NPCs and crew numbers - in such cases we may ask people in the interactive if they are willing to monster that encounter but there should never be any pressure to do so. We will always make sure that plot aimed at characters does not go in without them present, unless this is simply unavoidable. If you plan on crewing, and would like a particular role, feel free to talk to the refs about it.