Code of Conduct (2019)

In addition to this earlier post, I feel like it is important to revisit group conduct for my game. I would say this should universally apply to all the games we play in, but that would ultimately be up to each DM whether or not they feel the need to adopt this. I would encourage it!

This is not meant to accuse anyone, rather, it is meant to cover a blanket of scenarios and issues that groups commonly run into. Has these issues cropped up in our games? Some, I think so. Others, maybe not.

This is opened to discourse by all of us -- by all means, if you disagree with something here, feel free to let me know so we can start a conversation about it. However, what the purpose of all this is to help the game run as smoothly as possible and as friction less as possible.


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Player Conduct:
If you can't follow this player conduct, I may ask you to leave for the night. If it continues to be a problem, you may be asked to leave permanently.

• We are here to have a good time.
• Leave your baggage at the door (when possible, we're all human).
• No hostility or anger towards one or another.
• Ask yourself: are you having fun? If not, why? 
• I assure you, I want us to all have fun. If you're not having fun, what is the point?

• We are here to be a team.
• Play nice and work together (at least OOC). 
• Do not "lone wolf" it. 
• It is YOUR job to figure out why your character is in the party. 
• Make a character that wants to adventure and participate. 

• We are here to respect each other.
• This means being sensitive to topics like gender, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, etc. 
• This also means being amicable with each other if there are disagreements. 
• If the DM asks players to stop a conversation, please stop it and move on. It might be because it is disrupting the game, it might be because it is making some uncomfortable, or it might be any other reason. 

• We are here to be honest.
• Do not "cheat" or "fudge" the dice or rules knowingly. 
• Be transparent with each other - do not hold "secrets".

• We are here to play.
• Show up on time. Pay attention. Ask for refreshers or clarification if you need it.
• Do be able to respond quickly and promptly. 
• Do not be tabbed out and do not be doing other things while playing (within reason).
• An example of this... are you really getting a lot of your D&D experience if you are playing a videogame on the side? I get it if it is combat; that might be the one exception. But if we are doing exploration or roleplay, be involved!!!!!
• If you're not feeling involved, ask yourself why? Talk to the DM about it. I'm here to play D&D! I'm not here to wait around while all my players are tabbed out in other windows doing whatever. 
• This goes ESPECIALLY double for multiplayer games. If you want to go play an MMO or a shooter for the night, by all means, go do that. But you need to leave and go do that. Don't hold up our game. You're wasting our time. You need to be able to pause your game. Have the D&D chat up at least somewhere on your screen. 

Game Time and Attendance:

• If you are not present...
• Your character is on standby mode. Either they get left behind, or only act when prompted by another player. I might NPC them if I'm feeling cheeky. 
• You may assign another player to be your backup and play your character while you are not there. Ask this person ahead of time and make sure they have a copy of your sheet.

• If you cannot attend...
• Text me or email me if possible ahead of time.
• Do not leave us hanging or blow us off - be honest. I don't care if you want to go hang out somewhere else instead - just tell me.

• If I cannot attend...
• You will generally have advanced notice if I cannot make it to a session because of work. However, things do arise such as call-outs or emergencies, so a last minute cancellation may occur. If it does, I will e-mail the group, or designate someone to do so.

Combat and Initiative: 

• When I call your turn, say HERE or some indicator that you saw that it is your turn. 
• If you do not respond within a minute, I will call you out. 
• If you then do not respond within several more minutes after that, I will skip you.
• Leave instructions if you need to AFK.

• I will call out who is on "deck" so please when I call your name, start thinking up your turn, start typing it up, etc. 

• Before the session starts, review your character sheet and what you are capable of. Have a few different common strategies in mind in how to handle combat situations.
• Ex. What is your melee option? What is your ranged option? What are your skills? What are your spells? Do you have any special tricks or gimmicks?

• We will roll initiative ahead of time in order to keep the game from being bogged down. I will keep these initiatives in a separate tab.

Dice Rolling

• All dice rolling must either be done in Roll20 or through a third party dice bot.

• You may not use your own dice roller. This is to prevent any intentional or unintentional glitches.

Feedback/Rulings/Metagaming: 

• Give me whatever feedback you want whenever. You can do so in public or private. I welcome feedback. It is how I can grow as a person, player, DM, etc. 
• We can discuss whatever you want - from your character to the game to personal stuff.
• If we are actively playing, respect whatever decision I make in the moment to keep the gaming from bogging down.

• If you think I am running something wrong, please let me know in a PRIVATE MESSAGE. Whether you think that I'm using a spell wrong, an action wrong, a monster wrong, etc. Let me know in a PRIVATE MESSAGE. I am not infallible and I don't have any rule set memorized. Whatever call I make in the moment, I need you to respect and drop it. I'm trying to keep the momentum of the game going and not let it come to a screeching halt.
• What I don't need happening is a 10 minute conversation out of character in our in game chat about how, say, Wall of Force or a Tarrasque works

• This ties in with the previous bullet, but please limit your metagaming. Some of you play D&D a little, some of you play it a lot. Some of you might have every spell and monster memorized. This doesn't mean that your CHARACTER knows how to counter a spell, how to counter a monster, etc. That would require a KNOWLEDGE SKILL CHECK or previously having encountered that spell or monster in the past.
• TLDR: Do not confuse your OOC knowledge with IC knowledge.