A variety of games are offered on the Hawthorne Server:
DMs advertise games in the #game-advertisement channel, with instructions on how to apply in #game-listings. You must apply for games, and it is solely up to the DM’s discretion on the players they pick. DMs are incentivized to take on new players; but if you are not picked, please be patient - you will get into a game soon!
Most games occur in voice, with an associated session channel and lobby in the game ad; however some games are ran in text as a Play-By-Post (PbP) and will have its own associated text channel listed in the game ad.
Many games also use a Virtual Tabletop (VTT) such as Roll20 in conjunction with voice. Follow the instructions on the game ad to apply to games, review any listed house rules, and talk with the DM if you have questions.
All games and content on the server use the Tiers of Play. Game ads will indicate what tier(s) the game is for.
After you have been accepted into a game, be sure to arrive on time and remain for the session’s duration. The server’s Code of Conduct applies both during and outside of games, and participating characters should work together for the sake of the mission.
In general, the hierarchy of rulings proceeds as follows:
Rage Advice and server rulings > Sage Advice > Rules as Written.
However, during a game, the DM’s house rules and rulings take precedence. The DM’s word is law during the session: save any issues you have with a DM’s ruling for during a break or after the game.
You can only bring items you own into games. Another PC outside of the game cannot give you an item for the sake of the session unless the item has been traded or loaned to you per the trading rules. You can still share items with other PCs during the game.
You can freely bring into games creatures you control due to a core class feature (e.g. a Beast Master’s animal companion or an Artificer’s mechanical servant) or from the find familiar, find steed, or related spells. Any other summons or creatures you control can be brought into a game only if the DM permits it (e.g. a Simulacrum or a creature under the effects of Planar Binding).
All creatures you control either way have a maximum of 3 attunement slots shared across all such creatures.
Both during and between games, your character can only benefit from items and lasting effects that are within their tier of play (except for resurrection and restorative magic). For example, a T3 character can’t have a Simulacrum of a T4 character.
At the end of each game, each character receives Experience Points (XP) and Downtime Points (DTP). The amount of XP gained depends on each character’s level and the session length as described in the DM Guidelines, and the amount of DTP gained depends on the session length (5 x the hourly duration). If you wish to not gain experience for the game, inform the DM, who will log the lack of XP gain in the session log.
There is a bot that can help you calculate your XP based on the level.
/hgexp [your character's level] [hours played]
Any gold and loot you find should be fairly split among the party and as presided over by the DM. As a general rule of thumb, a PC that can use or “needs” an item has priority over others that don’t. Disputes over loot are often resolved with opposed 1d100 rolls.
Some DM’s will ask for a “stat block” - this is the record that your rewards and outcomes from the game. A statblock typically looks like this:
```@player_discord_id as
It will look like this on discord:
@player as Robin Hood (5) gains 1800XP, 15DTP, 600GP and 1 +1 shortsword. They used 1 healing potion
The DM will log all such rewards for the game in the #session-log channel and you must log the same as an entry in your MAL.
Example:
If your character dies and remains dead at the end of the game, the DM will log the death in the #death-log channel. Bodies brought back to Hawthorne are often kept at the Children of Mercy Hospital, which places dead bodies under the effects of Gentle Repose. If your PC’s body and items weren’t recovered by the end of the game, they can’t be recovered except as part of another adventure.
The following additional rules apply:
Resurrection. Your character can be resurrected in downtime via resurrection magic used by another PC or as a spellcasting service in Hawthorne unless there is an effect preventing your resurrection as determined by the DM. The resurrection is logged in #death-log by the DM.
Divine Intervention. A character can only benefit from one successful Divine Intervention (2014) in their career to be resurrected, replicating True Resurrection without any components.
Disintegration. A character that has been disintegrated can only be returned to life via True Resurrection or Wish.
If you decide to let your character remain dead, you can retire the character and distribute their possessions to other PCs as part of a will if you wish in the #trade-logs channel. The character will be buried in the graveyard if there is a body and you may roleplay them as a ghost in the roleplay channels, though they can’t leave the graveyard.
Other events besides death can occur during a game that prevents you from playing your character in another game (e.g. being imprisoned by a villain). The character either becomes a Non-Player Character (NPC) or can’t be played until the consequence is reversed as determined by the DM. The DM can at their discretion allow the character to be played for the purpose of an adventure to reverse the consequence (e.g. a prison break). If your character has become an NPC, the DM may allow you to continue to roleplay that character within limits they set out. Any such consequences should likewise be logged in the #death-log by the DM.
The rules below apply to the following specific situations:
Between adventures, your PC can roleplay with other PCs in text in the roleplay channels. Both the Server Code of Conduct as well as the guild code of conduct still apply to text roleplay. If there are any rules disputes, resolve rulings in priority of Rage Advice and server rulings > Sage Advice > Rules as Written. Text roleplay is not mandatory but can be a good way to flesh out your PC and their relationships with other PCs.
Note: While romantic roleplay between consenting PCs is allowed, explicit erotic roleplay (ERP) is not allowed. As a rule of thumb, keep things PG-13
Hawthorne Guild