Message posted on Stardate 01100.7 at 1955 hours
Posted by Scott Dale Robison (President).
Edict 23:
Ok, at long last, I present to you the new and improved, lemon scented, GMD Regulations, aka OGRE (Omnibus GMD Revisions Edict). Many thanks to everyone involved, particulary Jeremy Friedman and Larry Garfield. This is basically as last reported here with just a couple of modifications by me where I felt it important.
- SUPERCEDENCE OF PREVIOUS EDICTS
Edict Bourdaa #19 is hereby rescinded and superceded by this Edict.
Edict Spurlin #4 is hereby rescinded and superceded by this Edict.
All portions of Edict Hughes #21 relating to the Gamemaster Department are hereby rescinded and superceded by this Edict.
Edict Lackie #2 is hereby rescinded and superceded by this Edict.
Edict Lackie #5 is hereby rescinded and superceded by this Edict.
Edict Lackie #37 is hereby rescinded and superceded by this Edict.
- ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GAMEMASTER DEPARTMENT
The Gamemaster Department shall serve as a resource to Gamemasters, COs, and the membership on matters relating to GMing and in-character activity through those means deemed most expedient and useful to STF and the membership.
The Gamemaster Department shall maintain standards of GMing by means of the regulations set forth in this Edict and later Edicts. The Gamemaster Department shall maintain a public record of the status of all registered or licensed Gamemasters.
The daily activity of the Gamemaster Department is overseen by the Gamemaster Director, who shall be appointed by the President. The Gamemaster Director is a cabinet position, and is equal in power to other departmental directors and Fleet Commanders.
The Assistant Gamemaster Director is appointed by the Gamemaster Director. The Assistant Gamemaster Director answers directly to the Gamemaster Director, and is responsible for departmental decisions in the event the Gamemaster Director is not available. Additional responsibilities are at the discretion of the Gamemaster Director.
The Gamemaster Director may delegate any of his duties enumerated in this Edict or any other responsibilities incumbent upon him as a result of another Edict to another named member of the Gamemaster Department, subject to the condition that the individual with final authority on the licensing of Gamemasters be himself a licensed Full Gamemaster or the Gamemaster Director.
- GAMEMASTER QUALIFICATION
The STF Academy shall maintain a written course and examination pertaining to the subject of GMing. The Gamemaster Department must approve the content and proctor of the course and exam.
All prospective Gamemasters are required to pass the Gamemaster exam maintained by the Academy.
Prospective Gamemasters who have passed the Academy course may elect to pursue either Certification or Apprenticeship at their discretion.
- GAMEMASTER CERTIFICATION
Prospective Gamemasters who have passed the Academy course and who elect to pursue Certification are responsible for locating a Ship on which to Gamemaster according to Section 10 of this Edict and informing the Gamemaster Department of their assignment. The prospective Gamemaster may request the assistance of the Gamemaster Director in this matter. Once placed on a ship the prospective Gamemaster shall be known as a Gamemaster Candidate. The Gamemaster Department shall then assign a Gamemaster Observer to the ship. The OM Observer must be a licensed Gamemaster of Full standing or higher. Preference will be given to Full Gamemasters who are already present on the ship in question. The CO of the ship may be appointed Gamemaster Observer only if they are a Full Gamemaster and no other willing Full Gamemasters can be located. The Gamemaster Observer is expected to read the ship in question regularly in order to evaluate the Gamemaster Candidate.
After 30 days the CO, Gamemaster Observer, and Gamemaster Director shall confer in a manner deemed most expedient to determine if the Gamemaster Candidate has performed acceptably. The Gamemaster Director will make the final decision regarding the passage of the Gamemaster Candidate based on the input from the Gamemaster Mentor and CO within one week. Should it be decided that the Gamemaster Candidate has performed acceptably, he shall be promoted to Junior Gamemaster and the Gamemaster Observer shall be removed. Should it be decided that the Gamemaster Candidate has not performed acceptably, he shall be removed and replaced in accordance with section 11 of this Edict. He may reapply to either Certification or Apprenticeship again should he so desire after a two-week interval from the date of the Gamemaster Director’s ruling.
Should the Gamemaster Candidate be promoted to Junior Gamemaster he shall continue the mission without interruption. Should he be removed according to section 11 of this Edict before the remainder of the mission is completed he shall revert to prospective status. Upon successful completion of the mission, he shall be licensed as a Full Gamemaster.
- GAMEMASTER APPRENTICESHIP
Prospective Gamemasters who have passed the Academy course and who elect to pursue Apprenticeship are responsible for locating a Ship on which to Gamemaster according to Section 10 of this Edict and informing the Gamemaster Department of their assignment. The Gamemaster Candidate is also responsible for locating a Senior Gamemaster who is willing to act as their Mentor. The Gamemaster Candidate may request the assistance of the Gamemaster Director in this matter. Once a Ship and Gamemaster Mentor are located, the prospective Gamemaster shall be known as a Gamemaster Apprentice.
The Gamemaster Apprentice and Gamemaster Mentor will jointly plan and begin a mission on the ship. The Gamemaster Apprentice and Gamemaster Mentor shall be expected to co-Gamemaster the mission at first, with an exact division of labor as they decide. The division of labor should progress towards the Gamemaster Apprentice having complete GMing responsibility, with the Gamemaster Mentor in an advisory role. The entire process is required to last a minimum of three months, and the Gamemaster Apprentice is required to be acting as exclusive Gamemaster for at least the last 30 days.
At the end of the mission the CO, Gamemaster Mentor, and Gamemaster Director shall confer in a manner deemed most expedient to determine if the Gamemaster Apprentice has performed acceptably. The Gamemaster Director will make the final decision regarding the passage of the Gamemaster Apprentice based on the input from the Gamemaster Mentor and CO. Should the Gamemaster Apprentice be passed, he shall be licensed as a Full Gamemaster. Should the Gamemaster Apprentice not be passed, he shall revert to prospective Gamemaster status. He may reapply to either Certification or Apprenticeship again should he so desire after a two-week interval from the date of the Gamemaster Director’s ruling. A Gamemaster Apprentice may be removed before the end of the mission by the Fleet Commander or named subordinate at the request of the CO under advisement from the Gamemaster Mentor and Gamemaster Director should it be decided that the Gamemaster Apprentice is not improving and his presence is harmful to the ship.
- SENIOR GAMEMASTER STATUS
A Full Gamemaster who has successfully completed three or more missions not counting his Apprenticeship mission may apply to the Gamemaster Department for Senior Gamemaster status. The Gamemaster Department shall grant Senior Gamemaster status upon positive confirmation of successful completion of three missions and positive comments from the relevant COs. This distinction is primarily honorary but is a required status for being placed as a Gamemaster Mentor.
- APPOINTMENT OF GAMEMASTERS
Prior to the commencement of each mission, the Fleet Commander of a fleet or a subordinate of his choosing shall select a Gamemaster who shall serve as Gamemaster for that mission, after consultation with the CO of the ship in question. The Gamemaster must be a licensed Full or Senior Gamemaster, Notification of this selection must be sent to the Gamemaster Department within 24 hours of the selection, and at least 48 hours prior to the commencement of the mission. Failure to do so shall be considered a failure to complete a duty incumbent upon the office of the person in question. Additional regulation of Gamemaster appointments within a given fleet is at the discretion of the Fleet Commander.
- PLACEMENT OF GAMEMASTER CANDIDATES
The Fleet Commander or named subordinate of a fleet may name a Gamemaster Candidate to a ship for the purposes of Certification or Apprenticeship, at the discretion of the Gamemaster Candidate. The Gamemaster Department may recommend that a ship host a Gamemaster Candidate if no Fleet Commander or named subordinate has already requested said Gamemaster Candidate. The Fleet Commander or named subordinate responsible is expected to give this request due and fair consideration. A Gamemaster Candidate may not be placed without the approval of the CO of the ship in question.
- DELICENSING
In the event that the Gamemaster Director should receive a complaint about a Gamemaster and upon investigation decide that there is cause for said complaint, he may as appropriate place the Gamemaster in question “on probation” and assign a Gamemaster Observer to observe the situation on the ship and the Gamemaster in question, but not terminate the Gamemaster’s license; or in extreme cases he may revoke the Gamemaster’s license and remove him from the list of Licensed Gamemasters and notify the Fleet Commander and CO of any ships where the Gamemaster in question had been GMing. Should a Gamemaster be serving on a ship at the time he is delicensed the Fleet Commander or named subordinate shall be expected to locate a licensed replacement promptly.
- RELICENSING
In the event that a Gamemaster should have his license revoked he may reapply to either Certification or Apprenticeship again should he so desire after a two-week interval from the date of the Gamemaster Director’s ruling. He will be given the same consideration as any other individual applying for a Certification or Apprenticeship.
- DISMISSAL OF GAMEMASTERS
A Gamemaster may be removed prior to the completion of a mission by the Fleet Commander or previously named subordinate should the Gamemaster exhibit behavior ill-suited for his position, does not uphold his responsibility of maintaining an enjoyable environment aboard his ship, or abuses the authority of his position beyond the boundaries of STF law and common sense. Dismissal of a Gamemaster by the Fleet Commander himself shall be considered an act of the Fleet Commander and treated accordingly. Dismissal of a Gamemaster by a subordinate of the Fleet Commander shall be referred first to the Fleet Commander before further action.
- AUTHORITY OF GAMEMASTERS
Gamemasters are responsible for providing an entertaining experience for members of STF on the ships where they serve, and are required to work with each ship’s commanding officer to accomplish this task. In issues pertaining to daily ship operations (i.e. promotions, demotions, logs, message of the day [MOTD]), the Gamemaster has no authority.
Under extreme circumstances in which one or more posts are irreconcilable with the actions in one or more other posts; with the laws of STF, reason, or decency; or with previously established RPG events; a Gamemaster may declare the posts in question to be null and void and must include a statement of explanation. Any voided post may be appealed to the Gamemaster Director by the voided member. If the Gamemaster is also the Gamemaster Director, it may be appealed to the Assistant Gamemaster Director.
Under normal circumstances, Gamemasters may not cause the death of a character on a ship who is controlled by a member of STF. The situations in which a Gamemaster may cause the death of a character on a ship who is not a Non-Player Character shall consist only of the following circumstances:
1) AWOL. If the character has been declared AWOL, the Gamemaster may do whatever he likes with it, without restriction.
2) The player gives consent to the Gamemaster, for whatever reason.
3) If the character has taken actions that, in the opinion of the Gamemaster, would result in a 90% or higher probability of death, a “Death Notice” may be served.
a) For the first Death Notice issued against a character, that character will be warned by the Gamemaster publicly against taking such chances, and remind the character that the move would ordinarily have resulted in death, had it been real. In this case, the Gamemaster shall void the posts in question, modify the situation to reverse the extremely risky move, or shall otherwise modify the situation as to allow the character to continue to survive.
b) For the second Death Notice, the results shall be the same as for the first notice, however, there shall also be an email sent by the Gamemaster to the ship’s CO, XO, and to the owner of the character, warning that the character has received two death notices, and that a third will result in actual character death.
c) For the third Death Notice, the Gamemaster shall rule the character has died as a result of his actions, and that character will be eliminated from the roster and their position. The CO of the ship shall have discretion as to whether to allow the person to create a new character on the same ship, and what position/rank that new character should hold on the ship.
d) In the event that it is the CO who is receiving Death Notices, the Fleet Commander shall be notified. In the event that the Fleet Commander receives such notices, the President shall be informed.
e) If a character has received no Death Notices in the past six months, but had received them prior to that six month period, all prior Death Notices will be erased from their record, and they shall have a clean slate to start from again.
f) If a member habitually receives Death Notices (more than 5 in a 6 month span), they may be ruled to be a suicidal character player by the Gamemaster Director or by the Fleet Commander of a fleet in which they serve. If a member is so classified, the limit for character death shall be one. Members may appeal a declaration of suicidal-tendency to the President. Such a declaration shall expire six months after the last death notice placed against a character controlled by that player.
g) The Gamemaster may not intentionally place a player into a situation where any action (including lack of action) would result in a death situation. Unlike the real world, there must be at least one morally acceptable way to get out. Violation of subsection g) is the only acceptable grounds for overturning the Gamemaster’s ruling of a “death notice” in this case.
- SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
A Gamemaster or group of Gamemasters may choose to engage in a mission that explicitly spans multiple ships. In that case, they must obtain prior permission from the CO of all of the involved ships and all related Fleet Commanders. They will be required to notify the Gamemaster Director prior to the start of the mission. Should the mission involve three or more ships, they will be required to notify the President prior to the start of the mission.
Existing ships may petition the Gamemaster Director to be considered for Self-RPG status. To be considered, the ship’s CO must provide viable reasons why his ship is suited for self-RPG status. He must also provide proof that guidelines are in place maintain a pleasant role-playing atmosphere. The petition will be granted with unanimous approval from the Gamemaster Director, appropriate Fleet Commander, and ship’s CO. In the event that the Fleet Commander is also the Gamemaster Director, the CO is also the Fleet Commander, or the CO is also the Gamemaster Director, the approval of the President shall be required.
A CO may serve as Gamemaster of his own ship only with the prior consent of the Gamemaster Director and Fleet Commander. In the event that the Fleet Commander is also the Gamemaster Director, the CO is also the Fleet Commander, or the CO is also the Gamemaster Director, the approval of the President shall be required.
- IMPLEMENTATION
Members who can demonstrate that they have already passed the Gamemaster Course as of the date of this Edict shall not be required to retake the course.
Members who can demonstrate that they previously GMed a ship for at least one complete mission prior to the original implementation of Training and Certification programs in Edict Spurlin #4 on 15 March 1999 will be considered licensed. They need not go through the licensing process again.
Members who can demonstrate that they participated in and were passed by a previous Training or Certification program will be considered licensed. They need not go through the licensing process again.
Members who are currently actively engaged in Apprenticeship training will continue their current training under the previous program. If they so choose, they may withdraw from the Apprenticeship program and elect to pursue either the Certification or revised Apprenticeship program described in this Edict. Members currently engaged as Gamemaster Mentors may continue until the end of the current mission regardless of their status as Full or Senior Gamemaster, but following the completion of the current mission will be bound by the requirements set forth herein.
Members who are recognized licensed Gamemasters under the terms of this Edict may petition the Gamemaster Department immediately for Senior Gamemaster status provided that they meet the requirements set forth herein.
Ships that are currently recognized as Self-RPG areas as of the date of this Edict by the Gamemaster Department shall retain that status. The ship’s CO does not need to obtain reapproval.
COs who are currently authorized to serve as Gamemaster of their own ships as of the date of this Edict by Presidential Edict shall retain that status. The CO does not need to obtain reapproval.
Scott Dale Robison
President, Star-Fleet