Mountains Dark Heart

Chronicle Charter
10.08.2014

Sections:
1. Statement
2. Staff Positions and Duties
3. Voting Procedures
4. Discipline Procedures
5. Locations of Play
6. Chronicle Member Characters
7. Revisions to the Charter and House Rules
8. Roundtable



1.0 Charter Statement

1.0 The goal of the Mountains Dark Heart (MDH) staff is to provide the framework for each player to tell
their PCs story in the Vampire: The Masquerade genre. This is to be done by creating the local world
meta-plot for the players to interact with, as well as incorporating global and regional plot created by One
World by Night (OWbN) Coordinators and other OWbN chronicles. The staff will provide the players with a
site to gather and play at, as well as running online scenes and monitoring interactions with OWbN
coordinator office staff. The staff will aid players with questions concerning the chronicle and genre as
needed, without directly controlling the actions of the Players. The staff will monitor game play to ensure a
fair environment is created, and will be prepared to enforce the disciplinary procedure to ensure fair game
play for all involved. As Vampire: The Masquerade is a mature themed game, we restrict the games age to
players eighteen (18) years of age and above.


2.0 Staff Positions and Duties
2.0 The staff positions in MDH are as follows;
Head Storyteller (HST)
Assistant Storyteller (AST)
Council Member (CM)
Player Representative (Player Rep)
Narrator
The HST and AST(s) can be collectively referred to as the Storyteller staff.

2.1 Duties of the HST
The HST is chosen by the players when the current HST steps down, or when a successful Vote of No
Confidence is cast by the players. The duties of the HST are as follows;
Appoint the positions of AST, CM, and Narrator.
Responsible for overseeing the character database.
Verify with the PC database that all character sheets are correct and in genre.
Maintain a physical site location for chronicle use.
Maintain the account books on the chronicles funds for site fees and needed purchases.
Interact and work with OWbN Coordinators and other OWbN Storytellers.
Writing and revising the Chronicle Charter and House Rules.
Monitor the clans assigned to them, and help those clans players develop plot for their PCs.
Develop and maintain the meta-plot.
Adjudicate scenes where any PC death will occur.
Monitor experience expenditures of the MDH players.
Monitor the influence actions of the players, and apply the effects to the plot of the chronicle. In some
cases this duty can be assigned to one of the storyteller staff in particular.

2.2 Duties of the AST(s)
The ASt(s) are appointed by the HST. The duties of the ST(s) are as follows;
Responsible for overseeing the character database.
Verify with the PC database that all character sheets are correct.
Maintain a physical site location for chronicle use.
Maintain the account books on the chronicles funds for site fees and needed purchases.
Interact and work with OWbN Coordinators and other OWbN Storytellers.
Work with the HST and other ST(s) on any needed revisions to the chronicle charter or house rules.
Monitor the clans assigned to them, and help those clans players develop plot for their PCs.
Develop local plots for the chronicle as a whole in the framework of the meta-plot.
Adjudicate scenes where any PC death will occur.
Monitor experience expenditures of the MDH players.
Monitor the influence actions of the players, and apply the effects to the plot of the game.

2.3 Duties of the Council Member
The Council Member (CM) is appointed by the HST. The CM can be a HST, ST, or Narrator. The duty of
the CM is as follows;
The CM will keep the chronicle up to date on what is happening in regards to discussions concerning
changes OWbN genre rulings that are on council. They will speak with both the storyteller staff and player
base on a bi-weekly basis.
When voting on plot sensitive votes for OWbN, they will confer with the storyteller staff as to what is up for
vote, and how the chronicle should vote.
When voting for OWbN coordinator positions, or new chronicles, they will gather the information on those
who are running/status of the new chronicles and present it to the chronicle.
They are responsible for making the monthly status reports to the OWbN Archivist.
They are to present to council R&U propositions for the players in the chronicle, after conferring with the
storyteller staff.

2.4 Duty of the Player Representative
The Player Representative (Player Rep) is selected by the players from among eligible chronicle members
nominated. The duties of the Player Rep are as follows;
Approach members of the storyteller staff, when players feel they cannot approach one of the storyteller
staff, to discuss an issue a player may have with a member of the storyteller staff or with the game as a
whole.
Keep the storyteller staff informed about the general feeling of the chronicles players.
Direct the player on which member of the chronicles storyteller staff they should see concerning a
question they might have concerning that aspect of the chronicle.
Count the ballots to determine the outcome of chronicle votes.


2.5 Duty of the Narrator
The Narrator is appointed by the HST. The Narrator will be chosen from amongst the eligible voting player
base of the chronicle. The duties of the Narrator are as follows;
Adjudicate challenges that do not directly affect plots or involve PC death, when a member of the
storyteller staff is not available.


3.0 Voting Procedures
3.0 MDH allows its players a voice in how the chronicle is to be run. This section covers who is eligible to
vote in the chronicle, what topics the chronicle can vote on, and the system used to determine the results.

3.1 Eligible voting chronicle members
To be able to vote in an election for MDH, you must meet at least one of the following criteria;
Be a player based in MDH, that has been playing a PC ninety (90) days prior to the day of vote, and who
has attended at least two (2) MDH games in that ninety (90) day period before the day of vote.
Be a member of the chronicles storyteller staff, and or council member.
Be a former member of the chronicles storyteller staff for a period of more than ninety (90) days prior to
the day of vote, and have been an active member of the storyteller staff at two (2) games before the day of
vote.

3.2 Voting policy on HST Retention
When the HST has served in the position for one (1) year, the eligible voting chronicle members will be
given a choice as to retaining the current HST or to choose a new HST. Two games prior to one (1) year,
the Player Rep will approach the chronicle and announce that the HST retention vote will be taking place.
After the announcement, if any of the eligible voting chronicle members who would like to run for HST have
till the next game to make their declaration of intent. At the second game after the announcement, the
players will vote. The vote will be a secret ballot counted by the Player Rep and a current staff member.
Eligible voting chronicle members who cannot attend the game at which the vote takes place, can email
their vote to the Player Rep. The individual having the greatest number of votes will be the chronicles
choice as HST.

3.3 Voting policy on an HST stepping down
When the HST decides to step down from the position, the eligible voting chronicle members will be given a
choice as to who the new HST will be. Two games prior to stepping down, the HST will approach the
chronicle and announce his resignation. After the announcement, any of the eligible voting chronicle
members who would like to run for HST have till the next game to make their declaration of intent.
At the next game the players will vote. The vote will be a secret ballot counted by the Player Rep and a
current staff member. Eligible voting chronicle members who cannot attend the game at which the vote
takes place, can email their vote to the Player Rep. The individual having the greatest number of votes will
be the chronicles choice as HST.

3.4 Voting policy on calling a Vote of No Confidence
If the chronicle decides that the current HST is not fulfilling their duties properly, the eligible voting chronicle
members can call for a Vote of No Confidence. When they players ask for the vote, the Player Rep will
announce the request before the next game and will monitor the votes. At the next game, the eligible voting
chronicle members will vote in a secret ballot for a Vote of No Confidence. Eligible voting chronicle
members who cannot attend the game at which the vote takes place, can email their Player Rep.
If the Vote to call a Vote of No Confidence passes by a 25% of the eligible voting chronicle, another vote is
immediately called to remove the HST. This vote is also counted by the Player Rep and will take place at
the next game date. If the total of the votes to remove the HST is a simple majority (51% or more of the
voting chronicle members) in favor of removal, the HST is removed from position immediately. If the vote to
remove fails to gain a simple majority, it fails and the HST cannot be put up for a Vote of No Confidence for
six (6) months. If the vote passes those among the eligible voting members of the chronicle who wish to run
for HST should make their intent known before the next game date.


If the HST is removed, the chronicle staff, save for the Player Rep, is to take over in the duties of HST and
the removed HST may not add their name to the ballot for HST until the next Vote of Retention or Vote of
No Confidence. At the next game date, the eligible voting chronicle members will vote. The vote will be a
secret ballot counted by the Player Rep and a current staff member. Eligible voting chronicle members who
cannot attend the game at which the vote takes place, can email their vote to the Player Rep. The
individual having the greatest number of votes will be the chronicles choice as HST. The new HST is then
free to fill the staff positions as they see fit.

4. Discipline Procedures
4.0 The following policies encompass the conduct that is expected from both the chronicles players and
staff. While some of these are a common sense in some respects, they are presented here so that there is
a clear record of what the listed infractions and punishments are. These topics cover broad areas. If these
areas need any further clarification, they will be added in further revisions.

4.1 Levels of punishment
Just as there can be varying degrees in the severity of offenses, there are varying degrees of punishment.
All but one of the following punishments applies to the chronicle level only, whether they are a member or
not. An OWbN strike will apply org wide. Due to the severity of some infractions, a chronicle member or
visitor may directly be given a higher level of punishment. The punishments are given by the storyteller staff
after a discussion on the matter. The punishments are as follows;
Warning: This level of punishment serves as it says a warning that the player or storyteller is coming close
to gaining a more severe form of punishment.

Censure: This level of punishment is to acknowledge that the player has committed a minor offence.
These only last for one (1) month (30 days). During this period, the chronicle member is not allowed to
vote.
Visitors receiving a censure will be asked not to return for the span of one game session.

If a chronicle member or visitor acquires three (3) or more Censures before their one month period is
complete for the first one, they will receive the next level of punishment.

Probation: This level of punishment is to acknowledge that the player has committed a major offence, or
several minor offences. These only last for three (3) months (90 days). During this period, the chronicle
member is not allowed to vote and may be asked not to attend the next game session. The night the
Probation is announced, or following game if during the down time between games, the chronicle member
will not receive experience for the evening.

Visitors receiving Probation will be asked not to return for the span of three (3) months (90 days).

If a chronicle member or visitor acquires three (3) or more Censures before their three (3) month period is
complete for the first one, they will receive the next level of punishment.

Ban: This level of punishment is to acknowledge that the player has committed a severe offence, or
several minor offences. These last for three (3) months (90 days) to up to six (6) months (180 days), the
length is to be determined by the storyteller staff. During this period, the chronicle member is not allowed to
vote. The chronicle member will not acquire any experience from MDH, or apply experience to any of their
MDH PCs. They are not allowed to attend a MDH game, or any other OWbN chronicles with any of their
MDH based PCs. If they are involved with an online scene, or actions with an OWbN coordinators office,
those will be completed and the chronicle member will not be allowed to begin any new scenes till the Ban
is completed. During this time any MDH based PCs that they have will be shelved for the duration of the
ban. No direct harm can come to the PC during the duration of the shelving.

Visitors receiving a Ban will be asked not to return for three (3) months (90 days) to up to six (6) months
(180 days), the length is to be determined by the storyteller staff.

If a chronicle member or visitor acquires three (3) or more Censures, be placed on Probation, or Banned
again within a three (3) month period after completing their Ban, they will receive the next level of
punishment.

Permanent Ban: This level of punishment is to acknowledge that the player has committed a grievous
offence, or several major or severe offences. The chronicle member is banned from Participating in any
MDH games or functions. The chronicle members PC is then given over to the Storyteller staff to control.

Visitor receiving a Permanent Ban will be asked not to return.

OWbN Strike: this punishment is covered by the OWbN bylaws, and is enforced accordingly. This
punishment is at the org level and maybe used in addition to any of the previously listed punishments.
If a chronicle member feels that a punishment is too harsh, or unwarranted, they can appeal the decision of
the storyteller staff. They have one (1) week (7 days) in which to appeal the ruling. If they choose to appeal,
they will meet with the storyteller and the Player Rep to discuss the matter. In the case of a visitor, that
visitors story tellers will contact the MDH storyteller staff to discuss the matter. After the discussion the
storyteller staff has one (1) week (7 days) to decide to uphold the punishment, decrease the severity, or
remove the punishment all together. In the cases of upholding the punishment, or decreasing the severity
of the punishment, the effects of the punishment start on the date of discussion.

4.2 Offenses in Mountains Dark Heart
The following are a list of offenses in MDH. Each entry consists of a description of the offense as well the
typical punishment that is associated with the offense. As stated before, it is expected that some of these
are common sense, but they are listed here for the sake of transparency and clarification. For easier
clarification, the term player(s) will refer to any chronicle member or visitor that is portraying a PC and
storyteller(s) are any member of the MDH storyteller staff. The lists of possible offenses are as follows;

4.2.1 Disruption of Game play: This is a broad offense that covers a numerous smaller actions that interfere
with the storytellers ability to smoothly run the game or the players enjoyment of the game. These include,
but are not limited to;
Public harassment of a player or storyteller for OOC reasons. This includes action taken on public lists.
Public displays of intoxication that disrupt game play.
Continued arguing with players and/or storyteller staff or an adjudicating Narrator concerning rules calls
when asked to wait till the scene is finished to continue the discussion.
The typical punishments for these infractions are a Warning or Censure.

4.2.2 Cheating: This constitutes a malicious attempt to change the outcome of a scene, or players
characters power level, through various means. These include, but not limited to;
Adding/Using unearned experience to a character sheet.
Adding/Using unpaid items to a character sheet that were not approved by a storyteller or a member of an
OWbN coordinators office.
Adding/Using items to a character sheet that were not approved by a storyteller or a member of an OWbN
coordinators office.
Using Out Of Character (OOC) knowledge in a scene or in other forms of communication.
The typical punishments for these infractions range from a Censure up to a Ban, depending on the severity
of the infraction.

4.2.3 Illegal consumption of Alcohol/Drugs: This constitutes the taking of illegal drugs and/or underage
drinking at the game site.
The typical punishments for these infractions range from Probation up to a Permanent Ban, depending on
the severity of the infraction.

4.2.4 Theft: This constitutes the use theft of personal possession from players, storytellers, or the game site
facilities.
The typical punishments for these infractions range from a Ban up to a Permanent Ban, depending on the
severity of the infraction.

4.2.5 Use/Threat of Physical force: This constitutes the use of physical force against a player or storyteller.
These include, but not limited to;
Physical violence against a player or storyteller.
Threats of physical violence against a player or storyteller(s)
Vandalism/destruction of any items at a game location.
The typical punishments for these infractions range from a Ban up to a Permanent Ban, depending on the
severity of the infraction.

4.3 Overturning a Permanent Ban
A chronicle member or visitor may petition to have a Permanent Ban lifted. The banned party must wait till
after a three (3) month (90 day) period has passed after the Permanent Ban was handed down.
The chronicle member contacts the Player Rep, and requests a review of the Permanent Ban and a
request to be able to return to the chronicle. In the case of a visitor, that visitors home chronicle storyteller
staff will contact the MDH storyteller staff. The storyteller staff will then discuss the possibility of allowing
the chronicle member or visitor to return to the game. After one (1) week of discussions, the storyteller staff
will announce its decision.
If the ban is lifted, the following happens. In the case of a chronicle member, they are allowed to attend the
next game after the decision is made. After a three (3) month (90 day) period, they will once again be able
to be eligible to vote. In the case of a visitor, they will be allowed to attend a MDH game. If the ban is not
lifted, the chronicle member or visitor must wait for a period of three (3) months (90 days) till the can again
petition for the Permanent Ban to be lifted.


5. Locations of Play
5.0 Locations of Play
The choosing of a site to play the chronicle can run at, and maintaining it, is the duty of the HST and ST(s).
For a site to be acceptable, it must meet the following criteria;
The site must be accessible to all chronicle members or visitors, within reason. This means that the site
must allow for wheel chair bound and movement impaired individuals. The site also must allow individuals
in that are within our age range.
The site must have restroom facilities within a two (2) minute duration walk of the main site.
Chronicle members or visitors must have free access to leave and enter the site unrestricted.
Any caretakers for the site must know that the Chronicle is holding a game there. There is to be no
squatting of a site.
If there is to be a site fee for the location, it must be no more than five (5) dollars. If the site is being used
for an event game, the fee can be increased for the event.
If the site is in a public area, care must be taken not to interfere with other occupants of the area.


6. Chronicle Member Characters
6.0 This section covers the administrative side of the record keeping with concerns to chronicle members
characters. This does not include rules for character creation, as that is covered in the House Rules.

6.1 Active and Retired Characters
Chronicle members may only have one active character in play at a time. If a chronicle member wishes to
play another PC, they must do the following;
They must retire the current active character. This means the retired character cannot communicate with
other characters, or participate in any scenes. If a character is retired, it becomes a Non Player Character
(NPC) and property of the MDH ST Staff. Also you cannot retire a PC to escape the consequences of your
characters actions. If this is done, the chronicle member will be given the option of playing their character or
it will be played in proxy by the Storyteller Staff.
Transfer the Players current character to another OWbN chronicle. This is done by contacting the HSTs
of both MDH and the other OWbN chronicle and requesting a transfer. If both HSTs agree to the transfer,
then that PC is now the new OWbN chronicles PC.
MDH players may maintain one (1) PC for Special Event or travel purposes only. This PC cannot be
played in a MDH game. When the player wishes to play this PC, they must request permission from the ST
staff to use this PC. This PC only earns experience at those special events or other games. The Travel
PC cannot interact with other MDH PCs, except at the event or through downtime scenes directly
continuing from the event or visit. The Travel PC is not allowed to interact with any of the Players Active
PCs. The active PC may not receive items crafted by the Travel PC, or gain powers/ information from them
or vice versa.
If the player wishes to add experience on their Travel PC without traveling, they may temporarily shelve
their Active PC and play their Travel PC. This action may not be used to evade any consequences that
their Active PC is facing. If this is done, the chronicle member will be given the option of playing the
character or it will be played in proxy by the Storyteller Staff. The Player must play the PC for three months
before switching back.

6.2 Character Audits
Any member of the story teller staff may audit a chronicle member(s) character sheet at any time. This is
done by comparing the character sheet on file with the one the chronicle member has on them.
Discrepancy between the sheets may result in disciplinary action.

7. Revisions to the Charter and House Rules
7.0 Revision to the Charter
As noted in the Duties of the HST and Duties of the ST, it is the responsibility of those positions to write
the changes to the Charter as the need arises. The HST and/or ST(s) will propose the change to the
Charter to the eligible voting chronicle members. After the announcement, there will be a discussion period
of the two (2) weeks before the next game. At the next game after the announcement was made, the voting
chronicle members will vote on the changes, requiring a 75% majority in favor of the revision to be
considered successful. If the vote for the revision of the Charter is successful, the changes will be made to
the Charter as well as the following changes;
On the front cover the date of the revisions, and the HST and/or ST(s) writing them, will be set under the
authors name/previous revisers name and date.
The HST and/or ST(s) will update the Amended section to describe the changes that were made to each
section of the charter.

7.1 Revision to the House Rules
As noted in the Duties of the HST and Duties of the ST, it is the responsibility of those positions to write
the changes to the House Rules as the need arises. The HST and/or ST(s) will propose the change to the
house rules to the eligible voting chronicle members. After the announcement, there will be a discussion
period of two weeks before the next game. During the discussion period the players may voice their
opinions of the changes to the house rules. At the next game after the announcement was made, the voting
chronicle members will vote on the changes, requiring a 51% majority in favor of the revision to be
considered successful. If the vote for the revision of the House Rules is successful, the changes will be
made to the House Rules as well as the following changes;
On the front cover the date of the revisions, and the HST and/or ST(s) writing them, will be set under the
authors name/previous revisers name and date.
The HST and/or ST(s) will update the Amended section to describe the changes that were made to each
section of the charter.

8. Roundtable
8.0 Roundtable
A roundtable will be scheduled every six months for the game to discuss any and all issues that may have
arisen and for the ST staff to hear suggestions and comments from the player base. If a player does not
wish to publicly raise a comment or suggestion they should log it with their Player Rep before the
scheduled Roundtable.