Maelstrom House Rules

Contractor Creation Rules

• New Contractors must be submitted for approval in The Contract Discord server's #approvals channel before their first game.
• At creation, Contractors cannot take more than a combined 5 Assets and Liabilities that cost/grant Exp. Free Assets do not count toward this limit.
• Contractors cannot be direct ripoffs of pop-culture concepts, to the point that NPCs in-game would notice the similarity. For example: you could play a heroic strong-man or a famous weapons-developer but not specifically Superman or Iron Man.
• Contractors may not start out as a concept that is likely to disrupt Contracts (e.g. being a walking, talking fox, being as notorious as Osama bin Laden, having a bomb in their chest that detonates when they die, etc).
• Contractors are mundane people who would see their ambitions through regardless of access to powers. That is why a Harbinger offers Gifts, and why they are willing to risk their lives for the power to make their dreams come true.
  • Your Ambition must be a core driver to your character's actions, is a large point of tension for their story, and is likely to get them into trouble. Craft your Ambition carefully and be open to suggestions and changes from Endorsed GMs in order nail it.
  • Keep in mind, however, that Ambitions can (and will) change over time as your Contractor develops. It's simply part of character development! No matter what, Ambitions are why a Contractor risks their life continuing to participate in Contracts. 

Maelstrom Contractor Limits

• In order to facilitate more focused character concepts, Maelstrom has a hard limit on the number of Newbies and Novices per Player. At Maximum, a Player can only have 2 Newbies and 3 Novices active in Maelstrom at once.
• Any Contractor housed in the Playgroup is considered active. Remove them from the Playgroup if you don't want to play them. Moving Contractors back into the Playgroup requires Judge approval. 

Power Creation Rules

• Cohesive Powers: Manifested Gifts must be in-line with Character Concepts and requires Endorsed GM approval.
  
• Logical Flavor: Players must be able to explain how and why their power works in a given situation, otherwise GMs have license to cause them to fail.
  • For Example: a Blast flavored as a ball of fire might not work underwater. But at the same time, that same Blast power might do extra damage to enemies vulnerable to fire. GMs always have final say, but must remember to make Powers feel powerful. 

Citizenship

• Active Players are expected to GM Contracts from time to time. If you have played as a Contractor 6 Maelstrom Contracts, you are barred from playing in Maelstrom again until you GM a Contract yourself.
  • This limit can be temporarily lifted if an Endorsed GM gives explicit approval to allow you to play in their game.
  • If at this limit, you may attend a game run by another GM fulfilling Citizenship.

Downtimes

Interacting and addressing Loose Ends, Conditions, and/or Circumstances require Moves during the Downtime between Contracts. This connects your contractor with the world in some tangible way.

• Treacherous Loose Ends: A Contractor who waits for a Loose End's threat to manifest without taking any precautions against it during their Downtimes will see the threat revealing itself at the worst possible moment during downtime. Ask Endorsed GMs and Playgroup Leaders for Moves to help control Loose Ends before they control you.
• Neutral/Unknown Loose Ends: Some Loose Ends are Unknown, meaning that they give the *Player* a hint of moving parts behind the scenes, but not necessarily the *Character*. A Neutral Loose End usually means that the dangers or benefits of the Loose End are obscured or up to the Character's actions once it manifests.
• Investments: Some Loose Ends bestow benefits at the end of their clock. Investments are usually rewards for Moves and Hustles, but they might come from other sources as well. Ask Endorsed GMs and Playgroup Leaders for Moves to further your Contractor's goals.

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Notes on GMing in Maelstrom

• All members of Maelstrom are encouraged to GM and run Moves, and no approval is required. Custom Scenarios likewise do not require pre-approval. 
  • Feel free to ask Endorsed GMs and Playgroup Leaders for feedback on your custom scenario before running it. 
  • By default, you cannot run Games or Moves for a tier that you have not played in yourself. For example, if you would like to run a Novice game, but have never played a Novice game, you must wait until you have had some experience in Novice as a Player.
• Use GM Notes on the Story tab of the Contractor Sheet! This is a place to provide more detail about Circumstances, Conditions, and Loose Ends as well as important developments behind the scenes. Good GM notes makes it easier to run relevant Contracts and Moves for characters.
• Keep intros concise during game time. If you want to run more extensive introductions, try to do it before playtime. Players, in general, should not need to be wheeled-and-dealed to agree to a Contract. A simple message sent to them should suffice.
  
• In general, Contracts and Moves are subject to an "Exposure" criteria, especially when it comes to posted World Events. Contractors in higher Gift ranges have more freedom to affect the playgroup as a whole. At Newbie/Novice, however, the outcomes games will not ever have an international reach. Though Contractors might remember terrible things happening during their Contract, World Events might be scaled back due to meddling from The Powers That Be.
  • Don't take it personally if your World Event gets edited by a Playgroup Leader. It's part of the game and our efforts to keep consistent tone within the Playgroup.
    
• GMs are encouraged to build interesting, consistent locations and organizations for Contractors to explore and engage with through Contracts and Moves. Talk to a Playgroup Leader about location development, they are happy to delegate the development of content.