Of late, several of my characters have either interacted with or encountered people who are directly antagonistic, openly hostile, or heedlessly provocative, and as soon as any situation or encounter begins to turn sour for them, they begin screaming, "No player kills! (NPK) I don't consent!" and other such things. This is an agreed upon standard, and simple, mutual respect. We simply do not kill other people's characters without their consent and agreement, for an especially appropriate story element. It is a good standard.

There have been a bevy of people of late however, who are using it as a shield to protect themselves from the consequences of behaving however they want in-character, and demanding that others not act. These same situations are ignoring, or forcing the affected characters to ignore certain merits and flaws on their character sheets, perhaps even to behave outside of their nature or path. In addition to creating cracks in our collective suspension of disbelief (A Sabbat war party is not going to let a mouthy ghoul come in, start shit, and just walk away...) it flies in the face of the mutual respect that the agreed-upon NPK rule is intended to uphold.

In order to balance this issue and protect the sanctity of NPK agreements, I propose an addendum to that standard, called "NPK Common Sense." When a player invokes the rule NPK, we shall agree not to kill their character. With this protection of their character, we shall assume that their character also has the merit Common Sense, as listed in many, if not all, of the Storyteller systems.

Common Sense, in the tabletop and LARP rulesets gives the player an "out" for being less familiar with the world or its workings, allowing them to even rely upon the storyteller to shield the character somewhat from bad player decisions. In the freeform chat environment, we will instead give some manner of in-character warning at the foolishness of the actions being performed, whether it is a verbal warning, a growl, a brief display of power, a threat, etc, and note that NPK-Common Sense is being invoked, out of character. From that point forward, if the character continues behaving in a manner that would cause dangerous or lethal consequences for their character, each of those actions, scenes, or story arcs would then be red-lined and summarily ignored, in order to protect the flow of the overall story, while making it fully possible to adhere to that player's wish for NPK. This would mean that if a character starts a fight, quickly realizes that they've bitten off more than they can chew, and claims NPK, we simply assume that their character, if not the player, would have been wise enough to not get into that situation, thereby protecting the character from death. Likewise, if someone comes into a scene and begins trolling or antagonizing folks, then calls for no player kills, we shall simply ignore that they arrived in the first place.

Rules like NPK or NPK Common Sense should enhance the ability for us, as players and storytellers to tell the stories of our characters, and stare into the abyss that we call the World of Darkness. Any may feel welcome to invoke NPK Common Sense, but all and are invited to sign below supporting this motion. I hope that we can all play well together, have fun, and tell some incredible stories!

I agree! *stamps her name to the list*

People should be more respectful and think about what they are doing. It's no fun when someone comes in to run their mouth, spoil the party, and then bring the rp to a trembling halt because no one else can act.

I agree as well * stamps*
If people wish to claim NPK they should respect both sides of that aspect and keep their nose clean, rather then flaunt and think it will sheild their actions icly.

on a side note-- you would be amazed what one can live through... *Evil grin*

I like it three times.

*stamped*

Fair to everyone.

Agreeing with all that.

But. What about the situation when a player gets into fight and once calling for NPK, is ignored by stronger opponent?
I was in such situation many times on old unmod and usually heard " But your dont have NPK in your profile! " or " I dont agree with NPK". Was also blackmailed with " I got screenshots "

Actually, some of my chars got NPK stated in profile. Because of combat monkeys or simple misunderstanding ( I'm not native english speaker so might simply make a silly mistake). Also because I'm not the char, and always prefer to get PM from ST or fellow player with " be careful, if you do this, it's dangerous"

Any idea what to do when facing someone who simply ignores NPK request ? When to call for NPK ? On the beggining of combat ? After getting a shot that would normally kill our char ? State it in profile so that others know ?

Sorry if someone finds those questions stupid, but it bugs me

No, no--it's not stupid. If it bugs you, it should be addressed. Now, I'm no kind of leader here. I'm not the boss of anything but my characters, and even then it can get dicey as to who runs the show. However, if you declare your character is NPK, or you find yourself in a scene that has the potential to end their life, just put out an OOC post and let folks know (( "I'm NPK. I do not consent to having my character killed off." )) Good RPer's can find a way to involve your character in the conflict and limit lethality. Sometimes, it's unavoidable that too many dice will roll to 10, or something may go wrong or right for the right or wrong person. Just rewrite and narrate past the scene.

And as for the people who ignore you when you declare yourself NPK? Ignore their action. You've already, as the player for the character, advised them that you do not consent to having your character killed off in random combat or in some manner that's not more conducive to the telling of your tale--for them to press on thusly is rude and inconsiderate. Ignore that they did whatever, narrate what you see happening for your character, and move on.

I agree with this as well.

*Adds Stamp*

I prefer to play characters with Calm Heart, Common Sense or Lifesaver. I personally don't do a PK unless it adds to the story. But I of course have ran into those same people who act like raving Lunatics and then demand NPK.

Having it in your profile is good, but reminding everyone at the beginning of a combat situation sounds like a good idea too.

I'd also say that actively stating npk, it's probably a good idea to not be the one that starts fights too. At least not often.

I do not mind NPK but at the same token this is a game that has consequences for stupid actions. NPK is, to me, more a friendly courtesy because no-one enjoys losing a character that they really like playing. But with that said stupid actions beget suitable consequences.

I am of the token that I am all for using NPK in situations where we are engaging in a friendly bit of roleplay. But in a situation where you decided to wander into an alleyway full of Black Spiral Dancer's or you decided to have your character get into a scuffle with someone else that ends badly then the character should suffer the consequences. No-one is invincible.