Out of Character (OOC) refers to material that exists outside of the reality of the games you are playing. Things that exist as a result of a game not being real-life and for immersion/safety reasons. If you are told something with the prefix "OOC", you should heed the information contained within. In Character (IC) refers to information/situations within the scope of the reality of the games you are playing.

This entire domain and the websites/emails hosted on it as well as any reference to Eldritch Systems in other materials (addresses, website owners, channel owners) are out of character for all the games (ARGs/RPGs/LARPs/etc) and experiences we are running. It will primarily be used for mechanics and systems that need to be virtualized (represented by something different than what is experienced IC).

Additionally, you should use ooc@eldritch.systems for any out of character communication you may have, rather than including OOC messages as part of other communications you may have with characters/organizations.

A Game Master (GM) is any entity acting as a representative of Eldritch Systems for the purpose of running the games you are playing. They may be playing the role of characters within the framework of the game, but are otherwise OOC.

OLE stands for interactions/situations that for OOC reasons aren't actually happening (player exploring another world, reenactment of past events, etc). The mechanisms for the interaction are OOC, but generally once an OLE has ended, information a player learns as part of an OLE can be considered to have been learned via research/stories into the event. Exceptions to this will be indicated by the gamemasters. Please contact them if there are any questions you might have.

If you are taking part as a different character or in a different situation, you are asked to abide by the IC scope of the interaction. If you are playing yourself with limited communication, please avoid using other means to communicate IC beyond that you would have available. If you are playing other characters with other motivations, please restrict your actions based on the knowledge/goals of that character.

You may come across Artifacts, items that act in a way that are hard to represent OOC. (this could include magic, weapons, or expensive effects). In OLEs, there will be mechanisms for how to interact with these. Outside of OLEs, if you are attempting to use something as an Artifact, you should contact a Game Master (if in-person) or artifact@eldritch.systems specifying what item you are attempting to use and any specifics about the manner in which you are attempting to use it. Some items may have OOC notes explaining any intrinsic properties, however there may be items you receive or come across that aren't clearly labeled as such but may have ways of using them as an Artifact (for example if placed in a certain environment or triggered by some sort of mechanism). You will be told what the effect of the Artifact is and what the state of the item is after use. Some items may no longer be functional or one-time use. You may be told to label an item as OOC-DECOM to indicate the item no longer exists within the game. If you come across an item with this label, you should treat it as if it doesn't exist for the purpose of IC game reality. You should never label an item you receive with this designation unless you've been instructed to. This mechanism is primarily a way to allow players to keep items/mementos from the game without needing to destroy/return them.

Certain discoveries from OLEs and other events taking place in the reality of these experiences will be publicized via news reports. Relevant and irrelevant news will be gathered at eldritch.news.