Disciplinary Policy

Please be advised that we understand as Storytellers that genuine mistakes can happen. Hey we are all human. However, the rules below are used for more serious infractions that can take place. In situations where we feel that serious mistakes have been made on a frequent basis a Warning will be issued and at that time additional infractions will be subject to the below disciplinary policy. Please note that extremely serious actions can result in a warning being issued and additional disciplinary actions taken at the same time. In the end if you are respectful of your fellow ST’s and players and follow basic common sense it should never get to a point of us having to discuss possible disciplinary actions against you.

1st Infraction after Warning is issued – Player is asked to leave the game for 3 months

2nd Infraction – Player is asked to leave the game for 6 months and PC is administratively GNC’d with story

3rd Infraction – Player is expelled for an indefinite period of time subject to ST Discretion in addition to PC administratively GNC’d with story.

These rules are a supplement White Wolf’s rules and make things a bit more clear for players and STs.



Zero Tolerance: Players (or STs!) doing any of the following will be immediately subject to the disciplinary policy and may result in both a warning and infractions given. In addition, these are serious situations and may also result in banning from the Chronicle and additional actions done by OWBN.



1.   Theft. Occasionally someone will take another’s book, keys, coat, etc, thinking it is his own. This is not theft; it’s an honest mistake—we know because said person always gives the item back after realizing that it is not his. Walking off of the site with an item that is clearly not your own with no intention of given said item back (i.e., it has someone else’s initials on it) is theft.

2.   Violence or violent threats made OOC. See the “No touching”, “It’s only a game” and the Golden Rule statements for the MET system. Similarly, do not bring OOC problems between players or chronicles onto the game site!

3.   Sexual harassment. We are aware that this is the World of Darkness, and bad things can sometimes happen to our PCs. However, if a player is uncomfortable with a certain situation (e.g., a PC is sexually assaulted or sexually harassed), he or she can approach the STs about altering it and/or redlining certain scenes. An uncomfortable player should also talk to other players (or have the STs approach them), and make his or her feelings about a sexually violent situation known. STs looking into situations where a PC’s sexual assault or victimization has happened should make sure players have no reservations about what has occurred. However, if others insist on making a player uncomfortable with a sexually charged situation, or continue the situation after STs have redlined it, it is considered sexual harassment. In the OOC realm, unwanted sexual references or advances made by a player after he or she has been asked to stop by the ST Team are considered sexual harassment. Players need to notify ST Team if another person is saying or doing inappropriate things after being asked to stop.



Minor Infractions: Sometimes people do these to cheat; other times people make honest mistakes. Since these situations can be tricky, we have less stringent guidelines for the following:

1.   “Magic pencil” (or, “Hey, you didn’t have that Ability/Discipline/Lore before!”). We understand that mistakes can happen. To blow etiquette, then promptly say “Oh, I don’t have that ability!” is an understandable mistake. However, there are consequences for players that are found to use the “magic pencil” willfully. The first time someone is caught doing this a warning is issued. STs have the right to review a player’s sheet at any time. In the case of a database error, we understand the player is not at fault and the issue will be corrected.

2.   Not marking off used Traits, Abilities, or Backgrounds (“You’ve been fighting 5 different people at once and you’re down only 3 Traits?!”). If we catch you doing this, you may receive less or no experience points for the game you played that night.

3.   Arguing with STs after a final decision has been made. Sometimes players have problems with what has rulings; this is fine. But to argue for minutes on end wastes our time and yours. If you don’t like an ST’s decision, please complain to the ST Team after the game is over. That way, we have plenty of time to decide how to resolve the situation. The first time someone argues with an ST after a final decision onsite, she will be asked to take a “cooling off” period while the scene is resolved, and can discuss the ruling with the ST Team later.
4.   Metagaming. Ah, the most frequent of accusations—and, incidentally, one of the hardest to prove. If a PC is using information that an ST knows no one has any business knowing said information they would be subject to the disciplinary policy.

5.   When things go bad in other games: When visiting another chronicle you are subject to their Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Policy, just as visitors to our chronicle are subject to ours. If you ever have any objections to running anything with any ST from one of these games, we suggest taking your concern/issue to that game’s ST Staff as a whole or the game’s CM.



If you should have an issue with anything that . . .

1.  Has occurred to your PC, either by an NPC or PC
2.  Has occurred to you as a player by another player or an ST
. . . . We request that you take the following steps:



1.  Contact that game’s ST Staff as a whole. Please Carbon Copy us so that we are aware of the situation and what is going on.
               2.  Await the decision of the ST Staff. We will try to resolve the issue to both ST Teams satisfaction within one (1) week or less.

               3.  If the matter does take longer than a week, the CNYbN ST Team will give you regular updates so you know what is going on with the situation.

               4.  Once you have received the decision of their ST Staff, you are required to comply with their decision.

               5.   Please remember that the ST Staff’s authority and decision stands unless a higher authority in the OWBN organization initiates actions to determine otherwise.

Some definitions you NEED to be aware of: Often times players will hear terms in regards to rules infractions or disciplinary matters that they might be unfamiliar with. In addition, a player may be committing an act that is considered a violation of the Code of Conduct, but will attempt to deny understanding the concept. In an attempt to alleviate these problems, the following definitions are placed within our disciplinary policy:

1.   The Mommy/Daddy Clause: This occurs when a player receives an answer or explanation from an ST that they do not like, or do not with to comply with. The player then goes to additional STs and presents the same issue hoping to get a different answer, one that they approve of. We DO NOT allow “Mommy/Daddy” in the CNYbN Chronicle. Once you have discussed any issue with an ST, you must follow the proper steps to dispute the call made.

               2.   The “Lawyer” Clause: We are a game, not a court. The  CNYbN ST Team reserves the right to inform you to remain outside of an issue that does not directly affect you as a player, or a PC that is played by you. When you have an issue with ANYTHING that is game related, whatever it is, you may only present your case to our ST Team. The Issue must directly affect your PC, person or personal affects.  You may report any rule violations that you have witnessed, however your involvement ends there, unless additional information is requested from the ST Team. Once the ST Team has informed you that your involvement in the issue has concluded, the ST Team’s decision stands, and we do not want you continuing the issue with us.

               3.     War Mongering” (i.e. Harassment because of game related issues): If your local game issue is in the process of being reviewed, or has been reviewed by our ST Team but you have not as of yet received your resolution, you are not to harass other storytellers, players, sub coordinators, coordinators etc in regards to your “case” This applies to any local dispute, for any reason, with any player,. Should we hear that you are harassing other individuals or games due to something game or non-game related, you will be subject to the  CNYbN Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Code.