Between each session of Work In Progress, Jo will experience two weeks of their life, and time will pass within the Dreamscape. However, the amount of time that your character experiences may change drastically depending on what they've been up to (and where they've managed to get themselves stuck in the meantime). During this time, players can communicate via email and take actions as conveyed to the GM team through turnsheets.
There is an in character email system, which represents letters, side conversations and whispers on the wind sent between Muses through the Dreamscape. This means that each character has their own email, which is based off their name - the complete list of in character emails can be found on the Characters page. GMs are copied into all IC emails, so as to keep track of plans and developing themes within the game, though these are no substitute for turnsheets and GMs are liable to miss things only contained in emails.
Please note that your OC email will never be displayed to other players when you email them, as any emails sent by you will appear to come from your in character email address. However, other metadata contained in the email may be visible, such as whatever name you've set for your email. Further information can be found in the Privacy Policy.
At the bottom of your user page should be a series of red links, named 'Turnsheet #'. These link to pages that don't exist yet, so when you are ready to begin writing up your actions, click on the link for that week and then click the 'pencil and plus sign' icon on the right-hand toolbar to get started. Hovering over it will bring up the 'Create this page' dialogue.
Once created, the Turnsheet page will have a handy template to save you time and to allow your GM easy reading. You don’t have to stick to it 100%, but similar layouts allows us to quickly and easily see what you are attempting to do with your time. (Please don't delete {{tag>turnsheetX}} at the bottom of the page or we won't be notified when you've submitted it!)
When you're happy with your turnsheet, click the save button in the bottom left and you'll have a turnsheet that both you and all the GMs can see. It’s worthwhile doing a quick preview before saving, to check that everything reads how you want it to, but don’t forget to then save.
You can continue to edit your turnsheet until the deadline (midnight between Thursday and Friday) as nothing will be taken as final by the GMs until that point.
In Work In Progress players will be able to take up to three major actions as well as some minor actions over the course of the two weeks.
A major action is something that it would take your character significant time and effort to accomplish. Examples include:
Your actions should note whether or not it's a Vignette action, include an overarching goal of what you want to achieve, a plan of how you intend to achieve it, and a note of what Skills and Quirks you think might be useful to or affect the action. Be sure to note other PCs or NPCs who are involved in your action in the relevant section of the template too!
Try an be as concise as possible when writing your plans. Don’t try to achieve too much with one action (a goal such as “go prospect some Trope Cards” is one action, “go prospect some Trope Cards then test them out in a Vignette” is two) and remember that longer plans don’t always mean better plans. Breaking a bigger plan into two actions may make it easier for you to achieve the results you want.
If in doubt, ask. Please do contact the GMs and we will do our best to help with any action or Skill based queries you may have.
A minor action is something that takes little time or effort to do, and doesn't advance the plot significantly. Examples include:
You can have as many minor actions as you want within reason, but they should each be limited to one or two sentences of description. The GMs may ignore minor actions if they become too numerous or significant.
If your minor action is to accompany other players on their major actions (e.g. “I join the Hamlet Vignette”), you will not be very useful to the action (i.e. your Skills will not be taken into consideration), and will not get any personal benefit from the action. If the action would require significant time or effort just to tag along, the GMs may simply say your character is too busy to attend.
If you are giving something to another player please note this in your minor actions, even if the actual passing over of the items happens in session, in emails or in another major action. This makes it much easier for us to keep track of who has what. It can be helpful to list any items you are expecting to receive, but if you put it in your turnsheet and the sender does not turnsheet to give the item to you, the response will likely be along the lines of “You wait patiently, but it doesn't turn up”.
In Work In Progress your character will automatically advance at the end of each turn, meaning that they gain a new Skill level. The Skill you intend to pick should be noted on your turnsheet, and there will be a space for this. See Character Advancement for more details.
The deadline for turnsheets is midnight between the Thursday and Friday after session. This is a strict deadline as the GM team need time to read through and prepare in advance for our meeting on Sunday. This is also to benefit you as it’s really not fair to be kept up waiting for that crucial plan-defining email until 3 in the morning. We do know life gets in the way sometimes and late turnsheets do happen, but please do let us know so we can accommodate it into our plans and we may become grumpy should it become a regular occurrence or if you fail to let us know.
We will aim to get a response to your turnsheet to you on Monday before each session. These responses will be added to the end of your submitted turnsheet on the wiki. Your GM will email you when they have completed your turnsheet response, but it's worth checking your turnsheet to be sure. If you have any questions about your turnsheet response, please contact your GM before the start of the session and we'll try to clear everything up.