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| === Principles === | | === What are Sanctioned Events? === |
| | Sanctioned Events are player-run games set within the Death Unto Darkness universe. They are officially recognised by the Game Team and form part of the ongoing canon of the setting. |
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| * We encourage players and crew to run Tales events in between our main [[Campaign Events]].
| | Alongside Campaign Events, Sanctioned Events allow members of our community to tell their own stories within the Prosperitas Sector, explore their characters, and contribute to the wider narrative of Death Unto Darkness. |
| * Anyone is welcome to run a Tales event.
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| * We will support you where we can.
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| * Please check with the [[Contact|Game Team]] before committing to an event concept.
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| The Death Unto Darkness Game Team always wanted to create a community around the game. Death Unto Darkness has encouraged individuals who began as players and crew to 'take the reins' and run events since its original conception. While we want to keep to tight narrative campaigns with a clear start and a clear end to them, we and our community benefit from encouraging others to run stories that compliment the main narrative. We also appreciate that there is a huge degree of time and investment into playing a system like ours, as it often uses kit that cannot be recycled for other systems.
| | Anyone may organise a Sanctioned Event, and the Game Team will support organisers wherever reasonably possible. |
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| We set out to provide room for people to run their own events or 'Tales' from our universe. We support these events directly to the best of our capacity.
| | Before committing to an event concept, please discuss it with the Game Team. Early conversations help identify conflicts with ongoing plotlines, answer setting questions, and ensure your event fits naturally within the wider narrative. |
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| We call these events '''Tales''' because Death Unto Darkness is a collaborative creative experience and while labelling them is important to differentiate for easy between Campaign Events and them, we in no way want to indicate that we consider them 'lesser'. Rather, they focus on narratives away from the one we're telling and provide excellent roleplaying spaces for our players to flesh out their characters. We want to encourage them, they're great (and occasionally... we actually get to ''play'' them).
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| Tales are considered 'canon' and are an important part of our system - anyone is welcome to run them and we will do our best to support and encourage you to do so.
| | === Standard Rules Adjustments for Sanctioned Events === |
| | When playing/running Sanctioned Events the following rules ammendments are in place; |
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| If you're thinking about doing so, thank you, if you've done so already, thank you - without you putting in the time and effort to run these we'd not have nearly as rich as setting as can be accomplished in two Campaign Events per year.
| | * '''Corruption''' Tracks are suspended during Sanctioned Events - however an event team may choose to introduce their own custom tracks for an event should it be relevant to their plot - these do not need to follow the same format as standard Tracks (they can even be one stage) but should follow the same layout/structure of individual corruption levels (ask the game team if you are uncertain how this works as an Event Runner) |
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| === Tales Events – a Runners Guide ===
| | * '''Complications''' from power tests that say '''Get a Ref''' should be discarded and a new effect drawn when encountered, these are mainline use, Sanctioned Event teams may choose to replace these with their own effects of course, with the exception of Unique Traits, which only the Game Team have oversight of, and often advance plot that cannot be resolved at a Sanctioned Event. |
| If you are running a Death Unto Darkness Tale there are a number of specific things that you need to keep in mind that are a priority for us considering approval of your event.
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| * '''You must comply with the Death Unto Darkness [[System Policies and Ethos|System Policies and Ethos]]''' – failure to adhere to this and protect DuD players attending your game may result in Game Team action. A Tales event not wishing to adhere to our OOC policies will not be sanctioned, and will not be granted permission to use our ruleset. We care very much about the community we have created and we expect all members of it to adhere to our OOC philosophies.
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| * '''You may amend the DuD ruleset where it helps the flow of your game''', for example if you are running a one-day event if you want to increase or decrease the time taken for various stats and abilities to recover you may - do check with us first as there may be metaphysical reasons certain skills work the way they do.
| | === Playing a Sanctioned Event === |
| ** If you do choose to use amended rules you must make players aware before the game.
| | When taking part in a Sanctioned Event, please follow these guidelines: |
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| * '''Individuals excluded by the Death Unto Darkness Game Team should not be welcome at Tales Events''' – please check with our team first before you accept anyone onto your event just in case there are outstanding objections to their presence. | | * '''Treat the Event Team and Crew of a Sanctioned Event with the same respect expected of the Death Unto Darkness Game Team'''. Their wellbeing and comfort are a priority, and poor behaviour at any event reflects on your standing within the system. This is not a situation where standards are relaxed. |
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| * '''You MUST provide an overview of plot and rules changes for your event to the Game Team at deathuntodarkness@gmail.com at least two weeks before the game''' in order for it to be approved. | | * '''Sanctioned Events are canon''' fate spent at Sanctioned events is deducted from your character's total, a character death at a Sanctioned is that characters death in the game. |
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| * Both Players and Event teams should report to the Game Team after the event the results or any changes that have occurred to characters as a result of the event otherwise these cannot be accounted for. | | * Please inform the Game Team of any significant changes to your character resulting from a Sanctioned Event. |
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| | * If you are playing a new character, you must submit it to the Game Team for approval at writingteam.deathuntodarkness@gmail.com, even if you do not intend to take that character into Campaign Events. Character approval sits with the Death Unto Darkness Game Team, not the Event Team. |
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| === Support from Death Unto Darkness' Game Team ===
| | * Please be timely in reaching out to the main Game Team regarding Unique Traits, Scars and Madness if you do not have them. Sanctioned Event teams are not able to write or assign these for you, so they must be handled directly with the Game Team in advance if required. |
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| * We can provide only limited support.
| | All standard System Policies and our Ethos continue to apply. |
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| * We cannot provide refs and plot for your event.
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| The Death Unto Darkness Game Team welcomes and supports its community by encouraging the creation and running of games within Death unto Darkness campaign settings our focus will always be upon the [[Campaign Events|Campaign Events]], and for our events to succeed we cannot spread our focus too widely.
| | === Crewing Sanctioned Events === |
| | | Sanctioned Events are an important part of the Death Unto Darkness community, and we encourage players to support them in the same way they support Campaign Events. |
| Members of the Death Unto Darkness Game Team are free to attend your event and act as a Storyteller if they wish to do so and can perform all their functions as per usual, but this is strictly voluntary and only if the Event team requires them in this role.
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| | Anyone who crews (and runs) a Sanctioned Event will receive a standard crew credit for the purposes of booking future Campaign Events. |
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| === Props and Logistics ===
| | Strong Sanctioned Events strengthen the setting as a whole, and the Game Team is committed to recognising those who help make them possible. |
| We cannot promise the provision of normal event logistics such as Madness/Corruption cards for players who are not pre-existing, please consider this when inviting new players to attend your player event and if planning the use of these effects be aware that you should not use standard Corruption cards at your game as these often require resolution from the Game Team.
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| While we don't want you using Core Madness/Corruption Tracks at these events - if you want madness/corruption effects then you can create your own (we have adobe publisher files).
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| The Death Unto Darkness Game Team is happy to loan out items from our Crew Kit store, however you are responsible for the transport of these items and the replacement of them if they are damaged while they are in your care.
| | === Running a Sanctioned Event === |
| | If you want to run a Sanctioned Event then the first place to start is chatting to us, and after that, submitting a [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfRSGdnDEgXcq2lPy5x93Nh-GwxG3RvnoGsXo2QCBk-5HLY2Q/viewform?usp=publish-editor form] we try to be permissive with those using our sandbox but we also need to coordinate the plot across multiple main and sanctioned events and having oversight of what you're doing means we can make your story fit into the narrative; |
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| Due to the limitations placed on our banking account and paypal we are unable to process payments and funding for your event, you will need to be responsible for this – we do not sanction the running of Tales Events for profit for legal reasons surrounding the IP we use. It is the recommendation that any spare budget is donated to charity, or donated to DuD for investment in improving the available kit for Campaign and Tales Events.
| | In order to be sanctioned '''do''': |
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| === Plot ===
| | * Follow all Death Unto Darkness policies, safety standards, and community ethos. |
| Although we largely encourage players to explore the Death Unto Darkness and 40k setting we have some explicit limitations that we would expect you to adhere to:
| | * Inform players of any amendments to the standard rules before the event. |
| | * Submit a copy of all rules changes, monster stats and lore at least two weeks before the event. |
| | * Report significant character developments and event outcomes after the game so they can be integrated into ongoing canon. |
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| In our opinion a great Tales Event plot is resolved within the context of that event - there might be seeds or hints of wider plots that could be followed up at a Sequel game or potentially (with Game Team agreement) at a Campaign Event if it would not be too alienating to those who could not attend the game.
| | And '''do not'''; |
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| As tempting as it to create a new world-ending threat, we would prefer you don't introduce something that would spell cataclysm for the sector if the players failed – ongoing issues that might be a thorn in the side of the Imperium (a Xenos infestation, the summoning of a new Daemon) are great - but an Archenemy Death Star is probably best avoided.
| | * Admit individuals excluded from Death Unto Darkness events. |
| | * Run an event for profit, we are a fan group and all money is raised to cover props and site hire and no individual is personally enriching themselves from our events. |
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| * We will not sanction any plot that utilises elements expressly forbidden by our [[System_Policies_and_Ethos#Controversial_Themes_and_Dark_Roleplay|Controversial Themes and Dark Roleplay]] policy.
| | The Game Team reserves the right to refuse approval for any event that we believe conflicts with our community standards - where we provide suggestions to avoid certain plots and planets will only be due to them having a role to play. |
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| * '''Consequences:''' The best events are those with consequences we like Tales events that happened and we can reinforce that the players actions mattered. Please keep the game team abreast of these because we will inflict ongoing consequences where appropriate - we will always discuss with a Event Team what they think is appropriate.
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| | === Game Team Support === |
| | We want Sanctioned Events to succeed and will support organisers wherever practical. While obviously in the months running up to an Event we will be able to provide less support, outside of that we are keen to provide our aid wherever it is needed, you may rely on the Game Team to; |
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| ==== The Prosperitas Sector ====
| | * Provide setting and lore guidance. |
| There are a myriad of ongoing plot threads in the Prosperitas Sector and we are open for some of them to be toyed with by the PCs;
| | * Help develop plots and adventures where invited. |
| | * Assist with event administration where practical. |
| | * Review event concepts before submission. |
| | * Loan props and equipment where available. |
| | * Attend as Refs if invited and able to do so. |
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| * '''Major NPCs:''' There are several NPCs in the [[Prosperitas Dramatis Personae|Dramatis Personae]] who are important to our narrative and we would rather you didn't use - but there are also ones we are happy to free for use if asked. If you are creating major NPCs whose deaths or actions can be very important - please be sure to get permission from the Game Team first.
| | Organisers remain responsible for planning, staffing, and delivering their own events, including managing finances and ticket sales. While we will always aim to help, our primary responsibility remains the delivery of our Events. |
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| * '''The Inquisition:''' We will not approve plots that kill off current Inquisitors, or change the status of the Ordos Prosperitas be that positively or negatively, the rise or fall of the Prosperitas Inquisition will occur at Campaign Events only (political fallout from the PCs as Agents of the Inquisition doing something stupid as a Tale is fine).
| | Because we rarely get chances to experience DuD from the player side we often choose (where we can) to play Sanctioned Events - we appreciate that in some LARP circles there is a certain fear of game teams playing events, so we will always intend to play characters who have reasons to be oblivious of the wider lore. |
| ** Please do not create new Inquisitors for your plot, an Interrogator with ties to one of our pre-existing Inquisition NPCs would be more than appropriate.
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| * '''The Prosperitas Crusade:''' Events that contribute to the success or failure of the Prosperitas Crusade make GREAT Tales events - because our focus is on the Holy Ordos and their objectives in combatting esoteric threats at main events often the best opportunities the PCs have to contribute to the Crusade are through small (but still meaningful) and subtle actions - a Tales event is a great event for the Crusade to move forwards as it's conflict with the Archenemy is largely a backdrop to which our little war in the shadows is fought.
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| * '''Noble Houses and Politics:''' The politics of the Imperium are complex and myriad, our agents often run afoul of them - we are happy to approve Tales events that feature them but we would need forewarning of their use in plots - many player characters have ties to Noble Houses or are members of them and those plots moving forwards without their involvement would be unfair.
| | === Plot Guidelines === |
| ** When creating new Noble Houses for your plot please consult with the game team if you plan for them to have wider scope beyond the immediate territory your event is set in.
| | The best Sanctioned Events tell memorable, self-contained stories with meaningful consequences. These are not intended to be inferior to Events run by the main team, but rather complementary. The Wiki contains a vast number of plot hooks and ideas that have been woven into the history and worlds of the Prosperitas Sector. Many of these may never be directly addressed, so please check with us first if you are planning to use one, in case it is a thread we already intend to resolve. Otherwise, this is a shared sandbox we are all contributing to. |
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| * '''Planets:''' Some of the worlds in our sector are essential to our plot going forwards, some are less so - we are not explicitly against the destruction or loss of a planet to an enemy as a part of our narrative but we would like warning. Simultaneously if you wish to introduce a previously uncharted world then you are welcome to, but a new already Imperial world would be difficult to justify unless it emerged from the warp storms in Subsector Tenebris - both of these would need discussion with the Game Team first. Please feel free to use any of our existing worlds but, again, if they are relevant to plot we will suggest alternatives or introduce restrictions if necessary.
| | How self-contained your event is will depend on what happens in play and what you tell us you want the consequences to be. We have approved everything from tightly contained time-loop scenarios, through to full-scale daemonic incursions with consequences severe enough to threaten entire worlds. |
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| * '''The Treatment of Abhumans, Mutants and Psykers:''' Please avoid any plots that use Abhumans, Mutants and Psykers if you are going to shirk away from the systematic discrimination and abuse they face within the Imperium - this is a core concept of Imperial culture and one we are keen to maintain it as a theme because it reinforces that the players do not work for a kind or tolerant utopia.
| | The best way to think of it is this: when sharing a sandbox, it is impolite to knock over other people’s sandcastles. The Game Team’s role is simply to ensure that your event does not unintentionally disrupt our work, or that of other Sanctioned Event teams, while still giving you freedom to build something bold, creative, and impactful. |
| ** In the same vein we discourage plots that would focus on the resolution of these issues - the Imperium really has nobody not un-indoctrinated enough for us to get into discussions about the potential for liberation of slaves and so on.
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| *'''Space Marines:''' The Angels of Death in the Prosperitas Sector take the form of the '''Lions of Nemea''' (a local Space Marine Chapter) and the '''Death Watch''' of Watch Station Aegaeon (individuals from a myriad of Chapters who serve the Inquisition) - both of these require heavy physrepping it is unlikely we will approve a '''Lion of Nemea''' without consideration or a member of the Game Team or Permanent Crew playing one as they have a lore brief that is kept secret. A Marine of the Death Watch is a more likely ask but will be subject to some scruitiny.
| | === Things to Avoid === |
| | Previous versions of this document had whole sections on what not to do, we'd rather move away from this, but what we've included beneath is a list of things we've been asked about before that we'd just rather you not consider including; |
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| '''Be aware''' that we will not sanction any event which uses; Custodes, Sisters of Silence, Grey Knights or Officio Assassinorium – we may approve plots relating to these powers, but not those that feature them. | | * Please don't write about a Heroic Imperium, write Heroic Humans. The Imperium is not humanity’s noble last stand, but an ancient, decaying fascist and feudal empire built on lies and the consolidation of power under a single tyrant. While individuals within it can still be heroic, the Imperium itself should not be framed as heroic, and humanity would ultimately be better served by its absence. |
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| Other human threats such as rebels from the '''Rising Flame''' as well as pirates and criminals and other nerdowells are fair game - we have lore available on the larger criminal enterprises in the Prosperitas Sector available if you want a more substantial non-chaos non-xenos threat.
| | * When including aliens/xenos we'd really encourage you to plumb obscure alien species from lore or make something up that's original to your story - sole survivors, obscure isolated populations on worlds, ancient guardians of forgotten relics, we tend to keep aliens more as individual examples there are no Xenos "armies" in the region - if you do bring an alien into your event please contain it to the narrative of the event. |
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| | * We do not currently approve the use of T’au, Necrons, or Tyranids in events (with the exception of Genestealer organisms and their Cults, which are permitted). These factions do not fit within the established narrative framework of the campaign. |
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| ==== Mortal Followers of Chaos ====
| | * We will not approve copyrighted IP-Owner "canon" characters appearing as NPCs and would simultaneously discourage you from using factions you do not know to be present in the Sector, such as Astartes Chapters of Reknown. |
| [[The Archenemy]] is a persistent threat in the Prosperitas Sector in the form of a myriad of cults and two large factions of mortal servants of the Chaos powers who present the main opposition for the Prosperitas Crusade taming the Sector;
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| * '''Warp Cults''' are the most common face of Chaos across the Imperium, they are disaffected Imperial citizens who have turned to worshipping the dark powers due to the uncaring silence of the God Emperor. We have a number of major (spanning several planets) cults in the Prosperitas Sector which we would like to be asked before you use them, but you are free to come up with your own cults for your events (as these often make nicely contained threats that can be eradicated in a single event). | |
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| * '''Chaos Factions''' refers to two large forces of non-Imperial (mostly) Human servants of the Dark Gods.
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| **'''The Ætin Heima''' are a triad of worlds touched by Nurgle in Subsector Tenebris that are populated by Space Barbarian servants of Chaos we call the Eye-Tribes in recent years these have been formed into the '''Weeping Eye''' and '''Creeping Death''' who are warbands led by a pair of Champions of Nurgle with multiple tribes beneath them (not all aligned to Nurgle) if you want barbarian human-shaped raiders in your event these Warbands or just an Eye-Tribe would be a good choice.
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| ** '''The Regency''' used the rule the Prosperitas Sector as an isolated state that believed that Horus won the Horus Heresy for thousands of years - the Prosperitas Crusade was initially against them but they were believed to have collapsed some hundred or so years ago - recently a remnant of the Regency has launched a counter-offensive with a huge number of reserve forces that the Imperium was not aware of. The Regency are the main military and political threat to the Imperium in the Prosperitas Sector (other than itself) and make a good human foe for military events.
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| * '''Traitor Astartes''' the existence of Traitor Astartes is unknown to common citizens and the Prosperitas Sector at large, if this changes we will let you know.
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| * '''Xenos servants of Chaos''' are a great way to use made-up unknown races of Xenos in a different way.
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| ==== Using Xenos ====
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| Xenos serve a largely background role in our Campaign Events appearing as monstrous threats or mysterious allies - they have a role to play in our sector but will rarely be front-and-focus of our events. However the presence of any Xenos creatures or technology at a Tales Event is expressly by Game Team permission only – there are various factors for this including ensuring that briefing of various Xenos races adhere to our version of canon but also that they fit with our standards.
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| ===== Eldar =====
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| There are explicitly four groups of '''Eldar''' in the Prosperitas Sector and we ask that you don't make more;
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| * '''All Eldar are held to a high kit standard''', please please please consider this before you decide to use them - we want to execute them better than a cheap elf costume.
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| * '''Craftworld Amenti''' Eldar and '''Harlequins''' from the '''Masque of the Dancing Moon''' have a significant role to play in Campaign Events - we would request that if you are going to use them you check with us first - we are unlikely to approve their use.
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| * The '''Ishari''' are core to our plot and we would discourage their use outside of Campaign Events but as ever are always open to ideas.
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| * '''The Circle of Thorns''' are a Criminal Organisation who are a mix of Dark Eldar Mercenaries, Eldar Corsairs and Haemonculi are a very viable threat if you wish to use Xenos foes at your event - they also employ other Xenos and humans as part of their criminal network making them ideal for LARP encounter writing as you can pad out encounters with well-kitted Dark Eldar with human servants.
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| ===== Other Xenos =====
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| We have a myriad of local Xenos infestations of varying severity as well as the presence of the Eldar - the majority of these are not known in the wider Imperium and represent localised Xenos foes that have to be contended with in the Prosperitas Sector a handful are mentioned in [[Known Xenos of the Prosperitas Sector]] in passing detail but more detailed briefs exist.
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| As a general rule we would ''much rather'' you created a brand new Xenos race for your event then use one of the major Xenos factions from the main canon - aliens are far more challenging to understand when they are largely unknown to the players - infections of minor Xenos races (Hrud, Kroot ect) are something we are happy with.
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| '''Genestealer Cults''' are the only current major 'Xenos' faction from the main-canon that have a role in our narrative and are workable for Tales events - these are currently a new and unusual threat in the Prosperitas Sector and what their appearance heralds is not yet understood. The Genestealer cults in the Prosperitas Sector also have their own lore that makes them different to the canon ones so talk to the Game Team before using them.
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| Costume and Physreps for any alien technology or creatures is subject to ref team review, we have a high-quality requirement for any phys reps and costumes for alien races.
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| * '''Squats''' (avoiding their new name) have recently re-appeared as a new faction that straddles Xenos and Abhuman, their homeworlds are close to the Galactic Core (and therefor far from the Prosperitas Sector) we are open to their inclusion in events but we wish to avoid them becoming ''Comedy'' Space Dwarfs (we are ok with well-done Space Dwarfs) - we do have a local (minor) enclave.
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| * '''Orks''' we have recently (at the time of writing) sold off our Ork props as we could not find a way to deliver them as what we wanted (horrible monstrous creatures rather than comedy football thugs) as such we would prefer not to approve their 'return' to our narrative and keep them a distant threat moving forwards.
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| The following are forbidden from use at Tales events:
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| * '''The Tau (but not Kroot)''', contact with the Tau has not been established in the timeframe that DuD is set and the Prosperitas Sector is too distant from their worlds.
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| * '''Tyranids''', the Tyranid menace has yet to arrive within the timeframe that DuD is set.
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| * '''Necrons''', this threat is still slumbering or unknown to the Imperium.
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| ==== The Warp ====
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| The Warp is a constant presence in the Galaxy, although it is hidden behind a veil the impact of its presence on reality is so very intense that it would be impossible to avoid mentioning it even if it is only at the fringes of an event plot;
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| * '''Warp Decks''' - Psykers, Sorcerers and Exorcists all have decks that represent interacting with the warp - please instruct your players to remove any card that says 'get a ref' unless you have checked the cards meaning with us and are clear what you should do if it is pulled.
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| * '''Rituals''' - Psykers and certain other characters have the potential to do [[Psychic_Powers_(Psykers)#Psychic_Rituals|Rituals]] (all rituals follow these guidelines) - you may forbid players from performing rituals if you wish, if you wish to introduce a ritual that players can discover at your event - then it will follow the guidelines above as if you were a player and the Game Team cannot promise you approval.
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| * '''Manifested Daemons''' - we discourage full-blown manifestations of Daemons unless it is near the climax of an event, at the time our event occurs these are incredibly rare occurrences and are really cataclysmic events that would happen at the apex of a warp event. We forbid the use of 'standard' Daemons (i.e. those with recognisable models) unless you are borrowing the kit from another source as we would much prefer our Daemons to be unusual and varied rather than conforming to singular archetypes. If you do want to use a daemon be aware we have two categories;
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| ** '''Named Daemons''' - owing to the fact we cannot physically represent stories-tall Greater Daemons our biggest Daemonic big bads are 'named' Daemons these Daemons are major figures within the Chaos pantheon of our Sector and are incredibly bad news if they are summoned into reality they are character-killers by nature and would never be summoned as more than one such creature at a time.
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| ** '''Nameless Daemons''' are lesser creatures, not so powerful to have their own individual True Names but rather manifestations of psychic gestalts representing human sins and negative emotions.
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| * '''Ghosts''' are the result of a psychic stain left on reality by the death of an individual, they range from simple hauntings that are shocking but little more than psychic recordings to '''poltergeists''' who can effect the real world, these have their own mechanics (requiring the finishing of unfinished business or the destruction of their corpse) which can be provided by the game team.
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| ==== The Darkness ====
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| The Darkness is a force made up for our canon that represents the major threat that the Players are facing down - '''it will not appear in detail at any Tales event''' but its cultists might as peripheral threats and the ambient effects of its power may have an impact on your event please check with the Game Team if there are any ongoing side effects you need to be aware of.
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What are Sanctioned Events?
Sanctioned Events are player-run games set within the Death Unto Darkness universe. They are officially recognised by the Game Team and form part of the ongoing canon of the setting.
Alongside Campaign Events, Sanctioned Events allow members of our community to tell their own stories within the Prosperitas Sector, explore their characters, and contribute to the wider narrative of Death Unto Darkness.
Anyone may organise a Sanctioned Event, and the Game Team will support organisers wherever reasonably possible.
Before committing to an event concept, please discuss it with the Game Team. Early conversations help identify conflicts with ongoing plotlines, answer setting questions, and ensure your event fits naturally within the wider narrative.
Standard Rules Adjustments for Sanctioned Events
When playing/running Sanctioned Events the following rules ammendments are in place;
- Corruption Tracks are suspended during Sanctioned Events - however an event team may choose to introduce their own custom tracks for an event should it be relevant to their plot - these do not need to follow the same format as standard Tracks (they can even be one stage) but should follow the same layout/structure of individual corruption levels (ask the game team if you are uncertain how this works as an Event Runner)
- Complications from power tests that say Get a Ref should be discarded and a new effect drawn when encountered, these are mainline use, Sanctioned Event teams may choose to replace these with their own effects of course, with the exception of Unique Traits, which only the Game Team have oversight of, and often advance plot that cannot be resolved at a Sanctioned Event.
Playing a Sanctioned Event
When taking part in a Sanctioned Event, please follow these guidelines:
- Treat the Event Team and Crew of a Sanctioned Event with the same respect expected of the Death Unto Darkness Game Team. Their wellbeing and comfort are a priority, and poor behaviour at any event reflects on your standing within the system. This is not a situation where standards are relaxed.
- Sanctioned Events are canon fate spent at Sanctioned events is deducted from your character's total, a character death at a Sanctioned is that characters death in the game.
- Please inform the Game Team of any significant changes to your character resulting from a Sanctioned Event.
- If you are playing a new character, you must submit it to the Game Team for approval at writingteam.deathuntodarkness@gmail.com, even if you do not intend to take that character into Campaign Events. Character approval sits with the Death Unto Darkness Game Team, not the Event Team.
- Please be timely in reaching out to the main Game Team regarding Unique Traits, Scars and Madness if you do not have them. Sanctioned Event teams are not able to write or assign these for you, so they must be handled directly with the Game Team in advance if required.
All standard System Policies and our Ethos continue to apply.
Crewing Sanctioned Events
Sanctioned Events are an important part of the Death Unto Darkness community, and we encourage players to support them in the same way they support Campaign Events.
Anyone who crews (and runs) a Sanctioned Event will receive a standard crew credit for the purposes of booking future Campaign Events.
Strong Sanctioned Events strengthen the setting as a whole, and the Game Team is committed to recognising those who help make them possible.
Running a Sanctioned Event
If you want to run a Sanctioned Event then the first place to start is chatting to us, and after that, submitting a form we try to be permissive with those using our sandbox but we also need to coordinate the plot across multiple main and sanctioned events and having oversight of what you're doing means we can make your story fit into the narrative;
In order to be sanctioned do:
- Follow all Death Unto Darkness policies, safety standards, and community ethos.
- Inform players of any amendments to the standard rules before the event.
- Submit a copy of all rules changes, monster stats and lore at least two weeks before the event.
- Report significant character developments and event outcomes after the game so they can be integrated into ongoing canon.
And do not;
- Admit individuals excluded from Death Unto Darkness events.
- Run an event for profit, we are a fan group and all money is raised to cover props and site hire and no individual is personally enriching themselves from our events.
The Game Team reserves the right to refuse approval for any event that we believe conflicts with our community standards - where we provide suggestions to avoid certain plots and planets will only be due to them having a role to play.
Game Team Support
We want Sanctioned Events to succeed and will support organisers wherever practical. While obviously in the months running up to an Event we will be able to provide less support, outside of that we are keen to provide our aid wherever it is needed, you may rely on the Game Team to;
- Provide setting and lore guidance.
- Help develop plots and adventures where invited.
- Assist with event administration where practical.
- Review event concepts before submission.
- Loan props and equipment where available.
- Attend as Refs if invited and able to do so.
Organisers remain responsible for planning, staffing, and delivering their own events, including managing finances and ticket sales. While we will always aim to help, our primary responsibility remains the delivery of our Events.
Because we rarely get chances to experience DuD from the player side we often choose (where we can) to play Sanctioned Events - we appreciate that in some LARP circles there is a certain fear of game teams playing events, so we will always intend to play characters who have reasons to be oblivious of the wider lore.
Plot Guidelines
The best Sanctioned Events tell memorable, self-contained stories with meaningful consequences. These are not intended to be inferior to Events run by the main team, but rather complementary. The Wiki contains a vast number of plot hooks and ideas that have been woven into the history and worlds of the Prosperitas Sector. Many of these may never be directly addressed, so please check with us first if you are planning to use one, in case it is a thread we already intend to resolve. Otherwise, this is a shared sandbox we are all contributing to.
How self-contained your event is will depend on what happens in play and what you tell us you want the consequences to be. We have approved everything from tightly contained time-loop scenarios, through to full-scale daemonic incursions with consequences severe enough to threaten entire worlds.
The best way to think of it is this: when sharing a sandbox, it is impolite to knock over other people’s sandcastles. The Game Team’s role is simply to ensure that your event does not unintentionally disrupt our work, or that of other Sanctioned Event teams, while still giving you freedom to build something bold, creative, and impactful.
Things to Avoid
Previous versions of this document had whole sections on what not to do, we'd rather move away from this, but what we've included beneath is a list of things we've been asked about before that we'd just rather you not consider including;
- Please don't write about a Heroic Imperium, write Heroic Humans. The Imperium is not humanity’s noble last stand, but an ancient, decaying fascist and feudal empire built on lies and the consolidation of power under a single tyrant. While individuals within it can still be heroic, the Imperium itself should not be framed as heroic, and humanity would ultimately be better served by its absence.
- When including aliens/xenos we'd really encourage you to plumb obscure alien species from lore or make something up that's original to your story - sole survivors, obscure isolated populations on worlds, ancient guardians of forgotten relics, we tend to keep aliens more as individual examples there are no Xenos "armies" in the region - if you do bring an alien into your event please contain it to the narrative of the event.
- We do not currently approve the use of T’au, Necrons, or Tyranids in events (with the exception of Genestealer organisms and their Cults, which are permitted). These factions do not fit within the established narrative framework of the campaign.
- We will not approve copyrighted IP-Owner "canon" characters appearing as NPCs and would simultaneously discourage you from using factions you do not know to be present in the Sector, such as Astartes Chapters of Reknown.