Many people reading this help file will have played MMOs, other MUDs, tabletop games, LARPs, computer, or console games. It would be really surprising if you hadn't!
When you play those games, for the most part, they share these things in common:
1. Eventually, you will win. 2. The game is fair. 3. Consequences don't last long. 4. You can get things done fast. 5. A little effort leads to a big payoff.
Sindome is not like these games.
YOU CANNOT WIN AT SINDOME!
You can only continue to survive.
THE GAME WORLD IS UNFAIR
If you live in the Mix, your life is shit. You fight for your life every day and hope you can afford your next meal and a clone update.
If you live topside, you may have your every need catered too, but you are completely at the mercy of the corporation you work for. Fuck up or get out-smarted and you'll have a fall from grace so hard you probably won't survive.
There are characters in the game who will ALWAYS have more power than you. They will always be stronger. They will always have better gear. You can be a badass but someone, somewhere, will always be badder. Even the most well known and feared characters have met their match on more than one occasion, be it another player or an NPC.
The staff do not pull punches and neither will other players. If you piss off a badass ganger, syndicate member, or Corporation, you very well might get shit stomped into oblivion. This isn't a tabletop game where some deus ex machina is going to take place at the last minute thanks to your friendly DM/GM. The theme is the theme, the game is the game, your actions are your actions and you have to accept responsibility for the consequences.
There is nothing wrong with making bad decisions for the sake of telling a wonderful and exciting story. The 'wrong' comes in when you expect bad things won't happen as a result of your characters actions. This game is about risk, plotting, betrayal, and the long game.
CONSEQUENCES
Your actions have real, visceral consequences.
If you tell your boss to fuck off when you don't get a promotion, you're going to be fired. And then your boss is going to reach out to the HR departments at the other corporations and tell them not to hire you because you're a piece of shit. They might even pay a Judge to frame you for a crime so that you have no choice but to seek employment in the Mix. That's if they don't have corpsec toss you off the skywalk.
If you spit in the face of a ganger, you're going to get beat down. And then the next time that ganger sees you, you're going to get beat down again. And the time after that. And the time after that. And the time after that.
These are just examples, but they should drive home the point. The game is alive, and every character you meet has a long memory. It's not all bad though. That immy you help find their way around could be a friend for life, and the ganger you take to the ER after they almost die in a gang fight is going to respect you and feel like they owe you. That might not matter for six months, but at some point, it may come full circle and you find yourself waking up in the ER instead of a cloning tank, and that ganger is standing over you, telling you she thinks you're square now.
SINDOME IS A LONG GAME
You can get a hell of a lot done in a single day on Sindome, but if you want to get in good with some organizations or corporations, or accomplish big-picture goals, it's going to take you weeks, months, or years. If you have a picture in your head of your character being a badass and leading a gang, you better put some grey in their hair because it's going to take a long ass time. Sindome is like real life. You don't gain trust, move up through the ranks of an org, and get put in charge of important shit without EARNING that, through time and roleplay. It's important you accept that now.
SINDOME TAKES EFFORT
Just like we mentioned above, Sindome takes effort. If you want to get something done, you're going to have to work for it. That means plotting and planning and politicking your butt off until you get what you want. THAT is the point of Sindome. Not getting what you want, but the journey toward your goals. You may never ever attain your goals, but you'll have a blast along the way.
STAFF / ADMIN / GMs
The staff of Sindome, sometimes called the GMs or more generally, the admin, are not here to make your character's dreams come true. This isn't a 5 person tabletop game where every play session is a chance for the GM to help you explore your character's backstory and goals.
You're playing a game with hundreds of other people and if you want to explore your characters backstory, goals, desires, fears, etc. you need to be the driving force behind that. The GMs do their best to play off of what you are doing, and to help you move toward your goals when possible/themely, but there will be times when what you want to do simply is not themely, possible, or realistic. And the GMs have a lot on their plates. Don't expect GM based RP. Appreciate it when it happens, but you must be the driving force behind your roleplay. Run your own plots. Entertain yourself and others. That's the best way to enjoy this game.
The Staff are not responsible for bad things happening to your character. They may be the driving force behind it, but bad things are happening because of your characters actions. The same way good things happen because of your characters actions. And half the time you think that a GM did something to screw over/benefit your character, it was actually another character. Don't blame the staff when things don't go your way. The game world is not fair, but the staff do everything in their power to be fair. If you don't agree with something that has happened, there is probably more going on that you realize. Accept that. Roll with the punches. Try and try again.
In the end, if you level-set your expectations to what has been outlined above, you'll have a good experience on Sindome. If you don't/can't, then this may not be the game for you.
SINDOME IS A PRIVILEGE NOT A RIGHT
Please read this post: http://sindo.me/BJNucqGEv
It outlines the behaviors we identify with trolls and bad actors. If you exhibit these behaviors you will be swiftly removed from our community.
Good luck out there!
SEE ALSO: help bleed help cyberpunk help theme help small worlding @newbie Video Tutorials: expectations @rules *Last Updated: 02/12/22 by Fengshui*
