Mood and Tone

The focus of this chronicle is the alienation and ennui of the characters, and to this end, there will be little or no focus on the consequences of their actions. Deviancy and graphic elements, while permitted, will not be emphasised. Really nasty stuff, even when performed by the PCs, will be abstracted and/or dealt with "off-camera".

The base mood of the chronicle is Unreality. Nothing in Hollywood is quite what it seems, and everyone who lives there happily goes along with the gag. Meta-game discussions are perfectly acceptable. Retconning may be employed quite frequently ("the test audiences hated it, so we re-edited the ending and shot some new scenes").

Focus

Many people game in order to socialise, and goof off with friends. I game in order to game, and expect this to be respected by the players. Small talk and socialising before we start is fine, but when we eventually get down to playing, I would like the group to remain focussed, and reserve the right to be rather fascist about bringing people's attention back to the game.

PC Glow

The PCs in this chronicle are special, and know it. They have stronger, more vivid personalities than most ordinary folk, and suffer fewer consequences as a result of their actions (Note: that doesn't mean no consequences!). Even relative to major NPCs, PCs will have some (not necessarily defined) in-game and meta-game advantages.

Player Input Into the Game World

Elements of the setting may be modified subject to the following considerations, in order of precedence:

Essential to the Plot: Some things in Hollywood by Night are the way they are, because I need them that way for the over-arching story.
Verisimilitude: Although some elements of the setting may be bent, stretched, exaggerated or fictionalized by GM and players, the city must still be able to pass for real-world Los Angeles, at least superficially. Details, once established, will usually be fixed, although they may be retconned by discussion between GM and players.
Player Input: Elements of the plot and setting, especially those immediately relevant to a player's character, may be determined by the player.
GM Improv: Many details of the setting will be made up on the fly by the GM. Any relevant detail not already defined by the players, will be defined by the GM, as necessary.

I encourage player input, but reserve the right to veto any contribution that violates points 1 or 2.

Violence

I use violence as a stonewall. When your characters hear that such-and-such a place is full of armed Glass Walkers, their response should be, "Oh, we'd better not go there, then", rather than, "Oh, we'd better pack more ammunition, then".

When PCs are wandering into a potentially lethal fight, I will give at least one explicit warning, including an estimate of the lethality of the situation, eg. "You easily outclass this guy, but he could get lucky and accidentally stake you with the chair-leg", or, "You were fairly evenly matched last time you fought, and this time he wants you dead; you have a fifty-fifty chance of being destroyed". I will then, where possible, contrive one last chance for the PC to abandon their objective and escape. The PCs fate thereafter depends entirely on the roll of the dice, I will not fudge results to prevent Final Death.

Not all fights will be potentially lethal. In particular, PCs should be able to take out most mortals with impunity.

I do not allow inter-PC violence, and expect the players to cooperate in avoiding PC to PC violence, or even conflicts serious enough to escalate to violence. If necessary, I will discuss with the players what in-game events are necessary to ensure that this rule is followed.

Threefold Ratings

Dramatist: First and foremost, the game will emphasise story. I have a loose but definite dramatic structure in mind for the chronicle.
Gamist: Interesting challenges are a secondary, but still important, consideration. Many situations may be abstracted with dice rolls.
Simulationist: As little as I can get away with and still maintain SOD. A realistic, consistent world is less important to me than a dramatic one.

Gleichman Ratings

General Description: Cinematic: "Description is detailed to the extent it would be in a PG movie. Example: As you kick the girl out the car door, she tumbles down the embankment and out of sight; any sound she makes is drowned by the noise of your engine.
"No non-heroic detail is to be described. The details are never graphic".
PC Lethality: Conditional: "The PC may die as a result of a combination of poor play, bad situation, and/or bad luck. Such an event is rare however. The player can expect that his character; will survive the Campaign except under extreme conditions".
Player vs. Player Interaction: Heroic: "Allows no action that is vile in nature or even questionable, i.e. torture, rape, killing of prisoners, assassinations, etc. This is the Heroic/Adventure conduct at it at its best and cleanest. There are no exceptions allowed".
Player vs. Game Interaction: Dark: "At this point, any event is allowed if the campaign calls for it".
Game vs. Player Interaction: Pragmatic Game vs. Game Interaction: Pragmatic: "The mindset now becomes one of the vigilante, a dark avenger. Assassinations, killing of prisoners (without trial), and other questionable acts are now seen as justified when there is no other reasonable option left to the [NPC].
"This is NOT Dark. There is never a reason to justify rape or the murder of innocents under Pragmatic.
"Pragmatic allows Event Escalation as in Moral.
"At the Game vs. Player, Game vs. Game level, the world no longer plays completely fair. Don't expect the villain to always step out into the open before being allowed a go at you. Still, you can expect a reasonable chance, except in the case of bad play or worse luck".