Frequently Used Terms
Character: A fictious persona adopted by a player in order to participate in a story. Each character is controlled by one character. Characters under the control of the Storyteller are known as Non-Player Characters or NPCs.
Gifts: Offered powers, effects, tools or any offering that might be sufficient to motivate a High Roller to particpate in Games. The Storyteller decides what gift is offered by a Harbinger, though if they are incautious or show poor judgement a gift may go on the block for Tribunal Void potential. Likewise, the gift must be in keeping with a character's style and ambition.
Harbinger: Representative of the Secret Masters sent to coax, lure, intimidate or force characters to participate in the Games. They typically offer the gifts available to characters. Harbingers need not appear in person, often working through third-parties, writing or other forms of communication. Whether or not the Harbinger chooses to present it in this way, the characters usually have a choice and may "opt out" if the challenge involves something they won't do. Harbingers are always controlled by the Storyteller.
High Roller: Characters that accept the challenge of participating in the games. In-game, characters have been known to adopt their own terms such as Imbued, Chosen, Contractors, Doornails, & many more.
High-seasoned: A high roller with more than 20 gifts is considered High-Seasoned.
Novice: A chosen with fewer than 10 gifts.
Player: A real person who adopts the persona of a character in the fictious events of the story. Each player controls one character at a time and they work with the Storyteller to decide what their character does in the story.
Prelude: Everything that happens up to a character up to where he joins the other characters for a Game. This usually includes the Harbinger's pitch to a High Roller before a game commences.
Ringer: A player-controlled non-chosen character. The player of the ringer generally works with the GM to fufill a certain role within the game (often by dieing). Players who play a ringer in a game get either 5 or 10 xp to spend on any of their characters (at storyteller's discretion).
Roleplaying: A form of storytelling where people pretend to be individuals. If you don't know but you are curious, it is a lot like playing "pretend" as a kid except there are a few more rules to help people agree on how the stories unfold.
Seasoned: A chosen with between 10 and 19 gifts is considered 'seasoned'.
Secret Masters: The mysterious powers behind the Games. Their powers seem infinite and their interests obfuscated. Perhaps the Games are merely an amusement, or perhaps they are part of a grander scheme.
Side Game: A story in which the events take place outside a House Game. This story illustrates what one or more characters are up to during "down time". No Experience can be awarded for Side Games however they can can be quite a lot of fun. Side games can be used to eliminate enemies, acquire resources and allies, investigate leads, or anything else. They often become necessary or highly beneficial for high-seasoned chosen.
Storyteller: The person who narrates the story, controls all non-player characters and the setting for the duration of a Game (and prelude, and epilogue). The Storyteller must arbitrate rules and engage the players as best he or she can. Ideally, a person gets to be a player at least once in between Games in which that person is Storyteller. House Games are designed to make it easy to take turns like this.
Tribunal Void: Since House Games are a community activity, a quorum of players may decide against allowing the events (or portion of the events) of a particular game, retroactively stripping the offending events from the official timeline.
Veteran: A high roller who has splintered off from the group and occasionally attempts games without the aid of other high rollers. Veterans typically have more than 30 gifts.
