Odyssey

Odyssey is a gamemode that is loosely based on the Game Master-Player format of many tabletop roleplaying games. An Odyssey round is made up of three main components: The away-site, the Storyteller, and the Actors. An ideal Odyssey round sees the Storyteller crafting a story for the Horizon to engage with. They then direct the Actors to carry out the story, and react to the Horizon and her crew.

While an ideal Odyssey round has a Storyteller, one is not required for Odyssey to be played. In this case, Actors are given greater freedom in deciding a story amongst themselves with the tools and away-site given to them. This may be tricky at times, but Admins are almost always there to help. Feel free to Ahelp for assistance, or to potentially seek out a Storyteller post-round start.

Canonicity

Unique to Odyssey is canonicity. Typically, antagonist rounds are entirely non-canon. However, with Odyssey, some rounds may include canon interactions and events. Often times, this is related to a Lore Arc or some section of Aurora's lore. This helps with bringing what is an otherwise distant but relevant topic closer to the players and/ by extension, characters. It also allows these stories to be remembered and referenced in future rounds, and potentially even Actor names!

Here is a breakdown of the difference between non-canon and canon rounds:

Non-Canon

Non-canon arounds are where the more intense stories occur. There are very few restrictions on what may happen. Anything from a zombie outbreak to a Lii'draic invasion could occur. This doesn't mean violence and conflict are required, however. Calm but crazier stories also fit in here, such as a bluespace-originating research team unfamiliar with the Orion Spur or with realspace. They may be peaceful, but the story itself wouldn't fit into a canonical round.

As with other antagonist rounds, everything that occurred relating to the Actors or Storyteller is non-canon and cannot be referenced in future rounds. Character deaths are non-canon as well.

Canon

Canon rounds are calmer than non-canon rounds. They are intended to being similar to Extended rounds, but with the ability to present a full story and incorporate certain lore elements if desired. However, this doesn't mean conflict is outright forbidden. Some rounds may be a simple diplomatic interaction with the Golden Deep or some other nation the Horizon may be visiting. Other rounds could be a tense crawl through a Nanotrasen research station taken over by greimorians with survivors desperately waiting for help. In both cases, the story presented is believable and not too violent as to deviate from the intended setting of the server. When in doubt, ask an admin.

All interactions in a canon round are accepted as fact, and may be referenced in future rounds. The only exception to this are 'character deaths'. All character deaths may be retconned as the player desires, unless a Staff says otherwise.

Away-site

Away-sites are the setting of an Odyssey round. It is intended for the story to be based around these sites, although that does not prohibit allowing events to flow over into other locations such as the Horizon itself. The away-site can be best described as the playground for the actors and storyteller to use in order to craft and enact the story. They provide a centrepoint for the events to unfold, and may help guide the story itself.

Away-sites are as varied as possible to offer a wide range of settings. They can be anything from an abandoned storage facility to an illegal cloning base to a ship. This is all to help the storyteller and actors tell an enticing story. By default, none of these facilities have an inherent tie into a certain group or location. The same away-site could be controlled by Zeng-hu or be controlled by the Empire of Dominia. The organizations involved are largely dictated by the storyteller who has the power to manipulate the site as they see fit. There are largely no restrictions on how this may happen or who may be used (although canon rounds may have some scrutiny applied), but it would be best to adapt to wherever the Horizon is during the Odyssey round. Perhaps the Horizon is in the Coalition of Colonies and has run across an abandoned Himean refinery station, or perhaps the Horizon is in Tau Ceti and has run across a destroyed 2nd Invasion TCFL ship. In that same vein, it would be odd to see a Dominian cloning facility in Solarian or Tau Ceti space. Be mindful, it could make all the difference.

How are they selected. Ask matt

Actors

Actors are the way by which a story is told to the Horizon. Without Actors, Odyssey would grind to a halt and cease to work. While the Storyteller has the tools and position to craft a story to tell and prepare, the Actors are the ones who truly make it happen, and how.

In a standard Odyssey round, any number of Actors can be chosen. The current limit is 4, however this can and may change during different rounds and away-site types. All Actors are given access to AOOC but are otherwise normal characters like every other antagonist type. Most of your equipment, access, etc. will be provided by a Storyteller.

How are actors chosen/join the round   What are you. How do?

Storyteller

The Storyteller is an optional but powerful role within Odyssey. It is often how the story of the round is crafted and directed. You are put in a position of great power to make an engaging story for both the Horizon and the Actors.

Storytellers requires a Command whitelist. Abuse of the role will lead to a whitelist strip and/or staff action.

Powers

Admin-level powers they are given

Directing the Show

How to coordinate the actors