How to Use the Player Library

Game Discussion
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I’ve received a few questions on how the library works, most of which I believe are answered in other posts, but it seems useful at this point to make a master post for people to refer to. I’ll post updates to this thread when/if things change.

Clarification 1: This is about the informational player books, not the scholar books with mechanical effects.
Clarification 2: This is an explicitly out of game message, so that I can be clear where Annaliese would feel the need to be a bit vague, for her own safety. In game explanations can be found elsewhere, including on the library cart in game.

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CONTRIBUTING

Q: How do I submit new texts to the library?
A: There are several methods. For all methods, know that there will likely be a delay in getting paid of 1-2 festivals. There is a waitlist while I get the library funding, and I will pay people in order of contribution unless otherwise specified.

  1. Give Annaliese the text in game
  2. Drop the text in the bottom of the library cart, during game (you may wish to weigh it down with something so it doesn’t blow away) and make sure your character’s name is on it so I know who to pay. If there’s no name it will be treated as a donation.
  3. Send it to me digitally, between games

Q: What is the best format to submit something in?
A: If you give me both a digital and a physical copy, it will make my life easier, but you don’t have to. If you give me just one, I will either print or photograph it to make sure the other exists.

Q: What if I don’t want people to know I wrote it?
A: Tell Annaliese that.

Q: What if I don’t want Annaliese to know I wrote it?
A: Drop it in the cart when I’m not around, and don’t sign it, but don’t expect to magically get paid. (Edit: Or mundanely; thanks, Kevin. -_- )

Q: But what if I do want payment?
A: Tuck a note inside with a drop location and time for the payment. Preferably for the next festival.

Q: What if I really only want certain people/groups to be able to read it?
A: TELL ANNALIESE THIS. A lot of the “restrictedness” of things is merely a fairly transparent covering her own ass for legal purposes, but if you want to contribute something more secretly, I can make a note of this and handle it specially, as well as not list it on the public inventory. Neither Annaliese nor Melissa want to stomp on your good time.

Q: What if, in my super secret submission that I asked not to be put on the inventory, I admit to a crime? Will Annaliese still keep it secret?
A: What kind of crime? If you admit to planning a murder or give me your hit list, no Annaliese will in most cases not be keeping that secret. If you admit to doing magic or having Forbidden Texts, yes she’ll keep it secret. Use your judgement and your knowledge of who Annaliese is as a person.

Q: Can I submit someone else’s findings?
A: Please do not, unless you have their permission or they have left game.

Q: What about explicit materials?
A: See Library Smut Rules

Q: How much will I be paid?
A: It varies. To avoid cheesing of the algorithm I’m not giving the exact numbers but a general idea is as follows:

  • A followable lesson will net you 5 ducats. And will have a small fee to check out.
  • If you used skills to get the information, make a note of how many points of skill, and you will get at least that many ducats
  • A piece of fiction will be paid for by length. There is a soft cap (after a 1000 words I start using a log2 function)
  • Nonfiction will be paid for by discrete piece of useful information. This is a necessarily subjective measure, but I will do my best to be fair
  • Advertising materials, such as product catalogues, will be accepted and listed in the inventory, but you won’t get paid.
  • If it has a nice binding you’ll get a little more. If it has a hand-done nice binding, that’s a little more, still. Let’s make a nice-looking and immersive library collection.
  • Careful illustrations also gain a bonus.
  • If it is fiction that causes Annaliese psychic damage she will pay slightly less. This is mostly for humor value so if it really bothers you, talk to me OOG and we’ll work it out.

Q: I submitted a book, but it’s not listed for checking out!
A: I need some time to process submissions. Usually it will be listed the next festival, but sometimes if Life Happens it might take two.

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CHECKING OUT

Q: How do I know what is available to read?
A: There is an inventory list posted on the library cart during game, and also here: Copy of Lending Inventory & Requests - Google Docs
Please take note that there’s a page break before the restricted listings, to make life easier in case I should need to hide them from visiting NPCs, so check the next page!
If you take the physical document, please write your name down on the sheet so I know it hasn’t vanished. Please try not to keep a text for too long so others can read it, and if you have it between festivals I expect it back first thing the next festival or I will have to start fining people.

Q: How do I get the texts into my hands during game?
A: In game most texts will be located in the library building. In the event that your desired text is restricted or has a fee listed, it will not be there, and you will have to find Annaliese to give it to you.

Q: What’s this about fees?
A: Some books have fees to check out. As of writing this the only such books are books with lessons, as per Arden’s insistence on lesson fees.

Q: What if I want a text between games?
A: All texts have digital copies, though I make no promise as to quality (some are crappy photos.) Message me via the online or phone medium of your choice for a link. If it has a fee, pay it to me next game. If it is restricted, I’ll want a short IC conversation before sending you the link. This can happen over whatever medium you used to message me.

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SUPPLEMENTARY

Q: What is the Recommendation of the Librarian?
A: Exactly what it sounds like. Every festival Annaliese picks a text she thinks is most useful at the current time, and has not been recently featured, and leaves it on the library cart for ease of access. Please put it back on the cart when you’re done reading it.

Q: What is the box on the bottom for?
A: Velenza is maintaining a directory of researchers/topics of interest. If you want to be listed, drop a card in the slot with your character name and topics.

Q: Why is there all this other stuff on the cart?
A: Idk, man. People just put stuff there, sometimes, and if it seems library related I leave it there for the event.

Q: There are? Actual books? On the bottom shelf?
A: Yes. People sometimes put the scholar books there so they don’t have to run back to their cabin for them when exchange time happens. Feel free to do this if it makes your life easier. If they’re in your way feel free to shift them/restack them, but otherwise just ignore them. Books still need to be exchanged at the Designated Time to have their effects enabled so grabbing one off the shelf will not do you any good.

Q: But what if I want to know specifically about the mechanical scholar library books?
A: That’s Arden’s show; I just assist. I’ll tell you as much as I know if asked but if it’s not widely known to the scholars, I’m unlikely to know more. Seriously though: that’s mechanical and I can’t answer mechanics questions as I am not staff. Please ask staff your mechanics questions.

Q: Why is the link to the inventory to a copy of a document? What about the original? That’s so sketchy.
A: Not really; the original is here: Lending Inventory & Requests - Google Docs
It’s just the same thing in a fancier (and harder to read) font.

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Is that last bullet point meant to reference “psychic damage”, “physical damage”, or something else?

6

Fixed. Although if it somehow causes her physical damage there might be Words.

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Does anyone sleep in the library? Just wondering for the purposes of “I’m awake in the middle of the night for whatever reason and want to go read” and don’t want to interrupt people’s sleep.

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No; nobody sleeps there.