Wyrming is a very important concept in Telgard. It is something you do not want to do. Wyrming only relates to the progression of your character’s story, and as such is generally only something you need to worry about when posting for your character. So what is Wyrming?

Simply put, Wyrming is the act of making assumptions. Specifically, assumptions that give you an advantage.

It’s a lot more complex than that, though. There are three basic things that you as a player have no control over:

1) The success of your actions
2) Other characters
3) Your environment

All of these things are under the control of your Moderator (or in some cases, as relates to the second item, other players). Let’s examine these items in further detail.

Your actions:Characters, at least initially, are assumed to be new to their professions. As such, they cannot be expected to succeed handily at everything they attempt. Especially when attempting difficult tasks, your character may fail more often than not. Mundane tasks, like eating or walking down the street, are generally exceptions, unless you have some sort of Disadvantage that makes these things difficult.

The actions and reactions of other PCs or NPCs: You can tell other characters what to do. You just can’t insure that they’ll do it. If your character takes an action, you can’t say what the reaction of the people around him will be. “Hargrew the Warrior lashed out with a vicious blow, striking the brigand square in the chest. The hapless robber fell to the ground, clutching his chest and begging for mercy.” This is an example of a Wyrm that blatantly violates both point one and point two. “The Guard was impressed by Hargrew’s list of accomplishments.” This is a subtler example of a Wyrm. Neither is considered acceptable.

Your environment: This one is the most tricky one, as there are some things you can assume about your environment. You can assume that stone is hard, that fire is hot, or that a knife to your gut is going to hurt. As long as the assumption is based upon common sense, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Your writing can be fleshed out and deepened by describing your environment, provided what you described is common sense and fits the boundaries of what has already been described by your Moderator. However, you still don’t have the leeway to create things like buildings, NPCs, or events of a scale beyond the most minor.

So, in general, there are two guidelines to follow: If it gives your character an advantage, don’t create it; and if you have any doubts about whether it would be appropriate, don’t create it.

There is a small exception to the rules on Wyrming. When a character progresses to a high level in a skill, the simpler tasks relating to that skill become very easy. A highly-skilled blacksmith would be able to create a simple dagger without much difficulty, for instance, and a character with a high level of stealth would be able to noiselessly cross an unobstructed stone floor. All high-level skills are considered to have this degree of automatic success at simple actions. However, it does not apply when the task is a matter of life and death, or of other importance. In such cases, the attempt to use the skill is Moderated normally.

Your Moderator may also occasionally grant you a brief and temporary exemption from the rules on Wyrming, usually as a reward for good writing. You may be invited to describe a scene, or the results of an extended series of actions. Whatever the setting, try to stay within the bounds of the game. Don’t let yourself get carried away.

There is a corollary to this: As your Moderator controls everything around your character, so do you control your character. Only you can determine his thoughts and actions, although, again, you cannot determine the success of his actions. There may be rare cases, such as relate to phobias, illness, or mental control, when your Moderator can exert some influence over him, but generally she has no control over your character. A Moderator can Wyrm by dictating character actions, whether they are actions that your character would take or not. For help on resolving this type of issue, please see the section on Settling Disagreements.