FAQ

General

It seems like mechanics and systems keep changing! Why can't you make up your mind?

The more people play, the more testing is done and the more things are tweaked. Sometimes a system that initially sounded great ends up being terrible. I reserve the right to adjust mechanics as deemed necessary.

Is this an RPE (Roleplay-Enforced) environment?

Yes. OOC (out-of-character) talk and behavior is not permitted, and characters should strive to act appropriate to the environment and fit within the world. There are some exceptions, such as the #OOC channel, used for game-related out-of-character conversation (usually used for asking game-related questions and seeking advice for playing). There is also the Mentor Lounge where more experienced players can give advice and pass down wisdom to others in an OOC environment, without having to worry about trying to stay in-character while explaining things like mechanics details and whatnot. And there are even occasional events where GMs and players will all get together in an OOC area just to socialize and have fun as themselves instead of their characters, or to experiment and play around with the combat system with no reservations or consequences.

Is this an RPI (Roleplay-Intensive) environment?

No. Roleplayers of all kinds are welcome here, from the power-emoter to the RP minimalist, and even the folks who are making their very first foray into an RP environment. That said, I strive to make this world feel like a real and living one. NPCs should be treated like people instead of like lesser artificial life forms. A character's actions should be expected to have consequences.

Why do people keep asking what my character's name is?

The game uses an introduction system (sort of), so people will only see a brief description of other characters' appearances rather than a name until they use the name command to assign a name to that character. This means one could technically introduce oneself to one person as Fred and another person as George, if they wanted.

Will GM-driven events and RP take place in the game?

Absolutely. I love interacting with players in an in-character medium via various NPCs and would love to reward those who are interested in learning more about the lore and world they inhabit, and getting more involved in goings-on. That said, players should also be content to enjoy player-run RP and events. There's no way GMs can be expected to be around all the time to run events.

Is death permanent?

Not in common or mundane situations, no. Certain situations, areas, and NPCs or entities may be exceptionally dangerous, however, with no chance of escape upon death - so maybe don't taunt that massive soul-eating demon, and think twice before storming a villain's fortress.

What do I do if I've ruined my reputation in town and get banned?

Live off the land! It's very possible (and even fun!) to survive outside town, though of course it will be more difficult. If a player isn't happy with the idea of their character continuing without access to town, it might be better to start a new character instead.

Are alt characters allowed?

Players are allowed 2 active characters at any one time. The shelve command can be used to "shelve" a character without permanently losing them - the minimum time is 30 days, after which the unshelve command can be used to make the character active again (provided there's an empty alt slot for them). The retire command can be used to retire a character permanently.

Why a level system?

I know a lot of people feel level systems are detrimental to the RP experience, but I urge skeptics to give it a try. Level does not equate directly to power here, but rather to overall potential. Levels mean skill and ability points, but characters still put those points into whatever they choose. A level 5 combat-focused character could well defeat a level 90 crafting-focused character in combat, for instance.

Someone has been harassing me! Will you please help?

Players are expected to handle their own personal problems. If someone is using game mechanics to harass another player and make the game unplayable for them, that may be looked into. If a player is being made fun of, teased, or other such things, players are expected to be mature enough to handle that on their own. Remember that everything that goes on in game should be considered IC, save for private OOC communications - in the latter case, a player may simply squelch or ignore another harassing player's OOC communications.

On the other hand: I ask that players be respectful to one another. The above does not excuse disrespectful or mean-spirited OOC behavior, and cases of such will be handled as deemed necessary.

Do you need any additional developers, coders, GMs, or builders?

I don't plan to ever take on any additional coders. I'd love some builders though, so if anyone is interested, feel free to send an email expressing interest and provide some examples of building work. Warning: I'm picky. Spelling and grammar are important.

I can't afford to buy food, and I'm about to starve to death! Where can I get food?

Characters can try foraging (use the forage command) in various places for basic ingredients and food, or butchering (use the butcher command) animal corpses for meat. If a water source like a lake or river is available, fishing and spearfishing are additional options to those with the appropriate skillset.

Could I write up a new system concept or lore/event idea and email it to you?

I'm happy to see new systems ideas, lore ideas, and other suggestions posted on the BBS. When they're put up there, the community at large can discuss them, and I like that rather than just being emailed where only I will see it.

Why can't I turn off the language filter?

In every fantasy RP game I've played, real-world modern profanity has always struck me as jarring and immersion-breaking. Since this is a game and world of my own invention, I've established that some of these "swear words" are out-of-genre for the setting.

The primary reason these are filtered while other out-of-genre terms and phrases are not ("oh snap", "woot", "dude") is because "swear words" tend to be used frequently by players regardless of setting, while it's generally known and accepted that other out-of-genre terms should be avoided in RP-enforced settings.

The filter handily substitutes in genre-appropriate words that can be considered equivalents in the game world.

Can I make a donation?

I don't like accepting money for this hobby at this time, so spend those few bucks on someone who might be in need instead. Alternatively, players could make a donation to one of the following charities that I support (and are encouraged to let me know they've done so):

Companies, Guilds, and Societies

What are Companies, Guilds, and Societies?

A Company is a group formed, managed, and run by player characters, using game mechanics to assist with things like tracking membership and assigning officers and such. Any character can register a Company and invite others to join. Companies generally operate without an official exclusive headquarters, but a Company that gets large and influential enough may be able to secure some modest facilities in town. There is no limit on the number of Companies a character can be a member of. Players can use the company command to manage company matters or check which companies they are a part of and their associated ranks.
A Guild is a group run by NPCs that can provide facilities, services, goods, and training to its members. Guilds are fairly lax when it comes to recruiting and membership (though may still have entry requirements), and members tend to pay some form of recurring fees or dues to keep the Guilds running. A character can only be a member of one Guild, but may still potentially be recruited into a Society as well.
A Society is a group run by NPCs that requires dedication to a specific cause, and often has rules, philosophies, or disciplines that must be abided by. Like guilds, Societies can also provide facilities, services, goods, and training, but are far more selective about whom they recruit. Members proving worthy of joining a Society may also enjoy access to exclusive abilities and/or occult powers. A character can only be a member of one Society. Players that frequently make new alts are significantly less likely to be considered for Society recruitment, as an OOC "collect them all" mentality is discouraged.

Can I change my character's Guild or Society?

Characters are not allowed to change their Guild or Society, with two possible exceptions: First, some groups may offer a short trial/investigation period during which a character can decide the group is not for them and drop out - this will be made clear when given a recruitment offer. Second, some Societies may be able to recruit or transfer members from other Societies, though this is not common, and is done on the Society's initiative, not the player/character's. These restrictions are in place to prevent characters from jumping group to group and amassing items, knowledge, secrets, abilities, powers, and so on that are meant to be exclusive.

CLOK

This seems a lot like the game CLOK. What's the deal?

CLOK was a game I made that eventually grew into something I was ready to let go of for a variety of reasons, and COGG was originally meant to be a kind of reboot. When CLOK was shut down, I decided to make COGG simply be a continuation of CLOK, though there are some differences as it runs on a rewritten engine with different mechanics, and there have been some geography changes and a few minor lore changes as well. That said, I have decided to completely embrace the CLOK timeline with the following exceptions:

Haiban's timeline is condensed, and never got to the point of having luxury high-rise apartments and a posh hotel & spa and such. These things seemed too out of place or anachronistic for COGG's post-apocalyptic setting. Things that happened in CLOK's Haiban still happened, but the town just never got fully realized to its luxurious dream vision and was eventually raided so often by various groups that it was abandoned as the Western Coalition cut their losses.
The Harbinger attack on Shadgard near the end of CLOK that killed several prominent Church of Light NPCs never happened. Those NPCs are still alive and doing churchy things.
Itotia, one of the Wyrvardn founders, was not accidentally killed by a newbie PC who thought they were just sparring with a practice NPC.

Can I play the same character I played in CLOK?

If you want to play the same character you had in CLOK, please get in touch with us first so we can iron out any wrinkles. You can email cogg (at) contrarium.net with your request. Please know the following:

It's all or nothing. You have to claim and accept the entirety of the character's CLOK history. It's okay if you don't remember literally everything that happened to them; we don't either. We can try to sleuth up details if they seem important enough.
You won't get all your gear back. (But there may be opportunities to trade equivalent items in for ones with custom strings like the old CLOK gear your character owned.)
You won't get all your money back. Where did it all go? Come up with an excuse, or better, just don't worry about it and don't bring it up.
You won't get all your skills/abilities back. If it comes up (though avoid bringing it up yourself), you can say you've gotten rusty, fallen out of practice, took an arrow to the knee, etc.
You may have an opportunity to get your house back (not the items that were in it), but will still need to pay for it again in the interest of fairness to non-CLOK characters. Note that legacy homes will be significantly reduced/condensed if they were multi-room homes to be on par with the homes available to everyone else - we want things to be fair, so it's really about getting the old descriptions/location/feel. Home ownership restrictions will also still apply and CLOK homeownership will not bypass these.

I am/have been a GM for CLOK. Is all my secret deep lore knowledge still relevant?

Nope! Pieces of it may be, but a lot of the "deep lore" has been updated, and a lot has been added. It's best to come into things assuming all the secret knowledge you have from being a GM in CLOK is inaccurate, and give yourself a clean slate instead. This also means: please do not spread or act on any CLOK "secret lore" knowledge. Sharing it either IC or OOC with other players will be considered a bannable offense.

What happened to Grum and the Grummers? I don't see them listed as a homeland or race.

"Grum" and "Grummers" were always meant as placeholder names, but they stuck in CLOK after a while. The official name for that land in this game is Khaldea, and its people the Khaldeans. Lorewise the term "Grum" still has a place, though - there was a point in that land's relatively recent history where an eccentric (many go so far as to say mad) leader with the surname of Grum tried to rename the place after himself, but his rule didn't last long, ending in a minor civil war. Those who remain loyal to Grum or his ideals can still refer to themselves as "Grummers", but may of course have to deal with any political ramifications that might come up as a result.

What happened to the Parren race?

Parr's population is racially diverse even if having a unique dominant cultural identity, so any character that has chosen Parr as their homeland can safely refer to themselves as Parrens.

Why doesn't the geography line up perfectly with that of CLOK if this is the same world?

Geography changes have been made that will make the landscape different from CLOK in some ways. Mountains, lakes, roads, and such have been added in some places to give the land a little more variety, and some areas have been condensed, shifted around, or haven't been imported from CLOK yet. Some of the coastline has been brought in closer, too.

What happened to the University of Elemancy?

It has been replaced by the Library of Qamar which is roughly in the same geographical spot and serves the same purpose of being a place of learning for those seeking knowledge of the occult and arcane. Even better, though: it also houses your mundane knowledge such as lore, history, natural science, etc. and can be used to study and learn more about certain lore items that can be found throughout the world. While the Scholar Guild area is restricted access to members only, the general library and study areas are open to the public. (The Arcanist class specialization is able to learn elemancy glyphs that function like Elemancy, so that stuff is still a thing!)

What about various other CLOK factions/areas that don't appear to be in this game?

It's likely they've just not been imported from CLOK yet. Several things had previously been listed in this section as having "never existed in this world." With the shutdown of CLOK, I no longer feel compelled to try and make deliberate changes and differences between this world and that of CLOK, and also have a desire to preserve as much as I can from CLOK while remaining true to the deliberate differences made for COGG. A lot of CLOK's areas and factions are still missing from COGG at the moment, but are very likely to show up in the game in one form or other at some point!

How come some things seem like they still exist from CLOK, but with changed names and some other detail changes?

I'm avoiding using content that is not my own original intellectual property unless I've managed to get permission from the original creators. If some content seems familiar but is referred to by different names/terms, chances are that it's due to intellectual property reasons - most likely shared creations worked on by both myself and another GM.

FAQ

Contents