Moderated & Self-Moderated Threads

The Quill · Post by **The Quill** » 15 Nov 2025, 12:04

Moderated Threads

Moderated threads are threads where the Aptitude System and all other Penwick.ink game mechanics are fully in effect. Some moderated threads are run by Penwick.ink staff (for example, Professor characters), and others are self-moderated by players.

By default, any thread you start with another player is a regular (unmoderated) thread. In a regular thread, you simply write the story you want without using dice rolls or game mechanics.

Writing in a moderated thread means you are choosing to play with Penwick’s game mechanics turned on. There is no built-in advantage to using a moderated thread over a regular thread. The key differences are:

- Regular threads are smaller in impact and scope, but give you full narrative control over what happens.
- Moderated threads introduce chance and uncertainty through dice rolls, and can therefore have more structured, rules-bound outcomes.

You may selectively use mechanics (for example, only rolling dice in a few key moments) while otherwise writing normally. However, as long as mechanics are not consistently applied for the entire thread, that thread is still considered a regular thread. A thread only counts as a moderated thread if the game mechanics are fully active from start to finish.

Moderated Thread Rules

The following rules apply to every moderated thread, regardless of type:

Mechanics are active

Participating characters can activate and use their Abilities.
Auto-activating Abilities are in effect unless explicitly deactivated at the start of the thread.
Character health pools are active: Health Pool = Physique × 100
At 0 or lower, a character becomes incapacitated and may not perform actions for the rest of the thread.

Action limits

Posting order is observed (some thread types may have exceptions listed below).
Each post counts as your character’s “turn.”
A character may perform one mundane and one magical action per turn. A mundane action include: walking/running somewhere, picking something up, drinking something, investigating something. A magical action includes: casting a spell, drinking a potion, or using a magical item or magical ability of some sort.

Inventory limits

A character may bring no more than three items from their inventory unless an Ability changes this limit.
Items brought must be declared in your first post.

Dice rolls

You must use the on-site dice rolling system. for all rolls. This system logs all dice rolls and makes them publicly viewable which helps prevent cheating.
All magical actions require dice rolls (success, hit, effect/damage).
Mundane actions may or may not require dice rolls depending on the type of moderated thread (details in each section).
As a general rule: any mundane action involving an obstacle or any combat-related mundane action should require a dice roll.

Below you will find how self-moderated threads work and how they differ from staff-moderated threads. Even if you only plan to write regular threads, reading this will help you understand what regular threads can and cannot do.

The Quill · Post by **The Quill** » 15 Nov 2025, 15:38

Self-Moderated Threads (SMs)

These are moderated threads where regular (non-staff) members play with Penwick’s mechanics fully enabled. There are three ways to run a self-moderated thread:

Write with another player and agree beforehand to use Penwick’s game mechanics. See “Player-ran SM threads” below.
Write with a member who has the Storyteller role. See "Storyteller-ran SM threads" below.
Write in one of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” (CYOA) locations.

Player-run, self-moderated threads (PSMs)

Any thread between regular (non-staff) members where Penwick’s game mechanics are enabled is a player-run, self-moderated thread.

The site rules provide ample creative freedom for you to write between yourself and your threading partner(s).

However, you must limit the impact of your thread(s) to just the involved characters over which you and your writing partner have control, and you must write from the viewpoint of your player character. The characters over which you have full control are:

Your own player character.
Any pets your player character may have.
Your player character's immediate family such as parents, siblings, aunts/uncles, cousins, etc, in the form of NPCs.
You may also create and use any NPC character you like for the purposes of your story, but such NPCs must be private to your story (meaning you can not claim these NPCs have weight in the world itself, so no Prime Ministers, no "greatest wizard to ever live", etc).

NPCs like shopkeepers in Wyrdlan or Brynwell or NPC Professors from Penwick are not fully yours to control. These NPCs are 'shared' between all other players, meaning all other players can interact with them and mention them in their stories. As such, you cannot do anything in your thread that would have a lasting impact on such NPCs. For example: you're free to write a thread where your character gets their wand at Ollivander's and have an impactful conversation with him, but you cannot claim that Ollivander gave your character his life's savings.

Broadly speaking, the rule of thumb is this: if the effect of your story has an impact on characters (players or NPCs) beyond your character or those of your writing partner(s), it's a no-go. The impact of your story must be self-contained.

Storyteller-run, self-moderated threads (SSMs)

Storytellers are trusted community veterans who are given a bit more creative leeway. Storytellers are allowed to write from the viewpoint of (one of) their NPCs, such as a parent or sibling of their player character. They may also create entirely new NPCs which have no relation to their main character and use these NPCs as a viewpoint character to create a mini-adventure or quest.

When a storyteller runs a self-moderated thread, all the same rules apply as when regular players run self-moderated threads. The only major difference is that storytellers can act more like a GM/DM because they are allowed to write NPC viewpoint characters which may be unrelated to their main character.

Finally, the impact and scope of a storyteller-ran self-moderated thread can be a little larger and more global in nature. Storytellers can consult with staff to get permission to run certain mini-adventures which have a wider, more lasting impact. For example: a storyteller might get permission from staff to run a mini-adventure where Mr. Ollivander gets kidnapped and it is up to the participating players to rescue him.

You can read more about the Storyteller role here.

Choose Your Own Adventure self-moderated threads (CYOA)

There are several locations on site which link to a Choose Your Own Adventure page for that location. This page gives detailed instructions and required dice-rolls in order to play in/progress in that location. You can think of these a simple story prompts which you can optionally engage in. All CYOA locations are self-contained and there is no boon to them other than the joy of discovery and letting chance/luck (dice rolls) affect your character's story. The rules and mechanics of any particular CYOA are outlined on the CYOA page of that location, simply follow the instructions on that page.

An example of a CYOA location is Blinkin' & Nods on Widderlane in Brynwell.

The Quill · Post by **The Quill** » 17 Nov 2025, 13:56

Official/Staff-run moderated threads (OMs)

In moderated threads run by staff, the member of staff takes on a Game Master/Dungeon Master style of role and actively shapes the narrative. These threads can be thought of as guided adventures and often take the form of a quest, which marks a significant moment in your character's story.

Staff-run moderated threads also open the door to encounters and events that aren't possible in any other form of threads. These may include encountering staff-run global plot NPCs, encounters with rare or unique creatures, or special situations that require moderator oversight to manage. While not every staff-moderated thread will always feature elements like this, these are the kinds of things that set staff-moderated threads apart from other forms of moderated threads.

On the whole, the stakes for your character tend to be higher and the impact tends to be more significant, dramatic, and longer-lasting.

Staff-run moderated threads are largely run in the same way as player-run self-moderated threads.

Rules for Participating in an Official Moderated Thread

Posting order and inactivity

Only participate in a staff-moderated thread if you can reasonably manage being active in it. You are expected be able to post weekly at least to prevent stagnating the thread.
Threads strictly follow posting order, but the staff member running the thread reserves the right to break posting order. For example, when a character whose turn it is to post has become inactive, the moderator may intervene and break the posting order.
A character is considered inactive if they have not replied within a week of it becoming their turn. At this point, it is up to the staff member to either decide to wait or to move on.
If the staff member decides to move on, the inactive character will be skipped in the posting order, and the moderator has free rein to decide what happened to this inactive character (within reason). The inactive character will not be killed, but the staff member may decide that they became incapacitated, fled, or were otherwise removed from the story. When removing inactive characters from a moderated thread, the primary aim is to reduce impact on the other active players. It is up to the staff member's discretion to decide if they will allow a previously inactive character to re-enter the thread.

Health, injury, and death

Your character is at risk of injury, physical or otherwise. During the staff-moderated thread, your character may sustain (temporary) injuries or suffer trauma, but these will always be of a nature where they can be healed after the fact. By participating, you consent to the risk of your character sustaining injuries and/or trauma.
Your character is not automatically at risk of death or lasting injury unless you specifically indicate you want them to be. In these cases, you must discuss with the moderator running the thread to indicate that you are willing to take these risks and the moderator will have to confirm that they are comfortable with these additional stakes. There must be an Agreement posted to the site in the Staff subforum when a player opts in to lasting injury or character death. This agreement must be signed by both the player and the moderator running the moderated thread.
While you may decide not to opt-in to lasting injury or death, there is a chance that other characters do opt-in on a mutual consent basis with the moderator running the thread. This means that by participating in a moderated thread, you accept that there is a possibility that other characters do suffer lasting injury or death, which your character may, in turn, be witness to.
By default, reaching a health of 0 or lower is equivalent to passing out. However, a health of 0 may also mean character death in rare cases. Character death only applies if you opted in to character death and if the moderator running the thread consents to providing character death as an option within the narrative.

Dice rolls

The outcomes of your character's magical actions are determined by dice rolls and are influenced by your character's aptitudes. Dice rolls are perfomed using the on-site dice system so that each and every roll can be viewed and verified by any user.
Whether or not a mundane action is subject to dice rolls is up to the moderator. For example: a moderator will likely not perform a dice roll to determine if your character can walk somewhere, unless walking somewhere involves overcoming some (physical) barrier. There is no hard-set rule about which mundane actions are subject to dice rolls, but as rule of thumb: any mundane action that would meaningfully affect the story outcome for your character or others may be subject to dice rolls.
There isn't always a formula at hand to determine the math or checks for a particular action. The moderator may invent any arbitrary formula, but they must apply this formula consistently. That is to say: if overcoming a physical barrier requires a Physique check of 15+, then that Physique check will be the same for every character who attempts it. The only thing which may affect the check are a character's abilities or special items which they may have activated.