Sessions take place every other Monday from 19.00-22.00 BST. Each session represents a few hours at the camp, starting at the weekly firepit meetup. In-universe, a week will pass between sessions—see the Downtimes & Turnsheets page for more details on this.

Other than biweekly uptimes, there will be a character creation session on the 14th of July, and a debrief after the game on the 13th of October, where everyone gets a chance to talk about what they were up to. All sessions, including character creation and debrief, are scheduled to run 19:00–22:00 (7:00–10:00 pm) BST on the day they are scheduled.

During Uptime, you will have access to text channels, both IC and OC. They will be listed in the channel sidebar on the left-hand side and will be appropriately named so it is clear what they are for. Channel names always start with a # (hash) symbol. Selecting one will allow you to view them, and if you have permission to do so, type in it. Some channels you may be able to only type in sometimes, or view but not type in. If you feel there are errors, contact a GM (who will be listed under the “GM” subheading in the user sidebar on the right-hand side) in the channel labelled “#oc-tech-support” by tagging them in your message with “@GM” or “@<their username>”.

During the game, new text channels may appear to you, and old ones may disappear. This may mean the location no longer exists, but it could instead mean you can no longer view them. This may reflect a change in location, status, or another in-game occurrence. If you believe there has been an error, message a GM before messaging in the channel. There may be opportunities in play to gain access to special channels with others. These will be arranged and monitored by GMs.

Remember, access to the internet can vary significantly in quality, as can the functionality of peoples' computers, so please don't become frustrated if someone doesn't respond to you immediately: they may be experiencing technical difficulties!

Private messaging within Discord is not an IC mechanic and should not be used unless you need to speak to a specific GM in confidence. This is because GMs need to be able to see what you are writing in order to moderate the game properly!

Usually messages sent in channels represent actions that your Character is taking. For example, a player writing:

Hello campers!

in an IC channel during uptime would be interpreted as their character saying those words. Similarly a player writing:

Jason roasts s'mores on the campfire.

would be interpreted as the player's Character roasting s'mores IC. Players will only be able to describe their own actions. On the other hand, GMs and Crew will be required to narrate actions taken not just by the NPCs they play but also of Player Characters, usually to outline an outcome in conflict or plan.

Finally, messages in square brackets sent to channels in Uptime are interpreted as OC commentary, for example:

[That's concerning…]

or

[OC: That's concerning…]

Both are valid ways of indicating a message is out of character.

Each session will begin around the campfire, in the #campfire channel on Discord. (Note that, since a lot of characters will be at this location at the beginning of an uptime, this channel has slow mode enabled!) These meetings tend to start with announcements from camp staff, after which point some campers might find themselves wandering into other parts of the camp, to explore, make trouble, or, you know, get to work on their project.

To move location within the camp, you can send messages in the relevant text channel; see the Intro to Discord Games page for more details on this.

Certain actions might require GM adjudication. For example:

• Interacting with the world – If your actions result in changes to the world, such as blowing up a house, this should be adjudicated.
• Getting information – For example, trying to investigate something, or testing how something works.
• Interacting with an NPC – You cannot determine how an NPC will react to something you have done.
• Learning about how the world works – Anything metaphysical will definitely need crew or GM assistance.
• Uncertainty – If you're not sure how a situation should go, or if you want someone to referee a confrontation, crew or GMs are happy to step in.

When playing a text-based roleplaying game, there are certain things to remember to make your experience and others' more fun!

Avoid metagaming. Metagaming is making in-character decisions using information that your character would not have access to. For example, if a treasure hunt is taking place in session and you hear a GM mention out of character that the treasure is hidden in the PodgeLodge, try not to let this information sway the choices your character would make – instead, rely on information they would have.

Don't be in two places at once! RP in Happy Campers takes place in real time, and (I hope) most people can only be in one place at a time. If you're having an interaction by the campfire, don't start another simultaneously in your cabin.

Be careful around sensitive topics. Some players may have sensitive topics in their backstory. Before sharing these with other players, make sure that all people involved are comfortable with the topic at hand, and consider spoilering your message using double pipes (||spoilers||) so people can choose whether to read it.

For details about how to format your messages, check the Discord Messages section, and to understand Tupperbox (the bot we use for in character messages), check the Tupperbox section!