The Barge Reference Guide

[ Written in thin, elegant, and murderously precise script: ]

Welcome, traveler. What you hold in your hands is an unofficial guide to the ship known as the Barge, which is helmed by a being known as the Admiral, staffed by those referred to as wardens and populated also by others regarded as inmates. This guidebook, which is to be kept in the library until such time as it is decided it should not, is meant to provide wisdom and guidance and information for anyone who might seek it on what one is to expect in this place as well as tactics and tools to help one weather it.

This book has been enchanted such that any may write, or even (if they wish) dictate their words and have them appear on its pages but none may remove pages or destroy the writing of others. They may only add to what has been written; none shall be silenced from providing their perspective or wisdom. It will also read the words out to you if you run your finger along the lines of text. The writer of this book realizes that it is deeply unhelpful to write such an instruction but hopefully others may assist at least to this point. The last enchantment is such to resist destruction, damage, and removal from the library. Any wardens may be assured that it will cause no harm to prevent these things, only resist them.

That said, I will cease blathering and leave you with this: good luck.

Terminology

[  Admiral   ]   The being which steers this ship (or doesn't, as some might complain). He, as I have seen them referenced, has access to any number of worlds and seems to be able to operate outside of the awareness of any being there he does not wish to deal with. He can also defy the fate of those he chooses. He is the one who powers this entire operation, restricts the access of inmates to their own powers and abilities, as well as being the one whom all 'deals' are made with. May also be referred to as 'The Necromancer', or any number of other pejorative names at various times. [  Warden  ]   One who has graduated OR who has made a deal with the Admiral to come here to assist in the redemption of an inmate in exchange for a wish (or, should they seek to redeem multiple people, several wishes). Their abilities are unrestricted upon arrival and their weapons are not confiscated. They have a warden item which allows them access to certain locations as well as the means to locate their paired inmate. Revive without Admiral request. [  Inmate   ]   One who has been plucked from death or a possible death, who has been deemed to be in need of 'redemption'. May or may not have been offered the chance to be here; many are brought here against their will. Inmate abilities are restricted upon arrival and all weapons or dangerous items are removed from their possession. Inmates require a request to the Admiral to be resurrected.

[  Flood  ]   A period of time wherein the objective reality of the Barge is shifted slightly in some fashion, either by affecting the passengers of the ship or the ship's locations itself. Examples include 'making everyone so happy that they don't worry about what they say to people' and 'making people's old wounds reopen until they talk about them' as well as 'switching people's memories from one mind to another and not returning them until they're spoken of between them'. [  Breach   ]   A period of time wherein the objective reality of the Barge is completely transformed such that the passengers take on entirely new lives, personas, relationships, species, etc. This can include belonging to families with other passengers, having completely different pasts, and living in/existing in a completely different place like a town or a country. [  Port   ]   The simplest of events on board, when the ship stops. Often this is to resupply, but it also allows wardens and inmates to leave the ship for a time. Inmates may only leave with warden permission.

[  Barge Coma   ]   At times, any passenger may be fall unconscious into a 'barge coma'. These can last from a few days to several months and everything in between, the body requiring little to no care and no difficulty, other than the passage of time outside their reckoning, to the passenger upon waking. [  Death  ]   Death is not the end on the Barge. Instead, one will (through request or time) wake back up feeling very ill and very sore. This state lasts for roughly a week's worth of time, gradually improving during that period, with the greatest pain and/or irritation felt from the source of their death. [  Disappearance  ]   People often disappear from the Barge. There is no need for concern unless and until the person's door reverts to the doors seen upon the unoccupied rooms. At that time, it is determined that the Barge has left them behind. If they are a warden, they are returned to their world. If they are an inmate, their fate is unknown.

[  Pairing   ]   Temporary pairings are announced in the middle of the month, pairing a warden with one or more inmates. During that period, the warden is responsible for said inmate(s). Permanent pairings are only between one inmate and one warden. These can be announced at either the middle of the month or the end of the month and have a deeper connotation. - if an inmate graduates while permanently paired, the warden receives their deal - permanently paired wardens may restore the abilities of an inmate who has been restricted - at the time of the pairing, the warden receives a file which contains detailed information about the inmate and their life to assist in their redemption [  Graduation   ]   Marked by the addition of a private bathing suite to one's cabin; inmates cannot have private bathing. Otherwise, no one knows specifically what brings about graduation. My apologies if this text got your hopes up. [ Demotion ] If a warden has acted in a way that the Admiral deems inappropriate such that they have endangered the lives of those on board this ship and/or has knowingly and intentionally harmed an inmate beyond an unspecified point, a warden may be demoted to an inmate. Once demotion has happened, their private bathing suite will be removed from their cabin, any powers would be restricted akin to the way a newly arrived inmates would be, and they would be unpaired from their inmate (if they should have one). Further, their warden item would no longer function as such and their communicator will no longer be able to access warden-only filtered content. Demotion can also happen if a changes occur to the warden while off the ship that make them unsuitable to act as a warden. The specifics of this 'line' are even more unclear than the aforementioned.

[  ooc notes  ]

 
Just a few reminders!
- this is a player/character-driven document; the mods have nothing to do with this
- this is an IC document!
- feel free to handwave finding out about it, though Florian will post about it on the network
- keep in mind that IC opinions are just that: IC opinions!
- you can 100% draw in the book if you want; go wild!
- if you want to do any kind of plot with the book, please contact Danii (OOC) or Florian Leickenbloom (IC) to chat