Metashield

This page will discuss a list of various information or items protected by our rules. Something that is "shielded" cannot be known by your character during around until the "breaking" condition happens. This also means your character cannot act upon shielded information. Doing so before the shield is broken is referred to as metagaming.

Anytime a shield is broken, it applies for the remainder of the round, in all other instances, unless explicitly specified otherwise. If a breaking condition says that it is "never revealed IC", your character can never act as if they know about the shielded topic.

Shield	Breaking Condition
Current gamemode, and any antagonists that could exist as a result	never revealed IC
Events experienced as a different character.	never revealed IC
Any and all information related to the player of a character, or certain strategies a player may use as an antagonist.	never revealed IC
Any information revealed while your character is unconscious, dead, or a ghost.	never revealed IC.
Any information your character knew before death, if you become a ghost role mid-round.	never revealed IC
The exact cause of your death. Being in critical condition does not count for the purposes of this shield.	never revealed IC
Events from prior rounds.	Events can be discussed, but they should not hold any bearing on the current round.
The understanding of station functions, and how they may be sabotaged by entities lacking crew-level intellect. This includes damaging or destroying critical infrastructure solely to gain a meta-tactical advantage.	ANY of the following: Being a Mouse Operative, Syndicat, or Ancestor Reinforcement. Being uplifted by the power of Cognizine. Being an Awakened creature.
The idea that certain High-Risk Items are desired specifically by the Syndicate, and are therefore likely targets of theft by Syndicate agents or other bad actors.	ANY of the following: Being a Traitor. Being told of an item's status by a Traitor. This only applies to that particular item. Crew should protect High-Risk Items due to their status as valuable items, not due to their status as objectives.
The existence of Nuclear Operatives, beyond ludicrous propaganda that nobody would act on. This includes their goal of utter station destruction via a nuclear bomb.	ANY of the following: Discovering a Blood-Red Hardsuit, or any variants. Discovering a Nuclear Operatives Shuttle (Either variant) Seeing an Operative's name appear in chat, or a communications console announcement from an Operative. Being a Nuclear Operative.
The existence of implants used by the Syndicate. Implant checks cannot be performed unless there is adequate evidence or an authorized warrant, as outlined within Standard Operating Procedures.	ANY of the following: Discovering a non-NT implanter, identifiable by the black-and-red color scheme of the implanter itself. Discovering a non-NT implant box. DIscovering or witnessing use of a non-NT implant. Experiencing a situation where absolutely no other explanation is possible. Discovering an unlocked Uplink.
The existence of "chameleon" items, pieces of clothing or technology that can change their appearance. Even while this shield is active, the suspicion of items that may be fake or stolen is not shielded.	ANY of the following: Seeing any chameleon item change its appearance. Finding holographic nanomachine fibers. Experiencing a situation where absolutely no explanation is possible. Discovering an unlocked Uplink. Testing clothing for chameleon status is always prohibited; items that are clearly chameleon can, however, be confiscated by Security.
The existence of items that have uses or functionality other than what their external appearance or examinable information would claim.	ANY of the following: Seeing the item behave differently than the expected behavior for the item Seeing the item used for its hidden purpose Experiencing a situation where absolutely no other explanation is possible Discovering an unlocked Uplink. Stealth items should not be "tested" for their functionality, but items that are clearly producing some sort of stealth effect can be confiscated.
The idea that Syndicate agents, or other bad actors, have certain goals they have been tasked with accomplishing on the station, ranging from sabotage, to theft, to murder.	ANY of the following: Being a Traitor, Space Ninja, Space Dragon, or Paradox Anomaly. Being told of an antagonist's goals. This only applies to the goals that have been revealed to you.
The fact that Syndicate agents may possess a program, referred to as an Uplink, used to receive equipment from the Syndicate. These Uplinks are typically contained within PDAs, and may be "locked", preventing access and visibility. You have no way of confirming an Uplink exists within a PDA unless you see it yourself.	ANY of the following: Being a Security role. Being a Command role. Being a Traitor.
The idea that the Nuclear Authorization Disk must be protected at all costs, and that it can be used to destroy the station by bad actors.	always revealed IC
The fact that the Syndicate is hostile to NanoTrasen, and will occasionally deploy covert agents to spy on, sabotage, and assault NanoTrasen assets and associates.	always revealed IC
The fact that rounds are supposed to come to an end. For example, acting upon the knowledge that a crew transfer shuttle is typically sent around the two hour mark of a shift.	always revealed IC

Metafriending and Metagrudging

This section clarifies a concept protected by a variety of metashields that should never be revealed IC. Giving a person or their character preferential treatment based on something your character should not know is considered metafriending. Treating a person or character negatively based on something that your character should not know is considered metagrudging. Not only are both protected by the metashields, both are not allowed under our rules.

Examples of Metafriending

These are all examples of things that are prohibited by at least one metashield item that is never revealed IC. It does not matter if you are friends with the player OOC, or your characters are friends IC; the rules apply in a similar fashion. Giving a character additional access or a job. Trusting a character with sensitive information or equipment. Not fighting a character when your job or circumstances would dictate you should.. Ignoring your objective to kill a character.

Examples of Metagrudging

These are all examples of things that are prohibited by at least one metashield item that is never revealed IC. It does not matter if you dislike a player OOC or their character IC; your actions should be based on the events of the round. Denying a character additional access, refusing their job transfer, or even attempting to get them fired. Not trusting a character. Starting a fight with a character solely due to events of a prior round, or because they killed you when you were playing a different character that round. Targeting or harassing a character based on anything which that character did outside of the current round. Targeting or harassing a character based on anything which the character's player did while not playing the character.