Rules of the Game

As with every roleplaying game, Shooting Stars has a few basic rules to follow in order to keep the peace and keep things fun for everybody.

1) All elements within Shooting Stars are original content. This means that everyone, from Agents to Actors to the security staff, must be (reasonably) original in nature. (In short, you don't get to represent Sylvester Stallone.)

2) You, the player, basically fill the role of Agent - living above the trials and tribulations of your Actors. Since most players don't live a life of Hollywood-style wheeling and dealing, you could consider the Agent a meta-character whose role is to come up with new talent and ideas and 'talk shop' with your fellow player Agents - or just to have fun in a vaguely out-of-character sense.

3) Actors are your 'characters' within Shooting Stars - they have a business relationship with their Agent, and you play them in their everyday dealings on and off the set. When the cameras are filming, you also take on the responsibility of a Role for the Actor -- in effect, playing that Role as that Actor would play it. In a meta sense, the Actor is your character, and the Role is a character played by your character.

4) Within a particular Show, there are usually constraints on what an Actor can get away with when playing a given Role. (If you're playing a Role on a kid's show, for example, decapitating one of the kids and then playing basketball with their skull is generally right out.) Violate these constraints, and your Actor might be forcibly removed from the Cast -- not a pleasant event -- or things might get difficult for all concerned.

5) While Actors are prone to drama - both on and off-camera - the players (and Agents) are expected to remain reasonably civil, and hopefully friendly, towards their fellows. If there are problems between players that cannot be resolved in a civil manner, please bring it to the attention of the Directors for mediation.

6) While playing a particular Role, Actors cannot use information that their Role is unaware of -- even if they happen to talk about it in the Actors' Lounge, or portray a second Role that has that information, they cannot share information with themselves. It tends to confuse the audience, which can be a dangerous thing...

7) Remember, you're limited to three Actors (or other characters) at first -- you can represent more as you earn more Star Power for your existing characters. You can only have one Agent - because there's only one of you!

8) When playing a particular Role, Actors are expected to be available to play their Role during the filming period. If you are unavailable to play a Role within a given period, particularly a recurring Role, just let the Directors know in advance!