Features

Everything Black Box does

Black Box covers the whole of a roleplay sim. Each sim switches on the parts it wants, so the HUD in one sim can look and play very differently from the next.

Characters

Everything about who you play, from making them to levelling them up.

Step-by-step creator: Name and race, class, stats, profession and starting gear, then a last check. On the HUD, or on the website if the sim prefers.
Several characters: Keep a handful of characters on one account and switch between them.
Character sheets: Stats, gear, effects and quests on one page, on the HUD and the website. Staff can approve sheets and see what changed.
Levels and perks: Level up, spend stat points and pick perks. Respecs work on your sim's terms: free, staff only, or with a cost and a wait.
Professions: A main profession and a second one later on, with a way to change the main one.
Designed on the website: Classes, races, stats, skills and starting stats are all set up by staff, no scripting needed.
Titler presets: Save whole titler looks - alt name, title, info and roleplay choices - and put one back on with a press, on the HUD or from chat.

Fights

Turn-based fights on the HUD, with as much or as little rule as your sim wants.

Turn order: Invite players and NPCs, the leader starts, and everyone takes their turn in order.
Abilities and targets: Abilities cost energy, mana or HP and have cooldowns. Aim at one target, several, or share attacks out between them.
The fight page: Both sides in their rows and a log of what happened, at half or full size. Players can fight from the website too.
Staff-run NPCs: Storytellers run NPCs in the same fight from the website, and can move them on a fight map.
Effects: Buffs, debuffs, damage and healing over time, damage reduction and reflection, all designed on the website.
Wounds or sparring: Wounds that need treating, or sparring matches that leave none and give your HP back.
Dice: Free rolls and named checks from your rule set's formula, with a dice history staff can review.
5e-style rules: Saving throws, advantage and disadvantage, one action and one bonus action a turn, extra attacks, Sneak Attack, reactions and concentration, each a rule to switch on.

Optional rules include

Surprise rounds
Action points
Tactical movement
Cover and flanking
Parry and dodge
Overwatch
Wounds
Stealth
Grapples
Climbing and falls
Armour
Carry weight
Area of effect
Drones and turrets
Range bands
Weapon quirks
Magic and runes
Saving throws
Advantage and disadvantage
Bonus actions
Reactions
Front and back rows
Fleeing

Items and crafting

What players carry and make.

Inventory: Equip into slots, use, give, drop and favourite items from the HUD.
Items that do things: Consumables, scrolls and wands that cast abilities, and keycards that open doors.
Crafting stations: Recipes, a timed queue, profession requirements and success chances, at stations around the sim.
Gathering and storage: Gather materials from nodes around the sim, a few tries at a time that refill on the sim's schedule, and share containers with your group.
Optional extras: Durability and repair, salvage, quality, signature items and more, each switched on separately.

Money and trade

An economy staff can steer.

Your currency: One currency, or a purse of coins in several sizes.
Vendors and the item store: NPC vendors that restock, and an item store on the website.
Bank: Accounts, cards with PINs, ATMs, transfers and interest.
Player trade: Pay people, bid at the auction house, post crafting orders and rent stalls.
Community projects: Server-wide goals everyone donates to, unlocking perks when they're met.
Staff controls: An economy that balances itself week to week, faction taxes, and a pause switch.

Story and community

The parts that keep people coming back.

Quests: Stages, branches and rewards, with NPCs that talk and choices that can call for a skill roll.
Story map: Staff build quests on the website and hook them to things players touch in-world.
Events: Plan events, check people in, brief helpers, collect feedback, and turn it all into awards.
Rewards for roleplay: Experience for emoting, with caps per session, day and week. What players write is never stored.
Reports and awards: Players send XP and IC reports; staff review them and give out awards.
Groups and ranks: Groups with ranks and roles, promotions earned through influence, and stipends.
Bounties: In-character bounties that need an authority's approval.

The world

In-world objects that tie the sim to the HUD.

Titler: Name, title, rank, health and status over every head, with the tags your sim uses.
Doors, power and alarms: Doors, lights, generators and alarms that answer to skill rolls and power, with lockdowns at a press.
Weather and sky: Send sky presets to everyone's HUD, or set the sim's default, without estate rights.
Zones: Lawful zones that report hostile magic and mark the caster wanted.
Sound and radio: Play sounds through everyone's HUD, and a staff radio.
Delivery: A server that hands out the HUD and products, and keeps the HUD up to date.

The HUD

One HUD that fits every sim.

Three Home layouts: Classic, Side menu and Portrait, plus a strip that stays on screen when you shrink it.
Themes: Each sim and each group can have its own art, colours and icons.
Your buttons and bars: Staff choose the buttons, bars and counters on Home.
Languages: English and German, and staff can reword any line for their sim.
In a browser too: Open the HUD in a normal web browser and sign in there.

The website

Every sim's website, for players and staff alike.

For players: Your characters, XP, reviews, quests and purse, your own look, and two-factor sign-in.
For staff: Menus for game design, world building, storytelling, moderation, staff and the server.
Roles: Staff roles with their own menus and permissions.
Logs and automation: Logs of what happened, scheduled jobs, and Discord alerts and role pings.
Panic switches: Pause the economy, or switch the server off, in one place.