The stigma is a 'punishment' imposed on those characters deemed to be played in an unreasonable or exploitative manner. There are three levels of stigma, ranging from "minor" through "intermediate" to "major" and each one brings with it a raft of restrictions; some obvious, some more subtle. The stigmatised character is invariably a second (see HELP SECONDS) using prior knowledge to play the secondary persona in a manner unfitting (for instance, with greater competence than would otherwise be possible and using the superior insight in a bullying, relentless way). Accusations from mortals can be used (also documented in HELP SECONDS) to alert the deities to possible abuses of prior knowledge and, in many cases, to set the ball rolling for a character's stigmatisation. Ultimately however it remains with the pantheon to decide whether a persona should be stigmatised and, if so, the level of stigma to be applied.
LEVEL ONE STIGMA: advantaged
It is difficult, when one has prior knowledge from previous characters, to roleplay a completely fresh and new-to-everything persona; however one ought to attempt to do so when setting out to play through a secondary Avalon life. The first level of stigma may be applied if accusations become prevalent and too much competence from pastlives infiltrate the new life. The effects of the first level stigma are fairly simple: bloodlust is not gained by slaying the character, nor do bloodlust restrictions apply for those attacking him/her; though the restrictions remain in place for the stigmatised.
LEVEL TWO STIGMA: abusive/unreasonable
The second level of stigma is above and beyond the 'advantaged' stigma as described above insofar as the character is deemed to be using their competence derived from past lives to play an abusive or unreasonable role (often bullying, etc) in their new life. Thus the pantheon deem they should be restricted further by dint of a variety of handicaps to their persona, to even up the balance a little as they make their way through developing the newlife skills and position. In addition to the restrictions from level one, the level two stigma includes: they are unable to issue challenges or question for elected office, they cannot vote in elections or polls, they do not affect combat-related ideals or reputation gains, and bad luck will tend to make itself felt wheresoever luck plays a part in the character's life.
LEVEL THREE STIGMA: abuse above and beyond remedy
The third level stigma is a rarity and is only bestowed on those who have been judged abusive and unreasonable (as per level two) but also insouciant to divine instruction to mend their ways; and, generally, characters used solely for the purposes of bullying or sadistic tactics against others. A typical example might be the highskilled character brought into the land on only the rare occasions when circumstances are right, to cause maximum damage, and then depart before any consequences can be felt. This level of stigma is seldom given to those who play regularly (since they will have to face the consequences of their actions) and, as a word of advice for those branded with this 'status', remedy is to be found by consistent and regular playtime of the stigmatised character - to the point he/she is no longer perceived as simply a bullying appendage.
The restrictions for the level three stigma include all of those listed for levels one and two, plus a whole raft of handicaps and subtle counterbalances to make life difficult. Many soft equilibriums become hard; balances are often longer; luck is always bad; the list goes on.
