Draft: Phones, calls, texts, and contacts

Every character has a personal cell-phone number for in-character calls and texts. You can also carry one burner phone when you want a second number whose custody can move between characters.

Check which phone is active

Your personal cellie is character-scoped: it is issued to your character and is not an inventory item. A burner is a physical inventory item. You must be carrying that burner before you can make its number your active phone.

Use /phone to check the active number, whether that device is powered, and whether it is silent. The active phone supplies the number used for outgoing calls and texts.

On makes the active phone reachable.
Off makes that phone unreachable for calls. Texts sent to its valid number remain stored for later.
Silent keeps the active phone powered and reachable but suppresses its ring and text-notification sound.
Switch changes between your cellie and a burner you are carrying.
Dispose permanently destroys the burner you are carrying. It does not dispose of your cellie.

Your cellie and a held burner keep separate numbers and power settings. They can receive independently while powered, even though only one supplies your outgoing number. The generated phone action panel shows the current exact forms for these actions.

Disposing of a burner is irreversible. Drop or hand it over instead if the phone should continue to exist in roleplay.

The account-wide /accessibility audio off setting also suppresses optional phone ring and text sounds, regardless of the active phone’s own silent value. Both controls retain the written incoming-call, missed-call, text, and status messages.

Save and use contacts

Contacts belong to the current character and persist between sessions.

Save a number under a contact name with /addcontact.
Open /phonebook to review saved names and numbers.
Use the saved name instead of the number when placing a call or sending a text.
Remove an obsolete entry with /delcontact.

Incoming rings, missed-call notices, texts, inbox entries, and remote call speech show your saved name when the number matches a contact. Unknown numbers remain visible as numbers. Contact names must be plain text without braces or percent signs and unique within your phonebook. An invalid name or number, a duplicate name, a full phonebook, or a missing contact is refused without changing existing entries.

Place and answer a call

Check that the phone you want to call from is active and powered.
Start the call with /call, using either a number or a saved contact.
Wait while the phone dials. The other party can accept a ringing call with /answer.
Once connected, speak through normal local chat. Do not use a separate phone-chat command.
End the call with /hangup when the roleplay is complete.

The far party receives your connected speech regardless of distance. Players near you can overhear your side as a local says (phone) line, using your visible in-character identity; they do not automatically hear the remote side.

Ordinary mobile calls do not charge per use. A call is refused if your active phone is off, you call your own number, the number is invalid, the target is unreachable, or the line is busy. A call also cannot connect while either party is restrained or incapacitated. Disconnecting ends the call.

Send and read texts

Use /sms with a valid number or saved contact. The active powered phone supplies your sender number. After the short send delay, a valid message is stored in the recipient’s inbox; ordinary texts do not have a per-message charge.

An online recipient with the addressed phone powered receives a live notice only after the message is stored. If that phone is off or its owner is offline, the stored message can still be read later. /inbox shows up to 30 stored texts for your character’s cellie and a burner you currently hold, prioritizing the newest unread texts before recent read ones. Opening it marks only messages that were successfully displayed; older unread messages beyond that page remain unread and move into a later view.

A text fails cleanly if the destination number is unknown or invalid, or if your active phone is switched off before sending completes. Recheck the active number and power state, then retry. Use the sender’s displayed number to save a contact or to reply through /sms.

Block unwanted direct contact

Use /privacy block <player> for an online character whose ordinary PMs and owned-cell-phone calls or texts you want to refuse account-wide. Use /privacy blocknumber <phone_number> for an exact transferable burner number. A payphone cannot be blocked as shared equipment, but an account block still applies to the character using it.

The refusal is deliberately generic and does not reveal which side created a block, the kind of block, or another character on the same account. Use /privacy list and a fresh # reference to remove an entry. A block does not end an unavoidable active scene, and it does not suppress a labelled on-duty official Admin PM. Report misuse through the ordinary conduct route.

Acquire and use a burner

/buyburner purchases one burner using bank funds and places the unique phone item in your custody. The purchase is refused if you already hold a burner, lack the required bank funds, or cannot carry the item. If item creation fails after payment, a refund is stated only after the exact charge is proved reversed; an unresolved result is held for staff review. Keep enough bank funds available and check bank balance plus inventory before retrying.

After purchase, make the burner active through the phone switch action. Its number, power state, and stored messages stay with the item:

/drop leaves it in the world for someone else to recover.
/pickup takes a nearby dropped burner into your custody.
/give transfers it through the normal confirmed item handover.
the phone dispose action destroys the item and retires its usable number.

If you drop or give away the active burner, your cellie becomes the active phone again. The new holder must carry the burner and switch to it before using its number for outgoing calls or texts. See Inventory and items for custody and handover recovery.

Recover when something does not work

Your phone appears unreachable: check /phone, switch to the intended device, and turn that active phone on. Silent mode is still reachable; off is not.
A call reports busy or out of reach: verify the number, wait for the other line to clear, or contact the character another way. Repeated dialing does not bypass power or availability.
A call drops: both parties return to ordinary local speech. Place a new call when each side is available.
A text has no live notification: the message may still be stored for an offline or powered-off recipient. The recipient should check /inbox later.
A call or text is refused as unavailable: do not probe with alternate characters, numbers, or channels. Continue any unavoidable scene through ordinary visible roleplay or use the appropriate staff route.
A contact does not resolve: review /phonebook, then correct it by removing the old entry and saving the right number.
A burner cannot be selected: confirm it is in your inventory and has not been dropped, transferred, or disposed of.
Disposal is refused: the burner is kept rather than destroyed. Wait a moment and try again instead of assuming the number is gone.
A command form is unclear: use /help for the current syntax and actions. See Commands, prompts, and getting help.

For the local speech other players can overhear during a call, see Roleplay and chat.