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RP Rules and Guidelines; These must be read before posting
Topic Started: 30 Nov 2008, 19:56 (39 Views)
Corinth
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That crazy cat lady . . . man

Roleplay Rules and Guidelines

What to expect when roleplaying


Information for Beginners:
  1. First and foremost, please refrain from posting character bios in the Characters forum until after you have joined a thread. The forum is not for showing off past characters or anything of the like, but for keeping reference of all characters used on this board alone.

  2. Remember to be courteous and respectful to other members. No one is infallible, and quite honestly, we don't expect you to be. If someone misses a crucial element of the plot,contradicts an important fact or established truth, or just slips up, don't flame them; correct them quietly and politely--no need to make a big scene of things. ;)

  3. We know that it can be daunting to join a roleplay that has been going on for a while, but if it hasn't been moved into the Closed RPs section, then that means new members are still welcomed, and quite possibly needed. We know that it can be kind of uncomfortable joining a thread that has been going on for a few pages, but everyone is going to be more than accommodating towards you, no worries. If the thread is at a kind of awkward point in the plot, just PM its creator and I'm sure he/she will find some way to make an opening for you to pop in.

  4. Another thing to keep in mind is that the board can move rather slowly--a good number of our members, while we would like to, can not be on-line twenty-four hours a day. If it's just you and another character in the thread, give things a break for a while and let some other people get on and post--it can get rather awkward reintegrating your character if you leave your PC for a couple hours and find that when you've come back two of the main characters have just had a death match atop Mt. Titicaca and one is now seeking to overthrow the United Federation of Llama Ranchers. Believe me, I've been there.

  5. Another important point: please limit the number of people who can join your roleplay. When many people join a thread, the plot line tends to segregate into two, three, or even more branches; the story becomes disjointed, and the thread becomes a barren, infertile wasteland. Well, not so much, actually, but all the same, when too many people join, the single roleplay suddenly is split into numerous ones and things quickly become a mess. In the end, it's bad for you, it's bad for us, and it just proves to be a drain on our resources. To prevent this, once your thread has a sufficient number of characters, just PM a staff member (there is a link at the very bottom of each page to a list of all staff members) and ask that it be moved to the Closed RP section.

  6. This is rather a continuation of point number 3, but here we have it. If you are joining a roleplay that has been going on for a few pages, or if you are returning from a planned leave and have missed a few pages, please take the time to actually read up on what you've missed. If you're upwards of five pages behind, we're not going to ask that you read everything--just look over the last few pages to see what you've missed. If you are just joining the thread, however, be sure to read everything (as long as the roleplay is yet under ten pages in length). This is to ensure that not only do you understand the plot structure, but also that you don't randomly pop in drinking a beer whilst everyone else is battling for Middle-earth.

  7. Now, we always ask that if you join a roleplay, you stick with it until it has concluded. However, if for some reason you will not be able to log on and post for a while, please make a graceful exit with some note of how long you expect to be gone. The absolute worst thing that you can do in the middle of an RP is just vanish, leaving everyone else to clean up after your mess. The same thing goes if you are going to leave permanently. For whatever reason you are leaving the site, be it personal spite or lack of time, we do still ask that out of respect you close up any loose ends you may have otherwise left.

  8. Finally, please do not post pictures of your characters in their descriptions. Primarily, this is usually illegal; copyright infringement is only fun to laugh at in private. Beyond that, you should be well able to accurately describe the character in more detail than a stolen image could ever manage. Ultimately, it just boils down to the fact that this is often rather juvenile a practise, especially when the image is twice the width of one's screen. So simply put: just don't do it and we aren't going to have any problems. If you do, no big problems will result; however, they will be removed by a staff member and you will receive a warning.


"RP Rules and Guidelines" © 2008 Christopher Wetherill
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Corinth
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That crazy cat lady . . . man

Taboos:
  • No Godmoding or Powerplaying
    • Godmoding is, in essence, the act of taking control of other characters, killing other characters, trying to hijack the plot, or something to that effect. That is to say, godmoding is when a person gives their character undue power in a roleplay; this could include the inability for his or her character to be killed, destroyed, defeated, or harmed, the ability of a character to control or kill other characters, or otherwise setting yourself up as a 'god.'

    • Powerplaying is very much similar to godmoding--certainly the two share a great amount of overlap. The main difference between the two terms is that powerplaying is more likely to be seen in a Mary Sue or Marty Stu (see point 2). Powerplaying, as well as godmoding, can include a character's infallibility; their inability to be harmed in battle. However, powerplaying goes one step further: it often takes out all dramatic moments, hardships, failings, and weaknesses that a normal character would have. These two taboos are probably the fastest way to get yourself a posting ban, or at least kicked from a number of roleplays.

  • No Mary Sues or Marty Stus
    • A "Mary Sue" (or their male counterpart, the Marty Stu) is essentially the Princess Barbie Deluxe Set applied to roleplay. Mary Sues are your perfect, pretty in pink, infallible children's dolls. Yes, we all know that you don't want to make your character a 213 lb, balding woman, but come on--a size zero blonde with a sword as heavy as she is? It simply isn't realistic, and reality is just a slightly important element in most roleplays. These characters, as well as being free from physical fault, do not experience any hardship or struggles, always make the right decision, etc.

    • Marty Stus and Mary Sues will generally also have superspecialawesome powas. I'm not talking about being able to use telepathy if you're a wizard in a magical realm, but something more along the lines of, to quote another website, "she can teleport and read minds and fly and juggle geese and breath fire and rainbows and turn into a unicorn that can talk to other unicorns and birds and cheese and can eat berries" (Novallie). A second defining characteristic is the apparent lack of a psychology, whatsoever! If, to call on the clichéd (or Batman--take your pick), your character's parents were murdered in front of him or her, he or she is not going to be a frilly, saturnalian individual. Rather, he or she will likely be a deeply-scarred individual, possibly bordering on vigilante or psychopath, depending on other surrounding circumstances.

  • The 8/16/32-Bit Plot
    • "8-bit plot - Oldest RPG plot. You are the legendary hero. Kill the Big Bad Demon."

    • "16-bit plot - Standard RPG plot. The Corrupt Empire rules the world. You're the leader of a small rebel band. Overthrow the Empire. Usually the hero is a soldier for the Empire at the start of the game, but soon realizes that the Empire is evil and joins the fight against them. General standard for RPG plots."

    • "32-bit plot - Similar to a 16-bit plot, but somehow religion is involved."

  • Zelda's Axiom
    • Basically, if someone tells you about the "six magical orbs," or the "seven sacred jewels," then you can be quite confident that you will need to collect every last one for no apparent reason before you can kill the big bad demon. Try to avoid this--if it's not the Legend of Zelda, chances are that it will fail pretty hard.

  • The Cloud/Yu-Gi-Oh Rule
    • This rule states that the more outrageous a person's hairdo is, the more important to the plot they are. That's wrong, and in reality, hair does not usually have the magical ability to defy the laws of gravity and motion.

  • The Tavern Rule
    • "In fantasy games, player characters usually not only start the campaign in a tavern or inn, but immediately become best friends."

  • Try a Phoenix Down!
    • Video game mechanics generally do not carry over into reality. If a character dies, don't expect everybody to start throwing Phoenix Downs at him. Death is a lot more final in reality than elsewhere.

  • No Empty Posts
    • Avoid one-liners, simple responses, and posts that are entirely out of context. Save those for the OOC Forum. (It's there for a reason--we promise!)


Works Cited

Novallie. "RP Rules and Guidelines." Fantasy RP. 13 Aug. 2007 <http://fantasyrp.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=662>
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