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superjars -> =RP= RP OOC Forum Rules (12/2/2012 14:05:33)
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Role Playing OOC Forum Rules
We welcome you to the Role Playing Boards, and happily present you with the opportunity to create new and exciting tales with your fellow Adventurers! However, before you start, we ask that you read the rules below. Following them is mandatory!
READ THESE RULES SLOWLY AND THOROUGHLY
Rule #1: The Role Playing Boards are a part of the Artix Entertainment Forums. You must follow the Universal Rules!
The Universal Rules are exactly that: Universal. They apply everywhere at all times, and RP participants are expected to know and follow them. Note that claiming ignorance is not a defense for breaking them - all forum members are expected to read the rules before posting anywhere.
If you have any questions about the Universal Rules in general or how they relate to these forum-specific rules, please do not hesitate to contact either superjars, the Head Moderator for the Role Playing Boards, or any of the forum administration staff via a forum PM.
Rule #2: Maintain the nature of the story by keeping out of character conversation to proper outlets.
Out of character conversation is great for enhancing the overall quality of an RP. The OOC sub-board exists so that each RP has a thread for such out of character conversation, but it is not the only means to discuss the events of the RP and in-character reactions. The Forum PM system is an alternative, useful for 'secret' information shared only with the RP's creator and another character. Use of email or any form of real-time chat program works too.
In Character (IC) content is the story itself. It is your character's actions, thoughts, and words. When Jerg the fighter is hacking an orc into pieces, this is In Character content. When Jerg's player, ForumUser23, is talking to ForumUser24, that's Out of Character (OOC) content.
When you have Out of Character content in the In Character thread, it breaks the flow of the story. A similar situation would be watching a movie, and suddenly one actor asks another actor what they're doing on Saturday in the middle of the big action scene.
Rule #3: Write properly, be clear, be concise.
The rules of grammar exist for one purpose: to allow people to understand what you are trying to say. If you ignore them, no one will be able to follow you without working really, really hard at it, and that tends to drive people away. In order to make your posts easy and enjoyable to read, use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
You should also make sure to include paragraph breaks so that your post does not consist of single, intimidating wall of text. The wall of text is a pain to read through, in some cases literally, and will make it harder for people to understand you.
To help with this, double-check your post before posting it. Reading it through once before posting is an excellent way to catch grammar and spelling errors, and is even more effective if you do so out loud. A spellcheck program can help catch the spelling errors, but it will not fix grammar problems.
At some point or another each RPer comes up with details they wish to add to a post after the fact. You may be tempted to post again right away with these added details. Don't. Every post has a button in the upper right corner marked 'Edit'. This tool is there for the express purpose of adding details that you thought of later, or to fix a glaring mistake. Double posting will not be tolerated.
If you are struggling to write well in the RPA, please head to the Legends and Lore forum where you can work on your writing.
Rule #4: Follow the conventions of good roleplay. Work with your fellow RPers and avoid bunnying, godmodding, and metagaming, especially in combat!
The conventions of roleplaying involve working with your fellow RPers on the RP while remembering you are in direct control of only your character, and that your character's knowledge of a situation is different from your own as the character's owner. The following three types of offenses are flagrant instances of flaunting these conventions, but can easily be avioded with OOC conversation between RPers.
Very small posts consisting of less than five lines often have little to offer in the way of meaningful content. We suggest that you try to avoid making such small posts if at all possible. Here is a helpful guide to explain this further and give you an idea of how to avoid this problem.
God-modding is cheating the system of RP so that your character comes out either without a scratch or with absolute advantage in any situation. This is typically done without conversing with the RP's owner, and ignores their authority to control the situation of their RP. Examples: Unapproved one-shot kills, 'effortless' combat with NPCs, acting with total invulnerability to the actions of NPCs or other Player Characters.
Bunnying is taking control of characters when you do not have the authority to do so, and acting contrary to what their real owners would have them do. Unless you have direct permission from the owner of the character, you cannot control them. This is especially true in combat, where you cannot decide if your attacks hit. This also includes unfairly limiting the options of another character
Meta-gaming involves using applying Out-of-Character knowledge of a situation to your character's benefit. This is not always intended, but does not change the fact that the advantage is noticeable and generally unfitting with what the character would have done based on in-character knowledge and reactions. If you keep the distinction between what you know and what your character knows, this is easy to avoid.
Rule #5: Keep your RP consistent within the Artix Entertainment (or other, as approved) game chosen as its setting.
Artix Entertainment has come a long way since the Role Playing Boards were created and has expanded into several active games with distinct settings, content, and even different versions of NPCs. As such, we ask that you tag your RP according to which setting you are primarily using by adding an abbreviation at the end of your RP's name, like so: "Endgame: Inner Circle (AQ)". You are expected to remain within that setting with respect to the various aspects of technology, magic, and culture. Drakel magiscience would be relatively rare within an AQ setting, whereas a WarpForce setting would have a great deal more, and less magic. We ask that you keep WF settings off of Lore whenever possible, as it represents the opportunity to explore whole new worlds at your fingertips.
Originality does create interesting twists and turns, and we try to accommodate your imagination. This in mind, keep your plot lines and references as original as possible. The use of copyrighted material outside of AE games is not allowed on these boards. Inspiration can strike from any source, but copyright infringement will have serious consequences.
Rule #6: Respect the NPCs created by members of Artix Entertainment and limit their involvement in RPs.
The various NPCs created by Artix Entertainment within any of its games such as AQ and DF are complex characters with deep stories and personal driving factors. These characters are property of their creators, and some are even roleplayed within these forums by their controlling staff members. The best way to respect the NPCs of the various games is to keep them true to their characters as displayed in game.
Given that it is difficult to use an NPC created by another person and display their true depth of character with 100% accuracy, we also ask that you limit your usage of the Artix Entertainment NPCs within your RPs as much as possible. Keep them to a cameo role or a vague directing force at most, and you shouldn't have a problem. These great heroes and villains are highly unlikely to be traveling alongside your characters during their quest. Warlic might be persuaded to scry on Battleon for your characters to help protect his home, Artix might be persuaded to rally the Guardians to fend off an undead horde while your characters stop the source, and Yulgar obviously would serve your characters as patrons of the Inn, but keep them to the background of the RP. Ultimately, keep the use of official NPCs as tasteful and brief as possible.
Rule #7: Creating and participating in RPs is a privilege, but also a responsibility. You can participate in no more than four at a time.
Quality posts take a significant amount of time to create. They require reading up on all new in-character posts, reading over out-of-character commentary, and the writing of the post itself. This time comes out of the day, and even the most dedicated RPer has other commitments outside of the Role Playing Boards. To help maintain a standard of quality from our RPers, we are limiting the number of RPs that you can participate in at any given time.
To prevent confusion: an RP that gets locked or archived by its owner's request does NOT count towards this total, but a 'dead' RP that has not been locked will, so it is in your interest to keep an RP alive or get the creator to admit it is dead and seek get it locked.
Creation of an RP is a significantly greater investment of time and as such there is a limit of one RP per Host. Co-authorship counts for both Hosts involved, unless one of the co-authors is present solely for the advice and direction of the other co-author. This must be noted and made clear in the OOC thread itself. Requests for multiple active RP threads as an author must be made by forum PM to the Head Moderator of the RP board and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. We are going to stick with the one RP rule, but may allow multiple RPs if the request is convincing.
Rule #8: Maintain the family friendly atmosphere of Artix Entertainment by keep all content PG.
All AE forum content meets the standards of PG rating. While meaning of the rating itself has changed since 2003, the intent has not. Refrain from the desire to use profanity in any real life language, promote illegal drug use, or indulge in explicit scenes. While such might be totally in-character, it is your duty as a roleplayer to leave it to indirect hints, as well as to choose artistic and creative ways to gloss over the more intense scenes of blood, gore, and violence.
Rule #9: No signatures in RP threads.
Signatures are absolutely prohibited within the main RP forum. You may post your signature once per thread in the RP OOC.
Additional rule clarification can be found here.
Any violation of these rules will result in the alteration, removal or lock of your post or RP by the RP AKs or Moderators. Any posts found to be in bad taste will also be treated in this manner. We are here not only to keep these boards clean but also to guide and improve the RPing experience for all. If you disagree with a decision, there is an appeals process which can be found here: Appealing A Decision.
A final note concerning thread length: All threads, OOC and IC, will be locked upon reaching 30 pages in length. At that time we ask that you create a new OOC or IC thread for the RP.
Remember, Have Fun and BattleOn!
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