How to Play: Gameplay
These guidelines for gameplay are about two pages long, and are extremely important. Please take the time to read them end to end before posting with your character.
Finding a Thread:
Once your character is created, you are ready to begin roleplaying. First, think about which of heirot's [realms] you expect your character to start out in. Use your common sense and your character's biography to decide. If your character was born in Arken, it is unlikely he is living in Ighten unless there is a special explanation of how he managed to arrive there. To find a group of players to roleplay with, you have several options. You may either start your own thread or you may join an already active one. If you create your own thread, you run the risk of nobody playing with you, but you get to start it in a town and a situation of your choice. If joining an active thread, ask permission first from the members in the thread. If they give permission, do not simply throw your character in, but try to introduce him/her properly through something that's happening in the plot. To find players that are looking for new people in their threads, or to look for new people for yours, check out the [Game Creation] section of the forum.
Posting:
Write your posts in the third person, past tense. i.e. "Kyosuke frowned at the frilly pink dress." You want to include enough detail that your post enhances the story and stimulates the activity of the other characters, but not so much that it overwhelms the thread. Action scenes can get very exciting, but they're far more interesting if you hold your breath and take a break in the middle of the action to let others react to what's happening before proceeding. Keeping everyone involved in a thread is a bit of an artform, but it comes with practice and teamwork. We are not the grammar/spelling police, but please make an effort to keep your posts fairly polished. If your writing is so sloppy that it detracts from the game experience for those roleplaying with you, we have grounds to ask you to clean it up.
Post ONLY the actions/thoughts of your OWN character. Do NOT control another person's character without their permission. You can not kill another person's character without their consent. You may do something such as, "Kyosuke swung at Soran's neck," but do not use "Kyosuke took off Soran's head with one swing." Whether the character lives or dies in response to the situation should be the controller's decision, not yours. Because this is difficult, it is sometimes best to choreograph a fight scene between player characters via a chat program in parallel to the forum while you post.
Stay in Character
Your character must always behave in accordance with what is written in his profile. This is not to say that a character profiled as chipper can not have a horribly bad day and burst into tears, but avoid out-of-character behaviors. Do not make him/her slow tempered and then have him/her start loosing his temper at the drop of a hat. Minor transgressions are fine, as there are even cases in real life where one might slip out of their usual behavior, but not not do them too often. If you wish to change a character trait after you start roleplaying, then steer your storyline into changing it. Changes in the character profile can be made after that if you contact an admin about it. temporary changes in character do not need a change in the character profile. Also, stick with the special abilities that are listed in your profile. If you want him/her to learn a new ability, then steer the storyline toward it. If you use a power that was not laid out in your profile, you will receive a warning from an admin and be asked to resubmit your character's profile for approval. New abilities may be subject to admin re-approval, particularly if they are powerful. Of course, throughout the game your character will experience things that you might want to add to your character's profile; feel free to ask an admin to unlock your character thread if you wish to update it.
Sex and Violence! Woot! uh, I mean...
Sexual content and violence are allowed. Sexuality must be tasteful and included for the sake of furthering the plot and character development of your thread. Sex written just for the sake of being sex or arousing the reader is considered pornography, and is not appropriate here. Avoid telling us every titillating detail of the encounter - you can do a lot with descriptive foreshadowing and metaphor. If it wouldn't be okay at Barnes and Noble, it's not ok here. Should your thread begin to include any real sexuality or extreme violence, please add a "(MATURE)" tag to your thread's topic name by editing the first post of the thread, or ask an admin to do so. This is to warn younger members who may choose to read your thread. You should be at least 16 to post this sort of content; we expect younger members to protect themselves via the topic-tagging system.
Thread Movement:
Threads take place in one geographic area at a time, but naturally, your characters may travel during their adventures. If you arrive at a city after your journey through the forest, simply create a new thread in the city and continue playing there. Leave a post in the old thread letting others know the name and location of the new thread so that the story can be followed by spectators! When you are done with an old thread, PM an administrator, who will lock down the inactive thread and mark it as "Lore" so that others will not attempt to join it.
Non-Player Characters and Unofficial Areas
You are more than welcome to create NPC villains, allies, cannon fodder, etc. These do not require profiles or admin approval. Keep in mind that Queen Sinead, Queen Shea, and the Shogun are NOT NPC's and you must request their appearance in a thread. Any player in a thread can kill or wound an NPC; they are team property. Except in very rare cases, NPC's should not be turned into PC's. If you intend to use it as a PC, it must be approved before you begin posting with it. At any point, feel free to create minor geographical landmarks such as towns, villages, mountains, or temples for the sake of plot or convenience. The details of locations this size are left to players to make the game easier to play and encourage creativity. This is your world too! Create it as you wish!
OOC Comments
To avoid confusion, if you are making an out of character comment in a thread, please leave a tag of OOC in it to mark where the IC ends and the OOC begins. Disagreements between users must be handled maturely. Contact an admin if you are having a problem of any sort. They're here to help!
And now, for the meat...
Bans and Warnings
The rules that can result in penalties are as follows:
1) Not creating a Character or waiting for approval before roleplaying.
2) Severe transgressions in going out of character
3) Posting with the same character in two different places at one time
4) Disrespectful out-of-character behavior towards other players
5) Killing or controlling another person's character without their permission (admins may be an exception to this rule)
6) Excessive amounts of sexual description
7) Spam
8) Repeated or deliberate breaking of a rule after an admin requests that you stop.
If one of these rules are broken, generally a warning will first be given, depending on how bad the transgression was. Beyond the first warning, we reserve the right to ban you. After the second transgression, any further ones may be dealt with by a longer period of banning or permanent removal from the site. Any warnings received will disappear after a month of no violations, seriousness of the original violation pending. The killing of another character without permission will automatically result in a temporary ban, without warning. A second time and it is a definite automatic removal.
If you feel like a player is violating one of these rules, feel free to contact an admin regarding it, as they may not always be able to follow all the threads at all times.
