Rules and Guidelines
Jan. 17th, 2020 03:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ho_modsRULES
1. WHEN IN DOUBT, USE COMMON SENSE
The mods allow a great deal of flexibility and creativity in the game, and trust players to generally know what is and isn't acceptable. Do not use this as an excuse to be pedantic, ferret out loopholes in the rules/guidelines to play obnoxious characters just because you can, or argue with the mods. You know damn well you can't play a sentient boot, so don't go out of your way to create The Boot People as a special race.
2. DON'T BE A DICK
This will absolutely be enforced. Obviously people who harass other players or blatantly break the rules will be booted, but this goes for anyone else who consistently contributes to a negative environment. Being overly critical of someone's character or campaign, hounding people for tags, complaining that no one ever tags you to guilt trip others into playing with you, and other types of obnoxious behavior may get you booted, with or without a warning, depending on how annoyed the mods/players are. It doesn't kill you to be polite or pleasant.
3. USE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA WISELY
As mods, it is not our jobs to police what you say on your personal social media accounts, as that is outside the scope of the game. However, if you list your social media account as a means of contact, you are responsible for treating your fellow players with civility and respect while posting or interacting on that medium. If you don't like what someone posts (personally, politically, etc.), then mute, unfriend, or unfollow them. You're not required to interact with someone you don't get along with in or out of the game, but you are responsible for telling someone not to interact with you if you feel that strongly about it. The mods will not do this for you. Mod intervention will only occur if you have contributed your own due diligence first in cutting ties, and were met with significant push back or harassment. Ignoring/ghosting someone and complaining that the person isn't 'taking the hint' when they keep trying to talk to you is your own fault, not theirs.
4. GAME RATING
In general you can expect most aspects of the game to be PG-13 in nature. Expect villains to be villains, monsters to be slain, and bad things to happen to good people who need heroes to save them. If you wish to play a darker style of campaign, take the necessary precautions to warn for these themes prior to making invitations for players to join, so no one is unpleasantly surprised. Make liberal use of locked posts and content warnings. While the mods allow for darker themes, there are some subjects that are strictly prohibited:
5. NO POWER GAMING/GOD MODDING
You do not get to dictate the actions or responses of other characters. You also may not assume your character would automatically win some sort of contest or fight with another character, whether it's a PC or NPC. If you've worked things out first OOCly, then you're free to proceed. However, it's tacky and annoying to deal with characters who win every fight, dodge every attack, resist every spell, attract every barmaid, etc. If you find yourself feeling frustrated with a character who behaves in this fashion, please talk to the other player. If they continue in spite of this, you are free to drop threads and refuse future requests to RP with them. Players will find themselves losing CR very quickly if they go into a scene expecting to win every time.
6. COMMUNICATE
'Better to ask forgiveness than permission' does not apply in this game, both for players and mods. You are responsible for communicating responsibly with other people regarding your needs and feelings, and we expect people not to treat a game like a career or obligation. This is a hobby in the end, and it should be fun. Do your best to keep it that way. Be clear about your tagging pace and expectations, what you do and don't want from others ICly and OOCly, and if you run into difficulties keeping up with what you promised let people know. Some mini-mods may be understanding and willing to adjust the pace or make room for your character to step out and take a break; but others might prefer replacing your character with someone who can reply and interact more regularly, so please be courteous and respectful. Exercise (sincere) gratitude, and give your fellow players a pat on the back now and again to give their spirits a boost. A little kindness can make a big difference, so give it liberally!
Guidelines
* AC is a simple check-in once a month. If you are squatting consistently or causing significant delays to your campaign-mates, your character may be removed from the campaign and/or game.
* Applications may be submitted at any time, but will only be processed the first weekend of each month.
* You can app up to three heroes, one non-hero (i.e. a bartender, shopkeep), and unlimited villains. As a mini-mod you can make use of as many NPCs as you like, but they should not be treated as playable characters stealing the spotlight from other PCs.
* You are free to make changes to your character as the game progresses, such as a shift of alignment, class, or obtained knowledge, so long as it makes sense ICly. Playing your character significantly differently from what you apped (such as apping a villain only to play him as a benevolent hero or a mild-mannered farmer to get around the character limit) may get your character booted, so please stick to what you submitted.
* The game progresses on a 1:1 time basis. The months have different names, as such:
1. WHEN IN DOUBT, USE COMMON SENSE
The mods allow a great deal of flexibility and creativity in the game, and trust players to generally know what is and isn't acceptable. Do not use this as an excuse to be pedantic, ferret out loopholes in the rules/guidelines to play obnoxious characters just because you can, or argue with the mods. You know damn well you can't play a sentient boot, so don't go out of your way to create The Boot People as a special race.
2. DON'T BE A DICK
This will absolutely be enforced. Obviously people who harass other players or blatantly break the rules will be booted, but this goes for anyone else who consistently contributes to a negative environment. Being overly critical of someone's character or campaign, hounding people for tags, complaining that no one ever tags you to guilt trip others into playing with you, and other types of obnoxious behavior may get you booted, with or without a warning, depending on how annoyed the mods/players are. It doesn't kill you to be polite or pleasant.
3. USE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA WISELY
As mods, it is not our jobs to police what you say on your personal social media accounts, as that is outside the scope of the game. However, if you list your social media account as a means of contact, you are responsible for treating your fellow players with civility and respect while posting or interacting on that medium. If you don't like what someone posts (personally, politically, etc.), then mute, unfriend, or unfollow them. You're not required to interact with someone you don't get along with in or out of the game, but you are responsible for telling someone not to interact with you if you feel that strongly about it. The mods will not do this for you. Mod intervention will only occur if you have contributed your own due diligence first in cutting ties, and were met with significant push back or harassment. Ignoring/ghosting someone and complaining that the person isn't 'taking the hint' when they keep trying to talk to you is your own fault, not theirs.
4. GAME RATING
In general you can expect most aspects of the game to be PG-13 in nature. Expect villains to be villains, monsters to be slain, and bad things to happen to good people who need heroes to save them. If you wish to play a darker style of campaign, take the necessary precautions to warn for these themes prior to making invitations for players to join, so no one is unpleasantly surprised. Make liberal use of locked posts and content warnings. While the mods allow for darker themes, there are some subjects that are strictly prohibited:
- Child Violence and Sexual Situations - No character, PC or NPC, under the age of sixteen should be made the specific subject of any particularly graphic scenarios. This includes torture, sex slavery, extreme violence, murder, etc. This also includes monster 'babies' in order to prevent the rage-inducing scenarios of whether slaughtering orc babies is ethical or barbaric. You can say that the inhabitants of an entire town were slaughtered without going into graphic detail, but you can't say that all the children were carried off and devoured.
- Extreme Sexual Fetishization/Kinks - Sexual scenarios and scenes are allowed, but keep in mind that this is not primarily a sex/kink game. If all of your scenes revolve primarily around sex, or if you're giving your character a self-lubricating asshole, this probably isn't the game for you, and we warmly encourage you to find a game more suited to your RP preferences.
- Racial Slurs and OOCly Offensive Topics - Do not make use of slurs and offensive terms. If saying it out loud would get you in trouble at work, it's not allowed in the game. You can incorporate some elements that are only ICly offensive ('elves hate dwarves!'), this is acceptable. But if you're making someone OOCly uncomfortable with your character's actions and speech, knock it off. You may be removed from the game if you're not following Rule #1 about employing common sense, and think rolling out a racist paladin is a good idea.
5. NO POWER GAMING/GOD MODDING
You do not get to dictate the actions or responses of other characters. You also may not assume your character would automatically win some sort of contest or fight with another character, whether it's a PC or NPC. If you've worked things out first OOCly, then you're free to proceed. However, it's tacky and annoying to deal with characters who win every fight, dodge every attack, resist every spell, attract every barmaid, etc. If you find yourself feeling frustrated with a character who behaves in this fashion, please talk to the other player. If they continue in spite of this, you are free to drop threads and refuse future requests to RP with them. Players will find themselves losing CR very quickly if they go into a scene expecting to win every time.
6. COMMUNICATE
'Better to ask forgiveness than permission' does not apply in this game, both for players and mods. You are responsible for communicating responsibly with other people regarding your needs and feelings, and we expect people not to treat a game like a career or obligation. This is a hobby in the end, and it should be fun. Do your best to keep it that way. Be clear about your tagging pace and expectations, what you do and don't want from others ICly and OOCly, and if you run into difficulties keeping up with what you promised let people know. Some mini-mods may be understanding and willing to adjust the pace or make room for your character to step out and take a break; but others might prefer replacing your character with someone who can reply and interact more regularly, so please be courteous and respectful. Exercise (sincere) gratitude, and give your fellow players a pat on the back now and again to give their spirits a boost. A little kindness can make a big difference, so give it liberally!
Guidelines
* AC is a simple check-in once a month. If you are squatting consistently or causing significant delays to your campaign-mates, your character may be removed from the campaign and/or game.
* Applications may be submitted at any time, but will only be processed the first weekend of each month.
* You can app up to three heroes, one non-hero (i.e. a bartender, shopkeep), and unlimited villains. As a mini-mod you can make use of as many NPCs as you like, but they should not be treated as playable characters stealing the spotlight from other PCs.
* You are free to make changes to your character as the game progresses, such as a shift of alignment, class, or obtained knowledge, so long as it makes sense ICly. Playing your character significantly differently from what you apped (such as apping a villain only to play him as a benevolent hero or a mild-mannered farmer to get around the character limit) may get your character booted, so please stick to what you submitted.
* The game progresses on a 1:1 time basis. The months have different names, as such:
- January - Midwinter
- February - Winterend
- March - Springturn
- April - Midspring
- May - Springend
- June - Summerturn
- July - Midsummer
- August - Summerend
- September - Autumnturn
- October - Midautumn
- November - Autumnend
- December - Winterturn