Rules
If you want to stay in touch and chat and plot with us, feel free to join our Discord Channel!
- The main rule here is the main rule in life. It is the Golden Rule: act toward others as you wish they would act toward you. We ask that everyone think about what they're going to post from the perspective of the other person and ask themselves, "If the tables were turned, would I be okay with it?" (And, to be a philosophy nerd for a second, ask this question in all its forms, positive, negative, and emphatic. Particularly the emphatic, because as game runners, we believe that how a person plays is how they want to play.)
- It's an 18+ board. This means that everyone on it is a legal and moral adult. We're all supposedly capable of managing our time, tone, emotions, and such. So, there aren't any specifics about how you've got to be respectful and polite. We should all know these things since we are all adults. The general principle is a) don't be easily angered or offended and b) don't try to anger or offend others. Play fair and have fun!
- Don't do anything illegal. Nothing sexual with underage characters.
- Players are mutually responsible for knowing the limits, triggers, and boundaries of their partners. Read up on the player's preferences and triggers! We know that people make mistakes, and we know that it can be hard to know the exact shape of a person's limits, triggers, and boundaries, and we'll take that into consideration should difficulties arise.
- Posting. Right now, we're not going to give hard and fast rules about posting, but games are made of posts. We're here to play, though. So, with respect, if you're on the field, you should play, just the same as in any other activity. No one can tell you how fast you should post, but you can't tell other people how fast they should post, either. If you can't post regularly, say something, please! Tell us when and how often you can post! We do very much welcome visiting and encourage OOC discussion. We want to be friends with the people we play with, but we're here to play with them!
- Nothing is real until the thread is closed. One of the challenges that can face players is when is something "real?" Our answer is when the thread is closed, by which we mean that all the players involved agree it is at an end. Until a thread is closed, everything in it is provisional! This also insulates the game overall from players coming onto the board and doing something big and then vanishing. Should a person want something in a scene to be "real" even though it isn't closed, they're free to act that way. In some circumstances, the staff will close unfinished threads to make the events "real," should the thread warrant it!
- Don't do anything that affects other players without their consent, including all forms of "godmoding." This is a crucial issue with powerful characters, where some of the characters have potentially world-shattering powers, not to mention powers that can command and control other characters. We frankly encourage players to "go big." They're superheroes! Dramatic events are their bread and butter! But can your character destroy Gotham City simply because they've got a power ring? Probably not, because that would require consent from all the players that have characters in Gotham City (and, arguably, every player, period.) If you can secure that level of cooperation, though? Well, go for it! But this one is a gimmee. No controlling other players, even by proxy.
- All player-characters should be 18 years of age or older.
- We request that players put their traits as taken from the RTJ and triggers, wants, and needs and put them in their character's description. Part of the reason we ask for them is to help guide play. If you feel the urge to hide what your character can "really do," you probably aren't playing with the right people!
- Players are asked to check the OOC section from time to time as this is where admins will share news and events in the game, rule changes and open questions for discussion about stuff like future plots and potential rule stuff.
- After two weeks of not posting in character, your character will be moved to NPC status. You're welcome to return and will be moved off NPC status once you start posting again. :)
Guide to Using the Princes and Princesses in Scenes
This is the guide for interacting with the princes and princesses of the Zamozian Empire, and probably the Serene Kingdom, Olympos, Asgardr, etc. The people and beings from these places are the apex beings in the game because of their combination of personal power and the giant system they've designed to protect them.
If all you want to do is socially interact with any prince or princess, you should feel free to include them in whatever scene you want. Knock yourself out if you just want to talk to them.
As a game rule, you need permission from the GMs to defeat them. There are some who are more dangerous and prepared than others, but they're all dangerous and prepared. Largely, to "defeat" them will require substantial lead-in - scenes that showcase what plans, strategies, allies, weapons, spells, or whatever, the character will use to defeat a prince or princess. These scenes should, themselves, be substantial, with real stakes, and real consequences for failure. It should never be a case of "I introduce Princess Isadora into a scene and kick her ass."
Some are easier than others. We will not give as much narrative protection to Cordelia, Helena, and Archibald. The rest? They're tough and hard SOBs who have been honing themselves against a hostile universe and each other for thousands of years.
Not Rules, but Good to Know
Game Structure: A note about the way the game is structured. Rather than having threads that represent locations where the action takes place, the threads each represent a discrete "scene" with a beginning, middle and end, hopefully. Available threads will be posted where players are welcome to start a scene and when someone uses them, the name of the thread will be changed either to something the player wants it changed to or if they don't think of something, to something that seems relevant to the scene and a new open thread will be posted for the next person who wants to start something.
We will be implementing a structure for naming scenes designed to make it easier to follow the general chronological order of the game. The scenes will be named with a numerical indicator - the names of the characters involved - Title that suggests something happening in the scene. As follows:
0001 - August and Clarick - Getting Shot into Space
Multiple Scenes/Characters: The gamerunners are comfortable with people playing multiple characters should you be so inclined. Also, playing a given character in multiple scenes at the same time is fine. It will just be assumed the scenes take place at different times with a little hand waving. If you want to start something with another player or players, feel free to get that off the ground immediately without waiting for a scene to be "over."
GM Moderation: The GMs will not usually directly intervene in a scene unless required or requested. But once a GM is in the scene, as GMs, we will say what happens. This usually happens because a player asks or because it is required for the scene to go forward (such as an NPC is in a scene by a player who does not then take possession of that NPC, which the GMs will take as a de facto request for GM assistance.)