For the sake of convenience and efficiency, the administrative staff require that players follow these "10 simple rules" when posting.

  1. Please select a single text color and highlight all dialogue in that color consistently. Thoughts or internal monologue should be in private lines to the GM and italics, rather than quotes:

    "Pick a number between one and ten," Jo instructs, "and if you guess right, you win a prize!" (Private to GM: Please don't pick seven! I'm awful at this, so I'm honestly all out of prizes...)

    Orange is disallowed as a player dialogue color.


  2. Please separate the upper half (in-character) of your post from the bottom half (out of character) by hiding it behind a spoiler field, and put your OOC actions in orange so they stand out. Label different actions by type.

    Dodging back from the gnoll's javelin, Jo concentrates briefly, bringing their power to bear on the longbow in their hands before returning fire. Before the fletching of their arrow has even fully departed the string, they are already moving across the field, eyes everywhere as they search for a better vantage point from which to fire their next volley.

    <spoiler>
    Swift: Spend 1 arcana point to add +1, flaming special qualities to longbow
    Standard: 1 ranged atk v. Gnoll 2 @ B10; 22 to hit, 4 piercing/3 fire dmg
    Move: J9 -> F13
    </spoiler>


  3. A one-line post is never okay, especially if it's just a line of colored dialogue with no modifiers. We prefer a minimum of at least one fully developed paragraph per post, but we'll accept a couple sentences in a short post, if it's appropriate, like in a conversation that's quickly going back and forth between characters.

    OK: Jo shrugs, unconcerned. "Sounds great," they agree, "let's do it."

    Not OK: "Sounds great, let's do it."


  4. When speaking in a language other than Common, please make sure to use the "Language NAME:" formatting. Like this:

    "Alright," Jo announces, "my next sentence will be in Draconic. (Language Draconic: Only those who speak Draconic will be able to understand this.)"

    Of course, remember to substitute [] for (). Also, please note the list of current available language groups below; we realize that not all Forgotten Realms languages are represented, but there are only so many groups we can use, so we make room for the most important/most common ones.

    Current Language Groups:
    Abyssal, Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Chessentan, Chondathan, Chultan, Damaran, Dambrathan, Draconic, Druidic, Dwarvish, Elvish, Giantish, Gnollish, Gnomic, Goblintongue, Halflingtongue, Halruaan, Ignan, Illuskan, Infernal, Loxo, Orcish, Rashemi, Roushoum, Shaaran, Shou, Sylvan, Terran, Undercommon, Yuan-Ti


  5. Please post all in-character interactions in the present tense. For example:

    OK: Jo looks at the door with some trepidation. "Someone should probably check it for traps," they suggest warily.

    Not OK: Jo looked at the door with some trepidation. "Someone should probably check it for traps," they suggested warily.

    Be sure not to mix your tenses. The reason for all this is that present tense is the standard for most players, and it can become confusing to read a long line of messages when the tense changes between characters from post to post. It's like switching from drive to neutral and back over and over again—keep doing that, and you'll burn out your transmission before you crest the hill, see?


  6. During combat situations, all players involved must post at least once per 24 hours, or they will lose their turn. Players should never post out of turn. In order to keep things fresh, initiative will be rerolled for all creatures involved at the start of each new round; a GM will take care of this in the background, so players need not worry about hassling with it. However, because this mechanic has an effect on the way certain abilities work and will directly alter the strategies you need to employ in order to succeed in battle, you should be aware of it.


  7. When moving between different areas of Freehold, you must always use an outro tagline when leaving your current thread, and an intro tagline when entering a new one. This is mandatory, and there are no exceptions for PCs; posts without intro/outro taglines must be corrected by the player when a GM spots them.

    These taglines are simple. When you exit a thread, do this:

    [To TOWN CENTER �“ Market Square ->]

    And when you enter the target thread, do this:

    [-> from TOWN CENTER �“ Vio’s msg #123]

    Of course, substitute the message number for that of the post where you left your previous thread. If the post you made where you put your outro tagline was message #456 in that thread, for example, then you would put #456 in your intro tagline in the new thread when you enter.

    "Alright," Jo replies, giving a wave as they head out the door, "I'll see you later!"

    [To TOWN CENTER - Market Square ->]

    [-> from TOWN CENTER - Vio's #456]

    Smiling, Jo turns to examine the passersby in the street outside as they exit the tavern, pleased to see others enjoying the fine autumn weather.

    Unless otherwise announced, there are no random encounters in Freehold, itself, so you may freely travel between threads without worry.


  8. When responding to others' posts IC, please be sure that, if both your message and the message you're replying to are visible on the screen at the same time (that is, if you can scroll your window so that you'll be able to see both yours and theirs), you make sure to "reply" directly to their message. If you won't be able to see your response and the post to which you're responding on your screen at the same time, then "quote" the other message, instead, so that we can all do less scrolling up and down. This way, we'll always know who's talking to whom.


  9. If you must edit a post—whether to correct a statement or misspelling—please include a private line to the GMs indicating what changes you made and why. If another post has already been made, by any player or GM, we strongly prefer that you not thereafter edit any previous post.


  10. Finally, when you have multiple characters, including animal companions, cohorts, familiars, special mounts, and so on, make sure to post separately as each character when describing actions and dialogue. It might seem to you like unnecessary extra posts, but that's what those other profiles are for, and it helps us more easily find things later if we need to.