RPing Guidelines, Creating a Template

I've been thinking about starting an RP here, but something keeps stopping me. And that something is, I have absolutely no clue what kind of guidelines we want in place for our RPs.

So before I go any further, I'd like to ask you all something: What kind of rules should our RPs have?

1. Do we want the sign-up procedure for each RP to be uniform, or should it be left up to the RP master?

2. Do we want a sign-up sheet for submitting characters for approval? Or should that be on an RP-to-RP basis as well, or simply skipped over?

3. Do we want a basic set of rules that all RPs have to follow, such as no god-modding, powerplaying, etc. or are these things self-evident to everyone here?

4 (and final). Should we have a rating system for RP content, or should that be something that's understood? (Example: Walk into a post-apocalyptic zombie RP, should it simply be understood that you'll be seeing blood and gore, or should the RP master have to outline these facts?)

Feedback is appreciated. This is a new RP section, so it'd be nice to know what everyone's ideas of the ground rules are.

There's a reason there is no rules section already, and that is so that each RP can have its own rules.

In geenral, the only universal rules are those of the entire forum.

Some exceptions:

- Personal issues being brought into RPs will not be tolerated. By this, I mean (for example) if two people have been arguing elsewhere in the forum, and then one of them kills the other's character in a RP for no good reason, then this act will be deemed personal. Anyone caught doing this will be banned from the RP section.

- Unless the creator of the RP states explicitly from the beginning that they will be maintaining some control of the story, once the RP begins, they are just another player like everyone else involved.

- If a story is being controlled by one person, the RP will not start until they have said there are sufficuent players.

- Once an RP begins, the players and characters are set. In a controlled RP, the controller may allow other players to enter at a later time however.

Not really necessary. This is a family-friendly site, and all content should reflect that. Including that of the RP section.

This post has been edited by LennyLen on Jul 18 2009, 02:04 AM

Once the RP begins, characters and players are set.

I believe some clarification is in order here, because on the one hand you state that each RP has its own rules, and on the other hand, you make pronouncements in the thread of how the RPs are to be run, referring to rules which are posted no where, because, as you say, 'there is no rules section already'.

Iit seems to me that there really needs to be some kind of overarching 'general rules' written and posted if Upper Management is going to enter into RPs and state how they are to be run. This is not to say that I am for or against it either way, I can see the advantage to having general rules and I can see the advantage to having thread-specific rules, but if blanket statements are to be made about an RP, such as no one else is allowed to join, those really need to be codified and written down, or, alternatively, Upper Management should stay out of it and leave it up to the Thread Creator (who could, then, appeal to Upper Management were said Creator to require a post removed or changed, as in the aforementioned RP not referred to by name, when posters 'jumped the gun', if you will).

This post has been edited by Magnus Cthulhu on Jul 18 2009, 01:34 AM

My bad. I had originally added a second line which said "If Doobie wants to add extra players, he can allow it, but please do not solicit extra players if you are not the controller of a story." Unfortunately it got eaten when I posted and I was in a hurry when I retype the post again.

As to why I hadn't stated earlier that players are set once the RP begins, I really didn't feel it needed to be stated. I'll add it to the above rules for clarity though.

I may have to add others as time goes by. I'm trying to have a s few rules as possible so that creativity is not stifled, but some may end up being necessary depending on how people handle things.

What's the limit on blood and gore? See, although it's stated in the rules, different people have different limits for blood and gore, especially when there are decent age differences of the RP players and the general law of the forum. A thirteen year old might think a certain amount is enough and within the line, an eight year old might think it's terrifying, a twenty-something might think it's really, really, really tame. What's the mindset the writers should think of when rating how much blood and gore is in their posts? PG-13- meaning smaller amounts of description and less graphic sorts of creatures, or are writers allowed leeway as long as there are disclaimers as to the content?

From what I've seen in YA fiction in my public libraries, there's very little in the way of a distinct line with this- take the Yazuac example in Eragon, for instance, or Darren Shan's Cirque du Freak series, which has enough descriptions to fill- and surpass quickly- the quota of the average Robert Ludlum novel (the guy who wrote the Bourne series)- and in fact it matches very evenly to some Diablo II- based novels my mother got me for christmas a few years ago- and yet it's still classified as YA fiction. Should the RP-masters keep tally of the gore, or should all posts be based on how NSFW it is, just as a reference?

On more/other topics as to how best to rate the RP content, how liberal can writers be on the subject of ill-advisable humour, topics on/about sexuality, et cetera? Would it be alright to make vague references to the deed being done, such as 'the walls shook then, as if there was a great sneeze,' or should the writers cut off at a certain point, such as 'he leaned towards her passionately as she wrapped her arms about his shoulders, pulling him towards the ground, dot-dot-dot'?

Actually, as an idea of both humour and practicality, perhaps a common option for describing romantic actions leading towards acts of sex should be cut off in the middle and replaced by 'dot-dot-dot' by the writer, as an unspoken metaphor for 'and thus the deed of lust/love -circle appropriate term- began and finished whilst no one really watched with any sort of interest.'

It's pretty much impossible to draw a line and say "this is acceptable, that isn't." Try to let common sense guide you. If you think you might be pushing it, ask yourself "Is this necessary, or am I just going for shock value?" If the latter, then don't do it.

You don't need to use euphamisms, or try to hide natural things away. Even kids too young to be on here are aware of sex and violence. But if you start going into Poppy Z Brite territory with multiple page descriptions of dismembering a corpse, then you've gone a bit far.

(PS I actually am a big fan of Ms Brite, she just goes a bit beyond most people's boundaries)

I'm actually just 14, so I guess I can be considered a kid when others here are above the age 18. What is this "sex and violence" you speak of?

I'm actually just 14, so I guess I can be considered a kid when others here are above the age 18. What is this "sex and violence" you speak of?

Ask your mother. And stay on topic.

I don't understand anything about these RP's.

How does one prevent it from becoming a slaughterfest? Or saying my character kills yours, you die? Or from "overpowering" characters?

This post has been edited by The Black Manga on Jul 30 2009, 03:45 AM

At this point, I'm just hoping people will be mature enough to not do this. If it starts to become a problem, we'll have to find some way of dealing with it.

Yes. Characters can be killed off, but only within reason. If the act is out of character, or just doesn't make sense (eg. someone playing as a scholar armed with a breadknife kills a trained knight in combat), then something will need to be done. Again, I don't want to say what at thuis point, as I'm hoping this won't happen. Though as I said earlier in this thread, that personal vendettas will not in any circumstances be tolerated.

Not much of an answer I'm afraid. We're kinda playing it by ear really. If anyone does have any concerns about how other people are playing, you can always PM myself or one of the other Mods/Admins, and we will talk to them about it.