Role Playing Rules and Traditions

[Jason Sanborn]

Welcome to the Role Playing Section of Comic Book Review. This section was set up to discuss various rules associated with Role Playing, as well as to answer some Frequently Asked Questions.
[hr]Contents

1. [gotopost=11]The Golden Rules of Role Playing[/gotopost][/*:m:gn352e8a]
2. [gotopost=12]Glossary[/gotopost][/*:m:gn352e8a]
3. [gotopost=13]The Role Playing Forums[/gotopost][/*:m:gn352e8a]
4. [gotopost=14]Stories and Campaigns[/gotopost][/*:m:gn352e8a]
5. [gotopost=15]Participation and Posting[/gotopost][/*:m:gn352e8a]
6. [gotopost=31262]Players, Characters and Clones[/gotopost][/*:m:gn352e8a]
7. [gotopost=31269]Story, Location and Thread Ownership[/gotopost][/*:m:gn352e8a]
8. [gotopost=31277]Control of Items[/gotopost][/*:m:gn352e8a]
9. [gotopost=31284]Planning, Discussion and Resolving Disputes[/gotopost][/*:m:gn352e8a]

[Jason Sanborn]

These are the five basic rules of role playing here. Please note that these rules do not replace the rules of the main board, which always applies.

1. Have Fun![/*:m:2u8lfff3]
2. Do not control the actions of a character that does not belong to you without permission.[/*:m:2u8lfff3]
3. Do not injure or kill another character without permission.[/*:m:2u8lfff3]
4. Battles and their outcomes are to be discussed and decided upon before hand.[/*:m:2u8lfff3]
5. Respect the other players. Do not start arguments with them. Any complaints or disagreements should be handled via Private Messages, or taken via Private Messages to a moderator to help resolve. Please do not involve the rest of the board in your dispute.[/*:m:2u8lfff3]

[Jason Sanborn]

Campaign - This is a large, interconnected game that crosses into other threads. The campaign setting could be anything from a nation through a large collection of universes.
Clone - Clones are additional accounts separate from the primary account for the player. Clones are often used for other characters, instead of posting all characters under the same account.
IC - In Character: This means that posting done must be done in character.
NPC - Non-Player Character: This is a character that is not controlled by any specific player. If a player announces a character (or characters) introduced is an NPC, than anyone can control that character.
OOC - Out of Character: This is usually used in discussion and planning threads. It means that you do not have to keep your posts in character.
PM - Private Message.
RP - Role Play(ing).
SL - Story Line: This is the story that the characters post in.

[Jason Sanborn]

New Player Welcome Area - This forum is for new players to the CB Review RP forums. It contains the rules, question and answer, general welcomes, and recruitment "ads" for stories accepting new players. For new players, please feel free to ask your questions here, anyone will be happy to help.

Discussion and Planning Forum - This forum is for OOC Planning for the various RP Stories currently running. If you wish to join an existing RP or Campaign, ask in the appropriate thread in this section.

Adventure Forum - This forum is for stand-alone RP stories and adventures. Each thread is its own self-contained story. Characters in one thread cannot cross over into another thread or into another campaign.

Campaign Forum - CrossGen - This forum is one large campaign RP based in the CrossGen Universe. Characters created for the campaign can cross between threads within the campaign at will. Moving to another thread may require permission from others currently in the thread, which can be done via PM or through the discussion forum.

Campaign Forum - DC - This forum is one large campaign RP based in the DC Universe. Characters created for the campaign can cross between threads within the campaign at will. Moving to another thread may require permission from others currently in the thread, which can be done via PM or through the discussion forum.

Campaign Forum - Marvel - This forum is one large campaign RP based in the Marvel Universe. Characters created for the campaign can cross between threads within the campaign at will. Moving to another thread may require permission from others currently in the thread, which can be done via PM or through the discussion forum.

[Jason Sanborn]

Campaigns are forum-wide stories. Each thread is its own location within the campaign setting. Stories are specific adventures within a campaign setting, or stand-alone adventures in the Adventure Forum.

Joining a campaign or a story is as simple as going to the appropriate OOC Thread in the Discussion Forum and asking if there is an opening. Not all stories are allowing new characters to join, so dont be discouraged if the answer is "no." If you are having trouble finding the story you'd like to be involved in, just post in the New Player Question and Answer, and we will be sure to help you out.

You can also start your own story in the Adventure Forum, and ask for people to join it. To do that, simply create the scenario in the Adventure Forum, then create a like named thread in the Discussion Forum for comments. If players are interested, they will post their interest in your Discussion thread. If you wish to recruit new players, do so only in the General Discussion forum. Do not go into other forums to try to recruit new players.

Starting a new thread, story or location in a Campaign setting must fall within the guidelines set forth for the specific campaign. Usually, it is pretty easy to start a new thread, just make sure that you ask in the appropriate Discussion thread before starting.

[Jason Sanborn]

Participation in RP is supposed to be fun. No one is perfect, and mistakes may be made. If a mistake is made, point it out either in the appropriate Discussion forum, or through a PM. Don't attack the person, and if you are the one who made the mistake, don't get defensive about it. Be flexible enough to edit your post if necessary, or come to a compromise to continue moving the story forward. Remember, it isn't "your" story, it is everyone's story. Everyone works together to tell the story.

Some things to keep in mind when you are posting:
First, you as a player will probably know more than your character will. When posting IC, make sure that you don't cross the line between what you know, and what your character is supposed to know. Try to avoid doing something that would be contrary to what your character would know, or would do in that situation.

When posting for your character, you cannot post any actions for another player's character, or cause that other player's character harm in any way. You can only control what your character says or does. The only exception to this is with NPCs. If a character is announced to be an NPC, then anyone can control the actions of that character. NPCs can also be killed, if the one who created them says it is ok.

Examples:
Not Acceptable: John throws a bomb at Bob, blowing Bob to kingdom come.
Acceptable: John throws a bomb at Bob.
This gives Bob a chance to decide whether or not he wants to be blown up.

Not Acceptable: John punches Bob in the face, breaking his jaw.
Acceptable: John punches at Bob's face.
This gives Bob a chance to dodge the punch, or allow the punch to strike him.

Not Acceptable: John tricks Bob into drinking the poison.
Acceptable: John hands Bob the poison, attempting to trick him into drinking it.
Again, this gives Bob the choice of whether or not he will drink the poison.

As often happens, there will be times that battles are necessary. The outcome of the battle must always be determined in advance. A player cannot arbitrarily start a battle and force the winning hand. The proper way to handle battles is to discuss the battle in the appropriate Discussion forum or through PMs. The only way you can win a battle is if the other person agrees to let you win.

[Jason Sanborn]

People involved in the RP Forum are considered players. Players may control one character, or they may control many characters. Characters are simply those beings that are controlled by a given player in a given story. Sometimes players will create a separate account for the character to post under. These particular accounts are referred to as "clone" accounts. For all intents and purposes, they are simply characters in a story.

Handling characters within the RP Forums are simple. You simply control your own characters. As mentioned previously, you cannot control the actions or force the actions of another character without the other players approval.

Main Characters: As stated previously, only the player that controls the character can allow any actions for the character. On occasion, a player might give someone temporary control over the character, or might say that their character can be moved. That is the extent of what is allowed at that time, nothing further can be done without prior approval.

Secondary Characters: These are minor characters created by a player to move the story along. It could be henchmen, servants, associates, friends, or enemies. It does not mater what the secondary characters purpose is. Like the main characters, only the player who created the secondary character has control over what happens to the secondary characters.

Non-Player Characters (NPCs): These are also minor characters created by a player to move the story along. The difference is that the player had formerly announced that the character is an NPC. This means that anyone can control the NPC and anything can happen to them.

High-Profile Characters: These types of characters are pre-established outside of the Role Playing Forum. They might be major characters from a comic book (i.e. Superman, Spiderman, Altwaal, etc.) or major characters from mythology, movies or novels. In general it is recommended that these characters not be played. Exceptions are made as long as they are previously discussed and agreed upon in the Discussion Forum. In addition, they cannot be seriously harmed or killed without approval from the others involved in the RP Forum. Conditions may be placed upon use of the High-Profile Characters in that they might be available for use by anyone from the boards, or that they can only be used for a specific purpose within a given story. It is up to the players to decide as a group.

[Jason Sanborn]

Story threads encompass several ideas. They include an idea that a player or even a series of players came up with. They include locations that either existed prior to the creation of the thread or story, or new locations created specifically for that part of the story. For this reason, it is important to determine who actually is in control of a given story, location or thread.

Pre-existing Locations: These locations are places that have already been established in comics, books, movies, or even in real-life. Pre-existing locations are not owned by anyone person, with a select few exceptions. Anyone can RP in a pre-existing location, but cannot make major changes to that location without approval from other players in RP. New player created locations can be established within a pre-existing location (such as a building in New York City).

Player Created Locations: These are locations created by other players. For all intents and purposes, the player who created the location has full control over what can and cannot happen within that location. Everything that happens within a player created location must be approved by the player who created the location, even if that player is not active in that thread at the time.

Absent Player Created Locations: These locations were created by players who are no longer involved in Role Playing. If a player disappears, it is up to the board to decide what happens to the location. It might be decided that another player takes ownership of the location, or that it becomes a forum owned location. Forum owned locations are identical to Pre-existing Locations in the way that they are handled. If the absent player returns, he retains ownership of his location.

Adventure Story Lines: These story lines are the single adventures in the Adventure Forum. The one who started the adventure is solely responsible for the rules related to the adventure.

Campaign Story Lines: Campaign story lines exist in the Campaign Forum. These have the possibility of having characters crossing into other Locations or having other characters cross into its story line. Those who are involved in the story line have a say on who crosses into their story line. When passing into another location or story line, permission to do so must come from the owner of the location or those involved in a story line in that location at the time.

Threads: Threads are simply the places where the posting happens. It could be an adventure, a location, or a specific point in time. Thread ownership falls upon the rules for locations and story lines.

[Jason Sanborn]

Items sometimes play a key role in certain characters abilities, have an importance with a given location, or even have importance in one or more story lines. There are three kinds of items, player created, forum owned, and pre-existing.

Player Created Items: Player created items are created by a player for a specific purpose. They are owned by the player, and the rules for the item are governed by the player. The player can choose to give the item to another player to use, but still retain ownership of the item. Or the player can give the item to another player and fully give up control. It must be made clear at the time of transfer, so there is no misunderstanding later. If a player is no longer involved in role playing, his item goes with him, unless given to another player.

Forum Owned Items: These are items created for the forum to be used by anyone. Generally, the person who owns the item at the moment has control over what can happen with the item. If the person leaves role playing, the item goes back to the forum for another player to take. Nothing drastic can happen to the item without approval from the other players.

Pre-Existing Items: These are items taken from comics, books, or movies. For all intents and purposes, they act like Forum Owned Items. On occasion, a specific player can be given full control over the item as if he or she created it, but that is only upon approval from the other players in role playing.

[Jason Sanborn]

All stories have some sort of planning and discussion that happens outside of the main story line. These discussion threads are referred to as OOC Threads. It is in these discussion threads that plans are made, ideas are swapped, and ideas are accepted or rejected. It is through OOC Threads that you would ask thread owners or current players if it is ok to join their thread, or cause some type of action in the thread. It is very important to read the responses of the other players to know what the answer is. Never jump into another thread without first getting permission.

Respect for other players is the key for everyone getting along. Generally, those involved in a specific story line, or those in a location, handle things democratically. That means everyone has a say and then a decision is made, and the decision is usually made by the person in charge of the location or story line. Once a decision is made, respect the player(s) who made the decision and go along with what they request. Going against what they ask only causes friction.

Sometimes a mistake is made when posting in a thread. It can be brought to your attention either via an OOC Comment in the main thread, in the discussion thread, or by private message. When you are confronted for a mistake that was made, simply apologize and edit your post to accommodate. Work with the other player so you can word a post that everyone can agree on.

Unfortunately there are times where the mistake or disagreement can be heated. There is no place in the RP Forums for arguments, so take the disagreement to private messages at that point. Only the two in dispute should be involved in the discussion, everyone else should stay out of the argument until a resolution is reached. Arguments that take place within the forum will be deleted by a moderator or administrator, regardless of who is right or wrong.

In extreme disputes where neither person can come to an agreement, it is possible to involve a moderator or administrator via private message to help mediate the argument. Administrators and moderators will only become involved if they are sent a PM from one or both parties involved in the dispute, and will always refer to the rules when making their decision.

Remember, the most important thing is to have fun, and to respect the other players. If respect is maintained, then disputes can be easily resolved between the two parties.