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No one likes too many rules. Roleplayers by their very nature are creative, and nothing
stifles creativity better than a set of inflexible, structured guidelines for doing
everything. Therefore, we don't have too many rules, and instead rely on your good
judgment when dealing with issues like obscenities, player/player conflicts (not
like we've ever had one), and things like that. The only rules we do have are those
which we feel keep the game flowing well. They are, in no particular order:
- Don't use Misty's characters.
- It's sometimes tempting to want to incorporate Misty's characters into our plotlines --
after all, who hasn't wanted the chance to fight next to Vanyel or play with Stefen?
(I meant play an instrument. Get your mind out of the gutter.) Even so, this
is a no-no, for the very simple reason that those characters are Misty's. She has
already given permission to conduct private roleplaying games like this one using
her world, so long as none of the game mechanics get published, but while she hasn't
quite said as much I think it's safe to assume that she'd probably feel a little
differently if she knew that someone was pulling the strings of one of her main characters!
For that reason, we all must try to keep contact with Misty's characters to the absolute
minimum necessary to run the story. It's a little hard never to speak to or mention
the Monarch, for example, but our plots should always be different from and unrelated
to whatever Misty's Heralds might be doing at the time.
- Don't make major changes to the plot without prior approval.
- OK, so let's say your character has just gotten kidnapped by the Villain of the WeekŁ,
and in typical Villain of the Week form he goes blathering on about how he's going
to set a pack of wyrsa loose in Haven next Tuesday morning. So you, being
the resourceful and heroic Herald/Bard/Healer/whatever that you are, escape from
his clutches and go evacuate the city, the Collegium, and all the Companions and
move them across country to the nearest Tayledras vale. What's wrong with this picture?
Well, other than the fact that the Tayledras would probably take one look at the
beleaguered, unwashed ranks of Valdemarans and axe the lot of them on the spot, the
problem is that this constitutes a major plot change. A major plot change is defined
here as anything that is likely to have noticeable future ramifications or aftereffects
to the plot, the world, or the characters. Blowing up a city, starting a war or other
major international incident, inventing a new clan of Tayledras, and killing any
player or major non-player character (other than yourself) are all examples
of major plot changes, and to institute any of them you would first need to talk
to a moderator and get permission to do so. Introducing a new Villain of the Week
(i.e., no more than about twenty Bad Guys), having a senior (non-player) Herald assign
you to a mission and ship you off to the Borderlands somewhere, getting beaten senseless
by something, creating plotlines such as betrayal or espionage and killing off a
few minor nobles (who needs nobles anyway?), etc. -- those are not considered
major plot changes, and you can script and roleplay them as much and as often as
you like.
- Use consistent -- and relatively correct -- grammar, tense, perspective, and form.
- This is not a writing class. Really. We don't expect any of you to be giving Misty competition,
and even she makes the occasional slip or typo (like the unforgettable "Coddess"
flub at the end of an otherwise heartbreaking scene in Arrows of the Queen).
Even so, and even if you haven't heard the term "subjunctive" since junior
high, there are a few things you should be careful of when posting:
- Always use the third person point of view. This means you should refer to your character
by name or pronoun, not as "I".
- Use the past tense. Consistently. Most people don't have a problem starting their
post in the past tense, but more than once I've seen IRC instinct come into play
and before you know it they go from "did" and "had" to "is"
and "goes". If you are prone to such wanderings of tense, please make sure
to double-check. Nothing ruins the flow of an otherwise good post worse than making
this mistake.
- Write in complete sentences, in paragraphs. Because a lot of people are used to IRC-style
"simming", there's kind of a subconscious reflex to write in little chunks
of dialog, with asterisks around your actions. Don't give in. Pretend you're writing
a book. Paste notes on your monitor. Do whatever you have to. Just make sure that
your post doesn't read like an AOL chat log. Thank you.
- Use the correct header on your posts.
- As you will soon notice if you look at our archives, every post has a standard header
that makes things easier on the readers. This header is really truly vital, though
it might not seem like it while you're writing it, because very few people use their
character's name as an email display name while posting to the list. Therefore, the
only way to know which character is posting is to look at the header at the top of
the post. This is doubly important if you have two characters, as you can well imagine.
Therefore, it's important to use the following guideline for headers:
- Character's Name
- Companion's Name (if you're a Herald)
- General Location ("Companion's Field," "Sweetsprings," "Way the
heck off in the bush, somewhere in the south of Valdemar", that kind of thing.)
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- Be original, and don't create GodPCs.
- We all love Misty. Some of us even have shrines in our back yard. Still, I think we
can all agree that certain plotlines have been done to death. And while we might
feel the urge to copy her characters or plotlines because we have more knowledge
of them, it's very important to avoid that temptation. The moderators reserve the
right to disallow any characters or plotlines that emulate one of Misty's. The reason
for this is actually because we want to maintain a realistic balance. Things like
Mage-Gift, Animal Mindspeech, and Firestarting are supposed to be very rare, and
while some of us have in mind characters like Vanyel, keep in mind that he is a big
exception to just about every rule in the book. Every Chosen has been selected by
the Companions for a specific purpose, and is therefore not likely to possess skills
he or she does not need, and just about everyone with a Healing or Bardic Gift has
a real love for their profession and are not likely to give up one for the other
or for some other pursuit. In short, in other words, if you're going to be a Bard,
be a Bard. Don't be a Bardic-Healer with Animal Mindspeech and latent Mage-Gift.
You'll probably never use any of those Gifts anyway, and the less spectacular your
character is, the more chance he or she will have to establish his or herself by
doing things rather than being things, which makes for better roleplay.
Remember, the plot is in your hands. This is not like Dungeons and Dragons, where
you have to scramble for every extra freebie your DM will give you so you don't get
killed later -- the only way you'll ever be killed is if you decide you're
going to get killed. So relax, have fun, and think about your character more than
your Gifts.
Well, that's pretty much it for rules, really. If you're looking for more information on
how to become a better roleplayer or how to advance the plot, though, there's always
our Tips and References page. :) Have fun!
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