Roleplay Forum Rules - Both IC and OOC

[bury the year]

BEFORE WE START...

Many of the rules on this thread were written up by my co-mods in the past, XxShadiusxX and Umbra. You might not see them around here as much as you would me, but they still have done a lot for this place, and I thank them for that. Therefore, all information on this thread is written or paraphrased by either me, Shadius, or Umbra. (If you would like to see the original, rather disorganized rule thread, go here.)

 

GENERAL CONDUCT

The Roleplay forum(s) is a part of the Yugioh Card Maker community. Henceforth, all rules specified by the Moderators are applied here as well. It is a given that if anyone breaks any rule stated by Moderators or any of the rules below, you are to REPORT them and they will be promptly dealt with.

 

MAIN FORUM VS. OOC FORUM

You might notice that we now have two forums in the RP section, the main forum and the Out-of-Character Planning (or OOC) forum. If you plan on running an RP, you’ll need to use both of them at some point. You shouldn't post in a thread in either forum if you don't plan on joining the RP itself. If something breaks rules, PM me instead.

 

OOC Forum – Start your RP here by posting a thread. This thread should have a set of rules for RPers to abide by (including the Advanced Clause below,) a character application for people to fill out and post/PM, a plot so everyone knows what to do, and any additional information you may need. Also, any discussion about the course of an RP should be kept in OOC threads, so people can keep things organized. Note that the OOC forum is post count disabled, much like Games is.

 

Main Forum – This is where the actual in-character (or IC) posting goes on. Only IC posts should go here, so that the story can be advanced with minimal interference. This forum has post count enabled.

 

If you post a thread in the wrong forum, just report it or PM me or another mod, and we’ll sort it out ASAP.

 

THREADS

RPs should be made up of two threads; an OOC thread and an IC posting thread. The OOC thread should be linked to the IC thread via hyperlink and vice-versa. All threads must be complete and ready to accept apps/IC posts upon being first made - if you still have work to do, don't post it. Otherwise, you will be locked.

 

TITLE MARKINGS

Not all RPs are appropriate for all members here on YCM. Therefore, when posting a RP aimed at a specific group, put the appropriate tag in the title:

 

[PG-13] – If your RP includes mild swearing, a degree of violence, or mild sexual content, it is better placed as a PG-13.

 

[PG-16] – If your RP includes harsh language, strong violence, or a higher degree of sexual content, it is classified as PG-16.

 

[M] – M-Rated RPs, including gore, graphical violence or extreme sexual content, must first be passed by staff (see below). A large part of our members are eighteen or under: having an M-rated RP here wouldn't make any sense.

 

To make an RP for an 18+/M franchise, first PM an RP staff member, identify what parts are the reason it has an M (gore? sexual violence? both?) and say how you plan on toning it down (reduce graphic description, eliminate mentions of certain things, etc). If these aspects are core to the game, it won’t be allowed. Use common sense. Any thread that is not first discussed will be locked.

 

CLUB-SPECIFIC RPS

Club-specific RPs, where only members of a certain club can join and play, are allowed on this forum. Apart from all the other rules, they have one special rule: A club can only host one club-specific RP at any one time. This is to promote open RPing.

 

MINIMUM # OF PARTICIPANTS

All roleplays should have at least three players (not individual characters) before starting. This is because an RP with only two people involved has no value in taking up a thread, and would just as effectively work over PM or instant messaging, if not more so. Any so-called "one on one" RPs will be locked.

 

GOD-MODING, META-GAMING, AND POWER-PLAYING

These are three things that every RPer should avoid, for not only the flow of the RP but also to respect any other RPers in the thread. It’s a must to make sure you don’t do these.

 

God-Moding – This means giving you and your character invulnerability and not giving the other players fair chance over the course of battle. Instances of god-moding include dodging every attack, using an attack that never misses no matter what, giving yourself an unplanned power up halfway through a battle, not properly responding to an attack’s strength, etcetera etcetera etcetera. Just don’t do this; it’s rude and unfair.

 

Meta-Gaming – This means using information that your character would have no way of knowing in character. For example, if Alice’s father recently died and hasn’t told anyone about it or let information slip, then Bob, who she just met on the street, isn’t going to console her about the loss of her father. Why? He would have no way of physically knowing. Doing this is disrespectful to a character’s intentions and plotting.

 

Power-Playing – Probably the worst of them, this means taking control over another character or their actions. Like in the previous example, if Alice is going to throw a tomato at Bob, your post with her shouldn’t involve her throwing it and watching it splatter over Bob’s face, because that’s taking away Bob’s controller’s opportunity to dodge it. A better alternative is to have the tomato leave her hand and fly toward Bob, but not mention hitting him.

 

BRIBERY

RP hosts may not advertise their RPs by means of bribery. This includes paying reputations, points, or other things to RPers for joining their RPs. Signatures, however, may be used to advertise your RP instead.

 

APPLICATION CONTENTS

All RP application forms require at minimum a field each for name, gender and age, as well as a space for appearance (either a picture and/or 1+ paragraph of description, at the GM’s discretion) and personality (1+ paragraph). Additional fields are of course up to the GM to add, but this is a basic skeleton. Other structures for applications, such as freeform or diary-style, must indicate that this information or the equivalent is somehow expressed. Any RP which doesn’t follow this will be locked immediately.

 

ADVANCED CLAUSE

If you’re new to the YCM RPing forums, you might hear this term being thrown around a lot. The Advanced Clause is a simple set of RP rules and guidelines that every RP is supposed to have to improve the overall quality. Every new RP OOC thread will be checked for mention of these. If you don’t have them, you will be given a grace period of 24 hours to add them. After that, threads will be locked. (Heck, you can just copy-paste the part below if you are so inclined.)

 

Minimum Post Length – Each standard IC post should have the equivalent of at least 4 lines of text. However, a good post should have around one to two paragraphs with proper English spelling and grammar, and should have enough material for other RPers to expand and elaborate on in their own posts. (As a rule of thumb, 4 unbroken lines of text on YCM at standard size and font is roughly 100 words.)

 

Dialogue – Dialogue should be done in one of two ways; in quotation marks or in speech lines. Script format is prohibited, because it doesn’t allow as much description and is dull overall.

 

Expies – Copy-paste characters from either separate RPs or from already existing franchises, with only minor detail changes, are frowned upon. This doesn’t allow true “evolution” as a unique character.

 

OOC ONLY POSTS

There is no need now for any OOC posting outside of the OOC threads.

 

EXTERNAL INFORMATION USAGE

Anything that is officially published, such as YGO cards or Pokemon made by Game Freak, are considered fair use and require no credit as long as you don't explicitly claim that you made them. However, any fan pieces that were not created by you, such as fakedexes or maps, should not be used without clearly providing a link to the original source. Failure to follow these rules will result in a warning and a lock if permission is not received in 24 hours. If the person comes onto YCM saying that you can't use their stuff, or if you use information that has this stated, your RP gets automatically locked. (Note that this doesn't include images whose sources are not known, such as being found originally on Photobucket or other hosting sites.)

 

MISSING ANYTHING?

PM me, and I’ll see what I can do.

 

UPDATES

June 04, 2010 - Modified "Threads" section to include requiring linking OOC and IC threads together.

June 19, 2011 - Added rule about using external information.

October 22, 2011 - Added rule about opening incomplete threads under the "Threads" heading.

November 26, 2011 - Clarified ruling on mature/18+ RPs.

December 13, 2011 - Added rule about minimums in applications.

May 14, 2011 - Added rule about a minimum number of RPers.

[bury the year]

Below is "The Enclosed Instruction Book of Roleplaying," a very handy guide to some of the more fine aspects of RPing originally written by Shadius, my co-mod. I'm pretty sure I didn't write anything in it, so all credit to its writing and compiling goes to Shadius, Umbra, Snitch, and Deucalion.

 

---

 

Seeing that a few of the stickies could be merged together this thread of guides has added the Post Example sticky and the Roleplaying Resources sticky to its contents. The other threads are now gone and this one locked so it won't have a bunch of off topic posts. Any questions can be directed to Rinne or I.

 

Beginner's guide to role playing

 

Table of Contents

 

Section 1 - Post Length

 

Section 2 - Godmodded Posts and Powerplaying

 

Section 3 - Detailed Posts

 

 

Section 1 - Post Length

 

Chaos_Remix's Words

 

Lately I've noticed that some users in are dear Role Play section post 1 or 2 line posts, theses posts keep the other Role Players in the thread from building off posts. A decent post should have four to seven lines, that gives people a idea on what they should post at and also allows them to build off the post and set up the post for the next person. Now if you think that four to seven lines are too much for you, just practice them, you will get used to it.

 

Umbra's Words

 

When you post, make sure that your posts have content. We don't want you to post stuff like "I go ther" and then end it. When you post, you tell us everything your character does. If you only tells us he goes there... Well, anything could happen. You could accidentally fall into a convinient snakepit.

 

 

Section 2 - Godmodded Posts and Powerplaying

 

Chaos_Remix's words

 

Now alot of us have seen a god modded post, yet alot of roleplayers don't notice that their godmodding unless told then they deny it and come up with some bizard reason to why they aren't godmodding. Now a godmodded post is one that allows the poster to counter anything, defeat anyone, and/or having the abillity not to be countered.

 

A example of godmodding is

 

 

 

"Kai-I activate Wicked Soul Tourture you lose 800 life points

for every spell card you'v activated. 1600 damage to you. Painful

Curse activate, I pay 3000 life points to destroy all card that

are face down. Now I activate Consuming Shadow ritual, now I discard

2 monster who's level eguals 9 stars. I summon Shadow Eater. Now I

activate Shadow Eaters special ability to destroy 1 dark monster on

the field. Chaos Emporor is destroyed Shadow Eater attack Darkness

Blast 2500 damage.

 

The Evil Kai quickly desposed Yoshe in only 1 turn."

 

 

 

Posts like that ruin rp's because of the fact that it ends duel/fights

too soon, which doesn't allow character development. Powerplaying is when someone posts something that makes there character too powerful but isn't powerful enough to be consider godmodding, these posts are just as bad as godmodding even though they aren't as rp destroying as godmodding posts, most examples of powerplaying

is when someone controls someone elses character without permission.

 

Umbra's Words

 

Make sure that if you intervene with another character, regardless who controls it, you have that character's owner's permission to do so. I have seen several RPs and RPGs with consisted only in lines in the likes of "I kill you, counter me" or "I counter your move. I win".

Whatever you may think, this is not what people want from a roleplayer. We don't want you to "win". We don't want you to only join because of your desire to defeat the rest.

 

Section 3 - Detailed Posts

 

Chaos_Remix's Words

 

 

 

* a knock on the door * Ryoushi answer it * it was Zero

 

 

 

This is a example of a post with no detail, people post like this thinking that it won't bother anyone but really it makes hard for

people to post and build off of. Details support character development

and also help the next poster, with detailed posts a user would get used to posting bigger which is good for any role play. Hell to tell the truth a detailed post can just have air circling around someone, or a person looking around a room, but most people just post "bob walked there" then end their post, posts like that are intensely hard to build off.

 

 

 

Zetsumei and the gang walked down into the enterance of the crypt, they came to a opening that had a door with 5 slots, around the room was mold and flowers, a weird combo, he took out 4 gems from a pouch on his side, the 4 gems were perfect fits and spun in a 180 degree motion. "Damn Gil, he only got 4 of the gems needed and he didn't write how to get the last one, sometimes I really hate that kid" Zetsumei said as he took a seat infront of the door, "Got any ideas guys?"

 

 

 

That is a example of a detailed post, some might think it is PPing but if you read the posts before it you will see that the post fits the story.

 

Umbra's Words

 

Posting without details is like giving christmas presents stuffed with sand. We want more and interesting content. Even if your character just walks across the street, there are hundreds of things you could write. Does his hair move in the wind? Does he see someone he recognizes? Does he hear something interesting? Is the ground uncomfortable? Sky's the limit.

---

This part, the Dungeon Master Guide, will cover the most important things you need to create an RP/-G. If you wish to contribute to this guide, or comment it, feel free to send me a PM.

 

4. Plot buildings

Chaos Remix' words:

 

In rps the plot needs to be built on, these are plot building posts.

These posts can contain a evil plan coming to light, people dying, couples forming.

Pretty much anything that would effect the story in a major way.

Without posts like these a story of a rp would never move and resulting in a slow and painful death unless action was taken.

Whether a new villain or hero is introduced or a death of a main character occurs, these posts keep rps alive.

 

 

Umbra's words:

 

We've all encountered RPs set in either Duelist Kingdom or Duel Academy. We've all sat through dialogue with Yugi, Joey, Jaden and the others. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes you just get enough. This chapter is here to describe how to build better and more unique plots. There are three stages to every plot, which are described below.

 

Synopsis

This is what should be in the first post, describing the plot as the characters first encounter it. It should be between eight and ten lines long.

 

Development

The main part of the RP/-G, which is where the characters discover their purpose in the world and what they are supposed to do. During this part of the RP/-G, we meet new characters, new villains, and perhaps we lose a few.

 

The Grand Finale

The conclusion of the RP/-G. in which the plot resolves. Either the main characters die, or the villain is defeated. Or perhaps something in between, this is all dependant on the RP/-G itself. However, unless you plan a sequel, this is also where all plot hooks should resolve.

 

 

5. NPC's

 

Chaos Remix' words:

 

In a role play or role playing game there are characters you cannot control, these are NPC's. NPC's help with the story and are needed in any basic rp.

 

NPC's can be for a example Judai or Yugi in a yugioh rp/rpg. NPC's are usually controlled by their creator or the topic starter unless told otherwise, if other wise the person who is allowed control is the only one allowed besides the one that gave the permission, someone who got premission cannot give it to another.

NPC's are like a second backbone for rper, if you don't see a NPC in a rp ask if its ok to make one to help the rp along.

 

 

Umbra's words:

 

NPC's are characters controlled by the owner of the RP/-G, which interact with the characters in different ways. They might be introducing the characters to the world, developing the plot by revealing the lair of the enemies, or even giving the characters different skills and professions. There are a few archetype-NPC's that are common among RP/-Gs, which I will list below:

 

The Guide

The Guide is the first NPC the characters meet, which gives them their mission. The Guide is generally friendly towards the characters.

 

The Rival

A rivaling team of NPC's, which fight for the same goal but with different means than the characters, speeds up the plot of any RP/-G.

 

The Villain

What the characters fight. Can be a single person, can be an entire organization. Hostile towards the characters.

 

The Chosen One

A person with special powers. Can be either hostile or friendly towards the characters.

 

6. Statistics-based RPG's

 

Chaos Remix' words:

 

RPG's run off 2 systems, stories and statistic's.

Statistics-based RPGs use a level system where you gain a certain amount points that you can put into stats and you may get to get a new skill or spell or 2.

 

Dice rolls are a part of Statistic-based RPGs, they determine what happens,

how much damage you do, how much damage you take, and more.

The good thing about this system is that it keeps away really powerful characters until later on in the story, this keeps the balance and makes a rpg fun for everyone.

 

When most people think of Statistics-based RPGs they think of one of the most famous ones: Dungeons and Dragons.

RPG's don't have to be that fancy, they can be simple or even fancier if you want, just remember dice is used, ALOT.

 

Umbra's words:

 

You might think "Dungeons and Dragons" when you read this topic. Well, you're right. D&D is a statistics-based RPG. But it's also among the most complex. Statistics-based RPGs can be far easier than that. Even though they might include such things as dice-rolls and Hit Points, this is nothing to be afraid of. Behind all large RPGs hides tons and tons of dice. Things that define Statistics-based RPGs are often Races and Classes, which provides modifiers to the Skills and Professions the character might have. Statistics-based RPGs are actually too big to cover on a single guide, but you don't need all the information. Simply know that Statistics-based RPGs are more in control of your character than regular RPGs are.

---

Section 7: What is Roleplaying? Snitch's RP-related ramblings

 

The easiest way to describe a roleplay, or as many members refer to it, RP, is basically a story or tale written by many people. However, that is only the blueprints of our hypothetical RP-house; there is much more to a roleplay than simply people banding together and writing a story. One of the key differences between a roleplay and a collabaration, which is a story written by many people, is that with a roleplay you will never know what is coming next. Perhaps, in your Pokémon Roleplay, you are just wanting a simple journey story. Someone could come along and join, and you start posting, with simple things such as:

 

---Christina drew up her backpack and the three Pokéballs she had received for her journey; today was the day that she set off for her new beginning as a Pokémon Trainer. Almost forgetting the most important things she needed, her Pikachu and Pokédex, she made a quick grab for them and set out the door, quickly pausing and yelling back in to tell her mother she was leaving. She stepped out of the door, the humid air of Pallet Town brushing the thread of hair that had fallen over her eye out of her face. With a smile she set off, hoisting her backpack over one arm only.

 

Now, whilst that is good and all, it's not very original, is it? Now, say the person who joined your roleplay made that same sort of post, it would be kind of dull, even with all the description and decent post size. However, one of the brilliant aspects of a roleplay is that Person B, our joiner, can make a post like this:

 

---Johnny came dashing out of the door, everything he needed barely packed and a piece of egg tuck against his left cheek. A split-lip smile was pasted on his face, looking odd with his large nose and devilish red eyes. As he ran, he shut his eyes, letting the warm air brush against his own face, when suddenly he felt himself bump into something and fall over, screaming out by instinct. He opened his eyes to find himself on top of a girl, chest-to-chest, and her face coated in steaming rage. Feeling his cheeks tinting red, he stood up slowly, trying to back away.

 

See there? Now, Person A, the topic creator, most probably wasn't expecting said event to occur, which adds a whole other element rather than a story. Plot expanding is so simple with RP that it can become anything and far more fun than just writing stories, as it opens up a whole new world; more improved roleplayers will choose to bring in twists like this every other post, or even every post, to keep the RP flooding with ideas and everyone going. However, one point to remember with RPs is:

 

You can always use description.

 

Now, a point to make about description is Purple Prose. Go look it up on Google. Go ahead, I'll wait five minutes, or ten for you slow broadband people.

 

So, did you find anything out? If you were too lazy and just carried on reading - Purple Prose is the term for someone who is overly-descriptive. Now, yes, it's always good to have description, but not to over-do it. Describing every little detail of every little detail of every little detail is not necessary. Now, I would give an example of this, but I can't, considering my writing style is perhaps close but still far off from Purple Prose. But go look it up, as said, and I'm sure you'll find some examples.

 

Well, hope you learned something in this wall of text. If you didn't, well, yeah. I don't care.

 

-Snitch

 

Section 8: What a average post should look like and what posts shouldn't be made.

 

Ok since the advance clause and other things are now in place, it's time I make the return that has been needed to help you guys and girls improve or to GTFO. Now then, the basis of this section is for the expanding of post knowledge along with what should never be found in any RP.

 

 

An example of a good but average level post:

 

After a grueling gym class filled with running around the tormenting wheel of concrete known as the school's track, Anya, who wasn't the best athelete around, had been drenched in her own sweat. A short sigh had escaped her full lips as her hand met her forehead and proceeded to wipe away more of the sweat.

 

Why is this considered a average post:

 

The post above shows a good example of post detail while keeping decent quality, grammar and structure. A average RP post should contain theses things along with keeping from the tempting power plays and god modding that is found in the writing of an inexperienced writer. The post also describes the character in mention, giving other RPers a idea of what your person looks like, while giving a small idea of what is going on around them. Theses help the other RPers build off your post for the result of a good responce.

 

An example of a post that should never be posted and would be considered a horrible post.

 

Charlie: I challenge you to a duel *Activates his duel disk*

Matt: You can't win *Activates his duel disk*

Charlie: I have Exodia in my hand so I win too bad

Matt: Well I have 10 Exodias in my hand so I win first

 

Why is this a example of a horrible post:

 

It should be easy to tell why this is a horrible post, not only does it invole godmodding but it could also be a example of power playing and it is in a script format which is horrible for writing outside a play. (Trust me RPing is NOT a play.) But at the same time it also lacks good grammar and even shows that effort was not put into the post, hell it makes it harder for the next person to build off for their post along with killing any possible fun from the RP itself.

 

Section 9: Roleplaying Resources from Deucalion

 

Grammar

• GrammarBook.com - an online source for English grammar.
  
• Guide to Grammar and Writing - another good resource for grammar help. There is also basic writing help from sentence variation to help with tenses.
  
• English Club - another useful guide to grammar aimed at those learning it as a second language. Still very useful for native speakers as well.
  
• English Grammar 101 - This is also a really useful site for individual study.
  

 

Writing

• Creative Writing Tips - This website has a lot of tips and useful advice in regards to creative writing as well as writing in general, from plot to characterization.
  
• Fiction Factor - Another great writing help website. Contains editorials as well as courses on fantasy writing.
  
• Writing World - This covers everything from the basics to the more advanced forms of creative writing.
  

 

Characterization/Mary Sues

 

~Articles: Mary Sue~

• Wikipedia : Mary Sue - The wikipedia article on Mary Sues and their subtypes. A very helpful article on what they are while also containing litmus tests to test your characters.
  
• TVTropes : Mary Sue - A more in-depth article on Mary Sues and their subtypes.
  
• Mary Sue, Who Are You? - A humorous article about Mary Sues and why they're not something you want in your story.
  

~Articles: Characterization~

• Wikipedia: Characterization - A general article on characterization, ranging from character development to different forms of characterization.
  
• Literary Elements - A basic list of literary elements, which includes characterization.
  
• Story In Literary Fiction: Essays - Character in Literary Fiction Story - An in-depth look at different forms of characterization, ranging from good to bad.
  
• Writing Corner: Characterization - A useful guide on the different forms of characterization and how to present them.
  

~Litmus Tests~

• The Writerium: Mary Sue Litmus Test - Not only does it feature information on Mary Sues, but you can also take their litmus test to help determine how Sueish your character is.
  
• Katfeete Mary Sue Litmus Test - Another litmus test for gauging Sueism.
  
• Sailor Pandora: MS Litmus Test - Yet another litmus test.
  
• The Fantasy Cliché Meter: The Bad Guys - A very useful litmus test for determining how cliché your villian is.
  

 

In-Depth Writing Help

 

~Detail~

• BYU Writing Center: Writing with Detail - Has information from how to make better titles to how to improve the description in your writing.
  
• Authorlink: Build Strong Writing With Concrete Detail - A great editorial on the importance of knowing where to add detail and where to omit it.
  
• Judy Reeves: Truth is in the Details - Another great article on the how detail can improve writing.
  

~Paragraphs and Dialogue~

• The Owl At Purdue: Paragraphs - Explains what a paragraph is, how long they should be, and when to make new ones.
  
• Writing Dialogue - Goes into the basic grammar rules related to dialogue as well as the paragraphing rules associated with dialogue.
  
• Suite101: Dialogue And Punctuation - An online lesson in dialogue, paragraphing, and punctuation.
  

 

Online Tools

• Spellchecker.net - An online spellchecker. Also checks grammar and can be used as a thesaurus.
  
• Dictionary.com- The online dictionary. Great place to go if you don't know/remember the meaning of a word.
  
• Thesaurus.com- Online thesaurus. Great tool if you need to find a synonym/antonym of a word.
  
• Orangoo: Spellchecker- Another online spellchecker. Can also spellcheck entire websites.
  
• jSpell- Yet another online spellchecker.
  

 

A list of resources a friend and I compiled. Hopefully, it'll be useful to any budding young RPers out there. A section I'd advise everyone especially to look at is the Mary Sue litmus section - taking at least one of those tests before submitting a character would be something amazing to see.

[bury the year]

Updated, please read.

[bury the year]

Updating rules. You are no longer required to give direct links back to original art that isn't yours: however, you are still expected to not claim credit if you didn't make it, and that you don't take artwork that people have specifically stated is not yours. More formal note will be edited into the first post tomorrow - I'm too tired now.