In order to help this guild run as smoothly as possible, we have created this guide to how things work here, and what you will need to do. Yes, this style of roleplaying may seem a little strange, but it can also be a lot of fun! As long as we all work together, follow procedure, and keep a positive, respectful attitude towards each other, I know things will go great! So please, read through every post in this thread carefully, as it will give you the instruction you need to be successful here. Thank you so much!
While you don't get to know a lot of what goes on behind the scenes, here is a simple explanation of the roleplay and how it works. Basically, the purpose is for you to know as little as your character does. While this obviously is not completely possible, as you'll always be able to read other people's posts, not making profiles visible adds a unique and fun twist to roleplaying, as well as the fact that the majority of information about what the roleplay is will be kept a secret, and revealed bits at a time as your characters discover it.
Another element of secrecy is included, as the crew may occasionally give certain pieces of information to individual characters in a private setting, such as a PM. This will occur depending on each character's actions, not on any sort of preferential basis. For example, we will not choose to give the information to those we may be closer to. Rather, if a character speaks to the right person, goes to the right place, finds the right item, etc, we may choose to keep their discoveries private, to be disclosed at their character's discretion, rather than making it public knowledge. This will help keep the nature of the roleplay a secret for longer, as well as increase drama and intrigue in regards to the mystery.
When something happens on a global scale, meaning that it affects all of the characters, it will be declared in an announcement. So please, please, pay attention to the announcements! They will include information that could be vital to your character's success - or even life. While giving any kind of example as to the nature of these announcements would reveal too much about the plot before even beginning, rest assured that they will generally be important.
A good portion of the fun of this particular roleplay is that your character can explore. While they can explore in pretty much any roleplay, in this one you will be exploring at the same time! At the beginning of the roleplay, no areas will be revealed, except for the one in which all characters start. As characters leave that area and explore new ones, those places will be revealed as well. Once an area has been revealed publicly, it can be assumed that all characters, new or otherwise, can hear about it quickly through word of mouth. The exception to this is when an area is declared "Private." It will be obvious which these are, as they will include the word "private" in their title. These areas are known only to the characters who have been there, and to others whom those characters have explicitly told. Knowledge of these places cannot be assumed, it must be actually shown in the roleplay. When an area is first discovered, it will be private until at least one character from the party has returned, or word has gotten back somehow. Most areas will be like this. However, some special locations will remain private for a while, and will be much more difficult to find. These locations will only become public once those characters have specifically made the knowledge public.
In order to open up a new area, there will be tasks that you must perform. For the most part, it will be a certain number of posts in the previous area, so that new areas don't get opened up too quickly. Other areas may have tasks that are more difficult. Areas directly around the center, where characters enter the roleplay, will generally be very easy to reach. Once an area has been opened, it will take much less effort to reach it. For example, an area that took 20 posts to open might only take 5 or so to traverse.
Whenever your character ventures into a new area, you can post here to request a new thread be made. If a crew member has not posted the new thread after three full days, you may PM the captain, riskinginsanity, to bring her attention to it. It is very possible that the request was accidentally overlooked or forgotten about amidst a myriad of other duties. Please be patient! This guild is very crew-intensive, and it requires a lot of work on our part. Anyone who is rude to us will likely get ignored. Once the thread has been posted in one of the Explored forums, characters are free to post there at will.
While for the most part, your characters will be similar to those of other rps, there are several specific things that you will have to do differently here. Any character that does not follow these guidelines will not be accepted:
- No characters will begin with any kind of magical abilities. They all know, without a doubt, that they are human. I'm sorry! But this is necessary. (don't worry, it will be worth it)
- The last memory each character have will be of something totally and completely normal. Something that would have happened in their life, and was a regular thing. Maybe they were at school, or a doctor's appointment. Maybe they were at dinner with their family. If abuse was normal in their lives, then maybe that's the last memory that they have. They will remember their whole lives, up until that last, regular memory, and then nothing else until they wake up here.
- All characters will be between the ages of 14 and 21. This may seem strange, but as you've probably guessed, it's for the plot.
- Each character must be original, from your own mind. No exceptions!
Apart from that, their background is totally up to you. These people can come from anywhere in the world, and from all different walks of life. Maybe they've gone to a few years of college, or maybe they come from somewhere with no education at all. All of that is up to you! You are not required to have any sort of survival skills, although if that is the kind of person your character is, you may. Please keep in mind that these are generally ordinary people, suddenly pulled out of whatever life they were living. There is no requirement that they be set apart in any way from the people you could run into anywhere.
Note: There will be secrets regarding your character that even you do not know. Once your character has been accepted, we will slowly let you in on what these are, but it will require active participation!
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You can find more information on character creation and use in the Character Records forum.
The following is a summarization of the rules. A more detailed list with explanation can be found in the spoiler below. This should cover the basics, whereas that describes each rule in more depth, should anyone like clarification. Thanks!
1. This guild is semi-lit to lit. 2. Cussing is allowed, but not in excess. 3. This is not a romance-based guild, but romance is allowed. However... 4. No cybering. You will be banned. 5. Membership is limited to 30 people. 6. One character is allowed per person, at the start. You can request a second. 7. RESPECT. 'Nuff said. 8. Listen to the Captain and Crew. If you want to discuss something, don't be rude. 9. While you really shouldn't be killing each other... do it only with permission. 10. No godmodding, auto-knowing, etc. When you fight, you will get hurt. 11. OOC in the rp must be clearly noted as OOC 12. Quote the people you're with, and pay attention to the posts around yours. 13. You are required to be able to receive PMs. 14. Each roleplay post must have at least the character's name and picture. 15. Have fun! ^^
1. Literacy is required. However, we won't be too strict. We understand that because a lot of your character's information is not already revealed, you may want to keep much of their internal dialogue and struggles private, revealing instead only their actions, words, and other aspects that are public knowledge. This cuts down on a good majority of text that would ordinarily be written out, meaning that it is possible that those who normally would write four paragraphs may be down to two, and those who would write two would be down to one. However, one substantial paragraph will always be required. 2. Cussing is allowed, but not in excess. Please remember that there are those who do not appreciate colorful language as much as others. 3. This is not a romance-based roleplay, but romance is allowed, and encouraged. It adds some fun to the game, and different dynamic. Nothing wrong with a little bit of love! However... 4. There will be absolutely NO cybering of any kind. I will not encourage you to "take it to PMs," I will tell you to stop, and I will immediately ban you, with no possibility of returning. If you think you're getting close, it's probably safer just to time skip. If I feel you might be going a bit too far, I will privately let you know, but there won't be any punishment unless it persists. 5. Due to the intensive amounts of work required by the crew to keep such a secrets-based guild going, we will be limited membership to 30 people. Because of this, if you are inactive for an extended period of time, you and your characters will be removed. You will receive warning first. When we reach 30 people, we will have a waitlist for those who are interested in joining, and they will be invited once a member chooses to leave or is removed for inactivity or other reasons. 6. Only one character is allowed per person. Mainly for the reason stated above - we simply cannot keep up with too many characters. Also, when you have more than one character, you are let in on double the amount of secrets. Still, we understand that one character is highly restricting. If you are an active, participating member, you can request a second character. Don't stress - we won't be stingy with this! We just want to make sure that you'll be active before letting you have another, as each new character will be included into the plot, and it makes things extremely difficult if that character just disappears for no reason. 7. RESPECT. Respect respect respect respect respect. I can't say it enough times. Respect the crew. Respect each other. Remember, a person is not their character. Even if their character is rude to yours, it doesn't give you a right to be rude to them OOC. This is roleplaying, it's not real. So please, for the love of all that is holy, be kind to each other out of character. 8. The Captain's word is law. Yes, I might forget to include something in the rules. Or you might try to bend them. If there is a problem, I will let you know, in the most respectful way possible. But do not, I repeat, do not, argue with me. You can politely discuss your concerns, but the minute you start to be rude to me, we will have an issue. And I will not hesitate to rid this guild of troublemakers. In addition, respect the crew. What they say goes as well, but if you feel that they may have accidentally overlooked something, you are free to bring it up with me. Until it is overruled, however, their word is law also. 9. You cannot kill another person's character without their permission. First of all, you really shouldn't be killing each other, but if it does happen for whatever reason, post somewhere that you've discussed it. 10. NO GODMODDING. If you're in a fight, your character will get hurt. You can't know things you shouldn't, you can't read minds. Just because someone thinks something doesn't mean that you can "read" it or whatever. (On that note, if your character's emotions would be playing on their face, please state that it would be visible on their face. On the other hand, if your character is a stoneface, mention that in-post as well, so that we know not to let our characters glean any information that way) 11. OOC talk that occurs in a roleplay forum must be clearly noted as OOC 12. Quote the people you are roleplaying with. In addition, at least skim the posts of people in the same area as you, so that you know what's going on. If a person down the street is screaming at the top of their lungs, your character would almost definitely notice that. 13. You are required to be able to receive PMs in order to be in the guild. That is how we will be relaying any secret information your character has. 14. In every roleplaying post, you are required to include at the very least, your character's name and picture. You are also not allowed to use light colors for your text, such as yellow. We need to be able to read it! 15. Have fun! Be creative! This is supposed to be fun. Rules sound all mean and strict, but that's just to make sure that nothing horrible happens. I really want you to have fun. If you have any questions, please PM me!
