The Exodus - Rules, Guidelines, and Regulations
Here at The Exodus, we strive to maintain a standard of literacy, creativity, and organization, among other things. That being the case, a number of rules are required to keep things orderly and non-confusing (or should I say, "simple and clean"?).
General:
The Exodus maintains a standard of "literate"/"advanced literate". Because we are going for a large, diverse experience, it is understood that skill levels and styles may vary from one roleplayer to the next. However, there are certain standards that must be adhered to for consistency's sake. Literacy is one of them.
Romance, mild swearing, mild violence, etc. is acceptable...so long as does not violates Gaia's TOS. You know the deal.
The Exodus takes place during the time of the first Kingdom Hearts game, which means that events going on and the worlds available in the roleplay have to make sense according to the first Kingdom Hearts time line.
Members will not be allowed into the guild until they have had a character accepted (unless for a unique reason). However, you may submit characters as many times as you like and we will do our best to assist you in making your character fit our requirements.
Imagine that you have to come up with characters and a storyline for a spin-off Kingdom Hearts game similar to Birth Before Sleep. This means that things should make sense and be consistent within the Kingdom Hearts universe.
When in doubt, consult wikia: Kingdom Hearts Wiki
Prolonged and unexplained inactivity will result in being removed from the guild. If you need to be away for a while, simply let us know in the "Absence Notification" thread.
Characters:
All players' characters must be original. The central idea behind this guild is that it is made up of original characters and subsequently, original story lines. DO NOT submit a character template for a canon character. It will be rejected.
Very minimal interaction with SECONDARY canon characters is allowed. This means no Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, etc. They will not--I repeat, will not--be making any appearances in this RP. The characters who may make appearances are those that are primarily world-bound...characters like Cid, Yuffie, Pence, Ollette, Mulan, and so on. Players may use these characters in a conservative fashion, only for the advancement of what is happening for the original characters. Here is an example:
"Tobuoi heard the door to the Accessory Shop below her open, followed by a harsh, angry voice. "How many times do I gotta tell you not to hang out on my roof?!" yelled Cid.
"I ain't doing no harm," Tobuoi retorted before begrudgingly scooting herself off the edge, landing on the cobblestone ground with a thud. "I'll see you tomorrow," she added before walking off towards the Second District."
These sort of characters are open for anyone to control. That being the case, try and make sure that you're not having them do anything contradictory to what someone else has posted.
You may play more than one character. HOWEVER, each additional character that you submit will be judged increasingly more critically. This is to encourage players to give their characters the appropriate amount of dedication.
Do not use Simple and Clean/Hikari or Sanctuary/Passion as your character's theme song. Please.
Characters' appearances may consist of a description, an image, or both. The character/person featured in the image must be original and not super recognizable. Images like this are acceptable. Images such as this are not acceptable. Aside from that, there are no requirements pertaining to style of art or anything like that. deviantART is a good place to find images, just make sure that you are not violating the artists' wishes in using their work.
Only original, Kingdom Hearts, or Disney worlds are allowed as characters' "homeworlds". This means that characters cannot come from Hogwarts, and original worlds must maintain a plausible Kingdom Hearts quality to them. This means that your character better not come from New York (don't mean no hate, New Yorkers). Original worlds will not be added to the list of worlds/sub-forums and will not be visited (other than in flashbacks/visions, etc.). Sorry. But again, this is for consistency's sake.
Characters may be rejected for a number of reasons...The first being that they do not meet the "literate/advanced literate" requirements or are lacking overall quality. Characters that do not seem plausible will also be rejected. Other than that, characters may be rejected simply because too many of that type of character have already been accepted. Keybladers, Heartless, and Nobodies will probably be subjected to this the most.
Keybladers, Heartless, and Nobodies will be held to higher standards than "heroes" or "villains". This means that these sort of characters must have fitting backgrounds, attitudes, and actions, in addition to their players' literacy abilities.
Worlds:
Each world is given its own sub-forum. Any activity that goes on on that world must take place in a thread within that sub-forum.
Roleplayers may not play their character in a world that has not been added to the list of sub-forums. Sorry, but things have to be organized some way. Don't worry, though, we're constantly adding Kingdom Hearts/Disney worlds for players to RP in. Flashbacks/visions of worlds not added to the list (including original, player-created worlds) are allowed, but no actual "present-time" roleplaying.
Any important story line events that occur on a given world will be noted and summarized by that world's moderator(s). However, if you feel that something significant has happened and you want to make sure that it is posted as such an event, it is best to inform the moderator of that world yourself.
Keep up with world "Events". Doing so will help everyone avoid confusion, contradictions, inconsistencies, etc. Failure to comply with this policy will result in a moderator asking you to change your post(s) accordingly and, if it becomes an issue, may result in you being kicked out of the guild.
Posts:
In-character posting should be in third-person. Most people post in third-person anyway, but in general, it's just easier to read and more fluid from one post to the next.
Modest post decorating is allowed. Quotes and images are all fine, just make sure that's not the majority of your post.
Brief OOC comments are allowed in RP threads. If you need to clarify or mention something out of character within an in-character post, that's fine, just no extensive conversations. There's plenty of room elsewhere in the forums for that sort of thing.
There is no set post length requirement at this time. Posts should probably be at least two-three fleshed-out paragraphs, but most importantly, they should be rich in content that moves the story forward.
Threads:
Any user may post an IC thread. That being said, posters should be mindful not to make excess threads. If you don't see yourself sticking around for more than a few posts, you probably shouldn't start a new thread. Instead, go look for a thread that someone else has already started and roleplay there.
Threads must have at least two active players/characters participating in them to not be deleted. After a month or so of being inactive, any important events that occur in that thread will be added to the world's "Events" and the thread will be deleted. If you plan on letting a thread die, it would be greatly appreciated if you let one of the mods know so that we can make this process speedier.
More rules will be added to the list and changes will be made as needed. Keep your eyes peeled for specific rules in different subforums/threads left unmentioned here. Remember, if you have a question, ask a moderator before doing something you may come to regret. Thanks for reading.
