I think most of you have figured out most of these rules by now, but they are worth looking over, at least once, just to be sure. I have made important additions.
1. Post Frequency: Do it often. If your turn to post rolls around and we are waiting for a full week, we will forgive it once. If it happens again, without specific, advance notice, do not expect that you will necessarily have a place in this RP, unless there are severe extenuating circumstances. Hopefully, we won't have to deal with that.
2. Post length: Don't write a novel and don't do a one line post. Posts should be more than three sentences and shorter than Matasoga's back-story. If you can't do that, then I'm afraid we don't want you. If you're editing something into a conversation (see below) this rule won't be enforced; sometimes, in this situation, there's just not that much to say.
3. Post Format and Placement: If you are going to have a talk between just two characters that concerns everyone in some way but doesn't directly involve them (in other words, story-leading information is revealed, you're taking up a small amount of time, or other people in the game can hear it) then please edit the other person's post. Edit your response in after a line-break. You can make your part a different color and this is suggested. If It's just between two people, no one else can hear, it has the potential for an extended duration, and it's only important for character interaction or development, please take it to side-conversations. Other players don't necessarily want to scroll through pages of just two people talking. If you're in doubt, feel free to ask me.
This rule arose because having a high post count means something to some guild members and I don't want RPers to guarantee a spot among the top of the list.
4. Conduct and Etiquette: Observe common sense RP rules, such as no god-moding, Mary-Sue-ing, and the like. Have fun with it, but see to it that you don't prevent others from doing the same and don't be obnoxious about it.
That said, I advise against attempting to kill other characters. Try to see a way around it within your character. If you absolutely cannot, however, then there are not hard and fast rules against killing other characters. You don't need their permission, which is why there are rules for combat. Once again, however, I hope that it doesn't come to that.
5. Wealth: Wealth distribution is a little different than usual. This is mostly a text-based game. I don't want anyone getting really worked up over the value of triffles. It's a needless distraction from the type of role=plating that I really want to have happen, here. If you stayed at the inn or ate a meal, don't worry about it. You will have a set value of the items that you should have at each level. At each level, you're allowed to reevaluate what you have and swap out old equipment for new equipment. Don't worry about buying and selling. As long as you can obtain it in the city that you're in, it's yours. You had enough for it and usually I'll help you decide where it came from.
This rule can be abused, I know. If you are often devoting large, large sums of gold towards expendable items, then it is a problem. If you are using over 1000 per level on things that are used up before your next level, then I will have to consider whether or not this impacts your wealth. Most likely, it will. Otherwise, if you buy a potion or two every so often, normal arrows or the like, this doesn't matter.
6. Magic Weapons and Armor: Anyone that plays D & D with proper observation of the rules can tell you this... Enchanting weapons and armor is a pain in the a**. It takes weeks at a time, sometimes and it really is just a huge, ungodly pain in the a**. Or you could always hock all of your things and buy new ones, which is troublesome if your character is emotionally attached to an object. We aren't going through that here.
If you have a Cloak of Charisma (+2) or a +1 dagger that you've given a name too, you don't have to go to the shops. Just subtract the difference in wealth from your sheet (as though you had bought it) and change it's stats. If you want story justification for the hows and whys just say that it grew with you to have the powers of a magic weapon.
This is an option, not an obligation. If you want to gradually change to give you a more epic look as you grow in power, or you want your character to have the shopping experience for plot or conversational purposes, that's fine too.
7. Levels and Experience: I don't give out experience, I give out levels. As I said before, this is a text-based game that uses mostly D & D rules. If I make us all go through the ordeal that is a battle with Gaia dice-rollers, then it'll have a story-based purpose. If you aren't satisfied and believe that you're gaining power far too quickly then you're welcome to talk to me about it and we can figure out what other encounters we had in the woods, plains, or wherever we were in transit between towns, so long as they are reasonable in challenge and nothing terribly important or threatening happened in battle. In any case, we won't be playing them out.
8. Injury, Death, and Resurrection: First, as in Matt's game, injury effects you. If you have your arm broken or severely injured, and you're using a two handed weapon, this will affect you, even if it wouldn't in D & D. Similarly, a bard can play a violin and attack with a longsword at the same time in D & D. Here that won't happen unless you can explain how it's happening to me and I think that it's something your character should be doing.
Death can happen. I will try to avoid it but it may not make sense for a character to survive and if I have to compromise the integrity of the whole plot or save your character then I'm afraid the choice is made.
If it's your first encounter in the game, you die by only a few points, and you're seen to, immediately afterwards, I will fudge the numbers so that you live. Incidentally, I already have. Even if it's not your first encounter, if you're dead by on, two, or even less than five hit points, I think we can work something out You will be comatose for days, but you may yet survive. You will certainly bear a scar for the rest of your life. If you don't like it, then I'm afraid you'll have to go and get a regenerate spell cast on yourself.
As for resurrection, I haven't figured out all of the details, just yet. The level 5 cleric spell revivify is acceptable. In that instance, you simply never completely died, but it was a very near-death experience. For everything else, I will have to make my decision when the time comes, but this isn't a pay-the-man-come-back-to-life situation. If there is a single revivification, expect it to be at the end of a nigh-epic quest unto itself.
If your character is definitely dead, your remains are mostly intact, you were well-liked by the party, well needed in battle, and not nearly ready to part with your character, see me and we'll talk about it.
9. Good, Evil, and You. Good and evil in this campaign are different than they are in D & D. They're back to being abstract concepts, where they belong. This means that among mortals, good and evil are no longer clearly defined forces that define the universe. In essence, you can erase the good and evil axis from your character sheet. Only pure-blooded fiends are constant exceptions to this rule. Only then will a paladin's ability to sense evil work. The same is true with all other spells. Only outsiders will be affected by holy/unholy weapons. In essence, holy is no different from Evil Outsider Bane. "Good" is overcome by either enchantment and the blows struck by good outsiders. The amount of damage reduced will usually be significantly lowered. Law and Chaos are more clearly defined and fewer gray areas exist. These remain the same in those regards.
10. Gods and Holiness. The gods tend to be much more silent. Questions magically asked of them directly are answered by powerful outsiders or nameless forces. If the gods do exist at all, it is not in a form that mortals can interact with in any meaningful way. Clerics are granted power by their faith rather than the deities themselves. Some rare sects acknowledge that the gods may or may not exist but believe in the ideals that they represent and are granted spells that way. Others believe that they are thought forms that exist only in a manner that the dead and angels, demons, and other outsiders can perceive. Many conflicting stories exist among these beings, and these have been the subject of innumerable philosophical works.
The idea that gods do not exist are exceedingly uncommon among those who have not received a secular education. Those that do receive an education almost invariably receive it at the charity of a church.
Clerics turn undead by focusing their beliefs into their holy symbol. Vampires recoil from holy objects held by non-clerics only if they were theistic in life. Otherwise, they have no effect, though turning works normally, as does rebuking.
Clerics and other theistic divine spell casters are somewhat limited and may require an alignment for spell-casting purposes.
1. Post Frequency: Do it often. If your turn to post rolls around and we are waiting for a full week, we will forgive it once. If it happens again, without specific, advance notice, do not expect that you will necessarily have a place in this RP, unless there are severe extenuating circumstances. Hopefully, we won't have to deal with that.
2. Post length: Don't write a novel and don't do a one line post. Posts should be more than three sentences and shorter than Matasoga's back-story. If you can't do that, then I'm afraid we don't want you. If you're editing something into a conversation (see below) this rule won't be enforced; sometimes, in this situation, there's just not that much to say.
3. Post Format and Placement: If you are going to have a talk between just two characters that concerns everyone in some way but doesn't directly involve them (in other words, story-leading information is revealed, you're taking up a small amount of time, or other people in the game can hear it) then please edit the other person's post. Edit your response in after a line-break. You can make your part a different color and this is suggested. If It's just between two people, no one else can hear, it has the potential for an extended duration, and it's only important for character interaction or development, please take it to side-conversations. Other players don't necessarily want to scroll through pages of just two people talking. If you're in doubt, feel free to ask me.
This rule arose because having a high post count means something to some guild members and I don't want RPers to guarantee a spot among the top of the list.
4. Conduct and Etiquette: Observe common sense RP rules, such as no god-moding, Mary-Sue-ing, and the like. Have fun with it, but see to it that you don't prevent others from doing the same and don't be obnoxious about it.
That said, I advise against attempting to kill other characters. Try to see a way around it within your character. If you absolutely cannot, however, then there are not hard and fast rules against killing other characters. You don't need their permission, which is why there are rules for combat. Once again, however, I hope that it doesn't come to that.
5. Wealth: Wealth distribution is a little different than usual. This is mostly a text-based game. I don't want anyone getting really worked up over the value of triffles. It's a needless distraction from the type of role=plating that I really want to have happen, here. If you stayed at the inn or ate a meal, don't worry about it. You will have a set value of the items that you should have at each level. At each level, you're allowed to reevaluate what you have and swap out old equipment for new equipment. Don't worry about buying and selling. As long as you can obtain it in the city that you're in, it's yours. You had enough for it and usually I'll help you decide where it came from.
This rule can be abused, I know. If you are often devoting large, large sums of gold towards expendable items, then it is a problem. If you are using over 1000 per level on things that are used up before your next level, then I will have to consider whether or not this impacts your wealth. Most likely, it will. Otherwise, if you buy a potion or two every so often, normal arrows or the like, this doesn't matter.
6. Magic Weapons and Armor: Anyone that plays D & D with proper observation of the rules can tell you this... Enchanting weapons and armor is a pain in the a**. It takes weeks at a time, sometimes and it really is just a huge, ungodly pain in the a**. Or you could always hock all of your things and buy new ones, which is troublesome if your character is emotionally attached to an object. We aren't going through that here.
If you have a Cloak of Charisma (+2) or a +1 dagger that you've given a name too, you don't have to go to the shops. Just subtract the difference in wealth from your sheet (as though you had bought it) and change it's stats. If you want story justification for the hows and whys just say that it grew with you to have the powers of a magic weapon.
This is an option, not an obligation. If you want to gradually change to give you a more epic look as you grow in power, or you want your character to have the shopping experience for plot or conversational purposes, that's fine too.
7. Levels and Experience: I don't give out experience, I give out levels. As I said before, this is a text-based game that uses mostly D & D rules. If I make us all go through the ordeal that is a battle with Gaia dice-rollers, then it'll have a story-based purpose. If you aren't satisfied and believe that you're gaining power far too quickly then you're welcome to talk to me about it and we can figure out what other encounters we had in the woods, plains, or wherever we were in transit between towns, so long as they are reasonable in challenge and nothing terribly important or threatening happened in battle. In any case, we won't be playing them out.
8. Injury, Death, and Resurrection: First, as in Matt's game, injury effects you. If you have your arm broken or severely injured, and you're using a two handed weapon, this will affect you, even if it wouldn't in D & D. Similarly, a bard can play a violin and attack with a longsword at the same time in D & D. Here that won't happen unless you can explain how it's happening to me and I think that it's something your character should be doing.
Death can happen. I will try to avoid it but it may not make sense for a character to survive and if I have to compromise the integrity of the whole plot or save your character then I'm afraid the choice is made.
If it's your first encounter in the game, you die by only a few points, and you're seen to, immediately afterwards, I will fudge the numbers so that you live. Incidentally, I already have. Even if it's not your first encounter, if you're dead by on, two, or even less than five hit points, I think we can work something out You will be comatose for days, but you may yet survive. You will certainly bear a scar for the rest of your life. If you don't like it, then I'm afraid you'll have to go and get a regenerate spell cast on yourself.
As for resurrection, I haven't figured out all of the details, just yet. The level 5 cleric spell revivify is acceptable. In that instance, you simply never completely died, but it was a very near-death experience. For everything else, I will have to make my decision when the time comes, but this isn't a pay-the-man-come-back-to-life situation. If there is a single revivification, expect it to be at the end of a nigh-epic quest unto itself.
If your character is definitely dead, your remains are mostly intact, you were well-liked by the party, well needed in battle, and not nearly ready to part with your character, see me and we'll talk about it.
9. Good, Evil, and You. Good and evil in this campaign are different than they are in D & D. They're back to being abstract concepts, where they belong. This means that among mortals, good and evil are no longer clearly defined forces that define the universe. In essence, you can erase the good and evil axis from your character sheet. Only pure-blooded fiends are constant exceptions to this rule. Only then will a paladin's ability to sense evil work. The same is true with all other spells. Only outsiders will be affected by holy/unholy weapons. In essence, holy is no different from Evil Outsider Bane. "Good" is overcome by either enchantment and the blows struck by good outsiders. The amount of damage reduced will usually be significantly lowered. Law and Chaos are more clearly defined and fewer gray areas exist. These remain the same in those regards.
10. Gods and Holiness. The gods tend to be much more silent. Questions magically asked of them directly are answered by powerful outsiders or nameless forces. If the gods do exist at all, it is not in a form that mortals can interact with in any meaningful way. Clerics are granted power by their faith rather than the deities themselves. Some rare sects acknowledge that the gods may or may not exist but believe in the ideals that they represent and are granted spells that way. Others believe that they are thought forms that exist only in a manner that the dead and angels, demons, and other outsiders can perceive. Many conflicting stories exist among these beings, and these have been the subject of innumerable philosophical works.
The idea that gods do not exist are exceedingly uncommon among those who have not received a secular education. Those that do receive an education almost invariably receive it at the charity of a church.
Clerics turn undead by focusing their beliefs into their holy symbol. Vampires recoil from holy objects held by non-clerics only if they were theistic in life. Otherwise, they have no effect, though turning works normally, as does rebuking.
Clerics and other theistic divine spell casters are somewhat limited and may require an alignment for spell-casting purposes.
