Panem Guidebook

[a porg]

New member? Been with us a while? Confused? Unsure of what to do?
No matter the reason for you clicking this guide, we're glad that you're here. The contents of this thread will hopefully serve as a complete guide to everything you need to know about being a member of our guild.

 

[a porg]

Expectations
Contrary to popular belief, rules and expectations are two different things. They are both, however, important to follow.

Respect
Hey, guess what? The world does not revolve around you. There are, in fact other people in this guild, and people have feelings, and feelings can get hurt if you aren't careful. So, even if someone is being a complete idiot and/or jerk, please treat them with respect. We will not tolerate ridicule or insults, and especially not talking about others behind their backs. We do acknowledge that there is a fine line between pointing out a fault and being rude. Don't cross the line, and we won't have to deal out any consequences.

Activity
"B-but, I can't post! I gotta go to school and do my homework and my chores and go here and do this!"

Okay, cool. So does everybody else. We totally understand that you have a life outside of the Internet and we don't expect you to drop it for us. If you can't post at least once every two weeks, then please post in the Absences thread.

Occasionally, we will do Roll Calls. These are to make sure that you are indeed still around. When this happens, please post in the thread stating your username and all of the characters that you have. Failure to do so by the end of Roll Call will result in not only the deletion of your characters, but also in the deletion of yourself.

You will also be removed if you have not posted for three months without reason. If you come back and want another chance, get in contact with a Crew Member and explain what happened.

Abide by the Rules
There are two sets of rules you really need to be concerned about here. There's our guild rules, and then there's Gaia's ToS. It's important that you follow both. Breaking of the guild rules, will result in a warning, whereas breaking of Gaia ToS will result in banning.

Literacy
No, you don't have to write a novel. What you do have to be able to do is follow the basic rules of grammar. Things like knowing the difference between "to" and "too". We know that you don't know how to spell every word ever created, but we do know for a fact that you are on the Internet. If you use a browser that doesn't have Spell-Check built in, you can always check out Dictionary.Com.

Also, one line posts will not be tolerated in roleplaying subforums. We want some substance. We would like to see at least two meaty paragraphs. What do I mean by a meaty paragraph? I mean a paragraph with at least five sentences. Occasionally, you can get away with less if you're stuck, but being constantly stuck isn't cool and you shouldn't do it, cause you're probably lying. Nobody is stuck all the time.

As far as perspective goes, first person is not cool, and you will make yourself look like the biggest fool ever if you use it. So personal pronouns (I, me, you) should not be used outside of dialogue. And I really don't think you'll enjoy writing in second person, so you're going to want to use third person. That means "he, she, they," outside of dialogue. You should also write in the past tense.

Here are some examples of what we mean:

Lean Post

Dakote was tired. It had been days since he got any sleep. Certainly nobody would mind if he fell asleep right now.

Meaty Post

Truth be told, Dakote was exhausted. He had no idea how many nights had passed since he last spent time dreaming of a simpler time. A time where the Games didn't exist. Now that they had kept him up, constantly worrying that someone was coming to kill him, the young man wished even more so that the world he imagined actually existed. Leaning against a tree, he felt his eyes slowly starting to close. Certainly he could rest for a moment.

Boom! went the cannon, jolting Dakote back awake. Did they have any idea how difficult it was to sleep with the cannons announcing death? There were twenty-four of them, and only one could live. That meant twenty-three blasts, twenty-three inconveniences. Oh, how he was regretting not forming an alliance. At least then, he could sleep without worrying about the cannon being an attack. He was certain that he wasn't going to make it much longer. Soon enough, his body would start to fail. He would be incapable of living, let alone running. Yes, Dakote was certain that he would never see his District alive again.

Bad Example1

I stayed silent as the man spoke to me.

Bad Example2

Runyon runs to the Cornucopia and grabs a sword.

 

[a porg]

Let's Get Started
So you have no idea what to do. Well, here we have a step-by-step list of what to do.

Step One: Read the Entire Guide. Entirely.
No. There won't be a quiz, but you'll look really stupid if you mess up cause you didn't read it. So seriously, read the whole guide. It took a long time to make, so you can spend some time reading it. By the way, the secret phrase, it's Prim's Goat.

Step Two: Read the Other Guides
While I wanted this to be complete, I didn't want this to be the fourth book in the series. So, there are other guides available here to make your life easier.

Step Three: Read On!
More reading? Yes. Now shut up. This thread has important information on creating your own character.

Step Four: Create a Character
You can't roleplay without a character, and character's can't exist without a profile. Once you post it, a crew member will come around and accept you, or give you tips on how to improve your profile. If you've been accepted, you can start roleplaying.