General Roleplaying Rules and Guidelines

The purpose of these RP guidelines is to minimise moderator "interference" in RPs and also to minimise the workload that any ongoing RP places on the moderator. Emphasis is placed on making the RPs as self-moderating as possible, and the responsibilities and privileges of managing a thread lie with the member who starts it and any assistants that he or she chooses to appoint. Needless to say, abuse of thread start privileges will not be tolerated.

For the most part, the moderator will only take action to correct threads that stray from the forum rules or to intervene at the request of thread starters who find themselves dealing with problematic players. It's in the interests of both thread starters and regular players to avoid this: you're helping yourselves by sticking to the rules and minimising the need for moderator intervention or presence in an RP. Follow the rules and self-moderate responsibly, and you may not even know we're here.

Thread Conduct Guidelines

• No one-word/one-sentence replies: If you're going to post, then make sure your post has some substance to it. A post which doesn't contribute anything to the RP is just a waste of forum resources. This isn't to say that small talk and down time can't be played out (heck, a lot of the funniest moments and best character development takes place in down time) but don't waste two pages on inane things.
  
• Play by the rules: In all cases, the thread starter assumes the responsibility and privileges of managing the thread. Whatever rules the thread starter creates for the RP, follow them. If the thread starter raises concerns about the way you've been acting, IC or OOC, take heed.
  
• Do not revive RPs after two months of inactivity: it's probably a safe bet that if nobody has posted in around eight weeks, people have lost interest, and dredging the thread up from the depths of the forum is unlikely to be enough to rekindle that interest. Thread starters can ask that their RPs be temporarily suspended if they're unable to manage them for a short period of time: for example, it may be easier on all involved if an RP is suspended during exam time and brought back online once exams are out of the way. If the thread starter has suspended the RP, don't revive it until the thread starter indicates they're ready to resume their role and the RP is ready to continue.
  
• Don't start someone else's RP without their permission: It's just common courtesy to let the person who created the RP start it in the way they see fit. So please, don't jump into an RP that isn't yours and hasn't begun yet and initiate the roleplay, unless you have explicit permission from the thread starter.
  
• Above all, don't let your pride or your ego get in the way of the enjoyment of the game: by yourself, or by other players.
  

Common Rp Rules

No God Modding- Playing your character as though he or she can never die, never get hurt, manages to save or destroy something every time, has all knowledge, etc. You must realize that you are in a role play, not creating your own short story. Thus, each member of the role play must be allowed to be the hero/heroine, or villain/villainess at times as well

No Power Playing (Auto-Hitting)- An auto-hit is where when two or more characters are fighting, the attacking character doesn't give the other character a chance to block, or strike back. More specifically, I could state: || Athaele swung low while Drualt was distracted and cut off his legs.|| Unless Drault is your character, you cannot state the fate of the other character, (cutting off his legs). If the blow is deserved, and if the other role player is literate, they will recognize your swing and take injury, but the extent of the injury is up to them. (I hope this isn't confusing.)

No Mary Sues/Gary Stus- A character that is perfect in every way with no faults, weaknesses, or downsides of any kind. Everyone has faults/weaknesses/personality flaws, etc, find your character's.



Problem Resolution

• The ideal would be for this forum to be totally self-moderating. The focus for thread starters and players alike should be on resolving any problems within the thread itself, but in cases where the issue can't be resolved in this manner, the thread starter should PM the forum moderator with their concerns about specific players or particular issues. The moderator should not be contacted unless steps have been taken to resolve the problem within the thread first.
  
• Once the moderator has been contacted via PM, the situation will be reviewed and a formal warning will be issued to any player or players whom the moderator feels are failing to adhere to the rules of the forum and the RP or otherwise causing strife. Players who still refuse to shape up even after warnings from the thread starter and the forum moderator will have their posting privileges in the RP forum revoked.
  

Proper RP Setup
If you decide to create your own roleplaying game make sure that your opening posts have these:

• Story: Your game needs some kind of plot or backstory. The more detailed, the better.
  
• Rules: In any game, players should have proper manners and play fairly, but it is advisable to have your own set of rules for what you expect from your players.
  
• Characters Sheet: Most players can create their own, but having a premade character sheet for the characters in your game will help players understand what kind of information you want to know about the characters.
  

Private Roleplaying Games and Roleplaying Cliques

• If you decide you want to start a private rp with your friends, make sure that only a few are active. Too many private games being posted will clutter the board, and it can be unfair for new players who want to join a game.
  
• Try to avoid creating a Roleplaying clique of only a few people. It's better to play with a variety of different members. The same five people hogging nearly every new game posted can get annoying.
  

Credits: These rules were lovingly ripped off from ASN (forums.avatarspirit.net)