Post by Moderators on Jan 28, 2011 2:45:24 GMT -5
Character and Roleplay Rules
Rating and Content.
+ First things first and I think the most important thing to lay down here is what we expect content wise. This is a site set up by experienced RPers and I'm afraid we have become accustomed to a certain standard of posting. All RP posts must be detailed and well thought out. RPing is much like telling a story, but better. You have the opportunity here to make your fellow RPers feel exactly how you want them to feel, but you are not going to achieve this by writing only a few lines. Here are a few examples of a well worded post:
The pounding in Andrea's head was intense as she cracked her eyelids open slightly. Immediately she closed them as a wave of nausea washed over her. She desperately tried to piece her thoughts together, disorientated and confused. Memories trickled into her barely conscious mind like sand through an hour glass. The battle, the flash and roar of cannons. Two ships bearing down upon them. Cries of pain and despair. The captain giving the order to abandon ship. An intense heat and force catching her unawares. Blackness. It all came flooding back to her. The Pearl had been destroyed and the enemy had won. She looked around herself with despair, realising she was alone and encaged. Bars surrounded her on all sides. What had happened to the rest of the crew? To Hector? Were they dead? Captured like it appeared she was? The throbbing in her head grew worse and gingerly she raised her hand to her temple; it was tender and wet. Pulling her hand away she looked to see blood coating her fingers. Quickly she evaluated herself, slowly moving each part of her aching body. Apart from a sharp pain in her side that indicated her ribs were fractured she came to the conclusion that she was indeed very lucky, injury wise. Situation wise perhaps not.~ Curtesy of Lothy.
Complete, blind rage was all that Henry could feel at that moment. He even ignored the deep throbbing at his temple and the slow trickle of blood down his face. He didn’t want to feel anything else. He didn’t want to think of anything else. He wanted to give himself over to be fully governed by this one emotion. It was the only thing he had left. He stared blankly ahead into emptiness. They were in a suffocating small brig, a brig he had been on the outside of many times but had never been on the inside of. He clenched his fists; the shackles dug at his wrists and at his pride. The very thought of being with a bunch of low, filthy pirates down here humiliated him and drove him mad with anger. His lips were set in a thin line of determination and fury. And why was he here again? He was here because of his father. The man he hated more than any other human being on earth at that moment. Because of that man he was in this mess. Or at least that’s how his livid thoughts put it. Because of him, Eve had come into this world. And Eve, being the only real relative he had ever met, had meant something to him. After the initial shock and horror of discovering her and her occupation, he had come to love her like a sister. Curse her, she had somehow slipped through his defences. He had wanted to help her, to be there for her, to be a brother to her. For the first time, he had done something helpful and good for someone other then himself. And how did the one good thing repay him? It had repaid him by getting him caught and shackled to this wench.~ Curtesy of PD.
As you can see they are detailed, clear and draw the reader in. We want to watch your characters grow and develop through the RP.
+ The next thing we would like to make clear is the RP rating. Although they are PG-13 just like the site it is to a different standard. We realise that pirates are indeed quite a naughty bunch, with a tendency to misbehave and so in the RPs a few minor curse words are permitted (Example: Hell, bugger, crap, damn, whore, git & bloody.), as long as they are not overused or abused. Another issue we would like to address is sex. In short it is not allowed. Anything further than an intimate kiss should be faded out and left to the imagination (which I'm sure we're all capable of, eh?). You may hint to it and use innuendos but please keep it vague. For example:
His lips crashed down upon hers in a smouldering kiss, demanding and possessive. Within minutes his hands were roaming her shirt as he pulled her towards the bedroom... Half an hour later he lay with an draped around her sleeping form, a smile tugging on his lips as he revelled in his success of finally having her grace his bed.
She met his eyes but quickly looked away, feeling a blush rise in her cheeks as she remembered how intimate they had been the night before.
That is as far as it may go, no details that may be considered inappropriate or pornographic.
Own Characters.
+ Well, I think the first most obvious rule is no Mary-Sues (or Marty-Sams), but hopefully what we are putting in place here will help prevent that.
+ In order to add an OC into the RPs you must first send a copy of their bio to the main moderator account (which would be this one). If the character is detailed and well thought out then it will be approved by a mod and you will be notified. You will then be able to join any of the RPs. If an OC has potential but is not quite up to the standard we are looking for you will be advised on what to change and where you can improve your character. After you have revised your character you must then re-submit it for approval. If a character is simply not up to standard then it will not be approved. This decision is final unless you drastically improve the bio. Please do not harass the mods if it is decided that you character is unsuitable.
+ We do allow characters to be integrated into the movie plotlines (we would be hypocrites if we didn't) but only if the character's involvement is convincing enough.
Canon Characters.
+ RUNNING WITH THE TIDE ARE NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR SEVERAL OF THE CANON CHARACTERS.
+ There are currently two OC/Canon pairings that are featured on this forum; Barbea and Beckara. Barbea is made up of Captain Hector Barbossa & Andrea Costello-Nightingale (Lothy's Character) whilst Beckara consists of Lord Cutler Beckett & Keyara Pierce (Aramel's Character). These pairings are very dear to us and we ask you to please respect them. Other OC/Canon pairings are permitted (As are pairings including the above mentioned canons, there's nothing like a good love triangle.) but they must be approved by both a mod and the person playing the canon character in question (and in the case of Beckett & Barbossa, permission from Lothy and Aramel must also be given).
Commitment and Self-Discipline
Essentially, we mods have noticed a trend in our Roleplays: they being with much excitement and enthusiasm and die slow, painful deaths… and sometimes, even worse, rapid deaths. Mainly, we believe this is because multiple people join the roleplays when they already have too much on their plate. It’s okay to have a life, it’s okay to not be on the forum Rping every second of your lives but we ask that if you do have a busy life and are positive there is no room for another RP that you sit the new RP out. It’ll make it easier on you and on your fellow roleplayers.
If you do decide to join an RP please be committed. Practice self-discipline. If you have spare time, work on a post. Even if it’s not a monster post as long as it’s something to further the RP and allow the other Rpers to move ahead it will work. Roleplaying IS meant to be fun, however. It’s not a chore or homework so if you’re in the Rps and don’t enjoy writing much then don’t take on more.
When signing up for any RP, don’t just follow the crowd or act excited. Be committed and don’t make excuses or disappear when it’s your time to post. If you are struggling then say so and let people move on without you.
Furthermore, a new rule has been established and will be effective immediately. “All Rps will wait for 4-5 days (we understand the different time zones and such
) before the Roleplay will move on whether the person has posted or not". And generally, even if the RP has moved on and you are left one post behind your characters probably won’t get too far behind. Think about it, the RP waits for one person for 4 days, then waits another 4 days for the next person, and another 3 after that. Really, you won’t be too far behind even a week or so after your missed post but it helps keep the RP going and the inspiration for it alive and not sitting for that whole week. Also, we should clarify that if there is a legitimate excuse for not Rping (e.g. a relative dies, you’re on vacation/holiday, there is a major exam coming up etc) we will be sympathetic and allow extra time for Rping.
RPs.
+ Any new RPs must be approved by a mod so please PM your idea/plot to the main mod account.
+ We rely on a turn-based system of RPing, meaning you must wait until everyone else in the RP has posted before you can post again. The only exception to this rule is if your characters have no interaction with the characters of the person being waited for.
+ Dialogue must be written in quotation marks, thoughts in italic and quoting from other members' characters must be in bold.
+ There is no limit to how many RPs you may be in.
+ Absolutely no godmodding unless you have been given permission by the character's owner. If you have then please say so before your post.
+ Posts must be in English (unless your character is speaking another language, in which case please post the translation) and properly punctuated. Text/net speak is forbidden.
+ The amount of characters in a roleplay is now to be determined by the person who starts said roleplay.
+ Please only join a roleplay if you are able to commit to it. In order to keep the RPs moving we would like players to have a reply posted within about 3 days. We understand things can get busy and of course things pop up and so we are willing to wait 7 days at the absolute most before moving on if possible. Even if you post a simple paragraph it can make all the difference.
Now we have all that out of the way, please enjoy yourselves and welcome to Running With The Tide.