Underworld Ralinwood Specific Policies

[Sierra Katrian]

Chatroom Policy

If you use our chat room, you are expected to know and follow these rules. Shapers will be enforcing them.

Frequency
It's unrealistic that your character would spend 12+ hours a day sitting around a campfire. They have jobs to do, skills to train, food to hunt/collect, homes to keep up, etc.

More importantly, on an out-of-game level other players don’t like to see the same characters in the chat room constantly. It forces them to RP with the same characters (since the location is static) and discourages the use of the chat. Shapers want to run plotlines and play NPCs that interact with more than the same characters all the time.

There really is no reason for your character to be in the chat room for more than a few hours a day, 3 or 4 days a week. This will be enforced.

It may sound counter-productive for us to provide a chat room then limit its use, but understand that we are a live-action roleplaying game, not a chat room game. The chat is meant to enhance the other parts of the game, not vice-versa. If your use of the chat is discouraging it's use to other players and interfering with the shapers we will ask you to leave. We'd rather see the chat empty for 20 hours a day and awesome for 4 than have it constantly boring and full of idle accounts.

tldr: Visit the chat, don't live in it.

Locations
Locations of the chat room are static. Each room is designated as being where the scene will take place. Exceptions (if ever) on any rare occasion would be Plot driven. Players are asked to adjust their RP to fit the locations, or use Facebook or other private communication for locations not provided. New rooms can be made if there is demand, and enough reason to believe they will be used. The old retired ranger who lives in a cabin in the woods and is PC'd by someone who can be online all day and night but rarely has visitors doesn't need a room.

Visible Actions
Try not to post anything that is not visible to others. Thoughts and emotions are great additions to storytelling, but in the chat format, remember that people can only act on what they see, and they can’t see you thinking about how much a jerk that other person is. They could see the look of rage that comes across your face of course, but let them put together what those expressions mean. It’s more fun that way anyway.

It is natural to type in posts and chats as if you were composing a story. What we should keep in mind is that if we were not typing we would not SEE private thoughts and feelings that aren't shown.

Combat
The chat rooms are primarily to encourage role playing between events. Combat online is discouraged and frowned upon by the player base and the plot team. Still, from time to time combat will inevitably take place. If it does please keep the following rules in mind:

Combat favors the defender; the defender will decide the results of actions unless there is no other alternative. It's best when players can sort out situations on their own and come to a mutually agreeable, realistic result, but if this cannot be done, find a shaper. Please, be reasonable and remember that a shaper can always supersede the decisions of both the attacker and the defender when defining an outcome. Engage in online combat at your risk.

Try to be realistic within the skills of your character. If you can’t do a cartwheel, describing your character as somersaulting between tree branches to land smoothly on one knee with your arrow perfectly nocked so you can epically shoot an apple out of the hand of your enemy… well, it stretches belief a bit, and annoys other players who know you can’t do this. That being said, epic description adds a lot of combat. Just be reasonable with it.

All Combat actions should be Open actions. The result of your combat action should not be declared. The defender will declare the result. You may include your intention with your combat action.

Example: I swing my blade at your head, trying to cut it from your shoulders. NOT : I swing my sword and cut off your head.

Death in the Chat Room
While combat is rare, death should be even more so. More often than not online deaths will not count on your character sheet. That being said, each death is taken on a case by case basis. As a pc you should try to avoid death online as much as you do at an event. If we feel you are doing otherwise the death will count.

Other Rules
Unless you have the costuming to actually completely change your identity don't expect others to be fooled unless they want to be.

If your character is in Chat, you are visible and should be present at your keyboard. If you have to go away from the computer, you should exit chat until you come back. Players in chat will be free to act and react based on your presence in the room. An Exception to this is when you first enter and type your entrance description or some power/skill that hides you.

This sounds obvious but it happens : you can't be in the chat room watching without being there in game. The only exception to this is when we give permission to a new player who has yet to make a character to watch and learn how things are done.

IMPORTANT: We've given Shapers the power to send you a private message to see if you're at your keyboard. If you don't reply within a reasonable amount of time, they will kick you from the chat. You can not leave the chat open for 8 hours while you sleep and collect information like a sponge, while your character is safe from any harm or interaction.

Multiple Characters, Same Player
No player may play more than one character in the chat room within a 24 hour period without express permission from a plot marshal.