10-22-2007, 04:35 PM
Yesh...I can't help but feel half of you will be complaining about this, and the other half will be rejoicing.
Anyways, it's about due time we got some shiny new rules, so here they are:
If anyone wants to make comments on how to improve these rules, please post them here: http://mountmoon.net/showthread.php?tid=5649&page=1
*SHINY NEW RULES*
Shiny New Rule Number One: As of this day, each member will be limited to making two roleplays. Each member must wait a week after posting a roleplay before posting another roleplay. This is to give the member time to actually work on the plot of the roleplay, before posting. Also, you may not just slightly edit the roleplay's plot that died and repost it.
Shiny New Rule Numero Dos: I will only allow two roleplays with a similar plot at a time, and that is only if the second similar plot roleplay got permission from the first roleplay with a similar plot. This is to avoid a million roleplays that are the exact same.
This doesn't mean two roleplay plots can't be somewhat similar. This is just to avoid a million roleplays that are almost exactly the same. Just so ya know.
New Rule of Shininess Number Three: PLEASE read the first post before posting and use common sense. If the roleplay is already at page 20, do you REALLY think they'll still be accepting members? Your brain is there for a reason.
If the person is still accepting members, it's okay to make a sign-up. Just, if it's obvious it isn't accepting sign-ups, PLEASE DON'T POST ONE!
Teh Shiny New Rule Number Four: ALL PREVIOUS RULES STILL APPLY! THIS MEANS GOOD GRAMMER, GOOD POSTS, AND ALL THAT! If you're still a new roleplayer, there are a few roleplays that help newbies. A good one is Randumb's ~Township, http://mountmoon.net/showthread.php?tid=5597&page=1., or you can always asked me for help. I don't bite (just a little crazy, is all.)
Anyway, please don't complain. I could've been a lot stricter. I'll also start to enforce the roleplaying rules a bit more. This may seem a bit random, but I, and a few other roleplayers, want to bring the RPC to it's previous standards.
So, *points to first link*, if you have any comments or complaints, post there.
Now, to remind y'all, here're the old rules.
Well let's get a bit of order here.
Stuff added by Shuri, will be in bold. This is so staff can see what I (Shuri) add.
Please refer to Mount Moon FAQ
No useless threads
Seriously, I have better things to do than click a few times to end it.
General RPing:
1) These forums use the same rules as the normal forum rules plus more. Please read them.
2) No saying: "Pft! Tis rpg sux n00b!" and stuff like that. We do not stand for it. If you don't like it go away. Or if it's plotless and what not, report it and/or constructive criticise it.
3) Use common sense.
RPing:
1) NO one liners. Once in a while it's okay if you SERIOUSLY can't think of anything. If the RPG is clogged up with a ton of one liners, than it's closed.
2) No Godmodding. This simply means being stronger than you should. For example, if you say something like "One day I was walking and I saw an Articuno. I threw a Pok� Ball and caught it" - UNACCEPTABLE. Any RPGs filled with complete godmodding are closed.
3) No Bunnying. This simply means playing as other players character without permission. It can even mean saying stuff like "I punched him into the mountain and he died".
4) Absolutely NO script. Unless specified of what kind of RPG it is. I WILL allow messing around RPGs that can have script. A Super Smash Bros can be one of them.
RPG Creating Rules:
1) Sign Ups should include:
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Description:
Personality:
These are VERY important. The basis of EVERY RPG usually. I dunno about the Age. That could vary. And possibly Gender.
2) Plots MUST be more than 4 lines. And they MUST make sense. No plot, heaps of lock.
3) Use Common Sense
4) Don't copy other people's plot ideas unless you have permission. Even if the roleplay was made a year ago, the person may take offense for you stealing their idea, so if you do want to use someone elses plot, please get their permission. This can include plots based on roleplays on other forums, this forum, or other fanfics.
Please refer to RPG Ideas And Help for help.
Please refer to the Help and Advice For Newbie RPers, And Beginning Level RPers thread for more help.
One final rule:
Posts must have at least 10000 words, staff bypass this. You get a perma ban if you don't make it.
just kidding.
But I would like proper english used. Unless you have a legit excuse like you're not too good with English.
Also, while your posts don't need to be a length of epic proportions, please try to have at least one decent paragraph, preferably three lines of length at the minimun.
And the Help and Advice for Newbies one:
Terms and Abbreviations:
OOC: - Stands for Out Of Character. Used to make a non RP post.
BIC: - Stands for Back In Character. Used if you made an OOC at the start of the post and want to make an RP one.
00ber/Uber - Used quite commonly. Refers to overly strong characters.
Godmodding - Means if you are making your character too strong and not giving anyone a chance. For example:
"Batesy's Magikarp killed Allan's Mekwtwo with a single Splash attack and made it explode"
Powerplaying/Bunnying - Means you are controling someone's character. For example:
"Batesy kicked Allan into the mountain and he responded with his weakest Kamehameha wave"
(Shuri Note: This can include stuff like if your character has the ability to read minds or something, controlling what the thought of the other character are. Just a point I'd like to add. :End Shuri Note)
Describing:
Describing's quite easy if you know several adjectives.
"He had blue eyes and blond hair. He wore blue shorts and a yellow shirt."
But wait! We can easily make that even better:
"His blue eyes and blond hair were a perfect match for his blue shorts and yellow shirt."
But wait! We can take it up yet another level:
"He put his thick glasses over his watery-blue eyes with one hand and pulled back his long and wavy blond hair with the other. His blue shorts and yellow shirt flapped around in the wind."
The only limit is... Your imagination...
The Plot
What is the plot?
The plot is the whole story of the thing. Without it, the RPG is plain and meaningless. I mean, how many games do you own without a plot? Very few. How many are boring without a plot? A lot.
How do I work on my plot?
The plot is one of the easiest and most fun parts of the RPG. You get to make the story focus on one particular point and keep it to the topic you want.
As the RPG keeps going, the plot will change slightly as goals are achieved and new things are uncovered.
My RPG got closed for my plot?
If you've been warned about not having a plot, your RPG will either be closed, and you'll be redirected to this thread and the Rules, or it will be left open and you will be told to visit this thread.
People aren't going to join RPGs with small plots. Yes, I know there are a few around on here, but I couldn't lock them since they were about 3 pages in already (This is not an excuse to spam up your RPG).
How do I go about making a plot?
Think of something around that would make a good story. Could be anything. Even side plots from popular games that weren't really covered.
Once you have your story, you can now start writing about it. Even I could turn a simple story into some kind of plot.
TOPIC:
Staryu
What do we know about it?
- Near Cianwood City at night
- Evolves by Water Stone
- Regenerates with core jewel.
- Jewel flickers at night with the stars
Now I'll make a plot out of it:
Cianwood, a calm city out of the way on an island. Hardly anyone comes there way except for a battle, since it's in the very corner of Johto. However, tourists are becoming more and more common for one reason: The Staryu.
At first, you'd think Staryu is a simple water type - No match for Blastoise or Lapras. Battles aren't all it can do, though. Every Friday night at Cianwood City, the inhabitants come out to view the Staryu communicating with the stars. The sea goes red, and it is so beautiful the townspeople wish it would never end.
However, Team Rocket has decided to ruin their fun and steal the Staryu, either selling them off or putting them in a zoo so they can charge people to see the Staryu flash at night.
Chuck, the Gym Leader of Cianwood, has rallied a gang of trainers together to go rescue the Staryu. You are one of them, will you do it?
See how simple that plot was? And I did it in about 5 minutes.
RPing Step By Step:
Alrighty, I've noticed a lot of people have been doing things wrong or just doing horribly at RPing. So I figured I should probably show you some way to go about it. You don't have to be the best, just as long as it's more than two lines and makes sense.
1. What are you posting?
Think about the point of the RPG and how you think everything should work up towards a specific point. Try to interact with people and your surroundings.
2. How should you use your character's skills to help?
Think carefully about this. How can your character help? Say in a Pokémon RPG someone needed to get somewhere and had no boat? What if you had a big Blastoise or Lapras or even Wailord to carry someone across? Or a big Charizard? This could save things. What if you knew only a few charms in a Harry Potter RPG and no one else knew those? What if it was the unlocking and locking charms? That could be handy for getting into places.
3. What interesting points can you subscribe to the plot?
Now, this is where the community of the RPG comes together. I mean, it can get quite boring if only the creator makes things happen. I'm not saying go out and slay people because you darned well feel like. You need a motive and an interesting way of doing it.
Say you were getting sick of this one person in your group tormenting you, you could make a good chance of this to run away and cause a problem, hence making the plot more interesting. You could even feed this to the main plot, say if you were caught by Team Rocket and abused by them. If you meet up with them near the end of the story, you could make something quite interesting out of it.
Now, I've noticed many people, including myself, have done the following in the past. DON'T TRY TO MAKE YOURSELF JUST LIKE THE MAIN HERO IN THE SERIES IF THE RPG IS BASED ON ONE. Yes, I've fallen victim to this (But have learned). Say you are in a Harry Potter RPG. You could think "You know, how about I get a broomstick randomly. Then perhaps stand against the villain by myself without help. I'll be right. After all I'm 00ber p0wahful!!!!!!!!!11111111</1337>" This ticks off many people. Sure in an RPG like that it may be okay to have strange powers at birth that aren't normal. Or maybe even a run in with one of the villain's henchmen. But seriously, be the same as everyone else.
(Note from Shuri: Be careful when you do stuff like this, though, and make sure you aren't totally twisting the plot around. By this, I mean the main plot having to take backseat so your problem can get solved, causing the roleplay to get held up a bit. Things like this should only take 4-5 pages at the most.: End Note from Shuri)
4. Try to keep up with everyone.
This is the hardest, in my opinion. Due to time zones, everyone's awake and at school at different times. But do try to keep up. If you want to talk to someone and they're already in a conversation, just walk up to them, sit near them and say "Hi" and wait for them to stop. If they walk off, pursue them if need be.
5. Try to use proper grammar and punctuation.
tis can git viry anoyng cn't it.
Please, your keyboard has a "Shift" or a "Caps Lock" key. You shouldn't need to type like that. I'll throw you a bone if you have a learning or English disability (say you were from another country or something) but c'mon, it isn't that hard.
6. Try to describe your people and surroundings.
This could get you 3 lines worth of text at least. Description is quite important, otherwise the story is quite bland as to where you are, what the villains look like, etc.
If someone beat you to describing something, fine, but try to describe it too, using your own words. It could be shorter or longer.
7. Have something in your post someone can work with.
Finally, make sure someone can work with whatever's in your post. Don't just defeat the purpose of what someone's trying to do with simplicity. Say in a Harry Potter RPG if someone was trying to fix technology. Though it was done with magic, it's VERY unlikely it could be fixed with first year magic. It could take you years to learn it.
Contribute to the solution (or prevention) by offering to get information or help.
Stuff added by Shuri:
Here's a good contribution from Kura about showing, not telling:
Show. Don't Tell.
-By Kura
This means.. if one were to say "I was scared," it wouldn't feel as intense as "my whole body trembled, and my face went white," and et cetera.
When posting.. I think that matters most is that you're giving the rest of the members a clear image of not only you, but your surroundings. If you're going to be walking towards something, be sure to describe at least one of the six senses. For example "the sun felt hot while I treaded over to the hut, I could hear the breeze whirring past" or "I could feel even the smallest pebble as I walked over on my thin sandals." Or even something as simple as "I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I walked over."
I see a lot of "I walked over there," and.. it's really not coherent..
Also.. a lot of people like to base their appearance on other characters. If others do not know what that character looks like, then it's kind of impossible to picture them. Please be original, and/or specific when describing your character ._.~
Yeah.. ._. *Just wanted to help*~
(End contribution from Kura)
-------------------------------
This is just something else I wanted to mention:
*When in a roleplay, I suggest just PMing the creator a question if it only applies to you. This is because sometimes Roleplays can get spammed up with OOC, which can hold up the roleplay.
*If the other roleplayers roleplayed a few pages without you, please just reread the pages instead of asking what happened. It isn't that hard and doesn't take much time. It's okay if you were gone a while and got behind by a ton of pages, but if it's only two, please just read. ^^
*An add-on to the above rule, please REACT to other people's post, and don't just ignore them.
*If you think someone's ignoring your posts, reread theirs. They may have made a mention to your post that you couldn't find by just skimming.
------------------------------------------------------
That's all for now that I can think of contributing as a new roleplay mod. Remember, all the stuff above 'stuff added by Shuri' was added by The Doctor (unless specified). I may have more soon... Feel free to discuss, ask or contribute.
Anyways, it's about due time we got some shiny new rules, so here they are:
If anyone wants to make comments on how to improve these rules, please post them here: http://mountmoon.net/showthread.php?tid=5649&page=1
*SHINY NEW RULES*
Shiny New Rule Number One: As of this day, each member will be limited to making two roleplays. Each member must wait a week after posting a roleplay before posting another roleplay. This is to give the member time to actually work on the plot of the roleplay, before posting. Also, you may not just slightly edit the roleplay's plot that died and repost it.
Shiny New Rule Numero Dos: I will only allow two roleplays with a similar plot at a time, and that is only if the second similar plot roleplay got permission from the first roleplay with a similar plot. This is to avoid a million roleplays that are the exact same.
This doesn't mean two roleplay plots can't be somewhat similar. This is just to avoid a million roleplays that are almost exactly the same. Just so ya know.
New Rule of Shininess Number Three: PLEASE read the first post before posting and use common sense. If the roleplay is already at page 20, do you REALLY think they'll still be accepting members? Your brain is there for a reason.
If the person is still accepting members, it's okay to make a sign-up. Just, if it's obvious it isn't accepting sign-ups, PLEASE DON'T POST ONE!
Teh Shiny New Rule Number Four: ALL PREVIOUS RULES STILL APPLY! THIS MEANS GOOD GRAMMER, GOOD POSTS, AND ALL THAT! If you're still a new roleplayer, there are a few roleplays that help newbies. A good one is Randumb's ~Township, http://mountmoon.net/showthread.php?tid=5597&page=1., or you can always asked me for help. I don't bite (just a little crazy, is all.)
Anyway, please don't complain. I could've been a lot stricter. I'll also start to enforce the roleplaying rules a bit more. This may seem a bit random, but I, and a few other roleplayers, want to bring the RPC to it's previous standards.
So, *points to first link*, if you have any comments or complaints, post there.
Now, to remind y'all, here're the old rules.
Well let's get a bit of order here.
Stuff added by Shuri, will be in bold. This is so staff can see what I (Shuri) add.
Please refer to Mount Moon FAQ
No useless threads
Seriously, I have better things to do than click a few times to end it.
General RPing:
1) These forums use the same rules as the normal forum rules plus more. Please read them.
2) No saying: "Pft! Tis rpg sux n00b!" and stuff like that. We do not stand for it. If you don't like it go away. Or if it's plotless and what not, report it and/or constructive criticise it.
3) Use common sense.
RPing:
1) NO one liners. Once in a while it's okay if you SERIOUSLY can't think of anything. If the RPG is clogged up with a ton of one liners, than it's closed.
2) No Godmodding. This simply means being stronger than you should. For example, if you say something like "One day I was walking and I saw an Articuno. I threw a Pok� Ball and caught it" - UNACCEPTABLE. Any RPGs filled with complete godmodding are closed.
3) No Bunnying. This simply means playing as other players character without permission. It can even mean saying stuff like "I punched him into the mountain and he died".
4) Absolutely NO script. Unless specified of what kind of RPG it is. I WILL allow messing around RPGs that can have script. A Super Smash Bros can be one of them.
RPG Creating Rules:
1) Sign Ups should include:
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Description:
Personality:
These are VERY important. The basis of EVERY RPG usually. I dunno about the Age. That could vary. And possibly Gender.
2) Plots MUST be more than 4 lines. And they MUST make sense. No plot, heaps of lock.
3) Use Common Sense
4) Don't copy other people's plot ideas unless you have permission. Even if the roleplay was made a year ago, the person may take offense for you stealing their idea, so if you do want to use someone elses plot, please get their permission. This can include plots based on roleplays on other forums, this forum, or other fanfics.
Please refer to RPG Ideas And Help for help.
Please refer to the Help and Advice For Newbie RPers, And Beginning Level RPers thread for more help.
One final rule:
Posts must have at least 10000 words, staff bypass this. You get a perma ban if you don't make it.
just kidding.
But I would like proper english used. Unless you have a legit excuse like you're not too good with English.
Also, while your posts don't need to be a length of epic proportions, please try to have at least one decent paragraph, preferably three lines of length at the minimun.
And the Help and Advice for Newbies one:
Terms and Abbreviations:
OOC: - Stands for Out Of Character. Used to make a non RP post.
BIC: - Stands for Back In Character. Used if you made an OOC at the start of the post and want to make an RP one.
00ber/Uber - Used quite commonly. Refers to overly strong characters.
Godmodding - Means if you are making your character too strong and not giving anyone a chance. For example:
"Batesy's Magikarp killed Allan's Mekwtwo with a single Splash attack and made it explode"
Powerplaying/Bunnying - Means you are controling someone's character. For example:
"Batesy kicked Allan into the mountain and he responded with his weakest Kamehameha wave"
(Shuri Note: This can include stuff like if your character has the ability to read minds or something, controlling what the thought of the other character are. Just a point I'd like to add. :End Shuri Note)
Describing:
Describing's quite easy if you know several adjectives.
"He had blue eyes and blond hair. He wore blue shorts and a yellow shirt."
But wait! We can easily make that even better:
"His blue eyes and blond hair were a perfect match for his blue shorts and yellow shirt."
But wait! We can take it up yet another level:
"He put his thick glasses over his watery-blue eyes with one hand and pulled back his long and wavy blond hair with the other. His blue shorts and yellow shirt flapped around in the wind."
The only limit is... Your imagination...
The Plot
What is the plot?
The plot is the whole story of the thing. Without it, the RPG is plain and meaningless. I mean, how many games do you own without a plot? Very few. How many are boring without a plot? A lot.
How do I work on my plot?
The plot is one of the easiest and most fun parts of the RPG. You get to make the story focus on one particular point and keep it to the topic you want.
As the RPG keeps going, the plot will change slightly as goals are achieved and new things are uncovered.
My RPG got closed for my plot?
If you've been warned about not having a plot, your RPG will either be closed, and you'll be redirected to this thread and the Rules, or it will be left open and you will be told to visit this thread.
People aren't going to join RPGs with small plots. Yes, I know there are a few around on here, but I couldn't lock them since they were about 3 pages in already (This is not an excuse to spam up your RPG).
How do I go about making a plot?
Think of something around that would make a good story. Could be anything. Even side plots from popular games that weren't really covered.
Once you have your story, you can now start writing about it. Even I could turn a simple story into some kind of plot.
TOPIC:
Staryu
What do we know about it?
- Near Cianwood City at night
- Evolves by Water Stone
- Regenerates with core jewel.
- Jewel flickers at night with the stars
Now I'll make a plot out of it:
Cianwood, a calm city out of the way on an island. Hardly anyone comes there way except for a battle, since it's in the very corner of Johto. However, tourists are becoming more and more common for one reason: The Staryu.
At first, you'd think Staryu is a simple water type - No match for Blastoise or Lapras. Battles aren't all it can do, though. Every Friday night at Cianwood City, the inhabitants come out to view the Staryu communicating with the stars. The sea goes red, and it is so beautiful the townspeople wish it would never end.
However, Team Rocket has decided to ruin their fun and steal the Staryu, either selling them off or putting them in a zoo so they can charge people to see the Staryu flash at night.
Chuck, the Gym Leader of Cianwood, has rallied a gang of trainers together to go rescue the Staryu. You are one of them, will you do it?
See how simple that plot was? And I did it in about 5 minutes.
RPing Step By Step:
Alrighty, I've noticed a lot of people have been doing things wrong or just doing horribly at RPing. So I figured I should probably show you some way to go about it. You don't have to be the best, just as long as it's more than two lines and makes sense.
1. What are you posting?
Think about the point of the RPG and how you think everything should work up towards a specific point. Try to interact with people and your surroundings.
2. How should you use your character's skills to help?
Think carefully about this. How can your character help? Say in a Pokémon RPG someone needed to get somewhere and had no boat? What if you had a big Blastoise or Lapras or even Wailord to carry someone across? Or a big Charizard? This could save things. What if you knew only a few charms in a Harry Potter RPG and no one else knew those? What if it was the unlocking and locking charms? That could be handy for getting into places.
3. What interesting points can you subscribe to the plot?
Now, this is where the community of the RPG comes together. I mean, it can get quite boring if only the creator makes things happen. I'm not saying go out and slay people because you darned well feel like. You need a motive and an interesting way of doing it.
Say you were getting sick of this one person in your group tormenting you, you could make a good chance of this to run away and cause a problem, hence making the plot more interesting. You could even feed this to the main plot, say if you were caught by Team Rocket and abused by them. If you meet up with them near the end of the story, you could make something quite interesting out of it.
Now, I've noticed many people, including myself, have done the following in the past. DON'T TRY TO MAKE YOURSELF JUST LIKE THE MAIN HERO IN THE SERIES IF THE RPG IS BASED ON ONE. Yes, I've fallen victim to this (But have learned). Say you are in a Harry Potter RPG. You could think "You know, how about I get a broomstick randomly. Then perhaps stand against the villain by myself without help. I'll be right. After all I'm 00ber p0wahful!!!!!!!!!11111111</1337>" This ticks off many people. Sure in an RPG like that it may be okay to have strange powers at birth that aren't normal. Or maybe even a run in with one of the villain's henchmen. But seriously, be the same as everyone else.
(Note from Shuri: Be careful when you do stuff like this, though, and make sure you aren't totally twisting the plot around. By this, I mean the main plot having to take backseat so your problem can get solved, causing the roleplay to get held up a bit. Things like this should only take 4-5 pages at the most.: End Note from Shuri)
4. Try to keep up with everyone.
This is the hardest, in my opinion. Due to time zones, everyone's awake and at school at different times. But do try to keep up. If you want to talk to someone and they're already in a conversation, just walk up to them, sit near them and say "Hi" and wait for them to stop. If they walk off, pursue them if need be.
5. Try to use proper grammar and punctuation.
tis can git viry anoyng cn't it.
Please, your keyboard has a "Shift" or a "Caps Lock" key. You shouldn't need to type like that. I'll throw you a bone if you have a learning or English disability (say you were from another country or something) but c'mon, it isn't that hard.
6. Try to describe your people and surroundings.
This could get you 3 lines worth of text at least. Description is quite important, otherwise the story is quite bland as to where you are, what the villains look like, etc.
If someone beat you to describing something, fine, but try to describe it too, using your own words. It could be shorter or longer.
7. Have something in your post someone can work with.
Finally, make sure someone can work with whatever's in your post. Don't just defeat the purpose of what someone's trying to do with simplicity. Say in a Harry Potter RPG if someone was trying to fix technology. Though it was done with magic, it's VERY unlikely it could be fixed with first year magic. It could take you years to learn it.
Contribute to the solution (or prevention) by offering to get information or help.
Stuff added by Shuri:
Here's a good contribution from Kura about showing, not telling:
Show. Don't Tell.
-By Kura
This means.. if one were to say "I was scared," it wouldn't feel as intense as "my whole body trembled, and my face went white," and et cetera.
When posting.. I think that matters most is that you're giving the rest of the members a clear image of not only you, but your surroundings. If you're going to be walking towards something, be sure to describe at least one of the six senses. For example "the sun felt hot while I treaded over to the hut, I could hear the breeze whirring past" or "I could feel even the smallest pebble as I walked over on my thin sandals." Or even something as simple as "I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I walked over."
I see a lot of "I walked over there," and.. it's really not coherent..
Also.. a lot of people like to base their appearance on other characters. If others do not know what that character looks like, then it's kind of impossible to picture them. Please be original, and/or specific when describing your character ._.~
Yeah.. ._. *Just wanted to help*~
(End contribution from Kura)
-------------------------------
This is just something else I wanted to mention:
*When in a roleplay, I suggest just PMing the creator a question if it only applies to you. This is because sometimes Roleplays can get spammed up with OOC, which can hold up the roleplay.
*If the other roleplayers roleplayed a few pages without you, please just reread the pages instead of asking what happened. It isn't that hard and doesn't take much time. It's okay if you were gone a while and got behind by a ton of pages, but if it's only two, please just read. ^^
*An add-on to the above rule, please REACT to other people's post, and don't just ignore them.
*If you think someone's ignoring your posts, reread theirs. They may have made a mention to your post that you couldn't find by just skimming.
------------------------------------------------------
That's all for now that I can think of contributing as a new roleplay mod. Remember, all the stuff above 'stuff added by Shuri' was added by The Doctor (unless specified). I may have more soon... Feel free to discuss, ask or contribute.