darkest_mods (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} darkest_mods) wrote,@ 2007-10-23 12:06:00 |
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GAME MECHANICS
1. Types of Consent
There are three different types of consent which you, as the player, must determine will be applied towards your character in this game. This must be included in your character application.
(a) Full Consent: Consequences are enforced based on a "common sense" basis, e.g, if several aurors or hit wizards go to seize a character, even without dice rolls, the game masters may say that the only reasonable outcome is that the character is brought into custody. Results of the RP are final. The only exception to this is character death or dismemberment, which needs the other player's approval. Therefore, if you as a player say that non-consent is applied to your character, then only in the case of death or dismemberment will consent on your part be required.
(b) Limited Consent: Limits the amount of damage that can happen to a character. A character is open to have most inconveniences happen to him or her, but with limited damage. Therefore, if this character is hexed, then that character will recover fully. If this character's business is robbed, only items of in consequence and of little monetary value will be taken. The actions against the character will inconvenience him or her, but will not be dire unless the player gives the other player consent for it to be so. The inconvenience to a character with limited consent shall not last longer than one month.
(c) Non-Consent: Nothing can happen to a character without the player's approval.
In starting out in this game, especially for first time rp'ers, we suggest either (b) or (c) be chosen. You can change your level of consent at any time during this game, but only after a conflict has been fully RP'd. Therefore, you cannot change your level of consent while in the middle of an RP.
You must give notification to the mods if you change the level of consent for your character.
2. Character Limits.
All players are allowed a maximum of four (4) player-controlled characters ("PC"'s). Players who began the game during it's Beta month are allowed two (2) characters at the beginning, and may apply at the official game start for their third character. Players who are approved to play at the start of the game on January 1, 2008 will begin with one character only. After a month probation period, those players can apply for their second character. Following another month probation period, those players can apply for their 3rd and final PC character. Any character which you apply for must be through the standard Character Application process, as if you were applying for a character for the first time.
All players are allowed a maximum of two (2) plot-controlled, non-player-controlled characters ("PC-NPC"'s). These are often characters that are currently controlled by the mods. Players who wish to apply for a PC-NPC must still fill out the application form as if they were applying for a PC character.
Therefore, the maximum combined characters that a player can control is six (6).
3. Character Journals.
(a) All characters and character journals remain the property of![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif)
darkesthour_rpg, its mods and creators. Upon receiving your character, you will be assigned a unique password to your character that is unlike any other character’s password. Should you wish to change your password, you must contact the mods within 48 hours from the change of password with the new password you have chosen for that character. If we discover that the password has been changed without notification to the mods, we will send you a request to provide us with the new password. Failure to do so within 48 hours of the request issued by the mods to you will result in the mods regaining control of your character(s) and your removal from the game.
(b) Any payment to Insanejournal for extra icons or paid time is non-transferable and thereforedarkesthour_rpg, its mods and creators are not obligated to reimburse you for any payment you have made to Insanejournal for the character journal which you control should you choose to leave darkesthour_rpg or are terminated.
(c) Upon receiving your character's journal, please change the email address to your own.
(d) The following disclaimer must be included in your character's profile:
Disclaimer: This journal and its entries are for the role playing game:darkesthour_rpg. It has been made purely for entertainment.
It is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
For the icons I am borrowing the image of "insert real life name of PB here". No copyright or trademark infringement is intended
This journal will contain adult rated material and should not be read by any persons under the age of 18.
To assist you, here is the wording for you to copy and paste into your character journal:
(e) We encourage all players to include a graphic that represents their character into their character's profile. If you do not have the means to create graphics, please contact the mods and they will be more than happy to create one to your liking.
4. Icons and PBs.
All character journals come with a default of 100 icons spaces, which should be sufficient for each character (but you are welcome to purchase more icon space should you wish to do so). PB icons should not contain any text or distracting graphics. Text icons can be used indarkesthour_ooc.
When selecting the PB for your character, make sure that your choice is age-appropriate, canon-appropriate (where applicable) and realistic to the majority of the actual world. Not everyone has picture-perfect good looks, so keep this in mind.
The Mods reserve the right to deny your choice of a PB and will provide an explanation if we do so. We have a list of PB's which we would like to avoid being selected for this game, mostly do to high media exposure and tabloid fodder. If you are having troubles choosing a PB for your character, please contact the mods and we will assist you in whatever way we can.
As this game will include adult/sexual content, icons that depict nudity and sexuality are acceptable in the following format:
1. No more than 30 icons of this type.
2. No full frontal nudity below the waist.
3. No overly pornographic and/or animated icons.
You can create icons for NPC characters that apply to your character ie: mothers, fathers, children. To be courteous to potential character applicants, try to keep these images from stock photo sources. If this is not possible, kindly provide the real life name of the PB for your NPC so we can avoid having the same being cast in the game.
5. Setting.
Darkest Hour RPG takes place in Wizarding Britain. Players have a variety of locations which their characters can co-habit and interact in ie: Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, Godric's Hollow, Ottery St. Catch Poole etc. and are listed below.
6. Time and Weather.
Darkest Hour RPG takes place in real time, 9 years following the death of Voldemort. The beginning of the game is set for January 1, 2008. Therefore, all in game character posts, interactions etc. take place from January 1, 2008 and onwards.
Weather will be the same in game as it is in real time, so keep this in mind when describing the weather in your RP.
7. Shipping
Darkest Hour is het and slash friendly, and although we focus on character development first and foremost, we do realize that since relationships, marriages and pregnancies are a part of real life then they will become part of game as well.
Any canon marriages (Bill/Fleur, Molly/Arthur), will still exist in Darkest Hour. Since Darkest Hour is pre-epilogue, any relationships at the end of Deathly Hallows (ie: Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione) do not have to be followed. Those pairings can have been dissolved over the years; however, the details/background of the dissolution of those particular relationships must be agreed upon by both players involved. If one character is cast prior to the other character, then the character sheet may only refer to vague details. For example, if Hermione is cast before Ron and Hermione's player does not see that Hermione and Ron would still be together, he or she can state in their character sheet: Hermione and Ron dated during their last years at Hogwarts and remained together a few years after, but eventually went their separate ways.
Above all else, please do not pre-write relationships prior to entering the game (unless you and the other player are, in fact, continuing a canon relationship between your characters). As well, do not force your "ship" or ideal character pairing upon any other player. We would like to see real, organic relationships being developed while the game is being played out.
In the first month of game play, we will be focusing on characterization and development other than immediate relationships. This allows other players to get to know each other and develop their characters. This will be essential for long-time character play. Please avoid having romantic relationships that your character is involved in overshadow plot and character development.
Any romantic/sexual relationships with NPCs are not allowed without prior Mod approval.
8. Plotting
The email address players must use for plots that are required to be submitted to the Game Masters is: darkestplots@gmail.com. Players may also receive plot feeds from this email address during the game.
The Game Masters (the mods) will provide the main game plot which will affect all the characters and the wizarding world as a whole. However, we do strongly encourage players to create and incorporate smaller character plots into the game. Any smaller plot that will have an impact on Darkest Hour or greatly change the current Wizarding World is required be cleared with the Game Masters first. This includes, but is not limited to:
(a) inventions of new types of magic (as it affects game canon)
(b) marriage (as it affects game canon and to prevent date overlaps)
(c) pregnancy (as it affects game canon and to prevent date overlaps)
(d) plots that could potentially involve and directly affect two or more other characters.
It is strongly recommended that you email the GMs with your ideas before you begin seriously plotting in the event that the GMs have concerns, request alterations to the idea, or reject the plot.
Once a submitted plot has been approved, you're welcome to post a brief synopsis to darkesthour_ooc to get further input from players or to recruit others to assist with the plot. This also ensures that we do not have two plots of similar nature occurring at the same time (such as two kidnappings or two marriages), though the GMs will do their best to monitor these instances should they occur.
The Game Masters do reserve the right to veto proposed plots. If the GMs do decide to turn down a plot, we will provide reasons why and give possible ideas for a compromise. We have to take into consideration where the game is and if the plot is feasible. Sometimes plots have a further reaching effect than a player may expect. This is not to stifle creativity, and it will not be a common occurance, however should the occasion arise and we feel that a plot is not feasible, it is not a personal rebuke against the player who has submitted it.
The GMs are here to work with their players in any plot that is submitted.
9. Canon
Canon must be followed at all times. For the purposes of this community, "canon" is defined as anything from the 7 published books and the 2 charity booklets. All else is subject to interpretation and will not be considered canon, though can be used for characterization. Aside from the books themselves, the best place to check your information is the HP Lexicon.
10. Game Canon
What is established in game is considered to be game canon, and should be followed by all the characters, to the best of their knowledge. A resource guide for pre-established game canon can be found here.
11. Muggle References
The wizarding world and the muggle world are right on top and next to each other - they are not so far removed as it would seem. Remember to keep any and all Muggle references to a bare minimum. Even in canon, once integrated into the wizarding world, Muggleborns rarely reference their own culture as well. It's probably best to keep the focus on the Magical world with a reference to the Muggle world if your character is a Muggleborn or Half-blood. In that respect, remember to keep all references time appropriate and to British Muggle culture.
12. Spelling and Grammar
Not everyone is a perfect speller (even us GMs) - we're human; not computers. That being said, proper spelling and grammar is expected within the game. Even if you have go back and fix spelling or grammar errors after posting a thread or comment, it is encouraged. A few spelling mistakes are allowable, but short form "text" speak is not. Using British spelling and slang is also encouraged but not required. Insanejournal does have spellchecker for both posts and comments. This is an RP thread based game and not an IM based game, so a spellchecker module should be available for your usage.
Anything in the main RPG board, darkesthour_rpg, should be written out in 3rd person past tense.
13. Chatting
We will, in our best ability, be hosting bi-weekly chats for player interaction, plotting, and discussion. These chats are not mandatory (as we know people's schedules vary and RL happens), but we do encourage attending them whenever possible. This method is a beneficial way to stay actively involved with the game, plots, and other players. They will be held on YM, and most likely on Friday or Saturday evening so more people can attend.
The chat days and times will be posted indarkesthour_ooc for player notification not less than three (3) days prior to when they will occur. Any essential information that all players should be aware of will be transcribed or outlined in a post by the GMs so players who missed out in the chat will be privy to the information.
14. Quitting the Game
Should you need to leave the game, a polite notice of departure is allowed indarkesthour_ooc. We hope in the event that a player does leave the game, it will be in a mature manner. Any "I'm taking my toys and going home" melodrama OOC exit posts on the community will be deleted. As well, any OOC ranting and/or attacking the game or the other players will result in post deletion.
We atdarkesthour_rpg feel that the doors to the gaming community are open, and in the event that you need to leave the game but at a later point desire to reapply, we will consider your application.
If you do leave the game, we will ask you to provide small summaries of where your characters are at in the game so that if the character is to be recast, the next player will be able to pick up the character smoothly. Should you have another player in mind for your character, please contact the mods for our approval before handing the character over to another player.
15. Communicating with the Game Masters (Mods)
Please feel free to contact the GMs at any time with questions, suggestions, comments or concerns. If there is a problem in the game of any sort, the GMs will want to know about it. Unless you come talk to us about any problems, we won't be able to know otherwise. Please send an email to the GMs at darkesthourmods@gmail.com so we can look over the problem and act accordingly. The GMs prefer email over IMing so we can have a concise record of all correspondence between the GMs and players involved. We will do our best to resolve any problems as quickly as possible, but please do understand that it might require a day or two to work with the players involved to come to a solution.
1. Types of Consent
There are three different types of consent which you, as the player, must determine will be applied towards your character in this game. This must be included in your character application.
(a) Full Consent: Consequences are enforced based on a "common sense" basis, e.g, if several aurors or hit wizards go to seize a character, even without dice rolls, the game masters may say that the only reasonable outcome is that the character is brought into custody. Results of the RP are final. The only exception to this is character death or dismemberment, which needs the other player's approval. Therefore, if you as a player say that non-consent is applied to your character, then only in the case of death or dismemberment will consent on your part be required.
(b) Limited Consent: Limits the amount of damage that can happen to a character. A character is open to have most inconveniences happen to him or her, but with limited damage. Therefore, if this character is hexed, then that character will recover fully. If this character's business is robbed, only items of in consequence and of little monetary value will be taken. The actions against the character will inconvenience him or her, but will not be dire unless the player gives the other player consent for it to be so. The inconvenience to a character with limited consent shall not last longer than one month.
(c) Non-Consent: Nothing can happen to a character without the player's approval.
In starting out in this game, especially for first time rp'ers, we suggest either (b) or (c) be chosen. You can change your level of consent at any time during this game, but only after a conflict has been fully RP'd. Therefore, you cannot change your level of consent while in the middle of an RP.
You must give notification to the mods if you change the level of consent for your character.
2. Character Limits.
All players are allowed a maximum of four (4) player-controlled characters ("PC"'s). Players who began the game during it's Beta month are allowed two (2) characters at the beginning, and may apply at the official game start for their third character. Players who are approved to play at the start of the game on January 1, 2008 will begin with one character only. After a month probation period, those players can apply for their second character. Following another month probation period, those players can apply for their 3rd and final PC character. Any character which you apply for must be through the standard Character Application process, as if you were applying for a character for the first time.
All players are allowed a maximum of two (2) plot-controlled, non-player-controlled characters ("PC-NPC"'s). These are often characters that are currently controlled by the mods. Players who wish to apply for a PC-NPC must still fill out the application form as if they were applying for a PC character.
Therefore, the maximum combined characters that a player can control is six (6).
3. Character Journals.
(a) All characters and character journals remain the property of
darkesthour_rpg, its mods and creators. Upon receiving your character, you will be assigned a unique password to your character that is unlike any other character’s password. Should you wish to change your password, you must contact the mods within 48 hours from the change of password with the new password you have chosen for that character. If we discover that the password has been changed without notification to the mods, we will send you a request to provide us with the new password. Failure to do so within 48 hours of the request issued by the mods to you will result in the mods regaining control of your character(s) and your removal from the game. (b) Any payment to Insanejournal for extra icons or paid time is non-transferable and therefore
darkesthour_rpg, its mods and creators are not obligated to reimburse you for any payment you have made to Insanejournal for the character journal which you control should you choose to leave darkesthour_rpg or are terminated. (c) Upon receiving your character's journal, please change the email address to your own.
(d) The following disclaimer must be included in your character's profile:
Disclaimer: This journal and its entries are for the role playing game:
darkesthour_rpg. It has been made purely for entertainment.It is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
For the icons I am borrowing the image of "insert real life name of PB here". No copyright or trademark infringement is intended
This journal will contain adult rated material and should not be read by any persons under the age of 18.
To assist you, here is the wording for you to copy and paste into your character journal:
(e) We encourage all players to include a graphic that represents their character into their character's profile. If you do not have the means to create graphics, please contact the mods and they will be more than happy to create one to your liking.
4. Icons and PBs.
All character journals come with a default of 100 icons spaces, which should be sufficient for each character (but you are welcome to purchase more icon space should you wish to do so). PB icons should not contain any text or distracting graphics. Text icons can be used in
darkesthour_ooc.When selecting the PB for your character, make sure that your choice is age-appropriate, canon-appropriate (where applicable) and realistic to the majority of the actual world. Not everyone has picture-perfect good looks, so keep this in mind.
The Mods reserve the right to deny your choice of a PB and will provide an explanation if we do so. We have a list of PB's which we would like to avoid being selected for this game, mostly do to high media exposure and tabloid fodder. If you are having troubles choosing a PB for your character, please contact the mods and we will assist you in whatever way we can.
As this game will include adult/sexual content, icons that depict nudity and sexuality are acceptable in the following format:
1. No more than 30 icons of this type.
2. No full frontal nudity below the waist.
3. No overly pornographic and/or animated icons.
You can create icons for NPC characters that apply to your character ie: mothers, fathers, children. To be courteous to potential character applicants, try to keep these images from stock photo sources. If this is not possible, kindly provide the real life name of the PB for your NPC so we can avoid having the same being cast in the game.
5. Setting.
Darkest Hour RPG takes place in Wizarding Britain. Players have a variety of locations which their characters can co-habit and interact in ie: Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, Godric's Hollow, Ottery St. Catch Poole etc. and are listed below.
6. Time and Weather.
Darkest Hour RPG takes place in real time, 9 years following the death of Voldemort. The beginning of the game is set for January 1, 2008. Therefore, all in game character posts, interactions etc. take place from January 1, 2008 and onwards.
Weather will be the same in game as it is in real time, so keep this in mind when describing the weather in your RP.
7. Shipping
Darkest Hour is het and slash friendly, and although we focus on character development first and foremost, we do realize that since relationships, marriages and pregnancies are a part of real life then they will become part of game as well.
Any canon marriages (Bill/Fleur, Molly/Arthur), will still exist in Darkest Hour. Since Darkest Hour is pre-epilogue, any relationships at the end of Deathly Hallows (ie: Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione) do not have to be followed. Those pairings can have been dissolved over the years; however, the details/background of the dissolution of those particular relationships must be agreed upon by both players involved. If one character is cast prior to the other character, then the character sheet may only refer to vague details. For example, if Hermione is cast before Ron and Hermione's player does not see that Hermione and Ron would still be together, he or she can state in their character sheet: Hermione and Ron dated during their last years at Hogwarts and remained together a few years after, but eventually went their separate ways.
Above all else, please do not pre-write relationships prior to entering the game (unless you and the other player are, in fact, continuing a canon relationship between your characters). As well, do not force your "ship" or ideal character pairing upon any other player. We would like to see real, organic relationships being developed while the game is being played out.
In the first month of game play, we will be focusing on characterization and development other than immediate relationships. This allows other players to get to know each other and develop their characters. This will be essential for long-time character play. Please avoid having romantic relationships that your character is involved in overshadow plot and character development.
Any romantic/sexual relationships with NPCs are not allowed without prior Mod approval.
8. Plotting
The email address players must use for plots that are required to be submitted to the Game Masters is: darkestplots@gmail.com. Players may also receive plot feeds from this email address during the game.
The Game Masters (the mods) will provide the main game plot which will affect all the characters and the wizarding world as a whole. However, we do strongly encourage players to create and incorporate smaller character plots into the game. Any smaller plot that will have an impact on Darkest Hour or greatly change the current Wizarding World is required be cleared with the Game Masters first. This includes, but is not limited to:
(a) inventions of new types of magic (as it affects game canon)
(b) marriage (as it affects game canon and to prevent date overlaps)
(c) pregnancy (as it affects game canon and to prevent date overlaps)
(d) plots that could potentially involve and directly affect two or more other characters.
It is strongly recommended that you email the GMs with your ideas before you begin seriously plotting in the event that the GMs have concerns, request alterations to the idea, or reject the plot.
Once a submitted plot has been approved, you're welcome to post a brief synopsis to darkesthour_ooc to get further input from players or to recruit others to assist with the plot. This also ensures that we do not have two plots of similar nature occurring at the same time (such as two kidnappings or two marriages), though the GMs will do their best to monitor these instances should they occur.
The Game Masters do reserve the right to veto proposed plots. If the GMs do decide to turn down a plot, we will provide reasons why and give possible ideas for a compromise. We have to take into consideration where the game is and if the plot is feasible. Sometimes plots have a further reaching effect than a player may expect. This is not to stifle creativity, and it will not be a common occurance, however should the occasion arise and we feel that a plot is not feasible, it is not a personal rebuke against the player who has submitted it.
The GMs are here to work with their players in any plot that is submitted.
9. Canon
Canon must be followed at all times. For the purposes of this community, "canon" is defined as anything from the 7 published books and the 2 charity booklets. All else is subject to interpretation and will not be considered canon, though can be used for characterization. Aside from the books themselves, the best place to check your information is the HP Lexicon.
10. Game Canon
What is established in game is considered to be game canon, and should be followed by all the characters, to the best of their knowledge. A resource guide for pre-established game canon can be found here.
11. Muggle References
The wizarding world and the muggle world are right on top and next to each other - they are not so far removed as it would seem. Remember to keep any and all Muggle references to a bare minimum. Even in canon, once integrated into the wizarding world, Muggleborns rarely reference their own culture as well. It's probably best to keep the focus on the Magical world with a reference to the Muggle world if your character is a Muggleborn or Half-blood. In that respect, remember to keep all references time appropriate and to British Muggle culture.
12. Spelling and Grammar
Not everyone is a perfect speller (even us GMs) - we're human; not computers. That being said, proper spelling and grammar is expected within the game. Even if you have go back and fix spelling or grammar errors after posting a thread or comment, it is encouraged. A few spelling mistakes are allowable, but short form "text" speak is not. Using British spelling and slang is also encouraged but not required. Insanejournal does have spellchecker for both posts and comments. This is an RP thread based game and not an IM based game, so a spellchecker module should be available for your usage.
Anything in the main RPG board, darkesthour_rpg, should be written out in 3rd person past tense.
13. Chatting
We will, in our best ability, be hosting bi-weekly chats for player interaction, plotting, and discussion. These chats are not mandatory (as we know people's schedules vary and RL happens), but we do encourage attending them whenever possible. This method is a beneficial way to stay actively involved with the game, plots, and other players. They will be held on YM, and most likely on Friday or Saturday evening so more people can attend.
The chat days and times will be posted in
darkesthour_ooc for player notification not less than three (3) days prior to when they will occur. Any essential information that all players should be aware of will be transcribed or outlined in a post by the GMs so players who missed out in the chat will be privy to the information.14. Quitting the Game
Should you need to leave the game, a polite notice of departure is allowed in
darkesthour_ooc. We hope in the event that a player does leave the game, it will be in a mature manner. Any "I'm taking my toys and going home" melodrama OOC exit posts on the community will be deleted. As well, any OOC ranting and/or attacking the game or the other players will result in post deletion. We at
darkesthour_rpg feel that the doors to the gaming community are open, and in the event that you need to leave the game but at a later point desire to reapply, we will consider your application.If you do leave the game, we will ask you to provide small summaries of where your characters are at in the game so that if the character is to be recast, the next player will be able to pick up the character smoothly. Should you have another player in mind for your character, please contact the mods for our approval before handing the character over to another player.
15. Communicating with the Game Masters (Mods)
Please feel free to contact the GMs at any time with questions, suggestions, comments or concerns. If there is a problem in the game of any sort, the GMs will want to know about it. Unless you come talk to us about any problems, we won't be able to know otherwise. Please send an email to the GMs at darkesthourmods@gmail.com so we can look over the problem and act accordingly. The GMs prefer email over IMing so we can have a concise record of all correspondence between the GMs and players involved. We will do our best to resolve any problems as quickly as possible, but please do understand that it might require a day or two to work with the players involved to come to a solution.