InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "manah manah"

closers (closers) wrote,
@ 2010-07-21 20:58:00

rules

Generally Speaking...

Canon addresses plenty of adult subject matter in this book, and the game will only expand upon the details of this, so we require all of our players to be at least eighteen years old. No player is expected or obligated to participate in threads or plots that contain such subject matter if they do not wish to.

Because stirring up drama off the page is usually not fun for everyone involved, we require all of our players to also act like they are at least eighteen years old. Be someone you would want to play with; be open and friendly instead of unapproachable and cliquey, tag in a timely manner, bring enthusiasm and joy to the game.

We have two different levels of activity in the game. Every Sunday we have a mod post in our OOC community that includes activity checks, and it's each player's responsibility to provide a link to a log for each of their characters by Monday afternoon. Full time characters must participate in one log a week, part time characters one log every two weeks. The logs do not need to be completed at the time of activity checks, but your character must have contributed to the log at least three times to be considered as a participant.

Strictly speaking, we don't have set restrictions on how many characters a player can have, just because the amount of time that each player can dedicate is different. However, character hogging/squatting is verboten so please don't apply for a character unless you truly have the time, ideas, and interest that will be needed to make them a fully formed, three dimensional character who grows over the course of the game. Please, do not apply because you have the perfect PB, someone to ship your character with, or a few days of boredom before classes get harder. Every player must start with just one character. Once you're playing, you can add a new character anytime, so long as the mods agree that you've shown yourself capable of handling your current roster.

When you're playing...

Do not contradict canon, specifically or generally. Jo isn't going to write a list of all the characters who were not involved with a particular event, so please use common sense to determine if your character's actions could have happened without being noticed in the story. Examples: Neville, Ginny, and Luna attempted to steal Gryffindor's sword, presumably no one else was with them in Snape's office, otherwise they'd have gotten detention too; the Weasleys (sans Bill & Fleur of course) did not visit Shell Cottage while the Trio was there, otherwise Harry surely would have mentioned it.

Keep realistic qualities, otherwise known as don't Mary Sue. This is a broad phrase, so let's break it down a bit. Mary Sues often have special abilities in a wide range of areas; they're physically stunning, friends with nearly everyone, lots of characters are romantically interested in them, they are rarely caught breaking the rules, can intuitively tell what other characters are felling or thinking beyond what they do or say, have exceedingly rare skills/objects/family/etc., are often extremely wealthy, almost never find themselves embarrassed, defeated, or rejected, and are generally the center of attention. The Anti-Sue (which can be just as bad) is someone who spends their whole life feeling unnoticed, listens to a lot of emo music, is socially ostracized by everyone they know, never gets the acclaim they think they deserve, pine for a person who doesn't know they're alive, are often humiliated by bullies in front of crowds, and bring the fun and energy of every thread they're a part of down ten notches. These characters suck to play with, because a) it gets monotonous/tedious, and b) they always find some way to one-up the character they're playing with.

In a similar vein, there should be no metagaming, godmodding, powerplaying, etc. Do not write, directly or indirectly, the actions, thoughts, words, or emotions of another character, unless you have asked them about it before hand. Do not intuit things that your character could not know, including what other characters are thinking about, their emotions (beyond what's been outwardly described), generally anything that your character does not actually know, you cannot write about.

Exercise common RP courtesy. If a log is not marked as open, ask someone playing in it before joining. Feel free to send owls or other messages without notifying players ahead of time, but please don't put a character that doesn't belong to you in a log without first talking to their player about it. Gentle puppeting of characters yet to be cast is acceptable when we have an idea of their behavior from the books, but certainly don't give them traits or actions that would have to be upheld by any incoming players.

Because it's really hard to play when your scene partner won't tag back, we ask that everyone play in a timely fashion. If you're not on a hiatus, please respond to comments for your character within 48 hours at most.

Placeholders and backdating are very much allowed. We're playing in a one day = one day environment, and this means sometimes you have to fudge things a little bit. Please note that an empty placeholder will never count towards an activity requirement, and that backdated threads count for the week in which they are posted to the game, not the dates when the action takes place. Lastly, if you haven't managed to get back to a placeholder within two weeks of the date you posted it, please consider if it's really going to be played or not (and if not, go ahead and take it down).

If you do need to go on hiatus - for three days or three weeks - just let us know. A simple heads up (with a date of expected return) helps everyone out tremendously. Because the game is short in nature (we'll run about four or five months total, with an option to continue playing post-war if there is interest), the longest hiatus the mods are willing to grant is one month, starting from the date of your last log. We understand that real life can be problematic, however it's just not fair to the other players if you're not around for three weeks, and then ask for a month hiatus.

Because this can be handy for people, here's our standard header:
Who: What: When: Where: Rating:

When Rules Are Broken...

We'll send you a mod email about the issue (inactivity, metagaming, drama, etc.) so you don't feel confronted by chat, and have time to reflect on the problem before responding. Please know that we hate being the bad guy, so if you do get an email, we're not sending it because it's fun to be jerks, it's because we want ATC to be a fun and active game where people are happy and comfortable playing. Honestly, we're hoping we never have to send a modmail. :P

Responses should be somewhat proportionate to our emails, please! If it's a simple 'Hi, sorry, you've gone inactive, so step it up!' then feel free to hit us back with an 'On it!' but if the email addresses a more serious issue, we're looking for a conversation on how the problem is going to be addressed.

However, if you don't respond to a mod email within 48 hours, we'll be left thinking that you've gone awol on us, and will remove you from the game. Highly offensive behavior, plagiarism, and persistent inactivity are also grounds for removal.

If you're removed from the game and want back in, send us an email. This doesn't mean that bam, you're back, but we'll happily take it under consideration.

f.a.q.

Q: What's the difference between Part Time and Full Time characters?
A: Full Time characters are your regular RPG characters, and require your thoughtfulness, attention, and awesomeness in order to grow into fully realized, well developed little imaginary people. As per our rules, they must participate in at least one thread each week. Part Time characters may not need quite the same amount of attention, but are an amazing way of filling out the world we're playing in, and are a great option for people who don't want to be quite as active. They must participate in at least one thread every two weeks.

Q: Why are the activity requirements so high?!
A: Because we want to write, not sit around procrastinating on Facebook or playing solitaire and Echo Bazaar, waiting for our scene partners to write that tag they owe in the thread from four freaking weeks ago. Meeting our requirements takes a couple hours a week, and it keeps the game active and fun rather than lifeless and dull. If you think they're unachievable and ridiculously high, this game is not the best fit for you; if you're looking to devote a few hours a week to a game that doesn't sit stagnantly around on the verge of closing, we're what you're looking for.

Q: Are there linked journals?
A: No. Every damn game out there has them, and in our experience they kill logging dead. This game is about storytelling and action, not commentary on off-camera action and musings on life. In short: we want to LOG. Your characters can certainly use their journals as journals, but the journals are not linked. However, this doesn't mean characters can't communicate in writing, or in secret! We have plenty of accommodations for passing notes and sending owls in the game, as well as charmed parchments and other ways in which Death Eaters and Order Members can contact each other. Canon has given us a wealth of resources, but it's never once mentioned linked journals.

Q: Why are you so into backstory?
A: Because this game is dedicated to the tail end of Deathly Hallows, and some pretty interesting stuff happened in the last six months before the game starts. Also, it gets everyone on the same page in regards to what happened when. Also, it's so much fun! If you've ever tried it, you know how awesome it can be to play a backstory thread and then apply that new knowledge to your present day character.

Q: Do you have caps on anything?
A: Yes, but it'll be based on percentages, not numbers. The mods want a realistic cross section of characters, which applies to gender, sexual orientation, ethnic background, blood status, religion, residence, and economic class.

We'll take into account the peculiarities of the wizarding world, such as the odds of being related to someone else being higher, or the fact that a lack of electricity and factories means that the majority of wizarding industry is devoted to craftspeople, tradespeople, and agriculture. Given that Muggle Studies is a class at Hogwarts, it can be assumed that a reasonable majority of families have nothing at all to do with Muggles, and stay mostly within the insular magical community for their day to day needs and socializing. The dwindling numbers of completely Pureblood families corresponds with the smaller number of households that are independently wealthy from centuries old treasures.

Presently we have quite a few characters with the traits below, in proportion to the number of characters cast. They aren't directly capped, however if you'd like to incorporate one for your character please consider what we mention here, have a unique way of expressing it in your application, and be open to a dialogue if needed.

Arranged Marriages (particularly with parents) - There are roughly 30-35 magical children born each year, which means you've got a pretty narrow dating pool unless you branch out to Muggles. People are probably choosier about who they date, more serious about their relationships, and get married a little earlier than modern day Muggles. Families may stay together more often simply because divorce is not a common option, as it wasn't for Muggles 100 years ago. Yes, there may occasionally be a marriage that is facilitated by parents on behalf of their children, but it should not be used as a fall-back standard for being "Pureblood" since this is fanon, rather than canon (no one in the books is mentioned as having an arranged marriage!).
Persons of Independent Means/Working Muggle Jobs - Most of wizarding culture is insular; they don't have much to do with Muggles, or the same sort of jobs as we do. Without Muggle industry and technology, a larger portion of their economy will revolve around craftspeople, tradespeople, and agriculture. Families with enough gold to support several generations, each of them living past 100 years of age... it's rare to say the least. When thinking of an appropriate career for a character or parent, consider what wizards could need in terms of goods and services, specially honed skills, etc.
One Muggle/Muggleborn Parent - Because wizarding society is so insular, it should be more common for students to be mostly unfamiliar with movies, television, computers, pop culture, etc. It's not that there can't be great characters with a foot in both worlds, but realistically this can't be everyone, or everyone's parents. To help give you ideas for wholly wizarding kids, consider attending primary school in Hogsmeade, playing with gnomes, fairies, kneazles or krups, listening to radio dramas, attending the occasional concert or play, reading quite a lot, attending parties with fun parlor games, playing make-believe or dress-up, chores, Quidditch matches, music lessons, crafting arts, horseback riding, archery, etc. Essentially, think back to what people did before all of our electrical interfaces!
Underground Railroad Style Safehouses - Hiding one family friend in the rafters or floorboards is different than smuggling a handful of near strangers out of the country. With a large contingent of Order Members, and other safehouses run by currently cast characters, we'd prefer not to cast more characters who are smuggling Muggleborns to safety.

Q: What if my character is Muggleborn?
A: We're sorry to say that Muggleborns are currently suffering the worst conditions of any group, followed by Muggles and blood traitors. A few Muggleborns have been killed, some are incarcerated in Azkaban, others have been kept as prisoners by Snatchers, DE's, and the like. Some have fled the country or are on the run, a few are being hidden, and even fewer have managed to either prove themselves incredibly useful (likely by giving other Muggleborn names and whereabouts to the Ministry, or doing criminal grunt work in exchange for not being locked up) or passably Halfblood with forged family trees or new identities.

Q: What if my character is Pureblood?
A: There better have been some inbreeding in their family tree, if it's not just a false claim.

Q: What if my character is a blood traitor?
A: Anyone known to have housed or aided a Muggleborn is considered a blood traitor, as well as those who refuse to reject Muggle society. Presently, this is a perilous position to be inhabiting.

Q: Is the game "dark"?
A: In a non-traditional way, yes. We are not just focusing on the Carrows torturing students; there's a lot more that is sinister in the Wizarding World than just that. Saying You-Know-Who's name is Taboo, supporting Harry Potter draws eyes that you don't want watching you, even wearing clothing considered to lean more towards Muggle fashions is, well, out of fashion. As the game progresses there will be subject matter that is frankly a bit twisted, given that there is a mentally deranged wizard risen from the grave, trying to take over the world and become the master of Death.

Before you apply, please give thought to which character you would like to play and what their role in the game will be, as well as their motivations. Not all of the characters will need to be involved in torture or murder or other reprehensible actions; some will manage to make their way through the war with only minimal change to their everyday lives, but those who will likely find themselves on either side of an attacking wand should consider themselves aware of what they're signing up for.

Q: What's up with NPCs?
A: Loves em. We use NPCs (Non-Played Characters) in several ways here. First, there are Mod-Controlled NPCs, which means (as it sounds), Jillian and Nell will be playing them from time to time, to further various plot elements (Voldemort being a jerk, Kingsley trying to rally the Order, the Carrows' classes at school, etc.) and to give a viewpoint of what's happening via the Daily Prophet (we NPC the new editor, Rosemary Selwyn). If players have ideas for these characters, we would love to hear them, however it'll be up to our discretion, as far as what actually gets put into play.

Players are welcome to have NPCs too, though we ask that you not play any character who appear in canon in case someone wants to apply for them. Family members, non-canon shopkeepers, etc., these are all welcome and encouraged. You may use your own journals, or

atcnpc. If you use the community npc journal, we ask that you not upload more than five icons per character. You must credit your icon maker for these, even if it is yourself. Ideally, you should always credit your icon makers, but if you don't in an NPC journal, we're going to hunt you down and make you. :P

Lastly, please remember that while they have no playing requirements themselves, playing NPCs will never count towards your original requirements for your played characters. They're an awesome tool for getting outside perspectives in game, however they should never be the majority of any player's interactions.

Q: Do you ever do PB changes?
We're not fans of PB changes, because usually there's not a lot of reason to it, and it's often a slippery slope; when one person does it, three others want to. If you have a strong case for it, we invite you to present it and if we see the merit we will grant one (and only one, so you should be 100% sure you want that new face, since it's then the one you're seriously stuck with) change.