A Few Basic Rules to Live By

[jawildey]

General PbP Rules: (an excerpt from the Ivy and Chrome PBEM by Wardo Starks.)

1. This is an online Play by Post roleplaying game that is done in storyformat. All responses are done in third person and not first.
2. All messages that pertain out of the game will be preceded with the "OOC:"prefix. (Example: OOC: Hey what was that for?")
3. Responses should be checked at the minimum and responded to,if possible, at least once every two days. If you cannot, then please let us know, otherwise, the GM will run the character NPC. If the character is NPC for what they think is too long, then it becomes one permanantly.
4. Don't play this game suicidal or in a way that seems munchkin-like. You're asking to get killed then. (Munchkin: Any player or character who strives to make the game hack and slash by making the most powerful character. Basically takes no interest in the game, just the powerlevel of his character.)
5. Don't treat your character as a dime a dozen. Most GM's generally don't kill characters off. The general guidelines are as follows:
   You died because:
   1. The odds were against you.
   2. You met your match...
   3. You did something incredibly stupid.
   4. It follows a storyline (This one is rare but does happen)
6. No nongame related forwards unless you get permission first. We had a dispute about a forward not long ago that almost shut the PBEM down. It was a stupid argument in my opinion. Bout the respect for soldiers between two different countries.
7. Avoid killing other Player Characters. If it is in self defense or follows your character's alignment, then fine. Not out of anger outside the game though.
8. Above all have fun.
9. Make sure that you sign who you are at the beginning of the response.
10. When quoting, only quote the pertinent information and put your response below the quote.
11. Using out of character information is forbidden. This has been an issue since the start of the game. People using knowledge from reading other posts or reading about the character from the profiles page and using it in character. If the GM catches someone blatantly using out of character information then they may keep it in mind and dock experience points, depending on how badly it affected the game depends on how bad the penalty. We have also seen some questionable acts that could be deemed as ooc but cleverly disguised as coincidence, if it happens too
    often with any particular PC, the GM (or Wardo) may call the player on it. If it is purely accidental, such as you never knew if a character greeted you or not, then you may just get a warning. Dont let it happen too often.
12. GM's may use critical fumble rules. This is to show that even the best make mistakes at times.
13. Your GM may allow multiplaying (one player playing more than one character) at their discretion typically with the following conditions:
    1. The player must choose one character to sacrifice any experience earned for a period of no less than one full year in real time.
    2. This includes playing more than one character even if it is not under the same GM in this PBEM.
    3. Anyone caught multiplaying by using separate profiles will be reprimanded.
    4. If a player happens to be playing a character which has no level advancements (IE the faerie or similar class of somesort), we do not allow the
       person to call that as the character that recieves no experience. It is a form of abusing the rules.
14. The GM should be copied on any player-to-player personal communications related to their game.