Barrow-Downs RPG Guidelines

[piosenniel]

BARROW-DOWNS RPG GUIDELINES

01.) Check the game's discussion thread frequently. This is where you plan your next moves with other players and keep the game on track. Also, remember to check your PMs (private messages).

02.) Write in complete sentences and in paragraph form. Each post that you make should be at least two paragraphs in length with each paragraph made up of at least two sentences. Separate the paragraphs by double spacing between them. This makes your posts easier to read and more enjoyable for everyone. When a character speaks, his or her words should go between quotation marks.

03.) Short chat-style posts which encourage other players to post in a chatty style are discouraged. Use descriptive prose along with your use of dialog.

Chat-style abbreviations are not allowed. For example, say "How are you today?" not "How r u 2day".

04.) Stay in character on the RPG/Inn/Meadhall threads. Use PMs or the discussion thread for out of character (OOC) comments or discussions.

05.) No 'smilies' or 'post icons' on the RPG, please.

06.) Please do not highlight parts of your RPG text.

07.) Please tell your fellow players if you will be unavailable for a while. Try to arrange for another player to gently carry your character. Or give permission for the rest of the players to gently carry your character along.

08.) Swearing, sexual conduct, or obscenity of any kind are absolutely prohibited. There are no exceptions. Flaming and spamming are also forbidden.

. . . I always ask myself if any of these words or euphemisms for cursing would be found in Tolkien's works. So I always say no to cursing and to any 'pseudo-cursing'. They need to keep it clean. -- per The Barrow-Wight

09.) Interact with the other players. Don't try to write the story yourself. An RPG is a communal effort with everyone participating. Use the discussion thread for planning.

10.) Do not use another person's character at all (move them, give them dialogue, kill them, etc) unless you have express permission from the player. And despite there being an agreement in place, the player whose character has been used may request a change in the post regarding his character whenever he/she feels the change is warranted.

11.) No Bunnying!/No Godmodding!

Please play your character realistically and within the boundaries of Middle Earth "reality". Don't act in ways that give you unfair advantages over other players. Don't speak, act, or think for another player's character(s) without consulting them first. Concentrate on your own character and how they are reacting to what is happening around them.

Players have the right to request that you modify your post when they feel that their character has been misrepresented or unfairly treated. Game facilitators and/or moderators will mediate any disagreements.

What are Bunnying and Godmodding:

Bunnying - 1)actions that interfere unjustly with other characters. 2) anything that gives your character unfair advantages over other PCs(Primary Characters) and NPCs(Non Primary Characters - the one's that aren't full characters, but are just carried along - such as the small troop of Orcs, for example, that your evil character might command). 3) presenting someone else's character in such a way, whether by actions or words, that you change the basic nature of that character.

Examples of Bunnies:

Ultimate weapons/spells. Killing off other players without permission . Killing non-player characters without a good reason. Invulnerability. Unduly large numbers of skills. Skills conflicting with your character.

Using someone else's character for specific acts, thoughts, or speeches without their permission. On those rare occasions that you speak for another character, be very careful to do it in a way that does not misrepresent them or do anything significant without the permission of the person who owns that character. (For example, if the entire group is fleeing an enemy, you can say that all the characters are fleeing - which leaves enough room for the individual players to comment on their own characters actions. What you can't do is to say that such and such a character tripped, for example, and the foe was upon them, and fear was in their eyes.)

~*~

Godmodding

To start out simply Godmodding is when you make actions for anything other then an NPC, or sometimes when you make actions for them (NPC’s). An NPC is a non-player character, basically this could be a merchant in a town, a horse, or even a characters pet dog. Depending on the NPC Godmodding may or may not be ok, for example if you are in a town talking to a merchant, then it would be alright for you to make actions for the blacksmith, tailor, food vendor, what have you. If you are role-playing with someone and they have a pet cat or dog, and you make the actions for their pet then you might end up raising some hackles. However those are the finite points of Godmodding and to get back to the basics an example of blatant Godmodding would be the following (in several different situations):

Godmodding Example 1:

Character X and Character Y are having a conversation.

X: “Good morning to you, how do you fare on this fine day?" X stretches and yawns sleepily having just woken up.
Y: Smiles at X and shakes her hand, “I’m doing well, my name is Y pleasure to meet you.” Watches X grin in pleasure at having met him.

Now if you will notice, Y began to describe the actions of X this is very basic Godmodding but will easily upset many role players. Most people will ask, “Why is that so offensive?” The reason so many people will become upset, even at this most simple transgression is because you are telling them how their character reacts to situations, thinks, moves, or even speaks at times. Would you like to meet someone on the street and have him or her begin to tell you that you should smile at them after meeting for the first time, or offer him or her food and drink etcetera? I should hope not, it would be considered rude if a stranger told you that you should smile at them happily for having met them, and the same goes for peoples characters. Many members of online role playing communities are very attached to their characters, some have had the same one for years, or they simply put a great deal of time and effort into their development. It impedes on the creative skills of the other person you are role-playing with if you begin to describe their character for them.

Observing the actions of a person’s character is not Godmodding, and the difference between the two is clear.

X: “Good morning to you, how do you fare on this fine day?” X stretches and yawns sleepily having just woken up.
Y: Smiles at X and reaches out to shake her hand, “I’m doing well, my name is Y pleasure to meet you.” Looks X over, she seems to be in the process of awakening, an amusing sight.

You will notice that now character Y is not automatically assuming that X has offered her hand to be shook, or smiles at Y. Instead Y is now describing the actions of X and X’s appearance based on the information given. Good descriptive skills are a big asset when you roleplay, they can help a situation that would be otherwise dull come alive with depth and emotion.

Godmodding Example 2:

Character X and Y are fighting.

X: Swings her fist at Y’s face, slamming it at his chin.
Y: Dodges and kicks X in the stomach watching her start to puke.

In this example you will see that X did not say whether or not she hit Y with her punch, this is so that Y has the ability to dodge, take a glancing blow, or feel the full force of the punch. Y unfortunately decided to Godmod by kicking X in the stomach without giving her a chance to move, and by doing what was covered in Example 1 (describing the reactions/feelings/speech of another character). Bad form character Y, you could have simply dodged and continued thusly:

X: Swings her fist at Y’s face, slamming it at his chin.
Y: Dodges nimbly to the side and raises his left foot trying to plant a blow in X’s stomach.

See how much easier it is to let the other character control their own actions, you only have to concern yourself with your character and the descriptions in the fight (obviously these aren’t very descriptive being used for tutorial purposes). Now we have two different kinds of Godmodding to watch out for:

1: Describing the actions, thoughts, words, feelings, or otherwise controlling another person’s character.
2: Automatically hitting another character in a fight, not giving another character a chance to dodge, duck, weave, or describe the damage they are taking.

Godmodding Example 3;

Character X and Y are still fighting; Y shows the true evil of Godmodding.

X: Yelps as Y’s foot hits her in the belly, doubling over in pain with a growl.
Y: Cuts off X’s head with a stunning show of skill.

The above is NEVER all right; you do not kill another person’s character by Godmodding. Yes characters do die but you have to allow the person controlling the character to make that decision, hopefully wisely. Automatically connecting a blow is Godmodding, but you will notice that the definition of God has been left out thus far in the tutorial. Godmods are often just that, “God” of the RPG realm they inhabit. The Godmod often believes they never have to get hit, always dodging in a fight, never getting hurt in a spar, magically healing your wounds instantly when your character has never done so before, or casting spells / using fight moves that are completely unreasonable is Godmodding. Having an all-powerful character is no fun for anyone and while it might be amusing for a while it’s one of the fastest ways to get people to stop role-playing with you or even acknowledging your posts. Every character has limits, they all have strengths and weaknesses, so having a character that is a super fighter and equally amazing caster who also happens to be immortal, control time, and holds power over such non personal things as life and death…is just well, LAME.

Characters should be logical, and so should fights. It doesn’t matter if you are fighting a relatively weak character and yours happens to be stronger, if the fight drags on you should start to feel fatigued and therefore slow down or become more vulnerable to attack. Every person makes mistakes in their life, and so do characters, an illogically powerful character that is without weakness and full of skill is simply annoying to be around. By the same token characters do evolve, however even as your character grows stronger with age or experience they should still have a weakness. Even size can be a weakness, a giant shouldn’t move at the speed of a sprite like young woman they have much more bulk to be hauling around. By the same token this weakness (size) can be an asset, a punch from a giant is going to have a lot more force behind it then a blow from the smaller younger woman.

The best way to avoid Godmodding is to think logically about your character and the other characters you are interacting with.

12.). Be polite to your fellow players. Everyone makes mistakes. That is what the "Edit" button is for. There is no reason to get angry at someone else. It’s just a game.

13.) This is a Tolkien website, so your characters and stories must relate to Middle Earth. For example Jedi Knights and lasers are not permitted.

• No magical, super-hero, mithril weapons. Just good solid Middle-earth weapons and armor only that is appropriate to the race of the character and the time period.
  
• No half-Elven characters. No mixed-type characters. No super-heroes. No ninja or such assassins. No one all powerful, martial arts proficient, or having any magical traits. Just regular characters with normal abilities for their races only

14.) The member who starts an RPG is its facilitator and is in charge of the game. The facilitator determines the pace of the game and keeps the game moving; how much control the players have; monitors that the players are staying within the basic RPG rules, and guides the Discussion thread as needed. All of course still under the general supervision of the assistant moderators and the Forum Moderator.

15.) If a problem arises with another player, whether it is a personality conflict or a rules violation, contact the RPG Facilitator first. If the problem is not resolved, contact an assistant moderator or the Forum Moderator.

16.) When a game is already in play, check the discussion thread of the game and see if the game owner has left it open for new players to join or if it is 'closed.' If the game is open to taking on players at any time, post a request on the discussion saying you’d like to join. If the game is “closed” to new players, go ahead and PM the RPG facilitator to see if there is room in the game for your character.

17.) Edit out your signature for every post you do in any RPG on the Barrow-Downs. Edit out your signature for the Inns and Meadhall, too.

NOTE: In the screen for creating your posts, there is an option to 'Show Signature'. Please uncheck this box when posting in the RPG forums.

You can use your signature on the Game Discussion Threads.

18.) About quoting what other characters have said in previous posts: Please don't use the 'QUOTE' function available to you on the posts. Since the Inns/Meadhalls and RPG's are written more like ongoing stories - just use quotation marks and reference the quotation from the other character as needed with a - he said . . . she said . . . etc.

19.) Please note: A game which hasn't been posted on in 4 weeks signifies a lack of interest in the game. An assistant moderator or Forum Moderator will post to the discussion thread about getting the game moving. If the game does not resume within 2 weeks, the Forum Moderator may then close the game and remove it.

20.) If you are going to post at the Inn/Meadhall or in a game - you must have your Private Messages (PM's) enabled so that you can be contacted.

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Reminders for an RPG in play:

• Please remove your signature from EVERY post to the RPG thread - including SAVES
  
  
• Don't use smileys in your RPG posts or icons - e.g., etc.
  
  
• Don't highlight any part of the RPG text.
  
  
• Don't use the 'Reason for Editing' function on your RPG posts. If it's critical that other players know that you've changed something, then put a post on the Discussion Thread about your edit.
  
  
• No OOC (out of character comments) on the RPG thread - use the Discussion Thread.
  
  
• SAVES should be filled within 48 hours and may be removed from the game at the discretion of the game facilitator. The game facilitator may disallow any SAVES to his/her game.
  
• If there's something crucial you need to post but can't at the time, you can place your finished post on the Discussion Thread and ask the Forum Moderator to insert it in the appropriate place on the game thread.
  
  
• Swearing, sexual conduct, or obscenity of any kind are absolutely prohibited. There are no exceptions -- per The Barrow-Wight

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Keep It Clean

Special Announcement: 7/10/2006

The Barrow-Downs has always taken pride in being a family-friendly site. That includes a cordial and polite atmosphere, open to all opinions, but there's more to it than that. It means that parents should be able to trust us that underage members will not find anything objectionable in any posts that they read here.

That means the following rule applies to all posts in all sections of the forum:


Swearing, sexual conduct, or obscenities of any kind are absolutely prohibited. There are no exceptions.


Furthermore, The Barrow-Wight, owner of the site, has said:

. . . I always ask myself if any of these words or euphemisms for cursing would be found in Tolkien's works. So I always say no to cursing and to any 'pseudo-cursing'.

. . . keep it clean.

Some words are automatically censored by the computer; they are blanked out with *****. However, from the context, it is often clear which word is intended:

Even when disguised beneath pretty stars, the meaning of such words is clear.

-- The Barrow-Wight

...and if not, why there's no sense in keeping unnecessary asterisks in an otherwise understandable post.

We would like to remind all members who have "forgotten" this rule; please edit your posts accordingly and avoid using objectionable words and/or content in all of your posts. The administrators and moderators will edit or delete posts without warning or notification if it's necessary.


Thanks for helping us to keep the Barrow-Downs a place we all can enjoy!

~The Downs Administration

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About Elves in Barrow-Downs RPG's:

Please use this description from Tolkien when crafting an Elf:

Return of the King – Appendix F: Tolkien’s description for the Quendi (The Speakers) – the name given to the Elves by themselves after they first awoke in Middle-earth.

“They were a race high and beautiful, the older Children of the world, and among them the Eldar were as Kings, who now are gone: the People of the Great Journey, the People of the Stars. They were tall, fair of skin and grey-eyed, though their locks were dark, save in the golden house of Finrod; and their voices had more melodies than any mortal voice that is now heard . . .”

Please use this as a guideline for describing your Elven character’s appearance.

[piosenniel]

Please make yourself familiar with these rules and guidelines for playing in an RPG. If you have any problems or questions, please feel free to contact me, the RPG Forum Moderator - piosenniel, or one of the Assistant Moderators - Formendacil or Feanor of the Peredhil.

Thanks! & have fun RP'ing!!!!

~*~ Pio