Post by Ginny Weasley on Jan 20, 2014 15:32:43 GMT -5
Term time rules
1) Be respectful when RPing – this is a general rule but worth repeating. Your character is free to be as unpleasant as you like but you cannot force anyone into a storyline with you and we expect you as yourself to always be respectful to those that choose to
2) Don’t take anything that happens in RP too seriously. Some characters are highly unpleasant as their nature – canon examples are Bellatrix, Lucius, etc. Don’t expect these characters to suddenly be nice to you simply because you would like them to and please don’t take offence if they are unpleasant. This is simply them being played IC (in character). This also goes for any OC (original character) character out there with similar personalities. If you are unhappy with how a character is being played for any reason please contact the RPer first and try to work it out with them yourself, only then if you feel that their behaviour is unjustified will a staffer get involved.
3) Anyone playing a canon we ask you to keep these as IC as possible – some minor characters have little actually known about them, feel free to interpret these as you will, likewise we actively encourage people to flesh out and develop any character to make it their own, however there is a difference between developing and rewriting a character. For example, giving Lucius motivation for his general behaviour is developing, making him suddenly nice and pro-muggle is rewriting. We ask that all canons be played as true to their known personalities as possible, though there are a few specified characters that we will be stricter with, largely because they are not easy to RP. If you wish to rewrite a character we suggest creating an OC whom you can alter as you wish.
4) OC powers– For OC’s we ask you be reasonable. If a student you may pick one speciality to excel in or you may be someone like Hermione whom is good at everything (barring the physical) but cannot best anyone that excels at it. We are aware that there are a few canons that were better than this but they are the exceptions not the rule. Adults have more scope with what they can do and specialise in, however again please don’t excel in more than two areas. You may be good at other things, just not the best and try to balance your character accordingly – everyone has strengths and weaknesses, even Hermione! Anyone wishing a special ability such as metamorphmagus/ seer/ etc must put this information in their character application and will get this INSTEAD of a specialty, we also reserve the right to refuse any special ability if we have reason (e.g. to strong/unlikely)
5) Canons – please stick to your canon abilities. If these are largely unknown please apply the same rules as OC’s. Those of you have specialised abilities please do not abuse, yes your character can do this, but don’t have them do it all the time or it can ruin RP for everyone. E.g. Snape is an accomplished Legilimens in the books however he does not go around reading minds at the drop of a hat and does not know everything that has been said (indeed he is quoted describing Legilimency as a complicated and inexact art). Likewise Tonks can change her appearance but there is no evidence she can take on the full form of an animal therefore please avoid this.
6) Drinking – please be aware students are not allowed to drink. Any student caught drinking will be in serious trouble. Adults may drink responsibly i.e. away from children in their own time and we ask that you do not RP them as getting drunk.
7) Unforgivable and dark magic – Dark magic and Crucios are permitted with this term, but please be respectful. If your RP is upsetting someone or they really do not wish to be involved in that then do not make them, it is best to always check ahead with your RP partners to see if they are fine with your plot. Likewise when RPing a duel or fight, it is always best to agree beforehand whom will win as few people are keen to loose when it comes down to it. If at a stale mate the best idea is to arrange for someone to interrupt. Imperios and Avada kedavras are not permitted without staff permission.
8) Be sensible in what you do – students cannot simply skip classes willy nilly (though you don’t have to RP these, just do not have them declaring that they are constantly skipping) without ramifications and with death eaters as Professors these will be nasty. Likewise teachers cannot simply not turn up to teach – even the death eaters would not get away with that. Voldemort has put them there to do a job, they need to actually do it (though again you do not need to RP it if you don’t want)
9) Drugs – please refrain from RPing any drug taking
10) Sex and sexual reference – as with the main site rules, you may refer lightly to this, but please keep it to a pg13 standard
11) Complex storylines – if you have a complicated or dark storyline then please check with staff for permission, some topics will not be allowed because of rating and consequences e.g. rape, pregnancy, sexual abuse, RP’d character death
12) Only one major canon will be allowed per person. This is to give different people a chance to RP someone popular. Minor canons may however be chosen as a second (or of course an OC). If you have your heart set on a second major canon you may register your interest, if after a fair period of time this canon has not been claimed or if it later becomes free and no one with no major canon of their own wants it then we will happily consider bending this rule.
13) Canon characters not on the sign up list - if the character would naturally be at Hogwarts during this time (such as another student or teacher we have not included) then you may take it. Other characters that would not naturally be in Hogwarts at this time you can apply for and we will consider if you can come up with a plausable reason why they would be there, however there is no guarantee you will get them. Characters that are certainly not involved at this point e.g. Voldemort and the Golden Trio, we will not be allowing to be RP'd at this time to remain in keeping with canon. These characters may appear at a later date for plot purposes, however it will be in the short term only and so will be RP'd as and when necessary by staff.
14) Relatives of canon characters - Original characters are just that, some allowance will be made for acceptable connections. For example most purebloods are related on some level, so saying that you are a distant cousin of a canon family is fine, as is referring to relations of minor characters whom we know little about (giving Cho Chang a little sister say) however extra children/brothers/sisters/immediate cousins of the major characters will not be allowed as their backgrounds are very well known. If you have a question about this or feel that you deserve an allowance please contact a staff member to discuss
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