Latest revision as of 22:10, 31 December 2020

These rules are written in support/addition to the Terms of Service.

As times change, the rules may to address the player base's needs and concerns.

This page gives a general list. Rules for more specific parts of the site can be found with information about those parts (ie: Guild Creation rules, Character Creation rules, etc)

Images

• Profile images are 300x300 px MAXIMUM.
• Signature images are 500(w) x 100(h) px MAXIMUM.
• Posters for room walls can be up to 400x400 px MAXIMUM.
• All images are to be 150kb or less.
• Pornographic/Explicit photos will be removed without warning.

Claims and Copyright

SkaldSong RP does not claim rights to any photo uploaded by a player. All claims are considered personal use.

Game Information Use

• You cannot declare to know someone without permission from the other person(s) or reasonable explanation (ie renowned status)
• You cannot declare your character(s) to share history or a background with another character(s) without permission from the other person(s)
• Even if you recognize a character from another site, do not assume or expect that history to be valid still.

Player Disputes

We expect every player to conduct themselves maturely with one another. However in the event that players cannot come to a decision they can choose to request mediation by the Staff. Staff members will do all they can to come to a decision and can issue overrides to certain plot points that might not have been considered kosher otherwise.

By default the Staff will not intervene unless the situation is disruptive to the community (ie public, explosive arguments) or at the request of a player involved.

Requesting mediation by staff is not in any way considered a strike against either party!

Direct complaints about a player must be made directly to one of the staff and announced as such. Only then will we proceed with fact finding and take action on your situation.

Rooms and Privacy

Rooms are considered free to join unless otherwise written in the room title.

Private role plays should be reserved for one-off situations, such as campaigns or situations where it is virtually impossible for others to attend. On the forum private role plays are still public to be read, so be considerate in how you use them.

If you want to watch only, it is courteous to ask permission first. Some people don't mind people joining on the fly, but it can be a little nerving being watched.

If you are told no, please do not subvert a player's wish by waiting until they exit to read the 'back log'.

Temporary Rooms

The use of temporary rooms are not to be used to subvert the rules and logs remain long after the room vanishes.

They are great for creating a more localized setting not normally offered. For example there may be a group playing in the Market Square and within that room three of you are actually inside a building. In order to not confuse the setting or hold anyone up you might feel inclined to create the shop as a room to continue. This is a great way to reduce room anxiety for those who aren't familiar with playing in larger groups.

Out of Character Privacy

Internet 101: Never give out your personal details to strangers.

Mature Content

The contents of roleplay that may be found on Skaldsong may not be necessarily suitable to minors.

Graphic Scenes

Players may choose to 'shut the bedroom door' and continue the scene from the aftermath, denoted with some form of line break (***, ~*~, etc) or as preferable. Those who choose to carry forth and allow depth into the scene should restrict themselves to what one would read in a romantica novel. Best put as:

All About Romance.com (Sensuality Ratings Guide) wrote:
While our lovers do make love, and the reader is there with them, physical details are described, but are not graphically depicted. Much is left to the reader’s imagination and/or possibly the use of euphemistic “code words.” But what’s most important are feelings and emotions, not body parts.

For violence much of the same considerations should be taken and depending on the nature and comfort of those involved.

Never feel obligated to continue a scene of either type.

That being said, the use of temporary rooms, marked "private" is advised.

Skirmishes

Fighting in play by active posting roleplay (as opposed to forum based roleplay) can be a daunting challenge for those who do not regularly do so. There are many favored styles out there, from a reliance on dice to a reliance on “honor” (although regardless of the fight choice chosen, being honest will get you in fewer tough situations should a moderator have to be involved.) Your characters can fight dirty, but you, the player, have to be honest about that dirt.

Event fights (those centered around holidays or events created or approved by the Staff) will almost certainly be moderated and possess their own rules due to the nature of the scene. For example, a joust would not necessarily follow the same rules as a wrestling match or archery contest, and thus would be moderated with different rules. Also, fights that occur out in the world may need special attention to details in their own way.

Conduct

• Determine the method you both will agree to. Come to an agreement before you engage.
  • If you cannot, consider talking out about what might occur and the ending, or agree to using a referee.

• Items, including hidden ones, as well as most powers are accounted for before the fight begins. This is to simply provide proof against 'deus ex' actions and is for the benefit of any referee you might recruit. Leniency may occur between people who are comfortable with the situation or if the match is not so serious to need such specificity.

• Actions should be detailed and numbered for legibility.
  • For example: He swung the sword with his right hand horizontally across his enemy's waistline(1). His left arm braced the shield upward to catch the blow from the mace.) Defending actions are typically responsive of logic cause and effect, or dice, and as such do not need to be specified unless is part of an attack itself ([...]blow from the mace and pushed back to topple the attacker backward a step(2))

• Accepted hits are acknowledged and carried forward through the fight. Injuries should be as severe as they would realistically be and no one flesh or fabric is impervious. Hair gets cut, and armor is designed to take a beating, so give it some dents and scratches.

Always remember that you are choreographing a story with others. This is not a fight between you and your opponent, but a story of a clashing.

Consider these:

• Is this training, a death match, or something in between?
• What is the end goal? Will someone lose or will there be a stalemate/escape?
• Does this fight have a purpose oocly? (Giving character rights to something?)

Often simply knowing these answers can diffuse most OOC squabbles before they have ever begun. Always reach out to the other player in order to clarify anything you might not have understood from their point of view before making your post and you will have avoided a large amount of unnecessary frustration altogether.

You can also have someone read and referee a fight if you like, and this person can be anyone as long as they are recognized as impartial by the fighters.

Methods

There is no enforceable system for fights beyond the guidelines listed above. Players may opt to use dice or stick to strictly text, regardless they should be open and honest with their character's abilities, strengths, and weaknesses.

Basic dice usually involve just tossing the agreed die (usually a d20 or d100) at each other and taking into account not only whose is highest, but the difference between the resulting numbers to determine how bad of a miss or how bad of a hit that might have occurred. The dice here are just a guide and are idea for those who don't really care what happens along the way.

Sometimes people use dice to simply make personal decisions about what to do, or as a building-consequence type of rolling where they are trying to achieve through dice a particular number or total in order to proceed with a character's trait or skill.

Feel free to use other systems you feel might work for your fight, so long as its understood, and agreed upon!

Life Cycles

The following rules may be adjusted based on player feedback, or necessity in order to keep a certain flow with the player base.

Pregnancies and Deaths involve badges, so please remember to apply for them so we know you need them!

Pregnancies

Having a character go through a pregnancy can be almost as an exciting time as it might be in real life. Some players may go all out, using it as a time to develop their character further as they navigate their first with all the ups and downs that come along the way. A pregnant woman, after all, is not useless and unplayable! However all players will need to keep these in mind:

• Affected characters must be of age.
• Pregnancies will last a minimum of 9 RL weeks. You can totally have them go the full gestation!

As always make sure you get on the same page with your rp partner as far as if this child will be a played character, who will play it, etc. Though this is fantasy we do extend some OOC rights to the other half of the pregnancy, minimally. This is to say you may not claim your character to have a miscarriage if you two stop playing or come to a disagreement. Likewise running away with the traits gained is frowned upon.

Growth

Playing children can be fun, but it's not for everyone. Even in real life we are often in a hurry to grow up. And like real life, once we reach a certain age we just want time to stop!

This can create some odd situations when adults aren't aging but children are. Or where some children are and others aren't.

While we do not currently have a guideline for how to age your characters, we encourage you to use your better judgement and to remind yourself that time moves a lot faster than it feels, let your kid character be kid characters for a while!

• Feel free to give us ideas/feedback on how you would like us to handle this!

Death and Beyond

No character is immune from death.

We want to encourage you to let characters die, without fear that you have lost them. That being said, if you remain in a situation in which can kill your character and they fail to survive, your character will die. But fret not, they do not have to stay dead!

Rebirth and Resurrections

Culturally speaking, the natives of The Tapestry believe in rebirth-- that a loved one could be reborn onto a new path, or a worthy person will find themselves awake again before funeral rites are completed. And they do not necessarily have to worship this being to get this perk. This is the artist's gift to the world to continue the stories. However it is not without some... miscalculations.

This means you can use the death of a character to change things up, or as a simple road bump in its life.

There are two methods you can use to bring back your character, both will require one month (which you can use to finalize your decisions and get the gang organized) to do:

Rebirth

• If your character is less than a month old (play time) you are eligible for this without fine print.
• If your character has Renown rank, you are eligible for this without fine print.

The Skald has recognized your fall out of turn and has manually altered your path. One month into your slumber you find yourself awake again.

The Fine Print: A feature or more of yourself has changed (looks, gender, powers, etc).

• This method is ideal if you were trying to change subject claims or wanted to restart a character you have been regularly playing with some tweaks, perhaps you feel they would have been better suited as another race? Maybe you decided you didn't like their abilities or tone.

Resurrection

With the aid of others a plea is made to The Skald to consider you. With your combined efforts and power the hero is brought back. How unscathed you are highly depends on how you fell and the power of the people helping you.

• This method is ideal if you had let your character die for plot reasons, but otherwise wanted to keep playing them. We thank you for your participation!

Ghosts and Soul-less Ghosts in The Tapestry have lost their way. The process for Resurrection might have been cut short with an unrecognizable body, or the offer of Rebirth had been ignored, or prevented via entrapment or binding to somewhere or something.

If your character sells their soul, or has their soul taken from them, they will NOT be able to resurrect by any method without the soul's owner's participation.

A devoured soul is unrecoverable, and perhaps the only way for someone to permanently die.

Magic Item Requests

Magic Item request information and requirements.

So, you want a custom magical item? This is where you will find out the requirements for getting such a thing.

The following is a list of criteria for your item to be created. Following that, will be the explanation of reasons why we have created this process. It is advised you read both before making an item request. Following that will be a list of likely questions that will be updated if and when people ask for more information.

Requirements:

• Before setting out to make an item/ask for one to be added to chat, contact the staff first.

This is courteous, and can help us get your item ready and off the ground quicker if we have some lead time to work on it with you. “I said they could have it tomorrow” or similar promises on our behalf are unlikely to be progressed as a request.

• A ‘plot’ hook for the item:

Why is this item significant? Who is it for? How do they get it? Examples of answers to this question are a long quest that requires special materials for someone to make it, a personal sacrifice on the part of the desired bearer. Or perhaps it is representative of a bond or commemorative of a special event - the story of an item should guide why you want it where possible.

• What it does:

Is it a magic sword that bursts into flames? Is it an earring that allows you to remote view a given location? Tell us what it does and how. If it has weaknesses or failings (being made of a brittle material, or it does not work underwater, etc). If we are aware of what the item can do, then we can properly support or mediate for you if the item causes a situation where the outcome is not clear.

• An image for the item to use in chat:

Width and height dimensions of 150x150, keep the data size as low as is practically possible. Also try to pick an image that clearly displays what the item is - this may be challenging, such as with a sword that will not fit in the image dimensions without being very small, but use your best judgement. Some creative cropping can go a long way!

• Description text:
• Short description: eg: heirloom blade, jade armlet, etc
• Long description: The basic info about the item - this is about a tweet’s worth of information. Eg: “A tome inlaid with precious metals and stones, that contains secret information.” Note: Code restrictions mean it really must be a brief description, so be economical with your item descriptions - what it is at a glance will suffice. Also note that the short description is not strictly necessary if you do not want to include one.

Cursed Items

Cursed items follow a very similar path of approval, but with some additional criteria in mind.

• A curse must have a clear intent, easily understood from an out of character perspective, even if not in character.

Curses are often cryptic to unravel, but their intent and effect is often obvious. This, again, falls in to the category of enabling us to properly assist or intervene if required, if we clearly understand what your cursed item is intended to do.

• A clear means of dismantling the curse.

Assuming there is not some agreement between players that this be a long lasting or permanent thing or a specific and limited duration, the possibility for remedy must exist somehow, that is easy to understand from an out of character standpoint.

• A player should know before hand that they are getting a cursed item.

While it can be entertaining to spring an unpleasant surprise on a character, it should not be an unpleasant surprise for the writer. Tricking or manipulating a person in to a situation that puts a curse on their character is problematic in many ways, so it should be clear to the person receiving the item that it is cursed.

Legacy Items

Legacy items are a slightly different spin on magic items, that require a longer term investment - Legacy items are items of significant story and history, that have accrued their special properties through the deeds of the wielder. Such items do not spring up over night, nor can a craftsman simply make one. Their story - their legacy - is what gives them their powers. The sword of a famous beast slayer that has become an especially effective tool at killing monsters, or the lyre of a famous performer whose legend was cut short by tragedy might be examples of legacy items. These items are for people who would like to build something special over time, by unlocking the legacy of an old and storied item, or by creating their own legacy from the ground up based on the merit of their own deeds.

Application for a legacy item:

A legacy item should:

• Be long term goals

• Have power that is rewarding of that time investment, and unlocked exclusively by roleplay

• Be story driven - the journey is as much a part of owning an item like this, as the item itself, maybe moreso, because the legacy is what makes it special. They should have a specific theme and intent in mind.

• Be either a new legacy (where the character will undergo rps to turn an item then own into a legacy item) or a discovered item (where they will rp learning about the item and recreating the moments that created its properties in order to 'reactivate' the legacy.

Once you have an item in mind, it then becomes a matter of talking to the staff about what you would like to do, and how to achieve it. Does your character discover an item that has a legacy waiting to be discovered, or are they going to start a legacy themselves? Either way, you should write up a list of the abilities you would like the item to have, (be detailed, this will go in your favour) and how your character might unlock these properties. From there the staff will help you work out something suitable for your needs that matches the Tapestry's power level and thematic appropriateness. Below is an example of how a legacy item might look:

Dragon ward - 2 tier item: (Note: Dragons are a special and rare thing in the Tapestry, unlikely to be encountered, this item is just to show design being focused around theme and story)

Initial ritual, verse 1:

Climb to the top of a mountain where a dragon is said to reside, and come what may, stay there in meditation for 2 days.

Legacy property for item: Wyrmsense: While holding the item, you are intuitively aware of a dragon within half a mile of you. You do not know the position or distance in any strict sense, but while you bear the item you will always have at least a little warning of their presence.

(This is a relatively small and situational power, but this is the start of the legacy item, an indication of what it might become and what it might do. It’s also a small perk to give them incentive to keep the thing going. The properties they can get may improve with each iteration if it has multiple steps to its legacy)

Improvement - verse 2:

During an altercation with a dragon, you must survive, and you must help get any people nearby who are injured or non-combatant to safety.

Legacy property: Sanctuary: While holding this item, The first time you or people immediately around you are attacked by a dragon’s breath weapon, you are shielded from harm.

The ‘why’ of magic item requirements:

A sense of significance or ‘character’:

Magic items are generally considered to be significant and special if we choose to make an item for them in chat. This is partly because the world of the Tapestry is generally quite low magic level, and magic swords and the like are not super common in circulation. By limiting the creation of items it keeps them special and noteworthy - think of magic items as badges of a different kind - you don’t get one for no reason, and it should be a commemorative reward for work done and stories explored. Such items offer more to the chat and the world they are in if they are properly managed and kept relatively infrequent in appearance.