Read this, please! (Updated! 18, Dec, 2006)

[DragonMasterX]

That'd be Psycho Backlasher. Shadowknight and I have been for as long as he, so feel free to ask either of us three for tips or any other doubt you may have ^_^

[Bee]

Psycho Backlasher. The one everyone warns the new people about. You can normally find him clinging to other boardmember's legs.

[johalt]

Thx dude :)

[Frisk E. Coyote]

Hey-o! X3 Stop warning people about me gosh darn it, it makes it a teensy bit harder for me to forcefully get into their pants!

And yes, talking to the Veteran members (especially if they are in the Shadow Dragon Pack) is a good way to get roleplaying tips and guides. Also, I happen to have written an in-depth FAQ for just this occasion!

~In-Depth Exploration of Rules~

Godmodding - Derived from the term "God Mode", this doesn't simply cover characters that are overly powerful. This can also cover those who take out entire squads of enemies (cannon fodder or otherwise) with very little difficulty (with ease even) and without even breaking a sweat or getting a scratch. This ruins it for the other players because they would not have a chance to take action- unless of course- they're doing it too. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. This keeps the game balanced! Other things to link with Godmod are*:

• Always blocking/evading/parrying an attack/attacks. There is a limit to how many blows or how much damage one can avoid.
  
• Complete Invulnerability. You can't just ignore damage. If you have a reason to, at least give yourself a weakness. Of course, this is completely affected by the plot of the RP.
  
• Slaying/Incapacitating hordes of enemies in a single post. Doing so hogs all the action. Combat should be taken at a moderate pace so as to give the other players a chance at the action.
  
• Omnipotence. You can't just do ANYTHING. There's a limit to your powers, no matter how prodigious or how magical of a wizard or demi-god you are.
  
• Omniscience. Your character can't just know EVERYTHING. He/she/they should not be able to use OOC knowledge, like knowing what an opponent is scheming, or knowing of an ambush, or where everyone is, who they are, and what they can do.
  
• Omnipresence. Your character can't be in two or more places at once, or move from one place to another almost instantly simply because it would be more convenient to fight/interact with others.
  
• Refusal to wait, lose, receive damage, etc. Oh Godmodders hate to let somebody else steal the show, and they hate to wait to move on. They want instant info-dumps, instant action, instant gratification.
  

[*Note that the above list is subjective and totally dependent on the plot or the Game Master's wishes.]


Powerplaying - This is the act of taking control of, or directly affecting characters that do not belong to you, without consent from the characters' player/s. This includes:

• Homing in. All your attacks hit a character without giving the player a chance to type a reaction. All interactive posts must be an implication, not a narration. For example:

Person A: The Warrior punches the woman in the mouth, knocking her out. He then proceeds to have sex with her unconscious form.
Person B: Hey!
This is incorrect. The punch sequence should be implied, like so:
Person A: The Warrior swings at the woman, aiming for her mouth. If she went down, he would have sex with her.
Person B: The Woman backs away, The Warrior's fist just barely grazing her face as she did. She quickly picked up a chair, and swung it at The Warrior.
Person A: The Warrior grunts as the chair collides with the side of his head, shattering one of the wooden legs as he hit the ground. When he got up, the woman would be sorry.
This is correct, as each person gave each other time to react and decide whether their actions affected them or not. It is okay for Person A to say that the chair broke on his head, because the chair is just a random item that was picked up.

• 
  
• Auto Kill. Where one kills one or more characters without consent. This applies to status ailments too, like turning people into rocks, or sheep, or poisoning them or putting them to sleep. One has to imply that this happens, not say that it happens. And if its killing (or something permanent, like zombification or werewolf infection or an STD, etc) one has to ask permission first.
  
• Disregard of Actions or Time. You can't just pick up a player's character, run away, get on a boat, sail to a distant continent, and keep her for three years- ALL IN ONE POST. Let time pass by normally, or if you want to speed time up, suggest it to other players via OOC. You can't just kidnap someone either. Give the player a fighting chance, or a chance to get rescued.
  
• Tampering with equipment. Please don't destroy your opponent's irreplaceable weapon or armor without their players' consent. Don't swing your weapon and completely shatter your opponent's enchanted armor/sword/shield heirlooms thoughtlessly.
  
• Mind Control. You do not make a character that isn't yours move or talk. You can punch someone and make them say "Ow!", or stab someone and make them go to the hospital while spouting poetic monologue. Characters that aren't yours aren't yours to control, at least not without consent, if it were say, a favor for a player who can't play for a while, or if its actual mind control by your character.
  

Grammar - We're not saying you have to be perfect, but for a good roleplay experience, do try to check your spelling, capitalization and punctuation as it makes things so much easier to understand. Also, please separate paragraphs by skipping at least one line with a space, as this makes it easier to read, in case of longer posts. Please refrain from using chat speak unless the plot or character calls for it.


Post Flooding - If there are more than two players in an RP, and there are players being left behind, it is customary that the RP is temporarily halted until the player/s who have been left out manage to catch up. There is usually a 4-8 post flood limit between two players (meaning after 4 or 8 posts with only two players, they have to stop and wait for someone else to reply), but the limit of posts vary from game to game, and may be set by the Game Master. Double-Posting (DP) and above count as post flooding, so please refrain from posting twice or more in a row.

~Extended Rules~

Be Nice - Please don't insult other players or lose your temper. Be polite. If there's a problem, surely it can be sorted out by talking.


Out of Character/In Character - Please use "Out of Character" (OOC: ) when you want to say something outside the RP, and when you get back to playing, please use "In Character" (IC: ). It's much less confusing for everyone that way. You may also use the PM system to contact a player if there is something you want to discuss.


Availability - Before you join an RP, please make sure you're not going to be gone for weeks after posting. That would make people wait, and it will ruin the mood. If you're going to disappear for more than 48 hours, your character will be considered Static. That means that the character will be ignored until you return. If you're going to leave an RP temporarily, please inform the other players so they can Static your character until you return, or play your character/s for you if they're important to the plot. And PLEASE don't just leave an RP at whim! This will ruin it for some players, and may cause a panic.


Please Respect the Game Master's Wishes - If a Game Master (GM) wishes to have an RP with only straight couples, please refrain from using boy/boy or girl/girl pairings. If someone wants a clean RP, please try to keep it clean. If someone wants a hardcore sex RP but no scat or gore, please refrain from posting scat or gore. GMs will have to make these wishes clear in their first posts, and will have to start the RPs in the respective RP section.


Have Fun! - Seriously. What's the point of playing if you don't? But try not to ruin it for others while you're at it, alright?

~Le End!~

Phew! I hope this can help out confused players more, and clear up some confusion! ^ ^

[johalt]

Wow... just wow... See, this is y I like you -- you go out of your way to go above and beyond... On a side note, you mentioned shadow dragon pact... What is that?

[DragonMasterX]

Best group evah.

Ray, you forgot about Post Flooding. Nice presentation though.

[johalt]

...sry, I might be a little dense/ blunt/ slow, but could you pls elaborate "best"?

[DragonMasterX]

The first unofficial forum group in the DigiArtists' Domain, the Shadow Dragon Pack (Or SDP) has been around for longer than 4 years, creating chaos and otherwise solving it in several humorous scenarios stewn about the entire board. We give everyone fun SPAM to read, with cheap jokes or plagiarised scenes from popular TV shows. The SDP's the biggest roleplaying group of the forum, easily making up for the gross of the entire site's RPG history.

Shadowknight, Psycho Backlasher and I, DragonMasterX, created it back in the day, and it eventually became the 2nd official forum group. We specialize in humor and RPGs, and a fun amalgam of both.

We instill fear in the four horsemen of the apocalypse! We put the laughter in slaughter! We drive away sanity and boredom and replace it with funny randomness! We uh... freeze Satan's hell with our ideas!

We're the Shadow Dragon Pack.

Although we've been pretty quiet lately. Shadow's a lazyass (kidding, he studies), Ray's busy with college and I'm busy with work. We'll eventually converge again, though. XP

[Frisk E. Coyote]

Nah, I just like helping people. :3

And whoopsie! *chuckles* Thanks for pointing it out, Boss! I edited it in now! ^ ^ I wuz working on zero sleep!

Oh, we also devour SOULS for breakfast, but that's more of a hobby.

[johalt]

While I'm here, is there a way to make like a "spoiler alert" type thing, I've seen it a couple of times now, and it looked kinda cool