OFFICIAL RULES

You May Consider This the "Official" Rulebook for Hearts of Antiquity. Yes, it was (for the most part) lifted directly from DS: Resurrection, but I am allowed to plagiarise myself. If you have any questions regarding any of the following, please ask me and get it cleared up as soon as possible. For the most part, however, this should all be fairly common sense.

This list was last revised on January 4, 2005.

CHARACTER CREATION

I. This game accepts original characters only. This means that no characters from or based strongly on those from any anime, manga, movies, television shows, American comics, novels, other RPGs, or any other medium may be used. This does not disallow the use of a character you have used for a different RPG in the past, assuming that you retain all rights to the character and that you meet all application requirements outlined here. Obviously, the GM can not be expected to know of every fictional or historical character which has ever existed - but rest assured that in the event that you are caught plagiarizing someone else's work, you will be kicked out immediately and banned from the game.

II. Research your characters. If your character speaks a foreign language fluently, we expect you to have a rudimentary grasp of that language. If your character is from another country, we expect you to have a fair knowledge of his or her culture. If your character is an avid pursuer or some hobby or sport, you really ought to know enough about it to represent it accurately. These things are not difficult to find on the internet. Showing glaring ignorance about your own character's hobbies, lifestyle, etc will not get you kicked from the game, but it can and does prevent you from being accepted when you apply.

III. There is no character limit, but do not go nuts. In general, you can not have more than one Pilot and one Knight. We do not want these slots to be taken up by the same handful of people. With very few exceptions, we prefer you to "balance" your characters - so if you start with a "good guy," we'd prefer if you went for a villainous type next. Likewise, if you've already got a Knight or a Pilot and want to play someone else, it would be nice if you'd come up with a secondary/support character, or someone who doesn't fit into either category (a freelance "rebel" trying to bring down Empire, or something else - just be sure to give the character an excuse to get involved in the storyline). You may not submit any additional characters unless you're active with your current cast.

WRITING

I. Use proper spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation. Obviously, we all make mistakes. However, please do take the time to run your app through a spell-checker before sending it in, and do us the courtesy of proofreading story submissions before posting. It makes your editor happy, and it makes it much easier to communicate in general.

II. Always ask for consent. This is known as the "Consent Rule." Basically, it states that you may not have control over another person's character at any time. This includes other characters' reactions to your own character's actions. For example, posting "X lashed out with his sword, catching Y in the midsection and sneering as her blood spattered the ground" would be an example of controlling someone else's character, and would also be incredibly rude. It's better to write "X lashed out with his sword, trying to catch Y in the midsection as they passed" and allow Y's player to decide whether or not the strike hit. It's very easy to avoid errors such as these by being a conscienscious player and by going over the plot of the story beforehand with the other participants. In the event that someone uses your character without your consent, you may ignore the post and either request that they rewrite their reply or just continue as though the event never happened. If a player does this repeatedly or uses your character in a big way without your consent - writing a whole scene or story or somesuch - report it to the GM and the offending player will be dealt with appropriately.

III. Stick to the agreed ratings for stories. In general, this game is rated PG-13 to R. It is assumed that all players are old enough and mature enough to deal with topics such as violence, sex, alcohol or drug use, etc. As such, it is recommended that all players be 17 or older in order to play. (Please note that this game does not ask for nor require Proof of Age from players. By submitting an application, the applicant has confirmed that he or she has read and agrees to all information on this page.) Individual stories carry individual ratings, however; please be sure to agree upon one beforehand and adhere to it throughout the story. Stories containing scenes of explicit sex and/or gratioutous acts of violence may not be posted on the boards and must be clearly labelled with an NC/17 rating. Stories featuring hate speech/racial slurs, rape, animal abuse, pedophilia, or other such acts are not permitted in this game, and the posting of such material will result in an immediate booting from the RPG and a lifelong ban.

IV. Follow the appropriate guidelines. Make sure to get GM approval before starting any "main plot" stories (no approval is needed for side stories involving only two or three characters). Be sure to inform the GM when your story has been completed. In general, follow all guidelines laid out in other portions of this page.

V. Stay in-character. We expect you to play with the character you apped. This means that the information in your profile is considered final at the time of application. You will be able to revise it later, but you'll need to inform or possibly discuss any changes with the GM, depending on how major they are. Yes, your character is allowed - and expected - to change as the story progresses. But if you apply with a cheerful leatherworker, you better not start playing a smartass who somehow knows everything about computers. Got it? Good.

PLAYER CONDUCT

I. Exhibit good manners. Treat all other players, including the GM, respectfully. I cannot stress this enough. You absolutely don't need to walk on eggshells, but you need to be courteous and approachable. If you are rude, immature, snippy, condescending, aggressive, or otherwise nasty to any of the players, you will be warned. This game revolves around interracting with other people, not just other characters.

II. The GM's Powers. This is NOT a game where anything can happen to your character without your permission. That means you will never have to worry about your character dying, being written out, or having anything else happening to him/her as long as you're a member in good standing (unless, obviously, you want one of these things to happen). The GM does have the final say in all matters, but she can NOT force you to do anything to/with your character that you don't want to do.

IIb. Addendum. Because the GM can not just deathray your character, we expect you show some level of maturity and not powerplay. This includes but is not limited to the following rules:

The consequences of playing in such a manner are the same as if you were to break the consent rule: the offending comments will be ignored/removed from play, and you will be warned. Doing any of the above constitutes breaking the rules. Sorry, but powergamers and twinks tend to be entirely unfun to play with.

IV. Participate. While you don't need to be posting every day, we do expect you to maintain some level of activity in the RPG. As a general rule, once your character is introduced you should be in at least every third or fourth story, depending on how many are in progress at the time; the general idea is that you keep your character active in the storyline so that the casual reader won't forget who they are. You're also expected to participate in group reviews of pending applications - one of every three batches is usually fine, although reviewing more often is wonderful. In general, keep in touch with the GM and with other players - check the board frequently - so that you have some idea what's going on.

DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS

I. Warnings, bootings, and bannings. Light offenses (powergaming - playing someone else's character, being rude, starting a story without permission, etc) will get you a warning. After the first warning, depending on the severity of the offense, you will be booted - but at most you can only be warned twice. More serious offenses - spamming, inappropriate conduct, repeated misuse of someone else's character, etc - will get you booted from (kicked out of) the game. Very serious offenses like plagiarism and harrassment will get you banned from the game with no possibility of reapplying, with any character.

II. Abuse of Member Privileges. Abuse of your member privileges such as access to group pages or the personal information (e-mail, screennames) of other members will immediately get you booted and banned. This includes but is not limited to: Spamming any group boards/forums/journals with advertisements or other materials, trolling, distributing any information about the members, invading another member's privacy, giving out the location or passwords to any member pages/boards, or behaving in an inappropriate way to any non-member, including applicants. In short, your acceptance into the RPG constitutes an agreement and demands a certain amount of trust on our part. Do not betray that trust.

LEAVING THE GAME

I. Requesting a Leave of Absence. In most cases, a leave of absence request will be granted. You don't even need to provide a reason; personal problems, school, family, trips, whatever, we understand that you have a personal life and need time off too. Just try to notify the GM in advance if possible, specifying how long you'll be away. Please try not to take a leave of absence in the middle of a story, but obviously these things happen and you can't always help it. Members will never be penalized for leaves of any duration. If you are going to be gone a long time, though, it may be prudent to think of an excuse for your character to be absent in-game.

II. Being banned/booted. If you are kicked out of the game for any reason, you have given up rights to your character in game. This means that you still retain the rights to the character to use as you see fit, but we retain the right to use any stories in which your character has participated. We also reserve the right to kill off or otherwise "get rid of" your character in-story, or to edit them out depending on the practicality of the latter. If you are booted, you may feel free to reapply to the game at a later point in time; if, however, you are banned, please note than any future applications for reentry would be autorejected.

III. Quitting. If, for whatever reason, you decide to quit the game, know that your character will still be yours and you can feel free to use him or her in any other games or projects. We request, especially if you have contributed a great deal to the RPG, that we be allowed to keep stories involving your character on the site. When you quit, you have several options as to what should happen to your character: He can go up for adoption, to be apped by someone else; he can be adopted by an existing member or become an NPC; he can be killed off or otherwise written out of the story; or, he may (if possible) be edited out of existing stories and the position reopened for a new character. Please note that the third option becomes increasingly more difficult as the plot progresses, and please be willing to work with the management and other players to come to a satisfactory agreement.