Rules and FAQ
Some of these rules, especially play format rules, are really broken down step-by-step. I know in most cases it's "teaching grandma to suck eggs", but people who aren't familiar (or are less familiar) with journal-based RP are welcome here and I want to make sure we're all on the same page. Hopefully once we start playing things will be obvious anyway.
Basics:
- Adult aspects to this game are welcome. There will be a nsfw tag, but all writers should be over age 18. Characters should be over 18 too, but if your character has a child you are welcome to NPC them as an extension of your character.
- Sexualities, genders, and relationships of all shapes and sizes are welcome. In character angst about it may happen, but there should be no OOC drama about this ever.
- The game will run in real time, so one day = one day, but we all have lives. Don’t assume that because a character was stuck in a thread that lasted a while, or the player’s been away, that IC friends won’t have seen or spoken to each other for weeks. This comes down to talking to other players. Maybe the characters have sent a few ‘hi how are you’ texts, maybe they had a quick phone call where nothing of consequence happened. Maybe you need to backdate some interactions! Day to day things can easily happen off screen, so check in with each other.
- Character journals may be reused from old games, provided any existing content is removed or locked from general view, and the profile page information is exclusive to this game.
- You can play an original character (OC), a character from any canon you like, an AU of a canon character, a character you played in another game, a character you wanted to play in another game or wanted to play differently... The world is your oyster! There can be multiples of canon characters, provided they come from different points in canon, one's an AU, etc. No exact copies, please.
Playing:
- Writing should be in 3rd person past tense.
- Most play should be posted to omphalos_, which includes phone calls and text or email messages. Anything not directly sent or posted on the network, goes here.
- Add your character tags to all threads and logs they're in on omphalos_, and use the nsfw tag where appropriate. There's a section in the FAQ on handling all kinds of 'adult' and sensitive content.
- Sometimes things come up unexpectedly in a thread and editing the original post to include nsfw tags and/or warnings is fine and encouraged!
- There's also the Rylands Network, omphalosnetwork. For the purposes of this game, this should be thought of as a very pared-down, generic kind of social media. There's a 'wall' where you can post things for general comment (these will be any posts that have no subject line, so please leave this blank if you're posting openly). Only people "in the know" about the alternate universes have access to the network so you can talk openly about being an alien from planet Zog, if you so choose.
- If you can tag the characters who respond to your posts on omphalosnetwork, that would be helpful. It will mean editing tags on the original post, but I will do my best to make sure new characters are added to the tags list asap.
- If your character wants to make a private post, use it to write down some thoughts, just put 'Locked: Private' in the subject line.
- On both communities: Put anything that's more than about a paragraph under a cut, just for the sake of our friends page views, please!
- You should either play in a thread/log or post on the messaging/journal network at least once a month. In game events will hopefully help with this. If you're struggling to meet this requirement, please talk to the mod.
- Please notify others of any absences in the ooc comm. If you choose to leave the game please let the mod know (she doesn't bite!).
- If two characters are threading, please check with the other player(s) before joining in. On a large thread, like a party, this rule applies to the sub-threads. Yes, people do wander up and join in conversations sometimes in real life, but some players find it easier to mange one interaction at a time.
- If your char wants to run an in-game event or do something big and public, awesome! Please check in with the mod so she can make sure we don't end up with three big events on the same night, where possible.
- If characters are arguing or conflicting, or if your character is being an arse because that’s who they are, it's encouraged that you to talk to the other player(s) involved. All IC drama should be kept IC, hopefully that goes without saying, but it doesn’t hurt to communicate ooc to make sure everyone’s ok and no one needs a break from writing conflict. We all have bad days, let’s try and keep it friendly.
- There is a section at the end of the character profile page to list your squicks and how you feel about fourth wall breaking ("you look like this actor..."). Please check a character's profile or speak to the other player before diving into a sensitive subject in a thread (and if they contact you to retreat from something, please be understanding).
- No godmodding.
Special Rules: (These rules are for people playing non-standard humans)
-If your character is furry, has appendages that aren't easily hidden, or is otherwise particularly difficult to pass off as human, contact the mod during planning stages so we can work something out.
- Magic or other special abilities should not be used in public. This will be explained to your character when they arrive. If your character plans to deliberately break this rule (or you plan for them to do it by accident) in a way that can't be explained away, please let the mod know so she can plan mod characters' reactions as needed!.
- Mind control, telepathy, or similar powers should not be used on another character without their player's permission. If your character would attempt it but the other player isn't into it, they can try and fail, because...
- Powers are not as strong or reliable here as they might have been back home.
- Magical/supernatural transformations don't work the same here, because what residual magic there is just isn't enough to force a shift. Wereanimals and similar shapeshifters don't change form just because it's a full moon, though they will probably take on some related traits. E.g. A werewolf might get irritable, not feel right in their own skin, and crave rare meat around the full moon. If they do want to change there is countryside outside the city, and a national park not far away.
- Vampires and other creatures that feed on non-traditional food can get some satisfaction from their usual food source, and gain magical strength for their other powers (though these will still be somewhat limited in this world), but they can also eat normal human food to survive. Depending on their specific mythology/canon they might not taste much of it, but they can get by. If they want to.
- Supernatural powers aren't as strong (or reliable, see above), but neither are supernatural weaknesses. E.g. Vampires can wear sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses, and still go out in direct sun. They might be a bit red the next day, but they're not confined to indoors. Similarly, they aren't forced to sleep during the day, though they probably feel more alert at night.
FAQs:
Doesn't this game require some suspension of disbelief? Even from the characters?
- Some, probably, yes, especially the natives. If only so they can find out the 'secret' and not all check themselves into a psych hospital or something. Play with their reactions however you want, as much or as little as you want. This is supposed to be fun. If fun for you is deep existential angst, go for it. If it's complete unquestioning acceptance of the weird, that's fine too!
Things to note about the Between Roads.
- The 'road' will immediately become dormant again once someone's come through, resting after that burst of energy. Characters who immediately try to go back through will be disappointed.
- If you have any advanced/non-native tech, or any weapons on you, they will disappear in transit. If your character has the knowledge, and can source close-enough tech to rebuild something here in game, they can do so (please be sensible with this). But for now, you're empty-handed when it comes to most things except a standard watch. A mobile phone that's compliant to the tech level here will still be with you, but it can't connect to any networks or do much that's useful besides being something to keep your old photos on.
- Revisiting the above point, if the tech is inside them, it can stay. Tony Stark might have an arc reactor to protect his heart, for example, but he’s limited in how he can utilize it for anything else by real-world tech. (Being Tony he can probably work something out, but again, please be sensible. If in doubt, check with a mod).
- Natives can find out about all this any number of ways. They may witness a newly-arrived alt freaking out, or notice the number of odd people around the library. They might be brought into someone’s confidence. They might get a job or volunteer at the library or cafe, and be sworn to secrecy out of necessity (not everyone who works there knows - but most do; it’s a judgement call on who can be trusted). They don’t have to be in the know at all to interact with people, and they may find out later on. Mod(s) are happy to help come up with something if you’re struggling. If you want to play a native who knows nothing but happens to mix with other characters, they won't have access to the network or be able to post there.
- (Recommended for OCs only, though AU-of-canon characters might also have this happen after a discussion with the mod). It is possible for someone from this world to accidentally travel somewhere else, and then come back. They might have been gone any amount of time, and it might be the same amount to this world, or it might not. A moment might have passed (like Narnia), an age might have passed (think entrances to the fae realms in myth and fantasy), or exactly the same amount of time might have passed to them and the world. Time is a tricky thing.
Play format: How to structure a DM post.
- You can directly message a certain person/people through the network by putting their name(s) in the subject line of your post, e.g. DM: Charlie. Group DMing is possible as well, and if the names are too numerous to put in the subject line, include them in the first line of the post in square brackets [like so].
- If your character is sending multiple different DMs and you don't want to spam the community, you can separate within the body of the post, e.g. [DM: Charlie] and write a message, then [DM: Helena] followed by the message to her and so on.
Play format: What can characters see on the network posts?
User icons are invisible IC, only the filled in name will be visible to characters (i.e. input like this on the manage profile page, so it looks like this in posts). On comments, where this isn't automatically visible to us, pretend that's what it says instead of the journal user name (if in doubt, you can hover your cursor over someone's icon to see what their official name is).
Play format: The face to face RP stuff.
- Threads where play occurs in comments to a starting post is probably going to be the most common form of play. However, you're welcome to play something out in email or a messenger, edit your name tags out (or whatever) and post the whole thing under a cut. If you do this, make a note before the cut to let us know when the log took place. E.g. [Last Wednesday] or [Today].
- If you're posting a phone call, email or texting conversation, there will be tags to use for that. No need to put an OOC note or anything in the subject line to mark it, but please do use the tags!
Adult content: How to handle it.
- As part of 'adult themes', kink, or other alternative-lifestyle-type-activity might occur in game. No kinkshaming, please. For the sake of those with more delicate sensibilities (which can include myself some days) please ensure all such writing is under a cut, tagged nsfw and includes a content note outside of the cut where play gets heavy/edgy. E.g. [Content: Knifeplay, blood].
- Other activity that might disturb other players should also go under a cut with a content note. Examples include things like depictions of rape, domestic abuse, graphic violence, drug taking or a thread involving other activity around addiction.
- On that note, while mentions of historic/character background abuse are fine, please add a content note outside of the cut for this, too. There should be no child or animal abuse on screen at all.