InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "It tastes like tuna"

ALL WORDS ARE AWESOME WORDS!!!! (tryslora) wrote in rp_tutorials,
@ 2010-07-29 13:37:00

Rules
One thing I hate doing when I'm working on a new game is writing up the Rules post. There's such a fine line between saying too much and being too restrictive, to being too laid back about things. So I'm wondering a few things...

1. Can anyone point me to what they think was the absolute perfect set of rules/faq/information that they saw in a game they played in?

2. What rules do you like seeing, or expect to see information about?

3. What rules are a complete turn-off to you for a game?

Thanks to all! And as always, thank you to everyone in this community for all of the wonderful resources.

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tryslora
2010-07-31 01:01 am UTC (link)

Thank you! I think I actually have a draft of my rules written now (I hope). I went through your template to see if I missed anything, and the only I can think of is Mary Sue/Gary Stu, but I also think there's a part of me praying that the players who app are experienced enough that I don't have to say it. *wry smile*

I think you're right there on the begging for app length, and weirdly obsessive details. I'm a develop-in-play person myself, so I don't always know those details. I'm hoping to put together a fairly pared down application, but a stronger profile page (not all of which needs to be filled in at the beginning). Also, as a mod, I don't want to read all that detail. If it's important to how the character will be played, or how they will affect the world, I want to know it. If his favorite color is blue, that can be saved for a profile page.

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hammertech
2010-07-31 01:20 am UTC (link)

:D Hey. I honestly think RPers should be familiar with all the rules that tend to carry over (like godmodding) but it helps cover your ass if you have a conflict with a player later to say it up front. I explained my reasoning for having the rules (and having them tl;dr) as follows:

While most players are probably already generally familiar with the rules below, they've been reiterated here so that our expectations of players and the consequences of failing to meet them are clear. Instead of saying "be active", we've tried to make it abundantly clear what we consider being active.

This way, players don't have to worry about being unfairly removed and we mods don't get accused of treating players unfairly.

I actually didn't mean app length. App length can go either way for me. I had when people want word counts but I think paragraphs are fair (as they can be interpreted differently). I'm personally a person who has to develop before play so that might be it. I let players make changes to their application a week after the game starts, however, so people who do like to develop in play have an opportunity to change things. Personally, I love reading that much detail as it helps me establish my character's relationship with someone else's. So, I think that's more a matter of preference.

What's the difference between a profile page and app? I've always heard them used interchangeably.

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tryslora
2010-07-31 08:17 pm UTC (link)

(I have to keep like triple checking to make sure I'm replying here as me instead of an RP account *sighs*)

That's a good segment at the top. I may well adapt some of that for mine, and thank you for the idea!!

In terms of profile and app... often times they are the same thing, but I've been in games where the profile page is actually longer and more detailed than the app, so it'll include more information as the character is developed. The silly little things that I don't care about in app but that someone might want to record later, like descriptions of rooms, favorite food/color, that sort of thing. I don't need them in the original application, but it's good for someone to be reminded that they'll come in handy down the road. That's all.

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