Limits, Activity, Reservations, and Drops

[Clez]

Yes this is a relaxed, friendly game with only the most basic of rules and guidelines but I figured this post was a long time in coming and is for the benefit of everyone, not just any newcomers to the board. I’m not going to be a complete and utter Nazi about these few points but I want to put them out there anyway so everyone’s on the same page. None of this is aimed at any current player so don’t be offended, it’s just general information that I would like everyone to take into account.

CHARACTER LIMITS Basically there aren’t any so long as it goes hand in hand with good activity and fair juggling. Don’t make a dozen characters and then only play one, it’s not fair to take the PB and then not use them when someone else might have used that same PB for a character they actually really wanted to play. I’m all for you creating lots of characters (heck, I have a crapload myself) but if you’re not going to get some activity out of them on a regular basis and leave them to go stale then I’ll have to confront you about it in the interest of fairness. If you’re not going to create the character and use them to their full potential then don’t make them at all, basically. If you feel you’re going to keep active with all your characters then by all means let as many muses out to play as you want. The more the merrier. However, on that note, I do understand that not every character is going to be as loud or energetic as others so I’m not going to ask you to post an equal number of times for each character you have because honestly that would be ridiculous. ACTIVITY This goes hand in hand with the above point. Make plenty of characters or just make one, I don’t mind, but the point is that you keep up with them. Don’t let them sit and fester and get forgotten — if you’re getting bored do something about it. Be proactive and come up with an idea. So long as it’s nothing colossal (if you’re worried, clear things with me first; I’m pretty open to most suggestions) then just come up with your own little plot devices. Make your own fun. Don’t wait for everyone to flock to you and sweep your character(s) up into the action. Of course, if you’re worried about stepping on toes the solution is easy: ask first. It doesn’t hurt to try. If you fall way behind and you haven’t told me you need a hiatus then I’m going to get concerned and wonder about your interest in the game. That’ll usually be followed by an email checking on what you want to do; I’m not going to cry if people want to leave the game but it’s fair that I know so I can free up PBs and characters, or put them up for adoption if that makes more sense. If you need to leave then tell me. No hard feelings. RESERVATIONS I have absolutely no problem with you reserving PBs for NPCs or characters you want to make down the line but please, please, don’t get silly about it. I don’t want to make a per-person limit. When it comes to NPCs the best idea is to use people who are unlikely to be claimed down the line, in the interest of fairness. NPCs are fine and help move things along, such as in the police station threads, or in the newspaper offices, but don’t make a whole cast of them that aren’t really going to do anything. NPCs are (pretty much, with the occasional exception) always up for adoption, and there’s a page of available ones that people can pick to play in the Technical Information area. If you’re going to try and make a load of NPCs for your own personal use I’ll eventually have to draw a line because while I’m fine with a fair few of them wandering around it can get to be a bit much. That’s one reason each pack is only allowed six each at a time. When you reserve a PB for a character please don’t sit on it for months without at least working on a bio, it’s not fair. That PB could have been used by someone else much sooner. I’m usually pretty quick at putting reserved PBs (TBAs) on the Taken Character Basis’, so other people don’t make a character and then realise it’s for nothing but if you’re going to stake a claim on a character (and their face) then put it to good use. Make them. Don’t just say you’re going to and never do it. It’s a waste of your own time if nothing else. This will be like the activity issue as well; if you’ve had a basis on reserve for a long time and haven’t done anything with it then I’ll most likely email you. DROPS This goes hand-in-hand with activity. Drops, in any game, are inevitable but I do have my rules for this. This is a newer point than those listed above because of small things that have come up in the past as a result of them. Essentially, don’t make characters you know you’re only going to drop down the line. It’s not fair and it’s just not good gaming. If you want a character then commit to them. If you do commit to them and something comes up that makes you want/need to drop them then talk to me about it and we’ll see what we can work out. Obviously the less drops there are game-wide the better but I understand that sometimes it does need to happen. Basically if I see you picking up and dropping characters constantly I’m going to start to wonder and eventually I’ll have to talk to you about it. If the character you’ve dropped has gotten involved (in any way) with others, having them vanish can potentially screw up any characterisation or plot and none of us want that. But in saying that I do have one iron-clad rule: pack werewolves cannot be dropped. This has happened a few times in the past and it only makes complicates things. Please, for everyone’s sake, either make a character and stick with it or don’t make the character at all. If you do make them and something happens that means you have to lose the character then they must be adopted. They cannot be dumped into NPCs, because of the six NPCs per pack rule and they can no longer just vanish without a trace. I’m going to stop allowing it, because for a pack that just doesn’t work. If you’re afraid to ask someone to adopt the character or put up a request about it yourself come to me and I’ll work it out for you, but understand one thing: if and when your dropped character is adopted by a new player they then have every right to change or modify that character’s profile as they see fit. It is never anything personal, that’s just how it goes. Bear that in mind when alerting me of a drop.

If I think of anything else to add to these I’ll edit them and make an announcement in the Notices area.

Thanks.