Role Playing Standards

[Christof Drescher]

Role Playing Standards

• What is the minimum word count? 
• What are the literary expectations?
• What are the activity expectations?
• What is Godmodding/Powerplaying/Ghosting/Metagaming? 
• What are site policies on Godmodding/Powerplaying/Ghosting/Metagaming?
• What is a Gary/Mary Sue character? 
• What are site policies on Mary/Gary Sue characters?

---

---

[Christof Drescher]

What is the Minimum Word count?

The count is 200 words. 

We will allow some room for the occasional sort post, but even these should be close to the 200 count, and should be very few and very far between. 


If you are having trouble meeting the word count, consider asking yourself some of the following questions while making your posts.  They may help you come up with more to write. 

• Are any of the other characters people that your character has had a recent run in with?
             -did it leave a lasting impression?
             -might it be something your character has been dwelling on?
             -was it an especially good or bad encounter?
  
  
• Is there something someone has done, or said that makes your character think of someone or something that has happened in their past? 
            
• How does your character feel about the current situation, or what is being said/done? 
              -are these feelings he/she wants to hide? (why?)
              -how does he/she express his/her emotions? (intentionally or unintentionally)
              -if on hand, does your character's pokèmon notice? 
              -if your character's pokèmon notices, how does he/she respond?
  
  
• How does your character's pokèmon feel about the people/place/events present?
  
  
• What in your character's general life might be on his/her mind? 

---

---

Back to Top

[Christof Drescher]

What are the literacy expectations? 

We don't expect perfection, but members should demonstrate the following the vast majority of the time. 

• Communicate with words that make meaning clear enough to be understood.
• Acknowledge events taking place in the RP that one would reasonably expect their character to notice. 
• Use proper grammar, and spelling (including choosing the correct homonym or homophone)
• Demonstrate proper capitalization of proper nouns and words beginning sentences.
• Make us of punctuation, including, periods at the ends of sentences, common, and semi-colons to split up compound sentences. 

---

---

Back to Top

[Christof Drescher]

What are activity expectations? 

Members are expected to post once a week to be considered active.


We do make some allowances for members who are involved in a number of threads that may have many players involved. However, other's should not be made to wait for more than a week on an individual member's post.  Those who are absent for a week or more (outside of the mentioned allotment)  are subject to being told to reduce character count, or to having their character removed from the site (or adopted out if the character becomes plot important or tied to another member's character in a significant way). 


If, for some reason, you expect you will have to be absent for more than a week, inform us in the 'leave of absence' board, and keep us updated.  We will refrain from ghosting your characters when possible, but will move your character out of the thread, or at least in a position within the thread that can be passed up. Keeping us informed in the leave of absence board will mean that you will not be penalized for your time away (though for time periods extending beyond a month or two, especially with no update, we reserve the right to reconsider this ) 

---

---

Back to Top

[Christof Drescher]

What is Godmodding/Powerplaying/
Ghosting/Metagaming?

• Godmodding
  
  In general, Godmodding is when a character is played in such a way that he/she surpasses the limits that other characters/members are held to.   This can manifest itself in a number of ways, examples include:
  
  
  • Killing or seriously injuring another character without permission
    
    
  • Playing so that he/she (in this case his/her pokèmon) always avoid attacks, or any attempts to bring them harm or show them up in some way.
    
    
  • Granting a character knowledge or skills he or she has no reason to have. 
    
    
  • Powerplaying, Ghosting, and some would include metagaming. 
  
  
  
• Powerplaying
  
  A type of Godmodding, in which a member presents another character in a way contrary to what the other character is doing/would do, in order to make one's own character seem superior.   For example, attributing a character to be fearful, or incompetent, without implications as such from the other character.
  
  ADD: even though powerplaying is usually made in reference to IC behavior, we include the OOC behavior of actually trying to dictate or pressure members into playing their characters in a way they don't wish to.
    
   
• Ghosting
  
  A type of Godmodding, in which a member takes control over another member's character.  This includes cases such as:
  
  
  • Taking full control of what a character does, says, or emotes, especially in response to something he/she did. 
    
    
  • Following the results of an attack beyond a resonable point, such that the other character(s) doesn't(don't) have a chance to response.  Example
    
            *character*: Sparks lighted pikachu's cheeks, before he
                             unleashed a wave of electricity at Squirtle.
                             The shockwave slams into Squirtle sending
                                    him flying.  
  
  
  
• Metagaming
  
  
• Using information that a member (OOC) knows to give his/her character an IC advantage he/she wouldn't otherwise have. - official defnition
  
  
• Using knowledge of restrictions placed on a member to play character in a manner without facing consequences.  - added definition for purpose of this site. 
  
             For example: Knowing that the other member can't seriously hurt
                              another persons character, and then choosing to 
                              continuously provoke the other character(especially
                              one known to have problems with violence or
                              impulse control), while having no intention of granting
                              the other member the ability to allow his/her character
                                 to beat on 

[/ul]

---

---

Back to Top

[Christof Drescher]

What are site policies on Godmodding/Powerplaying/Ghosting/Metagaming?

On MA  we seriously frown on any and all of these.  If you are reported or caught engaging in these  you will be warned.   If you continue to engage in these activities, chances are you will be suspended or banned from site. 

---

---

Back to Top 

[Christof Drescher]

What is a Gary/Mary Sue character? 

There are a number of sub-types of Gary/Mary Sue characters.  In general, these are characters that are over the top perfect or ideal.  

Some warning signs/types of M/G Sues: 

• Wearing way too many hats: 
  
  You know how Barbie is a teacher, and a scientist, and an world class athlete, not to mention she's a doctor and a ... and so on and so forth. 
  
  
• Perpetual Victim: 
  
  A character who always gets his/herself into trouble, to the point that others are hard pressed to come to the rescue (especially the popular/attractive/athletic love interest. In other words, the damsel in distress that -never - seems to stop needing to be saved. 
  
  
• Drama lama: 
  
  A character who's past is nothing but a long string of horrible events.  These events typically consume the whole character's persona on their character sheet, but then the character behaves in contradicting ways.   In other words, the character goes through these horrible ordeals, that supposedly makes the character closed off to the world, but then conveniently has break downs in rooms full of people. 
  
  
• Special Star
  
  A character who has special skills and abilities designed to upstage others.  Often these are unique abilities that no one else has. 
  
  
• Rebels 
  
  Almost always angst ridden and enraged because of some event(s) in his/her past.  These characters are over the top obnoxious and loud, to the point that they forcibly draw the focus of the RP to themselves. 
  
  
• Misfits
  
  The impossibly socially awkward, that are invisible to their peers, but then are often suddenly turned around by some sort of makeover or 'intervention'. At this point they discover their inner, (and usually superior beauty/popularity ect. 

NOTE: It is entirely possible that some of the elements above are present in your character, and depending on the way that your characters is played, he/she may not be a Gary/Mary Sue character.  The key is that these traits are numerous and/or over the top.  If you want to get some idea as to whether your character may be a Gary/Mary  check out the following  quiz.

---

---

Back to Top 

[Christof Drescher]

What are site policies on Gary/Mary Sues? 

Unlike with Godmodding, Powerplaying, Ghosting and Metaplaying, we are a bit more tolerant of Gary/Mary Sues. For one, there are some people who can take, what sounds like a Gary/Mary Sue and play them well, and secondly, actually coming up with a way to try to quantify how 'worthy' would be impractical.  As such, we only discourage seemingly obvious Gary/Mary Sues, but in most cases we will not deny you


That being said, we do reserve the right to request tweaks be made to your character, if there are characteristics we feel may lean towards a character being a bit too Gary/Mary Sue-ish. 

---

---

Back to Top