Posting Guidelines -- Part I: General rules

[Tarbo]

Many people, especially those new to the kind of roleplaying on Druchii.net's RPG, wonder about the rules that must be followed to play the game. We've already gone over character creation; now we will start with how to actually play the game once you're in a group.

Posting behaviour is really gouverned by only a few rules. Most, if not all, of these rules are meant to keep the game going along fluently and orderly. We'll discuss these guidelines here.


Command & Control

A player's control in the game is that of the actions and intent of his or her character. This means that players state what their character is doing or will be doing, and what she is thinking at the moment.

The host decides what the results of any taken actions are (success or failure). For most trivial actions, there's no need to wait for host replies—we assume characters have sufficient coordination skills to have some ale or pick their noses, but combat or crucial moments require host intervention.

In extension, it is not allowed to control the characters of other players. In particular, you cannot control aspects that the other player gouverns, such as thoughts and actions. You can not, for instance, state that another player is surprised (thoughts, player prerogative), or that you successfully push her off a cliff (action results, host prerogative).


Executive Summary

An executive summary is a succinct summary of a document, aimed at the policy makers that do not have the time or expertise to review the document in detail, and rather need the gist of it. We use a similar thing.

In the RPG, we encourage players to “go nuts” in writing and live it all up. However, the line between thought and action vagues often. As a rule, hosts ask players to supply a one-line (if possible) summary of the actual actions a character takes, so as to prevent misunderstandings.

A summary is not a replacement for a post: it is a brief addendum so the host is clear on exactly what your character will be doing.


Deadlines

A posting deadline is a date by which every active player in a group must have posted. Deadlines vary with the host running a group (and may depend on the situation), but each group has a posting deadline.

You may post more than once within the deadline. This is especially useful when conversing with another character, or when a thought strikes your character while others are doing their thing.

If at all possible, you should post within this deadline. If you repeatedly fail to meet it, you should request for it to be extended; if the host has to wait on you too often, he may decide to go ahead without you or even remove your character from the game.


Conclusion

We've gone over the three pillars when playing in a group: control, summary, deadline. Hosts rarely have additional requirements for their players, so if you stick to these three, you're likely to make a good player.


If you have any questions, feel free to contact the author of this article.