First of all, credit for almost all of this work goes to The Bob Jones. He did a great job putting all this together! I only did some slight editing to change a couple of things to the way that I run them.
FIRST, have fun!:
No, seriously, have fun. If you're not having fun, why are you playing? If you find you're not having fun in one of my games, please send me a PM and I'll do my utmost to rectify the situation. If it can't be resolved, I'm perfectly happy for you to leave the game. This is about all of us enjoying ourselves.
Learn!:
I want everybody to be able to learn here! About the game, and about how to interact with others! If you have any questions whatsoever, please feel free to ask! Wether you want to ask in the Discussion tab for anybody to see and answer or if you want to send a PM is up to you, but please ask! If I don't know the answer, I'll do my best to find it!
Post Frequently:
Be ready to post every 24 hours. This doesn't mean you have to interject with nonsense just to keep up posting every day (though a quick post to describe your character's demeanor, reaction to the last action, or something of the like is always welcome). The main thing is to ensure that no one is waiting more than 24 hours for your action. If you take longer and we are in combat, I may place your character in delay. This would be the equivalent of what I would do in real life if a gamer went for an extended toilet break, took a long phone call, ran off in search of caffeine or something similar that takes them off the table in the middle of things.
Unusual real life events not withstanding, I will be prepared to post at least twice a day. If there's nothing for the GM to add, you may not see anything - but I will check the gameplay thread 2 or more times each day. I will try for more often during combat.
If you cannot post within 24 hours for any reason, please let me know. I will be happy to bot (bot = run your character as a robot for you, taking what actions I think that player would have taken) you as required until you're back to normal.
Rolling:
I will be rolling all Initiative checks. Some other rolls such as Perception, Sense Motive, Etc, Etc, I will make, or ask you to roll them, depending on the situation. If you feel there is some roll you need to make, feel free to do so. If I don't need it I'll simply ignore it. All rolls for your character should be done in the Game-play tab, posted with some sort of 'flavor' text from your character. PLEASE KEEP THE DESCRIPTION OF YOUR ROLL LIMITED AND ACCURATE.
Some examples of appropriate descriptions:
dice=Attack vrs the goblin with the green border, Power attack - 1, - 2 for concealment]1d20 - 1 - 2[/dice]
dice=Perception check + 2 for stonecunning]1d20 + 5 + 2[/dice]
Bad examples of dice roll descriptions:
Perception check to see if I can hear anything behind the door into the next room
- your 'action' part should be described in your In Character 'flavor' text.
For example: Lydia leans in close to see if she can hear anything through the door into the room to the west. - followed by:
dice=Perception check]1d20 + 5[/dice]
Another bad example:
dice=Give it the old kersquashi!]1d20 + 2[/dice] - I do not know exactly what you are saying and it could be misinterpreted many ways.
How to Format your roll:
In case you didn't know, you can make a dice roll using the bbcode, start with an opening bracket followed by: dice=Roll type]NdX+K[/dice] where "roll type" is replaced with the roll you do (eg. "stealth" or "attack with power attack"), "N" is the number of dice you're rolling and "X" is the die type. Try to put most of the description in the main text (like who you're hitting), but out of character roll stuff like power attack, expertise, etc can go in there.
Eg. dice=Climb check]1d20+5[/dice]
References to Firefly and/or Serenity will score you brownie points with the DM!!!
Very Strongly Suggested:
Thou Shalt Avoid Walls Of Text
Thou Shalt Not Hog The Spotlight
Thou Shalt Not Assume The Actions Of Others
Thou Shalt Not Assume Outcomes Of Actions
Thou Shalt Not Derail Gameplay
Thou Shalt Use The Discussion Thread
Formatting Your Posts:
Format speech in bold. This helps to draw attention to what the character is actually saying (as opposed to what you are saying about the character). Personally I like to use the quotation marks as well, but don't require it.
Eg. Jambon the Ranger runs back to the party. "Goblins around the corner, beware!"
Use "ooc" tags to say things out of character. It puts your post in blue and helps GMs and players alike to tell when you are talking about mechanics and when you are talking about your character.
Eg. Jambon tries to squeeze through the door. Do I need to make an escape artist check or something?
Make sure to use the discussion thread for "ooc" text that is not relevant to your current post.
Painlord says "Always be pushing" but I think "Keep it moving" captures it a little better. After all, you can pull as well as push. The main idea is to always provide a hook for another character to pick up on and keep the game moving towards the goal. If your post doesn't provide a way forwards, consider revising it. After all, we do want to finish the adventure some time this century, right?
Eg. Post that doesn't keep it moving.
Jambon sits down, head in hands, heavily wounded and exhausted from the fight.
Eg. Simple modification to the above that keeps it moving.
Jambon sits down, head in hands, heavily wounded and exhausted from the fight. "Well, friends, looks like we all need a rest. Shall we set up camp for the night?"
Maps:
For all my games, I use Google Draw to simulate minis and a play mat / game board. They are publicly editable (with the link) and you shouldn't need a Google account to use them.
Everyone needs to update their own positions as part of their posts. Where this isn't possible, please describe where you would like to move to, and I will do it next time I'm near a laptop. If anyone is able to do so before me, please do feel free to move them for me!
Please, please, please write about how your character moves in the post. Don't just say "see my location on the map". That will help to maintain the roleplaying flavor and also make sure we don't have to constantly flick between the map and the gameplay thread to find out what's going on. It can also help me to adjudicate what happens as you move. But the most important reason is: your position on the map will change over time, but your post will not.Describe your movement.
Finally, in adjudicating movement (mostly for attacks of opportunity and traps) I will assume you take the most direct route to an enemy while still avoiding attacks of opportunity and known hazards. If you close to a square and you can't get there within your available movement without provoking, I will make an AoO against you. Otherwise, though, I will assume your character doesn't move like a brain-damaged zombie and avoids such things. If you would like to specify how you move, please use a dashed line to show where you moved (or describe it if you're posting from a phone).
THANKS FOR READING!:
If you send me A PM telling me you read all of this and that you agree to try to follow it when possible, I will grant you a 200 XP bonus!
