RULES UPDATE 8/16/2011
Based on feedback from the community and staff, the following rules are now added:[/u][/b]
[li]
Character Usage. It is
strongly encouraged that members roleplay with their
existing characters before creating new ones. At staff discretion a new character's approval can be postponed until the member's prior character(s) have been used in RP. This is to encourage members to invest themselves in their characters and allow staff to review and approve character profiles more efficiently.
(Alternatively, members can always retire an existing character if they no longer wish to use them. Characters can be retired and recovered from retirement via a request to any G-Mod or Admin.)[/li][li]
Character Names. To avoid confusion, please do not use the same first and/or last name as an already approved character. If you are struggling to give your character an original name, we recommend
Seventh Sanctum or any of the numerous name generators which are merely a Google search away. Happy naming!
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First Characters. While not a 100% requirement, we strongly encourage all newcomers to the SoV Soul Eater RP to start off with a Shibusen student, either Weapon or Meister. This not only keeps the Shibusen faction alive and kicking, it also helps everyone who's still searching for a partner to RP with. If you're an Initiate, this is a given; if -- through writing skill or sheer awesome -- you end up bypassing that Member Rank, we'd still encourage you to give it a shot as a student. Witches are cool, Kishin Eggs are freaky but cool, and Exorcists are
VERY cool (*
is biased*), but the heart of Soul Eater is Weapon-Meister teams, and it's also the heart of the community as well.
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Strengths / Weaknesses. This was left fairly vague in the first version of the character profile template,
buuuuut...
[/i] to a character's
combat attributes. If it doesn't / is unlikely to / will only under certain situations influence the outcome when they're fighting,
it doesn't count.
For example: A character's weaknesses are 'color blind, doesn't like taking orders, only effective in close combat'. This is no good. Being color blind -- or, for that matter, most "semi-disabilities" -- is not a weakness in all combat situations. It is a personal characteristic, nothing more. A disdain for taking orders is also a personal characteristic, even for Weapons who work with a bossy Meister. Finally, being limited to close combat comes
close to being a weakness... until you close the distance, at which point it is irrelevant. Situational weaknesses are not weaknesses.
Also, any weakness that is inherent / mitigated / made irrelevant due to your character's class is, also,
NOT a weakness. For instance, 'weak against madness influence' is pointless for a Kishin Egg -- you
are madness. 'Weaker without a Meister' is something of a
duh! for Weapons and thus isn't counted; 'vulnerable to anti-magic soul wavelengths' is a given for witches, similarly. Don't reiterate the obvious; generally speaking, everyone in the RP knows how the Soul Eater universe works.
Some good weaknesses? It all depends on your character, and we encourage creativity in this regard. Basic attribute balancing is a good place to start; a physically strong character may be slow or have a weak Soul Wavelength, a character who focuses on speed or ranged combat may have a low tolerance for damage, or (like Maka and Soul) a character who focuses on strong Soul Wavelength techniques may be limited physically (compared to their peers), require a partner to use certain Abilities, or (like Prof. Stein) be vulnerable to the effects of madness. The best advice is to establish one or two
main strengths for your character and then come up with counterbalancing weaknesses. A character should have (A) as many weaknesses as strengths, or (B) one or two staff-approved "crippling" weaknesses before the profile will be approved.[/ul]
[Characters that were already approved before 8/16/2011 do not need to change strengths / weaknesses unless the staff point out a particular problem.]CBOX USE(This is just a formalizing of the established Cbox rules posted next to the box. By and large, as long as the community as a whole doesn't mind something it's cool; its only "when the party stops" because things get dicey or uncomfortable that The Rules will be called into play.)[/li][li]
No Advertising. The 'C' in Cbox
doesn't stand for "see this link I posted?". If it's part of conversation then linking to images / videos / products / services / other forums is
fine, but if it's clear that someone is using the box just to spread links that's really not okay. Even if it's not "advertising". Even if it's Soul Eater / RP related. Even if it's really,
really cool. We'll probably forgive you, true, but keep it on the level.
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No Spamming. See above plus text. No, really, that's all it comes down to. If it's part of the conversation -- if everyone (or
most everyone) is cool with it -- it's all good. If it's disruptive or causes a lot of needless arguing,
Not. Cool.
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No Pestering (except Nas). There's this thing about the staff. We love you guys, we really do. We love that you're here to roleplay and express yourself and have a good time. And that's not just talk. But sometimes we staff people get busy and things don't get done in the speedy clockwork fashion that all of us would prefer; put simply, life happens. And when it does it can be stressful to have people asking about character approvals, or Emporium purchases, or RP posts, etc. So please, give the staff a week's head start before you ask what the status of something is, and then preferably in a PM.
The sole exception, however, is Nascent.
He's a lazy SOB and needs people to kick his arse into gear on a regular basis. No, REALLY. If Nas ever drops the ball feel free to toss it back at him; he might catch it with his face, but he
WILL catch it! A reminder now and then keeps one focused when co-running a forum, after all.
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No Racism, Pornographic or Illegal Content. ProBoards doesn't like these things, and we'd rather not be shut down. Similarly, dredging up any of these tends to create trouble in the Cbox, so
pleeeeease refrain,
especially from the porn and illegalities.
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No Bullying. See
ALL of the above plus
hate. No one likes a bully. Especially staff members. So don't be a bully. And remember kids:
only you can prevent forest fires flame wars.
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Be Yourself. Don't pretend to be Nas if you're not Nas. For one, people will pester you (
HA! See what I did there? xP). For two, when Nas finds out he will be very,
very disappoint. Same goes for anyone with a staff position -- for
any member, really. And if you pretend to be Geno or Orias... may God have mercy on your
soon to be devoured soul.
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Conduct. Okay... we
really don't wanna have to do this... but here goes.
The Cbox is not a soap box. Or a courtroom. Or a megaphone. When you're on, be mindful that it's (usually) not just you and whoever you're talking to; the entire community -- in fact, the whole Internet (to some extent) can see what you're writing. It's very public. And like any public space, there are good and bad ways to use it. Sure, it's a lot more cozy and agreeable than, say, a bench in the park or your local shopping center, but a certain level of decorum is still reasonable and expected. If you and someone else are having a discussion that becomes a debate or, worse, a shouting match, we would expect you to take it somewhere more private (AIM? Skype? PMs?) so that it doesn't overwhelm the normal community use of the Cbox. We respect your right to have -- and defend -- strong opinions and beliefs, but there is a time and a place. And staff action can be taken if people fail to abide by this rule in particular. We don't wanna be Rule Nazis -- first and foremost, the community is the heart and life of Shades of Vertigo -- but as a pointy-eared freak once said "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few".
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Have Fun! The Cbox is meant to be fun. As long as everyone's having fun, everything's good. If the fun goes away, that's
not good. This rule is the core and spirit of all the Cbox rules, so please
DON'T FORGET IT.
CONDUCT & THE STAFF(Staff members: if you'd like your own 'don't do it' added in here, PM Nas to have it set up.)[/li][li]
Geno hates passive aggressive bullshit.
Don't do it.[/li][li]
Rei hates arguing.
Don't do it.[/li][li]
Nascent hates
ponies needless conflict.
Don't do it.ROLEPLAYING IN GENERAL[/li][li]
Combat Style. For any player vs player ("Sparring") or player vs moderated NPCs fighting in the Soul Eater RP, players should default to Hybrid Style (see
Deeds of the Writers). In short, Hybrid means that you can hit / act for other characters when the results are minor / inconsequential, but everything else must be left open for response. If any issues arise, contact the appropriate staff member(s) to resolve it.
[/li][li] If using a style
other than Hybrid, this should be established at the start of combat. Closed Style is only acceptable if all participants agree in advance.
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Social Style. For any casual, social, and non-combat action in the Soul Eater RP, Open Style is encouraged but use of Hybrid is allowed (as long as it doesn't lead to any arguments / conflict). If there is an issue, the RP thread defaults to Open Style unless the staff say otherwise. Remember that any level of consent to use another person's character is a matter of trust; violation of trust is frowned upon. If using Hybrid, please note this in your first post each RP thread. Closed Style is only acceptable if all participants agree in advance.[/li][/ul]
If you have any questions / concerns regarding the rules, please PM a G-Mod or Admin with your feedback. Thanks!