Rules And Policies

Game Rules

Dark Things strives to be a friendly and open roleplay environment where anyone over the age of 18 can enjoy interacting with other mature players both In Character (IC) and Out of Character (OOC). As such we have the following Game Rules that we require players to accept in order to play here.

1. You must be over 18 to play here; by agreeing to play here you are stating you are over the age of 18. Anyone who is discovered to be lying about their age, i.e. is under 18, will be site banned and their characters reaped.

2. Be respectful of other people: If another player complains to staff (and presents evidence in the form of a log) about your behavior you will be given an opportunity to present your case and if you are found to have behaved disrespectfully in an intentional manner you will be asked to leave the game and your characters taken from you.

What does this mean?

  • It means that we expect people to behave like adults. If you are speaking to another player and calling them names or using derogatory terms to refer to them in an abusive manner you are not being respectful and are breaking the rules. This does not mean all characters will get along, this is about abusive OOC behavior.

3. Ask before entering a scene: If you see people in a public room on the grid and wish to join them page and ask if you can. Alternatively, if you login and find your character in a room with people already in it OOCly ask if you can join in. That said, if you are doing a private scene you should take it to one of the many available TP rooms.

4. Try to be a considerate roleplayer:
What does this mean?

  • Players don't like entering into a scene only to be made to sit around and wait a half hour for someone to pose, that is rude. If you cannot be relatively prompt about responding then you clearly do not have the time to roleplay and should either warn people beforehand with a realistic estimate of how long it will take you between poses or not roleplay until you can give it more attention.
  • Similarly, if you know you have difficulties because of learning disabilities or English being a second language try and spell check your poses before entering them.
  • Moderate the length of your poses; sometimes a brief snappy pose can be incredibly appropriate and other times something a bit lengthier is better. However, try not to always be the 'one liner' or the 'megaposer' as both can, over time, become off putting. You DO NOT have to respond to every single thing in your pose nor should you respond to nothing in it either but you should give others something for them to respond to. Poses which only focus on your character's inner monologue are not poses others can respond to.

5. Scenes of a mature nature are to be expected on an 18+ game, however scenes involving rape or molestation will not be tolerated and if evidence of either come to light any player involved in the scene will be site banned and their characters reaped.

6. If you are going to be away and unable to roleplay for more than ONE MONTH please contact staff or post on the boards. Any player who fails to notify staff and who is idle for more than a month will have their character's nuked.

7. Even adults cannot always be mature, for that reason there are two topics which are expressly forbidden from being discussed on public channels: religion and sexuality.

8. Respect the decisions of staff.

What does this mean?
By agreeing to play here you are agreeing to abide by the decisions of the staff of Dark Things be it a decision about the actions of your character or your behavior as a player. Players have the right to appeal the decision handed down to them if, there was only one member of staff available at the time the decision was made and the decision had to be made in a timely manner so could not wait for another member of staff to login. However, if the decision of the staff member is upheld the player must then agree to abide by it. Abuse of staff, be it intimidation or use of abusive language will not be tolerated.

Alts

Naturally there are a few limitations regarding alt characters here, but we feel that the rule is pretty easy to live with. All players are limited to 3 characters. There! That shouldn’t be too hard to hate, right?

Of course there are more rules about alts which are:

  • Alts cannot be related to one another.
  • Alts cannot act as a source of conflict, or conflict with another alt. This means you may have to sit something out if your characters would have to interact. Sorry.
  • Alts may not directly benefit the other.
  • Players must wait at least two weeks between creating characters.

Forbidden

The following character concepts may not be applied for and will not be approved.

  • Out of theme concepts (Supernatural beings other than witches or psychics).
  • Characters who are descended from or related to real life individuals.
  • Characters who are or are or are related to royalty.
  • Anything involving sexual abuse or torture.
  • Characters with special abilities not listed in CG.
  • Characters who are the immediate family of any of the cannon characters from the books or show.
  • Hunters. These are NPCs controlled by staff.
  • The mob. Please just no.

Player Plots

Player-Run-Plots (PrPs) are a very important part of the RP world. These plots are a way for players to immerse themselves in the world and to directly impact it through their actions. PRPs do not have to be huge, detailed or even lengthy. A PRP can be anything from a protest of the groups leader to a witnessed or discovered crime. Naturally they can be much larger than that. Of course, staff understand that players want to be involved in their own PRPs and we have no problem with this at all, however staff frown on players running plots strictly to make their character the hero. PRPs should bring enjoyment and opportunity to other players. If the plot is about your character, then someone else should save the day.

There are things we ask players do before considering running a PRP.

Ask Yourself:

  • 1) What your plot consists of?
  • 2) Who you will be involving?
  • 3) Will you need access to restricted items/spells or special items/spells?
  • 4) Any special involvement or information needed from staff?
  • 5) How long the plot is expected to run?

If the answers to these questions lead you to believe that your PRP will have a broad scope of any kind, we ask that you talk to staff. This is due to the size of the grid and playerbase and because staff exclusively control small but important aspects of the theme. We need to know whats going on so we can aid if needed as well as offer guidance and give further input.

Also, please remember this. /Deaths Matter!/ Yes, even NPC deaths! Keep this in mind when you consider violent scenes. Also remember that staff and storytellers have a responsibility to ensure that IC actions always lead to appropriate IC consequences.

If you are interested in running a PRP, you can use the +Request and send an outline of the plot to staff.

Idle/Reap Policy

We have a game wide Idle Policy of 30 days. That means if your PC has been idle for 30 days or more you will be reaped.

Idle characters will be listed on the Announcements Board 1 week before they are reaped. Those who do not reconnect and return to activity will then be removed and in some cases added to the roster.

If you are going to be on vacation or unable to connect for an extended period of time and you want your PC saved, you need to @mail staff or post to the vacation board. If you have any questions on this policy, please feel free to ask.

Those characters who idle out in Character Creation will simply be nuked after 15 days. Characters who idle outside the Character Creation for more than 5 days will be nuked as well.

NPCs

"NPC Characters" are not considered alts. They are considered "support characters". This means that they exist to support the RP of others and of course to add flavor to the story.

There is no set time-frame on how long NPCs can be played, but it should be understood that these characters do have an expiration date and that at some point, normally at the end of the plot, these characters will either die or fade back into the background.

A much shorter application is required for an NPC Character. They will need:

  • A basic background
  • Important skill outline
  • A complete +Sheet

A player is required to have an active character before applying for an NPC.

RP Prefs

This Code Is Pending Completion

The RP prefs are a method to communicate your IC and OOC feelings about specific genres of RP without the need for OOC conversation. It allows players and staff alike to know which players prefer less aggressive or dark RP, verses the characters who are more inclined toward interpersonal or romantic RP. This is a very good way to find players who mesh well with your particular style.

Below is a small outline of the various categories and what they mean for you.

IC Prefs

  • Combat : You are okay taking part in duels and fights. By marking this no, it doesn't exempt your from the consequences of your actions. If you RP yourself into a confrontation you may be forced to take part in combat, be it magical or physical.
  • Dark : You are okay with potentially dark RP themes. As stated above, it is your responsibility to contain and direct your own RP away from topics of discomfort. This game forbids concepts such as rape, however other topics such as murder, abuse, injury or deception do exist.
  • Injury : You are okay with your character being harmed.
  • Romance : You are okay with romantic RP.
  • Social : You are okay with social based RP.
  • Politics : You are okay with IC Politics.

OOC Prefs

  • GTP : You are okay with your general tiny plots. General plots are
  • ETP : You are okay with extended tiny plots.
  • ST : You are okay with story telling (running plots).
  • IC : All character-bits will be set IC, meaning it can go IC.
  • OOC : All Player-Bits will be set OOC, meaning it can't go IC.

Consent

In MUSHing terms, consent is the thing that affects how much control you have over your character, and your character's environment. In addition, by connecting to and playing on this MUSH a player consents to the policies and regulations of this game.

This is a semi-consent based MUSH. What does that mean? Effectively, no player is obligated to role-play a situation that goes against their personal values or makes them feel uncomfortable. Ideally, it is best to avoid the IC situation altogether through prudent role-play. It is proper, not to mention considerate, to ask for consent before performing an IC action towards or against another player to which s/he should have a chance to object (i.e. striking, kissing, grabbing them or one of their possessions).

Individual situations may require individual assessments, but in general, a player need not consent to a harsh situation if it is arbitrarily sprung upon her without warning or IC justification.

However, the policy of the MUSH is that ICA=>ICC. Which means, "in-character actions lead to in-character consequences." Or in other words, what you roleplay as your character will lead other characters to roleplay the consequences of this, and you should accept these consequences. This includes everything up to, and including, character death. If you put your character into a situation where they will undoubtedly be killed i.e. by provoking a hunter to attack you, then consent is negated. Consent is not the same as invulnerability. If you deliberately provoke a situation or fail to pose out when a warning is issued when the outcome is obvious, you cannot then turn around and say you are unhappy to continue because you have not given your consent.

If you are at any time unsure about a certain situation and whether the consequences of your IC actions have been played out correctly, page a staff member to adjudicate.

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