Rules
From Enter The Haven
As with any good channel, The Haven has rules. The majority of these are just common-sense, and fairly easy to follow--They are in place so we can allow all of our players to enjoy themselves, without having to worry about issues and problems in the channel. Please read these carefully, and if you have any questions by all means ask one of the ops in channel.
Things The Haven Doesn't Allow in Characters
To go ahead and get this out of the way before you actually begin, there are a few things that we straight up don't allow in a character sheet. Best to go ahead and let you know about them now before you start thinking about a character that doesn't fit into what we allow. If you have any questions about these rules, please contact an op and we will try to explain them to you.
- No Vampires: This includes blood-leechers, psychic vampires, or anything else of the sort. Try to stay away from races that would require destroying other characters or killing them in order to survive.
- No Firearms: None. Zip, nada, zilch, zero. We've had problems with this before, and unfortunately we just can't allow them into play. Period. Not even if you don't have bullets. Not even if they're broken. No exceptions--No guns.
- No Human Mind Control: No. I'm sorry, but this is game-breaking and frankly it's idiotic. Animal control is one thing. Telepathy is another. But forcing humans to do what you want (suggestion counts as forcing) is straight out. (Note: By "human", what we mean is "anything of a reasonable level of sentience and intelligence", i.e. "other characters". We do not mean that you can have your character control elves, dwarves or any such thing as long as it is not strictly human. Nice try, though.)
- No Celestials: Though this is more of a suggestion than anything else, celestial creatures are heavily frowned upon. Yes, we realize that celestial creatures are popular; we also realize that there are several within the Haven. This is why we've made this rule--There is such a thing as too much, unfortunately, and we don't want to see the Haven flooded with angels, demons, angeldemons, demonangels, gods, demigods, heavenly constructs, ect. ect. ect. If you have an idea for a highly original celestial it MIGHT be considered depending on how much your sheet impresses us. Otherwise, we have enough. Besides, it's better to be unique. More interesting.
- No Teleportation: This is ultimately very game breaking, and while EXTREMELY limited versions of teleportation may be considered, the majority won't. If your character can teleport at will over more than a few feet, then no.
- No Group Discounts: If this is your first time submitting a character to the Haven, please bring them by themselves. No babies. No deadly enemies. No magical creatures following them around. Nothing but them by themselves.
- No Unoriginal Characters: By this we mean that characters must be your own creations. You will not be allowed to play characters taken from movies, games, etc. No, not even if you modify them. Homegrown characters only, please. (Note: This does not mean you may not submit pop-culture characters. Submitting a Jedi, for example, is fine. Submitting Obi-Wan Kenobi is not.)
Please note that there may be exceptions to these rules within our current roster of characters. If you are new here, you will not be granted an exception. Do as we say, not as we do.
Multiple Characters, NPCs, Death, Birth, and Quests
- Character Limits:
When joining the Haven, you are allowed ONE character. No more, no less. After a period of six months have passed, you will be allowed a second character which is generally allowed to be more powerful/unique/different than the first. Then, after a period of at least a year and a half, the ops will grant you the ability to create a third and final character. So, for long-term players, the maximum PC limit currently stands at three.
- NPC Creation and Portrayal:
An NPC is, by definition, a "non-player character". Every NPC falls into one of two categories: Quest-based, or Background. For the first type, the NPC is created for the purposes of driving a quest--Be it an information giver, a villain, or someone who's sole purpose is to die a horrible death. These characters are considered expendable, and should only be played in the context of the quest they were created for. A "background" NPC is someone who serves a defined purpose in the background of the Haven. These can be shop-keepers, random townsfolk, or anything of the like. These people stay as a part of the game world, and are used when needed.
NPCs are very heavily regulated, in that they should not become or be considered an "extra PC". They should be used sparingly and in the context that they were created, not randomly popping up every other scene just to say hi. Granted, of course, we understand that the creator will become attached to their NPC, and will want to play it on occasion for the hell of it--This is fine. But if it becomes too frequent, you may be contacted by an op reguarding the matter.
Unless you are an op, all NPCs should have a sheet written for them before inception. As they are special characters the normal rules do not apply, and you are therefor allowed to make them as powerful as you want. All members of the channel are required to have been present and active for six months before being allowed to create any form of NPC.
- Character Death:
Character death happens. As the Haven is full of various dangers and surprises, it would be unfortunate but somewhat expected for a character to eventually pass on. As stands, a character death can only be decided by the person who is controlling the character (the exception to this is during quests--See more below and in Channel Rule #01). Understand, however, that while you are free to kill your character at your discretion, you may not be allowed to bring in another character to replace them. This is at the discretion of the ops of the channel, who will decide if the character's death was either pertinent, or if it was used solely as a vehicle to allow a new character in-play. If you are blocked from introducing another character to replace the dead one, then you must wait six months before being allowed a replacement.
- Makin' Babies:
Let's say that your character happens to find another character that they really like. Then, let's say your character and said other character happen to hook up. In fact, you hook up enough that one of you gets knocked up and one of the two is pregnant. First off, yes--This can and has happened in-game. We don't mind. You can get married, have a kid (hell, have a few). But there are a few things you should know before you take The Nine Month Plunge (or whatever the gestation period is for your species).
First off, a baby is considered an NPC, in the sense that it doesn't take up one of your normal character slots. Said kid can obviously be RPed by either of the parents, and anyone else they deem worthy. However, if your baby is going to have ANY sort of powers at all, they WILL need an NPC sheet. The last thing any of us want is a random toddler with pyrokinesis crawling through town and burning up everything in sight just because its teeth are coming in.
Secondly, of course, normal rules for having a kid apply--We expect to see a period of pregnancy, as well as any applicable in-character changes to the mother (and father, as the case may be). Since we are so big on continuity, you can't just arbitrarily decide to pop out a kid then forget about it the next day. Remember to keep things realistic, and to make sure that you really WANT a kid. It is, after all, a big responsibility.
- Quest Guidelines and Regulations:
Quests are a defining point of the Haven, and help to flesh out our game world tremendously. For more information on running a quest, please visit Archaon's excellent Guide to Plots and Quests. To run a quest, you must have been an active member of the Haven for six months, and may be required to submit a "quest outline" to the channel ops. If this is your first quest, you will most likely be partnered with one of the channel ops to ensure that your quest runs smoothly. Note that you may be asked to either speed up, slow down, or out-right halt your quest at the channel ops' discretion.
Channel Rule #01: Don't be a jerk.
The most important rule by far. All rules that follow are mostly advice on how not to violate this one.
Naturally, it's not feasible for us to consider every single situation that could potentially cause problems within the channel and come up with a suitable rule for them. That does not, however, mean that action will never be taken against you just because you aren't technically in violation of any specific rule. When all's said and done, this is a privately owned channel, and we reserve the right to boot you out of it for any reason we see fit.
Do not take this rule the wrong way, however. As ops, we will strive to be fair in our judgments and refrain from punishing anyone whose actions do not warrant it. This rule is simply to act as a catch-all, and a caution that just because you technically aren't breaking any explicitly stated rules doesn't mean you aren't being disruptive, or that we aren't entitled to bring down the fury.
Play nice, be groovy and you should find your time in the channel a pleasant one.
Repercussions: Varied, depending on just how much of a jerk you're being. See the following rules for examples.
Channel Rule #02: Respect Consent
No player may ever wound, maim or kill an other player's character without the other player's consent. A character's post may never assume an attack succeeds, only that it has been launched against an other character. The player whose character is taking the blow is responsible for dictating just how bad the results are, if any. Running a quest exempts the GM from this rule to the extent that, despite leaving a post or so for a character to react, he or she can decide against a player's judgment if he or she feels it necessary or if the player is otherwise too vague about it. At the same time, GMs also have the power to declare scenes as 'deadly', meaning that they will be using lethal forces which can kill a character. Typically, despite this warning, it is rare (to the point of never having happened before) for a character to actually die. However, extreme acts of stupidity ("Ok, I'm going to block this guy's sword with my body!") WILL lead to death.
Repercussions: Breaking this rule will result in a warning and, if the involved player wishes, the cancellation of the offending post. Multiple offenses can be grounds for you being asked to leave.
Channel Rule #03: Powerplaying is Not Tolerated
Characters may not be played in a way that would make them come out the winner in every event. Not every blow can be dodged, not every attack lands all the time. Your character should be roleplayed with a bit of maturity: you will take blows sometimes and miss some attacks. Your character doesn't know everything either. Nor can you hear and see everything. NPCs are partially exempt from this rule as they can be made a lot more powerful than characters.
Repercussions: Submitted characters that are considered powerplayable material will not be accepted. Players whom powerplay will receive a warning and will be asked to tone down their behavior. Repeated offenses can be grounds for you being asked to leave.
Channel Rule #04: Don't Abuse OOC Knowledge
What a player knows is not to be confused with what a character knows. For instance, reading the bios does not suddently give your character omniscient insight over the abilities and past histories of all other characters in the Haven. Furthermore, your character has physical limits. If two characters whisper to each other, there's a very, very good chance you won't hear it even if it is posted in-channel. The same applies to any psychic characters--Mindspeech, when directed to an individual, goes to that individual alone. Not the entire town.
Repercussions: Failure to meet this rule will result in your post being ignored. Furthermore, you risk highly annoying the involved player(s).
Channel Rule #05: Always Make An Exit
Characters that need to be taken out of play due to an issue on the player's side of things must be roleplayed out of play. A character cannot simply vanish from a session. In the case of an obvious emergency or something out of the player's control (such as a sudden disconnect), this rule is void.
Reprecussions: A character not removed from play ICly is not simply out of play. An OP or whomever is GMing the current scene will then have control over the character in questions--Whatever happens to them at that point is your problem entirely. Please note that Ryo is quickly growing tired of people breaking this rule, and is going to start enforcing it heavily if things don't change. If you leave a scene without exiting, be aware that your character may turn into a homosexual (or heterosexual, depending on their preference) fandango dancer overnight. You have been warned.
Channel Rule #06: Diversify your Roleplaying
Roleplaying should be spread out among as many players as you can. Do not roleplay with the same person every time you play. This is highly unfair to others and if every player were to do it, the channel would soon lose all interest and fun. Do not ignore or otherwise blow off a character trying to talk to yours: this is impolite both to the character (ICly) and to the player running the character. Do not ignore outside influences either. If the village is attacked by something, your character won't simply grin, shrug and ignore everything to go meet the same character for the fifth time today.
Repercussions: Obvious repeated offense of this will result in an op asking you to diversify yourself somewhat. This is not grounds for asking a player to leave, however it contributes to it in case of other rule violations. Whatever happens to your character if you ignore everything around you is your problem alone.
Channel Rule #07: Do Not Force Others to RP
If someone doesn't want to RP, do not force them into it. No player may force an other player into playing if that player is unable to or does not feel inclined to at the moment. However, players who never roleplay and always idle may very well be asked to find the time to play someday.
Repercussions: Offenses are to be resolved among the players involved. Multiple offenses will involve a channel operator stepping in to mediate.
Channel Rule #08: Your Sheet is Law
When a character sheet is created for the Haven, it undergoes a review process: There are several reasons behind this, but one of the main ones is to ensure that the character is well thought-out and balanced in terms of powers and abilities. Once your character sheet is accepted and put into play, however, it stands as it is; This means that, at that point, you are not allowed to alter it further, or create new powers and abilities for your character without consent from the ops. Naturally, there is some leeway to this: Certain things make sense, and might have escaped the sheet writing process. So long as said things are small in nature, then you should avoid scrutiny for your decision. However, all major powers, abilities, and benefits must be included in a sheet for them to be considered 'legal' in the game. Special exceptions made be made for revisions and re-writes to a character's history, but on a case-by-case basis, and after discussion within the channel operators.
Repercussions: If you are found adding major powers into your character without proper growth, cause, or consent from the ops, you will be spoken to and reprimanded. All scenes including those powers will be stricken from the game's continuity. Further violation of the rule may lead to character removal.
Channel Rule #09: Respect the Players
Behind the nicks, there are people just like you. They deserve your respect as much as you do. While we are all just human, any repeated actions in-channel against an other player are prohibited. Profanity, insults, and yelling (with bad intent--we do like to joke around, after all) are not welcomed in #Haven.
Repercussions: If, despite attempts to have someone act as a moderator between you and the target player, you continue to act disrespectful, you will be asked to leave the channel.
Channel Rule #10: Respect the Operators and their Decisions
Channel operators have the task of, at all times, ensuring that the flow and direction of the Haven remains on course. This is done by maintaining the rules, reviewing character sheets, and a healthy amount of debate reguarding policy and other decisions. Ultimately, this places them in the unfortunate position of having to enforce these policies, even when they may not particularly care to do so. If a channel op gives you his/her advice, opinion, or official ruling, then it is to be obeyed. Our word, ultimately, is the law of the game, and usually does not come lightly--Often there are large periods of debate and discussion before we pass along an official ruling. Once our decision is passed along, then it should be respected and observed. If there are any questions, then we do allow for dialog and discussion--Likewise, if you feel you have been unfairly treated by one of the ops, you are welcome to take your grievance to another operator. However, much like in Rule #8, mindless ranting, verbal abuse, and other such behaviour will not be tolerated.
Repercussions: The implications of this are obvious and need no explaining. Removal may be necessary in extreme cases. This can also be referred to as the "Don't Piss Off Ryo" rule.
Channel Rule #11: Respect the GMs
All ops are GMs. Not all GMs are ops. If someone who is not a channel operator is running a scene, then they are to be afforded the same respect as an op. While running a scene, ultimately, their word is law, and what they say goes. If a quest is being run and you become a severe nuisance to the flow of things, the GM may disallow you to take part in the quest. The GM's decisions are final. The GM, if not an op, may not request you to stop roleplaying entirely. However, he or she may make requests for you to take a scene elsewhere, particularly if you were asked not to be part of the quest anymore.
Repercussions: Breaking this rule will involve the player being asked to simply leave the scene. Repeated violations of this rule will ultimately lead to removal from the channel, or a probational period.
Channel Rule #12: Keep Drama Down
While it's acceptable, playing a character purely for the sake of spreading drama, angst, or getting attention is highly discouraged. This can get on other players' nerves and should not be the sole way of roleplaying your character. This isn't to say dramatic scenes and the occasional depressing moment aren't allowed; just a reminder to either keep them to a minimum, or keep them in the context of your character. In line with this, though, please ensure that you yourself aren't spreading drama or angst. While we're a very diverse bunch and ultimately very laid back, we tend to abhore drama--Unnecessary drama mongering gets on our nerves, and while we may let you go for a while, don't be surprised if a random, unnamed member of the game suddenly blows up and opens a can of whupass all over you.
Repercussions: If you or your character proves to be too annoying and other players start complaining, you will be contacted and asked to change your behavior by an op. If behaviour persists, you will be asked to leave the channel.
Of course, in addition to the official rules, we also have official suggestions we'd like to make. These don't carry any real repercussions to them, but if repeat behaviour continues you might find an op messaging you, asking you to stop.
Channel Suggestion #01: Avoid RP Masturbation
Roleplaying two characters at the same time in the same scene should be avoided as much as possible. Particularly having two of your own characters roleplay together. This is no different than talking to yourself. However, if necessary, it can be done.
Additionally if you do have your characters react to one another try to keep their respective personalities in check. For example it would be out of character for a rational thinker to accept a stupid plan (Rauli would not agree with Vay if he suggested blowing stuff up as a means of furthering the quest, say). Likewise it would be out of character for a lone wolf PC to buddy up with another character even if they are both played by you.
Channel Suggestion #02: Be Helpful to Newcomers!
Even if you're not an op, greet new people when they come in. Help them if you can. Especially if there are no ops around to help out. Even a simple "hi!" is better than silence. Imagine you were the one joining the channel: what would you think of a room that's silent or where the first thing someone tells you is "..."? Helping can contribute towards attaining a higher position, shall the need ever arise for an other op. It also lightens the load on present ops.
Channel Suggestion #03: Ask Before You Do
The Haven is, by default, a 'player evolutive' concept: This means that the game is designed to allow people to help shape the world they live in, up to and including discovering new locations, new things about the island, and so on and so forth. However, as the game has been running for several years, your particular idea may have been already addressed, or contains elements already put forth by another player. In general, before you create a location, an artifact, or anything else, ask around (notably any of the ops, to see if there are any conflicts with your particular idea.
Channel Suggestion #04: Keep RP in the Channel
Understandably, there are some scenes that belong in private message: Anything containing inappropriate content for the channel (strong sexual situations, extreme violence, so on and so forth) should be kept in PM between the players involved. However, when at all possible, please try to keep all roleplaying within the main #Haven channel. This fosters the RPing environment, and also encourages others to join in.
Don't, however, assume that because a scene is going on in the channel you're free to join it without question. The likelihood is you will be able to, but in some cases (plot events, scenes far FAR removed from the village) you'll need a very good reason for joining or, in some cases, not be allowed to join in.
