RULES
Application Process and Character Guidelines:
Holds:
If you would like to reserve a character, you may do so by going to the reserves entry and filling out the form you find there. While a character is reserved, only the player who has placed the reserve may app that character. You have one week to submit an app after requesting a reserve. If you have not apped the character in that time, s/he will be considered fair game again. You may request a one week extension to a current reserve--this will be granted at the moderators' discretion.
Character Limit:
The current character limit is 4. For more characters, please contact a moderator before submitting an application. Keep in mind that permission for additional characters will depend heavily on your current activity levels.
Application Processing:
Applications are read once a week on Wednesdays. If your app is submitted before 6pm PST on Wednesday, it will be processed with that batch. If it comes through after that time, the mods will process it the following Wednesday.
Rules for Fandom Characters:
Cast Limits:
You can apply for two characters from the same canon provided they have nothing to do with each other. This means you can apply for Luna and Blaise from Harry Potter, but not Ron and Draco.
If you want to apply for two characters from the same canon, but worry about their relationship being too close, please contact a mod, and we'll be happy to help you!
Dead Characters:
Dead characters are perfectly acceptable. Zombies (such as {...} from Hanna is Not a Boy's Name) are also perfectly acceptable. Dead characters will revive the moment they are brought into Vertiline. Whether or not they remember dying is entirely up to you. Characters dead in their own canon can also be brought in prior to their deaths. The Call is notorious for bringing people in from different points in time!
Ineligible Fandoms:
This is an OC friendly, pan-fandom RP. That said, we cannot and will not accept applications for real persons, living or dead. This includes celebrities (such as members of a band), historical figures (like Marie Antoinette), or author avatars (such as the characters in Penny Arcade or Ctrl-Alt-Del). Similarly, we are unable to accept applications for characters from Hetalia at this time.
Non-speaking Characters:
Because of the nature of the game, all characters must be able to communicate via AN. If your character is unable to speak, this is not a problem (we do have characters who understand sign language, by the way!). If your character does not know how to read/write, this is not a problem (that's what voice posts are for!). If your character is unable to do all of these things, however, s/he will unfortunately not fit in the game. So while you may adore your run-of-the-mill capybara (we adore ours!), you will be unable to app him for play.
Webcomic Characters:
Vertiline welcomes characters from all mediums, be they book, television, movie, comic, or other. With this in mind, we do accept (and encourage!) players to app characters from webcomics! Keep in mind, however, that Vertiline's comms do not support altered text colors or fancy formatting (such as that found in Homestuck).
AU Characters and fanon:
AU characters are generally not accepted. However, if you can make the case for an AU character based on canon evidence (such as Castiel from the possible future found in Supernatural), the mods will be perfectly happy to look at and consider your app. Similarly, we understand that not all characters are fully fleshed out in their canons and often require a certain amount of "headcanon" or "fanon". This must also be supportable by canon evidence and must not dramatically affect the rules of their canon or other characters from it.
Rules for Original Characters:
Original Characters:
Original characters are heavily encouraged to apply! Don't play fandom characters at all? That's fine! There is room for you in Vertiline, too! Keep in mind that standards for OCs are high, and the mods will be scrutinizing your character for unrealistic "flaws".
"Played-By" or PBs:
OCs using actors as a PB will ideally take their icons from out-of-character photos. We realize, of course, that casual and expressive photographs of actors can sometimes be difficult to find, especially for less well known and foreign stars. In these cases, please take your icons from multiple roles.
For example, you could use stills of Johnny Depp in his roles from From Hell, Chocolat, and Blow, but you could not use stills of Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Carribean only.
Shape-shifting characters will be given a certain measure of leeway. If you're not sure, please feel free to ask!
Activity Requirements:
Each character you play must post to AN once a month. Activity checks are held on the first of each month. Characters that have not posted in the previous month will be considered inactive. Inactive characters are given a four day grace period in which to post, after which point they will be considered dropped and removed from the rosters.
If your character is dropped, you have one week to contact a moderator and reply to the friend add/remove posts. After this point, you will need to reapply for the character. Keep in mind, however, that dropped characters are considered fair game, and it's possible someone else may apply for that character and be accepted.
If you are worried you will be unable to meet the activity requirements, please consider applying for a hiatus.
Gameplay Guidelines:
Player Conduct:
Vertiline is a pan-fandom, OC friendly RP. We have players from all over the world, and in the interest of keeping things fun and enjoyable for all parties, we do have a few conduct guidelines for players to follow.
Meta-gaming/Breaking the fourth wall:
As said before, we are a pan-fandom RP. This means it's entirely possible for your character to run into another from a movie, book, TV show, or game. To prevent headaches (and existential crises) for other characters in Vertiline, please don't recognize them. Your character has officially never seen Singing in the Rain, has never read a single Jane Austen novel, and hasn't even heard of that Batman guy.
"But mods!" you say, "I play a character who lives in modern day New York who is a giant comic book geek! There is no way he's never heard of Batman!"
We understand, dear player. While we do ask that you not mention Batman (or other characters) by name, it is perfectly acceptable to talk about "the vigilante seeking revenge for his parents with help from his butler" or "the newspaperman who can fly after taking off his clothes in a public phone booth." (...Wow, put like that, Superman sounds like kind of a perv, huh.)
Little Miss Perfect:
We've all heard of the Mary-Sue. She's beautiful and talented and loved by everyone. Curves in all the right places, exceptionally skilled at everything she does, and, naturally, fawned on by all the men (and possibly some of the women?). Everyone loves her! Everyone wishes they could be her--or at least be her friend! Everyone--
--gags the second she comes on screen.
Nobody is perfect, player, and your character shouldn't be, either. It stands to reason that if your character has spent his/her entire life studying nothing but piano, s/he will be an exceptional pianist (one would hope) but probably not very good at building robotics. If your character has been a soldier all his/her life, then it's highly likely that s/he has come out of it with some scars.
Speaking of scars, if your character has gone through puberty, some of those scars are probably from acne.
Your characters are not perfect. Your characters have flaws. This is what makes them so interesting. This is what makes us love them! Embrace the imperfection. Let them get angry. Let them make stupid mistakes. Let them try to build a robot out of broken pianos and fail miserably.
It's so much fun!
Godmoding:
Simply put, godmoding is taking control of another person's character. We've all made this mistake (heck, I did it just the other day. Embarrassing!), so remember: you can't do anything to another player's character without their permission. The odd slip-up will happen--we understand!--but doing it consistently or deliberately will make other players hesitant to log with you and nobody wants that.
Another form of godmoding is infomodding. In this case, a character knows information that they should not have been able to access or figure out ICly. For example, if Bob and Tina hold a secret conversation about lettuce, John should not know the contents of that conversation. Remember that what you, the player, knows is different from what your character knows.
ICA = ICC:
Related to godmoding: In character actions lead to in character consequences. If you punch an autobot, you are likely to break your hand! If you pick a fight, you are not going to be able to dodge every punch. The things your character do in game are going to have consequences, some good, and some bad. Please remember this.
Related: it is entirely possible for your character to be injured or killed as a result of their in-game actions. Remember that if antagonized enough, NPCs can and might kill your character without your permission.
If the mods notice your character consistently avoiding the consequences of his/her behavior, they may speak to you about it. If your character continues to avoid these consequences, you may be asked to leave the game.
As a final note, there are specific consequences for dying multiple times. If your character has died three or more times, please contact a moderator to find out what happens.
Playercest:
Also called "museterbation" (and who came up with that?!), playercest is when a player has their characters interact with one another. This isn't always 100% avoidable, especially when it might be OOC for a character to ignore something, but please try to avoid it wherever possible.
A game isn't a game if you only play with yourself after all (oooh, that's where it came from), so get out there! Tag other characters! Talk to other players! Trust us, it's worth it.
Backdating:
Generally speaking, a character cannot be in two places at once, and few, if any characters will have a time turner. (Note: Time turners are not permitted in Vertiline.) That said, logs can take a long time to write. Often longer than we expect!
In the interest of characters not getting trapped in a slow-moving log, back- and forward-dating are perfectly acceptable. Just be careful to keep your character's knowledge consistent between "current" and back- or forward-dated logs.
For example: if your character is working with his capybara in a log dated Wednesday, and learns his capybara can speak on Friday, he won't be able to discuss the nature of cheese with his capybara in the Wednesday log. To do so would violate OOC/IC knowledge rules.
Log Idling:
Please don't let a log you're involved in idle for too long (48 hours or more). If you think something will come up that forces you to let one idle, please put up an OOC note or let the other players involved know via AIM (or email or LJ or what have you). While they're in logs with you, their characters are limited as to what they can do with others, and it is unfair to other players to force them to put other things on hold while they wait for you.
If more than 48 hours pass with no tags from the player whose turn it is to make a post, the log is considered backdated, and players are free to move on to other logs.
If you know slowness may be an issue (for example, your real life job may give you a schedule that doesn't allow you to log at all some nights!), talk with the other players OOCly. It's perfectly acceptable to work out how you want a log to finish, and then tag where you can to get to that end.
Remember, consistently idling may make other players reluctant to log with you, and that's no fun for anyone. If you feel that you cannot possibly respond within 48 hours, you may wish to consider taking a brief hiatus until things settle down for you a little.
Hiatus:
You have a life outside of RP. You may have a job, you may be in school, you may volunteer your time at a ranch herding cats. These are all noble pursuits, and should be your first priority. If at any time, you feel you need a breather (so you can focus on your job, your homework, or your life on the range), by all means, take a hiatus.
A hiatus generally last two weeks, but can, with moderator approval, be extended to a month. During your hiatus, characters involved are exempt from activity requirements. You may not apply for successive hiatuses (hiatusii?). If the circumstances in your life are such that you will have difficulty posting for your characters after a month's hiatus, please consider dropping your character and reapplying when you have more time. It is not fair to your character's CR or to the other players to be present, but not to interact with anyone. Additionally, if the mods notice a pattern of behavior involving using hiatuses to evade activity checks, you may be asked to leave the game.
If you still wish to be active, but think you may be a little slow responding to tags, it is generally considered good form to warn other players that you will be on "slowatus". Keep in mind that this is not a hiatus, and your characters will still be eligible for activity checks during this time.
To apply for a hiatus, please leave a comment here.
Player-to-Player Rudeness:
Your character may be the biggest, rudest jerk this side of the Hebrides, but hopefully you aren't! It may be perfectly reasonable for your character to insult others for fun, but please be polite and civil with other players. If you have a disagreement you believe you can't work out with another player, feel free to contact a moderator to help mediate.
OOC =/= IC:
This breaks down into three parts:
First, you might know that when he takes his glasses off, Clark Kent transforms into Superman, but your character probably doesn't! The information you have OOCly often will not match the information your character has ICly. If you want your character to know this detail about Clark Kent/Superman, s/he will need to do some IC investigating to find it out.
Secondly, what a character does in game has nothing to do with how their player feels about you. Just because Starscream beats up your character doesn't mean that Starscream's player hates you. In fact, it's very likely the opposite! Starscream's player just wants to be your friend, even if Starscream himself seems to want your character to make friends with an early grave.
Thirdly, if you have an issue with another player, don't bring it into the game. If your characters have an established, friendly relationship, don't suddenly cut it off because the other player said something about cabbages that you find deeply offensive. Doing so is not only unfair to your characters, but is also unfair to other players, who may have to scramble not only to have their characters react appropriately, but to avoid being drawn into an OOC conflict themselves. If you have a serious issue with another player that you feel you cannot resolve, please contact a mod and we will be happy to help you.
OOC Behavior:
Out-of-character behavior is absolutely not tolerated. Vertiline has a healthy dose of humor mixed in with our plot, but we are not a crack RP, nor are we a dressing room. We understand that not all characters are fully fleshed out, and that two different players will have two different interpretations of a character.
That said, some things will remain consistent. Daxter misses pants. Belle wants something more than this provincial life. The Dread Pirate Roberts is more of a title, really. Darth Vader is no more likely to whip up a batch of muffins than Buffy is likely to gather up a group of vampires and go picking flowers.
If the mods notice this is a problem, we may speak to you about it.
Consequences for Conduct:
Consequences for breaking the above guidelines are up to mod discretion. One major offense that negatively affects multiple players may be grounds to ask a player to leave, or several smaller offenses may be grounds. We will, of course, work with players to try and resolve all issues before asking anyone to exit Vertiline.
The moderators also reserve the right to reject the application of any player known to repeatedly violate these or similar guidelines in other games.
Holds:
If you would like to reserve a character, you may do so by going to the reserves entry and filling out the form you find there. While a character is reserved, only the player who has placed the reserve may app that character. You have one week to submit an app after requesting a reserve. If you have not apped the character in that time, s/he will be considered fair game again. You may request a one week extension to a current reserve--this will be granted at the moderators' discretion.
Character Limit:
The current character limit is 4. For more characters, please contact a moderator before submitting an application. Keep in mind that permission for additional characters will depend heavily on your current activity levels.
Application Processing:
Applications are read once a week on Wednesdays. If your app is submitted before 6pm PST on Wednesday, it will be processed with that batch. If it comes through after that time, the mods will process it the following Wednesday.
Rules for Fandom Characters:
Cast Limits:
You can apply for two characters from the same canon provided they have nothing to do with each other. This means you can apply for Luna and Blaise from Harry Potter, but not Ron and Draco.
If you want to apply for two characters from the same canon, but worry about their relationship being too close, please contact a mod, and we'll be happy to help you!
Dead Characters:
Dead characters are perfectly acceptable. Zombies (such as {...} from Hanna is Not a Boy's Name) are also perfectly acceptable. Dead characters will revive the moment they are brought into Vertiline. Whether or not they remember dying is entirely up to you. Characters dead in their own canon can also be brought in prior to their deaths. The Call is notorious for bringing people in from different points in time!
Ineligible Fandoms:
This is an OC friendly, pan-fandom RP. That said, we cannot and will not accept applications for real persons, living or dead. This includes celebrities (such as members of a band), historical figures (like Marie Antoinette), or author avatars (such as the characters in Penny Arcade or Ctrl-Alt-Del). Similarly, we are unable to accept applications for characters from Hetalia at this time.
Non-speaking Characters:
Because of the nature of the game, all characters must be able to communicate via AN. If your character is unable to speak, this is not a problem (we do have characters who understand sign language, by the way!). If your character does not know how to read/write, this is not a problem (that's what voice posts are for!). If your character is unable to do all of these things, however, s/he will unfortunately not fit in the game. So while you may adore your run-of-the-mill capybara (we adore ours!), you will be unable to app him for play.
Webcomic Characters:
Vertiline welcomes characters from all mediums, be they book, television, movie, comic, or other. With this in mind, we do accept (and encourage!) players to app characters from webcomics! Keep in mind, however, that Vertiline's comms do not support altered text colors or fancy formatting (such as that found in Homestuck).
AU Characters and fanon:
AU characters are generally not accepted. However, if you can make the case for an AU character based on canon evidence (such as Castiel from the possible future found in Supernatural), the mods will be perfectly happy to look at and consider your app. Similarly, we understand that not all characters are fully fleshed out in their canons and often require a certain amount of "headcanon" or "fanon". This must also be supportable by canon evidence and must not dramatically affect the rules of their canon or other characters from it.
Rules for Original Characters:
Original Characters:
Original characters are heavily encouraged to apply! Don't play fandom characters at all? That's fine! There is room for you in Vertiline, too! Keep in mind that standards for OCs are high, and the mods will be scrutinizing your character for unrealistic "flaws".
"Played-By" or PBs:
OCs using actors as a PB will ideally take their icons from out-of-character photos. We realize, of course, that casual and expressive photographs of actors can sometimes be difficult to find, especially for less well known and foreign stars. In these cases, please take your icons from multiple roles.
For example, you could use stills of Johnny Depp in his roles from From Hell, Chocolat, and Blow, but you could not use stills of Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Carribean only.
Shape-shifting characters will be given a certain measure of leeway. If you're not sure, please feel free to ask!
Activity Requirements:
Each character you play must post to AN once a month. Activity checks are held on the first of each month. Characters that have not posted in the previous month will be considered inactive. Inactive characters are given a four day grace period in which to post, after which point they will be considered dropped and removed from the rosters.
If your character is dropped, you have one week to contact a moderator and reply to the friend add/remove posts. After this point, you will need to reapply for the character. Keep in mind, however, that dropped characters are considered fair game, and it's possible someone else may apply for that character and be accepted.
If you are worried you will be unable to meet the activity requirements, please consider applying for a hiatus.
Gameplay Guidelines:
Player Conduct:
Vertiline is a pan-fandom, OC friendly RP. We have players from all over the world, and in the interest of keeping things fun and enjoyable for all parties, we do have a few conduct guidelines for players to follow.
Meta-gaming/Breaking the fourth wall:
As said before, we are a pan-fandom RP. This means it's entirely possible for your character to run into another from a movie, book, TV show, or game. To prevent headaches (and existential crises) for other characters in Vertiline, please don't recognize them. Your character has officially never seen Singing in the Rain, has never read a single Jane Austen novel, and hasn't even heard of that Batman guy.
"But mods!" you say, "I play a character who lives in modern day New York who is a giant comic book geek! There is no way he's never heard of Batman!"
We understand, dear player. While we do ask that you not mention Batman (or other characters) by name, it is perfectly acceptable to talk about "the vigilante seeking revenge for his parents with help from his butler" or "the newspaperman who can fly after taking off his clothes in a public phone booth." (...Wow, put like that, Superman sounds like kind of a perv, huh.)
Little Miss Perfect:
We've all heard of the Mary-Sue. She's beautiful and talented and loved by everyone. Curves in all the right places, exceptionally skilled at everything she does, and, naturally, fawned on by all the men (and possibly some of the women?). Everyone loves her! Everyone wishes they could be her--or at least be her friend! Everyone--
--gags the second she comes on screen.
Nobody is perfect, player, and your character shouldn't be, either. It stands to reason that if your character has spent his/her entire life studying nothing but piano, s/he will be an exceptional pianist (one would hope) but probably not very good at building robotics. If your character has been a soldier all his/her life, then it's highly likely that s/he has come out of it with some scars.
Speaking of scars, if your character has gone through puberty, some of those scars are probably from acne.
Your characters are not perfect. Your characters have flaws. This is what makes them so interesting. This is what makes us love them! Embrace the imperfection. Let them get angry. Let them make stupid mistakes. Let them try to build a robot out of broken pianos and fail miserably.
It's so much fun!
Godmoding:
Simply put, godmoding is taking control of another person's character. We've all made this mistake (heck, I did it just the other day. Embarrassing!), so remember: you can't do anything to another player's character without their permission. The odd slip-up will happen--we understand!--but doing it consistently or deliberately will make other players hesitant to log with you and nobody wants that.
Another form of godmoding is infomodding. In this case, a character knows information that they should not have been able to access or figure out ICly. For example, if Bob and Tina hold a secret conversation about lettuce, John should not know the contents of that conversation. Remember that what you, the player, knows is different from what your character knows.
ICA = ICC:
Related to godmoding: In character actions lead to in character consequences. If you punch an autobot, you are likely to break your hand! If you pick a fight, you are not going to be able to dodge every punch. The things your character do in game are going to have consequences, some good, and some bad. Please remember this.
Related: it is entirely possible for your character to be injured or killed as a result of their in-game actions. Remember that if antagonized enough, NPCs can and might kill your character without your permission.
If the mods notice your character consistently avoiding the consequences of his/her behavior, they may speak to you about it. If your character continues to avoid these consequences, you may be asked to leave the game.
As a final note, there are specific consequences for dying multiple times. If your character has died three or more times, please contact a moderator to find out what happens.
Playercest:
Also called "museterbation" (and who came up with that?!), playercest is when a player has their characters interact with one another. This isn't always 100% avoidable, especially when it might be OOC for a character to ignore something, but please try to avoid it wherever possible.
A game isn't a game if you only play with yourself after all (oooh, that's where it came from), so get out there! Tag other characters! Talk to other players! Trust us, it's worth it.
Backdating:
Generally speaking, a character cannot be in two places at once, and few, if any characters will have a time turner. (Note: Time turners are not permitted in Vertiline.) That said, logs can take a long time to write. Often longer than we expect!
In the interest of characters not getting trapped in a slow-moving log, back- and forward-dating are perfectly acceptable. Just be careful to keep your character's knowledge consistent between "current" and back- or forward-dated logs.
For example: if your character is working with his capybara in a log dated Wednesday, and learns his capybara can speak on Friday, he won't be able to discuss the nature of cheese with his capybara in the Wednesday log. To do so would violate OOC/IC knowledge rules.
Log Idling:
Please don't let a log you're involved in idle for too long (48 hours or more). If you think something will come up that forces you to let one idle, please put up an OOC note or let the other players involved know via AIM (or email or LJ or what have you). While they're in logs with you, their characters are limited as to what they can do with others, and it is unfair to other players to force them to put other things on hold while they wait for you.
If more than 48 hours pass with no tags from the player whose turn it is to make a post, the log is considered backdated, and players are free to move on to other logs.
If you know slowness may be an issue (for example, your real life job may give you a schedule that doesn't allow you to log at all some nights!), talk with the other players OOCly. It's perfectly acceptable to work out how you want a log to finish, and then tag where you can to get to that end.
Remember, consistently idling may make other players reluctant to log with you, and that's no fun for anyone. If you feel that you cannot possibly respond within 48 hours, you may wish to consider taking a brief hiatus until things settle down for you a little.
Hiatus:
You have a life outside of RP. You may have a job, you may be in school, you may volunteer your time at a ranch herding cats. These are all noble pursuits, and should be your first priority. If at any time, you feel you need a breather (so you can focus on your job, your homework, or your life on the range), by all means, take a hiatus.
A hiatus generally last two weeks, but can, with moderator approval, be extended to a month. During your hiatus, characters involved are exempt from activity requirements. You may not apply for successive hiatuses (hiatusii?). If the circumstances in your life are such that you will have difficulty posting for your characters after a month's hiatus, please consider dropping your character and reapplying when you have more time. It is not fair to your character's CR or to the other players to be present, but not to interact with anyone. Additionally, if the mods notice a pattern of behavior involving using hiatuses to evade activity checks, you may be asked to leave the game.
If you still wish to be active, but think you may be a little slow responding to tags, it is generally considered good form to warn other players that you will be on "slowatus". Keep in mind that this is not a hiatus, and your characters will still be eligible for activity checks during this time.
To apply for a hiatus, please leave a comment here.
Player-to-Player Rudeness:
Your character may be the biggest, rudest jerk this side of the Hebrides, but hopefully you aren't! It may be perfectly reasonable for your character to insult others for fun, but please be polite and civil with other players. If you have a disagreement you believe you can't work out with another player, feel free to contact a moderator to help mediate.
OOC =/= IC:
This breaks down into three parts:
First, you might know that when he takes his glasses off, Clark Kent transforms into Superman, but your character probably doesn't! The information you have OOCly often will not match the information your character has ICly. If you want your character to know this detail about Clark Kent/Superman, s/he will need to do some IC investigating to find it out.
Secondly, what a character does in game has nothing to do with how their player feels about you. Just because Starscream beats up your character doesn't mean that Starscream's player hates you. In fact, it's very likely the opposite! Starscream's player just wants to be your friend, even if Starscream himself seems to want your character to make friends with an early grave.
Thirdly, if you have an issue with another player, don't bring it into the game. If your characters have an established, friendly relationship, don't suddenly cut it off because the other player said something about cabbages that you find deeply offensive. Doing so is not only unfair to your characters, but is also unfair to other players, who may have to scramble not only to have their characters react appropriately, but to avoid being drawn into an OOC conflict themselves. If you have a serious issue with another player that you feel you cannot resolve, please contact a mod and we will be happy to help you.
OOC Behavior:
Out-of-character behavior is absolutely not tolerated. Vertiline has a healthy dose of humor mixed in with our plot, but we are not a crack RP, nor are we a dressing room. We understand that not all characters are fully fleshed out, and that two different players will have two different interpretations of a character.
That said, some things will remain consistent. Daxter misses pants. Belle wants something more than this provincial life. The Dread Pirate Roberts is more of a title, really. Darth Vader is no more likely to whip up a batch of muffins than Buffy is likely to gather up a group of vampires and go picking flowers.
If the mods notice this is a problem, we may speak to you about it.
Consequences for Conduct:
Consequences for breaking the above guidelines are up to mod discretion. One major offense that negatively affects multiple players may be grounds to ask a player to leave, or several smaller offenses may be grounds. We will, of course, work with players to try and resolve all issues before asking anyone to exit Vertiline.
The moderators also reserve the right to reject the application of any player known to repeatedly violate these or similar guidelines in other games.