Guidelines
Overall
1. The most important fact to remember is that, despite being based on the Sakura Taisen franchise, this is an alternative universe multifandom/original character game. You do NOT have to know the fandom to join, but you still have to follow the rules set by it. (I will help people who need help with that, no worries.)
Characters do have spirit energy. This means you have spiritual powers that allow you to control robots and fight off demons. You can also have some ESP powers if your spirit energy is strong enough. But please don’t get ridiculous about this. There are downsides to your powers and you do not get to be the most powerful being in the world. So yeah, this isn’t an invite to Mary Sues/Gary Stus. The main goal is to avoid all-powerful characters or characters that make people ask “What’s the point of having a koubu?”
2. While the original games took place in the 1900s-1920s, the current game takes place in modern times.
3. Characters from all genres are allowed. You might have to alter them a bit to get them to fit in, so keep that in mind.
4. This game is not for people under 18. There’s violence, bad language and possibly sexual situations or innuendo. However, things like pedophilia and bestiality are banned.
5. Original characters are welcome!
6. No Godmodding, please. This means you cannot control someone else’s character, decide things for them or thrust unwanted situations on a player. You must always have a player’s permission before you do things to someone. As long as there is an understanding between players, it’s fine.
7. Grammar and spelling are important! Perfection is not expected, but players need to have a basic grasp of grammar and spelling. If you tipe liek dis this isn't the game for you. If English is your second language, please let us know so we can accommodate you better.
8. Respect. This is a big one. You must respect your fellow players and mods. You don’t have to be BFFs with them, of course. You simply have to be civil and polite. Childishness will not be tolerated. You will get a warning before you are finally banned. This also means no abusive language OOC. Playing around is fine, as long as everyone else is playing with you.
You can also have an offensive character. Just do not take offensive language/behavior into OOC situations. If your character starts to become problematic for other players, please, allow us all to sit down and have a discussion about it. At the same time, if you are having an issue with someone else's OOC behavior or character, politely speak up to the player and/or mods. Mods will not tolerate hate speech or bigotry.
9. Stay in character. You may have to make adjustments to them to get them to fit in, which is fine. I just don’t want them to be unrecognizable! If it gets out of hand, you will be warned. If nothing improves, you will have your “toy” taken away. Don't worry. Perfection is never expected of anyone, as long as everyone is open to working on things.
10. Be active! Update your journal every 2 weeks, at least. If you must take a hiatus, please leave a note in the OOC comm. Real life will always come first. As long as you tell everyone you'll be gone, we're cool. Everyone should feel relaxed and happy here.
11. At this time, there is no character limit. One will be implemented if it gets crazy. Please, do not take more characters than you can handle. There is also no limit on how many characters per fandom you can take. However! If you are from a fandom with a small cast, it is strongly advise you take only one or two. If your fandom has three main characters and you try to take all three, the mods will most likely give you a limit. If it has a bajillion characters, knock yourself out! Any limits imposed will be a case-by-case thing.
12. There can only be one version of a character unless canon states otherwise. If there are alternate versions of a character, we’ll handle it on a case-by-case basis.
13. You might have to adjust characters. They must be characters from earth. There are no outer space people. You can, however, toy around with the idea of being a demon that's on the good guy's side.
Game
1. Journals and IM chats are part of an intranet system that the Imperial Capital Defense Program has set up. It can only be viewed by those who are recruited by the Defense Program. So, no, your character’s family cannot read it unless they are enlisted. It is impossible to hack it. How is that possible? Because I say so. However, people already inside the intranet might be able to hack journals/files/etc.
2. The main comm is used to store logs. Logs are documentation of live interaction between characters v. intranet interaction. Logs can be RPed out in IMs and reposted or they can be played out in comments to the entry made in the main comm. Logs should be labeled like this:
Who: (If posting to the comm, you can leave it as OPEN for anyone to join you. You can also tag someone to keep others from joining.)
What:
Where:
When:
Warnings: (If something adult is going on here, you should tell everyone. You MUST warn if something could possible trigger someone.)
3. Each team is given a single home for everyone to live in. It is very unlikely that people on the same team would never meet. Every person has his/her own room. Dinner is often served in the dining hall where the teams can sit together, but there is no rule that says they have to. It is simply preferred. Even if one team member decides to get a separate home, they have to fight, practice, perform and train side-by-side.
4. Your characters can speak other languages, but the intranet’s system is in English (the international business language). In their journals, everyone will usually be speaking English so everyone understands one another. They are allowed to speak in other languages though. When you do this, you can actually write in that language, but you MUST add an OOC translation. You can also do it this way:
[language of choice]
Enter text here
[/language of choice]
For example:
[Japanese]
Hi, Mr. Suzuki! How are you?
[/Japanese]
IMPORTANT: Your character cannot speak every language under the sun. It's best to decide/research what languages your character speaks ahead of time. If one character speaks Afrikaans, I don't want everyone and their brother being able to speak/read it. English is the only language that, in this particular game, everyone speaks. Your character can be trying to learn another language during the game and maybe pick up random words. You can't do this for EVERY language, but for some. If your character is learning how to say "My pants are on fire" in as many languages as possible, they can know that much from dozens of languages. However, this is not the same as being fluent in all those languages.
5. Remember: Before joining, please send an application and wait for approval. If you try to join before sending one and hearing back from the mods, you will be rejected.
If you have questions or need help, please e-mail sakutaimods[at]gmail[dot]com.