Mystery & Magic Rules of Honor

and Tips For Free Form Role Play

The Rules of Honor and Tips For Free Form Role Play are a quick study in etiquette for free form role play. The first item, Rules of Honor, is a hold over from Worlde Arcane's beginning in 1994. The other items were found in various parts of the Internet and converted to fit the scheme of play in the Mystery & Magic Games. Together all of it provides a quick look at etiquette for free form role play, however NONE OF THE FOLLOWING replaces the Rules Of Play in the final judgement. The Rules of Play dictates play in Mystery & Magic Games.

The Rules of Honor

Etiquette for Free Form Role Play

Creating A Character

The Hard & Fast Rules of Free Form Role Play

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RULES OF HONOR---HEED THEM WELL!!!

FREE FORM ROLE PLAY is honor system role play.

Play takes place within a continuing never-ending "story line" and players create their world around them as they go.

Players honor their own characters and others by staying within the events of the story line, and not creating situations or characters so farfetched it ruins play for everyone.

Everyone is welcome. The best way to begin is to follow the story line for a while, then create a character for yourself that fits with other characters.

Sexually explicit or excessive graphically violent descriptions are not allowed.

Flaming is not allowed. Players wishing to continually disrupt the story line or harass other players will be denied access.

Beheadings occur at sunrise.

-- OVERLORD --

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***Etiquette***

From Newsgroups: alt.dragons-inn,alt.dragons-inn.misc

Manners. No, nobody cares whether you use the correct fork during your meal at the Inn! But some things _do_ matter. Until you get to know someone pretty well, don't write up something that will affect their character *_especially_* if it is at all adverse, without their prior agreement! To say "The thief picks Sir Whatsis's pocket, takes everything he's got, and runs off into the night" is rude; and most of us can get enough rudeness on the expressway without logging on to get more! Indeed, it can be a lot more fun for all involved to say "Sir Whatsis decided to attack the evil thief, drew his sword, and swung at the miscreant's neck....", thus allowing (dare we say encouraging?) the other player to post "The thief ducked just in time to avoid the loss of his head, and ducked into the shadows...he pulled a knife, in the event he was followed...". Notice that nobody is determining what someone else's character does or suffers; each person determines only what their own character is doing!

Starting up your own group and recruiting others is just fine! Doing unpleasant or insulting things to other's characters can be regarded rude, and is certainly subject to their veto, modification, or adaptation in responding posts. Rude behavior 'in character' (i.e.,making pointed remarks about another character's ancestory) is likely to result in the same results as in real life ...reciprocity of rudeness! Additionally, it's important to realize that actions' in character' may well bear no resemblance to the behavior or personality of an actual person. Someone who is a 'lost cause' or worse in the game may in 'real life' be perfectly reasonable; let us all hope that the opposite is not the case!

Also...Once an adventure is started, if you need to withdraw, *_please_*advise the other players, either with e-mail or a posting. In general, if you don't post for an extended period ( which definition will vary somewhat with the adventure ) you may get a friendly request about your intentions; later, if you still can't or won't post, it will be assumed that the character wandered off somewhere. After that, their slot may be filled be someone else; hence, such a player might not be welcomed back into that particular adventure.

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***Creating A New Character***

From Newsgroups: alt.dragons-inn,alt.dragons-inn.misc

How to create a character? Perhaps the keyword is *_Reasonability_*. Super powerful characters with limitless ability can become tiresome to those who try to interact with them. This is surely not to suggest that your character shouldn't have some strengths. Reading existing posts is a pretty good guide to this; as you'll see, the best characters have weaknesses, faults, some good qualities and some rough areas.

First, then, decide on what sort of being you want to use. A human, perhaps? Or an elf? Half-Orcs can make very interesting characters...as can Dragons! Then, you'll want a name; these can (and do!) range from the mundane to the colorful. Next, determine what you want the character to be like...a fighter? A thief? Someone running from a past they want to forget? Now add a bit of color; some eccentricities, if you will. Define appearance, such as clothing, facial expressions, and so forth. Finally, add a touch of personality..gruff, trusting, suspicious....paranoid, perhaps...or, stern, with a soft heart. You've now created a very viable character! You need not define every nuance or detail; you'll find these are best developed within the context of interaction with other characters. The very best characters aren't static; they evolve, grow, and change.

OK, you've got your character in mind...what next? If there is an existing game, it may well have about as many people as is practical to work with. So, it's best to contact (via private e-mail) the leading character(s) you want to get involved with. In the alternative, show up at the Inn and introduce yourself there; if there are other adventurers already present, you can form your own adventure. Or, when existing adventures are over, you can be part of some newly formed group. Adventures seem to work best with between 3 and 5 people involved. This is not a hard and fast rule, but the logistics just seem to work out that way.

Perhaps you'd like a more creative way to appear than merely showing up at the Inn. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with that! You could have a series of postings that outlined the character's past leading up to their appearance on Ifreann. This is an outstanding way to get some interest from other players, since they may well perceive your background as the seed of an exciting future adventure.

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Hard and Fast Rules (See Rules Of Play to clarify any of the following) From Newsgroups: alt.dragons-inn,alt.dragons-inn.misc

Q. Are there any?

A. Just one really; don't affect other people's characters without their permission. Unleashing all the powers of (filling name of fearsome area here) against (fill in name of target here) is fine...but only the target gets to decide if, and to what degree, they were injured by the attack. Same with any other attack; the other person decides the results.

Q. Yeah, but my character's a thief, and I don't want to wait around at the Inn until somebody decides to interact with me. I want to pick the locks at their house/shop/tower/castle, steal their stuff, and leave a clue so they can find me.

A. Same situation as above. Just because you want to do something to somebody doesn't mean they'll appreciate it. Arrange such actions by private e-mail first. It is not appropriate to injure other people's creations...whether it's a character, a place, a house, or whatever. Also, you may well be damaging a prearranged story line.

Q. OK, but I really want my character to meet some other character!

A. Fine! What would one do in real life? Walk over to their table at the Inn perhaps. Or, knock on their door. It really does work...and, there are no hard feelings. And, if you want something more creative, you can always set it up first via private e-mail.

Q. I'm being ignored! I'm gonna burn down the Inn!

A. Patience and persistence are virtues. The Inn cannot be destroyed (there are too many protective spells); neither can any other physical location except by act of OverLord. However, such attempts may result in a first hand audience before the OverLord.

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(Angel's Note: Yes, I notice that this is taken Directly From Worlde Arcane, but since this text is pretty good as it is I do not wish to risk disfiguring it with my tempering)

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