Rules & Regulations

Darkness On Rise, an intermediate role-playing game, has a series of rules that must be read and agreed to before any game play is allowed. At the bottom you will find the agreement that states you agree to abide by these guidelines. If for any reason you disagree with the rules, you may ask a question about it in the Help section of the forum.

A warning system is also set up to keep order here at Darkness On Rise. Every dispute that occurs will be handle in an orderly fashion by the administrators, whether it be in character related or out of character related. If any questions that cannot be addressed on the Help board need to be expressed, please do so by messaging one of the administrators.

Golden Rule: In character occurrences must remain in character. Out of character information must remain out of character. This includes any disputes with another player. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean your character doesn't like their character. See above for disputes with this rule or with any disturbances that may occur.

Out of Character;;

No Flaming;;

The fact of the matter is, be nice. No one likes a stingy, stuck up bastard anymore than the next person. We're sure you wouldn't want to be treated like crap, so don't treat others the same way. If there's a problem, let us know. Don't haunt someone on the board, acting like a troll to them by spamming them and bringing them down. It will not be tolerated. There will be no warning on this. If it happens once, and it's of a majorly offensive nature, you will lose board privileges and you will be banned from the site.

Good Sportsmanship;;

Playing nice is the best thing a person can do. What your posting style is, or how exceptional you write is nothing compared to how you treat your fellow players. Be a good sport and play along nicely. We aren't babysitting, that's not what the administrators' jobs are. We are here to make things fun and to keep the game interesting and fair. If it's seen that you are not abiding by the rules, or you are doing anything against the rules, it will be treated with the warning system.

Playing fair also means that you keep in character information in character and out of character as out of character. If this type of play is found, the warning system will be applied.

Administration Has The Floor;;

The administration has more right than anyone else on the board. You fight, you get warned. We will not tolerate people that think they know more about the game and more about the rules than the administrators. There are certain rights that the administrators reserve the right to use. They are listed, but not limited to, the ones below:


• Administrators reserve the right to make changes to a profile as seen fit for legal reasons. If there is activity going on that is deemed suspicious, the administrators will deal with it by exploring a user's profile.
• Administrators reserve the right to make changes to the location, plot and the content held by posts as they see fit.
• Administrators reserve the right to deny any application (with a good reason).
• Administrators reserve the right to ban or simply IP ban someone if illegal activity is suspected; this includes but is not limited to IM foulacies. Just because you're doing it off the site does not mean we aren't aware of it.

Double Posting;;

We don't like double posting. There's an edit button there, and it should be utilized. We understand that there are situations when the internet forces you to double post. All you have to do is alert the administrators that there is a double post and we will take care of deleting it.

Courtesy;;

Being nice to other players means that they will be nice to you. Sometimes there are disagreements and sometimes there are situations that call for ill tempered replies. But by being nice to others, they will be nice to you. We look for a good player base, which means those that are courteous and respectful will be in better standing with everyone. And by everyone being courteous, this game can be made as entertaining and as fun as it was meant to be. After all, it was made for the players, not the administrators.

Character Limit;;

Here at Darkness On Rise we'd like our players to keep an active amount of game play. To keep this initiative going there is a two character limit. This means that at any given time, a player may have a maximum of two characters, whether they be vampire, lycanthrope or even a human. Several other rules go towards this, and these include:


• You must have administrator permission before you even register for a second character.
• You must have at least 50 posts with your current character before you can ask an administrator for a second one.
• The administrators reserve the right to refuse a character to anyone, given that they provide reasons for doing so.
• In order to get a new character, one must be given up in order to acquire the new one.
  
  
  ADDENDUM: The administration has decided to place no limit on the amount of characters that may be had, however, if you are seen to be inactive with any one character you may be refused any more in the future. The administration even go so far as to archive a few of your characters should they go inactive. This will keep activity on the board. You must wait at least two weeks after your character has been accepted to even try and apply for a second one with admin permission.

Image Sizes;;

All members are required to have an avatar representing their character. The person in the avatar must be claimed on the Avatar Claim listing. The size of the avatar must be no larger than 150x150 pixels. A signature image is optional, but if one is chosen to be had, the size of the image can be no larger than 550x220 pixels. An avatar must be present before an application will be accepted. The avatar that is to be used for a character must be of a real person, not a comic book depiction or of a cartoon nature.

Please note that all character must use a play by of an actual person, NOT of the comic version of your character. Please refer to the Avatar Claim to see if your play by has been taken or not.

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In Character;;

God-Modding;;

There are three parts to this equation, one of them is making super characters, another is puppeteering and the last is invincibility in fights:

Super Characters
There are supernaturals that are considered 'all-powerful'. These characters are going to be off-limits unless the administrator gives permission otherwise. Super characters, whom have many powerful abilities, are rare and are not easily applied for. If another character that was not powerful becomes that way through a series of game play it's understandable, but this takes time. If a character is played as powerful when truthfully they are not, the player will be warned and told to tune it down, if they do not, the player will be banned for no sooner than a week.

Puppeteering
The control of another player's character is forbidden. Whether it be from action or from speech, controlling what is not yours is wrong. By making them perform an action that is direct, such as assuming to shake their hand instead of shaking it, or assuming that a hit lands when the player has a right to determine whether or not it hits, you are taking control of their character. Puppeteering does not mean you can control the other person with a character's power if the character in question is capable of it; an agreement between players must be made before this kind of play is allowed. Even then, it is limited.

Fighting Invincibility
If a player automatically assumes that all of the attacks thrown at him/her miss, they will be treated to the warning system. This is NOT fair game play, which means that a character is not invincible. A character, be they immortal or mortal, can be hurt just like anyone else. Damage can be done to them and they can suffer from it.

Realism;;

A key component is realism, which means that if a person applies for a master vampire or alpha lycan position, they are expected to have a higher post quality than others. Newer supernaturals are excusable, but slacking off is not recommended. The administrators are strict about this, as a lack of interest in posting and lack of detail sometimes means that the fun is taken out of playing. We don't want our players to lose interest, but at the same time want them to have fun. Improving your writing skill is no problem.

Everyone is required to post once every two weeks. This doesn't mean you can slack off on it either. We know that writer's block happens, but being lazy and not in the mood to shouldn't hold up other players. If your character is involved in a plot thread, the players in question must keep their characters up to date as often as possible.

Actions within posts as well are to be kept to a realistic standard. Treat it as modern day society. Drinking is at the age of twenty-one, sex with minors is wrong, having weapons is illegal in many states, federal laws still apply, so on and so forth. There are also a few new laws that don’t exist in modern day, but they are to be treated in game as real laws are in the real world. This means that supernaturals are still “mortal”, though some have the gift of immortality.

In Character Posts;;

In character posts are set up in a pretty basic format: 3 to 5 sentences long and a minimum of 300 words. If you can't think up the 300, try adding in some verbs and adjectives, and perhaps change the sentence structure to be a bit longer and even more varied than it was before. The posts are to be written in your character's point of view, as well as in the proper dialogue format. DO NOT USE THE QUOTE FEATURE IN IC POSTS. This is not tolerated, as it is against the rules to do so. Simply put, write as if you were writing a book.

Double Posting;;

There is an edit button for a reason. Don't double post; the administrators and most likely other players don't like it. We also don't like cleaning up after you time and time again.

Mature Content;;

This game is a mature game, which means there will be situations that are deemed unsuitable for those under the age of eighteen. Whether it is something less serious, such as language and violence, or something more serious as drugs and sex, it is deemed unsuitable for those under the age of eighteen. It's highly recommended that only players of this age register to play, but younger (up to fourteen) may apply if they are no offended by what they see. Do not lie to us, as it will result in permanent banishment.

On the subject of sexual situations, keep it real. Sex with minors is wrong and considered inappropriate for this board. If it is found, you will be banned. No one should support that in any way. If you choose to make a mature thread, please put an [M] before the main title of it. Also, keep the mature threads to a secluded place (most preferably a hotel room or private residences). Remember that there are new laws regarding supernaturals, such as vampires feeding and lycanthropes mating.

When it comes to language, please keep the cursing to a minimum. If every other word is a cuss word, you will be subjected to the warning system. It's not necessary to use foul language to make things seem interesting.

There will be a fair amount of gore, with very descriptive phrases and picturesque images composed. If you are offended by these things please leave now. We don’t want to hear you complain.

Character Dialogue;;

If your character has an accent it is alright to post it in the dialogue itself, but don't overdo yourself.. We don't need so many annunciations that our eyes bleed and we don't know what they're saying. So please, refrain from using their accent to much in the words they say to others.

Spelling & Grammar;;

We know there will be grammar and spelling mistakes every now and then, but recurring mistakes and grammar inconsistencies are not tolerated. We don't require you to have Microsoft Word or download some fancy word system; Firefox from Mozilla and even simple websites that support spell-check are good enough.

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Other Rules;;

Questions & Comments;;

If there are any questions and comments, they can be addressed in the Help forum. This does not mean you can bitch and whine about the rules to us; they are set and that is that. If you need to discuss something with us then by all means, ask the question.

Post Count;;

There is a post count here at Darkness On Rise, which is 300 words for all supernaturals, regardless of status. There is no negotiating this.

Quote Button;;

In OOC threads where many people are discussing a single topic it's alright to use the Quote button. But in IC threads, it's annoying. Don't do it. When you wanna quote something, either copy and paste or type it out yourself.

Warning System;;

• VERBAL WARNING;; The first offense will be treated as a simple warning, which means you will receive word from an administrator about the offense and you will be warned not to do it again.
• FIRST OFFENSE;; The second offense will warrant another PM from an administrator stating what was done against the rules, and the warning level will be increased.
• SECOND OFFENSE;; The third offense will be treated as more serious than the first two. You will receive a PM and be banned from posting for 7 days.
• THIRD OFFENSE;; A fourth offense will warrant the raising of the warning level and being banned from posting for 14 days.
• FOURTH AND FINAL OFFENSE;; The fifth time a player breaks the rules they will be banned permanently. This is final.
  
  Any questions or comments, please contact the administration.

Member Agreement;;

After reading the rules, a player is required to read and accept the agreement below. To accept the agreement, you must copy and paste the agreement into your application at the bottom before the application will be accepted: