RP Rules

Version 0.5

ShadowHaven off table RPing is meant to be inclusive, satisfying, and entertaining. It is the responsibility of all members to maintain this culture and the moderators imperative to enforce it when necessary.

Basic rules

• As always, you are bound by the Community Expectations.

• Please contact moderation should there be an incident in an RP room.

• You are not there solely for your own entertainment, consider the enjoyment of others when engaging in RP. Disrupting others’ experiences will have consequences.

• Please follow the basics of improv. Instead of saying “I grab his hand to shake” say “I offer my hand to shake”. Forcing others into actions is detrimental to all, so preface things before you go in.

• Do not engage in non-consensual PvP, but also do not take this as an opportunity to harass other characters without fear of retaliation, doing so will incur the wrath of moderation.

• The following must be resolved at a GM's table. Anything requiring the rolling of the initiative, physical and stun damage, firing of weapons, casting of spells that cause harm, mind reading, hacking of PC files, social conflict resolved mechanically, ect. Essentially, only roll on your own actions that do not directly impact another PC. That is perception, assessing, performance, ect. The GM takes responsibility for that scene and ensuring everyone is happening fun. The GM should be a neutral 3rd party.
  • There is an exception to the rule in order to allow sparring. However, when sparring, the participants must use training weapons or AR - along with personal protective equipment - to ensure the safety of all those involved. No one wants a runner killed in a training accident. This is specialized training equipment or commlink programs that can be rented for a negligible fee. The fluff of how the sparring is made so no stun or physical damage is taken doesn't matter. Nonlethal weapons PCs use are merely less than lethal. Gel rounds can kill in the right circumstances, for example.
  • This rule is why ShadowHaven RP is considered to not have consequences, because actions that have permanent consequences are disallowed outside a GM's table. Do not cause something disruptive by doing something that would normally carry weight in a runner's life during in an RP room.

• For romance, please avoid doing such scenes when the room is filled with other people, they are allowed, yes, but please avoid doing it with others around. In addition, for others, if these scenes are done in an appropriate manner, please do not disrupt them.

• Above all, you are here to have fun, not to make others uncomfortable

Canon Status of RP

• RP is considered Canon
  • That said, simply talk to any thematics minion about retconning a scene. We are fairly liberal with retcons.
  • Scenes that have lasting impact are considered automatically retconned as they should not have happened in the RP Rooms. Please do not abuse this mechanic, it is in place to be lenient to honest mistakes and situations that progressed fast. It is not to be used to get around having to GM to observe actions which require a GM.

Formatting Guidelines

• Actions and descriptions - Italics

• When in the meat or on modern hosts: “Quotes” for Speech, <Angle Brackets> for Matrix Speech, [(Lang) Brackets] for other languages.

• When on throwback chat rooms, Preface your message with your username. For example: Dani Califonia: Baby, what ya gonna?

• When PMing other users follow this format: <<PM to Username(s): message contents>>

• When speaking OOC, wrap your message in parentheses ((like so))

X-Card Guidelines

This is a reminder that per the Charter, a Global X-Card system in in effect.

1: The Right Not to be Forced to Continue and Abandon or Cease Uncomfortable Scenes (Global X-Card)

The ability to abandon or cease games or role play which makes any ShadowHaven member uncomfortable is a fundamental and protected right granted to members by the charter.

Shadowhaven shall treat the word “X-card” as a prearranged and unambiguous signal to end their game or roleplay without delay for any reason. This can be deployed both in voice chat, freeform RP and text based games. Members shall be able to deploy this safeword without retaliation.

Every ShadowHaven department is hereby directed to maintain policies to support any case where a player or GM uses this measure and promote the use of the “X-card” safeword across ShadowHaven, particularly among shy members. In particular, the thematics in their GM oversight role and moderation teams.

The “X-card” safeword may be activated via text, voice or PM. It may be used in the voice chat, private PM to the game master, or by messaging a member of the council, moderation team, or Shadow Haven Staff in private to request they step in and stop the game.. A member need not have made their discomfort known prior to using the X-card. Members may feel free to disconnect from the game before deploying this safeword. Members may use this in any way they feel most comfortable. Any means a member feels most comfortable with using are acceptable. If anonymity is requested when using the X-Card, it is to be protected.

ShadowHaven as an organization cares more about player safety than storylines. We have many tools at our disposal to ensure the storyline continues, but only after we have taken care of our priority towards player safety. This is not a tool of last resort, nor is it a replacement for other conversations around sensitive topics. However, we are exploring a dark world in a freeform fashion with complete strangers. We have complete trust in our members to explore these topics in a mature way. However, sometimes we stumble and need a safety net. This is especially true in our voice and text chat based environment where we do not have body language to detect discomfort.

The best response to the deployment of an “X-card” is to take a break and either talk to the involved parties or have a moderation/thematics member do it for you. The involved party shall need not reveal what is happening.

All members of the ShadowHaven community shall treat the use of the X-Card with respect and maturity. There shall be zero tolerance for hostile actions made in retaliation against someone for using the X-Card.