What is a High Rank/Event-relevant OC?
A high rank character is a character that takes on an administrative role within the roleplay-- this includes leaders, healers, healer apprentices, as well as advisors/pioneers/medium/court positions. These are ranks that hold a heavier degree of weight in terms of activity and presence in the roleplay; that is to say that the plot and other characters within Paths Crossed directly rely on you and your character. These characters are necessary for promotions, ceremonies, gatherings, and certain important plot points.
An event-relevant character is a character that has been established as a key point at least once in an event that has been planned. This means that there will be at least one point in a currently-planned upcoming event in which other people/characters rely that hinges on your character in some way, shape, or form. When you agree to participate in an event where your character will be necessary to progress the plot, you are volunteering your character to be an event-relevant character. This is a temporary label that is only relevant so long as a character is planned to be used in an event.
Why is this important?
Part of the nature of a roleplay being a collaborate environment involves consideration for the group as a whole, and as moderators, there is a line we sometimes need to walk when we cannot realistically accommodate everyone. We all exist in different timezones and we all have busy, demanding lives where sometimes we cannot prioritize logging onto discord for the sake of being pretend cats. We understand that this group is not (and should not!) be the utmost priority and as a result, we try to make decisions that accommodate as many people as possible, even if it means we cannot accommodate everyone.
The following policy is in place so that we can do our jobs as moderators to keep the group going even when we have difficulties in our lives. It is not a perfect solution by any means, but it is the best one we can see as lifelong roleplayers who are trying to act in the best interest of the group.
Our Policy
On the condition that you are unable to be present for a necessary, time sensitive event within the roleplay, you understand that there may be times moderators may need to minimally control your character for the sake of plot progression. Any time this is necessary you will be warned beforehand and warned about this outcome as soon as possible so that you may either be given the chance to be present regardless, or provide a moderator with a pre-written post/talking points so as to portray your character as faithfully as possible. In the event you are unable to communicate how you would like your character to be portrayed for any reason, moderators will control your character to the absolute minimum, doing strictly what is necessary for plot progression. This policy also applies to any individual who commits to a date/time to roleplay out an important event and does not show up at the communicated date and time.
If you would like to elaborate on your character's actions in an event they had to be controlled for, you are always welcome and encouraged to make use of your clan's time warp channel to roleplay the interaction out when you are available-- if you do so, this version of events will be considered canon.
If you roleplay a high rank that conducts ceremonies, we may need to minimally control your characters strictly for the purposes of doing ceremonies promptly and easily. If you are not comfortable with your character being controlled for the sake of ceremony conduction, we advise against taking on a high rank role.
If you know ahead of time that you will be unable to make it for a commitment your character would be necessary for, we highly suggest communicating with a moderator so we can try to find an alternative to controlling your character through the event. We do not want to roleplay your characters for you and would ideally like to find any alternative to that outcome, but maintain this policy as a necessary evil to prevent plotlines from being roadblocked for excessive periods of time.