General Rules

• Don't be a dick. 

• This is a T.R.A.S.H.-free group. That means no Transphobia, no Racism, no Ableism, no Sexism, no Homophobia - but what it really means is no bigotry, period. This kind of thing might come up in the game, but bigoted behavior from players will never be tolerated here. Anyone engaging in this behavior OOC or using IC as an excuse to engage in this behavior will be removed from the game. 

• If you have a problem with another player, take it up with them in a courteous manner in private. If you need mediation, please reach out to the mods. 

• You must be over 18 to play in this game. 

• Sex scenes and violence are allowed, but must be appropriately labeled. Scenes with rape or questionably consensual sex are not allowed, although such acts can be referenced. Gratuitous descriptions of sex or violence falls under the same guideline.

• No god-modding. You are in control of your character, and your character alone. Allow the other players in your scene to respond to your writing - do not write their responses for them.

• Ask questions! :) 

Joining the Game

• Communication is key. After joining, you will be contacted by the mods welcoming you to the game. If you don't reply within the week, you will be removed from the game as it will be assumed you do not have time for it. If that changes in the future, you can always apply again!

• Please provide a final draft of your first character within two weeks of applying. The character may take a little more time to work out the details and get to approval stage, but the final version you're happy with should be submitted in this time frame.

• You may be asked to provide a writing sample at the mods' discretion.

Character Creation

• All new characters will need to in some way be part of Aegis. All members of Aegis contribute in some way, although that way varies widely from one to the next. All new characters must also live in The Row, and will be assigned a room. 

• Characters may be completely normal humans or have special abilities. Normal humans need to have some strong connection to Aegis, not just "human who stumbled upon the supernatural one day." 

• Players are limited to two characters upon joining. After you have shown interest and dedication to the game, up to three characters may be allowed. 

• Only original characters are allowed. Copies of existing characters from other media sources (books, TV, movies, even your own private works) are not allowed. If your character seems too close to an existing character, the mods may work with you to sufficiently differentiate them.

Species and Abilities

• As with any RP, teamwork here is key - a character who can do anything and beat anyone doesn't belong in this setting. If your character submission is overpowered, the mods will work with you to bring it into line with the rest of the game.

• Species and abilities which would be at home in settings such as World of Darkness, Supernatural, or the X-Files would generally work for this setting as long as they are in the low to mid power level range, however we reserve the right to say no if needed. 

• As many characters will be one of a type of creature (werewolf, witch, vampire, etc), there is likely to be some overlap in supernatural characteristics or abilities at times. 

• Your character must be at least moderately in control of their abilities, or seeking help in controlling them. 

• A humanoid form is a requirement. 

• Nothing offensive to other cultures. While we will check your app, it is ultimately your job as the applying player to make sure that your character does not run afoul of this. If a character is later discovered to be culturally insensitive, we are happy to work with you to figure out a way to rewrite or write out said character, to your preference. S01E02 or S06E08 of Supernatural are examples of things we are not allowing. 

• No closed practices. Again, this is your responsibility but we will do our best to check as well.

• No canon monsters. For example, a vampire is fine, but Dracula is not.

• Nothing from Harry Potter. For example, witches and wizards are acceptable, a "muggle" is not. A werewolf would fit in here, an "Animagus" would not. 

Posting

All posts will be written in third person, past tense. 

For example:

Correct: Lenore didn't want to leave her cabin, so she asked Levi to bring her lunch.

Incorrect: Lenore doesn't want to leave her cabin, so she asks Levi to bring her lunch.

Each post should have a header to avoid confusion and make it easier for new players to navigate the threads. The header should be in this format:

Who: Lenore.

With: Levi (open/closed thread).

Where: Jim's Diner - Bethany, OK.

When: January 3rd, 1929 - breakfast.

Wearing: (optional).

When replying to a post, please delete the unnecessary parts of the post you're replying to. You may leave parts relevant to your post, but indicate in some way that those parts are from the previous person's post.

For example:

Levi: "Blah blah blah."

And then your character's response.

Posting Order and Poking

Please observe posting order. If Mary posts 1st, Sue posts 2nd, and Jim posts 3rd, that is the order in which they should post for the rest of the thread. If Mary and Sue are already posting when Jim joins the scene between Mary and Sue, the posting order should be Mary, Jim, and then Sue, for the rest of the thread. All players can agree on a shift in posting order if needed, but it needs to be agreed upon. 

If a thread sits idle for 4 days, the thread will be "poked." A poke is a reminder to the person whose turn it is that they should go ahead and post. It will usually consist of the words "poke (character)!"

At this point, the next person in the posting order may post over in order to keep the thread moving.

Subsequent 4 day waiting periods will be poked as follows:

Second poke (8 days from last post) - the mods will engage the other player/players in the scene to see what they need to move forward

Third poke (12 days from last post) - the mods will issue a closing warning

Fourth poke (16 days from last post) - the scene will be closed

After a scene has been closed by the mods, players involved in the scene will receive an email with options on how to progress. This may include an option to re-open the scene, but will more than likely involve pointing out other scenes that the players can join instead.

If you know you are unable to post due to IRL circumstances, please let the mods know so that they can work with you and your scene-mates. 

Jump Summaries

Between gamedays, you will be required to write a jump summary for each of your characters in play.  Jump summaries must be posted before a character can be entered into a new gameday (exception: new characters).

A time jump is the period of time between gamedays that can last hours, days, weeks, months, or even years in some instances. The jump summary is the "summary" of what your character did, thought, or felt about the time period being "jumped." 

These are great opportunities to reach out to fellow players and build on interpersonal connections and plots that you might not have time for in the main game.

If you mention other players' characters in your jump summary, make sure to clear the mention with the player. Reaching out via email and discord is usually the safest bet, and if it has been several days since you've done both, the mods can okay the mention as needed to post the summary.

Hiatuses

You may find at times that real life catches up with you and you need to take a sit out for a gameday. Please let the mods know if that is the case.

You may feel the need to put a character on a "shelf" for a bit - maybe you aren't feeling the character, or you have too many things going on IRL to keep up with all of your characters, or some other reason. Please let the mods know if that is the case.

In either of the above instances, there is a limit of two consecutive gamedays per player/character. Barring extreme circumstances, a player who needs a hiatus of more than two consecutive gamedays will be asked to leave the game and reapply when they have more time.