recommence_mods

Play nice
We're here to have fun. So let's all be civil, please. If there's a problem that cannot be resolved between yourselves, please let the mods know. We're here to make the game enjoyable for everyone.

Stay IC
Character growth is definitely encouraged here and we understand that unexpected character growth is bound to occur while a character is removed from their canon, but try to keep them as IC as possible! The changes need to make sense.

No powergaming or godmoding
Straight forward! Don't control other peoples' characters and don't try to worm your way out of IC consequences.

Don't break the 4th wall
There are plenty ways to break your characters. No need to break the 4th wall to do it.

IC =/= OOC
Sometimes characters hate each other and that's okay! No one is getting personally attacked. If you think there's a situation of IC and OOC being blurred, bring it to a mod.

Applications
You can reserve one character at a time for up to two weeks. Once your reserve expires and you haven't submitted an app, someone else can app your character instead. We do not accept app challenges.

Applications close every Saturday at 11:59 EST and will be processed the following day. Any app submitted after the deadline will not be processed until the next week. We have a limit of 5 characters, but you can ask a mod for more.

While this is a pan-fandom RP and we embrace all genres, we are not currently allowing any of the following sorts of fandoms:
Celebrities, dead or alive. No exceptions.
Historical figures (EXCEPTION: Historical Figures from works of fiction that are not biographies, or works of fiction that are historical AUs). Speaking of which, yes, Hetalia is OK.
Characters from works of fiction that are transparently about real people. Web comics are most often guilty of this, but it happens in other media as well. You cannot, for instance, apply as a character from Penny Arcade or Control Alt Delete, as they are essentially the online persona of real people. To test rule 3, ask yourself "is the cast of this fandom just the author's friends, only in a webcomic/book/whatever form?" if the answer is "yes," then they're ineligible, sorry.

Please note that all characters, regardless of origin, must be able to interact with other passengers. A normal rabbit could not be accepted; one that could speak or type is fine. This is simply a matter of game mechanics.

Original Characters are allowed and encouraged onboard the The Black Tide!

Icons & Played-By:
OCs cannot use an established character for a PB. Example: no OCs using Jack Sparrow in their icons.

This does not apply to temporary event-based icons, e.g.: non-human characters getting turned human or obtaining animal parts. Shape-shifting OCs are given leeway, within reason.

Activity
Activity Requirements:
Each character that you are playing must meet the following activity requirements:

One post in the logs or the comms.

Please DO NOT post commentlogs in the comms, as they should be regulated to the log community. (Threads that begin over the network but turn into commentlogs are A-OK.) There will be an AC post every month and you can submit your post(s) there.

If you have not met the activity requirements, your character will be considered dropped. You can feel free to reapply for the character, of course, but you won’t be given preference over someone else if they also apply for the character that was yours. If you are worried about being unable to meet the activity requirements for any reason, you should consider applying for a hiatus.

Excessive Log Idling:
If you allow a log you are involved in to lapse for too long (think 48 hours or more) without putting up an OOC comment or contacting the other players, this is difficult for the other player or players. While they are in the log with your character, their interaction with other characters is limited. Their characters may even be functionally paralyzed, and that is not fun. If 2 days elapse with no response from the player whose turn it is to make a post, the log can be considered back-dated and all of the characters involved may go on to do logs elsewhere.

If you know this is going to be an issue, a good work-around is to work out OOCly what the end result of the log will be.

Player Conduct
Out of Character behavior is not tolerated. OOC behavior can be difficult for other players to deal with ICly, and something that seems fun at the moment can have crippling effects as the other characters attempt to react in a logical fashion.

Consequences for breaking the above guidelines are up to mod discretion. One incredibly serious offense that badly affects multiple players and/or several repeat offenses may be grounds for asking a player to leave. However, if at all possible we will talk to the relevant player/s and try to find a solution and/or give them a chance to change their behavior.

The existing player base is our highest priority.

Player conflict is inevitable, and conflicts on the internet can get nasty very quickly. While a certain amount of conflict and drama is inevitable, please do everything you can to stay, if not friendly, then at least civil to one another.

If you would like to report a problem, or if you need someone to mediate a conflict between you and another player, please contact a mod. We're here to help, and it's our aim to keep drama and "wank" to an absolute minimum in this game.

Hiatus & Lapse
Roleplay should not come at the cost of players’ other responsibilities. The people who are in this RP go to school, have jobs, have families, and have lives outside of this RP. Please continue to do this.

You can hiatus up to two weeks without having to apply, but leave a notice in the OOC comm to let everyone know! Anything longer must be submitted to the hiatus post.

If circumstances make it difficult for you to make one post for your characters after a month's hiatus, you can always drop and re-apply. It's not fair to your characters' relationships to stay on the boat without interacting with anyone.

Rules for Characters
A character can be hurt or killed without consent by NPCs if they provoke or antagonize them enough.

There are IC consequences for consistently reckless behavior.

Magical powers are weakened on the Black Tide. What does “weakened” mean, exactly? It means there are limitations on magic. Casting it is tiring. It doesn’t always work. Particularly powerful magic may be downgraded - e.g., if they are accustomed to summoning a tornado, they are likely to get a dust devil instead. The following modifications/restrictions are standard:

Teleportation: The ability itself works fine, but you cannot leave the ship; if your character attempts to do so, they will be teleported to a random location on the ship.

Seeing the future: If your character is psychic and you’d like your character to see a bit of what the future holds, please ask a mod. The information you receive will probably not be useful, and it may not be accurate. Act accordingly.

Telepathy/Empathy: If your character can read other people’s thoughts or emotions, feel free to send PMs to characters you are trying to “read.” Don’t be disappointed if they don’t tell you anything or give you false information, though.

Damaging the Ship: While spells can break furniture and light fixtures, nothing seems to damage the actual ship. No matter how powerful your character is in canon, their magic or strength will not make the slightest change to the ship’s structural integrity. Broken items will be cleaned up slowly by the Nameless, but otherwise broken items will stay in place. Characters will be punished for destruction of things on the ship, so beware!

Abilities rooted in "normal" physics - i.e., physical strength derived from musculature or robotics - are unaffected (but they still can't affect the ship's structural integrity). Strength rooted in supernatural forces, however, may be dampened.

Possessions
When your character arrives on the ship, they have whatever they were carrying with them on their person at the time, and that's all. Their personal effects do not travel with them.

If they had any weapons of any kind, those are gone. Yes, even if they normally wear them. Knives, swords, guns, wands, throwing stars, etc will be confiscated on arrival, but can be retrieved later from the armory if you manage to convince the Gunner.

Rooms
While this is a horror game, your character will find one area of safe haven: their rooms. Crew members have master keycards which will open any door, but they cannot physically break into rooms. Neither can the monsters or perennial creeping nameless terrors. Doors and windows cannot be broken from the outside. If your character is in their room and it is locked, they are safe.

However, should they find themselves trapped in their rooms, it is possible to break out. Doors can be splintered or taken off their hinges, but only from the inside out.

Leaving the ship
Everything and everyone on board the ship are unable to leave the ship, no matter what method they try.

Flying: Characters can fly above the ship to a height of about 100 meters, after which, it feels like they hit a wall. They can not fly beyond the confines of the ship’s boundaries.

Going Overboard: If your character jumps overboard, or is pushed, they will go over the railing and die before hitting the water. All objects they were carrying with them will be gone (see below).

Throwing Objects Overboard: Any objects that are thrown overboard will also reappear, but in a random location on the ship. Happy searching!