4. Roleplay Rules

[Rocket!]

[ROLEPLAY RULES]

We Staff Members worked long and hard on the systemic RPing used on Dream Sequence. Outright shirking the rules of play and doing as you please isn't cool, and may even offend those you RP with. Depending on what you do, why, and who is impacted there can be action taken against you for ignoring the RP system.

There are, however, many legitimate styles of RPing in the Internet, and Dream Sequence recognizes this. If you wish to run an RP storyline or event with "altered rules", PM one of the Admins for approval before getting started.


Roleplay Fairly

• Godmodding is FAIL. Godmodding is when you control another character that isn't your own. This is mean to the person who owns that character, and sometimes outright cheating! Doing this will make people give you ugly looks in the Cbox, and, not to mention, a warning bar.
  
  
• Magically avoiding attacks... without magic. That's a no. If you've got a fireball firing at your back point blank, you're probably not gonna be able to just avoid it. Be the better person, yadda yadda yadda, let it hit you, go on with your life. We're counting on you to have a bit of common sense, okay? Know what your character can and can't do. Oh, and that "Mary was expecting the fireball and was already pulling down into a crouch--" line? If it's stupid, and the other person says so, it can be brought to staff for a verdict. There, the staff member will ask the offending person why they thought their character would be expecting it, seeing it coming, already moving to dodge... in a 5 paragraph essay. Yes, really. We're that mean! BWAHAHAHAHA. Were I you, I'd put that kinda thinking into the post before such an attack takes place, okay?
  
  
• It's important to read the profiles of people you're roleplaying with - you don't have to read everything, but enough that you're not going to make silly mistakes. Otherwise, for all you know, Sora could be a talking cow with a horn on his left shoulder. Which is, you know, bad. Misinterpretation of someone's abilities is one thing, but just guessing what it is just doesn't work well. Read up on 'em, okay? At the same time, don't metagame - which means, just because you've read something in their profile doesn't mean your character automatically knows it. You're character can't know information until they find it out in-character.

Roleplay Style & Need-to-Know

• We on Dream Sequence aren't picky about which style of RPing you use, whether you're writing a few short paragraphs or a novel. What we do ask is that you post at a level your partners are comfortable with. This means you need to post enough for your partners to respond to. Aside from that, use common sense. If one of you posts one paragraph and the other posts 2000 words, it's not likely the both of you are too comfortable.
  
  
• For you people who're new to the RPing scene, here's something you'll want to know: the Open/Closed system. In the topic of a thread, make sure you establish whether the RP is Open or Closed. No worries, you can always go back and change it later on if it gets too full! When a thread is Open, it's free to any member on the forum to jump in. Typically, it's Open threads that have Invasions. Closed threads are for only a few specific people, like if you and a friend decide to have your characters do some catching up on good times.
  
  
• Technically, you can have as many threads as you like. We're not here to keep you from RPing, so get out there and make with the fun! ...however... A character can only be on one world at a time. So this means you can make as many threads for a character on one world, the world that they're at, but you can't have them in another world unless they don't have any threads elsewhere.
  
  
• Not only are you stuck on one world at a time...but once you have the ability to travel between worlds (a gummi ship), there are still some limitations. Worlds can be open or closed. If is world is open, that means it is open to travelers who can use Gummi Ships to travel from world to world. Closed worlds, also known as locked worlds, are worlds that aren't open to travelers; only people already on the world can RP there. WARNING: Worlds can be changed from Open to Closed status at anytime by a Keyblade, so keep an eye on the world description! If your character is in a world when it's closed, that character will be stuck there until the world is opened again!

Fighting

• All the regular roleplay rules apply here, and are even more emphasized. No controlling another character without permission, only dodge/block when reasonable or you have an ability that allows it, and just because you know something about a character's weakness doesn't mean your character does.
  
  
• Please be specific in your fighting. Don't just say you let off a bunch of swings: make sure you say how many swings, and where they're aimed. This helps establish a time frame and prevents those little details being determined by your opponent.
  
  
• In battle situations, you can generally make no more than 4 actions per post. There may be some exceptions, but for the most part, limit yourself to four attacks/abilities/actions.
  
  
• If there are separate battles in a thread, cooldowns and limited uses on abilities will be reset. Health does not recover between battles within the same thread without the use of an item of ability. Cooldowns, uses, and health are all recovered between threads. The exception is in quests - cooldowns and limited uses are not generally restored within a thread unless the Quest Master says so.
  
  
• Abilities you cast on yourself (see: Haste, Protect, Barrier, etc.) that last X amount of turns can have the turn you cast the Ability count as one of X turns OR NOT. If cast at the beginning of a post, to defend from an attack your opponent has already made, then yes-- the post casting the spell counts as one of X turns. If cast at the end of a post, to react to an attack your opponent may launch after the post, then no-- the post where the spell was cast doesn't count as one of X number of turns.

Health System

• Dream Sequence's approach on fighting is a systematized one. Don't let that scare you away - it's actually quite fun! The whole idea revolves around health points. You see them in video games, you see them in trading card games, and you see them here! Attacks and abilities deal so much damage, and you have a certain amount of health points too.
  
  
• Characters gain health as they progress, getting a certain amount of Health Points from purchasing abilities. This makes up your total amount of Health Points. The amount your character gets per ability is shown here:
  
  Health per Ability
  Weak Ability: 2 HP
  Average Ability: 4 HP
  Strong Ability: 8 HP
  Legendary Ability: 16 HP
  
  
• Any ability that is replaced by another one-- Basic Parkour is replaced by Advanced Parkour, or Blunt Weapon Trainee is replaced by Blunt Weapon Student, for example-- still counts for Health Points! So even if you get Blunt Weapon Student, Blunt Weapon Trainee would still get you 2 HP.
  
  
• The amount of damage each ability deals is also set in stone. See below! (Note: Specialty abilities for mages would be the ones requiring a spell book.)
  
  Damage dealt by an ability
  Regular Attack: 1 Damage
  Weak Ability: 2 Damage
  Weak Specialty Technique: 3 Damage
  Average Ability: 4 Damage
  Average Specialty Technique: 6 Damage
  Strong Ability: 8 Damage
  Strong Specialty Technique: 12 Damage
  Legendary Ability: 16 Damage
  Legendary Specialty Technique: 24 Damage
  
  
• To show how many health points a character has in total, there's a code on DS for health bars. Replace "a" with your character's current number of health points, and "b" with their total number of health points. Keep in mind, reaching zero means DEATH. [ hp = a / b ]
  
  
• Unlike an ability's uses, Health should not recover between battles within the same thread.

Invasions

• Funny things tend to happen in the Kingdom Hearts games... you know, Heartless popping up out of nowhere when you least expect it, a Nobody squad suddenly appearing from behind you and charging at your group... you know. Funnily enough, that happens here too!
  
  
• Invasions are random Heartless or Nobody battles that happen at random in Open threads. On rare occasions, it's been known for them to pop up in Closed threads, but only under specific circumstances.
  
  
• Should a squad of Insert-Heartless-Name-Here show, your job will be to (duh) defeat 'em! Whether it's five Nobodies or twenty Heartless, the general idea is that they're there to whup your rear. Naturally, you try to whup theirs first. Now, while you can run from an Invasion-- these are very much run away-able, don't you worry-- I wouldn't recommend it... Defeating an Invasion results in synthesis materials, and such. In fact, there are some materials that can only be obtained this way. So unless you seriously think it's a battle you can't win, I'd try to beat it!
  
  
• Just a fair warning though-- you can't just run the second the going gets tough. You can't run away from an Invasion after a full three posts on your part having the character involved in it. After those three, the chance of running away is up to the person running the Invasion.

Quests

• Quests are roleplays run by a Quest Master-- QM for short. The QM is god, basically. The enemies, whether or not your attacks land on an opponent, whether or not the opponent's attacks land on you, the environment, and... yeah. Quests are stories, basically. They can be anything from a quick "Go beat the boss!" to a month long epic involving a twisted tale that will remain a part of your character's history forever.
  
  
• Unlike Invasions, Quests are completely optional. You'll have to sign up for a Quest to even be allowed to be a part of it, unless the QM pulls you aside privately (via PM) and starts plotting some special twists. The sign-ups can be found in each world in the threads called "Quest Shoppe."
  
  
• A warning to you all, though! In Quests, your character CAN DIE in the name of plot, or if your character just wasn't up to the challenge. Again, that kind of thing is up to the QM in charge. Generally, though, the QM lets everyone know the odds of dying and how difficult a Quest will be before people sign up for it So make sure you're up to the challenge first!
  
  
• Quests, being awesome, always result in prizes. Prizes can include Quest Only Synthesis Materials, Skill Points, and custom made prizes. And by that, I mean the Quest Master can literally make a prize. A special ability or item made up by them or, heck, even a Keyblade if it's tough enough.

Roleplay Turn-In System (and munny)

• One way to increase your character's power (through skill points) and get synthesis materials is RP Turn-In. After you finish a thread, you can PM the link to any staff member - that includes C-mods and QMs! - and they'll read through the thread and give you a reward.
  
  
• Know that the Staff Member has the right to deny you a reward on the grounds of ridiculously short thread syndrome. If it's not at least a few pages, expect a glum shrug and empty hands.
  
  
• Also keep in mind that epic and effort have a hand in what materials you get. The larger and more awe-inspiring the thread, the more materials you'll receive! The more effort and detail put behind posts you put in, the odds of receiving rarer materials is shifted in your favor. (It can depend on who you go to turn your thread into, and their personal method for dishing out materials.)
  
  
• This little Turn-In applies to Quests and Invasions too! If the Staff Member running the Quest or Invasion didn't give you any materials after the Quest or Invasion was completed, then you can send in a link to a Staff Member for your rightful materials. NOTE: there are materials you can only receive from Quests and Invasions. Make sure your Staff Member knows if the thread was a Quest or Invasion!
  
  
• If at any time you feel you've been ripped off by this method of "Staff Member Knows Best", send a line to one of the admins and they'll make the final call. Keep in mind, though: admin's call is final call, whether it's in your favor or not.
  
  
• Keep in mind, posting in general will increase your munny count. Munny lets you buy more abilities and other fun stuff - like Gummi Ships! The current rate is 5 munny per post, though sections on the forum for "SPAM" posts won't add to your post count or munny.

DEATH

• First time a character dies, they have the option of doing a Death Quest, becoming a Heartless or Nobody, or (if they have one) exchanging a Soul Gem for an automatic return to life.
  
  
• Soul Gems will be a RARE Quest reward that, when used, act as a 'get out of death free' card. This does NOT mean that the character doesn't die in-story and go to the Underworld, but it DOES mean they don't have to do a Death Quest in order to be revived.
  
  
• Second time a character dies they become limited to RPing in the Underworld until such a time as {A} they earn a Soul Gem with one of their other characters and opt to use it, or {B} they buy a Soul Gem from another player (and opt to use it).
  
  
• People can avoid going to the Underworld ENTIRELY if they manage to be revived within five turns by an ally or item. Unless specifically stated otherwise, no item/Ability can revive a character after five turns.
  
  
• If a character is a Heartless or Nobody, resurrection works somewhat differently. Death Quests for these characters are often more difficult, but they also have the option of being returned to life (once) if they sign a binding contract to become one of Hades' minions. The exact terms of the contract will be presented when the player requests resurrection via this method. Alternately, two Soul Gems can be exchanged to revive a Heartless (or Nobody) or to break a contract with Hades.