Rules
1) For each character you wish to play, your first in-character post will be in the "Doorway" thread titled "Enter {CHARACTER}". This is an opportunity for you to describe your character, in the form of them entering the tavern for the first time. You do not have to post an exit in the Doorway if your character leaves the tavern, nor do you have to post a second time if/when they return; the Doorway is just so that there is a single place for us to keep track of new characters and get a quick overview of how that character behaves in this setting.
2) The post perspective in the tavern is third-person, past-tense.
3) Group moderators reserve the right to remove any inappropriate post for any reason, including out of character comments in the wrong topics and RP that would not be appropriate for younger readers.
4) Characters of any race are allowed, as long as they are able to fit through the front door.
5) No single author may have more than 3 characters in play in the tavern at any given time. If characters 'disappear' (due to idleness) or leave the tavern, new characters by that author may be introduced. Characters in active "Table" threads count towards this limit, but characters in "Quest" threads do not.
Guidelines
1) If you have begun a conversation in the main Tavern thread that you wish to continue without the clutter of other characters' conversations, try moving that conversation to a "Table." Create a new topic titled "Table #X," and then narrate your character moving from the bar to the table in the Tavern thread. The first post in the table should contain a list of all the characters that have been invited, so that unwanted posts can be deleted.
2) Within the tavern, keep in mind that an author’s character is speaking and not the author themselves. If another author’s character behaves rudely/violently towards your character, DO NOT take it personally. The point of the tavern is to test the realism and depth of your characters, by viewing how realistic their interactions feel with other, unpredictable personalities in the mix. Sometimes, things won't go your character's way.
3) When at all possible, spell-check your posts before submitting them. The "Tavern" and "Doorway" topics are meant to read as a finished (if unpolished) story in itself, and good spelling and grammar reflect that.
NPC Usage
NPC that exist within the tavern for the purpose of streamlining certain events and interactions. Any author may write for these characters, as long as the post stays within keeping the NPC's original personality and purpose.
The same extension of control may be used with other authors' NPCs in Quest thread, but only if the author who created the NPC allows it.
Tavern NPCs are meta-invulnerable; though the character's themselves aren't actually indestructible, you are not allowed to kill, maim, damage, overpower, or harm a tavern NPC in any way. They exist so that I don't have to constantly be around the forums to play minor tavern staff, not so that you can show off how powerful your character is.
The Talking Door
The talking door in the "Doorway" thread is intended to further your character's initial characterization by giving your character someone to talk to. The door is cynical, sarcastic, and not particularly helpful, but it will do his job when pressed; namely, opening for bar patrons and filtering out creatures that are more dangerous than average. The door can detect the species of any character through any disguise, transformation, or enchantment, though it won't reveal this information to anyone else unless their presence threatens the tavern in some way.
Martes, the Bartender
Martes is the elderly, good-natured human bartender, who runs the Melting Pot Tavern but may or may not be the owner. He is absentminded, prone to rambling and hyperbole, but otherwise helpful. Having been the bartender at a fantasy-setting-mashup tavern for most of his adult life, he has seen everything, and will not be surprised by your character's species or actions.";
1) For each character you wish to play, your first in-character post will be in the "Doorway" thread titled "Enter {CHARACTER}". This is an opportunity for you to describe your character, in the form of them entering the tavern for the first time. You do not have to post an exit in the Doorway if your character leaves the tavern, nor do you have to post a second time if/when they return; the Doorway is just so that there is a single place for us to keep track of new characters and get a quick overview of how that character behaves in this setting.
2) The post perspective in the tavern is third-person, past-tense.
3) Group moderators reserve the right to remove any inappropriate post for any reason, including out of character comments in the wrong topics and RP that would not be appropriate for younger readers.
4) Characters of any race are allowed, as long as they are able to fit through the front door.
5) No single author may have more than 3 characters in play in the tavern at any given time. If characters 'disappear' (due to idleness) or leave the tavern, new characters by that author may be introduced. Characters in active "Table" threads count towards this limit, but characters in "Quest" threads do not.
Guidelines
1) If you have begun a conversation in the main Tavern thread that you wish to continue without the clutter of other characters' conversations, try moving that conversation to a "Table." Create a new topic titled "Table #X," and then narrate your character moving from the bar to the table in the Tavern thread. The first post in the table should contain a list of all the characters that have been invited, so that unwanted posts can be deleted.
2) Within the tavern, keep in mind that an author’s character is speaking and not the author themselves. If another author’s character behaves rudely/violently towards your character, DO NOT take it personally. The point of the tavern is to test the realism and depth of your characters, by viewing how realistic their interactions feel with other, unpredictable personalities in the mix. Sometimes, things won't go your character's way.
3) When at all possible, spell-check your posts before submitting them. The "Tavern" and "Doorway" topics are meant to read as a finished (if unpolished) story in itself, and good spelling and grammar reflect that.
NPC Usage
NPC that exist within the tavern for the purpose of streamlining certain events and interactions. Any author may write for these characters, as long as the post stays within keeping the NPC's original personality and purpose.
The same extension of control may be used with other authors' NPCs in Quest thread, but only if the author who created the NPC allows it.
Tavern NPCs are meta-invulnerable; though the character's themselves aren't actually indestructible, you are not allowed to kill, maim, damage, overpower, or harm a tavern NPC in any way. They exist so that I don't have to constantly be around the forums to play minor tavern staff, not so that you can show off how powerful your character is.
The Talking Door
The talking door in the "Doorway" thread is intended to further your character's initial characterization by giving your character someone to talk to. The door is cynical, sarcastic, and not particularly helpful, but it will do his job when pressed; namely, opening for bar patrons and filtering out creatures that are more dangerous than average. The door can detect the species of any character through any disguise, transformation, or enchantment, though it won't reveal this information to anyone else unless their presence threatens the tavern in some way.
Martes, the Bartender
Martes is the elderly, good-natured human bartender, who runs the Melting Pot Tavern but may or may not be the owner. He is absentminded, prone to rambling and hyperbole, but otherwise helpful. Having been the bartender at a fantasy-setting-mashup tavern for most of his adult life, he has seen everything, and will not be surprised by your character's species or actions.";
OPTIONAL: Combat
Considering the wide range of characters that inhabit the Tavern, it's not expected for all of them to get along all the time. Unfortunately, there are no mathematical mechanics in pace for the combat; it would not be feasible to try to devise a system capable of satisfying the needs of everyone’s versions of magic and combat, and even if we could create one, it would only slow the story down.
Combat Rules:
1) Before beginning combat with another author's character, be sure you have read that character's profile.
2) Within combat posts, observe the "three second rule" in order to give the other characters time to react to your character's actions. If the action in your post would take longer than three seconds of real-time to accomplish, it is too long.
2.1) Characters' private thougths are considered instaintaneous; they do not count towards the three second rule.
2.2) Communication with other characters (taunts, directons, etc.) are allowed to overlap other actions, so that you may have three seconds of dialogue and three seconds of combat in the same post.
3) You may not decide your opponent's success at defending themselves from your attacks. If your post contains a direct attack on your opponent, your post must end immediately after that action starts. ("Bob swung his sword deftly at Joe's right arm," not "Bob hacked Joe's right arm off with his sword.")
4) Keep your posts within realistic limits. Your characters are not Neo. They can neither dodge bullets nor defeat hundreds martial arts experts with their bare hands. If your character IS Neo, tone it down for the sake of this group.
5) The goal of combat in the Tavern is not winning; it is to grow how realistically your characters react under stress. Give your opponents advantages, and don't take an advantage without their permissions.
6) A character may not take permanent damage unless their author writes them taking it themselves. This includes broken weapons, armor, and items. Most importantly, you may NOT kill another author's character, though they are very much allowed to write for their own characters' deaths.
Considering the wide range of characters that inhabit the Tavern, it's not expected for all of them to get along all the time. Unfortunately, there are no mathematical mechanics in pace for the combat; it would not be feasible to try to devise a system capable of satisfying the needs of everyone’s versions of magic and combat, and even if we could create one, it would only slow the story down.
Combat Rules:
1) Before beginning combat with another author's character, be sure you have read that character's profile.
2) Within combat posts, observe the "three second rule" in order to give the other characters time to react to your character's actions. If the action in your post would take longer than three seconds of real-time to accomplish, it is too long.
2.1) Characters' private thougths are considered instaintaneous; they do not count towards the three second rule.
2.2) Communication with other characters (taunts, directons, etc.) are allowed to overlap other actions, so that you may have three seconds of dialogue and three seconds of combat in the same post.
3) You may not decide your opponent's success at defending themselves from your attacks. If your post contains a direct attack on your opponent, your post must end immediately after that action starts. ("Bob swung his sword deftly at Joe's right arm," not "Bob hacked Joe's right arm off with his sword.")
4) Keep your posts within realistic limits. Your characters are not Neo. They can neither dodge bullets nor defeat hundreds martial arts experts with their bare hands. If your character IS Neo, tone it down for the sake of this group.
5) The goal of combat in the Tavern is not winning; it is to grow how realistically your characters react under stress. Give your opponents advantages, and don't take an advantage without their permissions.
6) A character may not take permanent damage unless their author writes them taking it themselves. This includes broken weapons, armor, and items. Most importantly, you may NOT kill another author's character, though they are very much allowed to write for their own characters' deaths.
OPTIONAL: Quests
Having too many characters interacting within the same thread will ultimately get confusing and wordy. As such, the tavern is meant only to act as a central hub where characters may interact with each other before separating into threads of their own. One way to accomplish this is to create a "Table" thread for your character to interact with a set few. If your goals go beyond simple discussion, however, you may want to create a quest thread.
Quest Rules:
1) To create a quest, have a character leave Tavern, and post a new topic titled "Quest #X" under the "Quests" category of the forum.
2) The first post should start with a list of characters from the tavern that are allowed to join your character on the quest, so that post from characters that do not belong can be deleted. It is best to recruit characters by talking with them inside the Tavern first.
3) The second part of the post is simply the narration of your character leaving the tavern. The topic poster is now the quest Narrator, and is responsible for controlling the events of the quest.
4) You may add additional characters at any time, but be sure to edit the quest’s original post to reflect that the new character is allowed to participate. A quest "DM" may request Moderator removal of posts by authors participating in a quest thread without permission.
5) If you wish to remove your character from the quest, simply write into the quest thread a narration of that character leaving. They may then return to the tavern, or disappear completely at your discretion.
6) No character may be written such that they are in the Tavern and a quest thread at the same time.
The "Time Warp"
The Tavern will technically be on the same night forever. The actual starting of a Quest is when all authors involved with that quest write for their characters going to bed for the night. The next morning the actual quest will begin, and the characters involved will be in a time-warp compared to The Tavern. When/if a character returns to The Tavern after leaving it they will return to the original night the Tavern opened.
The time warp is necessary for the main Tavern thread for the fact that its job is to coordinate the meeting of all other characters in all other threads. It's not realistic or economic to try and force everyone in the tavern to "go to bed" at the same time; there are far too many authors and characters involved for that to be done smoothly and quickly.
Having too many characters interacting within the same thread will ultimately get confusing and wordy. As such, the tavern is meant only to act as a central hub where characters may interact with each other before separating into threads of their own. One way to accomplish this is to create a "Table" thread for your character to interact with a set few. If your goals go beyond simple discussion, however, you may want to create a quest thread.
Quest Rules:
1) To create a quest, have a character leave Tavern, and post a new topic titled "Quest #X" under the "Quests" category of the forum.
2) The first post should start with a list of characters from the tavern that are allowed to join your character on the quest, so that post from characters that do not belong can be deleted. It is best to recruit characters by talking with them inside the Tavern first.
3) The second part of the post is simply the narration of your character leaving the tavern. The topic poster is now the quest Narrator, and is responsible for controlling the events of the quest.
4) You may add additional characters at any time, but be sure to edit the quest’s original post to reflect that the new character is allowed to participate. A quest "DM" may request Moderator removal of posts by authors participating in a quest thread without permission.
5) If you wish to remove your character from the quest, simply write into the quest thread a narration of that character leaving. They may then return to the tavern, or disappear completely at your discretion.
6) No character may be written such that they are in the Tavern and a quest thread at the same time.
The "Time Warp"
The Tavern will technically be on the same night forever. The actual starting of a Quest is when all authors involved with that quest write for their characters going to bed for the night. The next morning the actual quest will begin, and the characters involved will be in a time-warp compared to The Tavern. When/if a character returns to The Tavern after leaving it they will return to the original night the Tavern opened.
The time warp is necessary for the main Tavern thread for the fact that its job is to coordinate the meeting of all other characters in all other threads. It's not realistic or economic to try and force everyone in the tavern to "go to bed" at the same time; there are far too many authors and characters involved for that to be done smoothly and quickly.