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Barbary Grove is a small city in northern California. To the average visitor, its just another small town, cute, but ultimately forgettable. It's known for its poppy fields and pomegranate groves, and outside of a few seasonal campers, acts as a passthrough town to other, more exciting destinations. There's a café, a little bar, and a locally owned hotel known as the Starling.
And then there are the vampires.
Of course, the average visitor doesn't know about the vampires-- a whole host of them, really. They settled in a few years back, but the one in red seems like he's always been a fixture in the town. More and more vampires arrive daily, drawn to the strange old house in middle of the pomegranate grove up on the hill, and it feels like trouble is brewing...
Barbary Grove is a 21+ Roleplaying Game centered around a town playing host to all sorts of supernatural creatures. The primary story is driven by the events arising from the arrival of Ven's ilk, the Suntouched, but all other vampires, homebrew or otherwise, as well as other supernatural, mythological, or folklore based characters are welcomed too!
We are a smaller roleplaying community extending to those who wish to connect themselves with this storyline and characters, so we may come across as a little quieter, but dip your feet in the strange waters of Barbary Grove, and you're guaranteed to find more than you expected waiting for you.
✧ Face Claims/Playbys Optional
✧ Discord & Forum Play
✧ Relaxed activity requirements! Only one post required per month using any character.
✧ Homebrew Lore Welcomed
✧ Flexible options for sharing information/sheets when wanted, such as google docs or here on RPR.
Inclusivity
We strive to be an inclusive community, and one that is always learning how to be better. This means that we expect you to be respectful and kind to everyone around you, even if you may not agree with or understand them. If it isn't directly affecting you, and it isn't hurting anyone, then mind your own business. This also means that if you are playing a character that touches on life experiences outside of your own that may involve marginalized communities, such as other cultures, mental illnesses, or disabilities, then you do your homework before you begin to play them and continuously during.
And if you spot something that could be improved on Barbary Grove in terms of inclusivity, then say something for sure! We're all still learning.
Respect
You will likely encounter fandoms, characters, and genres here that you are both fond of and not fond of. You don't have to like every person or character you encounter, but you do have to be kind, which means not yucking other people's yums. Remember that everyone's got opinions, just like another something everyone's got-- you don't need to share those things when you aren't asked. On a similar note, playing canons is a little like cosplaying-- everyone is going to have their own interpretation of a character. You wouldn't stop someone at a convention to offer unwanted critique about their costume or or automatically assume that getting cozy with them is okay just because you're dressed as their character's love interest, so don't do the same with other people's character's here. Respect boundaries and remember that not everyone is going to be writing for the same reasons that you might be.
This goes for general conversation too. Just be nice. Try to include people where you can. If you can't be kind, keep in mind that staff reserve the right to boot you for being a general nuisance and a jerk.
This Is Not Therapy
We're a pretendy funtime game. Some of our characters may be be healers, therapists, or heroes, but that does not make their players qualified to handle your trauma or mental illnesses, and if they were, it would be unethical for them to be doing it through a Discord roleplaying sever. People come here to relax and decompress. Do not use this space to trauma dump on people. This includes sympathy fishing. Don't come into the server and fuss or poor me hoping that people will emotionally chase you. It's super uncomfy and manipulative.
This is also not the right space for real world political discussions, conspiracy theories, or OOC conversations about religion. Your characters can talk about what they want, but keep in IC, and keep OOC and IC separate. Not every character is going to agree with or get along with yours. It's not a personal failing.
Face Claims
Barbary Grove does not require face-claims/playbys for character sheets, or any images what so ever. You are absolutely welcome to include them if you'd like. However, we do ask that any images being used belong to a model or celebrity of some sort, not some stranger's picture you found on google. Please be respectful. Youtube stars are a grey area. Please check with staff. You are also welcome to use art instead.
Art & Fanart
If you are using art for your character sheets, please ensure that that art either belongs to you, that you have permission to use it, or that it belongs to a major corporation and thus is not depriving an indie artist of their proper credit. All indie art, fan art or otherwise, must receive proper credit, and the wishes of the original artist must be respected. Art theft hurts artists. Don't be that person.
AI Art also steals from artists, and until the datasets are ethically sourced, this is not a medium that is allowed here. Please refrain from using AI in your character's art or writing.
A Quick Note
Please note that while we allow a wide amount of different kinds of characters with different powers and power levels, if you bring in a character who is too overpowered and unbalanced or has other traits that others may find difficult to play with, they may elect not to engage with these characters. No player is required to play with any character or take part in any plot they don't feel compatible with. You should always feel free to (kindly) turn down a roleplay.
As an extension, if you see an ongoing scene, it's always polite to ask before joining in case character concepts aren't compatible.
Whatever you elect to play, we please ask that you remain respectful of the overall tone of the game, and the fact that the majority of the human world is not currently aware of the supernatural world. The world that Barbary Grove is set in is somewhat of a kitchen sink, and your characters may occasionally see things like powered vigilantes on the news, but they are far and distant from this city for the most part, and the majority of the world's 'weird' remains unexposed.
✔ Original Characters
✔ Canon Characters
✔ Characters from any genre or era
(barbary grove itself is set in modernish times with late 1990's technology)
✔ Unpowered Characters
✔ AU Versions of Characters
✔ Genderbent Versions of Characters
❂ Powerful Characters, Deities, or Spirits - Please play responsibly, and remember, there's always a bigger fish. Deities with active religions rather than 'revived' religions are probably best left out of this. Please avoid using beings and folklore from cultures and communities who have asked people not to use them in casual storytelling/play. Do your research. This goes double for some indigenous folklore that has recently gained popularity.
❂ Non-Canon Relatives of Canons - Canon Players do not have to acknowledge these connections or play with you. Be aware that this isn't everyone's cup of tea. Even Canon relationships can be fraught and controversial at times.
❂ Time Based Powers
❂ Mimicry Powers
❂ Telepathy or other abilities capable of affecting free will. Ask before employing these abilities on other characters. Read the room.
❂ Characters that have been accepted as agents at AotM. Special rules apply, and their app must still be accepted here before play.
✘ Joke Characters/Overly Silly Concepts.
Note: If your character is more sitcom than slapstick and doesn't break immersion, you're probably fine.
✘ Real Life People as characters, living or dead. We may make some exceptions for some historical figures, but talk with staff first please. Most really, really old historical figures like Blackbeard or Cleopatra are generally fine.
✘ Other's OCs, including those from certain D&D podcasts. We will make exceptions if you receive direct permission to use them.
✘ Canons from small time or 'indy' platforms such as hobby comics. Same deal as above. If you get permission from the creator, you may play them here.
✘ We do not accept nazis, or other problematic characters. Take that shit elsewhere.
✘ Any character under 18 years of age.
✘ Characters who are 'adults' in child bodies, or child-like minds in adult bodies.
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Barbary Grove is a game that takes place in a small, northern California city, which is currently experiencing an influx of supernatural creatures like its never before seen. This roleplay takes place in a modern-ish setting with 1990s vibes and tech, but we have a small spot set aside for roleplays set in the far past as well, in places like the temples of ancient Egypt, where the Suntouched first got their start.
Barbary Grove has two main areas to write in-- our Discord, which is more focused on real-time/rapidfire games, and the forums located on RPR where you can pace your games as you'd like. Our Discord games are designed for quick response times (under an hour per post), so please keep this in mind when deciding where to set your game. Rooms that have not had a post in three hours may be utilized for a new scene. You do not have to ask to join public rooms in the Discord, but it is polite to check in before joining so everyone is on the same page scene-wise.
Guests & Readers
Barbary Grove gives guests three days from their initial arrival on our Discord to look around and decide if they want to stay, then we clear inactive names from our server. This is both to prevent clutter and to ensure that we don't have lurking minors, as this is an adults only server. If after those three days you decide you want to watch and read the roleplays going on still, but you don't want to fully sign up, you are welcome to DM Jabberwookie and ask for a reader role by giving us your age. A reader role will allow you to lurk and read but not post anywhere. You're welcome to sign up fully at any point, however!
You can begin the sign up process by starting at the read me first guide on the server, or finishing this rules page and its Q&A section, and then moving on to the sample posts room. If you have questions or concerns, or just want to check out the vibe of the community, feel free to drop by the guest lobby! Guests will be limited in where they can post until they sign up and have been approved by staff.
Approved Members
Once your sample post has been approved by staff, the rest of the sever will be unlocked for you, and you may also choose to make an account and join us on our RPR forum as well. We ask that new players create their first character and post within one week of joining. After that, activity requirements are one post by any of your characters each month in either our rapid fire rooms or on our forum. The Quick Roleplay area ( #about-this-area ) meant for five minute roleplays do not count towards activity check requirements.
Please note that Discord-side roleplay is meant to be rapidfire (each response under and hour), while roleplays on our forum on RPR or in Personal Rooms can have response times that are up to the party.
Ghosting
We would like to make it clear that having a low set amount of posts that we require from our players doesn't make it appropriate to ghost your partners. You are perfectly capable of communicating with the people you are writing with when you can no longer write, and with being honest about your time and mental resources. No one will bully you for stepping away for any reason whatsoever, or for no reason at all, and if they do, please alert staff. Real life always comes first, but a refusal to communicate with your partners is not a culture we wish to foster here. If you cannot change this habit while with us, then Barbary Grove is not a good match.
Quantity vs. Quality
Barbary Grove has no post length requirements. Because we screen for more mature and experienced writers, we trust that whether you are writing a one liner or a small novel, then you have a good reason for it. Please ensure that you are giving your partners enough to work with and communicating openly about your mutual story-telling needs.
That being said, we are looking for more experienced writers here, so while applying to our sample posts, please keep in mind that we will likely ask those without a good grasp of grammar, spelling, and cooperative story telling skills to come back when they have more experience.
Content
Due to the nature of this being a supernatural setting revolving around vampires, there are certain topics that would be difficult to avoid. There is a high probability blood, sensual imagery, and a possibility of encountering scenes of a sexual nature. Please be okay with being exposed to these before entering into our roleplay rooms. That being said, we do ask that commonly upsetting topics such as abuse, extreme gore, self harm, and drug abuse not be played out on our Discord side, as it would be difficult to apply trigger warnings to them and they aren't a big part of the nature of our general setting.
You may roleplay these things to your hearts content on our forum side as long as they're handled respectfully. Mature threads must be marked in the title and must contain a content warning on the first post before any other content. Minor characters, or characters who appear and/or act like minors, are not accepted anywhere on this server or its accompanying forum. They may be included as NPCs where needed, but may not be included in mature topics. All characters involved in scenes of a sexual nature must pass the Harkness Test.
We do not allow real life slurs of any kind or in any context on this server or its forum. We understand the complexities of reclaiming words, but a roleplay server is a bad place to have such nuanced conversations.
Public Rooms & Playing Nice
As you'll notice in our character allowances list below, there are sometimes characters being played here that not everyone will want to play with, such as more powerful concepts like deities or spirits. Barbary Grove has a policy that you don't have to play with anyone that you don't want to play with. However, all of our real time rooms on the discord, save for personal rooms and residential areas are considered open and public.
If someone is roleplaying in one of the discord rooms, it's polite to ask how you can fit your character into the ongoing scene, but it's not acceptable to tell someone that they can't join that room if there's a group game going on. You may, however, let someone know that their roleplaying style doesn't match up with yours and that you personally won't be engaging with them as long as you are kind about it. If you yourself get a message like this, please respect it. You aren't going to be everyone's cup of tea all of the time, and that's okay.
Multiple ongoing scenes are allowed within a single discord room. If you would like a more private roleplay, use one of the personal or residential rooms, or the forums.
Pings
The default for most people while roleplaying on Discord is to @ping their partners when they've posted to let them know it's their turn to post. If this isn't something you'd like people to do, please be sure to inform your partners before you begin roleplaying. For partners who prefer alternative forms of alerts, please respect their choice-- but remember that mistakes do happen and to give people some grace when they do.
Remember that quoting also pings people!
Pins
Please ensure that you're reading the pins of the discord rooms you're using. Many of our rooms have additional information in the pins that you will miss if you don't look. There are several reminders around the server to check the pins, so ignorance will not be accepted as an excuse. Jabber eats one small and adorable animal with a little sprinkle of hot sauce each and every time you forget to read the pins. If you're on mobile, you can find the pins by clicking on the room name at the top of the screen, then selecting the little push pin button.
(Click to Expand)
Do I have to read everything in order to join/roleplay?
Nope! We've got a lot of lore, and that can seem overwhelming to some people, but all you really need to get started is our is this page here, and our setting and lore guide on the discord! The rest is supplemental and meant to be picked up when and if you need it, some of which you may not need until you decide to play a certain kind of character or until you decide to visit a certain area in roleplay, so please don't be intimidated by it! It's meant to help, not make you nervous, promise, and no one's going to bite your head off for asking questions.
Do you have a place to put an ad for my server or site? Do you accept affiliates?
Not at the moment! We will update this space if that changes. Our sister game, the Agents of the Multiverse, does have such spots, however.
Do I have to roleplay? Can I just hang out?
We do have a, "Reader Role" that you can request if you just want to watch people write their stories. That being said, we are a roleplaying group for roleplaying, so it's a silent role. Only individuals who have passed our sample post check will receive a role with chatting permissions. We're pretty lenient on our activity requirements after that though, and require only one post per month on any character of yours to remain with us.
If you would like the observer role, you are welcome to ping Jabber in the guest lobby on our Discord, or request it through DMs if you're more comfortable with that. You must still confirm your age before you do so.
Is there a character limit?
Nope! Play as many characters as you think you can handle, but please be considerate and respectful to your partners and be honest with the time and energy that you have available.
Do you have tupper?
Yes, and you are welcome to use it, but it is not a requirement to play, nor should you try to force it on others. Respect boundaries.
Is there a posting order?
To keep things moving, there is not a required posting order unless stated otherwise within a specific game or special event, but keeping that in mind, please also be courteous to your fellow roleplayers.
Do I have to play on the Discord/the RPR forum?
Nope! You can play where you like. Just keep in mind that our Discord side is solely meant for rapidfire roleplay unless specifically mentioned otherwise. You can go as fast or as slow as you'd like on the forums or in personal rooms, though. We do ask that you at least join our server to keep up with news and events.
If my character changes areas in character, like leaving the gym for the lobby, do I have to change where I'm roleplaying on the server too?
Not if staying where you are won't disrupt or make things confusing for others. Roleplays don't have to be setting perfect-- just stay conscious of how you may be affecting the experiences of those around you, please.
Can I play canon characters here, or is it just original characters?
You may app a canon character if their lore isn't too zany and they fit the vibe/theme of this game, which is either modern or historical supernatural. Certain mythological creatures, figures, and lore are also welcome to be used if written with respect to the source material. It's best to check in with staff before writing your app, however, just to make sure they're an okay fit before you put all that effort in. If you'd like to play other sorts of characters here, be sure to check out our Panfandom server! Their lore/universes are linked, and Barbary Grove often has visiting agents.
What kind of setting is this?
Barbary Grove is a modern-ish supernatural setting with space set aside for historical supernatural as well. It's a laid back, 'come and go' roleplay set up for those who want to roleplay within the vampire lore I've created rather than any sort of big roleplay server that we spam ads for, with room for other supernatural creatures and vampires that may not be able to find a home anywhere else.
I play a bad guy! Where can I rain down destruction upon these poor mortals?
Where people are comfortable with it and consenting to that kind of thing, and in areas where it's appropriate. Read the pins, read the room, and communicate with your roleplay partners. Please also be aware that any in character actions will also have in character consequences. Depending on what your character does and where, those consequences may not be pleasant for them. If you're looking to just play a villain somewhere, consider running a plot in one of the freespace rooms or on the forums.
What if I don't want to play a supernatural creature?
That's fine! Humans are allowed here too. Keep in mind that very few humans, even in Barbary, know of the supernatural world currently. You may have more fun playing someone in the know, but if that's alright with you, that's alright with us. If your human character is one of those few in the know, we expect them to have a better reason than just being nosy. The supernatural world hasn't stayed hidden for this long by not being able to dodge too curious reporters and hobby bloggers.
How does time work here?
We work loosely with real world time, so each new day is a new day in roleplay. However, if you'd like to continue a previous scene, and the room you would like to use is currently unoccupied, you are welcome to do so, but only if it won't be disruptive to other players or the setting. You can set your forum roleplays in any point in time that you'd like.
Do you do activity checks?
Barbary Grove has low activity requirements, but we do ask for one post, piece of Barbary Grove related art, or story per month (per writer, not per character). You can read more about that by checking our the #activity-checks room. Once your sample post is approved, you have a total of one week to create your first character and post. You can do so by checking out our #character-applications.
If you are lurking as a guest, please submit your sample within three days time or we will remove your account. If you'd like to stay and read instead, let Jabber know and you'll be given an observer role. You are welcome to ping her in the #guest-lobby or request it through DMs if you're more comfortable with that. You must still confirm your age before you do so.
Do you have a word count requirement?
No, but we are a community that believes in good quality story telling, and we expect that those playing here give their partners enough to work with, and that if one liners occur, that there's a good reason for them.
Where do I apply for characters?
You may apply for a character in character applications on our Discord by filling out the pinned character sheet in either your own space (google doc, RPR Profile), or in the character sheets area of our forum. If your character is approved, a link will be posted to that sheet in character links and you will receive a DM that you may begin playing them. You may edit your own character sheets as you please, but we do ask that any major lore changes that might need staff to look over them be brought to our attention.
How come I can't post?
If you haven't submitted and had your sample post approved, then you will be limited in the places you can post. Please be sure you're reading the server's information, including room pins. It'll save you and us time and energy. Note that we do not accept players to our RPR forum that have not yet been approved on the Discord.
If you were arguing with other players or otherwise being disruptive, you've likely been put on the Reader role to cool off. Chill out, review the rules, then come back and talk to staff when you've had a moment to clear your head. Our DMs are always open.
Otherwise there's probably just a hiccup in the permissions. Let Jabber know via DMs. It happens sometimes.
What kind of characters can I play here?
Any supernatural creatures like vampires, werewolves, or fae, or beings from mythology and folklore (within reason). You can find more detailed information in rules. Be kind, be responsible, be sensible. Obviously things like problematic characters aren't welcome, and you should double check that the folklore you're drawing from is being drawn from in a way respectful to the source. We dislike having to police what you play, but if you are disruptive or make it hard for others to enjoy themselves, we will step in with whatever consequences are necessary. Trash your own house, please.
You said there were vigilantes on the news? What's with that? Can I play them here?
Barbary Grove is actually part of a wider universe where a range of phenomena exist, including yes, superheroes! However, the 'Cape' population is fairly low in this universe, and they tend to stick to big cities. It's a toss up who even believes in them, but they make interesting stories and occasionally your character may see them on the news from time to time.
There are no current vigilantes/superheroes anywhere in or near Barbary Grove currently, but if you would like to make one, get with Jabberwookie and we'll talk! Canons are also accepted, but this is something that would have to be plotted carefully either way, so please understand that staff may be picky about the kinds of characters/plots we allow in this regard.
Can I make a suggestion?
You are welcome to DM Jabberwookie either here on RPR or through Discord if you have questions, suggestions, or concerns.
