Post by Clark Kent on Jul 23, 2014 5:47:35 GMT
Rules, OP Characters And Powerplaying
Or: How Not To Be A Jerk
First! List of rules you probably already know but let's get em out of the way!
1) PG-13; violence and the like is fine, but anything sexual or particularly gruesome must, at the very least, be moved to Private Messaging.
2) No Excessive Powerplaying or Godmoding. Goes into more detail below.
3) Be nice! I don't care if you dislike the way someone decided to portray Dick Grayson, or if they like Doctor Who and you hate it. If you can't be nice to people, then at least be quiet.
4) We will be running activity checks to ensure members are still active. While there are some characters who could be considered secondary, and therefore not expected to be as active as primary characters- for example, Joker will be spending plenty of non-RP time in Arkham Asylum between escapes, and other villains might spend time in prison, or on the run- a character considered central to a setting will have a great deal more pressure placed on them.
5) Finally, don't run around every single location all the time. Sure, Superman could fly to Gotham City pretty easily, but he's not bugging Bruce every third day. The only exceptions are if you have a character who both has the means to get around quickly, and doesn't really have a 'home' to call their own; but that means you're not getting quite as well known and loved in your home state. You have none!
2) No Excessive Powerplaying or Godmoding. Goes into more detail below.
3) Be nice! I don't care if you dislike the way someone decided to portray Dick Grayson, or if they like Doctor Who and you hate it. If you can't be nice to people, then at least be quiet.
4) We will be running activity checks to ensure members are still active. While there are some characters who could be considered secondary, and therefore not expected to be as active as primary characters- for example, Joker will be spending plenty of non-RP time in Arkham Asylum between escapes, and other villains might spend time in prison, or on the run- a character considered central to a setting will have a great deal more pressure placed on them.
5) Finally, don't run around every single location all the time. Sure, Superman could fly to Gotham City pretty easily, but he's not bugging Bruce every third day. The only exceptions are if you have a character who both has the means to get around quickly, and doesn't really have a 'home' to call their own; but that means you're not getting quite as well known and loved in your home state. You have none!
The Powerplaying Dilemna
Now, there is an obvious problem with having a rule against powerplaying in a DC site; namely, there are some characters, central characters at that, who simply are Over-Powered, and who will generally obliterate mere mortals. Some sites handle this by asking that a character be severely restricted- their abilities dropped down to levels that ensure nearly every other member can pose an adequate threat- but naturally issues arise with such a strategy. In a site filled with invulnerable, invisible, super fast metamarvels, some fights are just going to be no-contest, at least in terms of a direct fisticuffs. Even in terms of skill and experience- comparing Batman and Robin- there will be an undeniable gulf in capability.
But rather than try and limit everyone's abilities, this site will attempt to let you, the players, moderate yourselves, handling these characters in a respectful and mature manner. This manifests in two ways;
Player Combat
To put it simply, a battle between two characters should be used to advance the story, to show off creative choreography, and just generally have a good time together. What it should not be used for is to measure how 'awesome' your character is, or 'whose character would kick whose character's arse.' As Stan Lee said, "In a fight between two heroes, the winner is going to be whoever the damned writer decides the winner is going to be." Therefore, if there is any doubt about the outcome of a fight, you are encouraged- nay, begged- to work out even the faintest idea of how the battle ends (who 'wins,' in other words,) before even beginning. If you guys absolutely don't want to work it out ahead of time, fiiine, but you'll be expected to, again, handle things responsibly, and come up with an outcome that makes everyone happy. If you folks can't work out an agreement as to the outcome of a fight, then don't have the fight.
Villains should make a special note; generally speaking, the bad guy loses. It's a pretty consistent theme in comics, with major villainous wins being the exception rather than the rule. But, you do have the right to ask that the hero you're facing respect certain conditions; for example, 'Please don't capture my character, let him escape so he can be nefarious another day.'
Finally, respect reality! Joker shooting at Wonder Woman with a single pistol is decidedly not going to slow her down. If you push a civilian off a high ledge and Superman is two blocks away and closing fast, let's face it, he's going to catch the civilian. But the genius of the Joker is that chances are pretty bloody good that the Joker isn't going to just have a gun to deal with trouble, and perhaps he'll even have a cunning trap prepared.
Generally, the super-powered smash through things, the super-fast avoid things, and the super-smart plan the battlefield spectacularly in their favor and use a variety of really cool gadgets. Note the strengths of your characters, and use them to your advantage; don't demand that other players 'sell' that your lone gunshot wounded them, when they spend most of their time dodging machine gun fire with ease.
Out-Of-Combat Interactions
There are going to be restrictions, particularly when it comes to extra-sensory abilities mingling with secrets. Superman, for example, does have X-Ray vision, but unless he gets permission from the individual he's playing with, he can't just have Clark peeking beneath their mask and seeing their true face all willy-nilly. If Clark Kent decides to pull that stunt, 1) you will be warned in advance, and 2) will be permitted to use some 'mumblemumble lead mesh mask' excuse for it not to work. Similarly, the Martian Manhunter shouldn't just leap into another player's brain and get all the information he needs on their identity, secret plan, etc, etc. These are powerful tools to advance a story, but in the hands of an irresponsible user, they can quickly sap the fun for preeeetty much everyone.
If a character has a secret fortress or hideout, don't just go crashing it because 'Oh, I can teleport and see through stuff,' and then insist that the hero who owns it has to roleplay the encounter. It's just kinda rude, really, especially if you don't even try asking the owner of said base beforehand. If you crash a base, expect at the very least for the admins to approve the hero that owns it kicking your butt six ways from Sunday.
Even if you have the power to control people/influence them, this does not give you a blank card to run around doing it to everyone. Any character will have the right to 'resist,' even if with great effort, and mind control is a tool best used in cooperation with your fellow players, not as something to subjugate them to your whims.
The Ol' Rogue Teammate Angle
It happens all the time. Blah blah blah former ally, blah blah blah betrayal, blah blah blah fights the entire team of heroes. Now, following usual Godmoding rules, any one character fighting five others should automatically, and immediately get his butt kicked. However, in the interest of such juicy roleplays, we suggest a sort of temporary 'Arch-Nemesis' status to heroes that go off the reservation and end up clashing with multiple teammates. There are two conditions;
1) Naturally, the people you will be 'fighting' against understand and agree to the situation. So if you're Robin, then Starfire, Raven and Cyborg are going to need to recognize, and be okay, with getting knocked around a little by you as they try to bring you in peacefully.
2) Can't believe I have to say this, but you kicking their butts in this scenario doesn't mean your character is automatically superior to them forever. Again, the 'We are holding back trying not to hurt you' angle on their part is entirely feasible, especially if you used to be friends with them. So if you play a thread with three other heroes, more than holding your own, and then later down the road fight against just one of them, your success in the former does not translate to domination in the latter.
(Temporary power-ups are encouraged, some item or circumstance that gives your character a big boost for the duration of the story. Admin approval is not needed for this, BUT the approval of those you are playing with is, and as mentioned, this power-up will be temporary, and cannot be added to your character profile.)