Rules for Game Play

Rules for Game Play The Character(s): A player must have at least one character in the game to post to the game threads. Players may decide to play more than one character aboard the ship or within the universe. Any plausible character will be allowed as long as they have Narrator permission. All Characters who are not crew members of the Thunderchild must have some means of contributing to the over all story. Character Limitations are the following: A player may only play one member of the Bridge Crew or Department Head. Any other member of the crew or supporting staff may be added to the mix of characters. For questions, please contact the Narrator regarding character concepts. Character Actions: No player my assume the action for any character not under their control, this includes NPC's. Intra-Player cooperation is encouraged within the game. Players or the Narrator can allow limit control of their character to be given to other players upon request. (IE: Department heads my give orders to NPC Department members and they will be expected to follow those orders. This is done via PM request first. The results of said orders will be returned via PM to be included in the Player's own posts). The NPC Department members will report back to their Department Head with as much information as they have. NPC crew members WILL NOT violate Starfleet regulation nor Federation Law. NPC crew members will not be blind to willful acts that violate Starfleet regulations. It is expected that all crew members (NPC and PC a like) will up hold the ideals and goals of Starfleet and the Federation. Posting Schedule: A New Episode Main Plot Post (IE: The Prologue, The Attack) will be posted prior to Tuesday morning. Each player will have a chance to post their reaction to these posts as required by the post. Main plot posts may not include Character knowledge. These posts are made solely for the enjoyment of the players and the reader of our story. All Players will have one week to make their follow up posts. However if two or more players are involved in a conversation, it would be considered good form to follow up on that conversation throughout the week. Conversations should not extend longer than the time between main plot posts. Department Heads, may be required to post more often than once a week depending on the situation of the ship. It is urged that all players follow up on posts made. If a player wishes to communication with another player in game, a notification PM should accompany the in game post. (IE: I post reflects that the XO walks in to Sick Bay to ask the Doctor a question. A PM would be sent to the player of the Doctor to give that player a heads up of the post that was just made.) Please make sure that your account is set up in such a way that you can receive PM notifications to your standard email inbox. Use of Out of Character Knowledge: It is discouraged to use Out of Character Knowledge within this game. The Main Plot Posts will continue a level of out of character knowledge. This knowledge is for your enjoyment. If there is any doubt, it is up to the players to seek questions regarding what their characters know about a given situation. Research and Investigation: In the course of research/investigation, out of character knowledge can be learned. A play can PM the Narrator and ask questions that will help the character to discover clues. It is acceptable to use Out of Character Knowledge to help in the course of discovery. This is critical for any investigation within this game. Players are given the answers, it is up to them to figure out how they can learn it. The more detailed the question, the more detailed the facts that can be discovered. (IE: The name of the intruder within Loss Strings is Soena. It is up to the players to find a clever way to learn this detail. Given the name, they know it is not the two possible suspects. As such, ask questions to learn more.) Issues of Canon: It is an understanding that the USS Thunderchild is a Star Fleet ship and this is a Federation based game. There for, all players are asked to follow the ideals and philosophies of a Star Fleet officer as well as those of the Federation. Some minor latitude will be allowed as part of character development. However that latitude cannot cross lines of canon for Star Fleet officers. Also, it is the goal of this game to keep the story as close to canon as possible. If it is not canon, than it will be reviewed very closely and the Narrator has final ruling authority. Rules of Conduct: Be respectful of all members of this game. This game is at the very basic here for everyone's enjoyment. Please reframe from criticizing or being rude to your fellow players. Players who fail to follow this rule will be warned and if the behavior is not corrected, then bounced from the game completely. Flame wars, name calling and insults will not be tolerated at any level of this game. Posting Format: If you are opening a conversation with another character (NPC or PC), then make sure that that character is free for that conversation and available to your character. Easily over looked issues like, conversation over lap's can happen. To ensure the smooth flow of conversation and game play please make sure that you read previous posts which that character are involved in. You can wait for that character's current conversation to come to an end or you can interject in to the current conversation. If you are to speak with someone not on the ship, you will have to note that you are communicating with them via subspace. The Characters: It is important to understand what the different characters are. A PC is a character directly under the control of a player or players. Two or more players may opt to share a single character for the ease of game play. A NPC is a non-player character. These are solely under the control of the Narrator. Any use of these characters have to be requested to the Narrator (Akirapryde) via PM prior to use. Character backgrounds are very important to the future of the character's development. It is perfectively acceptable to fill out a character background during game play. Use of skills is that which would be within the scope of the character, the character's race and his/her background. It would not be acceptable for the ship's councilor to be a better shot than our chief of security. However the councilor would be able to fire a phaser. If there are doubts, please ask the Narrator via PM.