Writing Etiquette

[Light God]

The Lore is a fantasy setting where a variety of races and factions will often find themselves embattled for territory and political control over Andalvyn. We encourage a wide variety of character concepts, even villains. To that end parts of the Code of Conduct have been loosened or suspended with respect to the actions of characters. That being said, we maintain the following guidelines for in-character behavior and interactions:

1. Original Characters Only- We expect all characters to be the original creations of their respective authors. Please refrain from lifting a known character from outside franchises and properties. You may use such characters as inspiration, but we expect a sufficient adjustment to the character such that they are not readily identifiable. You will be asked to alter the character further if this is not met.

2. Godmoding- Godmoding is the attempt at portraying your character as significantly more powerful than others or as having insufficient flaws. We expect all members to maintain a certain level of parity with each other. If there is a power imbalance between two members’ characters, it is best practice to make sure that imbalance is agreed upon by both members.

3. Character Autonomy- All characters are under the control of their respective authors. Attempting to control, injure, or kill another member’s character without their approval or consent is highly frowned upon. As such we recommend describing your character’s attack, and allowing the other member to write their character’s reaction as they see fit. Another solution is to agree upon the outcome of a conflict or interaction ahead of time with the other member, or to make an agreement to co-author a character. Repeated attempts to control another member’s character will be met with disciplinary action.

4. Crossing/Metagaming is Prohibited- Crossing or Metagaming is the act of writing your character with knowledge only the member, or another character would have. We expect our members to maintain a “veil of ignorance” and utilize only knowledge and experience their characters would have access to. This also covers taking in character arguments out of character. Note: Members may not appeal to crossing as a defense for violations of the Code of Conduct. Other members are under no obligation to write with your character.

5. Writing Conventions- In the interest of maintaining readability and a consistent language we encourage members to write in the third person. While writing in “in character” locations, all writing is considered to be done in character. If you need to communicate out of character in such locations, please use double parentheses to indicate OOC communication. ((This is an example of out of character speech))

6. Behavior- While the Code of Conduct is relaxed in character, there are certain standards of behavior we expect characters to follow. Sexual abuse and the abuse of minors is always prohibited. Violence and displays of affection are permitted with limitations. We expect to see conflict and relationships between characters. Keep in mind other members may be sensitive to certain stimuli and as such we expect gratuitous detail to be kept out of public spaces. In more private spaces such as character journals, members may use trigger warnings and spoiler functions to ensure readers must opt into that content.