"Stories" are what we usually call the games on this board. If you are interested in creating your own Story here, you should read through this page carefully. You should be able to find all the information you need about creating your own Story on this page.
Click on the question of your choice to jump to its answer:
ho can create a Story?
To be eligible to create your own Story, you must meet the following prerequisites:
Experience:
It is a general rule of thumb that Story Moderators should have at least four months or more of continuous Santharia RPG Board experience. This is not only to ensure that you know enough of how the board itself is run and about the site information itself, but also to give us a little peace of mind that you won’t vanish on us three weeks into the story because you got bored.
Maturity:
Along with experience, a certain level of maturity is required to run a Story. It’s not all joy and bubbles. You need to work, plan, coordinate and devote hours of extra man-power (or woman/dwarf/orc-power) to keep the story alive as well as making sure your devout players don’t hold a mutiny. People who can both handle and respect power make prime Story Moderators.
Activity:
Having been around long enough doesn’t entirely quite cut it in this aspect. We will have to have acknowledged your patterns of activity, taking into account frequent vacations, large RL workloads (we know they are random and evil, but some people get them more than others) and a tendency to waffle off and get lost on the way back. The most surefire way for a Story to die is when the Story Moderator doesn’t stick around to keep it in check.
Meeting these prerequisites do not guarantee that your Story proposal will be approved, however. There must be sufficient interest from other players, and the plot must fit with the world of Caelereth.
ow do I create a Story?
First, you should post a Story proposal on the Roleplay Questions and Story Creation. The proposal should contain the following information:
The title of your Story
An outline of the plot
The number and type of characters you are looking for
Any additional information you wish to include
Once the proposal has been posted, other players should begin reviewing it to see if they might be interested in joining.
Whenever you are ready to do so, you should send a detailed proposal to the Administrators, who will check it for any problems it might have. For more information on what should be contained in this in-depth proposal, please see the next question.
hat should be included in the detailed proposal to be sent to the Administrators?
The proposal sent to the Administrators should be much more detailed than the one posted for other players to see. You should include information on any major events planned for the Story, plot twists, important NPCs and the like. If a magical artifact is to be involved, details about the artifact must be provided as well (writing an entry for the artifact at the Development Board and getting it approved is also acceptable).
While we encourage detail, we are also concerned with the plot being flexible enough for subplots and changes to help meet the desires of the players, and thus will be checking for that as well. Keep that in mind and try not to make your plot too rigid.
here can I set my story?
First of all, the Story must be set in the world of Caelereth. There is no way of getting into Caelereth from another world or leaving it. You may not have a story in an alternate dimension or any place that doesn’t exist in Caelereth (eg. feudal Japan, Elizabethan England, or Middle-earth).
Your Story can be set in any of the continents and provinces. Try to avoid, however, setting your story in an undeveloped area. If you do decide to place it in an undeveloped region, you should conduct some research on the area first. This may involve asking Developers about the region. A Story set in an area that is already highly developed will typically yield a quicker approval time, as well as have information that is much more accessible to Moderators and players.
hen can the Story be set?
Your Story may be set in any time period up to the present (1667 a.S.). Stories may also be set in the near future, but having them too far in the future (eg. the 1700’s) is not permitted.
Stories set in the past can involve important historical events. However, you should not alter these events (eg. a Story set during the Age of Blood should not cause the assassination of Gorm to be stopped).
re there any restrictions regarding NPCs?
NPCs are not as tightly restricted as PCs (Player Characters). The only things that are banned are mythical beings and anything which is extinct or do not yet exist during the time in which the Story is set. However, it is generally a good idea to avoid anything found on the Restrictions page. If you wish to have any such NPCs, you should consult the Administrators first.
hat if I have something in my plot that I want to keep secret?
You may keep some plot points secret from the general public. However, the Administrators should still be informed of them in your detailed proposal. This is so that they can also be checked for problems along with the rest of the plot, and also for the Administrators to be able to inform any future Moderators of them if you happen to have disappeared without having passed the information to the next Moderator.
hat happens after an RPG story proposal is approved?
When the proposal is approved by the Administrators, they will ask you for a short description, which will become the description for your Story's forum. After this information has been received, the Administrators will create a forum for you new Story. You may then begin setting up your Story.
hat are my first duties once my own Story Forum has been created?
As a Story Moderator, the first things you should do would be to create some essential threads:
An OOC (Out of Character) thread
This is the thread where all OOC talking will be done. It is a good idea to make this a sticky thread so it's location on the page will not change.
An Information/Rules thread
This thread should contain rules that apply to your Story as well as any additiional information. Make sure this is a sticky thread too.
A Character Descriptions thread
This is the thread where Character Descriptions of all participating Player Characters should be posted, to allow players to find them more easily. It should be stickied as well.
A place for posting contact information
This is where the contact information of you and your players should be posted, so you will be able to contact each other should there be a need to do so, such as someone going AWN. It can be a separate thread, or combined with another such as the Character Descriptions thread or the Information thread.
A place to post joining requests
This will be where anyone interested in joining the Story after it has started (if you are still open to new characters) can post their joining requests. This can be a separate thread or combined with another one.
IC (In Character) thread(s)
This will be where IC posts are made, ie. where the roleplaying actually takes place.
Additional threads (optional)
You may also put up additional threads, such as a time thread to keep players informed of what time it is in the Story.
ho chooses additional Moderators and when?
Each Story must have at least two Moderators, to ensure that the story can continue should one of the Moderators have to be absent for some time. It is preferred, though not required, that you already have someone designated as your co-Moderator before the Story begins. If not, you should make sure you have found one within a few weeks of the start of the Story.
Make sure you pick your co-mods wisely. Don't pick them just because they are nice; they have to be capable too.
hat are the responsibilities of the Story Moderators?
It is the job of the Story Moderators to oversee and guide the plot of the Story so that it flows as smoothly as possible. You should be communicating with each other frequently, in order to be able to coordinate things and remain aware of what your fellow Moderators are doing.
It is also vital that the Moderators maintain contact with players, and allow suggestions and alterations of the plot, if they are reasonable. Moderators need to be guides who are willing to let the group journey off the trail a bit. Remember that the purpose of roleplaying is to have fun. Being too rigid tends to make things less fun.
o I have to accept every player who applies to join my story?
No, it is not necessary to accept everyone who applies to join. However, you should have a good reason for not accepting the character. Such reasons may include the character not being suitable for your Story for whatever reason, or even something as simple as there being too many players in the Story already.
You are however not allowed to reject a player simply because he or she is too new. We understand that more experienced (and thus usually better) players are often preferred. However, new members should be given a chance too; after all, you won't improve without practice.
hat happens to players who become inactive?
Story Moderators are allowed to remove characters from the story as a whole if their players disappear without leaving a notice. You are still not allowed to kill the character though; you need to find another way to write the character out of the Story. If a player has to become inactive for a period of time for some reasons but wishes to stay in the story, he or she can also decide to let the moderator to "puppet" their character for the time being. When a character is "puppeted" by the Moderators, or a player designated by the Moderators, the person "puppeting" the character will take care of all actions and speech of the character until the player returns and can resume normal playing.
ow much influence can my character have on the Story?
In general, no one's character should be more important to the plot than the others', even if that person is one of the Story's Moderator. This is meant to keep the Story fun, by giving every character the chance to make a difference. In addition, if the plot revolves around a character, there will be problems if the character's player becomes inactive. If you are using such a plot for your Story, it is strongly recommended that you let it revolve around a NPC instead of a Player Character.
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