Rules & F.A.Q.

[mistralmods]

RULES F.A.Q.

Rules

Below is a list of rules that all players and mods are expected to follow. By apping into the game, you agree to follow these rules to the best of your ability. The list of rules is by no means comprehensive, and are subject to change if necessary.

1. Be Respectful of Mods and Players
By apping into this game, you agree to communicate with both players and mods in a respectful fashion, whether in offering feedback or solving problems and conflicts. We will not accept anonymous complaints from 'concerned' individuals, and encourage players to work out the majority of their problems with one another. Mods will mediate if requested. We welcome feedback, but ultimately all decisions regarding the content of the game rest with the mods' preferences. If we reject a suggestion, please don't take it personally.

2. Be IC
We expect you to play your characters as presented in the application. Drastic conflicting changes to personality and powers (i.e. giving your character additional powers, being more powerful than presented in the app, apping as a villain only to immediately turn 'good' without appropriate CR) or leaving out major traits (i.e. not mentioning that the character is prone to severe sexual misconduct, not mentioning sexual/child abuse only to bring it up when interacting with other characters) in an effort to skirt past the rules is worthy of a warning or a ban depending on the nature of the OOC behavior.

Additionally, do not infomod (i.e. using OOC information to dictate a character's knowledge or behavior rather than what makes sense ICly) or godmode (i.e. dictating how others are to respond to your character or making your character 'untouchable') with your characters. This is not an RP that you can 'win,' it's a collaborative story. Be prepared to let your character lose or look foolish now and then!

3. Respect the Game Rating
Please don't include sensitive issues in your character's conduct, history, and interactions. This includes:

• Racism, misogyny, and hate speech in a way that reflects OOC society and views.
  
• Abuse of a child (both physical and sexual)
  
• Excessive drug abuse
  
• Rape
  
• Graphic sex (you may choose to fade to black and continue playing out sexual content in a private setting, but please do not include such scenes in the game communities)
  
• Graphic violence

If you're unsure about the boundaries, please ask a mod.

4. Use Common Sense
The rules and FAQs can't possibly cover every troublesome scenario that might arise. We trust players to use their best judgment in playing their characters and interacting with one another, and ask for that same trust in return that the mods are doing their best to create a fun game environment. The ultimate goal is to have a good time and enjoy a non-stressful hobby.

5. Activity Checks
We will do a monthly check-in post at the beginning of each month along with any other game and event announcements. If you're still interested in playing your characters, leave a comment and list which characters you're playing before the last day of the month. If you find your interest flagging, you may drop a character at any time and pick them up later should your inspiration return (so long as you haven't killed that character off). If you idle out from the game without using the drop post, you may not reapp any characters swept from the game.

6. Character Limits
You may play up to six total characters, but you must have an equal balance of good and bad aligned characters. For example, if you play three total characters, at least one of them should be some sort of villain. If you play four characters, two should be good-aligned and two should be bad-aligned. As the game encourages player vs player conflict, we want to make sure there's a decent balance of good guys and bad guys actively running around. A bad-aligned character does not necessarily have to be evil, so long as they generate conflict (for example, the arrogant bully who sabotages his classmates in order to make himself look more awesome).

7. Muncest
If two of your characters happen to be in the same location, this is totally okay. They may even interact with one another if you like! Muncest is not allowed, however, if it is done in a way that would give a character some kind of in-game advantage (i.e. one character glorifying how attractive and awesome the other character is, voting on the other character in an election/contest, etc.).

8. AU Limitations
You do not have to play your character exactly as they behave in canon, whether you play an OC or a panfandom character. You may play your chosen character in any fashion you like, even as the complete opposite of what they are in canon, or you may choose to make as many parallels as possible. It's up to you! The only limit is that we don't allow duplicates. If two players both want to play Clark Kent, the second player will need to choose a different name and background.

9. Death is (Mostly) Permanent
If a character dies, that's it. There's no coming back. If you choose to have your character die, they are effectively 'dropped.' There may be event exceptions, but please don't rely on these for a quick fix, and be really sure this is what you want to do if you choose to kill your character. We recommend letting your close CR know in advance if you plan to kill off your character, as doing so may affect their character's growth and future plans. That said, we do allow tragic deaths if that's what floats your happy boat.

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F.A.Q.

The questions below serve primarily as OOC knowledge for the benefit of the players in order to explain and/or clarify details about the game and its setting. Characters should not know these details ICly unless it's relevant to their own situation (i.e. being a prominent member of the Shatterknights which are otherwise a secret organization not known to the rest of the world). This information is by no means comprehensive, as there are still some details that will not be mentioned if we have future events planned to unveil those details, primarily because "we think it'll be cool." Thank you for understanding!

Q: Do I need to be familiar with RWBY in order to play in this game?
No. Though being familiar with the show may help with understanding the setting and what certain locations and monsters look like, none of the characters from the show will be featured in Shattermoon, save for the Brothers Grimm as they are the gods who created the world of Remnant. Though RWBY characters may be apped into the game, they will be AU versions of themselves, and thus not restricted to canon events, relationships, and situations. The settings page should cover all you need to know about the world's setting, culture, and powers.

Q: Who are the Brothers Grimm?
A: The Brothers Grimm are the twin gods who created the world of Remnant. One brother (sometimes called the Light God or God of Order) is pro-humanity, created mankind, and also created 'Dust' in order to give them a better fighting chance. One brother (sometimes called the Dark God, God of Chaos, or other similarly fun titles) is pro-monster and created the monsters known as Grimm. Both brothers regularly compete with their creations, and have done so multiple times to see which one wins. They are petty assholes, and behave much the same as gods of the Greek pantheon. Once one side or the other wins, they wipe out all life on the planet and start it over again. There's no telling how many times they've done this prior to the events of Shattermoon, but this definitely isn't the first. There's also no guarantee that the pro-humanity brother god ONLY created humans and Faunus in the past, or even the present.

Q: How did the moon get shattered?
A: No one really knows, it's been like that for as long as people remember. Even old historical artifacts depict the moon in its broken state. It was probably Godzilla.

Q: If I want to play a villain, what are my options?
The nature of your villain is up to you, as is their choice of faction (or lack thereof), and we don't want players to feel as if they're restricted to play a specific kind. However, if you'd like to start out as part of a pre-established faction, there are several to choose from.

1. Criminal - There are numerous criminal factions scattered around the planet. A small gang of petty thieves, a mob syndicate that fends off Grimm from a small village for a hefty fee, Dust bandits, lone muggers, etc. Check the Taken Characters and the Setting pages to see who's active, or create your own band.
   
2. Bandits - Roving tribes of misfits and outcasts, bandits seldom call one place home for long. They make a habit of raiding smaller and unprotected villages for food, supplies, and riches. Because of the inherent violence of these raids, Grimm often follow in their wake to pick off surviving villagers.
   
3. Crimson Claw - A collection of rogue Faunus members who have come together to share bitterness and anger, which has turned to violence and hatred. Most have been exiled from Menagerie for conduct unbecoming to the Faunus people, and those who cling to the Crimson Claw have one hell of an ax to grind. They're prone to lash out at humans, who they see as an inferior species, as well as other Faunus for supporting the Matriarch and Patriarch. This is a relatively new faction led by Livial, a seagull Faunus, who was exiled after he attempted to assassinate Osai and Suleidan in a bid for authority.
   
4. Shatterknights - Religious zealots who have turned toward the darker of the brother gods for worship and protection. They operate in secret and are not actively known to the public (as of the start of this game, though this may change as events are presented). They believe that they will be allowed full reign of the planet once they aid in the extermination of the rest of humanity. Motivations differ ranging from self-interest to greed to bizarre love and loyalty toward the darker brother god.

Q: What is the game's ruling on apping Maidens and warriors with silver eyes?
Neither the four Maidens nor silver-eyed warriors are components of the Shattermoon RP at this time. While you may app someone who has silver colored eyes, they will not hold any special significance or powers. We have also chosen not to include the four Maidens from RWBY canon to avoid accusations of favoritism by granting these roles to players, and to avoid having too much focus on NPCs who might be acting as Maidens. (If you aren't canon-familiar with these elements, then you don't need to worry one bit about their absence.)

Q: Do I have to play a character who's attached to the school?
Not at all. Aside from the majority of the villains, there are other roles to choose from such as Grimm hunters, shopkeepers, family members and friends of existing characters, villagers, military and law enforcement personnel, and so on. Be aware that many of the game's events will be focused on the school, so you may need to flex more creativity in getting your character involved in the game beyond this scope.

Q: How do I form a team at the school?
Teams are primarily decided in advance by the players, and may include player-owned NPCs if there are less than four PCs comprising the team. If players wish to be randomized into teams, all they have to do is let one of the mods know, and they will create random groupings as well as any additional NPCs to fill empty slots, which can be controlled by the other players in the team.

Q: What if someone on my character's team drops from the game, or gets killed?
The fate of the team is up to the remaining members. The person dropping from the game may give the other players the right to effectively handwave or control their character as an NPC. As long as the player used the drop post, the active players may not kill off that character without the original player's permission. If you want to adopt a new team member or create your own NPC to fill in the empty slot, you may do so as you see fit.

Q: If two different types of Faunus have a child, what animal traits does the child get?
There's a 49.5/49.5 chance the child will inherit the traits of either the mother or the father, with a very slim 1% chance that the child will possess the animal traits of neither parent and be a different animal entirely (possibly one that can be traced far back in a parent's ancestry). Sadly, there are no hybrid Faunus with more than one animal trait. No jackalopes for you.

Q: Can I create my own faction?
Absolutely! Write up a blurb and submit it to the mods, and they'll post the details in the appropriate info page. Feel free to use the OOC community to advertise for new members.

Q: Are we allowed to add worldbuilding elements?
As long as those elements don't contradict the established setting, feel free! While the mods can't edit the map to reflect additional villages and locations, we can include their information in the Settings page wherever it would be most appropriate.

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IC Community: shattermoon | OOC Community: shatterooc
Mod Contact: mistralmods