Warhammer 40K Homebrew Wiki:Roleplay Policy

Here on the Warhammer 40K Homebrew Wiki, we allow and encourage active roleplays. Now in general roleplay can be a lot of fun, but sometimes people may take things a little far, feeling that because Warhammer 40,000 is a fictional universe that has been created, the real world rules of etiquette don't apply any more. This however is far from the case, for there is a wide range of ages that participate here, and because of this we try to maintain a PG-13 atmosphere so all users feel welcome and comfortable roleplaying here. Aside from general rules of etiquette, we also have to have rules in place to keep things fair to all users involved, this involves having policies in place to ensure fair play by avoiding things like meta-gaming, godmodding and being generally OP with roleplay and characters.

Being Appropriate
So for instance, writing about relieving yourself in public is just as inappropriate in roleplay as it is in real life. Also although some insults are tossed around, they should remain somewhat appropriate and tasteful. Just because you have a bitch or a-hold character, doesn't mean you should do anything you want, if a situation arises in roleplay, that it makes sense for your character to be particularly rude, raunchy, inappropriate, murderous, etc you aren't writing a book here, so you can time skip or summarise bits that would be too inappropriate to write out. For example, if you have a character whose nature is to murder and rape, you don't need to write out/describe every single gory detail of the event.

ERP
As relationships are being developed between characters, interaction should also remain at a PG-13 level, as far as intimacy goes. Anything that goes beyond general making out and kissing (such as anything sexual) should be "censored", and private body parts should not be described in detail, or really at all. For instance, once it's clear a couple is making out, simply put "censored" or some variation of it, do not actually roleplay them having sex. Erotic Roleplay (ERP) is strictly forbidden! The main purpose of this wiki isn't to roleplay couples, that may be part of it, but detailing out every kiss, touch, caress, hicky, etc is not necessary or appropriate. We are not a soft porn site, and yet we realise that even in young teens, sex does happen, but it should never be the focal point.

Time Skip, things happen, things that must not be written here, but sufficed to say they are no longer virgins, and they spend quite a few hours together exploring their new found extracurricular activity.

Notice how it's been clearly insinuated what's going on, but no private body bits have been described in detail, and neither has the sex. This wiki is not a soft porn site, if you want to write porn, there are plenty of other sites you can go to.

Roleplaying Don'ts
Roleplaying can be a fun and entertaining way to pass the time. With so many MMORPGs (Massively Multi-player On-line Role-playing Games) available today, more people turn to this form of on-line entertainment. Roleplaying gives you freedom other types of gaming lacks. If you are a creative type looking for a way to hone your writing skills while having a good time, then role-playing might be for you. However, before roleplaying in your chosen area, read this list of "don'ts" to help you make a good first impression. Obviously, godmodding, OP characters and metagaming are some obvious don't's.

Don't God Mod
The term "godmodding" is used to cover a variety of roleplaying faux pas. Other terms may be used in place of godmodding, however it all means the same thing. When a player god modes, they essentially commandeer the situation and dictate what all characters do and how they are affected. There is no choice left for the other players. This takes away from the draw of role-playing with others, because one person is governing the entire story. Before you add your next turn in the role-play, consider the other role-player's point of view. If no choice is left, then you probably need to edit your contribution.

Godmodding also refers to a situation where one player acts in such a way that makes their character immortal or invincible. This can be very frustrating, especially in role-play fights. Avoid this problem by always staying realistic. Your character will not be able to dodge every blow or withstand every attack. Once in a while, he will end up flat on his face. Let it happen and react accordingly.

Godmodding can also be considered metagaming, metagaming is where you the user knows something that your character does not, and you use that to their advantage. For instance, a less severe example of metagaming would be when you the user knows that someone has made a new character and that they are new to camp, but your character does not know this. Realistically camp has become a bit larger here than it was in the books. As such, between demigods and minor characters, there could easily be anywhere from 900 to 1,500 characters at camp at any given time. The odds your character knows all of them, and can quickly recognise a new camper on sight is rather unlikely. There's ways around this, be creative. Instead of just saying on your first post on a new character's page, something like "Hey, I see you're new, welcome to camp.". First look at the character and decide what you would know about them. For instance, if they are a Nyx kid, and you're using your Nyx kid, odds are they'll recognise a new Nyx camper quicker than anyone else as they reside in the same cabin. Also, you could post something like "Hey, you don't look familiar, are you new?" This way it makes more sense than pretending your character knows it.

Don't Speak Out of character
The term "out of character" (also called "OOC") means to speak as you normally would, without your fictional persona. Avoid doing this while in the midst of a role-play. Even if you are not currently involved in a role-play, do not speak out and interrupt the role-play of others. If you have something to say to another player, do so in whispers or other chat channels.

If you must say something in the same chat channel as other role-players, make sure you follow the preferred out of character format. For some it is a punctuation indicating the beginning and end of OOC speak to separate what you are saying from the story. Even then it would be best to try and leave OOC talk on the user talk pages or in chat.

Don't Take it Personally
Conflict is a regular part of role-play. It is what makes a story interesting. One of the biggest problems some people have is carrying role-playing situations over into real life. Remember, when another player's character insults or harms your character, it is all a part of the fictional story. It is not meant as an attack on you personally. Always keep role-play conflict in the story and out of real life.

Don't Do Things without Reason
Any time your character does something significant, you should have some reason behind it. Your character should not suddenly sprout wings and fly, nor should he or she suddenly hate or love another character that they did not previously love or hate for no reason. Everything should happen due to the story.

That does not mean everything must be outwardly obvious. It is possible two characters had a secret meeting that you were not aware of, or some major event may have occurred while your character was not around. As long as there is a story behind it, then it is OK. However, do not do something dramatic just to do it. This will only confuse the story and make experienced role-players avoid your characters.

Always stick with your character's story when you role-play, and you will do well. You may not realize it, but other role-players will notice your ability to develop a strong persona and create an interesting story. By avoiding these "don'ts" you will help create an intriguing story line or add to an existing one. Your fellow role-players will appreciate your consideration and dedication to the art of role-playing!

Godmodding/OP
Now in general godmodding is a general term/rule for all role playing games everywhere, not specific to this or any site. Those of us who go way back in participating in role playing games, know this term well, some of you are very new to RPG settings, and need to learn the do's and don't's if you are going to have any fun with others on here, and not get yelled at every time you make a mistake. Generally it refers to anything from being OP, taking control of the user's character, meta-gaming, etc.. On this wiki we generally keep the terms separate to make helping newbs (new users) easier. So we use godmodding to refer to taking control of someone's character, meta-gaming to knowing information your character shouldn't know (This is like, you the user knows that someone's character is new to camp, but your character has no way to have known that, but you make your character in the roleplay act like they do know this.), and OP (or over powered) to describe using your character in such a way that makes them way too powerful and unfair to the others.

So What Exactly IS God Modding?
Godmodder's have been a burden of text based roleplaying games for a long time, and they can really annoy other members who like to develop their story gradually at a decent pace, only for the story to be taken on an unusual sidetrack or finished prematurely and un-dramatically.

In play by post games they usually aren't about statistics and experience points like more traditional tabletop roleplaying is, play by post games usually have more in common with collaborative storytelling. Each character is portrayed through paragraphs of description alone, and therefore the strength, skills and abilities of the character are open to interpretation through the storytelling, and not a number on a stat sheet.

This makes for great storytelling, but it’s also open to abuse. It means that a player can literally write anything about their character, even if it seems unrealistic.

To make your character seem a lot more realistic, they shouldn't always be the best at what they do, they should be fallible, and often fail a few times before succeeding in whatever mission they’re part of. Think about TV programmes and films, the characters don’t succeed in defeating their enemies straight away, first they usually have to go on a quest, then fail a few times, and then learn some valuable truth or skill that allows them to defeat their enemy right at the end. There is also a pattern with Godmodders which gives them a lot in common with Mary Sue characters, that these players are acting out their fantasies, which in itself isn't a problem and to some degree what a lot of members are doing. But Godmodders will take it too far and make their own character much stronger than everyone else, essentially demeaning all other characters.

Even the relatively simple action of putting words in another characters mouth can be seen as Godmodding, or making a character perform an action that their player might disagree with, which is why you should usually check with another player if it’s okay to use their character.

Why does godmodding make the game frustrating for the other players?
Godmodders can really ruin the experience of the game for other players, at the least it can make the game boring and predictable, and at worst it cause a lot of frustration.

All the players in your roleplaying game have invested a lot of time and effort into thinking up the story, thinking about what their character’s place will be in this story, and spent time writing the story in their head. To have all this undermined by another member can be very frustrating.

A Godmodder might also have a larger ego than your other players, and be quite bold about the decisions they make for their character. These players have the potential to sidetrack your game's story and make it purely about their character, not allowing room in the story for other characters.

Also, sometimes users give permission in private chats, to do a godmod move, so don't panic if you see a roleplay between other users and see something you think is a godmod. For instance, sometimes to make a roleplay go faster, if I'm rp'ing with say, Wonder and say her character has made a comment to mine that my character found inappropriate and offensive, I might ask her on Skype if I have permission to slap her character. So before thinking users have broken the rules, make sure you've spoken to them and found out if permission was given.

General Rules
The following rules must be adhered to when roleplaying:
 * 1) Absolutely NO Games Workshop canon characters are to be utilised during roleplay (such as Ultramarines Chapter Master Marneus Calgar). They can be mentioned, but the use of these characters in roleplay is forbidden.
 * 2) If your character cannot do something in real life (in accordant to real world law of physics), then they shouldn't be able to in a roleplay setting.
 * 3) No GODMODDING
 * 4) Always ask for permission to enter an active roleplay before randomly jumping in a session.
 * 5) Be respectful.