Post by starcrossed on May 16, 2006 7:54:53 GMT -5
Yep, guidelines. I don't want to be the overbearing bitch that everyone despises, so I'm pretty lenient about rules. These are pretty much just common sense things. But please do read through them, just to make sure we're all on the same page. After the guidelines is the Roleplay storyline - if you don't read it, I guarantee you will be completely and utterly lost, having no idea what everyone in the RP is talking about.
1) Concerning kindness: Be respectful of everyone. Have your RP (RolePlay) characters hate each others guts, sure, that's great. But in OOC (Out Of Character), be respectful. Everyone has feelings. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Let's keep this place a friendly, FUN environment.
2) Concerning safety: The internet is dangerous. There's no denying that. Tons of information, much of it personal, is out in the open for ANYONE to snag. Be careful who you share personal information with. And if someone doesn't want to share personal info with you, like where they live, pictures, what school they go to, or their name, DO NOT PRY. Leave them be. Everyone is entitled to privacy. If someone is bothering you, report it to starcrossed, the admin, immediately.
3) Concerning slang: I don't really care if you use slang OOC, just please, for the sake of we who read your posts, don't make them so slang-ed out that we have to sit there for half an hour decoding everything you write. As long as we can understand what you're saying, I'll be lenient about slang.
4) Concerning harassment: IT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. Period. If you're harassing someone, sexually or in any other manner, you'll find your ass kicked off this forum faster than you can say "Abra Kadabra". If someone is harassing you, inform starcrossed immediately.
5) The most important thing of all: HAVE FUN!!! That's what this whole thing is ABOUT! It's a place for us to relax with our mates, be creative, and entertain ourselves!
1) Concerning posts: There is no minimum length. We understand if you're out of inspiration and can only crank out one sentence. We also understand if you feel the need to write a soliloquy.
2) Concerning slang: I don't care if you want to use a tiny bit of slang in your RP posts, just make sure that people can still understand what it is you're typing. And please don't go overboard. What NOT to do: "Thn she lyk blu his h3d of & ws L33T 4evR! 2 tru!!!!" I think you get the idea.
3) Concerning plotlines: Make them all you want. I personally LOVE crafting plots. Things are boring without them. Why should there just be one at a time? Make multiple plots, intertwine plots, do what you want! There's not a rigid site-wide plot; we're pretty flexible here.
4) Concerning character creation: The more, the merrier!! Make a new charrie anytime you get the hankering to! Just post a description of them in the designated area so we don't drive ourselves nuts trying to keep track of a bunch of new people popping up everywhere. And try to keep them all active, if you will. Especially if they're involved in a plot.
5) Concerning magecraft: It's first-come, first-serve mage-wise. If someone creates a character with a certain mage, and later you want to create a character with the same/an oh-so-very-similar mage, you must check with them first. The first person to lay claim on the mage has the right to dictate if any following characters may possess the same mage. This is to prevent too much monotony and boringness, with everyone having the same power, as well as to prevent the stealing of thunder.
6) Concerning Mary-Sues: A Mary-Sue is a character that is good at everything, is the most gorgeous person alive, is all-powerful, never gets hurt in a fight, always has perfect everything, and everyone is in love with them. And they're downright annoying. Please, do not make Mary-Sues. Everyone has flaws. Not everyone is good at everything. Not everyone loves everyone else. Your character is not going to gain a power and the next day be able to use it expertly. It takes much longer than that to master a mage power. Yes, this IS fiction, and yes, there IS magic, but do keep it a little realistic. Nobody likes a Mary-Sue, despite what the creator of the Mary-Sue thinks.
7) Concerning god-moding: Just say 'no' to GMing! God-moding (GMing) is when you control a character who does not belong to you. It's annoying. It's stupid. It's not allowed. Stick to your own characters, please and thank you.
8) Concerning mature content: Yeah, there's gonna be violence. There's gonna be swearing. There's gonna be relationship-y stuff. If you can't handle it, you don't have to read it. But just because these things are allowed does not mean that you can go overboard with them. Don't cuss every other word. I think you get the basic idea.
9) Concerning resurrection: Absolutely NO canon characters from the Harry Potter books/movies! No, no, no, no, NO! This RolePlay takes place two centuries after Voldemort's defeat. All the canons are long since dead. And I don't want to see any relatives of theirs popping up either, since it would be unfair for others. And please, I don't want to see any guys named Barry with glasses, green eyes, and whose parents were murdered when he was a baby. Um, no. Just no.
[Keep in mind, this site was formed before Deathly Hallows was written, so Voldemort's defeat here is different than it was in the books.]
It's been two centuries since Harry Potter's defeat of the dark wizard Tom Marvolo Riddle, known commonly as Lord Voldemort. Not much is remembered nowadays about the event since few were present that day, but the general gist of it is known. A year after graduating from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort faced off in an intense wizard's duel. Their twin wands locked and some mysterious force exploded outward from the connection. When the energy dissipated, Voldemort's body lay dead while Harry Potter lived, but not without a price - the young wizard was stripped of his magic, unable to cast even the simplest spell. He went on to marry Ginevra Weasley, while his two friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger married. Not much else is known of the heroes, their companions, and the occurrences that fateful day.
One thing is known though.. Left in the backlash of that great wash of power that destroyed the Dark Lord, some witches and wizards, and even a scattering of muggles, were changed.. These traits continued onward through the generations, all the way until present day. The people with these changed traits displayed amazing powers, powers no other witch or wizard had ever shown. These people became known as mages. Mages still held the normal spellcasting abilities of witches and wizards, but they were also something more.. They could do things without wands.. One mage could conjure fire to his fingertips, while another could alter the very composition of her body, dissolving into molecules, and then reform again. New, astounding powers continued to crop up, and it was soon seen that no mage had exactly the same power as any other mage. They were all different, all unique..
It was decided that mages needed someplace to go where they could properly learn to control these abilities. A normal wizarding school wouldn't do, not even the renowned Hogwarts - these mages were far more than ordinary magic folk. And so, a century ago, another school was built. It was named in honor of Albus Dumbledore, a great wizard of his time who had contributed much to society. The founder of the Albus Dubledore School for Gifted Magical Persons (ADSGMP) was a mage himself, who had struggled alone for many years to learn how to control his abilities. He had a connection to and affinity for the four elements, Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Thus he divided the students of his school into houses named after each of these elements.
Students of the Earth house were steadfast and dependable, though some could be somewhat sticklers for rules. On the whole they were friendly, caring, and often times quite creative.
Into the Air house went students who were generally calm and serene, but who had violent episodes. This doesn't mean that they were unkind, though - they could be very good friends. When they grew angry, they could be very destructive. While they may not start fights, they could certainly finish them. They also tended to have strong insight. Many Air mages have two very different sides to their personality.
In the Water house belonged mages of intellect who were calm and peaceful yet stubborn. They were adaptable to new environments and tended to be somewhat fickle and indecisive. Mages of Water often display innate abilities of being able to smooth over problems without confrontation.
Lastly, the Fire house was where the passionate students went. They often had fiery tempers, were determined, and could be slightly destructive and irrational. A firm hand was needed to keep Fire students in check. They tend to be a confrontational type, and are more often than not the ones who start fights.
Often times a mage won't display abnormal powers until they hit puberty, at which point their unique ability would develop. And so, there's always new students cropping up at ADSGMP, not necessarily beginning in first year. Schooling here doesn't always end after 7th year either - if a student is deemed needing more training, they have the option of remaining at the school for further study.
The school itself is rather strange.. It was originally centered in a huge castle, but at one point the school had a headmaster who could manipulate electricity. He renovated many rooms so that electronics could function around magic. However, he died before completing his project, so a little less than half of the school is modernized. All of the dormitories are still old fashioned and require the use of candles and fireplaces.
And unlike other schools, the Headmaster or Headmistress is not chosen by a board of witches and wizards of the Ministry of Magic.. Instead, the school itself chooses who heads it.. It's not quite clear how it does this, but nobody has ever questioned its decisions. Like Hogwarts, the school has a Sorting Hat to assign students to houses, though it's considerably less battered as it is only a century old.
Currently the Headmistress of the school is Professor Simmons, a rather eccentric woman who appears to be in her fifties or sixties. She's constantly in the company of her many cats. In fact, she's never been seen without at least one by her side.
Possibly because of the Headmistress's affection for animals, the current rule on students keeping pets at the school is as follows: "A student may bring two pets to school so long as they have been approved by the Headmistress - pets must be non-venomous. To possess more than two pets one needs express written permission." School uniforms are only worn during formal events, otherwise the dress code is casual and muggle clothes are in vogue.
Recently there's been a string of murders cropping up throughout Western Europe.. In exactly the style Lord Voldemort used to work in. The victims are either muggles or muggle-borns. The current death toll of all known murders thought to be connected is 27. Is the culprit a mimic? Or something more sinister? Has Voldemort somehow survived when he was thought long dead?
Guidelines [Abridged Version]
A shortened version of the Guidelines, if you need quick reminders.
Character Profiles
Come here to post descriptions of your characters!
Mage Registry
Come here to see what powers are taken or which powers are available from inactive characters.
The Cast List
You can find out what actors, actresses, or models are taken for portraying characters here. Someone to portray your character is optional, but useful if you wish to make avatars/signitures of your character.
Sorting
Come here to be sorted into one of the four houses - Earth, Air, Water, or Fire. Sorting is pretty much just a formality and welcoming here - we don't do many Out of Character house-specific activities. It's all about the Role-Play here.
Website Guidelines
[/center]1) Concerning kindness: Be respectful of everyone. Have your RP (RolePlay) characters hate each others guts, sure, that's great. But in OOC (Out Of Character), be respectful. Everyone has feelings. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Let's keep this place a friendly, FUN environment.
2) Concerning safety: The internet is dangerous. There's no denying that. Tons of information, much of it personal, is out in the open for ANYONE to snag. Be careful who you share personal information with. And if someone doesn't want to share personal info with you, like where they live, pictures, what school they go to, or their name, DO NOT PRY. Leave them be. Everyone is entitled to privacy. If someone is bothering you, report it to starcrossed, the admin, immediately.
3) Concerning slang: I don't really care if you use slang OOC, just please, for the sake of we who read your posts, don't make them so slang-ed out that we have to sit there for half an hour decoding everything you write. As long as we can understand what you're saying, I'll be lenient about slang.
4) Concerning harassment: IT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. Period. If you're harassing someone, sexually or in any other manner, you'll find your ass kicked off this forum faster than you can say "Abra Kadabra". If someone is harassing you, inform starcrossed immediately.
5) The most important thing of all: HAVE FUN!!! That's what this whole thing is ABOUT! It's a place for us to relax with our mates, be creative, and entertain ourselves!
RolePlay Guidelines
[/center]1) Concerning posts: There is no minimum length. We understand if you're out of inspiration and can only crank out one sentence. We also understand if you feel the need to write a soliloquy.
2) Concerning slang: I don't care if you want to use a tiny bit of slang in your RP posts, just make sure that people can still understand what it is you're typing. And please don't go overboard. What NOT to do: "Thn she lyk blu his h3d of & ws L33T 4evR! 2 tru!!!!" I think you get the idea.
3) Concerning plotlines: Make them all you want. I personally LOVE crafting plots. Things are boring without them. Why should there just be one at a time? Make multiple plots, intertwine plots, do what you want! There's not a rigid site-wide plot; we're pretty flexible here.
4) Concerning character creation: The more, the merrier!! Make a new charrie anytime you get the hankering to! Just post a description of them in the designated area so we don't drive ourselves nuts trying to keep track of a bunch of new people popping up everywhere. And try to keep them all active, if you will. Especially if they're involved in a plot.
5) Concerning magecraft: It's first-come, first-serve mage-wise. If someone creates a character with a certain mage, and later you want to create a character with the same/an oh-so-very-similar mage, you must check with them first. The first person to lay claim on the mage has the right to dictate if any following characters may possess the same mage. This is to prevent too much monotony and boringness, with everyone having the same power, as well as to prevent the stealing of thunder.
6) Concerning Mary-Sues: A Mary-Sue is a character that is good at everything, is the most gorgeous person alive, is all-powerful, never gets hurt in a fight, always has perfect everything, and everyone is in love with them. And they're downright annoying. Please, do not make Mary-Sues. Everyone has flaws. Not everyone is good at everything. Not everyone loves everyone else. Your character is not going to gain a power and the next day be able to use it expertly. It takes much longer than that to master a mage power. Yes, this IS fiction, and yes, there IS magic, but do keep it a little realistic. Nobody likes a Mary-Sue, despite what the creator of the Mary-Sue thinks.
7) Concerning god-moding: Just say 'no' to GMing! God-moding (GMing) is when you control a character who does not belong to you. It's annoying. It's stupid. It's not allowed. Stick to your own characters, please and thank you.
8) Concerning mature content: Yeah, there's gonna be violence. There's gonna be swearing. There's gonna be relationship-y stuff. If you can't handle it, you don't have to read it. But just because these things are allowed does not mean that you can go overboard with them. Don't cuss every other word. I think you get the basic idea.
9) Concerning resurrection: Absolutely NO canon characters from the Harry Potter books/movies! No, no, no, no, NO! This RolePlay takes place two centuries after Voldemort's defeat. All the canons are long since dead. And I don't want to see any relatives of theirs popping up either, since it would be unfair for others. And please, I don't want to see any guys named Barry with glasses, green eyes, and whose parents were murdered when he was a baby. Um, no. Just no.
RolePlay Storyline
[/center]___________________________________The Past
[Keep in mind, this site was formed before Deathly Hallows was written, so Voldemort's defeat here is different than it was in the books.]
It's been two centuries since Harry Potter's defeat of the dark wizard Tom Marvolo Riddle, known commonly as Lord Voldemort. Not much is remembered nowadays about the event since few were present that day, but the general gist of it is known. A year after graduating from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort faced off in an intense wizard's duel. Their twin wands locked and some mysterious force exploded outward from the connection. When the energy dissipated, Voldemort's body lay dead while Harry Potter lived, but not without a price - the young wizard was stripped of his magic, unable to cast even the simplest spell. He went on to marry Ginevra Weasley, while his two friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger married. Not much else is known of the heroes, their companions, and the occurrences that fateful day.
One thing is known though.. Left in the backlash of that great wash of power that destroyed the Dark Lord, some witches and wizards, and even a scattering of muggles, were changed.. These traits continued onward through the generations, all the way until present day. The people with these changed traits displayed amazing powers, powers no other witch or wizard had ever shown. These people became known as mages. Mages still held the normal spellcasting abilities of witches and wizards, but they were also something more.. They could do things without wands.. One mage could conjure fire to his fingertips, while another could alter the very composition of her body, dissolving into molecules, and then reform again. New, astounding powers continued to crop up, and it was soon seen that no mage had exactly the same power as any other mage. They were all different, all unique..
It was decided that mages needed someplace to go where they could properly learn to control these abilities. A normal wizarding school wouldn't do, not even the renowned Hogwarts - these mages were far more than ordinary magic folk. And so, a century ago, another school was built. It was named in honor of Albus Dumbledore, a great wizard of his time who had contributed much to society. The founder of the Albus Dubledore School for Gifted Magical Persons (ADSGMP) was a mage himself, who had struggled alone for many years to learn how to control his abilities. He had a connection to and affinity for the four elements, Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Thus he divided the students of his school into houses named after each of these elements.
Students of the Earth house were steadfast and dependable, though some could be somewhat sticklers for rules. On the whole they were friendly, caring, and often times quite creative.
Into the Air house went students who were generally calm and serene, but who had violent episodes. This doesn't mean that they were unkind, though - they could be very good friends. When they grew angry, they could be very destructive. While they may not start fights, they could certainly finish them. They also tended to have strong insight. Many Air mages have two very different sides to their personality.
In the Water house belonged mages of intellect who were calm and peaceful yet stubborn. They were adaptable to new environments and tended to be somewhat fickle and indecisive. Mages of Water often display innate abilities of being able to smooth over problems without confrontation.
Lastly, the Fire house was where the passionate students went. They often had fiery tempers, were determined, and could be slightly destructive and irrational. A firm hand was needed to keep Fire students in check. They tend to be a confrontational type, and are more often than not the ones who start fights.
Often times a mage won't display abnormal powers until they hit puberty, at which point their unique ability would develop. And so, there's always new students cropping up at ADSGMP, not necessarily beginning in first year. Schooling here doesn't always end after 7th year either - if a student is deemed needing more training, they have the option of remaining at the school for further study.
The school itself is rather strange.. It was originally centered in a huge castle, but at one point the school had a headmaster who could manipulate electricity. He renovated many rooms so that electronics could function around magic. However, he died before completing his project, so a little less than half of the school is modernized. All of the dormitories are still old fashioned and require the use of candles and fireplaces.
And unlike other schools, the Headmaster or Headmistress is not chosen by a board of witches and wizards of the Ministry of Magic.. Instead, the school itself chooses who heads it.. It's not quite clear how it does this, but nobody has ever questioned its decisions. Like Hogwarts, the school has a Sorting Hat to assign students to houses, though it's considerably less battered as it is only a century old.
_________________________________The Present
Currently the Headmistress of the school is Professor Simmons, a rather eccentric woman who appears to be in her fifties or sixties. She's constantly in the company of her many cats. In fact, she's never been seen without at least one by her side.
Possibly because of the Headmistress's affection for animals, the current rule on students keeping pets at the school is as follows: "A student may bring two pets to school so long as they have been approved by the Headmistress - pets must be non-venomous. To possess more than two pets one needs express written permission." School uniforms are only worn during formal events, otherwise the dress code is casual and muggle clothes are in vogue.
Recently there's been a string of murders cropping up throughout Western Europe.. In exactly the style Lord Voldemort used to work in. The victims are either muggles or muggle-borns. The current death toll of all known murders thought to be connected is 27. Is the culprit a mimic? Or something more sinister? Has Voldemort somehow survived when he was thought long dead?
_________________________________Helpful Links
Guidelines [Abridged Version]
A shortened version of the Guidelines, if you need quick reminders.
Character Profiles
Come here to post descriptions of your characters!
Mage Registry
Come here to see what powers are taken or which powers are available from inactive characters.
The Cast List
You can find out what actors, actresses, or models are taken for portraying characters here. Someone to portray your character is optional, but useful if you wish to make avatars/signitures of your character.
Sorting
Come here to be sorted into one of the four houses - Earth, Air, Water, or Fire. Sorting is pretty much just a formality and welcoming here - we don't do many Out of Character house-specific activities. It's all about the Role-Play here.
