Forum Rules and Guidelines

[Arkay]

Let's keep this short and simple. No one likes having too many rules restricting how they roleplay, after all, so I'll just lay down the basic groundwork.

Roleplay Rules

1. No playing canon characters. You can't play Ulfric Stormcloak, Kodlak Grey-Mane, or any other character that was named in any of the Elder Scrolls games. On a similar vein, you cannot make your characters into 'special' characters. You cannot suddenly make a character that is the Jarl of such-and-such, or the Thane of insert-town-here. Also, unless there is good reason, (and have it admin approved) you cannot make your characters know these canon characters. (Example: Anyone who tries to make Yelenda Stormcloak, daughter of Ulfric's from a dunmer mother or whatever you will not be approved. Don't even try.) You can, of course, make a faction character, but as long as you do not know the canon characters on a first name basis OR you do not play the character by proxy, you will be permitted to make a character who knows a canon character.
   
2. Keep things PG-13. This goes without saying, but seriously, no one to see, read, or even hear about the details of your character's greatest... conquest. Both forms of them. Of course, Skyrim is a violent game, so there will be fights, blood, gore, even death. But do your posts really need a detailed description of how a bone breaks or blood splurts everywhere? No. Also: Swearing is allowed, just don't go overboard.
   
3. You are not the Dovahkiin. You cannot even make a character who is a Dovahkiin. You cannot use the Thu'um unless your character trained with the Greybeards. And even those characters are restricted under rule 1.
   
4. You are not a Dragon. Or a Falmer. Or an Akaviri. Or even a mudcrab. Don't even bother trying to make these sort of characters. They might be good for chuckles, but they will not be approved.
   
5. Don't break the fourth wall. Out of character comments should be kept to a minimum, and they shouldn't be said by your characters. Use (()) [[]] {{}} or any other sort of brackets to isolate those comments, or use an "OOC:" tag.

All of these should go without saying, but they're here anyways for archive purposes or if you really don't know how to make a character. Really, these are pretty loose rules, and they give you plenty of room to manoeuvre in. If you have questions or worries about making your characters, feel free to ask any of the Admins.

Rule of thumb: Don't be an OOC jerk, know the lore and canon of the Elder Scrolls, and have fun.

Know your staff!

Obviously, you won't be able to ask the Admins any questions if you don't know who they are. You may notice that there are three groups of players on this site:

1. The normal users: simple black texted users. The roleplayers of this site.
   
2. The Daedric Princes: Red named users. We'll go into detail more in a bit. Half-mod, half-roleplayer with different privileges and restrictions.
   
3. The Aedra: Purple texted users. The mods and Administrators of the site. Final say in all the matters, your not-so-evil overlords. Come to us with questions about the site and if you have worries about your characters.

Our current admins are:

• Akatosh: Amator Bellum/Captain Dharma(IRC)
  
• Arkay: Nightshade/Emaleus(IRC)

You can come to us with any questions both through PM and through the IRC. The server is MagicStar and the Channel is #TESRP. You can use Mibbit, mIRC, chatZilla, etc. to get to it. And yes, at some point we will be expanding our Admin team. This topic has been covered by Akatosh in his announcement, but I will reiterate some things, because they are important.

To be considered for the position:
-Do not ask to be an Admin. If you had to ask without being considered, you are not ready.
-Be a good roleplayer and be willing to dedicate your time to the forums.
-Be able to resolve conflicts, even with other Admins or with the Princes.
-Be an example of how to act on the forums and IRC, both in character and out.
-You might have to know a thing or two about CSS coding.
-Be a generally good and fair person.

Daedric Princes

You may have noticed that there are two categories on the Legend, and the princes were mentioned a little earlier in this thread. Simply put, the Daedric Princes are a group of veteran roleplayers with additional privileges and restrictions. They have the power to approve characters (though Admins can revoke their judgement or this privilege) and can only post in the Oblivion Plains or in Mundas, the latter with Admin approval.

I stress right now. Daedric Princes are a privilege. They are the only canon characters that can be played, and thus, must be played accordingly. They are given as a gift to the experienced, veteran roleplayers of this forum, and the ones who help the community. Gifts can be refused of course, but they can also be taken away. If abused, (IE: posting more with the Prince, completely disregarding how your prince should act or using your prince as a sort of gloating/trophy/ha-ha-i'm-better-than-you sort of thing) it will be taken away.

Our current Daedric Princes are:

• Azura: Lesar
  
• Boethiah: Seeks-Many-Secrets
  
• Clavicus Vile: Amelin
  
• Hermaeus Mora: Amator Bellum
  
• Malacath: Harald Drake-Eyes
  
• Mehrunes Dagon: Asren Free-Spirit
  
• Mephala: Agrippina
  
• Molag Bal: LadyofBruma
  
• Nocturnal: Kestrel
  
• Sanguine: Eriikka
  
• Sheogorath: Kennek-Getha of Iblan

Selection for Daedric Princes is less strict than for Admins, obviously, but it will not be very likely that people will be picked to play Daedra. They do not add much to the forum, and can roleplay with non-Prince characters very rarely.

FAQ

Q: Does my character have to start off in a prison?
A: No.

Q: Where are we in Nirn and what time?
A: Anywhere in Tamriel. It is the fourth Era, year 204. The Dragonborn defeated Alduin and won the civil war for the Empire.

Q: CAN I BE A ADMIN/PRINCE/AWESOMEPERSON?!!?%$#?%!???!?*%?
A: If you have to ask...No.

Q: Why was my character banned/not approved/etc?
A: Because you either broke the rules that we have in place, or did not follow them in the first place.

Q: What do each of the forums mean?
A: As you can probably tell from the main page, the forum is split into In character and Out of Character categories. The latter deals with matters of site administration, questions that need to be asked out of character, and generally stuff that is not related to the roleplays. The In Character category is broken up into four forums.
Apocrypha: Ledgers enchanted by Hermaeus Mora, which allow for communication all over Tamriel. Basically an internet forum but with books in which characters can interact.
Mundas: The mortal plain in which everyone interacts on. This is where the 'actual' roleplay takes place, where you take your characters to walk, talk, fight, drink or whatever.
Imprisonment: The biography section, where we are introduced to your characters and their crimes.
Plains of Oblivion: The Daedric Prince Only forum. This is where the Daedra interact with one another, discussing the actions of mortals or beating each other to for fun.

Q: Can we fight dragons?!
A: The real question is: Can your character realistically come across a dragon and win? Would your character need to fight a dragon in any circumstance? Would fighting a dragon add to your character in a way that cannot be achieved by any other means? The answer should be no.

Q: How can I brush up on my Elder Scrolls Knowledge?
A: A list of references can be found Here. Thanks to Rrayuh for compiling it.