Guide to Roleplay

Common Shorthand:

RP- Roleplaying

PC- Player Character

CS- Character Sheet

SF- Support Forum

OOC- Out of Character

IC- In Character

AF- Adult Forum

NPC- Non-Player Character

Power-gaming

Powergaming is when you don’t give the other player a chance to use their own free will against your actions. For example, in fighting or sexual RP. Powergaming is using absolutes and stating that the other player must go along with or has no choice against your actions. A way to mitigate this is by asking in private messages or OOC if I can perform “X” against your character and talk out what you are planning to do if you believe you may be power gaming. It at least gives a decision for the player and a heads up if this is a devastating blow.

Meta-gaming

Metagaming is when you use outside, real life knowledge about plots or setting then in your roleplay to get ahead. An example would be if you and another player had a discussion about a thread, you request inside knowledge about the thread, then use all that knowledge in favor of your character rather than playing out through your character’s eyes– who doesn’t actually know what the other character is planning or thinking. In this instance you are using your OOC knowledge of the thread, other’s thoughts, or setting to manipulate outcomes to your favor. This is simply unfair and anyone caught doing this will get a warning.

Godmode/godmodding

Godmodding and Godmode are two different things. First I will explain Godmodding. Godmodding is when you essentially, at character creation, make an extremely powerful PC who cannot be bested or beaten, is better than their peers, never has failed, and is “Mary/Gary Sue" like in other ways. Godmodding is similar to power gaming in that it is usually portrayed in the way that the Godmodding PC cannot be beaten or bested, this can usually be seen by using attacks and taking no fatigue or damage– for example using a high power magic ability and taking no mageblight from it. Another version of Godmodding is leveling up quickly with fluffy threads, not following a plot, intending to become stronger through taking advantage of the points system with the filler threads. This leads into Rule #5.

Godmode is when you take control of another PC’s actions, again similar to Power-gaming. OOC permission can be given by the other player for their PC to say/do/react accordingly, but generally, this should be done sparingly, because the point of RPing is to take turns writing out what happens with each character involved

"4th Wall" between PCs

What is the 4th wall? The 4th wall in other contexts is the wall between the audience and the character. In RP the 4th wall can be described as the wall between your personal characters. There is no communication, items left behind, social structure, or ability for your characters to ever interact with each other. If your character leads a large faction of thieves and then you create a second character and put them in the faction, you cannot RP your leader character giving your follower character items, money, intel, nothing. If there were no wall between PCs, it would allow more established players to power-level new characters. It also is another form of writing solos, when ultimately the goal is collaborative roleplay. (See Rule #5)

Try to collaborate/plot/thread with other characters

While soloing is good to further your personal plots and threads, exclusively writing solo threads is not allowed on our site. The goal here is to make connections with players, fostering growth for each other or becoming rivals as makes sense.

Importance of Consent

Atharen is a safe space for RP for everyone. This is also a grimdark roleplay site and consent is important. If someone writes something in a thread that makes you uncomfortable and you would like it rewritten, tell them. Don’t abandon the RP until you reach out. If you aren’t comfortable telling them directly, please reach out to a mod and let them know how you are feeling. This includes if the person making you feel uncomfortable is on staff. Atharen mods take this extremely seriously and if anything strive to hold staff to a higher standard than players.

What's a modded thread and how does it work

A modded thread is a thread done between one or more PCs and a Staff ranking mod or higher, as well as players modding for other players. Similar to Tabletop, the moderator will direct the thread as a DM and give challenges to a PC or tell a story PCs must react to. Different levels of staff are able to access different levels of NPCs or even creatures such as dragons. This can lead to higher level quests, items, and plot furthering. Players may even mod threads but are restricted depending on rules for certain creatures and in particular Lost Magic and Gods. Player-run modded threads need to be more explicitly plotted out and approved beforehand by Staff.

You may request a modded thread in the SF, but be aware that you must be explicit in what you want from the thread, such as an item, NPC, or plot device. Mods or Players who run threads will often throw curve balls and give new information, but if you can’t tell us exactly what you want or need from the thread we cannot give what you need to you. No mod or player is allowed to intentionally harm or hinder threads through modded threads or mod bombs. Mod bombs are when a player’s thread is added to by surprise by a moderator, this should only be done by a moderator in good spirit. Any mod or player found abusing these threads to hinder players will get *at least* a warning.

When should I submit a plot approval thread

Plots should be submitted for approval when they affect things larger than themselves. Setting up an army of bandits from the Badlands to attack Amoren so that a PC or PCs can defend the city will require SF approval, whereas that same PC stopping a store in Amoren from being robbed at gunpoint does not warrant a request. The more NPCs a plot affects, the more land it spans, and the stronger your PC will get from this all need to be taken into account when asking for a modded thread. This is up to your discretion, but a moderator intervention may be taken if you have stepped a line. (See Rule #10)

When should I tell Staff about something another player did or said?

If another player has said or done anything that makes someone uncomfortable. If another player has told them something about the rules of Atharen that they can't find any corroboration for and they are seeking clarification. There are many other reasons, please reach out if you think you need to, we want to help and listen.

Retconning Threads

Retconning is defined as changing already established aspects of the PCs past. Unfortunately, if too many liberties are taken on the site threads may be retconned. No one, not even mods, like to see this happen. Please use the SF or the help desk on Discord if you ever have questions, always reach out first before going through with a large plot. Another thing would be using things that have not been approved, until approval threads will be unable to be graded or the grades will be retconned. Approvals can take some time but patience here is key, don’t be afraid to nudge a mod if you think an approval is taken too long. Give us about 7 days.