Rules of Play

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Conflict

Authors should strive to communicate with their writing partners. Please do not treat in-character conflict as an out-of-character jab against you, and do your best to share your plans with your writing partner; if you tell a writer 'I'm fine with anything' when it comes to conflict, then don't be surprised if their character wounds yours. Both parties must communicate and consent to any conflict with each other out-of-character respectfully, or else risk being warned by staff.

While it may be your choice to accept a consequence (or not), remember that pulling your character out of a thread may make others reluctant to write with you, or that it might make your character seem dull. Countless methods exist on Antarok to heal or mend entire limbs, so nothing is forever unless you so choose. Don't take out your feelings over avoidable consequences on your fellow writers!

Limited Metagaming

Characters on Antarok operate on liquid time with an assumed level of understanding for their skills and the world they live in. They may have heard about the public aspects of another character’s exploits prior to meeting them, seen a large Dragon flying in the distance, or they might know a good deal about the local gossip in town and its establishments. A character will also be able to talk at length about their skills, recent activities, and occupation in a manner that makes sense for their skill level without having formed those theories or experiences in-character. They might even know a few basic words from a language they are not fluent in, or else assume they are fluent if they've lived or traveled with those who speak the language for long enough.

Limited Metagaming does not grant someone the license to know everything about another character or a skill they have no experience in. Use discretion, and ask for a second opinion if you aren’t sure. If someone tells you they're comfortable with your character knowing theirs, then that's okay too.

💭 Coming from tabletop, is there another way to understand this?

It's a lot like a skill check from tabletop, except everyone you're writing with is simultaneously the DM and the player, and reason is used rather than dice - remember to make mistakes, they make characters more interesting!

Limited Power Play

It’s almost always your choice whether you will accept an outcome in a story; nobody can force you to accept an action, and your participation in a story can be reviewed as non-canon - for your character - after a certain post if you wish to avoid unwanted consequences while still preserving some of the story. We do not care if someone grinds experience and connives ‘powerful’ characters so long as it is done fairly without clear exploitation.

• Exception: Some Storytellers may enforce varying degrees of Consequential Play within their moderated stories or domains. You must accept their consequences, as outlined by their roles. If you believe a decision made by staff was unfair, contact Haruspex or Vicissitude personally.

Permissions

The only permissions that must be sought from the support forum are for Major Merit Quests (except for the Adult Dragon), and any limitations described in the write-ups of Forum NPC's or articles authored by others. Permission is more about either showing us that you can play that content accurately in a way that benefits other writers around you, or maintaining one's plot direction by retaining authorship.

Lore Accuracy

Accurately portraying your character and the lore is encouraged in all cases, but a safety net exists to give you flexibility with mistakes - we will not punish you for minor errors without repeated infractions after being informed, and you will be forgiven for most oversights so long as you demonstrate the willingness to improve. You may otherwise learn to play at your own pace.

Safety Net

In the event you write something that does not match the lore, how a character is written, or the timeline, you are considered to be 'operating within the safety net', meaning the story as written is not considered entirely factual as to what really happened. This is perfectly fine and happens to all of us.

• If you write the wrong dates and times, your skill or magic use is somewhat incorrect, you've given the wrong name to something, or you've portrayed an NPC incorrectly, then the interaction is assumed to have been written in line with the referenced material, even if they were not written so in your story - this means something else happened, which will be detailed in the review.

• Players and Storytellers you are writing with may request that you fix your post before continuing. If you must remind someone about lore accuracy, please quote the article directly to avoid confusing matters. Correcting someone out of character is better, as this is a form of conflict which is better resolved by messaging them directly.

• Everyone writing on Antarok should strive to understand its lore and systems, but we recognize that it's simply not feasible to ask this of someone new to the setting and Forum RPGs in general. This is an environment that caters to all above the age of sixteen, not just grizzled writing veterans with diplomas in literature.

Timeline Mistakes

Allowing some degree of real-time flexibility will inevitably lead to the timeline not making sense. There may be a scenario where two characters never should have met because one came up short on their travel time. When this happens, space and time themselves are considered to be unreliable, but those two characters have still met - somehow.

• Intervention by staff may occur if lost Travel Time time is in excess of a few days, as characters should not be able to teleport without magic or be in two locations simultaneously. A solution may be offered, such as rendering part of the thread non-canon for the one who shouldn't be there, creating a separate - more dangerous - route through Elphyne, or else offering to deduct an Exodii fee for their teleportation.

Mature Content

A topic should be marked with the 'Mature' tag if:

• Gore is being referenced in graphic detail.
• 'Tasteful' erotic scenes are being depicted without ever referencing anatomy.
• Sexual desires or activities are being alluded to in speech, thought, or the background.
• Characters are speaking with excessive amounts of swearing or slurs.
• If attention is drawn to a character's nudity without ever referencing anatomy.
• If sexual anatomy is being referenced 'tastefully' by a character's thoughts or dialogue.

Content belongs in the Adult Forum if:

• There is a detailed depiction of sexual anatomy or activities that center on this.
• Overt fetishes are being referenced in detail.
• Sexual trauma is being referenced in detail; allusions are 'Mature' while explanations are 'Adult'.
• Gore becomes sexualized in any way.

Content has no place in Antarok if:

• An under-18 character is being sexualized in any way.
• A character incapable of verbal speech or consent is being sexualized in any way.

Warning: Antarok is a safe space for LGBTQIA adults. 'Mature Content' rule violations are taken seriously. Homophobic remarks and criticisms of other's tastes will be punished severely. Punishments may range anywhere from a warning to an outright and permanent ban depending on the severity of the infraction.

Content Ownership

All content written on the Antarok Forum or Wiki is owned by the website to do with as we please. Do not plagiarize, or pass off entirely AI-generated content as your own. Authors 'own' the moderation of their own content, and may request that you do not play with it for any reason. You must honor this request.

• Head Storytellers may suspend players from writing in their domain; if this happens, do not criticize the decision and seek out another domain where you are more welcome. Play on Antarok is conducted between friends; find people who enjoy writing with you. Earn respect from your peers instead of demanding it.
• Storytellers may slightly bend certain rules by making a request to a Head Storyteller in order to facilitate moderated play; they still cannot force you to accept the death or major change of your character unless you have agreed to consequential play or are playing in a forum marked as such - and even then, you will still be presented with options to escape a moderated penalty. Do not 'Rules Lawyer' other players unless it is to politely inform them of a rule which you then link to.

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