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Rules of the Game


About the rules

These are the things we expect of our players. They are fluid, changing as the need arises, and may be updated without notice. The managers agree that these should not be burdensome. They include the mechanics of becoming a player, and some basic player etiquette. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Dianne or one of the other managers for clarification. Click on one of the titles below to be taken to that portion of the Rules.

Applying for a character

Playing your character

Player etiquette

General Information

MOST IMPORTANTLY, HAVE FUN!!


Sincerely, Dianne and the Mod Squad

updated and edited 02/12/11




 

Applying for a character.

A profile of your character, including physical description, must be submitted to the manager for approval. A character profile template is available here to guide you through the process. Check out our Want Ads page for ideas on what kinds of characters would fit well into our role play.

Stipulations

  • Any character that is to go out on rescues must be at least 20 years of age. They should be believable and have realistic skills for their age and social status, with realistic flaws. We're trying to stay as true-to-life as we can, so no paragons, please.

  • Villains are welcome but must be believable, the Hood being the only exception to the rule.

  • Included in the profile should be your idea of how to introduce your character to the storyline. This introduction should be both plausible and believable.

  • Getting washed up on, crashing on, or accidently landing on Tracy Island will not be accepted as a way of introducing a character. If you have any questions about this whatsoever, ask Dianne.

It's wise to read the Archives to get a feel for the characters, the universe, and the various plots that have been going on. To make this easier, we've tried to keep each chapter to roughly 150 actual posts. Looking at some of the other original character profiles may also help.

The manager and at least one assistant manager will be involved in the approval process.

Note: Applying for a character does not guarantee a player slot. The character must be approved by the managers before the opening is awarded.

A special warning: Very few people can design a great character on the first try. If we see places in the profile where the character either wouldn't fit well with the setting, or there are logical inconsistencies, we will point them out. As a result, your profile may be returned with comments. But please don't take our comments as a personal attack. They're there to address specific flaws and can help you make your character more realistic. You're welcome to resubmit the character with changes made. Also, use your very best writing skills. Good grammar, spelling, and punctuation are sure to impress us.

And, you may - at the moderator's discretion - be asked to write a sample post. If so, a scenario will be provided for you to write from. It will include your character, a canon character, and one of the other player's characters. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and how you handle the other characters will be evaluated by the moderating team.

New!We now have pre-approved characters for adoption. These are for new players only, and certain items can be tweaked to a player's specifications. Please see the Player Information board for more details, and prospective character profiles.

Upon approval, you may insert your character's introduction onto the timeline, and go from there.

There will be a limit of 12 players at a time. When a player slot comes open, the first profile approved after the player cut off will be offered the slot.


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Playing your character

The only person who is responsible for your character is you . We require you to write and post at least twice per calendar month - real time - and that one of the posts involve a canon character. If you don't post for a period of two calendar months, you will be removed from the RP without further notice. If you're ill, have a computer breakdown, or have some other sort of emergency, please let the managers know. Remember, there are others who want to play the game and you may be holding them up. If the other players are waiting on you, and a week passes without the waited-on post being posted, pulled or rescheduled, then the RP will move on without it.

Collaborations with other players are welcome, but you must play your character solo as well.

When using a canon character, or another player's character, please write what is consistent with that character's personality and actions.

You're responsible for your character and any other characters that interact with yours on a regular basis and/or personal level. For example, if your character is married to one of the canon characters, you're responsible for that canon character as well.

Rescues will be written by a two member team. The make-up of each team will be determined by which player characters are selected to be spotlighted. Even if your character does not go out on rescues, you will be expected to volunteer to write at some point. All posts concerning other players' characters will be sent to those players for approval on characterization. Should you have an idea for the rescue, please send it to the writing team to ascertain if it is feasible within the story they are writing.

We prefer that all posts be betaread for consistency. Please send all posts--in .RTF format--to this address: irtnpmods@gmail.com. A moderator will beta your post and return it to you with instructions.


Quitting the game

If for some reason you must quit the game, please write yourself out within three posts or ask the moderators to write the character out. Once your character is gone, any posts you might add to the storyline and all remaining posts on the timeline will be deleted. You're welcome to add to the other boards at any time.

If your character has been dropped - for whatever reason - you must wait at least 30 days before submitting a new character profile. Said profile will go through the same process as a new player's would.


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Player etiquette

Please read the previous posts carefully to make sure you're getting the setting and actions right, and if you quote a portion of a previous post, please quote it accurately.

There will be times when you - as a player - will have information that your character does not. Please refrain from using that information, but instead focus on what your character does know from the story as posted.

When playing your own character, be aware of your profile and play him/her according to the profile you've set up. Characters grow and change over the span of the story; that's both natural and welcome, but a sudden change in personality will be noticed, mentioned, and possibly acted upon by other players' characters.

If someone has an interesting subplot going on, and you have ideas for it, go to the player involved and talk it out with them. The mods don’t necessarily know all the details of each and every subplot being written.

Since this is a semi-realistic setting, character actions will often result in consequences, pleasant or unpleasant. Life isn't all sweetness and light, even on Tracy Island. There are going to be conflicts between characters, internal conflicts, and none of these are without fallout or consequences. So be prepared for your character to face some adversity, and face it realistically.

A note on language: Thunderbirds was a children's show, produced at a time where swearing was frowned on in general. Today, swearing is no longer as taboo, but we would like to keep our characters from turning the air blue, as it's not in character for them to do so. As a result, the following words are allowed: hell, damn, ass, and bloody. Bitch and bastard are allowed only by the villains or in reference to the villains. No other words that are considered swear words will be tolerated.


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General Information

There will be scheduled brainstorming sessions to hammer out plotlines and other matters. You will need to have Windows Live Messenger to participate in these chats unless otherwise specified. These sessions are voluntary, and the time and date will be posted on the Player Information board. Emails will also be sent out reminding players of the session dates. Transcripts of sessions, edited for brevity and clarity, will be sent to all players and managers.

There is also a Suggestion Box thread on the General board to refer to or to add new ideas. For general questions about our site, or just to gab, please use the Chatter board.

It's recommended that you have posts from the site come to your inbox. We won't flood it out, promise! :) To do this, subscribe to the current story thread.

The Player's Timeline is a guide to our plot. It's used to schedule posts, especially for those who write ahead of time. Additions, spontaneous or planned, are welcome, especially for the purpose of character development, and don't necessarily need to be posted to the timeline. When posting to the timeline, please use the day and date it will be on Tracy Island, even if the post takes place elsewhere.  In the comments section, note the day/date and part of day (morning, afternoon, early evening, etc.) it would be locally, in parentheses. Note: There are no email notifications generated by a change on the timeline. It’s a player’s responsibility to check the timeline on a regular basis to see what has been added and what might create conflicts.

Time, Date, and Place stamps are also guides to the plot and help us keep track of where all the characters are at any given point in time. They add to the realism of the plot by determining things like time of day in other parts of the world, and how long it really takes Thunderbird Two to get somewhere at its emergency speed. There are resources on our Toolbox page to help you with these identifiers. The stamps are voluntary; you're not obligated to use them.

New!Note: We are now using 2069 for our dates and times. This is four years after the start of International Rescue, and a year after our story begins. Tracy Island is located somewhere to the east of New Zealand. Use Christchurch, NZ as a starting point for distances, and NZ time - with the year 2012 - when doing time conversions at the TZC site.

There is a cross-section of Tracy Island posted here for your use.

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