Rules, Regulations, and Guidelines of the AlienVamp RPG
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Character Limits

We do not have an official character limit per say; however, any new character that a list member wishes to add to their roster must be approved by the moderators before any actual posting as that character can be done. Just send a request to the moderators (and a bio, if the new character is a made up). The moderators reserve the right to deny a member another character if they think that either the character in question would not suit the list's needs at that time or that the player in question could not keep up with the pressure of another character at that time. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis, and if at any time a request for an additional character is refused, don't take it to heart, dear members. Just listen to the reasons *why* the character request was refused and then see about perhaps fixing anything that needs fixing and wait a decent period before applying again. It's as simple as that. On the whole, the moderators are pretty lenient about allowing new characters, so don't stress over it too much. As long as you're meeting your posting requirements (more on those later) and have a well fleshed out character to present, you will probably be approved.

Non-Player Characters

These were formerly called Bit Characters and are public domain. An NPC can be a random person needed for a scene (such as a doctor at the hospital, a fireman, or a random vampire) or it can be a show character that does not currently have a player (primarily, in our case, Roswell natives, such as the Parkers, Amy DeLuca, and Deputy Hanson). NPCs may be created and/or played by any list member when needed without permission by the moderators, unless another player is already using that NPC. However, none of these characters can be played full time, or at the expense of a player’s normal characters. Also, if the moderators feel that the NPC is out of line in some way or offensive to the list, they reserve the right to remove said NPC. A created NPC (such as a random vampire) can be killed, but a show NPC cannot be killed without moderator permission. When using a show NPC, players should strive to observe previous character development and continuity (on the show or on the list) as much as possible, but new twists are allowed if done in a thoughtful manner.

Personal Bit Characters

Everyone is allowed a few PBCs in addition to their regular characters. There is no set limit on PBCs at this point, though the moderators reserve the right to make such a limitation in the future, should it be needed. A PBC is a character owned by one player, like a regular character; however PBCs, like NPCs, cannot be played full time. When needed, a PBC can be played regularly, but eventually the PBC must either be promoted to a regular character or be written out for a while. Usually, new PBCs are made up characters. Most show characters that are PBCs are BtVS characters that were played on Buffyvamp (the predecessor RPG to AlienVamp) and did not make the crossover to the new game. These characters became the PBCs of their Buffyvamp players. In most cases, these characters (Giles, Joyce, etc.) stayed in Sunnydale to defend the Hellmouth. Other show characters can be made PBCs only with the permission of the moderators. If a player has trouble keeping up with his or her cast of characters, made ups may be demoted to PBCs so that the player has more time to focus on his or her show characters.

Other People’s Characters

No one may write for anyone else’s character without permission. This includes making the character move of their own volition, making the character speak or think, or anything else along those lines. However, if a player leaves his or her character abandoned in an active scene for longer than the posting requirements (explained later) allow, the moderators have the right to step in and play them or write them out of the action, with or without prior notice, for the good of the list as a whole.

No one can kill someone else’s character without permission, not even PBCs or show NPCs. And, if the character is a show character, the moderators must also be consulted before the big death scene.

Note: Players are allowed to have their characters’ actions affect other people’s characters in less dramatic ways, as long as it is logical. A vampire can bite another character, but cannot sire or kill the other character without permission. Aliens can use their powers to fling someone across the room, or a Slayer could do the same thing with a well-timed punch, like they have done on the shows. A character can grab another character by the arm and pull them into another room for a private conversation (though, the character that was dragged has the right to turn and walk out of the room again). It’s all a matter of good judgement. Don’t do to someone else’s character what you would not want done to yours. If you feel that someone is taking too many liberties, talk about it with them and come up with a good compromise or ask one of the moderators to mediate the discussion.

Posting Frequency

This is one of the most important rules of the RPG! The frequency with which a player posts for his or her characters is what moves the game along, and AlienVamp prides itself on being an active RPG for good writers.

Optimum/desired participation for everyone is 3 posts per week, per character (not counting PBCs, unless they have been written into an active scene). If a character is in an active scene, these posting requirements must be met. However, if necessary and if the character is not in an active scene, there are some classes of characters that can be posted for less frequently.

Class A: Slayers, Slayer’s Watchers, and Roswell Aliens—these characters must be posted for 3 times a week.

Class B: All Other Show Characters—these characters must be posted for at least once a week, though more is preferred, especially for main credits characters.

Class C: Made Up Characters—these characters are not an original part of the story and can be more easily written out than show characters, so they may be posted for at their player’s discretion.

Class D: Villains—though we like to get to know our villains, what makes ‘em tick, what they’re plotting, etc., it is permissible to play them less frequently than any other type of regular character. Villains need to be able to pop in and out, making trouble where necessary, however, if there was trouble 24/7, there wouldn’t be much time for character development for the good guys. If you play a villain, posting is up to your discretion, but make sure you keep up and post when necessary, like when the good guys are about to invade your lair for a showdown.

Fluidity of Classifications: Like everything in life, though, some of these classifications can change. Classification A is set in stone. These are the characters that keep the RPG and its plot moving. They must be played with great regularity. Some show characters, especially non-main-credits show characters, can move down to Class C, if they aren’t in an active scene or plot, while made up characters can become Class B if their writer makes them important to the plot. Villains can move about as well, depending on how much depth and inner dialogue their player gives them. Characters become more important and must be posted for more frequently the more a player writes for them and the more involved the characters get in the plot.

Characters CANNOT be abandoned in an ACTIVE scene. This is the one thing that AlienVamp struggles with the most. Players write their characters into the action and then go M.I.A., leaving their character standing there, mute. It doesn’t take long to write a character out, and there are many ways to do it. If you know you will be gone and will not be able to meet your posting requirements (3 posts per week for a character in an active scene), the character MUST BE WRITTEN OUT of the scene so the other players will not be left hanging.

Consequences: If characters are abandoned in an active scene, the moderators have the right to write for them/write them out, as necessary for the plot, with or without prior notification. If players are M.I.A. without notifying the moderators (as discussed below) and do not respond when their character is needed for the plot, moderators also have the right to write for those characters, as necessary for the good of the list as a whole, with or without prior notification. If players abandon their characters in active scenes with regularity or go M.I.A. frequently, more drastic steps will be taken. Moderators have the right to demote made up characters to PBCs, reassign show characters to other players, and write any characters out of the game as needed for the good of the list as a whole.

Notification of Absence

If players know they will be absent for a significant length of time (due to school, computer problems, etc.), they should inform the moderators (or the list as a whole) and write all their characters out of the action (considering the slowness of RPG-time, a well-planned trip to the bathroom or a nap or a bout of unconsciousness will usually suffice if the absence isn’t longer than a week or two). If the moderators have not been informed and a player is M.I.A. when his or her character needs to respond, the moderators reserve the right to play said character or to assign the character to someone else for the good of the list as a whole, with or without prior notification. If desired, a player can ask someone else to play his or her characters for the duration of the player’s absence.

Posting Style

Posts should be written past tense, third person. (“Buffy staked the vampire,” NOT “Buffy stakes the vampire” or “I stake the vampire.”)

At least a small portion of the post being replied to should be included with the reply so that other list members know where the post fits in continuity- wise (this is especially important in highly active/big group scenes). This old text should be separated from new text by using blank lines/paragraph breaks, <> marks, ** marks, etc. Anything is allowed as long as it can be easily understood.

Posts should be written using the best grammar, punctuation, and spelling possible so that they may be easily read and understood by other list members. If your email program has spell check, the moderators highly recommend using it before sending a post to the list.

Subject Line Notations

Anyone can change the subject line of a message at any time during the thread. Feel free to be creative or funny. However, when doing so, try to remember to list the characters involved in the scene by putting something like (ATTN: Buffy, Xander, Max) after your witty, new subject line. That way, the characters involved won’t miss the change of the name of the thread.

Off topic/out of character posts are permitted on the list, but the subject line must begin with OT or OOC, so anyone uninterested in non-RPG material knows they can skip the post. If your OT message is a question about plot, it’s also a good idea to put an ATTN in the subject line, just to make sure the right person reads the message.

Any message with ADMIN in the subject line is an official message from one of the moderators and must be read by all list members as it will undoubtedly be something of great importance to the list as a whole, such as cast changes, rule changes, new list members, award information, etc.

Rating (Language, Sex, and Violence)

Use the shows (BtVS, Angel, and Roswell) as guides. Write nothing worse or more explicit than what occurs on the shows. This rule of thumb helps keep us out of trouble with Yahoo!Groups, and is a good, agreeable rule for a list composed of members with different values and tolerance levels. After all, we all watch the shows, or did at one time or another.

Language: If they say a word on the shows, it can be said in the RPG. If they don’t say it on the shows, but a character just has to say it in the game, use *** to get the idea across without typing the whole word.

Alternatively, you may use language that is worse than that on the shows, without resorting to *** marks, if you put a warning at the beginning of the message to let list members know that questionable language is in your post. But this should only be done on rare occasions. *** marks or less severe language is usually preferred to warnings. Please do remember this and use the warning system responsibly or you might find yourself receiving notice from the moderators about your excessive use of unexceptable language in your posts.

Sex: They show kissing, making out, innuendo, etc., but when it comes to the actual sex, they usually fade to black or use artsy, crazy camera angles and fuzzy light (think BtVS: Where the Wild Things Are). Either way, you don’t see everything, just the occasional naked limb and/or the morning after with sheets pulled up over all appropriate parts.

The only difference between the show and the game is in the area of slash relationships. The moderators think it is unfair to hold slash relationships to the unequal standards of the shows, so slash and het relationships have the same rules here. Anything allowed onlist in a het relationship is also allowed onlist in a slash relationship.

However, to be nice to your fellow list-mates (similar to using the *** marks or a warning if saying a word or words worse than those used on the shows), if you are going to have a post with more than the normal adult content (and, let’s face it, we don’t have a lot of adult content on this list, for the most part), it is polite to put a note at the beginning of the post to alert people to this fact so they don’t have to read anything they don’t want to read. Things that should, in all politeness, have warning notes would be sexual acts that go beyond kissing and a reasonable amount of making out, any kind of non- con sexual act, and any explicit sexual language or innuendo, etc.

Violence: Considering BtVS and Angel, this one has the most leeway. Thus far, there has never been a problem with this segment of the rating.

Age Limits

This is an RPG for people 17 years old and older. As such, despite the rating policy above, some content might not be appropriate for those younger. By joining this list, the moderators assume that you fit into our desired age range. We have a “don’t ask/don’t tell” policy. But, if you have joined and are not 17, don’t blame us if your parents get upset. It’s not our fault! :)

Moderator Duties

Do not attempt to impersonate a moderator or usurp any of their power (i.e., don’t post your own ADMIN messages, don’t approve auditions of newbies by yourself, don’t write a new character into the game without permission, etc.). And, as a list member, if you see/hear another member doing something that falls under the status of moderator duties without obtaining explicit permission to do so from said moderators, please inform one of the moderators of it immediately.