Roleplay Forum Rules (2025 Update) Hello and welcome to the Roleplay Forum! I am your mini-mod Gravy and I am glad to have you here. In this forum, we have 2 different kinds of Roleplay Games in which you can participate. We have traditional written roleplay you might find on a variety of forums around the internet. We also have a Round Robin style where up to 7 players write a story like one would at a table. Each person takes turns to write more of the story and adding lore. Before you click the links below, please ALL read the rules below. But to keep things organized, I am putting the links at the top. General Roleplay Forum Rules Traditional Roleplay Rules Round Robin Rules Game Master Rules/Guidelines Roleplay Player Rules/Guidelines
General Roleplay Rules 1. Follow all the general rules of Writingforums.org. 2. Respect and kind to one another. This is an important rule. We all have different levels of writing abilities and voices. We all have different levels of written Roleplay Experience. 3. The expected writing level of this forum and any roleplays within will be casual. Meaning, please check your spelling and grammar before posting, but ignore the thesaurus at will. 4. NO AI generated/created writing allowed. No exceptions. 5. This is NOT a writing workshop. Do not critique writing style, voice, or whatnot. If there is HUGE mis-spelling or you need clarification about something, just ask politely. But again, follow rule #1. We all miss words and spelling errors can happen. 6. All roleplays will be written in English aside from commonly known/understood greetings or phrases to add characterization. (Think ‘Danke’ vs. ‘Ich habe eine Katze und er ist sehr nett‘.) 7. ALL ROLEPLAYS MUST HAVE 3 Players or more. AND all forum members in good-standing may join any roleplay with Open Seats. 8. The maximum number of posts a Game Master can expect from a player is 1 post a week. We have lives and this is supposed to be fun. 9. Keep all Roleplays to an American PG-13 in all aspects. So, yes, you can use swearwords, kiss, and show some gore. (What fun would writing be without those?) 10. No Master/Slave, Kinky, or distasteful roleplays. As mini-mod I reserve the right to deny or end a roleplay for breaking or attempting to skirt around these rules. 11. No real-world politics or creating political drama in a roleplay or OOC thread. If you want to debate if tomatoes are a fruit or veggie, take it to a different forum all together. 12.Historical roleplays are allowed as long as they take place BEFORE 1930 AD/BCE. However, as mini-mod, I am allowed to deny or end any distasteful roleplay games. 13. Do NOT be a bully – Do not gang up on that player no one likes or use your character as a mouthpiece to sling personal insults. If characters are going to fight, discuss it in the OOC thread beforehand so the players can remain friends. 14. No un-readable, colorful, photo-ridden and fancy roleplay posts. Also, please keep all font sizes to at least 12 and automatic or black color. Feel free to use Bold, Underscore, and Italics. 15. Roleplay games involving dice throws must be done with dice in real life with an Honor System. No bots or other digital mechanics. If you use these, I’m gonna call in the Moose. You don’t want to mess with the Moose. 16. No God-Modding, which means don’t make your character immune or invisible to any physical damage, above the laws of the roleplay world. If this rule is broken, I will kindly step in and ask the player to modify the character. 17.No Self-indulgent Tango, where your character is the most important, makes everything about them and continually takes over the story/attention away from other characters. It is fine to have scenes where your character has a spotlight on them. Enjoy those times, but try not to tango your way to the front of the stage when another character is having a moment in the sunshine. 18. All Roleplays will have an Out of Character Thread (OOC Thread) in the Roleplay Discussion Forum. At the request of the Mini-mod/or mods, other threads can be made. 19. As mini-mod I or a full mod can change, add, remove, or update these rules at any time.
Traditional Roleplay Rules (In addition to the rules above) All rules of the Writingforum.org and the General Roleplay Rules must be followed. No controlling other players’ characters without permission. This may be changed game to game by the GM or in an agreement by the players. As mini-mod I or a full mod can change, add, remove, or update these rules at any time.
Round Robin Roleplay Rules (In addition to the rules above) For examples, please read It Began in A Tavern roleplay thread. 1. All rules of the Writingforum.org and the General Roleplay Rules must be followed. 2. Each round robin game will have 3 players minimum and 7 players maximum. List the order of player turn in the first post of the official Roleplay. 3. In a Round Robin game, all the players write all the characters. So, other players may use current characters in the story’s Character Index. 4. Players can skip their own turns. 5. GMs cannot penalize missing turns or skipping. If someone is consistently missing their turn, please contact the mini-mod or mod to resolve. 6. To begin a round-robin style story, please state the style at the beginning of your roleplay OOC Discussion thread. This way, players know the style of your game. In this type, all the players write all the characters. 7. The minimum required words per-post is 300 words. The maximum is no more than 1,500 words. This keeps it fair for everyone. And the GM may set how long between posts within reason. Minimum 7 days between. 8. The GM/me, will check each post in a word processor (not online word counter or AI reader) to insure each post meets the requirements above. Also, if the post is over, but concludes a sentence, it will not be edited. 7. As mini-mod I or a full mod can change, add, remove, or update these rules at any time.
Game Master Rules/Guidelines For those who want to start their own Roleplay Games, please read the following and go to the Roleplay Interest Thread to find a game template. To begin a round-robin style story, please state the style at the beginning of your roleplay interest post and eventual OOC thread. This way, players know the style of your game. 1. Follow all the rules of writingforums.org and of the Roleplay Forum. 2. There can only be 1 GM per-game. No co-GM’ing. 3. Again, all roleplays must have 3 players minimum. In Round Robin games, 7 maximum. 4. Be respectful of your players- I say this again, because I have seen and have BEEN that jerk. People want to have fun, and they joined your story, because they want to be a part of it. 5. Be transparent about major changes in the story and character events. Basically, don't plot in the PMs to kill off a character of another player/create a romantic interest between characters/plot to hurt another player by hurting their character. 6. You are in-charge of your game and OOC thread. Do your best to resolve issues and arguments in the OOC Thread, but PLAYERS HAVE A RIGHT TO CONTACT ME or the mods for any reason. 7. You have a right to contact me or the Mods if a player is breaking rules or being unreasonably difficult/creating drama. Do not kick them out of a game until you have discussed the situation with me or the mods. 8. The GM is allowed to dictate the written style of the Roleplay. If you want it to be First-Person Present Tense, go for it. If you want it to be only Third-person Past, that’s good, too. But know that it takes time to learn a new way of writing. 9. GMs may have unique rules for their roleplays if they follow all forum and roleplay forum rules. 10. GMs must have their Roleplay and Unique Roleplay Rules approved by the mini-mod or mods. 11. GMs must post their roleplays and Unique Roleplay Rules in the ‘Roleplay Interest Thread’. 12. As mini-mod I or a full mod can change, add, remove, or update these rules at any time.
Roleplay Player Rules/Guidelines Yes, you have rules, too. Please read these as well. You will follow all the rules of Writingforums.org and the Roleplay Forum. You will be respectful to the GM, the mini-mod, and the Mods. You have a right to contact me or the mods for any reason. ‘Like’ posts in the Roleplay Interest Thread to show your support and interest in joining. As mini-mod I or a full mod can change, add, remove, or update these rules at any time. ___ And phew! All the rules are dealt with. Now, go have fun! Anyway, thanks for reading and please feel free to ask questions below.
ANNOUNCEMENT The rules of this forum are hereby changed so each post in a Round Robin roleplay must be a minimum of 300 words to a strict maximum of 1,500 words. The GM/me, will check each post in a word processor (not online word counter) to insure each post meets the requirements above. Also, if the post is over, but concludes a sentence, it will not be edited. But the GM can politely ask the player to edit down or up posts that do not meet the word min/max.
ANNOUNCEMENT I have decided to change the transparency rule to the following: 5. Be transparent about major changes in the story and character events. Basically, don't plot in the PMs to kill off a character of another player/create a romantic interest between characters/plot to hurt another player by hurting their character. So, in short, don't go off to the PMs to plot substantial changes that kill of characters, put them in relationships or hurt another player. I am changing it to this so that players can make plot-twists and discuss lore that will be presented to other players once figured out. Of course, I expect players to be able to discuss major lore or plot changes. But this alleviates some of the gray lines. So, just don't go to the PMs to plot against another player or their character. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. (Also, let's be clear. I am changing this rule, because I broke it myself and if I am finding it difficult to follow my own rules, I need to adjust them. Because it was too ridged and impossible not to break when asking for feedback on a new roleplay post. As discussed with the other players, we're all adults.)
