Posting: Content, Format, and Etiquette

CONTENT
Remember, where looking for quality in our game. You don't need to be a professional author, but if you're always posting bland and simplistic posts, you're not helping to breathe life into the story. Less posts of the one or two second kind and something closer to a paragraph or more is what we're after.

POSTING FORMAT
Please adhere to the format below to ensure cohesion across all posts, as it makes for clearer communication and easier reading.

Perspective
When posting, please do so in...

3rd person (e.g., "Darth Vader had completed his usurpation of the throne, cutting the Emperor down with his lightsaber").
not...
1st person (e.g., "I had completed my usurpation of the throne, cutting the Emperor down with my lightsaber"

Multiple players will be collaborating here, and if all of you write in 1st person, posts won't flow very well. When every post reads as "I had completed... etc" then points of view can get a little blurry; you aren't all of the characters, so you shouldn't adopt those perspectives when reading. If some of you write in 1st person, we'll be dealing with something called Shifting Perspectives, wherein the reader gets confused in a similar fashion, further exacerbated by the alternating perspective styles. In simple terms, we want the story to be easy to read. Everyone posting in 3rd person helps us get there.

Tense
I personally prefer posts to be written in...

Past Tense (e.g., "Darth Vader had completed his usurpation of the throne, cutting the Emperor down with his lightsaber".
not...
Present Tense (e.g., "Darth Vader completes his usurpation of the throne, cutting the Emperor down with his lightsaber".

I think it makes for a better read. But that's just me and a personal preference. If you prefer to write in present tense, I'm not making a hard and fast rule on this one. This isn't an English class and tense will have far less of an impact on cohesion across posts than perspective will.

Text Style

If your character is talking out loud, use quotes and bold text.
"Yes, my master."

If you're sharing your character's thoughts in first person, use the italic text.
Bah. Force lightning. Let's see how he feels with a lightsaber coming out the other side.

If you're stating something OOC (out of character), use the OOC tag.Generally long OOC discussion should take place in the "OOC Discussion" thread, but for quick questions or clarifications, using the OOC tag in the main post is just fine.

POSTING ETTTIQUETTE

Regarding posting etiquette, I'm going to borrow from Fluglichkeiten.

The most important thing is that you do not control another person's character or an NPC. Even if it is something simple; they respond to a simple question or give you a high-five, whatever it is, it isn't for you to control. In your own posts, only describe the actions of your character and what is going on in his/her mind.

Similarly, do not describe the results of your actions. You may think lighting a fire should be easy, but the story may say that the fireplace you are working at has sticks of dynamite in it. If your character has got a nice blaze going and is happily warming her hands it makes it seem a bit weird and arbitrary when I suddenly blow you up!

POSTING WITH DICE ROLLS

When making skill checks feel free to roll your dice pool at the bottom of your post. Do not assume the difficulty level of the check and add red or purple dice. I’ll add them in another post. Do not describe your actions or the results of your actions. By doing so, you make assumptions and will, sooner or later, clutter the narrative with events or results that didn't actually happen.

You may add boost (light blue) dice to the pool if you think it is appropriate, simply explain your reasoning via OOC text after the narrative part of your post. For example: "I’m adding a boost to my Coercion check because I’ve got a blaster pressed up against his forehead". Then go ahead and roll the dice with your post. If I don’t think the boost makes sense (e.g., he knows blaster's not loaded), I’ll just disregard it. Also, you may adjust your dice as your talents allow.

Considering the above, it is worth emphasizing that any time you think there is something worth mentioning that is in your best interest or favor, please do so, in any situation for any check, action, social, or otherwise. For example, this would be posted just above the dice roll in OOC format:When you roll in that situation, add the boost to your roll. I'll negate any dice from your roll that don't fit or make sense, always starting with the appropriate dice furthest to the right and working my way to the left. Always roll the dice pool that makes sense to you, without adding difficulty (purple) or challenge (red) dice, and I'll make any necessary adjustments and describe the results. Do what you can to help your character succeed.

DETAILED SPECIFICS

Include your character's intentions for the skill check via OOC comments as well as a 'placeholder' dice roll for secret checks (e.g., Stealth, Perception, etc). Some important comments and info below.

When posting, whether a secret check or otherwise, always do so as if there were no secret checks in our game. Post your intentions for the skill check via OOC comment at the end of your post, along with any desire for boosts or dice pool changes due to talents, etc. Then, simply post an attached dice roll with it, making sure the dice roll itself has a label (Perception, Lightsaber attack, Sense Force Power, etc). The only difference with secret checks is that your roll will be a placeholder, making it easier to see what kind of dice pool you expect me to roll, along with saving me the time of looking for the right characteristics and skills on your character sheet threads.

Using the above method will work whether you're using Sense in pitch black darkness (secret check), or attempting to decapitate someone with your lightsaber (regular check). Also, to make sure you're aware, combat rolls will never be secret checks. You'll always be able to see why you're dying or dead.

The information in the OOC comment is absolutely necessary, secret check or otherwise, as part of knowing what you want to try to do. A major point of including the information in the OOC comment, as well as a placeholder dice roll, is that it eliminates any and all possible confusion as to what you're trying to accomplish with your character. Stealth is a good example of this. You might write that your character is "carefully moving" or "being cautious" or even "tiptoeing", but it leaves a lot of interpretation in my hands, depending on the writing, and I might miss it.

It is far simpler to note your efforts and intentions via OOC at the end of a post with (1) the Skill you're using (2) The intent or purpose of the check (3) any changes to dice via talent etc, or boosts you'd like, if any (4) and the placeholder dice roll (if a secret check), providing an immediately clear representation of your character's dice pool for the check. Otherwise, in a non-secret check (e.g., combat), your dice roll is the actual roll.

The placeholder dice roll is extremely important to me. It makes your intentions much more visible, including any requests for boost dice as part of your pool. Additionally, it allows me to see what dice to roll for your various skill checks, of which there could be six, or more, for every post I write. This is much easier than sifting through all of your character sheets, looking for the proper characteristics and skills to combine for your skill checks.

Acknowledge on those rules.

Works for me.

good to go

Sounds good.

As a sidenote, if we have a Talent that removes setback die (which would be rolled by you under this system), do you want us to mention it in out post containing our initial roll?

Thanks for bringing that up. Absolutely. It will help me tremendously, rather than looking at your sheets all the time to determine what is appropriate to use. When you post, I'm going to be describing the results of your actions and such, so anything that can make my end of things more efficient allows me more time to post with quality narrative rather than checking game mechanics.

In fact, any time you think there is something worth mentioning that is in your best interest or favor, please do so. In any situation for any check, not just social. For example: "Ezeriah, you mentioned that the cliff was very rough with a lot of vines draped all over. I'd like to add a boost dice to my Athletics check for climbing." When you roll in that situation, add the boost to your roll. I'll negate it if I think it doesn't make sense. Roll the dice pool that makes sense to you, and I'll make any necessary adjustments and describe the results.

Copy pasting this to the original post.

Huh, I could have sworn that I had posted my acknowledgment of the posting rules. Oh well here it is now.