Rule 0:  This Is Not A Competition
This is a game in the true sense of the word: it's something that you can enjoy and have fun with.  It's not a contest.  We're not competing with each other to win anything.  The soul of this game, and the Slice of Life genre in many cases, is small things coming together to make something new and memorable.  The focus of this group is in Collaborative Storytelling.  This means we all work together to write a unique tale everyone can equally enjoy.

Different characters may spend time shining in the spot light, then step aside to let others have their moment.  Nobody can be the main character all the time.  It's important that you understand that, when entering the game, that you're going to be both a main character and a supporting character for others' stories.  Cooperate, plan with other players, and enrich the story as a whole.  Similarly, be sure to plan ahead.  Don't make your character a one-trick-pony who has no capacity for personal growth or exploring new roles.  Give your character some long term goals to aim for.  Then stretch it out, take it slow, and enjoy the ride.

1: GM Gets Final Word
While I trust that players can all be mature and reasonable, there may be cases where I will have to act as an authority for whatever reason.  In those cases, the GM's word is final and any decision made thereof must be upheld.

2: No Godmodding
This is the standard rule of every game.  Be fair in your actions, don't try to control other people's characters, and remember to make mistakes every now and then.  Sometimes failing can be just as fun as winning.

3: Work With Each Other
Remember folks, friendship is magic.  Since this is a slice-of-life style game, it's not meant to be highly competitive or combative.  That means you'll get more out of your time here if you cooperate with each other, particularly Out of Character.  Don't be afraid to chat in the OOC or in private messages to build up plot lines to play through.

4: Dice are Optional
Some of you like rolling dice to make decisions while others prefer to be more free-spirited about it.  That's perfectly fine and a game doesn't have to be one or the other.  There is a lightly enforced dice system along with this game that can be used or not used as the players involved see fit.  If two players are competing with each other in some manner in their story, they both have to agree on which form of resolution they will use -- dice or free form.  Free Form is highly encouraged.

5: Know Your Medium
For those free form elements in the game, such as character creation, please take the setting and theme of the game and original show into consideration.  MLP:FiM isn't a dark, gritty story full of violence and overblown melodrama.  It's lighthearted, bouncy, and can address even mature notions with a sense of humor about itself.  Also, slice-of-life games are meant to focus on the little things in our day to day lives, as those can be just as interesting (if not more so) than high drama.  While direct knowledge of the show isn't necessary to play, you should at least understand the overall feel of the game.  While a little drama here and there is perfectly fine, I will have to step in if it starts getting out of hand.

6: No Munchkins
The vast majority of characters in MLP:FiM are just your normal, everyday folk.  Very few are powerful spell casters or incredibly wealthy debutantes.  There are only a handful of Alicorns and even fewer supernatural entities.  As such, please make sure you can work within the scope of the game when making your character.  I don't want to see a bunch of nonsense like your character being Princess Celestia's long-lost daughter who's also married to Discord and is a half-gryphon ninja super saiyan who can use the Elements of Harmony... you see where I'm going with this, right?

7: Know Your Character
It's important that you have a firm grasp on who your character is, what they do, and how they'd behave.  This goes double for those of you who play canon characters like any of the Mane 6.  Background ponies get a bit more leeway since their personalities aren't established in the series, or have been developed by contrasting opinions by the Brony community.  This also means you need to understand your character's shortcomings and work with them.  Twilight Sparkle is a genius and a powerful magician, but she's also a socially awkward control freak who loses her cool under pressure.  Both the positives and negatives make her the adorkable pony we all know and love, so it's important to properly represent both aspects.

Make sure you don't go swinging wildly outside of your character's normal behavior as well.  While character growth is fantastic and highly encouraged (such as Fluttershy gradually becoming more confident over time), you shouldn't have your character acting in a way that makes people think they've been swapped out with a doppleganger.

8: Use Movement Tags
As your character moves from location to location, be sure to put a little OOC tag in your post mentioning where they're going.  It makes it easier to keep track of where people are and dramatically cuts down on confusion.  This is mandatory.

9: Know Your Rules
This is one of those sneaky little conditions to make sure you all actually read the rules and didn't just skim past.  Put the word "Twilightlicious" at the bottom of your RTJ to prove you read this far in.

10: Posting Frequency
Generally speaking, there's no mandatory number of posts or frequency that one must post in.  Forcing that sort of thing tends to negatively impact the quality of writing and the overall experience of the game.  However, if you cannot think of anything to post, please say so in the OOC so that others you're playing with can narrate around you.  Also, if you cease posting for more than 5 days and are holding up the flow of game play for others, I will post for you to move things along.

11: Activity and Attendance
I fully understand that real life and scheduling can interfere with one's ability or drive to post.  That's totally acceptable.  But if you know you're going to be away for a period of time, or if life is chewing on you and you don't have the gumption to post, make sure to say so in the OOC so that people know why you've gone quiet.  I check the Cast page frequently to see how often people check into the game.  If you are not seen to have logged into the game for 7 days, I'll send you an in-game PM and a rMail to make sure you're alright.  If there is no response after 7 days from that point, I will assume that you either do not wish to continue playing or that you are somehow unable to communicate at the moment.  Your characters will be moved to NPC status, but will be returned to you should you wish to rejoin the game at any point in the future.  All defunct players are more than welcome to return and should not take the NPC-ing as a bad thing.

12: Have Fun~!
It's mandatory.  You are ordered to have fun or else you will be sent to the Moon.

13: The Golden Rule
Gold is shiny, and Shai Ni is mandatory in every snuggle pile.  It's the law.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:47, Tue 23 Apr 2013.