Some of this was in the RTJ and/or game announcement, but I want to post it prominently here. As you may have experienced, a lot of RPOL games die early, and many others drag on or get bogged down. I don't want that to happen, but I also don't want people to feel rushed or railroaded. So, we'll need to work together to strike the right balance. Here's what I ask of you:

1. Post at least once every 72 hours. If something arises that will prevent you from keeping this schedule, please give me a heads up so that I'll know not to hold the action for you.

2. If you can't think of anything to post or feel like there's nothing for your character to do in the current situation:

   -Try anyway. Often the most interesting stuff happens when you're forced to get creative in order to get involved.

   -PM me. I'm happy to help with the above, and worst case scenario I'd like to know when folks feel this way so that I can try to avoid such situations in the future.

   -Post something short in the IC thread or even just "Ready" in the OOC so that I know not to wait for you before advancing the action.

3. When in doubt, roll. If you aren't sure whether your attack hits, roll for damage. If you're attempting anything that might require a skill check, roll it. I can always ignore it if I don't need it, but among other things this helps make clear to me what you're trying to accomplish. When needed, I may roll on your behalf in order to keep things moving along, and though I'll do my best, you'll probably be better about remembering relevant bonuses than I will.

4. Leave room for each other. This is a much more nebulous standard, but try to post in a way that opens up opportunities for other players (including me!) rather than shutting them down. In particular, avoid assuming actions or reactions on behalf of other PCs. This is a balancing act; I don't think it's practical to pause after every step or every sentence to give others a chance to respond, but you should err on the side of not making assumptions about what other characters will do. When it comes to NPCs, you can be a bit more presumptuous, just be aware that I may edit your post if you assume wrongly ;-).

5. Bring concerns to me. If you're unhappy with how the game is going, whether it's an issue of pacing or rules or anything else, please either PM me or post in OOC so that we can discuss it. If you have concerns about anything that other players are doing, please PM me and/or that player to address it.

6. Give the benefit of doubt. We're all here with the intention of having fun together. If I or another player does something that interferes with your ability to have fun, please assume that it was not intentional and that we want to know about it so that we can address it. If I ever get the sense that someone is here without this objective in mind, I'll remove them from the game, but I was pretty selective about whom I accepted, so I don't anticipate any issue arising that we can't address.

7. Keep it clean(ish). We have the Adult Mature tag just to be on the safe side, but I'm not interested in gratuitous sex, violence, or profanity. Occasional strong language is fine, but I'll let you know if it's getting to be too much. Likewise, if you're uncomfortable with anything I or another player are doing, please let us know.

8. Have fun! If you're having fun, that will make the game more fun for everyone else. My goal is for everyone to be excited about checking this game for updates whenever they log on to RPOL. The last thing I want is for it feel like a burden or a chore. I'll do my best to keep things fun and exciting and interesting, and I hope you will too!
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:29, Wed 16 Oct 2019.