pokemonleague

The Rules

1. Always keep personal and intenet ettiquette at the forefront of your mind.

This being the internet, you never know who is on the other end of your screen. Think before you type, and think before you press 'enter.' It's easy for someone's tone can be mistaken when they are communicating over plain text, so if someone takes something you say the wrong way, apologize and move on like grown-up people. Refrain from being an asshole, and if someone tells you that something you're doing is rude or offensive, stop doing it without arguing.

2. If the mods have to talk to you, we will always give you a chance to explain yourself.

This being the internet, it's easy to offend someone without meaning to, or to have small miscommunications explode into giant wankpiles. If there is ever a complaint brought against you to a moderator, the moderator will contact you and give you a chance to defend yourself. Incidents will be handled on a case-by-case basis, and every player gets three strikes before we decide to expel them from the game.

3. Remember to keep a firm line between IC and OOC, and do not take IC events personally.

You are not your character. On a related note, none of the rest of the players are their character either. Some of the characters in the game will likely be assholes, whiny entitled brats, lazy idiots or people that like to poke the Beedrill's nest because it's fun. This is what makes the game exciting. However, accusing players of actions based on what their character is doing is silly and will not be taken seriously.

4. If you must take a hiatus, make sure you let us know. If you can't keep up with the game and would like to drop, please do not idle out.

Activity checks will be fairly lenient when we get started, but will gradually become stricter as the game gets larger. We know that there are some popular characters that many people would like to try their hand at playing. If we notice that one person has been sitting on a character for a while without doing something, we will inform that person that their activity needs to pick up or they will be dropped. Hiatuses need to be officially posted to the OOC community so we know you're busy and haven't forgotten about the game or idled out.

5. Your character cannot have any powers that do not already exist in the Pokemon universe.

This is an alternate universe setting, meaning that your character was born in this world and grew up here. No matter what they were in their canon, in the Pokemon universe they are human. Nonhuman characters will be required to find a human PB. Pokemon gijinka characters are not allowed except as the Pokefan trainer type.

6. This game is rated PG-13. All interactions are required to maintain this rating.

This rating limit will be strictly enforced - any logs found venturing into R territory will first be warned, and then all tags beyond the PG-13 level will be deleted and the thread will be frozen. Foul language by the characters is acceptable. Kindergarten-style handholding is acceptable. Sexy makeout times are acceptable - but all your character's clothing stays on. Any intimate scenes will be of a fade-to-black nature. If your heart desires to play out something more explicit, you can take your characters over to lovesphere and have a ball.

7. When posting, make sure you are posting to the correct community.

Each of the communities has a different required posting style and a different set of rules. Bohren_rpg is the main community, where logs will be played. Logs can either be written in prose style or [action brackets], depending on the preference of the original poster. Many people prefer one or another, so if you are tagging with them please use the style they have asked for in their post. Bohren_trainers is the in-character online community. It was set up by the Pokemon League for registered trainers in the Pokemon region, but beware - Team Rocket and the Ranger Task Force both have a significant presence on the community. Bohren_ooc is the place for any communication between players, is where activity checks will be posted, and is where players should post if they are announcing a hiatus.

8. Contact a mod before playing out anything potentially game-changing.

We love player plots to death - they're amazing fun and we love being surprised by the creativity of our players. However, please contact a mod before running a plot so we can make sure you don't get too crazy. Significant property damage, injury to other players or their pokemon, lawbreaking antics and anything that you think could get your character arrested should be run by the mods before you start playing it.

9. The only character's actions you are allowed to control is your own.

This will especially become an important rule in Pokemon battles. Out of character communication is essential to navigating a battle log, and your characters' pokemon will obviously be landing hits on each other. But we ask that you pay attention to the other player's preferences when battling and make sure they're okay with every hit that lands. Please contact a mod if you feel like someone is making their pokemon far tougher or harder to beat than it should be. It goes without saying that gym leaders are probably going to kick your ass, so guidelines for them will be a bit looser than other players, but they still will not be allowed to powergame.

10. If your character is in a tournament please be sure to answer you tags in a timely manner.

We hate being a stickler about this, but if your character is a tournament, please do not vanish. We understand tagging takes time especially if you are acting out a battle log, but if you know you will not be able to tag normally, then do not enter the tournament. If you do vanish, we will simply move the competitor up in the bracket, but we would really like to avoid this. Because once that bracket is finished, if your character still has not tagged or we are waiting on your tags, it holds up the entire tournament. We hope to avoid this problem and we understand if you go on hiatus, but please just let us know and we can move dates around or work something out with you :)