|
What time is it? When is all this taking place?
Put simply, the server is taking place in present day, in an alternate universe. This is “The World of Harry Potter,” meaning that the setting is simply the world that he's from. This is not taking place during any particular book, but rather it is taking place right now, today. The date on the server is the current real-life date.
You will notice professors and other secondary characters from the books that died at some point, yet somehow live on in the server. This is where the “alternate reality” comes into play. If a character was alive at some point in the books, they are alive on the server.
Professor Dumbledore is the Headmaster. Professor Snape is the Head of House for Slytherin, and one of the two potions masters along with Slughorn. We have four Defense Against the Dark Arts professors: Quirrel, Lockhart, Lupin and Moody. Every time there is a Defense Against the Dark Arts class, students will usually wonder which one is teaching today, and leave it at that.
The main characters in the books, the student characters, are absent from the server. Use extreme caution if mentioning any of them (i.e. Harry Potter) as this will cause serious conflicts with the “alternate universe” theory.
Voldemort is “out there, somehwere, too tired to carry on.” Death Eaters may be considered “at large” but will likely only very rarely show up. Voldimort and the Death Eaters are the big bad in the books, and the server will have its own plots and big bads. Once again, alternate universe theory.
Generally, it is accepted that one day in real life is one day in game time. In reality three days pass in game time for every real-life day, but most people are on to role-play during one of those days so it's generally safe to imply a one-to-one ratio. If your role play requires you to imply more or fewer days per real-life day, feel free to make that judgment call.
Usually one week in real life is one week on the server. When we get to months and years, however, that's where things get strange. It's possible for a character to gain a year in only a handful of real-life days. How does this happen? The best answer is: simply ignore this and role-play around it. Make every attempt to not bring up in conversation long-term time. If someone ages faster than another character because they are leveling up faster, again- simply ignore it. This is an out-of-character reality to the server which should not be explained in-character.
What can/can't I role play?
The server setting is to be kept to a PG13 level. That means initially assume everyone on the server is 13. While the server is not specifically policed and we do not keep server logs of text, any “adult” level content that the GM team feels is inappropriate will result in banning at the discretion of the GM team. The server is to be kept friendly to children and minors and even conversations that imply too much or take things too far (including party and other OOC chat) can be deemed inappropriate by the GM team and may result in a ban.
The following may absolutely never be role played, or even implied without prior GM approval, which we will be up-front and tell you will be very difficult to get:
-Rape
-Murder
-Pregnancy
-Suicide
-Suicide attempts
Getting approval for some of these isn't impossible, but as of the time this was written, none of this has ever been approved on the server. That doesn't mean don't ask, we will listen to your reasons, but expect denial. Role playing these without GM approval can result in banning in some cases.
Is my character allowed to leave school grounds?
Out of character, there is no restriction. In character, there are restrictions as follows:
Years 1-2: You are required to remain on grounds at all times. Going into the Forbidden Forest is currently allowed for homework reasons. This will change soon, as the Forbidden Forest will soon be actually Forbidden as it should be.
Years 3-6: You are allowed off school grounds for homework related reasons only. You may visit Hogsmeade for non-homework related reasons, with parental permission.
Year 7: You are of-age and may leave grounds for non-homework related reasons.
All years: You must be in the castle for curfew, from the start of hour 23 until the end of hour 4. Non-prefects must be in their common rooms during this time.
I'm wearing a hood, that means people can't tell who I am, right?
No, it doesn't mean that actually. Unless specifically emoted, hoods or other items that might conceal your character's identity by default do not do so. It is assumed that they are wearing it in a manner that still allows their face to be fully seen. If your character is hiding their face, that must be specifically emoted.
I am at the Hospital Wing and need a GM to possess Pomfrey so I can role-play being healed, but there isn't one on/available. Am I stuck? (Am I allowed to role-play for -any- NPC when a GM isn't available?)
No you aren't stuck, yes you may role-play for NPC's- unless this would be something huge that would absolutely require a GM. Feel free to ask a GM to possess Pomfrey if one is available, but if not, wing it and role-play that she came in and healed, asked your character to stay for a short duration for observation, whatever you feel is appropriate. Even if the NPC's avatar is in the other room, just emote that she's there taking care of things for a while. In the case of Pomfrey, remember that she is a magical healer that “can mend bones in an instant.” Things that would take forever in a real-life hospital are often trivial there, unless the injury has been caused by magic.
There is nothing wrong with a player deciding on minor role-play for an NPC, Pomfrey or any other NPC in the module. Just remember that said role-play is not automatically backed by the GM team, which means if you role-play something out of character for the particular NPC, for example that Pomfrey liked having your character as a patient so much that she gave him/her a million galleons, the GM team will simply dismiss that and rule that it never happened. On the other hand, please keep in touch with the GM's about your your non-GM'd role-play with NPC's! As long as it's reasonable and in-character, we'll not only back the role-play, but allow it to work toward a history between your character and that NPC.
There's nothing to do and I'm bored. What do you suggest?
Let's face it- sometimes absolutely nothing is happening. Personally I have never been in a situation where there's “nothing to do” though. You'd be amazed at what can happen if instead of being bored, you simply decided to role-play that your character is bored. That moves the boredom from out-of-character you, to your character in-character, and actually gives you something to role-play! I personally have found that it is a lot easier to find something fun to do with this technique rather than trying to come up with a out-of-character answer to the boredom.
Please feel absolutely free to get a couple students together, even at random, and start a little PC event or something. Not everything needs a GM involved. Pool party, trip to Hogsmeade, or perhaps something a little more sinister like starting a super-secret Dark Arts club... doesn't even need to be much, and you will find that even the simplest events can lead to some very deep role-play and will allow your character to meet other characters that perhaps they wouldn't have otherwise.
How is invisibility role-played?
Invisibility isn't role played as true invisibility. “Disillusion” creates a chameleon effect. While it is difficult to see a person who is disillusioned, if they get close enough to a person it can be seen in-character. If your character was not looking in that direction (for example, if the person was following too close but is still behind your character), then it would be best to still role play that the disillusioned person was not seen.
As role play continues, you may learn ways to overcome some of the weaknesses in disillusion, as well as learn ways to defeat it.
There are a few out-of-character aspects of “invisibility” that must be understood, mostly involving area transitions:
-When going through an area transition, sometimes you will briefly see a person who is invisible before the game fades them out. This is considered out-of-character. Do not role play as if your character saw the invisible character.
-If someone follows your character through a transition and they are invisible, it is possible that you will see them. This is caused because they might load the area faster and arrive on the other side about the same time that you do, even though you entered first. This is also considered out-of-character, role play as if the person was not detected.
|
