Basic Rules and Guidelines

Some general rules to keep in mind for roleplaying:



1. Stay In Character

While making a post in the actual roleplay forums always keep it in character. It does not matter if you write past tense or present tense; in first or in third person. Always keep your posts in character. If you must ask a question or make a comment, do so at the beginning or end of your post, and make sure the out of character part is clearly marked and separated from your main post. This is usually done with brackets, or announcing OOC:. Examples below.



OOC: This is OOC.

((OOC: This is OOC.))

[This is OOC]



2. Respect - The staff are doing their job voluntarily. In return for the services we provide to the site we ask that members respect us. We know people won't always agree by our decisions or rules but you are nevertheless to abide by them; we're the staff for a reason.



Forum users should be respectful of one another; we are all a member of the site and have just as much say as one another. If you disagree or dislike a specific person, please try your best to coexist with them; flaming is not permitted and will be punished. It is perfectly acceptable for users to roleplay characters in situations where they may be at odds with one another, but do not allow it to spill over into the forum!



3. Keep It Somewhat Realistic

While Warhammer 40K is Sci-fi fantasy pretty much, it's still a fairly realistic setting. Stuff like biochemical and surgical augmentations and advanced Bionics might occlude that a bit, but anyone that plays tabletop game or knows some of the lore will know that Ultra-smurfs and friends don't take too many bolter round to go down -- even with futuristic über super cool shiny space armor. Keep in mind that your character will more than likely have a nervous system and feelings, take account of all of that. Also, unless your character is clinically insane, try and make sure that they have reasons behind their actions. Do NOT Godmod under any circumstances. Eg. If you agreed with someone that your character will get shot in the leg at point blank range, the bullet can not magically ricochet off the skin.



4. Make Posts Worth Posting

Put a little effort into what you post in your roleplays. At least five sentences each is Recommended, although sometimes it can be a little tough and unnecessary, especially in a thread reliant on lots of important back and forth actions between participants. Always remember to at least run spell check on your post, it's the least you can do to keep quality up. Seriously, it isn't that difficult to make your stuff legible, another thing to make a post easier to read. Is to highlight, bold and italics the characters actions using the bold and italics coding in the toolbar above the post window, although this is entirely optional.



5. One Place At A Time

Remember that your character can only be in one place at a single moment in time when NORMAL threads are concerned. It might be a good idea to always be sure you know the date of each and every role play your character takes part in. Also, if you list their involved threads on your character page, it would be a good idea to keep them in chronological order. Another good idea is to state the date in the opening post. With the year, date of month, even down to the very hour, ideally use the Imperial Dating System. This rule however, does not apply when the following types of threads come into question:



- Staff approved.

- Forum wides.

- Character development.



To reiterate, make sure your character is in only one normal thread at a time; however, the types of threads listed above do not count in this specific rule. Your character is NOT Chronos Be-everywhere-at-oncenicus. And no. He can't magically clone himself for that purpose either.



Also be sure to make it clear when your thread is over and try to get a staff member to archive it as soon as possible. This is to prevent cluttering up the forums.



6. Communicate and Stay Fair

Staying fair is applying rule 3 to your interaction with other characters. If General Cigar-Chomping Sturnn pops around the corner, shoots your character in the head, then goes home to bang his girlfriend, and does it all in one post you would probably be pretty confused. As a general rule of thumb, never take control or incapacitate/kill somebody's character without their permission. We have a zero tolerance policy on this.



Also be sure to communicate to your roleplay partners. Make sure everyone knows what's going on to avoid any sort of confusion down the line. Whether this is through OOC notes, Skype Convos, Steam, PMs, or otherwise.





7. Cursing, cussing, grossing, foul language and attention whoring.

During roleplay all of the above is technically allowed. However, use that squiggly pink mass housed in your skull and determine whether it's really necessary or if you're doing it for a cheap shock factor. Mark your threads as mature if it has to come down to it; graphic sexual content doesn't belong on the Forums whatsoever. Light erotic roleplay may remain on the forums, however you should mark the topic.



General discussion section: We aren't dictators, so we allow occasional cursing. Hint: Spamming 'fuck' x40 is not occasional.



Shocking and attention whoring: We don't want to know about your bowel movement, your menstrual cycle or the color of your nasal discharge. Contrary to what you might think, shocking and grossing others out intentionally does not make you cool, different, awesome or special. It makes you repulsive as well as irritating.



What's that? Oh you're a female? Congratulations, but I got news for you: it doesn't entitle you to special treatment. Seriously, we ask that you stay down to earth and behave well regardless of an innie or an outie.



8. No advertising without prior permission from staff.

If you wish to share your forum, business, organization, cause, etc with our community, that is fine. Oftentimes we are also interested in Affiliating with like-minded sites. But you are expected to get permission from the staff first. Doing so without talking to us initially is often viewed as an attempt to 'poach' from our community.



Some general info & stuff to keep in mind



Canon:

Our canon is based without exception on the Warhammer 40K. Species, governments, armies, and everything else are more or less how they were in the Tabletop game and other associated lore, books etc. This is to prevent the retconning of certain things by future writers. The events of the novels, comics, and everything else still happen. And are joined by original Long War stories.



The traits of other species:

We do not intend for Lexicanum to be an elitist jerkoff's paradise. But we do however, ask that you generally try and stick to as well as respect the racial traits of aliens. Tau believe in 'The Greater Good' and honor, Orks are territorial and confrontational, Eldar are cynical & polite, etc. After all, why bother playing an alien in a vast Sci Fi universe if you are going to handle it as a human? However, you may take certain liberties with the appearance of characters if you so desire, as long as these do not end up being an "outrage!". Common sense will get you far. When tiny details are concerned, discuss and decide these with your fellow roleplayers.



No Alt. Accounts:

A person may post only under one registered account. If you wish to create a new account, contact a staff member so your old account can be deleted. If you want a name change, the staff can do that to. Do not create multiple accounts without informing us.



The Long War is not High School

If you act like a gossipy jerk you will be treated like one. The members of The Long War are largely adults, and we expect everyone to act like it. If you have a problem with someone, tell them about it. Otherwise, keep it to yourself. The staff is here to listen to any and all complaints users might have with the site. As long as you present your issues in a reasonable and polite manner, we will listen and take your complaints into account. There is no real reason not to bring your issues directly to us.



Be reasonable:

Imperial human military women do not have the perfect bodies of a slender super model. Skinny, scrawny Tau children are not muscleheads. An Ork would make for a lousy ninja. Seriously, be reasonable and decently realistic when you create a character.



No drama:

This forum is meant for roleplay. We don't care if you just broke up with your boyfriend / girlfriend / Johnny Depp blowup doll. Take your personal problems elsewhere, and for the love of Spirits don't use them as an excuse for idiotic behavior. No drama. Period.



Cracks, warez, pirated things:

Don't post them. Don't link them. This isn't the pirate bay.



Court martialling, public whippings, and meat grinding:

Violation of the rules will lead to punishment and misery with an overly eager executioner that doesn't care for flowers, puppies or your excuses.