The Rules.

[scapula.]

General

• When you join, please choose a name that is different than any of your characters. It makes things much easier when we have to call you by name.
  
  
• You may have as many characters as pleases you, although you must play every character actively. If you cannot, please send them to the Adoptions board.
  
  
• Use one account per player, not one account per character.
  
  
• When Activity Checks are posted, please respond as quickly as possible. It makes things easier to see who is all still around.
  
  
• The minimum word count in posts is 200. If you are new to the whole thing, please check the New to Role Play? board and someone will be glad to help you.
  
  
• While role playing, please use the third person and past tense. First person, present tense is not very easy to respond to, especially if they are using a different person and tense.
  Player A: I walk down the path, my fur rippling in the breeze. The brightness of the moon makes me squint as I glance down the alleyway.
  Player B: How do I even respond to that?
  
  
• It is understood that not everyone is born with the perfect spelling gene, but ProBoards created the SpellCheck button for a reason; please use it. No chatspeak either, such as "u" instead of "you" or "2" instead of "to" or "too".
  
  
• You may have one character in up to three threads at once. If you begin another, you must exit one of the others.
  
  
• Fighting out of character is not permitted. If you have a squabble going on, let a staff member know and they will try to defuse the situation without banning anyone.
  
  
• Keep it PG-13. If you wouldn't hear it or see it in a PG-13 rated movie, don't show it here. This counts for both words and banners or avatars.
  
  
• Everything must be done through role play.
  
  
• Romance, fighting, etc. is allowed. Drama is appreciated.
  
  
• No god-modding or any unfair play. God-modding is controlling someone else's character though your posts. This includes hitting or striking the other character without giving the other role player a chance to react to the attack, or forcing them to do things out of your control, such as laughter or blushing.
  Player A: Jane grabbed John's hands, restraining him as she slapped him in the face. She pushed him hard enough to knock him to the ground, kicking him in the ribs until he cried out for mercy.
  Player B: ... You didn't give John a chance to react...
  
  
• Powerplaying is when a character overpowers another character, to the point where it may be considered cheating. This is not allowed. Excessive advantages or gaining continual upper hand are included in this. Examples are continual dodging, extremely high attacks that are uncalled for, being unable to be hit or touched in reasonable circumstances, and always forcefully winning battles by excessive unfairness.
  Player A: Jane snarled, her fur bristling along her spine. She leapt at John, her teeth aiming directly for his thoat.
  Player B: Despite Jane's closeness, John easily dodged her attack then clawed her face. Leaping on top of her back, he dug his teeth into her spine, cracking it easily. It would heal, but the wound was extremely painful.
  
  
• No Mary Sues or Gary Stus! A Mary Sue is a female that is perfect in every way. Everyone loves her and she's always kind to everyone. A Gary Stu is the same, but of the opposite gender. Please try to make your characters original and fun. Mary Sues and Gary Stus are no fun to role play with. If no one's perfect, they shouldn't be either.
  Player A: Jane was the most beautiful girl in school. All the boys liked her and she got along well with all the girls. She was the most fun person to hang out with and no one ever thought anything bad of her.
  Player B: Why is Jane so perfect?
  
  
• Desperates are also looked down upon here. A Desperate is a male or female that falls hopelessly in love with every person they meet, or is overly dramatic about things that shouldn't need so much emotion.
  Player A: John looked up from his book, his sights falling upon a blonde-haired girl coming toward him. He wondered if perhaps she was coming to talk to him.
  Player B: Jane walked up to John, smiling. She had just met him and already, she thought he was the one who would save her from her loneliness.
  
  
  In-Character Rules
  
  
• As with the General chat, please keep everything PG-13. You may curse, but not after every single word. You will be warned once.
  
  
• There is no birthing. This is not like the belief of reincarnation, where one must be born again as another animal. In Disengage, you arrive in the body of a recently deceased animal. The age of your character as a human does not have to coincide with the age of your character as an Animal. You may have a teenage human placed in the body of an adult zebra or an elderly man placed in the body of a young giraffe.
  
  
• There is no mating in Disengage. You may have a "mate", and it may be inter-special because everyone in Disengage was once a human, but there can be no young or procreation.
  
  
• There is no death. Death is impossible, seeing as how everyone is already dead. However, things do still affect you, such as wounds, pain, or weather. If you are intent on getting rid of a character, there is such a thing as "disappearing". The character simply disappears from the map, never to be seen again. You must let a staff member know you plan to "disappear" a character.
  
  
  Characters
  
  
• There are no human characters. Every character must either be an Animal, animal, or a Soulseek (Soulseeks will be explained later on).
  
  
• Animals (the capital A does make a difference) are simply characters. They are regular creatures, excepting their ability to talk. Some may be a tad larger than their silent counterparts, the animals, but in most ways, they are exactly the same. Voices have not been altered; they are very much the same as they were in life. When posting with an Animal, you must capitalize the first letter of their species. Example, if my character is a red fox, I must write it as a Fox and it moves on all fours.
  
  
• The silent ones, or the animals, are unplayable characters that have no will to speak. They were at one time humans, but the animal instincts inside their new bodies took them over. They no longer think like humans or speak. They simply are dumb and are free to be killed for food. They are not to be killed for fun. If one is found killing animals for the sake of fun and not for food purposes, severe punishments will be put into motion. There are no warnings; the punishment is a night in the Imaginary Room.
  
  
• There are playable creatures called Soulseeks that can take the will to live from the Disengagers. Soulseeks are simply shadow monsters that can take the shape of anything. Soulseeks are shadows of Animals. Basically, that's all there is to them. They're normally black or grey in appearance with glowing eyes. The form they take is not exactly the same as the one they were as an Animal and it's not known for certain why they change shape and sometimes even size. The only emotions that stay with them are the worst: anger, fear, hatred, sarcasm, bitterness, coldness, etc. They require nothing to feed on except for the occasional soul of an Animal, and this manner of 'feeding' is needed quite rarely. Some Soulseeks, such as Oliverr, change Animals to Soulseeks to strengthen their ranks but others only feed when they feel the urge to. They 'live' under a harsh rule but being mere shells of what they were, it does not usually bother them. Example, the King Soulseek appears to be a shadowy figure of a lion with glowing red eyes. He was a Grey Fox before he became a Soulseek; now he is a lion. Souls cannot be stolen without consent of the player. When a character has had its soul stolen, it cannot leave Disengage, ever. It simply wanders about for eternity unless it is disappeared.
  
  
• Soulseeks are allowed to be anywhere on the map at any given time unless the lead Soulseek says otherwise (which is highly unlikely). The Darkness is where they tend to stay, but they may venture out into other lands. In The Darkness lands, a character has a much higher chance of becoming a Soulseek than anywhere else. Soulseeks are also much stronger in The Darkness.
  
  
• You may begin your journey here as an Animal and be converted to a Soulseek. You can also start off as an Animal and remain an Animal. There is nothing that tells you that you must convert your character at some time. You may create a Soulseek character, but remember, once they become a Soulseek, there is no going back to a regular Animal.
  
  
• Accessories are not permitted, such as collars, clothing, or jewelry. Disengage does not have things that are in the mortal world; please do not bring them here. Soulseeks may have special markings but you must ask a staff member to approve them first.
  
  
• This is a realistic role play. This means no special powers, magic, etc. You cannot have a purple Elephant walking around with a mohawk. Some small color markings may be permitted, so if you have any questions about a marking, please ask a staff member.
  
  
• If there become too many of one species of Animal, that species will be banned. At this time, there are two species that have been banned. They will be accepted once more species are created. Soulseeks may also be banned for a time.
  
  
• Mutts and hybrids are not allowed.
  
  
• Don't feel like your character has to be the same as everyone else's. It's always fun to color outside the lines, such as making your character overweight, underweight, blind, deaf, elderly, young, insane, gay, straight, mentally disabled... There's an endless amount of possibilities, don't let anything hold down your imagination.
  
  *Rules are subject to be changed or be added to at any time.