Joining the Alleyverse

So you want to join the community that is the Alleyverse? You've come to the right place.

The Alleyverse is a collaborative fanfiction, based off of the Cosmere. Participants create characters which they write for that interact with other participant’s characters in a shared world.

The FFRP is character-driven. There is no official goal or end result of the FFRP; often there is just a loose plot. Your aim should be to develop your character. Characters determine what will happen next by how they interact with their setting and with other characters. Participants rely on their writing talents and use of description to determine outcomes.

## Creating a Character

Each participant is encouraged to create a ‘primary character’. They may create a few other characters as well, but these characters should be used to support and develop their primary character or the plot. So called ‘secondary characters’ may include spren, companions, apprentices, or heirs (to take over from a primary character when needed). They should not be created to abuse their possessions or investiture for personal gain, or to tag team another character. You may also create non-player characters (NPCs) to interact with or use. For example, an NPC might be created to have a dialogue with at a store while your character is shopping, or an army of NPC knights may be created to attack a castle. As a general rule of thumb, you should not be writing for and developing more than a few characters on a regular basis.

To prevent accidental or intentional abuse of the lack of rules, the FFRP is regulated by consensus. Participants should not unrealistically shield their characters from the consequences of their actions or, create overly powerful characters or characters with a large amount of assets in comparison to those of other participants. If you do so, other participants will politely ask you reconsider your post(s) and to edit them to be fairer or more realistic.

For their major characters, participants are asked to create a character biography. It should at least include the following:

**Name**: Preferably a name that is easy to type.

**Investiture**: A character may have any investiture or abilities related to one of Brandon’s magic systems. However, they should only grant them about the same amount of power as other characters have.

**Weakness**: A way of lessening a character’s power to be comparable with other’s, and to make your character more interesting.

**Special skills and Weapons**: It is recommended that weapons are not overly futuristic. Ideally, they should be able to plausibly appear in one of Brandon’s books. Unique weapons from his books should be avoided as well, for example Nightblood.

**Physical characteristics**: May include gender, species, hair colour, eye colour, size, common clothing choice etc.

**Family**: Especially important if needed to explain one’s investiture. Can also be used a motivation for your character.

**Home**: Planet. Country and city if applicable.

**History/Biography**: A paragraph about your character’s backstory. Used to explain how they got their abilities, describe experiences that define them, and to develop their character to become realistic and relatable.

Don't focus on creating the most powerful, most brilliant, or most amazing character in the game. Focus instead on creating an *interesting*character. The idea is to create a character who feels *real.*To help you make a good character, read the ones that other participants have created and talk to other participants for advice.

For a list of existing characters, look here. To add or update yours, PM Archer or Voidus over the 17th Shard.

## Where do I go from here?

If you've created a character, feel free to join one of the FFRP threads on the 17th shard forum and start posting. Make sure to stay in character, and to play along with others. This is a collaboration, and its no fun playing on your own.

There few ground rules, however.

### Rule #1 - *No Godmodding*

Godmodding is the practice of controlling another players character. This could be direct control (eg. "My character shoots at Voidus' feet and then Voidus runs away screaming in fear."). This robs another player of their chance to accurately portray what their character does in a situation and creates an inconsistent narrative. Always ask for permission before assuming you know what another character would do. If the player of that character has given you a general guideline of how their character should react you may be able to incorporate it into your post, but try to leave the description of a characters actions up to that character player whenever possible.

Sometimes a player simply doesn't allow another player the chance to respond for their character (eg. "My character shoots at Voidus' head, causing it to explode in a shower of blood"). This denies Voidus' player the chance to dodge the bullet or attempt to stop my character from shooting. (However exploiting this rule to allow your character to dodge every attack that is ever thrown at them is also considered bad form, for more information see the roleplaying rules below).

Finally, and sometimes most commonly, a player might simply presume the emotions of another players character, this may be explicit ("My character pulls out a giant hammer with thirty spikes in it, all of which then burst into flame, causing Voidus to fear for his life.") or implied by godmodding other actions (eg. "My character watches the tears slowly well up in Voidus' eyes when I tell him the news."). Deciding the emotions of another players character is no better (and arguably worse) than godmodding their physical actions.

These forms of Godmodding and any others are highly discouraged and may cause other players to be reluctant to continue playing with you and your characters. Always seek the permission of a characters player when assuming any behaviour from them.

### Rule #2 - Be patient

Not always the easiest rule to follow but try to understand that players may have circumstances outside the game that limits their availability, where possible players should try to pre plan for any extended absences but in the case where schedules or time zones don't line up it can sometimes be a while between posts.
Try not to just ignore a players character if they are in a different schedule, make allowances for other people to respond to you, or you may need to be open to editing posts if a player has been unable to react for an extended period of game time.

### Rule #3 - Have fun

The primary goal of this and any other RP is the enjoyment of the players. Don't be afraid to speak up if another players actions are stopping you from enjoying the game, but keep in mind that the other players need to enjoy the game as well, try not to railroad the entire story and make yourself the only hero or derail the story threads of other players. Communication is key here, so make sure you talk to other players if you're not sure about a major decision.

## Is that everything?

So far! Have fun in the world of Alleyverse, and be careful what you eat.