Rules and Roleplay Mechanics

## **Basics**

If you are already familiar with text-based roleplay, then you can skip this section. Obviously, it's still recommended that you don't.

### **Style, Formatting, and Punctuation:**

Naturally, roleplay is expected to be grammatically presentable. Capitalized names, paragraphs, commas, etc. Exactly like the text you're reading right now. The basic guidelines for formatting are as follows:

* Descriptions and everything third person is written in plain text.
* "Speech." are written in plain text with quotation marks.
* *Thoughts* are full sentences in italics. Italics can also be used for emphasis as long as the context of the usage is understandable. In Discord, you italicize using asterisks before and after the words/sentences being thought or emphasized. We will go over that in more detail later on.
* */Emphasis within italics/* is marked with slashes. However, this will almost *never* be used.
* **Emphasis** can also be expressed with bold text, depending on the context.
* 'Quotes' are plain text with single quotes around them.
* (( OOC messages and links )) are plain text with double parentheses.

Discord uses markdown to achieve most of the things we mentioned above, and a list of all the formatting options and how to use them are here. Note that you aren't sternly required to follow them, but most of the markdowns will be necessary for proper markdowns on your posts. You're free to format your text according to your needs, but in order to keep things consistent across the board, we would prefer you write in past-tense third-person.

Now, using what we've learned, this is roughly how your post might look (markdowns added to help you visualize how you'll be writing your posts):

> \**‘We might have to hang around for a few more days.’*\*
>
>

> Seeing how Andrea and Tommy had this place running, she didn’t even mind staying for a few days. After spending so much time on the road, sleeping in a real bed was more than enough to convince her to stay. As long as they eventually head off to find the Fireflies. They’ve come this far, and she’ll see it through until the very end. The world depended on it.
>
>

> “It’s a nice place,” she commented, turning and leaning her back against the railing. “I mean, if the dam’s like this, then I can’t wait to see their \*\***real**\*\* place. It’s amazing what they’ve managed to do with all of this.” She let out a sigh, scratching at the back of her neck. She knew by the tone of his voice that he didn’t like the fact they were going to have to wait around. She didn’t either, to an extent, but… “I think we all need to rest… after everything. We earned it. Right?” She finished, her gaze meeting Joel’s.
>
>

Discord also has some particularly nice features, like message editing. The default keybind to edit the last message is 'arrow up', or you could hover over any message and click on the icon that appears in the top-right. You aren't expected to fix every grammar mistake, but making your posts easy to read is usually greatly appreciated and encouraged. You can also make paragraphs in your posts by using shift+enter.

As stated in the rules, all of your roleplay must be in third-person. The length of your posts are unlimited, however the length of your messages are. Discord won't let you post anything larger than 2000 characters at once, but you can split your RP across two or more messages depending on your needs. There is no limitation for how many messages you can make for your posts. Large posts are never unwelcome, since you're putting in more effort into the RP, and directly enriching the experience for everyone else.

### **Posting Dynamics**

The basic rule of thumb for text-based roleplay is to *describe your character's actions until they affect another character.* You are free to describe the scene, NPCs and your character's actions as much as and however you want. It never hurts to build up atmosphere, describe the details, internals, etc. But your posts must always have something other characters can react to as it is necessary to move on. For example, doing this is **wrong**:

> After a long day of dangerous traveling Andrea has finally returned to Alexandria. The new information she had was valuable and needed to be delivered to Rick immediately. To the guards' knowledge he was at home with Carl, so Andrea made that her first destination, arriving at the porch swiftly.
>
>

And doing this is **right**:

> After a long day of dangerous traveling Andrea has finally returned to Alexandria. The new information she had was valuable and needed to be delivered to Rick immediately. To the guards' knowledge he was at home with Carl, so Andrea made that her first destination, arriving at the porch swiftly. She rung the doorbell without hesitation.
>
>

Now, Andrea might not need to ring the bell if the door is already open. Whether it's open or not depends on Rick's and Carl's roleplayers because obviously it's the door to the house they own. This kind of situation is handled by asking these players in the appropriate #meta channel. *If a certain detail's state does not depend on you or you don't know it's current state, then ask the person it depends on before posting. Otherwise, it's yours to describe.*Realistically though, most of the time you will assume, and it's okay to do so in regards to simple non-crucial things like the door. Sometimes your assumptions will be wrong, in which case you will have to edit your post. To avoid that, simply ask beforehand.
Alternatively, you can add future actions and conditional actions if you aren't sure how a character is going to react. For example:

> Rick reached his hand through the bars, allowing Negan's lips touch the edge of the glass. He would slowly tip it and let him drink at his own pace, assuming the former warlord won't bite the hand that feeds him.
>
>

Sometimes there are situations where there's nothing else to do other than void a piece of your partner's post. It happens and its **not forbidden.**If anything it's generally not a bad thing because it implies doing something unexpected. For example:

Player 1: Rick reached his hand through the bars, allowing Negan's lips touch the edge of the glass. He would slowly tip it and let him drink at his own pace, assuming the former warlord won't bite the hand that feeds him.
Player 2: (( He would react sooner, sry. )) As soon as the glass passed the bars Negan scoffed, spitefully shaking his head, "I don't want your *shit*." He continued the motion, struggling against the handcuffs to turn himself around and face away. "Leave me the fuck alone." was the following grunt.
If a scene requires three or more people to roleplay in it then the players will take turns. For example: Rick's post - Carl's - Michonne's - Rick's - Carl's - Michonne's and so on. If a character has nothing to add in their turn then their player can state so in the appropriate #meta channel to avoid repeating themselves in roleplay. In general repetition is not fun to roleplay. There can be situations where one character does something different while the other can only react in one narrow kind of way. Usually it happens when one character is predominantly leading a scene, for example in a prisoner interrogation scenario. The only effective way around it is to communicate your actions with your partner, so don't be afraid to discuss your way out of repetition in #meta.

One of the most important ways to get out of mundane boring things and repetition is to simply fast-forward (FF) past it, to a more interesting point in the future. However it's not as simple as it sounds. Before doing so, you must make sure that no other characters would have plot-impacting or development-significant interactions with your character during the time you want to skip. There is no universal rule for this - every situation is unique and the best way to go about it is to discuss it with your partners.

## Starting Story

### **The Universe**

#### **RP Starting Date:**

March 11, 2025 [14 years after the outbreak]

#### **Lore:**

In the eve of the year 2011, mankind’s worst fears were realized, and spread across the United States of America, and across the world, causing the living to become rabid and turn on each other. By the time the media had fallen silent, rumours of two deadly strains of viruses infecting the living had become something out of a nightmare, the emergence of said strains causing a worldwide pandemic and the destabilization of civilization. While little was known about the viruses, they were easily identified by their telltale traits: the dead coming back to life, and the living being transformed into grotesque monsters due to a deadly fungus once thought to be exclusive to insects.

Studies deduced that there seemed to be multiple abnormalities with the disease, some of those infected would come straight back after they died in an aggressive and rabid state, whilst others that were still living began twitch as their speech slurred, eyes bleeding as fungal growths emerged from their heads while they too showed the same symptoms.

After the initial outbreak, the remnants of the military, known as FEDRA, created safe zones, in hopes of containing the infected to the outside world. As the situation worsened, going outside the quarantine zones was banned, and force was often used to keep people in line, and inside the walls. Those caught on the outside of the quarantine zones were often turned away or killed, in fear that letting someone in with a potential bite or infection would lead to another outbreak.

Shortly after the safe zones were quarantined, a revolutionary group was formed, calling themselves the Fireflies. Their singular goal was to eventually restore the United States government to its former glory, and stop the military oppression plaguing the major quarantine zones across the country. By 2025, they are currently losing the war against FEDRA. Firefly operatives and associates are treated like terrorists, and often shot by firing squads. Along with their plans for rebuilding the government, the Fireflies are one of the few organized groups still searching for a vaccine for the cordyceps strain, while most have given up hope in finding a cure for the ‘walker virus’, as the undead plague had become commonly known as.

Outside of the quarantine zones, and away from the prying eyes of both the FEDRA and Fireflies, a third major faction has quickly come into power. Known for their acts of banditry and intimidation, the Saviors were formed under the leadership of a man named Negan. While their initial goal appeared to be restoring humanity, that dream has long since faded, and most who know of Negan and the Saviors live in fear of what they’re capable of. Rumours of small communities and quarantine zones being under the thumb of the Saviors have spread even to the major quarantine zones, leading to increased political attention from both FEDRA and the Fireflies in recent months. Beyond rumours and speculation, nothing concrete is known about the Saviors or the man that governs them.

#### **Types of Infected:**

##### **Cordyceps Strain:**

**Runners** are the first and weakest stage of the Infected who have just recently entered their transformation. People who have been infected will enter this stage within 1-2 days with increased irritability and hostility towards others being a key symptom. Since the eyes are first targeted by the fungus, Runners have poor eyesight, but maintain some human characteristics. For example, their moans are still human, just like their overall appearance. A way to tell them apart from normal survivors is their glowing orange eyes. They also stay in a hunched position when motionless or when moving around passively, unlike normal survivors. Their body language is sluggish while they are passive, suggesting they are resisting the fungus's influence, albeit usually in vain. Sometimes they do not attack at all, even when non-infected individuals are right in front of them. These non-aggressive Runners will only attack if attacked first or when an object is thrown at or near them, thus losing control. They will also become aggressive if a non-infected individual is extremely close in front of them. Much like sneezing, the urge to attack after such interactions happens involuntarily and unwillingly by the host. Runners are confirmed to be able to attack in packs, flailing their arms in attempts to trample the survivor.

**Stalkers** have the vision and speed of Runners, with the ferocity of Clickers. The most notable physical traits that define the Stalkers are the distinct croaking noises they make, the beginning of fungal growths on the head and face with only one eye left, the development of pseudo-echolocation, and their discretion upon spotting a victim at distance. They will strafe and take cover, eventually closing in on the victim, hence the name "Stalker". Up close, Stalkers are very aggressive and will charge directly at the victim. Stage 2 may take place anywhere between a week to a month after the start of the infection (Stage 1) and last up to a few years (Stage 3).

**Clickers** are the third and most iconic stage of the Infected and take up to 2-4 years to reach this stage of infection. They have had prolonged exposure to the fungus, and now possess strength that significantly surpasses the average human. This makes them deadlier, but at the price of being completely blind due to fungal infection taking over their face. However, Clickers are able to maneuver through areas by utilizing echolocation, which produces noticeable clicking/screeching noises to locate sources of sound. Like Runners, Clickers can sometimes be found in a passive state.Clickers appear less human than Runners and Stalkers, with faces that are completely skewed and scarred by fungus developed from their infected brains. The fungal plates have apparently adapted to keep the host/pathogen alive and able to spread, as a direct shot to the face with a powerful weapon such as a revolver will more often than not just break off a chunk of the mold, leaving the Clicker's brain unharmed but exposing the victim's face and rendering them able to see once again (until the fungus regrows). Clickers are dangerous and much more aggressive than Runners, and like Stalkers; they no longer resist the fungus because their humanity has been completely eliminated. Clickers also possess what seems like very high intelligence, never leaving an area when they have heard prey run by them, and will constantly check every available nook and cranny to locate the source of the sound with little regard to give up on the task at hand.When provoked, a Clicker will immediately enter into a "berserk mode," aggressively flailing its arms and 'roaring'. At this point, if a survivor has been "spotted" by a Clicker, the Clicker will attack head-on and will not flinch when shot, unless the player is using high-powered rounds.

**Bloaters** are the fourth, final, rarest, and most dangerous stage of infection as they take the longest to develop, taking roughly a decade to reach this stage. They are covered in thick fungus that effectively acts as armor. Due to this protective covering, they can withstand multiple hits from weapons such as the Shotgun and Hunting Rifle, and even hatchets and machetes making them extremely tough to eliminate. Bloaters are extremely aggressive, but are rather slow-moving causing them to be more predictable than other infected. Like Clickers, Bloaters 'see' using echolocation to locate and trap a survivor. Because the fungus has completely deformed their face and blinded them, their echolocation is a lot less refined than the Clickers. If a Bloater grabs a survivor, it will violently rip their jaw apart through brute strength, killing them instantly.

There is no way for a survivor to defend themselves if grabbed - the result is carnage. Bloaters will throw sacks of Mycotoxin, a toxin produced by many fungi in the real world. The sack will explode on impact, spraying the target with the toxin. The Mycotoxin is acidic and can hurt survivors, so it is recommended to avoid these deadly clouds.

##### **Walker Strain:**

Reanimated human beings, while not immortal, will not "die" under typical conditions that would ordinarily cause the death of a living person. Unlike the Cordyceps strain, The Walkers do not appear to feel or respond to pain, can survive even the most brutal injuries, and despite their bottomless appetite for flesh, they do not need food, water, or sleep to survive.They show no other bodily function that relates to a human, showing no signs of self-healing or response to extreme temperatures. The brain maintains limited abilities of the body, allowing for movement of the limbs (provided that they are not decomposed to the point where the bones are not strong enough to bend without breaking), jaws, neck, and even the use of its sensory systems. While the walkers are notoriously weaker than humans, the only way to kill one is to destroy the brain. Despite severely weakened frames, they will continue to hunt for living animals to consume. Even when decapitated, the head will remain active.

Everyone has somehow contracted the zombie pathogen that, for reasons and through means unknown, brings the recently deceased back to "life." It is unknown where the disease originated from nor is it known whether if it's a natural or a manmade disease. The exact taxonomy of the pathogen is also unknown. Curiously, the pathogen itself does not kill its hosts. Instead it remains dormant, likely within in neural cells in the brain, leaving its host visibly and physically healthy. Only when the host dies, does the pathogen become active, infecting and reviving neural structures in the brain stem and certain parts of the cerebellum, turning a human into a zombie. A zombie is thus a condition a recently deceased host enters when the pathogen is in its active stage.

## Rules of Roleplay

### **Be Respectful**

We’re all here to have fun, so let’s make it fun for everyone! If there’s something you dislike about a post, be polite about it - there’s nothing worse than that feeling when someone is perhaps a touch harsh about your work, especially after you spend time writing it. Please, please, be respectful towards one another. This is a big one. However, a part of being a human is having different opinions. Handling disagreements with dignity and mutual respect is your personal responsibility. That includes criticism. People will disagree with you, and it's everyone's job to keep things civil. That said, intentional and explicit toxic behavior will NOT be tolerated. You may get warned, muted, or experience the application of further measures if necessary. Toxic behavior includes, but is not restricted to: harassment, personal attacks, spam, abuse, incitement of drama, mockery, harmful trolling, obscene amounts of raging, non-satirical racism, sexism, discrimination and so on. You get the idea.

### **Be Punctual and Communicate With Others**

We've all been there. You've been planning to write your post all day, then something in real life pulls you away, whether that be an emergency or otherwise. Life happens. However, whenever possible, you *definitely* need to let everyone know when you're not going to be able to post. Some roleplayers may be waiting for you to post, maybe even staying awake longer than normal to get out a post after you, only to realize that you won't be coming. Sometimes, things happen where you won't be able to be around for a week or longer. For example, a vacation or a family emergency or an internet outage. **If at all possible**, inform your roleplay mates prior to going dark, so everyone knows what's going on and won't be anxiously awaiting your post for a week or longer.

In some cases, if continued inactivity persists (and extends beyond a week or longer without communication with the mods or other roleplayers), then drastic measures have to be put in place to keep the roleplay moving forward. In these extreme cases, temporarily removing the character from a scene can occur, or may even result in a **kick** from the server in repeated cases that brings into question a roleplayer's ability to be trusted.

In the cases where you have given a promise time for a post, please keep to it. Nothing is more disappointing than hearing that your roleplay partner is going to post Sunday, only for that post to not come until several days later.

Please remember that we are all here because we love to roleplay, and if you disappear for weeks at a time, that seriously damages not only the roleplay, but the overall morale of the server. Keeping everyone on the same page is paramount.

### **No 'Godmodding' Under Any Circumstances**

Godmodding is when you write a character which isn’t yours in your posts. People may have their own reactions planned to different stimuli, and writing about a character that doesn’t belong to you - even in a throwaway line - can detract from that plan, and might even directly contradict their planned behaviour, which can be extremely frustrating to be on the receiving end of. An example of this may be writing Luke, when you don’t ‘own’ that character, having a tender moment with a different character than who the author had planned. Take into account this is not fanfiction, and that you only have free reign over your characters. If you simply have to have a character’s reaction to something, you need to see it in their own RP post. This applies to all scenarios - dialogue, action, nonverbal scenes, and even the procurement of supplies.

### **Keep Rivalries Within RP**

The Walking Dead thrives off of conflict - it’s what makes it fun and there will be plenty. Remember to keep that conflict to the roleplay world. If another character is your character's enemy that doesn't mean that their player is too. Do not resort to ad hominem if things don't go your way in the story.

**Don't Expect Your Character to be Invincible or Impervious to Harm**

It’s the Walking Dead. Bad stuff happens, a lot, whether it be bites or bullets. If you get your character backed up against a wall through careless decisions, don’t be surprised if there are consequences for your character. Most deaths will be decided beforehand, however, if you write yourself into an inescapable situation, that’s the way the cookie crumbles. There will be exceptions to the rule, in rare occurrences, but be sensible, and always remain in character!

### **Channel Use**

Keep conversations to appropriate channels. Every channel has a description to help you understand its purpose as well as having handy links to useful information. Check the descriptions.

NSFW content is allowed only in #nsfw channel. This rule is subject to change.

For the sake of convenience link previews are enabled. Abuse of them will not be tolerated.

Abuse and spam of bot commands will not be tolerated.

Strictly no advertising or sharing of any other Discord servers or channels of any sort on this server.

If you have any issues, queries or problems tell the mods straight away instead of pretending everything's okay, they can't read minds and can't help unless you PM them the issue.

And most important of all, have fun!

### **Killing and Maiming Characters.**

You are not allowed to take control of another person's character without their consent. That includes minor in-scene things too. Exact boundaries can be worked out with your RP partner(s) in appropriate #meta channels. (To clarify, you are not required to ask for permission for simply inflicting harm on another character, only if that harm causes them to be killed, or PERMANENT damage to a body part.)

You cannot kill or maim someone else's character without their permission. Talk it out before you do it, look for a realistic IC (In-Character) reason to survive. Mods reserve the right to involve themselves in such matters if they find their assistance necessary. This applies for fighting as well, if a decision cannot be made a dice will be rolled.

You are not allowed to overwrite somebody else's established descriptions. If you're unsure what exactly had already been established - ask in #meta. You must always make sure that you aren't skipping something potentially or knowingly impactful that your character can or should be a part of. Good roleplay is not only about presenting your highest efforts, but also about enabling others to do the same.

Always stay true to the character. Remember who they are and don't go out of character in attempts to try and get the best outcome for them. Such behaviour is considered Powergaming and is not allowed.

### **No 'Metagaming' Under Any Circumstances**

**Metagaming** is any strategy, action or method used in a game which transcends a prescribed ruleset, uses external factors to affect the game, or goes beyond the supposed limits or environment set by the game. Another definition refers to the game universe outside of the game itself. In role-play situations, for example, it would mean to tell somebody some information about another player or something they are doing that the said player's character should not intrinsically know about. In simple terms, it is the use of out-of-game information or resources to affect one's in-game decisions.

Remember what your character knows. Knowledge obtained outside of RP may not be used within RP. Such behaviour is considered Metagaming and is not allowed.

This is a serious roleplay community, meaning that low-effort roleplay is frowned upon. Don't let your RP be reduced to short and uninterested dry one liners and don't rely on everyone else to be creative for you. The experience is made by people and you are one of those people. Nobody wants to interact with a horde of "Mary Sue" characters and players who don't give a damn. As stated before, a part of good roleplay is giving others a chance to do something meaningful and interesting. A part of fail roleplay on the other hand is doing the opposite - preventing them from doing so. Don't do that. Think before you act.

## Roleplay Etiquette

Playing a major role implies a higher level of responsibility. If you put people in position of dependence on you, then you ***are*** expected to roleplay consistently. If you can't make it at an organized time, let the person know in the meta chat. It's better than leaving them wondering by not showing up or saying anything.

**If you start a scene with someone, then finish it.** Do not ignore or neglect or make people wait obscenely long amounts of time for your character to reply to theirs. It is considered rude and it **is** harmful to the RP as a whole, and efforts should be made to avoid that.

Make your intentions regarding roleplay clear. Don't promise to RP only to never show up at the promised time. Just because this is the internet doesn't mean that doing this can't ruin people's plans and days.

Constructive criticism is welcome as long as it's constructive and respectful. Remember that not everyone responds to it lightly. Remember that being criticised doesn't mean being hated or personally attacked, too. In general, treat criticism as a way to improve.

Creativity is endorsed and highly encouraged. Do not be afraid to start drama within RP. Do not be afraid to take things far. As said before, conflict is what these mediums thrive on. Creating challenging environments is beneficial as roleplaying within them is fun.

## **Tagging**

### Name tags

Once your character is a assigned to a group, they're 100% yours. For easy identification on Discord you are required to wear their name as a tag. They look like this:

> Ledge [Lee Everett]
>
>

### Roleplay tags

To keep the roleplay process clean and comprehensible to others, you are required to use **Time Tags**. A typical time tag looks like this:

> **[%TIME: Wednesday, May 15th, 13:37 PM - Lee's stuffy Motor Inn room.]**
>
>

It's written in bold text with brackets and is given it's own paragraph. In which part of the post it has to appear depends on the post's timeline of events, but most of the time they'll be at the top. However, evidently, time tags aren't only to declare time, but to also set a location and maybe add a little detail or two. You must always tag the beginning of a scene to set it up. You must always tag what time you fast-forwarded your scene to. If you paused your scene, you must also tag it when you resume. You don't need to make any tags for when your scenes end.

This is done for the sake of coordination. Since the roleplay is live, people will need to know the where and when in order to interact with you. If your platform supports Ctrl + F, you can easily find and jump to time tags by searching for % (hence it's a part of the tag).

If you need to move your scene from one channel to another then you must put a **Moving Tag**at the end of last post in the channel you are moving **from**. It looks like this:

> **[Moved to #world-1]**
>
>

In the channel you are moving **to** you must post a time tag with a moving tag. It would look like this:

> **[%TIME: Wednesday, May 15th, 13:37 PM - Lee's stuffy Motor Inn room.] [Moved from #world-2]**
>
>

That's how you move scenes between channels. To find such tags with Ctrl + F simply search for #. If two scenes are merging, simply state both channels in one tag instead of making multiple tags. Like this:

> **[%TIME: Wednesday, May 15th, 13:37 PM - Lee's stuffy Motor Inn room.] [Merged from #inn-group-rp and #farm-group-rp]**
>
>

Now, to avoid confusion, let's sum it up:

* Time Tag when starting a scene.
* Time Tag when resuming a scene.
* Time Tag when fast-forwarding or describing 30+ minutes in one post.
* Moving Tag in the channel you are moving from.
* Time Tag + Moving Tag in the channel you are moving to.

## Dungeon Master/Shadow Accounts

Most zombie interactions and environments are described entirely by players, including the exact actions of zombies and even hordes, meaning that most of the time the amount of danger is directly in your hands. To make it interesting and intriguing, players have an option to summon an admin using a 'shadow account' - an account dedicated to specifically control the walkers and the players' immediate environment. Simply ask one of the admins if you need a shadow account's help on a scene. Another reason why this is made is because we aren't an RPG after all - going out scavenging alone is equivalent to writing a lonely fanfic. Going out scavenging alone but with a roleplay partner on the other hand is fun, even if the partner controls dead people instead of the living.

But do keep in mind that danger is death's best buddy.