Rules

Every game and community has rules, and so do we. By joining Amaranthine RPG you agree to follow the rules of our community - ignorance to the rules is not an excuse for breaking them. We will always notify our members if a rule is changed for any reason, and are open to feedback on how to make Amaranthine a safe and fun environment for all our members.

## Community Guidelines

* Amaranthine RPG has an overall **age restriction of 18 and over**. The game contains mature themes, and is intended for a mature audience.
* Discord use is **required** to fully participate with the group. You don’t need to be an active chatter, but Discord is our main channel for delivering news, monitoring queue and answering member questions.
* To join the group, you need a fully filled in character application. You submit the character with your join request - it's not possible to join the group without a valid character.
	+ Our Discord has a frontroom for non-members, so feel free to jump in there if you have any questions!

## General Rules

* While Amaranthine deals with some heavy topics and characters may explore various phobias and prejudices, the community itself is inclusive. We do not tolerate any kind of prejudice towards other members or groups of people in our spaces. Malicious remarks and insensitive language/jokes are unwelcome.
* Our group does not have any generalized activity requirements. You will never be kicked out for inactivity.
	+ Specific ranks require a yearly proof of activity (in July). Such ranks will always be clearly indicated. More info *here.*
* Swearing is allowed; insulting other members or staff is not.
* In general: be nice to everyone, including staff.
	+ Staff is open to critique, questions and even debate, as long as you remain cordial and fair. Personal attacks or hostility will not be tolerated - not towards members, not towards staff.
	+ If an issue is officially concluded, please let it be. Dragging on arguments never ends in anything except hurt feelings on both sides.
* Don’t send staff members private messages about official group matters (for example: asking for scoring advice), unless **specifically welcomed to do so.** Staff wants to keep their private messages, well, private, and things easily get lost when we are approached through unofficial channels.

## Art Rules

*Need more info? Navigate to submission guidelines.*

* Only legitimate stock (dA stock or outside sources; must either be free to use/creative commons license or user must provide a license of paid stock) is allowed to be used. This applies both to photomanipulations and drawings. Things like Breyer horses are not considered proper stock.
* Remember to provide credit for all stock used
* Tracing and referencing of stock images are both accepted and encouraged. Follow stock provider rules (some may not allow tracing).
* Tracing the work of other artists is absolutely not allowed.
* Bases made by other artists (whether P2U, custom-made or publicly shared) may be used for things such as **references** and **outfit showcases** only. These do not gain XP and should always be properly credited and linked.
* Repeated linearts or backgrounds (made by you) do not gain points beyond first use, but may be posted to the group for purposes such as references or showcasing outfits. You need to clearly state that the element is reused when doing so.
* Potentially triggering content (such as gratuitous violence, abuse, sexism…) should be properly tagged in the description of the piece. Please use mature content filters as necessary.
* Explicit sexual content should be kept out of the group.

## Character and Roleplay Rules

* Characters should not be direct replicas or heavily reference characters from other media (or real people) - influences are fine, equinified Spiderman or Kim Kardashian less so
* Do not copy or heavily reference characters or designs owned by others.
	+ This refers to obvious replicating of elements, color picking etc. No one can own a build, vibe or theme.
* Names should be unique to each character, as they are used to differentiate between characters.
	+ A name may be reserved to you upon request for up to 1 month. If you need more time, you need to renew your reservation (up to 3 consecutive reservations). Only one name may be reserved by you at any given time.
* Character applications need to be *mostly* in third person for clarity. Short effect snippets in first person are perfectly fine!
* Remember to include Content Warnings as necessary if your character contains sensitive or potentially triggering themes. Content Warnings should be on top of the application, or right before the section the warning applies to.
* Be courteous to your roleplay partners, and the people you interact with in general. Respect the boundaries of both the players and their characters.
* No godmodding and avoid metagaming where-ever possible
	+ Read more about *roleplay conduct*.

## Discord Chat Rules

* Same good conduct applies as in our other spaces - be nice to everyone.
* As with our other spaces, keep explicit sexual content out of Discord
* Try to keep the Discord chat a positive, encouraging space. Discord should not be used to publicly weed through inter-member disagreements
* If you are posting something that you think might be distressing, please use the Discord spoiler function and appropriate CW tag.
* Please don't post recognizable pictures of yourself or your SO/family/friends into the chat.
* Our Discord allows for **limited** advertising. Advertisements should be kept solely to their designated chat (this includes posting a link and then posting in other chats that you posted it). If you wish to advertise, please follow these rules:
	+ Advertisements must be at least tangentially related to Amaranthine. This could be equine or cervid designs, YHHs, commissions etc
	+ No advertising other ARPGs, RPGs, Groups etc.
	+ No completely unrelated advertisements (like selling creatures of some specific arpg or breed)
	+ You may only post an advertisement once a week. This includes upping existing advertisements.
	+ Please remove your advertisement once no longer applicable
	+ The advertisement channel is subject to removal if the function is abused.

## Consequences

* We do not host a public blacklist or list of offenses. Members may inquire privately about the status of their own standing, but never those of others.
* Minor first time offenses and honest mistakes will receive a **verbal warning**. This is often simply a reminder to re-read the rules, or to cease the offending behavior.
* For more serious rule breaking, or if warnings are not heeded, a player will be issued a **strike**. If one player receives **three** strikes, they are banned from the game.
* Strikes **age out** in one year if no further strikes are received. If the player receives an additional strike, the countdown will start over.
* Grave breaking of the rules or generally unacceptable behavior, such as doxxing, severe harassment or abusive behavior towards staff or other members may result in an immediate ban without preceding warnings or strikes.
* Members may be **timed out** from using the Discord chat room if they display unacceptable behavior in chat.
* Members will always be informed in private of warnings, strikes, time-outs or bans, and what led to them.
* We strive to be as fair and understanding as possible. If you want to ask about why you have received a specific warning or strike, please do so.