B. RULES FOR PLAYERS

B. Rules For Players

1. Rules for Players (General): Creating an Avatar
You can create any type of character you want ( furry, human, robot, alien, ghost) EXCEPT copyrighted characters or species from existing works. This also includes accessories such as weapons, armor, vehicles, etcetera whether in your profile or simply introduced for one thread.

Once you have a name for your avatar you must register that name as a member of the forum. You register here.

After you have registered, post your character's profile in the Avatar Profile field following the listed categories (Age, Gender, Species, etc.) This lets other players, moderators and artists know your avatar's appearance and powers.

Becoming A Psychedelic Avatar / Getting an Avatar Card

The avatar card series finished with Avatar #500. There are no current plans to initiate a new card system.
If your avatar continues to make substantive contributions to the forum, he or she may be awarded an official Psychedelic Avatar Card and join the ranks of the Psychedelic Avatars.

The current policy regarding the awarding of Avatar Cards is detailed here. The primary criteria will be continued active participation and creative contributions to The Dream, be it through discussions, role-playing, moderating, artwork, etc.

Avatars are encouraged to keep their profiles as up to date possible, as the profile information is used to create their Avatar Card portrait. HOWEVER, cards may not always reflect the most recent changes, as the artist may have started on the art before the latest update was made. The initial Psychedelic Avatar card is a "freebie". The artists will do their best to capture your character, but it may not be the perfect representation that you envision. A Psychedelic Avatar may always commission another card from one of The Psychedelic Artists which will be framed and can be used as a Bonus Card.

The avatar cards are free for the player but very expensive to produce. Therefore we reserve the right to use the avatar card imagery in merchandise to offset the cost of producing the cards. No player is required to actually buy any of the merchandise.

See THE PSYCHEDELIC AVATAR INDEX for a current listing of all Psychedelic Avatars and their cards.

The God Moderator Rules The Thread
When you participate on an adventure thread initiated by someone else, that person is the God Moderator regardless of whether they call themselves a "GM" or not. The GM has the ultimate say on the rules of that thread (whether it be informal or formal). Even a complete newbie who arrives in The Napping Cat's Dream for the first time is the master of the narrative universe contained within that thread. The GM's decision, no matter how seemingly prejudicial or unfair, is final. If something happens to your avatar you don't agree with, you may communicate to the GM via a Private Message and perhaps work something out.

Communicating Thoughts, Actions, Dialogue
There are no set format rules for displaying the various types of avatar communication methods. Everyone seems to have their own preferred style and we find no reason to insist on a universal format for this sort of thing, but a player should be consistent in the format they choose. If the GM wants to insist on a certain format for their thread, they may do so.
The following appear to be the most common formats:
Thoughts
(Perhaps parentheses for thoughts?)
John Doe thinks, "Quotes can be used, if is made clear that they are thoughts."
Maybe Italics should be used, we'll think about it.
(Maybe italics within parentheses?)

Actions & Descriptive Narrative
::Double colons are pretty common for actions and descriptive narrative
(but the colons can cause problems with emoticons of this board)::
*One asterisk is probably okay*
**Two asterisks may be okay too**
Maybe just having no quotations is enough to indicate a description.

Dialogue
"Dialogue within quotes is probably best on an Adventure Thread."
If the post is entirely dialogue, quotes may not be necessary.

Out-Of-Character (OOC) Communications
((Double parentheses have become the norm to indicate that the player is communicating some information to the readers/fellow players/GM. It is not being expressed by the avatar him/herself.))

Actions Are Always Attempted
Any action affecting other characters or of a significant narrative-altering nature (spell use, attacks, etc.) should be expressed by your avatar as an attempt to do something. The results of your attempted action will be revealed by the GM on the next Action Update. The GM can veto the reality of any previously described action or event which the player describes.

Attributing Things To Other Avatars
When immersed in the narrative of an Avatar Adventure Thread, you may be tempted to attribute actions or characteristics to other avatars. In general, we would strongly recommend NOT doing this (unless you seek permission from the other avatar's player ahead of time). Don't create past histories for your avatar that allegedly involve other avatars (unless your avatar's statements are intended as lies). Don't say that another avatar once had a particular nickname or was at a particular event. Don't assume that another avatar goes along with some activity that your avatar is doing and presume to describe his or her compliance in your post. We emphasize this because the player (and not other players) should be the one who gets to decide the details of their own avatar's actions and biographies (subject to modifications by the GM).

Forum Moderators
In the event of a dispute, please contact your forum Moderator. Forum moderators may edit or delete posts in whatever manner they feel necessary, and will also provide clarification on the rules if needed.

Injury, Death and New Properties
Injuries and death apply only to an avatar on the particular thread where the event occurs and has no impact on the avatar on any other threads.

If an avatar receives a gift, weapon, pet, new power, new costume or even a physical transformation, it is up to the player whether he or she wants to keep the new property as a permanent part of their avatar. Obviously, new aspects received on one Adventure Thread should not be introduced to other Adventure Threads which are already in progress.

Revising Of Posts
Please do not go back and revise the content of your posts (this is what we like to call "illegitimate time travel"). It screws up the entire narrative structure and ruins the game when you do this. We want players to be able edit posts in order to make immediate corrections, or fix incorrect terms, bad grammar, bad spelling, and bad links. But if editing is abused and used to edit and revise content, the editing privilege may have to be revoked.

Absences
If you are involved in any adventure threads and will be away from the forum for a period, please notify everyone regarding the dates of your absence by posting on the ESCAPE forum. You should also put a note regarding your absence dates in the Absence Notification field on your MY PROFILE page.

Leaving For Good
Avatars can cease participating at any time but their avatar card and contributions will not be removed in order to maintain the historical continuity of The Napping Cat's Dream. Unless there has been severe or willful abuse, avatars are almost always welcome back no matter how long their absence or how bitter their departure. Use the ESCAPE forum to announce all permanent departures.
2. Rules For Players (Formal Adventure Threads): These additional items apply to players on Formal Adventure Threads.

Biographies
In a Formal Adventure Thread, you may be expected to create a brief biography for your character appropriate for that thread's premise. Try to make your bio "fit in" with the genre and milieu of the thread. If the milieu is based on a generally known historical period it will be easier to ascribe believable details to your character. If the milieu is some kind of fantasy or alien setting not based on known history, then try not to fabricate too many details about the greater world, since those details will be the GM's responsibility. It is best to PM (Private Message) your Biography ideas to the GM prior to the adventure or post your bio proposal on the Announcement/Sign-Up Thread (See Section IV-3 below).

Post By The Deadlines
If you commit to participating in a Formal Adventure Thread with scheduled Action Updates, please be responsible and get your posts in by the deadlines.

Absences
If you are involved on a Formal Adventure Thread, in addition to notifying your absence on the ESCAPE forum, please discuss (via Private Messages or Out Of Character posts) with all concerned God Moderators the best way to handle the situation. Either the adventure thread will be put on hold until your return, or the GM will work out a creative solution to have your character "absent" in a way that won't compromise the thread narrative. ~~You should also put a note regarding your absence dates in the Absence Notification field on your MY PROFILE page.~~