City of Unity

Since we were all once newbies and have made mistakes at some point or other, we understand that most rule-breaks occur as simple slip-ups that usually don't happen again. If you make a mistake, don't worry about it or beat yourself up; just learn from it and move on. Even veteran players and staff members who've been with the game from the start slip up from time to time. So long as everyone makes an effort to learn from their errors, there's usually no problem.

Multiple, repeated occurrences which suggest critical misunderstanding of the game or lack of effort to improve, however, will result in more serious warnings from the admin or mods, and in some cases, could lead to being temporary kicked from the channel or being permanently banned. We're a pretty nice group, but if you do choose to make yourself a problem here and disrupt other people's enjoyment of the game, you will be removed.

Game Staff:

Sulaco (Characters: Tzel, Tybek, Agni, Neon, Astraea)

Gasmask (Characters: The Underqueen, Seven, Feast, Donovan, Majory, Eriksen, Sodi)

Vlad (Characters: Vlad, Rashad, Danzig, Davidson, Ian, James Inoue, Jiro)

Waaagh (Characters: Tasha, Gamil, Tutku)

Thom (Characters: Thom)
UPDATE: For reasons related to pursuing further education and focusing on his studies, Thom will be on extended hiatus from CoU, but will remain on the staff roster unless determined otherwise.

Basic Rules

Our RP format is free-form. CoU is simply a collaborative storytelling game done in a chatroom medium. There are no dice, character stats, central campaign, experience points, or officially designated game masters. Players RP whenever they wish, may GM their own events if they so desire, and may invent their own plotlines. There is no real set structure for the RP, we simply go by whatever is the easiest and most fun option for whoever's involved.
Tell other people when and where there's RP going on. You don't need spam the channel with it every five seconds, but if there's some gaming afoot it never hurts to announce it every couple minutes or to let other people know when they log on, so they can join in or watch. The more the merrier.
BE NICE. Pretty obvious.
NO discrimatory remarks or slurs, whether they're about about race, nationality, religion, sexuality or whatever, will be tolerated - these may be punished by permanent banning. For some baffling reason a lot of people don't seem to understand that bigotry and discrimination is not cool, and we have had to punish a surprisingly large number of people for it. In short, don't do it. We shouldn't even have to have a rule about this, but sadly some people don't seem to get it.
The purpose of City Of Unity is to be a collaborative storytelling RPG, not a chat hangout. The reason we have an OOC room is to more easily coordinate and discuss matters relating to characters, the game world, and our activities within itr. While it is fine to have some discussion not directly tied to the game, it becomes a problem when there's several people chatting about random things and there's no RP going on. If you have the time and energy to carry on an OOC conversation, you have the time and energy to contribute to the game, whether it's RP or through creative support on the forums.
Wait until your character is approved before RPing. We usually don't take too long with reviewing character applications. But if it's been over a week and you haven't heard anything, send in a contact form and let us know you haven't heard back yet. However, please do NOT badger us to review your form before then. The game staff have lives too.
Type clearly, both IC and OOCly. You don't need perfect English, but just make an effort to be as clear as possible. Try to use proper punctuation, spelling, and grammar. And please avoid "hi how r u 2 day" AOL chatroom kind of speech, and excessive all-caps speech.
If you feel you've been treated unfairly by another player, save logs of the event and contact Sulaco or a moderator. If you feel you've been treated unfairly OOCly or ICly, please tell Sulaco or one of the mods. Or send in a Contact form entry, since Sulaco checks his mail a lot and usually is able to react quickly. Anytime someone is unfair, rude, or otherwise uncool to other players, it makes City Of Unity a less fun place to be. So if someone is uncool to you, you're doing both the game and yourself a favour by giving Sulaco or any other mod a heads up about anything unpleasant that's going on. If you think you were mistreated by one of the mods here, you may contact Sulaco directly.
Profanity is okay within reason. It's okay to say "fuck" in OOC conversation or in the RP, but it is NOT okay to say "fuck you" to another player.
Warn people if you're posting a NSFW link. Remember that some of us could be minors, on family computers, on work computers, or simply don't wish to see not-worksafe material.
TMI/sexual chat topics in the OOC room are sometimes fine, but must be kept PG-13. Especially when there's a larger number of people present. Remember that some people might be uncomfortable with such topics or may be in work/family environments, so please don't get too detailed. If anyone in the channel requests a change of topic, please change it.
Civil dicsussion about politics, religion or other sensitive issues in the OOC room are sometimes fine, but fighting about them is not. For the most part, it's okay to hold a casual chat about these things from time to time, but if they become heated arguments or begin to take the place of game-related topics, they should be taken elsewhere. If anyone in the channel requests a change of topic, please change it.
NO harassing, passive-aggressive, uneccessarily argumentative, or bullying behavior will be tolerated, PERIOD. This sort of behavior is so ridiculously lame that it can result in an instant ban, without warning, simply because it's stupid. If you have a problem with someone yet they aren't breaking any rules, you should work it out like responsible adults, tell a channel moderator, or shut up. People come here to relax and have fun, and anyone upsetting that will encounter sorrow. So much sorrow.
If someone breaks a rule while an admin or mod isn't active or responding, players may POLITELY correct the rule-breaker about it. If someone breaks a rule when there's no active op, the person should be kindly informed of their error and pointed to this page. Remember to be tactful and avoid accusatory language - most rule breaks are simple mistakes that need a little helpful correction. But if the person in question continues to be a problem despite being informed of their rule breaking, query/PM a mod, or send in a Contact form entry with logs of the event. Do NOT use confrontational language or provoke the rule-breaker.
If for you are not going to be RPing your character(s) for more than a few weeks, you should make an announcement of it on the forum. There's nothing more frustrating than being in the middle of a deep RP plot with someone, only to have them disappear for 3 months without a word. So if your character is involved with others, you should include a brief explanation of where he/she has gone off to meanwhile, so that you don't leave other players hanging. Doesn't always have to be anything elaborate - you can just say your character is keeping private until you return. Or if you're feeling more creative, maybe your character can disappear for more dramatic reasons which could serve as a plot device later on. Whatever you decide to go with is entirely up to you, just try to give people a little notice about your absence, if possible. Also, no matter how long you're gone for, you're always welcome to come back!
You do not need an admin/mod present to RP. Several people get the mistaken impression that all of CoU's RP depends a mod being around to monitor game. Remember that this game is free-form, which means you can, and are encouraged to, RP at any time you wish, with as many other players as you want, with or without moderator supervision. So don't be shy about taking the initiative; start or join in some RP with other players. Sulaco and the mods have offline lives like everyone else, so don't let their normal comings and goings affect whether or not you can RP and have fun.

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Character Rules

All characters here must be anthropomorphic mammals, avians, reptiles, amphibians, some mythological creatures, or crossbreeds thereof, aka 'furries'. Humans, taurs, nagas, elves, orcs, dwarves, aliens, fairies, shape-shifters, vampires, etc. do not exist, and never did exist in this world. If it isn't an anthropomorphic land animal (meaning that it is an animal that could naturally survive on land), it probably doesn't exist in our game world as a sentient species. If you're new to the anthro genre, look up things like Star Fox, Blacksad, and Usagi Yojimbo - those are good examples of what we mean by anthro-animals or furries. Though this game's world is a lot less cartoony and comedic, and a lot more grim and bleak.
Characters of anthropomorphized mythological beasts, any other fictional animals, or extinct creatures are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Usually things like dragons, unicorns, thylacines, and dodo birds are fine to play, though some fictional or exinct beasts might not be, hence these are reviewed on an individual basis with each character form. Also remember there is no traditional fantasy magic. Dragons can't breathe fire and unicorns don't have healing powers, etc. They will also have the same natural lifespan limits as everyone else. For all practical purposes, characters in these species groups are considered purebreds, unless they are a hybrid mixture of anything else.
Aging, physical proportions, and the number of appendages for anthros in this world are generally similar to those of real-world human averages. Most anthros/furs won't naturally live past the normal real-world human limit for age. Likewise, anthros in this game world have mostly humanoid averages for height and weight. Though usually, a character who's of a small species, like a mouse, will be considerably smaller than a character who's of a much larger species, like a rhino. Just use common sense.
Anthros here can have heightened senses like their real-world animal counterparts would, but are slightly toned down. An example of this might be that a bloodhound character could have an exceptionally good sense of smell, but he wouldn't be able to track someone by scent across town. Another might be that a hawk could have very good eyesight, but wouldn't necessarily be able to pinpoint details from a mile away like a real-world hawk.
All anthros are warm-blooded, live single-birth in this game world. This includes reptiles, avians, and any other anthro-animal based off of a real world egg-laying species. Anthros in this world are single-birth as well, meaning that they are not born in 'litters' or hatched from eggs like some real world animals are, but are born more or less in the same manner to real-life humans. Also, reptiles are warm-blooded here, meaning that they generate body heat. However they may have cold-blooded character traits, such as severe discomfort in cold temperatures, enjoying hot temperatures, etc.
7' feet is the normal maximum character height. Anything considerably taller than this is subject to being shortened according to staff discretion, or will require an extremely good reason for it to be approved.
No high-fantasy magical abiltities (spells, sorcery, wizardry, etc.); they do not exist in this game world. Paraphysical/parapsychological abilities might possibly exist, but only with staff approval. Depending on your and your character's views, the supernatural may or may not exist in Einheit City, yet is is far more subtle, mysterious, and abstract than fantasy magic, and is often a deadly and unpredictable thing for those who ever experience it, or may have unexpected consequences. Nobody throws fireballs or casts magical healing spells. But illusions, metaphor, destiny, madness, and post-modernist distortions in reality are occasional elements in the RP here. Think psychological horror/thriller kind of stuff like The Shining, La Moustache, Cthulhu, Silent Hill, Event Horizon, LOST, Sphere, HP Lovecraft-styled terror that is heavy on mystery, and you're on the right track. If you need any information on this topic or wish to RP something out that involves it, please contact the staff.
'Hybrid' in this game world means a person who's parents were different biological Familae, or was born a purebred and later on artificially hybridized. Examples: tiger/panda, fox/kangaroo, or rabbit/zebra/hawk/wolf. Note that this normally doesn't count someone like a wolf/fox or iguana/chameleon, since even though they would technically be of two different species, they would still be socially and legally considered purebred due to still being within the same biological Family. Same would go for a mouse/rat which would be purely rodent, a tiger/ocelot, which would be purely feline, and so on. Lastly, the Ministry government ICly dictates that "hybrid" means an individual with no more than half of a singular genetic build, meaning a 1/4 dingo - 3/4 deer would not be considered 'hybrid enough', but a 1/2 dingo - 1/2 deer would be considered a hybrid.
No powergaming characters. This simply means no characters that are powerful or invincible in a manner which does not benefit the RP as a whole, whether it's because they're super skilled, fast, strong, and generally good at everything. It's okay to play a character who's just really good at what they are, but it's another to play that kind of character just so you can be better than everyone else for no constructive reason or add nothing to the RP. This game is about collaborative storytelling, not "winning", since there is nothing to win in CoU.
No characters made for the sole purpose of cybersex or "yiffing". It's fine to play a character of a sexual nature if they have some genuine depth to them, but it isn't fine if you only use your character to get text-shagged and add nothing to the RP here. This is a collaborative storytelling game, not a furry singles bar.
No herm characters. Just.. No. Please.
Character images are encouraged, but will only be posted on the website if they are approved by the game staff. Our criteria isn't TOO strict, but we do want to hold a certain level of visual consistency. If your character's image isn't posted on the website, you can host it on your own webspace and show it to other players from there, or post it on the forum. DO NOT use images by other artists for your character unless you have proof of their permission to do so.

RP Rules

Keep the RP flow going; don't get hung up on who's turn it is to post or how long your post is. Unless it's a fight scene or something like that where taking proper turns are important, don't slow the game down by fussing about who's turn it is to post. When in doubt, just post. The only real guideline to our RP format is that if your character is directly interacting or communicating with another character, it's common courtesy to give the other player(s) a chance to ICly respond to your RP post before you make your next post. However if your characters are not directly interacting yet, you are free to keep posting at your own pace whether or not the other player has, unless requested otherwise
ALL in-character speech must be contained with " " marks, even if you use color coding. This is to cut down on confusion between descriptive text and character dialog text. Remember that not everyone's client settings use text colors, hence why you must use " " marks even if you do use color coding yourself.
Keep OOC chatter in IC rooms to a minum. IC rooms are for RPing, hence the only time you should make OOC posts in there is if you need to leave or go AFK for a bit, if you or someone else made a mistake, there's a rule break, or something else requires being brought to attention. Unecessary OOC chatter is annoying and disruptive to most players, and often breaks the mood of the RP. Please keep the bulk of the OOC talk in #city-of-unity, which is our OOC room.
If you must make an OOC post in an RP room, contain the OOC text in (( )) or [[ ]] marks. This is so people don't mistake it for IC text
This is NOT a combat/fighting game. While violence certainly does happen in this setting and can be quite fun, it is NOT the main focus here. Characters who are combat-skilled types may be approved, but ONLY if they have genuine depth and believability to them, and if their players understand the risks that come with such characters. Combat, when it happens, is usually done to occasionally spice up the RP rather than be the main focus. Disruptive or otherwise undesired combat RPing may be subject to staff intervention.
No offensive godmoding. Actions taken against another character or their property must be done as an "attempt" which gives the other player on the recieving the right to describe whether it's successful or not. NOTE: The exception to this rule is when you have been given permission by the other player to make successful actions against their character.

BAD:
* Some_Guy punches Joe_Bob in the face.
GOOD:
* Some_Guy throws a punch at Joe_Bob's face.

BAD:
* Some_Guy sneaks up behind Joe_Bob and steals his wallet.
GOOD:
* Some_Guy sneaks towards Joe_Bob and tries to sneak his hand into his pocket, to try snatching his wallet.
No defensive godmoding. Kind of similar to the above rule, though more concerned with those on the defensive. Just as you can't take an action against another character or their property without giving them a fair chance to describe whether it was a successful attempt or not, you're not invincible. Obviously some characters will simply be more powerful or skilled in self-defense than others and will realistically not get beaten up easily, but even they are bound to take a hit now and then unless there's a very good reason for them not to. NOTE: The exception to this rule is when the other player gives you permission to block or evade all actions their character takes against yours.

Defensive Godmoding Example:
* SomeGuy swings a crowbar at Darkbayne_WolfShadow's head.
* Darkbayne_WolfShadow dodges the swing and punches at SomeGuy.
* SomeGuy gets a nasty punch in the jaw. He reels back from the blow. "Rrrgh!" He swings his crowbar again at Darkbayne_WolfShadow's leg.
* Darkbayne_WolfShadow dodges once again and stabs at SomeGuy with his knife.
* SomeGuy narrowly dodges the stab, his waist getting nicked by the blade. He yells in pain, but it's not a mortal wound. He attacks Darkbayne with adrenaline-fueled fury, viciously swinging his crowbar at him.
* Darkbayne_WolfShadow dodges all of SomeGuy's crowbar swings and does a roundhouse kick at his face.
No metagaming. Just because you as a player know something, that doesn't mean your character knows it too. The most common example of this is using OOC knowledge to avoid IC consequences. For example, if the Ministry is secretly out to arrest your character for a crime they committed, yet you use this knowledge you have as a player in order to bail your character out of trouble even though your character would have no knowledge of this. That would be metagaming.
IC actions have IC consequences. You're not invincible. While CoU's physics are not tied to strict realism, this game's setting does involve a heavy dose of consequential realism. If your character does something that would realistically have consequences from other characters, NPCs, or elements in the setting, you are consenting to those possible consequences. Fighting the Ministry, ripping off an Underlord, making enemies with a powerful person, and generally doing dangerous stuff can have reprocussions just like it would in the real world. Likewise, attacking or otherwise harming other player's characters opens up the possibility of your character being injured, maimed, or even killed by the defending character, which is a risk you must accept, or vice-versa if they attack you. If you do not like the sound of those consequences happening to your character, then simply don't have your character carry out the causitive actions.
Criminally harming a UniClass citizen (ie: fighting with, stealing from, etc.) can have LETHAL consequences - be prepared to accept them if you commit such actions. When a criminal offense is committed against a member of the UniClass, the victim and/or witnesses are ordered by Einheit City law to report the crime to the Ministry. Hence, outer classers harming the UniClass are putting their lives at risk for Ministry reprisal, and UniClassers who refuse to report these crimes can be charged with enabling these crimes. Keep in mind this is a VERY risky action to take, and can have severe IC consequences. You are welcome to RP out such scenes, so long as you play out the end result in a believable manner. If you fail to play out the result in a believable manner, we will take the matter into our own hands in order to stay true to the game setting. This can mean character injury, imprisonment, or death for the involved parties.
Physics in this game world are not limited to true realism, but they must be played fair. CoU could be best classified as operatic sci-fi, in that there's more attention on style and story than on science. The fact that it's about anthro-animals living in a sunless world should be some indication of that. Hence it's okay to bend physics for style and coolness factor, but it is NOT okay to bend physics to powergame, metagame, or godmode, since none of those are stylish or cool. For example, it's fine to have your character perform an amazing physical feat that'd normally be unlikely or impossible in real life if it adds to the story in the RP or makes things more 'cinematically' compelling, but it's not fine to have your character do that just so he/she can be invincible. The key here is intent: use it to make the RP more dramatic and compelling, but don't use it for selfish powergaming and godmoding.
Non-anthro animals which exist in the real world (ie: four-legged dogs, cats, horses, etc.) generally do not exist in City of Unity's game world. Wildlife and livestock in City of Unity's world tends to be a bit more "alien" in design than animals in the real world. For example, "beef" products in this setting might come from a domesticated four-legged shaggy creature that vaguely resembles a cow, though in an alternate-universe way in which it might have a long reptilian tail, a hard scaley back, or some other mix of features to make it not so closely resemble a real-world cow. Wildlife in the Nightlands tends to resemble nightmarish deep sea creatures or Lovecraftian monsters, often having tentacles, air-swimming abilities, and bioluminescent properties.
MAJOR city-affecting RP events must first be approved by the game staff. Examples would be an event which kills thousands of people, destroys huge amounts of property, and/or otherwise affects the city in a major setting-changing way. Something hugely out of the ordinary that isn't already at play, like a citywide virus outbreak, or an uprising against the Ministry would be a good example. Just use common sense there and send the staff a quick message about it through the Contact section. Chances are that if your idea is a good one and works with the game's setting, we'll gladly approve it.
If you have to RP out a detailed, sexually explicit scene, take it to a private chat window. While sexually explicit RP may not seem unusual to you, remember that some players may be minors, could be on work/family computers, or simply don't want to see that kind of subject matter. And before you do any kind of private RP of this nature, make sure whoever you're doing it with is 18 or older.
Characters are only killed off by consent of their players, whether it is through word or action. This means you can either kill your character off yourself in the RP, and/or write up an obituary for their profile, or tell the staff you simply wish your character to die and leave it to them to write the obituary, along with any special requests you mayhave for the story of your character's death. Your character may also die if you RP him/her doing something which could realistically result in their death (ie: fighting the Ministry) which would be classified as consent through action. If you are banned from the game for breaking the rules, your characters may also be killed off, which would be another example of consent through action, though a lot less pleasant than the aforementioned ones, and the manner of their death will be determined by the game staff. However your characters may NOT be killed off simply because another player wants them dead.

Some Other General Advice

These here are not official rules so much as mere suggestions and advice learned from several years of experience with IRC role-playing, and running IRC RPGs.You're not technically required to follow these guidelines, but we've included them here for the purpose of sharing helpful knowledge which we've found make for a much more enjoyable gaming experience.

More may be added to this list as time goes on.

Make an effort to be inclusive to newbies. While it's perfectly fine to simply settling for being a nice player at CoU, it is especially cool if you make an extra effort to actively include newbies in your game-related activities. Most people, upon joining an RPG where they don't know many people or have a lot of experience, tend to be rather shy and unsure about themselves. If you can take the time and energy to offer to play a little introductory RP session with them, it'll go a long way to making them feel more welcome and involved.

"Dead periods" where there's little/no RP happen now and then, don't let it discourage you. Every so often, real life eats up time and energy for RPers, and so it isn't unusual for there to occassionally be periods of days or sometimes even weeks where the RP slows to a crawl. When this happens, don't let it get you down. It's all a normal part of a normal chat-based RP. Just as there'll be periods of insane amounts of awesome RP, there'll also be the low times too. But when this does happen, it helps if you take the initiative and stir up some RP yourself to get others involved. Sometimes people just need a kick of inspiration to get moving again.

Avoid creating comic relief/hyperfunnyinsane characters. Most players find these character types annoying or too shallow to have fun interacting with, and the game's setting is just not well-suited to them either. Keep in mind that City Of Unity is set in a grimly oppressive dystopia, not a Saturday morning cartoon. If you really do want to try and play a "funny" character, you're free to send in an application, but we offer no guarantee of it being approved. And if it is approved, we offer no guarantee that the character will last long in the RP. If you think this makes the setting seem boring, then this might not be the sort of game you're looking for.

New players are VERY strongly advised to avoid applying with Ministry or other very powerful character types until they are more experienced with the game. Since CoU's setting requires understanding of it in order to believably play a powerful character, we highly suggest that you start off with a different kind of character to play, and wait until you've gotten more experience in the game before making a character who's a Minister, an exceptionally strong/skilled fighter type, crime boss, master hacker, or some other really powerful character type. Great power comes with great responsibility here.