The Escapists' Haven Rules

The Crossroads and the Battle Arena
First and foremost, before I get into all the rules for both the Crossroads and the Battle Arena, I shall state the depiction between both role playing areas. While battling is not completely banned from the Crossroads, if people are doing nothing but fighting each other’s characters in the Crossroads, then it shouldn't be in the Crossroads. If they do “battle”, it may be in a team against an NPC or several NPC’s, and preferably not against each other’s characters. The Crossroads are more for epic quests, adventures, and development between characters. There can be violent conflict between characters, but try to keep it to a minimal or move it to the BA. The Crossroads are dedicated more toward plot than random brawls. While role plays in the BA can also have plots, the content should be mostly of violence between the characters involved.

Things to Note:
Please keep the battles and role plays in a certain person. A person means that you are writing either in 1st Person, using "I", "me", etc. acting as if you were your own character in the battle/role play, or that you are using 3rd Person, speaking as if you were an outsider watching the two or more characters battle/role play, using “she”, “he”, “it”, “him”, “her”, etc. In 3rd Person, it is more common to control more than just one character.

If you want to start any thread that that you may be unsure whether or not it is a battle or Crossroad thread, get the okay from a Councilor.

Remember that the purpose of The Battle Arena is not to win, but to write something, have fun doing it, and perhaps learn something about writing. So don't focus intently on who wins and who loses.

Make sure you've read about the other person's character before battling/role playing with them. If you’re going to be interacting with that character, then you should at least know what they look like if not more. If you’re battling, it’s important to know what their character is capable of.

Make sure bad feelings in battle/role play don't carry over to the rest of the forum. We have The Escapists' Haven to have fun.

And now for the rules:

1. All regular forum rules apply, including the rules against spamming and flaming.
   
   
2. You must have an approved character to participate in the Escapists’ Haven. If you do not have an approved character yet, read this thread for information on how to get one.
   
   
3. When you wish to talk about out of character, type "OoC" (meaning "Out of character"). Use "BiC" (Back in character) when you wish to write in character once again.
   
   
4. Try to type at least one or two paragraphs of in-character battle/role play. While short posts are not strictly prohibited, really try to avoid writing only one or two sentences.
   
   
5. While controlling another player’s character is not strictly prohibited, it is advised that you avoid doing so as much as possible. You are not allowed to describe the actions and thoughts of another player's character without their express permission. Each character belongs to the person who made it and not you. This is known as powerplaying, and it isn't allowed in any type of role play, though it is more commonly seen in the Crossroads.
   
   
6. Godmoding is not allowed. Godmoding is using your character in such a way that their skills, abilities, or powers accomplish things that break the fairness of a role play. Such as assuming your character's actions work automatically or that they always come out on top of every situation. This is more commonly seen in the Battle Arena. For more information, seek link above.
   
   
7. You cannot kill any character other than your own unless you have the approval of that character's owner.
   
   
8. While sex in the Crossroads is not strictly prohibited, you are not allowed to write lemons: graphic description of the act itself. Everything leading up to it and everything that follows is okay. You can write an entire sex scene without going into details about the mechanics. However, implied sex scenes are best, if there must be sex scenes. Oral sex also counts for the lemon rule.

Any breaking of these rules can lead to a warning, being slapped with my ruler and sent to the corner, and possibly a ban, as everywhere else on the forums. The Council and the Moderators of the Escapists’ Haven will decide on what punishment should befall you if these rules are broken. It should be noted that we cannot know what goes on in every battle or role play, so if you see this kind of behavior please report it to a Councilor. Especially if you have issues with the person's role playing.