General Rules

Thar Shaddin is referred to as "freeform" because there are no explicit rules for performing actions or for combat. All of the rules we have are designed specifically to ensure fairness, cooperation, and a consistent setting but little else. We do not use numbers to define our characters' stats or have exhaustive lists of equipment. This is not a competitive game. We are not here to 'win' anything or kill other characters, and if you attempt to play too powerfully or to be too imposing on others, you will simply ostracise yourself from the other writers and end up cold and alone. The rules are simple and easy to understand, but you must know them.

First and foremost are the cardinal rules. Breaking these will result in warnings and bans.

The Cardinal Rules

No Drama. Nothing on our boards is personal. We are here to RP and to write, not to inflate our egos or show how much better at this or that we are than other people. Save the drama for your in-character writing and keep it out of real life.
No Politics. Everyone has political views, religious views, whatever views. This is not the place to express them. Yes, it is fun to talk about these things, but unfortunately it gets in the way of the RP and almost always gets messy.
No Hate. You make a single racist or prejudicial comment to someone out-of-character and you're gone. Such behaviour is only ok from your character.
No Bailing. One of the big problems with playing in online forums is that people sometimes vanish and leave others hanging. Don't do it. We are reasonable and understanding, but if you don't plan on staying then don't start at all.

The Staff

The staff are here to guide you, correct you, and to mediate disputes if players have a disagreement. It is important that you as a player accept the fact that the staff makes the final judgement if there is a dispute. We aim to be fair, impartial, and to do what's best for the RP (not our egos) but you must not break the first cardinal rule: No Drama. This means that if you do not agree with a decision you have the right to dispute it politely, but the instant it becomes personal the discussion is over.

You always have the right to speak to a different staff member if you feel that one of us has been unfair with you. We, the staff, should be accountable for our actions. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone has bad days. Everyone's first concern should be to write the most immersive and entertaining stories that we can, and to have fun doing it. Sometimes that means ignoring or forgiving mistakes on everybody's part.

How to be a Beginner

The easiest way to avoid any sort of problem is to make a character who is not powerful and to avoid fighting people you aren't friends with out of character (OOC). Once you have learned the ropes and gotten to know the players here you can propose changes, help develop the world, and make more powerful characters. Don't start criticizing us and arguing with decisions as soon as you join. Until you have made a contribution to our community, you are a guest. We will try to accommodate you and we are here to be your friends, but first show us that you have the same goals in mind.

All new players here are treated the same way. It doesn't matter to us how much experience you have roleplaying online. Some of our best writers had no experience at all prior to joining Thar Shaddin.