Roleplaying Lounge



"We established the Lounge to communicate within our society about what will happen in the roleplays. It was an effective way to bond with other members, as well to discuss roleplays on bigger scales. Of course, a group like this has to come with rules."

The Ratchet and Clank Roleplaying Lounge was the name given to the private or secret group on Facebook where members of the roleplaying community could socialize with one another, discuss present, past and future roleplays and share their interest in Ratchet and Clank.

The lounge has had many incarnations. Due to fights, arguments, as well as loss of interest or problems going online frequently, the Lounge was often disbanded and later, recreated. Most members left, some came back eventually and a few stayed through the entire series of roleplay lounges.

The initial idea of starting a Facebook-group came from J.B, and the idea of calling it a Lounge came from Rob.

History
As to all great societies and organizations, there comes a story of hardships, victories and defeats. The road to success is often covered with failures and stress. There have been various versions of our Lounge. It was often destroyed or disbanded, whereupon a new Lounge was created some time later. Anyway, here is the story from beginning to end. The story so far...

Foundation
Around the Summer of 2011, it all began with a mere common interest in a particular series of videogames. Hoping to be able to pass time in the Summer, and in hopes of getting to know more people that liked the games, John found and contacted a 'Ratchet and Clank'-appreciation page. The page was named "Who Remembers This Adventurious Lombax" - abbreviated to WRTAL - and it was run by a vile tyrant named Robert. John contacted the page and asked if he could share administration rights with Robert over the page. Needless to say, Robert greedily refused John's offer. Instead, he came with an alternative. They came to a covenant: to make a small roleplaying group to have fun and pass time.

After breaking John's mind with devious and thoughtful charters and rules, Robert decided to make a Group for the members to discuss the processing of their roleplay. Other than the WRTAL Main Office, Robert possessed no page of any character yet. It was John who created the first roleplaying page: Dr. Nefarious. To compromise with John's powerful, evil character, Robert came up with his own page: Ratchet. And thus, the Roleplaying Lounge was founded.

At some point after the foundation, Robert made an announcement of some sort on his WRTAL page. He announced that they were looking for new members in their group. Many people responded to the offer, including myself: Nick Torn. I had been following the WRTAL page a few months, so obviously, I got their offer on my news feed and I was interested right away. Where most people failed to pass Robert's devious, unwieldy qualification round, I, ofcourse, passed. And so, I entered the Lounge as the third member. Though there was still the absense of a few pirmary characters - like Clank -, I decided to go for Pox News.

Sparked Rivalry
After recruiting more members, our group expanded and we soon had a society: a merry bond of brothers with a shared love for Ratchet and Clank. In order to maintain peace and prosperity, Robert launched the Charter of Ethics: a meaningful, massive manuscript of mind-blowing, mesmerizing morals and... well, there were a lot of rules to keep order.

While Pox News was obviously the most popular page with the most potential, it was still outshined by Dr. Nefarious and Ratchet. These two pages were the top of the bill, with ratings that went through the roof. A desire to be liked burned within both John and Robert, and a fight for fame and fortune sparked a never-ending rivalry. They both strifed for the most likes in the group, though it all remained in a fairly friendly fire.

In related news to these Likes Fights, Robert decided to give every single member a task. One they should focus themselves on. I - Nicolas - for one, became the Director of Arts, since I owned Pox News, which required me to make articles, use photoshop, etc. Robert became the Director of Administration and Public Relations. His mission: to uncover the weaknesses of his victims and prey on it. And to make these mind-blowing manuscripts of morals. John became the Director of Human Resources. His mission... Well, we never really managed to figure that out.

It wasn't much later that Robert had promoted himself to the self-proclaimed President of the Lounge. While it sounds a bit selfish and egomaniacle now, most of us didn't really make such a big deal of it back then. All went fairly well. The rest of the members just followed under our magnificent rule. So no complaints.

A Hostile Outsider
Sadly, organizations and societies often have enemies. Even people who weren't directly involved with the Lounge, participated in the roleplays. One such enemy, was a outside page named "the Society of Evil". This page showed up around August, two months after the roleplay had started. The page was not based on a character from the games and was run by an unknown admin. The profile picture was nothing but a vague silhouette of a man, stading in the light. Every now and again, the page would reveal some scenario or attack in puzzles and riddles. The page seemed not to be entirely hostile, since they were merely participating in the roleplay. None of the members within the Lounge felled like they were being harassed or threatened, and we all even enjoyed playing with this mysterious character.

After a few plots that were completely in the hands of the Society, I managed to contact the page and found out the identity of the admin: a young woman named Charlotte (last name fails to come to my memory). She was from Belgium as well, or perhaps the Netherlands; my memory on that is foggy. She spoke Dutch for sure, which excited me even more. I could finally roleplay with someone who spoke my mother tongue. I contacted Charlotte and before long, and decided to play along with her plans. I was an inside man, delivering information from within the Lounge to Charlotte. After a while, though, I realized it had to end; we pulled the plug out of her Society-page and she successfully joined the group. She took the role of Courtney Gears, and later the Thugs 4 Less Leader. We had a new member, who managed to outmaneouvre Robert's questionnaire through hostility.

Roleplay Guidelines and Directions
In the unlikely event our roleplay will fall into utter chaos due to the interference of trolls, greedy members, or Robert,  we are necessitated to add a few standard rules. This measure is taken for the greater good and to make this roleplay interesting and pleasant for both members and viewers.

The common rules of roleplay are the essential rules that all public roleplaying groups employ to keep things in order. These include things like godmodding, metagaming, and autohitting. One of the fundamental skills that every good roleplayer has is the ability to follow and abide by these rules. Even though everybody has the occasional slip-up, disregarding for these common rules is frowned upon amongst the community.

Please, read the rules through and post in the comments that you have read and agreed to these terms. Joining the Lounge will automatically sign this agreement under your name. To follow is the list of common roleplay rules that every roleplayer should understand and follow.

Avoid God-Mode
Godmodding is when a character features god-like abilities, such as invincibility or mind control, or other unrealistic powers that don't fit with lore. It's also considered godmodding to refuse defeat in fights or ignore roleplayers in scenarios in which said roleplayers are attempting to attack you. Nobody's good at everything; try and keep yourself in check.

Do Not Overpower!
Being "overpowered" is more or less what it sounds like: giving something or someone an unreasonable, unfair, unrealistic, or unbalanced amount of power, especially when it interferes with the ability of players around you to have fun. This can apply in the obvious ways, like having a character who is invincible or can summon the wrath of a zombie army with a flick of his fingers, but it can also be more subtle. For example, a character who is physically average but has skill mastery of over 70% of all main skills with ease can also be overpowered and put a damper on the ability of those around him to create engaging and challenging roleplay scenarios.

Comply to Your Role
Respect the role of your character. By taking a character under your care, we can only assume that you like this character and that you have delved deeply into careful studies. Know your character, feel your character and you will be able to be your character. If the persona of your character is cheerful and dumb,  respect that and don't go and be Albert Einstein.

Do Not Metagame
Metagaming is when a player applies OOC-retrieved information to their IC character, such as participating in a war that you only saw was stated to be happening on a clan's thread on the forums, or hearing whispering because you saw the text, and knowing a character's name because you saw their username. This is the most commonly broken rule of roleplay and most infuriating for many.

Do Not Mix IC and OOC
Related to metagaming, it is considered taboo to "mix IC and OOC." That is, players are generally encouraged not to associate information and events that occurred between active, playing characters and events that occur between the roleplayers themselves. Most often, when players associate OOC information with their IC behavior, whether it be how they percieve another character or actually acting on information they wouldn't otherwise have, it's called metagaming.

However, it's also considered poor form to take IC information and apply it OOC. That is, if character A insults character B, and player B takes character A's insult as a personal attack from player A rather than exclusively an IC attack on character B, that is mixing IC and OOC. Any instance of holding against a player what his/her character said or did violates this rule (not to be confused with holding against the player any rule violations he made while controlling his character).

Another instance which is less inflammatory but still technically a violation of this rule is if character A says something, character B doesn't understand or takes it the wrong way, and player A deigns to explain himself OOC to player B. This is especially the case when player B already understood but was intentionally allowing his character to mis-react for the sake of adding interest to the game or being true to character B's nature. This cramps the flow of role-play and can sometimes be insulting to a player, since it suggests that player B's character is a Mary Sue who player B can't separate himself from.

Do Not Auto (Autohit, Autowalk, etc)
Autohitting is when a player performs an action without giving the affected players a chance to respond. For example, running up to somebody and saying *Stabs in the heart* then running off would be autohitting. Auto also applies to non-combative actions to which another player might have a reaction. Saying, *The black knight slips past the guards and into the castle,* while white knights are guarding the entrance to the white knight's castle would be autowalking on the premise that, in all likelihood, those knights would stop you before you got past them. This can easily be fixed with a simple rewording. Add "tries to" or "attempts to" to clarify that your character intends to perform said action, but his success depends on the responses of those around him. More advanced role-players will go into detail with their actions and emphasize their attempts. This is a frequently broken rule by newer role-players.

Do Not Speak in Other's Name
Powerplaying occurs when a player operates someone else's character without the other player's consent. The most blatant example of this would be a player writing, "Your character falls off the cliff when he walks up to it." As you can see, you take active control of what the other character does. Not only is this not fair to the other player, but it's also discouraged because often players will misconstrue the behaviors and personalities of characters they didn't design. Powerplaying goes into more subtle situations, however. Saying, "Sally charges Jack so fast that he wouldn't be able to react enough to avoid it," can also be considered a violation of this rule since Sally's player has controlled Jack's abilities, possibly in a way that doesn't accurately represent his character. The appropriate way to word Sally's attack would be, "Sally charges Jack so fast that it's unlikely he could totally dodge it without equally inhuman speed." This leaves it up to Jack's player whether or not Jack is actually capable of avoiding Sally.

Grammar and Punctuation
It is pleasant for everyone that you use proper grammar and punctuation in the roleplays. It is perfectly alright if you use typos. Not all members - myself included - are from America, Britain or any other country that has English as their primary language. And while the roleplay can be completed perfectly in a good manner, even with bad grammar,  it is highly recommended to watch your vocabulary. It can be quite annoying and sometimes, it even troubles other roleplayers to know what the hell you are saying.

No Swearing, Gore, etc.
Basically, what the title says. No swearing - neither in the roleplay, nor in the Lounge. Do not post gore topics, such as people ripping each other's bowels out with a butter knife. It goes without saying that this is not what our roleplay is about. Do not post anything erotic, such as naked men or women alike.

Respect Towards Others
You show respect to your fellow roleplayers. If another roleplayer is not interested in the play you wish to perform, you respect their decision to opt out and you do not boss around, bully or annoy them. You do not slander another page, unless the admin of that page agrees and/or if that is what your character does on a daily basis.

Be the Nice Guy/Girl
Accept constructive criticism, be nice, don't take things said in roleplay personally, make friends, chat up, etc. Be easy to get along with, and great roleplaying opportunities shall come your way.

C, OC and OOC
Cs are the actual Characters: characters that appear in the series. This is what the roleplay is primarly about. Interacting between Cs are a must. While our roleplay community revolves mainly about Cs, there can also be OCs: Original Characters. These are characters that have no place or significant appearance in the series, but you can interact with them nonetheless. Every roleplayer is dedicated to their own choice whether or not they wish to interact with OCs! If  roleplayer refuses to have C-OC-interaction, you should respect this decision.

Roleplayer-Roleplayer Interaction
Should you wish to begin a roleplayer - a small one or a larger in extent -, you discuss what the roleplay is about with the roleplayers of all characters involved in this particular roleplay. Bring your idea for the play to the other players and be open for new ideas from their part. Do not slander them with your idea alone! Every participant in the play has a right to give their own input and ideas. If one player does not like the idea of another player, discuss this in a peaceful and harmless manner. Try to negotiate and find a happy medium so that every player feels comfortable.

If you feel like starting up a large-scaled roleplay, in which many players will be involved - or a play in which there is an undetermined selection of players - you place a status in the Lounge. Bring your idea to the Lounge, so that other players can decide whether or not they wish to participate. In the comments, other players will be permitted to give their own imput or idea, and you will listen and take these in account.

Roleplayer-Character Interaction
This is a type of interaction that should be avoided. Discuss roleplaying scenarios and strategies from Roleplayer to Roleplayer or within the Lounge. Stay in your role 24/7 while on the page.

Character-Character Interaction
Characters have the right to comment on other character's statuses or dialogues in a proper and polite manner. Do not insult, slander or bully other characters unless this is part of your role or if this is discussed with the significant other. Once the other roleplayer complains that they feel threatened or hurt, abort the slander immediately!

OC-Character Interaction
As statd in Paragraph 10: OCs have less power within the roleplay than official characters. Every roleplayer decides for themselves if they wish to interact with OCs. If they refuse, the admin of the OC has no right to demand interaction.

Do Not One-Line
Unless it's a preference with someone you're roleplaying with. Most people prefer at least a single paragraph, but some others allow one-lining. Just make sure you check the other person's preference (usually in the form of Roleplaying Rules in blogs) before trying to roleplay with others.

Do Not Steal
This includes layout designs, storyline ideas, pictures, display names, biographies, roleplaying rules, etc. Don't be afraid to ask someone if you can copy something, 9 times out of 10 they'll say "Yes," and they'll expect credit so whatever you borrowed from someone, make sure you write "Credit to: [name]" under whatever you took.

Drama
Ah, drama. A Roleplayer's worst pet peeve. Roleplayers mainly hate all the real life drama others bring in for attention. Don't be that person that sends a million bulletins/journals about your real life issues.
 * If you have a problem in real life, talk with a friend in comments, messages, or on IM. Don't broadcast it to the world. However, you are allowed to broadcast in a journal that you'll limit your activity because of a death, school/work, problems in the family, etc. Just don't go overboard.
 * Don't post a million statuses about how your parents are annoying. We all have annoying parents.
 * Also, don't claim that you're going to retire, and then be all "oh wait, never mind." That pisses people off the most. If you're going to retire, think about it thoroughly and don't broadcast it prematurely just so you can watch everyone beg you to stay. Retiring is a personal decision.

Activity
While these are dire times and everyone is busy with something - like school, work, family, relationships, etc. - it is strongly appreciated if you come online once in a while. It is a shame if you have a character but you never have the chance to roleplay. We would also like to ask if you could pick your character based on your level of activity. An important character, like the main cast, needs to be online a lot, while minor characters can afford to stay offline for a while. Don't pick an important character if you know you won't be able to come online a lot.

Exceptions
Role-play is about creativity and while these rules are not just needed they can at times during very deep and important role-play points be a bit constricting. That being said, like many things in life the rules of role-play are not the be-all and end-all. It takes skill and knowledge to know when one can bend one of the above rules to affect a role-play in a positive manner, this is usually done in small groups where the people involved know what they are getting into and are okay with it. This takes a long time to understand and should only be attempted by advanced role-players.

Always keep in mind that the purpose of roleplaying online is to have fun. Nick Torn

J.B.

 * Dr. Nefarious
 * Emperor Percival Tachyon
 * Clank
 * Captain Romulus Slag
 * The Pirate Radio (co-administration with Alebarasi)
 * Lornock Argos
 * Thugs-4-Less Leader

Nick Torn

 * Barbara Jarvis
 * Pox News
 * Polaris Defense Force
 * Talwyn Apogee
 * Captain Copernicus L. Qwark
 * Chairman Drek
 * Vendra Prog

Kim van Manie

 * Ratchet
 * Courtney Gears
 * Orvus

Alebarasi

 * Lawrence
 * Rusty Pete
 * Smuggler
 * The Pirate Radio (co-administration with J.B.)

Carl Hart

 * Klunk

In Need for New Administration

 * Flint Vorselon
 * Big Al
 * Helga
 * President Phyronix