Rules & FAQ

[thebadmods]

Rules

1. Player Behavior - Don't Be a Dick

The golden rule that supersedes all other rules. Villains should be the only assholes in this game. We encourage players to be proactive in their efforts to get along with others. Communicate what you do and do not want from a scenario, and make ample use of those permission pages. The mods will listen to player concerns, but are not obligated to take action unless we believe the offense to be grievous enough to merit a conversation. We will stamp down on petty behavior and backbiting. If you have a problem with someone, talk to them first before getting the mods involved.

2. Activity Checks

Activity Checks will be posted on the 15th of each month. In order to pass, you must comment on what your character is currently doing in the game, and what efforts they've made toward their goals. Mods may ask for links to recent threads if a player is believed to be inactive with their character(s). Players are encouraged to read the activity checks of others for plotting purposes, but a CR Meme will also be supplied on a monthly basis.

3. Character App Limits

You are limited to a total of two characters in your first app round. With each successful passing of the monthly activity check, if no character has been dropped in the past month and you are playing at the full character capacity, the limit is expanded by two more up to a maximum of eight. The first character apped to the game must be a villain with active goals and pre-planned motivations, and the number of non-villain characters per player is not to exceed the number of active villain characters per player. For example, a person could play two villains and one non-villain, but not one villain and two non-villains. If the number of villains is reduced due to a drop or failure to pass AC, non-villain characters may need to be dropped as well so as not to exceed the number of played villains.

Additionally, you may play only one character from each canon. Choose wisely.

4. Game Rating

This game is rated as mature in order to allow for darker themes and scenarios. Players are required to lock and label any posts containing NSFW material, and warn for potentially triggering content (violence, sex, OOCly uncomfortable situations). That said, there are still some topics that are off-limits with no exceptions:

• Graphic violence specifically targeting children (a villain wiping out all the humans on his world would be okay, but not going into a village and slaughtering all of the children)
  
• Sexual situations with characters under the age of 16 or with an equivalent mental capacity
  
• Overt racism toward non-fictional races, bigotry, controversial political topics, and misogyny, including but not limited to slurs, demeaning situations, and character-to-character interactions that were done without player consent. Obviously some level of villainy is allowed (i.e. despising humans, calling your victim a weak man/woman), but please exercise common sense and respect the comfort level of your fellow players.

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FAQ

Q: Are powers nerfed for my characters?
A: Only when in Malum, the central dimension to which all other worlds are connected. Even so, powers are only nerfed to the level where the character would not be able to completely destroy the world and/or reality. Fights may still rage freely, and no permission is needed to destroy any non-character-owned residences or businesses. Any damage dealt to public structures and NPCs is automatically reverted after 24 hours. In the villain's own world or realm, they don't suffer any nerfs at all. In the worlds of other characters, permission needs to be obtained before doing something that would permanently impact that location or its NPCs.

Q: How does my character access Malum from their own world (or from the world of others)?
A: All villain characters will have been sent the necessary instructions prior to joining the game. To open a gate to the Nexus of Malum, they need but to wave their hand (or wand, or leg, or other such appendage) and utter a password or passphrase determined by that character. Non-speaking villains may need the assistance of someone with speech to say the password. Non-villains will have a tougher time of it. In order to open the gate to Malum, they must speak the password (or one of the passwords if there are multiple villains). As one might assume, that kind of information is probably closely guarded, and it may take a little spywork and/or bribery to learn what the password is. Anyone can return to their worlds or visit the world of another via the Nexus simply by speaking the location aloud (or thinking about it really hard if the character is unable to speak).

Q: What do I need to submit for my character's world?
A: Each world is assumed to have come to the worst possible end. Essentially, the bad guy won, and has inflicted changes accordingly. This may possibly result in the entire world being completely destroyed and inaccessible to anyone, even the villain (way to go, butterfingers). However, for those coming from canons where the villain has no desire to impact the world to a significantly negative degree, you may use the canon as-is. Optionally, you may choose to have the fate of the world still hanging in the balance, requiring the resident villain to seek the aid of villains from other canons to aid them in global conquest. We're flexible about the type of world setting you wish to submit, so please choose what you feel would be the most interesting circumstances.

Q: What if there's more than one villain involved in choosing the world's setting?
A: Ordinarily, priority would go to the most influential villain. For example, if there's a Megatron and a Starscream, Megatron would be the assumed ruler of the world. However, if the two villain characters are unable to come to an agreement that makes both players happy, you may submit a second version of the world where the less influential character somehow managed to take charge, and is in fact, totally the leader. A version of Cybertron ruled by Megatron would certainly be different enough from one ruled by Starscream, to the point where it might be interesting to have both worlds in play.

Q: What if I apped a non-villain, and there isn't a currently apped villain to consult? Would I still need to submit a world to the setting page?
A: If the world your character is from isn't currently listed, then yes, you will need to submit a world description. You may take liberties regarding the world's status as well as that of other non-apped characters, but we recommend leaving a little wiggle room if you want castmates.

Q: What types of characters are and aren't allowed?
A: We allow OCs that aren't attached to an established canon, OCs from non-canon-specific tabletop games (Eberron and Vampire of the Masquerade are okay, while TMNT tabletop characters and D&D OCs related to canon characters such as Drizz't and Tasslehoff are not), and malleable protagonists (only one per canon). We do not allow canon-based OCs, real people and celebrities (including YouTubers and their personas), infants with normal infant intellect, and animals with an average animal level of intelligence (no Flipper for you). Child characters will be considered on a case-by-case basis to properly consider their suitability for the game. Please consider whether the character you intend to app has any long-term possibilities for active participation in the game. Apping the Goose from Untitled Goose Game may seem funny at first, but if you can't see yourself maintaining that character for more than a few months at most, please consider applying for a different character.

Q: Am I allowed to app AU, or CRAU?
A: CRAU is not currently allowed at this time. Some AU is allowed so long as it pertains to the canon reaching a 'Bad End' point. For example, Lois Lane may have given up journalism in order to be a spy after Lex Luthor became the president of space. But she would not be allowed to app in as Superman's long lost cousin with Superman-like abilities.

Q: My character has a lot of moral grey areas. Would they count as a villain, or a non-villain?
A: If your character actively promotes negative conflict, they are most likely a villain. If you're unsure, determine whether the character would help the villains in the game or try to stop them. The former would be a villain. If you're still not sure, PM the mod for a case-by-case basis. We try not to be too pedantic about this, or make sweeping generalizations, as there are almost always exceptions. The goal is to ensure that the game is about the bad guys and the chaos they stir up, rather than yet another mob rush of heroes who never fail to save the day.

Q: I'm not seeing an answer to my question on the FAQ. Can I make a comment?
A: Go right ahead. Questions of a more general nature will be added to the FAQ and the comment will be deleted after a response is given, while very specific questions will be left in the comments. This will ensure that you don't have to leaf through dozens of comments to see if your question has already been answered. If you do have a specific character or situation in mind, we prefer that the question be specific in kind (rather than making vague generalities) so we can give a well-informed answer.