RPing, Missions and Grading System

Contents
Locations/RP Section Layout
Labels [RPing Section Only]
Missions [Plot Staff]
Missions [Ordinary]
Grading
Grades & Rewards
- Personal Chapters [P]
- Collaborations [M] [C] [O]
Experience/Leveling
Reward Points
Grading Format
Rules of RPing
Clan Heads

Labels [RPing Section Only]
All pieces of work should be posted in the RP section, and each thread should be labeled with [P], [M], [O], or [C], followed by the title.

[P] - These are for personal chapters, written by a single RPer about the life, past or present, of his/her character. Active involvement of other personal characters is not allowed - these chapters are the work of an individual only.

[O] - These posts are open, post-based collaborations. Anyone may take part (unless the person who started the thread imposes a specific criterion such as: "only people from the _________ clan" or "shugenja only"). Like the mission threads, all collaborations here are post-based rather than done through AIM/E-mail. This allows many people to take part whenever they feel there is an opening in the current plot. The first post should contain criteria of who can join and the number of people allowed to join before the thread becomes "closed". If the first RPer wishes, he/she can post a small summary of the potential storyline that may develop in this open collaboration (please note that this is optional).

[C] - These posts are closed. One may not participate in closed threads without receiving permission from the other role-players participating in the thread. If open threads have already received the maximum number of people that are allowed to partake in that specific thread and no longer wish to accept anymore collaborators, the thread title should be changed from [O] to [C].

[M] - These are official threads started by the members of the Plot Staff who are leading a mission (missions may be started at any time by the Plot Staff members). Once again, this will be post-based and the criteria necessary to join the mission should be met before one can take part. Available missions can be found in the "Missions" section in the forums, and only those who are signed up for the mission and approved by the Plot Staff member running the mission may participate. Please note that all [M] posts in the RP section are closed, for the mission already has its set number of participants and has already begun.

Missions [Plot Staff]
In a separate forum from the RPing section, threads containing missions may be started at any time by members of the Plot Staff. Members of this staff should be active, for they will be partaking in the missions that they start. Each thread should contain either a [OM] or [CM] in the title.

A mission must contain the following details:
- [OM] in the title (this shows that it is an open mission, seeking willing participants)
- The name of the mission
- The number of players allowed to participate in this mission
- The faction, if any, that is organizing this mission
- The criteria/prerequisite, if any, to show who can partake in this mission and who cannot (Prerequisites may be judged by reputation, level, classes, honour etcetera)
- The difficulty level of this mission
- A quick summary of what the mission is about (it may be about anything, ranging from "saving the princess" to "discover who killed the landlord")
- An extra reward, if any, for those who partake in this mission (the reward may even be "doubling your received grade" - the rewards will vary based on the level of difficulty of the mission)
- A few notes which describe to the players how they discover this mission (ranging from "a wanted poster" to "a very rich man requesting the need for a group of brave warriors")

Upon posting this in a new thread, those who wish to participate in the mission should reply, requesting a spot, so long as they meet the requirements of the mission. If more people than the number of those allowed to participate reply to the mission thread, the Plot Staff member in charge of the mission will be allowed to choose who may participate and who may not (they may announce that they will only pick the first few who sign up, or judge based on stats and who meets the prerequisites the most). Decisions made by Plot Staff members are final.

When sufficient members have signed up/been chosen, the thread label should be changed from [OM] to [CM], signifying that the mission is now closed to the public. This is when the mission will officially begin.

The Plot Staff member will then begin a new thread labeled [M] in the RP section (in the geographical location where the mission takes place) and start the first mission post, which may usually be a gathering or the setting of the scene. Players will then post their replies after this. Plot Staff members should be active in their own missions and add plot twists (if they like) to make it much more interesting to those who take part.

All missions started by Plot Staff members are worth double points.

Missions [Ordinary]
Anyone may post a mission proposal in the "Missions" forum, even if they are not a member of the Plot Staff. They should post missions in the same format as the Plot Staff do, however they should not include [OM] or [CM] in the title, but rather [O] or [C].

Normal missions should follow the following format (and contain these details):
- [O] in the title (this shows that it is an open mission, seeking willing participants)
- The name of the mission
- The number of players allowed to participate in this mission
- The faction, if any, that is organizing this mission
- The criteria/prerequisite, if any, to show who can partake in this mission and who cannot (Prerequisites may be judged by reputation, level, classes, honour etcetera)
- The difficulty level of this mission
- A quick summary of what the mission is about (it may be about anything, ranging from "saving the princess" to "discover who killed the landlord")
- A few notes which describe to the players how they discover this mission (ranging from "a wanted poster" to "a very rich man requesting the need for a group of brave warriors")

As you may have already noticed, these missions do not offer special rewards. Please note that these missions operate like normal collaborations and are worth normal points. This is so that RPers with lots of ideas and wish to start a fun mission have a place to post the mission offer to others. Functioning like Plot Staff missions, the RPer who started the thread may choose who to include and accept into this mission if too many participants sign up. Their choices/decisions will be seen as final.

When sufficient members have signed up/been chosen, the thread label should be changed from [O] to [C], signifying that the mission is now closed to the public. This is when the mission will officially begin.

The RPer who proposed the mission will then begin a new thread labeled [C] in the RP section (in the geographical location where the mission takes place) and start the first mission post, which may usually be a gathering or the setting of the scene. Players will then post their replies after this. The person who started the mission should participate actively in their mission, for he/she is the one who organized it.

Grading
All completed threads should be marked with an asterisk (*) after the [C], [O], [P], or [M]. This informs the Grade Staff that the thread can be graded. Rather than graded weekly, if a member of the Grade Staff spots an asterisk-marked thread, they should proceed to grade it. This is so grading isn't limited to weekends and allows more flexibility to the Grade Staff (in the event that all are on leave on the same weekend).

Grades will be posted at the end of the completed thread and moved to the "Completed Threads" forum. Any questions, problems, or uncertainties should be directed the grader of that thread and may be discussed via PM or AIM to sort out any complaints/queries. The decisions of graders are final, but problems can be discussed with them and if they made a mistake, it will be changed. In the "Staff Forum", members of the Grading Staff must reply to a thread detailing the RPs they graded and the scores and awards that were given.
Kitsune
07-22-2007, 06:15 PM
Grades & Rewards
The focus of this RP is not based on the amount of words one writes or the number of missions one does, but rather on the quality of one's writing. This is to prevent a large spamming of bad writing in order to gain stats, for quality counts towards one's grades - not quantity. The grading staff will be in charge of finalizing the grades upon the sighting of a post/thread (with an asterisk in the title) that is completed. Grading will occur weekly, or whenever a member of the grading staff sights a completed thread. There is no deadline for RPs, although official missions or plot-related missions may be given a deadline for completion.

Grades given will be given out and they should be added to an RPer's Experience points (See Stats System). For missions (started by members of the Plot Staff), the grader will also note down what items, koku, techniques, or rewards have been earned by the participants of said mission. The Grade Staff members have every right to give out rewards or declare any transactions/rewards official. An RPer should never assume that they can get money or rewards (self-awarded) without prior approval from members of the Grade Staff. It is highly suggested that the RPer speaks to a Grade Staff member regarding this matter (self-given rewards) before starting their thread.

Mission rewards (Plot Staff missions) will not affect the number of Experience points one receives.

Experience points can be lowered in order to make way for a self-given reward. Graders will also note down specifics such as "how much is this unlisted magic item my character needs for his story worth in Experience points/koku".

Personal Chapters [P]
All personal chapters should be a minimum of 1500 words. Collabs that do not meet the minimum word count requirements will not be graded. Extra grades will not be awarded for those who write more than the word count, for this system is aimed to focus on the quality of one's writing, not quantity. Graders will mark the individual based on three aspects: language, content, and style. Graders should be both fair and strict while grading.

Language: x/5
Content: x/5
Style: x/10

Language: Grammar, spelling, and how well one manages to captivate the reader with the awesome metaphorical content of their writing etcetera. Everything language-related will be judged here. A grade out of 5 will be given for this section.
Content: The quality of the content will be examined here, so spam/nonsensical collabs will obviously receive a low score like 1 out of 5. If the piece is particularly intriguing, 5/5 may be awarded.
Style: This is the most important section out of the three sections - it covers how well one RPed their character. The way they portray their character should be monitored in this section and how well the RPer did it.

All three grades will then be added together and a grade out of 20 will be awarded. Grades of the individual will then be further deducted if their character discovers their own rewards (such as special items or koku) along the way. Particularly good pieces of writing may also result in the RPer gaining rewards (which won't affect their grade).

See Experience/Leveling below for further details.

Collaborations [M] [C] [O]
All non-[P] chapters should contain a minimum of 3000 words per person. So, in a collab consisting of two people, the collab should be a minimum of 6000 words long. In a collab of three people, the minimum total word count should be 9000 words long. The total word count of each person will be carefully monitored and counted by the Grade Staff, so each person must write a minimum of 3000 words each - this is so that everyone contributes about the same amount of effort when doing these post-based collabs. Collabs that do not meet the minimum word count requirements will not be graded. All partakers of the collab should ensure that the people they are collaborating with meet the 3000 word minimum requirement each as well. Extra grades will not be awarded for those who write more than the word count, for this system is aimed to focus on the quality of one's writing, not quantity.

Grades are earned by the quality of one's writing. Each collaborator will be graded individually, rather than as a group. This is to focus on the writing quality of the individual. Graders will mark the individual based on three aspects: language, content, and style. Graders should be both fair and strict while grading.

Language: x/10
Content: x/10
Style: x/20

Language: Grammar, spelling, and how well one manages to captivate the reader with the awesome metaphorical content of their writing etcetera. Everything language-related will be judged here. A grade out of 10 will be given for this section.
Content: The quality of the content will be examined here, so spam/nonsensical collabs will obviously receive a low score like 1 out of 10. If the collab is particularly intriguing, 10/10 may be awarded.
Style: This is the most important section out of the three sections - it covers how well one RPed their characters/how well they fought. Basically, how well they performed overall in the collab as a whole. The way they portray their characters should be monitored in this section and how well the RPers do it. If an RPer shows signs of godmodding, points will be deduced from this section.

All three grades will then be added together (each person gets an individual grade) and a grade out of 40 will be awarded. Grades of each individual will then be further deducted if their character discovers their own rewards (such as special items or koku) along the way. Mission [M] rewards will not result in the deduction of one's grades. Particularly good pieces of written work may also result in the RPers gaining rewards (which won't affect their grade).

See Experience/Leveling below for further details.

Experience/Leveling
These awarded grades should then be added to the Experience (See Stats System) of the RPer. When a certain number of Experience points have been achieved, one will be able to move up to the next level, gaining Ability Scores and Class Ability Scores depending on their class (This is thoroughly explained in the Stats & Levels System).

Level 2 - 100 Experience Points - You start here.
(+100)
Level 3 - 200 Experience Points
(+200)
Level 4 - 400 Experience Points
(+200)
Level 5 - 600 Experience Points
(+300)
Level 6 - 900 Experience Points
(+300)
Level 7 - 1200 Experience Points
(+400)
Level 8 - 1600 Experience Points
(+400)
Level 9 - 2000 Experience Points
(+500)
Level 10 - 2500 Experience Points
(+500)
Level 11 - 3000 Experience Points
(+600)
Level 12 - 3600 Experience Points
(+600)
Level 13 - 4200 Experience Points
(+700)
Level 14 - 4900 Experience Points
(+700)
Level 15 - 5600 Experience Points
(+800)
Level 16 - 6400 Experience Points
(+800)
Level 17 - 7200 Experience Points
(+900)
Level 18 - 8100 Experience Points
(+900)
Level 19 - 9000 Experience Points
(+1000)
Level 20 - 10000 Experience Points
(+2000)
Level 21 - 11100 Experience Points
(+3000)
Level 22 - 12300 Experience Points
(+4000)
Level 23 - 13600 Experience Points
(+5000)
Level 24 - 15000 Experience Points
(+6000)
Level 25 - 16500 Experience Points
(+7000)
Level 26 - 18100 Experience Points
(+8000)
Level 27 - 19800 Experience Points
(+9000)
Level 28 - 21600 Experience Points
And so on...

Every character starts at 0 Experience. Following the chart above, if they manage to obtain 100 Experience, they will automatically move up to Level 2. The RPer will then be awarded points (based on their class/classes) to distribute to the rest of their stats - their Ability Score and Class Ability Score. As one moves up to higher levels, it becomes increasingly difficult to achieve the next level. Hopefully this will slow down the growth of power gaps between players.

Please note that there is a difference is the pattern of the level requirements of Level 1-20 and Level 21+. Once an RPer reaches Level 20, it becomes slightly more difficult to move up to the next level. After level 20, each level will have entirely new and drastically more powerful awards.

Level 1 is the average strength of a warrior. Level 5 is the average strength for a good samurai. Level 10 is the strength of an up-and-coming champion of a clan or possibly daimyo of a family. Level 15 or so is the level of a leader of a clan. Level 20 is, at the conception of the RPG, the average level for the strongest mortals on the planet, including the most well rewarded samurai of the Imperial courts. The Kami are around level 30 in power, well into "epic" levels.

Reward Points
As personal chapters and collaborations may extend to over the minimum word counts of 1500 and 3000 (per person) respectively, a use for the extra word count has been developed in order to (hopefully) avoid a massive spam of multiple chapters at any one time. For all words that pass the minimum word count, a formula (see below) will be applied to their extra word count and Reward Points will be awarded. These points are not Experience points and do not count towards leveling up. These are the formulas that will be applied to the extra word count (if any):

For Personal Chapters:
Extra Word Count (If Any) / 100 = Reward Points

For Collaborations (each person is graded individually):
Extra Word Count of an Individual (If Any) / 200 = Reward Points

"Reward Points" will be an extra slot in the Stats of an RPer, next to "Level" and "Experience". These reward points are reserved for when people would like to reward themselves with items/koku. As self-given rewards are drained off Experience, Reward Points will act as the substitute or sacrifice - points will be deducted from there before Experience/Grades are deducted. The reason why Reward Points are so low for collabs, are because Reward Points have the same cost as Experience. Here is an example of Reward Points and their use:

Bob wrote a 2000 word personal chapter. As the minimum word count of 1500 was achieved and his writing was not spam content, the grader marked Bob's chapter. Since it was a good chapter, Bob received a grade of 17 out of 20 for it. Also, the grader noticed that Bob wrote 2000 words - 500 words more than the minimum requirement of 1500 words. The grader then applied the formula for "personal chapter Reward Points" to his extra 500 words:

500 / 100 = 5

Thus Bob received 17 Experience and 5 Reward Points for his personal chapter. However, the grader noticed that Bob gave his character a special item in his chapter (which Bob made sure was approved by a member of the Grade Staff before starting his chapter in the first place). This special item cost 7 Experience points, but the grader noticed that Bob had 5 Reward Points with him. So his 5 Reward Points were used up as payment for the item, but Bob only had 5 Reward Points and the special item cost 7 points! The remaining 2 points were deducted from his Experience/Grade, so 17 - 2 = 15. These are Bob's final grades:

15 Experience, One Special Item, and 0 Reward Points

Bob's Experience points were then added to his total Experience (in his stats).

If any Reward Points are left over or unused, they will be added to the RPer's Reward Points (in their stats) and saved for future use. They cannot be converted to Experience, but when accumulated, they will act as a sacrifice for future self-given rewards and thus deduce the chance of an RPer having their Experience deducted from their grades.

Grading Format
When grading, Grade Staff should find the updated stats of the RPer being graded and add their grades to their Experience and Reward Points for them. If the RPer levels up or attains any items, it is best that the grader notes this in their grading post. A comment or two should be added by the grader on their thoughts of the piece of writing. Here is how the grades should be posted:

[Name - xxx Clan]
Stats
Experience: X (Current Experience) + Y (Grade) = XY (New Experience Total)
Level: (Level Should Match Experience According To Experience Chart Above)
Reward Points: X (Current RP) + Y (RP Earned) = XY (New RP Total)
Station Points:
Koku:
Items: (To Be Listed, If Any)
-slot-
-slot-
-slot-
Taint Score:
Avatar
Rank:
Enhancements:
Ability Scores
Increase 1:
Increase 2, etc:
Decrease 1:
Decrease 2, etc:
Class Abilities
[ Class 1 ] - xxx
[ Class 2 ] - xxx
[ PrC ] - xxx

For more information on the stats, please read the Stats & Levels System.[/color]

Rules of RPing
Here are some basic guidelines that all should follow when RPing, for both personal chapters and collaborations. Failure to follow these rules will result in a.) the written works which break the rules will not be graded, and b.) you will be warned to edit your written content or your thread will be deleted.

1) Applying the facts of life to this RP, a Level 5 ninja struck by an arrow to the heart would die just as easily as a Level 1 ninja struck by an arrow to the heart. Please be aware that one is not immortal when RPing.

2) Please keep your content acceptable and viewable by the general public. Mature sexual content, highly graphic violence or fight scenes, extreme gender/racial/species discrimination, and disturbingly shocking bad language that should be downright censored but isn't will result in the thread being deleted upon sight.

3) For the love of all RPs - no godmodding. It's a post-based system. The only characters one should control are their own and their NPCs. This is not excusable - RPers may find their points severely deducted if this is spotted by the Grade Staff. Extreme godmodding and unfair play will result in the RPer not receiving any points for their written works (which contain godmodding) at all.

4) Please note that certain clans may be in conflict with each other. Killing a member (no matter how insignificant) of another clan could possibly spark a civil war - one should remain aware of their own actions. If unsure of whether or not your content/potential storyline is acceptable, please contact one of the members of the Grade Staff via PM or AIM to discuss the matter.

If anything is unclear, you may direct your questions to the Main Staff.

Personal Chapters - Rules
1) Personal chapters can only be about the following topics:
- Main plots (created by the Plot Staff)
- NPC background stories
- PC x NPC interaction
- PC background stories
- Any clan ceremonies
- Personal missions (preferably clan based)
- The discovery of a Prestige Class (school)

Any spam such as "Aya went to the market to buy some chibipuffs and saw generic rival clan member #283726273632 beating up a member of her own clan. Furious, she hurled her chibipuffs at the clan rival member, hitting him in the head and killing him..." will not be tolerated. They will be deleted upon sight by members of the Grade Staff. Please also note that this example of spam writing, if allowed to stay (but should not be D:<<), would affect and interfere with any main plots set by the Plot Staff, because killing a member of another clan (no matter how insignificant that person is) could result in a huge war between two clans and their allies.

2) To avoid a spamming of threads, a limit of 2 separate [P] threads (approximately one chapter each) will be allowed to be posted per week. Any extra threads will be merged with another chapter and graded as one personal chapter or dismissed completely and ignored by members of the Grade Staff.

Collaborations - Rules
1) The contents of collaborations will not be limited as harshly as the content of personal chapters. Writers are free to collab about anything they like, as long as it remains logical and doesn't involve any major destruction or potential war-starting encounters with members of other clans.

2) We are highly aware of the fact that some RPers enjoy PC x PC fights. Please be aware that fighting will mostly end in war, so fighting should be suitably and preferably saved for training sessions, missions, and major plot arc missions and fights.

3) Collaborations are encouraged more than personal chapters, but it is advisable that RPers do not take on more than 5 collabs at any one time. For missions, if a greater number of people than necessary sign up (for a mission), there is a greater chance that you will not be chosen if you are already partaking in more collabs and missions than others who sign up.

Clan Heads
One per clan, these are people who are the most responsible in their clan OOC-wise and can effectively lead their clan. IC clan leaders should be represented by NPCs - not necessarily the Clan Heads themselves. Clan Heads are responsible for creating, developing, arranging, and customizing their clans, giving them the originality that they need. They are responsible for their own clan members and should help them with whatever clan-based problems they have. All Clan Heads may analyze and submit new additions to the Plot Staff for approval (i.e. new minor families, new factions, or new clan abilities). They act as a link between the staff and their clan members. Clan Heads should be people who are willing to listen, analyze, and can easily relate with members of their own clan.

Clan Heads should also take the initiative to organize clan missions whenever possible. They should also be in charge (or directive) of the clan's storyline, if any. Their storylines should also be discussed with and sent to the Plot Staff, in order to keep everything up-to-date and to prevent potential major plotlines from conflicting with individual clan plots.

If a Clan Head does not perform his/her duty as a leader efficiently and responsibly, members of the Main Staff will choose another Clan Head for the clan who can take over and lead the clan effectively.

Stats/Attributes
Throughout the systems there are numerous examples of "increase to attribute x" or "increase to stat y". However, on your sheet there is no required place to put any "stats" (in a traditional RPG sense). That's because everyone starts effectively "equal unless otherwise stated". That means you effectively have every stat/attribute that could ever be conceived at +0.

But there are two types of attributes. There are Major Attributes and Minor Attributes. What is the difference? A Major attribute is something like "Strength", "Agility", "Stamina", etc... that can be easily split up into other attributes. Minor Attributes are attributes that could be easily combined into Major Attributes. Minor Attributes are easier to get increases to than Major Attributes.

For example, if you have +1 Strength, you are stronger than someone with +0 Strength, but weaker than someone with +2 Strength. Even with +10 Strength (which is a lot, FYI), your still human--unless you get a benefit that says otherwise you shouldn't have to ask "how much strength do I need to juggle horses".

Now there is another attribute that can be called "+1 Lifting". This simply means you are better at lifting than someone without +1 or above lifting (i.e. +0 lifting), but worse than someone with +2 or above lifting. Furthermore, since lifting is based on strength, you are only slightly better at lifting than someone with +1 Strength (unless you also have +1 or more strength), and worse than someone with +2 Strength. Theoretically if you got every aspect of what "+1 Strength" entails, you could replace it with "+1.5 Strength", but really it would be nearly impossible as strength constitutes lifting, pushing, throwing, pinning, grappling, pulling, breaking (body part), breaking (small object), breaking (large object [door, etc...]), jumping, and so many other things I frankly don't have the space or time to write it all out.

Anything can be a minor attribute though. The more obscure and precise, the easier it'll be to obtain (and cheaper). So odds are, +1 "Crane Origami" will be easier to obtain than +1 "Paper Art", and MUCH easier to obtain than +1 "Dexterity" or +1 "Art".