Welcome to Gaia! ::

In this thread, you will be able to read over FAQs, ask questions, and in general, learn how to roleplay well.

Thread is now unlocked, but is still under construction. Feel free to start posting your opinions, issues, and concerns!

Don't cheat: This includes God-moding.

Obey the laws of the thread universe: For example, don't use magic in a sci-fi thread that doesn't believe in magic, or pull out a gun and jump off walls in a Dark Ages or Medieval thread.

Stick to the story: As in, don't change your character's backstory.

Only control yourself: Meaning, don't God-mode and control someone else's character. Interaction is great and encouraged, like extending your charrie's hand to another for a handshake, but don't say that the other character shook your hand.

Leave Offline Players alone: Again, don't control someone else's character. Make up a reason that your character went on with their objective and leave the offline player's character alone.

First, let's address a dreaded character type that everyone's made at least one of: The Mary Sue or Gary Stu.

What is a Mary Sue/Gary Stu?
Short answer: They are their respective gender's perfect character archetype: Pretty/handsome, everyone loves them, they're good at everything they do, and they are attention hogs. None of which are good for the RP.
Extended answer: Mary Sues/Gary Stus are the ideal being of their creator. They are the perfect character, usually that which their creator wants to be. They're strong, smart, attractive, and talented. Sounds pretty good, right?
WRONG. No one should ever play a Mary Sue. They're boring, bland, and Roleplay-murderers.
They have a vast array of skills that they're great at, often as good as a tradesman or specialist. That's bad.
They're beautiful and irresistible in more than one way, be it physically, mentally, spiritually, or any of the above combined. They look great in virtually every fashion known to man. Again, bad.
They're also attention whores. They suck up to everyone and make everything revolve around them. This is bad, especially when a party has a world to save.

Do you think you have a Mary Sue/Gary Stu in your cast of characters? Then take this Mary Sue Litmus test to help you determine if you do, indeed, have a Mary Sue on your hands. It's not the end-all, be-all, but it will certainly help guide you. Be sure to answer honestly, or else you'll get a skewed result.
Also, be sure to come post your results in the Are You a Mary-Sue? thread, so we can all have a bit of a laugh and share some tips on how to change our characters so that they're more real.

Got your results? Then line them up to this table according to your perceived Literacy level and see how you match up. The scores here are the maximum number of points permitted before a character would be considered a Sue for your Literacy Level.
Role Play Type - Score
Non-Literate - 50
Semi-Literate - 40
Literate - 30
Advanced - 20

So if you're a Literate and you have a character with a score of 38, you have a Sue. But if you're a Semi-Literate and you have that same score with your character, you're getting close, but you don't quite yet have a Sue. And for a Beginner with that same score, you're safe; your character isn't considered a Sue for your level.
~More to come later~

P2P Et. 1: If another Player expresses a problem with you or the way you are playing your character, take care of it outside the RP thread. That's what PMs and comments are for.

P2P Et. 2: If another Player asks you to step up your game, ie. not use ** for actions, form complete sentences, and/or use correct grammar, don't take it as a personal attack. It is meant as a constructive criticism, and will help you grow as a Player if you keep it in mind. Same if they ask you to improve your character; it is not a personal attack. They are trying to help you be a better Roleplayer.

Thread unlocked. Please feel free to start posting and giving your input!