Roleplaying..

[Headmaster Mohit]

A. Basic roleplaying etiquette:

Here you will find the basic idea of Roleplaying, and the proper way for it to be done.

[Headmaster Mohit]

I. Open or Closed

A. When starting a roleplay, you must decide whether or not it is going to be open or closed.
1. In an open roleplay, anyone may join in the thread, and may take the thread in any direction they wish.
2.In a closed roleplay, the thread can only be added onto by those individuals that the thread’s starter wishes.
B. To indicate if a thread is open or closed, please add the word that describes your roleplay into the topic description so that it is easy to find. It is also wise to indicate the state of the thread in the first post either at the top or the bottom.
C. If, having started a closed thread, you find that there are people posting who should not be, feel free to ignore them, or ask them to leave - do not curse them!
1. Anyone who repeatedly posts in a closed thread without permission will have points taken off their respective house.
D. I very much prefer OPEN roleplays, but if a student wishes to have a closed RP, then please say so, and invite only those who you enjoy RPing with.

[Headmaster Mohit]

II. Grammar and post length

1. An effort should be made by everyone involved in a roleplaying thread to keep the grammar and spelling as readable as possible. No netspeak or slang will be allowed, as your character would definitely not use them in everyday language.
2. All roleplays should be done in the third person tense, and written as though the events occurred in the past. For example: “Hagrid walked into his hut and sat down to scratch Fang behind the ears.” NOT “I walk into my hut, sit down and start scratching Fang behind his ears.”<br>3. An effort should be made to keep posts in roleplays from being only a sentence or two long. While the length of post that people can make range from just a few words to paragraphs long, the two extremes are a bit wearisome to read. You should attempt to write perhaps a paragraph for each post. Shorter posts are acceptable, as are longer ones, if they are called for, but generally longer posts are better.
4. If you need to make an additional comment as yourself and not as your character, you should use the abbreviation “OOC” before your statement indicating that you are Out Of Character. It is also useful to put all OOC comments in parentheses to separate them.

[Headmaster Mohit]

III. Control of characters

1. While roleplaying it is important to remember that you have control of only your own character. You can have your character say or do anything that you like within the rules, but you can’t force any other character to do something without their consent.
2. Your posts should be open ended, in that they allow the person you are roleplaying with to make a decision regarding the outcome of a specific event. For example, if, in your post, you curse someone and say that the curse hit them in the chest, you are not allowing your roleplaying partner the opportunity to do things such as dodge or deflect the incoming curse.
3. If you do perform an action for somebody else in one of your posts, you must get their permission to do so. This goes for something as inconsequential as saying that the person you are talking to “looked worried.” If it is not in that character’s persona to be worried by news such as that you are telling them, then they may object.
4. If you need to roleplay the actions of someone who is not registered on the boards, and is not a member of canon (A character from the books themselves) then you may do so in your posts. You may also roleplay the actions of any pets that you might have or magical creatures you may run across in the forbidden forest.
5. If you need to use a charcter such as those in the above rule frequently for a given roleplay, you can register that person (or thing) on the boards, and request that they be given visitor status. Please make all requests of Hagrid.
6. In certain lessons, you may be granted the ability to roleplay a teacher’s actions. This only applies to that assignment in particular, and if you do something with the professor’s character that s/he doesn’t like, rest assured, you will be punished.

[Headmaster Mohit]

B. Roleplaying Content.

Below is what you will find in the content of the Roleplay.

[Headmaster Mohit]

. The Rules of HOS will be bent for PROPER RPs.
1. I will let slip curses on each other, but trashing offices, and taking RPs to far, will have terrible consequences.
2. I will allow RPs in the Forbidden Forest, as long as they aren't taken out of proportion.
B. Canon Characters.
1. WE HAVE NO CANON CHARACTERS AT HOS!!
2. Please do not use Canon Characters in RPS, for instance,

Filch grabbed me and threw me over the cliff.

Who is Filch?
C. Respectable Areas
1. Offices and Administration category is not open for RPs to be posted.
3. OOC category is not open for RPs to be posted.
4. Gringotts category is not open for RPs to be posted.
5. Some shops are not open for RPs to be posted, you should check with the shopkeepers.
6. The News category is not open for RPs to be posted.
7. The Extra Events Category is not open for RPs to be posted.

[Headmaster Mohit]

II. Items and Special Abilities

1. In the books written by J. K. Rowling, Harry entered the wizarding world with no knowledge of Polyjuice Potions, Aging Potions, and Charms that could make things explode. Hermione, who was in fact the most studious of the Trio, did not know everything. Therefore, you do not know everything, nor are you an animagus. The students at VH essentially start off with no knowledge of magic or magical items. Your family background (whether you may be from a wizarding family or from a muggle one) does not count towards explaining your vast knowledge of Dark Magic, potions, healing arts etc. Your knowledge should remain comparable to that of your year, not a graduate.
2. Special abilities such as becoming an animagus, is a complex process which can only be undertaken with special permission. As of this very moment, there are currently 0 people who have been found satisfactory to start animagi training.
3. All magical mischief aids and other educational aids such as invisibility cloaks, time turners, and pensieves are not allowed without explicit permission.
4. Invisibility cloaks are extremely rare, and therefore no one at HOS has them at this time. Points will be taken if you are caught using ANY of these items.
5. The items rule also goes for prank pulling in RP threads. If you do not have dung bombs, Filibusters Wet Start Fireworks, etc, then they can not be used in the prank.
6. Weapons of all kinds are prohibited at HOS. Severe penalties will be incurred if one is caught with contraband in their possession. Under no circumstances are swords, bows, long bows, knives, daggers, guns, or anything of that persuasion is allowed at Hogwarts Online. You are a student. A student does not carry weapons with oneself when going about their studies. That includes family heirlooms and ornamental weapons.
7. I repeat, severe penalties will be incurred if one is found with contraband, and expulsion will be imminent if one is found to have the intention of role-playing with a weapon or if one role-plays their character actually using a weapon against another student, professor, magical creature or Hogsmeade staff.

[Headmaster Mohit]

III. Settings

1. During the school year, all RPs must take place at Hogwarts or somewhere on these grounds. If during the break, you would like to roleplay a vacation to an island nation, or a trip home to your family estate, then you are welcome to do so. BUT this is only during that time, and should be wrapped up during that time. Points will be taken once again if a person is caught RPing this.
2.If you post somewhere that canonically a place where students are not freely allowed to go (The Forbidden Forest or the Kitchens for example), there is a small chance that a professor could show up in the thread and take points for being out of bounds just as they do in the books. This also goes for things such as going into the dorms of the opposite sex and going into a common room that isn’t your own.