What's this "role-playing" stuff all about?

The role-playing game, or RPG, is a game in which you take on a character and make it your own by playing the role. In the game is where the story unfolds. In our case, it will be on the list instead of in a chat room. Creativity is the basis in the game, and the more ideas we have, the richer the experience. Like it was in our legendary list party - when people took the initiative to be really creative, everything became more entertaining.

I thought there was a Council. What happened to it?

The Council has been shut down. In its place there are now RPG Dark Angels to help new members settle into the Game.

What do all the abbreviations mean?

GM - Game master/mistress

MC - Major Character (off limits to everyone but the creator)

NMC - Not Major/Minor Character (can be used with permission of the creator)

NW - Our reality, the Nightworld.

RPG - Role-Playing Game

OOC - Out Of Character post. Like off-topic, these posts can be questions to the list about issues that aren't a part of the role-playing.

PR - Private Setting or Plot

JP – Joint Post. A post between two or more people from a chat room or instant message that is edited to read like a conversation or situation between the characters.

BI - The Black Iris, a popular club for us to go to.

How do I post to the list?

To post, simply send an email to nw_rpg@yahoogroups.com. Archives can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nw_rpg.

How do I get into a plot?

If after following a certain plot thread, you would like to join them, email one of the players currently involved in that plot or the and if they are not in charge of it, they will direct you to the person who is. If you can't decide on a plot to join, (at the appropriate time) you can always send an advertisement to the Night Times to see if anyone is willing to take you in. And if none of these options appeal to you, you can always create your own plot.

How many posts can I make in a day?

No more than three posts per day, per character. This just keeps our mail volume down. So that would mean if you have the max of 3 PC's and 3 MC's, you would have a max of (dear god) 18 posts a day. But that would be social suicide. So think it over first before getting that many. And before you ask, no, there is no minimum number of posts. Though it's usually polite, except given bizarre cases of extreme all-game apathy (which can happen) to post at least about once or twice a week. That's one or twice a week, per character.

What do I do if I want to make a new character?

Send an email with some information about the character (such as their species, what they look like, powers, what you plan to do with them, etc.) to the . They will forward your request to Cassie for name approval and then get back to you on whether or not you have the character.

What's with the signatures at the bottom of each post and do I need to have one?

The signatures (or profiles) are not compulsory but are very handy for quick information. In real life, if you see someone, you can obviously see the colour of their hair or what they're wearing. However, in the rpg, if the information isn't provided in a profile, people often have to dig through past posts to find it which can really be a hassle. Profiles are pretty much up to the player so you have free reign over what information you want to put in it and how you set it out. Generally, it's good to include species, hair/eye colour and current clothing.

I'm too busy to play in the game at the moment and I want to stop receiving posts until I'm available again. What do I do?

Log in to Yahoo Groups, click on "My Groups" and then "Edit My Groups". Under the heading "Message Delivery" you will see a drop-down menu beside the NW_RPG list which says either "Individual Email" or "Daily Digest". Click on it and then select "No Email". You can always change it back later. If you don't have a Yahoo ID and you just read the emails from your inbox, send a request to the and they'll change the setting for you. Don't forget to post an OOC to the list informing your fellow players that you'll be absent!

I'd like to leave the RPG. What should I do?

Alert the about your decision to leave. DO NOT send a letter to the list demanding to be unsubbed. The list is often very high volume and no one needs an extra one-liner filling up their inboxes with something which doesn't even concern them. Once the Council acknowledges that you will no longer be playing and they have taken the appropriate steps to making sure all information is valid and updated, they will unsub you from the list. If you can't wait to be unsubbed by a Council member, just set the list to "No Mail".

I have a question that isn't listed here.

Feel free to email any questions you have to the .