1) Before using any particular character in the "Tavern", create one post in the "Doorway" thread titled "Enter [CHARACTER]" at the top, describing your character in the form of them entering the tavern for the first time. You may use as many characters as you please, as long as each one has their own introduction in the doorway.

2) All posts within the tavern should be in third person form, as if continuing the story of the previous post.

3) All posts in the "Tavern" are "in character." If out of character discussion becomes necessary, feel free to create a separate thread within the forum for the conversation. Please label these threads appropriately.

4) "Private" conversations between characters can be held by creating a new topic titled "Table #X." Feel free to invite characters from the main conversation to sit at a table with your character. The first post in the table should contain a list of all the characters that have been invited, so that unwanted posts can be deleted.

5) Within the tavern, keep in mind that an author’s character is speaking and not the author themselves. All character interactions are permitted and encouraged, including bar fights, insults, and shouting matches.

6) If another author’s character behaves rudely/violently towards your character, DO NOT take it personally. The point of the tavern is to test the realism and depth of your characters, by viewing how realistic their interactions feel with other, unpredictable personalities in the mix.

7) Moderators of the forum reserve the right to remove any inappropriate post for any reason, including out of character comments in the wrong topics and RP that would not be appropriate for younger readers.

8) I will add additional moderators as the forum requires them. Reliable authors with the best standing within the Tavern will be given first priority to become moderators.

9) Characters of all races within the fantasy realm are allowed, as long as they are able to fit through the door. Using characters from stories you have posted on fictionpress is encouraged, as well as characters you wish to use in future stories.

10) When at all possible, spell-check your posts before submitting them. The "Tavern" and "Doorway" topics are meant to read as a finished (if unpolished) story in itself, and good spelling and grammar reflect that.

11) Character limit in the Tavern Thread: 6. No one author may have more than 6 characters at a time in play in the tavern. If characters 'disappear' (due to idleness) or leave the tavern new characters by that author may be introduced. This is in order to prevent any one author from monopolizing and "clogging up" the Tavern thread.

Other information:

--The "NPCs":

The talking door in the "Doorway" thread is intended to further your initial description by giving your character someone to talk to. As such, you are free to do with him what you will. Likewise, the bartender, "Martes" is a character I created to serve the other patrons in the bar. As I can't be around all the time to control him and would eventually like to make use of the Melting Pot with my own characters, I hereby relinquish my control of Martes, so that anyone may use him for any plot advancement that is required. When I get around to it, the cook will arrive as well and serve much the same purpose. I may create a waitress as well.

If you so choose to make use of an "NPC," Please ensure their actions are true to their original personalities. The door is a sly and cynical piece of craftsmanship, helpful but not very polite. Martes's personality is as one who is an expert at their particular realm (in this case, bartending) but is otherwise absentminded and prone to rambling and hyperbole.

The same sort of extension of control may be used with other authors' characters for the purpose of advancing the story, but ONLY if the original author allows it.

Mardak: Half orc boy with one inch tusks protruding from either side of his mouth and slightly greenish/gray skin. He’s the scullery boy, not to intelligent, but competent enough. Basically he functions as the “do whatever” gofer boy.

Graceatra: Dwarven woman; the cook. Carries a role of cooking knives. Has a bit of a sharp tongue, but is not particularly threatening.

--The "Time Warp":

The Tavern will technically be on the same night forever. The actual starting of a Quest is when all authors involved with that quest write for their characters going to bed for the night. The next morning the actual quest will begin, and the characters involved will be in a time-warp compared to The Tavern. When/if a character returns to The Tavern after leaving it they will return to the original night the Tavern opened.

The time warp is necessary for the main Tavern thread for the fact that its job is to coordinate the meeting of all other characters in all other threads. It's not realistic or economic to try and force everyone in the tavern to "go to bed" at the same time; there are far too many authors and characters involved for that to be done smoothly and quickly.

Having too many characters interacting within the same thread will ultimately get confusing and wordy. As such, the tavern is meant only to act as a central hub where characters may interact with each other before separating into threads of their own. One way to accomplish this is to create a "Table" thread for your character to interact with a set few. If your goals go beyond simple discussion, however, you may want to create a quest thread.

Quest rules:

1) To create a quest, have a character leave Tavern, and post a new topic titled "Quest #X" under the "Quests" category of the forum.

2) The first post should start with a list of characters from the tavern that are allowed to join your character on the quest, so as not to overcrowd the topic with unwanted characters. It is best to recruit characters by talking with them inside the Tavern first.

3) The second part of the post is simply the narration of your character leaving the tavern. The topic poster is now the quest "DM" and is responsible for controlling the events of the quest.

4) You may add additional characters at any time, but be sure to edit the quest’s original post to reflect that the new character is allowed to participate.

5) The character who leaves the tavern may act as the "leader" of the party for the duration of the quest so that the author may maintain control of the plotline.

6) Storylines for quests are unlimited, to include brining other authors' characters into the worlds you have created for your own, or even into a portion of one of your stories.

7) A quest "DM" may request Moderator removal of posts by authors participating in a quest thread without permission.

8) If you wish to remove your character from the quest, simply write into the quest thread a narration of that character leaving. They may then return to the tavern, or disappear completely at your discretion.

9) No character may be written such that they are in the Tavern and a quest thread at the same time.

Considering the wide range of characters that inhabit the Tavern, it's not expected for them to all get along all the time. Unfortunately, there are no mathematical mechanics in pace for the combat; it would not be realistic to try to devise a system capable of satisfying the needs of everyone’s versions of magic and combat.

Combat Rules:

1) Before beginning combat with another author's character, be sure you have read that character's detailed description in the Character Description thread. Many authors update these frequently.

2) Within combat posts, observe the "three second rule" in order to give the other characters time to react to your character's actions. If the action in your post would take longer than three seconds of real-time to accomplish, it is too long. Characters' private thougths are considered instaintaneous; they do not count towards the three second rule. Communication with other characters (taunts, directons, etc.) are allowed to overlap other actions, so that you may have three seconds of dialogue and three seconds of combat in the same post. A post containing only thoughts/communication is exempt from the three second rule.

3) You may NOT decide your opponent's success at defending themselves from your attacks. If your post contains a direct attack on your opponent, your post must end IMMEDIATELY after that action starts. ("Bob swung his sword deftly at Joe's right arm," not "Bob hacked Joe's right arm off with his sword.")

4) Keep your posts within realistic limits. Your characters are not Neo. They can neither dodge bullets nor defeat hundreds martial arts experts with their bare hands. If your character IS Neo, tone it down for the sake of this forum.

5) The goal of combat in the Tavern is not winning; it is to grow how realistically your characters react under stress. Give your opponents advantages, and don't take an advantage without their permissions.

6) A character may not take permanent damage unless their author writes them taking it themselves. This includes broken weapons, armor, and items. Also, and more importantly, you may NOT kill another author's character, though they are very much allowed to write for their own characters' deaths.

I've updated the forum to include five basic categories: General, Tavern, Quests, Discussion, and Off Topic. I'll be gradually updating the old topics to reflect this, and ask that new topics be placed in the appropriate categories. This will allow us to easily sort through topic based on which portions of the forum we are working with.

For now, categories are structured as follows:

General: Topics related to the Administrative functions of the forum. (Rules, the Reporting Form, etc.)

Tavern: Topics containing a location in the "world" in which the tavern exists, including the surrounding locations. (Nearby towns, Houses, Rooms, Tables, etc.)

Quests: Topics dedicated to a structured quest, as described in the Quest Rules.

Discussion: Topics related to information involving characters, settings, physics, etc of this world or the world of any character involved in the Tavern.

Off Topic: Topics that exist purely to give us a place to goof off, chat, and have fun.

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