Consent

Consent is the cornerstone of any cooperative role-playing game and Final Kingdom is no exception. No matter how adversarial the relationships between in-game characters, players should always be working together to tell a good story. The following basic rules of consensual RP are intended to safeguard the right of players to feel comfortable with what happens to their characters, while affirming that no single person has complete control over how stories progress.

• Be considerate.
  • Ask permission OOCly before you do something ICly that might endanger another player's character or radically shift the tone of a scene. If you join a combat scene, you can pretty much expect to get involved in combat, but it is unfair to invite someone to a social scene, then bring in a friend to 'jump' them unexpectedly.
  • Don't "powerpose" -- that is, describe and predetermine how another character will react to you. Leave poses open-ended when possible, giving your opponents room to react.
  • If someone does something you're not comfortable with, you have the right to pause the action to discuss how to resolve the issue. No one can make you participate in a scene if you don't want to.
  • In combat, ask OOC permission before 'transfering' an attack you or an ally have been targeted with. Having someone step in to come to the 'rescue' can be dramatic and is usually accepted as part of good storytelling. However, this should be used sparingly within a scene, otherwise it turns from being an interesting scene element, into someone trying to 'game' the combat system and their fellow players.
• Be reasonable.
  • "IC actions equal IC consequences." If your character behaves rashly or rudely, anger or vengeance may be forthcoming. Be open to the unexpected from other players' characters, and don't assume your character is invincible or will be universally liked.
  • Mutual participation is only possible if you relinquish some control. Sometimes, your character will lose. Sometimes, they will get hurt, or caught by the unexpected. This is part of telling a good story. That said, you never give up your right to say you're uncomfortable with how things are going.
  • When visions conflict, try to come to an OOC compromise. If that proves impossible, tell a staffer.
  • Characters may find themselves in perilous situations, but regardless of circumstances: No one dies unless they want to die. See Character Death for more details. Don't abuse this privilege.
• Be flexible.
  • If you find yourself in the awkward situation of needing to explain why your villain doesn't finish off the pesky hero, or why your bully doesn't beat up the character who has just taunted them (when the real reason is that the scene is ending in 20 minutes and there's no time for a fight), this is your opportunity to come up with a clever, interesting, or humorous alternative. Generally, it's the responsibility of the person posing to figure out how to make it work. If you're having trouble, though, just ask for advice. This is a cooperative game, after all.