InsaneJournal

First and foremost, this is a game, and is not to be taken too seriously. We here at Unhallowed have a VERY low tolerance for OOC drama (though are known to indulge more than often ICly) and ask that you please leave it at the door. If there is some issue between players, we ask that it does not spill over into gameland (you are not, after all, required to deal with each other directly). If you feel you cannot hold your tongues and demand mediation, then seek out mod intervention before having it out on the comms or dropping characters unnecessarily.

Or, simply fill out this form, and email it to the mods at unhallowedmods@gmail.com.

Again... This is a game. That's all it is. You may certainly become very attached to your characters and experience a range of emotions on their behalf, but at the end of the day, they are fictional. It's important to be mindful of this distinction, and to keep in mind that OOC knowledge is just that: OOC. Just because someone else's character is mean to your character doesn't mean that the other character's player is a jerk. The player is probably a very nice person, and you shouldn't judge them based upon IC interaction.

Players need to be sure they have a firm idea of their character's personality and the game's premise before applying. Likewise, players should make sure they're staying in character.

Mary Sues/Gary Stus and godmodding are also not allowed. Consent is an integral part of RP, and it is essential that any sort of action that could have major physical or emotional consequences on others be discussed and authorized beforehand. There are some things that people just don't want their characters to have to deal with, and forcing such things on them is simply not cool. All it takes is a quick email or IM to the player to get it worked out. Otherwise, it can cause OOC Drama, and we are totally trying to avoid that.

If any of the above is seen happening with a character, the player will receive two warnings before being removed from the game on the third offense.

Both spelling and grammar are important, so looking over your post before hitting submit never hurts. If you use Firefox, there should be an inline spellchecker already installed on your browser. With this, your browser will point out misspelled words as you type, à la Microsoft Word. This should successfully prevent a majority of spelling issues.

Unhallowed does not have a character limit, but we do ask you to keep it realistic. Some people can be more active than other players, but we will keep tabs on the activity of your characters. As such, please keep your own activity level in mind when applying for more than two characters, as that will be a factor in the acceptance of your application.

Players are expected to post at least one journal entry or log every two weeks as well as keep up with replies to other characters and threads. Activity checks will occur on Monday every two weeks and a list will be put up on the OOC community listing journals that need to make a post or risk removal. Players who have not made a post or participated in a thread by the following Tuesday will be removed. Characters that make this list more than two times in a row (or continuously meet the bare minimum to resist removal) will be given a warning for not meeting activity requirements. After a warning, this character will be removed on the second offense.

Hiatuses are allowed for up to a month. A hiatus lasting for more than a month (as well as constant hiatuses) could result in your dismissal from the game. However, this will be dealt with case-by-case (constantly being busy with school is a lot different than not having access to a computer for a certain length of time). If a player needs additional time, some exceptions may be made.

Slash, het, and femmeslash are all permitted. However, there should be no tilt towards any particular orientation. Keep in mind if your character is anything other than heterosexual that they should be played as the Neo-Victorian setting requires. Homosexuality is greatly frowned upon, though not uncommon, and people known to have been gay have been killed in the streets. Almost all of them will take great care to hide their sexuality.

Also, bear in mind that character relationships need to be born of an agreement between both players, as well as believable. If players seem to have joined solely for shipping purposes (and are disregarding other parts of the game for it) or are forcing certain ships on other players they will only receive one warning before being dismissed from the game.

While we would love to have a majority of the PBs be decked out in Neo-Victorian wear, we know that is impossible. Do not feel that you have to have someone in period gear, or that if you PB is in Regency attire instead of Victorian that we're going to reject it. We're very laid back individuals, and as long as the PB isn't completely off the wall for your character (P!nk for an Aristocrat, for example) we'll generally be fine with it.

Of course, you get bonus points for PBs in period gear. =D

As far as we're concerned, our player base is generally awesome and produces tons and tons of fun RP, crack, and drama, and your character is your character to do with what you wish. However, we do ask that if something verges on a little bit too cracktastic or dramatic that you run those plot points by the mods first. This includes topics like rape, terminal illness, murder, other sorts of death, etc. Generally we're cool with what you want to do, we'd just like to make sure we know if there is anything SUPER MAJOR going on with your character that we should be aware of.

The official stance amongst people in RP land is 'Plot = WIN'. We are no exceptions to this rule. If you have any ideas for plot that involves the greater theme and game community, we would love to hear about it! ^_^ However, we do ask that you submit it to us to look over before putting it into play, just to make sure it doesn't conflict with anything that we might be planning. Send an email to us with any ideas that you have to unhallowedmods@gmail.com.

Really, the mods are not that picky, just so long as people understand that it is not some "magic journal." Not everyone has a steam-powered, clockwork computer in their home, though it is possible that some people might. You can use your journals as written communications sent by courier, perhaps a posting in an East End bar, you can use them for simple conversations in person (if you do not feel like threading it out completely), or for phone conversations (but not everyone would have a phone). Really, it's up to you, as I'm sure you can be creative in your use of communication.

If you can figure out a reason why your character would have a computer, there will be a sort of intranet within London. Information from the outside doesn't travel in, nor does information travel out by that means. You can contact anyone within London that has a profile on the intranet (and, yes, if you are on it, the government made you fill out information... whether you gave them the correct information is up to you) and London is currently attempting to find out how to contact other cities this way.

Entries posted in journals are considered to be posted to this intranet and viewable to everyone unless stated otherwise.

Strike-outs are unreadable text that was deleted if your character was using a computer. Should the entire entry be struck out, that shows the entry was deleted, but a person can still respond, though they do not know what was said (Along the lines of "Lindsay La Froste has deleted this post".) Should a strike out be made in a written medium, such as a letter, then it is considered to be scribbled out. It is up to you if you wish the other player(s) to be able to read it, but if it is not said, then assume that you can not make out what is under the strike out.

Privated entries should be formatted as follows:

[Private to Recipient's Name Here]

Text here.

[/Private]

It should always be assumed, unless stated otherwise, that if a private is not addressed to your character (s)he cannot "break into" the other characters' journal.

Make sure to clarify the recipient(s) of a private addressed to certain characters. Saying something like "close friends" is too vague. Instead, list the names of those the private is addressed to.

Thread headings should be formatted as follows:

Who: [Who's involved this scene.]
Where: [Where the scene is occurring.]
When: [When (morning, evening, between what events of the day) it takes place.]
What: [A short summary of the scene. Maybe what it's trying to achieve, what spawned it into being, and etc.]
Content: [For simplicity's sake, you can just use 'No Adult Content'/Worksafe or 'Adult Content'/Not Work Safe. Adult Content is, of course, graphic sex or violence. State which (graphic sex or violence) applies to a post labeled with Adult Content.]

Everyone in the game will be living in London. The major details and descriptions of major parts of the Metropolis can be found here. For the most part, London is one of the few cities remaining in the United Kingdom in 2105, and apart from Prussia is the most technologically advanced.

Steampunk is the basic idea that electricity never became part of our modern lives; that steam or springs runs everything mechanical; that Victorian attire never went sour; that laser guns and other futuristic weapons are mainstream; and, that the modern world relies more on human power rather than computer potency.

Or, in simpler terms, it is kind of like this.

You caught us. There is a bit of electricity that is around the city, as 200 years will do that to technology. It isn't widespread as it is mostly used solely for Deathwatch types and their galvanic weapons. Some scientists have figured ways to get the electricity to their labs, figuring it is the new way to work on their experiments. Some Undertakers have learned how to power their own galvanic weaponry with it as well. Mostly it is used to light the streets at night, though the lights themselves are very dim compared to what we are used to today.

The short answer is that there is electricity about, but only select few bother with it. The majority of people find it to be extremely dangerous and want nothing to do with Tesla arrays, preferring steam to something that can kill them with ease.

Anything your imagination can come up with, I'm sure we can figure out some way for it to fit into the world. We have a list of common professions here, and a list of the playable abominations and half-lifers here. There is also a list of characters that you can read over here, and they can be adopted and adapted as you see fit.

Oh snap, y'all. Okay, that will have to be broken down into several categories.

a) Etiquette
Imagine if chivalry hadn't died. Or, more aptly, imagine living in a ridiculously misogynistic world. Ladies are to be treated with the utmost of respect, and generally they are sheltered from any of the less-desirable facets of life. Women in these times generally do not swear, do not pick up heavy objects, are expected to be housewives and mothers (generally by the time they are 18, anything over that is becoming spinsterish), and are considered to be weak and objects to be taken care of.

Men are expected to be gentlemen, protect the women, and be the source of income for their family. Of course, they can get away with telling bawdy jokes (that most women have to pretend they don't understand), and being drunk and unruly, though this would be in the protection of their own home or at a gathering of close friends.

This isn't how it always goes, and those that go against these rules are sources of scandal, and shunned from society. But, this is all in the upper-class areas. In the lower-class areas and rookeries, no one bats an eyelash when people spit in the face of societies laws. In these areas women are just as useful as men in every way, and they have the freedom to say anything they want.

For more examples see here, here, here, or here. You can test your etiquette skills here.

b) Wardrobe
Steampunk clothing has been around for almost two hundred years now. However, way back then it was the norm of the day. For those of you not familiar with a Steampunk setting, let's break it down for you. Clothing in this world is a pain in the ass. Even though it is 2105, fashion came to a halt in 1905. Basically people dress as they did in the Victorian times. With a high hat here, a wool tweed summer suit, leather boots and some woolen slacks, a man often played the part of a gentlemen. Women, on the other hand, had a few choices, from gowns to dresses to tight jacket bodices that kept everything prim and proper, they were ladies given respect. However, specifically for this world, due to the toxicity of the air from the burning of bodies, and the threat of the Plague always about, gas masks are always worn outdoors. Now, unfortunately for those that aren't insanely rich, gas masks are relatively difficult to come by. Many people have goggles, and makeshift respirators. Those that are obscenely wealthy will find that there are a variety of gorgeous silver or gold masks that can be custom made for that particular person. There are plenty of places that make rubber clothing simply for the ease of cleaning.

I would suggest looking at places such as Clockwork Couture, Etsy Steam Team, Prof. Maelstromme, or Velvet Mechanisms to get an idea of what people would look like around this time period in the game.

c) Technology
For the most part, things that exist today in our world, exist in this world, too. The only exception to this rule is automobiles. They are big in Prussia, but in London people still use horse and carriages. If you have a computer, chances are it looks like these examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. People carry pocket-watches. There are guitars. Phones are still hooked up to an operator system, so there are no cell phones, but you can make calls. There are no ipods, but there are Victrolas.

See here or here, for more ideas of what you can do or to get an idea of what it would look like.