Star Wars RP: The Will of the Force

1.1. Star Wars: The Will of the Force is an original RP-based Star Wars story, but it is also based closely on the Star Wars "canon" (or storyline, as depicted in the films, books, games, etc.), and players are expected not to contradict canon events or significantly alter the Star Wars storyline; for example, Yoda dying before his appearance in the films. However, minor deviations from the storyline are permitted when prudent or necessary. Refer to Wookieepedia or a Star Wars sourcebook for more information on the Star Wars "canon." This is not an "alternate universe" RP.

1.2. Disney has invalidated most of the Star Wars canon from prior to the year 2014. But for the purposes of the RP, pre-2014 content shall be considered "non-confirmed" canon; in other words, it's assumed to be canon until it is specifically altered by events in new canon films, books, games, etc.

1.3. Posts should be as detailed and specific as possible; posts should include information about setting, personality, and other useful information (no "one liners," please). In combat, a player must specify where and how he or she* is attacking, and whether or not the attack is meant to be fatal. All attacks must have a reasonable way to counter them (no "moding").

Note: Computer hacking (or "slicing" in Star Wars terminology) shall also be considered an "attack" for RP purposes.

1.4. Upon his "turn" to post on a thread, a player is allowed 96 hours to respond, after which the next player may choose to "invoke the 4 day rule" and confirm any actions in the previous post or other actions as necessary to continue the thread. However, if you provide prior notice that you will be unable to respond within 96 hours, exceptions to this rule will be made. Management reserves the right to post (or "auto") on a player's behalf if, A.) the player is consistently tardy in their responses, and B.) the thread or character in question is deemed important to a major storyline in the RP.

1.5. Players may have as many characters as they want. However, these characters must not "go out of their way" to assist one another or pool their ships, weapons, or money to the benefit of any one character, or that character's faction. No two characters should have identical goals or desires, and players should avoid a conflict of interest.

1.6. A character's profile must be posted, and approved, prior to RPing that character. A character image and avatar is required. Separate accounts are required for multiple characters.

1.7. Killing a character against its player's wishes is discouraged, but permissible under two circumstances: 1.) if it is necessary to advance a major storyline in the RP, or 2.) if a character places himself in an easily-avoidable situation in which his survival is harder to explain than his death. Character deaths are final—no cloning or Force "resurrections." This rule also includes the infliction of a grievous injury to a character (such as the loss of limbs) resulting in feelings of body dysmorphia.

1.8. Any IC (or "in character") events that occur in a chat room or instant messenger must be posted for general viewing on the forum in order to be considered part of the Star Wars: The Will of the Force storyline. Events that occur in the chat room without the knowledge of the relevant characters may not be considered part of the story. Star Wars: The Will of the Force has no chat room or chat moderators, but the rules apply to events that occur in a chat room or instant messenger the same as they apply to the forum.

1.9. Do not antagonize the sensibilities or beliefs of other players, do not harass or antagonize a character for OOC (or "out of character") reasons, and respect the work that players put into their characters and factions—do not try to kill someone's character or destroy their faction without a persuasive, IC reason.

1.10. Sex or graphic violence should be described implicitly, not explicitly. Keep profanity to a minimum. Profanity is permissible (within reason) if a character is speaking or thinking it, although Star Wars slang is preferred. OOC, players should behave on the forums and in the chat as they would in public.

1.11. Characters will not be allowed powers, abilities, or "enhancements" such as cybernetics or certain types of armor, with the effect of making that character invincible, or effectively so. Neither should non-playable characters (NPC's) have any such powers, abilities, or cybernetics, "power armor," etc.

1.12. Players must consult management before creating a character who is a high-ranking public official; for example, a First Order military officer. Players must also consult with another player before creating a character who is an official of the other player's planet, corporation, etc.

1.13. Certain planets are considered "off limits" because their appearance in the RP would most likely result in significant changes to the Star Wars storyline. Among these planets; Ruusan, Moraband, and Kamino.

1.14. Although parody and farce has its place in the RP, players are expected not to cheapen the RP for other players through the improbable actions of their characters. In other words, no Jar Jars. Players who do this consistently may be removed from a thread.

2.1. Ships, special abilities, custom weapons, technology, and new planets and species must be posted on the Requests forum for management review and approval. Remember, a character should be able to realistically afford to buy or otherwise have access to the items being requested.

2.2. Any request for custom-made species or ship designs must be accompanied by an image.

2.3. Personal ships and weapons in a character's profile don't need to be requested. Highly-destructive weapons, and large ships with large crews are not considered "personal" and must be requested.

2.4. Ships, weapons, or other items that were previously requested and approved for one character must be re-requested if sold, stolen, or otherwise transferred from one character to another.

2.5. Requests may not be made in private. There must be a posted, publicly-available record on the Requests forum.

3.1. The catastrophic destruction of planets, property, or large numbers of people with superweapons, orbital bombardment, the Force, chemical or biological weapons or "plagues," or by any other means is not permitted, except as a plot device and with management approval.

3.2. Starfleets in the RP shall be based on the principle of "one character, one ship"--that is, a player character shall command one capital-scale warship, and may not delegate this responsibility to any other character or "NPC." In a battle, a player's ship shall be able to call upon two additional NPC support vessels as reinforcements, as specified on the Requests forum. Thus, a character may command up to three vessels in battle, two characters may work together to wield six vessels, and so on.

3.3. Additionally, most worlds--be they New Republic worlds, First Order, or a player-controlled faction--may have one capital-scale warship, one or more space defense platforms, starfighter squadrons, or surface-based shields for the sole purpose of defense. How many ships and fortifications are present at each world may be, alternatively, A.) requested ahead of time, B.) agreed upon by the combatants at the start of a battle, or C.) determined by management at the start of a battle.

3.4. Numbers of surface forces should be referred to in terms of "regiments," "battalions," etc. that a player is using in a particular battle. There is no need to request or list the entirety of a billion-man planetary army when only a fraction of that number is ever used in the RP.

4.1. Players are encouraged to use only those Force powers featured prominently in the films, and certain books and video games (such as "Pull," "Push," "Grip," "Speed," "Lightning," "Absorb," or "Meditation"). Lesser known powers (such as Sith "spells" or "alchemy"), catastrophic powers (such as "Storm," "Thought Bomb," or "Deadly Sight"), or any Force powers used with catastrophic effect are not permitted except as plot devices and with management approval.

4.2. In addition to the "basic" Force powers, Jedi or Dark Jedi characters should have no more than 2 or 3 specific Force powers or techniques at which they are particularly skilled. No one, not even Yoda or the Emperor, can be expected to master more techniques than this. The more Force powers your character studies, the less proficient, overall, your character will be in all of these powers.

This section has been suspended for the time being.

5.1. The Senate may not propose a law that is in conflict with the rules of the RP.

5.2. Players may have as many Senate characters as they wish, but only two may vote on any one measure.

5.3. To become a Senator, Representative, or Ambassador in the Senate, a character must have been elected or otherwise selected to represent their planet, corporation, etc. and must request on the Senate forum ("petition" or "apply") to be admitted to the Senate. The candidate shall then answer questions from the Senate about his career and qualifications and what he hopes to accomplish as a Senator. The character's application may be blocked by the objection of any Senator; however, two additional Senators may over-rule the first Senator's objection. Only one objection, per Senator, may be filed to any application. When, in the judgment of the Supreme Chancellor, there are no further questions, and no objections, the Chancellor shall choose to admit or not admit the candidate. The Chancellor's decision may be over-ruled by a simple majority vote of the Senate. Once the candidate is admitted and has sworn the oath of office, as administered by the Supreme Chancellor, the candidate shall be a Senator (or Representative, Ambassador, etc.).

5.4. A new Senator (or Senator returning from a suspension) may not vote on a measure for which voting was already in progress at the time they became a Senator (or returned from the suspension).

5.5. New bills or resolutions may be proposed by any Senator or Representative and must be debated and passed by a simple majority vote. The Supreme Chancellor decides when the debate/voting period is over. The Chancellor has the authority to veto acts of the Senate only for the security and stability of the Republic. The Senate, in turn, may override a veto with a 2/3rds majority vote.

5.6. A "motion of confidence" or "vote of no confidence" may be filed if the Supreme Chancellor is no longer fulfilling his duties or is conducting himself in a manner unfit for his office. Such a motion must be proposed by one Senator and seconded by another (neither of these characters belonging to the same player). A confidence vote requires a 2/3rds majority to pass.

5.7. The voting period for a vote of no confidence or an election for Supreme Chancellor shall be 96 hours.

5.8. Name-calling and other outbursts should be restrained in the Senate Rotunda. If a Senator, Representative, or Ambassador is out of order, the Supreme Chancellor may issue a "Call to Order" against that Senator, Representative, etc. If the Senator violates a "Call to Order," the Chancellor may suspend the delinquent member for up to 12 days, OOC. Once suspended, that delegate cannot participate in Senate discussions or vote on any proposed measures.

5.9. Any Senator, Representative, Ambassador, etc. may be expelled from the Senate by a 2/3rds majority vote.

5.10. Before addressing the Senate, speakers who are not Senators or Representatives must request to speak and be recognized by the Supreme Chancellor or by a Senator or Representative (except when a new candidate is requesting admission to the Senate).

5.11. The Supreme Chancellor has the authority to appoint the chairmen of the various Senate committees. Each chairman, in turn, has the authority to appoint the members of their committee. A simple majority vote of the Senate shall be required to impeach and remove committee chairmen and to establish new committees.

6.1. Management shall be comprised of one Administrator and no more than three Moderators. Each has one vote on requests and rulings, which shall be decided by a majority of Moderators and the Administrator. However, the Administrator can veto any ruling on which the Moderators are not unanimous.

6.2. It is the duty of Moderators and Administrators to ensure fair, accurate, and fun RP for all members of the site (in that order), and to enforce the rules equally and consistently. Management should be respectful to all members at all times, and should be versed in the rules of the site and in the precedents of previous management rulings. Moderators and Administrators are also expected to be in contact with the rest of management, and to seek consensus in their rulings.

6.3. When commenting on a player's request, a Moderator or Administrator should provide thoughtful and respectful feedback to the player, and explain the reasoning of his or her decision, citing specific rules or canon events as necessary. Moderators and Administrators should also review character profiles (specifically history, weapons and abilities), and be vigilant of the forums and the chat for profanity or harassment.

6.4. Member accounts may be deleted or blocked from the site only by the unanimous decision of management, unless the member poses an imminent danger to the site or if the account is used for advertising or "spam," in which case Moderators or the Administrator may delete or block the account, or remove any offending posts, at their own initiative.

6.5. Management shall decide the "public opinion" of non-playable characters (NPC's) in the RP. Namely, the results of NPC opinion polls and elections shall be determined by management ruling—players shall not decide for themselves whether or not the public approves of their character.

6.6. Changes to the rules shall be subject to the normal request process on the Requests forum.

6.7. Moderators or Administrators demonstrating a consistent bias in favor of themselves, or in favor of (or against) specific players, will be removed from management with or without prior notice; abuse of power will not be tolerated. In the words of Chance Allison; "Enforce the rules, no matter how much you'll be hated." In the rather more eloquent words of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, "Fiat justitia ruat caelum." ("Let justice be done, though the heavens fall").

* For simplicity, these rules refer to "he or she" simply as "he."