Rules

[The Pantheon]

OOC Rules

Conduct

Pandora operates on principles of respect, maturity, consideration, honesty, and fairness. We have a zero tolerance policy for any form of toxicity including but not limited to harassment, discrimination, prejudice, and duplicity. This rule applies across the forum, including private messages, and extends to related media such as cbox, discord, and instant messaging. Concerns received from the community will be followed up by our team of Coordinators and acted upon appropriately.

Communicate

Always remember and be willing to communicate with your roleplay partners. Many misunderstandings, concerns, or questions can often be resolved with some courteous communication with your fellow roleplayers.

Rating: 3-3-3

Pandora allows for the exploration of mature themes, where depictions of nearly* all subject matter are permitted as long as they adhere to our content warning and tagging guidelines.

* Note that the purpose of Pandora is not to facilitate ultra-fringe or shock content for the sake of it, and we ask that players keep in mind discretion and respect for the subject matter when describing elements that can be considered disturbing.

OOC & Subaccounts

Pandora makes use of an OOC and Subaccounts system to keep all of your character accounts linked. You can find instructions on how to create your OOC and Subaccounts here.

Additional Characters

A player's first three characters are considered freebies and may be applied for one at a time with no restrictions. After that third character, in order to reserve and apply for an additional character, fifteen IC posts must be made with your most recently accepted character. Posts made in the Communications forum will not be counted. Staff may give out individual character caps if there is a pattern of impulse apps/drops or rapid character cycling.

Multiple Versions of Characters

Under certain circumstances, multiple versions of the same character may be allowed. In order for us to allow multiple versions of the same character, they would have to act as entirely different characters. Since characters like BBC’s Sherlock Holmes and Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes are incredibly similar at the heart of the character, we would not allow them to co-exist here in Pandora. However, as an example, we would allow characters such as Once Upon a Time’s Captain Hook and the original Captain Hook to coexist due to their incredible differences in history and personality. These situations are handled on a case by case basis.

Characters Per Fandom

Although a player is allowed to take as many characters as they like from a single fandom, these characters should not be closely tied to one another. Each case is handled individually, so be sure to ask a staff member if you are unsure!

NPCS.

Characters may be brought in with intelligent NPCs on a case-by-case basis. These NPCs are commonly animal companions or linked to the character’s skillset. For example, a Digidestined could be brought in with their Digimon, or Lyra could be brought in with her Daemon. There is a limit of 6 NPCs any one character may bring into Pandora with them.

NPCs from a substantially different canon point as the character, such as before their first canonical encounter, may be included after the development has been plotted and threaded out on the board. Otherwise, Pandora typically does not take characters and their corresponding NPCs from different time periods at the same exact time.
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Advertisements.

Any off-site advertisements belong in the Advertisements forum. Please do not advertise in signatures, the cbox, or anywhere else on the site.

 

[The Pantheon]

Character Creation Rules

Canon Only

Pandora is a canon only roleplay. Original characters are not allowed.

MINIMAL CANON MATERIAL.

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You can only apply for a character that has at least some canon material to build off of, using headcanon to fill in the blanks. Characters with vague canon material are usually handled on a case by case basis, so if you are unsure, the best thing to do is to ask a member of staff if they would be allowed. Generally, what we look for in a character who can be played on Pandora are based on the following criteria.​

• Is there any sense of the world/environment they come from (even if it's just an immediate thing like a single house or town)?
• Is there some kind of conflict or motivation that drives them?
• Can you reasonably infer personality traits based on actual canon outside of fanon and theories?

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CONCEPT ALBUMS.

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As long as there is a solid enough story and characterization to draw from, you can apply for a character from a concept album.​

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MYTHOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL FIGURES.

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Characters based on mythological and historical figures are allowed on Pandora, but only if they are a version that appears in fictional media. Mythological figures may not be applied for based on only the original myths. You may not apply for a historical figure from media if they are still alive today, if they have passed recently, or is otherwise considered controversial.​

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For example, you cannot apply for Alexander Hamilton from history, but you can app him from Hamilton the Musical instead. In the same way, you cannot apply for Hercules directly from Greek mythology, but you can app him from any other interpretation of him in a canon, such as from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys or Disney's Hercules.​

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SANDBOX CHARACTERS.

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Generally, we do not allow sandbox characters on Pandora. These are characters where there is no set biographical information on the character and everything about the character (most importantly, personality and history) is determined by the player.​

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FAN-MADE VERSES.

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As we are a canons-only site, we only accept characters from canon, and only up until the character's last appearance or mention in canon. Canon characters from fan-made alternate universes, crossovers, spin-offs, etc. are not allowed on Pandora.​

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HEADCANON VS CANON.

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While headcanon can be used to fill in the blanks, you must follow canon as closely as possible. The only exception to this policy is with ongoing fandoms, or fandoms that are still releasing new lore. When new lore is released that contradicts pre-established headcanons, roleplayers can choose to incorporate this new lore into their writing, or continue with their headcanons. If a roleplayer continues with their headcanons, they can do so until they drop the character. However, all future applications for that character must follow whatever is considered canon up until that point.​

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Canon Character Account Usernames

Character accounts should have a username that is recognizable canon. If a character lacks a canon name, use the title they are canonically known as. For example, using "Warden Tabris" or any of the other canonical last names provided for the Dragon Age: Origins protagonist.

For characters with East Asian names: you can do first and last, or last and first. It's entirely up to player discretion.

Required Reservations

All characters being applied for must be reserved in our Reservations thread. Only one reservation may be held at a time. Head over to the Reservations to read further guidelines!

Additions To Character Skills.

The re-app must be done after any threading involved. Roleplaying is required to develop or give a character new skills or abilities. If you wish to have your character obtain new abilities, they should still make sense for your character and with your character’s original canon. Please note that staff may not accept all additions to a character’s skills if we determine they do not fit the character, original canon, or make the character too powerful for Pandora. If a re-app is denied, any roleplaying leading up to that may have to be modified, considered null and void, or the character may be nerfed in-game by Pandora.

LEARNING MAGIC.

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If you are interested in your character learning magic, you must follow the rules of the type of magic the character is learning. For example, BBC Merlin magic can be taught to anybody interested in learning while Harry Potter magic can only be taught to those who have been shown clearly in canon to possess magical potential inside of them (i.e. born with it). If the fandom isn't clear about the rules of a magic system, then you can assume anybody can learn it.​

 

[The Pantheon]

Posting Rules

Writing

All roleplay posts should be third person, and either in past or present tense. While we don't expect grammatical perfection, posts must be readable and strive to use correct grammar, capitalization, and spelling. Pandora has no word count, and posts may be as short or long as the player is comfortable with.

Timestamping

Every thread must be dated at the top of the very first post! This is to keep better track of personal timelines and event timelines in Pandora. Every new thread you create must be dated within any month of Pandora's current season. You can find the current season on the sidebar.

No Godmoding or Metagaming

Do not control another character without the player's permission. If your character has special abilities that may inadvertently lead to the control of another character (i.e. telekinetically making them float in the air), please roleplay the situation out in a manner realistic to your character's capabilities. Similarly, do not take OOC information and use it IC. While the player may know many secrets about Character A, Character B will not know this information without having discovered it IC. If you feel as if you are not being treated fairly, please contact an Admin.

Turn Order and Skip Policies

By default, all group threads have no turn order. Players are encouraged to post whenever they have something to add, and there is no need to wait for a particular player to post. Players may set their own turn order for threads they start. In cases where a turn order is specified, Pandora defaults to a 3-day skip policy. If the next person does not post, they can be skipped and are out of the turn order until they post again. Players may specify their own skip policy for threads they start as well.

Breaking the Fourth Wall

While it is sometimes unavoidable for characters to recognize other characters in Pandora as fictional, telling another character they are fictional can only be done with the player's permission.

Large-Scales Effects.

If you want to cause major effects to one or more forum locations, get admin permission first.

REQUIRES PERMISSION.

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Destroying/altering/otherwise affecting any area that has a named forum location (such as the orphanage, or a large part of Tavoie Borough), is connected to a major city’s government, or is specifically mentioned in any official documentation. A current event article will also be required.​

DOES NOT REQUIRE PERMISSION.

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Affecting something that is not a specific forum location, such as a building, block, or random town in the wilderness. Current Event articles are recommended, but optional.​

PRIVATE QUESTIONS.

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In order to have your Large-Scale Effect plot to be considered, please post in the private questions forum.​

 

[The Pantheon]

Activity Rules

Activity Requirements and Checks

Activity Checks are performed on the 15th of every month, checking for the required posts from the 15th of the previous month, to the 14th of the current month. A minimum of 3 posts per character is required to pass the activity check. Posts in the communications section and the AU section of the board do not count towards the activity check. Activity Checks are performed in GMT -5.

The 1st time a character fails to pass the activity check, staff will PM the player and advise that the player has been marked with low activity. If the player fails an activity check for a 2nd consecutive month, the player will be notified, the character(s) who do not meet the second activity check in a row will be deleted and their application(s) archived. The player who lost the character(s) must wait one week before they can reserve the same character(s) again.

HIGH-RANKING JOBS.

Some high-ranking government positions have a unique proof of government activity requirement. These positions are marked clearly in each sign-up thread. Any player with one of these positions is required to have their character join the Pandora Governments group, and read the Government Updates Guidelines for specifics on how to stay active within that government position.

Absences

Players are allowed one absence in a row, meaning if a player posts in the absence tracker, they are not required to meet the activity check that month (3 posts) for their character(s).

All absences should be recorded in the Absences Tracker. Absences are not taken into consideration during the Activity Check without a post in the tracker. Staff will PM players on the date of the Activity Check to advise that their absence was noted and not to worry about the current Activity Check.

Absences & Low Activity

Members are only allowed to skip required activity for a period of 60 days (two activity checks) through a combination of absence and low activity. At the 90 day mark (the third activity check), members must meet the AC requirements or their character will be deleted.

New Characters

Newly accepted characters will be automatically safe for the first Activity Check after they have been accepted.

Activity Expectations

While three posts per month can keep a character safe, we’d like to ensure that characters are active on a regular basis and are not just skirting by the activity checks by meeting the bare minimum. If staff notice an ongoing pattern of the minimum during activity checks, or other behaviour listed below, the player in question will be contacted to see if staff can assist with encouraging more active use of their characters. Staff will always attempt to work with players first, however should these concerns not be addressed within a reasonable amount of time, character caps will be issued or, in extreme cases, characters may be revoked.

These instances are as followed:

• Bare minimum posting. I.e. an ongoing pattern of the 3 post minimum during activity checks.
• Posting exclusively just before or after the activity check.
• Large amount of threads and/or characters with excessively slow reply times. If their activity is affecting many others due to having more threads/characters than it looks like they can handle.
• Excessively rotating character line-up. While members are free to pick up and drop as many characters as they’d like, it becomes an issue when characters are repeatedly dropped and applied for over a short period of time, usually on a whim, as it is disruptive towards plotting.
• Issues with character portrayal.

Character caps are a temporary maximum of characters a person is allowed to play for a specific amount of time and are always sent through PMs. The staff will do their best to decide the amount of characters in which they believe a person can handle in order for them to focus on the activity of their current roster as opposed to spreading themselves thin.

We generally wait 3 months before lifting the cap to ensure that there’s continued improvement. If you do not hear back from the staff in that time-frame, please send us a PM so we can review your case.

As always, please feel free to DM/PM a coordinator if you have any activity check questions/may have life circumstances that prevent you from posting in the absence thread.

 

[The Pantheon]

Graphics & Styling Rules

Avatar Sizes

Avatars can be no larger than 150kb. The maximum avatar width before quality loss is 210 pixels. Our forum software will resize it as necessary throughout the forum.

Signature and Post Image Size

Our forum automatically resizes images to fit. Clicking on the image will show it at full size. However, if your image is so large it slows down load times, we will remove it. The maximum height of signatures is 400px. Any signature content that extends past 400px will be cut off.

Character Representation

It is strongly recommended that you have some sort of visual representation of your character, whatever that representation may be. We allow photos(such as celebrities or models), screencaps, as well as animation and artwork. If using non-official artwork (fanart or original art), make sure to get the permission of the artist and give clear credit with a link to the original in your signature. Do not use yourself, your friends, or your family in your graphics.

Preserve Readability

Try to preserve strong color contrast when choosing custom colors for text or frames. If a chosen color impairs readability, you may be asked to change it.

Animated Gifs

While Animated Gifs are allowed, we ask that you be sure they are unobtrusive, especially in IC areas of the site.