Rules Rules of the Outer Sanctum

[The Narrator]

Rules of the Outer Sanctum

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Rule 1: Your Character Is Not Special ⤵

But they can be! Characters start out ordinary and can become extraordinary through their stories. Over time, your character becomes the sum of their successes and their failures. As you complete stories, they may gain allies or enemies. Sanctioned Stories may also yield great rewards. Unlike the rest of the site, your character's continuity matters here. Another important thing to keep in mind is that while you can have NPCs supporting your character (for example, magical characters might have a familiar of some kind), your character is an individual. Teams, armies, or multiple characters are not permitted at this time.

Rule 2: Your Story Has Not Been Told ⤵

When creating a character, the most interesting aspects should not be what has already happened to them. Don't write a backstory of adventures, live them. Characters should be written as a story in and of themselves, not a series of traits designed to best win a roleplaying game. Your skills come from your backstory (a gladiator might be trained in combat, a prostitute isn't. A lifelong urchin doesn't know how to survive the deep woods), your experience (or lack of it) is reflected by your age and your character's race, afflictions and curses should be designed in such a way as to make sense within the world.

Rule 3: Write How You Like, About What You Like ⤵

Growth requires challenge and adversity. This doesn't mean that every character's path to growth will be the same. A character whose dream is to own a flower shop in Tethis does not have the same path as one who wishes to become a dragon slayer. Write with purpose. If you are writing with a partner, both of you should be contributing to pushing the story forward.

Rule 4: Speak With Purpose ⤵

Dialogue should be clear and move the story forward in a logical way. While some people will want to write longer stories and posts, make sure that your conversations are linear and easy to follow.

Rule 5: The Wrath of Gods ⤵

Please make sure that you keep things consensual and cordial with your partner. If they "move" your character without permission, please let them know and ask them to change it. If you have unwittingly (or wittingly) taken control of a character that is not yours, please respect your writing partner and rectify the situation according to their wishes. God-modding is forbidden and will result in the Gods taking notice of you. You do not want the Gods to take notice of you.

Rule 6: The Flow of Time ⤵

Time matters. What takes time in real life takes time in a story unless all parties agree to a time skip. You may not time skip your way into an increase in power. Character development can be achieved solo, but the effort and time required to do so remains unchanged.

Rule 7: Matching Your Partner ⤵

Matched length in posts is neither required nor expected so long as reasonable effort is put forward. We encourage partners to discuss their stories so that these adventures reach their conclusions and characters can grow. Unfortunately, not all RPs will reach their natural conclusions. If a story remains "stuck" for too long, a player may request intervention from The Narrator to help them conclude the story.

Rule 8: Tracking Growth ⤵

Your character requires a character sheet. That character sheet must be approved. We encourage players to update their sheets to reflect achievements, titles, rewards, and anything else they feel like keeping track of. Consider your character sheet as an ongoing biography of your character's life.

Thank you from your Sanctum Staff.​