"We're supposed to stand for something. If we break the rules -- or throw 'em away -- why should anybody follow 'em?" Uncanny X-Men 208

The Marvel Universe is a room for interactive, co-operative role-playing. In order to provide an atmosphere as gamer-friendly as possible, we require that you follow these guidelines to make the roleplaying participation smooth and more enjoyable for all.

If you have a question on this or anything else about Marvel Universe: Is it business? Fine. Please email it. This allows us, the staff, to pay attention to the room and join in the RPing - in other words, it let us do our job and even possibly have fun. It also protects you, the chatter, from our admittedly lousy memories.

Is it an emergency? If it is, do feel free to AIM a staff member and give us a heads up. If the problem is a chatter coming in, breaking the rules, and in general being disruptive when no staff is available, please note when the problem occured (IMC time) as well as the sign-in of the offending chatter (which can be seen by taking your mouse pointer over their gummi), and email us the information (copied logs are also welcome). Then promptly put the offender into your Ignore. Don't encourage bad behavior by continuing to comment on it - just ignore them and return to your RPs.

Guidelines for General Behavior:

1. First and foremost - obey the ToS and site rules of IMC. You agreed to follow these rules when you signed up for an IMC account, so ignorance of the rules is no excuse and will result in administrative action.

2. Marvel Universe operates under the IMC rating of 14. Please see the rating definitions for the restrictions on language and RP situations. Also, keep in mind that RP language should be in the spirit of the four-color comics that we are trying to emulate.

3. Please type in normal size fonts, i.e. All caps and excessively large or small sizes should only be used when absolutely necessary. Also do not use small fonts for in character (IC) posts as that is also hard on the eyes and many people will ignore the posts.

4. When talking OOC, put your message in double parentheses. This is not a request - this is a requirement. Example: ((Are the Avengers RPing tonight?))

5. While the ability of IMC to display pictures of our Cs is nice, please avoid using excessively large ones. Absolutely no pictures over 50K and no animated GIFs regardless of size. Failure to comply will led to image banning.

6. Try to be patient with others and try to help new folks figure out the ins and outs of the room. We were all once new here, and new to IMC too. If you don't have time to answer questions, direct them to the Marvel Universe home page and make them feel welcome.

7. We want you to have fun, but not at the expense of the other players in the room. It's just as important that others have fun as well. No calling hits or damage on other people's characters. It is also a good idea to ask permission to join into an ongoing RP - it might be taking place in an area your character doesn't have access to.

How to Apply For And Create Characters:

It's nearly impossible to participate in an RP room without a character (or C for short). You can apply for Marvel canon characters or you can submit your own character concept for approval - go to the Applications page for the link leading to the form you need.

1. Please choose a C that is appropriate for the room. The entire Superhero group of Marvel Universe is open for consideration. This is the world of Spiderman, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men and their associates. We do realize that Marvel has published a number of titles over the years that do not fit into the general theme (Doctor Who, Star Wars, Conan, etc), but these sources do not fit in with this room. Other restrictions include the following: No crossover characters (from DC, Image, etc) No alternate timeline characters (AoA, Mutant X, etc) No time-travelling characters (except for canons in strict Marvel mainline) No clones or mysterious relatives of other characters (unless they are actually clones or relatives found in mainline Marvel).

2. Characters are generally built around one schtick, one concept that makes them unique. This is generally realized by giving the character one power, though it may manifest in a few ways. Rather than trying to cover a lot of territory with your C by having numerous powers find unique ways to use the one ability your C has to perform different effects.

3. Original Cs should have at least one weakness. For most mutants this will consist of the fact that they are mere mortals except their mutation. For others this may be a vulnerability to certain items or attacks, psychological peccadilloes, physical limitations, et cetera. Marvel Cs will naturally have all the powers and limitations that are displayed in the comics.

4. Marvel Cs are 'on loan' from the room. This means that if you would like to play a Marvel C, apply for it. After you show that you have a basic 'feel' for the character, you'll get to play the C for a trial period. Once you've playing the C for a while, if you feel that you fill the role well, then you may ask your Page-Keeper to consider moving you to Active status. When playing your character, follow the character's history, attitude, and the way he/she is in the comics. In addition, please play your canon C's on a regular basis. A large part of the fun of playing on a team is having a team to play with.

5. When you submit a proposal for an original C, expect that you may be asked to modify it somewhat. Reasons for this may be power level, inappropriateness for the room or the simple fact that there are numerous other Cs like yours already in the room.

6. While an original C will always be your creative property, if you abuse the room guidelines or exhibit an inability to get along with other players, your C can be declared persona non grata in the room and their actions no longer recognized as affecting room. This is unlikely to happen, - it is far more likely that other members will stop rping with you long before this happens.

7. Trial status --- Only 3 characters at a time can be on trial (canon/original combined), If a C on trial status is played on a weekly basis for one month, they go to active status. If a character becomes non-active for a month with no posted LOA or other extinuating circumstance, and active character can be reverted by staff to trial. If the character remains non-played for two months or more, the character can revert to open status.

Rules for Fighting and IC Interaction:

What would good guys vs. bad guys RP be without combat? Here are the rules that will followed for maximum enjoyment by all players.

1. There will not be any killing unless it has been consented to by both parties involoved. And there will never be any killing of a canon C except when the death has occured in Marvel comics (verge of death that can be feasibly be recovered from is fine). In the case of Marvel killing off a canon character, the death will occur regardless of player prefernce. If played out in the room, method of death of a canon cannot be deviated from. Death becomes final the 'cover month' of the comic where the death occured (meaning - if a comic is sold in June, but the month on the cover is July, you have until the end of July to wrap up RP with your character. After that time, death will be assumed to have occured whether RPed out in the room or not).

2. When fighting, never call your opponent's damage. Let the other person work out a system for his/her own damage.

3. Get hit, get knocked around, get knocked out! This is comic book action; if you avoid everything or are seemingly invulnerable to everything, you're missing out on at least half the fun as well as spoiling the fight scene for the other participants. Remember - nothing permanent is going to happen without your consent, so go for it!

4. Make your attacks 'realistic'. Stay within your C's abilities and powers. If you're playing a character who is inexperienced, let it show.

5. You don't need detailed knowledge of your opponent to fight them unless the opponent is one your character fights on a regular basis.

6. If you think someone is Godmoding, PM him/her about it. Before you ignore a person for Godmoding, be sure of his/her character's capabilities and powers. If you don't know what powers a person has, ask them in a PM. What you may think is Godmoding might actually be you misunderstanding just what they can do.

7. Team Bases and locations: You can't go there without IC and OOC permission. Period. People don't sell Girl Scout cookies at the doorstep of Castle Doom and they don't waltz on to private campuses like the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, so don't have your character just show up there without permission from Pagekeeper and players of the team. There are lots of other locations to RP at on Marvel Earth. For some ideas of where to go, check out Sigma.net's Marvel Atlas Project

8. Most important of the rules. Have fun!

Guidelines for Continuity:

We try to maintain continuity with the published version of the mainline Marvel Comics. This does not mean you have to lock-step through every panel of every issue your C appears in. Rather the continuity is there as a guideline so everyone can know what to expect in the room as an ongoing background. With that in mind here are some guidelines to follow continuity:

1. World-altering events (historical, powers-wise, etc.) will be followed as ongoing currents in the room. Examples of this are Onslaught, Psi-Wars, Operation Zero-Tolerance, or Ragnarok, which affected everyone on the planet.

2. If you are playing a Marvel C, please keep track of the C that you have chosen. Avoid re-creating the C as you think it "should" have been or follow paths that are implausible or go against the published version. For those unable to get the current issues, just check the Marvel Universe message board for spoilers. If you don't see the spoiler you need, put up a request. Odds are that one of us has the comic you're asking about and can provide the information.

3. If your Marvel C has undergone some change in station in the comics, let it show in your RP. Injuries, absences, rivalries or relationships can all be exploited for some dandy RP. If you can't think how the change would effect your C while still allowing you to play it, ask around and see if anyone can provide suggestions on how you can.

4. Death and imprisonment: Unfortunately we do not have control have what Marvel may choose do to with a published C, especially in the case of villains or those who have died heroic deaths. If a C has been killed in the comics, he/she is no longer playable in the room after that event becomes 'room fact'. If a C is imprisoned without word of what they are doing and you can't see yourself doing prison cell RP, you will likely need to put the C on hold or retire it.