Roleplaying in Unstuck in Time

You can have as many IC threads as you want. Lualdi is unstuck in time. Your character might be in Domorto on the 15th and Selvaguen on the 18th, and both days are happening concurrently while also happening separately from one another. You can justify or roleplay this however you'd like. Maybe your character is stumbling into a lot of time portals that keep shunting them to slightly different spots in time. Just don't feel pressured to finish a thread before starting a new one if that's not what you want to do.

The exception to the above rule is Pokémon League challenge threads (Gyms and Elite Four battles). You may only have one of those going on at a given time. If you are challenging the Enghia City Gym, you may not challenge another Gym or the Elite Four until the battle is over. To prevent overloading on threads that I have to play (due to the NPCs involved), this is per player, not per character.

How do you control what happens in your thread? You can mark a thread (either in the title or in the body of the text) in one of several ways:

[Open] or no mark in the thread indicates it's free for anyone. You might also want to consider posting links [Open] threads in the Thread Hub so people are aware of it and can join in.

[Closed] or [Private] or denoting someone's name means the thread is only for certain people to post in. You can still ask to participate, but it's likely that the people involved in the thread already have plans and may not want another person thrown in there.

[Quest] means you're doing a quest of some kind, and whoever is the gamemaster for your thread (see below) should eventually spawn the quest objective if you're in the right place.

[Plot] indicates you're looking specifically to engage in the main plot. Please try to have only one plot thread at a time per player (because I have to play NPCs in plot threads), and try to participate in other people's plot threads as well (which don't count "against" the one plot thread per player suggestion). The more people involved in a thread, the more lively the region seems, and the more people can be engaged in plot happenings at once.

How are Pokémon spawns handled? Anyone on Unstuck in Time can control spawns in a thread as a sort of gamemaster for that particular thread. You are welcome to make these spawns elaborate (such as with mini-plots) or simple (just spawning an NPC trainer or a wild Pokémon for the player to fight). You just cannot spawn things for yourself, even if there's another player in the thread with you; in this instance, a third person would have to be brought in to serve as the gamemaster. When acting as a gamemaster for a thread, I ask that you keep these rules in mind:

Spawns cannot include major Unstuck in Time NPCs, which includes all Legendary Pokémon, or advance the main plot in any significant way. If you have an interesting idea that might advance the plot in some way, let me know, and I might let you do it, but it requires communication to begin with.

Spawns should be somewhat randomized. By which I mean, spawns should make sense for the given location or context of the thread, but they shouldn't just be things you know the other player likes or wants for their character. If a thread has been going on for a while and you want to spawn something you know the player has been looking for or been wanting, go ahead. But that shouldn't be something you do for the first spawn.

For [Quest] threads, the objective must be spawned. If the player is in the right area for the quest and needs that quest objective, eventually give it to them. It doesn't have to be the first spawn, but you shouldn't dangle the quest objective in their faces and prevent them from finishing it.

Spawns should not have shiny Pokémon or super rare Pokémon (e.g. ones that are usually one-of-a-kind in the games, like Rotom or Spiritomb) on a regular basis. Spawning an NPC trainer with some shiny or rare Pokémon is okay so long as those Pokémon aren't going to be obtained by the player in the thread. If you want to spawn a shiny Pokémon that might be obtained by the player, ask me first.

Spawns should have legal movesets and evolutions for their level and species. No Pikachu with Fly. No level 10 Machamp.

Spawns should generally be in the level range of the player's team. A good rule of thumb is to take the average of the player's active team and scale the spawned Pokémon to that level, or wait and see what Pokémon they send out against your spawn and scale the spawn to that. If you have a vignette plot idea that requires a super high level or super low level Pokémon, by all means, go for it, but do remember that people generally want gamemasters so they can level up their Pokémon or catch new ones. Don't make it impossible for a player to get anything out of threads you gamemaster.

If you have a thread someone is gamemastering, gamemaster someone else's thread, too. The more the work is split up among people, the easier of a workload it is. Gamemastering is reciprocal! For every thread you have that someone is serving as a gamemaster in, gamemaster someone else's thread as well.

This is basically an honor system. I'm not going to patrol threads looking for instances of rulebreaking. In return, we all play fair and serve as good gamemasters for one another.

How are utility boards (such as shops or the Move Tutor) handled? We trust you to deduct your character's funds (when using a service that requires money) appropriately and to only give yourself things you paid for or that you've "earned" in the thread. Simply make a thread or a post whenever you're using the utility board for the sake of record-keeping. Unless otherwise noted on the board, these threads should still be in-character. Make sure you post in the thread how much money you're spending, on what, and how much money you now have. This way, you can keep track of where your character's funds are going. For utility threads that require the creation of new Pokémon characters (such as through Pokémon breeding or trading with NPCs), someone will gamemaster your thread and give you the new Pokémon.

What about battles? If you want to do something like dice rolls (Proboards has a dice function that lets you put dice rolls into your post, which cannot be edited or changed), Pokémon battle simulations, etc, to determine the outcome of battles on the forum, you may do so as long as the other player(s) involved agree to it. This can be done to also speed up battles if you don't want to roleplay the whole thing out and just want the outcome to be determined more quickly.

Battles with major NPCs will be solely roleplay, meaning you can use moves "creatively" such as by soaking a battlefield with water and then using a follow-up Electric-type attack. Please stick with using a maximum of two moves in a given turn, and do not excessively dodge opposing attacks unless it makes sense (such as being under the effect of Double Team). Using an item takes up your whole turn. Basically, you can roleplay battles out how you want, including using moves in ways not permitted in the games. Just please don't stretch this rule to do stupid bullshit like Thunder Armor.

How closely do we have to adhere to Pokémon video game mechanics (such as only having a team of six Pokémon)? Things such as type effectiveness, the effects of moves in battle (such as Thunder Wave inflicting paralysis), levels and the acquisition of new moves or evolutions, and the relative power of moves and Pokémon (e.g. Ember does less than Fire Blast, a Magmortar is stronger than a Magby) should be respected and played as closely as possible to the game mechanics.

For the sake of balance, Pokémon can only have a moveset of four moves in battle. Out and about in the world and outside of battle, you can roleplay a bit more freely and closer to what makes logistical sense (e.g. a Charizard may not know Cut, but it still has claws to slash at an obstructing object, and it can still carry things in flight without knowing Fly).

You may have more than six Pokémon with you at once, but please do not go overboard. Try to keep it close to six if possible; exceeding twelve (double the Pokémon game value) is probably a good sign that you may need to tone it down. Pokémon League battles will impose a cap of six on challenging trainers during Gym battles or Elite Four challenges.

Concepts like PP do not exist on Unstuck in Time. Instead, treat PP-affecting moves and abilities like Disable lasting for one turn. For example, Pressure would prevent an ability from being used in succession (so a Squirtle wouldn't be able to Water Gun twice in a row, but could Tackle and then Water Gun).

Pokémon can be captured if "fainted," and they can be captured without the help of Poké Balls if the roleplay goes that way. But for the sake of balance, I ask that you deduct the equivalent cost of a Poké Ball or "use up" a Poké Ball in some way -- even if it's not addressed in roleplay and is strictly just a character inventory change -- even when a Pokémon is added to a team without a Poké Ball. This is purely a gameplay thing so that people whose characters "diplomacy" Pokémon into joining up with them don't have an enormous advantage over characters that use Poké Balls.

How do I get sick level gainz for my Pokémon? Battling is the most common way of getting levels on Unstuck in Time. In some situations where a battle didn't occur but a Pokémon still, for example, solved a big problem in the thread, you may still get levels. Gamemasters will reward levels when appropriate. Refer to the following list for how many levels to give a player.

For very challenging obstacles or battles (opponent 3+ levels above the challenging Pokémon), the Pokémon gets three levels. If you want to award an extra level here or there for a particularly clever solution to a problem or for something truly challenging, you can, but please use your best judgment in these scenarios. Three levels is a lot.

For regular difficulty obstacles or battles (opponent within 2 levels in either direction above or below the player Pokémon), the Pokémon gets two levels.

For easy obstacles or battles (opponent 3+ levels below the player Pokémon), the Pokémon gets one level. Please do not award levels at all for enormous level or power discrepancies in favor of the player (e.g. a level 30 Raichu defeating a level 4 Magikarp).

Pokémon that participated, but did not overwhelmingly contribute get one level at most; in some cases, such as the Pokémon only being hit by an incoming attack and not ever fighting back, might not award levels at all for that Pokémon.

Pokémon holding an Experience Share get one level if they did not participate. If they participated enough to be awarded levels according to the above rule, they gain an additional level on top of whatever they are also being rewarded.

If the player loses, participating Pokémon gain one level. If the battle was really close or something like that, you can give additional levels, but do not do this excessively.

Again, use your best judgment for awarding levels. Leveling should not be overly difficult on Unstuck in Time, but they're still a reward system. Don't abuse the freedom. Ask if you're unsure, and remember to play fair.

When your Pokémon reaches a level where it can evolve or learn a new move, you can just have it happen. You don't need a gamemaster to evolve your Pokémon for you. Leveling as it applies to learning new moves and evolution goes by the most recent main Pokémon game (in this case, Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby).

Characters can have homes in certain places in the forum. These "residential" areas are usually the major cities, though there are some other locations where characters can set up homes. You can have your character's home just "exist" within the general continuity of the forum (e.g. Tasia lives in Port Zolfo; Tasia and another character could just go to Tasia's apartment in a thread), or, if you want to have a separate subboard for your character's home, just ask, and I'll make it for you in the location you designate. Just please have a board description for your character's home ready when you ask. It doesn't have to be elaborate -- it just needs to be something.

Play-by-post is easiest when you give the other players something to work with. Bear in mind that this isn't quite like D&D where we're all around at once and where short, concise posts or one-liner jokes can help maintain pacing or keep things moving forward, or where they at least don't detract from the pace of a scene because everything is happening in succession and rather quickly. Sometimes on a forum, your fellow player won't respond until a day or more later. In such situations, it's easier for them to come up with a larger response if you give them something of substance to respond to, and it means things can progress in fewer posts (because more is happening in a given post). There's no word count minimum for posts, but simply posting something like "Billy Pilgrim has regrets" and nothing else isn't going to make things move ahead in a forum thread. Be considerate of your fellow players and try to give them something for their character to respond to.

Create posting order to maintain structure in threads with multiple people. It's easy, especially as threads gain more and more people, to skip over people and make them feel left out. Establish a post order in threads that have more than two people. For example, if Billy Pilgrim, Kilgore Trout, and Bernard O'Hare are all playing together, they might establish the post order as Billy, Kilgore, Bernard, and then Billy again to repeat the cycle. This ensures everyone has a chance to respond and play and not risk being left out because, say, Billy and Bernard were online at once one day when Kilgore was busy and moved the thread on without him.

Go extreme. Have fun completely. So long as it doesn't violate the forum continuity, negatively impact other players' enjoyment of the game, or create an unfair advantage, I really don't care. Bend things a little if you want to have fun or make it fun for fellow players. You want to play your character nearly getting trapped in an avalanche in the Ice Age and having to take refuge in a cave somewhere? Sure. Your character is using their Charmeleon's tail to cook food? Go ahead.