Basic Rules
Respect. Respect everybody. Fellow members, Staff members, even Guests who may visit the site for any kind of reason. Do not Flame, troll, or show disrespect in any way. Mage Academy is not a place where somebody has to fear going. It has never been, it isn't right now, and it should never be. We are civil here, where our faces are hidden and our names are unknown. Any argument you engage in should be done in a civilized manner and with discrepancy.
There are times when people break this rule, and the only way to stop that, is to just ignore whatever it is that intends to make you do so. If it's another member, ignore them. If it's a staff member, report them. Yes, report all Staff who are not respectful or following any rules to head admin
Narry. You can do this on Skype, or, you can Private Message him on the site, or contact any other site staff with exception of the Graphics team.
Language. Do not attempt to harm anybody. We're a bit loose here on Mage Academy about the usage of this OOC (
Out
Of
Character), but we do ask you to keep it to a minimum. What is our minimum? Whatever you see Staff doing. Staff are people too, and we know the limits of the rules and how much you can flex and bend them. Using this kind of language is fine IC (
In
Character); but, don't have some prim and proper character, who was registered as not using these expletives (or doesn't use them often), and have them spout out the F-word or S-word every few sentences.
Spoken Language. Mage Academy is
English Only. This does not stop you from having your
characters speak in another language, in fact, that could be an interesting idea. This means, don't come onto the site, and expect to get anywhere speaking only Spanish, French, Italian, or any other language. We do have some Bi and Multi-lingual Staff Members (namely
Aleks who knows Russian), but we cannot help you or allow you to Roleplay if you do not speak English well.
Advertising. We have an area for all Advertisements and Affiliations
here. Do not advertise in the CBox. Do not advertise in your Signature. Do not advertise on the Skype Chat Group or in Private Messages. Additionally, do not Advertise anything other than: Other Roleplay Sites, or a Directory of Roleplay Sites. No Youtube Channels, no Facebook pages, no Twitter feeds. If you attempt to Private Message Advertise, you will be reported by the ones you advertise to. Report anybody who does so to staff.
Those who fail to advertise in the correct areas will be issued a warning and will be penalized upon the second iteration.
Exception to this would include links to appropriate personal work such as an art blog, however these are to be written in link formats only and should follow standard rules.
Activity. We are neither Strict nor Loose with this area. The general 'Golden' length of time, is slightly over a week. Any longer then ten (10) days, and you risk loosing your high ranking positions and you may have been skipped several times in any Thread you are doing. However, if you post
here with the 'round about' time you will be gone, you lower the risk of being removed of your rank, to well below Zero. However, if you end up being gone any longer then what you said (and we've received no further word from you), you will be stripped of any high ranking positions, in favor of giving them to more active members.
Plot. Here on Mage Academy,
The plot is optional. It is made with people who don't intend to participate in mind. You are not required to do anything with the plot, and if you can gather enough people, you can even come up with your own, personal, user-created 'sub-plots'. So long as they don't interfere with the main plot of Mage Academy, or alter the world/universe of Mage Academy to drastically. (The loss of a few important, non-essential plot elements in other parts of the world are fine. But the destruction of Mage Academy is not, for example - If an Alchemy Lab is destroyed (but repairable within a few weeks), then it's fine.) If you have any further questions, contact myself or any other Staff member.
Spam. This is defined as anything that has nothing to do, with any topic currently being discussed. Basically, it's 'Posting for the sake of posting'. Usually, these people are trolls, or just not very nice people. If you don't have anything that is on topic that you want to talk about, then don't post. Instead, you're better off making an entirely new thread. Any spam found, will be removed from the site by Site Staff. If you have any interesting off-topic media such as art, videos, or images, they should be posted within the [urlhttps://remage.rpg-board.net/f32-media]Media[/url] section of the site.
Troll Topics. There is a very broad spectrum of what this can cover, but, the main idea is: Don't start a thread with the sole intention of sparking an argument, or posting something to add fuel to one already happening. This can include but isn't limited to: Politics, world news, flaming something, contradicting history, and the like. It is possible to have these kinds of threads
without flaming or the like. They are threads where the people participating are civil, and do not just flame or troll for the hell of it.
Plagiarism. Mage Academy does not support this. If you intend to have a similar spell, or ability of somebody else, you may as well just ask if you may register that same item. This, however, does not apply to Unique Abilities. Two Unique Abilities can have exactly the same function, but different names. But, you are not permitted to just 'copy & paste' the effect of the ability. You have to type out the effects, draw backs, and anything else in your own words (unless you have permission from the creator of the original Unique Ability you intend to copy). However we do always encourage original ideas, as creation of your own concepts from the grown up based on simple principles and elements then expanded upon displays level and quality of creativity.
Chat Boxes. There are
three Chatboxes on Mage Academy. One is located on the top of the left widget bar, and follows you around the site, to about 98% of every page. This one allows you to leave messages that are present for a long period of time and is very useful for leaving public messages. The other Chatbox, is an IC Chatbox, which you can find a link for above the first Cbox, or,
here. Third Chatbox is located on the
main page of the site and is the default chatbox and is used by active members. The chatbox 'times out' idle users and should be used to communicate with other members. While in these Chat boxes, you are to be civil, and follow all site rules. Standard etiquette applies.
Character Rules
Account. Every Character you ever intend to create on Mage Academy, must have their own Account. The accounts, are created to support the information of
One Character only. As stated below, there is no real limit to the number of Characters you can have, but, do not register twenty accounts with possible names of characters. You may Reserve up to two Accounts on the site at any time.
When you have created your Account, you
Must name it the same as your Character's name. If the application you intend to submit, is named "Jimmy Boby", then your account username must be '
Jimmy Boby'. This rule applies for Site Staff Accounts which are dedicated to a character themselves.
Usage. On Mage Academy, you are
not permitted to use any character that has not been Approved by two members of Staff. If you attempt to do so, your posts and/or threads that you've made for that Character in the Roleplay area, will be deleted, and you will be reminded that your character has not yet been fully approved.
Staff Approval. Mage Academy requires the support of
two Staff Members of any rank, on any Character Application, to be approved. Once approved, you will be given your Color, and your Statistics will be filled in by Site Staff. Your Character Area, located in your Profile under the 'Character sheet' tab, can be filled in, however,
Do not touch the EXP Guages for your Stats. These are to be edited by Staff only. If you were found to have edited them, without permission from staff, then they may be reset to Zero, and you'll have to restart all over again.
Items and Spells. Mage Academy requires that items utilized in battles (with the exception of environmental objects and the like) such as weapons or gadgets be registered and approved by at least one staff member prior to being used. Your character is not permitted to carry or use weapons or spells that have not yet been approved and failure to follow this rule will result in any posts including the usage of said weapon or spell will be rendered void and you will be reminded by staff members. Exception may occur during carriage where the item is in a sealed, contained or unusable state, preventing usage of its special properties or even potentially weapon.
Relation. There is no Canon Characters in the Mage Academy Universe, so, you are permitted to be related to any character on the site. Your only limitations, are permission from that character's owner, and, you must somehow make up some believable story for us Staff when we look over your Application to Approve/Support it. If you are having trouble thinking of something, ask Staff, other members, or even, the member who owns the character that you intend to have your own be related to.
Relationships. These are welcome on Mage Academy as well. Keep in mind, however, that any sexual acts are not permitted, and you must either 'fade-to-black', or, use some other method to skip through the entire event. Recollections IC about the act, are fine, but explicit details are not. You are permitted to go as far as 'Lime' on Mage Academy. A 'Lime', is defined as: "An event (chapter, post, book, page, ect.) in which characters graphically fool around, but do not actually have sex." This means any sort of sexual activity is to be done 'off camera'.
This means, you may be 'touchy-feely' (to an extent), but you may not go any further then that, or, if you do, you must do some kind of skipping mechanism to edit the action(s) out. If you need further details, contact Site Staff.In other words: Don't writing about it in your roleplay, we're a roleplaying community that focuses on writing a modern fantasy roleplay, not sexual explicit erotica.
Pregnancy/Adoption. These are permitted on Mage Academy, however, any born Children, have to take one of three routes. It is entirely up to you, and any partner, to decide how they function, and who has control over them. But, as for the 'routes', they are as follows:
They become a 'sub-character', which, is a Character that doesn't appear often, doesn't fight, gains no benefits, and does not get their own site Account, meaning one account of the two parties involved, or in the case of a sole party being involved, will control said character under the parent account. They become slightly better then Canon Fodder.
They become an NPC (
Non-
Playable
Character). Their Stats fluctuate according to plot and age, they gain no Benefits, but are however permitted to become involved in a fight however will act as a lesser  significant determining factor unless otherwise permitted by site staff to avoid abuse.
Or, the final option, they become a Main Character. This character gains their own Site Account, and they function just as any other character on the site. Their stats fluctuate and can grow, they gain certain items after finishing threads, and they can become powerful just as your originally created characters.
Character Limit. There is no number limit of characters on Mage Academy. However, Site Staff reserve the right to tell you when you have too many character, and that we will not accept any more from you. This can come about, as a punishment, or, we can make this decision if we just think that you have way to many. But, we're generally lenient on this rule. If you intend to create more characters, you are permitted to create 'sub-characters' which are controlled under one of your active accounts of choice, or they're permitted to become an NPC. Same rules regarding characters above applies.
Thread Dating/Time. There is something called an IC Calendar being created by the Staff of Mage Academy. Using this Calendar, you must date every first post in a Thread. You may use any format, so long as you list the Month and day. Permitted years will be marked on the main page by one year, in which previous years with the exception of those prior to 2014 which is where the story starts. After a very significant amount of progression and activity, the years will progress allowing the story to carry itself further.
Third Person, Past Tense. When posting in an IC Thread, you are to use Third Person, and Past Tense. This means, there should be no 'I', 'Me', 'We', 'Us', and the like,
unless your Character is Talking, or having internal thoughts. Actions should not be described this way. Nor should there be any 'fancy' symbols to depict it (such as ~, - or *) akin to how professional writing is done.
Activity Checks. Regularly, or randomly, there is the possibility of something called an Activity Check. These are in place, so that Site Staff may determine how many people we have to keep an eye on, and keep in mind when doing something. This also tells us, who isn't active enough to retain any special rankings or permissions (including Site Staff positions). To complete an activity check, simply follow the instructions that it gives in the first post. This can simply be posting anything your little heart desires, with the accounts of Characters that you still intend to use. Fear not, these requirements/instructions won't be demanding in any way, and should only take from 10-30 seconds of your time.
Regarding Violence, Language and Sexual themes, consult the
RPG Rating System or message an administrator for more in depth explanation.
NPC ~Non-Playable Character~ Rules
Creation. The creation of NPC Characters, is currently aloud on Mage Academy. All you must do, when registering an NPC, is to put the (NPC) tag in your application title, next to your Character's name. This is kept for database and referencing reasons to preserve consistency and allow others to view information regarding your NPC. Regarding the following rules, exceptions can be made to fit their character.
Weapons. Depending on the Position of your NPC, you can have a varying number of Weapons. Students and Prefects are actually limited to just one (1) weapon. Teacher, Magi (Rogue and not), and Staff-class are given two (2) weapons, and Headmaster-class or higher are given up to three (3) weapons.
Spells/Alchemy. This rule is governed by the Position of your NPC as well. Students are given up to four (4) spells, none of which may exceed the rank of C and where two (2) spells must be D-rank. Prefects are given up to five (5) spells, none of which may exceed the rank of B and where three (3) spells must be no more then C-rank. Teachers and Staff are given six (6) and seven (7) spells respectively, and none may reach over S-rank, and up to four (4) spells must be no more then C-rank, for either Position. Headmasters are given a maximum of eight (8) Spells, and may be any Rank, but are only aloud to have two (2) S-ranked spells.
Rank-Up. NPC are not aloud to rank up. This means, a Student-class NPC cannot rank up to a Prefect-class. And no NPC can become Headmaster (or Headmaster-class) without approval from Site Staff. This also means, that, in the case of time passage (in the form of a 'Time Skip' or in game time) Staff will decide if NPC get stronger/rank up, and by how much.
Stat Increases. NPC are not aloud to gain EXP to increase their Physical, Magical and Intellectual stats. Once registered, an NPC's stats are set in stone, and do not change in the slightest, unless Site Staff give permission.
Overall Growth. In addition to the above rules, is this one. Now that you are required to date every thread when you start them, we can use this kind of system. Should an amount of time pass between an NPC appearing in a thread, and then appearing in another thread further down the line, you can 'persuade' us to give that NPC some EXP. That being, tell us what experiences, training, and events happened between those two threads. Depending on what you tell us (and what you have planned), your NPC will gain Stats, and even Rank-up. They can also obtain new weapons, spells, alchemy, and so on so forth.
Credits NPC have full function over this specific area, but, if what they plan to do contrasts with any listed rules, then they cannot do it. (For example, if somehow EXP were avalible in the Academy Shop, they could not purchase it... but that's not a problem, because you can't buy EXP by any means.)
Relationships. NPC are not restricted in this area and are permitted to engage in relationships with other NPC characters or Main characters with the approval of both parties.
Pregnancy & Adoption. NPC are not restricted in this area, and can have their own descendants which would be marked as an NPC themselves.
No God-moding. This is your character becoming so unbelievably powerful, that they literally cannot be hurt by any means necessary, or can only be hurt by a few means. This is usually stopped by the Stat System (Physical, Magical, Intellectual), but there usually are those 'special' few people who don't get the idea. If you suspect this, then, please contact Site Staff, and we will attempt to come to a decision.
No Meta-gaming. This can be shortened to: don't control anybody else's character, but your own. If you don't have permission to move somebody else's character in a certain way, then don't do it. If you are caught, without permission, then your post will become Void and you will have to redo the post. If you are found doing this multiple times, you may be skipped in a posting order; the number of times depending on how many times you've taken to learn your lesson.
Skill-Mod. Here on Mage Academy, you must
Register, and
Pay Credits, before you are permitted to use any Weapon, Spell, Alchemy or Summon, In Character. So, that means
do not use any of the items I just listed, without having done any of the above first. However, this only applies for Battles. If you are in a situation where a spell that gives off light would be perfect to use, and you're not in any kind of battle, you are permitted to use that spell. If you are, say, building a house or structure, you are permitted to use Wood Manipulation spells to help you. If you are planning to Heal somebody in the infirmary, you
must have registered the Healing Spell, Alchemy, Weapon or Summon beforehand, and purchased it with Credits. Healing Spells tend to be the spells that require you to have done so, for any kind of situation.
If you have any further questions, or inquiries about what you can and cannot do, contact Site Staff, and we'll tell you if you can or cannot do it.
Posting Orders. If ever there is a Thread on Mage Academy where there are more then Two Participants, create a Posting Order. A Posting Order, is an Order in which the participants of a thread post. Simple as that. If Joe, Jim and Amy are in a thread, then, they decide on some kind of Posting order. Jim will post, then Amy, then Joe, and then, Jim posts again. When a Posting Order ends, then it starts all over again until a thread is finished. If somebody askes to join your thread (or just joins it anyway if they are permitted), then they are either put at the end of a Posting Order, or, the participants agree as to where that person will be placed within the Order.
Credits. Credits, or shortened to just 'Cred', are the currency of Mage Academy. They are used to buy items from the Academy Shop, or even, other Members. It can also be donated to somebody. Credits are not the same as currency utilized internationally by the nations and can not be obtained from the Academy through any other means than performance on mission, donation or payment from the academy for special occassions. Because of this, the amount of Credits you have OOC, does not effect you IC. You can be dirt poor OOC, but your character can literally have trees full of money. IC, credits can be used any way, gained any way, and the like. OOC, you have to earn them through activity, posting, and any other way.
Usage of credits can be to order things in character, out of character, permanent or not, from the Academy, such as a box of supplies through shipping and delivery means whilst on a mission, or a temporary replacement for one's weapon, or through
Below this post, is a table full of information on ways to gain Credits.
Donation. Donating Credits can be done between your own characters, or, between the characters of other members. The process to do this, is, simply to Private Message an Administrator, and we will gladly do this for you. But, we do reserve the right to deny you this service, all within good, sensible reason. If denied, staff members should provide a logical reason in their reply else the transaction is permitted.
Member Shops. Members of the site may offer some kind of service. Be it Graphics, hired help on a difficult Mission, or, just about anything. If characters have been hired for a thread to assist in a roleplay scenario, be sure that their transaction is mentioned within character to preserve immersion, whether it be direct or indirect.
Mission Performance The academy allow students, staff members with no active duty, or employed or freelance mages to undertake missions proposed by various clients including external and internal. After completion of the mission, a written report is filled by the highest ranking or most distinguished member if all participants of the mission are in equal positions (Optionally in-character), and the employed party is graded and paid based on their performance (As well as the quality of roleplaying evaluated an administrator or moderator).