- What's this "role-playing" stuff all about?
- What do all the abbreviations mean?
- How do I create a new character, and how will I know if s/he is approved?
- Can I update my character's bio?
- I want to kill off/get rid of one of my characters. What do I do?
- How do I get into a plot?
- I've got a great idea for a plot, but I need help getting it off the ground. What do I do?
- How do I know what time it is in-game?
- How do I post to the list?
- What should the subject line of my post look like?
- What's with the signatures at the bottom of each post and do I need to have one?
- How many posts can I make in a day?
- Oh, crap on a stick! I accidentally smashed a window/broke a chair/kicked down a door/caused some kind of damage to one of the establishments.
- Oh, double crap. I just blew up the establishment/suburb/whole of New Orleans. =O
- I'd like to submit a business for the locations page. How do I do it?
- I'm too busy to play in the game at the moment and I want to stop receiving posts until I'm available again. What do I do?
- I'd like to leave the RPG. What should I do?
- I run an RPG of my own, and I'd really like to advertise on ToC's OOC list. Can I?
- I really like the terms ToC uses for [insert lycanthrope group]. Can I use them in my own game?
- I have a question that isn't listed here.

What's this "role-playing" stuff all about?
Role-playing is similar to writing a story with a bunch of other people. However, each of the players are only allowed to control their own characters. In playing your character, you decide what they're going to say, how they act and most importantly, how they react. Role-playing is heavily based upon interaction which all happens in the game. As this is a play-by-email (PBEM) rpg, we will be playing through a mailing list, rather than in a chat room.

What do all the abbreviations mean?
GMs - Game Mistresses/moderators (usually known as "the council")
MC - Major Character (off limits to everyone but the creator)
NPC - Non-Played Character (usually an unowned character that's up for anyone to play)
RPG - Role-Playing Game
OOC - Out Of Character post. Like "off-topic", these posts can be questions to the list about issues that aren't a part of the role-playing. All of these should be dealt with on the OOC list.
ATTN - Attention. This is sometimes used in subject lines to alert another player that a post is relevant to them/their characters.
JP - Joint Post. A post between two or more people from a chat room or instant messenger that is edited to read like a conversation or situation between the characters.
LTR - Long time resident
NA - New arrival
ToC - Time of Chaos, this game

How do I create a new character, and how will I know if s/he is approved?
Check out the characters section, and use the character submission form there. If your character is approved, the council will not necessarily email you about it. It is your responsibility to check the website. If your character's bio is up on the site, it has been approved and you can start posting. However, if the council has decided to deny your character, they will email you about it, usually either with tips on how to improve it or the reasons for why it wasn't approved. Just to reiterate: do NOT post until your character's bio is up on the site. If the council, for some reason, is behind on uploading bios, they'll notify you and then you can post. But under any other circumstance, the aforementioned rule applies.

Can I update my character's bio?
Sure you can! Email the council with the name of your character and only the changed field(s).

I want to kill off/get rid of one of my characters.
That's fine and dandy, but you must tell the council before executing the death/departure in game. If your character happens to be an integral part of a group structure or something, they'll need to take the appropriate steps to finding a replacement, etc., not to mention the changes that they'll need to make to the website. So, simply follow these instructions:

- Email the council with your intent, telling them which character you want to die/leave and how you want to go about doing it (make sure to include the names of any other characters who are going to be involved)
- Await the council's reply
- Once the council has worked out the behind-the-scenes details of the death/departure, write out your character and then email the council again to inform them that you have done so. From there, it's just a matter of us removing the character's bio from the site.

How do I get into a plot?
There are a number of ways to do this. If after reading a certain plot thread you decide you'd like to join it, email one of the players currently involved in that plot or the council and if they are not in charge of it, they will direct you to the person who is. [A good tip here- if you need to find out who plays a certain character, check the who is who page!]
If you can't decide on a plot to join, you can always send an advertisement to the OOC list to see if anyone is willing to take you in. For a no-hassles, jump-right-in approach, just have your character head towards any location and interact with some of the staff there. And if none of these options appeal to you, you can always create your own plot. Just remember to let the GMs know that you're doing it, k? [see also Furikku's Newbie Tips]

I've got a great idea for a plot, but I need help getting it off the ground. What do I do?
Email the OOC list with an advertisement for help, or email the council. The council might not be able to help you with the plot themselves, but they'll do their best to hook you up with other interested players who can help you!

How do I know what time it is in-game?
Check the weather page regularly! The weather page gives the current time IG, the time of sunrise/sunset, and current weather conditions.

How do I post to the list?
To post, simply send an email to TimeofChaos@yahoogroups.com. Archives can be found at the Yahoogroups site.

What should the subject line of my post look like?
Subject lines follow a very simple structure. The basic format is location, character name, rating on a G to NC17 scale, a brief line relating to the post, and a tag for other players. Here's an example:

Secret Sins: Chris: PG: Hey, Bartender! Gimme a drink! (attn. Dante)

What's with the signatures at the bottom of each post and do I need to have one?
The signatures (or profiles) are very handy for quick information. In real life, if you see someone, you can obviously see the color of their hair or what they're wearing. However, in the rpg, if the information isn't provided in a profile, people often have to dig through past posts to find it, which can really be a hassle. Profiles are pretty much up to the player so you have free reign over what information you want to put in it and how you set it out. Generally, it's good to include species, hair/eye color and current clothing.

How many posts can I make in a day?
You can make as many posts a day that you want. The GMs do ask that you don't make unnecessary posts. If your character decided to have a glass of juice, the list doesn't need a blow by blow account of it, ok? If it's integral to a plot, character development, or something else you deem necessary, that's fine. Post your hearts out. Just try to keep pointless one liners down to a minimum.

Oh, crap on a stick! I accidentally smashed a window/broke a chair/kicked down a door/caused some kind of damage to one of the establishments.
*lol* It's okay. With some of the volatile characters in this game, it's going to be difficult to avoid a fight every now and then. Just make sure that as soon as this has occurred (or even better, before it occurs), that you notify the owner of the establishment so that they can go about having their character fix it up in game (to keep continuity). If you don't know who they are, mail the council.

Oh, double crap. I just blew up the establishment/suburb/whole of New Orleans. =O
...o_O.

'Fraid you're not going to get away with that. Unless you own the establishment or you've gained permission from the owner to do this, you will either be given a strike or booted from the rpg, depending on how much damage you've caused. Your post will also most likely be ignored and/or deleted.

I'd like to submit a business for the locations page. How do I do it?
Write up a short description of the business (hours of operation, how long it's been around, etc.), and send the description to chaos_council@yahoogroups.com in a plain-text email. Attach any pictures you'd like used on the page! After that, the mods will take a look at the site, and barring any problems, it'll be put up the next time the site is updated.

I'm too busy to play in the game at the moment and I want to stop receiving posts until I'm available again. What do I do?
Log in to Yahoo Groups, click on "My Groups" and then "Edit My Groups". Under the heading "Message Delivery" you will see a drop-down menu beside the TimeofChaos list which says either "Individual Email" or "Daily Digest". Click on it and then select "No Email". You can always change it back later. If you don't have a Yahoo ID and you just read the emails from your inbox, send a request to the council and they'll change the setting for you. Don't forget to post an OOC to the list informing your fellow players that you'll be absent!

I'd like to leave the RPG. What should I do?
Write out your characters! Please, please, please, if you're going to leave the game for whatever reason, make sure you write out your characters before you go. This can usually be done in one or two posts, and saves the mods the trouble of doing it for you. If you don't write out your characters, the mods will do whatever they need to do to write them out for you- and that can mean anything from killing the character to locking them up in an insane asylum.
Either before you've written out your characters or just after, alert the council about your decision to leave. It's also courteous to send a notice to the OOC list, letting your fellow players know that you'll be leaving. However, please DO NOT send a letter to the mainlist demanding to be unsubbed. The list is often very high volume and no one needs an extra one-liner filling up their inboxes with something which doesn't even concern them. Once you've written out your characters and alerted the council and OOC list, feel free to unsub yourself.

I run an RPG of my own, and I'd really like to advertise on ToC's OOC list. Can I?
Email the council and ask. They may or may not feel comfortable allowing advertising. If they do allow advertising for another group on the OOC list, they expect the favor to be returned, and for them to be able to advertise on YOUR group's list, too.

I really like the terms ToC uses for [insert lycanthrope group]. Can I use them in my own game?
Sorry, but no. The players who created the terms took time and effort putting them together, and the council doesn't want these terms to be used anywhere but ToC.

I have a question that isn't listed here.
Feel free to email any questions you have to the council!